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The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Mayors and Postmasters of Providence, Rhode Island


Mayors of Providence, 1832-2018 (may be incomplete!)
Samuel W. Bridgham 1832-40 Thomas M. Burgess 1841-52 Amos Barstow 1852-53 Walter R. Danforth 1853-54 Edward P. Knowles 1854-55 James Y. Smith 1855-57 William M. Rodman 1857-59 Jabez C. Knight 1859-64 Thomas A. Doyle 1864-69 George L. Clarke 1869-70 Thomas A. Doyle 1870-81 William S. Hayward 1881-84 Thomas A. Doyle 1884-86 Gilbert F. Robbins 1886-89 Henry R. Barker 1889-91 Charles Sydney Smith 1891-92 William K. Potter 1892-94 Frank F. Olney 1894-96 Edwin D. McGuiness 1896-98 William C. Baker 1898-1901 Daniel L. D. Granger 1901-03 Augustus S. Miller 1903-05 Elisha Dyer, Jr. 1906 Patrick J. McCarthy 1907-09 Henry Fletcher 1909-13 Joseph H. Gainer 1913-27 James E. Dunne 1927-39 John F. Collins 1939-41 Dennis J. Roberts 1941-51 Walter H. Reynolds 1951-65 Joseph A. Doorley, Jr. 1965-75 Buddy Cianci 1975-84 Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. 1984-91 Buddy Cianci 1991-2002 John J. Lombardi 2002-03 David N. Cicilline 2003-11 Angel Taveras 2011-15 Jorge Elorza 2015-

Events and Candidates (may be incomplete!)

  • 1840 Dec 28: Samuel W. Bridgham, died in office.
  • 1886 Jun 9: Thomas A. Doyle, died in office.
  • 1893: Edwin D. McGuiness, defeated.
  • 1895: Edwin D. McGuiness, elected.
  • 1905 Sep 26: Augustus S. Miller, died in office.
  • 1906 Nov 29: Elisha Dyer, Jr., died in office.
  • 1907: Samuel Browning Prentice (Prohibition), defeated.
  • 1910 Nov 8: Henry Fletcher, elected.
  • 1930 Nov 4: James E. Dunne (Dem), elected.
  • 1936 Nov 3: James E. Dunne (Dem), elected.
  • 1984: Frederick Lippitt, defeated.
  • 1990: Frederick Lippitt, defeated.
  • 2002: Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 2002: David N. Cicilline, elected.
  • 2006: David N. Cicilline, elected.


    Postmasters at Providence, 1792-1986 (may be incomplete!)
    William Wilkinson 1792-1802 Benjamin West 1802-13 Gabriel Allen 1813-24 Bennett H. Wheeler 1824-31 Edward J. Mallett 1831-45 Welcome B. Sayles 1845-49 Henry L. Bowen 1849-53 Welcome B. Sayles 1853-58 Albert S. Gallup 1858-61 Walter C. Simmons 1861-65 Ephraim S. Jackson 1865-74 Charles R. Brayton 1874-80 Henry W. Gardner 1880-87 Charles H. George 1887-95 Richard Hayward 1895-1901 Clinton D. Sellew 1901-09 Walter A. Kilton 1909-17 Edward F. Carroll 1917-21 Walter A. Kilton 1921-33 Edward F. Carroll 1933-34 Edward F. Carroll 1934-42 Michael F. Coyne 1942 Michael F. Coyne 1942-45 Raymond A. Creegan 1945-46 Raymond A. Creegan 1946-61 Harry Kizirian 1961 Harry Kizirian 1961-86

  • "Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
    Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
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