Michael F. Blake (August 1, 1857 – July 31, 1929) was the chief clerk of the

New York City Board of Aldermen The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish t ...

from 1892 to 1907 and a Municipal Court Justice in New York City from 1908 to 1928.

Early life

Blake was one of seven children born to Michael and Elizabeth Blake, who were both from County Westmeath in Ireland. He was born in his family's home at 312 East 18th Street, just off Second Avenue in New York City. Blake was a schoolmate of

Charles F. Murphy Charles Francis "Silent Charlie" Murphy (June 20, 1858 – April 25, 1924), also known as Boss Murphy, was an American political figure. He was also the longest-serving head of New York City's Tammany Hall, a position he served from 1902 to 192 ...

and

James A. Foley James Aloysius Foley (June 21, 1882 in New York City – February 11, 1946 in Manhattan, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was the son of James Foley (1846–1919) and Anne Moran Foley (1847–1928). He ...

, who both later became prominent in

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

, the dominant force and political club in New York City politics for many decades.

Prior to politics

As a young man, Blake headed west and was a news reporter before acquiring control of the

Seattle Star ''The Seattle Star'' was a daily newspaper that ran from February 25, 1899, to August 13, 1947. It was owned by E. W. Scripps and in 1920 was transferred to Scripps McRae League of Newspapers (later Scripps-Canfield League), after a falling-o ...

. After several years he sold his stake in that newspaper and returned to New York City, where he wrote political articles for the

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Hist ...

and became the city reporter for

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

Political career

Blake remained in touch with Murphy, who rose to prominence in Tammany Hall, and became a district captain and then a district leader for Tammany. He then went to Columbia Law School, and graduated in 1886. After graduating, he studied law under Justice

Abraham B. Tappen Abraham Bogardus Tappen (January 31, 1823, in New Hamburg, Dutchess County, New York – June 1, 1896, in Fordham, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born on January 31, 1823, in New Hamburg, Ne ...

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. In 1889 Blake was appointed deputy clerk for the

New York City Common Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

, also known as the Board of Aldermen. In 1892 he became the chief clerk with a salary of $5,000, and afterward was re-elected by the aldermen annually. In 1893, Blake became member of the Tammany Society. He resigned his chief clerk position in 1907 to run for election as a City Court judge, a post which he won and held for 20 years before retiring in 1928.

Death

Blake died on July 31, 1929. He was survived by his wife Mary W. Blake; sons Joseph A. Blake, Francis L. Blake, Roswell P. Blake and Walter J. Blake; and daughters Laura Brown and Mary Blake. He was also survived by siblings, including

James W. Blake James William Blake (23 September 1862 – 24 May 1935) was a lyricist who is most famous for the words to the 1894 song, "The Sidewalks of New York". Early years and family Blake was one of seven children of Michael and Elizabeth Blake, immigr ...

, a part-time lyricist who was famous for the words to the 1894 song, ''

The Sidewalks of New York "The Sidewalks of New York" is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 by vaudeville actor and singer Charles B. Lawlor (June 2, 1852 – May 31, 1925) with lyrics by James W. Blake (September 23, 1 ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Michael F. 1857 births 1929 deaths Politicians from Manhattan