Isaac Smith Kalloch
18th Mayor of San Francisco
In office
December 1, 1879 – December 4, 1881
Preceded byAndrew Jackson Bryant
Succeeded byMaurice Carey Blake
Personal details
BornJuly 10, 1832
Rockland, Maine
DiedDecember 9, 1887(1887-12-09) (aged 55)
Bellingham, Washington
ProfessionMinister, Mayor

Isaac Smith Kalloch (July 10, 1832 – December 9, 1887) was a Baptist pastor from New England who served as the 18th Mayor of San Francisco serving from December 1, 1879, to December 4, 1881. He also served as the first president of Ottawa University in Kansas from 1866 to 1868.

Early life in New England and move West

He was born at Rockland, Maine and attended Colby College (Waterville College) until he was expelled in 1849 (later receiving an honorary M.A. in 1856).[1] In the 1850s Kalloch served as a Baptist minister in Rockland, Maine and then Boston, Massachusetts at Tremont Temple from 1855 to 1860, where he was acquitted of accusations of adultery in 1857.[2] Kalloch eventually went to New York where he served as a pastor from 1861 to 1864. He then moved to Kansas, living there from 1864 to 1875 where he was a co-founder and the first president of Ottawa University from 1866 to 1868. In 1875 he went to California looking to spread the Baptist faith.[3]

Mayorship of San Francisco and assassination attempt

In 1878, Kalloch became one of the major religious leaders of San Francisco to endorse the Workingmen's Party of California. This endorsement brought himself increased fame as "workingmen flocked to his church" and his "halls were packed as never before." Because of his popular role in the San Francisco community, in 1879, the Workingmen's Party of California helped him run for Mayor of San Francisco. Kalloch's involvement in the Workingmen's Party of California has been attributed to the party looking to fulfill both the party's and its membership's spiritual needs.[4]

During Isaac Kalloch's campaign for mayor, he came under attack from the San Francisco Chronicle's editor-in-chief, Charles de Young, who was backing another candidate.[5] De Young, with the hopes of taking Kalloch out of the mayoral race, accused the minister of having an affair. Kalloch responded by accusing Charles' mother, Amelia, of running a brothel. In response, Charles ambushed Kalloch in the streets of San Francisco and shot him twice. Kalloch survived the wounds and, with the sympathy of voters, was elected mayor of San Francisco. He served from 1879 until 1881.

On April 23, 1880, Kalloch's son, Isaac Milton Kalloch, entered the Chronicle building and shot de Young to death.

After his term as mayor, Kalloch left San Francisco and moved to the Washington Territory. He died of diabetes in Bellingham, Washington,[6] aged 55.

References

  1. ^ Ernest C. Marriner, "KALLOCH-SAINT OR SINNER?" The Colby Alumnus, February 1948, p. 9 https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1308&context=alumnus
  2. ^ Only Full Report of the Trial of Rev. I.S. Kalloch on Charge of Adultery (1857) accessible on Google Books
  3. ^ Ernest C. Marriner, "KALLOCH-SAINT OR SINNER?" The Colby Alumnus, February 1948, p. 9 https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1308&context=alumnus
  4. ^ Shumsky, Neil L. (1976). "San Francisco's Workingmen Respond to the Modern City". California Historical Quarterly. 55 (1): 46–57. doi:10.2307/25157608. ISSN 0097-6059. JSTOR 25157608.
  5. ^ Isaac Smith Kalloch (1832–1887) – Find A Grave Memorial
  6. ^ The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Kaan to Kandlik
Categories