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Here we present
a number of items on our grandfather
John Delehanty's elder and slightly more prominent first cousin.jpg) . Born in Hydeville,
Vermont, eight years before our
John and a few
miles south of John's birthplace in West Castleton,
James Andrew Delehanty lived rather a
different life than his younger cousin. Passing up the opportunity
to travel out West and work in its silver and lead mines for pennies per
day, clouds of toxic mine dust clogging
his lungs, he opted instead for law school, at
his father James's expense, becoming not a miner, a laborer, a soda salesman, or a
truck farmer, but a prominent New York City attorney. He also lived to
the ripe old age of 82. Our John lived almost exactly half as
long. (Right: James Andrew Delehanty in 1947, age 69,
from the New York Times, 27 April 1960)
We imagine
that they knew each other pretty
well as kids, though by the time John, at age 15, came under the legal
guardianship of his Uncle James (Oct 1902), James Andrew, age 24, had
already spent several years in Manhattan, where he lived the rest of his
exceptionally eventful life.
We begin with
his New York Times obituary, followed by a number of other items illustrating
the types of cases he was involved in -- and he was involved in some pretty amazing cases.
One of the most important things
we've learned from all this is that James A. Delehanty was a man of
impeccable integrity -- a virtue that we good reason to suspect was
instilled, in large measure, by his father James, who displayed the same
attribute throughout his life. Integrity was evidently a virtue
also shared by James's other children, including his son Dr. Nicholas J.
Delehanty and his three daughters who became Catholic nuns and helped to
co-found Trinity College in Bennington VT. We further suspect that
this virtue was also passed on to our grandfather John Delehanty -- not
by his father Mathias, who we doubt shared it, but by his Uncle James.
We suspect that John absorbed the lessons of integrity not by explicit
instruction, or by the wagging fingers of adults, but by observing very
carefully the world around him. James succeeded in business and
Mathias failed. James was a man of integrity and Mathias wasn't.
The lessons would've been pretty obvious. That's our strong sense,
anyway.
Many thanks to Peter Patten for sending us this obituary, and to
Joe Doran of Hydeville "as he found it on his pay/search NY
Times thingy." Thanks Joe!
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James A. Delehanty Dead at 81;
Ex-Surrogate, Lawyer for 61 Years
______________________________________________________
Presided at Police Trial in
Bribery by Gross — Aided Lieut. Becker
Prosecution
______________________________________________________
James A.
Delehanty, former surrogate who presided over a long
Police Department trial that ended in the dismissal of twenty-three
patrolmen in 1953, died yesterday of a heart ailment in St. Luke's
Hospital. He was 81 years old and lived at 120 East Seventy-ninth
Street.
Mr.
Delehanty retired as a Surrogate of New York County on Dec. 31,
1948, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. He then
became counsel for the law firm of Vaughan & Lyons, 70 Pine Street.
Sixty-one
years a lawyer, Mr. Delehanty had won early a reputation as a
prosecutor and a General Sessions judge. As an assistant district
attorney, he helped to prosecute the killers in the famous Herman
Rosenthal murder case in 1912.
An
austere-looking man with silvery hair, he was regarded by
colleagues as a person of absolute probity. He invariable wore a
stiff white collar and pince-nez and meted out stern but equitable
justice.
Deputy Police
Commissioner
It was
this kind of devotion to legal principle that led to his
appointment temporarily as Third Deputy Police Commissioner to conduct
trials of policemen accused of taking bribes from Harry Gross, the
bookmaker. Police Commissioner George P. Monaghan dismissed the
twenty-three policemen in 1953 after a six-months' departmental trial,
which produced evidence that they had been taking graft from Gross.
James
Andrew Delehanty was born in Hydeville, Vt., on August 3, 1878.
He received his LL. B. degree from New York Law School in 1898 and his
Master of Laws in 1899, when he was admitted to practice. He was
secretary to the late General Sessions Judge Thomas C. O'Sullivan from
1906 to 1910.
For the
next five years he was an assistant district attorney under
District Attorney Charles S. Whitman. In this capacity, he helped
to prepare the case against Police Lieut. Charles Becker, who was
accused of helping to arrange the murder by four thugs of Herman
Rosenthal, a notorious gambler.
Rosenthal
was shot to death on the sidewalk outside the Metropole Hotel on
West Forty-third Street on July 16, 1912. The four gunmen bore the
colorful nicknames of Whitey Lewis (Jacob Seidenshiner), Dago Frank
(Frank Cirofici), Lefty Louie (Louis Rosenberg) and Gyp the Blood (Harry
Horowitz).
They were
executed at Sing Sing Prison on April 13, 1914. Lieutenant
Becker, convicted of complicity, was executed July 30, 1915.
