Editor: Melinda Barclay. SOUTH HANSON STATION Old Colony Railroad, Main St.

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1 The Hanson Historical Society Newsletter Fall 2014 Editor: Melinda Barclay THEN AND NOW: SOUTH HANSON STATION Old Colony Railroad, Main St. Pictured: Ryan Firth, DJ David and Owen David Hanson Historical Society Meeting June 5 th, 2014 Speaker: HHS Vice-President, Allan Clemons on The History of Hanson

2 THE HANSON TUNK Page 2 Col. Elijah Cushing and his slaves Boston and Margaret Pegg by Mary Blauss Edwards Elijah Cushing ( ) was a leading figure in local town, church, military, and court matters. He descended from the wealthy Cushing family of Scituate and married Elizabeth (Barstow) Barker on 7 January 1725 in the Second Congregational Church in Scituate (now the First Unitarian Church in Norwell). Elijah had a house built on a 500 acre tract of land owned by his father John Cushing, today located at 89 East Washington Street in Hanson, which was part of Hanover that was annexed to Pembroke in Two separate construction dates are suggested in the records, either 1724 (which a sign on the Cushing house states) or A construction date of 1724 would indicate construction on the house began in honor of his upcoming marriage, a common practice at the time. If it was built in 1730, it coincided with Elijah becoming a major shareholder of the South Hanover forge that same year. For twenty years this business was very successful and, when Cushing sold his share of the forge property in 1757, it consisted of the forge as well as a coal house, dam, and gristmill. After Elijah s marriage, the Hanover town clerk recorded seven children born to Elijah and Elizabeth between 1725 and When Hanover was incorporated from Scituate in 1727 and a new church, the Hanover Congregational Church, formed, Elijah Cushing and his family became founding members; they later joined Gad Hitchcock s congregation. Elijah was appointed to the building committee to construct the Hanover church building in 1728 and served as a deacon. Elijah served Hanover as a selectman, treasurer, and as Hanover s first Representative in He also served as Justice of the Peace and Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. During the French and Indian Wars he served as a local militia leader, obtaining the title Honorable Captain, Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Cushing. Elijah Cushing served as an agent for the Second Precinct of Pembroke petitioning that the section of Hanover where he resided become a part of Pembroke, which was granted in The Genealogy of the Cushing Family summarized his service thusly: He was one to whom much of the public business of the Town was confided, and he executed his trust with fidelity and success. Elijah Cushing owned two adult slaves named Boston and Margaret. It is uncertain if they were sold or born into slavery. Elijah s father John owned a slave named Judith who married James (continued on page 3..)

3 THE HANSON TUNK Page 3 ( continued from page 2) negro in 1701; they may have been the parents of either Boston or Margaret. Boston labored on the Cushing farm and probably also assisted at the forge and mill. Margaret, commonly called Pegg by the family, performed numerous domestic duties including housework, helping to care for the Cushing children, cooking meals, and attending Elijah s wife, Elizabeth Cushing. Both Pegg and Boston resided with the family in the Cushing house. Pegg had a child born in the mid-1730s who died young in Boston and Pegg were married in 1741 by Hanover s Rev. Benjamin Bass, either at the Cushing house or at the Hanover church. Love of Freedom: Black Women in Colonial and Revolutionary New England describes a typical New England slave wedding: Sometimes the bride wore a special dress given to her by her mistress and the groom might be given a suit of clothes by his master. The husband was expected to pay a fee to the minister for performing the service, but some masters paid the minister s fee or a minister returned the payment to the bride as a wedding present. After the ceremony guests dance to the music of a fiddle player, feasted, and toasted the happy couple with rum or cider. While the church encouraged slave marriages, it was a complicated arrangement a husband and wife owned by separate owners could not live together; a husband and wife owned by the same master could be separated by sale; and children born to the couple could be sold. Elijah Cushing s arrangement with his slaves provides a look at additional complications: Cushing approved of their wedding performed by his own minister, giving legitimacy to future children born to the couple, but he did not encourage or allow them to become members of the church. In comparison, Elijah s younger half-brother, Josiah Cushing, allowed his slaves to be active participants in the Hanson Congregational Church. Pegg and Boston had at least two children who died young in the 1740s at the Cushing house. Since none of their children were baptized and Cushing did not register their births with the Hanover or Pembroke town clerks, it is uncertain if Pegg and Boston had surviving children. If they did, slave children in New England were typically sold by their mother s owner after they were six years old or were sometimes given to the slaveowner s immediate family as wedding presents. It is possible that Lilly, baptized in 1768 by Rev. Gad Hitchcock as a negro woman belonging to Lt. Elijah Cushing (continued on page 4 )

