Ezekiel Albert Straw (December 30, 1819 – October 23, 1882) was an American engineer, businessman, and politician from

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

. He was born in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, but moved with his family to

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

, where his father, James B. Straw, was employed at the Appleton Manufacturing Company. Ezekiel A. Straw, eldest of 7 children. A member of the first class of Lowell High School in 1831 before enrolling at

Phillips Andover Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a private, co-educational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students located in Andover, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The academy enrolls ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, where he showed an aptitude for

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. Upon leaving Phillips Andover, Straw was hired in the spring of 1838 as an assistant

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

at the Nashua & Lowell Railway, then under construction. On July 4, 1838, he arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire, sent to substitute for a civil engineer at the

Amoskeag Manufacturing Company The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile industry, textile manufacturer which founded Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. From modest beginnings it grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world ...

who had become ill. The position soon became permanent. One of his first duties was laying out lots and streets for the new industrial city as envisioned by Amoskeag's cultured treasurer (president), William Amory. He also assisted with the construction of the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

. In 1842, he founded the community's first Unitarian Society. Straw was sent by the mills to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in November 1844 to gather information and machinery for manufacturing and printing

muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It is commonly believed that it gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq. Muslin was produced in different regions o ...

delaines, which the Manchester Print Works introduced to the United States. In July 1851, he was appointed agent (manager) of Amoskeag. Straw was a Republican

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

from 1859 to 1864 and a state senator from 1864 to 1866. In his second year in the state senate, he served as its president. In 1869, he was appointed to the staff of Governor Onslow Stearns. From 1872 to 1874, he served two terms as Republican governor of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Straw was treasurer and principal owner of the Namaske Mill from its organization at Manchester in 1856 until it was purchased by Amoskeag in 1875, and director of the Langdon Mills after Amoskeag acquired it in 1874. He was a principal figure in creation of the Manchester

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

gas light ''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in 1880s London, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his w ...

company and

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

. In addition, he served as president of the Blodget Edge Tool Manufacturing Company, New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association (now the

National Textile Association The National Textile Association is the United States's oldest and largest association of fabric-forming companies. NTA members knit and weave fabric in the U.S.; supply fibers, yarns to the fabric-forming industry; or supply other materials or ...

) and New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company. On April 6, 1842, he married Charlotte Smith Webster, who bore him 4 children before dying on March 15, 1852. Their son, Herman F. Straw, would become agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company from 1885 until 1919. Ezekiel A. Straw was awarded an honorary

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1860. He died in 1882 at Manchester and is buried in

Valley Cemetery The Valley Cemetery (or the Valley Street Cemetery) is a public cemetery located in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. It is bounded on the east by Pine Street, on the north by Auburn Street, on the west by Willow Street, and on the south ...

References

April, 2005 Newsletter of Friends of the Valley Cemetery

Biography of the Hon. Ezekiel Straw of Manchester, New Hampshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Straw, Ezekiel A. 1819 births 1882 deaths People from Salisbury, New Hampshire American Unitarians Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Republican Party New Hampshire state senators Republican Party governors of New Hampshire Politicians from Manchester, New Hampshire Engineers from Massachusetts American Civil War industrialists Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts Presidents of the New Hampshire Senate Burials at Valley Cemetery 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court