The
prosecution set forth that three gamblers, Bridgie Webber, Jack
Rose and Harry Vallon, had conspired to hire the four to kill Rosenthal.
After
District Attorney Whitman was elected Governor, he appointed Mr.
Delehanty in 1916 to fill a judgeship vacancy in General Sessions.
Running for election as a Republican and Reform candidate, Mr. Delehanty
was defeated by the Tammany Hall candidate, John P. McIntyre. He
lost a court suit in which he said that the ballot boxes had been
stuffed by Tammany adherents.
Mr.
Delehanty resumed law practice and lectured at Fordham University
Law School in 1917-1918. During World War I he served as assistant
alien property custodian. He then became a law partner of John A.
Loughran, who later became Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals.
Appointed by Lehman
Gov.
Herbert H. Lehman named Mr. Delehanty as a Surrogate of New York
County in January, 1933. The next November, Mr. Delehanty was
elected to a full fourteen-year term as a Tammany candidate endorsed by
the anti-Tammany fusion harmony committee. At the expiration of
that term in 1947, he was re-elected with Democratic, Republican and
Liberal party support, although he had only a year to serve before
reaching retirement age.
Mr.
Delehanty belonged to the Association of the Bar of the City of
New York, the New York County Lawyers Association, the American Bar
Association, the Surrogates Association of the State of New York, the
American Irish Historical Society and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
He leaves
his wife, Elizabeth J. Schaefer Delehanty; three daughters, Mrs.
Liam O'Connor, Mrs. Jeremiah P. Lyons and Mrs. Paul J. Weaver, and three
grandchildren. his son, Ambrose J. Delehanty, died in 1954.
(foregoing and below copyright New York Times Co.
Click on image to view full text)
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.jpg)
Above: West Castleton and Hydeville
along Lake Bomoseen,
Rutland County, Vermont.
Source: U.S.
Geological Survey, 1893, UNH Dimond Library
http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Rutland.htm
Below:
The Hatch House, James Andrew's boyhood home, about a half-mile north of
Hydeville along the Creek Road. Photograph via the kind
courtesy of Vy Manovill.
James Andrew Delehanty was also active in the fight
against trafficking in drugs like cocaine, as shown in many newspaper
stories, like this one:
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The New York
Times, January 17, 1913
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NEW COCAINE BILL ADDS TO PENALTIES
___________________
Provides 7-Year Term for Sale or
Possession by Unlicensed Persons---One Year Now
___________________
5 OUNCES TO A DRUGGIST
___________________
Who can
Sell Only in Solution, and Doctors Cannot Keep
More Than One Ounce---Approved by Many
___________________
A bill making the sale or possession of
cocaine by any unlicensed person in this city a
felony, punishable by seven years' imprisonment, has
been prepared by Assistant
District Attorney James A. Delehanty, and,
having received the indorsement of two Judges of General
Sessions, as well as many doctors and druggists, will be
introduced in the Assembly next Monday or Tuesday.
This bill was drafted at the
urgent request of those who have been waging a war
against the unlawful sale of cocaine, and was indorsed
by Judge Edward Swann of General Sessions after it
became apparent that the present law was ineffectual in
putting an end to the traffic. In order that no part of
the bill might be found unconstitutional, Mr. Delehanty
submitted it to Judge Otto A. Rosalsky in General
Sessions, who passed on it and said that the drafters of
the bill need have nothing to fear on that score.
The bill is indorsed by Clarence
A. Bigelow of the State Board of Pharmacy, Dr. H.C.
Lovis of the firm of Seabury & Johnson, manufacturers of
chemicals at 59 Maiden Lane; Thomas F. Main, President
of the wholesale drug firm of Tarrant & Co. At 164
Chambers Street; W.J. Schieffelin of Schieffelin & Co.,
manufacturing chemists, and one of the oldest firms in
the United States; Frank Holliday, general agent of the
national Wholesale Druggist's Association; Father James
B. Curry of St. James Rectory, 23 Oliver Street, and Dr.
Brooks H. Wells, President of the County Medical
Society. A copy of the bill has been sent to District
Attorney James C. Cropsey of Kings County.
Father Curry says that he
considers the bill a great improvement on the old law,
which, while it made the sale of cocaine a felony,
established a punishment of not more than one year in
the penitentiary or a fine of $5,000. Father Curry said
that he believed it was a great improvement over the old
law, also in that it struck directly at the wholesaler
and unscrupulous doctor. The present law was passed in
1907 and was amended to make possession of cocaine a
misdemeanor in 1910.
The bill drafted by Mr. Delehanty
not only makes the sale of the drug a felony and
possession of it by an unauthorized person a felony, but
even goes so far as to make it a misdemeanor for any
licensed druggist to have more than five ounces of
cocaine in his store at any one time. The punishment is
made seven years in prison for the felony charge, and
one year in the penitentiary and a fine of $5,000 under
the misdemeanor section.
