Unknown author, 1853

[In 1851-1852, Gershom Bradford Weston was embroiled in a vicious pamphlet war with some members of Duxbury’s Unitarian Church, including its minister, Rev. Josiah Moore. Long-held animosities surfaced and Weston was accused of being morally unfit to address the Union Martha Washington Relief Society, a Ladies Temperance organization, by members of the church. The following unpublished paragraphs, extolling Weston’s virtue, and declaring him much-loved by his neighbors, was likley an attempt paint him in the best light possible. Despite its fawning tone, it is a good representation of the facts of G. B. Weston’s life up to that point]

Upon the seashore of Massachusetts lies the village of Duxbury, about two miles South of the residence of the late Hon. Daniel Webster, and ten miles north of the town of Plymouth. It was settled as early as the year 1632, by a small number of persons who removed from Plymouth, and was, at that time, known by the Indian name – Mattakeeset. Within its precincts lived Standish, Alden and Brewster – three of the Pilgrim fathers who were active and useful in building up and sustaining Plymouth colony; and whose names and fame are as imperishable as American history. The bold and indomitable spirit of such men enabled them to overcome all obstacles of climate and soil, and to establish on a bleak and barren shore and in the midst of a wilderness, a settlement which, through adversity and prosperity, continued to increase and thrive.

The attention of the people of Duxbury was early attracted to the advantages offered by their location for the construction of vessels. Since the revolution they have engaged extensively in the business , which has been the means of making the town known in all parts of the world. During the year 1837, there were built eleven thousand seven hundred and eleven tons of shipping. Of those interested in this occupation, many were ship owners and men of wealth.

A sea faring life has also held out strong inducements to the citizens of the place, a good proportion of whom are mariners. This has had a beneficial effect upon the people, as it has been the cause of enlarging and liberalizing their views. The knowledge acquired by the sailor has not been hoarded for his own gratification, but has been freely imparted to others who have caught his generous and self denying spirits. Under such influences, the inhabitants of the town have maintained a character worthy of their fathers.

In Duxbury, on the 27th of August, 1799, was born the Hon. Gershom Bradford Weston. His mother, whose maiden name was Jerusha Bradford, was a direct descendant of William Bradford, the second Governor of Plymouth Colony, and a sister of the Hon. Alden Bradford, who is known as a historian and biographer. The father of Jerusha was Col. Gamaliel, the son of Hon. Gamaliel Bradford, whose parent, Samuel Bradford was the son of Major William Bradford and the grandson of Gov. William Bradford. Of those mentioned, all, excepting the last two, resided in Duxbury. They were distinguished for energy of character and puritan manners, and were highly respectable and respected.

Mr. Weston’s ancestors on his father’s side were also of English origin. Edmund Weston, the first of whom there is any record in this country, came to America in 1644. He lived in Duxbury and had a son John who was the father of Eliphas Weston. They were men of ability and decision of character, and maintained a good reputation, They possessed moderate means and engaged in such occupations as chiefly interested the people of the town. Eliphas and two of his sons were drowned in Duxbury harbor, as they were returning from the beach to the main shore in a small boat. Ezra, the son of Eliphas, and the grandfather of Gershom, was instructed in his younger days in the trade of rope-making, and was thus engaged till he became interested in the more lucrative occupation of ship building. Immediately after the close of the revolutionary war, he entered into a partnership with his son Ezra under the name of E. Weston and Son. This continued till his death in 1822, when he left an ample fortune which was shared by his two children – the son just mentioned, and a daughter who married Capt. Sylvanus Sampson of Duxbury. The character of Mr. Weston’s grandfather was calculated to make a deep and durable impression upon all around him. He was a stern, active and decided man who possessed the spirit of his early ancestors, and whose physical nature and capacity enabled him to endure fatigue that exhausted the strength of those who attempted to accomplish as much as he did. His influence on his townsmen was very powerful, and he seldom failed in whatever he undertook to perform. Duxbury at this day bears the marks of many projects originated by his mind, and sustained and successfully completed by his perseverance and energy. There is one work, of which he was the chief projector, that has been a great benefit to the town, and displays the character of the man. There is also preserved in manuscript an amusing account of the matter, written at the time, which tends to show how great was his control over the minds of his contempraraies. In 1798, Mr. Ezra Weston and three other influential citizens of Duxbury undertook, adversely to the wishes of almost all the rest of the inhabitants, to procure the opening of a road along the seashore. They petitioned the Court of Sessions for that purpose, where they were opposed by the town, which appeared in its public capacity by attorney. The road, nevertheless, was sanctioned by the court. But in order to carry the design into effect, it was necessary to construct a bridge over a stream called “Blue Fish River.” Those who desired to resist the decree of the court, held that as the river was navigable, no tribunal had authority to order the erection of any structure over it. Between the years 1801-1803, many town meetings were held, at which animated discussions took place respecting the subject. The estimated expense was three thousand dollars – a circumstance which was relied on strongly by the opposition as an argument in their favor. This objection was overcome by an ingenious plan. Mr. Weston and his associates having previously and privately agreed to become joint undertakers, one of them moved at a meeting to the inhabitants, that the town agree to build the bridge, provided any responsible man would undertake the work for the sum of fifteen hundred dollars. The motion was readily carried without debate, when another of the four projectors, who was present, immediately arose and accepted the offer. The very next day preparations for constructing the bridge were commenced, and before any of the opposition who threatened to call another meeting for the purpose of obtaining a reconsideration of the recent vote could put their design in execution, the work was so far progressed that they entertained no expectation that such an effort would be successful. The road completed in the course of two years according to the wishes of its friends has since been the main thoroughfare of the town, and remains a proof of the wisdom and forethought of those who originated it.

