# Collector of the Port of New York

The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at the Port of New York.
In addition to its control of import duties, the office controlled and distributed a large number of lucrative federal jobs, making among the most important political patronage positions in the United States government. Disputes over control of the office, particularly between the President and United States Senators from New York, who traditionally advised on political appointments within the state, were a key aspect of the national debate over civil service reform in the nineteenth century.
The best-known individual to hold the position was Chester A. Arthur, who served as collector from 1871 to 1878 and who later served as the 21st president of the United States.

## History

The first Collector, John Lamb, was appointed by George Washington in 1789. He had previously served as Collector of Customs for the State of New York from 1784.
The office was described as "the prize plum of Federal patronage not only in this State but perhaps in the country, outside of positions in the Cabinet." Customs collections at US ports were overseen by three political appointees—the Collector, Surveyor, and Naval Officer. Because they were originally paid based on a percentage system that factored in both customs collected and fines levied for those who attempted to evade payment, these appointments were very lucrative, especially those at the Port of New York, by far America's busiest port. New York's Collector was the highest paid official of the federal government; as Collector from 1871 to 1878, Chester A. Arthur's compensation exceeded the modern equivalent of $1 million annually. The custom house staffs, especially at New York's Custom House were also political appointees, and were expected to contribute a portion of their salaries to the party to which they owed their appointments.
Disputes over patronage at the Port of New York led to an ongoing feud from the 1860s to the 1880s between the party faction led by Roscoe Conkling and reformers who counted Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield among their number. The attempts at reform that began in the 1870s led to the political appointees at each port being placed on salaries rather than the percentage system. The annual salary in 1920 was $12,000 (about $153,000 in 2019) plus about $8,000 in fees (about $102,000 in 2019).
The position was abolished in 1966 when the structure of the United States Customs Service was changed. The last Collector, Joseph P. Kelly, was kept on temporarily as a consultant.

## List of collectors

| No. | Collector | Nominated by | Start date | End date | Comments |
| 1 | John Lamb | George Washington | 1789 | 1797 | |
| 2 | Joshua Sands | John Adams | 1797 | 1801 | Confirmed May 19, 1797 |
| 3 | David Gelston | Thomas Jefferson | 1801 | 1820 | |
| 4 | Jonathan Thompson | James Monroe | 1820 | 1829 | |
| 5 | Samuel Swartwout | Andrew Jackson | 1829 | 1838 | Confirmed March 29, 1830. |
| 6 | Jesse Hoyt | Martin Van Buren | 1838 | 1841 | |
| 7 | John J. Morgan | Martin Van Buren | 1841 | 1841 | |
| 8 | Edward Curtis | William Henry Harrison | 1841 | 1844 | |
| N/A | Charles G. Ferris | John Tyler | - | - | Rejected by the U.S. Senate |
| 9 | Cornelius P. Van Ness | John Tyler | 1844 | 1845 | |
| 10 | Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence | James K. Polk | 1845 | 1849 | |
| 11 | Hugh Maxwell | Zachary Taylor | 1849 | 1853 | |
| N/A | Daniel S. Dickinson | Franklin Pierce | - | - | Declined nomination |
| 12 | Greene C. Bronson | Franklin Pierce | 1853 | 1853 | |
| 13 | Heman J. Redfield | Franklin Pierce | 1853 | 1857 | Resigned July 1, 1857 |
| 14 | Augustus Schell | James Buchanan | 1857 | 1861 | |
| 15 | Hiram Barney | Abraham Lincoln | 1861 | 1864 | Resigned |
| 16 | Simeon Draper | Abraham Lincoln | 1864 | 1865 | |
| 17 | Preston King | Andrew Johnson | 1865 | 1865 | Committed suicide |
| N/A | Charles P. Clinch | N/A | 1865 | 1866 | Acting |
| 18 | Henry A. Smythe | Andrew Johnson | 1866 | 1869 | |
| 19 | Moses H. Grinnell | Ulysses S. Grant | 1869 | 1870 | |
| 20 | Thomas Murphy | Ulysses S. Grant | 1870 | 1871 | |
| 21 | Chester A. Arthur | Ulysses S. Grant | 1871 | 1878 | |
| N/A | Theodore Roosevelt Sr. | Rutherford B. Hayes | - | - | Rejected by U.S. Senate |
| 22 | Edwin Atkins Merritt | Rutherford B. Hayes | 1878 | 1881 | |
| 23 | William H. Robertson | James A. Garfield | 1881 | 1885 | Nominated March 24, 1881 |
| 24 | Edward L. Hedden | Grover Cleveland | 1885 | 1886 | |
| 25 | Daniel Magone | Grover Cleveland | 1886 | 1889 | |
| 26 | Joel Erhardt | Benjamin Harrison | 1889 | 1891 | |
| 27 | Jacob Sloat Fassett | Benjamin Harrison | 1891 | 1891 | |
| 28 | Francis Hendricks | Benjamin Harrison | 1891 | 1893 | |
| 29 | James Truesdell Kilbreth | Grover Cleveland | 1893 | 1897 | Died in office |
| 30 | George R. Bidwell | William McKinley | 1897 | 1902 | |
| 31 | Nevada Stranahan | Theodore Roosevelt | 1902 | 1907 | Resigned due to ill health |
| N/A | Henry C. Stuart | N/A | 1907 | 1907 | Acting |
| 32 | Edward S. Fowler | Theodore Roosevelt | 1907 | 1909 | |
| 33 | William Loeb Jr. | William Howard Taft | 1909 | 1913 | |
| 34 | John Purroy Mitchel | Woodrow Wilson | 1913 | 1913 | Elected Mayor of New York City |
| 35 | Dudley Field Malone | Woodrow Wilson | 1913 | 1917 | |
| 36 | Byron Rufus Newton | Woodrow Wilson | 1917 | 1921 | |
| 37 | George W. Aldridge | Warren G. Harding | 1921 | 1922 | Died in office |
| N/A | Henry C. Stuart | N/A | 1922 | 1923 | Acting |
| 38 | Philip Elting | Calvin Coolidge | 1923 | 1933 | |
| 39 | Harry M. Durning | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1933 | 1953 | |
| 40 | Robert Wharton Dill | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953 | 1961 | |
| 41 | Joseph P. Kelly | John F. Kennedy | 1961 | 1966 | |