GEORGE SEWALL BOUTWELL. 7 



In 1835 the town of Groton was a place of much impor- 

 tance relatively. It was the residence of several men of more 

 than local fame. Timothy Fuller, the father of Margaret, was 

 living there. He was a lawyer of considerable distinction, 

 and he had held important public positions. He had been 

 a representative and senator in the Massachusetts Legislature, 

 speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and 

 a member of Congress from the Cambridge district from 

 1817 to 1825. He died in October, 1835. 



Mr. Fuller was a man of regular and careful habits, indeed 

 he belonged to a family noted for their devotion to the pro- 

 fession of law, and for their odd manners and styles of dress. 



Mr. Fuller's eldest son, Eugene, was afterwards a student 

 in the law office of George F. Farley. He was a good debater 

 as a young man, but as a student rather irregular. He went 

 to New Orleans to reside, became an editor of, or writer on, 

 the Picayune, and on a return voyage from Boston he was lost 

 overboard [from the steamer " Empire City," on June 2 1 , 1859]. 



Margaret Fuller continued to reside in Groton with her 

 mother and the other members of the family for several years 

 — until about 1841, I think. In the meantime I met her fre- 

 quently, although she was several years my senior. She was 

 a teacher in the Sunday school, and at the Sunday-evening 

 teachers' meetings she was accustomed to set forth her opin- 

 ions with great frankness, and in a style which assumed that 

 they were not open to debate. While she lived at Groton 

 she contributed to the Dial. 



In personal appearance Margaret Fuller was less attractive 

 than one might imagine from the portraits and engravings 

 now seen. Her ability was recognized, but the celebrity that 

 she attained finally was not anticipated, probably, by any of 

 her town acquaintances. Her writings may justify the opin- 

 ion that as a writer and thinker she is in the front rank of 

 American women. 



Samuel Dana, who had been a judge for many years, pres- 

 ident of the Massachusetts Senate for three terms, and a 

 member of Congress for one term, was also a resident of 

 Groton. He had been an active politician on the Democratic 



