George Barrell Cheever (April 7, 1807 – October 1, 1890) was a well-known and controversial abolitionist minister and writer. He was a graduate of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, where he was a classmate of

Nathanial Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

and

Henry W. Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

, and Andover Theological Seminary. In 1821 he became pastor of the Howard Street Congregational Church in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1838 he became pastor of the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, in New York City, and in 1846 the new Congregational Church of the Puritans. New York City. In 1846 he married Elizabeth Hoppin Wetmore Cheever; they had no children. He was a leader of the Christian Abolitionist Movement. His best-known works, which went through multiple editions and are held by hundreds of libraries, are: * * He was also a leader in the American Temperance Society. In 1833, he published: * "The Temperance Reformation. Fifth Report of the American Temperance Society. Presented at the meeting in Boston, May 1832" in ''The American Quarterly Observer.'' July 1833. Edgar Allan Poe famously remarked on Cheever: "He is much better known, however, as the editor of ''The Commonplace Book of American Poetry'', a work which has at least the merit of not belying its title, and ''is'' exceedingly commonplace".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheever, George B. 1807 births 1890 deaths 19th-century Congregationalist ministers 19th-century Presbyterian ministers Abolitionists from New York (state) American Congregationalist ministers American male non-fiction writers American Presbyterian ministers Andover Theological Seminary alumni Bowdoin College alumni Congregationalist abolitionists People from Englewood, New Jersey People from Hallowell, Maine Writers from New York City People from Salem, Massachusetts 19th-century American clergy Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery American book editors Temperance activists from New York (state)