Adolph Julius Rodenbeck (October 15, 1861 – April 8, 1960) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from Rochester, New York.

Life

Rodenbeck was born on October 15, 1861, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, the son of Charles T. and Frederica C. Rodenbeck. Rodenbeck graduated from the

Rochester Free Academy The Rochester Free Academy is a former secondary school and historic building (1872–1873) in Rochester, New York. It is part of the City Hall Historic District. History The Free Academy was founded by the Board of Education in 1853 and opened ...

in 1881 and from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

in 1885. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon at the University. He then studied law in the office of

Henry G. Danforth Henry Gold Danforth (June 14, 1854 – April 8, 1918) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in the town of Gates, New York (now part of Rochester), Danforth attended private schools in Rochester, New York, and Phillips Exeter Academ ...

in Rochester and finished his studies in a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

office. He was admitted to the bar in 1887, and after an extended trip abroad he settled in Rochester and worked as a lawyer there. He was appointed Second Assistant City Attorney in 1892, First Assistant City Attorney in 1892, and Corporation Counsel in 1894. He served in the latter position until June 1898, after which he resumed his private law practice. In 1898, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

as a Republican, representing the

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

2nd District. He served in the Assembly in

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, and

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

. In 1901, Rodenbeck was elected

Mayor of Rochester The following is the complete list of the mayors of the city of Rochester, New York. The powers of the mayor have varied over the years. When the city was incorporated in 1834, the mayor was appointed by the city council and had few responsibili ...

. He served as Mayor from 1902 to 1903. During this time, he was primarily concerned with increasing the water supply for the city's growing population with water from

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. In November 1903, Governor Benjamin Odell appointed him Judge of the

New York Court of Claims The New York State Court of Claims is the court of the New York State Unified Court System which handles all claims against the State of New York and certain state agencies. Judges Judges of the Court of Claims are appointed by the Governor of New ...

to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge Charles T. Saxton. In March 1904, he was reappointed Judge for a term that expired in 1909. In 1906, the Court's Judges' terms were extended ten years. The Court was abolished in 1911, but when it was recreated in 1915 he became Chairman of the Court. Rodenbeck was a delegate-at-large to the 1915 New York State Constitutional Convention. In February 1916, Governor

Charles Seymour Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 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 t ...

appointed him Justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

to succeed retiring Justice Arthur E. Sutherland. He was elected for a full term as Justice in the election that year. He served as Justice until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1932. He was widely known in legal circles for "The Anatomy of the Law," his 1925 volume on the divisions of the law through its various branches. Rodenbeck was a trustee of the Wagner Memorial Lutheran College, secretary of the Central Republican Club, and a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, the Odd Fellows, the Down Town Republican Club, the Genesee Valley Club, the Monroe Club, the Rochester Whist Club, the Monroe County Historical Society, the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

, the Rochester Bar Association,

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 a ...

, the Maennerchor Society, the Rochester Historical Society, the Association of Alumni of the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

of New York City, and the German-American Society. In 1927, he married his former secretary Blanche B. Brown at the

Church of the Transfiguration The Church of the Transfiguration ( he, כנסיית ההשתנות) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in ...

in New York City, with Rev. Rudolph Ray officiating the service. Rodenbeck died at home on April 8, 1960. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' 1861 births 1960 deaths Rochester Free Academy alumni University of Rochester alumni Lawyers from Rochester, New York Mayors of Rochester, New York Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians New York Supreme Court Justices Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodenbeck, Adolph J.