Henry Chapin

Henry Chapin (May 13, 1811 – October 13, 1878) was a judge, a state legislator, and a three-term mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Honorable Henry Chapin
Acting Mayor of
Worcester, Massachusetts
In office
December 19, 1870 – February 6, 1871
Preceded byJames B. Blake
Succeeded byEdward Earle
2nd Mayor of
Worcester, Massachusetts
In office
April 1. 1849 – April 7, 1851
Preceded byLevi Lincoln, Jr.
Succeeded byPeter C. Bacon
Personal details
BornMay 13, 1811
DiedOctober 13, 1878
Political partyFree Soil, Republican Party
Alma materBrown University
OccupationAttorney

Early life and career

Chapin, a native of Upton, Massachusetts,[1] graduated from Brown University in 1835.[1] He served as an educator in Upton,[1] studied Law at Cambridge, and passed the Massachusetts Bar in 1838.[1] He practiced law in Uxbridge from 1838–1846, and became an amateur local historian in that community.[1]

Later public service

Chapin represented the local district in the state legislature, served as the State's Commissioner of Insolvency, and on the State Board of Education.[1]

In 1848, he was appointed chief Judge of the Worcester County Probate and Insolvency Court.[1] Judge Chapin was later elected for three terms as Mayor of Worcester.[1] In 1853, Mayor Chapin was nominated by the Republican Party for a Congressional seat, which he declined.[1] A lifelong Unitarian, Chapin served in church leadership positions.[1]

Unitarian Church at Uxbridge where Judge Henry Chapin delivered an address in 1864

Chapin was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1853.[2]

A historical address

In 1864, he delivered a later published historical address in Uxbridge, which records the story of America's first legal colonial woman voter.[1] He is later simply known as "Judge Henry Chapin".

Afterwards

Judge Chapin was asked to serve as Mayor of Worcester, one more time. On December 18, 1870, Chapin was appointed mayor, ad interim, by the city council, in joint convention, December 19, 1870 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James B. Blake. Chapin served until Edward Earle was elected in a special election to serve out the remainder of Mayor Blake's term. In 1877 Chapin developed ill health; he died at age 67, in Worcester, on October 13, 1878.

References
  1. Chapin, Judge Henry (1881). Address Delivered at the Unitarian Church in Uxbridge, 1864. Worcester, MA: Charles Hamilton Press (Harvard Library; from Internet Archive). p. 172. address delivered at unitarian church chapin henry first woman voter.
  2. American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
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