[To “Voices from 19th-Century America”]

Samuel Griswold Goodrich (1793-1860) was a pivotal figure in early 19th-century American publishing. His Recollections is a look at over 50 years of American culture, and at a busy, productive life. Early American religion, passenger pigeons, the solar eclipse of 1806, the meteor of 1807, the Hartford Convention, the Revolution of 1848—Goodrich experienced it all. Filled with anecdotes and heavily footnoted, this 1100-page work is a rich source of information on early American publishing and New England life.

Goodrich made use of his childhood in works for children: Lieutenant Smith telling stories about historical events became “Peter Parley” telling stories about history and geography; hermit Sarah Bishop provided the spark for a melodramatic poem. Goodrich’s childhood became the childhood of “Robert Merry,” putative editor of Robert Merry’s Miscellany and Robert Merry’s Museum. Goodrich may not have known it, but he includes an anecdote about a relative on page 130; the “clergyman by the name of Cleveland” was Aaron Cleveland, his fourth cousin twice removed, and great-grandfather to Grover Cleveland, twice president of the U.S. (Goodrich was the president’s sixth cousin once removed.)

Goodrich’s epic work is presented here in one file per volume, with its monumental footnotes in files separate from the main text.