]> hill_db David B. Hill Papers An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University KM &su_name; &su_address; Oct 1988 [Derived from Summit] 12 Mar 2007 English 3 May 2010 - converted to EAD (MRC) Overview of the Collection &su_name; &su_address; Hill, David B. (David Bennett), 1843-1910. David B. Hill Papers 1885-1910 0.5 linear ft. New York State Governor, 1885-1891; U.S. Senator, 1891-1897. Collection contains incoming and outgoing correspondence (chiefly political), legal papers and memorabilia. 149053 English Biographical History

David Bennett Hill (1843-1910) was an American politician from New York. He was mayor of Elmira, New York (1892) and shortly thereafter (1893-1895) became lieutenant governor of the state. He served as governor of New York from 1885-1891 and then was elected to the U. S. Senate where he served five years (1892-1897).

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The David B. Hill Papers consist of correspondence (chiefly political), legal material and memorabilia.

Correspondence, most of which is incoming, includes both business and personal letters from many people active in state and national politics at the turn of the century. Many of the letters register opinions concerning various pieces of legislation which were before Hill during his tenure as governor, including those of Richard Croker, William E. Chandler, A. J. Dittenhoefer, William Evarts, R. G. Ingersoll, Francis Kernan, Daniel S. Lamont, Paul Smith, S. J. Tilden, Benjamin F. Tracy. Numerous letters include suggestions for political appointments (John Griffin Carlisle, Charles A. Dana, John W. Daniel, Asa B. Gardiner, A. H. Green, Horatio Collins King, Daniel E. Sickles), while others are social or personal in nature (Thomas F. Bayard, Perry Belmont, Roscoe Conkling, Thomas W. Hotchkiss, A. K. McClure, Jacob Ruppert, Claude A. Swanson, James A. Thomas).

There are also a substantial number of letters concerning New York State Democratic Party politics (Henry Watson Cornell, S. S. Cox, Alton B. Parker, Roger Atkinson Pryor, Edward Morse Shepard, F. M. Simmons, C. E. Treman); a few items relating to insurance legislation (James W. Alexander, William W. Armstrong, Charles Evans Hughes); and two letters discussing the installation of a zoological garden in a section of Central Park (A. H. Green, Henry Codman Potter). There is also a lengthy letter (25 May 1895) from John Bigelow in which he discusses his difficulties in writing a Samuel J. Tilden biography which would "prove acceptable to his contemporaries, and yet stand the test to which it will be subjected by an impartial posterity." He goes on to defend his description of New York Governor William Marcy as "more of a politician than a statesman."

Legal material in the collection includes a contract for sale of the Elmira Gazette, documents relating to the trial of Albert T. Patrick for the murder of William Marsh Rice, and an official opinion of the Governor "in the matter of the removal of Alexander Shaler from the office of the Department of Health" of New York City. The material relating to the Patrick case includes correspondence (including a series of letters from Patrick to the Governor, requesting a pardon), official documents concerning the case and its subsequent appeal, and an item by Clark Bell about the trial, reprinted from the Medico-Legal Journal.

