James Goold Cutler
48th Mayor of Rochester, New York
In office
January 1, 1904 – December 31, 1907
Preceded byAdolph J. Rodenbeck
Succeeded byHiram H. Edgerton
Personal details
Born(1848-04-24)April 24, 1848
Albany, New York
DiedApril 21, 1927(1927-04-21) (aged 78)
Rochester, New York
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery, Rochester
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAnna Catherine Abbey
ProfessionArchitect

James Goold Cutler (April 24, 1848 – April 21, 1927) was a prominent Rochester, New York, architect and businessman, and served as the 48th mayor of Rochester from 1904 to 1907.

Biography

Early life and career

Cutler was born in 1848 in Albany, New York, to John N. Cutler and Mary E. (Goold) Cutler.[1] On September 27, 1871, he married Anna Catherine Abbey, and in 1872 he and his brother J. W. Cutler moved with their families to the Rochester, New York area.[2] Here he was a practicing architect from 1872 to 1884 in partnership with Andrew Jackson Warner (1833–1910) from 1875 to 1877.[3] He was the inventor of the Cutler mail chute, a mail delivery system for tall buildings, and was associated with his brother, J. W. Cutler, in management of the Cutler Manufacturing company, controlling and operating the Cutler mail chute patents.[1]

The University of Rochester's Cutler Union as viewed from its southeast side. The Union was made possible by a bequest from the Cutlers.

Political career

Cutler was a Republican presidential elector for New York State in 1896. In 1904, he was recruited by Republican boss George Aldridge to run for mayor against former mayor George E. Warner, a Democrat and comptroller James Johnston, a Republican running for the new Citizen's Party. Cutler narrowly won the election. As mayor, he oversaw major expansions of all municipal services. In his first four months, nearly one million dollars were spent on new fire fighting equipment, police precincts, hospitals, garbage collection facilities, and other improvements. Later in his term, he focused his attention on expanding the city's electric grid and street lights. He was reelected in 1905, but lost the Republican nomination to Hiram Edgerton in 1907.[4]

Death

Cutler died on April 21, 1927, in Rochester and was eulogized by his many friends, including former U.S. president William Howard Taft, former governor of New York Charles Evans Hughes and former presidential candidate John W. Davis.

References

  1. 1 2 Devoy, John (1895), A History of the City of Rochester from the Earliest Times, Rochester, New York: Post Express Printing Co., p. 159, OCLC 5426522, retrieved January 4, 2010
  2. ↑ Peck, William F. (1895), Landmarks of Monroe County, New York Containing an Historical Sketch of Monroe County and the City of Rochester, vol. III, Boston: Boston History Co., p. 147, OCLC 5921596, retrieved January 4, 2010
  3. ↑ "The Architectural Heritage of the Warners in Rochester, NY". Rochester's Own: Local Architects of the Past. Rochester, New York: Monroe County (NY) Library System. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  4. ↑ McKelvey, Blake (January 1969). "His Honor, the Mayor of Rochester: 1900-1928" (PDF). Rochester History. 31 (1): 7–14.
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