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Contemporary Hamilton Record • City Marshal

“The Marshal of Hamilton”

A contemporary account of the 1853 effort led by Mark Campbell McMaken to remove John C. Elliott from the office of Hamilton marshal.

Research Library›“The Marshal of Hamilton”

What the record establishes

The charges, dated July 18, 1853, accused Elliott of neglecting and refusing official duties, gambling in violation of town ordinances, failing to arrest or prosecute known offenders, failing to preserve the public peace, and mishandling an execution. The mayor's docket entry records the August 1 proceeding and the council vote dismissing the charges.

The episode establishes a documented public conflict between McMaken and Elliott nearly a year before the July 1854 fugitive case. The surviving record does not establish that the 1853 dispute itself concerned slavery.

The Marshal of Hamilton article from the Hamilton Intelligencer August 11 1853
The Intelligencer, August 11, 1853, “The Marshal of Hamilton.” Robert S. Wicks also identified the underlying July 18-August 5, 1853 Hamilton City Council minutes and shared this research lead with the project.

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