The concept of an “honest Tammany man” sounds like an oxymoron, but it became a reality in the curious career of Ashbel P. Fitch, who served New York City as a four-term congressman and a one-term city comptroller during the late nineteenth century.
Although little known today, Fitch was well respected in his own day and played a pivotal role on both national and local stages. Born in Northern New York, he was once challenged to a duel by an impulsive Theodore Roosevelt. [Read more…] about Ashbel Fitch: Champion of Old New York