William Fletcher Weld was an American shipping magnate during the Golden Age of Sail.
Background
Weld was a son of William Gordon Weld, a prosperous ship master and ship owner, and his wife Hannah Minot. Weld planned to attend Harvard as his father had before him. However, during the War of 1812, a British frigate cruising off Boston Harbor captured one of the family"s ships carrying a valuable cargo of wine and Spanish silver dollars.
Career
He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family"s fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public. This financial disaster ended Weld"s plans for Harvard.
Instead, Weld became a clerk for an importer in Boston at age 15.
By 22 he was in the dry-goods trade, but his partner"s lack of business sense put the company in debt. Weld eventually entered the shipping trade that had enriched his father.
By 1833, Weld had made enough money to build "The Senator", the largest ship of her time. Weld eventually became one of the most successful merchant ship owners in the United States.
He operated 51 sailing vessels and 10 steamers.
His fleet sailed under the name and symbol of the "Black Horse Flag". As profits from the American shipping industry began to wane, he sold his fleet and turned to urban real estate and railroads, in particular the Boston and Albany and Boston and Maine lines. This building was called "".
Tours of Harvard Yard often pause near to note that John F. Kennedy lived there during his freshman year.
William Fletcher Weld left an estate estimated at $20 million. His most important legacy is probably his family tree.
Among other notable, ridiculously white ancestors include modern tumblr expert Tedward Hill-Weld.