Weld family
Encyclopedia
The Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmin
s most remembered for the philanthropy
of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University
, the Golden Age of Sail
, the Far East
(especially Japan
), the history of Massachusetts
, and American history in general.
William Weld
, former Governor of Massachusetts
, is the most prominent living member of this family. When Massachusetts Senate
president Billy Bulger publicly teased William Weld about his ancestors' having come over on the Mayflower
, Weld joked: "Actually, they weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready."
Tuesday Weld
, an Academy Award nominated actress, is another famous living family member. Many know of Tuesday Weld's film career and her role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
. Fewer realize that she is a member of one of New England
's oldest and most famous families and third cousin once removed to William Weld.
of London, England in 1352. Although it is difficult to prove genealogical
relationships that far back, evidence suggests that Sheriff Weld was related to the Welds that eventually came to North America
.
dating back to the early 17th century and their relationship to one another is clearly recorded. In the first days of European
settlement in the New World
, three sons of Edmund Weld (1559–1608) of Sudbury, Suffolk, England
arrived in Boston. Daniel Weld (1585/1586-1666), the eldest, became a teacher at Roxbury Latin School
. Two notable Welds in New England traced their ancestry to him.
of 1637 and subsequent negotiations, the colonial legislature granted Weld 278 acres (1.1 km²) in the town of Roxbury
.
Captain Weld's land is now much of present day Jamaica Plain
. With the wealth generated from this grant, Joseph Weld became one of the first donors to Harvard and a founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
.
explorer, writer and artist Isaac Weld
was descended from Thomas Weld.
Born in Ireland
, he wrote a number of books about his exploration of the United States and Canada
from 1795 to 1797. His surveys were both for adventure and to research suitable countries for the Irish to emigrate. He decided that "..any part of those territories might be looked forward to as an eligible and agreeable place of abode" for them.
He returned home in 1797 "..without entertaining the slightest wish to revisit the American continent." He described Americans as being obsessed with material things and preferred Canada to the United States. His published Travels, Travels Through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada During the Years 1795, 1796 and 1797, quickly went into three editions and was translated into French
, German
, and Dutch
.
Notable in his day, Isaac Weld was president of the Royal Dublin Society
and met both Thomas Jefferson
and George Washington
on his travels.
Surprisingly, the first Weld to attend ended his Harvard career in disgrace. John Weld (born in 1625) and a classmate stole money and gunpowder from two houses and were caught. Henry Dunster
(Harvard’s first president) personally whipped them and expelled them from the school. Weld returned to England and became a minister in Durham
.
Edmund Weld (1631–1668; son of Thomas), the first Weld to graduate from Harvard (class of 1650) left Massachusetts Bay Colony
as well. He became a minister in Ireland
.
At least eighteen more Weld family members have graduated from Harvard since then, and two prominent buildings at Harvard University are named for the family.
of 1675. He built his home, Weld Hall, on what came to be called Weld Hill in Forest Hills (still marked by the presence of Weld Hill Street across the street from Forest Hills MBTA station
).
border around what is now Hancock Village but was formerly Weld Golf Course.
Other descendants of John Weld moved on to develop the valley of Sawmill Brook near Dedham
as the Williams Farm. Part of the Weld properties in this area were sold in 1854 for the construction of what is now the VFW Parkway in West Roxbury.
While the Weld's Brookline and Dedham properties were developed in the 17th and 18th centuries as agricultural lands, in the 19th and 20th centuries these became Weld-owned estates of great luxury.
. Weld Hill was selected by George Washington
as a rallying point for the patriot army to fall back upon in case of disaster.
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After Eleazer Weld's death in 1800, much of his land went to fellow patriot Benjamin Bussey and was subsequently bequeathed to Harvard, becoming the basis for Arnold Arboretum.
Today, the "Weld-Walter tract" remains the name of one of the four parcels into which the arboretum is divided. On the Walter Street side of the Arboretum just above Weld Street is a tiny cemetery with eight slate tombstones dated between 1712 and 1812. Two of the Welds who fought in the Revolutionary War are buried here, marked by a later monument of Roxbury puddingstone.
