Sheridan Shook

Sheridan Shook (d. 1899) was a businessman and tax collector who was prominent in New York City in the latter half of the 19th century.

[2] At the age of fourteen, Shook moved to New York City and began working for a butter and cheese merchant.

[1] Ten years later, when the merchant stepped down from his position as proprietor of the business, Shook took his place in operating the store.

[1] In 1875, the firm leased the Brooklyn Theatre, which they managed until it was lost in a very deadly fire the following year.

[1] Shook was a close political associate of Thurlow Weed,[1][2] Chester A. Arthur (U.S. president, 1881–1885),[1] Thomas Murphy,[2] Clarence W. Meade (police magistrate), John R. Nugent, and Jacob Hess (New York City police commissioner).

Thurlow Weed testified that Shook had been part of a group that was determined to prevent a guilty vote against Johnson.

[7] In 1884, Shook supported the presidential campaign of James G. Blaine, but was unable to attend the nominating convention due to illness.

In his later years, he served a long tenure as the representative to the state Republican Party's executive committee for the fifteenth assembly district.

[3] In approximately 1866,[citation needed] Shook married Laura Adelize Mowbray, who he had met while she was working as the superintendent of the St. Nicholas Hotel.

[1] After his death, the Philadelphia Times recounted that he had been a heavy drinker of alcoholic drinks (preferring gin) and also a frequent gambler.

[2] Shook died at a personal residence of his in Red Hook, New York on April 27, 1899[1][8] at approximately 77 years of age.