Nathaniel
Hawthorne
was born in July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. His father,
also
Nathaniel, was a sea captain and descendent of John Hawthorne, one of
the judges in the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. He died when the
young Nathaniel was four year old. Hawthorne grew up in seclusion with
his widowed mother Elizabeth - and for the rest of her life they relied
on each other for emotional solace. Later he wrote to his friend Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
"I have locked myself in a dungeon and I can't find the key to get
out." Hawthorne was educated at the Bowdoin College in Maine (1821-24).
In the school among his friends were Longfellow and Franklin Pierce,
who became the 14th president of the U.S. A descendant of a judge in
the Salem witch trials, he spent a solitary,
bookish childhood with his widowed and reclusive mother. After
graduating from Bowdoin College, he returned to Salem and prepared for
a writing career with 12 years of solitary study and writing
interrupted by summer tours through the NE. Hawthorne's mother,
Elizabeth Clarke Manning, was born in 1780.
Hawthorne attended
Worcestor's school until November, 1813 when he was
injured while playing ball. Although the extent of the injury is
unclear, Hawthorne had a long convalescence. In fact, it was only with
the intervention of his mother and his Uncle Robert that he left his
bed after several months and began walking on crutches. Hawthorne's
mother believed her son's eventual recovery was the result of a cold
water cure advocated by Dr. Smith of Hanover, New Hampshire, which
entailed pouring cold water over the foot every morning. Whatever the
reason for his recovery, it was not a smooth one. Hawthorne relapsed at
one point and returned to using crutches. The reasons for the lengthy
convalescence may be psychological, rooted in the memory of his
father's death as well as of the deaths of his Manning grandmother. It
was during this period that Hawthorne became a voracious reader, and he
was instructed at home by Joseph Worcester.
In 1818 Hawthorne once again moved to Maine to attend boarding school in Stroudwater, near Portland. In February of 1819, he returned to Raymond, cutting short his term by six weeks, and in November of 1819, he returned to Salem where he attended Samuel Archer's school in preparation for college. Between late August and late September of 1820, Hawthorne and his sister, Louisa, published seven issues of The Spectator, a witty imitation of the Salem Gazette containing short literary pieces, news, and advertisements, and circulated it to members of the family. Although revealing Hawthorne's comic side, pieces in The Spectator often focused on death, perhaps another indication, along with Hawthorne's self-imposed long convalescence from his injury as a youth, of a deep pain from the loss of his father. Also beginning in 1820, Hawthorne received tutoring from Benjamin Oliver in Salem. The following August, Hawthorne left for Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He never went back to Raymond, even on vacations from Bowdoin, since his mother had moved back to Salem in 1822.
In 1818 Hawthorne once again moved to Maine to attend boarding school in Stroudwater, near Portland. In February of 1819, he returned to Raymond, cutting short his term by six weeks, and in November of 1819, he returned to Salem where he attended Samuel Archer's school in preparation for college. Between late August and late September of 1820, Hawthorne and his sister, Louisa, published seven issues of The Spectator, a witty imitation of the Salem Gazette containing short literary pieces, news, and advertisements, and circulated it to members of the family. Although revealing Hawthorne's comic side, pieces in The Spectator often focused on death, perhaps another indication, along with Hawthorne's self-imposed long convalescence from his injury as a youth, of a deep pain from the loss of his father. Also beginning in 1820, Hawthorne received tutoring from Benjamin Oliver in Salem. The following August, Hawthorne left for Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He never went back to Raymond, even on vacations from Bowdoin, since his mother had moved back to Salem in 1822.
The Bowdoin Hawthorne attended had only three buildings: Maine Hall, Massachusetts Hall, and the chapel. There were 38 freshmen and five faculty members when Hawthorne matriculated. The curriculum focussed on the classics and on religion, not surprising as most colleges in America were originally created to educate ministers.
Hawthorne's roommate
for his freshman and sophomore year was
Alfred Mason, son of a prominent Portsmouth, N.H. attorney. Mason's
affluence contrasted with Hawthorne's meagre allowance from his Uncle
Robert, and Hawthorne frequently wrote letters to his family that had
the message, "send money." Despite being seemingly always short of
funds, however, Hawthorne led an active social life. Alfred Mason
introduced him to Horatio Bridge, and he also met Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, Jonathan Cilley, and Franklin Pierce. Horatio Bridge and
Franklin Pierce became close and lifelong friends. It was with these
friends that Hawthorne gambled, drank at Ward's Tavern, smoked, and
violated other college rules, sometimes getting caught and fined. The
Peabody Essex Museum has a letter from Hawthorne to his mother in which
he announces , "If I am again detected I shall have the honour of being
suspended." Hawthorne did manage to avoid suspension, however, and
graduated on September 7, 1825. 
On November 11,
1837, however, at the invitation of Elizabeth Peabody, daughter of Dr.
Nathaniel Peabody and Elizabeth Paler Peabody, Hawthorne and his
sisters, Elizabeth and Louisa, called on the Peabody at their home on Charter St. in Salem. It was on this occasion that
Hawthorne first met Sophia Peabody, sister of Elizabeth and Mary, and
the woman to whom he would become engaged the following year. Helped by
Elizabeth Peabody, in January of 1839, Hawthorne obtained a position as
measurer of salt and coal in the Boston Custom House. In late October
he moved into rooms at 54 Pinkeye St. with the Billiards and then to 8
Somerset Place in Boston. Hawthorne left his position at the Boston
Custom House in the spring of 1840, and in the spring of 1841 he moved
to Brook Farm, a utopian community in West Robbery, Massachusetts. Soon
disillusioned, however, Hawthorne left Brook Farm, and on July 9, 1842,
he married Sophia Peabody at the house of her parents in Boston.
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