"on dramatizing a short story by Somerset Maugham led to a relaxed, bantering relationship with that British writer as well and many visits to Maugham's home on the Riviera. Publisher Bennett Cerf repeatedly urged Behrman to write a biography of Maugham, feeling that he knew him as well as anyone. It was a project Behrman toyed with throughout the 1960s, but ultimately declined on the advice of ""New Yorker"" editor William Shawn. When in Italy, he was a welcome guest of Max Beerbohm, whose biography he wrote in 1960, four years after Beerbohm's death. Behrman's two most anthologized plays, which"
"Massachusetts from two English ""owners"". He had friendly relations with the Wampanoags on the island, in part because he was careful to honor their land rights. His son, also named Thomas Mayhew, began the first English settlement in 1642 at Great Harbor (later Edgartown, Massachusetts). The younger Mayhew began a relationship with Hiacoomes, a Native American neighbor, which eventually led to Hiacoomes' family converting to Christianity. Ultimately, many of the tribe became Christian, including the pow-wows (spiritual leaders) and sachems (political leaders). During King Philip's War later in the century, the Martha's Vineyard band did not join their tribal relatives"
"16 to Protestant evangelicalism and believed in daily Bible reading, obedience, strict punctuality and the forgoing of worldly pleasures including drinking (alcohol), smoking and visiting the theatre. In the 1910s, Maugham began her interior design career as an apprentice under Ernest Thornton-Smith for a London decorating firm learning there about the intricacies of furniture restoration, trompe-l'oeil, curtain design, and the mechanics of traditional upholstery. In 1922 at the age of 42, Maugham borrowed £400 and opened her own interior decorating business at 85 Baker Street, London in 1922. As the shop flourished, Maugham began decorating, taking on projects in Palm"
"as a clerk, before moving to London following the death of his mother. His wife was Moina Mathers (née Mina Bergson), sister of the philosopher Henri Bergson. Mathers added the ""MacGregor"" surname as a claim to Highland Scottish heritage, although there is little evidence of such in his family background. He was a practising vegetarian, or (according to some accounts) vegan, an outspoken anti-vivisectionist, and a non-smoker. It is known that his main interests were magic and the theory of war, his first book being a translation of a French military manual. He became more and more of an eccentric"
"were married. Syrie Maugham became a noted interior decorator who in the 1920s popularized ""the all-white room"". Their daughter was familiarly called Liza and her surname was changed to Maugham. The marriage was unhappy, and the couple separated. Maugham thereafter lived in the French Riviera with his partner Gerald Haxton until Haxton's death in 1944, after which he lived with Alan Searle until his own death in 1965. Maugham has been described as both bisexual and as homosexual. In addition to his 13-year marriage to Syrie Wellcome, he had affairs with other women in his youth. In later life Maugham"
"independence was won. James Somerset, an enslaved African, was purchased by Charles Stewart or Steuart, a Customs officer when he was in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, a British crown colony in North America. Stewart brought Somerset with him when he returned to England in 1769 but in 1771 Somerset escaped. After he was recaptured in November, Stewart had him imprisoned on the ship ""Ann and Mary"" (under Captain John Knowles), bound for the British colony of Jamaica. He directed that Somerset be sold to a plantation for labour. Somerset's three godparents from his baptism as a Christian in England,"
"Maryland. His last name then was changed from ""Donegani"" to ""Donegan"". He initially pursued a career as a stage actor, but after falling in love with the daughter of his landlady (infuriated at the thought of an actor as her son-in-law) he decided on an ecclesiastical path, although he never married. He studied at Harvard Divinity School, and did his undergraduate work at St. Stephen's College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He later studied theology at Oxford University and obtained his divinity degree in 1927 from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Donegan was ordained to the priesthood on May"
"year 1685. William Cooper, Judge, father of James Fenimore Cooper Chris Matthews, television personality and host of MSNBC's ""Hardball with Chris Matthews"", was raised in Somerton and attended St. Christopher's School, a Catholic grade school. Dr. Robert E. Moffit, Domestic Policy Analyst for the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, was raised in Somerton and attended St Christopher's School. Dr. Moffit graduated from Roman Catholic High School and went on to earn his Doctorate at the University of Arizona. Doreen Streibig McGettigan, author, was raised in the Lorraine Gardens section of Somerton and attended St. Christopher's School. The historic Watson Comly"
