Balfour Bowen Thorn Lord (1906-1965)

From the Port of New York Authority annual report, 1959.

"No man contributed more to making politics and public life an honored calling in New Jersey. Thorn Lord brought men of integrity and intellectual ability into public life and imbued them with his dedication to making the Democratic process function effectively and responsibly."

   Such was the description by U.S. Senator Harrison Williams of Balfour Bowen Thorn Lord, a Democratic power player in New Jersey beginning in the 1940s. A former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Lord was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1960 and in the year following his defeat was elected chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. He served in that capacity until his death in June 1965, having taken his own life at a friend's home. The story of this once-prominent Garden State political figure begins with his birth in Plainfield on August 24, 1906, being the son of Carroll Putnam (1875-1958) and Frances Roberts (Troy) Lord (1883-1952). Possessing a plentiful name, the origins behind the name Balfour Bowen Thorn remain unknown, and through his career in public life, he was known as Thorn Lord.

  The son of a cotton merchant, Lord removed with his family to the South at a young age and enrolled at the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. His time at the university saw him as a member of Alpha Tau Omega, the Junior and Senior German Club, and was manager of the track team. He graduated in 1927 and decided to pursue a career in law. His studies took him to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his degree in 1931. Lord returned to New Jersey sometime later to accept a position as a clerk in the office of a federal judge, and in 1932 established his law practice in Trenton.

  Thorn Lord passed the New Jersey bar exam in 1933 and in January 1934 was admitted to the state bar. In that same year, he married Margaret Twining Eastburn (1906-1987), with who he had one son, Thorn Lord Jr. (1937-1987). The couple later separated, and in 1943 remarried to Nina Walton Underwood (1903-1976), and had one daughter, Nina.

From the Suwanee Cap and Gown Yearbook, 1926.

    In 1935 the New Jersey State Bar Association designated Thorn Lord as one of ten members of a special committee on unauthorized practice of law in the junior section of the state bar association. He continued his rise in New Jersey law circles in 1936, beginning service as Assistant U.S. District Attorney for New Jersey, and following U.S. Attorney Charles Phillip's resignation in November 1943, was appointed to succeed him. Lord quickly threw himself into his new duties, with the office of first assistant attorney being abolished, and two new administrative assistants for civil and criminal cases being created. Despite entering into such a prominent post, Lord cited his desire to serve his country during wartime, highlighting his previous application to the attorney general, noting "I am perfectly willing to serve, but I can't even resign."

  Not long after assuming the reigns as U.S. Attorney Thorn Lord announced that his office had summoned a grand jury in connection to black-market liquor sales in the state, remarking that the session would "disclose unusual revelations concerning a black-market in New Jersey." His two-year tenure as U.S. Attorney was highlighted during his senate candidacy, with the Camden Courier-Post noting:

"During World War II Lord and his aides received special commendation for setting up the machinery for enforcement of the Selective Service Act in New Jersey. His office was also recognized nationally for appointing distinguished New Jersey citizens to serve as members of the Alien Enemy Boards on a non-partisan basis."

  Lord left the U.S. Attorney's office in 1945 and soon partnered with future Governor Richard Hughes to form a law firm. In 1947 Lord was elected as a Democratic committeeman for Lawrence township and held the additional roles of police and fire commissioner. In June 1947 he was elected as a delegate from Mercer County to the state constitutional convention, where he was named to the committee on Credentials, Printing, and Authentication of Documents. 

   Further political honors came Lord's way in 1948 when succeeded his friend Richard Hughes as chair of the Mercer County Democratic Committee, serving in that capacity until his death. This post saw Lord gradually become a political kingmaker in state democratic circles, with the Hackensack Record noting that:

"Operating on a theory that most non-voters are Democrats, he organized an efficient operation to get them registered. His policies pumped life into the Mercer Democratic organization, which soon swept every County-wide office, ending a long G.O.P. reign." 

  A founding figure in the National Democratic Club of New Jersey in 1950, Lord served as one of that organization's trustees and led the fight to curtail the power of the political machine of Frank Hague, mayor of Jersey City. In 1953 Lord proved pivotal in the nomination of Robert Baumle Meyner's nomination for Governor, his candidacy first being proposed at Lord's home. With Lord's behind-the-scenes guidance, Meyner won the Democratic nomination and later the governorship, serving two terms from 1954-1962.

From the Montclair Times, November 3, 1960.

    Following Meyner's election, he appointed Lord as a commissioner for the Port of New York Authority, representing New Jersey. His appointment was confirmed by the state senate in August 1955, and during his tenure would inspect New York Harbor and Port Authority developments. In 1958 he served as vice chairman of the board's committee on port planning and was touted by the state Democratic establishment as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate. For the time being, Lord was denied the senatorial nod, not having the support of Hoboken mayor John Grogan and state conservation commissioner Joseph McLean.

