Puritan judge Samuel Sewall witnessed or participated in many of the most important imperial episodes of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Massachusetts. These episodes punctuated his diary, which he kept daily for 55 years to record the issues that concerned him most — family, church, and town. Five representative years from his diary — 1685, 1696, 1706, 1717, 1726 — are reprinted here in their entirety.
Comprising daily commentary on major and minor events between 1674 and 1729, the diary of Boston merchant Samuel Sewall is one of the richest personal accounts of early American history. This innovative abridgment allows events to unfold without the distraction of editorial manipulation by presenting one year's complete entries from each of the five decades. The volume draws meaning from potentially mundane journal entries by placing Sewall's experiences in the dynamic context of colonial Boston. A general introduction and thorough text annotations explain the social, religious, and political culture of Puritan New England, while chapter introductions provide overviews of the diary's intervening years. Illustrations, a chronology, questions for consideration, a bibliography, and an index are also included.
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