William Tudor
Encyclopedia
William Tudor was a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston
. His eldest son William Tudor (1779-1830)
became a leading literary figure in Boston. Another son, Frederic Tudor
, founded the Tudor Ice Company and became Boston's "Ice King", shipping ice to the tropics from many local sources of fresh water including Walden Pond
, Fresh Pond
, and Spy Pond in Arlington, Massachusetts
.
in 1769, studied law in the office of John Adams
was admitted to the Massachusetts Bay Colony Bar, July 27, 1772, and became outstanding in his profession. He joined George Washington
's army in Cambridge
where he provided legal advice to Washington and, on July 29, 1775, was appointed Judge Advocate
of the Continental Army
with the rank of colonel, and then Judge Advocate General (ranked Lieutenant-Colonel) on August 10, 1776. He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of Henley's Additional Continental Regiment
.
He married Delia Jarvis on March 5, 1778 and resigned from the army on April 9, 1778 to re-establish himself as a lawyer. His practice flourished, and upon his father's death in 1796 he inherited an estate worth the then-considerable sum of $40,000. Six of their children survived infancy and early childhood: William Tudor (1779-1830)
; John Henry (1782–1802), who roomed with Washington Allston
at Harvard; Frederic
(September 4, 1783–February 6, 1864); Emma Jane (1785–1865), who married Robert Hallowell Gardiner; Delia (1787–1861), who became the wife of Charles Stewart
, captain of the USS Constitution
; and Henry James (1791–1864).
Tudor served as a Representative
of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court
, 1781–1794; as a State Senator, 1801 and 1802; Secretary of the Commonwealth
, 1808 and 1809; and was a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society
, whose first meeting was held on January 24, 1791 in his house on Court Street
, Boston.
The Tudors' summer estate in Lynn (now Nahant
), Massachusetts, was accumulated over the course of 25 years. In August 1787, Tudor bought the first 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of farmland plus 31 acres (125,452.7 m²) of woodland. In May 1788, his father John Tudor purchased 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of land as well as 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of salt marsh in May 1788. William Tudor then purchased 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) more salt marsh in 1790, 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of farmland in 1793, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of pine grove in 1799 and 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) more in 1801. After subsequent improvement by Tudor's son Frederic, the property has become the Nahant Country Club.
Tudor also owned a country estate in Saugus, Massachusetts
(then part of Lynn), which he had inherited from his father. Known as "Rockwood", it was from the estate's pond that Tudor's son Frederic began harvesting ice for shipment to the Caribbean. The Tudors vacated the property in 1807 and leased it to other families until 1823, when it was purchased by the town for use as a poor farm. The farm was torn down in the 1950s and the property was used as the location for a new Saugus High School
.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. His eldest son William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor was a leading citizen of Boston, sometime literary man, and cofounder of the North American Review and the Boston Athenaeum. It was Tudor who christened Boston The Athens of America in an 1819 letter...
became a leading literary figure in Boston. Another son, Frederic Tudor
Frederic Tudor
Frederic Tudor was known as Boston's "Ice King", and was the founder of the Tudor Ice Company. During the early 19th Century, he made a fortune shipping ice to the Caribbean, Europe, and even as far away as India from sources of fresh water ice in New England.The Tudor Ice Company harvested ice in...
, founded the Tudor Ice Company and became Boston's "Ice King", shipping ice to the tropics from many local sources of fresh water including Walden Pond
Walden Pond
Walden Pond is a 31-metre-deep lake in Massachusetts . It is in area and around, located in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States...
, Fresh Pond
Fresh Pond, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Fresh Pond is a reservoir and park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to the Pond's use exclusively as a reservoir, its ice had been harvested by Boston's "Ice King", Frederic Tudor, and others, for shipment to North American cities and to tropical areas around the world.Fresh Pond Reservation...
