Samuel Griswold Taylor (1793-1860) was an American author who wrote under the pseudonym “Peter Parley.” He was born in Ridgefield and was largely self-educated. He came to Danbury in 1808 to work in the country store of Amos Cooke who was his father-in-law. He subsequently went to Hartford and became a bookseller and publisher. He also became the editor of the magazine The Token in Boston. He was responsile for the initial appearance in print of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadswoth Longfellow. He enjoyed a hugely successful career as a children’s author. One of his titles Peter Parley’s Geography for Children is estimated to have sold 2,000,000 copies!