John Mullaly (1835–1915), known as father of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

's park system, was a newspaper reporter and editor who was instrumental in forming the

New York Park Association The New York Park Association was formed in 1881 or 1882 (references differ) by John Mullaly and other citizens. The group was concerned about urban growth. The group lobbied for the acquisition of land to create parks and parkways in New York C ...

. He was born in

Belfast, Ireland Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. After coming to the United States, he worked for the

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

, the

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

, and the

New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established i ...

. He was the editor of the Metropolitan Record, published by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

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 held public office, including serving as the New York Commissioner of Health, and serving on the board of tax assessors. In 1887, he published a book with the impressive title, ''New Parks beyond the Harlem with Thirty Illustrations and Map; Descriptions of Scenery; Nearly 4000 Acres of Free Playground for the People; Abundant space for a Parade Ground, a Rifle Range, Base Ball, Lacrosse, Polo, Tennis and all athletic games; picnic and excursion parties and nine mile of waterfront for bathing fishing, yachting and rowing''.

War resister

Mullaly was a controversial figure during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, one of New York City's ardent opponents to the draft. On August 19, 1864, John Mullaly was arrested for inciting resistance to the draft and examined a few days later for possible trial. At a rally in Union Square on May 19, 1863, Mullaly declared the war to be “wicked, cruel and unnecessary, and carried on solely to benefit the negroes”, and advised resistance to conscription if ever the attempt should be made to enforce the law. As editor of the Metropolitan Record, Mullaly's call for armed resistance to the military draft led to his arrest following the July 1863

New York City Draft Riots The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-cla ...

. Over one hundred people died, including Black men beaten to death or lynched by rioters, in the worst urban unrest in the United States during the 19th century. A racist, Mullaly did not support the murder of Blacks during the rioting. In one Metropolitan Record editorial he advised members of the “superior” race not to turn their anger against an “inferior” one. Editorials in the Metropolitan Record written by Mullaly leading up to the Draft Riots accused the Lincoln Administration of perverting the war from an attempt to restore the Union into an “emancipation crusade.” He charged the “vile and infamous”

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Proclamation c ...

would bring “massacre and rapine and outrage into the homes on Southern plantations, sprinkling their hearths with the blood of gentle women, helpless age, and innocent childhood.” According to Mullaly's diatribe, “Never was a blacker crime sought to be committed against nature, against humanity, against the holy precepts of Christianity.” In the indictment, Mullaly was also charged with counseling Governor Seymour to “forcibly to resist an enrollment ordered by competent authority in pursuance of said act of Congress.” After a hearing, however, the case against Mullaly was discharged.

Developer of parks in The Bronx

A biographer reports that after the Civil War Mullaly left the newspaper business and entered city government through connections with the corrupt

Tweed Ring 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 H ...

and Tammany Hall. This led to his involvement with the annexation of property in the Bronx and the eventual creation of public parks. In 1874 when New York City annexed the

west Bronx The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough. The West Bronx is more densely populated than the East Bronx, and is clo ...

from

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, Mullally sought to create public parks in the Bronx, and founded the New York Park Association in 1881. His efforts culminated in the 1884

New Parks Act The New Parks Act is a New York state law passed in 1884. It provided for the creation of parks in the New York City borough of the Bronx, which at the time was largely undeveloped. Three parkways and six parks were established as part of the New ...

and the city's 1888-90 purchase of lands for Van Cortlandt, Claremont,

Crotona Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and '' comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages u ...

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, St. Mary's, and Pelham Bay Parks and the Mosholu, Pelham and Crotona Parkways. Mullaly Park in the

south Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was orig ...

was named after him. On June 16, 2021, after criticism and protests against Mullaly's racist rhetoric during the murderous

New York City draft riots The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-cla ...

, the NYC Parks Department announced they would remove Mullaly's name. It will instead honor Reverend Wendell T Foster who as a long-standing New York City Council Member was a champion of the park and the neighborhood.

References

External links

A Trip to Newfoundland: Its Scenery and Fisheries
by John Mullaly
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

including a chronology.
Critics Want Mullaly Park In The Bronx Renamed, Citing Namesake's Racist Rhetoric

New York City renames 16 parks to honor Black American experience
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullaly, John 1835 births 1915 deaths Writers from New York City New York City public officials Journalists from Northern Ireland