James Pendergast

James Pendergast

James Francis Pendergast (1856 — November 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician who was to be the first Big City Boss of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the elder brother of Thomas J. Pendergast and Michael J. Pendergast.

Pendergast was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. His family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1859. He moved to Kansas City in 1876. After winning a horse race on a long shot called "Climax" he opened a saloon named for the horse in the West Bottoms.

In 1884 he was elected as a delegate to represent the sixth ward in the Democratic City Convention. In 1887 he became the Democratic committeeman from the first ward. He was elected alderman in 1892. He was to earn nicknames of "Alderman Jim" and "Big Jim" as he achieved grassroots power by doing favors.

Jim's chief rival in this period was Joe Shannon. Jim's faction was called the "goats" because they wanted to climb out of the river bottoms while Shannon's faction was the "rabbits" because they hailed to the river bottom power base.

After his death a statue of him was placed in Mulkey Square overlooking the West Bottoms. It has since been moved to Case Park on Quality Hill.

References

* [http://www.kcpl.lib.mo.us/localhistory/media.cfm?mediaID=35056 James Francis Pendergast Biography at Kansas City Public Library] ^The above link is no longer available.

External links

* [http://www.kcpolicememorial.com/history/pendergast_3.html KC Police Memorial on Rise of Jim Pendergast]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21449 Findagrave]
* [http://www.vintagekansascity.com/100yearsago/labels/James%20Pendergast.html James Pendergast in the News (Kansas City Journal)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pendergast — (Irish: de Piondárgas , Piondárgas ) is an Irish surname derived from Prendergast.Pendergast may refer to:*Aloysius Pendergast, a fictional FBI special agent from Preston/Child novels *Clancy Pendergast, a defensive coordinator for the NFL s… …   Wikipedia

  • James P. Kem — James Preston Kem (April 2, 1890 ndash; February 24, 1965) represented Missouri in the United States Senate from 1947 to 1953. James P. Kem was born in Macon, Missouri on April 2, 1890. He attended Blees Military Academy, then graduated from the… …   Wikipedia

  • James Michael Curley — Infobox Governor name = James Michael Curley imagesize = 155px order = 53rd office = Governor of Massachusetts term start = January 3, 1935 term end = January 7, 1937 lieutenant = Joseph L. Hurley predecessor = Joseph B. Ely successor = Charles F …   Wikipedia

  • Tom Pendergast — Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1873 ndash; January 26, 1945) controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri as a political boss. Boss Tom Pendergast gave workers jobs and helped elect politicians during the Great Depression, becoming… …   Wikipedia

  • Aloysius Pendergast — This article is about a fictional character. For other uses of the name, see Pendergast. Aloysius Pendergast Aloysius X. L. Pendergast First appearance …   Wikipedia

  • History of Kansas City — The History of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area dates back to the 1800s. The Kansas City Metropolitan Area, straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, was a good place to build several… …   Wikipedia

  • Prix Smith-Wintemberg — Le Prix Smith Wintemberg est décerné par l Association canadienne d archéologie pour honorer un canadien qui a apporté une contribution exceptionnelle à l avancement de la discipline archéologique ou à la connaissance du passé archéologique… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prix smith-wintemberg — Le Prix Smith Wintemberg est décerné par l Association canadienne d archéologie pour honorer un canadien qui a apporté une contribution exceptionnelle à l avancement de la discipline archéologique ou à la connaissance du passé archéologique… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Harry S. Truman — This article is about the United States president. For other uses of the name, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). Harry Truman 33rd President of the United States …   Wikipedia

  • Harry S. Truman — hacia 1945 …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”