Chronology and Biographical Detail Of Noah Webster
By
Freeman H. Meyer, PHD - UCONN, Hartford
Historian for the Noah Webster Foundation
And
Mr. Joseph Holmes
Presented By
The Noah Webster House Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 1758
West Hartford, CT
February 1969
Chronolgy of Noah Webster
I. Noah Webster, Jr. was born on October 16, 1758, in West Hartford, Connecticut
1. Some genealogical detail:
a. Noah's father was Noah Webster, Sr.; his mother was named Mercy Steele. (Scudder, p. 3)
b. Noah Jr. was the great-great grandson of John Webster who emigrated from Warwickshire, England, and settled first near Boston; in 1638, as part of Hooker's band, he migrated to "Newe Towne," now Hartford, Connecticut.
c. On his mother's side, Noah was the great-great-great grandson of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony.
Note: In marrying, Noah Jr.'s father and Mercy Steele united Puritan and Pilgrim. (Shoemaker, p. 4) (Hall, p. 228)
d. Noah Jr.'s great-great grandfather, John Webster, was Governor of Connecticut. (Scudder, p. 2)
e. Noah's forebears contributed patriotic service in the French and Indian wars as well as in civil affairs; they held such offices as magistrate, governor, deputy governor, committee- man, representative, justice of the peace, and so forth. (Shoemaker, p. 5)
2. Noah Jr.'s parents:
a. Noah's father was born at Hartford on March 25, 1722. Was a farmer, soldier, Deacon, and Justice of the Peace.
b. Noah's mother, Mercy Steele, was born in October, 1727. Died, October 5, 1794.
c. Noah Sr. and his wife, Mercy, had five children: Mercy, born November 8, 1749; Abraham, born September 17, 1751; Jerusha, born January 22, 1756; Noah, born October 16, 1958; and Charles, born September 2, 1762.
Note: Both daughters married early. Charles entered business; Abraham, a farmer in New York State near Utica. Both daughters lived to be seventy; Charles, fifty- five; Abraham, eighty; and Noah, eight-five. (Warfel, pp. 8-9)
d. Noah Webster, Sr. lived to be ninety-one years old. (Scudder, p. 2)
His wife, Mercy, sixty-seven years. (Warfel, p. 8)
II. Noah Webster, Jr.: His formal education.
1. Probably attended South Middle School in Hartford; also Hopkins Grammar School of Hartford under Mrs. Wales.
2. Studied with Rev. Dr. Nathan Perkins, pastor of the village church. Noah was one of one hundred and fifty boys who were prepared for college by Dr. Perkins. Noah was fourteen years old at the time.
3. Entered Yale University in September, 1774 (traveled to New Haven on horseback); was graduated September, 1778. (Ford, p. 15) (Hall, p. 228)
Note: In 1777 when Noah was a junior at Yale, the college life at New Haven was broken up as invasion by the British was a real possibility. The junior class, of which Noah was a member, met in Glastonbury, Connecticut, under Tutor Buckminster. (Scudder, p. 7) (Warfel, p. 30)
Note: In 1777 Webster's education was also briefly interrupted when he entered the Hartford militia as a private. His father, Noah Sr., was a captain. (Noah Jr. did this despite the fact he was exempt from service as a student.) His service was short; actually, he saw no action. (Scudder, p. 7) (Warfel, pp. 31, 32)
III. 1779-1780: Noah Webster taught school.
Harry R. Warfel in his 1936 work on Noah refers to him as the "Schoolmaster to America." He gave him this title in recognition of the widespread use of his many books. However, besides this, Noah had some direct teaching experience:
1. Spring, 1779 -- Noah taught in the Brick School House and while doing so, resided with Oliver Ellsworth, later Chief Justice of the United States.
Note: While doing this, he read law with Ellsworth and assisted in the conduct of the office.
2. Winter, 1780 - Noah returned to live in his father's house in what is now West Hartford. For some months he taught in a local school, the name of which is not certain.
Note: Some question whether Noah taught in 1779 in Glastonbury. Probably did teach at some school. His name doesn't appear on the Academy's faculty list, however. (Warfel, pp. 35-39) (Scudder, pp. 7-10)
IV. 1789-1781:
In the summer of 1780 Webster moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, where he resumed his study of law under Topping Reeve, founder of the famous Litchfield Law School, or Jedidiah Strong, the Justice of the Quorum and Recorder of Deeds for Litchfield. Noah also assisted the latter in the maintenance of his office. (Warfel, p. 39) (Skeel, p. xxv)
On April 3, 1781, Noah was admitted to the Bar of Law in Hartford after having failed to be admitted in Litchfield.
Note: The circumstances of this failure are shadowy in that Noah failed along with nineteen others - the entire class. (Ford, p. 41) (Warfel, p. 39)
Noah was now addressed as "Esquire."
V. July-October, 1781: Conducted his own school at Sharon, Connecticut.
1. Noah probably used the home of John Cotton Smith as a school building.
2. The better Whig families (who had fled to Sharon from New York when the British took over) sent their children.
3. Suddenly, on October 9th, Noah closed the school.
Note: The story has it that he was in love with a Rebecca Pordee of Sharon, and Rebecca rejected him. (Warfel, pp. 41-43)
VI. September, 1781: Noah received an M.A. from Yale.
Note: His dissertation: "On the universal diffuse of literature as introductory to the universal diffusion of Christianity." (Warfel, p. 41) (Skeel, p. xxv)
VII. 1782-1783:
Conducted school in Goshen, New York, at the Farmer's Hall Academy.
Note: (1) Several signers of the Declaration of Independence sent their children to this school.
(2) Story goes that Webster had seventy-five cents when he arrived in Goshen.
(3) While teaching there, Noah compiled his spelling book. (Warfel, p. 50) (Skeel, p. xxv)
VIII. Spring of 1783:
He returned to Hartford; practiced law and wrote. (Skeel, p. xxv)
IX. October, 1783:
Published his Spelling Book which was the first in the series of three volumes under the title A Grammatical Institute of the English Language.
Note: This was the book on which he was working in Goshen, New York.
Note: No other secular book has reached so many minds in America as this Spelling Book. (Warfel, pp. 53-54)
Note: In connection with the publication of this book and in the interest of his other works, Webster began at this time a campaign to induce the various states to pass copyright laws (there were none up to this time).
He was successful in many states and Connecticut led the way with Copyright Law in January, 1783; Massachusetts passed a similar law in March of the same year. (Shoemaker, pp. 18-19)
X. March, 1784:
Noah published Part II of his Grammatical Institute of the English Language.
This was Webster's Grammar. (Skeel, p. xxv) (Warfel, p. 80)
XI. February, 1785:
Published Part III of his Grammatical Institute of the English Language. This also was a type of grammar "containing, the Necessary Rules of Reading and Speaking, and a Variety of essays, Dialogues, and declamatory pieces, moral, political, and entertaining; divided into Lessons, for the Use of Children."
Note: This long description of contents was the actual title which Noah gave this work which along with his Spelling Book and the first Grammar "completed the system of education he had proposed for the improvement of American elementary education." (Warfel, pp. 85-86)
XII. March 9, 1785: Published Sketches Of American Policy.
This work was a forty-eight-page pamphlet containing four headings: Head I. Theory of Government; II. Governments On The Eastern Continent; III. American States; or the principles of the American Constitutions contrasted with those of European States; IV. Plans of Policy for improving the Advantages and perpetuating the Union of the American People.
Note: Part IV in particular contains Webster's arguments for a new form of federal government. This was one of many works in which Webster demonstrated his interest in the development of American nationalism and his ideas on the type of education necessary to meet the needs of the new democracy. (Warfel, p. 112) (Shoemaker, p. 31)
A strong national government was his objective. (Scudder, pp. 120-126)
XIII. 1785-1786:
Noah traveled widely throughout the states to further copyright legislation.
Another purpose was a lecture tour to further his ideas on education and make money.
His travels took him to New Haven, New York, Baltimore, Virginia, South Carolina, among other places.
On this tour he met with such people as Washington, Mrs. Aaron Burr, Tom Paine, and Benjamin Franklin.