"in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, and baptized on November 20, 1623. He was the eldest son of Nicholas Danforth (1589–1638) and Elizabeth Symmes (1596–1629). Danforth immigrated with his father, brothers Samuel and Jonathan, and sisters Anna, Elizabeth, and Lydia to New England in 1634, probably aboard the ""Griffin"". The family, along with the 200 or so other passengers aboard, left England to escape persecution for their Puritan beliefs. William Laud had become archbishop of the Church of England in 1633 and begun a crackdown on Nonconformist religious practices (such as those practiced by the more Calvinist Puritans) that prompted a wave"
"whom he had first met in 1928. A young man from the London slum area of Bermondsey, Searle had already been kept by older men. He proved a devoted if not a stimulating companion. One of Maugham's friends, describing the difference between Haxton and Searle, said simply: ""Gerald was vintage, Alan was ""vin ordinaire""."" Maugham's love life was almost never smooth. He once confessed: ""I have most loved people who cared little or nothing for me and when people have loved me I have been embarrassed ... In order not to hurt their feelings, I have often acted a passion"
"was known as Liza. When the child was born in Rome, Italy, she was given Wellcome's surname. Wellcome then publicly sued for divorce, naming Maugham as co-respondent. Syrie Wellcome and W. Somerset Maugham married in 1917 in New Jersey, although he was predominantly homosexual and would spend much of his marriage apart from his wife. They divorced in 1928. Her divorce settlement from Maugham was their house at 213 King's Road, fully furnished, a Rolls-Royce, and 2,400 pounds a year for her and 600 pounds a year for Liza. In his 1962 memoir ""Looking Back"" Maugham virulently criticised his former"
"the acquaintance of a local Catholic, Louise Humann, who was a catechist and active in works of charity. After the conversion of his friends, Emile Dreyfus, Alfred Mayer and Samson Liebermann to Christianity, Théodor spent two years under her guidance studying the Scriptures, both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, which eventually led him to embrace Christianity. He was baptized in 1826, at which time he added the name Marie (Mary) to his given name, and was ordained as a priest in 1830. This step by Théodor caused his family to reject him. Through his embrace of Christianity, Théodor"
"while working on Josiah Stowell's mining project. In December 1827, Smith and Emma moved to Harmony from Manchester, New York, to work on the Book of Mormon. Eventually they bought a small farm and house, where most of the Book of Mormon was produced between April 7 and early June 1829. The first convert baptism, that of Samuel H. Smith, took place there ten days after Smith and Cowdery had baptized each other. Somewhere between Harmony and Colesville, New York, Peter, James, and John bestowed upon Smith and Cowdery the Melchizedek priesthood. After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day"
"Somerset Maugham and his interior-decorator wife, Syrie, which was highly critical of Maugham. ""Father Figure"", which appeared in 1972 and in which he described how he had tried to murder his alcoholic and abusive father, caused a great uproar and several people asked for his prosecution. His book about spiritualism was not well received, which disappointed him. His main interest apart from the writing of his books was gardening, especially garden design and winter flowers. Among his huge acquaintance in all walks of life were many famous gardeners including Constance Spry and Lord Aberconway, who was President of the Royal"
"his immemorial title Thaumaturgus, ""the wonder-worker"" in Latinized Greek, casts an air of legend about him. Nevertheless, the lives of few bishops of the third century are so well authenticated; the historical references to him permit a fairly detailed reconstruction of his work. Originally he was known as Theodore (""gift of God""), not an exclusively Christian name. He was introduced to the Christian religion at the age of fourteen, after the death of his father. He had a brother Athenodorus, and on the advice of one of their tutors, the young men were eager to study at the Berytus in"
"from any serious harm. Samuel clearly inherited his father's religious views. Two of his brothers achieved fame: Sir Thomas Crooke, 1st Baronet, as founder of Baltimore, County Cork, and Helkiah Crooke as royal physician and author of one of the first textbooks on anatomy. Samuel's brother-in-law, Stephen Egerton, was another leading Puritan preacher. Samuel went to the Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood; he entered the University of Cambridge as a scholar of Pembroke Hall, and was elected a fellow, but the election was disallowed. Soon afterwards he became a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was appointed reader in the public"
"His wife Mary Meachum, still enslaved, was taken by her owners to St. Louis in 1815, but Meachum was able to buy her freedom as well and moved to St. Louis to be with her. In St. Louis, Meachum met white Baptist missionary John Mason Peck. With Peck, he started the African Church of St. Louis (later renamed the First Baptist Church of St. Louis), where he taught religious and secular classes to free and enslaved black students. After he was ordained in 1825, Meachum constructed a separate building at the same location for his church and school, which he"
"1599–1673), who was one of the Pilgrims who traveled from England to North America on the ""Mayflower"", signed the Mayflower Compact, and helped found the Plymouth Colony. His sister, Elizabeth Gorham, who married John Leighton, was the ancestor of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1901 to 1909. He married Rebecca Call, who was descended from Anglican vicar and the first minister of Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Maverick, and his royally descended wife, Mary Gye Maverick. Rev. John Maverick was born in Awliscombe, Devon,"
"Liza of Lambeth Liza of Lambeth (1897) was W. Somerset Maugham's first novel, which he wrote while he was a medical student and obstetric clerk at St Thomas's Hospital in Lambeth, then a working-class district of London. It depicts the short life and death of Liza Kemp, an 18-year-old factory worker who lives with her aging mother in the fictional Vere Street off Westminster Bridge Road (real) in Lambeth. The action covers a period of roughly four months—from August to November—around the time of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Liza Kemp is an 18-year-old factory worker and the youngest of a large"
"is on August 6, 1629 when he is on the list of the 30 founding members of the First Church (Congregational) of Salem. He was about 27 years old. He removed to Norwalk, October 20, 1662, and from there to Saybrook, 1664. He was later a founder of Norwich, Connecticut, and an ""honored fore-father of Saybrook"". He was a mariner and owner and captain of the ships ""Black Eagle"" and ""Hopewell."" He ""did a coasting trade along Long Island sound from Saybrook, Connecticut as far south as Manhattan Island."" Through his mother, he was a descendant of Lion Gardiner (1599–1663),"
"county of Gloucestershire, Great Britain to a Welsh father, the Reverend Samuel Gwinnett, and his wife, Anne. He was the third of his parents' seven children, born after his older sister Anna Maria and his older brother Samuel. There are conflicting reports as to his exact birthdate, but he was baptized in St. Catherine's Church in Gloucester on April 10, 1735. It is believed that he attended the College School, held in Gloucester Cathedral (now called The King's School) as did his older brother, but there is no surviving evidence to substantiate this. He started his career as a merchant"
"of short stories by the writer Somerset Maugham first appeared in ""Cosmopolitan"", ""Hearst's International"" and ""Good Housekeeping"". Maugham's connection with the Hearst publications began in 1920 at Ray Long's initiative and continued into the late 1940s. On October 1, 1931, Long retired from ""Cosmopolitan"" and went into the book publishing business, which had been his lifelong ambition. In 1932 he edited, and published with his publishing partner Richard R. Smith, ""20 Best Stories in Ray Long's 20 Years as an Editor"", however, this first publishing enterprise with Smith failed, and caused Long to become bankrupt in 1933. His bankruptcy led"
"a best-selling author with his novels translated into many languages. He wrote over thirty books including novels, travel books, plays, and biographical works such as ""Somerset and all the Maughams"" (Heinemann 1966). Described as ""defiantly homosexual"", but, in fact, bisexual, Maugham never married, and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death. He died from a pulmonary embolism, compounded by long-standing diabetes mellitus, although an official cause of death was difficult to obtain as his body was apparently lost for forty-eight hours after his death. He had three sisters: Kate, Honor, and novelist Diana Marr-Johnson (1908–2007). He is buried in Hartfield,"
"in 1925. Although by background an assimilated and nonpracticing Jew who continued to consider herself ethnically Jewish, she found herself attracted, along with her husband Efrem, to Anglican Christianity, and they regularly attended the Episcopal Church in New Hartford. Efrem Jr. and Maria were both christened there, and the couple placed Efrem in an Episcopal boarding school in New Hampshire. Efrem Jr. later became active in evangelical circles and was one of the founders of Trinity Broadcasting Network. Gluck recorded several Christian hymns in duet with Louise Homer, among them ""Rock of Ages"", """", """", and """". After a long"
"1773. He was born into poverty and only briefly attended Nuneaton church school, starting work as a ribbon weaver at age 13. By age 17 he had forgotten how to read. His conversion to Christianity was also at this age: ""But when the Lord was graciously pleased to quicken my soul, being then just 17 years of age, and showed me something of what sin really was, I really feared it then, and a turn in my mind took place of a very different kind... I was then solemnly and blessedly led to believe in God's free mercy and pardon."""
"later years, Matthew sometimes said that he came from Lagos, Nigeria. But, in his 1927 petition for naturalization, Matthew lists his place of birth as Spooner's Village, British West Indies. When he registered in 1942 with the US Selective Service during World War II, he listed his place of birth as St. Christopher, British West Indies. Matthew immigrated to New York City and arranged for his family to join him. In 1919, he founded the Commandment Keepers Congregation of the Living God in Harlem, a Black Hebrew movement. He was strongly influenced by the white Jews he had met. When"
"by the ship's new captain, Benjamin Spooner Briggs. Benjamin Briggs was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, on April 24, 1835, one of five sons of sea captain Nathan Briggs. All but one of the sons went to sea, two becoming captains. Benjamin was an observant Christian who read the Bible regularly and often bore witness to his faith at prayer meetings. In 1862, he married his cousin Sarah Elizabeth Cobb, and enjoyed a Mediterranean honeymoon on board his schooner ""Forest King"". Two children were born: son Arthur in September 1865, and daughter Sophia Matilda in October 1870. By the time of"
"from Cameroon and Fulani and Hausa peoples of West Africa, and that his patrilineal line likely leads to some Sephardic Jewish kohen ancestry. He was baptized as a Roman Catholic, but later became an American Baptist. After earning his AB from Bates College in 1965 and STB from Harvard Divinity School in 1968, Gomes was ordained by the First Baptist Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts, (where he occasionally preached throughout his life). After a two-year tenure at the Tuskegee Institute, he returned in 1970 to Harvard, where he became Pusey Minister in Harvard's nondenominational Memorial Church, and in 1974 was made"
"a father who worked in a paper processing plant and a mother who was a secretary in a doctor's office. She has six brothers, all older and none of them religious. It was her mother, a devout Baptist, who introduced Harriet —who uses her middle name because a Hannah Hayes was already on the rolls of the Screen Actors Guild — to Christianity, taking her to church every Sunday. By the age of six, Harriet was able to quote entire passages of scripture. Hayes claims to have become a comedian and a Christian at more or less the same time,"
"and his wife became converted to the Latter Day Saint religion after they both read the Book of Mormon in 1832. According to Granger's daughter, Granger had a vision in which the angel Moroni told him that the Book of Mormon was ""a true record of great worth"" and that he should become a Mormon preacher. Granger was baptized at Sodus, New York, by Brigham Young and was ordained to be an elder of the Church of Christ by Young on the same day. Almost immediately, Granger set out on a mission for the young church. In 1833, Granger joined"
"baptized a Disciple of Christ to address her concern about his lack of faith. Smith was concerned that Meeker was younger than her. So, he stated that his year of birth was 1814 on their marriage certificate. The couple settled in the Trumbull Phalanx colony in Ohio. The colony was based upon the utopian theories of Charles Fourier. Arvilla taught kindergarten and Nathan was a teacher, historian, auditor, librarian, secretary, and poet laureate. In 1845, their son Ralph Lovejoy was born. Two years later George Columbus was born at the colony. The Trumbull Phalanx colony failed due to financial and"
"visited by John the Baptist in angelic form, who conferred the Aaronic priesthood on them, which included the authority to baptize in Jesus Christ's name. Smith and Cowdery then baptized each other by immersion. They also baptized dozens of people, as early as June 1829. These converts, however, did not belong to a formal church organization. Nevertheless, this community of believers referred to themselves as ""the Church of Christ"", and included converts in three New York towns: Fayette, Manchester, and Colesville. In June 1829, Smith dictated a revelation stating that ""in [the Book of Mormon] are all things written, concerning"
"to study in a London college. In 1823, he was converted to Christianity while he and another student spent some free time in a church. He was disowned by his family, but clung to his Christian faith. He never returned to his native Jamaica, but served various churches as their pastor. His first church activity was with the Primitive Methodists from 1824. In May 1830 he married Mary Burnett, who died in June 1831 In 1832, he was sent by the Sunderland Circuit to the Norman Isles. Extracts from his journal published in the Primitive Methodist Magazine show 6 months"