 Among the early proponents of gas was James Crutchett, who bought a house north of the Capitol grounds and lit it with gas.This drew the attention of Congress, which voted him $17,500 to light up the Capitol and helped encourage public support for wider use of gas.A supporter of Crutchett's ideas was Benjamin B. French, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, who helped attract other important supporters, including William A. Bradley, the city's postmaster and mayor; John F. Callan, a druggist; his brother Michael P. Callan, a Post Office clerk; hardware merchant William H. Harrover; William H. English, a Treasury clerk who became a Congressman from Indiana and later a Vice-Presidential candidate; and Jacob Bigelow, an attorney and abolitionist who later helped escaped slave Ann Maria Weems.