# Benjamin K. Phelps > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Benjamin_K._Phelps > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Benjamin_K._Phelps.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_K._Phelps > Source revision: 1284871711 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American politician and lawyer (1832–1880)}} {{infobox officeholder | image = Benjamin_Kinsman_Phelps.png | caption = | office = [New York County District Attorney](/source/New_York_County_District_Attorney) | term_start = 1873 | term_end = 1880 | predecessor = [Samuel B. Garvin](/source/Samuel_B._Garvin) | successor = [Daniel G. Rollins](/source/Daniel_G._Rollins) | birth_name = Benjamin Kinsman Phelps | birth_date = {{birth date|1832|09|16}} | birth_place = [Haverhill, Massachusetts](/source/Haverhill%2C_Massachusetts), U.S. | death_date = {{dda|1880|12|30|1832|09|16}} | death_place = [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), U.S. | education = [Andover Theological Seminary](/source/Andover_Newton_Theological_School) | alma_mater = [Yale College](/source/Yale_College) | party = [Republican](/source/United_States_Republican_Party) | spouse = {{marriage|Hannah Maria Catlin
|October 1857|1880|reason=her death}} | children = 3 | relations = }} '''Benjamin Kinsman Phelps''' (September 16, 1832 – December 30, 1880 in [New York City](/source/New_York_City)) was an American lawyer and [district attorney](/source/district_attorney) in [New York](/source/New_York_(state)).{{cite book|last1=Association|first1=New York State Bar|title=Proceedings and Committee Reports - New York State Bar Association|date=1882|publisher=Boyd Print. Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04IDAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA98|access-date=26 April 2017|language=en}} ==Early life== Phelps was born in [Haverhill](/source/Haverhill%2C_Massachusetts), [Essex County, Massachusetts](/source/Essex_County%2C_Massachusetts) on September 16, 1832. He was the only child of the Rev. Dudley Phelps (1797–1849), a [Congregational](/source/Congregational) clergyman, and Ann ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Kinsman) Phelps (1808–1834).{{cite book |title=Vital Records of Haverhill, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 .. |date=2009 |publisher=BiblioBazaar |isbn=9781113493187 |page=460 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vc5LqPzbJZcC&pg=PA460 |access-date=20 August 2019 |language=en}} He attended [Andover Theological Seminary](/source/Andover_Newton_Theological_School), and graduated from [Yale College](/source/Yale_College) in 1853. ==Career== After graduation from Yale, he studied law in [Hillsborough County, New Hampshire](/source/Hillsborough_County%2C_New_Hampshire) and [Westchester County, New York](/source/Westchester_County%2C_New_York), and was admitted to the bar in 1855 in [Poughkeepsie, New York](/source/Poughkeepsie%2C_New_York). In 1856, he removed to [New York City](/source/New_York_City) and practiced law there in partnership with his Yale classmate Sherman W. Knevals. From 1866 to 1870, Phelps was an Assistant [United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York](/source/United_States_Attorney_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York). In 1869, he was sent to [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina) to take charge of the proceedings against the officers of the [USS Hornet](/source/USS_Hornet_(1865)),{{Cite news|date=October 30, 1875|title=Benjamin K. Phelps|volume=19|page=881|work=[Harper's Weekly](/source/Harper's_Weekly)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nDB_33dmctwC|access-date={{today}}|via=[Google Books](/source/Google_Books)|last1=Bonner |first1=John |last2=Curtis |first2=George William |last3=Alden |first3=Henry Mills |last4=Conant |first4=Samuel Stillman |last5=Schuyler |first5=Montgomery |last6=Foord |first6=John |last7=Davis |first7=Richard Harding |last8=Schurz |first8=Carl |last9=Nelson |first9=Henry Loomis |last10=Bangs |first10=John Kendrick |last11=Harvey |first11=George Brinton Mcclellan |last12=Hapgood |first12=Norman }} charged with a violation of the Neutrality laws.{{Clarification needed|date=November 2021|reason=Unclear what this sentence means, and the USS Hornet article does not elaborate on it ether.