A. Oakley Hall
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A. Oakley Hall also A. Oakey Hall, (1826-1898), mayor of New York City from 1869-1872, was alleged to be part of the vilified "Tweed Ring" which started as a lunch group between some of Mayor Van Buren's administration and immigrant political organizers.[1] Hall was called "Elegant Oakey" and it was said that he was a front of serenity and respectability.[2] Later historians have questioned the depiction of Hall as corrupt or a front man for a corrupt political order, even if the popular image has stuck.[3]
Hall was educated at New York University, becoming a practicing attorney before entering public service. His name has been the subject of confusion as he used a nom de plume for some of his earliest publishings and his given name interchangebaly, the two being distinguished by a a single letter. He also authored a book prior to becoming mayor detailing the problems and challenges of large, ethnically diverse port cities, focused on New Orleans. (Hall, A. Oakley -also appears as A. Oakey Hall-. The Manhattaner in New Orleans, or, Phases of "Crescent City" Life .New Orleans: J.C. Morgan, 1851.) He also authored a formerly popular Christmas poem/song- Old Whitey's Christmas Trot (1857). Previously Hall has served as New York city District Attorney 1855 to 1858 prior to being elected to mayor.
He was unpopular for a myriad of reasons, including the on-going political clashes between Anglo "Nativists" and the Irish population. While Tweed, Hall and other Tammany leaders were Anglo, their power base rested largely upon Irish immigrants. This conflict boiled over in 1869 when Hall attempted to stop the Irish Orange Order (Irish of Anglo-Saxon descent) parade who were, 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, Mayor Hall allowed it to continue with increased policing. Nevertheless riots did occur, cementing his negative image on both sides. Additionally, Hall, a Republican, backed away from supporting candidates from his party because of widespread dislike of the Nativists within the Party.[4] He was seen as attempting to have it both ways rather than finding a middle ground.[5] Thomas Nast, who had old line Republican leanings, in particular 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.[6] Nevertheless, Hall was entirely acquitted of all charges and immediately followed his mayoral tenure as editor for the "New York World", then a major daily newspaper. He then became a London correspondent to the paper, eventually resuming the practice of law in England.
After the Tweed affair Hall traveled to and from London and New York, involving himself in political issues, law, writing and business. In London he became an ardent spokesperson for municipal reform.[7] He also was London correspondent for the "New York Herald" and the "Morning Journal." Hall successfully sued a New York based political critic from London for defamation of character. His daughter Carla DeLa Montaigne Hall, Married Rear Admiral Thomas Holdup Stevens III, but maintained her name to honor her father.[8] Mayor A. Oakley Hall is buried at Trinity Cemetery as are two other mayors- Mayors Fernando Wood and Alfred Tennyson Dickens.
