Grafton Inn

Grafton Inn. Interpretative Center.

"… settled around on the floor … when we all got calmed down and on our stools … Father would tell us stories of things that went on …”, Daisy Turner, speaking of her father Alec

, Alec Turner was a masterful storyteller in the griot tradition of his Yoruba ancestors, and his daughter Daisy followed in his footsteps. In an epic saga spanning over 150 years, she tells of Alec's father's enslavement and his endurance of the dreaded Middle Passage, of Alec's birth into slavery and daring escape to join the Union forces, and of Alec's final journey to Grafton to raise his family with his adored wife Sally, herself a freed slave. When Alec arrived in town in 1873, the Phelps Hotel (now the Grafton Inn) was a center of social life for townspeople as well as a busy host to many notable guests and business travelers., Alec and Sally Turner performed at the hotel to raise money for the Baptist Church. Daisy tells us that they sang "slave songs" and hymns; Darling Nelly Gray, written as an anti-slavery ballad, is one she recalls. Playing music and singing was a large part of the Turner family's life. , [Captions:] , Daisy took care to add each of the sibling's own family stories to the ongoing saga, with Daisy herself adding perhaps the most colorful tales of her life in Grafton and the Boston area., Alec Turner escaped from slavery in Virgina, ending his journey as a Vermont hill farmer here in Grafton. Visit the Turner Hill interpretive Center here in the village on Townshend Road, or scan these codes to learn more. Top right Hear Daisy Turner sing "Daring Nelly Gray", an anti-slavery anthem she recalled hearing her parents sing, Portrait photo and audio courtesy Vermont Folklife Center, other photos courtesy Grafton Historical Soc., sheet music Library of Congress.