Representative women of New England/Sarah B. Fulton
SARAH BRADLEE FULTON, in whose memory the Medford (Mass.) Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is namei!, was a native of Dorchester, Mass. Her ttrst known paternal ancestor was Nathan' Bradley, .sometimes called Nathaniel, who was born in 1631. In 1668 Nathan[1] Bradley owned two acres of the "Great Lots," and in 1680 he was sexton of the town of Dorchester. His duties as sexton were to "ring the bell, cleanse the meeting-house, and carry water for baptism." While the bell stood on the hill, he was to have "£4 a year and after the bell is brought to the meeting house, £3 10s." He died July 26, 1701. By his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Evans, of Dorchester, he had six children, his eldest son being Nathan,[2] born March 12, 1674-5. Samuel,[3] son of Nathan[2] Bradley by his second wife, Lydia, spelled his name Bradlee. He was a weaver and fisherman. He married Mary Andrus, February 11, 1730, and in 1753 removed from Dorchester to Boston.
To Samuel[3] and Mary (Andrus) Bradlee was born December 24, 1740, a daughter, Sarah, the subject of this sketch. In 1767 Sarah Bradlee married John Fulton, of Boston, son of John Fulton and his wife, Ann Wire (or Weir). They had ten children, the third of whom was Ann Weir, the tenth Elizabeth Scott. Of the other eight the following is a brief record: Sarah Lloyd married Nathan Wait, of Medford; John Andrus, whose first wife was Mehetabel Owen, and his second, Harriet, resided in New London, Conn.; Mary died young; Lydia married John Bannister, of Boston; Frances Burns married Thomas Tilden, of Boston; Mary (second) married David Cushing, and resided in Hull, Mass.; Samuel Bradlee married Mary Barron, of Boston; Lucretia Butler married Samuel Smallidge, and resided in East Cambridge, Mass.
A sketch of Sarah Bradlee Fulton, written by Miss Helen T. Wild, Regent of the chapter bearing her name, was read at one of its meetings. It has been published in the American Monthly Magazine, Washington, D.C., and in the Medford Historical Register. It is an interesting story of her patriotic services, and is herewith reprinted:—
"SARAH BRADLEE FULTON.
"Donchester, 1740. Medford, 1835.
"The names of the men who fought in the war of the American Revolution are carefully preserved in the archives of the State, but the women who through all those sad years endured hardship and loss, and who toiled at the spinning-wheel and in the hospitals for their country's cause, have long ago been forgotten. Only here and there a woman's name is found on the roll of honor of Revolutionary days.
"Among the Medford women whom history has remembered, Sarah Bradlee Fulton has a prominent place. We have been proud to name our chapter for her, honoring with her all the unknown loyal women who worked in this dear old town of ours for the cause of liberty.
"Mrs. Fulton was a member of the Bradlee family of Dorchester and Boston. In 1767 she married John Fulton, and ten years later they came to Medford with their little sons and daughters, and made their home on the east side of Main Street, about one hundred and fifty feet south of the bridge, on the south side of what is now Tufts Place. Her brother, Nathaniel Bradlee, lived in Boston, at the corner of Tremont and Hollis Streets. His carpenter's shop and his kitchen, on Saturday nights, when friends and neighbors gathered to enjoy his codfish suppers, were meeting-places for Boston's most devoted patriots. From this shop a detachment of Mohawks who 'turned Boston Harlior into a teapot' went forth on their work of destruction. In the kitchen Mrs. Bradlee and Mrs. Fulton disguised the master of the house and several of his comrades, and later heated water in the great copper boiler, and provided all that was needful to transform these Indians into respectable Bostonians. Nathaniel Bradlee's principles were well known; and a spy, hoping to find some proof against him, peered in at the kitchen window, but saw these two women moving about so quietly and naturally that he passed on, little dreaming what was really in progress there.
"A year and a half later Sarah Fulton heard the alarm of Paul Revere as he 'crossed the bridge into Medford town,' and a few days after the place became the headquarters of General Stark's New Hampshire regiment. Then came the battle of Bunker Hill. All day the people of Medford watched the battle with anxious hearts: many a son and brother were there—dying, maybe, just out of their reach. At sunset the wounded were brought into town, and a large open space by Wade's Tavern, between the bridge and South Street, was turned into a field hospital. Surgeons were few, but the women did their best as nurses. Among them the steady nerves of Sarah Fulton made her a leader. One poor fellow had a bullet in his cheek, and she removed it. She almost forgot the circumstance until, years after, he came to thank her for her service.
