Samuel Bulkley Ruggles
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer and politician from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was a member of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
in 1838, and a Canal Commissioner
Erie Canal Commission
The New York State Legislature appointed in 1810 a Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie, and Report which became known as the Erie Canal Commission...
from 1839 to 1842 and in 1858. As a large landholder, he donated the land for the creation of Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
in New York City. Its restrictive covenant has preserved it through much development nearby. He was a member of the city's Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, which published his reports on economics and public policy. In the 1860s, he represented the United States at several international conferences on economics and statistics in Europe.
Life
Samuel Ruggles was born in New MilfordNew Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in southern Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States north of Danbury, on the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly . The population was 28,671 according to the Census Bureau's 2006 estimates...
, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Litchfield County, Connecticut
Litchfield County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut but is geographically the state's largest county. As of 2010 the population was 189,927...
, the son of Philo Ruggles, who became Surrogate and District Attorney of Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
. Samuel was a precocious student and graduated from Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
in 1814 at the age of 14. Although he read for the law, he had to wait to be admitted to the bar until he came of age in 1821. He was a successful lawyer in 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...
for several years and accumulated large landholdings, but eventually gave up the practice of law for public affairs.
As a large landholder in New York City, Ruggles helped establish Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
, dedicated in 1831, to which he personally donated the land. He deeded the property to the city with a covenant restricting surrounding uses to residential and providing that the residents be taxed to maintain the park. He was also instrumental in getting Union Square
Union Square (New York City)
Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
established. Of the parks and squares he said,
"Come what will, our open squares will remain forever imperishable. Buildings, towers, palaces, may moulder and crumble beneath the touch of time; but space-free, glorious, open space -will remain to bless the City forever."
Ruggles died at the Surf Hotel on Fire Island where he spent his summer vacations. After his wife had died several years before, he had given up their big house and lived during the winter season at an apartment in the Westminster Hotel in New York City.
His daughter Ellen was married to the attorney George Templeton Strong
George Templeton Strong
George Templeton Strong was an American lawyer and diarist. His 2,250-page diary, discovered in the 1930s, provides a striking personal account of life in the 19th century, especially during the events of the American Civil War...
and lived in New York. His son James F. Ruggles also lived in New York.
Chief Judge Charles H. Ruggles
Charles H. Ruggles
Charles Herman Ruggles was an American lawyer and politician who was a U.S...
was his cousin.
Political career
Ruggles was a Whig member from New York County of the New York State AssemblyNew York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
in 1838, and was Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.
In 1839, he was elected by the New York State Legislature as a Canal Commissioner
Erie Canal Commission
The New York State Legislature appointed in 1810 a Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie, and Report which became known as the Erie Canal Commission...
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer. In 1840, he was the only canal commissioner to remain in office when the new Whig majority removed all Democratic commissioners. In 1842, the Whig commissioners, including Ruggles, were removed by the Democrats.
After leaving the Canal Commission, Ruggles became a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce. There he wrote numerous pamphlets and articles about public policy, economics and related issues, which were published by the Chamber.
He became a trustee of Columbia College. In 1854, concerned about its decline in enrollment and number of faculty in mid-century, and its trustees' decision against appointing a respected scientist, Dr. Oliver Wolcott Gibbs
Oliver Wolcott Gibbs
For the writer, see Wolcott Gibbs.Oliver Wolcott Gibbs was an American chemist. He is known for performing the first electrogravimetric analyses, namely the reductions of copper and nickel ions to their respective metals.- Biography:Oliver Wolcott Gibbs was born in New York City in 1822 to...
, because he was Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, that year Ruggles self-published the 60-page pamphlet, "The Duty of Columbia College to the Community". It had started as a letter to the trustees but he decided to expand it and publish it. He urged appointment of Gibbs on the basis of his qualifications and also the upgrading of Columbia's curriculum to include more of the physical sciences, and made a plea for a strong college. At the time, some people considered Gibbs' Unitarian orientation controversial. The university has long been secular.
In July 1858, Ruggles was appointed by Governor John Alsop King
John Alsop King
John Alsop King was an American politician who served as governor of New York.He was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on 3 January 1788 and was educated at Harrow School in England...
as a canal commissioner again, this time to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel S. Whallon
Samuel S. Whallon
Samuel S. Whallon was an American merchant and politician from New York.-Life:About 1812. his family removed to Mayville, New York...
, and serving briefly until the end of the year.
In the 1860s Ruggles was selected as a United States delegate and representative to several 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...
an assemblies, such as the International Statistics Congress in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1863, the Paris Exposition
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
of 1867, and the 1869 International Statistics Conference at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
Sources
- Bender, Thomas, New York Intellect: A History of Intellectual Life in New York City, from 1750 to the Beginnings of Our Own Time, Knopf, 1987. ISBN 0394550269
- "Gramercy Park", The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Editorial, 'July 3, 1921, p. 22. Gramercy Park's 90th anniversary and history. - "Samuel B. Ruggles, Founder Of Gramercy Park", Antiques Digest, reprinted. Originally published 1921.
- The New York Civil List, compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, New York: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858, pp. 42, 221 and 301
- "AN OLD NEW-YORKER GONE; THE BUSY LIFE OF SAMUEL B. RUGGLES BROUGHT TO A CLOSE", New York Times, 29 August 1881 (stating erroneously he had been a member of the Canal Board for 18 years)
- "The Canal Commissionership", Copies of letters to and from Ruggles on his 1858 appointment, New York Times, 22 July 1858
External links
- "Samuel Bulkley Ruggles", Virtual American Biographies
- Samuel B. Ruggles, "The Duty of Columbia College to the Community", New York: J.F. Trow, 1854