  As the 1960 election year loomed, the New Jersey Democrats came to a consensus in February when Balfour Bowen Thorn Lord was announced as their U.S. Senate candidate, "being the unanimous choice of Democratic leaders from all 21 counties." By the time of his nomination, Lord was already a familiar face in the Mercer County Democratic Party but was little known in other areas of the state. Described as "Lincolnesque", with a Southern drawl, his favored brown fedora became a trademark part of his image, along with his trusty Ford, which he drove regularly for two decades. Noted as standing six feet two inches, the comparisons to Lincoln didn't end with height, however, with the Passaic Herald News remarking "Lord looks like Lincoln come to life. He walks and talks as most people think Lincoln used to walk and talk." The News further detailed Lord's long devotion to his party, noting:

"Nobody in the Democratic party has a better right to the U.S. Senate nomination than Lord. It is generally conceded that he could have been the candidate two years ago instead of Harrison A. Williams. He was one of the leading contenders. He discouraged the electors at that time, by expressing doubt that he was interested."

  Though given the nod by the state Democratic establishment, Lord himself didn't announce his candidacy until March 1960 and also noted that he'd be resigning from the New York Port Authority to focus on his campaign. That same month another New Jersey attorney, Richard Glasser, filed for the Democratic nomination, and in the April primary was soundly defeated by Lord, 177,429 votes to 40,134.

From the Hackensack Record, June 17, 1965.

  As the campaign season went into full effect, Lord took part in authoring the party platform unveiled at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles that August. Among the issues Lord pressed for were:

• Congressional action on medical care for the aged.
• An accelerated mutual security program.
• A minimum wage of $1.25 an hour.
• Housing and education legislation.
• "Meaningful" civil rights legislation.
• "A solution to national farm problems. We have been blessed by nature with abundance, and more ways should be found to share it with underprivileged peoples elsewhere."
• A strong support of aid to undeveloped nations, "not only on the grounds of humanitarianism but to counter the threat of Communist domination."

  During his campaign, Lord was brought into contact with presidential nominee John F. Kennedy, who campaigned in New Jersey during the fall of 1960. The two candidates both spoke at a Teaneck Armory rally in the waning days of the campaign and were both featured heavily in local political advertisements, with Kennedy himself remarking: 

"I shall rely on Thorn Lord's integrity, his broad experience in public life and his knowledge as a practicing politician to help solve some of the great problems facing the country today."

From the Passaic Herald News, November 3, 1960.

  Through the summer and fall, Thorn Lord traversed New Jersey to appeal to voters. Lord's Republican opponent that year was incumbent Clifford P. Case (1904-1982), a four-term U.S. Representative from New Jersey who had first been elected to the senate in 1954. In October 1960 he engaged in a debate with Case held at the Fair  Lawn Jewish Center in Hackensack, and spent further time in Gloucester County, meeting U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy at a Democratic function in Irvington. On election day in November it was Clifford Case who emerged victorious, polling 1,483,832 votes to Thorn Lord's 1,151,385. Though he polled an impressive vote count, Lord appeared "very hurt" by the defeat, with the Hackensack Record reporting in his 1965 obituary that:

"He lost by a big margin, and his eyes were filled with pain election night. There was speculation in the state house last night that perhaps he had never gotten over that defeat. It was hard to tell, though, as Lord was the sort of man who kept his own counsel."

   Despite his senatorial ambitions being dashed, Lord achieved a measure of consolation in April of the following year when he was elected as chairman of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee. As chairman, Lord pushed hard for the election of his old friend Richard J. Hughes as Governor, and in November 1961 saw him win the first of two terms in that office. Thorn Lord would simultaneously hold the posts of both state chairman and chair of the Mercer County Democratic committee until 1965, and just one week before his death was elected to another four-year term as Democratic state chair.

  On June 17, 1965, newspaper reports broke that Thorn Lord had been found dead at the home of his close friend Clifton Bennett, then serving as judge of the Mercer County Court. Reports of his sudden death continued to break, and in the coming days it was revealed that Lord had taken his own life by strangulation with an electric shaver cord, and was:

"Discovered about 4:30 pm yesterday slumped in an easy chair in the cellar recreation room of Mercer County Court Judge Clifton T. Bennett, his close friend of 25 years."

  Further investigation revealed that Lord had been despondent and had left a note prior to having "tied the cord around his neck and pulling both ends, garotting himself." On the day of his death, Lord had had breakfast with Bennett, who soon left for his daily work routine. Returning home later that day, Bennett discovered Lord's note and soon called the police. Newspaper reports published in the coming days gave varying stories in regards to Lord's despondency, with some reporting marital trouble, and others relating that he was still hurt by his senate loss.

  Lord's suicide shocked the New Jersey political establishment and left his family and friends in dismay. In the days following his death, numerous outpourings of grief appeared throughout state newspapers, memorializing Lord as "a leader of national stature." Among these memorials were the words of his friend, Governor Richard Hughes, who stated:

"The state has lost one of its finest citizens...His sole concern as a highly respected political and civic leader was good government and the well being of the people of this state."

 Balfour Bowen Thorn Lord was survived by his wife Nina, and his two children. He was later interred at the Trinity All Saints Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey. 

From the Bridgewater Courier-News, June 17, 1965.