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A. Oakey Hall

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Abraham Oakey Hall (July 26, 1826 – October 7, 1898) was an American politician, lawyer, and writer who served as Mayor of New York City from 1869 to 1872. He twice served as the New York County District Attorney from 1855 to 1858 and from 1862 to 1871.

Abraham Oakey Hall
Abraham Oakey Hall, c. 1870
79th Mayor of New York City
In office
January 4, 1869 – December 31, 1872
Preceded byThomas Coman
Succeeded byWilliam F. Havemeyer
15th and 18th New York County District Attorney
In office
January 1, 1862 – January 1, 1871
Preceded byNelson J. Waterbury
Succeeded bySamuel B. Garvin
In office
January 1, 1855 – January 1, 1858
Preceded byLorenzo B. Shepard
Succeeded byPeter B. Sweeny
Personal details
BornJuly 26, 1826
Albany, New York
DiedOctober 7, 1898 (aged 72)
New York City, New York
Political partyDemocratic (after 1864)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (1861-1864)
Whig (before 1861)
EducationNew York University
Mayor Hall. Want your place paved, you say? Certainly, Sir; how will you have it done, with good intentions or with broken promises? We will supply you with either at the City Hall. (Punchinello, April 1870.)

Hall was born in Albany and raised by his mother in New York City after his father died when he was three. He worked as a journalist to pay for New York University and briefly attended Harvard University before moving to New Orleans. He read the law and was admitted to the Louisiana bar before returning to New York City. Originally a member of the Whig Party, he was sworn in as the 15th New York County District Attorney in 1855 and served until 1858. He returned to office as the 18th New York County District Attorney in 1862 as a member of the Republican Party and was reelected in 1864 as a member of the Tammany Hall-backed Democratic Party. In 1868, he was elected as the Mayor of New York City and he was reelected in 1870.

In 1871, a Tammany Hall corruption scandal involving William M. Tweed led to Hall's indictment for "willfully neglecting his official duties." He maintained his innocence and was acquitted at his third trial in 1872, but his political career was effectively ended. He worked as a journalist in New York City and London, before dying in 1898.

Early life

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Hall was born in Albany, New York, on July 26, 1826, to Elsie Lansing Oakey and Morgan James Hall.[1] His father, a merchant, died of yellow fever when Hall was 3 years old.[2][3] In 1840, he entered New York University, and wrote for many newspapers to pay his way through school. He graduated in 1844 with bachelor's and master's degrees. He attended Harvard Law School until 1845 before dropping out to apprentice to finish his legal education.[4] Hall returned to New York in 1845, and worked in the law office of Charles W. Sandford.[2] In 1846, he moved to New Orleans where he apprenticed at the law firm of Thomas & John Slidell.[5] He was admitted to the Louisiana Bar later that year.[1]

During this period, using the pen name of Hans Yorkel, he served as the New York correspondent of the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin.[4] He returned to New York, where he practiced law and was admitted to the bar in 1851.[2] In that year, Hall authored a book, The Manhattaner in New Orleans, or, Phases of "Crescent City" Life, in which he addressed the problems and challenges of large, ethnically diverse port cities and provided important historical sketches of a young New Orleans.[4] In 1857, he authored a formerly popular Christmas poem and song, "Old Whitey's Christmas Trot".[2]

Political career

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In 1850, New York County District Attorney N. Bowditch Blunt appointed Hall as an assistant district attorney.[5] After Blunt's death in 1854, Hall offered to occupy the office until the end of the year and revert the district attorney's wages to Blunt's widow and her eight children.[6] However, Democrat Lorenzo B. Shepard was appointed by Governor Horatio Seymour to fill the vacancy.[5] In November 1854, Hall was elected on the Whig ticket to succeed Shepard, and served his first term as New York County District Attorney from 1855 to 1857. He was not re-elected partly due to his unpopularity following the Burdell-Cunningham murder trial.[4] As a Republican, Hall was elected again as the New York County District Attorney in November 1861.[7][8] In 1863, he prosecuted perpetrators of the New York City draft riots.[3] He was re-elected as a Democratic Tammany Hall candidate in 1864[9] and 1867.[10] During his time in the district attorney's office Hall became a frequent patron of Pfaff's.[2]

Mayor of New York City

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In November 1868, during his fourth term as D.A., Hall was elected Mayor of New York City as a Democrat supported by Tammany Hall.[1] He was re-elected mayor in 1870, again on the Tammany ticket,[11][12] serving two terms from January 1, 1869, to December 31, 1872.

