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William Stormont Hackett

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William Stormont Hackett
Hackett as depicted in 1923'sEncyclopedia of Biography of New York.
70thMayor of Albany, New York
In office
January 1, 1922 – March 4, 1926
Preceded byJames R. Watt
Succeeded byJohn Boyd Thacher II
Personal details
Born(1868-12-07)December 7, 1868
Albany, New York
DiedMarch 4, 1926(1926-03-04)(aged 57)
Havana,Cuba
Resting placeAlbany Rural Cemetery
Menands, New York
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
OccupationAttorney
Banker
Businessman
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceNew York National Guard
Years of service1890–1899
RankSergeant
UnitCompany A, 10th Battalion

William Stormont Hackett(December 7, 1868 – March 4, 1926) was an American lawyer, banker, businessman and politician. ADemocrat,he was most notable for serving as the70th mayor of Albany, New Yorkafter winning an election in 1921 that ended control of Albany by theRepublicanorganization headed byWilliam Barnes Jr.,and established the dominance of the Democratic organization led byDaniel P. O'ConnellandEdwin Corning.[1]

A native of Albany, Hackett was raised in theSouth Endneighborhood and attended the local schools. After two years atAlbany High School,he left school in order to beginstudying lawin at an Albany firm. After attainingadmission to the barin 1889, Hackett began to practice in Albany. He also served in theNew York National Guard,and attained the rank of sergeant in Albany's Company A, 10th Battalion. In addition to practicing law, Hackett was involved in several business and banking ventures, including serving as president of the Albany City Savings Institution, Albany City Safe Deposit Company, and New York Mortgage and Home Building Company.

ADemocratwho was friendly with local party leaderDaniel P. O'Connell,in 1921, Hackett agreed to become the party's candidate for mayor. His defeat of William Van Rensselaer Erving endedRepublicancontrol by party leaderWilliam Barnes Jr.and ushered in O'Connell's longtime dominance of the city and county governments. Hackett was reelected in 1923 and 1925, and was planning to campaign for the Democratic nomination forgovernor of New Yorkin the1928 electionswhen he was injured in a February 1926 automobile accident that occurred while he was vacationing inCuba.He did not recover, and died from his injuries at a hospital inHavanaon March 4, 1926. A lifelong bachelor, Hackett was buried atAlbany Rural Cemetery.

Early life[edit]

Hackett was born inAlbanyon December 7, 1868, the son of John Hackett and Martha Stormont.[2][3]His family resided in Albany'sSouth Endneighborhood, and Hackett was educated in Albany.[4]He began working while still a boy, including delivering theAlbany Evening Journalnewspaper, which was later owned by Republican Party leaderWilliam Barnes Jr.[5]

After two years atAlbany High School,Hackett dropped out in order to beginstudying lawin the office of Albany attorneysAmasa J. Parker Jr.and Edwin Countryman.[6]He wasadmitted to the barin 1889, and then practiced law in Albany.[7]

Hackett also joined theNew York National Guard,serving in Albany's Company A, 10th Battalion (formerly the Albany Zouave Cadets).[8]He was a member of the unit from 1890 to 1899, and attained the rank ofsergeant.[9]Hackett later served as treasurer and president of Company A's veterans association.[10][11]

A lifelong bachelor, Hackett was a member of theBaptist church,and became alay preacher.[12]He was also active in theFreemasons,and served as Master of Albany'sMasters' Lodge Number 5from 1900 to 1902.[13]He was Master of the Albany chapter of Rose Croix, and Commander in Chief of the Albany consistory of theScottish RiteMasons.[14]

Hackett was a member ofthe Elks,the Fort Orange Club, the Albany Club, the Albany Country Club, and the Wolfert's Roost Country Club.[15]

Business career[edit]

In addition to practicing law, Hackett went into banking and business. He worked his way up the ranks of several companies, and served as president of the Albany City Savings Institution, the Albany City Safe Deposit Company, and the New York Mortgage and Home Building Company.[16]

