New England Life In The 18th Century (sibley's Harvard Graduates) [Paperback]

In 1859 John Langdon Sibley projected and began a series of biographical sketches of all Harvard graduates; at his death in 1885 he had published three volumes, covering the Classes from 1642 through 1689. In 1930 the work was resumed by Clifford Shipton, who carried the series through Volume XII and the Class of 1750. This book offers a representative selection from the nine volumes of Shipton's biographies. In these sketches there appear royal governors, counterfeiters, college presidents, bootleggers, Indian fighters, Revolutionary leaders, Loyalists, mariners, lawyers, drunkards, and clergymen of four persuasions. Together they form a cross section of Colonial life in which the Harvard tie is often only incidental.Shipton has&the eye for the telling detail and the ear for the telling anecdote&He is witty and he has a lively sense of humor&These [are] admirable and sometimes touching biographies.The lives, as written by Shipton, present as vivid a picture of eighteenth-century New England as any enthusiast could ask.In 1859 John Sibley began a series of biographical sketches of all Harvard graduates; at his death in 1885 he had published three volumes, covering the Classes from 16421689. In 1930 the work was resumed by Shipton, who carried the series through the Class of 1750. This book offers a selection from the nine volumes of Shiptons biographies.