Hezekiah Lord Hosmer was born December 10th, 1814 in Hudson, Columbia, New York.
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His parents were Hezekiah Lord Hosmer I b. June 7, 1765 Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut and Sarah Scrope Throop (daughter of Col. Benjamin Throop, grandaughter of Rev. Benjamin Throop) b. January 29, 1784 in Bozrah, Connecticut. (She m. 2nd Henry Mygatt.) His father was the U.S. Congressman (Fifth Congress) from New York under John Adams 1797-1801. He had studied law under Ezekial Gilbert. In 1798, he was appointed to conduct the impeachment of Senator William Blount of Tennessee. He was the recorder of the city of Hudson. He spoke fluent French, Italian, and German. Hezekiah Lord Hosmer I died June 9, 1814 before Hezekiah Lord II was born. Hezekiah Lord Hosmer I's portrait drawing by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Mémin, 1770-1852 (1799) can be ordered through the Library of Congress. The Hosmers' origins are from Hawkhurst, Kent, England.
His grandfather was Titus Hosmer who was born in 1737 in West Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut who was the representative to the General Assembly from October 1773 to May 1778. In 1777, he was the speaker of the house of representatives. In 1778, he was a member of the Continental Congress. His wife was Lydia Lord who was born 22, February 1736 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale University in 1757. He was one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation. He was en route to Philadelphia when he was to sign the Declaration of Independence when he fell ill in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He died August 8, 1780 due to fever. Noah Webster regarded him as one of the greatest men Connecticut ever produced.
His siblings:
Stephen Titus b. Sept. 26, 1806 d. March 5, 1865 New York
Richard Alsop b. April 9, 1809 d. July 10, 1833 Texas
George Edward b. October 15, 1811 d. April 4, 1812
Clarissa b. July 17, 1813 d. Jan. 5, 1814
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After his father died in 1814, Hezekiah's mother lived with her father who had a farm at Red Hook, New York. His brother Stephen Titus went to live with his uncle, Stephen T. Hosmer, of Connecticut. Richard went to St. Armand in Canada to live with his uncle Dyer Throop.
In 1817, His uncle, Captain Rufus Backus, took Hezekiah and his brother, Stephen, to Watertown, Jefferson County, New York. General E.V, Sumner and Hon. Chas. E. Clarke also boarded with the family.
In 1820, his mother moved to Oxford, Chenango, NY with her sister and accompanied by Elijah Smith. Susan remarried and Hezekiah went to live with them. Hezekiah did not have good terms with Mr. Mygalt.
At age 12, he lived with Mrs. Turllot of Constableville, Lewis, New York until her house burned down.
He went on to live in Utica , NY to live with his mother's cousin , Mrs. Joseph Halsted,
When he was young, Hezekiah II was an errand boy at a hardware store and also for a merchant tailor in Fanueil Hall in Boston.
In 1830, a friend of his mother's, John W. Allen, offered to take him toe Cleveland, Ohio. He took the old steamboat, Henry Clay, from Buffalo to Cleveland. There were less than a 1,000 inhabitants. At age 16, he was a tinsmither and studying law.
In 1836, he moved to Maumee Valley in Ohio. He was the editor of The Toledo Blade until he sold his interest to his partner, Elmer Kendall. He published the first directory of Toledo. From 1848 to 1855, he was a journalist. He bought "Miami of the Lake" and renamed it "Fort Meys Reville."
(There is more information at the online source, "History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio," Munsell and Company, 1888.)
From 1836 to 1860, he practiced law. He was a partner of Henry Reed, Jr.
He was the Master Wood County Lodge and Rubecon Lodge at Toledo and was the High Priest of Fort Meiggs Chapter R.A.M.
In 1856, his mother died in his home in January, 1856.
In 1858, he wrote "The Early History of Maumee Valley". In 1855/56, he wrote, "Adela, The Octoroon" which was later published in 1860.
In 1861, he applied for the position of Librarian of Congress and was recommended by Elisha Whittlesey.
From 1864 to 1868, he was appointed by Abraham Lincoln the first Chief Justice of the Montana Territory.
He was postmaster of Virginia City from 1869 until 1872. On September 15, 1870, author Mark Twain wrote to him a letter regarding an acquaintance named Slade who was executed.
In 1872, he moved to San Francisco and lived at 316 Taylor Street. He was elected Grand Prelate of the Grand Commandery of California. He worked at the U.S. Customs House in S.F. In 1887, he wrote "Bacon and Shakepeare in the Sonnets" while he lived in San Francisco. In 1889, he was the bookkeeper of The California State Mining Bureau. In the 1880s, he was paid $900 to be the ghostwriter of Nathaniel Langford's "Vigilantes Days and Ways."
His best friend was Judge Waite of Toledo, Ohio. In 1886, Mr. Waite came out to San Francisco to visit Mr. Hosmer. Mr. Hosmer gave him a tour of Chinatown-the opium dens, theater, and other places that he said that he could not mention in the letter to his daughter.
In 1892, he mentioned to his daughter in a letter that he and his wife had fifty chickens.
