Daily Times Chronicle, Tuesday, December 4, 1990

Burlington Past & Present, by John 'Ed' Fogelberg
(Article # 595)


The Sewall house has been mentioned in this column on
numerous occasions because of its historical interest.
When one watches the selectmen's meetings Monday nights on
television the town seal appears on the wall behind them. Its
centerpiece shows the old Sewall mansion. So it was no real
surprise when someone asked a short time ago, "Where is the
Sewall house?"
Sadly, the Sewall house is no more. It burnt to the ground
Friday, April 23, 1897. It was a disaster of major proportions
for anyone interested in the early history of this town or of
its church.
The grand old house was built on the Road to Lexington in
1732 by Sergeant Benjamin Johnson, the same year the people
living here in Woburn Second Parish built their meeting house
nearer the geographical center of the parish. It was bought by
the Rev. Mr. Thomas Jones in 1751 and owned by his descendants
for almost a century and a half. The Rev. Mr. Jones filled the
pulpit here from 1751 to 1774.
He was the second ordained pastor of the church although
not the second minister to preach here for there were several
supply ministers who spoke from this pulpit between the year
the Rev. Mr. Supply Clap died - 1747 - and the year the Rev.
Mr. Thomas Jones took over.
Following Jones' death came the Rev. Mr. John Marrett who
cared for this parish's spiritual needs during the Revolution
and the incorporation of the town of Burlington. He became the
owner of the parsonage through his marriage to his predeces-
sor's daughter Martha.
He died in 1813 and was followed in the ministry here by
the Rev. Mr. Samuel Sewall who likewise married the daughter of
his predecessor a girl named Martha. Their son Mr. Samuel
Sewall inherited the fine old house in 1868 and was in
residence when the fire occurred.
The amount of literature that had been accumulated by the
Sewall family over the years since the Massachusetts Bay Colony
began on these shores was phenomenal. And most of that vast
store of information and knowledge was lost in that fire. The
following is but a partial list of what was destroyed and is
taken from what Martha Sewall Curtis furnished to the old
Woburn News and was published by that newspaper on May 1, 1897.
Both Mr. Sewall and Mrs. Curtis lost their libraries which
were large and valuable. Mrs. Curtis, in particular, had been
doing extensive research on matters pertaining to the history
of Burlington. Among her papers were the interleaved almanacs
kept as a diary over the years by the Reverends Marrett and
Sewall and Mr. Sewall. A portion of Marretts Dairy, fortunate-
ly, had been copied and were printed in Hurd's "History of
Middlesex County" in 1890 but it covered only the Revolutionary
years of 1775 and 1776.
Equally important were the papers of the Sewalls for they,
both father and son had been the Town Clerks since 1847.
Almost all the records of the parish and the church begin-
ning in 1730 were lost as were the records of the first Sunday
school. Also the diary of the Rev. Mr. Joseph Sewall of Bos-
ton's Old South Church; the diary of John Hull whose daughter
married Judge Sewall and who was the first mintmaster of the
colony; the almanacs of the Rev. Mr. Supply Clap kept from the
time he entered Harvard College to his death; the sermons of
all the early ministers of this parish: Clap, Jones, Marrett
and Sewall; and the first Bible used in the Woburn Precinct
Meeting House, one given to the parish by the children of Rev.
Mr. Supply Clap.
Also destroyed were the many papers of the Rev. Mr.
Marrett, the Rev. Mr. Sewall and those of Judge Samuel Sewall
of the infamous witchcraft trials in Salem and later judge of
the Marblehead Court.
Also gone were many old books and printed sermons; the
Arabic Testament of the Rev. Mr. Leander Thompson; some Boston
News Letters; numerous editions of the Woburn News, the Woburn
Journal and Advertiser; The Congregational, the Massachusetts
Ploughman, the Women's Journal, and from the beginning the
issues of the N.E. Homestead and Youth's Companion. The Sewall
home had been a veritable depository of valuable historical
information.
All of the above were written or printed material. But
other items also were consumed by that disastrous fire: the
Communion service of the church; a number of very old cups;
Nathaniel Emmons portrait in black and white of Judge Sewall;
the portrait of the Rev. Joseph Sewall and the portrait of Dr.
Humphrey Devereaux's family; some ancient tiles - Scriptural;
the family cradle made for the young Samuel Sewall and occupied
by each of his descendants in turn; two spinning wheels; a
picture of George Washington; the tea set bought for the bride
of the Rev. Mrs. Samuel Sewall; and all the china and plates
and other household articles of the Henchman and Jones
families.
The loss included a few other interesting items which
should be noted. The family bibles of Judge Sewall and John
Marrett; files of town reports and a collection of town
histories and the banner and flag carried by the Burlington
contingent at the celebration at Lexington April 19, 1875 were
lost. That flag had embroidered on it a likeness of the Sewall
house for that house had been the temporary refuge of Hancock
and Adams one hundred years earlier.
Said the account of the fire in the Woburn News, "Mr. John
Dunn, who worked for Mr. Sewall, slept in the ell of the house.
He happened to be awake about 11:30 p.m. Friday night and smelt
the smoke. He could not get through into the house on account
of the fire so was obliged to break out a window and arouse the
occupants by calling from the outside. The neighbors promptly
responded to the call of the meeting house bell. By persistent
effort they were able to save some furniture, pictures etc. in
the parlor, front hall and sitting room. All else perished."
The woodshed and cornbarn were also destroyed but the big
barn was saved and stood for many years thereafter. The Sewall
family who narrowly escaped from the upper bedrooms with barely
enough clothing to cover themselves were taken in by the
Stevensons who ran the village store in the center of town.
The only important articles saved were the grandfather
clock bought by the Rev. Mr. Jones in 1751; the table spread
for Hancock and Adams that April day in 1775; and a portrait of
Judge Sewall.
All have disappeared. The portrait was sold shortly after
the turn of the century but to whom is unknown. The table was
in the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett Lowther - her mother was
Nellie Sewall - until she died in 1977. The table's whereabouts
likewise is unknown. The grandfather clock still may be ticking
away in the hallway of someone unknown to us.
That so much information about Burlington history,
Woburn's history and the commonwealth's history was there
accumulated rests upon the fact that the Rev. Mr. Sewall was a
distinguished scholar and an ardent antiquarian. His judgment
upon any question concerning the Congregational church was
treated with respect and his historical writings published in
the American Quarterly Register were highly valued.
Thus it is little wonder that he was asked to write the
History of Woburn, a work he lived to complete but did not live
to see published.
On the slight rise of land where once stood the Sewall
house now stands two new houses built hy Mr. Ruping. They rest
upon historic ground.