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iii]
Biographical note.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who won distinction both as a soldier and as a citizen, for the
State of Maine, and for the whole country, was born in
Brewer, Maine, September 8, 1828.
His parental lineage is traced back to
England, but on the mother's side he is descended from
Jean Dupuis, who came, in 1685, with other Huguenots, from
La Rochelle to
Boston.
Young
Chamberlain was brought up in the country district of
Brewer.
As
Greek was not included in the curriculum of the school where he prepared for college, with the aid of a tutor he attacked that language at home, and in six months, at the age of nineteen, had mastered the amount required for entrance to Bowdoin.
In his college course, he took honors in every department.
After his graduation in 1852, he entered the Theological Seminary at
Bangor, and for several years gave attention to the reading of theology, and of church history in Latin and
German.
His work included the study of the Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic languages.
He earned an ample income for his sojourn in the seminary by teaching classes of young ladies the German language and Literature, while he also served as Supervisor of
