Francis Cornwall Sherman

Francis Cornwall Sherman (September 18, 1805 – November 7, 1870; buried in Graceland Cemetery) served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois, for three terms (1841–1842, 1862–1865) for the Democratic Party.

This article is about a former Mayor of Chicago. For the general (his son), see Francis Trowbridge Sherman. For the poet, see Francis Joseph Sherman.
Francis Cornwall Sherman
5th & 23rd Mayor of Chicago
In office
May 5, 1862 – May 3, 1865
Preceded byJulian Sidney Rumsey
Succeeded byJohn Blake Rice
In office
March 4, 1841 – March 7, 1842
Preceded byAlexander Loyd
Succeeded byBenjamin Wright Raymond
Chairman of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
In office
1851–1853
Illinois State Representative
In office
1844–1850
City Treasurer of Chicago
In office
1842–1843
Preceded byN.H. Bolles[1]
Succeeded byWalter S. Gurnee[1]
Chicago Alderman from the 2nd Ward
In office
1837–1838
Chicago Village Trustee
In office
1835–1836
Personal details
Born(1805-09-18)September 18, 1805
Newtown, Connecticut
DiedNovember 7, 1870(1870-11-07) (aged 65)
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic
Children7 (including Francis)
ResidenceChicago, Illinois

Early life

Sherman was born September 17, 1805 in Newtown, Connecticut.[2] He married Electa Towbridge of Danbury, Connecticut.[2]

Career in Chicago

Sherman arrived in Chicago in April 1834. He worked in brick manufacturing and construction.[2] In July 1835, he was elected a village trustee, serving for a year.[2][3] In 1837, he opened the City Hotel, a luxury hotel that was later renamed the Sherman House. Also in 1837, he was elected an alderman from the 2nd Ward on the Chicago Common Council, and served for one year.[1][2]

Sherman served as Mayor of Chicago for a total of three terms (from 1848-1842 and 1862-1865)[1], as City Treasurer of Chicago (1842-1843)[1] Sherman also served as the Chairman of the Cook County Board of Commissioners (1851-1853) and in the Illinois House of Representatives (1844-1850).[2][3]

He as a delegate to the 1847 Illinois constitutional convention.[2]

He unsuccessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1862, losing the Illinois 1st congressional district race to Republican Isaac N. Arnold.[3][4]

Mayoralties

First mayoralty

Sherman was elected mayor of Chicago in 1841.

Sherman was sworn-in on March 4, 1841.[5]

Sherman's first mayoralty ended on March 7, 1842 when he was succeeded by Whig Benjamin Wright Raymond.[6]

Second mayoralty

Sherman was again elected mayor in the 1862 Chicago mayoral election, defeating Republican nominee Charles C. P. Holden.

Sherman was sworn-in as mayor on May 5, 1862.[7]

Sherman was reelected in 1863, very narrowly defeating Republican nominee Thomas Barbour Bryan. This election was the city's first election to a newly-extended term of two years.[8][9]

Sherman lost reelection in 1865, in a race that was won by Republican John Blake Rice after the race heavily turned in the Republican Party's favor with sentiments shifting following the assassination of Republican president Abraham Lincoln days earlier.[10] Sherman's second mayoralty ended on May 3, 1865, when he was succeeded in office by Rice.[11]

Death

Sherman died November 7, 1870.[2] He was buried at Graceland Cemetery.[2]

Personal life

Sherman and this wife Electa had seven children together.[2] Four of these children survived to adulthood.[12]

Sherman's son, Francis Trowbridge Sherman, was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War.[2][13]

See also

References
  1. "Centennial List of Mayors, City Clerks, City Attorneys, City Treasurers, and Aldermen, elected by the people of the city of Chicago, from the incorporation of the city on March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1937, arranged in alphabetical order, showing the years during which each official held office". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  2. "Mayor Francis Cornwall Sherman Biography". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Illinois State Historical Library. 1919. p. 976. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. Ostewig, Kinnie A. (1907). The sage of Sinnissippi: Being a brief sketch of the life of Congressman Frank Orren Lowden, of Oregon, Illinois, brief sketches of his rivals in political battles, a short artical relating to his availability as a presidential candidate for 1908, and an official and authentic account of state elections in Illinois, statistically, combined with a roll of honor of the nation, the state, the county, and the village, the home of the author ... Press of J.A. Nolen. p. 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. "Mayor Francis Cornwall Sherman Inaugural Address, 1841". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. "Mayor Benjamin Wright Raymond Inaugural Address, 1842". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. "Mayor Francis Cornwall Sherman Inaugural Address, 1862". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present by Dick Simpson, Routledge, Mar 8, 2018 (page 30)
  9. Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present Portada; Dick Simpson Routledge, Mar 8, 2018
  10. 10 things you might not know about Chicago mayoral elections Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer March 10, 2015
  11. "Mayor John Blake Rice Inaugural Address, 1865". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. Shigley, Elaine C. Chicago's Mayors: A Collection of Biographies Of All Chicago’s Mayors. Francis M. Shigley, III. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  13. 'Chicago's Mayors A Collection of Biographies of All Chicago's Mayors,' Elaine C. Shipley, pg. 17-18


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