Like the Yankee Peddler he was, Noah sold copies of his publications as he traveled. He also sought recommendations for his works.
While in New York, he perfected his scheme of a phonetic alphabet. Franklin enthusiastically encouraged him. (Warfel, pp. 119-148)
XIV. November 1, 1786:
Noah returned to Hartford. Had been gone since May, 1785.
XV. December 25, 1786:
Moved to Philadelphia; taught and wrote.
Webster was not noted for his humility. The following exchange is attributed to Dr. Rush and Noah Jr.: "When he entered Philadelphia, Dr. Rush met him and exclaimed: 'How do you do, my dear friend. I congratulate you on your arrival in Philadelphia.' 'Sir,' Webster replied, "you may congratulate Philadelphia on the occasion.'"
In Philadelphia, Noah taught the "English Language" at the Protestant Episcopal Academy; also Mathematics.
George Washington visited Noah's rooms in Philadelphia to return the courtesy of the latter's visit to Mount Vernon.
While in Philadelphia he also visited with such notables as Rufus King, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, and others. (Warfel, pp. 160-165)
XVI. October 24, 1787:
Noah moved to New York. There is published the American Magazine which became his "new forum from which to address his fellow citizens."
XVII. October 16, 1788:
Noah wrote in his diary: "30 years of my life gone - a large portion of the ordinary age of man: I have read much, written much, and tried to do much good, but with little advantage to myself. I will now leave writings and do more lucrative business. My moral conduct stands fair with the world, and what is more, with my own Conscience. But I am a bachelor and want the happiness of a friend whose interests and feelings should be mine."
On this note, Webster left New York:
XVIII. December, 1788:
After a short visit with his family in Hartford, Noah went to Boston. There in May, 1789, he published his Dissertations on the English Language which he dedicated to Benjamin Franklin. (Skeel, p. xxv) (Warfel, p. 191)
XIX. May, 1789:
Webster moved to Hartford; practiced law and wrote; served on the city council. (Skeel, p. xxv)
XX. October 26, 1789:
Married Rebecca Greenleaf. Rebecca was twenty-three years old, eight years younger than Noah. Seven children were born to the union (seven survived infancy). (Warfel, p. 194) (Skeel, p. xxv)
XXI. June 22, 1790:
Published A Collection of Essays and Fugitive Writings. On Moral, Historical, and Political Subjects. (Warfel, p. 202)
XXII. October 18, 1790:
Published The Little Reader's Assistant. In this work Webster "inculcated wholesome lessons by means of moralizing tales." (Warfel, p. 204)
XXIII. October, 1791:
Published the Prompter, anonymously. This was an original work which contained material along the lines of Franklin's "Sayings of Poor Richard." It contained humor, satire, and little stories and anecdotes with a moral. (Skeel, p. xxv) (Warfel, p. 204)
XXIV. August 12, 1793:
Noah moved to New York. There he founded and edited two newspapers, The Washington Minerva and The Herald, A Gazette For the Country. Later these papers were named The Commercial Advertiser and The Spectator.
Noah actively directed these papers until 1798.
Both papers were organs of the Federalist Party which at that time was made up of those men who supported the Federalist administrations of Washington and Adams. (Warfel, pp. 223-239) XXV. April, 1798:
"Moved to New Haven; wrote and did research; served on city council and in state legislature." (Skeel, p. xxv.)
XXVI. December, 1799:
Published "Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases."
XXVII. 1800:
Noah began his lexicographical work (dictionary).
Note: Toward the end of the 18th century, Noah Webster gravitated more and more toward "dictionary" work. (Shoemaker, p. 220)
XXVIII. 1806:
Published his A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language.
1. This work contained material not usually found in dictionaries up to that time: "Tables of Moneys," "Tables of Weights and Measures," a "List of Post-Offices in the United States," etc. It also contained a "Chronological table of the Most Remarkable Events, in or Respecting America, Intended For the Outline of American History."
2. 37,000 words in all in the Dictionary. (Shoemaker, pp. 222-224)
XXIX. 1807:
Webster's Second Dictionary, A Dictionary of the English Language Complied for the use of Common Schools in the United States.
