| Share  William Marcy Tweed  Tweed, William Marcy, 1823–78,
American politician and Tammany leader, b. New York City. A
bookkeeper, he became (1848) a volunteer fireman and as a result
acquired influence in his ward. He was an alderman (1852–53) and
sat (1853–55) in Congress. By 1857 he was a power in Tammany. As
chairman of the Tammany general committee and later as grand
sachem, "Boss" Tweed gained absolute power in the city
Democratic party, controlling party nominations and party
patronage. He also became a state senator in 1868 and extended
his influence into state politics. He engaged in various
business deals, and through political services to Jay Gould and
James Fisk he became a director of the Erie RR. But it was
chiefly from the rich plums plucked through the control of New
York City expenditures that Tweed made his great fortune. For a
time the Tweed Ring, consisting of Tweed and his henchmen—Peter
Sweeny, city chamberlain; Richard B. Connolly, city comptroller;
and A. Oakey Hall, mayor—controlled