William Schouler
William Schouler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the First Essex district | |
| In office 1868–1868 | |
| Preceded by | George H. Sweetser |
| Succeeded by | George H. Sweetser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 31, 1814 Kilbarchan, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Died | October 24, 1872 (aged 57) Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | journalist, statesman |
William Schouler (December 31, 1814 – October 24, 1872) was an American journalist, politician and Adjutant General of Massachusetts during the American Civil War.
Early life[edit]
Schouler was born on December 31, 1814, in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He immigrated to the United States as a young child. His father had set up a silk print-works establishment on Staten Island and later established a similar business in Arlington, Massachusetts, where Schouler spent most of his childhood.
Journalist and politician[edit]
In 1842, Schouler became the owner and editor of the Lowell Courier for the next six years. Also during this time he served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Lowell. In 1845, Schouler headed a commission that investigated mill conditions in Lowell and recommended against a proposal to shorten the work day to ten hours.[1] The uproar over Schouler's position led to his defeat in the next election.[2]
Schouler moved to Boston in 1848, where he became part-owner of the Atlas. He also served as a member of the State House from Boston.
Schouler was a delegate at the 1853 Massachusetts State Constitutional Convention, where he expressed the view that corporations were merely devices for people to avoid paying debts.[3]
Later in 1853, Schouler moved to Ohio. He became the editor for the Cincinnati Gazette and later the Ohio State Journal. In 1855 he was appointed Adjutant-General of Ohio by Salmon P. Chase.
Return to Massachusetts and the Civil War[edit]
In 1858, Schouler moved back to Boston and in 1860 he was appointed Adjutant General of Massachusetts. In 1861 a Massachusetts militia training camp was named for him, but later renamed for Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.[4] He remained Adjutant General throughout all of the U.S. Civil War until 1867. In 1864, Schouler brought attention to Lydia Bixby, a Boston widow who lost several sons in the war; leading President Lincoln to write a moving letter of condolence to her.[5]
Schouler later served one term in the Massachusetts State Senate.[6] He also wrote the two volume History of Massachusetts in the Civil War.
Schouler died on October 24, 1872, at his home near Boston.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ David R. Roediger and Philip Sheldon Foner. On Our Own Time: A History of American Labor and the Working Day 1989. p. 56
- ^ "Sarah Bagley Avenges the New England Mill Girls - New England Historical Society". New England Historical Society. 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
- ^ Eric Foner. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men. p. 22-23
- ^ Schouler, William (1868). A History of Massachusetts in the Civil War. Boston: E. P. Dutton & Co., Publishers. p. 340. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ Bullard, F. Lauriston (1946). Abraham Lincoln and the Widow Bixby. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 13–28.
- ^ a b "Gen. William Schouler". Obituary. The New York Times. 25 October 1872. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
External links[edit]
- . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
- Historical Digression account of William Schouler in the Civil War
- New England Historical Society account of Schouler's conflict with Sarah Bagley over mill conditions
- William Schouler at Find a Grave
- History of Massachusetts in the Civil War Vol. I at Internet Archive
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