Historical dream account · English · original historical text
The father succeeds his son
Samuel Sewall (1652–1730)
Diary of Samuel Sewall, vol. I (1674–1700), in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. V, fifth series, second edition (1878) · Diary, printed p. 396
Dreamer identified by the source: Samuel Sewall
Read in your language or share a constellation ↗
Was somewhat exercis'd about my dream the last night, which was that Mr. Edward Oakes, the Father, was chosen Pastor of Cambridge Church. Mr. Adams and I had discourse about the Oddness of the matter, that the father should succeed his Son so long after the Son's death. I excus'd my not voting, as not pertaining to me; though I had other reasons besides. Thus I was conversing among the dead.
The 5 January entry following December 1694, in Old Style year 1694/5; the original calendar is retained.
Source & context
A complete firsthand account within the January 5 entry after December 1694, retaining the source's Old Style year context 1694/5. The author's explicit closing observation that he was conversing among the dead is retained. The preceding visit and following return journey are waking context, outside this report. No modern date is supplied.
Samuel Sewall (1652–1730), own diary, Diary of Samuel Sewall, vol. I (1674–1700), in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. V, fifth series, second edition (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1878), Diary, printed p. 396. Original Committee of Publication: George E. Ellis; William H. Whitmore; Henry Warren Torrey; James Russell Lowell (Committee of Publication). Original-edition witness: Internet Archive, University of California Libraries scan funded by MSN. Original dates, spelling, source brackets and author qualifications retained; descriptive title and navigation metadata added by Synastry.
The 5 January entry following December 1694, in Old Style year 1694/5; the original calendar is retained.
Public domain in the United States (1878 edition) ↗
Original 1878 second edition of seventeenth-century diary text, visually verified from title page and verso. IA metadata marks US status NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT. Publication predates 1931; Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) and the original nineteenth-century publication committee are long deceased. This uses the old published text and an expired-US-publication basis, not a modern edited transcription or new Creative Commons licence. No blanket worldwide clearance is asserted.
Source locator and text provenance
Diary, printed p. 396
The original text and redactions are preserved. The page title is an editorial navigation label.
Only original-scan-witnessed OCR repairs, line/page furniture removal and punctuation/spacing normalization. Editorial title and navigation metadata added. No synthetic filling, modern translation, calendar conversion or omitted authored qualification.
- Account text SHA-256
- a4bf71c384434bf17cac9ef9a6f2f854085b77bca63674db2e71236735446a64
- Source file SHA-256
- eaa1f091386a5868396edfbe46cbf2d8897e7c36f00fd278bac82319517d10d0
Content notes
- Historical recollection
Connections in the Loom
Titles, theme labels, illustrations and map connections are editorial navigation aids. They are separate from the account’s words and do not establish connections between real people.