Last night we had our monthly History Roundtable Discussion. This month’s topic was Sarah Clayes (also known as “Cloyce”) and the race to save her house which is located on Salem End Road.
Abandoned 10 years ago, the house is currently owned by a bank as part of a bundle mortgage which, as ridiculous as this sounds, is one of the major factors keeping anyone from being able to purchase the house. The cost to purchase the house is unknown but repairing the damage due to the elements and vandals will add a considerable amount to restoration (or even just to making the house livable) once it’s bought.
Some of you might be wondering “Who is Sarah Clayes, and why would anyone care about saving this house?” To sum up a tremendous story: Sarah and her two sisters (Rebecca Nurse and Mary Eastey) were accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trails. Both of Sarah’s sisters were hung and while she was jailed and awaiting her execution, Thomas Danforth (a judge in the Salem witch trials) felt sympathy for her and offered Sarah and her husband Peter refuge in Framingham. The home they built is the structure we discussed last night.
About 50 people came to discuss what they think should be done, possible next steps and just what having this home in Framingham means to them. Along with concerned Framingham residents, there was Glen Mairo (Danvers Historical Society Trustee), Elizabeth Hanahan (Towne Family Association President), Dianne Rappaport (author of The Naked Quaker: True Crimes and and Controversies from the Courts of Colonial New England), Ginger Esty (Framingham Selectwoman and married into the Eastey – now “Esty” – family) and Janice Thompson (Director of Institutional Advancement at the Boston Athenaeum) who has a clear vision of turning the house into a museum with a library for people to conduct historical research.
I was so impressed by the amount of people that not only knew about Sarah Clayes, but who cared so much about saving her home and the outpouring of community cooperation to do whatever they can to help with this effort. The Metrowest Daily News wrote a nice article about last night which you can read here. We will of course keep you posted on any developments with the Clayes house. Hopefully things will start to happen because the house doesn’t have much more time.
Michelle McElroy
Operations Manager
2 Comments
Hello, I am so heartened to learn that so much is being done to save the Sarah Clayes Home. I have always known of my connection to the Towne family and hence the Nurse, Estey and Clayes families. My grandmother was a Towne. I would very much like to help in any capacity I could. Although I wouldn’t be able to help all that much monetarily at this time I would certainly like to help and be kept in the loop so to speak. Thank you for your time. You have my email address. Regards, Sheila Zimmer
This was such an energizing evening. So many people and organizations united with the purpose of saving a local treasure.
Bravo Annie and The History Center