Clerk of the New York Court of Appeals

The Clerk of the New York Court of Appeals was one of the statewide elected officials in New York from 1847 to 1870. He was also ex officio a clerk of the New York Supreme Court. The office was created by the New York State Constitution of 1846.see Article VI, § 19, NY Constitution of 1846

The first Clerk was elected at the 1847 New York special judicial election, and took office on July 5, 1847, when the Court of Appeals succeeded the Court for the Correction of Errors and the Court of Chancery.

List

Name Took office Left office PartyThis is the party on which ticket the Clerk had been elected. NotesCharles S. BentonJuly 5, 1847December 31, 1853Democratictwo terms; elected on the Democratic ticket in 1847, and on the Democratic and Anti-Rent tickets in 1850Benjamin F. HarwoodJanuary 1, 1854March 30, 1856Whigdied in officeRussell F. HicksMarch 30, 1856December 31, 1859RepublicanDeputy Clerk under Harwood, then electedCharles HughesJanuary 1, 1860December 31, 1862Republican/AmericanFrederick A. TallmadgeJanuary 1, 1863December 31, 1865Dem./Const. UnionPatrick Henry JonesJanuary 1, 1866December 31, 1868RepublicanEdwin O. PerrinJanuary 1, 1869December 19, 1888Democraticre-appointed after the re-organization of the Court in 1870, died in officeGorham ParksJanuary 25, 1889The Argus, 26 January 1889, page 6October 26, 1897The Cohoes Republican, 27 October 1897Democratic(son of Gorham Parks), died in officeWilliam Henry Shankland, Jr.November 23, 1897February 27, 1909RepublicanSon of William H. Shankland, deputy under Gorham Parks, acting Clerk from 10/26-11/23/1897, died in officeRichard M. Barber –1921–Joseph W. Bellacosa19751983Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals 1987-2000Donald Sheraw1983Stuart M. CohenNovember 15, 1996November 23, 2010Andrew KleinNovember 24, 2010incumbent

References

Further reading The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1867; page 424)