Ralph Waldo Emerson was born May 25th, 1803 in Boston Massachusetts to William and Ruth Haskins Emerson. Of eight children, Ralph along with four other brothers were the only ones to survive childhood [William (1801), Edward Bliss (1805), Robert Buckley (1807) and Charles Chauncey (1808) ]. At the young and still dependent age of eight, Emerson had to deal with the sorrow of his father William's death. May 12th, 1811 a stomach tumor caused William, at the age of 42, to leave behind his family with the help from his sister, Mary Moody Emerson. Mary Moody Emerson's peculiar religious orthodoxy and sharp, critical, intelligence were a life-long influence to Emerson.

Ralph appeared perfectly average growing up. Although, he did start school before he was three years

As a widower, Emerson continued to pursue his rural work and even worked hard for the School Committee to which he was elected. But, during 1831 his interest began to center on literature as his enthusiasm for the church began to decrease. Toward the end of 1832, he had his last disagreement with the congregation. Then, finally to the disappointment of his family, he resigned his ministry. The past two years had been spiritually and psychologically hard and his health had started to slip once again. On Christmas Day 1832, he sailed for Europe. His health began to improves as he traveled through Italy, Geneva, Paris and London. Refreshed and energetic, he left Liverpool in September and a month later he arrived in New York, then returned to Boston.

For the next several years, while carrying out other responsibilities, he used any spare time he had to read and even write. Not only did he write poetry, but also some fiction, drama, criticism, and essays. Late in 1822, Emerson published an essay in the Christian Disciple: "Thoughts on the Religion of the Middle Ages." In 1823, along with his brother William he was off to Germany. There he began to study ministry, while his other brother Waldo also desired to begin his own religious studies. Waldo and his younger brother, Edward, continued to run the run school. Toward the end of the year in 1824, Ralph finally closed his school for young women and entered Middle Class of the Harvard Divinity School. Within a month, however, he was having difficulty with his vision. His minor handicap finally forced him to abandon his studies and open a country school. During the next few years he was troubled by health problems, including rheumatism of the hip and difficulty in his lungs. Following medical advice, he set sail in late November of 1826 to Charleston, South Carolina, and moved on to St. Augus

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