FRANCIS PARKMAN, JR. (16 September 1823-8 November 1893), was the eldest son of the Reverend Francis Parkman, pastor of the New York Church and a leader in orthodox Unitarianism in Boston. Young Parkman shared the social prominence and affluence which characterized the Boston Brahmins. His ancestor, Elias Parkman, had come to Massachusetts Bay in 1633, and his grandfather, Samuel Parkman, had been one of Boston's wealthiest merchants. Francis Parkman's mother was a descendant of John Cotton of Boston, grandfather of Cotton Mather. Parkman attended Gideon Thayer's renowned private school at Chauncey Place and entered Harvard College in 1840. Even while studying trigonometry and Greek history, Parkman exercised his passion for outdoor life. Ironically, his recurrent ill health influenced his skill as a woodsman. As a young sickly child, he was sent to his grandfather's farm near Medford. For five years Parkman lived there and acquired a keen interest in woodlore. As a...