Hi H Class Bo*_— GopigM - COEflUGHT DEPOSHi 3 a % SPECIAL MATTAPOISETT EDITION THE GRAFTON HISTORICAL SERIES Edited by HENRY R. STILES, A.M., M.D The Grafton Historical Series Edited by Henry R. Stiles, A.M., M.D. 12mo. Cloth, gilt top In Olde Connecticut By Charles Burr Todd Frontispiece, $1.25 net (postage 10c.) Historic Hadley By Alice Morehouse Walker Illustrated, $1.00 net (postage 10c.) King Philip's War By George W. Ellis and John E. Morris Illustrated, $2.00 net (postage 15c.) In Olde Massachusetts By Charles Burr Todd Illustrated, $1.50 net (postage 10c.) Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts Prepared under the direction of a Committee of the Town of Mattapoisett Illustrated, $2.00 net (postage 15c.) In Press The Diary of Reverend Enos Hitchcock A Chaplain in The Revolution The Cherokee Indians By Thomas Valentine Parker, Ph.D. Historic Graveyards of Maryland and their Inscriptions By Helen W. Ridgely In Olde New York By Charles Burr Todd THE GRAFTON PRESS 70 Fifth Avenue 6 Beacon Street New York Boston MAP or QtDBOCHESlER / W7//7/sfers f?txk "%. , 2 /&Chi/rcfiandTomHouse^. 3 z&Chunch s 4^Church 6 Townmi/lsand&fiirnnfyfeir > 7 O/c/Tbwn/rbad 8 PsriotviotYfl/itsd 9 O/dSippican /Pax/ loMaffijx/seirViilage ii Cannonvil/e- 1 2 Pfne Islands t3 Hmmondkwn 14 Tlnkhanrfoivn and7ripp/J7i/k isffendalfown m teds FbtrrrLigM n7dwsensNeck ib Est 'Pond 19 Condy/oodFbinj- 20 Sjrawheny fb/rrf- ziTndian Woods ibAucoq-t zsWoif Is/and & Whee/offBrJune ts 9(/nVacos Fbnds as DoggeiVs Brook zimtee/yeck taS/ppican z°>0lo Landing 3i Weweannr River vAliey 3z Sippican River 33 Happy A I ' 34L#FleNec6 3s frames erf Po//rr 36 Wans ham Harbor MATTAPOISETT AND OLD ROCHESTER MASSACHUSETTS BEING A HISTORY OF THESE TOWNS AND ALSO IN PART OF MARION AND A PORTION OF WAREHAM PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF A COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF MATTAPOISETT THE GRAFTON PRESS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK FT 4 1 LIBRARY of CONGRESS] l „ I Two Conle? Received ' AUG 16 '90^ i&Eh 1 Copyright, 1907, By THE GRAFTON PRESS. MATTAPOISETT was set off from Rochester and incorporated as a separate town, May 20, 1857. The town voted to observe, in 1907, the fiftieth anniver- sary of its corporate existence, and appointed a committee of arrangements. Recognizing that the history of old Rochester- town had never been adequately presented, nor the story of " Mattapoisett Quarter" told, the first act toward this anniversary celebration was the appointment of the undersigned as a committee to gather historical data and secure its publication. An arrangement was at once made with Miss Mary Hall Leonard, of Rochester, to prepare the chapters on the early history of the old town; lists which appeared to be of genealogical or his- torical interest have been copied; and chapters especially relating to Mattapoisett have been added. It is hoped that the story told in this volume may give some picture of early life in one of the old towns of Plymouth Colony, and that it may set forth things, both new and old, which will be of interest to those who participate in this anniver- sary, and of increasing and permanent value as a contri- bution to local history. Charles S. Hamlin. Lemuel LeBaron Holmes. Harriet Mendell Hammond. William E. Sparrow, Jr. Lemuel LeBaron Dexter. Mattapoisett, Committee. July 15, 1907. " The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric facts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who have lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tomb3." — George Eliot. LEMUEL LeBARON HOLMES A Justice of the Superior Court in Massachusetts; a native of Mattapoisett and a lover of her history and tradition, who suggested the preparation of this book and whose death, August 4, 1907, prevented his seeing its completion, this book is dedicated CONTENTS i ii in IV v VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII xrv Earliest Times Mary Hall Leonard General Features " " " The Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 The Settlers and Settlements . The Early Church and Precincts . The Eighteenth Century . . . The Revolutionary War . After the Revolution .... The Division of the Town . The Church in the Second Precinct Maritime and Other Industries Mattapoisett in the Civil War Mattapoisett, the Town Mattapoisett of the Present Lemuel LeBaron Dexter Lemuel LeBaron Dexter Lemuel LeBaron Holmes James S. Burbank . Lester W. Jenney . Mary Frances Briggs 1 21 48 72 97 126 143 166 187 279 302 313 336 Extracts from the Records I Old Rochester Soldiers and Sailors 349 II Assessors' Rate-Bill, Rochester, 1776 360 III A Schedule of Maximum Prices, Established for 1777 . 363 IV Assessors' List, Mattapoisett Precinct, 1740 366 V List of Members, Second Church in Rochester, — Mattapoisett Precinct,— 1772 368 VI Infant Baptisms and Marriages from the Records of the Second Church in Rochester, 1740-1857 370 ILLUSTRATIONS Map of Old Rochester Territory Frontispiece FACE Neds Point at Low Tide. Photo by Gertrude W. Dexter ... 14 Mattapoisett River near the Sea. Photo by Harriet M. Hammond 18 Sippican Harbor. Photo by Tirrell 22 The Great Rock, Mattapoisett. Photo by Tirrell 32 Minister's Rock, Little Neck, Marion. Photo by Frank B. Howland 44 The Lieut. John Hammond House. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter 50 The Whitridge, or Winslow, House. Photo by Frank B. Howland 54 Meeting-house of the First Parish, Rochester Center. Photo by Tirrell 90 Mattapoisett Herring Weir. Photo Hutchinson & Co. . . . 104 The "Dexter Elm" and Mill, Mattapoisett. Photo by Robert Humphrey 114 Rochester Common. From an old photograph 130 Cannon Street, Mattapoisett, about 1880. Photo by William B. Nelson 146 Water Street, Mattapoisett. Photo by Harriet M. Hammond . 162 Map of Mattapoisett Village, 1856. From Waiting's Map . . 166 Town House, Rochester Center. From an old photograph . . 170 The Old Landing, Marion. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter . . 182 Second Precinct Relics. Photo by Reed 188 "The Old Mansion." Photo by Robert Humphrey .... 208 Mattapoisett Academy. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter . . . 221 Thomas Robbins. From a Steel Engraving 231 Congregational Meeting-house, Mattapoisett. Photo by Seaton Lee Sparrow 241 First Christian Meeting-house, Mattapoisett. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter 262 Interior of the First Christian Meeting-house, Mattapoisett, 1905. Photo by Andrew T. Sampson 267 Universalist Meeting-house and Rogers School Building. Photo by Robert Humphrey 272 xii Illustrations FACE Ship Niger. Photo by Tirrell 282 The Old Barstow House. Photo by Sarah H. Sparrow . . . 286 Bark Sunbeam. Photo by Tirrell 294 Barstow Street, Mattapoisett. Photo by Elizabeth H. Holmes . 306 West District Schoolhouse. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter . . 318 The Old Engine House. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter . . . 326 Mattapoisett Village from Neds Point. Photo by Tirrell ... 338 Lovers' Bridge, Mattapoisett River. Photo by Tirrell .... 342 Mattapoisett Harbor. Photo by Lemuel LeB. Dexter .... 344 v MATTAPOISETT AND OLD ROCHESTER FOREWORD A HISTORY of a locality, even if it be a brief history, is the work of many minds. The largest contribu- tions are made by the contemporary writings of the past. The Plymouth Colony records, the Old Rochester Pro- prietors' book, the many town books of Old Rochester covering a period of 160 years, the ancient church and parish books of the First and Second Precincts, two or three descriptive articles published many years ago in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, the "Memoirs" of Hon. Abraham Holmes, the private writings of several early ministers of Rochester, including the diary of Dr. Thomas Robbins — these are the prime sources from which the historical material here presented has been drawn. To these may be added a number of anniversary sermons preached by later ministers in the different pre- cincts, the historic gatherings of William Root Bliss and Rev. Noble Everett for the town of Wareham, and the addresses given at the Rochester Bicentennial celebra- tion in 1879. But there are many persons besides the writers of these old records who have had a part in this history, even if their contributions were not always committed to writing. Such men as John Hammond and John Bourne Sturte- vant of several generations ago, have passed on to others the facts that they had learned. Aged men of to-day, 2 Foreword like Mr. Silas B. Allen and Mr. Ichabod Blankinship, of Marion, out of the memories of a long lifetime, have furnished historic facts for these chapters. Especially valuable has been the aid given by the late Mr. John S. Ryder, for many years parish and church clerk at Roches- ter Center, who through his writings and in many con- versations has placed at the author's service his large knowledge of Rochester history. There are also many younger investigators and cor- respondents in all the four quarters of Old Rochester and in neighboring towns who can find in these pages interesting historic items which they themselves have furnished toward the preparation of this book. Especially should recognition here be given to the direct aid given by the Mattapoisett Historical Com- mittee, under whose commission this work has been performed, an aid without which these chapters on Old Rochester history could scarcely have been completed within the limited time that was available for this work. The thanks of the writer are also due to Mr. A. H. Weld, town clerk of Rochester, for personal courtesies in the laborious task of collecting historic information from the old town books and papers. That a writing of this kind is necessarily imperfect every local historian is aware, and no one knows so well as the writer the imperfections that belong to these pages. But it is hoped, nevertheless, that they may give a gen- erally correct as well as vivid picture of the old town of the past, and form, as it were, a worthy background for the local histories of this region that will yet be written. To the sons and daughters and grandchildren of Old Rochester, scattered far and wide through this Union of Foreword 3 States, belongs the task to fill out the historic picture that has been sketched and to continue it in a panoramic scroll through the years that follow the period that has been in outline covered. Since the division of Old Rochester into three towns at the middle of the nine- teenth century, each of the parts of the old town has had fifty years of local history added to its past. And history is still making, and the history of the new must be recorded by those who are the actors in these historic events as they occur. Moreover, the history of a town in its last analysis must exhibit a history of the families who have composed the town, a field which it is obviously impossible to enter upon extensively in a book of this kind. But every family needs its own historian, and every family has its own historical contribution to make toward the final history of the community in which it holds a part. If the preparation of these chapters should lead the descendants of Old Rochester to search their attic chests and desks of family papers and gather and put in order these more intimate details of local and family history, the best result of this brief history of Old Rochester may be said to have been accomplished. Mary Hall Leonard. MATTAPOISETT AND OLD ROCHESTER CHAPTER I EARLIEST TIMES ON the west shore of Buzzards Bay are many long peninsulas or " Necks," enclosing harbors having a general southeasterly trend. Near each harbor once stood an Indian village, — as Agawam, Sippican, Matta- poisett, and Acushena, — having the same name as the harbor and also of a tract of country reaching a few miles inland. These shores were known to white men at an early date. When Bartholomew Gosnold, the English explorer, in 1602, sailed across from Cutty hunk and entered Acush- net River, the description given by Archer shows that it was the shores to the west of Sconticut Neck that he chiefly explored. Yet the other historian of the party, Brereton, alludes to " many harbors thereabouts," and one can easily imagine that these adventurous navigators may have caught glimpses of the easterly Necks as well. But, however this may be, the descriptions given by Brereton and by Archer of the rocks and shells along the shores, the open woods (kept free from underbrush' by the Indians), the plants and animals, apply to the old Rochester lands as well as to those of Dartmouth. 6 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester In 1627 an agent from Fort Amsterdam (now New York) named Isaac De Rasieres, "the chief merchant and second to the governor," was sent for trading pur- poses to Plymouth. He sailed up through Buzzards Bay, "accompanied by a noise of trumpets," and was met by the Plymouth people at the head of the bay, then called Manomet. He must have had glimpses of these shores and head- lands, but has left no record of what he saw. The first definite historical reference to Mattapoisett l occurs in 1640-1. At that time the Plymouth Colony was entering on a new stage of civic history. Governor Bradford surrendered the patent of the colony lands into the hands of the freemen. Charters were given to the towns outside of Plymouth, which now began to send delegates to the General Court, thus forming a represen- tative government, and certain outside tracts were now set aside for the special use of the "Old Comers." 2 It was in accordance with this new policy that the General Court passed the following act : "May 2, 1640-1. The Court hath graunted a com- petent porcion of vpland & hey ground to yt sufficient for a plantacion at Mattapoyst to Mr. Charles Chauncey Mr. John Atwood & Thomas Cushman & to be bounded by such as the Court shall especially assigne therevnto wch were nominated to be Mr. Thomas Prence and 1 In the early records, however, the name Mattapoisett is often given to Gardner's Neck, Swanzey, where in 1623 Edward Winslow visited while on his second embassy to Massasoit. It was there also that the first English blood was shed in King Philip's War. 2 The Pilgrims who came in the Mayflower, the Fortune, and the Anne were called "Old Comers" or "Forefathers." Earliest Times 7 Captaine Miles Standish, puided alwayes that such of the purchasers as shall take vp their lands there shall not have it elswhere also." These bounds were not laid out, however, and none of the "Old Comers" took up their lands in the "planta- cion of Mattapoyst." A year and a half earlier (January 22, 1638-9) the plantation of Seppekann, east of Matta- poisett, had been offered to eight men of Scituate for the benefit of Rev. John Lothrop's congregation who had fled from London to escape the persecutions of Archbishop Laud, and tarried for awhile at Scituate. This grant was not accepted, as Mr. Lothrop's congregation preferred to settle in Barnstable; but forty years later two of the sons of Parson Lothrop and other descendants of these Scituate men became original proprietors of the lands of Sippican and Mattapoisett in the town of Rochester. In 1649 a new grant of Sepecan was offered to the towns- men of Plymouth as a place for pasturage and wintering of cattle, and in 1651 the Sepecan grant was defined as "eight miles by the sea and four miles into the land." Lands thus granted to the freemen of the colony were to be purchased from their Indian owners. The land grant gave the right to make such a purchase, but was not to take effect until the Indians had been paid for their owner- ship rights. Liberty was now given to the town of Ply- mouth, " to purchase the lands of Sepecan," and the town itself took action relating to such a purchase "when its true pprietors shall be made manifest." The town also gave liberty to seven men of Plymouth "to Imploy men in hearding and wintering the cattell at Sepecan." In 1666, King Philip gave power to Watachpoo and Sampson, two subordinate chiefs, to sell the lands of 8 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Sepecan; and in 1688 he made a curious drawing (which has been preserved in the Plymouth Colony Records) to show the lands that might be sold. In 1669, Joseph Bartlett, who had been improving the lands of Sepecan, agreed to pay to the town of Plymouth forty shillings for the use of these lands and to surrender the lease of the lands that he had held. In 1670 agents of Plymouth town agreed with the Indian Totosin (also called Tousand) about " a psell of Land * desired by him att Sepecan." In 1670 it was voted by the General Court of Plymouth that the profits of the upland and meadow lands at " Aga- wam, Sepecan, and places adjacent," together with the rental of the Cape Cod fisheries, should be used for the support of a school at Plymouth, and in 1672-3, agents from Plymouth colony were appointed to purchase " what- ever lands are yet unpurchased of Plymouth graunt att Sepecan and places adjacent." If any such purchase was made by the colony at this date it was not recorded. In 1674, however, the town of Plymouth voted that "Whereas the proffits of lands att Sepecan Agawam & places adjacent were given for the free scool att Plymouth ... the Towne declares that theire graunt was only of the lands there and thereabouts which were purchased by the Towne of the Indians before the sd May the 20th 1672." In 1679, when the Rochester proprietors began to nego- tiate with the General Court of Plymouth for a township grant, the town of Plymouth still claimed a right to these lands and appointed "Agents to treat with the purchasers of Sepecan concerning our title to the said lands & places 1 This land afterwards became known as Towser's Neck. Earliest Times 9 adjacent & to leave to Composition with them Respect- ing the Controversy betwixt the said Towne & them about it," and also "impowered agents to prosecute a suite Respecting the premises." It appears from these records that while various attempts were made by the colony and the town of Plymouth to purchase "the lands of Sepecan and places adjacent," and while certain tracts were really purchased, no general purchase of these lands from the Indians was ever made. In 1673, when the last attempt at purchase was proposed, the Indian troubles were already gathering, and at the close of King Philip's war the remaining Indian lands passed into the hands of the English by right of con- quest. The records of "Sepecan and places adjacent" cover to some extent "the plantacion of Matapoyst," which also was never as a whole purchased from the Indians. A year or two before the war, an interesting record occurs which shows that Mattapoisett was still under Indian ownership, and also gives the bounds of the "tract called Mattapoisett." (See Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. XII, p. 225.) "Oct. 3, 1673, Papamo, Machacam and Achawana- mett being the Right owners of the land heer mensioned doe desire to have them Recorded in the Court of Plymouth Collonie that soe wee may preserue our lands for our children: the bounds of our land are as followeth, from the Easteren bounds of Dartmouth att the watersyde to a place called Wassapacoasett : and soe into the woods to the southeast end of a pond called Masquanspust x which 1 In Winthrop's History of New England (reprint of 1826) there is a list of Indian names which gives Musquunipash as a part of Rochester. 10 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester is about six or seauen myle; and along the south syde of the pond to a great spruce tree marked, on four sydes, which is the head bound, on the east syde of our land, and from thence to a swamp which lyeth south from the Marked tree. The swamp is called quanumpacke: and from thence to the two Rockes lying by the Pathsyde; which goeth from Dartmouth to Sandwich; Eastern syde of Dartmouth bounds is the Westersde of our bounds; and Sandwich path is our head bounds, on the west syde of our land from Dartmouth bounds, to them two Rockes be- fore Named, our Tract of land is called by the name of Mattapoisett." Soon after this (November 8, 1673), Tuspaquin, Philip's brother-in-law, the Black Sachem of Assawampsett, sold for ten pounds to John Tomson, John Lothrop, and Bar- nabas Lothrop of Barnstable a tract of land extending from Queetiquash River, Queetiquash Pond, Sniptuit River and a Neck of Land, to Dartmouth; and July 2, 1674, the three Indian owners of Mattapoisett again recorded the bounds of their land with the statement that a part of this land had been sold by Tuspaquin to these men of Barnstable, which sale these Indian owners had "condescended unto." It is hard to solve the mysteries of the old Indian names, but a study of these records makes it evident that the tract called Mattapoisett at one time covered the whole of the western part of Rochester, extending on the north to the Assawampsett region of Middleboro. The tract in North Rochester sold by Tuspaquin to John Tomson and the Lothrops is known as "The Tomson Purchase." A few months earlier a large tract of South Middleboro had been bought from Tuspaquin, which is known as Earliest Times 11 "The South Purchase of Middleboro." The agents in this South Purchase were Benjamin Church and John Tomson, who were afterwards allowed to set off for their own use a certain part of the South Purchase extending to Sniptuit Pond. This became known as the Sniptuit Purchase, and a part of this was afterwards included within the bounds of Rochester. In 1667 the Plymouth Court granted to Hugh Cole of Swanzey, " respecting his father's grant (being an ancient freeman), and his own grant, six score acres of land between the Mattapoisett river and the eastern bound of Acushena." This land Cole purchased of King Philip in 1671, and afterwards sold it to Samuel Hammond, one of the earliest settlers of Mattapoisett. In 1676 the colony passed an act granting to the sol- diers of the Narragansett expedition of King Philip's war, lands to the value of one thousand pounds in Showam- mett, Assonett Neck, Assawamsit, Agawam and Sepecan, but it is not certain that any of the Rochester lands came into individual ownership under this act. In 1679 the Rochester Proprietary was formed, which (July 22, 1679) purchased from the colony at a considera- tion of two hundred pounds (to be applied to the debt incurred by the war) a township grant of all the lands on Buzzards Bay, between Dartmouth, Middleboro, and Plymouth Purchase or Agawam. The whole territory is often referred to as the "lands of Sippican," but it in- cluded Mattapoisett and a large territory north of Sip- pican known as Menchoisett. The part of Sippican which in 1739 was set off into Wareham was also called Weweantit, and the northern part of Mattapoisett was later known as Sniptuit. 12 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Minister Le Baron in 1738 names the parts of Rochester as "Easterly part Sepican, Southerly Mattapoysett, West- erly Snippatuit — the middle part of Town Munchoiset " ; and John Hammond (b. 1756) preserved in memory a distich learned in boyhood which names the " Quarters of Rochester" as " Snipatuit, Monochesset, Sippican and Mattapesset." These old Indian names are significant. Mattapoisett has been interpreted as " a place of resting * ; Sniptuit means "rocky water"; Sippican "the long river"; Weweantit or " young bucks " is supposed to have been a place of resort for these animals; while Menchoisett or "much food" suggests that its arable lands had been used by the Indians for planting. After the Rochester purchase was made, there were still some Indian claims to be satisfied. In 1667 an In- dian named Charles (alias Paumpmuitt) had bought of two sachems for the sum of eight pounds the peninsula known as Charles's Neck. This land he now sold to the Proprietary for six pounds. November 19, 1679, Joseph Lothrop, agent of the company, paid to Peter Suscacow (also called "Maniment Peeter") five shillings to satisfy his claim. But the most important claimant appeared in the person of an Indian named William Connett, who in 1683 laid claim to all the lands between Sippican River and Plymouth's westerly bound at Agawam. He also committed trespass on these lands, and "did disclaime and defie the title of every these men called the purchasers of Sepecan." His claim was carried to the courts, but it was not pleaded. The parties came to an agreement by Earliest Times 13 which Connett was given a proprietor's share in the lands of Rochester. Connett's name appears later as a sub- scriber towards the funds for the first gristmill of the town. But it soon disappears from the town history. A point of land in Mattapoisett eastward from Angelica has recently been named Connett Point in memory of this Indian who thus stoutly resisted the claims of the white invaders. Within the Rochester territory are various traces of the old Indian life. Northwest of Mattapoisett village is a long ridge called " Indian Burying Hill," filled with bony deposits of Indian sepulture. Under the sands along the shores are buried heaps of clam and oyster shells (known to scientists as "Kitchen-middens") which mark the spots of ancient Indian feasts. A full description of one of these feasts has come down to us in Church's " Entertaining History of King Philip's War." It was held in 1676, and commemorates an im- portant meeting between Captain Church and Awashonks, the squaw Sachem of the Sogkonate Indians of Little Compton. An earlier meeting between Church and Awashonks had been held at Treaty Rock in Little Comp- ton, at which Awashonks " pledged her fidelitie " to the English and offered the services of her men on the English side. But when Captain Church went on to Plymouth, offering his services and that of these Indian allies, the authorities distrusted the sincerity of Awashonks and to test it ordered her to proceed with her warriors at once to Sandwich and "to be there upon Peril in six days." She tried to get excused, but Captain Church urged her to comply and promised to meet her on his return from Plymouth. 14 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The place of the expected meeting was in Agawam, but on Church's arrival there the Indians were not in sight. With some anxiety Church left two of his companions for a reserve and continued his journey westward. After crossing Sippican River, and another river, he came to a shore where there was a wide view of the bay and found the Indians running races and holding a feast on the " Sands and Flats." 1 At the supper, to which Captain Church was invited, "a curious young Bass was brought in on one dish, eels and flatfish on a second, shellfish on a third, but neither Bread nor Salt was to be seen at table." Supper being over, a dramatic scene ensued which is thus described by Captain Church: " A great pile of Pine Knots and Tops was fired and the Indians gathered in a ring about it. Awashonks and the oldest of her people kneeling down made the first ring, and all the stout lusty men standing up made the next, and all the Rabble, a Confused Crew, surrounded on the outside. Then the Chief Captain stepped in between the people and the fire, and with a spear in one hand and a hatchet in the other danced round the fire and began to fight with it, making mention of all the several nations and companies of Indians that were enemies to the Eng- lish; and at every tribe named he would draw out and fight a new fire brand, and at finishing his fight with a fire brand he would bow to him and thank him. When 1 Various localities have been suggested by different historians. Dr. Henry M. Dexter, however, in his annotated edition of Church's History (1875) suggests that the second river crossed was Mill Creek flowing into Aucoot Cove, and that the "wide view of the bay" makes it prob- able that the place of the feast was between Aucoot Cove and Angelica, or between Angelica and Ned's Point. v Earliest Times 15 he had named them all and fought them, he struck down his spear and hatchet and came out. Then another stept in and acted the same dance with more fury if possible than the first. When about half a dozen of the chiefs had thus done, the Captain of the Guard told Mr. Church that, they were making Souldiers for him, and what they had been doing was all one swearing of them, and having in that manner engaged all the stout lusty men, Awa- shonks and her chiefs declared that they were now all engaged to fight for the English." At the close of the performance Awashonks presented to Captain Church "a very fine Firelock," and he in re- turn gave to her assurances of the confidence and pro- tection of the English. On the following day Captain Church went back to Plymouth, offering his services and those of Awashonks' men, which were accepted, with results which had great influence in determining the final success of the English. In the histories of King Philip's War most of the allu- sions to Mattapoisett refer to Gardener's Neck, Swanzey, where was an English garrison of seventy men. But one incident, which occurred July 24, 1676, is connected with the present Mattapoisett. Church and his Indian allies had marched from Taun- ton to Assawampset, then to Dartmouth, going as far west as Smith's Mills, and after various encounters with hostile Indians had turned back toward Plymouth by another route. Coming to a point where the "Country Road " divided to go around the two sides of a swamp, the party separated, the English taking one path and the Indian allies the other. John Cooke's place in Fair- haven had been agreed on as a place of rendezvous. 16 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Church's party, however, after an encounter with an Indian force which they captured, learned that other Indians were at Sconticut Neck, and Philip himself only two miles away. Fearing to meet these hostile Indians while encumbered with captives, they "made all haste until they got over Mattapoisett River," where they halted, sending messengers back to meet the Indian allies who arrived the next day, and the two parties compared suc- cesses. It was found that the English had taken sixty- six prisoners, and the allies had taken sixty-three and killed three. The number being equal, it was looked upon by Church as a favor of Providence that prevented each party from triumphing over the other. The Indians had taken the larger number of arms, but it was held to be unfortunate that the parties had separated, as other- wise they might have captured Philip's force. A few weeks later another force of Indians was captured by Church "at or near Sippican." Of the Indians captured during the war, some were sold to the West Indies and Bermuda as slaves, one of these being the twelve-year-old son of King Philip. Others, including women and children, were made slaves or in- dentured servants within the colony. In 1676 it was ordered that all private persons holding adult male Indian captives should dispose of them out of the colony, on pain of forfeiting them to the use of the colony. It was further ordered that all Indians who had come into Plymouth " accepting the mercy of the Colony should take up their abode from the westermost side of Sepecan River and sow easterwards to Dartmouth bounds, and not to go off the aforesaid limits but by order of some magee- strate." Three Indians, Numpus, Isaake and Ben Earliest Times 17 Sachem (alias Petenunuitt), 1 were to have the inspection and control of these Indians, and " Matters most momen- tous " were to be referred to Mr. Thomas Hinckley for decision. In the southern part of Rochester, extending up from Mattapoisett and nearly surrounded by the great Haskell swamp, is the strip of upland known as Towser's Neck. The name is a corruption of Tousand, one of the names of Totosin, who has already been referred to as obtaining the use of this land from the Plymouth authorities. He was a fierce and famous fighter, a terror to the Plymouth colonists during King Philip's War, and in the intervals when he was not fighting he made this Neck his haunt and hiding-place. Many stories of his treachery and his bravery, and finally (after the death of Philip) of his capture and death, are told in the histories of the time. From the time of the pasturage grant of 1651, there are traces of white occupation in the Old Rochester lands, but most of the early occupants were probably herders with only temporary habitations. In the southern part of Rochester, reaching down into Marion and Mattapoisett, is an extensive woodland, now wholly uninhabited; but some ancient roads can be traced through this woodland, and one may find an occasional choked-up well or cellar, some fallen bricks or a wild apple tree, marking a spot where once stood a human habitation. But the name and the history of most of 1 Petenunuitt was the second husband of Queen Weetamoe, who had been the wife of King Philip's brother. Numpus was afterwards the captain of the remainder of Awashonks' tribe of Indians, which for many years had a settlement, including a church and congregation, at Little Compton. 18 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester those who once lived in this forest have long been forgotten. It has been said that certain families from Dartmouth who were friendly to the Indians settled here before the coming of the Rochester proprietors. But authentic evidence as to exact facts seems lacking. It seems probable that a few white people were living on the lands of Sippican when the Rochester purchase was made. Yet for the most part this was virgin territory when in 1679 the men of Rochester chose it for their future home. Some Indians were left in the Rochester territory at the time of white settlement. In 1682 the colony passed a law that the Indian men left in the towns should be numbered in groups of tens, one of whom should be ap- pointed overseer of the other nine; and that each town should have a general white overseer of the Indians. Settlement was then begun in Rochester, but the town was not incorporated, and no record occurs of any Roches- ter action under this law; though the provision for the three Indian overseers of 1676 was in general agreement with this policy. A regulation was afterwards passed by the town that no Indian who had not lived in town for three years should be allowed "to hunt or catch deer" within the town limits. In 1690 King William's War was giving trouble to the colonists, and Captain Church was sent with a force of Indian men to the Coast of Maine, where some slight engagements took place. Each town of Plymouth Colony was required to furnish its quota of men (either white men or Indians), and of arms for this war. With the excep- tion of Falmouth, incorporated the same year, Rochester was the youngest town of the colony, and its quota was Earliest Times 19 " 1 man and 1 arms," the required arms being " a well fixt gun, sword or hatchet, a horn car-touch-box, suitable ammunition, and a snapsack." In 1746 the General Court of Massachusetts appointed a committee * to provide a place for the reception of the Pigwacket Indians now at Fort William" (in Boston Harbor). This committee reported that a place had been provided at Assonomock l Neck, in Rochester, under the care of Captain Noah Sprague and Benjamin Ham- mond, Jr. It was further provided that twenty -five pounds in money should be given to said Sprague and Hammond for a boat, tools, provisions, and other necessaries for the support of these Indians. The later history of the Pigwacket Indians is lost; but a tract of land in Rochester mostly unoccupied and given up to woods and huckleberry pastures — a tract lying northwest of the Witch Rock Corner, and five or six miles distant from Mattapoisett Neck — is known to some of the older citizens by the mysterious name of Pigwacket. Several Indians were still left in the Old Rochester territory at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the great woodland that surrounds the Towser's Neck region, an Indian called " Old Tony " lived for many years a hermit life. Also in these woods is shown the site of "Peter's House," once occupied by Indian Peter and his wife Meribah. Mention is made still later of "Black Frank," a man of Indian blood, who was the town butcher. With him lived for a time "Boston," a woman from the Indian village of "Betty's Neck" in 1 On some old maps Mattapoisett Neck is called Attansawomuck Neck. 22 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester corporation of the Old Colony, June 4, 168G, and con- tains the Scipican and Mattapoisett of the aborigines. Irregular in outline, it may be in area of near eight miles square, or in excess of it. "Scipican or Rochester harbor, setting up from the south more than two miles in the center of its shore line, is formed by Great Neck on the east, and Charles's Neck on the west, expanding to more than a mile in width. There may be three wharves here, which afford nine feet of water in common tides, but at the extremity of the necks there is sufficient for vessels of burthen. The bay at large affords a depth of water of several fathoms. There is also, we are told, a wharf-landing at Great Neck. The situation of this harbor is the best in the place as to shelter. "Mattapoisett harbor is a more exposed and far less capacious haven on the southwest extreme of the shore. Being further down the bay a greater depth of water is attained. It is an outlet of a small stream of the same name, which traverses the whole western line of the town, it may be nine miles, in a south direction to mingle with tide waters at this place; alewives in their season seek it for the sake of its fountain, Senepetuit Pond. There may be, perhaps, twelve or more feet of water in this harbor. The shores in this vicinity are rocky, and the tides in the bay rise about six feet. "There are two islands large enough to have names, Bird and Ram Islands, both very small, the former alone of size sufficient to admit of cultivation. It is situated at the mouth of Scipican Harbor, and the other within it. Some small islands lie next the Mattapoisett shore and inlet. - w % 5 f. General Features 23 "Senepetuit, on the northwest corner of the town, is four miles in circumference. A brook, running from it, N.W. near a mile, connects it with the East Quittaques Pond, a very large pond, partly in this town, but chiefly in Middleborough. Iron ore, it is said, exists in this vicinity. This pond is reported to receive alewives from an inlet and outlet respectively from the Buzzards Bay side, and also from the very circuitous tributaries to the Taunton River. Let the reader trace this on the map, and be amused by the research. " Merry's * Pond, so called, without any outlet, a round pond, a mile in diameter, of shallow waters, in an open space, near to the main road, has an entire margin of remarkably white sand, which contrasted with the ad- jacent verdure, the rural hamlets, and a smooth hill be- yond it in the distance, will detain the traveler a few moments. It is, we think, one of those resting places which, though it may be often seen, pleases still, and is recollected to the journey's end with the same emotions. Snow's Pond and Little Long Pond are in the N.W. section of the town, and all contain fish. "Scipican brook, arising from small sources, called there 'Black water' on the confines of Middleborough, is formed by two or more branches, which, running southerly, seem to unite in the eastern section of the town, when, turning easterly, it meets the tide waters in the vicinity of Great Neck, not so far from Wareham West boundary. From this little stream, a few miles in length, the planta- tion or proprietary, in early annals, took its name. " Mattapoisett brook, perhaps of greater volume of 1 A Mr. Merry, it is said, formerly lived in the vicinity of this pond. 24 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester water, meandering along low, swampy grounds, parallel to Fair Haven line, has already been noticed. There may be some other small brooks and ponds, but not of magnitude sufficient to be described. " Great Hill, or Great Neck Hill, apparently a smooth pasture hill, is situated not far from the shore on the Great Neck. It must, we think, present an uninterrupted view of the back shore of Sandwich and Falmouth, to- gether with the pleasant bay of Manomet five or six miles over. We have noticed this hill as a conspicuous and distinct object when at Wood's Hole. Queetiquash Hills are in the north part of the town near the pond and brook of the same name. "Tataug, scauppaug, eels, are the most common fish near the shores, with alewives in their season. At several places of resort oysters have become less common; the quahaug and lesser clam are found in the place. Without the harbour the bay affords a greater variety ; but not the codfish nearer than Gay Head. "Birds of passage doubtless frequented these pleasant shores, in former days; and hence probably the name of the little island we have already noticed, while the deer walked unmolested in the boundless forests of pine. This animal has now become rare within the limits of this town. Wild pigeons annually seek these woods and are very common in this town in August. Partridges abide." Another description of Rochester, written by Abraham Holmes in 1821, may also be drawn upon for a few pas- sages (see Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, 2d Series): "Its breadth is about six miles from east to west, and its mean length about nine or ten miles, though General Features 25 to the extremity of some points running into the sea it is farther. " The soil is very variant. Near the centre it is a light sandy soil tolerable for tillage, but indifferent for grazing. Some parts of the town are rocky, iron-bound, unfit for cultivation, and will probably be kept for wood ; in other parts the soil is luxuriant, and produces good crops of grass. On the seashore are considerable margins of salt marsh, without which it would be difficult to keep the stock of cattle necessary for the use of its inhabitants. " Quitticus 1 Pond is in the northwest corner of this town; a small part of the north end is in Middleboro, and a small part on the west lies in Freetown. This pond is pretty well stored with pickerel and perch. Formerly large quantities of alewives went into it through a small brook from Assawamsett Pond, but very few pass now. A part of Assawamsett Pond lies on the north side of this town, and the line of the town crosses two islands of considerable bigness in this pond. Assawamsett Pond is the largest collection of water in Massachusetts. In this pond is a vast quantity of iron ore, which increases nearly as fast as it is dug. In the southerly part of this pond are large quantities of fish, such as pickerel, white fish, perch, roaches, chubs, horn fish, and vast quantities of sea or white perch are taken in the fall of the year, when the young alewives can be had for bait, which is the only bait which can be used with success. The land on the southerly side of this pond is very uneven and hilly and i That is, Little Quitticus. Mr. Holmes refers to Great Quitticus as Assawamsett. Both Pocksha and Great Quitticus lie in the same lake bed as Assawamsett. Thus Minister Le Baron (1786) says that "As- sawamsit is the largest pond of Rochester." 26 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the bottom of the pond is as uneven as the land to which it is adjacent. It is not uncommon for water to be from ten to twenty-five feet deep, and within a few rods to be not more than three or four feet deep. This pond is the source of Nemasket River, which is a considerable branch of Taunton River. "Sniptuit Pond is wholly in this town. The seat of this pond may be considered as the height of land. Snip- tuit Brook runs north out of this pond into Assawamsett Pond, and may be considered as the first source of Taun- ton River. Mattapoisett River runs south out of the southerly part of this pond. " A few rods south of this pond lies Long Pond, nearly a mile in length, and from 5 to 20 rods in width. Here are large pickerel, but they are of a muddy taste. Not far from this, to the south end, lies Snow's Pond, which has no visible connexion with any other water. This pond is deep and has some fish. It contains perhaps 35 to 40 acres. "On the right hand of the road from Rochester to Plymouth lies Merry's Pond, a most beautiful sheet of water, and is nearly as round as a circle. In this pond are a few fish of the minor species. There is no natural inlet or outlet to this pond, but a few years since the town at the expense of $100, cut a canal from it to Sippican River, hoping to induce the alewives into the pond. No success attended the attempt. This pond is about three quarters of a mile in diameter. "There is no run of water in, this town which geogra- phers would call a river, but there are two which are com- plimented by that name by the inhabitants. The first of these is Mattapoisett River, which issues out of Sniptuit General Features 27 Pond and empties into the sea at Mattapoisett Har- bor, after running about eight miles, including its wind- ings. This stream, though small, is of some consequence, besides what results from the mills, namely, on account of the alewive fishery. The other is the Sippican River." If the two writers who have been quoted had written eighty years later, they would doubtless have added to their list of lakes the little sheet of water called Leonard's Pond. This was the site of the ancient Sippican Mill privilege, where many important industries have been carried on. Although its interesting features have been developed to some extent by artificial means, it is now a lakelet of much beauty. Lewis Pond also, though pri- marily a mill pond, has landscape features of esthetic value. Snow's Pond, a little to the south of Sniptuit, is a lovely natural lakelet with steep wooded shores. Several of the Rochester lakes contain islands. Those of Sniptuit are known as "High Bush," ''Low Bush," and "Gull" islands. The Sippican River, formed by two long branches, receives also the central tributary, which figures in old records as "Muddy Brook" and "Ventur's Brook." On the maps it is Doggett's Brook, but it is generally known as "The Trout Brook," from the large trout that are taken in its waters. Mattapoisett River, above described, divides near the middle of its course, flowing around a tract of land, lying partly in Mattapoisett and partly in Rochester, and known as Wolf Island. Deacon John H. Clark for many years resided upon this island, which is now, however, unin- habited. 28 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Near the "Lower Herring Weir" the river widens into a pond where mills were early established and many different industries have been carried on. A little to the east of the mouth of the river is a shallow sheet of saltish water known as Barlow's Eel Pond. It formerly had two outlets, one into the river, the other into the harbor, between which lay Goodspeed's Island. At these two channels, not only eels, but many sea bass and shad, were formerly caught. The railroad embankment has closed one of the outlets of the Eel Pond, and also lessened its fishing interests. There are well-known old springs in Mattapoisett, one of which the Indians called " Mattapoisett Spring," and which is situated on the east bank of the river near the "Uncle David Gifford place." Another, which has been named King Philip's Crystal Spring, bubbles through a sandy tract in the woods a mile or so north of the harbor. It has been said that when the inland Indians used to come to the shore on their frequent journeys after eels and shell-fish they loved to linger beside these springs for rest and refreshment. A short distance from the old Bates place, near Leon- ard's Pond, is another bubbling spring known as "The foiling Spring, and not far away is the " Great Button- wood," one of the largest of the trees now standing in Massachusetts. Mr. George B. Emerson, writing in 1846 of the Forest Trees of Massachusetts, says: " The plane [or Buttonwood] tree is the largest, grandest and loftiest deciduous tree in America. ... In Rochester one by the roadside was eleven feet in circumference at four feet from the ground." The tree is still standing, more than sixty years after General Features 29 these words were written. There are also many other buttonwoods "by the Rochester roadsides." The But- tonwood (which is also called the American sycamore) is conspicuous among our native trees from the fact that the thin gray bark easily scales off, showing bright patches which have a striking effect among the large green leaves. In recent years the Buttonwoods have shown a less healthy vitality than was the case a hundred years ago. The most marked of the natural features of Old Roches- ter is the very extended shore line made by the harbors and the enclosing "Necks." An ancient town record names Cromeset Neck, Great Neck, Charles Neck, and Mattapoisett Neck, as the four Necks of Rochester town. Mattapoisett Neck, which gives to that harbor about two miles of western shore line, is called on some of the old maps Attansawomock Neck. Its two divisions are com- monly referred to as the "East" and "West" Necks. On the eastern side of Sippican Harbor is Little Neck where the first Ministry lands of Rochester were lo- cated. Cromeset Neck, lying between the Weweantit and Wankinco rivers, is now in the town of Wareham. Certain tracts of upland that are nearly enclosed by swamp lands within the town are also called "Necks." If one follows on the map the long shore line from west to east he finds minor irregularities that are also worthy of notice. There is Brandt Island Cove, containing Brandt Island, — said to have been named from the water-fowl (brant) that used to frequent this spot, — and owned (1907) and occupied in summer by George V. Brower of New York. Other small islands along the Matta- poisett shore are Seal Rocks, Ram Island, and Gravel Island. 30 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester On the eastern shore of Mattapoisett Harbor is Neds Point, named from a former owner, Edward Dexter, and now occupied by a small government reservation, con- taining Neds Point lighthouse; to the eastward of which is a curiously shaped peninsula with three projections, Angelica Point, Strawberry Point, and Goat Island; the last being a narrow serpentine strip of land nearly enclo- sing the little bay known as Pine Islands Pond. Farther east one comes to Connett Point (formerly Cordwood Point), Pease's Point, and Hiller's Cove. Between Mattapoisett and Marion is Aucoot Cove (formerly spelled Orcoot), containing Haskell Island, and receiving the little stream on which the Sparrow mill is located. The eastern side of Sippican Harbor is broken by a double indentation known as Blankin- ship's Cove and Planting Island Cove, partly shut in by Little Neck and the low peninsula known as Plant- ing Island. Meadow Island is a low, grassy tract within the harbor, and a little to the north of Ram Island is a tiny islet known as Little Island. The most interesting single feature of the harbor is Bird Island, which stands off the entrance, well out into the bay, crowned with the white lighthouse that adds pictur- esqueness to these quiet shores. Great Neck is partly divided by the deep indentation known as Wing's Cove, the western peninsula terminating in Ruggles's Point, formerly known as Butler's Point, from Butler Wing, a former resident of this Neck. Great Hill, which is east of the cove, attains a height of about 127 feet, and was made a station for the United States Coast Survey. Although many places along the extended shore line are low and marshy, there are also various beautiful General Features 31 sandy beaches; among these being Silver-Shell Beach (formerly Nye's wharf beach), overlooking which many summer residents of Marion have built their beautiful homes. Crescent beach, Pico beach, and other strips of shore in Mattapoisett, are of similar character At Aucoot Cove, Angelica Point, and other places, are many rocks that show the results of strong glacial action. Along the shores are the valuable deposits of quahaugs, scallops, and other shell-fish, which have been of large food value to the inhabitants from Indian times to the present. The fishing rights to the shell-fish of the shores and the fish in the bay, as well as to the herring of the rivers, have been the subject of much town legislation, and in all town divisions the rights in these fisheries to all the inhabitants of Old Rochester have been carefully preserved. With the exception of the hills near Sniptuit Pond, and Great Hill in Marion, there are no elevations of importance in the Old Rochester lands. A few higher points like Vaughn's Hill, Braley's Hill, Cathell's Hill, may be men- tioned, and reaching north from the central part of Can- nonville in Mattapoisett is a somewhat elevated strip that has been named Oakland Heights. The grassy land of the necks and the shore lands in general furnished to the colonists "hey grounds"; and here salt hay is still harvested yearly though less valued than of old. They were also used for pasturage, and for years these Necks in general were held as a "common field " for the stock-raising inhabitants of the old town. The Menchoisett region is largely a sandy plain, the deposit apparently of a great lake formed under glacial influences. A large, level region a mile or so northeast of the center is known as Walnut Plain. 32 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester But there are in Old Rochester large swampy tracts that have never been populated though they are valued for timber. Some of these are in the northeast part of the town, where the branches of the Sippican River take their rise. There is also the old "Logging Swamp," midway between Sniptuit Pond and the western town line. Several others, as Haskell Swamp (formerly Great Bear Swamp), Little Bear Swamp, and Great Cedar Swamp, lie in the extensive wooded tract that reaches from Roches- ter into Marion and Mattapoisett. Among the uplands or "necks" that extend into, and are nearly surrounded by, these swampy tracts are Horse Neck, Sniptuit Neck, and Towser's Neck, where the old Indian Totosin dwelt before and during King Philip's War. But besides the sandy and swampy tracts there are large sections where the light, sandy soil is closely filled with huge boulders and smaller rock deposits, showing how mighty were the glacial forces that were once active in shaping the natural conditions of this region. There are many interesting single rocks. Of these the one deserving of first mention is the great Minister's Rock in Marion, which, like many another rock or stone in all ages and countries, was made use of by the men of old when they set up their altars of worship. Another rock of great interest is the enormous granite boulder at the rear of the summer home of the late Edward Atkinson in Mattapoisett; a boulder forty-two feet in height and thirty-six in width, divided by a vertical fissure through which a footpath runs. The great Ward's Rock at the shore, almost on the dividing line between Fairhaven and Mattapoisett, for so long a conspicuous landmark General Features 33 from the sea, has in recent years been much reduced in size by blasting. Joe's Rock, in a picturesque locality of North Rochester, near the pumping station of the New Bedford water- works, contains Joe's cave, said to have been the hiding- place of a fugitive of the Revolutionary era. In Central Rochester also there are several interesting rocks, among which may be named Witch Rock, on the corner beside the " Old Country Road." Further back in the woods is u Indian Pound Corn," a large table rock formation showing the indentation made by the Red Man's pestle. There is also a " Devil's Rock," which, like many other similar rocks of New England, shows the definite impress of the foot of the imp as he leaped from the boulder, although this particular Devil's Rock bears an added confirmation of its genuineness, in that William Harris, Sr., actually saw the fiend when he took the final leap. In the woods about three quarters of a mile west of Rochester Center, running through the old Thompson and Sturtevant lands, is a curious ridge of gravel, half a mile long and wide enough for a wagon path, which is a very perfect specimen of the glacial formation known to geologists as an "esker." In Mattapoisett is a ledge of ''pink granite," which is still being quarried. Minister Le Baron, in 1786, refers to this as follows : " In Second Precinct there is a fine stone suitable for Building with wh Nantucket Market is principaly supplied, and of late some have been exported to the Southern States and used for Millstones in ye manu- facturing of rice." The uplands of Old Rochester are still nearly covered 34 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester with forests of oak, pine, and cedar, interspersed with ash, maple, spruce, walnut, elm, beech, birch, holly, sassafras, and other trees. The white pine timber is especially valued, and by its rapid growth it keeps up the supply of material for the boxboard industry, at the numerous sawmills of the region. There is considerable undergrowth of vines, huckleberry bushes and other shrubby plants. In the early days the Indians kept the woods open by frequent burnings, so as to afford free passage for travel. Along the country roads of the Old Rochester lands numerous native wild cherry trees hang out their white blossoms in spring, and in the late summer their clusters of deep-hued berrylike fruit. In the spring also the blossoms of the "shad-bush" give a feathery whiteness to the woodland edges, and the sandy fields and roadsides of the old Menchoisett region are covered with lupines, making a brave display of color with their showy blue racemes. Beside the pathways and in the old pastures grows the sweet fern redolent of old New England associations ; also the bayberry, valued of old as a source of "bayberry tallow," the fragrant green "myrtle-wax," formerly used for the manufacture of candles; and there is also a plenty of the wild indigo weed that countrymen use to stick above the horses' ears to keep off offending insects. In the swamps are delicious huckleberries to be had in plenty by those who can withstand the boggy wetness of the places where the juiciest berries prefer to grow. And there are low level stretches where the tiny-leaved cran- berry vines make a crimson carpet in September when thickly hung with the red glossy fruit. In ancient par- General Features 35 lance this was the " craneberry," and, as an old writer informs us, "The craneberry is a plenteous production, and is sent to a wide vicinage, even to Boston." Most of the small wild animals found in early days in the woods of Old Rochester still inhabit these regions. Wildcats, once numerous, have disappeared, but an occasional red fox may yet be seen. Even the deer, once apparently extinct in this region, has shown signs of resuscitation of late. Throughout the summer months the ears of the villagers are greeted with the frequent call of the American cuckoo, while the whippoorwill sings his pathetic evening call from many an old fence or mossy stone. The woods abound with tree toads puffing their tiny bladders and uttering their trilling notes, and in the marshy places a million frogs make a croaking spring music which brings to the listeners' ears the pleasant assurance that the winter is over, and that all the glories of spring will soon be manifest. But it is impossible to enumerate all the natural features of the Old Rochester lands, which are, after all, not pe- culiar to Old Rochester, but are similar to those of all the other parts of Southeastern New England. Enough has been given to enable one to form a fairly correct general picture of the seventy or eighty square miles of territory that the men of Rochester bought from the old Colony Court in order to build thereon their future homes. I CHAPTER III THE BEGINNINGS OF ROCHESTER TOWN, 1679-1700 N 1679, several persons having proposed to purchase lands in Sippican, the Plymouth Court decided to accommodate them if they "can procure some more sub- stanciall men that are prudent psons and of considerable estates/' who would settle with their families. The agents to make the purchase were Joseph Lothrop and Barnabas Lothrop of Barnstable, Kenelm Winslow of Marshfield, and William Clark of Plymouth, Governor Josiah Winslow acting for the colony. July 22, 1679, the purchasers met for the first time at the house of Mr. Joseph Bradford of Plymouth, and the deed was drawn. The territory covered more than seventy square miles, which, after Wareham was set off in 1739, was reduced to about fifty-eight square miles. The deed shows the eastern boundary of the purchase to have been the "Westerly Jumping Brook" (or Besse Brook) of Wareham and the Wankinco River. Some other land must have been added, however, for many acres east of the Wankinco were afterwards assigned to Thomas Clark and other proprietors. The purchasers were thirty * in number, but two addi- tional shares were set aside for "the Minister and the 1 The number has sometimes been given as twenty-nine, the name of James Clark being omitted from some of the early lists. Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 37 Ministrie," and the name of the Indian Connett, added in 1683, made the whole number of proprietary shares thirty-three, among which these extensive land holdings were to be divided. March 10, 1679, the proprietors " met at Joseph Burge his house at Sandwitch," and ordered that " Mr. Thomas Hinckley, Mr. William Paybody, Joseph Warrain, Samuel White, and Joseph Lothrop Shall take a vew of the Lands of Scippican and determine where the house Lots shall be Layed out and if the Land will Beare it to Lay 40 ackers to a house Lot and to have for their paines 2s Gd a piece in mony." The report as to size of lots must have been adverse, for April 15, 1679, the purchasers met again at Joseph Burge's and made the first land division by lot, giving to each proprietor twenty acres for a house lot and forty acres of woodland, sixteen of these home lots being at Mattapoisett and sixteen at Sippican. It was allowed that those that "mislike" their home lots at Sippican might take up home lots in any " Unlayed out lands from Charles his meadow and the long swamp to Sippican River." The first and second home lots on Great Neck, and two lots of the best of the woodland, were also set aside for the Minister and the Ministry. Those who drew home lots at Sippican were the Min- ister, the Ministry, Elizabeth Ellis, James Clarke, Wil- liam Clarke, Samuel Briggs, Seth Pope, William Pay- body, Joseph Burge, Benjamin Foster, Benjamin Bartlett, Kenelm Winslow, Ralph Powel, Joseph Dunham, Thomas Clark, Aaron Barlow, — 16. Those who drew home lots at Mattapoisett were Samuel Hammond, Joseph Dotey, Samuel Davis, Samuel White, Barnabas Lothrop, George Morton, Joseph Lothrop, 38 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester John Perry, John Bradford, John Cotton, William Brad- ford, John Burge, Moses Barlow, William Dexter, Joseph Bartlett, Mr. Thomas Hinckley, — 16. In some of the lists of the early proprietors the title "Mr." (in those days an honorary title) was given to Thomas Clarke, John Cotton, John Bradford, and Wil- liam Paybody, as well as to Thomas Hinckley. But with the exception perhaps of Thomas Clarke these honorable gentlemen do not appear to have taken up their residence on the lands of Rochester. Joseph Lothrop was the first Proprietors' Clerk. He and his brother Barnabas did not live in Rochester, though they had very large land holdings, and were most active in the early proprietary affairs. A few of the proprietors moved at once into Rochester; some sent their sons to occupy their lands; others soon sold their shares, which were often divided among several purchasers, so that the number of those owning proprie- tary rights was soon much increased. From time to time new lots were surveyed and drawn. In 1665 it had been ordered by the Plymouth Court that the proprietors of each town should procure a suitable book for the record of their land titles. These old Proprietors' Books, to- gether with the colony patent and the Indian deeds, furnish the foundation for most of the land titles of New England. The Rochester Proprietary records are full and valuable, and were kept up for many years. The last record of land divisions was made in 1792. Two ancient copies of the Proprietors' Book are in existence. About 1875-1885, a copy, in four volumes, was begun by Mr. Joseph S. Luce of Marion, and finished by Noah Hammond, Esq., of Mattapoisett. This authorized copy Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 39 is kept at the Registry of Deeds in Plymouth. Another copy was made by Mr. Hammond for the town of Matta- poisett. Laws for the new township were at first made at the proprietors' meetings, which after 1694 began to be held in Rochester itself. June 4, 1686, the town was incor- porated, under the name, "Rochester-town in New England." Soon after this, laws for the town began to be made by the freemen at town meeting, but the opinions of the proprietors continued to have much weight in town affairs. Aaron Barlow, Samuel White, and Samuel Hammond were selectmen in 1690, the earliest whose names have been recorded. The town books now in existence begin with the records of 1697, but mention is made of records before this date. Mark Haskell was town clerk in 1697. At his death, a year or two later, Peter Blackmer was chosen, and held this office for many years. The honor of being town clerk was its chief emolument, but occa- sionally a small sum was paid as the " Proffits of the townes books." Thus, in 1711, Peter Blackmer was paid the sum of twenty shillings " for keeping the townes books for about 11 years past." The closely written old town books of Rochester have never been copied, but they form a most important compendium of local history. To attract settlers the proprietors voted that u them that first settell and are livers " should be allowed to make ten barrels of tar apiece, "of the kind comonly called small barrells," upon the commons for their own benefit. But lest the purchasers who were not settlers should claim the privilege of making tar it was ordered that none of these should be "alowed to Burne or make any Tarr of the y 40 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester pine knots or wood for the space of five years." Tar was an important article of commerce until after the Revolu- tion, and in 1704 a law was passed against unauthorized "milking of the pine trees" on the common lands. It was also ordered that no "tymber claboarding shingling or coopers stuff " should be exported out of the town, and if any were brought to the landing-place as if for export, " it shall be forfeited one half to the informer and one half to the town." "Twentie shilings" was the "penaltie" for every tree or part of a tree thus exported. The woods abounded in foxes, wildcats, and other small animals. The early records have many entries of bounties paid for "3 catts in season," "two foxes out of seson," for crows, redbirds, jaybirds, squirrels, and other animal pests. Foxes' heads brought "3 shillings for old ones, and one shilling for young ones puppied this year." The animals must be presented, however, "with both thir ears on to be cut off." In 1694 forty shillings was paid for "the killing of two grown woulves in our town." In 1706 each householder was required to bring in his animal quota of four crows and twelve blackbirds killed by the bringer, or must forfeit twopence for each black- bird and sixpence for each crow that was lacking. In 1738 each male twenty-one years old was required to kill " 6 crowbill Blackbirds or Bluebirds, or 4 squirrels or 2 crows all well grown," or on failure to do so, " to have 2 shillings added to their next town tax." Dogs kept to protect sheep were often troublesome. The white men had learned from the Indians to use her- rings as a fertilizer for corn, one or two being planted in each hill. But dogs uprooted the corn to dig for herrings. So in 1703 it was ordered that "every dog, Bitch, or dog Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 41 kind" should be fettered on the 20th of April for forty days by "haveing one of their fore feet fastened up to their neck," and if any person should set his dog at large not so tied during that period, " any person may kill such dog, Bitch, or Dog kind." One of the earliest needs of the town was a gristmill, and in 1683 twenty acres of land were laid out on the two sides of Sippican River as a mill privilege. Aaron Barlow and Joseph Burge were appointed to set up the mill, which was to be of " such Capacitie as She may grind the corne of the Inhabitants for twentie years." Aaron Barlow declined the commission, however, and the work devolved on Joseph Burge alone. Towards this first mill William Connett paid for himself and his brother "six barrells of tar," while the other proprietors were taxed ten shillings apiece. The exact location of this first mill is not definitely stated, but a few years later the mills at "Leonard's Pond " were known as the "Sippican Mills," and here important industries were carried on in all the generations of the Old Town History. In 1694 permission was given for another gristmill to be set up in Mattapoisett. In 1704 the commission for the first mill having expired, a very important gristmill was erected at "Leonard's Pond." It had a perpendicular shaft, and was tended by Peter Blackmer, who was also the town clerk. Near Peter Blackmer's mill the town also gave a piece of land to Anthony Coomes on condition that he " do the work of a smith among us for seven years." In 1685 the towns of Plymouth Colony were divided into three counties, Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable, and the judicial department of the government was trans- 42 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester ferred to the county. Rochester was at first included in Barnstable County, perhaps to preserve the balance of the counties, for of the twenty towns in the colony, Barn- stable had six towns, including Rochester. In 1707 Rochester sent a petition to be transferred to Plymouth County, and in 1709 the transfer was made. About 1735 a petition for a new county was sent to Boston from Rochester and Dartmouth, but nothing finally came of it. In 1689 the town of Rochester sent Joseph Burge as its first representative to the General Court of Plymouth. He was succeeded in 1690 and 1691 by Aaron Barlow, In 1690 also, two militia officers were appointed in Roches- ter, Lieut. John Hammond, and Ensign Joseph Dotey. In 1692 Sir William Phipps arrived at Boston from England with the new Province Charter which united Plymouth with Massachusetts. In July of this year the Plymouth General Court held its final session, at which it appointed the last Wednesday in August as a day of general fasting and humiliation, and then adjourned. But at this final session the Rochester representative, Aaron Barlow, was not in his seat. It does not appear that the men of Rochester took, at first, a very active interest in the new province of which they had become a part. They were occupied in clearing lands, building houses, and piling up painfully the long stone walls which we still see in various localities. It was not until 1714 that Rochester sent a representative to the General Court at Boston, in the person of Samuel Prince, giving him four shillings a day "for his panes." Although the men of Rochester were " substancial and prudent psons," there was little money in circulation. Plymouth Colony as a whole was poor, and at the end of Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 43 the Indian war its debt was larger than its whole available wealth. Property was chiefly in lands and buildings. In 1692 the total wealth of the colony was 35,000 pounds, of which Scituate, the largest town, had 4360 pounds. The ratable estate of Rochester, at this era, was 367 pounds, the only town having less wealth being Freetown, which was rated at 349 pounds. The first constables of Rochester were chosen in 1692. After this date the collection of taxes devolved on the con- stable, and the office became most unpopular. It was voted that if one were elected as constable and refused to serve he should be fined. Many a man did refuse, and paid the fine rather than take the difficult position. The attempt to keep the office of constable filled, occupied much time in early town meetings. In every New England town religious worship at once engaged attention. One of the provisions of the Rochester grant required that worship should be established within four years. In 1683 agents were appointed to find "some meet person to preach the word of God at Scip- pican." The man selected was Mr. Samuel Shiverick, a Huguenot, who had fled from Catholic persecution in France. His first pulpit is said to have been Minister's Rock, at Little Neck. A meeting-house was soon pro- vided, however, of which Hon. Abraham Holmes (b. 1754) has written: "It was small, and I think cost 20<£. It was afterwards sold and made two corn-houses." Mr. Shiverick was given the use of certain ministry lands, and "a house or frame was got up for him." It was agreed that non-resident proprietors should pay him five shillings a year, and resident proprietors two shillings a year for * his paines " in preaching, and the next year it was ordered 44 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester that all landholders should be taxed ten shillings for his support. But no permanent settlement as the town's minister was ever given him, and after four years he removed to Falmouth. He was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Arnold, Jr., son of Minister Arnold of Marshfield. In 1687, Mr Arnold was invited to "settle," and was given a whole proprietary share on condition that "he continue in the work of the ministry among us until prevented by death." He began his preaching in the little meeting-house by Minister's Rock. But few new settlers were coming to this part of the town. The flow of population was from this point towards Great Neck, Wareham, Leonard's Pond, and upper Sippican village. In 1685 lots were laid out " in the woods " at Rochester Center, and before long settlers began to find their way there, and into the more northern parts of the town. The year 1694 was an important one in the annals of Rochester. About this time many changes were made in the land holdings. Lots were exchanged, or were thrown up, and new ones drawn. Minister Arnold now came into possession of land that was later known as the Sturtevant farm, and between this date and 1697 he had built a house on it and moved to that locality. July 10, 1694, an important meeting of the Proprietary was held in Sandwich, at the house of Samuel Prince, who about this time bought out Benjamin's Foster "whole shear," and was also chosen clerk of the records. About this time also a definite effort was begun by the town to establish its permanent center. In February, 1694-5, Woodlot No. 17, belonging to Isaac Little, was chosen as a place to "sett a meetinghouse." It is de- Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 45 scribed as lying " on the west side of Muddy Brook below where the Rhode Island way goes over." But the town was not at that time ready to build, and three years later Woodlot No. 30 was chosen, the owners of which now threw it up, and received in return a like number of acres in the "undivided." In 1697 the town exchanged its " Ministry lands by the Sea" for lands in the interior, and Samuel Briggs, an early settler of Little Neck, whose twelve-year-old daughter, Eliza, is said to have been the first person interred in the ancient burying-ground by Minister's Rock, was allowed to take up the lands around the little meeting-house, in consideration of his having allowed a cartway to be made through his lands to the " town's generall landing-place." On the new ministry lands thus chosen at the Center, the town now voted to lay out a burying-ground, and a training field, and "a place to sett a meetinghouse," while a part of the land was " to ly and remaine the Min- istry." A woodlot to the north of Rochester Church is still known as "The Ministry." There were many other ministry lands, however, in various parts of the town, that were afterwards divided up among the parishes. But although the general location of the central public lands of Rochester was decided upon in 1697, there were still some months of doubt and discussion as to the exact site for the important building which was to be the center for the town's civic and religious life. February 2, 1699, it was "voted that the meetinghouse shall be sit on the westerly sid of the long Bridg." This obscure and apparently incredible statement on the pages of the town's books has been one of several 46 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester confusing factors which led to the loss, during several generations, of all real knowledge or agreement as to the actual location of the important meeting-house built by the town in 1699. It did not seem possible that there was any "long Bridg" at Rochester Center. But further study has brought to light facts bearing on this question. If one follows the trout brook a few rods to the rear of Capt. Judah Hathaway's house he may find to-day traces of a very ancient road crossing the brook at this point. This is a part of the oldest road from Rochester Center toward Little Neck and Sippican, the road that was in use when the meeting-house was built. Between this point and the burying-ground much of the land is low, and though at present it is dry and arable, this was not always the case. Mr. Holmes writes in his memoirs : " One thing is re- markable. When I was young, old people said they could remember when people caught fish in a brook which ran across where the road turns to go to Deacon Dexter's, between Charles's and the meeting-house. There are now no signs of a brook there, but the vestiges yet may be traced from the brook westward until it comes nearly in range with Ruggles's house." In imagination one can seem to see a stretch of corduroy road made of pine logs, crossing this ancient brook and the trout brook and the wet lands near by, and known perhaps to the early settlers of Rochester as "the long Bridge." But, whatever the structure called the "long Bridge" may have been, the location of the meeting-house is no longer in doubt. From independent and authentic sources we know to-day that the meeting-house stood a few rods westward from the low tract referred to, and within the Beginnings of Rochester Town, 1679-1700 47 limits of the town's burying-ground, which is indeed the only natural place to look for it. In 1699 the Meeting-house was built, and with this event began a new era in the town history. The scat- tered interests of the growing villages were now in a meas- ure united. At a town meeting held June 4, 1700, "The inhabitance had before them the accompts of some of the chang that necessarily is coming and hath been in sd town of Rochester, and being sensable of the necessity of mony to be Received for a town stock or Treasury, the inhabitance voted that a Rat of thirty shillings be raised to defray the necessary chang arising in sd town of Roches- ter, in the year 1700." With this change in the town of Rochester in the year 1700, the period of beginnings may be said to be passed, and with the new century the town entered on its second stage of history, an interesting era of general town development. CHAPTER IV THE SETTLERS AND THE SETTLEMENTS BEFORE the year 1700, settlement had spread thinly over the whole Rochester territory, and beginnings had been made toward several villages that grew up later within the town. The two largest villages of Old Rochester, however, Mattapoisett Village and the Lower Village at Marion, were not among the points earliest settled. In 1879 Mr. Wilson Barstow wrote of Mattapoisett: " In 1750 there was no village on the harbor. Some four houses were located on what is now Main Street, the Deacon Tobey house; the Sherman house, on the site where Colson now resides; the Jas. Mendell house burnt some years ago, and Gideon Barstow Jr's. on the site of the R. L. Barstow house." The earliest homes in Mattapoisett were near the Mattapoisett River and in Pine Island, Hammondtown being the oldest village. The first homes in Sippican were at Little Neck, but this never grew into a settlement of much size. At various points on Great Neck, Wareham, and along the shores, the population increased and a village was soon formed at the " Upper Landing," which is now (by the building of new houses all along the shore) fast becoming indis- The Settlers and the Settlements 49 tinguishable as a separate village from the larger one that finally grew up at the "Lower Landing." As the interests of the town quarter have always been largely agricultural, no very concentrated village has ever been formed within it, though many sites of ancient houses could be pointed out where to-day no dwelling is to be seen. Some of the earlier homes in this pait of the town were near the mill site, at Leonard's Pond, some- thing of a village being formed there at an early date. But over the general town territory, even to the northern border, population spread somewhat rapidly. Two large sections of Old Rochester have never had many inhabitants, — the region on the northeast, known as Horse Neck, and the great wood containing the swampy tracts near the corner of the three towns of the present. Of the sixteen proprietors who drew house-lots in Mat- tapoisett, three, Samuel Hammond, Moses Barlow, and William Dexter, settled on their lands at an early date. Several others or their descendants came to Rochester, but the place of their residence is less distinctly fixed. The first settlers at Mattapoisett were probably Samuel Hammond (one of the proprietors) and John, his brother, who came from Sandwich in 1680 and settled in the south- west part of the town. Both were men of wealth and influence. Samuel Hammond was one of the founders of the First Church of Rochester. His land on West Neck was bought from Hugh Cole of Swanzey, who was the first white owner, but Samuel Hammond was prob- ably the first English occupant. John Hammond held many important public offices, and was the second representative from Rochester to the Province Court. In 1691 he married Mary, the eldest 50 Mattapoisetf and Old Rochester daughter of Minister Arnold of Rochester. His home was near to the herring weir, where aboul 1700 he buili a fine house which is still standing in good preservation, and is the oldesl house within the limits of Old Rochester territory. In 1684, Benjamin Hammond, 1 who was (lie father of these brothers, and whose mother (widow Elizabeth Ham- mond) with her children had belonged to Parson Lo- throp's congregation of Scituate, came to Rochester and purchased for twcnty-si\ pounds half of a proprietor's share. A younger son of Benjamin Hammond. Benjamin Hammond, Jr., also came to Rochester, and with his numerous descendants gave the name to the village of Hammondtown, a mile or so from the harbor, where Hammond Cemetery is located, and the first meeting- house in Mattapoisett was built Benjamin Hammond, Jr., was a noted surveyor of the region. In 1723 he became the special surveyor of the town of Dartmouth, But he also made extensive surveys in his own town of Rochester. At Plymouth Court-house may be seen a book containing five hundred drawings, showing surveys of Rochester lands, more than half of these drawings having been made by Benjamin Hammond. They are of especial technical interest in showing the methods used, and the ways in which land areas were estimated. Descendants of the Hammond brothers settled early on Mattapoisett Neck and in other parts of Mattapoisett, 1 Benjamin Hammond was the own cousin of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, his mother Elizabeth, the widow of William Hammond of London, being the daughter of the Admiral, Sir William Penn. The Settlers and the Settlements 51 some also going to Sippican where many Hammonds have lived. The name has been a prominent one in all eras of the town history. 1 Nathaniel Hammond, Edward Hammond, Gideon Hammond, and Enoch Hammond figured conspicuously in the Revolutionary history of Rochester town. Israel Hammond (the great-grandfather of the Noah Hammond who copied the Proprietors' Books) was a prominent man in business, church, and society, and kept a slave, Uncle Tom, who held an honorable position as a member of the family. The story is told that once when efforts were being made at the Hammond Mill to catch a thief, Tom said he was afraid. "Afraid of what?" he was asked. "Afraid the thief is one of our good old honest neighbors," was the reply. A few slaves were then owned in New England, and the ships of Massachu- setts towns brought them over rather freely for the south- ern market. Freedom was offered to Mr. Hammond's " Uncle Tom," but he declined to accept, and died a slave and a self-respecting and honest man. Another proprietor who came early to Mattapoisett and settled near the river was Moses Barlow. The oldest of the Mattapoisett graveyards is to-day known as the "Old Barlow Cemetery." Wilson Barstow wrote: " The Barlows and Hammonds were the ancient nobility of the place. " Old Deacon Barlow, one of the first proprietors to lay out land, was famous in his day as a deacon, pillar of 1 A " Hammond Genealogy " compiled and published in 1894 by Rowland Hammond, M.D., a native of Mattapoisett, gives much in- formation of this family and of their participation in the town's history. 52 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the church, and leader in society. It is said that when the wife of Deacon Barlow died, he mourned for her with due propriety for a year and a day. Then mounting his horse, he rode to the house of a maiden lady, and having knocked with his cane without dismounting, he greeted her with ' Good morning, I am in pursuit of a wife; if you will have me, I will come in, if not, I shall go farther.' 'Why, Deacon,' was the reply, 'How you astonish me! Thank you, you had better come in.' A few days later there was a wedding, and the Deacon took his new wife home on a pillion behind him." The third proprietor mentioned who came to Matta- poisett was William Dexter, whose descendants in town have been about as numerous as those of Benjamin Ham- mond, and have figured conspicuously in both church and town history. His home was at Pine Island, where he had a farm three fourths of a mile square, with a brook running through it. At the "Dexter Dam" on this stream a sawmill and a gristmill were built at an early date. Benjamin Dexter, who died in 1732, in his will names the mill as a part of his property assets. A house built some time before 1800 stands to-day on the site of the original Dexter home, and is still owned in the Dexter family. William Dexter, the proprietor, died in 1694, but four of his sons settled in Rochester, and his only daughter, Mary Dexter, became the wife of Moses Barlow. Thomas Dexter was an early representative, and the names of Benjamin and John Dexter figure prominently in the early town records. Benjamin married Sarah, a daughter of Minister Arnold, and many of Mr. Arnold's extensive land holdings passed finally into the hands of his Dexter The Settlers and the Settlements 53 grandchildren. Constant Dexter, a son of Benjamin, was an early deacon of the Mattapoisett church. He died in military service at Crown Point during the French and Indian War. Another of Benjamin's sons, Seth Dexter, settled near the church at Rochester Center, on land still owned and occupied by his descendants. Rev. Henry M. Dexter, D.D., the distinguished leader and historian of the Congregational denomination, was a descendant of this Dexter line. 1 Among the proprietors who drew house-lots in Sippican, the first mentioned is Mrs. Elizabeth Ellis, a widow, whose husband, John Ellis, of Sandwich, died in 1677. In 1687 Mrs. Ellis was living on her land in Sippican, but her descendants two or three generations later were clear- ing lands and breaking up the virgin soil in the Ellis neighborhood of Mattapoisett. Samuel Briggs lived at Little Neck and came into possession of the old ministry lands there after the new ministry lands had been laid out at Rochester Center. Aaron Barlow, who became the second representative of the town to the General Court at Plymouth, lived at Rochester at an early date, and in 1708 the town built a new pound close beside Aaron Barlow's house. John Wing's home, the ancestral home of numerous Wing descendants, was on Great Neck, but later genera- tions lived farther north in Marion, in the vicinity where to-day stands the Methodist Church. A large territory in this region was once occupied by Wing families. John Wing was a surveyor, and about 1700 he wrote a book on 1 A " Dexter Genealogy " compiled by Robert L. Dexter of Matta- poisett, and others, has recently been published, from which knowl- edge of this extensive family connection may be gained. 54 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester surveying, which showed the methods then used. For many years persons by the name of Wing held the office of town clerk. John Wing with Savory Clifton who lived in the same vicinity, and a few others, started the Quaker movement in Rochester. John Wing and very many of his descend- ants lie buried in the old Friends' burying-ground op- posite the Methodist church. The graves of these early settlers are mostly unmarked, but on a small tablet in the enclosure one may read: "Within this inclosure lie the Remains of 326 Friends : 200 x 67 Ft." Kenelm Winslow, who was a nephew of Governor Ed- ward Winslow of Plymouth, owned lands near Leonard's Pond, and in Mattapoisett and other places; but it does not appear that he ever lived upon these lands. The names Job, Thomas, and Edward Winslow, however, appear early in the town history. Some of the Winslows lived several miles north of the Center. The "house of Capt. Edward Winslow in Sniptuit" is mentioned in 1726. The old "Whitridge House," built in 1695, and recently taken down, was originally a "Winslow House." It stood not far from Rounseville's Mill, which was originally the "Winslow Mill." The house of Mr. Andrew Fearing at the Center was also an old Winslow house, moved to its present position many years ago from the "Clapp neighborhood." The location of some of the proprietors who found homes in Rochester cannot be distinctly traced; but families bearing the name of Clark were found very early in several c DC z "— z z -± o 2 The Settlers and the Settlements 55 parts of the town. Some of the name of Pope lived near the Dartmouth line. There were Bensons in several localities, and Davises some time later in the northern section and elsewhere. Nicholas Davis and Timothy Davis were public speakers of note in the religious de- nomination of "Friends" in Rochester. Burge (after- wards Burgess) became an early name of Wareham. At a later date Burgess was a family name in the Town quarter. Tristam Burgess, born in Rochester, after graduating at Brown University, became a prominent member of Congress from Rhode Island. He was a man of impassioned oratory, with keen powers of sarcasm, and figured conspicuously in debates with southern mem- bers about the middle of the first half of the nineteenth century. Bumpus (now Bump) was an early name in Wareham, along the Weweantit River on which Bumpus's Mill was situated. Among the members of the First Church dis- missed in 1739 to form the Wareham Church there were eight persons named Bumpus. The same persons were also leaders in the movement for the incorporation of the town of Wareham. Samuel White from Marshfield, of the old Mayflower stock, was one of the first board of selectmen in 1690. The most distinguished of the White descendants in Rochester was Lieut.-Col. Ebenezer W r hite, the town representative of the Revolutionary era. The location of the White family is obscure, but in 1704 John White was owner of lands a mile or so east of Rochester Center, and at a later date White was a family name in North Rochester. Dotey, also a Mayflower name, appears at an early 56 Mattapoisctt and Old Rochester date in various land descriptions near the center of the town. It was also the name of early settlers in the vicinity of Look's Mills. In recent years, Mary Dotey, born in Rochester, has been known in musical circles as a con- cert singer in America and Europe, under the name of Madame Dotti. In 1694 Benjamin Foster sold his entire share to Samuel Prince of Sandwich, who, before he moved his family to Rochester Center owned a house and land at Cromeset, which may have been Benjamin Foster's. Several Fos- ters of prominence were found later in Rochester. Lieut. Chillingsworth Foster, whose grave is in Rochester ceme- tery, was a military man of the eighteenth century, and early in the nineteenth century Dr. James Foster was a prominent physician near Rochester Center, but becom- ing depressed on account of financial troubles he finally took his own life. Among the original proprietors it is probable that the two Lothrops, the two Bartletts, the two Bradfords, Ralph Powel, George Morton, Joseph Dunham, Thomas Hinck- ley, John Cotton, and William Paybody never took up their residence in Rochester. The earliest list of freemen for Rochester, made in 1684, is given as follows: Mr. Samuel Arnold, Peter Blackmer, John Hammond, Moses Barlow, Samuel White, Samuel Hammond, Joseph Dotey, Jacob Bumpus, Joseph Burges, John Haskell, Sprague, Abraham Holmes, Job Winslow. The names of John Wing and Aaron Barlow were soon afterwards added. From this it appears that Mr. Arnold was living in the town before he became the town's minister. At his The Settlers and the Settlements 57 death, in 1709, he left one son, Samuel Arnold, Jr., who was a deacon in the First Church, and several daughters. Elizabeth Arnold, who married Charles Sturtevant, suc- ceeded to the ownership of the family house on "Arnold's Plain " at the Center. At the time of the Rochester Bi- centennial four generations of Minister Arnold's descend- ants were then living in the Sturtevant house at Rochester Center. Peter Blackmer has already been named as living at the Sippican Mill Site, where he was miller as well as town clerk. His last descendant in Rochester bearing the name of Blackmer — Mr. Garrison Blackmer — died a few years ago at his home near the Acushnet border. John Haskell, named as freeman in 1684, soon left Rochester and went to Middleboro. In 1692, Mark Haskell, a brother of John Haskell, came from Salem. It is said that he came in haste to avoid serving on the jury of a witchcraft trial. He lived a little to the west of the meeting-house, and took a prominent part in the town affairs for several years, but died in 1699, leaving four sons, from whom the different lines of Rochester Haskells have descended. Deacon Roger Haskell, the oldest son, succeeded his father at the home place, and his descend- ants are numerous to-day at Rochester Center. John Haskell, the second son, was a minor at the time of his father's death, and his mother took up land for him at Mary's Pond. He had many descendants, but most of his sons finally went to Hardwick. Mark Haskell, the third son of Mark, Sr., lived in Rochester, but the ex- act location is not clear. Joseph Haskell, the young- est son of Mark, Sr., became a man of considerable wealth. His last descendant in Rochester, of the name 58 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester of Haskell — Miss Eugenia Haskell, a woman of interest- ing and unique personality — died in 1907 at the age of eighty-nine. Sprague was a prominent name in Rochester town for many years. Samuel Sprague, Noah Sprague, and Nathaniel Sprague held important town offices at various dates. Samuel Sprague, who was town representative before the Revolution, lived a little north of the Center. The Spragues intermarried with the Hammonds of Mat- tapoisett, and Sprague became a prominent name in that village as well as in the more northern part of the town. Abraham Holmes, whose name appears in this first list of freemen, lived in the northern part of the town. A little later we find the names of three brothers, Abraham, Isaac, and Josiah Holmes, all living in the vicinity of Vaughn's Hill, a little south of Snow's Pond. Abraham Holmes (who was also the first deacon of the First Church) and Isaac Holmes, known variously as Captain and En- sign Isaac Holmes, were both among the signers of the Covenant at the founding of the First Church. Ensign Isaac Holmes was also in 1700 put in charge of the town's herring weir at Sniptuit. Experience Holmes, the son of Abraham Holmes, lived on old Weir Hill by Sniptuit. Another Abraham Holmes, great-grandson of the first Abraham, from whose Memoirs quotations are made in this history, moved later to Rochester Center. Other Holmeses went to Mattapoisett, and the name Holmes has at some period figured prominently in all four of the quarters of Old Rochester. With the purchase of Benjamin Foster's share in 1694, Samuel Prince became a most influential factor in town affairs. In addition to Benjamin Foster's share, Mr. The Settlers and the Settlements 59 Prince bought half of Samuel Lothrop's proprietaiy rights. He also made other very extensive land purchases in various parts of the town, so that he was for some years the largest landowner in Rochester. The large house which he built in 1710 stood near the trout brook on the old road from the Center toward Marion that was given up in 1785. The house was called Whitehall, in memory of a family estate in England. In later years it was known as the White House. At a period long after the Prince family had left Rochester, it stood for years as a disused building, but during the Revolution its floors were taken up " to procure materials for making saltpeter for use of the army," and afterwards it was taken down. Mr. Prince was twice married, his second wife, who came with him to Rochester, being a daughter of Governor Hinckley. He was the father of many children, one of them being Rev. Thomas Prince, pastor for forty years of the Old South Church of Boston, and an important New England historian. Mr. Samuel Prince was himself a man of education as well as of wealth, and during his stay in Rochester he did much to promote the general interests of the town, especially in school affairs. He was a Justice of the Peace, at that time an important office, and he also held for years the office of representative to the General Court. The Prince family moved to Middleboro in 1723, where Samuel Prince died in 1728, at the age of eighty. After his death some of his Rochester lands along Muddy Brook were made a subject of legal contest among those who had been his neighbors, and were voluntarily relinquished by the Prince heirs. One son, Joseph Prince, remained for a time in Cromeset, and a granddaughter, who had 60 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester married in town, continued to live here; but for the most part the Prince family, which for a few years had been very influential, passed out of the Rochester history. Another name that appeared in Rochester Center at a very early date was that of Clapp. In the earliest town records that are preserved, those of 1697, Increase Clap is the first name mentioned as that of selectman in thai year. Major Earl Clapp was a brave and distinguished officer in the Revolution. He was also the leader of the party in the First Parish that opposed Minister Moore, and for a time brought disruption into the church. About 1725, Richard Church, a cousin of Benjamin Church, came, with others, from Scituate, and acquired a large tract of land at "Macedonia," its northern boun- dary being on the old * Rhode Island Path." A few years later, he built a sawmill on the Mattapoisett River at Wolf Island. The stones of the old cellar and chimneys and a few wild apple trees still mark the site of the old Church dwelling at "Macedonia." Lemuel Church, son of Richard Church, was the first of the Church name to be born in Rochester. In 1750 he married Bethiah Clapp, who outlived her husband by sixty years, dying in 1832 at the age of one hundred years, perhaps the first of the Rochester centenarians. Lemuel Church built his home in what has since been called the Church neighborhood, on the old Middleboro path from Assawampsett to Mattapoisett, now known as the "Mattapoisett Road" or the "Rochester Road." In taking his corn for grinding to the mill some miles away, he used to sling it on one side of the horse (as did all his neighbors), balancing it by a stone of similar weight on the other, the more modern method of "dividing the The Settlers and the Settlements 61 grist " not being then invented. After the death of Lemuel Church in 1772, his widow Bethiah opened her house as an inn, furnishing rum and other ''entertain- ment " to foot travelers, — which was much appreciated by the Indians, who still occasionally came this way, and depended on this as a stopping-place. It is said that on one occasion a squaw who had brought her papoose on her back strapped to a board, confused perhaps by what she had been drinking, carelessly placed the board against the side of the room head downward, and ' l in the morning there was a little dead Indian." In the vicinity of this Church neighborhood there were various lands which were held at an early date in the name of Cowen or Cowing. Descendants of the Cowings still live here, though another Cowen neighborhood ap- peared later in the more northern part of the town. To the south of the Church neighborhood was the land of the Randalls, where Mr. Thomas Randall (one of the survivors of the men of Forty-nine) still lives. There have been many Randalls in this vicinity, though the name Randall was carried to the central and northern parts of the town as well. Mr. Jeremiah Randall, who died at the Center several years ago, was the oldest resi- dent and last person by the name of Randall in the old Town quarter at that date. Aunt Keziah Randall, a well-known Rochester cen- tenarian, was born in 1789, near the site of the Marion depot. She was a daughter of Jesse Parlow, and in her girlhood it was said that "Kezey Parlow was the hand- somest gal for miles around." After the death of her husband, who was a soldier of 1812, Aunt Keziah drew a United States pension and lived for many years alone in 62 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester a clearing in the woods to the north of the Friends' meet- ing-house, Aucoot, gaining health and enjoyment from the care of her vegetable garden. On her hundredth birthday in 1889 (though she claimed to be six years older), she had many callers to whom she talked entertainingly of her reminiscences, saving that she remembered Mattapoisett village when it had only four houses and a blacksmith shop. Another Rochester centenarian was Mrs. Jane Paine, who lived beside Mary's Pond, dying in 1891 in her one hundred and first year. Paine has also been an old family name in the Mattapoisett quarter of Old Rochester. In 1790 the first census of the United States was taken, in order to secure the population basis for representation in Congress, this being as early as it was found practicable to do it after the adoption of the Constitution. A list of Rochester family names taken from this list, together with the towns from which these settlers had come, was afterwards published in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, in 1815, as follows: Sandwich Names — Barlow, Sanders, Burges, Nye, Hammond, Swift, Willis, Blackmer, Ellis, Bessey, Wing, Black, Hamblin, Dexter, Gifford, Allen. Marshfield Names — Arnold, Bumpus, Baker, Winslow, Snow, Hathaway, Holmes, Sherman, Sprague, White, Dotey, Russell. Scituate Names — Church, Turner, Barstow, King, Foster, Cowin, Keen, Briggs. Plymouth and Middleboro — Savory, Jenny, Tinkham, Clarke, Morton, Pierce, Sturtevant, Coome. Barnstable — Davis, Lombard, Annable, Chase. Yarmouth — Tilley, Sears, Rider, Hiller, White. The Settlers and the Settlements 63 Eastham — Higgins. Also a few Rhode Island names, with those of Pease, Luce, and Norton from the Vineyard. Among the names in this list which have had many representatives in Rochester, the Nyes were early settlers at Charles's Neck and in the lower part of Marion. Some of the oldest graves at the ancient burying-ground of Little Neck also bear the name of Nye. At a later era the Blankinships intermarried with the Nyes and settled in the same region. Allen, Hamblin, Luce, and Savery also became well-known Sippican names, though Savery became also a name of Center Rochester. Mr. Silas B. Allen, Mr. Ichabod Blankinship, and Mr. George B. Nye are three men now living in the southern part of Marion at an advanced age, whose memories have preserved some of the facts relating to old Marion families that are mentioned in these pages. The Hillers lived at Aucoot (formerly spelled Orcoot) and belonged to Quaker circles. They were important salt-makers. The Hathaways lived southeast of Mary's Pond, near the corner of the present towns of Wareham, Marion, and Rochester, though they were afterwards found in many other localities. Several Captain Hatha- ways were prominent among the shipmasters that sailed from Marion in the seafaring days. Of other names given in this 1790 list, Barstow, Jenney, Pease, Sturtevant, and Tinkham took root in Matta- poisett, though Sturtevant was found at the Center also. Pease and Barstow became associated prominently with the later ship-building interests of Mattapoisett. Swift became a name of Wareham. Pierce was found near the Wareham line, and Keen near the Acushnet 64 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester border. King and Willis became well-known names at Rochester Center, though King was found in other local- ities also. Gifford, Scars, and Chase were found in several localities, though the Gifford neighborhood was in the northern part of the town. Sherman was an early name both in North Rochester and Mattapoisett, but became later a wide-spread name in all the town quarters. Rider was found at first in the northern part of the town, later at the Center and in other localities. Rider's Mill was east of Sniptuit. Snow was at first a North Rochester name, and later a name of Mattapoisett also. The Nich- olas Snow house near Snow's Pond is one of the oldest of Old Rochester houses. In 1851 David Hamblen furnished to the Historical and Genealogical Register of New England, a list of the early men of Rochester, including about seventy-five names. The list, however, has imporlant omissions, ami does more justice to some sections of the town than to others. Among the names given in this list that have not already been mentioned may be found: Andrews, Ashley, Blackwell, Bowles or Bolles, Claghorne, Danforth, Grif- fith, Haskins, Johnson, Leavitt, Marshall, Raymond, Robinson, Stevens, Stewart, Sommers, Thomas, and Wiatt. Some of the names given by Mr. Hamblen are no longer represented in the town, but Ashley and Bolles and a few others are still well-known names of this region. Among Old Rochester names should be given also those of the descendants of the early ministers, Ruggles, Hovey, LeBaron, West, Moore, and Cobb. Also that of the early schoolmaster, De La Noy (Delano). Later ministers of Old Rochester, even if they left no descendants in the town, yet held important relations during the period of The Settlers and the Settlements 65 their pastorate. The names Chaddock, Bigelow, Har- rington, Robbins, Thatcher, Briggs, Crandon, Brett, Sanger, Vose and Faunce are also names that belong to Old Rochester history. From ancient graveyard inscriptions, lists of baptisms, marriages, military rolls, etc., a much longer list than has been given could be compiled, of names that may be considered as distinctive Rochester names of the eight- eenth century. Fearing, Bassett, Mendell, Parlow, Spooner and Whitridge appear in town at an early date. Fearing was at first a Wareham name. Israel Fearing, a large landowner in the eastern edge of the town, was active in having that region incorporated with Agawam into the new town of Wareham. Bassett and Whitridge were prominent names for awhile and then passed out of town history. Parlow belonged to Parlow town, and later to other localities. Mendell has had a wide dis- tribution in many parts of Old Rochester. Three per- sons of the name of Spooner were in Minister Arnold's first church list. At the beginnings of the North Rochester parish it included (according to a statement made by Rev. J. P. Trowbridge) families bearing the names of Ashley, Ben- nett, Bisbee, Briggs, Clark, Crapo, Fuller, Haskell, Mor- ton, Nye, Pope, Snow, Swift, White, Whitridge, Winslow, and Wood. About 1800 (according to a statement made by Mrs. P. A. Wadhams) Coomb, Hooper, Hopestill, Perkins, Pierce, Reed, Bennett, Bisbee, Burges, Clark, Shaw, and Thatcher were family names of North Rochester, and, a little later still, Crandon, Omans, Sears, and Randall were also found there. I 66 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Among old Marion names not before mentioned may be given Deane, Gurney, Hadley, Handy, Hammett, Lewis, and Pitcher. Betsey Pitcher, who became Mrs. Elizabeth Taber, did much for modern Marion by her liberal bequests to the town and the church, and especially by the endowment of the academy that bears her name. Among old Mattapoisett families not before mentioned are those bearing the names of Ames, Atsatt, Cannon, Eaton, Harlow, Howes, Mead, Macomber, Meigs, Pur- rington, Sisson, Southworth, and Stevens. Near the beginning of the nineteenth century the names Sparrow and Thompson came into Rochester Center from Middleboro. Some of the Sparrows went soon to Mattapoisett, where Dr. William E. Sparrow was a prom- inent physician for more than half a century until his death in 1899. Early in the nineteenth century the names Bonney and Leonard became prominent at the Center. The brothers Charles and George Bonney held many town offices, and also kept a store where considerable business was done. Mr. Charles Leonard did much to beautify his estate near the old Sippican Mill site, employing many men to build out of hewn stone long stretches of wall, that are a marked feature to-day of the Leonard (now the Rhodes) estate. Mr. Leonard (and later his wife) gave also liberal be- quests to the town and the First Parish of Rochester. A little before the middle of the century the Scotch names of Rankin and Smellie came into Rochester, where the Scotch name of Douglass had already taken root as an old town name. But most of the family names that belong to the vil- lages of Old Rochester refuse to be classified on either a The Settlers and the Settlements 67 local or a temporal basis. Some were in the town for a generation or two, and then passed out of the locality; as Peckham, Vaughn, Cathell. A much larger number were in the town from an early period, and either distrib- uted themselves very soon in many quarters, or were found first in one section and later in quite another. The following additional names will, however, be recog- nized by students of Rochester history as having at some time (and usually for a long time) held such town rela- tions that they may be considered distinctively names of Rochester before the middle of the nineteenth century: Bates, Bartlett, Barrows, Bishop, Bourne, Bryant, Braley, Burbank, Cole, Cushman, Chubbuck, Denham, Dunham, Freeman, Gammons, Gage, Gerrish, Gibbs, Gillett, Hall, Hatch, Haskins, Howland, Howes, Jefferson, Johnson, Look, Lombard, Manter, Martin, Maxim, Mitchell, Morse, Norton, Nickerson, Rogers, Rounseville, Russell, Shaw, Shurtleff, Sisson, Smith, Snell, Southworth, Stet- son, Taylor, Thatcher, Tilson, Tinkham, Tobey, Tripp, Washburn, Westgate, West. And there are family names, not so old to the region, — some that came in about the period of the town divisions, and many that have come later still into the towns that have been formed out of this territory, — that are also assimilating themselves into the local history, and will figure prominently in the histories of the modern towns that may yet be written. Among the names that have here been recorded there are not a few that have been carried by sons of Rochester into business and professional circles of other localities. It is a remarkable fact that of the present Massachusetts Judiciary, in 1907, three are natives of this old town : — G8 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester John Wilkes Hammond and Henry King Braley, Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, and Lemuel LeBaron Holmes, Justice of the Superior Court. Theophilus King is well known in Boston business circles. Dr. Wil- liam H. Cobb is librarian at the Congregational House. The four Johnson brothers, Arnold, Augustus, Joseph, and Lorenzo, all attained distinction in the professions or in business. In the world of letters is the name of Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard, of Mattapoisett, and Rich- ard Henry Stoddard, who, after his mother married James Gallon, spent some of his boyhood days in that village. Woodbridge R. Howes, who for a time con- ducted a private school in Mattapoisett, and who served as a volunteer surgeon through the Civil War, had an extensive practice as a physician in Hanover, Mass. John L. Gifford attained the rank of Lieutenant in the Navy and did daring work in command of scouting ex- peditions at the siege of Charleston. Among military men were Major Rogers L. Barstow, and Brig.-Gen. Wilson Barstow who was on the staff of General Dix. Solomon E. Sparrow, whose father, Dr. William E. Sparrow, of Mattapoisett, had served as a surgeon in the Civil War, was a graduate of West Point and a captain in the regular army. These and many others have been writ- ing deeply on the social life of other communities the family names of Old Rochester. Among the interesting and ancient houses of Rochester that are still standing are the Nicholas Snow house, near Snow's Pond; the Bates house, the Sherman house, and the Savery (or old Haskell) house. Historic houses that have been taken down or burned within a few years, but which had been well known as landmarks, were the old The Settlers and the Settlements 69 Ruggles Tavern, the Whitridge (or Winslow) house, and the Bourne (or Major Gifford) house. The Sippican Hotel at Marion is in part an ancient structure. The oldest house within the limits of the old Rochester territory is the Lieut. John Hammond house at Mattapoisett Herring Weir, built about 1700. Other ancient dwellings of interest in Mattapoisett are the Hovey house, and the " Old Mansion " built by Minister LeBaron. In the village the Wilson Barstow house and some others along Main and Water streets, and various ones on Cannon and Pearl streets, are old houses. So also is the Benjamin Barstow (Samuel Dexter) house at Cannon ville. Many of those now standing on the Necks are ancient, as also a considerable number at Hammondtown and Tinkham- town ; and various ones scattered through Aucoot and Pine Islands either stand in their original form or have been enlarged and modernized. Although there are various gambrel and hip-roofed houses in Rochester, it is to be noted that there are none at Mattapoisett. The effort that has been made in this chapter to bring together in brief enumeration the old families of the Rochester territory is necessarily very imperfect and in- complete. It must be the task of the genealogist of the future, one with a taste for antiquarian research and years of time at his command, to give an adequate account of the people who have lived and died and the families that have taken root on the soil of Old Rochester. It has been shown that the names cannot be very defi- nitely localized, as most families spread themselves widely, through marriage and removals, into various parts of the town territory. 70 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester But while family names refuse to confine themselves in local or temporal relations, localities always have a marked tendency to assume some personal name and sometimes persist in carrying it even when the personality suggesting it has become a shadow of the past. For in- stance, what do we know to-day of the traditional "Mr. Merry," whose modified name has given rise to false legends relating to Mary's Pond? As one looks over the maps of Old Rochester, and listens to the speech of the people, he comes upon geographical and institutional names, almost without number, that tell much of the history of families and of persons and of the general lines of the town settlement. Thus in Mattapoisett one may hear of Cannonville, Hammondtown, Randalltown, Tinkhamtown; of the Ellis neighborhood, Tripps Mills, of Pease's Point, Good- speed's Island, Barlow's Eel Pond; of the Barlow Ceme- tery, Hammond Cemetery, Hammond Street, Cannon Street, Barstow Street, Tobey Street, Dexter Street; of Purrington Hall and the Barstow School. In Rochester of to-day one may hear of Snow's Pond, Leonard's Pond, Lewis Pond; of Pierceville, Parlow town, the Church neighborhood, the Morse neighborhood, the Gifford neighborhood, the Rounseville neighborhood; of Braley Hill, Vaughn's Hill, Cathell Hill, the Bisbee Corner, Cowen's Corner, the Sherman Corner, the Sher- man Cemetery; of Look's Mills, and Cushman's store, as names of localities, — of Haskell Swamp, Bonney Hill, the Dexter Road, Old Parlow Road; the Waterman School, and the Stuart School. In western Wareham are Fearing's Hill, Blackmore's Pond, and the Hathaway neighborhood. And in Marion The Settlers and the Settlements 71 one may hear of Wing's Cove, Blankinship's Cove, Clapp's Island, Haskell Island, Hammett's Cove, Nye's Wharf, Ruggles's Point, Mendell's Bridge, Briggs's Neck; of Allen's Corner, Hadley's Corner, Hamblen's Corner, Handy's Grove, and of Tabor Academy. Thus do human lives write their names upon features of nature, and upon institutions, even while the personal- ities themselves fade away into the indistinct background of history. CHAPTER V THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE PRECINCTS AS in every New England town, the first thought of the settlers of Rochester was to provide for the religious needs of the community, and as soon as possible to or- ganize a church. The establishment of worship at Little Neck is in a true sense a part of the history of the First Church of Rochester, even though " for want of members to Imbody " no church was really organized in that locality. But the place has intrinsic and historic interest. In the words of Rev. H. L. Brickett, pastor of the Congregational Church at Marion: "This place of worship at Little Neck is picturesque, with its massive Minister's Rock round which the Indians held their pow-wows, and close at hand the, ancient burial- ground where sleep the early dead." The religious impulses that started in the little tem- porary house of worship where Mr. Shiverick and Mr. Arnold preached for a few years have been transmitted to all the churches that occupy the Old Rochester territory. But as the growing population spread rapidly over the whole town, it became evident at a very early date that this locality could not be the center of the religious and civic life of the town of Rochester. The building of the town's meeting-house in 1699 opened the way for the church organization that had been The Early Church and the Precincts 73 so long delayed. As to the plans for this meeting-house (which stood within the limits of the town's burying- ground, laid out at the same time) the town records give considerable information. It was to be "24 by 26 Ft. and 10 ft. between joints, with a gable on each side." It was to have "a pulpit and flours and girts for three gal- erys, with three seats apew," and a rate of sixty pounds was voted to defray its cost, though it was afterwards decided to pay for it "by a free-will offering if that will amount to 50 pounds." The building committee were Samuel Prince, Peter Blackmer (who was also the builder), and Mark Haskel, at whose house the plans were drawn. He died before the house was completed, and to his widow, Mary Haskel, was given the office of sweeping the meet- 7 ing-house " once in 15 days or as often as shall be occation for sweeping of it to keep it Deasent." Minister Arnold's long religious efforts now began to bear fruit, and October 13, 1703, he wrote in the old church book, " It hath pleased our gracious Lord to shine in the dark corner of this wilderness, and visit this dark spot of ground with the dayspring from on high through his tender mercy to settle a church according to the order of the gospel." Seven Christian men of Rochester, in addition to Mr. Arnold, signed the covenant that day, the names of the signers being Samuel Arnold, Abraham Holmes, Samuel Hammond, Isaac Holmes, Jacob Bumpus, John Benson, Thomas Dexter, Anthony Coomes. Five years after the church was organized Mr. Arnold died, and was succeeded a few months later by Rev. Timothy Ruggles. Many years afterwards, when Minister Ruggles was asked for some information regarding his 74 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester predecessor, he wrote of Mr. Arnold that " the neighbor- ing ministers who survived him esteemed him as a worthy minister and approved him as a good Divine, but not so well skilled in church discipline as some others." In contemplating this defect, however, it is well to remember that skill in church discipline counted for more among ministerial qualifications in the eighteenth century than it does at present. Mr. Arnold left at his death in 1709 a church list of thirty -five members as follows: Males — Samuel Arnold (unworthy pastor) ; Abraham Holmes, Deacon; Samuel Hammond, Isaac Holmes, Jacob Bumpus, John Benson, Thomas Dexter, Anthony Coomcs, Isaac Spooner, Benjamin Dexter, Samuel Winslow, Sam- uel White, Thomas Perry, Ebenezer Spooner, Samuel Arnold, Jr., Experience Holmes, John Hammond, — 17. Females — Elizabeth Arnold, Mrs. Mary Hammond, Mrs. Sarah Arnold, Mary Haskel, Anna Holmes, Alis Spooner, Sarah Bumpus, Elizabet Bumpus, Abigal Holmes, Lidiah Joy, Mercy Winslow, Mary Whitridge, Ruth Perry, Mary Hammond, Sr., Mary Hammond, Jr., Elizabeth Arnold, Sarah Dexter, Mehitable Clark, — 18. The names on this first church list seem fairly repre- sentative of the town territory. The Mattapoisett and Wareham names show that persons from the eastern and western edges of the town were active supporters of the new church, while Abraham and Isaac Holmes, who were brothers, lived near Snow's Pond, and represented the Sniptuit quarter. After Mr. Arnold's death, Rev. Timothy Ruggles of Roxbury, a young graduate of Harvard, was called to be the town's minister, and was ordained November 22, 1710. The Early Church and the Precincts 75 Mr. Ruggles was not made a proprietor as Mr. Arnold had been, but the town gave him a farm of seventy acres, with the use of certain other ministry lands, and an annual salary which was at one time one hundred pounds, though it was often in arrears and subject to adjustments. The town also built him a house, — Mr. Ruggles furnishing the "glasse and nails," and boarded him at Roger Hascol's till the house was done. Capt. Isaac Holmes, John Ham- mond, Ensign Edward Winslow, Sergeant Benjamin Dexter, Sergeant John Briggs, Peter Blackmer, and Elisha Andrews were appointed as the building committee, "to set up such a dwelling-house for Mr. Ruggles as he shall give dimensions for." This house stood on the old road, in the rear of Captain Hathaway's dwelling, that was given up in 1785 when the present road to Marion was built. The site that the house occupied is still owned by descendants of Minister Ruggles. The congregation increased rapidly, and in 1714, only eleven years after the church was organized, the meeting- house was voted too small, Some wished to enlarge the building by an addition "at ye backside thereof." But after some delays, in 1717 a new meeting-house was built, which stood for ninety-four years in the grassy triangle opposite the cemetery gate, being used for church purposes about forty -three years. In 1906 the church and parish at Rochester Center placed a stone in this area to com- memorate the two meeting-houses which were built on Rochester Common by the votes and the taxes of all the citizens of Old Rochester. The new meeting-house of 1717 was "40 Ft. by 35 Ft. and 20 Ft. between joints." The pews were "al of a haith and bult workmanlike," and three seats were built 76 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester "Nye the pulpit stairs for ancient parsons to sett in." In 1725 there was a "Lock gott for it." Neither of these two first meeting-houses had a chimney or any fire unless in foot-stoves. Nor did the parish meeting-house that in 1760 succeeded the one of 1717 on Rochester Common have a fire until the nineteenth century was well begun, when a chimney was added and two box stoves were introduced. The meeting-house of 1717 was not long adequate to the needs of the growing town. In 1733 permission was given to certain persons to build pews on the beams above the galleries, — a sort of third-story arrangement to utilize the high roof spaces which belonged to the earliest type of New England meeting-houses. One of these lofty pew builders was Timothy Ruggles, Jr., at that time a young lawyer in the town. But events were coming that would relieve the conges- tion in the Rochester meeting-house, and change again the course of town history. In 1733, the people of Mattapoisett complained that they were "so remote from the Center as to make their Difficulty great in all public Conserns," and asked to be set off into a new precinct. The matter was delayed for a time, during which an effort was made to have Matta- poisett incorporated as a separate town. But this did not meet the general wishes of the people, and in 1735 the Second Precinct of Rochester was finally set off. With this event, Mattapoisett village began to develop more distinct lines of local interest. Through the keeping of the precinct and church books also its local history began to be put into written form. Yet for more than a hundred and twenty years longer Mattapoisett still held The Early Church and the Precincts 77 important relations with the other precincts as an integral part of the town of Old Rochester. In 1736 the Second Church of Rochester was organized in Mattapoisett. The interesting history of this old precinct church will be recorded in a later chapter. With the organization of the Second Precinct, the rest of the town became " The First Precinct or Parish." The first parish was never incorporated by that name, but was always what was left of the town after other parishes had been set off. With the setting off of Mattapoisett into a separate precinct, the history of the town itself also took a new line of development. Like all other New England towns, Rochester was at first one religious organization in which all householders were taxed for church support. The incorporation of the Second Precinct was the first of a series of events that finally changed the original town into five religious organizations having definite territorial limits, within which all householders (unless personally excused) were subject to taxation for the support of the Congregational Church in that parish. The Ministry Lands of the town were finally divided up among these parishes or precincts. " Minister's Island " at Matta- poisett Neck was perhaps a part of one of these old Min- istry Lots. In 1709, by a vote of the town, those who were "pro- fessed Quakers " began to be excused from their ministry dues, and in the latter part of the eighteenth century many Baptists claimed and received such exemption. But it was not until 1836 that the system of church taxation became illegal in Massachusetts and the voluntary system became universal. 