Jimmy Corcoran
Encyclopedia
James J. "Jimmy" Corcoran (1819 – November 13, 1900) was an Irish-born American laborer and well-known personality among the Irish-American community of the historic "Corcoran's Roost" and the Kip's Bay districts, roughly the area near 40th Street and First Avenue
in Manhattan
, and was widely regarded as the champion of working class Irish immigants between 1850 and 1880.
He is alleged to have been somewhat of an underworld figure, under the alias Paddy Corcoran, founding the Rag Gang which operated with his sons on the Manhattan waterfront during the late 19th century and presumably carried on by his son Tommy Corcoran for a decade after his death.
, near Dublin, and immigrated to the United States when he was 25. He worked as a laborer in New Orleans for a time and also lived in Cold-Spring-on-the-Hudson before settling in New York City prior to the American Civil War
. He found work as a truckman and, experiencing some prejudice, Corcoran made a home in a squatter colony in Dutch Hill. The colony was constructed on an earth mound near 40th Street and the First Avenue and was considered a high-crime poverty-stricken area of the city.
Corcoran was the first to organize neighboring squatters, particularly the Ward, Henry, Nugent, Cullen and Killian families, to build a permanent shanty community. By the 1860s, he had become acknowledged as head of the colony. During its early years, residents feuded with neighboring squatters on Clara's Hill, founded by immigrants who had lived in the same region in Mountmillick, Ireland
. Frequent fighting led to altercations with police, whom the squatters often turn against to the amusement of onlookers, and Corcoran would often put up bail for offenders and was reputed to have "a caustic tongue and a ready wit" when he arrived at the local station house.
He and his family eventually left the colony and moved to a nearby brick house on East Fortieth Street but remained involved in its affairs for another twenty years. In May 1899, he offered the deed to Corcoran's Roost as security to release Robert Dougherty on bail from Yorkville Court. After his wife's death a month later, Corcoran lived for another year before he died at his home "shrived and regretted" on November 13, 1900. He had been successful in business during his later years, with an estate worth $25,000 and owning several roadhouses
, which he left to his four children upon his death.
The original site of Dutch Hill was later partly used to construct present-day Cob Dock at the New York Navy Yard and became a tenement district. Tudor City
was built on the site of Corcoran's Roost during the late 1920s and a Gothic inscription
was later engraved above the entrance of the central Tudor Tower in his memory.
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and was widely regarded as the champion of working class Irish immigants between 1850 and 1880.
He is alleged to have been somewhat of an underworld figure, under the alias Paddy Corcoran, founding the Rag Gang which operated with his sons on the Manhattan waterfront during the late 19th century and presumably carried on by his son Tommy Corcoran for a decade after his death.
Biography
Corcoran was born in Balbriggen, IrelandBalbriggan
Balbriggan is a town in the northern part of the administrative county of Fingal, within County Dublin, Ireland. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.- Name :...
, near Dublin, and immigrated to the United States when he was 25. He worked as a laborer in New Orleans for a time and also lived in Cold-Spring-on-the-Hudson before settling in New York City prior to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He found work as a truckman and, experiencing some prejudice, Corcoran made a home in a squatter colony in Dutch Hill. The colony was constructed on an earth mound near 40th Street and the First Avenue and was considered a high-crime poverty-stricken area of the city.
Corcoran was the first to organize neighboring squatters, particularly the Ward, Henry, Nugent, Cullen and Killian families, to build a permanent shanty community. By the 1860s, he had become acknowledged as head of the colony. During its early years, residents feuded with neighboring squatters on Clara's Hill, founded by immigrants who had lived in the same region in Mountmillick, Ireland
Mountmellick
Other than that its a 15th-century settlement on the narrow Owenass river with an encampment on its banks at Irishtown. Overlooking this valley with its trees and wildlife was a small church called Kilmongan which was closed by the Penal Laws in 1640...
. Frequent fighting led to altercations with police, whom the squatters often turn against to the amusement of onlookers, and Corcoran would often put up bail for offenders and was reputed to have "a caustic tongue and a ready wit" when he arrived at the local station house.
He and his family eventually left the colony and moved to a nearby brick house on East Fortieth Street but remained involved in its affairs for another twenty years. In May 1899, he offered the deed to Corcoran's Roost as security to release Robert Dougherty on bail from Yorkville Court. After his wife's death a month later, Corcoran lived for another year before he died at his home "shrived and regretted" on November 13, 1900. He had been successful in business during his later years, with an estate worth $25,000 and owning several roadhouses
Roadhouse (facility)
A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...
, which he left to his four children upon his death.
The original site of Dutch Hill was later partly used to construct present-day Cob Dock at the New York Navy Yard and became a tenement district. Tudor City
Tudor City
Tudor City is an apartment complex located on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the first residential skyscraper complex in the world. It is bordered by East 40th Street to the south, First Avenue to the east, Second Avenue to the west, and East 43rd Street to the north...
was built on the site of Corcoran's Roost during the late 1920s and a Gothic inscription
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
was later engraved above the entrance of the central Tudor Tower in his memory.