Boston City Council (1822–1909)

{{Short description|Bicameral city council in Massachusetts, US}} {{Infobox legislature | name = Boston City Council | coa_pic = | house_type = Bicameral deliberative assembly of the City of Boston (Massachusetts, U.S.) | houses = '''Boston Board of Aldermen''' (upper chamber) '''Boston Common Council''' (lower chamber) | constitution = Boston City Charter (1822) | members = Varied over time | session_room = | meeting_place = | foundation = May 1, 1822 | disbanded = 1909 | preceded_by = Boston Board of Selectmen | succeeded_by = Boston City Council (unicameral) }}

The '''Boston City Council''' was the bicameral legislative body of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, from 1822 until 1909. Its upper chamber was the '''Board of Aldermen''', whose members were elected at-large, while the lower chamber was the much larger '''Common Council''', whose members were elected from multi-member electoral districts (wards). Prior to 1822, the Boston Board of Selectmen governed the city. The bicameral council lasted until 1909, when it was replaced by the modern Boston City Council. Unlike the bicameral 1822 council, the modern council that was established in 1909 is unicameral.

==Description== [[File:CityCouncil chambers Boston CityHall.png|thumb|Historic photograph of the council chamber at Old City Hall]]

Prior to 1822, Boston was governed by the Boston Board of Selectmen. Boston voted in 1822 to incorporate as a city and adopted the Boston City Charter. On May 1, 1822, the Boston Board of Selectmen ceremonially handed over the city to the new government consisting of the newly established City Council and the newly established mayoralty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Boston Celebrates 200 Years |url=https://www.boston.gov/news/boston-celebrates-200-years |website=Boston.gov |access-date=20 April 2023 |language=en |date=29 April 2022}}</ref>

Under this original Boston City Charter, between 1822 and 1909, the city's legislative body was bicameral. This legislature, known as the Boston City Council, consisted of a Board of Aldermen that was elected at-large and a much larger Common Council with members that was elected from multi-member wards.<ref name="archives1"/><ref name="Boston Irish"/><ref name="BPL1">{{cite web |last1=Devine |first1=John |title=Research Guides: Boston (City) Departmental Reports: City Council Proceedings |url=https://guides.bpl.org/BostonReports/CityCouncil |website=guides.bpl.org |publisher=Boston Public Library |access-date=7 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> This Boston City Council existed along with a mayoralty that was established by the charter.<ref name="archives1">{{cite web |title=Boston (Mass.). Common Council {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface |url=https://archives.cityofboston.gov/agents/corporate_entities/29 |website=archives.cityofboston.gov |publisher=Boston Archives |access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref>

After the Boston City Charter was rewritten in 1909, the Boston City Council was recreated as a nine-member unicameral body.<ref name="Boston Irish">O'Connor, T.H. (1997). ''Boston Irish: A Political History''. New York: Back Bay Books.</ref>

==Common Council== ===Presidents of the Boston Common Council=== The Common Council was led by a president. The following table chronologically lists the tenures of individuals in this position:

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |- ! colspan=2| Presidents of the Boston Common Council (1822–1909)<ref name="Catalogue1"/> |- ! Name ! Tenure |- | William Prescott Jr. || 1822 |- | John Welles || 1823 |- | Francis Johonnot Oliver || 1824–1825 |- | John Richardson Adan || 1826–1828 |- | Elliphalet Williams || 1829 |- | Benjamin T. Pickman || 1830–1831 |- | John P. Bigelow || 1832 |- | Josiah Quincy Jr. || 1834–1836 |- | Philip Marett || 1837–1840 |- | Edward Blake || 1841–1843 |- | Peleg Chandler || 1844–1845 |- | George Stillman Hillard || 1846–1847 |- | Benjamin Seaver || 1847–1849 |- | Francis Brinley || 1850–1851 |- | Henry Gardner || 1852–1853 |- | Alexander H. Rice || 1854 |- | Joseph Story || 1855 |- | Oliver Stevens || 1856–1857 |- | Samuel Wallace Waldron || 1858 |- | Josiah Putnam Bradlee || 1859–1860 |- | Joseph Hildreth Bradley || 1861 |- | Joshua Dorsey Ball || 1862 |- | George Silsbee Hale || 1863–1864 |- | William Bentley Fowle Jr. || 1865 |- | Joseph Story || 1866 |- | Weston Lewis || 1867 |- | Charles Hastings Allen|| 1868 |- | William Giles Harris || 1869 |- | Melville E. Ingalls || 1870 |- | Matthias Rich || 1871 |- | Marquis Fayette Dickinson Jr. || 1872 |- | Edward Olcott Shepard || 1873–1874 |- | Halsey J. Boardman || 1875 |- | John Q. A. Brackett || 1876 |- | Benjamin Pope || 1877–1878 |- | William Henry Whitmore || 1879 |- | Harvey Newton Shepard || 1880 |- | Andrew Jackson Bailey || 1881 |- | Charles Edward Pratt || 1881–1882 |- | James Joseph Flynn || 1883 |- | John Henry Lee || 1884 |- | Edward John Jenkins || 1885–1886 |- | David Franklin Barry || 1886–1888 |- | Horace G. Allen || 1889–1890 |- | David Frankin Barry || 1891 |- | Christopher Francis O'Brien || 1894–1895 |- | Joseph A. Conry || 1896–1897 |- | Timothy Lawrence Connolly || 1898 |- | Daniel Joseph Kiley || 1899–1901 |- | Arthur Walter Dolan || 1902–1905 |- | William John Barrett || 1906–1907 |- | Leo F. McCullough || 1908 |- | George C. McCabe || 1909<ref>{{cite web |title=The Common Council's President |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/735538229 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access= subscription |publisher=Boston Evening Transcript |access-date=1 November 2022 |language=en |date=January 15, 1909}}</ref> |}

