Thomas Francis Gilroy (June 3, 1840 – December 1, 1911) was the 89th mayor of

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 ...

from 1893 to 1894.

Biography

Gilroy was born in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and immigrated with his parents to

at age seven. His father died soon afterwards, and he left school at age 16 to begin working in the publishing business, where he eventually became a proofreader. He later served as a court clerk, and Deputy County Clerk and Undersheriff for

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Active in 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 ...

, from his early 20s he was a key member of the

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 ...

organization, beginning as a messenger for "Boss"

William 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 ...

, and serving as confidential secretary for

Henry W. Genet Henry Webb Genet (February 27, 1828 – September 6, 1889) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Genet was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the son of John M. Genet, a French immigrant. The family moved to Albany, New York, ...

, Tweed's Tammany Hall successor. In 1889, Gilroy managed the successful mayoral campaign of

Hugh J. Grant Hugh John Grant (September 10, 1858 – November 3, 1910) served as the 88th mayor of New York City for two terms from 1889 to 1892. He remains the youngest mayor in the city's history, was one of the youngest mayors of a major United States, Am ...

, and as a reward was appointed Commissioner of Public Works, a post he held from 1889 to 1893. From 1890 to 1892 Gilrow was the titular head of Tammany Hall, the organization's Grand Sachem. In fact, the boss of the organization continued to be

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 ...

, who was the organization's unofficial leader from 1886 to 1902. In 1893 Gilroy succeeded Grant as Mayor. His administration was largely defined by the 1894 Lexow Investigation, which uncovered widespread police department corruption that was directly linked to Tammany. Gilroy did not run for reelection, and was succeeded in 1895 by reform candidate

William L. Strong William Lafayette Strong (March 22, 1827 – November 2, 1900) was the 90th Mayor of New York City from 1895 to 1897. He was the last mayor of New York City before the consolidation of the City of Greater New York on January 1, 1898. Early life ...

, who ran with the backing of

Republicans 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 ...

and anti-Tammany Democrats. Gilroy was a Delegate to the

1896 Democratic National Convention The 1896 Democratic National Convention, held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate for the 1896 U.S. presidential election. At age 36, B ...

. Afterwards, he withdrew from politics, and served as President of the Twelfth Ward Bank until retiring in 1901.

Family

He had a daughter, Frances E. Gilroy, who married Edward A. Maher Jr.

Death and burial

He died on December 1, 1911 at his home on Ocean Avenue, Far Rockaway, Long Island and he was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

References

External links

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Thomas F. Gilroy
in ''Tammany Times 4th of July Souvenir'' (1894) 1840 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from Sligo (town) New York (state) Democrats Leaders of Tammany Hall Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Mayors of New York City Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 19th-century American politicians {{NewYork-mayor-stub