John H. McCullagh (1842 – March 6, 1893) was an American law enforcement officer and police captain in the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. Popularly known as "Farmer John", he was a protégé of Captains Jeremiah Petty and George W. Walling and battled such notorious gangs and river pirates such as the Tub of Blood Bunch, the Battle Row and Hell's Kitchen Gangs. He especially confronting the latter gang when their leaders Ike Marsh and

Dutch Heinrichs Henry D. Neuman or Neumann (fl. 1860–1874) was a German-born American burglar, bank robber and gang leader known as Dutch Heinrichs. A member of Chauncey Johnson's burglary gang during the late 1860s, he was also the founder of the Hell's Kit ...

began raiding the

Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

yards and express trains. McCullagh is also credited for the breakup of Shang Draper's criminal organization in the early 1880s.

Biography

Born in

County Tyrone, Ireland County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

in 1842, John McCullagh emigrated to the United States as a child. He attended school at

Irvington, New York Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is a suburban Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village of the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Un ...

and joined the

in 1864, less than a year following the New York Draft Riots. He was assigned to Captain Jeremiah Petty and then Captain George W. Walling during his early years on the police force, both men becoming mentors to the young rookie patrolman. While at Walling's Twentieth Precinct, he gained a reputation as a brave officer while posted in such notorious districts such as the Fourth Ward, Battle Row and

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

having notable successes against the gangs dominating those areas.Farmer John" M'Cullagh Dead; The Veteran Police Captain Expires In His Station House
. ''New York Times'' 7 Mar 1893 McCullagh was attacked by

and two of his henchmen in Hell's Kitchen while investigating the theft of two

hogsheads A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commercial product) for manufacturing and sale. It refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily ...

of ham from a

freight car Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types ...

. He battled the three men for over a half an hour before knocking all three unconscious with his nightstick and bringing in the gangsters single-handed to a nearby precinct on West Twenty-Fifth Street. Heinrichs was eventually convicted of assault and sent to prison where he was later committed to an insane asylum. Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 183, 217) He also made enemies while on the force. In particular was his assault by ex-police officer James G. Taylor who had previously been dismissed from the police force due to an official complaint made by McCullagh. Taylor attempted to murder McCullagh, ambushing him one night on Ninth Avenue with a pistol, but the roundsman escaped with a minor head wound and a marked ear. Taylor was eventually tried and convicted by then District Attorney A. Oakey Hall and imprisoned in

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...

. Oakey later served as McCullagh's council when he was accused of "improperly influencing keepers of resorts", however these charges were tried and dismissed at NYPD Headquarters. McCullagh was promoted to sergeant in 1866 and, present during the New York Orange Riot of 1871, he was shot in the leg and became one of the many beneficiaries of the Riot Relief Fund. He also made many close and influential friends while doing service at

Grand Central Depot Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines, and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). It is the most recent of three function ...

. A member of the

New York Republican Party The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

and the

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church in New York City. The church, on Fifth Avenue at 7 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations. ...

, he was a personal friend of Reverend Dr. John Hall. McCullagh was made a police captain in 1872 and was assigned command of the Seventeenth Precinct, later renamed the Fourteenth Precinct, and was responsible for breaking up Shang Draper's criminal operations during the 1880s. He was eventually transferred to the Twenty-First Precinct following the "shake up" of 1892. In early 1893, McCullagh began complaining of

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

and, on February 27, he suddenly fell extremely ill while at the station house. He declined to go home as his wife was away at Irvington-on-the-Hudson and was confined to bed in his room at the precinct. The doctor found that McCullagh was suffering from

sore throat Sore throat, also known as throat pain, is pain or irritation of the throat. The majority of sore throats are caused by a virus, for which antibiotics are not helpful. For sore throat caused by bacteria (GAS), treatment with antibiotics may hel ...

and rheumatism. By the time his wife arrived, McCullagh could not be moved and was made as comfortable as possible in his official office quarters. He remained bedridden for over a week until March 6 when he his condition unexpectedly worsened and a

tracheotomy Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision on the front of the neck to open a direct airway to the trachea. The resulting stoma (hole) can serve independently as an airway ...

was performed by police surgeon William F. Fluhrer. This brought only a momentary respite as McCullagh suffered a relapse and died shortly after the operation. His nephew John, also a police captain and later the first Police Chief of Greater New York, was with him at the time of his death, however his wife had gone back to Irvington in the meantime. He was survived by his widow, two sons and an adopted daughter. Upon news of his death, senior police officials gathered at the precinct to pay their respects and console the family. Inspector Alexander S. Williams and Captains George Washburn, Anthony J. Allaire, William Berghold and Thomas Killiloa were appointed a committee so as to organize the funeral on behalf of the family. McCullagh's personal finances, which had always been a source of speculation and controversy throughout his career, amounted to about $115,000. McCullagh had maintained a much lower estimate between $65,000 and $70,000 which was supplanted with income from property in Irvington and tenement buildings in New York. One of his sons was a student at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. McCullagh is buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City.

Biography

References

Further reading