Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FrIDAy, JUly 3, 2026 FOURTH OF JULY | FROM PAGE 1 At the time of the Revolution, what we now call the town of Saugus was part of the town of Lynn. Those who lived in the third parish, or west parish of Lynn, as the area was often called, had established their own church at what we now consider Saugus Center, and therefore were not legally required to go into Lynn Common every Sunday. As feelings against the rule of the king grew, many residents talked in the taverns of what the future might bring and began to anticipate that serious fighting might break out. On what is now known as Ballard Street, one tavern in particular was known as a gathering place for news of rebellion and ways to respond quickly. In 1773, Jacob Newhall had bought the long-established Anchor Tavern in East Saugus from its unpopular British-born owner and immediately removed the lion and unicorn sign with one more symbolic of a new dawn, an era of enlightened independence and rejection of British domination not only for the town but all the colonies. He renamed the tavern the Rising Sun tavern and the sign depicted the sun ris“WE’RE STILL HERE!” Since 1947 MALDEN AUTO BODY Book online: Maldenauto.com 49 Robin St., Everett, MA 617-389-3030 * Maldenab@yahoo.com Over 79 years of exceptional service! Massone Family Owned & Operated ing above the horizon. At this tavern the popular minister of the third parish church, Parson Joseph Roby, was among the men who enthusiastically embraced the idea of liberty. One of his sons had been among those who heaved boxes of tea overboard during the Boston tea party. When it was learned that the British were marching toward Concord and Lexington on April 18, 1775, over 60 men met at 3 a.m. on April 19 to make their way to meet militiamen from other towns to protect the threatened towns. Captain David Parker’s Company consisted entirely of men from what is now Saugus. Other Companies in Colonel Timothy Pickering’s Regiment came from other parts of Lynn, but Parker’s Company was the largest and soon joined with other Companies in Arlington heading toward Concord. Most of the men were farmers, but there were also fishermen and men with other occupations, including Parson Roby. Lt. John Poole, Ensign Nathan Hawks, Sgt. Thomas Hawks, Sgt. Nathaniel Hutchinson, Sgt. Benjamin Redden, Corporal Abner Cheever Jr., Corporal Amos Leeds, Corporal Samuel Mansfield and Corporal Jabez Newhall were the officers under Captain Parker. The Company had a fifer, William Hill, and a drummer, Thomas Barrey. AlMany graves of Saugus families who lived here during the Revolution can be found in the small cemetery in Saugus Center rather than the larger Riverside Cemetery off Winter Street. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) lowing for the variable spellings of names that was common during this period, such as Hawks/Hawkes, Stoker/Stocker, Bordman/Boardman and Rhoads/Rhodes, many of these families are familiar as they or their descendants continued to develop businesses and participate in the Civil War and later conflicts up to the present day. By the time the Revolution ended in 1783, 99 men from our town had fought. Many came home and continued to serve their town, which in 1815 separated from Lynn and resumed the name of Saugus, which had been used by Native Americans before the change to Lynn in 1634. Abijah Cheever was 15 when the Battles of Lexington and Concord broke out, but he helped make bullets the night before so his brothers would have ammunition when they went off to fight. After graduating from Harvard College in 1779 and receiving his medical degree in 1782, he joined the navy as a surgeon on the Massachusetts ship Tartar. When the ship was captured by the British, he and his shipmates became prisoners detained in New York Harbor. After his release at the end of the war, he set up a medical practice in Boston for a few decades and raised a family, then returned to what had now become the town of Saugus and turned to politics. He was elected to the first Board of Selectmen and later to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. His younger brother Joseph also went into politics and in 1816 became the first town treasurer and was FOURTH OF JULY | SEE PAGE 5
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