Note: In its preface, Webster spoke of the great strides in "education in youth during the past 30 years," especially in "common schools, in which are taught the branches of learning necessary for the yeomanry of the country." (Shoemaker, p. 224)
Webster considered this Dictionary particularly designed to contribute to this "common" education.
XXX. 1807:
Webster's third dictionary appeared - his Common School Dictionary.
Note: With the publication of this work, Webster began work on his great work, The American Dictionary. (Shoemaker, p. 225)
XXXI. 1812:
Webster moved to Amherst, Massachusetts; farmed and continued work on his American Dictionary; served in the Massachusetts legislature; helped found Amherst College.
XXXII. 1822:
Noah moved once again to New haven. There, he continued his dictionary work.
XXXIII. September, 1823:
He received an LL.D. from Yale (also one from Middlebury College in 1830).
XXXIV. 1824-1825:
Noah went on a research trip to England and France.
Note: There he worked in the great libraries, the Bibliotheque and those at Cambridge and Oxford. (Warfel, pp. 356-357)
Note: Returned to New Haven on June 18, 1825.
XXXV. November, 1828:
Webster published his An American Dictionary of the English Language.
Note: This was the first of a long series of Webster Unabridged Dictionaries.
Some notes on this great work:
1. International praise followed its publication. It quickly became the standard in England as "it had in American by the adoption of the Dictionary in the halls of Congress and in the various American courts of law." (Warfel, pp. 360-361)
2. Webster emphasized his strong nationalism, his pride in the United States, and his insistence that America was developing, and was entitled to a "language" of its own, by stressing that his was an American Dictionary.
Webster gloried for the nation in placing "Franklin, Washington, Adams, Madison, Jay, Kent, Irving and other" . . . as authorities on the same page with those of Boyle, Hooker, Milton, Dryden and Addisson." (Scudder, p. 240) (Warfel, p. 362)
3. The American Dictionary contained "70,000 words (12,000 more than Todd's Johnson)."
Note: Webster's work clearly surpassed Johnson's dictionary in its distinctions and sharpness of definitions. (Warfel, pp. 360-361)
4. The preparation of the Dictionary took approximately 20 years.
5. In his preface, Webster stressed the growing glories of the United States, not the least of which was a distinctive American language with its American idiom, pronunciation and style.
Webster was passionately American; desired to see America stand on its accomplishments without any feeling of inferiority to the mother country, England. (Scudder, pp. 240-242)
6. In Webster's view, "the Dictionary was, next to the Bible, the great schoolbook." Desired one to be on the desk of every schoolmaster where each student could use it freely. (Warfel, p. 370)
XXXVI. December, 1830:
Webster moved to Washington to support his much sought after copy-right legislation.
Everywhere Webster was received with deference and acclaimed for the value of his books to the Nation:
(a) He dined with President Jackson;
(b) On January 3, 1831, Webster lectured for one hour in the House of Representatives.
Early in February, 1831, the copyright bill passed both Houses of Congress.
Webster felt that in fighting for this law, he had done a service to all its future authors and hence to the Nation itself.
Note: While in Washington, one hundred members of the Judiciary and both Houses of Congress endorsed "the whole Websterian series of books from the great Dictionary to the Spelling Book." (Warfel, p. 393)
XXXVII. August, 1832:
Webster published his History of the United States.
Note: This was the first book which Webster published under this title although he had included American History in other of his works. In fact, he had been the first author to do so. (Warfel, p. 398)
Contents of this work:
1. Webster traced the hand of God in founding this Nation;
2. He was the first commentator to suggest that the Puritans were the founders of the first genuine republics in the world. (Warfel pp. 398-400)
XXXVIII. 1830-1836:
During this period, Webster published six other schoolbooks in addition to the History of the United States.
It is works of this type when added to his other publications which entitle him to be called with Warfel, "Schoolmaster To America."
Among these works were:
1. The Elementary Primer (1831);
2. The New American Spelling Book for the Use of Primary Schools in the United States (1833);
3. The Teacher; a Supplement to the Elementary Spelling Book (1836);
4. Biography for the use of Schools (1830);
5. The Little Franklin: Teaching children to read what they daily speak, and to learn what they ought to know (1836). (Warfel, pp. 396-398)
XXXIX. September, 1833:
Noah published his American edition of the Bible.
