Augustus Van Wyck (October 14, 1850 – June 8, 1922) was an American judge and politician who served as

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In 1898 he received the Democratic Nomination for New York State governor against the Republican choice,

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Background

Augustus Van Wyck was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on October 14, 1850, a son of William Van Wyck and Lydia Ann (Maverick) Van Wyck. His brother Robert A. Van Wyck served as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

. Charles Van Wyck was a distant cousin; their common ancestors were Theodorus Van Wyck (1668-1753) and his wife Margretia Brinckerhoff Van Wyck. His older brother Samuel, a Confederate surgeon, was killed during the war and his sister, Lydia Ann, married Robert Hoke, a Confederate General. Roots of the Van Wyck family date back to early Dutch immigration to North America. One of the first descendants of the family, Cornelius Barents Van Wyck came from the town of Wyck, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1650. Augustus Van Wyck's education led him to

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

to study law. Moving to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

Van Wyck practiced law for a brief period before moving to

, in 1871. He was an active member of the Democratic party in Brooklyn. In 1882 Van Wyck was elected as President of the Brooklyn Democratic Party's general committee. He also participated in several local, county, state, and national party conventions.

Supreme Court Justice of Brooklyn

In 1884, Augustus Van Wyck was elected to the Superior Court in Brooklyn until transferred to the Supreme Court where he remained until 1896.

Democratic Nomination for New York State Governor

Much to Van Wyck's surprise, he was nominated by his fellow Democrats to oppose Republican nominee

in the race 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 ...

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

. Although Van Wyck was seen as a strong candidate, Roosevelt's popularity in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

led him to win narrowly; Van Wyck received 643,921 votes, while Roosevelt received 661,715.Timeline of Theodore Roosevelt's Life by the Theodore Roosevelt Association
at www.theodoreroosevelt.org After the election Van Wyck resumed his law practice on 149 Broadway, New York.

Death

He died after an operation for an "intestinal ailment" at Hahnemann Hospital on June 8, 1922, at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Wyck, Augustus 1850 births 1922 deaths New York (state) Democrats New York Supreme Court justices Phillips Exeter Academy alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...