276 JOSEPH HENRY, LL.D. 



Joseph Henry was born in Albany, N. Y., 

 December 17, 1797, or 1799, probably the latter 

 date, this uncertainty arising from the illegibility 

 of the faded records in the old family Bible. His 

 grandparents came from Scotland, landing in this 

 country June 16, 1775, the day before the battle 

 of Bunker Hill. The father, William Henry, of 

 whom little is known, died when his first son, 

 Joseph, was nine years old. The boy had gone 

 two years previously to live with his maternal 

 grandmother at Galway, in the county of Sara- 

 toga, N. Y. 



Joseph's mother is remembered as a lady of great 

 refinement, delicate in form and feature, and very 

 beautiful in her youth. She was deeply devotional, 

 and probably to this fact is partially due Professor 

 Henry's earnest religious character through life. 



At the district school of Galway, under Israel 

 Phelps, Joseph exhibited no special aptitude for 

 books, though he showed an inquisitive mind. At 

 the age of ten, he was placed in a store kept by a 

 Mr. Broderick, who was very kind to him, allow- 

 ing him to attend school in the afternoons. 



His fondness for reading developed from a sin- 

 gular circumstance. Having lost a pet rabbit, 

 which had run into an opening in the foundation 

 wall of the village meeting-house, he crept through 

 the hole on his hands and knees, to find the run- 

 away. Discovering a light through a crevice, boy- 

 like, he decided to investigate his surroundings. 

 He soon reached the vestibule of the building, and 



