Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 June 1886 — A BUSY LIFE ENDED. [ARTICLE]

A BUSY LIFE ENDED.

John Kelly, the Chieftain of New York’* Tammany Society, Passes Away. His Death a Peaceful One, His Faculties Remaining Intact to the Last Moment. r* • - “I have tried to live the life of a good Catholic, and die in the comfort of that faith,” were the last words uttered on earth by John Kelly, the noted 1 Tammany chief of New York, who passed away peacefully at his house in that city on the afternoon of Tuesday, the Ist inst. He had been sick for a long time—in fact, his illness dated back to the dose of the last Presidential campaign—-but it was not believed by his intimate friends that he was so near death’s door. His mental faculties were bright and clear to the last. His death was painless and peaceful. He held the hand of his wife Until his bold relaxed in death. Mr. Kelly leaves two children, a girl and a boy, aged respectively 9 and 7 years. His widow is a niece of the late Cardinal McCloskey. Mr. Kelly expressed a wish that his funeral should be private and pimple, consequently there was no public demonstration. Dr. Edward L. Keyes, who attended Mr. Kelly throughout his illness, says that his patient had been in failing health for two years. The nerve forces were impaired, and all the functions were deranged in consequence. He made strong efforts to regain his health, but they were futile. He finally acknowledged that it was useless to hope for recovery, and for six or eight months past he had confessed he was dying. •At times Mr. Kelly was much depressed in spirits, but at no time was his intelligence impaired. He retained that throughout, and at all times had full control of his senses. His physical deterioration was great. His hair and beard became perfedtly white. He lost at least sixty pounds in flesh. His heart and other integral organs were very much affected, although he had no organic disease. He seemed to show no regret, but appeared to be willing to let go his grip on life.

BIOGRAPHICAL. “John Kelly—Grate Setter,” was the sign which hung from a modest two-story house in Mott street, New York, in 1844. It indicated the humble beginning of one who, twelve years later* was a member of Congress, and who, for thirty years since then, was one of the most prominent political figures of New York. His name was familiar to everybody, and his features have been portrayed so frequently by the caricaturists that even children recognized it. It is said that the editor of an illustrated paper at one time instructed his artists to remember that when timely subjects did not present themselves a cartoon on John Kelly was always in order, and Kelly has been seen on a street-car perusing this very paper, his eye twinkling merrily when he found a humorous representation of himself. John’s strong characteristic was his unostentatiousness, and for that reason people know very little about his private John Kelly was bom in New York City April 20, 1822. His father died when he was 8 years old. When the New York Herald was in its infancy young Kelly walked into the office one day and asked the elder Bennett if he wanted an office boy. Bennett was a good judge of character and quick in deciding. He talked with the youth a few minutes, and then told , him to go to work. He became a great favorite with Bennett, and when at length he grew older and determined On learning a trade, so as to better support the large family that was depending on him, Mr. Bennett offered him strong inducements to remain, and on parting with him predicted that he would succeed anywhere. The elder Bennett was as ra&ng a friend of Kelly’s as the present Bennett was a bitter enemy. Kelly leamed-the trade of soapstone cutting and grate-setting, at which he afterward made a considerable fortune. He proved to be a remarkably shrewd business man, and his faith in the future of New York City was so great that with every S2OO or $309 he would get he.bought a lot up-town; these lots are worth to-day from $5,000 to $10;'000, and. Mr. Kelly has died a millionaire. Though his charity was distributed most secretly, it is estimated that he dispensed $250,000 in that way. When a young man John was notable as an athlete. The notorious John Morrisey said of Kelly that he had the build of ap ideal pugilist. Though the cartoonists have always represented him as a dumpy man, he was nearly six feet in height and weighed about 240 pounds. He ran with the “fire laddies” in his early days, and made hosts of friends, who elected him Aiderman in 1853. ‘Tweed, of ring fame, afterward said of this body: “There never was a time before that you could not buy the Board of Aidermen, and if it was not for John Kelly’s severity - you could buy it now.” In 1854 he was elected to the Thirty-fifth Congress. He resigned his seat before his last term was comnleted to take the office of Sheriff, to which he had been elected. It was while in Congress that General Cass, President Buchanan’s Secretary of State, spoke of. him as “Honest John Kelly,” which he has been commonly called since. In 1868 he was chosen the candidate for the Mayoralty in opposition to Bill Tweed’s Tammany Hall candidate, but an awful burden of domestic affliction in the loss of his wife and son compelled him to withdraw and take his two daughters—all that was left of his family—to Europe for his own health as well as theirs. He remained away three years, and during his absence New York City was given over wholly to the plunder of the Tweed ring. Prominent men like Mr. Tilden, Seymour, Hewitt, and Belmont sought Mr. Kelly to help ihem in this crisis. He had vowed never to again enter politics. Their importunities continued for a year, till at last he entered the fight, and while Mr. Tilden and Charles O’Conor attacked the Tweed ring in the Legislature and in the courts Mr. Kelly had a hand-to-hand tussle with them in Tammany Hall, their citadel, and routed them, as is well known. This gave him a prestige which he held since. An idea of the tremendous power which this ring wielded may be obtained from the fact that it gave employment to 12,000 persons and disbursed $30,000,000- annually. In 1876 Mr. Kelly was appointed Comptroller of the city, and not only stopped the debt of the city increasing, something unprecedented, but actually reduced it $12,000,000 during his term of office. A London restaurant-keeper paid $75,000 for the privilege of catering at the Colonial Exhibition, now in progress. Sam Jones, the evangelist, lives on oatmeal, milk, fruits, and occasionally meats. He seldom drinks coffee. i _ . ■ Ex-Pbeswent Fish, of the New York Marine Bank, is now an assistant to the Auburn Prison chaplain. Mbs. Tbexanion, the sister of the Baroness Burdett* Coutts, died in London * few days ago.