Edward L. Osgood and the Whittier Portrait
Draper, and the sister of General William F. Draper, Governor Eben S. Draper, George Albert Draper, and Frances Draper Colburn. Osgood was a Trustee of the Hopedale Library, and starting in 1898, the Bancroft Memorial Library. He died in 1911. His widow, Hannah, replaced him as a library Trustee. The Whittier portrait was at the library until 1968, when the library Trustees traded it to Rev. Dr. Frederick Meek (Old South Church, Boston) for some Adin Ballou items.
became a banker and a manufacturer in Hopedale.
they had lived at 377 Marlborough Street. They also maintained a home in Hopedale. Hannah T. Osgood is shown as the owner of 221 Beacon on the 1908, 1917, and 1928 Bromley maps. (The Osgood's Hopedale home was formerly the home of Hannah's parents, and was located at the corner of Hopedale and Draper streets, on the block where the Community House is now. At some point after Edward's death, Hannah purchased The Larches from her nephew, George Otis Draper. Before she could move in, the mansion burned to the ground. She replaced it with the house that's there now.) Edward Osgood had been a publisher in his brother's firm, James R. Osgood & Co. and subsequently became a banker and a manufacturer in Hopedale. During the 1904-1905 winter season, the Osgood were living elsewhere and 221 Beacon was the home of Nathaniel Hugh Cotton and his wife, Harriet Emma (Clapp) Cotton. N. Hugh Cotton was a West Indies shipping merchant. By 1906, the Osgoods were living at 221 Beacon once again. Edward Osgood died in June of 1911. Hannah Osgood continued to live at 221 Beacon until about 1929 and also continued to maintain a second home in Hopedale. Her unmarried daughter, Fanny Colburn Osgood, lived with her. Fanny Osgood was a championship golfer and, in the 1920s, operated Le Syndicat Gowns at 230 Boylston Street.
maiden name was evidently the source of their son's name - Dana Osgood.
September 12, 1811. She married EDWARD L. OSGOOD May 6, 1835. He died April 9, 1864 in Fryeburg, Maine. Children of ABIGAIL DANA and EDWARD OSGOOD are: i. JAMES RIPLEY OSGOOD, b. April 22, 1836; d. May 18, 1892, London, England. ii. ELIZABETH DANA OSGOOD, b. August 21, 1838; d. January 25, 1852. iii. CATHERINE PUTNAM OSGOOD, b. May 25, 1841. iv. EDWARD LOUIS OSGOOD, b. August 6, 1843; m. HANNAH DRAPER. v. FRANCES CAROLINE OSGOOD, b. September 21, 1845. vi. GEORGE PHILLIPS OSGOOD, b. May 13, 1849; d. Australia. |
Milford Journal - 1916 |
From the Library Report for 1910, published in the Town Report for that year. |
Who is that gentleman in the portrait at the top of this page? After reading the Milford Journal clipping above, it seemed that it must be John Greenleaf Whittier. However, that assumption changed after reading the following from the minutes of the Trustees of the Bancroft Library recorded in 1968. The Trustees, Mrs. Northrop, and Mrs. Huff met with Dr. Frederick Meek to look over some Adin Ballou material which he brought in hopes of making an exchange. After careful examination, the Trustees concluded that the material and $50.00 (as a contribution toward a proper room in which to house our priceless Adin Ballou collection) would be a fair exchange for the portrait of John Greenleaf Whittier. Dr. Frederick Meek of 645 Boylston Street became the owner of the portrait on January 4, 1968.
death, his widow sold his Whittier collection to Whittier College. Whittier, founded by the Quakers, and was named for John Greenleaf Whittier, who was a Quaker. |
