Jonathan Chapman

Infobox Officeholder
name =Jonathan Chapman


imagesize =
small

caption =
order =8th
office =Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
term_start =1840
term_end =1842
predecessor =Samuel A. Eliot
successor =Martin Brimmer
birth_date =January 23, 1807
birth_place =
death_date =May 25, 1848 [Citation |State Street Trust Company
year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]
death_place =
nationality =
party =
spouse =Lucinda Dwight (Born July 7, 1809; Married April 25, 1832) [Citation |last = Dwight | first = Benjamin Woodbridge | year = 1874 | title = The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Mass Vol. 2 | page = 893 | publisher = Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight (printed by John P. Trow and Sons) | location = New York, NY | date = 1874]
relations =
children =Jonathan Chapman (b. March 11, 1836); Eliza Chapman (b. March 10, 1838) [Citation |last = Dwight | first = Benjamin Woodbridge | year = 1874 | title = The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Mass Vol. 2 | page = 893 | publisher = Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight (printed by John P. Trow and Sons) | location = New York, NY | date = 1874]
residence =
alma_mater =Harvard [Citation |State Street Trust Company
year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]
occupation =
profession =Attorney [Citation |State Street Trust Company
year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]
religion =


website =
footnotes =Image from Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done, Page 16 Boston, MA: State Street Trust Company, 1914.

Jonathan Chapman (January 23, 1807 - May 25, 1848) was an American politician, serving as the eighth mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1840 to 1842.

Chapman's father also named Jonathan Chapman served as a member of the Town of Boston's Board of Selectmen.

Chapman attended Philips Academy and he graduated from Harvard College and studied law under the direction of Judge Lemeul Shaw.

Chapman was elected Mayor in December of 1839, he was sworn into office in 1840, he served three one year terms. [Citation |State Street Trust Company
year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]

Because of a large increase of the debt of the city of Boston in the 18 years since it was inporated, Mayor Chapman had as a chief aim of his adminstration the reduction of the city's debt. [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]

New City Hall

Although land had been purchased for a new city hall Mayor Chapman did not favor that project. Because Suffolk County was constructing a new building for the Registry and Probate offices, and was going to move out of the old courthouse building, Chapman instead recomended that the old Suffolk County Courthouse be remodeled for use as Boston's city hall. [Citation |last = Koren | first = John | year = 1891 | title = Boston, 1822 to 1922: The Story of Its Government And Principal Activities During One Hundred Years | pages = 26-27 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department | location = Boston, MA | date = 1922]

The City occupied the renovated structure on March 18, 1841. [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]

teamship Service

Chapman spoke of the great importance of the establishment of the Cunard lines [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914] steamship [Citation |last = Koren | first = John | year = 1891 | title = Boston, 1822 to 1922: The Story of Its Government And Principal Activities During One Hundred Years | page = 26 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department | location = Boston, MA | date = 1922] service between Boston and Liverpool, England.

The Western Railroad

Chapman also spoke of the great importence of the opening up of the Western Railroad from Boston to the Hudson River. [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 15 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914] [Citation |last = Koren | first = John | year = 1891 | title = Boston, 1822 to 1922: The Story of Its Government And Principal Activities During One Hundred Years | page = 26 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department | location = Boston, MA | date = 1922]

Trivia

* Chapman, was through his mother Margaret (Rogers), a descendent of William the Conqueror. [Citation |last = Browning | first = Charles Henry | year = 1891 | title = Americans of Royal Descent: A Collection of Genealogies of American Families Whose Lineage is Traced to the Legimate Issue of Kings 2nd. ed. | pages = 71-74 | publisher = Porter & Costes | location = Philadelphia, PA | date = 1891]

References

* Image from Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done, Boston, MA: State Street Trust Company, Page 16, (1914).