Weston? Western? 1776 documents pose mystery

Weston, Warren, Westfield, Westford, Wellesley, Webster, Westport. Massachusetts has enough town names beginning with W to make anyone’s head spin.

Town officials and Weston historians gathered at Town Hall on Thursday, Feb. 5, for the return of documents dating back to 1776 pertaining to the loyalty of the community’s victualers – the innkeepers and tavern owners who sold alcohol.

The documents, dated Aug. 25 and Sept. 30, 1776, are part of a set of 14 documents for 12 towns located by longtime Templeton Historical Commission member Mike Dickson, whose uncle came into possession of them at the Suffolk County courthouse. The long-forgotten documents were found underneath a floor safe that was being moved to another location and Dickson’s uncle offered to take them to his nephew, who would “know what to do with them.”

Some time later, Dickson was having coffee at his mother’s house when she mentioned that his uncle had left some papers for him. Upon realizing what he had, he undertook the mission of delivering them to each community.

“I’ve been going out and contacting each Historical Commission in each town, and trying to bring these documents back home to where they belong,” Dickson said. “I put them down in alphabetical order; [Weston is] down near the bottom of the list, so it took a while to get here, about a year and a half, a year and three-quarters into it now.”

The occasion was an opportunity to celebrate the return of the documents to their rightful home, and prepare to display copies at the Weston Historical Society’s table in Town Hall. Except, soon after the event wrapped up, town officials and Weston’s historians, none of whom saw the documents before the ceremony, realized there was likely a mixup at hand.

The evidence came to light as the crowd gathered around the table in the Select Board meeting room.

First, the documents were from the then-newly formed Worcester County court, although it is possible the court may have taken responsibility for covering Weston, a Middlesex County community, during the hectic period of 1776.

Second, and perfectly ironic considering the recent debate around the Select Board expansion, the documents were signed by four and five selectmen – causing one member of the ceremony’s audience to exclaim, “Five?!” Weston has only ever had three Select Board members, although it will be expanding to five in May following January’s special election.

Third, no member of Weston’s history community, including Weston Historical Society President Pam Fox, Historical Commission Chair Phyllis Halpern and Library Historian Madeleine Mullin, recognized the Selectmen’s names. The names of Weston’s Selectmen have been recorded throughout the town’s history.

Finally, the town name signed on the document may look like “Weston,” but it’s not entirely clear. The combination of Old English script and tight handwriting makes the name appear to read “Weston,” but a closer look suggests it ends in “ern.”

The group concluded that rather than “Weston,” the documents are likely signed for “Western,” now known as the Worcester County town of Warren. Warren was incorporated as Western in 1741, but petitioned the Massachusetts government to rename itself in 1834 in honor of Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren.

With what is likely not Weston’s property in hand, Town Manager Leon Gaumond said Weston will conduct some research to ensure that Warren is the intended recipient, and a second transfer of the documents will soon take place.

While Weston missed out on a piece of its own history, town staff and the community’s historians said they are happy to ensure a small piece of Massachusetts’ history is preserved in its rightful place.