Matthew Gault Emery

Matthew Gault Emery (born September 28, 1818 in Pembroke , New Hampshire , †  October 12, 1901 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician . He was mayor of Washington in 1870 and 1871.

Career

At the age of 19, Matthew Emery came to Baltimore , Maryland , where he completed an apprenticeship as an architect and civil engineer. In 1840 he moved to Washington. There he worked in the construction industry, mainly for the federal government. He machined and supplied building blocks for various government buildings. Among other things, he provided the foundation stone for the Washington Monument . Politically, he joined the Republican Party founded in 1854 . From 1855 to 1857 he sat on the city council, to which he belonged again from 1869.

In 1870 he was elected as a joint candidate by Republicans and Democrats for mayor of the federal capital. The background to this was that incumbent Sayles Jenks Bowen had become intolerable for most Republicans because he promoted racial integration beyond what was then desired. He had also sacrificed the city coffers for his integration policy and accumulated debts. The Democrats also wanted to prevent Bowen from being re-elected and joined Emery. On June 13, 1870 he took up his new office, which he held until February 28, 1871. It is worth noting that until 1871, the Mayor of Washington did not administer the entire District of Columbia . The then independent city of Georgetown provided its own mayor until 1871. Emery was the last mayor who was only responsible for the then city of Washington without Georgetown. In his short time as mayor, a number of projects to expand the infrastructure were tackled. Emery only stayed in office for eleven months.

In 1871, Congress formed a territorial government for the entire District of Columbia . This administration was headed by a four-year governor appointed by the US President . This model soon proved to be unfeasible due to serious corruption cases and was abolished again in 1874. The previously independent city of Georgetown went into the new territory and remained part of Washington DC even after the dissolution of the territorial government in 1874. The first governor of the District of Columbia was not Matthew Emery, but Henry D. Cooke .

Emery stayed in Washington. He campaigned for an independent administration and a congressional representation for Washington. This existed with Norton P. Chipman as a delegate between 1871 and 1875. Thereafter, this position was abolished until 1971. Matthew Emery acquired General William T. Sherman's Washington home and lived there until his death on October 12, 1901.

Web links

• Matthew Gault Emery in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard

predecessor	Office	successor
Sayles Jenks Bowen	Mayor of Washington 1870–1871	Henry D. Cooke (Governor of the District of Columbia)