Lord, Eleazar; Lempriere, John. Lempriere's Universal Biography; containing A Critical and Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Labours of Eminent Persons, in all Ages and Countries. Together with Selections of Foreign Biography from Watkins's Dictionary, recently published, and about Eight Hundred Original Articles of American Biography (2 volume set). New-York: R. Lockwood, 154 Broadway. J. & J. Harper, Printers, 1825. First Edition. [12151]
Two volumes in brown polished leather, red & black spine title labels in gilt-bordered panels, both bindings good with fine joints, light edge-wear and scuffing, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, small old blotchy stains, tight. 784 & 852 clean pp. printed in double columns; 8 pp. subscriber's list at the end of volume 2. Good. Hardcover.
In addition to all of the original material by Lempriere, this contains 800 biographies of eminent Americans written by Lord: Revolutionary War heroes, “founding fathers,” colonial leaders, and many other early American characters.
"In the following work, every character, it may generally be said, has been included which might have strong claim on the notice of posterity, either from public notoriety, or from lasting celebrity. Those who have benefited their fellow-creatures by their exertions either in the walks of science and literature, or in the improvement of the polite arts, in the extension of commerce, or in the useful labours of industry; or those who, in the field of honour, have fought with superior valour for the glories and for the independence of their parent state, all are strongly entitled to the gratitude of mankind. Those likewise, whose vices and crimes have rendered them too celebrated in the annals of time, have a claim to the notice of the biographer; and though to pass over the foibles as well as the enormities of his fellow-creatures might be a pleasing omission, yet the sacred character of truth requires that the irregular passions of men should be curbed, by observing the fatal effects and the everlasting disgrace which misapplied talents have produced, and the many calamities which the indulgence of criminal desires in public life, as well as in domestic society, has always entailed on the world." - Preface.
Eleazar Lord (1788-1871), b. Franklin, Connecticut; d. Piermont-on-the-Hudson, New York. Lord was educated at Phillips Academy, Andover; at the Andover Theological Seminary; and at Princeton College. In 1812 he was licensed to preach by the Haverhill Association at Salem, New Hampshire, but a troubling condition with his eyes forced him to give up his desire to continue in the Christian ministry.
Lord next devoted himself to business concerns, and to writing. He was a successful banker, the founder of the Manhattan Insurance Company, and the first president of the Erie Railroad Company. His business expertise enabled him to suggest a revision of how banking was conducted in the United States, and during the American Civil War he was called upon by Congress to recommend a method of protecting the finances of the Union. He was a prominent supporter of the New York University, and helped to found the theological seminaries at East Windsor, Connecticut, and at Auburn, New York.
His writings include the first American history of Protestant Missions, several other books on religion, and books on banking, geology, and an edition of Lempriere's Universal Biography. He was also a frequent contributor to the scientific and the religious press.
His Christian work included being a deacon of the First Protestant Dutch Church in New York City, the organization of Sunday Schools in that city, the founding of the American Bible Society, and forming friendships with notable leaders such as William Wilberforce, Rowland Hill, and Thomas Chalmers.
