John Whitehill, grandfather of Athenaeum Director and Librarian, Walter Muir Whitehill was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1833 and emigrated to this country at age 11 with his father's family. He was educated at Morison Academy, Amherst College and Andover Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1861. He subsequently became pastor of the Oldtown Congregational Church of North Attleboro. His commonplace book records his activities as a spiritual leader in Attleboro and his participation in Republican state politics. Domestic affairs and meteorological observations are also recorded. Prefacing and appending the diary entries are "thoughts on religious subjects and remarks presented at religious meetings," dating from 1859.
