William Sturgis Bigelow (1850 - 1926)

Born 4 Apr 1850 in Boston, Massachusetts

Died 6 Oct 1926 at age 76 in 56 Beacon St Boston, MA

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Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import.^[1] It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Name

Name: William Sturgis /Bigelow/^[2][3][4]

Birth

Birth:

Date: 04 APR 1850

Place: Boston, Massachusetts^[5][6]

Death

Death:

Date: 06 OCT 1926

Place: 56 Beacon St Boston, MA^[7][8]

Burial

Burial:

Place: Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA^[9]

Residence

Residence:

Place: Boston, MA, U.S.A.^[10]

Note

Note: #N59

PHOTO

PHOTO @M345@

Object

Object: @M336@

Object: @M323@

Object: @M327@

Object: @M348@

Object: @M345@

Sources

1. ↑ Bigelow-1051 was created by Seth Nichols through the import of Sturgis_2015-01-10.ged on Jan 10, 2015. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ Source: #S108 Page: unknown page
3. ↑ Source: #S107
4. ↑ Source: #S25
5. ↑ Source: #S107
6. ↑ Source: #S25
7. ↑ Source: #S107
8. ↑ Source: #S25
9. ↑ Source: #S25
10. ↑ Source: #S108 Page: unknown page

• Source: S107 Title: Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929
• Source: S108 Author: Armstrong, Amy, comp Title: Harvard University Alumni Directory Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1913, accessed 2001; Repository: #R1
• Repository: R1 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S25 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Web: Massachusetts, Find A Grave Index, 1620-2013 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; Repository: #R1

Notes

Note N59

From Diana Prout Cherot:

William Sturgis Bigelow was a graduate of Harvard Medical School but only practiced medicine for a few years, a Buddhist, and a life-long lover of Japan and it's art. He is best known though for the enormous collection of Japanese art that he collected during his seven year stay in Japan which began in the fall of 1882. He became one of the first Americans, who early on, recognized and understood the beauty and importance of Japanese art. WSB's donated his collection to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. His collection, along with that of his great friend and fellow collector Ernest Fenollosa were, and still are, the backbone and major part of the museum's Japanese collection.

When WSB died in 1926 he was laid out in a Japanese monk's robe in the dining room of his house at 56 Beacon Street. Half of WSB's ashes were buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery. The other half were sent to Japan, to a temple outside Kyoto, where an elaborate memorial service attended by 500 people, was held jointly for him and his friend Ernest Fenollosa.

Daphne Brooks (my mother) remembers "Cousin Sturgis" well. Two of her special memories: When she was about eight years old her mother Rosamond, who was WSB's great niece, took Daphne to tea at WSB's house on Beacon Street on afternoon. While her Mother and Cousin Sturgis were having tea Daphne was allowed to wander around the first floor. She came upon a paper weight, mostly blue but with many other colors in it's design. She thought it was so lovely that she brought it to show her mother. Daphne said to Cousin Sturgis that she thought the paper weight the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Cousin Sturgis asked her if she would like to have it as a present. Mom was thrilled, and said yes. Mom says she remembers thinking that she could not understand how anyone could give anything so beautiful away. That paper weight always sat on a table in Mom's living room.

Mom's other favorite Cousin Sturgis memory is of family Christmas Eve dinners at (Mom can't remember which of Cousin Sturgis's sisters house, but definitely also on Beacon Street). There were always several families there. As the party began the children were taken into a room on the first floor where games were organized. Soon though the doors into the big hall were opened and a huge Christmas tree, lite only by candles, delighted everyone. All the men, although dressed in their elegant dinner cloths, had long sticks with wet sponges on them and buckets of water nearby in case of fire.

The children all sat at the children's table in a separate room from the adults in the dining room. Just before desert Cousin Sturgis would come into the room, followed by a maid with a tray in her hands. On the tray were five dollar gold pieces, one of which Cousin Sturgis would give to each child as his Christmas present.