The following is the account already referred to. In explanation of its frequent use of a royal title, it may be necessary to state that the standing and influence of Mr. Ezra Weston were such as had induced his townsmen to bestow upon him the name of “King Caesar.” The text is from an unknown author, and has been divided into verses with numerals prefixed, at a later day, in accordance with the present form of the Scriptures, whose style it was evidently intended to imitate.

1. And it came to pass in the days of Caesar, the King [Ezra Weston], that he commanded his servant Joshua [Winsor] saying, get thee up a journey into the land of the Hanoverites [Hanover, MA], to Benjamin [counsel for the petitioners for the Court of Sessions], the Scribe.
2. And say unto him, I, Caesar, the King, have sent forth my decree, and commanded that the people in the land of Sodom [part of Duxbury village, south of Blue Fish River] shall no longer be separated from the Westonites, the Drewites and the Cushmanites, that dwell on the north side of the great river Blue Fish.
3. And also command Benjamin, the Scribe, that he forthwith make out a petition and convey it to the Judges and Magistrates of our land, commanding them that they straightaway direct the Sodomites, the Westonites, and all the other Ites, within our borders, to build a bridge over the great river Blue Fish.
4. So the Judges and Magistrates, fearing Caesar, the King, and Joshua, his servant, commanded that the bridge be built according to Caesar’s decree.
5. But it came to pass that there arose up a certain of the tribes of Judah [Alden] and Levi [Sampson] and Samuel [possibly Delano], and of the Chandlerites, and others most learned in the law, and showed the Judges and Magistrates that Caesar, the King, had done wickedly, in commanding what was unlawful to be done, and so by the voice of the multitude the decree was set aside.
6. And it came to pass that Caesar and the Sodomites wrought up the minds of the people, and cast such delusions before their eyes that they had fear before Caesar, the King, and at length resolved to build the bridge, and connect Caesar’s dominions to the land of Sodom.
7. And now behold Caesar, the King, has erected an arch fifty cubits high, on that bridge which the people, in their folly, have built – and set up an image over the top of the arch, and commanded all people from the land of Sodom on the South, and Westonites, and all the other tribes in the North to assemble on the fourth day of the seventh month, and bow their heads to the image which the King has set up. [an arch was erected over the bridge with a carved eagle and the motto, taken from Jefferson’s inaugural address, “Peace, Friendship and Commerce with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”]
8. And behold the people assembled according to the King’s decree, and did as he commanded.”

