William Hitchman (November 18, 1830 – 1900)William Hitchman
at findagrave.com (A year of death is given, though the bio states that "It is unclear when he actually died".) was an American politician.

Life

He was born on November 18, 1830, in Pearl Street in

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 ...

, the son of a livery stable keeper. He was apprenticed to carriage painter James Flynn, in Eighty-sixth Street near Third Avenue. He joined the 45 Engine Company as a runner, and got his certificate when he was twenty-one years old. His comrades elected him secretary. Carriage painting injured his health and he abandoned this trade, to become a

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

instead. He became a lieutenant, and held this rank in the 19th Ward when the fight between the Municipal and Metropolitan Departments began. Resigning from the force, he entered United States Weigher Dennis McCarthy's office as clerk, and remained there about a year. He was a friend of Boss William Tweed who launched him on his political career. From 1859 to 1867, he was engrossing clerk of the Board of Aldermen with a desk at the City Library. In 1860, he was elected a member of the Board of School Trustees of the 19th Ward, and served for two terms. At the close of his second term, he was chosen School Commissioner. In 1861, he was elected a 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 ...

General Committee, and in 1863 became its secretary. In 1864 he was made a trustee of the Fire Department. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1867–68. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 21st D.) in

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional Soccer, football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 & ...

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the ...

and 1871; and was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1868, 1870 and 1871. In 1870, when the "Tweed Charter" reorganized the Metropolitan Fire Department, he became president of the Board of Fire Commissioners. After Tweed's fall, he joined the County Democracy, a faction of the Democratic Party opposed to John Kelly. In 1887, he was arrested as an insane person and taken to

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

Sources

His arrest in NYT on October 24, 1887

Meeting of the Anti-Kelly faction in NYT on January 17, 1882

The new Fire Commissioners, in NYT on May 1, 1870

Bio at History of New York Fire Department

Bio in ''Life Sketches of Executive Officers, and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York'' by H. H. Boone & Theodore P. Cooke (Weed, Parsons & Co, Albany NY, 1870)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchman, William 1830 births 1900 deaths Speakers of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Manhattan 19th-century American politicians