(Written date unknown but after construction of Sampson Hall)
When Betty Holmes asked me to do a program on Miss Elizabeth B. Sampson, I thought it would be an easy project. Not so! Miss Sampson’s life was very elusive. In my generation she did not leave her home very often nor did she belong to any organization or attend any church.
Miss Sampson was born in Kingston in 1868 the only daughter of Azel Sampson and Julia Hunt Sampson. She was sister to Henry H. Sampson who was five years older than she.
Most of us old timers in Kingston will recall Henry or Rubber Harry as he was called. He was a familiar sight around town always wearing rubbers over his shoes and carrying a basket for his errands. Some say he wore rubbers so that he would not bring any dirt into the house. Others said he had a goodly supply of rubbers left over from his Father’s store. Still others said it was to protect his shoes from wearing out. Harry went down to the center of Kingston every day. His first stop was at his Aunt Sylvia’s who lived in the Shepherd House. His other morning stop was at the barber shop of Johnny Steidel where he picked up the local news. He was a man of small stature and I remember seeing him getting on the train with his derby hat on. I assume he went to Boston to handle the family finances.
The Brother and Sister came from good Pilgrim stock. They could claim lines to Gov. Bradford, Capt, Myles Standish, William Brewster, George Soule and probably others. The Sampson line did not go to Henry Sampson of the Mayflower but back to Henry’s Brother Abraham who came on a later ship.
Mary Cherry said "Lizzie was very good to her Father and she remembers every Christmas Miss Lizzie would walk up Main Street to the Hathaway home and leave a money present."
I tried to find something that might tie Miss Sampson to the interest of the First Parish. The only thing I could find was her attendance as shown in this Sunday School Book 1883 and 1885. She then was 15 and 17 years of age. Some of her companions in class are familiar names to me. Nellie Wadsworth who married Ed Berry, Miss Jennie Robbins who was a very familiar lady stramming down Main Street. She was an unusually tall lady and I am sure that she went to call on Miss Sampson. Mabel Hall who lived in the white house across the street from the Beal House, Emma Mange who was the school nurse here in my younger school days, Mary Adams Holmes, Mary Cherry’s grandmother and Eugenia Trow who was a very active member of this Parish and Sunday School for many years. Miss Sampson might have attended other years but that was the only record I could find. I knew that some of our former Ministers called on her in later life. Miss Mary W. Drew and Miss Annie Fuller were close friends.
Miss Sampson’s Father and Grandmother ran a General Store known as Hunt and Sampson. This store was attached to the Sampson House at 196 Main Street. The original house was built by David Beal on land purchased in 1785. The store was added on in 1794 and operated as a General Store and Post Office by David Beal, Jr. and then by his son-in-law *Horrace Collamore (Ms. Horace Collamore listed as Postmaster in Pembroke MA in the Table of the Post Offices in the United States on the 15th, July 1837, Washington: Langtree & O’Sullivan 1837.) Azel H. Sampson, her Father operated the store later. George E. Cushman (Charlie’s Father) started as a young assistant and later owned the store until it was taken down around 1902 after the Father died.
Her Father died in 1900 and her Mother in 1904 when Lizzie as she was called was 36.
The Brother and Sister continued to live at 196 Main Street until their deaths. Harry dies first in 1944 and Lizzie in 1958. She was taken ill suddenly and was taken to the Plymouth Nursing Home where she died shortly thereafter at 90 years old.
The home and yard were always kept. The famous cement tree as it was known was a town subject concern for many years. It was well loved by the Sampson’s as it received tender and loving care. It stood in the front yard near the fence and I believe it was a sycamore. A mason from Brockton came down regularly and kept patching the trunk of the old tree. It is said that 2½ tons of cement went into that tree.
Roland Bailey and Helen Bailey Hirst grew up next door but rarely saw Lizzie outside. Roland remembers that Lizzie gave him $5.00 when he went to Washington with his Senior Class from good old Kingston High. Helen remembers that she was given $10. as a wedding present.
