Isaiah Rynders
Encyclopedia
Captain Isaiah Rynders was an American businessman, sportsman, underworld figure and political organizer for Tammany Hall
. Founder of the Empire Club, a powerful political organization in New York during the mid-19th century, his "sluggers" committed voter intimidation and election fraud on behalf of Tammany Hall throughout the 1840s and 1850s.
He held considerable influence in Tammany Hall for twenty-five years and was credited for delivering New York to James K. Polk
and securing his election
as President of the United States
. He was similarly successful in the presidential elections of Franklin Pierce
and James Buchanan
, the latter appointing his U.S. Marshal of the Southern District of New York. Rynders Street
, was named in his honor and was a well-known vice district
for over fifty years before reform movements cleaned up the area around the turn of the century
.
Although nominally loyal to Tammany for the majority of his career, his Empire Cub heading the fight against the nativist Know Nothing movement
for over a decade, Rynders aligned himself with the Know Nothings for a brief period during the 1850s. This eventually brought him into conflict with his former protege John Morrissey
who would eventually replace him as political boss
of the Sixth Ward.
Protestant
mother, Rynders first appeared in New York City during the mid-1830s, after a brief career as a professional gambler and pistol-and-knife fighter on the Mississippi River
, and soon became involved in local politics. An enthusiastic supporter of Tammany Hall, he established himself as one of the most politically skilled organizers in the city. He was said to have "sometimes permitted his love of the Irish and hatred for the English to upset his judgment", however he also recognized the value of using the numerous street gangs for Tammany Hall. Owner of at least half a dozen green-groceries in Paradise Square
, he was able to win the predominantly Irish-American gangs to the cause of Tammany Hall and organize them into a voting block. He later established a network of saloons and gambling parlors which supported his political club and generated revenue for Tammany Hall.
He originally operated from Sweeney's House of Refreshment, an Ann Street
tavern popular with volunteer firefighters, before founding the Empire Club in 1843. The Park Row
clubhouse quickly became the political hub of the Sixth Ward and, through a heavy campaign of voter intimidation and election fraud, he was credited for securing the presidency of Democratic
candidate James K. Polk
during the United States presidential election of 1844
. It was also the headquarters from which he directed his lieutenants such as Dirty Face Jack, Country McCleester
, Edward Z.C. Judson, Paudeen McLaughlin, Jim Turner
, Lew Baker
and John Morrissey
against the Know Nothing
s and their Bowery
supporters which included the Atlantic Guards and the Bowery Boys
. Rynders was also alleged to have been involved in instigating the Astor Place Riot
in 1849 and later made trips to Philadelphia, Baltimore
and New Orleans where he advised local Democratic leaders on Tammany-style machine politics.
By the end of the decade, he was considered to be the de facto leader of the Five Points
street gangs and was often requested by authorities to use his influence to cease rioting and gang-related violence which the police were unable to stop. He was a particularly important figure in civil disturbances against abolitionists during the period encountering such people as Frederick Douglass
and Abby Gibbons
. On one occasion, Wendell Phillips
was stopped from speaking at the Broadway Tabernacle when Rynders publicly threatened that he and his men would "wreck the building and mob the audience". Henry Ward Beecher
invited Phillips to speak at Plymouth Church and, when a mob led by Rynders followed Phillips, he and his followers were met by a group of well-armed men who defended the building. It was during this meeting that Phillips not only spoke out against slavery but also of the corruption of Tammany Hall.
Rynders was involved in the successful presidential elections of Franklin Pierce
and James Buchanan
, during the presidential elections of 1852
and 1856
respectively, and was appointed by Buchanan as U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York in 1857. On June 9, 1854, Rynders married 20-year-old Phoebe Shotwell, the last surviving child of real estate mogul John Shotwell and Phoebe Byron, in Washington, DC. For a brief time during this period, he renamed his political organization the Americus Club and switched his allegiances to the Know Nothings causing a deep rift between him and his Irish supporters, most notably his protege John Morrissey
. This decision would lead to his downfall as the political boss of the Sixth Ward when, during the Dead Rabbits Riot
in 1857, he was attacked and pelted with rocks while attempting to persuade the warring gangsters to cease fighting. His reputation suffered considerably after this point and Morrissey eventually replaced Rynders as head of the Sixth Ward.
Rynders remained in politics, attending the 1860 Democratic National Convention
as a regular member of the New York delegation and, while a U.S. Marshal, he was in attendance at the execution and Albert W. Hicks
and was the arresting officer who took Nathaniel Gordon
into custody that same year. In early-1861, he was ordered by Chairman Morris to find William Hepburn Russell
and return him to Washington, D.C.
but telegraphed the capitol on March 2 that he was unable to locate him. Rynders reported that he had heard rumors that Russell was residing in Philadelphia but that he did not believe the report. He was among several Tammany political leaders who opposed the American Civil War, going so far as to support Mayor Fernando Wood
's proposal to take New York City
out of the Union, and later fought the federal government over conscription prior to the New York Draft Riots
in 1863.
Centre Street
, previously known as Rynders Street, was originally named in his honor and was for many years known as notorious vice district
lined with brothels, saloons
and dive bar
s until reform movements closed the majority of these establishments.
Rynders was portrayed in the historical novel
The Furies (1976) by John Jakes
and Lucrecia Mott (1999) by Dorothy Sterling
.
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...
. Founder of the Empire Club, a powerful political organization in New York during the mid-19th century, his "sluggers" committed voter intimidation and election fraud on behalf of Tammany Hall throughout the 1840s and 1850s.
He held considerable influence in Tammany Hall for twenty-five years and was credited for delivering New York to James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
and securing his election
United States presidential election, 1844
In the United States presidential election of 1844, Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on foreign policy, with Polk favoring the annexation of Texas and Clay opposed....
as President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. He was similarly successful in the presidential elections of Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
and James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
, the latter appointing his U.S. Marshal of the Southern District of New York. Rynders Street
Centre Street (Manhattan)
Centre Street runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Centre Street runs from Park Row and continues north to Delancey Street where it merges with Lafayette Street....
, was named in his honor and was a well-known vice district
Vice District
Vice District is one of six districts of the province Sechura in Peru.-References:...
for over fifty years before reform movements cleaned up the area around the turn of the century
Turn of the century
Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
.
Although nominally loyal to Tammany for the majority of his career, his Empire Cub heading the fight against the nativist Know Nothing movement
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...
for over a decade, Rynders aligned himself with the Know Nothings for a brief period during the 1850s. This eventually brought him into conflict with his former protege John Morrissey
John Morrissey
John Morrissey , also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish bare-knuckle boxer and a gang member in New York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman from New York, backed by Tammany Hall...
who would eventually replace him as political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
of the Sixth Ward.
Biography
Born to a German-American father and an IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Protestant
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
mother, Rynders first appeared in New York City during the mid-1830s, after a brief career as a professional gambler and pistol-and-knife fighter on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, and soon became involved in local politics. An enthusiastic supporter of Tammany Hall, he established himself as one of the most politically skilled organizers in the city. He was said to have "sometimes permitted his love of the Irish and hatred for the English to upset his judgment", however he also recognized the value of using the numerous street gangs for Tammany Hall. Owner of at least half a dozen green-groceries in Paradise Square
Paradise Square
Paradise Square is a Georgian square in the City of Sheffield, England. Located to the northwest of Sheffield Cathedral, the square is set on a slope and was formerly used for public meetings.-History:...
, he was able to win the predominantly Irish-American gangs to the cause of Tammany Hall and organize them into a voting block. He later established a network of saloons and gambling parlors which supported his political club and generated revenue for Tammany Hall.
He originally operated from Sweeney's House of Refreshment, an Ann Street
Ann Street (Manhattan)
Ann Street is a 3-block long street located in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan just south of City Hall.- History :-Early history:...
tavern popular with volunteer firefighters, before founding the Empire Club in 1843. The Park Row
Park Row (Manhattan)
Park Row is a street located in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It was previously called Chatham Street and during the late 19th century it was nicknamed Newspaper Row, as most of New York City's newspapers located on the street to be close to the action at New...
clubhouse quickly became the political hub of the Sixth Ward and, through a heavy campaign of voter intimidation and election fraud, he was credited for securing the presidency of Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
during the United States presidential election of 1844
United States presidential election, 1844
In the United States presidential election of 1844, Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on foreign policy, with Polk favoring the annexation of Texas and Clay opposed....
