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

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

Early life and career

Chapin, a native of

Upton, Massachusetts Upton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It was first settled in 1728. The population was given as exactly 8,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Upton was orig ...

, graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1835. He served as an educator in Upton, studied law at Cambridge, and passed the Massachusetts Bar in 1838. He practiced law in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

from 1838 to 1846, and became an amateur local historian in that community.

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. In 1848, he was appointed chief Judge of the Worcester County Probate and Insolvency Court. Judge Chapin was later elected for three terms as Mayor of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. In 1853, Mayor Chapin was nominated by the Republican Party for a Congressional seat, which he declined. A lifelong Unitarian, Chapin served in church leadership positions. UxbridgeUnitarianChurch 191

Chapin was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1853.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
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A historical address

In 1864, he delivered a later published historical address in

, which records the story of America's first legal colonial woman voter. 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Henry 1811 births 1878 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Massachusetts People from Upton, Massachusetts Brown University alumni Massachusetts Free Soilers Massachusetts lawyers People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Mayors of Worcester, Massachusetts American Unitarians 19th-century American lawyers