Charles Tracey Stagg (December 16, 1878 – July 14, 1939) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, law professor and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on December 16, 1878, in Elmira,

Chemung County, New York Chemung County is a county in the southern tier of the U.S. state of New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Elmira. Its name is derived from a Delaware Indian village whose name meant "big horn". Chemun ...

. He graduated from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

in 1902. He was admitted to the bar, and was confidential clerk of Walter Lloyd Smith, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division (3rd Dept.), until 1904. Then he practiced law in Elmira, and later in Ithaca. In November 1908, he became instructor in procedure, and in April 1909 assistant professor of law, at

. He was appointed as Counsel to the Governor by Nathan L. Miller. In April 1922, he was appointed as Deputy New York State Commissioner of Conservation. Stagg was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(41st D.) from 1935 until his death in 1939, sitting in the 158th, 159th, 160th, 161st and

162nd New York State Legislature The 162nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1939, to October 22, 1940, during the seventh and eight years of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany. B ...

s. He killed himself on July 14, 1939, in the woods of Newfield, New York, about eight miles from his home in Ithaca, by shooting a bullet in his head.''Senator Stagg Kills Himself''
in ''The New York Times'' on July 15, 1939 (subscription required) In a note to his son Norman G. Stagg (later Tompkins County Judge), he complained about failing health and excessive work as a legislator.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stagg, C Tracey 1878 births 1939 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators Politicians from Elmira, New York American politicians who died by suicide Suicides by firearm in New York (state) Politicians from Ithaca, New York Cornell Law School alumni 1939 suicides