Hackett also served on the board of directors of the Union Trust Company and the Commerce Insurance Company.[17]He was president of the Boulevard Garage Company, and treasurer and board of directors member for the Albany Chamber of Commerce.[18]

Political career[edit]

Hackett developed a friendship withDaniel P. O'Connell,another South End resident, who worked in the early 1900s to reestablish Albany's Democratic Party following over 20 years of domination by the Republican organization ofWilliam Barnes Jr.,the grandson ofThurlow Weed.[19]

In 1921 Hackett agreed to become the Democratic candidate for mayor. He was successful in the race against Republican William Van Rensselaer Erving,[20]which enabled implementation of the O'Connell organization's longtime strategy of running wealthy non-ethnic Protestants likeEdwin Corning,Parker Corning,andErastus Corning 2ndfor major offices including mayor andCongressmanto enhance the respectability and credibility of a Democratic organization run by working classIrish-American,Catholicfigures like O'Connell.[21]

Hackett won reelection in 1923[22]and 1925.[23]While campaigning for his third term, Hackett emerged as a likely candidate to be the Democratic nominee forGovernor of New Yorkin 1928, when incumbentAl Smithintended to be a candidate for President of the United States.[24]

Hackett indicated to friends in late 1925 and early 1926 that he intended to enter the campaign for governor in 1928, presuming that Smith wonreelection in 1926and made thepresidential race in 1928.[25]

Death[edit]

Hackett was visitingCubain February 1926 when, without warning, the car in which he was a passenger hit an obstruction or a rough patch of road.[26]Hackett was ejected, and sustained severe head injuries.[27]He lingered in aHavanahospital for about two weeks, but succumbed to his injuries on March 4, 1926.[28]

Hackett's remains were returned to Albany,[29]and he was buried atAlbany Rural Cemetery,section 108, lot 80.[30]

Political ramifications[edit]

As a result of Hackett's death, the Democratic Party in New York next turned toEdwin Corningas their likely nominee for governor in 1928.[31]Corning was a leader of the O'Connell organization, and had been electedLieutenant Governorin 1926.[32]However, Corning began to suffer health problems, and declined to become a candidate.[33]As a result of Hackett's death and Corning's poor health, in 1928 New York Democrats attempted to recruit several other prominent politicians to run, includingRobert F. Wagner,George R. Lunn,andPeter G. Ten Eyck.[34]After those efforts failed, the party turned toFranklin D. Rooseveltto make the 1928 governor's race.[35]He was nominated by acclimation at the state party convention, and went on to defeat RepublicanAlbert Ottingerin thegeneral election.[36]

Legacy[edit]

Albany'sWilliam S. Hackett Junior High School(now Middle School) was constructed on Delaware Avenue in 1926, and was named in Hackett's honor.[37]

