Samuel Starkweather

Samuel Starkweather
Samuel Starkweather
7th and 15th Mayor of Cleveland
	In office; 1844–1845
Preceded by	Nelson Hayward
Succeeded by	George Hoadley
	In office; 1857–1858
Preceded by	William B. Castle
Succeeded by	George B. Senter
Personal details
Born	December 27, 1799; Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Died	July 5, 1876 (aged 76); Cleveland, Ohio
Resting place	Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Julia Judd
Children	four
Alma mater	Brown University

Samuel Starkweather (December 27, 1799 – July 5, 1876) was the seventh mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1844 to 1845 and the fifteenth mayor of Cleveland from 1857 to 1858.

Starkweather was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to Oliver and Miriam (Clay) Starkweather. He graduated from Brown College in 1822, tutored there until 1824, and then left to study law in Windham, Connecticut. Starkweather was admitted to the bar in Columbus in 1826. Starkweather moved to Cleveland soon after and joined the Cleveland Grays in 1837, where he took a prominent position in Cleveland politics. Starkweather was elected mayor in 1844, won reelection in 1845, and again in 1857 for a 2-year term. He was the first judge of the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas elected under the new Constitution and served a 5-year term. Starkweather helped establish the first high school in Cleveland. He also promoted railroads in Cleveland and helped establish the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad.

He was collector of the ports of Cleveland, and built a lighthouse of which he was superintendent in 1831. The US Treasury paid him $4,997.00 on the lighthouse and $113.30 for expenditures for it. The land cost $1,000.00. He also built a lighthouse on Turtle Island, Lake Erie, Port Clinton OH in 1832 for which the US Government paid him $1,068.43. The US Government also paid him in 1831 for the support and maintenance of the lighthouses, floating lights, beacons, buoys, and stakeages. He also built or established a marine hospital on which the US Treasury paid him $147.17.

Starkweather married Julia Judd on June 25, 1828. Their 4 children were Sarah, Samuel, William, and Julia. Starkweather is buried in Lake View Cemetery.

References

The Encyclopedia Of Cleveland History by Cleveland Bicentennial Commission (Cleveland, Ohio), David D. Van Tassel (Editor), and John J. Grabowski (Editor) ISBN 0-253-33056-4
Starkweather, Carlton Lee, M.D. Robert Starkweather and his Descendants, Knapp, Peck and Thomson, 1904.

External links

Samuel Starkweather at Find a Grave

Political offices
Preceded by Nelson Hayward	Mayor of Cleveland 1844–1845	Succeeded by George Hoadley
Preceded by William B. Castle	Mayor of Cleveland 1857–1858	Succeeded by George B. Senter