William Travers Jerome (April 18, 1859 – February 13, 1934) was an American lawyer and politician from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Early life
William Travers Jerome was born in
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 ...
on April 18, 1859.
He was the son of Lawrence Jerome (1820–1888, Collector of the Port of
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
under President
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
, NYC Alderman 1871) and Kate (Hall) Jerome. Financier
Leonard Jerome was his uncle,
Jennie Jerome was his first cousin, and U.K. Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
was his first cousin once removed.
He attended
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
but left in 1881 without graduation. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1884, and commenced practice in New York City.
[
]
Career
From 1888 to 1890, he was a Deputy Assistant D.A. under John R. Fellows
John R. Fellows (July 29, 1832 – December 7, 1896) was an American lawyer and politician from Arkansas and New York (state), New York. He served as New York County District Attorney (1888-1890, 1894-1896), and a member of Congress from New Yo ...
.
From 1894 to 1895, he worked for the Lexow Committee
Lexow Committee (1894 to 1895) was a major New York State Senate probe into police corruption in New York City. The Lexow Committee inquiry, which took its name from the committee's chairman, State Senator Clarence Lexow, was the widest-ranging ...
. In 1894, he managed the successful campaign of William L. Strong
William Lafayette Strong (March 22, 1827 – November 2, 1900) was the 90th Mayor of New York City from 1895 to 1897. He was the last mayor of New York City before the consolidation of the City of Greater New York on January 1, 1898.
Early life ...
for Mayor of New York City
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
. In 1895, the Court of Special Sessions was re-organized, legislating out of office the six incumbent justices. On July 1, 1895, Jerome took office as one of the first five new justices of the re-organized court.
He was New York County District Attorney from 1902 to 1909, elected in 1901 on the Fusion ticket headed by Seth Low
Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...
. As D.A. he led a campaign against political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...
and crime, often leading raids personally, notably the one against the gambling house of Richard Canfield Richard Albert Canfield (June 17, 1855 (birth record) or June 28, 1855 (grave) – December 11, 1914) was a prominent American businessman and art collector involved in illegal gambling throughout the northeastern United States during the late 1 ...
. On October 13, 1905, the Republican county convention nominated Judge Charles A. Flammer for D.A. with a vote of 237 to 9. Flammer declined to run, and on October 27 the county convention met again and nominated Jerome in place of Flammer unanimously. However, it was too late to change the names on the ballots, the limit being 20 days before the election. Thus Jerome was re-elected with a plurality of about 4,000 votes as an Independent, while Flammer received more than 12,000 votes on the Republican ticket. In 1907 and 1908, Jerome prosecuted Harry Kendall Thaw
Harry Kendall Thaw (February 12, 1871 – February 22, 1947) was the son of American coal and railroad baron William Thaw Sr.. Heir to a multimillion-dollar fortune, the younger Thaw is most notable for murdering the renowned architect Sta ...
for the murder of Stanford White.
In September 1910, Jerome defended successfully former State Engineer Frederick Skene
Frederick Skene (July 25, 1874 – August 22, 1943) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York. He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1907 to 1908. He was dean of the school of technology at City College of New York f ...
against charges of grand larceny in office.
Personal life
On May 9, 1888, he married Lavinia Taylor Howe, of , and their son was William Travers Jerome, Jr.[
He died of ]pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
on February 13, 1934 at his townhouse 125 East 36th Street in Manhattan
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 ...
.
Sources
''LAWRENCE JEROME DEAD''
his father's obit, in NYT on August 13, 1888
''COURT IN THE CORRIDOR''
in NYT on July 2, 1895
''GREATER NEW YORK DEMOCRACY'S CONVENTION''
in NYT on October 2, 1901
''VICTORY FOR THE FUSION TICKET''
in NYT on November 6, 1901
''FLAMMER IS NAMED''
in NYT on October 14, 1905
''REPUBLICAN CONVENTION UNANIMOUS FOR JEROME''
in NYT on October 28, 1905
''JEROME; Elected District Attorney by 3,525''
in NYT on November 8, 1905
''SKENE'S ASSISTANT BEGINS TESTIMONY''
in NYT on September 3, 1910
''ACCUSER OF SKENE CALLED A PERJURER''
in NYT on September 6, 1910
''JEROME SAYS SKENE WAS TAMMANY'S DUPE''
in NYT on September 8, 1910
''JURY ACQUITS SKENE''
in NYT on September 9, 1910
''MRS. W. T. JEROME HURT IN AUT0 CRASH''
in NYT on September 26, 1921
in NYT on February 14, 1934 (subscription required)
his widow's obit, in NYT on June 1, 1934 (subscription required)
External links
A Fight for the City
by Alfred Hodder, a novel centered around Jerome's 1901 campaign including first hand chronicles of his campaign.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerome, William Travers
1859 births
1934 deaths
New York County District Attorneys
Amherst College alumni
New York (state) state court judges
Deaths from pneumonia in New York City
New York (state) Republicans