Ezra Weston II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 30, 1772 |
| Died | August 15, 1842 (aged 69) Duxbury, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Shipbuilder and merchant |
| Spouse | Jerusha Bradford Weston |
| Parent(s) | Ezra Weston I Salumith Wadsworth |
Ezra Weston II (November 30, 1772 – August 15, 1842), also known as King Caesar, was a prominent shipbuilder and merchant who operated a large maritime industry based in Duxbury and Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Ezra Weston I, began small scale shipbuilding operations in Duxbury in 1763 and eventually came to be known as "King Caesar" for his success in business. Ezra Weston II, his only son, inherited the nickname when Ezra I died in 1822.[1]
Weston initially served as a clerk in his father's firm and was made a partner in 1798. When his father died, Ezra Weston II became sole owner of the firm and continued to increase its scope of shipbuilding and international trade. In 1841, Weston launched his largest vessel, the Ship Hope, at the time the largest merchant vessel in New England.[2] U.S. Senator Daniel Webster, during a speech in Saratoga Springs, New York, made the claim that Weston was "the largest ship owner, probably, in the United States."[3] In the same year, an agent of the insurance firm Lloyd's of London made the same assertion.[4] Although these claims are difficult to support, evidence shows that the Weston firm was the largest mercantile operation on the South Shore of Massachusetts in the early 19th century and one of the largest in New England.[5]
From 1809 to his death in 1842, Weston resided in a Federal mansion known as the King Caesar House, which still stands and is operated as a museum by the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society.[6]
- ^ Browne (2006), p. 2.
- ^ Bradford (1920), p. 32.
- ^ Weston (1916), p. 13.
- ^ Bradford (1962), p. 105.
- ^ Browne (2006), pp. 79, 109.
- ^ Duxbury Rural and Historical Society.