The Family and Social Life of the Puritans
“No other section of the Anglo-Saxon race has excelled the Puritans in the number of great men and of good men — soldiers and statesmen and scholars — that it has produced.”
Who were the Puritans? How did they live? What did they believe? These questions and more are vividly answered by Byington in this abridged version of his 1896 masterwork The Puritan in England and New England.
Ezra’s remarkable scholarship takes readers on a grand tour of the daily, family, social and religious life of the American Puritans as he examines the currents of their everyday lives amid the sweeping grand movements of religious thought in Colonial America.
Both approachable for those new to Puritan history yet filled with enough detail and original source material to intrigue Puritan specialists, The Family and Social Life of the Puritans is essential reading for those wanting a greater appreciation of America’s Christian heritage.
This new deluxe non-facsimile edition features updated formatting and organization, modernized spelling, and updated notes and sources.
About the Author
Ezra Hoyt Byington (1828–1901) was a New England Congregationalist clergyman and chronicler of American Puritan history. He preached in Royalton, Vermont and was pastor of the First Congregational Church of Windsor, Vermont. He also held preaching posts in Montreal, Brunswick, Maine and Monson, Massachusetts. He held degrees from the University of Vermont, and Andover Theological Seminary. He was married to Anna Eliza, and then Louisa Jane. He was principal of Underhill Academy, and librarian of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. His works on Puritan history are regarded to this day. Learn More