Tunis Van Pelt Talmage (July 24, 1832 – November 28, 1909) was an American businessman and politician from New York.
Life
Talmage was born on July 24, 1832, in Clinton, New Jersey, the son of Thomas Goyn Talmage and Dorothy Miller. He grew up in New York City until he was eight, after which he lived in Brooklyn. His father was Mayor of Brooklyn, and his uncle Jacob W. Miller was a United States Senator from New Jersey. Among his cousins were attorney George Macculloch Miller and clergyman John Van Nest Talmage and Thomas De Witt Talmage.
Talmage attended the New Brunswick Grammar School in New Jersey.
Career
In 1849, he moved to San Francisco and worked in the general merchandise establishment of Talmage, Green & Co. Two years later, he returned to Brooklyn and obtained a contract to pave and grade the streets. After seven years in that business, he established himself in the coal business. In 1860, he was elected supervisor of the Eighth Ward. A year later, he served on the committee of volunteers that relieved families of soldiers killed in the American Civil War. In 1862, he was elected alderman from the Eighth Ward, and in 1864 he was re-elected and made president of the board.
