by Clare Martin, Glucksman Ireland House, New York University

© Clare Martin, 2024. All rights reserved.

In 1853, the Shakespeare Hotel was located at 13 Hudson Avenue, in the heart of Brooklyn’s Irishtown.^[1] The building itself was made out of wood, which would have indicated it was older than some of the more solid, more valuable brick structures that lined the neighborhood in the mid-19th century.^[2] Located across the street from the massive gas works and their stables, and down the street from chemical works and lead works, it was likely that guests or residents woke up and fell asleep to the sounds and smells of industry that dominated Brooklyn’s Navy Yard district, at the corner of Hudson and Marshall.^[3] However, they had easy access to Manhattan by ferry as well as a gorgeous view of the sunset over the East River, just two blocks from the hotel’s door.^[4]

In 1853, the hotel housed two permanent residents in addition to visiting guests who passed through; John Adair and Mott Wright.^[5] By 1855, Wright was a boarder living with the Gage family in the 5th ward.^[6] The head of household, Edward H. Gage, was listed as a Tavern-keeper.^[7] He ran several Brooklyn public houses throughout his life, including this one, on Hudson Avenue, in the year 1852, which was probably known as The Shakespeare Hotel.^[8] The Shakespeare Hotel was one of twenty six taverns granted a liquor license among some eighty-odd applicants in Brooklyn—and the only public house in the 5th Ward to be granted such a privilege.^[9]

This situated Gage in a unique and advantageous position as he was able to legally sell “strong or spiritous liquors” when other establishments in the neighborhood could not. This was a competitive edge over neighboring establishments that doubled as a community gathering place, and further explains why Gage might think of himself primarily as a tavern-keeper. Additionally, The Shakespeare Hotel came to house multiple constables of the 5th Ward, so it was of the utmost importance that Gage keep his business above-board.^[10]

In 1853, Mott Wright was Brooklyn’s 5th Ward’s constable.^[11] Though he had an established and public-facing position in the community, Wright, a widower, was living with the Gages.^[12] At age 40, no longer with a wife to keep him company and help with household responsibilities, Wright might have been incentivized to live in a communal setting rather than facing an empty house. Himself, as well as many others with a deceased spouse in mid-19th century Brooklyn, chose to call hotels home for a time.^[13] It is noteworthy that of this group, many were women, and some had Irish last names.^[14] Wright seems to have made quite an impression on fellow border John Adair, because Adair, too, ran for constable of the 5th Ward in both 1855 and 1856.^[15] Wright did not run in the 1855 or 1856 election, so the two men never competed. Adair was initially unsuccessful in both elections, but won by default in 1855 after his victorious opponent withdrew at the last minute.^[16] Remarkably, in a three-year period, two permanent residents of the Shakespeare Hotel served as the local constable.^[17]

The Shakespeare Hotel was active when Irishtown was home to many Irish immigrants. Although Wright and Gage were American-born, all but one of the “John Adair”s living in Brooklyn in 1855 were from Ireland; one was Scottish.^[18] In 1848, a convention of Irish Nationalists in Brooklyn gathered in response to the arrest of Irish Nationalist writer and editor John Mitchel, and on their route of marching and communing through the Fort Greene neighborhood and along the Catherine Ferry was The Shakespeare Hotel.^[19]

Though the hotel was owned and operated by an American-born citizen, it was a space for Irish individuals and for Irish community among the bustle of a diverse, working-class community in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. The presence of Irish nationalism in Irishtown is unsurprising; working-class Irish immigrants were the most likely group of Irish immigrants to support the Irish national cause.^[20] Meetings in support of the Fenian Brotherhood were also held on the corner of Front and Gold Streets and at “Fenian Hall” at 185 York street as well as the Shakespeare Hotel.^[21]

^[1] Mott Wright, Hearne’s Brooklyn City Directory for 1853-1854 (Brooklyn: Henry R. & William J. Hearne, 1853), p. 580. Google Books.

^[2] “Plate 3: Map bounded by East River, Brooklyn Navy Yard, York Street, Bridge Street,” Image ID 1268419. New York Public Library Digital Collections.

^[3] “Plate 3: Map bounded by East River, Brooklyn Navy Yard, York Street, Bridge Street.”

^[4] “Plate 3: Map bounded by East River, Brooklyn Navy Yard, York Street, Bridge Street.”

^[5] Hearne’s Brooklyn City Directory for 1853-1854, p. 19 and 580.

^[6] Mott Wright, Household 446, King’s County (Brooklyn City), Ward 5, ED 1, p. 23. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

^[7] Edward H. Gage, Household 446, King’s County (Brooklyn City), Ward 5, ED 1, p. 22. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

^[8] “The Liquor Traffic in Brooklyn,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Jun. 16, 1853, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50252871/?match=1&terms=“Edward%20Gage”

^[9] “Tavern License,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Jul. 23, 1852, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50251723/?match=1&terms=“Edward%20Gage”

^[10] “Ward Nominations,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Nov. 2, 1853, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50450584/?match=1&terms=“Mott%20Wright”

^[11] Hearne’s Brooklyn City Directory for 1853-1854, p. 580.

^[12] Mott Wright, Household 446, King’s County (Brooklyn City), Ward 5, ED 1, p. 23.

^[13] Hearne’s Brooklyn City Directory for 1853-1854, p. 139 and 189.

^[14] Hearne’s Brooklyn City Directory for 1853-1854, p. 189.

^[15] “City of Brooklyn—Official Canvass,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Nov. 27, 1858, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024.  https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50417213/?match=1&terms=“John%20Adair; “Political—Fifth Ward Democratic Nominations,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Oct. 23, 1855, p. 3. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50253946/?match=1&terms=“John%20Adair.

^[16] “City of Brooklyn—Official Canvass”;“Political—Fifth Ward Democratic Nominations.”

^[17] “Regular Session,” Brooklyn Evening Star, Nov. 27, 1855, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/118185510/?match=1&terms=“John%20Adair”.

^[18] John Adair, Household 1075, King’s County (Brooklyn City), Ward 5, ED 1, p. 63. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013; John Adair, Household 824, King’s County (Brooklyn City), Ward 5, ED 1, p. 41. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

^[19] “Meeting on Fort Greene,” Brooklyn Evening Star, Jun. 21, 1848, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/117458778/?match=1&terms=“Shakespeare%20Hotel.

^[20] Kevin Kenny, “American-Irish Nationalism” in Making the Irish American, ed. Marion R. Casey and Joseph Lee (New York University Press, 2006), 291-292.

^[21] “Fifth Ward Musketeers,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Aug. 29, 1868, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50427735/?match=1&terms=%22185%20york%20%22;  “Special Notices,” The Brooklyn Eagle, Jun. 4 1866, p. 2. Accessed 3 December 2024. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50409548/?match=1&terms=%22“thomas%20maxwell”%22