James Pendergast
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James Pendergast | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).png) Pendergast in a 1902 publication | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Francis Pendergast January 27, 1856 Gallipolis, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 10, 1911 (aged 55) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Mary Kline Doerr
(m. 1886; died 1905) |
| Relations | Thomas J. Pendergast (brother) |
| Occupation | Politician |
James Francis Pendergast (January 27, 1856 – November 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician and the first Big City Boss of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the elder brother of Thomas J. Pendergast and Michael J. Pendergast.
Early life
[edit]Pendergast was born on January 27, 1856, in Gallipolis, Ohio, to Michael and Mary Pendergast. His family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1859. He was educated at the public schools there and at Christian Brothers College. Pendergast moved to Kansas City in 1876.[1][2]
Career
[edit]Pendergast moved to the industrial West Bottoms neighborhood of Kansas city in 1876, living in boarding houses and working in meatpacking houses, then the Keystone Iron Works, A. J. Kelly Foundry and D. M. Jarboe Foundry.[1][2] According to family legend, in the early 1880s he purchased a saloon called "The Climax," named after the winning horse that provided him with the money to make the purchase. However, this business does not appear in records from the time. In 1881, he is recorded as purchasing a two-story saloon, boarding house, and hotel in the West Bottoms called American House. The establishment held gambling devices and acted as an informal bank for meatpacking workers, where they could cash their paychecks or take out loans.[3] Pendergast ran the boarding house for about 31 years, and it provided him with the connections and influence to begin his career in politics.[1][4]
In 1884, he was elected as a delegate to represent the Sixth Ward in the West Bottoms in the Democratic City Convention.[4] In 1887, after population growth had expanded the city legislature and the West Bottoms became a part of the First Ward, Pendergast became the Democratic committeeman for the First Ward, responsible for assembling supporters for a voice vote in "mob primaries."[3] He was elected alderman of the First Ward in 1892 and remained in that role until 1910.[1][4] Known as "Alderman Jim" and "Big Jim", Pendergast ran on a pro-gambling and pro-working-class platform, showing his support for the latter by facilitating the release of men arrested for drunkenness and disorderly conduct, and giving away food and coal.[3]
His chief political rival was Joe Shannon. Pendergast's faction was called the "goats" because it wanted to climb out of the river bottoms, but Shannon's faction was the "rabbits" because its power base was in the river bottom.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Pendergast married Mary Kline Doerr in 1886. She was ten years older than Pendergast and had a son from a previous marriage.[3] She died in 1905.[1]
Pendergast died on November 10, 1911, at the home of his sister in Kansas City.[1] He was buried at Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery in Kansas City.[5]
Legacy
[edit]
After Pendergast's death, a statue of him was placed in Mulkey Square overlooking the West Bottoms. It is now in Case Park on Quality Hill.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "James Pendergast is Dead". Kansas City Times. November 11, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Political History of Jackson County. Marshall & Morrison. 1902. p. 183. Retrieved September 6, 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b c d Larsen, Lawrence H.; Hulston, Nancy J. (July 5, 2013). Pendergast!. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-6099-4.
- ^ a b c Brown, A. Theodore; Dorsett, Lyle W. (1978). K.C.: A History of Kansas City, Missouri. p. 108–112. Retrieved September 6, 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ "The Pendergast Pallbearers". The Kansas City Star. November 12, 1911. p. 14A. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]
- James Pendergast at Find a Grave
- James Pendergast in the News (Kansas City Journal)
- the Climax saloon, and rise to power
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