[Liberty] Tree and not tree

[victor steinbok]

This is great coverage. However, sometimes one needs to cast the net a
bit wider, especially when dealing with only a partial historical
record.

Consider a piece covering the same events within the same period
(first two weeks of the resistance) in a Connecticut paper instead.

Paper: Connecticut Courant, published as Connecticut Courant.; Date:
08-26-1765; Issue: 40; Page: [2/3+]; Location: Hartford, Connecticut

> /Boston, August 22/.
> Last Monday se'nnight being the anniversary of HisRoyalHighness [sic] the Prince of Wales's Birth Day, the same was celebrated here with the greatest Demonstration of Joy, and with Marks of unfeigned Loyalty. ...
> Very early Wednesday Morning, this Instant, were discovered on a Limb of the Great Trees so called, at the South Part of this Town, two Effigies, one of which by the Labels appeared to be designed to represent a Stamp-Officer and the other a Jack-boot, with a Head and Horns peeping out of the Top, said by some to be the Devil and his Imp, but as we are not acquainted with that Species of Gentlemen, we cannot so well determine whether it was an exact resemblance or not : ...

This is interesting, because it doesn't simply refer to the location
as "a great tree", but as "the Great Trees so called". Now, it doesn't
make much sense to single out a branch of "the Great Trees" if, in
fact, there was more than one tree in question or if there were not an
objective reason to refer to the Great Trees as a single entity. It is
certainly not a name of the neighborhood (which is already identified
as "South End" in other reports). It is clear that the Great Trees
identifies a specific location. So, what /is/ it?

Not surprisingly, there is a printed record of "the Great Tree(s)"
going back at least to 1734! In fact, the Great Tree makes an
appearance in one of your earlier finds (Nov. 1765).

There is a "To be lett" advert in June 17 and July 1, 1734, issues of
the New-England Weekly Journal. There is another ad fifteen years
later (different property, different purpose, but the same reference).

Headline: [No Headline]; Article Type: Advertisements
Paper: New-England Weekly Journal, published as New England Weekly
Journal.; Date: 06-17-1734; Issue: CCCLXXV; Page: [2/3]; Location:
Boston, Massachusetts

Also
Headline: [No Headline]; Article Type: Advertisements
Paper: New-England Weekly Journal, published as New England Weekly
Journal.; Date: 07-01-1734; Issue: CCCLXXVII; Page: [2/3]; Location:
Boston, Massachusetts

> To be lett,
> A Good convenient House, adjoyning to the South Market place, with a large Garden in good Order ; Inquire of Mr. /John Eliot/ Stationer, living near the great Trees.

Headline: [No Headline]; Article Type: Advertisements
Paper: Boston News-Letter, published as The Boston Weekly News-Letter;
Date: 10-26-1749; Issue: 2478; Page: [2/2]; Location: Boston,
Massachusetts

> *To be sold* by /William Moore/, at his House near the great Trees, South End of Boston, A Parcel of good Needhles sorted, Jack Knives and Scissors, with a Parcel of choice good English Sole Leather, by the Side of smaller Quantity, cheap for ready money.

All three of these (the first two being identical) exhibit the same
characteristics--small "g" and the location "near the great Trees".
Despite the small "g", it seems the location was already well known
and readily identifiable. The fact that the reference persists for
another generation suggests that the tree (or trees) in question stood
out from the surrounding foliage.

The next occurrence (all of "_the_ great trees", as this was the
search string) was in 1760, but this time we get a /capital/ "G".

Headline: [No Headline]; Article Type: Advertisements
Paper: Boston Gazette, published as The Boston Gazette, and Country
Journal; Date: 06-09-1760; Issue: 271; Page: [3/3]; Location: Boston,
Massachusetts

> /To be Sold at Publick Vendue, on the Premisses, on Thursday the 26th Instant ; at III o'Clock, P. M./
> Five Lotts of choice Land, with three Dwelling-Houses thereon, situated at the Southerly Part of /Boston/, in the Street or Lane opposite the Great Trees, being Part of the Estate of the late Mr. /David Collson/, late of /Boston/, aforesaid, Leather-Dresser, deceased, ...

Yet another ad appears in 1764. This one puts "the Great Trees" within
reasonable range of the 1765 events. But having been growing for 30
years after the initial ID, it must have greatly increased in size.

Headline: [No Headline]; Article Type: Advertisements
Paper: Boston Gazette, published as The Boston Gazette, and Country
Journal; Date: 08-06-1764; Issue: 488; Page: [2/3]; Location: Boston,
Massachusetts

> John Haskins
> Hereby informs his Customers, That he hath removed from his House in Short-Street, to the Head of Essex-Street, at the Great Trees, South End, /Boston/ ; where he continues to sell Wines and Spirits, by Wholesale, as usual. Also, hath a few Hundred Bushels of choice Indian Corn, free from Damage ; which he will sell very reasonable.

