A. Oakey Hall

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A. Oakey Hall (around 1870)
The department heads in the New York City government
Caricature of the Tweed Ring by Thomas Nast ; Oakey Hall is shown in front right with glasses.
The power behind the throme. The Tammany Ring-dom Thomas Nast Oct. 29, 1870

Abraham Oakey Hall (born July 26, 1826 in Albany , New York , †  October 7, 1898 in New York City ) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1869 and 1872 he was Mayor of New York City.

Youth and education

Hall was born to James and Elsie Lansing (Oakey) Hall in Albany, where his mother was visiting. His grandfather had emigrated from England to America and settled in Albany. In 1829, when Hall was 3 years old, his father died of yellow fever. He was a businessman in PR Starr's New York City firm. After his death, his mother rented out rooms to earn a living. She sent her son to public schools and at 14 he went to New York University . During his studies, he made a living doing various jobs and contributing to newspapers. As an excellent student, he completed his studies in 1844 with a Bachelor (BA) and 3 years later with a Master (MA).

Ambitious to achieve power and fame, he chose the profession of attorney and attended Harvard Law School for a semester , where he made a good impression with his acumen. Probably for lack of money, he dropped out and joined Charles W. Sanford's office in New York. He stayed here only a short time before moving to New Orleans . He lived with his uncle Samuel W. Oakey in New Orleans and worked as a newspaper reporter, but soon gave up to complete his studies in the law firm of Thomas and John Slidell, the Democrats who specialized in state law. In 1849 he was admitted to the Louisiana bar. Two years later he returned to New York and was allowed to practice law there as well. In 1853 he formed a partnership with Aaron J. Vanderpoel, a former classmate. He later became a partner in the law firm of Brown, Hall & Vanderpoel.

Profession and Politics

Between 1851 and 1854 he was assistant district attorney in New York. Then he was there until 1857 (according to other sources 1859) regular district attorney . He held this office again between 1861 and 1869.

New York State had banned the sale of alcohol across the state in 1855. Under the direction of Mayor Fernando Wood to do his Irish constituents, who were seasoned drinkers, Hall enacted a law allowing unencumbered alcohol sales seven days a week, two months before prohibition came into effect . The months of May and June 1855 were the months when most alcohol was consumed in New York City history.

Politically, Hall was initially a member of the Whig Party . After its dissolution, he joined the Republican Party founded in 1854 . In June 1856 he took part as a delegate at the first Republican National Convention in Philadelphia , at which John C. Frémont was nominated as a presidential candidate. Since 1864, Hall also maintained close relationships with the Democratic- affiliated company of Tammany Hall . It is not clear from the sources whether he changed party at the time. In any case, he became editor of the Leader newspaper , which was the mouthpiece of Tammany Hall.

"Boss" Tweed and his friends from the "Ring", Chamberlain Peter B. Sweeny and Accountant Richard B. Connolly , needed Hall's charm to dazzle the press and public and to distract them from any allegations of illegal behavior.

In 1871 Hall was elected Mayor of New York City. He held this office after a re-election between January 1, 1869 and December 31, 1872. The metropolitan area of ​​New York extended until 1898 essentially to what is now Manhattan . As mayor, Hall had to deal with, among other things, a conflict between the long-established Anglo-Americans and the Irish-born citizens. This also led to riots and riots. Hall was also on friendly terms with William Tweed , the head of Tammany Hall. When he was charged with various offenses, including fraud and financial embezzlement, and escaped, Mayor Hall was charged with trying to cover up the offenses of Tweed.

There were three lawsuits against Hall. 1870–73 he was charged three times for allowing overpayments during his tenure. His unconvincing defense was that the multitude of instructions he had to sign made it impossible for him to detect any possible fraud. No one could testify to fraudulent intent, nor were bribes discovered in his bank account. In the end, Hall was acquitted.

According to the processes

A. Oakey Hall 1898

Despite his acquittal, his reputation had suffered. He had to resign from the "Union Club" and also leave his law firm. His marriage was also at risk. He wrote a play about a falsely accused, The Crucible , in 1878 , staged it, and starred in it. It had to close after 22 performances. A planned lecture tour from 1877-78 was canceled because the audience only wanted to hear something about the “tweed ring”, a topic he did not talk about. In 1878 he became the city editor of The World newspaper, but was fired in 1882 when it lost money. He tried it again in 1883 with a newspaper "The Truth", but it was also a failure.

At the request of his friend James Gordon Bennett junior (1841-1918) he went to London, where he was the reporter for the " New York Herald " for five years . 1890-91 he worked for the "New York Morning Journal" in the same position. When he was in London he was admitted to the bar and practiced in English courts. In 1889 he sued James Bryce for defamation for calling him one of the guilty parties in his chapter on the "Tweed Ring" in the first edition of The American Commonwealth. He claimed £ 10,000 in damages. However, after 9 years the proceedings were discontinued.

family

He was married twice. First marriage to Katherine Louise, daughter of Joseph N. Barnes, with whom he had 6 children. In 1896 the widow of Captain John J. Clifton of Scranton, Pennsylvania was married for a second time. He grew up a Presbyterian, then became a Swendenborgian, and with his second wife he joined the Catholic Church in 1898.

Works

play

The Crucible, Loyalina, Brigadier General Fortunio and His Seven Gifted Aides-de-Camp (1864), Humpty Dumpty, Fernande, and Let Me Kiss Him for His Mother.

Source

  • Hall Abraham Okey, page 114ff in: Dictionary of American Biography , Volume 8. Edited by Dumas Malone, Publisher: C. Scribner's Sons New York 1943

literature

  • Ralph J. Caliendo: New York City Mayors , Volume 1, A. OAKEY HALL page 346. Publisher: Xlibris 2010, ISBN 978-1-4500-8810-7

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Thomas Coman Mayor of New York City
1869–1872 		William Frederick Havemeyer
personal data
SURNAME Hall, A. Oakey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hall, Abraham Oakey (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, lawyer, writer, newspaper reporter
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH Albany , New York
DATE OF DEATH October 7, 1898
Place of death New York City