Reverend William Makepeace Thayer (1820-1898) was an American author who wrote: Sermon on Moses Fugitive Slave Bill (1850), Happy New Year (1853), Gem and Casket (1854), Spots in our Feasts of Charity (1854), Trial of the Spirits (1855), Morning Star (1856), Poor Boy and Merchant Prince (1857), The Bobbin Boy; or, How Nat Got His Learning (1859), Objections to a License Law (1860), Tales from the Bible for the Young (1860), Pioneer Boy, and How He Became President (1863), Character and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln (1864), Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln (1864), Youths History of the Rebellion (1864), Nelson (1878), Charles Jewett: Life and Recollections (1880), Tact, Push and Principle (1880), From Log-Cabin to the White House (1881), Abraham Lincoln (1882), George Washington: His Boyhood and Manhood (1883), From the Tannery to the White House (1887), Marvels of the New West (1887), From Boyhood to Manhood: Life of Benjamin Franklin (1890) and Turning Points in Successful Careers (1895).