Henry F. McElroy: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|City manager of Kansas City, MO (b. 1865, d. 1939)}} |
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{{Infobox |
{{Infobox officeholder |
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|name= |
| name = Henry F. McElroy |
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|image= Edwin M. Price portrait.jpg |
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| term_start = April 1926 |
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|nationality= American |
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| term_end = April 14, 1939 |
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| birth_date = August 17, 1865 |
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|birth_place= Webb City, Arkansas |
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| birth_place = [[Amboy, Illinois]], U.S. |
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|death_date={{death date and age| |
| death_date = {{death date and age|1939|9|15|1865|8|17}} |
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|death_place= Van Buren, Arkansas |
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| death_place = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], U.S. |
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| spouse = Marie S. Orbison |
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|significant_projects= |
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| children = [[Mary McElroy (kidnapping victim)|Mary McElroy]],<br />Henry F. McElroy Jr. |
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|awards= |
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| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |
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}} |
}} |
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''' |
'''Henry F. McElroy''' (1865–1939) was the first [[City Manager]] of [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. He held this position during the era of [[political boss]] [[Tom Pendergast]]. |
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==Life and Work== |
==Life and Work== |
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Henry Francis McElroy was born on April 17, 1865, in [[Amboy, Illinois]], less than 100 miles west of Chicago. He moved to Kansas City in 1896 to practice real estate. He was elected as one of two [[county judge]]s of [[Jackson County, Missouri]], in 1922. The other county judge was [[Harry S Truman]]. The role of county judge was more like a [[county commission]]er, but McElroy went by "Judge McElroy" even when he was City Manager. The role of City Manager was created when a new city charter was passed on November 3, 1925, and implemented the following April. The City Manager is hired by the Mayor and City Council, ideally as a non-partisan city administrator. While this new form of local government worked well in other cities and still exists in Kansas City, this city council was controlled by [[Political Boss]] [[Tom Pendergast]]. McElroy became known as the heavy-handed implementer of the policies of Pendergast's machine.<ref name="Hartmann">{{cite book |last=Hartman |first=Rudolph H. |date=1999 |publisher=University of Missouri Press, Columbia and London |title=The Kansas City Investigation: Pendergast's Downfall 1938-1939}}</ref> |
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Frank Maynard Howe was born on July 20, 1849 in West Cambridge, Massachusetts, which later became [[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]]. He attended public schools and Cotting Academy. He was part of the first class of a special course in architecture at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT). While still in school, Howe went to work for Ware & Van Brunt in 1868. [[William Ware]] and [[Henry Van Brunt]] started the Boston architectural firm in 1864. In 1881, Ware retired to become the founding chair of the [[Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation|School of Architecture at Columbia University]]. Howe then partnered with Van Brunt creating the firm of Van Brunt & Howe.<ref>{{cite report |last=Glenn|first=Patricia Brown |title="Frank M. Howe Residence" National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |publisher=Missouri Department of Natural Resources |date=February 22, 1984}}</ref> |
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McElroy's business background and the "Country Bookkeeping" he developed as a store manager in Iowa impressed the Kansas City business community. They felt he was just what a City Manager should be. With this accounting method, he managed to cut in half the five million dollar deficit inherited from the previous administration, and announced a slight tax increase to cover the rest. However, he was not shy about exerting his power. One of his first acts was to take over the mayor's large office and relegating Mayor [[Albert I. Beach]] to an office behind that of the City Clerk. He also usurped the Mayor at various civil functions.<ref name="Redding">Redding, William M.; Tom's Town: Kansas City and the Pendergast Legend; J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1947</ref> |
