A Boy's Education Among the Reformers
Introductory Essay by Thomas Knoles
Journal 1: August 10, 1837-June 2, 1838
Edmund goes to school and church in Scituate. He describes family reading. In hopes of ending his headaches and seizures, Edmund's father goes to Boston for an operation.
Journal 2: February 13-June 26, 1839
Edmund attends the district school. The Sewall family plants a garden. Edmund and his sister Ellen go Boston with their parents and then to Concord to visit their aunt, who is boarding with the Thoreau family.
Journal 3: June 27-October 4, 1839
Edmund does farm chores and tries to catch a horse that has wandered away. He learns the song “The Pilot on the Deep” by heart.
Journal 4: March 28-May 16, 1840
Edmund attends John and Henry David Thoreau's school, Concord Academy, and boards with the Thoreau family.
Three Essays Written by Edmund Quincy Sewall Jr while at the Thoreaus’ school in Concord, 1840