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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1931)
/ T h * finest writer* •end their il o r ir * fir»t to the lllu *' Fite Advocate Coming Stores by J. A . Rogers F d w a r d Lawson Dorothy W est E d w a rd W o r th y i MASSACHUSETTS'S FIRST ROYAL GOVERNOR WAS COLORED Section » « n Klit I « Ml A itM lIilH , |l««ib«iH Ml. C llf«M N> p »« * ae ( I t « l i v r » TI1K ILMJSTRATKO KKATUKK SKCTION— Heptimber 26. 1931 B U « KinnoN » Frederick R. Willard, White, Princi pal of English High School, Lynn, Mass., W rote this Statement into the Massachusetts Ter-Centenary Program and Peeved N ew Eng landers Could Not M a k e Him Recant. muon 111». in l o t I »4 11 Kt n I* h i it w in I* h l< I ION Born 16SI in W o o lw ic h , M aine, this black boy be came shepherd, ship’s ca r penter, treasure seeker, a rich man and finally the Massachusetts Bay C o l o n y’ s first royal governor. nr JOHN W. V O t'N «m i.O O D "T h e KirHl Royal Gover nor of Mu.'wii’huiii'Ujt liny Colony. Sir William 1’hipn, wan a Ncttro boy who became rich by diitcovcrinK it sunken Spanish troanure ship." •IllU Simple sentence, excepting tli.* words "M m m d I iu w IU liny Col ony.” i p i m n l Intart In the Terccii- trnary Bulletin. u»urd in I WO, pre m ium the three hundredth annlver- versary relebratlon It was issued a* a memorial to the founder« »1 the colony. The sentence la a statement clearly pot and »trip ped ‘ t purposely ostentatious ettect. It bear* the hdtm.uk of one wield- I iiii an accurate pen »trtdcd by a mind dts|K> ed to tell a simple truth At first very mild, very harmless, nevertheless the statement ultimate ly created a lurore. Th* slgntll- canre of It fomented confusion worse D ra w in g by W atson from photograph o f Sir W i llia m Phipa in A m erica n C y clo p ed ia o f A m erica n B io gra p h y by confounded amt an endless contro John G. W ilaon a n d John Fiake, Vol. 4. versy. : i| hies and an autobiography on Sir larger expedition led by him met dls- still d in g to tlieir convictions. They tin. 'Historical Material Suggested True— J'aUe recall that many historians, surrep fer Use In the Schools." etc. Denials of ilia truth of the Infor William. j aster. mation were made by some people. titiously, thoughtlessly or through' Hard pressed for s more reason Horn In M aine Appointed tio vrrn o r Others said leas blatantly. >rl just as Extracts from Cotton Mather's In t«90 he again returned to Eng- ignorance failed to record that M i- ! able explanation why so gross an firmly, that It wav rorr-et Perhaps with Increase ceo. the Cuban general and the error could have passed unnoticed by In the belief of many the rrrorditig 'T lie Life of Hlr W illiam Phtpa” typ- land and urged of lilts knowledge was not well timed me* the subject matter of other bl-| Mather, the colonial agent, a restora- hero of the Spanish-Am-rlcan War. editors, proofreaders, publishers and and least of all desired under the clr- j ographrr*. Briefly, they are as fol- tlon of the colony's chart -r. Bil was a Negro: that the CarUiagrnlan his commltt-r In a b-ok compiled for historical material for use in schools, rumatanrea which caused Its revela-1 lows: | nulled during the reign of Cltarlrs 1 Hannibal was of black Africa and the thatrman referred the reporters tlon Thus vehement denials were Kir William Phtps was born In 1651 II. The Crown, af the suggestion of that the negroid anc-stry of King to Frederick R Willard, white, prin made, pronto, without basis of fact j li 4, -The First Koval Qovrrnor, or any at Woolwich, Maine. He was a she;)- | Mather, appointed Phtps the first Tut la kept secret by many of the cipal uf ih i Lynn, a member of the committee Oavcrnor. for that m ittrr. a Negro' herd until he reached the age of 1# Royal Oovernor under tli.’ new cliar- writers. and author of the chapter tn which It cannot he! I t must not be! It Alexander Hamilton Ijiter he was a ship-carpenter's *p- j ter. On Ids return In 1692. he found th- statement is contained. would be a parody oft Puritan and It Is generally agreed that Alex- Willard, a Yankee 1’ tlgrim history, anti-social, even prentice for four yesr* and learned j the rolony in a very disorderly state j ailtl prelalleal Nonsense!” to read and wtlte while working at ] 'Plough honest and persevering, h r } .mdei Hamilton had Negro blood b .t A native of the state o f Maine, This bit of history taken from a tills trade In llastun With a com- was unlit for the difltci^t position, llicre Is no