Jonathan Trotter (c. 1797 – April 5, 1865) was an English-American manufacturer and politician.

Life

Trotter was born in about 1797 in

Newcastle upon Tyne, England Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

. He immigrated to the United States of America in 1818, settling 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 ...

. He worked as a morocco dresser on

Roosevelt Street Roosevelt Street was a street located in the Two Bridges district of Lower Manhattan, which existed from the British colonial period up until the early 1950s, running from Pearl Street at Park Row (Chatham Street) southeast to South Street. ...

. In 1825, he began building a factory for leather dressing in the village of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In 1829, he moved to Brooklyn and his factory became a success. In 1833, Trotter was elected a trustee of Brooklyn. In 1834, when Brooklyn was officially chartered as a city, he was elected alderman of the 4th ward. In May 1835, he was elected the second

Mayor of Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behin ...

. He was re-elected in 1836 and served until 1837. As mayor, he laid the cornerstone for the original Brooklyn City Hall, which was later deemed too large. Trotter lost his fortune in the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

. In 1840, he moved back to Manhattan. He was elected to the New York City Board of Assistant Alderman and served as president of the board in 1852 and 1853. He was a passenger on the train of the 1853 Norwalk rail accident, but survived. In 1858, he was appointed first clerk of the Street Commissioner's office. In 1859, he was appointed Collector of Assessments. Trotter was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and a

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...

of the Tammany Society. He served as the first president of the Atlantic Bank of Brooklyn, and was vice-president of the Leather Manufacturers Bank of New York. Trotter died on April 5, 1865. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter, Jonathan 1790s births 1865 deaths Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Mayors of Brooklyn British emigrants to the United States New York City Council members Politicians from Manhattan New York (state) Democrats 19th-century American politicians American bank presidents Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 19th-century American businesspeople