Dictionary.net

An American novelist and historian; born in Guilford, Conn., May 27, 1817; died Aug. 23, 1883. Settling in New York, he was one of the founders and trustees of the Children's Aid Society in 1853, and in 1857 was one of the commissioners for laying out Central Park. He published among other works: "Cottages and Cottage Life" (1848); "Mysteries, or Glimpses of the Supernatural" (1852); "The Book of American Interiors"; "Pottery and Porcelain"; "Remarkable Characters and Places in the Holy Land"; "St. Domingo, its Revolution and its Hero"; "Wind and Whirlwind", a novel; and others.