 "Coldplaygate: Astronomer HR head Kristin Cabot and her links to ‘Boston Brahmins’")
Kristin Cabot has been in the spotlight these past few days.
Cabot was spotted at a Coldplay concert canoodling with Andy Byron, former CEO of the firm and her boss.
While a couple being on a ‘kisscam’ at a rock concert is no big deal, the problem is that Cabot and Byron were cheating on their spouses.
Cabot and Byron have both been mercilessly taken to task over the past few days.
Byron and his wife have posted separate messages on social media, while Kristin thus far has not.
Cabot, interestingly, is by marriage part of the wealthy Cabot family – who themselves are in the ‘Boston Brahmins’.
But who are the ‘Boston Brahmins’? What do we know about them?
Let’s take a closer look:
Who are they?
The term ‘Boston Brahmins’ was coined by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Holmes, who was a famous author and poet, used the phrase in his 1861 novel Elsie Venner.
It refers to the crème de la crème of Boston society – the moneyed, educated elite.
Holmes in his book referred to these families as “The Brahmin caste of New England”.
This was a pointed reference to India and the caste system prevalent here at the time.
Ironically, Holmes’ son Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
These Massachusetts families could be identified by a few things.
Firstly, by their roots.
They were nearly all descended from the Puritans – who came over from England to the ‘new world’ in the 1600s to escape religious persecution.
Second, they made their fortune as merchants and financiers.
These families attend the same schools and colleges, particularly Harvard, and usually marry each other.
They have names such as Cabot, Adams, Coffin, Eliot, Emerson, Endicott, Forbes, Gardner, Holmes, Lawrence, Lowell, Otis, Parkman, Peabody, Phillips, Putnam, Quincy, Weld, Wigglesworth, and Winthrop.
They are known for their philanthropy and infamous for having their own British-sounding dialect.
They like to think of their city as the “Athens of America”.
They, above all, value culture and education.
There are only two ways of becoming a ‘Boston Brahmin’ – being born into such a family or marrying into it.
Those belonging to ‘Boston Brahmin’ families must be mentioned in the newspaper at birth, when getting married and at death.
The ‘Boston Brahmins’ have long been the subject of fascination for historians and authors.
This is as much for their traditions as their place in American pop culture.
However, not everyone is enamoured of them.
Harriet Martineau, a sociologist who visited Boston in the 1830s, remarked that they were “perhaps as aristocratic, vain, and vulgar a city, as described by its own “first people,” as any in the world.”
Martineau said their ideals and philosophies stood opposed to egalitarian ideals and inclusive citizenship.
It must also be noted that the ‘Boston Brahmins’ fought to keep immigrants out of America.
They founded the Immigration Restriction League in 1894 – which sought to bar the Irish and impose a literacy test for newcomers – and the puritanical Ward Society.
However, they also founded a number of fine institutions including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Peabody Essex and Isabella Stewart Gardner museums, WGBH, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Athenaeum.
Their influence began to fade with the arrival of Irish, Jewish and Italian immigrants.
Today, they are usually found living in posh areas like Beacon Hill and adhering to the ‘Boston Brahmin’ dress code – which is known around the world as ‘preppy’.
What do we know about the Cabots?
Kristin is married to Andrew Cabot, the sixth-generation owner of spirits firm Privateer Rum.
The firm was founded by his ancestor – also named Andrew Cabot (1750-1791).
Andrew was a merchant, rum distiller and successful American privateer during the American Revolution.
The Cabots are an extremely high-profile ‘Boston Brahmin’ family.
According to the New York Post, a local poem regarding their status in society goes thus – ““And this is good old Boston, the home of the bean and the cod, the Lowells talk only to Cabots, and the Cabots talk only to God".
Their wealth initially came from the “carbon black" industry, which is critical in tyre manufacturing.
They were also involved in shipping and various other industries.
However, they also made some of their money in the slave and opium trade.
In 1972, the Cabot family’s fortune was estimated at $200 million.
That would be worth $15.4 billion today.
The family has donated to Harvard University, MIT, Norwich University, and the Perkins School for the Blind.
Kristin and her husband Andrew live in a $2.2 million house in Massachusetts.
She joined Astronomer, a US data analytics firm, as Chief People Officer.
She has two decades of experience in her field.
She has also served as advisory board member for Privateer Rum since September 2020.
Kristin was previously married to Kenneth C Thornby.
She filed for divorce from Thornby in 2018. The marriage ended in 2022.
Astronomer initially attempted damage control, saying in a statement, “Although our visibility may have shifted dramatically overnight, our offerings and dedication to our clients remain unchanged".
However, Byron resigned as CEO of Astronomer over the weekend, while Kristin has been put on leave.
Byron’s wife Megan Kerrigan removed his surname from her social media accounts including Facebook.
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