John Notman was born on July 13, 1851 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Peter Notman of Edinburgh, Scotland and Jane C. Dunlap of Chester County, PA. Peter represented the Old Franklin Fire Insurance Company and served as a President of Niagara Fire Insurance Company. John was named after his uncle, John Notman, a prominent architect. He married Anna Warren Daniell in 1888 and had two daughters. They lived at 149 Joralemon Street in the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. Notman died on January 6, 1907.
Notman studied at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1872. That year, he started his law career with the law firm of Barney, Butler & Parsons, located at 54 Wall Street in Manhattan. The firm underwent several name changes in the ensuing decades: in 1875, it became Butler, Stillman & Hubbard, and when Notman became a partner in 1896, it became Butler, Notman, Joline & Mynderse. The firm's name changed again in 1905 to Butler, Notman & Mynderse. Notman specialized in contracts of indemnity and negligence law.
When appointed as a Commissioner of the State Board of Charities in 1899, John Notman had already served on the Board's Committee on Orphan Asylums and the Deaf and the Hospital Committee for eight years. He was a member of the Long Island Historical Society (later the Brooklyn Historical Society); the Hamilton, Metropolitan, and Lawyers' Clubs; and the New York State Bar Association.
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Sources:
- State Board of Charities of the State of New York.
Annual Report of the State Board of Charities of the State of New York. Albany, N.Y.: Weed, Parsona and Co., (1874-1929).
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John Notman: A Memorial. S.l.: s.n., 1958?
From the guide to the John Notman papers, 1849-1914, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
