Joseph Fitch (August 27, 1857 – April 7, 1917) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York.

Life

Fitch was born on August 27, 1857, in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

, the only child of businessman Joseph Fitch and Avis Leggett. Fitch attended the Flushing Institute. He then went to

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, graduating from there in 1879. He then studied law in the office of Charles W. Pleasants in

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 ...

from 1881 to 1882. He also attended classes in

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1882 and began practicing law in New York City. From 1880 to 1887, he was Second Lieutenant of the Seventeenth Separate Company,

New York National Guard New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. He later became the senior member of the law firm Fitch, Moore & Swan. In 1885, Fitch 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

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 ...

, representing the Queens County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

and

1887 Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. While in the Assembly, he originated and passed a bill that established the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery. He was a member of the Flushing Board of Education from 1893 until the consolidation of Greater New York. He was also counsel to the Flushing Village Board of Health from its organization in 1891 until the Greater New York consolidation. In the 1894 United States House of Representatives election, he unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in

New York's 1st congressional district New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. In 1898, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Water Supply, Borough of Queens. In 1905, he was assistant District Attorney of Queens County. In 1908, he was appointed City Magistrate. Fitch was a member of the

Freemasons 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 ...

, the Queens County Bar Association, the

New York Law Institute The New York Law Institute is the oldest circulating law library in New York City and is open to Institute members and to scholars of history and the law. Today The New York Law Institute library is located in the Equitable Building and has a ...

, the League of American Wheelman,

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

. He was

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

, and a vestryman in St. George's Church in Flushing. In 1886, he married Annie Loraine Rose. They had two children, Avis Loraine and Dorothea. Fitch died of acute indigestion at his friend Desmond Nelson's home in Brookhaven, where he was staying while repairs were being made at his summer home in the town, on April 7, 1917. He was buried in

Flushing Cemetery Flushing Cemetery is a cemetery in Flushing in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. History Flushing Cemetery has several predecessors. In 1789 (64 years before the cemetery was founded), George Washington had crossed the East Ri ...

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Joseph 1857 births 1917 deaths Lawyers from Queens, New York People from Flushing, Queens Politicians from Queens, New York Swarthmore College alumni 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York state court judges 20th-century New York state court judges American Freemasons 20th-century American Episcopalians Burials at Flushing Cemetery 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature