George Perry Tewksbury - The First Island Keeper Working for Boston

George P. Tewksbury was born in Boston on June 27, 1808, the son of William and Elizabeth.  Mr. Tewksbury became the captain of Boston’s quarantine vessel in 1828 at the age of twenty, one of the youngest men to hold such a positon.  He remained in that post for 17 years. On October 12, 1831, the Boston City Council’s quarantine committee raised his wages from 30 to 40 dollars a month to recognize his faithful, active, industrious, sober and skillful conduct for the city.[1] In 1840 Mr. Tewksbury spoke out against one of Boston’s physicians, Dr. Strong who was also a member of the House of Representative and claimed that “instances have been known of persons dying in the boats on the passage down to the island.” Tewksbury stated as a matter of justice that this remark was utterly false. He stated, “There is not a single instance on record or within the memory of anyone who is or has been connected with the Health Department of a death on board of a boat by smallpox or any other disease.”[2] While a broader review of the 19^th century did identify such cases, during Tewksbury reign as captain the city escaped such tragic cases.  On March 17, 1841 the Massachusetts Commonwealth turned Rainsford Island over to the City of Boston and enabled the city to eliminate the positons of island keeper, boatman and physician as they deemed appropriate.[3] The City did not accept this act and, consistent with the act's provision that the city could reject it, the city decided to combine the positions of island keeper and boatman thereby saving $460 a year.[4]  Tewksbury was appointed the 13^th Keeper of Rainsford Island and Captain of the Quarantine vessel on June 28, 1841. He remained in that position until March 1845 when he was replaced by Jonathan Bruce who assumed the joint duties of island keeper and quarantine captain.[5]  On October 15, 1847 Mr. Tewksbury was elected the Commonwealth’s first Harbor Master by the Boston Common Council, the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor.[6] His post was created as a result of an act of the state legislature. In his first annual report to the city, Tewksbury indicated that he boarded 8,000 vessels of which 1,493 were assisted in reaching their anchorage grounds. He urged the city to stop the practice of taking ballast from Great Brewster and Gallop’s Island and he also recommended that a breakwater should be erected at Cedar Point, Deer Island which would create a beautiful, safe harbor accessible at all times.[7] These recommendations were instrumental in justifying the acquisition of Gallop’s Island for quarantine use some twelve years later.   He remained harbor master until 1856 when Boston politics sabotaged his career. His affiliation with the Know Nothing party coincident with an effort to raise his salary and that of his subordinate staff led to a counterinsurgency in the House of Representatives to stop any fees imposed on the shipping industry merely to pay Tewksbury and his staff a better salary.[8] Mr. Tewksbury had previously been a member of the Whig party and was active in local politics representing Boston’s ward one.[9]  The political brouhaha of 1856 occurred a year before his untimely death on July 4, 1857 when he and three other people were killed by gunpowder exploding from poorly constructed rocket gun released on Boston Commons.[10]  A jury trial found the fireworks company responsible for his death pointing to a faulty rocket gun that had been imperfectly designed.[11]

---

[1] Columbian Centinel, October 12, 1831, p2.

[2] Trumpet and Universalist Magazine, April 15, 1840, p. 3.

[3] Boston Daily Advertiser, March 29, 1841, p. 1

[4] Bay State Democrat, June 29, 1841, p. 2

[5] Boston Courier, March 27, 1845, p. 2

[6] Boston Daily Bee, September 10, 1847. p. 2; Hingham Patriot, October 15, 1847, p. 2.

[7] Boston Evening Transcript, October 4, 1848, p. 2.

[8] Boston Daily Advertiser, May 21, 1856, p 1

[9] Boston Daily Bee, September 26, 1849, p. 2.

[10] Pittsfield Sun, July 9, 1857, p. 2; Boston Traveler, July 20, 1857, p. 4.

[11] Boston Traveler, July 20, 1857, p. 4