Jacob Bigelow, Jr., was the son of Elizabeth and Jacob Bigelow, a Congregational minister and farmer. Young Jacob had an older brother, Henry, and a half sister, Elizabeth, from his father’s first marriage. A minister’s salary is meager, so the small farm was the primary source of the family’s income. The family’s financial situation may have been tough, but they were an affectionate unit—as their correspondence demonstrates. Reverend Bigelow, who served his congregation for four decades, was remembered by an acquaintance as “a large man with a large face, very pleasant and full of jokes.” Jacob Bigelow described his mother as “a most excellent and sensible lady.” –––––––––––––––– Reverend Bigelow’s parsonage and Sudbury Center around 1800 From “The History of Sudbury, Massachusetts: 1638–1889” by Alfred Sereno Hudson. Published by the Town of Sudbury, 1889 Letters written to big brother Henry Bigelow from his father, sister, and little brother Jacob in 1801; a letter written by Jacob’s mother in 1810 congratulating him on an academic prize. Letters from the Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine

Henry Jacob was the first of five children born to Jacob and Mary Bigelow, followed by William in 1819, Mary in 1821, and twins Catherine and James in 1827. Tragically, William died before he was even one, and James only lived to be seven. The family lived on Summer Street, in what is now Downtown Crossing. Although the neighborhood is now a bustling commercial district, it was tranquil and residential in the Bigelows' day. Henry Jacob Bigelow’s biographer described the predominant feature of the neighborhood as “spreading elms and horse-chestnuts … embowering the yards of detached and spacious dwellings.” Private yards and quiet streets “afforded excellent play-grounds and abundant opportunities for enterprising and restless boys.” _____________________ Washington Street, Corner of Summer and Winter Streets, around 1822 From the Boston Pictorial Archive, Boston Public Library Summer Street, 1843 From the Boston Pictorial Archive, Boston Public Library

Jacob Bigelow’s only surviving son chose to become physician, earning his M.D. from Harvard University in his early twenties. Henry Jacob went onto become a prominent surgeon and an important early champion of anesthesia. The Gray/Bigelow Building at Massachusetts General Hospital is named after him. Henry Jacob’s own son, William Sturgis Bigelow, continued the family tradition by becoming a surgeon. He was also fascinated by Japanese culture. He converted to Buddhism and was an avid collector of Japanese art, eventually donating 40,000 objects to the Museum of Fine Arts. _____________________________________ Henry Jacob Bigelow, around 1854 From the Harvard Art Museum/Fogg Museum on loan from the Massachusetts General Hospital Archives and Special Collections Three generations of Bigelows: Jacob (left), his son Henry Jacob (right) and Henry Jacob’s son, William Sturgis. Grandfather, son, and grandson are all buried at Mount Auburn HUP Bigelow, Jacob (2), olvwork531941. Harvard University Archives Letter from 19-year-old William Sturgis Bigelow to his grandfather, describing a trip to Switzerland. From the Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine Henry Jacob Bigelow, around 1872 From Wellcome Trust Limited

Three of Jacob and Mary Bigelow’s children lived to adulthood: Henry Jacob, Mary Anna (1821–1910), who is buried with her parents at Mount Auburn; and Catherine (1827–1858). Catherine was wed to historian Francis Parkman. When they first met, Parkman (1823–1893) was recovering from an illness. He said later, “looking for peace and rest, I found happiness.” The dashing young historian was working on “History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac” (1851), a sweeping survey of Native American conflicts during the colonial era. He had already published the wildly popular “The Oregon Trail; Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life” (1849), an account of his youthful adventures in the West. The young couple soon became parents. Daughter Grace was born in 1851 and son Francis in 1854. Then, tragedy struck. Little Francis died in 1857 at the age of three. He soon was followed by his mother, who died in 1858 after giving birth to her namesake daughter, Katherine. Parkman was heartbroken, plunging into a long depression. When he emerged, he wrote his masterwork, a seven-volume series known collectively as “France and England in North America.” He was also a devoted father to Grace and Katherine, who both grew up to have families of their own. Parkman never remarried. ________________________________ Catherine Bigelow Parkman and her daughter, Grace. The carte de visite by John Adams Whipple was taken around 1855. Massachusetts Historical Society An illustration that accompanied the serial publication of Parkman’s “Oregon Trail” in “Knickerbocker Magazine,” between 1847 and 1849. The magazine misleadingly added “California” to the title. Massachusetts Historical Society Francis Parkman, around 1861. A carte de visite by Black and Batchelder. Massachusetts Historical Society The Parkman House at 5 Bowdoin Square in Boston Massachusetts Historical Society Sisters Grace (left) and Katherine Parkman, around 1866 or 1867. A carte de visite by John Adams Whipple. Massachusetts Historical Society Francis Parkman in his later years, an illustration from “Harper’s Weekly,” v. 37, 1893. Library of Congress