The most important period or time of life for Samuel Sewall and William Byrd II is during the age forty to fifty for each mans life. It is at this time that each man makes his largest influential mark in history. For Sewall the time period from which I will taking most of my information is 1692, it is at this time that Sewall becomes a judge and takes part in the Salem witch trials. For Byrd I will be using information from 1714, it is at this time that Byrd is fighting with England and trying to become a governor. The themes of which I will be writing are comparing and contrasting the activities of each man, what each did as an occupation and the major contributions of each man to society.
             Samuel Sewall was born at Bishop Stoke in Hampshire, England on March 28, 1652. In 1661, Sewall came with his family to settle in Newbury, Massachusetts. At the age of 15 he was excepted into Harvard. Sewall married Hannah Hull, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the colony in 1676 and began a career as a merchant. In 1681 Sewall was appointed by the General Council to run a Boston printing press. Sewall used his position to publish articles of his own and achieve greater notoriety. From 1691 to 1725 Sewall served on the Governor's Council. Governor Phips appointed Sewall to the Court of Oyer and Terminer on May 27, 1692. Sewell's diary provides important information about the Salem witch trials. It is these trials for which Sewall is most famously known.# "The diary entries reveal little personal reservations or remorse concerning his own role in the conduct of the trials. In December 1696, however, Sewall wrote a proclamation for a day of fast and penance and reparation by the government for the sins of the witchcraft trials. Sewall publicly apologized for his role in the trials. Each year after 1697 Sewall set aside a day in which he fasted and prayed for forgiveness for his sins in the Salem trials. Though his role in the Salem...