Members of the Herreshoff (her-res-hoff, no stressed syllable)^[1] family of Bristol, Rhode Island, were, among other things, notable naval architects, naval industrialists, industrial chemists, and automobile designers and manufacturers.^[2][3][4]

Selected members

Charles Frederick Herreshoff (1809–1888) – on April 15, 1833, in Boston – married Julia Ann Lewis (1811–1901). Charles graduated from Brown University in 1828.^[2][5]

❶ James Brown F. Herreshoff (1834–1930), a serial inventor and a chemist

1. Charles Frederick Herreshoff (1880–1954)^[6]

❹ John Brown Herreshoff (1841–1915), blind yacht builder, co-founder and sales manager of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. He married twice, first, in 1870, to Sarah Lucas Kilton (maiden; 1836–1906), then, in 1892, to Eugenia Tams Tucker (maiden; 1857–1940). J.B. Herreshoff was close friends with General Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824–1881).^[7]

❼ Captain Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (1848–1938), seventh child born to C.F. Herreshoff. American boat designer. Married Clara Anna DeWolf (maiden; 1853–1905)^[2]

1. Algernon Sidney DeWolf Herreshoff (1886–1977), MIT class of 1911, naval architect
   1. Halsey Chase Herreshoff (born 1933)
2. Lewis Francis Herreshoff (1890–1972), American boat designer, marine engineer^[8]
3. Nathanael Greene Herreshoff II^[2]
   1. Nathanael Greene Herreshoff III^[2]

❽ John Brown Francis Herreshoff (1850–1932), chemist^[9]

1. Louise Chamberlain Herreshoff (1876–1967), artist
2. Sarah Lothrop Herreshoff (1889–1958)
   1. Guido Borgianni (it) (1914–2011),^[10] Sarah's son,^[11] Italian artist, identified as having been part of the Macchiaioli movement^[12]

Blindness among siblings

Of the seven sons and two daughters of C.F. Herreshoff and Julia Ann Lewis, four were blind:

❹ John Brown Herreshoff (1841–1915), who became blind at age 16, founded – in 1878 with his brother Nat – the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and was president and treasurer for thirty-seven years. And, despite being blind, he was a renowned designer of yachts.^[16]

❺ Lewis Herreshoff (1844–1926) became blind at about age 14. He studied music in Paris and authored literary work in American periodicals.^[17][18][5]

❻ Sally Brown Herreshoff (1845–1917) became blind at a young age.^[19]

❾ Julian Lewis Herreshoff (1854–1919), who, among other things, from 1886 to about 1888, studied music at the University of Berlin where he became proficient in music and foreign languages.^[20] When he returned to Rhode Island, he established the Westminster School of Languages and Music, in Providence.^[21]

Gallery

• 
  Model of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff
  (1848–1938)
• 
  Nathanael Greene Herreshoff
  (1848–1938)
• 
  John Brown Francis Herreshoff
  (1850–1932)
• 
  Fred Herreshoff
  (1888–1920)
• 
  Lewis Francis Herreshoff
  (1890–1972)
• 
  Louise Chamberlain Herreshoff
  (1876–1967)
• 
  Herreshoff Castle, Marblehead, Massachusetts
• 
  House of Charles Frederick Herreshoff II (1863–1819), Old Forge, New York^[22]

Extended family and distant ancestors

Charles Frederick Herreshoff III (1809–1888), by way of his mother, Sarah Brown (maiden; 1773–1846), was a grandson of John Brown (1736–1803), merchant, slaveholder, and statesman from Providence, who, with his brothers – Nicholas (1729–1791), Joseph (1733–1785), and Moses (1738–1836), an abolitionist – was instrumental in (i) founding Brown University and (ii) moving it to their family's former land in Providence. Julia Ann Lewis (maiden; 1811–1901), by way of her father, Joseph Warren Lewis (1774–1844), was a granddaughter of Winslow Lewis (1770–1850) of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, a sea captain, engineer, inventor, and contractor active in the construction of many American lighthouses during the first half of the nineteenth century. Julian Ann Lewis is also a niece of Isaiah William Penn Lewis (1808–1955) (Winslow Lewis' nephew), who was also a lighthouse designer, builder, and engineer.

By way of his mother, Sarah Brown (maiden; 1773–1846), C.F Herreshoff III was a 4th great-grandson of Rev. Chad Brown, the progenitor of the Brown family of Rhode Island.

Nowadays, tens of millions of Americans have at least one ancestor who was in Rhode Island around 1600. But, with respect to males descending from Chad Brown, according to Galton-Watson probability, only a fraction of that number have an unbroken chain of paternal lineage maintaining the Brown surname from his line.

See also

• Herreshoff Marine Museum
• Herreshoff (automobile)

Bibliography