}} In 1872, he formed a new law firm "Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom" with [Chester A. Arthur](/source/Chester_A._Arthur), his old partner Knevals, and Rastus S. Ransom, who served as Surrogate of New York from 1887 to 1893. In November 1872, Phelps was elected on the [Republican](/source/United_States_Republican_Party) ticket [New York County District Attorney](/source/New_York_County_District_Attorney), and remained in office until his death, being re-elected in 1875 and 1878. In 1875, Carlotta Frances Shotwell testified before the Assembly Committee on Crime in New York City about the legal abuses in her 1874 trial. It came out in these proceedings that District Attorney Phelps was tied to the [Tammany Hall](/source/Tammany_Hall) political machine{{Disputed inline|date=November 2021}} under which many prominent defendants were not pursued vigorously by the District Attorney.''[http://www.bigbytebooks.com/a-general-betrayal/ A General Betrayal]''; 2016; BIG BYTE BOOKS ==Personal life== In October 1857, Phelps married Hannah Maria Catlin (1831–1880), a daughter of Mary (née Fisher) Catlin and Lt. Gov. [Julius Catlin](/source/Julius_Catlin), and they had three children, including:{{cite book |title=The Kinsman Family: Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Robert Kinsman, of Ipswich, Mass. from 1634 to 1875 |date=1876 |publisher=A. Mudge & son |page=174 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CYAAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA174 |access-date=20 August 2019 |language=en}} * Mary Cutler Phelps (b. 1858) * Dudley Farley Phelps (1861–1952), an attorney who married Margaret G. Burnet.{{cite news |title=DUDLEY PHELPS, 90, A RETIRED-LAWYER; Oldest Member of Union League Club Dies--Began His Legal Practice Here in 1886 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/07/01/93377176.pdf |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=1 July 1952}} * Anna Kinsman Phelps (b. 1865), who married William Hutchinson Merrill (1860–1913) in 1901.{{cite book |title=Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University |date=1915 |publisher=[Yale University](/source/Yale_University) |page=626 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulodAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA626 |access-date=20 August 2019 |language=en}} In October 1880, Phelps became ill, and never fully recovered. His wife died on December 21, and Phelps himself died nine days later of "[internal hemorrhage](/source/internal_hemorrhage)" at his residence at 101 West 47th Street.{{cite news |title=A BRIGHT CAREER ENDED; DEATH OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY BENJAMIN K. PHELPS Brief Sketch Of His Life And Legal Work--A Leading Lawyer And A Successful Prosecutor--His Last Illness |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1880/12/31/98648218.pdf |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=December 31, 1880}} Phelps was buried at [Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)](/source/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Bronx%2C_New_York)).{{cite news |title=FUNERAL OF BENJAMIN K. PHELPS {{!}} Large Attendance at the Services in The Broadway Tabernacle |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1881/01/03/98908667.pdf |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=January 3, 1881}} ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==External links== *{{fg|53267938}} * [https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/resources/4397?stylename=yul.ead2002.xhtml.xsl&pid=mssa:ms.1112&clear-stylesheet-cache=yes Hannah Maria Catlin Phelps papers] at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) {{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{succession box | before = [Samuel B. Garvin](/source/Samuel_B._Garvin) | title = [New York County District Attorney](/source/New_York_County_District_Attorney) | years = 1873–1880 | after=[Daniel G. Rollins](/source/Daniel_G._Rollins)}} {{s-end}} {{Manhattan DA}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Benjamin Kinsman}} Category:1832 births Category:1880 deaths Category:New York County district attorneys Category:Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts Category:People from Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York Category:Yale College alumni Category:Chester A. Arthur Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Category:New York (state) Republicans --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Benjamin K. Phelps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_K._Phelps) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_K._Phelps?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.