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'Abram Stevens Hewitt' (1822 – 1903) was a teacher, lawyer, an iron manufacturer, U.S. Congressman, and a mayor of New York. He was the son-in-law of Peter Cooper (1791-1883), a famous American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist and (during the Hayes-Tilden campaign) chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Contents

Childhood, education

Fate, family

Business, civic leader, reformer

Philanthropy

Subways

Death

Legacy

References

Childhood, education

Hewitt was born in Haverstraw, New York. His mother was of French Huguenot descent and his father, John Hewitt, was from Staffordshire in England, and had emigrated to the U.S. in 1790 to work on a steam engine to power the water plant in Philadelphia.
Hewitt worked his way through and graduated from Columbia College in 1842. He taught mathematics at the school, and became a lawyer several years later.

Fate, family

From 1843 to 1844, Hewitt travelled to Europe with his student, Edward Cooper, another future New York City mayor. During their return voyage, the pair were shipwrecked together. After this, Hewitt became "virtually a member of the Cooper family", and in 1855 married Edward's sister, Sarah Amelia.^[1]

Business, civic leader, reformer

In 1845, Hewitt went into business with Edward Cooper, a son of Peter Cooper, and formed Cooper, Hewitt & Co., an iron-making firm. He was known for dedicated work for the U.S. government and exceptionally good relations with his employees. He helped found the Cooper Union.
In 1871, he was prominent in the reorganization of New York's Tammany Hall government after the fall of the "Tweed Ring" led by the infamous Boss Tweed. His most famous speech was made at the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge between Manhattan Island and Brooklyn in 1883. In 1886, he was elected mayor of New York City, defeating United Labor candidate Henry George through what many of George's supporters believed was fraud; a young Theodore Roosevelt came in third that year.
Although his political alliances varied from one part and faction to another during a career in city, state, and national politics, Hewitt was considered a consistent defender of sound money practices and civil service reform. He was conspicuous for his public spirit, and developed an innovative funding and construction plan for the New York City subway system.
Hewitt had many investments in natural resources, including considerable holdings in West Virginia, where William Nelson Page (1854-1932) was one of his managers. He was also an associate of Henry H. Rogers, a key man in the Standard Oil Trust.

Philanthropy

As a philanthropist, Hewitt was especially interested in education. Columbia University gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1887, and he was the president of its alumni association in 1883, and was a trustee from 1901 until his death. In 1876 he was elected president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and was a founder and trustee of the Carnegie Institution. He was also a a trustee of Barnard College and of the American Museum of Natural History.
His most famous quotation is "Unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation."

Subways

Hewitt is best known for his work with the Cooper Union and in planning the financing and construction of a subway system for New York City, and is considered the "Father of the New York City Subway System".

Death

Hewitt died in 1903, and was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

Legacy

★ Abram Stevens Hewitt School (P.S. 130) in the Bronx, New York was named for him.

★ One of Cooper Union's academic buildings is named in his honor. This building is soon expected to be demolished and replaced with a "New Academic Building".

The historic Stanford White-designed column in the Hewitt Building is slated for removal Saturday, January 27th, 2007 between 10 a.m. and noon EST. The nearly 20 foot column will be transported - appropriately enough - back to its former home at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where it will grace Abram S. Hewitt's memorial plot.

★ A famous New York City fireboat ''Abram S. Hewitt'' which served from 1903 until 1958 was named in his honor. [2]

★ There is a life-size white marble statue of Hewitt in the Great Hall of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York in Albany, New York.

★ A New Jersey State Forest along the Appalachian Trail was named in his honor.

★ Hewitt's daughters Amy, Eleanor, and Sarah Hewitt founded the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

★ Hewitt's son Peter Cooper Hewitt was a successful inventor.

★ The historic Village of Hewitt, NJ, located within the Township of West Milford, has been preserved within the Long Pond Ironworks State Park. The village contains the ruins of the iron smelting furnaces operated by Cooper and Hewitt. The Hewitt, NJ, post office also still exists, but is now located several miles distant from the location of the original village.

References

1.
The Dictionary of American National Biography'', Oxford University Press, (2000)
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