Alderman Thomas Sheils lived at 55 Pike Street

Irish immigrant Thomas Sheils was an uneducated, highly successful wheeler-dealer who served as New York City Alderman for 7 terms.  He was a liquor dealer, a school board supervisor, a race horse owner who also had a horse farm in Ulster County where his brother ran a successful hotel.  Tom used to bring his political buddies up to The Lackwack House for reported champagne-drenched weekends.


Tom and his wife Mary Glennon had no known children, but seemed quite involved with many of their nieces and nephews.  After Mary's death in 1881, Tom moved further north in NYC and the house at 55 Pike Street no longer stands.


Luckily I connected with the right cousin who had a copy of Tom's will which named many family members and provided long-sought proof of some parent-child relationships.


Tom died in 1916 and is buried with Mary at Calvary Cemetery in NYC.  He lived a vibrant life, often documented in the New York newspapers and Harper's Magazine -- the good and the bad.  The tales uncovered of Tom, his siblings, nieces, nephews and Ulster County connections will be retold in this blog as time allows.