Sheldon Thompson (1785–1851) 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 1840–1841. He was born in

Derby, Connecticut Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. It borders the cities of Anson ...

on July 2, 1785. In early 1810, he moved to

Lewiston, New York Lewiston is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named after Morgan Lewis, a governor of New York. The Town of Lewiston is on the western bord ...

where he entered into the shipbuilding business and mercantile trade along the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

with Senior Partner, Jacob Townsend and Alvin Bronson.. He also entered the salt trade from the Onondaga salt mines. In April 1811, he married Catharine Barton. His daughter Sally Ann married

Henry K. Smith Henry Kendall Smith (1811–1854) was Mayor of the City of Buffalo, New York, serving 1850–1851. He was born on April 2, 1811, in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. In 1819, he was sent to Baltimore, Maryland, for education and then moved to New York ...

a future mayor of the city. Around 1816 or 1817, Thompson moved to Black Rock, and promoted the village which was in direct competition with Buffalo for the western terminus of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

. By 1830, Thompson moved to Buffalo and became a principal

freight forwarder A freight forwarder, or forwarding agent, is a person or company who, for a fee organizes shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from the manufacturer or producer to a market, customer or final point of distribution.

. On March 8, 1840, Sheldon Thompson became the first mayor elected by the people. In 1845, he retired from active business life and occupied himself with the management of his estate. He died in Buffalo on March 13, 1851, and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

References

1785 births 1851 deaths Mayors of Buffalo, New York Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians People from Lewiston, New York {{BuffaloNY-stub