Background
Ebenezer Hazard was born on January 15, 1744, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the son of Samuel Hazard, a merchant of Philadelphia, and his wife, Catherine Clarkson of New York.
( The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration...)
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. Rich in titles on English life and social history, this collection spans the world as it was known to eighteenth-century historians and explorers. Titles include a wealth of travel accounts and diaries, histories of nations from throughout the world, and maps and charts of a world that was still being discovered. Students of the War of American Independence will find fascinating accounts from the British side of conflict. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library W020441 Volume 2 (Evans 27105) has imprint date: MDCCXCIV. Pagination: v. 1, iv, 639, 1, x p.; v. 2, iv, 654 p. Errors in paging: v. 1, p. 257, 351, 352 misnumbered 237, 151, 252. Philadelphia : Printed by T. Dobson, for the author, MDCCXCII-MDCCXCIV 1792-1794 2 v. ; 4°
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Ebenezer Hazard was born on January 15, 1744, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the son of Samuel Hazard, a merchant of Philadelphia, and his wife, Catherine Clarkson of New York.
Ebenezer was educated at the academy of Samuel Finley at Nottingham, Pennsylvania, and at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), where he graduated in 1762.
From 1769 to 1775 Ebenezer Hazard was a partner in the publishing firm of Noel & Hazard of New York, and later a member of the firm of Benedict & Hazard. On May 1, 1775, he was authorized by the Committee of Safety of New York to reorganize the local postal service and on October 5 he was commissioned by the Continental Congress postmaster of the city of New York. Appointed surveyor-general of the Post-Office of the United States late in 1776, he was made postmaster general, succeeding Richard Bache, on January 28, 1782. Hazard managed his office with economy and efficiency and was one of the few postmasters-general who have made the postoffice pay its way. Nevertheless, on the reorganization of the government after the adoption of the Federal Constitution, he was replaced in September 1789 by Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts.
Hazard had resided in Philadelphia from 1782 to 1785 and in New York from 1785 to 1789. Finding it difficult to make a living in New York after the loss of his position under the government, Hazard returned to Philadelphia in 1791 and lived there during the remainder of his life. His duties as surveyor-general of the post (1777 - 1782) made it necessary for him to travel extensively and he took advantage of the opportunity to collect the source-materials of early American history. In response to a petition which he presented to the Continental Congress, July 11, 1778, he received permission to copy documents in the Continental archives and also a grant of one thousand dollars for expenses.
His two volumes of Historical Collections (1792 - 1794) were published in Philadelphia. The first volume contains an assortment of documents relating to the discovery of America and to the early period of colonization; the whole of the second is devoted to the records of the New England Confederation. Several other volumes were planned, but the two which were published sold so badly that the scheme was abandoned. Although most of this material has been superseded by later collections, Hazard is entitled to great credit. He was a careful and conscientious editor and a pioneer in the collection and publication of original historical records.
An excellent Greek scholar, he assisted Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, in making his translation of the New Testament. He carried on a correspondence for many years with Jedidiah Morse, the geographer, and Jeremy Belknap, the historian. It was owing to his advice that the first volume of Belknap’s famous History of New Hampshire (1784) was published in Philadelphia. He was keenly concerned about the welfare of the Indians and published a paper entitled “Remarks on Mr. Schermerhorn’s Report Concerning the Western Indians” (1816).
( The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration...)
On September 11, 1783, Hazard was married to Abigail Arthur of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Their son, Samuel Hazard, apparently inherited his father’s interest in the preservation of historical sources.