Joel Erhardt
Encyclopedia
Joel Benedict Erhardt was an American politician, civil servant, lawyer and businessman. He served as the police commissioner
for the New York Police Department, U.S. Marshal for the Southern Port of New York, the Collector of the Port of New York
and was the Republican candidate who ran against Hugh J. Grant for the Mayor of New York in 1888.
and moved with his parents, John Erhardt and Louisa Benedict, to New York City at the age of three. He came from a poor background, it being necessary for him to work in order to pay for the costs of public schooling, and was employed as messenger and clerk. Erhardt continued to work his way though college, becoming a schoolteacher in Upper Jay, New York, attending the University of Vermont
as a law student. He continued his studies up until the start of the American Civil War
whereupon he volunteered to enlist in the Union Army
.
He initially joined the Ninth Militia Regiment
, but reportedly anxious for active duty, he left the unit for the Second
and then Seventy-First Regiments until finally leaving for the front lines with the Seventh Regiment
. He had to borrow the money to pay for his uniform. After his enlistment period was up, he returned to his home state to raise the First Vermont Cavalry
serving with them until 1863. He had reached the rank of Captain by that time and, that summer, he was appointed a provost marshal
and assigned to New York City
where he would oversee enforcing conscription in the Tenth District. Although criticized for the low number of recruits compared to the other provost marshals in the city, Secretary of War Henry Stanton
defended Erhardt's efforts stating "The men he enlists my be few but they go to the front and fight, every one of them. They are not bounty jumper
s". In the days before the New York Draft Riots
, he was confronted by several men with iron bars while trying to collect names in a new tenement building at Broadway and Liberty Street
. Erhardt held the men off for three hours while waiting for reinforcements, armed only with his pistol, but was eventually forced to retreat without the names.
After the war, Erhardt became a lawyer and remained in New York serving as Assistant U.S. District Attorney in Brooklyn
. In 1876, Erhardt was named as police commissioner of the New York Police Department by Governor Samuel J. Tilden
after the dismissal of George Washington Matsell and Abram Disbecker by Mayor William H. Wickham
. Erhardt was a strong advocate of introducing a style of military discipline within the department. He also criticized the substitution of one police commissioner as a replacement for the old four-man committee, commenting that "it was an absurdity to have a removable Commissioner at the head of an irremovable force", however it was widely speculated that for political reasons Mayor Edward Cooper
insisted that charges be brought against the previous police commissioners. Nothing would came of the trial, however.
In 1883, Erhardt was appointed U.S. Marshal for the Southern Port of New York by President Chester A. Arthur
. He also became receiver of the New York City and Northern Railroad and, by 1888, the annual receipts of the road had risen from $24,000 to $400,000 when he returned control of the line to its owners. He was made its president of the company following its reorganization. That same year, he was nominated by the Republican Party to run for the Mayor of New York. Elihu Root
, then U.S. District Attorney and a personal friend of Erhardt while a U.S. Marshal, publicly endorsed his candidacy stating:
One of seven candidates, it was suggested at the time that Erhardt had merely been placed on the ticket as a political sacrifice for the Republicans. In spite of this, he made a strong showing in the race but was defeated by the Tammany Hall
candidate Hugh J. Grant. Partly due to his popularity in the election, Erhardt was made Collector of the Port of New York shortly afterwards. His appointment was only reluctantly made by Thomas C. Platt
, then a leader the Republican Party in New York, and because of Erhardt's resistance against the city's political machine he and his followers did everything within their power to interfere with and otherwise undermine Erhardt. He finally resigned in 1891 announcing that "the Collector has been reduced to a position where he is no longer an independent officer with authority commensurate with his responsibility". This was the last position he would ever hold.
He was a successful businessman in his later years, serving as the president and director of the Public Accountants' Corporation, trustee of the Bowery Savings Bank
, director of Echo Lake Ice Company and interested in several other major corporations. Erhardt was also the director for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
until 1906 when he resigned due to a dispute with the management of the society. He was involved with a member of the Union League Club, Loyal Legion
, New England Society
, Saint Nicholas Society, Sphinx and Downtown Clubs.
