Samuel Nelson Aldrich (Boston, MA)
Samuel Nelson Aldrich (Feb. 3, 1838 – Sep. 27, 1908)
Biography
- Name: Samuel Nelson Aldrich
- Birth: February 3, 1838, Upton, Worcester County, Massachusetts
- Death: September 27, 1908, Lynn, Massachusetts (Buried Jamaica Plain, NY)
- One time U.S. sub-treasurer in Boston
Samuel Nelson Aldrich was born in Upton, Mass. on February 3, 1838 and was educated at Worcester Academy, at Southampton Commercial Academy and at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. He studied law with Hon. Isaac Davis and E.B. Stoddard in Worcester and afterward at the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar and began to practice his profession at Marlboro, Mass., in 1863, and after 1874 he had an office in Boston. On Sept. 15, 1865, in Upton, Mr. Aldrich married Mary J. MacFarland.
Mr. Aldrich was prominent in public affairs of Marlboro and was for nine years a member of the school committee, being chairman for several years, and served four years on the board of selectmen. He was for some time a director of the Peoples Bank of Marlboro and president of its board of trade. He was also president of the Framingham & Lowell Railroad before its absorption by the Old Colony and afterward president of the re-organized Lowell & Framingham Railroad. In 1879 Mr. Aldrich was elected to the state Senate from the Fourth Middlesex district, and during that session served as chairman of the Committee on Taxation. He was a member on several committees on bills in the third reading, on Federal relations and on Constitutional Amendments. He was returned to the Senate in 1880 and did efficient service on the same committees and was a member of the Committee on Judiciary. In the Senate, he was an able debater and was one of its most influential members. He was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Seventh Massachusetts district, but was defeated by Hon. William A. Russell of Lawrence. In 1883 he was a member of the lower house.
In March 1887, Mr. Aldrich became assistant United States sub-treasurer of Boston by appointment of President Cleveland. [See United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building (Boston)] He resigned in 1890 to become the president of the State National Bank. He had been resident vice president and a director of the American Surety Company of New York, director of the Boston Merchants Association and of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and for some years president and director of the Central Massachusetts Railroad and a director of the Mercantile Fire & Marine Insurance Company. He was a member of the Algonquin and Boston Art Clubs and the B.A.A.
Samuel Nelson Aldrich, the well-known financier and former railroad man, president of the State National Bank of Boston and assistant treasurer of the United States Sub-Treasury at Boston from 1887-1890, died on September 27, 1908 at his summer home in Lynn, Mass.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, Samuel N. Aldrich was involved with the following banks:
- Peoples Bank of Marlborough, MA (Charter 2404), an original Director upon organization in 1878
- State National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 1028): President 1891-1908
Sources
- Samuel Nelson Aldrich on Findagrave.com
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- The Bankers Magazine, Vol. 77, July 1908-Dec. 1908, pp 663-664.
- Boston Post, Boston, MA, Sat., Sep. 28, 1878.
- The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Sep. 29, 1908.