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Weld family

2016-04-25

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{{for|the English Weld family|Weld-Blundell family}}

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 [[Age of Sail|Golden Age of Sail]], the [[Far East]] (especially [[Japan]]), the history of [[Massachusetts]], and [[United States History|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." <ref>While there was no Weld among the names of the 26 male Mayflower passengers currently known to have descendants, genealogists such as [[Gary Boyd Roberts]] of [[New England Historic Genealogical Society]] have pointed out that tens of millions of Americans (approximately one in seven) has at least one ancestor who was among this group of early settlers. William Weld, whose family has been in Massachusetts since the 1600s, has several Mayflower ancestors from whom he is descended through multiple lines (making Billy Bulger's statement very accurate).</ref>

'''[[Tuesday Weld]]''', an [[Academy Award]] nominated actress, is perhaps best known for her role on ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]''. She is a third cousin once removed to William Weld.

==William Weld==

One '''Sheriff William Weld''' was [[sheriff]] of [[London, England]] in 1352. Although it is difficult to prove [[genealogy|genealogical]] relationships that far back, evidence suggests that Sheriff Weld was related to the Welds that eventually came to [[North America]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}

==Daniel Weld==

The Weld family has a presence in [[Massachusetts]] dating back to the early 17th century and their relationship to one another is clearly recorded. In the first days of [[White people|European]] settlement in the [[New World]], three sons of '''Edmund Weld''' (1559–1608)<ref name=octhouse>{{cite web|url=http://www.octhouse.com/weldreport.html |title=Descendants of John Weld |accessdate=2008-11-14 |last=Kenzie |first=Ross B }}</ref> of [[Sudbury, Suffolk|Sudbury, Suffolk, England]] arrived in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]. '''Daniel Weld''' (1585/1586-1666),<ref name=octhouse/> the eldest, became a teacher at [[Roxbury Latin School]]. 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.<ref name=octhouse/> As an award for his participation in the [[Pequot War]] of 1637 and subsequent negotiations, the colonial legislature granted Weld {{convert|278|acre|km2}} in the town of [[Roxbury, Massachusetts|Roxbury]].

Captain Weld's land is now much of present-day [[Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts|Jamaica Plain]] and [[Roslindale, Massachusetts|Roslindale]]. 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]].

==Isaac Weld==

{{main|Isaac Weld}}

The [[Anglo-Irish]] 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 language|French]], [[German language|German]], and [[Dutch language|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.

==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]] (Harvard’s first president) personally whipped them and expelled them from the school. Weld returned to England and became a minister in [[Durham, England|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.

== John Weld==

'''Captain John Weld''', son of Captain Joseph Weld, inherited his estate and served as an officer in [[King Philip's War]] of 1675. He built his home, Weld Hall, on what came to be called Weld Hill in [[Forest Hills, Massachusetts|Forest Hills]] (still marked by the presence of Weld Hill Street across the street from [[Forest Hills (MBTA station)|Forest Hills MBTA station]]).

==Weld and Williams Farms==

The descendants of John Weld created Weld Farm near the [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]] 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, Massachusetts|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.

==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 War]]. Weld Hill was selected by [[George Washington]] as a rallying point for the patriot army to fall back upon in case of disaster.<ref>''Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain'' by Harriet Manning Whitcomb</ref>

==Arnold Arboretum==

[[File:Arnold Arboretum - Aug 2005 (c).JPG|thumb|right|200px|A scene in [[Arnold Arboretum]]]]

After Eleazer Weld's death in 1800, much of his land along the [[Roslindale, Massachusetts|Roslindale]] and [[Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts|Jamaica Plain]] border went to fellow patriot Benjamin Bussey and was subsequently bequeathed to Harvard, becoming the basis for [[Arnold Arboretum]].

In [[Roslindale, Massachusetts|Roslindale]], 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 near the intersection with 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 Conglomerate|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==

{{main|William Gordon Weld}}

'''[[William Gordon Weld]]''' (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 ([http://www.harvardmag.com/nd98/welds.2.html see chart]).

==William Fletcher Weld==

{{main|William Fletcher Weld}}

'''[[William Fletcher Weld]] '''(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.

==Stephen Minot Weld==

{{main|Stephen Minot Weld}}

'''[[Stephen Minot Weld]]''' (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 College|Harvard]] dormitory known as [[List of Harvard dormitories|Weld Hall]] in his honor.

==George Walker Weld==

{{main|George Walker Weld}}

'''[[George Walker Weld]]''' (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 [[Charles River|the Charles]].

==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. Goddard]]). He provided one record of his family's history in ''The Family of Weld'' (a manuscript at [[New England Historic Genealogical Society|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 {{convert|26|acre|m2|adj=on}} parcel of his land to a cousin (described next). [[Hellenic College]], situated on a wooded, {{convert|59|acre|m2|adj=on}} hill overlooking the Boston skyline, stands on another portion of his former estate.

==Isabel Weld Perkins==

{{main|Isabel Weld Perkins}}



'''[[Isabel Weld Perkins]]''' (1876–1948), daughter of '''Anna Minot Weld''' and [[Commodore (USN)|Commodore]] [[George H. Perkins]] was another grandchild of William Fletcher Weld and inherited $17 million 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 [[Society of the Cincinnati#Anderson House.2C National Headquarters|Anderson House]], [[Anderson Memorial Bridge]], [[Larz Anderson Auto Museum]], [[Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection]] and [[Larz Anderson Park]].

Mrs. Anderson's dates should read 1876-1948, not 1877., refs. personal friendship; Harvard Univ Lib & Library of Congress catalogs.

