Old Mammy Redd, an Accused Witch, Recently Pardoned

The poem below, was found in my ancestor's manuscript located in the archives at the New England Historic Genealogical Society's Library. My photographed image came out well, and since it meant something to my ancestor, I've decided to use it for Bill West's Fifth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge! as described on his blog, West in New England.

At first, I thought the author, Julian S. Cutler might have been related to the writer or even to me, since I have a long lineage of Cutlers. However, I find no connection.

Old Mammy Redd is based on a true but very sad story about Wilmot Redd. She was convicted of Witchcraft in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and was hung. I found some links explaining more about this event. They are listed below.

OLD MAMMY REDD.

[For the Transcript.]

In Salem's court-house the old crone stands,

With her wrinkled cheeks and her bony hands,

And pleads for her life on a summer's day,

The life which the maidens had sworn away.

No kind neighbor or friend is there

To urge the granting of her wild prayer,

And crushed she listens the sentence fall--

"Death on the gallows for witches all!"

Never again will her old eyes see

The fisher boats, when the winds are free,

Sail out of the harbor of Marblehead,

Or home when the evening skies are red.

No more will she watch the while gulls fly
With snowy wings; 'gainst the inky sky,
When in from sea, through the twilight gray,
The storm comes sweeping across the bay.

No more will she hear when the shadows fall

The sunset gun from Fort Sewall's wall;

Nor list at midnight the rythmic roar

Of flood-tides creeping along the shore.

Short are the days of Mammy Redd,

Old witch woman of Marblehead;

Vain her prayers; 'neath the autumn sky,

Up Gallows Hill she is led to die.

"Witch," her accusers called her there;

Scoffed at her tears and her broken prayer;

Naught was heard but the cruel cry--

"Hang her--so let the old witch die!"

So she perished on Gallows Hill,

And the days and the years went by, until,

They said, in the streets of Marblehead,

"No witch, but a martyr was Mammy Redd."

And I've been told, when the midnight tide

Creeps in to the short where the old crone died,

If you listen, borne on the midnight air,

Her voice comes wafted in wailing prayer.

JULIAN S. CUTLER.

Marblehead, Feb. 19, 1889.

Below are photos of Wilmot "Mammy" Redd's memorial in the Witchcraft Memorial, Charter Street Burying Ground, also known as The Burying Point, Salem, Massachusetts

Wilmot Redd

Hanged

Sept. 22, 1692

Note: Other good websites for additional information about Mammy Redd.

Find A Grave  "On October 31, 2001 Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift signed a bill pardoning Wilmot Redd along with four other victims of the witch trials."

Vast Public Indifference article

Thomas Mayhew -- Watertown, Massachusetts

Thomas Mayhew was my 10th great-grandfather.

HERE BY THE ANCIENT FORD

THE LANDING AND THE WEIR

WAS THE HOMESTALL OF

THOMAS MAYHEW,

A LEADER IN WATERTOWN AFFAIRS

FROM 1635 TO 1645.

AFTERWARDS WITH HIS SON,

THE REV. THOMAS MAYHEW

HE LABORED AMONG THE INDIANS

AT MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

I wrote three other posts pertaining to Thomas, see below:

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2013/09/founders-monument-watertown.html

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/08/saturday-surname-mayhew-of.html

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/08/those-places-thursday-where-ancestor.html

Prince Spaghetti of Lowell, Massachusetts Fame -- Wordless Wednesday

Z

Home of Prince Spaghetti, Lowell, Massachusetts

In 1912, in the North End of Boston, three immigrants from Sicily began making spaghetti and sold it to customers. The business was so fantastic that they needed more space, so in 1941 they moved to Prince Street in Lowell. In 1987 the company was sold to Borden, Inc., whose headquarters are in Ohio.

The stipulation between Borden and Prince was that nothing would change for ten years; no major changes and no layoffs. It was one huge family, mostly of hard-working Portuguese employees, many who worked there 30-40 or more years on one of the three shifts. When I began working there, into the 8th year of being owned by Borden.

It came to no huge surprise, that when the 10 years was up, Borden had no need for Lowell's plant, but they wanted the name. They had other plants, incl. one in St. Louis. Word of our closing spread like wildfire, I received phone calls from the press, and everybody wanted to know all the details.

Fortunately, I had more information and warning than most people, since I worked for the Plant Manager. Over 400 employees lost their jobs. We received nice severance packages and other benefits, but the pride of working for one of the most well-known companies in Massachusetts was no more.

The building in red brick is the original plant (where all offices, shipping, quality control, mini grocery store, and the Prince museum) and the large white/grey building was where the pasta was manufactured.

Prince Pasta / Spaghetti is now owned by New World Pasta in Pennsylvania. I can still buy the same blue Prince box in any local store. It didn't go away, just changed several hands and locations.

I shared some advertising products from the company in a recent post, see HERE. 

Nice article about the history from Mass Moments.

Courtyard facing the old and new buildings. Below are two railroad cars. There was also a fleet of large trucks with the same logo.

Update: On June 25, 2014, there was an article in The Lowell Sun newspaper about the old Prince plant and property being up for sale again.  See article at HERE.

Update #2 on October 15, 2014. Lowell Five buys former Prince building. http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_26732377

Photo of building from the back, Lawrence Street side (November 2014).

Mary, George, Gerald, Ted and Sonny...Where are the Others?

None of the individuals below were related to me, but we had a very strong bond. They were employees and bosses of where I worked for over ten years. When I began working at Father John's Medicine Co., Inc., in Lowell, Massachusetts, these people became my second family, and even after I left, I was in contact with several for many years. There are another eight I would like to locate. Once an employee began working at the company, they never left. Why? They weren't fired, the benefits and hours were great and it was a wonderful company. Several older employees died while I was there, and during my 10+ years there, I was always the youngest person. I decided to honor my former co-workers because I really liked these people and there is nobody else to do it.

Other names I am looking for are Thomas Fox, Eddie O'Hare, Lila Shannon, Frank Shannon, Joe Carty, Agnes Mellen, Annette Tatre, Anna M. Maloney.

Mary Helen McNamara

1917 - 2011

 George H. Donehue (father to sons Gerald and George)

1880 - 1967

Gerald F. Donehue

1910 - 1993
The above was buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts

George H. Donehue

1912 - 1987
The above was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Tewksbury, Massachusetts. His wife Marion was buried with him.

Lucian T. Villandry  1930  --  2005
His father is below.

Theodore Villandry died in May 1965
(He worked at Father John's Medicine while I was there, and lived at 29 Hanover Street).
(Locating this stone took four trips to the cemetery.)
The above two were buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Haverhill, Massachusetts Library, Local History and Genealogy Section

Haverhill Public Library

99 Main St, Haverhill, MA 01830

Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts

(978) 373-1586

Back entrance to the Haverhill Public Library, taken from the parking lot. Parts of the library are older, but this is the addition.

Peeking into the Local History Room. The Library now has a lot of information about its Special Collections and Archives online (new to me). Please check it out if you are interested. https://haverhillpl.org/special-collections/ In reading through this link, I see this section moved to a new place in the library. In the past, they always had limited hours to visit. Currently,  the hours are:\

Special Collections Hours

Tuesday	10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Wednesday	3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Thursday	10:00 am – 3:00 pm

The room looks the same as it did a good 12 years ago. The only difference is their hours. Now open 4 hours a day, for two days. Many years ago, it was open more frequently, but they always had the policy of closing for an hour for lunch!

In the back, there is a large room packed with their genealogies and other related history books. You are not allowed back there, but you can request what you need. Most reference books are upfront for patrons. Years ago, there was one day a year set aside for the members of the Essex Society of Genealogists (ESOG) members to spend the entire day looking in the back room. It was a real treat the three times I went. By the way, ESOG will always be my favorite genealogy club, if you aren't a member, and have Essex Co., Massachusetts ancestors, why not look into joining.

Three patrons working on a project.

Part of the Haverhill Directory collection.

Lucy Larcom -- A Mill Girl, A Writer, a Lovely Park in Lowell, Massachusetts

Lucy Larcom was typical of many young mill girls who worked in one of the many mills in New England. She was born in Beverly, Massachusetts and in 1830 she and her mother moved to Lowell. In 1835 when she turned 11 she began working in a mill. Many of the girls arrived here alone, some from the countryside in neighboring towns or from further away, like Maine. Some stayed until they had saved enough money, got homesick, tired of the work or helped their parents through their hardship. Lucy worked in Lowell until age 22, then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and several other places. Years later she became an English literature teacher at Wheaton College. She never married, died in Boston (see death register below) and is buried in Beverly, Massachusetts (see photo below).

The school children who visit Lowell, all learn about her and other mill girls, and there is quite about her life in the Mill Girls exhibit (maintained by the National Park Service).

Above and below is the Lucy Larcom Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Lucy lived in a Boarding House like this one in Lowell. There is a period exhibit of what various rooms looked like during that time. This is free, open year round and maintained by the National Park Service.

Short bio of Lucy Larcom displayed in one of the above rooms.

Lucy died in Boston on April 17, 1893 at the Hotel Hoffman. I found her on the death register, last entry above, she was 69. See A New England Girlhood by Lucy Larcom and this site by the National Park Service.

Central Cemetery

Grass Avenue

Beverly, Massachusetts

The entry for her on FindAGrave is quite impressive. See HERE.

All That History and Flowers at Concord, Massachusetts Pt. 2

Above is the Visitor Center, (the former Buttrick Estate) and below is the side entrance, facing the gardens.

Continuation of Pt. 1

Old photo in a frame, inside the Visitor Center, showing the house and gardens.

Beautiful grounds.

At the end of the gardens, there is an overlook, in which you will look down on the Concord River and North Bridge. A short trail will take you to both. Below are the river and bridge taken from the opposite direction.

In my opinion, the best time to visit is early in the morning, perhaps 30 minutes before 10 AM. You will be there before the bus loads of tourists or school children arrive. When the Visitor Center opens, you could be among the first to get inside.

Acton, Massachusetts -- Men in the Spanish American War 1898

Acton Men in the Spanish American War

1898

U.S.W.V.

Wm. F. Dusseault

Chaplain 6th Regt. U.S.M.

Arthur G. Knowlton

George A. Forrest

Robert C. Maines

William H. Hill

Thomas J. Manion

Charles H. Whitney

Walter L. Tuttle

Fred L. Tuttle

Herbert W. Owen

Hamie S. Greenough

Oliver D. Wood

Clarence Desseault

All The History and Flowers at Concord, Massachusetts Pt. 1

The photos were taken in and around the North Bridge Visitor Center in Concord, Massachusetts. Part 1 is the History, Part 2 are the flowers.

The area where minutemen were mustered on April 19, 1775. Below is a marker, and foundation of the Ephraim and Willard Buttrick Houses, circa 1697. The above and below pictures are in front of the Visitor Center.

Major John Buttrick

from this his farm led

the provincial minute

men and militia down

to win the bridge held

by the British Forces

April 19, 1775.

George Edward Messer

by his will provided

this memorial

erected by the town.

North Bridge Visitor Center, formerly the estate of the Buttrick Family. Below is the interior, with the visitor's center to the right.

The problem with photographing during bright sunlight or spotlights, you often get glare. I plan on trying to take better photos during a cloudy day. This past spring, I went three times, just to get photographs of the flowers.  Too bad that Irises and Peonies have different growing schedules.

From the Visitor Center, you can look down on the North Bridge, Concord River and two monuments, one being the minuteman, by Daniel Chester French.