Webster was criticized adversely in many quarters for this work. Regardless of how one feels about his appointing himself a "Revision Committee of one," however, his reasons deserve sympathy:
1. He felt the language of the King James Version of the Bible to be sublime and beautiful but sincerely believed that the substitution of American-used words for archaic ones would greatly improve its use and value. (Scudder, pp. 168-181)
2. And once again, he was at his nationalistic task of Americanizing. He was proud of the new Nation and passionately desired its independence in speech and literature as well as politics and geography.
Note: Yale University approved his version of the Bible, and its use quickly spread until it became the standard text in the Congregational Church. (Warfel, pp. 412-413)
XL. March, 1841:
Published the second edition of the unabridged dictionary, the Quarto Dictionary.
Note: Despite advanced age, Noah continued to work, "adding now words to his dictionary and writing letters advertising or defending his books."
(Warfel, p. 413)
XLI. May, 1843:
Published a Collection of Papers. This was Noah's last publication. (Shoemaker, p. 297)
XLII. May 28, 1843:
Noah died. Among his last words were expressions of hope that his writings had contributed, and would contribute to the education of the Nation's youth, the Nation and the youth he so dearly loved. (Warfel, p. 436)
Biographical Detail
Webster's birthplace: was born on October 16, 1758 in West Hartford, Conn.
Was born in the square, white house on South Main Street in what is now West Hartford. Was born in the front, upstairs bedroom - then referred to as a "parlor." (Boulton, p. 52)
Was born in "the best room in the house" in Noah's own words. The best room was "thought none too good for such an event." (Ford, p. 12) (Grand Dames, p. 3)
It was probably the upstairs bedroom on the right. (Grand Dames, p. 4)
Was probably born in a 4 poster "guest" bed. (Grand dames, p. 4)
The Noah Webster House: Noah always cherished his boyhood home which was sold by his father, Noah, Sr., in 1790. In later years, he visited the many objects which had tender memories for him. Among them were some "trees which he planted in his boyhood." (Hall, p. 230) (Scudder, p. 2)
The Noah Webster House and Property in West Hartford: The land records describes the property (in which Noah was born) sold by Noah Webster, Sr. in 1790 to Lemuel Hulbert of Wethersfield as follows:
"One certain piece or parcel of land, situate in said Hartford, containing 81 acres with all the buildings thereon standing, said land bounded as followeth, viz: South on land belonging to George Olcott, West on land belonging to the heirs of Amaseah Stanley, deceased, North partly on Jonathan Gilbert's Land, partly on Joseph Cotton's Land, partly on Land belonging to James Stanley, and partly on the new highway so called and East on a highway." (Land Records, Vol. 18, p. 43, Conn. State Public Library)
Webster Burial Place: Central Cemetery in New Haven. (Hall, p. 228)
Noah did well financially:
1. Always lived well, supported his family in good style;
2. Was able to assist his aged father;
3. Presented a farm in western New York as a gift to his brother, Abraham;
4. Educated a nephew; Nelson Webster;
5. Later, had money to invest in a New York publishing enterprise. Noah had several sources of income: sale of his books; U. S. Government prosecutor for mail robbery; represented Connecticut's land claims again Pennsylvania; had a law business given to him by in-laws. (Ford, Vol I, pp. 269-270)
(Owners of the present Noah Webster House)
1. First owner - unknown;
2. Second owner - Daniel Webster - date on which he first occupied house is unknown;
3. Third owner - Noah Webster, Sr. - probably became owner upon the death of his father, Daniel Webster, in 1736;
4. Fourth owner - Lemuel Hurlburt: house sold to Lemuel Hurlburt by Noah Webster, Sr., on April 19, 1790 for 600 pounds; (Land Records, Conn. State Public Library, Vol. 18, p. 43)
5. Fifth owner - Samuel Hurlburt: on October 12, 1809, Lemuel Hurlburt died leaving the "Noah Webster House" to several children among which was Samuel Hurlburt. Samuel through arrangements with his brothers and sisters got control of the house; (Grand Dames, p. 11)
6. Sixth owner - Henry D. Tillotson: on April 24, 1889 Samuel and Elizabeth Hurlburt deeded the house and 8 acres of land to Tillotson; (Grand Dames, p. 11)
7. Seventh owner - H. A. Hamilton: on May 15, 1909, Tillotson deeded the House to Hamilton. (West Hartford Land Records, Vol. 21, p. 454)
(Old Houses of Connecticut, Colonial Dames Series - substantiates much of above material.)
