The Solicitor of the Treasury position was created in the United States Department of the Treasury by an act of May 29, 1830 , which changed the name of the Agent of the Treasury.Newspaper article, Congress, The Pittsburgh Gazette, June 8, 1830Newspaper article, Solicitor of the Treasury, Norfolk and Portsmouth Herald, August 27, 1830Newspaper article, Twenty-first Congress in Session; In Senate, January 7, 1831, American & Commercial Daily Advertiser, January 10, 1831
Function The Solicitor of the Treasury served as legal advisor to the department, and examined Treasury officers' official bonds and related legal documents. He also supervised all legal proceedings involving the collection of debts due the United States. In addition, he established regulations to guide customs collectors, issued distress warrants against delinquent revenue collectors or receivers of public money, and administered lands acquired by the United States in payment for debts.The Treasury Department and its Various Fiscal Bureaus, Their Origin, Organization, and Practical Operations, by Robert Mayo, 1847, page 255
Predecessor agencies Comptroller of the Treasury (1789–1817) First Comptroller of the Treasury (1817–20) Agent of the Treasury (1820–30)Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Position abolished The position of Solicitor of the Treasury was abolished by an act of May 10, 1934 (48 Stat. 759).The United States Government Manual, 2009-2010, published by National Archives and Records Administration, 2009, page 634
Successor agency The Solicitor of the Treasury's position was succeeded by the Office of the General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury.Newspaper article, Prettyman Ousted From Revenue Post; Morgenthau In Revamping Tax Machinery Lets Marylander Go; Post to New Yorker; Secretary Also Asks Congress To Create General Counsel To Treasury, Baltimore Sun, January 31, 1934Newspaper article, Congress Aims to Take Back Former Power, The Daily Times (Rochester and Beaver, Pennsylvania), March 29, 1934
List of Solicitors of the Treasury Parties
Status
No.PortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft officeMarylandMay 29, 1830June 15, 1837PennsylvaniaJune 16, 1837January 11, 1840MassachusettsJanuary 16, 1840 March 17, 1841PennsylvaniaMarch 17, 1841 March 4, 1845LouisianaMarch 25, 1845May 27, 1847New YorkMay 27, 1847 October 30, 1849New YorkOctober 31, 1849October 25, 1852New YorkNovember 15, 1852March 30, 1853–PennsylvaniaMarch 30, 1853April 8, 1853MarylandApril 8, 1853 May 2, 1853MarylandMay 2, 1853 June 3, 1853PennsylvaniaJune 3, 1853December 1, 1857 GeorgiaDecember 1, 1857 February 13, 1861–KentuckyFebruary 13, 1861March 28, 1861OhioMarch 28, 1861April 15, 1869MassachusettsApril 15, 1869 June 22, 1874IllinoisJune 22, 1874 July 24, 1876 MaineJuly 24, 1876 July 1, 1877North CarolinaJuly 1, 1877 March 5, 1884 Register of the Department of Justice and the Judicial Officers of the United States, by United States Department of Justice, 1885, page 4OhioJuly 2, 1884April 13, 1885Register of the Department of Justice, published by United States Department of Justice, 1908, page 216Magazine column, This Month's News, March 18 to April 14, The United Service magazine, Volume 12, 1885, page 585New YorkApril 13, 18851888New York18881889Iowa18891893Tennessee18931897Biography of Maurice D. O'Connell, from Historical Sketches of Franklin County and its Several Towns, by Frederick J. Seaver, Malone, New York, published by J.B. Lyon Company, Albany, New York, 1918Iowa18971910Newspaper article, New Solicitor for Treasury, Christian Science Monitor, July 1, 1910Bender's Lawyers' Diary and Directory for the State of New York, 1912, published by Matthew Bender (Firm), Albany, New York, 1912, page 21Newspaper article, William T. Thompson; Nebraskan Once Solicitor of the United States Treasury, New York Times, June 21, 1939Nebraska19101913– Tennessee19131914Hammond Mayors Past entry, Lawrence Becker, Hammond, Indiana Online City Guide, accessed June 11, 2011Newspaper article, Lawrence F. Becker; Retired Jurist in Indiana Once Mayor of Hammond, New York Times, March 14, 1947Indiana19151922Prominent Men of West Virginia, by George Wesley Atkinson and Alvaro Franklin Gibbens, 1890, page 699State of Iowa Official Register, published by Iowa Secretary of State, 1925, page 572West Virginia19221926State of Iowa Official Register, compiled and published by Iowa Secretary of State, 1927, page 491Newspaper article, Robert Mawhinney, Lawyer and Author, New York Times, November 19, 1954Maryland19261932
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