James John Howard Gregory

James John Howard Gregory (1827-1910) was a businessman and philanthropist from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Gregory built his wealth selling seeds via catalogues and was known as the "Seed King of Marblehead". and served in local political offices.

Early life
Gregory was born in Marblehead on November 7, 1827, to James Adams Gregory and Ruth Roundey Gregory. His father worked as a Justice of the Peace and a Customs Officer in Marblehead. Gregory worked as a teacher at Marblehead Academy and the Farm School before graduating from Amherst College in 1850. Following graduation, Gregory worked as the principal of Derby Academy in Hingham before going starting his own business.

Business career
Gergory began his seeds business in 1854, originally working out of his home. According to legend, Gregory responded to an advertisement in the New England Farmer magazine looking for a good squash seed. Gregory sent the magazine some seeds his father had received from their neighbor Elizabeth "Marm" Hubbard. Dubbing it the Hubbard Squash, the seeds became extremely popular. Gregory was innovative for his time, becoming an early adopter of seed catalogues for his business, using paper envelopes to house and transport his seeds, with illustrations on the envelopes to denote what types of seeds in the envelope. According to the Victory Horticultural Library, Gregory developed the first Cherry tomato and was a key distributor of the Danvers onion. He grew various vegetables and was one of the leading seed sellers in the United States. As his business expanded, Gregory took a fish-drying house from Gerry Island to 59 Elm Street in Marblehead for use as a seed drying warehouse. Dubbed the "Squash House", it still exists in Marblehead to this day.

Political career
Gregory was active in both local and state politics. He was elected to the Board of Selectmen in Marblehead in 1861 and 1868 and served as a Massachusetts State Senator from 1876-1877.

Philanthropy
Gregory was an active philanthropist, both in Marblehead and for communities across the country. He donated art to local schools and churches, donated land to the town which later became Fountain Park, and donated the bell and clock for Abbot Hall when the building became the town hall for Marblehead.

Marblehead Libraries
James Gregory was particularly passionate about education for African Americans. He created a traveling library service that operated in over fifty African-American schools and colleges across the South. This service, called the Marblehead Libraries, was established in 1910. That same year, Gregory funded a librarian apprentice program operating out of Louisville Free Public Library in Louisville, Kentucky. That program operated until 1929.

In 1883, Gregory made a substantial contribution to the Wilmington Normal School, a high school for African Americans in Wilmington, North Carolina. Due to his contribution, the school was renamed the Gregory Normal School.

In his will, Gregory established a fund in Marblehead that would provide payment to new mothers of twins born within the year.

Personal life
James Gregory was married three times but never had children of his own. He married his first wife, Eliza Candler Bubier on December 30, 1863. With Eliza, he adopted his first three children; James, Edgar, and Annie form a South Boston orphanage. Following Eliza's death, he adopted his second daughter, Laura. In 1878, Gregory married Harried Roundey, who passed away in 1894. In 1895, Gregory married his third wife, Sarah Lydia Caswell. He wrote poems and collected Native American artifacts.

On February 20, 1910, Gregory passed away.