Collector of the Port of New York

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Collector of the Port of New York
File:Seal of the U.S. Customs Service.svg
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File:The Custom House, New York, 1799-1815.jpg
U.S. federal government appointment overview
Formed1789
Dissolved1966
TypeCollector of import duties on foreign goods
JurisdictionPort of New York
HeadquartersUnited States Custom House, New York City
Parent departmentUnited States Department of the Treasury

The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at the Port of New York.

In addition to its control of import duties, the office controlled and distributed a large number of lucrative federal jobs, making it among the most important political patronage positions in the United States government.[1] Disputes over control of the office, particularly between the President and United States Senators from New York, who traditionally advised on political appointments within the state, were a key aspect of the national debate over civil service reform in the nineteenth century.

The best-known individual to hold the position was Chester A. Arthur, who served as collector from 1871 to 1878 and who later served as the 21st president of the United States.

History

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The first Collector, John Lamb, was appointed by George Washington in 1789. He had previously served as Collector of Customs for the State of New York from 1784.

The office was described as "the prize plum of Federal patronage not only in this State but perhaps in the country, outside of positions in the Cabinet."[1] Customs collections at US ports were overseen by three political appointees—the Collector, Surveyor, and Naval Officer.[2][a] Because they were originally paid based on a percentage system that factored in both customs collected and fines levied for those who attempted to evade payment, these appointments were very lucrative, especially those at the Port of New York, by far America's busiest port.[3] New York's Collector was the highest paid official of the federal government; as Collector from 1871 to 1878, Chester A. Arthur's compensation exceeded the modern equivalent of $1 million annually. The custom house staffs, especially at New York's Custom House were also political appointees, and were expected to contribute a portion of their salaries to the party to which they owed their appointments.[3]

Disputes over patronage at the Port of New York led to an ongoing feud from the 1860s to the 1880s between the party faction led by Roscoe Conkling and reformers who counted Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield among their number.[3] The attempts at reform that began in the 1870s led to the political appointees at each port being placed on salaries rather than the percentage system. The annual salary in 1920 was $12,000 (about $153,000 in 2019) plus about $8,000 in fees (about $102,000 in 2019).[4]

The position was abolished in 1966 when the structure of the United States Customs Service was changed. The last Collector, Joseph P. Kelly, was kept on temporarily as a consultant.[5]

List of collectors

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Portrait No. Collector Nominated by Start date End date Comments
File:General John Lamb.jpg 1 John Lamb George Washington 1789 1797 [6]
File:Joshua Sands.jpg 2 Joshua Sands John Adams 1797 1801 Confirmed May 19, 1797[6]
File:David Gelston, 1744 - 1828.jpg 3 David Gelston Thomas Jefferson 1801 1820 [6]
4 Jonathan Thompson James Monroe 1820 1829 [6]
5 Samuel Swartwout Andrew Jackson 1829 1838 Confirmed March 29, 1830.[6]
6 Jesse Hoyt Martin Van Buren 1838 1841 [6]
7 John J. Morgan 1841 1841 [6]
8 Edward Curtis William Henry Harrison 1841 1844 [6]
N/A Charles G. Ferris John Tyler - - Rejected by the U.S. Senate[6]
File:Cornelius P Van Ness.jpg 9 Cornelius P. Van Ness 1844 1845 [6]
File:Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence.jpg 10 Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence James K. Polk 1845 1849 [6]
File:Hugh Maxwell.jpg 11 Hugh Maxwell Zachary Taylor 1849 1853 [6]
File:Daniel Dickinson NY.jpg N/A Daniel S. Dickinson Franklin Pierce - - Declined nomination[6]
File:GreeneCBronson.jpg 12 Greene C. Bronson 1853 1853 [6]
File:Heman J. Redfield.jpg 13 Heman J. Redfield 1853 1857 Resigned July 1, 1857[6]
File:Augustus Schell.jpg 14 Augustus Schell James Buchanan 1857 1861 [6]
File:Hiram Barney.jpg 15 Hiram Barney Abraham Lincoln 1861 1864 Resigned[6]
File:Simeon Draper, Collector of the Port of New York.jpg 16 Simeon Draper 1864 1865 [6]
File:Preston King - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg 17 Preston King Andrew Johnson 1865 1865 Committed suicide[6]
File:Charles P. Clinch (Collector of the Port of New York) 2.jpg N/A Charles P. Clinch N/A 1865 1866 Acting[6]
File:Henry A. Smythe, Esq. (cropped).jpg 18 Henry A. Smythe Andrew Johnson 1866 1869 [6]
File:Moses H. Grinnell.jpg 19 Moses H. Grinnell Ulysses S. Grant 1869 1870 [6]
File:Thomas Murphy (Collector of the Port of New York).jpg 20 Thomas Murphy 1870 1871 [6]
File:20 Chester Arthur 3x4.jpg 21 Chester A. Arthur 1871 1878 [6]
File:Theodore Roosevelt Sr.gif N/A Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Rutherford B. Hayes - - Rejected by U.S. Senate
File:Edwin Atkins Merritt.png 22 Edwin Atkins Merritt 1878 1881
File:WilliamHRobertson.jpg 23 William H. Robertson James A. Garfield 1881 1885 Nominated March 24, 1881
File:Edward L. Hedden (Collector of the Port of New York).jpg 24 Edward L. Hedden Grover Cleveland 1885 1886
File:Daniel Magone.jpg 25 Daniel Magone 1886 1889
File:Joel B. Erhardt.jpg 26 Joel Erhardt Benjamin Harrison 1889 1891
File:J. S. Fassett (cropped).jpg 27 Jacob Sloat Fassett 1891 1891
File:FrancisHendricks.jpg 28 Francis Hendricks 1891 1893 [7][8]
File:James T. Kilbreth (New York politician and judge).jpg 29 James Truesdell Kilbreth Grover Cleveland 1893 1897 Died in office[9][b]
File:George R. Bidwell (Collector of the Port of New York).jpg 30 George R. Bidwell William McKinley 1897 1902 [10]
File:Nevada N. Stranahan.jpg 31 Nevada Stranahan Theodore Roosevelt 1902 1907 Resigned due to ill health
N/A Henry C. Stuart N/A 1907 1907 Acting
32 Edward S. Fowler Theodore Roosevelt 1907 1909
File:William Loeb Jr cph.3a01288 (cropped).jpg 33 William Loeb Jr. William Howard Taft 1909 1913
File:John Purroy Mitchel on May 11, 1914 at the memorial for the Veracruz dead.png 34 John Purroy Mitchel Woodrow Wilson 1913 1913 Elected Mayor of New York City[11][12]
File:Dudley Field Malone, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front LCCN97511646 Trim.jpg 35 Dudley Field Malone 1913 1917 [13]
File:Byron Rufus Newton in 1917.jpg 36 Byron Rufus Newton 1917 1921 [14]
File:George Washington Aldridge II.png 37 George W. Aldridge Warren G. Harding 1921 1922 Died in office[1]
File:H.C. Stuart, outgoing New York Collector of the Port.jpg N/A Henry C. Stuart N/A 1922 1923 Acting[15]
File:Philip Elting (LOC).jpg 38 Philip Elting Calvin Coolidge 1923 1933 [16]
39 Harry M. Durning Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933 1953 [c]
40 Robert Wharton Dill Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953 1961
41 Joseph P. Kelly John F. Kennedy 1961 1966 [17]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Naval Officer was a political appointee, not a military one. The position was called "naval" because the incumbent was expected to board and inspect ships to aid the Surveyor and Collector in estimating the duties owed.
  2. ^ A private act of the 58th United States Congress in March 1904, indemnified James T. Kilbreth (posthumously), George R. Bidwell, and Nevada N. Stranahan as collectors of customs for the district and port of New York for the losses through embezzlement by Byram W. Winters, a customs service clerk. Stranahan received a refund in the sum of $8,821.44 from the federal government, having personally settled the entire amount of the fraud.
  3. ^ Harry M. Durning was the defendant in the case of Dioguardi v. Durning, 139 F.2d 774 (2d Cir. 1944), which is frequently used in Civil Procedure courses as a starting point to teach pleadings under the modern approach of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

References

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  17. ^ NEW IMPOST CHIEF; Kelly Sworn as Port's 41st Collector of Customs in The New York Times on July 6, 1961 (subscription required)
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