Stephen Palfrey Webb

Born on March 20, 1804, Stephen Palfrey Webb became a lawyer and public figure whose career connected two very different American cities. He is best remembered for serving as mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and later as mayor of San Francisco during the city's fast-changing early years.

Webb served as Salem's third and twelfth mayor, with terms in the 1840s and again in the early 1860s. In between, he moved west and became the sixth mayor of San Francisco, giving him the unusual distinction of leading major cities on both coasts.

He died on September 29, 1879. Today, Webb stands out as a useful window into 19th-century public life: a trained lawyer, a repeat municipal leader, and a figure whose work touched both old New England and a rapidly growing California city.