Frank Harris Hiscock (April 16, 1856 – July 2, 1946) 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 * '' ...

. He was Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

from 1917 to 1926.

Biography

He was born in 1856 to

L. Harris Hiscock Luther Harris Hitchcock (May 2, 1824 – June 4, 1867) was a New York attorney, judge, and legislator. He was murdered by George W. Cole, a major general in the American Civil War and brother of Cornelius Cole. Biography Known as L. Harris Hi ...

, a lawyer and

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 ...

member who founded the Hiscock & Barclay law firm in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, and who was murdered on 4 June 1867, by General George W. Cole, a brother of

Cornelius Cole Cornelius Cole (September 17, 1822 – November 3, 1924) was an American politician who served a single term in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican Party (United States), Republican representing California from 1863 to 18 ...

. After his father's death, he was raised by his uncle, Frank Hiscock. Hiscock graduated B.A. from Cornell University in 1875, where he was a member of

The Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which wou ...

. He studied at Columbia Law School in 1877 and 1878 and became an attorney in 1878. He was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

from 1896 to 1913, on the Appellate Division, Fourth Department from 1901 to 1905. In 1906 Hiscock was appointed to an additional judge seat on the

under the Amendment of 1899. In

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

he ran on the Republican ticket for a regular seat, but was defeated. In

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

he ran again and was elected on the Republican and Independence League tickets to a 14-year term. He was

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

from 1917 to 1926, elected in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

on the Republican and

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

tickets. He retired from the bench at the end of 1926 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. Afterwards he served as Official Referee of the Court of Appeals, and resumed his law practice at Hiscock & Barclay until his retirement in 1935. Hiscock was first elected to the Cornell Board of Trustees by the alumni in 1889. He had the longest tenure as chairman, serving from 1917 to 1939. During that period, Cornell's endowment grew from $14 million to $32 million. Hiscock received honorary degrees from Williams College,

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, Columbia University and the University of the State of New York. His wife Mary Elizabeth Barnes Hiscock died in 1937 at age 80. They had two sons and a daughter. He retired from the Cornell Board of Trustees on May 5, 1946. He died in Syracuse on July 2, 1946 and was buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

Legacy

Hiscock left his house to charity and the resulting income presently funds the Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society, which provides legal assistance to indigent residents of Onondaga County. Hiscock Legal Aid Society
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References

External links

Candidates for the Supreme Court, with drawing, in 5 September 1895 issue of NYTAppointed to Supreme Court, in 14 January 1896 issue of NYTJudicial appointments, in 13 December 1905 issue of NYTThe candidates, in 10 October 1912 issue of NYTNominated for Court of Appeals, in 17 October 1913 issue of NYTElection result, in 15 November 1913 issue of NYTsketches of the candidates for Chief Judge, in 14 October 1916 issue of NYTElection result, in 9 November 1916 issue of NYT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiscock, Frank Harris 1856 births 1946 deaths Chief Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Politicians from Syracuse, New York New York Supreme Court Justices Cornell University alumni New York (state) Republicans New York (state) Progressives (1912) 20th-century American politicians United States Independence Party politicians Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York) Columbia Law School alumni Lawyers from Syracuse, New York