Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker", was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. son of Eyre Coote Croker (1800–1881) and Frances Laura Welsted (1807–1894). He was taken to the United States by his parents when he was just two years old. They boarded the Henry Clay in Cobh, County Cork and headed for the land of opportunity.
There were significant differences between this family and the typical family leaving Ireland at that time. They were Protestant, and were not land tenants. Eyre Coote Croker owned an estate in Ardfield, in southwest Cork. Upon arrival in the United States, Eyre Coote Croker was without a profession, but he had a general knowledge of horses and soon became a veterinary surgeon. During the Civil War, he served in that same capacity under General Daniel Sickles. He joined one of the Volunteer Fire Departments in 1863, becoming an engineer of one of the engine companies. That was his gateway into public life.
Croker's greatest political success was his bringing about the 1897 election of Robert A. Van Wyck as first mayor of the five-borough "greater" New York, and during Van Wyck's administration Croker is popularly supposed to have completely dominated the government of the city.
Croker was in the newspapers in 1899 after a disagreement with Jay Gould's son, George Gould, president of the Manhattan Elevated Railroad Company, when Gould refused Croker's attempt to attach compressed-air pipes to the Elevated company's structures. Croker owned many shares of the New York Auto-Truck Company, which would have benefited from the arrangement. In response to the refusal, Croker used Tammany influence to create new city laws requiring drip pans under structures in Manhattan at every street crossing and the requirement that the railroad run trains every five minutes with a $100 violation for every instance. Croker also held 2,500 shares of the American Ice Company, worth approximately $250,000, which came under scrutiny in 1900 when the company attempted to raise the price of ice in the city.
After Croker's failure to carry the city in the 1900 presidential election and the defeat of his mayoralty candidate, Edward M. Shepard in 1901, he resigned from his position of leadership in Tammany and was succeeded by Lewis Nixon. Croker departed the United States in 1905. An associate described Croker as having "[a] strong frame, a deep chest, a short neck and a pair of hard fists.... He speaks in monosyllables, [and] commands a vocabulary that appears to be limited to about three hundred words...."
In 1907, his horse Orby won Britain's most prestigious race, The Derby. Orby was ridden by American jockey John Reiff, whose brother Lester had won the race in 1901. Croker was also the breeder of Orby's son Grand Parade, who won the Derby in 1919.
Death
Croker returned to Ireland in 1905 and bought an estate in Malahide, county Dublin where he bred horses. He died on April 29, 1922, at Glencairn House, his home in Stillorgan outside Dublin.
His funeral, celebrated by South African bishop William Miller, drew some of Dublin's most eminent citizens; the pallbearers were Arthur Griffith, the President of Dáil Éireann; Laurence O'Neill, the Lord Mayor of Dublin; Oliver St. John Gogarty; Joseph MacDonagh; A.H. Flauley, of Chicago; and J.E. Tierney. Michael Collins, Chairman of the Provisional Government, was represented by Kevin O'Shiel; the Lord Lieutenant, Viscount FitzAlan, was represented by his under-secretary, James MacMahon.
Family
Croker married twice; first, in 1873, to Elizabeth Fraser. They had several children.
thumb|right|Beulah Croker, outside [[Glencairn House, their house in Stillorgan, 1921 or 1922]]
He married Bula Benson Edmondson in November 1914 when he was 71 years old. She was of American Indian descent, her tribal name being Ketaw Kaluntuchy.
Disputed will
Croker left an estate estimated to $3–5 million to his second wife, Beulah, disinheriting his estranged children. He had converted to Catholicism shortly before his death but this does not appear to have played a role in his disinheriting his children. A note in his handwriting, dated at Glencairn, November 15, 1919 read as follows:
Croker's other surviving children, Richard, Ethel, and Howard, unsuccessfully challenged the will in a celebrated probate lawsuit in the Court of King's Bench in Ireland. The widow and children had related lawsuits in the United States.