Trustee of the Boston Public Library, 1875-1879. Born 1812 and
died 1880 in Charlestown. Historian, editor, author and Democrat.
Richard Frothingham, Jr. was descended from William Frothingham
of Yorkshire, England, who became an inhabitant of the Massachusetts
Bay colony in 1630. He attended several schools in Charlestown and
Boston, developing early on a taste for reading; with money earned
writing for a brush factory, he purchased an encyclopedia to continue
his studies. Mr. Frothingham worked as a merchant’s clerk
for several businesses before becoming—at age 22—clerk,
agent and treasurer for the Middlesex Canal Company until its cease
in 1860. Ever interested in his hometown, he studied its history
and worked towards its support. Mr. Frothingham served with the
town’s School and Finance Committees and, after his service
as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, was mayor of Charlestown
between 1851 and 1853. He was an active participant in the state’s
constitutional conventions and the National Democratic Conventions
of 1852 and 1876. A trustee of the Charlestown Library since its
establishment in 1861, he became a Boston library trustee after
Charlestown’s annexation. Mr. Frothingham had a long writing
career, contributing numerous articles on American history to various
publications, as well as meticulously preparing histories of local
note. Among his published works are The History of Charlestown
(1845), The History of the Siege of Boston (1848), and Life
and Times of Joseph Warren (1865). Prior to his final mayoral
term, he acquired and became the managing editor of the Boston
Post newspaper until 1865. For his literary achievements, he
received honorary degrees from Harvard and Tufts Universities. Mr.
Frothingham was a member of the New England Historic Genealogical
Society and of the Massachusetts Historical Society, for which he
served as treasurer for thirty years. He was also a welcome participant
at local gatherings due to his affiliations with many other charitable
and literary organizations. Although he recovered from a serious
bout of pneumonia in 1879, Mr. Frothingham’s health gradually
declined and the Charlestown community soon mourned the passing
of its foremost member.
Sources:
Cutler, Rev. Samuel. “Necrology of New England Historic Genealogical
Society: The Hon. Richard Frothingham, LL.D.”, New England
Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 37, Number 148
(October 1883), pp. 414-415
Deane, Charles. “Memoir of the Hon. Richard Frothingham,
LL.D.”, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society,
Volume 21 (Series 2, Volume 1) (1884-1885), pp. 381-393
Wadlin, Horace G. The Public Library of the City of Boston:
A History. Boston: Trustees of the Boston Public Library, 1911.
Whitehill, Walter Muir. Boston Public Library: A Centennial
History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1956.
