Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/156

 CARVER.

CARVER.

accompanied his pastor to Holland, and settled in Leyden in 1609. There he became a deacon of the church and a man of influence, and was among those who urged the departure of the colony from Leyden, " lest their young men should enlist in foreign service, and the little community be lost in a foreign nation, its Eng-


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lish speech being forgotten and its religious faith disturbed." In 1617 he was sent to England with Robert Cushman, to secure from the Virginia company the right to settle in its territory, and from the king security for religious freedom, should they go to Virginia. These agents were also empowered to secure transportation, and hired the Mayflower in London. His name stands at the head of those signed to the compact on board that vessel Nov. 11, 1620. [The illustration above represents the Mayfloicer, from a paint- ing at Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, Mass.] He Avas chosen governor of the colony for the first year at the same time, and the policy he pursued in harmonizing the diverse elements among the colonists, encouraging the despondent, control- ling the enthusiastic, and in conciliating the Indians, did much to secure the peace of the colony. He was re-elected governor, March 25, 1621, and died in April, 1621.

CARVER, Jonathan, traveller, was born in Canterbury, Conn., in 1733; grandson of William Joseph Carver of Wigan, Lancashire, Englan^J, an officer in the colony of Connecticut. The father of Jonathan was a justice of the peace, who gave the son as good an education as the locality and period afforded, and died about 1747. Until 1750 Jonathan studied medicine, and in that year was appointed an ensign in a Connecti- cut regiment. He served in the Canadian cam- paign in 1755, and in 1757 was a lieutenant in the Massachusetts battalion, raised by Colonel Par- tridge, to serve against Canada. He was promoted captain in 1760, and in 1762 led a company in Saltonstall's regiment. He retired from the ser- vice in 1763. In June, 1766, he set out from Bos- ton for the purpose of exploring the portion of the American continent which was claimed by Great Britain. Travelling by the way of Albany

and Niagara he reached Mackinaw, where he was supplied with credit on the traders at Prairie du Chien for an assortment of goods, believing that he would thus be received by the Indians with less suspicion. From Prairie du Chien he pro- ceeded down the Wisconsin river and arrived at Prairie du Sac, Oct. 8, 1766. From the Wisconsin river they went to the Mississippi. He paddled a canoe up the Mississippi to Lake Pepin, leaving the water at the mouth of the Minnesota and proceeding on foot to the Falls of St. Anthony. He then penetrated to the shores of Lake Superior and returned to Boston, arriving there in Octo- ber, 1768, having been absent two years and seven months, and travelled nearly se ren thousand miles. He went to England to commimicate his discoveries, where he was subjected to a long examination before he was given permission to publish his papers. He was soon after obliged to repurchase his manuscript from his publisher at great expense, and deliver it to the council, they allowing him for it but a small sum, quite insufficient to meet the expense he had incurred. Ten years after the completion of his tour he received permission to publish his book, which appeared in London in 1778, under the title " Three years' Travels through the Interior Parts of North America." This book was translated into several languages and printed in about twenty-three editions. The following year lie published a Treatise on the Culture of Tobacco. The proceeds from his books were small, and he died in London, according to the Oentleman^s Magazine, "absolutely and strictly starved." The benevolent Dr. Lettsom secured the publica- tion of a new edition of his travels for the bene- fit of his widow and children, and this act led to the institution of the Royal literary fund of Lon- don. The date of his death is Jan. 31, 1780.

CARVER, Leonard Dwight, librarian, was- born at LaGrange, Penobscot county. Me., Jan. 26, 1841. He received a high-school education, and attended Foxcroft academy for a short time, leaving school in April, 1861, to volunteer in the army. He served with his regiment in everjr skirmish and battle in which it was engaged, and was discharged in June, 1863. In Aiigustj. 1864, he entered Colby university at Waterville, Me., and was graduated in 1868 with the highest honors. Until 1873 he taught school in Maine, removing then to Illinois, where for three year& he taught school and studied law. In 1876 he was admitted to the bar in Maine, and until 1890 practised inWaterville, meanwhile holding vari- ous local offices. He was appointed state librarian at Augusta in December, 1890. He reorganized the library, procured the passage of various library laws, and organized free public libraries, throughout the state.