List of Mayors of the Village of Saugerties

President of the Village of Ulster
TermNamePolitical PartyNotesImage
1831-1832Henry BarclayParty?A businessman from a Loyalist family from New York City. He financed the building of the dam on the Esopus Creek and harnessed its water power for ironworking and paper manufacturing. Barclay Heights, the neighborhood directly south of the Village, is named for him.
1832-1833Henry P HeermansParty?Notes?Image?
1833-1834Russell BradleyParty?Notes?Image?
1834-1839John V L OverbaghWhigFirst president of the Bank of Ulster, which later became the First National Bank of Saugerties (Source). He also represented Ulster County in the New York State Assembly in 1840.
1839-1841Jeremiah RussellDemocraticHeld many a political office in his time, including that of US Congressman from 1843 to 1845.
?UnknownParty?At this time, the Presidents of the Village of Ulster from 1841-1848 are not known to me.Image?
1849-1850Peter D. SchoonmakerParty?Elected by the Board of Trustees on June 6, 1849. Source: The Saugerties Telegraph, June 9 1849, In column titled "City Items".Image?
?UnknownParty?At this time, the Presidents of the Village of Ulster from 1851-1855 are not known to me. I have found a reference to Fordyce L. Laflin and James Russell being President in 1851 (perhaps one till that year's election and the other after?).Image?
President of the Village of Saugerties
TermNamePolitical PartyNotesImage
1855David Van Buskirk  Image?
1856John Vedder A doctor and president of the New York State Anti-Vivisection Society. The photograph seems to have been taken later in his life; it is from a card he sent out on his 84th birthday in 1899.
1857Cornelius Battelle Active in the Trinity Church, ultimately moved to Washington, D.C. for a time.Image?
1858Solomon Cone Was a preacher at the Methodist Episcopal Church, and also worked as a lawyer.Image?
1859William C. DeWitt Worked as a physician. The portrait seen here is atributed to Ammi Philips. (Source, p. 59)
1860Samuel Merclean  Image?
1861Cornelius Battelle See above.Image?
1862-1863John Vedder See above.
1863William Fiero RussellDemocraticFilling in the remainder of John Vedder's term.
1864Egbert CooperDemocratic Image?
1865-1866William Hanna  Image?
1867Henry D. Laflin Brother of Fordyce L. Laflin.
1868William E. Kipp  Image?
1869Joseph Smith  Image?
1870-1871Moses KrohnDemocraticAfter Saugerties, went to Cincinatti and Dayton, Ohio where he was very involved in the cigar business. Image source: "The Tobacco World" magazine.
1872James Maines  Image?
1873Thomas MaxwellRepublicanInvolved in the bluestone business.
1874Egbert CooperDemocraticDied in France while on vacation.Image?
1875Benjamin M. FrelighRepublicanRepresented Ulster County in the 109th New York State Assembly in 1886. Image?
1876-1877William Fiero RussellDemocraticSon of Jeremiah Russell, he followed his father's footsteps and served as a US Congressman.
1878William R. SheffieldRepublican 
1879Robert A. SnyderRepublican
1880James A. James  
1881Seaman G. SearingDemocraticRepresented Ulster County in the 1878 New York Assembly. Also served as Town Supervisor in 1858 and 1877-1878.
1882Thomas S. DawesDemcoraticA Massachusetts native (and brother of Senator Henry L. Dawes of that state), he came to New York and studied medicine in Coxsackie. He settled in Saugerties, where he worked as a physician for 44 years, and served in many political positions locally, and also on the State Board of Health. He is remembered as a staunch Republican by many sources, including The Pearl, however he was sometimes elected on the Democratic ticket.
1883Ovid T. SimmonsDemocraticSometimes called "Captain" for his work on Hudson River sloops. 
1884Thomas S. DawesDemocraticSee above.
1885George Seamon Together with his brother John, operated the Seamon Brothers Funeral Home, which also sold furniture. In 1907, John Seamon bought and donated the land that is now Seamon Park to the Village. Fun Fact: The land used to belong to former Town Supervisor Egbert Cooper.
1886-1887Benjamin M. CoonRepublicanRan for Justice of the Peace in the 1875 election, and was defeated.
1888-1891William R. SheffieldRepublicanResigned November 12, 1891.
1892James H. Van KeurenRepublican  
1893Marcellus H. WygantRepublicanAs a young man, he fought for the Union in the Civil War (the photograph here depicts him during this time). His interesting encounter with Confederate Brigadier General William Barksdale is recounted here. He later practiced dentistry.
1894Norman CunyesDemocraticA mason and contractor, he died while visiting a friend in Woodstock in 1916.
1895Ovid T. SimmonsDemocraticSee above. 
1897-1898Martin CantineRepublicanOwner of the Martin Cantine Paper Company, which operated on the Esopus Creek. In 1938, he donated a 31-acre property to the Town of Saugerties which became Cantine Field.
1898-1899Alfred P. LasherRepublicanLasher was born in Coxsackie, and started his career as a shipping clerk for John Maxwell in Malden. Also served as president of the library and director of the First National Bank of Saugerties. (Biographical information from "The History of Ulster County, New York" by Clearwater, p. 637.)
1899-1900Richard S. Gibson In 1888, Gibson received the most votes in the village election for Director, First Ward - however, he did not actually reside in the first ward. In the 1888 New York State Supreme Court Case Gibson v. Sheffield, the court ruled that despite receiving the most votes, he could not be elected to the office. Gibson died on June 16th, 1922. 
