Lorenzo A. Kelsey was the mayor of Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 in 1848.

Kelsey was born to Eber and Lucy Ann Leete Kelsey in Port Leyden

Port Leyden, New York

Port Leyden is a village in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 665 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the village's early history as a port on the Black River Canal....

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, where he was locally educated. He later moved to Youngstown

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

 to work in the lumber

Lumber

Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....

 industry. Kelsey and his wife, Sophia Smith (1806–1893), from Windsor

Windsor, Connecticut

Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, moved to Cleveland in 1837, after which he became the manager of the Cleveland House Hotel. After managing the hotel, Kelsey became captain of the USS Chesapeake

USS Chesapeake (1799)

USS Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships...

 and later the General Harrison. In 1848, Kelsey ran as a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 dark horse

Dark horse

Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...

 candidate due to his lack of political experience and defeated Charles Bradburn and Milo Hickox for the title of mayor. Kelsey returned to the hotel business in 1849 until his retirement. Kelsey died in Cleveland and was buried in the Erie Street Cemetery, until his remains were moved to Lake View Cemetery

Lake View Cemetery

Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...

in 1903.

Kelsey and Sophia Smith had 7 children: Edgar (who died in infancy), Eugene, Antoinette, Theodore, Ada Helen, Josephine H., and Edgar A.