Memorabilia includes three miscellaneous clippings and a photograph of Hill.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Subject and Genre Headings New York State Politics, government and public administration Armstrong, William W., b. 1833. Bayard, Thomas F. (Thomas Francis), 1828-1898. Belmont, Perry, 1850-1947. Bigelow, John, 1817-1911. Carlisle, John Griffin, 1835-1910. Chandler, William E. (William Eaton), 1835-1917. Clearwater, Alphonso Trumpbour, 1848-1933. Conkling, Roscoe, 1829-1888. Cox, Samuel Sullivan, 1824-1889. Croker, Richard, 1841-1922. Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897. Daniel, John W. (John Warwick), 1842-1910. Dewey, Melvil, 1851-1931. Dittenhoefer, Abram Jesse, 1836-1919. Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901. Fairchild, Charles Stebbins, 1842-1924. Farquhar, Arthur B., 1838- Flower, Roswell Pettibone, 1835-1899. Gardiner, Asa Bird, 1839-1919. Glynn, Martin H., 1871-1924. Green, A. H. (Andrew Haswell), 1820-1903. Hill, David Bennett, 1843-1910. Hughes, Charles Evans, 1862-1948. Ingersoll, Robert Green, 1833-1899. Kernan, Francis, 1816-1892. King, Horatio Collins, 1837-1918. Lamont, Daniel Scott, 1851-1905. McClellan, George B. (George Brinton), 1865-1940. McClure, Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly), 1828-1909. McCurdy, Richard Aldrich, 1835-1916. Murphy, Charles Francis, 1858-1924. Oglesby, Richard J., 1824-1899. Parker, Alton Brooks, 1852-1926. Partington, Frederick E. Patrick, Albert T. Pillsbury, Albert Enoch, 1849-1930. Potter, Henry Codman, 1834-1908. Pryor, Roger Atkinson, 1828-1919. Rice, William Marsh, 1816-1900. Robinson, Lucius, 1810-1891. Ruppert, Jacob, 1867-1939. Schuyler, George Washington, 1810-1888. Shaler, Alexander. Shepard, Edward Morse, 1850-1911. Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1819-1914. Simmons, Furnifold McLendel, 1854-1940. Sulzer, William, 1863-1941. Swanson, Claude Augustus, 1862-1939. Tilden, Samuel J. (Samuel Jones), 1814-1886. Tracy, Benjamin Franklin, 1830-1915. Criminal justice, Administration of. Governors -- New York (State) Murder -- New York (State) Murderers -- New York (State) Patronage, Political -- New York (State) Politicians -- United States. Trials (Murder) Central Park (New York, N.Y.) -- History -- Sources. Legislators -- United States. New York (State) -- Officials and employees -- Selection and appointment. New York (State) -- Politics and government, 1865-1950 -- Sources. Correspondence. Legal documents. Governors. Legislators. Politicians. Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

David B. Hill Papers, &su_name;

Acquisition Information

Bulk unspecified, 1966.

Sickles letters, purchase, 1969, 1971.

Inventory Correspondence Alexander, James W.18991 Armstrong, William W.19051 Atwater, Edward S.1 Bayard, Thomas Francis18871 Belmont, Perry19001 Bigelow, John1887, 1889, 1895, 19051 Brewster, H. D.19001 Carlisle, John Griffin18861 Chandler, William E.19011 Clearwater, Alphonso T.18991 Conkling, Roscoe18871 Cornell, Henry Watson19001 Cox, Samuel Sullivan1886-18871 Croker, Richard1888-18891 Dana, Charles A.18861 Daniel, John Warwick19021 Dewey, Melvil19051 Dittenhoefer, Abram Jesse1886, 1896, 18981 Evarts, William Maxwell18911 Fairchild, Charles Stebbins18871 Farquhar, Arthur B.18961 Flower, Roswell Pettibone18861 Gardiner, Asa Bird1887, 18951 Glynn, Martin1901, 1906, undated1 Green, Andrew Haskell1886-1887, 18891 Hotchkiss, Thomas W.1888-18901 Hughes, Charles Evans19051 Ingersoll, Robert Green18891 Kernan, Francis18881 King, Horatio Collins18851 Lamont, Daniel S.1885, 1889, 1902, undated1 McClellan, George B.1898, 19081 McClure, Alexander Kelly18951 McCurdy, Richard A.18951 Murphy, Charles Francis19041 Oglesby, Richard James18851 Parker, Alton B.1897, 19071 Partington, Frederick Eugene18941 Pillsbury, Albert Enoch18941 Potter, Henry Codman18871 Pryor, Roger Atkinson1888-1889, 18911 Pruyn, Anna Parker18951 Robinson, Lucius18791 Ruppert, Jacob18991 Schuyler, George Washington18771 Shepard, Edwin Morse19101 Sickles, Daniel Edgar1886, 1888, 1891, 1896, 1901, undated1 Simmons, Furnifold McLendel19041 Smith, Paul18881 Sulzer, William1900-19011 Swanson, Claude Augustus19001 Thomas, James A.19001 Tilden, Samuel Jones18861 Tracy, Benjamin Franklin1889, undated1 Treman, Charles E.19001 Whitney, William Collins18901 Miscellaneous1 Legal material Elmira Gazettesales contract1 Albert T. Patrick case Correspondence Koehler, Edgar J.1 Milliken, John T.1 Milliken, Mary Patrick sister of accused1 Patrick, Albert T. letters to Governor Hill requesting pardon19061 Official documents3 folders1 Opinion holograph draft1 "The Patrick Case" by Clark Bell, reprinted from Medico-Legal Journal1 Alexander Shaler caseopinion, with extensive corrections and additions1 Memorabilia Miscellaneous printed material, clippings1 Photograph of Hill, autographed1