Thomas J. Spellacy
Encyclopedia
Thomas Joseph Spellacy was an American political leader and lawyer
. He is best remembered for his years as the mayor
of Hartford
, Connecticut
, but held several other offices and was one of Connecticut's most prominent Democrats
over a period of more than 50 years.
, Miss Burbank’s Private School and the College of the Holy Cross
. He received a degree from Georgetown University Law School
in 1901. He was admitted to the bar in Tennessee
in 1901 and in Connecticut in 1903. Also in 1903 he married Nellie Walsh of Middletown, Connecticut
.
Early in his career, Spellacy blended his interests in journalism, law and politics. He started a student publication that circulated in the Hartford public schools and worked as a reporter for the Hartford Telegram prior to attending law school. He was a part owner of the Hartford Sunday Globe and briefly the owner of the Hartford Evening Post, both of which were sold to other Hartford newspapers.
He was elected to the Connecticut State Senate
in 1906, failed to win renomination in 1908 and recaptured the nomination and his seat in 1910. He was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Hartford, while serving as the city’s party chairman, in 1912, losing to Col. Louis R. Cheney in a spring election. Later that year Spellacy was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
for the first of five times. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Hartford in 1914, losing the Democratic nomination to Joseph H. Lawler, the eventual winner. President
Woodrow Wilson
appointed him United States Attorney
for the District of Connecticut
to fill the unexpired term of Frederick Scott in 1915.
Spellacy, while still serving as U.S. Attorney, was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut in 1918 and lost to the incumbent, Marcus H. Holcomb
. Shortly after the election, the World War I
armistice
went into effect and Spellacy resigned his position as United States Attorney to become the legal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy
, Franklin D. Roosevelt
, in the settlement of claims involving the Navy
and various allied powers
in Europe
during the winter of 1918-1919. Both Spellacy and Roosevelt returned on the USS George Washington with President Wilson, who was returning from the Paris Peace Conference
.
of the United States and was in charge of the enemy custodianship department. He argued three cases for the government before the Supreme Court
while acting in this capacity. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Georgetown University in 1920.
During this period Spellacy became more active in national Democratic party politics, again serving as delegate to the 1920 national convention, where he was Chairman of the Rules Committee and manager of the presidential campaign of Attorney General
A. Mitchell Palmer. In one instance his name was associated with possible political advocacy on the part of the Department of Justice. Just two weeks before the 1920 election, John R. Rathom
, publisher of the Providence Journal, charged that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Democratic candidate for Vice President
, had acted improperly while Assistant Secretary of the Navy in releasing sailors convicted on morals charges from Portsmouth Naval Prison. Spellacy, along with Francis G. Caffey
, the U.S. Attorney in New York, released information from Justice Department
files that discredited Rathom.
After leaving government service in February, 1921, he became the law partner of two other officials involved in the custody and liquidation of enemy property seized during the war, forming the New York City
firm of Garvan, Corbett and Spellacy, with its office on Wall Street
.
Connecticut’s Democrats nominated Spellacy for the United States Senate
in 1922, but he was defeated by former governor George McLean
. He was again a delegate to the 1924 Democratic national convention, supporting Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York, while himself receiving a vote on each of the 41st and 42nd ballots, and was eastern regional campaign manager for the eventual compromise nominee (chosen after Smith and the other leading contender, William Gibbs McAdoo
, deadlocked), John W. Davis
.
Spellacy was a member of the Democratic National Committee
from 1926 to 1928. He continued to be a supporter of Alfred Smith in both the year the “Happy Warrior” was the party’s nominee, 1928, and in 1932, when Smith lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Spellacy did not attend the Democratic convention in 1932 due to his wife’s ill health; she died later that summer. He remarried in 1934; his second wife, Elisabeth B. Gill, was thirty years his junior. She was the sister of the journalist and author Brendan Gill
. They had one child, a son, Bourke Gill Spellacy (1937-), a founder of the Hartford law firm Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.
and the coming of World War II
and the defense boom in Hartford before and during the war, but also by the devastating floods of the spring of 1936 and those resulting from the New England Hurricane of 1938
. On June 18, 1943, he made good on a threat to resign if he could not get the Board of Aldermen to adopt his proposal to require residency in the city by municipal employees. He failed in his attempt to return to the office of mayor in 1945.
Spellacy was not thereafter nominated by his party for any elective office. However, he was a member of the Metropolitan District Commission and Park River
Flood Commission and was appointed Insurance Commissioner of the State of Connecticut by Gov. Abraham Ribicoff in 1955. He served in that position until his death in New York City while attending a conference of state insurance commissioners on December 5, 1957.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. He is best remembered for his years as the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, but held several other offices and was one of Connecticut's most prominent Democrats
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...
over a period of more than 50 years.
Early life and career
Spellacy was born in Hartford, the son of James Spellacy, a contractor, and Catherine (Bourke) Spellacy. He attended Hartford Public High SchoolHartford Public High School
Hartford Public High School was founded in 1638. It is the second-oldest public secondary school in the United States , second to the Boston Latin School. It is a part of the Hartford Public Schools district.-History:...
, Miss Burbank’s Private School and the College of the Holy Cross
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
. He received a degree from Georgetown University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
in 1901. He was admitted to the bar in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in 1901 and in Connecticut in 1903. Also in 1903 he married Nellie Walsh of Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
.
Early in his career, Spellacy blended his interests in journalism, law and politics. He started a student publication that circulated in the Hartford public schools and worked as a reporter for the Hartford Telegram prior to attending law school. He was a part owner of the Hartford Sunday Globe and briefly the owner of the Hartford Evening Post, both of which were sold to other Hartford newspapers.
