James Pendergast

James Pendergast
James Pendergast
	Pendergast in a 1902 publication
Personal details
Born	James Francis Pendergast; January 27, 1856; Gallipolis, Ohio, U.S.
Died	November 10, 1911 (aged 55); Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery; Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Kline (m. 1886; died 1905)
Relations	Thomas J. Pendergast (brother)
Occupation	Politician

James Francis Pendergast (January 27, 1856 – November 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician and the first Big City Boss of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the elder brother of Thomas J. Pendergast and Michael J. Pendergast.

Early life

Pendergast was born on January 27, 1856, in Gallipolis, Ohio, to Michael and Mary Pendergast. His family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1859. He was educated at the public schools there and at Christian Brothers College. Pendergast moved to Kansas City in 1876.^[1]^[2]

Career

Pendergast worked in packing houses. He also worked at Keystone Iron Works, A. J. Kelly Foundry and D. M. Jarboe Foundry.^[1]^[2] After winning a horse race on a long shot, he opened a saloon named The Climax in 1881. It was named after the winning horse of the West Bottoms. He opened two more saloons, one near Main Street and another on 9th Street. In 1881, he opened a boarding house at 1320-1322 St. Louis Avenue in Kansas City called the old American House. He ran the boarding house for about 31 years.^[1]^[3]

In 1884, he was elected as a delegate to represent the sixth ward (later the first ward) in the Democratic City Convention.^[3] In 1887, he became the Democratic committeeman from the first ward.^{[citation needed]} He was elected alderman of the first ward in 1892. Known as "Alderman Jim" and "Big Jim", he achieved political power by doing favors. He remained in that role until 1910.^[1]^[3]

His chief political rival was Joe Shannon. Pendergast's faction was called the "goats" because it wanted to climb out of the river bottoms, but Shannon's faction was the "rabbits" because its power base was in the river bottom.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Pendergast married Mary Kline in 1886. She died in 1905.^[1]

Pendergast died on November 10, 1911, at the home of his sister in Kansas City.^[1] He was buried at Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery in Kansas City.^[4]

Legacy

A statue of James Pendergast is on Quality Hill overlooking the West Bottoms.

After Pendergast's death, a statue of him was placed in Mulkey Square overlooking the West Bottoms. It is now in Case Park on Quality Hill.^{[citation needed]}