# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Hale, John

Edition of 1892.
​HALE, John, clergyman, b. in Charlestown, Mass., 3 June, 1636; d. 15 May, 1700. He was graduated at Harvard in 1657. In 1664 he went to Beverly as a religious teacher, and on 20 Sept., 1667, was ordained pastor of the newly organized church at that place — a charge which he retained till his death. He was chaplain in the expedition to Canada in 1690, and in 1734 his services were rewarded by a grant of three hundred acres of land to his heirs by the general court. During the Salem witchcraft trials in 1692, Mr. Hale attended the examinations of the accused persons, and approved of the judicial murders resulting from the charges. He afterward published “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft” (1697), which indicated a change of opinion relative to the justice of the executions. His only other publication was an “election sermon” of nearly two hundred pages (1684). — His grandson, Robert, physician, b. in Beverly, Mass., 12 Feb., 1703; d. 20 March, 1767, was graduated at Harvard in 1721, and subsequently practised as a physician in his native town. He commanded a regiment under Sir William Pepperell at the capture of Louisburg in 1745, in 1747 was appointed by the legislature of Massachusetts a commissioner to New York to adopt measures for the general defence, and in 1755 was a commissioner to New Hampshire to concert an expedition against the French. He was appointed sheriff of Essex county, Mass., in 1761, and was for thirteen years a member of the legislature. —
John's great-grandson, Nathan, soldier, b. in Coventry, Conn., 6 June, 1755; d. in New York city, 22 Sept., 1776, was a feeble child, and gave little promise of surviving his infancy; but as he grew up he became fond of out-door sports, and was famous for his athletic feats. His attention was early turned to books, and his father desired him to study for the ministry. Accordingly, he was fitted for college by the Rev. Joseph Huntington, and was graduated at Yale in 1773. Dr. Eneas Munson, of New Haven, says of him at this time that “he was almost six feet in height, perfectly proportioned, and in figure and deportment he was the most manly man I have ever met. His chest was broad; his muscles were firm; his face wore a most benign expression; his complexion was roseate, his eyes were light blue, and beamed with intelligence; his hair was soft and light-brown in color, and his speech was rather low, sweet, and musical. His personal beauty and grace of manner were most charming. Why, all the girls in New Haven fell in love with him, and wept tears of real sorrow when they heard of his sad fate. In dress he was always neat; he was quick to lend a helping hand to a being in distress, brute or human; was overflowing with good humor, and was the idol of all his acquaintances.” At his graduation he was engaged with William Robinson and Ezra Samson in a Latin syllogistic dispute followed by a debate on the question, “Whether the education of daughters be not, without any just reason, more neglected than that of the sons.” His classmate, James Hillhouse, wrote: “In this debate Hale was triumphant. He was the champion of ‘the daughters,’ and most ably advocated their cause.” He then taught school first in East Haddam and afterward in New London. The news of Lexington reached the quiet village where he was teaching, and a town-meeting was at once held. Among the speakers was Hale, who urged immediate action, saying: “Let us march immediately, and never lay down our arms until we have obtained our independence.” He at once enrolled himself as a volunteer, and was made a lieutenant in Col. Charles Webb's regiment. In September, 1775, his regiment was ordered to Cambridge, where, after participating in the siege of Boston, he was made a captain in January, 1776. He then went to New York, where, early in September, with a few picked men, he captured at midnight a supply vessel that was anchored in the East river under the protection of the guns of the British man-of-war “Asia.” The stores of provisions from the prize were distributed among his hungry fellow-soldiers. About this time he was made captain of a company in the “Connecticut Rangers,” a corps known as “Congress's Own,” commanded by Thomas Knowlton. In response to a call from Gen. Washington, he volunteered to enter the British lines and procure intelligence. Disguising himself as a school-master and loyalist, he visited all of the British camps on Long Island and in New York, openly making observations, drawings, and memoranda of fortifications. As he was about returning, he was apprehended and taken before Sir William Howe, who, upon the evidence found in his shoes, condemned him to be executed before sunrise on the next morning. He was denied the attendance of a chaplain, and his request for a Bible was refused. The letters he had written to his sisters and betrothed (who was his step-sister) were destroyed before his eyes by the provost-marshal, William Cunningham, so that, as he afterward said, “the rebels should never know that they had a man who could die with such firmness.” His execution took place in Col. Henry Rutgers's orchard, near the present junction of Market street and East Broadway. As he ascended the scaffold he said: “You are shedding the blood of the innocent; if I had ten thousand lives, I would lay them down in defence of my injured, bleeding country”; and his last words were: “I only regret that I have ​but one life to lose for my country.” A little fort, built during the war of 1812 on Black Rock, at the entrance of New Haven harbor, was named Fort Hale in his honor, and a granite memorial was erected at Coventry in 1846. The illustration represents Karl Gerhardt's bronze statue, which was placed in the capitol at Hartford on 14 June, 1887. An address presenting the statue to the state was made by Charles Dudley Warner, and responded to by Gov. Phineas C. Lounsbury. The Society of the Sons of the Revolution have at present (1887) undertaken the raising of funds for the purpose of erecting a statue to Capt. Hale's memory in Central park. The manuscript of one of his college orations is preserved by the Linonian society at Yale. President Timothy Dwight, the elder, who was his tutor when at Yale, has commemorated his career in verse. See also “Life of Captain Nathan Hale, the Martyr Spy of the American Revolution,” by Isaac W. Stuart (Hartford, 1856), and “The Two Spies, Nathan Hale and John André,” by Benson J. Lossing (New York, 1886). — Nathan's nephew Nathan, journalist, b. in Westhampton, Mass., 16 Aug., 1784; d. in Brookline, Mass., 9 Feb., 1863, was graduated at Williams in 1804, was two years a tutor in Phillips Exeter academy, and, removing to Boston, was admitted to the bar in 1810. For four years he followed his profession, and then, with Henry D. Sedgwick, became editor of the “Boston Weekly Messenger,” the first weekly periodical devoted to literature and politics that was established in the United States. In March, 1814 he purchased the “Boston Daily Advertiser,” the first daily in New England, and for many years the only one, and continued its chief editor until his death. In politics this journal was first Federalist, then Whig, and finally Republican, and its influence became very great. It opposed the Missouri bill in 1820 and the Nebraska bill in 1854, and was the first paper to recommend the free colonization of Kansas. The principle of editorial responsibility, as distinct from that of individual contributions, was established in its columns. Mr. Hale was editor and publisher of the “Monthly Chronicle” during 1840-'2, and was one of a club that founded the “North American Review” in 1815, and the “Christian Examiner” in 1823. He was acting chairman of the Massachusetts board of internal improvements in 1828, and was an early advocate of railroads in New England. He was first president of the Boston and Worcester railroad, the first company in New England to use steam power, and continued in that capacity for nineteen years. In 1846 he was appointed chairman of the commission for introducing water into the city. He was at various times a member of the legislature, serving in both houses, and was a delegate to two Constitutional conventions. Mr. Hale was an active member of the American academy of arts and sciences, and also of the Massachusetts historical society. In 1816 he married Sarah Preston, sister of Edward Everett. He published an excellent map of New England (1825), and a series of stereotype maps on a plan of his own invention (1830), being the first maps with names printed in page with type made by the founders, also “Journal of Debates and Proceedings in the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention” (Boston, 1821), and numerous pamphlets on the practicability of railroads, on canals, and other topics. — Nathan's brother, Enoch, physician, b. in Westhampton, Mass., 19 Jan., 1790; d. in Boston, 12 Nov., 1848. His father, of the same name, was the first minister of Westhampton (1779-1837). The son was educated at Harvard, where he was graduated in medicine in 1813, and began practice at Gardiner, Me. In 1816 he removed to Boston, where he remained till his death. He was an active member of the Massachusetts medical society and of the American academy of arts and sciences, and in addition to frequent essays and papers in medical journals was the author of a dissertation on “ Animal Heat and Respiration”; “History and Description of the Spotted Fever,” which prevailed at Gardiner, Me., in 1814; two Boylston prize essays in 1819 and 1821; and a work on “Typhoid Fever.” — Another nephew of Nathan, David, journalist, b. in Lisbon, Conn., 25 April, 1791; d. in Fredericksburg, Va., 25 Jan., 1849, was educated at public schools and by his father, who was a clergyman. He settled in Boston in 1809, and entered mercantile pursuits, but was unsuccessful. In 1827 he came to New York, where he became the associate editor and subsequently joint proprietor with Gerald Hallock of the “New York Journal of Commerce.” Under his direction this journal advocated free-trade, the sub-treasury, and other financial measures of the Democratic party. In 1840 he purchased the Broadway Tabernacle, where an orthodox Congregational church was established. He contributed largely to benevolent and religious enterprises, and for many years supported several missionaries. See “Memoir of David Hale, with Selections from his Writings” (New York, 1849). — Nathan, son of the second Nathan, journalist, b. in Boston, Mass., 12 Nov., 1818; d. there, 9 Jan., 1871, was graduated at Harvard in 1838, and at its law-school in 1841, and was admitted to practice in the courts of Massachusetts in 1841, but turned his attention to literary pursuits. From 1841 till 1853 he was associated with his father in the editorial management of the “Boston Daily Advertiser,” and in 1842 also undertook the editorship of the “Boston Miscellany of Literature.” In 1853, finding that this double duty was too severely taxing his constitution, he retired from editorial work. Subsequently he was for a short time acting professor of mental and moral philosophy in Union college, and was also associated with his brother, Edward Everett, in conducting “Old and New.” — His sister, Lucretia Peabody, b. in Boston, Mass., 2 Sept., 1820, was educated at George B. Emerson's school in Boston. Subsequently she devoted herself to literature, and was a member of the Boston school committee for two years. Besides numerous stories contributed to periodicals and newspapers, some of which have been collected in book-form, she has published “The Lord's Supper and its Observance” (Boston, 1866); “The Service of Sorrow” (1867); ​“The Struggle for Life, a Story of Home” (1867); “The Wolf at the Door,” No Name Series (1877); “The Needlework Series, including 300 Results” (1879); “The Peterkin Papers” (1882); and “The Last of the Peterkins” (1886). —
Her brother, Edward Everett, clergyman, b. in Boston, Mass., 3 April, 1822, after studying at the Boston Latin-school, was graduated at Harvard in 1839. He then spent two years as an usher in the Latin-school, and read theology and church history with the Rev. Samuel K. Lothrop and the Rev. John G. Palfrey. In 1842 he was licensed to preach by the Boston association of Congregational ministers, after which he spent several years in ministering to various congregations, passing the winter of 1844-'5 in Washington. His first regular settlement was in 1846 as pastor of the Church of the Unity in Worcester, Mass., where he remained until 1856. In that year he was called to the South Congregational (Unitarian) church in Boston, where he still (1887) remains. Mr. Hale's influence has been extensively felt in all philanthropic movements. His book “Ten Times One is Ten” (Boston, 1870) led to the establishment of clubs devoted to charity, which are now scattered throughout the United States, with chapters in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the islands of the Pacific. These associations have a membership that is supposed to exceed 50,000 in number, and are called “Harry Wadsworth clubs.” They have for their motto: “Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; lend a hand.” The “Look-up Legion,” a similar organization among the Sunday-schools, is due to his inspiration, and includes upward of 5,000 members. He also has taken great interest in the Chautauqua literary and scientific circle, of which he is one of the counsellors, and is a frequent contributor to the “Chautauquan.” Mr. Hale has served his college as a member of the board of overseers for successive terms, and has been very active in advancing the interests of Harvard. He has also held the office of president of the Φ Β Κ society, and in 1879 received the degree of S. T. D. from Harvard. As a boy he learned to set type in his father's printing-office, and he has served on the “Daily Advertiser” in every capacity from reporter up to editor-in-chief. Before he attained his majority he wrote his full share in the monthly issues of the “Monthly Chronicle” and the “Boston Miscellany.” In later years he edited the “Christian Examiner,” and also the “Sunday-School Gazette.” In 1869 he founded, with the American Unitarian association, “Old and New,” for the purpose of giving wider currency to liberal Christian ideas through the medium of a literary magazine. Six years afterward this journal was merged into “Scribner's Monthly.” In 1886 he again returned to journalism and began the publication of “Lend a Hand; a Record of Progress and Journal of Organized Charity.” As a writer of short stories Mr. Hale has achieved signal distinction. His “My Double, and How he undid Me,” published in “Atlantic Monthly” in 1859, at once caught the popular fancy. “The Man Without a Country,” published anonymously in the “Atlantic” during 1863, produced a deep impression on the public mind, and has a permanent place among the classic short stories of American writers. His “Skeleton in the Closet” also well known, was contributed to the “Galaxy” in 1866. He has been associated in several literary combinations, among which is “Six of One by Half a Dozen of the Other” (Boston, 1872), a social romance jointly constructed by Harriet B. Stowe, Adeline D. T. Whitney, Lucretia P. Hale, Frederick W. Loring, Frederic B. Perkins, and Mr. Hale himself, its projector. His historical studies began when he was connected with the “Advertiser,” and for six years he was its South American editor, having been led to the study of Spanish and Spanish-American history at a time when he expected to be the reader and amanuensis of William H. Prescott, the historian. Beginning in this way, his studies have increased until he is regarded as an authority on Spanish-American affairs. He has contributed important articles