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This announcement appeared in the August 14, 1769 issue of the Boston Gazette.
The Sons of Liberty Banquet - August 14, 1769
With regard to the banquet at Robinson's Tavern, John Adams wrote in his diary "we had two tables laid in the open field by the barn, with between 300 and 400 plates, and an arning (awning) of sailcloth overhead." Three pigs were barbecued. The men also ate boiled codfish with egg sauce, chickens, blueberry pie, and drank Madeira wine (likely supplied by John Hancock.) There were forty-five toasts, and John Adams noted "To the honour of the Sons, I did not see one person intoxicated, or near it."
The men surely spoke about the festivities that had occurred just two weeks earlier, accompanying the departure of the despised Royal Governor Francis Bernard. On that day, July 31, 1769, bells rang, and militia cannons fired as over 100 inhabitants of the town formalized their commitment to boycott British goods by signing the Boston Citizen's Non-Importation Agreement.
By the afternoon, rain had begun to fall at Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester, but it did not dampen the spirits of those in attendance. The banquet drew to a close between 4 and 5 o'clock and John Hancock entered his carriage to lead the men back to Boston. The members rode off in the procession which extended for nearly a mile and a half. Another carriage followed at the rear of the group. John Adams soon left what he called "a large collection of good company" and galloped off toward Taunton, Massachusetts. The procession returned to Boston before dark.
Although the Sons of Liberty was a secret organization, a few lists of its members survive today. One such list records the members who attended this event. "An Alphabetical List of the Sons of Liberty who din'd at Liberty Tree Dorchester, Aug 14th 1769" is in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. It is written in the hand of William Palfrey, John Hancock's clerk, who was there that day. The list contains 355 names, including the following: John Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, James Otis, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, and Alexander Edwards.
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