{"id":57637,"date":"2020-04-09T14:14:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=57637"},"modified":"2024-06-18T09:45:58","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T13:45:58","slug":"stephen-hale-the-old-sage-of-newbury-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/stephen-hale-the-old-sage-of-newbury-part-i.html","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Hale: \u2018The Old Sage of Newbury,\u2019 Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about an interesting fellow from Newbury, Massachusetts: Stephen Pettingell Hale, the \u201cOld Sage of Newbury.\u201d <\/em>Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a><\/em>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stephen Pettingell Hale gained a following in the newspapers as a noted authority on Newbury, Massachusetts, history and genealogy \u2013 and as a weather prognosticator and predictor of crops. He published under the name S. P. Hale, but more often he was coined \u201cThe Old Sage of Newbury\u201d due to his accurate predictions on weather, crops and all things in nature.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Stephen P. Hale. Credit: Susan York Gagnon of Newbury, Massachusetts, private collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stephen, born to sailmaker Daniel Knight Hale and Elizabeth Colley Pettingell, descended from the settlers of Old Newbury, Massachusetts. He was a farmer, milk dealer, horseman, and prolific writer. He resided at the historic Jackmen-Willett house in Newbury, built in 1683 by James Jackman \u2013 which he inherited from his sister Lucy Kimball Hale Danforth.<\/p>\n

In an article published in the Newburyport News<\/em> in 1900, Stephen worked from genealogy notes written by his relative Joshua Adams, uncle to his mother, as well as other tidbits he picked up from relatives.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Newburyport News (Newburyport, Massachusetts), 4 June 1900, page 3. Credit: Gate Way Media Group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a transcription of part of this article:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe family of Jaques was originally from the county of York in England. Sir Roger was Lord Mayor of York, in 1503-04. Sir Richard was knighted by King Charles the First. The family derived its origin from St. Jaques in Normandy. Sir Roland de Jaques attended King William the Conqueror, at the Battle of Hastings, and for his great courage on that occasion was given\u2026 land in County Suffolk.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026This is all I have about the Jaques excepting Robert Adams, who was my great great grandfather on my father\u2019s side, married Anna Jaques, and their son Israel Adams married Deborah Jaques. Also Robert Adams, who was my great great grandfather on my mother\u2019s side, married Love Jaques\u2026 The Robert Adams who married Anna Jaques was called \u2018Long Barn Robert\u2019 from his having a very long barn, and the Robert who married Love Jaques was called \u2018Bellus Robert\u2019 from the fact that he made bellows.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1923 Stephen wrote a letter to the editor of the Newburyport News<\/em> and served up some warm memories of how Old Newbury kept out of the cold.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Newburyport News (Newburyport, Massachusetts), 25 March 1923, page 1. Credit: Gate Way Media Group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a transcription of part of this article:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026As to the first using of coal for fuel in this region, I have heard it stated that William Bartlett brought the first coal to Newburyport. Some bought it, but few were satisfied with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapt. Daniel Lunt, grandfather of Charles A. Lunt, the Parker street carpenter\u2026 bought a half ton of the coal, tried it, but did not like it, and my father, Daniel K. Hale, bought it of him, and father and mother liked it and used coal ever afterwards. But what did not sell of this cargo (I don\u2019t know how much was left) was buried in the lot on Water street back of where George W. Manning had his blacksmith shop. Afterwards Jere Allen had the building for a carpenter\u2019s shop. Manning used to go out and dig up the coal and burned it in a salamander stove to heat his shop.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026There was so little wood in this part of the country, when the early settlers came into possession, that they, knowing nothing about coal, were worried for fear of freezing to death, as they felt wood would give out, so some of them used to carry acorns around in their pockets and plant them \u2018here and there\u2019 upon their farms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard it said, that Silas Little\u2019s great grandfather planted a good many acorns on his farm, and a few years ago, the last tree that came from his acorn seed was cut down by his great grandson David Little.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Other newspaper articles reveal that Stephen\u2019s family members also treasured the history of Old Newbury. One sister, Sarah Curtis Hale Little, who lived on the Joseph Little homestead, was an authority often consulted on the genealogies of old families and early land grants.<\/p>\n

His niece Mary Adams Rolfe, daughter of Abbie Frances Hale and Moses Henry Rolfe, compiled the Rolfe Papers, a collection on Old Newbury, Massachusetts, founding families\u2019 history and genealogies, housed at the Museum of Old Newbury. You can see a photo of Mary diligently working on the Newbury settler research in a 1943 article in Life<\/em> magazine. (P. 129. \u201cLife Visits a Town library, Newburyport, Massachusetts.\u201d Oct. 25, 1943. Vol. 15, No. 17. Time Inc.)<\/p>\n

Stephen had a kindred spirit in the southland \u2013 another farmer who also published under the name S. P. Hale. His full name was Stephen Porter Hale and he lived in Tennessee, but is not directly connected to the Newbury Hale\u2019s. Every Thanksgiving a Kentucky turkey arrived at Stephen Pettingell\u2019s doorstep from the Dixie Hale folks. Many gifts and letters were exchanged through the years. Stephen Porter wanted Stephen Pettingell to marry his sister Sarah Alice Hale, a well-known scholar and missionary, but the two never hitched up.<\/p>\n

Check back tomorrow for more on the Old Sage of Newbury, whose tragic death is linked to his weather predictions.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the Newburyport Library Archival Center and Susan York Gagnon for digital clips, photos, and genealogy.<\/p>\n

Further Research:<\/strong><\/p>\n