Joseph Fitch

Joseph Fitch (August 27, 1857 – April 7, 1917) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York. He served in the New York State Assembly from 1886 to 1887, representing Queens County's 1st District, and later served as a City Magistrate.

Early life Fitch was born on August 27, 1857, in Flushing, New York, the only child of businessman Joseph Fitch and Avis Leggett.

He attended the Flushing Institute and later Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1879. He then studied law in the office of Charles W. Pleasants in New York City from 1881 to 1882, while also taking classes at Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1882 and began practicing law in New York City. From 1880 to 1887, he served as Second Lieutenant of the Seventeenth Separate Company of the New York National Guard. He later became the senior member of the law firm Fitch, Moore & Swan.

Political career In 1885, Fitch was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Democrat, representing the Queens County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in 1886 and 1887. While in the Assembly, he originated and passed a bill that established the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery. In the 1894 United States House of Representatives election, he ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in New York's 1st congressional district. In 1908, he was appointed City Magistrate. He was buried in Flushing Cemetery.