William Fletcher Weld (April 15, 1800 – December 12, 1881) was an American shipping magnate during the Golden Age of Sail and a member of the prominent Weld family. He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family's fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public.
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Life
Weld was the eldest of seven sons and two daughters of William Gordon Weld, a prosperous ship master and ship owner, and his wife Hannah Minot. The Weld family dates back to William Weld, High Sheriff of London in 1352.
Weld planned to attend Harvard as his father had before him; however, during the War of 1812, a British frigate cruising off Boston Harbor captured one of the family's ships carrying a valuable cargo of wine and Spanish silver dollars. This financial disaster ended Weld's plans for Harvard. Instead, Weld became a clerk for an importer in Boston at age 15. By 22 he was in the dry-goods trade, but his partner's lack of business sense put the company in debt.
Weld eventually entered the shipping trade that had enriched his father. By 1833, Weld had made enough money to build Senator at Charlestown, the largest ship of that day.
Weld eventually became one of the most successful merchant ship owners in the United States. He operated 51 sailing vessels and 10 steamers. His fleet sailed under the name and symbol of the "Black Horse Flag". Upon his retirement in 1866, his partner, Richard Baker Jr. took over the business with Weld's two sons, William Gordon Weld and George Walker Weld.