Boston City Council (1822–1909)

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Boston City Council
Type
Type
HousesBoston Board of Aldermen
Boston Common Council
History
FoundedMay 1, 1822
Disbanded1909
Preceded byBoston Board of Selectmen
Succeeded byBoston City Council (unicameral)
SeatsChanged over time
Constitution
Boston City Charter (1822)

From 1822 until 1909, Boston's legislative body was bicameral, with a Board of Aldermen that was elected at-large and a much larger Common Council that was elected from multi-member electoral districts (wards). This city legislature was replaced in 1909 with the unicameral body that is the modern Boston City Council.

Description[edit]

Prior to 1822, Boston was governed by the Boston Board of Selectmen. Boston voted in 1822 to incorporate as a city and adopted the Boston City Charter. On May 1, 1822, the Boston Board of Selectmen ceremonially handed over the city to the new government consisting of the newly-established City Council newly-established mayoralty.[1]

Under this original Boston City Charter, between 1822 and 1909, the city's legislative body was bicameral. This legislature, known as the Boston City Council, consisted of a Board of Aldermen that was elected at-large and a much larger Common Council with members that was elected from multi-member wards.[2][3][4] This Boston City Council existed along with mayoralty that was established by the charter.[2]

When the Boston City Charter was rewritten in 1909, the Boston City Council was recreated as a nine-member unicameral body.[3]

Common Council[edit]

Presidents of the Boston Common Council[edit]

The Common Council was led by a president. The following table chronologically lists the tenures of individuals in this position:

Presidents of the Boston Common Council (1822–1909)[5]
Name Tenure
William Prescott Jr. 1822
John Welles 1823
Francis Johonnot Oliver 1824–1825
John Richardson Adan 1826–1828
Elliphalet Williams 1829
Benjamin T. Pickman 1830–1831
John P. Bigelow 1832
Josiah Quincy Jr. 1834–1836
Philip Marett 1837–1840
Edward Blake 1841–1843
Peleg Chandler 1844–1845
George Stillman Hillard 1846–1847
Benjamin Seaver 1847–1849
Francis Brinley 1850–1851
Henry Gardner 1852–1853
Alexander H. Rice 1854
Joseph Story 1855
Oliver Stevens 1856–1857
Samuel Wallace Waldron 1858
Josiah Putnam Bradlee 1859–1860
Joseph Hildreth Bradley 1861
Joshua Dorsey Ball 1862
George Silsbee Hale 1863–1864
William Bentley Fowle Jr. 1865
Joseph Story 1866
Weston Lewis 1867
Charles Hastings Allen 1868
William Giles Harris 1869
Melville E. Ingalls 1870
Matthias Rich 1871
Marquis Fayette Dickinson Jr. 1872
Edward Olcott Shepard 1873–1874
Halsey Joseph Boardman 1875
John Q. A. Brackett 1876
Benjamin Pope 1877–1878
William Henry Whitmore 1879
Harvey Newton Shepard 1880
Andrew Jackson Bailey 1881
Charles Edward Pratt 1881–1882
James Joseph Flynn 1883
John Henry Lee 1884
Edward John Jenkins 1885–1886
David Franklin Barry 1886–1888
Horace G. Allen 1889–1890
David Frankin Barry 1891
Christopher Francis O'Brien 1894–1895
Joseph A. Conry 1896–1897
Timothy Lawrence Connolly 1898
Daniel Joseph Kiley 1899–1901
Arthur Walter Dolan 1902–1905
William John Barrett 1906–1907
Leo F. McCullough 1908
George C. McCabe 1909[6]

Board of Aldermen[edit]

Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen[edit]

The Board of Aldermen was led by a chairman. The following table chronologically lists the tenures of individuals in this role:

Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen[5]
Name Tenure
Benson Leavitt
William Washburn 1855
Phelham Bonney 1856–1857
Joseph Wrightman 1858
Silas Peirce 1859
Otis Clapp 1860
Silas Peirce 1861
Thomas Philiips Rich 1862
Thomas Coffin Amory 1863
Otis Norcross 1864
George Washington Messinger 1865–1866 (1)
Charles Wesley Slack 1867
George Washington Messinger 1868 (2)
Benjamin James 1869
Newton Talbot 1870
Charles Edward Jenkins 1871
Samuel Little 1872
Leonard R. Cutter 1873
John Taylor Clark 1874–1877
Solomon B. Stebbins 1878 (1)
Hugh O'Brien 1879–1881 (1)
Solomon B. Stebbins 1882 (2)
Hugh O'Brien 1883 (2)
Charles Varney Whitten 1884–1885
Charles Hastings Allen 1886 (1)
Patrick John Donovan 1887
Charles Hastings Allen 1888 (2)
Homer Rogers 1889
William Power Wilson 1890
Herbert Shaw Carruth 1891
John Henry Lee 1892–1893 (1)
Alpheus Sanford 1894–1895
John Henry Lee 1896
Perlie Appleton Dyar 1897–1898
Joseph A. Conry 1898
David Franklin Barry 1899
Michael Joseph O'Brien 1900
James Henry Doyle 1901–1904
Daniel A. Whelton 1905
Charles Martin Draper 1906
Edward L. Cauley 1906
William Berwin 1907
Louis M. Clark 1908
James Michael Curley (acting chairman) 1909[7]
Frederick J. Brand 1909[8]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Boston Celebrates 200 Years". Boston.gov. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Boston (Mass.). Common Council | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.cityofboston.gov. Boston Archives. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b O'Connor, T.H. (1997). Boston Irish: A Political History. New York: Back Bay Books.
  4. ^ Devine, John. "Research Guides: Boston (City) Departmental Reports: City Council Proceedings". guides.bpl.org. Boston Public Library. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: Also of Various Other Town and Municipal Officers". City of Boston Printing Department. 1909. pp. 45–48, 57–183. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  6. ^ "The Common Council's President". Boston Evening Transcript. January 15, 1909. Retrieved 1 November 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Curley Names Committees". Boston Evening Transcript. January 19, 1909. Retrieved 31 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Chairman of the Aldermen". The Boston Globe. January 26, 1909. Retrieved 31 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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