John Keteltas Hackett (February 13, 1821 in Utica,

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

– December 26, 1879 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was the son of actor

James Henry Hackett James Henry Hackett (March 15, 1800 – December 28, 1871) was an American actor. Hackett was born in New York City. He entered Columbia College in 1815 but withdrew. He then studied law privately. In 1818, he became a wholesale clerk in a groc ...

(1800–1871). He attended Borland & Forrester Private Academy and Columbia College, and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1837. Then he studied law with Joshua N. Spencer in Utica, and from 1840 on with

William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...

and Jonathan Prescott Hall in New York City. He was admitted to the bar in 1842, and practiced in New York City. He married Laura Jane Hall (1825–1897), and their only child was Minnie Laura (Hackett) Trowbridge (1850–1914). In 1849, he went to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and practiced law there in partnership with

Eugene Casserly Eugene Casserly (November 13, 1820June 14, 1883) was an Irish-born American journalist, lawyer, and politician. He was the son of scholar Patrick S. Casserly, and he served in the United States Senate from California. Biography Eugene Casserl ...

. Hackett was elected Corporation Counsel of San Francisco, and served one term. In 1857, he returned to New York City, and soon afterwards entered city politics being elected Secretary of Mozart Hall, the Anti-

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

Democratic organization founded by

Fernando Wood Fernando Wood (February 14, 1812 – February 13, 1881) was an American Democratic Party politician, merchant, and real estate investor who served as the 73rd and 75th Mayor of New York City. He also represented the city for several terms in ...

. He was appointed by John E. Develin as Assistant

Corporation Counsel of New York City The New York City Law Department, also known as the Office of the Corporation Counsel,http://www.nyc.gov/html/law/downloads/pdf/NYLD%20History%20Card.pdf is the department of the government of New York City responsible for most of the city's lega ...

. As such, in 1862, Hackett contested John Kelly's claim for $20,000 sheriff's fees, thus gaining Kelly's enmity. Hackett was still in office when Recorder John T. Hoffman took office as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

on January 1, 1866. To fill the vacancy proved difficult, the Board of Supervisors of New York County having six Republicans and six Democrats. On March 6, 1866, after more than two months of deadlock, Hackett was elected

Recorder of New York City The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boar ...

, and was elected to succeed himself for a full three-year term, running on the Tammany ticket in November 1866. In November 1869, he was re-elected on the Tammany ticket, the term having been extended to six years in the meanwhile. Hackett was responsible for doing some of the judicial bidding of ward chiefs. During a period that lasted almost 2 years, Hackett dismissed 170 court cases. After succeeding

William M. Tweed William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany ...

as boss of Tammany Hill, Kelly launched a personal attack on Hackett, and on October 12, 1875, had Frederick Smyth nominated for Recorder. The next day, Hackett was nominated on the Republican ticket, and then endorsed by the Anti-Tammany Democrats. Defeating Smyth, he was elected to a fourteen-year term, the term having been extended again, to match the duration of the term of the other judges and justices of the various courts in New York. In 1878, Hackett began to suffer from a prolonged illness, and spent a two-month-long summer vacation in Europe. Although at first slightly improving, his health deteriorated again, so that Hackett sat for the last time as judge on the bench of the Court of General Sessions on October 1, 1878. In August 1879, he caught a severe cold while on a hunting and fishing trip around

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, which evolved into

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

pericarditis Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp chest pain, which may also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is typically less severe when sit ...

and

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

. Five months later, he died at his residence, 72

Park Avenue (Manhattan) Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Aven ...

, without having recovered his health. He was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx) Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemetery, cemeteries in New York City and a designated National Historic Landmark. Located south of Woodlawn Heights, Bronx, New York City, it has the character of a rural cemetery. Woodlawn Cemetery opened ...

. The actor

James Keteltas Hackett James Keteltas Hackett (September 6, 1869 – November 8, 1926) was an American actor and Actor-manager, manager. Life James K. Hackett was the son of Clara C. and James Henry Hackett, a comedian and celebrated Falstaff. He was born on Wolf ...

(1869–1926) was his half-brother. In 1914, James inherited the larger part of the estate, valued at $1,389,049.46, from his niece Minnie who aged 57 had married Francis Emory Trowbridge (1845–1910), and died without issue.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, John K. 1821 births 1879 deaths New York City Recorders Politicians from Utica, New York Columbia College (New York) alumni New York University alumni Lawyers from San Francisco New York (state) Democrats Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) New York (state) Republicans Leaders of Tammany Hall 19th-century American lawyers

Life

References

Further reading

External links