Samuel Adams Drake

Born in Boston on December 20, 1833, he was the son of antiquarian and historian Samuel Gardner Drake. He began his career in journalism, went west to Kansas in the late 1850s, and served with the Kansas militia during the Civil War before returning to literary work.

He became best known as a journalist and author whose books explored Boston, New England, and the American past. Titles such as Old Landmarks and Historic Personages of Boston, Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast, and A Book of New England Legends and Folk-Lore show how comfortably he moved between local history, travel writing, and traditional tales.

His writing has an easy, curious quality that suits audiobook listening well: he liked to recover memorable people, places, and stories and present them for general readers rather than specialists. He died on December 4, 1905, leaving behind a body of work that helped preserve the character, folklore, and historical memory of New England.