Alexander Huntington Newcomb (1824-1888)

B.M. Newcomb wrote:

In Toledo, in company with his son, was produce and commission merchant, dealer in flour, feed and provisions. In 1860 he was Mayor of Toledo; in 1874 Grand Master of Masons in Ohio. For four years was deputy collector of the 10th collection district of Ohio; 1857-60 justice of the peace.

From <i>Biographical Encyclopedia of Ohio</i>:

Alexander H. Newcomb, ex-Mayor of Toledo, was born, August 6th, 1824, in Waterloo, New York. In 1835 he removed with his parents to Toledo, Ohio, where he has since made his home. His father, Eleazer Newcomb, was a soldier in the war of 1812, his grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution, and his great-grandfather, Captain Bayes Newcomb, fought in the French war of 1757. His paternal ancestors came to this country from England, in about 1650, and were among the early settlers of New England. His maternal grandfather, Walter Taylor, was a captain in the revolutionary army. In 1856 Mr. Newcomb lost his right hand by the premature discharge of a cannon, at a Whig mass-meeting. When the Whig party ceased to exist, he naturally found a political home in the Republican party, to which he still belongs. He is a prominent and zealous Free Mason, having been made in Toledo Lodge in March, 1851. In December of 1854 he was elected Worshipful Master of his lodge, in which capacity he served for twelve years. For thirteen years he was Grand Lecturer for the Third Ohio District. In October of 1867 he was elected Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, being re-elected in the following year. In October of 1869 he was elected Grand Master, and served as such for three consecutive terms. During Mr. Newcomb's administration as Grand Master, the Earl De Grey and Ripon, Grand Master of England, visited Washington on business for his government. A banquet of unusual elegance was given by the Masonic fraternity to the Earl De Grey and Ripon, and at this Grand Master Newcomb was present by invitation. Mr. Newcomb is a member of Fort Meigs Chapter, Toledo Council, Royal and Select Masons, and of Toledo Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templar. He was a Justice of the Peace from 1857 to 1860, when he was elected Mayor of Toledo. Mr. Newcomb has seen Toledo grow from a small village into a busy, thriving city of sixty thousand inhabitants--a growth in which he has borne a creditable part.