Collector of the Port of New York

Last updated

Collector of the Port of New York
Seal of the U.S. Customs Service.svg
The Custom House, New York, 1799-1815.jpg
U.S. federal government appointment overview
Formed1789
Dissolved1966
TypeCollector of import duties on foreign goods
Jurisdiction Port of New York
Headquarters United States Custom House, New York City
Parent department United States Department of the Treasury

The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at the Port of New York.

Contents

The best-known individual to hold the position was Chester A. Arthur, who served as collector from 1871 to 1878 and who later served as the 21st president of the United States.

History

The first Collector, John Lamb, was appointed by George Washington in 1789. He had previously served as Collector of Customs for the State of New York from 1784.

The office was described as "the prize plum of Federal patronage not only in this State but perhaps in the country, outside of positions in the Cabinet." [1] Customs collections at US ports were overseen by three political appointees—the Collector, Surveyor, and Naval Officer. [2] [lower-alpha 1] Because they were originally paid based on a percentage system that factored in both customs collected and fines levied for those who attempted to evade payment, these appointments were very lucrative, especially those at the Port of New York, by far America's busiest port. [3] New York's Collector was the highest paid official of the federal government; as Collector from 1871 to 1878, Chester A. Arthur's compensation exceeded the modern equivalent of $1 million annually. The custom house staffs, especially at New York's Custom House were also political appointees, and were expected to contribute a portion of their salaries to the party to which they owed their appointments. [3]

Disputes over patronage at the Port of New York led to an ongoing feud from the 1860s to the 1880s between the party faction led by Roscoe Conkling and reformers who counted Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield among their number. [3] The attempts at reform that began in the 1870s led to the political appointees at each port being placed on salaries rather than the percentage system. The annual salary in 1920 was $12,000 (about $153,000 in 2019) plus about $8,000 in fees (about $102,000 in 2019). [4]

The position was abolished in 1966 when the structure of the United States Customs Service was changed. The last Collector, Joseph P. Kelly, was kept on temporarily as a consultant. [5]

