De Lancey Nicoll
Encyclopedia
De Lancey Nicoll was a New York County District Attorney
.
in Concord, New Hampshire
; and graduated from Princeton University
in 1874, and from Columbia Law School
in 1876.
After serving in private practice, he was appointed in 1885 Assistant New York County District Attorney
by D.A. Randolph B. Martine
. In November 1887, he ran on the Citizens Reform, Republican and Irving Hall (a faction of Anti-Tammany Democrats) tickets to succeed Martine as D.A., but was defeated by his fellow Assistant D.A. John R. Fellows
who ran on the Tammany Hall
/County Democracy (the larger faction of Anti-Tammany Democrats) ticket. Upon taking office in January 1888, Fellows dismissed Nicoll from the office of Assistant D.A.
In November 1890, Nicoll ran on the Tammany Hall
ticket to succeed Fellows as D.A., and was elected. On December 11, he married Maud Churchill, and their children were De Lancey Nicoll Jr. (1892-1957) and Josephine (1894-1915). Nicoll was D.A. from January 1891 until the end of 1893.
Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. In 1896
Nicoll was among the Democrats who repudiated William Jennings Bryan
and campaigned for Republican William McKinley
. In 1904, he was chosen by Chairman Thomas Taggart
Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
.
He successfully represented Joseph Pulitzer
and the New York World
in a libel case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1910 regarding press freedom. During the 1908 U.S. presidential campaign
, the New York World had published an account of how a consortium involving President Theodore Roosevelt
's brother-in-law Douglas Robinson, U.S. Secretary of War William H. Taft's brother Charles P. Taft, William Nelson Cromwell
and J. P. Morgan
had bought the French Panama Canal
company for US$4,000,000 and re-sold it to the U.S. government for US$40,000,000, thus netting a fortune of about US$36,000,000.
He died at his home at 23, East 39th Street in Manhattan
, and left a fortune of nearly a million and a half dollars.
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
.
Life
He attended St.Paul's SchoolsSt. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
in Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
; and graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1874, and from Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
in 1876.
After serving in private practice, he was appointed in 1885 Assistant New York County District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
by D.A. Randolph B. Martine
Randolph B. Martine
Randolph Brant Martine was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:He was the son of Theodore Martine, a grocer and realtor, descended from French Huguenot immigrants...
. In November 1887, he ran on the Citizens Reform, Republican and Irving Hall (a faction of Anti-Tammany Democrats) tickets to succeed Martine as D.A., but was defeated by his fellow Assistant D.A. John R. Fellows
John R. Fellows
John R. Fellows was an American lawyer and politician from Arkansas and New York.-Life:...
who ran on the Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
/County Democracy (the larger faction of Anti-Tammany Democrats) ticket. Upon taking office in January 1888, Fellows dismissed Nicoll from the office of Assistant D.A.
In November 1890, Nicoll ran on the Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
ticket to succeed Fellows as D.A., and was elected. On December 11, he married Maud Churchill, and their children were De Lancey Nicoll Jr. (1892-1957) and Josephine (1894-1915). Nicoll was D.A. from January 1891 until the end of 1893.
Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. In 1896
United States presidential election, 1896
The United States presidential election held on November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by political scientists to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history....
Nicoll was among the Democrats who repudiated William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
and campaigned for Republican William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
. In 1904, he was chosen by Chairman Thomas Taggart
Thomas Taggart
Thomas Taggart was a U.S. political figure, serving as mayor of Indianapolis and influential in state and national politics.-Early life and family:...
Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
.
He successfully represented Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
and the New York World
New York World
The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...
in a libel case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1910 regarding press freedom. During the 1908 U.S. presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1908
The United States presidential election of 1908 was held on November 3, 1908. Popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring a promise not to seek a third term, persuaded the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft, his close friend and Secretary of War, to become his successor...
, the New York World had published an account of how a consortium involving President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's brother-in-law Douglas Robinson, U.S. Secretary of War William H. Taft's brother Charles P. Taft, William Nelson Cromwell
William Nelson Cromwell
William Nelson Cromwell was an American attorney active in promotion of the Panama Canal and other major ventures.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised there by his mother, Sarah M. Brokaw, a Civil War widow...
and J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
had bought the French Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
company for US$4,000,000 and re-sold it to the U.S. government for US$40,000,000, thus netting a fortune of about US$36,000,000.
He died at his home at 23, East 39th Street in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and left a fortune of nearly a million and a half dollars.
Sources
- THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S AIDS in NYT on December 31, 1884
- DE LANCEY NICOLL CHOSEN; PUT ON THE REPUBLICAN TICKET WITH MARTINE in NYT on October 26, 1887
- IRVING HALL'S SUPPORT.; INDORSING THE WHOLE OF THE REPUBLICAN TICKET in NYT on October 28, 1887
- RESULT OF THE CITY VOTE in NYT on November 9, 1887
- HAS REPUDIATED HIS PLEDGES.; DE LANCEY NICOLL'S CURIOUS POSITION AS A TAMMANY NOMINEE in NYT on October 20, 1890
- DE LANCEY NICOLL MARRIED in NYT on December 12, 1890
- SHEEHAN FOR HEAD OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE; ...De Lancey Nicoll Vice Chairman in NYT on August 4, 1904
- PANAMA LIBEL SUIT QUASHED BY COURT in NYT on January 27, 1910
- SUPREME COURT ENDS PANAMA LIBEL SUIT in NYT on January 4, 1911
- JOSEPHINE NICOLL DEAD, his daughter's obit, in NYT on April 27, 1915
- DE LANCEY NICOLL, NOTED LAWYER, DIES in NYT on April 1, 1931 (subscription required)
- $1,403,603 NET LEFT BY DE LANCEY NICOLL in NYT on November 1, 1932 (subscription required)
- DELANCEY NICOLL, LAWYER, 65, DEAD, his son's obit, in NYT on September 16, 1957 (subscription required)