On the 1892 California Voter Register, Hezekiah Hosmer is listed as 5'-9 1/2" in height and having grey hair and brown eyes.
Hezekiah Hosmer II died October 1893 in San Francisco, California. His funeral was at the Golden Gate Commandery Nov. 5, 1893. His eulogy was done by Rev. Worcester, Swedenborgian minister, founder of the Swedenborgian Church of S.F. which is located on the corner of Lyon and Washington streets. His ashes are interred at Colma, California (originally at Cypress Lawn).
Wives
1. Sarah Seward b. 1815 Guilford, Connecticut. She was the daughter of Deacon Amos Seward and Sarah Hubbard. She was m. October 13, 1837 by Rev. Aaron Dutton at her father's house. They had a double wedding with her sister, Rachel Seward, and Ralph Smyth, attorney. Hosmer and his wife honeymooned at Ontario, Canada and Hartford, Connecticut to see his grandparents' graves and home. She died of consumption June 9, 1839.
2. Jane Eliza Thompson b. 1817 in Poughkeepsie, NY. They m. 1844. They honeymooned in Zsara, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. She d. March 4, 1848 of consumption in Perrysburg.
Children:
Richard Alsop b. October 24, 1847 d. April 16, 1848 (was named after the famous poet that the family knew).
3. Mary Daniels (Stower) b. July 8, 1818 in Abergavenny, Monmouth, Wales. She died 30, April 1858 in Toledo, Ohio. Her father was a shoemaker who took his family to America in 1837. Her mother was from England. Her brother was Thomas Daniels. (Thomas was a prominent druggist of Toledo, Ohio. His business was located at Cherry and Summit Streets. He married Mary Clark Jan. 1, 1850 in Hudson, Summit Co. Ohio. His home was located at 451 Huron Streets. He died July 14, 1898.) Her other brother was Charles Daniels, the Supreme Court Judge of New York who married Mary Enos. She had a sister named Elizabeth Daniels (b. June 6, 1825 in Wales d. 1897 in Longmont, Boulder, Colorado) who married Theodore Noyes Boynton on December 31, 1845. Hezekiah and Mary married September 12, 1849 in Buffalo, New York. She d. April 30, 1858. She is buried at Collingwood Cemetery in Toledo with his mother, Susan Scrope Throop Hosmer.
Children:
John Allen Hosmer (known as Allen as a child) b. Sept. 15, 1850 d. May 1, 1907. He m. Lucie Brewster. He lived at 2018 Barber Street, S.F., CA. Their children were Allen, Mary, Irving. John Hosmer wrote "Trip to the States" when he was 16.
Sarah Elizabeth Hosmer b. October 4, 1853. d. Jan. 30, 1930. She was a well-known elocutionist and actress of Montana. On October 25, 1885, she married Frank Brewster Austin b. March 31, 1840 Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. Service was done by Swedenborgian minister, Rev. John Doughty. Witnesses: Allen Hosmer and Laura Bennett. Frank was the owner of the Papago Cash Store located next to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Their children were Hosmer Lord and Frank Bushyhead. She was a member of the Orilla Sisterhood of San Francisco.
Charles Daniels Hosmer b. March 7, 1856 d. Feb. 9, 1857.
4. Sarah Cottney (sometimes spelled Cotney) b. May 22, 1842 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was from Ireland. Her mother was from Scotland. (possibly daughter or granddaughter of Isaac and Ann Cotney of Ireland.) m. August 18, 1864 at Philadelphia. Married by W.M. Rice, minister. Like her step-daughter, she was also a member of the Orilla Sisterhood of San Francisco. She would hold spiritual meetings at her home. She d. 1919. She asked Sarah Hosmer Austin to have her ashes spread at sea.
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Speeches
"Address of Masonry", Delivered at Goshen, Indiana June 24, 1852. Toledo, Ohio. Printed by Latimer. Andrew and Company 1852.
"Lecture on Truth"
"Address to the Members of the Young Men's Association," 1848.
"Address to the Members of the Teachers Association," 1840s.
"Oration - American Editorial Life." Addressed to Members of the Ohio Editorial Association. 1857.
"Oration at Perrysburg, Ohio on Occasion of Organization of the Perrysburg Artillery."
"Invocation of Banners As Prepared and Used by The Prelate of Golden Gate Commandery." Sir Kt. Hezekiah Lord Hosmer. Post Commander, Virginia City Commandery No. 1, Montana Territory.
"The Philosophy of the Common School System"
"Short Biography of Titus Hosmer"
"Know Thyself."
(Temperance Lecture)
(Essay about James Fennimore Cooper.)
(Essay on Education.)
(Essay on Dr. Kane.)
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Poems
"The Voice of the Heart. Hear it." July 19, 1880.
A poem in the campaign of Harrison & Morton vs. Cleveland & Thurman.
"I went to gather flowers." (written in Miss Rebecca McKnights album, 1839).
"To Mrs. J.M.C."
"The Grand Chorus - Defrysheets" [sic]
See Hosmer links for additional photos and information!