Joseph Wightman

Infobox Officeholder
name =Joseph Milner Wightman


imagesize =
small

caption =
order =17th
office =Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
term_start =January 7 1861 [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 173 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE) | location = Boston, MA | date = 2004 ISBN 1555536212, 9781555536213]
term_end =January 5 1863 [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 175 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE) | location = Boston, MA | date = 2004 ISBN 1555536212, 9781555536213]
predecessor =Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr.
successor =Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr.
office2 = City of Boston Member Board of Aldermen
term_start2 = April 1856 [Citation |City Clerk Statistics Department| year = 1882 | title = Municipal Register containing the City Charter the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of Officers for the City of Boston, For the Year 1882. | page = 323 | publisher = Rockwell and Churchill, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1882 ]
term_end2 = 1859
preceded2 = Levi Benjamin Meriam [Citation |City Clerk Statistics Department| year = 1882 | title = Municipal Register containing the City Charter the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of Officers for the City of Boston, For the Year 1882. | page = 323 | publisher = Rockwell and Churchill, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1882 ]
succeeded2 =
office3 = City of Boston Chairman Board of Aldermen
term_start3 = 1858
term_end3 = 1859
preceded3 = Pelham Bonney
succeeded3 = Silas Peirce
office4 = Massachusetts House of Representatives [Citation |last = Capen | first = Nahum | year = 1851 | title = The Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information: 1851 v. 5 | page = 12| publisher = J. French | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1851 ]
term_start4 = 1851
term_end4 = 1851
preceded4 =
succeeded4 =
birth_date =October 19 1812 [Citation |last = Dall | first = Caroline Wells Healey | year = 2006 | title = Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman | page = 301 | publisher = Beacon Press
location = Boston, MA | date = 2006 ISBN 0807050342] [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 44 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909]
birth_place = Boston
death_date =January 25 1885 [Citation |last = Dall | first = Caroline Wells Healey | year = 2006 | title = Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman | page = 301 | publisher = Beacon Press
location = Boston, MA | date = 2006 ISBN 0807050342, 9780807050347] [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 301 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909]
death_place =
nationality =
party =Whig, [Citation |last = Winsor | first = Justin | year = 1881 | title = The Memorial History of Boston By Justin Winsor Volume III | page = 276 | publisher = Ticknor and Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1881] Democrat [Citation |last = Dall | first = Caroline Wells Healey | year = 2006 | title = Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman | page = 301 | publisher = Beacon Press
location = Boston, MA | date = 2006 ISBN 0807050342, 9780807050347] [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 175 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE)| location = Boston, MA | date = 2004 ISBN 1555536212]
spouse = Berthia Morse
relations =
children = Mary Ellen, Joseph Claxton, Henry Morse, Berthia M., Sarah Ernestine, Gertrude E. and Florence Ada
residence = 79 Carver Street, Boston, Massachusetts [Citation |last = Adams | first = George | year = 1852 | title = The Boston Directory for the Year 1852: Embracing the City Record, a General Directory of the Citizens, and a Business Directory, with an Almanac from July, 1852, to July, 1853 | page = 272. | publisher = George Adams | location = No. 91 Washington Street, Boston, MA | date = 1852]
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession = Manufacturer of Philosophical Apparatus. [Citation |last = Channing | first = William Francis | year = 1871 | title = Record of Proceedings Before the U.S. Patent Office: - Application for an Extension of Letters Patent No. 17,355 | page = 203 | publisher = Kilbourne Tompkins, Book and Commercial Printer | location = New York, NY | date = 17 April 1871 ]
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Joseph Milner Wightman (October 19 1812-January 25 1885) [Citation |last = Dall | first = Caroline Wells Healey | year = 2006 | title = Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman | page = 301 | publisher = Beacon Press
location = Boston, MA | date = 2006] was an American politician who served as the seventeenth Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1861 to 1863.

Early years

Wightman was born the son of an immigrant tailor. [Citation |last = Dall | first = Caroline Wells Healey | year = 2006 | title = Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman | page = 301 | publisher = Beacon Press
location = Boston, MA | date = 2006 ISBN 0807050342] at Elliot Street in Boston [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 423 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ] on October 19, 1812. His father died when he was 10, when he was 14 years old he became a machinist’s apprentice. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 423 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ] Wightman was apprenticed to a firm of mathematical and philosophical instrument makers owned by Mr. John Codman and Mr. Timothy Claxton. After his apprenticeship ended, Wightman associated in business with Mr. Codman. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 233 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ]

When he was 16, and still serving as an apprentice, Wightman made use of the Mechanic Apprentices' Library borrowing books on Mathematics and other subjects, so that he could study at night after his working hours. Through the use of the library, Wightman acquired a working knowledge of mensuration, chemistry and electrical engineering. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 424 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ]

Wightman benefited in his educational pursuits in that one of his employers, Timothy Claxton, was an early innovator and supporter in providing educational opportunities for the working class. [Citation |last = Long | first = Huey B.| year = 1991 | title = Early Innovators in Adult Education | pages = 60-61 | publisher = Routledge | location = New York, NY | date = 1991 ISBN 0415005574]

Codman and Claxton's partnership lasted for only three years, after which time Timothy Claxton went into business for himself for three and a quarter years, after which he went into business with Wightman. [Citation |last = Long | first = Huey B.| year = 1991 | title = Early Innovators in Adult Education | page = 60 | publisher = Routledge | location = New York, NY | date = 1991 ISBN 0415005574]

In the summer of 1835 Mr. Claxton's business was destroyed by a fire, as Claxton was fully insured he was able to rebuild, and at that time he went into partnership with Wightman, who Claxton described as his "right hand man". [Citation |last = Stebbins | first = L.| year = 1875 | title = First Century of National Existence: The United States as They Were and are | page = 522 | publisher = Francis Dewing and Co., San Francisco, Cal. | location = Hartford, Connecticut | date = 1875 ]

On October 6 1836 he married Berthia Morse (born 1812, the daughter of Aaron Morse and Sarah Johnson) in Boston, Mass. They had seven children (Mary Ellen, Joseph Claxton, Henry Morse (January 5, 1840 to April 3, 1885), [Citation |Association of Engineering Societies (U.S.)| year = 1886 | title = Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies | page = 522 | publisher = Published by Board of Managers of the Association of Engineering Societies Vol. V. Nov. 1885 to October 1886| location = New York, NY | date = 1886 ] Bethia M., Sarah Ernestine, Gertrude E. and Florence Ada).

In 1837 Claxton returned to his native country of England, Wightman took over the company, and the firm of Claxton and Wightman became the firm of Joseph M. Wightman, Wightman began to supply educational institutions with a large amount of educational scientific instruments. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 424 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ]

Wightman was well renowned in his field. In September 1837 Claxton and Wightman won a silver medal from the judges on Philosophical Instruments at Boston's First Mechanics' Fair. Wightman won a silver medal from the judges on Philosophical Instruments at the second fair held in September 1837, and a gold medal at the third fair held in September of 1841. [Citation |last = Davis | first = Daniel| year = 1842 | title = Davis's Manual of Magnetism: Including Also Electro-magnetism, Magneto-Electricity, and Thermo-Electricty. With a Description of the Electrotype Process. | pages = 6-8 | publisher = Daniel Davis, Jr. | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1842 ]

Early Public Service

City Water Supply Improvement

In 1845 Wightman was the chairman of a citizens committee that worked to improve water delivery into the City of Boston, this resulted in the development of the Cochituate Water Works. [Citation |last = Channing | first = William Francis | year = 1871 | title = Record of Proceedings Before the U.S. Patent Office: - Application for an Extension of Letters Patent No. 17,355 | page = 204 | publisher = Kilbourne Tompkins, Book and Commercial Printer | location = New York, NY | date = 17 April 1871 ]

Boston Public Schools

From 1846 to 1855 Wightman served as a member of the Boston Primary School Committee. On September 5, 1848 he was elected Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Boston Primary School Committee, (in place of Mr. Joseph Wentworth Ingraham who had died). [Citation |last = Wightman | first = Joseph | year = 1860 | title = Annals of the Boston Primary School Committee: From Its First Establishment in 1818 to its Dissolution in 1855 | pages = 229, 294 | publisher = G. C. Rand & Avery, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] Wightman served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Boston Primary School Committee until that committee was dissolved on January 2 1855. [Citation |last = Wightman | first = Joseph | year = 1860 | title = Annals of the Boston Primary School Committee: From Its First Establishment in 1818 to its Dissolution in 1855 | pages = 293-294| publisher = G. C. Rand & Avery, city printers | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] Wightman was also elected as a member of the Grammar School Committee (at the time there were two separate school committees one for the Primary schools and one for the Grammar Schools) [Citation |last = Wightman | first = Joseph | year = 1860 | title = Annals of the Boston Primary School Committee: From Its First Establishment in 1818 to its Dissolution in 1855 | pages = 7-8, 259-264 | publisher = G. C. Rand & Avery, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] Public school students would first attend a primary school for three years and then they would attend a grammar school.

