pHotograpH of new york avenue
Alice Austen photographed this view of New York Avenue in Clifton on November 2 , 1888 , just four days before the national election . The large banner seen hanging across the street promotes the re-election of Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland for President . Cleveland was defeated in the 1888 election , but won a second term as President in 1892 .
Handbill , “ Citizens arouse !” Articles in the New York Times and other local newspapers in the late 1800s suggest that claims of voting irregularities were not uncommon in Staten Island elections . This handbill , dated November 8 , 1888 , states that fraudulent voting practices , in the form of altered ballots , led to the election of Michael Cahill over John H . Ellsworth as Sheriff of Richmond County . In the end , Ellsworth won the election and served as Sheriff from 1889 through 1891 .
Campaign novelty
This miniature item , less than 2 inches long , is from the campaign for William Henry Harrison for U . S . President in 1840 , with John Tyler as vice president . Harrison was a general who led troops to victory at the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 , in the American Indian Wars . His 1840 political campaign became known in history as the “ log cabin and hard cider campaign ,” portraying the candidate as a populist folk hero . Harrison was elected , but died of pneumonia in April 1841 , one month after taking office .
The STaTen ISland hISTorIan 9