1852 attached DS coal magnate Charlemagne Tower, Phila. Mayor Chas. Gilpin

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1852 attached DS coal magnate Charlemagne Tower, Phila. Mayor Chas. Gilpin:
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A 1 page 4to partly printed document from the Treasurer ofthe Girard Trust ordering payment to Charlemagne Tower of $25 signed by AlbertG. Waterman and Samuel Wilcox as President and Secretary, and by Charles Gilpinas Mayor of Philadelphia which was responsible for monies from the famousStephen Girard Trust which included Girard College and the Girard Estates. Attached at the top is a one page 8vo documentsigned by Charlemagne Tower ordering the $25 paid to Edward Olmstead for hissalary.

Charlemagne Tower, (1809-1889). American lawyer and businessman active inacquiring land in the Schuylkill Valley in Pennsylvania and serving as anofficer for coal and railroad companies.He organized and led a company of Union soldiers from Pottsville in a3-month enlistment during the American Civil War, when he was commissioned ascaptain. After the war, with sell-off oflands by the Northern Pacific Railroad, he acquired large tracts in the upperMidwest and Northwest.

Charlemagne Tower was a giant of his time, leaving anindelible footprint on the history of the United States. He is credited withcreating the mining industry in Minnesota, as well as attracting settlers tothe area. He was deeply involved in the mining industry in Pennsylvania, andwas part of the ascension of the Reading Railroad. Towns in three states arenamed after him. He served on the board of overseers for Harvard University,and was involved in many business ventures, many of them successful.

Charles Gilpin (1809-1891).Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1850 to 1854. A civic-mindedman, he served on the Common Council for the City of Philadelphia before beingelected the 91st mayor of Philadelphia in 1850 by a margin of less than 100votes. A member of the Whig, his opponent in that election was the candidateendorsed by an alliance of the Democratic and Native American Party, whichconsisted of white Protestant men who were opposed to the ever-increasingethnic diversity in the city, especially to the arrival of Catholic andnon-English speaking immigrants. Charles Gilpin was elected again in 1851,1852, and 1853, but he did not win the election held in the fall of 1854. Bythen the Native American Party had morphed into the Know-Nothing Party, whichwas rising in power. The Know-Nothings backed the Democratic candidate in 1854;meanwhile Gilpin’s Whig party was rapidly disintegrating. During his terms asmayor, from October 15, 1850 to June 13, 1854, Gilpin took a prominent role instrengthening the municipal police force and in removing the gas works fromprivate control to become a public holding. He promoted the passage of theConsolidation Act of February 2, 1854, whereby Philadelphia became a countythat incorporated numerous small local municipalities and any unincorporatedareas within certain boundaries into its jurisdiction.

Albert G. Waterman (1800-1862) was a Philadelphia CityCouncilman who was greatly instrumental in the preservation of IndependenceHall.