He complained of an undercount in the 1870 United States Census in New York City to President Ulysses S. Grant and successfully lobbied for a recount of the city's population.[13] As mayor, Hall was unpopular for a myriad of reasons, partly due to the ongoing political clashes between Anglo "Nativists" and the Irish population. While Democrat "Boss" Tweed, Tammany Hall leaders and Hall were Anglo, their power base rested largely upon Irish immigrants. This conflict boiled over in 1871 when Hall attempted to stop the Irish Orange Order (Irish of Anglo-Saxon and Scots-Irish descent) from holding a parade, perhaps provocatively celebrating the historic Orangemen (Anglo Protestant Irish) victory over ethnic Irish Catholics. Fearing that either banning the march or allowing it to continue would both lead to violence and mayhem, Governor John Hoffman overruled Mayor Hall and allowed it to continue with increased policing. Nevertheless, riots did occur, cementing Hall's negative image on both sides and severely compromising Hoffman's political career.[14]

Additionally, Hall backed away from supporting Republican candidates because of widespread dislike of the Nativists within the Party. He was seen as attempting to have it both ways rather than finding a middle ground.[15] In particular, Thomas Nast, who had old-line Republican leanings, took aim at "Elegant Oakey" whom he considered to be the worst of the Tweed politicians because of his high standing, education and open presidential ambitions. Nast also felt that Hall got off lightly in the affair because of his continued personal connections with reformer and prosecutor Samuel Tilden,[16] though later historians have shown that Hall and Tilden were never very close in the 1860s and 1870s and that Hall did not receive any special assistance. In fact, Tilden was the chief opponent of Tweed, Hall, et al.[4]

Hall was implicated in the William M. Tweed's corruption scandal and indicted in early 1872 for "willfully neglecting his official duties." He maintained his innocence and his first trial ended in a mistrial when a juror fell ill. His second trial ended in a hung jury.[17] He was acquitted of all charges at his third trial in 1872 where he represented himself.[3]

A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of the University of Illinois at Chicago ranked Hall as the sixth-worst American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993.[18]

Post-mayoral career, later life, and death

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Some time after the last trial, Hall wrote and acted in his own play entitled The Crucible, where he played the lead part, a man falsely accused of stealing. The play, which ran for two or three weeks at Abbey's Park Theatre in November 1876 was a flop. The lessee and manager, William Stuart was unable to continue in business and swiftly sold the theatre to Henry E. Abbey. Stuart, whose real name was Edmund O'Flaherty, was an adventurer and swindler and former Irish M.P. with strong links to extreme financial, judicial, and political fraud and corruption in Ireland.[19]

Hall returned to his work as an attorney. He subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown and lived for a time in London without knowledge of having done so.[4]

In November 1877 he returned to New York and in 1879 he became the editor for the New York World. In 1882 he moved to London as a correspondent for the New York Herald.[2] In London he became an ardent spokesperson for municipal reform.[20] Hall sued Viscount Bryce for defamation of character and libel, but the case was eventually dropped.[citation needed] His daughter Cara de la Montagnie Hall married Rear Admiral Thomas Holdup Stevens III, but maintained her name to honor her father.[citation needed] In 1892, he returned to New York City.[1]

In 1894, Hall defended Emma Goldman against charges of inciting to riot in New York City. He lost the case (she was sentenced to a year in prison), but she credited him with reducing the charges against her and providing her a platform to air her anarchist views. She described him as a great champion of free speech.[21]

Hall died of heart disease on October 7, 1898, in New York City, and was buried at Trinity Cemetery, located at 155th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.[22]

Electoral history

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New York City mayoral election, 1868[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic A. Oakey Hall 75,054 78.17%
Republican Frederick A. Conkling 20,960 21.83%


References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Abraham Oakey Hall". harpweek.com. Harper's Weekly. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Hall, Abraham Oakey (1826-1898)". pfaffs.web.lehigh.edu. Lehigh University. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Cooper, Audrey (27 September 2024). "Who was A. Oakey Hall, the only other sitting NYC mayor to face criminal charges?". Gothamist. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rubbinaccio, Michael. Abraham Oakey Hall: New York's Most Elegant and Controversial Mayor Archived February 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "A. Oakey Hall is Dead – The Lawyer, Writer, Politician, and ex-Mayor a Victim of Heart Disease – The Man's Remarkable Life – Poverty-Stricken in Youth, He Worked His Way Through College and Climbed Steadily to the Top – Some of His Peculiarities". New York Times. 8 October 1898. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Funeral of N.B. Blunt, Esq". New York Times. 20 July 1854. p. 8. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Vote for Canal Commissioner – Votes for Assemblymen and Senators". New York Times. 7 November 1861. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  8. ^ "The State Elections – New-York – The Legislature – Members of Assembly Elected – The Election in the City". The New York Times. 7 November 1861. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Glorious Result Yesterday – Election of Lincoln and Johnson – Terrible Defeat of McClellan – The Union Triumphant – New-England a Solid Phalanx – New-York for Lincoln and Fenton – Defeat of Governor Seymour and His Friends – Gain of Five Union Congressmen in the State – Election of Raymond, Dodge, Darling, Conklin and Humphrey – Pennsylvania Union on the Home Vote – Heavy Union Gains – Maryland and Delaware All Right – Heavy Union Gains in New-Jersey – The Great Northwest Solid for Lincoln – Details of the Returns – The Vote of the City – President and Governor – Canal Commissioner – State Prison Inspector – Fourth Congressional District – Fifth Congressional District – Sixth Congressional District – Seventh Congressional District – Eighth Congressional District – Ninth Congressional District – The Total Vote and the Registry". New York Times. 9 November 1864. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Local Intelligence The Recent Elections in the City – Corrected Vote by Wards". New York Times. 10 November 1867. p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  11. ^ "The Election Today – Arrangements of the Authorities for Preserving Order – An Agreement Entered Into by the Federal and City Authorities – Is It a Tammany Trick? – The National Guard Ordered to be in Readiness – Extraordinary Police Preparations – List of the Candidates of all Parties". New York Times. 8 November 1870. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  12. ^ "The Elections – The Democratic State Ticket Elected by a Reduced Majority – Hoffman's Vote in this City About 20,000 Less than in 1868 – Hall Elected Mayor by a Majority of About 20,000 – A Quiet Election Day in This City – No Serious Conflicts Between the State and National Authorities – Tammany Trickery Developed in Delaying the Count – City Returns "Doctored" to Overcome the Vote of the State – Justice Cox Arrested by the United States Officials – An Orderly Election Throughout the Country – New York State – Reported and Estimated Majorities According to Returns Received up to 4 A.M." New York Times. 9 November 1870. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  13. ^ White, April (25 April 2021). "The census attacked from New York to New Orleans for its post-Civil War undercount". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  14. ^ O'Dowd, Niall (27 September 2023). "How Boss Tweed invented Tammany Hall and taught the Irish how to change America". Irish Central. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  15. ^ O'Connell, Edward T. "Hibernian Chronicle: The second Orange riot". The Irish Echo Online. Retrieved 6 June 2007.[dead link‍]
  16. ^ "The Tammany Hall Corruption Cartoons of Thomas Nast". The Nevada Observer. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  17. ^ Barry, Dan (28 September 2024). "The Not-So-Brief History of Scandal Among New York City Mayors". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  18. ^ Holli, Melvin G. (1999). The American Mayor. University Park: PSU Press. ISBN 0-271-01876-3.
  19. ^ “Death of William Stuart”, The New York Times, December 29, 1886.
  20. ^ "The Week". The Nation. 24 April 1884. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  21. ^ Goldman, Emma, Living My Life, pp. 128ff.
  22. ^ "Hall, Abraham Oakey (1826-1898)". politicalgraveyard.com. Political Graveyard. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Local Intelligence – The Charter Election – List of Candidates for the Various Offices". New York Times. 1 December 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  24. ^ "The Charter Election – The Tammany Nominees Elected by Large Majorities – A. Oakey Hall Mayor Elect – Richard O'Gorman Corporation Counsel – Tabular Statement of Voting – Arrests of Illegal Voters". New York Times. 2 December 1898. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2016.

Further reading

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  • Clinton, Henry Lauren (1897). Celebrated Trials. New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  • Golway, Terry 2014 Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of Modern American Politics New York, New York
  • Hoogenboom, Ari; Hoogenboom, Olive (September 1977). "Was Boss Tweed Really Snow White?". Reviews in American History. 5 (3): 360–366. doi:10.2307/2701013. JSTOR 2701013.
  • Rubbinaccio, Michael. Abraham Oakey Hall: New York's Most Elegant and Controversial Mayor (Pescara Books, 2011)
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  • The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1867; p. 531)
Legal offices
Preceded by New York County District Attorney
1855–1857 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New York County District Attorney
1862–1868 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of New York City
1869–1872 		Succeeded by
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