Frederick William Loew (December 20, 1834 – November 7, 1909) was a French-American lawyer and judge from New York City.

Life

Loew was born on December 20, 1834, in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

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, the son of Frederick J. and Salome Loew. He immigrated to America with his family in 1838 and attended school in

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. His brothers included

New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...

Edward V. Loew and County Clerk Charles L. Loew. Loew's father died when he was around sixteen, leaving him with his mother and four younger brothers. He attended English, French, and German schools in New York City. Interested in becoming an engraver, he studied under one of the best engravers in the city. By the time he turned 20, he received two silver medals and a Webster's dictionary for his medallion dies and other work, which was exhibited at the American Institute and other expositions. His work negatively impacted his health, which led his physician to advice him to go South. He then traveled on the steamer ''Crescent City'', which shipwrecked on the

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on December 7, 1855. He was rescued and sailed to Nassau,

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

(where he was seriously ill for some time), and finally home to New York City. As his health obligated him to pick a more active profession, he became a law clerk for the New York City Sheriff. Loew

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1860. He then began a successful law practice, specializing in examining titles to real estate and conveying. In 1863, he was elected a Justice of the Fifth District Court of New York City. He was then elected a delegate for the 1867-1868 New York State Constitutional Convention. In 1869, Governor

John T. Hoffman John Thompson Hoffman (January 10, 1828March 24, 1888) was the 23rd governor of New York (1869–72). He was also recorder of New York City (1861–65) and the 78th mayor of New York City (1866–68). Connections to the Tweed Ring ...

appointed him Judge of the Court of Common Pleas to succeed George C. Barrett. He was elected to a full term later that month. In 1875, Governor Samuel J. Tilden appointed him to hold a special term in the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

for the trial of jury cases. Later that year, he was the Democratic candidate for reelection to the Court of Common Pleas, but he lost to the Republican candidate. In 1877, Loew was elected Register of New York City. He served as Register from 1878 to 1880, after which he retired from work due to his poor health. He then spent the last few decades of his life traveling abroad, frequently spending winters in

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with his family. In 1867, Loew married Julia Augusta Vanderpoel, daughter of Dock Commissioner Jacob Vanderpoel and a member of a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

family who settled in

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

in the earliest days of the colony. They had two children, Charles E. and a daughter. Loew died at home from apoplexy on November 7, 1909. He was buried in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loew, Frederick W. 1834 births 1909 deaths People from Alsace French emigrants to the United States Lawyers from Manhattan 19th-century New York state court judges New York (state) Democrats New York Supreme Court justices Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery