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Mayor Benjamin Seaver
Served 1852-1853
"Born in Roxbury, April 12, 1795; died February 14, 1856; served as Boston Mayor during 1852-1853.
Two elections were necessary before Mr. Seaver was chosen, and at the second he received only one vote more than the united votes of his four opponents.
He had been a member of the Common Council for five years, and at the time of his election was in business as an auctioneer. Mayor Seaver applied most of his efforts to keeping down the expenditures for municipal purposes. On his recommendation, the Board of Land Commissioners was established in 1853, in place of a joint committee of the City Council. During the first year of his administration, the tax rate stood at $6.40 and was raised later on to $7.60, in order that all expenditures might be met from taxes. The city debt was reduced $234,000, through the sale of city property and through higher taxes.
Mayor Seaver will be remembered principally through his effort to secure a building for the Public Library."
