William Gordon Weld

William Gordon Weld (1775–1825) was a shipmaster and ship owner. He is notable as an ancestor of several famous Welds.

Ancestry and early life

Weld was a descendant of Joseph Weld, who came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century and was involved in the Pequot War and subsequent negotiations.

Weld lived his early life in Weld Hall, his family home on Weld Hill in the Forest Hills section of what is now Jamaica Plain. His father, Colonel Eleazer Weld, was one of seven Weld family members who fought in the American Revolutionary War. [" [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin/ma/boston_intent_2.htm A Volume of Records Relating To The Early History of Boston Containing Boston Marriages From 1752 to 1809] " (Boston, Municipal Printing Office, 1903) lists a March 31, 1761 marriage intention notice re: Eleazer Weld and Mary Hatch. The dates involved make it probable that Mary Hatch was William Gordon Weld's mother.]

Like many family members, William Gordon Weld graduated from Harvard, a university with Weld ties from the 17th to the 21st centuries.

Maritime industry

Weld turned his attention away from agriculture and concentrated on maritime shipping. He created a fleet of "China clippers" and profited from trade between Asia and the New World.

His fortune suffered a notable setback during the War of 1812. A British frigate cruising off Boston Harbor captured one Weld's ships carrying a valuable cargo of wine and Spanish silver dollars. Weld himself was captured and may have paid a ransom to be released.

Legacy

Weld married Hannah Minot (1780–1860), a member of a Massachusetts family represented by such notables as George Minot and Henry Davis Minot. They had one daughter and eight sons. ( [http://www.harvardmag.com/nd98/welds.2.html see chart] ).

The home William and Hannah built was in the Minot family's possession by the mid 19th century and later became the home of Andrew James Peters, Mayor of Boston, (and James Michael Curley rival) after he married a Minot.

Among those descended from William Gordon Weld and Hannah Minot are:

*Son William Fletcher Weld — shipping, railroad and real estate magnate
*Son Stephen Minot Weld — politician, namesake of Weld Hall at Harvard University
*Son George Walker Weld — financier of the Weld Boathouse
*Grandon Stephen Minot Weld Jr. — American Civil War general
*Great-grandson Philip Saltonstall Weld — World War II commando, publisher, environmentalist
*Great-granddaughter Isabel Weld Perkins — socialite philanthropist
*Great-great-great-grandson William Weld — former Governor of Massachusetts

Notes

References

* [http://www.jphs.org/people/2005/4/14/weld-family.html "The Weld Family", Jamaica Plain Historical Society]
* [http://www.harvardmag.com/nd98/welds.html "The Welds of Harvard Yard" by Craig A. Lambert, associate editor of "Harvard Magazine"]
* [http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/bonsai/intro.html Larz Anderson and Isabel Weld Larz bio, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University]
* [http://www.jphs.org/colonial/revolutionary-war-burial-site-near-arboretum.html "Revolutionary War Burial Site Near Arboretum", Jamaica Plain Historical Society]
* [http://www.mot.org/Museum/andersons.html "The Andersons", Larz Anderson Auto Museum]