Sidney Fuller Rawson (December 15, 1843 – March 20, 1916) was an American lawyer and judge from New York.

Life

Rawson was born on December 15, 1843 in Schroon Lake, New York. He was the son of Ashley Pond Rawson, Justice of the Court of Sessions for Essex County, and Adaline Crego. He was a direct descendant of Edward Rawson, secretary of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

. After attending school and studying law under Cyrus Blanchard, Rawson initially worked as principal of a public school. This ended in June 1862, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, when he enlisted in the 118th New York Infantry Regiment. He served under Brigadier-General

Isaac J. Wistar Isaac Jones Wistar (November 14, 1827 – September 18, 1905) was an American lawyer, miner, farmer, soldier, and author. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, in which he was wounded twice, and was noted for his criticiz ...

at Yorktown and under Major-General W. F. Smith at Drury's Bluff. He spent a lot of time serving as Chief Clerk of his division or post headquarters, and at one point was in charge of a large corps of clerks in the office of the U.S. Army Hospital in

Point Lookout, Maryland Point Lookout State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve occupying Point Lookout, the southernmost tip of a peninsula formed by the confluence of Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River in St. Mary's County, Maryland. The state pa ...

. His military service ended in June 1865. After the War, Rawson moved to Elizabethtown and began studying law under Byron Pond. He was admitted to the bar in 1867, at which point he moved to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

and began practicing law with Lot C. Clark and Alfred De Groot, who had a law practice in Port Richmond and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1871, he was elected District Attorney of Richmond County, an office he held for the next three years. In 1874, he unsuccessfully ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

for County Judge and Surrogate. He then returned to his private law practice as part of the law firm DeGroot, Rawson & Stafford. He was also a director and counsel of the First National Bank of Staten Island, and served as counsel for the Richmond County Board of Police and Board of Supervisors, the Board of Trustees of New Brighton and Port Richmond, the Staten Island Building, Loan, and Savings Association, the Richmond County Savings Bank, the Staten Island Savings Bank, the

Staten Island Academy Staten Island Academy is a coeducational, college-preparatory day school located on a campus in Staten Island, New York City, United States. Founded in 1884 by Anton Methfessel, it is the oldest independent school on Staten Island, and is the only ...

, the S. R. Smith Infirmary, the Mariners' Family Asylum, and other corporations. In 1911, he was appointed County Judge and Surrogate following the death of Judge Stephens. Rawson was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1869, he married Mary Louise Nicholson. Their children were Mary A., Edward Sidney, and Louise Windsor. Edward served as District Attorney of Richmond County. Rawson died at his Port Richmond home on March 20, 1916, a few months after his son Edward. He was buried in the

Moravian Cemetery The Moravian Cemetery is a cemetery in the New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. Location Located at 2205 Richmond Road, the Moravian Cemetery is the largest and oldest active cemetery on Staten Island, having opened in 1740. T ...

New Dorp, Staten Island New Dorp is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the no ...

References

External links

Sidney Fuller Rawson
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawson, Sidney Fuller 1843 births 1916 deaths People from Elizabethtown, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges New York (state) state court judges Richmond County District Attorneys Lawyers from New York City Burials at Moravian Cemetery