Samuel Sewall (1652-1730)
Jimmy’s Tangents:
In his 1710 essay, The Selling of Joseph, Sewall comes out
strongly against slavery thus making him one of the earliest white
colonial abolitionists
John Hull, Sewall's father-in-law, is also buried in this tomb
Hull was the colony's, and the New World's, first coin minter when he was authorized to create what became known
as the Pine Tree Shillings starting in 1652
When Hull was appointed mint master he was paid a shilling for
every twenty single shilling coins he made; authorities tried to
renegotiate this lucrative arrangement but Hull refused and indeed
became very wealthy
Legend has it that when Sewall married Hull's daughter, Hannah,
he was given a wedding present of Hannah’s weight in Pine Tree
Shillings (luckily for Sewall, Hannah was what we refer to today as
“plus” size!)
The Pine Tree Shillings is a chapter in Nathaniel Hawthorne's
collection of short stories, The Grandfather Chair |