Robert E. Cahill was born November 21, 1866 the son of Daniel and Eliza Nelson Cahill at their home on 118 West Lynde Street in the City of Watertown. Mr. Cahill spent his entire life at that same address and graduated from Cooper Street School.
He was the proprietor of the Watertown Engine Company and President of the Jefferson Farm School, governed by the City of Watertown, in the care of truant boys.
In 1911, during a dispute about the placement of a bridge connecting the north and south sides of the City, Mr. Cahill was the leader of a booster club to promote a Jackson Street location for the bridge. After that location was defeated in a city election, the club transformed into the North Side Improvement League and by the time Mr. Cahill was elected president of the club in 1920, the membership had grown from 14 to 350.
He served on the Watertown Board of Education from 1911-19 and was president of that Board from 1914-1916.
In 1915, he ran for president of the Common Council and was defeated by Isaac R. Breen. It was around this time that the commission form of government was gaining strength in various parts of the country in a move away from the aldermanic form. He was a strong advocate for this type of government and was the first Mayor elected under the City Manager form of government, serving one four-year term from 1920 to 1923. He ran again for the position of Mayor in 1927 on the anti-administration ticket but was defeated by Mayor John B. Harris.
Mr. Cahill never married. His brother, Daniel W. Cahill, was Mayor of the City of Watertown in 1906. They are the only brothers to serve as Mayor.
Robert E. Cahill died at his home in Watertown on January 16, 1932 at the age of 65. He is buried at Brookside Cemetery.