recorded historical proof. educated tn the schools and coll.’ges document earefully compiled by Willard re mission from the British Crown In j He displayed great energy defending The black In Pushkin is mentioned. of New England. M r educators whose knowledge la reason ceived the reporters with customary Infrequently and niggardly. F i-d- ably assumed to be wide and varied lt>«7 lie found, after a search of many ! the frontier, but hts policy of build- Yankee courtesy. He showed little because of their ataflona In life, was years, a wrecked Spanish treasure Ing forts was expensive, therefore crick I ouglass and Booker T. Wash- j concern about the effect of his writ accepted as authoritative It made ship of which he had heard on a 1 unpopular, lie did. however, suc it,iten arc fnquontly referred '.o as ing on the subject and expressed no excellent new* copy, especially for ceed In suppressing witch-craft In being only half Negro and their J alarm over the controversy which our weekly papers llcpnrtcrs seized voyage to the Bahamas. From It hr 1 the colony. his statement had created. He did genius Is often attributed to the wi.l'e show, however, that he h a d ' been It hungrily. Our press everywhere recovered loo.ooo pounds, of winch he There were numerous complaints carried It; and nut only was Implicit received 16,000 puinds as Ills share. to the home government, resulting half. Three hundred years from now warned of the reporters' coming. He confidence expressed In the Integ In hts being summoned to Englind their black half may be entirely sub had very artfully erected a fortress Kidslileil by James II rity and hou.'sty of the author, hut against their Inevitable barrage of I i .in w i harges While In t on merged In tlie white. Sir William Plilps went to England the newspapermen were visibly questions. don awaiting trial, he died February M an e, Hot and H ollirrrd and was knighted by James II; uixui elated to the extent such an honor Question; Mr Willard, we have 18. IMS. Moreover. In further search of fact, his return, he was appointed sheriff would ufTect. even though they sus- be n Informed that you are the No Knee Mentioned news reporters called on Frank P author of the chapter in the T e r |iec!ed that, hud Phlpa’a Negro hi ud of New England. Poorly educated Nowhrre In the biographies so far Morse, white, supervisor of secondary centenary Bulletin under the cap b en generally known or visible nt and Ignorant of law. he accomplish the time, he would never hove been ed little lliiek to England and thence road on the subject is mention made education wad chairman of th ’ Bul tion. ‘ The Times In Which The Pu of Kir William Plilps's race Tills lack letin committee, to verify or den • the ritans Lived." Is that a fact? sn honored. The thought gave them to Massachusetts, in 1«H9. hr at onci renewed Inspiration It removed entered the life of the colony. He of historic sanction, however, did not .statement that Phtps was a Negro Answer: I am. The vrry Mr. Morse, all hot and them farther from the Inferiority was appoint d commander of an ex lessen these newspaper men's belief Say* He Erred pedition against the French In In the truth of the Bulletin state bothered, nervously explained that complex Question: You made a statement Canada, which sailed in Aped, ltitm. ment. Nor did the lark Indicate a a mistake had been made by Ills com Whiten Protest and easily raptur'd Port Royal. A verdant claim. Moreover, these men mittee- the rompilers of the Hullo- in the chapter that "the first Royal following Mils animation, the White folk renewed (heir proteat vig First Run Blue Ribbon orously against those responsible fo r 1 til” statement As a result an er Short Stories, Pictures and ratum slip has be n pasted In i n Features appea r e v e r y page I!i7 of the 333-page bulletin, which leads ”.SIr William Phtpa was w e e k in the Illustrated n Maine hoy," etc.. Instead of "a Ne Feature Section. gro boy." Tina correction fall* to settle the This m a g azin e is a small controversy. It doesn't prove anything other t tin it that the publishers ha».' education in itself. You a yellow Rtieak a yard wide, as sub cannot afford to miss a sequent. events will sir w. I ll us the argument h'raine more single column. confusing. Librarian* everywhere were besieged with r qu ’sts for hio; Announcement to this Effect on 300th Anniver- versary Program Caused Furor Even in Staid Old Boston—The Author Confesses His Inform ation Comes from an Eminent Authority who Knows the W hole Truth.