Benjamin Douglas Silliman (September 14, 1805 – January 24, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

Silliman was born on September 14, 1805, in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, son of Gold Selleck Silliman and Hepsa Ely. His paternal grandfather was General

Gold Selleck Silliman Gold Selleck Silliman (1732–1790) was a Connecticut militia General during the American War for Independence. Biography Silliman was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, graduated from Yale University and practiced law and served as a crown attorne ...

, the King's Attorney for

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio * Fairfield County, South Carolina {{Geodis, uscounty ...

and a participant of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. His paternal great-grandfather was Judge Ebenezer Silliman, who was Speaker of the Connecticut House for seven years, a member the Connecticut Council for 28 years, and a judge of the

Connecticut Superior Court The Connecticut Superior Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction. It hears all matters other than those of original jurisdiction of the Probate Court, and hears appeals from the Probate Court. The Superior Court has 13 judicial dis ...

for 23 years. A maternal great-great-grandfather was Reverend Joseph Fish, a descendant of ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'' passengers

John Alden John Alden ( – September 12, 1687) was an English politician, settler, and cooper, best known for being a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth ...

and

Priscilla Mullins Priscilla Alden (, – ) was a noted member of Massachusetts's Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims and the wife of fellow colonist John Alden ( – 1687). They married in 1621 in Plymouth. Biography Priscilla was most likely born in Dorking in Surre ...

. When he was 10, the family moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

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 ...

. The ground the Silliman home stood later became home to the

Jefferson Market Courthouse The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Gree ...

. Silliman attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. His father, both grandfathers, and great-grandfather all attended Yale as well. He graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1824 and received an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1827. He studied law in Yale in 1824 and 1825. His graduating class included Connecticut Chief Justice Origen S. Seymour, New York Attorney General

Willis Hall Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio, television and film writer who drew on his working-class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. Willis formed an extremely prolific partnership with h ...

, New York Secretary of State Elias W. Leavenworth, and Richard F. Cleveland, father of future U.S. President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. By the time he died, he was the last surviving member of his Yale class and Yale's oldest living graduate. After graduating, he spent a year working in Yale as Assistant in Chemistry under his uncle, Professor

Benjamin Silliman Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an American chemist and science education, science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, the first science professor at Yale University, Yale, and the firs ...

. Silliman then studied law in the law office of Chancellor

James Kent James Kent may refer to: *James Kent (jurist) (1763–1847), American jurist and legal scholar * James Kent (composer) (1700–1776), English composer *James Kent, better known as Perturbator, French electronic/synthwave musician *James Tyler Kent ...

and his son

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, b ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1829 and began practicing law in New York City and in

Brooklyn 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 ...

, where he lived. With some interruptions for public service, he practiced law for 71 years. For over half a century he served as counsel of the Union Ferry Company, the National Bank of Commerce of Brooklyn, and

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

. He received an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1873 and from Yale University in 1874. At the time of his death, he was the oldest practicing lawyer in the state of New York. In 1837, Silliman 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 Ass ...

as a Whig. He served in the Assembly in

1838 Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration ...

as one of two representatives of

Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia * Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly call ...

. He was a delegate to the

1839 Whig National Convention The 1839 Whig National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held from December 4 to December 8 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was the first national convention ever held by the Whig Party, and was organized to select the party ...

. In the 1842 United States House of Representatives election, he was the Whig candidate for

New York's 2nd congressional district New York's 2nd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district for the United States House of Representatives along the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, New York (state), Ne ...

, but he lost to Henry C. Murphy of the Democratic Party. In 1865, he was appointed the first

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York The United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in five New York counties: Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau and Suffolk. , the acting U.S. attorney is Jo ...

. He resigned in 1866 due to the position interfering with his private practice. He was a delegate to the

1872 Republican National Convention The 1872 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 5–6, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant was unanimously nominated for reelection by the convention's 752 delegates. Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson replace ...

. In 1872, he was appointed to the New York Constitutional Commission of 1872-1873. In the 1873 New York state election, he was the Republican candidate for

Attorney General of New York The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and head of the Department of Law of the government of New York (state), state government. The office has existed in various forms since ...

. He lost this election to Democrat Daniel Pratt. Silliman never married. He was a founder of the Union Club and the

Long Island Historical Society The Center for Brooklyn History (CBH, formerly known as the Brooklyn Historical Society) is a museum, library, and educational center founded in 1863 that preserves and encourages the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The center's Romanesque ...

, president of the Yale Alumni Association, a director of Green-Wood Cemetery (which he helped incorporate while in the Assembly), president of the Brooklyn Club, first president of the New England Society of Brooklyn, a manager of the New York House of Refuge, and a vice-president and co-founder of the

New York City Bar Association The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, commonly referred to as the New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization has been headquartere ...

. Silliman died at home of

bronchial pneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 It is ofte ...

on January 24, 1901. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
*
Benjamin Douglas Silliman Papers
at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silliman, Benjamin D. 1805 births 1901 deaths Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island People from Greenwich Village Yale College alumni Lawyers from Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn 19th-century American lawyers United States attorneys for the Eastern District of New York New York (state) Whigs New York (state) Republicans Members of the New York State Assembly Deaths from bronchopneumonia Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Silliman family Deaths from pneumonia in New York City 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature