Braintree Sch. Fund Committee

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Braintree Sch. Fund Committee

Today

It has been 1820 years since Nathaniel I. Thayer left his property to the Town of Braintree and 6 years since the MDC awarded the Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. $2,000,000.00. That fund has grown to over $2,500,000.00. Out of the income, the BSFC has provided texts books, computer labs, and in 2005-2006 100 new computers and Microsoft Office software licenses for all. In 2007-2008 we are providing a new language lab at the High School. This is much more than we ever thought possible a few short years ago.

July 17, 2002

176 years after Nathaniel I. Thayer left his land to the Town of Braintree under the direction of the Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. Secretary Robert Durand, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, presented a check in the amount of $2,000,000.00 to the Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. taking the building rights to the land on Granite and West Streets. The Town of Braintree still owns the land and the Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. is finally funded and can fulfill its obligation under the will of Nathaniel I. Thayer.

In the words of Nathaniel I. Thayer

''In the name of God. Amen''.

A little history

In 1829 a Braintree land owner, Nathaniel I. Thayer, willed to the Town of Braintree, under the direction of the ''School Fund Committee, Inc.'' all of his real estate.

The Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. was designed by Nathaniel Thayer in 1826 and established by an act of the legislature. Nathaniel Thayer appointed the first seven members of the Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. The Committee chooses its directors , as necessary, for three year terms as specified in its bylaws most recently amended in the year 2000.

The Board of Directors consists of seven members, one of whom shall be the President, one of whom shall be the Vice President, one of whom shall be the Treasurer, and one of whom shall be the Clerk.

We are an educational corporate entity which presently holds a parcel of land near Braintree five corners amounting to something in excess of 19 acres. The founder of the corporation was Nathaniel Thayer who died in 1829 and, in his will, gave voice to his desires for us to handle his assets, as follows, so that ''the yearly income thereof under the direction of the School Fund Committee, Inc. in the Town of Braintree shall be forever appropriated for the support of the public schools of Braintree and for the promotion of learning in them.''

The Will

Last Will of
Nathaniel Thayer

Will Proved Sept 1, 1829

In the name of God. Amen. I, Nathaniel Thayer, of Braintree in the County of Norfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Esquire being of sound disposing mind and memory for which I thank God but well knowing the uncertainty of all human enjoyments, do make, publish and declare my last will and testament to be as follows:

In the first place I recommend my soul to the care of Him who gave it and who alone is able as well as willing to preserve it, and my body I direct to be decently buried. Also I direct that as soon as may be after my decease all my debts justly owing by me and the expense of my interment be paid and discharged by the Executrix of my last will and as to the rest and residue of my worldly estate wherewith it hath pleased a gracious God to help me, I give, devise and bequeath the same as follows: To my beloved wife, Hannah, I give and bequeath forever all my personal estate which shall remain after the payment of my just debts and funeral charges as aforesaid and , Further, I give and devise to the said Hannah all my real estate for and during the term of her natural life; and from and after her decease, I give and devise said real estate to the Town of Braintree aforesaid for the purpose or purposes hereinafter mention, and no other, and it is my will that neither said real estate nor any part thereof shall ever be sold, aliened or conveyed; nor leased or let for a longer term than twenty-one years. And it is also my will that the yearly income thereof (deducting for necessary repairs, taxes and care of said estate) under the direction of the ?“School Fund Committee?” in the Town of Braintree shall be forever appropriated for the support of the public schools thereof and ?“for the promotion of learning?” in them. In this disposing of my estate I have not forgotten the children of my deceased Brothers now living.

Lastly, I constitute and appoint my wife, Hannah, sole Executrix of this my last will and testament and do hereby revoke and annul every other will heretofore by me made. In testimony whereof I the said Nathaniel Thayer have hereunto set my hand and seal this thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.

Signed, sealed, published and declared by said Nathaniel Thayer to be his last will and testament in presence of us who in his presence and at his request and in presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses to the same.

(Signed) Nath. I. Thayer

Signed: Samuel Holbrook
Moses Holbrook

Conservation

This is from the ''Conservation'' article by Gordon Campbell. Click on the link under ''our pages'' to read all of it.

A quote from book ''The Lonesome Gods''
Louis L'Amour 1983

''Nor was I sure I wished it to become a great city(Los Angeles in 1850), for we who are among the first always yield reluctantly to the latecomers, seeing our meadows fade, our trees cut down, our horizons obscured. We who were the firstcomers accepted the dollar prices but bemoaned the loss of beauty, yet what was happening was inevitable, I suppose.''

Thankfully for Braintree we no longer have this worry. The land will remain mostly as it is and the Braintree School Fund Committee, Inc. is finally funded.

The directors are:

Jan Randolph, President

Dave Cushing, Vice President

Stephen Kennedy, Treasurer

Phyllis J. Field, Clerk

Robert Bloom

Gordon Campbell

Anthony Bono