History of Braintree, (Norfolk County) Massachusetts United States of America

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Biographies:

Leonard Hoar, educator, was born in England in 1630. He immigrated with his parents from London, England, to New England, where his father, a wealthy banker, soon died. He was graduated from Harvard college in 1650, and upon the execution of Charles I. went to England, where he was married to a daughter of John Lisle, the regicide. He took a course in medicine at Cambridge university, and received from that institution the degree M.D. in 1671. He took orders in the established church and had a parish at Wanstead, Essex, util he was ejected for nonconformity in 1662. His mother died at Braintree, Mass., Dec. 21, 1664. He returned to New England in 1662, bearing letters from several dissenting clergymen in England, recommending him to the vacant presidency at Harvard. He preached in the South church, Boston, as an assistant to Thomas Thatcher. He was made president of Harvard college, Sept. 10, 1672, and introduced a system of technical education before unknown in America. After an unsatisfactory administration, owing to the insubordination of the students, and the enmity of several of the influential patrons of the college, he resigned his office, March 15, 1674, He died at Barnstable, Mass., Nov. 28, 1675.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Charles Coffin Jewett, librarian, was born at Lebanon, Maine, Aug. 12, 1816; son of the Rev. Paul and Eleanor (Punchard) Jewett. He was graduated from the Salem Latin school, Mass., and entered Dartmouth college, but transferred to Brown university, where he was graduated in 1835. He was principal of an academy at Uxbridge, Mass., 1835-37; and was graduated from Andover Theological seminary in 1840, but was not ordained. He was librarian at Andover, 1837-40; was principal of Day's academy, Wrentham, Mass., 1840-41; was in charge of the library at Brown university and re-arranged and catalogued the books, 1842-48; and was professor of modern languages at Brown, 1843-48. While holding the chair at Brown, he spent two years and a half in France, Germany and Italy, studying the language of each country and making purchases of English and classical books amounting to seven thousand volumes under the direction of the library committee. Upon his return he was made librarian and assistant secretary at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., serving as such, 1848-58. He was superintendent of the Boston public library, 1858-68. He perfected a system of cataloguing by a stereotypic process, thereby saving both money and space. He is the author of: Close of the Late Rebellion (1842); Catalogue of the Library of Brown University (1843); Facts and Considerations Relative to Duties on Books (1846); Notices of Public Libraries in the United States (1851); On the Construction of Catalogues of Libraries and their Publication by Means of Separate Stereotyped Titles (1852); Catalogue of the Boston Public Library. He died at Braintree, Mass., Jan. 9, 1868.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Ebenezer Crosby, physician, was born in Braintree, Mass., Sept. 30, 1753; son of Judge Joseph and Ann (Belcher) Crosby; grandson of Joseph and Sarah (Brackett) Crosby; and great-grandson of Simon and Ann Crosby, who came to America from London in 1635. He was graduated at Harvard in 1777 and from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1780. He joined the' Continental army as surgeon of General Washington's guards and served with that body throughout the Revolution. At the close of the war he was married to Catharine, daughter of William Bedlow and niece of Col. Henry Rutgers of New York city. He was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati, was professor of midwifery in Columbia college, 1785-88, and an original trustee under the revised charter passed April 13, 1784. He received his A.B. and A.M. degrees from Harvard in 1782, also an honorary A.M. from Yale in the same year. He died in New York city, July 16, 1788.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor