Historical Society of the New York Courts

Alton B. Parker: New York’s Neglected Statesman

June 8, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 2 Comments

The History Channel’s new special on Theodore Roosevelt describes his victory in the 1904 presidential election but doesn’t even mention his Democratic opponent.

That was New York Court of Appeals’ former Chief Judge Alton B. Parker (1852-1926), probably the most neglected major party presidential candidate in U.S. history. Yet at the time of the election Parker was the leader of one of the nation’s two major political parties and one of the nation’s foremost judicial statesmen. [Read more…] about Alton B. Parker: New York’s Neglected Statesman

The Lemmon Slave Case: A Defense of New York State Abolition

January 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lemmon v. New York, or Lemmon v. The People (1860) was a freedom suit begun in 1852 with a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The case brought up questions about the legality of slavery within the United States , especially challenging the slavery laws between the northern and southern states.

While relocating to Texas by way of New York State, Virginia enslavers Jonathan and Juliet Lemmon brought to the city of New York eight enslaved people. They made up two family groups, each headed by a young woman: the first was Emiline (age 23), Edward (age 13), brother of Emiline; and Amanda (age 2), daughter of Emiline. The second was Nancy (age 20); Lewis (age 16), brother of Nancy; Lewis and Edward (age 7), sons of Nancy; and Ann (age 5), daughter of Nancy.

Justice from a Distance: NYS Courts Pandemic Oral History

October 7, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

When COVID-19 shut down New York, the courts stayed open. How the work of the courts continued is a central theme of a new digital archive of oral histories from the Historical Society of the New York Courts and the Unified Court System.