4 THE HANSON TUNK Page 4 ( continued from page 3) [Jr.], was a daughter of Pegg and Boston inherited by Lt. Elijah Cushing Jr., a son of Elijah and Elizabeth Cushing. In 1765, when Lt. Elijah Cushing Jr. s second wife Anne Thomas walked up the broad aisle of the West Parish meeting house on a Sunday wearing her trailing robes of black silk or satin, the train was borne by a colored slave, perhaps Pegg or Lilly. Elijah Cushing s house was the social center for miles around With slaves to do his bidding, he entertained lavishly with gay house parties and joyful occasions of all sorts. The Cushing house is perhaps best remembered as the wedding location of Elijah and Elizabeth Cushing s daughter Mary Cushing to Benjamin Lincoln, who later served as George Washington s second-in-command during the Revolution. Boston and Pegg would have been intimately involved in these wedding preparations and celebrations as well as the mundane day-to-day work of running a farm and homestead. Boston died at the Cushing house in 1760, his age unrecorded. Shortly thereafter, Elijah Cushing prepared his will, giving to his wife Elizabeth Cushing my negro woman named Pegg. Elijah died in 1762, and his widow Elizabeth survived him another twenty years, dying in the Cushing house in Slavery legally ended in Massachusetts in A negro woman named Pegg, who may have been Elijah and Elizabeth Cushing s former slave, died in Pembroke in However, Elijah s brother Josiah Cushing also had a slave named Pegg who was a similar age, so this Pegg s identity is uncertain. Although no graves mark Boston and Pegg s place of burial they were probably buried in Fern Hill Cemetery. The Elisha Cushing House in Courtesy of the Hanson Historical Photograph Collection. (continued on page 5 )

5 THE HANSON TUNK Page 5 ( continued from page 4) The dotted portion of this map shows part of modern Hanson which was part of Abington prior to 1727, part of Hanover from , and part of Pembroke from before Hanson s incorporation in Without ever moving, the Cushing house changed town addresses four times in one century. Cushing s Corner where the Elijah Cushing house stands is marked on the map. [From Jedediah Dwelley s History of the Town of Hanover, Massachusetts] Citations: History of the Town of Hanson The Elijah Cushing House ; Lemuel Cushing, The Genealogy of the Cushing Family (1877), 34; Catherine Adams and Elizabeth Pleck, Love of Freedom: Black Women In Colonial and Revolutionary New England (Oxford University Press, 2010), ; Jedediah Dwelley, History of the Town of Hanover, Massachusetts; John Cushing probate (1736) PCP #5643; Elijah Cushing probate (1762) PCP #5585; Scituate, Hanover and Pembroke Vital Records. Curator s Corner By Mary Blauss Edwards Do you know how colonists learned that independence from England was declared? Learn how the news reached Hanson residents in our website feature "Object of the Month"!

6 THE HANSON TUNK Page 6 President's Letter Our Strawberry Festival was successful despite poor weather. Our thanks to all the members who helped with preparation, baked biscuits, served or helped clean up. Special thanks to Joanne and Allen Clemons who allowed us to leave early to finish preparation for our early morning departure on our first extended trip in some time. Our next major event will be our Harvest Fair/Yard Sale. Last year, we discarded many of our unsold items so we will be seeking donations of items to this years a success. If you have anything to donate, please call and we can arrange a pickup. John & Patty Norton, Co-Presidents HANSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY CALENDAR Meetings held at Schoolhouse #4 unless otherwise stated August 7 th Meeting 7:00pm Speaker: Barbara Hill from Brockton on The War of 1812 Sept. 4 th Meeting Speaker: TBD Sept. 20 th Annual Harvest Fair Rain date: Sunday, September 21 st October 2 nd Meeting Speaker: TBD November 6 th Meeting Annual Potluck Supper at Thomas Mill 7:00pm 9:00pm-3:00pm 7:00pm 6:00pm THE HANSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2014 John & Patty Norton - Co-Presidents tel # pnorton31@comcast.net Allan Clemons Kathy Bergeron Richard & Betsy Blake Mary Blauss Edwards Melinda Barclay Vice-President Secretary Treasurers Webmaster /Curator Director at Large HANSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: It shall be the purpose of this Society to stimulate interest in the history of the town of Hanson, Mass. by collection, preservation, and study of manuscripts, books, pictures, furniture and all other objects of historic value which shall be acquired by gift or purchase; to provide a suitable repository for such objects and records; to mark historic sites; to cooperate with other neighboring groups and perform such acts as may from time to time see advisable to promote the aims of this society; to institute a definite program to acquaint younger members of the community with our local history and to encourage them to take an active part in the Society. Organized in March of 1961

7 THE HANSON TUNK Page 7 HANSON DAY June 8 th, 2014 at Camp Kiwanee Hanson s First annual event was well attended by the locals and well represented by the town. The society set up a display table in the lodge displaying a slideshow of pictures from the HHS website, a cradle the Reverend Gad Hitchcock used for his child, current and previous editions of The Tunk, and old maps. Residents were able to fill out membership applications and buy historical books and postcards. Kudos to the organizers and volunteers! Pictured above at The Hanson Historical Society table: Bruce Young and Melinda Barclay Pictured left: Mantel clock donated by Richard and Gwenneth Picard from Arkansas. Pictured right: The pig is reading about Lt. Commander, Albert C. Reed from Hanson.

8 The Hanson Historical Society P.O. BOX 52 Hanson, MA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Yes! I want to support the Hanson Historical Society by becoming a member with my annual dues-april thru November. The membership fee is due in April. NAME: STREET: TOWN: STATE ZIP PHONE: ( ) RENEWAL: NEW MEMBER: Individual $7.00 Family $10.00 Business: Date: Thank You! Mail your check made out to the Hanson Historical Society & mail to: Hanson Historical Society, P.O. Box #52, Hanson, MA

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