Mass. Teacher Finds 1792 Document In Classroom

Associated Press/AOL News ^ | 8/6/10

[Eleutheria5]

PEABODY, Mass. -A Massachusetts teacher cleaning up her classroom in preparation for a move has discovered a Colonial-era document buried in a pile of outdated textbooks and dusty scraps of papers. Michelle Eugenio, a fourth-grade teacher in Peabody, Mass., found the yellowed sheet of paper two weeks ago. Dated April 1792 and protected by plastic, it appears to document the payment of a debt by a Vermont man named Jonathan Bates. Peabody Historical Society President Bill Power verified the paper's authenticity. He tells The Salem News he was thrilled with the discovery. No one knows how the paper ended up at Peabody's Center School or how long it has been there. Bates served in the Continental Army in 1780 and died in 1808 at age 63. He's buried in Williamstown, Vt.

[Eleutheria5]

I didn't know the US was still a British colony in 1792. What was that constitutional convention back in 1787 about, then? And all that fighting and killing for over a decade before that?

[SJSAMPLE]

Mass. Teacher Finds 1792 Document In Classroom Home Basement.

Yeah, that's the ticket.
In my very own home basement.
Yeah.

[libertarian27]

Those Janitors aren’t very thorough *kidding*

[married21]

Maybe somebody brought it to class for “show and tell” and forgot to take it home.

[babble-on]

1792, back when Americans actually repaid their debts, as opposed to refinancing with a HELOC or 0% (for first three months) credit card

[nhoward14]

Well, this is the proof Mr. Bates has been looking for. Maybe now he can get those debt collectors off his back.

[Retired Greyhound]

In Mass., Peabody is pronounced Pee-bah-dee.

[Young Werther]

In the Bates Mansion which is situated on the hill above the Bates Motel!

Bates!

[GeronL]

I didn’t know they had plastic

[x]

Not exactly "Ye Olde Colonial School."

[napscoordinator]

I am glad she found the document, but really??? nobody cleaned up the place in that long? It is her classroom. We as kids had to clean the classroom from top to bottom in June every year. Bottom line though is that a document has been found and will help with preserving the charished history of the North.

[napscoordinator]

I know buying a house for five bucks must have been brutal.

[Eleutheria5]

Maybe now the AP will figure out what dates are “colonial” and what dates are “early American,” though.

[Zionist Conspirator]

And I’ll bet it’s a “living” document, like all the other documents from that era.

[Redmen4ever]

Is wonder the document was found in a public school. It was hidden UNDER A BOOK!

[isom35]

Michelle Eugenio? is she hot?

[Tanniker Smith]

You see!! And they tell me that *I’m* a packrat who keeps all my class papers and worksheets forever!!

[Richard Kimball]

Most likely it was left in one of the books and got moved to the school when it opened. I've got a document signed by Sam Houston somewhere around the house. My brother has a photograph of my great great great grandfather in his civil war uniform, with sword and pistol. My mom just gave me a couple of postcards sent to my grandmother, dated 1910.

A friend of mine just cleaned out the library for a very old relative of his. In it, he found a first edition Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath) and a couple of other valuable books, some signed by the authors. He tried to tell his relative how valuable they were, but the relative said it wasn't worth it to him to go through them.

[Deaf Smith]

In the town of Peabody, MA it is pronounced: PeeBeeDee. For authenticity, just say the letters P B D fast.

*There's a good roast beef place in downtown, but no washroom to get the sauce off your hands.

[Fiji Hill]

Colonial Federalist-era document