John Watkinson Douglass (1827–1909), was an American politician who served as the 6th president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia from 1889 to 1893 and as the 7th Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1871 to 1875. Prior to that, he was the acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1870 to 1871.

Early life

Born on October 25, 1827, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, J. W. Douglass was the son of Joseph M. Douglass (1834–1905) and Martha A. Watkinson Douglass. He was from a distinguished Pennsylvania family, descended from Paul Lily White, who had helped explore the state with

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...

and Col. John Douglass who fought with George Washington in the American Revolution. Douglass moved to

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 at ...

, Pennsylvania when he was 10 and graduated from the Erie Academy. He was apprenticed to the Hon. James Thompson and admitted to the bar of Erie in 1851.

Public Life

He became involved in Republican politics and campaigned hard for Abraham Lincoln, with whom he would later become friends, in 1860. He was awarded with an appointment as Collector of Internal Revenue for the 19th Pennsylvania district in Erie in 1861 when the internal revenue service was started. In 1869 he was promoted to 1st Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue, bringing him to Washington, DC. From October 1869 to January 1871 he was Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue; from August 9, 1871 to May 14, 1875 he was the Commissioner. His portrait was on an issue of tobacco revenue stamps in 1875. He then retired to private practice in Washington, DC. where he practiced law before the different courts of the District, the executive departments, the Court of Claims and the Supreme Court. He led the reorganization, streamlining and standardization of the Revenue Service, allowing them to cut the number of employees by more than 60%. He became friends with President Grant, who had wanted to place him on the Court of Claims, but no vacancy occurred. In 1889, he was appointed to the three-person Board of Commissioners by President Benjamin Harrison and was elected President of the Board. During his time he drafted a liquor license law that was passed by Congress.

Later life

He married Margaret Lyon (1830–1910). He died August 21, 1909 in Kent, CT, where he was visiting his daughters, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington. His son, George Lyon Douglass, was Speaker of Kansas House of Representatives in 1893.

References

1827 births 1909 deaths Commissioners of Internal Revenue Politicians from Washington, D.C. Members of the Board of Commissioners for the District of Columbia Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) 19th-century American politicians Grant administration personnel {{WashingtonDC-politician-stub