Author brings Revolutionary War story to Newfield Public Library

Jean O’Connor has always loved history, and she has taught both history and English at the high-school level for more than 30 years in Montana. During her research on the American Revolution, she discovered James Lovell.

Lovell was a teacher, patriot and eventual member of the Second Continental Congress, yet very little has been written about him.

O’Connor lives in Montana, but while on sabbatical, she traveled east to visit the Massachusetts Historical Society, Harvard Archives, Harvard University, the Library of Congress and Cornell University. She also visited Canada to peruse historical sources, such as the Nova Scotia Archives, and get a sense of who Lovell was.

  The result is “The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution,” a work of historical fiction that was published in 2021 by Knox Press. 

As part of its author visit series, Newfield Public Library (NPL) will host a talk with O’Connor about her work. She will give a presentation at 11:30 a.m. March 11.

O’Connor has local ties. Her father, Lewis Coffin, lived in Newfield, across the street from the covered bridge, while he was a reverend for churches in Candor and Speedsville. Her sister still lives in the area.

While traveling for research on the book, O’Connor visited her father in Newfield and went to Cornell University to do research on Revolutionary War events and Lovell’s ties to them.

The novel explores how Lovell and his father both taught at Boston Latin School, which is the oldest public school in the country. During the revolution, James Lovell was a patriot and his father, Master John Lovell, was a loyalist.

“They argue and yet they have to get along and teach together. It’s a story that’s never been told, but it is really interesting,” O’Connor said. “This story stuck with me because I was wondering what it would be like to be teaching at the Boston Latin School when the revolution was brewing and have the teachers argue. How would they be able to argue and still get along? That’s what got me, and I thought that it would be a cool story to write about.”

Even though her book is fiction, O’Connor said that there is a lot of history in it. In the novel, James is arrested for spying on the British army after the Battle of Bunker Hill, which really happened.

O’Connor said that in the novel she has James on the scene for public displays of brutality for British tax-collectors and the tarring-and-feathering of British loyalists, things that happened in Boston as the revolution developed from an idea to an event.

“I put James at the scene of some of the major events of the revolution, and not in an odd way,” she said. “Most of the entire story is true. After Bunker Hill he is arrested for spying, that is a fact. He is then placed in the Boston Stone Jail, which is a horrible place, for nine months.”

O’Connor knows that James was in prison because many of his cellmates kept journals from the 1700s that are still intact. She said sources like that are what made her book possible.

O’Connor graduated from Montana State University with a bachelor’s degree and received her master’s from Montana State University-Northern.

Her website, www.jeanoconnor.com, features additional suggestions for research, as well as slide shows with information about the role of newspapers during the Revolutionary War and the satire of the era.

NPL is located at 198 Main St. A visiting author appears at the library for a presentation once a month.

Newfield Notes appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Story ideas can be sent to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

Newfield Lions Club hosts St. Patrick’s Day dinner and silent auction

On March 11 from 5-7 p.m., the Newfield Lions Club will host a dinner and silent auction to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the Newfield Fire Hall, located at 77 Main St.

The dinner includes corned beef, ham, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rolls, beverages and a dessert.

The price for the meal is $15 for adults, $13 for residents 65 and older and $6 for children 10 and younger.

A look at upcoming events at the library

The Newfield Public Library (NPL) will have a busy week, with four events happening inside the building. 

On Thursday, NPL will host Legal and Financial Planning for Long Term Care at 10:30 a.m. Attorney Marcie A. Finley will present on the various types of long-term care and means of payment, including Medicaid eligibility. Powers of attorney and guardianship will also be discussed.

Thursday is also Lego Night, where children can build with Legos in the library. The event goes from 6-7 p.m. Legos and refreshments will be provided.

On Saturday at 10 a.m., the library will host Yoga for Beginners with Phyllis KuanYin Chi on the second floor. This gentle weekly class is suitable for beginners and those with mobility issues. Please bring a mat or blanket. The class is free, but there’s a suggested donation of $10.

On Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Johnson Museum will host Birds of a Feather, which looks at using printmaking techniques to create your own bird masterpiece.