Charles Seymour Whitman

Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868 – March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to the 1916 Republican National Convention. He had previously served as deputy and New York County District Attorney, in addition to state judge.

Early life, education and career Whitman was born in Hanover, Connecticut on September 29, 1868, the son of John Seymour Whitman (1833–1909) and Olivia (née Arne) Whitman (1831–1904).

He graduated from Amherst College in 1890. Whitman studied law at New York University School of Law where he graduated in 1894. He was admitted to the bar later that year, and set up a practice in New York City.

Career In 1901, he was appointed assistant corporation counsel of New York County, New York. He was next elected as city magistrate. In this capacity, he founded the Night Court for the immediate trial of all offenders arrested at night.

In 1907, Governor Charles Evans Hughes appointed Whitman as a judge of the Court of Sessions. The following year Hughes appointed him as deputy state attorney general in the investigation of election frauds in northern New York.

New York County District Attorney In 1909, Whitman was elected as New York County District Attorney on a Fusion ticket. In this capacity, he secured representation of the District Attorney's staff in the city magistrate's office. He was also known for his vigorous prosecution of arson offenders, which contributed to a decline in such fires. to December 1918. His principal plank was the reformation of the state finances. He reorganized state departments and conducted a thorough investigation of the salaries of civil service employees.

In 1916, Whitman won re-election as governor against reform Democrat Judge Samuel Seabury. After his election, he sent a report of his first term as governor to every registered voter; it included reports of the heads of his state departments. He also inaugurated a state constabulary.

After the United States entered into World War I, Whitman established a new state guard to replace the National Guard, which was on service in France. In 1916, he was elected as chairman of the Republican National Convention, where he urged the nomination of former New York Governor Hughes for President of the United States.

In 1918, Whitman was defeated for re-election by Democrat Al Smith (then President of the New York City Board of Aldermen and associated with Tammany Hall). Smith drew from the growing strength of recent immigrants and their descendants.

Personal life In 1908, Whitman was married to Olive Hitchcock (1880–1928). Together, they were the parents of:

Olive Whitman

He died on March 29, 1947, in Manhattan.

Legacy His portrait was painted in 1921 by the Swiss-born American portrait painter Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947) and is the property of the New York State Capitol at Albany; Müller-Ury had previously painted a portrait of his baby daughter, Olive (the future Mrs Parsons), which was much admired when exhibited, and was given by her to the Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, where it now hangs at Green Animals.

Literary treatment

Whitman is a character in E.L. Doctorow's historical novel Ragtime (although he does not figure significantly in the later film based on the novel).

Descendants His grandson, former First Gentleman of New Jersey John Russell Whitman (1944–2015), married Christine Todd (b. 1946), who served as a Republican Governor of New Jersey and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.