Wigglesworth Dole (November 17, 1779 – June 16, 1845) was a patriarch of an influential

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

family.

Biography

Wigglesworth Dole was born on November 17, 1779, in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

, and then moved to

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. His father was Nathaniel Dole (1739–1790) and his mother was Mary Noyes (1740–1824). He was the youngest of eight children. The given name of Wigglesworth might seem unusual today, but in the 18th century a well-known family of educators in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

had descended from Michael Wigglesworth (1631–1705). An older brother Samuel Dole (1778–?) married Katherine Wigglesworth (1780–?) who was Michael Wigglesworth's great-granddaughter. Their grandson was painter Enoch Wood Perry Jr. (1831–1915). Another older brother Ebenezer Dole (1776–1847) became an early anti-slavery activist in Hallowell, Maine. Dole married Elizabeth Haskell on March 11, 1807. She was born August 30, 1788, in Deer Isle, Maine, and died in 1877. They had four children, and lived in an area called Bloomfield, later called

Skowhegan, Maine Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair in the United States. Skowh ...

. Dole worked as a cabinet maker and kept a small farm, while serving as

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

of a

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

. He died on June 16, 1845, in Canaan, Maine (also called Bloomfield at the time). His first-born son

Daniel Dole Daniel Dole (September 9, 1808 – August 26, 1878) was a Protestant missionary educator from the United States to the Hawaiian Islands. Life Daniel Dole was born September 9, 1808, in Skowhegan, Maine. His father was Wigglesworth Dole (1779� ...

(1808–1878) became a missionary to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

, and founding principal of

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

. Daniel's son

Sanford Ballard Dole Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was a lawyer and jurist from the Hawaiian Islands. He lived through the periods when Hawaii was a kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory. A descendant of the American missionary ...

became the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii. His second son Nathan Dole (1811–1855) had two sons,

Charles Fletcher Dole Charles Fletcher Dole (1845–1927) was a Unitarian minister, speaker, and writer in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, Massachusetts, and Chairman of the Association to Abolish War. He authored a substantial number of books on politics, history ...

(1845–1927) and

Nathan Haskell Dole Nathan Haskell Dole (August 31, 1852 – May 9, 1935) was an American editor, translator, and author. A writer and journalist in Philadelphia, New York City, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, he translated many of the works of Leo Tol ...

(1852–1935). His great-grandson James Drummond Dole (1877–1958) founded what became the Dole Food Company. Not much is known about daughter Elizabeth Dole (1815–1863). His third son Isaiah Dole, born May 23, 1819, was a classical-language teacher, married Elizabeth Todd Pearson August 18, 1844, and died May 17, 1892. Isaiah and Elizabeth had a son

Edmund Pearson Dole Edmund Pearson Dole (February 28, 1850 – December 31, 1928) was a lawyer from New England who served as the first Attorney General of the Territory of Hawaii, and argued a case up to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also wrote several novels. Life ...

(1850–1928), who was the Attorney General of Hawaii, and daughter who married William J. Sewall. Daniel, Nathan and Isaiah all graduated from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

Biography

References

Further reading