Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Puritans

So, we have to do this assignment for english: research Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Craz... er.. Puritans. Here's what I found: Hawthorne is realted to Judge Hathorne, a judge in the Salem witch trials. He was born ibn salem, and his great-great-great grandfather was a Puritan. He also probably faked an illness, because he waas injured once while playing "bat and ball" (a prototype of baseball), and became lame and invalid, even thought the doctors examined him and found nothing wrong. Faker. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and met Abraham Lincoln. Also, he had some sort of petty rivalry with Edgar Allan Poe, who reviewed his books and stories and constantly accused him of plagiarism.

Really?
Really?
He also apparently didn't have much confidence in intellectuals and artists, so he kind of kept some Puritan ideals...
After his death, there was a big dispute between his wife and his editor, and later his son was convicted of defrauding the public, by selling over 3 million shares in a nonexistent silver mine to the public.

It''s interesting the connections that he has to the Puritans, like the fact that when one woman was being put to death during the Salem witch trials she cursed his family, which was the basis for him writing the House of the Seven Gables.
Interesting stuff, eh?

I thought so too.

--Noah