Revolutionary Review At Matthew Curtiss House

By Kendra Bobowick

The Matthew Curtiss House opened its doors to local home-schooled students Tuesday morning as Newtown Historical Society docents Bill Brett and Patricia Hubert, who is also a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) member, provided a hands-on lesson to students.

Offering period lessons for the Revolutionary War in anticipation of events later this year to commemorate Newtown’s role in the march of Rochambeau, docents dressed in period clothing and drew children’s attention to artifacts and details revealing necessities of revolutionary life in the New England colonies. Students and residents alike will be treated to Revolutionary War history with this summer’s reenactment of a 1781 march as French soldiers crossed Connecticut to help Continental soldiers defeat British troops. This state contains 120 miles of the George Washington-General Comte de Rochambeau march that covers roughly 600 miles from Rhode Island and Virginia.

Entertaining the students with lessons about life in the country’s Colonial period, Mr Brett asked revolutionary period trivia. He said, “What would it be like to live here in 1776?”

He walked with the handful of children and mothers from the hearth to the parlor where he stood before a dresser. Looking at it, he asked, “Does anyone notice anything unusual about this piece of furniture?”

In fact, the dresser’s drawers were smooth-faced, and without handles or knobs. They could be pulled from finger spaces notched into the sides.

The British taxed items such as brass, iron, glass, and metals used for manufacturing drawer handles, Mr Brett explained.

“There was a tax on everything,” he said. Contributed to revolutionary conflicts were circumstances such as heavy taxation, adding to Colonists’ mounting desire to separate from England.

Mrs Hubert spoke about Newtown’s role during revolutionary times and specifically when Rochambeau’s troops settled overnight in Sandy Hook. She noted that the Colonial residents “went to the encampments to provide food, clothing, ammunition, or any kind of things to supply the troops.”

Hoping to create some interest in the event literally moving through town on the overnight of June 29-30, Mrs Hubert said, “This is a wonderful opportunity for the school children to come out to the encampment. They are encouraged to bring food and clothing to help provide for the people coming through Newtown.”

Mrs Hubert has her own direct ties to the revolution, as is required to become a DAR member.

She is a descendant of Evan Prothro of South Carolina, who helped supply the troops. Her mother was a Prothro, she said.