Dudley Leavitt (publisher) - Leavitt's Death and Legacy

Leavitt's Death and Legacy

Leavitt died at his farm in Meredith on September 20, 1851. At the time of his death, Leavitt had the upcoming issue of his almanac at the press, and another five years' worth of issues of his almanac written, calculated and ready for the printer. The feat was so impressive to fellow writers and printers that one contemporary journal was moved to declare: "This is a degree of punctuality, of which there are few examples, especially in the editorship of a periodical work."

The New York Times carried news of the death of the man who had become something of a quiet sensation, known for the paper almanacs which hung by cords in family kitchens across New England. "Dudley Leavitt, the veteran almanac maker, died this morning", noted The Times. "His age was 80." Leavitt was buried in the Leavitt private burial ground on the family farm near his home. His beloved almanac, for which he did all the calculations and writing, outlived him. It continued to be published in Concord until 1896 – 45 years after its founder's death. William B. Leavitt edited the publication following his father's death.

Leavitt's publication, notes the New Hampshire historical marker delineating the site of Leavitt's farm and school, "provided information vital to domestic and agricultural life of the period. He lived in a house 200 yards east." The almanac was one of the longest-running such publications in the history of the nation. The Old Farmer's Almanac, which first appeared in 1792, five years ahead of Leavitt's almanac, was the Meredith schoolteacher's chief competitor, and has been published continuously ever since – making it the oldest continuously published periodical in North America.

The New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord owns a painting of Dudley Leavitt, to which local citizens contributed towards the purchase, including former Governor Charles H. Bell and diplomat George G. Fogg, both of whom were connected to Leavitt through his Gilman ancestors. Leavitt and his wife had 11 children, two of whom married Congregational missionaries to Thailand.