George J. Whelan
Encyclopedia
George J. Whelan served as the eighth Mayor of San Francisco in from July 8 to November 15, 1856. He had been a lawyer and before serving as mayor. He actually was chosen mayor by justices of the peace who were acting as the County Board of Supervisors. His brief term was marred by the vigilance movement
, Chinese immigration issues, collecting back taxes from the city's most prominent citizens of the day, and uncooperative elected officials. His last act as mayor was to give a farewell address in which members of the soon-to-be-inaugurated Burr
administration refused to attend.
During his term, the San Francisco City and County governments merged into one unit.
He would later return to practicing law.
' successor as E.W. Burr
– with an asterisk after Burr's name. In another example, Oscar Shuck's official listing of all San Francisco city officeholders up to 1894 mentions Whelan as once being president of the County Board of Supervisors – but not as mayor.
San Francisco Vigilance Movement
The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance was a popular ad hoc organization formed in 1851 and revived in 1856. Their purpose was to rein in rampant crime and government corruption. They were among the most successful organizations in the vigilante tradition of the American Old West.These militias...
, Chinese immigration issues, collecting back taxes from the city's most prominent citizens of the day, and uncooperative elected officials. His last act as mayor was to give a farewell address in which members of the soon-to-be-inaugurated Burr
Ephraim Willard Burr
Ephraim Willard Burr was a businessman who served as the ninth mayor of San Francisco, California from 1856 to 1859.Burr was born on March 7, 1809 in Rhode Island. As a young man, he worked for a whaling company which sent him west...
administration refused to attend.
During his term, the San Francisco City and County governments merged into one unit.
He would later return to practicing law.
San Francisco's least-documented mayor
Whelan was the least-documented person ever to hold the office. No photographs or drawings of him are known to exist today. His name does not appear in any San Francisco city directories after 1860. For many years afterwards, many official listings of San Francisco officeholders refused to even acknowledge him as a former mayor. For example, the 1862–1863 volume of San Francisco's Municipal Reports list James Van NessJames Van Ness
James Van Ness was the seventh mayor of San Francisco, USA from 1855 to 1856.He was the son of Dutch-American Vermont Governor Cornelius Van Ness and father-in-law of future San Francisco mayor Frank McCoppin. Prior to being mayor, he had been a lawyer in the U.S. South and then a San Francisco...
' successor as E.W. Burr
Ephraim Willard Burr
Ephraim Willard Burr was a businessman who served as the ninth mayor of San Francisco, California from 1856 to 1859.Burr was born on March 7, 1809 in Rhode Island. As a young man, he worked for a whaling company which sent him west...
– with an asterisk after Burr's name. In another example, Oscar Shuck's official listing of all San Francisco city officeholders up to 1894 mentions Whelan as once being president of the County Board of Supervisors – but not as mayor.
San Francisco District Attorney
Whelan had served as District Attorney for San Francisco County.Source
- Heintz, William F., San Francisco's Mayors: 1850–1880. From the Gold Rush to the Silver Bonanza. Woodside, CA: Gilbert Roberts Publications, 1975. (Library of Congress Card No. 75-17094)
External links
- San Francisco's Mayors from the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection NOTE: The photographs of all San Francisco mayors except Whelan appear on this site. There is a question mark at the place where Whelan's photo would appear.
- San Francisco's Alcades and Mayors