Document Number: |
AJ-107 |
Author: |
Josselyn, John, fl. 1630-1675 |
Title: |
An Account of Two Voyages to New-England Made during the Years 1638, 1663 |
Source: |
Josselyn, John. Account of Two Voyages to New-England Made during the Years 1638, 1663. (Boston: William Veazie, 1865). |
Pages/Illustrations: |
224 / 3 (tables) |
Citable URL: |
www.americanjourneys.org/aj-107/ |
Author Note
John Josselyn (1608-1675) was born in Essex, England to a
well-off family. While little is known of his personal life, he
had enough money to indulge his interest in medicine and botany.
He sailed twice to New England-first in 1638, for a few months,
and later in 1663, he stayed for eight years. Both times,
Josselyn visited his brother in Maine, an influential man in the
colonial government. Josselyn’s account of his time in New
England concentrates on the flora and fauna of Maine and
Massachusetts, but he also critically describes the culture of
the Puritan society he observed in the Bay Colony. While in New
England, he travelled widely, from the villages around Boston,
to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and areas around Black
Point, Maine, where he stayed with his brother.
Josselyn published his Account of Two Voyages after
his return to England in 1674 as an elaboration of his
well-received New England Rarities, which appeared in
1672. His second work, however, was not as popular with
the Royal Society, to which it was dedicated, perhaps because of
his irreverent views of Puritan New England. Josselyn died
shortly after the work was published, although the exact date is
unknown.
Voyages to New England, 1638 and 1663-1671
We do not know exactly why Josselyn decided to go to New
England. His interest in botany and medicine combined with a
brother with an important post in the colony created an
opportunity that made it possible for Josselyn to explore and
document the little-known flora, fauna, and medicinal cures of
the area.
Document Note
Josselyn provides us with the most complete natural history
of New England during the early years of the English settlement,
as well as acute observations on the impact of settlement on
both Indian society and American flora and fauna. His interest
in science led him to investigate the folk medicine of both
local Indian tribes and the European setters in the area and
document supposed cures from everything from toothache to
gallstones. Part travel-guide, part natural history, Josselyn
also provided detailed recommendations of the provisions
settlers might need to start a new life in New England and
descriptions of the principle settlements around Boston. His
vivid writing style and wonder at the wealth of American riches
influenced Henry David Thoreau who cites Josselyn’s work in A
Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849).
Other Internet and Reference Sources
The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust maintains a reference
site with an essay on Josselyn’s work as a herbalist. That essay
can be found at
http://www.scarboroughmaine.com/slct/referen/a01/rp1001.html.
For more information, see Plymouth State College’s
information on explorers and settlers of North America at
http://oz.plymouth.edu/~lts/wilderness/explorers.html. |
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