In September 1909, Erhardt was staying at the Union League Club while his wife, Nora Belle Jewett, was visiting their daughter at York Harbor, Maine
for part of the summer. He had told his private secretary
that he had not been feeling well, believing he may have developed rheumatism
, and his friends at the club noticed that he had been in ill health during the last month but appeared well while staying at the club. On the morning of September 7, at about 1:00 a.m., the club watchman was passing Erhardt's room and saw him sitting at the side of his bed and was told by him to get a doctor at once. His family physician, Dr. John Solley, was called from his home on West Fifty-Eighth Street but Erhardt died at 1:20 a.m. At the time of his death, he was the president of the Lawyers' Surety Company and a director in a number of corporations.
Police commissioner
Commissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces and may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. In some organizations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a...
for the New York Police Department, U.S. Marshal for the Southern Port of New York, the Collector of the Port of New York
Collector of the Port of New York
The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, sometimes also as Collector of Customs for the Port of New York or Collector of Customs for the District of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import...
and was the Republican candidate who ran against Hugh J. Grant for the Mayor of New York in 1888.
Biography
Joel Benedict Erhardt was born in Pottstown, PennsylvaniaPottstown, Pennsylvania
Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States northwest of Philadelphia and southeast of Reading, on the Schuylkill River. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the...
and moved with his parents, John Erhardt and Louisa Benedict, to New York City at the age of three. He came from a poor background, it being necessary for him to work in order to pay for the costs of public schooling, and was employed as messenger and clerk. Erhardt continued to work his way though college, becoming a schoolteacher in Upper Jay, New York, attending the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
as a law student. He continued his studies up until the start 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...
whereupon he volunteered to enlist in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
.
He initially joined the Ninth Militia Regiment
9th Vermont Infantry
The 9th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater, from July 1862 to December 1865...
, but reportedly anxious for active duty, he left the unit for the Second
2nd Vermont Infantry
The 2nd Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three year' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from June 1861 to July 1865...
and then Seventy-First Regiments until finally leaving for the front lines with the Seventh Regiment
7th Vermont Infantry
The 7th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Western Theater, predominantly in Louisiana and Florida, from February 1862 to March 1866...
. He had to borrow the money to pay for his uniform. After his enlistment period was up, he returned to his home state to raise the First Vermont Cavalry
1st Vermont Cavalry
The 1st Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Cavalry was a three years' cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater from November 1861 to August 1865, in the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac....
serving with them until 1863. He had reached the rank of Captain by that time and, that summer, he was appointed a provost marshal
Provost Marshal
The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
and assigned to 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...
where he would oversee enforcing conscription in the Tenth District. Although criticized for the low number of recruits compared to the other provost marshals in the city, Secretary of War Henry Stanton
Henry Stanton
Henry Brewster Stanton was a 19th century abolitionist and social reformer.-Biography:Stanton was born in Preston, Connecticut, the son of Joseph Stanton and Susan M. Brewster...
defended Erhardt's efforts stating "The men he enlists my be few but they go to the front and fight, every one of them. They are not bounty jumper
Bounty jumper
Bounty jumpers were men who enlisted in the Union or Confederate army during the American Civil War only to collect a bounty and then leave. The draft of 1863 allowed individuals to pay a bounty to someone else to fight in their place rather than be drafted...
s". In the days before the New York Draft Riots
New York Draft Riots
The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War itself...
, he was confronted by several men with iron bars while trying to collect names in a new tenement building at Broadway and Liberty Street
Liberty Street
Liberty Street was a Canadian drama television series, which aired on CBC Television in 1995.Produced by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler, the team behind the long-running Degrassi series of television shows, Liberty Street was an attempt to create a similar series depicting the lives of a group of...
. Erhardt held the men off for three hours while waiting for reinforcements, armed only with his pistol, but was eventually forced to retreat without the names.
After the war, Erhardt became a lawyer and remained in New York serving as Assistant U.S. District Attorney in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. In 1876, Erhardt was named as police commissioner of the New York Police Department by Governor Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...
after the dismissal of George Washington Matsell and Abram Disbecker by Mayor William H. Wickham
William H. Wickham
William H. Wickham was a New York mayor and anti-Ring Democrat who helped to topple corrupt politician Boss Tweed.-Biography:...
. Erhardt was a strong advocate of introducing a style of military discipline within the department. He also criticized the substitution of one police commissioner as a replacement for the old four-man committee, commenting that "it was an absurdity to have a removable Commissioner at the head of an irremovable force", however it was widely speculated that for political reasons Mayor Edward Cooper
Edward Cooper (mayor)
Edward Cooper was the Mayor of New York City from 1879 to 1880, serving as a Democrat. He was the only son of industrialist Peter Cooper. Edward Cooper's business partner and brother-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt, also served as mayor of New York City . W.R. Grace's terms as mayor separated Cooper's and...
insisted that charges be brought against the previous police commissioners. Nothing would came of the trial, however.
