Stephen Palfrey Webb

Stephen Palfrey Webb (March 20, 1804 – September 29, 1879) was an American politician who served as the third and twelfth mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and the 5th mayor of San Francisco, California.

Early life and education Stephen Palfrey Webb was born to Captain Stephen Webb and Sara Putnam Palfrey Webb in Salem, Massachusetts on March 20, 1804. Webb was also Treasurer and Clerk of the Essex Railroad in 1849.

Webb moved to San Francisco in approximately 1853 and was elected mayor for a single term with backing from the Know Nothing movement in 1854. He prepared a report about the vigilance committees in 1874 entitled A Sketch of the Causes, Operations and Results of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in 1856.

Webb returned to Salem and was again elected mayor in 1860, 1861, and 1862,

Personal life On May 26, 1834, Webb married Hannah Hunt Beckford Robinson. Webb died in Brookline, Massachusetts on September 29, 1879.