Noah
Webster was born 250 years ago. He had two brothers
and two sisters. He was born in West
Hartford, Connecticut and lived in a four room house
on South Main Street. Today this red house
is a museum where visitors can learn about Noah’s
life.
Noah
was very smart. Most children in the
1700’s did not go to school beyond age 10,
when they were old enough to help on the farm. None
of Noah’s brothers and sisters went to high
school, but Noah had a tutor, a minister who helped
prepare him for college.
When
he was 16, he went to Yale University in New Haven. After he graduated from college, he
thought about becoming a lawyer, but he was also
very interested in education. He wanted the schools
to be much better. He thought education was
the best way for America to become a strong country. He
taught school in Glastonbury, and in the West District
which is now called West Hartford.
He
married a girl named Rebecca Greenleaf, and they
had eight children. They had four girls before
they had a boy. They had six daughters and
two sons.
Noah
wrote many books to educate people about the English
language and about our government. His
most famous books were the Blue-Backed Speller and
the American Dictionary. The speller sold millions
of copies during his lifetime. The dictionary
had 70,000 words and took him 27 years to write. He
died at age 85, which was a very long life for that
time in history.
Today
Blue Back Square in West Hartford Center is named
after his speller. You can see his statue
in front of the West Hartford library on Main Street. You
can visit his house today with a school group or
with your family. You will learn about Noah, the
house, games, dress, cooking and history of the time
of Noah.
The Noah Webster House &