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Redford Webster (June 18, 1761 – August 31, 1833) was an
apothecary
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...
, town official, and state legislator in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
. He was a founding member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
, and helped establish the
Boston Library Society
The Boston Library Society was an American subscription library established in New England's pre-eminent city, Boston, during 1792. Early subscribers included Revolutionary War figures Paul Revere and William Tudor. The society existed until 193 ...
, and the
Massachusetts Historical Society. He was born in
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury is a small coastal beach town and summer tourist destination in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of Boston on the New Hampshire border. ...
, in 1761 to Hannah Wainwright and shopkeeper Grant Webster. In Boston ca. 1787-1805 he worked as "druggist, medicine," from offices "three doors below the Drawbridge,
Ann Street." He had trained "with Mr. Daniel Scott, a druggist or apothecary, at the
sign of the Leopard, at the south part of the town, the business being subsequently removed to
Union Street. On the death of Mr. Scott, young Webster formed a c-opartnership with his widow, under the firm-name of Scott & Webster, and afterward pursued the business in his own name."
From 1792 Webster was active in the Massachusetts Historical Society, serving as one of the founding incorporators in 1794, and Cabinet-Keeper 1810-1833. He was treasurer and trustee of the Boston Library Society 1792-1829. In 1810 he was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
.
He served as a Boston town official in the capacity of Overseer of the Poor ca.1810-ca.1821. Along with 27 others, he incorporated the American Antiquarian Society in 1812. Webster represented Boston in 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, ...
, 1831-1832.
Around 1830,
Chester Harding painted a portrait of Webster, now in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. In 1787 he married Hannah White; children included the notorious
John White Webster
John White Webster (May 20, 1793 – August 30, 1850) was an American professor of chemistry and geology at Harvard Medical College. In 1850, he was convicted of murder in the Parkman–Webster murder case and hanged.
Biography
Born in Bo ...
(1793–1850).
Legacy
"The town of
Redford, in Clinton County, in the north-east corner of the State of New York, was named for him."
References
Works
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Redford
1761 births
1833 deaths
People from Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the American Antiquarian Society
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Politicians from Boston
18th century in Boston
19th century in Boston