William C. Farr (March 13, 1844 – February 14, 1921) was the fifth

Mayor of Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne, New Jersey was incorporated on April 1, 1861 as a township. It was reincorporated on March 10, 1869 as a city. It is currently governed within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Mayor-Council ...

, from 1891 to 1895.

Biography

Born on March 13, 1844, in Gettenbach, an old (since 1252), but small village in a large forest Buedinger Wald, then part of the Electorate of Hesse, near the

Free City of Frankfurt For almost five centuries, the German city of Frankfurt was a city-state within two major Germanic entities: *The Holy Roman Empire as the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt () (until 1806) *The German Confederation as the Free City of Frankfurt ...

. Farr immigrated to the United States in 1861. After arriving in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Farr moved to Bayonne in 1862. On May 31, 1863, he married Mary Dorethea Schmidt; they had five children together. After a time operating a canal boat, Farr became successful in business running a contracting firm in Bayonne. A Republican, he was nominated by both 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 the Independent Party and was elected mayor of Bayonne, defeating incumbent Republican mayor John Newman in a highly contested election in 1891. Farr, who received the nomination of both the Democrats and the Republicans in 1893, easily won a second term. In Farr's two terms as mayor, he was instrumental in bringing water and electricity to Bayonne. Nominated for a third term in 1895, he lost to the Democrat Egbert Seymour in 1895. Farr retired from business a wealthy man. He donated money to a number of charities including the German Lutheran Hospital in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. Farr died on February 14, 1921, in his home at age 77 of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. He is buried in Moravian Cemetery on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. Coincidentally, Seymour, his successor, had also died of influenza only eight days before.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, William 1844 births 1921 deaths Immigrants to the United States Mayors of Bayonne, New Jersey Deaths from influenza in the United States Infectious disease deaths in New Jersey New Jersey Republicans Burials at Moravian Cemetery People from the Electorate of Hesse 19th-century New Jersey politicians 19th-century mayors of places in New Jersey