FEARING, Albert, philanthropist, born in Hingham, Massachusetts, 12 March 1798; died there, 24 May 1875. After attending the public school of his native town he became a clerk in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was afterward a shipchandler in Boston. He retired from this business in 1868, and engaged in manufacturing, accumulating a large fortune, from which he gave liberally. His donations amounted to about $200,000, including $30,000 to the Hingham public library, and an equal sum to the College of Liberia. He was president of the American colonization society and of several charitable organizations, and was also noted for his many private acts of charity. He was elected to the state senate in 1841, and for many years took an active part in politics, first as a conservative Whig and afterward as a Democrat. He was an earnest supporter of Harrison in 1840, and received a service of plate from his friends for his efforts in the canvass, and was a presidential elector on the Taylor ticket in 1848.