e-Newsletter | April 9, 2021

The Antiquarian Adventures of Grumpy Josh

It is March 24, 1853, and my 4th cousins (4x removed) are fighting. Joshua Coffin is sick of genealogical freeloaders, having received a request for research assistance from John Merrill Bradbury that he thought most impertinent. Bradbury, twenty-six years his junior, had the audacity to ask Coffin to lend him some research materials. “I have no books or papers that I would lend to anyone, and none that I know of that would assist you.” If Bradbury wanted him to spend his valuable time searching through his books, he would do it, “for a small compensation” of “one to three dollars,” or between $35 and $100 in today’s currency, per question. And then, because the nerd in him bowed to the nerd in Bradbury, or maybe because he is a secret sweetheart, Coffin lays out exactly where to find the information he was looking for, should he be unwilling or unable to pay Coffin to look for it.

Joshua Coffin (1792-1864). From the collections of the Museum of Old Newbury.

This is my dead friend Joshua Coffin, whose grumpy face first greeted me in its gilded frame twenty-two years ago when I first walked over the gnarled threshold of the Coffin House. It was the summer after graduate school, and my baby son and I were living with my family in the old Poore House in West Newbury, having left my husband in Amherst to complete his studies. I had just landed a job for Historic New England (then known as SPNEA), and the tour outline listed this cranky old man as the last resident-owner of the house (technically true, though his cousin Lucy outlived him in the house by nearly thirty years). In his study, in the oldest part of the house, is a copy of his Brief History of Old Newbury, published in 1845, along with a (replacement) pair of his eyeglasses and his inkwell, relics, it would seem, of an important literary life.

I spent the best sleep-deprived days of that summer in the Coffin House, greeting Joshua as I came through the door, looking through the ornate spines of his impressive library, looking at Coffin descendants to see if they shared his straight nose and heavy brow. It was, ironically, a visiting group of genealogists who sent me back to my own family record, compiled by my great-aunt Louise and cousin Sue Follansbee, to discover that I was, myself, a Coffin descendant. I would bet that most of us have encountered Old Josh (he would hate that, but I would win him over) as the author of his chronological, but detailed, record of our town from 1635 to 1845. Some of you may know that he was the “Old School Master” to whom Whittier dedicated the poem of that name, though if you do the math, the hoary sage who Whittier describes was only fifteen years his senior, and so would have been in his twenties when he taught the lad “the mysteries…of those weary A B C’s.” It is difficult to reconcile the face in the portrait that hangs in the Coffin House with the “genial pedagogue” who “half forgot his rogues to flog,” but it did help when a visitor pointed out that he looks like he has no teeth. Not a good look for any of us. Joshua Coffin turns up like a grumpy penny in every corner of my life. I found his correspondence with John Merrill Bradbury among the papers sent to me from California after I visited Eben Bradbury’s grave in France. That is quite a story too – read on if you wish. (Click here for Boston Globe article.)

John Merrill Bradbury was Eben’s great-uncle, and since he had no children, his papers passed down to his nephew. And so, this letter, along with six others from Coffin to Bradbury, were sent back to me, along with all sorts of family ephemera dating back to 1738. As they often do, two of my dead friends turned out to have known each other in real life. Coffin’s first irritated reply quickly gave way to long letters with lists of Bradbury births and deaths, rapturous tales of finding original documents that had been misplaced or visiting the Newbury town clerk at home to see what he had squirreled away from the official town records. Bradbury lived in Boston and Ipswich and spent his life working on his family’s genealogical record. These two were, despite their differences, peas in a genealogical pod, and though I would never accuse Coffin of warmth, exactly, he spent the last decade of his life trading names, dates and anecdotes with his younger friend.

John Merrill Bradbury (1818-1876). From the collections of the History of Essex.

Like any good Yankee, however, Coffin stuck to his guns on the money front. Bradbury was a banker, son of the Massachusetts State Treasurer. He had money to spend, as evidenced in his legacies to the Newburyport Public Library and the New England Historical Genealogical Society. In a letter from January 1858, Coffin reminds Bradbury to “give two dollars to Drake and send me 16 postage stamps.” And then, because he could not help himself, he makes some research demands of his own. “Please take the Boston Directory and supply me the names of all the Huses and their places of residence…” In his last surviving letter to Bradbury in 1858, Coffin has some exciting news to share. “I had nearly finished up my last letter to you when it occurred to me that I was well acquainted with Aunt Bradbury, who was a very intelligent old lady.” In his research for Bradbury, Coffin had finally, perhaps inevitably, linked the two families. For my part, I stand equidistant between them, fourth cousin four times removed. It does not really matter at all in the grand scheme of things, and I am keenly aware of how genealogy was employed for generations to racist, xenophobic and sexist ends. Still, I cannot help brightening when I see my long-dead distant cousins discovering their link, especially because I know that antiquarian Joshua Coffin was also an abolitionist super-hero who mustered the moral courage to put his life in danger to advance the cause of freedom. He was a thoroughly modern man who saw clearly the evidence of human suffering in his own family’s past. He closed a letter to Bradbury with this quip. “No, I am not sorry that I did not live in those ‘good old times,’ of which we from some quarters hear so much.” When the time came to pick out his gravesite, he chose a spot as far away from his slave-holding family members as the First Parish Burying Ground allowed. Antiquarian, yes, but abolitionist first. Stay tuned for The Amazing Abolitionist Adventures of Grumpy Josh, in next month’s newsletter!

A regular contributor to the Museum of Old Newbury's e-Newsletter, Bethany Groff Dorau is a historian, writer and Regional Site Administrator for Historic New England, based at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury. Some of the material used in this story is taken from Dorau's book, A Brief History of Old Newbury (History Press). Editor's note: Inconsistencies in spelling of names, etc., are from the historical record and not a typographical error.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE! 42nd Annual Garden Tour Set for Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13, 2021

We are "Sowing the Seeds: A Season of Renewal" with a Hybrid, COVID-Safe, In-person Garden Tour! A hybrid, COVID-safe, in-person Garden Tour celebrates the Museum of Old Newbury’s 42nd installment of the popular event. The Museum of Old Newbury has secured nine gardens and produced an online tour booklet that shares insight into the owners' thinking and personalities. Digital booklet will include directions and a listing of all nearby restaurants, including some "Garden Tour" discounts. Sherry Evans, chair of the 42nd Annual Garden Tour, Sowing the Seeds: A Season of Renewal, shares, "Rain or shine, the Museum of Old Newburyport Garden Tour is an inspiration for those ranging from professionals seriously interested in garden design and horticulture, to enthusiasts who simply love beautiful gardens. In the variety found in this year’s tour, we feel that there is something that will please everyone, and we are keeping attendees' safety front and center. We hope you will join us for this special June weekend." Early bird tickets now on sale! Members ($25) and non-members ($30) pricing is in effect until May 13, 2021. Or, take advantage of our best value and become a Museum of Old Newbury member and receive 2-for-1 ticket pricing! Click here to purchase.

Learn about upcoming programs, register, find Zoom links and catch up on previous presentations here.

Miss a Recent MOON Program? Watch here.

Thanks to the wonder of the Zoom platform, all of our programs are recorded and available online shortly after presentation. Visit our website for upcoming events, previous recordings, including the four 2020 Virtual Garden Tours, our Annual Meeting, children's and holiday programs, as well as all episodes of "Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me!" In lieu of a printed program book, we will be featuring monthly events here, as well as maintaining a complete list on our website: www.NewburyHistory.org. All of our virtual programs are free, however donations are gratefully accepted to help defray speaker fees.

May Programs Added! It's not too late to register for "China's Rocket Man" on Thursday, April 22, 2021

REGISTER: Thursday, April 22, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m. The Governor's Academy student symposia concludes with China's Rocket Man: A Deportee from the US Launches China into Space. Presented online by Tianyu Fang, '20, this program serves as a cautionary tale for our time. Register here.

REGISTER: Thursday, May 6, 2021 @ 3:00 p.m. (Rain date: Friday, May 7, 2021 @ 3:00 p.m.) Historian, author and 12th generation Newburyport-er Ghlee Woodworth will lead a COVID-safe walking tour through Old Hill Burying Ground. This is an in-person event. Masks are required and we request attendees maintain a social distance of 6', as recommended by state COVID guidelines.  LIMIT: 20 Register here.

REGISTER: Thursday, May 20, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m. Lucinda A. Brockway is the Program Director for Cultural Resources at The Trustees of Reservations where she is responsible for 112 properties and 25,000 acres of Massachusetts cultural landscape. Join us as for her online presentation, Cushing House Garden: A Closer Look, when she shares the history, restoration and evolution of the MOON's Cushing House Garden. Register here.

Attendees go Nutty for Nutting! More than 125 people registered for Shelburne Museum Director Tom Denenberg's presentation on Wallace Nutting (1861-1941). Nutting might be described as a Renaissance man, although first and foremost, he was an antiquarian. Denenberg walked us through his career path that took him from minister, photographer, artist, lecturer, antiques collector and furniture manufacturer to a New England entrepreneur who made a success from marketing what has been called "Old America." If you missed last night's program, don't go nuts...just watch here!

Yeat Yeat, Did you Miss Last Week's Show? Jack Santos, Custom House Maritime Museum, and Colleen Turner Secino, Museum of Old Newbury, talked all things Newbury-area history on April 2, 2021's episode of "Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me!" Watch here. A combination of NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!, Jeopardy! and Stump Trivia, "Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me!" is a whole new take on Q&A game shows using the Zoom platform. Visit www.NewburyHistory.org for the Zoom link to future shows. Here's the link for the next episode on Friday, April 16, 2021 @ noon.

Puzzle Me This... Family Register - "The Genealogy of Joseph Stanwood's Family" Atkinson Stanwood (1801-1884), Newburyport, 1814 Watercolor and ink on paper, 14 3/4 x 12 inches Undoubtedly influenced by geometric and decorative instruction he may have received in a public or private academy, thirteen-year-old Atkinson Stanwood embellished his family genealogy with demilune tablets, trailing vines, eggs and tassels. This colorful compass-drawn birth and death record depicts the family's history in a decorative way. The coffins represent the first two wives of Joseph Stanwood and baby John Stanwood who died age two years. From the collections of the Museum of Old Newbury. Click on the image to begin.

Something is Always Cooking at the Museum A "Member of the HIST" shares this delicious take on a scallop pie...sounds like the perfect brunch dish to us. Scalloped Spinach Seafood 1package chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1 egg, slightly beaten 2 tomatoes, peeled and sliced in wedges 6 tablespoons butter 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 4 white scallions, finely chopped 1 pound scallops 1/4 cup sherry 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated In a greased 9-inch quiche pan, spread spinach which has been combined with egg. Arrange tomato wedges around edge of pan. Melt 3 tablespoons butter. Sauté garlic and scallions 1 minute. Add scallops; simmer 1 minute. Add sherry; simmer 1 minute. Place scallop mixture over spinach. Sprinkle bread crumbs and cheese over scallops and tomatoes. Drizzle remaining melted butter over all. Cover and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Serves 6. Recipe from: "Cushing House Cooks" book – $25 – Order.

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.

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