HEWITT, ABRAM STEVENS American manufacturer and political leader, was born in Haverstraw (N.Y.), July 31, 1822. His father, John, a Staffordshire man, was one of a party of four mechanics who were sent by Boulton and Watt to Philadelphia about 1790 to set up a steam engine for the city water-works and who in built at Belleville (N.J.), the first steam engine constructed wholly in America. He graduated at Columbia college in 1842, and taught mathematics at Columbia. With Edward Cooper, son of Peter Cooper, he went into the man ufacture of iron girders and beams under the firm name of Cooper, Hewitt and Co. His study of the making of gun-barrel iron in England enabled him to be of great assistance to the U.S. Govern ment during the Civil War, when he refused any profit on such orders. The men in his works never struck—indeed from 1873 to 1878 his plant was run at an annual loss of $100,000. In 1871 he was prominent in the reorganization of Tammany after the fall of the "Tweed Ring"; from 1875 until the end of 1886 (except in 1879-81) he was a Representative in Congress; he was one of the House members of the joint committee which drew up the famous Electoral Count act providing for the electoral commis sion. In 1886 he was elected mayor of New York city over Henry George and Theodore Roosevelt. He broke with Tammany, was not renominated, ran independently for re-election, and was de feated. He died in New York city, on Jan. 18, 1903. He gave liberally to Cooper Union, of which he was trustee and secretary.