1861.
Leonard case Alden.
Second Lieutenant 55th Mass. Vols. (Infantry), May 12, 1863; died at Hilton head, S. C., October 5, 1863, of disease contracted in the service.Leonard case Alden was born, December 22, 1839, in the city of Boston,—the son of William Vinton Alden and of Nancy Adams (Vinton) Alden. His autobiography in the Class-Book, after stating these facts, continues as follows:—
On my father's side I am descended from John Alden, one of the passengers in the Mayflower upon its first voyage to Plymouth, A. D. 1620. The most important facts of his history can be found in any work upon the early history of Plymouth; and the romantic story of his courtship has been made by Mr. Longfellow the subject of his poem, “The Courtship of miles Standish.” John Alden settled first in Plymouth, afterwards in Duxbury, and was at a later period one of the original proprietors of the old town of Bridgewater. In some part of the old town, my ancestors in the line of my family name have resided since that time, engaged principally, as I suppose, in farming. . . . John Alden himself is supposed to have been of German blood. On my mother's side I am descended from John Vinton, who came to this country not far from the year 1640. His branch of the family had probably recently lived in France, and belonged to the French Huguenots. The family is, however, an old English one, and the name can be traced back in England several centuries. . . . . The branch of the family from which I am descended has lived for the most part in the town of Braintree. I have lived in Boston all my life; and previous to entering college I had attended only the public schools of that city. I began my education at a primary school, kept in the basement of the Warren Street Chapel, from which I passed successively through the higher grades of public schools. In 1846 I entered the Brimmer Grammar School, taught by Mr. Joshua Bates; in 1852, the English High School, taught by Mr. Thomas Sherwin; and in 1855, the