78 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The second parish division in Old Rochester took place July 6, 1739, when the town of Wareham was incorporated. The same year a church was established there, consisting of thirty-three members dismissed from the First Church of Rochester. The Wareham section was not technically a precinct of Rochester, but it was sometimes referred to as the "Wareham Precinct," and it received finally (though not without some controversy) its share of the " Ministry Lands." About 1770 the town of Wareham, with Eben- ezer Briggs as its agent, successfully upheld in the courts the claims of W r areham. After this, Rochester passed a vote stating that "The Precinct of Wareham's part is to the whole as 1103 is to 5728," and that Wareham was therefore entitled to "the Minister's Land lying in their said town and in Horseneck," but added, " It is neverthe- less to be understood that the above proportions are made exclusive of the Friends and Baptists' Societies. We do, therefore consider the Sd W T areham part or proportion made as liable to contribute their part to the Sd Friends & Baptists Societies when the Said Friends and Baptists shall regularly apply for the same according to the Tenor of the Proprietors' vote." The cutting off of the Wareham district brought a larger change than the separation of Mattapoisett had done, since it divided the people, not only in church interests, but in those of the town as well. It took from Rochester a large piece of the town territory. The vil- lages of Tremont, Tihonet, South W T areham, Wareham Center, and part of The Narrows lie in what was once Old Rochester. The following account of the formation of the Third or The Early Church and the Precincts 79 North Rochester parish is found in an article written by Abraham Holmes in 1821, and published in the Massa- chusetts Historical Collections, Vol. X, 2d Series: * During the administration of Mr. Ruggles an unhappy controversy arose between him and Noah Sprague, Esq., which terminated in the erection of a poll parish, taking in the N. W. part of the town and some who lived in the immediate neighborhood of the meetinghouse of the first parish, a part of Middleboro and a part of Freetown. In this parish the Rev. Tho. West was ordained the minister. Mr. West remained their minister until about the year 1781, though before this time some of the leading members of this church and parish grew disatisfied with this doctrine and some of them went off and joined the Baptist connexion, and at this time his advanced age, & the infirmities incident thereto, induced him to ask a dismission, it was granted. "The members of this poll parish now found them- selves, on account of diminution to be incompetent to settle a minister. They negotiated with the first parish in the year 1791, and agreed with them for a division line between that precinct and these by which they relinquished a number that belonged to the poll parish and took in a larger number by metes and bounds which had belonged to the first parish. They then applied to the Legislature and obtained an act of incorporation making a territorial parish, taking in a part of the first and second parishes in Middleboro and a part of Freetown. More than half of the people who live in this parish are of different denom- inations of Christians from those who procured the act of incorporation." After the territorial parish of North Rochester was 80 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester organized the First Parish gave them (instead of Ministry Lands) the sura of seventy pounds, six shillings, sixpence, * whether they continue Congregationalists or whether they are Baptists or Friends." They did continue Congrega- tionalists, and the coming of Rev. Calvin Chaddock in 1793 did much to strengthen them in their Congregational faith. From the historical address of Rev. John P. Trow- bridge, the present pastor, given in 1903 on the 150th anniversary of this church, the following account of the church and its early pastors is chiefly compiled : The first meeting-house in North Rochester stood about a mile westward from the present structure, in the north- west angle of the town. Its frame was raised November 17, 1748, with the sturdy exertion of many men, aided by some West India rum as the custom of the times demanded. It was a poor structure, built hastily because winter was at hand and a place of shelter for the ark of the Lord was sorely needed. Yet it was used for a place of worship a little more than forty years when its timbers were given to the man who would tear them down and carry them away, which lot fell to Mr. Abner Wood and his son Zenas. In 1791 a second meeting-house was built on the site where a third meeting-house (the present structure) was erected in 1841. At the time of the building of the second meeting-house part of the parish wished it to stand on the lot formerly owned by Luke Perkins, near the Still- water Furnace, and timber was actually drawn there for the purpose. But others were not pleased with this ar- rangement and quietly carried the timber down to the present church lot. The Early Church and the Precincts 81 The church in North Rochester was organized in 1753, its first pastor being Rev. Thomas West, who was born at the Vineyard in 1708. He was a graduate of Harvard, and labored for some years at the Vineyard as a colleague Missionary before coming to Rochester. He was a good clerical scholar, and fitted several young men for the ministry. He is also described as having "apostolical simplicity of manner," and being " devoted to the proph- ecies." Two of the sons of Minister West attained dis- tinction in the ministry, one of them, Rev. Samuel West, having been the pastor of the Hollis Street Church, Bos- ton. Rev. Thomas West died in 1790, and was buried in one of the old graveyards of North Rochester, where his epitaph, blurred and broken, reads: "Weep ye, nay friends, for West is gone, His glass of time doth cease to run, His active tongue and virtuous heart Have ceased to act. They've done their part. Although he's gone he yet does live, His soul immortal does survive. He's now disrobed of earthly clay, And shines in one eternal day." The second minister of North Rochester Precinct, 1791-3, was Rev. David Gurney, of whom the only men- tion in the church record is found in the following minute : "Marcus Morton and Polly, son and daughter of Nathaniel and Polly Morton, were baptized Sept. 11, 1791, by Rev. David Gurney." The chief interest in this record, however, lies in the fact that the said Marcus Morton, who was born in the Middleboro part of this precinct, when grown to manhood became the Governor 82 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester of Massachusetts, gaining his election by a majority of one vote. The third pastor of the North Rochester church was Rev. Calvin Chaddock, who had studied theology with Dr. Emmons of Franklin, then at the height of his fame. The day of Mr. Chaddock's ordination, October 10, 1795, was an important one in the history of North Rochester. Dr. Emmons preached the ordination sermon, and in the words of one who was present, "The Solemnities of the day were performed." Before the service, the church met at the house of Mr. Zebulon Haskell (who lived by Great Quitticus Pond, on the site afterwards known as " The Roberts Place,") and adopted a new confession of faith which was " remarkable for its catholicity of spirit and brevity of statement, considering the habits of thought of that age." Mr. Chaddock's pastorate was notable also for an "Academy" which he established at North Rochester, the first within the limits of the town territory. It did good work for a few years and drew some pupils from a distance, but came to an end at the close of Mr. Chad- dock's pastorate in 1805. After this the North Rochester church went through a period of irregular preaching with two short pastorates of Rev. Ichabod Plaisted and Rev. William Utley, — until the coming of Rev. Isaac Briggs, whose long term of important service lasted from 1835 to 1857, during which the present house of worship was built, largely by Mr. Briggs's efforts in obtaining the funds. As this chapter deals with the precincts of Old Rochester, the shorter pastorates that have occurred since 1857 are not here followed. The Early Church and the Precincts 83 After the withdrawal of the Mattapoisett, Wareham, and North Rochester members, the people of Rochester Center and Sippican remained together for many years as the First Precinct and First Church of Rochester. Mr. Ruggles continued to be the minister until 1768, when he died after a pastorate of fifty-eight years (his only pas- torate), during which 303 members were added to the church. June 2, 1757, there was a solemn service in the meeting- house called the " Renewal of the Covenant/' when Mr. Ruggles was assisted by the ministers of the other pre- cincts, and " 16 females and 28 males attended the So- lemnity." Although Mr. Ruggles was a man of peace, his last years were disquieted by a lawsuit, to which he was a party at the solicitation of his people, for the recovering of certain Ministry lands near the church which other persons were " improving," and which it was felt must be recovered "during the lifetime of our present minister." The land does not seem to have been recovered, but sev- eral generations later it was given back to the parish by the persons then holding it, and it is known to-day as u The Ministry Lot," lying just north of the church to the west of the North Rochester road. On a large slate gravestone in the front of Rochester Cemetery one may read : " In memory of ye Rev'd Timothy Ruggles, pastor of ye church in Rochester, who was an able Divine and a Faithful Minister. Having a peculiar talent at composing Differences and healing Divisions in Churches, he was much imployed in Ecclesiastical Councils and having spent his Days and his strength in the work of his Lord 84 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester and Master finished his Course with Joy and departed this Life October ye 26, 1768, in the 84th year of his age and the 58th of his Ministry." Minister Ruggles's successor in the First Church of Rochester was Rev. Jonathan Moore, ordained in 1768. He was a graduate of Harvard, and had been librarian of that college. Previous to his ordination also, he supplied for some months the pulpit of Brattle Street Church, Bos- ton, during the illness of Dr. Cooper, who attended his ordination at Rochester. His pastorate included the trying Revolutionary period, and on the alarm of Lexing- ton he joined one of the Rochester Companies as its chap- lain. It is said also that " he shouldered his musket and marched to Marshfield and also to Wareham during the Revolution." The " half-way Covenant," adopted in many New England churches in the eighteenth century 7 , began to influence Rochester church during the latter part of Mr. Ruggles's pastorate and was later supported by Mr. Moore. Perhaps this, as well as the religious decline under the infidel influence of France that was everywhere prevalent after the Revolution, had something to do with the disturbances that entered the First Church of Rochester during the last years of the eighteenth cen- tury, although the controversy seems to have been largely personal in its nature. Mr. Moore was dismissed in 1792, but refused to recog- nize such dismissal, and for a while rival services were held in the meeting-house and in Mr. Moore's own dwell- ing. His name was taken from the roll of the church as well, but before his death in 1814 he was received back into the full communion of the church. The Early Church and the Precincts 85 The anonymous writer of 1815, previously quoted, says of Mr. Moore : " He was a man of constitutional fearlessness of heart. The face of men in any garb had no terrors for him. — The latter days of Mr. Moore were embittered by dis- putes and lawsuits with his parish, finally issuing in his dismission. — He continued to preach to a part of the society more than two years in his dwelling-house, but in his closing years, renewed his communion with the church of which he had formerly been pastor. Mutual forgive- ness of injuries is a Christian virtue strictly enjoined on all; in a peculiar manner those who make profession of the Christian name. It is proper to state that in 1794 when Mr. M. sued for arrears in salary, the Supreme Judicial Court gave the cause in his favour but the jury returned a verdict otherwise." It seems probable that Mr. Moore had the technical rights of the case in his controversy with his church. Nevertheless, he was not, like Minister Ruggles, " skilled in the composing of differences." And the frictions of this period had something to do with the setting off of the Fourth Parish of Rochester in 1798. Yet in the words of Rev. H. L. Brickett, "Mr. Moore was an able fearless and scholarly man." During the first part of his pastorate he did good service for the church in Rochester and his well-written records and other writings have real historic value. He is buried in Rochester Cemetery, and beside him lies Susanna, the wife of his youth. On another stone near by, one may read " In memory of Capt. Jonathan Moore, son of Rev. Jonathan Moore and Susanna his wife. He was master of the ship Newport of Boston and on his pas- 86 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester sage to London in Sept. of 1800 the ship foundered in a storm, when he with all the people on board, being upwards of 20, perished in the 30th year of his age. God does the Raging Sea controul 'Tis He that rules the boisterous Deep, He makes the Sleeping Billows roll, He makes the rolling Billows sleep." The second wife of Minister Moore was Anna, the daughter of Polypus Hammond of Mattapoisett, and some of the descendants of this second marriage are now there living. About 1795 the people of Sippican, many of whom were opposed to Mr. Moore, began to hold preaching services in that part of the town. In 1798 the Fourth Precinct of Rochester was set off, and in 1791 a meeting- house (now the Luce store) was built in the lower village. One of the ministers who came to Sippican to preach during this period was Rev. Oliver Cobb, who proved to be a young man of promise and of power. The people of Sippican, however, had no desire to separate from the First Church, nor was either precinct desirous to assume the full support of a minister at that time. In 1799 the First Church of Rochester, made up of members of both precincts, extended a call to Mr. Cobb to be their pastor, the First Precinct agreeing that the pastor " should preach in the Fourth Precinct from a fourth to one half of the time." Practically, services were held alternately in the two meeting-houses during Mr. Cobb's pastorate. The call was accepted and Mr. Cobb was ordained and took up his residence on the road between the two meeting- houses, though within the limits of the Fourth Pre- cinct. The Early Church and the Precincts 87 The account of the forming of the Fourth Precinct is more fully given by Mr. Holmes in 1821, as follows: " In the first parish a great degree of unanimity pre- vailed until the year 1788, when an unhappy difficulty arose between the Rev. Mr. Moore the minister, and Major Earl Clapp a leading man in the church and parish. This difficulty though personal in its Commencement, very soon became general, and a more spirited controversy seldom if ever was known. This terminated in the dis- missal of Mr. Moore. In Feb. 1799 the Rev. Oliver Cobb was settled as the minister of that parish and of another parish in said town the origin of which will be narrated. — " In the year 1798 a number of the inhabitants of the S.E. part of the 1st parish living remote from the place of publick worship, having built a meeting-house petitioned the Legislature to be incorporated into a distinct parish, — the first parish accompanying said petition with a certificate that they had no objection to the prayer of said petition. They were accordingly incorporated. These petitioners had no idea of settling a minister by them- selves but of joining with the first parish in settling one who should preach alternately in each meetinghouse. They accordingly joined in settling Mr. Cobb, as before mentioned, — but they have a church (i.e. a meeting- house) separately in said parish, and a considerable part of both parishes can attend each meetinghouse, the meetinghouses being only 4 miles distant from each other." The following description of Rev. Oliver Cobb as well as that of Rev. Leander Cobb, Dr. Cobb's son and suc- cessor in the church at Sippican, is taken from an anni- 88 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester versary sermon preached by Rev. H. L. Brickett of Marion in 1903: " Rev. Oliver Cobb at the time of his coming to Rochester was 29 years of age, married, well fitted for the ministry and ready for service. In appearance he was slim, with a smooth face, medium height, and eyes as blue as the waters in Sippican Bay. He was a graduate of Brown University, from which he also received the degree of D.D. in 1834. " Two churches, Rehoboth and Rochester, desired his services and he asked the advice of an Indian as to which he should accept. The Indian, Yankee-like, replied with a question, 'What are you going to preach for?' and added, ' If you are going to preach for money go where the most money is; if you are going to preach for souls go where the most devil is.' And he came to Rochester. "In Mr. Cobb's family was a colored girl named Dinah, who was fond of Mr. Cobb and could not bear to hear him criticised. Once when some one had found fault with him in her hearing she burst forth, 'Anybody that talks about Dr. Cobb talks about a very wicked thing.' When Dr. Cobb heard of this he laughed and said, ' Dinah never spoke truer words.' " With Mr. Cobb's coming to the First Church of Roches- ter, it entered on a period of much harmony and pros- perity. During this ministry there were three revivals of marked power, in 1807 and 1808, in 1816 and in 1819, and many new members came into the church in both villages. In 1709 sacramental vessels were bought by the First Church for the " Harbour Meetinghouse." James Clark and Timothy Hiller were appointed deacons in that pre- The Early Church and the Precincts 89 cinct and thereafter the Communion Services were held alternately in the two villages. Thus by gradual steps there came to be virtually two fully equipped churches in the two parishes, though having the services of one minister in common. It was the older and larger precinct that first grew tired of this arrangement and desired the entire service of a pastor. In 1827 Rev. Jonathan Bigelow was called to be colleague pastor with Mr. Cobb. The council called to install Mr. Bigelow being asked the question: "Is it expedient that this church be divided?" replied that "It is expedient." So the church roll of members was di- vided, eighty-three members being assigned to the church in the First Precinct, and fifty-seven to the church in the Fourth Precinct, and Mr. Bigelow was installed as pastor in the First Precinct. Both churches were already fully equipped with officers, and the only change that occurred at this date was that the church at Rochester Center had a new pastor and both congregations now had services each Sabbath instead of on alternate Sabbaths. Some discussion arose as to the names of the two churches, and some spasmodic and inconsistent attempts were made to call the two churches the Central and South Churches of Rochester, until the incorporation of Marion gave a natural distinction, as, the Congregational churches of Rochester and of Marion. But in 1861 the following minute was placed on record by the church of the old First Precinct: " Resolved : — that this church was originally incor- porated as the First Congregational Church of Rochester — and that this is our only legal name. " Resolved : — that the title of the Central Church of 90 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Rochester by which we have sometimes allowed ourselves to be designated was only temporarily endured in con- sideration of the peculiar feelings of a former and beloved pastor now gone to his rest." When the church of the First Precinct moved into its new house of worship in 1837, Dr. Oliver Cobb preached the last sermon in the old meeting-house where he had ministered for twenty-eight years as pastor, and the building was then taken down. It seems entirely natural that Dr. Cobb, whose historic mind had done much to preserve and record the old church history of Rochester, ministering as he did to the day of his death in the same locality where he began his preach- ing and where his home was located, remembering also that within this precinct was the spot where the early settlers of the town first set up their altars of worship, should have clung to the old church name that for a whole generation had been applied to the church over which he ministered. After all, the truest view of these church relations seems to be that the old First Church of Rochester, organized in 1703 on Rochester Green, has found its natural con- tinuance in five ancient sister churches occupying the five territorial divisions that from the first were the recog- nized "quarters" of the Old Rochester territory. Between the years 1837 and 1845 all five of these Con- gregational churches thus formed out* of the old First Church of Rochester had new houses of worship of similar architecture, for which Solomon K. Eaton of Mattapoisett was architect and builder. The one at Wareham was burned in 1904, and has been replaced by a building of different architectural style. The other four of these 1r. • = r Z 'J H = The Early Church and the Precincts 91 meeting-houses are still in use. They all belong to what has been called the Third or Christopher Wren style of New England church architecture, though modified by the fact that all have square belfries instead of the usual pointed spire. After 1827, when the churches in the First and Fourth Precincts had without reorganization gone on their sep- arate ways, Rev. Oliver Cobb continued with the church at Sippican as its pastor until his death in 1849. In 1839 Rev. Leander Cobb became his father's col- league and later his successor. "He was a man of in- tellectual attainment and spiritual power, a graduate of Brown and of Andover, a gifted sermonizer and faithful pastor." Soon after his coming the new house of worship was begun, and its dedication and Mr. Cobb's installation occurred the same day, December 1, 1841. Rev. Leander Cobb was still the pastor of this parish when the Fourth Precinct of Old Rochester became the new town of Marion. Meanwhile, in the old First Precinct the new pastor, Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, installed in 1827, also was doing a noble work for the church and parish. He served for many years on the School Committee of the town, and was perhaps the most influential factor in the establish- ment of Rochester Academy (opened in 1839), which was for a generation a most potent educational force in the town. He also had much to do with the building opera- tions that produced within a few years, the church, acad- emy, and parsonage at Rochester Center. Mr. Bigelow was a man of intellectual power and held in a marked degree the affection and respect of his people. He was dismissed in 1849 and was succeeded by the Rev. Eli 92 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Harrington, who was pastor in the old First Precinct at the time of the division of the towns. But the sketch here given of the old precincts of Roches- ter would be very incomplete unless mention is made of other church organizations that grew up in the various parishes during the century and three quarters that com- prised the old town history. The first form of faith other than that of the legal parishes to find entrance into Rochester was that of the "Friends or Quakers." Meetings for worship among the Friends were begun in Rochester as early as 1702. In 1707 a preparative monthly meeting of Friends was started, this being subordinate to the regular monthly meeting at Apponegansett or Dartmouth. A meeting- house was built which stood for many years close beside the pound in North Marion. The burying-ground opposite the Methodist Church in the same vicinity is still known as the old Quaker burying-ground. About 1740 the relations of this preparative monthly meeting were transferred to the monthly meeting at Sandwich. In 1790 the rates of church taxes in Rochester by a vote of the towns were remitted to those "of contrery judgment who are professed Quakers." The chief minister or public speaker of this old Friends' Society was Nicholas Davis, who was a man of ability and in- fluence. After 1740 his membership was in the Sandwich monthly meeting. He died in 1755 while on a journey in New York State. The writer of 1815 previously quoted says of his own era, "The Friends of whom there has ever been some in the place, have a meetinghouse not far from the shore. There may be fifteen families now in the town." The Early Church and the Precincts 93 Regarding the conditions of the Friends in Rochester in 1821, Mr. Holmes writes: " In the N. W'ly part of the town are a number of the denomination of Quakers and attend religious worship in the northerly part of Fair Haven. About 2 miles S. easterly from the center of the town stands an Ancient Friends Meetinghouse [near the Pound, in North Marion]; but the society has for a great number of years been gradu- ally decreasing, and about 5 yrs since their publick speaker died at an advanced age, and it was thought the society would become extinct; but about that time a young gentleman who had recently assumed a religious charac- ter embraced their religious sentiments, altered his dialect and dress accordingly; resigned his commissions as a justice of the peace and a captain of the militia, joined their society and became a publick speaker. This event has had a considerable effect on the Society. If it has not increased their numbers, it has called the lukewarm into activity, has brought to the meeting occasionally many of the leading people of that denomination from New Bedford and Fairhaven and has brought to attend meeting some who before that were contented with their private devotions at home and will doubtless be the means of perpetuating the Society." The society was perpetuated, and now holds meetings in the white meeting-house in Mattapoisett on the road between Mattapoisett village and Marion. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, the Baptist faith began to spread rapidly in the southeast part of New England, largely through the preaching of Elder Backus of Titicut, who became the historian of the Baptist churches. According to Mr. Backus, a Baptist church 94 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester was established in Rochester in 1793. But the organiza- tion referred to seems to be the one that now worships in Long Plain, which had a large Rochester membership in its earlier years. The only Baptist society now within the limits of Old Rochester is in Mattapoisett, at first as a branch of the church at Long Plain. After a time the members be- came divided in opinion, and various attempts were made to start a Freewill Baptist Church, or some other kind of Baptist organization — but with only temporary effect. The church was reorganized several years ago as a "Church of the Christian Connection." Another "Christian Church" was started about the middle of the nineteenth century near Cushman's store in Rochester. But after a few years this was disbanded. In the article of 1821, Mr. Holmes writes: "A very considerable part of the inhabitants of this town are Baptists or Quakers, but Catholicism so far prevails that no considerable inconvenience arises there- from. In the election of any kind of officer, no attention is paid to the particular denomination of Christian to which the candidate belongs. An incorporated Baptist Society is in the S. W. part of the town who have a meeting- house. And a number more in the N.W. part of the town are incorporated with a Baptist Society in the northerly part of Fair-Haven. Most of the people of the north- easterly part of the town belong to a Baptist Society in Middleboro, and in the S. E'ly part of the town a number of Baptists have associated together." About 1841-3 an Adventist movement, known as the "Miller Excitement," spread through New England, and had considerable influence in some parts of Rochester, The Early Church and the Precincts 95 especially among the Baptists, and a church was formed at Mattapoisett. During the first half of the nineteenth century two Universalist churches were organized, in Sippican Lower Village and in Mattapoisett. In 1821 Mr. Holmes writes: "In the Second Parish some of the Congregational order who had a degree of dislike to their minister's preaching joined with a number of the Baptist denomina- tion and a few Universalians and built the present year a meetinghouse, but a small distance from the parish meet- inghouse. This house is not claimed by any particular denomination, but is open to all without exception." In 1828 the Universalist Church in Sippican was or- ganized. In 1838 the society in Mattapoisett built a new meeting-house at the corner of Church and Barstow streets. Through much of the history of these two churches the same minister has supplied both pulpits. Some time before 1830 Methodism began to find its way into Rochester. A Protestant Methodist society was formed in North Rochester and built a meeting-house near Sniptuit Pond. Philip Crandon, the pastor of this church, was for some years one of the School Committee of Rochester. During the years of rotation of the town meetings one town meeting was held in this old meeting- house. The building was afterwards converted into Allen's store. Another old Protestant Methodist society was formed in Sippican, and worshiped for some years in the old disused building on the woodland road that runs between Plymouth road and Wareham road. The society went down many years ago, and has been superseded by 96 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the present Methodist Episcopal Church at North Marion. In 1825 a Union meeting-house was built at about the geographical center of the present town of Rochester, on a lot given by Joseph Purrington. It was dedicated in the fall of 1825, and services began to be held there, Elder Pliny Brett u reading the sermon." The society has been several times reorganized, being once a Methodist society for some years, but later made a Congregational society. The first building was burned and another built on the same site. Preaching is now held at this meeting-house, being supplied by neighboring pastors. In East Rochester a Methodist church was established near the middle of the nineteenth century, but it has since been reorganized as a Congregational church. There are no other than Congregational churches in the territory of the present town of Rochester. Within a few years two Episcopal chapels have been built within the Old Rochester limits, St. Gabriel's Chapel in Marion, and St. Philip's Chapel in Mattapoisett. Both are supported mainly by the summer residents, and hold services only in summer. CHAPTER VI THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY rpHE year 1700 is recognized in the Rochester Records x as marking an epoch in the town history. "The Center" was now established; the meeting-house had been built. The general layout of the town was in a good degree determined. It remained for the town to develop its entire territory in accordance with the deci- sions that had been made. During the first decade of the eighteenth century the boundaries of the town were again examined and agreed upon. The road system was more definitely developed. The church was organized, plans for schools were entered upon, and some new industries were undertaken. The ecclesiastical history that began with the founding of the First Church in 1703 has already been told. The other lines of town development during the period when Rochester was under the Province Government form the subject of the present chapter. In 1695 the bounds with Middleboro were laid out. In 1698 the town settled anew its boundaries with Ply- mouth; in 1701 with Dartmouth; and in 1702 the bounds on the north were still further fixed with "the tomsons of Middleberry" and others. An important bound and landmark through all the town history has been Peak Rock, which stands on the Long Plain road, and bears 98 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the date 1664, the year when Dartmouth was incorpo- rated. It became the corner of three towns, Dartmouth, Freetown, and Rochester, also of Plymouth and Bristol counties. By a change of boundary line, however, it is no longer a corner of Freetown. One of the most important tasks of the settlers was to open roads and build bridges, which were often corduroy roads of pine logs laid over swampy tracts. Several ancient Indian paths formed the beginning of the road system. One of these was the u Old Path " from Plymouth, which was for generations a part of the stage road from Plymouth to Dartmouth. Intersecting the * Old Path," a little northeast of Mary's Pond, was a long and ancient pathway leading from Sand- wich to Dartmouth, passing through Rochester Center in front of the burying-ground. It was known in the early town history as the " Country Road," and very many of the early roads were laid out as beginning at the " Country Road." In Wareham this road was also called "Sand- wich Path," and in Rochester, the " Rhode Island Path" ; the " Rhode Island Path " being also at a later date a part of the stage route between Plymouth and New Bedford. There were other Rhode Island paths leading from Plymouth besides the one through Rochester. Weston's History of Middleboro speaks of a " Rhode Island Path " through Middleboro and Assonet. In Massachusetts His- torical Collections [1815] we read; "There are two roads leading from Plymouth to New Bedford, the first thirty- two miles, by Rochester passing much woods, with but a few scattered settlements, is yet a pleasant route, ex- cept that cross roads in obscure situations may mislead an entire stranger. The second, thirty-six miles by The Eighteenth Century 99 Middleboro, is a more open and obvious route, with continued settlements. These roads diverge about two miles from Plymouth on the summit of 'Sparrow's Hill,' the first being the left hand." Each of the old roads from Plymouth to New Bedford seems to have been constructed on an ancient Indian "Rhode Island Path." Another old Indian trail came down from Middleboro, passing the site of the Union meeting-house. Its con- tinuation down the west shore of Sippican was called the "Old Bay Path." There was another Old Middleboro Path from the Middleboro Ponds into Mattapoisett, and an ancient pathway in Mattapoisett was also sometimes called the "Bay Path." There was another cross-road or trail connecting the Sandwich Path with Dartmouth, but lying nearer to the sea than the "Country Road." It may have been over this path that Captain Church traveled on his way westward to meet Queen Awashonks. Such Indian trails or paths were definite but narrow, and for foot passengers only. Later, they became for the colonists bridle-paths, and on many of them the towns afterwards laid out their wagon roads. In 1694 several important roads were built in Rochester. In this year a road was definitely built on the " Old Path " beginning at " Middleberry bounds," and following the "Old Path till it came to Boxberry Swamp." In 1739, when Wareham was incorporated, its boundary was to be "Sippican River, as far as Mendell's Bridge, and thence as ye Rhode now Lieth to Plymouth till it meets with the Middleborough line." This ancient road that "lieth to Plymouth" is still the boundary between Rochester and Wareham, so that the village which has grown up on the two sides of the road is a little uncertain as to whether it LOFC. 100 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester belongs to East Rochester or West Wareham, and in common parlance it is usually "Pierceville." Another long and important road laid out in 1694 followed perhaps in general the last of the Indian paths that have been referred to. It is described as beginning on the west side of Mattapoisett River, and after crossing the river and going near Moses Barlow's house, it con- tinued to the long bridge and Joseph Benson's " along the road that lieth to Aaron Barlow's" and then on to the " Sipycan road near John Mendell's," " which is the ex- tent of our Doings." After the opening of the eighteenth century, a new activity in road-building manifested itself. It is impos- sible to give an accurate account of the roads as they were successively laid out. The long descriptions, dealing largely with rocks and marked " Oak Trees," would be unintelligible to modern readers. In Town Book No. 10, however (in accordance with a vote of the town in 1824), Abraham Holmes, who was then town clerk, compiled from the older town records an index and abridgment of some of the early town affairs, including a condensed description of the laying out of roads in Rochester after 1700. From Mr. Holmes's abridgment of the original road records the following still more condensed description has in the main been compiled, and though too brief to be an exact description of the roads, it may yet give some general impression of the development of the highway system, and also show something of the location of the homes of the early settlers. After the year 1700, the town of Rochester laid out roads as follows: The Eighteenth Century 101 1704. Towards the Mill {i.e., the Sippican Mill Dam) touching John White's land and an old bridge, Anthony Coomb's land, and so to Kenelm Wins- low's land. 1704. From the Country Road by Joshua Spooner's and west end of Kenelm Winslow's land, west to Arnold's and on to Whitridge's land. 1705-6. A very long highway, beginning east side of the Ministry Land, "where the Country Road crosses it," "Nye the meetinghouse," crossing Joseph Dotey's land, and the bridge near James Stewart's house, and afterwards dividing into two roads, towards Charles's Neck and Matta- poisett. (The Dexter and Parlow roads and the disused woods roads beyond.) 1716. From Common Landing, near Samuel Hammond's Island to Thomas Clarke's land. 1718. Near George Danforth, by Benjamin Dexter's. 1718. Into Crawmesit Neck. 1718. Beginning at Country Road, on top of a hill near Isaac Bumpus' field. 1720. Into Great Neck. 1727. (Altered) the road to Cornelius Clarke's Dwelling House. 1729. Joshua Coggeshall's to Thomas Clark's land, near Quitticus Ponds. 1734. Quaker Meeting-house to Occoot. 1737. Road by Joshua Cowing's altered. 1739. Occoot to Ephraim Dexter's. 1739. Mattapoisett meeting-house to Josiah Dexter's. 1746. Peaked Rock by John Shearman's, to Quitticus Brook. 102 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 1746. From aforesaid road (by Peaked Rock) by Deacon Elislia Freeman, Peter Crapo, Isaac Freeman, and William Clark. 1747. From Isaac Freeman's by James Lord's to east corner of Thomas Whitridge's land. 1750. From the road between Peaked Rock and Quit- ticus brook to Freetown line. 1753. John Hammond's to Dartmouth line. 1754. From Elisha Freeman's Corner eastward. 1756. From Seth Snow's into Pine Island. 1757. From John Stetson's to Mattapoisett, through lands of John Steward, William Rotch, and Charles Stetson, and others. 1762. From Winslow's and Rider's gristmill, by Ezra Clarke's. 1772. Sniptuit Neck near Nathaniel Clark's. 1772. Road by the Haunted House (altered). 1774. Middleboro line to Seth Randall's. 1775. Dartmouth line to Isaac Pope's. 1778. Dartmouth line to John Hammett's. 1780. Middleboro line by Stillwater Mills. 1781. From Samuel Rider's across Horse Neck to Aaron Sturtevant's. 1785. Enoch Hammond's to Mattapoisett Neck. 1785. From Mr. Moore's Meeting-house, by Elisha Barrows's, over Muddy Brook, towards the Friends' Meeting-house, giving up two roads already trod, so as to maintain but one bridge (present road from the Center towards Marion). 1786. Road by Mr. Moore's. 1787. From Deacon Whitridge's to the schoolhouse (altered). The Eighteenth Century 103 1787. Over Rock Bridge by Capt. Joshua Snow's. 1792. Hannah Dotey's to Seth Randall's. 1793. Near John Ellis's. 1793. By Samuel Rider's house. 1799. Highway districts established. 1801. Old Landing to Sippican Wharf. 1801. From Silas Handy's to the wharf. 1805. Over Wolf Island. 1806. At Horse Neck by Moses Mendell's. 1807. From John Crapo's to Nicholas Davis's (widened). 1807. Peaked Rock to Middleboro altered. 1808. Into Mattapoisett Neck from Nathaniel Ham- mond's. 1810. Near Philip Dexter's. 1810. Into Mattapoisett Neck west of Isaac Barrow's land. 1811. At the Old Landing. 1815. First vote to raise money to clean away snow and mend bridges caused by freshets. 1818. Across Captain Mitchell's land. 1819. By Nicholas Snow's (altered). 1819. From Captain Mitchell's to Nathan Sears, Jr. 1819. At Mattapoisett by Benjamin Barstow's. 1824. From Schoolhouse near A. Mantor's. 1824. At the Old Landing. 1824. Three roads near Rider's Mill. 1825. At Wharf village eastward. 1825. At Horse Neck by Moses Mendell's. 1825. Near Alden Mantor's discontinued. 1827. Streets at Mattapoisett village. 1832. At Mattapoisett village. 1832. On Mattapoisett Neck. 104 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 1832. From Eben Holmes's to Wharf village. 1832. Into Charles's Neck by John Clark's. With the opening of the eighteenth century the indus- tries of the town received new attention. In 1700 the town voted: "That Ensign Isaac Holmes repair to Sniptuit Brook and repaire the weare and take the allowance which is to be taken, and he is also appointed to divide the fish 5000 to each family taking those that live nearest the weare first and to have 6d for each thousand so delivered or a peck of corn next fall besides one shilling to be paid down when the fish are delivered." The herring fishery has always been an important source of food in Rochester as well as of income to the town treasury. In 1821 we are told that the income of the herring fishery was about $400 annually. The so- called herrings of the New England coasts are, strictly speaking, "alewives." The true herring is an ocean fish of somewhat mysterious habits that swims in vast shoals, and is one of the most important kinds of food fish of the world. The alewives much resemble the true herring, but by careful writers in the early days they were always carefully distinguished from the herring to which the colonists had been accustomed on European shores. In local parlance, however, the name, "alewive" was long ago dropped for " herring." At the beginning of Roches- ter history herrings (or alewives) were seined in the streams of Wareham, and on the setting off of Wareham a weir was reserved for Rochester on the Weweantit River. The appointment of Isaac Holmes to the charge of the The Eighteenth Century 105 Sniptuit weare shows that herrings also came abundantly into Sniptuit pond. They came in through the Taunton River, however, and the weir was on the stream now known as North Rochester Brook. An elevation called "Old Weir Hill " is on the Gerrish farm near by, and here may be seen to-day traces of the dwelling once occupied by Experience Holmes, who was a nephew of Isaac Holmes, the first herring inspector of Rochester. In 1755 an artificial channel from Mattapoisett River led to the yearly passage of vast shoals of herrings into Sniptuit by this route, and since then the Mattapoisett River has been especially the herring river. On this river there are now three weirs, two in Rochester and one in Mattapoisett. At the Mattapoisett weir certain mills are also located that were owned by Old Rochester before the town division and are known as "town mills." Al- though this mill privilege is not at present highly improved, the mills as well as the fishery are still owned by the three towns in common, and are under the care of the herring inspectors. February 6, 1699-1700, "Libertie" was given to any of " the proprietors to sett up a mill for Iron Works — if more than eight purchasers do appear to carry on and build sd mill," but it was to be in "Some sutable place where it may be secure from hurting people by cuting choyse timber." No definite record is given as to any mill being * set up," but at an early date there was an iron mill at Leonard's Pond (or Sippican Mills). Also a blast furnace was in early operation at Stillwater Mills in North Rochester. The iron works at Sippican Mills seem to have been quite extensive, for in 1821 we are told there were a forge, 106 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester a trip hammer shop and a foundry u all on the Sippican River." The largest deposit of iron ore was in Lake Quitticus. It was taken from the lake with an instrument resembling tongs, and the industry was attended with sonic danger. In Middleboro several instances of drowning are recorded in getting ore from " Assawampsett Pond." There was also some ore in Sniptuit Pond, and further south along the streams. In a brook which flows from u the iron country " through Rochester Center, one may to-day find stones showing traces of iron. In the iron works at Leonard's Pond (or Sippican Mills) there was a trip-hammer by which the iron was converted into "blooms" or masses of iron of oblong shape. These iron " blooms " were then sent to Ware- ham, where they were rolled out into bars and then cut into small slits to be hammered later into the form of nails. Of the iron works in North Rochester, Mr. Holmes says : " In the north of the town is a furnace called ' Stillwater Furnace,' on account of the sluggishness of the stream. It stands on Black River, which rises in Middleboro, and only the S. E. end of it is in Rochester. Its opera- tion is confined to the winter season, and then it is very productive." At the Stillwater mills the crude ore was melted in the puddling furnace and iron castings were made. In 1725, Major Edward Winslow of Sniptuit was em- powered to set up an iron mill "on the Mattapoisett River." Rounseville's sawmill in Rochester was formerly known as the Winslow mill, but it is not certain that iron was ever manufactured at this site. At Hartley's mill, however, a little farther north, there are traces of an old The Eighteenth Century 107 iron industry, and this may have been the site of Major Winslow's old iron works. In 1821 the iron works of Rochester seem to have been in regular operation, though Mr. Holmes records that the usefulness of the forge was cramped by the scarcity of water during the summer season. A few years later the town appointed certain agents to look after the town's deposits of iron ore which had been neglected, and to gather the ore and sell it to some iron works. But no report of these agents is recorded, and it seems probable that the whole iron business was about this time dis- continued. Pasturage was an important source of wealth in Roches- ter throughout the eighteenth century. About 1732 many pages of records are given to the "distinguishing marks of the Cretures " of various owners, — a crop or half crop " on the nere ear," " two pennies under the ear," holes and crosses, a " flower de luce," "slits cut slantwise," and other marks by which the animals were to be known. Thus in 1778 David Dexter marked his cattle with "2 slits in the end of the left ear," which was the same mark that had been used by his grandfather, Caleb Dexter, many years before. Much legislation was also needed to keep the "Sheep- rams" within limits, and the swine properly "yoaked and ringed," as they ran at large over the common lands of the proprietary. In 1726 it was specified that a notice of a " Ram or Rames," running at large must be posted, " if in the village called the center at the hous of John Clapp and if in the village called Sipycan at the hous of John Briggs and if in the village called Sniptuit at the hous of Capt. Edward Winslow & if in the fresh meadow village 108 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester & Weweantit at Isaac Bumpus his mill & if in Matta- poyset village at the house of John Hammond." It is related of Timothy Ruggles, Jr., afterward the noted Tory leader, that once, for a practical joke, he suc- ceeded in having a law passed that all the men who owned swine should have their noses ringed; a vote that later had to be recast so as to make it apply to the animals rather than the men. Something of the social and educational condition of Rochester in the early part of the eighteenth century may be learned from a diary begun in 1711, by Joseph Prince, the fifteen-year-old son of Samuel Prince, and continued at intervals for some years. It is a little book of seven- teen leaves, stitched together, and begins with the heading: " Joseph Prince, His Book. Anno Domini. Remarks. Aug. 4, 1711 Aage 15 years at hom." Then comes the first laconic daily entry: " da 4 Rany, Right, Read." But most days were not "Rany," and the boy records his daily work — " drive plow," "mow," "cut sproughts," "Rak and Cok Hay." "Reed and Ketch fish," and various other employments. It was a busy life that was led by the boys of Rochester in 1711. But the Prince home was one of education and culture, and each leisure hour or rainy day gave an opportunity always improved, to "Reed, Right and Sifer." Some- thing of the books then accessible may be learned from one entry, "An Accompt of the books that I rede out." It includes a list of thirty books, headed by " the bibel." Some of these are general books of history or information, The Eighteenth Century 109 as "A Discourse Concerning Comets." Others are re- ligious books and include the following titles: "Time and the End of Time," — "Contemplations on Mortality," — "Now or Never the time to be saved," — "The Joy of Faith," — "The Foly of Sinning," — "The Sincear Convert," — " The poor Doughting Christian drawn to Christ." The first movement to provide a school in Rochester occurred in 1704, when a rate of ten pounds was voted to be put into Minister Arnold's hands for the support of a schoolmaster, and the next year the selectmen were em- powered to "engage some able person to teach children and Youth to Reed and Right," at a wage of two shill- ings a week with "dyet washing and lodging." Some other references to a school are made about 1705, but exactly what was done is not made clear, nor whether any teacher was really engaged. September 5, 1711, "mrs. jane masshell" was engaged as teacher, at a salary of twelve pounds a year and her " dyet," but three men of the town, "Joseph Benson, John dexter and ichobod burg," entered a protest that she was "not as the law directs." This uncomplimentary remark does not seem to have referred to Mrs. Masshell's moral character, but to her teaching qualifications, for in other years, schoolmasters were examined and duly approved as being "qualified as the law directs." But "jane mas- shell's" teaching service, if entered on at all, was short, for the following February John Myers was engaged "to sarve in the office of Skollmaster." He held the position for several years, beginning with a salary of twelve pounds and " dyet," which a year later was increased to sixteen pounds, and still later to twenty pounds. 110 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The school was migratory, lots being cast for the order of the terms, and the town being divided sometimes into four, but usually into five " quarters " for school purposes. The villages named as having terms of school include always Sippican, Mattapoisett, and either "the Center," "the Town," or "Whitehall" (the name of Mr. Prince's residence). During several years while the Prince family lived in Rochester, both u Whitehall " and " the Town or Meetinghouse Quarter" had school terms assigned to them, but a little later, "Whitehall or the Town" is named as having one term of school. In 1711 Pine Island is named as a school quarter, but this is not continued in later years. The earliest schools at Wareham were at "Fresh Meddows," but later "Weweyantit" is the lo- cality given. After 1723 Sniptuit becomes one of the school quarters. In 1717 Samuel Prince was empowered to provide the town with a grammar school, and in that year it was voted that " William Griffeth be schoolmaster for a quarter of a year, if he will agree on terms." In 1722-3 Timothy Ruggles and Samuel White examined Mr. Josiah Masshell (was this Mrs. jane Masshell's son?), and "did approve of him as a fltt person Quallified as the Law Directs." For a considerable number of years Benjamin De La Noy (Delano) was the town's schoolmaster. His salary rose as high as thirty pounds and his "dyet," and he was also provided with "the use of a horse." Hon. Abraham Holmes (born in 1754) wrote near the end of his long life, some " Memoirs," or a chronicle of events within his memory, in which he speaks of the schools of his boyhood as follows: "An old fashioned school was kept in Town of 12 The Eighteenth Century 111 months in a year. Sometimes a year was missed. This kept 3 months in each quarter of the Town, kept by men of very limited education. They generally were tolerable readers and wrote a legible hand — one by the name of Palmer was a fine penman. They were also possessed of the common rules of arithmetic and some of them understood something of surveying and navigation. What was taught in these schools was reading writing and the common rules of arithmetic. Nothing was said about grammar, composition, speaking, geography, or history. The schools were called to spell at night and to say the catechism on Saturday at noon. Very few books were then. Most families had a Bible, Testament a Salter and Spelling book, and a man could carry on his back the libraries of the professional men. Teaching surveying or navigation was not considered as a part of the duty of the schoolmaster, if they taught them they had separate pay. I believe about half a month's wages." Writing of himself in the third person, Mr. Holmes says: "No public school was kept in that part of the town then. ... He never had the benefit of a spelling book till after he was a man grown. However, by the assiduity of his parents and his sisters he was learned to read well, very well. He then took a fancy to writing, but it was with difficulty he could procure paper for the purpose, but he was indefatigable in attempting the formation of letters when he could obtain paper. ... In 1766 Mr. Wil- liams taught a public school in that Quarter of the Town, to that he went, being the first time he was ever in a school. Writing was his object then ; he went a fortnight, but made no proficiency." 112 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The school system of Rochester continued to be of the itinerary type for many years. Lots for the order of the terms are recorded as late as 1766. In 1770 a vote was passed about maintaining a grammar school. In 1789 the law of the State allowing towns to divide themselves into school districts was passed, and in 1799 the district system was adopted in Rochester. An office that was held in much respect in New England during the eighteenth century was that of Justice of the Peace. Justices were appointed for seven years and had jurisdiction over minor claims and offences. Justices' courts were often held in Rochester. A justice had the title Esquire, and was given power to administer oaths and perform marriages. Many of the marriages recorded in Rochester were by Justices of the Peace, although by the middle of the eighteenth century it was becoming common for ministers also to perform this duty. The following Justices are named as performing marriages in Rochester : Peleg Whitridge, Abraham Holmes, Joseph Meigs, John Martin, Elisha Ruggles, Nathan Willis, Elijah Willis, James Ruggles, Noah Sprague, David Wing, Nathaniel Sprague. The following persons held the office of town clerk in Old Rochester, several of them serving for many years: Mark Haskell, Peter Blackmer, Samuel Sprague, Samuel Wing, William Raymond, Noah Sprague, James Foster, Seth Dexter, David Wing, Aaron Norton, Nathan Willis, Micah H. Ruggles, Abra'm Holmes, James Rug- gles, Rogers L. Barstow, W T . N. Ellis, Nahum Leonard, Jr., Theophilus King. The names of the selectmen of Rochester before 1697 The Eighteenth Century 113 have not been fully preserved. During 160 years, from 1697 to 1857, the following persons served on the Board of Selectmen for the old town: Increase Clap, John Hammond, Benjamin Dexter, Aaron Barlow, John Summers, Elisha Wing, Timo Davis, John Randall, Peter Blackmer, Samuel Hammond, John Wing, John Benson, John White, John Briggs, Benjamin Dexter, William Griffeth, Joshua Lawrence, Benjamin Hammond, Edward Winslow, Samuel Sprague, John Dexter, John Cowing, Jeremiah Lout, Roger Haskell, Caleb Blakwell, Elisha Wing, Joseph Blackmer, Nicholas Snow, John Freeman, Samuel Wing, Noah Sprague, James Whitcomb, C Briggs, James Foster, Silas Briggs, Elisha Barrows, Elisha Freeman, Barzillai Ham- mond, Seth Hiller, Antipas Hammond, Seth Dexter, Nathaniel Hammond, David Wing, Nathaniel Ruggles, John Hammond, Samuel Sprague, Enoch Hammond, Samuel Ruggles, John Doty, Jabez Cottle, Melatiah White, John Burges, Stephen Wing, Nathaniel Sprague, Abra- ham Holmes, Aaron Norton, G. B. Nye, Joseph Gifford, Charles Sturtevant, Nicholas Davis, Harper Delano, Bisbe, Nathan Willis, Wilson Bars tow, N. Hammond, Gideon Barstow, Caleb Briggs, Timothy Hiller, Timothy Davis, Nathan Jenne, Joshua Pierce, John Church, Stephen Hammond, Stephen Delano, Charles J. Holmes, George King, Benjamin Barstow, Jr., Thomas Bassett, Peleg Whitridge, Philip Crandon, Eben Holmes, Elijah Willis, Noble E. Bates, Butler Wing, Amittai B. Ham- mond, Theophilus King. In the early part of the eighteenth century, the question of sending a representative to the General Court of the province seems to have been optional with the towns. 114 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Later, this became a requirement, and in 1773 thirty towns of Massachusetts were fined for neglect of this duty. Rochester from an early date showed a stronger public spirit than some of the other towns in the neighborhood, and usually was represented in the province, though occa- sionally the vote to send a representative was passed in the negative. The representatives from Rochester to the General Court before the Revolution include the following names: Samuel Prince, John Hammond, Thomas Dexter, Jo- seph Benson, Thomas Turner, Benjamin Hammond, John Freeman, Timothy Ruggles, Jr., Noah Sprague, Elisha Barrows, Samuel Wing, Nathaniel Ruggles, Samuel Sprague. In 1720, owing to the scarcity of money in New Eng- land, the province made a grant of 50,000 pounds to be loaned in the towns. In 1721 Rochester voted to act on the town's part of this loan (which was 365 pounds), John Briggs and Benjamin Dexter being sent as agents to fetch the money into the town. Each person who borrowed money was to give bonds with a personal (not "real") security, and to pay a small interest to the town, and fourpence a pound to the agents for their services. The money could be held for four years, unless the town drew it in. The sum that could be loaned was divided into fifteen parts, and the persons who might draw were decided by lot. The fortunate citizens who drew the lot were Capt. Isaac Holmes, Nathan Hammond, James Steward, John Randall, Samuel Griffith, Samuel Sprague, Moses Barlow, William Raymond, Eben Holmes, Samuel Shearman, Joseph Haskell, John Dexter, Joseph Prince, William Noyes, Thomas Randall. The Eighteenth Century 115 In 1749 the currency of the colony was regulated. Two kinds of paper money had been in circulation, in which a shilling of the new tenor was equal in value to three shillings of the old tenor. Both kinds were now redeemed by the Spanish milled dollar, and after March, 1750, all debts were payable in coined silver under a law which made a shilling a sixth part of the Spanish dollar or sixteen and two thirds cents, so that the colonial pound equalled $3.33^ in silver. Money reckonings on this basis continued in use in Massachusetts for several gen- erations. During the Revolution the whole money system became again greatly demoralized. There is in existence an old tax roll of Rochester, made out in 1776, Nathaniel Hammond, David Wing, and John Doty being the assessors. This early tax list contains a mysterious set of entries regarding a "faculty tax." Thus in addition to his poll tax and tax for real and personal estate, a man might be called on to pay perhaps five shillings twopence as a "faculty tax." As we read the quaint record, together with the later information that " The tailor was taxed for his faculty," there comes over us an amused sense of shrewdness in these hard-headed old New Englanders in thus levying taxes on the well-known Yankee "faculty" or "knack at doing things." But a moment later, " Web- ster" takes the force out of this interesting suggestion by informing us that a "faculty" was a "license" or per- mission giving a "right to act." Between 1735 and the Revolution, a large number of families from Rochester and some from Dartmouth emi- grated to the town of Hardwick in Worcester County. The father of Minister Ruggles, Samuel Ruggles of 116 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Roxbury, had for some years held proprietary rights in the lands at Hardwick, which was called the Elbows, and was still mostly unsettled. About 1732, his father having died, Rev. Timothy Ruggles made a visit to the Elbows, and after this undertook to promote its settlement. The names of Dexter, Sprague, Wing, Foster, Winslow, and Haskell are among the Rochester names that became repre- sented at Hardwick. Joseph Haskell, the youngest son of Mark Haskell, became an active agent in securing settlers for Hardwick, though he never moved there himself. In Mr. Ruggles's own large family of twelve children, six of the sons found homes finally in Hardwick. A family of nephews of Mr. Ruggles by the name of Robin- son were also among the Hardwick pilgrims; also a son- in-law, Paul Mendell from Dartmouth, who became prominent in the affairs of the new town. The best known of these Hardwick emigrants was Timothy Rug- gles, Jr., who, after practising law for some years in Roches- ter, moved in 1753 to Hardwick, the most noted events of his life being subsequent to that period. He served with distinction in the French War of 1755, attaining the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1765, Ruggles, Partridge, and Otis were sent as the three delegates from Massa- chusetts to the Stamp Act Congress in New York, Ruggles being chosen President of the body. But his rulings gave dissatisfaction to the Whigs, and Ruggles was repri- manded publicly. In 1774 he accepted the office of Mandamus Councillor under direct appointment by the crown. The members of this Council were held in greater odium than any other class of officers, and their appoint- ment greatly hastened the acts of rebellion in Boston. General Ruggles now became an open Tory. His coun- The Eighteenth Century 117 trymen turned against him, his home in Hardwick was mobbed, and in 1776, after the evacuation of Boston, General Ruggles with most of the other Tories of New England moved to Nova Scotia. The French wars that preceded the Revolution made heavy demands on the towns of the old colony. In 1755 General Winslow of Marshfield was sent with a body of Massachusetts troops to remove the inhabitants of Acadia, Nova Scotia. These people were of French descent, and though they were called " Neutrals " they were suspected of giving secret aid to the French. Gen- eral Winslow declared that the order was disagreeable to his natural make and temper, and that his principles of implicit obedience as a soldier were put to a severe test, but the order was carried out. In the rolls of soldiers in this Acadian (or Eastern) expedition, the towns from which the soldiers came are not named, but it seems certain that men from Rochester were in this expedition. On the return of the expedition one thousand of these unhappy French exiles were brought to Massachusetts and parceled out to the different towns, a number being apportioned to Rochester. They were strangers and exiles among people speaking a strange tongue. For some years they were a public charge, and various bills for " C loath for the french," and for "keep- ing the old french" appear on the town books. Several petitions for relief on account of the "nutural french" were sent to the General Court. Some of the Acadian people, however, became assimilated later among New Englanders, and some of the family names of French origin that are found in New England to-day may be traced to this Acadian source. 118 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester In the later campaigns of the French and Indian War at Crown Foint, Ticonderoga, and in Canada, there were many soldiers from Rochester. Captain Bradford's com- pany in Col. Thomas Dotey's regiment in service in Canada, 17.58-1 700, was composed largely of Rochester men. Captain Pratt's company in the same regiment, and Capt. Abel Keen's company in another regiment, also had some Rochester men. In the hospital records at Crown Point, Rochester names may be found. In Col. Timothy Ruggles's regiment, among many Hardwick names, one may find some that were evidently from Rochester originally. Between 1700 and 17G3 also a considerable number of new recruits from Rochester were gathered. With the fall of Quebec the power of the French in America was broken, and in 1763 a treaty of peace was signed at Paris. The Colonial armies were kept up, however, and continued to contain men enrolled from Rochester for some years longer. Near the middle of the eighteenth century there were several epidemics of illness that were distressing and fatal. Mr. Holmes makes mention of a "throat dis- temper," which raged in Rochester in 1754, and proved fatal to almost all who were seized with it. He himself, an infant less than a year old, was attacked, but his father, having heard of a remedy known to an Indian named Nathan Hope, and to three white men, and called by them " Cold water root," procured some for his child, who quickly recovered. In the powdered medicine there was one piece of root which was not pulverized. The father planted it in his garden to see if it would grow. It did so, The Eighteenth Century 119 and developed into a wild herb common to all the region. The remedy thus became known, and from this time for- ward the " distemper " was no longer to be greatly dreaded. Minister Le Baron writes: "In 1758 a slow, putrid fever raged in Second Precinct, and proved mortal to thirty in about three months, population 250. It is observable that the inhabitants of a few houses which are situated on the East side of extensive flat swamps have been peculiarly subject to bilious acute diseases and con- sumptions and sudden deaths have in a remarkable man- ner been the Lot of those who have indulged themselves in the use of distilled spirituous liquors." In times of public distress, whether from illness or from drought, fast-days were appointed and services were held in the churches to pray for relief. Under the head of " Remarkable Providences," the old First Church Book records some signal answers to prayers for rain in this and neighboring parishes, among which are the following: "August 12th a fast Day was kept at Wareham on account of a great Drought and that Day before night there was a good plentifull rain over the town and none in the next, the very dividing line of the Towns Divided (as it were) the clouds. Also, the next day fast day was kept at Middleborough new precinct and a plentifull rain fell the same night. At which time the Rev'd. Mr. Peter Thatcher of Middleborough gave us an account of two more parishes that kept a fast day on ye account of ye Drought within a fortnight of the time above expressed who had an immediate answer of prayer by rain and it extended only over the parish who kept sd day and no elsewhere." 