author
Abraham Tomlinson
A 19th-century collector and editor of early American historical documents, he is best known for preserving firsthand military journals from the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. His books helped bring rare manuscripts and Revolutionary-era records to a wider readership.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Abraham Tomlinson was an American editor, publisher, and manuscript collector active in the mid-1800s. He is best known for The Military Journals of Two Private Soldiers, 1758-1775, published in 1855, which gathered firsthand accounts from two ordinary soldiers and presented them with explanatory notes.
He was also associated with the collection later known as the "Tomlinson Collection," a group of historical manuscripts gathered in New York. Material from that collection was used in New York City during the American Revolution (1861), a volume that helped preserve and share original documents from the Revolutionary period.
Although biographical details about his life are hard to confirm from readily available sources, his lasting importance is clear: he played a part in saving everyday historical voices that might otherwise have been lost. For listeners interested in early American history, his work offers a direct window into the experiences of common soldiers and the documentary record of the Revolution.