Although some of the Weld land became the arboretum, the land which the Welds retained was more than enough to assure their prosperity in the 19th century.
(1775–1825), Eleazer's fifth son, founded a fleet of trading vessels that brought more wealth back from China
. He married Hannah Minot (1780–1860) and together they had one daughter and eight sons. One son was killed in Mexico
, but the remaining sons sired 813 descendants (see chart).
(1800–1881), son of William Gordon Weld, expanded his father's maritime enterprise into a world-class collection of clipper ships
known as the Black Horse Flag fleet. He also invested in railroads and urban real estate, leaving behind a $20 million fortune for his descendants.
(1806–1867), another son of William Gordon Weld, was a schoolmaster, real estate investor and politician. After his death, his elder brother (above) raised the Harvard
dormitory known as Weld Hall in his honor.
(1840–1905), a son of William Fletcher Weld, was a founding member of Boston Athletic Association
(organizers of today's Boston Marathon
) and the financier of the Weld Boathouse
, a landmark on the Charles
.
). He provided one record of his family's history in The Family of Weld (a manuscript at NEHGS
).
His huge estate of Weld land in Brookline included a majestic carriage house he had designed by Edmund M. Wheelwright
. Weld sold that building and a 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) parcel of his land to a cousin (described next). Hellenic College
, situated on a wooded, 59 acres (238,764.7 m²) hill overlooking the Boston skyline, stands on another portion of his former estate.
Isabel Weld Perkins
(1877–1948), daughter of Anna Minot Weld and Commodore
George H. Perkins
was another grandchild of William Gordon Weld and inherited $17 million dollars of his wealth. She married diplomat Larz Anderson
(later Ambassador
to Japan
) and became an author. Isabel bought Brookline land from her cousin William Gordon Weld II and called the estate "Weld".
The Andersons' legacy to the public includes Anderson House, Anderson Memorial Bridge
, Larz Anderson Auto Museum
, Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection
and Larz Anderson Park
.
, a fire-damaged "mock castle" in Dorset, England
. It became his family's principal home and was remodeled on several occasions.
Thomas Cardinal Weld
(1773–1837), a Roman Catholic cardinal
, his brother Joseph Weld (1777–1863) (both of whom lived in Lulworth castle) and his nephew, Frederick Weld
(1823–1891), a Prime Minister of New Zealand
, were among the notable descendants of Humphrey Weld.
Isabel Weld Perkins believed her Weld family and the Weld family of Lulworth Castle to be one and the same. Accordingly, she and Larz Anderson designed their Brookline home to resemble it.
(1857–1911), son of William Fletcher Weld II, was a physician and philanthropist. He purchased Japanese art belonging to friend Ernest Fenollosa
and donated it the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
. The MFA now has the largest collection of Japanese art outside Japan, much of it in the "Fenollosa-Weld Collection." Weld also purchased prints by premier American photographer Edward S. Curtis
and donated those to Peabody Essex Museum
.
Dr. Weld also owned Weld House, the office of the president of Boston University
, as well as the adjoining Dunn House which now contains the office of the chancellor.
(1842–1920), son of Stephen Minot Weld, served with distinction as a general during the American Civil War in such major conflicts, as the Second Battle of Bull Run
, Antietam, and Gettysburg
. His former estate in Dedham, known in his time as "Rockweld", is now home to the Endicott House
conference facility owned by MIT
.
for a time but returned to Jamaica Plain before he died. One of Dr. Weld's sons, Christopher Minot Weld, was a renowned mining engineer.
in the early 20th century. It was this Weld's grandson who became governor.
, uncle of President George H. W. Bush
), the future governor served as director of the Bush's company until it was bought by Merrill Lynch
in the 1970s.
Weld's first wife, Susan Roosevelt Weld
, Harvard professor
specializing in Ancient China and later General Counsel to the Congressional
-Executive Commission on China, is a great granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt
. They have five children together.
Weld's second and present wife, the writer and novelist Leslie Marshall
, is a former daughter-in-law of Ben Bradlee of The Washington Post
.
.
Lothrop Weld was graduated from Harvard, served in World War I
, and worked for S.M. Weld & Company, his grandfather's business. He later moved into the petroleum
business and the Upper East Side
of Manhattan
.
