Henry
David Thoreau
Henry
David Thoreau
Henry
David Thoreau was born on July 12th, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts in
the home of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Minot. His
parents were Cynthia Dunbar and John Thoreau. His father was a businessman
and active in the Concord Fire Society. Thoreau's mother spent her time
raising Henry and his three siblings, Helen, John and Sophia. Both of
Henry's parents loved nature.
After
graduating from Harvard University in 1837, he taught school and tutored
for a short period of time.
Thoreau
also manufactured pencils in his father's factory. The operation was actually
located in the upper story of the Thoreau-Alcott house (see below). He
discovered that mixing clay with plumbago (graphite) would make a superior
lead. The Thoreau pencils had the reputation of being the hardest and
blackest in the United States!
Click to see larger image
John Thoreau & Co. Concord, Mass.
Pencil Box, Ca. 1843-45
Courtesy of The Thoreau Institute
and the Thoreau Society, Lincoln, MA
Click
on the links below to view movies about the Thoreau pencil making
process and finished product.
From
1845 to 1847, Thoreau moved to a hut that he constructed on the edge of
Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. It was in this location that
he wrote A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, a trip he
made with his brother John. His most famous literary work, Walden or life in the Woods was written later. His goal in life was to live simply:
"To
live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see
if I could not learn what it had to teach."
As
a frequent guest in the Emerson household, Thoreau entertained the children
with magic and fun. He constructed a dollhouse for the Emerson girls that is
on display
today. He
also helped Lidian Emerson when Ralph was traveling. The following is a
story about how Thoreau came up with the idea of booties for the chickens
so they would not destroy Mrs. Emerson's roses.
The
little garden which was being planted with fruit-trees
and vegetables, with
Mrs. Emerson's tulips and
roses from Plymouth at the upper end,
needed more care and much more skill to plant and cultivate than the owner
had; who, moreover, could only spare a few morning hours to the work.
So Thoreau took it in charge for his friend. He dealt also with the chickens,
defeating their raids on the garden by asking Mrs. Emerson to make some
shoes of thin morocco to stop their scratching." - Edward Waldo
Emerson from Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend.
Many
consider Thoreau to be the father of the American conservation movement.
He loved to walk. His walking stick was notched for measuring things.
He also carried a flute, a music book for pressing flowers and a bird
identification book by Alexander Wilson. During
the latter part of his life he observed and recorded the natural history
in Concord.
Click
to see larger image
Thoreau's Flute, Telescope, and a Copy of Wilson's Ornithology
Alfred Winslow Hosmer 1851 - 1903, Photographer
Courtesy of the Concord Free Public Library
Click
on the link below to learn about Thoreau's Herbarium and view
specimens he collected. Have your students look at the draft manuscript
to understand how important it is to edit their papers.
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Henry
David Thoreau died May 6th 1862 in the Thoreau-Alcott house, after suffering
a prolonged case of tuberculosis, a disease which plagued Henry throughout
most of his adult life. He
is buried on Authors' Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery located in Concord.
Click
to see larger image
Thoreau-Alcott House
Courtesy of Cornell University Library
Nineteenth Century Periodicals Collection
Emerson and His Friends in Concord. [The New England magazine. / Volume
9, Issue 4, December 1890]
Click
to see larger image
1846 Survey Map of Walden Pond
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
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