He was the last notable representative of the New England School, in which his predecessors were the younger Edwards, John Smalley (1734-1820) and Nathaniel Emmons.
When the Civil War broke out, he became a major in a Missouri volunteer regiment and served as chief of staff to Major-General Nathaniel Lyon until the death of that officer.
It was evidently influenced by the recent uprising in Virginia under Nathaniel Bacon.
His father, Nathaniel, though a barber, was a man of some education, for Jeremy was "solely grounded in grammar and mathematics" by him.
In 1635 the king granted the inhabitants of Halifax licence to found a workhouse in a large house given to them for that purpose by Nathaniel Waterhouse, and incorporated them under the name of the master and governors.
