A New Look at Boston

I first went to Boston in September 1980, at the start of my freshman year in college, with a friend who was visiting from California.  I knew that two of my Yankee ancestors, John and Mary (Chilton) Winslow, were buried in the King's Chapel Burying Ground, and we went there in hopes of finding their graves.  I despaired as I saw the weathered stones, and thought it a  hopeless task.  But a scant two minutes had passed when my friend, Steve, shouted, "Bill!  I found your grandmother!"  Sure enough, there they were-- in a large tomb with the Winslow family crest on the side.  And her name in bronze on the gate:  Mary Chilton--Passenger on the Mayflower.

In the years to come, I grew to know Protestant Boston quite well.  In my sophomore year, I became research assistant to Prof. Charles Teel of Loma Linda University, looking for materials related to Unitarian abolitionist Theodore Parker.  In graduate school a few years later, I chose Parker as the subject of my thesis.

Years later, I happened to discover a mention of John Winslow in the Jesuit Relations, describing his role in bringing a Jesuit to Boston at a time when Jesuits were subject to the death penalty.

In June 2000 I was in Boston for a conference at Harvard, and spent a Saturday revisiting familiar spots (and exploring some new ones).  I made my customary visit to the grave of John and Mary Winslow . . . and then, for some reason, went inside King's Chapel.    I suppose it had been 20 years since I last went inside -- the old Anglican chapel didn't have as much interest for me as the Puritan cemetery it was built alongside.

I was reading the plaques inside when my eye caught a name . . . and a shiver went down my spine:  William Shirley, Royal Governor, who had sent my Acadian ancestors into exile.  This was his church.  The ostentatious governor's pew was his.  Here he had worshipped--thanking God!--while my ancestors suffered in dank ships and in prisons.

At the back of the church, in a display rack, I saw a brochure reading, "Visit the Home of the Hero of Louisbourg."

Hero of Louisbourg?

I picked it up.

"Shirley Place . . . Built in 1747-51 with profits and perquisites gained from Shirley's leadership of the Louisbourg expedition."

Disturbed, I continued down the street to the Old State House.  I thought I'd get my mind off of Shirley by viewing exhibits about tea parties and minutemen--but it was not to be.  For what was the primary historical function of this building which is now a shrine to the American Revolution?  It was the seat of government -- it was here where Shirley no doubt gave the order that sent so many Acadians to death and to exile.