Interests lead Wightman into Politics

It has been said that Wightman's interest in the city's water supply [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 26 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914] and in improving education [Citation |last = Stebbins | first = L.| year = 1875 | title = First Century of National Existence: The United States as They Were and are | page = 522 | publisher = Francis Dewing and Co., San Francisco, Cal. | location = Hartford, Connecticut | date = 1875 ] led him into politics. Indeed he went from serving on the city's school committees, to the Massachusetts House of Representative, to the City of Boston's Board of Alderman, serving at one point as its chairman, before going on to serve two terms as Mayor of the City of Boston. [Citation |last = Stebbins | first = L.| year = 1875 | title = First Century of National Existence: The United States as They Were and are | page = 522 | publisher = Francis Dewing and Co., San Francisco, Cal. | location = Hartford, Connecticut | date = 1875 ]

Ether Anesthesia

Wightman, [Citation |last =Wolfe | first = Richard J. | year = 2006 | title = Tarnished Idol: William Thomas Green Morton and the Introduction of Surgical Anesthesia : a Chronicle of the Ether Controversy | page = 66 | publisher = Norman Publishing
location = Boston, MA | date = 2006 ISBN 0930405811] along with Nathan B. Chamberlain, developed the device used by William T.G. Morton to demonstrate the use of ether at Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846. This was one of the first successful demonstration of ether anesthesia [Citation |last =Hurt | first = Raymond | year = 1996 | title =The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times | page = 18 | publisher = Informa Health Care | location = New York, NY | date = 1996 ISBN 1850706816] (although his demonstration came after those of Dr. Crawford Long's in Georgia, it was the first that was widely publicized). [Citation |last =Hurt | first = Raymond | year = 1996 | title =The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times | page = 18 | publisher = Informa Health Care | location = New York, NY | date = 1996 ISBN 1850706816]

Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association

Wightman was very active in the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. Wightman was elected a trustee of the Association in 1850, he served as a trustee for three years. After serving as a trustee Wightman served for three years as vice president and the next three as president of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 424 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ]

On September 30, 1857, while serving as president of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, Wight laid the cornerstone of Boston's Mechanics' Hall. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 292 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ]

Mayor of Boston

Wightman first ran for the office of Mayor in 1859, in that contest he received 4,208 votes out of 11,421 cast, however he lost to Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr., who received 5,932 votes. [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 53 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909] In his second try Wightman was elected Boston's first Democratic Party Mayor [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 173 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE)| location = Boston, MA | date = 2004] on December 13 1860. Wightman received 8,834 votes in his election bid vs. that of his closest competitor Republican Party candidate, [Citation |last = Winsor | first = Justin | year = 1881 | title = The Memorial History of Boston By Justin Winsor Volume III | page = 265 | publisher = Ticknor and Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1881] former Alderman [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 88 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909] Moses Kimball, who received 5,674 votes. [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 173 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE) | location = Boston, MA | date = 2004] Wightman had been endorsed by both wings of the Democratic party and that of the Whigs. [Citation |last = Winsor | first = Justin | year = 1881 | title = The Memorial History of Boston By Justin Winsor Volume III | page = 265 | publisher = Ticknor and Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1881]

On December 9 1861 Wightman was reelected as Mayor receiving 6,765 votes vs. his closest competitor Edward Tobey, who received 5,795 votes (out of 12,565 votes cast). [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 53 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909] [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 174 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE) | location = Boston, MA | date = 2004]

Wightman again ran for reelection in 1862, Mayor Wightman was re-nominated by the People's Union Party on November 22, 1862, [Citation |"New York Times" | year = 1862 | title = Renomination of Mayor Wightman | page = 4 | publisher = "The New York Times" | location = New York, NY | date = 23 November 1862] however on December 8 1862, in this his second reelection bid, he lost to his predecessor Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr. Wightman received 5,287 votes to Lincoln's 6,352. Wightman's tenure as Boston's 17th Mayor ended on January 5 1863 when Mayor Lincoln was sworn in as the 18th Mayor of the City of Boston. [Citation |last = Vrabel | first = Jim | year = 2004 | title = When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac | page = 175 | publisher = University Press of New England (UPNE) | location = Boston, MA | date = 2004 ISBN 1555536212, 9781555536213]

City Hall construction

Mayor Wightman was instrumental in the construction of a new Boston City Hall. In his Inaugural Address Wightman called for the construction of "a new City Hall of sufficient size to accommodate all the departments of the government." [Citation | By Authority of the City Council | year = 1866 | title = The City Hall, Boston: Corner Stone Laid, Monday, December 22, 1862. Dedicated Monday, September 17, 1865. | page = 3 | publisher = Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers to the City | location = Boston, MA | date = 1866] He laid the corner stone [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 424 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ] of the city hall building at the stone laying ceremony of December 22, 1862. The city has was, as he said, "the first building, therefore, which has been built and specially designed for municipal purposes:" for the City of Boston. [Citation | By Authority of the City Council | year = 1866 | title = The City Hall, Boston: Corner Stone Laid, Monday, December 22, 1862. Dedicated Monday, September 17, 1865. | page = 94 | publisher = Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers to the City | location = Boston, MA | date = 1866]

Tremont Temple anti-slavery disturbance

On January 24 1861 the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society was holding its annual meeting at Tremont Temple in Boston. A group of anti-abolitionists attacked the meeting. The police protection that had been granted to the meeting was inadequate to prevent rioting. [Citation |last = Dall | first = Caroline Wells Healey | year = 2006 | title = Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman | page = 301 | publisher = Beacon Press | location = Boston, MA | date = 2006 ISBN 0807050342, 9780807050347] Mayor Wightman entered the meeting and ordered the hall closed, [Citation |last = Ware | first = Edith Ellen | year = 1916 | title = Political Opinion in Massachusetts During Civil War and Reconstruction | pages = 89-90| publisher = Columbia University
location = New York, NY | date = 1916] Mayor Wightman had entered the hall with a group of policemen and members of the Board of Aldermen, upon entering the meeting place Mayor Wightman announced that the trustees of the building had asked him to dissolve the meeting, the trustees, who were in attendance, denied that they asked for the meeting to be dissolved and asked Mayor Wightman to read their letter, the letter was actually shown to be a request to protect the assembly. [Citation |last = Higginson | first = Thomas Wentworth| year = 1898 | title = Cheerful Yesterdays | page = 244| publisher = The Riverside Press | location = Cambridge, MA | date = 1898] Mayor Wightman promised the chairman of the meeting Edmund Quincy that he would protect the evening session with fifty policemen, but he later had the meeting doors closed and blocked by police. [Citation |last = Higginson | first = Thomas Wentworth| year = 1898 | title = Cheerful Yesterdays | pages = 244-245| publisher = The Riverside Press | location = Cambridge, MA | date = 1898] Mayor Wightman ended the meeting withdrew his offer of police protection and ordered the hall closed, [Citation |last = Ware | first = Edith Ellen | year = 1916 | title = Political Opinion in Massachusetts During Civil War and Reconstruction | pages = 89-90| publisher = Columbia University
location = New York, NY | date = 1916]

Fort Warren Military Prison

On October 30, 1861 the military base in Boston Harbor known as Fort Warren began to house prisoners from the Confederate army as well as political prisoners. [Citation |last = Hesseltine | first = William Best | year = 1972 | title = Civil War Prisons | pages = 32-34| publisher = Kent State University Press | location = Kent, Ohio | date = 1972 ISBN 0873381297] Initially, the United States Quartermaster in Boston, Captain George A. Kensel, was told to prepare for 100 prisoners, however when "The State of Maine", the ship holding the prisoners, arrived it had on board 155 political prisoners and over 600 military prisoners for the fort. [Citation |last = Hesseltine | first = William Best | year = 1972 | title = Civil War Prisons | page = 34| publisher = Kent State University Press | location = Kent, Ohio | date = 1972 ISBN 0873381297] In early November 1861 Mayor Wightman visited the fort and decided that immediate steps had to be taken to alleviate the situation.

Local newspapers had urged that local citizens donate items to assist the prisoners at the fort. Mayor Wightman endorsed giving aid to the prisoners at the fort. [Citation |last = Speer | first = Lonnie R. | year = 1997 | title = Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War | page = 44| publisher = Stackpole Books | location = Mechanicsburg, PA | date = 1997 ISBN 0811703347]

Mayor Wightman arranged for stores be delivered from Evans House a charity that had been established to assist Union servicemen. [Citation |last = Hesseltine | first = William Best | year = 1972 | title = Civil War Prisons | page = 37| publisher = Kent State University Press | location = Kent, Ohio | date = 1972 ISBN 0873381297] The Mayor's actions were met with mixed reaction from the local Press. "The Boston Daily Advertiser" and "The Boston Transcript " attacked Wightman. "The Boston Evening Traveler" in opposing Wightman's reelection called his distribution of supplies to the fort aid to the "traitors at Fort Warren". However "The Boston Post" and "The Boston Journal" supported Wightman. "The Boston Post" said that Wightman had acted out of a charity and "The Boston Journal" supported Wightman in an editorial titled "The Transcript on Humanity". [Citation |last = Hesseltine | first = William Best | year = 1972 | title = Civil War Prisons | page = 37| publisher = Kent State University Press | location = Kent, Ohio | date = 1972 ISBN 0873381297]

City Hospital

In 1857 Wightman was chairman of the special committee on the Free City Hospital. [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 425 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ] [Citation |last = Cheever Et. Al. | first = David Williams| year = 1865 | title =Proceedings at the Dedication of the City Hospital: With the Act of the Legislature | page = 50 | publisher = J.E. Farwell & Company, Printers to the City | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1865 ]

During his term, on September 9th 1861, ground was broken for the construction of the City Hospital. [Citation |last = Cheever Et. Al. | first = David Williams| year = 1906 | title =A History of the Boston City Hospital from Its Foundation Until 1904 | page = 7 | publisher = Municipal Printing Office and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1906 ]

Mayor Wightman's tenure

Wightman's tenure of Mayor was said to concentrate on alleviating the wants of the Union Soldiers in the field. [Citation | = From Our Own Correspondent | year = 1868 | title = BOSTON.; The City and Its New Mayor--The Past Mayors of Boston and Who They Were--Distress in the City--Personal. | page = 3 | publisher = "New York Times" | location = New York, NY | date = 5 January 1868 ] While he was Mayor Wightman successfully supplied funds for the fitting out of, and providing sustenance to, the soldiers in the field. [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 2 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]

Wightman also arranged to remit, through him, funds from the soldiers pay to their families. [Citation |State Street Trust Company | year = 1914 | title = Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done | page = 23 | publisher = State Street Trust Company | location = Boston, MA | date = 1914]

Run for Congress

In 1866 Wightman ran for the 40th United States Congress as the Democratic Party candidate for the Massachusetts' fourth Congressional district. Wightman ran as a friend of the working man and the working men were urged to vote for Wightman. [Citation |last = Smith | first = Goldwin | year = 2006 | title = Essays on Reform: Essay IX. The Experience of the American Commonwealth | pages = 217, 233| publisher = Adamant Media Corporation | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 2006 ISBN 0543918262] However in the election the vote of the working men went to the Republican candidate Samuel Hooper. [Citation |last = Smith | first = Goldwin | year = 2006 | title = Essays on Reform: Essay IX. The Experience of the American Commonwealth | pages = 217, 233| publisher = Adamant Media Corporation | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 2006 ISBN 0543918262] Wightman received 3,183 votes against Republican candidate Hooper, who won with 7,902 votes. [Citation |last = McPhetres | first = Samuel A. | year = 1868 | title = A Political Manual for the Campaign of 1868: For Use in the New England States, Containing the Population and Latest Election Returns of Every Town in New England, and of Every State in the Union, Party Platforms, and Other Valuable Information | page = 48| publisher = A. Williams and company | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1868 ] [Citation |United States Congress | year = 1868 | title = Official Congressional Directory | page = 17| publisher = United States Congress | location = Washington, D.C. | date = 1868 ]

Other positions held

Wightman was involved for many years in the civic affairs of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston, serving in elected and unelected public and private offices.

Wightman was, in 1851, a member of the Massachusetts Great and General Court (Legislature) representing Boston in the Massachusetts state House of Representatives. [Citation |last = Capen | first = Nahum | year = 1851 | title = The Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information: 1851 v. 5 | page = 12| publisher = J. French | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1851 ] While a member of the House of Representative, Wightman served on the Joint Standing Committee on Manufactures [Citation |last = Capen | first = Nahum | year = 1851 | title = The Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information: 1851 v. 5 | page = 17| publisher = James French | location = 78 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1851 ]

In April 1856 Wightman became a member of the Board of Alderman for the City of Boston. [Citation |City Clerk Statistics Department| year = 1882 | title = Municipal Register containing the City Charter the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of Officers for the City of Boston, For the Year 1882. | page = 323 | publisher = Rockwell and Churchill, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1882 ] Wightman served as a member of the Board of Aldermen for three years [Citation |City Clerk Statistics Department| year = 1882 | title = Municipal Register containing the City Charter the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of Officers for the City of Boston, For the Year 1882. | pages = 323-325, 352 | publisher = Rockwell and Churchill, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1882 ] serving as Chairman of the Board of Alderman in 1858. [Citation |City Clerk Statistics Department| year = 1882 | title = Municipal Register containing the City Charter the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of Officers for the City of Boston, For the Year 1882. | page = 325 | publisher = Rockwell and Churchill, cityprinters | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1882 ]

From 1858 until 1862 (when he resigned upon assuming the duties of Mayor) [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 425 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ] Wightman served as an appointed trustee of the city owned [http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/HBGI/hbginfo.asp?ID=20 Mt Hope Cemetery] . [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 374 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909]

In 1860 Wightman [Citation| Boston City Council | year = 1860 | title = Proceedings and debates of the fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Held in the City of Boston, June 14, 15 and 16, 1860. Reported for the City Council of Boston | page = 279| publisher = Boston City Council| location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] was a delegate to the Fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Convention held from June 14th to June 16th at Mechanics' Hall, Boston. [Citation |Boston City Council | year = 1860 | title = Proceedings and debates of the fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Held in the City of Boston, June 14, 15 and 16, 1860. Reported for the City Council of Boston | page = 2| publisher = Boston City Council | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] The last of a series of meetings held to promote sanitary science. [Citation |last = Rogers | first = Fred | year = 1960 | title = "Before the Storm”—The Fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Convention, Boston, 1860; Journal of Public Health | page = 1032| publisher = Journal of Public Health v. 50(7) | location = Washington, DC | date = July 1960 ] During the convention Wightman served as a member of the "Business Committee" [Citation| Boston City Council | year = 1860 | title = Proceedings and debates of the fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Held in the City of Boston, June 14, 15 and 16, 1860. Reported for the City Council of Boston | pages = 24| publisher = Boston City Council | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] Wightman was also on two committees for 1860-1861 for "Arrangements for the Ensuing Year", and on the "Permanent Organization of the Association". [Citation| Boston City Council | year = 1860 | title = Proceedings and debates of the fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Held in the City of Boston, June 14, 15 and 16, 1860. Reported for the City Council of Boston | pages = 6-7| publisher = Boston City Council | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1860 ] (However as a result of the outbreak of the American Civil War the convention never assembled again.) [Citation |last = Rogers | first = Fred | year = 1960 | title = "Before the Storm”—The Fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Convention, Boston, 1860; Journal of Public Health | page = 1033| publisher = Journal of Public Health v. 50(7) | location = Washington, DC | date = July 1960 ]

On February 13 1868 Wightman was elected by the Boston City Council to serve a two year term [Citation |last = Fitzgerald | first = Desmond| year = 1876 | title = History of the Boston Water Works, from 1868 to 1876: Being a Supplement to A "History of The Introduction of Pure Water into the City of Boston, With a Description of its Cochituate Water Works, Etc., 1868." | page = 5 | publisher = Office of the Boston Water Board, Rockwel and Churchill, City Printers | location = No. 39 Arch Street. Boston, MA | date = 1876] as a Commissioner of the Cochituate Water Board. At the Water Board's April 6th 1868 organizational meeting Withgman was appointed to the Standing Committee of the Water Registrar's Department and to the Special Auditing Committee. [Citation |last = Fitzgerald
first = Desmond| year = 1876 | title = History of the Boston Water Works, from 1868 to 1876: Being a Supplement to A "History of The Introduction of Pure Water into the City of Boston, With a Description of its Cochituate Water Works, Etc., 1868." | page = 5 | publisher = Office of the Boston Water Board, Rockwel and Churchill, City Printers | location = No. 39 Arch Street. Boston, MA | date = 1876] At the April 6th 1869 organizational meeting of the Cochituate Water Board Wightman was put on the Committee of Rules and Regulations, the Standing Committees of the Water Registrar's Department and the Western Division and the Special Committees of High Service, The East Boston Reservoir and, Construction of Telegraph. [Citation |last = Fitzgerald | first = Desmond| year = 1876 | title = History of the Boston Water Works, from 1868 to 1876: Being a Supplement to A "History of The Introduction of Pure Water into the City of Boston, With a Description of its Cochituate Water Works, Etc., 1868." | page = 7 | publisher = Office of the Boston Water Board, Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers | location = No. 39 Arch Street. Boston, MA | date = 1876]

[Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 400 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department | location = Boston, MA | date = 1909] [Citation |last = Channing | first = William Francis | year = 1871 | title = Record of Proceedings Before the U.S. Patent Office: - Application for an Extension of Letters Patent No. 17,355 | page = 204 | publisher = Kilbourne Tompkins, Book and Commercial Printer | location = New York, NY | date =17 April 1871]

Wightman served as Chairman [Citation |Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association| year = 1892 | title = Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association | page = 425 | publisher = Press of Rockwell and Churchill | location = Boston, Massachusetts | date = 1892 ] of the three member board of Registrars of Voters from 1878 until his death on January 25 1885. [Citation |Printed by Order of the City Council | year = 1909 | title = A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers | page = 375 | publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
location = Boston, MA | date = 1909]

Later years

In his later years Wightman suffered legal trouble. In 1874 he was imprisoned for debt. In a letter to "The Boston Journal" dated August 12, 1874, Wightman explained that these were debts that he did not himself incur. Wightman explained in his letter that in 1864 he became a stock holder in the Franklin Coal Company. Wightman wrote that in June 1865 against his wishes or knowledge he was made a director of that company. In 1866 the company became insolvent, Wightman was arrested and imprisoned and forced to pay that part of the company's debt (judgment and costs amounting to $14,866.50) owed to Eby, Byres & Co. [Citation |last = Wightman
first = Joseph| year = 1874 | title = Ex-Mayor Wightman.; Imprisoned for debts he did not owe his own account of the way he was compelled to "Submit to the Circumstances." | page = 2 | publisher = "The New York Times" | location = New York, NY | date = 12 August 1874]

Wightman was interred in [http://www.mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery] in Cambridge, Mass. His wife Berthia (Bertha) (Morse) died in 1901 and was interred next to him.

Books

*"Select Experiments in Natural Philosophy ..." Published by Joseph M. Wightman, (1853).
*"Annals of the Boston Primary School Committee: From Its First Establishment in 1818, to Its Dissolution in 1855" Published by G. C. Rand & Avery, city printers, (1860).

References

External links

* [http://www.celebrateboston.com/biographies/mayors/boston/wightmanjoseph.htm Wightman's biography at the Celebrate Boston website]

