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Thomas Mott Osborne (September 23, 1859 – October 20, 1926) was an American prison officer,
prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...
er, industrialist and New York State political reformer. In an assessment of Osborne's life, a ''New York Times'' book reviewer wrote: "His career as a penologist was short, but in the interval of the few years he served he succeeded in revolutionizing American prison reform, if not always in fact, then in awakening responsibility.... He was made of the spectacular stuff of martyrs, to many people perhaps ridiculous, but to those whose lives his theories most closely touched, inspiring and often godlike."


Biography

He was born on September 23, 1859, in
Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
, to David Munson Osborne (1822–1886) and Eliza Lidy Wright (1822–1886). Auburn was a center of progressive political activity, particularly anti-slavery activism before and during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. His family included a number of eminent reformers, particularly his grandmother, Martha Coffin Wright and her sister, Lucretia Coffin Mott and his uncle
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...
, who were organizers of the 1848
Seneca Falls Convention The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. Its organizers advertised it as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman". Held in the Wesleyan Chapel of the town of Seneca ...
on women's rights, with
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...
, in
Seneca Falls, New York Seneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 9,027 at the 2020 census. The Town of Seneca Falls contains the former village also called Seneca Falls. The town is east of Geneva, New York, in the north ...
. His grandmother, Martha Coffin Wright, and in succession her daughter and Osborne's mother, Eliza Wright Osborne, and a niece, Josephine Osborne, oversaw the finances of
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, us ...
, who spent her last half-century in Auburn. Martha's home in Auburn was part of the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
where she harbored fugitive slaves. Both women frequented the Osborne household during Thomas Mott Osborne's upbringing. Thomas Osborne's aunt, Ellen, or as she is known to her descendants, Nella, married William Lloyd Garrison Jr., the son of the noted abolitionist
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...
. Thomas Mott Osborne's mother, Eliza Wright Osborne, wife of David Munson Osborne, was also a feminist leader, though of lesser note.


Early years

Thomas Osborne attended Adams Academy in
Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...
, and graduated from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
with honors in 1884, where he was among the founders of the Harvard Cooperative Society. Upon David Munson Osborne's death in 1886, Thomas Osborne became president of his family's manufacturing company, DM Osborne & Co. He married Agnes Lithgow Devens in 1886. His wife died of cancer just a few months after giving birth to their fourth son on March 26, 1896. Thomas Mott Osborne served on the Auburn School Board from 1885 to 1896, becoming the youngest chairman in its history. In 1896, he became a trustee on the board of the George Junior Republic, a self-governing youth colony, and soon its chairman, just in time to lead a campaign to prevent New York State from shutting it down. At the
New York state election, 1898 The 1898 New York state election was held on November 8, 1898, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Secretary of State, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer and the state engineer, as well as all m ...
, he ran on the Independent Citizens' ticket for
Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...
. Osborne was elected mayor of Auburn in 1902, serving two terms. He was known to disguise himself and visit local taverns to eavesdrop on conversations to get a sense of public opinion. By 1903 DM Osborne & Co. grew to become North America's third largest producer of agricultural implements. In 1903, the family sold the company to the
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...
Trust, leaving Osborne to pursue social reform and public service. International Harvester took over management in 1905. In 1905 he launched a daily newspaper, the ''Auburn Daily Citizen'', as a progressive voice to counter the city's dominant daily, ''the Auburn Daily Advertiser''. The Osborne family still edits and owns "The Nation", first published during the 1836 abolitionist movement.


Reformer

In 1907, Governor
Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
selected Osborne to serve as upstate commissioner on the state's first New York Public Service Commission. At one point, to determine whether railroads could safely trim staff as they proposed, Osborne dressed as a hobo and rode the rails and was once arrested by police in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
in the course of his sleuthing. His report to the commission, however, was instrumental in persuading the panel to order railroad staff maintained. However, his propensity to travel in a variety of odd disguises and his close relationship with Louis Schaedeline, a handyman with whom Osborne was rumored to be having a homosexual affair, proved fatal to Osborne's future political ambitions. Between 1910 and 1912, Osborne teamed with
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, then a New York State senator, and Louis McHenry Howe in unsuccessful efforts to reform the New York State Democratic Party. FDR, Howe, and Osborne were
upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
's best-known foes of
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...
and
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
. But after the 1912 national Democratic Convention, where the three worked for the presidential nomination of
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
, Wilson ignored their faction of the state Democratic party and instead selected the larger,
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...
-led wing of the Democratic party to represent the state. Osborne quit politics in disgust. In 1912, sick in bed, Osborne was inspired to read ''My Life In Prison'' by Donald Lowrie, a former inmate of
San Quentin San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in ...
prison in California. The following year, he persuaded New York Governor
William Sulzer William Sulzer (March 18, 1863 – November 6, 1941), nicknamed Plain Bill, was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 39th governor of New York serving for 10 months in 1913, and a long-serving U.S. representative from the same state. Su ...
to appoint him chairman of a new State Commission on
Prison Reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...
. On behalf of the commission that year he entered the Auburn Prison, now Auburn Correctional Facility, in prison garb insisting to the administration that he be treated like any other prisoner. On September 29, Osborne began six days of imprisonment as "Tom Brown," Inmate 33,333X. He recorded his experiences in ''Within Prison Walls''. Its publication in 1914 made him the most prominent prison reform crusader of his day.