. It was also the headquarters from which he directed his lieutenants such as Dirty Face Jack, Country McCleester
Country McCleester
George "Country McCloskey" McCheester or John McCleester was an American bare-knuckle boxer and sportsman involved in the early history of pugilism and prize fighting in Old New York...
, Edward Z.C. Judson, Paudeen McLaughlin, Jim Turner
Jim Turner (criminal)
James "Jim" Turner was an American criminal figure, pugilist and "slugger" for Tammany Hall. Turner was one of several men under Captain Isaac Rynders who committed voter intimidation and election fraud for Tammany Hall during the 1850s...
, Lew Baker
Lew Baker
----Lewis "Lew" Baker was a patrolman in the New York Police Department who was simultaneously employed as a "slugger" for Tammany Hall. He was involved in voter intimidation and election fraud during the 1840s and 50s...
and John Morrissey
John Morrissey
John Morrissey , also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish bare-knuckle boxer and a gang member in New York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman from New York, backed by Tammany Hall...
against the Know Nothing
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...
s and their Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
supporters which included the Atlantic Guards and the Bowery Boys
Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
. Rynders was also alleged to have been involved in instigating the Astor Place Riot
Astor Place Riot
The Astor Place Riot occurred on May 10, 1849 at the now-demolished Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City and left at least 25 dead and more than 120 injured...
in 1849 and later made trips to Philadelphia, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and New Orleans where he advised local Democratic leaders on Tammany-style machine politics.
By the end of the decade, he was considered to be the de facto leader of the Five Points
Five Points, Manhattan
Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...
street gangs and was often requested by authorities to use his influence to cease rioting and gang-related violence which the police were unable to stop. He was a particularly important figure in civil disturbances against abolitionists during the period encountering such people as Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
and Abby Gibbons
Abigail Hopper Gibbons
Abigail Hopper Gibbons was a schoolteacher, abolitionist, and social welfare activist, who assisted in founding numerous programs and societies during and following the Civil War....
. On one occasion, Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
was stopped from speaking at the Broadway Tabernacle when Rynders publicly threatened that he and his men would "wreck the building and mob the audience". Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
invited Phillips to speak at Plymouth Church and, when a mob led by Rynders followed Phillips, he and his followers were met by a group of well-armed men who defended the building. It was during this meeting that Phillips not only spoke out against slavery but also of the corruption of Tammany Hall.
Rynders was involved in the successful presidential elections of Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
and James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
, during the presidential elections of 1852
United States presidential election, 1852
The United States presidential election of 1852 bore important similarities to the election of 1844. Once again, the incumbent president was a Whig who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of his war-hero predecessor. In this case, it was Millard Fillmore who followed General Zachary Taylor...
and 1856
United States presidential election, 1856
The United States presidential election of 1856 was an unusually heated contest that led to the election of James Buchanan, the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Republican candidate John C. Frémont condemned the Kansas–Nebraska Act and crusaded against the expansion of slavery, while Democrat...
respectively, and was appointed by Buchanan as U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York in 1857. On June 9, 1854, Rynders married 20-year-old Phoebe Shotwell, the last surviving child of real estate mogul John Shotwell and Phoebe Byron, in Washington, DC. For a brief time during this period, he renamed his political organization the Americus Club and switched his allegiances to the Know Nothings causing a deep rift between him and his Irish supporters, most notably his protege John Morrissey
John Morrissey
John Morrissey , also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish bare-knuckle boxer and a gang member in New York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman from New York, backed by Tammany Hall...
