Wheeler Hazard Peckham (January 1, 1833 – September 27, 1905) was an American lawyer from New York and an unsuccessful nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Early life

Peckham was born in Albany, New York, on New Year's Day, 1833 to Rufus Wheeler Peckham and Isabella Adoline; his mother died when he was 15. He was educated at The Albany Academy and at his father's alma mater, Union College, where he joined Kappa Alpha Society before leaving early due to poor health. Peckham studied law at his father's partnership with Lyman Tremain and was also among the first students to attend Albany Law School. Peckham then left New York to practice in the northwestern United States, where he became what the New York Times called "one of the best known attorneys in that part of the country."

Poor health caused him to return to New York City in 1867, where he established the firm of Miller & Peckham and gained fame first as a constitutional lawyer, and later as a special prosecutor for the State. He was involved in the unsuccessful prosecution of Mayor A. Oakey Hall in 1872, and also prosecuted former Tammany Hall leader "Boss" Tweed with Tremain in 1873. Peckham again represented the State against Tweed in 1876, when he won a $6 million verdict in a civil fraud suit.

Championed by his brother and businessman Daniel Manning, Peckham was appointed by Governor Grover Cleveland as New York County District Attorney on November 30, 1883, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John McKeon, despite pressure from a barrage of applicants. However, Peckham tendered his resignation a mere eight days after taking the oath of office, citing ill health. He then returned to private practice in the Wall Street offices of Miller, Peckham & Dixon, where he focused primarily on civil practice.</blockquote>

Family

His father, Rufus Wheeler Peckham, was also a lawyer, and a New York Court of Appeals judge and congressman. His brother, also named Rufus Wheeler Peckham, was also a New York lawyer, state court judge, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Legacy

Peckham is buried in the Peckham family plot at Albany Rural Cemetery, along with his wife, Annie Aertsen Keasbey (1826, Salem, New Jersey &ndash; October 30, 1916), whom he married in 1855. His father, who was lost at sea, also has a cenotaph there.

References

Sources

  • The History Box: Brief Sketches on Important Men of New York City
  • Trial of William M. Tweed from Celebrated Trials by Henry Lauren Clinton, 1897.
  • Many of the family names and dates were found at the Peckham family plot at Albany Rural Cemetery, Section 11, Lot 19.