Charles Powell Clinch

Charles Powell Clinch (October 20, 1797 – December 16, 1880) was an American playwright and public official. A longtime appointed official at the U.S. Custom House in New York City, he was most notable for his service as acting Collector of the Port of New York from 1865 to 1866. Early life Charles Powell Clinch was born in New York City on October 20, 1797, a son of prominent ship chandler James Clinch and his first wife Susannah (Banker) Clinch. Among Clinch's siblings was Cornelia, the wife of Alexander Turney Stewart. Clinch was educated in the schools of New York City and worked briefly as a private secretary to Henry Eckford, a clerk at City Bank of New York and an editor at the Aurora newspaper. In his early life, Clinch was left independently wealthy by the death of his father. Much of his wealth was in insurance company stock, and he lost most of it as the result of higher than usual claims caused by 1835's Great Fire of New York, which caused several insurers to fail. Career A Democrat in politics, Clinch served in the New York State Assembly From 1835 to 1836, the 58th, 59th, and 60th Legislatures. In addition, he was active in the Tammany Hall organization and served as a sachem. Because of his reduced financial circumstances, in 1838 Clinch obtained an appointment as an inspector in the New York Custom House, and he remained a customs official for the next thirty-eight years, regardless of the collector's party affiliation. In 1839 he was appointed one of the custom house's deputy collectors, a position in which he remained until 1857. Clinch provided continuity between collectors, who were political appointees, and became renowned for his knowledge of customs laws and regulations. In 1857, he was appointed a special deputy, empowered to act for the collector in the collector's absence, and he remained in this position until 1863.