Samuel Bostwick Garvin (October 8, 1811 – June 28, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Personal life and history

Garvin was born in Butternuts,

Oswego County, New York Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point a ...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

( Chenango Co.). On January 14, 1836, he married Julia Maria Mitchell; the daughter of

Henry Mitchell (New York politician) Henry Mitchell (1784January 12, 1856) was an American physician and politician who served one term as a United States representative from New York. Biography He was the son of John Mitchell and Elizabeth Sherman (daughter of Rev. Josiah She ...

and Rowena Wales. In 1840, he removed to Utica and continued the practice of law there. He was District Attorney of Oneida County from 1851 to 1853. In June 1853, he was appointed by President Franklin Pierce

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York {{Infobox government agency , name = U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York , seal = , logo = , formed = , jurisdiction = Northern District of New York , employees = , budget = , chief1_name = Carla B. Freedman , ...

, and remained in office until 1857. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in New York City. In 1859, D.A.

Nelson J. Waterbury Nelson Jarvis Waterbury (July 9, 1819 – April 22, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Biography Waterbury was born in New York City on July 9, 1819, the son of Col. Jonathan Waterbury (d. 1828) and Elizabeth (Jarvis) W ...

appointed him an Assistant

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state la ...

. In 1863, Garvin was elected to the New York City Superior Court. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1867-68. In January 1869, he resigned from the bench to accept his appointment by Gov.

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 ...

as New York County D.A. to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

A. Oakey Hall Abraham Oakey Hall (July 26, 1826 – October 7, 1898) was an American politician, lawyer, and writer. He served as Mayor of New York from 1869 to 1872 as a Democrat. Hall, known as "Elegant Oakey", was a model of serenity and respectability. ...

who took office as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public proper ...

. In November 1869, Garvin was elected on the

Democratic 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

ticket to succeed himself for a full term. In 1869, he prosecuted Daniel McFarland for the murder of

Albert D. Richardson Albert Deane Richardson (October 6, 1833 – December 2, 1869) was a well-known American journalist, Union spy, and author. Among his works is his noted biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Richardson was shot on two occasions, the second time fatally, ...

, but McFarland was acquitted. He died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleed ...

in New York City, at his residence at the Hotel Royal, located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1867; page 531)
''Genealogy of the Bostwick Family in America''''LATEST INTELLIGENCE''
in NYT on June 9, 1853
''POLITICAL.; THE ELECTION TO-MORROW''
in NYT on November 1, 1869
''OBITUARY.; SAMUEL B. GARVIN''
in NYT on June 29, 1878 Note: {{DEFAULTSORT:Garvin, Samuel Bostwick 1811 births 1878 deaths New York County District Attorneys People from Butternuts, New York People from Norwich, New York United States Attorneys for the Northern District of New York 19th-century American politicians