Josiah Trowbridge (1785–1862) was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, serving in 1837. He was born in

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on September 29, 1785. In 1808 or 1809, he was licensed to practice as a physician and began work in

Weathersfield, Vermont Weathersfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,842 at the 2020 census. History The town of Weathersfield was named for Wethersfield, Connecticut, the home of some of its earliest settlers. The Connectic ...

. He arrived at Buffalo in 1811. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, he joined the Buffalo Light Artillery Company and tended to the wounded during the first assault on Black Rock and during the burning of the village on December 31, 1813, Trowbridge was one of the last to leave, helping to secure the safety of the women and children. On September 22, 1813, he married Margaret Wintermute of Fort Erie, Ontario. He was among the many of Buffalo's early pioneers who suffered from the economic collapse of 1836—1837, and from the speculation of Benjamin Rathbun. In 1816, he was elected as the first

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of the Village of Buffalo, then elected Supervisor of Buffalo in 1823, 1825, and 1827. He was elected mayor by the Common council and accepted the office of Mayor on March 14, 1837. During his term, several new positions with the city were created, including superintendent of schools and the office of police justice. Also during his short term, the Canadian revolutionary movement, or "

Patriot War The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and December 1838. This so-called war was not a conflic ...

" resulted in so much unrest in the city that it was becoming difficult to keep order. On June 17, 1837 he took a leave of absence and resigned as mayor on December 21, 1837. The council appointed Alderman Pierre A. Barker as mayor ''pro tem''. Trowbridge resumed his medical practice and was actively engaged in his profession for 50 years. In 1839 he was president, and from 1843 to 1853, librarian, of the Erie County Medical Society and, in 1845, served as the first president of the Buffalo Medical Association. In 1847, was elected the first President of the

Buffalo General Hospital John R. Oishei Children's Hospital (viewed from Ellicott Street in 2017) Kaleida Health, founded in 1998, is a not-for-profit healthcare network that manages five hospitals in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Prior to the merger of ...

and was on the medical board of the Buffalo Hospital of the

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. He died September 13, 1862, and was buried from St. Paul's Cathedral to Forest Lawn Cemetery.

References

1785 births 1862 deaths Mayors of Buffalo, New York Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians {{BuffaloNY-stub