Baldwin, William Henry, 1826-1909.

William Henry Baldwin (October 20, 1826-June 8, 1909) was born in Brighton, Massachusetts . In 1850 he established Baldwin, Baxter and Company, an import business of woolen goods. During the Civil War he was an active member of the Ward 11 Boston Soldiers' Relief Commission which was dedicated to providing relief to the families and soldiers of the Army of the Potomac . He retired from business in 1868 and became the President of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union, a position he held until 1907. This union was founded as a society for the mutual improvement of young men in 1852. While Baldwin was best remembered for his work with this society, he was a well-known Boston philanthropist and was a member of a number of organizations. He served on the Boston School Board from 1870 to 1875; he was president of the Children's Mission to the Children of the Destitute ; director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ; president of the National Unitarian Sunday School Society ; vice president of the Unitarian Church Temperance Society ; and a founder of the American Unitarian Association . He married Mary Frances Augusta on June 17, 1851, and the couple had nine children, including William H. Baldwin, Jr. (1863-1905), a noted railroad executive and trustee of the Tuskegee Institute .

From the guide to the Baldwin, William Henry. Papers, 1852-1909., (Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School)

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