KALPH WALDO EMBKSONCHAPTER ITHE CRESCENT MANRalph Waldo Emerson, the first of American thinkers, was born in the third year of the last century, May 25, 1803, in the "parish house" of the First (Unitarian) Church of Boston, of which his father, William Emerson, was minister. It is the pastime of his biographers to trace back his paternal ancestry through many stalwart and striking figures, mainly clerical, to its first clear emergence into the light of history in the sombre and troubled England of the Puritans and the Stuarts. The source of the family's earliest distinction is one Peter Bulkcley, "Rector of Woodhill or Odell in Bedfordshire," a man of admirable scholarship, piety, and contumacy, "who found the breadth of the Atlantic the only adequate symbol of the divergence between his views and those of the dogmatic and despotic Archbishop Laud. Bulkeley came to America in 1G34 and founded in the yet virgin wilderness the town of Concord ; later on, his race, in the persAbout the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org