John Anderson Bensel (August 16, 1863 – June 19, 1922) was an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

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 President of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1910. He was

New York State Engineer and Surveyor New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

from 1911 to 1914.

Biography

He was born on August 16, 1863, in New York City to Brownlee Bensel and Mary Maclay Hogg. He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1884, and became an assistant engineer with the Aqueduct Commission. Then he worked for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

, and from 1889 to 1895 was in charge of constructions on New York City's North River waterfront. In 1896, he married Ella Louise Day. The same year he became Consulting Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Department. In 1898, he became Chief Engineer of the New York City Dock Department, and in 1906 was appointed a Dock Commissioner. From 1908 to 1910, he was President of the New York City Board of Water Supply. He was

from 1911 to 1914, elected on the Democratic ticket in

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

and

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 ...

, but defeated for re-election in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. In 1914, he was investigated during

Charles S. Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to t ...

's graft investigation, but was cleared of all suspicions by his successor

Frank M. Williams Frank Martin Williams (April 11, 1873 – February 20, 1930) was an American lawyer, civil engineer and politician from New York. He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1909 to 1910, and from 1915 to 1922. Biography He was born on April ...

after the latter inspected the department's accounts in 1915. As a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, he commanded the 125th Battalion of Engineers of the U.S. Army during World War I. He died of myelitis on June 19, 1922, in Bernardsville, New Jersey at age 58. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Legacy

Bensel's New Jersey mansion, which was built in 1905 and was named "Queen Anne Farm", is now

Cross Estate Gardens Cross Estate Gardens, containing both formal and native plant gardens, is located at 61 Jockey Hollow Road in the borough of Bernardsville in Somerset County, New Jersey. It is part of the New Jersey Brigade Encampment Site of the Morristown Nation ...

and part of the

Morristown National Historic Park Morristown National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park, headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, consisting of four sites important during the American Revolutionary War: Jockey Hollow, the Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense a ...

. The surrounding grounds are open to visitors and contain a five-story stone water tower and a large Silver Maple tree planted by Bensel in 1906.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bensel, John Anderson 1863 births 1922 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery New York State Engineers and Surveyors Politicians from New York City American civil engineers Stevens Institute of Technology alumni United States Army officers People from Bernardsville, New Jersey Engineers from New Jersey Military personnel from New Jersey