John R. Fellows
Encyclopedia
John R. Fellows was an American lawyer and politician from Arkansas
and New York
.
Cemetery) and Eliza (Harris) Fellows (1809–1867). Fellows removed with his parents to a farm in Stillwater
in Saratoga County, New York
, and attended there the country schools. Among his playmates was Elmer E. Ellsworth
.
In 1850, Fellows went to Camden
, Ouachita County, Arkansas, to live with his uncle. There he studied law, was admitted to the bar
in 1855. At one time he practiced law in partnership with Walter L. Bragg
.
He ran for presidential elector on the Constitutional Union
ticket of Bell
and Everett
in 1860
, but Arkansas
was carried by John C. Breckinridge
. He was a delegate to the State secession convention
in 1861.
He enlisted in the 1st Arkansas Infantry
of the Confederate States Army
. After the Battle of Shiloh
, he was made a colonel
and assigned to staff duties as assistant adjutant to Gen. William Beall
. Later he was inspector general at Port Hudson, Louisiana
, and was captured there on July 9, 1863. He was kept a prisoner of war until the end of the American Civil War
, and released on June 10, 1865. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in Camden. He was a member of the Arkansas Senate
from 1866 to 1867. On July 4, 1867, he married Lizzie Reynolds, and they had six children.
He was a delegate to the 1868 Democratic National Convention
, held at the new Tammany Hall
building in New York City
, and was noticed by Tammany boss William M. Tweed as an eloquent campaign speaker. Urged by Tweed, Fellows removed to New York City to continue the practice of law there and to campaign for the Tammany organization.
Tweed secured Fellows's appointment in 1868 by Corporation Counsel Richard O'Gorman (1821–1895) as Assistant C.C., and in 1869, D.A. Samuel B. Garvin
appointed Fellows an Assistant New York County District Attorney
. He remained in this office until the end of 1872 when Garvin's term expired and a Republican D.A. succeeded. After the fall of Tweed, Fellows left Tammany and joined the Anti-Tammany Democrats in New York City, at times known as the "Young Democracy", the "County Democracy" and "Irving Hall".
Fellows was re-appointed Assistant D.A. in 1882 by D.A. John McKeon
, and remained on this post under John Vincent
, Wheeler H. Peckham, Peter B. Olney
and Randolph B. Martine
. Fellows was elected on the Tammany and County Democracy tickets D.A. in November 1887, defeating his fellow Assistant D.A. De Lancey Nicoll
who was a Democrat but ran on the Republican ticket. During the fiercely fought election campaign, two letters Fellows had written to Boss Tweed on February 1, 1873, asking for a loan of $523, were published in the New York Times, with the comment that this was the payment for Fellows's service in having the jury disagree on a verdict against Tweed on the previous day, and that the "loan" was never paid back. Fellows was D.A. from 1888 to 1890, but did not run for re-election in November 1890, preferring to rejoin Tammany Hall and to run for Congress instead. Nicoll was then elected on the Tammany ticket to succeed as D.A.
Fellows was elected as a Democrat
to the 52nd
and 53rd United States Congress
es, serving from March 4, 1891, until his resignation, effective December 31, 1893.
He was again elected on the Tammany ticket New York County D.A., and took office on January 1, 1894. He had been a delegate to all Democratic National Conventions from 1868 on. He also was a delegate to the 1896 Democratic National Convention
but repudiated William Jennings Bryan
, the Democratic candidate nominated on a Free Silver
platform and joined the "Gold Democrats". In September 1896, he was a delegate to the National Democratic
Convention in Indianapolis
which nominated the Palmer
- Buckner
ticket for the United States presidential election, 1896
.
Fellows died from stomach cancer
at his home at 610, West 152nd Street, and was buried at the Trinity Church Cemetery
.
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Life
He was the son of Tisdale Eddy Fellows (1800–1874, farmer, later Superintendent of the HalfmoonHalfmoon, New York
Halfmoon is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 18,474 at the 2000 census. The town is named for the crescent shape of the land between the Hudson River and Mohawk River....
Cemetery) and Eliza (Harris) Fellows (1809–1867). Fellows removed with his parents to a farm in Stillwater
Stillwater (town), New York
Stillwater is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,522 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village called Stillwater...
in Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
, and attended there the country schools. Among his playmates was Elmer E. Ellsworth
Elmer E. Ellsworth
-External links:* * * * * *...
.
In 1850, Fellows went to Camden
Camden, Arkansas
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the southern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Long an area of American Indians villages, the French also made a permanent settlement here because of its advantageous location above the Ouachita River. According to 2007 Census...
, Ouachita County, Arkansas, to live with his uncle. There he studied law, was admitted to the bar
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
in 1855. At one time he practiced law in partnership with Walter L. Bragg
Walter L. Bragg
Walter L. Bragg was an American Democratic politician and government official. He was one of the original commissioners of the Interstate Commerce Commission serving from the Commission's creation in 1887 until his death in 1891.-Early life:Bragg was born in Lowdnes County, Alabama on February...
.
He ran for presidential elector on the Constitutional Union
Constitutional Union Party (United States)
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
ticket of Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
and Everett
Edward Everett
Edward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...
in 1860
United States presidential election, 1860
The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...
, but Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
was carried by John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
. He was a delegate to the State secession convention
Ordinance of Secession
The Ordinance of Secession was the document drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861 by the states officially seceding from the United States of America...
in 1861.
