William H . Sumner William Hyslop Sumner ( July 4 , 1780 – 1861 ) was the son of Governor Increase Sumner . He graduated from Harvard College in 1799 , and practiced law . He served as a general in the Massachusetts militia . Sumner wrote " The History of East Boston " and died in 1861 . Early life . William H . Sumner spent his boyhood in Roxbury , Massachusetts , living in the house on the corner of Washington and Cliff Streets bought by his father , Governor Increase Sumner prior to the American Revolutionary War . After primary school in Roxbury he attended Phillips Academy in Andover , Massachusetts . He later attended and graduated from Harvard College in 1799 , shortly after the death of his father . Early career . After graduating from college , Sumner entered the law office of district attorney John Davis , gaining admittance to the bar in 1802 . He practiced law from 1802 until 1818 when he left the field in order to concentrate on his military duties . From 1808 to 1819 Sumner served in the Massachusetts State Legislature representing the city of Boston . In 1806 and again in 1813 to 1816 he was selected as aide - de - camp to Governor Caleb Strong . He served in the same roll from 1816 - 1818 to Governor John Brooks . In 1818 Governor Brooks appointed him Adjutant General of the state along with the office of Quartermaster General which he held until he resigned the office in 1834 . War of 1812 . Sumner was involved in the state ' s defenses during the War of 1812 . In September 1814 Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong sent Sumner , then a lieutenant colonel in the state militia , to coordinate the defense of Portland in the District of Maine . His task was to maintain 1 , 900 militia and create a better relationship between the Massachusetts militia and the U . S . Army forces posted there . There were many problems with the early American militia : " Some of the men were deserting and had to be brought back by force and some officers were protesting against serving under regulars . The militia in Oxford county were even more troublesome . . . its militia showed little interest in making sacrifices for war . According to Sumner , they were " undisciplined , badly armed , miserably provided and worse commanded . " . . . Sumner could see no way of implementing a command agreement except by using force , which meant using militia against militia . " In 1826 he served on a board with a young Zachary Taylor to consider improvements in the militia . They recommended that " a complete system of tactics and exercise for cavalry and artillery of the militia " be created . This would organize the US militia who were so disjointed during the War of 1812 . Congress however did not approve this plan . East Boston . William Sumner ' s main accomplishment was the development of Noddle ' s Island , in Boston Harbor , as East Boston , an extension of the City of Boston , beginning in 1833 , in partnership with Stephen White and Francis J . Oliver . The East Boston Company was created to conduct the development , and The East Boston Timber Company was created to supply wood from upstate New York to shipbuilders whom the Company hoped to attract to the shores of East Boston . The East Boston Company , founded on 25 March 1833 , laid out the first planned neighborhood in the city of Boston . Sumner served as its president and later on the executive committee of the company until he retired due to ill health in 1850 at age 70 . He spent many years writing the " History of East Boston " , a complete account of all of the early activities there . William H Sumner is also known for being the founder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society . In tribute to his tireless work for East Boston the Sumner Tunnel that runs under Boston Harbor between East Boston and Boston bears his name . Sumner Hill ( Jamaica Plain ) and Sumner Street ( Cambridge ) are also named for him . Personal . When he was in Boston Sumner resided at the family house on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill . After resigning his office in 1834 he bought and moved to a large estate in Jamaica Plain . Four years before his death Sumner was stricken with paralysis and was unable to speak for a time . While he retained his mental faculties to the end , he eventually succumbed to the disease and died in 1861 .