For the American baseball player, see Jim Curtiss. For those of a similar name, see James Curtis.
James Curtiss
Birth dateMarch 29, 1806
Birth placeWethersfield, Connecticut, U.S.
Death dateNovember 2, 1859 (aged 56)
Death placeJoliet, Illinois, U.S.
Office 1Mayor of Chicago[1]
Order11th & 13th
Term start 1March 12, 1850
Term end 1March 11, 1851
Term start 2March 9, 1847
Term end 2March 14, 1848
Predecessor 1James H. Woodworth
Successor 1Walter S. Gurnee
Predecessor 2John P. Chapin
Successor 2James H. Woodworth
Office 3City Clerk of Chicago[1]
Term start 31842
Term end 31843
Predecessor 3Thomas Hoyne
Successor 3James M. Lowe
Office 4Chicago Alderman[1]
Constituency 43rd ward
Term start 41846
Term end 41847
Alongside 4John S.C. Hogan
Predecessor 4Fancis Edwards/ Francis H. Taylor
Successor 4J. Brinkerhoff/ Benjamin W. Raymond
Constituency 52nd ward
Term start 51838
Term end 51839
Alongside 5John S.C. Hogan
Predecessor 5Peter Bolles/ Francis C. Sherman
Successor 5Eli S. Prescott/ Clement C. Stose
Office 6Clerk of the Court of Cook County
Predecessor 6inaugural officeholder
Term 61845
Office 7State's Attorney
Term 71835
Office 8Town Clerk of Chicago
Term start 81836
Term end 81837
Predecessor 8Ebenezer Peck
Successor 8Isaac N. Arnold (city clerk)
PartyDemocratic Party
SpouseMary Kimball

James Curtiss (also Curtis; March 29, 1806 – November 2, 1859) was an American politician who twice served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1847–1848 and 1850–1851) for the Democratic Party.

Early life

Born on March 29, 1806, in Wethersfield, Connecticut, Curtiss became a printer's apprentice at an early age in Philadelphia.[2] He worked for a time at the Portland Argus, then was printer, and eventually editor and publisher of the Eastport Northern Light, a Jackson Democrat newspaper.[2][3] He married Mary Kimball on May 18, 1830.[4] From 1830 through 1835, he served as a postmaster in Eastport.[5][6] In 1834, Curtiss was under investigation by the Postmaster General for his management of the office.[7]

Political career in Chicago

Curtiss arrived in Chicago from Eastport, Maine, in 1835 and became editor of the Chicago Democrat.[8] Almost immediately after his arrival in Chicago Curtiss began a career of public service.

Shortly after his arrival in Chicago, he was appointed States Attorney for the district north of the Kankakee River.[2] He was appointed to Chicago's first Board of Health.[9] He succeeded Ebenezer Peck as Town Clerk in September 1836.[10] He also opened a short-lived law practice with William Stuart in 1836 named Stuart and Curtiss, which was dissolved the following year.

The Panic of 1837 left a large number of land investors unable to meet their obligations. In hopes of delaying the resulting foreclosures Curtiss and others had unsuccessfully attempted to delay the opening of the Municipal Court that winter.[10][9]

Curtiss was elected alderman for the 2nd ward in 1838. In 1839, he ran in Chicago's third mayoral election, losing to Benjamin Wright Raymond.[10] In 1842, he was elected City Clerk.[10] In 1843, he was made Corresponding Secretary of the Chicago chapter of the Washington Temperance Society.[10] In 1845, the Illinois Legislature created the Court of Cook County and appointed Curtiss as its first clerk.[10][11] In 1846, he was elected as alderman again, this time for the 3rd ward.[10]

First mayoral term

Curtiss became mayor after winning the 1847 election, running a successful campaign against Philo Carpenter (Liberty Party) and John H. Kinzie (Whig). He was sworn in on March 9, 1847.[12]

He lost his bid for reelection in 1848, being defeated by James Hutchinson Woodworth (an independent Democrat who ran on a fusion ticket supported by Whigs and Democrats). His tenure ended on March 14, 1848, when Woodworth succeeded him in office.[13]

During Curtiss' tenure Chicago's first telegraph line opened on January 11, 1848, and the Chicago Board of Trade was established.[14]

Second mayoral term

Curtiss returned to the mayor's office after winning the 1850 Chicago mayoral election, defeating Levi Day Boone and Lewis C. Kerchival (both of these challengers being Democrats without formal party nomination).[15] He was sworn in on March 12, 1850.[16]

Curtiss was again defeated in his bid for reelection, losing the 1851 election to Walter S. Gurnee. His tenure ended on March 11, 1851, when he was succeed in office by Gurnee.[17]

In 1852, he sought to unseat Gurnee, but again lost.[18]

Retirement from politics

Retiring from politics, Curtiss moved to West Urbana (now Champaign) Illinois in 1855, and took up farming.[9][2][19]

Death

Curtiss died on November 2, 1859, in Joliet, Illinois, after a long illness.[4] His funeral was held at the Second Presbyterian Church on Wabash Avenue following the Odd Fellows rites.[2] Originally buried in City Cemetery, when the Cemetery was moved to make way for Lincoln Park, his remains were lost.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Centennial List of Mayors, City Clerks, City Attorneys, City Treasurers, and Aldermen, elected by the people of the city of Chicago, from the incorporation of the city on March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1937, arranged in alphabetical order, showing the years during which each official held office.". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Hon. James Curtiss". Chicago Press and Tribune. November 4, 1859. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-11-15. – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Joseph Griffin (ed.) (1872), "A History of the Press of Maine", Brunswick: Press of J. Griffin, pp. 148–149
  4. ^ Morrison, Leonard Allison & Stephen Paschall Sharples (1897). History of the Kimball family in America, from 1634 to 1897 : and of its ancestors the Kemballs or Kemboldes of England; with an account of the Kembles of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston: Damrell & Upham.
  5. ^ United States Official Postal Guide. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 1831. p. 9.
  6. ^ Official Register of the United States. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 1835. pp. 7
  7. ^ Niles, William Ogden (1834). Niles' Weekly Register. Vol. 46. Washington, DC: H. Niles. p. 304.
  8. ^ Hurlbut, Henry Higgins (1881), "Chicago Antiquities", Chicago, IL: Chicago, p. 644
  9. ^ Chicago's Mayors: A Collection of Biographies Of All Chicago’s Mayors by Elaine C. Shigley (Chapter nine)
  10. ^ Andreas, A.T. (1884), "History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time", Vol. 1, Chicago, IL: A.T. Andreas
  11. ^ Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
  12. ^ "Mayor James Curtiss Inaugural Address, 1847". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth Inaugural Address, 1848". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  14. ^ Merriner 2004, p. 23.
  15. ^ "Biography of Mayor Curtiss at Chicago Public Library". Chicago Public Library. 2002. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  16. ^ "Mayor James Curtiss Inaugural Address, 1850". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Mayor Walter S. Gurnee Inaugural Address, 1851". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Biography of Mayor Gurnee at Chicago Public Library". Chicago Public Library. 2002. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  19. ^ "Ninth Annual Reunion of the Association of the Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point NY", Chicago, IL: A.S. Barnes and Co, 1878
  20. ^ Kestenbaum, Lawrence (1996–2010). "Curtiss to Cushin". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2011-01-25.

Works cited