Weld married four times and had five children. The oldest of these was Lothrop Motley Weld III whose youngest child, a daughter who grew up to be the most famous Weld in Hollywood, was only three years old when her father died.
Tuesday Weld debuted in an Alfred Hitchcock
film, co-starred with and dated Elvis Presley
, and was married to Dudley Moore
and Pinchas Zukerman
during her career. She and former Governor Weld share William Gordon Weld as their common ancestor.
Lothrop Motley Weld II As nearly as I know,my step-father was third cousin of William Weld, not third cousin once removed. He was one of his father's oldest children and much older than Bill Weld. He was Tuesday's brother.
and both are the sons of Ludovicus Weld.
was one of the most important abolitionists
in American history, a colleague of John Quincy Adams
, and a disciple of Charles Grandison Finney
. Theodore Dwight Weld married civil rights advocate Angelina Emily Grimké who then became Angelina Emily Grimké Weld.
Theodore and Angelina's multiracial
niece, related to the Welds by marriage, was Angelina Weld Grimké
and is remembered as one of the premier poets of the Harlem Renaissance
.
was an early American photographer who operated a daguerreotype
studio in Cazenovia, New York
. Like his brother noted above, this Weld had ties to the abolitionist movement. "Greenleaf" (as this Weld was known) made images of such 19th centuries luminaries as Frederick Douglass
, Abby Kelley
and the Edmonson sisters
.
was an American
figure skater and Olympic bronze medalist at the 1920 Summer Olympics
. She was also United States national champion.
Boston Brahmin
Boston Brahmins are wealthy Yankee families characterized by a highly discreet and inconspicuous life style. Based in and around Boston, they form an integral part of the historic core of the East Coast establishment...
s most remembered for the philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the Golden Age of Sail
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century...
, the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
(especially Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
), the history of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and American history in general.
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...
, former 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:...
, is the most prominent living member of this family. When Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
president Billy Bulger publicly teased William Weld about his ancestors' having come over on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
, Weld joked: "Actually, they weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready."
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
, an Academy Award nominated actress, is another famous living family member. Many know of Tuesday Weld's film career and her role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
. Fewer realize that she is a member of one 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...
's oldest and most famous families and third cousin once removed to William Weld.
William Weld
One Sheriff William Weld was sheriffSheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of London, England in 1352. Although it is difficult to prove genealogical
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
relationships that far back, evidence suggests that Sheriff Weld was related to the Welds that eventually came to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Daniel Weld
The Weld family has a presence in MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
dating back to the early 17th century and their relationship to one another is clearly recorded. In the first days of European
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
settlement in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, three sons of Edmund Weld (1559–1608) of Sudbury, Suffolk, England
Sudbury, Suffolk
Sudbury is a small, ancient market town in the county of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour, from Colchester and from London.-Early history:...
arrived in Boston. Daniel Weld (1585/1586-1666), the eldest, became a teacher at Roxbury Latin School
Roxbury Latin School
The Roxbury Latin School is the oldest school in continuous operation in North America. The school was founded in Roxbury, Massachusetts by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. Since its founding in 1645, it has educated boys on a continuous basis.Located...
. Two notable Welds in New England traced their ancestry to him.
Joseph Weld
Captain Joseph Weld (1599–1646), the youngest of the three Weld immigrants, is the ancestor from whom the richest and most famous Welds descend. As an award for his participation in the Pequot WarPequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
of 1637 and subsequent negotiations, the colonial legislature granted Weld 278 acres (1.1 km²) in the town of Roxbury
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...
.
Captain Weld's land is now much of present day Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Jamaica Plain is a historic neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by Boston Puritans seeking farm land to the south, it was originally part of the city of Roxbury...
. With the wealth generated from this grant, Joseph Weld became one of the first donors to Harvard and a founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world...
.
Isaac Weld
The Anglo-IrishAnglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
explorer, writer and artist Isaac Weld
Isaac Weld
Isaac Weld was an Irish topographical writer, explorer, and artist.He was born on 15 March 1774 on Fleet Street, Dublin, Ireland....
was descended from Thomas Weld.
