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Memorial and Family History of Erie County, New York
Vol. I, Biographical and Genealogical
The Genealogical Publishing Co., Buffalo; 1906-8

   [72-74]

        GEN. EDGAR B. JEWETT, ex-Mayor and ex-Police Commissioner of
     Buffalo and head of the JOHN C. JEWETT Manufacturing Company, enjoys
     the triple distinction of military, civic and business achievements of
     a very high order.  As a soldier, GEN. JEWETT has a brilliant record
     of service and promotion.  Elected Mayor of Buffalo by the largest
     majority up to that time ever given a candidate for the office, he
     proved the power of a strong personality in municipal affairs. His
     administration was characterized by the large number of difficult and
     important questions that arose and by the able way they were met.
        EDGAR BOARDMAN JEWETT was born at Ann Arbor, Mich., December 14,
     1843. While still a child he came to Buffalo with his parents and was
     educated in the public schools of that city. In 1860 he entered the
     JOHN C. JEWETT establishment. A year later the Civil War broke out,
     and he enlisted as a private in Company C, 74th Regiment N. G. S. N.
     Y. In May, 1863, he was elected Sergeant, and held that rank during
     the period, following LEE'S invasion of Pennsylvania, from June to
     August of the same year. In the campaign immediately succeeding the
     Confederate leader's famous attempt to gain a foothold on Northern
     soil, SERGEANT JEWETT participated, his services being highly credit-
     able. Returning to Buffalo as First Sergeant June 29th, 1865, he was
     commissioned First Lieutenant; April 3d, 1866, Captain; October 9th,
     1870, Inspector of the 14th Brigade; April 11th, 1877, Major; and was
     also appointed Inspector of Rifle Practice of the 31st Brigade.
     October 25, 1880, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of
     Staff of the 14th Brigade. March 29th, 1884, he was elected Brigadier
     General of the 8th Brigade, serving until December 7th, 1885, when he
     resigned to accept the position of President and General Manager of
     the JOHN C. JEWETT Manufacturing Company.
        March 1st, 1894, MAYOR BISHOP appointed him one of the Police
     Commissioners of Buffalo. In this capacity GEN. JEWETT proved an able,
     interested and very popular official, and his record as Commissioner
     was one of the chief factors in his nomination by the Republicans of
     Buffalo for Mayor, an office to which he was elected in November,
     1894, by nearly 10,000 majority, the largest till then ever received
     by a candidate.
        By his very first veto MAYOR JEWETT prevented the awarding of the
     street-cleaning contracts to a few hitherto favored bidders, and in
     the Street Department alone saved the city over $24,000 by his in-
     sistence that contracts should be let to the lowest bidders. It was
     MAYOR JEWETT who introduced the plan of utilizing vacant land in
     Buffalo for the benefit of the poor. He carried the project through
     with signal success. Five hundred and seventy-eight families were
     thereby made self-supporting, and the municipality was relieved of the
     burden of their maintenance. Immediately after his accession to
     office, MAYOR JEWETT began the erection of school buildings, twelve
     of which were completed during his term, including the handsome new
     Masten Park High School. A firm believer in Civil Service Reform,
     MAYOR JEWETT, early in 1896, made a new classification of all the city
     offices, a leading feature of the plan being a wide extension of the
     merit system.
        October 3, 1865, GEN. JEWETT was married at Ann Arbor, Mich., to
     ELIZABETH FOSTER DANFORTH of that city. Their children were: MAUDE,
     born January 8, 1868, died June 5, of the same year; GEORGE DANFORTH,
     born May 21, 1869, died August 21 of that year; JOHN EDGAR, born
     September 2, 1871; and MABEL, born February 19, 1877.

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