Benson Leavitt (21 June 1797–1 June 1869) was a
Boston, Massachusetts, businessman, born in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, who served as an
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
of Boston, and later as acting mayor after the incumbent became incapacitated and died while in office.
Benson Leavitt was born at
Hampton Falls, New Hampshire
Hampton Falls (formerly the "Third Parish and Hampton Falls") is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,403 at the 2020 census.
History
The land of Hampton Falls was first settled by Europeans in 1638, ...
, on June 21, 1797, the son of land surveyor Thomas
[History of the Town of Hampton Falls, N.H., from the time of the first settlement within its borders, 1640 until 1900, Warren Brown, John B. Clarke Company, Manchester, N. H., 1900](_blank)
/ref> and his wife Hannah (Melcher) Leavitt. Thomas Leavitt helped establish the Democratic party in New Hampshire, and helped lay out some towns in the northern part of the state. Later, under President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
, the Democratic party came to control Hampton Falls, and Thomas Leavitt was chosen Town Clerk.
In 1814, when Thomas Leavitt's son Benson was 17 years old, the future mayor served with 40 men from Hampton Falls who marched to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
, then under threat of attack by British forces during the War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. Benson Leavitt later married Abigail Ward, born at Hampton Falls in 1801, daughter of Capt. Thomas and Abigail (Garland) Ward.
Benson Leavitt and his wife subsequently removed to Boston, where he was a merchant, often trading with other merchants in New Hampshire and where he was elected an Alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
. Leavitt operated Leavitt & Company, fish traders, at a warehouse at Boston's Philadelphia Packet Pier.
Leavitt also served as a director of the Granite Bank, a founder of the Fishing Insurance Company and for several years was a Representative to the Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
from Suffolk County, where he was a member of the Joint Committee on Fisheries. Leavitt also served on the Boston Board of School Committee for many years.
Leavitt later served as chairman of the Board of Aldermen and – briefly – as Acting Mayor of the city after Mayor Thomas Aspinwall Davis became ill [The Inaugural Addresses of the Mayors of Boston, Vol. I, from 1822 to 1851, Rockwell & Churchill, City Printers, Boston, Mass., 1894](_blank)
/ref> and died while in office.
On October 1, 1845, Mayor Thomas Aspinwall Davis wrote Board of Aldermen chairman Benson Leavitt from his home in Brookline
Brookline may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston
* Brookline, Missouri
* Brookline, New Hampshire
* Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Brookline, Vermont
See ...
. "Believing that time and care would restore my strength", Davis wrote, "I persevered in the hope that I might complete the term for which I was elected. But Providence has seen fit to order otherwise, and I find myself now, by great prostration of strength, quite unfit for service of any kind, either public or private. Under these circumstances it is a duty which I owe to the City as well as myself, to resign the office of Mayor."
But despite Davis's offer to resign, Boston City Council rejected the resignation, and the mayor was forced to remain in office until his death on November 22, 1845. Benson Leavitt was subsequently named acting mayor.
Benson Leavitt was the uncle of author and reformer Franklin B. Sanborn, who recalled visiting his uncle Benson at his home across the street from Rev. Dr. Edward Beecher
Edward Beecher D.D. (August 27, 1803 – July 28, 1895) was an American theologian, the son of Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher.
Biography
Beecher was born August 27, 1803, in East Hampton, New York. ...
's home in Boston's North End. (Rev. Beecher and Benson Leavitt frequently served on boards together, including that of the Boston School Committee). On the visit, Sanborn made the acquaintance of Beecher's sister Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
, who was "fresh from her success in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
''".
Leavitt served as acting mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of Boston, Massachusetts from November 22, 1845 to December 11, 1845. He was succeeded by Mayor Josiah Quincy, Jr.
Josiah Quincy IV (; January 17, 1802 – November 2, 1882) was an American politician. He was mayor of Boston (December 11, 1845 – January 1, 1849), as was his father Josiah Quincy III (mayor in 1823–1828) and grandson Josiah Quincy VI ...
, who occupied the Mayor's office from December 11, 1845, until January 1849.The Memorial History of Boston, Vol. III, Justin Winsor, James R. Osgood and Company, Boston, Mass., 1882
/ref> Benson Leavitt died at Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End.
Watertown ...
, on June 1, 1869. He was survived by a daughter Emily Wilder Leavitt, a professional genealogist
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...
.
See also
* Emily Wilder Leavitt
*Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (December 15, 1831 – February 24, 1917) was an American journalist, teacher, author, reformer, and abolitionist. Sanborn was a social scientist, and a memorialist of American transcendentalism who wrote early biograp ...
References
External links
Portraits of Thomas Leavitt, Esq., Hannah (Melcher) Leavitt, The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine, Vol. XXV, Published by the Granite Monthly Company, Concord, N. H., 1898
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Benson
1797 births
1869 deaths
People from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire
Massachusetts Whigs
19th-century American politicians
Mayors of Boston
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Businesspeople from Massachusetts
Boston School Committee members
19th-century American businesspeople