Walking in Hannah’s Footsteps…
I
live right next to a fine old New England
cemetery, and here in the summertime, I walk through the cemetery on my way to
go swimming every day.
When
I walked through today I remembered that this year we overlooked a very
important date in our little town’s history---
July the 8th came and went, unremarked.
I can just see this neat little old lady,
with fire in her eyes, as she led a horde of women and three men in a raid on
Rockport’s drinking establishments, on July
8th, 1856.
Hannah Jumper
is buried in our Old Fifth Parish Burial Ground. She’s famous here because this
quiet spinster was a woman of action. In the middle of the Nineteenth century
Rockport had a large number of sailors and fishermen, and a large number of
little pubs and bars where the men would hang out. They’d often get drunk
and then go home to their wives.
Hannah Jumper’s gravestone
This went on for years, but in 1856 the
Temperance Movement was gaining steam all over the United States (31 states). The women in town
had had about enough of this, and the preachers downtown helped stir up their
emotions. Local women gathered and decided that on Tuesday morning, July
8th they would take
matters into their own hands. They trusted no males with their plans,
except for three preachers.
Hannah Jumper, courtesy
of Sandy Bay Historical Society
On that fine summer morning Hannah, age
75, put down her sewing, and marched out of her house down by the harbor, and
led a group of angry, determined women and preachers down the street. The women
had hatchets under their shawls, and they stormed into one bar after another,
smashing bottles, and emptying kegs in the street. Pub owners and
customers alike couldn’t believe what was happening.
The women smashed kegs for five hours.
Then they went home to cook supper for their families.
That was the end of drinking in
Rockport. Bars and pubs were outlawed, and stayed that way for 149 years.
Then, in 2005 citizens finally voted to
allow restaurants to serve alcoholic beverages.
Hannah Jumper’s house in
Rockport.
This photo, shot in 2005, shows sign promoting a vote to
restore sales of liquor in Rockport—right in Hannah’s front yard!
The Personal Navigator offers these books
and papers:
Universalist, The; and Ladies' Repository; Boston, Saturday, February 8, 1834Smith, Daniel D.,
Editor 1834 Boston, MA Daniel
D. Smith. Address delivered at the funeral of Matthew Jasper Smith, only child
of Rev. M.H. Smith of Hartford , CT.
An Address delivered before the First Society of Universalists in Danvers , MA at the Dedication of their church,
June 28th, 1833, by Rev. L. Willis. Excuse for Neglecting Public Worship-- the
fourth excuse is the expense of public worship; fifth excuse is that many can
not keep awake in church. Extract from a New-Year's Sermon by Rev. T.B. Thayer.
The Trial of Abner Kneeland for blasphemy ended yesterday with a verdict of
guilty. Caution to Mothers, No. 1: "Do
not talk about children in their presence." "..if mothers
exercise care, and proceed cautiously, they will save their children from years
of woe, and adorn their handsome children with that greatest of all ornaments--
'a meek and quiet' which in the sight of God is of great price." Hints
to Young Females. "The
sentiment for woman has undergone a change. The romantic passion, which
once almost deified her, is on the decline; and it is by intrinsic qualities
that she must now inspire respect. There is less enthusiasm entertained
for her, but the regard is more rational, and perhaps equally sincere." 16 pp. 18 x 27 cm. Paper periodical,
edges cut unevenly, good. (7382) $16.00. Religious
Rev. Thompson's Sermon, Nov. 29, 1821
Thompson, Rev. Otis: Sermon, A, Preached
November 29, 1821; The Day Which Completed One Hundred Years Since the
Organization of the Congregational Church in Rehoboth , Mass. By Otis Thompson, A.M., Pastor of Said
Church 1821Taunton, MA: A. Danforth, Printer. 23 pp. 14 x
23.7 cm. Reverend Thompson (b. 9-14-1776) served as pastor of
the Rehoboth Congregational Church for over 25 years. In this sermon he takes
for his text Acts IX, 31, and describes how Saul of Tarsus was"exceedingly
mad against the saints of Christ Jesus: and acting uinder the highest authority
in the Jewish church, shut them up in prison, punished them oft.... when they
were put to death, gave his voice against them," Then, on the road to Damascus, he was"arrested
by a light and voice from heaven... was changed from a blasphemer to a preacher
of the faith which before he destroyed. Rev.
Thompson ends his sermon with words from Christ: "He
who is not with me, is against me, and he that gathereth not with me,
scattereth abroad." Paper booklet,
bound with thread, moderate wear, good. (7704) $36.00.
