
The Lives and Legacies of
the William Goldthwaits
by
Elizabeth Hoff, LHS Board
Member
February 4, 2021

William Goldthwait
In the 1800s, the talented
and well-known Goldthwait
family enriched the
community and culture of
Longmeadow. Today, the
family legacy endures in a
philanthropic fund
established to assist
residents in need of
financial assistance.
Erastus and Hannah
Goldthwait had three
talented sons: Flavel,
Jonathan Hale, and William
Colton (“William C.).
Flavel, who died young, was
an educator in Hartford and
Jonathan was a talented
engraver and map maker.
While I would have loved to
have met all of them, I
would have especially wanted
to meet William C.
Goldthwait. An accomplished
educator and farmer, he was
a beloved and highly
respected citizen of
Longmeadow. According to his
obituary:
“He
was a thoroughly original
character of marked
peculiarities, both in
person and address, an alert
and stimulating teacher, as
a writer and speaker bright,
witty, quaint and striking,
both in thought and
expression, a lover of
nature and poetry, greatly
fond of good books and good
people, extending his
research beyond his vocation
into various sciences and
particularly that of
agriculture.”
William C. Goldthwait was an
experienced educator who led
Westfield Academy from 1844
until 1855. He also worked
to advance the teaching
profession, serving as the
editor of “The Massachusetts
Teacher”. An 1850
advertisement provides more
information about the
school.

Pittsfield Sun,
Nov. 21, 1850
In 1855, William
C. and his family left Westfield and
moved to his childhood home in
Longmeadow. The house is no longer
there, but it was located on
Longmeadow Street south of Maple
Road. The 1870 Longmeadow map shows
the property next to Raspberry Brook
on “Green Street” (the name that
Longmeadow Street was called in
1870). Until 1868, William C. ran a
small boarding preparatory school
for boys on this property. In
addition to running a school, he was
a proud farmer and was a popular
speaker on behalf of agricultural
science.

1870 Map
of Longmeadow
William C.
Goldthwait retired from teaching and
farming and he and his family moved
to 756 Longmeadow Street around
1878. He died in 1882, leaving his
wife and two daughters, and is
buried in the Longmeadow Cemetery.

756 Longmeadow Street
William C.
Goldthwait's brother, Jonathan, had
a son named William who also lived
in Longmeadow in the 1800s. This
William Goldthwait ("William") is
the man in the image at the top of
this article.
In 1845, when
William (the nephew) was one year
old, his parents brought 8-year old
Harriet Ann Goss, a town-supported
pauper, into their home. Harriet was
indentured to Jonathan Goldthwait
until she turned eighteen and was to
be "instructed in the art, mystery &
occupation of Housewifery".
William
Goldthwait was a sickly child and he
probably spent a lot of time with
Harriet during her ten years with
the family. At one point, his
illness became so severe that his
parents made the difficult decision
to send him to Colorado for
treatment; he recovered, but was
never physically strong. As an
adult, William lived at 46
Longmeadow Street near the
Springfield border and worked as a
watch maker. He never married.

46 Longmeadow Street
When William Goldthwait died in
1922, he bequeathed $7,000 to
the Town of Longmeadow to assist
Longmeadow residents with
limited income. The town
accepted this bequest in 1923
and established the William
Goldthwait Fund. Today, the fund
still helps needy residents and
its trustees are appointed each
year at the annual town
meeting.
Click here for more
information about the William
Goldthwait Fund.
Sources
Springfield Republican:
Aug. 24, 1849; Nov. 12,
1852; Mar. 9, 1857; Oct. 4,
1861; Nov. 20, 1882; and March
21, 1812
Pittsfield Sun,
Nov. 21, 1850
Massachusetts, Town and Vital
Records, 1620-1988
Longmeadow Annual Report 1923
History of Western Massachusetts,
Vol. 1 by Josiah Gilbert
Holland
1870 Map of Longmeadow
Longmeadow Historical Society
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