In limiting druggists to five ounces
of cocaine the bill further states that they shall keep
the cocaine in one place and shall also keep a record of
every sale and cannot sell flake or crystal cocaine
free, but must put it in a solution or ointment which
shall not contain over 4 per cent cocaine. The bill also
provides that the druggist shall keep each prescription
for cocaine solutions offered and shall not refill the
prescription. The bill also limits the sale of a
solution to one ounce bottles.
The bill provides that doctors,
dentists and veterinarians must not keep more than one
ounce of cocaine in their possession at any one time,
and must keep a complete record of any disposition of
the drug. They must also have their books opened to
examination at all times. The bill provides as follows:
"It is made presumptive evidence
of an illegal sale if the amount shown by the amount on
hand, plus the amount legally dispensed with, does not
tally with the amount shown to have been purchased by
the retailer."
The failure to abide by this
section is made a misdemeanor.
In attempting to stop
the sale of
the drug in large quantities by wholesalers the new bill
provides that the wholesaler must keep a complete record
of the sale of every ounce of cocaine. This record must
include the name of the buyer, his occupation, and the
amount purchased. Provision is also made for an
inspection of these books by the Board of Health, agents
of the County Medical Society, and regular members of
the police force. It is also required that at the time
of the purchase the retailer must tell where the cocaine
is to be kept, so that it can be easily traced. Failure
to abide by any of these regulations is made a
misdemeanor.
The bill also provides that in
cases where a person is clearly shown to be a user of
the drug the Judge shall use his discretion in passing
sentence. It also provides that each package of cocaine
shall bear a serial number while in transit, and that
all provisions of the law must be fulfilled within
thirty days after passage.
(copyright New York Times, Inc.
Pasted from www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/e1910/newcocainebill.htm
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In fact,
a search for "James A. Delehanty"
on the "pay/search NY Times thingy" reveals
exactly 1,375 items from 1899 to 1960 containing that phrase.
Here we list them
all in chronological order, beginning on Jan 1, 1899.
Just kidding. But there are
some good ones. For example, here's the New York
Times's 15 Oct 1916 endorsement of James A. Delehanty for General
Sessions Judge:
(Thumbnail; copyright New York Times)
And here's an ad
that appeared three weeks
later, on 6 Nov 1916, supporting James A.'s candidacy:
(Thumbnail; copyright New York Times)
This guy really was a big wheel! And,
by all appearances, an ethically upstanding one. A genuinely
honest judge, in the days of Tammany Hall. There's a deeper story
here that we need to ferret out.
It also strikes us
that if James Delehanty left any kind papers behind -- and its hard to
believe he did not -- it would make a lot of sense to leave them with
James Andrew. Might they still exist? If so they might be in
the possession of one of his children or their families. Anyone
out there listening? Anyone got an old box in the attic relating
to James Delehanty or James Andrew Delehanty?
In this vein,
we thank a friend who sent the following about James Andrew Delehanty's
children and family:
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I have the
obits of all of James Andrew's children
except for his daughter Elizabeth, also have his
wife's and one of his son-in-law's. Some members of
this family were living in Spring Lake New Jersey as
late as the mid 1990s but think their main residences
were NYC. So far my research has shown that James A.
Delehanty(1878-1960) and my gr gr uncle, Thomas F.
Devine were very likely political cronys. I found a NY
Times article in which NYC's DA, an Edward Swann, was
furious with my gr gr and James accusing them of
plotting together to run him out of office. My gr gr
was an active member of the NYC Progressive Republican
Party and he was apparently trying to get James
Delehanty to change from Democrat to Republican so he
could run against this Edward Swann.
My interest is to learn more about my gr gr uncle
through the political activites of James A. Delehanty
and to learn more about James A. Delehanty's wife,
Elizabeth Schaefer Delehanty who may be connected to
the German side of my family. I did attempt to find
present day descendants by combing through the white
pages but got nowhere.
------
In this
email I'm sending you 4 obituaries, James'
wife, 2 of his daughters, Isabel Lyons and Alice
Weaver, also Jeremiah Lyons, husband of Isabel. Think
they're all from the NY Times. His wife died in 1963,
Jeremiah, I think in 1978, his daughters in 1993 and
94.
The Isabel Lyons one is in the middle of the page.
Alice Weaver's is to the far right.
I have had the same opinion of J A Delehanty, that he
managed to usually stay above the fray except for his
run in with NYC's DA. He would only have been in his
30s then so perhaps that was a learning experience for
him.
1.
Obituary of Elizabeth J. Shaefer Delehanty, Widow of James
Andrew Delehanty, New York Times, July 2, 1963.
