David Sears II (October 8, 1787 – January 14, 1871) was a prominent 19th-century

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

philanthropist, merchant, real estate developer, and landowner.

Early life

Sears was born on October 8, 1787, in Boston, Massachusetts. A son of David Sears and Ann Winthrop, a direct descendant of the first governor of Massachusetts,

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...

. Through his father, he was a descendant of

Richard Sears Richard Sears may refer to: *Richard Warren Sears (1863–1914), founder of Sears, Roebuck and Co. * Richard Sears (pilgrim) (1595–1676), early settler of Yarmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts *Richard Sears (tennis) Richard Dudley Sears (October ...

, who settled in the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

in 1630. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1807, where he was a member of the

Porcellian Club The Porcellian Club is an all-male Officially unrecognized Harvard College social clubs, final club at Harvard University, colloquially known as the Porc or the P.C. Its founding is traditionally dated to either 1791, when a group began meetin ...

Career

Upon the death of his father, David Sears, in 1816, he inherited a large fortune, the result of a career in the China trade. About 1820, Sears purchased some in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, which he developed into the village of Longwood, now a historic district. He also built Christ's Church Longwood there, in the crypt of which he and many of his family members are buried. He established it as an ecumenical house of worship to promote Christian unity, in accordance with his personal beliefs, which have been termed "outspoken and peculiar". He also purchased a large tract to the north of Longwood, where he built a house for his son Frederick in 1844. Sears sold the area in 1850 and the purchasers developed Cottage Farm, another historic district. For about fifteen years beginning in 1849, he promoted a plan for the development of Boston's Back Bay neighborhood that would increase the value of his real estate investments at the expense of the state government. As it evolved before its final rejection, his proposal included a large lake or a long narrow channel as well as seven block-sized parks. Sears purchased some , which he developed into the village of Longwood.

Personal life

In 1809, he married Miriam Clarke Mason (1789–1870), daughter of U.S. Representative and Senator Jonathan Mason. They had nine children, one of whom was called David Sears Jr.

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...

painted his portrait twice and one of those, painted about 1815 and entirely in Stuart's hand, is in the collections of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. David Sears died at his Beacon Street home on January 14, 1871.

Philanthropy and legacy

He helped fund the construction and decoration of

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

in 1819. He donated a large telescope that served as the central feature of the Harvard Astronomical Observatory at its founding in 1843. In 1844 his gift of $10,000 rescued

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

during a difficult time and marks the beginning of the Sears Foundation of Literature and Benevolence. Sears spent summers at a vacation home in Maine where local residents, in the hope of attracting his patronage, named a new municipality Searsport in his honor. He donated $1000 for the construction of a town hall, denounced the design of the one they built, and made no further donations. In 1819, he had a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

Alexander Parris Alexander Parris (November 24, 1780 – June 16, 1852) was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parri ...

and built on Beacon Hill at 42–43 Beacon Street that is believed to be the first granite structure in Boston and the finest residence of his day. He doubled its size in 1831. Sears was enamored of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, naming several of his properties "Longwood" for the French emperor's last home on St. Helena, and his Beacon Street home paid tribute in adopting the empire style for its decor with a liberal use of golden eagles and the initial "N". It was purchased by the

Somerset Club The Somerset Club is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts that opened to members in 1852, but had origins in related associations dating back to 1826. It is a center of Boston Brahmin families - New England's upper class - and is know ...

in 1871.

Sears Island Sears Island, known as Wassumkeag or shining beach by the indigenous Wabanaki tribes of northern New England, is located off the coast of Searsport in Waldo County, Maine, at the top of Penobscot Bay. The island is the largest undeveloped, un ...

and

Searsport, Maine Searsport is an incorporated town and deep water seaport located at the confluence of the Penobscot River estuary and the Penobscot Bay immediately northwest of Sears Island and Cape Jellison in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The populat ...

, are named for him.

Descendants

His great-great-grandson was John W. Sears, a Republican politician active in the 1960s and 1970s. He was not related to

Richard Warren Sears Richard Warren Sears (December 7, 1863 – September 28, 1914) was an American businessman who co-founded the department store Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Alvah Curtis Roebuck. Early life Sears was born in Stewartville, Minnes ...

, who along with

Alvah Curtis Roebuck Alvah Curtis Roebuck (January 9, 1864 – June 18, 1948) was an American retail businessman, who was one of the co-founders of department store Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Richard Warren Sears. Early life Alvah Curtis Roebuck was ...

founded the well-known

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

chain and catalog Sears, Roebuck, & Co.

Notes

References

;Additional sources * * *

External links

Longwood and Cottage Farm
Brookline, Massachusetts
Longwood Mall
a National Historic Site
David Sears House/Somerset Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, David Businesspeople from Boston 1787 births 1871 deaths 19th century in Boston People from Beacon Hill, Boston Harvard College alumni 19th-century American businesspeople