William Wells Newell (1839–1907) was an American folklorist, school teacher, minister and philosophy professor.
[1] After trying his hand at ministry, he was a faculty member at the new philosophy department at Harvard University for a few years.
He taught at the Wells School—founded by his grandfather, William Wells—situated on Elmwood Avenue.
The songs included tunes with the lyrics, and this book is the first collection of the folk music of American children.
Dover Publications of New York published a reprint edition (with a new introduction and index by Carl Withers; ISBN 0-486-20354-9); Nabu Press published the book again in 2010 (ISBN 978-1-145-39322-6).