James Levi Bennett (April 8, 1849 – January 30, 1918) was an American lawyer from New York.

Life

edit

Bennett was born on April 8, 1849, in Durhamville, New York, the son of William H. Bennett and Elizabeth A. Thompson.[1]

Bennett attended Oneida Academy. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1871, and received an LL.B. from there in 1872. He was also admitted to the bar that year. In 1873, he was appointed Assistant District Attorney of Onondaga County.[2] He studied law in the law office of M. J. Shoecraft of Oneida and Irving G. Vann. In 1874, he became a member of the Oneida law firm Shoecraft, Bennett & Tuttle.[1] In 1882, he moved to New York City, followed by Brooklyn shortly afterwards.[3]

An active member of the Democratic Party, Bennett served as chairman of several State conventions. In 1894, President Cleveland appointed him U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. After he retired from the office, he resumed his law practice. His law office was at 100 Broadway.[4]

In 1885, Bennett married Emma M. Wilson of Frankfort. They had a son, Dwight H.[5] He was a member of the New York County Lawyers' Association, the Union League, and Alpha Delta Phi. He was a Unitarian.[6]

Bennett died of heart trouble on the 181st Street station platform while on his way to see a client in the Bronx on January 30, 1918. He was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Oneida.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. VIII. New York, N.Y.: James W. White & Company. 1924. p. 433 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Fitch, Edward (April 1918). Ludlow, Francis Eugene (ed.). "Necrology: Class of 1871". Hamilton Literary Magazine. LII (7): 292–293 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b "J. L. Bennett Dies; Once U.S. Attorney". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Vol. 78, no. 30. New York, N.Y. 31 January 1918. p. 2 – via Brooklyn Public Library: Historical Newspapers.
  4. ^ "James L. Bennett" (PDF). The New York Times. Vol. LXVII, no. 21922. New York, N.Y. 31 January 1918. p. 9.
  5. ^ Hartford, William J., ed. (April 1901). "James L. Bennett". The Successful American. III (4). New York, N.Yl: 230 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Knox, Herman W., ed. (1918). Who's Who in New York (Seventh ed.). New York, N.Y.: Who's Who Publications, Inc. p. 78 – via Google Books.
edit
Legal offices
Preceded by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
1894–1898
Succeeded by