Local Legend of Dr. Enoch Dole
Shortly before the Revolutionary War, Eve Cogswell and Dr. Enoch Dole became engaged. When Enoch was called to serve in the War, Eve made Enoch swear an oath before God that “he would surely return to her, if not in body then in spirit form.”
Dr. Enoch Dole was killed during the siege of Boston, the battle of Dorcester Heights on 9 March 1776. His tombstone is in the Old Burying Ground.
According to legend, months later, presumably at the Cogswell house on Beaver Brook Road, Eve was doing chores in the barnyard, and looking up, she saw Enoch walking towards her. When he got close to her she realized it was an apparition and she ran screaming to her parents. Shortly after, Eve sickened and died.
The spirit of Enoch Dole, according to local lore, wanders the fields and meadows searching for Eve. Perhaps he finally found her as his spirit has not been seen since the 1960s.
Like a lot of local legends, this story does not stand up to historical investigation. For one thing, Enoch Dole was married with five children before the Revolution started. For another, the only Eve Cogswell we find wasn’t born until 1785. The generations in the house on Beaver Brook Road don’t fit with an Eve who would have been of marrying age in 1776.
When did this legend first start? Is the story correct but the characters mixed up? Why can’t we have a good romantic ghost story without facts getting in the way?
Thank you thank you for sharing this story!