List of collectors

PortraitNo.CollectorNominated byStart dateEnd dateComments
General John Lamb.jpg 1 John Lamb George Washington 17891797 [6]
Joshua Sands.jpg 2 Joshua Sands John Adams 17971801Confirmed May 19, 1797 [6]
David Gelston, 1744 - 1828.jpg 3 David Gelston Thomas Jefferson 18011820 [6]
4 Jonathan Thompson James Monroe 18201829 [6]
5 Samuel Swartwout Andrew Jackson 18291838Confirmed March 29, 1830. [6]
6 Jesse Hoyt Martin Van Buren 18381841 [6]
7 John J. Morgan Martin Van Buren 18411841 [6]
8 Edward Curtis William Henry Harrison 18411844 [6]
N/A Charles G. Ferris John Tyler --Rejected by the U.S. Senate [6]
Cornelius P Van Ness.jpg 9 Cornelius P. Van Ness John Tyler 18441845 [6]
Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence.jpg 10 Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence James K. Polk 18451849 [6]
Hugh Maxwell.jpg 11 Hugh Maxwell Zachary Taylor 18491853 [6]
Daniel Dickinson NY.jpg N/A Daniel S. Dickinson Franklin Pierce --Declined nomination [6]
GreeneCBronson.jpg 12 Greene C. Bronson Franklin Pierce 18531853 [6]
Heman J. Redfield.jpg 13 Heman J. Redfield Franklin Pierce 18531857Resigned July 1, 1857 [6]
Augustus Schell.jpg 14 Augustus Schell James Buchanan 18571861 [6]
Hiram Barney.jpg 15 Hiram Barney Abraham Lincoln 18611864Resigned [6]
Simeon Draper, Collector of the Port of New York.jpg 16 Simeon Draper Abraham Lincoln 18641865 [6]
Preston King.png 17 Preston King Andrew Johnson 18651865Committed suicide [6]
Charles P. Clinch (Collector of the Port of New York) 2.jpg N/A Charles P. Clinch N/A18651866Acting [6]
Henry A. Smythe, Esq. (cropped).jpg 18 Henry A. Smythe Andrew Johnson 18661869 [6]
Moses H. Grinnell.jpg 19 Moses H. Grinnell Ulysses S. Grant 18691870 [6]
Thomas Murphy (Collector of the Port of New York).jpg 20 Thomas Murphy Ulysses S. Grant 18701871 [6]
20 Chester Arthur 3x4.jpg 21 Chester A. Arthur Ulysses S. Grant 18711878 [6]
Theodore Roosevelt Sr.gif N/A Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Rutherford B. Hayes --Rejected by U.S. Senate
Edwin Atkins Merritt.png 22 Edwin Atkins Merritt Rutherford B. Hayes 18781881
WilliamHRobertson.jpg 23 William H. Robertson James A. Garfield 18811885Nominated March 24, 1881
Edward L. Hedden (Collector of the Port of New York).jpg 24 Edward L. Hedden Grover Cleveland 18851886
Daniel Magone.jpg 25 Daniel Magone Grover Cleveland 18861889
Joel B. Erhardt.jpg 26 Joel Erhardt Benjamin Harrison 18891891
J. S. Fassett (cropped).jpg 27 Jacob Sloat Fassett Benjamin Harrison 18911891
FrancisHendricks.jpg 28 Francis Hendricks Benjamin Harrison 18911893 [7] [8]
James T. Kilbreth (New York politician and judge).jpg 29 James Truesdell Kilbreth Grover Cleveland 18931897Died in office [9] [lower-alpha 2]
George R. Bidwell (Collector of the Port of New York).jpg 30 George R. Bidwell William McKinley 18971902 [10]
Nevada N. Stranahan.jpg 31 Nevada Stranahan Theodore Roosevelt 19021907Resigned due to ill health
N/A Henry C. Stuart N/A19071907Acting
32 Edward S. Fowler Theodore Roosevelt 19071909
William Loeb Jr cph.3a01288 (cropped).jpg 33 William Loeb Jr. William Howard Taft 19091913
John Purroy Mitchel on May 11, 1914 at the memorial for the Veracruz dead.png 34 John Purroy Mitchel Woodrow Wilson 19131913Elected Mayor of New York City [11] [12]
Dudley Field Malone.jpg 35 Dudley Field Malone Woodrow Wilson 19131917 [13]
Byron Rufus Newton in 1917.jpg 36 Byron Rufus Newton Woodrow Wilson 19171921 [14]
George Washington Aldridge II.png 37 George W. Aldridge Warren G. Harding 19211922Died in office [1]
H.C. Stuart, outgoing New York Collector of the Port.jpg N/A Henry C. Stuart N/A19221923Acting [15]
Philip Elting (LOC).jpg 38 Philip Elting Calvin Coolidge 19231933 [16]
39 Harry M. Durning Franklin D. Roosevelt 19331953 [lower-alpha 3]
40 Robert Wharton Dill Dwight D. Eisenhower 19531961
41 Joseph P. Kelly John F. Kennedy 19611966 [17]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Naval Officer was a political appointee, not a military one. The position was called "naval" because the incumbent was expected to board and inspect ships to aid the Surveyor and Collector in estimating the duties owed.
  2. ↑ A private act of the 58th United States Congress in March 1904, indemnified James T. Kilbreth (posthumously), George R. Bidwell, and Nevada N. Stranahan as collectors of customs for the district and port of New York for the losses through embezzlement by Byram W. Winters, a customs service clerk. Stranahan received a refund in the sum of $8,821.44 from the federal government, having personally settled the entire amount of the fraud.
  3. ↑ Harry M. Durning was the defendant in the case of Dioguardi v. Durning, 139 F.2d 774 (2d Cir. 1944), which is frequently used in Civil Procedure courses as a starting point to teach pleadings under the modern approach of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act</span> 1883 United States federal law

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act is a United States federal law passed by the 47th United States Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on January 16, 1883. The act mandates that most positions within the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political patronage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is a government building, museum, and former custom house at 1 Bowling Green, near the southern end of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Designed by Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style, it was erected from 1902 to 1907 by the government of the United States as a headquarters for the Port of New York's duty collection operations. The building contains the George Gustav Heye Center museum, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the New York regional offices of the National Archives. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stalwarts (politics)</span> Faction of the U.S. Republican Party, 1870s–1880s

The Stalwarts were a faction of the Republican Party that existed briefly in the United States during and after Reconstruction and the Gilded Age during the 1870s and 1880s. Led by U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling—also known as "Lord Roscoe"—Stalwarts were sometimes called Conklingites. Other notable Stalwarts included Benjamin Wade, Charles J. Folger, George C. Gorham, Chester A. Arthur, Thomas C. Platt, and Leonidas C. Houk. The faction favored Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of the United States (1869–1877), running for a third term in the 1880 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roscoe Conkling</span> American politician (1829–1888)

Roscoe Conkling was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

Senatorial courtesy is a long-standing, unwritten, unofficial, and nonbinding constitutional convention in the U.S. describing the tendency of U.S. senators to support a Senate colleague opposing the appointment to federal office of a nominee from that senator's state. The practice is motivated by a general sense of collegiality among senators and the assumption that a Senate colleague will have the best first-hand knowledge of the personal character and qualifications of a nominee from the senator's own state. It is also viewed as an "important source of political patronage" for U.S. senators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Customs</span> Former customs department of the UK

HM Customs was the national Customs service of England until a merger with the Department of Excise in 1909. The phrase 'HM Customs', in use since the Middle Ages, referred both to the customs dues themselves and to the office of state established for their collection, assessment and administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abram Wakeman</span> American attorney, businessman and politician

Abram Wakeman was an attorney, businessman, and politician from New York City. An important figure in the creation of the Republican Party in the mid-1850s, and a supporter of the Union during the American Civil War, he was most notable for his service as a U.S. Representative from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Fiero Russell</span> American politician

William Fiero Russell was an American banker who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1857 to 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George H. Sharpe</span> American politician (1828–1900)

George Henry Sharpe was an American lawyer, soldier, Secret Service officer, diplomat, politician, and Member of the Board of General Appraisers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada N. Stranahan</span> American politician

Nevada N. Stranahan was a Collector of the Port of New York who was born in Oswego County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester A. Arthur</span> President of the United States from 1881 to 1885

Chester Alan Arthur was an American politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican lawyer from New York who briefly served as the 20th vice president under President James A. Garfield. Arthur assumed the presidency after Garfield's death on September 19, 1881, and served the remainder of his term until March 4, 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Atkins Merritt</span> American politician

Edwin Atkins Merritt was an American politician, civil service reformer and diplomat. He served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, and was a brigadier general in the New York Militia. In addition, he served in the New York State Assembly, and held the appointive post of Collector of the Port of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Custom House (New York City)</span> Office for imports assessment

The United States Custom House, sometimes referred to as the New York Custom House, was the place where the United States Customs Service collected federal customs duties on imported goods within New York City.

The United States Customs District of Salem and Beverly was an administrative area for the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at the ports of Salem and Beverly. Established in 1789, it was abolished in 1913. Today the ports of Salem and Beverly are serviced by the Port of Gloucester, which is administered by the Boston Customs District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry A. Smythe</span>

Henry Augustus Smythe was an American politician who served as a Collector of Customs from 1866 to 1869.

According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, a political appointee is "any employee who is appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head". As of 2016, there were around 4,000 political appointment positions which an incoming administration needs to review, and fill or confirm, of which about 1,200 require Senate confirmation. The White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) is one of the offices most responsible for political appointees and for assessing candidates to work at or for the White House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph A. Maynard</span>

Joseph A. Maynard was an American political figure who served as chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George R. Bidwell</span>

George R. Bidwell was a pioneering bicycle salesman and manufacturer. Active in politics as a Republican, from July 14, 1897, to April 3, 1902, he was Collector of the Port of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles P. Clinch</span> American government official and author

Charles Powell Clinch was an American playwright and public official. A longtime appointed official at the U.S. Custom House in New York City, he was most notable for his service as acting Collector of the Port of New York from 1865 to 1866.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Truesdell Kilbreth</span> American attorney and public official

James Truesdell Kilbreth was a lawyer, judge and political figure who served as Collector of the Port of New York, an important federal government post in pre-Sixteenth Amendment times, when customs duties and excise taxes were the primary sources of US federal government revenue.

