CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE ANNA ALLEN WRIGHT LIBRARY ENDOWMENT FUND The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924083523062 A History of the Church in Narragansett II A History of THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN NARRAGANSETT Rhode Island Including a History of Other Episcopal Churches in the State By WILKINS UPDIKE With a TTa.nscr'\pt of the NarraganseUTarish 1{egisfer,from 1 7 1 8 to 1 774; an Appendix containing a Reprint of a Work entitled (America T>isse5led by the Rev'* James MacSpar- ran, d.d., and Copies of Other Old Papers; together with Notes containing Genealogical and Biographical Accounts of Distinguished Men, Families, i£c. Second Edition, newly edited, enlarged, and corrected by the Reverend Daniel Goodwin, ph.d., d.d. sometime ReSorofSt. TauVs Church, Wickford, Narragansett Illustrated by fifty Portraits after old Paintings; together with six Views of Historic Localities, and several Facsimiles Boston: Printed and Published by D. B. Updike The Merrymount Press 1907 Contents: Volume II Page CHAPTER XIII. A.D. 1760 The Arrival of the Rev. Samuel Fayerwcather in Narragansett. Correspondence between the Venerable Society and the Ves- try of St. Paul's Church. Dr. MacSparran's Disposition of his Estate and the Purchase of his Farm for a Glebe. The Willet Family. Matthew Robinson. Lodowick Updike I CHAPTER XIV. A.D. 1761 to a.d. 1765 Judge Carder Hazard. Martin Reed. Daniel Updike, of East Greenwich. Governor Bernard. The Rev. Peter Bours. The Rev. Joshua Wingate Weeks. The Wanton Family. The Rev. Thomas Winthrop Coit, D.D. 17 CHAPTER XV. A.D. 1765 to a.d. 1768 Bishop Edward Bass, D.D. Dr. Joshua Babcock, of Westerly. Colonel Harry Babcock. Rev. Henry Caner, D.D. Major Ben- jamin Brenton. The Rev. James Greaton. The Rev. John Lyons. Governor George Brown j.6 CHAPTER XVI. A.D. 1769-1770 The Tweedy Family. The Hazard Family. John Gardiner, of Boston Neck. John Case, of Tower Hill. "George Rome, Esq., a Gentelman of Estate" 63 CHAPTER XVII. A.D. 1770 to a.d. 1774 The Honourable James Honyman. The Rev. Marmaduke Browne. Christening "Gossips." Colonel Whailey, the Regi- cide. Colonel John Gardiner. Bishop Parker 92 CHAPTER XVIII. A.D. 1774 to a.d. 1840 The Close of Mr. Fayerweather's Ministry in Narragansett. His Death and Burial. His Will and the Disposition of his Books and Piftures. The Rev. William Smith. The Rev. Wal- ter C. Gardiner. The Rev. Joseph Warren. The Removal of St. Paul's Church to Wickford. The Later Reftors of the Parish 109 CHAPTER XIX. Warwick Church, a. d. 1726 to a. d. 1764 The Lippitt Family. The Stafford Family. Richard Greene. Thomas Wickes. Colonel Christopher Greene 117 CHAPTER XX. Other Churches in the Nai(ragansett Country Tower Hill Church. Westerly Church. East Greenwich Church. Kingston Church. Wakefield Church 144 iv Table of Contents CHAPTER XXI. Trinity Church, Newport Memoir of Trinity Church, Newport, from 1698 to 18 10. Compiled from the Records, by Henry Bull, Esq. With Notes by the Reftor, Rev. Francis Vinton [1840-4.4] 151 CHAPTER XXII. Saint John's (King's) Church, Provi- dence Saint John's Church, Providence, Rhode Island, as gathered from the Records, by William T. Dorrance, Esq. 1 79 CHAPTER XXIII. Saint Michael's Church, Bristol Saint Michael's Church, Bristol: A Sketch Contributed [by a Writer unknown] to the Christian Witness in 1840 215 NOTES BY THE EDITOR (Numbers 535 to 910) 237 RECORDS OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, NARRAGAN- SETT(i7i8-i774) 461 List of Illustrations Volume II I. PORTRAITS Facing page REV. SAMUEL FAYERWEATHER I From a portrait by an unknown painter^ in the possession of Miss Elizabeth Harris, Cambridge. REV. SAMUEL FAYERWEATHER 6 From a painting by John Singleton Copley, in the posses- sion of Miss Mary Andros Eddy and Miss Isabel Eddy, of Providence. Formerly the property of Wilkins Updike. REV. PETER BOURS 28 From the painting by f. Blackburn, now in the possession of Harvard University. JOSEPH WANTON, lastRo yal Governor of Rhode Island 36 From the painting attributed to Thotnas Hudson in the Cabinet of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Provi- dence. Formerly the property of the Destailleur family. MRS. JOSEPH WANTON [Called "Lady Wanton"] (Mary Winthrop) 44 From the painting by Robert Feke, in the Redwood Li- brary, Newport. ADAM BABCOCK 52 From the portrait by fohn Singleton Copley, in the posses- sion of Rev. E. A. Blake, D.D., Boston. MRS. ADAM BABCOCK (Abigail Smith) 58 From the portrait by fohn Singleton Copley, in the posses- sion of Rev. E. A. Blake, D.D., Boston. ABRAHAM REDWOOD (1709-1788) 64 From a painting in the Redwood Library, Newport. MRS. ABIGAIL (HAZARD) WATSON, Daughter of Tho- mas and Mary (Bowdoin) Hazard 72 From a drawing in water-colours, formerly belonging to vi Illustrations Mrs. Wilkins Updike., now in the possession of her grand- daughter., Miss Elizabeth Lyman Randolph., Kingston., Rhode Island. ABRAHAM REDWOOD, the Younger 96 From the portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence^ in the Red- wood Library., Newport. GEORGE BERKELEY, D.D., Dean of Derrv, afterwards Bishop OF Cloyne 15° From a photograph, by Emery Walker., of the portrait by Smibert in the National Portrait Gallery., London. THE BERKELEY FAMILY 171 (From left to right the persons represented are said to be: Mr. Smibert, Mr. James, Mr. Dalton, Mrs. Han- cock, Mr. Moffat, Mrs. Berkeley, a Child [Lucia Berkeley?], Dean Berkeley.) From the painting by fohn Smibert., in the possession of Yale University., New Haven. REV. ARTHUR BROWNE 180 From the piilure by fohn Singleton Copley., belonging to the General Theological Library, Boston. JOHN INNES CLARK 196 From the portrait painted by John Trumbull, in the posses- sion of Colonel DeLancey Kane, Newport. DR. WILLIAM HUNTER 256 From the painting by Cosmo Alexander, in the possession of Mrs. Thomas R. Hunter, Newport. WILLIAM ELLERY, Signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence FROM Rhode Island 266 From the portrait by fohn Trumbull, in the possession of Mrs. Thacher Loring, Boston. MRS. WILLIAM HUNTER (Deborah Malbone) and her Daughter, afterwards Madame de Cadignan 278 From the piBure by Cosmo Alexander, in the possession of Mrs. Thomas R. Hunter, Newport. MRS. JOSHUA BABCOCK (Hannah Stanton) 288 From the painting by J. Blackburn, belonging to Rev. S. S. Mathews, D.D., Boston. Illustrations vu THOMAS CRANSTON 300 From the portrait by John Singleton Copley^ in the posses- sion of Air. Wilkins U. Hidden^ of Providence. Formerly belonging to fVilkins Updike. ELISHA R. POTTER 310 From a painting in the possession of Mr. William H. Pot- ter., Kingston., Rhode Island. PETER HARRISON 326 From the portrait by John Smibert, belonging to Mr. Ship- ley Jones f New Tork. MRS. PETER HARRISON (Elizabeth Pelham) 338 From the portrait by John Smibert., belonging to Mr. Ship- ley Jones., New Tork. EDWARD GREENE MALBONE 350 From the portrait by Himself in the Corcoran Gallery of Art., Washington. HENRY MARCHANT 424 From the cabinet picture on copper by John Singleton Cop- ley, belonging to Mr. Frank E. Mar chant, of West Kings- ton, Rhode Island. MRS. HENRY MARCHANT (Rebecca Cooke) 442 From the cabinet piiiure on copper by John Singleton Cop- ley, belonging to Mr. Frank E. Marchant, of West Kings- ton, Rhode Island. II. VIEWS AND FACSIMILES THE MacSPARRAN MONUMENT 114 Monument to the Reverend James MacSparran and the Reverend Samuel Fayerweather, ereSted on the first site of St. Paul's Church, Narragansett. From a photograph by Mr. Ernest M. Astle. THE KING RICHARD GREENE HOUSE 130 Formerly belonging to Mrs. Hope Ives. Afterward the resi- dence of the late Mr. Moses Brown Ives Goddard. From a photograph by Mr. Ernest M. Astle. viii Illustrations PLAN OF KING'S (ST. JOHN'S) CHURCH, PROVIDENCE 2 14 Made by ^ohn Chace^ previous to 1 792. OLD ST. PAUL'S [THE NARRAGANSETT CHURCH] 458 Wickford, Rhode Island, a.d. 1907. From a photograph by Mr. Ernest M. Astle. A History of the Church in Narragansett ^/tr-^'., /^rr/j^rf/^f ,_ 'Vy^^/>^^'y^^y^q^y(^^C'^;3/iy chapter Fifteenth 53 gency demanded. I was at his house when he returned — lately the commander of thousands, now the solitary traveller on horseback, crestfallen. I of course did not stay to witness the moving scene which must have fol- lowed in such a family, at such a time. "The Doftor's youngest son, Luke,'^°was an Epis- copal clergyman at Philipse Manor on the Hudson, where he died, leaving a wife and several children. Hawkins, in his Historical Notices of the Missions of the Church of England, says, 'Another vidim to ill-treat- ment already mentioned, was the Rev. Luke Babcock, Missionary at Philipsburg. He was seized by the in- surgents, his papers were examined, and because he answered affirmatively to the question whether he con- sidered himself bound by his oath of allegiance to the King, he was deemed an enemy to the liberties of America, and ordered to be kept in custody. After four months' confinement his health gave way, and he was then dismissed with a written order to remove within the lines of the King's army . " He got home," says Mr. Seabury, "with difficulty, in a raging fever and deliri- ous, and there died, extremely regretted. Indeed, I knew not a more excellent man, and I fear his loss, especially in that mission, will scarcely be made up." ' " One of Dr. Babcock's daughters became the wife of Gilbert Saltonstall,*'* merchant in New York, a most worthy and respedtable man, with whom I was well acquainted. Dr. Babcock's excellent wife died there whilst on a visit. His second son, Adam, was long a distinguished merchant in Boston, where he died not many years since. His eldest son, Colonel Harry Babcock,"' was a brilliant and extraordinary man — formed by nature and education to be the flow- er of his family, and an ornament to the country which gave him birth. His biography — written by one who had the requisite documents, talents, and leisure — would form a curious, interesting, and instructive 54 The Narragansett Church work. But I have already extended my notes and re- miniscences to an unreasonable length, and must re- turn to take leave of his father. "Dodor Babcock and his contemporary, the ven- erable Samuel Ward,'^' were long the two luminaries of their town ; but their affedion for each other, it ap- peared, was not quite as mutual as that of the twins of Leda. There was one point of resemblance, how- ever, between them and these elder luminaries — they agreed never to be above the horizon at the same time. In short, in local politics they were rivals. But Gov- ernor Ward had died at Philadelphia in 1776, whilst in attendance there as one of our first members of Con- gress, since which the Dodtor was '■Like the last rose of summer, left blooming alone.'' A town meeting could not be organized until he ar- rived to take his seat as Moderator. "Such was the consideration in which he was held when I knew him. Judge of my feelings and reflec- tions when, after the lapse of a little more than a half a century, upon a visit to Westerly, a few years since, I found the places which knew him, did indeed know him no more — that not one of his numerous de- scendantswas living in the town — thatlcouldscarcely meet a person, who had even a traditional knowledge that such a man ever existed, and but one who could tell me where he was buried. Three miles below the village, in a lonely and, I fear, unfrequented spot, I with some difficulty found his grave. The inscription on the slab which covered his ashes was so injured by time or the weather as to be hardly legible, but, by prostrating myself on it (which I did most devoutly), I was able to decipher that he died in the spring of the year 1783 — living long enough, I trust, to en- joy the consummation of his public wishes, in the ac- knowledgement of freedom and independence to his Chapter Fifteenth 55 country, and to address his Maker in the consecrated words, 'Now lettest thou thy servant depart in -peace.' " Mr. B. Reynolds has transmitted the following in- scription from the slab covering the grave of Dr. Babcock: THIS STONE COVERS THE MORTAL PART OF THE HON. JOSHUA BABCOCK, ESQ^ OF WESTERLY, WHO DIED APRIL I, 1 78 J, AGED 75 YEARS. HIS ABILITY AND INTEGRITY AS A STATESMAN, IN THE DISCHARGE OF SEVERAL IMPORTANT OFFICES OF TRUST, THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF HIS COUNTRY TESTIFY, AS DO ALL WHO KNEW HIM, THAT AS A PHYSICIAN, HE WAS EMINENT IN HIS PROFESSION; AS A CHRISTIAN EXEMPLARY ; AS A GENTLEMAN, POLITE AND ENGAGING ; AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER. A MASTER AND FRIEND, WORTHY OF IMITATION. The late Major Paul Babcock, the son of the late Colonel Harry Babcock, has furnished the following memoir, which is cheerfully inserted : "Dodor Joshua Babcock was born in Westerly, May 17, 1707. He was graduated at Yale College, and soon after commenced the study of physic and surgery in Boston, and afterwards went to England to complete his education. He settled in his native town, where he soon obtained an extensive praftice. He soon after opened one of the most extensive re- tail country stores between New York and Boston. 56 The Narragansett Church He was likewise much in public business. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, he pro- nounced the sentence of death on the notorious Thomas Carter, for the murder of Jackson.^"" Dr. Babcock had two half brothers and three sons, who were all graduated at Yale College. His eldest son, the late Colonel Harry Babcock, was born in 1736: he entered college at twelve years, and took his de- gree at sixteen, at the head, it is said, of his class. At the age of eighteen, he obtained from the Legislature of this State a charter for an independent company of infantry, and was appointed captain. At the age of nineteen, he was appointed captain of a company in one of the regiments raised by this Colony, marched to Albany and from thence to Lake George, and joined the army in the campaign of 1756, to dislodge the French from Canada. Sir William Johnson, Com- mander-in-chief, detached four hundred men under Colonel Williams, to reconnoitre. Captain Babcock, with sixty men, constituted a part of the corps. They were attacked by the enemy, commanded by Baron D'Eskau, and defeated. Colonel Williams was killed and Captain Babcock had nineteen men killed and wounded. Baron D'Eskau was taken prisoner. " Next year, at twenty. Captain Babcock was promo- ted to Major; at twenty-one, to Lieutenant-Colonel; at twenty-two, he commanded the Rhode Island regi- ment, consisting of one thousand men; and in July, 1 75 8, he marched five hundred of his men with the Brit- ish army against Ticonderoga. He had one hundred and ten men killed and wounded, and was wounded himself by a musket ball in the knee. In this attack the British and Provincial army had one thousand nine hundred and forty men killed and wounded. The next year he helped to take the Fort under General Am- herst, without the loss of a man. He had then served in five campaigns in the old French war with great Chapter Fifteenth 57 reputation. About the age of twenty-five. Colonel Babcock spent a year in England, chiefly in London, where he was treated with as great respedt by the no- bility and gentry as any other American of his time. Soon after his return, he married and settled in Ston- ington, Connefticut, and began the pradtice of the law. When the Revolution commenced, he was a staunch whig; and in 1776 he was appointed by the Legisla- ture commander of the forces at Newport. While com- mander at this time, he had but one opportunity to dis- play his courage. On the open beach, with an eighteen pounder, he drove off the British man-of-war Rose by his own firing. He had pradtised as an engineer at Woolwich when in England. He was so severely af- fe6ted by a fit of sickness ^''' in the winter following, that he never entirely recovered. Colonel Babcock was a man of fine person, accomplished manners,com- manding voice and an eloquent speaker." The late Honourable Elisha R. Potter^'' said that he heard Colo- nel Babcock in an address before the Legislature on an application for liberty to raise a regiment in behalf of this State to assist the King of France at the commence- ment of the Revolution, as that monarch had been the friend of America, when he drew tears from the eyes of themembers, and that he never heard a more power- ful or eloquent appeal ; but the application failed. Major Paul Babcock who furnished the above, a son of Colonel Harry, was in middle life a man of fine form, great personal comeliness, and of accom- plished manner. He died a few years since. Mrs. Wil- liam Palmer, of New York,*''^ a daughter of Major Paul, and a granddaughter of Colonel Harry, spent the warm season at the village of Stonington, a few years since. She was a handsome and accomplished lady and impressed you, as she moved, that the blood of a distinguished ancestry ran in her veins. The family mansion, though dilapidated, is still 58 The Narragansett Church standing [1845] on the old country road one mile east of Pawcatuck village, in Westerly. It is situated on high land, overlooks the village and Pawcatuck River and commands an extensive prospeft. The tall box standing on each side of the path leading to the house — the massy gate — the once expensive fences and enclosures, now in ruins-^and other evidences of departed grandeur — impress the beholder that this was one of the plantations of the old aristocracy of Narragansett. There were, in the Babcock family , portraits of most of its members. The following letter of June 16, 1 846, from Giles Babcock, a great-grandson of Dr. Joshua Babcock, gives a history of some of them : "The por- trait of Colonel Harry (now in the family of Mr. Giles Ward, where my mother, the widow of Major Paul Babcock, recently deceased), is full length, or rather three-fourths, say to the knees — is taken in a court dress, with small sword, holding his chapeau in one hand. He must have been about twenty years of age; and was, I believe,at the time, a captain in the army. It was painted either in Boston or London, most pro- bably the latter. It bears the artist's mark — 1756, by J. Blackburn. It is a very handsome and striking pic- ture — even now the colouring is scarcely faded. It was always considered a good likeness. There is also a bust portrait of him, taken in after life; also one of the Rev. Luke Babcock; 2*° but these were given away by my father some years before his death. " Of the other members of the Doftor Babcock fa- mily I know but little; my father's memory was always stored with anecdotes and reminiscences of his family and, for a long period, there were in our family letters and papers of my grandfather and great-grandfather, from which, if we had them now, there might be much interesting matter culled, but they have become scat- tered and lost, and with my father have died many ■ 1 H^ h^H B 1 1 ^H ^M 1 fa^' i ^^^^^^^^^^B ^P f\ s ^~- a ^S g ''V ft. ^ ^ .a^^^m i ■ Chapter Fifteenth 59 fads and particulars of his family that his children, I regret to say, have no records of," "April ist, [1766] Major Benjamin Brenton Died, and Three Days after (which was the 4th of April,) he was Buried on his own Farm. The Burial Service was Performed By the Rev. Mr, Fayerweather, at the Major's Desire, Who in his Sickness was Visited by Mr. Fayerweather and Prayed With." Major Brenton*"" was a great-grandson of Governor Brenton. Governor Brenton was a large landed pro- prietor in the Colony. Jahleel, the eldest son of the Governor, inherited most of his father's estate, and also owned a large estate in Narragansett. He was the first colledlor of Boston; afterwards the Colony of Rhode Island appointed him her agent in England, and continued the appointment several years. He was then appointed, by the King, Surveyor-General of the customs for the Colonies. He died at Newport, in 1732, without issue. "June 4"" [1766] Mr. Fayerweather attended the Convention of the Episcopal Clergy and the Rev"* Do6lor Caner ^'^^ Preached in Kings Chappel Boston from these words ' Follow me.' Sunday after Mr. F. Preached for the Doftor and Bap- tized a Child in Kings Chappel which was Re- gistered in their Church Book." "Nov. 2, 1766. Mr. Fayerweather preached in Christ Church, Cambridge, and the two Sun- days succeeding, and the third at Christ Church, Boston, for the Rev. Mr. Greaton."'« "June, 1767. The two last Sundays succeeding in this month, the Rev. Mr. Lyons*"** and Mr. 6o The Narragansett Church Fayerweather exchanged; he preached in St. Paul's, and Mr. F. in the Church of Taunton, in the Province of Massachusetts." The Rev. Mr. N. T. Bent,'''^ Reftor of St. Thomas's Church, Taunton, in a historical discourse delivered on Easter Day, 1844, says: "The first resident min- ister here appears to have been the Rev. John Lyon, who at the outset holds this claim upon our gratitude, that he left a fair and apparently a complete record of his official afts. Others must answer for its mutilation. We are also indebted to some other hand for an earlier record, of baptisms especially, of which twenty-one are recorded from November 30, 1755, to April 14, 1764. Mr. Lyon's first baptism was on February 6, 1765, from about which time — perhaps a few months earlier — his ministry here commenced. In April of that year, we find the parish agreeing with Mr. Lyon as their minister, for a salary of twenty pounds annually, as long as he should continue with them; this proba- bly in addition to the use of the glebe and a stipend from the Society in England. And, what may be men- tioned to their praise, we find the statement of the wardens, that in March, 1766, before the expiration of his first year, they had settled with Mr. Lyon, and paid him his salary, 'to his good acceptance' — an ex- ample of promptness, we venture to say, which few parishes in New England have more uniformly imi- tated than this. "The number of communicants in the church in 1764 was twelve, twenty were added in 1765. This made the number thirty-two. In the same year, there were /wra/fy-j-^'uew baptisms of children and adults. Tra- dition speaks of Mr. Lyon as a most estimable man and exemplary minister of Christ. He seems to have been watchful over the lambs of his flock. The num- ber of children under catechetical instrudion in 1765 chapter Fifteenth 6i was sixteen. Confirmations in the absence of a bishop could not be administered. It appears, also, that Mr. Lyon was not regardless of the interests of the com- munity in the matter of sobriety and good morals. We sometimes accuse the ministry of that period of in- difference to existing vices. Mr. Lyon, it appears from the record, distributed at one time twenty copies of a book or tradt entitled. Admonition to the Drinkers of Spirituous Liquors — one evidence, at least, of a min- ister's labouring to make men temperate, and that too in his own appointed sphere, eighty years ago. Who shall say that such labours were in vain, however much they left to be done by those who shall come after.? The loss of records forbids me to say how long Mr. Lyon's ministry continued. He left some time before the Revolution, it is believed, and went to Virginia, where he died." "April the 24* [1768] Immediately after Di- vine Service Mr. Fayerweather Proceeded for home, and went With all Speed from thence To Point Judith and married George Browne,*''^ to Miss Hannah Robinson, at her father William Robinson's,^"' in Presence of Many." George Brown was a son of Robert and grandson of William Brown. The family emigrated from Glas- gow, in Scotland, and settled in South Kingstown. His uncle, Thomas Brown, devised him a large estate, in addition to the estate inherited from his father. Wil- liam Brown, his grandfather, married a sister of Gov- ernor Robinson. Governor Brown's wife was a daugh- ter of William Robinson and granddaughter of Gov- ernor Robinson. Mr. Brown and his wife were first and second cousins. Governor Brown was, for many years, a representative in the General Assembly; in 1796 he was eleded by the Legislature second Justice on the 62 The Narragansett Church bench of the Supreme Court of the State, and held the office until 1799, when he was eledled by the people Lieutenant-Governor of the State, over Lieutenant- Governor Samuel J. Potter,'^° after a severe and close canvass. This vote drew the lines in this State between the two great political parties of the country — the Fed- eralists under Mr. Adams, and the Democrats under Mr. Jefferson. Governor Potter, the Republican — now styled Democratic — candidate, succeeded over Gov- ernor Brown in 1800; and, in 1801, this State became Republican, and continued so until the war of 1812. Governor Brown was a courteous and amiable gen- tleman, an exemplary communicant of the Episcopal Church, and a liberal contributor to its support. He sustained an irreproachable charadler through life, and died January 20, 1836, in the ninety-first year of his age, and was buried in the church-yard at Tower Hill. He left nine children. Chapter XVI A.D. 1769-I770 'The Tweedy Family. The Hazard Family. John Gardiner, of Boston Neck. John Case, of Tower Hill. "George Rome, Esq., a Gentleman (f Estate." JULY 28'"' [1769] On Friday Evening Mr. Fayerweather Married his Brother In Law George Hazard Esq To Miss Jane Tweedy^'' at the Parsonage house Narragansett After 3 Dis- tinct Publications In the Church of Newport." The Hazards are a numerous family — the most so in Narragansett, if not in the State. Watson, in the Historic ^ales of Olden Time, says, "Mrs. Maria Haz- ard,^'^ of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and mo- ther of the Governor, died in 1739, at the age of one hundred years and could count up five hundred chil- dren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great- great-grandchildren — two hundred and five of them being then alive. A granddaughter of hers had already been a grandmother fifteen years! Probably this in- stance of Rhode Island fruitfulness may match against the world." They have descended from Thomas Hazard,*" who emigrated from Wales about the year 1639, to the Jerseys, and from thence to Rhode Island, and settled in Portsmouth in 1640. His son, Robert,*^'' at that time about four years old, came with him. Robert was the only son that came over with him, as far as can be as- certained. The eldest son of Robert was Thomas Haz- ard,'**°whodiedin 1746, aged eighty-six. His sons were: Robert, Thomas, Stephen, Jeremiah, George, Ben- jamin, and Jonathan. From these sons, a numerous is- sue has descended, embracingmany distinguished men. 64 The Narragansett Church George Hazard/" mentioned above in the Record, was a son of George, who was Deputy-Governorof the Colony'*^ in the years 1734-5-6-7-8, and great-grand- son of the first settler. He lived and died in South Kingstown. George, the younger, early settled in New- port as a merchant, and was eleded a representative to the General Assembly from that town for many years. He was the only Mayor of Newport under the first city charter, and held other honourable and re- sponsible offices in the State. He died at Newport aged seventy-three years. The following is extracted from the Newport Mercury : "Died in this town on Friday, August 1 1, 1797, George Hazard, Esquire, for many years a respe6table merchant; for upwards of thirty years a representative from this town in the Legisla- ture; for twelve years Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for this County ; a member of the Con- vention which adopted the Constitution of the United States; and formerly Mayor of the city of Newport." He was baptized in the church at Newport, in 1750. Edward Hazard,"^ eldest son of Mayor George Hazard, married Sarah Cranston, a daughter of the Honourable Thomas Cranston,'''' a grandson of Gov- ernor Samuel Cranston, in May, 1770, and settled in South Kingstown on a farm given him by his fa- ther. (The Honourable Thomas Cranston and Abra- ham Redwood, the founder of the Redwood Library, married sisters.*'^ Three full-length portraits of Mr. Cranston, his wife, and daughter,^" p^jnted by Copley, are hanging in my house at Kingston.) Thomas Cran- ston Hazard,'^' only son and child of Edward, grad- uated from Rhode Island College, now Brown Univer- sity, in 1792, and is now [1846] living at Voluntown, Connefticut. [He died in 1850.] Nathaniel Hazard,'^^' fourth son of Mayor George, graduated from Rhode Island College in 1792. He was a representative in the General Assembly for sev- r//<^r^i';i • yh'^y//:ri^ /'/ ■ik?^i^ chapter Sixteenth 73 and one of the most efficient leaders of the Paper Money party, in 1786, and their ablest debater in the General Assembly. He beat down the opposition raised by the Hard Money or mercantile party. He feelingly depidted the lowering distress of the times produced by the avaricious course of the mercantile party. He represented that, prompted by exorbitant profits, they had shipped to England, our late enemy, all the remaining specie that could be obtained, to sup- ply the country with fabrics which the war had ex- hausted; that the patriotism of the mercantile party was swallowed up by the lust of profit, that the in- terest of money by these selfish and avaricious spec- ulations had risen to twenty per cent, per annum, and, in some cases, to four per cent, per month ; and that the paper money emission was the only measure of state policy to prevent civil commotion. He argued, like- wise, in favour of the safety of the emission; that it was guaranteed by land security ; that it was to be loaned on bond and mortgage of twice the value of the amount borrowed, to be estimated by a committee under oath ; that it was an emission widely different from that of the states, being founded on real estate; that, as long as the real estate remained, the money must retain its value, no bank being more secure; that the public were alarmed without reason ; and that the opposition were governed by avarice and prejudice. Mr. Hazard was the leader of the same party un- der the name of the Anti-Federalists, and a fiery op- ponent of the adoption of the Federal Constitution. As a delegate to the Convention assembled at South Kingstown, in March, 1790, to take into considera- tion the adoption of that instrument, he successfully resisted the measure, and, upon an informal vote, it was ascertained that there was a majority of seventeen against its adoption. Upon this event, the popular party chaired Mr. Hazard, their leader. The friends 74 The Narragansett Church of the Constitution, however, obtained an adjourn- ment to meet at Newport in the May following. In the meantime, all the influence and wealth of the State were brought to bear upon the members of the Convention, and whether Mr. Hazard was adlually influenced by other means than convid:ion cannot be ascertained, but his opposition became neutralized, and the Constitution was adopted by a bare majority of one 5*^ (some say two), but the original paper upon which the yeas and nays were minuted gives the ma- jority of only one. The defeftion of Mr. Hazard, upon a question of this magnitude, and in relation to which his party confided in his integrity, shook the confi- dence of the public and his party, and he fell in popu- lar estimation, and never regained his former elevated position. He was subsequently a representative in the General Assembly, but his influence was so greatly impaired by this defeftion in the Convention, that he never could reestablish himself in the good opinion of his party or the people. Mr. Hazard was well-formed, sturdy in body and mind, with a fine phrenological development of head. He was a natural orator, with a ready command of language, subtle and ingenious in debate. He suc- cessfully contended against Marchant,^'' Bradford,^^' and Welcome Arnold,*^*^ the debaters of the House at that period. He was, for a long time, the idol of the country interest, manager of the State, leader of the Legislature, in fa<5t, the political didtator in Rhode Is- land; but his course in the Constitutional Convention was the cause of his political ruin. It was a Wolsey's fall, to rise no more.'^"The late Honourable Elisha R. Potter,'^:'^ and the late Honourable Benjamin Haz- ard,"'' who knew Mr. Hazard in the zenith of his political influence, always spoke of him as a man of great natural power and sagacity. He removed to New York in the latter part of his life, purchased a valu- Chapter Sixteenth 75 able estate, and settled his children there. He occa- sionally visited Rhode Island and died at an advanced age. Jeffrey Hazard,^'* of Exeter, was a descendant from Thomas, the common ancestor, in the sixth degree. He was for many years representative in the General Assembly, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, Judge of the Supreme Court and Lieutenant- Governor of the State. Three of the Hazard family ^^' have been Lieutenant-Governors of Rhode Island. The late Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry*'' was a descendant of Thomas Hazard, the first settler, in the seventh degree. Christopher Raymond, father of the Commodore, was a son of Judge Freeman Perry, who married Mercy, a daughter of Oliver Hazard,'^" of South Kingstown. The Commodore was named after his maternal great-grandfather, Oliver Hazard. " [J"ly] 7*^ [^77°] On Saturday Died John Gar- diner Esq of Boston Neck, And on Sunday 8"" the Next Day Was Decently Buried In the Churchyard of St Pauls, On Which Occasion The Corps Was Carried Into St Pauls Church And a Funeral Sermon Preached There By Mr F The Reftor To a Full and Serious Congrega- tion." Mr. John Gardiner ^'^ was a son of William Gar- diner,"^' ^°'adescendantof the first settler,of the name, in Narragansett, was a brother of Dr. Sylvester Gar- diner,^""' of Boston, and a brother-in-law of Dr. Mac- Sparran. He died on the homestead farm^'° of his an- cestors. His first wife was Mary Hill,''"^ who left three children : Anstis,''°* wife of Rowland Robinson,'''* fa- ther of" the unfortunate Hannah Robinson ;"'''^Tho- mas ; '°^ and Amos,"' the father of several children, Mrs. Daly, of Providence, being one of his granddaughters. 76 The Narragansett Church John Gardiner's second wife was Mary Taylor,"" niece of the Honourable Francis Wlllett/" She had seven children : (i) Abigail/"'' who married Lodowick Updike^^' and had issue. (2) William/'^ who married Eunice Belden, sister-in-law of General Wyllys/'"* of Hartford, and left one son, James, unmarried. (3) John,^'' who married Sarah Gardiner and had issue. (4) Benjamin,"* who had issue. (5 and 6) Mary and Sarah,"* who died single. (7) Lydia,"' who married Robert Champlin,'''' a brother of the late George and Christopher Champlin. They left one daughter, Mrs. Mary MacRea,'^^ of Newport. Mrs. Champlin's se- cond husband was John Faxon,""' by whom she had several children. " 29"" July [1770] Sunday Evening Departed this Life John Case Esq^*' at Tower Hill and on Tuesday July 31" He Was Decently Interred In St Pauls Church Yard North Kingstown And a Funeral Sermon Preached By Mr F on the Oc- casion In St Pauls Church before A Numerous And Attentive Audience. Mr F Constantly vis- ited Said Esq Every Day for Some Considerable time together And Prayed With him And ad- ministered the Blessed Sacrament To him Two or Three times Distinctly." Mr. Case was an unwavering friend, a generous benefadtor during life, and in his will made large do- nations to the church, of which he had been an ex- emplary member. He gave his homestead on Tower H ill, Quaker H ill Farm and wood lot. In Narragansett, to the use of his wife for life; and, after her decease, in trust for the use of the Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts — the rents,issues, and profits to be applied towards the support of an Episcopal Bishop of the Church of England, when it Chapter Sixteenth 77 should please God that one should be sent over prop- erly appointed and consecrated to preside over the Epis- copal churches in North America, whose diocese or dis- tridt should comprehend the Narragansett country and none else; and these bequests were for no other use or intent whatever. And before a Bishop should be sent over, the rents and profits should be appropri- ated towards the maintenance of the poor belonging to the Church of England in Narragansett, who were of sober lives and conversation, by the officers of the Church for the time being. He also bequeathed five hundred dollars for building a church on the lot given by Dr. MacSparran for that purpose; one hundred and fifty dollars ^*^ for repairing the old church of St. Paul's in North Kingstown, and, if not repaired, but a new one built on the MacSparran lot, then said one hun- dred and fifty dollars to be appropriated for that pur- pose; fifty dollars for a school-house on Tower Hill, and three hundred and fifty dollars in trust, the inter- est to be applied to educate poor children in the school- house at Tower Hill. There being no Bishop answering the provisions of thewill,the Church of St. Paul's, in Narragansett, took possession of the several devised estates, after the death of his wife, in 1798, and appropriated the rents for the support of the poor of the church and its repairs until 1 8 13. At this period, the Trustees of Donations in Boston, through their agent, the Rev. William Mon- tague,^*^ obtained possession of the Tower Hill es- tate,^*'' claiming it in behalf of the Bishop of the East- ern diocese, which embraced Rhode Island. The war- dens of St. Paul's commenced an aftion to recover possession. The controversy was finally compromised, and the estate of the late Mr. Case was surrendered to the Trustees of Donations, upon their agreeing to pay four per cent, of the income for the use of St. Paul's Church forever. The Trustees of Donations then leased 78 The Narragansett Church the estates for nine hundred and ninety-nine years. The leases being personal estate, on the death of the les- sees, the leases were sold at auftion by their administra- tors; in consequence whereof the annual payments to the church by theTrustees of Donations became inter- rupted, and the Church of St. Paul's reentered for con- dition broken, and now hold the estates ''^^ in the same manner as before the surrender. The other benevo- lent donations were never applied for and are now lost. Mr. Case died at his mansion house on Tower Hill, South Kingstown, July 29, 1770, and was interred in the church-yard of St. Paul's, in North Kingstown; grave-stones, with suitable inscriptions, were eredted to his memory. Phillippa Case,*^*^ his wife, was the daughter of Charles Dickinson,'"*'' of Narragansett. She died at Tower Hill, January 26, 179 8. "She was a lady of real piety and goodness." She was buried by the side of her husband. "September 16* [1770] Mr F Preached In St Pauls And After Church He Was Earnestly De- sired To Go To Mr William Davis s''' Which He Did, And Baptize Three Children By The Names of Charles, Chester, and Charlotte, And at the Request of George Rome^^' Esq' A Gentle- man of Estate from Old England &c." Mr. Rome (pronounced Room) was an English- man. He came over to Rhode Island in 1 761, as the agent of the house of Hopkins & Haley, London merchants, and was afterwards appointed agent for other British houses. He was educated a merchant. He lived in Newport of winters and in Narragansett of summers, owning the estate, since the homestead of Judge Ezeklel Gardiner,'^'" in Boston Neck, North Kingstown, still called the Room Farm. It consisted of about seven hundred acres, bounding easterly on Nar- Chapter Sixteenth 79 ragansett Bay. The mansion house*'" was highly fin- ished and furnished. The beds were concealed from view in the wainscots, — the rooms might be traversed throughout and not a bed for the repose of guests be seen. This was a matter for the astonishment of the colonial observer. When the hour for retirement ar- rived, a servant would just give a touch to a spring in the wall, and the visitor's bed, by means of a self- adjusting process, would protrude itself, as if by magic, ready prepared for the reception of its tenant. The gar- den*'^ contained the rarest native and exotic varieties. In Mr. Rome's letter, below, he styles his residence "my little country villa." He lived in splendour and entertained his friends with sumptuous hospitality. In another place he calls his residence Bachelor's-Hall — "My compliments to Colonel Stewart:*'* may I ask the favour of you both to come and eat a Christmas dinner with me, at Bachelor's-Hall, and celebrate the festivities of the seasonwithmeinNarragansettwoods? A covey of partridges or bevy of quails will be enter- tainment for the Colonel and me, while the pike and perch pond amuse you." He occasionally gave large parties, at which the ladies and gentlemen of Boston, Newport, and Narragansett, would equally mingle. Punch was the fashionable beverage at that period, and the entertainments at Bachelor's-Hall were extrava- gant. Mr. Rome owned, also, large estates on Rhode Island.*'' In the Stamp Ad; excitement he strongly es- poused the cause of the Crown. In 1767, he wrote the subjoined letter to his friend at Boston (afterwards returned from London with those signed Thomas Hutchinson,'" Andrew Oliver*'" and Thomas Mof- faf") and the same was transmitted to England. In 1773, Dr. Franklin, agent of the State of Pennsyl- vania, at London, obtained these letters (called, in general, "the Hutchinson letters"), and sent them to America. Mr. Rome's letter is as follows : 8o The Narragansett Church Narragansett, Dec. 22, 1767 Sir: I AM now withdrawn to my little country villa, where, though I am more retired from the busy world, yet I am still enveloped with uneasy reflexions for a tur- bulent, degenerate, ungrateful continent, and the op- position I have met with in my indefatigable endea- vours to secure our property in this colony, but hitherto without success. The times are so corrupted, and the conflid of parties so predominant, that fadtion is blind, or shuts her eyes to the most evident truths that cross her designs, and believes in any absurdities that assist to accomplish her purposes, under the prostitution and prostration of an infatuated government. Judge then, my dear Sir, in what a critical situation the fortunes of us poor Europeans must be among them. We have not been able to recover our property for years past — howgreat soever our exigencies may have been — unless we soothed them into a compliance. We are unwilling to enter into lites-contestation with them, because the perversion of their iniquitous courts of justice is so great, that experience hath convinced us we had better lose half, to obtain the other quietly, than pursue compulsory measures. We are also afraid to apply to a British Parliament for relief, as none can be effeftually administered without a change of gov- ernment, and a better administration of justice intro- duced; and, were it known here that we made such ap- plication at home, not only our fortunes would be in greater jeopardy, but our lives endangered by it, be- fore any salutary regulations could take place. We are sensible of the goodness of the King and Parliament, but how far, or in what space of time, our grievance, as a few individuals, might weigh against the influence of a charter government, we are at a loss to determine. In 1 76 1, I arrived in America, which circumstance you probably remember well. With great Industry, chapter Sixteenth 8i caution, and circumspeftion, I have not only reduced our demands, and regulated our connexions in some measure, but kept my head out of a halter which you had the honour to grace/'' (Pray, Dodor, how did it feel? The subjed; is stale, but I must be a little funny with you on this occasion.) Much still remains to be done, and, after all my best endeavours, my constitu- ents, from a moderate calculation, cannot lose less than fifty thousand pounds sterling by the baleful constitu- tion of this colony, and the corruption of their courts of judicature. It is really a very affeding and melan- choly consideration. Under a deep sense of the infirmities of their con- stitution, the innovations which they have gradually interwoven among themselves, and stimulated by every a<5t of forbearance, lenity, and patience, we have in- dulged our correspondents until deluges of bankrupt- cies have ensued; insolvent a6ts liberated them from our just demands, and, finally, we have had our indis- putable accounts refused admission for ourproportion of the small remains, until colony creditors were first paid, and the whole absorbed. We have had vessels made over to us for the satisfadtion of debts, and, after bills of sale were executed, carried off, in open violence and by force, by Captain Snip-Snap, of Mr. Nobody's appointment; and, when we sued him for damages, re- covered a louse. We have, in our turn, been sued in our absence, and condemned, ex-parte, in large sums for imaginary damages, for which we can obtain nei- ther a trial nor redress. They refuse us an appeal to the King in Council ; the money must be paid when their executions become returnable; and, were we to carry it home by way of complaint, it would cost us two or three hundred pounds sterling to prosecute; and after all, when his Majesty's decree comes over in our favour, and refunding the money can no longer be evaded, I expedt their effeds would be secreted, their bodies re- 82 The Narragansett Church leased by the insolvent aft, and our money — both principal, interest, and expenses — irrecoverably gone. Is not our case grievous ? We have, in aftions founded on notes of hand, been cast in the courts of judicature. We have appealed to his Majesty in Council for re- dress, got their verdifts reversed, and obtained the King's decree for our money, but that is all; for though I have had them by me for twelve months, and em- ployed two eminent lawyers to enforce into execution, conformable to the colony law, yet we have not been able to recover a single shilling, though we have danced after their courts and assemblies above thirty days in vain, to accomphsh that purpose only. Con- sider, my dear Sir, what expense, vexation, and loss of time this must be to us, and whether we have not just cause of complaint. We have also in vain waited with great impatience for years past. In hopes his Majesty would have nomi- nated his judges, and other executive officers, in every colony in America — which would in a great measure remove the cause of our complaint. Nothing can be more necessary than a speedy regulation in this, and constituting it a regal government; and nothing is of such important use to a nation, as that men who ex- cel in wisdom and virtue should be encouraged to un- dertake the business of government. But the iniqui- tous course of their courts of justice in this colony, deter such men from serving the public; or, if they do so, unless patronized at home, their wisdom and virtue are turned against them with such malignity, that it is more safe to be infamous than renowned. The princi- pal exception I have met with here, is James Helme, Esquire,^"' "'^ who was chosen Chief Justice by the General Assembly at last eleftion. He accepted his appointment, distinguishes himself by capacity and application, and seems to be never ashamed to ad- minister impartial justice to all — even to the native chapter Sixteenth 83 and residing creditors of the mother country. I have known him to grant them temporary relief by writs of error, and, when he and they were overruled by the partiality of the court, in vain — though with great can- dour and force — plead with the rest of the bench, that for the honour of the colony and their own reputa- tion they ought never to pay less regard to the de- crees of his Majesty in Council, because the property was determined in Great Britain, than to their own. I have also heard him with resolution and firmness, when he discovered the court to be immediately par- tial, order his name to be enrolled as dissenting from the verdidt. For such honesty and candour, I am per- suaded he will be deposed at next eledtion, unless they should be still in hopes of making a convert of him. I wish it were in my power to prevent every American from suffering for the cause of integrity and their mother country; he, in a special manner, should not only be protected and supported, but appear among the first promotions. Is there no gentleman of public spirit at home, who would be pleased to be an instrument of elevating a man of his principles and propriety? or has it become fashionable for vice to be countenanced with impunity, and every trace of virtue passed over unnoticed? God forbid! The colonies have originally been wrong founded. They ought to have been regal governments, and every executive officer approved by the King. Until that is effedted, and they are properly regulated, they will never be beneficial to themselves, nor good subjefts of Great Britain. You see with what contempt they already treat the adls of Parliament for regulating their trade, and enter into the most public, illegal, and af- fronting combinations to obtain a repeal, by again im- posing upon the British merchants and manufacturers, and all under the cloak of retrenching their expenses, by avoiding every unnecessary superfluity. Were that 84 The Narragansett Church really the case, I am sure I, and every other British subjedt, would esteem them for it; but the fadl is, they obtained a repeal of the Stamp Ad: by mercan- tile influence, and they are now endeavouring, by the same artifice and finesse, to repeal the afts of trade, and obtain a total exemption from all taxation. Were it otherwise, and they sincerely disposed to stop the importation of every unnecessary superfluity — with- out affronting the British legislation by their public, general, and illegal combinations — they might accom- plish their purposes with much more decency, and suppress it more effedlually by a6ts of their own le- gislation — imposing such duties upon their importa- tion here as might occasion a total prohibition, or con- fine the consumption of them to particular individuals that can afford to buy — by which measures they would also raise a considerable colony revenue, and ease poorer inhabitants in the tax they now pay. But the temper of the country is exceedingly faStious, and prone to sedition : they aregrowingmore imperious and haughty — nay, insolent — every day; and in a short space, unless wholesome regulations take place, the spirit they have enkindled,and the conceptions of gov- ernment they have imbibed, will be more grievous to the mother country than even ostracism was to the Athenians. A bridle at present may accomplish more than a rod hereafter, for the malignant poison of the times, like a general pestilence, spreads beyond conception; and if the British Parliament are too late in their re- gulations, negledl measures for seven years which are essentially necessary now — should they then be able to stifle their commotions, it will only be a temporary extindion — consequently every hour'sindulgence will answer no other purpose than enable them in a more effedtual manner to sow seeds of dissension, to be re- kindled whenever they are in a capacity to oppose the chapter Sixteenth 85 mother country, and render themselves independent of her. Have they not already, in the most public manner, shewn their opposition to the measures of Parliament, in the affair of the late Stamp Ad? Don't they now, with equal violence and audacity, in both public pa- pers and conversation, declare the Parliamentary re- gulations in their ads of trade to be illegal and a mere nullity? What further proof do we wait for, of either their good or bad disposition? Did you ever hear of any colonies, in their infant state, teaching the science of tyranny reduced into rule, over every subjed that dis- countenanced their measures in opposition to the mother country, in a more impetuous manner than they have done these four years past? Have they not made use of every stroke of policy (in their way) to avail themselves of their dark purposes of their inde- pendence and suffered no restraint of conscience or fear, not even the guilt of threatening to excite a civil war and revolt,if not indulged with an unlimited trade, without restraint, and British protedion without ex- pense? for that is the English of it. Is this, then, a true or a mistaken portrait? Say, if it is their true one, ought not such pernicious maxims of policy, such wick- ed discipline, such ingratitude, such dissimulation, such perfidy, such violent, ruthless, and sanguinary coun- cils — where a Cleon bears rule and an Aristides can- not be endured — to be crushed in embryo? If not, the alternative cannot avoid producing such agovernment as will ere-long throw the whole kingdom into the ut- most confusion, endanger the life, liberty, and pro- perty of every good subjed and again expose them to the merciless assassination of a rabble. I am sensible that in all political disputes, especially in America, a man may see something to blame on both sides, and so much to fear, whichever fadion should conquer, as to be justified in not intermeddling with either; but 86 The Narragansett Church in matters of such vast importance as the present, wherein we have suffered so much, still deeply inter- ested, and by which the peace and tranquillity of the nation is at stake, it is difficult to conceal one's emo- tions from a friend and remain a tranquil spedator on a theatre of such chicanery and collusion as will inevi- tably (if not checked, and may sooner happen than is imagined by many) chill the blood of many a Briton. It may be true policy, in some cases, to tame the fier- cest spirit of popular liberty, not by blows or by chains, but by soothing into willing obedience and make her kiss the very hand that restrains her; but such policy would be a very unsuitable potion to cure the malady of the present times. They are too much corrupted, and already so much intoxicated with their own im- portance, as to make a wrong use of lenient measures. They construe them into their own natural rights, and a timidity in the mother country. They consider them- selves a little bigger than the frog in the fai'le, a.nd that Great Britain can never long grapple with their huge territory of fifteen hundred miles frontier, already po- pulous and increasing with such celerity, as to double their number once in twenty-five years. This is not perfectly consonant with my idea of the matter, though such calculation has been made; and, admitting it to be erroneous, yet, as they believe it, it has the same evil effed:, and possesses the imaginations of the people with such a degree of insanity and enthusiasm, as there is hardly any thing more common than to hear their boast of particular colonies that can raise on a short notice an hundred thousand fighting men to oppose the force of Great Britain; certain it is they increase in numbers by emigration, &c., very fast, and are be- come such a body of people, with such extensive ter- ritory, as require every bud of their genius and dis- position to be narrowly watched, and pruned with great judgement, otherwise they may become not only trou- chapter Sixteenth 87 blesome to Great Britain, but enemies to themselves. Now is the critical season. They are like some raw, giddy youth, just emerging into the world, in a cor- rupt, degenerate age. A parent or a guardian is still necessary; and if well managed, they will soon arrive at such maturity as to become obedient, dutiful chil- dren; but if negledled long, the rod of chastisement will be so much longer necessary as to become too burthensome, and must be dropt with the colonies. They almost consider themselves a separate people from Great Britain already. Last month when I was attending the General As- sembly, the Governor sent a written message to the Lower House, imparting his intention of a resigna- tion at the next election, assigning for reasons, the fumes in the colony, and party spirit so high, and that bribery and corruption were so predominant, that neither life, liberty, nor property, were safe, &c., &c., &c. Now, Sir, whether the Governor's intention, as exhibited in this open, public declaration, was real, or feigned, to answer political purposes, it still evinces their decrepit state ; the prostitution of Government, and melancholy situation of every good subjedt; for it cannot be supposed by any candid inquisitor, that a declaration of that nature and form, would, if not true, have been delivered by a Governor to a whole legis- lative body, in order to emancipate himself. If this truth is granted, and this allowed to be their unhappy situation, howmuch is it the duty of every good man — and what language is sufficient ? — to paint in an effedual manner, this internal imbecility of an English colony (in many other respefts favourably situated for trade and commerce,one of the safest, largest, and most com- modious harbours in all America, or perhaps in all Eu- rope, accessible in all seasons, situated in a fine cli- mate, and abounding with fertile soil), to the mater- nal bowels of compassion, in order that she may be 88 The Narragansett Church seasonable, if she thinks it necessary to interpose, re- gulate, and wipe away their pernicious charter, ren- dered obnoxious by the abuse of it. I am afraid I have tried your patience with a sub- jedt that must give pain to every impartial friend to Great Britain and her colonies. When I took my pen, I intended only to communicate the outlines of such of my perplexities (without going so far into political matter), as I thought would atone for, or excuse my long silence, and excite your compassion and advice. Our friend Robinson =**' has gone to Boston to join the Commissioners. My compliments to Colonel Stew- art.^'^ May I ask the favour of you both to come, and eat a Christmas dinnerwith me atBachelor's-Hall, and celebrate the festivity of the season with me in Narragansett woods? A covey of partridges, or bevy of quails, will be entertainment for the Colonel and me, while the pike and perch pond amuse you. Should business or preengagements prevent me that pleasure, permit me to ask the favour of your earliest intelli- genceoftheproceedingsof Parliament; and your opin- ion whether our case is not so great as to excite your compassion and interposition, were it known. This nar- rative, with your knowledge of many of the fads, and of the disposition of the colonies in general, will re- fresh your memory, and enable you to form a judge- ment. Relief from home seems so tedious, especially to us who have suffered so much, are like to suffer more, and are unacquainted with the reasons of the delay, that I am quite impatient. Above twelve months ago, I received from three gentlemen in London (in trust for several others), ex- emplified accounts for a balance of above twenty-six thousand pounds sterling, mostly due from this Col- ony, not fifty pounds of which shall I ever be able to recover without compulsive measures, and what is still worse, my lawyer advises me from all thoughts of pro- chapter Sixteenth 89 secution, unless a change of government ensues. I am, therefore, obliged to send them his opinion (in justi- fication of my own condud;) in lieu of money ten years due. Poor satisfadtion ! Our consolation must be in a British Parliament. Every other avenue is rendered impregnable by their subtlety and degeneracy and we can no longer depend upon a people, who are so un- thankful for our indulgencies and for the lenity of the mother country. I wish you the compliments of the approaching season and a succession of many Happy New Years. I am, Sir, with much regard. Your most obedient servant, G. Rome At the August session of the General Assembly, 1 774, holden at Newport, a copy of the foregoing letter was read by the Speaker, Metcalf Bowler, Esq.,"*'' with those of Governor Hutchinson,'" Dr. Moffat,'"' &c., and, after a short debate, the further consideration thereof was postponed to the next Oftober session and the Speaker diredted to write to the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the ori- ginal, which was, accordingly, done. At the August Town Meeting in Providence, the people instrucSted their representatives to enquire into charges, contained in said letter, of corruption and partiality, against the courts and the legislative body; to examine whether the fountain of justice in the Colony had been shut up, or the law withheld from any and, if so, to remove from office those who had been instrumental therein. But if, upon examination, it be found that the charges therein are false, groundless, and calculated to revile the administration of justice, then to exert themselves, by all constitutional means, to bring the said G. Rome toanswerfor such scandalous aspersions andvile abuse of this Government. Other towns passed similar in- strudions. At the Odober session of the General As- 90 The Narragansett Church sembly, holden at South Kingstown, Mr. Rome was brought to the bar of the House on a warrant on ac- count of the aforesaid letter, sometime since returned from England, when the following questions were by order put to him, a copy of said letter being previously read in his presence: duest. Did you ever write a letter in substance and sense agreeing, or nearly agreeing, with the copy of the letter you have now heard read, signed G. Rome? Ans. I do not think, upon the privilege of an Eng- lishman, that the question is fairly stated, because I do not consider I am to be called here to accuse my- self. When you, Mr. Speaker, are pleased to present to me any letter in my handwriting, I will most readily acknowledge the same, and grant the House all the satisfaftion they are pleased to require, with the ut- most candour and sincerity. As the question stands, I must protest against the same. Quest. Will you, or will you not, make a diredl an- swer to the question which has now been proposed to you.'' Ans. I have already made a diredl answer by say- ing I cannot be legally called to the bar of the House to accuse myself. These answers being by the House deemed evasive and a contempt, the said George Rome was committed to the common gaol of South Kingstown, where he re- mained till the House rose. The gross charges of Mr. Rome of corruption and partiality against the Legislature, the courts and ju- ries of the Colony, with the advice to annul the Char- ter, and create a government more dependent on the Crown, produced an exasperation too powerful to be withstood; and apprehending danger, soon after his release from prison, he fled on board of the Rose, man-of-war,*'' then lying in Narragansett Bay. Pre- viously to his departure, he and others conveyed their chapter Sixteenth 91 estates, but they were, nevertheless, seized for the use of the Colony. The Legislature, at their Odlober ses- sion, 1775, passed the following resolutions: "That the condudt of General Hopkins '•'"in respe6t to taking possession, in behalf of this Colony, of the estates of George Rome, Benjamin Brenton,^'* the heirs of An- drew Oliver,''"' dec'd, Jahleel Brenton,''^ and Thomas Hutchinson,'" as persons inimical to the true inter- est of this Colony, be approved of, and that said es- tates be kept in possession of those persons appointed by the General in behalf of this Colony, and that they account to the Colony for the back and future rents and profits thereof." And that the "deeds by George Rome, Jahleel Brenton, Benjamin Brenton, Ralph In- man,''9 Gilbert De Blois,'''' Samuel Sewall,"" Thomas Hutchinson, Dr. Thomas Moffat,"*'^ heirs of Andrew Oliver, and John Borland,'"" made and executed since the 5th day of Odober, 1775, or not recorded before that time, be null and void." The General Assembly in 06tober, 1776, appointed "John Smith a committee to sell at public audion all the effed;s of George Rome and Charles Dudley,'"' in possession of this State, and pay the money into the General Treasury." Thus the great estates of Mr. Rome were lost to his family for- ever. Scarcely any vestige remains of his "villa" at North Kingstown to recall the recolleftions of its for- mer splendour. In appearance, it is republican enough to disarm the envy of the meanest jacobin. Chapter XVII A.D. 1770 to A.D. 1774 The Honourable James Honyman. The Rev. Mar- maduke Browne. Christening " Gossips." Colonel Whailey, the Regicide. Colonel John Gardiner. Bishop Parker. NEXT Day being the 17'' of September [1770] Mr. F [ayerweather] Sott ofF for Boston To Attend The Annual Convention of the Clergy, and Preached there In the Several Churches etc. The Rev'Mr.Troutbeck'"' Kings Chaplin Preached before the Clergy On Said Occasion from That Text 'What is Truth .?'" " Nov' 1 1'" [ 1 770] The Reverend Mr. Usher'' of Bristol Preached and Read Prayers for Mr. F In St Pauls NarragansetjHe being a Hearer." " On the 1 2'" of February [ 1 77 1 ] , Doftor Ro- bert Hazard **' Was Buried, Having Died by a Long Lingering Illness Saturday Evening About 6 "Clock The Ninth Day of the month. A Con- siderable Assembly Present At his house, and a Funeral Sermon Preached by Mr F — from a Subjeft Suitable to the Occasion. . . . Sunday 24"" Mr. F Preached at the house of mourning The Late Do6tor Hazards On Mortality. A large Congregation Present. The Hon"' James Hony- man"** Present Who came from 'little Rest' Where the Court had been Sitting the Whole Week." Mr. Honyman was the son of the Rev. James chapter Seventeenth 93 Honyman/° Redor of Trinity Church, Newport. He was born in April, 1710, and was educated for the bar. In 1732, he was elefted Attorney-General of the Colony, and was annually reeledted until 1741, when the law appointing one Attorney-General was re- pealed, and County Attorneys were substituted. He was one of the committee on the Eastern boundary question in the controversy with Massachusetts, in 1 74 1, and was junior counsel with Daniel Updike,'^"* who argued the case before the King's commissioners at Providence against Bollan ^'' and Auchmuty,^^^ the counsel for Massachusetts. The commissioners gave judgement in favour of Rhode Island. In 1755, he was appointed, with Governor Hopkins ''^' and others, to attend the Congress of Governors and Commissioners of the Northern colonies, at Boston, to concert mea- sures against the French. In 1756, he was elefted first Senator of the Colony, and was annually reelefted as first Assistant in the Legislature until 1764. The Brit- ish government having enforced the rule of '56, it occa- sioned great losses to the merchants, and created great irritation in the colonies; and this Colony, as well as others, remonstrated against it with decision and firm- ness, and Mr. Honyman being opposed to the remon- strance, declined a reele<5lion. Shortly after, Mr. Hony- man was appointed, by the Crown, Advocate-General of the Court of Vice-Admiralty for the Colony, which office he continued to hold — discharging its duties to public satisfadlion — until the Revolution. Mr. Honyman was a sound and able lawyer, and enjoyed an extensive pradlice throughout the Colony. He married Elizabeth Goulding, daughter of George Goulding,'"' of Newport. He died February 15, 1778, aged sixty-seven years, leaving two sons and six daugh- ters. His sons died in early life, and, his daughters mar- rying persons adhering to the cause of the Crown, the estates devised by Mr. Honyman to his children were 94 The Narragansett Church mostly confiscated, but upon petitions by his children, the Legislature restored them. " On Thursday, the 21" of March [i77i],Mr. F[ayerweather] being Invited by a Letter from the Church Wardens of Trinity Church, New- port, He attended as a Paul Bearer The Fu- neral of the Rev"*- Marmaduke Browne, Pastor of Said Church, Where a Sermon Was Preached By The Rev"" Mr. Bissit '"^ Colleague To a very Numerous And Weeping Congregation." Under date of the 9th of January, 1767, the Record says : "Mr. F Was Sent for To Attend the Funeral of Mrs. Browne The Consort of the Rev**' Mr. Browne Over Whom He Performed the Funeral Service In Trinity Church New- port. An Exceedingly large Concourse of Peo- ple Attended But No Sermon, as both the Lady herself and her husband too had An Utter Aver- sion to Pomp and Show on those Occasions, and Utterly Against All Parading." The Rev. Marmaduke Browne,^"' a son of the Rev. Arthur Browne,''°*ofPortsmouth, New Hampshire, on the resignation, in 1760, of the Rev. Thomas Pollen,^''' was unanimously chosen to officiate as minister of Trinity Church, Newport, and was appointed a mis- sionary by the home society. The church flourished under his ministry, and, in 1762, the edifice was en- larged to the eastward, so as to admit of the ereftion of thirty additional pews. The present steeple of Trinity was built in 1768. An ad of incorporation was pro- cured from the General Assembly in 1 769. Mr. Browne continued his connexion with Trinity Church until his death, which took placeon the 1 9th of March, 1 77 1 . He left an only son, who, in 1795, caused a marble Chapter Seventeenth 95 tablet, with a raised profile likeness of his father, to be eredbed on the walls of Trinity Church, in memory of his parents. It bears the following inscription:* TO THE MEMORY OF THE REVEREND MARMADUKE BROWNE FORMERLY RECTOR OF THIS PARISH A MAN EMINENT FOR TALENTS LEARNING AND RELIGION, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE 19TH OF MARCH 1771. AND OF ANNE HIS WIFE, A LADY OF UNCOMMON PIETY, AND SUAVITY OF MANNER WHO DIED THE 6TH DAY OF JANUARY 1767 THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY THEIR SON ARTHUR BROWNE ESQ," NOW SENIOR FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN IN IRELAND, AND REPRESENTATIVE IN PARLIAMENT FOR THE SAME. IN TOKEN OF HIS GRATITUDE AND AFFECTION TO THE BEST AND TENDEREST OF PARENTS AND OF HIS RESPECT AND LOVE FOR A CONGREGATION AMONG WHOM AND FOR A PLACE WHERE HE SPENT HIS EARLIEST AND HIS HAPPIEST DAYS. HEU! QUANTO MINUS EST CUM ALUS VERSARI QUAM TUI MEMINISSE MDCCXCV. His above-mentioned son is the subjeft of the fol- lowing notice: "Honourable Arthur Browne, LL.D.,'°'was at an early age sent from Newport to the care of a relative in Ireland for education. He was a man gifted with extraordinary mental powers, which he improved by almost incessant study, and by intercourse with the most able scholars and politicians of the day. He soon rose to eminence — was Senior FellowandSenior Proc- tor of Trinity College, a Dodor of Civil Laws and King'sProfessorof Greek. For a length of time he held the Vicar Generalship of the Diocese of Kildare, and also pradtised in the Courts, as an eminent though not a leading barrister. For many years, no person in the University enjoyed greater popularity. They gave him their best and most honourable gift — they appointed *On the tablet the 5th and 6th and the nth and 12th lines read as one line each. 96 The Narragansett Church him their representative in the National Legislature, and the Irish House of Commons for many years lis- tened with surprise and admiration to his bold and powerful eloquence. On questions of great national im- portance, Dr. Browne could speak with surprising ef- fed. As to little subjeds, he seldom interfered with the opposition party, with which it was his desire or chance to associate, — he supported all their leading mea- sures — on the Placeand Pension bills. Catholic Eman- cipation, and the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus, he brought all his talents into adtion. He was a strong ad- vocate of Parliamentary reform, an enemy to the abuse of power, and always stood forward as the champion of the people. On thegreat question of the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, he took part with the ministry,and his support and example greatly contributed to that event. Shortly after the Union, Dr. Browne was ap- pointed Prime Sergeant, and it is supposed, had he sur- vived, he would have obtained a situation on the bench. " Besides various political pamphlets. Dr. Browne was the author of two volumes of miscellaneous essays and dissertations in which many questions of literature and criticism were ably discussed. These volumes are now out of print, which is the more to be regretted as one of the essays was devoted to a picture of colonial manners and habits, especially as exhibited by the so- ciety of Newport, Rhode Island. In a note he referred to many of the families with whom he was intimate — the Brentons, Malbones, Redwoods, etc. His great work, however, is that on the Civil Law, which has passed through various editions, and is considered by the profession as a standard. "This celebrated man died in Dublin in the summer of 1 805, of a dropsical complaint, leaving a large pro- perty, which he had acquired from his situations in the College and his exertions as a lawyer."* * Newport Mercury. 'jrf:i:y''/,^^'/^/y -_ f-fT't:^, ,///f' ' X'V, y.e ^^~^i^^M>'^'?9,.-/yy'y>v^'y/ / chapter Eighteenth 115 vacant until 18 17, when Lemuel Burge'" was chosen lay reader, and officiated for two years. The parish was then supplied by the Rev. Pat- rick H. Folker,"^ for about one year. The Rev. Mr. Burge having obtained orders, returned and continuedre(5lor fromMay, 1 82o,to Easter, 1 834. The church at Tower Hill in South Kingstown having been built while Mr. Burge was lay read- er, and consecrated in November, 18 18, he per- formed services in the North Kingstown and South Kingstown churches alternately. In June, 1834, the Rev. Francis Peck'" became reftor, and continued to officiate up to September, 1836. In 1837, the Rev. Mr. Burge was again elected re6tor, and officiated until Easter, 1 840, when, on account of ill health, he resigned. In the August succeeding, the Rev. John H. Rouse"* was ele6t- ed re6tor, and now [1846] remains the incum- bent of St. Paul's, at Wickford, in North Kings- town, the parish having been divided in the year 1832. Since the division, services have been per- formed in the Wickford and To wer Hill churches by their respe6live pastors, as separate parishes. [The Rev. Mr. Rouse continued in the re6lor- ship until 1849. He was followed, in the same year, by the Rev. Daniel Henshaw, who re- mained until 1853. The Rev. A. ^- Flanders was reftor from 185410 1 866, beingabsent, however, from September, 1861, to November, 1862, as chaplain of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment, the Rev. W. H. Collins supplying his place. The Rev. James A. Sanderson held the rectorship ii6 The Narragansett Church from 1866 to 1868. The Rev. Daniel Goodwin was reftor from 1869 to 1874, the Rev. George J. Magill from 1875 to the year 1876, the Rev. WilHam W. Ayres from 1 876 to 1887, the Rev. A. J. Thompson from 1887 until 1890 and the Rev. Samuel Borden Smith from 1890 to 1897. The Rev. Frederick B. Cole, the present rec- tor (1907), took charge in 1897.] RECTORS Christopher Bridge 1706-1708 William Guy 1717-1718 James MacSparran 1721-1757 Samuel Fayerweather * ijGo-i'j'ji^. Interregnum : War nvith Great Britain William Smith 1787-1790 Walter Gardner (^Lay Reader and, later, minister or deacon officiating) 1 7 9 1 - 1 7 94 Joseph Warren 1796-1805 Isaac B. Pierce {Lay Reader) 1 809-1813 James Bowers 1812-1814 Lemuel Burge {Lay Reader) 1817-1819 Patrick H. Folker 1819-1820 Lemuel Burge 1 820-1 834. Francis Peck 1834-1836 Lemuel Burge 1837-1840 John H. Rouse 1840-1849 Daniel Henshaw 1849-1853 Alonzo B. Flanders 1854-1866 William H. Collins 1861-1862 James A. Sanderson 1866-1868 Daniel Goodwin 1869-1874 George J. Magill 1875-1876 William W. Ayres 1876-1887 Albert J. Thompson 1887-1890 Samuel Borden-Smith i8qo-i8q7 Frederick B. Cole igoy. *"S P G. Records" gives 1780 as year of close of Mr. Fayer- weather s settlement. ' Chapter XIX WARWICK CHURCH A. D. 1726 to A. D. 1764 The Lippitt Family. The Stafford Family. Richard Greene. Thomas Wickes. Colonel Christopher Greene. RESPECTING the Warwick Church,"' in which Dr. MacSparran, Mr. Fayerweather, and others officiated once a month, I have been favoured with the following letter from William D. Brayton, Esq., of Warwick, a gentleman of antiquarian research : "In reply to your enquiries relative to the old Epis- copal church in which the Rev. Dr. MacSparran offi- ciated in Warwick, I send you the best information which I have obtained on that subjedt. On the 2d of September, 1728, a lot of ground situated at equal distances from the present villages of Apponaug and East Greenwich, and between the Post road and the present Stonington railroad, was conveyed by the Rev. George Pigot 'to the Society in London for the Pro- pagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, for eredling a church according to the establishment of churches by law in England.' A church was accordingly erefted — a wooden building two stories in height, with a steeple and spire, fronting the Post road. After remain- ing unoccupied a long time, in a ruined state, it was taken down about the year 1764, by inhabitants from old Warwick, for the purpose of eredingachurch there. The materials, having been conveyed to the shore, were scattered and lost during a storm which arose soon after. A number ofgraves, probably of individuals con- nefted with the church, are still to be seen upon the lot. The Rev. George Pigot resided in Warwick a num- ii8 The Narragansett Church ber of years, and owned a tradt of land there. He pro- bably obtained the means ^'° of erefting the church." The congregation of Trinity Church in New- port, when they built their new church in 1726, "gave their old church to the people of War- wick, who had no church of their own." It was by tradition floated from Newport to Coweset (the Indian name of this part of Warwick), and, when taken down, it was never rebuilt in Old Warwick, and there has not been any Episco- pal church in that town since.'*' Some Episcopa- lians remain, but most of the families of that church have removed to Providence and else- where. We extraft the following entries from the re- cords relating to the Warwick Church : "April ii'' 1736 Baptized at Coeset by M' McSparran two children viz' Rebecca Pigot Daughter of Edward Pigot and Charles Dickin- son Son of Capt Jn° Dickinson." Edward Pigot,'^^ a brother of the Rev. George Pigot and a physician, came to Warwick soon after his bro- ther, but remained only a few years after he had re- moved to Marblehead. John Dickinson ''^^ was a mer- chant residing at Coweset, in Warwick, in 1 733 . Having failed In business, he removed, after a few years, but to what place has not been ascertained. "Sept' 9* [1739] Doftor MacSparran preached at y' Church of Warwick and admitted to y' Sacrament of y'^ Lord's Supper Mr. l^/ank] Lavally." The Mr. Lavally,or Levally,=''^there mentioned was probably Pf/^r Levally, who died In Warwick in 1756 chapter Nineteenth 119 and was the ancestor of the Levallys in Warwick and Coventry. Whence the family emigrated has not been ascertained. Magdalene Levally, his daughter, married a Mr. King. Her children, John, Mary, Sarah, Ann, and Samuel King were baptized by Dr. MacSparran. " Decern' 14*^ [1745] Dr MackSparran preached Mr. Moses Lippets' funeral Sermon and buryed him in his own Ground in Warwick. He died the 12** abt 11 in the forenoon." Moses Lippit'^5 was a grandson of John Lippit, who was one of the persons chosen and commissioned from Providence to organize the government under the first charter in 1647. John soon after removed to Warwick, and died there, leaving two sons, John and Moses. Moses married Mary Knowles, a daughter of H enry Knowles.'** H e left three daughters and an only son, Moses, who was a minor at the time of his father's death in 1703 and is the person mentioned by Dr. MacSparran in the Record. He married Anphillis Whipple, a daughter of Joseph Whipple,''*'' of Provi- dence, November 20, 1 707. She was reputed a woman of herculean strength. Their children were:(i) Moses, born January 17,1 709. (2) Jeremiah, January 27,1711. (3) Christopher, November 29, 1712.(4) Joseph,Sep- tember 4, 171 5. (5) Anphillis, August 29, 1717. (6) Freelove, March 31, 1720. (7) Mary, December 2, 1723. (8) John, December 24, 173 1. Moses married Wait Rhodes, a daughter of John Rhodes,'*^ April 26, 1732, and besides several daugh- ters, left but one son, Abraham Lippit, who was or- dained, September 7, 1782, elder of the Baptist church of old Warwick and moved to the western country in 1793- Jeremiah married Welthan (or Welthyan) Greene, sister of Richard Greene (the subjedl of another note), September 12, 1734. He was Town Clerk of War- I20 The Narragansett Church wick from June, 1742, to his death in 1776, with the exception of the year 1775. Joseph married Lucy Brown, daughter of Captain Thomas Brown, of Rehoboth, February 19, 1746, and had two sons, Joseph and Thomas, and five daughters. Ann Phillis (or Anphillis) married, June 18, 1736, Abraham Francis,'^' son of Abraham Francis, of Bos- ton, then deceased. She was educated in Boston; en- gaged to Mr. Francis while residing at Boston, but married in Warwick. Mr. Francis was reported to be heir to most of the land on which Boston stood, but never obtained it. He did not live many years. Christopher married Catherine Holden, daughter of Anthony Holden,^'° January 1, 1736, and was father of Colonel Christopher Lippit of the Revolu- tion. The Lippits owned a great estate in Warwick. Colonel Christopher Lippit was the eldest son, and inherited the estate of his father under the old law. Respedling Colonel Lippit, John Rowland, Esq., Pre- sident of the Rhode Island Historical Society, has fur- nished the following notice: "Christopher Lippit was a member of the General Assembly. In January, 1776, he was appointed Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the regiment raised by the State. Colonel Harry Babcock was commander, but shortly quit the service and Lieutenant-Colonel Lippit was promoted to the office of Colonel. I enlisted in Cap- tain Dexter's company. We were stationed on the is- land of Rhode Island. The regiment was taken into the Continental service, and the officers were commis- sioned by Congress. After the disastrous battle of Long Island, we were ordered to join Washington's army at New York. On the 31st of December, 1776, while the army under Washington was in Jersey, the term of all the Continental troops expired except Lip- pit's regiment, who had eighteen days more to serve. The brigade to which they were attached consisted of chapter Nineteenth 121 five regiments, three of which (Varnum's, Hitchcock's, and Lippit's) were from Rhode Island. Colonel Hitch- cock commanded the brigade, and Lippit's regiment counted more than one-third of the whole. This was the time which tried both soul and body. We had by- order of the General left our tents at Bristol, on the other side of the Delaware. We were standing on frozen ground, covered with snow. The hope of the Commander-in-chief was sustained by the charadter of these half-frozen, half-starved men, that he could per- suade them to serve another month until the new re- cruits should arrive. He made the attempt and it suc- ceeded. General Mifflin, at his request, addressed our men ; he did it well. The request of the General was acceded to by our unanimously poising the firelock as a signal. Within two hours after this vote, we were on our march to Trenton. Colonel Lippit's regiment was in the battle of Trenton. When retreating over the bridge, it being narrow, our platoons were, in pass- ing it, crowded into a dense and solid mass, in the rear of which the enemy were making their best ef- forts." The calm and dauntless heroism of General Washington and the staid coolness of his horse, in this hour of carnage, are too impressive and thrilling to be omitted. "The noble horse of General Washing- ton," he continues, "stood with his breast pressed close against the end of the west rail of the bridge ; and the firm, composed and majestic countenance of the General inspired confidence and assurance in a mo- ment so important and critical. In this passage across the bridge, it was my fortune to be next to the west rail and, arriving at the end of the bridge rail, I was pressed against the shoulder of the General's horse and in contadt with the boot of the General. The horse stood as firm as the rider and seemed to understand that he was not to quit his post and station. They did not succeed in their attempt to cross the bridge. Al- 122 The Narragansett Church though the creek was fordable between the bridge and theDelaware, they declined attempting a passage there, in the face of those who presented a more serious ob- struftion than the water. On one hour — yes, on forty minutes, commencing at the moment when the British first saw the bridge and creek before them — depended the all-important, the all-absorbing question, whether we should be independent States or conquered rebels! Had the army of Cornwallis within that space crossed the bridge or forded the creek, unless a miracle had in- tervened, there would have been an end of the Ameri- can army. If any fervent mind should doubt this, it must be from its not knowing the state of our few half-starved, half-frozen, feeble, worn-out men, with old fowling pieces for muskets, and half of them with- out bayonets — and the States so disheartened, dis- couraged, and poor, that they sent no reinforcements, no recruits to supply the places of this handful of men, who, but the day before, had volunteered to remain with their venerated and beloved commander for thirty days more. General Mercer fell in the aftion the next day at Princeton. "Colonel Lippit was in the battle of Princeton. The Commander-in-chief, after the aftion, took the com- mander-in-chief of our brigade by the hand (Colonel Hitchcock), expressing his high approbation of his con- du(5t and that of the troops he commanded, and wished him to communicate his thanks to his officers and men. We retired to Morristown about the third day after our arrival. The commander of our brigade. Colonel Hitch- cock, died from the suffisrings he had experienced in this dreadful campaign. He was a very accomplished gentleman, and a fine officer — few of the generals ex- ceeded or equalled him in talents. He was educated at Yale. After this the brigade was broken up and sent to different stations, ours to a place called Chatham. We were discharged in February and returned home." Chapter Nineteenth 123 Colonel Lippit continued in service during the war. He afterwards removed into Cranston"' and was ap- pointed Major General of State's militia. He died on his farm in Cranston. Charles Lippit/^'' the brother of Colonel Lippit, died in Providence in August, 1845, aged ninety-one — the oldest man in Providence. Mr. Charles Lippit was an officer in the Revolutionary war, was for many years a member of the General Assembly from Provi- dence, and through a long life sustained an exemplary charafter of integrity and honour. "June 8"^ [1746] Sunday in the Morning abt 8 of the Clock Dr MacSparran baptized by Im- mersion a young woman named Patience Staf- ford Daughter of Sam' Stafford of Warwick, and then from Mr. Francis'^' rode to the Chh read Prayers and preach'' there, and in the Afternoon reached Home." Samuel Stafford was a descendant of Thomas Staf- ford,"' who settled in Warwick in 165a, and died in 1 6 77, leaving three sons, Thomas, Samuel, and Joseph, and two daughters. Samuel"' married Mercy Westcott, a daughter of Stukeley Westcott,"* and died in 171 8, aged eighty- two years, leaving two sons and four daughters. The elder son, Amos,^*' married Mary Burlingame, daugh- ter of Roger Burlingame,^" senior, December 19,1689. Samuel, his eldest son, was born September 24, 1692; married a daughter of Samuel Bennett"* June 20, 1 7 1 7. Of Thomas, the ancestor, there is this tradition in the family : that he was a millwright, came from Warwick- shire in England, landed or was at Plymouth about 1626 and built the first water corn-mill there; that he afterwards came to Providence and built the mill of John Smith ; "' and that, after his settlement at Old 124 The Narragansett Church Warwick, he built for the Shawomet settlers their grist mill. A descendant of the family has communicated the following memoir: " It appears that Thomas Staf- ford was born probably between the years 1 600 and 1 6 10, and emigrated from Warwickshire, England, to Plymouth, New England,in 1626, or about that time. The first settlement at Plymouth was in 1620, and of course he was one of the earliest settlers in this coun- try. He was a millwright and at Plymouth eredted a grist mill, said to have been the first in New England which ground corn by water. 1 1 appears that from some cause he did not remain there long, but removed to Pro- vidence. Here he erefted the first grist mill in Rhode Island, situated at the north end of the town near Mill Bridge. Without remaining there long, he again removed, this time to Old Warwick, where he spent the remainder of his days. He secured to himself a con- siderable traft of land at the head of the mill cove, in- cluding the present mill seat,where he eredted another grist mill. He lived on the north side of the mill stream, where stands the house, which is now owned by Amos Greene and was formerly the property of the Lippit family. His wife's name was Elizabeth, but whether he married before or after his arrival in this country cannot be ascertained, nor can any particulars in reference to his family, except that he had three sons, viz., Thomas, Samuel, and Joseph; and three daugh- ters, Hannah, Sarah, and Deborah. Thomas married Jane Dodge, Samuel married Mercy Westcott, daugh- ter of Stukeley Westcott,^^'' and Joseph married Sarah Holden, daughter of Randall Holden.^^^ Samuel Staf- ford "' succeeded to his father's estate, where he died at the advanced age of eighty-two, leaving two sons, Amos and Thomas. Thomas ='^° inherited the home- stead, including the mill, and Amos ^^' fixed his resi- dence about half a mile northwest, where he built a house (which was burnt in the occupancy of his grand- chapter Nineteenth 125 son, Thomas, in the year 1767, being the same spot where the mansion house now stands). He (Amos) had thirteen children, only five of whom survived him, viz., two sons, Samuel and Amos, and three daugh- ters, Mary, Marcy, and Freelove. Probably there never lived a more industrious, indefatigable man than this. It was a maxim of his : 'Four hours is enough for any one to sleep.' He belonged to the Society of Friends, as did his wife and family. He held the of- fice of town treasurer for several years. About two years before his death he became blind, and died in the year 1760, in the ninety-fifth year of his age. His daughter, who attended him in his last sickness, was upwards of seventy years of age. His wife was six days younger than himself; after his decease she lived six days and died, having lived to the precise age of her husband — a more remarkable circumstance, as it was connedled with such extraordinary longevity. "I would mention one more incident in relation to the times — Samuel Gorton,'^^ Randall H olden, and others, were taken from an adjoining lot, situated on the north side of the mill pond, by the authority of Massachusetts, carried to Boston, and there tried for their lives for heresy. These men had assembled in a block-house which had been previously erefted, to proted: them from the natives, who were very hos- tile. They capitulated or surrendered on condition of good treatment, relying on the justice of their cause and their religion. After going through their trial, they were neither condemned nor acquitted, but detained, and finally permitted to return to their settlement. On this lot, where originally stood this block-house, was the family burying-ground of the first millwright in New England." "April ai"" [stc] [1750] Dr. MacSparran bap- tized by Immersion at Warwick Elizabeth Green 126 The Narragansett Church wife of Richard Green/*' and by Affusion Wel- than Lippet wife of Jeremiah Lippet '*"* and sis- ter of said Richard." "Saturday June y' 12* 1756 Dr. MacSpar- ran administered Baptism, by total Immersion to two young women at Warwick, viz' Eliza- beth Green, Jun' Daughter of Richard Green and Elizabeth his wife, and to Sarah Hammet, Daughter of an Anabaptist Teacher there Some time ago dead." Richard Greene was a son of Richard, and grandson of Thomas '^' Greene, a brother of Deputy Governor John Greene.'^*He had a son, Thomas,''*' who was fa- ther of the present Judge Thomas Wickes Greene.'^* He was born on the seventeenth day of April, 170a. His wife was Elizabeth Godfrey,''*' of Newport. He resided in Old Warwick, in the house which had been the home of his grandfather, Thomas Greene, had been occupied as a garrison house in the Indian war, and, being of stone, had escaped the general destruftion in which the town was involved at that time. It was originally built by John Smith, who was President of the Colony '5° in 1649 (and who died in 1663), and upon the lot originally set off to him. It stood partly upon the site of the present dwelling of Judge Tho- mas Wickes Greene, to make room for which it was taken down by him. Thomas Greene,"' the brother of the first Richard above mentioned, left but one son, John,''^ who suc- ceeded to his father's estate, at Potowomut, and died there. Richard,thesonof John, called" Richard Greene ofPotowomut,"wasbornOd:ober4, 1725. He married Sarah Fry ,"3 daughter of Thomas Fry, of East Green- wich, September 28, 1746, and died June 19, 1779. Mrs. Le Baron,"ta descendant of the late "Richard Chapter Nineteenth 127 Greene, of Potowomut," communicates the following notice of him : "Richard Greene, son of John of Potowomut, where he was born, was a branch of the Stone Castle Greenes, so called from our progenitors having built a castle '^5. 79° of that material soon after their arrival in North America, for defence against the attacks of the Indians. John Greene, of Stone Castle memory, reached herewith his wife and five children in 1630; '''^ he was one of the Greenes of Awkley Hall,'''^in Eng- land. They were of the Established Church. John the first, after burying his wife in Warwick, returned to England, and married a second wife; who, with him- self, was also interred at a place called Conimicut. I once enquired of one of the oldest of our race with whom I have been acquainted, what she imagined could have induced them, as they possessed property, to leave their comfortable homes in Europe. She re- plied, ' I cannot tell, unless they had roving disposi- tions.' 'Richard Greene of Potowomut,' and Sarah Fry, daughter of Thomas Fry of East Greenwich, were married September 28, 1746 — so says the re- cord. Mr. Greene owned a farm in Coventry, which was large and valuable; another in West Greenwich — the number of acres in either I do not know. That on which he resided I have heard contained two thou- sand acres.''' I do not believe the number was so great, but am quite certain it was usually stocked with eight hundred sheep, and horses and cattle in abundance. His furniture and wines were imported from England. Servants, both white and coloured, were numerous. There was much splendour in his housekeeping for the times in which he lived. His always employing an overseer (who was regularly attached to the family), accounts for his having leisure to entertain more com- pany, perhaps, than any other private gentleman in Rhode Island, and he was remarkable for very great 128 The Narragansett Church hospitality. A large proportion of his visitors were some of the most distinguished personages of the day. After the decease of my grandmother, in 1775, my mother conduded her father's household affairs and presided at his table; and I well remember to have heard her say, that Governor Bradford ^^^ was a fre- quent and highly esteemed guest. Of the clergy, the Rev. Mr. Fogg ^"^ and the Rev. Mr. Fayerweather "s she mentioned as often having met there. General Var- num.t^^ Judge Lightfoot,^'* the Browns of Provi- dence,''" and the Hancocks and Quincys of Massa- chusetts visited him. The last time I was in South Carolina, the 0'Harras'°°bore testimony to his hos- pitality and said that they had experienced the greatest kindness and civility at his house. When I saw them they were very old and very wealthy. His children were fourteen in number, eleven of whom survived him. The education of his family was particularly at- tended to, he having always employed a competent private tutor. His children were instrudled at home until they were of a suitable age to be sent abroad to boarding schools. He was a handsome man of the middle size, his complexion light, eyes blue, and his hair a rich brown; his head being set forward a little more than common gave him the appearance of a slight stoop. He, like myself, was not a ready writer, but possessed great conversational powers and had that most happy faculty of always selecting the words most proper for expressing his ideas pleasingly. He dressed with taste and was scrupulously neat in his person. At the commencement of the Revolution, he viewed it as a rebellion against lawful authority ; but I firmly believe he ever remained stridlly neutral, al- though he was accused of aiding and assisting the Bri- tish — because he refused to sell the produce of his farms in large quantities to be sold again at an exor- bitant price, but kept it and had it dealt out to the chapter Nineteenth 129 poor as they needed it and for what it was in reality worth. Those who had no money were furnished with- out price. For this reason and for sheltering and pro- tecting the wife and little children of a person who had fled to Canada to escape undeserved persecution, he was suspedted of Toryism and suffered much in the loss of property. His buildings were fired and an officer with an armed force attempted to drive his cat- tle from his farm, pretending to believe they were in- tended to supply the British fleet, which was then ly- ing in the bay, with food. He told him to do it at his peril and they were not removed. This officer's family and his had been before on the closest terms of intimacy, but the friendship was never after renewed. He never purchased soldiers' certificates, nor ever paid a debt in Continental money. He was called by the common people, 'King Richard,' to distinguish him from others of the same name; not because of his loyalty to the Crown, but for his charity to the poor and his magnificent manner of living. He was fond of cards, which displeased his father, a zealous Qua- ker, and on that account, I think, he discontinued playing. His outer doors were never fastened. . . . He never had what we call watchers, when a death oc- curred in his family, but always, himself, slept in the room with the corpse. •" My grandfather was, for more than twenty years, afflidted with a cancerous tumour, for which he had been twice operated upon ; and, in 1778 or 1779, went to Newport (which was then garrisoned), with a flag of truce for the benefit of the advice of the British sur- geons, accompanied by my mother, his eldest daugh- ter, and Dr. William Bowen,*°' of Providence, who in- tended to remain during my grandfather's stay, but was not permitted to land. Cicuta was one of the reme- dies prescribed, and, unfortunately, he took too power- ful a dose. (He intended to leave the next day for 130 The Narragansett Church home.) The efFed soon warned him of the approach of death. He went to his chamber, followed by my mo- ther;gave hersome necessary directions ; said, if he had been less liberal, he should have left a much larger patri- mony for his children, but did not regret it, as there was still enough; advised her never to absent herself from church,and desired that none of his descendants should submit to the knife in case of cancer. Thus, calmly, on the 19th of July, 1779,^°'' died this noble gentleman and poor man's friend. The large estate which Mr. Greene owned and lived on, in Potowomut, is now [1847] chiefly owned by Mrs. Hope Ives,""* widow of the late Thomas P. Ives, Esq., of Providence." John Hammett [father of Sarah Hammett, men- tioned in the above extrad: from the Parish Register] was, on the i8th of June, 1744, ordained an assistant to Manasseh Martin, the elder of the Six-Principle Baptist Church in Warwick,*"^ and is spoken of, by the historian of that church, as an eminent servant of Christ, by whose ministry many gladly received the Word. He baptized. May, 1750, at Freetown, Mary Wells and Isabella Sweet, both deaf and dumb. He died, as the same historian says, "in the height of his usefulness, zeal, and ministerial labours ; " he was "suddenly called to his reward in Christ, December 28, 1752," and that it was "a solemn event, and caused great grief to the church and congregation at large, among whom he had laboured in dispensing the word of life" ^ ^ "May y= 19* 1753 At the old Town of War- wick, at Mrs. Lippet's,'^' were baptized by Dr. MacSparran, Mary Wicks, Daughter of Thomas Wicks '°^ and Ruth,'°= his wife, &c." " Saturday June y' 12* 1756 read Prayers and preached y' Same Day at Mrs. Lippet's and r ■>-;• ^ 5 .^' Chap ter Nineteenth 131 baptized Elizabeth Wickes, Daughter of Thos Wickes, and Ruth, his wife." Thomas Wickes *°'* was a son of John Wickes/"^ a representative in the General Assembly from War- wick in 1706-7, and from 1709 to 1715; was assist- ant [senator] from 171 5 to 1738, and in 1740 and 1 741; town clerk from 17 12 to his death in Decem- ber, 1742, with the exception of the year 1720; and fourth in descent from John Wickes,*°' one of the first settlers of Shawomet, and fellow-sufferer with Samuel Gorton.'*^ Of this ancestor, Callender says: "He was slain by the Indians, 1675, ^ very ancient man." He became,infad:,oneof the firstviftims within the colony of Rhode Island of the war of 1675. ^^ relation to his death there is this tradition : that on the approach of danger, when garrisons had been provided, and the in- habitants had generally repaired to them, he could not be persuaded that he required any protedion against the natives. From his past experience of their uniform kindness and good-will towards him personally, he was slow to believe himself in danger, and to the oft-re- peated admonitions of his friends to be more careful of his safety, his answer was, that he had no fears of in- jury from the Indians — that they would not hurt him. With this mistaken confidence in their fidelity, he ven- tured beyond the protedion of the garrisons; and go- ing at evening into the woods in search of his cows, he did not return. His fate was first known to his friends on seeing his head set upon a pole, near his own dwelling, on the following morning. This they im- mediately — and before venturing in search of the body — buried near the stone garrison,and within a fewrods of it. The body, which was found on the succeeding day, was interred beside the head, but in a distindl grave; and two little hillocks, which mark the spot, are still shown as the grave of John Wickes. 132 The Narragansett Church He left one son, John/"* who from the time of his father's death resided at Mosquito Cove, Long Island, for several years, and married Rose Townsend, daugh- ter of John Townsend. Of the three sons of this mar- riage, John,*°^ the eldest, married Sarah Gorton, a granddaughter of Samuel. Thomas, the fifth son of this last marriage, was born in Warwick, September 8,171 5, upon the estate which had been successively the estate of his ancestors, ori- ginally assigned to John Wickes at the first settle- ment of the town, and prior to 1 647. On this estate he continued to reside till his death, in 1803. He left but two children : Mary, who married Rowland Brown,'"' of South Kingstown, and Elizabeth, who married Ben- jamin Gardiner,""* who resided in Middletown, on Rhode Island; both by his first wife, Ruth. At what period she died, or where he married his second wife, whom he left a widow at his death, I have not been able to ascertain. Her name, however, was Rebecca. He was twice eledted a representative to the General Assembly from Warwick, viz., in August, 1759, and April, 1760. In 1767, the voice of the people called Mr. Wickes Into the Senate of the colony. The times were troublous, and the firm but temperate counsel of such men as Mr. Wickes ensured tranquillity to the colony. But retirement, social intercourse, and the cul- tivation of his plantation had paramount charms to the discussions, which began to agitate the public mind; and in 1772, he signified to his friends his desire of retirement; but public sentiment delayed the execu- tion of his purpose, as the following communication from Lieut.-Gov. Sessions to Mr. Wickes will show: c Providence, April 14, 1 772 We have once more taken the liberty of putting your name into the prox [ticket] , as a candidate at the next general eledtion, and hope it will not be disagreeable. Chapter Nineteenth 133 Your condudt as a magistrate gives general satisfaftion to the public. It was the unanimous opinion of the gentlemen of this town, that there was a necessity of your continuance for another year at least. I would therefore request that you would make up no deter- mination to the contrary until the elediion, and then, if you can't be convinced that it is your duty to stand another year, the General Assembly must choose some other person in your room, which I hope you will not give them the trouble of doing. I am, with respedt. Your friend and humble servant, Darius Sessions Mr.Wickes continued a senator, and was reeledled for the year 1775. After his reeleftion in April of that year, the Battle of Lexington occurred, and the " Army of Observation" was raised, against which measure Mr. Wickes joined Governor Wanton in a protest (which the reader will see under the headof Wanton), wishing to avoid, if possible, the ultimate resort to arms by further negotiation. Blood had been shed, public opin- ion had become exasperated, dispassionate counsels were unheeded, and Mr. Wickes, at the general elec- tion in May of that year, declined serving in the office, to which he had been elefted, and Mr. James Arnold, junior, was, by the Legislature, eledted to supply his place. Mr. Wickes retired to private life, quietly oc- cupied his plantation and enjoyed the society of his friends, who always received a welcome reception at his hospitable board; and spent the remainder of his days in the bosom of his family and in the social circles of Old Warwick. The late Honourable Elisha R. Potter knew Mr. Wickes well and spoke of him as an ac- complished planter of the old school, firm in purpose, courteous in manner, scrupulously exad in all his worldly relations and fond of the social intercourses oflife. 134 The Narragansett Church "Thursday July aa"" 1756 As I came home from Providence, I took Warwick in my way, and baptized by Immersion an adult named Phebe Low alias Greene, Daughter of Philip Greene, Esq'' of Warwick, and wife of one Captain ow. Philip Greene*"" was a son of Major Job Greene, a grandson of Deputy Governor John Greene ^^^ and the father of Colonel Christopher Greene, of the Rev- olution, and married Elizabeth Wickes, a sister of Thomas Wickes. Respecting Colonel Christopher Greene, so justly distinguished for his gallantry in the Revolution, John Howland, President of the Rhode Island Historical Society,in a letter dated 06tober 23, 1845, says: " I received yours a few days since, and will, so far as my recolled;Ion extends, comply with your request. Colonel Greene was a most valuable ofRcer, and an honour to the State; but it is most unfortunate for his memory that so few public or private materials respecS- Ing him are now In existence. Whenever I recur to the events of the Revolution, or to the charadters of those of Rhode Island who bore such conspicuous parts In what ought to form a prominent feature In Its history, I am vexed, and disposed to say hard things of those who had it In their power to preserve such documents as would have enriched our history, and have done ample justice to the characters of our then most es- teemed and valuable citizens. "Major John S. Dexter,*" of this State, was for a long time an assistant or deputy In the office of the Ad- jutant-General of the United States Army, and con- sequently had access to all the orders of the Com- mander-in-chief colledted in that department. During the presidency of Washington and Adams, he held an important office In the Finance Department of the Chapter Nineteenth 135 United States in this State ;andafter he resigned the of- fice of chief justice, and removed to his farm in Cum- berland, I applied to him for any papers in his posses- sion, to be deposited in the cabinet of our Historical Society. He informed me that when he was about removing from Providence to Cumberland, he found himself encumbered with such a vast mass of old pa- pers and books, for which he had no room in his small house in Cumberland, that he had burnt them all up, though it took a great while to consume them. And this gentleman had been educated, and was a man of sense and of pleasant manners, yet he was guilty of this stupid and wicked adt. His brother, Captain Dan- iel S. Dexter,*" performed a similar ad:. He was an of- ficer in Colonel Greene's regiment, and being a good writer he performed the office of his clerk or secre- tary. He had a great amount of papers, which filled a large trunk. He was appointed Paymaster of Lip- pitt's"' regiment before he was twenty years old. I was then in that regiment, aged nineteen. He continued in the service under various promotions to the close of the war, when he held the rank of captain. He was a good officer and good writer, and careful to preserve all the papers he wrote or copied. In old age he re- moved to the house next adjoining me; he was feeble and deaf I frequently called on him, but did not know of his having any old papers, until the lady with whom he boarded came in and told me that the Cap- tain had been all day burning up papers ; that he had burnt up more than a bushel. I immediately ran into the house, and to his chamber, if possible to stop the proceeding. I said everything to prevent any further destruftion, but it was too late ; he had reserved only one letter, from General Washington to Colonel Greene. This was in reply to one the General had re- ceived from the Colonel respeding a soldier then un- der sentence of death, whom the Colonel — from some 136 The Narragansett Church mitigating circumstances — wished to pardon, but had not the power. The General authorized him to exer- cise this power at his own discretion. This letter, a few days after, Mr. Dexter handed to my daughter. I esteemed it of great value, not only for its being in the handwriting of Washington, but as expressing the just and benevolent sentiments of that illustrious man. " (I have delayed finishing the communication for a week or so, to search for the letter, that I might send you a copy. I have examined and overhauled a bushel of old papers and letters, but have not yet found it, and my daughter is confident that I some time ago deposited it in the cabinet of the Historical Society. I trust it is so and there safe, but as our new building is not yet provided with proper cabinets, our deposits there are mixed up in some confusion, but I shall soon find it, which my feeble health has as yet prevented.) "I am not sure that I ever saw Colonel Greene more than once. Colonel Varnum, who lived in East Greenwich in 1774, had formed a company called the 'Kentish Guards,' and the morning after the news of the Lexington battle arrived here (Providence), I saw them march through the street on their way to- wards Boston, and saw Mr. Greene, who had the nom- inal rank of major. He appeared as a strong man, thick-set, and broad across the shoulders. Nathanael Greene, afterwards the General, was a private in this company. I had often seen him, and knew him well. His left leg or thigh was shorter than the other, which caused his musket at every step to shake, and did not accord with the steady position of those on his right and left; but when I saw him afterwards on horse- back, he rode well. Colonel Varnum marched his com- pany as far as Pawtucket, where he met an express who said that the enemy had returned to Boston. He then returned to Greenwich. ter Nineteenth 137 Chap "To compensate for any defedl in my personal knowledge of Colonel Greene, I would specially refer you to the memoirs of the southern war, by Colonel Henry Lee. There you find an account of the Red Bank battle, and in the appendix a biography of him — doubtless written by one of his family, as it contains notices of his ancestors which Lee could not otherwise have known. In one item I think Lee was mistaken; he calls him Captain Greene at the attack on Quebec. I am certain he was then Major ^^'^ and soon after his exchange, was made Lieutenant-Colonel. I do not think that a life of Greene, unless you add extraneous matters, will be of sufficient compass to fill a book; and if you add that of Major Thayer,^'^ who was one of the best officers in the service,it will help the size of the volume, and you will find an account of Thayer also in the appendix of Lee's memoir. In any notices of Thayer, a copy of General Varnum's account of the delinquency of Colonel Sam Smith,*"* and of Thayer's taking the command of Mud Island, ought to be an- nexed; and of Smith's keeping the sword presented by Congress to the defender of that post, instead of de- livering it to Major Thayer, to whom it justly be- longed. "A volume could be written injustice to the char- after of Silas Talbot,*'^ of Rhode Island. He ^zs great both by land and sea, and in Congress. " On second thought, I have no doubt that I must have seen Colonel Greene on Rhode Island, in Sulli- van's expedition, in 1778, as I then was in the Provi- dence militia regiment, commanded by Colonel Ma- thews,*'* and this regiment composed a part of the bri- gade of which Colonel Greene was the commander. "The sword voted by Congress to Colonel Greene for his defence of Red Bank, did not arrive from France, where it was made, until some time after the death of the Colonel, and it was then transmitted, with a letter 138 The Narragansett Church from General Knox, to Job Greene/'^ the Colonel's eldest son. The second son of the Colonel/"^ who was a young man of education, and fine talents and ad- dress, settled at first in this town in business; and, af- ter the decease of his elder brother, had possession of the sword. He removed hence to Charleston, South Carolina, and carried the sword with him. His name and connexions, with his fine talents, induced the citi- zens to invite him to deliver a Fourth of July oration, which was highly applauded, and printed. He sent one to be presented to our Providence Library Company. He married a lady in Charleston, but the southern fever carried him off in the next year; had he lived, he would have been distinguished in civil life, as his father was in military. I have never heard of the sword since,*"' but suppose it is still preserved by the family of his wife. When I understood that Colonel Henry Lee was writing and about to publish his history of the southern war, I sent out to him by one Richard Jackson, the Gaze^ie containing General Varnum's ac- count of Smith's leaving Mud Island and Thayer's *'' taking the command, and the mistake made by Con- gress in voting the sword to Smith*"* instead of Thayer, who did all the fighting; but Smith being then a powerful leader of the jacobin party in the Sen- ate, Lee thought best not to insert the account en- tire, but omitted in his story any account of the sword in question, and gave high credit to Thayer, who de- served it. "General Greene was an able General, but how he would have stood in a subordinate station we cannot tell. Silas Talbot,*'^ however, was qualified for any sta- tion. He excelled as a partisan officer on the land, and as an able and successful commander on the ocean. He was the most popular of any officer in this State as a military commander, and why his life has not been written is not to be accounted for. After thewar he set- Chapter Nineteenth 139 tied in the State of New York, and was eledted a mem- ber of Congress, where he was on the most impor- tant committees." The biography of Colonel Greene in the Appendix of 'The War in the Southern Department, by Colonel H. Lee, referred to by Mr. Howland, is subjoined as follows : "Christopher Greene, Lieutenant-Colonel, Com- mandant of one of the Rhode Island regiments in the service of Congress during the Revolutionary war, was born in the town of Warwick, in the State of Rhode Island, in the year 1737. His father, Philip Greene, Esq.,*'°was descended from John Greene, Esq.,''' one of the earliest settlers of Massachusetts Bay. The lat- ter gentleman emigrated from England in the year 1 63 5 , and settled in Salem — now a well-improved, open, but commercial town. Mr. Greene, soon after his arrival, purchased from the Indian sachems, Miantonomi and Socononoco,a part of the township of Warwick, called Occupasuetuxet, which property is still possessed by some of his descendants. He left three sons, the pro- genitors of a numerous and respeftable race of men, successively distinguished, as well by the highest offices in the gift of their country, as by their talents, their use- fulness, and goodness. "Philip Greene, the father of the Lieutenant-Col- onel, was a gentleman of the first respedtability in the State, beloved for his virtues, and admired for the hon- ourable discharge of the duties of the various stations to which he was called — the last of which placed him on the bench as a judge of the Superior Court of the State. A father so situated could not but cherish the intelledtual powers of his progeny with the utmost attention. Christopher received all the advantages in the best line of education procurable in the country, which he took care to improve by the most arduous application. He was particularly attached to the study 140 The Narragansett Church of mathematics, in which he made proficiency, and thus laid up a stock of knowledge exadtly suitable for that profession to which he was afterwards unexpectedly called. Exhibiting in early life his capacity and amia- bility, he was eledted by his native town to a seat in the Colonial Legislature in Oftober, 1 770, and he con- tinued to fill the same, by successive elecSlions, until Oftober, 1772. In 1774, the Legislature wisely es- tablished a military corps, styled ' Kentish Guards,' for the purpose of fitting the most seledt of her youth for military offices. In this corps young Greene was chosen a lieutenant, and in May, 1775, he was ap- pointed by the Legislature a major in what was then called 'An Army of Observation,' our brigade of six- teen hundred effedlives under the orders of his near relative, Brigadier-General Greene, afterwards so cele- brated. "From this situation he was promoted to the com- mand of a company of infantry in one of the regiments raised by the State for continental service. The regi- ment to which he belonged was attached to the army of Canada, condufted by General Montgomery, in the vicissitudes and difficulties of which campaign Captain Greene*" shared, evincing upon all occasions that un- yielding intrepidity which marked his military conduft in every subsequent scene. In the attack upon Que- bec, which terminated the campaign as well as the life of the renowned Montgomery, Captain Greene be- longed to the column which entered the lower town, and was made prisoner. His elevated mind ill brooked the irksomeness of captivity, though in the hands of the enlightened and humane Carleton; and it has been uniformly asserted that, while a prisoner, Greene often declared that 'he would never again be taken alive;' a resolution unhappily fulfilled. " As soon as Captain Greene was exchanged, he re- paired to his regiment, with which he continued with- Chapter Nineteenth 141 out intermission, performing with exemplary propriety the various duties of his progressive stations, when he was promoted to the majority of Varnum's regiment. In 1777, he succeeded to the command of the regi- ment, and was seleded by Washington to take com- mand of Fort Mercer (commonly called Red Bank), the safe-keeping of which post, with that of Fort Mif- flin (Mud Island) was very properly deemed of pri- mary importance. The noble manner in which Colo- nel Greene sustained himself against a superior force of veteran troops, led by an officer of ability, has been partially related, ... as well as the well-earned re- wards which followed his memorable defence. Con- summating his military fame by his achievements on that proud day, he could not be overlooked by the Commander-in-chief, when great occasions called for great exertions. Greene was accordingly attached with his regiment to the troops placed under Major Sulli- van, for the purpose of breaking up the enemy's post on Rhode Island, soon after the arrival of the French fleet under the command of D'Estaing, in the summer of 1778; which well-concerted enterprise was marred in its execution by some of those incidents which abound in war, and especially when the enterprise is complicated, and entrusted to allied forces and requires naval cooperation. Returning to headquarters, Colonel Greene continued to serve under the Commander-in- chief, whose confidence and esteem he invariably en- joyed. "In the spring of 1781, when General Washington began to expedt the promised naval aid from our best friend, the ill-fated Louis XVI, he occasionally ap- proached the enemy's lines on the side of York Is- land. In one of these movements. Colonel Greene, with a suitable force, was posted on the Croton River, in advance of the army. On the other side of this river lay a corps of refugees (American citizens who had 142 The Narragansett Church joined the British army), under the command of Colo- nel DeLancey.^'° These half citizens, half soldiers, were notorious for rapine and murder; and to their vindiaive condud may justly be ascribed most of the cruelties which stained the progress of our war and which at length compelled Washington to order Cap- tain Asgill,*" of the British army, to be brought to headquarters, for the purpose of retaliating, by his ex- ecution, for the murder of Captain Huddy, of New Jersey, perpetrated by a Captain Lippincourt [Lippin- cott?] of the refugees. The commandant of these re- fugees (DeLancey was not present) having ascertained the position of Greene's corps, which the Colonel had cantoned in adjacent farmhouses — probably with a view to the procurement of subsistence — took the re- solution to strike it. This was accordingly done, by a no6turnal movement, on the 13th of May. The enemy crossed the Croton before daylight, and hastening his advance, reached our station with the dawn of day,un- perceived. As he approached the farmhouse in which the Lieutenant-Colonel was quartered, the noise of troops marching was heard, which was the first inti- mation of the fatal design. Greene and Major Flagg*" immediately prepared themselves for defence, but they were too late, so expeditious was the progress of the enemy. Flagg discharged his pistols, and instantly afterwards fell mortally wounded, when the ruffians (unworthy of the appellation of soldiers) burst open the door of Greene's apartment. Here the gallant veteran singly received them with his drawn sword. Several fell beneath the arm accustomed to conquer, till, at length, overpowered by numbers and faint from the loss of blood streaming from his wounds, barbarity triumphed over valour. ' His right arm was almost cut ofFin two places, the left in one, a severe cut on the left shoulder, a sword thrust through the abdomen, a bayo- net in the right side and another through the abdo- chapter Nineteenth 143 men, several sword cuts on the head and many in dif- ferent parts of the body.' Thus cruelly mangled fell the generous conqueror of Count Donop, whose wounds, as well as those of his unfortunate associates, had been tenderly dressed as soon as the battle terminated, and whose pains and sorrows had been as tenderly assuaged. How different was the relentless fury here displayed! The Commander-in-chief heard with anguish and in- dignation the tragical fate of his loved, his faithful friend and soldier, in whose feelings the army sincerely participated. On the subsequent day the corpse was brought to headquarters and the funeral was solem- nized with military honours and universal grief. " Lieutenant-Colonel Greene was murdered in the meridian of life, being only forty-four years old. He married, in 1757, Miss Anne Lippit,*''' a daughter of Jeremiah Lippit, Esq., of Warwick, whom he left a widow, with three sons and four daughters. He was stout and strong in person, about five feet ten inches high, with a broad, round chest; his aspedt manly and demeanour pleasing; enjoying always a high state of health, its bloom irradiated a countenance which sig- nificantly expressed the fortitude and mildness invari- ably displayed throughout his life." The Captain Low mentioned was Anthony Low.*^* He was descended from Anthony Low, of Swansea, who resided in Warwick from the year 1656, when he was admitted a freeman, till the Indian war of 1675. His dwelling having been burned in March of that year, he returned to Swansea. This ancestor was the person spoken of by Captain Church, as the individual who volunteered from friendship and the interest he felt in the success of his cause, to carry him from New- port to Seaconnet and thence to Sandwich, in July, 1676, at the risk of vessel and cargo. chapter XX Other Churches in the Narragansett Country. Tower Hill Church. Westerly Church. East Greenwich Church. Kingston Church. Wakefield Church. TOWER HILL CHURCH THE Church of St. Paul's in Narragansett (in which Dr. MacSparran preached) was erefted before the division of the old town of Kingstown into the two towns of North and South Kingstown, in February, 1722-3. The church, upon that division, fell about one mile over the North Kingstown side of the line. In 1 79 1, it was incorporated ^^^ by the name of St. Paul's, in North Kingstown, and the sales and donations, both in real and personal estate, were made to St. Paul's Church, in North Kings- town, in its corporate name.* The location of the building having become inconvenient for both parishes, it was, in 1800, removed to Wickford,"'' already at that time a large village, and the parish was divided. Services were per- formed by one reftor in both parishes, on alter- nate Sundays, at the Wickford church and at the Glebe house in South Kingstown. Through the exertions and enterprise of the Rev. Mr. Burge,'" a church was erefted on Tower Hill ^""^ for the accommodation of the South Kingstown parish, and consecrated by Bishop Griswold, *The Church of St. Paul's was first incorporated in Odlober, 1791. In February, 1794, upon its petition, the old charter was repealed, and a new one granted. Chapter Twentieth 145 November, 1818. This parish in June, 1834, was incorporated by the name of St. Luke's Church; afterwards in 06lober, 1838, the cor- porate name was changed to St. Paul's, and ser- vices were performed in the new church instead of at the Glebe. In 1833, the church at Tower Hill obtained an appropriation from the Rhode Island Convocation for a missionary to preach regularly in the Tower Hill church. The Rev. Erastus De Wolf,^^' one of the missionaries of the Convocation, accepted their call, and per- formed services in the Tower Hill church for about eight months. He was then sent as a mis- sionary to Westerly. As soon as the two churches were supplied with separate services, the lands that had been given to St. Paul's in North Kings- town (the property having been obtained ori- ginally by the joint contributions of both pa- rishes), were satisfactorily divided,*'^ and from that time alternate services by the same reftor ceased. In the autumn of 1834, the parish of Tower Hill again called the Rev. Mr. De Wolf to be- come its minister, and he continued re6lor un- til 1838, when he left. The Rev. Francis Vin- ton^'' succeeded Mr. De Wolf In 1840, the Church of the Ascension, at Wakefield, having been ereded and consecrated, the members of the church at Tower Hill joined the Wakefield church, and, since, there have been but occa- sional services held at Tower Hill ^'°by the rec- tor of the Wakefield church. 146 The Narragansett Church WESTERLY CHURCH ICArist Church'] In 1834, the Rev. Erastus De Wolf/'' as a missionary of the Rhode Island Convocation, preached at Westerly about seven months. A pa- rish was not organized while he remained there. At the request of the Convocation, the Rev. James Pratt,^^" in September, 1834, visited West- erly as their missionary, and held services. On the 24th of November of the same year, under his auspices, a church was organized, and a sew- ing circle, tra6l society, and Sunday-school of sixty or seventy scholars were established. In June, 1835, the Sunday-school contained one hundred and fifty-five scholars in regular attend- ance — the communicants being thirty-nine. Mr. Pratt had also obtained nearly $2,000 by subscrip- tion in the village to build a church. In 1835, a church, fifty-seven by thirty-eightfeet,was erect- ed, at an expense of about $6,000, and conse- crated as Christ Church. In 1 836, a neat parson- age house was built at a cost of $2,000. In 1837, the communicants had increased to eighty-six, and in 1838 to one hundred and fifteen. On December 26, 1839, the Rev. Mr. Pratt received a call from the church at Portland, Maine, to become its reftor, a position which he accepted, and until Easter, 1 841, the Westerly church was supplied with only occasional ser- vices, when the Rev. Mr. Newman became rec- tor, and continued so until 1844, at which date the Rev. Thomas H. Vail '''was elefted, and still [1847] continues reftor. Communicants, 135. chapter Twentieth 147 EAST GREENWICH CHURCH [St. Luke's Churc/i] A Church was organized at East Greenwich, August 10, 1 833, through the missionary labours of the Rev. Sylvester Nash/" The church was erected and consecrated as St. Luke's Church, on the 1 7th of April, 1834. Mr. Nash continued pas- tor of the church until April, 1 840. He was suc- ceeded on the 1 2th of July following by the Rev. William H. Moore.''* In December, 1841, the Rev. Silas A. Crane *" became re6tor, and the church is now [1847] under his pastoral charge. Communicants, forty. [Dr. Crane died July i6, 1 872, the parish being sup- plied, for some time afterwards, by the Rev. Joseph M. Turner. In the early part of 1 874 the Rev. George Pomeroy Allen became reftor of St. Luke's, remain- ing about five years. During his redtorship a large church of granite was built. While the Rev. Daniel Goodwin was in charge of the parish, from September, 1879,10 November, 1892, the considerable indebtedness upon the edifice was paid and the church consecrated, Odober 18, 1880. From the early part of 1893, for about one year, the Rev. Frank L Paradise was redior of St. Luke's, being followed by the Rev. Francis B. Whitcome, who re- mained until 1899, a parish house being built during his pastorate. In the autumn of 1899, the Rev. Wil- liam Worthington became redtor and is still (1907) in charge.] KINGSTON CHURCH ISt. Peters'^ The Rev. Mr. De Wolf,*^' missionary at Tower Hill, held clerical services at Kingston *'^ during 148 The Narragansett Church the winter of 1 834-5 ; and, in the spring, a church was organized *" with nineteen communicants, and admitted into the Diocesan Convention in that year. In May, the Rev. William W. Niles, the missionary of the Convocation, officiated as pastor for about six months. Regular religious services were suspended, after that period, for the term of two years. In April, 1838, the Rev. Louis Jansen, a missionary of the Convocation, was elefted reftor. He reported to the Conven- tion twenty-three communicants. He left in January, 1839, and was succeeded by the Rev. Francis Vinton,^'''appointed by the Convocation missionary reftor over the parishes of Tower Hill and Kingston. At their call, he continued to perform divided services in the two churches until he accepted the reftorship of St. Stephen's, Providence. "Lay services were then begun by Lieutenant A. A. Harwood,*'^ of the United States Navy, who was licensed by the Bishop of the Diocese for this objefb, which he pursued with praiseworthy zeal." In January, 1840, the Rev. Mr. Newman officiated at Kingston, once a Sunday, until the Church of the Ascension was finished at Wakefield. On the 3 1 st of May, 1 840, regular services at Kingston church were closed, and the members have since attended the Wake- field church. No church edifice was built at Kingston — the congregation worshipped in the State [Court] House. chapter Twentieth 149 WAKEFIELD CHURCH [Church of the Ascension] The Rev. Francis Vinton/^' missionary of the Rhode Island Convocation over the parishes of Tower Hill and Kingston, organized the Church of the Ascension at Wakefield, on the 28th of February, 1839, with six communicants, Wake- field is situated on the Saugatucket River, a few rods above the Point Judith Ponds, into which that river empties. Within the distance of a mile are four faftories, and a dense population. Through the liberality of Elisha Watson, Esq., suitable lots for a church and parsonage house were obtained, and in a few weeks the re- quired amount for the ereftion of a church and a large portion for building the parsonage were raised.* The building of the church was begun in the summer of 1839, It was consecrated on the 3d of June, 1840. The Rev. William H. Newman was the first reflor (the Rev. Mr. Vinton having accepted the reftorship of St. Stephen's in Providence, before the church was completed). Mr. Newman divided his labours between the Tower Hill and Wakefield parishes until the consecration. He continued reftor of the Church of the Ascension until Easter, 1841, when he accepted a call to Christ Church, West- * The Rev. Mr. Vinton offered to procure one thousand dollars, provided the same amount should be raised in South Kingstown. The offerings were so liberal on the part of Mr. Watson and others, that it at once ensured the building of the church, and the next day Mr. Vinton started forth to redeem his pledge, which by God's blessing was speedily done, through the liberality of Churchmen in New York and Providence. ISO The Narragansett Church erly. The reftorship of the Wakefield church was vacant, except for occasional ministrations, until February, 1842, when the Rev. James H. Eames^^' was elected minister of the united parishes of Tower Hill and Wakefield, in the Church of the Ascension. Mr. Eames continued until January, 1846, when he was chosen rec- tor of St. Stephen's, Providence. In March, 1 846, the Rev. James H. Carpenter*''" became Reftor of the churches at Wakefield and Tower Hill, and still [1847] continues in charge of them. [The History of St. Paul's Church, Narragansett, and of other Churches in the Narragansett Country closes here.^ Chapter XXI TRINITY CHURCH, NEWPORT Memoir of 'Trinity Church, Newport, from 1698 to 1 8 10. Compiled from the Records, by Henry Bull, Esq., with Notes by the ReSlor, Rev. Francis Vin- ton^'^ [1840-44]. UNTIL nearly the close of the seventeenth century there were but two orders of Chris- tians in the town of Newport, who were organ- ized and regularly met together for the purpose of worship, and those were of the denominations of Baptists, and Friends or Quakers. The original founder, and first principal pa- tron of Trinity Church, in Newport, was Sir Francis Nicholson.^''' He was by profession a sol- dier ; was Lieutenant-Governor of New York under Sir Edmund Andros, and at the head of the administration of that colony from 1687 to 1690, at which time he was appointed Governor of Virginia, and so continued for two years. From 1694 to 1699, he was Governor of Maryland, after which time he was again Governor of Vir- ginia until 1705. He commanded the British forces sent to Canada in 171 o, and took the im- portant fortress of Port Royal. In 171 2, he be- came Governor of Nova Scotia, and in 1 72 1 Gov- ernor of Carolina. He returned to England in June, 1725, and died in London in 1728. Mr. John Lockyer,**^ an Episcopal clergy- man, commenced preaching in Newport about the last of 1698, and a church was gathered by 152 The Narragansett Church that means. He was doubtless procured by the instrumentality of Sir Francis Nicholson, who was then Governor of Maryland ; for the re- cords of Trinity Church fully sustain the fa6t that Sir Francis was its founder. The people, and more especially the leading gentlemen of the town, were well disposed toward this new un- dertaking, and a considerable parish was soon es- tablished, with sufficient strength and zeal, aided by their generous patron, to build a handsome church, which was completed in or before 1702. " Handsome," as they say in 1702, "finished on the outside, . . . the inside pewed well, but not beautified." Thus far the Church had made its way with- out any aid from the mother country. In the year 1702, when the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts had been established and incorporated in England, the wardens of Trinity Church applied to the Bishop of Lon- don, soliciting the aid of the Society, on which application the Rev. Mr. James Honyman was appointed missionary, in 1704, and sent over to this station. The Society, as a further encourage- ment, sent also as a present to the church a valu- able library^"' of the best theological books of that day, consisting of seventy-five volumes, mostly folio. Many of these books are still in the possession of the church. Queen Anne pre- sented the church with the bell which was re- ceived here in 1709, about which time the min- ister, wardens, and vestry wrote to the Gover- nor of Massachusetts, and to the Rev. Samuel chapter Twenty-first 153 Myles, minister of Boston, requesting each of them to forward money left in their hands for the church by Sir Francis Nicholson, stating their then present want of money to enable them to prepare for and hang the bell recently received. Mr. Honyman was a gentleman well calculated to unite his own parish, which grew and flour- ished exceedingly under his charge, as well as to conciliate those of other religious persuasions, all of whom he "embraced with the arm of charity." In the year 171 3, the minister, church war- dens, and vestry petitioned the Queen for the es- tablishment of Bishops in America, setting forth the great benefits thatwould result to the Church from such a measure. Mr. Nathaniel Kay,^''* the Colledtor of the King's revenues in Rhode Is- land, who afterwards liberally endowed the school connefted with this church, was among the sign- ers to this petition. In the year 1724, Mr. Hony- man writes to the Society in England as follows : "There are properly belonging to my church in Newport, above fifty communicants who live in this place, exclusive of strangers. The church people grow now too numerous to be accommodated with seats in the old church, and many more offer to join them- selves to the church communion." Mr. Honyman proposed to the church mem- bers the building a new church, and subscribed thirty pounds himself for that purpose. The peo- ple heartily concurred, and he soon after ob- tained subscriptions amounting to one thousand pounds of the currency of the country. But it 154 The Narragansett Church was estimated the building would cost twice that amount ; however, a sufficient sum was raised, and in the year 1726 the church was completed, and Mr. Honyman held the first service in it. The body of the building was seventy feet long, and forty-six feet wide. It had two tiers of windows, was full of pews, and had galleries all round to the east end. It was acknowledged by the people of that day to be the most beautiful timber struc- ture in America. The old building was given to the people of Warwick, who had no church of their own. We have every reason for believing that the new building was erefted on the site of the old one,**^ for the old one appears to have been disposed of by gift, to make room for the new, which would not otherwise have been done in a town rapidly increasing in population, and in want of more buildings. At the time of which we are writing, 1724 to 1726, there were Qua- kers and two sorts*''* of Anabaptists in Newport, yet the members of the Church of England in- creased daily ; and, although there were not to be found alive, at that time, four of the original promoters of Church worship in this place, yet there were then above four times the number of all the first. Mr. Honyman had under his care at this time the towns of Newport, Freetown, Tiverton, and Little Compton. The history of the church has been, thus far, principally derived from the publications of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in For- eign Parts, and from letters of the minister, wardens, and vestry to Queen Anne, to the Bishop chapter Twenty-first 155 of London, and to Sir Francis Nicholson, copies of which have been preserved in the first Parish Records of the church. That the first book of the Corporation Records has been lost is a circum- stance much to be regretted. The second book begins with the date 1731. A letter written in Newport, and published in the New England Journal, Boston, February 3, 1729, says : "Yesterday, arrived here Dean Berkeley, of Lon- donderry, in a pretty large ship. He is a gentleman of middle stature, of an agreeable, pleasant, and ere<5l asped:. Hewasushered into the town with a great num- ber of gentlemen, to whom he behaved himself after a very complaisant manner. 'Tis said he purposes to tarry here with his family about three months." The connection of Dean Berkeley with Trinity Church calls for a passing notice of his sojourn in Newport, where he arrived by a circumstance purely accidental. He, with other gentlemen, his associates, were bound to the island of Bermuda, with the intention of establishing there a college for the education of the Indian youth of this country — a plan, however, which wholly failed. The captain of the ship in which he sailed could not find the island of Bermuda, and having given up the search after it, steered northward until he discovered land unknown to him, which he supposed to be inhabited only by savages. On making a signal, however, two men came on board from Block Island in the charafter of pilots, who, on enquiry, informed him that the harbour and town of Newport were near and that 156 The Narragansett Church in the town there was an Episcopal church, the minister of which was Mr. James Honyman. On which he proceeded for Newport, but an ad- verse wind caused him to run into the west pas- sage, where the ship came to anchor. The Dean wrote a letter to Mr. Honyman, which the pilots took on shore at Conanicut Island, calling on Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Martin, two members of Mr. Honyman's church, and informing them that a great dignitary of the Church of England, called Dean, was on board the ship, together with other gentlemen passengers.*"" They handed them the letter from the Dean, which Gardiner and Mar- tin brought to Newport, in a small boat, with all possible despatch. On their arrival, they found Mr, Honyman was at church, it being a holy- day on which divine service was held there. They then sent the letter by a servant, who delivered it to Mr. Honyman in his pulpit. He opened it, and read it to the congr-egation, from the contents of which it appeared that the Dean might be ex- pelled to land in Newport at any moment. The church was dismissed with the blessing, and Mr. Honyman, with the wardens, vestry, church and congregation, male and female, repaired immedi- ately to the ferry wharf, where they arrived a little before the Dean, his family, and friends. The foregoing tradition we have given as we received it, but other traditions vary a little from that ; some of which say that the ship made no land until she arrived in the East or Sachuest River, from which she came round the north end of Rhode Island to Newport. Others say the first r/ Chapter Twenty-first 157 land she made was Narragansett, after she had got into the west passage. But we have found no other so much in detail, (3r so well connected or proba- ble, as the one given. The Dean purchased a farm ^"^ of about one hundred acres, in the town of Newport, adjoining one of about the same extent belonging to the Rev. James Honyman, on which Mr. Honyman resided. The Dean built him a house on his farm for his residence, which he called White Hall, — a name it still retains. The house is yet standing. It is situated in what is now the town of Middletown, about three miles from the State House in Newport, and a lit- tle back from the road which runs eastward from the town, near a beautiful little watercourse running southward toward Sachuest Beach. This White Hall estate he gave to Yale College, in Connefticut, which still owns the fee. He built his house in a valley, not far from a hill com- manding an extensive view of the ocean and country. He preferred the valley to the hill, as he said, for the following reasons — that to en- joy the prospeft from the hill, he must visit it only occasionally; that if his constant residence should be on the hill, the view would be so com- mon as to lose all its charms. During his resi- dence at White Hall, he wrote his ^Minute Phil- osopher,^*'^ and his celebrated poem, so oracular, as to the future destinies of America. These were principally written at a place about half a mile southwardly from his house. There he had his chair and writing apparatus placed in a natural alcove which he found in the most elevated parts 158 The Narragansett Church of the Hanging Rocks (so called) , roofed and only open to the south, commanding at once a view of Sachuest Beach, the ocean, and the circumja- cent islands. This hermitage was to him a favour- ite and solitary retreat. He continued here about two years, perhaps a little longer. He was cer- tainly here as late as September, 1 7 3 i , as appears by a supplementary inscription on the tomb- stone of Nathaniel Kay, Esq., viz.: JOINING TO THE SOUTH OF THIS TOMB LIES LUCIA BERKELEY DAUGHTER OF DEAN BERKELEY OEIT THE 5TH SEPTEMBER 1731. His preaching*^" was eloquent and forcible, and attracted large congregations to Trinity Church. When he was called to a sphere of greater use- fulness in his native country, he was not forget- ful of a residence which was endeared to him by many pleasing recolleftions; and which, moreover, possessed for him a melancholy inter- est, from the circumstance of containing the ashes of his infant daughter, who had died dur- ing his sojourn in Newport. After his return to England he sent, as a donation to Trinity Church, in the year 1733, a magnificent organ, which, though much impaired — having been used for upwards of a century — and destitute of the mo- dern improvements, still possesses some pipes of unrivalled excellence.*'' This organ is sur- mounted by a crown in the centre, supported by two mitres, one on each side. In the parish records of Trinity Church is the following entry,viz. : " 1 729, September 2 1 " Hen- ry Berkeley, son of Dean Berkeley, was baptized Chapter Twenty-first 159 by his father, and received into the Church," and on the 1 1 th of June, 1 7 3 1 , the baptism of " Philip Berkeley, Anthony Berkeley, Agnes Berkeley, negroes," by the Dean, is noted. Mr. Nathaniel Kay, who came from England to Rhode Island, as colleftor of the King's cus- toms for the Colony of Rhode Island, was the most liberal patron, as to the amount of his pe- cuniary aid, that the Church ever had. His house stood on the site now occupied by the dwelling- house of George Engs, Esq., on the hill near the head of Touro street. It was, when built, one of the most spacious and elegant private dwellings in the town. He was one of the early friends of the church, for we find his name as one of the vestry as early as the year 171 3. At his death, he devised and bequeathed to the church as fol- lows : " I give and bequeath my dwelling-house and coach house to my vvife during her natural life ; after which I bequeath both, with my lots of land in Rhode Island, and four hundred pounds in currency of New England, to build a school- house, to the minister of the Church of England, (Mr. Honyman) and the church wardens and vestry for the time being — that is to say, upon trust and confidence, and to the intent and pur- pose, benefit and use of a school to teach ten poor boys their grammar and the mathematics gratis ; and to appoint a master at all times, as occasion or vacancy may happen, who shall be episco- pally ordained, and assist the ministers, (Episco- pal,) of the town of Newport, in some proper of- fice, as they shall think most useful." i6o The Narragansett Church The property thus given was applied to the building a school-house, and, agreeably to the aforesaid will, establishing a school, which was continued up to the war of the Revolution. At the close of that war, the property — in common with all real estate in Newport — was of but lit- tle value to its owners, and its income not more than would keep it in repair. The school-house had been pulled down about that time. Under such circumstances, the school was of course dis- continued. The whole property, at the time of which we are speaking, would not probably have sold for two thousand dollars, although it was worth much more before the war. The affairs of the Church in the United States were then at a very low ebb. It was without a head, and unpopular with the people ; Trinity Church,inNewport,being depressed, perhaps, as much as or more than any other. She was for years without a minister, her property in a state of di- lapidation, her income suspended, her society dis- couraged, and her whole countenance sickly and declining. Nor were these all. The leading men of the church were at one time highly incensed against each other, and parties raged in the church, which carried discord into every class of her communicants and congregation. Those divisions were sometimes partially laid aside, and sometimes partially revived, until the introduc- tion of the Rev. Theodore Dehon, who took charge of the parish as minister, in 1797. His gentlemanly deportment and conciliating man- ners, his pulpit eloquence, his mild disposition. Chapter Twenty-first i6i and his sound policy, soon brought back the wan- dering sheep to the common fold. The church was again filled with a numerous congregation, earnestly engaged in social worship. The property given by Mr. Kay was, from time to time, partly sold and partly leased, and in conclusion it was all sold ; so that, at the pre- sent time, all of it has passed out of the hands ofthe Church to individuals, and the avails have nearly or quite disappeared. A new school-house was built in 1799, and the school was revived and continued with little interruption. At first it was taught by a master episcopally ordained, and then by alayman, until the first public school was established by the town of Newport ; after which, poor boys could not be induced to at- tend the church school, and on that account it was discontinued. Since that time the school- house has been used as a lecture-room, and also for, the accommodation of the church Sunday school, which is very large. The Church may be considered in fault for not having been more faithful to her trust in the case of the Kay estate ; but, when we consider the great length of time (over one hundred and six years) since this bequest, and the fate which most estates in trust have suffered — when we consider the effeft ofthe Revolutionary war upon everything in Newport while it was a British garrison, and apparent especially for ten years after — when we look at the [1847] ^^^^ ofthe Franklin Fund in Boston, the present state ofthe Bank ofthe United States in Philadelphia, or the i62 The Narragansett Church worse condition of many other moneyed insti- tutions — we may cease, in a great measure, to condemn. When we consider that a congrega- tion think more of their present wants than of the future — that they will not tax themselves heavily as long as they can avoid it — that they are apt to hope for more prosperous days, and to expe6t their successors to do as much as, or more than, they are willing to do themselves — when we consider the failure of almost all human ap- pointments, the insecurity of all earthly posses- sions, the frailty of man, and the decay, even while living, of his most ardent hopes and ex- peflations — we ought not to be greatly surprised that the will of the dead is not always done. In the emphatic language of Holy Writ, "Riches take to themselves wings and fly away." Mr. Kay's remains lie in Trinity church-yard, on the left hand immediately as you enter the gate, covered by a stone, on which is the fol- lowing inscription: THIS COVERS THE DUST OF NATHANIEL KAY, ESQ^ COLLECTOR OF THE KING'S CUSTOMS IN NEWPORT, WHOSE SPIRIT RETURNED TO GOD ON THE 14TH DAY OF APRIL ANNO DOMINI, I7J4, AFTER IT HAD TABERNACLED HERE 59 YEARS. HE, AFTER AN EXEMPLARY LIFE OF FAITH AND CHARITY, DID, BY HIS LAST WILL, AT HIS DEATH, FOUND AND LARGELY ENDOW TWO CHARITY SCHOOLS IN NEWPORT AND BRISTOL WITHIN HIS COLLECTION. The early records of Trinity Church have been for many years lost. A few meetings only of the chapter Twenty -first 163 wardens and vestry were recorded in the Parish Record Books. With these exceptions, we have to begin the regular series of its secular affairs at July 5, 173 1, when its second Book of Records begins. The present church edifice was erefted on the site where the old building stood/"*^ in 1725, and was completed in 1726. The building was soon found to be too small for the rapidly increasing congregation, for, in 1736, two doors — one on the north side, and one on the south, near the east end — were shut up, and pews made in the cross aisle ; and two other pews were built, one on each side of the altar. In 1749 the christen- ing pew was made into two pews, and sold. In 1752, the vestry-room and church-wardens' pew were converted into private pews and sold. In 1758, the cross aisle from the north to the south door, at the western end of the church, was shut up, and four body pews made for the use of some families who were still unaccommodated. In 1762, the church edifice was greatly enlarged by moving the easterly part about thirty feet, and adding as much in the middle. This was done at the expense of forty-six gentlemen, who took the pews thus added in full satisfaftion for the ex- pense of the said enlargement. There are no meet- ings of the congregation recorded earlier than 1742, previously to which time the reftor, war- dens, and vestry held their meetings of business as often as they found it necessary, and when- ever a vacancy happened, a new member was ad- mitted by them. i64 The Narragansett Church In the year 1733, Bishop Berkeley presented the organ (before mentioned), and in the same year, Jahleel Brenton, Esq.,""' presented the clock now in the tower. In 1739, the bell presented by Queen Anne was cracked : and was taken down, and sent to London to be recast. This year the estate left by Nathaniel Kay, Esq., appears to have come into the possession of the church. In 1 741, the first school-house was built, and Mr. Cornelius Bennett appointed school-master, to serve until one episcopally ordained could be procured. The church wrote to the Society in London, requesting it to send a school-master episcopally ordained, and requesting it to make some provision toward his support — which ap- plication appears to have been unsuccessful; and another, made in 1746, shared the same fate. In 1744, by a vote of the congregation, the number of vestrymen for the ensuing year was limited to sixteen. In 1747, the church sent to London, at their expense, a young man named Jeremiah Leam- ing,"^ to take holy orders, that he might be qua- lified to teach the church school in accordance with the will of Mr. Kay. He returned in Sep- tember, and "produced his orders as Deacon and Priest," and also a letter from Dr. Bearcroft,"' Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, signifying that the Society did approve of the said Mr. Leaming for a school-master, catechist, and assistant to the Rev. Mr. Honyman; and the vestry being satis- fied with the vouchers, he entered immediately Chapter Twenty-first 165 upon the discharge of the duties of the said ofBces. In 1750, the Rev. Mr. Honyman died/''" after having lived to an advanced age, and to see his church large and flourishing and the parochial school under his care fully established. He was buried at the expense of the church, on the south of the passage from the gate to the church, where his tomb-stone now lies, inscribed as follows : HERE L:ES the DUST OF JAMES HONYMAN, OF VENERABLE AND EVER WORTHY MEMORY FOR A FAITHFUL MINISTRY OF NEAR FIFTY YEARS IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THIS TOWN, WHICH, BY DIVINE INFLUENCE ON HIS LABOURS, HAS FLOURISHED AND EXCEEDINGLY INCREASED. HE WAS OF A RESPECTABLE FAMILY IN SCOTLAND, AN EXCELLENT SCHOLAR, A SOUND DIVINE, AND ACCOMPLISHED GENTLEMAN, A STRONG ASSERTER OF THE DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, YET WITH THE ARM OF CHARITY EMBRACED ALL SINCERE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. HAPPY IN HIS RELATIVE STATION OF LIFE, THE DUTIES OF WHICH HE SUSTAINED AND DISCHARGED IN A LAUDABLE AND EXEMPLARY MANNER. BLESSED WITH AN EXCELLENT AND VERY VIGOROUS CONSTITUTION, WHICH HE MADE SUBSERVIENT TO THE VARIOUS DUTIES OF A NUMEROUS PARISH, UNTIL A PARALYTIC DISORDER INTERRUPTED HIM IN THE PULPIT, AND IN TWO YEARS, WITHOUT HAVING IMPAIRED HIS UNDERSTANDING, CUT SHORT THE THREAD OF LIFE ON JULY 2D, 1750. On the nth of July, only nine days after the death of Mr. Honyman, Mr. Learning received a temporary appointment as minister of the church, and on the same day it was voted to ap- ply to the Venerable Society for a minister*^'' to supply the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Honyman. The church was in a measure di- i66 The Narragansett Church vided in opinion as to one who should be recom- mended to the Society, or whether or not any recommendation should accompany their appli- cation ; and as no decisive measures were taken, Mr. Learning continued to officiate. In June, 175 1, the church agreed to ask the Society to send them Mr. Beach ^" as minister. On the 27th of August, 1752, a committee was appointed to colle6t by subscription a sum sufficient to purchase a parsonage. Their success was such, that in December the house was pur- chased for the purpose aforesaid. The same year, the Venerable Society cutoff twenty pounds from theirformer allowance to this church for the sup- port of a minister, which induced the proprietors of the pews to agree to subjeft their pews to an annual tax, so long as the Society should judge the same to be necessary. The said agreement was signed by nearly all the pew-holders. In 1754, Mr. Thomas Pollen arrived, having been sent by the Venerable Society as mission- ary. The congregation accepted him as such, and wrote a letter to the Society thanking it for its "piousand charitable design. . .in sending him." In 1760, Mr. Pollen notified the church of his intention of leaving them very soon, when they again wrote to the Society, requesting it to send another missionary, and also an assistant and school-master. In November, Mr. Pollen left. The church, being then destitute of a minister, called the Rev. Marmaduke Browne,'°= of Ports- mouth, New Hampshire. He accepted the call, and arrived here in December. The Venerable chapter Twenty-first 167 Societywasthen requested to accept Mr. Browne as its missionary here. Mr. Roger Viets*'^' had a temporary appointment as school-master. In 1762, the Venerable Society not having written to this church, nor sent them the annual allow- ance as usual, the church appointed the Rev. Mr. Browne permanently as its minister, with a sal- ary of one hundred pounds sterling per annum, "provided the Society does not continue its mission here." The school was committed to the care of Mr. John Ernest Knotchell, the organ- ist, as a temporary measure. In 1767, the Rev. Mr. Bisset'°'* arrived from England, having come over as assistant and school-master, and his pas- sage was paid by the church. In 1768, the old tower was taken down, and a new one built, eighteen feet square and sixty feet high. In 1769, the church petitioned the General Assembly for an aft of incorporation,^^'' which was granted. In May of this year, Mr. Browne went to England on a visit. At what time he re- turned does not appear, but during his absence, Mr. Bisset supplied his place as minister. There appears to have been much contention between the church and Mr. Bisset respefting his com- pensation. 06tober 27, 1770, in a severe gale of wind, the spindle on the steeple was broken off below the upper ball. On the Easter Monday after the death of Mr. Browne, the congregation chose Mr. Bisset their minister, until the Venerable Society was heard from. A committee was also appointed to write 1 68 The Narragansett Church to the Society to solicit a continuance of the mission, and recommending Mr. Bisset to be ap- pointed by them. The committee were also to recommend to the Society the appointment of the Rev. Willard Wheeler^" as assistant and school-master. Up to this time, the Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts had supplied this church with a missionary, and contributed a part of his support ; but after the decease of Mr. Browne, it declined doing so any longer. Finding that they could no longer expe£l assistance from other quarters in supporting the church and the school, but that they must rely upon their own resources, the congregatian, on the 28th of 0(5to- ber, 1 77 1 , elefled Mr. Bisset their minister, with a salary of ^Tioo sterling, or ^1^3 ^^- ^^- ^^.wful money, being the same sum that, with the assist- ance of the Society, they had paid Mr. Browne. In May, 1772, Mr. Wheeler was chosen assistant and school-master, which place he held till 1776. At this time, the congregation and vestry became greatly dissatisfied with his school, and probably discharged him, as no more is heard of him in the Records. From i774to i784,thereisbut one meeting of the vestry on record. The corpora- tion met once a year, on Easter Monday, for the choice of officers, and to fix a price for their rents. In the year 1780, there was a meeting of the corporation, but no choice of officers was then made. On Sunday, the 8th of December, 1776, the British fleet and army took possession of the Chapter Twenty-first 169 island of Rhode Island, which event gave a new charafter to everything here of a local nature. Mr. Bisset continued with the church until the evacuation of the island, which took place Monday, Oftober 25, 1 779. Many of the leading members of Trinity Church were of the royal party, who, when the town was evacuated by the King's troops, went with them to New York — and among the number was the minister, Mr. Bisset, who left his wife and child behind, in the most destitute circumstances. His furniture was seized by the State of Rhode Island, but after- ward, upon the petition of his wife to the Gen- eral Assembly, it was restored to her; and she, with her child, was permitted to go to her hus- band in New York. A few days after the British left Newport, some young men of the town, and among them two American officers, entered the church and despoiled it of the altar-piece, consisting of the King's arms, the lion and the unicorn. They were highly ornamental, and were placed against the great east window. After being trampled under foot, they were carried to the north battery, and set up for a target to fire at. The other emblems of royalty, being out of reach, were suffered to remain. They consist of one royal crown on the spire, and another on the top of the organ. How- ever little the present generation may care for baubles of that kind, still the antiquity of those ornaments, and the propriety of them in the day when they were put up, make them still inter- esting — as indicating, at the first view, to the lyo The Narragansett Church most perfeft stranger, the antiquity of the struc- ture which contains them — splendid for the days and country in which it was erefted. This strufture has never been subjedled to the hand of modern vandalism. The interior is now the same as when Dean Berkeley preached in it, with the exception of the longitudinal enlargement, and the pulpit is now the only one in America ever graced by the occupancy of that distin- guished prelate. The church was, at the time we are speaking of, without a minister. As it had been nursed by the High Church party in Eng- land, it was unpopular with the mass of the peo- ple, who were writhing under the scourge in- flifted by that very party. The church edifice, too, had been spared by those invaders who wor- shipped in it, while the other places of worship in the town they had desecrated — by converting them into riding-schools or hospitals — and every part of them but the shells they had demolished. There was no service in the church immedi- ately after Mr. Bisset left, and the minister of the Six-Principle Baptist Society of this town, was allowed to occupy the church with his numer- ous congregation for several years, until his own place of worship had been repaired. From 178 1 to 1786, service was performed in the church by Mr. John Bours,*^* a lay reader, who, in 1784, was requested by the church to receive orders, and become its minister, which he declined. In 1786, the Rev. James Sayre^"was engaged, and settled as minister. He took upon himself the duties of that office on the first of Oftober. In ^^ I ^ Chapter Twenty-first 171 1787, the pews built in the west aisle of the church were taken down, and the passage from the north to the south doors again laid open. In i788,Mr. Bours, and a majority of the congrega- tion, came to an open rupture with Mr. Sayre. They charged him with "refusing to put a vote in the Vestry which he had previously agreed to do." They apprehended, from conversation had with him, "that he would never be brought to conform to any form which might be agreed on for the establishment of union in the Episcopal Church of America, then supposed to be in agita- tion, if it differed, in any manner, from the forms of the Church of England, excepting the prayers for the King." They charged that, on being asked "if the church in Pennsylvania had been con- secrated, he replied that they were no church- men there," that "he received to the altar and administered the communion to a vagrant Por- tuguese, who was an entire stranger to him, until he saw him approaching with antic postures and gesticulations, beating his breast and crossing himself" and that "he refused to administer the sacrament to three or four persons of as good reputation as any among us, who, on their sick beds, were desirous of partaking of it." Finally, they say, "Mr. Sayre having been chosen our minister, on the condition that he would retire when any division should take place on his ac- count, having in the clearest terms resigned his charge and having since declared that he did not depend on his reeleftion, we no longer acknow- ledge him as minister. Should he still persist in 172 The Narragansett Church officiating as such, we can view him in no other light than as an invader of our rights and an intruder and a usurper in the church, and will exert our utmost abilities to dispossess him, in which we are confident of being joined by a re- speftable number of the congregation." It appears that Mr. Sayre soon left the Church, but by what means it got rid of him, — whether by the means of Bishop Seabury, whose media- tion had been requested by a portion of the con- gregation, by his voluntary relinquishment of his charge, or by compulsion, — the records do not inform us. By a vote of May 25, 1789, the Rev. William Smith,^« of St. Paul's Church, Narra- gansett, was invited to visit this church every other week, which invitation he accepted, with the consent of his own church; and, in Decem- ber following, he was called to become the min- ister of Trinity Church, which he accepted. This Church was represented by Mr. John Bours in the Convention, which met at Boston in 1785, by which Convention the union of the churches in this and the neighbouring states*'* was settled and the liturgy and forms of wor- ship to be used in future agreed upon. When Mr. Bours returned, a corporation meeting was called, which agreed to all the alterations adopted by the Convention, but at the Easter meeting, 1789, this vote was rescinded. These two adverse de- cisions show that the parties in the Church were about equal as to numbers. In 1 790, the Churches of Newport, Providence, and Bristol met in con- vention, and declared the Right Rev. Samuel chapter Twenty-first 173 Seabury, D. D., Bishop of the Church in Con- nefticut, Bishop of the Church in this State. The Rev. Mr. Smith was not agreeably set- tled, inasmuch as the society was divided. The feuds which originated between Mr. Sayre and Mr. Bours had not been healed, and many of the minority refused to attend church under the preaching of Mr. Smith, but preferred holding meetings of worship in their private houses. Mr. Smith received a call from the church at Nor- walk, Conne6ticut, which he accepted, embark- ing for his new station April 12, 1797. The church, on the 14th of May, invited the Rev. John S. J. Gardiner,''''* assistant minister at Trinity Church, Boston, to come to Newport and spend a few Sundays; on which acquaintance Mr. Gardiner was, on the 6th of August, ap- pointed minister, after having spent two Sun- days with them. In Mr. Gardiner's answer to the church, dated September 1 1, 1797, he calls it "a scattered church" and "a divided people." For these reasons, and because his own church, rather than part with him, had raised his salary to eight hundred dollars, he declined the invitation, and recommended to the church a young man named Theodore Dehon.*" Mr. Dehon was invited by letter to come to Newport for a few Sundays, and preach to the congregation, when the same might be most convenient to himself In the meantime, the ser- vices of the Church were performed gratuitously by the Rev. Mr. Moscrop. On the 8th of Ofto- ber, 1797, Mr. Dehon was chosen minister, and 174 The Narragansett Church requested to obtain Orders. November 1 9, his salary was fixed at seven hundred dollars per annum, with the use of the parsonage and lot, and the other perquisites of said office. On the 7th of January, 1798, he entered upon the duties of his ministry. Mr. Dehon proved very accep- table to the society, which again united in the bonds of harmony and Christian fellowship, — flourished and increased to an overflowing con- gregation. The pews were again all occupied to a degree almost equal to what they had been in the days of Mr. Honyman.In 1798, a vestry was built on the northeast corner of the church. In 1799, a new school-house was ere6ted on the lot where the old one formerly stood. The old one had been pulled down, as we have reason to be- lieve, in the hard winter of 1780, and given to the poor of the church for fuel. The Rev. Abra- ham Bronson*^" took charge of the school, in the new school-house, in 1800, but resigned in 1801, upon which the Rev. Clement Merriam^^' was chosen assistant minister and school-master, and entered upon the duties of his office the same day his predecessor finally withdrew, — April 25, 1 802. In 1 80 1 , a committee was raised to " draw a plan for establishing a fund for the support of the reftor of the church." In December, 1802, Mr. Dehon, in conse- quence of ill health, asked and obtained leave of absence during the winter. Mr. Merriam gave up charge of the school, and officiated in the church ; and Mr. Jabez Whitaker took the school in Mr. Dehon's absence. Mr. Dehon returned in Chapter Twenty-first 175 May or June from Charleston, South Carolina, where he had resided during the winter. In the winter of 1803-4, Mr. Dehon was again absent, and as there was then no assistant minister, Mr, John Ward,*^"" of Harwinton, Connedicut, who had charge of the school, officiated in the church as lay reader. Mr. Ward was invited to take Or- ders and become assistant minister, but declined. In 1804, the church bell, which had been in use sixty-three years, cracked, and was again cast over. In November of the same year, the new bell cracked, and another new one was cast in its place. In November, 1805, Mr. John Ward,hav- ing obtained Holy Orders, was elefled assistant minister and school-master, and accepted. The affairs of the Church having become set- tled under the pastoral care 6f Rev. Mr. De- hon, but little worthy of notice took place until 1 809. For about ten years previous to that time, many members of the corporation had been anx- ious that the church should possess a fund, to be invested, the interest arising to be exclusively appropriated to the minister's salary. This year they set themselves to work in earnest to accom- plish this desirable purpose. On the second of June, the vestry appointed a committee to re- port a plan to raise a permanent fund ; and in August the said committee made a report, which was not adopted. Immediately afterwards an- other committee, for the same purpose, was ap- pointed and their report adopted, after much de- lay, December 9, 18 10, measures being taken to carry it into effedl. The members of the congre- 176 The Narragansett Church gation were solicited to subscribe such sums as they were wilhng to contribute toward the fund, — no one being obHged to pay until the whole sum subscribed should amount to six thousand dollars. In a short time, a list of six thousand and fifty dollars was obtained. The subscribers being thus held for the amounts subscribed, agreeably to the terms of their subscriptions, the money was collected and invested in bank stock; the dividends on which were to be regularly invested until the capital should amount to ten thousand dollars, after which the yearly income was to be applied toward the payment of the minister's salary, and for no other purpose. This was fully accomplished, in due time, and one thousand dollars added by the bequest of Mr. Samuel Brown, of Boston (a native of Newport), making the permanent fund eleven thousand dollars, at the original cost of the stock. In February, 1 8 1 o, the Rev. Theodore Dehon resigned the reftorship of the church, but ten- dered his services until the ensuing autumn. On the 28th of Oftober, he preached his last sermon to this congregation, and proceeded to exercise the offices of reftor of St. Michael's Church, Charleston, and, after Oftober 15,1812, Bishop of South Carolina. When Mr. Dehon retired, the Rev. Salmon''* Wheaton (who married a sister of Mr. Dehon, and who had been previously engaged to preside over the church) arrived here from New Haven, and took charge of the parish. The Rev. Mr. Wheaton presided over the church for thirty Chapter Twenty-first 177 years, when he resigned, and the Rev. Francis Vinton*''' was chosen reftor, and entered on his duties at Easter, 1840, and was instituted reftor April 1 4, 1 84 1 , by the Right Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, Bishop of the Diocese. The following statistics are added as interesting proofs of the Divine Blessing: Persons baptized (from 1698 to 1750), 1579; mar- riages, 45 5 ; burials, 73 1 . From 1750 to 1785, persons baptized, 1143; mar- riages, 30; burials, 130. From 1785 to I'jg'j, per sons baptized, 246; marriages, 72; burials, 116. From 1797 to 18 10, persons baptized, by Rev. Mr. Dehon, 212; marriages, 70; burials, 129. From 1 8 10 to 1840, persons baptized, by Rev. S. Wheaton, 568; marriages, 120; burials, 448. From 184010 184.2, persons baptized, by Rev. Francis Vinton, 147; marriages, 16; burials, 40. Total, persons baptized, 3895; marriages, 763 ; burials, 1594- RECTORS W Bethune* John Lockyer James Honyman James Leaming Thomas Pollen Marmaduke Browne ? -1700 1701-1704 I704-I750 1750-1754 1754-1760 1760-1771 George Bisset James Sayre William Smith 1771-1779 1786-1788 1789-1797 * There is sufficient evidence that the Rev. D'* Bethune was, at Newport, "Licens'd to be the Minister of y' Place," as early as Oftober, 1700. The earliest record of the Rev. John Lockyer as minister is 1 701. He remained until about 1704, dying, in Bos- ton, about April 20th of that year. 178 The Narragansett Church Theodore Dehon 1798-1810 Salmon Wheaton 18 10- 1840 Francis Vinton 1840- 1844. Robert Bernard Hall 1 844- 1 846 Darius Richmond Brewer 1846-1855 Alexander Gardiner Mercer 1 85 5-1 860 Oliver Sherman Prescott 1861-1863 John Henry Black 1863-1866 Isaac Patrick White 1 866-1 875 George John Magill 1876-1898 Henry Morgan Stone 1899-1904 Walter Lowrie 1905-1907 Stanley Carnaghan Hughes 1907" Chapter XXII ST. John's church, providence Saint Johns Church, Providence, Rhode Island, as gatheredfrom the Records, by William 7". Dorrance, Esq. ON the 4th of March, 1754, the congregation of King's Church (now Saint John's)voted "that all transaftions of the congregation, and ofthe church-wardens and vestry, be from hence- forward written fair on a book." From that time to the present, a record of the proceedings has been regularly kept. In the first volume of the records is a short memorandum ofthe history of the Church previous to 1754, without date or signature. The following is an extraft, viz.: "The Rev. Mr. David Humphreys, D.D., Secre- tary to the honourable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in his historical account ofthe foundation, proceedings and success of their mis- sionaries in the colonies of America, to a.d. i 728, says that the Rev. Mr. James Honyman was the first mis- sionary ^^^ for Newport or Rhode Island, and that he preached* several times in Providence; and at one time, to wit, anno i"]ii, in the open fields, to more people than he had ever before seen together in Ame- rica; and that the people of Providence then began and gathered money to build a church, he says, to the value of ^770; that Colonel Joseph Whipple gave them_;^ioo,andvi6lualled the labourers, who began to build said church on St. Barnabas's Day, being the 1 1 th *According to a pamphlet published by the United Society of St. John's Church, Mr. Honyman preached in Providence as early as 1720. i8o The Narragansett Church day of June, a. d. 1722.**'* And he says the Rev. Mr. George Pigot was appointed the first minister to their church, A. D. 1723. Mr. Pigot was of a roving disposi- tion, and soon moved away from them.* Then Par- son Joseph 0'Harra*°°was appointed, but he behaved unworthily and was dismissed. The Rev. Mr. Arthur Browne ''°''' ^'*'' was the third redor, and was highly es- teemed among them, so that they purchased a glebe in Providence Neck, and gave him a deed in fee sim- ple for the same. He was after some time persuaded away from Providence**' to the church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by Governor Dunbar. The people parted reludlantly with him, and he nobly and gener- ously gave back the glebef and house thereon, by deed, to Messrs. Colonel William Coddington, Charles Bardine, Esq., and Captain John Brown, in trust, for the use of any officiating or settled minister in said church and congregation of Providence. J The Rev. Mr. John Checkley was appointed fourth minister, and came here May, 1739. He presided here, and was steadily in duty, and lived on the glebe land in the parsonage, until the year 1754, when, after a long and lingering illness, he there died. During his sickness, and after his decease, many of our Episcopal clergy visited us, and the Rev. Mr. Orem, chaplain to the King's ship y«Jo«, served our church several months." This memorandum continues down to the min- istry of the Rev. Abraham L. Clarke. But the re- *Mr. Pigot removed in 1726 or 1727. tThis glebe contained eighteen acres, with a dwelling-house, &c. This estate is now owned and occupied by Thomas Sessions. [The house has lately been entirely removed (1906).] t According to the deeds in the town records, Joseph Whipple, and others, sold the estate to Arthur Browne, in 1734, for two hundred and fifty pounds lawful money. New England currency; and in I737> Arthur Browne conveyed it as above mentioned for the same consideration, namely, two hundred and fifty pounds. Chapter Twenty-second i8i cords now commenced, and in them we find the following vote, March [May] 4, 1754: " Voted, That the worthy Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts be acquainted of the death of our late reverend minister, their mission- ary, and to entreat their charity to send us another." The following letter was, in consequence of the above vote, written to the Rev. Dr. Bear- croft,"' secretary of the Society: Providence, March [May] ^.th, 1 754 Rev. Sir: The congregation of King's Church acquaint the worthy Society of the death of our minister, their late missionary, the Rev. Mr. Checkley, the 15th of last month.*** The church-wardens and vestry having informed the Society of his long indisposition, and the conse- quence of it, with humble requests for their thoughts of us, we have only to hope in the continuation of their charity in providing us a minister as soon as they think convenient. In the meantime, we shall continue to beg the favour of the several reverend clergy, their mis- sionaries, who can oblige us. It being now above two years since Mr. Checkley did officiate, we are not in that form and order we could wish, and which, no doubt, a worthy successor to him would soon bring us into. Though the late gentleman made several small im- provements to the glebe and house, yet its fences be- ing out of repair, as well as the house, which will be expected by his successor to be put into order, and the church likewise wanting a great deal of repair, and there beingfew among us able to contribute toward such charges, we are very sorry we cannot promise any cer- tain sum to our minister per annum, until, please God, 1 82 The Narragansett Church the present congregation is not only in better order or condition, but increased. In the meantime, we can only assure the worthy Society we will do our best, which we hope will no way fall short of what the late incumbent received. We pray for the blessing of God, that through the worthy Society's kind and good in- tentions in their charity, we may be provided with a suitable gentleman of ability and address to regather our flock and increase it, by having a due influence on the variety of seftaries and unbelievers we are unhap- pily situated among. Though, as the poor encourage- ment we give, besides the worthy Society's charity, does not entitle us to what we so wish, and as to be longer without a minister will hurt us more and more, we humbly entreat their regard to favour us, as soon as possible, with a gentleman who may offer, they think, the most suitable; and we promise, whoever, please God, he may be, to endeavour to make all things in our power agreeable to him, with a just sense of our de- pendence, gratitude, and duty to the worthy Society. Remaining, with all due acknowledgements and re- speds, theirs and. Reverend Sir, your obliged and humble servants. Signed, James Andrews, David Brown, Ch u rch-wardens John Merritt, William Astor, George Taylor, Samuel Chace, Henry Paget, Benjamin Brown, Joseph Brown, Peter Brown, Henry Sweeting, Joseph Sweeting, Joseph Field, Gideon Craw- ford, Robert Magell, William Hopkins, Benja- min Whipple, Charles Brown, Daniel Brown, Israel Bullock, John Brown, John Burlcit \Bur- dick?'\, John Bardine, John Cole. At this meeting an annual tax was laid upon the pews, which, says the vote, "was a new thing." Chapter Twenty-second 183 The tax was to be eighty-two shillings a year, old tenor. If not paid, the pews were to be for- feited, and "sold to such members of the Church of 'England as will be subjeft to needful taxes." In January, 1755, the Rev. Mr. Troutbeck,'"^ missionary at Hopkinton, Massachusetts, ex- pressed a willingness to quit that station to take charge of King's Church, provided the Society's consent could be obtained. A letter was accord- ingly written by the wardens, requesting the ap- pointment of that gentleman. In the meantime, the Rev. Matthew Graves, of New London, of- fered his services to the church, provided repairs could be put upon the glebe, and the expenses of his removal paid. The congregation, however, concluded that "in honour to Mr. Troutbeck, they must now wait the resolves " of the Society. In December, 1755, an answer was received to their letter by the hand of the Rev. John Graves, of which the following is a copy: Gentlemen: The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts had, some time before the receipt of your letter, in favour of Mr. Troutbeck, appointed the bearer, the Rev. Mr. John GraYes, to be their missionary to you, a most pious and worthy clergy- man of the Church of England, who has resigned his preferment in England to promote Christ's true religion among you. He will, I am firmly persuaded, administer richly to you in spiritual things, and I hope you will not be scanty to him in carnal things, — and, therefore, the Society expeds and requires of you that you put your church in good and decent repair, and purchase a good and decent house, with 184 The Narragansett Church a good glebe annexed thereto for a missionary, if not done already, and pay him at least twenty pounds sterling per annum. These are the conditions without which no new missions are granted, and may with the greatest reason be insisted on by the old one, and must be complied with, as you hope for a continuance of a missionary among you. Recommending you and Mr. Graves to the Divine Blessing, I am, gentlemen, your very faithful servant in Christ, Philip Bearcroft,"' Secretary P. S. Mr. Graves is likewise to officiate at Taunton. " Upon the public perusal thereof, the said reverend gentleman, Mr. John Graves, was cheerfully received by us." " Mr. Graves," says the memorandum before re- ferred to, "lived at the parsonage-house and at- tended the service until July, 1776, when he vv^as pleased to absent himself from duty, though very earnestly entreated at sundry times to keep up the worship, saying he could not, as prayers for King George were forbidden then throughout Ame- rica. By reason of war's taking place between us and Old England,our Church suffered very much, a long time, by this turn of Mr. Graves." In 1758, a difference occurred between Mr. John Merritt, a prominent member of the Church, and the reverend re<5lor, of which the Society in London appointed the Rev. Henry Caner,*'*'* of Boston, to take cognizance. "At a meeting of the vestry, April, 1758 — Present, Mr. Graves, redtor, the church-wardens, vestrymen, and some members of the church, Mr. George Taylor, Colonel John Andrews, Mr. Henry Paget, and Mr, chapter Twenty-second 185 Samuel Chace, — a committee chosen last Easter Mon- day to reconcile Mr. John Merritt to our church, make report, that they met him at Colonel John An- drews's house, and used their best endeavours for that purpose, but that Mr. Merritt insisted that Mr. David Brown had publicly oiFended him, in giving the redor the contribution, and that the redor had publicly of- fended him in setting him aside (as he termed it) ever since, and that he would have public knowledge and satisfadtion of each of said parties, before he would be reconciled: Voted, therefore, that we disapprove Mr. Merritt's censure of Mr. Brown for giving, and of the redtor for receiving, the contribution, and are so far from blaming either of them, that we entirely approve of both their conduft herein, as not disagreeable to the intent and design of the vote* of the Church, passed in the time of the vacancy, respefting the contribu- tions; and as no offence whatever was intended against Mr. Merritt. Mr. David Brown, church-warden, in- forms this meeting, that Mr. John Merritt has wrote (withouttheprivity of the Church) an unhandsome let- ter to the Society, wherein he boldly calls Mr. Graves a Methodist; and also asserts that the letter of thanks, wrote to the Society, by the Church, in Mr. Graves's favour, was false and that the signers of said letter were a weak people, — which aftion of Mr. John Mer- ritt (if true) we disapprove and highly discommend, as tending to great disorder and towards breaking up our Church." In 1760, this difFerence was amicably adjusted**' by the parties' "exchanging mutual forgiveness *The following is probably the vote alluded to: "That not only the money collefted by contribution, but at the Sacrament, be ap- plied to the general use of the Church, until, please God, we have a minister, when that collefted at the Sacrament or oblation money, after the charges attending that divine service are paid, to be by the church-wardens applied to the accustomed charitable uses." 1 86 The Narragansett Church in presence" of the congregation. This reconci- liation was principally owing "to the friendly interposition of Mr. Matthew Graves, of New London." In 1 76 1 or 1762, a gallery was built at the west end of the church. In 1762, it was voted, that no proprietor of a pew be allowed to transfer his right thereto without the consent of the Church. This year the thanks of the congregation were voted to Mr. John Merritt for his generous dona- tion of fifty pounds sterling toward the repairs of the church and also for his still further kind- ness in advancing most of the money to purchase a lot adjoining the church-ground of Mason Wheeting (Wheaton?). This year the church was extensively repaired. In 1767, the thanks of the congregation were voted to "Captain Whipple for his late bene- faftion of one hundred and sixty feet of land, in order to enlarge our church-yard." In 1 771, John Merritt left to the Church a legacy of one hun- dred pounds sterling. In 1772, King's Church was incorporated.*" In 1 774, it was voted, " That the pew of Samuel Chace, Esq., be free from all taxes for his long and special services to the Church." In April, 1 776, it was voted, " That Mr. John Graves, our late pastor, as he has been pleased to leave this Church destitute, be paid off for his past services, to the date of his letter of dismission, and that the leaders and such of the congregation, as please, agree with some worthy clergyman of the Episcopal Church to keep up the service and worship of God in the best man- Chapter Twenty-second 187 ner they can for a short time forward." "After this," says the memorandum, " Mr. Wheeler^" was employed here for about nine months. Then letters of invitation were sent around for assistance, from Boston and Connedlicut, and then came the Rev. Mr. Jarvis,^*^^ of Middletown, Connec- ticut, and officiated three several Sundays; also the Rev. Mr. Viets,*^' of Simsbury, Connedticut, three weeks. The Rev. Mr. Parker "t and Lewis, of Boston, assisted us twice each. Then Mr. Thomas F. Oliver came as a lay reader, till peace took place, when Mr. Graves offered his service again to duty, but was re- fused, we being under contrad to Mr. Oliver, who was agreeable, and had moved his family up here, and was afterwards ordained, first deacon, then priest, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Seabury, and served until Sunday, September 3, 1786, when being invited down to Mar- blehead, among his friends and relations, we parted by mutual consent, and in love and harmony. "Immediately upon this, letters of invitation were sent to the Rev. Moses Badger,^'° at Newport. He accepted our call, and moved up with his family on Thursday, September 28, 1786; and he sickened and died with a dropsy, on Thursday, September 10, 1792. The Rev. Mr. Graves sickened and died November 14, 1785. After the decease of our worthy pastor, Mr. Badger, our friend Parson Smith,'''' of Newport, ad- vised us to address and invite the Rev. Mr. Bowden, of Hartford, to our church. Letters were accordingly written to him on that subjeft, but he, having lost his voice, and his lungs being affedled, excused himself as unable, and kindly recommended us to invite the Rev. Abraham L. Clarke, as a suitable person for our church and congregation. We wrote, and invited him from Huntington, Connedticut, where he left two churches, it being too much for his ability to attend to them. He 1 88 The Narragansett Church came here with his family and, on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1793, began services in our church, this being done with the approbation of our worthy and most reverend father in God, Bishop Seabury." From I 'jj'] to 1 78 1 , no business appears to have been transacted at the meetings, except con- tinuing the wardens in office. In 1781, it was voted,"That,whereas the Rev. Mr. John Graves hath removed himself from the congregation of the church, by neglefting public services therein, and that it has become necessary that application be made to some other gentleman in Episcopal orders to supply his place, a com- mittee be appointed to wait on Mr. Graves, and inform him, that it is the resolution of this con- gregation, that he remove from the house and glebe which he now occupies, by the first day of June next, or sooner, if convenient, as he considers himself no longer our pastor, and that he deliver said committee all the books and other efFefts belonging to the Church." By a memorandum, it appears that the books which were presented by the London Society were demanded, but Mr. Graves declined delivering them. On Sunday, June 19, 1782, "At the request of the wardens, the Rev, Mr. William Rogers,*'' a Baptist clergyman, preached in the church, this and the following Sunday, and, on the 30th of the same month, he again preached, and the wardens were requested to wait upon and thank him for this day's service, and present him with the contribution, and ask him to officiate in chapter Twenty-second 189 church next Sunday in his way, provided he can- not conform to our liturgy, but if he will con- form, the congregation invite him further to serve them." On April 21, 1783, upon "an application, by letter, dated the 1 5th instant, of the Rev. Mr. Graves, for readmission into this Church as pas- tor, it is voted by all present, except David Brown, that, for various reasons, it cannot be complied with." In 1785, the church obtained a grant of a lottery from the Legislature, "for the purpose of building a chancel and repairing the church." On April 3, 1785, agreeably to a vote, passed on Easter Monday, 1784, a draft of a letter to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was laid before the church, and is as follows, to wit: [to the rev. dr. morice, secretary, etc.] Providence, R.I., Jpril ^d, 1 785 Dear Sir : To avoid the censure and meet the approbation of those we respedl and esteem, is a desire natural to the human heart. We flatter ourselves, therefore, that this address, prompted by that desire, will not be deemed imperti- nent by a society we revere, and whose establishment refledts the highest honour, as well upon those digni- fied charafters who support, as those who founded it. We imagine. Sir, that the Rev. Mr. John Graves has already acquainted the Society with his having, long since, declined to perform divine service In the Epis- copal Church In this town, and that he has endeav- oured to justify his conduft by the best means In his power. But, In doing this, we have cause to believe that 190 The Narragansett Church he has represented us in an unfriendly manner. To ob- viate, in some measure, the unfavourable preposses- sions which may have been the consequence of his cen- sures, we take the liberty herewith to transmit copies of all the letters which have passed between him and the congregation, since he first shut up the church,* by which, we think, it will appear that, instead of per- secution, he has met with resped and tenderness from us. You will observe that there are several letters from him to which no reply was made, not because they were unanswerable, but because we wished to avoid disputes and quarrels as much as possible. But we must here observe, that the treatment of which he so much complained, was far more favourable, than any other clergyman, in similar circumstances, one or two ex- cepted, received in America. To convince you of this, we need only mention his being permitted peaceably to reside five years in the glebe, after his own voluntary dismission, although he constantly refused our repeated invitations to open the church, and perform the service in a way we con- ceived to be right, and as he adually did perform it in Warwick and elsewhere, and to inform you that the parsonage-house and glebe were given, by the first builders of the church, "to the Rev. Mr. Arthur Browne, to him, his heirs and assigns, in fee simple," and that he, on his departure for Portsmouth, gener- ously gave them back to three gentlemen, "in trust, expressly,to andfor an officiating clergyman, when any such was here, or otherwise to and for the use of the Church." With resped to the vote for Mr. Graves's quitting the glebe, which he believed to be illegally and hT If °'^^'^'"^'i' it is necessary only to say that, al- though many owners of pews were not present at its passing, yet few or none of them were ignorant of it previous to his removal, and, if they had not thought * These letters are neither on file nor record. chapter Twenty-second 191 it just, they would undoubtedly have had it recon- sidered, and have voted accordingly. This was not done or even mentioned, and the vote, being regularly passed, must be legal. For the particulars relative to our settling Mr. Oliver, who now performs divine service to universal satisfadlion, and for our final de- termination in regard to Mr. Graves, we beg leave to refer you to our answer to his last letter. But though we cannot again receive him as our pastor, we still sincerely wish him well, and should rejoice at his be- ing appointed to a much better living than this has ever been. But while we wish for his welfare, we must not be unmindful of our own, and the interests of our religion. Mr. Oliver, who' means to obtain Orders on the first opportunity that offers, has officiated for us two years for a salary,* which, though small, we have found it very hard to raise. , Our anxiety, however, to keep up the worship of God, in a form which appears to us pure, and the most agreeable to the Scriptures, has induced us to engage him for another year. But, several members, who be- fore contributed largelyto his support, having lately re- moved out of the State, it will be extremely difficult for those who remain to maintain a minister without some assistance. If, therefore, the Venerable Society could make provision elsewhere for Mr. Graves, and, if consistent with the principles of their most excellent institution, they would be pleased benevolently to con- tinue their former salary to us, we are persuaded it would not only be an additional obligation conferred upon the members of this Church, who for past fa- vours feel the most lively gratitude, but that it would also tend greatly to the advancement of our most holy religion. We are. Reverend Sir, with the greatest re- sped, your most humble and most obedient Servants. *One hundred and twenty pounds lawful money, together with the benefit and improvement of the parsonage-house and glebe. 192 The Narragansett Church P. S. Application has been made to Mr. Graves for the books now in his possession belonging to the Church, but he declined to deliver them. As they are much wanted, and as we conceive they are not the property of even the officiating clergyman, much less of one who does no duty in the church, we beg leave to suggest the propriety of their being put into the hands of the wardens, for the benefit of the congre- gation. It does not appear that any answer to this letter was ever received. July 27, 1785. A letter was given to Mr. Tho- mas F. Oliver, then officiating as lay reader, re- commending him to Bishop Seabury, who had just then returned from his consecration in Eu- rope, as a "suitable and worthy subject for or- dination." Mr. Oliver was accordingly ordained, and continued with the church until Septem- ber, 1786. July 29, 1786. On the Rev. Mr. Oliver's mak- ing known to the Church that he found it im- possible to subsist or support his family on the salary allowed him by this congregation; that having received an invitation to settle at Mar- blehead, upon terms much more advantageous, and being urged by his family connexions at Salem, to remove thither, he was constrained from necessity, rather than from any desire or inclination he has to leave this place, to accept of the offers from Marblehead; and that there- fore he should shortly remove his family to that town, — the Church, though with sincere regret at being obliged to give up the pastoral care of Chapter Twenty-second 193 so worthy a man, consented to his departure. The following letter was addressed to the Rev. Mr. OHver: Providence, Sept. 5, 1786 Reverend Sir: On your necessarily quitting the pastoral charge of the Episcopal Church in this town, we, as a com- mittee, appointed by the congregation for the pur- pose, take this method of communicating to you their entire approbation of your conduft, which, during your residence among us, hath been invariably con- sistent with the pure principles of our most holy re- ligion, and untinftured with hypocrisy and disguise, displayed a feeling and benevolent heart. And, while as the consequence of our inability we lament the loss of your ministrations, permit us to beg your accept- ance of our grateful thanks for all your humane and friendly services, accompanied by our sincere wish that you may be happy with the people over whom you are going now to preside, and by our hearty prayers for your health, worldly peace, and future eternal felicity. With great esteem and regard, we are, Reverend Sir, your assured friends and most humble servants, Metcalf Bowler'*'' Eben. Thompson*^'' John I. Clark*" George Olney" Upon the recommendation of Mr. Oliver, the Rev. Moses Badger^'" was invited to supply his place, which invitation he accepted, at an an- nual salary of ninety pounds lawful money in specie, and the use of the parsonage-house and glebe. Mr.Badger continued pastor of thechurch until 1792, when he died. 194 The Narragansett Church The following declaration and votes are found recorded in 1787: " Voted, unanimously, That we conceive it to be the indispensable duty of all churches, carefully to watch and superintend the condu6t of its members, and in case of violations of the precepts of morality and re- vealed religion, privately, in the first instance, to ad- monish, and if the offender prove refradtory, and irre- claimable, then to proceed to public censure. This opinion is founded on reason, on revelation, and on the immemorial usage and praftice of all Christian Churches, since the first establishment of Christianity. In conformity to this useful and necessary part of our discipline, we are obliged to proceed to the public cen- sure and excommunication of David Brown, of John- ston, in the county of Providence, yeoman, a mem- ber of this church, whose condudt in attempting to discharge an honest debt, due to John Clifford in specie, with one-sixth part of its value, is the imme- diate subjedt of our animadversion, and has led to this public vindication of our church discipline. "The fulfilling of agreements voluntarily entered into, with honesty and good faith, is enjoined by the clearest principles of reason, and the express com- mands of our most holy religion, and the obligations arising from these laws, are superior to, and not re- leasable by, any municipal statute or institution what- ever. The conduct of the said David in the above transaftion, appearing to us highly culpable, private admonition hath been tried, but unfortunately with- out success. For the vindication, therefore, of the Church, and to deter others from committing the like offences, and with the hope of still reclaiming our of- fending brother, we do declare that his aforesaid con- du6t is a scandalous breach of the laws of our most holy religion, and diredtly opposite to the most obvi- chapter Twenty-second 195 ous principles of morality. We do, therefore, hereby manifest our disapprobation, by thus publicly cen- suring our said brother." "Voted, That the clerk of the vestry do enter the above vote and declaration of this meeting in the public register-book of this Church, and that the same be published." "Voted, That Messrs. John I. Clark and Metcalf Bowler, wardens, and John Smith, be a committee to wait on Mr. David Brown, to-morrow, and use their influence to induce him to revoke the tender of pa- per money to Mr. Clifford, — show him a copy of the preceding vote, and inform him that it is the deter- mination of the church to publish it in the next Sat- urday's paper, unless he will recall the said tender, and acknowledge it in as public a manner as he has declared the tender. That in case he does not com- ply, they are to give a copy of the foregoing declara- tion and excommunication to Mr. Carter without fur- ther advice or direftion of the vestry." [For the following sketch of John Innes Clark the Editor is indebted to Mr. Clark's great- grandson, Colonel Delancey Kane: "There were three 'brither Scots' who came to Cape Fear, North Carolina, about 1735 or perhaps a little earlier, and who were warm and intimate friends, — Thomas Clark, Colonel John Innes, and James Murray,* They were gentlemen of substance and pro- minence. "Thomas Clark married Barbara Murray, a sister of James Murray. He accumulated a good deal of property and was High Sheriff of his county in 1741, at a time when that office was chosen by the Gover- nor from among the Justices, who were the first gentlemen of the counties. He left two sons: one, the *See Martin's Colkaion of Private Laws, pp. 102-13. 196 The Narragansett Church subjeft of this sketch, John Innes Clark, named after his friend, Colonel Innes, and Thomas Clark, who afterward became Brigadier-General Thomas Clark in the Revolutionary Army; and one daughter, Anne, who married William Hooper (a North Carolina Signer of the Declaration of Independence). "John Innes Clark as a boy entered the British Navy, but afterwards left the service and settled in Providence, Rhode Island, where he married Eliza Bowen. He became one of the most important and Influential merchants of his time and accumulated a large fortune in the East India trade. He was the second President (1808) of the first bank in Rhode Island, — The Providence National Bank, now the fourth oldest bank in the United States.* He was a member of the Vestry and was at the time of his death Senior Warden of St. John's Church, Providence. Be- sides giving freely of his time and energy for the wel- fare of the Church, Mr. Clark appears to have given liberally of his substance. In 1791 he gave thirty-six pounds (;^36) towards discharging a debt due on the organ; and in 1805 subscribed one thousand dollars for 'a permanent fund for the regular support of a clergy- man to officiate.' This, accordingto the Church Record, was the largest gift given for the purpose at that time. "We are partly indebted to him for the two cele- brated paintings of General Washington by Gilbert Stuart, the property of the State, one of which hangs in the Senate Chamber in Providence and the other in the Senate Chamber in Newport; for the Assembly of Rhode Island in 1808 appointed a committee con- sisting of Messrs. Champlin, Channing, and Ives, to which the Senate added John Innes Clark, Esq., to seled: an artist to paint these pidures.f *See Colonel William Goddard's Speech at Centennial of this bank. fSee State Records, Providence. chapter Twenty-second 197 "He was a gentleman of the highest distindtion and standing, honoured alike by his associates and his State. He left two daughters, one of whom (Elizabeth) married Oliver Kane, of Newport, and the other (Harriet) married the celebrated Dr. Robert Hare, of Philadelphia."] [Respefting Mr. Bowler, Mr. John Howland, then President of the Rhode Island Historical Society, communicated to the author the follow- ing: "The Hon. Metcalf Bowler was a native of Eng- land, but when a young man, arrived in this country and settled in Newport, which was then a flourishing town. He commenced his operations there as a mer- chant, and was largely concerned in navigation, in which he was eminently successful. During the war with France and Spain he was principal owner of a privateer, commanded by Captain William Dennis, who brought in a number of rich prizes, which greatly added to the property of Mr. Bowler. His talents and enterprise brought him into public life as an eminent politician; he represented the town of Newport, and afterwards the town of Portsmouth, in the General Assembly of the Colony, of which he was for many years the Speaker. He had his town and country resi- dence and eredted the elegant house in Newport at the corner of what were then called the New Lane and Clark Street, now the Vernon estate. To the usual oc- cupation of his farm in Portsmouth, he added the most splendid and best cultivated garden on the island ; his taste for agriculture and gardening, in which he cultivated the best fruits and flowers, exceeding that of any gentleman of his day. While he was in posses- sion of his large property in Newport, there were but two coaches in the colony, one of which was that of Abraham Redwood, who was supposed to be the rich- 198 The Narragansett Church est man in Newport, and the other was that of Mr. Bowler, in which he rode with an elegant span of horses. During the French war a convention of dele- gates from the northern colonies was held in Albany, to agree on the number of troops each colony should furnish on the Canada frontier. In the first session, Governor Hopkins appeared for Rhode Island, and in the second, Mr. Bowler and Henry Ward, the brother of Governor Ward. Mr. Bowler travelled in his coach, and Mr. Ward on horseback; and many years after I heard Mr. Ward relate the circumstance, that the expense of Mr. Bowler's journey was vastly more than his, though both were paid by the govern- ment. "The decline of business in Newport, together with his style of living and the occurrence of the War of the Revolution greatlyimpairedtheproperty of Mr. Bow- ler, though he continued to be Speaker of the House of Assembly and Judge of the Superior Court — these offices not then being deemed incompatible in the same person. From the causes mentioned above, he had but little property left. He then removed to Provi- dence, opened a shop of dry goods, without any ap- parent depression of mind, and managed his little business pleasantly, practising prudent economy. He afterward opened a respedlable boarding house, in which he performed the duties of a landlord as well as if he had never known a higher elevation. At last, far advanced in life, his probation was ended. At this time there was no resident minister in St. John's Church, of which Mr. Bowler had been one of the wardens. The Rev. Mr. Smith,^"*' of Narragansett, preached his funeral sermon. The clergyman being a stranger, who knew nothing of the life and charadter of the deceased, avoided any of the usual observations on the subjed:; but to the few of us present, who knew the Judge in the days of his riches and splen- Chapter Twenty-second 199 dour, it was a solemn scene, bringing deep impres- sions on the progress as well as on the end of human life and the great purposes of our being, when the rich and the poor lie down together. Mr. Bowler, in 1750, married Miss Fairchild,^'^ a respedtable lady in New- port, by whom he left a number of descendants. His age at the time of his death I have not been able to ascertain.^'' "Before the war of the Revolution, and during the residence of Judge Bowler in Newport, the principal families there were highly aristocratic in their man- ners. They possessed little sympathy for their fellow- citizens. The families of Brenton, Malbone, Wanton, Simon Pease and Charles Handy, the Bannisters, the Freebodysand others were of this caste, but the polite- ness and free intercourse of Judge Bowler sustained his popularity and insured him the good-will of all. While he resided in Providence he was treated with the high- est respedt, notwithstanding the loss of his large pro- perty."] September 6, 1789. The Rev. Mr. Parker, "' of Boston, by authority, invites this church to send delegates to the General Convention of the Bishops and Clergy, to be held on the 29th of September, in Philadelphia, for the purpose of ecclesiastical organization. This church autho- rizes Bishop Seabury to represent them at that convention, November 7, i^jgo," Voted, unanimously, That the Rev. Mr. Badger, John I. Clark, Esq., and Mr. Jere- miah F. Jenkins, wardens, and Mr. John Mumford, be a committee to proceed to Newport, there to con- sult and advise with such other persons as may be chosen by the different Churches in this State, to re- present them in a State Convention, to be held on 200 The Narragansett Church Wednesday the 17th instant, and to make such altera- tions and amendments in the Book of Common Prayer as may be judged expedient by said convention, and to do any other matters which may be thought for the interest and reputation of the Episcopal Church in the State of Rhode Island." 1790. The aft of incorporation which passed the Legislature in 1772, but which, owing to some negleft or misunderstanding, was not signed by the Governor, was this year, by a special aft, confirmed and all the previous afts of the cor- poration, under it, legalized. In 1 79 1 , the church was sued for the payment of their organ, by Gilbert Deblois. Owing to the war with England, and the unsettled state of affairs afterwards, the church had been una- ble to pay anything. A settlement was efFefted by paying Mr. Deblois two hundred pounds, and the fee of the lawyer, "which was upwards of five hundred dollars less than was legally due him." 1792. Mr. James Wilson,^'*sincepastor of the Beneficent Congregational Church in this city, ofiiciated, after the death of Mr. Badger, for a short time, as a reader. The Rev. Abraham L. Clarke, of Huntington, Connefticut, became reftor of the church, at a salary of one hundred and fifty pounds per annum. Bishop Seaburysays of him, in a letter to the wardens : " He is not only a gentleman of good charafter and under- standing, but also of easy and polite manners, and of diligence in his profession." The State Convention met, for the first time Chapter Twenty-second 201 in this church, Bishop Seabury presiding, July 31, 1793. On April 21, 1794, it was "Voted, That a pair of decent grave-stones be erefted to the memory of the late Dr. John Chace,'''* at the expense of the Church, in testimony of their respedt to the remains of their departed brother, who was for years a faithful friend and servant of the Church." Mr. Chace served the Church as organist for nine years without compensation. In 1 794, the name of the Church was changed, on application to the Legislature, to St, John's Church and the Church agreed to "go fully into the use of the alterations in the revised Book of Common Prayer." The glebe was sold that year. In 1795, the Legislature granted a lottery to en- able the society to build a parsonage. In 1797, the " United Society of St. John's Church" was incorporated, "for the purpose of raising a fund, the interest to be appropriated annually for the support of the Gospel in said church, until it shall amount to two hundred pounds, and then the surplusage is to be either added to the fund, or appropriated to such charitable uses as the society shall think proper." This society con- tinued until 1 8 1 2, when its fund was transferred to the "minister, wardens, vestry and proprie- tors of St. John's Church." In 1798, it was " Voted, unanimously. That the constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church for this State, as adopted by the Convention, held in Bristol, July 8, 1795, be, and the same is hereby ratified and adopted by us, except the third article of said constitution." 202 The Narragansett Church At the annual meetings of this Church, two of- ficers, at present unknown to the Church, were always appointed, called Sidesmen [Synodsmen] . Their duty was, "to keep order in the church in time of Divine Service." Mr. Clarke resigned the charge of the Church March 30, 1800. In 1801, Stephen Hull offici- ated as a lay reader. In Oftober, 1801, the Rev. Nathaniel Bowen (since Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina) became reftor of the church. In March, 1 802, he went on a visit to the South, and was invited to the rectorship of St. Michael's Church, Charleston. He requested his dismissal from St. John's Church. The letter of reply says : "Sensible of the eligibility of so respectable a situa- tion, we unanimously complied with the wishes of St. Michael's Church, but with deep regret we have thus reluftantly assented to relinquish your valuable ser- vices. Having advocated, in the most impressive man- ner, the pure dodrines of our holy religion, your emi- nent endeavours, sincerely in its cause, have given real satisfadtion, and will have a lasting and grateful impres- sion on our minds." On November i, 1802, Mr. Crocker first per- formed Divine Service in this church. In April, 1 803, he was invited to become pastor, on obtain- ing Deacon's Orders, which he accepted for one year. Owingto the ill health of Mr. Crocker dur- ing this year, leave of absence was granted him for several weeks, and his illness still continuing, he was obliged in January, 1804, "to beg to be re- leased from his engagements." The request was granted; "but not without repugnance to our Chapter Twenty-second 203 feelings, that the measure, though expedient, de- prives us of a pastor whose valuable services will not be easily effaced from our memories." Mr. Nathaniel Parker served as a lay reader for a short time. In December, 1805, the Rev. John Lynn Blackburn, an English gentleman, came from the Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, and, meet- ing with the unanimous approbation of the con- gregation, was invited to perform Divine Service until Easter. On April 7, 1806, Mr. Blackburn was chosen "minister and re6lor of St. John's Church," his re6torship to commence "on his obtainment of priest's orders," and his salary to be six hundred and fifty dollars, until the expiration of twenty months, at which time it was contem- plated that the subscription for a permanent fund for the support of the ministerwould be realized. In 1 806, the wardens were requested to discon- tinue the praflice of colle6ling contributions in church during Divine Service, except on pub- lic days, and on November 9, 1806, the dele- gates to the State Convention "were requested to use their influence to come under the Dio- cese of New York." Soon after Mr. Blackburn took charge of the Church (1806), the congregation, for various rea- sons, became dissatisfied with him. One cause for this dissatisfaftion, the following correspondence will explain. The agreement made with Mr. Blackburn was as follows, to wit : "The said John L. Blackburn is to perform Divine Service, as pastor of St. John's Church, at the rate of 204 The Narragansett Church six hundred and fifty dollars per annum (to which he was unanimously elefted last Easter), until the expi- ration of twenty months, as it is contemplated that the fund of said Church for the support of a clergyman will be then realized; at the termination of which time, should it prove mutually agreeable, it is expedled that the Rev. J. L. Blackburn will continue in said church as a permanent pastor, his salary to be augmented as it may be then agreed." This agreement was signed on the 7th of April, 1806. In June, Mr. Blackburn went to Connec- ticut to receive Priest's Orders, and took with him the following testimonial, to wit: "This is to certify, that we, the Wardens and Ves- try of St. John's Church, Providence, &c., do hereby nominate and appoint the Rev. John Lynn Black- burn to perform the office of a clergyman and pastor of the church aforesaid, and do promise to continue him to afl as such until the 7th day of December, 1 807, and as much longer as m^Lyhe mutually agreed on, unless by fault committed by him, he shall be law- fully removed from the same, &c." On the 2d of June, 1806, Mr. Blackburn wrote a letter to one of the wardens, from which the following is extra6led: Dear Sir: No doubt you will be a little surprised on the receipt of this, covering the enclosed. The testimonial for eledlion, which was presented to the Bishop, was re- jefted by him as uncanonical, upon which, therefore, I could not be admitted to Orders. The enclosed tes- timonial he framed himself, and requested a copy might be forwarded for the signatures of the vestry of St. John's Church, Providence. Your attention \jnat- chapter Twenty-second 205 Untion^'] to the one I drew out, and the insertion of, "until the yth of December, 1 807, and as much longer as may be mutually agreed on," were what he entirely objected to. He says, that a Bishop, upon the ordina- tion of a candidate for the priesthood, knows nothing of a limited space of time, which would but subjed the clergyman to the capricious humour of his congrega- tion which at all times ought to be discountenanced, as being contrary to the rules of Episcopacy. May I request you to procure the necessary signatures to the enclosed, and forward it immediately, diredted to the care of the Bishop, &c., &c. In a postscript, Mr. Blackburn says: " I mentioned the agreement I had entered into with the congregation, when the Bishop replied, that that was a personal matter between ourselves, but with which the testimonial of eledlion had nothing to do. However, that the parsonage-house and glebe imme- diately became the redtor's, upon his induction into a church. Upon this subjeft he has promised to give me his sentiments in writing." The following is the reply of the Wardens and Vestry : Providence, June 6, 1806 Rev. Mr. Blackburn: Dear Sir, — Your letter covering a testimonial for the Wardens and Vestry of St. John's Church to sign, has been received, and we observe that you in- timate a claim upon us for the glebe, in addition to the salary we agreed with you for. In reply thereto, we remark, that the clergyman's salary of this congrega- tion has ever been raised by voluntary subscription, and that the contradt already made precludes any other for the time prescribed. We do not find ourselves au- thorized to sign any writings compulsive on the society 2o6 The Narragansett Church for more than their agreement stipulates, as the rest of the glebe estate is already appropriated to make your salary to six hundred and fifty dollars. We re- gret that it is not in our power, at present, to acquiesce with your request. Desirous of avoiding everything unpleasant, it is necessary that there should be a per- feft understanding with each other. We therefore can- not think of committing ourselves further, until the claims on the glebe, which, as you mention, is sup- posed by the Bishop to become the redlor's right and privilege, are relinquished by you. Signed by the Wardens and Vestry This letter not having been answered on the 1 2th of August, 1806, the Wardens again ad- dressed Mr. Blackburn, intimating the propriety of "an official reply." To this Mr. Blackburn replied as follows: Providence, August ib, 1806 Gentlemen: I PERCEIVE with pleasure, by your letter of the 12th instant, that what you are pleased to call my "unex- pected application," from New Haven, had not en- tirely slipped your memory. Not being in possession of the Church canons made in this country, I con- ceived the testimonial I carried with me would be sufficient; but, understanding from the .Bishop that it would not, I sent another form, diSated by him, which might have been very safely executed and re- turned, as the church would not have been thereby in any way committed or subjected to inconvenience. It only expressed that I should be established redtor of St. John's Church, but it does not say that I should be appointed for life. It does not, by any means, set aside or militate against our agreement; therefore, gentle- men, it is sufficiently evident that neither his Right Reverence, the Bishop, nor myself, has any intention Chapter Twenty-second 207 to overreach or take in the society. The testimonial you sent me not being expressed according to the canons, was, of course, rejeSed, and the Bishop expedled that another, corresponding with the form sent, should be forwarded to him immediately after my returning here. I do solemnly assure you, gentlemen, that the means of complying with that requisition not having been conceded, has occasioned me much uneasiness, as I have, in some degree, been obliged to forfeit my word to the Bishop, and it has much the appearance of an imposition on him, which of all things I detest. What I mentioned respecting the church glebe, was by the authority of the Bishop; but you, gentlemen, very well know, that although I might be entitled to it by the canons and constitution of the Church, yet I could not, by our agreement, enter into possession, or de- mand the rent; therefore, that should not have had sufficient weight to induce you to withhold the testi- monial, which I in honour, and you in duty, as officers of the Church, were hound to furnish. The question of the glebe may remain in statu quo, for although I shall not contest that matter, I will not take any measure that may commit the rights of the Church, as I might thereby do injury to my successors. Considered as an ecclesiastical person, it is one of the first duties of a clergyman to stand up for the rights of the Church, and of his own order. On these principles I was ex- tremely mortified by the proceedings respeding the pew in the church which is reserved for the reftor. I still continue to think it was highly unjust and im- proper to take that privilege from me, without my consent. Had I been consulted on the subjed:, it would have been otherwise, but I dislike anything which has the appearance of injustice or imposition. You will perceive, gentlemen, that I unreservedly lay all my subjects of uneasiness before you, for I think it totally improper that any heart-burnings should remain un- 2o8 The Narragansett Church expressed and unexplained between a clergyman and his Church. I am, with due esteem, gentlemen, yours obediently, J. L. Blackburn The following is the reply to the above letter: Providence, August 19, 1806 Reverend Sir: We are now to acknowledge the receipt of your fa- vour of the 1 6th instant, which came to hand the evening of its date. Had you, sir, been as prompt in your reply to ours addressed to you, in answer to yours from New Haven, you might have had your certificate, and there would have been no necessity of our introducing the subject at this time. But, you will recoiled:, on your application from thence, that you prematurely introduced (though you were then well acquainted with the contract subsisting between you and the society) the Bishop's opinion of your right to the church glebe; we therefore wrote to you our obje6tions, and had not a doubt of receiving an im- mediate answer, with an acknowledgement to the agreement; but, to our astonishment, from that time to the receipt of your last, not a single line has been received from you on the subjedt, convinced as you now appear to be of the propriety of our obje6tions. Your honour should, we think, have induced you, as soon as you understood the reason of our non-com- pliance with your request, to acknowledge it immedi- ately. This sufficiently obviated, the testimonial would have been forwarded without hesitation. Your relin- quishing the glebe to the society, by complying with the agreement, could be no relinquishment of the rights of others. It was a contract for yourself, in which it was clearly understood, that the income of the glebe was to be appropriated by the society in part to- ward the salary agreed on to be paid you. The unim- Chapter Twenty-second 209 portant claim of the pew, it was supposed, had been explained so as not to need repetition; but should a further discussion on the subjed be thought neces- sary, it will be better understood by a personal inter- view, and, on any such occasion, your opinions and ob- servations will be respedtfully attended to. Feeling satisfied of our disposition to treat you, at all times, with respeft, we are not disposed to reiterate any ex- pressions that might have a tendency to wound your feelings, or to reply to you with the temper with which, we observe with regret, you have been pleased to answer us — and we flatter ourselves no one will presume, in our conduft towards you, to accuse us of anything which "has the appearance of injustice or imposition." It has always been our earnest desire to cultivate your society, and had anything required an explanation, it might have been made without reserve, in an amicable and delicate manner, — but this un- fortunately has in some measure been prevented, by your withdrawing yourself from us. Neither our time nor inclination will admit of a lengthy correspondence ; should you, therefore, wish a further discussion of the subjedt of the glebe or the testimonial^ we shall be ready to attend any appointment you may be pleased to make; and we are persuaded, that in our official char- aSter, you will find us equally disposed to render jus- tice to you and our constituents, and that as wardens and private citizens, we have your honour and happi- ness very much at heart. Remaining, very resped- fully, sir, your humble servants, Signed, John Innes Clark 1 jf^^rdens Jeremiah e. Jenkins j In September 17, 1806, "The Wardens of St. John's Church acquaint the Rev. Mr. Blackburn, that the pew denominated the ministerial pew, is entirely at his service during his 210 The Narragansett Church redorship, it having been deemed so, from the time of his sacerdotal qualification." Under date of March 23, 1807, "The Rev. J. L. Blackburn begs leave to inform his Wardens, Vestry, and congregation, that it is his intention to leave America for Great Britain; conse- quently he wishes that they would, in the intermediate time allotted to him by their agreement, provide them- selves with a more suitable clergyman." The following appears to be in reply to the above note. It is without signature and, possibly, was never sent : Rev. J. L. Blackburn: Sir: Your communication of the 23rd inst., advising the Wardens, Vestry, and congregation of St. John's Church of your intention to leave America for Great Britain, at the expiration of the existing contract be- tween you and that society, hath been duly received and attended to; and, in reply, we are authorized by the congregation we have the honour to represent, to acquaint you, that, for divers weighty reasons, un- necessary to detail here, it is their wish amicably to cancel the contraft, freely assenting to your immediate release, that your design of visiting Great Britain may be facilitated and that the society may not lose a favourable opportunity of engaging another clergy- man. In case, sir, you shall be disposed to accept this proposition, — a measure, since a separation hath be- come inevitable, we most earnestly recommend as highly prudent and expedient at this time, — we shall most cheerfully give you any reasonable aid that may be requisite for your intended voyage. Wishing you a safe return to your native country and the enjoy- ment of health and happiness, we are, in behalf of the congregation of St. John's Church, Sir, &c. chapter Twenty-second an On the 26th of March, Mr. Blackburn resigned the charge of the church. March 30th," Fo/fi, That Messrs. Thomas L.Hal- sey and John Carter be a Committee to wait upon the Rev. J. L. Blackburn and present him with the letter from the wardens, expressing their ready ac- ceptance of his resignation." The letter of the Wardens concludes thus : "We take occasion, at this time, to offer you our best wishes for the safety of your intended voyage to Great Britain, the enjoyment of health and happiness in life, and that you may permanently establish the reputation, which it is in your power to acquire, with the aid of the splendid literary talents you possess." Another cause for dissatisfaftion was Mr. Black- burn's habitual intemperance. Immediately after Mr. Blackburn's resigna-' tion, Mr. Crocker was invited to become the minister, "so long as it may prove convenient for him." In April, 1808, it was "Voted, That the Rev. Nathan B. Crocker be recSlor of St. John's Church, on his obtainment of priest's orders." On the rgth of March, 18 10, a meeting of the society was held, at which it was decided to ereft a new church on thelot where the present church stands. "A building committee was thereupon appointed, and application was made to the town for the use of the town-house while the church was building." Tuesday, June 5,1810," the cor- ner-stone of the new church was laid with ap- propriate ceremonies, by the reverend Pastor and the Wardens and Vestry, assisted by the gentle- 214 The Narragansett Church the corporation to tax the pews for the support of public worship, and for the payment of taxes. RECTORS [Of Kings Church] George Pigot 1723-1727 Joseph O'Harra 1728-1729 Arthur Browne 1730-1736 John Checkley 1739-1754 John Graves 1755-1776 Interregnum : War of the Revolution Thomas Fitch Oliver 1785-1786 Moses Badger 1786-1791 Abraham L. Clarke 1792-1794 {Of St. Johris Church-] Abraham L. Clarke 1795-1800 Nathaniel Bowen 1801-1802 John Lynn Blackburn 1805-1807 Nathan Bourne Crocker 1807-1865 Richard Bache Duane 1865-1869 C. A. L. Richards {ReBor Emeritus] 1869-1901 Lester Bradner 1901- Chapter XXIII ST. Michael's church, Bristol Saint Michael's Church, Bristol: A Sketch Contri- buted \by a Writer unknown^ to the "Christian Wit- ness" in 1840. ANNO Domini, 1680, just sixty years after jljL the first settlement of New England, four gentlemen, of Boston, purchased all that traft of land now included within the limits of the town of Bristol, for the purpose of forming a settle- ment on the banks of the broad waters ofNar- ragansett Bay. A small settlement was soon col- lefted by emigrants from Plymouth, and a few years afterwards a town-meeting was called and resolutions were adopted, to settle a Congrega- tional minister and impose a tax on all the in- habitants for his support. No opposition was made to these measures, as probably there were but few, if any, Churchmen among the settlers. Under these religious circumstances, the town of New Bristol continued for a number of years, till in the early part of the eighteenth century some feeble efforts were made to form an Epis- copal society, and services were first had by lay- men in a small building near Mount Hope; but they were not entirely successful until the year 171 9, when renewed exertions were made to form the present parish, under the name of St. Michael's Church. A petition was forwarded to the Bishop of London,*'^ and application made to the Protestant Episcopal society (chartered 2i6 The Narragansett Church but eighteen years before by William III), the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts; and the following year the Rev. Mr. Orem was sent over by that Society. Immediately after writing for a clergyman, the new parish commenced making colleftions for the purpose of building a church. Colonel Mackintosh gave the ground and two hundred pounds in money, and other sums were received from Boston and Newport, and the balance, mak- ing up the sum of fourteen hundred pounds, was contributed by the people of Bristol and the ad- joining town of Swansea — alarge sum for a small and poor parish to raise at this early period. On Mr. Orem's arrival he was kindly and affeftion- ately received. He found a wooden building, with the outside and steeple finished, but nothing done in the inside; and so desirous was this little flock to join in the worship of their own Church, that on Saturday evening rough boards were laid for a floor, and service was performed the next day. The congregation was larger than had been ex- pe61:ed, more than two hundred attending and numbers coming from the neighbouring towns. Mr. Orem was a man of strong mind and pleas- ing manners, and the governor of New York soon offered him the situation of chaplain to his Majesty's forces, which he accepted, and in about a year after his arrival at Bristol he re- moved to New York. The Society for the Propagation of the Gos- pel in Foreign Parts, not willing that this little flock should remain in the wilderness, — for such chapter Twenty-third 217 it literally was, — without a shepherd, in the fol- lowing year (1722) sent the Rev. John Usher, who was cordially received and entered upon the duties of his mission with faithfulness and zeal. During the first year and a half of his min- istry he baptized thirty-six, and the first name on his record is that of his infant son John, who bears a prominent part in the subsequent history of this Church. This was about the yearly aver- age of baptisms during Mr. Usher's missionary- ship. This infant parish, even at this early period, had much to contend with from prejudices against the Church of England, its members be- ing taxed for the support of the Congregational minister from the settlement of the town till the year 1746, and, at the same time, raising from eighty to one hundred and thirty pounds annu- ally toward the salary of their own clergyman. From this burden they made a number of inef- fe6lual attempts to be released. They, however, bore this tax with becoming submission, but when resolutions were about to be adopted in town-meeting, in 1726, to tax them to repair the meeting-house, they remonstrated with so much warmth that it was thought advisable to make the necessary repairs by private contributions in that Society. It appears, from the records of the town, that the Church people were among the most respe6lable members of the community. Some of them were elected to the General Court, others as moderators of the town-meetings and members of the town council. In 1728, a sum was raised to purchase a bell. 2i8 The Narragansett Church and application made to Nathaniel Kay, Esq., to order one from England, to weigh from seven to eight hundred pounds, which, in due time, ar- rived at Newport, two persons being sent to bring it to Bristol. But by some accident on its way up it was broken, and thus the anticipations of several years, when just on the point of being realized, were disappointed. This may appear a trifling circumstance, but to them it was no in- considerable loss. The broken bell was reshipped toLondon,bythe way of Boston, to be cast anew; and when it was again received, it proved to be one of the best-toned bells in the country, and could be distinftly heard at Pawtuxet, a distance of at least twelve miles. There were two important considerations agi- tated in the parish this year (1730) which ap- pear to have excited considerable interest: one was, whether the salary of Mr. Gallup, the prin- cipal singer, should be increased from thirty shillings, and the other, if he should sing with- out reading the first line; both of these weighty questions being finally submitted to the decision of the reftor.'" In 1 73 1, the society had so much increased, that, for the accommodation of all its members, it became necessary to add galleries to the church, and the pews in them were readily sold. A singular vote was this year passed, which required the Rev, Mr. Usher to support all the widows of the church from what he received as his own salary, small as it must have been. Their affairs continued prosperous, and the fol- Chapter Twenty-third 219 lowing year a steeple-clock was added to the Church. This year a petition was forwarded to the gov- ernor of the Massachusetts Colony, by two Epis- copalians, in the following words: "That your Excellency would be pleased to inter- pose in our behalf, and cause us to be released from our confinement, and our property restored, we being peaceable inhabitants of the town of Swanzey,our goods and chattels having been distrained, and ourselves now confined in the county jail of Bristol, because we re- fused to pay the salary of the Congregational minis- ter, when we are regular attendants upon the Church of England worship." Thus it is seen that the same spirit of religious persecution (the frailty of the age) , which the first settlers declared they fled from in England, was existing in their own breasts and was exercised as soon as they had the ascendancy. An event occurred in 1735, which has re- sulted in a permanent benefit to the parish. On the death of Nathaniel Kay,*"" Esq., of Newport, it appeared by his will that he had bequeathed a valuable farm which he owned in the town, and two hundred pounds in money, "to the minister, wardens, and vestry of St. Michael's Church," for the education of ten poor boys of the parish, and for the support of the ministry, the property having been well managed, and hav- ing afforded a handsome income. Whereupon the Church people petitioned, for a number of suc- cessive years, to be exempted from being taxed to support a town school; and, by way of obtain- 220 The Narragansett Church ing their objedl, they say, as appears by the town records, "it will have its due weight with those gentlemen who formerly objefted against your gentleman school-master, who was well qualified to teach, for no other reason than because he went to the Church of England sometimes." This petition was not granted till six years after- wards, and then the town allowed them to place their school-house on the public land. In 1746, that part of the county of Bristol in which the town of Bristol is situated was set off from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, and from that date it does not appear that the Congrega- tional minister's salary was paid by a general tax on all the inhabitants. The Church of England people becoming respeftable in numbers as well as in influence, a better feeling appears to have been manifested between the two societies ; and in 1 75 1, both ministers were entirely exempted from all taxes. The Rev. Mr. Usher was per- mitted, by a vote of the town, to place a pale fence in front of his house, and his son, John Usher, junior, Esq., was employed to teach the town school. The Episcopal clergy, at the beginning of the American Revolution, were charged with adher- ing to the British government, and, if so, it may not be considered unnatural, from their strong attachment to the Established Church, and from their receiving most of their support from Eng- land. But there was a colleftion taken up in the town for the relief of the Boston sufferers, and John Usher's name appears among the largest chapter Twenty-third 221 contributors. Although it may be admitted that the imputed partiaHty of the clergy for Great Britain was not patriotic, yet when their sym- pathies were excited, their aftive benevolence was always ready to relieve distress, from what- ever source it might have originated. The church edifice was thoroughly repaired in 1756, and from that time till 1775 the affairs of the Church were both spiritually and temporally prosperous, under the untiring exertions and un- abating zeal of the Rev. Mr. Usher. At the ad- vanced age of nearly eighty**" years, he relin- quished the charge of his little band in the Church militant, and resigned his soul unto the hands of his Maker, to join the Church triumphant in heaven, there to meet all the redeemed, who had joined their hearts and voices with him in the public services of the Church below, as well as imitated his own unpretending devotions. To eulogize the charafter of this devoted ser- vant of Christ with justice requires more space than can be afforded in this brief history. He made the welfare of the Church the whole busi- ness of his life. In the early settlement of the town he suffered deprivations, hardships, and mortifications such as few of the clergy are called upon to endure at the present day; but, from a faithful discharge of his duties, he now rests from his labours. Mr. Usher during his ministry baptized seven hundred and thirteen, performed the marriage ceremony one hundred and eighty-five times, and attended two hundred and seventy-four funerals. 222 The Narragansett Church The Rev. Mr. Doyle, of Cambridge, Massachu- setts, accepted an invitation to officiate here af- ter the death of Mr. Usher, for six months; but, his health failing, he left before the term of his engagement had expired. There were never any more services held in the church from that tiriie,*^' — for, as reads a fragment of the record, "our parish church, raised by the greatest pos- sible exertions of our forefathers, when there were but few of them, and they poor, was, on the 25th day of May, 1778, burnt to ashes by a band of British ruffians, under the command of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Campbell, from Rhode Island." If any circumstance could palliate an outrage upon religious feelings, so wanton, sacrilegious, and unnecessary, it was, that at the time there was a prevailing opinion, that the soldiers were informed that what appeared to be tombs under the church were the powder-magazines of the town. If they were so advised, this unchristian aft will be made known when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed. Here let us pause in this narrative, for a moment, and refleft upon the condition of the parish at this eventful period — a strong sectarian opposition to the Church, a general prejudice against everything that was thought to savour of England, the pecuniary em- barrassment of the parishioners occasioned by the war, a line of English battle-ships ranged the whole length of the harbour, the place aftually invaded by the enemy's soldiers, the town in flames, the little temple of their worship in ashes, the few, who had continued faithful, dispersed chapter Twenty-third 223 with their famihes in the country for personal safety, their devoted shepherd, who for upwards of half a century had folded this little flock, taken home to his Father in Heaven, and deep dis- tress pervading the length and breadth of the land ! If ever men's hearts can be justified for fail- ing them through fear of final dispersion, or for lacking a strong faith in the omnipotent arm of the Saviour, this might have been the occasion. But these men believed that those who trust in the Lord shall have their strength renewed; and John Usher, afterwards the second Rev. John Usher, was the man under God, with two or three others, who manifested his faith, that this peculiar vine, which Christ had planted, and which had been cultivated by the prayers and watered by so many tears of his people, should yet live, prosper, and bear much fruit to his glory, — a faith which the event has fully justified. Here is a perpetual example to small societies who feel depressed and desponding, and fear that the prospeftfor continuing their Churches is du- bious. Let them refleft on the condition of this parish, at its darkest hour, and the reflection must stimulate them to more aftive exertions, and to secure success; for in this country, in these prosperous days, " no sorrow can be like her sor- row," no distress like her distress. Under these disastrous circumstances, when to be called a Churchman was considered as synon- ymous with being an enemy to the country, Mr. Usher never omitted to colle6t the few who were left of the parish on each Easter Monday 224 The Narragansett Church (for one or two years secretly, as he says, for reasons hereafter to be made known), and to go formally through the duties of an Easter Mon- day meeting, when it is evident that but two or three attended. He collected the small remaining parish to- gether, after the termination of the war, every Sunday, in the old Court-house and read to them there, till a new church was built in 1786, a neat plain wooden building, sixty feet long by thirty- six feet wide, where he continued to officiate as a layman till his ordination in 1793. The con- gregation had so much diminished from the foregoing causes, that the few who still adhered experienced the greatest difficulties in raising means to defray the expense of the building; and when the pews were finished, Mr. Usher soli- cited the inhabitants to purchase them, offering them their choice at ten dollars apiece. He could hardly have hoped that the little parish, he was at that time resuscitating, would, in little more than forty years, ereft a beautiful Gothic structure ^^'^ on the site of their humble building, the pews of which would be eagerly sought after, at between three and four hundred dollars apiece. Few have persevered as Mr. Usher did, under so many conflicting circumstances, keeping to- gether a parish for eleven years by lay reading, at a time when the strongest opposition was ex- hibited toward the Church from the mistaken idea, prevailing immediately after the conclu- sion of the Revolutionary War, that there was still some connexion between the Protestant Chapter Twenty-third 225 Episcopal Church in the United States and the Established Church of England. During the time of Mr. Usher's reading, the congregation was frequently benefited in the ad- ministration of the ordinances, by the clergy from Providence and Newport. The Rev. Mr. Graves, of Providence, thus officiated from 1780 to 1784; and, in 1785, the Rev. Mr. Badger*'" adminis- tered the ordinances, the next year the Rev. Mr. Wheeler*" being present. In the latter part of this year, the new church was so far completed that it was opened for public worship, and the Rev. Mr. Graves administered the ordinance of Baptism for the first time in thenewchurch.The Rev. Mr. Smith,'"'^ also, of Newport, frequently attended. In 1 79 1, twenty-five persons were confirmed by Bishop Seabury, and in 1793, Mr. Usher, so long the faithful and devoted friend and reader to this Church, received Orders, and officiated with success till the year 1800, when, at his ear- nest desire, being now nearly eighty years of age, the Rev. Abraham Clarke was settled here, the Rev. Mr. Usher often officiating at the baptisms, marriages, and funerals of his old and long-tried friends. In 1797, twenty-nine persons were con- firmed by Bishop Bass. Difficulties soon arose after the settlement of Mr. Clarke, and he con- tinued his labours here but about three years, when, in 1803, the Rev. Alexander Viets Gris- wold became the reftor of the parish. The same year, the Rev. Mr. Usher, then eighty-two years of age, prepared to render up 226 The Narragansett Church to his Divine Master the long account of his labours on earth; and, if any man could render up his account with joy, Mr. Usher could cer- tainly do so. He was the first infant Episco- pally baptized in Bristol, and devoted his long life almost entirely to the interests and welfare of the Church, and in circumstances frequently the most trying to his faith in God's protecting and sustaining care. But at the closing period of his protra6led life a brighter day was dawning upon the Church of his love, and he committed his little and beloved flock, with most heartfelt satisfaftion and perfe6t confidence, to the paro- chial charge of the Rev. Mr. Griswold, the new reftor. How far he was justified in that confi- dence, the account of the succeeding prosperity of the church will abundantly prove. The Rev. Mr. Usher was gathered to his fa- thers in July, 1804, aged eighty-two years, and his remains, with those of his father, are interred under the chancel of the church. When the Rev. Mr. Griswold entered upon his duties, in St. Michael's Parish, the list of com- municants, as a result of the advanced age of his predecessor, the difficulties which had arisen during Mr. Clarke's term of service and the early prejudices against the Church not yet entirely removed, had been reduced to only nineteen. From thisperiod, however, an improvement was apparent; the congregation immediately in- creased and continued to do so, and additions to the Communion were received almost every month. These gradual accessions maintained a Chapter Twenty-third 227 healthy condition of the church, and seldom did an instance occur that a member thus added did not remain steadfast. The Rev. Mr. Griswold, in 18 10, was elefted and, in 181 1, consecrated Bishop of the Eastern Diocese, yet, with the ad- ditional duties of the Episcopate, he relaxed in no degree his labours for his parish. The con- gregation had so much increased, that it was found necessary this year to enlarge the church edifice, and about twenty-four feet were added to the west end, making the building eighty- four feet long but not proportionably wide, and the old part was thoroughly repaired. The good seed which the Bishop had been sowing for a number of years sprang up, in 1 8 1 2, into a glorious harvest, so that in the space of a few months about one hundred, who had con- fessed the faith of Christ crucified, presented themselves for Confirmation and were received into the number of communicants. The affairs of the church continued so prosperous and so much increased was the congregation, that in 1 82 1 a plan was suggested for the building of a new church and, at the same time, the Rev. Silas Blaisdale was invited as assistant to the Bishop; an invitation, however, which Mr. Blaisdale declined. The hope of building a new church continued until 1825, when one of the most aftive and benevolent members of the par- ish, who had been transa£ling an immense com- mercial business, was unfortunate and became bankrupt for nearly a million of dollars. This event brought so much pecuniary distress on the 228 The Narragansett Church whole town that the project was abandoned for the time, to be again renewed under more favour- able circumstances. Still, Bishop Griswold, with unabating efforts, continued his exertions for the salvation of his people, and numbers were united to the Church by Baptism and to the Commun- ion by Confirmation. He thus laboured for this, his parochial charge, till 1 829, when, the affairs of the Diocese requiring his continued presence in a more central position, he removed to Salem in Massachusetts. It was with deep regret that he parted with such devoted friends, who, for a quar- ter of a century, had endeared themselves to him by innumerable aits of kindness and who would, as St. Paul says, "if it had been possible, have plucked out their own eyes and have given them to him." At the time of final separation, unani- mous votes of the parish were passed, expressing their continued affeition for him and their regret at his leaving. The Bishop, as before stated, found but nine- teen communicants when he commenced his labours here, and when he concluded them he left about two hundred. His upright and even conduct, pious conversation, and consistent walk in life had the most beneficial influence, not only on the members of St. Michael's congregation but upon the inhabitants of the town generally. When he appeared in the street the drunkard immediately sought a fixed position to steady his reeling motions, and profanity and obscenity in- stantly shut their mouths at his approach, while all assumed a more circumspeft condu6l when chapter Twenty-third 229 conscious of his observation. This result was not produced by an assumed sanftity or austerity of manner, but by a life, both in private and in public, corresponding with the dodrines which he taught. From the commencement of the Bishop's connexion with this parish, he was in the habit of preaching three sermons each week, and, be- sides his daily parochial visits, he was in the con- stant practice of meeting more or less of his peo- ple on one evening in the week for the purpose of social worship. His usual method, after offer- ing prayers from the liturgy, which he never omitted, and singing, was to read a chapter from the Bible and, in a plain, unostentatious manner, explain its meaning and apply its instruftion to the benefit of his little but attentive congrega- tion. These meetings were rendered still more interesting and instructive by asking the Bishop questions (which the people were always at lib- erty to propose) , on the chapter read, or any other religious subjefl, and which he always very kindly answered. If there appeared among his hearers more than their accustomed attention to religion, he would meet them oftener, and give them his pious and afFetflionate advice. The meeting was usually closed, at the request of the Bishop, with a prayer by one of the brethren. These meetings, after they were first commenced, were never omitted, during the whole time he had the charge of this parish, and the blessed effefts resulting from them will be most grate- fully remembered by all who attended them, to 230 The Narragansett Church their latest breath. The brethren of the church also met for religious conference and prayer, where the most perfeft decorum always pre- vailed. The female members had also their more private and humble meetings for prayer and praise. All which are indications of the spiritual condition of the church at this time. During the Bishop's reftorship, a society was formed by the ladies of the parish, under the name of the Female Missionary Society of St. Michael's Church, and its members deserve all praise for their benevolence; for they have never omitted their weekly meetings or their annual contributions to the missionary cause, and the sums of money which they have contributed since the commencement of the society have amounted to several thousand dollars. Their highly commendable zeal to extend the king- dom of the Redeemer over the whole world ap- pears, at the present time, to be increasing rather than diminishing. About the time of the forma- tion of this society, the Sunday-school was be- gun under the most favourable auspices, the su- perintendent and teachers being pious, devoted, and highly respe6lable persons, and the result having been most salutary and beneficial. John Bristed, Esq., a gentleman of high lite- rary attainments, who had, a few years before, relinquished a lucrative professional business in the city of New York to devote the remainder of his life more immediately to the service of his God, retired to the pleasant and quiet vil- lage of Bristol, from the noise and bustle of that chapter Twenty-third 231 a6live city, to prosecute his studies in divinity more effe6lually, in the vicinity and under the direftion of Bishop Grisw^old. After his ordina- tion, he remained here and rendered acceptable gratuitous assistance to the Bishop, supplying his pulpit during his frequent and necessary absences on Episcopal visitations. On the Bi- shop's removal to Salem, the Rev. Mr. Bristed was invited to officiate, "for the time being," and, shortly afterward, by the unanimous vote of the vestry, was ele6led the permanent reftor of the parish, being instituted in March, 1834.**^ Mr. Bristed began his new labours with ability and zeal, the parish continued as flourishing as for- merly, and, in the winter of 1830-31, large ac- cessions were made to the Communion ; a general and anxious inquiry was made after the way of righteousness, and more than one hundred were added to the Church, being soon after confirmed. But it is deeply to be deplored that, after an un- usual awakening,when large accessions have been made to the Church, in some instances a whole year has afterwards elapsed, with the addition of scarcely one new communicant. Whether a church is more benefited and more persons are brought to acknowledge the truth by occasional revivals, or by a uniform and continuous aug- mentation, probably creates, in the minds of many devout persons, doubts, which it would be ex- ceedingly desirable to have removed. Some years before Bishop Griswold left Bris- tol efforts had been made to establish an Epis- copal society in the adjoining and prosperous 232 The Narragansett Church town of Warren, which were cordially seconded by many of its most respeftable inhabitants, and Mr. Bristed continued to render most accepta- ble aid to that new parish, till the Rev. George W. Hathaway was settled there. Mr. Bristed is also entitled to much praise for his services in assisting to colleft and sustain many new par- ishes in this State since his ordination. In 1833, it was ascertained that the church edifice re- quired very considerable repairs and that it did not well accommodate all who worshipped within its walls. By the aftive exertions of Mr. Bristed, seconded by most of his congregation, resolutions were adopted to take down the old church and ereft a new one in its place. This was carried into immediate efFe£l, and, the next year, there was completely finished one of the mostbeautiful and commodious Gothic churches in the country, eighty-five feet long by fifty-four feet wide, covering the long-endeared site on which the two former churches had stood. The church was consecrated by the Right Rev. Bishop Griswold, on the sixth day of March, 1834, and on the next day a sufficient number of pews were sold to defray the whole cost of the building (amounting to nineteen thousand dollars), including a basement le6ture-room fifty feet square, a large organ, and a fine-toned bell. In 1837, Mr. Bristed's general health in a degree failing, he employed the Rev. Francis Peck "' to assist him for a number of months, but, a situation which might increase his usefulness being offered Mr. Peck in the city of Baltimore, Chapter Twenty-third 233 he thought it advisable to accept it and remove thither. An addition of a number of respeftable fa- milies was made to the parish in 1838, in con- sequence of the dissolution of the society of the Reformed Methodists, a large proportion of its members uniting with the Church. Mr. Bristed has always, when his health has permitted, been in the habit of preaching two sermons on the Sabbath and delivering a lediure in the lecture-room on Sunday evening. Both of these kinds of service are highly acceptable, the large room being always crowded. On one other evening in the week, he meets his congregation for social worship. The brethren also continue their prayer and conference meetings. Mr. Bris- ted, by collections taken at the monthly concert of prayer-meetings and by his own liberality, con- stantly supports one student for the ministry at one of the Episcopal theological seminaries. Mr. Bristed's health continuing feeble and not adequate to the parochial duties of the parish, the Rev. Thomas F. Fales has been employed as his assistant, and he is now in that capacity acceptably officiating here. The communicants now number two hundred and eighty-seven, the congregation being respec- table, and the largest in the town. Ten poor boys continue [1840] to be educated from the Na- thaniel Kay fund. The Sunday-school is in a most flourishing condition, with thirty-five teachers, one hundred and seventy-five scholars, and a suf- ficient library. The services of the sanftuary are 234 The Narragansett Church rendered more perfect by a large and well in- structed choir of singers. Thus this Church, which began with doubt- ful prospects of success, when there were but two other Episcopal societies in the future State of Rhode Island, and they in their infancy, hav- ing literally passed through fiery trials, and ex- perienced oppositions, difficulties, and depres- sions which few of our churches have been called upon to suffer, is now, A. d. 1840, through the infinite goodness and sustaining care of God, one of the most prosperous parishes in the State. " For His all-proteSiing and sustaining care, the Lord be praised." SUBSEQUENT RECTORS James W. , Cooke 1844- 1850 Joseph T rapnell, junior 1851- 1857 William i Stowe 1858- 1865 L. P. W. Balch, D.D. 1865- 1866 George L 1. Lock« ;, D.D. 1867- Notes i: Notes 535 "Mr. Samuel Fayerweather." ' N addition to the information given in the text con- _ cerning the origin of Mr.Fayerweather,it maybe noted that, on his mother's side, he was descended from the well-known Waldo family of Boston, his native town, being a grandson of Jonathan Waldo^" (a wealthy mer- chant of that place, and a brigadier-general at the cap- ture of Louisburg), and a nephew of Samuel Waldo (born 1696, died 1759), the proprietor of an immense landed estate in Maine, from whom he seems to have received his Christian name. Mr. Fayerweather had a sister Hannah (named for their mother, Hannah Waldo), who became Mrs. Winthrop, of Cambridge, and who is mentioned in his will, along with her son John. A biographical sketch of Professor John Winthrop, of Har- vard College (born 17 14, died 1779) {Popular Science Monthly^ xxxix. 841), states that he married, as his second wife, in 1756, "Hannah, daughter of Thomas Fayerweather, and widow of Farr Tolman, of Boston." Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, in a letter to Mr. Updike, dated "Cambridge 23'* May, 1837," remarks, "Some of the F ay erwe others are still living in this town." It does not appear that Mr. Fayerweather was a mis- sionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- pel during his previous residence at Georgetown, on Winyaw Bay, in South Carolina, his engagement, on the " Missionary Roll," being limited to " Narragansett, 1 758-80." The discrepancy between the former of these dates and the year 1760, in which he is represented, in the text, as entering upon his work at St. Paul's, is accounted for by delay in the transmission of letters concerning his appointment and the length of time occupied in removal. The successor of Dr. MacSparran was commonly styled" Parson Fayerweather," although he is repeatedly called "Dodlor" in old letters and re- cords. There does not, however, seem to be any evidence of his having received the degree of Doftor of Divinity. 238 Notes The Digest of S. P. G. Records (p. 45) recounts that "The Rev. Mr. Fayerweather, at Narragansett, had his dwelling 'ill the midst . . . of enemies, Quakers, Ana- baptists,Antipaedobaptists,Presbyterians,Independents, Dippers, Levellers, Sabbatarians, Muggletonians and Brownists,' who united 'in nothing but pulling down the Church of England.' " In these circumstances it was perhaps not unnatural that the reverend gentle- man, by whom the above account of his surroundings must have been reported, found it wise "to be mild and gentle, peaceable and forbearing." Mr. Daniel Updike, in a letter to Bishop Griswold, in 1806, testifies: "The congregation may be said to have decreased since the death of Dr. MacSparran. . . . His successor, though a man of great talents, attended but little to . . . the mi- nutiae of his duty." 536 "DoSor Bristowe." The Rev. Dr. Bristowe, who appears to have died some little time previously to the date (September 21, 1758) of the letter referred to, left a large library to the S. P. G. to be applied according to its discretion. From this col- leition, in that same year, the Society appropriated 1500 volumes for the foundation of the library of King's (new Columbia) College, in the city of New York, then in process of establishment under its encouragement and beneficence. (Digest of S. P. G. Records, pp. 775,776, 798.) The death of Dr. Bristowe, a benefactor of the Society, seems to have given rise to a report of the death of its secretary, the Rev. Dr. Bearcroft. 537 "The Rev. Dr. Stiles:'' This refers to the well-known Ezra Stiles (born in New Haven, November 29, 1727; died in the same town. May 12, 1795), president of Yale College from 1778 until his death. 538 "Painted in London." Copley continued to live in Boston for eighteen years after Mr. Fayerweather was ordained, executing por- traits of many members of the leading families of the Notes 239 town, such as those with which the clergyman was con- nefted. He did not settle in London until 1775, after Mr. Fayerweather had been long established in Narra- gansett,there being no record of the latter's going abroad between that date and his death, in 178 1. 539 "Philip Bearcroft, Secretary." The Rev. Dr. Bearcroft was the fourth secretary of the S. P. G., serving from 1739 to 1761, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Burton. 540 " The use and support of a Right Reverend Dio- cesan." This somewhat high-sounding phrase was not the term employed by Dr. MacSparran in his will, but appears to have been introduced into the Parish Register by his suc- cessor, who, in recording the disposition of the Doctor's farm, adds, in his chara6leristic style: "The Whole of which was Originally Designed and Bequeathed To A Right Reverend Diocesan, In Case One of that Holy and Ever To be Revered order should Come to Ame- rica." It is noticeable that, as soon as the S. P. G. was founded, its missionaries in America began to take the initiative for the introduftion of resident bishops. Dr. Thomas Bray, one of the original promoters of the So- ciety, and the Rev. John Talbot, later one of the non- juring bishops, advocated the cause in 1701 and 1702. In 1707, the Rev. Evan Evans, sent to Philadelphia by the Bishop of London in 1700, in a letter on "The State of the Church in Pennsylvania," brought out some new points upon the need of episcopal authority in the colonies. In 17 13, the ministers and wardens of the church in Boston, adding under the inspiration of Gov- ernor Nicholson, petitioned the Society and sent an address to Queen Anne upon the subjeft, there being records of simultaneous petitions of the same nature from New York and Rhode Island. In 17 18, an ad- dress upon the grievances resulting from the lack of the episcopate was sent by the vestries of Christ's Church, Philadelphia, and St. Ann's, Burlington, and others to the archbishops and bishops of the Church of England. 240 Notes The first step in this diredtion, in Connefticut, was taken by the Rev. George Pigot, who had been settled at Stratford in 1722. Dr. Johnson and Dr. Cutler in- terested themselves in the cause, at about the same period. The subject was also discussed at a convention, in 1 725, in Newport, and at another in Boston, in 1 727. (Cross's Anglican Episcopate, pp. 93-104; Batchelder's History of the Eastern Diocese, '-383-5 ; Hawkins's Mis- sions of the Church of England., pp. 384-5.) Dr. MacSparran was not, therefore, broaching an individual missionary scheme in attempting to provide a seat for a bishop of New England, although one who visits the solitary and remote site of the glebe-house to-day cannot help marvelling that the good mission- ary judged it fitted to prove a convenient episcopal dwelling-place. The language of the Doctor's will (made May 23, 1753) upon this subjeft is as follows: "Item. After the decease of my said wife [Hannah MacSpar- ran] I give, devise and bequeath the farm, that I bought of Dr. Gardiner and the addition thereto, which I bought of William Gardiner, as a manse or convenient dwell- ing-house (with all the Houses and Improvements thereon) to such Bishop of the Reformed religion, as the same is now named and established in England, and to his successors forever in said high and holy office, as shall be regularly and legally sent and set over that part of his Majesty's Territories, where said seat or farm lies. But I make this donation and will it to take efFefl, with these two provisos. The first condition is that, at the least, the first three Bishops in direit succession be born and educated in Great Britain or Ireland; which I do, not out of any national spirit,but because I imagine episcopacy cannot be so well preserved, in its purity and due dignity, in anyother manner, at the first. The second condition is that a Bishop be sent, at longest, within seven years after my wife's decease. And lest the Town Council, who are by law empowered, should intermeddle with said estate, I give, devise and bequeath the rents, — and profits of said estate, after the death of my said wife, during the aforesaid term of seven years, one moiety to Notes 241 Doft. Sylvester Gardiner, of Boston, and the other moi- ety to my friend Capt. Philip Wilkinson, for their care, in keeping things in repair." It is remarkable that, of the six bishops who have had jurisdicStion over the "part of his Majesty's Ter- ritories, where said seat or farm lies," no one could have claimed the bequest, even if he had been sent within the specified period, not having been born in Great Bri- tain or Ireland. It is also difficult to see how the first bishop, even if born in the United Kingdom and sent in time, could have entered into possession, inasmuch as it could not be known, during his lifetime, whether or not his two successors would fulfil the first condition, without which the bequest was to be inoperative. 541 "Then he devised the same estate." The alternative provision of Dr. MacSparran's will is as follows : " But should it so happen no Bishop should be sent to preside over the American, Nov-Anglian Churches, then I do hereby give, devise and bequeath that said estate shall pafs unto Docftor Sylvester Gar- diner, of Boston, his heirs and assigns forever and unto James MacSparran (the eldest son of my only brother Archibald MacSparran dec'd,) his heirs and assigns, to be equally divided between them forever." The Dodior also gave a lot on his farm, for a church, if one should be built there, the land continuing long to be called "the hill lot," although never used for the designated purpose. 542 "James MacSparran, the son of his brother Archi- bald" In addition to what is contained in Note 88 and the corresponding text, concerning Dr. MacSparran's fa- mily, it may be noted that his brother Archibald emi- grated to America, probably in 1736 or 1737, and set- tled at Newcastle, on Delaware Bay. He had seven children, of whom the four sons were named John, James, Archibald, and Joseph. James was a husband- man, continuing to live with his father and finally en- tering into possession of the homestead. As the Do£i:or 242 Notes l?^!t ^Tt'' '''^\'^''^^^ "^^^ eldest sorv," it is proba- ble that ]olin, who became a merchaivt in Philadelphia, had died before 1753. The Doftor speaks of the emi- gration and recent death of his brother Archibald in his Diary, in an entry of November 18, 1751. 543 "To . . . Lessen the expense to . . . the Parish of St. Pauls." Immediately after the passage, in the Parish Register, closing with the above words occurs the following: " And Previous To the Completion of This, an Ad of the General Assembly of the Colony was found ne- cessary and obtained, though with opposition and Diffi- culty, For the Transferring of the Property of another Glebe Given for the use of the Church In North Kings- town By one Mr. Norton, A Taylor In Newport, which was sold for O ne hundred Pound Sterling, and the Money for which it was Sold, went towards the Paying So much in the Specie or Sterling money of Great Britain, as to the new Purchase of Do£tor MacSparran's Farm." The "Mr. Norton," thus referred to, is, doubtless, Nathaniel Norton, a member of Trinity Parish, New- port, at least as early as 1734, vi^ho gave land, in his w^ill, to his own church also. November 24, 1783, it was voted by the congregation of Trinity Church, that the wardens and vestry be requested to petition the Gen- eral Assembly for liberty to dispose of the lot of land left to the church by Nathaniel Norton, deceased, ly- ing m North Kingstown, the same being of no use to the church, and that the money arising from the sale thereof be invested in real estate in Newport. Permis- sion having been obtained in the following year, the de'v rj""" '^^ ^^""^ l^een sold in 1 796, and the proceeds ° '° enlarging the church-yard toward the west. 544 "Thomas Brown, Esq." ^4^oTT^^tl]\llTf ;° Mr. Brown, under an en- the second of four sons of W^r^'"'" Thomas Brown was and was born August 27 i ^'id Elizabeth Brown, he was a nephew of Dem>t?/A" ^" *^'^ mother's side, eputy Governor William Rob- Notes 243 inson. He left a large fortune to his brother Robert's eldest son, who became Lieutenant-Governor George Brown. 545 "Captain John Brown, Esq., of Newport." Captain Brown, an adlive member and vestryman of Trinity Parish, was a merchantand,in conjunitionwith Godfrey Malbone and George Wanton, fitted out pri- vateers during the second Spanish war. He married, in 1717, Jane, a daughter of Augustus Lucas,°^ and died January 2, 1 764. His brother Peleg was, for many years, a vestryman or a warden of Trinity Church, and his daughter Jane was the first wife of Thomas Vernon, "eldest Churchwarden" of that parish. Dr. MacSpar- ran relates, in his Diary, that, on the occasion of the holding of the convention at Newport, in June, 1 745, he dined, in company with the clergy, at " Capt. Jn° Brown's." (Mason's Annals of Trinity Church, Newport, pp. 77, 104, 131.) 546 "Matthew Robinson, Esq. ; . . . Lodowick Updike." Notices of Mr. Robinson and Mr. Updike will be found a few pages below, in the text. 547 "His History of the Three Judges." The full title of Dr. Stiles's work is History of Three of the Judges of Charles I.,Major-General Wh alley, Ma- jor-General Gojfe and Colonel Dixwell, &c., with an Ac- count of Mr. Theophilus Whale of Narragansett, Hart- ford, 1794. Mr. Whale (or Whaley, or Whailey) was popularly supposed to have been one of the regicide judges, presumably identical with Major-General Whai- ley or with his brother Robert. An account of "old Colo- nel Whailey" will be found in the text, below, under an entry of April 16, 1772 (Vol. ii. p. 100). 548 "He had three sons, Hezekiah, James, and An- drew." Dr. Stiles is not to be understood as intending to assert that these three were all the sons of Thomas Willet (or Willett), but rather that they were those with whose 244 Notes careers he chanced to be familiar. Mr. Willet had thir- teen children, of whom eight were sons, four of them dying young. In addition to the twelve children men- tioned below, in the text, from Judge Saffin's memo- randum book, there was a second Hezekiah, born No- vember 17, 1653, who was the one killed by the In- dians when Swansea, Massachusetts, was laid waste by fire in 1676 (not 1675), the first of the name, born in 165 1, having died the same year. The second Hezekiah lived in Swansea, and married Ann Brown six months before his death, having no issue. James was twice married, having four children by his second wife, and removed from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, to New Lon- don in or before 1681. After leaving Boston, Andrew Willet is said to have lived for some time in Newport before removing to Kings Town. 549 "yf daughter." Andrew Willet, as will be seen two or three pages be- low, in the text, had three daughters, Anne and Mary, who were married, in 1707 and 17 10, to Joseph Car- penter, and Martha, who married Simon Pease. 550 '■'■Wilson in Massachusetts." It is somewhat difficult to identify any daughter of Thomas Willet, as having become Mrs. Wilson. Mrs. Hooker, at the age of sixty-five, married, as a second husband, Thomas Buckingham. Mrs. Saffin and Mrs. Eliot died before their husbands, and Rebecca died at the age of four or five years. The only remaining one, Mrs. Flynt, outlived her husband many years, the re- cord of any second marriage being, however, appar- ently lacking. Nor did Colonel Francis Willet have any aunt Wilson upon the side of his mother, Anne, daugh- ter of Governor William Coddington. The only promi- nent ministerial Wilson family in Massachusetts at that period appears to have been that of the Rev. John Wil- son, who emigrated fromEnglandto Massachusetts Bay in 1630, in the great fleet with John Winthrop, and was pastor of the First Church in Boston from 1632 until his death, in 1667. For his services as chaplain at Notes 245 the time of the Pequot expedition, Mr. Wilson was awarded a grant of one thousand acres of land in what is now Quincy. It is not unlikely that Mrs. Flynt, after the death of her husband in 1680, married a grand- son of the old pastor and lived upon the family lands, where her daughter, Dorothy Flynt, after a few years, married their neighbour, Edmund Quincy. 551 "Hooker in ConneSicut." The Rev. Samuel Hooker (born 1632; died Novem- ber 6, 1697) who, September 22, 1658, married Mary Willet, was a son of the Rev. Thomas Hooker (born in England, 1586; died in Hartford, Connefticut, July 7, 1647) who fled from the alleged arbitrary rule of Archbishop Laud to Holland, in 1630, and emigrated thence to New England, in 1633. Thomas was one of the founders of the town of Hartford, bringing hither with him, in 1636, his whole congregation from New- town (now Cambridge), Massachusetts, his death, a few years later, being considered a great public loss. Samuel, the subjedt of this Note, graduated at Har- vard College in 1653, and was ordained pastor of the church in Farmington, Connecticut, in 1661. He be- came a fellow of his alma mater, and was appointed, with three others, to treat with New Haven Colony in reference to a union with Conneiticut Colony. Eleven children, of whom nine were sons, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hooker. It is probable that the Thomas Bucking- ham (born 1646) whom Mrs. Hooker married a few years after her first husband's death, was also a clergy- man. 552 "yf« old memorandum book of Judge John Saffin." The late Miss Esther Bernon Carpenter, some years previously to her death, read before the Rhode Island Historical Society a notable paper upon this memoran- dum book, then in her possession, under the title of "John Saffin, His Book." Miss Carpenter was a grand- daughter of Mr. Willet Carpenter, the custodian of the book at the time of Mr. Updike's writing, in 1847. ^^^ says that it was at Bristol, then a part of Plymouth 246 Notes Colony,that Saffin wrote the note-book, — "a revelation of a study of Puritan manners and a Puritan mind." The book is a medley, — maxims from William Penn, formulas relating to witchcraft, the hours of his chil- dren's births, colonial data in abundance, and a record of a blazing star, in 1 664, " sent by God to an obscure world." Sometimes the writer bursts into verse over these occurrences, New England's lamentable fate, and reprehensible femaleattire. His epitaph upon his father- in-law (given by Dr. Parsons in his essay, cited in Note 555) begins: "Here lies grand Willet, whose good name Did mount upon the wings of fame." Another still more ambitious example of John Baffin's muse, adduced by the same writer, is an "Epitaph on that eminent and truly pious matron, Mrs. Mary Wil- let," containing the following lines : '■'■Yea, Venus, Pallas, Diana and the Graces Compared with her should all have lost their places." Miss Carpenter goes on to remark: "There are deep self-revealings in this book. In his home life he merits our regard, however obscured by the stir of his cen- tury. It lets in light on an obscure period of our his- tory. Saffin was the poet-laureate of his household queen. The pathos of his lines on his wife's death is exhaust- less." John Saffin, son of Simon Saffin, of Exeter, Eng- land, was born in that country. Hewas judge of the supe- rior court of Massachusetts from 1701 to 1703. His first wife was Martha, daughter of Captain Thomas Willet, first mayor of the city of New York. Mr. Saffin died at Bristol, Rhode Island, July 29, 1710. 553 "She was a daughter of John Brown." John Brown is called, at the time of his daughter's mar- riage, in 1636, "a prominant man in Plymouth." It is not improbable that Mr. Brown united with his son-in- law, Willet, and other leading men of Plymouth, in 1 661 in the purchase of land from the Indians, called "Rehoboth North Purchase," including the present towns of Attleborough, Massachusetts, and Cumber- Notes 247 land, Rhode Island. In any case he appears to have re- moved to that part of Rehoboth afterwards set apart as Swansea, Massachusetts, inasmuch as it is recorded be- low, in the text, that Mrs. Mary Willef'was buried near her father, John Brown, upon a little hill upon their land in Swansea." 554 "Sarah." Sarah Willet (born 1643; died June 13, 1665) is in- teresting on account of having married John Eliot, a son of the Apostle of the Indians and Ann (or Hanna) Mum- ford, his "dear, faithful, pious, prudent, prayerful wife," as he himself styled her, at her funeral. Of the five sons born to John and Hanna, only one, the Rev. Joseph Eliot, "a burning and shining light," survived them. Their son John (born 1636) saw his young wife, Sarah Willet, pass away at the age of twenty-two years, while he himself followed her three years later, and more than a score of years before the death of his father. John and Sarah had one daughter, Sarah, born in 1662, her mother being then at the age of eighteen or nineteen years. 555 "Captain 'Thomas Willet . . . was buried in the same place." In the autumn of 1886, the late Dr. Charles W. Par- sons read, before the Rhode Island Historical Society, an interesting and important paper upon his ancestor, "The First Mayor of New York City, Thomas Wil- lett," afterwards printed in the Magazine of American History for March, 1887. Among other valuable items there are given in it "tracings" from Captain Wil- let's head-stone and foot-stone standing in what is now called East Providence, differing somewhat from the copy of these inscriptions presented in the extraft from Dr. Stiles's account of The fudges of Charles /, in the text. The head-stone is inscribed as follows : 1674. HERE LIES YE BODY OF yi WOR THOMAS WILLETT ESQ WHO DIED AUGUST YE 4TH IN YE 64TH YEAR OF HIS AGE ANNO 248 Notes The foot-stone contains the following: WHO WAS THE FIRST MAYOR OF NEW YORK & TWICE DID SUSTAINE YT PLACE. It will be noticed that the " Wor" of this tracing has been extended to "Worthy" by Dr. Stiles. As John Saffin, who may have prepared this inscription and who certainly wrote a more extended epitaph on his fa- ther-in-law, headed the latter " Worshipful Thomas Willett, Esquire," it is perhaps more likely that the lat- ter epithet is the one signified by the abbreviation. It is also worthy of attention that Dr. Parsons gives the double letter at the end of the proper name although Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary ^ spells it many times Willet and Mr. Updike follows the same custom, no doubt the prevailing form in their times. The " anno," at the foot of the head-stone, was probably intended to be followed by i6j^^ which the introduftion of the same date at the top rendered unnecessary. Dr. Parsons remarks that he knows no good reason for questioning the Willet pedigree, which assigns the Rev. Andrew Willet, proc- tor of Cambridge College, 1585, and prebend of Ely Cathedral, 1597, as well as chaplain to Prince Henry, as the father, and the Rev. Thomas Willet (died 1597), sub-almoner to Edward VI, and prebend of Ely, as the grandfather, of Thomas Willet, of Plymouth and New York. In 1647-8 Willet was appointed captain of the military company at Plymouth, and bore that title ever after. 556 ''John Saffin." The name of Saffin is supposed to be of Norman ori- gin. John Saffin, when only about twenty-one years of age, attained the position of a seleSiman in the town of Scituate, Massachusetts, where he is said to have spent about ten years. Miss Carpenter testifies that later in life "Saffin was noted for self-will rather than strength of charafter. ... He was a man of honest temper, but mingled with local questions some of the Notes 249 gall of bitterness of heavier matters. ... As he gradu- ally severed himself from earher associations, he sank into the dregs of sullen old age." Some further fails concerning John Saffin may be found in Note 29. 557 "Rebecca, daughterof Rev. Samuel Lee,of Bristol." Miss Carpenter narrated, in her paper on "John Saf- fin, His Book": "The third time (1688), at the age of 56, he married an heiress." The first regularly settled pastor of the Congregational Church at Bristol was the Rev. Samuel Lee, born in London, in 1625, and at one time a pro£tor of the University of Oxford. He was a man of learning and eloquence, and having been induced to visit the town, he was received with enthu- siasm. Being possessed of an independent fortune, he proceeded at once, upon entering on his pastorate, in 1687, to build himself a spacious and handsome house. After a very successful and harmonious although brief pastorate, Mr. Lee resigned his post in 1 691, and re- turned with his family to the Old World. It being a time of war, he was seized by a French privateer and died a prisoner in France without ever reaching Eng- land. 558 "Josiah Flint." Esther Willet was married to the Rev. Josiah Flynt (or Flint), of Dorchester, Massachusetts, January 24, 1672, subsequently to the date of her father's will, al- though two or three years before his death. Her grand- daughter, Dorothy Quincy, was the "Dorothy Q." of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes's poem, being the great- grandmother of the poet. A son of Mrs. Flynt, Henry, born in 1675, was for forty-five years a tutor in Har- vard College. It is not unlikely that he is the same Henry Flynt who is spoken of as having held Con- gregational services for a short time in Kingstown, about the year 1700. (See Notes 38, 105, and 550.) 559 "Mary 'Taylor." Mrs. Mary (Taylor) Willet was born in 1678, being fifteen yearsthe senior of herhusband. She died ini769, 250 Notes the record in the Parish Register being: "16* April Mr. F. visited old Mrs. Willet,who was taken 111 with an apoplexy; Mr.F. prayed with her, Soon after which she Died. 18''' on Tuesday she was Buried, and a Funeral Sermon Preached by Mr. F., after her Interment, at the Esquire's House." A notice of her niece and name- sake, who became Mrs. John Gardiner, may be found in Note 210. Mrs. Willet is mentioned with interest by Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary. 560 "Francis Carpenter^ his nephew." It may appear unjust that Colonel Francis Willet ig- nored the provision of his brother Thomas's will, be- queathing his half of the Boston Neck estate to their nephews, Willet Carpenter (born 1 7 14) and William Pease (after the death of Francis, in case he died child- less), and gave the whole to his nephew, Francis Car- penter. But it must be noted that the nephew, Willet Carpenter, whom Thomas Willet had in view,had been dead more than forty years when Colonel Willet died, and that the second nephew, Willet Carpenter, not born until ten or eleven years after the will of his uncle Thomas had been made and proved, could not have been the one intended. As more than fifty years had passed away between the death of Thomas Willet and that of his brother Francis, it is also by no means certain that William Pease, the eldest of a family of seven children and the other legatee, was yet alive, or rather it is cer- tain that, had he been alive, no question would have arisen as to his share of the estate. In view of the fact that, although more than a quarter of a century elapsed after Colonel Willet's death before litigation in respecS to the property ceased, Francis Carpenter was finally allowed undisputed possession, it is clear that the Colo- nel's right of disposition was recognized by the court. So much is necessary in order to remove from the me- mory of Francis Carpenter what has sometimes appeared a blot, — the charge of dishonourably holding the whole estate. Notes 251 561 "Rev. James H. Carpenter T James Helme Carpenter was for many years a re- spefted and beloved presbyter of the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island, and was father of the late Miss Esther Bernon Carpenter, the well-known writer. He inherited the Boston Neck property from his father, Willet Car- penter, leaving it at his death to his wife and daugh- ters. A chapel built as a memorial of Miss Carpenter stands upon the place (now known as Saunderstown), on a lot given by her during her lifetime. 562 "Samuel^ a son of Captain Thomas Willet." Samuel, the youngest of the thirteen children of Thomas and Mary Willet, although said to be sheriff of Queen's County, New York, is but little mentioned in the re- cords. Austin {Genealogical Diaionary of Rhode Island., p. 430) remarks: "The possibility is admitted that the children, usually ascribed to him, may have been de- scendants instead of Thomas Willet, of Flushing, who married, 1643, September ist, Sarah Cornell." In that case, Marinus Willet would not be, as is commonly as- serted, Samuel's grandson. The Thomas Willet thus al- luded to by Mr. Austin appeared at New Amsterdam, in 1643, from Bristol, England, aged twenty-two years, be- ing married in the autumn of the same year to Sarah Cornell, as stated, by whom he had two sons, William and Thomas. In 1645, he had a lot between Stone and Pearl streets. His widow, in November, 1647, married Charles Bridges. 563 "Colonel Marinus Willet" Marinus Willet (or Willett), soldier, was born in Ja- maica, Long Island, July 31, 1740, and died in New York city, August 22, 1830. He afted as lieutenant at Ticonderoga in 1758, and as captain in Montgomery's expedition against Canada. After serving with credit dur- ing the Revolutionary War under General Washington and General Sullivan, he commanded, from 1 780 to the end of the war, the forces in the Mohawk Valley. In 1807, he was made mayor of New York city. In the 252 Notes year after Colonel Willet's death, there was published, in New York, A Narrative of the Military ASiions of Colo- nel Marinus IVillett, prepared chiefly from his manu- script journals, by his son, William Marinus Willett. 564 "Hopewell." The "Kingston depot" referred to in the text is the old one, a half mile farther north than the present one. Hopewell lies a short distance to the west of the new station. The house has now (1907) entirely gone to de- cay and disappeared, nothing but a ruinous chimney and the ancient shade trees marking the spot. Mr. Robinson mentions a second wife, Nanny Jackson, in his will, to whom he was married in 1778, during his residence at Hopewell, his first wife having been alive at the time of his removal to Narragansett. 565 "These colleElions . . . are now nearly all lost." There is a full inventory of Mr. Robinson's library filed in connexion with the settlement of his estate. It con- tained many French books, which his father-in-law, Augustus Lucas, had brought from his native land, among them a Huguenot Bible. One of the treasures of the colleftion was a copy of the rare volume, said to have been composed by King Charles I, Eikon Basi- liie, embodying "the celebrated story of Miss Villers (or Villiers), — an apparition case, with the proofs." The authorship of Eikon Basilike is attributed also to Bishop Gauden. 566 " 'This learned, worthy, and Christian man." There will be found a full account of Mr. Robinson in Updike's Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar, pp. 234- 45. The following letter to Daniel Updike, when he was about twenty and when Mr. Robinson, at the age of seventy-two, had been incarcerated in King's County jail on a charge of professing tory sentiments, illustrates his high Christian character and is otherwise not with- out interest. It is written in an extremely elegant and distinguished hand, — a model of eighteenth century care and yet done without apparent effort. All his pa- Notes 253 pers were thus written. The circular Delft inkstand, formerly at Hopewell Lodge, and in which Mr. Robin- son dipped his pen when composing his epistles, was for many years on the writing-desk of Mr. Wilkins Up- dike, and is now the property of Daniel Berkeley Up- dike. It is of circular form, something like the round pewter inkstands still seen in old-fashioned English counting-houses. The decorations are painted on it in a purplish brown, and around the central ink-well are receptacles for quill pens. It measures about five inches in diameter. Daniel Updike (afterwards the second attorney-gen- eral of the name) was, no doubt, a favourite with Mr. Robinson, having, at the age of seventeen, spent a con- siderable part of the summer of 1 778 with him on a long visit at Hopewell. Little Rest Hill^ January 8, 1 781 Xy- Daniel! Your afFeitionate Letter of 5* Curr' indicates your re- gard for a quondam Friend; who is much pleas'd with so kind a memorial. My prefent Confinement here is certainly difagree- able; but when I refledt that the hand of Providence direfted the Stroke, I am all fubmifsion. I truft it is for the beft; & to anfwer fome wife ends of Our Heavenly Father here. Altho' I have not had Justice from a hu- man Judicatory, yet I am perfectly convinc'd I fhall have Juftice from the Great Judge of all men; there- fore he will bring my AflFairs to a happy Ifsue, in his own due time; Til then I ought to wait. — Epi6tetus directs us to bear h forbear. Our Savior teaches us to wait God's time & he will deliver us out of all our af- fliftions, when he thinks best. I ftrongly believe my de- liverance is not far off. Philofophy alone is too flender diet for a Chriftian Soul to feed upon — This Event I look upon as one of the many trials I was born to; — this is a World of Temptation or Trial., else Our blefsed Saviour would not have been so very anxious for our Comfort, in making the Confideration thereof so great 254 Notes a part of his Divine Form of Prayer (sc.) " lead us not into Temptation"; therefore if we by the afsiflrance of Heaven keep clear of that, we fhall then moft cer- tainly avoid the bad Consequences of falling into Evil. Letthefe Refleftions be admonitionstoyour/i^^if Heart; think before you fpeak or a6t, fFor after-tho't may elfe come too late. You know my old maxim Praestat Cau- tela quam medela^ one grain of Caution is worth a pound of medicine. — Study much; be careful in your goings over the thorny paths of Life ; let Wisdom fleer you, difcretion & Underftanding be your Handmaids thro' this World. Keep therefore out of the Courts of Law, efpecially in this pitiful State; Your Grandfather if alive would caution you ag^' our Courts. He has often told me in Converfation it was Poifon to him — it will moft likely circulate its Venom or poifon through your Soul as well as Body. You converfe with the Devil & his Works in the Bufy World ; — but with God & his Works in the Fields & meadows. Leave not then thofe fine Ones you are born to, for to bufy your self all your . . . dales foolishly & madly in the Quarrels of Fools & Knaves — Viftims fuitable for fuch unhallowed Altars. Some per- fons muft do fo for Bread, but that's not your Cafe. May God & your Parents direcft you. Excufe this for- wardnefs of D' Daniel Your affeftionate Friend M* Robinson Excufe this plaguy greazy paper. My Love to all at Home when you fee them. M' Dan' Updike 567 "Lodowick Updike." The earlier teacher of young Updike, from whom he learned the rudiments and the languages, was John Scott, an Englishman and a fine scholar. Dr. Mac- Sparran repeatedly mentions, in his Diary^ the son of his principal parishioner, with apparent alFeaion and esteem. On July 25, 1743, when Lodowick had just completed his eighteenth year, the Do£tor records: "In Notes 255 ft the afternoon, I visited y'^ young Squire, who is sick at North Kingstown, and sent for me. I prayed with him and gave him some directions "; and again, July 23, 1745, "Jn° Cole & Lodowick Updike called to see me, in their way from Boston." The social disposition of Mr. Updike, in his younger days, is shown by his joining the "Scotch Club," consisting of the choicest spirits of those of about his own age in Newport, Cap- tain Keith, Ferguson, Augustus Johnston,''^" Dudley, Dr. William Hunter, Nicholas Lechmere,^''" and Ed- ward Cole.""'"'' Dr. Hunter was a Scottish physician, settled in Newport, where he had an exceedingly lu- crative pracSice. An amusing and enlightening glimpse at the manner in which the best pracElitioners exercised their profession, in the period before the American Revo- lution, is afforded by a letter from Dr. William Hun- ter to his friend, Mr. Lodowick Updike, at Wickford, on the occasion of the illness of his eldest son, Daniel, then thirteen years of age. A portion of this letter was printed, more than twenty years ago, in the Boston Medi- cal and Surgical Journal^ and is as follows : Newport, June 16'*, 1774. Dear Sir: As you find the musk agrees better with your son than the Bolusses, I have sent you six doses more, one of which you may give him in strong Va- lerian Tea every six hours, as formerly. The musk will now have a better efFecS upon him than if he had been taking it all this time, a short interval from the use of it will make it more powerfull, and the good efFefts of it will soon be more evident. I have also sent you nine more of the Foetid Bolusses, which you may give him as formerly in the place of the musk. Lest you should be out of Valerian, I have sent you more. You may let him drink plentifully of this strong Va- lerian Tea for his Common drink with wine in it al- ways. I cannot think he will require any more Blis- tering, especially as his pulse has become more full. . . . By the time he has taken the powders and bolusses now sent, I am sure he will be able to make use of the Bark in some form. If he cannot take it in powder. 2<6 Notes which I would prefer to every other way of giving it, you must let him take it in strong DecocSion with wine added to it. An ounce of the bark boiled in three gills of water into a gill and a half, then strain it and add to it one third part more of good Madeira wine, two table- spoonfulls of which you may give him every two hours, except when asleep. . . . The account you give of your son when he first awakes is common to all much re- duced or exhausted with a fever such as his has been. That crying out, when he first awakes, is a sure symp- tom that he is yet in a degree of Idiotism, or that his Brain is not entirely freed. Be not uneasy about his senses, they will recover altho' it will be very slow, but they will return in proportion to his bodyly strength, which will also be very slow, with the greatest care. The Bunches like as if he had been stroked with Net- tles will be salutary, if they are not brought on by keep- ing him too hot with bed Cloths, which, I think, has not been the case, as I early observed to you that keep- ing him too warm would be hurtful to him I am. Dear Sir, yours sincerely, W" Hunter It speaks well for the Doftor's treatment that the lad lived to pass his eightieth birthday. Mr. Updike was profoundly interested in the prosperity of St. Paul's Church. In 1785, we find him drawing up a subscrip- tion for the repair of the parsonage house, — Dr. Mac- Sparran's old residence, — to make it suitable for a min- ister. Towards the two hundred dollars needed for the purpose, he headed the paper with the sum of thirty dollars, the largest single gift. He was also exceedingly a£l:ive in the removal of the even then ancient Narra- gansett Church, in 1 800, to Wickford, where alone he perceived that it could be supported and rendered useful. The remark of the Rev. Mr. Warren, in his fu- neral sermon, that the parish was indebted to Mr. Up- dike for the ereiiion of a church in that village, was true in spirit, as he caused the structure to be entirely rebuilt, but not absolutely so in letter, inasmuch as it had stood on the "old platform," five miles to the south, for nearly Notes 257 a century. There can be no doubt that, by reason of his high charafter and social prominence, as a great landed proprietor and representative of an honoured colonial family, Lodowick Updike was regarded, in his time, as one of the most eminent citizens of Rhode Island. Yet he never permitted himself to be placed in any office of either the town or the State. He was a liberal enter- tainer and became widely noted for his hospitality, his doors being always open to the passing traveller of respeftability, in an age when it was deemed rather low-lived to lodge at a tavern. A hint at the genial and dignified life which Mr. Updike led upon his ancestral estate, surrounded by his books and his friends, is given in a somewhat formal but studiedly civil communica- tion which he wrote in his seventy-ninth year, in reply to a letter of a certain M. Carpentier, who had been giving French lessons to his youngest son, Wilkins, then about nineteen years of age. It is as follows : S'j Castle, Jug' 8'* 1803 Dear Sir : The sentiments of Your kind Letter breathe so great marks of Friendship that I don't doubt their Sincerity, happy if I could exprefs myself in so happy a strain. But be assured I think myself doubly oblidged to You for Your Friendship expressed to me & kind- nefs to my Son and I hope he will be able. One Day, in the French Language gratefully to acknowledge your Politenefs & attention. In the [mean] time be assured I shall take every opportunity to exprefs my attachment & Friendship to M' Carpentier and should with plea- sure see Him at Smith's Castle, when agreeable. I am, D' S"^, with sincerity. Your most H. S', L. Updike 568 "The Rev. Mr. Warren." A brief notice of the Rev. Joseph Warren, the seventh minister of St. Paul's Parish, will be found in its pro- per place, below, in the text. An extradt from Mr. Warren's sermon, on the occasion of Lodowick Up- dike's death, preached eighteen days afterwards, is ex- 258 Notes tant, apparently in the handwriting of the preacher. It is as follows : " Extract : To the favour of this Benevolent Being our Dear departed Brother, Lodowick Updike Esquire is undoubtedly entitled. For he, whose society was so much courted by the wise & good here below, must be fitted for the society of Saints and glorified spirits above. To give an exacS delineation of his characSler, the time allowed will not permit. An attempt to display its most striking features must suffice. [Then follow the pas- sages introduced into the text.] Text — Hebrews 9''' Chap. & 27 verse, — '// is appointed unto men once to die.' — Preached in St. Paul's Church situated in Up- dike's new town June 24, 1804." 569 "The late William Goddard." Mr. William Goddard was a first cousin to Lodowick Updike, his mother, Sarah Goddard, being a sister of the Honourable Daniel Updike, of Newport and North Kingstown. In a letter of the date of June 12, 1804, to Lodowick Updike, junior, Mr. Goddard remarked, in view of the recent death of his cousin : " The loss of such an invaluable Parent, Friend and Counsellor, ' wise, good and afFeftionate,' can only be felt but not described." 570 "Entombed among his venerable ancestors.'" The inscription upon the memorial stone of Mr. Lo- dowick Updike, in the Updike burial ground, is as follows : IN MEMORY OF LODOWICK UPDIKE, ESQ., WHO DIED JUNE 6th, 1804, IN THE 80TH YEAR OF HIS AGE. LIGHT BE THE TURF, GOOD SENIOR, ON THY BREAST AND TRANQUIL AS THY MIND SHALL BE THY REST. The body of Richard Smith, senior, is buried in this ground, where the family has been interred continu- ously since his day. Notes 259 571 ''■She . . . died at 'North Kingstown." The following is inscribed upon the grave-stone of Mrs. Lodowick Updike, in the Updike burial ground: IN MEMORY OF MRS. ABIGAIL UPDIKE WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE 21ST DAY OF MAY A.D. I8z6 IN THE 86th YEAR OF HER AGE. DISTINGUISHED FOR HER AMIABLE DISPOSITION, BENEVOLENCE AND PIETY. 572 "'They left eleven children." Although two of these children died in middle life, the average age of the eleven, at death, was over eighty years,five of them having passed ninety. Ofthe six sons, no one was less than five feet nine inches in height (without shoes), and their average stature was five feet ten inches, Wilkins, the youngest, being the tallest, (i) Daniel Updike (born 1 761) is noticed below, in the text, under an entry of November, 1761 (Vol. ii. p. 24). (2) James Updike was born at North Kingstown, May 29, 1763, and died at Wickford, December 8, 1855. He never married, living by himself in his own house on Fowler Street. He was appointed major in 1794, but was known as General Updike for all the lat- ter portion of his life. By his will, he left three thousand dollars to St. Paul's Church for its own use. (3) Anstis Updike was born at North Kingstown, June 20, 1765, married William Lee, September 25, 181 1, and died at Wickford, July 11, 1864. Mrs. Lee was a woman of strong personality. Surviving until her one hundredth year, her death even then was the result of an accident. Apparently with a premonition of her lon- gevity, on selling a piece of real estate near the Arcade in Providence to Mr. Alexander Duncan, when she was about seventy years of age, she readily accepted the of- fered privilege of receiving the consideration for it in the form of an annuity, thereby deriving, by reason of her long survival,greatadvantage.Mrs.Leehad no children. Upon her death she left a legacy to St. Paul's Church, as 26o Notes well as a marble-topped table, imported from Europe more than a century before, and once belonging to her fa- ther, for use as an altar-table. The slab has since been introduced, with a suitable inscription, into the top of the present ahar. A sprightly and entertaining account of a visit to Hartford with her brother Daniel, in 1791, was written by Mrs. Lee when in her ninetieth year, and will be found in Appendix F. (4) Mary Updike was born at North Kingstown, July 20, 1 7 67,married Captain Nathaniel Munday,and died August 26, 1842. Mrs. Munday had no children. (5) Abigail Updike was born at North Kingstown, June 10, 1769, married Joseph Reynolds of Exeter about i8oo, and died December 19, 1862. Mrs. Rey- nolds was survived by two sons and several grandchil- dren. She left a fragrant memory of uncommon gentle- ness and saintliness. In 1874, her son, the late Edwin Halsey Reynolds, placed a chancel window in her me- mory in St. Paul's Church, Wickford. (6) Sarah Updike was born at North Kingstown, June 10, 1 77 1, married David Hagan,and died May 6,1850. Her son, D. Updike Hagan (born 1 809), lived at Crans- ton in the vicinity of Providence until within a few years, and left descendants. (7) Lydia Updike was born at North Kingstown, April 29, 1772, married Frederic Crary, by whom she had several children, and died at Middleport, Ohio, May 2, 1866. (8) Lodowick Updike, junior, was born at North Kingstown, August 15, I777,and marriedRhodaBaker, by whom he had a son and a daughter, both dying un- married. He was a warden of St. Paul's Church, Wick- ford, in 1807. Mr. Updike appears to have been much incHned to change of residence, and we hear of him at different periods in New York, Philadelphia, Havana, and Brazil. He is believed to have been at one period m busmess in New York, where he is said to have died at an uncertain date. (9) Alfred Updike was born at North Kingstown, Sep- tember 13, 1 7 79, married Dorcas Eldred Reynolds, and Notes 261 died April 25, 1869, being known as Captain Updike. He had no children. His residence was on the south side of Main Street, Wickford, a few rods west of Bridge Street. (10) Gilbert Updike was born at North Kingstown, September 8, 1781, married Hannah Dennis, of New- port, by whom he had a son and a daughter, and re- moved to the West, where he died. (11) Wilkins Updike (born 1784) is treated at the be- ginning of this book. AH the above dates of birth are taken from a fine old Latin family Bible of 1607, the hours, for horoscopes, being invariably recorded. This book is now the property of Daniel Berkeley Up- dike. 573 "Mr. Carder Hazard." Judge Hazard (born August 11, 1734; died November 24, 1792) was the second son of Deputy Governor George and Sarah (Carder) Hazard and the sixth suc- cessive child born to them on a Sunday. From 1757, when he was admitted a freeman, until 1787, when he was chosen chief justice, "there is," says Mrs. Rob- inson in The Hazard Family of Rhode Island {p. 55), "scarcely a year during which Carder Hazard is not found filling some position of trust in the Colony, as assistant, deputyorjudge. . . . With justice couldhe have written after his name, ' Gentleman,' . . . but he, more in keeping with the modesty of his charadter, writes 'Yeoman.' In all the relations of his domestic life he was exceedingly gentle and lovable. In personal appearance he was tall and well formed, fair in complexion and (tradition says) an uncommonly handsome man." The well-known Major George Hazard, of Newport, was a brother of Judge Hazard. Carder Hazardmarried, first, Alice Hull, by whom he had two children. By his second marriage, to his first cousin, Alice Hazard, recorded in the text, he had nine children, all but the last two be- ing sons. His second son, George, became well known as a physician and was the father of the late Edward Hull Hazard, Esq. Mrs. Hazard was a worthy help- 262 Notes meet of her husband, whom she survived but a few weeks. It speaks well for her stepson that, although she had seven sons of her own, most of them adults, she commended to his care her little twin daughters of twelve years, saying, " I only ask you to be just as kind to them as I have been to you." 574 " T!he manufacturer for all the principal families." In Miss Caroline Hazard's delightful College Tom (pp. 98-103), there Is a pleasant and appreciative reference to Martin Reed as "the prince of weavers of the old time." "In this primitive work-room," she relates," with its few hand looms, with the swift shuttle thrown cease- lessly to the accompaniment of the master's voice, not only flannel, striped and plain, worsted, tow-cloth and linen were woven, but broadcloth and Caliminco." The remark, however, that " Updike calls Martin Reed the first manufacturer in Narragansett, though there was a much earlier establishment of a woolen industry," hardly seems quite justified by his mere statement, in the text, that Reed "became, in a few years, the manufadturer for all the principal families in the surrounding counties, who then depended almost wholly on home materials for clothing and other purposes." But this is only a trifling inadvertence, in comparison with the charming picture furnished, by Miss Hazard, of the days when (where now the whir of textile machinery so largely abounds) it was first possible to declare that the '■'■shuttle merrily Goes flashing through the loom." 575 "Living near it \the Churcli^." Mr. Reed occupied (probably in his capacity of pre- centor or in that of parish clerk) the cottage upon the northeast corner of the original church lot, continuing in it until after the removal of the church to Wickford, when, finally, with all the portion of the land next to the road (a right of way to the church-yard having been reserved), it was virtually sold, by a perpetual lease of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, to a private per- son. At the time of the dedication of the MacSparran Notes 263 monument, in 18 69, the little building, then occupied by afamily,was kindly offered to the Bishop and other clergy and used by them as a place for robing. Small as was the house then, there were indications that it had been added to since it was first occupied by Mr. Reed, a cen- tury before. At a later time the cottage was abandoned, and has now gone to utter decay, although the ruins are still visible. 576 "Dr. IVilliam Smith." A notice of Dr. Smith,"' the fifth minister of St. Paul's Church, Narragansett, will be found, below, in the text (Vol. ii. p. III). 577 "The Venite was first chanted." It is recorded that Dr. Smith himself afted as choir- master at St. Paul's, instrufting in chanting, among others, Martin Reed and "Miss A. Updike," mean- ing, no doubt. Miss Anstis, who was then little more than twenty years of age and later became Mrs. Lee, living until her hundredth year. Metrical psalmody was Dr. Smith's pet abhorrence, and he seems to have done what he could to discourage its use in Narragansett. 578 "Such men as Colonel Updike." Although this is the exacS form of language used in the account from which Mr. Updike took the statement in the text, it is yet evident that the word "Colonel" is an error. The well-known Colonel Daniel Updike died in iJS7t thirty years before Dr. William Smith became redtor of St. Paul's, Narragansett. His son, Lodowick, sixty-five years old at the date of Dr. Smith's depar- ture, may have been the one to whom Bishop Seabury's traditionary remark referred, or more probably his grand- son, Daniel Updike, then twenty-nine, and elefted attorney-general of Rhode Island that same year, neither of them, however, being called " Colonel." The parish records during Dr. Smith's incumbency do not include the names of the wardens. Daniel Updike was, how- ever, a£tive in the church at that period, and is known to have been, a little later, repeatedly a warden. 264 Notes 579 "Mr. Ray Greene." Ray Greene,the eldest son of the second Governor Wil- liamGreene/"was born in Warwick, Rhode Island,Feb- ruary 2, 1765, and died in the same town, January i, 1849. He graduated at Yale College in 1784. From 1794 to 1797, Mr. Greene was attorney-general of Rhode Island, and from the latter year until 1801, when he resigned, a United States Senator. His son, William, was lieutenant-governor of the State from 1866 to 1868. j8o "He possessed a good library." Among Mr. Updike's books were Dr. MacSparran's America DisseSied^ Dublin (price, a British sixpence); several of the Doftor's published sermons; William Richardson's"" The Liberty of the Laity not Infringed by the Sacred Dignity of the Priesthood, Newport, 1753; Law ^ibbles, printed at Addison's Head, without Temple Bar, 1 729 ; and a folio copy of Bishop Pearson's Exposition of the Creed, formerly the property of Dr. MacSparran. (See also Note 184.) 581 "Aplin." The first Aplin known in Rhode Island was named John, a lawyer and a general contemporary of those whose names are here joined with his. He came to this country as a wool-comber, but on account of his good education and brilliant parts was able to rise to emi- nence at the Bar. Mr. Aplin was a Churchman by sym- pathy and conviction, and wrote a very able rejoinder to Dr. Mayhew's"^' pamphlet, to which it was said to be superior. Convifted on, as it was believed by his friends, insufficient grounds, of conduit: unbecoming his profession, he fled to Connedicut, where he soon after- wards died, being buried in the old church-yard in Brook- lyn. This is, no doubt, the Aplin here spoken of as re- membered by the second Attorney-General Updike. He had, however, a son Joseph, who must have been more nearly contemporaneous with Mr. Updike. This latter Aplin was a regularly bred lawyer, having studied under Notes 265 his father, lived in Providence, and had a praftice equal to the best. He was also a great trout-catcher, alvv^ays carrying with him on his expeditions limes, loaf-sugar, chocolate, 3.^^ his Bible. While his fish were cooking and the chocolate was boiling, he would read from the books of Job and Isaiah and turn their sublime thoughts into poetry. He had fine taste, loved belles-lettres, possessed excellent manners, dressed in crimson, and was one of the most companionable men of his day. 582 "Oliver Arnold" Mr. Arnold (born in Glocester, Rhode Island, in 1 736; died at Kingston in 1770) was attorney-general of the State from 1766 until his death. In 1762, he re- moved from Glocester to Providence, having purchased a house on North Main Street. He was an opponent of John Aplin, mentioned in the preceding Note, and con- duced the case against him at the time of his trial and convidlion. Mrs. Catherine R. Williams, an authoress, was a granddaughter of Mr. Arnold. A sketch of him is found in Updike's Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar, pp. 70-81. 583 "Bradford." William Bradford, physician, was a descendant of Gov- ernor Bradford, of Plymouth Colony, having been born in Massachusetts, November 4, 1729. At first he prac- tised medicine at Warren, Rhode Island, but later re- moved to Bristol, where he built a house, studied law, and attained a high rank in that profession. In 1775, he was chosen deputy governor. When Bristol was bom- barded by Captain Wallace, Bradford went on board The Rose and treated with the British commander for the cessation of the attack. In 1 793, Governor Bradford took his seat as a United States Senator from Rhode Is- land. He died in Bristol, July 6, 1808. As an advocate Bradford was offhand and naturally eloquent, appeal- ing to the passions of the jury. He dressed in red, with white stockings, cocked hat, and low shoes, boots be- ing then worn only in riding. He was wont, in pleading, to allude to what the good Colonel Updike, who had aided 266 Notes him very much at the beginning of his pra£lice, had said or laid down as law. 584 "Bourne." Benjamin Bourne (born in Bristol, Rhode Island, Sep- tember 9, 1 755; died September 17,1808) was a great- great-grandson of Richard Bourne, missionary, who came from England and died in Sandwich, Massachu- setts, in 1682. He graduated at Harvard College in 1775, studied law, and praftised in Providence. Mr. Bourne was ele£ted the first representative to Congress from Rhode Island, after the adoption of the Consti- tution, being twice re'elefted. In 1 80 1 , he was appointed judge of the United States distrift court in Rhode Is- land. 585 "Goodwin." Henry Goodwin was born in Boston (it is believed), April 30, 1760, being the second son of Benjamin Goodwin and his wife, Hannah LeBaron, of Plymouth, one of "Dr. LeBaron's Daughters" and a granddaughter of Francis LeBaron, "The Nameless Nobleman." Mr. Goodwin was educated at Cambridge, and came to Rhode Island, where he read law under General Varnum, soon after theWarofthe Revolution. Hemarried, September, 1782, Polly Bradford, a daughter of Governor Bradford,'" of Bristol, and began the practice of the law in Taunton, Massachusetts, removing soon after to Newport, where hepraftised until his death, May 31, 1789. From 1787 to 1789, Mr. Goodwin was attorney-general of the State. He was a man of brilliant but somewhat erratic genius, being possessed of a vast fund of wit. Dr. Man- ning, the first president of Rhode Island College, is said,by tradition, to have made the remark, concerning him, that" such a rare genius is not born more than once in a century." In person Mr. Goodwin was rather above the middle stature, his countenance being somewhat severe and determined, with regular, animated features. His dress was at the top of the mode, rich and showy. It was an objeft of particular attention to him, not one other member of the Bar in this respeft vying with him. y/'t /^('I'lrf.f/ ■/- fCe^/ Notes 267 He was warm-hearted and high-minded, but lacked equipoise and submitted to no restraint. When at length his excitable temper and violent passions caused him to be partially unbalanced in intelleft, leading to his death at scarcely twenty-nine, Dr. Senter, the most eminent physician in Newport at that day, remarked that " no- thing was the matter with Goodwin, only he hud jibed all standing." Mr. Goodwin had a son, Henry, who died in 1 8 1 1 (or 1 8 1 2), soon after graduating from Brown University, and three daughters : Hannah, who married her cousin, Simeon Goodwin; Mary, who married Charles DeWolf, of Bristol; and Charlotte, who mar- ried General George DeWolf, of the same town. It is interesting to note that a grandson of Mrs. George DeWolf, Samuel Pomeroy Colt,of Bristol, like his great- grandfather, held the office of attorney-general (from 1882 to 1886). Among the brothers of Henry Goodwin was Captain Daniel Goodwin (born September 16, 1 767), the fatherof four Episcopal clergymen, of whom the eldest was the Rev. Daniel LeBaron Goodwin (born July 28, 1800). 586 "Channing." William Channing (born in Newport, May 31, 175 1; died at the same place, September 17, 1793) was a son of John Channing, merchant, and a grandson of John Channing, of Dorsetshire, England, the first of the name who came to America. Mr. Channing was edu- cated at Nassau Hall (now Princeton University), where he graduated in 1769. In May, 1773, he was married to Lucy, daughter of William Ellery, one of the sign- ers of the Declaration of Independence, by whom he had eleven children, among them the honoured Wil- liam Ellery Channing, clergyman, and Professor Ed- ward Tyrrel Channing of Harvard College. Mr. Chan- ning was attorney-general of Rhode Island from 1777 to 1787 and from 1791 until his death. Judge Dawes describes his style of speaking as re- markable for its sweet fluency, calling it "melliflu- ous," a quality which may have descended to his distin- 268 Notes guished son. He had an extensive praftice and was con- sidered during his latter years the leading counsel of the State. 587 "^ well-wrought silver flagon." This beautiful and remarkable piece of plate was made about 1720, and is a sort of chocolate-pot. It was just about the date 1 720 that the old form of straight tank- ard went out of fashion and this shape took its place. At the present day such a piece would be used for choco- late, but when given it is probable that it was meant for spiced wine or ale served hot. The flagon is now (1907) in the possession of Mr. Daniel Berkeley Up- dike, a great-great-grandson of Colonel Daniel Updike, to whom Dean Berkeley sent it over about 1733. 588 " 'The longevity of Mr. Updike and his family." Daniel Updike, of East Greenwich, attained the age of eighty-one years, but six of his brothers and sisters sur- passed him with an average of ninety-two years. As narrated in the text, Mr. Updike was, in 1 790, secretary of the convention which, on the part of the people of Rhode Island, ratified the Constitution of the United States. It is somewhat remarkable that for a long time it was not generally known that there existed any re- cord of the proceedings of this convention. The Sec- retary of State had nothing among his records that in- dicated that such a convention had ever been in ses- sion. There was no direil proof in his office that Rhode Island had adopted the Constitution, although the sub- sequent aftion of the General Assembly was sufficient evidence that the convention had acSed upon the ques- tions presented for their consideration. Why the Sec- retary did not deposit his minutes in the archives of the State is not known. As late as 1863, his brother, Wil- kins Updike, committed to the Honourable John R. Bart- lett, then Secretary of State, papers, documents, and minutes of the proceedings of the convention, preserved by its secretary. These papers are full of interest to persons who desire to acquaint themselves with mat- ters pertaining to an early epoch in Rhode Island his- Notes 269 tory. Unfortunately the minutes of the arguments, pro and con, advanced by the members of the convention are in handwriting difficult to decipher. What has been made out may be found in Judge Staples's Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, pp. 644-56. 589 "Governor Pownall." Thomas Powrnall was born in England, in 1720, and came to America, October, 1753, as private secretary to Sir Danvers Osborne, royal governor of New York. In 1755, he was made lieutenant-governor of New Jersey. In 1 756, he became governor of Massachusetts, in succession to Shirley. In 1760, he was appointed governor of South Carolina, but returned to England without assuming the office, and was almost immedi- ately eledted to Parliament. He continued a firm and consistent friend of the American idea, and was the first member to bring in a bill for peace with the colonies. 590 "Colonel Otis." James Otis, the elder (born in Barnstable, Massachu- setts, in 1 702), a great-grandson of John Otis, one of the first settlers of Hingham, was a colonel of the militia, justice of the common pleas, judge of probate, and mem- ber of the council. He married Mary, a daughter of Joseph Allyne, of Plymouth, by whom he had thirteen children. 591 "James Otis." James Otis, son of the preceding and the more cele- brated bearer of the name, was born at West Barn- stable, Massachusetts, February 5, 1725, and died in Andover, May 23, 1783. He graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1 743, and began the pradtice of the law at Ply- mouth in 1 748, removing to Boston in 1750, where he soon rose to the foremost rank in his profession. The subsequent brilliant and patriotic career of Otis is well known. 592 "He died in England in June, 1779." The family of Sir Francis Barnard has recently been 270 Notes recalled to notice by an article on " Charity a Hundred Years Ago," by the Countess of Jersey, in the Nine- teenth Century and After. His son, Thomas, who re- ceived most of his education in America, and gradu- ated at Harvard College, after returning to England studied law and set up a profitable and successful busi- ness as a conveyancer. The latter portion of his life, however, he devoted entirely to philanthropy, interest- ing himself in the Foundling Hospital and establish- ing, in 1796, assisted by the Bishop of Durham, Wil- liam Wilberforce, and others, The Society for Better- ing the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor. It is the five volumes containing the reports of this association which form the basis of the countess's essay on the condition of the urban and rural poor of that period and the efforts made for the solution of its social problems. The philanthropist, some years before his death, succeeded to the baronetcy. 593 '■'Blake's Biography." This title probably refers to the Biographical DiSfionary, published in New York, in 1835, by the Rev. John Lauris Blake, and reissued by him, in a revised form, in 1857, as '•^^ Universal Biographical Diiiionary. 594 "Mrs. "Bours." Abigail Hazard (born Sunday, March 12, 1726, six suc- cessive children in the family being born on that day of the week) was the second daughter of Deputy Gov- ernor George Hazard^"" and a sister of Mayor George Hazard, of Newport. Her marriage to the Rev. Peter Bours occurred on February 27, 1753. It is noticeable that her second marriage, recorded in the text, took place on the exaft tenth anniversary of the first. It is probable that the occurrence of this wedding in Newport was on account of Mrs. Bours's having returned to the house of her brother, George, after the death of her first husband, ' ayearpreviously,her father havingdiedmanyyears before. The publishment of Mrs. Bours and Mr. Fayerweather is thus recorded in the Parish Register: "On the 13"' Of the Month [February, 1763] Sunday, Mr. F Notes 271 was Publishd to Mrs Abigail Bours The Surviving Re- lia of the Revd Peter Bours of Marblehead In Trinity Church, Newport, By the Revd Mr Browne And on Ash- Wednesday being the 16"' Publishd the Second time And Sunday Feb'' 20''' Was the third & Last time of Asking." In the will of Mr. Fayerweather, of which an extract is given below in the text, he gave his "wife's pifture of herself, to her niece, the wife of John Chan- ning." Mrs. John Channing's name was Abigail. In an ancient unsigned memorandum, it is asserted that "The portrait of Dr. Fayerweather's wife was given to Ruth Channing, his wife's niece, and she gave it to her sister, a Mrs. Robinson of Connecticut, and she came to Dr. George Hazard's and took it, where it was hanging, and carried it away to Connecticut. Mr. Robinson was a physician in Connecticut." The explanation of this ap- parent discrepancy in names appears to be that Ruth Channing and Mrs. Robinson must have been daughters of Mrs. Abigail Channing and t\uis grandmeces of Mrs. Fayerweather. Beside the faCt that Mrs. Channing was not named Ruth, it is also true that she had no sister^ Mrs. Robinson. Dr. George Hazard, in whose care the portrait was left, was a first cousin of Mrs. Channing and a nephew of Mrs. Fayerweather. 595 "'^he Rev. Marmaduke Browne." A notice of Mr. Browne will be found after an entry of March 21, 1771, in the text (Vol. ii. p. 94). 596 "Preached on the Occasion." On the occurrence of another wedding, on Conanicut Island, Mr. Fayerweather recorded that he " Preached a Sermon On the happy Occasion from these words: 'Love one another."' One of the numerous manuscript sermons from hisT pen, still preserved, bears a memo- randum that it was preached at the time of some con- vention of the clergy, from the text 2 Kings iv. 38 : "And he said unto his servant. Set on the great pot and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets," the sub- je£t being Hospitality. After about 1775, Mr. Fayer- weather seldom preached except at funerals. There are 272 Notes several manuscript funeral prayers among his papers, one of them being entitled " A Funeral Prayer in Church on Mr. Benjamin Gardiner's"' Child," — an occasion in respeft to which Mrs. Anstis Lee, in a letter writ- ten more than sixty years afterwards (January, 1 842), remarked: "I heard him preach at Uncle B. Gardiner's son Benjamin's funeral, a child about a year old." 597 '■'■The Rev. Mr. Stickney." The Rev. Moses P. Stickney was formerly a Congre- gational minister, and was ordained in the Episcopal Church in or about 1841. From 1842 to 1847, he was in charge of St. Michael's Church, Marblehead, Mas- sachusetts, being later reftorof St. Peter's Church, Cam- bridgeport, and an assistant at the Church of the Ad- vent, Boston. In 1872, Mr. Stickney removed to Ver- mont, where he was settled over Christ Church, Bethel, and later resided at Royalton, dying previously to 1 898. 598 "The Rev. Peter Bours." In a sketch of Mr. Bours, in the History of the East- ern Diocese., i. 48 1-2, Mr. Batchelder remarks: "Hav- ing regard to the reports of Mr. Bours to the Society in England, it is evident that his ministry in Marble- head was very successful. His pure life, amiable man- ners and chastened zeal, in the service of the Master, secured for him the kindly regards of all men. The memory of him is still fragrant. . . . The following sen- tences of the Rev. John Barnard [the ' contemporary ' of the text and a Congregational pastor at Marblehead] are here appropriate :' Their fifth minister was the wor- thy Mr. Bours, of Rhode Island, bred at our College, — a man of an excellent temper, good learning and great piety, whose good carriage gained more to the Church of England than all the years that preceded him. My people were very fond of him and kind to him, inso- much that the Church minister has told me he received more presents from my people than his own; and I and Mr. Bradstreet, of the other Church in the town, main- tained the striiftest brotherly love and friendship with him.'" Notes 273 599 "Peter Bours, Esq." Dr. MacSparran speaks of Peter Bours, the elder, in his D'lary^ as a leading Churchman in Trinity Church, Newport. Mr. Mason, in the Anna Is of Trinity Church, remarks upon him, as "an influential man, both in the church and in the community." He had served the town with such fidelity that when, in about 1761, through failing health, he was forced to retire, a committee wait- ed on him to thank him for his singular services. 600 "'The Rev. Joshua Wingate Weeks." Mr. Weeks was born at Hampton, New Hampshire, being a descendant of Leonard Weeks, who settled in Portsmouth in 1667. In 1775, he left his parish and sought refuge at the house of his brother-in-law, the Rev. Jacob Bailey, in Pownalborough, Maine. In 1776, he returned to Marblehead and officiated for some time. In 1778, he sailed for England from New York, leav- ing his family dependent on charity. In 1779 or 178 1, he was appointed by the Society missionary at Anna- polis Royal, Nova Scotia. Here his differences with Mr. Bailey, as to relative rights and duties, led to a perma- nent alienation between them, while his insubordina- tion, in respedl to the Society, impelled its officers to write opposite his name and appointment, in the Ful- ham manuscript list of missionaries, the words, " Eject- ed himself." In 1793, Mr. Weeks was again made a missionary, this time at Preston, Nova Scotia, and, in 1795, he removed to Guysborough. He died in 1803 or 1804, at, it is supposed, the town last mentioned. The conduct of Mr. Weeks has been criticised in con- nexion with the Rev. Dr. Bass (afterwards Bishop), whom he represented to the Society in such a light as led to a suspension of stipend, on account of his giving up praying forthe Royal Family. Mr. Weeks, previously to going to England, in 1763, married Mary Tread- well, of Ipswich, by whom he had eight children. 601 "Benning Wentworth, Esq." Governor Wentworth (born in Portsmouth, July 24, 274 Notes 1696; died there Oftober 14, 1770) was the second of three members of his distinguished family to bear the title in New Hampshire. 602 "T^he Rev. Arthur Browne." A notice of Mr. Browne, father of the Rev. Marma- duke Browne/'^ will be found below, in the text, in the sketch of King's Church (now St. John's), Providence. 603 "Edward Wanton." It is a matter of tradition that Edward Wanton emi- grated from London to Boston with his mother. He is known to have been living in the latter town in 1658, but how much earlier he may have arrived there is, so far as now appears, unrecorded. He was the first ancestor in America of a family than which none is more promi- nent by reason of the distinguished services it has been able to render to the State of Rhode Island. For a cen- tury the Wantons stood in the foremost rank of the life — social, political, and commercial — of the common- wealth. For generations they were the leading merchants of the colony. Five of the family bore the title of gover- nor or deputy governor. It is related that after witness- ing the execution of the Quakers, Edward Wanton was struck with compunction and exclaimed: "Alas, mo- ther, we have been murdering the Lord's people." His call- ing, after removing to Scituate, Massachusetts, was that of a ship-builder, in which four at least of his sons fol- lowed him. By his first wife, Margaret, Mr. Wanton had two children, who died young. By his second wife, Elizabeth, who was recommended to him by an Eng- lish Quaker and came over to marry him before they had ever met, he had eleven children, of whom three be- came prominent. Edward Wanton died December 16, 1 7 16, leaving a memory in Scituate held in high respecEl by tradition from generation to generation. (See John R. Bartlett's Historical Trait, on the Wanton family.) 604 "His eldest son, Joseph." Soon after removing to Tiverton, in 1688, for the pur- pose apparently of prosecuting more favourably the Notes 275 business of ship-building, Joseph Wanton was married "ninth [or twenty-ninth] of eleventh month, 1689," to Sarah, a daughter of Gideon Freeborn, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, by whom he had six children, Gideon, the future governor, being the third. Joseph's fourth child, Sarah (born 1696), married, first, Benjamin How- land, and, second, Thomas Spencer, of East Greenwich, the first English child born in the town. The sixth child, Mary (born 1700), married Thomas Richardson, of Newport, and their daughter Sarah married Thomas Robinson.''" Joseph Wanton was born in 1664 and died in 1754. It may be noted here that Elizabeth (born 1668), the eldest daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Wanton, married Edward (John?) Scott, of Scott Hall, Kent, England, her daughter Katharine becoming the wife of Godfrey Malbone,"' of Newport, Rhode Island. 605 "William Wanton {son of Edward)." Governor William Wanton (born 1670) must have left Scituate much earlier than 1 704, the year mentioned in the text. There is a record of his marriage to Ruth Bri- ant, of Scituate, Massachusetts, by Caleb Carr, assistant, at Portsmouth,RhodeIsland, January (or June) 1,1691, when he is called "William Wanton, of Portsmouth." William and Ruth had nine children, of whom Captain George, the eldest son (born 1694), married, December 15, 1 715, Abigail, daughter of BenjaminEUery, of New- port, and Joseph, the fifth son, became governor of Rhode Island. It is said that the original obje£i: of Wil- liam and his brother John, in coming to Portsmouth, was to pracSise ship-building, although they eventually be- came merchants. William was distinguished for his pol- ished and gentlemanly manners. His portrait, together with that of his brother John and his son Joseph, — three governors, — is preserved in the Redwood Library at Newport. 606 "Daniel Updike . . . married his widow." Governor William Wanton's first wife, Ruth Bryant, died sometime previously to April 10, 1717, when he married Mary Godfrey, daughter of John and Eliza- 276 Notes beth Godfrey, who is the one to whom Colonel Up- dike was married in 1745, about a dozen years subse- quently to the death of Governor Wanton. Mrs. Mary Updike is repeatedly mentioned, in Dr. MacSparran's Diary,?iS being on intimate terms with himself and Mrs. MacSparran. Mrs. Updike's "daughter, Ruth Wanton," referred to, along with herself, in an entry of September 26, 1 75 1 , must have been her stepdaughter (born June 12, 1701), of about her own age, while "litle Molly Wanton," mentioned July 26, 1745, appears, although not certainly, to have been an own daughter of Mrs. Updike, by her first husband. She may, however, have been a child of one of her stepsons. There is extant a curious document, executed March 12, 1735, being an award between Mary Wanton, of Newport, executrix of the last will and testament of William Wanton, "Marrinor," deceased, and John Bap- tist Vale, resident of Providence, gentleman, signed by Joseph Jacob, Samuel Wickham, Peter Bours, and David Chesebrough,the head of his Majesty, George II, in black sealing-wax, attesting each signature. The re- ferees declare : "We find that there is Justly due from the said Mary Wanton (as Executrix of her said De- ceased Husband, William Wanton) unto the said John Baptist Vale upon the Ballance of all accounts. Debts, Dues and Demands whatsoever The Sum of fifty five Pounds twelve Shillings and two Pence Currant Money of New England. . . . We also order the said Mary Wanton to Deliver to the said John Baptist Vale or his Attorney on Demand Two half Barrels of Gun Powder belonging to said Vale, which is now in the Custody of y" sd Mary Wanton." It is not unlikely that Colonel Daniel Updike, Mrs. Wanton's future hus- band, who was at that period living and praftising law at Newport, was her counsel in this and other legal matters. 607 ''John Wanton." Governor John Wanton (born December 24, 1672) was the fourth son of Edward and Elizabeth. He mar- Notes 277 ried, first, Ann, daughter of Gideon Freeborn, of Ports- mouth, and second, Mary Stafford, of Tiverton. His elder son, John, married, June 10, 1718, Ann, daugh- ter of Abraham Redwood, lately removed to New^port from Antigua, and sister of Abraham Redwood, the philanthropist. Governor Wanton had held the office of deputy governor for several years before, upon the death of his brother,Governor William Wanton, he was ele£ted to succeed him, continuing in the office until his own death. He is characterized as a "liberal patron of the arts" and, upon the records of the Friends, as " for many years a valuable public friend." Michael Wanton (born 1679, died about 1741) was the son of Edward and Elizabeth Wanton, next younger thanGovernor John. His granddaughter, Abigail Cogges- hall, married Silas Casey, of East Greenwich, grand- father of the late General Silas Casey and great-grand- father of the late General Thomas Lincoln Casey, the late Thomas Casey Greene, Esq., and Mr. William Max- well Greene, now United States consul at Bermuda. 608 "Gideon Wanton, son of Joseph y In the original edition of this work. Governor Gideon Wanton is said to have been a son of Philip, but this is evidently an inadvertence. It is true that Philip Wan- ton, the youngest son of the settler, Edward, removed, like so many others of the family, to Rhode Island; but the name of Gideon does not appear among his chil- dren, and he was himself but seven years older than his nephew, the governor, who was born Ocftober 20, 1693. Joseph, the father of Gideon, has already been noticed in Note 604, where the origin of his son's Christian name also appears. Gideon Wanton married Mary Cod- man in 1 7 18. Governor Gideon Wanton's granddaugh- ter, Mary, married Daniel Lyman. Their daughter, Polly Lyman, married Jacob Dunnell, of Madeira, July 7, 1808, and their daughter,Anne Maria, married Rich- ard Kidder Randolph, of Virginia, in 1802. Richard Kidder Randolph, a son of this marriage, became the hus- band of Isabella Watson, daughter of Wilkins Updike. 278 Notes 609 '■'■ Joseph Wanton . . . son of JVilliam." While so many of the Wantons were Quakers, Gov- ernor Joseph Wanton (born August 15, 1705) adhered, like his father, to the Church of England. In respe£t to the statement, in the text, that he was eledled lieu- tenant (deputy) governor in 1764 and 1767, Mr. Bart- lett, in his Historical TraSi^ on the Wanton family, already alluded to, remarks: "This is evidently in- corredl, as there was a Joseph Wanton, "Jr., son of Governor Joseph, who had been, for many years, a member of the General Assembly and who, it is be- lieved, was the Deputy Governor. There is a letter (see Peterson's Rhode Island, p. 209) from Stephen Hopkins to the people of the State, dated April 16, 1764, in praise of the character of the Mr. Wanton, who was Deputy Governor under him, in which he says, 'He is but a boy about thirty-four years old.' Now Governorjoseph Wanton, having been born in 1 705, was then fifty-nine years of age, which clearly shows that he was not the Deputy Governor, as supposed. There has been a ques- tion who the Joseph Wanton, Jr., was, who was Lieu- tenant Governor in 1764 and 1767, as Governor Gid- eon Wanton had a son Joseph, born in 1730 (?). In the record of births at Newport, is the name of Joseph Wanton, born in 1 730. (His father's name is not stated.) Now Governor Joseph, who was born in 1705, had a son named Joseph, who was his eldest child. We find, too, that by the records of Harvard College, Joseph Wanton, Jr., born February 8, 1730, entered college at sixteen and a half years of age. Again Mr. Hopkins, in 1 7 64, says the Mr. Wanton, who was elefted Deputy Governor, was thirty-four years old. All these evidently refer to the same individual and show that it was the son of Governor Joseph, who was the Deputy Gov- ernor under Hopkins and, furthermore, that he, and not Governor Joseph, as has been supposed, was the graduate of Harvard." Mr. Bartlett, in an appended note, adds the following :" On the 3''' of June, 1771, George Bisset preached a sermon at Trinity Church, Newport, 'at the Funeral of Mrs. Abigail Wanton, late consort of the Hon. Joseph Wanton, Jun. Esq., who >;>'. / /^f/Yr^'^/J/ yA Notes 279 died on the 31^' of May, in the 36''' year of her age.' This lady was doubtless the first wife of the deputy governor. Rivington's (New York) Royal Gaz-ette of August 9, 1780, has the following notice, which we think refers to the same individual : ' It is with inex- pressible sorrow we announce to the public, that, yes- terday morning at 7 o'clock, the Hon. Joseph Wan- ton, Jr., Esq., Superintendent-General of the police of Rhode Island, &c.,&c. . . His acquaintances of this city as well as the Loyalists [Joseph, senior, lost his office of governor, in lyjSt because he was a tory'^, from the different colonies, will attend the same.'" In respeft to Mr. Bartlett's statement, above, that there is, in the records of births, at Newport, the name of Joseph Wanton, born 1730 (his father's name not being stated), it should be remarked that the records mention the birth of but one Joseph Wanton, who is said to have been the eldest son of Gideon and Mary and to have been born "9 m. fd. iy20." (Arnold's Vital Record of Rhode Island^ Newport, p. 121.) This Joseph would therefore have been, at the time of Governor Hopkins's letter, in 1 7 64, about forty-four years of age, and could hardly have been styled "but a boy." There was, also, no propriety or necessity for his being de- signated as yunior, not being the son of a Joseph, as was the Joseph who was born February 8, 1730. It may therefore be regarded as established that the " Joseph Wanton, Jr., of Newport," who was elefted deputy governorof Rhode Island in 1764 and 1767, was not the "Joseph Wanton . . . son of William," who was from 1769 to 1775 governor of the colony, as Mr. Updike appears to have believed, but a son of that Joseph. 610 " Governor Lyndon." Josias Lyndon (born in Newport, March i o, 1 704 ; died in Warren, March 30, 1778) was eledted governor of the State in 1768, declining a reeledtion. 611 "JProx." Governor Arnold, in the History of Rhode Island^ ii. 560 (note), remarks: "The term 'Prox,' used for ticket in 28o Notes political parlance, is a purely Rhode Island word, ori- ginating as early as 1647, when . . . voting by proxy was permitted. . . . The paper on which the names of the candidates voted for were written was called a prox. . . . The word continued in use, in this State, until within a few years." 612 "William Potter." A notice of Judge Potter can be found above, in the text, under an entry of November 18, 1750 (Vol. i. p. 263). 613 "Nicholas Cooke." Governor Cooke was born in Providence, February 3, I7i7,and died September 14, 1782. He served as de- puty governor from May, 1768, to May, 1769, and from May, 1775, to November 7th of the same year, after which he afted as governor in place of Joseph Wanton, deposed. In 1776, he was eleiled governor, holding the office until May, 1778. The inscription on Governor Cooke's monument, in Providence, at- tests that he "merited and won the approbation of his fellow-citizens and was honoured with the friendship and confidence of Washington." Judge Cowell, in the Spirit of ^6 in Rhode Island., p. 16, remarks of him : " He was faithful to the trusts reposed in him — faithful to his friends and faithful to his country." Two of Governor Cooke's daughters married distinguished officers of the Revolution, — one, Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Ol- ney, of the Rhode Island line, and the other, Asa Water- man, a commissary of issues. 614 "James Arnold." The office which Thomas Wickes had been holding for eight years and to which he was reelefted in April, 17755 — the month of the battle of Lexington, — was that of senator from the town of Warwick, in the col- ony assembly. Upon Mr. Wickes's omission to take his seat in the May following, Mr. Arnold was elefted by the legislature to take his place. Notes 281 615 " Governor Wanton . . . was a man of . . . handsome person and splendid appearance." There are preserved, in the gallery of the Rhode Island Historical Society , striking portraits of Governor Joseph Wanton and his wife. This representation of the gov- ernor, in a costume of light green, apparently of silk, with his fresh youthful complexion, his full white wig, his head thrown back, his amiable and yet proud ex- pression, and his portly person, quite justifies the state- ment that he was " a man of splendid appearance." The portrait is a "kit-cat" and very large. The painter of these two pictures is unknown, but the names of John (Thomas?) Hudson, a familiar English artist of the time, and John Smibert, the portrayer of Berkeley and his family, have been suggested. The similarity of the pose of Mrs. Wanton to that of Mrs. MacSparran, in the portrait, certainly by Smibert, and the contempora- neity of the Wantons with that painter in America, sustain the latter supposition. The conjefture that the Wanton portraits are by different artists is hardly ten- able, in view of the similarity, or almost the identity^ of the two in respecS to the paysage, including the sky. This signal addition to the paintings of the Rhode Is- land Historical Society was made in 1 891, by gift of Mr. E. P. Warren, of Boston, through the suggestion and instrumentality of Mr. Daniel Berkeley Updike, of Boston. 616 "John Still Winthrof, of New London'' John Still Winthrop was born January 15, 1720, and graduated at Yale College in il^T-, being a son of John Winthrop (born August 26, 1681), a grandson of Wait-Still Winthrop (born February 27, 1643), ^"^^ a great-grandson of John Winthrop the younger, gov- ernor of Connefticut. (See Proceedings of the Massachu- setts Historical Society^ February, 1874, pp. 249, 250.) Inasmuch as Mary Winthrop was married to Joseph Wanton (afterwards governor) as early as 1729, their eldest son being born February 8, 1730 (Note 609), it seems evident that she could not have been a daughter 282 Notes of John Still Winthrop, although she may have been his older sister. 617 "Three sons and Jive daughters." Mr. Bartlett, in his Historical TraSt, upon the Wanton family, gives the children of Joseph and Mary Wan- ton in a somewhat different order from that in the text, making Catharine the fourth child and Ann the eighth. If, however, Ann is corre6tly stated to have been born in 1 734, she could not be placed lower than fourth. The fail that, in both lists, the sons, in accordance with the custom of that age, are all given before the daughters, suggests, however, that neither may be presented in a stricSly chronological order. 618 "Joseph was an Episcopal clergyman." As Mr. Bartlett appears to have proved (Note 609) that Governor Joseph Wanton's son Joseph was the one who was deputy governor in 1764 and 1767, beside being for many years a member of the General As- sembly, it is to be regretted that the evidence of his hav- ing been also an Episcopal clergyman in England is not given, the theory seeming somewhat inconsistent with the other fafts. Mr. Bartlett relates that the estates of both the Joseph Wantons, father and son, by reason of their toryism, were confiscated and sold. Joseph Wan- ton, junior, is continually recorded as a vestryman or warden of Trinity Church, Newport, from 1756 to the time of his death, in 1780. He married, as his second wife, Sarah, daughter of Jahleel Brenton, January 22, 1775, later Mrs. William Atherton. 619 "Gurdon." Gurdon Saltonstall, eldest child of Winthrop Salton- gjjjjj 41., 633,638 ^^j ^^^^ (Wanton),his wife,married Han- nah Sage, of Middletown, Connecticut. His parents were cousins, Winthrop Saltonstall (born 1737) being a grandson of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall, of New London, from whom the subjeft of this Note received his name. Notes 283 620 " Winthrop." The second child of Winthrop and Ann Saltonstall be- came a physician, went to the West Indies and died, young and unmarried, of the yellow fever. 621 "Rebecca." The eldest daughter of Winthrop and Ann Saltonstall married Peter Christopher, of New London, and lived beyond the age of ninety years. 622 "The Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D.D." Thomas Winthrop Coit, son of Dr. Thomas and Mary Wanton Coit, of New London, was born in that town June 28, 1803, and died in Middletown, Connecticut, June 21, 1885. He graduated at Yale College in 1 8 2 1 , and became reiStor of St. Peter's Church, Salem, Mas- sachusetts, and of Christ Church, Cambridge, in the same State, before going to New Rochelle. Nearly twenty-five years of the latter portion of Dr. Coit's life were passed as re6tor of St. Paul's Church, Troy, New York. For a short period he was a professor in Trinity College, Hartford, and president of Transylvania Uni- versity, Lexington, Kentucky. In 1854, he was ap- pointed lecturer on ecclesiastical history in Berkeley Di- vinity School, Middletown, Connedticut, discharging his duties there, in conneffion with his pastoral work, but finally removing thither in 1872 to make instruc- tion his principal occupation. Dr. Coit was one of the ripest scholars and ablest writers in the Church, and left numerous works of great value. He married Eleanor Forrester, in 1828, and had three children. 623 "Rev. Gurdon S. Coit." Of the eight children of Dr. Thomas Coit, of New London, the Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall Coit, D.D., was the youngest. In addition to the charge of St. John's Church, Bridgeport, he was later reftor successively at West Haven, Naugatuck, and Southport, all in Con- necEticut. He died about 1870. The third child of Dr. Thomas Coit was Augusta Dudley^ whose name attests the relationship of the Coits with the Dudley family. 284 Notes as noted by the Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Coit, in 1846. The mother of Thomas Coit, M.D., was a Grey, of Newport. 624 "Mary married Captain John Coddington." This marriage occurred January 28, 1759. Captain and Mrs. Coddington had six children: (i) Jane, who mar- ried, August 28, 1785, Martin Benson, of Newport, " Governor of Goree," and died in Newport, Decem- ber 6, 1836. (2) Mary. (3) Susan, who married John Greene, of Newport, and had two children, John and Mary. (4) Joseph Wanton. (5) William. (6) John. 625 "John Coddington, of Newport." John Coddington (born 06tober 23, 1728) was a son of Colonel William Coddington, of Newport, and Jane (or Jean), a daughter of the well-known Gabriel Ber- non. He was a great-grandson of Governor William Coddington, who emigrated to Boston in 1630, subse- quently removing to Newport and assisting to form the first settlement there. Captain John Coddington is said to have been lost at sea in 1762, but that date is evi- dently too early, if the date of his marriage, January 28, 1759 (after which he had six children), is corred:. 626 "Thomas Wickham, of Newport." Thomas Wickham (born 1736) was a son of Captain Thomas Wickham, of Newport, who, together with his brothers Samuel, Benjamin, and Charles, was pro- minent in Trinity Church and a member of Redwood Library, at its incorporation. All the brothers, too, had the title of Captain, and Samuel, Thomas, and Benjamin appear, from Dr. MacSparran's Diary., to have been on the most familiar terms with him. Thomas Wickham, junior, was a warden of Trinity Church as early as 1770, and served as a vestryman of the parish, until the close of the eighteenth century. 627 "Ruth married William Brown." Ruth Wanton was evidently a namesake of her grand- mother, Ruth Bryant, the first wife of Governor Wil- Notes 285 Ham Wanton. A large number of the descendants of Governor and Mrs. Brown (or Browne) are still living in the Bermudas, forming the extensive and prominent Tucker family of the islands. 628 ''Catharine." Catharine Wanton's first husband was Robert Stod- dard, a storekeeper in Newport, to whom she was mar- ried November 29, 1767. There is, in the register of Trinity Church, a record of the previous marriage of Mr. Stoddard, Odober 18, 1756, to Mary Pease. After the marriage of Mrs. Stoddard and Dr. Destailleur, they removed to Canada. The fine portraits of Gover- nor Joseph Wanton and "Lady" Wanton, now in the Rhode Island Historical Society's Cabinet in Provi- dence, were formerly in the possession of a descend- ant, — a Mrs. Destailleur, who lived in the neighbour- hood of the New Forest in Hampshire. 629 " The chair in which Dean Berkeley used to sit." Information concerning the chair is contained in a let- ter of the Rev. Dr. Hallam to Mr. Updike, written June 22, 1846. When New London was burned by the British, under Benedift Arnold, in September, 1781, Mrs. Ann Saltonstall's furniture was destroyed, and her brother, William Wanton, of Newport, with an ap- parent view of helping to repair her loss, sent her, pre- sumably with other useful articles, this antique chair. Mrs. Saltonstall's death occurring only two or three years later, her husband, Winthrop Saltonstall, went to live with his daughter, Mrs. Dr. Coit, carrying the chair along with him and allowing it, after his death, to pass to his grandson, Thomas Winthrop Coit."^ In those days it was painted yellow, but is now of a dark brown colour. It is kept in the library or the president's room of Trinity College, Hartford, to which itwas given by Dr. Coit, and is regularly brought out on Com- mencement Day, for the use of the president during the public exercises and while he is conferring degrees. An- other antique chair which belonged to Dean Berkeley is preserved by the Massachusetts Historical Society. 286 Notes It was purchased at the sale of Bishop Berkeley's efFeifts by Timothy Cutler, D.D., first redlorof Christ Church, Boston, who was at that time in England to obtain Holy Orders. It is said to have been made in Rome under the direction of the Dean and (according to Dr. Cutler) was modelled on the antique ivory chairs used by the curule aediles. An illustration accompanies the ac- count given of it in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society for 1855-8 (pp. 24-5). 630 "He went to England for orders." A letter of the Rev. Ebenezer Miller ,''°'' redlor at Brain- tree, Massachusetts, introducing Mr. Bass to the So- ciety in London, attests the excellent reputation of the candidate for orders, while, at the same time, it illus- trates the haunting fear of small-pox^"' on the part of American visitors to England. It is as follows: "The bearer, Mr. Bass, is a young gentleman bred at Har- vard College, and has preached for some time among the dissenters to good acceptance, but now, upon mature consideration, thinks it is his duty to conform to the Church of England, and come over for holy orders, and to be appointed to the new church in Newbury. Both Mr. Plant and the people are highly pleased with him, and, indeed, he is universally well spoken of, as a man of piety and sense, a good preacher and of an agreeable temper. . . . "There is one thing, in particular, wherein he desires your assistance — viz., that you will do what you can to despatch his business speedily, because he has never had the small-pox, which he is fearful of, it having proved fatal to many New England men in London. . . . "Mr. Bass is a distant relation of mine and I shall es- teem the favour shown as an addition to those already conferred on me." (Hawkins's Historical Notices^ pp. 219-20.) 631 "Dr. Jlden Bradford." Alden Bradford (born 1765, died 1843) was a gradu- ate of Harvard College in 1786, a tutor in that insti- tution for several years, a Congregational pastor in Notes 287 Maine, clerk of the supreme court of Massachusetts, a bookseller in Boston, secretary of state for the com- monwealth, editor of the Boston Gazette, and a prolific author. The work alluded to in the text is his Biographi- cal Notices of Distinguished Men of Massachusetts, pub- lished in 1842, the year before the author's death, an- other book. New England Chronology, i^^y-1800, ap- pearing the year of his death. His principal undertaking was a History of Massachusetts from 176^ to 1820. 622 "Dr. Bass." Upon the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Bass was persuaded to leave out the prayer for the King, in the public services, and was dismissed from the employ- ment of the Society for alleged disloyalty to the British government. With such help, however, as he could obtain he continued the services of the Church until the war was over, remaining pastor of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, after he became Bishop of Massachu- setts and to the end of his life. A very scholarly and in- teresting Life of Bishop Bass, from the pen of the Rev. Dr. D. D. Addison, of Brookline, Massachusetts, ap- peared in 1897. ^ZZ "Captain Dudley Saltans tall." Commodore Saltonstall (born in New London, Sep- tember 8, 1738; died in the West Indies in 1796) was a son of Brigadier-General Gurdon Saltonstall, a grand- son of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall, and a brother of Winthrop"' (who married Ann Wanton), Roswell,''" and Gilbert."" He commanded the Alfred in Commodore Ezek Hopkins's squadron, in February, 1776, and was commodore of the fleet that left Boston in July, 1779, to reduce a British post on the Penobscot River, the expedition ending in disaster. Saltonstall afterwards commanded the privateer Minerva^znd captured among other prizes the Hannah,amerchant ship bound for New York, with a valuable cargo. Commodore Saltonstall's family removed from New London to the State of New York many years ago, his daughter, Mrs. Walley, being a resident of Brooklyn sixty years since (1905). 288 Notes 634 "Dr. Levi Wheaton, of Providence." Dr. Wheaton (born in Providence, February 6, 1761 ; died in the same place, August 29, 1851) graduated at Rhode Island College (now Brown University) in 1782. He was a physician at Hudson, New York, for ten years and in New York city for two years, and spent the remainder of his life in Providence. From 1 8 1 5 to 1828, he was professor of the theory and pradice of medicine in Brown University. 635 "My college tutor, Mr. Howell." David Howell (born in New Jersey, January i, 1747; died in Providence, July 21, 1824) wasa tutor in Rhode Island College (Brown University) from i 766 to 1 769, professor of natural philosophy from 1769 to 1779, and professor of jurisprudence from 1790 to 1824, be- ing also a£ting president in 1 79 1-2. It is evident that Dr. Wheaton speaks rather loosely in calling Mr. Howell tutor., at the particular date when he was in college, in 1778-82. Mr. Howell was also a member of the Conti- nental Congress, a justice of the supreme court, and an attorney-general of Rhode Island. ()lG "'The wise son of Sirach." Dr. Babcock would, perhaps, have experienced some difficulty in designating the exadl chapter and verse in the book of Ecclesiasticus where this passage is found. It was probably a somewhat quizzical adaptation of Ze- chariah iv. 10. 637 "Mr. John Bours, of Newport." There is no other name which occurs so frequently in the Annals of Trinity Church., Newport., as that of John Bours. From Easter Monday, 1765, when he was eleiSled " the younger Church Warden," to Easter Mon- day, 181 1, when he formally declined any further elec- tion as a church officer, on account of "the infirmities incident to his period of life, added to very ill health," he was constantly clerk of the vestry, vestryman, orwar- den. Few of the aftivities of the church proceeded during that period without Mr. Bours's very efficient Notes 289 and devoted cooperation. For five years, while the par- ish w^as without a reftor, he officiated as a lay reader, receiving, under the signature of Francis Malbone, war- den, the unanimous sincere thanks of the congrega- tion. The proposal that he should enter into Holy Orders and become the minister of the church, Mr. Bours, however, reluctantly but firmly declined. After a most useful life he passed away, July 26, 18 15, in the eighty- first year of his age. It is probable that Mr. Bours was a son of Peter Bours, senior,"' who died in 1761, and, if so, a younger brother of the Rev. Peter Bours,"' some- time reftor of St. Michael's Church, Marblehead. The town record of the family is only fragmentary. 638 "Gilbert Saltonstall." In referring, a page or two above, in the text, to Dr. Babcock's " three sons and /wo daughters," Dr. Wheaton was not striftly accurate, as was not strange, after the passage of sixty-five years, when the writer himself had reached the age of eighty- four. But he had already men- tioned Mrs. John Bours and Mrs. Dudley Saltonstall as daughters of the Doctor and here added Mrs. Gilbert Saltonstall. As a fadt, Dr. Babcock and Hannah (Stan- ton), his wife (married August 1 1, 1 73 5), had five daugh- ters, Hannah, Frances, Amelia, Harriet, and Sally, all of whom may not, however, have been living at the date of Dr. Wheaton's acquaintance with the family. In ad- dition to Harry, Luke, and Adam, already named, there was also a son Paul. Gilbert Saltonstall (born 1 752) was a younger brother of Winthrop,"' Dudley,'" and Roswell^" (born 1741), a son of Brigadier-General Gurdon Saltonstall and a grandson of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall. He married Harriet, the fourth daughter of Dr. Babcock, Mrs. Dud- ley Saltonstall being Frances, the second. A grand- daughter of Gilbert and Harriet, Miss Harriet Babcock Saltonstall, was living in New London in 1846. 639 "'The venerable Samuel Ward." Samuel Ward (born in Newport, May 27, 1725; died, scarcely old enough to be venerable., in Philadelphia, ago Notes March 26, 1776) was a son of Richard Ward, colo- nial governor of Rhode Island. In early life he removed to Westerly, Rhode Island. In 176 1, he was appointed chiefjustice of the colony, and in 1762, 1 765, and 1766 was elected governor. He was aiSiive in the founding of Rhode Island College and, in the Continental Con- gress, uniformly advocated the most patriotic measures. 640 "'Thomas Carter, for the murder of Jackson y An account of this came celebre of the day in the Colony of Rhode Island is given in Updike's Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar (pp. 58-62, note). It was in connec- tion with this case that Dr. MacSparran, in 1751, preached at the court, on Tower Hill, before the con- demned murderer, his curious sermon (now deposited in the registry of the diocese) from the text (St. Matthew v. 21), "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shah not kill" in which he seeks to establish the proposition that "murder is an aft of excessive mischief and cruelty to our neighbour." A pa- per which is apparently the "dying confession" of Car- ter, with interlineations by Dr. MacSparran, is in the Updike Colleftion of Autographs in the Providence Public Library. 641 "So severely affected by a fit of sickness." The following action, in view of this afFeftion, was taken by the General Assembly in May, 1776: "Whereas it hath incontestably appeared to this Assembly that Henry Babcock, Esq., Colonel of a regiment in the service of this Colony, is, at times, deprived of the perfedt use of his reason and thereby rendered unfit to command, // is Voted and Resolved that the said Henry Babcock be and he is hereby dismissed from the Command of the said regiment and that office is hereby declared vacant." 642 "Mrs. William Palmer, of New York." Mr. J. Hammond Trumbull,^''" in a letter from Sto- nington, dated Oftober 10, 1845, observes: "The por- trait of Colonel Babcock has, until within a ^&w months past, remained at Stonington, in the possession of Mrs. Notes 291 Lucy Babcock (widow of his son, Major Paul), and at the house of her daughter, Adrs. Nathaniel Palmer. . . . Captain Nathaniel Palmer will be here in the course of a fortnight." This piiSure now (1907) belongs to Mr. Irving Babcock, of New York, and is reproduced in this work. 643 "Major \_Benjamin\ Brenton." Jahleel Brenton (born 1655, died 1732), son of Gov- ernor William, in his will, made July 2, 1731, and proved November 13,1 732, bequeathed to his nephew Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer Brenton, his nephew Ben- jamin, son of William Brenton, and two cousins named Church, several trafts of land in South Kingstown, in severalty, together with one thousand acres lying partly in North Kingstown and partly in South Kingstown, apparently in common. Ebenezer, known as Major^'^^ lived until Ij66. Benjamin outlived his uncle but a few years, dying previously to March, 1740, when his only son, Benjamin (born Oftober 16, 1710), — the Major Benjamin of this Note, — in order to recover certain land, brought a suit, in which he is described as " Ben- jamin Brenton, only son and heir of Benjamin Bren- ton, eldest son of William Brenton, one of the sons of William Brenton, Sr." Major Benjamin Brenton, as seen by the entry in the text, died in the same year as his father's cousin and coheir. Major Ebenezer. An ac- count of Major Benjamin's brother Jahleel and of some of his twenty-two children will be found in Note 415. 644 " ne Ren/ DoSior Caner." Dr. Henry Caner was, at the date of this convention, redtor of King's Chapel (sometimes called Stone Chapel), Boston. He was born in (or about) 1770, probably in England. It is likely that his parents emigrated to Ame- rica, as he graduated at Yale College in 1724. Soon after his graduation he began to read theology under the direftion of the Rev. Samuel Johnson,"'' of Strat- ford, Connecticut. In the spring of 1727, he went to England for Holy Orders, and was appointed mission- ary of the S. P. G. at Fairfield, Connecticut. During 292 Notes twenty years he continued to labour with the most sat- isfadory fruits in that place, as well as in a new sta- tion, which he early established at Norwalk, and in an- other at Stamford. In April, 1747, Mr. Caner became reftor of King's Chapel, as noted above, continuing there until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In 1766, he received the degree of DocSor of Divinity from the University of Oxford. Adhering to the Brit- ish government, he proceeded in 1 776 to England, and received from the S. P. G. an honorary appointment to the vacant mission at Bristol, Rhode Island, holding it until 1782, although it is not probable that he ever visited the town. (Munro's History of Bristol^ p. 151.) Having regard to his long and faithful service, the So- ciety continued his salary at £60 to the time of his death, at Long Ashton, Somersetshire, in 1792, at the age of ninety-two. On account of Dr. Caner's early entry into the ministry and his long service, he has been styled " the Father of the American clergy." His brother Richard was a clergyman settled at Fairfield and other ConneiSicut towns. Another allusion to Dr. Caner will be found in a note of America DisseBed (Appendix A). There is a curious tradition that some of the sacramental plate of King's Chapel was preserved in a branch of the Caner family, for restoration to its original use, when the Chapel should return to the Anglican Communion, as a proof of the high and holy influence exerted there by the patriarch for the period of a generation. In addition to a large number of other sermons of Dr. Caner which were printed, there was one entitled The True Nature and Method of Christian Preaching Examined and Stated. 645 '■'■The Rev. Mr. GreatonT TheRev.JamesGreaton,perhapsasonof JohnGreaton, of Roxbury , and if so probably an elder brother of Briga- dier-General John Greaton, of the Revolutionary army, graduated at Harvard College in 1 754. He was ordained by the Bishop of London in 1760, and became curate to Dr. Cutler, in Christ Church, Boston. After the death of the Do6tor, Mr. Greaton was appointed by the Notes 293 Society to the vacant mission, a position which, how- ever, he shortly resigned. From 1769 until his death, in 1773, he was settled at Huntington, New York. 646 "The Rev. Mr. Lyons." The Rev. John Lyon was the first resident minister of the church in Taunton, remaining there from 1764 to 1769, and marrying, during his residence, Helen (Baylies) Walker, the most prominent Churchwoman in the parish. In 1769, harassed, as it is supposed, by the temper of the times, he surrendered his excellent work at Taunton and removed to the South. He had not previously been a missionary of the London So- ciety, but is recorded, in the S. P. G. Digest, as having been appointed, in that year, to Lewes, Delaware, where he remained until his resignation, in 1 774, when he re- moved to Virginia. Bishop Meade, in The Old Churches and Families of Virginia, remarks: "The first minister on any of our lists of St. George's Parish, in Accomack, was Rev. John Lyon from Rhode Island, who was in the parish in the year 1774 and continued there during and sometime after the war. Being more of an Eng- lishman than an American in his feelings, his time was very uncomfortable during the Revolution." Mr. Lyon lies buried in the church-yard of St. George's. The Rev. John Lyon is to be distinguished from the Rev. James Lyons, itinerant in Connefticut in 1 744 and settled at Brookhaven, New York, 1745-65. 647 "The Rev. Mr. N. T. Bent." The Rev. Nathaniel T. Bent, after leaving Taunton, was connected for a season with the diocese of Maine. At a later time he became re£tor of All Saints' Church, Worcester, Massachusetts, and finally principal of a school in the same city, dying sometime previously to i860. He was an earnest and interesting preacher and a polished and scholarly gentleman. 648 "George Browne." The statement of the text as to the Scottish origin of the South Kingstown family of Browns, to which Gov- 294 Notes ernor George belonged, has been more or less vigorously questioned, in the absence of known documentary evi- dence attesting the tradition. Mr. Austin {^Genealogical DiSiionary of Rhode Island, p. 260), under Jeremiah Brown, third son of Chad, the progenitor of the Provi- dence family of Brow^ns, remarks, " Possibly Samuel, Daniel and William Brown of Kings -Town were his sons, but there is no direct evidence to show it." Mrs. Robinson, however, author of The Hazard Family of Rhode Island, affirms that, in certain documents, Daniel and Samuel Brown call themselves sons of Jeremiah and also call William brother. Nor is there anything improbable in this assertion. Under date of August 12, 1889, Mr. Ray Greene Huling writes: " While at Wickford ... I happened upon the record of a deed which shows that a Daniel Brown sells land to his brother Samuel, which land had been given to Daniel by his father Jeremiah. The land was bounded S by John Watson, W by Henry Gardner and E by the footpath or highway. [Dated Apl 26 — year burned off. The opposite page is dated 17 10.] " Daniel Brown was a Surveyor. He bought into the Shannock purchase in 1709." Jeremiah Brown was not born until after the arrival of his parents in Boston, in 1638, inasmuch as Chad Brown deposed that he, his wife Elizabeth, and his son John then landed from the ship Martin. He removed from Providence to Newport, and was living there at some time between 1660 and 1 669, since he let his boat to bring down people from Providence, upon the order of Governor William Brenton, the limits of whose two terms were the above years. (Rhode Island Colonial Records, ii. 366.) Jeremiah Brown's only recorded child, probably by his first wife, Mary, was James, the date of his birth being unknown. But about 1680 he was married, a sec- ond time, to Mary Cook, widow of Thomas, and had, by her, presumably, Samuel, Daniel, and William. In 1 68 7, he was paying taxes in Kings Town, and in 1 690, the year of his death, " was appointed, by the Assem- Notes 295 bly, to proportion Kingstown's part of money for the French and Indian War." In 1 69 1 , Mary Brown, widow of Jeremiah, had ninety acres, at East Greenwich, laid out to her. In October, 1702, Samuel Brown (born probably about 1 681) was married, in Kings Town, to Mary , by whom he had nine children. The fait that he named his eldest son Jeremiah lends colour to the theory that he was a son of the original Brown of that name. Sam- uel Brown was repeatedly a church warden of St. Paul's and frequently appears in Dr. MacSparran's Diary. In November, 1707, William Brown (born proba- bly about 1685) was married, as noted in the text, to Elizabeth Robinson, by whom he had seven or eight children. Of these, the sixth, Robert (born July 26, 1 7 18), was married, August 29, 1745, to Sarah Frank- lin, a daughter of Abel, of Newport, and a niece of Benjamin Franklin, having by her four children, of whom George, the future deputy governor, was the eld- est. Their father as well as their mother and stepmo- ther having died while these children were under age, they were left to the guardianship of their uncle, Tho- mas, third child of William Brown. Governor Brown's daughter Hannah became the wife of Rouse Babcock, of Westerly, January 13, 1801, leaving several chil- dren. William Brown is said to have attached a final e to his name, in all documents, although the other members of the family do not appear to have followed his example. 649 "William Robinson's." Deputy Governor William Robinson married, as his sec- ond wife, Mrs. Abigail (Gardiner) Hazard, an older sis- ter of Mrs. MacSparran. It was their second son, Wil- liam Robinson (born August I, 1729), at whose house the marriage of George Brown to his daughter Hannah occurred. As Robert Brown, father of George, was a first cousin of William Robinson, the bride and groom were, as stated in the text, second cousins. It is not, how- ever, quite so clear how they were also first cousins. William Robinson is said, but apparently on insufficient 296 Notes evidence, to have married, in 1752, Hannah Brown, who would have had to be a sister of Robert if their children were lirst cousins, but the name of Hannah is not found among the children of William and Eliza- beth Brown, the parents of Robert. It is also asserted, upon good authority, that William Robinson married Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Philip and Hannah (Rodman) Wanton, of Newport, Hannah (Mrs. George Brown) being their daughter. In this case the theory of her being ^rrf cousin to her husband would be overset; but it may be that that assertion was erroneously made. The fa£t that the father of the bride, at the time of this wedding, was only thirty-eight years of age, is a cu- rious illustration of the custom of early marriages in old Narragansett. 650 "Lieutenant-Governor Samuel J. Potter." Samuel John Potter, United States senator, was born in Narragansett, June 29, 1739, and died in Washing- ton, District of Columbia, September 26 (or O6I0- ber 29), 1804. In May, 1790, he was elecSed deputy governor of Rhode Island and reele£i:ed until May, 1 799, the title of the office being changed during his last year to lieutenant-governor. In 1800, Mr. Potter was again elected to the position, and continued to hold it until 1803. In the latter part of 1 802, he was eledted to the United States senate, serving less than two years before his death. 651 "Miss Jane Tweedy." The house of John and William Tweedy, of Newport, was, previously to the Revolution, the largest importer of drugs in the American colonies. It maintained a branch office in New York, where dealers could ascer- tain the prices which had been fixed in Rhode Island. John Tweedy married MaryTillinghast, in 1732, and, as a second wife, Freelove S. Crawford, in 1735. He is said to have died in 1782, as did also his partner, William. William Tweedy married a daughter of James Honyman,'"" Esq., son of the redor of Trinity Church. Their two daughters were Mrs. Francis Mai- Notes 297 bone and Miss Catharine Tweedy, who presented to Trinity Church, in 18 16, the portrait of her great- grandfather, the Rev. James Honyman, which hangs in the vestry-room, the vestry passing a vote of grate- ful acceptance and directing the clerk to " furnish Miss Tweedy with a copy of this vote, as a mark of our sincere attachment to so amiable a character and to her, for her pohteness and attention." From the first half of the eighteenth century the Tweedy family was pro- minent in Trinity parish. It is probable that " Miss Jane Tweedy," the bride of the entry, was a daughter of John Tweedy. She was the second wife of " Mayor George Hazard," to whom she was married, as noted in the text, July 28, 1769. Among her five children were Carder (born in 1774), a graduate of Rhode Is- land College and an affluent merchant of Norwich, Connediicut, and Nathaniel (born in 1776), also a gra- duate of Rhode Island College and a representative in the Congress of the United States. All of Mrs. Jane Hazard's sons were distinguished for their noble phy- sique and great personal beauty and charm of manner, qualities which they, no doubt, inherited from their mother. 652 "Mrs. Maria Hazard, of South Kingstown." Watson must have intended, by this reference, Mrs. Mary Hazard, grandmother (not mother) of Deputy- Governor George Hazard and widow of Robert Ha- zard, whose name occurs, just below, in the text. At the time of her death, in 1739, the Boston Gazette re- marked of her," She was accounted a very useful Gen- tlewoman both to the Poor and Rich on many accounts, and particularly amongst Sick Persons for her Skill & Judgment, which she did Gratis." The account of her great age and multitudinous progeny is well attested. 653 "Thomas Hazard, who emigrated from Wales." The progenitor of the American Hazard family was born in 16 10. His name is first found in Boston, Mas- sachusetts, in 1 635. In 1639, he signed the "compa6l" preparatory to the settlement of Newport, where he 298 Notes was one of the founders of the town and one of its first officers. He had two wives, both named Martha, and four children, and died in 1680. 654 " His son, Robert." Robert Hazard, only known son of the emigrant from the United Kingdom, Thomas Hazard (mentioned in the last Note), was born in 1635, and died not earlier than 1 7 10. Although his father appeared in Boston be- fore the close of 1 63 5, it is believed that Robert was born in the Old World (it is said, in England or Ireland, an important family bearing the name still existing in the latter country). In 1655, Robert Hazard was admitted a freeman of the town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In 1659, o'' ^ ^'"^s earlier, he was married to Mary, a daughter of Thomas and Anne Brownell. In 1 671, he bought five hundred acres of land, in Kings Town, of the Pettaquamscutt Purchasers. In 1693, he called him- self "late of Portsmouth, now of Kings Town." 655 " \_Mayor\ George Hazard." The remainder of the article from the Newport Mer- cury of August 15, i'j()'], of which the beginning is given in the text, is written with so much feeling and evident sincerity, that it is here reproduced: "At the age of 74 years he closed a long and poli- tical life, in which he had no other objecS but the pub- lic Good and desired no other reward but the public Confidence. Successively Legislator and Judge, ap- pointed to compose Laws and called upon to administer them, displaying all the ease of native Eloquence with all the power of solid Judgement, — without Ambition and without vanity, the Honours of office flowed in upon him, unsolicited and undesired. They were Ho- mage paid to virtue, which intreaties alone could force him to accept and which no low intrigue was praftised to preserve. At a period of life, when Nature, almost exhausted, seeks refuge in retirement, at the Age of sixty and five years, he engaged in a novel, in a deli- cate and embarrassing undertaking; as Mayor of New- port, he sacrificed his own to the general interest and Notes 299 yielded to solicitation when acquiescence became al- most a crime. With what ability and firmness he per- formed the duties of that office, let recolledtion, so far as it can trace her own feelings, so far as they have been engaged, inform us. "Amid the Party and distress of that period, — amid the Violence of the one and the alarming Apprehensions of the other, he entered into office with a modest Diffi- dence, and in its execution imparted a vigour to New- port. " Nor were the Honours of public life forfeited by pri- vate Corruption. If in politics he was great, in domes- tic life he was respedtable, mild, affable, prudent, liberal, temperate; scrupulously just and unafFecStedly religious. Never were virtues more the efFedt of feeling and less the Consequence of legal obligation. He was moral from the dictates of Nature and not from the cold sug- gestions of human Policy." The inscription upon the monument of "Mayor George," evidently composed by the same friend who wrote the above obituary notice, is as follows: SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE HON. GEORGE HAZARD, ESQ, WHO WAS BORN JUNE 15, 1724 AND DIED AUGUST II, 1797. ALMOST FORTY YEARS OF HIS LIFE WERE SPENT IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY WITHOUT AMBITION AND WITHOUT THE HOPE OF REWARD. HE ACCEPTED THE VARIOUS IMPORTANT OFFICES OF LEGISLATOR, JUDGE & MAYOR OF NEWPORT WITH DIFFIDENCE AND EXECUTED THEM WITH ABILITY. 656 " Thomas Cranston and Abraham Redwood . . . mar- ried sisters." It is said that Mrs. Cranston and Mrs. Redwood were first cousins rather than sisters. Joseph and Abraham Coggeshall were brothers. Joseph's daughter Mary was the wife of Thomas Cranston, and Abraham's daughter Martha the wife of Abraham Redwood. Rebecca, a 300 Notes daughter of Benjamin Coggeshall, a brother of Joseph and Abraham, became the wife of Robert Taylor, of Newport. 657 '■'■Portraits of Mr. Cr ans ton, his wife ^ and daughter , . . . by Copley." The portrait of the Honourable Thomas Cranston is de- scribed as " Three-quarters, standing : dressed in black velvet, with full wig. Hand on his sword." The origin of these piftures has been discussed in Notes 378 and 380. All three of them are among the illustrations to this work. 658 "College Tom." A very interesting and complete account of this mem- ber of the Hazard family is to be found in Thomas Ha- zard., son of Rob' caird College Tom., A Study of Life in Narragansett in the XVIII''' Century., By His Grandson' s Granddaughter.,CarolineHazard(Bostona.nd'NewYoik, 1893). Thomas Hazard (son of Robert, grandson of Thomas, great-grandson of Robert, and great-great- grandson of Thomas) was born September 15, 1720, and died in 1798. The institution which he is said to have entered, and from which he is supposed to have gained his sobriquet, was Yale College. He was, how- ever, one of the original petitioners to the General Assembly for powers to found a college or university within Rhode Island Colony, and was, with ten others, declared the "first and present Fellows and Fellowship, to whom the President, when hereafter elefted, . . . shall be joined to complete their number." This circum- stance also has been very plausibly suggested as the ori- gin of the title "College Tom." The name of Thomas Hazard does not appear in the list of regular fellows or trustees of the college. 659 "John JVoolman, of Mount Holly." This famous Quaker preacher was born in Northamp- ton, New Jersey, in August, 1720, and died in York, England, O£tober 7, 1772. He spent a great part of his life in visiting the Friends in the rear settlements of Virginia and in the Middle States for the purpose of ,:^^Aiy. * ^^^jn^^ '^^'a^/J^^> Notes 301 preaching and speaking against slavery. Mr. Wool- man visited Narragansett in 1748 and again in 1760, holding, on the latter occasion, repeated meetings and going "through deep exercises that were mortifying to the creaturely will," inasmuch as he felt impelled to the "unpleasant task" of pleading with the excel- lent Quakers concerning their slaves. It was while at- tending a quarterly meeting of Friends, in England, that the preacher and philanthropist met the frequent fate of American visitors to that country in the eigh- teenth century, by taking the small-pox and dying after a very few days. John Woolman published a large num- ber of religious and benevolent works, of which Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes may be men- tioned, but the journal ofjohn fFoolman's Life and Tra- vels in the Service of the Gospelis his most interesting pro- dudtion. It is a proof of his possessing a true genius for expression that the writings of this plain Quaker tailor, who probably never had a thought of producing litera- ture^ won hearty praise from that past master of the art, Charles Lamb. 660 "Moses Brown." This Rhode Island philanthropist,youngest of the "Four Brothers," was born in Providence, September 23, 1 738, and died there September 6, 1836. Although reared a Baptist, he became a Friend and the founder of the Yearly Meeting Boarding-School, which now bears his name. In 1773, he proved his faith by his works in be- ing among the first to manumit all his slaves. 661 "Jeremiah Austin." Thesubjeft of this Note, among thej^i;^« Jeremiah Aus- tins said to have been living in southern Rhode Island at this period, is believed to have been one of three born in 1730. He was a great-grandson of Robert, who died about 1687 and who is the assumed ancestor of the Nar- ragansett Austins, and a grandson of Jeremiah, who died in 1754. He was probably a son of Robert, who died before his father, in 1752, although Robert's brother Jeremiah also had a son Jeremiah born in 1730. Both 302 Notes the brothers, according to their inventories, were poor men, not likely to have been able to leave much more than a single slave to a child. In 1 765, Jeremiah Austin appears upon the accounts of " College Tom," as la- bouring at mowfing, with his sons as helpers. 662 "■William T. Robinson" Mr. Robinson °" was a son of Thomas (son of Deputy Governor William and born 1 731) and the father of the beautiful Mrs. Mary Hunter, of Newport. He is intro- duced in T. R. Hazard's RecolleSiions of Olden Times as relating an amusing anecdote. 