The Businessman - Ezra Weston II

Old King Caesar, the legend went, had owned the largest fleet of merchant ships in the country, perhaps even the world. He built them right here in Duxbury, launching them into a shallow harbor in which their keels scraped the mud. King Caesar had everything he needed right in this little town: a shipyard, a farm, a sailcloth mill, a blacksmith shop, the ropewalk. Even Daniel Webster had said he was the greatest merchant of the time.

Ezra Weston I established a small shipyard in 1764 along Duxbury’s marshy shore. His success, his character, and his audacious designs for the community would earn him the nickname of “King Caesar.” The title passed to his son, Ezra Weston II, who built and lived in the striking mansion now known as the “King Caesar House.” Father and son, both with different priorities defined by their times, built up a commercial enterprise that became one of the most important in the Commonwealth, by far the largest mercantile operation on the shore of Plymouth County in its day.

The Weston firm is almost absent from New England maritime history. In the 19th century, the Westons received some passing mention, usually repeating the claim to fame bestowed on them by Daniel Webster. In a speech delivered in Saratoga, New York in 1841, Webster said, "I live on the seacoast of New England, and one of our nearest neighbors is the largest ship-owner, probably, in the United States. During the past year he has made what might suffice for two or three fortunes of moderate size.”[i]

Certainly the Weston firm was bringing in a great fortune. And their fleet was indeed considerable. In the year when Webster was speaking, the Westons had just launched what was referred to as New England’s largest merchant ship up to that time. They operated a fleet of 14 vessels totaling 4,531 tons. Determining whether this was, in fact, the largest fleet afloat in the United States at that time is difficult. But suffice it to say, their fleet was significant.
The casual “largest shipowner” title is tacked to Weston in a number of histories, including that of Massachusetts historian Henry Howe who wrote, “Lloyds of London listed more than a hundred ships owned by Ezra Weston, making him one of the largest ship owners in the world.” Indeed, the firm built or otherwise acquired at least 110 vessels. This is a bit misleading because they naturally did not operate all at once, but over the course of three generations. But, again, determining whether or not any other American firm surpassed this accomplishment prior to 1850 is difficult and to some extent irrelevant. Gaining an understanding of the scope of their achievements within a greater historical context, however, is key.[ii]

The Westons’ relative absence from the history books, aside from offhand mentions such as these, is puzzling. A large part of the problem is lack of documentation. There are essentially no personal papers surviving. We have little or no insights on either King Caesar’s personal opinions, family lives, private observations or emotions.

[i] Quoted in Weston, Edmund B. In Memoriam: Hon. Gershom Bradford Weston and Deborah Brownell Weston, (Published by Edmund B. Weston, 1916), p. 13.
[ii] Howe, Henry, Massachusetts, There She is—Behold Her!, (Harper & Brothers, 1960) p. X.