The sun., 1905-12-13
SUDDEN DEATH OF TOM DUNN.
PNEL NONIi kfLLS HIN AFTER
nut 4 FEW nor RS ILLNESS.

TWO Hundred PcODle Gatnrr IN the street
IN Front OF the House When the News
Gets AbrOad-The EA.Sherlir Probably
as Popular q Man as Tammany Had.
Thomas j. Dunn, Tammany leader Of
the Twenty-sixth Assembly district and
Sheriff under Mayor Van Wyck, died last
night of acute pneumonia at his home,
1921 East Sxty-eighth street after an illness
of only few hours,
MIR. Dunn went to Monticello \. Y,
last Saturday to see his daughter, Grace
who is II years old. lie returned on Mon
day night and spent a good part of the
evening at the Delaware Club, the Tam
many organization of the district. Thomas
Campbell, Mr.. Dunn's chief lieutenant
said last night that Mr.. Dunn went home
early and was well and in the best of spirits.
Yesterday morning he complained of
being cold and of severe pains in his chest
He got worse rapidly, and two physicians
Drs. H. l.. Purdy and j. ID. Van Derlyn,
were summoned Mr.. Dunn died at 10
o'clock last night At his bedside were
his two sisters, Ellen Dunn and Mrs, Alice
Quinn; his daughter, Alice, and his three
sons, Charles Thomas and George.
Mr. Dunn leaves two brothers, Bartholo-
new and Michael. News of his death
spread through the district rapidly, and
at midnight there were over 200 persons
around the house. 1t was remarked that
week ago last night the Delaware Club,
of which Mr. Dunn was president, gave it's
annual ball at Terrace Garden and that
Mr.. Dunn was the liveliest man at the ball.
Tom Dunn, as he was called, not only
IA t,z.,1
ganization, but by political opponents
who liked him. as everybody did, was born
in Ireland about fifty-two years ago. He
was II when he came here from County
Tipperary and started to earn his living
by working at the trade of stone cutting
in a yard run by two brothers named Roche.
After he had been several years in this
yard one of the Roche brothers died and
the other retired from business. Dunn
then went into partnership with man
named Vesey but eventually struck out
for himself, and from a stonecutting boss
he drifted also into the building contracting
business and constructed very substantial
bank account. At his stone yards, at the
foot of East Sixty-eighth street, he en-
ployed never less than $50 men, and in his
other enterprises he was the employer of
several hundred more.
It had always been said of him that pros
perity never turned his head and that the
Tom Dunn who used to attract the atten-
ton of his mates by his skill in "chopping"
stones and the Tammany leader, real estate
owner and head of several large and lucra-
tive businesses were just the same Tom
Dunn, friendly, jovial, wearing always a
good tempered smile. If there was a
difference it was that the rich Tom Dunn
formed himself into an anti-poverty society
for the benefit of less fortunate people,
and if he could help it, never let hard
luck case that came within reasonable
distance, get away from him.
Like some other Irishmen of active tenn
early. Settling in Larry Delmour's old
district on the upper East Side, he became
one of the leading workers of the district
married a sister of the late Alderman Nc
Quade and when the old Twentieth Assem-
bly, district was split up, in 1892, became
the leader Of the section which is now known
as the Twenty-sixth district. 1t was at
Richard Croker's solicitation that he ran
for Sheriff in 1898 Although always
hard worker in the interests of Tammany,
he was never anxious to hold Office He
was famous story teller and great joker
Nearly six feet tall, 1.-THE and athletic,
ruddy and clean skinned. he was always
the picture OF good health. For many
wears he was q strong temperance man.