William Wells Newell (1839–1907) was an American folklorist, school teacher, minister and philosophy professor.

Biography

Newell was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

. After trying his hand at ministry, he was a faculty member at the new philosophy department at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

for a few years. However, the bulk of Newell's career was as a school teacher. He taught at the Wells Schoolfounded by his grandfather, William Wellssituated on Elmwood Avenue.''The Cambridge of Eighteen Hundred Ninety Six'', ed. Arthur Gilman, Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1896; p. 38 Newell founded the American Folklore Society in 1888 where he edited the ''

Journal of American Folklore The ''Journal of American Folklore'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. Since 2003, this has been done on its behalf by the University of Illinois Press. The journal has been published since the society' ...

''. His best known work is ''Games and Songs of American Children'' (1883, Mineola, N. Y.). The songs included tunes with the lyrics, and this book is the first collection of the

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

of American children. Dover Publications of New York published a reprint edition (with a new introduction and index by Carl Withers; ); Nabu Press published the book again in 2010 ().

Legacy

The American Folklore Society's ''Children's Folklore Section'' awards the annual Prize, which is presented for the best student essay.

References

*''Dictionary of American Biography''

External links

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William Wells Newell

American Folklore Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newell, William Wells 1839 births 1907 deaths Harvard University faculty American folklorists Harvard Divinity School alumni Harvard College alumni