Hackett Boulevard,an Albany street which runs from Holland Avenue to SouthManning Boulevard,then from South Manning Boulevard to New Scotland Avenue is also named for Hackett.[38]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Barnes Machine Beaten in Albany After 22 Years".The Evening World.New York, NY. November 9, 1921. p. 1.
  2. ^Fitch, Charles Elliott (1923).Encyclopedia of Biography of New York.New York, NY: American Historical Society. pp. 221–222.
  3. ^"Albany Rural Cemetery Burial Cards, 1791–2011, entry for William Stormont Hackett".Ancestry.Provo, UT: Ancestry LLC. March 10, 1926.
  4. ^Grondahl, Paul (2007).Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma.Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. p. 166.ISBN978-0-7914-7294-1.
  5. ^Robinson, Frank S. (1977).Machine Politics: A Study of Albany's O'Connells.New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. p. 41.ISBN978-0-87855-147-7.
  6. ^Hills, Frederick Simon (1910).New York State Men.Vol. 2. Albany, NY: The Argus Company. p. 238.
  7. ^Machine Politics: A Study of Albany's O'Connells,p. 41
  8. ^Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma
  9. ^Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma
  10. ^"History, 10th Regiment, New York State Militia, New York National Guard, Civil War".New York State Military Museum.New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.RetrievedMay 1,2016.
  11. ^Albany City Directory.Albany, NY: Sampson & Murdock Co., Inc. 1920. p. 64.
  12. ^Encyclopedia of Biography of New York
  13. ^New York State Men
  14. ^"Necrology: William S. Hackett".Proceedings of the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction.Le xing ton, MA: Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction, Scottish Rite Masons: 183. 1926.
  15. ^Encyclopedia of Biography of New York
  16. ^Encyclopedia of Biography of New York
  17. ^Encyclopedia of Biography of New York
  18. ^Encyclopedia of Biography of New York
  19. ^Eisenstadt, Peter R.; Moss, Laura-Eve (2005).The Encyclopedia of New York State.Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 42.ISBN978-0-8156-0808-0.
  20. ^Machine Politics: A Study of Albany's O'Connells,p. 50
  21. ^Kennedy, William (1983).O Albany!: Improbable City of Political Wizards, Fearless Ethnics, Spectacular Aristocrats, Splendid Nobodies, and Underrated Scoundrels.New York, NY: Viking Press. p. 282.ISBN978-0-14-007416-1.
  22. ^Machine Politics: A Study of Albany's O'Connells
  23. ^"Re-elects Hackett".The Times Herald.Olean, NY. International News Service. November 4, 1925. p. 1.
  24. ^"New York G.O.P. Considering Him".The News-Review.Roseburg, OR. July 30, 1925. p. 6.Ellis J. Staley of Albany, state supreme court justice, is being considered by New York Republicans as a gubernatorial candidate. Democrats are also considering an Albany man, Mayor William S. Hackett, as a standard-bearer.
  25. ^Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma,pp. 64–65
  26. ^"Mayor Hackett of Albany Badly Hurt at Havana: Automobile Door Gives Way, Throwing Him to Street; Goes to Hospital".Brooklyn Daily Eagle.Brooklyn, NY. Associated Press. February 17, 1926. p. 20.
  27. ^"Hackett Suffers Relapse".Wilkes-Barre Record.Wilkes-Barre, PA. Associated Press. February 23, 1926. p. 23.
  28. ^"Mayor of Albany Dies from Injury".Pittston Gazette.Pittston, PA. March 5, 1926. p. 3.
  29. ^"Albany Mayor's Body Arrives at Home".Reading Times.Reading, PA. Associated Press. March 9, 1926. p. 2.
  30. ^"Albany Rural Cemetery Burial Cards, 1791–2011, entry for William Stormont Hackett".Ancestry.Provo, UT: Ancestry LLC. March 10, 1926.
  31. ^Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma,pp. 64–65
  32. ^The Encyclopedia of New York State
  33. ^Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma,pp. 64–65
  34. ^Oliver, D. Harold (September 4, 1928)."Will Announce Soon Smith's Speaking Tour".Star-Gazette.Elmira, NY.Associated Press.pp. 1, 13 – viaNewspapers.
  35. ^Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma,pp. 64–65
  36. ^Savage, Sean J. (1991).Roosevelt: The Party Leader, 1932–1945.Le xing ton, KY: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 7–8.ISBN978-0-8131-1755-3.
  37. ^Annual Report of the Board of Education and of the Superintendent of Schools.Albany, NY: Albany Department of Public Instruction. 1926. p. 9.
  38. ^Button, Daniel Evan (2003).Take City Hall!: Mayor Tom Whalen and the Transformation of New York's Capital to an "All-America" City.Albany, NY: Whitston Publishing Company. p. 138.ISBN978-0-87875-542-4.But Charlie's Circus was a big hit, season after season, in a boulevard segment of very middle-class Pinewood Avenue, close by Hackett Boulevard, so named to honor Albany's recently martyred Mayor.

External links[edit]

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