Augustus Schell (August 1, 1812 – March 27, 1884) was a New York politician and lawyer. He was Chairman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

from 1872 to 1876.

Early life

Schell was born on August 1, 1812, in

Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metr ...

. He was the son of Christian Schell (1779–1825), a merchant, and Elizabeth (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Hughes) Schell (1783–1866). He was the brother of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Richard Schell (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 Rhinebeck may refer to: * Rhinebeck (village), New York * Rhinebeck (town), New York * Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a living museum in Red Hook, New York * Rhinebeck and Connecticut Railroad * New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, held in Rhinebe ...

and Wesleyan Seminary. He was graduated in 1830 from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

with

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honors and membership in the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society () is a North American social college fraternity. Founded in 1825, it was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraterni ...

, and then studied at

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

Career

He was admitted to the bar in 1833, and started a practice in New York City at the firm of John Slosson (1806–1872), later a judge of the New York Superior Court; he formed a firm (Slosson & Schell) with Slosson in 1842. He started out as an early expert in the then new field of

corporate law Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corpora ...

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, Lake Shore and Michigan Central, and Hudson River Railroads as well as the Western Union Telegraph Company. 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 (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

Political career

An active Democrat, he joined

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

in 1852 where, after

William M. Tweed William Magear "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th ...

'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, he was proposed as the Democratic candidate for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, although he lost the nomination to

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as the eighteenth Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and again from 1863 to 1864. He was the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...

, who was elected Governor. During the administration of President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

, he was collector of the Port of New York. He was chairman of the

that supported John C. Breckinridge for the presidency in 1860 and also from 1872 to 1876, where he managed

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. 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 Austen George Fox (September 7, 1849 – May 15, 1937) was an American lawyer and philanthropist. Early life Fox was born on September 7, 1849. He was the son of George Henry Fox (1824–1865) and Hannah Clarissa (née Austen) Fox (1830–1860). ...

. 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. It was frequently accompanied ...

. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

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 New York (state) 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 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