, and Spy Pond in Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
Life
Tudor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1769, studied law in the office of John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
was admitted to the Massachusetts Bay Colony Bar, July 27, 1772, and became outstanding in his profession. He joined George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's army 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...
where he provided legal advice to Washington and, on July 29, 1775, was appointed Judge Advocate
Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army
The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at all levels of command. The Judge Advocate General's Legal Service includes judge advocates, warrant officers, paralegal noncommissioned...
of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
with the rank of colonel, and then Judge Advocate General (ranked Lieutenant-Colonel) on August 10, 1776. He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of Henley's Additional Continental Regiment
Henley's Additional Continental Regiment
Henley's Additional Continental Regiment was raised on January 12, 1777 with troops from Massachusetts and New Hampshire at Boston, Massachusetts for service with the Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Rhode Island...
.
He married Delia Jarvis on March 5, 1778 and resigned from the army on April 9, 1778 to re-establish himself as a lawyer. His practice flourished, and upon his father's death in 1796 he inherited an estate worth the then-considerable sum of $40,000. Six of their children survived infancy and early childhood: William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor was a leading citizen of Boston, sometime literary man, and cofounder of the North American Review and the Boston Athenaeum. It was Tudor who christened Boston The Athens of America in an 1819 letter...
; John Henry (1782–1802), who roomed with Washington Allston
Washington Allston
Washington Allston was an American painter and poet, born in Waccamaw Parish, South Carolina. Allston pioneered America's Romantic movement of landscape painting...
at Harvard; Frederic
Frederic Tudor
Frederic Tudor was known as Boston's "Ice King", and was the founder of the Tudor Ice Company. During the early 19th Century, he made a fortune shipping ice to the Caribbean, Europe, and even as far away as India from sources of fresh water ice in New England.The Tudor Ice Company harvested ice in...
(September 4, 1783–February 6, 1864); Emma Jane (1785–1865), who married Robert Hallowell Gardiner; Delia (1787–1861), who became the wife of Charles Stewart
Charles Stewart (1778-1869)
Charles Stewart was an officer in the United States Navy.Born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stewart went to sea at the age of thirteen as a cabin boy and rose through the grades to become master of a merchantman. He grew up with Captain Stephen Decatur and Richard Sommers...
, captain of the USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
; and Henry James (1791–1864).
Tudor served as a Representative
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
, 1781–1794; as a State Senator, 1801 and 1802; Secretary of the Commonwealth
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the state government of the U.S...
, 1808 and 1809; and was a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
, whose first meeting was held on January 24, 1791 in his house on Court Street
Court Street (Boston, Massachusetts)
Court Street is located in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to 1788, it was called Prison Lane and then Queen Street . In the 19th century it extended beyond its current length, to Bowdoin Square. In the 1960s most of Court Street was demolished to make way for the...
, Boston.
The Tudors' summer estate in Lynn (now Nahant
Nahant, Massachusetts
Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,632 at the 2000 census. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by area in the state...
), Massachusetts, was accumulated over the course of 25 years. In August 1787, Tudor bought the first 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of farmland plus 31 acres (125,452.7 m²) of woodland. In May 1788, his father John Tudor purchased 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of land as well as 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of salt marsh in May 1788. William Tudor then purchased 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) more salt marsh in 1790, 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of farmland in 1793, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of pine grove in 1799 and 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) more in 1801. After subsequent improvement by Tudor's son Frederic, the property has become the Nahant Country Club.
Tudor also owned a country estate in Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
(then part of Lynn), which he had inherited from his father. Known as "Rockwood", it was from the estate's pond that Tudor's son Frederic began harvesting ice for shipment to the Caribbean. The Tudors vacated the property in 1807 and leased it to other families until 1823, when it was purchased by the town for use as a poor farm. The farm was torn down in the 1950s and the property was used as the location for a new Saugus High School
Saugus High School (Massachusetts)
Saugus High School is an American public secondary school located in Saugus, Massachusetts.-Facilities:The current Saugus High campus opened in September 1955. The single-story structure includes a cafeteria, auditorium, offices, classrooms, and a gymnasium....
.