Stephen Palfrey Webb

For other people named Stephen Webb, see Stephen Webb (disambiguation).

Stephen Palfrey Webb
12th Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts
In office
1860–1862
Preceded byNathaniel Silsbee Jr.
Succeeded byStephen G. Wheatland
5th Mayor of San Francisco
In office
October 2, 1854 – June 30, 1855
Preceded byCornelius Kingsland Garrison
Succeeded byJames Van Ness
3rd Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts
In office
1842–1845
Preceded byStephen C. Phillips
Succeeded byJoseph S. Cabot
Personal details
Born(1804-03-20)March 20, 1804
Salem, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 29, 1879(1879-09-29) (aged 75)
Salem, Massachusetts
Political partyWhig
Republican
Spouse(s)Hannah Hunt Beckford Robinson, June 9, 1805[1]
Alma materHarvard

Stephen Palfrey Webb (March 20, 1804 – September 29, 1879) was an American politician who served as the third and twelfth mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and the 5th mayor of San Francisco, California.

Early life and education

Stephen Palfrey Webb was born to Captain Stephen Webb and Sara Putnam Palfrey Webb in Salem, Massachusetts on March 20, 1804.[1] Webb graduated from Harvard College in 1824 and studied law with John Glen King.

Career

Webb was admitted to the Essex County Bar in 1826 and began his practice of law in Salem.[1]

Webb served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate. He was elected mayor of Salem, Massachusetts in 1842, 1843, and 1844.[2][3] Webb was also Treasurer and Clerk of the Essex Railroad in 1849.[4]

Webb moved to San Francisco in approximately 1853 and was elected mayor for a single term with backing from the Know Nothing movement in 1854. He prepared a report about the vigilance committees in 1874 entitled A Sketch of the Causes, Operations and Results of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in 1856.[5]

Webb returned to Salem and was again elected mayor in 1860, 1861, and 1862,[2][3] and served as City Clerk from 1863 to 1870. He then retired to Brookline, Massachusetts.[6]

Personal life

On May 26, 1834, Webb married Hannah Hunt Beckford Robinson.[1] They had one daughter, Caroline B. Webb, in about 1846.[7] Webb died in Brookline, Massachusetts on September 29, 1879.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Essex Institute (1878), Essex Institute Historical Collections, Volume XV, July and October, 1878. Nos 3, 4, Salem, Ma.: The Essex Institute, p. 296
  2. ^ a b City Council of Salem, Massachusetts. "City of Salem, MA - Mayors of Salem". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Volume 1, Issue 1. Pg. 227. Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co., 1888.
  4. ^ Massachusetts General Court. Miscellaneous documents on the railroads of Massachusetts. Pg. 18. RareBooksClub.com, 2012
  5. ^ Webb, Stephen Palfrey. A Sketch of the Causes, Operations and Results of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in 1856. Aeterna, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Volume 1, Issue 1. Pg. xvi. Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co., 1888.
  7. ^ United States Federal Census, Massachusetts Vital Records