MONSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. THE HISTORIAN VOLUME ONE, ISSUE SIX FALL, 2015 Jacob Thompson House 1811 Fuller House 1869 Officers: PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE President – Dennis Swierad President – Dennis Swierad Vice President – Tamara Cabey SecretaryVice President – Leona – Tamara Brahen Cabey Greetings! removing the 1940's ma- Thompson house, we will SecretaryTreasurer – –Leona Kevin Brahen McNabb Board Members: ple floor from the dining not be having a Christmas DenisTreasurer Duquette – Kevin (2018)McNabb The Historical Society has room and painting the open house, but we are BoardWilliam Members: Dominick (2017) had a busy summer and pine floor beneath. Bill planning an open house Board Member Emeritus: Denis Duquette (2018) early fall. The Thompson Dominick and Tamara party in the spring to show William Hatton WilliamEmma Ladd Dominick Shepherd (2017) House project is coming Cabey have been in off the project. Voting Positions: together nicely. We had charge of the interior Great news! The soci- AccessionsBoard Member Manager Emeritus: – Mary Swierad the brick ends re-pointed WilliamCollections Hatton Manager – Mary Swierad work and, to them, we ety has received a grant Building Restoration – Dennis Swierad after the paint was chemi- say thank you. and a donation from the EditorEmma Ladd – Leona Shepherd Brahen cally stripped. The bricks While we are thank- Grace Makepeace Trust VotingHistorian Positions: – Dennis Swierad received two coats of a Membership – Denis Duquette ing people, I would like for Historic Preservation AnnualAccessions Meeting Manager – –Denis Mary DuquetteSwierad beautiful original brick to mention the wonderful in the amount of CollectionsRental Manager Manager – Tamara– Mary Swierad Cabey red and the white lines on job Leona Brahen has $1,327.95 for archival the mortar joints are al- done in upgrading our boxes, due to Mary most complete. All of the computer network and Swierad filling out the ap- Mission Statement storm windows are in- her work on the newslet- plication and doing all the stalled as well as the ter and also re-doing our research into what contain- To obtain and preserve histori- cal data and articles pertaining storm doors and new ½ website. This will be an ers we needed and how round gutters have been to the town of Monson, Massa- ongoing process for the many of each. chusetts, and to encourage and put up. The two upper near future. develop the pursuit and expres- bedrooms and the front Appraisal day Sept. Dennis Swierad, President sion of such interests in all suit- hall have been repainted. 27 was a success, as we able ways. We have received a price had a steady crowd all and we will soon begin afternoon which kept our Visit us on the web at the painting of all of the appraisers from Kaminski www.monsonhistoricalsociety.org rooms left on the first busy at both tables. Email us on the web at info@ mon- floor, except for the of- Due to the ongoing sonhistoricalsociety.cincastbiz.net fice. In conjunction with work at the Jacob Do you need information about the this painting, we will be history of Monson? Write, call or email us. We may be able to help. THE HISTORIAN PAGE 2 The Monson/Chinese connection BY DENNIS SWIERAD This edition’s story is about the years at the Presbyterian Theologi- history of a 19th century missionary cal Seminary. He returned to New who was brought up in Monson York in 1837 and finished his the- and, through his calling, traveled ology courses at the Union Theo- across the world to bring Christi- logical Seminary, being one of a anity to the Orient. Also, it is the class of six who graduated there in story of one of his students. 1838. Samuel Robbins Brown was the sec- Soon, Samuel's life took a turn that ond child of Timothy Hill Brown and would influence him for the rest of his wife, Phoebe Hinsdale Brown. He th Rev. Samuel Robbins Brown his life. On the 4 of October was born in Scantic Parish, CT on 1810 - 1880 1838, he was invited to go to Can- June 16th of 1810. His father moved ton, China in the service of the the family to Monson in 1818 to take advantage of the education at Monson Morrison Education Society, with Academy for his children. Samuel's the purpose of educating Chinese father was a house-joiner and his boys in both English and Chinese. mother was a hymnalist. He was informed that he would be going to sail on the ship Morrison th Samuel entered Monson Academy at from New York on the 16 of Oc- 9 years of age and, from then on, his tober. He had scarcely twelve days in which to make preparations lifetime goals were to acquire a liberal 15 Mechanic Street education, study theology and, finally, Childhood home of Rev. Samuel for the voyage. He went to Mon- to become a foreign missionary. Robbins Brown son, MA to say farewell to his friends and spent one night there. Originally, after graduation from with a view to the sacred ministry. The next day, he went to East Monson Academy in 1828, his hope Accordingly, he went back to Am- Windsor, CT and was married the was to enter Amherst College, though herst, paid the bills due there, and same day to Miss Elizabeth Good- his father had no money to help him. then with the poorest and meagerest win Bartlett, daughter of Rev. He did give him a hat, an empty outfit that a college student ever had, Shubael Bartlett. The following he went to New Haven and entered pocketbook and the use of a horse and day he went to Lyme, CT to see buggy to drive to Amherst from Mon- Yale near the second term of fresh- men year with $37.00 in his pocket. his mother and a sister, whose hus- son. He went with change enough in band lay sick of typhoid fever. The his pocket to pay for the horse’s feed When not at Yale, he took work at the Institution for the Deaf and next day he went to New York and to buy himself some crackers and where he was ordained by the cheese. After a consultation with his Dumb in New York as a teacher. mother, he would forego Amherst At commencement from Yale, he Third Presbytery, finished his hur- College and go to Yale College after paid all the outstanding bills ried preparations for sailing, and deciding Amherst was too much of a against him and, the day he gradu- embarked for China on the morn- country village school. He heard ated, he started out in the world ing of the 17th on the ship I men- about a Mr. Arthur Tappan who pub- with all debts paid and $50.00 in tioned before. He arrived in Ma- rd lished a notice that he would pay the his pocket. cao Roads in China on the 23 of tuition bills of any number of men, February 1839, having made the not exceeding one hundred, who passage in one hundred and twenty would enter Yale College that year He went to Columbia, South Car- olina to study theology for two nine days. PAGE 3 VOLUME ONE, ISSUE SIX After going to Canton, he report- son Academy, returned to China to take care of their own rooms and ed to the officers and returned to and became the China Vice- in the winter split their own wood, Macao. He spent the next seven Council at San Francisco. which they found to be capital exer- months chiefly in the study of the cise. Their lodging was about a half Canton dialect of the Chinese lan- In 1859, Brown was sent by the mile from the Academy. They had to walk three times a day to school and guage to prepare himself for Protestant Church of America to back, in the dead of winter when the teaching. Of course, at this time, Japan for missionary work. He snow was three feet deep, which gave the first war between England and died in Monson in 1880. them plenty of exercise, a keen appe- China commenced and made it tite and a fine condition. Yung be- hard to open a school. During this Yung Wing came a Christian in Monson and, at turmoil, he opened a small school Yung Wing was born in 1828 near once, accepted his Divine call to de- with a half dozen children be- Macao, China. He spent 5 years in vote his life to the Christian service of tween 10 and 15 years old. He the Morrison Missionary School his nation. continued on for several years run by Rev. Samuel Brown. Then Yung Wing entered Yale College in until he had 24 pupils. After the Yung Wing and his two other Chi- 1850, received his baccalaureate de- wars, Hong Kong was ceded to gree in 1854 and returned to China. the British government by the His education caused him to reflect Treaty of Nanking in 1842. A new much upon the social, political and school was erected with a large religious conditions of his country- commodious school building, li- men. Even before he left America, he brary and dormitories for stu- longed to devise some plan by which the educational advantages he had dents. In 1842, the Morrison enjoyed might be given to other Chi- School was moved from Macao to nese young men in large numbers. this new location in Hong Kong. He first sought to enter some law- In 1846, Reverend Brown left the yer's office at Hong Kong as a stu- Morrison School and Hong Kong Yung Wing 1828-1912 dent, but British prejudice prevented to return to Monson with three of Yale Class of 1854 a Chinese from studying law there his students, one of which, Yung Wing, a graduate of Monson nese companions came to Monson Academy, would go on to become to be educated at Monson Acade- a very important and influential my.