"I am the first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philoshopher in the known world"
- Lord Timothy Dexter
Lord Timothy Dexter was a
eccentric character born in Malden,
Massachusetts on January 22,
1747 who died in October of
1806 in
Newburyport, Massachusetts. He moved to
Newburyport where he proceded to make his fortune. Never a true "
lord" he took that nickname and expected people to call him by it.
His
fortune was made through lucky investments. The first of these were state securities which were redeemed after the
Revolutionary War far above their original value. He sent warming pans to the
West Indies ( they were used to process molasses),
Bibles and
mittens were also sent there, and coal was sent to
Newcastle ( Luckily for him it arrived during a work stoppage. )
His house (or
palace) as he called it was a large 3 story almost square house and still stands today. What doesn't stand is Dexter's "museum." Forty wood
carvings decorated his lawn and fence. These
carvings were mostly of men Dexter admired such as
George Washington,
John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin,
Napoleon, among others with some animals displayed too. The statues were on tall
pedestals towering over passers-by.
Dexter is remembered for his book "
A Pickle for the Knowing Ones; or Plain Truths in a Homespun Dress." This book is very small but contains his
ramblings about life and
society with the added distinction of containing no
punctuation and following no rules of
spelling. In the reprint edition he added the famous extra page stating,
"
fouder mister printer the Nowing ones complane of my book the fust edition had no stops I put in A Nuf here and thay may peper and solt it as they plese
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Another
quote by
Dexter:
"IME the first Lord in the younited States of A mercary Now of Newburyport it is the voise of the peopel and I cant Help it and so Let it goue Now as I must be Lord there will foller many more Lords pretty soune for it dont hurt A Cat Nor the mouse Nor the son Nor the water Nor the Eate then goue on all is Easey"