William Mooney

Background

William Mooney was probably born of humble parents in New York City.

Education

Mooney is said to have been a soldier in the American army in the Revolution, but his term of service must have been in the early years of the war.

Career

In August 1780, three years before the British evacuation, Mooney was engaged in business as an upholsterer and dealer in wallpaper in William Street, New York City. He continued in this business at various locations until his retirement in 1821. In the great parade to celebrate the ratification of the Constitution, in 1788, he appeared on a float in the act of upholstering a presidential chair for General Washington.

Mooney and others in 1786, founded the New York Society of Tammany which, like the earlier Tammany societies, seems to have been a social and benevolent organization of the middle class, with strong prejudices against "aristocrats" on the one hand and "foreign adventurers" on the other. When the written constitution of the society was adopted in August 1789, he was chosen the first grand sachem. He was later prominent in all the activities of Tammany over a period of forty years, among others as a director of the museum established for the preservation of historic objects, and as a member of one of the committees for the interment of the remains of eleven thousand American soldiers and sailors who died on board British prison ships in New York harbor.

Many charters granted to other Tammany societies bore his signature. When the society became involved in politics he promoted its activity and was eager to share in the spoils of office. In February 1808, following a Republican victory in the municipal elections, the council made a place for Mooney as superintendent of the almshouse. The position allowed him an expense account and furnished accommodations for his family, besides a salary. Within a few months the commissioners of the almshouse complained of Mooney's incompetence and financial irregularities, and in September 1809 the council dismissed him. A committee appointed to investigate his accounts found that he had curtailed the expenditures for necessities for the inmates and had greatly increased the amounts spent for luxuries, especially for rum and other liquors.

One heading for entries in his books "Trifles for Mrs. Mooney" long continued to be a byword among the opponents of Tammany Hall. Mooney's explanation of his accounts was that there had been an increase in the number of inmates, that the almshouse had been frequently visited by members of the Corporation, and that it had been made the resort of "certain other persons". He had probably erred in being too liberal with his party associates. The Tammany Society was apparently satisfied with his explanation, for in 1811 it again chose him grand sachem, and reëlected him at the close of his term.

Achievements

• William Mooney was one of the founders of the New York Society of Tammany.

Connections

There is no information about his personal life.

References

• Account of the Interment of the Remains of American Patriots, Who Perished On Board the British Prison Ships During the American Revolution (And an ... Wallabout Committee, 1808) with Notes by H.R.
• The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909.
• Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 1784-1831, Volume VII
• Saint Tammany and the Origin of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York