Note: Daniel Webster, Noah Jr.'s grandfather, probably lived in a house across the road from the present Webster (lived there before moving to house where Noah, Jr., was born). (Grand Dames, p. 4)
Noah was a churchgoer: a study of Webster's Diary indicates he attended church every Sunday; missed only for urgent causes. (Ford, Webster's Diary, pp. 68-71)
Noah Webster Jr.'s teaching career - (see Chronology for details).
Noah's formal schooling:
1. Probably attended South Middle School;
2. Also Hopkin's Grammar School in Hartford under Mrs. Wales;
3. Studied in with Dr. Perkins, Pastor of the Village Church; Noah was one of 150 that Dr. Perkins prepared for college;
4. Yale - 1774-1778; graduated in 1778. (Ford, p. 15)
Noah Webster, Jr. married Rebecca Greenleaf on October 26, 1789 - (see Chronology for family details). (Ford, Vol. I, p. 207)
Webster's marriage and family life - very happy: Speaking of his wife, Rebecca, Noah said: "If ever there was a woman, moulded by the hand of nature to bless her friends in all connections, it is your sister B.M. To be united to her is not mere pleasure, bliss, felicity -it is more - it is a union that blends pleasure and delight with social advantages - it is a blessing. The man who loves her loves the temper of saints . . . . etc." (Letter to Joseph Greenleaf from Noah Webster, Jr., Noah Webster Papers, New York Public Library)
Benedict Arnold House: When Webster moved his family from new York to New Haven on April 1, 1798, he settled in the Benedict Arnold House on the shore of New Haven Harbor, later called Water Street. (Ford, Vol. I, pp. 450-451)
General
Webster's Yale Graduation Class - 1778: This was Yale's most distinguished class up to the Civil War. Among Noah's classmates were: Joel Barlow, poet and Minister to France; Alexander Wolcott and Abraham Bishop, each prominent in Jeffersonian democracy; Zephonia Swift, Connecticut's greatest jurist; Oliver Wolcott, Jr., successor to Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury; Uriah Tracy, a. U. S. Senator; and Josiah Meigs, President of the University of Georgia. (Warfel, p. 24)
Webster's record (scholastic) at Yale: He was a good student; mastered Latin and Greek well enough to be able to write Latin letters to his favorite granddaughter, Emily Fowler. Left Yale with a tolerable education and a desire to advance it by private study. (Warfel, p. 34)
Webster's scholastic record at Yale: In President of Yale Ezra Stile's Diary, June 14, 1778 there is a reference to several students having done well in debating. Noah, Jr. was among them. (Shoemaker, pp. 11-12)
Lineage: On his father's side, Noah was a descendant of Governor John Webster of Connecticut; on his mother's side, a descendant of Governor William Bradford of Massachusetts. (Hall, p. 228)
Webster's deep interest in details: He once counted all the houses in New York City; compiled the names of all New York City streets.
