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ceived in compensation the sum of ninety
thousand dollars. With this money he
built the brick Weed house, now standing
in Noroton, Connecticut. Immediately
after the return of peace, Mr. Weed as-
sisted in the establishment of the Freedmen's
Bank, but the Southern whites were
not yet ready to support such an institution
and the venture had to be abandoned.
In this unsuccessful undertaking Mr.
Weed lost many thousands of dollars.
The episode serves to indicate the fine
spirit of the man and also his far-reaching
business instinct, for his plans and purposes
were essentially wise, failing merely
because they were too far in advance of
the time.
Mr. Weed married Sarah M. Dunning,
December lo, 1835, daughter of Shelden
C. and Gertrude (Russel) Dunning, of
Wilton, Connecticut, a representative of
an old New England famil}\ Gertrude
(Russel) Dunning died August 16, 1865.
The children of Henry Davis and Sarah
M. (Dunning) Weed were: Joseph Dun-
ning, mentioned below ;
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Edwin G., Protes-
tant Episcopal Bishop of Florida ; and
Gertrude, who died at the age of sixteen.
The family were members of the Christian
church, a denomination sometimes known
as the Campbellites. The death of Henry
D. Weed occurred February i, 1875, in
Savannah, Georgia. He was a man of
much ability and great force of character,
the architect of his own fortune and, to
a certain extent, of the fortune of his de-
scendants.
Joseph Dunning Weed, son of Henry
D. and Sarah M. (Dunning) Weed, was
born March 15, 1839, in Savannah,
Georgia, and as he grew up was initiated
in the business by his father. He spent
his summers in Connecticut and his winters
in the South, and in i860 graduated
at Harvard University. At the time of
the Civil War he enlisted in the Georgia
451
Hussars, and his two brothers also served
in the Confederate army, participating in
some of the heaviest fighting. At the
close of the war Mr. Weed's father took
him into the business, to the leadership
of which he succeeded upon the death
of Mr. Weed, Sr. For many years Mr.
Weed was president of the Savannah
Bank and Trust Company, and also of the
Middle Georgia & Atlantic Railroad Com-
pany. He was the builder of this road,
and served as president of the Augusta
& Savannah Railroad Company. These
two roads later became a part of the Cen-
tral Railroad of Georgia, which eventu-
ally passed into the hands of a receiver.
The Augusta & Savannah railroad was
earning good dividends, which during the
reorganization were used to make up the
deficit in the earnings of the other road.
The bondholders of the Augusta & Savannah
railroad appealed to the courts
for redress or relief and the courts ordered
a president elected to represent the bondholders
of the Augusta & Savannah. Mr.
W'eed was honored by election to that
office, which he held during the remainder
of his life. The fact that he was the
choice of the company furnished the most
conclusive proof of the esteem and confidence
in which he was held by all who
knew him. For a long period he was
chairman of the bond commission of the
city of Savannah. His religious member-
ship was in Christ Church, Savannah, in
which for many years he held the office
of warden.
Mr. Weed married, June 20, 1867, Sarah
Fanny Maury, whose ancestral record is
appended to this biography, and they became
the parents of the following children
: Gertrude, married Robert Billington,
of Savannah ; William Maury, mentioned
below; Henry D., of Savannah;
and Josephine D., who married John
Morris, of Savannah. Joseph Dunning