Simon Wolfe Rosendale (June 23, 1842 – April 22, 1937) was an American lawyer and politician. Rosendale was the first Jew elected to a statewide elective office in

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 * '' ...

Life

He was born on June 23, 1842, in Albany, New York. He graduated from

Barre Academy Barre Academy was a school in Barre, Vermont in operation from 1852 to 1885. The institution was incorporated by the Vermont Legislature in 1849. The school building was constructed in 1852, and the school "opened on September 1, 1852 for the fall ...

. Then he studied law at the office of Courtney & Cassidy in Albany. He was admitted to the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

in 1863 and became an assistant district attorney of

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

. In 1868, he was elected Recorder of Albany and held that office for four years. From 1878 to 1881, he was Corporation Counsel of Albany. In 1881 he formed a partnership with

Rufus Wheeler Peckham Rufus W. Peckham (November 8, 1838 – October 24, 1909) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1895 to 1909, and is the most recent Democratic nominee approved by a Republican-majorit ...

, and after Peckham's election to the state bench, he continued his law practice with Albert Hessberg. As a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was New York State Attorney General from 1892 to 1893, elected in

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

but defeated for re-election in

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

. In 1895, he published ''The Involution of Wampum as Currency: the Story Told By the Colonial Ordinances of New Netherland, 1641-1662''. Governor Theodore Roosevelt appointed him in 1899 to the State Board of Charities, a post he held for 18 years. In 1919, he was one of 31 prominent Jews who signed an Anti- Zionist Memorandum given to President Woodrow Wilson, to be presented to the Versailles Peace Conference, stating their opinion against the foundation of a Jewish state in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

.Full text of the memorandum in th
''Palestine Encyclopedia''
, Rosendale is listed as signer no. 3 He died on April 22, 1937, in Albany, New York, at age 94.

Affiliations

For ten years was president of the court of appeals of the Order of B'nai B'rith. He was for a number of years a member of the executive board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. He was chairman of the convention in Philadelphia in 1888, at which the Jewish Publication Society of America was organized, and was a vice-president of the American Jewish Historical Society. He was President of the Board of Governors of Union College, President of the Board of Trustees of

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, which ...

, and Governor of the Albany City Hospital.

Life

Affiliations

See also

References

Further reading