The Doty Tavern And The Suffolk Resolves
The Doty Tavern, where the delegates from several towns and districts
in Suffolk County first met, and from which place they adjourned to meet at the
house of Richard Woodward in Dedham, and finally to the mansion of Daniel Vose,
of Milton, where the memorable "Suffolk Resolves" were passed. No longer in
Suffolk County, now Norfolk, no longer in Stoughton, now Canton, the Doty Tavern
is home to American Freedom.
The traveler,
journeying from Milton toward canton, passing between Little and Great Blue
Hill, saw before him a level plain, now a highway. He passed today's Blue Hill
River Road and the second house on his left would at once attract his attention
by its singular and old fashioned appearance. It stood a short distance back
from the street. It struck one as a house with a history; its quaint gambrel
roof with two massive chimneys, carried one back to time long past, and we would
fain listen to the stories it might tell could it speak.
It was built in the early days. A marquis had slept
beneath its roof; a general has planned within its walls the freedom of a
nation; and a destined President of the United States, John Adams, has baited
his horse there. Major John Shepard built the old tavern , and he was a notable
man in this part of Suffolk County when it was new.
At the period of the Revolution, the house, which had been kept as a
tavern in 1726 by Major John Shepard, was celebrated for its good cheer. Here
could be found entertainment for man and beast. The proprietor was Tom Doty,
also known as Col. Thomas Doty. It was he who kept the best viands and could mix
the best glass of grog of any landlord around. There was no stage driver that
did not know where Doty's Tavern was. His inn was the center of gossip; around
his capacious hearth were wont to congregate on winter evenings the village
wiseacres, to discuss over pipe and bowl questions pertaining to town and
province. John Adams tells us that there were many such taverns in his day; that
he knew, will appear from the following extract from his
diary:
"Monday, Aug. 14, 1769.
Dined with three hundred and fifty Sons of Liberty at Robinson's, the sign of
Liberty Tree in Dorchester. There was a large collection of good company. To the
honor of the company, I did not see one person intoxicated or near it." "Between
four and five o'clock the carriages were all got ready, and the company rode off
in procession,--Mr. Hancock first in his chariot, and another chariot bringing
up the rear. I took my leave of the gentlemen, and turned off for Taunton. Oated
at Doty's, and arrived long after dark at Noice's; there I put
up."
Doty was a man of some
pretensions to political knowledge; certain it is that he was known at the time
of which we write to be highly indignant at the treatment the provinces had
lately received from the mother country; and he favored the embryonic movement
soon to burst into open rebellion. The time had come when the men of the
Province of Massachusetts Bay had become enraged at the blind policy of George
III, and his Parliament; bold patriots resolved that throughout the thirteen
provinces "Congresses" (so called in order to obviate the provisions of the
Regulation Act, which forbade town meetings except by permission of the
Governor) should be held in several counties, and in this matter Suffolk
County took the lead. After it was decided to hold such a Congress, the grave
question which presented itself to the patriots of Suffolk County was, "Where
shall we hold it, and at what town shall it convene?" In the first place, the
spot should be central yet retired. Neither Boston nor Salem possessed these
requisites; and Samuel Adams, who expected the gravest results from this
assembly, strenuously desired that some inland town should be selected, where
the Congress might meet, free from interference. This desire was communicated to
Dr. and later, Major General, Joseph Warren, and it was agreed that a Congress
should be held as soon as practicable; and the Town of Stoughton being by its
geographical position central, and Doty's Tavern of good repute, it was decided
that the meeting should take place at the town and tavern
aforesaid.
On the morning of Tuesday, the
16th of August, 1774, all was hurry and bustle at Doty Tavern. From the
farmhouse over the way, which, built in the time of the Indian Wars, for
protection its second story projecting over the first, Squire William Royall
sent his slaves to assist the slaves of Colonel Thomas Doty in making
preparation for the distinguished guests. Little did those poor Africans
imagine, as they cheerfully fulfilled their masters' orders on that summer
morning, that this meeting which would result in bringing emancipation from the
tyranny of Great Britain to their masters, would necessitate, at the adoption of
the new Constitution in 1780, their being driven by whips into wagons at
midnight, chained one to another, and carried from their old home in
Massachusetts to be sold into perpetual bondage at Barbados.
Early in the forenoon the delegates began to arrive.
The members from the inland towns came on horseback, while young Dr. Warren,
with his Boston friends, drove up in a stylish berlin drawn by four horses, with
a coachman in livery on the box and footman on the rumble. From old Stoughton
came Parson Dunbar in gown and bands, --a stout old soldier he, for things
temporal as well as spiritual. He had fought when his Majesty needed help
against the French; but the oppressive acts of the British Parliament had
forfeited all claims upon his loyalty, and he came, against the advice of many
of his friends, his relatives, and his own son, who held a civil office under
the Crown, to meet with the County Congress at Doty's Tavern. When he arrived,
and the meeting was organized, he was asked to pray. The prayer has
unfortunately not been preserved; but one who was present said of it that "It
was the most extraordinary liberty-prayer that I ever heard; he appeared to have
a most divine, if not prophetically, enthusiasm in favor of our
rights."
Before this Congress adjourned,
the following resolutions were passed:--
"Whereas, It appears to us that the
Parliament of Great Britain, to the Dishonor of the King, in Violation of the
faith of the Nation, Have, in Direct Infraction of the Charter of this Province,
Contrary to Magna Charta, the Bill of Rights, the National & constitutional
claims of British subjects, by an act Called the Boston Port Bill, a Bill for
Amending the Charter of this Province, and another Bill for the Impartial
administration of Justice, with all the Parade and administration of law and
justice, attempted to Reduce this Colony to an Unparalleled State of
Slavery.
