William Butler Hornblower (1851 - 1914)

Born 13 May 1851 in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey, United States

Ancestors

Died 16 Jun 1914 at age 63 in Litchfield, Connecticut, United States

Biography

William was born in 1851. He was the son of William Hornblower, a Presbyterian minister, and Matilda Butler. William Hornblower was the descendant of an old American family; his grandfather, Joseph Coerten Hornblower, was Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and his great-grandfather, Josiah Hornblower, was a member of the Continental Congress. In 1882 he married Sandra C. Sanford, with whom he had three children. After Sandra died, Hornblower married her sister, Emily Sanford Nelson, who was herself a widow. Hornblower graduated from Princeton University in 1871 and the law school of Columbia College in 1875.

After graduating from Columbia, he practiced law with the New York bankruptcy law firm of Carter & Eaton until 1888, when he and two partners formed their own firm. A lifelong Democrat, in 1890 he was appointed by New York governor David B. Hill to a commission on state constitutional amendments.

Hornblower worked to defeat Isaac H. Maynard, Hill's preferred candidate for a seat on the New York Court of Appeals, in 1891, earning Hill's enmity. Hornblower was nominated to the United States Supreme Court by President Cleveland in 1893. New York's U.S. Senators, one of whom was Hill, opposed the nomination, as did several pro-silver Democratic Senators. The nomination was referred to committee and rejected after several months' delay.

Following his defeat, Hornblower returned to his successful New York law practice. In 1904, he was elected President of the New York State Bar Association. That same year, Hornblower served on a committee charged with consolidating the state's laws. In 1907 he formed a new law firm, Hornblower, Miller and Potter, a predecessor to the modern firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher. In 1913, he was appointed president of the New York City Bar Association. Shortly before his death, Hornblower was appointed to a seat on the New York Court of Appeals, but served for just ten weeks. He passed away in 1914.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_B._Hornblower
• Find A Grave: Memorial #40958540