Philip Hone

Philip Hone
Philip Hone, oil on canvas, John Wesley Jarvis, 1809. DeYoung Museum
57th Mayor of New York City
In office 1825–1826
Preceded by	William Paulding, Jr.
Succeeded by	William Paulding, Jr.
Personal details
Born	October 25, 1780 New York, New York
Died	May 5, 1851 (aged 70) New York, New York
Political party	Federalist Whig
Residence	New York City
Profession	Auctioneer Merchant Corporate President

Philip Hone (October 25, 1780 – May 5, 1851) was Mayor of New York City from 1825 to 1826.^[1] He was most notable for a detailed diary he kept from 1828 until the time of his death in 1851. His recorded diary is said to be the most extensive and detailed of his time in 19th century America.

Biography

Philip Hone was born in New York City on October 25, 1780. Son of a German immigrant carpenter, Hone became wealthy in the auction business.

Originally a Federalist, he was elected Mayor in 1826 and served one term. He later became active in the Whig Party.

He became a man of great prominence in New York society for his wealth, sophistication, extensive travel and good taste, and was good friends with most of the political, artistic and scientific leaders of his day. Most notable among them were: Washington Irving, Samuel Morse, Daniel Webster, John Jacob Astor and U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Martin Van Buren.

Hone's diary records not only his society engagements and the major events and spectacles in the city in the first half of the century, but also his view of a changing city: his disapproval of Andrew Jackson; the disconcerting effects of the city's constant construction; and his utter disgust with most Irish immigrants.

He was a successful merchant and a founder of the Mercantile Library Association and he was the first President of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company in 1825 and 1826. In 1827 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary Academician. Hone lived in an elegant town house at 235 Broadway, opposite City Hall Park.^[2] The site was later one of those purchased by F. W. Woolworth for construction of the Woolworth Building.

During the Zachary Taylor administration he served as Naval Officer of the Port of New York.

Hone died in New York City on May 5, 1851. He was buried at Saint Mark's Church in-the-Bowery.

Honesdale, Pennsylvania, is named in honor of Philip Hone, as is Hone Avenue in the Bronx.

Notes

1. Valentine, D. T. Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York for the years 1845-6 (New York: Levi D. Slamm & C. C. Childs, 1846), p. 165. Online at HathiTrust.
2. Image here.

External links

• Diary of Philip Hone 1828–1851, Vol. 1 Cornell University Library Making of America Monographs {Reprinted by}Cornell University Library Digital Collections
• Diary of Philip Hone 1828–1851, Vol. 2 Cornell University Library Making of America Monographs {Reprinted by}Cornell University Library Digital Collections
• Philip Hone at Find a Grave