of the board of aldermen becomes mayor. Five people have acted as mayor: Wilson Primm following the resignation of John Darby; Ferdinand W. Cronenbold following the resignation of Chauncey Filley; Herman Rechtien following the death of Arthur Barret; George W. Allen following the resignation of David Francis; and Aloys P. Kaufmann following the death of William Becker. List of mayors Notes A. 47 people have served as mayor, four twice; the table includes these non-consecutive terms as well. B. The fractional terms of some mayors are not to be understood absolutely literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple mayors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like. C. Samuel Merry was elected mayor of St. Louis in April 1833; however, his eligibility was questioned by the City Council as he was a federal officer—United States Receiver of Public Moneys in St. Louis. Merry filed suit to force the council's compliance and in October 1833, he was ruled ineligible by the Missouri Supreme Court. Johnston was elected mayor in a special mayoral election held a month later on November 9. Page continued to serve as mayor until the case was settled and Johnston elected. D. Darby resigned from office. William Carr Lane was later elected to fill the vacancy. E. As president of the Board of Aldermen, Primm acted as mayor following the resignation of Darby. F. Oliver Filley's second term was the first mayoral term to last 2 years. G. Daniel G. Taylor was the candidate of a one-time coalition of traditional Missouri Democrats, pro-slavery activists, and secessionists calling itself the "Union Anti-Black Republican" ticket. The coalition was suspicious of the Abolitionist platform of the Republican party, and argued that St. Louis should not be governed by "Black Abolitionists" who would support newly elected President Lincoln in acting, including the use of military force, to prevent secession of southern states. Mayor Taylor worked in concert with Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, until Jackson fled the state capitol to establish a Confederate aligned state government-in-exile. Mayor Taylor then cooperated with the new conservative-Unionist Governor, Hamilton Gamble. H. Chauncey Filley resigned after serving one year of his two-year term as mayor due to poor health. I. As president of the Board of Common Council, Cronenbold acted as mayor following the resignation of Chauncey Filley. J. Died in office. K. Barret became suddenly ill and died after only 11