Beginning shortly after the city's incorporation as a city in 1846, elections have been held in themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. The following article provides information on the elections for mayor in the city during the 19th century.
The rules of the original 1846 city charter, in effect for the city's earliest elections, required that, to be elected, a candidate needed to receive a majority of the vote in a mayoral election. If no candidate received a majority, or if the winning candidate refused to take office, further election(s) would be held until an election produced a candidate with a majority of the vote.[1]
From 1846 to 1857, mayors served for a one-year term, expiring on the third Tuesday in March. From 1857 to 1872, the mayor's term expired on the last day of December. In 1873, the term ended annually on the third Tuesday in March, up until 1880, when it became a two-year term.[citation needed]
The1846 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral elections were held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. The first election was part of the first municipal election held after Manchester formally became a city (having previously been a town), which was held on August 19, 1846. The August municipal election's mayoral election, however, failed to produce a winner, as first-place finisherHiram Brown fell 17 votes shy of the majority threshold needed to win the election. A second election was held on September 1, which saw Brown win a majority.[3][4]
The candidates in the August election were Hiram Brown, Thomas Brown, William C. Clarke, James McQueston, William Stephens, James Wilkins.[5] Hiram Brown was affiliated with theWhig Party, Thomas Brown was affiliated with the Abolition Party, and Clarke was affiliated with theDemocratic Party.[4] Candidates in the September 1 election were Hiram Brown, Thomas Brown, Issac C. Flanders, Jacob F. James, William Stephens, and J. Sullivan Wiggin.[6] Flanders was affiliated with the Democratic Party.[4]
August 19, 1846, Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election (no winner)
Candidate
Votes
%
September 1, 1846, Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election[7]
The1847 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral elections were held on March 10, March 31, April 30, and May 22, 1847,[5] to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. The conclusive fourth election saw the election ofJacob F. James.
In the first three elections, no candidate had managed to reach the required majority threshold to win election. In the fourth election, Jacob F. James won election by receiving a majority of the vote.[5]
March 10, 1847, Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election[5] (no winner)
The1848 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral elections were held on March 18, April 8, and April 26, 1848,[5] to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. The conclusive third election saw the reelection of incumbent mayorJacob F. James.
In the first two elections, no candidate had managed to reach the required majority threshold to win election. In the third election, Jacob F. James won election by receiving a majority of the vote.[5]
The initial March 18 election had coincided with the elections for the city'saldermen.[5]
March 18, 1848, Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election[5] (no winner)
The1849 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral elections were held in April, May, and October 1849,[5] to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. The conclusive third election saw the election ofWarren L. Lane.
In the first two elections, no candidate had managed to reach the required majority threshold to win election. In the third election, Warren L. Lane won election by receiving a majority of the vote.[5]
The third election coincided with the October elections for the city'saldermen.[5]
April 1849 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election[5] (no winner)
The1850 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofMoses Fellows, who unseated incumbent mayorWarren L. Lane. Fellows and Lane were the only two candidates running in the election, which coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
The1852 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofFrederick Smyth, who defeated Walter French, the only other candidate running in the election. The election coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
The1853 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofFrederick Smyth, who defeated challenger Stevens James, the only other candidate running in the election.[5] The election coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
The1854 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held in March 1854[5] to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofFrederick Smyth, who defeated challenger William C. Clarke, the only other candidate running in the election. This made Clarke the first mayor of the city to be elected to a third term.[5] The election coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
The1855 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held in March 1855[5] to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofTheodore T. Abbott, who defeated Frederick G. Stark, the only other candidate running in the election.[5] The election coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
TheMarch 1856 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofTheodore T. Abbott, who defeated challenger George W. Morrison, the only other candidate running in the election.[5] The election coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
TheNovember 1856 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofJacob F. James to a third nonconsecutive term.[2] James defeated Isaac C. Flanders, the only other candidate running in the election.[5] The election coincided with the city'saldermanic elections.[5]
The1863 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofFrederick Smyth to a fourth nonconsecutive term, making him the first mayor of the city to be elected to a fourth term.[2][5] Smyth was elected nearly unanimously, with the remainder of the vote being a scattering ofwrite-in votes, with no single individual receiving more than five write-in votes.[5]
The1865 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held in August 1865[2][5] to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It was held in August after the death in office of mayor Darwin J. Daniels.[2][5] It saw the election ofJohn Hosley, who defeated Joseph B. Clark.[5]
The1870 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofJames A. Weston to a third overall term, defeating Peter Chandler and Andrew C. Wallace.[2][5]
The1873 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofJames A. Weston to a second nonconsecutive term. Weston defeated Charles Kenniston and incumbent mayorJohn P. Newell (who had been appointed by the city'saldermen and Common Council after the resignation ofPerson C. Cheney).[5][2]
TheNovember 1878 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofJohn L. Kelly, who defeated Andrew C. Wallace.[5]
The1888 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofDavid B. Varney, who defeated William Corey and Augustus Stevens.[5]
The1890 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the election ofEdgar J. Knowlton, who defeated Thomas W. Lane and Augustus Stevens.[5]
The1892 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofEdgar J. Knowlton, who defeated John C. Bickford and Augustus Stevens.[5]
The1900 Manchester, New Hampshire, mayoral election was held to elect themayor ofManchester, New Hampshire. It saw the reelection ofRepublican incumbentWilliam C. Clarke to a fourth consecutive term. Clarke defeatedDemocratic candidate James Sullivan.[5] Clarke was the second mayor of the city to win election to a fourth term (afterFrederick Smyth did so in1863), and the first to win a fourthconsecutive term.[2][5]