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Alexander J. Clements was born on March 3, 1868. His father, A. J. Clements, was a lumber inspector for the Pennsylvania Railroad.<ref name=":1">Lee (1895), p. 37.</ref>
Alexander J. Clements was born on March 3, 1868. His father, A. J. Clements, was a lumber inspector for the Pennsylvania Railroad.<ref name=":1">Lee (1895), p. 37.</ref>


Clements attended Public School No. 3. When he left school he worked as a messenger boy, and then from 1885 as a carpenter for the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. He became a member of Hudson County's Democratic County Committee in 1893 and was elected as a [[Freeholder (government)|Freeholder]] for the First Ward in 1896,<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1896 |title=Vote for Freeholders |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-vote-for-freeholder/144804437/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref> after which he left the railroad and went into the "liquor business".<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1898 |title=Alexander J. Clements |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/856114671/?clipping_id=144603119&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjg1NjExNDY3MSwiaWF0IjoxNzEyMzIwMjc1LCJleHAiOjE3MTI0MDY2NzV9.w281HC8juQ8m9eITcv6yRHQXTFAAzWGvgu1YOe6ED4w |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|At some point Clements became the owner the Old Stone House, a saloon in Jersey City, which may be what "the liquor business" is referring to.<ref name=":0" />|group=note}} He was re-elected as Freeholder for the First Ward in 1898,<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1899 |title=County Contracts |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-county-contracts/144803517/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1898 |title=Regular Democratic Nominations |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-democratic-nominati/144804350/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=4}}</ref> and was a member of the Printing and Stationery Committee during that term.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1899 |title=Freeholders Hold Up the Courts Stenographer's Stationery |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-freeholders-hold-up/144803485/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=4}}</ref> He did not run for Freeholder in the following election,<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1900 |title=For Freeholders |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-freeholder-election/144804132/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=2}}</ref> but was elected again from the First Ward in 1902<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1902 |title=Elected! |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-elected/144805295/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref> and 1904.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 9, 1904 |title=County Board is Democratic |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/jersey-observer-and-jersey-journal-freeh/144805516/ |work=Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal |pages=3}}</ref> He did not run in 1906, but supported a slate of candidates opposed to [[H. Otto Wittpenn|Otto Wittpenn]]; almost all of Clements' candidates lost.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1906 |title=Clements Lost Fight Against Otto Wittpenn |work=Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal |pages=2}}</ref>
Clements attended Public School No. 3. When he left school he worked as a messenger boy, and then from 1885 as a carpenter for the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. He became a member of Hudson County's Democratic County Committee in 1893 and was elected as a [[Freeholder (government)|Freeholder]] for the First Ward in 1896,<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1896 |title=Vote for Freeholders |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-vote-for-freeholder/144804437/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref> after which he left the railroad and went into the "liquor business".<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1898 |title=Alexander J. Clements |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/856114671/?clipping_id=144603119&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjg1NjExNDY3MSwiaWF0IjoxNzEyMzIwMjc1LCJleHAiOjE3MTI0MDY2NzV9.w281HC8juQ8m9eITcv6yRHQXTFAAzWGvgu1YOe6ED4w |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|At some point Clements became the owner the Old Stone House, a saloon in Jersey City, which may be what "the liquor business" is referring to.<ref name=":0" />|group=note}} He was re-elected as Freeholder for the First Ward in 1898,<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1899 |title=County Contracts |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-county-contracts/144803517/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1898 |title=Regular Democratic Nominations |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-democratic-nominati/144804350/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=4}}</ref> and was a member of the Printing and Stationery Committee during that term.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1899 |title=Freeholders Hold Up the Courts Stenographer's Stationery |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-freeholders-hold-up/144803485/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=4}}</ref> He did not run for Freeholder in the following election,<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1900 |title=For Freeholders |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-freeholder-election/144804132/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=2}}</ref> but was elected again from the First Ward in 1902<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1902 |title=Elected! |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-elected/144805295/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref> and 1904.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 9, 1904 |title=County Board is Democratic |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/jersey-observer-and-jersey-journal-freeh/144805516/ |work=Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal |pages=3}}</ref> By 1905 he was the Democratic leader of the First Ward;<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 19, 1906 |title=Clement's Outing |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-clements-associatio/144587742/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref> he did not run for Freeholder that year, but supported a slate of candidates opposed to [[H. Otto Wittpenn|Otto Wittpenn]]; almost all of Clements' candidates lost.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1906 |title=Clements Lost Fight Against Otto Wittpenn |work=Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal |pages=2}}</ref>

Clements was twice arrested for assault: once in 1900 for a fight on one of the annual outings he organized,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Gave His Captor Wine |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/the-jersey-city-news-clements-arrested-o/144602974/ |work=The Jersey City News |pages=1}}</ref> and once in 1908 for a fight outside a polling place during the election that year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1911 |title=New Jersey Swept by Republicans |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_new-york-times_1908-11-04_58_18547/page/n3/mode/2up?q=%22alexander+j.+clements%22 |work=The New York Times |pages=4}}</ref>


