William Chamberlain Duncan (May 18, 1820 – December 19, 1877) was a brewer, politician, and mayor of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Life and politics

Duncan was born in

Lyons, New York Lyons is a town in Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 5,682 at the 2010 census. It is named after Lyon, France.

on May 18, 1820. The family moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

in 1825, and in 1841 Duncan began working as a steward on the passenger steamers crossing the Great Lakes. In 1846, he changed employers and began working on a steamer traveling through

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. In 1849, Duncan moved to Detroit and became a brewer. Duncan was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, and in 1852, he was elected an alderman, serving five years. He was first council president, after a revision of the city charter created that position. He was mayor of Detroit for two years, 1862 and 1863, and in the fall of 1863 was elected to the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

. He began in the banking business in 1865, but soon gave up the trade due to impaired health and to take care of the property he had accumulated and to visit Europe. In 1873, however, Duncan was chosen as a member of the newly created Board of Estimates. In the same year, the city Democratic Party asked him to again be their candidate for mayor, but Duncan declined due to his ill-health. William C. Duncan married Emma J. Hammer who died in 1863. They had a son, Frank C. Duncan, and a daughter, Kate Mary Emma Duncan. After the death of his wife, he married Sara Elizabeth Heath. William C. Duncan died on December 19, 1877.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, William C. 1820 births 1877 deaths Michigan state senators Mayors of Detroit People from Lyons, New York Politicians from Rochester, New York Detroit City Council members 19th-century American legislators