William Ingersoll Bowditch (1819 - 1909)

Born 15 Aug 1819 in Salem, Essex, MA

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah Rhea (Higginson) Bowditch — married 23 Sep 1844 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 24 Jan 1909 at age 89 in Brookline, Norfolk, MA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Christopher Childs [send private message]

Biography

William Ingersoll Bowditch, youngest son of Nathaniel and Mary (Ingersoll) Bowditch, was baptized in Salem, Massachusetts, August 15, 1819.^[1] He attended Harvard College, receiving an A. B. in 1838 and an LL.B. in 1841;^[2] a resident of Brookline, Massachusetts, he became a lawyer^[3] and Conveyancer^[4].

William Bowditch was Town Meeting moderator for several years^[3]. An avid abolitionist, he attempted to change public opinion through meetings, lectures, and membership in the Boston Vigilance Committee, and even used his own house to shelter fugitive slaves. He was active in other reform movements as well, including suffrage^[2].

William married Sarah Rhea Higginson (1819-1919) in 1844.^[5] He died at his residence at 225 Tappan Street, Brookline, on the 24th of January, 1909;^[6] his body was removed to the Mount Auburn Crematory,^[4] and he is buried in the cemetery there.

Children:^[2]

1. James Higginson (b. 1846);
2. William Ernestus (1850-1918);
3. Frederick Channing (1854-1925);
4. Susan Higginson (1857-1935);
5. Louisa Higginson (1860-1929).

Family Census Data

Massachusetts 1855 Census: Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA^[7]

William J Bowditch, age 36, born in Salem, Massachusetts; a Conveyancer

Saray R Bowditch, age 35, born in Boston, Massachusetts

James H Bowditch, 9, born in Brookline, Massachusetts

William E Bowditch, age 5, born in Brookline

Frederick C Bowditch, age 1, born in Brookline

United States 1860 Census Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts^[8] All born in Massachusetts.

William I Bowditch, 40, Lawyer

Sarah I Bowditch, 40

James K Bowditch, 14

William E Bowditch, 10

Frederick C Bowditch, 6

Susan H Bowditch, 2

Louisa H Bowditch 3/12

Massachusetts 1865 Census: Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA^[9]

William I Bowditch, 46, born in Salem, Massachusetts, a conveyancer

Sarah Bowditch, 45, This census says she was born in Brookline

James Bowditch 19 : the children were all born in Brookline and students

Earnest Bowditch 15

Frederick Bowditch 11

Susan Bowditch 7

Louise Bowditch 5

United States 1870 Census Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts^[10] All born Massachusetts

Bowditch, Will J, 50 Conveyancer

Bowditch, Sarah R 50

Bowditch, James H 23 Law student

Bowditch, Frederick 15 student

Bowditch, Ernet W 20 minearologist

Bowditch, Louisa K 10 at school

Bowditch, Susan K 12 at school

United States 1880 Census Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts^[11]

William Bowditch 60 Conveyancer

Sarah Bowditch 60

Ernest Bowditch 30 Civil Engineer

Frederic Bowditch 26 Conveyancer

Susan Bowditch 22

Louise Bowditch 20

United States 1900 Census Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts^[12]

Bowditch, Wm I, Head, age 80, Married 56 years. He and his father were born in Massachusetts, but his mother was born in Vermont. A conveyancer

Bowditch, Sarah A, wife, age 80, Married 56 years She and parents born Mass. Sarah had 5 children, all are living. (she also reports this number in Census 1910)

Bowditch, James H, Son, age 54, Single, Landscape Gardener

United States 1910 Census Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts Sarah is a widow, living in the household of James.

Consistently through all the censuses the Bowditch's have servants living in the household, a minimum of two.

Sources

1. ↑ "Salem Births", Massachusetts Vital Records Project, John Slaughter, Owner/Administrator; http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Salem/aBirthsB.shtml#BOWDITCH
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Biographical Sketch: "Bowditch Family Papers" - Peabody Essex Museum. MSS3_BowditchFamilyPapers.pdf download
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "William I. Bowditch Dead Graduated From Harvard with James Russell Lowell." Springfield Republican (Springfield, MA). Tuesday, January 26, 1909. Issue: 262 Page: 7. Accessed Feb 7 2015 at GenealogyBan,.com
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1}
5. ↑ The Bowditch family of Salem, Massachusetts, a genealogical sketch prepared for distribution on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the family Christmas party, Christmas day, 1936, by Harold Bowditch, 1936, Boston, Mass., Press of Recording and Statistical Corporation, p. 10; https://archive.org/details/bowditchfamilyof00bowd/page/10
6. ↑ "Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NW1Q-J51 : 22 May 2019), William Ingersoll Bowditch, 24 Jan 1909; citing Brookline,,Massachusetts, 189, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,257,990.
7. ↑ Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Massachusetts. 1855–1865 Massachusetts State Census [microform]. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
8. ↑ 1860; Census Place: Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M653_514; Page: 784; Image: 700; Family History Library Film: 803514. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, State Census, 1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Massachusetts. 1855–1865 Massachusetts State Census [microform]. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
10. ↑ 1870; Census Place: Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M593_634; Page: 137A; Image: 280; Family History Library Film: 552133 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
11. ↑ Year: 1880; Census Place: Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 548; Family History Film: 1254548; Page: 385B; Enumeration District: 509; Image: 0052 Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
12. ↑ Year: 1900; Census Place: Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 669; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 1020; FHL microfilm: 1240669 United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

• Birth and Parents: "Salem Births", Massachusetts Vital Records Project, John Slaughter, Owner/Administrator; http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Salem/aBirthsB.shtml#BOWDITCH . Alternative transcript: Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Salem Vital Record Transcripts; Digital Image, Ancestry.com: http://ancstry.me/ON7Qv1 . Alternative record (NEHGS; image of handwritten original): Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1841-1910. (From original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004.); https://www.americanancestors.org/DB191/i/10522/194/122662995 (subscription)

• Birth, parentage, family, death, and burial (with image only of family memorial): Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 November 2019), memorial page for William Ingersoll Bowditch (5 Aug 1818–24 Jan 1909), Find A Grave Memorial no. 95617845, citing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Saratoga (contributor 46965279); https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95617845/william-ingersoll-bowditch

• Marriage to Sarah R Higginson: Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Boston Marriages 1844-1846; Digital Image, Ancestry.com: http://ancstry.me/1i76cQp

• Marriage and general biographical: A History of Brookline, Massachusetts, from the First Settlement of Muddy River Until the Present Time: 1630-1906; Commemorating the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Town, Based on the Early Records and Other Authorities and Arranged by Leading Subjects. Containing Portraits and Sketches of the Town's Prominent Men Past and Present; Also Illustrations of Public Buildings and Residences, by John William Denehy, Brookline Press Company, 1906 - Brookline (Mass.), p. 222 ; https://books.google.com/books?id=FHkUAAAAYAAJ&q=Bowditch#v=snippet&q=Bowditch&f=false

• Death: "Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NW1Q-J51 : 22 May 2019), William Ingersoll Bowditch, 24 Jan 1909; citing Brookline,,Massachusetts, 189, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,257,990.

See also:

• Bowditch genealogy of Ron Ulrich; http://www.ronulrich.com/rfuged/fam01982.htm ULRICH Family Tree Links