Mrs. James
Delehanty. Mrs. Elizabeth J. Schaefer
Delehanty, widow of James A. Delehanty, surrogate of New
York County from 1933 to 1948, died Saturday in Fitkin
Memorial Hospital, Neptune, N.J., after a long illness.
She was 82 years old. Mrs. Delehanty lived at 301
East 47th Street and in Spring Lake, N. J.
Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Liam O'Connor, Mrs.
Jeremiah P. Lyons and Mrs. Paul J. Weaver, all of New
York and Spring Lake; three grandchildren, and one
great-grandchild.
2.
Obituary of Jermiah Lyons, the husband of Isabel Delehanty,
the daughter of James Andrew Delehanty and Elizabeth
Schaefer Delehanty, New York Times, July 19, 1963.
Jeremiah Lyons,
Lawyer, Once Aid to Surrogates. Jermiah P.
Lyons, a lawyer here for more than 35 years, died
Wednesday in Lenox Hill Hospital. He was 63 years
old and lived at 301 East 47th Streeet. Born in
New London, Conn., Mr. Lyons attended Rhode Island State
College and received his law degree in 1926 from Fordham
Law School. He had been a partner in Vaughan
& Lyons, a law firm at 70 Pine Street, since 1943.
From 1935 to 1943 he was law assistant to the
Surrogate's Court of New York County. He is
survived by his widow, the former Isabel Delehanty; and
three daughters, Mrs. Paul J. O'Neill Jr., Isabel
Bradley Lyons and Cornelia Hackett Lyons; a brother,
John, and a sister, Mrs. Hugh McDonnell.
3.
Obituary of Alice D. Weaver, daughter of James Andrew
Delehanty, New York Times, June 23, 1993.
WEAVER--Alice D. (nee
Delehanty), of New York City and Spring Lake, NJ, died
on June 20, 1993 at Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune
NJ. Mrs. Weaver, widow of Paul J. Weaver, was a
daughter of the late Hon. and Mrs. James A. Delehanty.
Judge Delehanty was a surrogate of New York County from
1933-1945. Mrs. Weaver was Head Librarian of Rare
Books and the History of Medicine at the New York
Academy of Medicine from 1953 until her retirement in
1979. She is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth D.
O'Connor and Isabel D. Lyons, both of Spring Lake.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the New York
Academy of Medicine.
4. Obituary of Isabel
Delehanty Lyons, daughter of James Andrew Delehanty, New
York Times, May 8, 1994.
LYONS--Isabel Delehanty, of
Spring Lake NJ, who passed away on May 6 at her home.
Isabel was a lifelong resident of N.Y.C., summering many
years in Spring Lake prior to moving there in 1987.
Devoted wife of the late Jeremiah P. who passed away in
1963. Jeremiah was a partner in the law firm of
Vaughan and Lyons, N.Y.C. Beloved mother of Sara
L. O'Neil, NYC and Spring Lake; Bradley L. Hundley,
Dallas, TX and Brielie, NJ; and Cornelia L. Bonhog,
Cranford, NJ. Also survived by one sister,
Elizabeth D. O'Neil, Spring Lake, five grandchildren and
one great grandson. Loving daughter of the late
Mrs. and Mrs. James A. Delehanty. James was the
surrogate of New York County from 1933 to 1948.
Funeral services Tuesday, 8:15 A.M., Meehan Funeral
Home, 555 Warren Ave, Spring Lake Hts NJ. Mass of
Christian burial 9 A.M. St Catherine's RC Church, Spring
Lake. Interment St Catherine's Cemetery.
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St Catharine's Cemetery,
Sea Girt, NJ
Final Resting Place
of James Andrew Delehanty and Family
The following graves and
headstones can be found clustered together in a section of
Saint Catharine's Cemetery, Sea Girt, Monmouth County, New
Jersey, as shown in the document of the same name, Part 5,
p. 195, kindly contributed to the USGenWeb Archives by
Raymond Martin <shurgun@comcast.net>
James Andrew
Delehanty, 1878-1960
Elizabeth Schaefer Delehanty, 1880-1963
Ambrose James Delehanty, 1902-1954
Ruth Delehanty Cavanagh, 1908-1956
Jeremiah Patrick Lyons, 1900-1963
Isabel Delehanty Lyons, 1912-1994
source:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nj/monmouth/cemetery/stcatharines05.txt,
accessed Sept 2007.
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Finally,
on the website
for Harvard Law School Library of Harvard University we find a
reference to correspondence from Liam O'Connor regarding his
father-in-law James A. Delehanty, in the Papers of Austin Wakeman Scott (1884-1981), Item No. 12-16 Miscellany -- whatever
the blazes that might be.
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