Clements was supervisor of roads in [[Hudson County, New Jersey]], for twenty years before his death. He worked as a cabinetmaker and then at the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] before going into politics; he became leader of the First Ward in [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]]. He owned a saloon named the Old Stone House, at Newark Avenue and Grove Street. He made failed attempts to run for office, as Sheriff and as Councilman, both in Jersey City.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title = Alexander J. Clements|date = 5 December 1933|work = New York Times|page = 23}}</ref>
Clements was supervisor of roads in [[Hudson County, New Jersey]], for twenty years before his death. He worked as a cabinetmaker and then at the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] before going into politics; he became leader of the First Ward in [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]]. He owned a saloon named the Old Stone House, at Newark Avenue and Grove Street. He made failed attempts to run for office, as Sheriff and as Councilman, both in Jersey City.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title = Alexander J. Clements|date = 5 December 1933|work = New York Times|page = 23}}</ref>

Revision as of 15:58, 5 April 2024

Head and shoulders of a man in a suit and tie
Clements in about 1895

Alexander J. Clements (c. 1866 − 4 December 1933) was a local politician in Hudson County, New Jersey.

Life

Alexander J. Clements was born on March 3, 1868. His father, A. J. Clements, was a lumber inspector for the Pennsylvania Railroad.[1]

Clements attended Public School No. 3. When he left school he worked as a messenger boy, and then from 1885 as a carpenter for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He became a member of Hudson County's Democratic County Committee in 1893 and was elected as a Freeholder for the First Ward in 1896,[1][2] after which he left the railroad and went into the "liquor business".[3][note 1] He was re-elected as Freeholder for the First Ward in 1898,[5][6] and was a member of the Printing and Stationery Committee during that term.[7] He did not run for Freeholder in the following election,[8] but was elected again from the First Ward in 1902[9] and 1904.[10] By 1905 he was the Democratic leader of the First Ward;[11] he did not run for Freeholder that year, but supported a slate of candidates opposed to Otto Wittpenn; almost all of Clements' candidates lost.[12]

Clements was twice arrested for assault: once in 1900 for a fight on one of the annual outings he organized,[13] and once in 1908 for a fight outside a polling place during the election that year.[14]

Clements was supervisor of roads in Hudson County, New Jersey, for twenty years before his death. He worked as a cabinetmaker and then at the Pennsylvania Railroad before going into politics; he became leader of the First Ward in Jersey City. He owned a saloon named the Old Stone House, at Newark Avenue and Grove Street. He made failed attempts to run for office, as Sheriff and as Councilman, both in Jersey City.[4]

In 1911 he and thirteen other men were indicted for fraud in connection with contracting bids for the building of the courthouse in Jersey City, for which the budget was $3,500,000.[15] The indictment was nolled in 1913.[16]

He died of a heart condition on 4 December 1933 at the Medical Center in Jersey City.[4]

Sources

  • Lee, Francis Bazley (1895). History of Trenton, New Jersey. Trenton, New Jersey: J. L. Murphy. OCLC 235782376.

Notes

  1. ^ At some point Clements became the owner the Old Stone House, a saloon in Jersey City, which may be what "the liquor business" is referring to.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Lee (1895), p. 37.
  2. ^ "Vote for Freeholders". The Jersey City News. November 4, 1896. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Alexander J. Clements". The Jersey City News. November 4, 1898. p. 1.
  4. ^ a b c "Alexander J. Clements". New York Times. 5 December 1933. p. 23.
  5. ^ "County Contracts". The Jersey City News. February 3, 1899. p. 4.
  6. ^ "Regular Democratic Nominations". The Jersey City News. November 5, 1898. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Freeholders Hold Up the Courts Stenographer's Stationery". The Jersey City News. February 3, 1899. p. 4.
  8. ^ "For Freeholders". The Jersey City News. November 7, 1900. p. 2.
  9. ^ "Elected!". The Jersey City News. November 5, 1902. p. 1.
  10. ^ "County Board is Democratic". Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal. November 9, 1904. p. 3.
  11. ^ "Clement's Outing". The Jersey City News. July 19, 1906. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Clements Lost Fight Against Otto Wittpenn". Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal. September 26, 1906. p. 2.
  13. ^ "Gave His Captor Wine". The Jersey City News. p. 1.
  14. ^ "New Jersey Swept by Republicans". The New York Times. November 4, 1911. p. 4.
  15. ^ "Indict 14 for taking Jersey City graft". New York Times. 11 November 1911. p. 23.
  16. ^ "Probably The End of the Court House Scandal: State Nolle Prosses Indictments against Clements, McGovern and Smith". wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org. Hudson Observer. 3 May 1913. Retrieved 2024-04-05.


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