Merton E. Lewis

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Merton E. Lewis
Lewis in 1902
51st Attorney General of New York
In office
April 25, 1917 – December 31, 1918
GovernorCharles Seymour Whitman
Preceded byEgburt E. Woodbury
Succeeded byCharles D. Newton
Member of the New York State Senate from the 43rd district
In office
January 1, 1902 – December 31, 1906
Preceded byCornelius R. Parsons
Succeeded byWilliam J. Tully
Member of the New York State Assembly from Monroe County, 1st district
In office
January 1, 1897 – December 31, 1897
Preceded byCharles J. Smith
Succeeded byJames B. Perkins
In office
January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1901
Preceded byJames B. Perkins
Succeeded byMartin Davis
44th Mayor of Rochester, New York
In office
January 22, 1895 – December 31, 1895
Preceded byGeorge W. Aldridge
Succeeded byGeorge E. Warner
Personal details
Born(1861-12-10)December 10, 1861
Webster, New York
DiedMay 2, 1937(1937-05-02) (aged 75)
Rochester, New York
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAdeline Louise Moody
ProfessionAttorney

Merton Elmer Lewis (December 10, 1861 – May 2, 1937) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Attorney General of New York state.

Life[edit]

He was born on December 10, 1861, in Webster, Monroe County, New York, the son of Charles Chadwick Lewis (b. 1826) and Rhoda Ann (Willard) Lewis. He graduated from Webster Union School, then studied law with James B. Perkins at Rochester. He was admitted to the bar in 1887, and commenced practice in Rochester. On January 2, 1886, he married Adeline Louise Moody (1866-1894).[1]

He was delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1894. He was an alderman of Rochester from 1891 on, and became President of the Common Council in 1894. He was elevated to Acting Mayor of Rochester after the resignation of George W. Aldridge on January 22, 1895.[2] Lewis worked closely with Aldridge, and opponents of Aldridge's machine organized a Good Government League to make local elections non-partisan. Lewis did not run in the 1895 mayoral election and focused on election to the state legislature after stepping down.[3]

He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Monroe Co., 1st D.) in 1897, 1899, 1900 and 1901; and of the New York State Senate (43rd D.) from 1902 to 1906, sitting in the 125th, 126th, 127th, 128th and 129th New York State Legislatures.

At the New York state election, 1906, he ran for New York State Comptroller,[4] but except for Governor Charles Evans Hughes, the whole Republican ticket was narrowly defeated by the ticket nominated by the Democratic Party and the Independence League.

In January 1915, he was appointed as First Deputy by Attorney General Egburt E. Woodbury.[5] Woodbury resigned on April 19, 1917,[6] and six days later Lewis was elected New York Attorney General by joint ballot of the New York State Legislature, with Lewis receiving all 173 votes of the Democrats and Republicans in the legislature, and Morris Hillquit receiving 2 votes from the Socialist members. He remained in office for the remainder of Woodbury's term, which ended in 1918.[7]

In 1918, he declined to run for re-election[8] and ran in the Republican primary for governor instead, with the support of Aldridge's machine in Rochester.[9] In August 1918, he urged the Republican voters to repudiate his opponent, the incumbent Governor Charles S. Whitman, because Whitman was backed by William Randolph Hearst whom he accused of having undermined the United States war effort against Germany.[10] Whitman was re-nominated but was defeated in the election by Al Smith.

He died on May 2, 1937, in Rochester, New York.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Peck, William F. (1895). Landmarks of Monroe County, NY. The Boston History Company. p. 153.
  2. ^ Devoy, John (1895). Rochester and the Post Express - A history of the City of Rochester from the earliest times; the pioneers and their predecessors, frontier life in the Genesee country, biographical sketches; with a record of the Post Express (PDF). Rochester, New York: The Post Express Printing Company. p. 196.
  3. ^ McKelvey, Blake (January 1966). "The Mayors of Rochester's Mid Years: 1860-1900" (PDF). Rochester History. 28 (1): 22.
  4. ^ "Hughes Chosen by Republicans" (PDF). The New York Times. September 27, 1906. pp. 1, 5.
  5. ^ "Woodbury Names Deputies" (PDF). The New York Times. December 19, 1914.
  6. ^ "Woodbury Leaves Office" (PDF). The New York Times. April 20, 1917.
  7. ^ "M. E. Lewis is Elected" (PDF). The New York Times. April 26, 1917.
  8. ^ "Lewis Decides Not to Run Again" (PDF). The New York Times. May 7, 1918.
  9. ^ "Lewis in the Field for Governorship" (PDF). The New York Times. May 13, 1918.
  10. ^ "Lewis Asks Voters to Retire Whitman" (PDF). The New York Times. August 13, 1918.
  11. ^ "Descendants of Benjamin Waite". Rootsweb. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Rochester, NY
Acting

1895–1896
Succeeded by
New York State Assembly
Preceded by New York State Assembly
Monroe County, 1st District

1897
Succeeded by
Preceded by New York State Assembly
Monroe County, 1st District

1899–1901
Succeeded by
New York State Senate
Preceded by New York State Senate
43rd District

1902–1906
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by New York Attorney General
1917–1918
Succeeded by