The annual meeting of the Society of the Sons & Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at the Hope Community Church, 11 Hale Street, Newburyport.
The non-profit organization’s mission is the preservation of the history of Old Newbury and the pioneer families that created its Yankee traditions and community.
The organization owns and maintains the historic Jackman-Willett House on Cottage Road in Newbury. In addition to descendants of the first settlers, members include those interested in local history and the preservation of the Jackman-Willett House.
There will be a brief business meeting followed by a presentation, Following the Footsteps of Benedict Arnold and his 1775 Quebec Expedition from Old Newbury, by Jack Santos, Vice Chair, Custom House Maritime Museum. On the 19th of September 1775, 1,100 farmers, soldiers, merchants, teachers, and laborers gathered in Newbury and Newburyport to leave on ten ships for a secret, bold attack on Quebec City. They were led by Benedict Arnold, before he became the infamous turncoat. It was a plan concocted by Arnold and George Washington in Cambridge in July 1775 – a full year before the Declaration of Independence.
Had the plan worked, there likely would have been no revolutionary war, and probably 14 – not 13 -states in a new United States of America. Join us for a retelling of the wilderness march – in preparation for its 250th anniversary.
A continental breakfast and buffet lunch are included in the $30 registration fee. The doors and registration open at 8:30 am, with the business meeting starting at 9:30 am. Details about the meeting and on-line registration can be found on the Society’s website, www.sonsanddaughtersofnewbury.org.
Tours of the Jackman-Willet House, 1 Cottage Road, Newbury, will be held after the meeting 1:30 – 3pm and docent tours of the Custom House Maritime Museum will be free to meeting attendees.
The public is welcome to attend.
