Samuel Seabury (February 22, 1873 – May 7, 1958) 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 * '' ...

. Seabury is famous for dedicating himself to a campaign against the corrupt Tammany dominance of New York City politics. He later presided over the extensive 1930–32 investigations of corruption in the New York City municipal government, which became known as the 'Seabury Hearings'. Seabury became a

Georgist Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from Land (economics), ...

after reading ''

Progress and Poverty ''Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy'' is an 1879 book by social theorist and economist Henry George. It is a treatise on the questions of why pover ...

''.

Family

A descendant of several Anglican priests (including the first American Episcopal bishop,

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist ...

, whose portrait later hung over the fireplace in his library), this Samuel Seabury was the son of William Jones Seabury, professor of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

(and himself the son of theologian

), and Alice Van Wyck Beare. On June 6, 1900, this Sam Seabury married Maud Richey (d. 1950), daughter of Episcopal priest and seminary professor

Thomas Richey Thomas Richey (November 1, 1831 — June 3, 1905) was a prominent Irish-American Anglo-Catholic priest, professor, and author in the Episcopal Church. He was born in Newry, County Down, in Ireland and had settled in Pittsburgh by 1847, following hi ...

. They had no children.

Legal and judicial career

Seabury graduated from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include ...

in 1893, and was admitted to the bar in 1894. In 1899, he ran on the Independent Labor, Republican, and other minor parties', tickets for the New York City Court but was defeated by the

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

candidate. In 1901, Seabury ran again for the City Court, this time on the

Citizens Union Citizens Union is a New York City-based good government group founded in 1897 to combat the influences of the Tammany Hall political machine. J. Pierpont Morgan, Benjamin Altman, Elihu Root, and Carl Schurz numbered among its 165 founders. In 1987 ...

ticket, and was elected to a ten-year term. In 1905, Seabury ran for 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 ...

(actually a trial court) on the Municipal Ownership League ticket headed by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

for Mayor, but was defeated. In 1906, he ran again, this time on the Democratic and

Independence League The Independence Party, established as the Independence League, was a short-lived minor American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor to the Munici ...

fusion ticket headed by Hearst for Governor, and was elected to a fourteen-year term. In

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

, Seabury ran on the Progressive ticket for 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 ...

, the state's highest court, but was defeated. The following year, he ran again, this time on the Democratic, Progressive,

, and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

tickets, and was elected to a fourteen-year term, becoming the only Democrat elected that year. On December 8, 1914, Seabury was appointed to the Court of Appeals three weeks before his elective term would begin, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

William B. Hornblower William Butler Hornblower (May 13, 1851 – June 16, 1914) was a New York jurist who was unsuccessfully nominated to the United States Supreme Court by President Grover Cleveland in 1893. Early life and education William Butler Hornblower wa ...

. 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. * J ...

, the Democrats nominated Seabury for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor h ...

. He resigned from the bench believing that the Progressive Party would nominate him too, based on what he thought were promises by

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 ...

. The Progressives, however, endorsed Republican incumbent Charles S. Whitman after Roosevelt told them that "no Progressive should vote for Seabury." Seabury supposedly responded by calling Roosevelt a
blatherskite
to his face. Whitman defeated Seabury. Seabury then resumed his private law practice. Active in the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

with William Nelson Cromwell, Seabury succeeded Cromwell as that organization's president from 1939–1941. In 1930–1932, Seabury became lead investigator of the Hofstadter Committee (sometimes called the Seabury Investigations), a joint legislative committee which investigated corruption in New York's municipal courts and police department and called over a thousand witnesses. Those investigations forced

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced t ...

out of the office of

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

. In 1950, Seabury published ''The New Federalism'', expressing doubts about increasing governmental power.

Investigative technique

Seabury's chief counsel, Isidore Kresel, pioneered the innovative investigative technique that Seabury used in his investigations of Tammany Hall during the Seabury Commission. This technique has since become standard. Prior to this technique, an investigative commission or committee relied on interviews and public testimony from confessors to inform on decisions and outcomes of investigations. Kresel's method relied, instead, on gathering incredible amounts of facts pertaining to the investigation, including bank account documents, brokerage accounts, leases, title records, and income tax returns, and then using these documents to confront a witness during questioning.

Death and legacy

An invalid for several years, Seabury died at Hand's Nursing Home in East Hampton. He was buried in the graveyard of

Trinity Church (Manhattan) Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and e ...

. In 1932, Seabury received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." A park was named to honor Judge Seabury. On the corner of 96th street and

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along i ...

, it was renovated in 2005–2006.

References

External links

Court of Appeals judges
at New York Court History
''Great American Judges''
by John R. Vile, Kermit Hall & John R. Vile (ABC-CLIO, 2003, , ; pages 683ff) ith portraitbr>ownership and operation of public utilities in New York City''
at the Internet Archive Municipal ownership and operation of public utilities in New York City {{DEFAULTSORT:Seabury, Samuel 1873 births 1958 deaths Politicians from New York City Judges of the New York Court of Appeals New York Supreme Court Justices New York Law School alumni New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Progressives (1912) 20th-century American politicians American Party (1914) politicians Georgists Presidents of the New York City Bar Association Lawyers from New York City