Ginery Twichell (August 26, 1811 – July 23, 1883) was president of the

Boston and Worcester Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. P ...

in the 1860s, the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

for

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

for three consecutive terms and the sixth president of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

. He was born in

Athol, Massachusetts Athol is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,945 at the 2020 census. History Originally called Pequoiag when settled by Native Americans, the area was subsequently settled by five families in Sept ...

. Some references list his actual birth date as August 22, 1811 (Waters, p. 43), while others list it as August 26, 1811 (Congress Bioguide; and Massachusetts Vital Records). In 1827 Twichell left school to seek employment in a local mill. Subsequent jobs saw him working with livestock and later in retail. His strengths in transportation began to show in 1830 when he took control of a stage line between

Barre Barre or Barré may refer to: * Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name Places United States * Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town * Barre, New York, a town * Barre (ci ...

and

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. As a manager and business owner, Twichell gained a reputation for kindness and generosity, even toward his business competition. He saw his stage line grow to include many more lines throughout

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

. When the

(B&W) opened on July 1, 1835, Twichell's stage lines were both competition and complement to the railroad's service. This quasi-partnership lasted until June 1, 1848, when Twichell became the assistant superintendent of the railroad. Twichell rose through the B&W's ranks, becoming president in 1857. In 1867 Twichell was elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

where he served as a Republican Representative for Massachusetts. He was twice reelected, in 1869 and again in 1871, to stretch his tenure to three consecutive terms. During his third term as a Representative, Twichell became president of the growing

in 1870. During his term with the Santa Fe, the railroad built the rest of the mainline across

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

from

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

, connecting to

Dodge City, Kansas Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...

, on September 5, 1872, and then the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

state line by the end of 1873. Twichell served the Santa Fe Railroad for three years, leaving in 1873 to return to

where he led the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad and the Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Railroad. Ginery Twichell late 1870's

Twichell died on July 23, 1883, in Brookline, Massachusetts, of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

References

* Biographical Directory of the United States Congress,
Ginery Twichell
'. Retrieved July 15, 2005. (lists birth date as August 26, 1811). *Denehy, John William
history of Brookline, Massachusetts, from the first settlement of Muddy River Until the Present Time 1630-1906
page 136 (1906). (lists birth date as August 26 *Twitchel, Ralph E.
''Stage Driver to Railroad President, Ginery Twitchell, Progressive in Transportation Matters becomes one or the First Presidents of the Santa Fe''.
The Santa Fe Magazine, January 1923, Vol XVII, Number 2. (lists birth date as August 25, 1811). * p 43–44. (lists birth date as August 22, 1811). {{DEFAULTSORT:Twichell, Ginery 1811 births 1883 deaths Politicians from Brookline, Massachusetts Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway presidents People from Athol, Massachusetts Deaths from typhoid fever Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople

See also

References