Natick Historical Society and Museum 58 Eliot Street Rte.16 South Natick, MA 01760 enry Wilson was a passionate politician and a fervent Abolitionist. Born Jeremiah Jones Colbath in 1812, he changed his name legally to Henry Wilson in 1833 before walking to his adopted home of Natick. There he learned to make shoes, and with money earned attended academies in New Hampshire and taught school for a short time in Natick. He married a local girl, Harriet Malvinia Howe, built a home, and together they had a son. With the wealth from his successful shoe manufactory, and orating skills honed in the local Debating Club, Wilson's political ambitions grew. A trip South and the sight of a slave market made him a confirmed Abolitionist, as were his neighbors Lydia Maria Child, Edward Walcott, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. His stance on abolition was to color all his political endeavors. First a Whig---he was nicknamed the "Natick Cobbler"---, then a Free Soiler, then ultimately a Republican, he was elected from Natick to the State legislature from 1841 to 1852. He became owner and editor of the Boston Republican newspaper from 1848-1851. Elected to the U.S. Senate, he served from 1855 to 1873. During the Civil War he raised the 22nd Massachusetts Regiment and was acting Colonel and Aide de Camp to Gen. McClellan. In 1873 he resigned from the Senate to become Vice President under Grant. Tragedy visited him in the death of his only child, a son, in the Cavalry in Austin, Texas, and then the loss of his wife. He was the victim of a scam in which a young girl was said to be the child of his unmarried son. He died Nov. 22, 1875 at 64 in Washington, DC, and was buried with his family in Old Dell Park Cemetery after services at the Massachusetts State House and Framingham's Congregational Church. The Museum displays his personal papers, photographs, letters, artifacts, and military accoutrements. Directions: From Mass Turnpike exit to Route 30 Natick/Framingham. Take ramp to Rte. 30 East. Continue on Rte 30, take right onto Rte. 27 - Natick (South). Continue about 4 miles on Rte. 27 to Natick Center. Take left onto Rte 135 heading east until you come to next set of lights. Take right onto Union Street one mile to South Natick Square. At the lights take a right and on the left is the Bacon Free Library at 58 Eliot Street. Museum is on the lower level. From Boston take Mass Turnpike, or Rte 9 to Rte 16 through Newton and Wellesley Hills, to Wellesley. From Wellesley Square bear left on Rte 16 about 2 1/2 miles and two traffic signals to South Natick Square. The Bacon Free Library is on the left, at 58 Eliot Street. The Natick Historical Society Museum is on the lower level. Phone: 781-235-6015, 508-647-4841 Fax: 508-653-5338 send E-mail visit Website Contact: Anne K. Schaller, Museum Director Jan Prescott, President Hours: Tuesday evenings, 6:00-8:30. Wednesdays, 2:00-4:30. Saturdays, 10:00 am-12:30 pm. Closed Saturdays from June 15 to September 15. Special appointments can be arranged Admission: Free except for special events he Natick Historical Society, established in 1870, is located in the Bacon Free Library in the middle of the original Praying Indian Town established in 1651 by the Puritan minister, John Eliot. A copy of Eliot's 1685 Bible, transliterated in the Algonquian dialect, is on display, and artifacts from the Indian town, early maps, photographs, furnishings, tools and costumes that illustrate the community's daily life in earlier periods. The collection also includes an array of birds of the Americas, and memorabilia of Natick's most distinguished citizens; Vice President Henry Wilson, and authors Horatio Alger, Jr., and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Funding for this website is provided by Community Crossroads Foundation, The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the museums and historic sites of the Greater Boston History Project.