In 1883, Erhardt was appointed U.S. Marshal for the Southern Port of New York by President Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
. He also became receiver of the New York City and Northern Railroad and, by 1888, the annual receipts of the road had risen from $24,000 to $400,000 when he returned control of the line to its owners. He was made its president of the company following its reorganization. That same year, he was nominated by the Republican Party to run for the Mayor of New York. Elihu Root
Elihu Root
Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
, then U.S. District Attorney and a personal friend of Erhardt while a U.S. Marshal, publicly endorsed his candidacy stating:
- His name is the synonym for the faithful discharge of duty. In his business regulations he has won the respect and admiration of all who know him. As a public officer, when fortunes were within his grasp, not a thought of seizing them entered his mind. He is a man vigorously positive, determined, honest, generous and able. Not a stain has been cast on his name. Not a man can say a word against him to impeach his qualifications for the Mayoralty of New York.
One of seven candidates, it was suggested at the time that Erhardt had merely been placed on the ticket as a political sacrifice for the Republicans. In spite of this, he made a strong showing in the race but was defeated by the 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...
candidate Hugh J. Grant. Partly due to his popularity in the election, Erhardt was made Collector of the Port of New York shortly afterwards. His appointment was only reluctantly made by Thomas C. Platt
Thomas C. Platt
Thomas Collier Platt was a two-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a three-term U.S. Senator from New York in the years 1881 and 1897-1909 — is best known as the "political boss" of the Republican Party in New York State in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century...
, then a leader the Republican Party in New York, and because of Erhardt's resistance against the city's political machine he and his followers did everything within their power to interfere with and otherwise undermine Erhardt. He finally resigned in 1891 announcing that "the Collector has been reduced to a position where he is no longer an independent officer with authority commensurate with his responsibility". This was the last position he would ever hold.
He was a successful businessman in his later years, serving as the president and director of the Public Accountants' Corporation, trustee of the Bowery Savings Bank
Bowery Savings Bank
The Bowery Savings Bank of New York City was chartered in May 1834 and is now part of Capital One Bank.-History:Opened in 1834 on the Bowery in NYC. By 1980 it had over 35 branches located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. When bank deregulation was enacted the bank...
, director of Echo Lake Ice Company and interested in several other major corporations. Erhardt was also the director for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization originally founded in England in 1824 to pass laws protecting carriage horses from abuse. SPCA groups are now found in many nations, where they campaign for animal welfare, assist in cruelty to animals...
until 1906 when he resigned due to a dispute with the management of the society. He was involved with a member of the Union League Club, Loyal Legion
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion, is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by officers of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States who "had aided in maintaining the honor,...
, New England Society
New England Society of New York
The New England Society of New York is one of several prestigious lineage organizations in the United States and one of the oldest charitable societies in the country. It was organized on May 6, 1805 to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on Plymouth Rock...
, Saint Nicholas Society, Sphinx and Downtown Clubs.
In September 1909, Erhardt was staying at the Union League Club while his wife, Nora Belle Jewett, was visiting their daughter at York Harbor, Maine
York Harbor, Maine
York Harbor is a census-designated place in the town of York in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,321 at the 2000 census. York Harbor is a distinguished former Gilded Age summer colony noted for its resort architecture...
for part of the summer. He had told his private secretary
Private Secretary
In the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister...
that he had not been feeling well, believing he may have developed rheumatism
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
, and his friends at the club noticed that he had been in ill health during the last month but appeared well while staying at the club. On the morning of September 7, at about 1:00 a.m., the club watchman was passing Erhardt's room and saw him sitting at the side of his bed and was told by him to get a doctor at once. His family physician, Dr. John Solley, was called from his home on West Fifty-Eighth Street but Erhardt died at 1:20 a.m. At the time of his death, he was the president of the Lawyers' Surety Company and a director in a number of corporations.
Further reading
- Astor, Gerald. The New York Cops: An Informal History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971.
- Cook, Adrian. The Armies of the Streets: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.
- Costello, Augustine E. Our Police Protectors: History of the New York Police from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. New York: A.E. Costello, 1885.