Footnotes of History: Henry Wilson

In less than a week, I am graduating from college and leaving the Boston area for the foreseeable future, so I've been making a point of checking off a few remaining things I wanted to do in these parts, including visiting the Cobblery that once belonged to Henry Wilson, 18th Vice President of the United States.

Several years ago a friend of mind had told me about the Shoe Shop (which I want to call a Cobblery, because it's just sounds better), and I have been meaning to visit it ever since. Last week, I finally made my way over.

I braved a slight drizzle to take this picture.

I knew nothing about Henry Wilson, and what I know now has been gleaned entirely from his Wikipedia page. Here are a few choice facts:

1. He was the running-mate of Ulysses S. Grant.
2. He died in office.
3. Before entering the political world, he worked as a cobbler in Natick, Massachusetts.
3. He was a Radical Republican.
4. His birth name was Jeremiah Jones Colbath.

Let me repeat that last one. His birth name was Jeremiah Jones Colbath. Wikipedia does not delve deeper into why he changed his name, nor does it clarify why he chose the infinitely less cool name of Henry Wilson.

In any case, my brief sojourn into the world of Henry Wilson has made me think more about people I like to call "Footnotes of History." Close to the action of major historical events, but not important enough that schoolchildren will grow up hearing your name. There's something that really appeals to me about men like this, who once were prominent and well-known, but have since drifted into obscurity. Maybe it's because, like my youthful fascination with John R. Tanner, former governor of Illinois and lecherous soap opera villain, obscure historical figures don't come with as much baggage, and therefore it's easier to project whatever characteristics you want to on them.

In the case of Henry Wilson, as soon as I saw his birth name was Jeremiah Jones Colbath, I conjured up an image of a young lumberjack in rural New Hampshire who had killed the debauched son of a prominent businessman who had dishonored his sister , and so he changed his name, moved to Natick, and became a cobbler in order to escape his criminal past. I seriously doubt I could have had the same reaction if I heard that Teddy Roosevelt's birth name was Edward Kimberly.

But that's the fun of Footnotes. The holes in their biography are opportunities for some (most likely completely inaccurate) theorizing. For all I know, Henry Wilson just hated the name Jeremiah and wanted a name that was less of a mouthful. But I like the idea that there's a crazy story lurking behind his seemingly ordinary facade.