Ezra Weston, father of Hon. G. B. Weston, possessed much more ability and capacity for business than did his paternal parent, without his sternness and rough exterior. Indeed the elder Ezra’s success in accumulating wealth, was in no small degree attributed to the tact and shrewdness of his son who was associated with him as a partner nearly thirty years. At the time of his father’s death, Mr. Ezra Weston was about fifty years of age. His fortune, though considerable, did not cause him to relax his efforts for acquisition; employment to him was a “second nature.” His industry was incessant, and his energy untiring; his business habits were thorough and systematic. Labor and fatigue were his food and sleep; the night was to him as the day, so continual and unremitting were his exertions. The qualities mentioned caused him to rise in the business world steadily and rapidly; and for several years before his death, he was known as the largest ship owner in the country. The business which he conducted had many branches located in different places, that required constant supervision, and a thorough knowledge of each in order to make it profitable. He built his own vessels, furnishing the materials, and hiring all the workmen by the day; he owned an extensive ropewalk and manufactured all the cordage which he needed; he kept a counting house open constantly in Boston where he fitted out his shops and thence dispatched them to sea, employing what mariners they required; and he had a large number of small craft which he sent to the Grand Bank every season, curing the fish that they obtained, in his own yards, and then transporting them to the large cities for sale. In addition to all this, he was proprietor of the principal store in Duxbury, for which he purchased the goods, he owned much real estate which he cultivated; was president of a bank for many years; a director in other corporations; and was also interested in stocks of various kinds. To have his vessels constructed well and with economy, it was necessary to purchase the lumber, hemp, and iron cheaply, and to have every part fo the work done faithfully. This could be accomplished only by a constant and careful observation of the markets, an extensive knowledge of practical affairs pertaining to the business, and a continual superintendence during the building. The large number of vessel which he had in various parts of the world, required an immense foreign correspondence to be carried on, and close and shrewd calculations to be made, founded on correct knowledge of the state of commercial affairs in different countries, in order to make voyages successful. He frequently had ships in New York and Boston at the same time, which needed his attention; and twenty years ago a journey between those two great marts of America was not considered a short or easy one, as it now is with railroad and steamboat facilities. Notwithstanding all the obstacles in the path of the traveler, Mr. Weston moved from place to place with astonishing rapidity, and gave his personal attention to each department of his affairs. Assisted only by two of his sons and one or two clerks, he so conducted his immense business that everything was promptly attended to, and thoroughly and properly done, as his success fully demonstrated.

The subject of his memoir was born soon after the partnership was formed between father and grandfather. His infant days were passed like those of the children around him. When eight years of age he was placed under the care of Rev. Mr. Norton in Weymouth (a town in Plymouth County) who kept a boarding school. Previous to this, the child had received but little instruction, and that chiefly from his mother, though he attended public school for a few months. The tuition furnished by those schools in the early part of the nineteenth century, was very poor and scanty, and all that could be ordinarily derived from them was a superficial knowledge of the most common branches of education. The same remarks will apply, with a slight qualification, to the private instruction of that period. The clergyman, who received pupils into his family, generally intended it should be considered as much a school of morality as of literary acquirements. Such was the case with Mr. Norton, who thought his duty to be fully accomplished and found his conscience made easy, if he succeeded in curbing the evil dispositions of children entrusted to his care, and in keeping them out of mischief. That was his main object, to which tuition was secondary. He soon discovered that his young pupil was a wild and roguish boy who would tax all his powers of endurance, and call into action what ability he might possess for managing others. Gershom remained with Mr. Norton about a year, in which he gave little thought to his books. The playground had more charms for him, then his studies, and he was more intent in planning and carrying into effect some mischievous scheme, then he was in learning his lessons.

His father bestowed slight attention on Gershom’s education, though he was able to give him the best advantages afforded by the literary institutions of our country. He was wholly absorbed in business, and was somewhat like the French philosopher who, when a servant told him his house was on fire, replied, “Fool, go tell they mistress; what have I to do with domestic affairs?” Not disposed to study and possessing a frolicsome disposition, it was principally through the instrumentality of his mother, that Gershom was kept at school. His maternal parent was gentle and affectionate, and displayed a deep concern for the welfare of her children. From her lips, the playful boy received many lessons which, though they did not at the time remove his desire for mischief, eradicated all malicious motives if any existed in his mind. Her counsel has been remembered till the present time, and doubtless, has had a powerful influence in developing the many worthy traits of character, displayed by her son in his mature years.

After leaving Mr. Norton’s care, Gershom attended two or three different schools, for a few months at a time, till his fourteenth year. The war of 1812 had just been declared, and, as it was to be prosecuted mainly on the ocean, ship-owners were likely to be the principal sufferers. Harrassed by this state of affairs, and thinking it advisable to keep his son as much under his own immediate care as practicable, Mr. Weston placed him in his counting-room in Duxbury. There the boy learned the first real lessons of life, under one who was not only able to instruct in his own business, but to command.

