Author William Makepeace Thayer was born in Franklin, Massachusetts on February 23, 1820. He graduated from Brown in 1843, studied theology, and was a pastor at the orthodox Congregational church in Ashland, Massachusetts from 1849 to 1857. Due to throat trouble, he left the church in 1858 and decided to focus on literary work. He wrote numerous religious and juvenile books including The Bobbin Boy; The Pioneer Boy; From Log-Cabin to the White House; Tact, Push, and Principle; From Pioneer Home to the White House; and From Tannery to the White House. He died in 1898.