==Welds of Lulworth Castle==

{{main|Lulworth Castle}}

In 1643, a wealthy Londoner named '''Humphrey Weld''' bought and restored [[Lulworth Castle]], a fire-damaged "mock castle" in [[Dorset|Dorset, England]]. It became his family's principal home and was remodeled on several occasions.

'''[[Thomas Weld (cardinal)|Thomas Cardinal Weld]]''' (1773–1837), a [[Roman Catholic]] [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]], his brother '''[[Joseph Weld (yachtsman)|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.

==Charles Goddard Weld==

{{main|Charles Goddard Weld}}

'''[[Charles Goddard Weld|Dr. Charles Goddard Weld]]''' (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 [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|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.

==Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.==

{{main|Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.}}

'''General [[Stephen Minot Weld, Jr.]]''' (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 [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]]. His former estate in Dedham, known in his time as "Rockweld", is now home to the [[Endicott House]] conference facility owned by [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]].

==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 City]] 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 (stock market)|blue chip]] [[investment bank]] [[White Weld & Co.]] in the early 20th century. It was this Weld's grandson who became governor.

== William Floyd Weld==

{{main|William 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.]], uncle of President [[George H. W. Bush]]), the future governor served as director of the Bushes' company until it was bought by [[Merrill Lynch]] in the 1970s.<ref>Note that before becoming associated with Texas, the Bush family was another well-established New England family like the Welds and several others mentioned in this article. [[George H. Bush]], for example, was born in [[Milton, Massachusetts]], and raised in [[Greenwich, Connecticut]]. See also "[[Timothy Bush|earliest confirmed direct ancestor of the Bush political family."]]</ref>

Weld's first wife, [[Susan Roosevelt Weld]], Harvard [[professor]] specializing in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]] and later General Counsel to the [[United States Congress|Congressional]]-Executive Commission on China, is a great granddaughter of [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. They have five children together.<ref>Governor Weld's son David joked, "Our father used to tell us that all our ancestors were [[opium]] smugglers--it's pretty much the family business...I've even had a hand in it myself." (Lambert, C.A., "The Welds of Harvard Yard", ''Harvard Magazine'', November–December 1998)</ref>

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 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 Cod]].<ref>*His wife was the niece of the historian [[John Lothrop Motley]]. Lothrop Motley Weld, the son of Stephen Minot Weld, was named after his mother's uncle [[John Lothrop Motley]]. The name then passed to Lothrop Motley Weld II and Motley Weld III.</ref>

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==

{{main|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]] 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.

==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, Connecticut]] and both are the sons of '''Ludovicus Weld'''.

==Theodore Dwight Weld==

{{main|Theodore Dwight Weld}}

Ludovicus Weld's son '''[[Theodore Dwight Weld]]''' was one of the most important [[Abolitionism in the United States|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]].

==Ezra Greenleaf Weld==

{{main|Ezra Greenleaf Weld}}

Another of Ludovicus Weld's sons, '''[[Ezra Greenleaf Weld]]''' 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]].

==Theresa Weld==

{{main|Theresa Weld}}

'''[[Theresa Weld]]''' was an [[United States|American]] [[figure skater]] and Olympic bronze medalist at the [[1920 Summer Olympics]]. She was also United States national champion.<ref>{{cite book |title=Skating in America (1921–1996): The 75th Anniversary History of the United States Figure Skating Association |first=Benjamin T. |last=Wright |location=Colorado Springs |publisher= |year=1996 }}</ref>

== Footnotes ==

{{Reflist}}

== References ==

*Anderson, I., ''Under the Black Horse Flag'', Boston, 1926.

*Arnold, G.W., ''The Old Farm'', Boston, 1937.

*Badger, A., ''The Welds'', privately printed, Chestnut Hill, 1987.

*Drake, F.S., ''The Town of Roxbury'', Roxbury, 1878.

*C. W. Fowler, ''History of the Weld Family'', 1879.

*Heath, R., ''Allandale Woods'', Boston Natural Areas Fund, Boston 1989.

*Lambert, C.A., "The Welds of Harvard Yard", ''Harvard Magazine'', November–December 1998.

*Sutton, S.B., ''Arnold Arboretum: The First century'', Boston, 1971.

*Weld, W.G., "The Family of Weld", MS at New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston.

*Whitcomb, H.M. ''Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain'', Boston, 1897.

== External links ==

*[http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/aboutus/silva/fall_2005/chinese_path.pdf Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University, Colonel Eleazer Weld]

*[http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/bonsai/intro.html Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Larz Anderson and Isabel Weld Perkings]

*[http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/1999/10-15/features8.html BU Bridge News, Weld House & Dunn House]

*[http://www.bartleby.com/65/we/Weld-The.html Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, "Theodore Dwight Weld"]

*[http://www.harvardmag.com/nd98/welds.html ''Harvard Magazine'', "The Welds of Harvard Yard" by associate editor Craig A. Lambert]

*[http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housedor_lulw.htm Historic Houses In Dorset, "Lulworth Castle"]

*[http://www.jphs.org/people/2005/4/14/weld-family.html Jamaica Plain Historical Society, "The Weld Family"]

*[http://www.jphs.org/colonial/revolutionary-war-burial-site-near-arboretum.html Jamaica Plain Historical Society, "Revolutionary War Burial Site Near Arboretum"]

*[http://www.mot.org/Museum/andersons.html Larz Anderson Auto Museum, "The Andersons"]

*[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/arjpl10.txt Project Gutenberg, ''Book of Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain'' by Harriet Manning Whitcomb]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weld Family}}

[[Category:Culture of Boston, Massachusetts]]

[[Category:Families from Massachusetts]]

[[Category:Arnold Arboretum]]

[[Category:Political families of the United States]]

[[Category:History of Boston, Massachusetts]]

[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]

[[Category:Cambridge, Massachusetts]]

[[Category:People from Brookline, Massachusetts]]

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