James Gately (1810–1875), also known as the Hermit of Hyde Park, was a 19th-century English-born American hermit. [1] [2] [3] He was born in England in 1810 to wealthy parents. [3] He studied at the University of Oxford. [2] [3] He had a son out of wedlock in 1850. [3] He then sailed to Australia but returned the following year. [3] He was still unable to marry the mother of his son, and so set sail for the United States instead, settling in Roxbury, Massachusetts. [3]
He did not find success as a bird cage maker and taxidermist, and so set out for a life as a hermit in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. [3] His estate was worth more than $1,500 ($41,471 in 2023 dollars) when he died in 1875. [3] He had two sisters. [3] Gately was buried in Brookdale Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts in a grave owned by William Chickering of that town. [2] [3] [1] At the base of the hill with the Civil War monument is an oblong piece of granite stating simply, "Hermit." [2] [3]
References
- ^ a b "Episode 19: A Tale of Two Hermits". Hub History. March 5, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Upham, E.C. (June 25, 1904). "The Cemeteries of Dedham". The Dedham Transcript. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Hermit of Hyde Park". The Boston Globe. December 13, 1880. p. 4. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
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