American Historical Ephemera & Early Photography Online

THURSTON, William. Autograph letter signed ("W.D. Thurston") to his friend William T. Pierce. Portrero de las Meclas [Mexico], 1 September 1882. Docketed at upper left of page 1 "Rec Sherbrooke / Nov 16, 82." 8pp, approx. 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (creasing, holes along upper and lower edge lines, small hole affecting text p. 1-2). Greeting his friend "Dear Pierce," the author describes in detail the situation at his current position on Tampico extension, including updates on the construction work they are doing, conditions under which he works, stories associated with other railroad associates, and anecdotes about his personal life.

[With:] Two CDVs, likely of William D. Thurston and taken while he worked on the railroad in Mexico, one inscribed in period ink on verso "Tampico / Mexico / May 10th 1881." Neither with backmarks. -- Cabinet card and CDV featuring the same image of a mustached young man in a suit, possibly William T. Pierce. Both with backmark of George H. Hastings, Newton, Massachusetts.

William Thurston was a railroad engineer laying out an extension west from Tampico under protection of the Mexican Army. He worked with Pierce on the railroad in Mexico before Pierce left to take a job on a Canadian railroad.

The Watertown [Massachusetts] Free Public Library provides this biography of William T. Pierce (1854-1906): "hailed from Leominster, Massachusetts, the son of John Quincy Adams Pierce (1817-1891), a slipper manufacturer from West Boylston, Massachusetts, and his second wife, Elizabeth C. Whittaker (1824-1862). William had three half-brothers—Charles Quincy Pierce (1841-1915), Henry Bliss Pierce (b. 1842), and Myron Ezekiel Pierce (1848-1883)—from his father’s first marriage. J. Q. A. married two more times after Elizabeth’s death: to Caroline Smith Burditt in 1863, and to Abby Frances Tarlton in 1877. Around 1867, J. Q. A. Pierce relocated with his sons Myron, Charles, and William to Watertown, Massachusetts. He lived on Palfrey Street, near Spring Street, for a few years before building a home at 215 Mount Auburn Street. While in Watertown, J.Q.A. went into business with his son Charles. Charles had been a Corporal of the 53rd Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. He married Julia Ann Davis (1842-1915) in 1865 and joined his father in manufacturing slippers under the name Pierce & Son in the early 1870s. Charles later served as director of the Watertown Savings Bank. After his stepmother’s death in 1912, Charles conveyed the residence at 215 Mount Auburn Street to Phillips Congregational Church, to be used as a parsonage. William did not follow his father and brother into slipper manufacturing. Instead, he joined the firm of Ernest W. Bowditch, a Boston-based landscape gardener and engineer. William had no formal training in civil engineering prior to joining the firm. However, he learned on the job and, in 1880, secured an engineering position with the Mexican Central Railroad. Two years later, he relocated to Quebec, Canada, to survey for a nearby rail project. In 1883, he wed Almira P. Goss and continued work in Quebec. William returned to Boston in 1885 to take up a position as First Assistant Engineer at E. W. Bowditch, where he turned his eye to sewerage systems. Around 1892, he was appointed Engineer and Superintendent of Streets and Sewers for the Town of Watertown. In 1895, William left work at the Town of Watertown to become the first Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Park Commission. He held this position until 1903, when he retired due to ill health. William T. Pierce died February 26, 1906."