Mayor of New York City
Centurion, 1859–1911
Born 17 April 1825 in Hanover, New Jersey
Died 1 July 1911 in Livingston, New Jersey
Buried Ely Cemetery, Livingston, New Jersey
Proposed by Charles M. Leupp
Elected 4 June 1859 at age thirty-four
Seconder of:
Century Memorial
So for their civic services must we pause to consecrate the memory of Smith Ely, James Hampden Robb, and Cornelius Newton Bliss. The first of these was a school trustee more than fifty years ago, and his subsequent struggles as a member of the Board of Supervisors against the iniquities of Boss Tweed are still remembered; then he was Congressman, and Commissioner of Public Works, and at last, in 1876, Mayor of New York, when he conducted an administration noted for its honesty and economy.
Henry Osborn Taylor
1912 Century Association Yearbook