Weld Family

The Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmins most remembered for the philanthropy of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University, the Golden Age of Sail, the Far East (especially Japan), the history of Massachusetts, and American history in general.

William Weld, former Governor of Massachusetts, is the most prominent living member of this family. When Massachusetts Senate president Billy Bulger publicly teased William Weld about his ancestors' having come over on the Mayflower, Weld joked: "Actually, they weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready."

Tuesday Weld, an Academy Award nominated actress, is perhaps best known for her role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. She is a third cousin once removed to William Weld.

One Sheriff William Weld was sheriff of London, England in 1352. Although it is difficult to prove genealogical relationships that far back, evidence suggests that Sheriff Weld was related to the Welds who eventually came to North America.

The Weld family has a presence in Massachusetts dating back to the early 17th century and their relationship to one another is clearly recorded. In the first days of European settlement in the New World, three sons of Edmund Weld (1559–1608) of Sudbury, Suffolk, England arrived in Boston. Daniel Weld (1585/1586–1666), the eldest, became a teacher at Roxbury Latin School. Two notable Welds in New England traced their ancestry to him.

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