Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (15 December 1831-24 February 1917), teacher, author, abolitionist, and social reformer, was born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, and educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College. In November 1854 a ten-minute call Sanborn had paid on Emerson the previous spring was rewarded by Emerson's request that Sanborn take over the school once kept by John and Henry Thoreau. Living with William Ellery Channing, the younger, Sanborn grew increasingly interested in abolitionism. After meeting John Brown in the summer of 1857, Sanborn became a zealous disciple of Brown and a member of the "Secret Six"--the only men to know in advance of the Harper's Ferry raid. After the raid, Sanborn fled to Canada and, at Emerson's request, returned to Concord under an assumed name. On the night of 3 April 1860 deputies of the United States Senate attempted to kidnap Sanborn, but a crowd of Concord citizens, including Emerson, ran...