William T. Pheiffer (1898-1986) was an American lawyer and legislator. He served in the United States Army during World War I and then received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1919. He was elected as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, serving from 1941 to 1943. He served in the military again during World War II (1943-1944), after which he was appointed counsel to the Petroleum Administration for War, a position he held until 1945. President Eisenhower appointed Pheiffer U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic in 1953, where he served until 1957.
The Julius Garfinckel who appears in the correspondence was Pheiffer's maternal uncle, and a successful merchant and philanthropist from Syracuse, New York.
From the guide to the William T. Pheiffer Papers, 1921-1973, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
