Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace facts for kids
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The Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace is the house where a famous American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was born. This special house is in Salem, Massachusetts. It was moved to the land of the House of the Seven Gables. A group called the House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association fixed it up.
People who live in Salem can visit for free all year. Others can visit for free in winter. In summer, there is a small fee to enter.
Contents
The House's Story
Building the Home
The house was first built between 1730 and 1745. It was for a sailor from Boston named Joshua Pickman. The land was given to Pickman by his father-in-law, Joseph Hardy. Some parts of the house might have come from an older building from the 1600s.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's grandfather, Daniel Hathorne, lived here by 1765. He bought the house in 1772. The family name was "Hathorne" back then. The "w" was added later.
Hawthorne's Family Life
Nathaniel Hathorne Sr. married Elizabeth Clarke Manning on August 2, 1801. They had known each other for many years. Their family homes were very close, separated only by a small garden.
The couple could not afford their own home. So, they moved into the Union Street house. The groom's widowed mother and three unmarried siblings already lived there. Elizabeth's family, the Mannings, were wealthier. They owned most of the property on Union and Herbert Streets.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birth
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in this house on July 4, 1804. He lived there until he was four years old. His father died at sea when Nathaniel was very young. After that, his family moved to a property owned by the Mannings on Herbert Street.
Sophia Peabody, who later became Hawthorne's wife, moved to Union Street in 1812. She lived with her family near the Essex Street corner. As a married couple, the Hawthornes later lived in Salem at 18 Chestnut Street. Their son, Julian Hawthorne, was born there. Hawthorne also wrote his famous book, The Scarlet Letter, at 14 Mall Street in Salem.
Hawthorne's Memories
In 1853, Hawthorne wrote about his birthplace. He said he was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He mentioned it was a house built by his grandfather, who was a sailor. He remembered rolling on the grass under an apple tree in the garden. He also picked many currants there.
His mother, Elizabeth, also described his birthplace around 1865. She wrote that Nathaniel was born on July 4, 1804. He was born in the room above the small parlor. This house belonged to his grandmother, Rachel Phelps Hathorne.
Moving the House
In 1958, the house was moved to its current spot. It is now at 27 Hardy Street. This is on the grounds of the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion. Hawthorne made this mansion famous in his novel The House of the Seven Gables (1851). A later addition to the house was not moved.
The house shows typical architecture from its time. It has a central chimney and a gambrel roof. There are front and back stairways. The doorway has a post-and-lintel design. The ground floor has a kitchen on the right and a main room on the left. The second floor has rooms on each side. Most of the inside of the house is still the same as it was long ago.
See also
- List of historic houses in Massachusetts
- List of residences of American writers
