Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had close ties to American historical events; his ancestors played significant roles in the development of the country.
His father, Stephen Longfellow (1776-1849), was the namesake of two generations of Portland educators and civic officers.
Stephen Longfellow was a Harvard-educated lawyer who lived by his family's ethic of social responsibility and civic duty.
Stephen Longfellow served in the Massachusetts and Maine state legislatures and in the United States Congress (1823-1825), and was a founder and officer of many of Maine's early educational, benevolent, and cultural institutions.
