Isaac Varian
Encyclopedia
mayor.jpg)
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
, August 10, 1864) was a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state legislator and a Mayor of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Political career
Varian was a prominent DemocratHistory of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
and led Tammany Hall
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 political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
from 1835 until 1842. He was a member of the State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
(1831–34), Mayor of New York
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
(1839–41), and a State Senator
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
(1842).
As Tammany Hall leader, Varian presided over a critical period in Democratic history, which saw the defection, and return of the Locofoco
Locofocos
The Locofocos were a radical faction of the Democratic Party that existed from 1835 until the mid-1840s. The faction was originally named the Equal Rights Party, and was created in New York City as a protest against that city’s regular Democratic organization . It contained a mixture of...
faction, which was in existence from 1835 until 1840, and was the decisive factor in the 1837 mayoral election won by Whigs
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
against the divided Democracts.
Varian first ran for mayor in 1838, losing to Whig Aaron Clark
Aaron Clark
Aaron Clark was an American politician who became the second popularly elected Mayor of New York, serving two one-year terms from 1837 to 1839. He was a member of the Whig Party, the only member of his party to ever serve as mayor of New York.-Early life:Clark was born in Worthington, Massachusetts...
by only 519 votes in an election tainted with allegations of massive Whig fraud and intimidation. In 1839 Varian beat Clark by 1,067 votes despite blatant electoral misconduct. During Varian's first term the legislature passed a bill that mandated voter registration and made it a lot harder to commit electoral fraud.
Personal
In 1811 Varian married Catharine Hopper Dusenbury (1789–1870). They had nine children, seven of whom survived infancy:- Andrew Hopper (1812–1826)
- Tamar Letitia (b. 1813)
- Isaac (1815–1816)
- Matilda Campbell (b. 1817)
- Mary Elizabeth (1819–1868)
- Isaac (b. 1823)
- Catharine Emeline (b. 1826)
- Jacob Harsen (twin) (b. 1828)
- Hannah (twin) (1828–1830)
In 1845 Varian quit politics and retired to Peekskill, where he died in 1864. He is buried in the New York City Marble Cemetery
New York City Marble Cemetery
The New York City Marble Cemetery is an historic cemetery founded in 1831, and located at 52-74 East Second Street between First and Second Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
.
The Valentine-Varian House
The Valentine-Varian House (1758) is a historic farmhouse that still stands on what used to be the Varian dairy farm in the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
along the route from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. The Varian family occupied the house from 1791 until 1905. At present, the building houses the Museum of Bronx History. A public park and an elementary school in the area are named after Varian.
Sources
- Gustavus Myers, "The History of Tammany Hall", Ch. XIV, New York City (1901)
- Varian family genealogy
- Political Graveyard listing for Isaac Varian
- 1838 political cartoon about the mayoral election
- Valentine-Varian House profile from the Historic House Trust
- Valentine-Varian House profile from the Bronx Historical Society
- Varian House Park from the NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation