A section of the current exhibit at the Rochester Historical Museum is devoted to “celebrations.” Among those is the 300th Anniversary. As mentioned before, these activities began with “Founder’s Day” in 1979 and continued on to 1986. As odd as this seems, it was no doubt the result of the 200th Anniversary being celebrated using the date on which the original Proprietors signed the paperwork in Plymouth giving them ownership of the land while the 250th was celebrated 57 years later using the incorporation date.
Back to the 1979 celebration events. They began with the performance of a play written by Judith Gurney who at that time was a founding member and president of the Rochester Historical Society. The play was first performed on July 22, 1979 and was entitled “One Crow Sorrow.” The title comes from an ancient, superstitious chant: “One crow, sorrow, two crows, joy, three crows a wedding, four crows a boy.”
The play references some historic events with a very heavy dose of poetic license and the characters bear the names of actual residents. There is a note at the beginning of the play that states some events referenced actually took place at a later time than the play’s timeline.
One character who has a main role is that of Will Connet. What is actually known of Will Connet can be found in Mary Hall Leonard’s, “Rochester and her Daughter Town’s”. He was the one area Native American who refused to sell his land in 1683. He claimed ownership to “the lands between the Sippican River and Plymouth’s westerly boundary at Agawam” and was willing to take his case to court. However, rather than being” pleaded there”, he was added to the list of Proprietors.
He must have stayed in Rochester for sometime, because records show his name as a subscriber to the first gristmill. He and his brother are also listed as together paying “six barrels of tar” to obtain use of the mill. After that, he no longer shows in any records.
The play told the tale of two love stories and includes some heartbreak, an unwed pregnancy, two weddings, a soldier going to fight in “Canady” and the birth of a baby. Connet appears throughout having a close friendship with a young girl, having his land taken and being forced to also go to fight (it must be noted that no proof of this can be found in historic records.) The play ends with the birth of a baby boy, fulfilling the ancient chant.
The play proved a huge success and was performed more than once. The first night audience was attended by 650 people. A copy of the play is part of the museum’s collections.
By Connie Eshbach