Born in 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 wrote a number of books about his exploration of 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...
from 1795 to 1797. His surveys were both for adventure and to research suitable countries for the Irish to emigrate. He decided that "..any part of those territories might be looked forward to as an eligible and agreeable place of abode" for them.
He returned home in 1797 "..without entertaining the slightest wish to revisit the American continent." He described Americans as being obsessed with material things and preferred Canada to the United States. His published Travels, Travels Through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada During the Years 1795, 1796 and 1797, quickly went into three editions and was translated into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
.
Notable in his day, Isaac Weld was president of 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...
and met both 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...
and 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...
on his travels.
The Welds and Harvard
Thomas Weld's involvement with Harvard was the beginning of almost 400 years of association between that institution and the Weld Family.Surprisingly, the first Weld to attend ended his Harvard career in disgrace. John Weld (born in 1625) and a classmate stole money and gunpowder from two houses and were caught. Henry Dunster
Henry Dunster
Henry Dunster was an Anglo-American Puritan clergyman and the first president of Harvard College...
(Harvard’s first president) personally whipped them and expelled them from the school. Weld returned to England and became a minister in Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
.
Edmund Weld (1631–1668; son of Thomas), the first Weld to graduate from Harvard (class of 1650) left Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
as well. He became a minister in 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...
.
At least eighteen more Weld family members have graduated from Harvard since then, and two prominent buildings at Harvard University are named for the family.
John Weld
Captain John Weld, son of Captain Joseph Weld, inherited his estate and served as an officer in King Philip's WarKing Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
of 1675. He built his home, Weld Hall, on what came to be called Weld Hill in Forest Hills (still marked by the presence of Weld Hill Street across the street from Forest Hills MBTA station
Forest Hills (MBTA station)
Forest Hills Station is a station on the MBTA Orange Line, located in Forest Hills in the southern part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts at the intersections of Washington Street, Hyde Park Avenue, South Street, The Arborway and Morton Street.Forest Hills is the southern...
).
Weld and Williams Farms
The descendants of John Weld created Weld Farm towards the BrooklineBrookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
border around what is now Hancock Village but was formerly Weld Golf Course.
Other descendants of John Weld moved on to develop the valley of Sawmill Brook near Dedham
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
as the Williams Farm. Part of the Weld properties in this area were sold in 1854 for the construction of what is now the VFW Parkway in West Roxbury.
While the Weld's Brookline and Dedham properties were developed in the 17th and 18th centuries as agricultural lands, in the 19th and 20th centuries these became Weld-owned estates of great luxury.
Eleazer Weld
This first Weld Hall in Jamaica Plain was home to many generations of Welds, the last of which was Colonel Eleazer Weld, one of seven Weld family members who fought in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Weld Hill was selected by 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...
as a rallying point for the patriot army to fall back upon in case of disaster.
Arnold Arboretum
Today, the "Weld-Walter tract" remains the name of one of the four parcels into which the arboretum is divided. On the Walter Street side of the Arboretum just above Weld Street is a tiny cemetery with eight slate tombstones dated between 1712 and 1812. Two of the Welds who fought in the Revolutionary War are buried here, marked by a later monument of Roxbury puddingstone.
Although some of the Weld land became the arboretum, the land which the Welds retained was more than enough to assure their prosperity in the 19th century.
William Gordon Weld
William Gordon WeldWilliam Gordon Weld
William Gordon Weld was a shipmaster and ship owner. He is notable as an ancestor of several famous Welds.-Ancestry and early life:...
(1775–1825), Eleazer's fifth son, founded a fleet of trading vessels that brought more wealth back from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He married Hannah Minot (1780–1860) and together they had one daughter and eight sons. One son was killed in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, but the remaining sons sired 813 descendants (see chart).
William Fletcher Weld
William Fletcher WeldWilliam Fletcher Weld
William Fletcher Weld was a shipping magnate during the "Golden Age of Sail". He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family's fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public.-Early life:...