When traveling, he would take notes on the state of local language, number of homes, local records of births, deaths and weather. (Scudder, pp. 161-162) (Shoemaker, pp. 26-27)
Admitted to the Bar in Hartford after studying in Sharon, Litchfield and Hartford. (Ford, p. 41)
Webster character and patriotism: In the autumn of 1777, Noah enlisted as a private in his father's unit which was on its way to resist the British General Burgoyne. He did this despite the fact that as a student, he was exempt from military service. (Ford, pp. 27-28)
Webster on his own: One day, shortly after his graduation from Yale, Noah's father gave him a virtually worthless eight dollar Continental note and said, "Take this! You must now seek your living; I can do no more for you." Noah locked himself in his room for two days to think his problem through. Decided to study law and to teach to obtain the necessary money. (Hall, p. 229) (Bolton, p. 53) (Grand Dames, p. 6)
Phi Beta Kappa Society: Noah was elected an honorary member of that fraternity and so notified on November 11, 1824. (Letter To Noah Webster from Sam L. Hitchcock of Phi Beta Kappa Society, Noah Webster Letters in New York City Public Library)
Webster's interest in diseases and epidemics: Noah was a man of wide interests; wrote two books and several articles in the Hartford Courant on above subjects. He had a theory that influenza or catarrh epidemics followed volcanic eruptions and earthquakes; noted that epidemics followed those of 1698, 1757, 1761, and 1781. (Grand Dames Series)
Mechanics of compiling his dictionary: Noah set up a large table (when he lived in Amherst), a circular table. On it he arranged dictionaries and grammars of perhaps 20 nations. Webster would then methodically take each work under study through each of the dictionaries and grammars. (Ford, Vol. II, p. 116)
Noah Webster - Originator in many departments of the literary industry. For example, copyright law. Noah's spelling-book and his subsequent lobbying provided much of the impulse to Congress and the States to pass laws protecting authors. (Scudder, pp. 67-68)
Webster's interest in self improvement: In his diary on October 16, 1787, Noah says: "16 My Birthday! I have been industrious and endeavored to do some good - I hope I shall be able to correct my faults and yet do more good." (Original Diary in New York Public Library)
Examples of how Webster proposed to modernize spelling of words: He would have turned health into helth; breath into breth; tongue into tung; month to munth and improvement to improovment. (Ford, Vol. I, p. 296)
(Webster's Simplified Spelling and Nationalism) In Part II of his Grammatical Institute, Noah pleaded for a simplified spelling of words which would be appropriate to a republic in which all the people must be literate in order to fulfill their political duties. For example, he wished and succeeded in substituting labor and color for labour and colour. The word wagon he spelled with one "g" as we do today. Prior to Webster, two "g's" were used. (Merle Curti, Growth of American Thought, p. 132) (Eliot Morison, Oxford history of the American People, p. 288)
Blue-backed Spelling-book and Nationalism: In it Webster declared that Americans had too much pride to depend upon Great Britain for books "to learn our children the letters of the alphabet." (Merle Curti, p. 146)
Great Interest in Weather: Webster's Diary from 1813-1819 indicates a marked interest in weather: temperature, storms, earthquakes, etc. (Noah Webster's Diary - Original - in New York Public Library)
Webster's civic Activities: Besides holding many public offices in both Connecticut and Massachusetts, Noah Webster was a man with a highly developed social and civic consciousness:
1. He was a director of the New Hampshire Bible Society in 1816;
2. Helped found and write the constitution for the "Charitable Society";
3. Was president of the New Haven Common School Convention in 1838;
4. Enthusiastically supported the cause of Greek Independence in 1823;
5. Was a member of a committee to raise funds for relief of sufferers from a fire in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1831. (Skeel, Appendix A)
Discovered a Comet: In his Diary for January 20, 1784, Noah speaks of having discovered a comet. (Ford, p. 68)
Webster's Political Associations and Connections
Dinner with President Andrew Jackson: While in Washington lobbying for his much desired copyright law, Webster visited and had dinner with President Andrew Jackson on December 28, 1830. In recalling the dinner, Webster shows the fierce nationalism for which he has become famous; he noted the many courses of foreign foods and wines that were served and observed how much more patriotic it would have been to serve American fare. (Warfel, p. 392)
