Edward Murray Bassett descends from William Bassett of Plymouth, Massachusetts as follows:
William Bassett and wife Elizabeth
William Bassett (b. 1624) and wife Mary Raynesford
William Bassett (b. 1656) and wife Rachel Williston
William Bassett (b. 1680) and wife Abigail Bourne
Elisha Bassett (b. 1714) and wife Ruhamah Jennings
Lot Bassett (b. 1755 and wife Deborah Howes
Francis Edward Bassett (b. 1796) and wife Mehitable Ford
Charles Ralph Bassett (b. 1836) and wife Elvira Rogers
Edward Murray Bassett (b. 1863) and wife Annie Rebecca Preston
Earlier this month, I purchased the above book about Edward Murray Bassett on ebay.
The New York Times, Thursday
Edward Bassett, Father of Zoning (picture included)
Lawyer Who Led Movement for Ordinance Here in 1916 Dies – Ex-Congressman
Edward Murray Bassett, a lawyer known as the “Father” of American zoning, former Congressman and Public Service Commissioner, died yesterday in his home at 1716 Newkirk Avenue, Brooklyn, after a brief illness. His age was 85.
Mr. Bassett was the chief author of and primary mover in bringing into being the first comprehensive zoning ordinance in the United States regulating the use, height and area of buildings. That ordinance, which became a model for the rest of the country, was adopted by the New York Board of Estimate in 1916.
Over many years he and associates fought a continuing battle which made the Manhattan skyline, with its attractive towers and setbacks, a thing of beauty instead of the horror it might have been if unregulated. He wrote numerous zoning ordinances for other municipalities and successfully labored for more than thirty years, in legislatures, courts and public debate, for an orderly development of zoning throughout the land.
Born in Brooklyn, a son of Charles R. and Mrs. Elvira Rogers Bassett, Mr. Bassett received an A.B. Degree from Amherst College in 1884 and taught school in Brooklyn while attending Columbia University Law School, from which he was graduated in 1886. He had practiced law here since 1892. He was a member of the law firm of Bassett, Thompson & Gilpatric here from 1902 to 1942, and, with his son, Howard M. Bassett of Rockville Centre, L.I., a member of Bassett & Bassett, 233 Broadway, from 1942 until his death.
Mr. Bassett was a member of Congress from Brooklyn in 1903-1905. He was a member of the Kings County Democratic General Committee for three years. By appointment of the late Charles E. Hughes, then Governor of New York, he became a member of the Public Service Commission in 1907, serving until 1911.
The lack of regulation of buildings led to the formation of a City Height of Building Commission in 1913, with Mr. Bassett as chairman.
In 1916, as chairman of the City Commission on Building Districts and Restrictions, he submitted to the Board of Estimate what became the city’s first zoning ordinance, made law last year. From 1916 to 1946 Mr. Bassett was counsel to the Zoning Committee of New York. Later he served as counsel to the New York Zoning commission, the Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs and the old City Planning Commission. He also had been a member of the Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning appointed by Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, and president of the National Conference on City Planning.
In 1943 leaders in the architectural and community planning fields called Mr. Bassett the “father of zoning and the best-known authority on this subject in America” when they presented to him their Medal of Honor for City Planning, which had been awarded only twice before, in 1939 to George McAneny and in 192? to John D. Rockefeller.
Besides his son, he leaves another son, Preston R. Bassett of Rockville Centre; three daughters, Mrs. Marion B. Luitweiler of New York, Mrs. Isabel B. Wasson of River Forest, Ill, and Mrs. Helen Hauser of Short Hills, N.J.; and brother, George Bassett of Buffalo; a sister, Mrs. Mary Harrington of Buffalo; fifteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at ? P.M. tomorrow at the Flatbush-Tompkins Church, Brooklyn. Burial will be in Ashfield, Mass.