house was occupied by John Thoreau, Sr., and his large family, from the spring of 1837 to the late autumn of 1844; and the two brothers commenced their school in it during the summer of 1838. Just before that, Henry had made a visit to his father's relatives in Bangor, Maine, and on the way sought for a school to teach in that State, taking with him the kindly recommendation of the aged pastor of Concord, Dr. Ripley, then occupying the Old Manse.
In the household of the Thoreaus were then included two ladies from Boston, Mrs. Colonel Ward, widow of a Revolutionary officer, and her daughter, Miss Prudence Ward, an accomplished person and a faithful correspondent of her brothers and sisters. From her letters we get glimpses of the Thoreau brothers, and some mention of their voyage up the New Hampshire rivers. Thus, in April, 1838, Miss Ward writes as follows:
"April 2. I am writing now in a sick-chamber. My friend Maria Thoreau [aunt of Henry] isn't well, and I am head nurse for the day. At our house, Mrs. John Thoreau's
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