He was elected to the Connecticut State Senate
Connecticut Senate
The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 94,600 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without term limits...
in 1906, failed to win renomination in 1908 and recaptured the nomination and his seat in 1910. He was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Hartford, while serving as the city’s party chairman, in 1912, losing to Col. Louis R. Cheney in a spring election. Later that year Spellacy was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
for the first of five times. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Hartford in 1914, losing the Democratic nomination to Joseph H. Lawler, the eventual winner. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
appointed him United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the District of Connecticut
United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven. Appeals from the court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...
to fill the unexpired term of Frederick Scott in 1915.
Spellacy, while still serving as U.S. Attorney, was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut in 1918 and lost to the incumbent, Marcus H. Holcomb
Marcus H. Holcomb
Marcus H. Holcomb was an American politician and the 51st Governor of Connecticut.- Early life :Holcomb was born in New Hartford, Connecticut on November 28, 1844. He studied at public school system New Hartford. He then studied at Wesleyan Seminary in Massachusetts. Later he also studied law.-...
. Shortly after the election, the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
went into effect and Spellacy resigned his position as United States Attorney to become the legal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy....
, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, in the settlement of claims involving the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and various allied powers
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during the winter of 1918-1919. Both Spellacy and Roosevelt returned on the USS George Washington with President Wilson, who was returning from the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
.
National politics
After his return from Europe in 1919, Spellacy was appointed Assistant Attorney GeneralUnited States Assistant Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General.The President of the United States appoints individuals to the position of Assistant Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate...
of the United States and was in charge of the enemy custodianship department. He argued three cases for the government before the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
while acting in this capacity. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Georgetown University in 1920.
During this period Spellacy became more active in national Democratic party politics, again serving as delegate to the 1920 national convention, where he was Chairman of the Rules Committee and manager of the presidential campaign of Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
A. Mitchell Palmer. In one instance his name was associated with possible political advocacy on the part of the Department of Justice. Just two weeks before the 1920 election, John R. Rathom
John R. Rathom
John R. Rathom was a journalist, editor, and author based in Rhode Island at the height of his career. In the years before World War I, he was a prominent advocate of American participation in the war against Germany...
, publisher of the Providence Journal, charged that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Democratic candidate for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, had acted improperly while Assistant Secretary of the Navy in releasing sailors convicted on morals charges from Portsmouth Naval Prison. Spellacy, along with Francis G. Caffey
Francis Gordon Caffey
Francis Gordon Caffey was a United States federal judge.Born in Gordonsville, Alabama, Caffey received an M.A. from Howard College, Alabama in 1887, an A.B. from Harvard University in 1891, and another M.A. from Harvard University in 1892...
, the U.S. Attorney in New York, released information from Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
files that discredited Rathom.
After leaving government service in February, 1921, he became the law partner of two other officials involved in the custody and liquidation of enemy property seized during the war, forming the 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...
firm of Garvan, Corbett and Spellacy, with its office on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
.
Connecticut’s Democrats nominated Spellacy for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1922, but he was defeated by former governor George McLean
George McLean
George McLean is the name of:* George P. McLean , American Senator from Connecticut* George McLean , Scottish footballer, midfield* George McLean , Scottish footballer for English clubs, centre-forward...
. He was again a delegate to the 1924 Democratic national convention, supporting Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York, while himself receiving a vote on each of the 41st and 42nd ballots, and was eastern regional campaign manager for the eventual compromise nominee (chosen after Smith and the other leading contender, William Gibbs McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo, Jr. was an American lawyer and political leader who served as a U.S. Senator, United States Secretary of the Treasury and director of the United States Railroad Administration...
, deadlocked), John W. Davis
John W. Davis
John William Davis was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served as a United States Representative from West Virginia , then as Solicitor General of the United States and US Ambassador to the UK under President Woodrow Wilson...
.
Spellacy was a member 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...
from 1926 to 1928. He continued to be a supporter of Alfred Smith in both the year the “Happy Warrior” was the party’s nominee, 1928, and in 1932, when Smith lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Spellacy did not attend the Democratic convention in 1932 due to his wife’s ill health; she died later that summer. He remarried in 1934; his second wife, Elisabeth B. Gill, was thirty years his junior. She was the sister of the journalist and author Brendan Gill
Brendan Gill
Brendan Gill wrote for The New Yorker for more than 60 years. He also contributed film criticism for Film Comment and wrote a popular book about his time at the New Yorker magazine.-Biography:...
. They had one child, a son, Bourke Gill Spellacy (1937-), a founder of the Hartford law firm Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.
Mayor of Hartford and subsequent career
Upon the death of John A. Pilgard—who died only nine days after being elected and before he could take office -- Spellacy was elected mayor of Hartford in 1935 by the Board of Aldermen. He was re-elected three times. His tenure in office was marked not only by the effects of the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the coming of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the defense boom in Hartford before and during the war, but also by the devastating floods of the spring of 1936 and those resulting from the New England Hurricane of 1938
New England Hurricane of 1938
The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...
. On June 18, 1943, he made good on a threat to resign if he could not get the Board of Aldermen to adopt his proposal to require residency in the city by municipal employees. He failed in his attempt to return to the office of mayor in 1945.
Spellacy was not thereafter nominated by his party for any elective office. However, he was a member of the Metropolitan District Commission and Park River
Park River (Connecticut)
The Park River, sometimes called the Hog River, is a subterranean urban river that flows through and under the city of Hartford, Connecticut. It was diverted underground by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1940. The stated reason for this was to reduce the risk of spring seasonal floods which had...
Flood Commission and was appointed Insurance Commissioner of the State of Connecticut by Gov. Abraham Ribicoff in 1955. He served in that position until his death in New York City while attending a conference of state insurance commissioners on December 5, 1957.