Alfred Clark Chapin (March 8, 1848 – October 2, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Brooklyn and for one year as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1891 to 1892.

Early life

Chapin was born to Ephraim Atlas Chapin who had interests in the railroad and Josephine, née Clark. He had a younger sister

Alice Chapin Alice Chapin or Alice Ferris (August 28, 1857 – July 5, 1934) was an American actress, playwright and suffragette active in England. She returned to America and played roles in silent films. Life Chapin was born in Keene, New Hampshire to Ephr ...

who was an actress and suffragette. He attended the public and private schools and graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

(in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropol ...

) in 1869, and from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1871. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

in 1872 and commenced practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with residence in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Political career

He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Kings Co., 11th D.) in 1882 and

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Janua ...

, and was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1883. On January 13, 1882, he was injured in the same train accident in which State Senator

Webster Wagner Webster Wagner (October 2, 1817 – January 13, 1882) was an American inventor, manufacturer and politician from New York. Life Wagner was born near Palatine Bridge, New York. He developed a wagon-making business with his brother James. The busi ...

was killed. He was

New York State Comptroller The New York State Comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and head of the government of New York (state), New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. The New York State C ...

from 1884 to 1887, elected at the New York state election, 1883 and the New York state election, 1885. He was Mayor of Brooklyn from 1888 to 1891.

Tenure in Congress

Chapin was elected as a Democrat to the

52nd United States Congress The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 189 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of David A. Boody and served from November 3, 1891, to November 16, 1892, when he resigned.

Later life

Chapin served as railroad commissioner of New York State from 1892 to 1897, and continued the practice of law, He was also financially interested in various enterprises. He also owned a summer home in Murray Bay, Quebec.

Personal life

On February 20, 1884, Chapin was married to Grace Stebbins (1860–1908). She was the daughter of Alice Holmes Schieffelin (1838–1913) and Russell Stebbins (1835–1894) and the granddaughter of

Samuel Schieffelin Samuel Bradhurst Schieffelin (February 24, 1811 – September 13, 1900), was an American businessman and author. Early life Schieffelin was born on February 24, 1811, in New York City. He was the son of Henry Hamilton Schieffelin (1783–1865 ...

, a religious author and businessman. Together, they were the parents of: * Grace Chapin (1885–1960), who married Hamilton Fish III (1888–1991), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. * Beatrice Chapin (1889–1932) After his first wife's death in 1908, he remarried to Charlotte (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Storrs) Montant (1860–1942), the widow of Charles Montant, on January 6, 1913. Chapin died in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel while on a visit in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Canada in 1936. He was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and a designated National Historic Landmark. Located south of Woodlawn Heights, Bronx, New York City, it has the character of a rural cemetery. Woodlawn Cemetery opened during ...

. Chapin's grandson

Hamilton Fish IV Hamilton Fish IV or Hamilton Fish Jr. (June 3, 1926 – July 23, 1996) was an American Republican politician who represented parts of New York's Hudson Valley region in the United States House of Representatives for thirteen terms from 1969 to ...

also was a U.S. Representative from New York.

References

External links

*
Political Graveyard
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Alfred Clark 1848 births 1936 deaths People from South Hadley, Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Speakers of the New York State Assembly New York State Comptrollers Mayors of Brooklyn Williams College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)