I’ll summarize the story, but note that it is an oral one, and I’m still in the process of trying to find a literary version, if it exists.

Setting: Early 1800s, Buxton Massachusetts. A blizzard has snowed multiple townsfolk in the Old Buxton Inn, described in the story as a tavern. They are drinking and playing games, expecting to be snowed in until morning. There is a knock at the door late into the night. The bartender opens the door, and is shocked to see a man standing there, in clothing not of the period, reminiscent of a late 1700s ship captain. The man enters the tavern, and denies any drink, but requests tobacco. To pay for the tobacco, he plays cards with the townspeople, apparently winning a fair deal of money. They have a great time with the man, who is good natured and stoic. In the morning, the snowstorm is over. The lady who owns the tavern enters from the upstairs and requests that the guests be on their way, since the storm has cleared. Then she notices the man, and marvels at his resemblance to the man drawn on the sign outside the Inn. “You look incredibly like Charles Buxton” she says, to which the man smiles and says “I do not know this man. Perhaps I can meet him so I may see his likeness?” She replies that he cannot meet him, as Charles Buxton has been dead for nearly a century. Instead, she leads the entourage outside, where the face of Charles Buxton is shown on the sign. The people all marvel at the sign, and how uncanny the resemblance is to the man next to them. However, after gaping at the sign, they turn to see that the man beside them has disappeared.

That’s the entire story, with every detail I could muster.