Talk:Cornelius Heeney

Cornelius Heeney edits

I am going to be reorganizing this article a bit to include the most important facts about his life, such as the fact he was the first Catholic to hold public office in New York, in the first paragraph of the article. Also, I am also going to separating the two most important aspects, which are how he obtained his wealth as well as his professional life and his connection with the Catholic church, to be easier to read. Finally, I am going to work on the word choice and structure to make it flow properly.These goals will be done by taking the next to last sentence "He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1818 to 1822, and was the first Catholic to hold elected office in New York State." after the first sentence. Also, I will be combining all information relating to John Astor and his professional work into its own paragraph. I'm adding a few minor details from a source by Charles Morris. After that, I will detail his contributions to the Catholic church. My final intended edit will be listed underneath this outline with the changes in bold.

Cornelius Heeney (1754 in King's County, Ireland – May 3, 1848 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York) was an Irish-American merchant and politician. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1818 to 1822, and was the first Catholic to hold elected office in New York State. He was a partner with the Astor family and founder of the Brooklyn Benevolent Society.[2][3][4] Heeney immigrated from Ireland at the age of 30, first to Philadelphia and later to New York. "He is remembered for his political career in New York and charitable contributions to the Catholic church."

While working for a Quaker merchant in lower Manhattan, he met John Jacob Astor. When the merchant retired, he left his business to Heeney and Astor. The two remained in business together for a short time, but Heeney eventually opened his own fur trading establishment.[1] It is said that Heeney owned most of downtown Brooklyn when he died. (new source will be cited here)

Heeney remained a bachelor his entire life, and donated much of his money to Catholic charitable causes throughout New York City. He was instrumental in the founding of the first Catholic Church in New York, St. Peter's, and served as one of the early trustees of the parish. He contributed money for the construction of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and gave both money and land for the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. Heeney also served as guardian to the future cardinal of New York, John McCloskey, after the death of his father.[1]

new source: American Catholic: The Saints and Sinners Who Built America's Most Powerful Church by Charles Morris

Abbykj (talk) 20:20, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

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