Jacob Sidney Bernstein (May 9, 1877 – December 9, 1943) was a Russian-born Jewish-American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York.

Early life and education

Bernstein was born on May 9, 1877, the son of Joseph and Jeanette Bernstein, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

with his parents when he was an infant. He attended public schools there and the Collegiate Institute in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

. He then went to

Queen's University at Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...

, graduating from there with an A.M. in 1898. He then went to

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, graduating from there with an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1900. He immigrated to America in 1897 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1902. He was admitted to the bar in 1902 and practiced law in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

Career

In 1904, Bernstein unsuccessfully ran for 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

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

in the

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 ...

31st District, losing to Republican Joseph Beihilf. He identified with the Democratic Party from a young age, serving as an active member of the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

Democratic Club and vice-chairman of the Tammany Hall General Committee of the 31st Assembly District. In 1905, he was elected to the Assembly in the 31st District, defeating Beihilf in a three-way election. He served in the Assembly in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. He lost the 1906 re-election to the Assembly to Republican candidate Philip Reece. In December 1906,

New York State Comptroller The New York state comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. Sixty-one individuals have held the office of State Comptroller si ...

-elect

Martin H. Glynn Martin Henry Glynn (September 27, 1871 – December 14, 1924) was an American politician. He was the 40th governor of New York from 1913 to 1914, the first Irish American Roman Catholic head of government of what was then the most populated stat ...

appointed him Transfer Tax Appraiser of New York County. He held that office from 1907 to 1908. He was a delegate to the 1915 New York State Constitutional Convention. Bernstein became associated with the law firm Hillquit & Hillquit as trial counsel when he was admitted to the bar. In 1907, he joined Stroock & Stroock and took charge of the firm's real estate firm. A year later, he opened his own law office. In 1932, he formed a partnership with

Lester W. Patterson Lester Winfield Patterson (July 24, 1893 – November 15, 1947) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York. Life Patterson was born on July 24, 1893. He was the son of Edward J. Patterson, cashier for Bronx County clerk Vincen ...

. The partnership ended when Patterson became judge of the Bronx County Court in 1934, at which point he formed a partnership with his son Arthur H. Bernstein. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the 1938 New York State Constitutional Convention. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1938 and served as Justice until his death. Bernstein was on the board of directors of the Jewish Memorial Hospital and a member of

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the se ...

, the Manhattan Club, the Metropolitan Vigilant Club, the Tichnor Society, and the Grand Street Boys.

Personal life

He was married to Ida Rosenblum of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Their children were Arthur H. (who served as a captain in the Army Chemical Warfare Service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) and Mrs. Samuel Smith of

Durham, New Hampshire Durham is a New England town, town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,490 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,638 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 ...

. Bernstein died at home following a heart attack on December 9, 1943. Rabbi Louis I. Newman officiated his funeral at the

Riverside Memorial Chapel The Riverside Memorial Chapel is an American Jewish funeral home chain with their main facility at 180 West 76th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.Sol Bloom Sol Bloom (March 9, 1870March 7, 1949) was an American song-writer and politician from New York City who began his career as an entertainment impresario and sheet music publisher in Chicago. He served fourteen terms in the United States House of ...

, Secretary of State and New York County Republican leader Thomas J. Curran, Tammany Hall secretary Bert Stand, City Clerk H. Warren Hubbard, Lieutenant Commander

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. One of the most iconic athl ...

, Bronx County Judge

, General Sessions judges Jonah J. Goldstein, Owen W. Bohan, and Saul S. Streit, Supreme Court justices-elect Thomas A. Aurelio and Joseph A. Gavagan, and Supreme Court justices

Ferdinand Pecora Ferdinand Pecora (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971) was an American lawyer and New York State Supreme Court judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its invest ...

, Bernard L. Shientag, William T. Collins, Felix C. Benvenga,

Bernard Botein Bernard Botein (May 6, 1900 – February 3, 1974) was a prominent New York City lawyer and judge, a legal reformer, a presiding justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, and a president of the New York Ci ...

, Aaron J. Levy, John E. McGeehan, Denis O'Leary Cohalan,

Kenneth O'Brien Kenneth O'Brien (March 15, 1895-January 20, 1954) was an American lawyer and New York Supreme Court judge. Biography O'Brien was born in 1895, the son of New York Supreme Court Justice Morgan J. O' Brien and Rose Mary Crimmins. He attended Yale U ...

, Morris Eder, William C. Hecht, Samuel Null, Edward Koch, Alfred H. Townley, and Edward J. Glennon. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, J. Sidney 1877 births 1943 deaths Jews from the Russian Empire Russian emigrants to Canada Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Queen's University at Kingston alumni New York University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New York City 20th-century American Jews Jewish state legislators in New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Manhattan 20th-century New York state court judges New York Supreme Court justices 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature