Ashley W. and Ashley T. Cole Collection
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Abstract
Ashley W. Cole and his son Ashley T. Cole collected this correspondence during the years of their involvement in New York State politics.
Biographical note
Ashley W. Cole was born in England in 1841, emigrated to the United States in 1849 and spent his childhood in New York City. During the Civil War he served in the 10th New Jersey Volunteers. After the war he joined the staff of The New York Herald as a correspondent and remained until 1874, rising to hold the city desk position.
In 1874 he moved to The New York Times and in a series of investigative articles established that the police controlled the New York City street cleaning department. His articles led to the indictment of several officials and stimulated police reform in the city. He also served the Times as financial editor, and in 1875 became the paper's Albany correspondent.
Cole returned to the Herald in 1884 and spent sixteen months in South America writing about the dictator Dom Pedro. He organized the New York Press in 1887 and was the director of the New York News Bureau, a short-lived news gathering organization.
In 1895 Cole was appointed as private secretary to Republican Governor Levi P. Morton (1824-1920) and held this position throughout the Governor's term (1895-97), at which time he became State Railroad Commissioner. Governor Theodore Roosevelt retained him in this post, and he retired as commissioner in 1903 after a dispute with Governor Odell.
In 1904 Ashley Cole returned to England as the London representative of a manufacturing firm in which Timothy L. Woodruff, a former lieutenant governor and a personal friend, had an interest. He remained abroad for ten years, occasionally contributing articles to the Times. Cole died after an illness in West Pittstown, Pa. in 1920.
Ashley Trimble Cole was born in New York City July 11, 1876. He was the son of Colonel Ashley William Cole and Mary Louise Trimble. He attended Columbia University (1896-97) and the New York Law School (1898-99). He began practicing law in 1900 with the firm of Sheehan and Collins. William F. Sheehan was actively involved in New York State politics and a close associate of Cole's father. From 1905-1915 Cole was an associate with the firm of Alton B. Parker, Edward Hatch and William F. Sheehan; in 1915-16 he was with Ingraham, Sheehan and Moran. In 1916 he was appointed counsel for the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation.
Cole was, like his father, active in New York City and state politics. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1933 and a member of the State World's Fair Commission, 1936-1941. Starting in 1942, Cole was a member of the New York State Racing Commission (which supervises thoroughbred racing in New York State). He became chairman of the Commission in 1945 and held that post at the time of his death in 1964, serving longer than any other person.
Arrangement Note
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
This collection includes official correspondence to New York State Governor Levi P. Morton, letters received by the elder Cole while serving as State Railroad Commissioner, letters received by law firms with which Ashley T. Cole was associated, and additional letters written to either the father or the son. Nearly all of the items refer to Brooklyn or were written by Brooklynites.
The bulk of the collection falls between 1894-1904 and is related to Ashley W. Cole's tenure as secretary to Republican Governor Levi P. Morton (1895-97), his appointment as railroad commissioner (1897-1903), and Cole's involvement in New York state politics. Of particular interest is correspondence between Governor Morton and Brooklyn Mayor Charles Schieren on the 1895 street railway strike in Brooklyn. Most of the telegrams and letters discuss the ordering and use of two militia brigades to keep order in the city and to run the cars.
A second area of interest is the correspondence detailing the reactions of Brooklyn and New York City notables to the proposed consolidation of the two cities as proposed in the greater New York Bill. A referendum, an "expression of opinion" on consolidation, was held on November 8, 1894 and correspondence throughout 1895-96 reflects the continuing debate on the benefits of consolidation. During 1895 a proposed Charities Bill also generated controversy. Other letters during Morton's governorship deal with appointments, minor legislation, and patronage.
The later material, 1905-1926, consists primarily of letters of introduction, invitations, and acknowledgements from prominent New York and Brooklyn political figures.
The only substantive correspondence from the Ashley T. Cole period concerns Alton B. Parker's nomination for President. The 1904 folders contain responses to the notification committee's invitation to New York state politicians and businessmen to attend the ceremony to inform Parker of his nomination. The respondents are a who's who of New York politicians.
Scattered throughout the collection is correspondence from Brooklyn politicians such as Borough Presidents Edward M. Grout, 1898-1901; Martin W. Littleton, 1904-5; and Bird S. Coler, 1906-09 about appointments, legislation, and patronage matters. A few letters about grade crossings date from the senior Cole's tenure as railroad commissioner. Of minor interest are a series of letters from William Young, Governor Theodore Roosevelt's secretary, soliciting Ashley W. Cole's portrait for a gallery of governor's secretary's portraits in Albany.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection are in the public domain.
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Ashley W. and Ashley T. Cole Collection, 1973.270, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ashley T. Cole, 1941.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Surveyed and processed in May 1980 by Barbara Balliet for Brooklyn Rediscovery. Further Processed by Quinn Lai in September 2006. Edited and reformatted in by Dr. Pettit in December 2006. Further edited and entered into Archivist's Toolkit by Matthew Gorham in May 2009. Rehoused and finding aid revised by Dee Bowers in August 2023.
