THE
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY
OF
AMERICA
H.
HABBERTON, John, author, was born in
Brooklyn, N.Y.. Feb. 24, 1842. In 1850 he went
to an uncle in Illinois, where he received a high
school education. He returned to New York in
1859 and learned t3pe-setting in the publishing
house of Harper & Brothers and was promoted
from the printing office to the counting-room,
which he left in 1862 to enlist in the Union army.
He served through the war and was mustered
out as 1st lieutenant. He was reinstated by liis
former employers and continued with the estab-
lishment in various capacities till 1873, \vhen he
undertook the publishing business on his own
account and failed. He was literary editor of
the Christian Union 1874-77 ; a staff editor of the
New York Herald, 1877-92 ; literarj^ editor of
Godey's Magazine. 1892-94 ; and on the staff of the
Illustrated American, 1896-97. His first book,
Helen's Babies, made the rounds of the New
York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago publish-
ing liouses and was repeatedly returned as "too
short," "too childish" and "of bad mox'al ten-
dency." It was finally accepted by a Boston
publisher, who issued it in cheap form in 1876
and sold over 250.000 copies in tiie United States.
Eleven different English publisliers reprinted it,
and it was also reproduced in the British colonies
and translated into the French, German, Italian,
Spanish, Danish and Bohemian languages. He
edited : Writings of the English Essayists of the
Seventeenth Century; and is the author of: The
Barton Experiment (1877) ; The Jericho Hoad
(1877) ; The Scripture Club of Valley i?enf (1877) ;
Other Peoples Children (1877) ; Some Folks {Ibi;!) ;
The Crete of the Samweller (1878) ; Canoeing in
Kanuchia in collaboration with Commodore C. L.
Norton (1879) : 77/e Worst Boy in Town (1880) ;
Just One Day (1880) ; Who ivas Paul Greyson?
(1881); Tlie Boivshan Puzzle {188d) ; Life of
Washington (1883) ; One Tramp {\88i) ; Brneions
Bayou (1886) ; County Luck (1888) ; Coukhrt Say
No (1889) ; All He Kneiv (1890) ; Out at Tivin-
netVs (1891) ; Well Out of It (1891) ; Honey and
Gall (1892) ; TJie Lucky Lover (1892) ; Trif and
Trixy (1897). In 1880 he wrote a four-act drama,
Deacon Crankett, which was played more than
500 times.
HABERSHAM, James, governor of Georgia, was born in Beverlej', Yorkshire, England, in 1712. He came to America with George White- field, and reached Savannah, Ga., May 7, 1738. He joined Whitefield in his mission work, found- ing an orphan house at Bethesda, ten miles from' the city. He was president of this in- stitution, 1739-44. He founded the com- mercial house of Harris & Habersham in 1744, artd con- ducted a large trade with Philadelphia, New York, the New England ports and England. He raised the first cotton in the colony and ey^ported it to England, and this led to a large shipping trade in English bottoms. He became interested in intro- ducing silk-worm culture in the colony and was appointed a commissioner to promote the industry in 1750. He was secretary of the colonj- in 1754. He also served as councillor ; was president of the upper house of the general assembly, 17167-71 ; and acting governor. 1771-73, and he dissolved the as- sembly because that body had thrice elected Dr. Noble W.Jones as speaker in opposition to his de- cision and refused to recognize Archibald Bulloch who was chosen bj- liim He married Mary, daugh- ter of Robert Bolton of Betliesda, Dec. 28. 1740.