663 "'Thomas R. \_Hazard'\." Thomas Robinson Hazard was born in South Kings- town, January 3, 1797, and died in New York city. He united sheep-raising with manufacturing and thus gained his well-known sobriquet of "Shepherd Tom." Soon after attaining the age of forty-one, Mr. Hazard retired from business and purchased a choice estate upon the island of Rhode Island, where he passed the remain- der of his days. His RecoUeSiions of Olden Times and his Jonny-Cake Papers^ although not always to be taken as sober history, evince a lively imagination and, like other poetical productions, are perhaps truer than the truth. The faft that the Recolle£iions were issued when Mr. Hazard was over eighty years of age lends a sunset charm to one of the most attractive books ever written about old Narragansett. Mr. Hazard married Frances Minturn,'" of New York. 664 "Rowland G[ibson Hazard^." Mr. Hazard is too well known, as possessing one of the most powerful intellects ever produced in the State of Rhode Island, to need any notice in this connection. It may be stated, however, to complete the record of the family, that he was born in South Kingstown, Octo- ber 9, 1801, and died June 24, 1888. A biographical sketch of Mr. Hazard has been prepared by his grand- daughter, Miss Caroline Hazard, and prefixed to his collected works. Notes 303 665 ''Joseph P. Hazard." Joseph Peace Hazard was born February 17, 1807, in Burlington, New Jersey, where his parents lived for a few years. For all but the first twelve years of his life, however, his home was in South Kingstown. In his earlier mature years he was engaged in manufadluring, but soon abandoned it for travel, during more than a score of years, in many foreign lands. He began, in 1846, the ereftion of what is known as " Hazard Cas- tle," near Narragansett Pier, now surmounted by a mas- sive square granite tower. In the spacious grounds around the house he introduced all the trees which he could procure in different regions of the globe and acclima- tize in Narragansett, encouraging the native birds of this section of America to dwell unmolested among their branches. Although Mr. Hazard was not without some eccentric ideas and habits, yet in his nearness to nature and his sympathy with the dumb world and es- pecially with birds he seemed a kinsman of Francis of Assisi. The notices of this old Rhode Island family are not complete without a reference to another brother, William Robinson Hazard (born December 15, 1803), who lived at Poughkeepsie, and to four daughters, Eliza Gibson Hazard (born 1 799), Isabella Wakefield Hazard (born 1809), Mary Peace Hazard (born 18 14), and Anna Hazard (born 1820), all unmarried. Miss Anna has but lately (January, 1905) died. 666 "Rowland Hazard." The Quaker love oi plain language and abhorrence of heathen names for days and months are strikingly shown in the record of the birth of " College Tom's" son Row- land, on "the fourth of the fourth month, second day of the week, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, 1763." He married, in 1793, Mary, daughter of Isaac Peace, and in her honour the village of Peace Dale, where he started a manufacturing business, was named. In addi- tion to the textile industry which has developed into the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, Rowland Hazard had also shipping interests. Late in life he re- 304 Notes moved to Pleasant Valley, New York, where he died July I, 1835. 667 "Virginia 1'om." "Virginia Tom" was a first cousin of" College Tom," being a son of Jonathan, younger brother of Robert, the father of the latter. He was born February 22, 1727, and died April 27, 1804. He received from his father a fine farm in Boston Neck, now called the " Brown Farm," but early removed to Newport. The name of his first wife was Mary Preeson Bowdoin, a daughter of Peter Bowdoin, of Virginia, this fa<5t sup- plying him his by-name. The Virginia Bowdoins are descended from Jean Bowdoin, whose younger brother James was the ancestor of the New England branch of the family, including Governor Bowdoin, of Massa- chusetts, the patron of Bowdoin College in Maine. Mrs. Hazard died, after about fourteen years of married life, and was buried upon her husband's farm, in Narragan- sett. The following is the inscription upon her grave- stone: IN MEMORY OF MARY B. WIFE OF THOMAS HAZARD AND DAUGHTER OF PETER BOWDOIN, ESQ., OF VIRGINIA. DIED APRIL YE 17TH 1760, IN YE 32D YEAR OF HER AGE ; A LOVING AND KIND WIFE. Abigail Hazard, a daughter of Mrs. Mary Bowdoin Hazard, married Walter Watson, and became the mo- ther of Isabella Watson, second wife of John J. Wat- son, and Abby Watson, wife of Wilkins Updike, thus making the Watsons and Updikes, of Boston Neck and Kingston, descendants of Peter Bowdoin, of Vir- ginia. Mrs. Hazard's remains have been tenderly re- moved from the Boston Neck farm of her husband to the burying-ground of Wilkins Updike, in the vicinity. 668 "Eunice Rhodes, of Pawtuxet." Eunice Rhodes (born December 13, 1741) was the younger daughter of WilHam, a grandson of Zachariah Notes 305 Rhodes, the founder of the family in Rhode Island. Eunice Rhodes's grandfather, John Rhodes, married Waite Waterman, a granddaughter of Roger Williams. William Rhodes, in his will, proved 1772, left his daughter, Eunice Hazard, half of a farm in Scituate, two hundred dollars, and another farm till her son Tho- mas Hazard should be of age. 669 " The General Assembly humanely dire£led the rents . . . to be paid to her." The vote covering this concession is interesting on ac- count of the person charged with its execution: "It is further voted and resolved [February, i 782] , that Wil- liam Channing,^** Esq., be, and he is hereby required and dire£i:ed to pay unto the aforesaid Eunice Hazard the amount of the rents for the year past of the house and estate, which did belong unto the said Thomas Hazard, lying in Newport, as soon as he shall receive the same." 670 "Jonathan J. Hazard." The middle letter in this Jonathan Hazard's name does not appear to have been an original part of it, nor is it found except in a signature to a letter in The Ha%ard Family of Rhode Island. It probably came to be used simply as a means of designating that this Jonathan Ha- zard, out of a large number so named (there are more than twenty mentioned in the above work), was a son of a Jonathan. His carefulness in dress and his courtly manners gave him the sobriquet of " Beau Jonathan." Being a brother of "Virginia Tom," it is unnecessary to repeat here his line of descent. He was born about 1 744, and died after 1 824. The chairing of Mr. Hazard, mentioned in the text, is said to be the only instance known in Rhode Island of copying the old English fashion of thus treating a popular leader. 671 "At St. John's." This is not the city of St. John's, in Newfoundland, but the hie St. Jean., changed, in 1 800, to Prince Edward Island, as now known, in honour of the Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Viftoria. 3o6 Notes 672 "Mrs. Walter Watson." Judging from the profile portrait of Abigail Hazard, eld- est daughter of "Virginia Tom," given in this book, she was not one whose presence and influence could be safely disregarded, nor one whom, judging from her bright and pleasant expression, any one would wish to disregard. One would judge that she shared, in no small degree, the energy of her father and the Gallic vivacity of her Huguenot mother. She was born December 25, 1 75 1, married Walter Watson, and died February 2, 1 837. In addition to a son, Walter, who died young, she had two daughters, mentioned in Note 667. 673 "Mr, Elisha Watson.'' Elisha Watson was born October 1, 1776, and died July 7, 1847. Elisha and Ann (Cole) Watson had nine children, of whom the eldest son, the late Elisha Wat- son, of Wakefield, Rhode Island, was born OcSober 7, 1808, and died May 31, 1877. 674 "Ann Cole." Ann Cole was the eldest daughter of William Cole, son of John Cole and great-grandson of John"' and Susan- nah (Hutchinson) Cole. She was born in 1785, and died August 27, 1874. Her mother was Mary (originally Susannah) Hazard, daughter of "Virginia Tom." 675 "Abby Watson." Abigail Watson, daughter of Walter and Abigail (Ha- zard) Watson, was born January 22, 1792, and died March 31, 1843. (See sketch of Mr. Updike at begin- ning of this work.) 676 "Welcome Arnold." Welcome Arnold was, in his day, one of the strong men and enterprising merchants of Providence, which he frequently represented in the General Assembly. Be- tween 1780 and 1 795, he was five times elefted speaker of the house and served also as a conservative member of the paper money convention of 1786, at East Green- wich. Soon after 1772, Mr. Arnold purchased the large Notes 307 unfinished house which had been occupied by James Sabin as an inn, and in which the plot for the capture of the Gaspee was laid, at the northeast corner of South Main and Planet streets, Providence. After completing the building, he lived in it, until his death in 1798. It later became successively the residence of his eldest son, Samuel G. Arnold, and his youngest son, Colonel Rich- ard J. Arnold, being finally occupied by his grandson, Samuel G. Arnold, junior, the historian of Rhode Island and lieutenant-governor of the State. Upon the remodel- ling or demolishing of the ancient house, a few years since, the old woodwork around the fireplace of the dining-room or Gaspee room, and all the interior fin- ish of the apartment were removed to the residence of a granddaughter of Welcome Arnold, Mrs. William R. Talbot, at "Young Orchard," Providence, where a room of corresponding dimensions was construited for their re- ception. (The History of Rhode Island., by Samuel Greene Arnold, ii. 312, 523.) 677 '■'■Wolsef s fall, to rise no more." As the causes of the debacle of Jonathan J. Hazard are so little ascertained and so largely founded on suspicion, it seems no more than fair to present a letter, in respeft to the matter, written by him to a relative, Thomas B. Hazard, in an evidently ingenuous spirit and with a transparent consciousness of right. The document was, no doubt, unknown to Mr. Updike when he wrote the accompanying narrative, and appears to have been first published by Mrs. Robinson, in The Hazard Family of Rhode Island (pp. 49, 50). It is as follows: Jamestown, June y \Z Dear Kinsman: I HAVE thought of your disappointment in not being appointed Judge. You may be assured it is for your advantage that you are not chosen. It would have led you further into political matters, than you are, and you have already, as well as myself, gone too far on that road. It is a pleasing thing, while everything moves with 3o8 Notes success and we are flying away before the wind and the tide of prosperity, and every one that meets you will greet you with submission and reverence ; but let it only be in the power of these very men that you have served most, to sacrifice you to their own advantage and you will find there is not one in a thousand but would em- brace the opportunity. I speak from experience. The people that I have taken the most pains to serve have sacrificed me, as far as lay in their power. That is nothing new, it was ever so and ever will be so. It is the greatest misfortune that is resident to man, that lack of resolution, stability, and integrity. Look back and read the history of the world, and you will find the greatest, and some of the best men in the world, have been brought to the block by traitorous companions. I hope you will profit by this little disappointment, and avoid thereby a greater mischief. All these disappointments are bitter and, of course, disagreeable, but as they are suffered for our good, we ought to bear them with that manly forti- tude that becomes great minds. I have been principal after in three State revolutions, and if I was to show you the history, you would not believe it, until you paused, for I have been thrice sacrificed, once in the year 1790 and twice since, and although the authors have no thought that I am possessed of the means and instruments,! have them. I have not only the men's names, but the rooms in the houses where it was agreed upon. Two were in the dead scenes of the night. Notwithstanding I have ever been the slave of my friends, I find, when they think there is a prospeft of selling an old friend for an new one, they embrace the opportunity. Look back on time, and point out the man that has been deep in politics in this State, and you will find he died poor, if not in aftual distress, and at the close of life I imagine miserable. RefletSt on this and write me an answer. In haste, from your well-wisher, friend and kinsman, Jon'n J. Hazard The town in New York to which Mr. Hazard re- moved was Verona, inOneida County, nine miles south- Notes 309 west of Rome, where he became a prominent man and was much respefted. 678 "The late Honourable Elisha R. Potter." Elisha Reynolds Potter was born in South Kingstown, November 5,1764, and died there September 26, 1835. Beginning life as a blacksmith's apprentice and a sol- dier, he became a lawyer, speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives for six years, and a member of Congress for four terms. In local matters Mr. Pot- ter evinced much public spirit and was regarded with high respeft. He was the second president of the Land- holder's Bank in Kingston and took an interest in pub- lic education. It has been said of him that " few political men of Rhode Island ever acquired or maintained a more commanding influence." His portrait is shown in this work. His son, of the same name (born in South Kings- town, June 20, 181 1; died there April 10, 1882), was a graduate of Harvard in 1830, a member of Congress, and a judge of the supreme court of Rhode Island. He was the author of the very valuable work. The Early History of Narragamett^ frequently quoted in these vol- umes, and published in 1835. Another work from his pen, which Arnold, in his History of Rhode Island^ char- acSerizes as an able pamphlet upon the colonial cur- rency of Rhode Island, was A Brief Account of the Emis- sion of Paper Money (Providence, 1837). From May, 1849, till Oitober, 1854, Mr. Potter was State com- missioner of public schools, in connexion with which office he wrote many important reports, serving to awaken an enlightened interest in general education. 679 "Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry." Without repeating the well-known story of Commo- dore Perry, it is interesting to note that he was born (August 23, 1785) in the village of Rocky Brook, South Kingstown, in the "west chamber" of the house of William Rodman, still standing (1895). 310 Notes 680 "Oliver Hazard, of South Kingstown." Mr. Hazard (born September 13, 1710; died April 14, 1792) married, December 9, 1736, Elizabeth Raymond, of New London, Connecticut. 681 "John Case Esq." There was an extensive family of Cases living in Nar- ragansett in the latter part of the seventeenth century and throughout the eighteenth, descended from William Case, of Newport, who died not later than 1676, but it does not now seem possible to establish a connexion between it and John Case, of Tower Hill. The home- stead estate of the first of the name in South Kingstown, Joseph (born 1654, died 1741), is said to have been east of Kingston village, the land having since belonged to the Elisha R. Potter estate. Joseph's son John died in 1 763, his wife being Elizabeth Sunderland and having a large family of children, and their residence being West Greenwich. The age of John Case, of Tower Hill, at the time of his death, in 1770, has been given as sixty-nine years. The loss of John Gardiner and John Case, during the same month, must have been a severe blow to St. Paul's Church. 682 "One hundred and fifty dollars for repairing the old church." Judge Potter, In The Early History of Narragansett, p. 377, states that the bequest of Mr. Case for repairing the old church was ;^ioo. It seems somewhat singular to find the Narragansett Church designated as " the old church" in a will made as long since as 1770. The lot given for a church by Dr. MacSparran is believed to have been on MacSparran Hill, it long continuing to be called "the hill lot." 683 "The Rev. William Montague." Mr. Montague graduated at Dartmouth College in 1 784, and was the minister, or reftor, of Christ Church, Bos- ton, from June, 1 787, to May, 1 792, when he resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. William Walter, D.D., as reaor.From 1792 until 1818, he had charge of Christ C^r'^//: C^^^jA^-f . A..: Notes 311 Church (since named St. Paul's), Dedham, Massachu- setts, although he was often absent for weeks or months, engaged in efforts to recover lands belonging to, or sup- posed to belong to, the Eastern Diocese. At the time of Mr. Montague's accession to the reftorship at Ded- ham, the parish had just come into the possession of a bequest of one hundred and thirty-five acres of land, as an endowment. By an agreement with the parish he was invested, for the term of fifteen years, from May i, 1792, with all the estate of the church, including all the rents for lands leased, to use and enjoy in any man- ner he thought fit. In 18 15, Mr. Montague was pre- sented by the convention to the bishop for trial, as guilty of scandalous, disorderly, and immoral conduit, and, in 181 8, the bishop and his clergy appeared in Dedham and deprived him of his office of priest, more than half the estate having been sold and the proceeds spent. He died July 22, 1833, having continued to live in Dedham, where he took much interest in the wel- fare of the community. 684 "Obtained possession of the "Tower Hill estate." John Case, by his will, dated May 15, 1770, devised to James Honyman, Esq., of Newport, his homestead lot, hill farm, and wood-lot, in trust and to the use of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the rents, profits, andimprovements to be applied towards thesup- port of a bishop of the Church of England, as by law established, whenever such a bishop might be conse- crated and sent to preside over a diocese or districft com- prehending the Narragansett country. This trust was subjefl: to the use of the property for life by the widow of Mr. Case. Until a bishop should be sent as provided, the profits and rents were to be applied to the mainte- nance of the poor of the Church of England in Nar- ragansett by the minister, wardens, and vestry of that Church. Mr. Honyman died in 1778, twenty years be- fore the death of Mrs. Case, and does not appear to have, in any way, entered upon the fulfilment of the trust. Fifteen years before Mrs. Case's death the inde- 312 Notes pendence of the United States was recognized by Great Britain and the possibility of the sending from that coun- try of a bishop of the Church of England, as by law established^ " properly appointed and consecrated," was forever estopped. Upon Mrs. Case's death, in 1798, St. Paul's Church took possession of the property and ap- plied the rents and profits as provided by the will. At a meeting of the board of managers of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, held December 1 , 1 8 1 1 , the Rev. William Montague and James Richardson, Esq., were appointed agents to search for lands and other property within the recently formed Eastern Dio- cese, heretofore given for the support of the worship of God according to the rites and ceremonies of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church in the United States. Under this commission the Rev. Mr. Montague obtained a letter of attorney, dated March 9, 181 2, from Henry Sherburne, of Newport, and Catharine, his wife, she be- ing one of the children and heirs at law of James Hony- man, the original trustee, authorizing him to take into his possession the lands devised by John Case. At the time of Mr. Honyman's death he had two sons and six daughters, but none of his children signed this power of attorney except the above-mentioned Catharine Sherburne, who was the widow of William Tweedy when she married Colonel Sherburne. The people of St. Paul's Church, Narragansett, pro- tested against "the unwarrantable and unprecedented conduit of the Rev. William Montague, of the State of Massachusetts, by endeavouring, in the most arbi- trary manner to wrest from them the little property be- longing to the Church, which they had hitherto held in quiet and peaceable possession," and proceeded to em- ploy counsel to plead their cause, in the suit brought against the parish. In spite of all resistance, however, the trustees of donations, through their agent, Mr. Mon- tague, succeeded, as stated in the text, in gaining, for a time, possession of the Tower Hill estate. In this connexion a most conciliatory letter, written to the wardens of St. Paul's Church from Newport, on Notes 313 the same date as that of the execution of the letter of attorney mentioned above, by Bishop Griswold, the head of the Eastern Diocese, becomes of deep concern. In it he declares: "Whatever interest I may have or be supposed to have in any of the Church lands in Nar- ragansett cannot be applied more to my mind or my wishes than in promoting your prosperity and contri- buting to the establishment of an useful Minister of the Gospel among you, and the regular administration of the Divine ordinances of our Blessed Redeemer." Again, May 27, 1835, Bishop Griswold wrote to Henry Cod- man, Esq., respecting the Case estate in Narragansett lands : " For above thirty years, within my knowledge, those lands have been a subjefl: or cause of animosity and contention between the people of the two towns. In all that time I have endeavoured to promote peace among them. The compromise and agreement efFefted by Mr. Montague and others made peace for a while; but it was of not long continuance. ... If they will live in peace, which I hope they now will, and apply the avails of the land to religious purposes, I shall be content. It is several years, since I have received from them anything for the rents. It is very desirable that a minister should labour in each town and, during my life time, I am willing that the whole of the rents should be applied to efFecSi: it." 685 "And now hold the estates." At the time of the publication of this work, in 1847, the above was the case, but on February 13, i860, "the Church or Case estate situated on Tower Hill, in South Kingstown, . . . containing twenty-eight acres, more or less," was sold, at public auction (by request of Bishop Clark), by Wilkins Updike, agent, to Elisha Watson, of South Kingstown, for the sum of ^1325, "a Deed in warranty" of the same being made by the treasurer of the Rhode Island Episcopal Convention. This trans- aftion appears, in accordance with the Bishop's expres- sion of "relief to have the matter settled," to have ter- minated the Case trust, although the disposition of the 314 Notes hill farm and wood-lot, bequeathed to the church, by Mr. Case, is unknown to the editor. 686 "Phillippa Case." There is reason to believe that the Christian name of this lady was Phillip instead of Phillippa, it being thus given in several cases. In an issue of the Newport Mer- cury^ of June, 1798, is the following obituary notice: "At Tower Hill, South Kingstown, on Tuesday the 26* ult.,aged 92 years, Mrs. Philip Case,Reli£i:of John Case Esq. ; a Lady of real Piety and Goodnefs, and on the Friday following, her Remains were respeiStfully in- terred in St. Paul's Church Yard. — By her death, the Rents and Profits of a valuable landed Estate are to be appropriated, agreeably to her Husband's last Will, to- wards the Support of a Bishop of the Episcopal Church, whose Diocese comprehends the Church at Narragan- sett." As Mrs. Case is said, in the text, to have been "the daughter of Charles Dickinson," and as the Charles Dickinson of that period is known to have married Phillip Greene, daughter of Major John Greene and widow of Caleb Carr, it is rendered more probable that the form of Mrs. Case's name, Philip (or Phillip), as given in the above obituary, rather than Phillippa, is the corre£l one, inherited from her mother. 687 '^Charles Dickinson, of Narragansett." Charles Dickinson appears to have been one of the earliest Churchmen living in the Narragansett country. When Captain Benoni Sweet, in June, 1 707, conveyed a piece of land as a site for a church, where the Mac- Sparran monument now stands, "Charles Dickinson of Kingstown " was one of the three grantees. His name stands also at the head of eight of "the principal inhab- itants of Narraganset in communion with the Church of England," signing a letter to the S. P. G.,in 17 15, as well as at that of fourteen " members of the Church of England in Narraganset," signing a similar letter in 1 7 16. Mr. Dickinson was likewise a member of the first recorded vestry of St. Paul's, elefted in 1 718. At the time of Charles Dickinson's marriage to Philip Notes 315 (Greene) Carr"^ (after 1690), he was a resident of Jamestown, Rhode Island. December 4, 1695, he was appointed on a committee "to make rates" in that town, where, August 2 1 , 1 696,he was made a freeman. Some- time between that date and 1707, he removed to Nar- ragansett. He was a son of John Dickinson and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Howland,of the Mayflower. 688 "Mr. miliam Davis's." On June 24, 1744, Dr. MacSparran baptized two adults, William Davis and Esther Chappel, and four weeks later, on Sunday, July 22nd, he united the same in marriage. On April 4, 1763, the Rev. Mr. Fayerweather, who had been lately married, records, in the Parish Regis- ter, in his usual quaint fashion, " Mr W"" Davis And Family Moved Away from the Parsonage house Where They had Lived With Mr F — for Two Years in Great Unanimity & Peace." On December 29, 1749, Dr. MacSparran baptized two children of William Davis, and Esther, his wife, William and Anstis. It is evidently this latter William, whose children are recorded in the text as having been baptized by Mr. Fayerweather twenty years later. As late as November 16, 1790, the name of William Davis appears as that of one of those present at a parish meet- ing. Why it is recorded that the baptism of these chil- dren was performed " at the request of George Rome " is not quite apparent, but we are indebted to the seem- ingly irrelevant statement for the preservation, by Mr. Updike, of much curious information concerning this pidluresquecharadler, which otherwise would have been lost. It may be that young Mr. Davis acSed as steward or farmer for Mr. Rome. 689 "George Rome Esq'" It is probable that Mr. Rome was unrelated to any other inhabitants of Rhode Island or Narragansett and al- most certain that he left no descendants there. It should be noted, however, that in the preceding century there was a John Roome living in Portsmouth, on Rhode 3i6 Notes Island. As early as 1638, this John was admitted an inhabitant of the island of Aquidneck, and in the fol- lowing year he was one of those who declared: "we binde ourzelves into a civill body politicke." In 1644, he was awarded " lande at the wading-river," in Ports- mouth. In 1 65 1, when Roger WilHams sold his trad- ing-house, in Narragansett, to Richard Smith, of Ports- mouth, John Roome was one of the witnesses, using a large capital R as his mark. (Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island^ p. 167; Rhode Island Co- lonial Records, i. 70, 82, 91 ; Fones' Record, p. 94.) It is probable that Rome was a North of England sur- name. In Crossthwaite church-yard, in Cumberland, there is to be seen the name of William Rome on a stone near the grave of Robert Southey. The antique pronunciation of the word Rome as if it were spelled with a circumflexed is not, as is well known, peculiar to it, when used as a family name. Formerly, especially among adtors, the only elegant pronunciation of the Italian capital was Roome. Until within the last thirty years a descendant of some of George Rome's slaves, still living in North Kingstown, was known as Betty Roome. 690 '■'■Judge Ezekiel Gardiner." It is stated, in the town records of North Kingstown, that, after the confiscation of the farm of George Rome, the tory of Boston Neck, in 1776, it was sold to Judge Ezekiel Gardiner. Justice Gardiner is spoken of by Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary, under the date of Oftober 22, 1 745, and appears to be the Ezekiel Gardiner who was a son of Nicholas, a great-uncle of Mrs. MacSpar- ran. The residence of this branch of the Gardiner fa- mily, at this date, is believed to have been the Gardiner place, immediately east.of the site of the MacSparran monument, at what is still known as " Pinder Zeke's Corner," so named after an Ezekiel Gardiner who was conne61:ed with the somewhat extensive Pinder family of that day. It is not unlikely, however, that the Judge Gardiner who bought the "Rome farm" in 1776 be- Notes 317 longs to a later generation than the "Justice Gardi- ner" of Dr. MacSparran's Diary ^ thirty years before. For many years, in the middle of the nineteenth cen- tury, this farm was owned by the late Reynolds Greene and known by his name, passing at his death to his children. It appears to have preserved the original area of George Rome's time, of between six and seven hundred acres, the northeastern angle being still called Rome Point. 691 "The mansion house." A careful examination of this house, nearly forty years ago, failed to show any trace of the unusual sleeping- arrangements described by tradition, the walls of all the rooms being of the ordinary character. The most re- markable feature of what then seemed a plain and partly ruinous stru£ture (now for several years entirely re- moved), was the vast fireplace in the kitchen, high enough for a man to walk into it without removing his hat, and broad enough for the burning of cord-wood with- out interfering with the door of a brick oven upon the back side or the " chimney-corner " seat inside the open- ing. Upon one side of the kitchen and in the rear there was a number of small plastered bedrooms, said to have been formerly occupied by the slaves. This fireplace was the only remaining evidence of the famous feasts and hilarity of a hundred years before. There were, however, vestiges of a more extensive rear-building (attached to the main edifice) which had already gone to decay. 692 "'The garden." The Rome house used to be approached by what must then have been a stately avenue of buttonwood trees, a very few of which have remained, mostly in the form of unsightly trunks, to the present generation. Some marks of the former fish-ponds and flower-gardens are dimly visible. A great box tree still remaining on the place was purchased many years since by a neighbouring farmer of taste, and removed to his yard. This, now grown to be one of the largest and finest specimens of 3i8 Notes box in the State, has again (igo5)been transported with great care to Providence, to adorn the grounds of the elegant old house at the northeast corner of Benefit and Power streets. The following sketch is taken from the Providence Journal: "There arrived yesterday at the Reynolds dock in Wickford for shipment to this city the finest specimen of an ancient boxwood tree in this State, and probably in the country, it being some fifteen feet in height and over thirty feet in circumference, while it is said to weigh in the neighbourhood of seven tons. This tree has a history. Some century and a half ago it was shipped from England to the estate of Colonel George Rome in North Kingstown, with a number of others, to set out a hedge. Colonel Rome's estate was at Barber's Heights [?], and was probably at that time the most perfedlly appointed in Washington County, and as fine as any in New Eng- land, for not only was the house constru6ted after those to be found on the estates of the gentry of England, with wide halls and large apartments [?], but thegrounds were laid out in an artistic manner, with terraces and walks sheltered by hedges of box and other shrubs. Here the Colonel lived the life of an English gentleman until the breaking out of the Revolution, when he left the country in disgust and returned to England. The Fed- eral government after some years confiscated his es- tate,and it was sold to J. C.Brown, of the firm of Brown & Ives, who disposed of it later to Judge E. Gardiner, a one-time justice of the common pleas court, and the farm finally came into the possession of Reynolds Greene, whose heirs still own the land, the house hav- ing been destroyed many years ago. After the pro- perty came into Mr. Greene's possession a neighbour, John A. Browning, took a fancy to the boxwood tree, purchased it, and had it removed to his farm, now the Gardiner place, where it has continued to flourish, until its present removal." \_Not entirely accurate?^ 693 '■'■Large estates on Rhode Island." One of the debtors of the London firm, whose claims Notes 319 Mr. Rome came to Newport to colle6t, was the well- known Henry Collins, of that town, a personal friend of Dean Berkeley and one of the original members of the Dean's "Philosophical Society," which developed into the Redwood Library. Mr. Collins appears to have been forced to adjust the heavy demands against him by making an assignment to Mr. Rome of his large es- tate, consisting of a house and wharf in Newport and various farms, among them the one in Boston Neck, Narragansett, the whole, by an easy process, passing into the hands of the assignee as his own property. The records of North Kingstown contain Mr. Rome's notice, in 1766, of his authority to settle the affairs of Henry Collins, deceased, and at about the same time the agent himself succeeded to the possession of the Collins farm. 694 "Andrew Oliver." Lieutenant-Governor Oliver, of Massachusetts, was born in Boston, March 28, 1 706, and died there March 3, 1 774. He was a brother-in-law of Governor Thomas Hutchinson. At the passage of the Stamp A£t he made himself unpopular by accepting the office of distributor of stamps, and on August 14, 1765, was hanged in effigyon "the liberty tree," subsequently signing a public pledge that he would not aft as a stamp officer. In 1 7 70, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor. Public feeling ran so high at the time of his death that his entombment was attended by scandalous scenes. 695 "A halter which you had the honour to grace" In the absence of an address to this letter, it is impos- * sible to assert to whom it was written. But the fatS: that Dr. Moffat had, two years previously, according to the testimony of Dr. Waterhouse, an eye-witness, been hanged in effigy on the Newport Parade, makes it ex- ceedingly probable, in the Hght of this allusion, that he was the " Doftor " to whom this long missive was sent. It has been supposed that Dr. Moffat, immediately after the events of 1 7 65 , fled to England, but there is reason to believe that he remained several years in America, out- side of Rhode Island. 320 Notes 696 "My compliments to Colonel Stewart." In the absence of Colonel Stewart's Christian name, the data for any positive assertion as to his identity are obviously wanting. There can be, nevertheless, little doubt that he was the Matthew Stewart, of New Lon- don, so often mentioned in Dr. MacSparran's Diary as the husband of Mrs. MacSparran's niece, Abigail Gardiner, and thus a familiar visitor in Narragansett." It is true that it is remarked, in the introdudiion to Mr. Rome's letter, in the text, that it was written to a friend at Boston^ raising the presumption that the Colonel Stewart to whom compliments were sent was tarrying there. But, in view of the fafl: that, when the missive came to be copied by Mr. Updike, it had been for nearly seventy-five years one of a colleftion of political docu- ments and had apparently lost its address, it is proba- ble that the suggestion of Boston as its destination was only a surmise. In favour of that conclusion also there are two positive internal evidences. The recipient of the letter is informed that his friend Robinson has "gone to Boston," — an unnecessary piece of information, if they have already met there. Then both he and Colonel Stewart are invited to a Christmas dinner in Narragan- sett, only three days before the time, an interval en- tirely insufBcient, with the existing facilities for trans- portation, for a letter to travel to Boston and for the guests to return. New London, on the other hand, Mat- thew Stewart's residence, being only about a third as far distant, was quite sufficiently accessible for the purpose. This view tallies, too, with our knowledge of the resi- dence at this period of Dr. MofFat, the supposed re-^ cipient of the communication. In the Proceedings of the General Assembly of Rhode Island in 1775, Tho- mas MoiFatt is referred to as " now or late of New Lon- don." (Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii. 394.) 697 "He fied on hoard of the Rose, man-of-war ^ It is asserted by tradition that on the very night of the day when Mr. Rome escaped to the British war-ship, his house in Newport was torn down by the indignant patriots. Notes 321 698 "Benjamin Brenton . . . Jahkel Brenton" These are believed to be sons of Jahleel Brenton, of Newport, who was born in 1691 and died in 1767, be- ing remarked upon in Note 415. Benjamin (born Feb- ruary 7, 1738) is to be distinguished from his much older cousin, Major Benjamin,'"'^ofNarragansett, whose death, in 1766, is recorded in the Parish Register. Jah- leel (born Odtober 22, 1729) became a rear-admiral of the British Navy, and was the father of Sir Jahleel Brenton. Both Benjamin and Jahleel Brenton were resi- dents of Newport at the time of the confiscation of their estates. 699 "Ralph Inman, Gilbert De'Blois, Samuel Sewall." These were all residents of Boston who had property in the Colony of Rhode Island. Gilbert DeBlois is styled merchant, and his confiscated estate consisted in part of a house and shop in Providence and that of Inman of a house in Newport. Samuel Sewall was a great-grand- son of Judge Samuel Sewall, of Boston, and a descend- ant of the " Pettaquamscutt Purchaser," John Hull.'* 700 "John Borland." Mr. Borland had been a resident of Cambridge, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. His estate in Rhode Island included a farm near Bristol and one or more trafts of land in Point Judith. 701 "Charles Dudley." There is a curious letter, which was found among the correspondence of Admiral Montagu, written to an unknown person, by "Charles Dudley, Esq.," from "Rhode Island, 23d July, 1772," upon the Gaspee affair. (Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii. 92.) He proba- bly lived at Newport, and is alluded to in the Trinity records, Easter Monday, April i, 1771. 702 " "The Ren/ Mr. Troutbeck Kings Chaplin." The Rev. John Troutbeck was settled as a missionary of the Venerable Society at Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in 1753, to have charge of that station and the neigh- 322 Notes bouring Indians, and resigned, according to the S.P.G. Digest, in 1757. In the latter part of 1755, apparently while he was still the missionary at Hopkinton, not find- ing it "the Paradise it was described to be," he suc- ceeded the Rev. Charles Brockwell, then lately deceased, as assistant ministerat King's Chapel, Boston. Of these two and the reftor it has been remarked: "Under the care of Dr. Caner and his able assistants, the congre- gation of King's Chapel enjoyed peace and prosperity." (Batchelder's History of the Eastern Diocese., i. pp. 397, 398.) After the evacuation of Boston by the British forces in March, 1776, and Dr. Caner's departure with them for Halifax, Mr. Troutbeck remained in Boston until the following November, and may have continued to hold services in the Chapel. In connexion with Dr. Caner, about 1757 and 1758, Mr. Troutbeck, in addition to his work at King's Chapel, served Christ Church, Boston, in the illness of the Rev. Dr. Cutler, the recftor. 703 "George Goulding, of Newport." George Goulding (son of Roger, the first settler of the name and a captain under Captain Benjamin Church at the time of the death of King Philip) was born July 30, 1685, and died in 1742. Mr. Goulding was a gen- eral merchant, a very prominent citizen, and a valuable member and sometime vestryman of Trinity Parish, being buried in Trinity church-yard. In 1738, he de- posed that he had heard his mother, Penelope, declare that her father, Governor Benedid: Arnold, was a mem- ber of the Church of England. George Goulding was married, first, August 17, 1707, to Mary, a daughter of John Scott, by whom he had four children : Eliza- beth (Mrs. Honyman, born July 16, 1713), Penelope, Mary, and George, who followed his father as a pew- holderofTrinity Church. Mr.Goulding married,second, Mary, a daughter of Daniel Ayrault, of East Green- wich, Rhode Island, and widow of James Cranston. 704 "The Rev'- Mr. Bissit." The Rev. George Bisset first appears in the Annals of Notes 323 Trinity Church, Newport, in 1767, as the school-mas- ter and assistant minister of the parish. In 1771, after the death of the reftor, the Rev. Marmaduke Browne, it was resolved, at a meeting of the congregation, that "the Rev. Mr. Bisset be our Minister," and he thus remained until the evacuation of Newport by the Brit- ish in 1779. On the title-page of a sermon. The Trial of a False yf/)wf/i?, preached in Trinity Church, OtSober 24, 1773, he styles himself "Reftor of said Church," but his name does not appear in the list of reftors at the enioiyinson's Anna Is of Trinity Church. InA'^nl., I'J'J'i, Mr. Bisset was married to Penelope, a daughter of James Honyman,''^" Esq., and on May 23, 1774, he baptized his son James, who became a clergyman and was set- tled in New Brunswick, dying in 1815. Mr. Bisset's ministry was successful until the War of the Revolution broke out and the congregation was scattered, although he continued the services for congregations chiefly of British soldiers. When he departed with the retreating army, he left his family in great want, Mrs. Bisset's father having died the preceding year. She was, how- ever, permitted to resume possession of her furniture, which had been confiscated, and to join him in New York in 1780. The latter part of Mr. Bisset's life, 1786-8, he spent as redtor of St. John's Church, at St. John's, New Brunswick, an enlargement of the building becoming necessary duringhis ministry. Upon his death, the congregation wrote to theSociety,"with thekeenest sense of heartfelt grief, . . . persuaded that no Church or Community ever sufi^ered a severer misfortune in the death of an Individual than they experienced from the loss of this eminent Servant of Christ, this best and most amiable of men." The Newport Herald oi April 24, 1 788, remarked of him : "As a divine he was equally distinguished for the sanftity of his manners and the liberality of his sentiments. As a scholar he was free from pedantry, and as a gentleman he possessed the social virtues in an eminent degree and never once lost sight of his sacred funftions." 324 Notes 705 '■^'The Rev. Marmaduke Browne." Marmaduke Browne was born in Providence, Rhode Is- land, about 1 731, during the residence of his father in that town as reftor of King's Church (now St. John's). In 1754, he graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, and from that year until 1759 officiated as an itinerant mis- sionary of the S. P. G. in New Hampshire, where his father had long been settled as reftor of the church at Portsmouth. The day of Mr. Browne's death, March 16, 1771, is incorreftly given as "the 19* ofMarch"inthe inscription upon the tablet set up in Trinity Church, Newport, a fourth of a century after his death. The former date is the one found in the records of the church. Stiles's Diary also, under date of March i6th, contains a notice of Mr. Browne's death and a sketch of his chara6ter, which closes, in the characteristic style of the excellent old Puritan, in these words : " He made a tolerable figure for a Chh. clergyman; for, in N. E., they are generally of very ordinary talents." The next day, Sunday, March 17th, the Do£tor goes on to re- cord : " Trinity Church shut all day on account of Mr. B's death, — the assistant minister in town. Supersti- tious!" Under date of March 21st Dr. Stiles gives a minute account of the funeral, at which he himself, as well as one or more Baptist ministers and others, as- sisted as pall-bearers. 706 '■'■The Rev. Arthur Browne." Arthur Browne was born in Drogheda, Ireland, in 1699 or 1700, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and or- dained by the Bishop of London in 1729. From that year until 1735 he was settled in Providence, Rhode Is- land, and later in Piscataqua (Portsmouth), New Hamp- shire, as reftor of " Queen's Chapel," whither he re- moved in 1736. His death occurred suddenly at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, in June, 1773, while he still held the above office. Mr. Browne had four sons. He is said to be the original of "the parson" in Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn., — "The Poet's Tale." (Digest of the S. P. G. Records, p. 852.) There is an interesting Notes 325 tradition, not unreasonable in itself, said to have been mentioned by Dr. Ezra Stiles, that Mi". Browne came to this country in the company of Dean Berkeley, who is known to have been accompanied by several cultivated and ingenious young men. The faft that Berkeley was a fellow of Trinity College, Browne's alma mater^ and the certainty that both came in 1729 appear to lend colour to the story. (But see Note 849.) Some further account of Mr. Browne will be found in the sketch of St. John's Church, Providence, Chapter XXII. 707 "Honourable Arthur Browne, LL.D." There is extant a remarkable letter written by Arthur Browne, 2nd, when a lad, from his grandfather's house at Portsmouth, soon after his father's death, giving promise of his subsequent eminence. (Mason's Annals of Trinity Church, Newport, pp. 145-6.) He wrote, in later life, the valuable work on civil law, still in use, alluded to in the text. Miscellaneous Sketches or Hints for Essays (2 vols., London, 1798) contains an extremely interesting paper on America. It will repay perusal, not alone for its charming account of New England and especially of Newport , but because it gives an idea of the chara6ter and attainments of the agreeable man of the world who wrote it. Speaking of the Rhode Island climate, he says : "There was a mid-season, consisting of about six weeks or two months in Spring, and as many in Autumn, which ex- ceeded in delight all the creations of poetic fancy. . . . The climate of Rhode Island, often called the garden and the Montpellier of America, induced such numbers of wealthy persons from the southward to reside there in summer, that it was ludicrously called the Carolina hospital. The sudden melting of the snow, which had cloathed with warmth the earth during the winter, and the vigorous advances of the sun, occasioned a rapidity of vegetation perfedily astonishing to Europe. The reeking vapour ascended from the ground, like the smoke of a grateful sacrifice to the God of nature. The resident in those regions might most justly say in the spring of the year: 326 Notes Nunc omnis ager : nunc omnis parturit arbos ; but he would be puzzled between that season and Au- tumn in which to pronounce: Nunc formosissimus annus. Even in Summer the heat was perpetually moderated by occasional thunder showers of short duration, which refreshed the earth and left behind them a chearful ver- dure and a brilliant sky, while now and then a refresh- ing breeze deliciously qualified the heat, and in winter the brightness of the sun and purity of the air enlivened the spirits, invited to exercise, and cheered the very soul. I appeal to those Americans whose lot it has been to arrive even in the magnificent purlieus of London in the winter season, whether amidst all its grandeur, its dark and misty air and stifling clouds of obscuring smoke have not overwhelmed their spirits by comparison, nor have they been much relieved by the dull and clouded skies more visible in the country, or prevented from sighing for an American sun." "The state of literature in America," he remarks in another passage, " was by no means contemptible. Of their schools self-love naturally inclines the author of this sketch to give a favourable account, having never received any school education elsewhere, yet their teach- ers were often from Europe, and it was his own fate to be instrudled by a German and a Scotchman. Their colleges were to be found, one in every province. The principal in New England was that of Cambridge, con- sisting of about 1 80 students, who were lodged in four handsome and extensive brick edifices. The sciences were taught much in the same order as with us, begin- ning with Logic, ending with ethics, though the books perused were diflFerent. One of the professors of this college, Dr. Winthrop,"' was well known in Europe as an Astronomer. . . . "The library of this college was a very handsome room. The library at Rhode Island [The Redwood Library] , though built of wood, was a stru£ture of uncommon beauty; I remember it with admiration, and I could once appeal to the known taste of an old school-fellow, Notes 327 Stuart the painter, who had the same feeling towards it." In closing he adds: "Travelling reminds me of emi- gration, and here let me give a word of advice to those who are so passionately fond of emigrating to America. America does not want beggars, nor the idle or seditious man, nor the luxurious nor the voluptuous man, — all these will find it both easier and pleasanter to spend their time in the old countries, as the Yankie used to call them. It calls for handicraft men and artificers. The wages of labour are high, and the demand for hands great ; nor has that country any objeftion to the admis- sion of men of fortune, of improved taste and rational habits controulled by reason ; but I have often lamented to see the exportations of idle, vitious and turbulent men, issuing forth to disturb the peace and innocence of that happy people, as if every idle vagabond thought that noble country was just the proper receptacle for him." This paper was reprinted, but without some of its interesting notes, in the Rhode Island Historical Maga- %ine (Newport) for January, 1886. 708 '■^Capt. Benjamin Jefferson." In the lists of pew-holders in Trinity Church, New- port, of 1753 and 1762, the name of Benjamin Jeffer- son appears: In 1762, Benjamin Jefferson was elected one of the vestry of St. Paul's Church, Narragansett, and in 1764, as Captain Benjamin Jefferson, he be- came one of the wardens. As the name seems to have disappeared from the records of Trinity Church after 1762, it is likely that the bearer of it in Newport re- moved to Narragansett at about that time. In connec- tion with the baptism, recorded in the text, it is ex- pressly stated, in I77i,that it and the preceding Easter service occurred at Captain Jefferson's house. In ac- cordance with the use of the term "son-in-law" at that day, it is probable that Benjamin Nason, father of the child, was a son of Mrs. Jefferson by a former husband, and a stepson of Captain Jefferson. A cer- tain fames Nason, whose eldest son appears in the North Kingstown records as Benjamin Jefferson Na- son, and whose second son, like the child baptized, was 328 Notes named Elisha, was probably another stepson of Cap- tain Jefferson. 709 "Mr. Bovyer." This is doubtless Stephen Bovyer, who was ele£ted a church warden of St. Paul's in 1764, and whose name appears frequently in both the parish records and those of the Colony. He was a tenant of George Rome/°'and afterwards occupied his confiscated farm as a tenant of the government, not always without a suspicion of disloyalty, although he was able to retain the lease. His prior history is unknown. He was, however, evidently a decided Churchman and probably an Englishman, or possibly French. The Dorothy Bovyer""" who was the third wife of Major Samuel Phillips appears to have been a daughter of Stephen Bovyer. A granddaughter of Samuel and Dorothy, living in the present generation (1907), was namedMargaret Bovyer¥\\i\Yi-^s. The name is sometimes spelled Bowyer in the colonial records, and sometimes Boyer, but according to the Narragansett Parish Register Bovyre is the correct form, and to the traditions of the Phillips family Bovyer. 710 "Andrew A. Harwood, U.S. N." Rear-Admiral Andrew Allen Harwood was born in Pennsylvania in 1802, and died in Marion, Massachu- setts, August 28, 1884. His principal work was The Law and PraSfice of the United States Navy Courts- Martial (1867). In addition to the places here cited by Admiral Harwood, reference may be made to Shake- speare's Henry VIII-, v. iv., also, where at the christen- ing of the princess, Elizabeth, the King exclaims: "My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal." In both the two preceding scenes, spoons are men- tioned as christening gifts, the King remarking, when Archbishop Cranmerappears to deprecate the honour of being godfather to the "fair young maid": "Come, come, my lord, you'' d spare your spoons." 711 "Communicated At the altar." The occasion of Mr. Fayerweather's being at liberty. Notes 329 at this period, to officiate so frequently away from home and, as in this case, to attend worship in the congre- gation, was the fadt that St. Paul's Church was under- going repairs and was not in a condition to be occu- pied. A difference of opinion had arisen in the parish as to the comparative expediency of making such re- pairs or building a new church on the "hill lot," given by Dr. MacSparran for the purpose. " On Saturday the ig'i'of Oftober [1771] towards Evening a Daughter of the Parish Clerk brought to the Parsonage, a letter from Peter Phillips Esq.^oneofthe Church Wardens ^AaitA the ly"" Day ofOo, on account of the sickness and death of his children and an accident to his own arm. At about the same time Mr. Pigot petitioned the S. P. G., on account of the expensiveness of living at Marblehead and the low estate of the Church there, to be removed to War- wick, Rhode Island, with a view, no doubt, to enjoy- ing his property in that town. The request was not, however, granted. (Batchelder's History of the Eastern Diocese, i. 468-9.) The inhabitants of Old Warwick, — the Lippets, the Francises, the StafFords, the Wickeses, and the Greenes, — who appear to have favoured the es- tablishment of the Church at Coeset, — were people of substance and liberality and doubtless gave largely for the removal of the church. 761 '"There has not been any Episcopal church in that town since." A chronicler of the period when the Warwick Church was taken down recorded his opinion that there was plainly no demand for the Church of England in the town of Warwick. For eighty years, until the organi- zation of St. Philip's Church, Crompton,in 1845, this conviction remained apparently well founded. In the course of nine years, recently, however, four tasteful new churches were consecrated within the limits of the town: St. Mary's, Warwick Neck, July I, 1880; St. Philip's, Crompton, June 22, 1882; St. Barnabas's,Ap- 386 Notes ponaug, January 3,1883; and All Saints', Pontiac, Oc- tober 9, 1888; while within the same time there were consecrated two others standing just over the town line, but largely attended by Warwick people : St. Luke's, East Greenwich, OcSober 18, 1880; and St. Andrew's, Phenix, November 30, 1886. 762 "Edward Pigot." Mr. Pigot married, at Warwick, in 1 733, Ruth Havens (a daughter of Robert), a son, Richard, being born to them there, as well as the daughter Rebecca, whose baptism is here recorded. Robert Havens, the father of Mrs. Pigot, was a proprietor of considerable land in East Greenwich and a member of the Havens family men- tioned in the early part of this work as the owners of "Havens' Tavern," at the "Devil's Foot," in North Kingstown, where Madam Knight tarried,on her jour- ney on horseback from Boston to New York, in 1704. It is noticeable that the date of this baptism, 1736, was about ten years after the departure from Warwick of the Rev. George Pigot. 763 "John Dickinson." Captain John Dickinson was a son of Charles Dick- inson, of Jamestown, Rhode Island, and Phillip (sic), a daughter of Major John Greene, "of Occupasue- tuxet," Warwick. Charles Dickinson was a son of John Dickinson and, on his mother's side, a grandson of John Howland, of the Mayflower. There can be little doubt that he is identical with the Charles Dickin- son'" who was one of the earliest recorded vestry of St. Paul's Church, Narragansett, and who is mentioned as the father of Mrs. John Case, of Tower Hill. In 1730, Captain Dickinson (called "of Newport") pur- chased land in Coweset (or Coeset) of William Greene, his first cousin, a son of Captain Samuel Greene,besides buying one hundred acres of Benjamin Greene, another son of Captain Samuel. William Greene was later for eleven years governor of the Colony of Rhode Island, and was the proprietor of a large traft in that portion of Warwick nearest to East Greenwich. It is probable Notes 387 that Captain Dickinson took up his residence in Co- weset soon after buying the above land, and remained there until about 1740, when he sold land, probably the same that he had bought ten years before, to his kinsman, the future Governor William Greene. {The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 76, 77.) John Dickinson (born 1699) w^as married in 171 8, by the Rev. William Guy, to Mary, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Phillips, of Kingstovi^n, where his family seems to have lived until removing to Coweset. Dr. MacSparran records, in his Diary, under date of April 22, 1745,"! rode 5 miles from Home and bap- tized child 7 years old called Christopher Dickinson." This was a younger brother of the Charles whose bap- tism is recorded in the text. He was probably named for his uncle Christopher Phillips, that Christian name being a favourite one in the Phillips family. The Doc- tor throws no light upon the direction in which he "rode 5 miles," but the statement seems to indicate that Captain Dickinson, after leaving Warwick, made his residence in some part of the former town of Kings- town, perhaps returning to the house of his father-in- law, at Phillips's Brook, North Kingstown. The eld- est child of John and Mary Dickinson was named Sam- uel, born February 6, 1719-20, "Near Seaven of the Clock in the after Noon and on the 10* was Baptized by the Reverend Mr James Honyman," it being previously to the arrival of Mr. MacSparran. Charles Dickinson, whose son Thomas was baptized in infancy, by Mr. MacSparran, August 16, 1726, appears to have been a brother of Captain John Dickinson, being called Charles Dickinson, junior, in a later entry. Ann Dickinson, who was married to Arthur Gates Auchmuty, Septem- ber 3, 1734, was probably a sister of the two. In a re- cord of November 27, 1737, Dr. MacSparran men- tions baptizing Mary, a "Daughter of Charles Dick- inson tertius, The Son Charles Jun' who also is the Son of Charles Dickinson of Narragansett now live- ing." 388 Notes 764 "Mr. Levally." The Levally family of Warwick and Coventry is of French Protestant origin, but unconnefted with the Huguenot settlers of Frenchtown, East Greenwich. The founder of the family in America, Peter Levally (Pierre Le Vall^), is believed to have been born in the Channel Islands. It is almost certain that he landed in Marblehead, Massachusetts, somewhere about 1700, where he was in the fishing business. He seems to have been living there in 1726 or 1727, at the time of the arrival of the Rev. George Pigot, from Rhode Is- land, to become reitor of St. Michael's Church. In November, 1727, he exchanged his house and large lot in that town for a tra6t of land belonging to Mr. Pigot, near the junilion of the north branch and the south of the Pawtuxet River, and called by that gentleman "Monteagle." Mr. Levally appears to have removed immediately after this transaftion to Rhode Island, and to have continued to live upon his estate there un- til his death, in 1757. His wife was named Sarah, and probably came with him from the Channel Islands. They had at least six children, — Peter, John, Michel, Mary, Margaret, and Sarah. Mr. Levally , having been an attendant at St. Michael's Church, Marblehead, seems to have identified himself promptly upon his arrival in Warwick with the new church at Cowesett (or Coeset). It is recorded that, March 19, 1737, James Utter sold to Anthony A. Rice the farm of fifty acres lying on the south side of the north branch of the Pawtuxet River (opposite the vil- lage now called Lippitt), "bounded southerly partly on land of yohn Levalley and partly on land of the heirs of Michael Levalley., west on land of Peter Levalley., north and east on the north branch of the Pawtuxet River." So extensive were the lands of the Levallys in those days that they were said to embrace "all that you can see." When Dr. MacSparran baptized Samuel King, at Coeset Church, April 21, 1745 (a young son of Mag- dalene King), one of the sponsors is said, in the re- cord, to have been"Mr.Lavally," presumably his grand- Notes 389 father. It is probable that "Magdalene King" was the son-in-law rather than the daughter of Mr. Levally, as stated in the text, inasmuch as, in the record of the baptism of two other children (called Susannah and Eliza King), it is said that " their Fa' is Madylane King." The Christian name of the mother does not here ap- pear, but is known, from other records, to have been Mary, that of the eldest of the daughters of Peter Le- vally, enumerated above. 765 "-Moses Lippit." Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary, repeatedly records his visits at the house of Mr. Lippit at Old Warwick, he being very evidently a hospitable and generous host. The date of Moses Lippit's birth is not known, but he was still a minor when his father made his will, January 6, 1700. He became a freeman in 1704. For the period in which Mr. Lippit lived he was a man of wealth. To each of his five sons he devised large and valuable lots of land, much of it being of unstated amount, but more than four hundred acres being specified lying in Pro- vidence, Natick, Warwick, and " Pascouge " (Pascoag). The inventory of his personal estate reached the then unusual sum of ;^2090. 766 "Henry Knowles." Mr. Knowles was born in 1609, and died in January, 1670. At the time of the earliest record concerning him he was living in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, but in 1654 he sold his house and land there and removed to War- wick, being admitted a freeman of that town in 1655. At the time of his death he appears to have been living in Kingstown, where he left "my now dwelling" to his son Henry and land to his son William. 767 "Joseph Whiffle." Colonel Whipple has been already noticed, in letters of the Rev. James Honyman and Gabriel Bernon, con- cerningthe beginning of St. John's Church, Providence, in the early part of this work. He will also be found mentioned below, in the sketch of St. John's, as its 390 Notes principal patron, at the time of the eredlion of the first church. He Hved to the age of eighty-four, dying in 1746. His daughter Anphillis (whom, however, he calls ^««inhis will)wasbornO(3:ober6, 1689, and, like her sister, received iJ^300 from him at the time of his death. 768 '^John Rhodes." Major John Rhodes, of Warwick (born November 20, 1 69 1; died 1 7 76), was a son of John Rhodes and a grandson of Zachariah Rhodes, of Providence, the ori- ginal settler of that name in Rhode Island. His mother, Waite (Waterman) Rhodes, was a granddaughter of Roger Williams. He married, April 29, 17 14, Catha- rine Holden, who became the mother of his first nine children, and (second) Mary Whipple, who had one son. He does not appear to have been possessed of large means, one clause of his will being "To daughter Wait Lippitt's children two Spanish milled dollars." 769 ^'■Abraham Francis." Dr. MacSparran makes many references to Mr. Francis, in his Diary, frequently holding services at his house at Old Warwick, as well as staying there as a guest. The two were evidently very closely attached friends. 770 "Anthony Holden." Anthony Holden (born November 8, 1693) '^^^ ^ ^o" of Lieutenant Charles Holden (born March 22, 1666; died July 21, 1 7 1 7) and a grandson of Captain Randall Holden, the original settler of the name in Rhode Is- land. His mother was Catharine Greene, a daughter of Major John Greene, and a granddaughter of John Greene, surgeon. Anthony Holden married Phebe, a daughterof John and Waite (Waterman) Rhodes. Waite Rhodes, wife of Moses Lippitt, and Catharine Holden, wife of Christopher, were first cousins. The Greenes of Rhode Island (p. 79) places the marriage of Christopher Lippitt and Catharine Holden at January 2, 1 736, rather than 1740, as in the text. Notes 391 771 "He afterwards removed into Cranston.'" At the death, December 12, 1745, of Moses Lippitt, grandfather of General Christopher, "one hundred and ten acres of land in Natick" passed, by his will, to his son Christopher, the father of the General. It was pro- bably the same estate, in Meshanticut, upon which he had been for some time living, he having been married (see preceding Note) in 1736. Dr. MacSparran,inhisZ)wr)', under date May 17, 1745, records how he "rode 14 miles to Xtopher Lippet's, who lives well and kind [ly] entertained my Companion, Benj" Mumford, and my- self." Again, on November 17, 1751, he sets down: " Went to Shanticut to see Mr. Xtopher Lippet, who has lost his Eldest Son and 5 other of his children are sick with y^ Distemper called y^ Canker in y" Throat." Shan- ticut is obviously a shortened form of Meshanticut, the full Indian name of the locality between and to the northward of the present villages of Natick and Pon- tiac, so called from the Meshanticut Brook, which here runs from the north into the Pawtuxet River. The name is still preserved in" Meshanticut Park," in the vicinity, occupied by suburban residences. A saw-mill had been established upon or near the estate of the Lippitts. The next day, after the above entry, the Doctor records : " We left M' Lippet's about 1 1 a Clock, crossed one Bridge near his Saw mill, rode over y^ Force, and crossed y" South Branch." As Mr. Updike narrates in the text that General Lippitt inherited the great landed estate of his father, it is not unlikely that " his farm in Cran- ston," to which he removed after the War of the Re- volution and on which he died, was the same one as that alluded to in the above extrafts, much of the Meshan- ticut region lying in that town. It seems to be an error in the text that Colonel Lippitt was appointed Major- General of State's militia. In the May sessions of the General Assembly, from 1780 to 1786, he was con- tinuously elefted Brigadier-Geneizl of the militia, in the county of Providence. (Rhode Island Colonial Re- cords, ix. 55, 385, 543, 692; X. 23, 195.) General Lippitt was born in Cranston, in 1 744. An 392 Notes old memorandum, otherwise verified, reads: "Died at Cranston, June 1 8, 1 824, General Christopher Lippitt, a distinguished officer of the Revolution, aged 80." The beginnings of Methodism in that part of Rhode Island are among the most engaging of the chronicles of that order. As St. Paul, in sending his greetings to the Chris- tians at Rome, Priscilla and Aquila, speaks of "The church that is in their house," so, at first, the church of the Wesleyans, in the valley of the Pawtuxet, was con- fined to a single devout family. General Christopher Lippitt, whose attention, during his service in the Re- volutionary War, had been turned to the spirituality and enthusiasm of the Methodists by his brother in New York, made his house in Cranston a centre of hospi- tality for all the preachers of the order who passed that way. As early as the autumn of 1 791, Jesse Lee was led to the house of General Lippitt and preached to him and his family, from that time on, the place being one of the best known homes of travelling ministers. Bishop Asbury speaking of the host as one who kept "an open house for Methodists." In 1794, Mr. Lee again visited General Lippitt's, forming "a class," a few from the outside having become interested. Not only the General and his daughter, but also Mrs. Lippitt, at this time became members of the Methodist body, although he at least had been brought up in the Episcopal Church, his mother, Katherine (or Catharine) (Holden) Lippitt,™ "wife of Xtopher Lippet of Shanticut," having been bap- tized, by Dr. MacSparran, by immersion, in Old War- wick Cove, August 9, 1746. In 1800, General Lippitt built a chapel for the use of the Methodists upon his own estate, it becoming a favourite place for the holding of " Quarterly Meetings," Mrs. Lippitt being known, at such times, to have lodged as many as thirty guests in her roomy house. On one occasion, in 1802, Bishop As- bury and Richard Whatcoat ordained, in that little sanc- tuary, several preachers. On Sundays, when no minis- ter could be procured to hold the services, General Lip- pitt himself led the congregation in its devotions, read- ing a sermon, generally one of John Wesley's. So pro- Notes 393 found was his old-fashioned reverence for sacred places that he was accustomed, before entering the desk, on such occasions, in literal accordance with the angelic in- junftion to Moses at Horeb, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet," carefully to remove his boots. With his long white hair and silvery beard, as well as his deeply devout manner, the venerable odlogenarian looked, in the eyes of the worshippers, like one of the prophets in the Old Testament. As population increased in the now swarming valley of the Pawtuxet, Methodist ser- vices began to be held in the villages, and General Lip- pitt's little chapel, in the midst of scattered families, fell into disuse. 772 "Charles Lippit." Mr. Lippitt was about ten years the junior of his dis- tinguished brother. General Christopher Lippitt, and outlived him by more than twenty years. He married Penelope Low and had a son, Warren Lippitt, who was in early life a sea-captain and subsequently a cotton merchant in Providence, Rhode Island, and Savannah, Georgia. Governor Henry Lippitt, a son of Warren, was born Oftober 9, 18 18, and early engaged in mer- cantile pursuits and later in manufactures. In 1 840, he wasaftive in reorganizingthe Providence Marine Corps of Artillery and, in 1842, was elefted lieutenant-colo- nel of the corps, commanding a portion of the com- pany, armed and drilled as infantry, during the " Dorr War" of that year. In 1875, Mr. Lippitt was elefted governor of Rhode Island. Governor Charles Warren Lippitt, eldest son of Gov- ernor Henry Lippitt, was born in Providence, October 8, 1 846, and graduated at Brown University in 1865. Four years later he began his aftive career by association with his father in several of the extensive manufacSturing es- tablishments, with which he was identified as proprie- tor and manager. Governor Lippitt has spent his entire business life, to the present year (190 7), in connection with the manufacturing enterprises of Rhode Island. In April, 1 895, he was elecSed to be chief executive of 394 Notes the State and, in 1896, reelefted to the office. {The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 79, 80.) 773 "Thomas Stafford." Thomas Stafford was born in 1605. After leaving Ply- mouth, Massachusetts, he lived for someyears in"Nieu- Port," Rhode Island, his name appearing on the list of inhabitants of that town after May 20, 1638, seventeen acres there being granted to him. As late as 1647 he a6ted as witness of a will in the neighbouring town of Portsmouth. The evidence that Mr. Stafford "came to Providence" in accordance with the tradition noted in the text, if residence there be included in the statement, appears to be defeftive. His name is found on " The Roule of y* Freemen of y= Colonie of everie Towne," of 1655, as a resident of " Warwiclce," although there is ground for believing that he removed thither before 1652. (Colonial Records of Rhode Island, i. 92, 302.) 774 "Stukeley Westcott." Stukeley Westcott (born 1592; died January 12, 1677) was made a freeman and received as an inhabitant, at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1636. In 1638, having been given "a license to depart," amounting to an order to do so,he removed to Providence, where, onOftoberSth, he, with eleven others, received from Roger Williams a deed of land, bought by him from the Indian chiefs. Mr. Westcott was one of the twelve original members of the First Baptist Church, organized at Providence, in 1639. In 1648, he became (or was recorded as such) an inhabitant of Warwick. In his will, made on the day of his death and not signed, he gave away land in Potowo- mut, "Toseunk," Coweset, Warwick, and Shawomet. 775 "Roger Burlingame." The date of Mr. Burlingame's birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been at Stonington, Connecticut, as early as 1654. In 1660, he appears at Warwick. In 1 67 1, at the September session of the General Assem- bly held at Newport, it was ordered, "That Thomas Relph, Roger Burlingham and John Harrud, or any two Notes 395 of them, shall be the persons to make the rate and levie the assessment on the inhabitants of Meshantatat [Cran- ston] ." (Colonial Records of Rhode Island, ii. 413.) In the same year Roger Burlingame removed to Providence, where he became a member of the tow^n council. 776 "Samuel Bennett." The Samuel Bennett here referred to was a son of the original settler of that name, who first appeared in Pro- vidence in 1652, where he was "General Sergeant" and held other offices, removing to East Greenwich about 1678, where he was granted by the Assembly one hundred acres of land, dying September 4, 1684. The Samuel Bennett (died 1745) who is the subje£t of this Note was a carpenter, living in East Greenwich and Coventry. He had three daughters by his first wife, all a few years younger than Samuel Stafford, but the name of the one he married does not now appear. Samuel Bennett bore the title of lieutenant. 777 "John Smith." "John Smith the Miller "(born 1595, died about 1648) first settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts, and came thence to Providence with Roger Williams and four others in the spring or summer of 1636, and made the first settlement of white persons in this territory. Roger Williams made a declaration (November 17, 1677) that, "I consented to John Smith, Miller, at Dorches- ter (banished also) to go with me." Smith's name ap- pears upon the "revised list [preserved in the clerk's office of the city of Providence] of lands and mea- dows as they were originally lotted from the beginning of the plantation of Providence in the Narragansett Bay in New England, unto the (then) inhabitants of the said plantation." (Colonial Records of Rhode Island, i. 24.) John Smith was also among "our loving and well-be- trusted friends and neighbours," to whom, as a committee of ten, the town of Providence, in 1647, entrusted its share of the work of organizing a government for the colony. {Id., i. 42.) In or about the same year he had laid out to him " ten acres where mill now standeth. . . , 396 Notes Part of the land was granted to him as purchaser and part for building a mill." This mill was situated upon the Moshassuck River, in the northern part of the town of Providence. If the tradition that Thomas Stafford built John Smith's mill be authentic, the work would appear to have been done in the interval between the spring of 1647, when he seems to have been still living at New- port, and the date of his permanent settlement at War- wick in or before 1652. 778 "Randall Holden:' Mr. Holden (born i6i2; died August 23, 1692) came from SaHsbury, Wiltshire, England, by or before 1637. In March of that year, together with Roger Williams, he was a witness to the deed of the island of Aquid- neck, from Canonicus and Miantonomi to Coddington. One year later he is found at Portsmouth, Rhode Is- land, as one of the nineteen signers of the Compact. In January, 1643, ^^ joined with ten others at War- wick in buying from Miantonomi the tra£l of land known as Shawomet. In September of the same year Mr. Holden and others of the Warwick settlers were notified to appear at the General Court at Boston, and soon after carried thither by force, being charged with he- resy and sedition. After being imprisoned several months atSalem, he was released, but banished both from Massa- chusetts and Warwick, and proceeded to England, in company with Samuel Gorton and John Greene, where they obtained the desired vindication of the rights of Warwick settlers. After his return to Rhode Island, Mr. Holden held several important offices, such as town treasurer, deputy, and assistant. In 1 654, he was one of the purchasers of Potowomut from an Indian sachem. In a declaration to the King in 1678, in answer to a petition of Richard Smith, concerning the Narragan- sett country, he called himself Randall Howldon. He was commonly known as Captain Holden, and in the latter part of his life he was made justice of the court of common pleas. Notes 397 779 "Samuel Stafford." The statement that Samuel Stafford, who married Mercy Westcott and died in 17 18, succeeded to the estate of his father, the original Thomas Stafford, seems to be an error. Thomas Stafford's eldest son was also named Thomas, and to him was given, by his father's will (proved April 27, i678),half of the homestead at once, with the other half after his mother's death. To each of the other two was given " a calf," they having, however, probably received outlying land previously. Samuel Stafford (born 1636) was many times, between 1670 and 1705, a deputy to the General Assembly. 780 "Thomas inherited the homestead." Thomas Stafford, 3rd (born 1682; died November 18, 1765), married, first, Anne Greene, by whom he had six children, and, second, Audrey Greene, by whom he had eight more. He inherited from his father all his lands in Potowomut. He bore the title of captain and was repeatedly a deputy to the Assembly, the last time (in 1747) representing the town of Coventry. 781 '^ Amos fixed his residence about half a mile north- west." Amos Stafford (born November 8, 1665; died 1760) inherited from his father all right in land, on the south side of the Potowomut River, in Kings Town. He was for several years a deputy in the General Assembly, and is recorded as a contributor towards the building of the Quaker meeting-house at Mashapaug. As to the statement that Amos Stafford had thirteen children, it is to be noted that Austin {Genealogical DiSiionary of Rhode Island, p. 387) enumerates only seven. 782 "Samuel Gorton^ A sketch of Gorton will be found in this work (Vol. i. pp. 74-6). Concerning the nature of the accusations brought against him and his associates, it is difficult to reach an adequate conclusion. On September 12, 1643, he, with John Greene, Randall Holden, Richard Carder, 398 Notes Richard Waterman, and perhaps others of the eleven original purchasers of Shawomet in the previous year, were summoned to appear before the General Court at Boston (then claiming jurisdidtion in Warwrick), to answfer to certain charges of unjust and injurious deal- ing, brought by twro Indian sachems, Pomham and Soc- conocco. The Warwick men, denying the authority over them of the Massachusetts magistrates, were be- sieged by soldiers in a fortified house, and informed, in a parley, "that they held blasphemous errors, which they must repent of," or go to Boston for trial. Hav- ing soon afterwards been carried thither and brought before the Court, they were charged with heresy and sedition and sentenced to be confined during the plea- sure of the Court, on pain of death should they break jail or preach their heresies or speak against Church or State. Holden was imprisoned in Salem, Carder in Rox- bury, and Gorton in Charlestown. In the following year, however, they were all released, with a sentence of banishment from Massachusetts and Warwick. A somewhat curious light is thrown upon the kind of opinions for which incarceration for months was not, in that age, thought too severe a penalty, in a manu- script letter of John Eliot, the famous Apostle of the Indians, addressed to " Richard" only, and preserved in the cabinet of the Rhode Island Historical Society. The fadts that this letter was presented to the Society by a lineal descendant of Richard Carder, that Eliot was pastor of the Roxbury church during Carder's imprison- ment there, that the letter was written a few months after its close, and that it is plainly addressed to one under the imputation of heresy, almost prove that that "Richard" was Richard Carder, who had previously addressed Mr. EHot upon the subject:, as if in contin- uation of a former verbal discussion while at Roxbury. Eliot's well-known evangelical sweetnessof temperhad probably led him to visit Carder in his prison, it not be- ing unlikely also that they had formerly met during the latter's residence in Boston previously to settling in Rhode Island. Although the "Apostle" did not con- Notes 399 ceal his detestation of his correspondent's heresy, ap- parently with good reason, yet his gentle spirit towards the offender himself, about a dozen years his junior, did not fail to be here exhibited, as, for example, in the passage where he exclaims: "O: Richard take heade of that dredefull gentance: 2. thesa: 2-1 1 : god shall send them stroung delusions thatt they should beleue a ly for thes things are flatly contrary to the truth of scrip- turs." The central startling proposition of Carder seems to have been that " the saints have the same excellency of being that the son of god hath, . . . that we [they] are eternally generated with the son of god " — not simply being converted in Christ and having their being in him. The whole letter may be found in the Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society (New Series), Vol. vi. No. 2 (July, 1898), pp. 1 10-17. It may be that Richard Carder derived some of his strange theories from Anne Hutchinson, with whom he was associated in Boston and perhaps later in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It is more likely, however, that he merely shared the fantastic opinions of his companion, Samuel Gorton. 783 "Richard Green." Richard Greene was a great-grandson of "John Greene, surgeon," the progenitor of the Warwick Greenes, and was born at "Stone Castle," April 19, 1702. In the division of his father's estate, he received "y^ home- stead and all y° land within the four miles common and the Land in Warwick Neck." He died December 28, 1778, and was buried at his ancestral house, "Stone Castle." His wife, whose baptism is recorded in the text, was married to him by the Rev. James Honyman, of Trinity Church, Newport, on June 7, 1727, and was a daughter of Captain John and Elizabeth (Carr) God- frey, of that town, and a granddaughter of Governor Caleb Carr. She was born May 21, 1709, and died No- vember 30, 1789. Mrs. Greene is alluded to in family correspondence as a woman of remarkable piety, and her daughter Elizabeth, who died unmarried and whose bap- 400 Notes tism, by Dr. MacSparran, is also noted in the text, is spoken of as "an honourable pious woman of the same society as her mother." {The Greenes of Rhode Island, P- I43-) ' 784 "Jeremiah Lippet." Jeremiah Lippitt and his wife, Welthan (or Welthyan) Greene, are noticed on pages 119-20 of this volume. Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary, mentions repeatedly vis- iting at Jeremiah Lippitt's, at Old Warwick, in 1745 and 1 751, referring in one case to "his Mo' in Law Rowland," with the implication that he had been mar- ried previously to his marriage to Welthan Greene, al- though that event occurred when he was only about twenty-three years of age. Jeremiah was given, in the will of his father, Moses (proved January 24, 1745), "a lot in Horse Neck and half of warehouse and lot in Warwick, near the wharf." Mrs. Jeremiah Lippitt was born at"Stone Castle," February 19,1714-15, and died July 15, 1797. 785 "Thomas Greene." Thomas Greene (son of the original settler in War- wick, "John Greene, surgeon") was born and baptized at Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, June 4, 1628, and came with his parents to New England in 1635. He married, June 30, 1659, Elizabeth, daughter of Rufus and Margaret Barton, of Old Warwick. One year later Mr. Greene purchased of his sister Mary's husband, James Sweet, a stone house at Old Warwick, which had been built at the earliest settlement of the town, situated on the north side of "The Street," afterwards called " Greene's Stone Castle." Here Thomas Greene and his posterity lived until 1795, when the house was replaced by a wooden structure. During King Philip's War, March 1 3, 1 6 75-6, the General Assembly, in ses- sion at Newport, sent a message to the people of War- wick, advising them to seek safety on the island of Rhode Island. Many accordingly removed thither, and on the nights of March i6th and 17th every house in Warwick was burned, "except the Stone Castle," where Notes 401 Mr. Greene, his wife, and six children, with a few friends and neighbours, remained in safety. Thomas Greene was commissioner in i662,deputy for ten years, between 1667 and 1684, and assistant for five years, between 1678 and 1685. He died June 5, 1717, and lies buried, with five generations of his descendants, near the origi- nal site of the " Castle." He left the homestead to his son Richard, the father of Richard'" and Welthan."'' 786 "Deputy Governor John Greene." Major, or Deputy Governor, John Greene, "of Occu- pasuetuxet," eldest son of " John Greene, surgeon," the progenitoroftheWarwick Greenes, was, like hisyounger brother Thomas, of the preceding Note, born at Salis- bury, Wiltshire, England, and baptized there August 15, 1620. He came with his parents to New England in 1635, and married, about 1648, Anne, daughter of Wil- liam and Audrey Almy, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Major John inherited from his father, by his will (proved January 7, 1659), "that neck of land called Occu- pasuetuxet and all meadows that belong thereto with a little island adjoining, all of which was purchased of Miantonomi on Oft. i, 1642." This estate was then known as " Greene's Hold (or Hole)." It remained in the possession of the family for one hundred and forty years, until Oftober 6, 1782, when it was sold by the grandchildren of Major John Greene to John Brown, of Providence. After the removal of the family to Warwick, John was almost continuously in public affairs. It was written concerning him, at a later period, " He was a man of great weight of thought, sharpness of wit, aptness of adlion and adroitness of understanding." In early life he was town clerk and surveyor. On several occasions he was sent as colonial agent to England. For twelve years he served as a representative to the General Court. For five years he was a deputy and an assistant for twenty-five. From 1657 to 1660, he held the office of attorney-general and that of deputy governor for eleven years continuously, from 1 690 to 1 700. For eight years 402 Notes he was captain of the militia and for seven years " Major for the Main," commanding all the trained hands on the mainland, in Rhode Island. Governor Greene died in Warwrick, November 27, 1708, and was buried on his estate, in the eastern part, now called "Spring Green." He had had eleven children, of whom eight appear to have survived him, his four sons receiving from him large landed estates. {The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 58-62.) 787 "He had a son, Thomas." Thomas Greene," of Stone Castle," son of Richard and great-great-grandson of "John Greene, surgeon," the original settler, was born O (Sober 11,1729. He owned the old stone garrison house, in which his ancestors had lived for three generations, but himself occupied a cot- tage on the opposite side of the road. He was a land- holder and shipmaster, trading in the Mediterranean and theWest Indies. Thomas Greene married, first, in 1762, Mary Low, of Old Warwick, and, second, January 21, 1768, Sarah, daughter of Robert and Margaret (Bar- ton) Wickes, a member of the Society of Friends. Mr. Greene died November 14, 18 13, having had eleven children. (The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 237, 238.) 788 "The present Judge Thomas JVickes Greene." Thomas Wickes Greene,eldest son of Thomas Greene, the subjeft of the last Note, was born at Warwick, August 13, 1769, inheriting from his father the old "Stone Castle," with the adjoining land. When he was about twenty-five years of age, he demolished the an- cient structure and built a new one near its site. He was judge of the court of common pleas and was highly respefted by his fellow-citizens. August 22, 1 790, Judge Greene married Barbara, daughter of Colonel John Low, by whom he had five children. He died on War- wick Neck, October 17, 1854. Dr. Rowland Greene, physician, a younger brother of Judge Greene, was a noted Quaker preacher of Cran- ston, Rhode Island, universally loved and respefted. {The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 385, 386.) Notes 403 789 "Elizabeth Godfrey, of Newport." Mrs. Greene is noticed, along with her husband, Rich- ard, in Note 783. Captain John Godfrey, the grandfather of Elizabeth, and the first of the name in Rhode Island, was a mari- ner,livingin Newport as earlyasi676. OnAugust 25th of that year he testified at a court martial held in that town. In 1 689, he was given command of a vessel fitted out from Newport, for the pursuit of French privateers, which had plundered Block Island. Four years later a craft of which Captain Godfrey was master was seized by a privateer of France. Governor Caleb Carr, Mrs. Richard Greene's ma- ternal grandfather, embarked in ship Elizabeth and Ann, at London, in 1635, at the age of eleven, and came to America with his older brother, Robert, settHng at New- port. After holding many offices and acquiring much land, he was appointed justice of General Quarter Ses- sion in 1687 and elected governor in 1695, being drowned while holding that office. 790 "John Smith, who was President of the Colony." "John Smith, of Warwick," said to be the builder of " Stone Castle," removed from Boston to Warwick in 1648, being apparently a shopkeeper at both places. He was chosen " President of the four towns compris- ing the Colony" in 1649, and " President of Providence and Warwick" in 1652. He died in July, 1663, and left a handsome personal estate, together with "dwell- ing-house, stone house, orchards, corn land, &c." His wife, Ann (Collins), was a widow before his marriage to her, and, with her son, Elizur Collins, inherited the whole of his estate. 791 " 'Thomas Greene, the brother of the first Richard above mentioned." Thomas Greene was the eldest son of "Thomas Greene'*' of Stone Castle," and was born at Warwick, August 14, 1662. On account of owning a large farm on Potowomut Neck, he was known as "Thomas 404 Notes Greene of Potowomut." He married, May 27, i686,his first cousin, Anne (daughter of his uncle. Deputy Gov- ernor John Greene), called in the ancient record "Anne Greene, y'=younger," to distinguish her from hermother, who bore the same Christian name. Mr. Greene lived to be but thirty-six years of age, being drowned in the winter of 1698-9 in going from Newport to Potowo- mut. He had seven children, all of whom seem to have survived him. 79'^ "John, who succeeded to his father' s estate, at Po- towomut." John Greene, the only son of Thomas, of the last Note, was born at Warwick, April 14, 169 1. He married, first, December 6,1711 , Deborah Carr, of Jamestown, grand- daughter of Governor Caleb Carr and great-grand- daughter of Roger Williams, by whom he had eight children. John Greene married, second, January 28, 1730, his second cousin, Almy, daughter of Richard Greene, of Occupasuetuxet, having by her three chil- dren. He died December 8, 1757. 793 '■'■Sarah Fry." Sarah Fry was a granddaughter of Captain Samuel Greene, of Apponaug, her mother being Mary Greene, a second cousin of John Greene, the father of Richard, her husband. Sarah (Fry) Greene's paternal grandfather was Deputy Governor Thomas Fry, who occupied that office from August, 1727, to May, 1729. The interest- ing old residence of Richard and Sarah Greene was that lately (1907) occupied by Mr. Moses B. I. Goddard, at Potowomut, of which a view is given in this work. 794 "Mrs. Le Baron." Mrs. Le Baron was a granddaughter of Richard Greene, of Potowomut, being the elder daughter, Lydia,of Sam- uel and Mary (Greene) Brown. She married James Le Baron, of Bristol, Rhode Island, as his second wife, and lived in the house of her mother, on Main Street, op- posite the Updike house, in East Greenwich, Rhode Is- land. Mr. Le Baron's former residence,in Bristol, was at Notes 405 the foot of Church Street,and was built by him about the time of his former marriage. He was then a merchant, trading with the West Indies, and his stone warehouse adjoins the mansion. The establishment is now a pri- vate hotel, known as the Church Street House. James Le Baron was a direct: descendant of Francis Le Baron, a French physician, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, called, in the title of the novel of his descendant, Mrs. Jane Austin, J Nameless Nobleman. 795 "Reached here with his wife and five children in 1630." This date anticipates, by several years, the arrival of "John Greene, surgeon," in America. The parish regis- ter of St. Thomas's Church, in the city of Salisbury, England, records the marriage, November 4, 16 19, of John Greene and Joanne Tatarsole (or Tattershall) and the baptisms of their seven children, the last one being on May i9,i633.April6,i635, Dr. Greene was regis- tered for embarkation at Hampton, England, with his wife and six children (one having probably died in Eng- land before this date), in the ship James., of two hundred tons, for New England. After a voyage of fifty-eight days, they arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, June 3, 1635, and settled first at Salem, where they were asso- ciated with RogerWilliams. Soon after Williams's flight to RhodeIsIand,John Greene joined him in Providence, and was one of eleven men baptized by him there and one of the twelve first members of the first Baptist church in America, organized in that town. He was also the first physician in Providence. Soon his wife, Joanne, the mother of all his children, died, and he married Ailsce (Alice) Daniels, a widow. In 1642, Dr. Greene bought of the Indian sachem, Miantonomi, land in Warwick, called Occupasuetuxet, and shortly removed thither, where his second wife died in the following year, from fright and exposure, caused by forty armed men sent from Boston to arrest the Shawomet pioneers.™ While John Greene was in England, about 1644, he was again married, his wife's Christian name being Phillippa (al- 4o6 Notes ways written Phillip), the name being perpetuated in the Greene family, although Mrs. Greene herself ap- pears to have had no descendants. She survived her hus- band nearly thirty years, dying in 1687. (The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 55-58.) 796 "-'Awkley Hall" The Greene family, to which John Greene belonged, is represented, in The Greenes of Rhode Island (p. 31), as living at Bowridge Hill, Gillingham, Dorset, Eng- land. Awkley Hall does not appear to be mentioned. 797 "Two thousand acres." Mrs. Le Baron was quite justified, as she goes on to re- mark, in not believing the number of acres in her grand- father's Potowomut estate to have been so great as two thousand. The whole acreage of Potowomut is gener- ally estimated at about twelve hundred. At that period Dr. James Greene, "of Potowomut," and his son Paul, also "of Potowomut," belonging to the James and Ja- bez line of the Greene family, were living and were holders of extensive portions of the Neck. Mr. Moses B. I. Goddard, the late owner of the Richard Greene estate, declared, " I do not think the whole farm at that time [the date of the sale] contained over 800 acres." Mrs. Ives purchased additional land of the Greenes, in the upper part of the Neck, about 1798 to 1803. 798 "Judge Lightfoot." Judge Lightfoot is mentioned, toward the close of Chap- ter Vni of this work, among the favourite guests of the oldNarragansett families, and is the subjeft of Note3go in connection with the passage. It is related, in an an- cient manuscript of reminiscences^ihzt once, when Judge Lightfoot was staying at " King Richard Greene's," at Potowomut, during the Revolutionary War, the British landed and paid a visit to the house. The Judge, being somewhat the reverse of brave, was so alarmed that he locked himself into a closet and remained there until the " enemy " retired, it not being long, as Richard him- self was rather friendly than otherwise with the "red- Notes 407 coats." Upon the emergence of the Judge fromhis con- cealment, some one, unaware that he had not remained outin his room, exclaimed, "Why,Judge, I wonder they had not seen you." "They could not see through an inch board" rejoined his Honour, with an oath. 799 '■'■The Browns of Providence." This, no doubt, refers to "the four brothers," Nicholas, Joseph, John, and Moses, or to the first and the last, they all being, during the Revolutionary period, mature men, somewhat the juniors of " King Richard." It is interesting to note in this connexion that a few years later, September 15, 1792, the executors of Richard Greene, of Potowomut, sold by auction his estate in the Neck to Moses Brown, the executor of the will of Nicholas Brown, as a marriage gift to his daughter Hope, who had become the wife of Thomas P. Ives, March 1 6, 1792. It is not unlikely that the visits of the Browns to their friend, Richard Greene, referred to in the text, were the means of acquainting them with the pleasant- ness'and value of Potowomut and of thus opening the way to the above purchase. (77;^ Greenes of Rhode Island., pp. 90,91.) Moses Brown was not only executor of the will of his brother Nicholas, but guardian of his daugh- ter, a minor at the time of her father's death, May 29, 1 79 1, and doubtless made the purchase with a know- ledge of his brother's wishes and purposes. The first pay- ment, as "earnest money," to Valentine Whitman, was ^i 1,575. The time of the erecSion of the elegant colo- nial house,on the estate now called "Hopelands," is not known. Part of the west wing was built after the pur- chase, and the piazza was added in 1801. 800 ""the O'Harras." It is well known that the Rev. Joseph O'Harra was the second reftor of King's Church (now St. John's), Pro- vidence, for a portion of the time between 1726 and 1729. As there was, in the eighteenth century, an ex- ceptional degree of reciprocity between Charleston and other parts of South Carolina, on the one hand, and Rhode Island, on the other, it is not unlikely that the 4o8 Notes reverend gentleman belonged to the Southern family which later visited at" King Richard's " and whose mem- bers Mrs. Le Baron saw during her stay in the South. 8oi "-Dr. William Bowen, of Providence." Dr. William Bowen and his brother, Dr. Pardon Bowen, were leading physicians in Providence at the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth. The former was familiarly called "Dr. Billy Bowen." Many of the descendants of the family have since been among the leading people of Pro vidence and of the State. The intention of Dr. Bowen to remain in Newport during Mr. Greene's stay (he being at the time pre- sumably a busy practising physician), implies only a short proposed tarry and hardly tallies with Mrs. Le Baron's doubt as to whether they might not have gone thither in 1778, many months before the death of her grand- father. It is probable, however, that at first she did not recall the year, but did so later, when she came to speak of the exaiSt date of Mr. Greene's decease. His will was dated February 18, 1779. Cicuta., it is somewhat curious to note, is the deadly poisonous water-hemlock, supposed to be the koneion of the Greeks, which Socrates when condemned to death, was compelled to drink. 802 "Hhe i^th of July, 1779." As a matter of accuracy, it may be remarked that The Greenes of Rhode Island (p. 235) states that this event occurred June 19, 1779. No other means seem to be at hand to determine the date, which happily is of quite minor importance. 803 " The Six-Principle Baptist Church." The distinftive tenet of this body is the praftice of the laying on of hands as a prerequisite for church member- ship and admission to the Lord's Supper, in accordance with Hebrews vi. i, 2, the other /w" principles of the docftrine of Christ," mentioned in the passage, being, of course, accepted by all Baptists. It appears that before any separation occurred many of the members of the earlier churches, in both Providence and Newport, were Notes 409 inclined to a belief in the necessity of the laying on of hands. As early as 1653-4,3 controversy upon this sub- ject arose in the Providence church, leading to a divi- sion. In Newport a similar division took place in 1656. In the first quarter of the eighteenth century, so over- shadowing was the relative importance of those Bap- tists holding "Six-Principle" conviftions, ;^/r/^^« out of the seventeen Baptist churches in New England being of that way of thinking, that their influence appeared destined to shape Baptist opinion throughout the whole territory. The Warwick church, alluded to in the text, is known to have been in existence as early as 1730, with sixty-five members, under the pastoral care of Ma- nasseh Martin, whose assistant Mr. Hammett became. Its earliest records go back to 1 741. 804 "Thomas fFicks." Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary., under the date of No- vember 10, 1 751, records, "I did not go toch'',but read Prayers at Home, and published Tom Weeks & Ruth Browne y= a"* time." Thomas Wickes's sister Elizabeth became the wife of Judge Philip Greene, of Occupasue- tuxet, where Thomas is said to have frequently joined the genial company of guests sure to be gathered there. Judge Greene's son, the distinguished Colonel Chris- topher, was thus a nephew of Thomas Wickes. 805 "Ruth, his wife." Mrs. Wickes was a daughter of William Brown (or Browne), of Boston Neck, South Kingstown, now be- lieved to have been a son of Jeremiah Brown, of New- port,and agrandson of Chad Brown, of Providence. The statement above, in this work, that the family of Wil- liam Browne emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland, and settled in Narragansett, is supposed (but not confi- dently) to be an error.'*' Her mother was Elizabeth Rob- inson, a sister of Deputy Governor William Robinson. Ruth Brown was born September 25, 1715. Under date of Monday, September 30, 1745, Dr. MacSparran notes, "Miss Browne and Miss Ruth Browne dined here." William Browne appears to have attached a 410 Notes final e to his name, a custom not followed by other mem- bers of his (supposed) father's family. 806 '■'■John Wickes, a representative." This John Wickes, grandson of John Wickes, the original settler of the name in Warwick, was born Au- gust 8, 1677. The house which he built is still (1907) (or has very lately been) standing, although condemned by the Warwick town council as unfit for habitation. It was raised on the day of the death of Randall Hol- den, the second of that name in Warwick, — that is, September 13, 1726. It is said to have been the first Warwick meeting place of the General Assembly. After the death of John Wickes in 1742, it became the property of his son, Thomas Wickes. From Tho- mas it descended to his grandson and heir, Wickes Gardiner, and afterwards to the son of the latter, the late Thomas Wickes Gardiner, who, with his family, has occupied it until within a few years. It stands in Old Warwick at the western corner of the Warwick Neck Road. The northwest rooms, on the first and second floor, are about twenty feet square. All of the rooms, except one or two of the bedrooms, have large open fireplaces, and there are almost bricks enough in the central chimney to build a modern good-sized house. Quaint old Biblical tiles used to surround the fireplaces in the parlour and the parlour chamber, until removed by the Gardiner family, upon its vacating the premises, from fifteen to twenty years since. Some of them are in the possession of Thomas Wickes Gardiner, of Paw- tuxet, and others in that of his sisters, great-great-great- grandchildren of the original builder of the house. A few of the subjefts of the tiles are Jonah being swal- lowed by the JVhale, The Return of the Spies from Ca- naan^ Rebecca at the Well, Pharaoh crossing the Red Sea, Samson and the Lion, and Moses on the Mount. 807 '■'John Wickes, one of the first settlers." John Wickes, the progenitor of the family in Rhode Island, was born in 1609, and thus, although Callender calls him " a very ancient man," could have been but Notes 411 sixty-six years of age at the time of his death. He came from Staines, Middlesex, England, and embarked at London, in ship Hopewell, with his wife Mary and his infant daughter Ann, in September, 1635. He was in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1637, and appears as oneof the signers of the Compa(3:,at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, April 30, 1639. John Wickes was one of the eleven purchasers from Miantonomi of the tra£t of land called Shawomet (Warwick), January 12,1 643,and in September of the same year was one of those sum- moned to appear'"'^ before the General Court at Boston, and was imprisoned for heresy and sedition at Ipswich during the following winter. He occupied most of the local offices, from town magistrate in Warwick to de- puty and assistant in the Assembly. His calling was that of a tanner, and traces of his tan vats are still visi- ble near the east end of the old Lippitt house, at Old Warwick. 808 "He left one son, John" The date of the birth of the second John Wickes is not known. He died in 1 689. His wife, RoseTownsend, was apparently a sister of Richard, the husband of his sister, Elizabeth Wickes, whose overseer, at Oyster Bay, New York, he went thither to be, in 167 1. By 1675 he had returned to Warwick, being made a freeman by the Assembly in that year. (Rhode Island Colonial Records, ii. 527.) 809 '■'■Rowland Brown, of South Kingstown." Mrs. Caroline E. Robinson, author of The Hazard Family of Rhode Island, kindly communicates the fol- lowing note: "Mary Wickes married Rowland Brown, brotherof Governor George Brown, sons of Robert and Sarah (Franklin), said to have been a niece or grand-niece of Benjamin Franklin,her father being Abel Franklin, of Newport and later of Kingstown." The South Kings- town records assign four children to Robert and Sarah Brown, viz., George, William, John, and Franklin. George was born January 10, 1745-6, and Franklin, May 25, 1750, Mrs. Brown dying six days after the 412 Notes birth of the last child. After the death of his first wife, Sarah Franklin, Robert Brown married Sarah Sherman. It appears more probable that Rowland was her son than that he was a son of the first wife. In connexion with Robert Brown's first marriage, a brief passage may be quoted from Dr. MacSparran's Diary ^ under the date of August 29, 1 745 : " Rob'' Browne to be married, (y^y say) this Day to Franklin's Daughter." 810 "Philip Greene." Judge Philip Greene, "of Occupasuetuxet," was born at the old " Pastuxet" home of his ancestors, March 15, 1705. He married, August 12, 1731, Elizabeth Wickes,""'' by whom he had nine children, Colonel Christopherbeingthe fourth. Judge Greene's house was long the centre of the social and political life of War- wick. "In his early manhood," writes Mr. Rousman- iere, in his Letters from the Pawtuxet^ "his figure was noble and imposing, his voice loud but pleasant, and his address good-humoured but commanding. At the head of a stormy assemblage, when men of honest hearts, but weak nerves, would falter and fail, he shone pre- eminently; his voice rose like the swell of an organ, echoing in the souls of the most timid and rousing the brave to deeds of surpassing valour." Philip Greene was a leading man in all town affairs. He was assistant and deputy in the General Assembly, and judge of the court of common pleas for twenty-five years, being chief jus- tice of that court from 1776 to 1784. Beside his land in Old Warwick, he owned a large traft extending from the forks of the Pawtuxet, including a portion of the present village of River Point, for some distance west- ward into Coventry, occupied by a mill and farms. After a long and useful career, Judge Greene died at the house ofhis birth, April 10, 179 1, aged eighty-six years. (The Greenes of Rhode Island^ 104-108.) 8 1 1 "-Major John S. Dexter." The name of John S. Dexter, although the Dexters were a Providence family, is found among the petition- ers for an adt of incorporation of the Kentish Guards, in Notes 413 East Greenwich, in 1774. In lyjS, John Singer Dex- ter was appointed a lieutenant in Colonel Varnum's regiment of the "Army of Observation." In 1776, at the time of the raising of two regiments or battalions in Rhode Island, agreeably to the requisition of the Continental Congress, Dexter was chosen a captain in the first. After the death of Major Flagg, at "Rhode Island Village," New York, May 14, 1781, John Singer Dexter succeeded him as first major. (Cowell's Spirit of' yd in Rhode Island^ p. 216.) Daniel Singer Dexter was a brother of John, and probably the younger of the two. In 1778, he was adjutant in Colonel Crary's bat- talion. In 1781, at the February session of the Assem- bly, he was promoted from a lieutenancy in Colonel Christopher Greene's regiment to the office of a " cap- tain-lieutenant," with the rank of captain, and, at the August session, to a full captaincy. Captain Dexter held also the office of paymaster in Colonel Greene's regi- ment, and was providentially preserved at the time of the murder of the Colonel and of Major Flagg, at Rhode Island Village, May 14, 1781. He had intended to go down to this post and to be with Colonel Greene on the very night on which he was attacked, in order to pay ofFthe troops in the morning, but his horse being taken lame, he did not arrive before the massacre. 812 "I am certain he was then Major." The date of the attack on Quebec, by Arnold's expedi- tion, in which were embraced two hundred and fifty men belonging to Rhode Island troops, was Decem- ber 31, 1775. Arnold {History of Rhode Island^ ii. 362, 363), in speaking of Christopher Greene as leader of the first battalion in the expedition, styles him "Lieu- tenant-Colonel." Judge Cowell also, in the Spirit of 'yd in Rhode Island {^. 2 6 2), narrates: "Colonel Greene was Lieutenant-Colonel of one of the battalions that marched from -Cambridge, in 1775, in the Canada ex- pedition." At the May session of the General Assembly, in 1 775, Christopher Greene had been chosen major of the regiment of King's County and Kent, in the 414 Notes "Army of Observation." It may be remarked farther, that in Oitober, 1776, Christopher Greene was re- commended, by General Washington, to the General Assembly of Rhode Island, to be appointed colonel, in the " New Establishment," and that, in the first May session of 1777, he was appointed "colonel of the first Continental battalion, raising in this state." 813 "Major 'Thayer." Simeon Thayer was appointed a lieutenant in the "Army of Observation "in 1775." He was ever an active, faith- ful and enterprising officer, never avoiding, but always grappling with danger and difficulty, in whatever form presented, and it was very rarely that he ever failed to accomplish his design." (Cowell's Spirit of 'j6 in Rhode Island^ p. 283.) Lieutenant Thayer was soon raised to the rank of captain, and became a member of the Canada expedition, in the autumn of 1775. His journal, recounting the daily occurrences attending the unsuccessful storming of Quebec, has been partially printed. He was captured with the other officers and retained as a prisoner until August, 1776, when he was permitted to return home on parole, although not ex- changed until July I, 1777. At this time the General Assembly ordered a sword, in recognition of his meri- torious services, to be presented to y^/ay'ar Simeon Thayer, a rank to which he had been by that time promoted by Congress. As soon as possible MajorThayer rejoined the army, and exhibited all that patriotism, courage, and zeal for his country which he had previously shown in his march through the wilderness of Canada and at the storming of Quebec. He was wounded at the bat- tle of Monmouth, New Jersey, June 28, 1778, but his greatest display of valour and coolness was in the de- fence of Mud Island, in the Delaware River, below Philadelphia, November 15, 1777. After the termina- tion of the War of the Revolution, Major Thayer was honoured by the State of Rhode Island by being chosen major-general of the militia. He died Oftober 21,1 800, in the sixty-third year of his age. Notes 415 814 " The delinquency of Colonel Sam Smith." Samuel Smith belonged in Baltimore and was an officer of the Maryland line. He was, according to the testi- mony of General Varnum, a gentleman of superior talents and fine sentiments, virtuous and brave. He com- manded the garrison upon Mud Island for about six weeks, in the autumn of 1777, until November 11, when the fatigues and dangers of the command, which he had endured with uncommon patience and fortitude, compelled him, after receiving a wound in the arm, to retire. It was at this juniSure that Major Thayer took command, and for four days defended the island with great address against a furious and almost continuous bombardment, until he was forced to despatch all his gar- rison to the shore, except about forty men, with whom he remained, braving death itself. At midnight, on the 15th, after firing the barracks and removing the mili- tary stores, he himself, with his brave companions, ar- rived at Red Bank, to the joy and astonishment of all the army. Congress having voted that an elegant sword be presented to Colonel Samuel Smith, unaware that the commander of Mud Island had been changed, the " de- linquency " of Colonel Smith, alluded to in the text, con- sisted in his having accepted the honour and not having transferred the gift to the final defender, Major Thayer. 815 ''Silas Talbot." Talbot was first appointed a captain in the " Army of Observation" in 1775. In 0£l:ober, 1777, he was pro- moted by Congress to the rank of major, in the army of the United States. In 1778, as a recognition of his bravery in capturing the British armed schooner Pigot, in the East Passage of Rhode Island, Congress pre- sented him with a commission of lieutenant-colonel. During the following year Colonel Talbot was trans- ferred to the navy as a captain, and given command of the sloop Argo, as a mark of distinguished merit. 816 '< Colonel Mathews." At the August session of the General Assembly, in 1 7 76, 4i6 Notes Caleb Matthews was chosen as an ensign in Colonel Lippitt's (Second) regiment. In February, 1 7 79, he was chosen by the Assembly a lieutenant in the first battalion. Colonel appears., from the text, to have been a militia title held in 1778. 817 "Jol^ Greene, the Colonel's eldest son." Colonel Job Greene, " of Centreville," was born No- vember 19, 1 759- He was adtive in both civil and mili- tary affairs and was commander of the Kentish Artil- lery, a military company, still in existence at Apponaug. He was also a lieutenant in the Second Regiment of the Rhode Island State Brigade, in the Continental ser- vice, and an original member of the Rhode Island So- ciety of the Cincinnati. He was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and a State senator, being admired and esteemed in these offices for his in- tegrity and ability. Colonel Greene married, Novem- ber 29, 1785, Abigail Rhodes, of Stonington, Connec- ticut, who inherited considerable property from her grandfather Babcock, of Westerly, and was a woman of uncommon energy and judgement and remarkably gifted in conversation. (The Greenes of Rhode Island, pp. 275-6.) 818 "The second son of the Colonel." This allusion plainly refers to Christopher Rhodes Greene, the elder son (not the brother) of Colonel Job Greene, and grandson of Colonel Christopher. He was born September 19, 1786, and married Mary Ann, a daughter of Dr. Lehre, of Charleston, South Carolina. He went to Charleston in 1812, and became a com- mission merchant, dying there November 6, 1825, of scarlet fever. He had but one child, who died young. 819 "/ have never heard of the sword since." The sword of Colonel Greene passed from Simon Henry Greene, into the possession of Edward Aborn Greene, his eldest son and a grandson of Colonel Christopher. It is now in the possession of his son, Edward Aborn Greene, junior, of Providence. Notes 417 820 "Colonel DeLancey." John Peter DeLancey (born in New York city, July 15, 1753; died in Mamaroneck, New York, January 30, 1828) was a son of James DeLancey, chief jus- tice and lieutenant-governor of the Province of New York, and a grandson of Etienne DeLancey, merchant in New York city and founder of the DeLancey family in America. John Peter was educated in England, and entered the British Army in 1771 an ensign, being promoted to be captain of the Eighteenth Regiment of foot. During a portion of the Revolutionary War he served as major of the regiment of Pennsylvania loyal- ists, and was present at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown and at the capture of Pensacola, returning later to his original regiment abroad. In 1789, he took up his residence at Mamaroneck, living there until his death. His son, William Heathcote DeLancey, was the distinguished first bishop of Western New York. 821 " Captain Asgill." Sir Charles Asgill, baronet, entered the army when only sixteen years of age, serving in America under Corn- wallis. He was but nineteen and already a captain when selected by lot from among the British prisoners, as nar- rated in the text, to be immediately executed. His death was, however,postponed, pending an investigation . Cap- tain Asgill was finally set at liberty by Congress, in re- sponse to an appeal from Queen Marie Antoinette, and ultimately became a general in the British Army. His experience was dramatized by Madame de Sevigne. 822 "Major Flagg." When, at the first June session of the General Assem- bly of Rhode Island in 1 7 75, "It was voted and resolved, that the committee of safety be, and they are hereby, di- re£led to charter two suitable vessels, for the use of the Colony, and fit out the same in the best manner, to pro- tect the trade of this Colony," Ebenezer Flagg was ap- pointed quartermaster of the larger vessel, — the Wash- ington^ — at the wages of ;^4, lawful money, per month, under Abraham Whipple, commodore. This vessel, to- 41 8 Notes gether with the Katy, formed the embryo squadron of the navy of Rhode Island, ushering in a glorious era of national enterprise on the sea. The naval career of Flagg, however, would seem to have been a brief one, for at the second June session he was chosen one of the captains of the six additional companies to be raised for the "Army of Observation." In 1776, at the 0£to- ber session of the Assembly, Captain Flagg was chosen to hold the same office in the first battalion, or regi- ment, to be raised by the State, agreeably to the requi- sition of Congress. At about the same time he was re- commended to the General Assembly , by General Wash- ington, for a similar position in "the new establishment," under Colonel Christopher Greene. In May, 17 79, the Captain was recommended to Congress for promotion to be a major, and is found, in July, 1 780, under march- ing orders with the same regiment. At the massacre of " Rhode Island Village " Major Flagg was killed in his tent. In January, 1782, the administrator of his estate was empowered to draw his pay in "silver money." (Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii. 347, 357; viii. 10, 36, 536; ix. 121, 518.) 823 "Miss Anne Lippit." Anna Lippitt was a third cousin of her husband, being a daughter of Jeremiah and Welthyan or Welthian (Greene) Lippitt and a granddaughter of Moses'" and Anphillis"' (Whipple) Lippitt, of Old Warwick. She was born November 15, 1735, and was married May 6, 1757- At the time of Colonel Greene's death, eight of his children were living, viz., three sons, — Job, Jeremiah, and Christopher, — and five daughters, — Welthyan or Welthian (afterwards wife of Colonel Thomas Hughes), Phebe (who died unmarried in 1786), Ann Frances (afterwards wife of Jeremiah Fenner), Elizabeth (also, before her sister, wife of Jeremiah Fenner), and Mary (who in 1795 married Benjamin Fenner, brother of Jeremiah). Mrs. Christopher Greene afterwards became the wife of Colonel John Low, of Old Warwick. Notes 419 824 "Anthony Low." Captain Low was the elder son of John Low, of War- wick, who died in lysj, and Ann (Holden), his wife, and a grandson of John and Mary (Rhodes) Low, also of Warwick. His great-grandfather, called, in the text, "Anthony Low of Swansea," was a son of John and Elizabeth Low, of Boston, his father being a wheel- wright. He bought a house and land in Pawtuxet (War- wick) in 1666. In 1670, he deeded to his son John a dwelling-house and land in Warwick, he himself giv- ing his residence as Swansea, Massachusetts, at which place he seems, at about this time, to have built a house. On June 27, 1675, Roger Williams wrote to John Winthrop that the Indians "had burnt about twelve houses, one new great one (Anthonie Loes)" in Swan- sea. 825 "In ijgi, it was incorporated." This charter was entitled (Rhode Island Colonial Re- cords, X. 466) "An A(3: to incorporate certain persons, by the name of the Minister, Church Wardens, Vestry and Congregation of St. Paul's Church, in Narragan- sett, in North Kingstown, in the county of Washing- ton, in this State." It was procured at a troublous time in the history of St. Paul's Parish, soon after Dr. Wal- ter C. Gardiner"" assumed charge of the church, and is understood to have reflefted the wishes of but a por- tion of the parish and to have been of a somewhat un- churchly charafter. The opinion of a (then) recent rec- tor, the Rev. William Smith, at that time redtor at New- port, upon this AA is shown in a sound letter of advice to one of the parishioners, under date of Oftober 8, 1792 : " If you cannot avoid meeting under their fool- ish charter without running the risque of souring their minds at the first outset, better pass over that punc- tilio and meet on the best ground you can. . . . Re- quest a hearing of the A& of Incorporation and avoid hard words upon it. . . . Remark that it is neither simi- lar in sense nor efficacy with the charters of your sister churches and that you wish not to be singular but to 420 Notes have an Incorporation with similar powers and words to theirs. . . . Persuade them to a Revision of the Char- ter on these principles. ... If they mean well to the Church. . . they will agree to this." In the new char- ter, procured in March, 1794, and signed by Arthur Fenner, Governor, and H. Ward, Secretary of State, it was expressly provided that the corporation should be endowed "with full Power and Lawful Authority to Make and Ordain all such Laws, Rules and Ordi- nances as they shall at anytime hereafter agree upon, . . . as fully to every intent and purpose, as hath heretofore been granted to the Other Episcopal Churches of this State." 826 "A church was ereSled on 'Tower Hill." The exaft date of the consecration of this edifice was November io,i8i8.Itis interesting to note concerning this enterprise that Judge Benjamin Gardiner"" who was a nephew of Mrs. MacSparran and had been brought up in St. Paul's Parish, but was then living in Middle- town, Rhode Island, was deeply engaged in the erec- tion of this first church in his native town of South Kingstown. He himself gave sixty dollars for the un- dertaking and exerted himself to obtain subscriptions for it, in Newport, to the extent of nearly five hundred dollars. (Potter's Early Narragansett, p. 375.) 827 "The Rev. Erastus BeWolf." Mr. DeWolf was ordained to the diaconate not long before the session of the Rhode Island Convention of June 12, 1832. Soon after this date he was appointed missionary in charge of St. Paul's Church, Tower Hill, South Kingstown, where he remained until the early part of 1834. During the spring of that year Mr. De- Wolf began to hold services at Westerly. After con- tinuing there a few months, he returned to Tower Hill, as noted in the text, and subsequently removed to the Diocese of Illinois. 828 "-The lands . . . were satisfaElorily divided." Bishop Griswold, writing to Henry Codman, Esq., a Notes 421 member of the board of "Trustees of the Episcopal Fund" of the Eastern Diocese, under date of May 27, 1835, remarks, concerning this subje£t: "For above thirty years, within my knowledge, those [Narragan- sett] lands have been a subjeft or cause of animosity and contention between the people of the two towns. In all that time I have endeavoured to promote peace among them. . . . This last compromise is not certainly what it should be, but is the best that could be efFefted. It is indeed what I proposed." Mr. DeWolf, in his parochial report at the preceding Convention, records: "The unhappy difficulties concerning the lands in the Narragansett, we have reason to believe will be forgot- ten, as they have been settled." 829 "The Rev. Francis Vinton." This is the well-known soldier and clergyman (born in Providence, Rhode Island, August 29, 1809; died in Brooklyn, New York, September 29, 1872) who was later successively in charge of St. Stephen's Church, Providence, Trinity Church, Newport, Emmanuel and Grace Churches, Brooklyn, New York, and Trinity Church, New York city. 830 "Since, there have been but occasional services held at Tower Hill." In 1844 an attempt was made, apparently unsuccess- ful, to revive the Tower Hill Church, under the mi- nistry of the Rev. Elisha F. Watson, then recently or- dained a deacon. Fitful services were held there for about a dozen years longer by neighbouring clergymen. After the expiration of this period, the enterprise ap- pears to have been abandoned, the church edifice be- ing advertised to be sold at au£i:ion, in the autumn of 1859, and finally transformed into a dwelling-house. 83 1 " The Rev. James Pratt." The laterministry of Mr. Pratt, as redor of St. Stephen's Church, Portland, Maine, was one of great ability, fi- delity, and success, the edifice being enlarged and beau- tified during its continuance of nineteen years. In the 422 Notes latter portion of 1858, he became recSor of the Church of the Covenant, Philadelphia. 832 '"The Rev. "Thomas H. Vail." The Rt. Rev. Thomas Hubbard Vail, D. D., LL.D. (born O (Sober 2i,i8i2; died O (Sober 6, 1889), con- secrated, in 1864, the first bishop of Kansas. 833 "The Rev. Sylvester Nash." Mr. Nash came to Rhode Island from St. Albans, Ver- mont. On leaving this diocese, he took charge of the church in Saco, Maine, and later was reiSor of St. John's Church, Essex, Conne(fticut, and of other par- ishes. The well-known Rev. Henry Sylvester Nash, D.D., a professor at the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a nephew of the Rev. Sylvester Nash. 834 "The Rev. William H. Moore." Dr. Moore was subsequently for more than forty years re(5lor of St. George's Church, Hempstead, Long Is- land. He was related to the Moores of Newport, Rhode Island, and probably originated there. 835 "The Rev. Silas A. Crane." Silas Axtell Crane was born in Berkley, Massachusetts, 0(Sober 21, 1799. He graduated at Brown University in 1823, being immediately invited to the office of tu- tor in that institution. In 1832, Mr. Crane was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Griswold, and was invited, in the following year, to the re(5torship of St. Stephen's Church, Middlebury, Vermont, where he was ordained a priest. Having been asked, by Bishop Hopkins, to ac- cept a professorship in his new Theological Seminary at Burlington, he removed thither for that purpose, in 1837. The enterprise not, however, on closer acquaint- ance, appearing to him to be likely to be successful, he took up temporary work in churches of the neigh- bourhood and, in 1 839, removed to Missouri, to assume the presidency of Kemper College, St. Louis. In the autumn of 1841, Mr. Crane returned to New England, Notes 423 and soon, as noted in the text, entered upon his long and devoted recSorship of St. Luke's Church, East Green- wich. In 1855, he received, from his alma mater, the degree of DocSor of Divinity. He died July 16, 1872. 836 "Kingston." The name of Kingston, or Kingston Hill, for the cen- tral village of South Kingstown, is of comparatively modern date, and is believed not to have been derived from the name of the town, differing from it, as it does, in orthography, but to have been given it by a gentle- man from England, who discovered in it a resem- blance to a "Kingston Hill" near London. The old title of the village was Little Rest, a name by which it is sometimes still called. Concerning this peculiar desig- nation, Mrs. Caroline E. Robinson, the author of The Hazard Family of Rhode Island, remarks : " I do not know the origin of the name 'Little Rest.' I think it was called 'Little Rest' before the Courts were estab- lished there, though one story is that there was very 'little rest' there, during court-week. Another story is that Captain Church stopped there for a ' little rest,' on his way to or from the ' swamp fight.' " The Court House is called, in the text, the State House, probably in allu- sion to the fadt that, in former times, the Assembly met, in rotation, in each of the three county court-houses, as well as in the two state-houses, of the State. 837 "A church was organized." This church was called St. Peter's. The wardens, elefted December 27, 1834, were Philip Taylor and George Robinson. The vestrymen were Wilkins Updike, Abel Cottrel, Peleg Brown, junior, E. R. Potter, junior, Wil- liam Brown, Samuel P. Lawton, Thomas B. Church, Christopher Gardiner, William H. Case, Walter W. Updike, and Updike C. Whitford. 838 "Lieutenant A. A. UarwoodJ^°" Andrew Allen Harwood was commissioned lieutenant in 1827, and from 1835 to 1837 served in the Medi- terranean squadron. In 1848, he was promoted to com- 424 Notes mander and, in 1855, was appointed captain. In 1862, he became commodore, and was made commandant of the Washington navy-yard and the Potomac flotilla. In 1 869, he was promoted to be rear-admiral on the retired list. During the Civil War he wrote a work on Summary Courts-Afartialznd,\a.ter, another on "The Law and Prac- tice of the United States Navy Courts-Martial {referredto in Note 710). Admiral Harwood's mother was a grand- daughter of Benjamin Franklin. 839 '"The Rev. James H. Eames" James Henry Eames (born at Dedham, Massachusetts, November 29, 18 14; died at Hamilton, Bermuda, De- cember 10, 1877) graduated at Brown University in 1 839, and was ordained to the diaconate in, or just be- fore, 1842. After leaving Wakefield in 1846, he con- tinued recSor of St. Stephen's Church, Providence, until 1850. From 185010 1858, Mr. Eames was a mission- ary in charge of several small churches in the Woonas- quatucket valley. From the latter year until his death he was redtor of St. Paul's Church, Concord, New Hamp- shire. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Norwich University, Vermont, in 1862. 840 "The Rev. James H. Carpenter." James Helme Carpenter "' was of genuine Narragan- sett stock, being a descendant, on his father's side, of the prominent Willett family, of Boston Neck, described in Chapter XIII and in Notes 555 and 560. Miss Es- ther Bernon Carpenter, the well-known writer, was a daughter of the Rev. James H. Carpenter. 841 "Sir Francis Nicholson." It appears that soon after this date Sir Francis was act- ing, not merely as a philanthropist, in founding and fos- tering churches in America, but as a recognized agent of the S. P. G. In November, i 712, "on the authority given him by the Society," he sent the Rev. John Lamb- ton to the parish or mission at Newbury, Massachusetts, and in December, 17 13, the Rev. Thomas Eager "peti- tioned Sir Francis Nicholson, who at this time had a gen- Notes 425 eral supervision of the missions of the Society in the northern Colonies, showing that 'he . . . desired to be dismissed'" from the church at Braintree, in the same colony. In the latter year, the ministers, wardens, and vestry of King's Chapel, Boston, in a letter to Bishop Robinson, speak of "the Benefadtions of the Hon'ble Francis Nicholson, Esq', (whose Eminent services to his Queen and country, and Affediionate Concern for the Church of England, will render his name ever precious amongst us, and famous to Posterity)." On the same date, in a communication to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, they refer to " the Hon. General Nichol- son, a most worthy member of your honourable So- ciety, and a most generous benefaftor to the Church in these parts." At Christmas, 17 13, the Rev. Mr. Myles records that his Excellency, General Nicholson, with Governor Dudley, was present "at the communion." (Batchelder's History of the Eastern Diocese, i. 382-5, 433, 489.) It is interesting, in this connexion, to note the association of Trinity Church, Newport, under the inspiration of Sir Francis, with the initial activities of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Mr. George Gordon King, senior warden of that parish, in a letter written from London, in May, 1 906, remarks : "I have just found, much to my amazement, from an examination of the records of the S. P. G., that the People of Newport, in Rhode Island, were the first people to make application for assistance and were also the first people to receive it from the Society." 84a "Mr. John Lockyer, an Episcopal clergyman." It has been hitherto assumed, on the existing evidence, that Mr. Lockyer was the first Church of England minister stationed at Newport. It has, however, been recently discovered that a Rev. Mr. Bethune was regu- larly licensed for the position as early as 1700, and that Mr. Lockyer had succeeded him in the follow- ing year. Professor John Franklin Jameson, then at- tached to Brown University, found, about 1896, in the library of Sion College, London, certain lists of 426 Notes books sent out to Rhode Island by the Rev. Dr. Bray "tow"*" the Raising a Parochial Library for the Min- ister there." Two of these consignments are receipted for, OiSober 19, 1700, by D'' Bethune (or Bethun), "Licens'd to be the Minister of y' Place." Another re- ceipt, of the date of November 12, 1701, bears the sig- nature of John Lockier. (^Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society [New Series] , Vol. iv, No. 4 [Janu- ary, 1897], PP- 227-31). As there is evidence (Ma- son's Annals of Trinity Church, p. 13) that the con- gregation in Newport began to assemble soon after September, 1698, it is reasonable to suppose that it was by Mr. Bethune, probably under the appointment of General Nicholson, that services were then established there. Sometime between October, 1700, and Novem- ber, 1 701, Mr. Lockyer, as above stated, must have succeeded Mr. Bethune, remaining certainly until Sep- tember, 1 702, and probably nearly until the arrival of Mr. Honyman, in 1704. Little has been transmitted concerning the origin or the history of Mr. Lockyer (or Lockier, 2i.s the name seems to have been indilFerently spelled), "of whom," as Mr. Mason remarks (p. 10), "it is to be regretted that we know so little." There was a certain Nicholas Lockyier, born in Somerset- shire, England, in 161 2, who was successively a cler- gyman of the Church and a Presbyterian divine, a chap- lain in Cromwell's army and a provost of Eton College. It is not improbable that John was a son or grandson of this Nicholas. He appears to have been, to some ex- tent, a companion of Keith and Talbot. Mr. Talbot, in writing to the S. P. G., April 4, 1704, remarks: "I should not have forgotten my honest brother Lockier, of Rhode Island, who is very industrious, when well. The Quakers, themselves, so far as I can hear, have no evil to say of that priest." {Collections of the Protes- tant Episcopal Historical Society, xli-xliii. 13, 22, 23; Christian Witness and Church Advocate, 1845, p. 169; Drake's Biographical Dictionary ; Boston News Letter, April 24, 1704.) The earliest extant record of Mr. Lockyer, at Newport, appears to be the one, just re- Notes 427 ferred to, where he receipted for the books, in Novem- ber, 1 701, and the latest, that where he joins with the wardens of Trinity Church, September 29, 1702, in a communication to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In the interval, as the first record book of Trinity parish has disappeared, there seems to have been no mention of him preserved, except that by the Rev. George Keith, who records that in August, 1702, he repeatedly met, in Newport, Mr. Lockyer, "the Church of England minister there." Mr. Lockyer died in Boston, about April 20, 1704. As the above appli- cation to the Society (September 29, 1 702) resulted in the sending to Newport of a substitute for himself, it is probable that Mr. Lockyer for some reason, perhaps his well-known ill health or possibly his advanced age, did not feel able to remain. It is somewhat interesting to note, in this connexion, that the records of the town of Portsmouth, on Rhode Island, show that, on April 9, 1702, Benjamin Shearman and Mary Lawton were married there, by John Lockier, yustice. Bishop Berke- ley (then Dean) relates, in the introduction to the Mi- nute Philosopher, thdl the gentleman with whom he lived immediately after his arrival upon the island was a clergyman's nephew, who had been brought up by his uncle, and possessed a convenient house with a hun- dred acres of land adjoining. After his customary man- ner, the Bishop, instead of giving his host's real name, calls him by the fanciful Greek appellation of Euphranor, charafterizing him as "a philosopher and a farmer," and says that he possessed a good colleftion of chiefly old books, which had been left him by his uncle. As there is no record of any clergyman of the Church of England living in Newport previously to the Rev. James Honyman (then in the middle of his long min- istry), with the exception of Mr. Bethune and Mr. Lockyer, it seems almost certain that this Euphranor was the nephew and foster-son of one of these two and the inheritor of his library. Such a one would naturally have formed a congenial host for his brother philoso- pher from England. It appears also not improbable 428 Notes that the "John Lockier, Justice," who, as alluded to above, was living upon the island in 1702 and per- formed a marriage at Portsmouth in the spring of that year, was a namesake and nephew of the second min- ister of Trinity Church, and that he was identical with the early entertainer of Dean Berkeley. The confound- ing of the clergyman himself with a magistrate, in this case, is, however, possible. 843 "yf valuable library." The establishment of a parochial library in Newport antedates the foundation of the Venerable Society by a few months, although the colleftion may have been subsequently augmented from that source. Dr. Thomas Bray, commissary of the Bishop of London in Mary- land in the time of William III, interested himself greatly in the promotion of parochial libraries in America, some of them intended for the use of the clergy and for reference by the laity and others exclusively for the latter, under the title oi Laymen' s Libraries. Such a col- lection of books was received in Newport in Odrober, 1700, embracing not far from a hundred volumes and constituting the first public library in Rhode Island. It contained such standard works as Pearson's Exposition of the Cr^^^, Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity., Dr. Barrow's Works., and Bishop Burnet's Pastoral Care., together with some such oddly entitled books as delighted the souls of that period, — Satan Disrobed., A Snake in the Grass., and A Defence of the Snake. There is a record of a vote at a Vestry meeting in 1709: "Thaty^ Books belonging to y" Library of y"^ Church, which have been Lent out, be called in ... By Placards Affixed to the Church Dores." Many of these books are in a fair state of preservation and are stamped on the cover in gold letters: "Belonging to y"= Library in Rhode Island." {Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, iv. 4, pp. 227-31 ; Annals of Trinity Church, pp. 18, 19.) 844 "Mr. Nathaniel Kay." The name of Mr. Kay is commemorated in Newport by Kay Chapel, on Church Street, and by Kay Street. Notes 429 845 " The new building was ereSfed on the site of the old one." This surmise appears to be erroneous, as there is evi- dence that the new church was completed, sufficiently for occupation, before the removal of the old one was begun. In 1 725, Mr. Honyman reported to the Society that his congregation '■'■are now building a large new church." On Monday, December 6th of that year, the record shows that a meeting of the minister, church wardens, and vestry of Trinity Church was held '■'■in the new Church." (Mason's Annals of Trinity Church., p. 40.) On March 21, 1725-6, three and a half months later. Dr. MacSparran wrote, from Narragansett, to "the Gentlemen of New London," that he had visited New- port for the purpose of inquiring on what terms the old church would be parted with, with a view to its removal to New London, and informed them, as a result of his investigations, that "if you have their Church you must Send the Carpenters, you Intend to Raise it, to pull it down" showing that it was then still standing. (Id.., p. 43.) Howmuch longer the building remained in position before its ultimate removal to Warwick"' is not known, but it is significant of possible further protrafted delay that it was not until September 2, 1728, that the lot of ground there, on which it was reerefted, was con- veyed, for the purpose, by the Rev. George Pigot to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, although the formal deed may, of course, have been delivered some- what later than the making of the aftual transfer. The history of the acquirement of its church lots by Trinity parish also favours the position that the first edifice and the second, while standing side by side, did not occupy the same site. In his will, made July 8, 1703, Robert Carr, junior, of Newport, refers to "a piece of land I gave to set a Church of England on." This is evidently the land on the northern side of the present church lot, where the earlier church must have stood. In 1720, when the projecft of a new and larger church began to be dis- cussed, Francis Brinley, on Odober 3rd, conveyed to 430 Notes the wardens of Trinity Church a piece of land on the southern side of the present lot, bounded south upon "a way between the land of the said Francis Brinley and the land of Caleb Carr" (that is, the present Frank Street), west on land retained by Brinley, and north partly on the lot already belonging to Trinity Church and partly on land belonging to the Rev. James Honyman, the parcel measuring approximately one hundred feet by fifty. It was on this Brinley lot that, on September lo, 1723, the minister, church wardens, and vestry of Trin- ity Church "unanimously agreed to ereft and build a new Church." {^Annals of Trinity Churchy P- 5 7-) -^^ the first edifice stood on the Carr land and the second on the Brinley land, adjoining, it is evident that the belief that they occupied the same site is unfounded. The pre- sent church did not reach the extreme eastern end of the lot until 1 762, when the edifice, for the purpose of lengthening, was cut in two, the eastern part being moved east to the line of Spring Street. (Id.^ p. 125.) The portion of the church-yard, west of the steeple, must have been acquired from the Brinley land at some period subsequent to the erection of the church. 846 " Two sorts of Anabaptists." There were in Newport, at the period here under con- sideration, three kinds of Baptists: (i) The regular Calvinistic Baptist Church, which was organized in 1 644 and which continues to the present day. (2) The Six-Principle Baptist Church, also called Gen- eraland later Old, established in 1656, praftising lay- ing on of hands and holding the do£trine of the poten- tial redemption of all men by the death of Christ rather than particular redemption. By 1731, the Six-Principle Church in Newport had grown to be the largest of all, of any kind, in the Colony, continuing until after the Revolution. (3) The Seventh-Day Baptist Church, or Sabbatarian. This church was organized in 1 67 1, and became ex- tinct after 1850. Notes 431 847 "Other gentlemen passengers." One of the companions of Dean Berkeley upon this voyage was John Smibert, the portrait-painter, to whom Dr. and Mrs. MacSparran afterwards sat. Another was Peter Harrison, the assistant architeft of Blenheim Pal- ace, who subsequently designed the front of the Red- wood Library, the old Newport City Hall, the Jews' Synagogue, and probably some of the finer private houses of the town. (The negleft of the second of these buildings, one of the most charming in Newport, is lamentable.) It is also not improbable that the Rev. Arthur Browne,™ afterwards redlor of King's Church, Providence, was one of those " other gentlemen passen- gers." But see Note 849. 848 " The Dean purchased a farm." The speedy determination of Berkeley to become a resident of Newport is attested by the faft that among those from that town admitted freemen of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, at the ses- sion of the General Assembly held on May 6, 1729 (only about three months after his arrival), appears the name Dr. George Berkeley. (Rhode Island Colonial Re- cords, iv. 420.) 849 "His Minute Philosopher." It is interesting to note that the char aiders of this work ap- pear to be chiefly the friends and neighbours of the Dean upon Rhode Island. In the introduftion, addressed to Theages (perhaps Thomas Prior, his fellow-student in Dubhn University), he presents Euphranor''" his host; Crito.,'-'- a neighbouring gentleman of distinguished merit and estate;" Alciphron and Lysicles^ free-thinkers, the latter a near kinsman of Crito ; and Dion, apparently the author himself. Dion and Euphranor go to spend a week with Crito, at whose place the dialogues occur. Arthur Browne, 2nd,'°' a son of the Rev. Marma- duke Brown, reftor of Trinity Church, Newport, from 1760 to 1 771, speaks (Miscellaneous Essays, ii. 241) of "White-Hall," the house of Dean Berkeley, "where I 432 Notes have often been and have visited many scenes evidently- pointed out in the beginningof some of his dialogues, par- ticularly about certain romantic hills, where he used to wander, called 'the hanging-rocks.'" Mr. Browne re- marks also, in the same passage, concerning the Dean, "While in that country [America] he resided much in the house of my grandfather," meaning, no doubt, the Rev. Arthur Browne.'*The tradition'"' attributed to Dr. Ezra Stiles, that Mr. Brownewasone ofthose who came to America in company with Dean Berkeley^ although sup- ported by the fa£i:s that they arrived in thesameyear, 17 29, and that both were educated at Trinity College, Dublin, as well as otherwise highly probable, is yet not absolutely established. It seems somewhat strange that, if genuine,it was not referred to in the above passage by the grandson. Dr. Batchelder, moreover (^History of the Eastern Diocese, i. 165-6) asserts, perhaps on imperfed: evidence, con- cerning the Rev. Arthur Browne: "July 29, 1729 [six months after Dean Berkeley's landing in Newport] , he received the degree of Master of Arts [from Trinity Col- lege, Dublin] . Influenced, in some measure, by the re- putation and course of Dean Berkeley, he soon after of- fered his services to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. . . . He arrived in Newport September 2, 1729. He remained there about a year, and then entered on his duties in Providence, Oftober I , 1 730. "Whetheror not, therefore, thetwocame to Ame- rica together, they must have been on intimate terms, and it must also have been during Mr. Browne's yearat New- port that the Dean, according to the account of Arthur Browne the younger, resided much in the house of his grandfather. Indeed, as we know nothing about the fa- mily of the elder Browne, it is impossible to disprove that he, rather than a supposed nephew of Mr. Lockyer (see Note 842), was "the clergyman's nephew," with whom Berkeley, in the introdudion to the Minute Phi- losopher., described himself as living "immediately after his arrival upon the island." In that case Mr. Browne was the Euphranor of the dialogues, the possessor of the good colleftion of old books left him by his uncle. The Notes 433 friendship of Berkeley and Browne is likely in any case to have begun in the Old Country, and may have led to Dr. Stiles's error, if it be an error, as to their hav- ing emigrated from it together. (See also Note 865.) 850 "His preaching." On the first Sunday after the arrival of Dean Berkeley atNewport, January 26, 1 728-9, he preached, at Trinity Church, a sermon from the texts St. Luke xvi. 1 6 and i Corinthians i. 2 1 . This sermon he repeated in the Narra- gansett country on the nth of the succeeding May. The " skeleton " of this discourse is given in Berkeley's Works, edited by Frazer (iv. 629-31). The texts and dates of a considerable number of his sermons in Rhode Island are recorded. Arthur Browne, in the passage from his works referred to above (^Note 849), remarks, "He used to preach at Newport and some of his sermons there lived in tradition." 851 "Still possesses some pipes of unrivalled excellence." Mr. Mason, writing nearly a half century later than Mr. Bull, remarks, concerning the Berkeley organ: "The pipes, &c., were long since so worn, as to make it neces- sary to replace them, but the case, of English oak, beau- tiful in design and as beautifully made, remains as of old ; surmounted in the centre by a crown, and on either hand a bishop's mitre. To meet modern demands and to secure larger compass, the organ has, in recent years, been greatly enlarged, by adding wings, attached to the old case, which latter is made the central portion." (^An- nals of Trinity Churchy Newport, pp. 58, 59, note.) 851^ "In 1750, the Rev. Mr. Honyman died." The portrait of Mr. Honyman, hanging in the vestry- room of the church, was painted by an artist named Gaines (or Gains) and presented to the parish by Miss Catharine Tweedy, in 1 8 1 6. (Mason's Annah of Trinity Church, Newport, pp. 95, 311.) The painting was en- graved in mezzotint by S. Okey and printed by Reak(?) & Okey, Newport, November 2, 1774. It is one of the earliest specimens of this art in America. 434 Notes 852 "To apply to the Venerable Society for a minister." The record shows that although there was not unani- mity as to the candidate recommended to the Society, Dr. Samuel Johnson, then missionary at Stratford, Con- nefticut, and later president of King's College (now Columbia University), New York, received a consider- able majority of the votes cast, and was accordingly named to the Society as the choice of the Church. It appears that Dr. Johnson declined the position, as, on July 30, 1750, the committee appointed to invite him was instrudted "to answer Dr. Johnson's letter and to repeal their invitation to him." 853 "Mr. Beach." The Rev. John Beach was born Oftober 6, 1700, and graduated at Yale College in 172 1, becoming, at first, a Congregational minister. In 1732, Trinity Church, Newport, contributed to a fund to send him to England for Holy Orders. From 1732 to 1782, he was settled at Newtown and Redding, Connefticut, dying during the latter year. An old letter speaks of "the indefati- gable labours of the ever industrious Mr. Beach." At the time of the Revolutionary War he is said to have declared that he would pray for the King till the rebels cut out his tongue. (Digest of the S. P. G. Records, p. 76.) Upon the earnest request of the Church at New- port for the services of Mr. Beach, the Society con- sented to his removal from Newtown, but he declined, through want of good health, to accept a cure so much greater than his (then) present one. 854 "An a£i of incorporation." This is said to have been the first charter granted to any religious society in Rhode Island. The ad: was passed at the session of the Assembly held at East Greenwich on the last Monday in February, 1 769, the name of the corporation being fixed as "The Minister, Church Wardens, Vestry, and Congregation of Trinity Church, in Newport." (Rhode Island Colonial Records, vi- 573-) Notes 435 855 "TheRev.Willard Wheeler." William Willard Wheeler was born in Concord, Mas- sachusetts, December 24, 1734, and graduated at Har- vard College in 1755. He was ordained in London, in 1 767, and was appointed by the Society missionary at Georgetown, on the Kennebec River. In April, 1772, Mr. Wheeler became assistant minister and school-mas- ter at Newport. He does not appear to have succeeded well in the latter capacity, as, in 1776, a committee of the Church was instrudied to acquaint him with the fa£t that the vestry and congregation were greatly dissatis- fied with regard to his school and that "they would have no objedtion to Mr. Wheeler's being removed to an- other more advantageous living." After serving briefly at Providence and some time at Scituate and Marshfield, Massachusetts, with occasional services at Bristol, Mr. Wheeler died, at Scituate, January 14, 1810. 856 "Mr. John Bours." For more than fifty years Mr. Bours'" was prominent and efficient in Trinity parish. There is abundant evidence that, although he appears to have been a leader of those who were opposed to the redtor, the Rev. James Sayre, he lived a godly life and was an exemplary Christian. 857 "The Rev. James Sayre." At the time of Mr. Sayre's nomination to the reftor- ship of Trinity Church, Newport, by Bishop Seabury,in 1786, he was tarrying, without a charge, at Fairfield, Connedticut. As the Rev. John Sayre had been settled at Fairfield from 177410 1779, it is reasonable to conclude that there was a relationship between them, perhaps that of father and son. The high recommendation of the bishop is reconcilable with the subsequent troubled rec- torship of Mr. Sayre at Newport, upon the theory of his mind's becoming diseased, it being known that he was insane at the end of his life, in 1798. 858 "This and the neighbouring states." The convention held at Boston, September 7, 1785, consisted of clergy and lay deputies from the churches in 436 Notes the States of Massachusetts,New Hampshire,and Rhode Island only, and was called to deUberate upon a plan for maintaining uniformity in divine worship and adopting such other measures as might tend to the union and pro- sperity of the Episcopal churches in the American States. On Mr. Bours's return from this convention and report of its proceedings, the congregation of Trinity Church, Newport, on the following September 12^ iJ^St voted and resolved "that they fully approve of said proceed- ings and do agree to adopt the alterations made in the Liturgy, agreeable to the plan proposed." On Easter Monday, April 13,1789, the congregation "Voted : that the new form of worship, recommended by the Con- vention at Boston and adopted by the Congregation the J/" of July, 1786, be discontinued, and that the ser- vice be performed in the manner that it was prior to that vote " (the Boston convention, referred to here, hav- ing been one held July 21, iy86). The statement of the text, that it was the parish vote of 1785 which was re- scinded at the Easter meeting of 1789, is not, therefore, stridtly accurate. (Mason's Annals of Trinity Churchy Newport, pp. 174-6, 179-81, 187-8.) 859 "Theodore Dehon." As an introduction to the account of Mr. Dehon's subse- quent career, contained in the text, it may be noted that he was born in Boston, December 8, 1776, and gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1795. He was ordained dea- con by Bishop Bass, December 24, 1797, and priest October 9, 1800. 860 "The Rev. Abraham Branson" Mr. Bronson came to Newport from Cheshire, Con- nefticut. In addition to fulfilling the duties of parish school-master, he a£ted as assistant minister at Trinity Church. In succeeding years he lived in Vermont, serv- ing, in 1820, the parishes at Manchester and Arling- ton, in that State. 861 "The Rev. Clement Merriam." Mr. Merriam came to Newport from Brooklyn, New Notes 437 York. A letter, inserted in the Annals of Trinity Church (p. 237), written in response to a request from the vestry that he take charge of the services, in the ab- sence of Mr. Dehon, for three months, with a remuner- ation of one hundred and twenty-five dollars^ evinces a curious spirit of mingled courtesy and sarcasm. He ex- presses regret "that their present embarrassment will not permit them to do justice to their feelings in offer- ing a greater pecuniary satisfaftion; for I have a higher opinion of their generosity than to suppose they deem the sum which they have offered me an equivalent for discharging the duties of my profession," closing, how- ever, with an acceptance of the offer, "lamenting not that my recompense is small, if it can be paid with the same pleasure with which my duties shall be per- formed." About eight months later, October 19, 1803, Mr. Merriam was married, in Newport, to Elizabeth Hastie. 862 "Mr. John Ward." The Rev. John Ward was assistant minister at Tri- nity from November, 1805, to July, 1810. There being no town of Harrington in Connedlicut, it is probable that Mr. Ward's residence was Harwinton, a town ad- joining Litchfield, of which latter place he was later called a resident. 863 " The first missionary for Newport or Rhode Is- land." There is reason to believe that the first Churchman liv- ing in Providence and the first one in any part of Rhode Island, except the Rev. William Blackstone in Cum- berland, was David Yale, the father of Elihu Yale, from whom Yale College derived its name. In a letter to Mr. Updike, written soon after the publication of the History of the Narragansett Church., the Rev. Thomas Clap Pitkin,asonoftheeminent historian of the United States,Timothy Pitkin, and himself a scholar little likely to make an unfounded historical statement, remarks: "I was sorry, in the notice of the Church in Providence, to see no notice of David Yale. He was, so far as I 438 Notes know, the first Churchman in Rhode Island (with the exception of the Rev. William Blackstone, whose case is an obscure one) and signed the famous Remonstrance and Petition of 1646, for which he incurred the cen- sure of the General Court of Massachusetts for med- dling in other people's business." Mr. Pitkin mentions neither his authority for this statement nor the period when Mr. Yale was in Rhode Is- land. Butit is not unreasonable to suppose that itwas just subsequent to the " censure," above alluded to, of which his retreat to therefuge of theColony, where Roger Wil- liams's "lively experiment" was being tried, may have been the result. David Yale came to America and set- tled in New Haven, in 1638, and in 1651 he definitively returned to England, the last six years of his tarry, dur- ing which his distinguished son Elihu was born, be- ing spent in and around Boston. That Mr. Yale was a Churchman is rendered likely by the facEt that his mother was a daughter of the famous Bishop of Durham, Tho- mas Morton, and certain by the statement of Dr. Pit- kin, above. The emigration of David Yale to Connec- ticut appears to have been occasioned by his having be- come the stepson of Theophilus Eaton, the first gover- nor of New Haven Colony, who married his mother, Mrs. David Yale, senior. Eaton came to New England in 1 63 7, and, in conjunction with the Rev. John Daven- port, founded the future New Haverl at Quinnipiac, in 1638. From all these circumstances it appears probable that Elihu Yale also was reared in the Church of England. At the age of three years he was carried to England, with the remainder of his father's family, and never revisited America. After his return from his governor- ship in the East Indies, the possessor of great wealth, his first purpose was to bestow a portion of it upon some college at Oxford; but he finally diverted his gift to the new Collegiate School atSaybrook,upon an appeal made to him, not apparently, as a Congregationalist, but as a New Englander and,as it was supposed,although errone- ously,a Connedicut man by birth. On May 22, 1711, Notes 439 Jeremiah Dummer''' wrote from London to the Rev. John Pierpont, then a trustee of the Collegiate School of Connedticut : " Here is Mr. Yale, formerly governor of Fort George in the Indies, who has got a prodigious estate and, having no son, now sends for a relation of his from Connediicut to make him his heir. He told me lately that he intended to bestow a charity upon some college in Oxford under certain restriftions, which he mentioned. But I think he should much rather do it to your college, seeing he is a New England and, I think, a Connefticut man. If, therefore, when his kins- man comes over, you will write him a proper letter on that subjeft, I will take care to press it home." The identification of Elihu Yale with the Church of England is further suggested by his contributions (sub- sequently to his early gifts to Yale College) to the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel. " In 1 7 1 7, Elihu Yale, Esq., offered 100 guineas for the purchase and building of a house for the Society, to contain a Chapel, a Charity School and a Library, and ;£^io per annum towards repairing the house and maintaining the school, also books for the Library and further help in raising a sufficient fund. Mr. Yalepaid the 100 guineas, in 1718, and offered a loan of j^'foo. "(Digest of S. P. G. Records, 1895, p. 835.) The cosmopolitan charadler of Governor Yale's life is illustrated by the curious inscription upon his tomb at the ancient seat of the family in Wrexham, Wales : BORN IN AMERICA, IN EUROPE BRED, IK AFRIC TRAVELLED, AND IN ASIA WED. 864 '"The 11th day of June, J.D. i-jai." St. John's Church has sometimes been said to have been the. fourth Episcopal Church organized in Rhode Island. It is true that, of the churches now existing in Rhode Island, not only Trinity Church, Newport (i 698), and St. Paul's, Wickford (1706), but St. Michael's Church, Bristol (17 19), antedate St. John's, Providence (1722). But, at the time of the organization of St. Michael's and until 1746, Bristol was embraced in Plymouth Co- lony and was a part of Massachusetts. It is thus corredt 440 Notes to assert that St. John's (or King's) Church was the third formed in Rhode Island Colony, as it then existed. 865 ^'■Persuaded away from Providence." "Queen's Chapel," Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was opened for divine service in 1734, having been erefted by many men of charaiSer and substance, who had be- come residents there. One of these wrote at that period to a friend in London, concerning a minister: "We have a prospeft of a person that I am sure will be agree- able and believe very serviceable, his name is Brown — he is now a missionary at Providence in Road Island Governm't, we have heard him preach at Kittry to ad- miration and he is an unexceptionable man in his Car- re6lar& behaviour & I believe might be obtained if the Bishop and Society would allow of it. . . . He is a Pertic- ular favourite of Dean Berkly's."""" In August, 1 735, a formal invitation, signed by David Dunbar, John Went- worth, and fourteen other gentlemen, was sent to Mr. Browne, to become reiSor of the Church at Portsmouth. At the same time Mr. Atkinson, the writer of the letter quoted above, wrote again to his London friend in a strain which sounds rather incongruous now, when Providence contains from ten to twenty times the popu- lation of Portsmouth: "The Society I apprehend has allways made it their pradice to send their missionary where there was the greatest Prospect: of success & if they'r made (as I doubt not you have don) sensable of the difference of the places — this being a seaport the metropolis of the Kings GovernCt . . . Providence being a country town., ... & I believe were Mr. Brown to write his own sentiments he could give but a very Indifferent carracfter of the people there." Mr. Browne took charge of Queen's Chapel in 1736. 866 "The \c,th of last month." The date of the letter containing this statement (March4, 1 754) seems to show, without doubt, that John Check- ley died February 15, 1754. This view is verified, to the extent of proving that his death occurred previously to March 4, 1 754, by the date of the vote, introduced in Notes 441 the text, acquainting the Society with the event. The Digest of S. P. G. Records, however (p. 853), records that Mr. Checkley died April 15, 1 754. The former date is the more probable. No stone or inscription of any kind marks the traditional resting-place of the fourth redtor of St. John's, in the narrow plot of ground be- tween the church and North Main Street. 867 "This difference was amicably adjusted." That Mr. Graves had the grace oi forgetting injuries as well 2.S forgiving them is shown by the letter, which, a dozen years after the allaying of this contention, at the time of Mr. Merritt's death (September 25, 1770), he wrote to the Society. In it he records : " That his par- ticular friend, Mr. Merritt, is lately deceased and much lamented,having always supported a very amiable and ex- emplary charafter." (Proceedings of the Society, 1771.) 868 "The Rev. Mr. Jarvis." The Rev. Abraham Jarvis, afterwards second Bishop of Connedlicut. 869 "The Rev. Mr. Viets, of Simsbury, ConneSiicut." The Rev. Roger Viets, born about 1737, graduated at Yale College, and was settled at Simsbury from 1763 to 1783, after which date he was transferred to Nova Scotia. Bishop Alexander Viets Griswold, born at Sims- bury, was conne£i:ed, through his mother, with Mr, Viets. 870 "The Rev. Moses Badger." Mr. Badger was educated at Harvard College, and after ordination became an itinerant missionary of the S. P. G., in New Hampshire, serving from 1767 to 17 74, when he resigned his position under the Society. From about 1780 until his acceptance of the re6torship of St. John's, Providence, in 1786, he seems to have passed much time, if not the whole period, in Newport, officiating occasionally at Trinity Church, during the Revolution- ary interregnum, and performing a rather large number of marriages. At the Convention held in Newport, in 442 Notes 1790, Mr. Badger was chosen president and made a member of the standing committee. 871 ''The Rev. Mr. William Rogers, a Baptist clergy- man." Dr. Rogers is remembered as the first and, for several days, the only student at Rhode Island College (now Brown University), and a member of the first graduat- ing class of the institution, in 1769. He was born in Newport, July 22, 175 1, and died in Philadelphia, April 7, 1824, where most of his life was passed as a pastor and an educator. 872 "Ehen. 'Thompson." Ebenezer Thompson was the elder son of the Rev. Ebe- nezer Thompson, the highly respefted missionary at Scituate, Massachusetts, from 1743 to 1775. He mar- ried Lydia Kennicott and early settled in Providence. It was in the house of his son, Edward Thompson, after- wards the residence of President Caswell, that the Mac- Sparran Diary was found. 873 "John I. Clark." John Innes Clark was for many years a very promi- nent citizen and merchant of Providence, being a mem- ber of the firm of Clark & Nightingale. The partners built two large and handsome wooden houses on the east side of lower Benefit Street, one of which is still stand- ing as the residence of Mrs. John Carter Brown and the other, upon the site of the present Thomas Hoppin house, was burned many years since, when it was the re- sidence of Mrs. Annie Jenkins. During the War of the Revolution Mr. Clark was distinguished for his pub- lic spirit and patriotism, being appointed major of the first regiment of militia for Providence County at the May session of the General Assembly in i 775, and re- peatedly one of the "assistants." His name first appears on the records of King's Church (now St. John's) when he was elected junior warden, Easter Monday, 1771. From this date he served the church as either vestry- man or warden until his death, in 1808, at which time >{/. . 7/ ^■'f^y/zi'-t^// Notes 443 he had discharged the duties of senior warden for twelve successive years. In October, 1 771, Mr. Clark was one of the petitioners to the General Assembly to be per- mitted to raise six hundred dollars by lottery., to build a steeple and procure a clock for " the Episcopalian Church in Providence." He was present at the vestry meeting, August 4, 1776, when it was "Voted, That Mr. John Graves, our late pastor [who had not felt justified in ab- staining from using the prayer for the King] , as he has been pleased to leave this church destitute, be paid off for his past services, to the date of his letter of dismission." Mr. Clark was a very liberal giver to St. John's Church, contributing, in 1791, £2,^ towards the organ and, in 1805, one thousand dollars towards the "permanent fund." He died at Brattleboro, Vermont, being buried in the southeast part of St. John's church-yard, where his tomb has been lately restored by his great-grandchil- dren. The name has been sometimes spelled Clarke, but apparently more frequently Clark. Mr. Clark's portrait, by Trumbull (in the possession of Colonel Delancey Kane), is shown in this work. 874 "Mr. James Wilson." Mr. Wilson was an Irishman, and possessed great power over men, being a very eloquent preacher. In theology he was an Arminian, or disciple of John Wesley, rather than a Calvinist, as were then most of his Congrega- tional brethren. With perfe6t simplicity of chara(£ter, unafFefted devotion, and an earnest love for the souls of his people, he left a profound impression upon his church and upon the community at large. In the re- vival of 180^, Mr. Wilson was the means of adding to his church nearly one hundred and fifty merhbers, while, during his whole ministry of forty-six years, about eight hundred made profession of Christ, and more than a thousand couples were married by him. 875 "John H. Greene." John Holden Greene, father of the late well-known judge and poet, Albert Gorton Greene,"" was not only a "carpenter" and "master-builder," as here indicated, 444 Notes but an architeft of reputation and the designer of the present St. John's Church. Mr. Greene was also the archite6t of the existing exceedingly tasteful stone edi- fice, built for the First Congregational (Unitarian) So- ciety, on Benefit Street in 1 8 1 6, the graceful " Dorr Man- sion," on the same street, the Dexter Asylum, and a counterpart, in Savannah, Georgia, of the beautiful Renaissance building of the First Congregational So- ciety in Providence mentioned above. 876 "Miss Fairchild." Miss Ann Fairchild was a daughter of Major and Bath- sheba (Palmer) Fairchild, who were married in Trinity Parish, Newport, March 12, 1729. "Major" was Mr. Fairchild's Christian name, not a military title. In an old deed, he is styled a cooper. But later he engaged with his son-in-law, Mr. Bowler, in commercial enterprises, perhaps in privateering. The "Major Fairchild" who, in October, 1764, was married, in Trinity Parish, to Godfrey Malbone's daughter Catharine (born Octo- ber 21, 1737), was undoubtedly a brother of Mrs. Bow- ler. (^Annals of Trinity Church., Newport, pp.47, 131.) Mr. Bowler lived, in 1787, two years before his death, at the " Queen's Head." (/<^., p. 108.) He and his wife were both twice painted by Copley, the two portraits of Mrs. Bowler being still in existence. 877 "His age at the time of his death I have not been able to ascertain." Mr. Bowler died in Providence, in 1 789, and was buried in the church-yard of St. John's. There also are found the graves of a number of the other old families con- nected with the parish: Andrews, Allen, Blodget,Bowen, Bradford, Butler, Dr. John Chace, John Carter, Craw- ford, Carlile, Creighton, DeBlois, Dexter, Dunn, Far- num, Godfrey, Gurney, Halsey, Harding, Jenkins, Jones, Larned, Lippitt, Mumford, Merritt, Olney, Paget, Russell, Rhodes, Sabin, Stewart, Sterry, Thomp- son, and (John) Updike. (^Notes on Saint "John's Church \_formerly King's Church'] in Providence, by D. Berke- ley Updike, 1905, p. 10.) Notes 445 878 "A petition was forwarded to the Bishop of Lon- don." The Rev. Dr. Humphreys, secretary of the S. P G. from 1716 to 1739, in his Historical Account of the Society to IJ28 (pp. 331-3), gives the following somewhat fuller account of the circumstances attending the founda- tion of the Church in Bristol: "The chief Inhabitants of Bristol, in the year 1720, wrote very earnest Let- ters to the Bishop of London and to the Society, for a minister of the Church of England and promised to build a Church. Before they had an answer from the Society, they proceeded to get contributions to build one The Rev. Mr. Orem was sent missionary there in 1^22. When he arrived here, he found the Out- side of the Church and the Steeple only finished. The people received him with great Kindness and there seemed to be a general disposition in the Inhabitants to have the Church of England Worship established here. Tho' the Church was not floor'd nor the Walls plais- tered, the People were zealous to have Divine Service performed in it. Which was done, and Forms and Benches were laid in it on Saturday Night for the Au- ditory; and a large Congregation, between 2 & 300 Persons, came there, not all Inhabitants of Bristol, but a great many from Swansea, Tiverton and the neigh- bouring Towns, . . . But, about a year after, the Gover- nor of New York, who was acquainted with his Merit, invited him to come to New York and offered him a commission of Chaplain of King's Forces there, which Mr. Orem accepted of. . . . The Rev. Mr. Usher was appointed a Missionary there, in the year following." The "Missionary Roll" (Digest of S. P. G. Records, PP- 853, 854) gives the time of the Rev. James Orem's settlement at Bristol as 172 1-2, and that of the Rev. John Usher as 1723-75. That the date 1722, given in the text as the time of Mr. Usher's appointment to Bristol, is at least a year too early, is shown also by the statement of Hawkins {Misiions of the Church of Eng- land., p. 178), that the Rev. Daniel Browne, companion of Samuel Johnson and Timothy Cutler in their voyage 446 Notes to England for Orders, was appointed missionary to Bristol (New England), in what the context shows to have been the early part of the year 1723. It could not have been until subsequently to Mr. Browne's death from the small-pox, soon after his ordination, that Mr. Usher, a resident of New England, already ordained, was commissioned in his place. Johnson and Cutler did not return to America until the summer of 1723. 879 "The decision of the reEior." The Digest of S. P. G. Records (p. 46) shows that a much more important matter than "these weighty questions" was at this period engaging the attention of Mr. Usher. From Bristol, he reported, in 1730, that "sundry ne- groes "had made "application for baptism,that were able to render a very good account of the hope that was in them." But he was "not permitted to comply with their requests . . . being yir&W by their masters." In the same year, however, he succeeded in baptizing three adult Indians, and later on the Bristol congregation included "about 30 Indians and Negroes," most of whom joined ' "in the Publick Service very decently." 880 "At the advanced age of nearly eighty years." The "Missionary Roll," in the Digest of S. P. G. Re- cords (p. 854), gives the time of Mr. Usher's birth as "about 1689." As he died April 30, 1775, he must, ac- cording to this statement, have lived to about his eighty- seventh year, some seven years longer than is recorded in the text. Dr. Batchelder also, in his History of the Eastern Diocese (Vol. ii, manuscript), declares that Mr. Usher was eighty-six at the time of his death. It is to be noted that these declarations require that he must have attained the exceptional age of thirty at the date of his graduation, in 17 19 (at Harvard College), and that oi thirty-three 2iX\}rs. time of his ordination, in I'jiz. The statement of the text is, however, the more pro- bable, and must have been the tradition existing among his direft descendants, still living when the sketch was written at Bristol. Notes 447 8 8 1 " There were never any more services held in the church from that time." It is interesting to notice, however, in this connexion that the Rev. Dr. Henry Caner,*'"' formerly reftor of King's Chapel, Boston, Massachusetts, was appointed to Bristol, 1776-82, by the S. P. G., to show its regard for "the Father of the American Clergy." (Digest, p. 853.) Dr. Batchelder in his History of the Eastern Diocese (Vol. ii, manuscript) declares that Dr. Caner, early in 1777 or late in 1776, returned to this country and took charge of the Church in Bristol, alluding to a record of the payment of his salary there. (See Abstracts of Proceed- ings of the Society in Appendix B.) It appears probable, however, that the appointment was a sinecure. 882 "A beautiful Gothic struSlure." This edifice, built of wood in 1833, was burned on the night of December 5, 1858. Immediately afterwards the present (1907) church of brown stone was erected at a cost of about thirty thousand dollars, being xhe fourth standing upon the spot since I'jT.z. 883 " Instituted in March, 1834." The Rev. Mr. Bristed appears, in the journal of the Rhode Island Convention of 1830, as re£tor of St. Mi- chael's Church, Bristol, Bishop Griswold being men- tioned in that capacity for the last time in 1829. 884 "George Taylor." Mr. Taylor kept his school in a room of the County House, in Providence, being required in return for this favour to ere£t a handsome sun-dial in front of the building, "both for ornament and use," and to keep the glass of the house " in constant good repair." (Rhode Island Co- lonial Records, iv. 511.) Beside being school-master, he was a justice of the peace, and married many parties. In 1757-8 and 1765-6, Mr. Taylor was the junior warden of King's Church (now St. John's). An an- cient silver paten, belonging to the parish, was his pious gift, and is inscribed: "An Oblation of G. T. School- 448 Notes master for the Use of the Altar in the Church of Eng- land, at Providence, N. E., 1748." 885 "Mr. Robert Hamilton." Under the date of Odober 8, 1751, Dr. MacSparran recorded in his Diary, "Mr. Robert Hamilton in his way to New York lodged here," mentioning his de- parture also the next day. Mr. Hamilton is undoubt- edly identical with the bearer of the letter, referred to in the text. Strabane, his residence in Ireland, is in County Tyrone, about twenty miles south of London- derry and nearly equally distant from Dungiven, the place where theDo£i:or appears to have passed his youth. 886 "One Mr. Smith." The Rev. William Guy, previously missionary at Nar- ragansett, was the first missionary of the S. P. G. to visit the Bahamas,remainingthere two months ini 731, but the Rev. William Smith was the first to be perma- nently stationed there. He arrived at Nassau on Oc- tober 20, 1733, and continued in the islands until his death, in November, 1 741. Governor Fitzwilliam wrote concerning him, in 1735: "The abilities, life and good behaviour of Mr. Smith . . . justly entitle him to the favour of all good men among us." 887 "One Mr. Carter, an Englijhman." The Rev. Robert Carter was settled at Nassau, Har- bour Island, and Eleuthera from 1749 to 1765, when he resigned. He represented this mission as being of greater extent and having more pastoral duties to be performed in it than any other under the Society's care. 888 " 'TwoMiffionaries, who are Settled at the Towns of Savannah and Augufia." Bartholemew Zouberbuhler was the missionary of the Society at Savannah from 1746 to 1766. He was born in St. Gall, Switzerland, educated at Charleston, South Carolina, and ordained by the Bishop of London about 1745. It is interesting to note that Mr. Zouberbuhler succeeded (but not immediately), as missionary of the Notes 449 S. p. G. in Savannah, John Benjamin Wesley, subse- quently the founder of Methodism. The missionary at Augusta, at the date here referred to by Dr. MacSparran, was Jonathan Copp, who was born at New London, Connefticut, educated at Yale College, and ordained to the diaconate and the priest- hood by the Bishop of London, in 1750. He was set- tled at Augusta, from 1750 to 1756, when he resigned. 889 ""Two Clergymen, who are the Society's itinerant Miffionaries here." The Rev. Clement Hall, ordained in 1743, travelled as a missionary of the Society, in Chowan County and about Edenton, North Carolina, from 1744 to 1759, the year of his death. While a magistrate of the colony, he had previously officiated for several years as a lay reader. After taking Orders, he gave himself up to a life of almost incessant labour, being the only clergy- man for hundreds of miles of country. Several of his congregations were too large to assemble except un- der the shade of trees. During the fifteen years of his ministry Mr. Hall baptized ten thousand persons, ninety-seven of them in a single day. The other mis- sionary referred to by the Do£tor was James Moir, a North Carolinian, who ministered at Wilmington and in the valley of the river Neuse, from 1 740 to 1765, when he resigned. 890 "Mr. Sturgeon, their catechijl." The Rev. William Sturgeon was educated at Yale Col- lege,New Haven, Conne£ticut,and was settled at Phila- delphia from 1747 to 1 762, dying November 5, 1772. He was appointed catechist to the negroes in Philadel- phia on the representation of the Rev. Dr. Jenney that there was a great and daily increasing number of them in the city who would with joy attend upon instruiftion. 891 "Reverend Dr. Jenny." The Rev. Robert Jenney, LL. D., was born in 1687. From 1 710 to 17 14, he was a chaplain in the royal navy. Dr. Jenney was a missionary of the Society in 450 Notes Philadelphia in 1 7 14 and 17 15, being transferred to New York in the latter year. After serving in that city, at Rye, and at Hempstead until 1742, he resigned his connexion with the S. P. G. and returned to Philadel- phia as the commissary of the Bishop of London, in Pennsylvania, and redor of Christ Church. He died January 5, 1762. 892 '■'■A venerable lady, who was a niece of Dr. Mac- Sparran." This was Mrs. Roswell Saltonstall, eldest daughter of Matthew Stewart and his wife, Abigail, a daughter of William Gardiner, of Narragansett, a brother of Mrs. MacSparran. She was born in March, 1 744-5, and con- sequently must have attained the age of about ninety- six. Dr. MacSparran, under date of March lothin that year, records, in his Diary, baptizing her by the name of Elizabeth, remarking that she had been "born dur- ing our stay in his [Mr. Stewart's] house." Mrs. Lee, in her account of her horseback journey to Connefticut, in 1 79 1 (see Appendix F), speaks of passing the day with the Saltonstalls, her cousins, at New London. Dr. Hallam, in a part of this letter omitted in the text, says that Mrs. John Handy, of Newport, was a sister of Mrs. Saltonstall, as was also Mrs. John Robinson, of Nar- ragansett. 893 "Miss Mary L. Hillhouse, of Sachem's IVood" Mary Lucas Hillhouse was a daughter of the Honourable James Hillhouse, of New Haven, treasurer of Yale Col- lege and United States Senator, and a sister of James Abraham Hillhouse, poet, and Augustus Lucas Hill- house, who lived for about forty years in France. In her letter (July 21, 1845) to Mr. Updike, she remarks: "If you should ever feel any disposition to know more of my Brother (James Abraham), you will find a brief biographical sketch, drawn up by the Rev. William I. Kip (subsequently Bishop of California) in Rufus Gris- wold's Poets of America" In a slightly later communi- cation. Miss Hillhouse refers to "a valuable Italian Bible, which belonged to the same gentleman [Angus- Notes 451 tus Lucas, Huguenot emigrant] ," adding, " It was left, with a cloth of gold waistcoat of her grandfather's, by Mrs. James A. Hillhouse (granddaughter of Augustus Lucas), to my brother Augustus Lucas Hillhouse." Later, in the same letter, she makes the following rather cu- rious, although doubtless just, remarks upon the Rev. Samuel Peters's General History of ConneSficut: " I was a little surprised to see Peters's History of ConneSiicut quoted in your Historical CollecSions. In our part of the world, it is regarded much such an authority as Gul- liver's Travels. I remember, many, many years since, Peters corresponded with our Episcopal clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Hubbard, who used to show the letters, as the amusing produftions of a half crazy man. In my child- hood, I recolledl being entertained by the extravagance of some of his stories. For example, he says New Haven contained 300 squares, 40 of which were built with houses of stone and brick, 5 yards apart. New Haven contains 9 squares, and it is, to this day, very much a wooden city." 894 "About 1700." As the Revocation of the Edidt of Nantes occurred in 1685, it is probable that Augustus Lucas took refuge in America at a considerably earlier time than 1700. He settled in Newport, where his first wife died in 1698. (Mason's Annals of Trinity Church, Newport, p. 35.) The name of Mr. Lucas's daughter after her mar- riage was Johnston rather than Johnson, as given in the text. A notice of Madame Johnston's second hus- band, Matthew Robinson, Esq., will be found in Chap- ter XIII. 895 "Mr. Thomas Clap was my Scholar, when I came firft into thefe Parts." Dr. MacSparran here refers to his original visit in Ame- rica, when he arrived at Boston in June, 1 718, and is known to have soon after repaired to the vicinity of Ply- mouth, as Scituate might readily have been considered. He was then twenty-four years of age and young Clap was fifteen. The facSl that, at that period, the tutor was 452 Notes a Presbyterian may have rendered him more accepta- ble to the household of Stephen Clap than if the en- gagement had been after his conformance to the Church of England. The supposition, sometimes entertained, that Thomas Clap was a pupil of Mr. MacSparran while he was living at Narragansett is erroneous, in- asmuch as he was already a junior in Harvard College when the missionary arrived in Rhode Island, in 1721. Several of the dates in the original note concerning President Clap do not agree with other accounts, es- pecially that of his death, which appears to have been 1767. ("Whitefield's time" also is not given quite ac- curately.) Thomas Clap married, in 1727, a daughter of the Rev. Samuel Whiting, his predecessor in the pas- torate of the church in Windham, Conne£ticut. Later he married Mary (Haynes) Lord Saltonstall, widow of Roswell, a son of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall. 896 "Ehenezer Punderson, of Groton." Dr.MacSparran mentions, in his Z)/'ar)', among the clergy present at the convention at Newport, June 12, 1745, " Mr. Punderson." He also notes, September 1 8th, in the same year, "Mrs. Punderson and her Son came and lodged here." Mr. Punderson was a missionary of the S. P. G., in Connediicut and New York, from 1734 to 1764, in September of which year he died. In addition to the places mentioned in the body of this work, he ministered, in Connediicut, at Brimfield, Middletown, Stafford, Simsbury, Northford, and West Haven. The Rev. Ephraim Punderson, who lived in western New York and Cleveland, Ohio, from 1850 to 1880, is believed to have been a descendant of Ebenezer Pun- derson. 897 "Narragansett Pacers." An old manuscript, unsigned but supposed to be in the handwriting of Daniel Updike, of East Greenwich,gives a somewhat different account of the origin of Narra- gansett pacers from that of Mr. Isaac Peace Hazard : "The first pacing horse was called 'Old Snip' and he was found on old Governor William Robinson's farm, Notes 453 in Point Judith, where Christopher, James and Ben hved. Horses were then wild (?) in Point Judith and he was found among them. Where he came from, no one knew. He was the sire of the Narragansett Pacers. The wild horses were Jive pound apiece., and you may pick out. They were well-formed forward and narrow behind." This tale of wild horses in Point Judith reminds one of the similar story of wild Spanish genets (or jennets), in the New Forest, in England, said to be descended from those which swam ashore there after the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588. 898 ''Snows." A vessel somewhat like a bark, with a mainmast and a foremast similar to those of a ship, and a third small one, very close behind the mainmast, carrying a single fore-and-aft sail, or trysail. This method of rigging was somewhat common in old times, but is not now in use. 899 "Mr. Morrel, their Minijier." The Rev. William Morell came to New England in 1623, with Captain Robert Gorges, taking up his resi- dence at Wessagusset (now Weymouth), on Massa- chusetts Bay, where Gorges planned to establish a co- lony, as "Lieutenant-general and Governor of New England." Upon the abandonment of the proje£t, Mr. Morrell remained awhile in the country, but, in the midst of unfavourable surroundings, does not appear to have attempted to exercise his clerical funftions. The results of his observations upon the state of the Colonies, the productions and resources of the region, and the manners, customs, and government of the natives, he wrought into a Latin poem entitled "Nova Anglia." 900 '"Ten Churches of England in that Province." King's Chapel, Christ Church, and Trinity Church, Boston; Queen Ann's Chapel, Newbury; St. Paul's Church, Newburyport; St. Michael's Church, Mar- blehead;Christ Church, Braintree;St.Andrew's Church, Scituate, with a chapel at Marshfield, and churches at Salem, Hopkinton, and Taunton, — twelve in all, — ap- 454 Notes pear to have been standing in Massachusetts at the date of Dr. MacSparran's letter. 901 "In Rhode-IJland Colony, . . .fix churches." In addition to the four well-known colonial churches in Rhode Island, at Newport, Narragansett, Bristol, and Providence, there were standing, at the period of Dr. MacSparran's letter, also houses of worship at Cowe- set and Charlestown (Westerly Church). 902 " Tl'hat town called London Derry." Five ships, containing about one hundred families, ar- rived in Boston, from the north of Ireland, in the au- tumn in 1 7 1 8, with the intention of making a new set- tlement in America. These people were the descend- ants of a colony of Scottish Presbyterians who had been living for about a century in Ulster. In the spring of 1 7 19, sixteen families of these established themselves on a tradt of good land in New Hampshire, above Ha- verhill,Massachusetts,calledA'K?7?i?/iaf, on account of the great number of chestnut and walnut trees to be found there. Two or three years later, their new town was incorporated under the name of Londonderry., it being that of the chief city of their former home in Ireland. (Belknap's History of New Hampshire, n. 30-33.) Dr. MacSparran, in his Diary, under date of September 15, 1 75 1, speaks of a woman of his parish who was a daugh- ter of "Robert Martin, of Nutfield, a/z'a^Londonderry." The Do(3:or may well have known Martin before either of them left Ireland. 903 "A/mall Hiftory of the Englifh Plantations." It may be that this history, if ever written, and that of the Narragansett country, alluded to in the Note con- cerning Dr. MacSparran's will, were among the pa- pers sent to Dr. Thompson at Scituate, and inadver- tently destroyed, before the Diary was discovered. 904 "A false Charge in my Youth." What the specific accusation was, made at Bristol to prevent young MacSparran from being settled as pas- Notes 455 tor there, has not transpired. It appears to have related to some unguarded youthful language or conducS, while he was previously tarrying near Plymouth. It is, how- ever, a matter of record at Bristol, that a committee, especially appointed to investigate the charge, reported so favourably that Mr. MacSparran was exonerated in town-meeting by a vote unanimous but for a single ex- ception. The transparently sincere declaration of the ageing clergyman, after thirty-three years had elapsed, as to the falsity of the charge, and his long blameless life at Narragansett, sufficiently dispose of the aspersion. 905 "Not more than two or three copies of his America Dissefted are known to be extant." A copy of this most rare work is now to be found in the John Carter Brown Library of Brown University, at Providence. 906 "The fixtures of Dr. MacSparran and wife." The portraits of Dr. and Mrs. MacSparran", since the writing of Mrs. Allen's letter, have been removed from Gardiner and separated from each other, that of the Doc- tor being now in the possession of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, and that of his wife being deposited in the gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts, in the city of Boston. 907 "// was painted by Smibert." John Smibert (or Smybert) was born in Edinburgh, Scot- land, about 1684. After studying painting in the aca- demy of Sir James Thornhill, in London, hepassed three years in Italy. Subsequently to his return to England (and, as it appears, soon afterwards) Bishop (then Dean) Berkeley induced him to join in his benevolent scheme of carrying arts and letters to the New World, the party landing at Newport, in January, 1729. This projeft, however, proving a failure, Smibert shortly repaired to Boston, and established himself there as a portrait- painter, marrying in 1730. His mostimportant work, the painting of the group. Bishop Berkeley and his Family, presented to Yale College in 1808, is said to have been 456 Notes sketched during the voyage from England, but could not have been aftually executed until considerably later, as the child in the arms of Mrs. Berkeley was not born until several months after her arrival in this country. One of the figures in this picture is that of the painter himself, another, doubtless, that of Peter Harrison and a third, pro- bably, that of the Rev. Arthur Browne.'"' °'" Other por- traits by Smibert, beside those of the MacSparrans, re- presented Jonathan Edwards, Judge Edmund Quincy, Governor John Endicott, and Peter Faneuil. Indeed, Gulian C. Verplanck remarks of him that, although he was not an artist of the first rank, yet "the best portraits which we have of the eminent magistrates and divines of New England and New York, who lived between 1725 and 1 75 1 (the year of Smibert's death), are from his pencil." It is said that from his fine copy of Van- dyke's Cardinal Bentivoglio^Cop\eY,'TT\imh\i\\,and All- ston caught their first ideas of colour and drawing. In the chancel of the first Trinity Church, Boston (con- secrated April 15, 1735), were paintings, considered very beautiful in their day, from the brush of John Smibert. (Chester's Trinity Church in the City of Boston, p. 10.) Two little heads of cherubs, preserved in the sacristy of the present Trinity Church (1907) and known to be by him, are supposed to have been taken from these old chancel decorations. It has been as- serted that Smibert, although a Scotchman by birth, was of Duch extraftion and that, beginning his career as a house-painter, he later worked in London as a coach-painter and, in time, as a copyist of old pictures, being a born artist and struggling hard to get a chance of doing better work than that which at first came to him. (Cyril Davenport's Mezzotints, London, 1904, pp. 1 2 1-2.) Horace Walpole, in his Anecdotes of Paint- ing, charafterizes Smibert as "a silent and modest man, who abhorred the finesse of some of his profession and was enchanted with a plan that promised him tranquil- lity and an honest subsistence in a healthful, elysian climate." Some indications point at the possibility that Smibert, who was forty-four years of age when he emi- Notes 457 grated from England in company with Dean Berkeley, had already lived for some time in America. Mrs. Allen, a granddaughter of Dr. Sylvester Gar- diner (who must have been intimately acquainted with the painter), and herself the owner of the MacSparran portraits, remarks, in a letter of the date of December 4, 1 845 (about sixty years nearer than the present to the period under consideration), " The portraits were painted by Smibert,the master of Copley. He was the first Ame- rican painter who went to Rome to study the fine arts. He returned from England in the same ship with Bi- shop Berkeley." It is noticeable, too, that Mr. Ver- planck, as quoted above, makes the beginning of his American career at least as early as 1725, four years anterior to his final arrival with Berkeley. Smibert ap- pears to have repaired to Boston almost immediately after landing at Newport and to have established him- self there in his profession, as if in a familiar place, where he may have already been acquainted with the lady whom he shortly married. 908 " The Grand Duke of Florence." The Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1723 to 1737, the last of the Medici family to bear that title, was the plea- sure-loving Giovan Gastone and, probably, the one re- ferred to in the note, if, as seems likely, Smibert's tradi- tional three years in Italy were immediately before his crossing the sea in company with Berkeley. The Czar of Russia, the maker of the strange present, must have been Peter the Great, who died, after a long reign, in 1725, and was succeeded by Catharine. 909 " Die Mariis, . . . tricefimo Jeptimo." In the original translation of the Latin of Dr. MacSpar- ran's diploma from Oxford University, "die Martis" is rendered "in March" the whole clause reading, "in March, to wit, on the fifth day of April," — a somewhat confused date. It should, however, plainly be " on Tues- day," that having been anciently considered "the day of Mars," or the day of which the planet Mars was the regent, in accordance with the French name of the 458 Notes third day of the week, Mardi. The fadi: that the 5th of April, 1737, did occur on a Tuesday is confirma- tory of this view. "Tricefimo feptimo" also is incor- rectly rendered, in the translation, "thirty-o«^," instead of "thirty-j^ti^«." The Latin form agrees with the state- ment in the earher part of this work: "In June, 1736, Mr. MacSparran went to England, on a visit, and re- turned in August, 1737. During his residence in Eng- land, the University . . . conferred on him the degree of DoSlor in Divinity." 910 "Old Archibald, of the Hafs." Hass is a Scottish term for a narrow pass through the hills, a defile, and is sometimes found, in composition, in names of places in Scotland. "Old Archibald of the Hass " may have been a common, well-known ances- tor of Dr. MacSparran and Mr. Limrick, living in the mountainous distrift of Scotland, Archibald having been a traditional family praenomen ; or possibly he was their uncle of that name, the Presbyterian minister, at Dun- given, Ireland. Si '^ '1^ ■§^^. Records of St. Paul's Church Narragansett Entries in the Narragansett Parish Register, April 14, 171 8 — November 6, 1774 After the latter of the above dates^ there are no more entries^ in St. Paul's Parochial Register., until the minutes of a Parish Meeting., held in 178^, and a list of Baptisms by the Rev. Wil- liam Smith, in lySj. From these dates, entries, occupying about one-third as much space as do those given here, are contained in the first '■'■Register Book," extending to Easter, April 75, 180S The Register Book Belonging to the Church of S'' Pauls in Naragansett 'Bought in Boston by "Tho'- Phillips Record Book belonging to 7"= Church of S'- Pauls in Narraganset KINGSTOWN in Naragansett ^;)n7y i^" 17 18 att a Meeting of the Parrishners afore s* the ffol- lowing persons were Eledted as Church Wardens and Vestreymen for the Year Ensueing. Viz' The Reverend M' W" Guy Rec' being present M' Sam" Phillips ) ^, , ,,. , M'Sam"Albro | Church Wardens M' Cha. Dickinson M' Gabriel Bernon M'Geo. Balfour M' Tho= Lillibridge [ Vestry Men M'Jn°Kettridge M' Tho^ Phillips M' Jn° Albro M' Tho= Phillips, Chosen Register and Moses Parr, Sexton The same Day y° s"* M' Cha. Dickinson "l M' Gabriel Bernon y ^ M7n° Kettridge f ^^stry men M'Tho' Phillips J Were Sworn into their Office by Jn° Eldred Esq' Assistant 462 church Records [1718-ai '' I'f. ^' ^^:^\u^^^^' \ Church Wardens and M' Sam" Albro ( The same Day Agreed that M' Cha. Dickinson, M' Gabriel Bernon M^ Sam" Albro and M' Sam" Phillips and M' George Balfour go down to Boston y*" 1 5'" of June: 171 8 in Order to obtain A Benifaftion or Contribution towards the finishing the Church in Nar- gansett, and that a letter be writt and signed By the Vestry for the same purpose. Agreed that M' Sam" Phillips andM' Sam" Albro Wait Upon the Gentlemen in Newport on Rhoad-Island in Order to Obtain the like Benifaftion on April y' 23: 17 18. 171 8 June y' 15'* Jn° Dickinson and Mary Phillips were Married by the Rever* M' W" Guy. June y' 22: Edmond Bawden Guy son of the Rever'' M' W" Guy was Baptized. Sep' y' 28"" 1718 Hannah an Indian woman was Bap- tized by the Reverend M' W" Guy. ffeh' y' 6"" 1719/20 Sam" Dickinson son of Jn" Dick- inson and Mary his Wife was Born Near Seaven of the Clock in the after Noon and on the lo'* was Bap- tized by the Reverend M' James Honyman June y' 15"' 1720. Sent three letters home to Great Brittain Viz: one to my Lord Bishop of London one to the Honourable Society and one to the Honourable ffrancis Nicholson Esq' for Obtaining and Sending a Missionary to Us. 1 72 1 April y' 28"" persueant to our Request the Rev- erend M James M^'Sparran Arrived here. Whereas April y° 14"" 171 8 in the Incumbancy of the Rev"* M' W" Guy a Vestrey Meeting was held att the Church of S' Pauls in Kingstown in Narragansett in New England, when and where M' Sam" Phillips and 1721] church Records 463 M' Sam" Albro were Chosen Churchwardens for that Year and M' Charls Dickinson and M' Geo. Balfour and others (as by Record of s** Vestry may appear Re- ferance there Unto being had) were Chosen Vestry- men and Now whereas, by the Remoueall of y" s*" M' Guy there [hath] been a Vacancy Ever Since Untill April 1 72 1 When the Reverend M' James M" Sparran y" Societies Missionary look [jzV] possession of s* Church, and Commenced his Ministerial Office here, there hath been No Vestrey Nor Church Meetr ing it is therefore Agreed and Unanimously Voted by the Members of the Vestry present att an appointed Meeting for Regulateing and Bringing into Better Order the affairs of the Church in [sicj in the afore s^ Parrish of S' Pauls, that the afore s"* Church Wardens and Vestry Men be Continued in their Respedtive of- fices and places Untill the Next and Most Immedi- ate proper Season for Entering Upon a New Choice Att a Meeting of the Members of the Vestry May y' 12"^ 1721 y° Aboue s** was Voated by a Unaminity Nemine Contradicente. The Same Day Unanimously Voted y' a Letter of Thanks be writt by the Church Wardens to the So- ciety for Sending M' M"Sparran their Missionary to them, a letter of thanks to the Society was Read and Approued of, and Voted to be Sent by the Church Wardens with the first Opportunity. Att y" s'' Meeting those persons Voted that Next Munday y" Workmen for Repareing the Church are to be Mett with and Agreed with for the Same, and what Summ or Summs are agreed on towards the Same shall be paid by the Members of the Church and that Such as shall be Appointed to See and Over see y" Work their Names to be Returned Upon Re- cord and they Looked Upon by the Vestry as Obliged to all possible Expedition Care and ffaithfullness and a True Accompt of the amount of the Work pre- 464 Church Records [1721 pared and by them presented to the Vestry. The Minutes of the proceedings of the Church of S' Pauls in Kingstown May y' 28'" 172,1 By an Adjournment of the aboue s** Meeting to Mun- day the 27'" of May att the Church Agreed with Thomas Peckham Jn' to make a Com- munion Table., Kingstown, Mayf 29''' 1721 Then Agreed with Tho- mas Peckham Sn' to Lath and Plaster the Church & s'' Peckham is to have six '^' Y"" for Over head and Rainging, finding s"* Peckham Materialls in Place, and s* Peckham finding himselfe Vicktualls, Drink, Wash- ing and Lodgeing — And s*" Imployers to find Labour- ers to make Morter and Tend s** Peckham; and fur- ther s'' Peckham is to Assist s'^ Labourers in their Work and y° s"" Peckham is to be Allowed for it. ifurther Agreed With Tho' Peckham Sn' to Gett Timber for y" Galleryes. An Accompt of Persons Baptized by the Reverend M' James M"Sparran May y' 7'* 1721 George Buckmaster and Elizabeth Tombs were Baptized. May y' 28"' There was Seaven Communicants att S' Pauls Church Viz' M' Charles Dickinson, Sam" Albro, Sam" Phillips, Tho' Lillibridge, M' Buckmaster, M'' Albro, & M'= Gallop. May y' 14"' Alice Woodall an Adult person was Bap- tized att Bristole. And May y' 18 Tho' Gains an Infant and Martha Willson an Adult Married Person, and her Two Chil- dren Viz' David & Margarett Willson were Baptized att Bristole. June y' 4"" Were Baptized at Kingstown Thomas Brown and Mary Brown. 1 72 1-2] Church Records 465 Juney' g"' 1721 M' George Balfour pertiscipated of y° Communion att Kingstown. Julyy' 1 1"" four Children were Baptized at Providence Viz' Mary Bernon, and Eve Bernon, Anna Donni- son & Elizabeth Donnison. July y' 13"" were Baptized att Brislole [sic] Thomas Lawton an Adult person and Three Children Viz' Tho' Little, Sam" Little, and Mary Little. 172 1 Aug' 12"" y" Reverend M' M"Sparran Rec"* a Letter from his Unkle Dated att Dungiven in Ire- land Sep' y= 2'^'' 171 9, (by the hands of M' W" Brown Memorandum that tho his Unkle told him twas In- closed In a Cover to Esq' Blackgrove at Bristole Yett the Cover is Destroyed and it Came Dired:ed to y° Reverend M' M'^'Sparran att Bristole. August y' 22: Ebenezer Brenton a Child was Baptiz** att Bristole. This Account is Transmitted to London. Mathew Cooper married to Abigail Updike by M' McSparran 1721 1 72 1 Offob' 19"' William Gallop and Mary his Wife were Married att Bristool by y° Reverend M' M'^Spar- ran De(f 25'* 1 72 1 M' W'" Gardner an Adult person was Baptiz** att y' Church, of S' Pauls in Narragansett by M' McSparran Jan' 14'* 172 1/2 George and Ruth Brown Children were Baptized ffeb' 11:1721/2 Mary Gardner Gardner an Adult per- son was Baptized by M' M"Sparran ffeb" y' 27'* 1 72 1/2 Henery Gardner an Adult person was Baptzed, as allso Hen. Gardner, Hannah Gard- ner,andDesier Gardner, Children of the afores"* Henry Gardner, were Baptiz''. Vestry Men 466 Church Records [172 1-2 March f 18"" 172 1/2 Edw' Bowman, Sam" Bowman & Elizabeth Bowman, Children were Baptized atBris- toll by the Reverend M' M'^'^Sparran Att a Vestrey Meeting held att the Church of S' Pauls In Narragansett on Easter Monday March 16"' 1722 the Reverend M' M"Sparran being Red:' were Chosen S!"s p"ii-u'°''"|church Wardens Tho' Phillips J Tho' Phillips Clerk to y'= Vestery Sam" Phillips Sam" Albro Cha. Dickinson Geo. Balfour Rich. Updike Cha. Dickinson Jn' Rob' Case Tho' Lillibridge Jn° Buckmaster W" Gardner Hen. Gardner J n' Jn" Albro Moses Parr, Sexton 1722 May lo"" Silvester Gardner a Youth was Bap- tized by M' M"Sparran And the 22'' of May 1722 the Rev"" MacSparran was married to M'^ Hannah Gardi- ner at y'= Church by y"= Rev"" M' Ja' [Honeyman]* June y' 17"" Baptized Ichobod Peckham and Lydia Power. Att a Vestry Meeting att the Church of S' Pauls In Naragansett July y' 12"' 1722: M' Cha. Dickinson was Chosen In the Quallity of a Questman or Assist- ant to be joyn** with the two Church Wardens to Sue for & Recover the ffarm in y" Pettequamscutt pur- chase Commonly Called the Ministeriall ffarm. The Vote was Nemine Contradicente * Page torn and illegible. 1722] Church Records 467 August y' i^"' IJ21 Freelove Webb an Adult per- son & a Mustee by Colour and her Child Katharine Lyn alies Gardnerf were Baptized at y° Church In Narragansett by y" Reverend M' M"Sparran ■j- Note y' childs fa'' being a Slave to one Gardener is the reason of y' addition of (alias Gardenr) Sep"' \^i'i Geo. Marriner and Elizabeth Eelly were married by M' M"Sparran (3 Att a Vestry Meeting held att the Church of S' Pauls In Narragansett Sep' 13: 1722 it was voted that y" Church Wardens viz. M' W" Brown & Tho^ Phillips should Carry about a paper among the people to Ob- tain a Subscription to pay for the Repareing y" Church. 1722 September y' 23 : James Buckmaster a Child was Baptized att Narragansett OSfob' y' 4"" 1722: Tho' Peckham and Sarah Brown were Married by y° Reverend M' M"Sparran. (4 Anna Case an Adult Young woman being Dangerous- ly Sick was Baptized In Bed by M' M^Sparran Oaob' f 4'* att Night 1722 Jn° Stafford of Preston in Conedlicutt, Upon the Recommendation of y" Reverend M' Jn° Tho" of Hampstead on Long Island, was Admitted to y°Holy Eucharist on y' 4"" day of Novemb' 1722 f J : M :Sp" a Coppy of M' Jn° Thomas' Letter Hemsted July y" 12"" 1722 These are to Certifie Whome it may Concern y' M' Jn° SafFord a Black-Smith, Dureing his Residence att Hemstead, lived honestly and soberly. According to y" Best [of] My Knowledge; and was a Constant At- tendant att [torn oJT] Service, According to y° Usage of y° Religeous Worship [torn off"] Church of England this I doe Testifie as [torn off] my Hand y° Day and Year Aboue Written j^„ ^^^^^^ 468 Church Records [1722 The Transcript att y' Bottom, on j" Other Side is a True Coppy of M' Jn° Thomas' Certificate to y' Within Named Jn" SafFord Examined and Compared by me. Jm' M"Sparran Clerk and Incumbent of Narragan- sett The following is y-^ Societies Letter Rec'' by M' W" Brown Nov' y' 24: 1722 Gentlemen London June y" 5* 1722 The Society for y" Propagation of y' Gospel in in ffor- eign parts, haveing been Informed by a Letter from y" Reverend M' M"Sparran their Missionary among You that 300 Acres of Land have been formerly Laid out in Narragansett for y" Ministrey which might be forever Secured to Your Church if you would Raise a Summ of Money to Reimburse y° Present Possesser what he has Laid out Upon it, which is Represented to Amount to one hundred and fifty pounds Your Money: the Society have thereUpon Ordered Ear- nestly to Recommend to you, the Raising Such a Summ for the purpose afores"*: and they have the More Rea- son toBeleveYou will Comply with their Request, be- cause you have AUwaysExpres'^Your Zeal and Readi- ness (as Much as in You Lies) to Contribute towards y'' Support of y" Societies Missionary Resideing with you I am. Gentlemen Your Most Humble Serv' David Humphreys To y" Church Wardens and Vestry of Naragansett CopiaVera Attested f Jm' M"Sparran Clerk in Nar- agansett Naragansett Decemb' 23''' 1722 Baptized by M' M"- Sparran Lidia Gardner a Young Woman of Sixteen Years of Age. Decemb' 25 : 1722: Baptized by M' M"Sparran Mary 1722-3] Church Records 469 Chappel an Adult Married Woman, Wife to W" Chappel, and her two Children Viz' W" Chappel and Meribah Chappel; att y" Church In Naragansett. 1722 De of Groaton in Con- & Abigail Mumford Daughter] efticutt all Upon their own personall profession of faith. Nov' ao"' 1723 were Joyned together in Holy Matri- mony, att Darl mouth \_sic] in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, by the Rev"* M' M"Sparran Reft' of Narragansett &c Rob' Willcox of Naragan- sett and Sarah Willcox of s** Dartmouth (7 [sic] 1724: Nov^ 24: Was Baptized att the Church of S' Pauls in Narragansett (By M' M"Sparran) Anna Place an Adult person 1723 Dec' 25 Being the Birth of our Lord and Sa- viour Jesus Christ,-w!LS admitted to y" Sacrament of the Lords Supper att y" Church of S' Pauls in Narragan- sett by M' M"Sparren: Jn° Launce & Anna Place. 1723 Dec' 28 : About 10 att Night Died a Child of this Church being scaulded by a Kettle of BoyHng Water falling Upon her. Viz' Desire Gardner Daugh- ter of Hen. Gardner Jn'. She was Buried Dec' 30 after her funerall Sermon had Been preached by the Rev'' M' M"Sparran from Job: y'g: 22: 23 Jan' y' 5'* 1723/4 Was Baptized att Groton in Con- efticutt att y" House of M' Thomas Mumford; (by y' Reverend M' M^'Sparran) Jn° Mumford & Caleb Mumford Children of the afore s"* Thomas Mumford. Att a Vestry Meeting held att the Church of S' Pauls in Narragansett on March f 17'* i'^it,!^- present y° Reverend M' M^Sparran and Vestry, Agreed that the pews Should be Numbred & Each Mans Name Af- fixed to y'' Number of his Pew as followeth Numb' I : M' Charls Dickinson Numb' 2: M' Sam" Phillips No. 3 : M' W"^ Mumford No. 4: M'W" Gardner 1723-4] church Records 473 No. 5 : M' Jn° Albro haveing exchanged w"" M' Tho' phillips for n° 2.6 on y" other side. No. 6 : M' Sam" Albro No. 7 : M' Hen. Gardner No. 8 : M' Cha. Dickinson Jn' No. 9: M' Geo. Balfour No. 10: Mrs' Katharine & Sarah Updike No. 1 1 : M' Rob' Case No. 12: M' W" Gardner Jn' No. 13: M' Jn° Gardner No. 14: Cap' Benony Sweet No. 15: y' Rev" M' M"Sparran No. 16: M' Elisha Cole. Numb' 17: M' Sam" Brown No. iSiM'W^Cole No, 19: M'' Norton & Shipwright No. 20: Cap' Jn° Eldred forfeited and since be- longing to Ephraim Gardner No. 21: Cap' Dan" Eldred No. 22: M' Stephen Cooper No. 23 : M' W"" Brown No. 24: The ffont Pew Built by M' M"Sparran No. 25 : No. 26: Att a vestry held at S' Pauls in Narraganset Janry 29 1723/4 M" Charles Dickinson, William Browne and William Gardiner did Each of them promise to be y^ tenth part of 50^^ ^ annum toward M' M"Sparrans Support or Salary; that is to Say 5^ each of them Sent a Letter to y" Honourable Coll. Tayler for the Obtaining the Honourable Generall Nicholsons Do- nation to this Church March y' 26: 1724: Elizabeth Dickinson Daughter of Jn" Dickinson (and Mary his Wife) was Baptized by the Reverend M' James M^Sparran. She was Born March y'' first 474 Church Records [1724 1724 April y' 5: Ed"' Gardner Son of Hen. Gardner Jn' was Baptized att y= Church by M' M^^Sparran Att a Vestry Meeting, att the Church of S' Pauls in Narragansett on Easter Monday, Being y' S" of April: 1724: present y' Rev" M' M"Sparran & Vestry. Were Chosen ^! ?"-„°''^^"'°"lchurch Wardens M' Sam" Albro J M' W" Brown M' Sam" Phillips M' Jn° Albro [Vestry Men M' Tho' Lillibridge M' W" Gardner M' Hen. Gardner Jn' M' Ephraim Gardner M' Charles Dickinson Jn' M' Christ' Phillips [-Vestry Men M' Geo. Balfour M' Rob' Case M' Tho^ Phillips Tho' Phillips, Clerk of y" Vestry Voated Nemine Contradicente y' the Reverend M' M'^'Sparran Should Prosecute the Appeal for the Re- covery of the Ministerial Land (that is Detain" by M' George Mumford) before his Majesty and Councell in Great Brittain; to which M' M"Sparran Concented Voated Likewise that a Subscription be presented to all Well Disposed persons to Obtain their Charitable Benefaction to Defray the Charges that will Accrue in the Building of the Gallerys and other Nessesary Re- pairs to the Church. 1724. May 2"'' Tho' Culverwell, Abigail Culverwell, and Elizabeth Culverwell, Children of Tho^ Cul- verwell were Baptized att the Church of S' Pauls by the Rev" M' Jm^ M^Sparran. May 24: 1724 Being Whitsunday, Mary Higgin- 1724] church Records 475 bothom Daughter of Charls Higinbothom was Bap- tiz"* att the Church of S' Pauls In Narragansett by the Rev" M' M"Sparran. The Numb' of the Pews in y" Gallery are a Followeth and are Disposed of to y° Following Persons Viz': The Pew Next y"^ Puilpett is No. i No. I : Doff Cha. Higinbothom M''= Gronett & Curtis 4: M' Tho^ Eldred & M' JefFery Champlin No. 2,: No. 3: No. 4: No. 5: No. 6: No. 7: No. 8: No. 9: No. 10: George Fowler M' Yeo M' Bennett M'" Ann Bennet Coicated in y" Sacram' of y" L*" Sup- per in Narraganset aug" y' of day 1724 Aug' y' 16"' 1724 Anstis Gardner Daughter of John Gardner was Baptized att y" Church of S' Pauls in Naragansett, by y" Reverend M' James M"Sparran. Aug' i-j"' 1724 Christopher Curtis and Sarah Winterton were married in Narraganset by Mr M"Sparran. (8 Baptized by M' M^'Sparran Aug" 29 1724 at y"" house of M' Tho' Lillybridge three children viz: Edw" Jn° & Patience Lilly-bridge 1724 Sep' y' I Hannah Hill an adult Young woman Being verry Sick was Baptized att Westerly by y° Rev- erend M' M"Sparran. 05lob' 1 8'* Jn° Brown Son of W"' Brown School- master was Baptized att y° Church of S' Pauls by y" Reverend M' M"Sparran. Nov' 8''' Cap' Benony Sweet, of North Kingstown, and Tho^ Mumford of Groaton in Conefticutt Col- ony; were Both Baptzed att the Church of S' Pauls 476 Church Records [17H-5 in Naragansett by the Reverend M' M"Sparran. y" Same day were admitted to y" Lords supper M" Hannah Mumfordand m' Wm. Browne and his wife Nov' the 17"" 1724 at the House of M' William Gardiner of Boston-Neck in Narraganset were Joined togaher in marriage by y" Rev'' M' M^Sparran Josiah Arnold of Jamestown alias Connanicut to Lydia Gar- diner daughter to said William. (9 March 14'* 1724/5 were baptized at S' Pauls in Narraganset Sarah and Hannah Parr daughters of Moses Parr late Sexton of said Church by M' M"- Sparran. March 29'* 1725 At the Church of St Pauls in Nar- raganset Present y" Rev** M' M"Sparran and Vestry the following Gentlemen were Chosen into the Re- speftive offices following -ixT-ir /^ J- ^ Church Wardens William Gardiner j Tho' Phillips, Clerk for the Responses Charles Dickinson Charles Dickinson Jun' Geo. Balfour Jn° Case Sam' Phillips Christopher Phillips Sam' Albro Jn° Albro \ Vestry Men Bennoni Sweet Stephen Cooper William Browne Jn° Buckmaster Henry Gardiner Ephraim Gardiner Christopher Curtis Att Said Vestry M" Rob' Case, Jn° Albro & Henry Gardiner were Chosen to Provide a Parrish School- 1724-5] church Records 477 master according to the Society for j" propagation of y" Gospels desire and pursuant to their bountyful de- sign [?] the Year Ensueing viz. for 1725 This March 1724/5 are Imprisoned att Bristol in y" Province of theMassachusets Bay Cap' Nath' Browne one of y^ Cch wardens of Providence, Joseph Browne and M' Carpenter all of the town of Rehoboth, for refuseingto pay towards the Support of y' Dissenting teacher in y" Town (viz. M' Greenwood) w""" they re- fuse, Supposeing it Criminal to contribute towards Supporting Schism and a Causeless Separation from y° Church of England; and I have Inserted the Same here, y' the age to come may not forget the oppres- ing Spirit of y" New-England Presbyterians, and w' mercy and moderation y° Church of England is like to feel at their hands when ever they have y° oppor- tunity of Lording it over her, as they have too much already in this Country. Sunday May 1^: 1725 att the Cch of S' Pauls in Nar- raganset were published y" 3** time and No objeftions made Tho' Phillips and Mary Browne both of Nar- raganset. at S' Pauls in Narraganset May 9'* 1725 was bap- tized by M' M"Sparran William Buckmaster a child On Friday June the 11'* 1725 M' Tho' Phillips was married to Mary Browne by M' M'Sparran Redor of Narraganset at Narraganset (10 On Friday June 25'* 1725 was Baptized by M' M"- Sparran at y" House of M' W" Gardiner of Boston- Neck Abigail Arnold daughter of Josiah and Lydia Arnold. on Sunday July f 4'* 1725 was baptized by M' M"- Sparran [att?] y' Cch of S' Pauls Ruhamah Still daughter to Capt. Jn° Still at Westerly being an adult was baptized on her own faith: 478 Church Records [1725 The following is a Manuscript of a Memorial Pre- sented by y" Independent, Congregational or Pres- byterian ministers (as they call themselves) of the Province of y° Massachusets Bay to the Great & General assembly of y' Province. A Memorial and Address humbly presented at a Gen- eral Convention of Min'^ from Several parts of the Province at Boston May I'-j'^ 1725 Considering the Great and Visible decay of piety in y° Country and y' Growth of Many Miscarriages w"*" we may fear have provoked y" Glorious Lord in a Series of various Judgement, wonderfully to Distress us, considering also y" laudable Example of our Pre- decessors to Recover and Establish y" faith and or- der of the Gospel in y" Churches and provide against what immoralities might threaten to impair y" in y" ways of General Synods convened for y° purpose, and Considering y' about forty five years have now rolled [?] away Since these Churches have seen any such Conventions It is humbly de [sired?] y' the Honoured General Court would Express their Concern for y° Great In- terests of Religion in y" Country by calling y° Several churches in y' province to meet by their Pastors and Messengers In a Synod and from thence offer their advice upon y' weighty case w'*" y" Circumstances of y° day do loudly call to be Considered What are y° Miscarriages whereof we have reason to think y= Judgements of heaven upon us call us to be more generally sensible and w' may be y" most Evan- gelical and Effedtual Expedients to put a stop unto those and y'' like Miscarriages. This proposal we hum- bly make in hopes y' if it be presented it may be fol- lowed with many desireable Consequences worthy y" Study of those whom God has made, and we are so happy to Enjoy, as y'= Nurssing fa'^ of our churches Cotton Mather 1725] church Records 479 In y" name of y° min" assembled in General Conven- tion The Rev" M' Danforth, M' Williams, M' Sewal and M' Thayer are desired to present this Memorial. Indorsement To y"" very Honourable William Dummer Esq' Lieu- tenant Gov' & Commander in Chief &c to y" Hon- ourable y" Councillers, to the Honoured the Repre- sentatives in y" Great and General Court assembled of his Maj"" Province of y° Massachusets Bay and now sitting In Council June y" 3'' 1 725. Read and voted that y" Synod and assembly proposed in this Me- morial will be agreeable to this Board, and y" Rev" Min" are Desired to take their own time for the Said assembly and it is Earnestly wished y" Issue thereof may be a happy Reformation In all y" articles of a Christian life among his Majesties Good Subjeds of his Province Sent Down for Concurrence The Memorial of Timothy Cutler and Samuel Miles Min'^ of y" Established Church of England in Bos- ton humbly presented to y" Honourable W"" Dum- mer Esq' Lieutenant Gov' of his Majesties Province of y" Maassachusets Bay, to y'' Honourable his Ma- jesties Council [? and to the] Representatives of y" Said Province in General Court assembled this [10* day?] of June 1725 Whereas we have been informed y' a Memorial has been presented to this Honoured Court, and y' y° prayer of it hath already been granted by y" Honour- able His Majesties Council, and is now Depending in y^ Honourable House of Representatives Therefore we humbly beg leave to offer y'' following Reasons against y° Said Memorial i: The Matter of y" Petition being general, respedting 48o Church Records [1725 y' Miscarriages of y^ whole body of People in this land it is presumed to Comprehend y' Churches of England wherein y' Petitioners have no right to intermedle 1: Whereas by y'= Tenour of y" Petition, w'^'' is to re- vive decaying piety in Conformity to y^ faith and Order of y'' Gospel. In Explication of w'*" general terms y" petitioners Referr y" Honourable Court to a time [45 years ago] when there was no Church of England in New-England. We therefore appre- hend y' y*" Synod Petitioned for is Designed to Prejudice y" People of y" land against y° Said Church. And we have litle Reason to Expedl y' in such a Synod she will be treated with y' tender- ness and Respedt w'** is due to an Established Church. 3 As y° Episcopal Min'' of this Province are Equally Concerned with y'' Petitioners for y" purity of faith and Manners it is disrespedtful to them not to be Consulted in this important affair. 4 Whereas it is Desired y' y° several Churches in y° Province do Meet &c. It is either an hard reflec- tion on y" Episcopal Churches, as none, in not in- cludeing them, and if they are included, we think it verry improper, it being without y" knowledge of their Reverend Diocesan y" Lord Bishop of London. 5 Whereas by Royal Authority y"" Colonies in America are annexed to y° Diocese of London, and In as much as Nothing can be transacted in Ecclesiastical matters without y'' Cognizance of y" Bishop, we are humbly of opinion y' it will neither be Dutiful to his Most Sacred Majesty King George nor Con- sistent with y' Rights of our right Rev"* Diocesan to Encourage or call y*" Said Synod until y'= Plea- sure of his Majestie shall be known therein. 1725] Church Records 481 We humbly pray this Hon'' Court to take y'' pre- misses into their Serious Consideration. Timothy Cutler Samuel Myles {turn over) In y" House of Representatives June 1 1'* 1725 Read In Council June 14'* 1725 Read Examined '^ J. Willard Secretary Recorded for y= Information & Benefit of Posterity by Ja= M"Sparran Cler. July 18 1725 Winterton Curtis a child was baptized at S' Pauls Church by y= Rev" M' Honyman July 25"' 1725 Martha Bennet & John launce both children were Baptized at y'' Cch of S' Paul's in Nar- raganset by y° Rev"" M' Samuel Johnson min' of y° church of England in Stratford in Connefticut Aug" \" day 1725 Margret albro wife to Jn" Albro, and Sussannah Baker both adult persons were bap- tized by M' M"Sparran at S' Pauls [in] Narraganset Aug" 1 5"" in y^ morning Died Martha Bennet y" child of Tho' Bennet Elizabeth Gardiner [daujghter of Geo. Gardener an adult young woman was Baptized by M' M^'Sparran and so was Tho' Gardener son of Jn° Gardener this 22'^ of Jug" 1725 Margret Browne a child daughter of William Browne Schoolmaster was baptized at Narraganset by M' M"Sparran September the 5"" 1725 September the 19''' 1725 were baptized by M' M'Spar- ran at S' Pauls in Narraganset Elizabeth Cole wife of Elisha Cole and her children viz John, Edward, Sussannah, Ann, Elizabeth, and Abigail Cole chil- dren; their Sureties wereM' M^Sparran M'= M'Spar- ran M' William Browne and M'= Sarah Shellet 482 church Records [17^5 Baptized by M' M"Sparran at the house of Jn° Shak- maple Esq' of new-London John Dillen and Ann Dillen twin children September y' 16"' 1725 Died at Narraganset the i8"' of December 1725 Abi- gail Arnold daughter of Josiah Arnold a child, and was interred in the church Yard of S' Pauls in said Nar- raganset after a Sermon preached by the Rev'' M' M'Sparran from S' James: 4: 14 w' is your life? it is even a vapour y' appeareth for a litle time and y" vanish away. Baptized by M' M'^'Sparran at the Church of S' Pauls in Narraganset January 9"' 1725 an adult Person named Sussannah Parr widow and Relidt of Moses Parr deceased Mary Cooper wife of Stephen Cooper an adult being sick abed and in danger of Death was baptized by M' M'Sparran Janry 11''' 1725 [«V] the same day at night departed this life the sd Mary Cooper Maroca african a negro girl of 13 year old belonging to the Rev** M' M^Sparran was by him baptized upon her personal Profession of her own isAth. february 6'* 1725/6 White Hall, 7* oftober 1725 Sir The Lords Justices being informed from Such good hands as makes the truth of this advise not to be doubted y' at a General Convention of ministers from Several Parts of his majesties Province of the Massa- chusets Bay at Boston on the 27 of May last a me- morial and address was framed, Direfted to you as Lieu' Gov' and Commander in Chief, and to the Coun- cil and House of Representatives then sitting, Desire- ing that the General Assembly would call the Several Churches in that Province to meet by their Pastors 1 725] Church Records 483 and Messengers in a Synod. Which memorial and ad- dress being accordingly Presented by some of the said min" in the name, and at the Desire of the said Con- vention was Considered in Council the 3'' June follow- ing, and there approved; But the House of Repre- sentatives put off the Consideration of it to the next Session in which the Council afterward Concurred. Their Excellencys were Extreamely Surprized that no account of so Extraordinary and Important Trans- aftion should have been transmitted by you, pursu- ant to an article in y° Instrudtions, by w"'' you are di- rected upon all occasions, to send unto his Majesty and to the Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, a Particular account of all your Proceedings and the Condition of affairs in y" Government. As this matter does highly concern his Majesties Royal Prerogative, their Excellencys Referred the Consideration of it to M' attorney and sollicitor Gen- eral; who after mature deliberation, and Makeing all the Proper Inquiries, Reported, that from y" Charter and laws of y" Colony, they cannot Colledt That there is any Regular Establishment of a National or Provin- cial Church there, so as to warrant the holding of Con- vocations or Synods of y" Clergie; but if such Synods might be holden, yet they take it to be clear in point of law, that his Majesty^ Supremacy in Ecclesiastical affairs, being a branch of his Prerogative, does take Place in the Plantations, and that Synods cannot be held, nor is it lawful for the Clergy to assemble as in Synod without authority from his Majesty. They conceive the above mentioned application of the min" not to you alone as Representing the Kings Person, but to you and the Council, and the house of Representatives to be a Contempt of his Majestys Prerogative, as it is a Publick acknowledgement that the Power of Granting w' they Desire, Resides in the Legislative Body of the Province, w"*" by law, is vested 484 Church Records [1725 only in his Majesty. And the Lieu' Gov' and Coun- cil and Assembly Intermedleing therein, was an In- vasion of his Majestys Royal authority, w"'' it was y' particular duty as Lieu' Gov' to have withstood and Rejedted. And that the Consent of the Lieu' Gov' the Council, and House of Representatives will not be a Sufficient authority, for the Holding such a Synod. Their Excellencys upon consideration of this opin- ion of the attorney and Sollicitor General which they have been pleased to approve, have commanded me to acquaint you therewith, and to Express to you their Surprize, that no account of so Remarkable aTrans- aftion, w"'' so nearly concerns the Kings Prerogative, and the welfare of his Majestys Province under your Government has been received from you, and to sig- nify to you their dire6tions, that you put an Effedtual Stopp to any such Proceedings, but if the consent de- sired by the Min" Above mentioned for the holdingof such a Synod, should have been obtained, and this Pretended Synod should be actually sitting when you Receive these their Excellencys Direftions, they do in that case. Require and Dired; you to cause such their meeting to cease, acquainting them that their as- sembly is against law, and a contempt of his Majestys Prerogative, and that they are to forbear to meet any more; and if notwithstanding such signification, they shall continue to hold their Assembly, you are to take care that the Principal adtors therein, be Prosecuted for a Misdemeanour, That you are to avoid doing any formal ad: to dissolve them, least that might be Con- strued to imply, that they had a Right to assemble. This S' is, what I have in Command from their Ex- cellencys to signify to you, and I must observe to you, that the Precedent quoted in the abovementioned Memorial of such a Synod being Held 45 years ago, falls in with the Year 1680, and that the former Char- ter upon which the Gov'mt of your Province De- 1725-6] Church Records 485 pended, was Repealed by [Scire facias] in the year 1684, and the new Charter was Granted in the year 1 69 1 from whence it appears that if such Synod or as- sembly was holden as is alledged it happened a short time before the Repealing of the old Charter, but none hath been called since the Granting of the new one. I am S' Y' most humble servant Charles D: la Faye The above Recorded is a Copy of the U Justices Let- ter to Lieu' Gov' Dummer of Boston February 11'' 1725/6 was Baptized by M' M'Sparran Mary Dickinson a child y" Daughter of Capt Jn° Dickinson of Newport at her Grandfa'^ House viz Sam' Phillips of North-Kingstown where shewas born February 24'* I'ji^jG Rich** Updike was Married to Hannah Eldred by M' M'Sparran their Banns of Marriage haveing been first duly published (11 April 10''' 1726 being Easter sunday was baptized at S' Pauls Church In Narraganset by M' Ja= M^- Sparran 3 children viz' James, Sarah, & Mary Cooper the children of Stephen Cooper admitted likewise the first time to the Sacrament of y" Lords Supper M'' Eliz" Cole wife of EHsha Cole Esq' At S'Paul's Church in Narraganset v^/'r////^^' 1 1'* 1726 being Easter Monday Present the Rev** M' M'Sparran one of the Church wardens and only two of y" Vestry altho publick and timely Notice was given for y° meeting of said Vestry by the Min' the Sunday before according to y" Cannon and Rubrick, voted y' y" Ves- try be adjourned to May the 16"" that then y° old Churchwardens bring in their annual accounts and other things usual to be transacted be then Consid- ered of and Done attest Ja' M'Sparran Cler. Upon 'Tuesday may f 10'* 1726 died Mary Daugh- 486 Church Records [1726 ter of Charles Higgingbotham and was the next day Interred in the Cch-yard of S" Pauls in Narraganset after a funeral sermon Preached by M' M'Sparran May 16"' 1726 at a vestry held at y^ church of S' Pauls by adjournment from Easter Monday present the Rev'' M' M'Sparran & vestry they proceeded to choose the following Gentlemen in the respedive offices following Sp\J''°^\^-° t Achurch wardens Charles Dickinson, J un J Tho' Phillips Clerk for y'= Responses Charles Dickinson Geo. Balfour Sam' Albro Sam' Phillips William Browne William Gardiner Bennoni Sweet Rob' Case Tho= Phillips Christopher PhiUips Henry Gardiner Eph. Gardiner Jn° Case Stephen Cooper James Delpech Christopher Curtis Narraganset June 6"" 1 726 were joined together in holy Matrimony (after being duely published and no suffi- cient obje6tions made) WilHam Wilkinson and Re- becca Tomkins both of y' Part of Narraganset called South-Kingstown (12 June the 8'* 1726 Elisha Cole Esq' an adult being sick had clinical Baptism administred to him by M' M'- Sparran at said Coles House in y' part of Narragan- set called North-Kingstown. (i > Vestry men 1726] Church Records 487 Sunday June 12"' 1726 baptized at the House of Jn° Shackmaple of New London Esq' by the Rev'' M' James M''Sparran3 adult Persons viz Mary Whittwell, Sussannah Wyatt, & Alice Pell and one Infant viz: Ann Whitwel. (4 June 26,iji6 at S' Pauls Church in Narraganset were baptized by y" Rev** M' James M'Sparran Margret Hackstone an adult Person, & Samuel, John, James, Bennoni, Elizabeth & Isabel Albro the 6 children of Cap' Jn° Albro. (7 Sureties for said Children were M' Dickinson, Samuel Albro, M'= Albro & M'^ M'Sparran all Communicants July i" 1726 about 11 ofy" Clock at night Clinical Baptism was administred by M' M^Sparran at y' Houseof William Gardiner of Boston-Neck to Josiah Arnold y" child of Josiah Arnold, said Child being sick and in danger of Death. The Same Night upon y" like occasion about 2 of y" clock in y" Morning Clinical Baptism was administred to Charles Higginbotham y' child of Doftor Charles Higginbotham at Said D"' House (2 July 17'* 1 726 at S' Pauls Cch in Narraganset was bap- tized by M' M'Sparran Hannah Gardiner the Child of Jn° Gardiner of S. Kingstowne (i August 15'* 1726 Clinick Baptism was administred to Capt Daniel Eldred by M' M^Sparran who the 1 8"' of said m° departed this life Aug" 1 6 Charles Dickinson's Son Tho' Dickinson was baptized in Infancy by M' M'Sparran (2 Aug" 2% 1726 baptized by M'M'Sparran at M' Pigots a child named James Alford (i September 11"' 1726 at night Clinick Baptism was ad- ministred by M' M'Sp: to Abigail y" wife of Cap' Lodowick Updike it being y" St, year of her age, and to Hannah Mitchel an adult likewise (2 488 Church Records [1726 September iB'* 1726 at New-London baptized by M' M'Sparran a child named Lambert Tree 05ioher iS'* 1726 Clinical Baptism was administred to Mary Gardiner Y wife of Will*" Gardiner Com- monly called Long William She being dangerously sick by M' M'Sparran who died next day OSIober 29'* was buried James a twin Son of Capt Jn° Albrow's, the next day at Night died Elizabeth his Eldest Daughter, and y" next Isabella his youngest Daughter born at one Birth with y° aforsaid James w'^'^two Daughters were interred in one grave on 'Tues- day y' i" Day of November, 1726 September y' 17"' were Joined togather at New London in holy Matrimony Jn° Gidley and Sarah Shackmaple the man haveing been duely published in y" Cch of Newport on Rhode Island and the wo" in New Lon- don according to y" laws of y^ Colony of Connefticut ^ , London Aug" 9* 1726 Gentlemen ° I have laid y" address dated May y'^ 20"" 1726 before the Society [for] the Propagation of the Gospel in Forreign Parts, and they have agreed upon Conside- [rati] on of the Good Charadter you have given M' James Delpech with regard to his a [bili] ties for teach- ing, his Morals and Affection to his Majesty King George to allow him [an] annual Salary of Ten Pounds to commence from y" time of his teaching school. [You] will please to acquaint M' Delpech with this allowance the Society have made [him] and as you must be best acquainted w' may be the most Conven- ient Place for a school, to fix it there; and dired; M' Delpech to transmit to y" Society Certificates signed by you of his due teaching school, and he may draw on the Treasurer for his Salary; I am Gentlemen your most humble servant David Humphreys Secretary 1726-7] Church Records 489 Directed on the outside to the min'' Church Wardens and vestry of Narraganset in New-England on y' inside To the Church wardens and Vestry of Narraganset The above is a true Record of the Letter from the Society Received by Post the 16"' ofnov' 1726 by me. Ja' M'Sparran Cler: Nov^ 28"" 1726 Abigail Gardiner aged (i<) years the wife of Henry Gardin[er] of Narraganset was bap- tized by M' M'Sparran at said Gardiners House she being sick. At a vestry held at y" Cch of S' Paul in Narraganset Nov" y' 2,0"' 1725 {sic] the vestry agreed M' Delpech should begin School keeping as the Societ [ys ] School- master at or upon the 21* of Decern' 1726. agreed y^ Same Day y' the Said Delpech be obliged to take into his Care and School and there to teach gratis such and so many and no other Children as shall be Recommended by and have a Certificate from y' Mini' or Incumbent for the time Being y' such child or children are proper objedls of the Societys Charity voted and agreed to nemine Contradicente Decern' 25"" 1726 being Xmass and Sacrament Day Tho' Bennet [M]argret albro y" wife of Capt Jn° Albro and Mary Gardiner wife [of] Jn° Gardiner Re- ceived y^ Sacrament of y" Lords Supper at y° Cch of [S'] Pauls y= first time Jan'y i" 1726/7 were Joined together in Holy Matri- mony by M' M^Sparran Samuel Carr of Connanicut and Sussannah Spink of N° Kingstown in Narragan- set the Banns being first duely published in Church ( 1 4 Sunday Jan'y 11'' I'jiGj'j baptized by M' M'Sparran three children of Jn° Launce Namely Ann, Eleanor, 490 Church Records [1726-7 and Martha Launce the Same Day a child named Jo- siah Arnold baptized in sickness was received into Congregation with Suretys Sunday Jan'y 29'* 1726/7 William Phillips the child of Christopher Phillips was baptized by M' M'Spar- ran i^^^r«^ry 1 6"'i726/7Cap' Jonathan Dickinson wasmar- ried toM'^ Mary Cole by the Rev" M' M^Sparran (15 March 16"" 1726 Joseph Northrup was married to Elizabeth Cooper by y= Rev" M' M'Sparran at the Cch of S' Paul in Narraganset (16 jipril 1^ ^I'^l being Easter Day were admitted to y" Lords Supper for y" first time y" following Persons viz: Cap' Jn° Albro, M'= Ruhamah Still y= wife of Cap' Jn° Still, M'= Abigail Gardiner wife of Henry Gardiner & Sussannah Baker the N° of Coicants Said Day were 20 S' Pauls Cch Narraganset April 17'* 1727 at a vestry voted y' M' Christopher Phillips Sustain y" place of Cch warden for the remaining part of this Year in Room of Charles Dickinson Jun' who is removed out of town — 15"" 1727 John Case of Tower Hill was married to Philippa Dickinson at Her fath" house by y" Rev" James M'Sparran Voted y' the said Gentlemen be Vestry Men who Stand chosen for last year as their names Stand re- gistred in page 21" The Same day voted y' the Church wardens Dispose of M' Yeo' Pew in the Gallery to such ^son as does, or is like to come constantly to church September 2'' 1727 Jn° Gardiner an adult (Son of Wil- liam) being dangerously sick had Clinical Baptism ad- mi nistred to him by y" Rev" M' M'Sparran 1727] church Records 491 September 4'* 1727 Mary Allen an adult being danger- ously sick had clinical Baptism administred to her by M' M'^Sparran Sepf 11''' 1727 William a child of 7 mo' old and Son of Christopher Phillips of No: Kingstown was buried in y" Church Yard of S' Pauls in Narraganset M" Margret albro died in 7^r & W™ poor in nov'' 1727 Decern'' 6'* 1727 baptized at Groton by M' M'Sparran two children of Sam' Burrows's namely Elizabeth and Abigail The next day y'ix']''' of Decern' 1727 were married Tho' Mumford to Abigail Cheesbrough by M' M'Sparran at Stoneingtown Two adults viz' Joseph Mumford of South Kings- towne Justice of the Peace and Cap' Stephen arnold of Warwick were both baptized at y" Church of St Pauls in Narraganset by M' M"Sparran on Sunday the 17"' of Decenf I'ji^ This acct of Baptisms transmitted Stephen, John, Richard and Caleb Mumford the 4 Sons of Joseph Mumford Esq' were baptized at his House y' 29"" of Decern'' \']i'j by M' M'Sparran St Pauls Cch, Narraganset, baptized by M' M'Spar- ran Decern" 31" 1727 Eber Indian an adult Decern' 3 1" 1727 about 7, o', y" clock in the morning died at Westerly Hannah Gardiner Daughter of Jn° and Mary Gardiner of Narraganset aged 4 years 8 mo' and 9 Days, and was buried by M' M'Sparran accord- ing to y" Manner of y° Church of England, at said Westerly, the. first Day of January 1727 [j/c] January 11'' 1727 about 9 o' the clock post meridiem [«V] died at ConnanicutLydia Arnold the wife of Josiah Arnold, and Daughter of William and abigail Gardi- 492 Church Records [1727-8 ner of Boston Neck in Narraganset aged 21 years lack- ing 5 Days, and upon the 24"" was buried according to the Manner of y" Church of England in S' Pauls church yard in said Narraganset by M' M^Sparran who also preached a Sermon upon y' Occasion. (She died in Child Birth.) March 17"" 1727 Deborah onion an Indianess and adult wife of John Onion an Englishman being sick had clinick Baptism administred to Her by M' M^Sparran in Narraganset they had been married by M' MacSparran (18 Sunday April 14"' 1728 at S' Paul's Church in Narra- gansetwas baptized by M'M^SparranThomas Hazard an adult Good Friday April ig"" 1728 was baptized publickly at S' the Church of S' Paul in Narraganset by y" Rev'' M' M^Sparran his Negro Servant Man Named Richard At the Church of S' Paul Easter Monday April 11* 1 728 present the Rev"* M' M'Sparran Reftor the Con- gregation voted y' M' Christopher Phillips be con- tinued Cch warden the ensuing year, the same Day Voted by y" min' and Congregation y' M' Ephraim Gardiner be junior church warden At y" Same Time was chosen Clerk by y" Min' M' Tho= Phillips The Same Day voted by y" Congregation y' y° Vestry shall for this ensueing Year Consist only of 1 5 Gentle- men of y° Congregation, as follows exclusive of y" Cch wardens and clerk Charles Dickinson Joseph Mumford George Balfour Henry Gardiner Sam' Phillips William Gardiner Sam" Albro Jn° Gardiner Elisha Cole Rob' Case 1728] church Records 493 Jn° Case Stephen Cooper Jn° Albro Josiah Arnold Bennoni Sweet The Same Day Voted, y' the first Sunday after Mid- summer, Michaelmass, Christmass & Lady Day an- nually there be a Contribution made in the Church by the Congregation, and the money so collected by the church wardens, to be a stock and at y" Disposi- tion of y" Vestry for the Repairs of the church and other uses y' they shall agree to put it to Voted likewise y' y" church wardens have six pence '^ pound, out of all money at any time collected by them, except the offerings at y" Sacrament & y" money gathered for y" support of the Min' May y' 5"" 1728 baptized at New-London by M' M'Sparran a female child named Witherel-Denison Wyat. Mayy' 9'* 1728 the Rev" M' M^Sparran at y-^ House of Jn° Hill of Westerly Esq' did join together in holy Matrimony John Belden of Norwalk in Connedticut to Ruhamah Hill Daughter of said Jn° Hill May 19"' 1728 Thomas Phillips the son of Tho' Phil- lips of N° Kingstowne an Infant was baptized at y" church of S' Paul by M' M'Sparran July 28 1728 Tho' Bizwel Son of Samuel Bizwel a child of about 4 years had clinical Baptism administred to Him by M' M'^Sparran July 28 1728 Thomas Phillips the Son of Tho^ Phil- lips of North Kingstowne departed this Life the 26 & was buryed in the church Yard the 28 aforesaid ^ug" 1^ 1728 this Day was baptized WiUiam Gardi- ner an Adult at M' M'Sparrans house conditionally Jug" ^"' 1728 at S' Pauls was baptized by M' M-^Spar- ran Sylv' Arnold a child y' son of Josiah & Lydia Arnold in Child birth of whom his mot' died. 494 Church Records [1728 August 11"' 1728 at St Pauls was baptized by M' M'^Sparran Mary Phillips the wife of Tho' Phillips and Daughter of Samuel Browne, upon her own pro- fession of Faith August 25"" 1728 at St Pauls was baptized Benjamin Mumford and Ann his wife both adults by M' M^- Sparran August aS"" I J2S at the House of Benj" Mumford pub- lick Baptism was administred by M' M^Sparran to his 4 children viz': Samuel, Thomas, Peter and Phebe Mumford September 20'* 1728 M" Ann chase y" wife of Cap' Jn° Chase of Newport was baptized by M' M'Sparran at Narraganset Consent thereunto being before had of M' Honyman the Min' of Newport immer[sion] oSloher 12"" 1728 about 10 of y" clock at Night at y" House of Elisha Sheerman was baptized in his bed he being verry sick said Elisha Sheerman by M' M'Spar- ran January 13"" 1728 at a Vestry called at the Instance of M' James Delpech the Societys schoolmaster for Narraganset and met at the House of M' M^Sparran the Question was put whether M' Delpech has so taught school for this last year to the Satisfaftion of the Vestry that they will sign certificates of his due teaching in order to be transmitted to y° Society and it passed in the negative The Same Day M' James Delpech Requested the Vestry to dismiss Him from the Service of the So- ciety as their Schoolmaster at Narraganset, and the Question being put whether said M' Delpech should be dismissed, it passed in the affirmative Feb 19"" 1728 at Groton in Connedticut was baptized by M' M'Sparran two children viz: Thomas Mum- ford & Thankful Parker 1728] Church Records 495 Narraganset Feb 26 1728 baptized by M' M'Spar- ran a child named Christopher Phillips ffeb' 28: att a Vestery Meeting held att the Church of S' Pauls, in Narragansett it was Voated & agreed that M' Jn° Gardner Should Sitt in Cap' William Gardners pew in the Right of the s'* W" Gardner & att the Same Time the s"* Jn° Gardners Pew is De- clared Vacant till Such time as the s"" Jn° Gardner Shall Return to his own Pew in a Regular Manner With the Consent of the Vestry. At the said meeting of the Vestry at the curch \jic] of St Paul in the Narraganset duly summoned and assembled at said curch this 1%''' feb: 1J28 in order to consider and agree upon proper measures and rules for the preventing Jarrs and contentions and furthering and secureing peace and good order in the congregation especially respedting pews necessary car- ges [j^'cj&c" present the Rev"* M' M'Sparran Reftor 1 be it anafted by the minister curch wardens and ves- try, and it is hereby anafted by them. That all and every person occupant or Possesor of any pew in said curch, or y' hereafter shall be so shall be liable to pay towards the support of Relegion and Decency of Gods publick worship Such particular Qouto \_Q.uotd] as the vestry for the time being, or a Com- mttee chosen by them shall judge theirejust and equitable proportion, according to theire abilitys and privileges in said curch under the penalty of forfiting such pew, wich upon such forfiture shall by the curch wardens empowered thereunto by the vestry for the time being be sold for the common Benifit of the congregation. 2 be it anadled (ut supra) That upon any pews becoming vacant by the Death, Removeal or defedlion from the curch of the possesor or occupant theireof y' in all such 496 Church Records [17^8 cases the Disposal of said pew or pews shall be only in the vestry and the money ariseing from said Dis- posal to be Deposited with the curch wardens for the time being as the churches money to be Dis- posed of only by the Vestry and for the common Benefit of the congregation ; nevertheless this a6t is qualified and to be understood with the tow follo- ing provisors limitations or Restridions ; as (i) when the clamer or Possesor of any pew dies leaving childring or legal Representatives members of the church of England, of Capacity and willing to con- tribute theire proportionable part of charge towards the Support of Religion and Decency of the pub- lique worship they shall succeed into the Room and priviledges of said predecesor but if the chil- dren or Representatives as aforesaid shall at the Demise of thare father or predecesor possesor of any pew happen to be minors y' then the use Im- provement and disposal of said pew be and remain in the vestry until they the said minors arrive at the age and capacity to comply with the order of the vestry in such cases already provided and (2) whereas this adt declares all pews to become vacant by the Defedtion or falling off of theire possesors or occu- pants from the church it is hereby provided y' upon the Reconciliation of said person or persons to the church in A proper manner, they shall upon appli- cation to the vestry be either restored to their for- mer place, or seated to their satisfaction elsewhere upon such terms as the vestry shall think just and reasonable, but in the mean time the pew or pews to be Disposed of as in cases of common vacancy; a tender regard being always had to the children or representatives of such Backsliders whilest they continue to frequent Gods publique worship here. 3 be it anadted &c y' all and every person or persons neither Inhabitants nor Residents of Narraganset 1728] Church Records 497 y' have any claim or pretension of Right to any pew in said church be henceforth obHged to comply with the orders of the vestry here with Regard to theire defraying theire proportion of charge as if they lived and constantly attended the publick wor- ship here under the penalty of forfiting said pew or pews to the benifit of the congregation to be dis- posed of by order of the vestry as in y" common case of vacancy. 4 that when any person already seated shal incline to move into a more comodious vacant pew (i e a pew declared vacant by the vestry it must be by apply- cation to the vestry assembled and to them only of whom he may purchase said vacancy 5 be it anadled &c : that when any affair of any Re- lation or Importance to this church is laid before the vestry wich Requirs space of time to deliberate upon it or wich may be thought to be more easily consulted upon accomplished dispadthed [«V] or perfected by a smaler number than the whole ves- try that then and in all such cases the minister for the time being be requested to condescend y' a committee of a certain number be impowered to consider and consult upon and make theire Report to the Vestry or congregation where that may be proper provided y' when the committee of the ves- try amount to 5 or upwards y' y" tow church war- ' dens for the time being be of that committee. 6 The Vestry being y" Representative of the whole congregation theire afts and decrees shall at all times bind every particular member of the congre- gation in all matters relating to the peace good or- der and management of the affairs of y" church, and all nonsubmission to theire orders shall be Deamed contumacious provided nevertheless, that when any person or persons are aggrieved at any adt or order of said vestry, they shall be entitled 498 Church Records [1728-9 in proper and decent manner to sue to said ves- try for Redress wheather by endedvouring [sic^ an alteration amendment or Repeal of the adt pro- duceing theire Grievances as y" circumstances of the matter shall stand. At the said vestry the following pews where [jzV] voted vacant videlicet N° 8 the pew of M^ Charles Dickinson Jun' N° 9 in the Gallery the pew of M' Yeo N° 23 the pew of M' William Brown N° 13 the pew of M' John Gardiner Att a vestry meeting att the Church March 31:1 729 the Committy Appointed to Draw Up & present to the Vestry some Rules to be hereafter Governed by for the Augmenting & Establishing the Ministers Sallary, have this Day presented a Report of their proceedings in s"" Affair, which Report was Voated and Rec-* by s" Vestry: The Report here Referr'd to Bare's Date March 10: 1728/9 Sign^ by Christ' Phillips 1 p , , „, ^ Jn° Albro ] Jos. Mumford > Committy Josias Arnold j Att a congreation Meeting held att the Church of S" Paul in Narragansett on Easter Monday April 7: 1729 Present f Reverend M' M"Sparran Rec" the Minnister Chose M' Ephraim Gardner, i^' Ch: Warden the Congregation Chose M' Joseph Mumford, 2 Ch Warden the Congregation Chose the following persons vestry men for the Ensueing Year Viz" M' Charles Dickinson \ M' George Balfour I Vestry Men M' Sam" Phillips J 1729] church Records 499 M' Sam" Albro* M^ Elisha Cole M' ]n° Case M' Benoni Sweet M' Jn" Albro M' Joseph Mumford M' Henery Gardner > Vestry Men M' Jn° Gardner M' Rob' Case M' Benja Mumford M' Tho^ Phillips M' Christ' Phillips M' Stephen Cowper April 2)^ 172.9 Leuitenant William Mumford of South Kingstown was married to the widow ann Ray alias ann Wilson by M' M'Sparran (20 May 18'* 1729 Jn° Innis married to Elizabeth Austin both of North Kingstowne by M' M'^Sparran (21 abigail Mumford daughter of Joseph Mumford was baptized at said M' Mumford's the 7"" Day of July 1729 by M' M'^Sparran Tho' Buckmaster a child was baptized by M' M^Spar- ran with clinick baptism at M' Buckmasters Aug" 28''' 1729 Amoz Gardiner a child, Son of Jn° Gardiner baptized at the Cch of S' Paul in Narraganset September the 7'* 1729 Samuel Power son of Joseph and Abigail Power, a child of about 11 or 12 years old, had clinick Bap- tism administred to him by y° Rev** M' M'Sparran minister of the Cch of Engl"" in Narraganset the 28"' Day of September 1729 Christopher Dickinson Son of Samuel & Mary Dick- inson was baptized by M' M^Sparran at S' Paul's in Narraganset Nov" 1^ 1729 1^ Said Mary Dickin- 500 Church Records [1729-30 son was the wife of Jonathan Dickiwson, after whose demise she incestuously contradled marriage with Sam- uel Dickinson Bro' to said Jonathan, and said Chris- topher is the child of y' Incestuous Conjun6lion, but haveing unexceptionable Sponsors was baptized as aforesaid Monday ly'* of Nov'' 1729 M' M'Sparran preached to a large Congregation at Warwick and baptized Ste- phen Arnold an adult youth & Mary Arnold a child both the children of Cap' Stephen Arnold of said Town Tuesday the 16"' of Decern' 1729 M' M'Sparran being sent for to providence did then and there baptize Job Harris an adult being far gone in a Consumption and in appearance near his Death. [& died ye day after] . Saturday March 14: 1729/30 Then administrd Cli- nick Baptism to two children of Cap' Jn° Albro viz: Stephen and Margret, the Son by his former, y" Daughter by his p" Wife. Easter Day March 29''' 1730 baptized at y° Church of S' Paul in Narraganset by y' Rev' M' M'^Sparran Re- becca Green a Child of about 10 years old, her Sure- ties were her Mistress M'= Sarah Updike, M'' Kath- rine Updike & M' Tho' phillips. At a meeting of the Congregation at S' Paul's Church in Narraganset on Easter Monday March 30"" 1730, present the Rev"" M'Sparran Re6tor M' Joseph Mumford ) ^l 1 tit j M' Josiah Arnold ( Church Wardens M' Cha. Dickinson M' Geo. Balfour M' Sam' Phillips M' Sam' Albro \ ^^^^'y ^^^ M' Tho^ Hafzard M' Benoni Sweet 1729-30] church Records 501 Vestry Men M' Hen' Gardner Jn' M' W™ Gardner M' Jn° Gardner M' Tho^ Phillips M' Christ' Phillips M' Ephraim Gardner Cap' Jn° Albro M' Benja. Mumford Att the Meeting of s"^ Congregation on the thirteth [sic] of March afore s"* the Vestry Ordered the Pew which was Thomas Lillibridges, Should be M' Sam" Bissells, S'' Lillibridge haveing forfitted s"* Pew S** Bis- sell Complying with the Orders of the Committy April 12"' 1730 the Rev" M' M'Sparran baptized at New London a child named William Henderson — & preached there to a Large Congregation Jn° Dye aged 105 years departed this Life March y' 2'' 1729/30 & was interred [in] y'' churchyard of S' Paul's in Narraganset Isabella albro wife of Sam' albro aged between 86 & 88 departed this Life aprilj" 1" 1730 & was interred in y^ burying place belonging to said Samuel Albro in his own Ground in North Kingstown y" 3'' of said Month Margret Albro Daughter of Cap' Jn° Albro & bar- bara his wife a child departed this Life April 19"' 1730 & was buried April 20''' in s*" Albro"" burying place Westerly in Narraganset Christopher Champlin Son of Cap' Christopher Champlin and Hannah Hill Daughter of Cap' Jn° Hill were joined togetherin holy Matrimony April 11'' 1730 by the Rev" M' M'Spar- ran at y^ House of S" Cap' Jn° Hill (22 N° Kingstown in Narraganset April i^^ 1730 Samuel Bentley and Susannah Baker were joined together in 502 Church Records [173° holy Matrimony by the Rev'' M' M'^Sparran at his House v^3 May the 1'' 1730 Daniel Updike attorney General for y" Colony of Rhode Island &c & Lv' Colonel of y' Militia of the Islands in said Colony was baptized by the Rev"* M' M'Sparran by Immersion in the pres- ence of said M' M'Sp: Hannah Ml^Sparran his Wife & M' Josiah Arnold Church Warden, as his witnesses June 24'* 1 730 were joined together in holy Matrimo- ny John Fowler & Mary How by M' M'Sparran (24 July K)"" 1730 was baptized at S' Paul's church by M' M'Sparran Emblo african a negro child & slave be- longing to said M' M'^Sp: OSlober 15"" 1730 Joseph Torry & Elizabeth Wilson were joined together in holy Matrimony at the House of Cap' Jeremiah Wilson in South Kingstown by the Rev"' M' M'^Sparran (25 OSlober 18'* 1730 Stephen Shearman and Margret Hackstone were joined together in holy Matrimony at the House of M' M^Sparran in North Kingstown by said M' M'Sparran (26 Decern' 9'* 1730 M' M'Sparran preached at the House of M' Benj" Mumford in y' part of Narraganset called South Kingstowne and baptized 4 children viz : George Mumford the son of said Benj" the Suretys were M' M'Sparran, Joseph Mumford Esq' and M" ann pierce and Jn" Joseph & Sarah Wilkinson the chil- dren of William Wilkinson, their Suretys were said M' M'Sparran Joseph Mumford ann pierce and Ann Mumford. Decern' 31" 1730 at the House of Henry Gardiner Jun' were joined together in holy Matrimony by the Rev'' M' M'Sparran Thomas potter and Hannah Gar- diner Daughter of said Henry (26 [«V] Sunday March 7"' 1730 There were baptized by M' I730- -i] Church Records 503 M^Sparran at y° church of S' Paul in Narraganset 2 children of William Gardiner of South Kingstowne y" Son of Henry: viz: John and Abigail their Suretys were M' & M" M'^Sparran, Ephraim Gardiner and M" Ann Mumford; Likewise two Indian Slaves be- longing to M'^ Eliz" Cole an adult named Judith and her child named Jane their Sureties & witnesses were s^M'and M" M'Sparran and their Mistress Elizabeth Cole On Easter Monday April 19: 1731 att a Meeting of the Congregation of the Church of S' Pauls present the Rev'' M"' M'^^Sparran Redt' The fFollowing persons Chosen M' Kt^Norton } ^^""'^"^ hardens M' Cha. Dickinson M' Geo. Balfour M' Sam" Albro M' Sam" Phillips M' Joseph Mumford Cap' Jn° Albro M' Tho= Phillips M' Benoni Sweet M' William Gardner M' Hen' Gardner M' Ephraim Gardner M' Christ' Phillips M' Josiah Arnold M' Benja. Mumford M' Tho= Hafzard July the i^Bay 1731 at the House of Joseph Mum- ford of So: Kingstowne was baptized by M' M'Spar- ran Joseph Mumford a child of s"* M' Mumford's the Sponsers were M' M'Sparran Cap' Rich'' Mumford Sc M'= Eliz^ Cole Aug"-i'^ 1 73 1 att y'' House of Christopher Curtis M' Vestry Men 504 Church Records [173 ^ M^Sparran M' Charles Dickinson & M'' Phillip Case being sponsors was baptized Samuel Curtis being sick, he is a child of almost 5 years old baptized by M' M'Sparran zS'* 173 1 M' M'Sparran administred Clinick bap- tism [at] the house of Xpher phillips to his child Peter Phillips he being dangerously sick oSfober lo"' 173 1 at S' Paul's in Narraganset was bap- tized by M' M'^Sparran the child of Cap' Jn° Albro named Eliz' Albro; the Sponsors William Gardiner son of Henry M'= M-^Sparran and Mr= Cole %br 29'* 1 73 1 Mary Shearman wife of Elisha Shear- man had clinick Baptism administred to her by M' M'Sparran Nov' 15"" 173 1 Sam' Browne of So: Kingstowne an adult baptized by M' M'Sparran by Immer: the wit- nesses were Ephraim Gardiner, M' & M" M'Sparran Nov' 11^ 1 73 1 Abigail Gardiner an adult & wife of William Gardiner of Boston Neck in Narraganset be- ing abroad on a visit at her sister Mumford's at Gro- ton was there baptized by her son in Law the Rev'' M' M'Sparran the witnesses were her Bro' and sister Mumford and M" Pierce [all Coicants in the Cch] Nov' 29'* 1731 Christopher Champlin a child and son of Xtopher & Hannah Champlin the Daughter of Cap' Jn° Hill of Westerly was baptized at said Cham- plin's house by M' M'Sparran the Suretys were the Rev" M'=^ M'Sparran & Seabury and M" Hannah Mumford of Groton Feb \" Day 173 1 Daniel Gill was married to Hannah Kingsly by M' M-^Sparran (27 Whereas it is thought necessary by the Min", Cch Wardens and united vestries of Kings chappel and Xts Cch at Boston in New England, y' a Sum of money be raised to lay the Sufferings of the Cchmen 173 1] Church Records 505 in this Province Sec" before the King in Council, and to prosecute the matter effedtually in England, and if any Money shall remain after the said Prosecution shall be ended, y' it be kept in y" Hands of y" Cch wardens for j" time being of Kings chappel and Christs' Cch aforsaid, as a stock to defend and pro- mote the Interest of the Cch of England in New England And y' it be recommend [sic] to all persons who have any affection or Compassion for this sound and ex- cellent (however at present, in this Part of y" world Suffering and afflidted) Cch, to afford their charitable assistance. We therefore the Subscribers, Inhabitants of Narra- ganset, Mbrs of, and wellwishers to y" Cch of Eng- land, in testimony of our Concurrence with all such wise Measures as may be taken for y° Cchh'es Good, do give the Sums opposite to our Names, for y^ uses aforsaid ^_ ,^,^u Narraganset March 6 173 1 Charles Dickinson p"" Geo. Balfour p** Joseph Mumford p** Will" Gardiner Jun' p'^ Geo. Mumford p** Benj" Peckham p'' Jonath Turner (?) p* Benj" Mumford p"" Henry Willis p"" Jn° Case p** Christ' Phillips p^ Nath' Norton p" Mary Phillips marito absente Ester Powel p"" Eliz^ Cole p* Josiah arnold p"* I ^■■ : 0: ;o £ 3-- : 0: ; £ ^■■ : ;o £ i: 0: : £ 1 = ; : :o £°°- : 10: :o £ i: : :o ;^o; : 5 :o ^0: : 10 : :o £0: ;i5; ;o £ 2: ; 10 : :o £ ^: ;oo :o £ i: :oo :o £ i: ; 10: :o £ i: :oo :o /3: ;oo :o £ I oo I I oo £ I oo £ I oo ^o ■15 £o 10 £ o 10 506 Church Records [1731-^ Christ' Curtis p** Ephr. Gardiner p"* Henry Gardiner p"* Jn° Gardiner p'' Sam' Bizwel p'' Sam' Brown p"* Jn° Albro p' ^^28:15:0 a Record of Money sent to Boston for y" uses above Specified Boston april 17'* 1732 Rev* Sir: This morning I received the _£iS : 15 w'*" you was so good as to gather among y' People; to w"" in the behalf of the Committee I return thanks Jn° Gibbins Copy of receipt for Money in y'' Subscription Easter Monday april g"' 1732 at a Meeting appointed for y" Congregation to choose Cch wardens and Ves- try Men present the Rev' M' M'^Sparran & y'= Eldest Cch warden. The old Cch wardens and Vestry ex- cept such [as] are dead and removed continued, and the first Monday in May appointed for meeting of the Vestry again by adjournment, to fill y^vacancys and Contrive some measures to provide for a Clerk. On Monday May y' i: 1732: att a Meeting of the Congregation of the Church of S' Pauls present the Reverend M' MacSparran Redtor The fFollowing persons Chosen M' Jn° Gardner | ^, , ,„ , M' Nath" Norton ( ^^"'"'^^ Wardens M' Cha= Dickinson ^ M' Geo. Balfour M' Sam" Albro I Vestry Men M' Sam" Phillips M' Joseph Mumford ^ 1 73 2] Church Records 507 Cap' Jn° Albro M' Tho= Phillips M' Benoni Sweet M' William Gardner M' Hen. Gardner M' Ephraim Gardner V Vestry Men M' Christ' Phillips M' Josiah Arnold M' Benja. Mumford M' Tho^ Hafzard M' Sam" Brown May y' i : 1732: This Meeting is Adjourned to the Last Monday in this Month Whereas Several of the People belonging to the Parish of S' Paul's church in the Narraganset take- ing it into their Consideration that the yearly allow- ance of the Society is insufficient for the maintainance of the Ministry, and y' all other means for makeing a sufficient addition to the Society's Bounty haveing hitherto proved ineffedlual and abortive. Therefore at a Vestry Meeting held at j' Cch afore- said the Twenty eighth day of February Anno Dom : 1728/9 it was Voted nemine Contradicente, that a Committee consisting of three persons together with the two present Churchwardens be Chosen in order to eredl a Scheme to make such additional Allow- ance for the further Support of the Ministry as they shall judge requisite, and to Setle it upon such a Basis or Foundation that there may be no obstrudion in the obtaining it for the future A Report of the aboves'^ Committee held at y° House of M' Ephraim Gardner the 10"' Day of March 1728/9 That pursuant to y" abovesaid ad: of the Vestry we judge it most convenient, equitable and just, to rate or assess each Pew in y'' Church according to its Scitu- ation or Convenience, w"'' we have accordingly done; 5o8 Church Records [1732 likewise judgeing it Neery y' such assessment be paid to y" church wardens by a weekly Contribution And if y' any Person or Persons negled: or refuse to pay w' is here laid on their pew, y' then it is our opin- ion y' his Pew ought to be judged Vacant, and sold to y" highest bidder (for the use of y° church) provided the Purchaser pay the Charge on the Pew aforsaid And here followeth the Number of the Pews, with their several assessments M' Charles Dickinson M' Sam' Albro M' Geo. Balfour Cap" Bennoni Sweet Esq' Elisha Cole M' William Gardiner M' Sam' Browne M' William Cole M' Jn° Gronet Mefs" Updikes M' Tho' Phillips M' William Mumford M' Stephen Cooper M' Jn° Gardiner The Corner vacant Pew M' Henry Gardiner M' Charles Dickinson Jun' M' Rob' Case M' Lillybridge Cap' Daniel Eldred's Wid" M' Nath' Norton D' Charles Higginbotham M' Joseph Powers M' Tho^ Bennet M' Yeo's vacant Pew Esq' Joseph Mumfords Cap' Jn° Albro £6-- :o £^-- :o £6: 0:0 £^-- :o £6: 0:0 £6: 0:0 £4-- 0:0 £a: : /i: 10: £(>■■ 0:0 £3-- :o £5-- 0:0 £3-- : £5-- :o £^-- :o /4: : Content £3-- :o /4: : £^-- 0:0 £^-- 0:0 £^-- 0:0 £3: 0:0 £^-- 0:0 £^-- : £^-- :o £6: r\ • r\ Joseph Mn ^ • U Content £4: : Jn° Albro 1 73 2] Church Records 509 M' Ephraim Gardiner £^: 0:0"^^''^°' Christopher Phillips £4. : 0:0 '^^'■^^'■ M' Josiah arnold ^5 : 0:0 no: 10 :o Church Wardens | g^f '°P\"' ^^^'^^P' ( rLph. Gardiner ( ]n° Albro Com'"^ Joseph Mumford (^ Josiah arnold The names who have either y" word (Content) or a repetition of the Name subscribed to y" abovesaid assesment a true Copy recorded July 16''' 1732 Job Rude of Newport in Rhode Is- land was married to Elizabeth Sterling of Narragan- set by M' M'Sparran (28 September y' 24."' 1732 being Sunday after divine Ser- vice at Cch M' M'^Sparran went to y' House of M^' Eliz'' Cole, and there baptized the children of Jn° onion a white man and deborah onion an Indian wo- man his wife; viz: John, Mary, Sarah & Margret on- ion; Suretys M' M'^Sparran & his wife, M' Benj" Mumford and s^ M" Cole. The same day Mary african a Negro child born in M' M^Sparran's house of Maroca his slave and wife to Richard african his slave likewise, was baptized by s'* M' M'^Sparran, he & his wife sureties. Narraganseteing iVhit Sunday Nathan Walker 524 Church Records [1740 an Adult was baptized by DoSer MacSparran, who, with his wife, & her Bro' Jn° Gardiner were his chosen witnesses. June 1" D' MacSparran preached at Brimfield 90 miles Distant from Nar: — a"* D' MacSparran preached at said Brimfield and Baptized two children viz' Oliver Nelson Son of Moses Nelson about 1 Mo' old and Benjamin Nelson the Son of Andrew Nelson about 11 Mo' old September 3'^ 1740 Job Ailmy of Newport Merchant was Married to Abigail Gardiner widow of William Gardiner at the House of her Son John Gardiner in Boston Neck by the Reverend Docfter James Mac- Sparran Incumbent of S' Paul's in Narraganset (39 Dofter MackSparran administred y" Eucharist to M' Charles Dickinson on his Death Bed September 11"' 1 740. he died at 1 of the Clock in the morning of Sun- day the 1 4'" and on y" 1 5'* was buried in y " Cch-yard of S" Pauls Cch in Narraganset, a Sermon on y" occasion being then preached by y" said Do6ler MacSparran September 11" 1740 Do6t' MacSparran baptized at the Cch of St paul the child of James and Esther Helme by the name of Esther her Suretys were Coll Cod- dington his wife & Daughter Content Nov' 10'* 1740 Dofter MacSparran baptized at the House of M' Abraham Francis of Warwick a child named William Hunt Son of a Taylor y' lives there. Sponsors were Dr Macsparran the Said Abraham Francis and Ann his wife At a Vestry held at St Pauls In Narraganset after di- vine Service on Christmass Day 1 740. present the Rev'' D' MacSparran, Joseph Mumford Church warden, Col Daniel updike Mess'' Saml Browne, Henry Gardner Esq' ; Jn° Gardiner Jn" Case : Tho' Browne, Jn° Cole, Benj" Mumford; it was voated as follows viz' Whereas 1740-1] Church Records 525 it appears by Letters from England this Day exhibited and read in Vestry, that Still a larger Remittance must be made to answer the Expense of y'' Law Suit about the Ministerial Land, and it being unreasonable the Dodor, who sues for said Land, not in his own, but in the Right of his Church, should bear y" Burden of y" whole; and it being also unlikely to raise a Sum in this Parish, answerable to y' Large Demand, It is therefore agreed y' Suitable Persons be chosen to draw up petitionary Letters to y"" Ministers and Vestrys of Boston Marblehead Piscataqua and Providence & begging their Assistance; And y' Col. William Cod- dington. Col Daniel updike and M' Joseph Mum- ford do draw up and sign said Letters in Behalf of the Vestry Also Voted y' a Colleftion be Set on Foot among our Selves, and y' M' John Gardiner, Jn° Case, Tho' Browne and Jn° Cole, do manage y' Affair and colledt w' well disposed Persons in this Parish are able and will to give towards said Case, y' as Speedy a Remit- tance may be made to England as possible D' MacSparran baptized at the House of M" Eliz" Cole in North Kingstown 3 children of Ambrose Hil- liard's viz' Tho' Katharine and Mary Suretys the D', M' Jn° Cole, M'= Cole and her Daughter Ann Feb 11^ 1 740 Doftor MacSparran preached at his own House and Baptized Abigail Gardiner the Daughter of Jn° and Mary Gardiner his second wife the said Abigail was born the 26"' Day of September 1740. The Sponsors were, the Doftor, M" Jane Codding- ton and Miss Eliz" Cole Jun'. March 27''' 1741 The child of Maroca a negro wo- man belonging to Dodter MacSparran was baptized by the Dodter by the name of Beleco Sponsors the Do6ler his wife and Miss Content Coddington 526 Church Records [1741 March 30"* 1741 being Easter Mowrf'^jy, The vestry of St Pauls being met, & present the Reverend Dodor James MacSparran, They continued the vestry and Chose Coll William Coddington and M' Tho' Browne Church Wardens for this year 1741. And then ad- journed to the 20"' of April by the said Do6tor that the old Church Wardens might make out a Certifi- cate of the last years Contributions towards the Sup- port of y° Dodlor according to the Societys order in that Respeft April the 5'* 1741 Dofter MacSparran went to New- port on Some Affairs of his Church and preached for the Rev'' M' Honeyman April 9"" D' MackSparran preached at Col updike's in his way to Warwick 11"' Ditto he preached at M' Abraham Francis's and administred the Eucharist to 7 Persons Sunday \i"' April 1741 The Dr preached at Coeset church & on Monday in his way Home baptized Zacharias Mattison grandchild (by his Daughter) to Capt John Dickinson Sureties the Grandmo' Mary Dickinson The Dodter and M' Tho= Phillips the child's Grand uncle April 10"' 1 741 At a Vestry at S' Paul's Narraganset by Adjournment: After Certificate for the Doftor's last years Contribution was signed. The Vestry (for Good Reasons them thereunto moving) unanimously voated, that the Min'' Salary be henceforth paid by Contribution; and that the Contribution be collected by the Church Wardens, or their Assistants, in the Same Manner it is done at Newport church: that is to Say, by earring the Box from Pew to Pew Voated also, that M' Benjamin Mumford and M' Jn° Cole do assist the Church Wardens in that work, for this ensuing year; and that the Contributions be 1741] Church Records 527 paid to y" Dodter once in a month by the Cch-war- dens who are to take his Receipts for the Several Sums paid, y* the whole may be certified to y° Society once every Year viz' at Easter. Sunday July la'* 1741 D' MacSparran preached at y^ Cch of Coeset to a numerous Congregation bap- tized two children and received three more (y' had re- ceived private Baptism) into the Congregation they are the Grandchildren ofM'Cavalli \_Levally'\ their Fa' is Mady-lane King and their names are as follow viz' the two baptized by the Dodter are called Sussannah & Eliza King — and the three received into the Congre- gation are called John, Mary, & Sarah King July 19'* at the Cch of St Paul, Narraganset Dr MacSparran baptized a Child of Math" Cooper's called Mathew Cooper Sponsors Tho' Phillips & M" Mac- Sparran On the 1 2'* of July at y" Cch in Coeset and on y° ig"" at St Paul's in Narraganset was read his Majestys orders for the Form of prayer to be used for the Royal Family viz' so far as relates to adding the clause (the Issue of the Prince and Princess of Wales) '^ me ja' Macsparran Cler. August 1' 1 741 Dofter MacSparran baptized a child named John Dickson the Second Son of Anthony Dickson and Hannah his wife, his Surety's were M' Benj" Mumford & Jn" Cole Esq' Sherrif [?] and M'^ Ann Mumford Same Day the Dod' Catechized y'' negro's and there were present on y' occasion at Cch near about, or more than a hundred; and afterwards administred y° Sacrat to 22 Coicants and to Sam' Chase the first time August 4"" 1 74 1 pursuant to a Request made in writ- ing by Sundry Gentlemen of James Towne alias Con- 528 Church Records [1741-2 nanicut to y^ Rev'' Dofter MacSparran. The said Doder preached at Capt Josiah Arnolds House in said Connanicut to a verry large Audience consider- ing the busy season of Harvest August 9'* 1 741 D' MacSparran preached at y" Cch in Coeset to a numrous Audience, and administred the Eucharist to 10 Persons two new Communicants viz George Dunbar & William Gibbs Aug" 1 1'* Doder MacSparran administred private Bap- tism to an Indian woman named Phebe Jack wife to amos Jack and Daughter to Indian Sampson on Boston Neck Sepf the 9''' 1741 Dodler MacSparran preached at Capt Arnold's Connanicut to a considerable Congre- gation considering the Storm preceding hindred the People from having Notice, also on y" i" Tuesday in %br,y' i" of ^br iS i" ditto of Decenf Nov' 19"" 1 741 Doftor MacSparran being sent for to the House of Edward Dyer Sen' of Quidneeset, North Kingstown Narraganset, then and there administred first Clinick Baptism, and then the Eucharist to Phebe Strength field Daughter of said Dyer, and wife of M' William strength field Decern' 31" 1741 (The Banns of matrimony being duly published in the Cch of St Paul Narraganset) Rowland Robinson son of WiUiam was married to Anstis Gardiner Daughter of Jn° Gardiner by the Rev** Dodter James MacSparran (40 January lo"" 1741 Dr MackSparran preached at the House of M' Jn° Martin of Connanicut to an Audi- ence of above 1 20 Persons being y" Second Sunday in the Month and the weather too uncertain to attempt a Jorney to Warwick. April 16'" 1742 At the Church of St Pauls was pub- lickly baptized an Adult Negro called Harry by D' 1742] Church Records 529 MacSparran his witnesses were M' William Gibbs, Anthony Dickson and Hannah his wife, who was churched the Same Day being Good Friday: Said negro is the Slave of D' MacSparran therefore his name according to y" Custom of the negro's who Sir- name themselves after their Masters is Harry Mac- Sparran. April 18'* 1742 being Easter Day Thomas Dickson a child was by D' MacSparran baptized at St Paul's Surety s y^Dr M' Benjamin Mumford and Mary Story The Same Day Ephraim Gardiner Esq' having re- ceived the Eucharist a few Days ago on his sick Bed received the same publickly in the Church April 1 9'* Easter Monday after Prayers the Congrega- tion Met continued M' Tho' Browne church [warden] for another year, & Y Dodter with Consent put in M' Benjamin Mumford Church warden for y" ensuing year The Same Day the D'went to old Warwick and married two Daughters of m' George Dunbar the Eld- est viz' Elizabeth to Phillip Browne and the Second named Mary Dunbar to William Sweet, both y" men are mariners [?] were published at Newport and went up to their Fa'^ to be married. (42 May 18'* 1742 D' MacSparran baptized at St Paul's a Child of Bennoni Sweet Jun' nam*ed "thankful July 4'* Baptismus Hypotheticus adstratus '^ D:D MacSparran Josepho Cleverly in Museo Domestico July 6'* 1742 D' MacSparran Baptized at Connani- cut a child named John Bryant Aug" 7"" Saturday Miss Ann Cole a maiden Daughter of M'" Cole's (having been a Colcant Several years) was buried in the Cch yard of St Paul's Narraganset; a Sermon was preached on y' occasion at Said Cch by D' MacSparran She died the Day before in y' 17'" Day of a Fever 530 Church Records [1742 Aug" 8"" Sunday the D' preached at Coeset alias war- wick Cch and administred y' Eucharist to lO Colcants Aug" 9'* Monday the D' preach'd at the old Town of Warwick administred Baptism to an Adult young woman named Sarah Alington August 14"' Hannah Potter a child of lo mo' old Daughter of Capt Tho' Potter Esq' Sherriifof New- port, was baptized at Narraganset by D' MacSparran, who, w* his wife & Miss Phebe Mumford stood Sure- ties Aug" 1 5'* 1 742 William Gardiner a Child Son of Jn° Gardiner of Boston Neck was baptized at St Paul's Church Narraganset by D' MacSparran who with M' Benj" Mumford & his wife Ann stood Sureties The Same Day, Mary Edwards a child Daughter of one M' Edwards aPerriwigmaker at new [?] Greenwich was baptized by the Doitor who with M'" Ann Mumford & Phebe her Daughter were Suretys. August 17'* 1742 Robert Hazard a Youth of 19 years 3 mo^ and 17 Days was upon his own Personal Pro- fession of Faith baptized by y° Rev'' D' MacSparran who with Joseph Mumford Esq' and the Dodter's wife (aunt by the Mo' to said young man) were his chosen witnesses. He had been bred in Quakerism but happily recovered from y" Errors of y' Se6l. Aug" 11 1742 Sunday at St Paul's Dr MacSparran baptized an Indian woman named Elizabeth Walmsly wife of Thomas Walmsly a Mustee& her child named Patience Walmsly the witness for the Mo' who were also the Sureties for y'' child we [re] M' Benj" Mum- ford, his wife Ann and Madam Elizabeth Cole. Op' y'' 14* 1742 between two & 3 in the Morning died suddenly in the Chambers with Col updike and M' Jn" Checkley Jun' Capt William Walker of Pro- vidence F. R.S. and was interred in y' Church yard 1742-3] Church Records 531 of St Pauls Narraganset the if'* of said Month the funeral sermon was preached by the Dr Decern" 9'* 1742 Jeremiah Browne Son of Sam' Browne of So: Kingstown was married by Doftor MacSpar- ran to Hannah Sherman Daughter of the late Abiel Sherman at her Mo'^ House (43 Decern'' 25'* Xmas Day M' Sam' Browne upon his Ac- knowledgement in y" Cch of the Sin of Uncleaness and Profession of Repentance was restored to the Colon and we had 25 Coicants besides the Dr January 1^ 1742 Stephen Smith a Millar was married to Mary Story a Schoolmistress by D' MacSparran (44 April 4^'' 1743 Easter Monday theVestry Met and con- tinued M' Benj" Mumfordin his office of Cchwarden and chose M' Stephen Mumford Cch warden in the Room of Tho' Browne who had served two years George Browne (Son of William Browne) was born on Boston Neck Narraganset Sept' 30* 172 1 and died April 22'' 1743 aged 21 years 6 Months and 22 Days and was interred in his Fa'^ orchard in South Kings- town by the Rev'' Dodlor MacSparran the 24'* Day of said [month] who also preached his Funeral Sermon At the church in Coeset alias Warwick Dodtor Mac- Sparran baptized a Grandchild of M' Lavalley a child called Ann King — Suretys the Dr, M'' Green y'' wife of Daniel & Miss Mary Lippet At the House of M' Moses Lippet on Wednesday y' lo'* of August 1743 Do6tor MacSparran intermarried Sam' Chace & Freelove Lippet Daughter of Said Moses, & preached at Coeset Cch y" Sunday following viz* the 14'* of Aug" (45 August 23'' 1743 Thomas Eldred (Son of Capt Jn°) an Adult was baptized by Immersion in Pettaquam- scut Pond by Dr MacSparran. his witnesses were Benj" Mumford Daniel Wier and Mrs Eliz^ Cole 532 Church Records [i 743-4 Decern' the lo'* 1743 William Martin an adult Clinick and Son of Jn° Martin of Conanicut Esq' was bap- tized at the House of his Said Fa' by Dr MacSparran Feb 8"" being Ash Wednesday 1743 Maroca a negro Child given to M' Benj" Mumford by Doder Mac- Sparran was baptized by y^ Said Do6ler the Suretys were her Master and Mistress Mumford and their Daughter Phebe, aged 3 months Feb 9'* Do6ter MacSparran administred Clinick Bap- tism to 2 Adults & 3 children being all y' Children of Jn° Martin Esq' upon Conanicut 1 Adults viz' Bath- sheba, and Abigail Martin and 3 children viz' Ander- son, Oliver & Hannah Martin Witnesses for y' Adults and Sureties for Y Children were M' Benjamin Mum- ford and the Doder April 5'* 1744 Dofter MacSparran married Daniel Weir to Phebe Mumford at the House of her Fa' M' Benjamin Mumford April 29"" 1744 Doftor MackSparran baptized a child Son of Tho' Walmsley by the Name of James Walms- ley. Sureties the Dofter, M' Benj" Mumford and the Dodlor's wife. June 2^"" Si Jn° Baptist's Day 1744 At St Paul's Narraganset were by D' MacSparran baptized two Adults viz' William Davis and Esther Chappel — Their Witness, the Doftor, Benj" Mumford Hannah MacSparran and Mrs Bentley The Same Day the three children of M' — Bentley Taylor were baptized viz William Bentley, James Bentley and Amelia Bentley; Suretys the above Said, except y' M" Ann Mumford stood instead of M" Bent- ley who was Mo' to y° children J une 2^"' 1 J 4.4. D' MacSparran married Ezekiel Hatch of Newport to Mary Peckham of South Kingstowne at the House of Thomas Peckham Fa' of said Mary 1744] Church Records 533 in S° Kingstowne aforsaid. July 22'' Sunday after divine Service at the House of William Bentley in North Kingstown Doftor Mac- Sparran joined together in marriage William Davis and Esther Chappel August 2,'' 1744 at M" Cole's Dodber MacSparran ad- ministred Clinick Baptism to a Sick child viz: Jn° Mumford, Son of William and Sussannah Mumford September 4'* 1744 I'uesday Dodtor MacSparran read Prayers and preached at Jn° Martin's of Conanicut ' Esq', baptized an Adult youth named William Mott Son of Will™ & Katrine Mott witnesses were the D' & William, and Bathsheba Martin: at the same time and Place the Dofter married George Dunwel to Phebe Tennant Daughter of y'' late Jn° Tennant The Congregation consisted of above an 100 M'Honyman & M' Davenport of Boston were there Septe' lo"" 1744 Monday Dodtor MacSparran baptized Mary Green wife of Jonathan Green Talor at M' Francis's, who, with his wife and Miss Molly Lippit stood her witnesses 8*^ 28'* 1744 Sunday Dr MacSparran baptized at St Paul's a child named Mary Gardiner Daughter of Jn" Gardiner of Boston Neck Suretys M" MacSparran, Miss Betty Gardiner & Robert Hazard Nov' 18''' D' MacSparran baptized Abigail Sampson wife of Sampson and [«V] Ind" but she is a mustee and old woman Nov' 25'* D' MacSparran married George Read and Eleanor Read after due Publication in the Body of the Cch. March lo'* 1744 D' MacSparran baptized (at New London where he officiated the 3'^ & 10'* viz''' the first and Second Sundays in March) Elizabeth the Daugh- ter of Mathew and Abigail Stewart. Suretys the Said 534 Church Records [i74S Dodler his Spouse and Mrs Hannah Mumford. Said Child was born the 6'" of said March ab' 3 post meridien April ■]"• i745"D' MacSparran baptized at St Pauls John Wier a child, Son of Daniel and Phebe Wier, Said Jn° was born on Ashwednesday last, viz' the; 27"" of February. Suretys D' MacSparran M' Benj" Mum- ford and his wife the grand Fa' & Mo' thereof April 12''' 1745 Good Friday D' MacSparran baptized Robert Dickson a Child,Son of AnthonyandHannah Dickson Sponsors D' MacSp; Benj" and Ann Mum-' ford April 21 at Coeset Cch D' MacSparran baptized Sam' King a child son of Magdalene King Sponsors M' Lavally M' Francis and Miss Mary Lippet The Same Day at Col updikes in Narraganset the Dr married James Boon Son of Samuel to Mary Up- dike eldest Daughter of Richard Updike deceased April 11'' 1745 D' MacSparran baptized a child of 6 or 7 years old and Son of Capt Jn° Dickinson by the name of Christopher Dickinson May f 1745 D' MackSparran administed Clinick Baptism to Edward Shearman an Adult, Son of Wil- liam and Abigail Sherman of North Kingstown. The Day before y' the D" beloved man Servant a Xn ne- gro named Stepney was drowned in Pettaquamscut Pond, the faithfuUest of all servants, and was interred in the Church yard of St Paul's Narraganset with a decent Christian Solemnity May 17"- 1745 D' MacSparran read Prayers and preached at the House of Samuel Cooper of Scituate 30 miles distant from his own House, and baptized a Son of one M' Howard named Joseph Howard and received anotherof S'' Howard's Son's viz' John How- ard into the Congregation having been formerly pri- 1745-6] Church Records 535 vately baptized by M' Pigot in his Travels through those woods, where his wife had, and Still has Some Lands Decern' 1^''' D' MackSparran preached M' Moses Lip- pets funeral Sermon and buyed [jzV] him in his own Ground in Warwick, he died the 1 2* ab' 1 1 in the forenoon Decern' ig"' 1745 D' MacSparran married James Lins- comb to Penelope Briant [?] widow at the Drs House, in the presense of y° Rev'' M' Punderson and other witnesses Fell 7'* 1745 D' MacSparran married Capt Jn° Cole to Mary Bissel both of North Kingstown at the House of her Bro' Tho' Bissel many witnesses March 13''' 1745/6 D' MacSparran married William Dyer to Mercy Pain at M' Jn° Paine's of Conanicut April 19''' 1746 D' MacSparran read Prayers and preached at M' Abraham Francis's in old Warwick and baptized M' Robert Westgate a Joiner and Adult by Immersion his chosen witnesses were y° Doftor M' Samuel Chace of Providence and Miss Mary Lip- pet of Warwick in the presence also of an Assembly of about 40 or .50 other Persons April 20"' Sunday D' MacSparran preached at Coeset Church May 18"" a Storm of rain hindered my Attendance at Coeset May 25"' 'Trinity Sunday officiated at St Pauls & bap- tized Benjamin Wier a child of Daniel Wier's one M' Burr a dissenting Min' was at Cch June f" T)' MacSparran read Prayers & preached at M' Francis's in old Warwick June 8'* Sunday in the Morning abt 8 of the Clock D' MacSparran baptized by Immersion a young wo- 536 Church Records [1746 man named Patience Stafford Daughter of Sam' Staf- ford of Warwick, and then from M' Francis rode to the Cch read Prayers and preach"" there, and in the Afternoon reached Home. Aug" 9'* 1746 D' MacSparran preached at old Warwick and baptized 3 children of one M' Green a Taylor, named Caleb, Stutely, & Elizabeth & the Same Day he baptized by Immersion in the Cove, Katharine Lippet wife of Xtopher Lippet of Shantecut. She was Daughter of Anthony H olden deceased 05f 4'* 1746, D' MacSparran (after reading the Visi- tation Ofhce over Mistress Hester Powel the Grand- mo'), then baptized two children of James Helme Esq' & Ester Powel his wife, named Rowse and Sarah Helme. Sureties the D' and Madam Coddington of Newport The 20''' of said OSP died said Hester Powel and was buryedon Tower Hill the a2'*by Dr MacSparran who preached her funeral Sermon in M' Torrey's Meeting house. Dfc^OT' 3'* 1746 D' MacSparran preached at the County House Tower Hill and baptizd Powel Helme a child of ab' 4 years old, Son of James Helme Esq' and Es- ther his wife, and two children of M' Job Shaw's the Sadler called Tho' and Jn° Shaw Sureties for the first the D', Benj" Mumford and M''^ Mary Gardiner of Boston Neck for the two latter Said M' and M'= Es- ther Helme Decern' 7"" i'ja.S' Sunday D' MacSparran baptized a Child of Anthony Dickson's called William Dickson, Sureties, the D', Benj" Mumford & Ann Mumford his wife Feb I" 1746 D' MacSparran officiated at his own House (as usual in the hard winter Months) and bap- tized Ezekiel Hatch a child. Son of Capt Ezekiel 1746-7] church Records 537 H^tch and Mary his wife, born the — Day of July 1746 Sureties the Dod' & his wife and David Browne setwork Cooper of Newport. Feb 8"' 1746 D' Macsparran preached wm chappel's funeral sermon & buryed him in Smith's burying Place — were at Cch there Feb 15"" 1746 D' MacSparran officiated at his own House and baptized Caleb Faulkner Son of M' Faulk- ner y° cloathier he is a youth of 9 or 10 years Surety s the D', Benj" Mumford and M'^ Mary Gardiner wife of Jn° Gardiner of Boston Neck March \" 1746 D' MacSparran officiated at his own House and Baptized Bently Faulkener Son of M' Faulkner the Cloathier; he is a youth of 10 or 11 years Sureties The Dr, Benjamin Mumford and M" Ann Mumford March 4"" Ash Wednesday D' MacSparran officiated at Home and baptized a Motherless child of John Cook's Joiner by the name of Alice Cook 7 years next may Sureties her Master & Mistress Tho'Bennetand Ann his wife. Said Alice was born May 15"' 1740 March lo"" 1746 visited at Elisha Sherman's and Ad- ministred clinick Baptism to his Daughter Elizabeth Sherman who in all Appearance lyes on her Death Bed and in 10 Days after he preached at the Funeral of, and buried said Eliz" Sherman April 19"" 1747 After the Administration of the Eu- charist at St Pauls Narraganset, the Male Congre- gation Stayed in Cch, and chose M' Sam' Browne church warden, to serve with M' Benjamin Mumford who has been Cch warden for a or 3 years past Sunday Aug" a"* 1747 D' MacSparran Baptized the Son of Capt Jn° Cole and Mary his wife an Infant by the name of Thomas Aug" 6"' 1747 D' MacSparran baptized M" Elizabeth 538 Church Records [1747-8 Wilkinson wife of Capt Wilkinson, of Newport* by Immersion in Pettaquamscut Pond Witnesses the D', his wife, & M" Jane Coddington Aug" 17'* 1747 D' MacSparran baptized a Youth named Ichabod Potter aged \i years on the 5"" of March last past, and Son of Tho' Potter deceased and Hannah his wife; his Sureties were the Dr, his wife and the Lad's Grandfa' viz' Henry Gardiner Wednesday the 19"" of Aug" 1747 Dr MacSparran bap- tized two women by Immersion in Pettaquamscut Pond viz' Freelove Browne a Maiden Daughter of Sam' Browne of So: Kingstowne and her niece Mary Hatch wife of Capt Ezekiel Hatch at Sea and Miss- ing, and Daughter of Tho"" Peckham Carpenter their chosen witness were said Sam' Browne, M" MacSpar- ran & M" Anstis Robinson OSIober 4'* 1747 Sunday and Sacrat Day at St Paul's Narraganset, Dr MacSparran admitted to y" Eucharist fortheiirst Time Anthony Dickson, Freelove Browne, Mary Hatch M' Falconer the Clothier was admitted some Months before Nov' 7"" 1747 D' MacSparran preached at M" Lip- pet's in Warwick, and the next morning being Sunday administred the Eucharist to Mrs Lippet, M" Francis and Miss Molly Lippet her two Daughter's, from thence proceeded to Coeset Cch read Prayers & preachedand administred the Eucharist to i3Coicants two whereof were new members viz' M' Tingley & his wife Nov' 1 5'* 1 747 D' MacSparran baptized William Wier an Infant, the Third Son of Daniel Wier, the Sponsors were the D' & the child's Grandfa' & Grandmo' viz Benj" and Ann Mumford April 16"" 1748 At Warwick baptized Lucy Green a child 1748] church Records 539 26'* Phillis Daughter of Negro Moll was baptized by y° Dodor before he sold her to Daniel Dennison May 8'* 1748 D' MacSparran baptized Jn° Gardiner a Child Son of Jn° Gardiner, & Mary his wife Spon- sors Tho= Philips— & M'= Hannah MacSparran May 14"' 1748 D' MacSparran baptized Joseph Lip- pet's Daughter an Infant by y" name of Ann Fran- cis, Sureties, the D', M'' Francis & Miss Molly Lip- pet the child's Aunts June 10"' 1748 The Banns of Matrimony between the following Partys having been duly ackd The Rev'' Doftor MacSparran Married John Coit of New Lon- don widower & shipwright to Hannah Potter of North Kingstown in Narraganset widow ante Meridiem \_sic\ Sepf ig"" 1748 Doftor MacSparran baptized by Im- mersion in Pettaquamscut Pond Sarah Browne (alias Freebody) wife of M' Peleg Browne of Newport born in 1 72 1 in Ofl' viz'y" 27'" of her Age her chosen wit- nesses were the Doctor, his wife and M'' Elizabeth Wilkinson OSiober y' 5'* 1748 D' MacSparran read Prayers at the House of Jn° Martin Esq' of Conanicut, and bap- tized his Son WilHam Martin's child by the Name of Phebe, Bathsheba Martin the childs Aunt M'' Hatch and Capt Philip Wilkinson were Sponsors, after w''*' the Rev** M' Matthew Greaves of New London preached an Excellent Sermon 05f 1 5"" 1748 D' MacSparran read Prayers & preached at M" Lippet's of old Warwick & administred y" Eucharist to M" Francis a Clinick and 5 other Per- son's OSf 16''' Sunday 1748 D' MacSparran read Prayers at Coeset church, baptized Margret King the Child of M' Magdalene King. Sponsors M' Lavallee, M'' Green & M" Baker, then he preached and adminis- 540 Church Records [1748 tred the Eucharist to 14 Coicants. N° of Colcants in all at Warwick 16 Nov' i" 1748 Hannah Clark Daughter of Jn° Clark late of Conanicut Tanner, was born January the 7"" 1737, and baptized by D' MacSparran the foresaid 1=' of Nov' 1748 who then read Prayers and preached at the House of Jn° Martin Esq' on Said Island Nov' if died, & on y' iS"" 1748, was buryed in the Shearman's burying Ground Margret Sherman wife of Stephen Sherman, by Dr MacSparran, who also preached her funeral Sermon Nov' 10'^ 1748 Sunday, read Prayers and preachd at Coeset Cch !2i"administred the Eucharist, read prayer & preached at M" Lippets old Warwick 27'* Ditto the D' officiated at St Pauls narraganset and baptized an Adult Bina a negro woman belonging to Tho' Philips Esq' She is mo' to Rose a Coicant of y' church her witnesses her Master & M" MacSparran Decern' 4."' 1 748 the D' officiated at St Pauls & ad- ministred Eucharist 6"' Ditto the D' officiated at M' Martin's on Conan- cicut[«V]and baptized a Litle Boy called John Clark Son of Jn° Clark late of Conanicut Tanner he came from Lisburn in Ireland January 31" the Dofter preached a Funeral Sermon at Sam' Staffords on occasion of y" Death of his Son in Law Jonathan Green, whom he buryed in Staifords burying Place Feh I " Wednesday the Doder read Prayers and preached at M" Lippets 1'^ he baptized Moses Lippet her Eldest Son by Im- mersion Above his own Mildam Feb 28'" 1748 Dodor MacSparran preached a Fu- 1748-9] Church Records 541 neral Sermon at St Pauls on occasion of the Death of Samuel, Son of Tho' Phillips, who died the 24"' in the Morning and was buried 28"'. May 28'* 1749 D' MacSparran baptized at St Paul's Elizabeth Gardiner an Infant of 4 months old Daugh- ter of Jn° and Ann Gardiner from Ireland, but now Inhabitants of Greenwich; Sureties y" D', his wife, and Hannah Dickson June ^"' 1749 Sunday at St Paul's inter horam 8vam et 12m a m Dr MacSparran married one Francis — a Frenchman to Sarah Cooper Daughter of Stephen Cooper of North Kingstown September 2,^ 1749 D' MacSparran went after Cch to M' Tho' Phillips's in N° Kingstowne and there mar- ried Christopher Phillips Jun' (Son of Xtopher Phil- lips) to Mary Phillips Daughter of said Tho^ [they are Bro's children] Nov' 8'* 1749 D' MacSparran baptized a negro child w"*" he gave to mistress Alice Gardiner, by the name of Jane, She is a child of negro Maroca's Nov' 9'* 1749 Thomas Gardiner (Son of John Gardi- ner of Boston Neck) was married to Martha Gardi- ner (Daughter of Henry y" Son of Nicholas Gardiner) both of South Kingstown by y' Rev"" D' MacSparran Mrs Brenton who died on Friday night Nov' y° lo* Day 1749, was interred in her Husband, major Ebene- zer Brenton's Farm, on Monday the 13'* of said Nov' the Funeral Sermon was preached, and the other proper Services performed by, the Rev" Dodor Mac- Sparran Nov' 30'* 1749 Dr MacSparran being sent for to Eli- sha Sherman's there administred clinick Baptism to his Son Elisha, sick of a Consumption, and ab' 30 years old. Decern' 16"' 1749 on Saturday D' MacSparran read 542 Church Records [i749 Prayers & preached at M'= Lippets and baptized two children: one Mary Green the child of widow Green, whose deceased Husband was a Taylor; Surties D' MacSparran, Patience Stafford and Mary Lippet. the other Lucy Lippet an Infant of 5 or 6 Days old, the child of Joseph Lippet and Lucy his wife. Sureties y"' Dr, M' Francis and said Mary Lippet Decern' 21" 1749 St T'homas's Day, after Prayer and a Funeral Sermon, D' MacSparran buried Elisha Sher- man Jun' in the Burying Place of the Family, he died of a Consumption & was baptized Nov' 30 as above Decern' 29'* 1749 Friday. D' MacSparran baptized two children of iVilliam Davis and oi Esther his wife; a Son & Daughter; y' Son's name is William, & y' name of y' Daughter Anstis. Suretys y' Dr, Benjamin Mumford, Mary chappel y" Grandmo' & Hannah Dickson The Banns of Marriage between Martin Howard Jun' and Ann Conklin being duly published in Trinity church in Newport on Rhode Island, and certifica- tion thereof being had under the Hand of y' Rev"* M' James Honyman Re6tor of said church, said Partys were joined together in holy Matrimony at the House of Major Ebenezer Brenton Fa' of said Ann on Friday the 29"" of Decern' I j^g by the Rev*" James MacSparran D.D. Incumbent of St Pauls in Narraganset the Par- ish where said Partys did then reside January 1%"" 1749 Sunday D' MacSparran preached at his own House Churched M" Wier and baptized her Son and Infant James Wier, Sureties y" Do6ler, M" MacSparran and Samuel Mumford, said child's uncle March 4"' 1749 Sunday D' Macsparran preached at his own House, Churched M" Mary Gardiner wife of Jn° Gardiner of Boston Neck and baptized their Infant Son by y" name of Benjamin Gardiner. Sure- 1749-5°] Church Records 543 ties were M' Benjamin Mumford, Daniel Wier, & Hannah MacSparran y" Dofter's wife March f 6"' 1749 the D' Buried Rose Phillips a negro woman of Tho' Phillips's in St Paul's Cch yard April ig"" 1750 D' MacSparran preached [at] Christo- pher Phillips and baptized three children Thomas and Mary Phillips, children of Samuel Phillips Son of Tho' and Samuel Phillips Son of Xtopher Phillips Jun' and Mary his wife daughter of said Thomas Phillips Sponsors Tho' Phillips and Christopher his Bro' Sarah Christophers wife and M" MacSparran April 11" D' MacSparran baptized by Immersion at Warwick Elizabeth Green wife of Richard Green; and by Affusion Welthan Lippet wife of Jeremiah Lippet and sister of said Richard April 22'' Sunday the Dodter officiated at Coeset Cch. Sepf 6* Thursday 1750 Their Banns of marriage being duly published at the church of St Paul in Narra- ganset,and no Obje6lion made, John Anthony, an In- dian .man, was married to Sarah George an Indian wo- man, the widow and Dowager Queen to George Au- gutus Nineagret deceased, by Dr MacSparran gir ^^th ly^o Thursday the Banns of marriage duly ack'd, sans objedtion Dr MacSparran joined together in holy Matrimony Samuel Mumford and Elizabeth Goddard Nov' 15"' 1750 Thursday the Banns first duely acked Dr Macsparran married John Courtney of Newport to Ann Pindar of North Kingstowne Narraganset Nov' iS'* 1750 Sunday The Banns first duly acked at St Pauls, D' MacSparran married William Potter youngest Son of y" late Col: Potter to Penelope Hazard Eldest Daughter of Col: Thomas Hazard, both of S° Kingston Narraganset at Said Col Hazard' House 544 Church Records [175 1 Jpril f" 1 75 1 being Easter Day after divine Service over, the Vestry or Parishioners voted y' Sam Browne and Benj" Mumford be continued Cch war- dens for y° year ensuing, & all other Parish officers remain as they were, without change, and y' Record should be made of the Same, as it here is by me James MacSparran Incumbent May 19"" Sunday 1751 D' MacSparran baptized at Coeset, alias Warwick church two children viz' Paul King Son of Magdalene King, his Suretys were, M' Tingley, a Gentleman unknown to y" Dodter, and M" Levallee Grandmo' of y° child; And Mary Macguire Daughter of M' Macguire Schoolmaster at Greenwich new town, her Suretys were, M' Berry schoolmaster, Ann Gardiner, and Margret Pearce. May 23'' 1 75 1 Thursday At the House of Henry Gar- diner in South Kingstowne Dr MacSparran married Thomas Mumford a Sadler to Abigail Gardiner Daughter of said Henry who gave her away M' Graves at my House July 20'* 1 75 1 Dr MacSparran, after preaching his funeral sermon buried Capt Benoni Sweet in his Fa- milys burying Place, and in his 90"" year Sepf 15'* 1 75 1 D' MacSparran baptized Jeremiah Pierce a child. Son of one Pierce who died at Sea, and Peggy Martin his Mo'. The childs Suretys were y" Dodor, M' Macguire and M" macSparran Sept 16"' 1 75 1 Thursday. Dr MacSparran baptized Christopher Phillips a child and Son to Christopher y'= Son of Xtopher y' Grandfa' Suretys y" two Grand- fa'^ Tho' & Xtopher Phillips and M'= MacSparran. The Same Day y" D' Baptized a negro child of Col updikes by name Bridget, her Suretys M'" Updike, her Daughter Ruth Wanton and y' Doder Sunday SeprQ.^"'\']C,i Dodlor MacSparran at his House 1751] church Records 545 in y" Evening baptized his servant Emblo's child, a male, by y" name of Stepney Suretys y" Dr and his wife and Peter Mumford OSlober lo"' 175 1 D' MacSparran married Amos Gar- diner y^ son of Jn° Gardiner, to Sarah Bill, Daughter of Capt Joshua Bill of S° Kingstowne Nov' 16"' 1 75 1 D' MacSparran read Prayers and preached at M" Lippets in Warwick, and baptized a child named Joseph Lippet Son of Joseph Lippet and Lucy his wife, y" Suretys were y" Doctor and M" Francis Nov' 24''' 1751 D' McSparran baptized Ann wier an Infant at y' St Pauls narraganset She is Daughter of Daniel wier and Phebe his wife the Sureties were Ann Mumford ye child's Grand mo' M'" Sussannah Bent- ley and Peter Mumford At the church of St Paul on Sunday y' 24'* of Nov' 175 1 after divine Service the Gentlemen of y'' vestry of said Congregation stayd, and considered the Complaint of y" Rev** Dofter Macsparran Pastor of this church, seting forth, that he is greatly agrieved and bro't under oppression by the assessors or Ratemakers of South Kingstowne within y^ said Dodtors Cure. After considering that matter in all its Circum- stances, they come to y" following Resolutions and votes First They humbly apprehend, that it never was the Intent of y" Legislature of this Colony to con- sider Clergymen, as taxable Inhabitants; That there- fore the rating said Gentleman contrary to the general Custom of new England in such Cases, and without any express Law to y' Purpose, is a Piece of unde- served disresped; to Him, and in him, to every Min' and member of the church of England in this Colony. And they think it their Duty to abet his cause (as far as in Justice they may) and aid him in obtaining that Exemption from Taxes, servile, civil and other Dutys, 546 Church Records [1751-^ w'*" they conceive, him intitled to, in virtue of his high and holy office, but Secondly, as they profess themselves the Disciples of Christ, y" Prince of Peace, and would desire an amica- ble End to be put to this vexatious affair; Itwas voted, that Mess'' Jn° Case Esq', M' Christopher Phillips, M' Jn° Gardiner, and M' Saml Browne, should write to said Assessors, and desire them to call in and re- consider that Rate Bill, and either genrously (as they apprehend they ought to do) expunge & erase Said Dodtor's name and Rate, or, at least, order their Col- ledtor to forbear either distraining y" Goods, or im- prisoning the Person of the Said Dodtor, until an Op- portunity offered of knowing the mind of y° Legisla- ture in that Matter, and a letter was wrote, and signed by those Four Gentlemen accordingly to y" Purpose of the above Resolutions January y' i" Day 1752 D' MacSparran married George Fowler Jun' to Deborah Tanner at y" House of M' Christopher Phillips in North Kingstowne their Banns being first duly published January 16"" 1752 D' MacSparran married Thomas Wicks of Warwick, to Ruth Browne, at the House of M' William Browne in South Kingstowne the Fa' of said Ruth their Banns being first duly published The Eldest Son of Thomas and Martha Gardiner was born at Boston Neck the 24'" of August 1751 and was baptized by the name of Frederick, by D' Mac- Sparran, on Sunday t/ie ig"' of January 1752. Sponsors the Doftor, Jn° Gardiner y^ childs Grandfa' and Mary Gardiner his Grandmo' in Law March 15'" 1752 D' MacSparran baptized Benjamin Baily a child of abt 10 years old; the Sureties were y= Doftor, Tho' Bennet & Ann Bennet the Grandfa' & Grandmo' of y° child 1752] Church Records 547 James MacSparran f ^^'^J Mumford Tr,r>„rr,Kt < Chh wardcns Incumb [Samuel brown Easter week 1752 The Rev" D' MacSparran present. It was voted at church that last years church wardens and vestry be rechose and they are as follows Sam' Browne & Benjamin Mumford church wardens || Col Dan: updilce M' Christopher Phillips, M' Tho'' Phil- lips, M' Jn° Gardner, Col Tho' Hazard, Jn° Case Esq^ Thomas Browne Esq', Capt Samuel Albro & Peter Mumford vestrymen and Daniel Wier, Precentor or Parish clerk June 1']"' 11^1 Sunday Sarah Gardiner a child was bap- tized at St Pauls by y" Rev" James MacSparran Doc- tor in Divinity. The Sureties were Benj" Mumford, Ann Mumford his wife, and y" widow Mary Chappel. July 9'* 1752 'Thursday D' MacSparran (by Immer- sion, in Petaquamscut Pond,) baptized Abigail Sher- man, in y*" 57'" year of her Age. Her witnesses were y° D', his wife, and m'" Hannah Mumford. Said Abi- gail is wife of William Sherman in N : Kingstown Sepf \" 1752 D' MacSparran baptized a child of M' Gilbert Stewart's of Five months old, called, & bap- tized by y" name of James; the Sureties were y^ Doc- tor, Capt Edw" Cole, and m'" Hannah MacSparran Noif 7"" 1752 D' Macsparran at y" House of Col: Tho' Hazard on Boston Neck married George Haz- ard, (Son of George, Son of old Thomas Hazard) to Sarah Hazard y' 3" Daughter of said Col Hazard Noif 19'* 1752 D' MacSparran officiated at Coeset church, & married Morgan Carravin a Taylor, born in Ireland, to Deborah Cole. The [jzV] Rode from Home and returned at night. Nov' 30"" 1752 St Andrew's Day Doftor MacSparran married Christopher Robinson to Ruhamah Champlin 548 Church Records [i 75^-3 at y' House of Col Christopher Champlin Fa' to y' Bride in Charles Town Decern" 3 1" 1752 D' MacSparran officiated at his own House, and before divine Service began, married Wil- liam Bentley to Rachel Nichols. V Robert Hazard commonly called D' Hazard was married to Elizabeth Hazard Daughter of Robert Hazardof Point Judith deceased, at the House of her mo' Esther Hazard or Joseph Hazard's her Son on the 3'^ Sunday in April 1 752, being y^ ig"" Day of said month, by the Rev** D' MacSparran March ic^"" 1753 Caesar Gardiner an Adult negro be- longing to M' Jn° Gardiner of Boston Neck, was bap- tized by D' MacSparran ; His chosen witnesses were his Master & Mistress & y° Dodtor April 14''' 1753 Anna Berry wife of William Berry Schoolmaster at Warwick was baptized on her own Faith by D' MacSparran her Maiden, or Family name was Watson, her witnesses John Lippet, Ann Fran- cis and Mary Lippet Easter Monday April 23'' 1753 Memorandum That I the Subscriber have hereby in open vestry im- powered Col Daniel Updike, M' Christopher Phillips, M' John Gardiner, and M' Sam' Albro, or any two or three of them to let out upon Lease the twenty Acres of Ministerial Land belonging to y'^ Incumbent of the Church of St Paul and lying in South Kingstown and the Rents and Incomes thereof to apply dureing my Incumbency to y= Repairs of said church as witness my Hand ^ A,r r. x^ ^ James MacSparran Red Samuel brown ) /-.i 1 , Benj Mumford [ ^^""^'^ ^^'"'^^"^ At a Meeting of the Congregation on Easter Monday April -IT,' 1753 present y= Rev" D' MacSparran the following Persons were chosen viz' 1753] Church Records 549 church wardens Samuel Browne Benjamin Mumford Coll Daniel Updike M' Tho^ Phillips M' Christopher Phillips Cap' Sam' Albro M' Jn° Gardner I Vestrymen Col: Tho' Hazard Thomas Browne Esq' Jn° Case Esq' M' Peter Mumford Daniel Wier Precentor A[t] the old Town of Warwick, at Mrs Lippet's were baptized by D' MacSparran two children, viz' Mary Wicks Daughter of Thomas Wicks and Ruth his wife, and Ann Caravin Daughter of Morgan Caravan Taylor an Irish man May y' 19'* 1753. July y 10'* 1753 died M'= Sarah Phillips wife of M' Xtopher Phillips daughter of Capt Buck a little be- fore 1 in y° Afternoon. She was buried in St Paul's church yard y" 1 1"' & her funeral Sermon preachd by D' MacSparran Auf io"'i753 died M' Christopher Phillips Husband of y^ abovesaid Sarah, abt 1 in y° Afternoon and was buried in y° Chh yard by his wife his Sermon was preached by D' MacSparran Aug' 1 8'* at M'' Lippet's in Warwick was baptized a child of Joseph Lippet & Lucy his wife, named Sarah, by D' MacSparran, who, with M" Francis & Miss Mary Lippet stood her Sponsors Aug' 18'* at M" Lippet's in old Warwick D' Mac- Sparran baptized an Infant y" child of Joseph & his wife Lucia Lippet by y" name of Sarah S' Pauls Narraganset ^«^" 26'* 1753 D' MacSparran baptized Henry Mumford the child of Tho° Mum- 550 Church Records [i753-4 ford & Abigail his wife Sureties Benj" Mumford & Hannah Mumford the Grand Parents and Peter Mumford y" Uncle of said child Nov' 10"' 1753 Dr Macsparran baptized Mary Ann Berry at M" Lippets Sureties Peter Mumford, M" Francis & Mary Lippet Maroca, Daughter of Maroca African the D" Servant & given to m' Benjamin Mumford died y° 1 1"' of De- cern' 1753 & was buryed between Stepney & Rose two negro's in y" Chhyard of S' Pauls by y" Dodtor She was 10 year & two months old Feb. 16''' 1754 D' MacSparran adrainistred private Baptism to a Sick child named James Browne Son of John Browne a child of abt 3 Months old Feb. a 8'* Said child viz' James Browne died. Feb 28 1754 D' MacSparran intermarried Benj" Sand- ford of Newport and Amelia Bently Daughter of Sam' Bentley of South Kingstowne March 12"" 1754 D' Macsparran administred Publick Baptism to Susannah, Penelope and Ruth Browne children of M' Jn" Browne, their Sureties y" Grand- Fa' Samuel Browne M'= Hannah Mumford & M'= Susanneh Bentley April 19"" 1754 Easter Bay, D' MacSparran baptized James wier a child of Dan' wiers Samuel brown 1 „, , , B „: A/i f J f Churchwardens Benj MumrordJ April 16"" 1754 At A meeting of the Congregation held at the church in Narraganset called S' Pauls, present the Rev' D' MacSparran, it was unanimously voted, y' for y' year ensuing, and until others were chosen in their Room, M' Jn° Gardiner, and John Case Esq', should be, and hereby they are voted, churchwarden 1754] Church Records 551 voted likewise, that Such of y" old Vestry as are alive be continued this ensuing year, and M' Jn° Browne Son of Samuel to be added to them At Said Meeting Voted y' the two abovesaid church- warden's do write to y° Society Setting forth to them their present State and Difficulty, respedting y" 20 Acres of ministerial Land April 18"' 1754 D' IVlacSparran baptized Ann Stew- art Daughter of M' Gilbert Stewart & Elizabeth his wife, a child of 5 mo" old, She being born the 1 8"" of Nov' 1753 The Sureties were the Doftor, his wife and M'' Ann Mumford May 8"" 1754 D' MacSparran baptized a child named Benajah Gardiner, whose Grandfa'Jn" Gar diner of Bos- ton Neck & his Grandmo' in Law M'' Mary Gardi- ner &c stood his Suretys At the Same time was Baptized an Adult Negro woman named Phillis Gardiner belonging to M'' Abigail Ailmy May ye 16''' 1754 D' MacSparran baptized four Chil- dren belonging to Thomas Walmsey and Elisabeth his Wife (Viz) Thomas, Daniel, Benajah, & Sarah, Walmsey The D' Being returned from y" Sorrowful and fatal voyage he made to England (where his wife died & lies buried in Broadway chappel burying yard in Westm' She died y" 24"" of June, a few minutes after 12 in y° morning and was interred on y" Evening of y" 25'* M' Graves viz' Jn° preached her funeral Ser" & buried her. Brigadeer Samuel Waldo, Christopher Kilby Esq', M' Jonathan Barnard, all 3 new England men, and M' George Watmough an English man, M' Jn°Sterling Merchant and D'Winslayboth Irish Gen- tlemen were her Bearers. The D' himself and D' Gar- diners Son John were y° Mourners, The corpse was 552 Church Records [i 754-6 carried in a Hearse drawn by Six Horses, and two Mourning Coaches one for y" Some of y^ Bearers and y° other for y' Rest and two mourners. She was y" most pious of all women, y" best wife in y' world, and died, as she well deserved to be, much lamented) He baptized on y' i^ of Feb : 1756 at Col Updike's a negro child of Prince's named Paul Feb 2' The D'^ married Jn" Lippet of Warwick to Be- thia Rice Daughter of Tho' Rice of said Town April ii"" 1756 being Palm Sunday T>' MacSparran read Prayers, preached and baptized at S' Paul's Nar- raganset a Children one, named Gilbert Stewart Son of Gilbert Stewart y" Snuff Grinder Sureties y" D', M' Benj" Mumford & Mrs Hannah Mumford, y° other, Phebe Wier, child of Daniel & Phebe Wier, Sureties M'^ Hannah Mumford y° Childs Grandmo of y' Child Ann Mumford it's Aunt, & Benj" Mum- ford it's Grandfa'. Easter Monday April ig"' ij^6 At a Meeting y" Con- gregation warned to meet at y° D" House on account of Tempestuousness of y" weather voted y' Jn° Case Esq' and M' Jn° Gardiner be continued church war- dens & y' Such of y" old Vestry as are alive be con- tinued and Major Ebenezer Brenton be added to them for this year ensuing Sunday April 25"" 1756 y' D' read Prayers, and preached at S' Pauls church, administred y° Eucha- rist to 20 CoTcants whereof 6 partook for the first time here viz Maj' Eb: Brenton, M' Triggs, M'= Bennet, Miss Ruth Wanton, & two negro's viz Cassar Gar- diner a negro man belonging to M' Jn" Gardiner of Boston Neck, and Phillis a negro woman belonging to y' D" Mo' in Law Mistress Ailmy Friday April 30"' 1756 I rode to Warwick Saturday May / i" 1756 The D' Read Prayers and 1756] Church Records 553 preached at M" Lippets in Warwick Sunday May 1^ 1756 on account of a great Tempest of wind & Rain w""" prevented going to Coeset church, the D' at said M" Lippets read Prayers, preached, churched M' Joseph Lippets wife viz' M'' Lucy Lippet and baptized her child by name of Mary; the Sponsors were Capt Abraham Francis, M'^ Ann Phil- lis Lippet the child's Grandmo' & Miss Mary Lippet y' childs Aunt, by y'' Fa" Side; & administred y" Eucharist to M'' Ann Francis a chnick, w* whom received also her Husband & y" three Sponsors afor- said. She is y" Capt' wife The D' got home y' night much fatigued Saturday June y' ii''' 1756 D' MacSparran admin- istred Baptism, by total Immersion to two young women at Warwick, viz' Elizabeth Green Jun', Daugh- ter of Richard Green & Elizabeth his wife, and to Sarah Hammet, Daughter of an Anabaptist Teacher their Some time ago dead. He read Prayers & preached y" Same Day at M'^ Lippets and baptized 3 children, viz' William Berry, Son of Schoolmaster Berry, Eliza- beth Wickes, Daughter of Tho' Wickes, & Ruth his wife, & Sarah Carrivan Daughter of Morgan Carrivan a Taylor Sunday June ij'* 1756 The D', it being Trinity Sun- day, read Prayers, preached & administred y" Eucha- rist to a considerable Number of Coicants, whereof 4 were new ones; viz' The widow of M' otis Litle, Nancy Lippet, Daughter of Jeremiah Lippet Esq', and y^abovesaid Elizabeth Green and Sarah Hammet. The Congregation was large, wanting litle of 200 Peo- ple He also baptized y' Day at y" church a Child named John Macguire, Son of Schoolmaster Mac- guire of Greenwich new Town On Whitsunday June y' 6"' 1756 Mary Chappel re- ceived y" Eucharist at S' Pauls for y" i" time. This 554 Church Records [1756 should have been recorded between y° Baptism of Mary Lippet a child as above, who was baptized y" i"of May, andy° Baptisms of Elizabeth Green, Sarah Hammet&c w'''were performed June i a'* 1756 Sunday June 1']''' after dine Service was over at S' Paul's Narraganset, and after he had dined, y° Dr went over to Conanicut to y'^ House of Jn° Martin Esq', and in y" Presense of the Fa" & mo" of the Bride- groom and Bride, married M' Peter Mumford Son of Benj" to Abigail Martin y" Second Daughter of Said Jn° Martin Esq' Being extremely afflidted with his late usual Head, made shift to return to his Bro' in Law's M' Jn° Gardiner; But was too ill to proceed as he intended to visit his mo' in Law, who is sick at her Daughter Robinson's Sunday July 11"' last Sunday a Storm of wind & Rain from y" S°west so y' nobody was at Chh tho' Sacrat Day; Er[go] : I y' Day administred y" Sacrat to 18 CoTcants whereof one viz' Abigail Mumford wife of Tho' Mumford was a new Coicant, and Ja' usher an occasional one "Thursday July 21'' 1756 as I came home from Pro- vidence, I took Warwick in my way & baptized by Immersion an Adult named Phebe Low alias Green, Daughter of Philip Greene Esq' of Warwick, & wife of one Capt Low O^ 16'* 1756 being wrote to, & earnestly intreated to go to Newport for y" Purpose, I preached a funeral Sermon for & on occasion of y"^ Death of M" Eliz" Cole widow & Relid of y= late Elisha Cole Esq' who died many years ago in London, & buried her in y'' Burying Ground at Newport. She was a good woman and a particular friend of me y' Subscriber, & she, her Husband & Family were baptized by me Ja' Mac- Sparran 1756-7] Church Records 555 D' MacSparran not being able after M" Cole's Fune- ral to get farther yfiConanicut Said [w] at y" House of Jn° Martin Esq' & preached at his House y' next Day being Sunday y' ly'* 0£P 1756. Dr Edward Ellis was married to Abigail his wife, by D' MacSparran on y^ yV Bay of OSi' 1756. She was Daughter of M' Job otis of Scituate in y'' Province of y" Massachusets and had for her first Husband one M' Hallyburton who died in Jaimaca where they lived a while. Feb id'' 1757 Emblo a negro girl belonging to D' MacSparran was delivered of two children, the one dead y" other alive on Friday y' 11 Day of July 1.757 the living child was this Day baptized by y" Dr by the name of Lucy her Sureties were M" Mary Gar- diner & her Daughter Abigail and negro Caesar March 13'* 1757 the D' Baptized John Bentley Son of Will™ Bentley Sadler, y'= Sureties were M" Bennet, Daniel Wier & y"^ D' Easter Day April \o"' 1757 D' MacSparran present y° Congregation voted that y" Cch warden & vestry of y" last year be continued thro' y" year ensuing & ad- journed y" vestry to y° 23'' of May Mayy' 8'* 1757 at y' Chh of St Paul Narraganset D' Macsparran baptized a child of Sam' Mumford's, named Elizabeth, y" Suretys Benj" & Ann Mumford y" grandfa' & Grandmo' & Miss Ann Mumford y" Aunt of y^ child. 20 Coicants to Day exclusive of y° Dr May 23'* 1757 y" Vestry Met according to Adjourn- ment, & voted a subscription to help w'" Mumford whose House was burned on y" first Wednesday of May &c. Sept^nCj"' 1757 Dr Macsparran baptized a Child named Sarah Phillips y" Daughter of Mary Phillips widow 556 Church Records [1757-8 of Xtopher Phillips deceased. Sureties M' Benj" Mumford his wife Hannah, and y° widow, Mary updike. OSioher 15"" 1757 at M" Lippets in Warwick D' Mac- sparran Baptized a child called Thomas Berry 051' 23'' 1757 at St Pauls Narraganset D' Macspar- ran baptized two children, one James chappel, natu- ral son of Mary Chappel Jun' deceased; the other virtue Davis Daughter of William Davis, the Surtys William Davis & Daniel wier, M'^ Davis williams wife and M'^ Phebe wier. On ye 5'* [i"] day of December a.d. 1757 y" Reverend Doftor James Macsparran died at his House in South Kingstown who was Minister of Saint Paules Church in y" Narragansett for y" Space of Thirty Seven Years and was decently I nterred under y° Communion Table in Said Church on y° Sixth day of Said Moth \sic\ Much Lamented by his Parishioners and all whom he had Acquaintance with ; A Sermon being Preached by y^ Revered M' Pollin of New-port from these words Taken out ofy''i4"' Chapter of y° Revelations at part of y= 13* verse And I heard a Voice from Heaven say- ing unto me Write, Blessed are y'= dead Which dye in y' Lord, y" Reverend M' Usher of Bristol performed y" office at y° funerall where there was a very Great Number presen' y*^ Paul Bearers The Reverends There was M' Pollin & ^ . . Rings mourning M' Lemming °^ Newport weeds & Gloves M' Matthew Graves of New Lon''. Gave to y' M' John Graves of Providence Paul Bearers Ebenezar Brenton ) -p ,3 and John Case Churchwardens J °^ On y= 22'' day of January AD 1758 The Reverend M' Jeremiah Lemming of Newport Preached at Saint Pauls Church and after Service was Ended y'= Con- 1758-60] church Records 557 gregation was requested to Stay to Consult about Sending to y" Honourable ye Society Requesting that they may Send us a Missionary and to continue their Bounty to Said Parish. \_Here follow five letters, which, with brief conne5iing notes, are inserted in the body of this work, at the close of the first volume and the beginning of the second, and are not, therefore, repeated hereJ] Anno Domini 1760 On the Twenty fourth of August 1760 being Sunday Mr Fayerweather for the first Time Officiated To his New Flock Which Was Very Small In the Parish Church of St Pauls Narraganset: And On the Suc- ceeding Sunday. Than Proceeded to the Place of his Nativity Boston Where He Preach'd In all the Episcopal Churches there Beginning first at Kings Chappel, than At Trinity, And at The Revd Doftor Cutlers Call'd Christ's Church. At This Jundture Arrived At Narraganset One Mr James McSparran Nephew To the Late Incumbent, and one of the heirs To Do6l:or MacSparrans Estate Who Was Treated With On the Purchase of his half of the Doctor's Farm, The Whole of Which Was Ori- ginally Designd and Bequested To A Right Rever- end Diocesan In Case One of that Holy & Ever To be Revered order Should Come To America Provided He Came To the Plantations Of North America Within the Term Of Seven Years After the Demise Of Said Doftor's Wife; And if Otherwise, That Than The Said Farm Should Go, the one half to the Above Said Nephew James MacSparran, And the other half, To Doftor Sylvester Gardner Of Boston The Late Doftor McSparran's Brother In Law. Under the Incumbrance Of A Bishop's Coming into America A Few Spirited Gentlemen Of Charafter & Interest Of the Church Of St Pauls Narraganset, 558 Church Records [1760 Through Considerable Struggle & Opposition Under- took the Purchase Of the One half of the Aforemen- tioned James McSparran Of White Clay Creek In Pensylvania Government for A Glebe Perpetual To the Use of the Present & all Succeeding Ministers of the aforesaid Church of England for Ever. This first Purchase Was Made for one hundred & Fifty Pounds Sterling. — And After Some Length of Time The Second Purchase as to the other half of Said Farm (to be Annexed Or joynd to the first and both together to make one Glebe Perpetual for the Benefit of the aforesaid Church Ministers for Ever) Was Made Of Doftor Sylvester Gardner of Boston Aforesaid for as Much More So that the Whole Pur- chase Was Compleated for Three hundred Pounds Sterling; Immediately Upon Which Dodor Gardner To his Honour Be it here Recorded Gave Out of his Respedive part or Sum Of One hundred & fifty Pounds Sterling, One Hundred Dollars to help forward the Whole Purchase, Or Rather To Ease or Lesson the Cost & Expence thereof To the Parish of St Pauls. And Previous To the Completion Of This, An Ad of the General Assembly Of the Colony Was Found Necessary, And Obtaind, though With oppo- sition and Difficulty, For the Transferring of the Pro- perty of Another Glebe Given for the Use of the Church In North Kingstown By One Mr Norton A Taylor In Newport, Which Was Sold for One hun- dred Pound Sterling, And the Money for Which it Was Sold, Went towards the Paying So Much in the Specie or Sterling Money Of Great Brittain As to the New Purchase of Dodor M'Sparran's Farm, And So Might properly be Said, As to its Inhasrent or Essen- tial Property viz The Value & Amount of it. To be properly Transferred &c The Principal Purchasers As to the first half of the Aforementiond Farm Were John Case Esq, Francis 1760] Church Records 559 Willet Esq, Thomas Browne Esq, Captain John Browne Esq of Newport, & Mathew Robinson Esq: and In Conjundlion With These, Lodowick Updike & Colonel Thomas Hazard Esq' Gave Each of them Twenty Dollars a Peice. As to the Last half of the Purchase Of the Farm As a Glebe Perpetual, The Three first Mentiond Case, Willet,&c Thoma.% Browne Esqrs Who Each of them Gave Most Liberally & Generously And Whose Names Are Again Repeated to their honour as They Signalized Themselves both as To the Two Distinft Purchases of Said Farm, That in the Whole, Their Particular Donations Did Not Amount To Less than Two hundred andThirty Dol- lars A Man. Since Which Regular Deeds have been Made Of Said Farm As a Glebe or Parsonage for the advantage & Behoovement Of the Present & all Sue- ceeding Ministers Of St Pauls Church Narraganset Time Immemorial, Recorded, Publish'd, & Duely Signed, And Copies Thereof Authentically Trans- mitted (By The Venerable Society's Missionary) To England To The Society, In Whose Service He is. And his Successors Must be. For the Propagation OF THE Gospel in Foreign Parts. On the Fifth of October Mr Fayerweather Preach'd at the Town of Warwick And Baptized a child by the Mode Of Sprinkling An Infant Daughter Of Joseph Lippet Esq & Lucy his Wife By the Name (of Betsy — And after Preaching Two Sermons, He Ad- ministred the holy Ordinance of Baptism by Immer- sion To A Young Lady of About Five or Six & Twenty Years Old, One of Colonel's Loe's Daugh- ters By the Name Of Mary In the Presenceof A Pro- digious Number Of Spectators Who All Behav'd With the Greatest Seriousness And Solemnity. And As This Was the First Time of his Administring (by the form of Dipping) So Sacred An Ordinance, He Was the More Attentive to the Service, And at the 56o Church Records [1760 Same Time More full Of Admiration At the Peo- ple's Decent Conduft & Reverend Behaviour. OEtober "The 12"" Mr F— Preachd To his Little Flock In St Pauls Naraganset, And Then Proceeded to Newport & Assisted The Rev" Mr Brown both In Preaching & Administring the Sacrament of the Lords Supper On Advent Sunday to Near Two hun- dred Communicants. Olfober the 20'* At A Meeting of the Parishoners of St Pauls Church In Narraganset Voted That John Case & Thomas Browne be Church Wardens for the Remaining part of this Year. Voted That Messieurs Viz Samuel Browne John Gardner Mathew Robinson John Browne Lodowicke Updike Thomas Hazard & Benjamin Mumford Voted That The Pews In the Church be Taxed ^^5: Old Tenour Each A Year for And Toward the Re- pairing The Church Of Saint Pauls. Voted, That Mr John Browne procure the Windows Of the Church To be Mended forthwith. Voted, That Mathew Robinson Esq have The Pew that late Belong'd To Captain Benoni Sweet De- ceased, And Cap' Benjamin Jefferson have the Pew lately Belonging to Mr Charles Dickinson Junior. In the Beginning Of December Mr F — had the Mis- fortune To Sprain his Ancle & Dislocate Several Small Bones, which Confin'd him Some While Under the Doftors hands. And by a Cutaneous humour fall- ing Down the Legg to the particular part Affeded, He Endured Great Pain And Was Prevented Some be Vestry Men for the Remaining Part of This Year. 1760-1] Church Records 561 Sundays from Officiating in holy Things. December 25'* being Christmas Day Mr F — Preach'd & administred the Holy Eucharist: After Which He Was very ill Again As to his legg And the Whole System Of Blood, by An Increase Of A Scrophulous humour Contradted In a Southern Unwholesome Clime, Which Renderd it Necessary To Go through A Regular Course of Regimen & Physick. Anno Domini 1761. March the 5* M' Fayerweather Married Mr Carder Hazard To Miss Allice Hazard Daughter of Colonel Thomas Hazard Esq Of South Kingstown At Mr Benjamin Mumford's house Where He then Boarded. On The Sixth Of April Mr George Mumford Was Married By Mr F — To Miss Mary Dickinson In Saint Pauls Church Narraganset, The Bride being Given Away By Mr James Bentley An Intimate Ac- quaintance Of The Bride Grooms. On thQ2,o"' Day Of April Mr Fayerweather Mov'd into And Took Aftual Possession Of the Parsonage house. Once the Private Property & Real Estate Of his Proedecessor The Rev"* D' M'Sparran. On Easter Monday Parish Officers Were Chosen In St Pauls And They Were As Follows. Viz Churchwardens Thomas Browne & \ Esquires John Case And As To Vestry Men Captain John Browne Mathew Robinson Major Ebenezer Brenton Lodowick Updike John Gardiner Benjamin Mumford Senior 562 Church Records [1761 On Whitsunday May the lo"" A Discourse Was Preachd by Mr F — On the Day of Pentecost, And The Sacrament Of The Lord's Supper Was admin- Istred To the Following Persons As the Very First Time Of his administring On such An Occasion Viz, Captain John Browne M' Benjamin Mumford Samuel Browne Mr Triggs Mrs Mumford Mrs Anstis Robinson Miss Molly Browne M'" Ann Dickinson Mary Chaffield Mrs Gardner Wife Of J Gardner Coesar Gardner ~J & > Servants Phillis Gardner J May 17"" M' F — Was Calld Away to Warwick & Preachd there to A large Number Of Souls; & Ad- ministred the Eucharist to About Fourteen Members Male & Female. June 14'* Preachd To a large Assembly In St Pauls Narraganset And Baptized Martin Reid The Parish Clerk An Adult And According to the Usual Method Of the Christian Church his Chosen Witnesses Were Major Ebenezer Brenton ^ ^ . r Mr Benjamin Mumford j And On the Same Day Baptized his Daughter By the Name of Hannah, And her Sponsors Were Old Mr Mumford, his Wife Mrs Mumford And Mrs Ann Dickinson: — All Behaving With the Utmost De- cency & Gravity, The Young Man Above Men- tioned, Father To the Little Girl, being Previously 1 761] Church Records 563 Instrudled into the Nature of the Institution And the Solemnity Of the Ordinance According to the Canons Of the Church of England And What the Kubrick Enjoyn. May the Number Of Baptized Increase Among those that Are Adult in Age! And As to In- fants May They all be ofFerd Up to God in Infancy Because Of Such the Kingdom of heaven doth Con- sist: But This Will Depend Greatly on Parents be- ing properly Grounded themselves In the Christian Religion. June 28"" «y July f Mr F Went to Newport With A Design to take a Passage for New York In Capt Leighton & being Detain'd by Contrary Winds Preachd both Sundays for the Revd Mr Browne. July 7'* Saild for New York And on the 1 2"" Preachd In the City In Trinity Church for the President of the Episcopal College The Rev''Do(5tor Samuel John- son &c. From New York Mr F — proceeded To Philadelphia And Preachd In the Churches for The Revd Dr Jenny And The Revd Mr Duchie On the 1 9'* & iS"" of July. On the 2'' Day of August Got back As far As New York Again And Preachd For The Rev'd Dodtor Barclay And The Reverend M' Auch- muty. August g''' Mr F Preach'd In Mr Aspinwals Church In Flushing Long Island. The 16''' On A Sacramental Occasion In St George's Chappel New York, & in the Afternoon of Said Day At Trinity Church for The Revd Mr Auchmuty To A very large & Respedtable Congregation. On the 21" Embark'd & Saild through part of the Sound, And On the Passage had the Misfortune to be Cast A Way In Hell Gate, & being Detaind by a hard North East Storm Went Ashoare At Pell's Manor, And it Was the 30"" of the Month before He Ar- riv'd Safe at Newport, Which He Blessed God The Almighty his Great Preserver for. 564 Church Records [176 1-2 September 6"" 'Mv¥ — Preach'd to his Own Little Flock, (Who seem'd pleasd With his Return home ! O May He Do much Good Among them. And Always Meet With the Divine Philanthropy & Protedion. September ig"' Mr F Preachd At Warwick & Bap- tized 3 Children One A Boy of four Years old, The other An Infant Girl, the Children Of Poor Parents. On the First Sunday Of November 1761 Mr F — Bap- tized A Son of Mr Lodowick Updike By the Name of Daniel At Eight MonthsOld, The Sponsors Were Mr Benjamin Mumford, his Wife, And Mr Thomas Mumford Son of Benjamin In Saint Pauls Church. On the 10'* Of November MrF — Was Calld Away to Newport To Administer Private Baptism To a Child of Benjamin Mumford's Junior, The Child being Sick, It's Name Was Samuel, The Sponsors Were Mr F — Samuel Mumford And the Grand Mother M'" Mumford Senior. The 27'* Mr F being Earnestly Requested Preachd A Sermon in Old Mrs Amys Room She having been Confin'd by Sickness A long time. To A Consider- able and Attentive Audience. The 30th Mr F — Set Out for Boston. Preachd at Kings Chappel Dec" 1^. His Excellency Gov' Barnard Present. At Warwick on his Return He Preachd At Mrss Frances's & administred the Sacrament to Eleven Persons. And On Christmas Day He Preachd to his Own Flock & administred The Communion. Anno Domini 1762 Mr F Preachd At St Pauls A Discourse On the New Year. But Alass! Few ! Very Few Hearers on that Day. Mr F — Publishd the Banns of Marriage Between Mr Robert Jenkins & Miss Elizabeth Champlin Daugh- ter To Colonel Christopher ChampHn As the First time of Asking. The Second Sunday As the 2" Time 1762] Church Records 565 And the 3d Sunday As the Last time of Asking. On the 17'* of Jan' Mr F Publishd Capt Thomas Green & Miss Mary Low As the First time. On the 25'* being St Pauls Conversion Mr F — publish'd A Second time the Banns of Marriage Between Capt Tho' Green Of Warwick & Miss Mary Low of the Same Town, Publishd them Also A third time As the Law Direfts: And On the 28'* Of January He being Soon Bound to Sea, Proceeded to Warwick And Mar- ried Them. Mr F Preachd A Sermon On the Joyful Occasion At Mr Weeks' house. N B. The Couple Were Married At Colonel Loes house On 'Thursday Evening Jan" 28'* 1762. February the 1^ Mr F Went to Charlestown And Mar- ried Robert Jenkins To Miss Elizabeth Champlin Daughter to Colonel Christopher Champlin! She The Bride, being Given Away by her Father. Easter Sunday Preachd To A large Congregation & administred the Sacrament. And On Easter Monday Chose Parish OfficersViz Church Wardens John Case & Thomas Browne Esqs Who Serv'd Acceptably the Year before in Said Office, And Vestry Men As fol- low viz Mathew Robinson Major Brenton Benjamin Mumford John Browne Benjamin Jefferson & , John Gardner May 1^ being the third Sunday In Easter Mr F Preachd Not only In his Own Parish Church of St Pauls, But in the afternoon Of Said Day In the Baptist Meeting house On little Rest hill. To Some of his own flock living in that Quarter As Well as To A Promiscous Number besides Of Sectaries, Difi^erently Denomi- nated. 566 Church Records [176a ^On May 16'* Mr F Was Sent for To administer Cly- nick Baptism To a Child of Mr Thomas Mumfords Dangerously ill With Fits, With Proper Sponsors, The Childs Name Was James, After Which The child Died On Which Occasion A Sermon Was Preachd in St Pauls to about Forty Souls. May 30"' being Whitsunday An Adult Offered himself To Christian Baptism Who had been Bred In the Annabaptistical Way hypothetically As the Church & Canons Diredt By the Name of Benjamin (Who Com- monly Went by the Name of Ben Sherman) Whose Chosen Witnesses Were Mr Benjamin Mumford Senior, Martin Reed, and Mrs Mumford, and after Previous I nstrudtion Mr F administred the Ordinance of Baptism to him And Then Admitted him to the Other ordinance of the Lords Supper. June a"* Mr F visited Boston & Preachd in the Sev- eral Churches there to full Audiences And Assisted in the administration of the Sacrament. On his Return Preachd At Warwick: Mr F also Baptized there A Male Child for one Mr Caravan, the Child having proper Sponsors June 23''. July 4."' It having for a long time been Dry Wheather, The Land being afflided With the Judgment of Drought Mr F Improvd such a Providence from those Words, "j^nd he Frayed Again &? the heaven gave Rain And the Earth brought forth fruit." July 8'* Mr. F Baptized by Immersion Deliverance Sherman In Petaqumscutt Pound Pond her Wit- nesses being Mr Mumford Senior, Mrs Davis, and Martin Reed, after She Came To the Communion. On the 17'* of July Mr F Christned A Child for Mr Benjamin Sherman At his house Privately, Deliver- ance Sherman, The Father & Mr Reed Sponsors, The Child Named James. On this Day in the afternoon 176a] Church Records 567 Mr F Preach'd In the Baptist Meeting house to A large Congregation, & Performd the Liturgy of the Church of England. July I-]" Mr F— Was Sent for To See An old Man Dying One in full Communion With his Church, Who Died On the 28"' And Was Buried the 29"" on Which Occasion A Sermon Was Preachd. At the said Deceasd' house. On the 9"' Day Of September Mr F administred Bap- tism To An Adult Female In Petaqumscutt Pond by Immersion Mrs Jefferson By the Name of Sarah, Soon After Which She Ratified her Covenant En- gagements At the Sacred Altar. Her Chosen Wit- nesses Were her Husband Capt Benjamin Jefferson A Communicant of St Pauls, Mrs Mumford & Mrs Dickinson. On the 16"' The Congregation At St Pauls, The Lar- gest that had Convened, From his, Mr Fs first Open- ing his Mission At Narraganset : Above An hundred Souls Present: Oaober 5'" Mr F Was Sent for In the Dead Of Night & An Exceeding hard Rain To Visit One Danger- ously [i//], and at his Request He Baptized him By the Name of Jeremiah (Commonly before called Je- remy Smith.) And Mr F Gave him afterwards The Blessed Sacrament. This Person Was Bred to No Re- ligion — And With Sorrow be it Spoken Since his Solemn Dedication To God the Father Son & holy Ghost, He has pradtically Renounced the Christian Religion, and Now makes no Profession At All. OSfober the 5"" Mr F Baptized In St Pauls Church A Daughter Of M r William Bentley Sadler About Eight Years old by the Name of Sarah She having her Proper Sponsors. 18'" Was Observ'd As A Day of Publick Thanks- 568 Church Records [1762-3 giving through the Colony. The Congregation Up- wards of An hundred Souls. On Which Day Was De- cently Interrd In the Church Yard Miss Molly Gard- ner The Daughter of John Gardner Esq Boston Neck Who Died Of a Consumption at the Age of 17 or 18. Her Corps being Carried into Church. On the Same Day Mr' Bovyer Was Church'd. Nov' 5'* Gun Powder Plot Was Observd & a Ser- mon At St Pauls. Sunday December f Mr F. Baptized A Negroe Man Servant of John Gardners Esq By the Name of PoMPEY his Chosen Witnesses Were Martin Reed, Mrs Mumford & Caesar Gardner (Said Pompey Died July 5* 1768) And Buried in a christian manner.) December 25''' being Christmas Mr F Preachd & ad- ministred the Sacrament As Usual on Said Day And On Said Memorable Occasion. Anno Domini 1763 January 1" Circumcision. The Wheather Exceedingly Bad And No Congregation Assembled at St Pauls. 15'" Mr F Was Calld On to Visit Old Mrs Amy A Communicant of St Pauls being Now Dangerously ill. Divers times he had visited and Pray'd With her: And Besides Administred the holy Eucharist, Several Persons Communicating With her At the Same Oc- casion. Dureing her Whole Illness She Express'd An Intire Resignation to Gods holy Will & pleasure. And Thro' Gods help It Was hop'd She Made a Good End. 23'' PubHshd the Banns Of Marriage Between George Hasard Peckham of South Kingstown & SarahTayler Daughter of Robert Tayler In Newport Deceas'd, And After A Regular Publication three Distind; times According to Law They Were Married In Newport. r^f 3o"'Was Observ'd As Usual by ASermon On the 1763] church Records 569 Occasion, But So few Auditors, That it is a Sufficient Discouragement from Preparing A Sermon or Preach- ing it on Such Days. 7'* February being Advertiz'd of the Death, & Day of Interment of Old Mrs Amy, & Requested to Preach A Funeral Sermon, Mr F — Preach'd One on the 8"" of the Month In St Pauls from the Revelation of St John the Divine the 14"" Chapr at the 13"' Verse The Corpe being Carried into Church And the Number present Were Sixty People Who Behav'd Gravely & Solemnly. On the 13"" Of the Month Sunday, Mr F — Was Pub- lishd To Mrs Abigail Bours The Surviving Relid of the Revd Peter Bours of Marblehead In Trinity Church Newport By the Revd Mr Browne And on Jsh Wednesday being the 16''' Publishd the Second time And Sunday Feb' 20'* Was the third & Last time of Asking. Sunday The 27'* February Mr F Was Married To Mrs Bours In the Church At Newport Early in the Morning About 8 o Clock By the Reverend Marma- duke Browne; And that Day (An Exceedingly Cold Day) Preachd On the Occasion from those Words To A large Auditory Do All to the Glory of God. As- sisted the Revd Mr Browne the Next Sunday Also, having Got his Own Pulpit Supply'd By The Revd Mr Dormer Of South Carolina In his Passing along through the Continent From South Carolina. On Good Friday Mr F Preachd In Newport for the Revd Mr Browne & Assisted him in the Adminis- tration Of the Lords Supper. On Easter Sunday April the 3'' Preachd In St Pauls Narraganset And Administred the Sacrament To Six- teen Souls. On this Day After Divine Service Was over (from the 570 Church Records [1763-4 Great Difficulty Of Convening the People together On Easter Monday) The Parish Officers both as to Church Wardens & Vestry Men Were voted To be Continued this Year Without Alteration. April the 4"- Mr W" Davis And Family Mov'd Away from the Parsonage house Where They had Livd With Mr F — for Two Years in Great Unanimity & Peace. May 16"' Mr F bought A Servant of J Gardner Esq: May She Prove A True & FaithfuU Servant of Jesus X. (Who Died April ii'" 1770). July 17'" Mr F. Baptized A Male Child In St Pauls of William Bentleys By the Name of Agrippa, The Sponsors Mr Mumford Mrs Mumford & Mr Reed. July the 1 8"' Mr F — Married Captain John Northam (Who Brought him from Charlestown South Caro- lina) To Miss Toman of Newport. Sepr\%'''M.r F Preachd In the Baptist Meeting house to a large Auditory On little Rest hill & Carried on the Service of the Church of England, And Several of their Teachers (No less than four) being Present in the Whole Service. OSlober the 16"' Mr F Baptizd A Female Child Of Martin Reeds By the Name of Ann her Sponsors were Captain Jefferson, Mrs Jefferson, and Mrs Webber. ISlovember 19''' Born Robert Browne A Male Child And the First born Son of Captain Robert Browne. Christned In Newport Church By the Revd Mr Browne Re6lor of Trinity Church Nov 30''' 1763. December a^"' Mr F Preachd In St Pauls before a large Promiscuous Number, and administred the Sac- rament to fourteen Communicants. Anno Domini 1764 Mr F — Preachd on the Occasion of the New Tear to Fifty Souls. 1764] church Records 571 Feb" 16"' Mr F Journeyd to Marblehead, Preachd In St Michaels Church, and Christned A Child for the Reverend Mr Weeks At the Font there. On Easter Sunday Mr F officiated in his own Church & administred the Sacrament to Eleven Souls. — After Publick Worship Was Ended Chose Parish officers being Under an Indispensable Necessity of it, be- cause Of the Impossibility of Convening the Parish On Easter Monday As the Business of Agriculture, Especially Plowing & planting at Said time Engross'd their Closest Attention & Care viz Church Wardens & Vestry Men for the present Year One thousand Seven hundred & Sixty four. — The Church Wardens Were viz Captain Benjamin Jefferson 1 & \ Mr Stephen Bovyre J The Vestry Men Were John Case Thomas Browne Benj" Mumford Senior Mr William Bentley Samuel Gardner & Captain Francis Carpenter. May 23'' Mr F Went To Marblehead, Preachd In St Michaels Church And Baptized Three Children By The Desire of their Pastor, Whose Names Were En- tred into their Church Records. June 2,^ Mr F Preachd In Newbury Church for the Revd Mr Bass to a Small Audience, He officiating in Almsbury Church. lo'* Mr F Preachd in Salem Church On Occasion of WMtSunday and Assisted The Revd Mr Mcgilchrist In the administration of the Blessed Sacrament. On the 14'* of June Sott out for Marblehead for home 572 Church Records [1764-5 — Arrivd safe In the Parish of St Pauls. Preachd there on the if'' Day of the Month To a Small Congregation. July 1764. Mr F Calld Away to Newport To Marry Mr Benjamin Brenton To Miss Cook Daughter of Captain Silas Cook The Revd Mr Browne being Sick And not able to Attend the Office for the Bride And Bride Groom. August 6'* A Negroe Child Born (Caesar) In Mr F — s house of Tamar & George his Servants. Nov' f Mr F Officiated In St Pauls. But Discouragd from the Smallness of his Congregation On the like Publick Occasions, altho' they had Previous Notice of the Design the Sunday before. The Sunday following Mr F Preachd On the Death of his Wife's Sister Bourn from those Words The Memory of the Just is Blessed. — M. December 2.5"' was Duely Observed by Mr F in St Pauls Church. Anno Domini 1765 On the New Tear A Sermon Was Preachd By Mr F — to his Own Flock &c. January if Mr F Married Captain John Watson To Phoebe Martin at her Gran: Father Esq Martins On Conanicutt In the Presence of Many Witnesses And Preachd A Sermon On the happy Occasion from Those Words "Love One Another." Jan' 5'* Mr F & Spouse Sent for to Newport to At- tend Capt John Brownes Funeral, He Read Prayers on the Day of Interment, and Preachd A Funeral Sermon in Trinity Church On the Occasion Sunday After. February 17"' Mr F Preachd At Newport & Baptized three Children One of Governour Wantons, and all with their Proper Sponsors. 1765] church Records 573 March 5'* Mr F Married Captain Isaac Prince God- frey To Penelopy Pelham Cowley, At Mr John Ban- nisters At Middletown On Rhode Island. March 15'* Mr F Went to Captain Robert Brownes On a Letter from him And Baptized A Son of his By the Name of John: Capt Browne, Mr F — Stand- ing Male Sponsors, & Mrs F Female Gossip. (The Child Born On the lo"" January 1765). March iS'* Mr F Visited the house of Mourning George Hazard's Which Was made so By the Death of his Wife Who Was the Daughter of Colonel Thomas Hazard One of the Church Under his Pas- toral Care. 19"' Attended her Funeral Where Several Of The Friends Calld so by Way of Distinftion Spoke. On Easter Mr F Preachd On the Occasion & ad- ministred As Usual the Holy Eucharist. On Easter Monday No alteration Of Parish Officers The Old Ones Remaining As they Were: So that there Was No Attempts for A New Choice. On Whitsunday Mr F Preachd In St Pauls On the Unpardonable Sin Against the holy Ghost. And in the Evening After A Previous Publication According to Law He Married Mr Barnaby Brennock A Foreigner To Miss Esther Davis Daughter Of Samuel Davis At French Town being the 26'* of May, The Bride being Given Away By old Mr Mumford. September — The "Two Last Sundays in this Month The Revd Mr Bass Of Newbury Preach'd In St. Pauls Narraganset for Mr F. Nov 5'* No Sermon On the Occasion from the Afore- going Discouragements Mentiond By Mr F. Soon After This Date, Finding A Necessity To Re- pair St Pauls Church The Church Wardens Viz Mr 574 Church Records [1765-6 Bovyre & Jefferson Were Adiive to CoUedt Subscrip- 1 "KT th T^l* tions for the Purpose And Accordingly IN ov 1 5 i ne Church Was Repaired And the Windows Mended Whereever they Wanted to be Made Whole. On this Occasion & for this Purpose Thomas Browne and John Case Esq' Gave Very Liberally. Nov' 28"" Was Observd As A General Thanksgiving throughout the Colony Of Rhode Island & Mr F Preachd on the Occasion Accordingly. December Mr F Married At Docftor Babcocks Capt Dudley Salftonstall To his Daughter Miss Francis Babcock At Westerley And Was Considerably Indis- posd by A very bad & Dangerous Cold Which Con- find him (On his Return) to his Bed & Chamber Above Six Weeks. Anno Domini 1766 First Day of Jan' Circumcision. But No Preaching At St. Pauls. On Easter Sunday Mr F preachd to A Considerable Congregation, & administred the Sacrament to Seven- teen Communicants. On Easter Monday Parish Officers Were Voted to be Continued for this Year Without Any Alteration As before viz Church Wardens Capt Benj" Jefferson ) Stephen Bovyre j Vestry Men The Same viz John Case Thomas Browne Benj" Mumford W" Bentley Samuel Gardner Capt F. Carpenter April 1" Major Benjamin Brenton Died And Three Days After (Which Was the 4"" of April) Buried On 1766] church Records 575 his own Farm: The Burial Service Performed By Mr F — At the Majors Desire Who in his Sickness Was Visited by Mr F And Prayed With. 6'" Mr F Christned A Male Child for Capt Robert Browne at his house By the Name Of Silas With the proper Sponsors (The Child Born January 28"" 1766.). May the First. Mr F Baptized An Adult Person In St Pauls Who had been One of the People of the Annabaptist Perswasion (& before that of Several other Denominations) By the Name oijonathan'^ho had Commonly Gone by the Name of Jonathan Sher- man; His Chosen Witnesses Were Mr Reed, old Mr Mumford, & Capt Jefferson, his Baptism Was Hy- potheticall. After Which He Seald his Engagements at the Sacred Altar; And For Five Years Attended both the Worship And Ordinances of the Church Constantly! But Alafs! has Now Publickly Re- nounced his Profession, And Turned Again To the Annabaptists, And been Aftually Redipped By One of their Illiterate Teachers lately in North Kingstown — O Tempora: O Mores. May 14"' 1766. Mr F Baptized This Day A Negroe Boy Namd Bristow Son of his Man Servants George &Tamar Who Was Born in his house May 12"' 1766. Mrs Gardner, Mr F & Mr Mumford Sponsors. June 4'* Mr F Attended the Convention of the Epis- copal Clergy And The Revd Docflor Caner Preach'd in Kings Chappel Boston from those Words "Follow Me." Sunday After Mr F Preachd for the Doftor & Baptized A Child in Kings Chappel Which Was Registred in their Church Book. July S"' Were Married in Church Robert Dickson & Martha Straight by Mr F — r OSfober 19'* Mr F Married Mr Benjamin Naason To 576 Church Records [1766-7 Miss Sarah Jefferson at Capt JefFersons house Who had been Publish'd Three Distind Times In Church According to the Colony Law. The Bride being Giv- ing \_sic'] in Marriage By the Father. November i^ Mr F Preachd In Christs Church Cam- bridge And two Sundays Succeeding^ And the "Third At Christ Church Boston for the Revd Mr Greaton. December i^"" Preachd In St Pauls On the Occasion of Christmas to A Small Congregation & administred the Sacrament to a few. On St Innocents Day Mr F Preachd In St Pauls to a few being Moderate Wheather from those Words, " then herod When he Saw that he was Mocked of the Wise Men Was Exceeding Wroth i£ Sent forth &' Slew all the Children that Were in Bethlehem &' in all the Coasts thereof from i Years old £5? Under According to the time Which he had Diligently Enquirdofthe Wise Men." Anno Domini 1767 No Sermon On the New Tears Day. But The First Sunday After (By A long Trial for A Congregation In St Pauls Church During the Win- ter Sollstice, Of Almost Seven Years) Mr Fwas obligd to officiate in his own house Calld the Parsonage, & So at other houses In his Parish In An Alternate Way, Which He found Was better Attended on than in the Church of St Pauls that Difficult Season of the Year. &c. On the ii"" of Jan^ Mr F — at his own house Bap- tized Ceesar A Negroe Boy, The Eldest Son of his Man George & Tamar With proper Sponsors. It be- ing the first Sunday After Epiphany. On the 9"" (which shoud \sic'\ have been Mentiond be- fore the last Article of baptism) Mr F Was Sent for To Attend the Funeral of M'^ Browne, The Consort of 1767-8] Church Records 577 the Revd Mr Browne Over Whom He Performd the Funeral Service In Trinity Church Newport. An Ex- ceedingly large Concourse of People Attended But No Sermon As both the Lady her Self & her husband too had An utter Aversion To Pomp & Show on those Occasions, & Utterly Against All Parading. March 22'' Mr F Christned his Servant Man George before a large Congregation At his house, & his Chosen Witnesses Were old Mr Mumford Mrs Mumford & his Master. Easter — No Alteration this Year As To Churchwar- dens & Vestry Men. April s" Mr F Christned A Female Child In St Pauls Church of his Clerk's Martin Reed, By the Name of Sarah, Capt Jefferson, his Wife, And Mrs Fayerweather Standing Sponsors. June. The T'wo Last Sundays Succeeding In this Month The Revd Mr Lyons & Mr F — Exchangd; He Preachd In St Pauls; Mr F in the Church Of Taunton in the Province Of Massachusetts &c. Sunday November 5'* This Day Mr F Baptized A Male Child Of Thomas Gardner & Katherine his Wife By the Name of henry Richmond Gardner — The Sponsors Were Master Kelly Mr F, & Miss Jerufhy Blowers. Anno Domini 1768. Jan" 1" Circumcision Mr F — Preachd, & Exhorted his People To Begin the New Year in the Service of God their Creator & Redeemer, & hold on to their Live's End. Jan' 7'* Mr F Married Captain Sylvester Gardner of North Kingstown To Miss Sarah Beers Of Newport, At Captain Joseph Coggeshall's, The Bride being Given Away by Capt Coggeshell. 578 Church Records [1768 March 6"' It being tho. first Sunday in the Month Mr F Preachd at Mr Bovyre's and Christned A child By the Name Of Robert Lowe After A Brother in Law In old England of Mr. Bovyres; Capt Jeffer- son his Wife And Mr Bovyres Son Standing Spon- sors. — After Divine Service Visited & Prayed With William Davis Son of William Davis Dangerously ill Who Soon After Died. March 13''' And Fourth Sunday In Lent Mr F Christ- ned A Male Child At Capt Jeffersons house By the Name Of Benjamin Jefferson Naason, Son of Mr Naason Who Married Capt Jeffersons Daughter; The Sponsors Were Stephen Bovyre his Wife, And the Gran Father Captain Jefferson himself. March 21" Mr F Preachd A Funeral Sermon On W" Davis' Death In Church To A full & Serious Audience, if' Mr F Officiated At home. On the J'' April Mr F preachd on Easter at Mr Philips' — On Monday No change of Church officers. April lo"" Mr F Preachd At Lodowick Updikes & Baptized Three Children for him By the Names of James, Anstis, & Mary, The Sponsors Capt Jeffer- son, Mrs Jefferson, & Mrs Gardner The Gran Mo- ther: Having Christned their Eldest Son before, Daniel, At Eight Months old. April 1 7'* Mr F Preachd At the Parsonage house & Baptized his Own Negroe Wench Tamar, And her Child Phillis, The Mother had her Chosen Witnesses ; The Other Sponsors viz Mr Reed, Mrs F, & Mrs Gardner. April the 24"- Mr F Preachd At Mr W™ Davis', And Baptized A little Negroe Boy two Years old By the name of Cato, his Sponsors Were Mr Bovyre old Mr Mumford & Mrs Davis — And Immediately After Divine Service Mr F — Proceeded for home. 1768] church Records 579 And Went on With all Speed from Thence To Point Judith And Married George Browne To Miss Han- nah Robinson At her Father William Robinsons In Presence of Many. May the First Mr F— Preachd in St Pauls Church; To A full Audience. On Whitsunday Mr F Administred the Sacrament of the Lords Supper In St Pauls To Sixteen Communi- cants After Preaching To About 50 or 60 hearers. On the 24"" Mr F Sot off for Boston & Marblehead. And On Sunday Morning May the 29''' Mr F Mar- ried At Marblehead before Church Began Colonel William Bourn To Mrs Deborah Freeman The Sur- viveing Reli(5tOf Mr James Freeman Merchant: The Lady being Given Away by Major Gallison Brother in Law By Marriage to the Bridegroom. July the 3'' Mr F Baptized in his Own Church at Narraganset An Infant Child of his Clerk's Mr Reed by the Name of Mary; Mr Bovyre his Wife & Mrs Davis Sponsors, The Whole Congregation tarried in the Church of St Pauls to See the administration of the Ordinance. (43 On the 16"" Saturday Night Died Mr Henry Gardner (Son of henry in Newport) One of the Parish Of St Pauls, Who had been in Mr F — s service, And the said Mr Gardner Was Buried In his Own Ground Without Ceremony And having Only five or Six Men Attending his Funeral by Reason of the Malignancy of the Distemper & Fever Whereof He Died. August 8'* Mr F Baptized A Female Child At Cap- tain Robert Browne's house Of Said Robert's & Wife Sick, The Father, Mother, & M'' Gidley being Spon- sors The Child Nam'd Elizabeth. On the 21" Mr F Preachd In St Pauls, And in the Afternoon of Said Sunday At little Rest In the An- 58o Church Records [1768-9 nabaptist Meeting house, & Carried on All the Pub- lick Exercises According to the Method praftic'd in the Church of England, After Which In the Evening MrFMarriedCaptBenedidPeckhamTo Miss Mary Boon In North Kingstown, He having been Out pub- lishd According As the Law Diredls. On the ij** Mr F Married Mr Slocums Daughter To Mr Henry Wall Who had been Publish'd 3 Didind times by Esq Thomas As the Law Dired:s. October the i" Mr F being In Newport And The Minister Confind to his house By Bodily Illness, he Was Requested To Christen A Child of Captain John Watson's And Phcebe his Wife By the Nameof M ary. The Sponsors Were Mr Simson Attorney at Law, his Wife & Mrs Dickson. December 25'* Mr F Preachd In St Pauls On Christ- mas Day to About Forty Souls And administred the holy Communion to Twelve. Anno Domini 1769 being Circumcision Mr F Enter- taind his Flock With A Discourse Agreeable To the Occasion in St Pauls. February i" Mr F began to Preach in his Own Man- sion house on Account of the Imprafticableness of attending at St Pauls The Wheather being So Severe, And From Which Time He officiated at his own & other houses of his Parishoners till Easter. On the 9"- of March Mr F Married Mr Niles Helme To Miss Sarah Bent At his house After having Pub- lish'd them as the Law diredts 3 Distind: times: The Bride being Given Away By Mr Reed the Clerk of Saint Pauls. Easter No Change of Parish Officers, from a General Approbation of Them that had been in the last Year As to Wardens andVestry Men And the Difficulty of Colle6ting the People Together On Easter Monday. 1769] church Records 581 Second Sunday Past Easter Mr F being before Desired to Compose a Discourse On Singing, Prepar'd And Preach'd One To A Number of Young People Who Were Learning Psalmody. iG" April Mr F visited Old Mrs Willet Who Was taken 111 With An Apoplexy ; Mr F prayed With her Soon after Which She Died. 1 8'* On Tuesday she Was Buried, And A Funeral Ser- mon Preach'd by Mr F after her Interment At the Esquires House. 28"' July; On Friday Evening Mr Fayerweather Mar- ried his Brother In Law George Hazard Esq To Miss Jane Tweedy at the Parsonage house Narraganset After 3 Distindt Publications In the Church of New- port. Married Benedidt Peckham To Mary Boon Daughter to J & Mary Boon of N Kingston Au- gust 11" 1769. On the lo"" Sepr Preachd In St Pauls, his honour The Governour of the Colony being At Church, And A Considerable Large Congregation. On the 1 1'* of A Monday Morning Mr F Sott off for Boston To Attend the Annual Convocation of the Clergy. The Revd Mr Thompson Of Scituate Preachd before Us In Kings Chappel On the Moral Perfec- tions of God. Mr F Preachd Sunday after at Kings Chappel And at Trinity Church Boston. On the 17'* Mr F & Mr Clark of Dedham Exchangd. And the Succeeding Sunday brought about A Second Exchange Between Mr F & the Revd Dodtor Byles — The Dodtor Preachd In Mr Clarks Pulpit of Ded- ham, And Mr F In Christ's Church Boston: So that by Such An Exchange Double Mr Clarke Supplyd Narraganset Church i Sundays together. Novr 16"' Mr F Exchangd Pulpits With the Revd Mr Bisset of Newport. 582 Church Records [1769-70 Deer if Mr F Preachd To a Small Congregation & administred the holy Eucharist In St Pauls. On the 31" Exchangd Again With Mr Bisset & Mr F Preachd in Newport. On the Last Day of the Year 1769. And on the Beginning of the New. Anno Domini 1770 January the i" it being Circumcision Mr F Read Prayers to the Largest Congregation He Ever Saw on a Prayer Day at Newport. And on this Day Mr F Baptized a young Gentleman In adult Years Mr Scott By the name of Joseph, and his Chosen Wit- nesses Were Mr William Wanton And Mr Simon Peas Merchants. On the 1 1'* of February Mr F Attended the Funeral of Mr John Scotts Lady in Newport Who Was In- terr'd on Sunday About 4 ° Clock In the Afternoon at Whose Grave Mr F officiated, The Revd Mr Bisset being Gone to Boston. N B. The Deceas'd Lady Was the Daughter of Capt Cookson. March A^'' Mr F Preachd at a Neighbours house & the Gov' Present 1 1"" of March Mr F Baptized at his own house a Ne- groe Child By the Name of Thankfull : A Daugh- ter of Man George & Wench Tamar. The Sponsors Were Mrs F Mrs Gardner & Mr F. April the 11"' The Said Tamar Died; And on the 12'" of the Month Was Buried. A Christian Burial She had in her old Master's Ground (I Gardner Esq) alongside of her own Mother & some fellow Serv's and before the Corps Were Mov'd from the Parson- age A Short Funeral Sermon Was Preachd by Mr F at his house. And Prayers Perform'd at the Grave. Easter — The Same Wardens & Vestry Men of St Pauls Are Continued for this Year. 177°] Church Records 583 Sunday May 13'* Mr F Baptized A Male Child for Mrs Katherine Gardner (Wife of Thomas Gardner) She Belonging to St Pauls, (He of the People calld Friends) By the Name of Samuel Fayerweather: The Sponsors Mr F, Master Kelly and Mrs Dick- son Widow. On Friday Night Between Five & Six " Clock July6"' 1770 Mr F — r was sent for to visit John Gardner, with whom he talk'd and Prayed. 7* on Saturday Died John Gardner Esq of Boston Neck, And on Sunday 8'" the Next Day Was Decently Buried In the Church Yard of St Pauls, On Which OccasionThe CorpsWas Carried Into St Pauls Church And a Funeral Sermon Preachd There By Mr F The Reftor To a Full and Serious Congregation. 29"" July Sunday Evening Departed this Life John Case Esq at Tower Hill And on Tuesday July ^i" He Was Decently Interrd In St Pauls Church Yard North Kingstown And A Funeral Sermon Preachd By Mr F on the Occasion In St Pauls Church be- fore a Numerous And Attentive Audience. Mr F Constantly visited Said Esq Every Day for Some Considerable time together And Prayed With him And adminis [tered] the Blessed Sacrament To him Two or Three times Distindlly. September 16"' Mr F Preachd In St Pauls, And Af- ter Church He Was Earnestly Desired To Go To Mr William Davis s Which He Did, And Baptize Three Children By The Names of Charles, Chester, and Charlotta, And at the Request of George Rome Esqr A Gentleman of Estate from Old England &c The Sponsors Were Mr Bovyre Mrs Bovyre & Mr Davis: After Which Next Day being the 17"' of Sep- tember Mr F Sott off for Boston To Attend The An- nual Convention of the Clergy, And Preachd there In the Several Churches &c. The Revd Mr Trout- 584 church Records [i 770-1 beck Kings Chaplin Preachd before the Clergy On Said Occasion from that Text "What is 'Truth." Nov' 1 1"" TheReverend Mr Usher of Bristol Preachd & Read Prayers for Mr F In St Pauls Narraganset, He being a Hearer. On the 10"' December 1770 Mr F Married Captain Nathan Bull of Newport To Anna Perry of South Kingstown Kings County being Legally Published Three Distindl Periods. Anno Domini 1771 January the First Mr F Gave his Flock a New Years Sermon. On the ii"" of February Doftor Robert Hazard Was Buried, Having Died by a Long Lingering Illness Saturday Evening about 6 ° Clock The Ninth Day of the Month. A Considerable Assembly Present At his house, and a Funeral Sermon Preachd by Mr F — from a Subjeft Suitable to the Occasion. 17"' Mr F Preach'd on this Sunday at Mr Ray Sands formerly Esq Case's house Sunday 24"" Mr F Preachd at the house of mourning The Late Doftor Hazards On Mortality. A large Congregation Present. The Hon''''= James Honeyman Present Who Came from little Rest Where the Court had been Sitting the Whole Week. Sunday March 1 6"" [17'*] Mr F Preach'd at Mr George Brownes to about 40 Souls. On Thursday the 21" of March Mr F being Invited by a Letter from the Church Wardens of Trinity Church Newport, He at- tended as a Paul Bearer The Funeral of the RevdMar- maduke Browne Pastor of Said Church Where a Ser- mon Was Preachd By The Revd Mr Bisset Colleague To a very Numerous And Weeping Congregation. Sunday March 31" being Easter Sunday Mr F Preachd lyyi] Church Records 585 At Capt Benj" JefFersons house on the Resurredtion of Christ To About Sixty Souls After Which on Said Day beforetheWholeCongregationMrFayerweather Baptized A Male Childof Mr Benjamin Naasons, Son in Law to Capt Jefferson By the Name of Elisha: The Gossips being Mr Bovyre and Mrs Jeiferson and The Gran Father. April the i" It being Easter Monday, The Day On Which Parish Officers Are Chosen. Mr Fayerweather having Given Previous Notice, of Said Meeting, And the Design Thereof — On Said Day A Number had Conven'd Although Small &c Church Wardens and Vestry Men Were Chosen and They Were as Fol- low, viz Church Wardens John Gardner ) of SK Peter Phillips jofNK The Vestry Men for the Present Year Were Lodowick Updike' Mathew Robinson Capt Robert Browne Benjamin Gardner Thomas Browne William Davis N B Sylvester Gardner Stephen Bovyre, William Cole, & Captain Jefferson Who Were Present Were Nominated But Declin'd — So that the Seven Above Mentiond Persons Are Entred On this Record As the Proper & Only Ves- try Men for the Year 1771 Till Next Easter Mon- day When Another Choice Of Course Comes On; — Attested by Jn° Gardiner Warden of St Pauls Church As likewise By Samuel Fayerweather Red:or &c. AtThisTimeAndOn this Day of Easter Monday We Should have Consulted, And Determined About Building A New Church Or Repairing Saint Pauls, But 586 Church Records [1771 The Members Of the Congregation living in South Kingstown In General Not being Present It Was thought proper And Mutually Agreed Upon to Ad- journ the Matter. Accordingly We Unanimously Agreed to adjourn till this Day Fortnight, Which Brings it to the fifteenth Day of April: On Which Time it Was Referred To the Minister Mr F— And John Gardner A Warden To Ask MrWhailey A Carpenter to Meet With Us in Order To Give his Opinion & Judgment Relating to the Old Church of St Pauls As to its being Worth Repairing or Not &c. Accordingly On Monday the 1 5'* Day of April (the Day Appointed When it Came We Met in Saint Pauls at 1 ° Clock in the Afternoon, And On this Day As the Adjournment from Easter Monday, We As- sembled Regularly As A Parish Meeting Legally Warned, And Previous To the Bringing On the Buis- ness Of the Meeting Mr Fayerweather Acquainted The Gentlemen Present That He had at their Re- quest Invited The aforesaid Mr Whailey the Car- penter Who Was Now at the Vestry Room So Called, And by their leave Would Send for him. In Conse- quence Of Which The Clerk of the Parish Was Sent to Ask him To Come Among Us, Which he Did for the Purpose Aforementioned, — Namely To Give his Judgment & Opinion of the Old Church of Saint Pauls Whether it Was Worth Repairing OrNot,This being Referrd to Mr Whailey by the Gentlemen Con- vened themselves Which had been Agreed Upon At a former Meeting For Mr Whailey to Inspeft The BuildingAs A Carpenter thoroughly both Within Side And Without, Which having been Accordingly Done by him In Conjundlion With Mr Cole Another Car- penter A North Kingstown Man Whom He Chose to be his Associate Upon that Occasion least He Shoud be Suspeded of As Guilty Partiality, — We Were this Very Day Acquainted In Form by the Said 1771] church Records 587 Whailey & ColeThatThe Old Church Was in a Ruin- ous State And Almost past Repairing, That it Might indeed be Patch'd Up for a "While, But that the Cost of the Repairs Wou'd be but Little Short Of Build- ing A New Church. The Next Question Which Came Under Considera- tion Was The Eredling of A New Church Propos'd to be Built on the Spot of Land In South Kings- town Left By The Late Do6tor MacSparran On the hill Lot So Commonly Call'd; And It Was Propos'd That the Matter Shou'd Not be Determind by the Usual Sign of holding Up the hand, but by Redu- cing the Point To the Building Of A New Church And To be Signified ByYea's & Nay's; Upon Which Occasion Every Person Was To Declare his Senti- ments Viva Voce And To Assign his Reasons for & against that Measure. We then Entred into a Large & full Discussion of the Matter And Upon Sum- ming the votes It Appear'd That There Was A Ma- jority of Six In favour of the Question — And There Were Also Four Other Distindl Persons Present Who Declared That They Would have no vote in the Affair.— On this Meeting The Rev" MrF— Pre- sided As Moderator. — Herewith is Recorded A Copy Of the Names of the Several Persons Present; Distinguishing Those Who Voted for. And Those Who Verbally Declar'd Against the Question; Delineated In Two Different Columns, And Drawn Up By Mr John Gardner one of the Wardens of Saint Pauls Church. The Different Col- umns Stood Thus — Viz Those for the Building Of A New Church On the Hill Lot South Kingstown As aforesaid & Against Re- pairing St Pauls North Kingstown Aforesaid, Were, Thomas Browne "* Mathew Robinson George Browne 588 Church Records [1771 Carder Hazard Robert Browne Abiel Browne John Gardner Benjamin Gardner Edward Kelly Jeremiah Browne Samuel Gardner Those Who Were for Not Building A New Church, But Who Were for Repairing The Old Church of Saint Pauls As They Verbally Declared, Viz, Lodowick Updike Peter Phillips Benjamin Jefferson Stephen Bovyre & N B William Davis Four More Persons Were Present That Declar'd They Woud have No Vote in the Affair, And Did Not Vote at all, or Permit Their names To be Down in Either Of the Columns, — and These are here In- serted As Follow Viz, William Bizzell "> William Cole Thomas Cole & Captain Sylvester Gardner So That, Upon The Whole, It Appear'd That the Vote Was Clearly and Legally The Majority In fa- vour Of Building A New Church On the Hill Lot of the Late Dodor MacSparran^of Eleven To Five: Or in Other Words, Six More for Building A New CHURCH,Than Repairing The Old One. Attested By John GardinerWarden of S' Pauls Church. Likewise By Samuel Fayerweather The Reftor. 1771] Church Records 589 Sunday April the iV Mr F: Preachd At Mr Up- dikes house To About Forty Souls, Who Were Se- rious & Attentive. April lA^"- Mr F Was Sent for By The Wardens Of Trinity Church Newport To Preach In that Church As A Paul Bearer To the Late Reverend Pastor Mr Browne Which He Did To A Numerous & Atten- tive Congregation From those Words Remember them that have the Rule Over Tou Who have Spoken to You the Word of God, Whose Faith follow Considering the End of their Conversation May the 16"' Mr F Preachd In St Pauls, And in the Afternoon of Said Day He Married John Moses And Hannah White Who had Past Through Three Dis- tinft Publications According To Law: The Bride Was Given Away By Mr Bovyre Mr Romes Tenant. Sunday May 19'* Mr F Preachd; and Publish'd Mr Benjamin Shermon One of his Church To Miss Sarah Cook of Preston in Connedlicut: & Out publish'd him as the Law Directs. On Saturday Evening June 1 5'* Mr F After A Return from A Short Tour Was Call'd Upon To Visit A Young Dying Person Miss Sarah Gardner Daughter Of the Late John Gardner Esq of Boston Neck Whom Mr F : Found Adually Dying And Prayed With her: Who very soon After Breathed forth her Last. On "Tuesday the iS"" of June Mr F Preach'd her Fu- neral Sermon in St Pauls Church, And Afterwards Performd the Burial Service At the Grave before Many Speftators. On the if Mr F Preach'd To Young People from the influence of the before-mentiond Death from those Words "Remember thy Creator in the Days of thy Youth." After Divine Service Mr F Was Calld 590 Church Records [1771 on to Visit A Distressd Parishoner Deliverance Sher- mon Sick & Weak Whom He Talk'd Seriously to, & Pray'd With. On Friday July 19'* Mr F Receivd A Pressing Let- ter from Capt Robert Browne to Go to his house And Baptize A Sick Child. The Next Morning being the 20'* Mr F: Christned the Said Sick Child, And An- other also of Capt Brownes Each By the Names of Peleg,& James, — Peleg Born August 1^ 1769. And James Born July 11"' 177 1. The Sponsors Mr F — Captain Browne And his Wife Elizabeth Browne. Sunday i\" of July Mr F administred the holy Eu- charist in St Pauls After Preaching A Discourse Suit- able to the Occasion. Sunday July aS'* Mr Fayerweather Baptized A Young Lady of adult Age in his Church of St Pauls Nar- raganset In the Presence of Fifty six Persons, his Wifes Neice (Abigail hazard Commonly Calld) the Daughter Of George Hazard Esq of Newport By the Name of Abigail — And her Chosen Witnesses Were Mr F Mrs F — And Captain Jeffersons Wife And A Sermon Mr F Preach'd, Adapted to the Solemn Occasion. On t\iz first ^ 16'* of Sep"- Mr F— both preachd, & Administred the holy Eucharist In St Pauls Church Narragansit, to A few. On the 17"" Sott Off for the Convention Of Boston before Whom The Revd Mr Bass of Newbury Preachd from those Words For I am Not ashamd Of the Gos- pel Of Christ &c Fifteen Episcopal Clergymen At- tended in all. 2f Mr F officiated At Kings Chappel & Trinity church Boston. On the first of OStober Mr F preachd in St Pauls & administred the Sacrament to Nine Communicants. lyyi] Church Records 591 On the 13"- of the Month Mr F Preachd at St Pauls to 40 Souls, And the last time He preach'd there for A Considerable Space by reason of the Roof of St Pauls Church being taken off, by A Number that did not Concurr With the Vote for Building A New Church On Dr MacSparran's hill lot belonging Now to the Parsonage. On Saturday the ig"" of OSlober towards Evening A Daughter of the Parish Clerk brought A letter from Peter Phillips Esq, to the Parsonage Which Mr F — Receivd, One of the Church Wardens, Dated the ly"* Day of Odtober, Wherein He Acquaints him Viz "That the Roof of St Pauls Church North Kings- "town is Taken off in order to put A New One On, "therefore it Will Not be fit, he adds, to hold Church "in Until Repaired." In ConsequenceofWhich6'aW/3)' io'* October We had the beginning of Silent Sundays for A long Space, And As A difference Arose at first about the Vote, so it Now heightnd. On the ay'* of 05iober Mr F — being Earnestly Re- quested by A letter from the Revd Mr Usher in Bris- tol He being Sick Went forth to his Aid & Releif And Preachd for him both parts of the Day In his Church to A full & Attentive A Congregation. In advent Mr F Preachd Preachd \_sic\ for the Revd Mr Bisset In Newport by Earnest Desire &c. On the 25"" of December Christmas Mr F — Attended Trinity Church Newport And Communicated At the altar. Above 200 Members present. On the 30'* it being About the Usual time for offici- ating in private houses, Mr F began at his Own Man- sion During the Remaining Difficult Season of Win- ter, And his Topick Was Love & Charity, As Our Unhappy Controversy Was increasing between North & South Kingston Parishoners. 592 Church Records [1772 Anno Domini 1772 On the f Jan' Mr F Preachd At Widow Gardners On the Subjed of the New Year. Sixty hearers. On the 9'* Mr F — Receivd a Letter from the Church Warden (of Newport) to Attend As A Paul bearer to the Revd Mr Keith his old Friend & Once his Prse- decessor in George Town South Carolina — And to preach A Funeral Sermon On Sunday Morning On the Occasion Which he Did the Very day After the Interment In Trinity Church Newport, to A full Auditory. On the ip"" ofJaW Mr F — Was Sent for to Bury in St Pauls Church Yard the Corpse of Mr Thomas Phillips, & tho' the Severest Day imaginable On Ac- count of Snow & tempest Mr F Officiated At the Grave, & Preach'd A Short Discourse by the Desire of the Son in law Mr henry Wall before A very Small Company of hearers. On the Month Oi February throughout, Mr F Preachd Among the Neighbours. March the \" Mr F Preachd at Colonel Joseph Ha- zard's A Gent" Not of the Church of England, therefore Mr F took Occasion to Recommend Christianity & the profession of it to A full & A Grave Auditory. N B. This Gent" Oneof the Govrs Council & of those Who are Calld Friends . . . March the 29"" Mr F Engagd to officiate in holy things at a Neighbour's, but prevented by badWheather, But On Palm Sunday it being the 12''' of April He com- plied With the Request, & the rather As the Neigh- bour Was One of the Vestry Who had just Returnd from A Dangerous Voyage from old England, And ofFerd Up his Thankfulness to God for his Good- ness to him &c &c. On the 16'* April Thursday Evening In Presence of 1772] church Records 593 Many Witnesses Mr F Married Mr Sylvester Sweet To Miss Martha Whailey of Narraganset — After A Regular Publication Of Bands, As the Law Direfts, The Bride being Given Away by her Father Jeremiah Whailey One of the Descendants of old Col Whailey Who Came Away from Great Brittain On being One of the Regicides, of King Charles the first of Ever blessed Memory, & Who Sat in the Mock Court Before Which That Excellent Prince, That Blessed Martyr Was Arraign'd & Tried & Condemnd, & Who Was Calld proverbially (in the Day of it) One of King Charles Judges. On Good Friday &f Easter Sunday No Publick Service of the Church; Neither On Easter Monday No New Church Officers Chosen by Reason of St Paul's Church Not being in Order, & the People's Not Meeting At Said Season. Of Course, All the Church officers Who Were Chosen the last Year Continued this present Year in their Respedtive Offices. Still officiating Among the Neighbours & Parishoners of St Pauls Mr F — - On the 7''' of June having Receivd Two orthreeDistinft letters from An Ancient &truely Honble Society in Boston to Preach to them On a par- ticular & Laudable Occasion Sat Out On the Eighth day of the Month for the purpose, taking Warwick & Providence in his Way & Officiating at both those places by Desire of the Revd Mr Greaves, from Which two flocks he Gaind a most Serious & An Attentive Audience — But the Occasion of Mr F — s Journey to Boston Was to celebrate the Festival of Saint John, & Adapt A Discourse Immediately to that Occasion And to that Day [something erased here] , Which he DidJt Christ's Church Of Which The Reverend Doc- tor Mather Byles the Pastor Read Prayers On the Occasion, Where Was the Most Brilliant & Splendid As Well as Numerous Assembly [something erased] 594 Church Records [1772 in that large & Populous Town. After Divine Service A Grand Procession from the Church follow'd With all the Grand Officers Cloathd & Adorn'd with their Robes & Jewels to illustrate the Splendor & Magni- ficence of the Day & Do honour To Saint John the Baptist Who both by Prtecept & Example Ever In- culcated the Christian Doftrine With Emphasis "Of Loving One Another." — This Celebration Was On the 1^"' Day of June 1772. On the 28'* Mr F officiated in Kings Chappel for the Revd D' Caner, and for the Rev** Mr Walter Trinity Church Boston. July 1 8"" Mr F Sat Out from Boston On his Return home by the Way of Tauntown And Administred there the Sacred Ordinance of Baptism To A Male Child of Mr James Hill Merchant & Grand Child of the late Rev** Doftor Sewal A Dissenting Teacher In Boston — Whose Zeal Was always Remarkably Dis- tinguishd Against the Church of England, particu- larly her Forms & Ceremonies, & that in Special As to the Rite of Baptism. The Ordinance Was per- formd At Colonel Whites in Taunton, The Sponsors Were Mr Hill & Wife the Child's Natural Parents, & Aunt, And the Name of the little Infantile Was James After it's Father's Name. Mr F — Preachd In his Own Parish the 11^ of the Month Among his Parishioners, And so throughout the Month Oi August & September &c — Sunday the 11"' of September Mr F — Preachd at Wil- liam Davis's Where A Proposal Was Made by him to Give Notice to the Parish in General to Meet Next Day, Monday the 13"" at Ray Sands Esq to Estab- lish Peace between the Contending Parties Respect- ing the Building of A New Church Or Repairing the old One — At this Meeting Most of the Gentlemen Of North Kingstown present Who Was On the side 1772] church Records 595 for Repairing St Pauls O Requested The hundred Pounds L M Might be Given Up Of Squire Cases's Legacy (Which they were laying A foundation for by Application to the Superior Court) And to be Ap- propriated to the Use & Design of Repairing &c And but few present of those in the South Who had Abetted the Cause Of Building A New Church & Voted for it: But Now Not So Sanguine in that Cause for Peace Sake, Acquiesc'd in the Salutary Measure Of the North Kingstown People As to their Request for Said hundred Pounds. This Mr F Discoverd by visiting them. And he Earnestly Wishing Peace To his little flock, to his Whole Congregation & Dili- gently persuing it Desird to have No voice As to Vot- ing One Way or Another and withdrew leaving all Matters in Controversy to be Decided by the Par- ishoners Themselves: Which Was Done & of Course the Operation Of A Certain Mandamus Ceasd As to the Minister's Not Granting Or Signing A Certifi- cate In An Ex parte Manner for the Reception Of Said Money Of one hundred Pounds Either of the Sur- viving Reli6t of the late John Case Esqr Or his Exec- utors As to his last Will & Testament: Which He the said Minister Declared Against that he Might be And Remain for Ever Blameless, And That Peace, harmony. And the Most Christian Concord might be fix'd And Settled Upon the Most Sure & Lasting Foundations. N. B. The Aforesaid hundred Pounds Was Obtaind in the following Manner, viz, Mr John Gardner & Peter Phillips Esq being the Church Wardens of St Pauls became obligated To Mrs Case The Surviving Relld Of the Late John Case Esq' Upon her paying Said Legacy of One hundred Pounds .for the afore- mentioned Use of Repairing the old Church of St Pauls, to see her Indemnified: And A Number of Persons present (As Mr F — Was informd) became 596 Church Records [1772 Obligated to those Two Gentlemen As Wardens by An instrument of Writing In Case Any Dispute Or Claim Afterwards shoud happen Or Arise from Those (in Opposition) Who had voted for the building of A New Church &c Accordingly the Aforesaid hundred Pounds lawful Money Was Adlually paid into their the Church Wardens hands, & Appropriated &c. On the 11^ of O£lober Mr F Went to Newport on Ne- cesary buisness And on his Returning from thence He Was Requested to Baptize A young Child Whose Parents Belongd To his Majestys Sloop the Swan Commanded by Captain Aiscough Which he Com- plied With in his Neighbours house Silas Gardners At the ferry; The Childs Name Was Elizabeth, The Father And Mothers' Name Was Fisher, Both from Old England, And the Sponsors belongd to the Ship Also. On the 31" Mr F Preachd in his Own Parish in the house of Mr Abiel Brown A Funeral Sermon: On the Death of his Young Child. On the 11,'^ of December Mr F — Officiated At the Par- sonage it being the t,'^ Sunday in Advent to About forty Souls. And in the Evening of Said Day Mr F — being Sent for at Capt Samuel Gardner's He Married Mr John Gardner Son of the late John Gardner Esq of Boston Neck (So Distinguish'd) To Miss Sarah Gard- ner Eldest Daughter of Samuel Whom he had before Published three Distin6l times As the Law of the Colony Directs; The Bride Was Given Away by her Father About half An hour After 4 ° Clock in the Pre- sence of Sundry Witnesses. — On the 11^ Mr F Buried Mrs handy [?] & preachd. On Christmas Bay Mr F — officiated Again At the Parsonage And And [«V] Preachd a Sermon Suitable to the Joyful Occasion 1773] Church Records 597 Anno Domini 1773. Mr F — According to his Usual & Constant Method Gave his People A New Years Sermon, and as his Preaching Was frequently Occasional, & Adapted to the Seasons, & particular Occurrences of Divine Pro- vidence, So in the Whole time of Vacation, He Offi- ciated alternatively at the Different houses of his Peo- ple just As he Was Disir'd Among the Poor As Well As the Rich, Giving to Every one his portion in Due Season — that all might profit by the Means of Grace And None Might be Negledted, On Easter Sunday, it being April 11'*, Mr F — Preachd in the old Church of St Pauls North Kings- town, it being so Repaird As to the outside & Roof of it, that the Congregation Cou'd Converse in it, tho' little or Nothing done inside. Where Mr F — has not officiated since Oftober the 20* 1771. And At A Meeting holden On Easter Monday April the 12'* 1773 at St Pauls Church North Kings- town, The following Gentlemen Were Chosen And Regularly Appointed Church Wardens & Vestry Men for the present Ensuing Year Nemine Contradicente Wardens Viz Peter Phillips \ John Gardner J Vestry Men Lodowick Updike Mathew Robinson Capt Robert Brown William Cole Sylvester Gardner Ray Sands William Davis Thomas Brown Capt Benjamin Jefferson & Stephen Bov'yer. 598 Church Records [i773 May the lo'* In Consequence of Several Applications from Kings Chappel Boston to help their Two Pas- tors, Both of them being taken Off from their Spirit- ual labours by bodily Illness. And in Consequence of An Address by A particular letter To Mr F — from The Rev'' Dodor Caner Who Very pressingly Re- quested his Assistance — Mr F — Went forth to Bos- ton and preach'd in Kings Chappel for four Sundays Succeeding. Beginning thtfirst Sunday after £(3J-^^r Which Was the 1 8'* April to the 16'* May In Which time He did the Constant Duty Not only of Preaching the Gospel But Administring the Sacrament of Baptism, & Several times the H oly Eucharist, Besides Burying their Dead ; And on A Sunday Once Within the 4 Weeks Ex- changed Pulpits With The Reverend Mr Walter Of Trinity Church By his Special Desire. Three or four Children Mr F Christned In Kings Chappel On this Tour, And of them one was A Child of Mr Deploiss's [Deblois] & the other A Child of Mr Silby's [Selby] the organist of Kings Chappel. Returnd to Narraganset, Preachd to his Own little flock On the 23"*. On Whitsunday Mr F — administred the Holy Com- munion to A few; in his Own Church. In the Months oijune July £5? August Mr F — . attended Constantly at St Pauls, Only Exchanging Once With The Revd Mr Wheeler by his Most importunate Request As- sistant To Mr. Bisset in Newport. And Twice in that Period Administrd the Lords Supper. — The Whole Land being Afflided for the Season With A Melan- choly & Distressing Drought Mr F Improv'd in A Course of Sermons; in his Own Church And in Two Deliver'd In Trinity Church Newport On the Day of the Aforementiond Exchange With Mr Wheeler. On the Sixth Of September Mr F — Journey'd to Boston 1773] Church Records 599 to Attend the Annual Convention Of the Reverend Episcopal Clergy — And the a"* Wednesday which Was the Eighth day of the Month in Sepr We Met; & before the Convention The Revd Mr Winslow preach'd from those Words " It is Good to be Zealously Affected in a Good Cause. The Reverend Convention having been Applied to from the Church of England At Portsmouth New Hampshire in their Destitute State being Deprived Of their Worthy Pastor The Revd Mr Brown to be Supplied With Preaching, They Agreed to Supply them Six Sundays, Provided Mr F — would Consent to Assist them As One of the Six, And to take the first for his Choice: Accordingly by the desire of the Reverend Convention then Met at Dr Caner's House Mr F — Sot off from Boston Friday the lo'* of Sepr, AndPreachd In Portsmouth Church, which He found to be a Small but A Gay and Shining Congregation inRespedt to Dress & Appearance. In his Way thither through the falls of Newbury, He offered A Young Gentleman As A Pupil One of his Neighbours Son's from his Parish In the Narraganset Country, 'To the Hummer School A Most Charitable foundation of the Late Lieutenant Governor Dummer Boston, Mr Samuel Moody The Proeceptor or Master of. Who kindly Accepted him. On the 19"" Sepr Mr F — Officiated At Kings Chap- pel in Boston for The Revd Mr TroutbeckThe Kings Chaplin. Mr F Preachd at Warwick & addressd him- self to a Young Person Who [had] been Raisd from the Gates of Death &c. In the Beginning of OSlober Mr F — Officiated in his Own Church Of St Pauls Narraganset. Wednesday the 13"" of O£tober 1773. This Day Was Baptized John, The First Born Son of John & Sally Gardner, Of Boston Neck at their house, By The Re- 6oo Church Records [i 773-4 verend Mr Fayerweather About half An hour after three "Clock in the afternoon of said day. The Spon- sors Were Mrs Abigail Fayerweather, John & Benja- min Gardner & present there Were Divers Witnesses. The First Sunday In November Mr F — Preachd In St Pauls & Administred the Holy Communion. On Christmas Day Adapted A Discourse to the joyful Occasion, And Though the Sacrament Of the Lords Supper Was administerd by A previous Notice (the Sunday before) being Given thereof. And the Usual Exhortation Read, Yet the Number Of Communi- cants Was Comparatively few! Very few. "At February Sessions in Providence in the Year of Our Lord One thousand Seven hundred & Sixty Nine It Was Voted And Resolved, That All Lands, or other Real Estates, Granted or Purchased for Re- ligious Uses, Or for Other Uses of Schools, within this Colony be. And the Same Are hereby Exempted from Taxation." "Nota Bene," This Memorandum Shoud have been Entredinto this Book of Records DiredtlyAfteritwas Registerd in the Journals of the General Assembly Of the Colony, or As Soon As the Afl; pass'd, But Mr F — Not being favourd With A Copy of it till very lately, it Comes in here though so long After the Date of it. And Mr F — by Meer Accident hearing of Such An Aft's being Made procur'd A Certificate of it by Applying To One of the Members of the honour- able house of Assembly for the Sole benefit and Es- pecial Advantage of his Successors in the Ministry at St Pauls Church Narraganset Time Immemorial." 1774 On t\it first of January 1774 Mr F Officiated at St Pauls, And Continued to Attend there till Feb'' 6* When the Severity of the Season Obligd him to have 1774] Church Records 6oi Recourse to Preaching in the Respeftive houses Of his Parishoners. On the fourth of March Mr F — Preachd A funeral Sermon at the Widow hazards, the Surviving Relidt of the late Dr Hazards On the Death Of her Daugh- ter And Many Auditors Present. On the 6'* (£5? 3'' Sunday in Lent) On Occasion of A fire the Night before Close in the Neighbourhood Within but two Doors of the Parsonage house — When the house of Mr Abial Browns Was Con- sumed to the Ground but thro' Divine Goodness No lives Were Lost, Easter Monday Went to St Pauls, But No Church Officers Were Chosen by Reason of so few being pre- sent of the Parish, notwithstanding previous Notice Was Given of it the Day before. On friday the 8"" of April Colonel Ephraim Gardner A Member in full Communion With St Pauls Church Was Seizd in his field With An Apoplexy; And On Sunday the 10* Died, and On Wednesday the 13''' He Was Buried — Before his Interment his Corpse Was Carried into St Pauls Church Where a Funeral Ser- mon Was preachd by Mr. F — by the Desire of the Bereaved Family to A very large Serious & Attentive Congregation Consisting As it Was Judgd of above 300 People. After Divine Service was over The fu- neral Obsequies Was Carried in Procession to the Farm of Capt Samuel Gardners And Buried there After the Manner & According to the Method of the Church of England. Saturday the I't^^ Of April Mr F visited Mrs Molly Gardner the Surviving Relid: of the late John Gard- ner Esq of Boston Neck Very Sick & Dangerously ill (whom he had visited several times before) with Whom he Prayed, & of whom he took A Respedful leave As A Member in full Communion With his 6o2 church Records [i774 Church Never Expefting to See her Alive Again, & Commended her Soul into the hands of God As to her faithful Creator & Redeemer. And On Next Day- Morning it being Sunday Morning About lo "Clock She Died and just After Divine Service Was Over Mr F Receivd An Account Of her Death in A let- ter from her Elder Son John Who Requested with the Rest Of the Bereaved family & Friends A Fu- neral Sermon On the Day of her Interment which Was tuesday the 26'* of April \'1"l^\ And On the Said Day A Sermon Accordingly Was Preachd by Mr F — At St Pauls Church before A large Congregation of About three hundred Souls : After Which Mrs Gard- ner Was buried in the Church Yard According to the Rites [and] Ceremonies of the Church of England. On the 14''' of June On A Tour from home Mr F — r Was Requested to administer the Ordinance Of Bap- tism to A Woman in adult Age (Unknown to him) Whose husband Was at Sea She Expedting to Draw Near An hour of peril And Difficulty. On the \f Of August A Parish Meeting Was Calld And Voted the Same Officers in to be Continued through the present Year that Were in And Servd the last Nemine Contradicente by the Usual Sign of hold- ing Up the hands. On the 14"" of September the 1^ Wednesday in the Month Mr F — Met the Reverend Convention Of Episcopal Clergy In Boston, Went to Kings Chappel & heard The Rev"* Mr Ssargeant Of Cambridge preach from those Words If ye know these things happy Are Ye if Ye Do them; The General present AndDind With the Clergy at Dr Caners & 1 9 Clergymen present. The 15* Convention of the Clergy at Dr Caners house Sot Again, And Unanimously Made Choice Of the Revd Mr F — to be their Preacher On the i"^ Wednes- day in the Next September, 1775, And The Revd Mr 1774] Church Records 603 Bailey to Read Prayers, On that Annual And Much to be Esteemed Occasion. On Sunday i S'^ past Trinity & 1 8'* of the Month Septem- ber Mr F— Preachd At Kings Chappel for the Kings Chaplin The Revd Mr Troutbeck, before General Gage & his Officers at Boston & before A very Nu- merous & Polite Assembly from those Words Be kindly Affe£lioned one towards Another in Brotherly Love. On the lUf OaoherT\i& Revd Mr Parker Assistant Minister To the Revd Mr Walter at Trinity Church Boston Preach'd At St Pauls Narraganset by A pro- posal Of An Exchance \_sic\ &c. On the 23''