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Daniel Shed Memorial Re-Dedication
In 1916, the Shedd Family association erected a memorial monument to Daniel Shed at Snug Harbor in an area once called Shed’s Neck, now German Town, in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Sometime in the 1950’s the monument was moved about one block to a circular park where it is located today.
Snug Harbor had been a harbor for local fishing boats.
At the time that the monument was erected, the area was mostly open. The only thing there was a retirement complex for merchant seamen. One of the buildings from that era is still there.
The area is now the location for the Quincy Housing Authority’s low income housing complex. They relocated the monument in the 1950’s to its present location.
Sometime after 2002 the monument was vandalized. When Jean & I were there in 2007, the lighthouse on the top of the monument has been removed, there was graffiti painted on it, and the plaque was loose.
At that time we met Margaret Milne who works for the Quincy Housing Authority. She told us that they hoped to be able to restore the monument “In The Near Future”. I left my card with her, and asked her to let me know when that happened.
This year (2019), in late July, she sent me an
E-Mail saying that the restoration was complete, and they were finishing the landscaping of the park. That “In The Near Future” they planned to have a
re-dedication of the memorial. A few weeks later, she send me an E-Mail saying that the re-dedication would happen on Friday, September, 20, 2019.
We decided to attend the re-dedication. To the best of my knowledge, that is the only memorial monument anywhere to any of my ancestors, Shedds or Wheelers.
I couldn’t believe that there would be many people at the re-dedication. There were over 100. The Quincy mayor and the state senator spoke. The director of the Quincy Housing Authority told the history of the memorial.
There were eight Shedd “Cousins” in attendance. Jean and I were the only cousins not from the New England area. I had exchanged E-Mail with one lady several years ago. It was nice to get to meet her. After the service, there was a dinner for those attending the re-dedication. All the cousins sat at one large round table, and we did what Shedds seem to do well. We talked to each other for about two hours. It was nice to get to meet them and get to know them. No one seemed to want to leave.
The monument has been restored to its 1916 condition. The lighthouse has been replaced, the plaque restored, the graffiti removed, and the park has been landscaped. There are now paved walkways, and park benches. It is a very attractive place. The money for the restoration apparently came as a grant from some organization. I didn’t understand which one. The whole area where the monument is, is owned by the Quincy Housing Authority. It is a low income housing complex where priority is given to Veterans. The monument is located in a circular park at the corner of Shed Street and Palmer Street.
Pictures of the memorial before and after the restoration are at:
www.DanielShed.DanWheeler.us.
There are pictures there of: Finchingfield, England, where Daniel Shed came from to the Boston area in 1640
A video of the rededication service
Dan & Jean Wheeler
November 1, 2019
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