. This decision would lead to his downfall as the political boss of the Sixth Ward when, during the Dead Rabbits Riot
Dead Rabbits Riot
The Dead Rabbits Riot was a two-day civil disturbance in New York City resulting from what was originally a small-scale street fight between members of the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys into a citywide gang war which lasted from July 4–5, 1857...
in 1857, he was attacked and pelted with rocks while attempting to persuade the warring gangsters to cease fighting. His reputation suffered considerably after this point and Morrissey eventually replaced Rynders as head of the Sixth Ward.
Rynders remained in politics, attending the 1860 Democratic National Convention
1860 Democratic National Convention
The 1860 Democratic National Convention was one of the crucial events in the lead-up to the American Civil War. Following a fragmented official Democratic National Convention that was adjourned in deadlock, two more presidential nominating conventions took place: a resumed official convention,...
as a regular member of the New York delegation and, while a U.S. Marshal, he was in attendance at the execution and Albert W. Hicks
Albert W. Hicks
Albert W. Hicks , also known as William Johnson, John Hicks and 'Pirate Hicks', was the name of the last person executed for piracy in the United States .-Confession:"The affair occurred," said Hicks, "about half past nine or ten o'clock at night, while...
and was the arresting officer who took Nathaniel Gordon
Nathaniel Gordon
Nathaniel Gordon was the only American slave trader to be tried, convicted, and executed "for being engaged in the Slave Trade" in accordance with the Piracy Law of 1820.Gordon was born in Portland, Maine...
into custody that same year. In early-1861, he was ordered by Chairman Morris to find William Hepburn Russell
William Hepburn Russell
William Hepburn Russell is often credited along with Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express. His public life is one of numerous business ventures, some successful and some failed...
and return him to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
but telegraphed the capitol on March 2 that he was unable to locate him. Rynders reported that he had heard rumors that Russell was residing in Philadelphia but that he did not believe the report. He was among several Tammany political leaders who opposed the American Civil War, going so far as to support Mayor Fernando Wood
Fernando Wood
Fernando Wood was an American politician of the Democratic Party and mayor of New York City; he also served as a United States Representative and as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in both the 45th and 46th Congress .A successful shipping merchant who became Grand Sachem of the...
's proposal to take New York City
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...
out of the Union, and later fought the federal government over conscription prior to the New York Draft Riots
New York Draft Riots
The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War itself...
in 1863.
Centre Street
Centre Street (Manhattan)
Centre Street runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Centre Street runs from Park Row and continues north to Delancey Street where it merges with Lafayette Street....
, previously known as Rynders Street, was originally named in his honor and was for many years known as notorious vice district
Vice District
Vice District is one of six districts of the province Sechura in Peru.-References:...
lined with brothels, saloons
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
and dive bar
Dive bar
A dive bar is a type of bar or pub. Dive bars generally have a relaxed and informal atmosphere—they are often referred to by local residents as "neighborhood bars," where people in the neighborhood gather to drink and socialize...
s until reform movements closed the majority of these establishments.
Rynders was portrayed in the historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
The Furies (1976) by John Jakes
John Jakes
John William Jakes is an American writer, best known for American historical fiction.-Early life and education:...
and Lucrecia Mott (1999) by Dorothy Sterling
Dorothy Sterling
Dorothy Sterling was a Jewish-American writer and historian.- Biography :She was born and grew up in New York City, attended Wellesley College and graduated from Barnard College in 1934. After college, she worked as a journalist and writer in New York for several years. In 1937 she married Philip...
.
Further reading
- Asbury, Herbert. Sucker's Progress: An Informal History of Gambling in America from the Colonies to Canfield. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1938.
- Breen, Matthew P. Thirty Years of New York Politics Up-To-Date. New York: Matthew P. Breen, 1899.
- Burrows, Edwin G. and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-19-514049-4
- Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931.
- Marcuse, Maxwell F. This Was New York!: A Nostalgic Picture of Gotham in the Gaslight Era. New York: LIM Press, 1969.
- Morris, Lloyd R. Incredible New York: High Life and Low Life of the Last Hundred Years. New York: Random House, 1951.
- Mushkat, Jerome. Tammany: The Evolution of a Political Machine, 1789-1865. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1971.
- Stoddard, Lothrop. Master of Manhattan: The Life of Richard Croker. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1931.