He born on April 12, 1846, in
Esperance,
Schoharie County, New York, the son of Assemblyman
Jonathan R. Herrick (1818–1890) and his first wife Harriet E. (Deuel) Herrick (1825–1856). In 1852, the family removed to
Albany, New York. He graduated from the Albany Classical Institute, and then studied law in the office of
Lyman Tremain and
Rufus W. Peckham, Sr. They sent him to
Albany Law School where he was a classmate of
William McKinley. He graduated in 1868, and was admitted to the bar. In 1874, he married Orissa H. Salisbury (d. 1925), and they had three children. In 1877, Herrick was defeated for District Attorney of
Albany County, but in 1880 was re-nominated and elected, and he was re-elected in 1883. He became the chief lieutenant of
Daniel Manning, the
Democratic boss of Albany. When Manning moved to
Washington, D.C. to serve as
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in 1885, Herrick became the Democratic boss of Albany and continued in this role even after becoming a judge on the
New York Supreme Court. In 1886, Herrick resigned as district attorney, and became Corporation Counsel of Albany. In
1888, he was permanent chairman of the Democratic state convention. In 1891, he was elected to a fourteen-year term on the
New York Supreme Court (3rd District), defeating Republican
John T. McDonough. He sat on the
Appellate Division (Third Department) from 1896 to 1900. In 1891, he fined the members of the State Board of Canvassers, all Democrats, for their certification of the election returns from Dutchess County, which gave the 15th District seat in the
New York State Senate to Democrat
Edward B. Osborne, and enabled Democrats to gain control of the State Senate. In
1897, he overruled the Republican Secretary of State
John Palmer's decision to certify the nomination of a candidate for
Chief Judge by the "United Democracy". In
1904, he was nominated for
Governor of New York, and resigned from the bench. He was defeated by Republican
Frank W. Higgins, and afterwards resumed the practice of law at Albany and New York City. He was buried at the
Albany Rural Cemetery in
Menands, New York. State Senator
Walter R. Herrick (born 1877) was his half-brother. ==Sources==