Biography
William Tufts went to work at nine and rose from apprentice to one of Boston’s prosperous confectioners and caterers.
“He attended the public schools, but when he was nine years old was set to work to earn his own living. He was apprenticed to George Vinton, a prominent confectioner of Boston, and learned the business thoroughly.”
Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1199. Page (Internet Archive) (Scanned text; obvious scanning errors corrected.)
“He then embarked in the confectionery business on his own account, on Washington street, Boston, and to his confectionery trade added catering.”
Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1199. Page (Internet Archive) (continued on p. 1200) (Scanned text; obvious scanning errors corrected.)
Before going into business for himself he was foreman for Charles C. Copeland, a leading confectionery manufacturer. In 1876 he settled on Dwight Street in Boston’s South End, where he lived until his death on April 3, 1893. He was a Freemason of Lebanon Lodge and an Odd Fellow of Salome Lodge. Cutter adds that he later lost his sight but stayed active in business (Cutter, p. 1200).
“His religion was to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.””
Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1200. Page (Internet Archive) (Scanned text; obvious scanning errors corrected.)
Service Record
Town: Boston, Mass. · Dates: 1820–1893
No military service found.
Family Connection
Father: Uriah Tufts (1796–1860). Mother: Deborah Weston Thomas. Grandfather: Uriah Tufts (1768–1837).
Children by Mary Curtis Anthony: May Weston (b. 1843?); George Curtis (died in infancy, 1847); Esther O. (b. 1850). By Eunice Weston: Maria Faxon (b. 1857; m. Oscar G. Rankin); Jeannette Webster (m. John L. Flanigan); and William Phillips (died 1866). Maria’s son William Tufts Rankin (b. 1883) was adopted by his grandfather and renamed William Tufts Jr. (Cutter, p. 1200).
Relatives with profiles on this site: father Uriah Tufts (1796–1860); grandfather Uriah Tufts (1768–1837).
Spouse(s)
- Mary Curtis Anthony of Marblehead. Married November 1841. Died December 14, 1855.
- Eunice Weston, born at Warren, Maine, in 1824, daughter of Edward and Margaret (Harriman) Weston. Married in Boston, January 1857. Died at her home in Boston, August 3, 1907 (Cutter, p. 1200).
Authoritative IDs / Index Numbers
| Source | ID / status |
|---|---|
| Perseus person index (auth=) | auth=tufts,william. This is a name-level key shared by every William Tufts in Perseus, not a personal ID. Use it with the passages cited on this page. |
| Find a Grave memorial | Note: Pending further work. |
| Brooks, History of Medford (1855) register no. | Note: Pending further work. |
| Mass. Soldiers and Sailors | Not yet checked for this page |
| DAR ancestor no. | Note: Pending further work. |
| FamilySearch ID | Note: Pending further work. |
| Geni profile | Note: Pending further work. |
| WikiTree ID | Note: Pending further work. |
| Town / vital records | Medford VRs not yet checked by volume and page |
Only IDs confirmed against dates and family are given as matches. “Not yet checked” means the source has not been searched; “Checked, not found” means it was searched without a match.
⚑ Unverified
Cutter is the only source found for his career and family. A Massachusetts death index lists a William Tufts who died in Boston in 1893 (vol. 438), but it has not been opened or matched to him. Some dates in the scanned text are unclear, including the year he lost his sight and May Weston’s birth year. Boston directories and his Washington Street address have not yet been checked.
Links and Resources
Every source, record, map, survey, marker and artifact tied to this person, gathered in one place. Page numbers are given where a book is cited.
Digitized Books and Journals
- Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1199. · Page (Internet Archive)
- Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1200. · Page (Internet Archive)