Isaac Weld
Encyclopedia
He was born on 15 March 1774 on Fleet Street, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
He was educated at Whyte's school, Grafton Street, and in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. He married Alexandra Hope in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1802. He had no children. His half-brother was Charles Richard Weld, traveller and author of "A Vacation Tour in the United States and Canada" (London, 1855) which was dedicated to his brother, Isaac. His father, also Isaac, was a personal friend of Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
. The name Isaac stems from his great grandfather's close friendship with Sir Isaac Newton. His brother-in-law was George Ensor
George Ensor
George Ensor J.P. was an eminent Irish author and lawyer.Ensor was born in Ardress, County Armagh, Ireland and educated at the Royal School, Armagh followed by Trinity College Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1792. He married Esther Weld on 7 January 1804...
. He spent some time in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
where he befriended Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...
.
Travels in the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He visited Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
and Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
and met George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. He journeyed to the United States and Canada partly as an adventure and partly as research into suitable countries for the Irish to emigrate to - "..any part of those territories might be looked forward to as an eligible and agreeable place of abode". He travelled on horseback, by coach and by canoe in Canada with local native guides. He returned in 1797 "..without entertaining the slightest wish to revisit it." He found the Americans to be obsessed with material things and preferred Canada. His published Travels (1799) quickly went into three editions and was translated into French, German, and Dutch.
Quotes from Travels Through the States of North America...
He wrote on slavery “..there will be an end to slavery in the United States…[as] negroes will not remain deaf to the inviting call of liberty forever.” and Americans in general "civility cannot be purchased from them on any terms; they seem to think that it is incompatible with freedom...". On Washington DC he wrote "If the affairs of the United States go on as rapidly as they have done, it will become the grand emporium of the West, and rival in magnitude and splendour the cities of the whole world."Ireland
He visited KillarneyKillarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
, navigated the lakes in a boat he made from compressed brown paper, and published Scenery of Killarney (1807), illustrated with his own drawings. He is also well known for his drawings of American life and, in particular, the Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
.
In May 1815 he sailed from Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the 14 hp steamboat Thomas, the first such vessel to make the passage. He compiled the Statistical Survey of the County of Roscommon (1838) for the Royal Dublin Society
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
, of which he was Honourary Secretary and Vice President. He died at his home, Ravenswell, near Bray
Bray
Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, 4 August 1856, and is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery
Mount Jerome Cemetery
Mount Jerome Cemetery is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials...
, Dublin
The Welds of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. His ancestor, Thomas Weld, was a Puritan minister from Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
who was one of three brothers who emigrated to Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
in 1632.
Isaac Weld's great, great grandfather Thomas Weld helped to publish the Bay Psalm Book
Bay Psalm Book
The Bay Psalm Book was the first book, that is still in existence, printed in British North America.The book is a Psalter, first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English...
, the first book published in America. Eventually he returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
. Isaac's great grandfather (Nathaniel), was graduated at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He left Massachusetts for Kinsale
Kinsale
Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...
and then Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland, and the River Martin. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(1655) to be a Puritan Chaplain with Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
. He later moved to Dublin.
The family that stayed in America grew in wealth and influence and includes such notables as Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
William Weld
William Weld
William Floyd Weld is a former governor of the US state of Massachusetts. He served as that state's 68th governor from 1991 to 1997. From 1981 to 1988, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Justice Department...
, Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...
, and Theodore Dwight Weld
Theodore Dwight Weld
Theodore Dwight Weld , was one of the leading architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years, from 1830 through 1844.Weld played a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer...
.
Books written and published
- Weld's Travels
- Travels Through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada During the Years 1795, 1796 and 1797
- Statistical Survey of the County of Roscommon', drawn up under the direction of the Dublin Society
- Scenery of Killarney 1807
- Ravenswell Bray Co. Dublin, The Seat of Isaac Weld Esq. Sketches by Isaac Weld A.D. 1817
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, updated as Oxford Biography Index Number 101028984
- Clarke Historical Library
- Yale University
- The Amica Library
- Brown University
- Anesi
- University of Ontario
- Google Travels through the states of North America, and the provinces of Upper and ...
- Google Statistical Survey of the County of Roscommon
- Visitors to Monticello Bibliovault