Alfred C. Chapin


Alfred Clark Chapin was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Brooklyn and for one year as a member of the United States [House of Representatives] from 1891 to 1892.

Early life

Chapin was born to Ephraim Atlas Chapin who had interests in the railroad and Josephine, née Clark. He had a younger sister Alice Chapin who was an actress and suffragette.
He attended the public and private schools and graduated from Williams College in 1869, and from Harvard Law School in 1871. He was admitted to the bar in 1872 and commenced practice in New York City with residence in Brooklyn.

Political career

He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 105th [New York State Legislature|1882] and 106th [New York State Legislature|1883], and was Speaker in 1883. On January 13, 1882, he was injured in 1882 [Spuyten Duyvil train wreck|the same train accident] in which State Senator Webster Wagner was killed.
He was New York State Comptroller from 1884 to 1887, elected at the New York state election, 1883 and the New York state election, 1885.
He was Mayor of Brooklyn from 1888 to 1891.

Tenure in Congress

Chapin was elected as a Democrat to the 52nd [United States Congress] to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of David A. Boody and served from November 3, 1891, to November 16, 1892, when he resigned.

Later life

Chapin served as railroad commissioner of New York State from 1892 to 1897, and continued the practice of law. He was also financially interested in various enterprises. He also owned a summer home in Murray Bay, Quebec.

Personal life

On February 20, 1884, Chapin was married to Grace Stebbins. She was the daughter of Alice Holmes Schieffelin and Russell Stebbins and the granddaughter of Samuel Schieffelin, a religious author and businessman. Together, they were the parents of:
After his first wife's death in 1908, he remarried to Charlotte Montant, the widow of Charles Montant, on January 6, 1913.
Chapin died in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel while on a visit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1936. Chapin's grandson Hamilton Fish IV also was a U.S. Representative from New York.