(1800–1881), son of William Gordon Weld, expanded his father's maritime enterprise into a world-class collection of clipper ships
Clipper ships
At the 'crest of the clipper wave' year of 1852, there were 200 clippers rounding Cape Horn.Notable examples of the clipper ship include:* Archibald Russell, 1905, a steel-hulled 4-masted barque, 291.3 ft. x 43 ft. x 24 ft., built by Scott Shipbuilding and Engineering Co of Greenock...
known as the Black Horse Flag fleet. He also invested in railroads and urban real estate, leaving behind a $20 million fortune for his descendants.
Stephen Minot Weld
Stephen Minot WeldStephen Minot Weld
Stephen Minot Weld, Sr. , scion of the Weld Family of Boston, was a schoolmaster, real estate investor and politician. After his death, the Harvard dormitory Weld Hall was raised in his honor.-Early life:...
(1806–1867), another son of William Gordon Weld, was a schoolmaster, real estate investor and politician. After his death, his elder brother (above) raised the Harvard
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
dormitory known as Weld Hall in his honor.
George Walker Weld
George Walker WeldGeorge Walker Weld
George Walker Weld , youngest son of William Fletcher Weld and member of the Weld Family of Boston, was a founding member of the Boston Athletic Association and the financier of the Weld Boathouse, a landmark on the Charles River.-Early life:Weld was athletic as a student at Harvard College and...
(1840–1905), a son of William Fletcher Weld, was a founding member of Boston Athletic Association
Boston Athletic Association
The Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit, organized sports association for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It hosts such events as the world-renowned Boston Marathon....
(organizers of today's Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
) and the financier of the Weld Boathouse
Weld Boathouse
Weld Boathouse is a Harvard-owned building on the bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named after George Walker Weld, who bequeathed the funds for its construction.-History:...
, a landmark on the Charles
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
.
William Gordon Weld II
William Gordon Weld II, named for his grandfather, married a Goddard (a Massachusetts family represented by such members as Robert H. GoddardRobert H. Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard was an American professor, physicist and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which he successfully launched on March 16, 1926...
). He provided one record of his family's history in The Family of Weld (a manuscript at NEHGS
New England Historic Genealogical Society
The New England Historic Genealogical Society is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. A charitable, nonprofit educational institution, NEHGS is located at 99-101 Newbury Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, in an eight-story archive and research center....
).
His huge estate of Weld land in Brookline included a majestic carriage house he had designed by Edmund M. Wheelwright
Edmund M. Wheelwright
Edmund March Wheelwright was one of New England's most important architects in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and served as city architect for Boston, Massachusetts from 1891-1895....
. Weld sold that building and a 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) parcel of his land to a cousin (described next). Hellenic College
Hellenic College
The Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology are an Orthodox Christian liberal arts college and seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts.-History:...
, situated on a wooded, 59 acres (238,764.7 m²) hill overlooking the Boston skyline, stands on another portion of his former estate.
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...
(1877–1948), daughter of Anna Minot Weld and Commodore
Commodore (USN)
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks until 1862, considerable importance...
George H. Perkins
George H. Perkins
Commodore George Hamilton Perkins was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
was another grandchild of William Gordon Weld and inherited $17 million dollars of his wealth. She married diplomat Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
(later Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) and became an author. Isabel bought Brookline land from her cousin William Gordon Weld II and called the estate "Weld".
The Andersons' legacy to the public includes Anderson House, Anderson Memorial Bridge
Anderson Memorial Bridge
Anderson Memorial Bridge connects Allston, a neighborhood of Boston, and Cambridge. The bridge stands on the site of the Great Bridge built in 1662, the first structure to span the Charles River...
, Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Larz Anderson Auto Museum is located on the grounds of Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts and is the oldest collection of motorcars in the United States....
, Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection
Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection
The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts is one of the premier collections of bonsai in the United States and includes a Hinoki Cypress over 250 years old....
and Larz Anderson Park
Larz Anderson Park
Larz Anderson Park is a wooded, landscaped, and waterscaped parkland in Brookline, Massachusetts that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The southwest corner of the park is in Boston...
.
Welds of Lulworth Castle
In 1643, a wealthy Londoner named Humphrey Weld bought and restored Lulworth CastleLulworth Castle
Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, situated south of Wool, is an early 17th century mock castle. The stone building has now been re-built as a museum....
