Frank Hayward Severance (November 28, 1856January 26, 1931) was an American historian. Severance was born on November 28, 1856, in

Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Manchester-by-the-Sea (also known simply as Manchester, its name prior to 1989) is a coastal town on Cape Ann, in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is known for scenic beaches and vista points. According to the 2020 population ...

. When he was five years old, his parents moved to

Whitewater, Wisconsin Whitewater is a city located in Walworth and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. As of the 2 ...

, where he grew up and learned printing. After a year in Knox College, he went to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and graduated in 1879. He was managing editor of ''

The Cornell Review ''The Cornell Review'' is an independent newspaper published by students of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. With the motto, "We Do Not Apologize," the ''Review'' has a history in conservative journalism and was once one of the leading c ...

'', and in his senior year was one of the editors of the ''Cornell Era''. He was the junior class poet and was re-elected for the senior year. His vacations were spent either in newspaper work or in travel. One summer, he worked as a book-agent; on another, after boating down the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

, he hiked over 600 miles on foot in the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

and

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

. He was city editor and general utility man on the '' Erie Gazette'' for two years and joined the ''

Buffalo Express The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982. History The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morning ...

'' staff in 1881. He was chairman of the committee on local history of the Buffalo Historical Society, member of the Rochester Historical Society, and a member of the Erie Natural History Society. In later life, Severance became known as a historian, writing several works on the history of

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. He was elected president of the

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York, Cooperstown, New York (state), New York on the west side of Otsego Lake (New York), Otsego Lake. Collection strengths i ...

in 1924. Severance died in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, on January 26, 1931.

References

1856 births 1931 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers People from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Cornell University alumni 20th-century American male writers {{US-historian-stub