The name of the wine merchant, John Haskins, should be familiar. Joel
Benson previously posted three citations--from Sept. 16, Oct. 17 and
Nov. 4 of that year:

========= [quoting JB]
(1)  The earliest in EAN, Oct. 17:

The Subscriber hereby Notifies all Persons Licensed to sell Tea,
Coffee and Chiina Ware in the County of Essex, that he will attend to
receive the Duties arising on said Articles on Monday the 11th of
November next at Major Moors at Haverhill [and elsewhere on other
dates]. ... All those who do not give their Attendance at the Times
and Places abovementioned are desired to settle the same with me at
my House near the TREE OF LIBERTY, South-End, Boston, in order to
prevent further Trouble.
John Haskins, Farmer.

Source:  Boston News-Letter, published as The Boston News-Letter and
New-England Chronicle; Date: 10-17-1765; Issue: 3237; Page: [3], col. 2.  [EAN]

I will presume this is satirical, even though it appears among the
advertisements rather than in the news/essays/letters

(2)  Perhaps a more enlightening context, Nov. 4:

Last Friday being the Day the Stamp-Act was to take Place, ... yet
the People were soon informed that the Great Tree at the South Part
of the Town (Known by the Name of the Tree of Liberty ever since the
memorable 14th of August) was adorned with the Effigies of the two
famous or rather imnfamous enemies of American Liberty, G---ge
G--nv-le and J-hn H-sk.

Source:  Boston Evening-Post, published as Boston Evening Post.;
Date: 11-04-1765; Issue: 1573; Page: [3], col. 1. [EAN]
=========[quote 2 JB]
The Great Tree at the [S]outh End of the Town, upon which the
Effigies [sic] of a Stamp Master was lately hung, was honour'd last
Wednesday with the Name of The Tree of Liberty; a large Plate of
Copper, with that Inscription, in Letters of Geld; being fixed thereon.

Source:  The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal. Monday, September
16, 1765. page 3 [counting "Supplement" as page 1], col.
2.  [EAN]  This too is a 6-page issue, with only the first page [in
EAN's sequence] having the masthead "Supplement".  It is another case
where EAN may not have the pages in correct sequence.
=============[End quote]

A couple of things of note. First, the "John Haskins, Farmer" is
clearly the same John Haskins, the wine merchant, who moved to the
South End a year earlier. Second, the references are now to "the Great
Tree" rather than "Trees". I can think of a number of reasons as to
why a single elm tree (and, specifically an ELM tree!) would be
identified as "trees", but this speculation is of no importance to the
issue at hand. More importantly, we have not just a clear match
between the singularly important "Great Tree" and "the Tree of
Liberty", but also one person making BOTH identifications a year
apart. At this rate, we may have to credit Mr. Haskins with the
coinage, although there is no clear evidence of that aside from a
couple of matching adverts.

The story does not end here, I am afraid. First, GB identifies, on
three separate occasions, "Liberty, property and no excise, a poem
compos'd on occasion of the sight seen on the great trees (so called)
in Boston, New England, on the 14th of August, 1765". There are some
typos in some of the records (e.g., one using "1965"), but it is
rather clear which events are being referenced. No actual content is
preserved by GB, making it somewhat difficult to talk about it, but,
the fact remains that the title clearly refers to "the great trees (so
called)". [There is no capitalization here because GB generally
eschews caps in titles, not because the original does not have it.]

November 1, 1765, marked the original date of the Stamp Act coming
into force. This date was marked in several colonies by further events
resembling those of August 14 in Boston. The most relevant, of course,
are the events that took place in Boston, since this is where the tree
in question was located. However, there are some interesting
variations in the reproductions of the same report in different
publications.

First, the earliest, Nov 4, that Joel Berson has already brought to light:

Headline: [Last Friday; Day; Place; Public; Morning; Tolling; Bells;
Parts]; Article Type: News/Opinion
Paper: Boston Evening-Post, published as Boston Evening Post.; Date:
11-04-1765; Issue: 1573; Page: [3/1]; Location: Boston, Massachusetts

> Last *Friday* being the Day the Stamp-Act /was to/ take Place, the Publick were not much alarmed or displeased at the Morning's being usher'd in by Tolling of Bells in several Parts of the Town and the Vessels in the Harbour displaying their Colours half-mast-high, in token of Mourning ; and tho' some previous Steps had been taken by Authority to prevent any Pageantry, fearing lest Tumult and Disorder might be the Consequence, yet the People were soon informed that the Great Tree at the South Part of the Town (known by the Name of the /Tree of Liberty/ ever since the memorable 14th of August) was adorned with the Effigies of the two famous or rather infamous enemies of American Liberty, /G---ge G--nv-le/ and /J-hn H-sk/.

But one need not confine himself to the Boston papers or to the
earliest date. Although the text is, in part, identical (in fact, the
first paragraph of the report and the description of the inscriptions
on the effigies are repeated verbatim in all three publications, there
are some variations in type /and/ there are additional paragraphs that
differ completely).

Headline: Boston, November 4; Article Type: News/Opinion
Paper: Connecticut Gazette, published as The New-London Gazette; Date:
11-08-1765; Issue: 104; Page: [2/2]; Location: New London, Connecticut

> Last FRIDAY being the day the Stamp-Act /was to/ take place, the publick were not much alarmed or displeased at the morning's being usher'd in by tolling of bells in several parts of the town and the vessels in the harbour displaying their colours half-mast-high, in token of mourning ; and tho' some previous steps had been taken by authority to prevent any pageantry, fearing lest tumult and disorder might be the consequence, yet the people were soon informed that the Great Tree at the South part of the town (known by the name of /The Tree of Liberty/ ever since the memorable 14th of August) was adorned with the Effigies of the two famous or rather infamous enemies of American Liberty, /G---ge G--nv-le/ and /J-hn H-sk/.

This duplicate report would be unremarkable if it were not for one
detail--the nouns (and a few other words) that are capitalized in the
Boston paper are /not/ capitalized in the Connecticut Gazette. This
helps to clearly identify the Great Tree as a proper name and not
merely a description. This comparison may also serve to resolve the
issue as to whether the Sons of Liberty were referred to simply as a
construct or a particular organization or something in between.

The third copy is again from Boston, but a few days later. Following
an unremarkable repetition of the Nov. 4 report, in every way
identical to that from the Boston Evening-Post above, two paragraphs
are add, of which the second is reproduced below.

Headline: Boston; Article Type: News/Opinion
Paper: Boston News-Letter, published as The Boston News-Letter and
New-England Chronicle; Date: 11-07-1765; Page: Supplement [1/3];
Location: Boston, Massachusetts

[Header:] The Massachusetts Gazette. No. 0.

> On the fatal First of November, 1765, was published a caricatura Print, representing the deplorable State of America, and under what Influence her Ruin is attempted. ----At the Top is a Figure representing France, holding in one Hand a Purse of Money to a Comet, marked with a Jack Book, and out of her Mouth a Label, by which we find she actuates the Star to shed its baneful Influence on Britannia ; who presents a Box to America, telling her it is the St---p A--t : but on it is wrote /Pandora's Box/ (which, according to the Poets, was fill'd with all Kinds of Calamities. America, who is in deep Distress, calls out to Minerva to secure her, /for she abhors it as Death !/ Minerva (i.e. Wisdom) forbids her taking it, and points to Liberty, who is expiring at the Feet of America with a Label proper to his Extremity. Close by is a fair Tree, inscribed to Liberty ; at whose Root grows a Thistle, from under it creeps a Viper and infixes its Sting in the Side of Liberty.--Mercury (!
 who signifies Commerce) reluctantly leaves America, as is expressed by the Label.--Boreas, near the Comet, blows a violent Gulf full upon the Tree of Liberty ; against which Loyalty leans, and expresses her Fear of losing her Support.--Behind, a Number of Ships haul'd up and to be sold ; a Croud of Sailors dismiss'd, with Labels proper to them. On the other Side a Gallows, with this Inscription, /Fit Entertainment for /St---p M--n :/ A Number of these Gentleman, with Labels expressing various Sentiments on the Occasion. At the Bottom is a Coat of Arms proper for the St---p M--n.
> The above to be Sold by /Nathaniel Hurd,/ near the Town House.
====

This is important. Here's a "caricatura" (OED--take note!) that
contains the image of the Tree of Liberty. More specifically, the
image is of "a fair Tree, inscribed to Liberty". Given the rest of the
symbolism of the graphic, this is remarkable. The Tree of Liberty
symbolizing Liberty? Who could have thought of such a thing! But this
is remarkable for yet another reason. The Boston article is in column
3. Column two contains the description of Nov. 1 events in Portsmouth
(now New Hampshire).

> Portsmouth. Nov. 1. ...
> /Nov./ 4. Friday last being the first of November, the Day on which the fatal and never-to be forgotten Stamp-Act was /intended/ to tak Place, the Morning began with tolling all the Bells in this Town and at Newcastle, Greenland, Kittery, &c. the Colours on board the Shipping in the Harbour were hoisted half mast, and Notice given to the Friends of /Liberty/, to attend her Funeral, which was to be at 3 o'Clock P. M. a Coffin having been previously prepared and neatly ornamented, on the Lid of which was wrote LIBERTY, aged 145, STAMP'D, computing from the Æra of our Forefathers landing at Plymouth from England, -----and having with the greatest Difficulty procured a /Stamp-Act/, re-printed at Boston, (no Original having ever been seen in this Province) the same was carried to the Grave by a Person who preceeded the Corps.--The Procession began from the State-House, attended by a great Concourse of People of all Ranks, with 2 unbrac'd Drums, and after marching through the pr!
 incipal Streets, it passed the Parade, on which Minute Guns were fired, and continued till the Coprs arrived at the Place of Interment, which was about half a Mile out of Town, when after much Sorrow express'd for our /expired Liberty/, a Funeral /Oration/ was pronounced greatly in favor of the Deceas'd, which was hardly ended before the Corps was taken up, it having been perceived that some Remains of Life were left, at which the Inscription was immediately altered, and then appeared to be /Liberty Revived/-- and the /Stamp Act/ was thrown into the Grave and buried, --at which the Bells immediately altered their melancholy to a more joyful Sound, and the greatest Pleasure and Satisfaction were diffused into every Countenance. The whole was conducted with the utmost Decency, and in the Evening, a Number of Gentlemen assembled at the King's Arms Tavern, where several Healths adapted to the Occasion, were drank, such as /LIBERTY/, /PROPERTY/, &c. &c.
====

Here's another symbolic representation of Liberty, although this time
it is /not/ a tree.

All this points to how little we really know about the events of 1765.
It would be nice to learn more about Mr. Haskins, who, quite possibly,
might have come up with the Tree of Liberty sobriquet for a tree that
already had a well known name.In particular, it would be nice to know
of his education and intellectual connections. But this is not a topic
for this list (perhaps I can rope a historian into researching this
issue).

The topic of "Sons of Liberty" is not for this post either. But I will
note that, aside from the citation of May 27 to the Barre speech that
had been transmitted to the Bostonians via a letter, there are two
other occurrences the predate the November and December 1765
events--one is from 15 July 1765 that fails to mention Barre in this
context, but is noteworthy, and the other 6 October 1764--predating
Barre's speech by several months. There are two further occurrences of
the phrase in August--August 1 in a Georgia paper, and August 12 in
Boston. The Georgia piece is a reproduction of a June 10 piece in a
New York paper, which, in turn, contains the description of the Barre
speech that is similar or identical to the one in the Boston paper of
27 May. The other two post-May references make no mention of Barre's
speech. But, as I said, Sons of Liberty are a subject for a separate
post.

VS-)

On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 2:34 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> (1)  The tree in Boston, August 14:
>
> The elm on which Oliver's effigy was hung was referred to as a "tree"
> on that very date.
>
> Source:  Providence Gazette, Aug. 24, 1765, page [3], col. 2.  [I
> have not found this explicit description of the labels in any of the
> four Boston newspaper issues immediately following Aug. 14.]
>
> Dateline:  Boston, August 19.
> ...
> On the right Arm were the initial Letters of the Stampman's Name, (A.
> O.), and on the left, these lines:
>       What greater Joy can NEW-ENGLAND see,
>       Than STAMPMAN hanging on a Tree!
>
>
> (2)  The not tree in Newport, August 27:
>
> Source:  Boston News-Letter, September 5, 1765, page [3] (called by
> EAN "Page Supplement [2]), col. 1.
>
>  From several Letters wrote at Newport, Rhode-Island, and from the
> Newport Mercury of Monday last, we have collected the following
> Particulars of the Populace there:
>      Newport, September 3.
> ...
> On Tuesday Morning the 27th, between 5 and 6 o'Clock a Mob assembled,
> erected a Gallows near the Town House and dispers'd, and about 10
> o'Clock reassembled, when the Effigies were carted up Thames Street,
> and then up King-stgreet to the said Gallows where they were hung by
> the Neck, suspended near 15 Feet in the Air, and about [5?] o'Clock
> in the Afternoon they made a Fire under the Gallows which consumed
> the Effigies and Gallows to Ashes.
>
>
> [A gallows, not a tree, was also erected in Charlestown, S.C.,
> apparently on Oct. 18, 1765.  Source:  Newport [R.I.] Mercury, Nov.
> 11, 1765, page [3], col. 1.]
>
> Joel

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