Historian & Author of From Schoolboy to Soldier
Coventry, CT – On Saturday, July 8th at 11 am, join Hale descendant Quincy Abbot at the Nathan Hale Homestead for a special CTL Member’s Event! Quincy is his family’s historian, with four filing cabinets full of historic documents and correspondence that go back to the 1700’s – including his grandfather’s genealogy book that is nearly a century old. His interest started when he was a sickly child and his mother gave him old family letters to read.
Quincy recently arranged for the donation of two portraits painted in the 1840s of Rebekah Hale Abbot (Nathan’s niece) and her husband Ezra Abbot. He organized his cousins, who owned the portraits, to donate them to the Homestead after being on loan for many years. It is through a letter from Rebekah to her granddaughter that George Dudley Seymour (who purchased and restored the Nathan Hale Homestead before gifting it to Connecticut Landmarks) found a silhouette on an upstairs door in the Homestead, buried under layers of paint, which Rebekah identified as Nathan Hale. The silhouette is the only known likeness of Nathan done in life.
“I’m looking for good homes for this material,” Quincy explains. “The Homestead was certainly the right place.”
The discussion will include Quincy’s connections to the Hale family, how he facilitated the donation of the portraits, and other tales of family lore. Admission is $10; free for CTL Members.
The Nathan Hale Homestead is located at 2299 South Street in Coventry, CT 06238 and is open for regular tours from May through October. For hours or more information, visit www.ctlandmarks.org, email hale@ctlandmarks.org, or call (860) 742-6917.
Nathan Hale Homestead is the birthplace of Connecticut’s State Hero, Nathan Hale, who was hanged as a spy during the Revolutionary War. The house, built in 1776, belonged to Nathan’s parents and family, and is located on the only site he ever called home. Its furnishings include several Hale family possessions and other collections amassed by Connecticut lawyer and philanthropist George Dudley Seymour, who purchased the Homestead in 1914 and began a program of restoration that is largely preserved today. The Hale Homestead is situated on 17 acres, adjoining the 1500-acre Nathan Hale State Forest, lending to the site’s substantial rural character.
About Connecticut Landmarks
Connecticut Landmarks’ mission is to inspire interest and encourage learning about the American past by preserving selected historic properties, collections and stories and presenting programs that meaningfully engage the public and our communities. For more information, please visit www.ctlandmarks.org.