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George O. Brastow

politician in Massachusetts, US (1811-1878)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ5542978
Source-derived summary

George Oliver Brastow (September 8, 1811 – November 20, 1878) was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served as a member and President of the Massachusetts Senate, as a member of the Governor's Council, and as the first Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts.

Military service

Before the American Civil War Brastow was the Captain of Company I of the Somerville Light Infantry of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. Brastow commanded the company, for the three months at the beginning of the Civil War, that Company I was federalized and reconstituted as Company B of the 5th Regiment. Brastow and his regiment fought at the First Battle of Bull Run.

In 1862 Brastow was commissioned a paymaster with the rank of Major.

Editorial summary

“George O. Brastow” enters the record as politician in Massachusetts, US (1811-1878). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what George, Brastow and politician can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1811, 1878, 1862—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1811-09-08. Its strongest next move is a source search built around George, Brastow and politician.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“George O. Brastow” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, George, Brastow and politician provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5542978. VIAF identifies the subject as 167475393. The Library of Congress control number is n2011008863. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1811, 1878 and 1862.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “George O. Brastow”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow George O. Brastow primary sources, George O. Brastow archive and George research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “George O. Brastow”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from George O. Brastow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.