William Travers Jerome (April 18, 1859 – February 13, 1934) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

William Travers Jerome was born in

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 ...

on April 18, 1859. He was the son of Lawrence Jerome (1820–1888, Collector of the Port of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

under President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, NYC Alderman 1871) and Kate (Hall) Jerome. Financier

Leonard Jerome Leonard Walter Jerome (November 3, 1817 – March 3, 1891) was an American financier in Brooklyn, New York, and the maternal grandfather of Winston Churchill. Early life Leonard Jerome was born in Pompey in Onondaga County, New York, on Novembe ...

was his uncle,

Jennie Jerome Jennie Spencer-Churchill (; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Earl ...

was his first cousin, and U.K. Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

was his first cousin once removed. He attended Amherst College but left in 1881 without graduation. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1884, and commenced practice in New York City.

Career

From 1888 to 1890, he was a Deputy Assistant D.A. under John R. Fellows. From 1894 to 1895, he worked for the Lexow Committee. In 1894, he managed the successful campaign of William L. Strong for Mayor of New York City. In 1895, the Court of Special Sessions was re-organized, legislating out of office the six incumbent justices. On July 1, 1895, Jerome took office as one of the first five new justices of the re-organized court. He was

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

from 1902 to 1909, elected in 1901 on the Fusion ticket headed by

Seth Low Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...

. As D.A. he led a campaign against political corruption and crime, often leading raids personally, notably the one against the gambling house of

Richard 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 ...

. On October 13, 1905, the Republican county convention nominated Judge Charles A. Flammer for D.A. with a vote of 237 to 9. Flammer declined to run, and on October 27 the county convention met again and nominated Jerome in place of Flammer unanimously. However, it was too late to change the names on the ballots, the limit being 20 days before the election. Thus Jerome was re-elected with a plurality of about 4,000 votes as an Independent, while Flammer received more than 12,000 votes on the Republican ticket. In 1907 and 1908, Jerome prosecuted

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 ...

for the murder of

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...

. In September 1910, Jerome defended successfully former State Engineer Frederick Skene against charges of

grand larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engl ...

in office.

Personal life

On May 9, 1888, he married Lavinia Taylor Howe, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and their son was William Travers Jerome, Jr. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on February 13, 1934 at his townhouse 125 East 36th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Sources

''LAWRENCE JEROME DEAD''
his father's obit, in NYT on August 13, 1888
''COURT IN THE CORRIDOR''
in NYT on July 2, 1895
''GREATER NEW YORK DEMOCRACY'S CONVENTION''
in NYT on October 2, 1901
''VICTORY FOR THE FUSION TICKET''
in NYT on November 6, 1901
''FLAMMER IS NAMED''
in NYT on October 14, 1905
''REPUBLICAN CONVENTION UNANIMOUS FOR JEROME''
in NYT on October 28, 1905
''JEROME; Elected District Attorney by 3,525''
in NYT on November 8, 1905
''SKENE'S ASSISTANT BEGINS TESTIMONY''
in NYT on September 3, 1910
''ACCUSER OF SKENE CALLED A PERJURER''
in NYT on September 6, 1910
''JEROME SAYS SKENE WAS TAMMANY'S DUPE''
in NYT on September 8, 1910
''JURY ACQUITS SKENE''
in NYT on September 9, 1910
''MRS. W. T. JEROME HURT IN AUT0 CRASH''
in NYT on September 26, 1921

in NYT on February 14, 1934 (subscription required)

his widow's obit, in NYT on June 1, 1934 (subscription required)

External links

A Fight for the City
by Alfred Hodder, a novel centered around Jerome's 1901 campaign including first hand chronicles of his campaign. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerome, William Travers 1859 births 1934 deaths New York County District Attorneys Amherst College alumni New York (state) state court judges Deaths from pneumonia in New York City New York (state) Republicans