1868 Gershom Bradford Weston senator Massachusetts

Gershom Bradford Weston, (27 Aug 1799 - 14 Sep 1869) son of shipbuilding tycoon Ezra Weston II (1772-1842) (AKA: King Caesar II) and his wife Jerusha Bradford (1770-1833), who were both direct descendants of six

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

pilgrims. Gershom was a large man with reddish hair, weighing about 250 pounds. At an age 17 he began sailing on his father's ships to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, before taking on a managerial role in the family business. From 1842 to 1857 he and his brothers ran the family firm until it closed down. At age 28 he entered politics as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

and served there for 12 years before becoming a state justice. In 1848 Gershom joined the newly formed Free-Soil Political Party and strongly advocated it's Temperance and Abolitionist platform - "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men". He stood as the Free-Soil candidate for the U.S. Congress and lost by fewer than 150 votes. Gershom was married twice and had 14 children, several of whom served with honor in the US Civil War. Late in life, Gershom experienced a series significant financial reverses. In 1850 his 30-acre mansion burned to the ground. By 1857 his shipping business had folded. In 1868, friends from the Massachusetts Senate purchased for him the small house he was then renting.Fire that burned the Weston Library
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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Gershom 1799 births 1869 deaths American boat builders Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature People from Duxbury, Massachusetts Politicians from Plymouth County, Massachusetts 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court

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