Everett Titsworth Tomlinson

Background

Everett was born on May 23, 1859 at Shiloh, Cumberland County, N. J. He was the son of the Rev. George Edwin Tomlinson, a prominent Seventh-Day Baptist minister, and his wife, Amanda P. Titsworth.

Education

After graduating from the high school in Westerly, R. I, he was a student at Williams College from 1875 to 1877.

Career

In 1881 became principal of the high school in Auburn, N. Y. In 1883 he returned to New Jersey as headmaster of the Rutgers College Preparatory School, a position he held for five years. During this period he published Greek and Latin school texts that were widely used. So successful was he as a teacher that William Rainey Harper twice tried to persuade him to accept the principalship of the preparatory school of the new University of Chicago.

From 1888 to 1911 he was pastor of the Central Baptist Church in Elizabeth, N. J. , resigning that position at last because of the pressure of his literary activities, although he continued to live in Elizabeth.

He was one of the executive managers of the American Baptist Board of Education (1898 - 1912), a member of the board of managers of the American Baptist Home Mission Society (1899 - 1920), and executive secretary of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board of the Northern Baptist Convention (1911 - 26). His work in the last capacity has been called the "crowning achievement of his life". When he assumed office, the organization was without funds; when he resigned, it had assets of $18, 000, 000.

Tomlinson was well known as a writer of books for boys, most of them historical, with the Revolutionary period, the Indian wars, and the Civil War as backgrounds. All his books--and by 1927 he had over a hundred volumes to his credit--went into several editions, and the total sales passed the two million mark. His best known books are Three Colonial Boys, a Story of the Times of '76 (1895), Camping on the St. Lawrence, or On the Trail of the Early Discoverers (1899), The Fort in The Forest, a Story of the Fall of Fort William Henry in 1757 (1904), The Young Rangers, a Story of the Conquest of Canada (1906), Four Boys in the Yellowstone (1906), Four Boys in the Land of Cotton (1907), Four Boys on the Mississippi (1908), Mad Anthony's Young Scout, a Story of the Winter of 1777-78 (1908), and Pioneer Scouts of the Ohio (1924). His own times he used, less successfully, as the setting for Ward Hill at College (1899), The Winner (1903), Winning His Degree (1905), and other stories of American college life. In Elder Boise (1901) he attempted, also less successfully, a serious novel.

Because he understood boys and girls thoroughly, he did not adopt a condescending attitude towards them. In "The Historical Story for Boys" he expressed his belief in the need for accurate use of historical material and in the necessity of maintaining the point of view of a boy.

He also wrote A Short History of the American Revolution (1901), Young Americans in the British Isles (1909), a travel-book, and The Story of General Pershing (1919). His last work, The First Twenty Years of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board of the Northern Baptist Convention (1932), was finished a week before his death.

After his resignation he continued to serve as advisory secretary. He died of heart disease at his home in Elizabeth.

Achievements

• Everett Titsworth Tomlinson is remembered as an outstanding writer of juvenile tales. Among his numerous publications are ‘The Search for Andrew Field’ (1894); ‘The Boy Soldiers of 1812’ (1895); ‘Three Colonial Boys’ (1895); ‘Two Young Patriots’ (1898); ‘In the Hands of the Redcoats’ (1901); ‘The Fruit of the Desert’ (1907); ‘The Champion of the Regiment’ (1911); ‘Scouting with Daniel Boone’ (1913).

Works

More photos

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  • The Fort in the Forest: A Story of the Fall of Fort William Henry in 1757 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Fort in the Forest: A Story of the Fall ...)

  • Four Boys in the Land of Cotton: Where They Went, What They Saw, and What They Did (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Four Boys in the Land of Cotton: Where They ...)

  • Mad Anthony's Young Scout: A Story Of The Winter Of 1777-78

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultura...)

  • The Young Rangers: A Story Of The Conquest Of Canada (1906)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Camping On The St. Lawrence: Or On The Trail Of The Early Discoverers (1901)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Pioneer Scouts Of The Ohio

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Four Boys on the Mississippi:Where They Went, What They Did, and What They Saw (#3 in Our Own Land Series)
  • FOUR BOYS IN THE YELLOWSTONE : How They Went and What They Did
  • Three Colonial Boys A Story Of The Times Of '76

Politics

As an historian, he believed that the War of 1812 had been unduly neglected. Although as an historical writer he found it necessary to devote considerable attention to armed conflict, he has expressly stated that he had "no desire to glorify war. "

Membership

He was a member of the American Baptist Home Mission Society.

Connections

He was survived by his wife, the former Anna Miranda Greene, and two sons, his only daughter having predeceased him.

Father:

Rev. George Edwin Tomlinson

He was a prominent Seventh-Day Baptist minister.

Mother:

Amanda P. Titsworth

Spouse:

Anna Miranda Greene

References

• The First Twenty Years of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board of the Northern Baptist Convention