Wikipedia

Jeremiah Shuttleworth

Jeremiah Shuttleworth ((1760-12-24)December 24, 1760 – (1858-10-11)October 11, 1858) was a merchant and postmaster from Dedham, Massachusetts.

Shuttleworth grave

Personal life edit

Shuttleworth married Susanna "Sukey" Richards on February 1, 1798, and they were the parents of four children, including Hannah, Sam, and Jerry.[1][2][3][a] He was an incorporator of St. Paul's Church and served on the vestry.[4] His sister, Melitiah Shuttleworth, married Nathaniel Ames.[4][5]

Shuttleworth died October 11, 1858.[2]

Career edit

Jeremiah ran the West India Goods store out of his home, located at the corner of Church and High Streets.[6][7][8][3] It was likely the first permanent grocery store in Dedham.[8]

On April 1, 1795, Shuttleworth was appointed Dedham's first postmaster.[6][5][8][3][b] The post office, one of the first in the country, was housed in the store, where he would place all the mail on a table.[6][8] Residents would come into the store and help themselves to any letters addressed to them.[6] Shuttleworth was replaced as postmaster 38 years later, in 1833, by Dr. Elisha Thayer.[6][3] At his resignation in 1833, it was thought he was the oldest postmaster in the country.[2]

House edit

Shuttleworth leased a lot of land from St. Paul's Church at the corner of Church and High Streets.[9] The minister, William Montague, referred to the intersection as "Jere Square" in his honor.[9] The window shutters, which were painted green, were never opened.[3] In front of the store were scales for weighing hay.[3]

For many years, important notices were tacked to a buttonwood tree in front of the house.[10][11][c] It was where, for example, the first notice of Abraham Lincoln's death was posted.[11] Local tradition holds that the first notice posted there was a $50 reward for a stolen horse.[11] During the Civil War, when a soldier drilling pulled out an umbrella during a shower, he was hung in effigy from the tree.[12][13]

Shuttleworth left the house to Hannah, and upon her death she left it to the Dedham Historical Society.[14] The Historical Society sold the Shuttleworth home, which was moved to Bryant St, and custom built a new building for themselves on the lot.[15][7]

In 1936, Charles Mills painted a portrait of his house, where his shop and post office were.[16] It is currently in the collection of the Historical Society and was cleaned and conserved in 2016.[16]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Sam and Jerry cultivated a garden at the corner of Byrant Street and Eastern Avenue.[3]
  2. ^ Clarke has the date being 1793.[3]
  3. ^ It eventually was toppled during Hurricane Gloria in 1985.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ Briggs & Ames 1891, p. 38.
  2. ^ a b c Morse, Abner (1861). A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Several Ancient Puritans, V. 3: The Richards Family. H.W. Dutton. p. 111. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Clarke 1903, p. 11.
  4. ^ a b Worthington 1958, p. 10.
  5. ^ a b Briggs & Ames 1891, p. 30.
  6. ^ a b c d e Dedham Historical Society 2001, p. 9.
  7. ^ a b "Three new buildings". The Boston. May 15, 1887. p. 13.
  8. ^ a b c d Smith 1936, p. 281.
  9. ^ a b Worthington 1958, p. 18.
  10. ^ "Dedham's Famous Buttonwood Tree". The Boston Globe. July 31, 1904. p. 45. Retrieved June 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d Parr 2009, pp. 15–16.
  12. ^ Parr 2009, p. 16.
  13. ^ Hanson 1976, p. 242.
  14. ^ Dedham Historical Society 2001, p. 119.
  15. ^ Parr, Jim (October 16, 2016). "Tales from a Dedham Graveyard 2- "Snatched from the tomb…"". Dedham Tales. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Blue Hills Bank underwrites conservation of painting". The Dedham Transcript. March 14, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2021.

Works cited edit

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