Thomas Gold Appleton son of merchant Nathan Appleton

Nathan Appleton

Nathan Appleton was an American merchant and politician.- Biography :Appleton was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, the son of Isaac Appleton and his wife Mary Adams. Appleton's father was a church deacon, and Nathan was brought up in "strictest form of Calvinistic Congregationalism." He was...

, was an American writer, an artist, and a patron of the fine arts. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...

 was his brother-in-law after he married Appleton's sister Frances.
Appleton was born on March 31, 1812, in Boston, Massachusetts; he would later joke that he just missed being born an April fool

April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...

. He graduated from Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

 in 1831 and in October 1838 was admitted to the bar

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...

; he set up his office on Tremont Row

Tremont Row

Tremont Row in Boston, Massachusetts, was a short street that flourished in the 19th and early-20th centuries. It was located near the intersection of Court, Tremont, and Cambridge streets, in today's Government Center area. It existed until the 1920s, when it became known as Scollay Square...

.