Edward Hoos (August 31, 1850 – October 24, 1912) was the 26th mayor of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, on August 31, 1850. He was an

upholsterer Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chair, seats, with padding, Spring (device), springs, webbing, and textile, fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' com ...

who, after immigrating to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he started a furniture business in Jersey City. His wife Dora Wilkins, of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany, died in 1890. In 1897, he was pushed by Democratic political boss, Robert Davis, to run for

Mayor of Jersey City The Mayor of the City of Jersey City is the head of the executive branch of the government of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances; prepare the annual budget; appoint dep ...

. The mayoral election of 1897 was very controversial. The Republican controlled state legislature passed the McArthur Act which postponed Jersey City and Newark's elections from the Spring to November to make them coincide with the state elections. The

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

ruled that this was

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

. The Republicans appealed the Supreme Court's decision to the

New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals Prior to 1947, the structure of the judiciary in New Jersey was extremely complex, including Court of Errors and Appeals in the last resort in all causes. The Court of Errors and Appeals was the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey from ...

. Since the decision was under appeal, the Republicans claimed that the elections planned for April 14 should not be held at that time until the court ruled on their appeal and if they were held then their results would not be valid until after the appeal was ruled on. The Democrats claimed they would be held and their results would be valid. Hoos won the election against Republican J. Herbert Potts, 15,264 votes to 12,018. however, Mayor Peter F. Wanser refused to vacate the mayor's office claiming the election was not valid until their appeal was heard in court. Hoos had to formally demand Wanser to leave the office on May 3, 1897. The New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals ruled in September in favor of Hoos. Hoos won re-election over Republican Edward M. Watson by an even bigger margin of 7,000 votes on April 11, 1899. Hoos had served two terms (May 3, 1897, to December 31, 1901), but Boss Davis knew the voters wanted a change and dumped Hoos from the ticket in 1901 in favor of Edward L. Young, son of

Edward Faitoute Condict Young Edward Faitoute Condict Young (January 25, 1835 – December 6, 1908), or E.F.C. Young, was a banker, manufacturer and politician, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 1892. He was president of Fi ...

(Davis' financial backer). It did not matter to the voters who swept in Republican Mark M. Fagan as mayor. Hoos died on October 24, 1912, and was buried in

Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery Bayview Cemetery, previously called Greenville Cemetery, is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. It merged with New York Bay Cemetery and is now known as Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery. History The cemetery was built in 1848. It is located in t ...

in Jersey City alongside his wife and three of his children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoos, Edward 1850 births 1912 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey People from Neuwied Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey German emigrants to the United States Burials at Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery

Biography

See also

References