Religious
Seven Sermons, On Different Important
Subjects; by Robert Russel at
Wardhurst, inSussex 1791 Philadelphia , PA :
Peter Stewart. Small book offers sermons on: I. The Unpardonable Sin against
the Holy Ghost: or the Sin Unto Death; II. The Saint's Duty and Exercise: Being
an Exhortation to, and a Direction for Prayer; III. The Accepted Time, and Day
of Salvation; IV. The End of Time, and Beginning of Eternity; V. Joshua's
Resolution to serve the Lord; VI. The Way to Heaven made Plain; VII. The future
State of Man : Or, a Treatise on the Resurrection. 144 pp. 8.5 x 14.2 cm. Paper on
board with leather spine, very worn, but intact. Inside front hinge cracked.
Front pastedown contains name that is heavily scratched out. No free endpapers.
Fair. (6991) $115.00. Religious
Sermon Preached August 9, 1826 at the
Ordination of the Rev. Stephen Thurston over the Congregational Church and
Society, Prospect, Maine , by Rev. David Thurston of the Winthrop , Maine Congregational Church. Hallowell , ME :
David Thurston, Pastor, Winthrop , ME. Congregational Church. If thou put the brethren in
remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ,
nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast
attained. I Timothy, IV, 6
Sermon by famous anti-slavery preacher, David Thurston, with theme from I Timothy, IV, 6. Cites requisites for a good minister of Jesus Christ. This copy inscribed by David Thurston to his uncle, Samuel Bacon. 16 pp. 14 x 21 cm. Paper booklet, covered with coarse heavy paper. First four pages have 10 cm closed tear across middle, other pages have 2 cm tear in edge. Soiled, worn, poor. (5727) $46.00. Religious/History
Sermon by famous anti-slavery preacher, David Thurston, with theme from I Timothy, IV, 6. Cites requisites for a good minister of Jesus Christ. This copy inscribed by David Thurston to his uncle, Samuel Bacon. 16 pp. 14 x 21 cm. Paper booklet, covered with coarse heavy paper. First four pages have 10 cm closed tear across middle, other pages have 2 cm tear in edge. Soiled, worn, poor. (5727) $46.00. Religious/History
[Rev. David Thurston was one
of the Congregational church's most prominent ministers. Reform-minded and
idealistic. He started the first Sunday school in New England .
He was a pioneer in all matters of reform and a leader outside of his community
on the great questions of the day. He formed the Winthrop chapter of the American Anti-Slavery
Society in 1834, and for years before the Civil War he was a leading voice in
the cause of abolition of slavery. In fact, he was so
strongly anti-slavery that his parishioners forced him to resign, ending a
44-year stint as pastor in Winthrop .
Church members today say they carry on
Thurston's message of social activism by running programs on family violence
and an after-school program for middle school students. ]
Reverend Pike's Discourse Delivered in the
Congregational Church, Rowley, MA at the Annual Thanksgiving, November 26, 1846 Pike, Rev. John 1846 Boston, MA: S.N. Dickinson & Co.
Text from Ezekiel 21:27. Are there grounds for contending nations of the earth
to regard themselves as the messengers of Deity to overturn each other? Does
part of the job belong to us? Preacher is talking about the current war
with Mexico ,
and also British aggression in China ,
and French encroachments upon islands of the sea. Our
war with Mexico urged
on by land speculators, slave-holders and selfish adventurers..."What
evidence that the voice of God was calling us beyond the river Nueces ? Was admitting Texas to the Union constitutional? Mexico was looking up to us... But we chose
the sword... And now they burn with hatred towards us. Pray
for your nation, and the kindred nations....a voice more acceptable to heaven
than the roar of your cannon." 15
pp. 14 x 23 cm. Paper leaflet fastened with thread stitching. Chip 2 x 3 cm
missing from one page, some soiling, fair. (7422) $17.00. Religious
Frances Willard
Willard:
Glimpses of Fifty Years; the Autobiography of An American Woman.. Written by
Order of the National Women's Christian Temperance Union by Willard ,
Frances E. ©1889 Chicago , IL :
H.J. Smith & Co. 698 pp. 15 x 24 cm.
Described as "one of God's best gifts to the American women of the 19th
century", Mrs. Willard spent a career fighting the evils of drink. Spirited and interesting writing. Green cloth
cover with silver, black and gold printing.
Spine scuffed at top and bottom, corners rubbed. Very good. (1385) $37.00. Biography