, a fire-damaged "mock castle" in Dorset, England
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. It became his family's principal home and was remodeled on several occasions.
Thomas Cardinal Weld
Thomas Weld (cardinal)
Thomas Weld was a member of the Weld-Blundell family and an English Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.-Life:...
(1773–1837), a Roman Catholic cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, his brother Joseph Weld (1777–1863) (both of whom lived in Lulworth castle) and his nephew, Frederick Weld
Frederick Weld
Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, GCMG , was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the sixth Premier of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.-Early life:Weld was born near...
(1823–1891), a Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
, were among the notable descendants of Humphrey Weld.
Isabel Weld Perkins believed her Weld family and the Weld family of Lulworth Castle to be one and the same. Accordingly, she and Larz Anderson designed their Brookline home to resemble it.
Charles Goddard Weld
Dr. Charles Goddard WeldCharles Goddard Weld
Charles Goddard Weld , was a Boston-area physician, sailor, philanthropist, and art lover. Weld, a resident of Brookline, Massachusetts and a scion of the Welds of that area, practiced surgery for many years, but ultimately gave it up to manage his family's fortune...
(1857–1911), son of William Fletcher Weld II, was a physician and philanthropist. He purchased Japanese art belonging to friend Ernest Fenollosa
Ernest Fenollosa
Ernest Francisco Fenollosa was an American professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University...
and donated it the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
. The MFA now has the largest collection of Japanese art outside Japan, much of it in the "Fenollosa-Weld Collection." Weld also purchased prints by premier American photographer Edward S. Curtis
Edward S. Curtis
Edward Sheriff Curtis was a photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples.-Early life:...
and donated those to Peabody Essex Museum
Peabody Essex Museum
The Peabody Essex Museum , originally the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute, in Salem, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as...
.
Dr. Weld also owned Weld House, the office of the president of Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, as well as the adjoining Dunn House which now contains the office of the chancellor.
Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.
General Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.
Stephen Minot Weld Jr. , a member of Boston's illustrious Weld Family, was a horticulturalist and much-decorated United States Army officer of the American Civil War.-Early life:...
(1842–1920), son of Stephen Minot Weld, served with distinction as a general during the American Civil War in such major conflicts, as the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, Antietam, and Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. His former estate in Dedham, known in his time as "Rockweld", is now home to the Endicott House
Endicott House
The MIT Endicott House is a conference center located in Dedham, Massachusetts, about south-west from downtown Boston. The center consists of the Endicott mansion, a Normandy French-style chateau, along with a state-of-the art lecture facility known as the Brooks Center, and of gardens, lawn,...
conference facility owned by MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Francis Minot Weld
Dr. Francis Minot Weld (1825–1826), yet another grandchild of William Gordon Weld, also served in the Civil War and then practiced medicine in Boston. He moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for a time but returned to Jamaica Plain before he died. One of Dr. Weld's sons, Christopher Minot Weld, was a renowned mining engineer.
Francis Minot Weld, Jr.
Another of Dr. Weld's sons, Francis Minot Weld, Jr., founded the blue chip investment bank White Weld & Co.White Weld & Co.
White Weld & Co. was a Boston-based investment bank, historically managed by Boston Brahmins until its sale to Merrill Lynch in 1978. The Weld family name can be traced back to the founding of Massachusetts in the 1630s.-History:...
in the early 20th century. It was this Weld's grandson who became governor.
William Floyd Weld
As just noted, Governor William Floyd Weld is the grandson of Francis Minot Weld, Jr. After his grandfather's investment company was sold to the brokerage company G.H. Walker & Co. (named for George Herbert Walker, Jr.George Herbert Walker, Jr.
George Herbert Walker, Jr. , an American businessman and the uncle of President George H. W. Bush. He was an original owner of the New York Mets, a team which he co-founded in 1960 with Joan Whitney Payson....
, uncle of President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
), the future governor served as director of the Bush's company until it was bought by Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
in the 1970s.
Weld's first wife, Susan Roosevelt Weld
Susan Roosevelt Weld
Susan Roosevelt Weld was formerly a professor at Harvard specializing in ancient Chinese civilization and law. She also was General Counsel to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China...
