Josiah Quincy IV (/ˈkwɪnzi/; January 17, 1802 – November 2, 1882)[1] was an American politician. He served as mayor of Boston from December 11, 1845 to January 1, 1849, following the footsteps of his father, Josiah Quincy III (mayor from 1823 to 1828), and grandson, Josiah Quincy VI (mayor from 1895 to 1899).
Josiah Quincy IV | |
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| Mayor of Boston | |
| In office December 11, 1845 – January 1, 1849 (acting: December 11, 1845 – January 5, 1846) | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Aspinwall Davis Benson Leavitt (acting) |
| Succeeded by | John P. Bigelow |
| President of the Boston Common Council | |
| In office 1834–1857 | |
| Preceded by | John P. Bigelow |
| Succeeded by | Philip Marett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 17, 1802 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 2, 1882 (aged 80) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Whig |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Mayor Davis died on November 22, 1845. Benson Leavitt, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen served as Acting Mayor from November 22, 1845 to December 11, 1845. After Quincy was elected Mayor on December 8, 1845 for the term beginning January 5, 1846, Quincy was appointed by the city council as acting mayor on December 11, 1845 to serve out Mayor Davis' term. | |
Career
editHe attended Philips Academy in Andover and graduated from Harvard College in 1821.
He was elected a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1823 and became its captain in 1829 at the age of 27.
He authored Figures of the Past in 1883.[2]
As a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1837, he played a crucial role in establishing the Massachusetts Board of Education. He built the Josiah Quincy Mansion in 1848.[3]
He was elected to the Boston Common Council in 1833 and served as its president from 1834 to 1857.
He served as mayor of Boston from 1845 to 1849, and as treasurer of the Boston Athenaeum from 1837 to 1852.
Travels
editIn 1844, while traveling with Charles Francis Adams, Josiah Quincy met Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Nauvoo, Illinois. During the visit, Adams received a copy of the Book of Mormon which had previously belonged to Smith's wife, Emma Smith. The book is now in the archive collections of Adams National Historical Park.[4] At the visit, Smith showed Adams and Quincy four Egyptian mummies and ancient papyri. Adams was unimpressed by Smith, and wrote in his diary entry that day, "Such a man is a study not for himself, but as serving to show what turns the human mind will sometimes take. And herafter if I should live, I may compare the results of this delusion with the condition in which I saw it and its mountebank apostle."[5]
Family
edit
His brother Edmund (1808–1877) was a prominent abolitionist, and author of the biography of his father and of a romance, Wensley (1854). A sister, Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston, was a writer; and another sister, Eliza Susan (1798–1884) served as her father's secretary and wrote the biography of their mother.[2]
Quincy had two sons — Josiah Phillips (1829–1910), a lawyer, who wrote, besides some verse, The Protection of Majorities (1876) and Double Taxation in Massachusetts (1889); and Samuel Miller (1833–1887), who practised law, wrote on legal subjects, served in the Union army during the Civil War, and was breveted brigadier-general of volunteers in 1865. [2]
A descendant of his, through her mother, was Helen Howe, a novelist.
See also
editSources
edit- William Guild, Description of the Boston and Worcester and Western Railroads: In which is Noted the Towns, Villages, Station, Bridges, Viaducts, Tunnels, Cuttings, Embankments, Gradients, &c., the Scenery and Its Natural History, and Other Objects Passed by this Line of Railway. With Numerous Illustrations, Boston?: Bradbury & Guild, 1847, p. 13.
References
edit- ^ "Josiah Quincy Jr. - Boston Mayor from 1846 to 1848". Celebrateboston.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ a b c Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Pepe, William J.; Elaine A. Pepe (2008). Postcard History Series: Quincy. Arcadia Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 9780738555393.
- ^ Quincy, Mailing Address: 135 Adams Street; Peak, MA 02169 Phone: 617-773-1177 Marianne. "Book of Mormon - Adams National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Charles Francis Adams Diary". boap.org. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Quincy, Josiah". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
edit- Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z at Project Gutenberg, contains Quincy's speech of welcome to Boston for Charles Dickens.
- Figures of the Past, by Quincy published in 1883 contains reminiscences of meeting historic figures.
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