Nathaniel B. Shurtleff
American physician
title: "Nathaniel B. Shurtleff" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1810-births", "1874-deaths", "19th-century-mayors-of-places-in-massachusetts", "harvard-medical-school-alumni", "physicians-from-massachusetts", "mayors-of-boston", "harvard-university-alumni", "trustees-of-the-boston-public-library"] description: "American physician" topic_path: "people/1810s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_B._Shurtleff" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American physician ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Nathaniel B. Shurtleff |
| image | Mayor NB Shurtleff.png |
| order | 20th |
| office | Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts |
| term_start | January 6, 1868{{Citation |
| location | Boston, MA}} |
| term_end | January 2, 1871{{Citation |
| location | Boston, MA}} |
| predecessor | Otis Norcross |
| successor | William Gaston |
| birth_date | June 22, 1810 |
| birth_place | Boston, Massachusetts |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Boston, Massachusetts |
| party | Democratic |
| spouse | Sara Eliza Smith |
| alma_mater | Harvard College, Harvard Medical School |
| profession | Medical Doctor |
| :: |
| name =Nathaniel B. Shurtleff | image =Mayor NB Shurtleff.png | imagesize = | smallimage = | caption = | order =20th | office =Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts | term_start =January 6, 1868{{Citation | author = City Council of Boston | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 258 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department | location = Boston, MA}} | term_end =January 2, 1871{{Citation | author = City Council of Boston | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 261 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department | location = Boston, MA}} | predecessor =Otis Norcross | successor =William Gaston | birth_date =June 22, 1810 | birth_place =Boston, Massachusetts | death_date = | death_place =Boston, Massachusetts | nationality = | party =Democratic | spouse = Sara Eliza Smith | relations = | children = | residence = | alma_mater =Harvard College, Harvard Medical School | occupation = | profession =Medical Doctor | religion = | signature = | website = | footnotes =
Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff Sr. (June 22, 1810 – October 17, 1874) was an American politician, serving as the twentieth mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from January 6, 1868, to January 2, 1871.
Early life
Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff Sr. was born on June 22, 1810, in Boston. His father was Benjamin Shurtleff, a physician.
He was initially educated in the Boston Public Schools system but later transferred to the short lived Round Hill School in Northampton. After graduating, he attended Harvard Medical School and followed his father's footsteps in becoming a physician.
He was a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.
Political career
Shurtleff, who had been defeated as the Know Nothing candidate for mayor in 1855 and as a Democrat in 1865 and 1866, was elected in 1867 as a Democrat. He won re-election in both 1868 and 1869.
Mayoralty
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Nathaniel_B.Shurtleff_5210004_015_019(3x4a).jpg" caption="Shurtleff before his time as mayor, undated."] ::
Shurtleff was largely unaware how to run a city; and thus, struggled as mayor. During his mayoralty Atlantic Avenue was laid out, Federal Street was widened, and other streets were extended. The task of laying out streets was transferred from the Board of Aldermen to a board of commissioners during his mayoralty. The city also gained ownership of the East Boston ferries and annexed Dorchester while he was mayor.
Later life
Shurtleff did not run for a fourth term in the 1870 election.
He died on October 17, 1874, at the age of 64.
Honors
Shurtleff was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1849. He was chosen to serve on the society's board of councilors from 1853 to 1874. In 1857, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Books
Shurtleff is well known to genealogists and historians as the editor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony records (published in five volumes from 1853 as Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England) and of part of the Plymouth Colony records.
- A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston.
References
Bibliography
- A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822–1908, Roxbury, 1846–1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers, Boston, MA: City of Boston Printing Department, (1909) pp. 258–261.
- Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done, Boston, MA: State Street Trust Company, (1914) pp. 28–29.
References
- (1914). "Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done". State Street Trust Company.
- City Council of Boston. (1909). "A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers". City of Boston Printing Department.
- "Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. (Nathaniel Bradstreet), 1810-1874 {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface".
- {{Citation. Chamberlin. Joseph Edgar. "The Boston Transcript: A History of Its First Hundred Years". Ayer Publishing. (1969 {{ISBN). 0-8369-5146-8
- Mass.), State Street Trust Company (Boston. (1914). "Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and what They Have Done". State Street Trust Company.
- Mass.), State Street Trust Company (Boston. (1914). "Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and what They Have Done". State Street Trust Company.
- [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlists American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]
- Dunbar, B. (1987). ''Members and Officers of the American Antiquarian Society''. Worcester: American Antiquarian Society.
- "APS Member History".
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