{| role="presentation" class="wikitable mw-collapsible" | Gallery of Presidents of the Boston Common Council (partial) |- | <gallery widths="90px" heights="120px"> File:Hon. William Prescott, painted by Gilbert Stuart (3x4a).jpg|William Prescott Jr. (1822) File:John P. Bigelow 5210004 015 012 (3x4).jpg|John P. Bigelow (1832) File:Josiah Quincy 5210004 015 011 (3x4).jpg|Josiah Quincy Jr. (1834–1836) File:Philip Marett - A. H. Ritchie (briefmemorialofp00bald - cropped) (3x4a).jpg|Philip Marett (1837–1840) File:Peleg Whitman Chandler.png|Peleg Chandler (1844–1845) File:Hon. George S. Hillard (NYPL Hades-256315-431560) (cropped 3x4).tiff| George Stillman Hillard (1846–1847) File:Benjamin Seaver 5210004 015 013 (3x4).jpg|Benjamin Seaver (1847–1849) File:GovHenryJGardner.jpg|Henry Gardner (1852–1853) File:Alexander H. Rice 5210004 015 015 (3x4a).jpg|Alexander H. Rice (1854) File:George Silsbee Hale - 1899 (3x4a).jpg|George Silsbee Hale (1863–1864) File:Capt. (William) B. Fowle - DPLA - 322c9b650bdc62635e845cfc8f05ebea (page 1) (3x4).jpg|William Bentley Fowle Jr. (1865) File:1880 Charles Hastings Allen Massachusetts House of Representatives.png|Charles Hastings Allen (1868) File:1868 Melville Ezra Ingalls Massachusetts House of Representatives.png|Melville E. Ingalls (1870) File:Marquis Fayette Dickinson Jr. (1840–1915).png|Marquis Fayette Dickinson Jr. (1872) File:Halsey J. Boardman (a).png|Halsey J. Boardman (1875) File:John Quincy Adams Brackett (3x4).jpg|John Q. A. Brackett (1876) File:William Henry Whitmore (1836–1900).png|William Henry Whitmore (1879) File:Harvey-newton-shepard---harvard-class-of-1871-portrait-at-graduation-and-in-later-life-1896 5477707048 o (3x4 a).jpg|Harvey Newton Shepard (1880) File:1874 Andrew Jackson Bailey senator Massachusetts.png|Andrew Jackson Bailey (1881) File:1888 Edward John Jenkins senator Massachusetts.png|Edward John Jenkins (1885–1886) File:Joseph A. Conry (3x4a).png|Joseph A. Conry (1896–1897) File:Horace G. Allen illustration (1).jpg|Horace G. Allen (1889–1890) File:1913 Leo McCullough Massachusetts House of Representatives.png|Leo F. McCullough (1908) </gallery> |}

