Magazine of American History

Before me sits a crinkled old publication that actually falls apart when I pick it up. I feel the responsibility to carry on its contents before it is just distributed into pure air. Yet because it is so important I am having a hard time integrating it directly into my manuscript; I am currently rewriting Puritan Leveretts and needed it for this picture that it has of John in the front. I have not even scanned the picture yet.

When I opened it, I found several very important articles. All are history from about 1889, when it was published. It calls John Sir John Leverett, and makes the claim that he was knighted in 1676 by Charles I. Under the picture, though, the caption says that it was in 1686, and that's impossible, because he was dead. I should mention that both claims are possibly spurious. A later study felt that he was never knighted at all and that that must have been false information. It appears though that in 1889 it was widely believed that he was.

At least two articles in it are very important to me and worth literally poring over although I find myself unable to turn the pages without its falling apart. This makes me wonder if this magazine is not in fact digitalized and/or available in other reprinted formats. Maybe my first course of research should be whether I can find it in some digital format. But even what I read is so important that I have to write about it here before I can clearly transport it into my manuscripts. I might also work on typing the article(s) if I find that they are no longer available elsewhere.

It's an article about the founding of the Artillery in Boston that gushes about John and merits his picture being put in the front of the magazine. I suspect that the magazine was saved because of that picture, as it has "Sir John Leverett" written on the first available page which is not the cover, the cover having long ago been lost. The article about the Artillery says something about his "friendship with the General," in reference to the English Civil War, and from that I have to infer that he was friends with Cromwell himself and came home talking about it. I am not sure though: could that be someone else? I will provide the quote here. I will have to write it and rewrite it before I understand completely.

"...The history of Sir John Leverett, the last of the early commanders above mentioned, is comparatively well known. The story of his early life in Boston, his return to England to serve under Cromwell in the struggle against his King, how he gained the friendship of the great Puritan general and was made commander of a company of foot-soldiers, has been many times told. His subsequent life in America, however, is of more importance to the student of colonial history than the stirring events of his career in Europe. Three times (1652, 1663, 1670) he was elected commander of the artillery company, and he was successively a delegate to the general court, one of the governor's council, major-general of the militia, deputy-governor, and governor of the commonwealth, all the while retaining his membership in this "ancient" organization." The ease and skill with which he transacted the public business and the ability displayed by him as governor during King Philip's War attracted the favorable notice of Charles II., who knighted him in 1676, three years before his death. (pp. 462-163)

The proper reference for this magazine looks like this, I believe:
Rasay, C.E.S. (1889, Jan.-June). The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. The Magazine of American History. Vol. XXI, ed. by Martha Lamb. New York.

By the way the author strongly stands by his work, claiming that "conflicting sources have been scrutinized," but I'm not sure there was any disagreement about his being knighted at the time; that wasn't questioned until later.

So there you have it. As friends with Cromwell, he could at least push that around for a few years. I will look into it.

Another article is about the earliest days of Iowa City. I couldn't have it a better jackpot.