Solomon Scheu (January 6, 1822 – November 23, 1888) was an American businessman and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Life

He came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1839 to live with an uncle and a brother in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and learned the

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

's trade. In 1844, he removed to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, where his brother Jacob lived. They opened a bakery, later a grocery business, and then a

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

factory. In 1847, he married Wilhelmina Rink, and they had seven sons and a daughter. He entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, and was alderman from the Sixth Ward in 1854 and 1855. He was Receiver of Taxes from 1856 to 1859. He was an Alderman again in 1866 and 1867. He was an Inspector of State Prisons from 1868 to 1873, elected in

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

and

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

. In November 1877, he was elected

Mayor of Buffalo The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the tow ...

by a slim margin in a three-way race, defeating the incumbent Republican

Philip Becker Philip Becker (April 25, 1830 – July 4, 1898) was mayor of Buffalo, New York, serving 1876–1877 and 1886–1889. He was born in Oberotterbach, Kingdom of Bavaria, on April 25, 1830. He graduated from college in Germany at sixteen years of ag ...

(vote: Scheu 8,756; Becker 8,159; Edward Bennett, Tax Payers Party, 6,216). He was in office from January 7, 1878, to January 1880, but was defeated for re-election in 1879 by Alexander Brush (vote: Brush 13,721; Scheu 12,189). In 1887, he ran again for Mayor but was defeated by the incumbent

(vote: Becker 17,925; Scheu 17,451). He died of "paralysis", and was buried at the

Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo Forest Lawn Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Buffalo, New York, founded in 1849 by Charles E. Clarke. It covers over and over 152,000 are buried there, including U.S. President Millard Fillmore, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, singer Ric ...

. His son Solomon Scheu (1850–1895) was also an alderman of Buffalo.

Sources

The Mayors of Buffalo, at ''The Buffalonian''

Death notice of his son, in NYT on March 28, 1895 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheu, Solomon 1822 births 1888 deaths New York state prison inspectors Mayors of Buffalo, New York Bavarian emigrants to the United States Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) Politicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria New York (state) Democrats 19th-century mayors of places in New York (state)

Life

See also

Sources