Essex Town Clerks
The 2002 Essex Annual Town Report indicates the tremendous amount of activity that takes place in the Office of the Town Clerk, showing an operating budget of almost $100,000.00. Revenues were $78,659.00 in conveyance taxes and $84,737.00 in other Town Clerk fees. Whether it be issuing a dog license or recording deeds, this town function has expanded greatly over the years and become a vital part of the operation of our Town government. In addition to the preceding, the Town Clerk maintains and records all Essex vital statistics, issues sporting licenses and burial permits, handles military discharges, issues absentee ballots, verifies elections, and is in charge of the town vault.
The method of paying a Town Clerk has dramatically changed over the years. In 1903 for example, Thomas Coulter received $81.00 for recording vital statistics and $90.00 for the other duties of Town Clerk. The gross majority of his pay came from fees he collected and was allowed to keep. The only money he collected that was turned over to the town was the dog tax, which totaled $104.00 in this year. Today, the Town Clerk is paid a salary and cannot personally keep any fees.
Since 1881, there have been only five Town Clerks. James L. Phelps was elected to this position in that year, and held it until his untimely death on May 18, 1899. At that time, Thomas Coulter was appointed to fill out Mr. Phelps term. Judge Coulter held this job for 55 years, retiring in 1954. Interestingly, Mr. Coulter was also Judge of Probate and legal counsel for the Town, for many years. Rossiter Lord served as Town Clerk from 1954 to 1974, when Betty Gaudenzi took over. Mrs. Gaudenzi retired in 2000 and Frances Darcy has been Town Clerk since.
Originally, Town Clerks were elected every year, at the Annual Town Meeting. In 1939, this was changed to a two year term, and very recently, the positions of Town Clerk and Tax Collector were made four year positions. For the most part, the Town Clerks have been endorsed by both the Republican and Democratic parties in the past century.
Prior to 1881, Essex had nine Town Clerks from 1854, when Essex Village became an official town. The first was Gurdon Smith who was active in shipbuilding and lived on Pratt Street. James Phelps, the father of James L. Phelps served two terms, and was also a Representative to the General Assembly. John G. Hayden served only one term, and banker John Parker was active for three terms. Edward Redfield was Town Clerk from 1861 to 1874 and Carnot Spencer from 1875 to 1878. Carnot had operated the New City Store for a few years with his father, Obadiah. Augustus Tiffany was Clerk for one term.
When Essex was a borough, from 1821 to 1852, the Town Clerk was referred to as the Borough Clerk. Some well known Essex residents held this position for the slightly over 30 years we were classified as such. Included were Judge Samuel Ingham, Samuel M. Hayden, Felix Starkey, Henry Wooster, Joseph Hill Hayden, Elias Redfield, and Doctor Frederick Shepard, among others. These were all very active professional and business people, and the Clerk position was strictly part time.
The evolution of the position of Town Clerk, from the part time job it once was, to a time when Town Clerk and Judge of Probate were held by a single person, to the complicated job it is today, attests to the growing influence of government (on all levels) in the lives of all citizens. Every time a law, rule, or recommendation is passed by our town, the State Legislature, or the Federal Government , it requires recording and enforcement at the local level, for the most part. This is why our Town Hall offices are so busy. In a future issue of Essex Events, other offices that perform important town functions will be examined.