Samuel B. H. Vance

Early life

He was born in 1814 to a distinguished family in Pennsylvania.

Career

He served as a captain of volunteers in the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. In 1854, Vance began participating in a series of firms making gas and electric lighting fixtures in New York City, twice succeeding company presidents who had died. He was elected to the New York City Board of Education in 1860, and to the Board of Aldermen in 1871 and was then chosen to be the latter's president on January 7, 1873, leading in turn to his one-month tenure as acting mayor in December 1874.

In 1885, he was one of three commissioners appointed by the New York Supreme Court to study surface transportation on lower Broadway between Union Square West and The Battery (what is now New York's Financial District). The commission recommended that, because of increased traffic and commercial density in this area, the Broadway Surface Railroad Company be granted a franchise to start and operate a horse (rather than cable) drawn line along this route. (While a horse-drawn line did start in 1885, a traction cable was installed eight years later.)

Personal life

Vance was married to Augusta Blanche Hall. They lived in a mansion at 30 West 57th Street. Together, they were the parents of:

• Nannie Mitchell Vance (1860–1912), who married John Ellis Roosevelt (1853–1939) in 1879. Although Vance was a Republican, the groom's father, Robert B. Roosevelt, was a former Democratic New York City alderman and congressman (and future ambassador) who was in turn an uncle of Theodore Roosevelt, the future mayoral candidate and president.

Vance died at his home in Douglaston, Long Island, shortly after midnight on August 10, 1890, at the age of 76. His widow died in Sayville, Long Island on June 19, 1901. They are buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Descendants

Through his daughter Nannie, Samuel Vance was the grandfather of:

• Anita Blanche "Pansy" Roosevelt (1882–1929), who reportedly was "ill from nervous prostration in a sanitarium in New York" in 1903.
• Gladys Roosevelt (1889–1926), who married Fairman Rogers Dick (1885–1976), son of Evans Rogers Dick, in 1913. Fairman's sister, Isabelle Mildred Dick (1884–1972) was married to Stuyvesant Fish Jr. (1883–1952), and stood up in the wedding of Gladys and Fairman. Gladys was killed in a horse riding accident at the Meadow Brook Hunt Club in 1926.
• Jean Schermerhorn Roosevelt (1891–1984), who married Philip James Roosevelt (1892–1941), a cousin and the son of Emlen Roosevelt, in 1925.

In popular culture

His brief term was referenced in Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 2 when Commissioner Gallo confronts Mayor Wilson Fisk.

References

References

1. But could not take his seat without the physical enforcement of a court order displacing the previous Aldermen: see [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/01/02/79010112.pdf Exciting Scene in the Chamber of the Board of Aldermen], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 2, 1872, page 2, retrieved without charge on June 1, 2008
2. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A04E5DC1138E033A25750C1A9659C94649FD7CF HORSE CARS IN BROADWAY; THE DECISION MADE BY THE COMMISSIONERS.FINDING THAT A RAILWAY IS NEEDED AND THAT IT SHOULD BE A HORSE CAR LINE,NOT A CABLE ROAD.] ''[[The New York Times]]'', Wednesday, March 13, 1885, page 8, retrieved without charge on June 1, 2008
3. (February 20, 1879). "THE VANCE-ROOSEVELT WEDDING.; MR. JOHN E. ROOSEVELT UNITED TO MISS NANNIE MITCHELL VANCE--SOME OF THE PRESENTS.". [[The New York Times]].
4. "Burial Search". Green-Wood Cemetery.
5. (August 15, 1890). "The Burial of S. B. H. Vance". New York Times.
6. (June 20, 1901). "Death notice, Augusta Blanche Hay Vance". New York Times.
7. (30 October 1912). "MRS. J.E. ROOSEVELT ESTATE; Valued at $25,000 and Goes to Her Two Daughters.". [[The New York Times]].
8. (October 20, 2013). "Titled Americans, 1890: A list of American ladies who have married foreigners of rank". [[Bloomsbury Publishing]].
9. (6 January 1903). "Miss Pansy Roosevelt III.". [[The New York Times]].
10. (November 8, 1913). "Miss Gladys Roosevelt's Wedding". [[New York Times]].
11. (November 23, 1926). "Mrs. F.R. Dick Dies In Hunting Accident". [[New York Times]].
12. (9 November 1926). "MRS. DICK WILLS BULK OF ESTATE TO HUSBAND; Sister and Father Share Rest of Property of Woman Killed in Fall Off Horse.". [[The New York Times]].
13. (22 December 1909). "Luncheon for Miss Jean Roosevelt.". [[The New York Times]].
14. (1941-11-17). "Died. Philip James Roosevelt, 49". [[TIME]].
15. (1925-05-18). "untitled". [[Time, Inc.]].
16. (2025-03-05). "Daredevil: Born Again Episode 2 recap – White Tiger’s case explained".