Samuel Bulkley Ruggles (April 11, 1799 – August 28, 1881) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

in 1838, and a

Canal Commissioner The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

from 1839 to 1842 and in 1858. As a large landholder, he donated the land for the creation of

Gramercy Park Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park and the surrounding neighborhood that is referred to also as Gramercy, in the New York City borough of Manhattan in New York, United States. T ...

in New York City. Its restrictive covenant has preserved it through much development nearby. He was a member of the city's

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, which published his reports on economics and public policy. In the 1860s, he represented the United States at several international conferences on economics and statistics in Europe.

Early life

Samuel Ruggles was born in New Milford,

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

of an old New England family. He was the son of Ellen (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Bulkley) Ruggles and Philo Ruggles (1765–1829), who became Surrogate and District Attorney of

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later orga ...

. Chief Judge

Charles H. Ruggles Charles Herman Ruggles (February 10, 1789 – June 16, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who was a U.S. Representative from New York and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Early life Ruggles was born on February 10, 1789, ...

was his cousin. Samuel was a precocious student and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1814 at the age of 14. Although he read for the law, he had to wait to be admitted to the bar until he came of age in 1821.

Career

Ruggles became a successful lawyer in New York City for several years and accumulated large landholdings, but eventually gave up the practice of law for public affairs.

Political career

Ruggles was a Whig member from

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

of the

, sitting in the

61st New York State Legislature The 61st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 18, 1838, during the sixth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the pr ...

in 1838, and was Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. In 1839, he was elected by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

as a

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Stephen Van Rensselaer Stephen Van Rensselaer III (; November 1, 1764January 26, 1839) was an American landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician. A graduate of Harvard College, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's mano ...

. In 1840, he was the only canal commissioner to remain in office when the new Whig majority removed all Democratic commissioners. In 1842, the Whig commissioners, including Ruggles, were removed by the Democrats. After leaving the Canal Commission, Ruggles became a member of the

New York Chamber of Commerce The New York Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1768 by twenty New York City merchants. As the first such commercial organization in the United States, it attracted the participation of a number of New York's most influential business leaders, in ...

. There he wrote numerous pamphlets and articles about public policy, economics and related issues, which were published by the Chamber. He became a trustee of Columbia College. In 1854, concerned about its decline in enrollment and number of faculty in mid-century, and its trustees' decision against appointing a respected scientist, Dr.

Oliver Wolcott Gibbs Oliver Wolcott Gibbs (February 21, 1822 – December 9, 1908) was an American chemist. He is known for performing the first electrogravimetric analyses, namely the reductions of copper and nickel ions to their respective metals. Biograph ...

, because he was Unitarian, that year Ruggles self-published the 60-page pamphlet, "The Duty of Columbia College to the Community". It had started as a letter to the trustees but he decided to expand it and publish it. He urged appointment of Gibbs on the basis of his qualifications and also the upgrading of Columbia's curriculum to include more of the physical sciences, and made a plea for a strong college. At the time, some people considered Gibbs' Unitarian orientation controversial. The university has long been secular. In July 1858, Ruggles was appointed by Governor

John Alsop King John Alsop King (January 3, 1788July 7, 1867) was an American politician who was Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. Life John Alsop King was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on January 3, 1788, to U.S. Senator Rufus King ...

as a canal commissioner again, this time to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel S. Whallon, and he served briefly until the end of the year. In the 1860s, Ruggles was selected as a United States delegate and representative to several European assemblies, such as the International Statistics Congress in Berlin in 1863, the Paris Exposition of 1867, and the 1869 International Statistics Conference at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Gramercy Park

As a large landholder in New York City, Ruggles created

, dedicated in 1831, to which he personally donated the land. He deeded the property to the city with a covenant restricting surrounding uses to residential and providing that the residents be taxed to maintain the park."Gramercy Park"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Editorial, 'July 3, 1921, p. 22, accessed 23 December 2010 He was also instrumental in getting

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

established. Of the parks and squares he said,

Come what will, our open squares will remain forever imperishable. Buildings, towers, palaces, may moulder and crumble beneath the touch of time; but space—free, glorious, open space—will remain to bless the City forever."Samuel B. Ruggles, Founder Of Gramercy Park"
''Antiques Digest'', reprinted. Originally published 1921

Personal life

On May 15, 1822, Ruggles was married to Mary Rosalie Rathbone (1800–1878), the daughter of prominent merchant John Rathbone Sr. Together, they were the parents of: * Ellen Ruggles, who married to the attorney

George Templeton Strong George Templeton Strong (January 26, 1820 – July 21, 1875) was an American lawyer, musician and diarist. His 2,250-page diary, discovered in the 1930s, provides a striking personal account of life in the 19th century, especially during the eve ...

(1820–1875) and lived in New York * James Francis Ruggles (1827–1895) also lived in New York and who married Grace Baldwin (1857–1930). After his death, she married Henry Meyer Johnson. Ruggles died on August 28, 1881 at the Surf Hotel on

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Long ...

where he spent his summer vacations. After his wife had died several years before, he had given up their big house and lived during the winter season at an apartment in the Westminster Hotel in New York City.

Descendants

Through his daughter Ellen, he was the grandfather of John Ruggles Strong and

(1856–1948), a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and a professional

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

References

Bibliography

* Bender, Thomas, ''New York Intellect: A History of Intellectual Life in New York City, from 1750 to the Beginnings of Our Own Time'', Knopf, 1987.
"Gramercy Park"
''

'', Editorial, 'July 3, 1921, p. 22. Gramercy Park's 90th anniversary and history.
"Samuel B. Ruggles, Founder Of Gramercy Park"
''Antiques Digest'', reprinted. Originally published 1921.
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, New York: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858, pp. 42, 221 and 301
"An Old New-Yorker Gone; The Busy Life of Samuel B. Ruggles Brought to a Close"
''New York Times'', 29 August 1881 (stating erroneously he had been a member of the Canal Board for 18 years)
"The Canal Commissionership"
Copies of letters to and from Ruggles on his 1858 appointment, ''New York Times'', 22 July 1858

External links

* *
"Samuel Bulkley Ruggles"
Virtual American Biographies
Samuel B. Ruggles, "The Duty of Columbia College to the Community"
New York: J. F. Trow, 1854
Samuel B. Ruggles Correspondence, 91–32
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggles, Samuel Bulkley 1799 births 1881 deaths New York (state) lawyers Yale College alumni People from New Milford, Connecticut Politicians from New York City Erie Canal Commissioners Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from New York City 19th-century American lawyers