Background
Jewett was born on September 1, 1852, in Claremont, New Hampshire, the son of Frederick and Josephine (Forehand) Jewett.
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Clarence Frederick Jewett
Edit ProfileEducation
Jewett went to school with George H. and Oscar Walker and later sold their atlases in Boston.
Career
During school, Jewett associated himself with Henry W. Burgett under the firm name of C. F. Jewett & Company. Their first venture was the Standard History of Essex County, Massachusetts (1878), edited by Dr. Henry Wheatland. This was followed by The History of Worcester County, Massachusetts (2 vols. , 1879). Their next work (much improved in appearance) was The Memorial History of Boston, four quarto volumes, edited by Justin Winsor, and issued in 1880-1881.
Jewett, claiming that the idea came from him and not from his firm, sold his rights to James R. Osgood & Company, and his action was sustained by the court. The Memorial History eventually went to Ticknor & Company and later to Frederick E. Belcher. A handsome two-volume work, The History of the American Episcopal Church, 1587-1883, by Bishop W. S. Perry, followed in 1885. All these productions bore Jewett's name as publisher or "projector" upon the title-page. Jewett then fostered the Narrative and Critical History of America, a monumental work of the best scholarship, in eight volumes (1886-1889). He obtained letters of commendation from all but one of the justices of the Supreme Court in Washington, considered at the time a great feat of enterprise. At the same period he started The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut (2 vols. , 1886). These were high pressure years; the books which he planned were well written and profusely illustrated. His associates, the Osgoods, were allied with a firm engaged in making plates for book illustrations. This accounts for the many pictures in all of Jewett's works, but to him is due credit for the historical value of the pictures selected for reproduction.
Jewett next undertook an autobiography of Benjamin F. Butler, whose sensational administration of New Orleans during the Civil War, and whose career as a politician, made the publishing venture attractive. The contract, signed September 15, 1889, called for two printed pages of matter daily. Butler sent in sixty-three pages and soon asked for their return for revision. He then finished the book, broke his contract with Jewett, and sold the manuscript known as Butler's Book to another firm. Jewett applied to the court to have the publication stopped. There were eminent lawyers on both sides. The case was dismissed without prejudice October 11, 1892, Judge Holmes stating that in his opinion the breach of contract had been proved, but that certain rights of the defendants deserved consideration.
Jewett, at the end of his resources, left for South America. On the voyage he became the hero of a shipwreck, but, having booked his passage under the name of "Mr. Cabot of Boston, " he could not accept public recognition. Upon his return to the United States, he went into land development schemes in Oregon (1895) but was soon in difficulties and disappeared for a time from public view. He settled in New York City about 1899 and became treasurer of the Cherry Hill Gold Mining Company. He died at his home in New York on May 3, 1909.
Achievements
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Jewett is primarily remembered for his publications as an American historian. His best known publications were The Standard History of Essex County, Massachusetts; The History of Worcester County, Massachusetts and The Memorial History of Boston. All of them were made under the firm name of C. F. Jewett & Company.
Personality
Jewett's portrait represents an abnormally sensitive, refined man, with a highly developed brain. His eyes suggest fanatical zeal, but evidence of a strong character is lacking.
Connections
Jewett married Mary Robinson, an intelligent and versatile woman, and they settled in Brookline, a suburb of Boston.
