Personal Data

John Harrison Besarick was born on June 20, 1844, in Chelsea, Quebec, the son of William Besarick (Beswarick) and his wife, Elizabeth Julyan (daughter of Francis Julyan).

He married on April 26, 1869, in Boston, to Sarah Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Morrill (b. 21Apr1851 in Chelsea; d. 23Oct1927 in Dorchester), daughter of Charles C. Morrill and his wife, Elizabeth A. Wells (daughter of Hanson H. Wells).

John Besarick died on February 26, 1925, in Dorchester.

Career

John Besarick was a draftsman and later an architect in the offices of Samuel J. F. Thayer from the late 1860s until about 1873, when he opened his own practice at 32 Pemberton Square.

His work included a number of ecclesiastical buildings, including St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, built in the early 1880s from puddingstone quarried on the site. He also designed Hotel Gladstone in Dorchester in 1883, several other apartment hotels, and numerous residences in Boston and the surrounding communities. He also traveled frequently to Bermuda, where he designed several residential buildings and, in 1910-1911, a major extension to the Hamilton Hotel.

Back Bay Work