In the breast of young Gershom was early engendered a love of seafaring life. From the windows of his father’s house, when he could only lisp the simplest words of the English language, and was not yet in his mother’s arms, he looked daily upon the broad and beautiful bay of his native town, and gazed upon the easy movements of the white-winged vessels. Standing upon the door step of his paternal dwelling, he had, in the summer season of his infant days, heard the sound of the hammer and axe, seen the busy workmen hurrying to and fro, and viewed the noble vessel was she launched from her ways and glided swiftly and gracefully for the first time upon the smooth surface of the water, amid the shouts of the admiring multitude. In his boyish years he had beheld the preparations for the long voyages, and had watched the full rigged and stately ship as she sailed gallantly from the harbor and moved upon the bosom of the broad ocean, carrying among her jolly crew some of those who had been his playmates. On the return of his youthful companions, he had listened with feelings of delight to their exaggerated accounts of distant lands, of the manners and customs of foreign people, and of the monsters of the great deep. He looked forward longingly to the time when he should don the young sailor’s costume, and, as he thought, lighthearted and happy, should climb the tarry ropes. Such romantic tastes and desires had always been discountenanced by his father who wished to make him a business man like himself. Gershom’s youthful ardor, however, was not checked, and the dreamy visions of his boyish imagination matured his desire into determination. At the close of the war his paternal parent reluctantly assented to his wishes, believing that he thereby fixed the destiny of his son for life. Accordingly, in his sixteenth year, he sailed as captain’s clerk in the brig Dispatch for Copenhagen. On his return he again crossed the ocean, in the same capacity, to London, where he attended school two months for the purpose of studying navigation. He made but one voyage after this. When seventeen years of age, he sailed from the port of Boston, as second officer of the ship Brahmin, which was bound for Calcutta. After a year’s absence, he returned with his love of a sea life somewhat abated, and at the solicitation of his father again entered his counting room in Duxbury, where he remained three years. During this period his spirits were light and buoyant, and his disposition peculiarly frolicsome. His temper, though easily excited, was quickly passed, and his very looks betokened good nature and social feelings. He was always ready to participate in youthful sports, and took the lead among his companions in the various diversions which were then popular among the descendants of the Pilgrims. Gunning, fishing, hunting and dancing were his favorite amusements. He was the principal manager of all the public social parties in the town, and the projector of many pleasurable excursions. His mid seems always to have been free from malice, and his disposition at that time appears to have been light and gay with little inclination to serious thoughts.

As soon as Gershom arrived at the age of manhood, he experienced a great change in life. In the year 1821, he married Judith Sprague, the daughter of Hon. Seth Sprague of Duxbury, and the sister of Peleg Sprague, one of the present judges of the District Court of the United States. Young Weston now entered upon new duties which brought new responsibilities. This period commences his life as a citizen and a man. At this time, having had no experience in town business, he was chosen one of the selectmen of Duxbury. The office he had not sought, and he declined the honor which his friends wished to bestow upon him. He entered into commercial pursuits, being well qualified for such occupations by his previous employment. Though possessing a mind which had as yet been little polished by literary acquirements, he had much practical knowledge, was quick in his perceptions, and untiring in his exertions to accomplish whatever he undertook. Without his grandfather’s rude manners, he possessed all his energy of character; and while his attention to his own affairs did not lead him, like his father, to exclude the consideration of everything else, and he had not probably so great business talents as his parent, he displayed all his rapidity of movement, and had a fund of more varied information. Young as he was, his townsmen were not slow to appreciate his good qualities and ability, and annually for seven years, he was called by their suffrage to occupy town and parish offices of trust and responsibility.

In almost all cases of emergency, when special committees were raised to conduct law suits or for other purposes, he was pressed into active service. During these seven years in which he was thus busily engaged, he was brought in direct contact with all classes of people, and acquired a knowledge of human nature which few, moving in a much wider circle, possess. He displayed great ability, and every year his mind was developing and gaining strength.

In 1828 Mr. Weston was chosen to represent Duxbuyy in the Legislature of Massachusetts. To this body, he brought a vast amount of practical information which caused his influence to be felt and acknowledged at once. He was made chairman of important committees, and was distinguished for his industry and activity. The political elements were at this period in a confused state. The unsuccessful administration of John Quincy Adams was drawing to a close, and the Federal party was weak and shattered. Its lines were not very distinctly drawn, and many who were opposed to the Democratic party, found that there was was no organization with which they could write for the purpose of sustaining their views. The political elements were dissolving to form anew. Under this state of things, those members of the legislature who were desirous of expressing their opinions in such a manner as would give them weight and efficacy, proposed to form another party in the State. For this purpose, they chose a committee to draw up, and present at a meeting to be subsequently holden, a series of resolutions as the platform of a new organization. Notwithstanding his youth, Mr. Weston was chosen chairman of this committee – a position of delicacy and difficulty. He applied himself to the discharge of his duty with his accustomed energy, and the resolves which he introduced, and which were adopted by a meeting held in the State House in 1828, were the basis of the National Republican Party.

