Herman A. Metz

Herman A. Metz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 10th district
In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915
Preceded by	William Sulzer
Succeeded by	Reuben L. Haskell
Personal details
Born	(1867-10-19)October 19, 1867 New York City, New York
Died	May 17, 1934(1934-05-17) (aged 66) New Rochelle, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Laura A. Metz (1891–1915) Alice M. Metz (1916–1934)
Signature

Herman August Metz (October 19, 1867 – May 17, 1934) was a German-American businessman and politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York.

Life and business career

Metz was born in New York City, to Edward J. and Frances K. Metz, who were immigrants from Germany. He attended private and public schools and rose to prominence as a manufacturer and importer of dyestuffs, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. He was married twice, first, from 1891-1915 to Laura A. Traudt, from whom he was divorced, and second, from 1916 onward, to the former Mrs. Alice M. Norman (nee Van Ronk).

Metz died in a hospital in New Rochelle, New York, May 17, 1934. He was survived by his second wife, four sons, and a brother. He was interred in Kensico Cemetery, Westchester, New York.

Political career

Politically, Metz served as member of the board of education of Brooklyn and the city of New York, as Comptroller of the city of New York from 1906-1910, as a member of the commission appointed by Governor Hughes to draft the New York City charter in 1907 and 1908, and as a member of the charter commission appointed by Governor Miller in 1922. He also served as commissioner of the State board of charities. He was the nominee of Kings County for Governor in 1912, but withdrew in favor of William Sulzer after the second ballot, instead running for Sulzer's congressional seat.

Metz was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third Congress (March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915). His district was a Republican one of which he was not a resident. He served on the Committee on Claims, and the Committee on Patents. As a German-American businessman with extensive ties to German manufacturing interests, he favored American neutrality during the early years of the First World War. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1914, instead resuming his former business activities. Metz was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1904, 1908, and 1920. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress.

Military career

Militarily, Metz served as a first lieutenant, captain, lieutenant colonel, and brigadier general of the Fourteenth Infantry, New York National Guard. During the war he served on the home front as an ordnance officer, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, in the Twenty-seventh Division. Afterward he served as colonel in the ordnance department of the Officers' Reserve Corps.

Commemoration

After his death Metz was honored together with U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton in the naming of Hamilton-Metz Field, a 2.1-acre (0.0085 km²) park in the Wingate neighborhood of Brooklyn. Originally part of Alexander Hamilton High School, the field was transferred to the city Parks department in 1940 and augmented by a number of adjoining parcels donated in memory of Metz and his wife by the Metz family.

Sources

• Herman A. Metz at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biographical Sketch with portrait photo
• Herman A. Metz, Dyestuff Industry Notable
•  Homans, James E., ed. (1918). "Metz, Herman A.". The Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: The Press Association Compilers, Inc.  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by William Sulzer	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 10th congressional district 1913–1915	Succeeded by Reuben L. Haskell