Ansley Wilcox

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Ansley Wilcox
Oxford University
Occupation(s)Lawyer, scholar, civil service reform commissioner
Spouses
Cornelia Rumsey
​
​
(m. 1878; died 1880)​
Mary Grace Rumsey
​
​
(m. 1883)​
ChildrenNina Wilcox
Frances Wilcox
Signature of Ansley Wilcox from a letter to his Uncle George Wilcox. Letter is in the collection of H. Blair Howell.

Ansley Wilcox (January 27, 1856 – January 26, 1930) was an American

assassination of William McKinley, on September 14, 1901, Vice President Roosevelt was sworn in as 26th president of the United States in the library of Wilcox's home at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York
.

Early life

Ansley Wilcox was born near

Oxford University
.

Career

Legal career

After leaving Oxford, Wilcox moved to Buffalo, New York, where he began practicing

University of Buffalo
.

In 1890, Wilcox was involved in the case of Rogers v. The Common Council of the City of Buffalo[2] that established the constitutionality of the Civil Service Law.[2][3]

In 1891, Wilcox took the landmark case[4] of Briggs v. Spaulding to the Supreme Court and with it, established the liability for negligence of directors of national banks.[5] The case, which was decided on May 25, 1891,[6] involved the First National Bank of Buffalo and its directors, Reuben Porter Lee, Francis E. Coit, Elbridge G. Spaulding, William H. Johnson, and Thomas W. Cushing. The case was brought by Anne Vought as executrix of John H. Vought, and Frank S. Coit and Joseph C. Barnes, as administrators of Charles C. Coit, former directors.[5]

Wilcox was a member of the Reservation Commission from 1910 until his retirement from the practice of law in 1917.

Roosevelt swearing in ceremony in the Wilcox home

Wilcox met Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1880s when they were appointed by then

Niagara Reservation, a protected park area around Niagara Falls,[7] with Wilcox serving as counsel for the commission from 1883 to 1885.[8]

On September 6, 1901, while attending the

North Creek train station. At the station, Roosevelt was handed a telegram that said only that the president had died at 2:15 am. Turning the telegram upside down and reading it again, Roosevelt expressed a sense of helplessness that the telegram contained no additional information and said only that McKinley had died at 2:15 am on the morning of the 14th. Officially having learned that he was now President of the United States, Roosevelt continued by train from North Creek to Buffalo. Roosevelt arrived in Buffalo later that same day, accepting an invitation to stay at Wilcox's home again. Wilcox would recall that "the family and most of the household were in the country, but he [Roosevelt] was offered a quiet place to sleep and eat, and accepted it."[13]

For the actual swearing in, the most appropriate site was determined to be the Wilcox home. Approximately 50 dignitaries, family members and six of the eight cabinet members gathered in the front library for the inauguration.[12] Federal Judge John R. Hazel administered the oath, borrowing Wilcox's morning coat. No photograph image exists of the ceremony itself, although the room was heavily photographed after the inauguration had concluded. Today this home is known as the Ansley Wilcox House at Buffalo, New York. Roosevelt did not swear on the Bible nor on any other book, making him unique among presidents.[14] Mark Hanna lamented that "that damned cowboy is president now," giving expression to the fears of many old line Republicans.[15]

Politics

A visit of President William Howard Taft to Wilcox's Buffalo home in April 1910. Taft is seen front center, Philander C. Knox (right), and Wilcox (behind Taft to the right).

Though he never ran for public office, Wilcox was very interested in politics and was a friend of at least three presidents, Cleveland,

Progressive Party
ticket.

Personal life

While he was studying in England at Oxford, he met Cornelia Rumsey (1854-1880), a young woman from Buffalo on holiday with her family. After Oxford, he moved to Buffalo and married Cornelia in 1878. Cornelia's father, Dexter P. Rumsey (1827-1906), gave them a house at 675 Delaware Avenue as a wedding present. Cornelia died six weeks after giving birth to their daughter in 1880:[16]

In 1883, Ansley Wilcox married Cornelia’s younger sister, Mary Grace Rumsey (1855-1933). Once again, Dexter Rumsey gave his daughter and son-in-law a house as a wedding present, this one at 641 Delaware Avenue. Their only child, a daughter:

  • Frances Wilcox (b. 1884), who married Tom Cooke[18]

Ansely Wilcox died of throat cancer on January 26, 1930, one day before his 74th birthday. He is buried in the Rumsey plot in

Forest Lawn Cemetery
.

Associations and civic activities

Wilcox is also remembered as a founder of the

Delaware Park
. The garden at 641 Delaware was also one of his passions. Although a professional gardener was on staff, Wilcox often tended the flowers himself.

He spent his time in charity work, golfing, riding and gardening. He also took a particular interest in the politics behind the development of the

power plants in Niagara Falls in the 1920s.[citation needed
]

Legacy

Today, the Wilcox house is the oldest part of a

Buffalo Barracks compound. Due to tensions between the U.S. and Anglo-Canada, a military post was constructed to ensure border security. Built in 1839, the post encompassed all the land from Allen Street to North Street and Delaware Ave to Main Street. The structure that would later be incorporated into the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
started life in 1840 as the Barrack's officer's quarters.

See also

References

  1. ^ Catalog of Trustees, Rectors, Instructors, and Alumni of the Hopkins Grammar School. New Haven, CT: Dorman. 1902. p. 84.
  2. ^ a b Gibbons, W. S. (1890). The New York State Reporter. Albany, N.Y.: W. C. Little Company, Law Publishers. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  3. ^ Commission, United States Civil Service (1898). Report of the United States Civil-Service Commission. U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  4. ISBN 9781454801085
    . Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. ^
    Cornell University Law School
    . Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Briggs v. Spaulding 141 U.S. 132 (1891)". Justia Law. U.S. Supreme Court. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  7. ISBN 9781456626648
    . Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  8. ^ a b "HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY | ANSLEY WILCOX HOUSE | (THEODORE ROOSEVELT INAUGURAL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE)" (PDF). cdn.loc.gov. Historic American Buildings Survey Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation National Park Service Department of the Interior. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  9. ^ "The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies". www.inaugural.senate.gov. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  10. ^ Buffalo Courier, Sept. 7th. p 9.
  11. ^ The Buffalo Evening News Sept 7, 1901. p.1.
  12. ^ a b "The Inauguration | Learn | Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site". www.trsite.org. Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  13. ^ "It is a dreadful thing to come into the Presidency this way." Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  14. ^ The Oath of Office - US Department of State Archived June 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Theodore Roosevelt
  16. ^ a b Lewis, M.P.H., Daniel J. (November 2, 2012). "Nina Bull: The Work, Life and Legacy of a Somatic Pioneer" (PDF). International Body Psychotherapy Journal. 11 (The Art and Science of Somatic Praxi): 45–58. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  17. ISBN 0521006953. Retrieved 8 April 2016. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help
    )
  18. ISBN 9780253020550
    . Retrieved 8 April 2016.

External links
  1. ^ Visser, Lindsey Lauren. “Tragic September, Part II: Inauguration”. The Buffalo History Museum Podcast. Podcast audio, April 27, 2021. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-qkv26-101e5c1.
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