Gershom Bradford Weston
Gershom Bradford Weston, (27 Aug 1799 - 14 Sep 1869) son of shipbuilding tycoon Ezra Weston II (1772-1842) (AKA: King Caesar II) and his wife Jerusha Bradford (1770-1833), who were both direct descendants of six Mayflower pilgrims. Gershom was a large man with reddish hair, weighing about 250 pounds.[1]
Gershom Bradford Weston | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Duxbury | |
| In office 1828–1840 | |
| Member of the Judiciary of Massachusetts | |
| In office 1840–1857 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 27, 1799 Duxbury, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | August 14, 1869 (aged 69) Duxbury, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Judith Sprague, Deborarh Brownell |
| Parent(s) | Ezra Weston II, Jerusha Bradford |
| Occupation | Shipbuilder, politician and justice |
At an age 17 he began sailing on his father's ships to Denmark, England and India, before taking on a managerial role in the family business. From 1842 to 1857 he and his brothers ran the family firm until it closed down.[2]
At age 28 he entered politics as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and served there for 12 years before becoming a state justice. In 1848 Gershom joined the newly formed Free-Soil Political Party and strongly advocated it's Temperance and Abolitionist platform - "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men".[3]
He stood as the Free-Soil candidate for the U.S. Congress and lost by fewer than 150 votes.
Gershom was married twice and had 14 children, several of whom served with honor in the US Civil War.[4]
Late in life, Gershom experienced a series significant financial reverses. In 1850 his 30-acre mansion burned to the ground. By 1857 his shipping business had folded. In 1868, friends from the Massachusetts Senate purchased for him the small house he was then renting.[5]
Notes
- MainTour Duxbury
- Duxbury Historical Society
- Bradford, In With the Sea Wind, 30.
- MainTour Duxbury
- Fire that burned the Weston Library
References
- Bradford, Gershom (1962). In With the Sea Wind: The Trials and Triumphs of Some Yankee Sailors. Barre Gazette. OCLC 2163035.
- Bradford, Gershom (1920). Historic Duxbury in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. OCLC 7994783. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- Browne, Patrick T.J. (2006). King Caesar of Duxbury: Exploring the World of Ezra Weston, Shipbuilder and Merchant. Duxbury, Massachusetts: The Duxbury Rural and Historical Society, Inc. ISBN 094185910X.
- Weston, Edmund B. (1916). In Memoriam: Hon. Gershom Bradford Weston and Deborah Brownell Weston. OCLC 1816959. Retrieved February 3, 2017.