Augustus Winniett Peters (June 10, 1844 – December 29, 1898) was a Canadian-born New York City political figure who served as the 1st Manhattan Borough President.

Biography

Peters was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

, on June 10, 1844. He was raised and educated in New Brunswick, studied law, and became an attorney. In 1867, he moved to New York City as the lawyer for Ralph, King & Halleck, a firm that traded on the

New York Gold Exchange The New York Gold Exchange was an exchange formed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War for the purpose of creating an open market for transactions involving gold and the government-created paper currency, the greenback. Establi ...

. In 1875, he became a member of the Gold Exchange, and in 1876 he was appointed its Secretary. Peters also later became a member of the New York Mining Exchange. In 1878 Peters became Chairman of the New York Consolidated Exchange, a combination of the several different commodities exchanges. Peters remained as chairman until resigning to take office as Manhattan Borough President. Upon his resignation as chairman, he was appointed the Exchange's Second Vice President. Peters, a lifelong

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

, was a veteran of the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

in New Brunswick. He continued his military service in New York, attaining the rank of

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

in the New York Old Guard, a ceremonial unit whose members were mostly veterans of previous military service. A large, athletic man, Peters was involved in several amateur sports clubs and competitions, and was an accomplished

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

player and swimmer. Peters was also a capable singer and amateur actor, and belonged to

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s and drama clubs in New York City. Peters was also a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and attained the 33rd Degree of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

. Having become a citizen of the United States soon after arriving in New York, Peters became active in the

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 ...

Democratic Party organization. In 1893 he became President of Tammany's General Committee, and in 1894 he was an unsuccessful candidate for

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

. In 1894 Peters was also an unsuccessful candidate for President of the Board of Aldermen. In 1897, Peters was elected borough president of Manhattan. The five borough presidencies were created as the result of organizing Greater New York, which consolidate the

five boroughs 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

under one

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

.New York Times
New Borough President
January 6, 1899. Peters served as borough president until his sudden death from a heart attack at his

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, home on December 29, 1898. His remains were returned to New Brunswick for burial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Augustus 1844 births 1898 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Politicians from Saint John, New Brunswick Lawyers from Manhattan 19th-century Canadian lawyers New York (state) Democrats Manhattan borough presidents 19th-century American lawyers