Who Was Sarah?

FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE TOWN OF WILMINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS: 

Sarah Davis Jaquith was born in Wilmington in 1832 and was married to Cyrus Lewis Carter in 1874.  Before her death in 1907, she made a provision in her will stating, “I give and bequeath to the Town of Wilmington the sum of six thousand dollars in trust to invest the principle sum and to expend the income in maintaining courses of programs for the benefit of the people of Wilmington.”

At the Town Meeting of March 1, 1909 it was voted to accept the bequest.  Daniel T. Buzzell, Caleb S. Harriman, Arthur T. Bond, Robert H. Gowing and James F. Kelley were the original Commissioners.  The first program was held on October 28, 1910.

Over 114 years later, the Sarah D. J. Carter Committee continues to bring to the people of Wilmington interesting and entertaining programs.

A REFLECTION ON SARAH'S LIFE, WRITTEN BY PAST COMMITTEE MEMBER JULIA DOTEN:

It is interesting that Sarah retained her maiden name as a middle initial after her marriage to Cyrus Carter in 1874. Was it an act to maintain independence? Or a tribute to her parents and heritage? To me, realizing she kept the name that had defined her since her birth in 1832, is an intriguing window into her personality

Sarah very well may have been an independent type of woman. She didn’t marry until she was 42 years old, and subsequently did not have any children. What then did her life encompass in the late 1800’s, if not a family? She lived during the suffragette and temperance movements, a time of empowerment for women. I fancy that beyond her daily tasks of keeping a home,  Sarah devoted herself to ‘improving her mind’, through reading, music, and lectures. 

She also lived through the struggles of the Civil War, so I believe she was a frugal housekeeper. Records show she was also a shrewd business woman. She and her sister, Sabra Jaquith, loaned $800 to Algernon Weymouth in 1897, as a mortgage on his property on Chestnut Street. The deed notes that Sarah required the borrower “keep the buildings insured.” 

She was able to save a tidy fortune of  $6,000, which she generously donated upon her death in 1907. The endowment fund is to be used in perpetuity for “maintaining courses of lectures for the benefit of the people of Wilmington.” What better way for a childless woman living during the nineteenth century to leave her mark on society?

We know very little about Sarah; her birth, marriage and death dates only imply what in reality was surely a full life. But we can imagine the personality of an intelligent, hardy, economical, and perhaps strong-willed New England woman, with dreams of a future for her neighbors, for her town, and for herself