John Kelly (April 20, 1822 – June 1, 1886) of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, known as "Honest John", was a boss of

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 ...

and a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York from 1855 to 1858. The title "Honest" was given to him during his years as New York City Sheriff, and was more ironic than truthful. Kelly was able to amass a vast fortune estimated at $800,000 ($ in current dollar terms) by 1867 by both ethical and questionable means. In addition, after having his methods questioned and his title insulted by New York City Mayor

William Havemeyer William Frederick Havemeyer (February 12, 1804 – November 30, 1874) was a German American businessman and politician who served three times as Mayor of New York City during the 19th century. Early years Havemeyer was born in Staten Island, ...

, Kelly responded with a lawsuit for libel. On the day of the trial, Havemeyer mysteriously dropped dead of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

.Connable, Alfred, and Edward Silberfarb. Tigers of Tammany: Nine Men Who Ran New York. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1967. Print. He had a questionable reputation and was the subject of a gubernatorial investigation at the time of his death.

Family life

Kelly was born in New York City to Hugh Kelly and Sarah Donnelly Kelly. He received a parochial education but was forced to quit when his father died. He married Ann McIlhargy, to whom a son and two daughters were born. By 1872, his wife and children had died. He then fled the city overseas, a defeated man from the loss of his family. He returned to New York in response to the Boss Tweed scandal and eventually was remarried to Ann Theresa Mullen, the niece of New York's Cardinal McCloskey. A son and a daughter were born of that marriage.

Career

Kelly was apprenticed to the mason's trade, and engaged in business for himself at the age of 21. Kelly, in response to anti-Catholic sentiment, was driven to politics and became a champion of Catholic and immigrant causes in the 1840s.Jerome Mushkat. "Kelly, John; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Kelly joined the influential Tammany Society and the next year he was elected alderman; until his death, he was active as a Democratic politician. From 1855 to 1858, he served in Congress,Web page title
"Post Civil War Cartoons: 1880s"
, at the "Authentic History Center" website, accessed June 22, 2008 the only Catholic in the House of Representatives in that period of Know Nothing ascendency. Kelly was later elected Sheriff of the County of New York and served from 1859 to 1861 and again from 1865 to 1867. During Kelly's time as sheriff, his wife and children died and he left New York for an extended overseas trip. After nearly three years, he returned in 1871 and aided

Charles O'Conor Charles O'Conor may refer to: * Charles O'Conor (historian) (1710–1791), Irish writer, historian, and antiquarian * Charles O'Conor (priest) (1764–1828), Irish priest and historian, grandson of the above * Charles O'Conor (American politician) ( ...

, Samuel J. Tilden, and their associates in the struggle against the

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

ring, and Kelly cooperated with Tilden in reorganizing the political machine. The Tweed ring scandal destroyed the old Tammany leadership and shattered the democracy. It was a time of corruption and deceitful politics. Kelly was away and was seemingly untouched by the corruption and so was able to assume the leadership of Tammany Hall. By 1874, Kelly was in control of Tammany Hall, and for the next decade, he was able to determine the course of New York City elections. In 1876, Kelly succeeded Andrew H. Green, appointed by Mayor William Wickham, as Comptroller of New York City. Kelly was very successful as comptroller. Over five years, the municipal debt was reduced by twelve million dollars. During his time in power he was continually at war with Tilden's faction. Kelly refused to support Tilden's candidate for governor, incumbent

Lucius Robinson Lucius Robinson (November 4, 1810March 23, 1891) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 26th Governor of New York from 1877 to 1879. Life He graduated from Delaware Academy in Delhi, New York. Afterwards he studied law in the offic ...

, and ran for governor himself as an independent. The result was the election in 1879 of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Alonzo Cornell Alonzo Barton Cornell (January 22, 1832 – October 15, 1904) was a New York politician and businessman who was the 27th Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882. Early years Cornell was born in Ithaca, New York, on January 22, 1832. He was ...

, who won by a plurality. Kelly himself was city comptroller from 1876 to 1879. Upon retirement in 1884, he yielded his political control to one of his lieutenants,

Richard Croker Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker," was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of ...

In popular culture

* Animated children's film ''

An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American animated musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features the voices of Phillip Glass ...

'' makes reference to Kelly with the character of "Honest John", voiced by

Neil Ross Neil David Ross is a British-American voice actor and announcer. Noted for his Trans-Atlantic accent, he has provided voices in many American cartoons, most notably ''Voltron'', '' G.I. Joe'', and ''Transformers'', as well as video games, incl ...

. * The song " Boys on the Docks", by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys, was written in memory of Kelly and his popularity within the

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

immigrant community.

References

Sources

*Jerome Mushkat. "Kelly, John; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. *Connable, Alfred, and Edward Silberfarb. Tigers of Tammany: Nine Men Who Ran New York. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1967. Print.

External links

Tammany Hall Links

description of Kelly's career {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John 1822 births 1886 deaths Leaders of Tammany Hall American political bosses from New York (state) American Roman Catholics Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians New York City Comptrollers 19th-century American businesspeople