Eugene Ambrose Philbin (July 24, 1857 – March 14, 1920) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

from 1900 to 1901.

Early life

Eugene A. Philbin was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on July 24, 1857, the son of Stephen Philbin and Eliza (McGoldrick) Philbin. He attended

Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

, and graduated from Seton Hall College. In 1883, he entered

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

, graduated in 1885.

Career

After graduating from law school, he began practicing law with the firm of Ogden & Beekman. In 1894, he became the senior member of Philbin, Beekman & Menken. In August 1899, Philbin was appointed to the New York State Board of Charities to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Vinton Dahlgren (1869–1899, son of John A. Dahlgren). In December 1900, Philbin was appointed by Governor

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

as New York County D.A. to fill the vacancy caused by the removal from office of Asa Bird Gardiner. Philbin remained in office until the end of 1901. In 1904, then President Roosevelt appointed him to a citizens group investigating conditions at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

. In June 1904, Seton Hall conferred an honorary degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

on Philbin. In May 1905, he told the students at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

that the corrupt

New York City Police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

gets about one million dollars in graft per year. In October 1905, at the Democratic city convention, Philbin made the nominating speech for Mayor

George B. McClellan Jr. George Brinton McClellan Jr. (November 23, 1865November 30, 1940), was an American statesman, author, historian, and educator. The son of the American Civil War general and presidential candidate George B. McClellan, he was the 93rd Mayor of Ne ...

's re-election. From 1904 to 1919, Philbin was an active and influential member of the Marquette League, a New York City-based organization that raised funds for Catholic missions among Native Americans in western states. Also in 1904, he became a member of the

New York State Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depa ...

. He served until he resigned in 1913. In April 1913, Philbin was appointed by Gov.

William Sulzer William Sulzer (March 18, 1863 – November 6, 1941) was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state. Sulzer was the first, and to date ...

to the New York Supreme Court (1st D.) to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward E. McCall. In November 1913, he was elected to succeed himself, and in 1919 was appointed to the Appellate Division.

Personal life

On June 28, 1887, he married Jessie Holliday, and they had five children, including: * Jesse Holliday Philbin (d. 1978) In 1908, Pope Pius X made him a Knight Commander of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

. 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 severi ...

at his home at 63, West 52nd Street in Manhattan.

Descendants

Through his son Jesse, he was the grandfather of Jessie Holladay Philbin, who married Ledyard Blair Clark (1917–2000), the son of Judge

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

, in 1941.

Sources

;Notes ;Sources * ''Annual Reports'' of Marquette League from 1904 to 1919
Political Graveyard

State Court History
with portrait photo {{DEFAULTSORT:Philbin, Eugene Ambrose 1857 births 1920 deaths Seton Hall University alumni Columbia Law School alumni New York County District Attorneys Knights of St. Gregory the Great New York Supreme Court Justices Xavier High School (New York City) alumni Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia Deaths from pneumonia in New York City