Bibliography

* A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown 1847-1873 and of The Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822 also of Various Other Town and Municipal officers, Boston, MA: City of Boston Printing Department, (1909) pp. 44, 53, 88, 301, 374-375, 400.
* Adams, George.: The Boston Directory for the Year 1852: Embracing the City Record, a General Directory of the Citizens, and a Business Directory, with an Almanac from July, 1852, to July, 1853, No. 91 Washington Street, Boston, MA: George Adams, (1852) p. 272.
* Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 1795-1892 Printed by Order of the Association, Boston, Massachusetts: Press of Rockwell and Churchill, (1892) pp. 233, 292, 423-425.
* BOSTON.; The City and Its New Mayor--The Past Mayors of Boston and Who They Were--Distress in the City--Personal, New York, NY: New York Times, (5 January 1868), p. 3.
* Capen, Nahum.: The Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information: 1851 Vol. 5, Boston, Massachusetts: J. French, (1851) pp. 12, 17.
* Channing, William Francis.: Record of Proceedings Before the U.S. Patent Office: - Application for an Extension of Letters Patent No. 17,355, New York, NY: Kilbourne Tompkins, Book and Commercial Printer, (April 17, 1871) pp. 203-204.
* Cheever Et. Al., David Williams (1865), Proceedings at the Dedication of the City Hospital: With the Act of the Legislature, Boston, Massachusetts: J.E. Farwell & Company, Printers to the City, (1865) pp. 7, 50.
* Dall, Caroline Wells Healey.: Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman, Boston, MA: Beacon Press, (2006) p. 301. ISBN 0807050342, 9780807050347
* Davis, Daniel.: Davis's Manual of Magnetism: Including Also Electro-magnetism, Magneto-Electricity, and Thermo-Electricty. With a Description of the Electrotype Process., Boston, Massachusetts: Daniel Davis, Jr., (1842) pp. 6-8.
* Fitzgerald, Desmond.: History of the Boston Water Works, from 1868 to 1876: Being a Supplement to A "History of The Introduction of Pure Water into the City of Boston, With a Description of its Cochituate Water Works, Etc., 1868.", No. 39 Arch Street. Boston, MA: Office of the Boston Water Board, Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, (1876) pp. 5, 7.
* Hesseltine, William Best.: Civil War Prisons, Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, (1972) pp. 32-34, 37. ISBN 0873381297
* Higginson, Thomas Wentworth.: Cheerful Yesterdays, Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, (1898) pp. 244-245
* Hurt, Raymond.: The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times, New York, NY: Informa Health Care, (1996) p. 18. ISBN 1850706816
* Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies, New York, NY: Published by Board of Managers of the Association of Engineering Societies Vol. V. Nov. 1885 to October 1886, (1886) p. 522.
* Long, Huey B.: Early Innovators in Adult Education, New York, NY: Routledge, (1991) pp. 60-61. ISBN 0415005574
* Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done, Boston, MA: State Street Trust Company, (1914) pp. 2, 23, 26.
* McPhetres, Samuel A.: A Political Manual for the Campaign of 1868: For Use in the New England States, Containing the Population and Latest Election Returns of Every Town in New England, and of Every State in the Union, Party Platforms, and Other Valuable Information, Boston, Massachusetts: A. Williams and company, (1868) p. 48.
* Municipal Register containing the City Charter the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of Officers for the City of Boston, For the Year 1882., Boston, Massachusetts: Rockwell and Churchill, city printers, (1882) pp. 323-325, 352.
* Official Congressional Directory, Washington, D.C.: United States Congress, (1868) p. 17.
* Proceedings and debates of the fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Held in the City of Boston, June 14, 15 and 16, 1860. Reported for the City Council of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts: Boston City Council (1860) pp. 2, 6-7, 24, 279.
* Renomination of Mayor Wightman, New York, NY: The New York Times, (November 23, 1862) p. 4.
* Rogers, Fred (July 1960), "Before the Storm”—The Fourth National Quarantine and Sanitary Convention, Boston, 1860; Journal of Public Health, Washington, DC: Journal of Public Health (July 1960) Vol. 50 (7), pp. 1032-1033.
* Smith, Goldwin.: Essays on Reform: Essay IX. The Experience of the American Commonwealth, Boston, Massachusetts: Adamant Media Corporation, (2006) pp. 217, 233 ISBN 0543918262
* Speer, Lonnie R.: Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, (1997)p. 44 ISBN 0811703347
* Stebbins, L.: First Century of National Existence: The United States as They Were and are, Hartford, Connecticut: Francis Dewing and Co., San Francisco, Cal., (1875) p. 522.
* The City Hall, Boston: Corner Stone Laid, Monday, December 22, 1862. Dedicated Monday, September 17, 1865., Boston, MA: Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers to the City, (1866), pp. 3, 94.
* Vrabel, Jim.: When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac, Boston, MA: University Press of New England (UPNE), (2004) pp. 173-175. ISBN 1555536212, 9781555536213
* Ware, Edith Ellen.: Political Opinion in Massachusetts During Civil War and Reconstruction, New York, NY: Columbia University, (1916) pp. 89-90
* Wightman, Joseph.: Annals of the Boston Primary School Committee: From Its First Establishment in 1818 to its Dissolution in 1855, Boston, Massachusetts: G. C. Rand & Avery, city printers, (1860) pp. 7-8, 229, 259-264, 293-294.
* Wightman, Joseph.: Ex-Mayor Wightman.; Imprisoned for debts he did not owe his own account of the way he was compelled to "Submit to the Circumstances.", New York, NY: The New York Times, p. 2. (12 August 1874) (Letter to the editor originally sent to and published in The Boston Journal).
* Winsor, Justin.: The Memorial History of Boston By Justin Winsor Volume III, Boston, MA: Ticknor and Company, (1881) pp. 265, 276.
* Wolfe, Richard J.: Tarnished Idol: William Thomas Green Morton and the Introduction of Surgical Anesthesia : a Chronicle of the Ether Controversy, Boston, MA: Norman Publishing, (2006) p. 66 ISBN 0930405811