George Barrell Cheever (April 7, 1807 – October 1, 1890) was a well-known and controversial

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

minister and writer. Born in Hallowell, Maine, he was an 1825 graduate of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

, where he was a classmate of Nathanial Hawthorne and

Henry W. Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to complet ...

, and

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

. In 1832 he became pastor of the Howard Street Congregational Church in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

. In 1838 he became pastor of the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, in New York City, and in 1846 the new Congregational Church of the Puritans. New York City. In 1846 he married Elizabeth Hoppin Wetmore Cheever; they had no children. He was a leader of the Christian Abolitionist Movement. His best-known works, which went through multiple editions and are held by hundreds of libraries, are: * * He was also a leader in the American Temperance Society. In 1833, he published: * "The Temperance Reformation. Fifth Report of the American Temperance Society. Presented at the meeting in Boston, May 1832" in ''The American Quarterly Observer.'' July 1833.

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

famously remarked on Cheever: "He is much better known, however, as the editor of ''The Commonplace Book of American Poetry'', a work which has at least the merit of not belying its title, and ''is'' exceedingly commonplace".

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheever, George B. 1807 births 1890 deaths 19th-century American Congregationalist ministers 19th-century American Presbyterian ministers Abolitionists from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers Andover Theological Seminary alumni Bowdoin College alumni Congregationalist abolitionists People from Englewood, New Jersey People from Hallowell, Maine Writers from New York City People from Salem, Massachusetts Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery American book editors Temperance activists from New York (state) Christian abolitionists