Background

Joseph Barlow Felt was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of John and Elizabeth (Curtis) Felt.

His father, a shipmaster, died in 1802, and Joseph went to work for a merchant.

Education

The reading of biographical works in his leisure hours served as an incentive for a college education.

At eighteen he entered the academy at Atkinson, New Hamphire, which was then under the charge of John Vose, a distinguished educator.

In 1813 he was graduated from Dartmouth College.

After a brief return to mercantile work Felt taught school and studied for the ministry with the Rev. Samuel Worcester of Salem.

Career

His first parish, 1821-24, was at Sharon, Massachusetts; his second and last was at Hamilton.

Owing to ill health he retired from pastoral work in 1833, and in the following year removed to Boston.

He prepared articles for John Farmer’s Genealogical Register (1829) and published The Annals of Salem (1827, 2nd ed.

2 vols. , 1845-59) and a History of Ipswich, Essex, and Hamilton (1834).

Soon after his removal to Boston he spent three years (1836 - 39) in classifying and arranging ancient papers in the state archives.

In 1830 he was elected a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and from 1842 to 1854 he was its librarian.

Throughout these years he wrote much.

His Historical Account of Massachusetts Currency (1839) was considered invaluable by numismatologists.

In 1847 he finished publishing the Collections of the American Statistical Association which contained a large amount of original matter and bore proof of “patient research and thorough work. ”

These were followed by A Memoir, or Defense of Hugh Peters (1851), and The Customs of New England (1853).

His most ambitious work was an Ecclesiastical History of New England, the first volume of which appeared in 1851, the second in 1862.

Achievements

• While at Hamilton he acquired a considerable reputation as an antiquarian and local historian.

Works

More photos

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  • The Ecclesiastical History of New England: Comprising Not Only Religious, But Also Moral, and Other Relations

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Annals of Salem, Volume 2

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Records of the Company of the Massachusetts Bay, to the Embarkation of Winthrop and His Associates for New England, As Contained in the First Volume ... Archives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Did the First church of Salem originally have a confession of faith distinct from their covenant?

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • An historical account of Massachusetts currency

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Annals of Salem, Volume 1

    (This book, "Annals of Salem, Volume 1", by Felt Joseph Ba...)

  • Grandfather's Stories: Brief Sketch of Abigail Browne of Salem, Mass

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • A Memoir or Defence of Hugh Peters

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • The Customs Of New England (1853)

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

  • Memoir Of Francis Higginson (1852)

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

  • History Of Ipswich, Essex, And Hamilton

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Religion

In daily life he was a simple, faithful Christian who occasionally gave offense by his outspoken orthodoxy.

Views

Though his zeal for discovering and reading old manuscripts was extraordinary, his literary style was lifeless, and his conclusions were sometimes colored by his own religious sentiments.

Consequently, "he will be known and remembered rather as a diligent annalist than as a philosophical historian” (Dexter, post).

Membership

In 1830 he was elected a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and from 1842 to 1854 he was its librarian. From 1850 to 1853 he was president of the New-England Historic Genealogical Society.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "He will be known and remembered rather as a diligent annalist than as a philosophical historian” (Dexter, post).

Connections

On September 18, 1816, Felt married Abigail Adams Shaw, a niece of Mrs. John Adams.

After her death in 1859 he married Mrs. Catharine (Bartlett) Meacham, November 16, 1862.

Father:

John Felt

Mother:

Elizabeth (Curtis) Felt

1st wife:

Abigail Adams Shaw

2nd wife:

Catharine (Bartlett) Meacham