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Sarah Orne Jewett's Carriage AccidentSOUTH BERWICK, Me. Sept 13 -- Miss Sarah Orne Jewett, the author, is confined to her room as the result of a carriage accident that befell her one day last week, while driving with friend through Berwick.
3 September 1902
Boston Daily Globe (13 September 1902) p. 12
THROWN FROM CARRIAGE
Sarah Orne Jewett Confined to Room at South Berwick, Me --
Recovery Will be Slow.
In descending Places hill, the horse stepped on a rolling stone and fell, throwing Miss Jewett, who held the reins, and Miss Rebecca Young,* her seat companion, over the horse's head.
Miss Young escaped with a severe shaking up, but Miss Jewett was considerably injured about the head and spine.
Miss Jewett's sister and Miss Annie Young*, who occupied the back seat, were not thrown from the carriage.
Miss Jewett is reported to be steadily improving, but her complete recover from the shock may require some time, it is thought.
Notes
Rebecca O. Young (1847-1927). In Sarah Orne Jewett: her World and her Work (2002), Paula Blanchard says: "Rebecca Young, who lived a few doors from the Jewetts, was an old classmate of the [Jewett] sisters from the days of Miss Raynes's school and Berwick Academy and an intimate friend of both Mary [Rice Jewett] and Carrie [ Jewett Eastman]. She was for many years treasurer of the South Berwick Savings Bank" (p. 203). Find a Grave.
sister: Mary Rice Jewett (1847-1930) was Jewett's older and only surviving sister.
Anna R. Young (1863-1943) was Rebecca Young's youngest sister.
San Francisco (CA) Chronicle (14 September 1902) p. 9
SARAH ORNE JEWETT INJURED
The Author of New England Stories Thrown from Her Carriage.
SOUTH BERWICK, Me. Sept 13 -- Miss Sarah Orne Jewett, the author, met with a carriage accident while driving with friend through Berwick. Her horse stepped on a rolling stone and fell, throwing Miss Jewett, who held the reins, and Rebecca Young, her companion, from the vehicle. Miss Young escaped with a severe shaking up, but Miss Jewett was considerably injured about the head and spine.Miss Jewett's sister and Miss Annie Young, who occupied the back seat, were not thrown from the carriage.
All readers of her New England stories will hope that Miss Jewett is not injured so seriously as to interfere with her writing. She has lived most of her life in South Berwick, where her father was a doctor for many years, and she gained much of her knowledge of quaint New England characters from riding around the country with him in his visits to patients. Among her best books are "Deephaven," "A Marsh Island," "The Country of the Pointed Fir[s]," "A Country Doctor" and an historical novel, her latest work, "The Tory Lover." In the latter she has drawn an excellent portrait of John Paul Jones.
Edited and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.