Walter William Law (July 15, 1871 in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

– August 26, 1958) was an American lawyer and politician from

Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

. He was President of Briarcliff Manor from 1905 to 1918; he later served in the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...

and then as President of the New York State Tax Commission.

Life

He was the son of Walter W. Law (1837–1924), the founder of

Briarcliff Manor Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

. He engaged in the real estate business. On April 10, 1901, he married Helen Renfrew Kingman (1880–1949), and they had several children. Law was a member of 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 ...

(Westchester Co., 3rd D.) in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

and

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

; and was Chairman of the Committee on Penal Institutions in 1915. He was a member of 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 ...

(26th D.) in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

and

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

. In 1921, he was appointed by Gov.

Nathan L. Miller Nathan L. Miller (10 October 1868 – 26 June 1953) was an American attorney and politician from New York. A Republican, he served as New York State Comptroller from 1901 to 1903, and a judge of the New York Supreme Court and New York Court of ...

as President of the New York State Tax Commission. He was removed from office by Gov.

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

in January 1923, for misfeasance in office and neglect of duty. According to the charges brought against Law, he did not re-organize the Tax Department, as mandated when he was appointed by Miller; and he spent more money than appropriated by the State Legislature for running the Tax Department. He died on August 26, 1958, and was buried at

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the cemetery, final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground of the ...

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about ...

Sources

''LAW—KINGMAN''
his wedding, in NYT on April 11, 1901

in NYT on January 31, 1923 (subscription required)

his father's obit, in NYT on January 19, 1924 (subscription required)

his brother's obit, in NYT on November 19, 1936 (subscription required)

his wife's obit, in NYT on August 19, 1949 (subscription required)

in NYT on August 28, 1958 (subscription required)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Walter W Jr 1871 births 1958 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Briarcliff Manor, New York Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature