Benjamin Kinsman Phelps (September 16, 1832 – December 30, 1880 in New York City) was an American lawyer and

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

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

Phelps was born in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts on September 16, 1832. He was the only child of the Rev. Dudley Phelps (1797–1849), a Congregational clergyman, and Ann (

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 ...

Kinsman) Phelps (1808–1834). He attended Andover Theological Seminary, and graduated from Yale College in 1853.

Career

After graduation from Yale, he studied law in

Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Hillsborough County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 422,937, almost one-third the population of the entire state. Its county seats are Manchester and Nashua, the state's ...

and Westchester County, New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1855 in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1856, he removed to New York City and practiced law there in partnership with his Yale classmate Sherman W. Knevals. From 1866 to 1870, Phelps was an Assistant

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

. In 1869, he was sent to North Carolina to take charge of the proceedings against the officers of the

USS Hornet Eight ships of the United States Navy have been named USS ''Hornet'', after the stinging insect: * , a 10-gun sloop commissioned in 1775, served in the American Revolutionary War. * , also a 10-gun sloop, took part in the First Barbary War. * , ...

, charged with a violation of the Neutrality laws. In 1872, he formed a new law firm "Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom" with Chester A. Arthur, his old partner Knevals, and Rastus S. Ransom, who served as Surrogate of New York from 1887 to 1893. In November 1872, Phelps was elected on the Republican ticket New York County District Attorney, and remained in office until his death, being re-elected in 1875 and 1878. In 1875, Carlotta Frances Shotwell testified before the Assembly Committee on Crime in New York City about the legal abuses in her 1874 trial. It came out in these proceedings that District Attorney Phelps was tied to the Tammany Hall political machine under which many prominent defendants were not pursued vigorously by the District Attorney.
A General Betrayal
'; 2016; BIG BYTE BOOKS

Personal life

In October 1857, Phelps married Hannah Maria Catlin (1831–1880), a daughter of Mary (née Fisher) Catlin and Lt. Gov.

Julius Catlin Julius Catlin (December 14, 1798 – April 23, 1888) was an American politician who was the 49th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1858 to 1861. His estate was valued at $726,000 at his death in 1888. Early life Catlin was born on Decembe ...

, and they had three children, including: * Mary Cutler Phelps (b. 1858) * Dudley Farley Phelps (1861–1952), an attorney who married Margaret G. Burnet. * Anna Kinsman Phelps (b. 1865), who married William Hutchinson Merrill (1860–1913) in 1901. In October 1880, Phelps became ill, and never fully recovered. His wife died on December 21, and Phelps himself died nine days later of " internal hemorrhage" at his residence at 101 West 47th Street. Phelps was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York).

References

External links

*
Hannah Maria Catlin Phelps papers
at Yale University {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Benjamin Kinsman 1832 births 1880 deaths New York County District Attorneys Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts People from Hillsborough County, New Hampshire People from Westchester County, New York Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York Yale College alumni Chester A. Arthur Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) New York (state) Republicans