Benjamin Greenleaf

Place: Hull

Born: 1769

Death: 1821

Biography:

Benjamin Greenleaf (January 13, 1769 - January 10, 1821) was an American portraitist, active throughout New England during his career. He was born in Hull, Massachusetts, son of Mary and John Greenleaf. He attended the nearby Dartmouth College until 1813. On November 20, 1799, he married Abigail Greenleaf Rhoades of Dorchester in that state. He produced his earliest known portrait, that of his great-uncle Jacob Goold, a resident of Weymouth, in 1803. He was active at least until 1818, and is known to have traveled extensively throughout New England, particularly the vicinity of Boston; he is also traced in New Hampshire, in the communities of Hanover and Hopkinton, and in the Maine towns of Bath, Phippsburg, Paris, and Portland. He died of apoplexy in Weymouth in 1821.