William Claflin
William Claflin | |
|---|---|
Chairman of the Republican National Committee | |
| In office 1868–1872 | |
| Preceded by | Marcus Lawrence Ward |
| Succeeded by | Edwin D. Morgan |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1849–1853 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 6, 1818 Milford, Massachusetts |
| Died | January 5, 1905 (aged 86) Newton, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Free Soil Republican |
William Claflin (March 6, 1818 – January 5, 1905) was an American politician, industrialist, and philanthropist from
Claflin was educated at Brown University and worked in his father's shoe manufacturing business before becoming a partner in it. An opponent of slavery, he helped establish the state's Free Soil Party before dominating the state's Republican Party establishment in the 1860s. He supported a number of social reforms, including increased property and voting rights for women, and he was the state's first governor to actively support full women's suffrage.[1] He supported many charitable causes and promoted the development of the village Newtonville, where his country estate was located.
Early years and business
William Claflin was born on March 6, 1818, in
Claflin's father had begun his shoe manufacturing in partnership with Nathan Parker Coburn, and William joined their partnership, forming a business that lasted into the 1890s.[4][5] They expanded the business Lee Claflin founded, eventually building one of New England's largest boot factories in South Framingham in 1882.[6] Claflin and Coburn would remain in active partnership until 1878, when Claflin withdrew from active participation, and their partnership was finally dissolved at the end of 1891 with Coburn's retirement.[4][7] The company assets, including plants in Framingham, Hopkinton, and Milford, were then taken over by younger partners.[8]
Politics
Claflin followed his father in both politics and his
In 1865 Claflin was elected Lieutenant Governor under Governor
Claflin was the first governor to actively support and promote full
Claflin opposed state funding support for the
During the 1860s, Claflin remained active at high levels of party politics, gaining appointment to the national executive committee of the Republican Party in 1864.
Along with his father, Claflin donated funds to purchase land for Claflin University, the historically black Methodist university in South Carolina. The university was founded in 1869, and was named in his father's honor. Claflin was also a significant supporter of higher education for women, signing charters for Wellesley College and Mount Holyoke College, both women's colleges, while governor. He sat on the boards of trustees at some point for many of these schools, as well as Wesleyan University (which his father also helped found) and Harvard University, both of which gave him honorary degrees.[16]
Later years
Claflin returned to business and supported philanthropic activities (many related to the Methodist Church, in which he was active) after leaving Congress. He died on January 5, 1905, at his home in Newton, and was buried in Newton Cemetery.[26] He married twice. His first marriage was in 1839 to Nancy (Warren) Harding of Milford, with whom he had a daughter before she died in 1842. The second, in 1845, was to Mary Bucklin of Hopkinton, with whom he had five children, only two of whom survived him.[27] His son Adams Claflin played a major role in the provision of streetcar service to Newton.[28]
Claflin was a major force in the development of the village of Newtonville in Newton, Massachusetts. In 1854 he purchased a farm that had once been owned by two governors: Simon Bradstreet (a 17th-century governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), and William Hull, governor of the Michigan Territory.[29] Claflin moved Hull's mansion to one side of the property and built a new one on the old foundation. He subdivided portions of the estate for development, and was responsible for the construction of the Claflin Block in Newtonville. After his death the local civic improvement association purchased the rest of Claflin's estate and gave it to the town. The site is now the location of the Newton North High School athletic fields.[30] Newtonville's Claflin School is named in his honor.[31]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Moody, p. 111
- ^ Hurd, p. 163
- ISBN 9781498519847.
- ^ a b c Ensign, p. 112
- ^ Hurd, pp. 671, 801
- ^ Hurd, p. 671
- ^ Davis, p. 293
- ^ Annual Report on the Statistics of Manufactures, p. 306
- ^ Ensign, pp. 112–113
- ^ Mohr, p. 3
- ^ a b Ensign, p. 113
- ^ Toomey & Quinn, p. 36
- ^ Mulkern, pp. 75–76
- ^ Myers, p. 12
- ^ a b Goldman, p. 117
- ^ a b Ensign, p. 114
- ^ a b Hart, p. 4:595
- ^ Mohr, p. 6
- ^ Rosenkrantz, p. 53
- ^ Baum, pp. 146–147
- ^ Mohr, pp. 10–11
- ^ Baum, pp. 155–163
- ^ Goldman, p. 107
- ^ Goldman, pp. 113–114
- ^ Goldman, p. 119
- ^ Hurd, p. 116
- ^ Hurd, p. 113
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Adams Claflin House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
- ^ Ensign, p. 115
- ^ "Newton's 19th Century Architecture: Newtonville". City of Newton. Retrieved May 24, 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Newtonville Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
References
- Annual Report on the Statistics of Manufactures, Volume 6. Boston: Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics. 1892.
- Baum, Dale (1984). The Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848–1876. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. OCLC 9970596.
- Davis, William T (1907). The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, Volume 1. Boston: D.H. Hurd and Company. OCLC 18090618.
- Ensign, Charles Sidney (April 1907). "Hon. William Claflin, LL. D." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
- Goldman, Ralph Morris (1990). The National Party Chairmen and Committees: Factionalism at the Top. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. OCLC 20852475.
- Hart, Albert Bushnell, ed. (1927). Commonwealth History of Massachusetts. New York: The States History Company. OCLC 1543273. (five volume history of Massachusetts until the early 20th century)
- Hurd, Duane (1890). History of Middlesex County, Volume 3. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis and Company. OCLC 2155461.
- Mohr, James (1976). Radical Republicans in the North: State Politics During Reconstruction. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801817748.
- Moody, Robert E (1928). "Claflin, William". Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 2. New York: Scribners. p. 211. OCLC 37255176.
- Mulkern, John (1990). The Know-Nothing Party in Massachusetts. Boston: Northeastern University Press. OCLC 20594513.
- Myers, John (2009). Henry Wilson and the Era of Reconstruction. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. OCLC 854521521.
- Rosenkrantz, Barbara Gutmann (1972). Public Health and the State: Changing Views in Massachusetts, 1842-1936. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. OCLC 266763.
- Toomey, Daniel; Quinn, Charles Thomas (1892). Massachusetts of Today: A Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical, Issued for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. Boston: Columbia Publishing Company. p. 36. OCLC 3251791.