William Herring

Submitted by Elizabeth Burns, Aug 2002

History of Arizona, 1896

Mr. Herring was born at New Brunswick, New Jersey, but the family early removed to New York City, where he attended the public schools and the City Normal School for Teachers. When sixteen years old he commenced teaching in the public schools of New York City and rose rapidly in his profession in which he obtained marked distinction. His career in conducting the evening schools of the city one of great success. When only twenty three years old he was appointed by the Board of Education principal of the largest evening school in the city. This school had over one thousand pupils in attendance and Mr. Herring had a corps of eighteen assistant teachers. In this school, through his efforts, mechanical drawing was first taught to pupils of the evening schools of the city, and Mr. Herry had the satisfaction of graduating many young men who have attained distinction in the mechanical arts; among them was Adam S. Cameron, the noted inventor of the Cameron Steam Pump.

Mr. Herring soon went from teaching to the profession of law and was admitted to practice through the regular bar examination in New York State and also by completing the course of studies for admission to the bar at the law school of Columbia College from which institution he obtained his degree of LL.B. With this double-headed admission to the bar, Mr. Herring entered upon the practice of the law with great ardor, and soon commanded an excellent practice. He was induced to accept the nomination for the New York Legislature of 1873, for the First district of Westchester County, and although a Republican in politics and running in a district which had been almost uniformly Democratic, he carried every town in his district and carried his district by the unprecedented majority of 654. During his legislative year Mr. Herring introduced and successfully carried through the "act to annex the lower portion of Westchester County to New York City" thus perfecting the first step to the "Greater New York." He also introduced the passed the bill establishing the 30th of May as "Decoration Day", New York being the first State to take this step. The measure encountered a vigorous opposition, but Mr. Herring was untiring in its accomplishment and his speech at the close of the debate on the bill won for him the distinction of being "the orator of the house" which at this session contained a crowd of able men in both political parties.

After the annexation of the lower part of Westchester County to New York City, Mr. Herring was appointed assistant district attorney of New York City in which position he served for six years. During this period he was also appointed a member of the Board of Education. He was also at the same time appointed a trustee of the State Asylum for the Insane at Middletown.

He came to Arizona in the spring of 1880 and engaged in mining at the Copper Camp, where Bisbee is now located s manager of the Neptune Mining Company. At the end of seven months his mining superintendent, August Raht, who had been selected by the directors of the company for his learning and skill in mining acquired at Freiberg, reported to the company that copper did not go down in the formation that existed at Bisbee. This opinion was entirely at variance with Mr.Herring's views and he resigned his position as manager and took up the practice of Law at Tombstone where he soon acquired a lucrative practice and where he has since remained.

Mr. Herring has no fondness for public office. He is devoted to his professional work and has a large clientage among the leading corporations in the Territory.

Mr. Herring weighs two hundred and fifty pounds, is sixty three years of age and lacks a small fraction of being six feet tall. His daughter, Sarah Inslee Herring, studies law in her father's office and after having been admitted to practice in the district courts and Supreme Court of the Territory, entered the law school at New York University Law School, from which she graduated with distinction.

A number of years ago Mr. Herring lost a favorite son, Howard who was growing up in the law to help his father. The blow came like that to James G. Blaine when his brilliant boy, Walker passed away. Since then, with the ebbing years, a daughter has trained herself by arduous, patient study to fill that office chair which the loved son strove to occupy.

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