Francis Cornwall Sherman

Fifth Mayor of Chicago

“The most important interest in the city is that of public education, for upon it depends, to a great extent, the security of person and property, public and private morality, and political freedom.”
—Francis C. Sherman

Party

• Democrat

Elected

• First term:
  • March 5, 1841
    • Defeated Isaac R. Gavin (Whig)
• Second term:
  • April 15, 1862
    • Defeated Charles N. Holden (Republican)
• Third term:
  • April 21, 1863
    • Defeated Thomas B. Bryan (Union)

Inaugurations

• First Term: March 4, 1841: Inaugural Address
• Second Term: May 5, 1862: Inaugural Address
• Third Term: May 4, 1863: Inaugural Address

Terms of Office

• First term: 1841–1842
• Second term: 1862–1863
• Third term: 1863–1865

Birth

• September 18, 1805
• Newton, Conn.

Personal

• Married Miss Electa Trowbridge of Danbury, Conn., before moving to Chicago and had seven children
• He was selected as a member of the first board of trustees of the town of Chicago, of which body he was a member until the town, as a corporation, ceased to exist. He was also a member of the first board of aldermen.
• Sherman served as alderman of the 1st Ward before being elected as mayor, on the Board of County Commissioners and in the Illinois State Legislature.
• Worked in brick making and construction
• Owner of Sherman House

Death

• November 7, 1870
• Chicago

Gravesite

• Graceland Cemetery, Chicago

Sources

• Andreas, A.T. History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. A.T. Andreas, 1884–86.
• Chicago Tribune, April 16, 1862, p. 4.
• Chicago Tribune, April 22, 1863, p. 4.
• Chicago Tribune, November 11, 1870, p. 4.
• Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2004.