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In 1870 and at age thirty-three, about ten
years out of Amherst College and Bangor Seminary, Edward Cornelius Ewing
was becoming established as pastor at the Congregational church at
Enfield, Massachusetts. Though Edward was born in Walpole, New
Hampshire, the Ewing family was well rooted in central Massachusetts.
Edward's father, George Clinton Ewing, was a long-time civic leader and
developer of Holyoke, and Edward's first pastorate had been at Ashfield.
By 1870, Edward had been married for seven years to
Mary Louisa Alvord, and they had two young boys. Two more would join
them in the coming years. Of the four brothers, three would follow their
father's path into the ministry. The fourth, my grandfather William,
went on to study engineering at Boston Tech, as the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) was known at the time. |
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Seated:
Mary Louisa (Alvord) Ewing, Edward Cornelius Ewing. Standing: Addison
Alvord Ewing, William Clinton Ewing, George Henry Ewing, Charles Edward
Ewing |
The young Rev. Ewing was evidently comfortable in Enfield, a
small town in the Swift River Valley. Church bulletins from the time show a wry
wit; the clergyman instructed his flock "not to expect the preacher to be at his
best every time he occupies the pulpit." Attendance ranged up to 200 or 300 on a
Sunday.
There was little sign of the upheaval to come sixty years
later when the burgeoning city of Boston would lay claim to the Swift River
Valley and build a dam. As the end was coming in 1936, an arsonist would light
the Enfield church ablaze. What little remains of Enfield now lies deep under
Quabbin Reservoir.
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In the summer of 1870, the Rev. Ewing received an
unexpected letter that turned his attention away from everyday duties in
the Valley. It bore a postmark from the exotic Colorado Territories.
There is no record that Edward Cornelius Ewing had ever traveled outside
New England, save a stint tending to the needs of Union Army soldiers in
Winchester, Virginia, in 1864 as a member of the U.S. Christian
Commission.
As shown in the snippet to the right, the letter was
written in a clear hand. But it was filled with curious spelling and
grammar oddities. This makes one wonder if it was dictated to or
transcribed by someone other than F. E. Hayden, the signer of the
letter. With all the spelling and grammar errors, the letter reads: |
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Rev. E. C. Ewing
Enfield, Mass.
Sir, I wished to corspond with
you, and make you this liberal Offer. I will make you a present of a New Suit of
Clothes Or fifty in cash. If you will accept of It.
I wishe you to send me the name
of som young woman of your acquaintance that has been raised to do house worke
betwen age of 17 and 25 years with darke Eyes and understands music.
And if I am suited and have the
luck to wed, my Offer will be due. I have always worked harde and I am liberal
reworded for my labor. I will give any Number of References on hering from you.
I will answer all questions
In regards to this country I
never have bin in the Eastern States and they say it is hard for a man to get in
to Society. I Expect to come back to Mass this fall. I came here when 17 years
of age. I have bin in Colorado 10 Ten years 18 Day of July 1870.
I never used Tobaco nor
Spiritual Liquors of Eny Kind. I have always bin on the frontiers and in the
mines. I think I have lived a lone long enought.
I am a reader of the New England
Farmer and there is where I got your name. Where you Married Mr. M Gibbs to Miss
Susan Alden. I hope this Conversation will be keep between you and me So I
remaine yours Truly,
F. E. Hayden
Granite Lake Co.
Colorado Ter.
June 25th
1870
I am truly a shamed of what I have riting, but I think it
my duty to Marrie and I wished to marrie Eastern Woman. If I will suit and be
suited I will frely make my Words good to you and be under meny Obligations to
you. F. E. H.
Mr. F. E. Hayden! Could one take his 'liberal offer'? A New
Suit of Clothes or $50 in cash? That might have been a generous inducement for a
frugal clergyman to be a matchmaker for a half-literate miner. Most Yankee
Congregationalists would cringe at the thought of dealing intimately with a
stranger, despite his pleading of good character in the area of tobacco and
'spiritual liquors'. Still, there was the opportunity to minister to an
apparently sincere and needy person, even though he was mute on the question of
religion.
The letter has come down in our family for four generations.
It is one of only a few bits of ministerial records that have been preserved.
Obviously, it meant something to our preacher forebear.
What was his reply? Unfortunately, we can only guess.
Martin Sipple Ewing descends from Noble Ewing and the
Massachusetts family of George Clinton Ewing of Holyoke. He is retired from Yale
University, where he was Director of Information Technology for Engineering. In
previous lives, he was a physicist and radio astronomer, receiving a PhD at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. Martin
continues to develop computer systems and Internet services, as well as pursue
his hobby in amateur radio. Martin and his wife, Eva, live in Branford,
Connecticut.