Pauline Soule McKinnon as a child recalls going to visit with Miss Sampson with her Mother. Mary Cherry said Lizzie was very good to her Father and she remembers every Christmas Miss Lizzie would walk up Main Street to the Hathaway home and leave a money present. After Miss Sampson got too old to walk up she always sent it by her handy man.
Ruth Maglathlin Farrington as a young girl recalls that after a big catastrophe, perhaps the Chelsea Fire http://www.olgp.net/chs/photos/fire1908/writeup.htm she went from door to door collecting funds for the victims. She stopped at the Sampson house and was given $25.00 which was a large sum in those days.
Tinnie Bailey Guimaries recalls that Lizzie usually sat in the window in a rocking chair. Also that the windows were never opened.
I thought it would be interesting to determine how Brother and Sister amassed so much money as they never worked. I spent an afternoon at the Probate Court in Plymouth checking wills. I checked several family wills and copied the will of their Grandmother Lucy Brewster Sampson. Quote: To my son Azel H. Sampson, my best featherbed and all my parlor furniture and to my daughter Lucy Everson all my wearing apparel. Remainder of my personal property equal shares to my children. Give to my husband use and improvement of my real estate for life and then divided equally to my children. Value of estate $2000.
It would appear that whatever money the Brother and Sister inherited did not come from the Sampson side. I could not find the wills from the Hunt family side but believe the nucleus came from her Mother’s Hunt family. One of her ancestors was Zeba Hunt who many Kingston families came down from including mine. The Zeba Hunt house is still standing in Duxbury on Washington St. near the Studio.
The Aunt was Miss Sylvia Hunt sister to their Mother, a maiden lady who lived in the beautiful house on the corner of Summer St. and Center St. where Marjorie Shepherd now lives. After the Aunt died the Shepherd’s came to live in the home, Harry still stopped in every morning as I guess he couldn’t break the habit. Her Estate was left to the Sister and Brother in 1930 with a total value of $91,712. We must remember in those good old days income taxes were not in use.
The Brother died in 1944 and his Estate was valued at $218,562 and it all went to his Sister.
When Lizzie died in 1958 her personal estate was valued at $616,421.40 with real estate at $11,000. Imagine what the house at 196 Main Street is worth today. (Zillows zestimate today is $437,500.)
She left $10,000 for the benefit of the Fresh Air camp at South Athol. Boston Children’s Hospital $10,000. Mass. Soc. P.C. $5000, Adams Public Library $2000. Proceeds from sale of house to second cousins Horatio S. Everson and Florence Austin of Brockton.
The balance went to Town of Kingston, First Congregational Parish and Jordan Hospital 1/3 each.
Miss Sampson also left a very private trust fund and the provision of that Trust will never be known as it was not shown in Court. The only one I knew who received a share was the widow of the Barber, Mrs. Steidel. It was unfortunate as she really received no real benefit from it as the amount she received was deducted from her old age pension so she gained nothing.
The Town, Church and Hospital each received about $150,000. So Miss Sampson was almost a millionaire.
In Miss Sampson’s later years Mrs. Seigel came and did housekeeping and she was left the contents of the house.
After her Brother died her cousins from Brockton came down and took her to the Toll House for lunch occasionally. Mr. Marion Arruda was the last man who did yard work and errands or whatever needed to be done. He recalls he would have to lift the Brother out of bed and also bring Mr. Steidel down to shave him. Mr. Arruda commented “She was a very nice lady” which she was. Whatever she did for others she did in a quiet way. He would take her to Plymouth to get her glasses changed. In later days she went out very little. Her weekly supply of groceries were 5 lbs of bananas (probably a $1.00’s worth) corn flakes and whole wheat bread.
The Malone family who lived next door were good neighbors.
You wonder what she got out of life. I doubt if she went any further than Boston if she did that.
The Town of Kingston invested their funds and the income is used yearly. Many Departments put in all kinds of requests for some of the income. The Conservation Committee of the Town was established in 1963 and shortly thereafter bought 100 acres of land between South Street and Elm Street. This is now the Elizabeth Sampson Memorial Park.
We can thank Miss Sampson for our Sampson Hall, the renovation of our Parsonage while Mr. Withington was here and making our Parish life a little easier financially.
