Henry James Sr. is now known mainly as the father of the novelist Henry James and the philosopher William James, but in his own lifetime he was prominent as a writer and speaker in the circles around the Transcendentalists where the heritage of New England Calvinism was transformed into a more optimistic, benevolent and secular Christianity.
The history of the James family in America goes back to the landing of William James, a poor Irish immigrant from County Cavan in 1789. Hard work and good judgement enabled William to move quickly from work as a clerk in a New York store to speculative land purchases in Manhattan and upper New York State, and then into salt manufacture and other commercial interests. His fortunes rose with …
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