Oliver Wight of Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Oliver Wight was born in Medway, Massachusetts, on September 27, 1765, and died in Sturbridge on October 22, 1837. His parents, David Wight, born August 16, 1733, and Catherine Morse, born March 5, 1737, were both originally from Medfield, Massachusetts, and married on June 19, 1760. They settled just west in Medway immediately after their marriage. Six years later, they erected a house on the great road in that town and opened it for public entertainment. Here they remained until they sold this property in 1773. In that year, they purchased 1000 acres of land in Sturbridge. Approximately 40 miles west, Sturbridge was at that time considered wild wilderness. By 1775, Mr. Wight and his three boys, David Wight 2nd, Oliver, and Alpheus, had cleared enough land to grow grains and grass, and with this move, they became one of the first settlers of this town. 

At the age of 21, Oliver married Harmony Child in Sturbridge on July 5, 1786. They had eleven children and enjoyed a brief period of prosperity. 

Like his brothers David and Alpheus, Oliver acquired property from their father, who held expansive property holdings. In 1789, Oliver and Harmony were thought to have had the housewright Samuel Stetson build their Georgian-style dwelling. This clap-boarded homestead featured a hipped-gable roof, two interior chimneys, and a ballroom on the second story that spans the front of the building. This impressive building is now part of the Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) complex. It is one of only two buildings on the OSV property that stands on its original site and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Here, Oliver also constructed a sizable shop. Oliver was an ambitious cabinetmaker. He is said to have built chairs, tables, chests, bedsteads, and other household furniture. He is recorded as advertising his wares in the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper published in Worcester, MA. An advertisement placed on June 13, 1793, “Respectfully informs the Publick, THAT he carries on the CABINET and CHAIRMAKING BUSINESS in its various branches...” Another sign of their prosperity is the couple’s portraits which are currently located in the collections of The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum at Colonial Williamsburg. These portraits are thought to have been painted by Beardsley Limner. Financial troubles soon followed the Wight family sometime around 1793. Deputy Sheriff James Upham took out an advertisement placed on September 5, 1793, in the Massachusetts Spy. This notice claims that Oliver had absconded and that on the 23rd of that month, He was going to sell “A PRETTY affortment (assortment) of Cabinet Work, Houfehold Furniture, Hard Ware, and many other Articles, too numerous to Mention...” in order to eliminate three hundred and fifty (British) pounds of debt. In 1795, the family was forced to sell the house. Oliver relocated to Providence, Rhode Island, and in April of 1802, the Massachusetts Spy reported that Oliver was to face the court and was bankrupt.