120 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester June 24, 1741, "a fast day was kept at Dartmouth on acct. of the Drought and it was known before, so the Quakers gave out word as they Desired it may not rain next day (tho much needed) for if it Did the ministers and people who attended would say It was owing to sd prayers, but God in his Justice Goodness & mercy was pleased to give a gracious answer & it began to rain before the forenoon service was over & continued till night. It was much the same in Rochester." In the records of the First Church occurs also the fol- lowing : "Rochester, Aug. 9, 1770 Being a day set apart by ye chh for prayer & fasting on account of a severe drought ye chh were stayed after public service & voted that ye Scriptures should be read as part of ye Public worship on Lord's Day." With the long sermons and prayers that were the rule in the churches, and the length of time it took to sing a Psalm, one need scarcely wonder that Scripture reading had been neglected as a feature of public worship. The Psalm, "turned into meter," was lined off, or "deaconed" by some appointed person, and when sung to the slow tunes then in vogue, the singing was a work of time. The Bay Psalm Book was everywhere in use in this region at the middle of the eighteenth century. Two generations later, "Watts and Select" had almost the same universal distinction. In the early years only a few church tunes were known, two or three for each meter offering the usual range of choice. In 1748 the First Parish voted that "Whereas some- times Deacon Elisha Freeman is absent who is appointed to set the Psalm, it is voted in his absence that Josephus The Eighteenth Century 121 Hammond do it, and in his absence Mr. Joseph Lovel, and in his Mr. Seth Dexter do it." During the eighteenth century all over New England a contest arose between the advocates of "singing by rote" and "singing by rule." The feeling of those who opposed "singing by rule" was thus expressed by one writer of the age : " If they sing by rule they will also pray by rule and preach by rule, and then comes popery." But the "singing by rule" party finally tri- umphed. Near the time of the Revolution many books of tunes were published. Some of them had marked in- novations in the style of tunes, and included some tunes with a strong accent and a triple time movement instead of the long uniform notes of the olden tunes. " Fuguing " also came into fashion, though at first strongly discountenanced by persons of sober mind. The New England Singing School became a marked feature of New England village life for two generations. The "taught" singers were also gathered into choirs, and " part singing " was developed. The emphasis in the music agitations before the begin- ning of the nineteenth century had shifted to the question of musical instruments in the churches. Pitch pipes were first introduced, then the bass viol, after that the violin, and various other instruments. Among the churches in this vicinity, that of Wareham seems to have been most strongly agitated by the bass viol question; and here a compromise was for a time arranged, giving leave to the bass viol to be " played every other Sunday, and not to Pitch the Tunes on the Sabbath that it don't play." The churches in Rochester did not escape these music dissensions, but the orchestral instruments made their way into use, retaining 122 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester their place until the advent of the melodeon, followed by that of the church organ, near the middle of the nineteenth century. During the eighteenth century the tithing-man was a regular parish officer, his duty being to prevent Sabbath desecration, or, as was recorded in the books of the First Parish, to * Inspect the Youth on the Lord's Day to pre- vent the profanation of the Lord's Day and to bring them to punishment if they don't reform." In 1748, at the First Precinct, it took ten of these tithing- men to vice. Tithing-men were on duty in Rochester for many years. From a letter by Henry B. Worth, Esq., of New Bedford, the following paragraph is (in substance) quoted: "The following advertisement appeared in the New Bedford Mercury May 15, 1815. " ' The Tythingmcn of Rochester gave notice that they should enforce the law. Jonathen King, John Clap, Joseph Whitredge, Seth Haskell, Wm. Smith, Jesse Haskell, Allen Marshall, Noah Dexter, George B. Nye, Ezekiel Cushman, Sherman Lincoln, Jonathan Church.' "But one wonders why it was inserted. If aimed at Rochester Sabbath-breakers, the notice might not reach them. Perhaps the warning was intended for young The Eighteenth Century 123 people who might drive for pleasure from New Bedford to Rochester, and the purpose was to keep away from the town an element that might create disorder. In a sea- faring community like New Bedford there were many such spirits, and I have no doubt that the villages of Sippican were fully as attractive on Sunday in 1815 as now. Hence, the good Sunday constables were deter- mined to rid the town of a nuisance. But the number of tithing-men is large for a town of the population of Rochester, — twelve." Cases of church discipline were very common, both for suspected lapses in morals, and also for absenting oneself from the Sacrament and attending the meetings of the two chief "heretical" sects of the region, the Quakers and the '* Anabaptists." But with the widening lines of thought that came in after the Revolution, a larger toleration in church and religious matters begins to be manifest. From Mr. Holmes's Chronicle, other glimpses of the town life at the middle of the eighteenth century may be gained : "There was not a wagon of any kind in town, there were ox-carts and horse-carts, add to these two old riding- chairs. . . . Such a thing as a chaise was never heard of. The first that came through Rochester made as much of a wonderment as a Baloon would have done. . . . No person could tell what to call it, at last it was concluded that it was a calash. "The horses were generally poor creatures. In the summer they lived on grass, in the winter on hay only, except when they were going on a journey when on the evening previous they would have a mess of bran wet. It was a high priced horse that was valued at $40. A horse 124 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester more than nine years old was considered of little value. "There was no such thing as a clock in town. There were three ministers in Town and each had a watch. I believe there were no others in Rochester. . . . Not a single pair of silver Buckles were then in Rochester, and an umbrella or a parasol would have made a wonderment. . . . Very few gloves were worn unless when a man was to be marry ed. "Good dancing was considered a very important ac- complishment. Other diversions among the young people were a number of plays, such as breaking the Pope's neck, the Button, — and among the Quakers who did not allow dancing Blindfold was a very popular amusement. "As for the Bill of fare at the Table they generally had a boiled dish, the first course was a Bowl of broth then called porridge, generally some beans in it and some dry summer savery sprinkled in. Then came an Indian pud- ding with sauce with it, then some beef pork and round turnips and a few small potatoes. The quantity of pota- toes was very small, three bushels was considered a mon- strous crop and these very small. I was a considerable Lad before I ever saw a potato as big as a hen's egg-" From old writings like these, dealing with things that in themselves seem trivial, we get a vivid picture of a phase of human life that is not only interesting in itself (especially to the descendants of the men and women who are described), but it was also important in its effects on American life and history. It was a very human life that was lived by these forbears of ours of a hundred and fifty years ago. There are elements in the picture that seem The Eighteenth Century 125 to us crude and unjustifiable as well as amusing. But underlying the narrow eccentricities we find the rugged and homely virtues that made New England the power that she was in shaping the character and destinies of the American nation. CHAPTER VII THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR WITH the breaking out of the Revolution, the town of Rochester entered on a special phase of history, one that is peculiar to New England. The Middle and Southern Colonies played a large role in Revolutionary affairs, but they did not have the town meeting. At this period the little town democracy was lifted above the petty anxieties attending its own local affairs and stood face to face with political questions of the largest moment. The story of one town is in a sense the story of all. In September, 1768, at the request of the Boston Com- mittee, Rochester sent delegates to the Convention at Faneuil Hall, which passed resolutions protesting against the taxing of the colonies. In Plymouth Colony as a whole, there was at first much apathy toward the spirit that was arising in Boston. There were many who took pride in being British-born subjects and felt a good deal of loyalty to the King. James Warren declared to Samuel Adams that Plymouth County towns could not be raised except by a power that would wake the dead. Rochester, however, responded more readily to the appeal of Boston than most of the towns in the neighborhood. In December, 1772, after another letter of correspond- ence from Boston, a spirited set of resolutions was passed, endorsing the plans of the Boston Committee. The Revolutionary War 127 Samuel Sprague, who had been the town's representa- tive since 1768, was suspected of holding Tory sentiments. So the town voted : * That if our representative or any other person in this Town that either has or shall hereafter basely Desert the Cause of Liberty for the Sake of being promoted to a Post of Honour or profit or for any other Mean View to Self Intrust shall be looked upon as an Enemy to his Country & be treated with that Neglect & Contempt that he Justly Deserves." The next year Samuel Sprague was not re-elected. He was succeeded by Ebenezer White, who was afterwards Lieutenant Colonel of a militia regiment. Lieutenant- Colonel White held the office of representative for many years, during the first fourteen of which he was unani- mously elected, and during this difficult Revolutionary period the town intrusted him with many important duties. With the advent of the tea question in 1773, a letter was received from Boston asking the advice of the towns, as to what was to be done. At the town meeting then held the usual moderator was absent, and David Wing, — the careful town clerk, whose copious records in minute printed letters awaken the admiration of the reader — thought it prudent to remain at home. Yet after some delays and embarrassments, the meeting at last became very free and spirited. Energetic resolutions were passed, and "the citizens subscribed a solemn league and covenant to abstain from the use of tea, and to transact no business with those who would not become parties to the Covenant." During 1774 many town meetings were held. It was 128 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester voted "To sign a covenant to break off trade with Great Britain until the Boston Port Bill is repealed." Repre- sentative White was enjoined " not to act in conformity with the Act of Parliament altering the Charter." Charles Nye was appointed to examine the town stock. Forty firearms were purchased for the use of the town. Nathan Nye, Jr., was directed to "make up the Town Stock of powder to 400 weight with Lead and Flints Answerable." The Assessors were directed u not to make up the Province Rate," but at a later meeting this vote was reconsidered. It was also voted "to choose officers to take ye Com- mand of the Military Companies," and that "Every minute man (so-called) in Rochester to the number of One Hundred that shall attend Three Half Days in each week as shall be appointed by their Captain & Twice in a month in one Body to Learn the use of the Fire-Licks from this day to the first Day of April next & be Ready to March when Needed & Equip Himself with a Good Firearm & other acooterments as Recommended by the Provential Congress shall be Entitled to one Shilling ye Week." September 26, 1774, a company of young men from Rochester made an incursion into Barnstable County in order to prevent the Inferior Court of Common Pleas from holding its regular session. The excuse given was that the method of drawing jurors by the sheriff instead of out of a box in town meeting put in jeopardy the rights of the people. The real aim, however, was, by breaking up the County Court to destroy an avenue through which busi- ness could pass to higher courts that were under the King's control. One of this company was young Abraham Holmes, whose zeal for liberty did much to arouse the The Revolutionary War 129 Revolutionary spirit of Rochester. As the company passed through Wareham and Sandwich, they were re- inforced by others of like spirit, and on reaching Barn- stable they succeeded in preventing the session of the Court, and compelling the judges to sign certain pledges. After holding a political meeting at Barnstable, at which it was resolved to boycott British goods and to suppress pedlers who sold Bohea tea, the agitators dispersed. When the battle of Lexington occurred, April 19, 1775, the rumor reached Rochester April 20, but it was scarcely believed. Abraham Holmes, then twenty-one years of age, was sent to learn the truth of the rumor. On reach- ing Middleboro, he met a messenger who confirmed the report, and Mr. Holmes records that he returned to Rochester "as gay as a lark" at the joyful news that the struggle for Independence was really begun. Three companies of militia from Rochester marched to Boston in response to the Lexington call. The "First Company of Minute-men," under Capt. Edward Ham- mond, a " Second foot Company of Militia," under Capt. Nathaniel Hammond, and a third company under Lieut. Seth Briggs, with which the Rev. Jonathan Moore, pastor of the First Church of Rochester, went as Chaplain. Mr. Holmes records in his diary that because of some mis- understanding in the regiment, formed in the summer of 1775, in Plymouth County, none of the Rochester Militia officers would accept commissions. But this must have been a temporary situation, for there were afterwards many commissioned officers from Rochester. The three companies that marched from Rochester after the Lexington alarm saw only a few days' service at this time. In August of the same year, Capt. Edward 130 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Hammond's company, with its enrolment much changed, and a company under Capt. Earl Clap were in service at Boston. Gideon Hammond is also mentioned as a cap- tain in the regular army in 1775. Earl Clap rose to the rank of Major in the General Army. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill, and in later life had a pension of $560 a year. In 1776 a Rochester company was in service under Capt. Samuel Briggs; in 1778 two companies were in service under Capt. Nathaniel Hammond and Capt. Elisha Haskell; and in 1780 there were in service in Rhode Island in the Fourth Plymouth County Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel White, four companies from Rochester under Capt. Charles Church, Capt. Nathaniel Hammond, Capt. Barnabas Doty, and Capt. Samuel Briggs. There were also many Rochester men in com- panies formed in other towns of the State. The person of most note in the military record of Rochester, perhaps, was Major Elnathan Haskell, who became one of Wash- ington's Aids. His portrait in this capacity may be seen in the great painting representing Burgoyne's Surrender, in the dome of the Capitol in Washington. After the War, Major Haskell settled in South Carolina. It is difficult at present to make a complete list of the Rochester men who did military service in the Revolution, but from various enlistment rolls, — muster rolls, records of "New Levies," of pensions, bounties, and men dis- charged, a list of some hundreds could be compiled. It was said at the Rochester Bi-Centennial that "it is a historical fact that Rochester furnished more men in proportion to territory and inhabitants than any other town in the Old Colony." w J. The Revolutionary War 131 It is even more difficult to make an accurate list of those who did naval service. Naval records were less carefully kept than those of the military. Much of the naval service also was by privateering, and this was not officially recorded. But many men of Rochester followed the sea, and were drawn into naval action. Minister Le Baron has recorded the fatalities in this service from Mattapoisett as follows : " In late war a No. lost at Sea out of Mattap't, David Rogers, Captain Rogers, M. Barlow, Joseph Barlow & Reuben, Jo Wing & Wyett Wing — Daniel H. Cowen, Indian Boy, Jo Clarke, Aaron Parker, Lothrop Hamond — Seth Hamond — Micah Hamond, Thos. Williams Jn Cushing, Elisha Toby, Wm. Toby, Sol Young, Ez Hovey, Asa Price, Francis Luce, Eleazer Allen, — Norton, Calvin Hamond — Nie Stevens, Timo Stephens, Jabez Dexter — Jonathan Annable, Sam'l Annable, — Anthony Hamond — Andrew Southw'd." In 1775 it was voted to hire one hundred pounds to buy war stores, also " two Boats for the use of Capt. Nathaniel Hammond's Company " ; also " to send to the West Indies by Capt. Moses Barlow for powder, firearms, molasses and other war supplies." A climax was now approaching, and the records in- crease in interest. May 23, 1776, it was " Voted that when the Honourable Congress shall think best to Declare them- selves Independant of the Kingdom of Great Brittain that we will Defend them with our Lives & Fortunes." Soon the link was severed that bound the colonies to the mother country, and now arose new governmental questions. The town government holds on its way, but all else is in a transitional and chaotic state. Each little town by its decisions, made known through its representa- 132 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester tive, will help to direct the trend of State and national affairs. November 5, 1776, Rochester voted "That the Present General Court of this State agree upon and settle a form of government for the present, to be subject to alteration if need be Hereafter." But the making of State Constitutions requires time and meanwhile the war-needs continue. Not only must weapons be furnished to the soldiers, but they need the inspiriting influence of music as well. So the town votes the sum of sixty pounds to "purchase guns Drums and Fifes"; also "Voted that the Town draw 50 firearms belonging to the Continant to be returned when called for." New committees are also appointed to take care of the families of the soldiers. Enoch Hammond did much service during the war in the care of soldiers* sup- plies arid soldiers' families, and was called "The Father of the Town." * The draft of the State Constitution being prepared, on May 22, 1777, the town of Rochester took it " into Con- sideration, and after Mature Deliberation thereon said Town voted said form," but added a list of comments and objections, one of which runs thus : "The Ninth Article seems to be attended with some Difficulty as To vote for Sennators in the furthest parts of the State when we cannot be acquainted with their Quallifications Said Town think it best that Each District choose their own Senators & no more." Meanwhile, army reverses had brought a feeling of depression, and a spirit of opposition to the war showed itself which must be suppressed. A committee of inspec- tion was formed in Rochester at an early date to call to account those who uttered Tory sentiments. One of The Revolutionary War 133 those dealt with had said that he "wished the people of Rochester were in hell for their treatment of Ruggles and Sprague," but on expressing repentance he was duly forgiven. In 1776, Samuel Sprague, the former town representa- tive, was accused by Isaac Snow, chairman of the Inspec- tion Committee, as unfriendly to the cause of the colonies. It was declared that " he was one of the Addressors of the late Governor Hutchinson (the Tory Governor), that afterwards he had subscribed a declaration manifesting his repentance and retraction of said address, — which confession and retraction was to the general satisfaction of the town, — but that he had since retracted his former confession and repentance and, on the seventh of June last, did declare that he was not convinced of the justice of the Cause of the Colonies, and that he utterly refused to take up arms or be in any way personally active in the defence of the Common Cause of the Colonies." Exactly what was done about it is not very clear. Sprague did not become an out-and-out Tory. He was probably a man of balanced mind, who recognized some justice on both sides of the great struggle. He sold his home in Rochester soon afterwards, and in the last part of his life was a resident of Fairhaven. He lived to advanced age, and in his closing years was the oldest man living who had served as representative to the General Court. He died in 1825, and left in his will a bequest to his native town from which it still derives benefit, and which is known as the "Sprague Legacy." Another man in Rochester, whose Tory sympathies were even more pronounced than those of Samuel Sprague, was Nathaniel Sears. He, too, was arraigned by Isaac 134 Mattapoisctt and Old Rochester Snow of the Committee of Inspection, but there is no evidence that he was won over to the side of the colonies. Possibly the zeal of Isaac Snow in the American cause sometimes outran his discretion. In 1781 he was dis- ciplined by the First Church of Rochester because, in a religious service in which Rev. Thomas West of North Rochester was the preacher, the said Isaac Snow "spoke out and called Mr. West an old Tory, while he was preach- ing." But the "Committee of Inspection" was held to be a necessary office, and in 1779 u The town made choice of Earl Clap to Take evidence against those that are Enemical to the American States agreeable to a Late Act of this State." About this time a rather obscure and complicated record occurs. A town meeting was called "To choose 3, 5 or 7 persons who shall be under Oath to prosicute all Breaches of the Act for preventing Monopoly & Oppres- sion which come to their knowledge or of which they shall receive information and all Breaches of an Act Intitled An Act in Addition to and Amending an Act intitled An Act for preventing Monopoly, etc." As the weary struggle went on, and the money depre- ciated in value, the people grew desperate. Many kinds of money were in use. Sometimes in the account of a single transaction, several kinds of money are named. We read of money of the "New Emmission" and the "Old Emmission," of "Hard Money," as well as "Con- tinential Currancy." These, with English money also in use, and changing values for all, and various counterfeits in circulation, made all financial transactions embarrass- ing. As an illustration of the state of affairs we read that at The Revolutionary War 135 one town meeting Rochester voted one hundred hard dollars as bounty for the soldiers, made an appropria- tion of " 671 £ in Bills of ye new Emission for army beef," and an "assessment of 1860 Continential Dollars upon the town to pay for Constables." Many futile resolutions were passed in regard to the money situation. May 26, 1779, after certain resolves relating to efforts ".to appreciate the Currancy" had been passed, the following malediction was added : " Whoever shall Directly or Indirectly violate either of Sd resolves made for this important purpose shall be Deemed Infamous & held up to view as an Enemy to ye Indepindence, freedom & happiness of his Country by publishing his name in ye newspapers published in this State, after which publication it shall be Disrespectfull in any Good Citizen to maintain Either Social or Commer- cial Connections with a wretch so Lost to all publick Virtue as wantonly to Sacrafice the Intrest of his Country to the acquisition of a Little paltery Gain." It was chiefly the financial troubles which caused the excitements and illegal actions in Massachusetts towns that were focalized in the western counties as "Shay's Rebellion," and made painfully evident the need of a stronger national government that could regulate for all the States their monetary system. About this time a committee of thirteen was chosen to "Stipulate prices of Labour & of Sundry articles sold to the Town." A few days later, delegates from Rochester attended a Convention at Plympton to discuss the same questions. The prices reported at the Plympton Con- vention throw some light on the monetary situation. Among them were the following: 136 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester £ s Labour, Common Labour a Day 42 Mowing 54 IToup wrights a Day 3 Millwrights a Day 3 12 Masons 3 6 Shiprights a Day 3 12 Tanners Sole Leather, a lb 18 Shoemakers for making a pair of men's shoes . 42 Women's shoes & finding heels by the shoemaker 42 Making a pair of strong men's shoes and finding all 6 Prices were also given of " Nails, lumber, pasture, cole, wood, fish, (fresh fish without entrails at ye waterside 1* a pound) etc." Other articles were referred to the com- mittee for further regulation. August 19, 1779, the town chose Nathaniel Hammond as delegate to a State Convention at Cambridge called to form a New State Constitution. It also appointed a committee of four to prepare instructions for Captain Hammond's guidance in the Convention. This com- mittee presented an elaborate report with many explicit directions to Captain Hammond. The Constitution proposed by the Cambridge Conven- tion was duly presented to the town for consideration and, in May, 1780, it was voted upon, article by article. Two articles in the Bill of Rights were voted upon adversely, and a number of alterations were proposed, one of them being: "That there be added to the above Frame of Government That there shall no slave be born nor Im- ported into this Commonwealth." We are not told whether the Rochester amendments The Revolutionary War 137 made any difference in the final form of the State Consti- tution; but the instrument went into effect duly, and September 4, 1780, the citizens met in town meeting, and voted for State Officers, John Hancock being chosen Gov- ernor, with Robert Treat Paine as Lieutenant-Governor. In December, 1781, a town meeting was called, "To protest against duties laid on Rum wine &c & if thought best to take Lawfull measures to obtain redress of the Grievance." It was voted that "The Act is Disagreeable to the Town," and a committee was chosen to petition for redress. It is plain that the Rochester of that date would not have tolerated either high license or prohibition. One result of the money troubles was that it became extremely difficult for the town to raise the new " cota of 32 soldiers," called for in 1780 to fill the ranks of the depleted armies. The committee report that they cannot "hire any soldiers in town by reason of Disapointments many soldiers have met with in the depreciation of their wages before they were paid." It was therefore "voted to promise the soldiers that any such Depreciation should be made up by the town"; also a bounty of " 12£ & no more," was to be paid to each soldier, " in gold, silver or produce," as he should choose, and soldiers in the field were to have " l<2£ in Cloathing and other necessaries for self & family." At last by strenuous efforts of the com- mittee, aided by bounties to "3 mos. men," and to "6 mos. men," the "cota" was made up; but in January, 1781, a new committee of eight was appointed to hire "25 soldiers called for by the General Court to serve for three years or during the war." A bounty for these soldiers was also voted, of " One Hundred hard dollars each year in January." 138 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester A matter which gave increasing irritation was the requi sition on the town for beef for the army. It was a never- ceasing need, and became at last a most onerous burden. December 30, 1782, it was voted "to petition the Great & General Court to receive in all the paper money of both Emissions now in the Town's hands and (Jive the Town credit for the same." In January, 1787, however, it was reported that the town has " 946 £ — l().v — 5d of the new Emmission & 49144£ — 8s — of the Old Emmission," though a considerable number of bills of each u ware coun- terfeit." Peace was declared in 1783, but it was long before the blessings of peace came to the burdened community. Oi. the contrary, the confusion and dissatisfaction grew ever stronger. The feeling toward the government is shown by the attitude of the town-meeting toward certain grants of the Continental Congress to officers of the army. February 6, 1784, the town's committee reported the following spirited protest which was adopted: " To wit that it is the opinion of your Committee that the paying of the Officers of the Continential army 5 years wages after their service is Ended is highly unreasonable & oppressive & will be productive of many bad conse- quencies as one notorious bad presedent. However the power of Congress may be we think the Grant made by them to sd officers was obtained by undue influence & if no Negative to Sd Grant is yet to be admitted (notwith- standing all their Good Service) we shall Esteam them Publick Nusances & Treat them in that Curracter." Thus the town of Rochester set its own opinion on national affairs above that of Congress, and proposed " to act accordingly." The Revolutionary War 139 Peace having been declared, Commerce began to receive attention, and in May, 1785, the town instructed Lieu- tenant-Colonel White to use his " Influence that a large Impost be laid on all Goods imported in British Bottoms "; also, in 1786, to use his influence, u that there be a Bank of paper money Emitted by the General Court." In August, 1786, Earl Clap, Nathaniel Hammond, and Abraham Holmes were made a committee " to correspond with the other Towns in order to Divise & Adopt" legal measures for a redress of grievances. Several weeks later, this committee reported, and the town then gave very extended instructions to Colonel White, "which we expect you to follow & by no means depart from them." These instructions, prepared it is said by Abraham Holmes, cover five or six pages of closely written foolscap, and discuss most far-reaching and im- portant principles of government, such as the redemption of the currency, the right of Congress to lay taxes on the State, the Constitutional power of the General Court to place a check on the Acts of Congress, the system of taxation that should be employed, the principle of exempt- ing ministers from taxation, and of making grants to army officers. All of these things are committed to the " utmost endeavors" of Colonel White with the words, "May the great Fountain of Goodness and Knowledge assist you in discharging this Trust with Success." The preparation of such documents by the country towns shows the magnitude of the intellectual labor by which the state and national governments were developed. But the effort of small communities to direct the larger affairs of State and nation had its dangers. Disorders 140 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester were arising, and the excited people in certain towns of Massachusetts overstepped legal bounds in their attempts to regulate abuses. The story of Shay's Rebellion may be read on the pages of the school text-books. It came as a warning to law-abiding persons to pause and see whither things were tending. February 12, 1787, a town meeting of a very different spirit was held in Rochester, " on account of the Con- fusions & Disorders in the Commonwealth." A com- mittee of five was chosen to draft a petition and report in one hour. This report expresses the u Attachment of the town of Rochester to the Government of Massachusetts & its poignant regret for the late unhappy disorders." But it adds: "We humbly pray that the troops under General Lin- coln (now the Insurgents are disbursed) may be imme- diately disbanded. We think this would restore Publick tranquillity if an Act of General Indemnity be passed & we pray your honours patience in praying you to take measures for suitably lowering the Salaries of the Servants of Government & take into your wise Consideration that late act of suspending the privelidge of the writ of Habeas Corpus." The law adviser of General Lincoln who commanded the State troops during this time of agitation was John Sprague, who was born in Mattapoisett village in 1746, and at this time was the Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester County. About this time reports were carried to Boston against Abraham Holmes. It was said that he was a dangerous person, since it was well known that he did not approve of the acts of the Legislature. He went before the Senate The Revolutionary War 141 in his own defense, declaring that he had done nothing revolutionary. But learning that a state warrant had been issued for his arrest, and fearing that since the act of Habeas Corpus was suspended he should be held in jail without a trial, he left Rochester privately during a snow- storm, and remained for a time in Rhode Island. Later he returned to Rochester openly and his fellow-citizens, who had been his firm supporters and indignant defenders during the agitation, gave him an enthusiastic welcome, and the next year sent him as their representative to the Gen- eral Court. But the time was at hand when governmental questions were to be settled on a broader basis. Not the little towns, discussing from a local standpoint these matters of national concern, not the several States jealous of their own State rights, nor yet the Continental Congress with its limited powers, could settle finally these tremendous complications. But a broader tribunal was even then constructing the instrument which should marshal the conflicting elements into an organized whole. December 20, 1787, the town of Rochester "Voted to read the proposed Federal Constitution in Town Meeting, & to send two delegates to the State Convention at Bos- ton," Capt. Nathaniel Hammond and Mr. Abraham Holmes being chosen for this honored service. So the Federal Constitution began its harmonizing rule, and a year later (December 18, 1788) a town meeting was convened to choose " One Member of the House of Representatives of the united States of America, to be the Representative of Plymouth and Barnstable Counties; also to vote for two persons as electors for President and vice-President of the united States of America." 142 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The Revolution was at last ended, and now the town records change their character, and again glide naturally into the election of local officers and the ever-seasonable regulation of the "Herren fisheries." CHAPTER VIII AFTER THE REVOLUTION THE Revolution being over, the town of Rochester began again to give attention to its own development. Minister Le Baron writes concerning the town, in 1786: "Length N. & S. 10, E. & W. 7, — containing two rivers, Mattapoisett and Sipican, on which there are 10 grist mills 13 sawmills, 2 forges and 1 fuling mill; on other less streams 1 foundry, 3 gristmills & 1 sawmill. Agri- culture not highly improved. Our Navigation is so much an object of our attention as to be a great disadvantage to our Husbandry. As we have a large proportion of sheep the Inhabitants are enabled to manufacture much the greater part of the thick cloth that is worn & we have about 4 vessels employed in the Whaling fishery, about the principal source of our specie. Ship building & iron are two branches of manufactory not unprofitable." The fulling mills were used to dress the cloth woven in the homes from wool and flax. Among the many mills that have stood at the Sippican mill site by Leonardo Pond since the beginning of the town history, there was once a fulling mill. Another also stood for a time at the Dexter Dam at Rochester Center. Around the shore of Mary's Pond, a strip of land two rods wide was owned by the town itself, secure from private ownership, where the flax could be "rotted," so 144 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester that it might afterwards be " broken" and prepared for manufacture. In the clear waters at the edge of this pond one may to-day see the stones that were used to keep the flax in its place during this preparatory process. In 1815 there were in town fourteen sawmills and two forges, one having a trip hammer, the other a furnace. At that time also, we are told, "3000 or more sheep are subsisted in Rochester," and "There are farms in the place estimated at $9000/' After the building of the First Parish meeting-house in 17G0, the old meeting-house of 1717 became "the town house," though the larger town gatherings seem to have been held usually in the new meeting-house. In 1773 the town voted to cut the old meeting-house down to one story, and divide it by a partition, also to build a chimney on one end which was to be fitted up for a workhouse, "to promote Industery and set to work those that live Idly and Misspend their time." The other part was to be seated as a town hall. The com- pletion of this work was delayed for some years, as the Revolution occupied the thoughts of the people, but in 1781 provisions and tools were bought for the workhouse, including "2 large wheels, 2 small ones, 2 pair of wool cards, sheep's wool, flax, and a thousand weight of old junk." After this, the "Master of the Workhouse" was a regular town officer for some years, Lot Haskell and Deacon Seth Dexter being two of those who held this position. In 1792 a new State law was passed, respecting the care of the poor of the towns and State. After this the workhouse was given up, and the poor were boarded in families until 1819, when a poorhouse was provided. After the Revolution 145 With the giving up of the workhouse, the old meeting- house was again remodeled. The chimney was taken down, the partition removed, and the whole seated as a town house. In 1811 the old building was taken down, and some of the best of its timbers were used in the con- struction of a new town house, built that year in the middle of the Common. The town house of 1811 was a low, square building, with a pyramidal roof and rising tiers of seats. Old people of to-day recall with interest scenes on town-meeting days, when the "Breadman" from Ware- ham was always on hand, selling rusk, — a kind of bun with raisins on top, — while the countrymen, coming up, one by one, each shook from his pocket the folds of a clean, red bandanna, and went on his way with one or more of these dainties folded within it. Near the middle of the nineteenth century, the town house was the scene of some lively town meetings, as questions arose which led, a few years later, to the dis- memberment of the town itself. In 1892, when the new Town and Library building was erected on Rochester Common, the old town house of 1811, with a change of roof, was made into a cranberry house, which stands to-day on the Pratt cranberry bog. When the building was removed, Mr. John S. Ryder found, under one of its timbers, as a supporting block, the capital of an ancient pillar that had been a support for the gallery in the old meeting-house of 1717. The migratory school seems to have been continued in Rochester for some time after the Revolution. In 1789 a law was passed in Massachusetts, allowing towns to divide themselves into school districts, each having a "prudential committee-man," who should have the care 146 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester of the school property and "contract with the teacher." Horance Mann afterwards declared this district school law to be one of the most pernicious ever passed. It repre- sented democracy carried to its lowest terms, and was opposed to a large public spirit. Each district had its tiny political excitements, and too frequently the passport to employment as a teacher was relationship to the pru- dential committee. Yet the old district school had its redeeming and picturesque features and under a good teacher excellent work was often done. In 1799 Rochester voted to adopt the district system, and divided itself into sixteen school districts, each of which was entitled to have three months of school once in two years. The districts were still named as belonging to the "Four Quarters" of the town. "The Town Quarter," Sniptuit, Mattapoisett, and Sippican con- tinued to be the town " quarters " until the division of the towns took place in the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1820-22 a vigorous effort to improve the schools was made. The districts were re-divided; twenty-one being now laid out. It was voted that one half the money for schools should be divided equally among the districts, the other half being divided according to the proportion of scholars. A committee of three (serving without pay), in addition to the selectmen and the ministers of the town, was appointed to visit the schools, this committee consisting of Abraham Holmes, Isaac Thompson and Philip Crandon. In 1824 it was voted to "adopt a measure respecting town schools passed by the legislature," to the effect that " in any town having less than 5000 inhabitants, and now required by law to be provided with a Master or Masters H H O After the Revolution 147 instructed in the Latin and Greek tongues, might instead be provided with a teacher or teachers well qualified to instruct youth in orthography, reading, writing, arith- metic, English grammar, geography, and good behavior." In 1828 a protest was entered against paying the wages of certain teachers who had been engaged by prudential committees without requisite certificates as to their quali- fications. In 1832 the appropriation for schools was raised to $1200, and in 1834 it was voted that the school committee should consist of three persons only: Jonathan Bigelow, Charles J. Holmes, and Thomas Robbins being the ones chosen. In 1835 an elaborate report on schools was made and it was voted to increase the appropriation by $200; one of the arguments presented being that by this means the town would receive a larger proportion of a State fund that could be drawn upon for schools. We know from Dr. Robbins's diary, that during his service on the school committee he spent much time in visiting the schools and doing what he could for their improvement, and the same was doubtless true of the other ministers of the town who at various times served on the school committee. During the continuance of the district system some private schools were opened to supplement these lower schools. The first "Academy" in Rochester was a pri- vate school, opened in North Rochester in 1795 by Rev. Calvin Chaddock, who was an accomplished teacher; but this came to an end with the close of Mr. Chaddock's pastorate a few years later. Through the efforts of Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, George Bonney and others, an academy was opened at Rochester Center in 1839, which was for 148 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester years an important institution, having among its pre- ceptors Rev. Andrew Bigelow, Rev. Henry M. Dexter, and Mr. Charles P. Rugg, afterwards superintendent of schools in New Bedford. The large boarding-house of this institution, afterwards burned, was kept for years by Mr. Robert C. Randall on the corner opposite the one where the old Dr. Haskell house was burned at a later date. An academy was also opened at Mattapoisett about 1856, the building of which was afterwards used for the Barstow High School. A school corporation was also formed in Sippican, and a private school was opened, but not definitely organized as an Academy. (Tabor Acad- emy was not opened until 1877.) In 1850 the district system was still in operation, and no attempts at grading the schools were made until after the town was divided. The representative from Rochester to the General Court at Boston during the Revolution was Lieut.-Col. Ebenezer White. When the State constitution went into effect in 1780, Colonel White became the first representa- tive under the new frame of government, and continued to hold this office for some years. During many years the town had two representatives in the State legislature, sometimes three, and once as many as four. The names of those who were Rochester Repre- sentatives under the State Constitution before 1857 are as follows : Ebenezer White, Nathaniel Hammond, Abraham Holmes, Nathaniel Sprague, Nathan Willis, Elisha Ruggles, Gideon Barstow, Jr., Rev. Calvin Chaddock, Caleb Briggs, Jesse Haskell, Thomas Bassett, Elijah Willis, Samuel Winslow, Charles J. Holmes, Joseph After the Revolution 149 Meigs, Philip Crandon, Wilson Barstow, George King, Eben Holmes, Amittai B. Hammond, Theophilus King, Malachi Ellis, Benjamin Barstow, 2d, Zaccheus M. Bar- stow, Joseph Hammett, William Sears, James H. Clark, Isaac Smith, Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., James Ruggles, Silas B. Allen, Loring Meigs, George Bonney, Nathan Cannon, Nathan S. Clark, Solomon K. Eaton, John H. Clark, John A. Le Baron, Thomas Ellis, G. B. Blackmer. A century ago law schools had not been organized in the universities, and young lawyers were prepared for their profession in the office of some older lawyer, an arrangement which in some cases took on the character of a small law school. Such a "Law School" was held for some years at the office of Abraham Holmes, where a considerable number of well-known lawyers were trained. The office stood in " The Flatiron Piece," a grassy tri- angle in front of Fcaring's store (then the Bonney store), and had the sign "A. Holmes, Office." It is related that a wag standing in front of it once read the sign aloud, as follows : " A-hol-mess-of-ice." One of the students in this law school was Charles J. Holmes, Sr., the son of Abraham Holmes, who became a prominent lawyer, first in Rochester, later in Taunton and Fall River. In the closing years of the nineteenth century Charles J. Holmes, Jr., lawyer and banker, came back from Fall River to spend his closing years in the scenes where his childhood had been passed. The office of Charles J. Holmes, Sr., in Rochester, was often visited by leading lawyers from other localities, one of these being Daniel Webster. The late Rufus Savery used to recall an incident of his boyhood in which Daniel Webster, driving over from Marshfield, to hold court in 150 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Rochester, met him on the street and stopped to talk with him, giving him some good advice, to the effect that whatever he undertook he must always do it well. Rochester was then one of the towns in Plymouth County in which Probate Courts were regularly held. There were also many sessions of Justices Courts. A vote of the First Parish in 1806 is on record, however, which refuses to "allow any more Courts to be held in the meetinghouse." The military interest kindled by the Revolution did not die out when peace was declared. Militia companies continued to exist, and new ones were organized. In 1815 we are told that "Rochester in military affairs is annexed to the fourth regiment, fifth division. It fur- nished three companies and part of a troop " (i.e., a com- pany of cavalry). Jesse Haskell was at one time a com- missioned officer in the cavalry company of Rochester. The annual muster held on the old Rochester Muster Field was for many years an occasion of great importance. The " Muster Field " was apparently the same lot of land that had been set apart by the town of Rochester in 1697 as a "Training Field." It was a large open lot for many years, but is now occupied in part by the residence of Mr. William Thorpe. The annual "Muster" filled for the community something of the same place that was taken by the county "cattle shows" of the next generation. Here military companies, with smooth-bore guns and improvised uniforms, were gathered from all parts of Old Rochester and the towns around, and performed gyrations to the music of " Yankee Doodle " and " Hail Columbia," while the hucksters in the stalls regaled the crowds of spectators with cider and popcorn. After the Revolution 151 The War of 1812 was not approved of in Massachusetts, the people not being in sympathy with the governmental actions that led to it, and few chose to enter the general service. But when in June, 1814, two British vessels, the Superb and the gun-brig Nimrod, appeared in Buz- zard's Bay, the people became aroused. The selectmen of New Bedford wrote to the Attorney-General, asking for 560 men to protect the coasts of New Bedford, Dart- mouth and Westport, which "had shipping to the value of one and a half million of dollars." The Nimrod came as far as Charles's Neck, and sent some barges to Wareham, whose crews burned a few houses in that village, causing great excitement, in Roches- ter as well as in Wareham itself. A committee of safety was now appointed, consisting of William LeBaron, Jo- seph Meigs, Rowland Luce, Timothy Killer, and Abraham Holmes, and application was made to the Major-General of Militia for 125 soldiers to be drafted for the defense of the town, and for half a company of artillery for the same purpose. It is not clear that this whole force was pro- vided; but two small companies of Rochester men were stationed at the harbors as a coast defense. One of these, called a Sergeant's Guard, consisted of twenty-nine men, commanded by Jonathan Vaughn, Ensign, and Thomas Ashley, Sergeant. It was on duty in June and July. Another company, called on the rolls "Ensign's Guard," had twenty-seven men, with Moses Mendall as Ensign, and was on duty in September and October. Other Rochester men were in two New Bedford companies serving at Fairhaven during the same season. New military companies continued to be formed in Rochester at various times during the first half of the 152 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester nineteenth century. But after the Civil War had taxed to the utmost the military energies of the people, and filled their minds with the horror of warfare, the interest in these local military practices finally died out. Among the old militia companies was a company of light infantry organized June 18, 1825, for home safety. The Fourth Plymouth regiment of militia, when re- organized in 1826, had the following officers from Roches- ter: David Hathaway, Colonel; Ebenezer Barrows, Lieu- tenant-Colonel; John H. Clark, Ensign; Dr. Thomas E. Gage, Adjutant. In 1842 a company was formed in Mattapoisett called the Mattapoisett Guards, of which R. L. Barstow and Loring Meigs were at different times captain. Captain Barstow was then transferred to the staff of Brigadier- General Dunham for four years, and the Mattapoisett Guards were dissolved. Later Captain Barstow was commander of the Rochester Light Infantry for two years, and still later was Major of the Ninth Massachusetts Regiment, having in all a military service of about eighteen years. In the exciting political campaign of 1840 (the Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign), Rochester was very enthusiastic on the Whig side, and a tall flagstaff called a "Liberty Pole" was erected by the town on Rochester Common nearly on the site of the present flagstaff. A few years later it was blown down during a heavy gale. In Mattapoisett village the enthusiasm was still greater and a Log Cabin was provided, which stood to the west of the cooper shop of the late Prince Bolles, on land now owned by R. L. Barstow. This structure was ninety feet in length, and was later used for theatrical purposes. After the Revolution 153 In the closing years of the eighteenth century, Minister Moore of the First Church of Rochester made some notes regarding health conditions in that precinct, which repre- sent probably the general town conditions. He says: " During the 30 years of my ministry in Rochester First Church, there have died of all ages and sexes (including those that were killed in the late war, and came to their end by accidents) 376 persons. About a quarter part of sd number died of consumptive ails and these chiefly young women from 16 to 26 yrs of age." Regarding longevity, Mr. Moore writes: " Rather more than a fifth part lived to 70 & upwards, — a ninth part to 80, nearly a 50th part to upwards of 90. This precinct has connected to it an average of about 160 families." In 1801 the town of Rochester voted to provide a hos- pital for the purpose of "inoculating for and having the small pox." Dr. James Foster was authorized to inocu- late for the much-dreaded disease. Certain temporary provisions were made as to houses to be used, but Dr. Foster agreed to build a house for the purpose, which was to be erected on an island in a piece of salt-marsh bought by him. Whether this hospital was really erected is not recorded. In 1816 a disease called spotted fever broke out in Mattapoisett, and made fearful ravages in that village and in the western part of Rochester. Sixty-one heads of families were stricken. The fever plague stopped in its easterly course about a mile west from Rochester Center, at the home of Charles Sturtevant, who died with it. Dr. Mann of Boston was sent for to aid in controlling 154 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the situation, and the measures which he adopted seem to have been finally effective. A writer in the Massachusetts Historical Collection has said of this epidemic: "A mortal fever prevailed in Rochester, in the early part of 1816. It spread from Fair Haven, where it ap- peared in Sept. last. "Fifty deaths arc stated to have occurred in its bills of mortality, since February; but the fever is now abating, in the month of May. Near 200 deaths are stated in the circle of contagion; say Fair Haven, Rochester, east of Freetown and borders, since Sept. 23, 1815, to May 1816." 1832 was the cholera year. The whole country was alarmed and a "colera meeting" was held in Rochester. A committee of twenty-seven was appointed to constitute, with the selectmen, a committee of health, establish quarantine regulations, and provide a place where per- sons could be taken care of " in case of malignant disease." But cholera did not come to Rochester, and the duties of this committee were probably light. The winter of 1840-41 was a time of much sickness in Mattapoisett, and it seems probable that the unhealthful- ness of the season extended to the other communities as well. The exact nature of the epidemic, which was evidently contagious, is not given. Perhaps the best idea of the conditions of that winter can be gained from Dr. Robbins's diary entries regarding Mattapoisett. 1841 Jan. 2. There are many new cases of the epidemic. Visited many sick and distressed families. After the Revolution 155 Feb. 14. Spoke on the subject of the late deaths. For three weeks there have been three in each week. Feb. 28. It is a solemn and distressing time with us. There were seventeen deaths in Mattapoisett in Novem- ber and December; and in January and February the same number, seventeen. Mar. 6. There have been four deaths this week. Mar. 28. At evening had a meeting of prayer and humiliation in the meetinghouse in view of the divine judgments upon us. Oh that we may find help! Apr. 2. We have new cases. The disease is evidently contagious. Apr. 10. Two physicians are here from Bedford. On September 28, 1815, there occurred a great gale, followed by a heavy tide on the Buzzard's Bay shores, which did much damage to all the towns of the region and came to be known as the "September Hurricane." Of this storm it is said: " The total loss in Rochester is stated at $50,000. The tide there rose fourteen feet above low water mark, and four feet higher than ever known there before; the ordi- nary tides being about six feet. Vessels floated from the stocks, rope walks, stores and houses were destroyed and a great amount of salt lost." In Mattapoisett the meeting-house at Hammondtown was partly destroyed, and had to be taken down. The Bethuel Landers house, now occupied as a summer cot- tage by J. Lewis Stackpole, Jr., was taken from its foun- dations, turned around in the street, and the occupants were removed in boats. The damage to the salt industry was far more than was 156 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester occasioned by the loss of the salt merely. The works themselves were largely swept away by the tide and the high winds. Some of the anecdotes relating to this gale that have been preserved are as follows: " A salt house from Sippican, partly filled with salt, held its position till the tide had risen Dearly to the roof, when it was overset and floated across the bay. Its ruins were found in the woods at Wareham." "Another lot of salt works floated several miles un- broken, but landed on a craggy shore and fell to pieces on the rocks. The salt house, however, settled on some stones that held it in perfect shape, and it was later launched like a vessel and carried back to the original position. The place where it was grounded was about nine feet above the level of common high tides." " Theophilus Pease, of Rochester, aged seventy-three, having repaired to a small island at Mattapoisett during the gale, to preserve some hay, soon saw his dangerous situation. Having a pitchfork in his hand, and a line in his pocket, he lashed the fork across the limbs of a tree, which he selected, and stood upon it about six hours, partly in the water, until the tide ebbed. There were only three or four trees on the island, all of which were carried away by the flood, but the one he selected; a re- markable instance of preservation." " A store containing West India goods, situated at Great Neck, was floated entire to Wareham, perhaps a mile, where it remained with its goods in perfect preservation." From an article in the Massachusetts Historical Col- lections, by Rev. Ezra S. Goodwin, of Sandwich, some After the Revolution 157 further knowledge of this great storm and its effects may be gathered, as follows: The injury in Buzzard's Bay was much greater than in Vineyard Sound. The highest water in Buzzards Bay occurred about 11 h. 40 rain., three hours later than at Barnstable Bay. Coasting vessels were scattered about, and mostly driven high on shore. Some of them floated into the forest. One lodged among the trees in an upright posi- tion and was later relaunched. The spray while the tide was rising resembled a driv- ing snowstorm. Grass was entirely killed, not a green blade to be seen. The leaves of the trees appeared as if they had been scorched. Several cedar swamps perished from the salt water. Most of the bushes perished also, but one or two species of laurel, the common bayberry and some swamp whortleberries sur- vived. Winter rye had been sown in August. Rye was resown in some of the fields but the original crop had perished. The wells and watering places for cattle were filled with sea-water, and fresh water was a thing of price. Little rain had fallen for some time, and the soil was very dry. Much of the salt water therefore penetrated the earth and saturated it with the salt, which also crystallized along the shore. Some wells near the sea had formerly risen and fallen with the tide and yet remained fresh. They now changed their habit. The water remained at a fixed height and was also salt. The saltness of the wells continued till November. After the snow of winter dissolved the salt wells became fresh. The freshness came back suddenly. 158 Mattapoisctt and Old Rochester After a time of dry weather they grew salt again, but not so bad as before. Some did not wholly recover until the spring of 1818. There was a curious and lasting effect on the land. In 1816 some of the overflowed fields were planted with oats and had a larger crop than ever before. Indian corn also flourished, planted as a spring crop. The salt seems to have acted in some cases like a manure. But in 1817 clover decreased and in 1818 almost disappeared. Mosses also were destroyed, and wild grass came in where the cultivated grass had been. Some good effects of the storm were seen, but not enough to compensate for the property destroyed. In the middle years of the firs! half of the nineteenth century temperance matters were prominent all over the United States. A vigorous warfare was made against "New England rum" and other spirituous liquors, which heretofore had been in general use. A temperance crusade known as " The Washingtonian Movement " spread over the country, and total abstinence societies were everywhere formed. In 1830 the town of Rochester sent a petition to the legislature to make a law authorizing the County Com- missioners or the selectmen of the towns to license tavern keepers, giving them all the usual rights and duties of this office, except the right to sell spirituous liquors. A little later a second petition was presented, after an elaborate report (which is duly recorded in the town book) in which the town's committee grew eloquent in regard to "the wife's streaming eyes over her naked and supperless children," and declared that "Bank- ing Corporations, Turnpike Roads, Canals, and even After the Revolution 159 Railroads sink into insignificance beside this important subject." It is impossible to describe either the condition or the growth of Old Rochester in the first half of the nineteenth century without entering somewhat fully upon the sub- ject of the maritime industries, which early in the century took on new lines of development in the seaside villages, and (especially in Mattapoisett) gave rapid growth and a new chapter of local history, which had most important consequences in the later town history. The story of these industries, however, and of their historic effects requires a full chapter, to be given later. In 1840 a book called Massachusetts Historical Col- lections was published by John Warner Barber, which contains much historic and descriptive matter regarding the Massachusetts towns of that date. Mr. Barber was a personal friend of Dr. Robbins, whom he visited twice while getting the material for his collections. In this book he gives the population of Rochester as 3570 persons, and says that "about 60 sail of merchant and coasting vessels are owned in the town;" that "Mattapoisett vil- lage contains about 100 dwelling houses," and is "the principal village of Rochester," and that "the leading business of Sippican is the manufacture of salt." In 1854 the Fairhaven branch of the Old Colony Rail- road was built, which passed through Marion and Mat- tapoisett, but left the old Town Quarter outside its line of travel; — a fact which has had much to do with the rela- tive growth of the Old Rochester villages since that date. The discovery of gold in California sent a thrill of ex- citement over the country. Many persons in Old Roches- ter were touched with the "gold fever," and joined the 1G0 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester crowds that from all over the world were eagerly pressing into California. Some of the Rochester men joined hands that from New Bedford and Fairhaven were fitting oul vessels to carry the gold seekers oil their quest And in Mattapoisett village two vessels, the Oscar and the Mt. Vernon, were equipped and sent around Cape Horn to the new land of promise. The first was the brig Oscar, under Captain Dornie, with seventy men from Matta- poisett and the vicinity. They had a narrow escape soon after starting, from an encounter with a hurricane, in which the vessel was blown '' on her beam ends." But she finally righted herself and the party went on. Later the Mount Vcmou sailed. Among those now living in Mattapoisett who went in these expeditions, are Caleb Dexter, Thomas Randall, and Thomas Luce; also Alden Rounseville, Jr., now a mill-owner at Rochester. Six Rochester men also joined the New Bedford Com- pany that sailed in the Mayflower: James F. Dexter, James Smellie, Freeman B. Howes, Robert C. Randall, Robert C. Randall, Jr., Dr. Ezra Thompson. Of these " Forty Niners," as they came to be called, some returned after some months or years, having attained a fair degree of success in the undertaking; and now they delight to tell over to younger listeners tales of these eventful days of '49. Those who came back, singly or in groups, mostly crossed the Isthmus of Panama, with its dangerous heat and malarial influence. Some of those who started home with eager hearts fell victims to those climatic conditions, and their bones lie buried in that tropical soil. Some reached home penniless and with constitutions ruined for life. Some elected to stay After the Revolution 161 in California and never revisited the land of their fathers. Fifty-eight years have passed since then. Two hun- dred and twenty-eight years have gone by since the thirty proprietors purchased these lands of the Old Colony Court for the "seating of a township," and to provide a home for themselves and their posterity. The general features of the region are the same. The contour of the long shore is unaltered, and the larger part of the lands of the interior are still covered with a growth of forest. The pine groves still give forth their fragrance, yet no one "milks the pine trees," nor makes tar from their flowing sap. The sawmills keep up a winter activity at various mill-ponds; and a few steam mills have added an all the year round enterprise to the box-board industry in various localities. But the trip-hammer and the puddling furnace of the old iron mills long ago disappeared, and the iron ore that remains is left undisturbed at the bottom of the lake beds. The "craneberry" is still "a plenteous production" and is sent to-day to even a wider "vicinage" than Boston. Many of the old stone walls are still standing, in more or less stable condition, " pathetic monuments of vanished men"; although some have been ground up to make the macadam roadways that thread the Old Rochester terri- tory. But the lover of country life will often turn aside from these modern highways into the genuine country roadways, the natural "dirt-roads" of the olden time, with their inconsequent windings and changing blos- soming hedgerows, 1G2 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester " Winding as roads will Here to a cottage, and there to a mill." Here or there along these old roadways one will see some unpainted cottage, with wide chimney and an old well-sweep, and with lilacs or cinnamon roses about the door. Much that is ancient is still left in the Old Roches- ter territory, and there is folk-lore still to be gathered. For traditions cling to an old town, and in place of the two or three haunted houses, which the older generations named as such, "All houses wherein men have lived and died are haunted houses." But the spirit of the modern age has also touched all parts of the region. Not only in the seaside villages, where the beautiful new homes of summer residents are rapidly multiplying, but in other parts of the old town new dwellings are erected, and many of the oldest houses show modern changes that tell that the life-blood of the community is active ami flowing. Instead of depending on the old "way-carriage" of Dr. Robbins's time, the people take the frequent electrics to New Bedford. The rural delivery carries the mail to the remotest country farmhouse. The boys and girls come to the central schoolhouses on their bicycle steeds, or by transportation furnished at public expense; while the village and country matrons "pass the time of day" with their neighbors through the telephone, and business men in their country homes keep in touch with their city offices through the same modern channel. Wareham has itself become an old town. The next generation of its people will be ready to celebrate the bicentennial of their own township anniversary. Yet once in a while the descendants of the Old Rochester — »H > II ■ r 71 After the Revolution 163 settlers in the western villages of Wareham call to mind the fact that for sixty years they were sharers with these neighboring towns in the local associations of the older town that was born in 1679. In Marion and Mattapoisett something of the old energy, enthusiasm, and pathos have departed that be- longed to the old seafaring days. The windmills are gone from these shores, and a few crane-beams, laid up perhaps as a relic in some dry nook, are all that can now be found of the great salt-works that at many points were conspicuous objects along the water front. The village of Sippican began to drop something of its mari- time character soon after it laid aside its sibilant old Indian name. Where it was once agreed that the village private school "shall hail" as "Sippican Academy," the modern "Tabor Academy" offers higher education to the youth of the surrounding community. The harbors are still the scene of life and activity but the power-boat, the yacht, the catbdat, and other pleasure craft, have taken the place of the whaleships and vessels of maritime commerce. The part of Old Rochester that still bears her name, having relinquished her claim to the water front and to the honors of a seaport town, is now, to use the words of William Root Bliss, the historian of Wareham, "an in- land farm, untouched by railway trains." No Probate Courts are nowadays held on Rochester Green to invite the visits of distinguished members of the Massachusetts Bar, or the protests of pious souls against such a secular use of the parish meeting-house. At the new town hall on Rochester Common, town business is still transacted, but the new building does not shelter such a large gather- 1C4 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester ing of voters, nor do its walls ring with such stirring debates as were heard in the low-roofed building of the olden time. But Rochester of to-day is still " an original corporation of the Old Colony," with a continuous existence reaching back to 1686. It inherits the corporate name and the town records of Rochester of the past. Yet the whole Rochester territory is still, to some extent, united in its local interests. The old precincts thai were carved out of this territory are allied in conference relations among their churches, and in other social and religious associa- tions. The automobiles speed daily over the fifteen-mile road that like a connecting cord binds in close proximity the three towns of Roc luster, Marion, and Mattapoisett, which for a century and three quarters held equal partner- ship in the older Rochester. Even the herring fishery is still held in common ownership, and though it is the subject of triple town legislation, it remains a common interest. All have rights also in the clams, the scallops, the quahaugs, and other fish along Old Rochester shores. July 22, 1879, in Handy 's Grove, in Marion, near the Rochester line, the people of the Old Rochester territory joined to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the settle- ment of all these towns. SLx thousand people were in attendance, and under the whispering pines the day was given to history and reminiscence, to feasting and enjoy- ment. In future anniversaries of this old event the people of these now separate towns will ever feel an equal degree of personal share and interest. On account of the community of origin something of liistoric unity must always exist. Similar natural sur- roundings, a common ancestry, a common past " rich After the Revolution 165 with the spoils of time," united with the changing con- ditions and vicissitudes of modern life, are giving, and must continue to give, to the towns of the Old Rochester region an inheritance " Distinct as the billows yet one as the Sea " where " The Sounding unifies all." CHAPTER IX THE DIVISION OF THE TOWN ROCHESTER TOWN, even after the eastern por- tion was annexed to Ware ham, comprised an ex- tended territory. With the growth of maritime industry the shore villages increased largely in population and wealth, as compared with the agricultural sections of the town. Sippican was not so far from the old town -house at the Center, but Mattapoisett was distant some six miles and North Rochester was about equally far away. The inhabitants around Snippatuit Pond journeyed, as now, by Vaughn's Hill to Rochester Common to participate in the town's business, while those from Mattapoisett traveled the long route back from the shore. The old Mattapoisett way led up over " Towser's Neck" and came into the "Country Road" above Haskell's mills; but on March 2, 1772, the town had voted, "That the way to mattepoiset from Town be so altered from where it Now Goes by the old Haunted House (so called) as to Continue Dartmouth Road till it Comes Near Great Rock, thence to Turn Southerly on East Side thereof & Continue on a Streight Line till it Enters Mattepoisett way in Such a Place as shall be most Convenient for same to be Laid & to be opened, Continued, & amended with- out any costs to the Town, till it is Made as Good as the way Used; & all ways to Continue in this place at the Mattapoisett Village, 1856 From Waiting's Map of Rochester Town The Division of the Town 167 Costs of mr Benja. Hatch, His Heirs & assigns: except that of mending the Way." And thereafter the voters of " Mattapoisett Quarter" went north by the present way through the Church neighborhood, and by the "Wheel of Fortune," to help determine the "town's mind." For a century or more increasing numbers traveled, without open protest, the long route to the town-house. About the second Sabbath in February, 1837, the citi- zens found a warrant posted on the " Great Door" of their meeting-houses, issued by Philip Crandon, Amittai B. Hammond, and Earl C. Briggs, as selectmen, to Daniel Hall, constable, calling for a meeting for March 6th, next following: and requesting, in addition to ordinary matters, that action be taken on "Article 12th, To hear the request of the First Parish in said town in regard to moving the town-house, and repairing the same, and to pass any vote the town may see fit in regard to the whole matter." This request of the First Parish apparently started the controversy which only ended by the division into three towns twenty years later. Some citizens of Mattapoisett, seeing that the condition of the town-house apparently required expenditure, and well knowing that a large minority, at least, of the voters of the town dwelt in that quarter, thought it a fitting time to act; and secured the insertion in the warrant, at its end, after Article 15, an unnumbered article "To decide if the town will hold their town-meetings in Mattapoisett Village for the term of one year from the 20th of March, 1837." Never before in town had there been a proposition of this sort, and it naturally did not commend itself to the older citizens around Rochester Common. Abraham Holmes, then eighty-three years old, was much stirred 168 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester up and joined with James Ruggles and other younger men of the "Town Quarter" to vigorously oppose any change from the established order of things. When the 6th of March arrived, as Zebulon H. Thompson, late of Rochester, states: "The Mattapoisett people surprised us by arriving very early in barges, all the voters they could muster," and Esquire Holmes tells that "they had a flag, which they kept flying from the North side of the road, opposite Ruggles's store." The meeting being assembled, and the votes for modera- tor counted, " Amittai B. Hammond had all the votes but two that were polled, which was 49 only. He took his seat, then rose and called the town to order. Elijah Willis Esqre, Ebenezer Holmes, Nathaniel Haskell, and John W. Wing were appointed monitors." The first trial of strength came on the vote for town clerk. Rogers L. Barstow was re-elected by 275 votes, with 199 for James Ruggles. A. B. Hammond, Philip Crandon and Weston Allen were chosen selectmen, and they were in- structed " to appoint agents for the taking of the herring, and inspectors of Mattapoisett river for the year." Then the meeting voted: "When this meeting be adjourned it be adjourned to the First Christian Meeting-House in Mattapoisett Village, and that all the town-meetings be held in the Village of Mattapoisett for one year from the 20th day of March, 1837." The meeting then took up Article 12, and voted, " That the First Parish in Roches- ter have the use of the town-house for public worship while they are building their new meeting-house." Voted, "To refer the request of the First Parish in regard to moving the town-house to the selectmen for them to do what they think proper." Appointed a committee to The Division of the Town 169 investigate the accounts of the town farm. "James Ruggles Esq. then arose and gave notice that he protested against the vote in regard to holding town-meetings in the Village of Mattapoisett and should call for a recon- sideration of that vote at the adjournment of this meeting." Voted to establish the almshouse as a house of industry, and adjourned to meet at Mattapoisett the first Monday in April. Agreeable to adjournment, April 3, 1837, there was held, in the First Christian Meeting-House, the first town meeting ever assembled within the confines of Mattapoi- sett. The contingent from the "Town Quarter" was on hand early. Mr. Holmes writes, "After mature delibera- tion committees were appointed in each school-district to use every lawful measure to get a general turn out. The day arrived, the morning was flattering as to weather, but before noon it became squally. I was obliged to sit in a carriage for more than an hour before the door was opened." Deacon Hammond finally "called the town to order," the Rev. Thomas Robbins offered prayer, and the moderator then called for the votes for treasurer. Eight monitors were deemed necessary at this meeting, and Lot N. Jones, John Bassett, James Ruggles, George King, Wilson Barstow, David Hathaway, Doctor Haskell, and Philip Crandon were appointed. The people repaired out of the house, except the old men, and gave in their votes as they came in. Seth Haskell had 347 votes and was chosen treasurer. " The town then moved that the vote by which the town-meetings for one year from the 20th day of March last past were ordered to be holden at Mattapoisett be reconsidered, and that when this meeting adjourn it 170 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester adjourn to Meet in the Town-House the 17th of April inst at one of the clock in the afternoon." "The moderator then rose and said that they should repair out of the house, except the old men, and all them that were in favor of reconsidering the vote last past in regard to holding town- meetings in Mattapoisett should form in a line on the north side of the street, and them that were not in favor of reconsiderating the said vote should form on the south side of said street. After counting the voters it was found that there was 299 in favor and 296 against recon- sidering the said vote, which left 3 majority in favor of adjourning the meeting, when adjourned, to the town- house." "Capt. John Atsatt then rose and gave notice to the town that he should call for a reconsideration at the adjournment of this meeting." The voters then accepted the reports of the committees on town farm and in regard to the surplus revenue, and adjourned "to Monday the 17th of Apr. inst at one of the clock p.m." Dr. Robbins wrote: "April 3, Attended town-meeting, the first time, I suppose, ever held in this village. A great strife for the place. It was adjourned to meet next at the center of the town by a vote of 299 against 296. I spoke a little but did not vote. Mr. Bigelow was with me. It was an unpleasant affair." The day of adjournment, April 17, "Rode with company to Rochester by the par- ticular desire of my people, and attended town-meeting, and voted on the question of holding the meeting a part of the time in this village. The only time I have ever voted in a town-meeting since I was settled in the ministry." Dr. Robbins opened the meeting with prayer. The point in issue was acted on at once. Captain Atsatt handed in his motion for reconsideration and adjourn- The Division of the Town 171 ment to Mattapoisett. "It was moved that the vote as above, should be taken by Yea and Nay." Mattapoisett was out in force; and Mr. Holmes says, "Our people provided crackers and cheese at the schoolhouse for the benefit of those who lived at a distance, for the intention was that the people should be on the ground before 12 o'clock." "The vote," wrote Mr. Holmes, "could not be taken in the house, it was so crowded, and after various attempts had failed, the doors were shut upon the older men within the house, where ballots were then taken as they came out through the door; while the younger men were sent through the bars into Mr. Bonney's field, and their votes taken as they came out." "The ballots being read and counted, it was found that there were 324 Nays and 278 Yeas, which made a majority of 46 in favor of holding the town-meetings at the town-house." The town then voted, "To take so much of the surplus revenue as will pay for the poor-house farm in full & the Ballance to be invested in Bank Stock;" and adjourned one week to one p.m., April 24th. "When the day came," writes Mr. Holmes, "before nine o'clock a northeast storm (very cold) commenced, which increased in its fury, and by noon was pretty violent. It was even doubtful if the moderator and town-clerk would come. Very few people from the N. W. part of the town attended, but the people of Mattapoisett had a con- siderable turn out." Linus Snow, Joseph W. Church, Andrew Southworth, and Joshua Cushing were chosen Assessors, and two ballots were taken for a fifth without choice between Ebenezer Holmes and David Hathaway. " Capt. John Atsatt then rose, and made a motion to ad- journ this meeting to the Rev. Thomas Robbins's Meeting- 172 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester House in the Village of Mattapoisett, Wednesday the 26th day of April inst., at one of the o'clock in the after- noon, and the above motion was seconded by Elijah Willis, Esq. The town then called for a vote. After counting it was found that there were 141 in favor of adjourning and 125 against. The town then voted to ad- journ this meeting to Rev. Thomas Robbins's Meeting- House. There being 139 in favor of adjourning agreeable to Capt. J. Atsatt's motion, and 137 against it, which left a majority of 2 for adjournment. " Upon this, the "Town Quarter" apparently gave up the contest, and "having only one day to make prepara- tion for repairing to Mattapoisett," they decided, for the most part, to remain away. So, on April 26th, therefore, only about 240 voters assembled at the meeting-house at "the Green" in Mattapoisett, and chose George King and four of the town's ministers on the School Committee, — Thomas Robbins, Jonathan Bigelow, Oliver Cobb, and Theodore K. Taylor. The contest for the fifth assessor was settled by the absence of the voters from the " Town Quarter," so Ebenezer Holmes had 238 votes and Col. David Hathaway had 3. The usual year's business was performed, and adjournment made to July 10, at the same place. This appears to have been done simply for the joy of holding another meeting in Mattapoisett, for being assembled on that day, and " Deacon Mit " being absent, they chose Capt. Martin Snow moderator pro-tem; elected Levi Handy "wood-surveyor for Mattapoisett Quarter"; and then voted that "the meeting be dissolved." Thus ended the longest and most strenuous town meeting recorded in the annals of Rochester. At the meeting of March, 1838, warned to meet at the The Division of the Town 173 town-house, votes were taken coming in the door, and for moderator, David Hathaway had 264 and Wilson Barstow 145. The "Town-Quarter" also elected its town-clerk; James Ruggles, 264, and Walton N. Ellis, 137. For selectmen, Amittai B. Hammond had 302, Stephen Delano 251, and Joseph Purrington 362. Voted, "To take up Article 8, which they did in the following manner: Voted, that the town choose agents whose duty it shall be to call a meeting in each quarter of the town. These committees chosen by the different quarters shall confer together and make a report on the subject contained in said 8th article at a town meeting called for that purpose only and expressly. The town then proceeded to the choice of said agents and made choice of Chas. J. Holmes, Esq., Wilson Barstow, Esq., Philip Crandon, Esq., and Capt. Jas. Delano." They took action as to herrings, elected school-committee, and adjourned for three weeks. At the adjournment, March 26, 1838, "A motion was submitted by Elijah Willis, seconded by Ansel Weeks and John Atsatt, to adjourn this meeting to the Universalist Meeting House in Mattapoisett, to Tuesday, the 27th inst, and to divide the house in order to settle the question. The town accordingly repaired out of doors, and those in favor of adjournment paraded the north side of the town house, and those against adjournment took the south side of said house. The moderator then proceeded to count both sides. He counted the south side first and found that there was opposed to the motion 206, in favor of it 147, leaving a majority against the motion of 59 votes. The town then repaired to the house." They voted to proceed to choice of town officers, voted thanks to Philip Crandon, Esq., for his long service to the 174 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester town ; and that horses, neat cattle and swine be restrained from running at large on the highways and Common; and then adjourned. The meeting "to be only and expressly" for hearing the report of the committee on Article 8, was warned for May 17, 1838. It elected Noah C. Perkins modera- tor, fixed a bounty on crows' heads; and then voted "that C. J. Holmes, Esq., read the report of the committee, which he did accordingly." " The committee to whom was referred the subject of future town meetings have considered the same and submit the following report: In territorial extent Rochester is among the largest towns in the com- monwealth. For a century after its settlement agricul- ture was almost the exclusive pursuit of its inhabitants, and the population was scattered with great equality over its surface. In later times this primitive occupation has given place to other modes of obtaining subsistence, and acquiring property. The fact has been that while population has remained nearly stationary in many parts of the town, in others flourishing villages have sprung up, and population greatly augmented. This increase has been principally about the seaboard, and is most strongly manifested in the southwest division of the town. Gathered around the harbor of Mattapoisett is an active and flourishing population numbering probably more than twelve hundred, a large proportion of whom find profitable occupation in the shipyards, the workshops, and other incidental employments of that enterprising village. This village is situated six miles from the accus- tomed place of holding town meetings, with limited means of conveyance. This distance of travel to the place of meeting is an inconvenience deeply felt and submitted to The Division of the Town 175 with reluctance. Propositions have been made to lessen this cause of dissatisfaction by holding a portion of the meetings at that village, but it has not been considered that the relief which would thus be obtained would be more than counterbalanced by the greatly increased travel of many who are now as far, or nearly as far, re- moved from the place of meeting as the citizens of Matta- poisett. The evil complained of might be diminished by placing the town house nearer the center of travel, and opening roads for convenient access to it, and if this measure would be satisfactory as a permanent arrange- ment, the committee would recommend it to the favorable consideration of the town; but if it should be deemed inexpedient to adopt this mode of relief, and the opinion of those who feel that the existing state of things has so much more of evil than advantage that its longer con- tinuance may not be endured, and that the only remedy is by a change of public meetings, then the committee respect- fully recommend that measures for a division of the town be adopted. The committee have not arrived at this con- clusion but with difficulty and regret. They would not rec- ommend this painful remedy for evils imaginary or unreal, but to avoid those that seem to be certain, enduring, and more to be deprecated. A state of things that shall annually or oftener bring together the citizens, and array them against each other under local banners, with keenly excited feel- ings where mutual confidence and respect are made to give place to jealousy, distrust, crimination and reproach, is more to be deplored, while it endures, than separation ; in which, in all probability, after many struggles with alien- ated feelings and lasting enmity, it would terminate. — In behalf of the committee. David Hathaway, Chairman." 176 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester It was then moved by Major Haskell, and his motion seconded by Captain Peckham, to dissolve this meeting, and the town thus voted. In the warrant of March, 1839, were the following: "Article 12th, To see if the town will re-consider all votes passed in said town at any previous meeting for holding town meetings at any place except the town house. 13th, To see if the town will instruct the selectmen to warn town meeting one third of the time in Mattapoisett Village. 16th: To see if the town will petition the legis- lature of this session to divide said town of Rochester by setting off Mattapoisett and including or excluding that part known by the name of Sippican, as the town may think proper; if included, the line to run between the old landing, so called, and the lower village, and running westerly across Bartlett's Hill, so called, so in a westerly course to the dwelling house of Jeremiah Randall, thence westerly till you come to the dividing line between Roches- ter and Fairhaven. At the meeting March 6th, David Hathaway Esq., had 43 votes, and was unanimously elected moderator. Voted to take up Article 12, and then return to Article 2. On motion of James Ruggles, seconded by Wm. C. Haskell, "The town then voted to reconsider all previous votes that had passed at any meeting held in said town for holding town meetings at any place except at the town house." Dr. Rcbbins writes, on this date, "Our people sent a remonstrance to the annual town-meeting instead of going"; and the record says, "A protest was then pre- sented by Ansel Weeks against the proceeding of this meeting, signed by several of the local voters of said town, and after he had read the same it was voted to receive it The Division of the Town 177 and have it recorded with the records of the town, and here you have it as it reads: 'To the selectmen of the town of Rochester. The legal voters of said town assembled in town meeting under authority of warrant issued by two of the selectmen, under date of the 16th of February, 1839, for a meeting to be held at this time and place, the undersigned legal voters of said town believe, inasmuch as there has been a previous town meeting which in- structed the selectmen to issue warrants for town meetings to be held in Mattapoisett Village for one year from Feb. 1839, that this meeting is illegal, antirepublican, unjust and oppressive. We therefore solemnly protest against your proceedings, and that we shall not consider ourselves under any obligation to conform to or comply with any acts or doings of this meeting.' " This protest was ap- parently somewhat offensive to town clerk Ruggles, and it annoyed him to have to copy into the record the names of the "several local voters" who signed it, for there were 248 besides John T. Atsatt and John Fitcher, and a con- siderable portion of these were from Sippican. Taking up Article 13, it was moved by C. J. Holmes, Esq., that the following motion be passed, namely: "In order that the difficulties respecting the place of holding town meetings in the town of Rochester, and other diffi- culties growing out of the agitation of that subject may be amicably adjusted, we agree that if the town meetings for the year next ensuing, after the close of the present March meeting, including the next annual meeting for the Choice of town officers, be holden at Mattapoisett, and that the town meetings for the two following years shall be holden at the town house, and that at the end of three years the town shall be divided upon fair and 178 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester equitable terms in all respects. The moderator counted the ayes and nays upon the motion of C. J. Holmes and found that there were in favor of the motion 65, against it 62. So the motion was declared accepted." The town then passed a vote on motion of Charles J. Holmes, declaring that "the warrant issued by Seth Miller, Jr., Esq., called a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Rochester to be holden at the Universalist meeting- house at Mattapoisett on the first day of February last past was at the least improvidently issued, as the con- tingency upon which a Justice of the Peace might issue a warrant did not exist, and that the vote passed at the meeting held under that warrant, respecting the place of holding town meetings in said town for the then ensuing year, imposes no obligation upon the selectmen to warn the meetings in conformity with that vote;" which seems to be a very reasonable proposition. After that the meeting was adjourned to April 1, 1839, at which time Dr. Robbins writes: "Rode to Rochester and attended town-meeting. Presented my school report. All our people were up and appointed two additional selectmen. There seems to be a growing alienation between this and the Town quarter of the town." The selectmen so chosen were Stephen C. Luce and Benjamin Barstow, 2d. Hav- ing done that, they adjourned to " Doctor Robbins's Meet- ing-House, one week from to-day at one of the o'clock:" at which adjournment they simply chose minor officers. The following year, 1840, it was voted "to warn all meetings in Mattapoisett until the Nov. Meeting, and that thereafter all meetings for one year be at the town-house." Pursuant to that vote, March 24, 1840, a meeting was held at the Congregational meeting-house in Mattapoisett, The Division of the Town 179 under a warrant of two articles, to ballot on an amendment to the constitution and to fix the price of herring. In 1841 there was a small gathering of voters at the town-house, who elected officers and then voted, 61 to 58, "that the town hold their town meetings in Sippican Village for one year from the first of March next." Meet- ings continued to be at Sippican; as when on March 7, 1740, it was voted " for an Armory for the Mattapoisett Guards, to pay for Eaton Hall $50, and fitting up the same, which amounts to sixteen dollars and some cents." July 12th, there was another meeting at Sippican about the Great Neck road. March 13, 1843, met at the town-house, as also in April and in June. In November, however, there was a meeting at " the old Congregational meeting-house in Mattapoisett, which accepted Barstow street from Church to Hammond, and also "the continuation of Michonicks Street." In April, 1844, at the same place, when was a spirited con- test between Theophilus King and Abner Harlow for town clerk, resulting on the third ballot, King, 166, and Harlow, 152. By this time, however, the custom seemed to be established of holding sessions in the various " Quar- ters." November, 1844, and April, 1845, at the town- house, at which latter meeting it was voted " that the town offers Joseph Meigs $2,500 for the right to the privilege of the mill at Mattapoisett Weir, except what the town now owns, and take deed for the same." April, 1846, meeting at the "old Congregational Meeting-House, Sippican." November, '46, and April, '47, at the town-house, and November, '47 and April, '48, at Mattapoisett; then two meetings at the town-house, and two at Sippican. At one of the latter, held April 1, 1850, the condition of 180 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the old town-house apparently demanded action, for there were four articles in the warrant; to sell, to build anew, to repair, and "to see what the town would do in regard to the depredations made on the town-house." Only one of these articles was acted on: it was voted to repair. This warrant also called for action on the layout of a road leading from Cannonville corner in Mattapoisett to Neds Point lighthouse. At that meeting also A. B. Hammond was chosen a committee on town map. November 11, 1850, the citizens met "at the Methodist Meeting-House in North Rochester at 3 p.m.," and after action on other matters, voted unanimously " to hold all future meetings at the town-house in the Center of the Town." Accordingly, on January 20 following, at the town-house, was a special meeting at eleven a.m., the only article being, "To take into consideration the expediency of petitioning the legislature to set off Mattapoisett as a town by itself, also that said Mattapoisett when set off as a town may be annexed to Bristol County, and act thereon." The meeting voted that a committee of three from each quarter of the town be a committee to investigate the whole matter touching the second article of said warrant, and re- port at a future meeting. Motion made by Wilson Barstow. Voted that John LeBaron, Theo. King, Stephen C. Luce, Wm. Sears, be a committee to nominate the persons for said committee from each quarter of the town who forth- with reported the names of A. B. Hammond, Lemuel LeBaron, John H. Clark, Royal Smith, Thos. Ellis, Walton N. Ellis, Gilbert Hathaway, Jos. S. Luce, Geo. King, Linus Snow, and Josiah Bisbee. Voted that Geo. Bonney be added to the above committee at large. This committee reported at a meeting, on February 27, The Division of the Town 181 that it was inexpedient to petition the legislature to divide the town. Anticipating, perhaps, such a report, various citizens had in the meantime acted and had petitioned the General Court: and the town at this meeting was by the warrant requested to act on both the petition of R. L. Barstow and others, and of Walton N. Ellis and others. Abner Harlow submitted a motion " that, in consideration of the great extent of territory of the town, and the great inconvenience the citizens in the southern part of the town are put to in attending town meetings, it is advisable, and the town believes it expedient, that the town of Rochester be divided,"— and that the new town or towns so incorporated should receive proper shares in the town property; which motion was voted in the affirmative. Voted against Dr. Ellis's petition, 48 to 96; approved the Barstow one, 100 to 56; and appointed Col. John H. Clark to be the town's agent at the legislative hearing. Three months later, April 7, 1851, the town assembled and voted, 197 to 127, in favor of the motion of Gilbert Hathaway. "Whereas the citizens of Sippican are to much expense and inconvenience in attending town meeting, and for other good and sufficient reasons, it is very desirable and necessary that the southeasterly por- tion of the town of Rochester be set off and incorporated into a new town on the basis of the petition of W. N. Ellis and others now before the legislature, praying for such new and municipal corporation." Voted also, on a motion submitted by Wilson Barstow, "that the town vote to a division of the town agreeably to the petition of R. L. Barstow and others;" 204 to 93. And the town was apparently in a hurry, for on motion of Gilbert Hathaway, it was ordered " that Col. John 182 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester H. Clark, our representative to the general court, is hereby instructed to aid by his influence with the members of, and his vote in, the general court, to obtain the enactment of such acts by the present legislature; namely — Incor- porating two new towns from Rochester disposing and dividing the present town property and privileges, also the poor and insane, etc., as fully desired by the vote this day taken, a true copy of which together with the vote on the motion, the town clerk will make and attest the same, and see they are forwarded to Col. Clark by Capt. Matthew Mayhew of Mattapoisett, Tuesday morning, to-morrow, and Col. Clark to present the same to the first committee on towns in the afternoon of the same day." The legislature was not thus to be hurried, for it was the next General Court which, on May 14, 1852, passed an Act (Chapter 225) incorporating the town of Marion, to comprise the territory in the southeastern portion of Rochester, around Sippican Harbor. Why, for a name, the modern Marion was given in place of "soft-sliding sibilant Sippican," is not recorded. Some say the prefer- ence of Mrs. Elizabeth Tabor, the founder of Tabor Academy, had an influence. However that may be, Charles Neck, the Great Neck and Little Neck, the Great Hill and Minister's Rock, the Old Landing and Sippican, Rocky Nook and Happy Alley, lie to-day in Marion, the summer town on Buzzards Bay. By the legislative act town income and property was divided equably, and the new town preserved its interest in the " town mills " and in the alewive fisheries of Mat- tapoisett River; and the inhabitants of Rochester continued to hold their rights in the shell and scale fish from the shores, flats, and waters of its former territory. To settle The Division of the Town 183 matters with Marion, the town of Rochester, June 9, 1852, appointed Rogers L. Barstow, Theophilus King, and Alden Rounseville a committee. Mr. Rounseville desiring to be excused, Wilson Barstow was chosen in his stead. At the same meeting Joseph W. Church was directed to fit up the vestry as an armory. In the four years from 1851 to 1855 town matters moved along very peacefully. A committee was authorized to sell the almshouse property; Amittai B. Hammond was sent to represent the town at the convention for amending the constitution; and Loring Meigs and Abner Harlow were directed "to meet the county commissioners to show cause why the road should not be built as by them laid out leading from Sippican to Mattapoisett." On the warrant for town-meeting dated December 27, 1856, there appeared two articles for action toward an- other division of Old Rochester. Article 6, " To see what action the town will take in regard to a division of said town of Rochester." 7th: "To see what action the town will take in regard to chosing a committee from the north and from the south parts of said town who shall agree on the division line and all other matters pertaining to said division, and also be authorized to petition to the legisla- ture for an act to divide said town;" and also Article 8, " To see what action the town will take in regard to peti- tioning the legislature to be set off from Plymouth County and annexed to Bristol County." "Pursuant to the above warrant the town met and the meeting was opened at ten minutes past eleven a.m., the roads being so obstructed with snow the town clerk could not arrive at an earlier hour. The voters had repaired to the vestry under the Academy Hall and had organized 184 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester the meeting by choosing Theophilus King Esq. as modera- tor. On the arrival of the town clerk it was supposed necessary to reorganize the meeting, whereupon the town clerk, with a few of the voters, forthwith repaired to the town hall, read the warrant, and on motion of Jas. Ruggles, Esq., the meeting was adjourned to the vestry. Mr. King was then chosen moderator. Mr. King then read the warrant again. Under Article 6, it was voted to take the sense of the meeting in regard to a division of the town. The vote for a division was unanimous. Voted that voters from the north and south parts of the town arrange themselves in different parts of the room and agree upon a committee, three from the north part, and three from the south part, whose business it should be to agree upon a division line. Members from the north part reported on T. King, Geo. Pierce and Thos. Ellis. Members from the south part reported the names of N. H. Rarstow, J. H. Holmes, Lemuel LeBaron. Voted to accept the above names as such committee. Mr. King wished to be ex- cused. Voted to excuse him. Voted that Alden Rounse- ville fill the place of Mr. King. Mr. Rounseville asked to be excused. Voted not to excuse him. Voted that if Mr. Barstow should decline on being notified of his appointment, that the committee be allowed to fill the vacancy/' "Voted to adjourn to one week from next Saturday at 10 a.m." "Nahtjm Leonard, Town Clerk." Saturday, February 7, 1857, the town met, and " Voted to take up the sixth article. " Lemuel LeBaron submitted a resolution of Mattapoisett citizens. "Voted to divide the resolution so as to act upon the matter of a line and of the division of property separately. Voted that the north The Division of the Town 185 line of School District No. 10, as suggested in the Matta- poisett resolution, should be the dividing line. Voted the last part of the Mattapoisett resolution relating to the divi- sion of property according to the valuation be stricken out, that the property shall be divided justly. Then voted to lay the Mattapoisett resolution on the table. 6th. Voted to adopt that part of LeBaron's motion that does not relate to division of property. Voted to chose a committee of three disinterested persons from out of town to agree upon conditions of a division. Voted that the chair appoint a committee to nominate a commit- tee as above. The chair appointed Jas. Ruggles, J. Clark and J. T. Atsatt. Mr. Atsatt, by request, was excused. R. L. Barstow was chosen in Atsatt's place, but was ex- cused by request. Voted to reconsider the foregoing vote. Voted that a division should be effected on these conditions: The engine should be valued at $1200.00, town hall and Sprague legacy should be given to the northern portion, and the remainder of the town property should be divided according to the valuation. The meeting thereupon voted to dissolve." Under a new warrant of March 24, 1857: "To see what action the town will take in regard to an order of notice served upon the town by the legislature now in session, in regard to the division of said town, and to do anything the town may think proper in relation to said division or anything they may think proper in regard to a former vote touching the division thereof or anything in relation thereto." Meeting was held March 31. "Voted to chose a committee to consist of three persons from the north and three from the south part of the town whose duty it shall be to draft a bill to be presented before the legislative 186 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester committee. A committee of nomination selected by the moderator reported the following names as persons suit- able to compose this committee, namely: Loring Meigs, R. L. Barstow and Jonathan H. Holmes, Jas. Ruggles, David Lewis and Jos. W. Church. Voted to accept the report. Voted to instruct this committee to be governed by the previous action of the town touching this matter." Less than two months later, May 20th, the Great and General Court, by Chapter 202 of the Acts of 1857, enacted the division; stipulating, however, that the two sections should continue to vote together at state elections until the next decennial census, or until a new apportion- ment of representatives. As at the separation of Marion, mill and herring interests and rights to fish and dig shell- fish were continued as before. The town's vote that the fire engine be valued at $1200, and be taken by the south- ern portion; and that the Sprague legacy and the ancient town-house be kept by the part where the building stood, was included in the act. The line of division from Fair- haven across to Marion was defined ; and to accommodate Colonel Clark, who desired to retain his citizenship in the northern section, it jogged southerly around his buildings on Wolf Island. Thus Rochester was separated from the sea; and thus was created a new town on the shore of Buzzards Bay, with the old name of Mattapoisett. CHAPTER X THE CHURCH IN THE SECOND PRECINCT WRITTEN history within and for the territory now incorporated as the town of Mattapoisett dates from 1736, and begins in two volumes, — "The Chh's Book, or the Records of the Second Chh. in Rochester, Which was first Embodied July 27, 1736," and "The Book of Records for Mattapoisett Precinct in Rochester, Decem- ber the 9th, 1736." Of these, the volume of Church records is a small book (about 6 x 7f inches) bound in full leather, and containing, usually in the handwriting of the pastors, the account of meetings, marriages and baptisms, considerably mixed up through the book, extending down to 1857. Since that date the record is in two volumes, and has, since 1865, been kept by the following clerks: Solomon K. Eaton, 1865-70; Henry Taylor, 1870-80; Noah Hammond, 1880-94; and by the writer since 1894. The first precinct book is a much more pretentious volume of full leather (8 x 12 J inches) of 560 pages. It covers a period of one hundred fifty years, ending 1886. There are many variations of handwriting, of which, with the possible exception of the last entries as made by Noah Hammond, the first forty pages as kept or copied in by Gideon Southworth are by far the best, — as is often the case in ancient records in New England. Many curious forms of spelling appear, both phonetic and otherwise. 188 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The precinct clerks have been: Benjamin Hammond, Jr., 1736; Gideon Southworth, 1737-49; John Hammond, 1749-56; Barzillai Hammond, 1756-57; John Hammond, 1758-71; Enoch Hammond, 1772-78; Benjamin Dexter, 1779-80; Enoch Hammond, 1781-91; Thomas Tobey, 1791-92; Aaron Norton, 1793-94, Thomas Tobey, 1795; Nathaniel Hammond, 1796-1802; Thomas Tobey, 1803- 16; Elijah Willis (pro tern), 1817; William LeBaron (pro tern), 1817; Benjamin Barstow, 3d, 1817; Wilber South- worth, 1818-20; Amittai B. Hammond, 1821-26; Wilson Barstow, 1827; Benjamin F. Pope, 1828; Wilson Barstow, 1829; Milton H. Leach, 1830; Allen Dexter, 1831-32; Leonard Hammond, 1833; Moores Rogers, 1834; Abner Harlow, 1835; Allen Dexter, 1836-38; Noah C. Sturtevant, 1839; Calvin C. Cannon, 1840; Leonard Hammond, 1841- 42; Noah C. Sturtevant, 1843-44; Allen Dexter, 1845-48; Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., 1849-54; Nathan H. Barstow, 1855-58; Caleb King (pro tern), 1856; Hallet M. Cannon, 1859-67; Solomon K. Eaton, 1868-72; Henry Taylor, 1873-79; Lemuel LeB. Holmes (pro tern), 1874; Weston Howland (pro tern), 1875; Noah Hammond, 1880-94; Lemuel LeB. Dexter, 1894 — . In "The Chh's Book" prior to 1772, there are some lapses; but of the precinct, the record is continuous since Benjamin Hammond, Jr., the noted land surveyor of Bristol and Plymouth county towns, to begin his record as Precinct Clerk, copied in the Order of the General Court of June 9, 1736, whereby " Mr. Jabez Hammond one of the principal inhabitants of the new Precinct at Mattapoisett, in Rochester, was Impowered to assemble and Convene the freeholders and other inhabitants there Lawfully Qualified for Voting, to choose officers to stand - £ ■ 3 ill so o ~ re ~ - »- -/ i. C /. ~ ■s s - £ ft ^ ft I Q - - >. ft ± a, - 2 - > 0) CO - > '3 - M - — a £ - - pq o - _i -7 - - ad >> T m a - s - a . - i-l - 03 a pq M _ ■/. . ~ _ ? £ a a a The Church in the Second Precinct 189 until their anniversary meeting in March.'' Since that entry of the act of incorporation, no year is without its record, and in two bulky volumes are thus set down in unbroken succession the business dealings of one of the few territorial parishes now existing as such within the Commonwealth. In 1733 the people at Mattapoisett began to complain that they were "so remote from the Center as to make their Difficulty great in all publick Concerns," and they requested the formation of a separate parish. This was not arranged, however, until three years later, for the letter is dated Rochester, July 27, 1736, from "Timothy Ruggles, Paster in the name & with the Consent of the Brethren," which certifies "those our Brethren Moses Barlow, John Hammond, Thomas Dexter, Nathan Hammond, Thomas Clark, Jabez Hammond, Benjamin Hammond, Jun'r, Constant Dexter, & Samuel Dexter are while with us regular members in full communion, and are recommended as such, and it is hereby signified that those our Dear Brethren have our free consent that they form themselves into a Distinct Church according to Gospel order and we commend them unto God & to the word of his Grace which is able to build them up and give them an inheritance among them that are Sanctified. Desiring their prayers for us, we remain their Brethren in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel. " Also the Sisters are Dismissed in like manner, viz. : — Mary Hammond, Hannah Dexter, Mary Bools, Lydia Bools, Priscilla Hammond, Allis Clark, ThamsenTarden." On July 28 the nine men so dismissed subscribed to a covenant and thus instituted the "Distinct Church;" and having set their covenant down in full in " The Church's 190 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Book," none of them deemed it necessary to make further record, for the next four years, — or perhaps in the absence of a settled pastor it was no one's duty. They organized the precinct, however, in December, and on the last day of the year 1736, the " freeholders and other Inhabitants," some of them doubtless leaving home by sunrise, met, as the warrant said, " by eight a clock in the forenoon, at the house of Lieut. John Hammond," which house still stands by the Herring Weir, — " to Consider and Conclude upon some proper ways and methods in order to the finishing the meeting-house and to do some- thing Relating to the way that leads from sd Precinct to the Country Rhode." This last item was evidently a matter at law, for they voted " to George Danford £3, 7s. 6d. for his trouble in going Down to Plymouth Court about the way that leads from Parkers Harbour * into the Country Rhode near Mark Haskill's." For officers, they chose Jabez Dexter, moderator; Benj. Hammond, Jr., Clerk; and Josiah Dexter, Ebenezer Barlow, and Benj. Hammond, Jr., as Committee. They had evidently made a good start on their meeting- house, 2 before cold weather had come on, so that at this meeting they were only concerned with its finishing, and with approving bills already contracted, to meet which was voted " £7 to Capt. Hammond on an accompt paid in for framing," "Six Shillings to Jonathan Bools for Drawing Stones, Thomas Randol 50s. for his timber that 1 Was this Aucoot Cove ? 2 "These buildings they called meeting-houses. That any of their posterity should be so regardless of confounding language as to call them churches is to be regretted." — Thomas Robbins, D.D. A View of the First Planters of New England (p. 261). Hartford, 1843. The Church in the Second Precinct 191 was used; also Mr. John Hammonds accompt of £2, 3s. for boarding the Carpenters while Framing, and £1, 16s. 2d. to Mr. Jabez Hammond for Rum and Sugar provided for Raising sd House." The precinct met again in June and approved bills, and on October 13, 1737, the structure was so far toward completion that they met at the meeting- house and voted "to build Eleven pews by the Cost and charge of those that purchase the spots," and making choice of Gideon Southworth "Vendue Master," they forthwith bid off said "spots." This building stood at the fork of the roads, on the top of "Zion's Hill" as it was later called, which is now cut into by the town gravel pit, adjoining the present home- stead, of John Jenney. The house was, as near as can be estimated from the size of pews, and the facts shown in the records, approximately twenty-five feet square, with the "Great Door," of perhaps five feet width, in the middle at the south, and the pulpit opposite on the north side. There was another smaller door about one third of the way back on the east side. The center space on the floor was open for seating and was completely en- closed by pews, except where access to the doors or stairs was necessary, or where the pulpit stood. No pew varied much from being "Five foot square," and the "spot" just within the great door at the right was considered the choicest location, and was secured by Capt. Benj. Ham- mond for £8, 5s. Near the pulpit was less desired, and the pew at the west side of and adjoining the pulpit stairs went to Gideon Southworth : and Israel Hammond for £3. Josiah Hammond took the northwest corner, and along the west wall were Joseph Barlow, Thomas Clark, Lieut. Jabez Hammond ; while next, at the left of the south door, 192 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester was the pew of Barzillai and Achelaus Hammond. Israel Hammond's was in the southwest comer next the east door, beyond which came Ebenezer Barlow, George Barlow, and then in the northeast corner Nathan Ham- mond. The gallery appears to have extended around three sides with "mens* stairs" and " womens' stairs," and was apparently open until, in 1744, it was voted "to pew all the front gallery provided they will fetch .£30 old tenor, and to divide them into four pews," and other gallery pews were added later. Nathan Tupper, Antipas Ham- mond, John Hammond, Jr., Gideon Southworth, and Constant Dexter had gallery pews. Out of "money the first pews sold for," Mr. Ebenezer Barlow was instructed "to finish the meeting-house so far as to build a Pulpit and Body of Seats," which was accomplished at a cost of £%7, 105., and here for thirty-five years, on the Sabbath day, the inhabitants gathered for the only religious ser- vices in Mattapoisett precinct. Lest it should pass from our knowledge what territory this precinct included, Enoch Hammond, the clerk of 1788, inscribed on the fly-leaf of the record book: "The beginning of the bounds of Mattepoyset Precinct is the bridge of Cedar swamp brook, so called, 1 thence west to Dart- mouth town line (now New Bedford). Then beginning at said Bridge and rainging East 200 rods; from thence such a straight line to the sea, 2 as will strike that lot of land which Thomas Winslow's house now stands upon at the most northwesterly part thereof, and so down to the Sea." The first shepherd of this somewhat scattered flock was Rev. Elisha Tupper, who, on December 31, 1736, ac- 1 Which flows under the Rochester road at the town line. 2 The present southwesterly line of Marion is the same. The Church in the Second Precinct 193 knowledged the receipt "from Capt. Benjamin Ham- mond, agent, the sum of twenty-five Pounds money, it being for my labor with the people of Mattapoisett pre- cinct for half a year." Mr. Tupper never was settled over this parish, but the question as to whether or not he should be, provoked great feeling. In March, 1737, the precinct voted to pay him all that was due him, but that <£70 be raised "to be paid out to the minister or ministers we shall Improve the Insuing year In proportion the sd. minister or ministers finding themselves provision, that the money be Drawed out of the treasury by the Commtt & be paid out to the minister or ministers that the sd precinct Shall Improve the time they are Improved," and that .£150 be raised "for a settlement to the first minister that shall be legally & orderly ordained and settled." On May 1, 1738, a meeting was warned to act on a proposed settlement of Mr. Tupper, "but att sd meeting by Reason of some Disorders and Interruption before the Moderator was chosen " the precinct committee "adjourned the meeting forthwith to the dwelling house of Mr. John Hammonds," where the precinct, as the margin reads, "Negatived Tupper," and declined to join with the church in a call. In the church body, two fac- tions appeared each calling itself the " Second Church in Rochester," and both appealed to the First Church for advice, who, — after council held, — through Minister Ruggles, sustained the views of that faction which in- cluded most of the charter members and which was op- posed to a settlement of Mr. Tupper. This strengthened the position of the precinct, who in 1739 voted when Mr. Tupper "Exhibited an accompt footed £130, 19s. 5d. that the precinct have distinctly considered every article there- 194 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester in and find upon the whole that there is but £1, 7s. 3d. due to Sd Mr. Tupper besides £$0, 12s. 6d. already voted to him." They also voted to "Rev. Mr. Parker of Ply- mouth and Mr. Samuel Veazie of Duxborough forty shillings per day for their preaching here last year," for which service Mr. Veazie received £6. They also chose Ebenezer Barlow and Jonathan Boles "agents to agree with Mr. Jedediah Adams for half a year, with what time he hath been here, and allow him £50 for his services he finding himself Diet." All parties also subscribed to a covenant to "Desist all Differences and Indeavour to cease everything that may bring into Remembrance and augment the sd Differences but that it shall be buried in oblivion and all unite for the calling of an orderly Min- ister." They then voted Mr. Tupper a gift of £8, from money not required to pay Mr. Adams, and May 10, 1740, chose Mr. Israel Hammond "an agent to look out and agree with a minister to preach a quarter of a year after Mr. Adams's Second Quarter is out." Israel Hammond "looked out" so successfully that three months later, August 11, 1740, the church desired the precinct's concurrence in a call to Mr. Ivory Hovey, "and upon a Deliberate consideration thereof" the vote was taken, the precinct joined in the call, and voted "to allow him £100 for his salary the first year, and after that to raise his salary yearly in proportion as the list and valuation is raised, which the precinct assessors take to make the precinct Rates by, until it comes to £150, and there to stand the money to be equal to bills on this prov- ince old tenor" with £200, additional for the settlement. Mr. Hovey accepted this call with a fervent letter to the church and congregation, recommending " that every- The Church in the Second Precinct 195 thing that is amiss among you be reformed, the renewal of unhappy Contentions & Controversies be prevented and an humble, meek, peaceable and forgiving spirit be revived," and on his part it was by him agreed "to devote myself to the work of the Gospel Ministry in this place so long as life and Health shall be continued, a comfortable support offered and so long as there shall appear a pros- pect of my best Serving the Interest of Religion thereby." Ivory Hovey, junior, was born in Topsfield, July 3, 1714. He joined the Topsfield church when fifteen years old, "his mind having been seriously aroused by a tre- mendous earthquake two years before." He entered Harvard in 1731, and although away nearly a full year from illness, he graduated in 1735, and received his mas- ter's degree in 1739. In 1737, while teaching in a private family in Biddeford, he met Olive — the daughter of Cap- tain Samuel Jordan, the well-known Indian Fighter; to whom he was married February 8, 1739. He had sup- plied churches at Tewksbury, Arundel, York, and Bidde- ford, and appeared at Mattapoisett as a young man of twenty-six, but recently married, of slight physique, and of studious and serious mind. He was ordained and installed as the first pastor of the Second Church in Rochester, October 29, 1740. Eighteen citizens prom- ised about £25 extra toward his settlement, and Jonathan Boles agreed to give him "2000 great shingles," while Samuel Look offered four gallons of rum, " if Mr. Hovey builds a house in said precinct, for raising." Mr. Hovey started at once organizing his church and reviving its records. His first step was naturally to provide the usual church officers, so "Dec'r 4th 1740. At a chh meeting the vote was called whither this chh 196 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester would chose their Deacons or Persons to stand in the Room of such & persons to set the Psalm by the major part of the present voters. Passed in ye affirmative. Accordingly Mr. George Barlow & Mr. Constant Dexter were chosen to set the Psalm & Mr. Joseph Barlow and Mr. Jabez Hammond chosen to stand in the place of Deacons & perform the work of such until there might be opportunity for the Chh to proceed into the full ob- servation of the Apostolical Direction — let the Deacons be first proved, then let them use the office of a Deacon being found blameless. Also voted at the sd meeting that the persons chosen to sustain the place of Deacons should read the Psalm/' These continued on trial until, in 1742, the church met and "concluded to bring in their Votes for four persons whom they looked upon best qualified to be invested with sd office & then refer it to a sacred Lott, which two of the four God hath chosen unto that office, which affair was proceeded in with Solemn Prayer unto him who knew the hearts of all that he would give perfect Lotts, and the Lotts fell upon Mr. Joseph Barlow and Mr. Nathan Tupper & they took their place." It was also voted that " Deacon Barlow should read the Psalm still, and Deacon Tupper should tune it to the Congregation." Brother Tupper tried it six weeks and made request to be relieved, and the "Chh made choice of Mr. George Barlow as Tuner." That this church did not escape the controversy as to music which was general at that time is evidenced by the record: "April 16, 1744, the Chh met to see whither some- thing might be done to remove the great uneasiness that had arisen and had been long subsisting among us about The Church in the Second Precinct 197 the Rule of Singing in divine worship, or singing by Rule, and after a considerable debate concerning a Vote or Agreement or Covenant (as some called it) which was consented unto by a certain Number of Persons in this place before there was a church gathered here, viz., that the new way of Singing (for so they stiled regular sing- ing) should forever be kept out of ye Prect. hereupon the vote was called whether the Chh did look upon said act to be but a Vote. Voted in the affirmative; and hereupon the Vote was called whether this Chh do now Judge it most proper for ye future to sing by Rule in ye publick worship of God among us? Voted in ye affirmative." In 1751, they further "had discourse about bringing Dr. Wattses Version of the Psalms l into publick worship, but not very well agreeing in that the matter was waived for further consideration." And so the matter rested until ten years later it was voted " To sing Dr. Watts' Version of the Psalms in Pub- lick" and chose Aaron Barlow "Quorister." Even after this, Dr. Watts' version was accepted with considerable re- luctance, for in 1762 one of the objects of a church council then called was " to attempt to pacify some of the people who were dissatisfied with their singing the new version." Meanwhile, the church life had progressed as was usual to the times. Mr. Hovey regularly mounted his pulpit stairs, laid out his sermon (a few of which have been 1 "The version first used by N. E. churches was Ainsworth's after which they used one called the New England Psalm Book. It was common for ministers to expound a little on the psalms before singing. Some congregations sang the psalms in course. The practice of reading the line was not introduced until many years after the first settlement, — in Plymouth not until 1681." — Thomas Robbins, D.D. A View of the First Planters of New England. Hartford, 1843. 198 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester preserved, written on twelve pages of paper, four inches wide and six inches long with fifty-three closely written and legible lines to the page) and preached to the occu- pants of the square pews, the gallery and the " body of seats." Nearly every month, true to Pedobaptist doctrine, some new infant was brought forward for baptism. On a rare occasion some brother arose in the open confes- sional and expressed sorrow for his indulgence in too much new rum, or some frailer sister " acknowledged her sin in Braking ye Seventh Commandment;" and made their peace with the church. Others needed dealings for absenting themselves from communion. All these mat- ters required the administration of the " needful discipline of the kingdom," and to better perform this branch of the work, the church in 1744, " Mett to Consult something about the Choice of Ruling Elder, 1 distinct from the Teaching Eldr, and after Prayers to God for Direction and some Conference & Debate upon this affair, the Vote was called whither this Chh was Rype for proceeding in the Business; Voted in the affirmative." And after further prayer they put in their votes, and so chose Mr. George Barlow and Deacon Nathan Tupper and in- structed them to "look upon the Chh Platform to be a scheme for church Discipline, and to take the same for a rule in their office." 1 "A ruling elder was held by them to be a proper church officer who was to assist the minister or ministers in the duties of discipline and to take a lead in the church on various occasions which called for their particular deliberations, and in want of a minister to perform the duties of divine service. In some instances the ruling elder was a preacher. Such was Mr. Brewster, the venerable Elder of the church at Plymouth." — Thomas Robbins, D.D. A View of the First Planters of New Eng- land, p. 252. Hartford, 1843. The Church in the Second Precinct 199 Sometimes it was a doctrinal doubt, rather than a moral lapse, which required attention, as that of "our Brother Benj. Hammond whom we had been frequently laboring with to convince of his erroneous principles," and with whom "publickly, the Chh had a conferance, and who freely signified that he had in some measure changed his former Sentiments about Original Sin & the Doctrine of the Divine Decrees, and spake very candidly upon the same to the satisfaction of those in the Chh who had been uneasy about ye matter." Mr. Hovey especially applied his efforts to restoring the breach caused by the division over Mr. Tupper. Numerous church meetings discussed further means for a reconciliation and settlement of this "Old Diffurance" as they called it. By " mutual agreem'ts & Interchang- ible Acknowledgm'ts of their Faults," the aggrieved brethren were one by one received back; but some were not easily won over. It was five years after Mr. Hovey's settlement that Lieut. Antipas Hammond, "one of the brethren who for some time had been Dissatisfied with some things that have been laboring in the Chh relating to ye Old Differance now saw light to join with this Chh in full communion, and upon his manifestation of the same the Chh Voted to receive him." The minister who thus recorded this happy restoration little thought that a few years thereafter his precinct would forbid him to preach in their meeting-house, and that his attempts to perform the duties of his pastoral office would stir up more strenuous controversy than ever had arisen over the "Old Difference." Encouraged perhaps by the offer of great shingles and rum, and expecting doubtless to spend his days with this 200 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester parish, Mr. Hovey erected his house (which now, moved down to the village, stands on the shore near the foot of Mechanic Street) in the field lying south of the road, opposite the present dwelling of Nathan B. Denham, — within easy distance of the meeting-house. Here were born his six children. The precinct had made him a liberal settlement, and the people were so glad to have an "Orderly Paster" duly settled that for some years it was unnecessary to levy the lawful rates, and his salary was collected "by way of free Contribution. " The minister, however, could not seem to keep out of debt. Two years after his arrival, he was granted "<£30. old tenor for to pay his Debts and not as any part of his salary." Whether the watchful dames considered Mrs. Hovey to be "Spendfull," or little Dominicus to be too finely appareled, or too apt to wear his shoes on other days than Sundays, we know not. But we do know that it became increasingly difficult to collect the "Gospel Rates," and harder still for the minister to meet his obliga- tions. Some began to be dissatisfied with his preaching. Mr. Hovey quit making entries in the church's record book in 1751, and for the period on to 1772 we can only learn what occurred from the precinct records, and from facts set forth by Mr. LeBaron, who, upon taking over "the Chhs Book," in order as he said "to make the Con- tents answer in some Measure to ye Title, being Records of the Chh, etc.," collected from loose papers what he could find, and set it down in chronological order. As Mr. LeBaron was on the spot soon after, but was con- nected with none of the parties involved in Mr. Hovey's dismission, we cannot do better than to take his version of the affair. The Church in the Second Precinct 201 "June 25, 1765. Mr. Hovey complained to the church that his circumstances were very discouraging, 1, — His Sallary was very low which had occasioned his being involved in Debt; 2, There was growing alienation of the people's affections toward him; 3, His Ministry was attended with little or no success. The Chh. appeared desirous to redress his grievances as far as they were able. They desired a Society Meeting to see if the Society would joyn to redress, etc., which not being done at that meeting of the Society, the Chh. met again and chose a Committee to examine into Mr. Hovey's Circumstances to see what help would be sufficient. The Committee conferred with their Pastor, looked into his affairs and returned to the Chh with the following Report. That if Mr. Hovey could be immediately supplied with a Sum of Money to the Value of about <£47 lawf '1 Money and have his sallary increased to <£60, with his fire wood annually, they and he thought that he would be enabled to discharge his Debts and live well: and Mr. Hovey offered that if they would buy his House and Lot for a Parsonage he would be satisfied with half the 47 Pound. — The society did not comply with the above report, and the Chh could not and so the matter rested. In 1767 the Chh seemed to be too much in Parties and there was a growing Disaffec- tion between the Pastor and several of the members. In 1760 a memorial was drawn up and sent into the Chh containing several things against their Pastor. A council was sent for to adjust matters, and what was their Result I know not, but by what follows it seems that they ad- vised a Dismission, for Mar. 5, 1768 the Revd. Mr. Hovey preached a farewell sermon and after sermon put it to Vote whether the Chh would in Pursuance of the Advice 202 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester of the Council dismiss him from the Work of the Ministry among them; but one held up his Hand for the Dismission. Mr. Hovey then signified to the people that since the Chh would not Vote his Dismission he looked upon himself obliged to tarry with them and carry on his work as usual. " 1768 — May — Kept a Day of fasting & Prayer, the Ministers that assisted were the Revd. Messrs Conant & Turner of Middleborough and West of Dartmouth. The advice of these Gentlemen was to send for another Council, in which all sides should agree. The Disturbance was at this time at a suprising height. The Chh prepared a Petition to the Society desiring them not to proced as they mention in their Warrant to shut up the Meeting House, but the Petition did not meet with acceptance and the Chh chose a Committee to complain of the Precinct to the Court for shutting up the House etc., but the House being opened prevented their going any further. July, 1768, they agree upon a mutual Council, the Revd. Messrs Williams of Sandwich, Robbins of Plymouth, Conant of Middleborough, Angew of Bridgewater. The Chhs and Ministers sent to, came and formed into a Council on Tuesday Aug. 23 and adjourned from one day to another all that week, hearing all their grievances. What was the result I know not. October 16, 1768, the last Chh Meeting that was moderated by Mr. Hovey was at that time; in which the records of the Chh were delivered to Deacon Clark. I conclude therefore that the Revd. Mr. Hovey was dismissed at this time and I suppose it was agreeable to the result of the last Council. " Mr. Hovey's farewell sermon was printed and a copy is to be found in the Congregational Library, Boston. His text was 2 Cor. xiii. 11. And in his discourse he The Church in the Second Precinct 203 said: "Lay aside all unchristian resentments toward any whom you may think have been the blameable instruments of the removal of your minister. I repeat it, do not harbor nor indulge in any unbecoming resentments or judge against one another on your own account, or for my sake whom you may think injuriously treated." He also made lengthy remarks especially addressed to "any children or youth who are rejoicing in the thoughts of their minister's Departure in hopes they shall be under less restraint on Sabbath Days and other times." The correctness of Mr. LeBaron's supposition is also shown by the Precinct record of December 26, 1768, when " a Vote was called & Drafted in the following : — All you that are so minded as to Joyne with ye Church In Com- pliance with Ye Council's Result to Dismiss Mr. Hovey manifest it. — Voted in ye affirmative." Of the Council's recommendation, as specified in the warrant, that "ye Precinct Pay Mr. Hovey the sum of £70, as a Considera- tion for ye Damiges he may sustain by his Dismission, & £45, 4s. 6d. for his Ministerial Services from ye first Day of March Last to ye first Day of January next," they made short work; and without discussion "passed the Vote In Ye Negative." This was in full accord with their previous attitude when eighteen months before they had " Maid choice of Ebenezer Magges, Ephr'm Dexter, Zaccheus Meede a Committee to Desier Mr. Hovey to Desist Preeching in our meeting-House & if he Refuses to forbid him," and "also at sd Meeting, voted that the meeting House shall be Loct & fastened & Not be opened but by order from the Ceepers of ye meeting Howse & No other untill we have a minister. And that Enoch Hammond, Sulvenas Gibes, Wilber Southworth should 204 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester be an assistant to ye Meeting House Keeper to act against any who secretly or by open Violence should brake open said Meeting House." It also accorded with their vote August, 1769, when, meeting under a warrant "to Consider the Broken and Distrest circumstances of ye Precinct Relating to the Minister & to Consider & Act on proper measurs for handling ye Same," they directed that "John Clark, Ephream Dexter & Obed Barlow be a Committee to go to Mr. Ivory Hovey and in ye Name & Behalf of ye Second Precinct in Rochester to Inform him that his Preching in our Meeting Howse for a long time past has bin to our Damige and to ye Preja- duce of Good Order and the Restoration of Pece amongst us, and we do as a precinct forbid your entering into sd Howse to Prech aney more without orders from ye Pre- cinct." But in finally turning Mr. Hovey away empty, and terminating his settlement without a penny for his damage, the precinct evidently let their feelings lead them into error; for the parson entered his case at Plymouth Court, and in spite of the efforts of Gideon Southworth, Israel, Nathaniel, and Enoch Hammond, as agents, and <£38, 7s. 5d. spent for attorney's fees and going to Plymouth; <£8, 16*. for horse hire 176 miles, (together with other charges), Mr. Hovey, his cause having been "Deter- mined in Cort by a Reference," recovered judgment in 1770 against the precinct for the sum of ,£130 lawful money. Mr. Hovey not only took his cause to Plymouth, but he moved his family thither, being installed over the " Second Church of Plymouth," at Manomet, April 18, 1770. There he preached for twenty-three years, there he died, The Church in the Second Precinct 205 and his tombstone there standing reads, "In memory of Rev. Ivory Hovey who died Nov. 4, 1803 in the 90th year of his age. — By faith he lived, by faith he died, Christ was his portion, theme, and guide, In precept and example shone. With love to God & love to man His daily course of action ran, Till God his Saviour, called him home." His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Niles of Abington, from Acts xx. 38, and among other tributes it was said, "he left behind him as great an example of meekness, patience, and Christian perseverance as ever perhaps shown in the character of a finite being," and the eulogist may have recalled not only his endurance against ill health at Manomet, but also the fact that he had been a "good stayer" at Mattapoisett. He is described as a small man who wore the usual knee breeches and shoe buckles of the time. His short- hand diary of seven thousand pages has never been trans- lated. As did others of the educated ministry of his time, — notably the Rev. Samuel Palmer at Falmouth, John Tuck at Isles of Shoals, and Michael Wigglesworth at Maiden, — he tended bodily ailments as well as spir- itual, and his memoranda which he kept while at Mano- met show accounts for peppermint drops, pills, and rhubarb, and one man is charged for "bleeding his wife and physick." When a young man of twenty he set down some rules for the conduct of life, among which are, "keep the blood & jueses in due fluidity and nothing will do this but keeping to a spare, lean, fluid sort of diet. Frequent purges conduceth much to long life and health. — I would reccommend could water. Yet I would say 206 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester use a little wine for your stomach's sake. But by no means drink could water or anything else could when you are hot. For a frequency in the use of liquors which they call spirits be as afraid of it as you would be of a familiarity with evil spirits. Chew Myrrh. Smoak little or no tobacco — if you can help it. It is the observation of a very discrete man who said he had often got hurt by eating too much, rarely by eating too little; often got hurt by wearing too few cloathes, rarely by wearing too many, got hurt by speaking, rarely by holding his tongue." Among Mr. Hovey's published sermons are, one on the "Duty and Privilege of Aged Saints, occasioned by the death of Lieut. John Hammond of Rochester, Boston, 1749," and a "Farewell Sermon at Mattapoisett, 1769, 2 Cor. xiii. 11, Boston 1770." During the latter part of Mr. Hovey's pastorate, owing to variances in the church itself, and in part perhaps to the inroads of new doctrines, the collection of the rates caused much worriment in precinct meetings. It was a thankless job, and with little pay, although obligatory. In 1769, Samuel Bools and Zaccheus Meed being suc- cessively chosen Collector and in turn refusing, Wilber Southworth was chosen agent to prosecute them both at the next sessions of the Peace. Sometimes " Raite Bills " were not turned in for four or five years and suit was threatened, or often the collector besought that the re- mainder of his bill might be remitted. In 1770 was passed the very tolerant vote that "ye Assessors of this Precinct shall assess all sd Precinct excepting Ebenezer Magges, Nathaniel Cushman, Baptest; and Barzilla Ham- mond & all that Goe under ye Denomination of Quakers." Mr. Joseph Mayhew of Martha's Vineyard was at this The Church in the Second Precinct 207 time boarding with Enoch Hammond (whose wife was Drucilla the daughter of the Rev. Thomas West of North Rochester), and "for his Preeching sixteen Saboth days, ten Dolors per Saboth " Mr. May hew was voted £9, 12s. Various others probably supplied the pulpit during 1770. On March 1, 1771, at precinct meeting a vote was " Drafted and put that Doctor Bradford or Nathl. Hammond or either of them go to Boxford ye last of March Inst & In ye Name & Behalf of this Precinct Desire Mr. Lemuel LeBaron to Return to us & Supply ye place of a minister In our Parish this summer. Voted in the afirmitive." Mr. LeBaron 's reply was likewise in the affirmative. June 12, 1771, the church voted "to give Mr. Leml. LeBaron a Call," and appointed Elder Barlow, Antipas Hammond & Deacon Clark to present him with it. On June 25 the precinct joined in the call "by a Vote in the affirmative, unanimous." Preparations for ordination and settlement were made, and Mr. LeBaron was duly installed January 29, 1772. "The Solemnity was intro- duced by prayer by Rev. Mr. Thatcher of Ware ham. A sermon from 1 Tim. 2, last clause of the 4th verse, was preached by Rev. Mr. Robbins of Plymouth, 1 Mr. Hovey made the ordaining Prayer, Mr. Bacon of Ply- mouth gave the charge. Mr. West of Rochester the right Hand of Fellowship, and Mr. Robbins of Norfolk in Connecticut the concluding Prayer." The Moderator Mr. Parker of Plympton obtained the assent of the people, and thus was auspiciously begun a connection which was severed only by death and that after a period of sixty-five years. 