He enlisted in the 1st Arkansas Infantry
1st Arkansas Infantry
The 1st Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. There were three regiments known as "1st Arkansas" during the war...
of the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
. After the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
, he was made a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and assigned to staff duties as assistant adjutant to Gen. William Beall
William Beall
William Nelson Rector Beall was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his supply efforts on behalf of Confederate prisoners of war.-Early life and career:...
. Later he was inspector general at Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson is a small unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is most famous for an American Civil War battle known as the Siege of Port Hudson.-Geography:...
, and was captured there on July 9, 1863. He was kept a prisoner of war until the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and released on June 10, 1865. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in Camden. He was a member of the Arkansas Senate
Arkansas Senate
The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 76,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have full-time jobs during the rest of the year. The...
from 1866 to 1867. On July 4, 1867, he married Lizzie Reynolds, and they had six children.
He was a delegate to the 1868 Democratic National Convention
1868 Democratic National Convention
The 1868 Democratic National Convention was held at Tammany Hall in New York City. Although former Governor from New York Horatio Seymour was nominated as the unanimous candidate for President, he stood virtually no chance of defeating the hero of the Civil War, Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant...
, held at the new 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...
building in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and was noticed by Tammany boss William M. Tweed as an eloquent campaign speaker. Urged by Tweed, Fellows removed to New York City to continue the practice of law there and to campaign for the Tammany organization.
Tweed secured Fellows's appointment in 1868 by Corporation Counsel Richard O'Gorman (1821–1895) as Assistant C.C., and in 1869, D.A. Samuel B. Garvin
Samuel B. Garvin
Samuel Bostwick Garvin was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
appointed Fellows an 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....
. He remained in this office until the end of 1872 when Garvin's term expired and a Republican D.A. succeeded. After the fall of Tweed, Fellows left Tammany and joined the Anti-Tammany Democrats in New York City, at times known as the "Young Democracy", the "County Democracy" and "Irving Hall".
Fellows was re-appointed Assistant D.A. in 1882 by D.A. John McKeon
John McKeon
John McKeon was an American lawyer and politician from New York.- Life :He was the son of Capt...
, and remained on this post under John Vincent
John Vincent (lawyer)
John Vincent was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:He lived in Harlem, and had a law office at 20, Nassau Street.In January 1882, John McKeon took office as New York County District Attorney and appointed Vincent an Assistant D.A. After McKeon's death on November 22, 1883,...
, Wheeler H. Peckham, Peter B. Olney
Peter B. Olney
Peter Butler Olney was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
and 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...
. Fellows was elected on the Tammany and County Democracy tickets D.A. in November 1887, defeating his fellow Assistant D.A. De Lancey Nicoll
De Lancey Nicoll
De Lancey Nicoll was a New York County District Attorney.-Life:...
who was a Democrat but ran on the Republican ticket. During the fiercely fought election campaign, two letters Fellows had written to Boss Tweed on February 1, 1873, asking for a loan of $523, were published in the New York Times, with the comment that this was the payment for Fellows's service in having the jury disagree on a verdict against Tweed on the previous day, and that the "loan" was never paid back. Fellows was D.A. from 1888 to 1890, but did not run for re-election in November 1890, preferring to rejoin Tammany Hall and to run for Congress instead. Nicoll was then elected on the Tammany ticket to succeed as D.A.
Fellows was elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the 52nd
52nd United States Congress
The Fifty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...
and 53rd United States Congress
53rd United States Congress
The Fifty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1895, during the fifth and sixth...
es, serving from March 4, 1891, until his resignation, effective December 31, 1893.
He was again elected on the Tammany ticket New York County D.A., and took office on January 1, 1894. He had been a delegate to all Democratic National Conventions from 1868 on. He also was a delegate to the 1896 Democratic National Convention
1896 Democratic National Convention
The 1896 Democratic National Convention, held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as Democratic presidential candidate for the 1896 U.S. presidential election....
but 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...
, the Democratic candidate nominated on a Free Silver
Free Silver
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
platform and joined the "Gold Democrats". In September 1896, he was a delegate to the National Democratic
National Democratic Party (United States)
The National Democratic Party or Gold Democrats was a short-lived political party of Bourbon Democrats, who opposed the regular party nominee William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Most members were admirers of Grover Cleveland. They considered Bryan a dangerous man and charged that his "free silver"...
Convention in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
which nominated the Palmer
John M. Palmer (politician)
John McAuley Palmer , was an Illinois resident, an American Civil War General who fought for the Union, the 15th Governor of Illinois, and presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party in the 1896 election on a platform to defend the gold standard, free trade, and limited...
- Buckner
Simon Bolivar Buckner
Simon Bolivar Buckner fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later served as the 30th Governor of Kentucky....
ticket for the United States presidential election, 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....
.
Fellows died from stomach cancer
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
at his home at 610, West 152nd Street, and was buried at the Trinity Church Cemetery
Trinity Church Cemetery
Trinity Church Cemetery consists of three separate burial grounds associated with Trinity Church in Manhattan, New York, USA. The first was established in the Churchyard located at 74 Trinity Place at Wall Street and Broadway...
.
Sources
- Civil War info
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System at the National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
- FAC SIMILES OF JOHN R. FELLOWS'S LETTERS TO TWEED in NYT on November 5, 1887
- KEEP THEM BEFORE THE PEOPLE.; THE LETTERS JOHN R. FELLOWS WROTE TO WILLIAM M. TWEED in NYT on November 6, 1887
- COL. JOHN R. FELLOWS DEAD in NYT on December 8, 1896
- FUNERAL OF COL. FELLOWS in NYT on December 9, 1896
- BURIAL OF COL. FELLOWS in NYT on December 10, 1896
- Fellows genealogy