An Update to the Last Biweekly

​This is a follow up on the John Johnson incident in the last newsletter. Member Steven Arnoe, who is in the process of translating those articles that mention Easton from Swedish language newspapers to English, has kindly shared some information. There was quite a lot of drinking going on. On the day in question, “Johnson, together with Mauritz Björklund, had hired a horse and sleigh and driven to Brockton, Campello, and South Easton. They were followed by Charles Anderson and Andrew Bengtson who were in another sleigh. The four men had a quart of whiskey with them, which they shared during the journey, as well as stopping for four drinks along the way. Upon their return to North Easton, they visited an unlicensed saloon, Fergus Conn’s, where Moynihan, Conroy, as well as William Derby were present.” (Skandinavia, 06 March 1895, p. 5.) Fergus Conn, who had emigrated with his family from South Africa in 1884, worked as a grinder (sharpening knives and tools) and in 1889 was living in Easton on Picker Lane. He was a renter and it is possible that he boarded in one of the two houses #9 & #11, owned by the Ames family. Or he could have been boarding somewhere else in Easton by 1895. In 1888, prior to the report of the illegal saloon, he had been charged with assault with a deadly weapon on one Irving Johnson. Conn was held on $1000 bail and was committed when he defaulted. (Easton Bulletin, Fri. Sept. 14, 1888) By 1900 Fergus Conn was living in Brockton, later he moved to Plymouth, although he is buried in the South Easton Cemetery. Needless to say, he was not an admirable character.
 

Anne Wooster Drury