Walter S. Gurnee
11th Mayor of Chicago
Party:
Democrat (without formal party nomination)
Elected:
1st term:
March 4, 1851
Defeated Eli B. Williams, James Curtiss & Edward K. Rogers (Democrats without party nomination)
2nd term:
March 2, 1852
Defeated James Curtiss & Peter Page (Democrats without formal party nomination) & Amos G. Throop (Temperance)
Inaugurations:
1st Term: March 11, 1851: Inaugural Address
2nd Term: March 9, 1852 Inaugural Address
Terms of office:
1st term: 1851-1852
2nd term: 1852-1853
Birth:
March 9, 1813
Haverstraw, NY
Personal:
Lived in Chicago from 1836 until 1863 when returned to NY
Established what was then the largest tannery in the west
One of the original directors of the Board of Trade and one of the founders of Winnetka
Was president of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad
At the time of his death, he was survived by four children; his wife Mary predeceased him by 10 years
Death:
April 17, 1903
New York, NY
Gravesite:
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, NY
Sources:
Andreas, A. T. History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Chicago: A.T. Andreas, 1884-86.
Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating, and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Chicago Tribune, Apr. 19, 1903, pg. 7.
Chicago Tribune, Sept. 17, 1893, pg. 5.
New York Times, April 20, 1903, pg. 7.