Jonathan Trotter
Jonathan Trotter | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1797 Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Died | Error: Need valid birth date (second date): year, month, day |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, public official |
| Years active | 1818–1865 |
| Known for | Mayor of Brooklyn (1835–1837), president of Atlantic Bank of Brooklyn, vice-president of Leather Manufacturers Bank |
Jonathan Trotter (circa 1797 – April 5, 1865) was an English-born American entrepreneur and public official.
Life
Trotter was born approximately in 1797 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He emigrated to the United States in 1818, establishing residence in New York City. His early occupation involved working as a morocco leather dresser on Roosevelt Street. By 1825, he initiated the construction of a leather dressing facility in the village of Brooklyn, and he moved there in 1829, where his enterprise flourished.
In 1833, Trotter secured election as a trustee of Brooklyn. Following Brooklyn’s incorporation as a city in 1834, he was chosen alderman representing the 4th ward. Between 1835 and 1837, he served as Brooklyn’s second Mayor of Brooklyn, during which time he oversaw the laying of the cornerstone for the initial Brooklyn City Hall.
After suffering financial losses during the Panic of 1837, Trotter returned to Manhattan in 1840. He became a member of the Board of Assistant Aldermen and held the position of board president in both 1852 and 1853. Notably, he was a survivor of the 1853 Norwalk rail accident. Subsequently, he was appointed first clerk at the Street Commissioner’s office in 1858 and later named Collector of Assessments in 1859.
Affiliated with the Democratic Party and serving as a sachem within the Tammany Society, Trotter also held leadership roles in banking, including being the inaugural president of the Atlantic Bank of Brooklyn and vice-president of New York’s Leather Manufacturers Bank.
He passed away on April 5, 1865, and his remains were interred at Green-Wood Cemetery.