John Barry Stanchfield (March 13, 1855 – June 25, 1921) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a prominent litigator and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 1900.

Life

John Purroy Mitchel and James Watson Gerard and John Barry Stanchfield in 1917

John B. Stanchfield was born in Elmira, New York on March 13, 1855, the son of Dr. John K. Stanchfield. He graduated from Amherst College in 1876, and from Harvard Law School in 1878. He commenced the practice of law in Elmira in partnership with

David B. Hill David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897. In 1892, he made an u ...

, later Governor of New York (1885–1891). Afterwards he was a partner in the Elmira law firm of Reynolds, Stanchfield & Collin (named Sayles & Evans since 1945). Stanchfield was District Attorney of Chemung County from 1880 to 1885; and Mayor of Elmira, New York from 1886 to 1888. He married Clara S. Spaulding on September 2, 1886, and they had two children. He was a member of the New York State Assembly for Chemung Co. in

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

and

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

; and was Minority Leader in 1896. Afterwards he removed to

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 ...

, and became a partner in the

law firm of Chadbourne, Stanchfield & Levy (now Chadbourne & Parke). In the 1900 New York state election, he ran for Governor of New York, but was defeated by Republican Benjamin B. Odell Jr. In

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...

, Stanchfield was the Democratic candidate for

U.S. Senator from New York Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (Senators who were elected regularly before th ...

, but was defeated by the incumbent Republican Thomas C. Platt. Stanchfield was a delegate to the

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

and

1912 Democratic National Convention The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. The Convention The convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 t ...

s, and a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1915. He died of kidney failure at his home in

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...

at the age of 66, and was buried in Elmira.

Cases

Shortly after his removal to New York City, he appeared for

Richard Albert 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 ...

and secured the dismissal of an indictment, earning a fee of $30,000. In 1909, he defended F. Augustus Heinze against accusations of misapplying funds of the Mercantile National Bank, and received a fee of $800,000 after Heinze's acquittal. He represented the State of New York at the impeachment trial of Governor

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 ...

in 1913, and at the trial of the suspended Socialist assemblymen ( Louis Waldman, August Claessens, Charles Solomon) in 1920. In 1915, he secured the release of

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 ...

from the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

References

"John B. Stanchfield, Lawyer, Dies at 66"
in ''NYT'' on June 26, 1921

External links

at the Museum of the City of New York

(gives wrong year for U.S. Senate election) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanchfield, John B. 1855 births 1921 deaths Politicians from Elmira, New York Mayors of places in New York (state) Members of the New York State Assembly County district attorneys in New York (state) Amherst College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Deaths from kidney failure