Dr.

Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff, 20th Mayor of Boston

Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff was the 20th Mayor of Boston and the city’s first
Democrat Mayor. He was born in Boston June 29, 1810 and died in Boston October 17,
1874. He was the son of the distinguished Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff, naval surgeon and
Harvard graduate. Nathaniel’s son, Nathaniel, served as a captain in Fletcher (son of
Daniel) Webster’s Regiment. Young Nathaniel made the ultimate sacrifice to his country
during an engagement at Cedar Mountain, VA.

Dr. Shurtleff graduated from Harvard in 1831 and Harvard Medical School in 1833.
He was an author of numerous books including “The Topographical History of Boston.”
He served on the Board of Overseers at Harvard. He was the Trustee for the Boston
Public Library from 1952-1868, and created a catalog system for the library. As a
genealogist, he was active in the Boston genealogical Society. He traced his family back
to 11 Mayflower passengers. . He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Boston in 1855. But
ran again in 1868 and served three terms from 1868-1870. During his administration,
Dorchester, and Roxbury were annexed to the city and the East Boston Ferry service was
started. He advocated frugality and during his first term, taxes were decreased but the
city’s budget did increase during his tenure in office. ( Democrats in his day where the
conservatives.)

Dr. Shurtleff married Sarah Smith, daughter of Hiram Smith and they had six children,
two of which died in infancy. Two of his sons served in the Civil War, Nathaniel
mentioned above, and Hiram who served as a captain in the 56th Massachusetts Regiment.
Dr. Shurtleff died in 1874. He is buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery along side his son
Nathaniel. I am a descendent of this fine man and named by son after him. While it
wasn’t uncommon for those of Yankee stock to be unsympathetic to those of the Roman
Catholic faith, Dr. Shurtleff’s son, Nathaniel converted to Catholicism and had he
survived the war, planned to go into the priesthood.