Warden of Sing Sing

Osborne was appointed
Warden of Sing Sing The Wardens of Sing Sing are appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. *Elam Lynds (1825–1830) *Robert Wiltse (1830–1840) *David L. Seymour (warden), David L. Seymour (1840–1843) *William H. Pec ...
prison in Ossining, New York, on December 1, 1914, replacing Judge George S. Weed. After addressing the prisoners in chapel, he undertook a week's stay inside the prison, again experiencing the prison from the prisoners' point of view. He next stunned the guards and prisoners by visiting the prison yard unarmed and unescorted. He established a system of internal self-rule called the "Mutual Welfare League" within the prison and quickly won enthusiastic support from both guards and prisoners. His principal opponents were prisoners who had lived comfortably within the system before his reforms, by intimidating others or using their financial resources to bribe guards for privileges. One of these, a former Manhattan banker in prison for
larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...
, used his financial and political connections to instigate a rigged "investigation" of Osborne's administration. When he was indicted for
perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...
, neglect of duty, and "unlawful exualacts with inmates," Osborne fought back with a speaking tour of the state.
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
saw two mass meetings supporting his defense, one attended by the retired president of
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
Charles William Eliot Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926) was an American academic who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909, the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family (America), Eliot fam ...
. The prison guards wrote a letter in support as well. After the judge in the case directed a verdict of acquittal, Osborne returned to Sing Sing in triumph. The front page of the New York Times described the celebration at the prison: "Convicts' Carnival Welcomes Osborne; Prisoners, in Costume and Wild with Joy, Give Pageant for Him at Sing Sing, Hundreds of Spectators." He resigned his position as Sing Sing's warden later in 1916, tired of battling his superiors and New York State Governor Charles S. Whitman.


Commander at Portsmouth

In 1916
Josephus Daniels Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948) was a newspaper editor, Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He managed ''The News & Observer'' in R ...
, the
Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
at the likely suggestion of Assistant Secretary Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an ally of Osborne from his years in New York State reform politics, commissioned a report on conditions at the Portsmouth Naval Prison in
Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of ...
. Osborne again investigated conditions by living inside the prison like any other inmate. He found a facility in desperate need of his reforms. In a speech at the Twentieth Century Club in New York City, he denounced "degrading" uniforms and "absurd" procedures: "When the men return from working on the seawall, a place where they could not possibly obtain anything but sand, boulders and seaweed, they are stripped and searched." In July 1917, now a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, he took up the position of commander of the Portsmouth Naval Prison, a post he held for two and a half years. It was during these years Osborne, as senior officer, met and mentored Austin MacCormick. Austin MacCormick would continue after Osborne's death in 1926 to publish his seminal work, "The Education of Adult Prisoners" in 1931. MacCormick would also become Dean of Criminology at U.C. Berkeley and executive director of Osborne Association, a prison reform organization still active to this day. During his tenure at Portsmouth, Osborne also met and became a long-term mentor to prisoner and future author Victor Folke Nelson.Thomas Mott Osborne and Paul Revere Frothingham letters to Victor Folke Nelson.
" Retrieved on January 30, 2022.
''Prison Days and Nights'', by Victor F. Nelson (New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., 1936) In 1921, it would be Osborne who would convince Nelson to turn himself in after escaping from Charlestown State Prison in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
."Osborne Brings Noted Escaped Convict Back to State Prison Here". ''The Boston Herald''. September 12, 1921.Merrill, Anthony. "The Man Who Broke Charlestown". ''Boston Sunday Advertiser Green Magazine''. December 17, 1939.


Later career

His books, public speaking and notoriety helped end the so-called "rule of silence," floggings and other prisoner abuses common in U.S. prisons at the time. But Osborne's cherished prisoner self-government plan, the "Mutual Welfare League," vanished soon after his death in 1926. His initial experiments had been greeted by the press largely with derision, but over the course of his life he won grudging admiration from both the press and the public.


Death

He died on October 20, 1926, in
Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
. He was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn dressed in a Portsmouth prison uniform.


Legacy

In 1933, the Welfare League Association and several other organizations Osborne had created were merged and reorganized as
Osborne Association Osborne Association is a New York-based nonprofit that provides direct services to individuals and families affected by incarceration and advocates for criminal justice reform. Osborne has offices throughout New York—including Brooklyn, The Bro ...
. The Association now works at every point of the criminal justice system, from arrest and "pre-entry," to programs in prison and in the community following release. True to Osborne's founding spirit, the Association's 25 programs are all designed to offer individuals the opportunity, the tools, and the support to build or rebuild their lives.


References


Publications

*'' Society and Prisons'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1916) *''Prisons and Common Sense'' (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1924)


Further reading

*Denis Brian, ''Sing Sing: The Inside Story of a Notorious Prison'' (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Press, 2005) *Rudolph Chamberlain, ''There Is No Truce: A Life of Thomas Mott Osborne'' (1935) *Jack M. Holl, ''Juvenile Reform in the Progressive Era'' (Cornell University Press, 1971) *Rebecca M. McLennan, ''The Crisis of Imprisonment: Protest, Politics, and the Making of the American Penal State, 1776-1941'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008) *''New York Times''
"Condemns Navy Prison" Dec. 4, 1916
accessed Dec. 7, 2009 *''New York Times''

accessed Dec. 7, 2009 *''New York Times''

accessed Dec. 7, 2009 *''New York Times''

accessed Dec. 7, 2009 *''New York Times''

accessed Dec. 6, 2009 *''New York Times''

accessed Dec. 6, 2009

*Alfred Brooks Rollins and Alfred B. Rollins Jr., ''Roosevelt and Howe'' (Transaction Publishers, 2001) *Syracuse University Library

*Syracuse University Library

*Frank Tannenbaum, ''Osborne of Sing Sing'' (The University of North Carolina Press, 1933)


External links


Osborne Association home page


at Syracuse University (primary source material) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Thomas Mott Penologists 1859 births 1926 deaths Wardens of Sing Sing Harvard University alumni People from Auburn, New York American prison reformers New York (state) Democrats United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War I Adams Academy alumni