As The Memoirs of Samuel M. Janney attests, Janney tirelessly devoted his life to education and religious ministry in the Society of Friends. His Quaker faith is the driving force of both his life and narrative, and he connects the major events in his past with his religious conviction. After a detailed description of his ancestors and their involvement with the Society of Friends, he discusses his desire to focus his life on religion, in part for fear that following a literary career would lead him into the temptations of fame. Janney tells of his extensive missionary travels in the northeastern United States, as well as his involvement with both the anti-slavery movement and relief work for Native Americans. Around 1833 Janney was able to merge his literary interests with his religious calling, when he began to write and publish educational works about the Society of Friends. He includes excerpts of his writings concerning Quaker involvement in the anti-slavery movement, which was a heated topic that caused severe divisions among Friends. He also includes several letters on the subject of free public education. After documenting his fears and frustration during the turmoil of the Civil War, which limited his missionary trips, he concludes with a description of his experience in Omaha, Nebraska as Government Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The remainder of the narrative covers the final years of his involvement with the Society of Friends before his death in 1880. Because he never formally ended his memoir, it closes with a series of remembrances written by Janney's friends and family. 

Hardcover. Poor condition. Binding compromised, smoke and water damage. PDF available.