After his first entry into the Legislature of his native state, Hon. G. B. Weston was chosen annually a member of that body, as senator or representative, for twleve years. During the same period, he was a delegate to three national conventions held for the nomination of candidates for the presidency. While in public life, he was put on various committees, and had an opportunity to acquire a thorough knowledge of parliamentary rules. For many years he has frequently been called to preside over meetings in his native town and other places, and has always displayed executive abilities of hie highest order. His connectoin with the Legislature also gave him an extenisve aquaintance with men in all parts of Massachusetts.

In 1834 Hon. G. B. Weston succeeded his father in the presidency of the Duxbury Bank. This office proved to be one of difficulty, which required great business tact and ability to rescue the corporation from embarrassments caused by the injudicious conduct of its cashier. The bank became involved to the amount of several thousand dollars, and it was thought best to wind up its concerns, as the business of the place was not such as to warrant its continuance. The president applied himself to the task with his usual determination, resolved to bring the affairs of the corporation to a successful issue. This he accomplished to the astonishment of all interested, and caused the stock-holders to receive the par value of their shares. In 1838 he formed a copartnership with his father and two brothers under the title of E. Weston & Sons – thus reviving the name which was in existance sixty years ago. The style of this firm which is still retained by Mr. Weston and his brother – the only surviving partners – is one of the oldest in the country, and has been favorably known in Europe more than half a century.

SInce the death of Mr. Weston in 1842, till the present year, his son has been devoted to business. In April of 1850, he met with a severe loss in the destruction of his home by fire. It was built ten years before upon spacious grounds beautifully ornamented with trees, and was the pride of his native town, to whose inhabitants it was always open. There, the mechanic and farmer were welcomed with hospitable cheer that made them lve the giver without eveying him.

Though actively engaged in commercial pursuits which have occupied much of his attention, Hon. G. B. Weston has always found time to devote to moral and religious objects. His benevolence is unbounded an dhis charities are unostentatious and frequent. In him the poor have ever found a kind friend. Hardly a day has passed duirng the last thirty years, that he has not given of his abundance to the needy. Leberality is one of his crowning Christian virtues, as hundreds of the recipients of his favors will cheerfully testify. Mr. Weston has for a long time been an active and consistent advocate of the cause of Temperance. His labors in this field since 1840 have been incessant. Adopting the principle of “moral suasion” he has been untiring in his efforts ot reclaim the inebriate. By addressing public assemblies, seeking out those rendered destitute by immoderate use of intoxicating beverages, and by appealing to the heart and conscience of his brother man, he has resuced many from a drunkard’s grave, and made their families, once suffering in squalid want, comfortable and happy.

Noble and generous in his character, of a benevolent disposition, and prossessing talents which have been rightly improved, Hon. G. B. Weston has risen to a position in Massachusetts, where he exerts a wide influence. So meritorious are his many virtues, that he is most loved where he is best known. Such is the way which he bears over the minds of his fellow citizens in Duxbury, that whatever cause he espouses, or whatever side he advocates, a majority of the inhabitants decide in its favor. It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to find another instance in which one individual has, through thirty successive years, retained an undiminished popularity with the citizens of his native town, moulding their opinions in unison wiht his own. During that period, he has been presented annually with only one or two exceptions to the people of Duxbury, as a candidate for some town, county, district or state office, and has never failed in any instance to receive a majority of their votes.

In 1848 and 1852, Mr. Weston was a member of the national convention for nominations of cadidates for the presidency. At the commencement of the present year, he was again called from the retirement of private life by the legislature of Massachusetts, and placed in the Executive Council of the state, which office he now holds.

As a public speaker, Mr. Weston has had considerable experience. Since 1828 he has had the occassion frequently to address his fellow citizens. On the 4th of July in the year 1832, he delivered his first oration before the inhabitants of Duxbury, which is the only time that the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence has been celebrated by that ancient town. Subsequently to that period he has spoken he has spoken before large assemblies on various occassions. He is rapid, easy and fluent in his speech, generally employing plain language and convincing his hearers by an accumulation of evidence and reasons, which is irresistable.

We must draw this scanty memoir to a close. Adequate justice may not have been done in these pages to the subject of this notice, as it has been the aim of the writer to bestow no unmerited praise upon the living. The Hon. Gershom B. Weston still resided in Duxbury in the fifty-third year of his age, beloved by his family and neighbors, and exerting an extensive influence in his native state. Only when removed from the scene of his earthly labors, will he receive the reward of his many good deeds.