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Van Brunt & Howe had a national reputation with clients in several areas of the country. Around 1885 to 1887, Van Brunt & Howe opened an office in Kansas City that was originally managed by Howe. Van Brunt later joined Howe in Kansas City. Howe was a member of the board of consulting architects for the [[World%27s_Columbian_Exposition|1893 Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago. He held a similar position with the [[Louisiana_Purchase_Exposition|1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition]] in St. Louis. Van Brunt returned to Massachusetts after retiring where he died in 1903. In 1904, Howe partnered with two employees who were also graduates of the program at MIT, [[Henry F. Hoit]] and William H. Cutler. The firm of Howe, Hoit & Cutler became Howe & Hoit upon the death of Cutler in 1907. Two years later, Howe succumbed to heart failure and died on January 4, 1909 at the age of 59. He had been ill since the previous June and traveled with his wife and daughter (Dorothy) to Great Britain, Holland, Germany, and France prior to his death.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Frank M. Howe Dies of Heart Disease |newspaper=The Kansas City Journal |date=January 5, 1909}}</ref> |
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The [[Tom Pendergast#Downfall and the later years|federal investigation of Pendergast]] alleged that McElroy received graft payments from city service providers, contractors for the many building projects ([[Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri)|Municipal Auditorium]], [[Kansas City City Hall|City Hall]], [[Jackson County Courthouse (Kansas City, Missouri)|Jackson County Courthouse]]), and city real estate purchases. McElroy resigned as City Manager on April 13, 1939.<ref name="Hartmann"/> |
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Howe was married in 1871 to Mary Elizabeth Wyman, of Arlington. They had two daughters, Katherine (Munger) and Dorothy. He belonged to the Papyrus Club in Boston, the Kansas City Club, the Commercial Club, was president of the Knife and Fork Club, president of the Philharmonic Society, and was a thirty-second degree Mason, and Shriner.<ref>{{cite book |author=George Creel and John Slavens |date=1902 |publisher=Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Co. Kansas City, Mo. |title=Men Who Are Making Kansas City}}</ref> |
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==Personal== |
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Joining the American Institute of Architects in 1899, he was president of the Kansas City chapter in 1901 and 1908. He was named a [[Fellow of the American Institute of Architects]] (FAIA) in 1901.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aiakc.org/i/uploads/AIA_KC_Past_Presidents14.pdf |title=AIA Kansas City Chapter Presidents |access-date=February 9, 2016}}</ref> |
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McElroy married Marie S. Orbison in 1906. They had two children, Mary and Henry Jr. Marie died in 1920 and McElroy never remarried. He refused to delegate his child-rearing responsibilities. "I reared those children myself," McElroy was quoted, "because it was my duty. I supervised their baths, their food, their dressing, and their comings and goings. It was my job and no one else could do it." On May 27, 1933, his daughter Mary was [[Mary McElroy (kidnapping victim)|kidnapped]] with a ransom demand of $30,000. McElroy paid the ransom. During the Pendergast investigation, it was discovered that the ransom was reimbursed with city funds. $16,000 was recovered and returned to the city when the kidnappers were caught. The Pendergast investigation severely affected McElroy's health. On September 15, 1939, he died at his home of uremia and heart disease, the day after subpoenas were issued by a grand jury.<ref name="Hartmann"/> |
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==Notable Buildings== |
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===Van Brunt & Howe=== |
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* 1886 - Coates House Hotel (Rebuilding) Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 |
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* 1887 - Frank M. Howe Residence (Designed by Howe) Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 |
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* 1890 - [[Emery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods Company]] Building |
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* 1893 - Electricity Building and the Wyoming Building, [[World's Columbian Exposition]], Chicago (demolished) |
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* 1894 - [[Spooner Hall]], [[University of Kansas]], [[Lawrence, Kansas]] |
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* 1904 - Palace of Varied Industries, [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]], [[St. Louis, Missouri]] (razed) |
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===Howe, Hoit & Cutler=== |
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* 1905 - Independence Boulevard Christian Church |
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* 1907 - [[R.A. Long Building]] Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 |
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* 1908 - B'nai Jehudah Temple (Mohart Multipurpose Center) |
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==Gallery== |
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<gallery mode=packed heights="140px"> |
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Image:Coates_House_Hotel.jpg|Coates House Hotel |
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Image:Frank M. Howe Residence.jpg|Frank M. Howe Residence |
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Image:Emey-bird2.jpg|Emery, Bird & Thayer Building |
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Image:Pan-American Exposition - Electricity Building at Night.jpg|Electricity Building, 1893 |
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Image:Spooner Hall, University of Kansas.jpg|Spooner Hall, University of Kansas |
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Image:VariedIndustries.jpg|Palace of Varied Industries<br/>1904 St.Louis World's Fair |
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Image:R.A._Long_Building.jpg|[[R.A. Long Building]] |
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Image:B'nai Jehudah Temple 1908.jpg|B'nai Jehudah Temple |
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</gallery> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{ |
{{Reflist|2}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| NAME = Howe, Frank M. |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Howe, Frank Maynard |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States architect |
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[[Category:Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri]] |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = July 20, 1849 |
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[[Category:Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri]] |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = Arlington, Massachusetts |
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| DATE OF DEATH = January 4, 1909 |
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}} |
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[[:Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni]] |
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[[:Category:NRHP architects]] |
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[[:Category:Fellows of the American Institute of Architects]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:40, 18 April 2023
Henry F. McElroy | |
|---|---|
| First City Manager of Kansas City, Missouri | |
| In office April 1926 – April 14, 1939 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 17, 1865 Amboy, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 15, 1939 (aged 74) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Marie S. Orbison |
| Children | Mary McElroy, Henry F. McElroy Jr. |
Henry F. McElroy (1865–1939) was the first City Manager of Kansas City, Missouri. He held this position during the era of political boss Tom Pendergast.
Life and Work
[edit]Henry Francis McElroy was born on April 17, 1865, in Amboy, Illinois, less than 100 miles west of Chicago. He moved to Kansas City in 1896 to practice real estate. He was elected as one of two county judges of Jackson County, Missouri, in 1922. The other county judge was Harry S Truman. The role of county judge was more like a county commissioner, but McElroy went by "Judge McElroy" even when he was City Manager. The role of City Manager was created when a new city charter was passed on November 3, 1925, and implemented the following April. The City Manager is hired by the Mayor and City Council, ideally as a non-partisan city administrator. While this new form of local government worked well in other cities and still exists in Kansas City, this city council was controlled by Political Boss Tom Pendergast. McElroy became known as the heavy-handed implementer of the policies of Pendergast's machine.[1]
McElroy's business background and the "Country Bookkeeping" he developed as a store manager in Iowa impressed the Kansas City business community. They felt he was just what a City Manager should be. With this accounting method, he managed to cut in half the five million dollar deficit inherited from the previous administration, and announced a slight tax increase to cover the rest. However, he was not shy about exerting his power. One of his first acts was to take over the mayor's large office and relegating Mayor Albert I. Beach to an office behind that of the City Clerk. He also usurped the Mayor at various civil functions.[2]
The federal investigation of Pendergast alleged that McElroy received graft payments from city service providers, contractors for the many building projects (Municipal Auditorium, City Hall, Jackson County Courthouse), and city real estate purchases. McElroy resigned as City Manager on April 13, 1939.[1]
Personal
[edit]McElroy married Marie S. Orbison in 1906. They had two children, Mary and Henry Jr. Marie died in 1920 and McElroy never remarried. He refused to delegate his child-rearing responsibilities. "I reared those children myself," McElroy was quoted, "because it was my duty. I supervised their baths, their food, their dressing, and their comings and goings. It was my job and no one else could do it." On May 27, 1933, his daughter Mary was kidnapped with a ransom demand of $30,000. McElroy paid the ransom. During the Pendergast investigation, it was discovered that the ransom was reimbursed with city funds. $16,000 was recovered and returned to the city when the kidnappers were caught. The Pendergast investigation severely affected McElroy's health. On September 15, 1939, he died at his home of uremia and heart disease, the day after subpoenas were issued by a grand jury.[1]