Addressing Congress: While in Washington Lobbying for copyright laws, Webster was invited to lecture in the House of Representatives. His topic was the English Language. Webster wrote in a letter to his wife, Becca, the observation that his address was well received, also that Mr. Adams was in the audience. (Letter of Noah Webster to His Wife, Becca, Washington, January 4, 1831, New York Pub- lic Library Collection, Original Letter -- Noah Webster Manuscript)
Turns down offer to tutor George Washington's children (step children): Noah expressed his regret to Washington suggesting that the task would re-quire his full attention and hence keep him from writing, his "principal pleasure." Noah refused with regret both because of Washington's eminence and his own (Noah's) natural delight in instructing youth. (Letter, Noah Webster to George Washington, 1785, Noah Webster Manuscript, New York Public Library, 1785, Original Letter)
Webster defends the Constitution: At one period, Noah wrote in defense of our Constitution under the name of "Curtius." Thomas Jefferson judged the material highly effective and attributed it to Alexander Hamilton. (Ford, Vol. I, p. 394)
"Spectator" and "Advertiser": Among Noah's political activities was the writing and publishing of two newspapers in New York City during the administrations of Presidents George Washington and John Adams. Substantially, the purpose of these papers was to defend the government and the administration of these two men. (Ford, Vol. I, pp. 337-378)
Webster was a public spirited man; during his life, he held many public offices:
(In Connecticut)
1. A member of the Connecticut General Assembly in nine sessions after 1800;
2. A councilman in New Haven;
3. Alderman in New Haven;
4. Judge of County Court;
5. Served on New Haven Health Council (1802) and Fire Laws Revision Committee (1805).(In Massachusetts, he was)
1. A member of the General Court in years 1814, 1815 and 1817;
2. A selectman of Amherst, Massachusetts. (Ford, Vol. II, p. 122) (Skeel; Appendix G)
Defended Connecticut's Land Claims: In 1785, Webster wrote a series of papers defending Connecticut in its western land claims against Pennsylvania. In this particular case, Connecticut was overruled, but eventually the State was granted to "Connecticut Western Reserve" lands. (Ford, Vol. I, pp. 90-91)
Some Webster Quotes:
1. "Read a little law and some poetry, if a man lays up a few ideas everyday and arranges them, it is enough." (Webster's Diary, August 12, 1784, published in Ford, p. 81)
2. On education: "O habit! O Education! Of what importance that our first examples be good and our first impressions virtuous." (Noah Webster's Diary, April 17, 11767, Original in New York Public Library)
3. On Church: "At church-heard an excellent sermon. It is much easier to hear than to remember and practice." (Noah Webster's Diary, March 28, 1784, Original Manuscript in New York Public Library)
4. On value of education to democracy: Writing in his Sketches of American Policy, Webster observed: "It is scarcely possible to reduce an enlightened people to civil or ecclesiastical tyranny." (Shoemaker, p. 44)
5. On an American Literature: In 1783, Noah wrote: "America must be as independent in literature as she is in politics, as famous for arts as for arms." (Shoemaker, p. 69)
(Some thoughts on education:) In the Preface of his Lessons For Youth, Noah Webster, Jr. suggests children's education shouldn't be hurried before they are "well-grounded in the first rudiments."
Also he says: small children shouldn't be "perplexed with definitions" that are abstract and beyond their understanding.
In the Prompter, Noah offers "Commentary on Common Sayings And Subjects." Some examples of these Comments:
1. "It will do for the present." "This common saying does as much mischief in society, as rum or pestilence." (Prompter, p. 21)
2. "Come, we'll take the t'other sip." Webster comments that "not only the grog drinker "but too many others in various walks of life make the mistake of taking just the other sip." (Prompter, p. 34)
3. "Any other time will do as well." "Yes, yes," says Webster, "but are you sure that any other time will arrive?" (Prompter, p. 36)
In all, The Prompter was along the lines of Benjamin Poor Richard's Almanac. Other common sayings on which Webster commented and which he found among his "favorites" were: "What is Every Body's Business in Nobody's"; "When a man is going Down Hill, everyone gives him a Kick"; and "I told you so."
Anecdotes
Webster's Spelling Innovations: In his Spelling Book and Grammars, Webster attempted to "modernize" the spelling of words. As to be expected, prejudice against such innovation was strong in some quarters. An old Scotch elder of Pennsylvania complained: " . . .'Hore's a book by a Yankee lad called Wobster, teaching the children clean against the Christian religion!' "Oh, how so?' 'Why, ye ken he canna sing to psalms of David without having salvation and such words in four syllables, sal-va-ci-on, and he's making all the children say salvashun.'" (Ford, pp. 58-59)