References

  1. 1 2 "George W. Aldridge Dies As He Golfs At Westchester Club – Collector of Port, 65, and Seemingly Hale, Stricken With Apoplexy – Sinks Without a Word – Charles D. Hilles and George Sweeny Near Rochester Leader as Death Comes – Ends Picturesque Career – Last Survivor of Big Three, Including Platt and Hendricks – Body to Be Taken Home Today" (PDF). The New York Times. June 14, 1922. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  2. ↑ US Congress (1875). Revised Statutes of the United States Passed at the First Session of the Forty-Third Congress. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 523.
  3. 1 2 3 Campbell, Ballard C. (2008). Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History . New York, NY: Facts on File. pp.  152–153. ISBN   978-1-4381-3012-5.
  4. ↑ "Open Season Now For Job Hunters – Local Republican Leaders Preparing to Fill Offices Under New Administration – Many Fine Federal Plums – Scores of Places Under State Rule Will Also Fall to Faithful Party Workers" (PDF). The New York Times. November 9, 1920. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  5. ↑ Bamberger, Werner (June 19, 1966). "New Chief Cites Customs Aim Here – Stramiello Declares He Will Strive to Improve Service". The New York Times.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "New-York's Customs Officers: The Collectors, Naval Officers, and Surveyors Since the Foundation of the Government". The New York Times . July 20, 1878. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via TimesMachine.
  7. ↑ "Collector Hendricks Now; Mr. Fassett's Successor Sworn In And In Charge. He Looks Through The Departments Intent On "Learning The Business" - Rumors Of Changes - Other Custom House Matters" (PDF). The New York Times. September 29, 1891.
  8. ↑ "Francis Hendricks, Politician, Dies At 86 - Former Republican Leader of Central New York and ex-State Senator" (PDF). The New York Times. June 10, 1920. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  9. ↑ "New-York Offices Filled - James T. Kilbreth Collector , Walter H. Bunn Appraiser" (PDF). The New York Times. July 29, 1893. p. 1. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Appointments By Bidwell – New Collector of the Port Begins Work – Joseph J. Couch Is Special Deputy" (PDF). The New York Times. July 15, 1897.
  11. ↑ "Monthly Bulletin – The Federal Service". Good Government. 30 (11): 99. November 1913. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Mitchel In Office As Port Collector Loeb, Retiring, Wishes Him Well – McAneny and Steers There as He Is Sworn In – Still in Mayoralty Fight – Politicians Say His Federal Appointment Can't Keep Him Out and Will Help Him". The New York Times. June 8, 1913. p. C4. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Malone Nominated As Port Collector – O'Gorman's Son-in-Law to Succeed Mitchel – Senator, Avoiding Comment, Tells a Story – Wilson's Personal Choice – Appointment Thought to Show Satisfaction at Tammany's Defeat – Splendid Selection, Says Mitchel" (PDF). The New York Times. November 11, 1913.
  14. ↑ "Growth Of New York Port; Collector Newton Says This Is World's Greatest Commerce Centre" (PDF). The New York Times. June 28, 1918.
  15. ↑ "Henry C. Stuart, Customs Aide – Assistant Collector of Port of New York for 15 Years Is Dead Here at 73 – In U.S. Service 47 Years – Considered Authority on Laws of His Department – Honored on Retirement in '37". The New York Times. May 14, 1938. p. 15. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Philip Elting, Once Collector of Port – Chairman of Ulster County Republicans Since 1904 Held Post Here, 1923 to 1933 – Dies in Kingston at 77 – Descendant of 9 Generations of Ulster County Residents – Leader at Conventions". The New York Times. July 21, 1941. p. 15. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  17. ↑ NEW IMPOST CHIEF; Kelly Sworn as Port's 41st Collector of Customs in The New York Times on July 6, 1961 (subscription required)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.