John Putnam Chapin

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John Putnam Chapin (April 21, 1810 – June 27, 1864) was the 10th Mayor of Chicago, serving from 1846 to 1847 as a Whig. He was born in Bradford, Vermont, and left his hometown to work in a mercantile business in Haverhill, New Hampshire, before moving to Chicago in 1832. In Chicago he joined the merchant firm Wadsworth, Dyer & Chapin until it dissolved in 1843, then worked for the Canal Boat Transportation Company. Chapin helped found the Chicago Board of Trade and served several terms as its vice president. He was Chicago alderman for the 1st Ward from 1844 to 1845. In 1846 he won the mayoral race against Democrat Charles Follansbee and Liberty candidate Philo Carpenter, taking a bit more than 55% of the vote. After serving as mayor, he was elected to the city council in 1859. In 1861 he was nominated by the Union ticket for Commissioner of Public Works, but declined, seeing it as a Democratic trap. He died in Chicago on June 27, 1864, and is buried at Graceland Cemetery.