James Howell Jr. (October 16, 1829 – January 27, 1897) was a partner in Howell & Saxtan Ironworks, and served two consecutive terms as 19th Mayor of Brooklyn, New York 1878–1881.

Early life

Howell was born October 16, 1829 in Bradford,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. At the age of six he moved with his parents to New Lisbon, Ohio. Howell moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1845. He first tried a career as a grocer, but before long switched careers to become a foreman in an iron

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. By 1855, he had started the firm of Howell & Saxtan.

Howell & Saxtan

Howell & Saxtan were in business in Brooklyn, N. Y. from approximately 1866 until the early 1890s. The proprietors were James Howell (1829-1897) and Daniel Y. Saxtan (1824-1904). Their mark can be found on

manhole cover A manhole cover or maintenance hole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed t ...

s and cast iron buildings in Brooklyn, especially around Fulton Avenue and Grand Street, and lower Manhattan. The address on the foundry mark is 353 Adams St, Brooklyn.

Mayor of Brooklyn

James Howell was elected mayor of Brooklyn for two terms. He was a Democrat in a highly Democratic-leaning town; Democrats had a majority of about 8 to 10 thousand voters by population. Howell won his first election over Republican John F. Henry by 3,000 votes. He won re-election to his second term over Franklin Woodruff by 12,000 votes. Brooklyn politics at this time were dominated by Democratic party boss Hugh McLaughlin. Graft and corruption were widespread practices of the day; although Howell was not personally involved in any scandal, he was widely considered a "mediocre" mayor. The tax rate in Brooklyn fell during Howell's two terms, from $3.17 to $2.36, this despite rapid growth in Brooklyn, including the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge during those years. Brooklyn had seen a huge increase in population leading up to, and during, this time. Howell lost his third term contest to Republican

Seth Low Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...

, 45,434 votes to 40,937, a margin of less than 5,000 votes. An estimated 15,000 Democratic voters crossed party lines to vote for Low. Newspapers attributed the loss to a general upswing in the

good government Good government is a normative description of how government is supposed to be constituted. It has been frequently employed by various political thinkers, ideologues and politicians. Thomas Jefferson and good government Thomas Jefferson often r ...

movement and a dissatisfaction with McLaughlin machine, not dissatisfaction with Howell personally.

Post-Mayor career

Howell became a trustee of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, and in 1885 elected president of the trustees, an office which he held until his death. He was credited for "carrying out many great improvements" on the bridge.

Personal life

Howell married Anna Tunstall in 1851. They had a son and two daughters. He was a member of the

Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church The Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church is a Methodist cathedral in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, located on the northwest corner of Hanson Place and St. Felix Street, adjacent to the Williamsburgh Savings Bank ...

for many years. Howell died at his home on South Portland Avenue in Brooklyn on January 27, 1897. He had been ill since the previous Spring. He was buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

References

External links

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Foundry marks of Howell & Saxtan
includes more detailed biography of Howell and Saxtan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, James 1829 births 1897 deaths Mayors of Brooklyn Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery English emigrants to the United States Methodists from New York (state) New York (state) Democrats 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople