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James Curtiss
James Curtiss
11th & 13th
Mayor of Chicago
	In office; March 12, 1850 – March 11, 1851
Preceded by	James H. Woodworth
Succeeded by	Walter S. Gurnee
	In office; March 9, 1847 – March 14, 1848
Preceded by	John P. Chapin
Succeeded by	James H. Woodworth
City Clerk of Chicago
	In office; 1842–1843
Preceded by	Thomas Hoyne
Succeeded by	James M. Lowe
Chicago Alderman
	In office; 1846–1847 Serving with John S.C. Hogan
Preceded by	Fancis Edwards/ Francis H. Taylor
Succeeded by	J. Brinkerhoff/ Benjamin W. Raymond
Constituency	3rd ward
	In office; 1838–1839 Serving with John S.C. Hogan
Preceded by	Peter Bolles/ Francis C. Sherman
Succeeded by	Eli S. Prescott/ Clement C. Stose
Constituency	2nd Ward
Clerk of the Court of Cook County
	In office; 1845
Preceded by	inaugural officeholder
State's Attorney
	In office; 1835
Town Clerk of Chicago
	In office; 1836–1837
Preceded by	Ebenezer Peck
Succeeded by	Isaac N. Arnold (city clerk)
Personal details
Born	March 29, 1806; Wethersfield, Connecticut
Died	November 2, 1859 (aged 56); Joliet, Illinois
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Mary Kimball
Children	James, Mary Kimball, Sarah, Lucy Maria, Elizabeth, Laura, Charles Chauncy, Laura Minnie, George Warren
Residence(s)	Chicago, Illinois
Signature

James Curtiss (also Curtis; March 29, 1806 – November 2, 1859) was an American politician who twice served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1847–1848 and 1850–1851) for the Democratic Party.

Early life

Born on March 29, 1806, in Wethersfield, Connecticut, Curtiss became a printer's apprentice at an early age in Philadelphia.^[2] He worked for a time at the Portland Argus, then was printer, and eventually editor and publisher of the Eastport Northern Light, a Jackson Democrat newspaper.^[2]^[3] He married Mary Kimball on May 18, 1830.^[4] From 1830 through 1835, he served as a postmaster in Eastport.^[5]^[6] In 1834, Curtiss was under investigation by the Postmaster General for his management of the office.^[7]

Political career in Chicago

Curtiss arrived in Chicago from Eastport, Maine, in 1835 and became editor of the Chicago Democrat.^[8] Almost immediately after his arrival in Chicago Curtiss began a career of public service.

Shortly after his arrival in Chicago, he was appointed States Attorney for the district north of the Kankakee River.^[2] He was appointed to Chicago's first Board of Health.^[9] He succeeded Ebenezer Peck as Town Clerk in September 1836.^[10] He also opened a short-lived law practice with William Stuart in 1836 named Stuart and Curtiss, which was dissolved the following year.

The Panic of 1837 left a large number of land investors unable to meet their obligations. In hopes of delaying the resulting foreclosures Curtiss and others had unsuccessfully attempted to delay the opening of the Municipal Court that winter.^[10]^[9]

Curtiss was elected alderman for the 2nd Ward in 1838. In 1839, he ran in Chicago's third mayoral election, losing to Benjamin Wright Raymond.^[10] In 1842, he was elected City Clerk.^[10] In 1843, he was made Corresponding Secretary of the Chicago chapter of the Washington Temperance Society.^[10] In 1845, the Illinois Legislature created the Court of Cook County and appointed Curtiss as its first clerk.^[10]^[11] In 1846, he was elected as alderman again, this time for the 3rd ward.^[10]

First mayoral term

Curtiss became mayor after winning the 1847 election, running a successful campaign against Philo Carpenter (Liberty Party) and John H. Kinzie (Whig). He was sworn in on March 9, 1847.^[12]

He lost his bid for reelection in 1848, being defeated by James Hutchinson Woodworth (an independent Democrat who ran on a fusion ticket supported by Whigs and Democrats). His tenure ended on March 14, 1848, when Woodworth succeeded him in office.^[13]

Second mayoral term

Curtiss returned to the mayor's office after winning the 1850 Chicago mayoral election, defeating Levi Day Boone and Lewis C. Kerchival (both of these challengers being Democrats without formal party nomination).^[14] He was sworn in on March 12, 1850.^[15]

Curtiss was again defeated in his bid for reelection, losing the 1851 election to Walter S. Gurnee. His tenure ended on March 11, 1851, when he was succeed in office by Gurnee.^[16]

In 1852, he sought to unseat Gurnee, but again lost.^[17]

Retirement from politics

Retiring from politics, Curtiss moved to West Urbana (now Champaign) Illinois in 1855, and took up farming.^[9]^[2]^[18]

Death

Curtiss died on November 2, 1859, in Joliet, Illinois, after a long illness.^[4] His funeral was held at the Second Presbyterian Church on Wabash Avenue following the Odd Fellows rites.^[2] Originally buried in City Cemetery, when the Cemetery was moved to make way for Lincoln Park, his remains were lost.^[19]