1 This sermon of Rev. Chandler Robbins was printed, and is to be found in the Congregational Library, Boston. 208 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Rev. Lemuel LeBaron was the grandson of Francis, the first of the name in America, who was the surgeon of a French privateer wrecked in 1644 on a ledge of rocks on the western shore of Sandwich, who was taken to Plymouth a prisoner, and remained there upon request of the selectmen in the practice of his profession until his death in 1704. The mystery of his name and origin has never been solved. His descendants have written lengthy arguments as to whether he was a Huguenot or Catholic, but his grandson, the minister, writing on his eightieth birthday "for the benefit of his posterity, "simply says, " He embraced the Protestant faith, but was fond of his crucifix which he wore suspended in his bosom to the day of his death." Lemuel LeBaron was born in Plymouth Sep- tember 1, 1747. His father was Dr. Lazarus LeBaron, who practised many years in that town, and his mother was Lydia Bradford, a great-granddaughter of the Pilgrim Governor. As he himself expressed it, he received a "Public Education," being graduated from Yale in 1768, receiving his A.M. in due course in 1771. He early united with the church in Norfolk, Connecticut, and not long after went into the study of divinity with Rev. Daniel Brinsmade of Woodbury and preached at sundry places before coming to Mattapoisett. Although known to the later generation as the "Old Minister," and his house being commonly referred to as the " Old Mansion," it should be remembered that Lemuel LeBaron was less than twenty-four years old when the Second Church of Rochester extended to him its call. Soon thereafter he was required as an executor to settle the estate of his father from whom he received a substan- tial inheritance. November 24, 1774, he married Eliza- The Church in the Second Precinct 209 beth Allen of Martha's Vineyard, and the following spring he began the construction of his house near the Meeting- house, — which is now owned by Nathan B. Denham. Capt. Charles Bryant used to say, and other old people still have the tradition, that the carpenters left their work of getting out frame to answer to the Lexington Call, and that the timbers lay piled together for a year or more of the war period. Certain it is that on March 1, 1775, the precinct voted him his " 10 cds of wood at the place where his house is to stand," and that on March 1, 1776, when they "Vandiewd the Giting of the wood to the lowest Bidder," it was to be delivered "either at Mr. LeBaron's new seller or at Landing by the harbour side as Mr. LeBaron chuses." Also it appears that in the rolls of Revolutionary soldiers at the State House is the name, "Rev. Lemuel LeBaron, chaplain, Lexington Alarm Call — 4 days." In 1812 he was also commissioned by Gov- Eldridge Gerry as Chaplain of the Third Regiment. He then chose not to qualify, doubtless on account of age, being then sixty-five years old. The new minister appears to have early obtained the confidence of his people. Imbued with some of his youthful enthusiasm, contending factions were glad to unite in the common cause of providing a new and larger meeting-house. There were sundry propositions made to relocate either on land of Israel Hammond or "near where Ebenezer Barlow's Dwelling-house stood"; but June 23, 1772, the precinct "mett on the hill where the Old Meeting House stood," and voted "the new house should stand on the under pining whare it is began on the hill." To defray the cost, pews were sold according to plan, it being agreed that any deficit should be propor- 210 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester tioned, or any surplus distributed. At first it was voted that "sd House be Built Fifty two feete frunt and forty two feete Back," but this was amended to have it "44 Feet & 40 Feet on the Ground & Pew it all round the Wals except two Dors & Eight Pews in the Bodey seets belo, and pew all round the frunt in the Galery and seete all the Remaining room above & below that is proper for seeting." The committee consisting of Moses Barlow, Zaccheus Mead and Enoch Hammond were instructed "to have the House Completed Workman Like, Lathed, Plastered the walls over head and under the Galerys & Handsomly to paint sd house Out sid and Number the Pews on there Dores." In 1795 a few more pews were added on the floor, the next year four more "adjoining the back alley." In 1799 David Dexter was given a spot to build a pew "on the East side of the Broad Alley, adjacent to that Sold to Sherman Lincoln to be the same Bigness of said Lincoln's. He giving the precinct his Pew in the front Galery and two Dollers." In 1805 John A. LeBaron and William Moore purchased at an auction by the moderator, Capt. Moors Rogers, two more lower floor pews for $20 and $24, respectively. After 1772 the spare time of three or four years was spent in "lying the door stones and leveling the Meetinghouse hill," for this was done by the men of the parish, the precinct being divided into four sections each with a direc- tor, — of which " Insign Jabez Norton " was one to "oversee and give direction to those persons assessed in his district." This house stood until it went down before the great "September Gale" of 1815. Wilson Barstow, Esq., in the Plymouth County Enterprise (Silas W. Snow's local The Church in the Second Precinct 211 publication), November 15, 1879, wrote over the initial "W" — "I remember well how the old church looked; galleries on two sides, a small pulpit with a door to shut in the minister, and as high or higher than the galleries with a sounding board above it. In front of the pulpit were two or three plank seats without any backs for old men to sit on. The pews were square, with banisters, and seats on three sides, a chair in the middle for the old lady to sit in. No cushions and no fire ever built in that church, and it was about as open and bleak as an old fashioned barn. Very airy. The program of the service was to begin at 10.30 a.m. and out at 12, and at 1 and out at 2.30, p.m. The service always occupied the time. Mr. LeBaron would preach a sermon forty minutes' long from a piece of paper no larger than the fly leaf of a primer with a few hieroglyphics on it. Most of the people carried a lunch and staid for the after- noon. We boys prospected in the orchards during recess." A few weeks later, Mr. Joseph W. Church, of Rochester, wrote to the same paper: "In your edition of Nov. 15, over the signature of ' W,' I notice a description of the Mattapoisett meeting-house which stood on the hill. In passing it on a cold, windy day I always seemed to feel an additional chill, it looked so cold and dreary. I read the reference to that house with a very deep interest, for it brought to mind the olden time memories that had receded almost beyond my reach. "The meeting-house of Mattapoisett was a perfect pattern of the old house at Rochester Center; the pews on the lower floor, the galleries and the sounding board, how well I remem- ber how it looked the first time I ever saw it. All was new to me then, and all was interesting; and singular as it may seem, Mr LeBaron, that 'W mentioned so particularly, occupied the pulpit for that day, and preached that first sermon that I ever heard, though if Henry Ward Beecher had preached the sermon, I should have given but little attention to it, as the sounding-board took all my thought. What can it be, and what is it there for ? At last I enquired of someone, and was told that it was to put the bad boys in, and if you are not a good boy you will have to 212 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester go there; and possibly the fear of being sentenced to go up there had much to do in making me the good boy that I was." Mr. LeBaron's long pastorate might well be termed the "era of good feeling." The attention of the precinct was largely occupied in arrangements for the minister's wood; the management of rate bills, the improvement of the salt meadow, the securing the precinct's right in ministry lands (by joining in 1773 with Wareham to defend the action brought by the First Precinct), and preventing trespass upon them, till their final sale and exchange about 1789. At that date the precinct thus obtained the acre called " the Barlow Cemetery " * from Capt. Elihu Sheaman; and the "Hammond cemetery" of eighty rods, near the meeting-house, from Israel and Noah Hammond, — the latter tract still being subject to- day, by the deed, to the right of the heirs of said Ham- monds to pasture calves thereon. In 1791, with funds derived from land sales, the precinct purchased from Governor John Hancock " what he took by execution from Elnathan Eldredge," about eighty acres on the Neck, "for a perpetual parsonage," a portion of which tract the precinct still holds. While these were some of the principal concerns in prudential affairs, there was always, however, the matter of Mr. LeBaron's salary. This was fixed in 1771 at <£70 annually, with ten cords of wood to be delivered at his dwelling-house; and for a settlement £133, 6s. 8d. to be given in three equal payments. In accepting this offer 1 This burial-ground in the rear of the late Col. G. M. Barnard, Jr.'s, house was conveyed to the town in 1886, see vote of the Precinct: Rec- ords, Vol. 1, page 555. There had been interments at this location earlier than 1740. The Church in the Second Precinct 213 Mr. LeBaron, in his letter, said : " As to my maintenance I am persuaded that you will be willing to minister unto me in carnal things while I am spending my life in minis- iering unto you in spiritual. I shall always endeavor to be as Tender with you in this point as possible." In this he kept his word. When in 1785 some shrewd members of the precinct "thought it reasonable he should abate something in his yearly salary on account of his owning the land in part on which his salary and settlement was levied when first he became minister," "the Rev. Mr. LeBaron came in person to sd meeting, and declared sd precinct might abate five pounds from his stated salary; which was accepted by sd Precinct as a favor, being a greater sum than sd Precinct supposed he ought to abate for the land afore sd," — and his rate so continued for two years. In 1781 he "Generously gave said Precinct £20 of his salary this year." At times of difficulty he accepted notes as cash, consented to "gather his own rates," and agreed to take his wood standing or remit it altogether. In 1779, in the hard times of the Revolution, he "manifested to the precinct that he would be satisfied with one hundred bushels of Indian Corn Delivered him next December in Lu of his sd sallary," and those who furnished corn were allowed £5, 12s. per bushel therefor on their rate. That winter perhaps Mrs. LeBaron, as was said of the wife of another minister who had been partly paid in rye, was obliged "to fire the oven to bake the salary." His only complaint was made in 1780, when being voted a salary of £2100 (currency) the "Gradual as well as the Suding Deprecation of Paper Money is such that it is difficult if not Imposable to assertain its value for one month yet to come," upon his 214 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester request the Precinct met and voted him, "in Lue of the 2100, seventy pounds in Silver Money." In 1879, "W" in the Enterprise wrote: "Mr. LeBaron preached sixty years in that old church and the one built after that blew down, without any member of his society ever thinking that the minister could be ousted and a new one put in his place. His salary was $233, and never was increased nor asked to be. One year in the Revolutionary war he received only twenty cents in cash for his salary. He was not only a faithful minister, but equally full of patriotism. He lived a long life without a stain on his moral or Christian char- acter. Would we had more like him. Now, the more a minister knows the more likely he is to be switched off the track." Mr. LeBaron 's catalogue of the eighty-five members * at his ordination, in 1772, shows thirty-five men including "Tom, Toby, & Jack, Blacks," and forty-six women of which two were " Negroes." January 1, 1835, he recorded, "the members of the church now living are as follows, viz Males 60, Females 101, total 161." "Scarcely a year passed," wrote Dr. Robbins, "without additions to the church. In 1807, and the year following, there was the greatest revival that has been in this place, about eighty were added to the church. There was also a good work of divine grace in 1820, again in 1824, in 1829 and in 1834." It was at this last-named date that Mrs. Eliza- beth Hubbard said she best remembered her grandfather. The "Old Minister" seldom attended the evening ser- vices but, being brought out to one, although much affected he took no part until near the close, when, rising, he stretched forth his hands and recited, the tears freely flowing, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace 1 See Extracts from the Records, V, in this book. The Church in the Second Precinct 215 according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy sal- vation." A writer in the American Quarterly Register of November, 1835, said of Mr. LeBaron: "He is now in the 89th year of his age, yet retaining his mental powers in an uncommon degree. His head bleached with the storms of life, his heavenly mien, his soft and mild voice, and his impressive manner all conspired to speak his worth and give weight and effect to the solemn instruc- tions that fell from the lips of the patriarch." On the 26th of February, 1836, the " Old Minister" had a paralytic shock, not severe, but rendering him mostly helpless. In November following he was taken with the prevailing influenza, attended with some fever. He died on the 26th of that month. Dr. Robbins chose for the text of his "Uncle LeBaron's" funeral sermon (written, as he says, laboriously and seven hours by candle light the night before), 2 Kings xi. 12, " My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." This was especially fitting from the fact that nearly all of the five of his children who attained maturity had settled and reared their families in the immediate neighborhood, and Dr. Robbins at the funeral said, " He looked upon all his people as his children. He felt that he had lived long seeing one generation after another pass away. No one survives that acted on the subject of his ordination, or that was then a member of the church." Dr. Robbins further said: "As a preacher Mr. LeBaron was eminently practical and experimental. The great peculiarity of his preaching in which he was dis- tinguished from most others was the Gospel of Love. He possessed a happy talent for addressing children. I think I have not known any person who appeared to have 216 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester a deeper sense of the importance and privilege of infant baptism than he had. He was a man of great liberality of feeling. Among his people he was a peacemaker. Such was the efficacy of his own example in this respect and the affectionate earnestness of his solicitude that he could hardly fail to prevent contention, or to reconcile such as were alienated. In this connection I would add that he has been greatly improved in Ecclesiastical Coun- cils and highly useful in preventing and healing divisions in churches. In his social character, Mr. LeBaron possessed a very happy talent in conversation; always cheerful he was interesting to every one and his conversa- sation was seldom other than profitable. In the war of the Revolution he fully shared in the dangers, the toils and privations of his people. His known character abroad was often useful in enabling them to procure necessary supplies. Our lamented friend has been favored with an uncommon degree of health during his long ministry, regularly performing his pastoral duties and seldom absent from home." A number of the "old minister's" sermons are in the possession of the writer, and they indicate clearly that he was familiar with shorthand, and inserted sections of it everywhere in his sentences. It also appears that paper was a scarce and valuable commodity. One sermon is written on the wide margin of a Thanksgiving proclama- tion, another on the back of a letter received from Valley Forge; all are of four-page length, the pages averaging about 3 J by 2f inches in size, with a neat margin at the left in which the text reference and dates of preaching are inserted. From these minute manuscripts, however, the preacher, as Wilson Barstow wrote, "occupied the time," The Church in the Second Precinct 217 and another of that generation used to say that in his youth he never acquired the proper meaning of the word "finally," for Minister LeBaron having passed by his " fourteenthly " or " fifteenthly " used to then have a "lastly," a "finally," and a "to conclude," and the "to conclude " was longer than all that had gone before. Of the church during this long pastorate, one genera- tion had passed on and another had become active. Dea- cons Constant Dexter, Ezekiel Clark, Timothy West, Elihu Shearman, and Thomas Tobey had died; and Isaac Bowles, Nathan Cannon, Amittai B. Hammond, and Nathaniel A. Crosby stood in their places. The com- munity had grown and the church increased in numbers, even after the establishment of other denominations. Those who were carried away by Elder Hix's itinerant preaching had, however, to be reclaimed and dealt with. As early as July 23, 1773, " The Chh met to consider what was dutiful to be done with John Curby, Widow Lydia Bowles, Abigail Southworth, Mary Bowles, and Lydia Cushing, who have for some time absented themselves from our communion, being inclined to the Antipedo- baptist sect." and Elder Barlow and sundry brethren were appointed to confer with them. Nathaniel Hammond, who was baptized by Elder Hix the first Sabbath of Sep- tember, 1793, began in January following to receive delegations of Orthodox brethren, followed by letters of admonition, until in July, 1784, he was cut off from com- munion "for his Instability in the Christian Profession." Gideon Dexter, Alden Dexter, and Thomas Dexter later became unstable, and in 1809, Philip Atsatt having gone over to the Baptists was considered "a covenant breaker and no longer a member of this church." 218 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Those who sought membership were encouraged, as in 1774 Enoch Hammond and Solomon Young were named to see Theophulus Pease Jun., who " had applyed for ad- mittance but was discouraged by hearing that there would be Objections laid in against him." A certain Mr. and Mrs. Hammond "perpetually were quarrelling, he abus- ing her shamefully with his tongue," and this domestic affliction had the church's attention for some years. A few cases of unchastity had to be dealt with. Of the " blacks " in the catalogue of members of 1772, Tom, who dwelt with Noah Hammond, was the only one blameless in this respect. In 1782 complaint was brought against one Dexter, "for cruelly scourging a little boy who lived with him, and that on the Lords Day." "The offender condemning his conduct and expressing his sorrow for it, the Chh voted to restore him to former Charity." Nine years later it is recorded: "Voted the acceptance of sd Dexter's confession which he offered to the Chh for his Intemperance, but poor man, 2 Pet. ii. 22." This refer- ance was, from a different appearance of the ink, ap- parently added later. Perhaps on September 28, 1808, when after much consideration and investigation it being shown that "he still continued to indulge himself in the sin of Drunkunness, voted unanimously that he be unto us as an heathen man and a publican, agreeable to the direction of our Lord Jesus Christ, Mat. 18, 17 and that a coppy of sd Vote be sent to said Dexter. N.B. a coppy was sent." There were other cases of intemperance, but on the whole the instances of discipline are rather few for the long period the records cover. Meanwhile, successive committees made the rates or solicited funds by way of contribution. Lieut. Dominicus The Church in the Second Precinct 219 Hovey and his successors "kept the meeting-house and swept it twelve times the year Insuing, for 15 shilling," or later on, some, as John Lincoln, Wilbur Southworth, Elijah Clark and Nathan Bessey, agreed to "Ceep the House" each three months. In 1773 the church had "desired Benjamin Hatch, Saml Jenney, Timothy West, Elihu Shearman, Saml. Eldredge & Gideon Hammond to sit in fourth seat in the meeting-house and lead the Church and Congregation in singing Gods praises." In 1781 the precinct voted "For the accommodation of those that lead in singing the use of the two hind seats in the body seats, on the lower flower, both on the mens and Womans Sides, So long as the present method of Singing by Select numbers shall continue. And the said singers may erect doors at the entrances of Said Seets at their own Cost, if they think proper, but not to raise the lower flower higher than it now is." As to music in this old church, "W" commented as follows in the Enterprise: "No instruments of music were tolerated in church service. Some were opposed to singing except by the saints. Total depravity couldn't sing praises. Seth Barlow, senior, was very pious at that time, having been converted as he said by Elder Hix. (The Elder said it looked like his work.) He, Seth, could bear no instrument of music, not even a pitch pipe to pitch the tune. On hearing the sound of the pipe, which was some- thing like a graduation between a squeak and a schream, Seth left the church in high dudgeon. The next day Seth asked Noah Hammond how he thought they cast out devils in the old times. 'With a pitch pipe,' says Noah." The great gale of 1815 ' made some new provision for a 1 "Saturday, Sept. 23rd. — The gale commenced early in the morn- ing and continued with increasing violence until near 12 o'clock. "At Rochester we are informed the damage done was considerable, 220 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester meeting-house necessary, and the growth of "the shore," due to whaling and ship-building, made it inadvisable to restore the structure on the hill. Deacon Bowles, Capt. Gideon Hammond and Noah Hammond, having been appointed to provide a temporary place of worship, re- ported October 30, " They had agreed for the schoolhouse at the shore for thirty cents per Sabbath when it was occupied by Mr. LeBaron's People, the Precinct to pre- pair the Hous for meeting, & the Hous on Monday mornings to be put in order for Schooles," to which latter duty Gideon Barstow, Jr., was appointed to find some person. March 9, 1816, Precinct meeting was warned to be in this "Olive Branch Schoolhouse" (which is the present "Goodspeed Memorial," then standing at the southwest corner of Church and Pearl Streets) and here the precinct managed its affairs and worshiped until the new meeting-house at "the green " (now occupied as the Grange Hall) was ready. At first it had been voted " to give Deac'n Tobey $25 for \ acre and that the meeting-hous should be Sot on the N. W. Corner of his homestead " (which would have lo- cated it near the Lobdell house), and that it "should be Near the moddle that Thomas Snow presented." Very soon, however, they reconsidered both the site and the "moddle," and appointed William Moore, John A. LeBaron and Joseph Meigs, " to devise a plan for defray- the salt works belonging to Messrs. Clapp, Nye, Handy, and others with about 3000 bushels of salt were all destroyed. Several vessels were driven on the wharves at Sippican Harbour, and at Mattapoisett 3 or 4 large vessels building on the stocks were driven into the street. The rope walk at that place is all carried away by the tide, the Rev. Mr. LeBaron's meeting-house unroofed, and several other buildings dam- aged." — New Bedford Mercury, Sept. 29, 1815. The Church in the Second Precinct 221 ing the cost, etc." It was arranged by a sale of shares in the meeting-house, and January 31, 1816, agreement was made to purchase the lot of, one third acre, from Joseph Meigs for $50, and February 3rd contract was made with Israel Richmond and Calvin Shaw "to build and finish the house in manner and form to that at Titicut, North Middleborough," (which had been erected in 1808) for $1100. Jonathan Kinney agreed "to lath and plaster for $100, he finding and tending himself. ,, William Ben- nett ( ?) of Bedford was to glaze it, " he finding glass at $14 the Box, and to have Sd. a payn for setting," and Abel House had $2 for drawing down four loads of stone from the old meeting-house, which Thomas Snow had previously agreed to take down, saving the stuff in good order and drawing and straightening the nails for $45. This third meeting-house had a spire and a wide, straight platform across the front. The projection to the south and the existing belfry date from the time it was remodeled for the use of Mattapoisett Academy. Many now living recall the interior with its high pulpit, square pews, and gallery on three sides. It was evidently easier to care for than the old building. The task of keeping it was struck off to the lowest bidder, and George Denham secured the plum for $2.90 per year, agreeing that "the house be swept 6 times in the year." Later John A. LeBaron agreed to sweep it nine times in the year and was paid $3. In 1828 the job included "Keeping the key and making the fires," and Leonard Hammond under- took the task at $2.75. And thus, after ninety-two years of records, is the first mention made of any heat in the meeting-house. This people sat longer in the cold than they had been warmed since. 222 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The "Wretched boys," as some records term them, seemed to have required little attention at Mattapoisett. They are first mentioned when in 1740 Gideon South- worth " was chosen to have the oversight of the youth in the meeting-house on the Sabbath Day," and are not again alluded to until in 1826, when the precinct " Chose Nathan- iel Harlow, warden to see to the Boys and girls in the meetinghouse and that there be no behaviour unbecoming the Solemnities of Divine Worship; " and, evidently to give him the best range of observation, directed, "that he have the use of the middle pew in the front gallery next the window." In 1826 Mr. LeBaron, then in his eightieth year, went to the precinct committee and stated he was " very desirous that a Gospel Minister be settled in the Precinct in his day, and that he would relinquish all demands for pecuniary support being considered the senior pastor of the Church." Amittai B. Hammond, Eliakim Cannon, Abel Hows, Capt. Andrew Southworth, Wilson Barstow, Esq., and Mr. Abisha Rogers " were appointed to provide a candidate, and on December 12th and 13th of that year a council or- dained and installed Rev. Asahel Cobb as colleague pastor. He was the son of John and Anna Cobb of Abington. Dr. Robbins says of him: "He continued in the ministry here three years and a half, and his labors were blessed with a pleasing revival of religion." His salary had been fixed at $400, six cords of wood, and the improvement of the salt meadow. In April, 1829, Messrs. Eleazer Waterman, Ebenezer Cannon, and Calvin C. Cannon called on Mr. Cobb to say that his salary there- after would be $50 less, whereat he gave three months' notice and sought another field for his labors, locating The Church in the Second Precinct 223 first at Sandwich and later with the First Church of New Bedford at Acushnet. He married May 21, 1834, Helen M. Hamblin, and had seven children. 1 He died in 1876 and is interred at Sandwich. As to how the pulpit was supplied following Mr. Cobb, the best information is from a scrap of paper found in Minister LeBaron's portfolio. It reads: " 1830, Nov. 9, Mrs. LeBaron died. 1831, Mar. 3, Mr. Clark here. May 6, ditto. July 6, Wm. (his son) taken sick ague fit. Aug. 2, Wm. very sick, 12, Wm. died — Mr. Clark preacher on the occasion of W 7 m. death, 1 Cor. v. 55. Sept. 10, Mr. Clark leaves us. 25, Thos. Robbins preached first sermon. Oct. 2, Mr. Robbins left us. 21, Mr. Robbins arrived." The precinct records simply state that "Mr. Clark would stay for a season for $450 per year." Whence he came or whither he went does not appear. Thomas Robbins, above mentioned, was the nephew of Minister LeBaron, being the ninth child of Elizabeth the daughter of Dr. Lazarus LeBaron and her husband, Rev. Ammi Ruhamah Robbins, who was settled over the church in Norfolk, Conn., for fifty-two years prior to his death in 1813. There Thomas Robbins was born August 11, 1777. He was fitted for college in his own home and at the age of fifteen was entered at Yale. His father was an early trustee of Williams College, and arranged that his son should take his senior year there and also be gradu- ated at Yale. So that Thomas Robbins has the perhaps 1 Of whom were Wendell Cobb, Esq., the well-known lawyer, late of New Bedford, and Mr. George A. Cobb, now living at Lunds Corner. 224 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester unique distinction of having his name stand as an alumnus on the general catalogues of both colleges, for the year 1796. On January of that year, while at Williams, he began his diary, which he continued up to 1854. He occupied himself prior to 1803 in teaching, in fitting for the ministry, and in preaching in various Connecticut towns. In 1803 he went, in the service of the Connecticut Missionary Society, to the new settlement on the Western Reserve, Ohio. From this service he returned in 1806 seriously broken in healtk He began preaching again in 1808 at East Windsor, Conn., continuing there until 1827. For a year and a half he was settled at Stratford, Conn. He accepted a call and continued with the church at Mattapoisett from 1832 to 1844, being sole pastor after Mr. LeBaron's death in 1836. Mr. Robbins never was married. He was fifty-four years old when, in response to the request of this people, having deferred departure to attend the 3>BK meeting and dinner of Yale, he started from Stratford Saturday, September 17, 1831, for his long ride. He complained that his horse traveled heavily, but the following Thurs- day he arrived in town, and his " Uncle LeBaron having left Ins own house to reside with his daughter Meyhew," he put up with family of his cousin William, lately de- ceased. The following morning he "looked at a fine ship on the stocks," and remarked that the village had increased very much since he was here in 1824. He states in his diary also that " there is a noisy three days' meeting here of the Free Will Baptists." On Sabbath he spoke twice at the meeting-house to a congregation which he thought to be rather small but to appear well, and in the evening preached at a private house. He The Church in the Second Precinct 225 went back again to Connecticut to prepare his things for removal, returning October 21, in time to see a fine, large ship launched the following morning. He preached the three usual times on the 23d, accepted Capt. Seth Free- man's invitation to board at his house, moved thither on Monday, and on Tuesday rode in the stage to Wareham to meet with the Old Colony Association of Ministers. He took pains to call on the widow of Rev. Noble Everett and returned to Mattapoisett Thursday in time to attend the funeral of a child, who died of the canker rash; thus beginning the record of infant mortality which contin- ued throughout his pastorate. The following week he preached at the ordination of Rev. Samuel Utley at North Rochester. Two weeks later he presided at the eccle- siastical council which ratified the separation of the Pacific (Trinitarian) church from Mr. Holmes's parish in New Bedford, and again six months later he preached the sermon for the dedication of the meeting-house of that new congregation. Like minister LeBaron he was "much improved in ecclesiastical Councils." February 22, 1832, he was in Boston, where was observed the Centennial celebration of Washington's Birthday. "Great firing and ringing of bells. At the State House heard a good oration of one hundred fifteen minutes. The prayers were poor. Attended a splendid Dinner given in Faneuil Hall to about six hundred guests." He tarried with his cousin Dr. Chandler Robbins, and re- ceived, as he says, polite treatment on going into the House of Representatives the following morning. He came home with a new kind of purchase, a "sharp metallic pen." He was in Boston again in May for the Ministerial Convention, and tarrying the night at the stage-house for 226 Mattapolsett and Old Rochester an early call, he rode through to Mattapoisett in the day; "much fatigued," however. He spent some days in Plymouth, and made another visit back to Connecticut before his installation which occurred October 17, 1832. " This day being appointed," wrote Mr. LeBaron in " The Church's Book," "agreeably to a preceding agreement of the Church and Precinct for the Instalment of Rev. Thomas Robbins, the Council consisting of the Ministers and Delegates of the Churches of the Old Colony Asso- ciation met at the house of John A. LeBaron, 1 and after forming themselves into a Council and offering up prayer to Almighty God for his blessing and assigning to each one his part in the transaction, proceeded to the meeting- house where in a very solemn manner Rev. Mr. Robbins was installed as Minister of the Second Precinct, and Pastor of the Second Church of Christ in Rochester, and every part was performed greatly to the acceptance of the audience and it is believed acceptable to God, and we most earnestly pray that the blessing of God may accom- pany the ministry of his servant. N.B. Introductory prayer by P. G. Seabury, Sermon by S. Holmes, installing prayer by J. Bigelow, Charge by Oliver Cobb, Right Hand by Wm. Gould. Address to the People by Samuel Nott." The diary entry that day reads: "I was solemnly in- stalled the collegiate pastor of this people. All things appear favorably. All proceedings have been unani- mous. Mr. Holmes preached well on Isa. xxiv. 2. The meeting-house was very full and the singing fine. At evening we had a public temperance meeting. Mr. Gould delivered a good address. Fine weather." Prob- 1 Being that of the late Col. Geo. M. Barnard, Jr. The Church in the Second Precinct 227 ably the bell rope was lustily pulled that day, for it was an important occasion, and the church bell was a new thing and the first in town. Until August, 1832, in Mattapoisett precinct no pealing call had ever broken the stillness of the Sabbath morn. While the clergy had thus been busy at "the Green" with solemn ceremony, launching the new colleague into his work, around the shore, as usual, had re-echoed the sound of the mallet, the hammer and the saw, and just a week later "a fine live oak ship, over 400 tons," was let down off the stocks into the harbor. Before the month was out, Mr. Robbins moved down from Captain Freeman's with his two wagon-loads of effects to Nathan Crosby's, — which is at present the house of Bruce F. Shaw, on the east side of North Street. He had his chambers on the north side of the house, and here was his home throughout his stay in Mattapoisett. The old minister's grandson, Lemuel, made him a new pine bookcase, which he said was very good work, but not large enough for all his periodicals; and here, having settled his library, which then consisted of well above a thousand volumes, he called in "Uncle LeBaron" and other relatives and friends, who "much admired his chambers, library, etc." He himself said they were "good chambers but difficult to keep comfortable." In his accounts is an item of $3.50 for a new-fashioned warm- ing pan which he very suggestively presented to his land- lady. Sometimes even the ink froze in spite of his great stove, with its "duck floor cloth" beneath it, and the plentiful use of wood. To help prepare his fuel, took much of his time. Very often he writes, " Worked at my wood." Sometimes he carried up " thirty armfuls, twenty- 228 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester five before noon," and we can seem to see the frail figure in knee-breeches, toiling, heavily laden, up the long flight of outside stairs which, until quite recently, connected those chambers of his with the middle of the yard below. He continued to wear " small clothes " as long as he lived, although the rest of the world had adopted panta- loons a good while before. Most who now remember Dr. Robbins says that he was the only person they ever saw who dressed in knee breeches. Once he wrote after a day of shopping, "I have difficulty in finding necker- chefs such as I wear." For a hat he paid $6, and for "new boots made for me of the best kind $10." Con- sidering that he was particular for nice apparel, his diary contains remarkably few references to clothes. Novem- ber 14 of one year, he writes, " Yesterday put on my flan- nel," and the following June 15, "Took off my flannel;" with nothing recorded as to the time between. One year, on the 26th of May, there is this pathetic entry: "Am not able to get off my flannel." The good man not only felt that the dignity of his position demanded a good appearance, but he also had a high sense of the respect due to the cloth. Little boys whom he met on the street were expected to remove their caps, and girls to politely curtsey. Having thus shown their good breeding, the children found no one who took more notice of them or who was more heartily interested in their welfare. He laid in especial supplies of figs and sweet crackers in anticipation of their calls to wish him "A Happy Independence." Girls used to help him dust his books, and he loaned to them suitable volumes. One of these girls was Wilson Barstow's daughter, Elizabeth, who later became the wife of Richard Henry Stoddard. The Church in the Second Precinct 229 Dr. Robbins says in his diary of June 8, 1833, "Received a present of a valuable box from young Elizabeth Bar- stow." It is interesting to quote in this connection what Mr. Stoddard in his " Recollections " says of this early friend- ship: "She had one friend however, a notable man in his way, though he was only the minister of Mattapoisett, where he was considered a queer old fellow. This was the Rev. Thomas Robbins, who was known to antiquarians as the author of "An Historical Survey of the First Planters of New England" and of several sermons preached on special occasions. He took a fancy to Elizabeth Barstow when she was a child, and gave her the range of his library which was a large one for a country minister to have, and which consisted chiefly of the classic works of the eighteenth century. "She read Addison, Steele, and Dr. Johnson, the Tattler, The Rambler, the Spectator, the delectable writings of Fielding,' Richardson, Smollett and Sterne, — 'Tristam Shandy,' 'Pere- grine Pickle,' 'Pamela,' and 'Tom Jones.' She read 'Sully's Memoirs' and the comedies of Sheridan, and if the comedies of Vanburgh and Congreve were there (but it is to be hoped not) she read those too. She read hundreds, thousands of volumes in the good doctor's library, which was to her a liberal educa- tion, and indeed, the only education she ever had." Of this library, John Warner Barber, — who on July % 1832, had walked about the town with Dr. Robbins, — said in his Massachusetts Historical Collections: "Rev. Thomas Robbins, D.D., the successor of Mr. LeBaron, possesses, it is believed, the most valuable private library in the State. It consists of about 3000 volumes, of which more than 300 are folios. The principal sub- jects on which these volumes treat are theology and his- tory, and many of them are quite ancient. In this col- lection there are 4000 pamphlets some of which are very 230 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester rare. Dr. R. has also an extensive collection of coins, manuscripts, etc. The library is carefully arranged in neat and elegant bookcases." Dr. Robbins himself says that he had over 4000 volumes before he left Mattapoisett. May 31, 1839, he looked over his coins and found he had 596, including in the copper a Roman denarius found in England, presented him by Capt. Henry Huttleston of Fairhaven. In May, 1840, he made a "very important addition" to his library — "Walton's Polyglot Bible, purchased of Mrs. Holmes, relict of Dr. Abiel Holmes of Cambridge, eight massive folios in fine order, for $160.00." A little later his cousin, Joseph Battel, 1 sent him from New York "Boyers' splendid edition of Hume's History as a present, — having procured it at my suggestion at auction for $100. Ten large folios, printing, paper, plates, and binding of the richest kind." No wonder when his new carpet came he had to have the help of Waterman and Prentice Crosby to assist him putting the carpet down and the books up. It seems evident that Stoddard, who, when he was sparking Elizabeth Barstow, was referred to in local doggerel, then privately circulated, as "A dude from York, with brains very small, Who attended a dance in Eaton Hall," even in his later years knew little of this " country minister " other than as was related to his books. Thomas Robbins was probably in ecclesiastical, historical, and educational circles the widest known of any man who ever went in and out before this people. He had already edited the 1 The merchant of New York and of Norfolk, Connecticut, and the giver of Battel Chapel to Yale University. -^v^X^--0-^-^»--»_- ? The Church in the Second Precinct 231 first and second editions of Mather's "Magnalia," and had published his "Historical View of the First Planters of New England." While at Mattapoisett he received a diploma and gifts from the Rhode Island Historical Society, before whom he had delivered his lecture on "The Middle Ages;" was elected a member of the Con- necticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Na- tional Institution of Science of Washington. He was in correspondence with the Royal Society of Northern An- tiquities of Copenhagen, and John Quincy Adams and President Josiah Quincy were appointed by the Massa- chusetts Historical Society to confer with him on a plan he had proposed for a comprehensive history of the United States. He attended the meetings of the Antiquarian Society with much regularity. For that purpose, October 22, 1834, he took his first ride on a railroad. From Boston "took the railroad car at two o'clock and rode in seventy- five minutes to Framingham, twenty-one miles, — the whole scene is a wonder. Rode in the stage to Worces- ter." November 2, 1839, returning from Hartford, he took the cars from Providence for Taunton. "At Mans- field in changing cars, having lost the points of compass on a cloudy day, I took the wrong one and got ten miles, perhaps, toward Boston before I found my mis- take. Went on." Not very amiss after all, for "At Boston found most unexpectedly a box containing a fine copy of the Bishop's Bible, a present from the Duke of Sussex, England, with a good letter from his Royal High- ness. This was in answer to my application recom- mended through Mr. Buckingham last winter." When the Massachusetts State Board of Education was 232 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester formed in 1837, with Horace Mann as its chairman, Dr. Robbins was appointed by Governor Edward Everett a member of the board. In that capacity he appeared at examinations of Bridgewater Normal School, or of the "excellent female school" at Norton, or walked in pro- cession with the Legislature (and so with Capt. Zach. Barstow as representative) at the opening of the General Court for 1838. August 28 of the same year his diary reads: "At evening attended our weekly prayer meeting, after which set out on a journey and rode to Bedford. Slept at a tavern. 29th: — Was called early and took the stage at three o'clock and rode to Taunton, took cars and rode to Boston. Rode to Cambridge and went into the Commencement exercises after they had begun. The speaking was good and a very full house. A fine day. In the honorary degrees my name was read most unexpectedly for a D.D. I know not by whose recom- mendation. I bless God for the favor." Dr. Robbins, as was his father, was for some years a trustee of Williams College. August, 1843, he was being "very kindly entertained at President Hopkins's. At- tended an interesting meeting of the Alumni. I am the senior present. Attended the public services. The presi- dent delivered a very good address respecting the college. I delivered mine. Too long — an hour and forty-five minutes, — but kindly heard." At Plymouth, Fore- father's Day, 1838, he had done better, — " Delivered my discourse, about sixty-five minutes," and afterwards " made a short extempore address to the Standish Guards to whom the ladies had presented an elegant standard." He presided often at ecclesiastical councils, laid the corner-stone of Mr. Holmes's new "stone church" in New The Church in the Second Precinct Bedford, presided at the ordination of Rev. Homer Bar- rows at West Middleborough, assisted to dedicate the Naskatucket meeting-house, and the like. Visiting New York in 1844, he found "Wall Street" a "great curi- osity." Preached in the Old Tabernacle in Brooklyn, and came home with a special commission to secure a piece of Forefathers' Rock for the projected Church of the Pilgrims. He was very constant in his attendance at the General Ministerial Convention, and regular in his services to the Pastoral Association. He seldom came back from these journeys abroad with- out either primers for the Sabbath School, or copies of the "Mountain Miller," the "Dairyman's Daughter," or the "Young Cottager;" and with these tracts he walked to Tripps Mills and made calls (not omitting the aged Mrs. Hovey, the minister's daughter-in-law), or rode to Aucoot or New Boston, or perhaps walked to the Necks for two days of calls, sleeping at Captain Southworth's. When the "fine new ship Joseph Meigs" sailed, he fitted them out with books and tracts, and did the same when Mr. Crosby, with more than fifty other men, sailed for Louisiana to get live oak. Another time he went on a whale brig and supplied the men fully with Bibles. He drove sometimes with " Dr. Southard " in his chaise, and often he ministered to the sick, as when "called in the morning to visit my good neighbor (at William L. R. Gifford's present summer home), Mr. Jonathan Dexter, in a state of great pain and apparently insensible. Hurt by a great blow on the back of his head in the woods." Or again, the mercury standing at 90°, he "walked in the heat up to Solomons and saw sick Mary." Not of strong physique, the heat often made him "languid." 234 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester At such times he "slept on a mattress and wore summer dress." August 1, 1837, the thermometer stood at 90° and he felt quite feeble, so he read Sampson Agonistes without leaving his chair, worked at his books and wrote the inscription for his Uncle LeBaron's gravestone. Other days he read Hudibras, Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, Colden's Five Nations, D'Aubigne's Reformation, Lawrence's Natural History of Man, Mrs. Jameson's Female Sovereigns, and once it was a novel, "Miriam Coffin." One very stormy day he "read the Bible and Bony's Court," the scriptures being an antidote for the Harper's Family Library story of "that seat of corrup- tion." Another time it was an account of Philip's War, and of that chief he added: "I think he was not in- ferior to the early Grecian Heroes." At some periods he had "a scholar;" — as his young cousin Francis LeB. Mayhew. He usually spent considerable time writing and transcribing his sermons, unless, as he put it, he was "hindered by company." Of an evening he "attended the Lyceum," or went to Mr. Sanborn's lecture on Egypt and Babylon. Occasionally he had "polite company," or went over to Bedford, and "called on Mr. James Arnold and had particular conversation with him in his grotto." New Year's Day, '39, he had "many calls from children and others. Dined and took tea at Mr. W. Barstow's. At evening attended a spelling school. Was up late." There was some slackness in the observance of Fast Day, even as early as 1833, for Dr. Robbins records, "Meetings well attended. A part of the people were off playing ball according to their usual practice here." Independence day was his especial celebration of the year. The Church in the Second Precinct 235 In 1834, he says: "We had a handsome celebration. There has not been one here for many years. The chil- dren were all out with their teachers and several soldiers of the Revolution. I delivered my address. A Baptist made the last prayer and a Universalist from Sippican read the Declaration. He did not sit down in the pulpit. Dined out. All appeared to be much pleased." Next year Mr. Bigelow came down from the Center to give the address, and to the six ministers present, Mr. Leonard Hammond (at his tavern, the Plymouth County House) gave a very hospitable dinner. "There was a very hand- some procession, military, Sabbath school, — Revolu- tionary soldiers, etc." With these latter, however, Cap- tain Wallis did not march, for Dr. Robbins had been to New Boston, the day before, to attend his funeral, and his body lay newly buried in the Hammond cemetery. In 1839, Mr. Bryant (teacher and Baptist preacher) read the Declaration. Mr. Taylor (Universalist) de- livered the address. Dr. Robbins prayed and addressed the children, all was concluded by a tea party in a grove; and the "shrubbery" was left in the meeting-house over Sunday. Next year, " the Sabbath schools were out with escort. Mr. Corydon from Bedford delivered a fine address, and we had with our new organ excellent music." Of this instrument, his diary remarks on the previous Sabbath, " Our new organ performed and well. It is certainly a very fine one, made by one of our mechanics, David Cannon," — the doctor's next-door neighbor. On Fourth of July, 1841, Dr. Robbins, with many, sailed around to Sippican where was a procession and a dinner in a grove. In 1842, he "rode to Bedford and dined with the Washingtonians and Guards of Matta- 236 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester poisett and Bedford." The next year he spent at home, and "the children called for salutations of Independence, 104 in number." In '44, some youths and older persons came also, so there were about 160, but each one had their cake and fig. Washington's Birthday, 1842, he states: "The new military company formed here, the * Mattapoisett Guards' called for me and we marched to the meeting house and I delivered my address to a full house. Dined at Esq. Meigs's." Another company with which Dr. Robbins had rela- tions was the "Cold Water Army," which he organized in 1841, of children between eight and fifteen who had taken a solemn pledge. Two hundred and seventy were mustered in, and when the badges arrived from Boston, he says his army almost overran him. The last mention of this band is August 19, 1842, when "We had our temperance celebration. I received a number of ad- ditions to our Cold Water Army. We had a procession with the Military Guards and music, and Mr. Hathaway, of Assonet, a reformed inebriate, gave a good lecture. We went to a grove and had a good collation. At evening we had a lecture from Mr. Colburn, of Salem, late a drunken sailor; pretty ordinary." At another time he rode to meet with the school com- mittee at Rochester and " attended a Temperance lecture from Mr. Taylor, seamans 5 preacher at Boston. A sample of eccentricity." Although he stood firm for temperance, his conscience did not forbid him from giv- ing the feeble Mrs. Mayhew a bottle of the best port wine. Apparently he did not object to the circus, — especially if he had a free ticket. "July 14, 1843, there was a famous exhibition here of a caravan of wild beasts. The Church in the Second Precinct 237 I attended by invitation. About six hundred persons present." The good doctor could tell a fish story if the occasion required: Diary, April 14, 1843, "This has been a great herring day. The herrings have come suddenly, of good quality and an immense number. A very great blessing to the town. It is said they have taken to-day 70,000." He did not forget to note other events of general interest in his record. September 21, 1834, "Attended the funeral of Mr. Cannon's child. The first buried in the new bury- ing ground. Endeavored to consecrate the ground in the public service." December 11, same year, "The Univer- salist meetinghouse has got a clock." March 21, 1838, "Last night our lighthouse was lighted for the first time." He rarely attended town meeting unless " by the particu- lar desire of the people," or some school matter required his presence. He was a hard-working member of the Rochester school committee. Riding or walking he often visited schools in "Orcoot," the Necks, in Sippican, or the Church neighborhood; and sometimes in the village, if it appeared that the teacher there was a "flagellant and whipped rashly." Much of his time was taken in draft- ing a scheme for a grammar school, in meetings to examine teachers, or in tabulating returns required by the State. Despite the fact that so much of his effort was expended in public concerns, and in the building up of his library, Dr. Robbins was ever the faithful pastor of his church. He not only ministered to his parish, supplied his pulpit, attended the monthly concert, and worked, as he said, " laboriously " for the Sabbath school (which in 1834 had 154 pupils and in 1840 over 200), but he also held meet- ings on the Necks, at Cannonville, Pine Islands or Tripps 238 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Mills, and sometimes he preached on a Sunday evening at Isaac Bowles's or at Deacon Amittai Hammond's. Sometimes at the wharf he held service on board a whale- ship about to set sail. Revival seasons occurred in 1834, when simultaneous meetings were held evenings at the Neck and in the vestry (in the east end of the Mattapoisett house), as well as sunrise meetings at Cannon ville; in 1840, when extra meetings were held every morning at nine, in which Rev. Mr. Gould, of Fairhaven, and Rev. Leander Cobb, of Sippican assisted, and again in 1842. On Fast Day, 1842, he says: "After meeting I baptized Isaiah Sears by immersion in the harbor. The first time in my life, and I never saw it done but once, in Ohio. It was less unpleasant than I expected. Felt no particular incon- venience." The following Sabbath seventeen persons joined the church, and others in June. In all, during Dr. Robbins's pastorate, seventy-six were added to the church. There was no change of deacons and only one instance of church discipline. Dr. Robbins was instrumental in procuring the pres- ent communion service to replace the one of pewter which had been acquired when Minister LeBaron began his service in 1772, the tankards of which had been pre- sented by Mary Hammond and Dr. Lazarus LeBaron. October 1, 1835, the pastor "suggested to the church the expediency of improving our communion furniture, particularly the cups," and the church appointed Capt. Seth Freeman, Dea. Nathaniel A. Crosby, and Capt. Allen Dexter as committee. The church record states: "The cups were procured Mar. 16, 1836. They were made at New Bedford, nine, the cost $10.35 each. The The Church in the Second Precinct 239 charge for making was $4 each. Two were paid for from the church treasury, seven were given by in- dividuals." Meanwhile the prudential affairs of the parish pro- ceeded with much regularity. In 1832 the precinct voted that " we use our influence and exertions to raise by subscription $450 to be paid to Rev. Mr. Robbins for his labors with us the ensuing year and that the new sub- scription paper which shall be drawn shall be deposited in the store of Capt. Joshua Cushing," who had then retired from the sea to his home on the east side of Cannon Street; and whose sword, which he captured in an exciting struggle from the pirates of the Mediterranean, is now to be seen in Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth. In a later year the paper was placed at Harlow & LeBaron's store. Mr. Robbins's salary continued at the figure named, with the addition of three or six cords of wood "as it lays on the Neck," throughout his pastorate. In 1836, Abner Harlow was chosen to see if the bell could not be rung for less than $16; and in 1837 it was decided to have an agent to find seats for strangers, and James Barstow was appointed. At the same meet- ing it was voted "not expedient to build new or en- large the meeting house but to repair the steps, doors, and windows, and paint the top of the steeple and round where it was leaded, and move the chimney to the north end and lead the pipe into the same." But in this then rapidly growing community this building at "the Green" was becoming much too small. February 2, 1839, Benjamin Barstow, as moderator, appointed Andrew Southworth, John A. LeBaron, Seth Freeman, Wilson Barstow, and Joshua Cushing a committee on location; 240 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester and a month later they reported "a new meeting house cannot go below the hill by the residence of the late Deacon Tobey if there is to be a vestry under it." They advised, however, no action that year, and in 1841 the same committee reported in favor of "a Site or Lot on Universalist Street in back of Capt. Samuel Sturtevant 's," and therefore about where the Doctor Sparrow house now stands. In this matter, however, the precinct was not required further to act. It was decided to build the new house by taking shares and a proprietors' organization was formed. Oc- tober 9, 1841, Gideon Barstow deeded the present meeting-house lot, for $400, to Ebenezer Cannon, Caleb L. Cannon, Isaac N. Barrows, Benjamin Bacon, Na- than Crosby, Rowland Howland, Edward Bucll, Wil- son Barstow, Seth Freeman, Leonard Hammond, Arvin Cannon, Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., John A. LeBaron, Jesse Hammond, Jr., Lemuel LeBaron, Solomon K. Eaton, Gideon Barstow, William Merithew, Nathaniel A. Crosby, Henry Barstow, Benjamin Barstow, 2d, Levi Snow, Charles C. Beals, Nathan Cannon, Newton Southworth, Peleg Pierce, Martin Hall, Henry P. Young, James Barstow, Ezra E. Washburn, Nathaniel Clark, Peleg Gifford, James Allen, Thomas C. Hammond, Gideon Hammond, William B. Rogers, Andrew Southworth, Hallet M. Cannon, Mary Leach, Abner Hall, Zaccheus M. Barstow, Matthew Mayhew, Reuben Dexter, Allen Dexter, John Dexter, Rogers L. Barstow, Prentis Crosby, Elnathan H. Cushing, Abner Harlow, Weston Howland, David H. Cannon, Edward H. Willkey, Waterman Crosby, Wyatt Snow, Stephen Snow, Lot. N. Jones, Seth P. Ames, Noah C. Sturtevant, James Coleman, James Cannon, '"H« I] . t ; — __ S5 Sf £ . | - r The Church in the Second Precinct 241 Nathan H. Barstow, Richard Mitchell, Amittai B. Ham- mond, Thomas Nelson, L. N. Jones. October 28, 1841, the diary states: "Our people have broken ground for a new meeting house." May 10, 1842: "Yesterday the people commenced laying the wall for the new meeting house. " May 21: "Afternoon I laid the cornerstone of the fourth meeting house for this people, 1736, 1772, 1816, 1842. Delivered my address. We had a procession, etc. Mr. Cobb (Sippican) was present and assisted." October 31: "Had a meeting in the vestry and in a manner took our leave of that room." Novem- ber 4 : " Observed this as a Humiliation Day in reference to the removal of our place of worship. We had a prayer meeting at sunrise, one at ten o'clock. In the afternoon Mr. Cobb preached very well. We had an evening meet- ing all in our new lecture room. The first service in the house was prayer — 'Our Father' — etc." Sunday, Nov. 6: "We took our leave of the house of worship where this people have assembled for 26 years." No- vember 9, 1842: "Dedication of our new meeting house to God and his rich grace. Mr. Maltby * preached well. I made the dedicatory prayer. Dr. Cobb, Mr. Bige- low, and Mr. Briggs (the ministers of Rochester town) performed parts. The house was very full. Afternoon the pews were sold. The cost of the house and lot ($450) is about $6200, carpetings and lamps included. The lecture room, with the raising the earth, etc, gratuitous about $620. Pews 74, six free, 56 sold including choice money will nearly pay the bills, 12 remain, all wanted. 