Ferdinand N. Shurtleff

Ferdinand N. Shurtleff (April 4, 1837 – April 6, 1903) was a Member of the Board of General Appraisers.

Shurtleff was born April 4, 1837, in Hartland, New York. He entered private practice in Portland, Oregon. He served as commissary for the Grande Ronde Indian Reservation in Oregon from 1864 to 1869. He served as deputy collector of customs and customs collector in Portland from 1870 to 1880. He served as Superior Officer for the collector of customs in Portland from 1880 to 1890.

On July 17, 1890, President Harrison nominated Shurtleff to serve as a Member of the newly created Board of General Appraisers. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 18, 1890 and received his commission on July 22, 1890. He served on the board until he was removed from office by President McKinley on May 12, 1899. He was succeeded on the board by Judge Israel F. Fischer.

Circumstances of his removal from office

In early 1899, Shurtleff received a request from the Treasury Department to resign from the Board, but declined to do so. It is believed partisan political pressure was behind the request. On May 3, 1899, President McKinley wrote Shurtleff, informing him that he was being removed from office, effective upon the appointment and qualification of his successor, which occurred on May 12, 1899. McKinley gave no cause for Shurtleff's removal and Shurtleff was not given the opportunity to defend himself before a commission. Shurtleff challenged his dismissal as unlawful in the Court of Claims which ruled against him, upon which he appealed to the United States Supreme Court. In the case Shurtleff vs. United States the Supreme Court ruled that barring a specific prohibition in the statute creating an office, the President of the United States may remove any officer without cause, thus denying Shurtleff's petition.

Shurtleff died on April 6, 1903, in Portland, Oregon, ironically on the very day on which Shurtleff vs. United States was decided by the Supreme Court.