Statue of Historic Figure: Samuel Wilson, a.k.a. Uncle Sam - Arlington, MA

Samuel Wilson

"Uncle Sam"

Arlington, MA

N 42° 24.952 W 071° 09.184

Short Description: 

A monument at the birthplace of Samuel Wilson honors the man that legend asserts is the source of the personification of the United States, Uncle Sam. It is located in Uncle Sam Plaza at Mystic Street north of Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, MA.

Long Description:

A memorial to Samuel Wilson has two sculptures. An 8.67' high bronze statue depicts Wilson wearing a double breasted jacket and long-tailed coat. Wilson is carrying a top hat in the crook of his bent left arm. His right hand held downward with his open palm facing forward. The memorial was was commissioned by Fredrick A. Hauck of Cincinnati, OH and sculpted by Theodore Cotillo Barbarossa.

To Samuel Wilson's right is a relief sculpture with the familiar image of "Uncle Sam" wearing a top hat and tails. At the top is a butcher and a ship coming in to dock next to the word TROY In the middle of the relief is a man and woman standing behind a fence with the words MASON N-H. At the bottom is a soldier on horseback above the word MENOTOMY the former name for Arlington.

The monument has the following inscriptions:

Above the sculpture:

SAMUEL WILSON

1766-1854

Below the sculptures:

IN HONOR OF SAMUEL WILSON

A NATIVE SON

BORN NEAR THIS SITE

ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1766

HE BECAME

OUR NATIONAL SYMBOL

UNCLE SAM

A bronze plaque on the side of the monument has the left profile of Fredrick A. Hauck and is inscribed:

UNVEILED

SEPTEMBER

 11-1976

DEDICATED

APRIL-18, 1977

FREDERICK A. HAUCK

A GIFT TO THE TOWN OF ARLINGTON

MASS. AND THE PEOPLE OF THE 

UNITED STATES THROUGH THE GENEROUS

CONTRIBUTION OF FREDERICK A. HAUCK

OF CINCINNATI, OHIO

DESIGNER-SCULPTOR T.C. BARBAROSSA

BELMONT, MASS.

CAST BY ELEFTHERIOS KARKADOULIAS

CINCINNATI, OHIO

PROJECT COORDINATOR

THE ARLINGTON JAYCEES

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTHUR D. SAUL, JR., CHAIRMAN

ROBERT B. WALSH

ANN MAHON POWERS

MARGARET H. SPENGLER

ROBERT H. MURRAY

TOWN MANAGER

DONALD R. MARQUIS

UNCLE SAM STATUE COMMITTEE

WILLIAM J. BECK

JACK R. DONALDSON

JAMES D. HOBBS

JAMES F. LAWSON, JR.

STEPHEN PEKICH

FREDERICK E. PITCHER

JOHN G. PERRY

WILLIAM J. SCAGLIONE

Samuel Wilson was born in Arlington, MA, known as Menotomy, on September 13, 1766. When he was young he moved with his family to Mason, NH. At age 15 he joined the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War where he was introduced to the meat packing trade. After the war he and his brother moved to Troy, NY where they started E & S Wilson, a meat packing business.

During the War of 1812 Elbert Anderson Jr. of New York City had the contract to supply meat to all US troops. He contracted with Sam Wilson's company to supply United States troops with barrels of meat. The barrels were labeled "E.A.-U.S." for Elbert Anderson - United States. The troops south of Troy that received the barrels were familiar with Samuel Wilson and interpreted the U.S to mean Uncle Sam, Wilson's nickname, and the legend was born. Samuel Wilson became the personification of the United States.

However, there is evidence that Uncle Sam was in use long before the War of 1812. Uncle Sam is mentioned in the 13th stanza of the original lyrics to the popular 1775 song "Yankee Doodle".

Old Uncle Sam come there to change
Some pancakes and some onions,
For 'lasses cakes, to carry home
To give his wife and young ones

Grave of a Famous Person: Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet - Hartford, CT

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet

Cedar Hill Cemetery

Hartford, CT

N 41° 43.218 W 072° 41.911

Short Description: 

The grave of educator of the deaf and author of children's books on theological topics and Biblical biographies Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet is located in Cedar hill Cemetery, 453 Fairfield, Avenue, Hartford, CT.

Long Description:

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet is buried in a large family plot that has center is a tall base topped with an urn and is inscribed GALLAUDET on the side facing the graves of family members. A ground level granite grave marker is inscribed:

THOMAS H. GALLAUDET,

BORN DEC. 10, 1787,

DIED SEPT. 10, 1851

The Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was born in Philadelphia, PA on December 10, 1787. His family moved to Hartford, CT when he was 13 years old. He graduated Yale University with highest honors in 1805, and then earned a master's degree from Yale in 1808. He became a minister upon graduation from Andover Theological Seminary in 1815.

As a pastor Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet met a deaf-mute child, Alice Cogswell, whose father, Dr. Mason Cogswell, wished to establish a special school for deaf children. Gallaudet went to Europe in 1815 to study established systems of symbolic instruction for the deaf. There he met Laurent Clerc who took him to Paris to learn Abbé Sicard's method for teaching deaf-mutes. Gallaudet mastered his methods and returned to America and on April 15, 1817 established with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell the first institution for the education of the deaf in North America, now known as the American School for the Deaf. In 1894 Gallaudet University was named in honor. He was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 20 cent stamp in the Great American Series.

In addition, The Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet used his theological background to become a prolific author writing a series of books about on theology and Biblical topics mostly for young children. Among the books he wrote are:

The Child's Book on the Soul
The Child's Book on Repentance: Designed Also for Older Persons
The Youth's Book on Natural Theology
The Child's Book on the Fall of Man
Scripture Biography for the Young: Adam to Jacob
Scripture Biography for the Young: David and Solomon, Including Saul and Rehoboam
Scripture Biography for the Young: Moses
Scripture Biography for the Young: Joshua and Judges
Solomon to Ahaz: Including Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Ahab, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, and Jonah
The History of Jonah for Children
The History of Josiah, the Young King of Judah
The History of Joseph, for children and youth; designed also as an aid to familiar Biblical exposition in families, Sabbath schools, and Bible classes
The Mother's Primer, to Teach Her Child Its Letters and how to Read: Designed Also for the Lowest Class in Primary Schools on a New Plan
The Child's Picture Defining and Reading Book
Discourses