Charles Gilpin (mayor)

Charles Gilpin (November 17, 1809 - October 29, 1891) was an American attorney and politician. He served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1851 to 1854 and was the last mayor of the city before the consolidation of Philadelphia.

For other people with the same name, see Charles Gilpin (disambiguation).
Charles Gilpin
Mayor of Philadelphia
In office
October 15, 1850 – June 13, 1854
Preceded byJoel Jones
Succeeded byRobert T. Conrad
Personal details
Born(1809-11-17)November 17, 1809
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedOctober 29, 1891(1891-10-29) (aged 81)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Resting placeLaurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyWhig, Republican
SpouseSarah Hamilton
ProfessionAttorney

Early life

Gilpin was born on November 17, 1809 in Wilmington, Delaware to Edward and Lydia (Grubb) Gilpin.[1] His father Edward was a merchant whose family immigrated to the United States in the 1600s. He studied at the Germantown Academy and read law under the tutelage of Joseph Ingersoll.[2] Gilpin was admitted to the bar in 1834 and practiced law in Philadelphia.[1]

Political career

Gilpin won a seat on the Common Council, the lower house of the Philadelphia City Council, and to the Select Council in 1840.[1] He ran for mayor in 1849 as a member of the Whig party;[2] but lost by a 65-vote margin to Joel Jones.[3]

In 1850, he ran again and defeated Jones by 2,329 votes. He won re-election in 1851 over former mayor John Swift and was re-elected in 1952 and 1853.[3] As mayor, he sat on the committee to rewrite the city charter. The consolidation combined the city of Philadelphia and Philadelphia County, created new offices such as the city treasurer, city controller, and expanded the powers of the city government.[4] When the Whig party broke up, he joined with the Republican party.[2]

With the change in city government, Gilpin did not run for re-election as mayor. He worked as the solicitor to the Philadelphia County Sheriff from 1858 to 1883.[5] In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominated him as a United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and he served in that role for four years.[2] He was also the supervisor of elections.[1]

Personal life

He was one of the founders of the Olympic Base Ball Club which played their games in Camden, New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia.[6]

He was a member of the Union League of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Club.[3]

He was a staunch supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. He was an originator and founder of the Gray Reserve Regiment in 1861. He was too old to fight in the war, but supported two substitutes who fought on his behalf.[3]

Gilpin married Sarah Hamilton in 1843.[3] They had six children, Washington Hood Gilpin, who was an attorney in Philadelphia, Charles Jr., Lydia, Henry, Hood and Bernard.[1]

He died October 29, 1891 in Philadelphia[7] and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery.[8]

References
  1. Jordan, John W. (1916). Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1963. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  2. "Gilpin, Charles". www.papersofabrahamlincoln.org. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  3. Young, John Russell (1898). Memorial History of the City of Philadelphia From Its First Settlement to the Year 1895. New York: New York History Company. pp. 228, 437. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  4. Eli Kirk Price (1873). The History of the Consolidation of the City of Philadelphia. J.B. Lippincott & Company.
  5. Jordan, John Woolf (1911). Colonial Families of Philadelphia. New York - Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 433. ISBN 9785880233557. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  6. Morris, Peter; Ryczek, William J.; Finkel, Jan; Levin, Leonard; Malatzky, Richard (2013). Base Ball Founders: The Clubs, Players and Cities of the Northeast That Established the Game. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-7864-7430-1. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  7. The Philadelphia Record Almanac. The Record. 1890. p. 95.
  8. "Cemetery Records". www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
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