Charles Francis Chidsey (1843-1933) was an American politician who served as the first mayor of

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

from 1887 to 1890 and a

Pennsylvania State Representative The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1896 to 1898.

Early life and education

Chidsey graduated

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

in 1864 and was a veteran of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, serving in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

as a private in the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment and as a first lieutenant for the 38th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Emergency Militia.

Career

Following the end of the

, Chidsey pursued a career in rail and heavy industry, working as a clerk in the

Chicago and Northwestern Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, as secretary of the Warren Foundry and Machine Company, and finally as president of the Eastern Railroad Company. His first political involvement was as president of the Easton School Board, an office he would hold from 1876 through 1877. He was then appointed as the county prison inspector by the

Northampton, Pennsylvania Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Its population was 10,395 as of the 2020 census. Northampton is located north of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, and west of New York City. The borough is part of the Lehigh ...

county executive, and held that office from 1881 to 1886. During this period. he was also first elected to the borough council of Easton, holding that office from 1883 to 1886. He was elected as an alternate delegate for the

1884 Republican National Convention The 1884 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Exposition Hall in Chicago, Illinois, on June 3–6, 1884. It resulted in the nomination of former House Speaker James G. Blaine from Maine for presiden ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

the same year.

Mayor of Easton

Following his time as a councilor, Chidsey was elected the first mayor of Easton in February 1887, taking office on April 4, 1887. He transformed the former Borough's police, fire and electric light departments to enhance their performance and better serve the people of Easton. The department to get the largest reform would be the police which was entirely remodeled and given uniforms. He was mayor during the

Great Blizzard of 1888 The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane (March 11–14, 1888), was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. The storm paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Ba ...

which saw Easton cut off from the outside world. Additionally his mayorship was engaged in a heated legal debate with the descendants of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

over the ownership of the old court house at Centre Circle, with the city prevailing. He constructed a memorial arch to the memory of Governor

George Wolf George Wolf (August 12, 1777March 11, 1840) was the seventh governor of Pennsylvania from 1829 to 1835. On June 29, 1888, he was recognized as the "father of the public-school system" in Pennsylvania by the erection of a memorial gateway at E ...

and sought to turn Easton into a manufacturing hub by giving loans with minimal interest to industrial firms. He did not seek a second term with his term expiring in 1890.

Post-mayoral career

After leaving office Chidsey successfully sought election to the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1896. He did not seek reelection and his term expired in 1898. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

in 1906. He unsuccessfully ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

in 1910, losing the Republican primary to

John Merriman Reynolds John Merriman Reynolds (March 5, 1848 – September 14, 1933) was a lawyer, publisher and politician from the state of Pennsylvania. Early life Reynolds was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, near Quarryville, about twelve miles sou ...

. He was elected as one of the first Easton City Commissioners, and held the office from 1913 to 1916, but did not seek reelection. His last public appearance was in 1931 at a Christmas banquet for

veterans from Easton.

Death

Chidsey died shortly after his 89th Birthday on January 11, 1933, and is buried in

Easton Cemetery Easton Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Easton, Pennsylvania and the burial site of many notable individuals. ''Note:'' This includes The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Easton Cemetery's ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chidsey, Charles F. 1843 births 1933 deaths Lafayette College alumni Mayors of Easton, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans