American novelist and clergyman, born in Portland, ME, in 1809. After being a sailor and engaging in mercantile pursuits he attended college, and afterward became an instructor in Washington College, MS. Later, he took orders in the Episcopal Church and had a parish at Holly Springs, MS. He wrote The Southwest, by a Yankee (1836); between 1836 and 1854 a number of wild romances, among them Lafitte, or the Pirate of the Gulf; Captain Kyd; and The Dancing Feather; also The Prince of the House of David (1855); The Pillar of Fire (1859); and other works. He died at Holly Springs in December 1860.
