Daniel Ullman | |
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Daniel Ulllman in uniform
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Born |
Wilmington, Delaware |
April 28, 1810
Died | September 20, 1892 Nyack, New York |
(aged 82)
Buried at | Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack, New York |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
Rank | Major General |
Unit | 78th Regiment New York Infantry |
Battles/wars |
Daniel Ullman (April 28, 1810 – September 20, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician from New York and was a Major General in the American Civil War.
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Ullman graduated from Yale University in 1829 and moved to New York City, where he began practicing law. A member of the Whig Party, he became a prominent member of the faction opposed to the leadership of William H. Seward. A frequent candidate for office, his most notable campaign was as the American Party candidate for the governorship of New York in 1854, in which he won 26% of the vote.
In late 1856 Ullman moved into a boarding house that was run by Mrs. Emma Augusta Cunningham at 31 Bond Street in Manhattan. The attorney did not really socialize much with his fellow lodgers, but he attended a party held in the boarding house on January 14, 1857. Although he later testified that he only spent half an hour at the party, he did admit seeing some people there who he recognized as respectable people. He probably saw two of his fellow lodgers, Dr. Harvey Burdell and Mr. John Eckel. Burdell, a wealthy dentist, had been having a close relationship with Mrs. Cunningham. How close would be a subject of dispute. She claimed she married him, and would later try to pass off a hired baby as her own by him. Mrs. Cunningham also seemed to be carrying on a close relationship with Mr. Eckel. On January 31, 1857 Burdell would be stabbed to death by an intruder while at his desk in the boarding house. Suspicion fell on Mrs. Cunningham and Mr. Eckel, and a coroner's court was held to examine the evidence regarding the murder. Mr. Ullman was a witness (oddly he had come home late, heard nothing unusual, and went to his room, so he was not suspected). The next morning he was awakened by the noise of the police and Mrs. Cunningham and others upon the discovery of Dr. Burdell's body. Ullman's testimony would be relatively trivial, except that he claimed Mrs. Cunningham did show grief and horror at the event. The Coroner's Court was presided over by Coroner Edward Connory, an Irish immigrant who enjoyed teasing Mr. Ullman, who was good natured enough to return the banter. Cunningham and Eckel were both tried for the murder of Burdell, and prosecuted by New York City's District Attorney A. Oakley Hall later Mayor of the city. They were acquitted. The case was never solved.