Nathaniel Parker Willis was born in 1806 in the seaport town of Portland, Maine, which was then a territory of Massachusetts, to a storied New England family. He was the third generation of men named Nathaniel Willis to pursue a career in publishing: his father, Nathaniel Willis (1780-1870), worked in the periodical industry in Boston and Maine throughout his life, and his grandfather, also Nathaniel Willis (1755-1831), published and edited newspapers in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Ohio, and had been a participant in the Boston Tea Party. One of nine children, N. P. Willis, as he was sometimes called, also had a brother, Richard Storrs Willis (1819-1900), who became an accomplished music critic and composer, while his sister Sara Payson Willis (1811-1872) earned popularity as the author…

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Citation: Velella, Rob. "Nathaniel Parker Willis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 March 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4742, accessed 28 March 2024.]

4742 Nathaniel Parker Willis 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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