Langdon, Samuel (12 January 1723–29 November 1797), Congregational minister, patriot, and college president, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Langdon, a house builder, and Esther Osgood. His father died while Samuel was an infant, but despite his impoverished circumstances, Langdon attended Harvard College from 1736 to 1740, earning his A.B. and A.M. degrees....
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Langdon, Samuel (1723-1797), Congregational minister, patriot, and college president
Mark A. Peterson
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Sampson, Deborah (1760-1827), revolutionary heroine and public speaker
Samuel Willard Crompton
Sampson, Deborah (17 December 1760–29 April 1827), revolutionary heroine and public speaker, was born in Plympton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Jonathan Sampson and Deborah Bradford, farmers. Born into a family that claimed a distinguished lineage from the days of the early Pilgrims in Massachusetts, Sampson endured a painful and impoverished childhood. Her father died when Deborah was five. She lived with an elderly female relative for three years and with a pastor’s widow for two more years before she was bound out as a servant to the family of Jeremiah Thomas in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Sampson thrived during the period of her indenture, learning manual skills and her letters. She became literate enough to teach school for a period of six months after she became free from her indenture in 1779. To this point in her life, little distinguished her from her fellows other than her physical strength. She was five feet seven inches, and observers commented on her sturdy physique....
