The Town of Sweden honored Captain Joseph Roby, a Boston Tea Party participant, at a ceremony held at the High Street Cemetery on July 10, 2023. Roby, who also served in the Revolutionary War, made his way to the Town of Sweden in the early 1800s and is buried in the High Street Cemetery.
Sweden was joined by the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum and Revolution 250, as well as representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution, veterans and a descendent of Roby, also named Joseph Roby, from Philadelphia. Roby’s monument is inscribed with both his Revolutionary War service and his Boston Tea Party participation.
Roby’s name is also inscribed on a plaque on the United Methodist Church (corner of Main Street and Erie Street) honoring Revolutionary War Veterans. That plaque and the church clock were installed by the DAR in 1914.
“Joseph Roby and his fellow protestors were the first American patriots, and in a sense, the first American veterans, before there even was a United States of America,” said Sweden Supervisor Kevin G. Johnson at the ceremony. “They had the courage to put aside their personal safety and their entire futures to engage in an activity that was considered treasonous by the British government.”
“The veterans buried in all of Sweden’s cemeteries have emulated Roby, whether they knew of him or not,” Johnson continued, “putting aside their personal safety and future plans to fight for freedom from tyranny whether here on America’s shores or in support of those across the seas.”
Caroline Noonan, a costumed actor from the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, placed the commemorative marker on Mr. Roby’s grave. The image depicted on the marker is inspired by Nathaniel Currier’s The Destruction of the Tea at Boston Harbor lithograph created in 1846, a popular and often used artistic representation of The Boston Tea Party. The marker will be on display indefinitely.
The 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party falls on December 16, 2023. The Museum’s goal is to place a marker on the grave of every known participant (about 150) prior to the anniversary. Roby’s is the 127th marker placed.
Citizens across the United States are invited to send loose-leaf tea to Boston be thrown into Boston Harbor as part of the 250th Boston Tea Party Anniversary reenactment. Send dried loose-leaf tea (no used tea bags) to: Boston Tea Party 250th Anniversary, Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, 306 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210. Include name, address, e-mail and phone number. An official certificate of participation will be sent to each person donating tea. Deadline to send tea is December 1, 2023.
For more information about the events being planned to commemorate the 250th anniversary, visit http://www.bostonteapartyship.com.
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