"Whereas, the Several Colonies Being Justley and Properly
alarmed with this Lawless and Tyranical Exertion of Power, Has Entered into
Combination for our Relief, and have Published Sundry Resolutions which they are
Determined to abide by, in support of Common Interest, We Earnestly Recommend to
our Brethren in the Several Towns and Districts in this County, to appoint
Members for to attend a county convention for Suffolk at the house of Mr.
Woodward, Innholder in Dedham, on Tuesday, the sixth day of September next, at
ten o'clock before noon, to Deliberate and Determine upon Such Matters as the
Distressed Circumstances of this Province may require."
It would appear that although all present
at Doty's Tavern were unanimous and firm and determined to resist the
encroachments of Great Britain, the delegates did not deem themselves especially
authorized to negotiate the affairs of a County Congress. They therefore
adjourned, and at a subsequent meeting passed the celebrated "Suffolk Resolves,"
which, drafted by General Warren, and carried to Philadelphia by Paul Revere,
were approved by the Continental Congress at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, on
the 17th of September, 1774, and which, in the words of Galloway,
"contained a complete declaration of war against Great Britain."
During the siege of Boston the old tavern
was occupied by refugees, and one of the exiled town officers sought its secure
retreat.
Beneath the roof of
the Doty Tavern the Marquis de Lafayette, on his first visit to America, rested
while journeying from Taunton to Boston; it was during the war, and the news
spread quickly that the gallant Frenchman was a guest at the old inn. In the
morning, when he had paid reckoning and was ready to depart, he found the
townspeople gathered in the road before him, who with cheers and good wishes
bade him Godspeed.
The
County Congress met according to adjournment at the tavern of Mr. Richard
Woodward at Dedham, which was situated directly opposite the present Courthouse,
on the 6th of September, 1774.
The town of Stoughton had voted on the 29th
of August that a committee be chosen to represent the town at the meeting at
Dedham, and that they have full power to act and do anything in county
convention, as may appear of public utility in a time of public and general
distress. This committee consisted of John Withington, Theophilus Curtis, John
Kenney, Jedediah Southworth and Josiah Pratt.
The committee were desired to endeavor to obtain a
county indemnification for such persons as might suffer, by fine or otherwise,
from a non-compliance with the recent arbitrary acts of the British Parliament.
The delegates from Stoughton attended the meeting at Dedham, and it was decided
to adjourn this County Congress until the 9th of September, the
delegates to meet at the house of Daniel Vose in Milton. At this meeting were
passed the celebrated "Suffolk resolves." The house where the resolutions were
passed is still standing in Milton. The house is under the control of the Milton
Historical Society and is located at 1370 Canton Avenue. The house has been
restored to the Colonial period.
On the 7th of October, 1774, the Great and General Court
was convened at Salem, and the citizens of Stoughton, with those of the District
of Stoughtonham (Sharon), decided that Thomas Crane was the man to represent
them; and they voted him certain written instructions. He was admonished to
adhere firmly to the charter of the province which had been granted by their
Majesties William and Mary, and under no consideration to acknowledge the
validity of any Act of the British Parliament tending to alter the government of
Massachusetts Bay; at the same time his constituents did not disguise the fear
that in their opinion a conscientious discharge of duty would cause a
dissolution of the House of Representatives. Nevertheless, should such an
emergency arise, their representative was instructed to join the other towns in
the province for a General Provincial Congress, and do those things which were
requisite and necessary to conduce to the true interests of the town and
province, and take such measures as should be most likely to preserve unimpaired
the liberties of all North America.
It was at a session of this body held at Cambridge, Wednesday, Oct.
26, 1774, that the committee that had been previously appointed to consider what
was necessary to be done for the defense and safety of the government, reported
a resolution that the field officers forthwith endeavor to enlist one quarter at
least of the number of the respective companies, and form them into companies of
fifty privates, who shall equip and hold themselves in readiness, on the
shortest notice from the Committee of Safety, to march to the place of
rendezvous; and that each and every company so formed choose a captain and two
lieutenants to command them on any necessary and emergent service, and that the
officers form the companies into battalions to consist of nine companies each.
Within a month from the time of publication of these resolutions, these
companies were designated as Minutemen.
On the 17th of November, 1774, the citizens
of Canton Corner, then called "Old Stoughton," held for the last time and
conjoined crosses of Saint George and saint Andrew on a blue canton, floating on
the breeze. The ancient national flag of the mother country, that had sustained
on many a hard fought field of honor of old England, and which from infancy they
had been taught to honor and respect, was furled, never again to be regarded as
an object of love and veneration. On the open field near the old meeting-house
his Majesty's troops were drawn up in line; one by one the officers surrendered
their commissions and immediately re-enlisted under the new government "of
the people, by the people and for the people."
The old Doty Tavern burned down on December 20, 1888.
When the Ponkapoag Fire Department arrived they found the old well to be dry,
without water there was nothing they could do but watch. One of the fire tubs
that responded to the blaze was built by Hunneman of Roxbury in 1829. This tub
still exists today and is housed at the Canton Historical Society. The tub may
make an appearance in the Canton Bicentennial Parade on June
29th.
Folklore
tells us, that while watching the fire, the firemen found some undamaged
spirits, had a few drinks and while returning to the fire station, going down
Ponkapoag Hill lost control of the hand tub and it crashed. It was only minor
damage, it was repaired and continued to be a valuable part of Canton's Fire
Department.
A similar Hand Tub at the Canton Center Fire Station at about the time of its construction in 1886.
BACK To The Historical Society's Home Page
This Page Was Created With
Microsoft Word 7.0
And Modified With FrontPage 2000
