Biography

"George Whitefield Livermore was born Oct. 15, 1794, in Paxton; died 
Aug. 21, 1870, in Colburn, Ind. ; married Oct. 11, 1828, in Al- 
bany, N. Y., Sophia, daughter of Gen. Joseph and Asenath 
(Waters) Farnsworth, born Oct. 29, 1803, in Millbury ; died 
Dec. 17, 1S5S, in Cambridge. In his eleventh year he lost the 
full use of his lower limbs through a fever, but could move 
around with the help of crutches or canes. He worked several 
years at mechanical business, and when about twenty-one years 
of age began fitting for college, having finished and fitted up 
a small room in the attic of his father's house as a study. Not 
having pecuniary means to defray the expenses of attending a 
preparatory school, he began his studies under the tuition of his 
father's clergyman ; making but slow progress, he resumed 
mechanical labor, earned an amount of money with which he pro- 
cured better instruction, and thus continued alternately to labor 
and study for about three years, the last six months of which he 
spent ill his attic alone and without instruction from anyone; 
at the end of that time he presented himself at Harvard Col- 
lege for examination, and was admitted to the Freshman class. 
At the close of the vacation he returned to Cambridge with 
twelve dollars in his pocket as the whole pecuniary means to de- 
fray the expenses of a four years' course. Unaided and unas- 
sisted, except by his indomitable determination, untiring industry, 
and rigid economy, living much of the time on bread and 
water, at a cost of twenty-one cents a week, he earned by writ- 
ing exercises for indolent students, and by services rendered the 
government of the College in various ways, sufficient to ]Day his 
bills for tuition, books, etc., and took his degree as Bachelor of 
Arts in 1S23. A few weeks before he graduated he made an 
agreement to go as a private tutor into the family of Mrs. Cath- 
erine [?]ingaman, at Natchez, Miss., and, on leave of absence from 
College, started in July of that year, going by stage to New 
York, Philadelphia and Pittsburg, to Wheeling, Va. ; thence on 
a keel boat down the Ohio river to Cincinnati ; thence, in a 
small open skiff, to Louisville, Ky,, and thence, on a small steam- 
boat, down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Natchez. While 
at Natchez he began the study of law in the office of Judge 
Turner, and after his return home completed his preparation un- 
der the instruction of Samuel M. Burnside, at Worcester, and 
was admitted to the bar. He formed a copartnership with 
Hon. Jonas L. Libby of Sutton, and subsequently opened an 
office and practiced in Millbury. In 1832 he closed his busi- 
ness in Millbury and removed with his wife and infant daughter 
to Westfield, N. Y., and took charge of his father-in-law's busi- 
ness. He returned to Massachusetts in 1839, leaving his family 
in Westfield, but they joined him in 1842, and he continued the 
practice of law..."