e-Newsletter | November 26, 2021 |
|
Behind the Images
It Could Be Worse: Thanksgiving Edition
By Bethany Groff Dorau
2022 Museum of Old Newbury Calendar Now Available. Order here.
Last week, the Museum of Old Newbury announced the release of our 2022 calendar, entitled It Could Be Worse: A 2022 Calendar of Local Disasters. We also told you the story of the spectacular explosion that gave us the idea for the calendar.
In the days that followed the article (and one in the Newburyport Daily News), we have been busy taking orders, and folks have been sharing their stories of local disasters with us as well.
|
|
Donated stereo views from long-time supporter, Scott Nason. From the collections of the Museum of Old Newbury. |
|
On Friday, long-time friend of the museum, Scott Nason, came in with a small collection of stereo views to donate. They were an odd assemblage, just tracks alongside houses and a river, all with a stake and cross-board that would seem to indicate a streetcar track. We stared and postulated and stroked our chins, and then, on the back of one of the cards, we found the following: “Track where Jairus Towle’s load of marsh hay got stuck on the track and he was thrown off load but drove home and died of injuries received.”
And later, another note. “Newburyport – where Grandpa Towle was thrown from cart.”
|
|
Handwritten notes on back of donated stereo views by S.C. Reed. From the collections of the Museum of Old Newbury. |
|
But why would S.C. Reed of Newburyport, Mass., take so many shots of an empty track? It seems like a waste of valuable production and development time. This must be a big story, we thought, and turned to the Newburyport Herald for the splashy headline. Nothing. |
|
Jairus Towle's birth and death records. Death record of his son Herbert in 1863 at the age of 9. |
|
We found Jairus’ birth and death records. He was 61 when he died. Certainly, there would be something there.
As if to mock the diligent researcher, his death record gave no cause of death. His headstone in Danville, New Hampshire, also offered nothing new.
Jairus had a will from which we learn that he had “an old horse and two cows” and four sons, one named Ransom and land in Danville, Sandown and Haverhill.
Then a clue – the will date is the same date as his death – August 21, 1879. Dictated from his deathbed, being “weak in body, but of a sound and perfect mind... .”
Slowly, despite the lack of detail concerning his death, the barest outline of the life of Jairus Towle began to emerge.
He was born and died in Danville, New Hampshire, as did his wife, Naomi Tewksbury Dimond.
In 1841, he was a 20-year-old senior student at the People's Literary Institute and Gymnasium at Pembroke, New Hampshire.
He is listed as a farmer in the 1860 census, living with his wife and four children, age 5 to 17, with real estate valued at $5000, which indicated that his family was in the middle range for property in town – not wealthy but not poor either.
Three years later, his youngest child, Herbert, would die of diphtheria at age 9.
And finally, the smoking gun, of sorts, though it was only a small item in the newspaper, and poor Jairus’ name was misspelled.
|
“A Mr. Jarius Towle of Danville, New Hampshire, was thrown from his team at Salisbury Point on Tuesday and received injuries from which he died on Thursday. The occasion was the fright of his horse by the sail of a passing boat.”
The plot thickens.
The mysterious hand on the back of the stereo view card blamed his death on the track, not a passing vessel and identified Newburyport as the place of death, not Salisbury Point. And there are eight, yes, eight, different views of the track.
|
|
We may never know why Mr. Selwyn C. Reed packed up his gear and took the time to photograph, develop and mount multiple three-dimensional views of the scene of this accident. We can speculate that perhaps Jairus Towle’s family was looking for answers, perhaps for proof of negligence, but we have found no evidence of a lawsuit. Accidents like these were commonplace enough in the 1870s.
But, thanks to a disaster calendar and someone who wrote on the back of a picture, today we are thinking of Jairus Towle and his family, and the perils of driving a wagon loaded down with salt marsh hay in 1879.
And should you be intrigued by the name, apparently Jairus is the name of the father of a girl who was raised from the dead in the Bible. As I am named after the town in which a man who was raised from the dead in the same Gospels, I feel a certain kinship with him. Adjacent to the miraculous, but no miracle for Jairus, it seems.
So, in short, Happy Thanksgiving, friends. Please, please, please, for the sake of future historians, write a note on the back of your photos, or at least name your digital images. We would never have known where to look for clues to this mysterious series of images without these notes.
And as poor Jairus would tell you, at least for most of us, it could, most certainly, be worse (unless you’re a turkey). 😊
|
|
Know what goes great with Thanksgiving leftovers?
A 2022 "It Could be Worse" Calendar!
|
|
Each month of the It Could Be Worse: A 2022 Calendar of Local Disasters features a different image of a Newbury-area disaster. The photos and broadsides span the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The block-style calendar is perfect for jotting down appointments and reminders; and a notes section at the end is perfect to keep important numbers and names.
The 12-month calendar measures 11"Wx17"L when opened; 11"Wx8.5"L when closed and is printed on heavy, semi-gloss paper. Informative text and image credits accompanies each month's selection. A preview calendar of 2023 precedes the notes page at the end.
Starting at $18 each for members who stop by the museum to pick up, this calendar is perfect for gift giving. Click here to order. |
|
|
|
Annual Fund 2021 – Keep a look out!
William Pitt, the British Prime Minister whose statue graced the parapet of the Lord Timothy Dexter House at 201 High Street, Newburyport, Mass., was best known for efficiency and fiscal responsibility.
And he's looking out the window of the Museum of Old Newbury, hoping to spot your Annual Fund gift on its way to us.
November 30 is #GivingTuesday, a global day of philanthropy and the official kick off of our 2021 Annual Fund campaign. Watch your post for an informative and fun mailing from us soon, or if you prefer, make your Annual Fund donation now at: https://www.newburyhistory.org/donate.
William Pitt says thank you (though he doesn't understand the internet).
|
|
Running now through the end of the year, the team at the MOON will share their favorite family recipes, including a blog about its evolution and the significance of the item. Next week, Bethany shares her go-to soup recipe. |
|
A Berry Happy Thanksgiving - A Tale of Old New England
...a guest blog by Susan C.S. Edwards
I was a Colonial Revival child, captivated by the romance of old New England and all that it embodied. My parents indulged my passion in historic houses, and we traversed the countryside on day trips visiting as many as possible—the earlier the better —and, of course, we visited them multiple times to assuage my appetite. I was spellbound by the stories of presidents, authors, patriots, and just plain folk and their 300-hundred-year-old homes.
My sister and I reenacted Paul Revere's ride on our side lawn, and my mother dressed me as a Pilgrim on Thanksgiving Day. At the dining room table, there was always a set of little molded wax candles of a man and woman Pilgrim and a turkey. I couldn't get enough of it.
|
|
Susan C.S. Edwards dressed as a Pilgrim for Thanksgiving Day, circa 1958. |
|
Later on, when my grandmother and mother became interested in genealogy, we spent summer Saturdays traipsing through burying grounds and cemeteries in Massachusetts and Connecticut, searching out the stones of what I called the "dead people." We consumed hundreds of tuna fish sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs, perched on stone walls, while my mother regaled us with stories of these ancient family members. |
|
A replica of the Arbella, flagship of the Winthrop Fleet, at Pioneer Village, Salem, 1936.
|
|
June 1630, after a 75-day voyage, the lead ship of the Winthrop Fleet, the Arbella, landed in Salem Harbor, beginning what has come to be called the Great Migration. Not long in Salem, the passengers moved on to Boston and Watertown to settle in their "city upon a hill."
One of these, John Masters, my ninth-great-grandfather, was considered a pioneer of marine engineering, and in 1631 he was "engaged to construct a canal," measuring 12 feet wide and 7 feet deep from the Charles River to Newtown (now Cambridge), for which the General Court paid him £30.
Far more important to me and loving all things "Old America," was that when Masters settled in Cambridge, he was granted a license to keep a tavern located on Brattle Street. This called up images of roaring fires and a "dress of pewter," colonists spreading community news, and groaning boards of stews and puddings.
|
|
Cover of John Josselyn's 1672 account. |
|
Cranberries made an early appearance in the annals of the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
A 1672 account by traveler John Josselyn reported that “Indians and English use it much, boyling [sic] them with Sugar for a Sauce to eat with their Meat.” Certainly, there must have been a joint of meat and a bowl of cranberry sauce on John Masters's table.
My grandmother lived with us for fifteen years, from the time I was born, much adored by the entire family. She was a matriarchal cook, turning out pies, cakes, cookies, biscuits and savory roasts on the weekends.
All the recipes were on handwritten cards. The sometimes archaic writing style—"butter the size of a walnut" or "keep warm on a hot ashet"—indicated their age. They were stored in a time-worn mahogany recipe box.
|
|
The well-referenced Glens Falls Cookery Book and treasured mahogany recipe box.
|
|
On Thanksgiving Day, she pulled out all the stops and instead of going to the recipe box, she would take out a (now spineless) recipe book, The Glens Falls Cookery Book, and go to a handwritten recipe near the back for cranberry frappe. When the page became smeared with lemon juice and sugar crystals, the recipe was transcribed onto a clean page of the book, so that after my grandmother died, my mother could carry on the tradition—now passed on to my sister, so that this rosy, pink delight still graces our Thanksgiving table.
|
|
This year's Cranberry Frappe ready to be served. |
|
Cranberry Frappe
4 cups of fresh cranberries
3 cups boiling water
2 1/2 cups of sugar
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 package of Knox unflavored gelatin dissolved in 3/4 cup of water.
Boil berries in water until soft; then press them through a fine strainer.
Add the sugar and the lemon juice to the cranberry mix and bring to a boil.
Add the dissolved gelatin, pour into a 9 x 9 baking pan and, when cool, place in the freezer.
After 24 hours, when the cranberry is firmly set, scoop it out into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pink and smooth. Freeze again until ready to serve.
This is equally delicious with hot and cold turkey and especially delectable as a side with a hot turkey sandwich.
Editor's note: Inconsistencies in spelling of names, etc., are from the historical record and not a typographical error.
|
|
Learn about upcoming programs, register, find Zoom links and catch up on previous presentations here. All of our virtual programs are free, however donations are gratefully accepted to help defray speaker fees.
|
|
Members’ Holiday Party
Sunday, December 5, 2021
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Join your fellow members of the Museum of Old Newbury for a special evening reception featuring festive music and song by Newburyport’s own sea shantymen, The Portermen, and traditional music masters, O’Carolan, Etc.
Enjoy festive drinks, light appetizers and good cheer as we celebrate the history of our beautiful community. Admission is free for members.
Registration required, please click here.
This is an indoor event. Please do not attend if unvaccinated. Masks are optional.
|
|
Newburyport's Annual William Lloyd Garrison Lecture featuring Edward Carson
Friday, December 10, 2021 | 7:00 p.m.
Old South Presbyterian Church | 29 Federal Street, Newburyport, MA
Every year, Newburyport celebrates William Lloyd Garrison's legacy on his birthday with a lecture from a well-known author, historian, or public speaker about Garrison's life, and how it is still relevant today.
This year the talk is “The Gospel According to William Lloyd Garrison: Anti-Racism and the American Truth” and will be given by Edward Carson, the Dean of Multicultural Education at the Governor’s Academy and a leading organizer and activist in the Greater Boston area. Carson will discuss Garrison’s relevancy in twenty-first century issues like voting rights, Critical Race Theory, and Black political thought.
Join us in-person (masks required for attendees) on December 10, 2021 at the Old South Presbyterian Church in Newburyport at 7:00 p.m. For more information and to watch live go to lecture.porthistory.com. No registration required.
|
|
The Civil War: Crucible of American Christmas
In-person Event | 98 High Street, Newburyport, MA 01950
Bill Hallett, a former radio announcer covering Baltimore to Boston, as well as locally at 100.3 WHEB and 92.5 the River, has always had a passion for the past with an emphasis on Civil War history.
A re-enactor and board member of two Civil War Roundtables, he’s given talks on various Civil War topics from Maine to Maryland. He stumbled upon some small stories of soldiers at Christmas and further digging brought him to his topic, “The Civil War: Crucible of American Christmas.”
He will take us through the early years, when Americans did or didn’t celebrate Christmas, depending on their location in the new country. But with European immigrants arriving in the early 19th century, the American Civil War accelerated the customs and manners nationally bringing the holiday to what we know today.
When the Civil War began, Christmas was slowly on the verge of becoming what we see now, but as with many parts of our culture, the war accentuated and promoted such a holiday. We owe so much of our American Christmas customs to the years 1861-1865, as the country fought itself. Small customs in various corners or part of the country, emerged with new national traditions that are still carried on today.
This is an in-person event. Free for members of the Museum of Old Newbury; $10 for non-members. Not a member? Join now by clicking here.
|
|
Don't forget to play "Yeat, Yeat! Don't Tell Me!" before Dec. 1
Enjoy Jack Santos and Colleen Turner Secino's witty riposte here or skip right to the questions by typing joinmyquiz.com/pro into your browser, then enter the code 5771 9233 to join. As of today, George Brown and "Lisa" are tied for the lead with five correct answers each.
Remember to hit "SUBMIT" in the bottom right corner after making your selection for the answer. NOTE: this is a timed quiz, so read the questions and get your choice made as quickly as possible.
|
|
Puzzle Me This...
Vintage postcard sums up our wishes for all our friends and members this holiday weekend. (Courtesy image.)
Click on image to begin.
|
|
During this difficult period of COVID-19, we rely on your support more than ever. We continue to develop new, online programs for you to enjoy and keep us connected and look forward to in-person events as protocols for safety loosen. We hope, if you are able, that you will consider a donation to the museum. Thank you for your continued support.
|
|
Museum e-Newsletter made possible through the
generosity of our sponsors:
|
|
|
Museum of Old Newbury
98 High Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-462-2681
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