==Board of Aldermen== ===Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen=== {{incomplete list|date=April 2023}} The Board of Aldermen was led by a chairman. The following table chronologically lists the tenures of individuals in this role: {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |- ! colspan=2| Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen<ref name="Catalogue1">{{cite web |title=A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: Also of Various Other Town and Municipal Officers |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=n_BMAAAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.PA44 |publisher=City of Boston Printing Department |access-date=30 October 2022 |pages=45–48, 57–183 |language=en |date=1909}}</ref> |- ! Name ! Tenure |- | Benson Leavitt || |- | William Washburn || 1855 |- | Phelham Bonney|| 1856–1857 |- | Joseph Wightman|| 1858 |- | Silas Peirce|| 1859 |- | Otis Clapp || 1860 |- | Silas Peirce|| 1861 |- | Thomas Phillips Rich || 1862 |- | Thomas Coffin Amory || 1863 |- | Otis Norcross|| 1864 |- | George Washington Messinger || 1865–1866 (1) |- | Charles Wesley Slack || 1867 |- | George Washington Messinger || 1868 (2) |- | Benjamin James || 1869 |- | Newton Talbot || 1870 |- | Charles Edward Jenkins || 1871 |- | Samuel Little|| 1872 |- | Leonard R. Cutter || 1873 |- | John Taylor Clark || 1874–1877 |- | Solomon B. Stebbins || 1878 (1) |- | Hugh O'Brien || 1879–1881 (1) |- | Solomon B. Stebbins || 1882 (2) |- | Hugh O'Brien || 1883 (2) |- | Charles Varney Whitten || 1884–1885 |- | Charles Hastings Allen|| 1886 (1) |- | Patrick John Donovan || 1887 |- | Charles Hastings Allen|| 1888 (2) |- | Homer Rogers || 1889 |- | William Power Wilson || 1890 |- | Herbert Shaw Carruth || 1891 |- | John Henry Lee || 1892–1893 (1) |- | Alpheus Sanford|| 1894–1895 |- | John Henry Lee || 1896 (2) |- | Perlie Appleton Dyar || 1897–1898 |- | Joseph A. Conry || 1898 |- | David Franklin Barry || 1899 |- | Michael Joseph O'Brien || 1900 |- | James Henry Doyle || 1901–1904 |- | Daniel A. Whelton || 1905 |- | Charles Martin Draper || 1906 |- | Edward L. Cauley || 1906 |- | William Berwin || 1907 |- | Louis M. Clark || 1908 |- | James Michael Curley {{small|''(acting chairman)''}} || 1909<ref>{{cite web |title=Curley Names Committees |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/735538377 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |publisher=Boston Evening Transcript |access-date=31 October 2022 |language=en |date=January 19, 1909}}</ref> |- | Frederick J. Brand ||1909<ref>{{cite web |title=Chairman of the Aldermen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/431049377 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Boston Globe |access-date=31 October 2022 |language=en |date=January 26, 1909}}</ref> |- |}

{| role="presentation" class="wikitable mw-collapsible" | Gallery of Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen (partial) |- | <gallery widths="90px" heights="120px"> File:Joseph Wightman 5210004 015 017 (3x4).jpg|Joseph Wightman (1858) File:Silas Peirce.png|Silas Peirce (1859, 1861) File:Otis Clapp Bea9bfc5445bcce53cb40c7cc0a10870 (1).jpg|Otis Clapp (1860) File:Otis Norcross 5210004 015 018 (3x4a).jpg|Otis Norcross (1864) File:Newton Talbot 1815 1904 Boston (1).png|Newton Talbot (1870) File:Leonard R. Cutter 5210004 015 022 (3x4b).jpg|Leonard R. Cutter (1873) File:Hugh O'Brien 5210004 015 028 (3x4a).jpg|Hugh O'Brien (1879–1881, 1883) File:Solomon B. Stebbins 1 (1).jpg|Solomon B. Stebbins (1878, 1882) File:1880 Charles Hastings Allen Massachusetts House of Representatives.png|Charles Hastings Allen (1886, 1888) File:Homer Rogers (14595693367) (1).jpg|Homer Rogers (1889) File:William Power Wilson (1852–1926) (1).png|William Power Wilson (1890) File:Herbert Shaw Carruth 1 (a).png|Herbert Shaw Carruth (1891) File:Joseph A. Conry (3x4a).png|Joseph A. Conry (1898) File:Michael Joseph O'Brien (142868484) (1).jpg|Michael Joseph O'Brien (1900) File:Daniel A. Whelton 5210004 015 034 (3x4a).jpg|Daniel A. Whelton (1905) File:James Michael Curley (circa 1910) (1).jpg|James Michael Curley (acting chairman in 1909) </gallery> |}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston City Council (1822-1909)}} Category:Boston City Council {{Presidents of the Boston Common Council|state=collapsed}} {{Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen}}

Boston City Council (1822–1909)

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