Theodore Koehler (July 30, 1856 – March 27, 1929) was a German-American politician and accountant.

Life

Koehler was born on July 30, 1856, in

Ahrensbök Ahrensbök (Holsatian: ''Ahrensböök'') is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km northwest of Lübeck, and 45 km southeast of Kiel. History Ahrensbök came int ...

, in what is now the

Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ( ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1868 to 1918) and the Free State of Prussia (from 1918 to 1946). History It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquere ...

(it was then the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy ...

), the son of Theodore Koehler and Dorothea von Koepke. At the time he was born the area was under the control of Denmark. His maternal grandfather was knighted by

Frederick VII of Denmark Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last monarch, king of Denmark to r ...

for valuable services rendered to the state, and his father was decorated with the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

for brave conduct in battle. In the 1860s the area would pass to control by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. From 1871 to 1876, Koehler worked with a business house in Luebeck. In 1876, he joined the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

as a sharpshooter. He then received a letter from a friend who previously immigrated to America that encouraged him to do the same. He received a discharge from the army and in 1876 arrived in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, only to find out his friend had died. He spent the next several years working in various occupations, and in 1883 he was employed by an English firm to participate in an exploring expedition in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. He represented the firm a year later at the

World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United St ...

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 ...

. In 1885, he became the head bookkeeper and auditor of a large industrial firm in

Long Island City, New York Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brookl ...

. He was later appointed by Long Island City officials to examine and report on the condition of the city books. He was a strong advocate for a tunnel under

Newtown Creek Newtown Creek, a long tributary of the East River, is an estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City. River engineering#Channelization, Channelization made it one of the most heavily-use ...

. He was elected

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

of Long Island City in 1892, and went on to serve as town supervisor for the next three years. By 1896, he was editor, cashier, and chief accountant for the East River Gas Company. In 1895, Koehler was elected to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

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 New York's 2nd State Senate district ( Queens County). He served in the Senate in

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...

, and

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

. While in the Senate, he helped pass the first

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

law in the United States, signed by Governor Morton in 1896. He then organized and incorporated the New York School of Accounts, the country's first institution to help students receive a C.P.A. degree, and he directed the school for 25 years. He also became head of his own accounting organization for 30 years, specializing in factory cost accounts, and authored a few accounting books. He was one of the oldest members of the Institute of Accounts of the City of New York, and was a member of the Society of Certified Public Accountants of the State of New York and the National Society of Public Accountants. Koehler 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 ...

and the

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...

. In 1877, he married Bernardine Helmce of New Jersey. He later married Theodora Daub. Theodora was the first woman to receive a C.P.A. certificate, a member of Koehler's staff for several years, and co-author of one of his books. Koehler died at his Astoria home on March 27, 1929. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Theodore Koehler
at '' Find a Grave'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Koehler, Theodore 1856 births 1929 deaths Politicians from Lübeck Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States American accountants People from Long Island City, Queens Politicians from Queens, New York People from Astoria, Queens Democratic Party New York (state) state senators American Freemasons People from the Duchy of Holstein 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature