e-Newsletter | May 14, 2021 |
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The Garden side of the Museum of Old Newbury in all its spring glory. (Photo credit: Bob Watts.) |
Cushing Garden: A Closer Look
It is not often that one comes across a New England garden with a such a rich, documented history spanning 137 years of one family's occupancy. The Cushing garden, as it evolved over the years, was integral to the family's lives from its exotic blood peach tree and old roses to its arched garden seat where Miss Margaret Cushing, the last family occupant, could survey decades of devotion and work and seek solace in this oasis -- a stone's throw from Newburyport's bustling center.
Gentle reader, we hope that you will join us as cultural landscape historian Lucinda Brockway reveals the treasures and intimate history of this and other High Street gardens.
From The Cushing House Garden: A Closer Look:
Open the creaking iron gate and stroll the short distance to the door of the Cushing House and you have already crossed the threshold of time. The house, its collections and archives are the heartbeat of Newburyport’s community legacy. Here, the stories of its people, its economy, and its continuously evolving history and found in each turn of a table leg, captured in each framed portrait, and hidden between the pages of its archives.
Turn away from the front door and wander the cobblestone and brick paths connecting its rear and side yards, and you enter the living, breathing world of Newburyport’s garden history. Under the pear trees and between the rows of boxwood and roses lies a world of horticultural treasures, planted, and nurtured by those who find memories not in the shelves of libraries, but in the soils of a New England village garden. This garden, and this property, represent a three-dimensional textbook of Newburyport’s history. Here, apples and pears supplemented meager family incomes in the 19th century. Twenty-seven varieties of roses were set out under the pears in 1877. Larkspur, phlox, iris and roses were added along narrow paths in 1897. Fences and summerhouses were redesigned in 1934 to make them ‘more colonial.’ In 1965 and again in 1995 the gardens were revitalized by dedicated volunteers in hopes that it could continue to tell its tales.
We will explore this village garden and its horticultural details in the context of its other High Street neighbors. Together, we will uncover the rich stories hidden beneath the beauty of the garden’s bloom.
Thursday, May 20, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m.
(Editor's note: if you weren't already interested in this program, we hope now you will not want to miss it!)
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(Photo credit: Bob Watts.) |
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2-for-1 Garden Tour Ticket Offer Extended through Midnight, Friday, May 14!
Saturday, June 12 and Sunday June 13, 2021, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., the Museum of Old Newbury will host its 42nd Annual Garden Tour: Sowing the Seeds: A Season of Renewal.
Purchase a membership to the Museum of Old Newbury ($40) and receive 2-for-1 Garden Tour ticket pricing ($25)!
Due to ever-changing COVID protocols, this year's tour is a “hybrid.” The tour itself will be in-person, but all tickets will be sold online, in advance (none will be available at the gardens, but you can order online the day of the event).
Those who purchase a "ticket" will be provided a secure link to access the digital program book on their cell phone or tablet (this link will include all addresses, garden owner information and more).
Our highest priority this year is to keep everyone safe, while also offering our community a chance to comfortably enjoy this wonderful, long standing tradition.
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Old Hill Tour Informative and Inspiring
More than 20 people enjoyed a crisp spring day touring Old Hill Burying Ground with 12th-generation Newburyport native, Ghlee Woodworth.
Ghlee and the group visited a dozen graves and listened to in-depth insights, tidbits and tales. At Lord Timothy Dexter's grave, attendees learned more about his writings (including A Pickle for the Knowing Ones) and his history of charitable giving. At Eben and Ann Wheelwright's plot, the group learned that they were the aunt and uncle of Tasmen Eustis Donner - a member of the Donner Party who perished in the California Sierra Nevadas in 1846. In addition, a lengthy visit to the graves of the crew members of the Pocahontas (read more here) was part of the afternoon.
Museum of Old Newbury Board Member Alex Burke attended. He shares, "I was particularly struck by the special connection between the Dalton family and their 'faithful servant' Fortune, as well as the sad, short life of Marie Naudau."
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Ghlee's notes explain that Fortune, who died in 1804, was the 'faithful servant' of the Dalton family who lived on State Street in a home built in 1746.
As many of the earlier residents of Newburyport, the Dalton family owned slaves. Fortune’s gravestone was erected by Tristram Dalton.
For the past 100 years, the house has been home to the Dalton Club, a private organization.
Behind Fortune's stone is John C.H. Young. He died in 1889 at the age of 72. A barbershop owner, John Young’s epitaph reads:
“A colored man of many virtues, poor as the poorest. He fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and was a father to the fatherless. Kind and obliging to all, he has finished his course and has gone to rest.
This tablet is erected by his friends.”
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Epitaph: "In Memory of Fortune. A faithful servant who died July 16, 1802. This stone was erected by Tristram Dalton. (Courtesy photo.) |
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As to the young Marie Felicite Naudau, Ghlee shares, "She passed on February 19, 1812, at the young age of 25, shortly after her arrival in Newburyport. During the French Revolution, many of the wealthy and notable citizens fled the slaughters and sought safety abroad. Some returned when peace was restored, others stayed."
The story of her short life is told in a descriptive sketch entitled “The grave beneath the thorn Tree,” published by Hannah F. Gould, from the volume entitled “Gathered Leaves.”
Burke concludes, “I've always loved and followed the history of the Newburys, but I'm most happy when I learn something new. Ghlee's strong sketches of these inspirational people delivered that and more.”
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Participants in last week's "A Walk Through History: Old Hill Burial Ground" with Ghlee Woodworth enjoy a safe, socially distant tour through the tombstones. (Photo credit: Alex Burke.) |
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Puzzle Me This...
Just a Little Sample of our Samplers
Helen B. Balch was born in December 1835, the daughter of Jacob and Huldah Balch. The sampler shown was made in 1844 when Helen was nine years old. It is one of many fine 18th and 19th century samplers in the museum's collection.
In 1863, Jacob Balch purchased the Pettengill House at 180 High Street and later bequeathed it to his daughter. Helen Balch married Moses Fowler in 1874 and the couple continued to live in her family's home until she bequeathed it to the museum in 1909 for use as its headquarters until a move down the street to the Cushing House in 1956.
Click on image to begin.
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Miss a Recent MOON Program? Watch here. |
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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.
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"Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me!" Celebrates First Anniversary today, May 14! Zoom in at Noon here.
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Jack Santos, Custom House Maritime Museum, and Colleen Turner Secino, Museum of Old Newbury, celebrate their first complete year of "Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me!" today, Friday, May 14, 2021.
The historical trivia show features 8 questions, plenty of banter and the random chance to win some great prizes. Turner Secino shares, " 'Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me!' has something for everyone. And, of course, bragging rights and a big shout-out always goes to the person (or persons) with the most correct answers."
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REGISTER:
Thursday, June 10, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m.
The East India Marine Society Museum was one of the most influential collecting institutions in 19th-century America.
"Collecting the Globe" presents the first in-depth exploration of the Museum, the precursor to the internationally acclaimed Peabody Essex Museum (PEM).
Join PEM Associate Curator George Schwartz as he explores the practices of collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting a diversity of international objects and art in the early United States.
This is a virtual event. Register here and a Zoom link will be sent closer to the date. Registration closes at 4:30 p.m. on day of the event.
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REGISTER:
Thursday, July 1, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m.
The First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist and the Museum of Old Newbury kick off the July 4th holiday with a virtual community reading of Frederick Douglass's impassioned 1852 speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Lend your voice to this powerful participatory event.
The reading will be followed by a discussion led by humanities scholar Edward Carson. Carson, an independent historian, is also Dean of Multicultural Education and a member of the history department at The Governor's Academy, Byfield, Massachusetts.
This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This is a virtual event. Register here and a Zoom link will be sent closer to the date. Registration closes at 4:30 p.m. on day of the event.
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Something is Always Cooking at the Museum
Baked banana anything is sure to be a winner. In this case, Jane F. Wallace keeps the popular sweet bread recipe simple and even suggests frosting, if you wish. A light coating of buttercream sounds like a perfect match!
Banana Cake
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
4 ripe mashed bananas
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons sour milk*
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs and mashed bananas. Add sour milk and blend well. Sift dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to liquid and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean. May be frosted.
*To make 1 cup sour milk for baking, use 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and enough milk to equal 1 cup. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes before using.
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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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Museum e-Newsletter made possible through the
generosity of our sponsors:
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Museum of Old Newbury
98 High Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-462-2681
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