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.

Early life

Gilpin was born on November 17, 1809 in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

to Edward and Lydia (Grubb) Gilpin. His father Edward was a merchant whose family immigrated to the United States in the 1600s. He studied at the

Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...

and read law under the tutelage of Joseph Ingersoll. Gilpin was admitted to the bar in 1834 and practiced law in Philadelphia.

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. He ran for mayor in 1849 as a member of the Whig party; but lost by a 65-vote margin to

Joel Jones Joel "JoJo" Jones-Camacho (born July 17, 1981) is a Puerto Rican-American professional basketball player. Jones has played in the NCAA, Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with Vaqueros de Bayamón, Leones de Ponce, Piratas de Quebradillas, and ...

. 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. 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. When the Whig party broke up, he joined with the Republican party. 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. In 1864, President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

nominated him as a

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...

and he served in that role for four years. He was also the supervisor of elections.

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. He was a member of the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 and ...

and the

Philadelphia Club Philadelphia Club was founded in 1834 and is located at 13th and Walnut Streets in Center City, Philadelphia. It is the oldest city club in the United States and one of the oldest gentlemen's clubs. Notable members have included George Meade, ...

. He was a staunch supporter of the Union in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. 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. Gilpin married Sarah Hamilton in 1843. They had six children, Washington Hood Gilpin, who was an attorney in Philadelphia, Charles Jr., Lydia, Henry, Hood and Bernard. He died October 29, 1891 in Philadelphia and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilpin, Charles 1809 births 1891 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Gilpin family Germantown Academy alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia Mayors of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Republicans Pennsylvania Whigs Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware Lawyers from Wilmington, Delaware Philadelphia City Council members United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania