Harvey Doolittle Colvin (December 18, 1815 – April 16, 1892) was an American politician. Colvin is best remembered for his stint as mayor of

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

from 1873 to 1875 as a member of the People's Party, a pro-liquor factional offshoot of the Republican Party centered in that city.

Biography

Early years

Harvey Doolittle Colvin was born December 18, 1815, in

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

, New York.

Political career

Immediately prior to serving as Chicago's mayor, Colvin served as the city's treasurer. In the 1873 Chicago mayoral election, he ran against acting mayor Lester L. Bond and won with 60% of the vote. Colvin was sworn as mayor on December 1, 1873. One month after taking office as mayor, Colvin was met with a mass demonstration at City Hall when more than 12,000 unemployed workers marched for jobs and relief. The crowd dispersed after being promised the city would provide relief when an alderman offered to buy them food throughout the winter if the city would reimburse him. Colvin's administration repealed a Sunday ban on liquor sales which his predecessor,

Joseph Medill Joseph Medill (April 6, 1823March 16, 1899) was a Canadian-American newspaper editor, publisher, and Republican Party politician. He was co-owner and managing editor of the ''Chicago Tribune'', and he was Mayor of Chicago from after the Great Chi ...

and Bond supported. In 1874, Colvin's administration was rocked by allegations of patronage and a scandal in the city treasurer's office. Colvin was mayor at the time of the Chicago Fire of 1874, which occurred on July 14, and his administration had to coordinate the response both to the fire and to an outraged fire insurance industry that blamed the city in the wake of the fire for its negligence in coordination of fire prevention. When the city council called for elections following the adoption of the Cities and Villages Act of 1872 in 1875, they left the office of mayor off the list of offices for the election. Despite this,

Thomas Hoyne His Honor, the Mayor, Thomas Hoyne, Esquire (February 11, 1817July 27, 1883) was elected Mayor of Chicago in 1876, but his election was later declared null and void by a Circuit Court. Prior to 1876, Hoyne had led a political career in which h ...

ran for the office and was elected. Colvin, however, refused to vacate the office and retained the title and position of mayor despite Hoyne's inauguration, partly due to the support of the city comptroller. Grave of Harvey Doolittle Colvin (1815–1892) at Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

Grave of Harvey Doolittle Colvin (1815–1892) at Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

In 1876, a state judge ordered a special election be held later in the year. Monroe Heath, the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate beat his two rivals, James J. McGrath of the Democratic Party, and Mark Kimball of Colvin's now discredited People's Party. Heath was sworn in as Colvin's successor on July 24, 1876.

Death and legacy

Colvin died in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

on April 16, 1892. His body was buried in

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is an American garden cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. According to legend, the name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the a ...

in Chicago.

Footnotes

1815 births 1892 deaths Burials at Rosehill Cemetery Mayors of Chicago 19th-century American politicians People from Herkimer County, New York {{Chicago-stub