Gershom Bradford Weston

Gershom Bradford Weston (August 27, 1799 – September 14, 1869) was an American politician. He was the son of shipbuilding tycoon Ezra Weston II (1772-1842) (AKA: King Caesar II) and his wife Jerusha Bradford (1770-1833), who were both direct descendants of six Mayflower pilgrims. Gershom was a large man with reddish hair, weighing about 250 pounds.

At an age 17 he began sailing on his father's ships to Denmark, England and India, before taking on a managerial role in the family business. From 1842 to 1857 he and his brothers ran the family firm until it closed down.

At age 28 he entered politics as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and served there for 12 years before becoming a state justice. In 1848 Gershom joined the newly formed Free-Soil Political Party and strongly advocated its Temperance and Abolitionist platform - "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men".

He stood as the Free-Soil candidate for the U.S. Congress and lost by fewer than 150 votes.

Gershom was married twice and had 14 children, several of whom served in the US Civil War.