George_J._Sicard

George J. Sicard

George J. Sicard

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George J. Sicard (February 24, 1838 - August 26, 1904) was an American attorney who was a law partner of Grover Cleveland.

Early life

Sicard was born in New York City on February 24, 1838.[1] He was the youngest son of prominent merchant Stephen Sicard (1795–1839) and Lydia Eliza (née Hunt) Sicard (1813–1888). Among his siblings were Stephen Sicard and Rear Admiral Montgomery Sicard.[2] After the death of his father in 1839, his mother brought the family to Utica, New York, where her father, Montgomery Hunt, was the long-time cashier of the Bank of Utica.[1]

His maternal uncle was Ward Hunt, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals who was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by President Ulysses S. Grant.[3]

Sicard prepared for college at the Utica Free Academy before entering Hamilton College, of which he was an 1859 graduate.[4] In Syracuse, he studied law in the offices of Hunt & Waterman before he was admitted to the bar in 1861.[1]

Career

After being admitted to the bar, he opened a law office in Utica before moving to Buffalo, New York in 1868 as the Assistant U.S. District Attorney under District Attorney William Dorsheimer (the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1875 to 1879).[1] Sicard and Dorsheimer had a law practice together until 1872 after which he practice by himself for nine years.[4]

In 1881, Sicard formed a law partnership with Grover Cleveland and Wilson S. Bissell known as Cleveland, Sicard & Bissell. They practiced together until Cleveland became governor in 1883 and a new partnership was formed with Bissell and Charles W. Goodyear known as Bissell, Sicard & Goodyear. They practiced together until 1887 when Goodyear left the practice of law to focus on his family's lumber and railroad interest.[1] After which Sicard and Bissell formed Bissell, Sicard, Bissell & Carey (with junior partners, Herbert Porter Bissell, a cousin of Wilson Bissell,[5] and Martin C. Carey)[6] until 1893 when Bissell left to become Postmaster General in President Cleveland's cabinet. Sicard left the partnership in 1896,[6] but continued maintained his own practice.[1][lower-alpha 1]

Personal life

In 1872 Sicard was married to Sara Esther Movius (1850–1907), a daughter of Julius Movius of Buffalo. Together, they were the parents of two sons and a daughter, including:[1]

  • Edward M. Sicard (1875–1908), a Yale graduate and attorney who was killed in a car accident.[9]
  • Josephine Sicard (b. 1877)[1]
  • George Hallam Sicard (b. 1885), who was a professor at Hamilton College.[1]

Sicard died at his home, 196 North Street, Buffalo, New York on August 26, 1904.[1]

References

Notes
  1. Bissell & Carey later became Bissell, Carey & Cooke when Walter Platt Cooke joined.[7] Another member was Lyman M. Bass, the son of Lyman K. Bass (Cleveland's former law partner), and the firm eventually became Kenefick, Cooke & Mitchell.[8]
Sources
  1. [1]
    "LATE GEORGE J. SICARD. GEORGE J. SICARD DEAD AT HIS HOME. Former Law Partner of Grover Cleveland and Highly Esteemed Citizen Expires of Paralysis". The Buffalo News. Aug 26, 1904. p. 11. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. [2]
    "REAR ADMIRAL SICARD DEAD.; Ex-Commander of the North Atlantic Squadron Succumbs to Apoplexy". The New York Times. 15 September 1900. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Obituary. Ex-Judge Ward Hunt". The New York Times. March 25, 1886. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  4. [4]
    "OBITUARY. George J. Sicard". The Buffalo Commercial. Aug 26, 1904. p. 7. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  5. [5]
    "JUSTICE BISSELL DEAD | Supreme Court Jurist Stricken on the Bench in Lockport". The New York Times. May 1, 1919. p. 17. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. [6]
    "BISSELL FIRM DISSOLVES. The ex-Postmaster General and M.C. Carey Stay Together". The New York Times. October 3, 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. [7]
    Times, Special to The New York (5 August 1931). "W.P. COOKE DIES; REPARATIONS AIDE; Hoted Buffalo lawyer and Financier--Was Head of Arbitral Tribunal of Dawes Plan. WON EUROPEAN HONORS One-Time President of Marine Trust Company--Chancellor of theUniversity of Buffalo". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  8. [8]
    "REPARATIONS: Mr. Cooke". Time. 14 September 1925. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  9. [9]
    "EDWARD M. SICARD MEETS DEATH IN WRECK OF AUTO". Buffalo Courier. Aug 9, 1908. p. 28. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
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