William Fletcher Weld was a shipping magnate during the "Golden Age of Sail

Age of Sail

The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century...

". He later invested in railroads and real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

. Weld multiplied his family's fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public.

Early life

Weld was a son of William Gordon Weld

William Gordon Weld

William Gordon Weld was a shipmaster and ship owner. He is notable as an ancestor of several famous Welds.-Ancestry and early life:...

, a prosperous ship master and ship owner, and his wife Hannah Minot. Weld planned to attend Harvard

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

 as his father had before him. However, during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 cruising off Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

 captured one of the family's ships carrying a valuable cargo of wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 and Spanish silver dollars

Spanish dollar

The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...

. This financial disaster ended Weld's plans for Harvard.

Instead, Weld became a clerk for an importer in Boston at age 15. By 22 he was in the dry-goods trade, but his partner's lack of business sense put the company in debt.

Financial success

Weld eventually entered the shipping trade that had enriched his father. By 1833, Weld had made enough money to build "The Senator", the largest ship of her time.

Weld eventually became one of the most successful merchant ship owners in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He operated 51 sailing vessels and 10 steamers. His fleet sailed under the name and symbol of the "Black Horse Flag".

As profits from the American shipping industry began to wane, he sold his fleet and turned to urban real estate and railroads, in particular the Boston and Albany

Boston and Albany 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. The line is used by CSX for freight...

 and Boston and Maine

Boston and Maine Railroad

The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...

 lines.

Weld Hall

In 1870, Weld donated money to Harvard for a dormitory to be built in memory of his younger brother, Stephen Minot Weld

Stephen Minot Weld

Stephen Minot Weld, Sr. , scion of the Weld Family of Boston, was a schoolmaster, real estate investor and politician. After his death, the Harvard dormitory Weld Hall was raised in his honor.-Early life:...

. This building was called "Weld Hall". Tours of Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...

 often pause near Weld Hall to note that John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 lived there during his freshman year.

Further legacy

Weld married twice, fathering six children by his first wife, Mary Perez Bryant, and one son by his second wife, Isabella Walker. In 1906, his youngest son, George Walker Weld

George Walker Weld

George Walker Weld , youngest son of William Fletcher Weld and member of the Weld Family of Boston, was a founding member of the Boston Athletic Association and the financier of the Weld Boathouse, a landmark on the Charles River.-Early life:Weld was athletic as a student at Harvard College and...

, donated the Weld Boathouse

Weld Boathouse

Weld Boathouse is a Harvard-owned building on the bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named after George Walker Weld, who bequeathed the funds for its construction.-History:...

 to Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

.

William Fletcher Weld left an estate estimated at $20 million. His granddaughter Isabel Weld Perkins

Isabel Weld Perkins

Isabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...

 inherited $17 million of this at age 5. She later married diplomat Larz Anderson

Larz Anderson

Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....

 and left a legacy for the public that includes Larz Anderson Park

Larz Anderson Park

Larz Anderson Park is a wooded, landscaped, and waterscaped parkland in Brookline, Massachusetts that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The southwest corner of the park is in Boston...

 and Larz Anderson Auto Museum

Larz Anderson Auto Museum

Larz Anderson Auto Museum is located on the grounds of Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts and is the oldest collection of motorcars in the United States....

 in Brookline

Brookline, Massachusetts

Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...

, Anderson Memorial Bridge

Anderson Memorial Bridge

Anderson Memorial Bridge connects Allston, a neighborhood of Boston, and Cambridge. The bridge stands on the site of the Great Bridge built in 1662, the first structure to span the Charles River...

 in Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

, the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection

Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection

The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts is one of the premier collections of bonsai in the United States and includes a Hinoki Cypress over 250 years old....

 at Arnold Arboretum and Anderson House Museum in Washington, DC.