"During the siege of Boston, detachments of British soldiers often came across the river under protection of their ships, searching for fuel in Medford. One day a load of wood intended for the troops at Cambridge was expected to come through town, and one of these bands of soldiers was there before it. Sarah Fulton, knowing that the wood would be lost unless something was done, and hoping that private property would be respected, sent her husband to meet the team, buy the load, and bring it home. He carried out the first part of the programme, but on the way to the house he met the soldiers, who seized the wood. When his wife heard the story, she flung on a shawl and went in pursuit. Overtaking the party, she took the oxen by the horns and turned them round. The men threatened to shoot her, but she shouted defiantly, as she started her team, 'Shoot away!' Astonishment, admiration, and amusement were too much for the regulars, and they unconditionally surrendered.
"Soon after Major Brooks, later our honored Governor, was given despatches by General Washington which must be delivered inside the enemy's lines. Late one night he came to John Fulton, knowing his patriotism and his intimate knowledge of Boston, and asked him to undertake the trust. He was not able to go, but his wife volunteered. Her offer was accepted. A long, lonely, and dangerous walk it was to the waterside in Charlestown, but she reached there in safety, and, finding a boat, rowed across the river. Cautiously making her way to the place she sought, she delivered her despatches, and returned as she had come. When the first streak of dawn appeared, she stood safe on her own door-stone. In recognition of her services General Washington visited her. It is said that, according to the fashion of the day, John Fulton, on this occasion, brewed a potation whose chief ingredient was the far-famed product of the town. The little silver-mounted ladle was dipped in the steaming concoction, and the first glass from Mrs. Fulton's new punch-bowl was sipped by his Excellency. This was the proudest day of Sarah Fulton's life. The chair in which he sat and the punch-bowl and ladle were always sacred, and are still treasured by her descendants.
"Years after, General Lafayette was her guest, and we can safely say he was seated in General Washington's chair, served with punch from the same punch-bowl, and entertained with the story of that memorable visit.
"Sarah Fulton was never afraid of man or beast: as she once told her little grandson, she 'never turned her back on anything.' Her strength of mind was matched by her strength of body. After the Revolution she made her home on the old road to Stoneham, which at the first town meeting after her death was named Fulton Street in her honor. More than a mile from the square, the cellar of the house can still be seen, and many Medford people remember the building itself.
"In spite of the long distance Sarah Fulton, even in extreme old age, was in the habit of walking to and from the Unitarian church every Sunday. Those who knew her could scarcely comprehend that she had passed fourscore and ten years.
"Her humble home was always hospitably open, especially to the children of her brothers, who, if they could leave the luxury of their own homes and come to Medford for a visit, felt their happiness was complete. She saw grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up around her, and in the atmosphere of their love and reverence she spent her last days. One night in November, 1835, a month before her ninety-fifth birthday, she lay down to sleep, and in the morning her daughters found her lying with a peaceful smile on her face, dead. They laid her in the old Salem Street Cemetery, and there she sleeps, among her old friends and neighbors.
"Patriotism, courage, and righteousness were among her possessions."
A chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution named in honor of Mrs. Fulton was organized in Medford, December 17, 1896, with seventeen members. Its charter was presented January 26, 1897. The first officers were: Regent, Mrs. Mary S. Goodale; Vice-Regent, Mrs. Mary B. Loomis; Secretary, Miss Helen T. Wild; Registrar, Mrs. Enmia W. Goodwin; Treasurer, Miss Adeline B. Gill; Historian, Miss Eliza M. Gill.
During Mrs. Goodale's administration a tablet was erected to mark the site of the home of Mrs. Fulton during the Revolution. During the Spanish War the members of the chapter were active in work for the soldiers. They gave liberally of time, work, and money to assist the enlisted men of Medford, and also contributed to the Massachusetts Volunteer Aid Association.
December 5, 1898, Mrs. Mary B. Loomis was elected Regent. During her term of office the chapter erected a memorial in the Salem Street Cemetery, Medford, to mark the last resting-place of Mrs. Fulton. The stone used was the doorstep of the house on Fulton Street where she lived for many years and where she died. It is inscribed:—
Sarah Bradlee Fulton,
a heroine of the revolution.
erected by the sarah bradlee fulton chapter, d. a. r.
1900.
In April, 1899, a loan exhibition was held by the chapter in the Royal House, Medford, which was attended by a large number of persons from far and near. The proceeds enabled the ladies in 1901 to open the Royal House to the public for a permanent exhibition. They also published a descriptive jiamphlet relating to it. The house also is the headquarters of the chapter. The mansion, which is a fine example of colonial architecture, was remodelled by Isaac Royall in 1732, and it is known to have existed in a plainer form as early as 1690. During the siege of Boston it was the headquarters of the New Hampshire division of the Continental army.