View source for John Oakey (politician)

{{Short description|American lawyer and politician}}
'''John Oakey''' (September 12, 1829 – March 24, 1898) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
== Life ==
Oakey was born on September 12, 1829, in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]]. His father was a lineal descendant of [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]] officer [[John Okey]], while his mother was a descendant of Hartford founder [[Thomas Hooker]]. He moved to [[Flatbush, Brooklyn|Flatbush]] with his family when he was eight.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Harlow|first1=S. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7AsAAAAIAAJ|title=Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York in 1867|last2=Boone|first2=H. H.|publisher=Weed, Parsons and Company|year=1867|isbn=|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=314–316|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
Oakey studied at [[Erasmus Hall High School|Erasmus Hall Academy]]. He entered [[Yale College]] in 1845, graduating from there with honors in 1849. After a preliminary study session, he entered the law office of [[James Humphrey (New York politician)|James Humphrey]]. He was admitted to the bar in 1851.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=25 March 1898|title=Col. John Oakey Dead|volume=XLVII|page=7|work=[[The New York Times]]|issue=15040|location=New York, N.Y.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/03/25/102524523.pdf|access-date=}}</ref> He then spent two years working as managing clerk for Charles T. Cromwell of [[New York City]]. In 1854, he began practicing law in New York City with Cromwell<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1859_1924/1897-98.pdf|title=Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Academical Year ending in June, 1898|publisher=[[Yale University]]|year=1898|isbn=|series=57|location=New Haven, C.T.|pages=531–532|via=[[Yale University Library]]}}</ref> in the law firm Cromwell & Oakey, later known as Blanke, Oakey & Cromwell. In 1858, he started practicing with [[Hiram P. Hunt]] in the law firm Hunt & Oakey. He was also first elected [[justice of the peace]] for Kings County that year. In 1865, he was appointed Commissioner of Excise for Kings County.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hxpkl8&view=1up&seq=141|title=Yale Class of 'Forty-Nine Quarter-Century Report|publisher=Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor|year=1875|location=New Haven, C.T.|pages=58–59|via=[[HathiTrust]]}}</ref> He was also a school trustee and trustee of Erasmus Hall Academy.<ref name=":1" />
During the [[American Civil War]], Oakey served as a private with the [[7th New York Militia Regiment|7th Regiment of the New York National Guard]]. He served for three months in 1861 at [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]], another three months in 1862 at [[Federal Hill, Baltimore]], and another three months in 1863 at Federal Hill, [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]], and [[Battle of Monocacy|Monocacy]]. He was also with the regiment during the [[New York City draft riots]]. He was later promoted to judge advocate, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Major-General [[Alexander Shaler]] of the First Division of the [[New York Guard|New York National Guard]].<ref name=":1" />
In 1865, Oakey was elected to the [[New York State Assembly]] as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], representing the Kings County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in [[89th New York State Legislature|1866]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://archive.org/details/eveningjournalal1866slsn/page/86/mode/1up|title=The 1866 Evening Journal Almanac|publisher=Weed, Parsons & Company|year=1866|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=86|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> and [[90th New York State Legislature|1867]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Hutchins|first=Stephen C.|url=https://archive.org/details/eveningjournalal1867slsn/page/82/mode/1up|title=The 1867 Evening Journal Almanac|publisher=Weed, Parsons and Company|year=1867|isbn=|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=82|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> In 1871, he moved from Flatbush to Brooklyn. In 1872, he briefly worked as a U.S. Assessor. In 1874, he was counsel for the Brooklyn Police Excise departments.<ref name=":4" /> He served as assistant [[Brooklyn District Attorney|district attorney]] under [[Isaac S. Catlin]]<ref name=":5" /> from 1878 to 1884. In 1889, he was appointed Assistant [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York|United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]]. He was promoted to District Attorney in 1894, but he resigned a few months later and resumed his law practice. When he died, he was U.S. Commissioner for the Eastern District of New York.<ref name=":3" />
In 1857, Oakey married Sarah Spofford of Flatbush. She died in 1862, with no surviving children. He then married Dr. Frances Wallach,<ref name=":3" /> with whom he had a daughter, Frances. He was a member of the [[Lincoln Club]], the [[Grand Army of the Republic]], the [[Society of Old Brooklynites]], and the [[Atlantic Yacht Club]]. He was a founder of the Entre Nous, the Amaranth, the Social Literary Union, and the Athenian Society.<ref name=":2" /> He was [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=24 March 1898|title=Colonel John Oakey Found Dead in Bed|volume=58|page=16|work=[[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|issue=82|location=New York, N.Y.|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50376471/|access-date=|via=[[Brooklyn Public Library]] Historical Newspapers}}</ref>
Oakey died at home from gastric apoplexy on March 24, 1898. He was buried in [[Green-Wood Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Civil War Biographies: Nugent-Oxley|url=https://www.green-wood.com/2015/civil-war-biographies-nugent-oxley/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-17|website=[[Green-Wood Cemetery]]}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* ''[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/oakar-oakleaf.html#939.14.93 The Political Graveyard]''
* [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58813541/john-oakey John Oakey] at ''[[Find a Grave]]''
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-ny-hs}}
{{succession box
| title = [[New York State Assembly]] <br>Kings County, 1st District
| years = 1866
| before = [[Jarvis Whitman]]
| after = [[Patrick Burns (New York politician)|Patrick Burns]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[New York State Assembly]] <br>Kings County, 8th District
| years = 1867
| before = District Created
| after = [[DeWitt C. Tower]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakey, John}}
[[Category:1829 births]]
[[Category:1898 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Flatbush, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Politicians from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Erasmus Hall High School alumni]]
[[Category:Yale College alumni]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:American justices of the peace]]
[[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:New York National Guard personnel]]
[[Category:19th-century American legislators]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly]]
[[Category:United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of New York]]
[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery]]
[[Category:19th-century New York (state) politicians]]