Uriel Crocker was a public-spirited Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 citizen, head of the Crocker & Brewster

Crocker & Brewster

Crocker & Brewster was a leading publishing house in Boston, Massachusetts, during its 58-year existence. The business was located at today's 173-175 Washington Street for nearly half a century; in 1864 it moved to the adjoining building, where it remained until the firm's dissolution.The firm was...

 publishing house during its 58-year existence (1818-1876), and actively involved in other enterprises including railroads.

Crocker was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...

, as one of eight children of the elder Uriel Crocker and his second wife, Mary James. He graduated from the academy at Marblehead in August, 1811, as first scholar. In the next month, on the day after he turned fifteen years old, he
began work in Boston as an apprentice in the printing-office of Samuel Turell Armstrong

Samuel Turell Armstrong

Samuel Turell Armstrong was a U.S. political figure. Born in 1784 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, he was a bookseller in Boston, and among other works published a stereotype edition of Scott's family Bible, which was widely circulated.Orphaned at the age of thirteen, Samuel Armstrong attended public...

 (afterwards mayor of Boston and acting governor of the Commonwealth), who also carried on a bookselling business.

At age 19 Crocker was made foreman of the printing-office, and at 22 was, with his fellow-apprentice Osmyn Brewster taken into partnership with Armstrong. The agreement was that the bookstore was to be conducted in the name of Mr. Armstrong, and the printing-office in that of Crocker & Brewster. After 1825 the entire business was carried on under the name of Crocker & Brewster (although Mr.
Armstrong continued a member of the firm until 1840). The printing-office was then in Mr. Crocker's especial charge, and the bookstore in that of Mr. Brewster. (For a subsequent history of the firm, see Crocker & Brewster

Crocker & Brewster

Crocker & Brewster was a leading publishing house in Boston, Massachusetts, during its 58-year existence. The business was located at today's 173-175 Washington Street for nearly half a century; in 1864 it moved to the adjoining building, where it remained until the firm's dissolution.The firm was...

.)

In 1829 he married Sarah Kidder Haskell. Their children were Uriel Haskell Crocker, Sarah Haskell Crocker, and George Glover Crocker. Mrs. Crocker died January 16, 1856, at the age of fifty years.

In 1866, Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 conferred upon him an honorary degree of A. M. He died at Cohasset in his ninety-first year.

Other business activities

In later years, Crocker became heavily involved with railway companies. He was one of the organizers of the Old Colony Railroad

Old Colony Railroad

The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

 Company and a director. He was also a director of the Northern (N.H.) Railroad Company, the Concord Railroad, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad (where he was vice-president from 1870 to 1873, and president 1874), the South Pacific Railroad, and the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad.

He was also president and director of the Proprietors of the Revere House; of the United States Hotel Company; of the South Cove Corporation; of the South Bay Improvement Company; and of the Tremont Nail Company. He was also one of the original corporators of the Franklin Savings Bank.

Charitable activities

Crocker was a leader in the movement for building the Bunker Hill Monument

Bunker Hill Monument

-External links:****: cultural context**...

 and raised $40,000 for the fund. He was director of the Monument Association from 1833 till 1869, and vice-president from 1869 till his death, declining to accept the position of president.

In addition, he was held leadership roles in the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association

Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association

The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founding members included Paul Revere, Benjamin Russell, and others...

, the Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society, the Massachusetts Charitable Society, the Board of Managers of the Boston Dispensary

Boston Dispensary

The Boston Dispensary or Boston Medical Dispensary provided for "medical relief of the poor" in Boston, Massachusetts, from the late 18th century through the mid-20th century...

, the Mount Auburn Cemetery

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...

, the Old South Society, the Boston House of Correction, the Boston Lying-In Hospital, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society

Massachusetts Horticultural Society

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to MassHort, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusetts. It describes itself as the oldest, formally-organized horticultural institution in the United States...

, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Bostonian Society.

A plaque in Crocker Park, Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...

, records that Crocker donated the park's excellent site on June 15, 1886, later extended by a further gift from his two sons.