to Justin Winsor's “History of Boston,” to his “History of America,” to Bryant and Gay's “Popular History of the United States,” and frequent papers to the proceedings of the American antiquarian society. Of the latter, perhaps the most important is his discovery of how California came to be so named. He has edited “Original Documents from the State Paper Office, London, and the British Museum, illustrating the History of Sir W. Raleigh's First American Colony and the Colony at Jamestown, with a Memoir of Sir Ralph Lane” (Boston, 1860), and John Lingard's “History of England” (13 vols., Boston, 1853). Besides the foregoing he has published “The Rosary” (Boston, 1848); “Margaret Percival in America” (1850); “Sketches of Christian History” (1850); “Letters on Irish Emigration” (1852); “Kansas and Nebraska” (1854); “Ninety Days' Worth of Europe” (1861); with the Rev. John Williams. “The President's Words” (1865); “If, Yes, and Perhaps” (1868); “Puritan Politics in England and New England” (1869); “The Ingham Papers” (1869); “How To Do It” (1870); “His Level Best, and Other Stories” (1870); “Daily Bread, and Other Stories” (1870); “Ups and Downs, an Every-Day Novel” (1871); “Sybaris, and Other Homes” (1871); “Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day” (1874); “In His Name” (1874); “A Summer's Vacation, Four Sermons” (1874); “Workingmen's Homes, Essays and Stories” (1874); “The Good Time Coming, or Our New Crusade” (1875); “One Hundred Years” (1875); “Philip Nolan's Friends” (New York, 1876); “Back to Back” (1877); “Gone to Texas, or the Wonderful Adventures of a Pullman” (Boston, 1877); “What Career?” (1878); “Mrs. Merriam's Scholars” (1878); “The Life in Common” (1879); “The Bible and its Revision” (1879); “The Kingdom of God” (1880); “Crusoe in New York” (1880); “Stories of War” (1880); “June to May” (1881); “Stories of the Sea” (1881); “Stories of Adventure” (1881); “Stories of Discovery” (1883); “Seven Spanish Cities” (1883); “Fortunes of Rachel” (New York, 1884); “Christmas in a Palace” (1884); “Christmas in Narragansett” (1884); “Stories of Invention” (Boston, 1885); “Easter” (1886); “Franklin in France” (1887); “The Life of Washington” (New York, 1887); and “The History of the United States.” — Another brother, Charles, journalist, b. in Boston, Mass., 7 June, 1831; d. there, 1 March, 1882, was graduated at Harvard in 1850, and entered his father's employ as a reporter. In 1852 he began the ​execution of “To-day, a Boston Literary Journal,” a weekly of which only two volumes were published, and later became junior editor of the “Daily Advertiser.” Meanwhile he also contributed to the “North American Review” and to the “Nautical Almanac.” In 1855 he was chosen to the legislature from one of the Boston districts, and continued to be re-elected until 1860, being speaker during his last term, and the youngest man ever chosen to that office. From 1864 till 1870 he was U. S. consul-general to Egypt, and it was largely through his efforts that John H. Surratt was arrested and sent back to the United States. In 1871 he returned to Boston, and was elected in that year to the state senate. He was appointed chairman of the committee on railroads, in which capacity he drew up the general railroad act now in force, and was active in securing its enactment. In 1872-'3 he was assistant secretary of state under Hamilton Fish. He then returned to Boston, began the study of law, and in 1874 was admitted to the bar. In the same year he was again elected to the legislature, and continued to serve in that body for four years. During the latter part of his life he lived in retirement, occupied in literary work, and was much of the time an invalid. — Another sister, Susan, artist, b. in Boston, Mass., 5 Dec., 1838, was educated at the school of George B. Emerson, and then for many years was a successful teacher in Boston. Subsequently she gave up other instruction that she might introduce the more careful study of water-color painting, which she had followed under English, French, and German masters. She exhibited in Boston and New York a series of pictures from the White Mountains, from North Carolina, from Spain, and other countries in which she had travelled. Miss Hale has been associated with her brother, Edward Everett Hale, in the publication of “A Family Flight through France, Germany, Norway, and Switzerland,” “A Family Flight over Egypt and Syria,” “A Family Flight through Spain,” “A Family Flight around Home,” “A Family Flight through Mexico” (Boston, 1881-'6); and “The Story of Spain” (New York, 1886); and has in preparation “The Story of Mexico.” She also edited “Life and Letters of Thomas Gold Appleton” (New York, 1885). — Edward Everett's daughter, Ellen Day, artist, b. in Worcester, Mass., 11 Feb., 1855, was educated under the supervision of her aunt, Susan Hale, and received her first instructions in art from Dr. William Rimmer, afterward studying under William M. Hunt and Helen M. Knowlton, and in Julien's art-school in Paris. Miss Hale has travelled in Spain and Italy, and has resided in Paris and in London. Her present home is in Boston, where she is engaged in artistic work. She has exhibited “Un Hiver Americain” and “An Old Retainer” in the Paris salon, and “A New England Girl” in the Royal academy, London.