William GASTON

1820 - 1894  (73 years)

• Name	William GASTON
  Born	3 Oct 1820	Killingly, Windham Co, CT   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Governor of Massachusetts  [2, 3]
  Residence	UNTIL 1838	Killingly, Windham Co, CT   [1]
  Residence	STARTING 1838	Roxbury, Suffolk Co, MA   [1]
  Died	19 Jan 1894	Boston, MA   [2, 4]
  Notes	Served as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, as Mayor of Boston from 1871-72, and 1875-76 as Governor of Massachusetts. He also had a private law practice in which his son William Alexander Gaston became a partner. ["The Gaston Genealogy," p. 40] Earned a B.A. & M.A. from Brown University in 1840 and 1843, and a law degree from Brown & Harvard in 1875. [American Ancestry, Vol V, p. 103] "William Gaston had established a successful legal practice in the City of Roxbury before entering politics. He served as a Representative in the State Legislature (1853-1854), as Roxbury's City Solicitor (1856-60), and as its Mayor (1861 and 1862). He resumed his private practice of law until 1868, when he served the Massachusetts Senate for a year. The City of Boston annexed Roxbury in 1868, and in 1871, Gaston was voted Mayor of Boston. Running for Governor as a Democrat, Gaston defeated incumbent Thomas Talbot who had supported the continuance of statewide prohibition by his veto. Gaston promoted a law repealing the Commonwealth's prohibition law, leaving such restrictions to the determination of localities. Governor Gaston was defeated in his reelection bid by Alexander Rice. Mr. Gaston returned to his extremely successful legal practice, gaining renown as a trial attorney." http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/massgovs/wgaston.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/1/3/14132/14132.txt
  Person ID	I3040	Doddridge County Roots
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2006

  
  

  Father	Alexander GASTON,   b. 2 Aug 1772, Voluntown, New London Co, CT ,   d. 11 Feb 1856, Roxbury, Suffolk Co, MA  (Age 83 years)
  Mother	Kezia ARNOLD,   b. 10 Nov 1779, Burrillville, Providence Co, RI ,   d. 30 Jan 1856, Roxbury, Suffolk Co, MA  (Age 76 years)
  Family ID	F1093	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Louisa Augusta BEECHER,   b. 27 Dec 1830, Boston, MA ,   d. 24 Mar 1903, Boston, MA  (Age 72 years)
  Married	27 May 1852  [1, 2, 3]
  Children	1. Sarah Howard GASTON,   b. 23 Apr 1853, Roxbury, Suffolk Co, MA + 2. William Alexander GASTON,   b. 1 May 1859, Roxbury, Suffolk Co, MA ,   d. 17 Jul 1927, Barre, Worcester Co, MA  (Age 68 years)   3. Theodore Beecher GASTON,   b. 8 Feb 1861, Roxbury, Suffolk Co, MA ,   d. 16 Jul 1869  (Age 8 years)
  Family ID	F1094	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		3040_WilliamGaston_1820-1894.jpg
  		3040_WilliamGaston_1820-1894_Signed.jpg
  		3040_WilliamGaston_1820-1894_PaintingByFredericPorterVinton1895.jpg

  
  

  Documents

  3040_WilliamGaston_Signature_1889.jpg

  
  

• Sources

  [S1876] The Bay State Monthly, A Massachusetts Magazine, Vol II, No. 5, Feb 1885, Arthur P. Dodge, (www.gutenberg.org). [S504] Ohio Valley Genealogies, Charles A. Hanna, (Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore MD, 1989 (orig. pub. 1900)), p. 48. [S496] Colonial Families of the United States, 1912, (republished 1966 by Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore, MD), p. 176. [S250] American Descendants of William Gaston and Mary Olivet Lemon, Max Perry, (Midland, TX, 1989).