Augustus Schell (NYPL Hades-255744-430771)

Augustus Schell (August 1, 1812 – March 27, 1884) was a New York politician and lawyer. He was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1872 to 1876.

Early life

Schell was born on August 1, 1812, in Rhinebeck, New York. He was the son of Christian Schell (1779–1825), a merchant, and Elizabeth ( née Hughes) Schell (1783–1866). He was the brother of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Richard Schell Richard Schell (May 15, 1810 – November 10, 1879) was an American politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1874 to 1875. Early life Schell was born in Rhinebeck, New York on May 15, 1810. He was ...

(1810–1879), Robert Schell (1815–1900), and Edward Schell (1819–1893), who were well-known business men of New York City. His paternal grandparents were Richard Schell and Anna (née Schultz) Schell. He was educated at Rhinebeck Academy and Wesleyan Seminary. He was graduated in 1830 from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

with

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

honors and membership in the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

, and then studied at

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Wh ...

Career

He was admitted to the bar in 1833, and started a practice in New York City at the firm of John Slossom, later forming a firm with Slossom in 1842. He started out as an early expert in the then new field of corporate law and through his profession became active in railroad management. A friend of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

, he gradually expanded his railroad connections through investments as well as legal counsel. He was a director in many railroad and financial corporations, including the

Harlem Railroad The New York and Harlem Railroad (now the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line) was one of the first railroads in the United States, and was the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and ...

, Lake Shore and Michigan Central, and

Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

s as well as the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. He was also active in the management of philanthropic institutions, including 19 years as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

Political career

An active

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he joined

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

in 1852 where, after

William M. Tweed William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany ...

's fall, he succeeded August Belmont, Sr. as Grand Sachem in 1870. He was head of the Democratic state committee from 1853 to 1856. In the

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

, he was proposed as the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York, although he lost the nomination to

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...

, who was elected Governor. During the administration of President James Buchanan, he was collector of the Port of New York. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee that supported

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

for the presidency in 1860 and also from 1872 to 1876, where he managed Horace Greeley's

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

. In 1872, his name was again put forth for the nomination for Democratic candidate for Governor, but he was prevented by the work of Samuel Jones Tilden, who was then the Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee. After the trial of William M. Tweed and his associates, Schell became the Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall and labored for the purification and rehabilitation of the Tammany society. In 1878, he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor.

Personal life

Schell was married to Anna Mott Fox (1827–1905), the daughter of George Shotwell Fox and Rebecca Leggett Fox. At his death, he was worth several million dollars, but having had no children, he left all of his money to his nieces and nephews, except for $200,000 in cash and his home at 9 West 34th Street in New York City to his wife, the aunt of Austen George Fox. He died on March 27, 1884, from

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Legacy

Augustus Schell is the namesake of Schell City, Missouri, of which he was one of the original proprietors.

References

;Notes ;Sources
Bio from PictureHistory
* *
Memoir of the Hon. Augustus Schell
'. 1884. Francis Schell, author.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schell, Augustus 1812 births 1884 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American railroad executives Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Collectors of the Port of New York Corporate lawyers Deaths from kidney disease Democratic National Committee chairs Lawyers from New York City Leaders of Tammany Hall Litchfield Law School alumni New York (state) Democrats New-York Historical Society People from Midtown Manhattan People from Rhinebeck, New York Politicians from Manhattan Presidents of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York Union College (New York) alumni