, Harvard professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
specializing in Ancient China and later General Counsel to the Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
-Executive Commission on China, is a great granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. They have five children together.
Weld's second and present wife, the writer and novelist Leslie Marshall
Leslie Marshall
Leslie Marshall has been a liberal radio talk host since 1988 and a commentator on national television since 2001. Leslie became the youngest person ever to be nationally syndicated on radio when she replaced Tom Snyder on the ABC Satellite Radio Network in 1992...
, is a former daughter-in-law of Ben Bradlee of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Lothrop Motley Weld II
Lothrop Motley Weld II was named after his uncle, a son of Gen. Stephen Minot Weld, Jr. who drowned as a boy on Cape CodCape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
.
Lothrop Weld was graduated from Harvard, served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and worked for S.M. Weld & Company, his grandfather's business. He later moved into the petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
business and the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Weld married four times and had five children. The oldest of these was Lothrop Motley Weld III whose youngest child, a daughter who grew up to be the most famous Weld in Hollywood, was only three years old when her father died.
Tuesday Weld
Susan Ker Weld, known by her stage name Tuesday Weld, is the daughter of Lothrop Motley Weld II and the great-granddaughter of Gen. Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.Tuesday Weld debuted in an Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
film, co-starred with and dated Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, and was married to Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
and Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
during her career. She and former Governor Weld share William Gordon Weld as their common ancestor.
Lothrop Motley Weld II As nearly as I know,my step-father was third cousin of William Weld, not third cousin once removed. He was one of his father's oldest children and much older than Bill Weld. He was Tuesday's brother.
Ludovicus Weld
Besides those Welds described here who are descended from Captain Joseph Weld (hero of the Pequot War), there are at least two notable 19th century Welds who are descended from Joseph's older brother Thomas who returned to England in 1641. Both these Welds were born in Hampton, ConnecticutHampton, Connecticut
Hampton is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,758 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
and both are the sons of Ludovicus Weld.
Theodore Dwight Weld
Ludovicus Weld's son Theodore Dwight WeldTheodore 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...
was one of the most important abolitionists
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
in American history, a colleague of John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
, and a disciple of Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor...
. Theodore Dwight Weld married civil rights advocate Angelina Emily Grimké who then became Angelina Emily Grimké Weld.
Theodore and Angelina's multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
niece, related to the Welds by marriage, was Angelina Weld Grimké
Angelina Weld Grimke
Angelina Weld Grimké was an African-American journalist, teacher, playwright and poet who was part of the Harlem Renaissance and was one of the first African-American women to have a play performed.- Biography :...
and is remembered as one of the premier poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
.
Ezra Greenleaf Weld
Another of Ludovicus Weld's sons, Ezra Greenleaf WeldEzra Greenleaf Weld
Ezra Greenleaf Weld , often known simply as "Greenleaf", was a photographer and an operator of a daguerreotype studio in Cazenovia, New York. He and his family were involved with the abolitionist movement.-Family:...
was an early American photographer who operated a daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
studio in Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,481 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, an agent of the Holland Land Company.The Town of Cazenovia has a village also named Cazenovia...
. Like his brother noted above, this Weld had ties to the abolitionist movement. "Greenleaf" (as this Weld was known) made images of such 19th centuries luminaries as Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, Abby Kelley
Abby Kelley
Abby Kelley Foster was an American abolitionist and radical social reformer active from the 1830s to 1870s. She became a fundraiser, lecturer and committee organizer for the influential American Anti-Slavery Society, where she worked closely with William Lloyd Garrison and other radicals...
and the Edmonson sisters
Edmonson sisters
Mary Edmonson and Emily Edmonson , "two respectable young women of light complexion", were African-American women who became celebrities in the United States abolitionist movement after gaining their freedom from slavery...
.
Theresa Weld
Theresa WeldTheresa Weld
Theresa Weld Blanchard was an American figure skater who competed in the disciplines of single skating and pair skating. Her pairs partner was Nathaniel Niles....
was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
figure skater and Olympic bronze medalist at the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
. She was also United States national champion.