1900-1901William ZieglerParty?Owner of the popular restaurant Ziegler's Cafe. In more recent times, this space has hosted the DIG clothing store and the Windmill wine shop, but the bar of Ziegler's Cafe still stands.
1901-1912Albert RoweRepublicanThe first person to serve in this office for more than three consecutive years. At different times, he worked in the farming, stone cutting, meat packing industries.
1913-1923William ZieglerParty?See above.
1923-1927Mervin Gillespy  Image?
Mayor of the Village of Saugerties
1927-1931Mervin GillespyUnion-Citizens PartyThe first to serve under the new New York State Village Law, which changed the title to "Mayor".Image?
1931-1933W. Hoyt OverbaghUnion-Citizens PartyGreat-grandson of John V.L. Overbagh.
1933-1937Myron BedellCitizen's Protective PartyOriginally from Greene County, Myron Bedell was a grocer by trade. Outside of village politics, he was affiliated with the Republican Party, and was a representative of Ulster County at the 1916 Republican Party state convention.
1937-1940George L. KerbertCitizen's Protective PartyOwner and operator of "George L. Kerbert Plumbing and Heating" for 52 years. During his mayoralty he oversaw the creation of the village sewer plant by the Works Progress Administration. Kerbert's term ended with his resignation on August 31st, 1940, due to health issues and business pressures.
1940-1941Frank S. TongueCitizen's Protective PartyDeclined re-nomination
1941John F. CarnrightCitizen's Protective PartyDied in office, aged 55.
1941-1949Franklin P. ClumCitizens Protective PartyWas not allowed on 1949 ballot per NYS Supreme Court decision Clum v. Holmes, ran a write-in campaign, lost by 200 votes.
1949-1955George P. HolmesTaxpayers PartyOwner and founder of Holmes Memorials.
1955-1957Arthur F SimmonsCitizens Protective PartyReal estate developer who oversaw the creation of Simmons Plaza in Barclay Heights. He defeated George Holmes by 41 votes in the 1955 election.
1957-1963George P. HolmesIndependent PartyReclaimed the position from Simmons in 1957, and ran unopposed in 1959. Reelected 1961.
1963-1964William ZieglerSaugerties Village PartySon of earlier Mayor William Ziegler.
1964-1973Cornelius "Neal" Matthew CoxSaugerties Village PartyWorked as a mason and bricklayer, was appointed by Mayor Holmes to be Police Commissioner in 1957. He was a member of the Independent Party until 1962, when he switched to the newly-formed Village Party. Ran unopposed in 1965, 1967, 1969, and 1971.
1973-1975Vernon "Joe" A. BenjaminIndependent Taxpayers Party (1973)
Sawyer Party (1975)
Headed the new "Independent Taxpayers Party" in 1973, which changed its name to the "Sawyer Party" in 1975.
Benjamin designed the Saugerties Town Seal, which was adopted in August of 1950. In non-village politics, he was affiliated with the Republican Party.
He is also the father of Town Supervisor Vernon Benjamin.
1975-1976James V. GageVillage PartyServed as Village Clerk for many years. Indicted on two counts of larceny, confessed to altering tax rolls, fined $3000 dollars. Resigned November 1976.
1976-1977Erika HincheySawyer PartyErika Hinchey was the first woman on the village board in 1973 (on the Independent Taxpayers Party ticket), and the first woman to be mayor of Saugerties when she was elected by the Board of Trustees to fill the unexpired term of James V. Gage in 1976. She was the first wife of former U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey.
1977-1979George A. TurnerSawyer Party Turner is the only person to have served as both Village Mayor and Town Supervisor since the end of the 19th century.
1979-1983Charles W SteeleVillage Party The first person hired by Rotron in Woodstock, where he worked for many years.
1983-1985Robert M MoserVillage PartyA street,"Bob Moser Dr", in the Cantine Veterans Sports Complex was named in his honor in August of 2000.
1985-1992John Mull RobbinsOriginal Sawyer PartyIn 1989 defeated former mayor Simmons's comeback bid. In 1992, he moved out of the village limits, necessitating his resignation.
1992-1997Anthi "Tina" ChorvasOriginal Sawyer Party ('92-'96)
New Vision Party
(After '96)
Tina Chorvas Waterfront Park is named in her honor.
1997-2010Robert A YerickNew Vision PartyServed in the US Navy during the Korean War. He was interviewd by the NYS Military Museum in 2005, a transcript of which can be found here. Resigned 2010.
2010-CurrentBill MurphyNew Vision PartyEmployed by IBM. In his youth, he delivered newspapers to Mayor Robert Yerick, who preceded him in office.

A brief disclaimer: I am not a scholar or historian in an official sense, and my findings have not been subjected to academic scrutiny. However, I have a lot of fun compiling the information here, with no intent to mislead, and I hope it can be of some use or interest to anyone who would like to know more about Saugerties history! If you have relevant information or images you would like to share, please do not hesitate to reach out at iandouglasbyrne at gmail.com :-)

Sources:

1880, History of Ulster County, New York, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester

1907, The History of Ulster County, New York, edited by Alphonso T. Clearwater

1984, History of Ulster County With a Focus on the Last 100 Years, [LINK]

2012, Minutes of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Ulster, 1831-1841, Digitized by Michael Sullivan Smith and transcribed by Audrey Klinkenberg, Collection of the Saugerties Public Library

Saugerties Public Library, Digital Newspaper Archive [LINK]

See also:

"Find-A-Grave" Virtual Cemetery of Saugerties Mayors

List of Supervisors of the Town of Saugerties

List of Ulster County Legislators Representing Saugerties (Under construction)