author

Rufus King Sewall

1814–1903

Best known for vivid local histories, this 19th-century writer explored Maine’s early past and later turned his eye to St. Augustine, blending research with a strong sense of place.

1 Audiobook

Sketches of St. Augustine

Sketches of St. Augustine

by Rufus King Sewall

About the author

Rufus King Sewall was an American author born in 1814 and died in 1903. Library of Congress records identify him as the author of Ancient Dominions of Maine (1859), a substantial work on Maine’s colonial-era history and Indigenous past.

His writing focused on regional history, especially the old settlements and coastal communities of Maine. Later readers also know him for Sketches of St. Augustine, a historical portrait of Florida’s oldest city that has remained available through Project Gutenberg.

Reliable biographical details about his personal life are limited in the sources I could confirm here. Genealogical records suggest ties to Wiscasset, Maine, and show that he had children, including Henry Edwin Sewall, but the clearest picture that survives is of a writer deeply interested in preserving local history and memory.