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Ward, History of the Town of Shrewsbury (1847), Family Register p. 227: footnote on Ebenezer Bragg and the burning of Capt. Keyes's house ('his brother, Abiel, aged 17 years, and William Oakes, 16, his apprentices'). The footnote to 'BRAGG, EBENEZER' says that in August 1723 he was building a house for Capt. John Keyes, that on the night of the 7th it was burnt, and that of the six sleeping in it only Mr. Bragg escaped; those who perished were his brother Abiel, aged 17, and William Oakes, 16, his apprentices, and Solomon, John and Stephen, sons of Capt. Keyes. It adds that the town records contain no notice of the event or of any death.
Image · dated 1847 (events 7-8 Aug 1723) · source: Internet Archive (public-domain scan); historyoftownofs00ward_2.
Transcription
Word-for-word transcription (spellings kept; uncertain letters in brackets).
(Footnote only.)
* He was then 24 years of age, a carpenter by trade; and, in August of that year, was building a house for Capt. John Keyes, on the ground where the house of Lucius S. Allen now stands. In the night of the 7th of that month, the house, being nearly finished, was burnt, as was another, standing near it. Of the six persons sleeping in the new house, Mr. Bragg was the only one who escaped from the devouring element. He threw himself out of the chamber window, and luckily came to the ground on his feet. Of those who perished, were his brother, Abiel, aged 17 years, and William Oakes, 16, his apprentices; Solomon, of 20, John of 13, and Stephen, of 6 years of age, sons of Capt. Keyes. It is remarkable that the town records do not contain any notice of this event, nor the death of any one of those who perished in that terrible conflagration.
How it is shown: Complete page, rendered from the Internet Archive PDF (BPL copy); no crop, no retouch, no search highlight; the library stamp is on the original.
Keep in mind: Confirmed on the page images of three copies (BPL, NYPL, LoC): 'William Oakes, 16'. Ward's own 1826 text and Whitney give 18; Ward 1847 does not say where 16 comes from, so 16 is an unsourced variant. The footnote says 'the night of the 7th'. The page carries a library ownership stamp. The identification of the apprentice as Nathaniel Oak(e)'s son William is Hudson's (1862, p. 426), Likely.