Dudley, Massachusetts

The Healy Family's History in Dudley, Massachusetts, featuring The Black Tavern, Captain Hezekiah Healy, Major Nathaniel Healy, and The Family.

The Black Tavern in Dudley, Massachusetts

 I have a little story to tell...

My cousin Emily and I shared one of the most wonderful days this Sunday...

We finally made our way over to Dudley, MA, to see our ancestors' grave plot at the Corbin Cemetery. We also stopped and visited the headstones in West Roxbury, which are slightly older, with modernity growing up around them. In Dudley, however, it was a nice drive off the highways on a lovely fall day. After walking right up to our family headstones, we found Major Nathaniel Healy, as well as other Healys who had settled in the area.

We then visited the Church, which features a plaque honoring the soldiers of the Revolutionary War, including Major Nathaniel Healy. He participated in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill and lived to the age of 81. Additionally, there was a newly created plaque where the surname Healy appeared alongside the names of other founding families.

Emily also discovered that there was a tavern in Dudley constructed by another Healy. When we reached the First Congregational Church, we realized the tavern was directly across the street, which was quite convenient. Initially opened as Healy's Inn, we found out it was built by Captain Hezekiah Healy, a cabinet maker and brother of Major Nathaniel. It was later named The Black Tavern because, in a frugal move, they painted the original building black after discovering that black paint preserved the wood beneath.

This is where things took a serendipitous turn.

We were walking around the outside of the tavern and taking a few pictures, as we were documenting our trip. The sign outside said "by appointment only." There were other signs all over marking the property as a historical landmark. A man sitting on the porch told us that there was currently a private party inside. We continued to look at the exterior for a bit, and then Emily decided that she wanted to see the inside. She walked right through the door as some people were leaving, so I just followed her.

Once inside, it became apparent that this was a family celebration of some sort. We got a couple of odd looks, and I just walked straight to the guest book and wrote my name down. An older gentleman walked over and asked us if we were with the college, as a few other voices were saying things about party crashers. We told them that we were visiting Dudley for the first time, had just visited our ancestors' graves, and wanted to see the tavern. They asked us which family we were with, and when we said that we were Healys, the response was... “We have descendants!”

They began asking us to stay and have a look around. First, it was “Can we get you something to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee? Wine?” Then this very kind older man asked us if we would like to see the upstairs. Emily and I looked at each other, smiled, nodded, and said, “Yes, definitely! That would be amazing!”

We were walking up a narrow flight of stairs, where he opened a small door in the wall, which looked into an old beehive oven. Then we went to the second floor to find a large room that he told us was the ballroom. Modest, yet classy. The room had a few items in it from the late 1700s through the early 1800s. There was a beautiful loom, spinning wheel, wedding attire, a grandfather clock, an old church pew, and some kind of pump organ.

Strangely, this place felt incredibly familiar and comfortable. We were also quite overwhelmed with emotion and excitement at this point.

We had also just been wondering if the house that Josiah Healy had built for Nathaniel was still standing. As a fun twist of fate, the man who was showing us around happened to have lived in it for 10 years, and yes, it is still there on Healy Rd. We also now realized that this is the man whom the party was for, and it was his 50th wedding anniversary. He said he needed to call their historical reenactor, as he would be upset if he knew he had missed us. He didn’t get an answer, so he said we could keep looking around, but he was being called to go back downstairs. Before he left, he asked if we would like to take a look at the attic where they used to raise the silkworms...

Emily and I walked up the dark staircase to an open attic with a few old chests and other remnants. Looking at the roof, you could see all the wooden stakes used to hold everything together. It was built using joinery. After he left us, we shared how stunned we were by this sudden sequence of events.

We head back down and take a look at the Civil War room, which they have dedicated to later members of the community who fought and died in the Civil War. We went back downstairs, where they offered us something to drink, and this is when the man who was their reenactor arrived; his name is Robert. He seemed so excited to speak with us, and we then realized that they were just as excited to have us there as we were to be there. Robert then began to walk us through the rooms again with more detail.

After telling us more of the backstory behind some of the items in the tavern, like how the loom and the spinning wheels were also built by Hezekiah, that the Healy family had been given the land by the King of England before the Revolution, and that the gears in the grandfather clock were all made out of wood and still functioned, he then said that we would love the museum room.

First, he shows us some of the work he has done researching one Civil War soldier in particular, as well as some of the letters he has been transcribing. This is his favorite subject. Then he asks if we would like to see the part of the tavern that is closed off to visitors. He opens a door in the corner of the room, which leads to a very narrow hallway. We walk through to a room that hasn’t been restored to the level of the rest of the tavern. We saw all the panels of early American wallpaper that they have stored away.

Going downstairs and over to the museum room, we meet some more people at the party, and everyone has taken us in as if we were part of their family for the moment. As we get to the museum room, Robert apologizes for the Christmas storage. No apologies were necessary, as everything was just wonderful. He tells us the story behind Becca Healy’s teapot and many other items in the room. I had just looked at Becca’s gravestone, and now I get to know a bit about her personality, which brought everything to life. She liked things made in England. It was very strange to see things like “Healy Family Coin Silver” in a museum case. That and evidence of the family's involvement in early American Freemasonry.

He took us then to see the old barn where they now have dances and various community events. He had made a display of all the restoration work that had gone into it. We walked around to the backyard, and he showed us the workshop he has set up underneath and the beautiful canoe he is building. After he shows us the gardens, Emily takes a picture of a small sign by the stairs. My phone had died at this point, so she took over documenting, as we were very excited to share this with the rest of the family. I asked her what it was that she took a picture of. She smiles and says, “I’ll show you a bit later.”

Going back inside after about four hours of wandering the entire building, the party is winding down, and they offer us a bite to eat. The party looked to be catered, and they were even asking if we would like to take some with us. We exchanged contact information with Robert and the other gentleman who had lived in Nathaniel’s house. We all got a hug and a big thank you all around. Everyone seemed purely delighted to meet. Emily and I are definitely going to join the Black Tavern Historical Society as members.

We sit down and have a bit to eat since they were so insistent, with a little cake. A young teenage boy comes over and asks us if we would like more wine. The man I assume to be his father smiles and says something to the effect of us getting the star treatment. Children are running laps through the main rooms, as Emily and I remember doing the same thing in the old Healy House in Red Lake Falls. I started to say how this feels like visiting the ghosts of Christmas past, and at that moment, a woman asked the kids if they would like to open presents.

We say our goodbyes, and they invite us to join them for future events. While leaving the tavern and walking back over to the church parking lot, we both start to laugh. I can’t believe that the day we finally make it over to visit the ancestors' graves, we get so close to their world, with a warm family welcome.

As we were departing, Emily showed me the photo of the sign she had taken in the backyard.

It reads, “Welcome to our little piece of heaven.”