The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-09-20
A NEW ENGLAND RRCLUsE.
Years, Rrem Birth TO Death
in Single Room.


A very singular man yves Sumner
Hartweli, who has just died. HIS oddi-
ties wese numereus, and torthe few who
knew him has strange freaks we're in
comprehensive. Four score years he
breatAed, living and dyingin the room
where he was born. farewell passed
one-he2f his life IN locality where he
cOulddlear the locomotive whistle daily,
yet he never rode in a traia of cars and
knew not the appearance Of the inside
OF an ordinary. freight cabeose. He had
no idea of the stature of the telegraph
instrument, and had failed to case upon
the telephone trensmitter. Horse cars
would have been as strange to him as
they would have been to the North
American Indian in 1887. OF the several
towns contiguous to Shirley he had wis.,
ted but two. The city Fitchburg, two
miles away, ne knew no more than he
did OF Herat. From the hilltop where
he passed his deys can plainly be seen
the church spires in Lunenburg, three
miles away, yet Sumner Hartwell knew
as much about Constantin 1pie as he did
ofLE0enburg. The pretty town of Le-
ominster nestled in the vally at the foot
OF Mount Monoosnock, ten miles dis
tant, land many efforts had been made to
get him to go there, but he never did,
He had been in Townsend Harbor. an
adjacent village, and he had paid visits
TO gristmill on the edge of Groton. but
at that point he would not alight from
his team; neither curiosity ,ner desire
for information had ever prompted him
to learn in inst what manner his corn
was turned into meal. A portion of the
aboyef2cts, coupled with the statement
that Sumner Hartwen slammed the
world and its ways on account of unre
Quilted love. came to the attention of a
Globe representative, and further inouir-
les intofhe peculiar habits and customs
of this. eccentric being was decided upon.
OF the opinion that some light thing
be thrown upon his blighted love, the
writer called upon al old lady sc years
of age, who had passed her life IN this
vicinity and whose home is but trifle
over a mile from that of Hartwell. but
might as well have been
sought at'the North Pole, she had never
seen nor heard of the man. Within five
rods of where HartweN lived was
neighbours house, vet he never went
there unless on business; In fact, he did
not for co years go beyond his own
premises unless business called him.
When a young man and living with his
mother and managing the old farm, he
wOa4ld occasionally drive into Boston
with produce. His last trip was nearly
half century ago. He sought for no
pleasures Onthese journeos and made
his trip as speedily as possible. Twice
he want INTO New Hampshire ON short
business trips. For two years he had
talked about going to Boston, and
affirmed that he could find his way
about readily, firEnly believing that it
had undergone nochange since he was
last there. TOO tAin ~ was all he SAID
when Edgar Jenkins tried to get him to
go 10 Shirley village, three miles away,
and talk with parties in Aver through
saw a circus, never attended country
matters familiar It every schoolb0y in
the land Neighbours ms ght call at Jen-
kiRs' and be for hours retailing what
was taking place about the village; this
odd specimen would not go from his
rooRl to meet them, although he had
bnt4o open the door. He took his meals
with the family, but did not Eingle with
them socially unless they entered his
His second best treasure
was a written reward of merit, given
him by his teacher March T. 1891. When
feeling uDusurlly cheerful he woEld don
his plug hat and wear it about the place.
That hat was as much of curiosity as
Sumner himself. 1t was launched half
a century ago.-BostOn Globe.