Stephen Palfrey Webb (March 20, 1804 – September 29, 1879) was an American politician who served as the third and twelfth mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and the 5th mayor of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early life, family life, education, and death

Stephen Palfrey Webb was born to Captain Stephen Webb and Sara Putnam Palfrey Webb in Salem, Massachusetts on March 20, 1804. Webb graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1824 and studied law with John Glen King.

Career

Webb was admitted to the Essex County Bar in 1826 and began his practice of law in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

. Webb served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

and the Massachusetts Senate. He was elected mayor of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

in 1842, 1843, and 1844.City Council of Salem, Massachusetts. Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Volume 1, Issue 1. Pg. 227. Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co., 1888. Webb was also Treasurer and Clerk of the

Essex Railroad The Essex Railroad (later known as the Lawrence Branch of the Eastern Railroad) was a independent railroad in Essex County, Massachusetts in the US that connected Salem to North Andover. The railroad received its charter in 1846, with some bac ...

in 1849. Webb moved to San Francisco in approximately 1853 and was elected mayor for a single term with backing from the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

movement in 1854. He prepared a report about the vigilance committees in 1874 entitled ''A Sketch of the Causes, Operations and Results of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in 1856''. Webb returned to Salem and was again elected mayor in 1860, 1861, and 1862, and served as

City Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

from 1863 to 1870. He then retired to Brookline, Massachusetts.Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Volume 1, Issue 1. Pg. xvi. Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co., 1888.

Personal life

On May 26, 1834, Webb married Hannah Hunt Beckford Robinson. They had one daughter, Caroline B. Webb, in about 1846.United States Federal Census, Massachusetts Vital Records Webb died in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

on September 29, 1879.

References

External links

Mayor's of Salem
from the City of Salem, Massachusetts.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Stephen Palfrey 1804 births 1879 deaths Mayors of Salem, Massachusetts Mayors of San Francisco Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Republican Party Massachusetts state senators Harvard College alumni 19th-century American politicians