2 1 Rev. Erastus Maltby, a native of Northfield, Conn., a graduate of Yale, 1821, Pastor at Taunton from 1836 until his death in 1883. 2 A curious deed for one of these pews is dated March 22, 1849, and 242 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester The house was much admired. The most of our Asso- ciation were present. At evening Mr. Barrows preached very well," and on the Saturday following the church bell was removed to the new house. Dr. Robbins set out many trees in the streets of Matta- poisett. Ash trees seemed to be his favorites. December 16, 1842, he records: "Rode early to the Neck and had two very fine ash trees taken up and brought here and set in front of the meeting house. They are much alike, forty-two feet high and eight inches in diameter. Had good help." For these trees he paid Mr. Gideon Ham- mond seven dollars. The following summer was exceed- ingly hot and the good man was worried as to his trees. July 22, he watered them laboriously. Next day, Sunday, "at half past five we had a special season of prayer on account of the drought. Mr. Sullings and the Baptists and the Universalists with us. It was a solemn session." Next day "in the afternoon it pleased God to send us a most greatful shower. It was pretty violent and not long but a great blessing. Our village seems to have been the center of it. I took stage and rode to Wareham. But little rain here." The doctor's errand at Wareham was to meet with the Association, and on the following day they examined is that of "John T. Atsatt of Rochester, President of the Mattapoisett and California Mechanical and Mining Company, in consideration of $40 paid by Josiah D. & Noah C. Sturtevant, — a certain pew in the new Cong'l Meeting House with all and singular the furniture of said pew, No. 46, together with a proportionate share of the lot of land on which said house stands; and also one twenty-second of the Riderian School-room under said house, and other privileges in the vestry of said house, with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging to said pew." — Plymouth Deeds, Book 290, page 25. The Church in the Second Precinct 243 and licensed Mr. Thacher, of Dartmouth, who, although they then little thought it, would within less than eighteen months sit as a member of that Association, as pastor of the Mattapoisett church, in place of Dr. Robbins. The bustling village was then growing fast, and was ambitious to be up with the times. It had become less the fashion for a minister to locate with a people for life, and here was settled a little old man who refused to conform his dress to the modern notion, and who when he mounted into the new broad pulpit seemed, in the minds of some of the congregation, to be curiously out of place in the brand new modern meeting-house. His figure was more in keeping with sounding boards, and the square high-backed pews. His thoughts inclined to the past. He was of reputation as an antiquarian. Would not some new licensee better serve this growing maritime parish ? It needed some excuse for a change; but a very little tidbit well twisted on the tongue would perhaps suffice; and being thus minded various of the matrons whose zeal was great in public concerns, and in their neighbors' af- fairs, proceeded to watch out, and to hold their ears to the ground. Pretty soon they thought they detected a slight concussion, with the center of the disturbance near the Neck. March 25, 1843, Dr. Robbins writes, "Had a piece of unpleasant intelligence." And on the 30th, " My brethren called on me. At evening attended an in- formal meeting of most of the church, and they voted unanimously on the late slander with which I have been abused, that they received my statement as correct and that they were fully satisfied. They were faithful breth- ren." He said nothing, however, about the sisters. 244 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester December 13, he writes, "My people are in an un- pleasant state;" and later in the month, "Several of my people called on me and presented a petition relative to my removal. — I fear there may be a division among my people." In February, 1844, a meeting was warned "to see if the precinct will continue the Rev. Thomas Robbins their Pastor." The meeting adjourned for four weeks and then without action adjourned sine die. But the pastor knew his parish was divided. His intent had been to spend his life with this people in like manner as had his predecessor. He thought on it; he prayed over it, and when his brother Francis, who was over a church in Connecticut, visited in New Bedford, he talked it with him, and his brother thought it best that he leave. Dr. Robbins had before this had letters from friends and from various institutions, especially Williams College, in regard to the disposal of his library; and at this troubled time came a very alluring proposition through Hon. Henry Barnard, of Hartford, of an arrangement by which the Connecticut Historical Society would eventually come into possession of his books, and Dr. Robbins himself would become the Society's librarian, on a stipulated salary, of nearly double the amount he was then receiving at Matta- poisett, through the remaining years of his active life. He decided to accept this arrangement and immediately thereafter he requested a precinct meeting and desired that he be given $200 and the expense be paid of removing his library to Connecticut. This was voted unanimously, and the amount raised by the subscriptions of about two- thirds of the congregation. At his request a church council was called, which sat on August 6, and voted dis- mission on the ground of mutual agreement of the parties. The Church in the Second Precinct 245 "Many people," he writes, "seem much tried at the pros- pect of my removal." September 8, 1844, "Preached my farewell sermon on Matthew xvi. 18, in the afternoon to a large assembly. Took a brief review of my ministry in this place. A very pleasant day. Had a solemn meeting. Took notice of the late death of the aged Mr. Jesse Hammond. A very industrious, just and good man." Monday morning the minister was very busy preparing for his removal. He had engaged a vessel to take his goods around to Hartford, and his library had been packed into over forty great boxes. Tuesday there was "a con- fused scene " getting things on board. Wednesday morn- ing (11th), "Worked laboriously at my effects and got them on board a vessel which sailed for Hartford in the afternoon." And as the sun drew nearer to the tops of the pines on the ridge at the west, and the shadows length- ened toward Cannonville Hill, we can seem to see the quaint figure of Thomas Robbins, leaning on his cane, out by the end of the wharf, his back to the village and his new meeting-house; watching the little vessel bearing his dearly loved treasure, steer first southeast, and then turn down the bay to head out to the open sea. When he came up toward the street, caulkers and joiners would have bowed or spoken respectfully. The sailors and captains ashore would have greeted him kindly, for the whalemen felt better to have his Bibles and tracts aboard ship, and when in from the voyage they liked to find his well-known figure as a land mark among the new faces on the streets. They brought him foreign coins, shells and coral; battle-axes and curios from the south seas, and these he cherished with his shot-gourd from the Mayflower, and his piece of Martin Luther's table. It is 246 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester said that not long after his departure, one of these whalers coming in, the captain inquired for the minister, and being told the recent happenings, broke out in language more suited to the open ocean than to the printed page and called down all the anathemas of heaven upon those who had caused the good man to go away. September 13, 1844, Dr. Robbins wrote: "Paid Mr. White, Mr. Baker, Rogers Barstow, and Mr. Crosby. Balanced all pecuniary accounts. At noon took the stage, left Mattapoisett and rode to New Bedford. Took cars and rode to Boston. Much fatigued with many labors. May God in mercy remember my people now destitute of a pastor for the first time in more than seventy years." The Sabbath following he tarried with his brother in Enfield, finding his surtout lost there on his last journey, and on the 16th he was in Hartford anxiously awaiting the arrival of Captain Baker and his vessel. On the 19th all came safely, and several truck loads of books were carried up to the Athenaeum ; where for ten years thereafter Thomas Robbins filled the office of Librarian. Dr. Henry R. Stiles wrote in the Round Table of Jan- uary 6, 1866 (quoted but in part): "The old librarian was the last of a line of New England Divines. He had been a settled pastor for a good portion of his life and was a good writer of sermons. A studious man by nature, books were not so much a luxury as a necessity to him. It was a pleasant arrangement this by which the books which he had spent so great a portion of his life in collecting should thus repay his loving care by giving to his old age the little comforts which it needed. "Antiquaries Hall was a rare and fitting shrine for such a character. Old portraits, old chairs and chests out of the May- flower, Captain Miles Standish's dinner pot, Indian relics, worm- eaten manuscripts, old battle flags, hacked, haggled and rent, The Church in the Second Precinct 247 and scraps of ancient costume were the appropriate surround- ings of this old librarian with his small clothes and knee buckles, and his white silk stockings or white top boots with their silken tassels. "Here old age deepened insensibly the mellow shadows of . life, death wooed him so gently that he knew it not, his memory failed, his beloved books alone were able to retain, and then only for a moment, his wandering thoughts. An assistant was procured for him, but the old man scarcely knew the change. He lingered on until September 13, 1856, when he passed peacefully away at the home of his niece Mrs Elizabeth (Robbins) Allen in the town of Colebrook, Connecticut, at the age of 79." > Following the pastorate of Mr. Robbins the history of the Second Precinct in Rochester took on a new aspect. What might be termed the patriarchal system with its lifelong pastorates gave place to the more modern custom of an acting pastor supplying the pulpit for a short term of years. "Dr. Robbins's new meeting house" still stands, and persons now living can review in memory the sixty-three years since this new era began. Its history is not greatly out of the ordinary and need be outlined but briefly. In November, 1844, Mr. Isaiah Thacher, who was a native of Dartmouth, and who had been graduated from Union College in 1841, having preached two Sabbaths, was invited to supply the pulpit for twelve months at a salary of $600. He accepted and was duly installed by Council, Christmas Day, 1844, and continued as pastor until dismissed in 1849, when he immediately accepted the pastorate of the Central Congregational 1 The funeral occurred at the Centre Church, Hartford, and the Historical Society, having first listened to a memorial address at its rooms by the Rev. Joel Hawes, attended in a body. 248 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Church, Middleboro, who had that year erected their present house of worship. The precinct seemed to be concerned during this time mainly with the circulating of various kinds of subscription papers. Edward Buell had one to collect "to defray the church's housekeeping,' ' and if you met Rowland Howland, his was for a new stove pipe, to be preferably of copper. Mr. Thacher is said to have preached good stiff orthodox doctrine, and it appears that members who were " doubt- ful on the doctrine of total depravity and eternal punish- ment " were called up to give account. His successor, Mr. Mather, also took a vigorous hold on church dis- cipline, and those who forsook communion, "habitually misrepresented facts," "patronized the ball-room," or kept livery stables open on Sunday, received censure. The last record of church discipline, other than the mere erasure of a name, occurred under Mr. Parsons in 1861. November, 1850, the precinct had voted to install Rev. Wm. L. Mather, offering a salary of $500, and appointing Alexander Cannon treasurer and collector and Charles C. Beals to solicit money for "contingent expenses: " and these did so well that at the end of the year the balance of $11 was paid to Solomon K. Eaton "for the improvement of singing." In 1855 it was voted "the congregation be requested to sing with the choir the last hymn in the fore and afternoon." The stone posts with chains, which now enclose two sides of the meeting-house lot, were set by William Taylor in the fall of 1851. Mr. Mather dwelt in the house now the home of Mrs. Wealthy A. Cross, and also at Cannonville. He was dismissed by council in 1855, — and in November of that year he and his wife The Church in the Second Precinct 249 Amanda were granted letters to the church in Ann Arbor, Mich. In September Rev. Charles Livingstone was installed pastor, at a salary of $800. He was the son of Neil Livingstone and Agnes Hunter, of Blantyre, in Scotland, and consequently was the younger brother of David Livingstone, the African missionary and explorer. Of Charles, W. G. Blaikie in his Personal Life of David Livingstone, Harpers, 1881, page 88, says: "In 1839, when David Livingstone was in England, Charles became earnest about religion. A strong desire sprang up in his mind to obtain a liberal education. Not having the means to get this at home he was advised by David to go to America and endeavor to obtain admission to one of the colleges there where the students support themselves by manual labor. To help him in this David sent him five pounds, being the whole of his quarter's allowance in London. On landing in New York, after selling his box and bed, Charles found his whole stock of cash to amount to £2, 13*. Qd. Purchasing a loaf and a piece of cheese as viaticum, he started for a college at Ober- lin, seven hundred miles off, where Dr. Finney was President. He contrived to get to the college without having ever begged. In the third year he entered on the theological course with a view to becoming a missionary. He did not wish, and never could agree as a missionary, to hold an appointment from an American Society on account of the relation of the American Churches to slavery; therefore he applied to the London Mis- sionary Society. The Directors declined to appoint Charles Livingstone without a personal visit, which he could not afford to make. This circumstance led him to accept a pastorate in New England, where he remained until 1857, when he came to this country and joined his brother in the Zambesi Expedi- tion. Afterwards he was appointed H. M. Consul at Fernando Po, but being always delicate, he succumbed to the climate of the country and died a few months after his brother, on his way home in October, 1873." He appears as joint author with his brother in an account 250 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester of the Zambesi expedition: on which journey Dr. Living- stone took his party twenty miles off their regular route that they might see the grand Victoria Falls, and " Charles Livingstone, who had seen Niagara, gives the preference to Mosi-oa-tunya." And it is evident that, at that time, he was the only person in the world able to make that comparison. He had left Mattapoisett abruptly, and sent back but little information of his plans or move- ments either to his parish or his family. Various com- mittees waited on Mrs. Livingstone, but she could give them no news; official inquiries remained unanswered. So the precinct voted, July 13, 1857, "To instruct the committee to write Mr. Livingstone, that as the time having expired for which he asked leave of absence, and having no intimation from him when he may return, if at all, and being destitute of a minister we have decided to invite a supply of the pulpit without reference to his return." The position was then offered to a Rev. Mr. Wheeler, but Dr. Bartlett reported he could not be obtained. Others declined. Rev. William L. Parsons, D.D., ac- cepted at a salary of $900, and preached for six years. He was duly installed, in which service Rev. Mr. Thacher and Rev. Asahel Cobb had parts. This church partici- pated in the general revival season of 1857 and '58, and on May 9, 1858, seventy-seven were admitted to member- ship upon confession of faith. In July and September following were others, among whom was John Smith, the son of Solomon, a free negro, who until his death was seldom absent a Sunday from his northeast corner pew, and who in his later years, in the absence of a deacon, at times officiated at communion. Mr. Parsons was the first minister to occupy the par- The Church in the Second Precinct 251 sonage, the land for which was deeded on July 19, 1860 (for so long as thus used), by Capt. Franklin Cross, to the precinct ; the official title of which was changed by the Act of March 5, 1860, to "The First Precinct in Mat- tapoisett." Mr. Parsons continued as pastor until the fall of 1864, when on account of his health he left to become the in- structor in mental and moral science at Ingraham Uni- versity, LeRoy, N. Y., where he died December 23, 1877. He preached his farewell sermon at Mattapoisett, on September 4, 1864, and at the same time set apart to the office of Deacons, Solomon K. Eaton and Noah Hammond, both of whom were men of value to the community as well as the church. Mr. Eaton as an architect and the builder of his own and four or more other meeting-houses within the limits of old Rochester territory; the first Lieutenant of Company I, 3d Regi- ment, M.V.M., in the Civil War; and as organist or choir- master for fifteen or twenty years he maintained a standard of church music seldom attained in a small com- munity. Esquire Hammond had an extensive practice in probate court, and as a conveyancer and surveyor. He completed the town map begun by the data of Ansel Weeks. For an extended period he was the chairman of the selectmen, and died in 1893 while serving as repre- sentative to the General Court. Mr. Parsons while at Mattapoisett published a religious work entitled "Satan's Devices." The minister who presided at the council which in- stalled Mr. Parsons was the Rev. John P. Cleveland, of the Appleton Street Church, Lowell. The precinct re- quested Mr. Parsons, when he left, to seek the services of 252 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester this friend of his in their behalf. As a result Dr. Cleve- land was acting pastor at Mattapoisett from October, 1864, to June, 1867. He was a graduate of Bowdoin in 1821 and studied theology with Rev. C. Upham at Roches- ter, N. H. He had been dismissed from Lowell in 1862 to accept the chaplaincy of the 35th Massachusetts Regi- ment, which served at Ship Island and New Orleans. His vigorous sermon at Mattapoisett on the occasion of the assassination of Lincoln is often referred to by those who heard it. A speaker at anniversary services of the Lowell church said of Dr. Cleveland: "He loved the doctrines and often preached them with great point and power. He had logic and keen wit. He studied men as well as books. An earnest advocate of temperance and a true patriot. He was a thoroughly consecrated minister of the gospel. His spirit was balmy, buoyant, kind and sweet. His face beamed with goodness." He had other pastorates at Salem, Detroit, Cincinnati, North- ampton, and Providence. He died March 7, 1873, being seventy-three years of age. In the decade following 1867 there were three short pastorates. Rev. Benj. F. Man well was called in May, 1868, and continued as installed pastor until the spring of 1870. He was a man of literary attainment and was leader in the organization of the local " Philistorian So- ciety." Rev. Edward G. Smith was installed in April, 1871, and dismissed in June, 1875; and Rev. Nathaniel Larselle served as acting pastor from May, 1876, to July, 1878. He came to Mattapoisett from Amesbury, being a graduate of Bowdoin and a man who read much, espe- cially of unusual literature. He had held prominent pas- The Church in the Second Precinct 253 torates, and by those who recall him he is said to have been the ablest and most eloquent preacher among the later ministers of this church. In the interim following Mr. Larselle the precinct voted "to continue to have while we are candidating two services, and meeting in the evening, but when we get a permanent supply the a.m. service is to be omitted." The candidate who became this permanent supply was Rev. Augustus H. Fuller, who was ordained at Lynn in October, 1878, and came at once to Mattapoisett for his first charge. He was a graduate of Brown University and Bangor Theological Seminary. He continued with this church until May, 1886, and held pastorates in Massa- chusetts, at West Medway, Billerica, and Easton, before his present service at Ballardvale, Andover. Mr. Fuller's successor was a young man of twenty-five who had been preaching at Woods Hole. Rev. Frank L. Goodspeed was ordained and installed at Mattapoisett, June 29, 1887. He continued his studies during his pas- torate, taking degrees from Harvard College of A.B. and Ph.D., and was also a graduate of Boston University School of Theology, and later received an honorary D.D. Leaving Mattapoisett in 1890 he held successive pas- torates at Hingham and Amherst, and for the last thirteen years has been settled over the old First Church of Spring- field, one of the largest in the Congregational denomi- nation. He was followed at Mattapoisett by a more elderly man, the Rev. Charles H. Phelps, who had been born in 1835 upon the frontier of Pennsylvania, his pater- nal ancestor, William Phelps, having participated in the emigration led by Thomas Hooker, one of the founders 254 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester of the town of Windsor and of the Connecticut Colony. Before coming to Mattapoisett, Mr. Phelps had been in mercantile business, had taught at Tabor Academy, Marion ; and had served through the Civil War as private and hospital steward, and had preached in Smithfield, Pa., Greenwich, Marblehead, and Kelley's Island, in Ohio. Mr. Phelps resigned, from ill health, at Matta- poisett, in Sepember, 1893, since which time he has lived at his childhood home farm at Milan, Pa. The two ministers who have completed their service at Mattapoisett since 1893 were both natives of London, in England, and both had served with their wives in the foreign mission field. Rev. Charles A. Ratcliffe came to this church from pastorates at Buxton, West Scarboro, Baldwin, and Madison in Maine. From 1885 to 1888 he had served under Bishop William Taylor in the African mission at St. Paul de Loanda. His early education was obtained at Bancroft's Hospital, London, and he had drilled in soldierly tactics in the broad moat and yard of the old Tower of London. He had also taken a course of study at the Kortegarn Institute, Bonn, Germany; and while at Mattapoisett he continued the study of theology, at Boston University. He accepted a call to North Attleboro in June, 1896, and has been pastor at Norton since April, 1901. Mr. Ratcliffe 's successor in Mattapoisett was Rev. Robert Humphrey, who came to this country from Ontario in 1883, having left England in 1881. He had acquired his education in the public and science schools in the old country, in part in Canada, and in part at Oberlin College. He was graduated in 1886 from Oberlin Seminary, and took special post-graduate work The Church in the Second Precinct 255 under Professor Moore at Andover. Besides pastor- ates at Rye, N. H., Saugatuck, Mich., and Randolph, N. Y., he and Mrs. Humphrey were connected for two years with the Madura mission in South India, and for three years just prior to their coming to Mattapoisett they were in the work of the A.M. A., and founded and taught in the High School at Whittier, N. C. Mr. Humphrey continued at Mattapoisett for nine years until March, 1905, and held a short pastorate at Hooksett, N. H., before accepting a call to Dighton early in 1907. The present minister, Rev. C. Julian Tuthill, began his service as acting pastor August 11, 1905. He is a native of Belchertown, a graduate of Boston University and Andover Theological Seminary; and had previous pas- torates at Saylesville, R. I., Sanford, Me., and George- town, Mass. Mr. Tuthill is a member of various fraternal orders, and recently won a large prize for the preparation of the ritual now in use in the A.O.U.W. In February, 1891, the meeting-house was struck by lightning and damaged to the extent of about $1000. by the resulting fire. William L. Hubbard and George H. Dexter acted in behalf of the precinct in the adjust- ment of this matter, and the structure was renovated under the direction of Dr. William E. Sparrow, Nathan S. Mendell, Mary F. Dexter, Elizabeth R. Winston, and Harriet W. Dexter. The large enclosed pulpit had previously been taken out and the principal change then made was the building of an arch on the plain north wall, and the removal of certain pews at the front and rear. The bell brought down from the third meeting-house had been replaced prior to 1870. This second bell cracked in January, 1880, and the present one, of about 256 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester fourteen cwt., was secured by Noah Hammond, Joseph R. Taber, and Elbridge G. Caswell, committee, at a cost of $453. Various members of the precinct have in recent years left bequests for the general expenses of this parish. Among these are, Alice Meigs, Susannah P. Dexter, Lemuel LeBaron, William B. Rogers, Nathan H. and Mary Barstow, Francis LeB. May hew, and Stephen Randall. The deacons of the church chosen since 1864 have been Arvin Cannon, 1868-85; James Cannon, 1885-87; William B. Rogers, 1887-94; Elliot R. Snow, 1894- ; J. Charles F. Atsatt, 1894-1905 ; Thomas L. Ames, 1904-06; Nathan Smith, 1905- ; Dr. David H. Cannon, 1906-. This church, January 1, 1907, had seventy-three members. Sarah E. C. Hathaway has for some time been treasurer, and Elliot R. Snow, Dr. Walter E. Blaine, and Dr. Irving Niles Tilden, are the Precinct Committee in 1907. Not quite ten years after minister LeBaron was in- stalled at Mattapoisett, a young man of twenty-six was called and settled over the Baptist church in Dartmouth. His name was Daniel Hix, and the region about his meef- ing-house soon became known as Hixville. His father was Elder John Hix, of Rehoboth, and at his house there, three quarters of a mile south of Oak Swamp Meeting- house, Daniel was born, November 30, 1755. As a boy he was a leader in mischief; as a youth a minute-man for Lexington alarm; and as a man, Elder Goff, in the " Herald of Gospel Liberty," said of him: "Father Hix was one of the most popular Baptist ministers in Massachusetts. The evidence, aside from the unanimous verdict of his The Church in the Second Precinct 257 contemporaries, exists in the following facts, — first, large congregations, including many of his orthodox neighbors, everywhere waited on his ministry. Second, he collected in a rural and sparsely settled community a church of more than five hundred members. Third, his inter- position to settle difficulties. And fourth, when seven or eight years later he left the Baptists and united with the Christians, his whole church accompanied him. He had then been submitted to inquisitorial examination and pronounced heterodox. This only increased his popu- larity." His sermons are said to have been long, often two or three hours, and although not carefully prepared, so re- markable for strength and originality of thought, so prac- tical and full of the Holy Spirit, that his hearers never tired. Elder George N. Kelton remembered Elder Hix, and said : " I was at a conference of ministers at Swansey, in September, 1830. The impressive services of the day were about to close, a feeling of deep interest pervaded the audience, when an aged man, of medium height, com- pact muscular build, broad chest and shoulders, short neck, bushy iron gray hair, heavy beetle brows and broad swarthy features, slowly arose in the pulpit, ejaculating, 'When the lion roars the weaker beasts tremble, eh? The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has roared to-day, and there is an awful trembling in the camp.' In the man I saw a lion type, and in his words heard Judah's lion in princely right and dignity." ! Elder Hix especially excelled as an organizer of churches. 1 A Sketch of Elder Daniel Hix, with a History of the First Chris- tian Church in Dartmouth, by S. M. Andrews, New Bedford, 1880. Page 22. 258 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester He was installed at Dartmouth, October 10, 1781, with at first no stated salary; he working at his trade and his wife at her loom, while various of his parishioners tilled his farm or contributed from their crops toward his support. He traveled extensively, preaching in all this region and at times upon the Cape. Various congregations in Fair- haven, Long Plain, Berkeley, and Freetown were gathered separately, or as branches of the mother church at Hix- ville ; and in addition to these was this church at Rochester, which originated from Elder Hix's itinerant preaching. In the list of churches of 1795 in Backus's History of the Baptists (page 391), Rochester is not mentioned, its mem- bership being included in the Dartmouth church which was reported with 347 members. William T. Faunce, in whose possession are the early Baptist records, makes the following statement: "The orig- inal Baptist church in Mattapoisett was founded in the year 1789. It appears, however, that there was no real organization effected at that time. In 1792 there was a general revival of religious interest. As the outcome, a meeting-house was erected in that year; a statement of which is given in this wise: 'A number of inhabitants of Mattapoisett and New Bedford joined and built a meet- ing-house for public worship, being often visited by Elder Hix and other Baptist preachers, meetings being held at the meeting-house on Lord's Day.' In 1794, in the latter part of the year, there was a revival of religion ; Elders Lawrence and Bolles labored with us. On January 18, 1795, at a meeting held for the purpose, after imploring divine blessing and assistance, Elder Hix and some breth- ren in the church being present, the persons whose names are hereinafter written covenanted together to walk in all The Church in the Second Precinct 259 the ordnances and commands of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as the Gospel teaches; under the pastoral care of Elder Daniel Hix, and to be as a branch of his church. Abner Howard. Jesse Ellis. Joseph Leavit. Nathaniel Hammond. Joshua Besse. Jedidah Robinson. Charles Tinkham. Elizabeth Besse. Malaki Ellis. Hulda Howard. Ephram Tinkham. Phebe Mireck. Daniel Randall. Experience Ellis. Jethro Randall. At this meeting Nathaniel Hammond was chosen clerk." The meeting-house mentioned as built in 1792 is the same referred to in the Massachusetts Historical Collec- tions in 1815 as being "on the confines of Fairhaven, but within this place." It in fact stood on substantially the same spot as does the present chapel at Tinkhamtown. It had long windows, the usual high pulpit and square pews, and continued to be used occasionally until de- stroyed by fire, perhaps soon after 1850. Extracts from Elder Hix's journal, as published in his biography, indicate his activities with his branch church in Rochester. He writes: "The first Sabbath in Sep- tember (1793) were baptized Nathaniel Hammond and Thos. Spooner. In Rochester meeting-house, Jan. 23, 1795, had a solemn session and baptized Thomas Ellis, David Randolph, Jesse Tripp, Eph. Tinkham, and Mariah Tripp. Mar. 15, baptized Mary Parlor, Anna Robenson, Lydia Dexter, Bathsheba Tripp. A day of rejoicing. May 17, baptized Unice Ellis, Lydia Westgate, Waty Stephens, and Deliverance Ames. Nov. 15, in Rochester, Unice Tinkham. 260 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester In 1806, July 27, baptized in Rochester, Thos Sherman. 1807, Micah Winslow, Hannah Winslow, Deborah Shearman. In Rochester, 11th August, at the Shore, a precious season, Medad Cannon, Thos. Kinney, Mary Studson, Susannah Frasher, Penney Beck and Eliz. Dunham were baptized. Aug. 20, Joseph Whitridge. At Mattapoisett Harbour, a glorious Day, Aug. 25th, Anna Weston, Betsey Briggs, Polly Green, Mary Dexter, Arty Besse, Amelia Haskell, Abigail Briggs and Thankful Shearman were baptized. This was a time to be remem- bered. The next morning at the same place the Glory of God was evident, and four others were baptized, Seth Ames, Timo. Ellis, Edmund Beck (Buck?) and Mollie Ellis. Sept. 9, at Rochester Shore, Thos. Ames, Asa Dunham, Ebenezer Fuller, Joseph Hammond, Betsey Haskell, Mary Dunham, Joa Hammond, Rocksa Haskell, Thankful Higgins, Joa Bowles, Lois Atsel (Atsatt ?) and Dolly Snow were baptized. A glorious work in this place, the Lord reigns marvelously, saints rejoice and sinners mourn. At Rochester Shore, Oct. 6th, the Lord leadeth and his people follow, — Nancy Hammond, Seney Ham- mond, Prudence Wilbur, Abigail Kinney, Joanna Dexter, Holder Gelatte were baptized. Also in Rochester soon after, Jos. Edwards, Benj. Perkins, Judah Perkins, Lucy Haskell, Polly Haskell, and Abigail Skiff. In 1808, May 25, in Rochester, James Blankenship aged 86, James Blankenship Jr., Chas. Chandler, Rebecca Chandler. June 28, — Ellis Mendall, Abigail Whitridge, Sarah Jenny. On Rochester Great Neck, 29th, Ruth Blankenship and Betsey Allen. Rochester Shore, Aug. 16th, Abr. Harrison, Danl Shearman, Wm Shearman, Luke Dexter, Vira Paine. Sept. 27, in Rochester, Deborah The Church in the Second Precinct 261 Hall & Eliz. Hall. Rochester Shore, Nov. 3, Eliz. Cannon and Nancy Paine. 1809, Apr. 18, Philip Atsetts. In Rochester, Nov. 2, John Cole, Rebecca C. Cole. 1811, baptized in Rochester, Ezekiel Cushman and Wid. Rider. July 18th, two persons named Miggs. Aug. 13, Andrew Randall, Ebenezer Keene, Jr., Abigail Wilbur and Eliz. Wilcox, a good work in this place. In Rochester, June 18, 1812, Lydia Randall and Susanna Howard. 19th, Richard Randall and Keziah Randall. July 10, Caleb and Maria Mendell. Elder Hix doubtless continued to minister as oppor- tunity afforded to this branch of his church as long as health permitted. The records of Mattapoisett church are missing — presumably lost — from 1823 to 1858. We know that Elder Hix was active at the revival time of 1829, but that after 1833 he preached but little, being afflicted with kidney disease. His death occurred March 22, 1838, at the age of eighty-two years, and he was buried near his meeting-house in Hixville. In the Mattapoisett town meeting of April, 1883, there was a discussion as to the advisability of a change of the name of Pearl Street to School Street; the argument being that "here the ancient schoolhouse stands," and that no pearls ever had been found in that vicinity. Thomas Nelson then took the floor and said that if the change be made, to be consistent, the name of Baptist Street should be changed to Christian Street, for there were no real Baptists to be found in that locality. The correctness of this statement is shown by the church record of March, 1807, which reads: "The church at Dartmouth, Elder Daniel Hix, pastor, of which this church is a branch, agreed to come out from the Baptist denomination into the 262 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester name and order of the New Testament, taking on them- selves the name Christians.' ' And because of this action the Hixville church and its branches were dropped out of fellowship from the Baptist Conference at East Green- wich, R. I., June 19, 1811, although Mattapoisett Church has continued to be locally called the "Baptist Church." Discipline was required and practised much as in all other church organizations of that time. Some member left to enter other denominations. February, 1808, the church voted, "To withdraw fellowship from Zephaniah Shearman and his wife, whose name on the book stands Weighty Stevens, for withdrawing from the church and joining the Methodists." In 1814, William Ellis was clerk, and it may have been he who, in 1816, made reference in the records to the pre- vailing epidemic. " March, — A church meeting attended by Elder Whitin. At this time it is more than common sickly with an epidemic fever, perhaps one hundred per- sons or more have been sick during the winter, one half of whom, perhaps, have died in this town and Fairhaven, but no member of this church has died that I know of." In April, 1816, "Elder Whiting moved away." The growth of "the Shore" even in Elder Hix's time seemed to demand a new meeting-house in that locality. The matter was discussed October 28, 1820, and November 3, following, meeting was held at the house of Philip Atsatt, with Wilbur Southworth as moderator, when a committee was chosen consisting of John Atsatt, Malachi Ellis, and Luke Dexter. A month later it was reported that a sub- scription for thirty-nine shares had been made, to build a structure "42x32 with a projection 3x24, said house to be one story high with 14 foot posts, a small gallery in The Church in the Second Precinct front, a decent pulpit and 39 pews; the floor to arch over- head and to be handsomely finished. To stand on the lot lately purchased in the village of Mattapoisett of Thomas To bey." Which lot is said to have been pro- cured from the orthodox deacon by creating in his mind the impression that it was likely to be used as a site for a blacksmith shop. " Uncle Philip " took three shares and the following had shares or fractional interests: John Atsatt, James Hammond, William Shaw, Wilber South- worth, George Shaw, Ebenezer Barrows, Josiah Holmes, Malachi Ellis, James Purrington, James Curtis, Luke Dexter, James Luce, Jno. Kinney, Elijah Willis, Samuel Purrington, Seth Ames, Andrew Dunham, Joseph Snow, Nathaniel Hammond, Thomas Holmes, Elisha Dexter, Clement Randall, James Coleman, Lewis Randall, Jr., Christopher Hammond, Joshua Bates, Theodore C. Ames, Benjamin Hammond, Nathan Briggs, Samuel Bowles, John H. Randall. Samuel Purrington was the first clerk of the proprietors, and later Dennis Boodry was clerk for some years. The mason work was given to Jonathan Kinney at $75, Wilber Southworth contracting to dig the trench for $6. The contract for carpenter work went to James Purrington for $1075, he agreeing "to find all material for completing even to locks, keys, latches, and hinges." March 7, 1822, John Atsatt, Seth Ames, Philip Atsatt, Malachi Ellis, and Samuel Snow deeded the lot to the proprietors, 1 bounding it on the east "nine rods by the ropewalk." Such was the origin of the most ancient religious building in present use in Mattapoisett. The high fence around the lot on the street sides con- 1 Plymouth Deeds, Book 178, page 93. 264 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester tinued to stand until after 1890; and the interior includ- ing the old high pulpit remained unchanged until William T. Faunce began his alterations in 1906; at which time the corner projections in front were added. The pews below remain as always, some of the short- backed square pews in the gallery having, however, lately been removed. In the end gallery sat the choir, which for years always contained a good number of natural singers who performed their part of the service, not grudgingly, but with a will which on a still summer's night carried the notes of Gospel Hymns to the remotest sections of the village. The editor of the Enterprise perhaps associated in mind this mu- sical activity with the shape of the building, when he continued to refer to this meeting-house as " the Bee- Hive." The pews in the side galleries for a number of gen- erations had been the choice of location for the some- what irresponsible youth who attended evening meetings. The low seats around the little square boxes tended to sociability, and even Elder Faunce occasionally had to pause and announce "Now we'll take three minutes to laugh and everybody finish up." The congregation below probably looked less serious when seen verti- cally, and if " Uncle Calvin's " cap which he spread over his bald head looked all proper below, it certainly read " best salt " from above. Once a group of young people were standing outside the big gate "finishing up" their laugh, when Miss Marchant, coming along, halted before them. They paused expectantly. Said she, " The spirit of the Lord must have been present to-night or the devil wouldn't have been so uneasy;" and off The Church in the Second Precinct 265 she went. But in spite of all, in the later generations at least, when Elder Faunce was in charge, the young people all liked the Elder and respected much the good old man. In days long gone, it is said, the older people did not always set the best example of conduct to the young. By the original subscription this house had been built to " be free for any respectable preacher who might come," and the exponents of differing doctrines often sought the use of the house at the same time. The Universalists at their start used it for a short period. Their records of March, 1835, show that Seth Mendall, Joseph Meigs, and Elijah Willis were appointed "to wait on the other com- mittee and see if they can agree for the house a part of the time on the best terms they can." Earlier than that, very soon after the meeting-house was built, there had been a division and the " come-outers " withdrew to wor- ship in the building later used as the engine-house, and then, for some unexplained reason, dubbed "The Little Belt." This building at that time had pillars in front, pulpit at the north, and a small gallery. The Millerite agitation in the '40s caused another schism, and resulted in the organization of the Advent Church. In the period from 1823 to 1860 there were various preachers in the old house. The records of October 14, 1823, state that "Bro. Hervey Sullings has the summer past attended meetings about half of the time." From the recollection of older people it appears that Elder Briggs preached for two or three years about 1830. Elder Israel Wood from 1832 to 1841, and Dr. Robbins acted with him occasionally at funerals. Rev. William Bryant, whose adherents were locally known as the " Bryantites, " 266 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester preached to a part of the congregation about 1838 to 1840. Rev. Alexander M. Averill came to Mattapoisett at the age of nineteen. Dr. Robbins attended his ordina- tion February 4, 1841, joined with him in revival services in March, 1842; and December 14 of the same year, the diary states: "Mr. Averill preached another farewell sermon. His people here are much divided about the Second Advent." He is reputed to have been a good student and an able preacher, and to have gone to Cambridge- port. Soon after, the stalwart Burnham brothers came to town. Edwin preached for the Adventists at the " Little Belt," and Hezekiah dwelt in Capt. Isaiah Purrington's (now Dennis Mahoney's) chambers, and preached in the Baptist meeting-house. April 23, 1844, Dr. Robbins "heard a temperance lecture from my neighbor Burn- ham," — presumably public. Rev. Mr. Taylor, Rev. Mr. Eldredge, and Elder Henry F. Carpenter also preached here sometime between 1845 and 1855. About 1857 Rev. Benjamin S. Bachelor, then a young man of zeal and ability, commenced a most acceptable ministry, com- ing over from New Bedford each Sabbath. His labors were very effectual in upbuilding and uniting the church. In 1864, Mr. Bachelor was succeeded by Rev. William Faunce, who came hither from the mother church in Hix- ville. Mr. Andrews in his history * states : " The Church at Hix's Meeting-House April 16, 1857, elected Elder William Faunce as successor of Elder Howard Tripp. He was a native of Plymouth, and being in the prime of life he entered upon his work with a zeal that made suc- i Sketch of Elder Daniel Hix, etc., S. M. Andrews, New Bedford, 1880. Page 169. The Church in the Second Precinct 267 cess sure. Like most of our older preachers, Elder Faunce had to struggle with many difficulties in early life, but possessing a good voice and natural preaching talent, with the blessing of God his labors were crowned with success. He preached also at North Westport each Sab- bath afternoon and organized the church there in Novem- ber, 1857. Many joined there in 1858 and were bap- tized at the Narrows in Watuppa Pond. The church and society re-elected Elder Faunce pastor in 1864, but finding obstacles to his success increasing he resigned after a short time, leaving the pulpit to be supplied until fall by Elder Frederick P. Snow, who was born in Roches- ter in 1812. He learned cabinet-making and upholstery. His privileges of early education were limited. He was ordained in New Bedford December 28, 1845, and was pastor at Hixville one and a half years." Rev. William Faunce was born in July, 1813, being a descendant of the venerable Elder Thomas Faunce. He began preaching while very young at Chilton ville, and also was with the Union church at Long Pond, Plymouth, be- fore going to Hixville. He lived first in Mattapoisett at Pine Islands, and at the John A. LeBaron house; he at one time owned the Lot N. Jones (Goddard) place; for many years he dwelt in the old house which stood on the site of his son William T. Faunce 's house; and his descendants are numerous in the town. For thirty-four years he continued as the pastor of this church; faithful unto death; which occurred in April, 1898. It might well be said of him, as one wrote of Elder Hix, "He preached not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." He especially ex- celled in prayer. In his old age, when able, he loved, at 268 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester intervals, to gather those who remained, to hold service in the old meeting-house. After his death the house was opened but occasionally, until in 1905, following the revival season under Rev. David L. Martin, of Boston, when many were baptized at "the Shore," the church was re- organized, and Rev. Frank S. Jones of New Bedford has served as pastor until July, 1907. As already stated, the Advent Christian Church in Matta- poisett was formed by a division of those who wor- shiped in the old Baptist meeting-house. Services were held in the "Little Belt," and for a time in the old "Ves- try," now a part of the Mattapoisett House. Elder Macomber for a while held meetings near the Herring Weir. When Elisha Dexter built his new shop, just south of his house, he fitted up the upper floor for services; and later when the cabinet shop was brought up from Water Street, somewhere about 1870, and converted into the Advent Chapel, he provided the lot where it stands. Soon thereafter it was decided to complete a church organiza- tion; and Theodore Ames, Bruce F. Shaw, Charles H. Buck, William E. Bolles, Elisha Dexter, James B. Ran- som and Joseph E. Smith, having addressed a petition to Noah Hammond, Esq., "to issue a warrant for a meeting in our chapel," March 28, 1872, the society was organ- ized. Others then interested were John A. Shaw, Russell E. Snow, Hiram Hammond, Stephen Merrihew, Nathaniel H. Denham, and Humphrey Taber. The only regular minister shown by the records was Frederick W. Blackmer, of Springfield, who was ordained here April 13, 1882, Elder E. A. Stockman preaching the sermon. He re- signed July 20, 1884. Meetings have not been regularly The Church in the Second Precinct 269 held by this society for some years and most of the mem- bers have joined other churches. Some independent meetings have in recent years ex- isted in this town. The two Union Chapels now standing were erected sometime after 1880; the one on the site of the old Aucoot schoolhouse being sustained largely by Mrs. Bruce F. Shaw and some of the Marion Congregational church. Meetings are still held in the chapel at Tinkham- town, and it is one of the regular meeting places for the "Neighborhood Convention." Roman Catholic services have sometimes, in summer, been held in the town hall. Many who have summer homes in Mattapoisett have been adherents of the Church of England. These, for several seasons, after 1874, held services in the Congre- gational meeting-house. Then land was given from the lot of Thomas Parsons, on which "St. Philip's Church" was erected and was consecrated by Bishop Benjamin H. Paddock, July 11, 1884. A clergyman comes for the summer, and service is regularly held for about three months in each year. From 1884 through 1890, Rev. Dr. Andrew Oliver of the New York Theological Seminary, was the clergyman in charge; Rev. A. W. Seabrease, 1891-92; Rev. Henry Cunningham 1893; Rev. Charles Lewis Slatery, 1894-96; Rev. Charles Mason, 1896-97; Rev. C. H. W. Stocking, 1897; Rev. Percy Browne, 1898-1900; Rev. Edward Drown, 1900-02; Rev. M.Kellner, 1903; various clergymen during 1904; Rev. H. W. Perkins, 1905-06. Rev. W. A. Holbrook, Rev. T. D. Martin, and Rev. Jas. L. Try on have preached the present year although Rev. William H. Falkner, of Louisville, Ky., is in charge for 270 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester most of the season of 1907. Bishop Lawrence has twice visited this church. It is under the care of Ven- erable Archdeacon Samuel J. Babcock, of Eastern Mas- sachusetts. The original trustees were Rev. Andrew Oliver, D.D., Dr. Fitch, Edward Oliver, Thomas Parsons, Charles J. Whittemore, Henry Warren, Causten Browne, and Dexter Tiffany: and the present board consists of Causten Browne, Theophilus Parsons, Charles A. King, J. Lewis Stackpole, Jr., Charles S.Hamlin, and George O. G. Coale. As in the rest of New England at that time, liberal doctrines began to have an influence in Rochester in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. On the 5th of February, 1828, Wilber Southworth, Elijah Willis, Ansel Weeks, Thomas Dexter, Newton Southworth, George Purrington, James Purrington, Warren Weeks, Alden Dexter, and Wyatt Snow addressed a petition to Joseph Meigs, Esq., of Rochester, "one of the Justices appointed to keep the Peace," that he might by his warrant call a meeting of all concerned in the First Universalist Society in Rochester, at the house of Elisha Ruggles, Esq., on the first day of March at two o'clock. At which time organiza- tion was had by the choice of Jesse Martin, moderator; Newton Southworth, clerk; Noble E. Bates, treasurer; and Seth Mendell, Jesse Martin and John Clark, 2d, " a committee to govern the affairs of the society." Incor- poration was voted, and the committee instructed "to treat with some one of the Universalist ministers and request him to come and preach one or more sermons in the several quarters of the town;" and Wilber South- worth was directed " to prepare the minits of the present The Church in the Second Precinct 271 meeting that they be sent for publication in the Univer- salist Magazine and Christian Telescope." Dr. Southworth, later in the record, says: "The Rev. Mr. Robert Hillam commenced preaching here about the first of ,1829. Mr. Pickering, I think, was the first person to preach the doctrine of universal salvation on Sabbath in this town, I think in June, 1828." The annual meeting of March, 1829, was warned to be held in "Mr. Young's meeting-house," and in 1831 it occurred in "the First Baptist Meeting House." In May, 1830, the following names, the record states, "were handed to the Clerk of the Second Precinct in Rochester" as members of this poll-parish: Elijah Willis. Aldin Dexter. Wilbur Southworth. James Purrington. Noble E. Bates. Edward Shearman. John Washburn. Newton Southworth. Ansel Wicks. Wiatt Snow. Stephen Nye. Albert Daggett. Christian Konkeal. Prince Snow Jr. Joseph Snow. Wilson Snow. Joseph R. Taber. John E. Ross. Thomas Dexter. Ebenezer R. Hammond. Bezald S. Hammond. Larnet Hall. George Purrington. Dennis Snow. Ebenezer Coleman. Jesse Martin. Warren Wicks. Barnabas Hiller. John Clark 2d. William Clark. Thomas Bassett Jr. Lewis Russel. Seth Mendell. William Ellis. Seth Cowing. Seth Burgess. And the following soon after subscribed to the "Uniting Compact " : Jabez Goodspeed Job Jenney. Benj'n F. Barstow. John W. Hammond. 272 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Alpheus Barrows. Ivory Snow 2nd. Thomas Shearman. Lothrop Foster. Joseph Jenney Junr. Joseph Meigs. James Snow 2nd. John H. Randall. Jabez Waterman. Albert Bates. John C. Cannon. Joseph Hudson. Ezra Burbank. Roger W. Hammond. Rogers L. Barstow. Oakes R. Howes. William T. Boyd. Joshua T. T. Bates. Samuel Mendell. Ebenezer Barrows. Charles Dexter. Hosea Reed. There is no record of any regular minister for these first few years. July 10, 1830, it was voted " to choose a com- mittee to correspond with the Universalist societies in the towns of New Bedford, Fairhaven, and Wareham, in order to ascertain what they will do respecting procuring a minister to preach jointly in the above named towns and in the society in this town." March 18, 1835, a request was made to Rev. Theo- dore K. Taylor to preach for the year ensuing; and Mr. Taylor's service continued until October, 1840. Dr. Robbins at first did not fancy Mr. Taylor's tactics. May 10, 1835, he said: "At five o'clock the Universalist Taylor had a meeting and preached on the same text that I have lately, Ezek. xiii. 22. Tuesday morning received a note from Dr. Southworth requesting me to attend and assist at the meeting. Yesterday I wrote to him and de- clined." By December, 1837, however, the two ministers were going about together visiting schools; and in 1839 Mr. Taylor delivered the address, and the Orthodox minister spoke to the children, on Fourth of July. Sep- tember 27, 1840, Dr. Robbins noted: "Mr. Taylor, our Universalist, preached his farewell sermon and is going to the Cape." During his pastorate the society had The Church in the Second Precinct 273 increased in numbers and in strength; and a proprietors' organization had, in 1836, erected the meeting-house now standing, which was dedicated December 21st of that year. At that time Rogers L. Barstow was clerk of the society, and he was succeeded in 1839 by Woodbridge R. Howes. In his record it is written, — " We have had the Rev. H. W. Morse to dispense the Word of Everlasting Life since the departure of Br. Taylor." August 18, 1841, the committee were instructed to engage Rev. Henry C. Vose to preach the ensuing year, and for some years thereafter he con- tinued to preach at Mattapoisett and at Sippican. Rev. Thomas Borden was pastor in October, 1851, and was dismissed September 18, 1853, "on account of ill health." Apparently there was no regular minister for some years, for March 2, 1858, a committee was chosen "to procure if possible a suitable Pasture." There was a reorganiza- tion in February, 1859, and in March, Rev. Joseph Crehore became pastor. He lived with his family in the upper portion of the house of James W. Dexter. In 1861 he was succeeded by Rev. J. E. Davenport. A new uniting compact was adopted May 22, 1876; the Rev. Frank A. Bisbee having taken charge of the parish in January previ- ous. Dr. Bisbee preached later in Philadelphia and for some years has been at Boston as editor of the Univer- salist Leader. Rev. Charles R. Tenney came to Mattapoisett in May, 1877, was settled as a regular pastor in September, and continued here for about five years. He was born in Glover, Vermont, was a graduate of Tufts, and has held pastorates at Stoughton, and Grove Hall, Dorchester, before his present charge at Auburn, Me. During Mr. Tenney's pastorate, in the fall of 1879, an addition was 274 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester made to the west end of the meeting-house to accommodate a large new organ, the gift of George Purrington, Jr. In May, 1882, Rev. Edward F. Temple became pastor. He had rooms at Charles B. Barstow's and organized a very popular boys' club, for the study of natural science, known as the " Antelope Guild." After 1885, Rev. Benton Smith occupied the pulpit, living meanwhile in the house he had purchased from the estate of Arvin Cannon, now owned by James T. Jones. He resigned on account of ill health, March 29, 1887, and died in Mattapoisett October 16, 1896. In November, 1887, Rev. George F. Jenks began his pastorate, which continued for three years. In 1890 and 1891 various students and preachers occupied the pulpit. May 1, 1891, it was voted "to unite with the parish at Marion for one year," and this union has since continued, except that during 1895-96 Rev. William F. Potter, of New Bedford, preached regularly in the afternoon at Mattapoisett. Rev. John Eills from Tufts served the united parishes from 1896 to 1898, when he went to Foxboro and Mans- field. Rev. Edward F. Temple, who, since his pastorate in 1885, had been in the ministry at Oneonta, N. Y., and at Trenton, N. J., again preached to these societies for a few months before his death, which occurred in Marion, January 30, 1899. In March following, Rev. Henry B. Taylor began his service, which continued until he accepted a call to St. Paul, Minn., in November, 1901. His successor, Rev. William G. Schoppe, was a native of Maine, and as a Congregationalist minister had preached at Helena, Mont., and Ashland, O. This was his first Universalist charge. He resigned September, 1904, and until June, 1907, was at Webster, Mass. The Church in the Second Precinct 275 During Dr. Schoppe's pastorate Mrs. Ebenezer Jones purchased the west-district school-building, moved it to the meeting-house lot, and gave it to the Ladies' Society as a church home for this parish, to be known as the Goodspeed Memorial in memory of her parents Jabez and Melintha Goodspeed. Rev. J. Frank Rhodes, who had preached at Fairfield, Me., in Chicago, and else- where, was pastor, 1904-06, when after a remarkable record of thirty or forty years of continuous service in the pulpit he died at Norwell, July 29, 1907. Rev. James W. Peardon, a graduate of Tufts in 1901, now oc- cupies the parsonage in Marion, having begun his service to these parishes in 1907. James D. Forbes and William Loring Taber were at different times deacon of this church at Mattapoisett, and Isaiah P. Atsatt and Charles H. Nye at present hold that office. Ellis Mendell is clerk of the parish and Walter C. Dexter of the church. The Friends began to hold meetings in Rochester about the beginning of the eighteenth century. In the records of the Dartmouth Monthly Meeting l there is a reference, September 17, 1705, to " Rochester or Sippican Meeting, " which on July 18, 1709, signified a desire to meet weekly, and to have the meeting then kept at John Somers' there- after at John Wings. By 1712 the Rochester Meeting desired assistance in the " settlement and security of their meeting-house land," and the adjustment of the title thereto required action extending over a long period. 1 The writer is indebted to Dr. Edward T. Tucker, Recorder of New Bedford Meeting, and to his indices of the Dartmouth Meeting records for aid in securing the data here given. 276 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester July 15, 1717, the Dartmouth Meeting advised that "the land be made over to particular Friends, and named Savery Clifton, Stephen Wing, Nicholas Davis, and Thomas Hathaway. In February, 1796, Stephen Tripp and Ezekiel Braley were appointed to "examine and get deed," and have it run to Richard Davis, Stephen Tripp, and William Wing. Another committee was appointed in 1816 in regard to the title of the land, the house, and the burial-ground. The meeting-house referred to by a writer in the Massachusetts Historical Collections of 1815 as being "not far from the sea-shore," is the old meeting- house at Happy Alley, which by that time was becoming out of repair, and was somewhat remote from many who there worshiped. In January, 1818, meetings having, for a while previ- ously, been held "at a school-house in the neighborhood where Friends principally reside;" it was decided to make only temporary repairs to the meeting-house, to put in a stove for that winter; and hold meetings "on First Days at the meeting-house, and on Fourth Days at the school- house near David Hiller's, or at his house, which had been offered." June 23, 1825, it was recommended that a new meeting-house be built "near where the meeting is now held." Later, it was advised that it "be 32 x 25, with 10 foot posts, to be built on the land offered, to cost $450." April 6, 1826, the Quarterly Meeting granted liberty to make sale of the old house, and on June 28, 1827, the com- mittee reported the acceptance of the deed for the new lot, and the completion of the new meeting-house at Aucoot. David Hiller who had been so interested in the plans for this new building died before its completion, but the committee reported that $100 towards its The Church in the Second Precinct 277 cost had been received from his bequest: $149.25 was received from the "old house," and the remainder of the cost, which was "rising $470," was raised by sub- scription. Such was the origin of the neat "Quaker Meeting- House" standing on the height of the ridge between "Pine Islands" and "Aucoot;" and here, on First Day gathered the Hillers and the Co wens, and their neighbors. Josiah Holmes became a member of Friends from the Baptists, and his son Josiah Holmes, Jr., grew to be prominent in the meeting; and even after he became a leading minister in New Bedford he used often to drive over, sometimes alone and sometimes with Edward Dil- lingham, either to sit in silence, or to speak with eloquence and power of the joys of the simple faith. On the 26th of July, 1904, the little house was filled, and many stood without, by the windows, listening to the Friends from neighboring meetings who spoke as they were moved, of Captain Joshua L. Macomber, who after many years of service to this Meeting was to be laid at rest in its burial-ground. Mattapoisett Meeting has never been large in numbers and it has been the custom of New Bedford Friends to maintain a committee for its assistance. From 1730 to 1795 the Rochester Meeting was allied to Sandwich; but in all its recent history in Mattapoisett it has been a mem- ber of Long Plain Preparative Meeting and so of the New Bedford Monthly Meeting. Such have been the religious activities of this Massa- chusetts town. To one who carries in mind the picture of a Quebec village, with its single glistening spire rising far above the clustering housetops ; or recalls the thatched 278 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester cottages grouped around some venerable parish church in England; it may have seemed, in following the story here presented, that this small town is burdened by its heritage from the past, and that the effectiveness of its moral forces and of its religious influences is likely to be dissipated in the maintenance of these various organiza- tions. However that may be, if, as was written of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, — " They shook the depths of the desert gloom With their hymns of lofty cheer; Amidst the storm they sang, And the stars heard, and the sea! And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free!" these records of the inhabitants of the "plantacion of Mattapoyst " give ample proof that their descendants here "Have left unstained what there they found, — Freedom to worship God!" CHAPTER XI Maritime and Other Industries /^\NE thing may well be claimed for the people who ^-^ founded old Rochester, they were industrious — like all the settlers of the old colony; hard continuous work was the portion of the men and women. In many places primeval forests covered the land and concealed the rocky soil beneath. The amount of work involved in creating the farms of the town may be appreciated if the matter of rock clearing alone is considered, which being re- moved from the soil were disposed of in building the fences for the farms. Hundreds of miles of these walls, laid up with infinite toil, existed in the Mattapoisett por- tion of Old Rochester, some of them still to be traced in places now covered by heavy growth of forest. But farming, while it furnished the essential of food, could not, in a community where every one farmed, pro- cure things needed which were produced elsewhere; the settlers must themselves with something besides farming crops, for the purposes of exchange. Fortunately for them, the settlers of Rochester were not all originally farmers, many came from Kent in old England, noted for its ship-building. Among the first comers to Rochester, most were from Scituate and Marshfield, where ship-building had been pursued for thirty years, and while they began here as farmers and food 280 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester raisers, not a few were capable mechanics and skilled in other trades. Farming was harder work then than to- day, and men who could do other things were anxious to do them; then, too, the roads were rough and poor, transportation over them was slow and laborious, while the sea, which touched the town, offered a quicker and easier means of communication with the outside world. About the middle of the seventeenth century the colony had had constructed somewhere in Buzzard's Bay a vessel with which to trade with the Dutch in New York. All these conditions made it natural and inevitable that the building of vessels should be entered upon in Rochester at an early date, and so it proved. Boats were first built for freight and passage, small at the start but growing larger. The early building was on the co-operative plan; the vessel, when produced, was the joint property of a number of persons who had contributed to the enterprise. Some had done the mechanical work of constructing, some had furnished timber, some iron work, some sails and rigging, and other money; the work would be going on in the winter when the farmer-mechanic could best spare the time. The late Wilson Barstow, who lived to be over ninety and died in 1891, said in a communication to the press about thirty years ago, that "vessels were built here as early as 1740 or 1750, sloops and small schooners. There was no science, they were built by sight of the eye and good judgment;" that is, there was no preliminary drafting. The keel would be laid and the stem and stern affixed, then the midship frame or rib set up and fas- tened to the keel, and a few more ribs between the mid- Maritime and Other Industries 281 ship frame and the ends of the vessel; after that, ribbands or thin strips of boards would be run from the bow to the stern at various heights from the keel outside of the few frames so set up, and the remaining frames made to fit the lines so produced by the ribbands. There were no models. Queer results were sometimes produced by this method. " Mr. Hastings," says Wilson Barstow, " was put in a tower- ing passion by being told that his starboard bow was all on one side, and one sloop was nicknamed Bowline because she was so crooked." The old whaler Trident, of 448 tons, built in 1828, was so much out of true that she carried one hundred and fifty barrels more oil on one side of the keel than the other. The sailors said she was "logy on one tack, but sailed like the mischief on the other." In the early days of building, the sloop or schooner con- structed during the winter would be sold to Nantucket or New Bedford (then Dartmouth), and the money divided among those entitled; this contributed substantially to the prosperity of the whole town. Not all the vessels so built were sold away; by the use of the same co-opera- tive plan they were sailed for joint account. A sloop called the Planter was built and so run as a freighter from Roches- ter, before the Revolution. And at the same early date, Rochester also had whaling vessels of the small type then used. The sloop Defiance, which departed on a voyage in 1771, was one such Rochester vessel. Without doubt there were a number of others, but the difficulty of tracing them arises from the fact that Rochester was not then a port: by which is meant a place from which mer- chandise could lawfully leave or enter the country, where records of vessels sailing and arriving would be kept, and proper papers to evidence the nationality and regu- 282 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester larity of the vessel's business supplied, to be carried on the voyage, to protect the vessel as a regular British craft. New Bedford (then Dartmouth) was not a port, and Rochester and Dartmouth vessels, therefore, had to clear from Nantucket, or Newport, which were ports. Whaling vessels generally cleared from Nantucket because that was on the way to the whaling grounds at the Straits of Belle Isle, around Newfoundland and on the Grand Banks. Many of these Rochester whaling sloops could, perhaps, be traced in the Nantucket records from the names of their captains, and also of their agents, by one familiar with Rochester names. As evidence that whalers were built for Nantucket before the Revolution, there is the record of the sailing from Nantucket, June, 1774, of the sloop Rochester owned by Nathaniel Macy of Nantucket. Her name suf- ficiently shows her origin. The Rochester on this voyage met with misfortune; she struck Great Point Rip and was lost. This calls attention to the fact that the mor- tality of these small whaling sloops was great. From gales, uncharted bays, lack of lighthouses and buoys, and the activity of French and Spanish privateers, fully twenty per cent of their number were lost yearly — but the busi- ness was still profitable, and so, in a way, the losses were the ship-builders' pecuniary gain. Gideon Barstow, Sr., born in 1738, died 1826, came here about 1765 from Hanover, where he had been building ships. He was the great grandson of William, who came to Hanover, 1649, and was practically the first to build ships in the old colony. The coming of Gideon Barstow to Mattapoisett gave a new start to the industry and £ ft ft * Maritime and Other Industries 283 ships of the largest size began to be launched from his yard. Abner Pease was an old builder, but of a smaller class of vessels. His yard was in the extreme eastern portion of the town, just north of Pease's Point, in Aucoot. Ebenezer Cannon, born about 1750, the great-grand- father of Dr. David H. Cannon, was another old builder. His yard was at Cannonville, so named from him. Washington Gifford, another of the old builders, built on the Mattapoisett River. These four were all building before 1800. Ship-building continued as an industry in Mattapoisett for nearly a century and a half, the last vessel to be built leaving the ways in 1878. It has been estimated that be- tween four hundred and five hundred vessels, in all, were built during this century and a half. This amounted to more than one hundred thousand tons, and of a value, at the quite regular rate that prevailed of forty dollars per ton. Whether expressed in United States money or in Massachusetts pounds, shillings, and pence this would amount to $4,000,000. There were eight yards located in the Mattapoisett section of Rochester — possibly nine, viz. : 1. On the east bank of the Mattapoisett River, just south of the herring weir. 2. At Pease's Point, in Aucoot Cove, at the extreme east section of the present town of Mattapoisett. 3. Barstow's yard, at the bend of Main and Water streets, opposite the summer home of Miss Martha H. Munro. 284 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 4. Holmes's yard, just east of Long Wharf, at the south of the post-office. 5. The Hammond yard, south of the old County House, opposite the residence of Thomas Luce. 6. A yard opposite the east end of the Mattapoisett House, south of Water Street. 7. The Meigs yard, south of Mrs. Sophia Means 's house. 8. The Cannonville yard of Benjamin Barstow, located west of Miss Mary W. Barnard's summer residence; this, as a separate yard, had a brief existence. 9. The Cannonville yard of Ebenezer Cannon, north of Ship street; which Benjamin Barstow later acquired. Vessels were built in strange places. Libni Rogers built a sloop in the yard of the premises where Edgar Silva now lives, and she was launched into the creek at Goodspeed's Island. Prince Ames built a schooner at the house north of and adjoining the Cushing Cemetery; she was taken to the shore and launched from Rogers L. Barstow's wharf; and afterwards went up into the Great Lakes. A few vessels were built at a yard near the present residence of Charles A. King, and a ferry-boat to run between New Bedford and Fairhaven was built near Mrs. Stackpole's house. Mr. Leon M. Huggins, in the New Bedford Standard of January 9, 1904, contributed a very valuable and in- teresting sketch of Mattapoisett ship-building, from which many facts have been obtained in writing this chapter. The Mattapoisett River yard, as already seen, was early in operation. It is quite possible a number of Maritime and Other Industries 285 separate yards may have existed up and down the river, at which small vessels, wood-barges, sloops, and little schooners were built; for instance, there was the sloop Rochester, engaged in whaling in 1774, and the sloop Defiance, which sailed from there in 1771. These have already been alluded to and were doubtless built on the river, but the Revolution and the British guardships put a stop to such enterprises. The first record we now have of a vessel built on the river was the brig Nile, built in 1800 by Washington Gifford. The last vessel built on the river was the brig Brutus, of 200 tons; she required six weeks of continuous labor to float her down the river, and doubtless satisfied her builders that the river yard was no longer practicable. It seems quite probable that Gideon Barstow's ship-yard was located where his son and grandson after- ward carried on ship-building, which, as we have said, was opposite Miss Munro's summer residence. From this yard the greatest number of Mattapoisett vessels were launched; more than 150 in all, it is said, and here the George Lee, 650 tons, the largest Mattapoisett vessel, was built. Two launching-ways were located on it, and building carried on there for nearly one hundred years. It is to be regretted no record now exists of the total num- ber. As many as four ships a year are known to have been constructed there; this was the case in 1832, and in the years 1838, 1841, and 1852 three ships were launched from this yard. They were mainly of large tonnage. Abner Pease, an old ship-builder at whose yard many of the Mattapoisett mechanics learned their trade, built, as we have seen, in Aucoot Cove. No record of his vessels exists. They were mainly small crafts, schooners, and 286 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester sloops. He must have been building at the time of the Revolution: afterwards he moved to Fairhaven. Benjamin Barstow, a relative of Gideon Barstow, had his yard at Cannonville, first, as we have seen, west of what is at present Miss Barnard's house, which then was Mr. Barstow's; afterwards he came to occupy the Ebenezer Cannon yard, just north of Ship Street. Ebenezer Cannon, his sons and grandsons, were noted ship-builders, and many of the finest vessels were due to their skill. His grandsons, James and Arvin Cannon, ran the Cannonville yard for some years. Arvin was at one time master builder in Meigs & Pratt's yard. Watson Cannon, another grandson of Ebenezer, held the same position in Wilson Barstow's yard. No traces of the vessels built by Ebenezer Cannon exist, but they were numerous. Benjamin Barstow in 1832 built the first live-oak ship in town, the William C. Nye, 389 tons. He relinquished his yard in his latter days to his two sons, Nathan H. and Henry. This yard was the first of the prominent yards to go out of business. Loring Meigs and David Pratt, his brother-in-law, had a yard on what are now the premises of Mrs. Sophia Means, at the foot of Mechanic Street; Arvin Cannon, as already stated, being at one time the master builder. The last vessel built in that yard was launched about 1860. There was also a yard in front of the easterly end of the Mattapoisett House. This was carried on by the Can- nons for a number of years. Farther to the west, and just beyond Thomas Luce's barn, Leonard Hammond had a yard. The last ship H = r - g 7 o J Maritime and Other Industries 287 built from this yard was the Clara Bell, in 1852, by George Crandall, of Newport. Adjoining Hammond's yard on the west came the Holmes ship-yard, established about 1800 by Josiah Holmes, Sr. This was next in importance to the Gideon Barstow yard. Mr. Holmes, Sr., learned his trade of Abner Pease. He carried on ship-building alone for about forty years; then with his son Josiah, and afterwards, about 1846, he relinquished the business to his two sons, Josiah and Jona- than H. Holmes (the latter the father of the late Reuben F. Holmes, and of Judge Lemuel LeB. Holmes). The sons carried on the business as the firm of Josiah Holmes, Jr., and Brother, until 1868; the Civil War interrupting for some six years, during which there was no building. After 1868 Jonathan H. Holmes built a schooner and two whale-ships. The last Mattapoisett vessel, the Wanderer, was built at this yard in 1878. Thus closed the story of one of the most famous ship-building ports of the country. In the busiest period two hundred and seventy-five workmen came up from the yards and workshops, when the six o'clock bell rang at the foot of Mechanic Street; the little bell which afterward summoned the scholars from the East District schoolhouse. The panic of 1857, which ruined the business men of the village, the Civil War which disarranged everything, and finally, and most potent of all, the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania, sounded the knell of the whale fishery, and left the little village stranded and without an industry. But a splendid business this building of ships had been ! Each yard striving to produce the best ship, and under this competition turning out the finest vessels of their class 288 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester to be found in the world. The workmen were skilled and intelligent; their work was continuous. The young men were not obliged to seek employment elsewhere, home offered better than most localities. Under these conditions the village enjoyed, for a century, a con- tinually increasing prosperity. Its social condition was the typical and almost ideal one that existed so generally in this Commonwealth up to half a century ago and then began to disappear. There were no large fortunes and consequently no caste to cause envy and disquiet. There was social equality and a sturdiness of character which such conditions produce. It was fitting that the prominent device on the seal of Mattapoisett should be a vessel on the stocks. So far as possible with the aid of Mr. Huggins's article in the Standard and Starbuck's "American Whale Fishery," we have made up the following list of vessels built in Mattapoisett, and their builders. It comprises some 138 vessels. A study of this list satisfies one that prob- ably not a third of the vessels have been obtained. Matta- poisett built whalers for Nantucket, New Bedford, for towns in Bristol County, Rhode Island and Connecti- cut; she built coasters, merchantmen, steamers, and a variety of craft. The list, therefore, must only be re- garded as a partial one. It shows the date of building, name of vessel, rig, tonnage, and in many cases the builder, written in this order: 1800. Nile, brig, Washington Gifford. 1802. John Jay, ship. 1811. President, ship, 293 tons. 1812. John Adams, ship, 296 tons. 1819. Alexander Barclay, ship, 301 tons. Maritime and Other Industries 289 1820. Ontario, ship, 354 tons; Cicero, ship, 252 tons, B. Barstow & Josiah Holmes, Sr. 1821. Phenix, ship, 323 tons; Spartan, ship, 333 tons. 1823. Rose, ship, 350 tons; Congress, ship, 239 tons. 1826. Omega, brig, 363 tons; Frances, ship, 347 tons. G. Barstow & Son; Swift, brig, 456 tons. 1827. Aurora, ship, 340 tons, W. Barstow; Zone, schooner, 365 tons. 1828. Meridian, ship, 381 tons. 1829. Rambler, ship, 318 tons: Richard Mitchell, ship, 386 tons, W. Barstow. 1830. Mary Anne, ship, 240 tons, W. Barstow; Clark- son, ship, 380 tons, W. Barstow. 1831. Mary Mitchell, ship, 369 tons. 1832. Catharine, ship, 384 tons, W. Barstow; Mt. Vernon, ship, 384 tons, Holmes; Hobomok, ship, 412 tons; Wm. C. Nye, ship, 389 tons, B. Barstow & Co.; Mariner, ship, 349 tons, W. Barstow; Young Eagle, ship, 377 tons, W. Barstow; Gideon Barstoiv, ship, 379 tons, W. Barstow. 1833. Levi Starbuck, ship, 376 tons, Holmes; Ohio, ship, 381 tons; Champion, ship, 390 tons, W. Barstow. 1834. Alfa, ship, 345 tons, Cannon ; Christopher Mitchell, ship, 387 tons, Holmes; Elizabeth Mitchell, ship, 381 tons, Holmes. 1835. Gold Hunter, brig, 202 tons; Splendid, ship, 392 tons; Nile, ship, 321 tons, B. Barstow. 1836. Catawba, ship, 335 tons, Cannon; Sarah, ship, 370 tons, Meigs; Caduceus, brig, 109 tons, W. Barstow; Henry, ship, 346 tons, Holmes; Annawan, brig, 148 tons, Holmes; Young Ph&nix, ship, 377 tons, Holmes; Sarah, brig, 171 tons, Meigs. 1837. Sarah, bark, 179 tons; LeBaron, brig, 170 tons, 290 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester W. Barstow; LaGrange, bark, 170 tons, W. Barstow; James Loper, ship, 348 tons, Holmes. 1838. Napoleon, ship, 360 tons, W. Barstow; Daniel Webster, ship, 336 tons, W. Barstow; Solon, brig, 129 tons, Holmes; Young Hero, ship, 339 tons, W. Barstow; Willis, bark, 164 tons, E. Cannon. 1839. Henry Clay, ship, 385 tons, Holmes; Richard Henry, bark, 173 tons, W. Barstow; Chase, brig, 153 tons, W. Barstow; Volant, bark, 210 tons, Holmes. 1841. Edward Cary, ship, 353 tons, W. Barstow; Harrison, ship, 371 tons, W. Barstow; Elizabeth Star- buck, ship, 388 tons, Holmes; Montecello, ship, 358 tons, W. Barstow; Elizabeth, bark, 219 tons; Potomac, ship, 356 tons, Holmes; Massachusetts, ship, 360 tons, Holmes; Narragansett, ship, 398 tons, Holmes; Annawan, brig, 159 tons, B. Barstow. 1842. Callao, ship, 324 tons, Meigs; James, ship, 321 tons, Holmes; Joseph Meigs, ship, 338 tons, Meigs. 1843. Empire, ship, 403 tons, Holmes. 1844. Niger, ship, 437 tons, Holmes; Isaac Walton, ship, 440 tons, W. Barstow; Union, bark, 124 tons, Holmes. 1845. Cachelot, ship, 230 tons, W. Barstow. 1846. Dunbarton, bark, 199 tons, W. Barstow. 1847. Cleone, ship, 373 tons, B. Barstow; Platina, bark, 266 tons; Osceola II, bark, 197 tons, Holmes. 1848. Nauticon, ship, 372 tons, Holmes. 1849. Mattapoisett, brig, 150 tons, Meigs; President, bark, 180 tons. 1850. Ontario, ship, 368 tons, Holmes; Arctic, ship, 431 tons, W. Barstow. 1851. Elisha Dunbar, bark, 257 tons, Holmes; Europa, ship, 380 tons, W. Barstow; Northern Light, ship, 513 tons, Maritime and Other Industries 291 W. Barstow; Sea Queen, bark, 195 tons, Holmes; Sea Fox, bark, 166 tons; R. L. Barstow, bark, 208 tons, Hammond; Alice Mandell, ship, 425 tons, Holmes. 1852. Daniel Wood, ship, 345 tons, Holmes; Gay Head, ship, 389 tons, W. Barstow; John A. Parker, bark, 342 tons, W. Barstow; Polar Star, ship, 475 tons, Holmes; Clara Belle, bark, 295 tons, Hammond; Vigilant, bark, 282 tons, Holmes; Daniel Flanders; Gazelle, ship, W. Bar- stow; Wm. Upham; James Arnold, ship, 393 tons, B. Barstow*. 1853. Lapwing, ship, 432 tons; Petrel, ship, 350 tons, Holmes; Reindeer, ship, 450 tons, Holmes; Siren Queen, ship, 461 tons, Meigs. 1854. Matthew Luce, bark, 410 tons, Holmes; Onward, ship, 461 tons, Holmes. 1855. Plover, ship, 330 tons, Holmes. 1856. Contest, ship, 441 tons, W. Barstow; Eliza, bark, 360 tons, Meigs; Huntress, bark, 383 tons, Holmes; Merlin, bark, 348 tons, Holmes; Brewster, ship, 225 tons, Holmes ; Sunbeam, bark, 360 tons, Holmes ; Thomas Pope, ship, 327 tons, W. Barstow; South Seaman, ship, 497 tons, Meigs; Sea Ranger, bark, 370 tons, Holmes. 1858. Two Brothers, bark, 288 tons, N. H. & H. Barstow. 1859. Ocean Rover, of Nantucket, ship, 314 tons, Holmes. 1860. Ocean Rover, of Mattapoisett, bark, 417 tons, Holmes. 1865. Active, tugboat, Holmes. 1867. Alaska, bark, 346 tons, Holmes. 1868. Concordia, bark, Holmes. 1869. Laura Robinson, schooner, Holmes. 292 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 1877. Gay Head, bark, Holmes. 1878. Wanderer, bark, Holmes. Other vessels known to have been built in Mattapoisett, but in what year is not known, are: George C. Gibbs, W. Barstow; Brutus, brig, 200 tons, built on Herring River; George Lee, ship, 650 tons, W. Barstow; Watkins, bark, W. Barstow; Lamartine, schooner, W. Barstow; Ormus, brig, B. Barstow; Sarah, schooner, B. Barstow; Laura Jane, schooner, Holmes; John Milton, ship, W. Barstow; Lydia, ship, Meigs; Eliza, schooner, N. H. Barstow; Elizabeth, bark, 219 tons, Cannon; Polly Hall, Cannon; Almira. Mattapoisett built whalers for other ports, but she also built for herself and carried on a considerable whaling business for nearly a century. As early as 1771 we find that the sloop Defiance, hailing from Rochester, sailed on a whaling voyage, and between that date and 1865, when the Willis, the last whaler, was sold, some fifty different ves- sels sailed from the port. It does not seem to have been a prosperous business for the village, nor for Marion, which had about half as many whalers. The voyages were gen- erally short, and three hundred or four hundred barrels were thought to be good catches. Perhaps they were out- fitted too well; the supplies may have cost more because they were to be eaten by the men and boys of the village, of whom the crews were largely composed, and who would have to be faced by the owners when the voyage was ended. The voyages were alluded to by the New Bed- ford and Nantucket people as "Plum Pudding Voyages;" whether this was because of their lavish food supplies or for some other reason is uncertain. The list of these whaling vessels is likewise imperfect. Maritime and Other Industries 293 The year when each vessel first appears is given, together with her name and who were first her agents, the agents afterwards changed in most instances. 1771. Sloop Defiance. 1816. Sally, a schooner. 1820. Orion, a brig. 1822. Pocohontas, a brig. 1826. Magnolia, schooner, 90 tons. 1827. Sophronia, schooner. 1830. Franklin, bark, 250 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Lexington, schooner. 1831. Dryade, bark, 263 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Laurel, schooner, G. Barstow & Son, Agents. 1832. Gideon Barstow, ship, 379 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents. 1833. Shylock, ship, 277 tons. 1836. Annawan, brig, 148 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Caduceus, brig, 109 tons, Joseph Meigs, Agent; Mattapoisett, brig, 150 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Sarah, brig, 171 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Orion, brig, 99 tons, Elijah Willis, Agent. 1837. Lagrange, brig, 170 tons, Elijah Willis, Agent; LeBaron, brig, 170 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents. 1839. Chase, brig, 153 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Richard Henry, bark, 173 tons, G. Barstow & Son, Agents; Willis, brig, 164 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1841. Edward, brig, 133 tons, Wilson Barstow, Agent; Elizabeth, bark, 219 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1842. Joseph Meigs, ship, 338 tons, Joseph Meigs, Agent. 1845. Cachelot, ship, 230 tons, Wilson Barstow, Agent. 294 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 1846. Dunbarton, bark, 169 tons, Wilson Barstow, Agent. Sarah, ship, 370 tons, Joseph Meigs, Agent. 1847. Helen, brig, 120 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1850. Samuel & Thomas, bark, 191 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent; America, brig, 148 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1851. R. L. Barstow, bark, 208 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent; Massasoit, bark, 206 tons, Caleb King, Jr., Agent; Oscar, bark, 369 tons, S. K. Eaton, Agent; Sun, bark, 183 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1852. Clara Bell, bark, 295 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent; Excellent, brig, 70 tons, John T. Atsatt, Agent. 1853. March, brig, 89 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1856. Amelia, brig, 127 tons, L. Meigs & Co., Agents; Elvira, brig, 131 tons, L. Meigs & Co., Agents; Palmyra, schooner, 100 tons, L. Meigs & Co., Agents. 1857. Brewster, ship, 225 tons, J. Holmes, Jr. & Bro., Agents; Union, bark, 124 tons, R. L. Barstow, Agent. 1859. Ocean Rover, ship, 314 tons, J. Holmes, Jr. & Bro., Agents. Agents of Whaling Vessels. Gideon Barstow, probably before 1800, and down to 1830; Gideon Barstow & Son (Wilson Barstow), 1830-1844; Wilson Barstow, 1841-1850; Elijah Willis, 1836-1847; Rogers L. Barstow, 1839-1860; Seth Freeman, 1841- 1854; Leonard Hammond, 1841-1844; Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., 1847-1849; Loring Meigs, 1851-1860; John T. Atsatt, 1852-1854; Atsatt & Sturtevant, 1854-1858; Josiah Holmes, Jr., 1854- ; Josiah Holmes, Jr. & Brother, 1854- 1862; Solomon K. Eaton, 1851-1854; Caleb King, Jr., Bark Sunbeam Built in Mattapoisett in 1856 Maritime and Other Industries 295 1852-1854; N. H. Barstow, 1861-1863; J. R. & W. L. Taber, 1861-1864. But if the owners of Mattapoisett whalers did not prosper, the master, officers, and crew did; many acquired a com- petency in the business, and Mattapoisett whalemen were quite famous. To Archelus Hammond, born 1759, died 1830, a noted whaleman, belongs the credit of striking the first whale ever struck in the Pacific, and of intro- ducing whaling into that ocean. 1 Mattapoisett whaling masters were recognized as good business managers of voyages, as navigators, and skilful whalemen. An excellent account of the life on one of these ves- sels has been written in "On Board a Whaler," by Thomas West Hammond, M.D., a native of Matta- poisett, now a member of the bar in Tacoma, Wash- ington. The following extracts show what Dr. Robbins noted in his diary in regard to shipping while he was in Mattapoisett : 1831 Oct. 22. A large fine ship was launched here this morning. 360 ton. It did not go off well. 1832 June 28. Toward evening two fine ships were launched here, and a third was attempted and failed. June 29. At evening the other large ship was launched. Aug. 11. Went on board the new ship Gideon Barstow, which is to sail soon. Sept. 23. A ship was launched here in the evening, unnecessarily I think, and a good deal of work done during the day. Oct. 15. Looked at a fine new ship of live-oak, built in four months. Oct. 22. The schooner Laurel, anxiously expected came in with 230 barrels of sperm oil. 1 Ship-building on North River, Briggs, page 167. 296 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Oct. 24. In the morning attended the launch of a fine live-oak ship, over 400 tons. It did not go clear. 1833 Feb. 11. We have a painful account that the captain and a boat's crew of a whaleship belong here is lost. Mar. 26. Two promising young men of this place have been lost at sea from a whaleship. Visited one of the families. May 2. Looked at a new ship, which was well launched toward evening. May 23. Attended the launching of the finest ship, probably, that ever was built here. It did not float actively. June 18. Another ship was launched here successfully. All whalers. Nov. 13. A schooner belonging here came in from whaling, having made a very profitable voyage. 1834 May 20. Saw the launch of a fine ship — the first from Mr. Cannon's new yard. It went very well. May 21. Saw another ship launched in fine state from Mr. Cannon's yard. June 30. Rode to Bedford and procured some tracts to give to the ship Dryad. 1835 Sept. 22. Attended the launching of a good ship. Sept. 25. Yesterday saw a fine ship launched here. Oct. 23. A ship launched in the morning. Dec. 9. The ship G. Barstow, mostly owned here, came into the harbor, after a voyage to the Pacific of more than three years, with a moderate cargo of 2100 bbls. They had hoped for 3000. The first Cape Horn ship loaded that has entered this harbor. 1836 Apr. 4. A new brig owned here was launched Saturday evening. May 30. Attended the launching of a ship. 1837 Apr. 21. At evening saw the launching of a ship. May 22. A good ship was launched here Saturday evening. Sept. 24. Afternoon preached the sermon on Ps. XCVII: 1, 2, on the loss of the brig Cadmeus (Caduceus?) which sailed from Maritime and Other Industries 297 here Apr. 28, 1836, and was spoken at sea, bound home, Nov. 28, and had not been heard of since. Their crew were fifteen; eleven from this town. 1838 Mar. 26. A fine ship was launched here this morning. July 10. A ship was launched here this morning. 1839 Apr. 4. News came that the brig Annawan of this place, coming home with a valuable cargo, was wrecked near Bermuda, and the men are reported missing. Several families are much dis- tressed. Apr. 15. Painful news received here this morning from the brig Anna- wan, wrecked. Of 21 of the crew, 14, including the cap- tain and mates, are lost; 7 are saved, 7 from this place; 4 lost. The cargo worth about $20,000. Apr. 26. Saw a seaman Chase, who was wrecked in the Annawan. His story is very affecting. Four promising youths of this place were lost. May 10. A whale brig came in here that has done well. May 17. Yesterday a whale brig came in with 600 barrels of sperm oil. June 12. Wrote a letter to Capt. Samuel Mitchell of Bangor, who took our seamen from the late wreck. Aug. 9. A ship from this place with 2000 barrels of oil has been lost in the Indian Ocean; men saved. A severe loss. Aug. 21. A whale brig sailed from here. Aug. 27. A fine ship was launched here this morning. Oct. 7. It is supposed we have lost a schooner from this place; a good vessel with its crew, on their passage from Philadelphia to Boston, in the disastrous storm of Aug. 30. Nov. 7. A whale brig came in here last night after a very prosperous voyage. 1840 July 27. We had a very fine launch of a good ship. Sept. 15. A bark whaler sailed from here. Gave bibles and tracts. Oct. 2. Whale brig sailed. Oct. 12. In the morning a fine new ship went off with fine launch. Oct. 13. Whale brig sailed. Oct. 23. Whale brig came in from a good voyage. 1841 Apr. 6. A whale brig sailed this morning. One went last week. 298 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Apr. 11. A whale brig sailed yesterday. May 31. Five ships and a brig on the stocks. June 11. There are six ships and one brig on the stocks in our ship yards. June 15. Mr. Crosby and his company launched a fine brig. June 19. Last evening a fine ship was launched here. Another large whale ship was launched this evening. July 8. A new whale brig sailed from here this morning. Aug. 16. Two fine ships were launched within a few minutes of each other. Sept. 16. Two fine ships were launched here this morning. Dec. 22. A whale brig sailed from here this morning. 1842 Apr. 17. A whale brig came in this morning with a good cargo, but oil is very low and has a dull sale. Aug. 6. Saw the launch of a ship. Aug. 13. A barque ship sailed from here for whaling. Sept. 6. Two good ships were launched here this morning near to- gether. A whale brig came in. Oct. 8. The fine new ship Jos. Meigs sailed from here this morning. Oct. 12. A whale brig came in. Nov. 25. A whale brig came in. 1843 Apr. 28. Two whale brigs sailed from here this morning. June 10. A ship of 400 tons was launched here. Oct. 19. A whale brig sailed from here. 1844 Apr. 4. A whale brig came in. May 30. A whale brig came in. May 31. Two large ships were launched at our yards within a few minutes of each other. June 17. A whale brig sailed from here. Aug. 24. A fine five oak ship was launched here yesterday, built it twelve weeks. Sept. 3. A whale brig, gone three months and twenty-three days, came in with 450 barrels, sperm oil. A great voyage. Early in the nineteenth century, salt-making became an important industry in the shore villages of Rochester. Maritime and Other Industries 299 It attained a higher development at Sippican than Matta- poisett; yet the industry was largely developed in the latter village also, and is a part of the history of Rochester town. Abraham Holmes writing in 1821, says: " The principal manufacture of this town is salt. This business is carried on on an extensive scale and it is be- lieved that more salt is manufactured in this town than in any other town in the Commonwealth, and it is the most productive of any business here practised." During the Revolution salt had been in great demand, and some was obtained along the Buzzards Bay shores by the process of boiling sea-water. In 1806 a more import- ant salt industry was established in Rochester as well as in neighboring towns. The direct occasion of this was the Embargo Act, shutting out the salt from the West Indies, which had been the chief source of supply. The process used was one of simple evaporation, but required considerable machinery and equipment. The water was pumped from the sea by windmills, and carried through pipes (or tunneled logs) to shallow vats twelve or fifteen feet square, from which the water was evapo- rated by sun exposure, being carried from vat to vat at different stages of the process. There was a salt-house to receive the completed product, and at night and in rainy weather, great covers (or roofs), moved by heavy " crane-beams, " were placed over the vats to protect the drying salt. One "crane" of salt-works usually included four of these evaporating vats. People used to come in their wagons to the salt-works to purchase their home supply of salt, and much was also exported. It is said that in the days of the early boiling process, one enterprising salt-maker, made each year an 300 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester ox- wagon-load of salt which he carried to Vermont. There he sold his oxen, returning with a fresh yoke of animals and a return freight of butter and cheese for the home market. In the days of the sun-evaporating process, much larger quantities were obtained. At the height of this industry twenty thousand bushels of salt were sometimes produced in the town during a single year. The largest salt-works of Sippican were those of Eben- ezer Holmes in the lower village near Nye's wharf, below the Sippican House. He lived to be a very old man, and continued to look after his salt-making through his closing years. There were many other salt-works, at Great Neck, Little Neck, along the shore of the upper village, and between the two villages. It is said that salt-works were "all over Sippican" and the windmills of these salt-works were a distinctive feature of the village landscape. The works of Captain Hammett were at the upper village; the Delano salt-works were at several localities, at one of which medicinal salts were manufactured. In Mattapoisett also, salt-works were carried on, at Aucoot Cove, at Goodspeed's Island, in a large field in the rear of the Baptist Church, and in other places. The last salt-maker was Isaac Hiller, who continued in this industry at Aucoot Cove until about the time of the Civil War. About 1812 the First Parish of Rochester, having at- tempted, without great success, to raise the minister's salary by voluntary subscription instead of by taxation, a movement was started to obtain a fund for church support by carrying on some parish salt-works. In 1815 six cranes of salt-works were built at Briggs's Neck, and Maritime and Other Industries 301 others were added afterwards at different points on Sippi- can harbor. They did not prove financially profitable, however, and about 1838 these parish salt-works were sold. The September gale of 1815 was very damaging to the salt industry, not only spoiling the salt already made, but sweeping away the works themselves, which however, were afterwards rebuilt. CHAPTER XII MATTAPOISETT IN THE CIVIL WAR WHEN the news arrived of the firing on Fort Sumter, April 13, 1861, the same patriotic feeling that surged up and down through all the Northern States filled the breasts of our people, and the records of the town for the years 1861-65 show that Mattapoisett was not behind in its realization of the duty it owed to our common country. This being a seaport town, and the whaling industry being at its height, it was natural that the Navy should claim a large number of enlistments among the seafaring men, as was evidenced by the fact that out of one hun- dred and fifty men apportioned as our quota, sixty-five entered the Navy. During the year 1861 the town in its corporate capac- ity took no action in relation to the war, but during the year thirty-nine men entered the Army and Navy. On July 18, 1862, however, the town voted to pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to each volunteer, to the number of twenty, " who shall enlist within the next sixty days for three years or the war." The treasurer, with the consent of the selectmen, was authorized to borrow money to pay the same ; the interest and ten per cent of the capital to be paid annually until the debt should be discharged. August 7, 1862: Voted to increase the bounty for three Mattapoisett in the Civil War 303 years' volunteers, fifty dollars, and fifty dollars additional to those who would enlist before the 15th of the month. August 30, 1862, voted to pay a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars to each volunteer for nine months' service, to fill the quota of the town. December 15, 1862: Voted to pay a bounty of one hundred and fifty dollars to volunteers who enlist for three years and are credited to the quota of the town. In that year Thomas Nelson was appointed special recruiting agent for the town, and one of his grandsons has in his possession a poster which he, as agent, then put out, calling for volunteers. During 1863-64 the authorities continued to recruit men and pay bounties, but no special action appears to have been taken by the town in its corporate capacity except to appropriate money when necessary. In 1865, in the warrant for the annual town meeting in April, was an article "to see if the town will authorize the selectmen to borrow money to pay bounties to keep the quota of the town filled." During the proceedings of the meeting information was received from the South, and the clerk noted the fact on the town record in these words, written in large letters: "News of the Cap- ture of Richmond Received." In consequence of which no appropriation was made to pay bounties to volunteers, for the war was practically ended. Schouler, in his "Massachusetts in the Rebellion," says that " Mattapoisett furnished one hundred and fifty men for the military service, which was a surplus of eight over and above all demands." A careful count on the records shows that this town furnished one hundred and eighty men for the Army and Navy. The whole amount of money 304 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester appropriated and expended by the town on account of the war was $7110. The following are the names of the men from Matta- poisett who gave up their lives in the great struggle: Edward F. Barlow, Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg., died September 3, 1864, while a prisoner at Andersonville prison, Georgia. John T. Barstow, Co. K., 1st Mass. Reg., died at Ascension Hospital, Washington, D. C, December 20, 1862. John Bates, U.S.N., was killed March 22, 1862, at Mosquito Inlet, Fla., while on a boat expedition. Acting Master John S. Dennis, U.S.N., died February 27, 1865, at New Madrid, Mo., while in command of U.S.S. Huntress. William C. Dexter, Co. E., 58th Mass. Reg., died in hospital at Fortress Monroe, August 4, 1864. Franklin A. Lobre, Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg., was taken prisoner December 10, 1862, at Plymouth, N. C, and died at Petersburg, Va., January 19, 1863. Elijah W. Randall, U.S.N., died on board U.S.S. Housatonicy April 19, 1863. Edward F. Snow, Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg., died at home, September 6, 1864, only four days after his dis- charge from the service. George D. Snow, Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg., was killed in action at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862. William Henry Taber, Co. C, 17th Penn. Cav- alry, died March 18, 1862, in hospital at Mumfords- ville, Ky. Charles H. Tinkham, Co. D., 3d Mass. Reg., died at Newbern, N. C, November 30, 1862. Mattapoisett in the Civil War 305 Ebenezer Tripp, Co. G., 20th Mass. Reg., was killed in action at Ball's Bluff, Va., October 24, 1861. George W. Wilcox, Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg., died August 23, 1862, in hospital at Philadelphia. William S. Wilcox, 5th Batt. Lt. Art., died November 28, 1862, in hospital at Falmouth, Va. The names of Amittai B. Hammond, Joseph E. Smith, Jarvis Ellis, Nathan H. Barstow, Thomas P. Hammond, Josiah Holmes, Jr., Wilson Barstow, and Franklin Cross should ever be held in grateful remembrance by the people of Mattapoisett, for it was these men who, as selectmen during the years 1861-65, piloted the town through the serious turmoil of war. The name of Thomas Nelson should also be gratefully remembered, for it was he, as Town Clerk, through the same years, who kept a most careful record of the service of every man who enlisted from the town, and as recruiting agent, and in service to the families of men at the front, he in many ways endeared himself to the people. Too much credit also cannot be awarded to the women of the town for their zeal in working faithfully for the soldiers and sailors, while in the field, in the hospital, or on board the ships of the Navy. There are no records to show how much was thus done, but if there were, Matta- poisett, we are sure, would be proud of their service there shown. During the Civil War a number of vessels from these ports were taken by Confederate cruisers. One of these was the bark Ocean Rover, the last whaler built and fitted in Mattapoisett before the war. She carried four Matta- poisett men, James M. Clark, Captain; William Harlow, second mate ; Marshall Keith, fourth mate ; and Charles B. 306 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Hammond, boat steerer; of whom Mr. Hammond is the only survivor. On the 8th of September, 1862, while lying in almost a dead calm about fifteen miles off the island of Flores, the Ocean Rover was overtaken by the Con- federate cruiser Alabama. Seeing that capture was in- evitable, Captain Clark ordered the stars and stripes set and helpless in the calm summer evening the whaler awaited her fate. The officers and crew received very courteous treatment from the Confederates. Having signed the parole of honor, they were sent with their personal effects to Ponta Delgada, Flores, and on the following day the Ocean Rover was burned. Another was the Altamaha, from Marion, commanded by Captain Gray, with Capt. Judah Hathaway, of Rochester, as mate and part owner, and James R. Blankinship, of Matta- poisett, second mate. The Altamaha was captured by the Alabama and burned, and the officers and men sent to Fayal. In later years the owners and crews of these vessels gained some restitution in the form of "Alabama Claims." It took Mattapoisett a number of years to recover from the financial drain of this four years' war, chiefly on ac- count of the decline of the ship-building and whaling industries, the proceeds of which had been its mainstay. Conditions to-day are very different than they were in 1861-65, but if called upon again, as in those years, we feel sure that this town would respond as generously as before. October 22, 1904, a fine monument, as a memorial to the men of Mattapoisett who gave their lives in the ser- vice of their country, was appropriately dedicated by visit- ing posts of the G.A.R., Naval Veterans, Sons of Veterans, X = Mattapoisett in the Civil War 307 and the school children. This monument was the gift of George Purrington, Jr., and stands on a lot on Barstow Street purchased with a special fund which had been held by the town for several years. There is in town an organization known as the Army and Navy Memorial Association, composed of veterans and their wives, and several others, formed for the pur- pose of perpetuating the proper observance of Memorial Day. List of men who served in the Civil War from Matta- poisett : Ames, Loring T. Bannon, Alexander, Co. K., 58th Mass. Reg. Barlow, Edward F., Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg. Barlow, Gideon B., Co. B., 3d Reg. H.A. Barrows, Alpheus, Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg., also Co. F., 53d Mass. H.A. Barrows, Andrew J., Co. F., 3d Mass. H.A. Barrows, George, Co. L., 3d Mass. Reg. Barstow, Elijah W., 1st Lieut., Co. — , 3d Mass. H.A., also 1st Lieut., Co. H., 5th U.S. Art. Barstow, John T., Co. K., 1st Mass. Reg. Barstow, Josiah M., U.S.N. Barstow, Solomon, Master's Mate, U.S.N. Barstow, Wilson, Jr., 37th Reg. New York Vols., Ensign Capt., Lt. Col., Col., and Brevet Brig. Gen. Barstow, Zaccheus M., Co. D., 23d Mass. Reg. Bates, John, U.S.N. Bolles, Charles E., U.S.N. Bourne, Edmund L., Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Bourne, George W., Acting Master, U.S.N. 308 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Bowman, Ebenezer H., U.S.N. Buck, Charles H., Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Burbank, Charles M., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg. Butts, Joseph A., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Cannon, Fred J., Co. B., 3d Mass. Reg. H.A. Cannon, Thomes J., Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Carpenter, Wright, Co. D., 23d Mass. Reg. Carr, John P., Acting Master, U.S.N. Caswell, Elbridge G., Master's Mate, U.S.N. Clark, Elijah W., Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Clark, Freeman, Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg. Covert, Eugene S., Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg. Cowell, William G., Acting Ensign, U.S.A. Crosby, E. Frank, Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Crosby, William K., Co. C, 8th Vermont Reg., also 1st Lieut., 1st Louisiana Reg. Cushing, Edward L., U.S.N. Davis, Lemuel LeB., U.S.N. Davis, Thomas R., U.S.N. Dennis, John, S., Acting Master, U.S.N. Dexter, Albert M., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Dexter, Benjamin 2d, U.S.N. Dexter, Elisha L., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Dexter, Francis E., U.S.N. Dexter, George, Co. K., 8th California Reg. Dexter, George H., Master's Mate, U.S.N. Dexter, Horace, U.S.N. Dexter, James W., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Dexter, Thomas D., Co. E., 3d Mass. Reg. Dexter, William C, Co. E., 58th Mass. Reg. Mattapoisett in the Civil War 309 Eaton, Solomon K, 1st Lieut., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Ellis, Albert, U.S.N., also Co. R, 3d Reg. Mass. H.A. Ellis, Daniel S., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg., also 23d Unat- tached Co., Mass. Vols. Gallon, James, Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg. Gifford, Charles P., U.S.N. Gifford, Jesse C, Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg. Gifford, John L., Acting Vol. Lieut., U.S.N. Gifford, Robinson, U.S.N. Gifford, William C, Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg., also Co. F., 3d Mass. Reg. H.A. Goodspeed, Oliver J., Co. B., 3d Mass. Reg. H.A., also U.S.N. Gorham, Albert H., U.S.N. Graham, William H., Musician, 9th Mass. Reg. Hammond, B. Frank, 23d Unattached Co. Mass. Vols. Hammond, George F., Acting Master, U.S.N. Hammond, James A., 23d Unattached Co. Mass. Vols. Hammond, John W., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Hammond, Larnet H., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg. Hammond, Roland, Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Harris, William Jr., Co. B., 15th New Hampshire Reg. Hayden, Benjamin F., Co. D., 18th Mass. Vols. Hayden, Charles H., Co. C, 29th Mass. Reg. Hiller, Alpheus B., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg., also Co. E., 32d Mass. Reg. Hiller, Ebenezer R., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Holmes, Heman G., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg., also Masters Mate, U.S.N. 310 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Howes, Woodbridge R., 1st Lieut., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg., also Asst. Surgeon, 3d Mass. Reg. Johnson, Thomas W., Acting Master, U.S.N. Jordan, Samuel R., 5th Battery, Light Art. Keith, Albert, Acting Master, U.S.N. Keith, Charles F., Acting Master, U.S.N. King, James W., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg., also 2d Lieut., Co. C, 32d Mass. Reg. Kinney, Jireh, Jr., Co., E., 1st Rhode Island Reg.; 2d Serg. Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg.; 2d Lieut., 23d Unat- tached Co. Mass. Vols. Kinney, William H., U.S.N. Lawson, Elias, Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Leavitt, Robert E., U.S.N., also Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. LeBaron, Frederick L., Master's Mate, U.S.N. LeBaron, John A., Co. C, 71st Pennsylvania Reg. LeBaron, William H., U.S.N. Leonard, Nahum Jr., Capt., 58th Mass. Reg. Lobre, Franklin A., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Look, Gilbert A., Co. E., 2d Heavy Art. Luce, Shubael K., Acting Master, U.S.N. Merrithew, Alexander C, U.S.N. Morse, Edward A., Master's Mate, U.S.N. Morse, Frederick L., 23d Unattached Co., Mass. Vols. Morse, George F., Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Morse, Theodore S., Master's Mate, U.S.N. Nye, Charles H., Boatswain's Mate, U.S.N. Mattapoisett in the Civil War 311 Nye, Mavro C, Master's Mate, U.S.N. O'Connor, Daniel, Co. D., 58th Mass. Reg. Paine, Francis M., Acting Master, U.S.N. Peck, George G., Co. D., 7th Mass. Reg. Peckham, William F., Co. F., 18th Mass. Reg., also Co. D., 1st Battery H.A. Perchard, Clement H., Acting Ensign, U.S.N., also Co. A., 50th Mass. Reg. Phelan, John E., 23d Unattached Co. Mass. Vols. Pierce, George, Co. F., 29th Mass. Reg. Purrington, Francis M., Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg., also Co. H., 32d Mass. Reg. Purrington, Henry J., Musician, 19th Mass. Reg. Purrington, John A., Musician, 19th Mass. Reg., also Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Randall, Charles H., Co. G., 2d N. H. Reg. Randall, Elijah W., U.S.N. Randall, Fayette E., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Randall, George W., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Ransom, Sidney, U.S.N. Ransom, Theodore S., Master's Mate, U.S.N. Richmond, William L., Co. F., 19th Mass. Reg., also U.S.N. Robinson, Benjamin F., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg., also Master's Mate, U.S.N. Rounseville, Job P., Acting Master, U.S.N. Rounseville, William H., Co. K., 3d Mass. Reg. Sherman, Noah, Hospital Nurse. 312 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Shurtleff, Henry A., 23d Unattached Co. Mass. Vols. Simpson, Oscar, U.S.N. Smith, James, A., Co. I., 13th Mass. Reg., also Co. H., 58th Mass. Reg. Smith, John, U.S.N. Snow, Allen W., Acting Ensign, U.S.N. Snow, Charles F., Co. D., 22d Mass. Reg., also Co. L., 32d Mass. Reg. Snow, Edward F., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg. Snow, Elisha, U.S.N. Snow, George D., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg. Snow, Henry L., U.S.N., also Co. B., 3d Mass. H.A. Snow, Silas W., Co. B., 3d Mass. Reg. H.A. Sparrow, William E., Volunteer Surgeon. Stone, Richard, U.S.N. Sweat, William W., Volunteer Surgeon. Tinkham, Charles H., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Tripp, Charles A., U.S.N. Tripp, Ebenezer, Co. G., 20th Mass. Reg. Tripp, Job. P., Co. D., 47th Mass. Reg. Washburn, John M., Co. A., 60th Mass. Reg. Waterman, Sylvanus D., Co. I., 3d Mass. Reg. Weston, Lewis S., Co. E., 18th Mass. Reg. Wilbur, John E., Co. B., 3d Mass. Reg. Wilcox, George W., Co. D., 18th Mass. Reg. Wilcox, William S., 5th Battery Light Art. Wright, Henry M., 23d Unattached Co. Mass. Vols. CHAPTER XIII MATTAPOISETT THE TOWN f | ^HERE came a time when the inconvenience of -*- administering the affairs of a large territory with two centers of population grew serious. It was felt most keenly when some three hundred or four hundred voters had to travel eight or nine miles either to the Town Hall in Rochester Center, or to Minister Robbins' meeting-house near the sea, to attend town meeting; and it gradually became a bitter fight of section against section as to where these meetings should be held. So there was little oppo- sition when in 1857 the adherents of the "meeting house," secured incorporation as a separate body. The name which the new town should bear was already long settled. As early as 1640, certain parties were granted lands in "Mattapoyst," and in 1674 the vicinity of the present village had become well known as " Mattapoisett." Ac- cording to a survey of Ansel Weeks, in September, 1857, the division line began at a stone post in the Fairhaven line, " thence E. 5° S. to road of Ellis's Mill, to the brook from Ellis's Mill to the Wolf Island Road, to Mattapoisett River, by the river to a stone post. From the post to Rock Bridge course E. 2° S., to Cedar Swamp, across the swamp to upland, to the Boat Rock road, to the Bear Swamp, across the Swamp to Towsers Neck, across Towsers Neck to Haskells Mill Swamp, across this Swamp 314 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester to the Eben Snow old town road, to the Bonney road, to road from four corners to Anthony lot, to the Marion line. ,, The youthful town started on its new career under the most favorable auspices. In the first meeting the utmost harmony prevailed. The assembly was called by the warrant of Amittai B. Hammond, Justice of the Peace, directed to Rogers L. Barstow, a "principal citizen." It met in Purrington Hall, then recently erected on the former site of Eaton Hall, on Saturday, June 20, 1857, and proceeded to elect officers to conduct its affairs. There were gathered within "Mattapoisett" a popu- lation of about seventeen hundred sturdy, industrious people. Farming was on the increase, but the whal- ing industry, with ship-building and the necessary ac- companying trades, was the principal occupation of the town. For a few years no busier community could be found. The apparent prosperity was, however, but tran- sient; a cloud appeared on the horizon, and the spirit of civil war was soon hovering over even the peaceful village by the sea. At the same time there became evident the sure and rapid decline of "whaling," which was in a few years to sound the knell of the entire mechanical industry of the town. The rather serious-mindedness, but deep religious faith of the early settlers in this crisis is well shown by this paragraph from the report of the school committee in 1861 : "We would suggest that the present gloomy aspect of our political, commercial, and industrial affairs should impress our minds with the importance of a faithful dis- charge of duty to our children. If, then, the hope of trans- mitting to them political blessings is overcast, — if the Mattapoisett the Town 315 wish to bequeath affluence seems doomed to disappoint- ment, — we should solicitously endeavor to prepare them for the future, by storing their minds with that true wisdom which holds ' length of days in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor.'" At the opening of the war, nearly fifty vessels engaged in the whale fishery were owned in whole or in part in Mattapoisett. The ravages of the Confederate cruisers only hastened the inevitable, and vacant wharves, unused ship-yards, and empty houses were the signs of a pros- perity that had departed. Industrially the town never recovered from the blow. A few attempts were made to regain the lost ground. In 1880 the town voted "to exempt from taxation for five or ten years any parties who will start some manufacturing business in our town that will give employment to our citizens." And the next year the selectmen were author- ized "to expend not exceeding $75 in advertising the business facilities of the town, and exemption from taxa- tion." And the citizens contributed liberally from their private resources to erect and furnish a factory building. No permanent business, however, could be obtained. The advent of the "summer resident" in the "seven- ties " was the beginning of a new era. The accompanying increase in the real and personal property brought the valuation of the town, which had shrunk from $800,000, to $480,000 in 1865, to its highest mark in 1876. The tax rate, however, has always remained nearly stationary, ranging from $6 to $9.50 on $1000. During the height of ship-building some seventy-five yoke of cattle might have been seen engaged in the laborious work of moving heavy timber, spars, and other materials, and in 1861 316 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester there were taxed fifty-five yoke of oxen and fifty-seven sheep. Mattapoisett has been a good example of a true democ- racy, a real government " by the people.'* Its town meet- ings have always been well attended and the fullest dis- cussion of affairs has been the rule. And as always results from such interest, her finances and affairs have been ably managed. The town meetings, up to the time of the building of the Town Hall, were held in Purrington Hall, with a few exceptions such as the case when in 1863 "the meeting met in front of Barstow Hall, and not being able to find the key to the hall organized upon the sidewalks and adjourned to the store formerly occupied by L. Meigs & Co.," and again when in 1867 the meeting met in front of Purrington Hall and, for a similar reason, adjourned to the "sail loft," or an occasional meeting in the "Engine House." Barstow Hall was in the second story at the east end of what is now the "Mattapoisett House." Loring Meigs's store was burned and the town now owns its site, by purchase with the wharf property. The sail loft was in the storehouse building still standing at the head of Long Wharf, while the old engine house, which formerly stood on part of the present town hall lot, has, after serving as a church, engine house, town hall, and shop, become a tenement house on Baptist Street. Perhaps the most memorable town meeting was that of April 3, 1865, when, just after acting on the eleventh article in the warrant, this entry appears on the clerk's records: "News of the Capture of Richmond Re- ceived. " At the same meeting, the fourteenth article, which related to "keeping full the town's proportion of Mattapoisett the Town 317 the quota of volunteers called for from the Common- wealth," was passed, on account of the "news from Richmond." In addition to furnishing volunteers, the town, in 1862, offered to open a hospital for sick and disabled soldiers, but it was not needed. Amid the serious discussion of municipal affairs there was always present a sense of humor — on one occasion under an article " to see if the town will prohibit playing ball or passing, throwing and catching balls or kicking foot- balls within the following limits, viz. : from the house of the late Wilson Barstow on Main Street, within the limits of said Main Street to Mechanic Street," the vote was to make the limits " from Jarvis Ellis' to Wm. Richmonds " (the extreme north and south ends of the town). How the voters should be notified was settled by directing, in 1867, that a copy of the articles in the warrant should be posted "upon the oak tree on the corner near Abraham Tinkhams (still used for the pur- pose), at the Town Mills, Cowins Mills, and at the Post Office." Out of the twenty-one district schools in Rochester in 1857, ten came within the limits of the new town of Matta- poisett. There were at the time " academies " in the town, "second, we believe, to none in this Commonwealth." But the defective district school system was a constant source of trouble. Each district, through its " Prudential Committee," provided its schoolhouses and expended the money appropriated by the town for the support of the school as it saw fit. The office of the Prudential Com- mittee, including as it did the power of hiring teachers, having charge of the schoolhouse and the running of the 318 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester school, carried with it considerable patronage, and was the cause of fierce, if limited, political struggles. As one committee on investigation remarked, "the chief quali- fication of a member of a Prudential Committee seems to have been not to have served the preceding year." That the district schools did their work as thoroughly as they did, has been the wonder of later times. Perhaps the secret may be found in this statement from the school committee's report in 1857: "But few branches of study should be prosecuted at a given time. Not the quantity, but the quality of learning should be considered. Better to learn a little thoroughly, assuredly, than a great deal superficially and doubtfully." The village districts were, in 1857, at once combined, and in the first school committee's report, the districts were defined as: District No. 1. Mattapoisett Neck, where in that year there was no summer term, but for three months in the winter, fifteen scholars were taught by Mr. John W. Hammond, who "proved a competent teacher," so that the committee thought the school " would compare favor- ably with most any other district school in the town." It occupied rented quarters, having the year before been taught by Mrs. E. R. Beetle at her residence, and in 1855 in the "Upper Chamber" a building erected or used for a corn granary, and "illy adapted" for school pur- poses. District No. 2. Hammondtown, with E. G. Caswell, Sr., Prudential Committee, had six months of "school." In the summer Miss Almira E. Denham taught eighteen scholars, and in the winter Noah Hammond had thirty- two. It was the first school either had taught, but was $» w W 1 ■ In 1 4 MWi *tjiii_ \l a ^ l^v •^IvJi ^^^3BPj^ ■Sp8B F^JWfj ■ J ^^^^. ^BHHHMH - X I 5 m E Mattapoisett the Town 319 satisfactory to the committee, "and we think to the dis- trict." Districts Nos. 3 and 4 were united and comprised the village west of Barstow Street. About fifty pupils had school for seven and one-half months with Miss Buretta W. Hammond as principal and Miss Olivia H. Freeman, assistant, in the summer; and Miss Abby P. LeBaron and Miss Mary E. Davis in charge in the winter. "The school, though a large one, was very quiet." Districts Nos. 5, 6, and 7 were also consolidated and included the easterly portion of the village and as far east as "Thomas Dexter 's corner." This was in the summer divided into an "Intermediate Department" in charge of Miss Olivia R. Look; and a "Primary School" taught by Miss Mary E. Davis, "whose demeanor was char- acterized by mildness and affability." For the winter term, " Mr. Henry Taylor gave his whole attention to the school, and gave general satisfaction." District No. 8, "Pine Islands," maintained less than six months of school. Miss Mary Hammond taught twenty-four pupils in the summer, and Mr. George Cush- man had forty-two for the winter term. District No. 9, "Aucoot," with Isaac Hiller, Prudential Committee, and Miss Salome E. Bates and Miss Priscilla Sparrow, teachers, had five and one-half months of school, with nine scholars in the summer and seventeen in the winter. District No. 10, " Tinkhamtown " and "Randalltown," included all north of Captain Hoxie's and James Purring- ton's, and with Thomas Randall, Prudential Committee, had six and one-half months of school for twenty-eight scholars, with Miss Marv K. Clark as teacher. "In No. 320 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 10," the committee reported, "although there are two places where children go to school, at neither is there any- thing that resembles a decent schoolhouse. . . . The citizens of this district understand economy too well to repair these old buildings, and there being no immediate prospect of agreeing on the location of a new one, it seems a most auspicious time to unite with number 2, — although this district has evidently the next poorest schoolhouse in the town." The faults lay with the system, for as the committee reported, the town that year appropriated $1524, "which is all that the most zealous friends of common schools can ask so far as money is concerned." They complain that "the town committee have not been heretofore con- sidered of much consequence in connection with the schools," and congratulate the town that "schools have been kept two terms in all the districts but one, which has not been the case for many years." In 1862 another consolidation was brought about by joining districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, thus bringing together all the village districts, and in 1867 the town, after repeated at- tempts, voted to abolish school districts. The income of a bequest of Abner Pease, in favor of districts Nos. 8 and 9, enabled a school to be kept for an additional seven weeks in schoolhouse No. 3 in 1869. From this time the common schools of Mattapoisett passed through only the customary evolution, until in 1899 the new building, a gift of Mr. Henry H. Rogers (who received a part of his early education in the private school, kept by Mr. Woodbridge Howes, in Eaton Hall) was opened, and all grades above the sixth were brought under its roof. Mattapoisett the Town 321 As a result of a desire of those inhabitants of Rochester, living within the limits of Mattapoisett, to secure for their children the benefits of a higher education than could be obtained in the district schools, some public-spirited parties secured control of a large interest in the old Con- gregational meeting-house. And in 1854, James Barstow, B. F. Hammond, A. B. Hammond, Seth Freeman, Wm. B. Rogers, John Atsatt, Loring Meigs, Arvin Cannon, Leonard Hammond, Matthew Mayhew, Nathan Crosby, Andrew Southworth, Benjamin Barstow, Nathan'l A. Crosby, John A. Le Baron, Cynthia Dexter, Nathan'l Clark, Alice Sparrow, Deborah F. Howes, W. Barstow, Bethuel Landers, Jabez Goodspeed, Judith C. Rogers, H. M. Cannon, Martha O. Young, Priscilla A. Southworth, Priscilla N. Hammond, Peleg Pearce, Isaiah Sears, Benjamin Bacon, Leonard Dexter, all of Mattapoisett in the Town of Rochester; and Lazarus LeBaron, of North Turner, County of Oxford, State of Maine, Yeomen, " In consider- ation of our desire to promote the cause of education," conveyed unto Loring Meigs, Henry Barstow, and Abner Harlow, "who have been appointed a committee by the subscribers of the Stock in the property hereinafter, con- veyed to receive the title to the same," all their interest in and to the Old Congregational Meeting-House, so called; "It is hereby understood that said Meeting-House shall be fitted up in a manner suitable to be occupied as a place where instruction may be given to youth, and said building shall be used for such purposes." The building was promptly fitted up and a private school successfully opened. In 1857 the "Mattapoisett Academy," then conducted by Mr. and Mrs. Orange H. Spoor and Miss Lucy B. Washburn, had enrolled 133 3%2 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester pupils, including 36 from other towns and 7 from other states. Its catalogue showed English, Classical, and Teachers' Departments, with special courses in "Music, Pencilling and Crayoning, Monochromatic and other ornamental branches." It was "partially supplied with chemical and philosophical apparatus," and had "a spa- cious gallery fitted up for the especial accommodation of visitors, who can call at any time without interrupting the school." The trustees then were Loring Meigs, Maj. Rogers L. Barstow, and Capt. Samuel Sturtevant, Jr. Arvin Cannon was treasurer, and Solomon K. Eaton sec- retary. In 1860, in order to straighten out the title, the property was conveyed to John T. Atsatt, by Loring Meigs, Henry Barstow, Abner Harlow, Rowland Howland, Arvin Can- non, James LeBaron, Solomon K. Eaton, Matthew May- hew, Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., Wilson Barstow, executor to estate of Z. M. Barstow, Joseph Hudson, Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., Rogers L. Barstow, Cynthia Dexter, Josiah Holmes, Jr., Jonathan H. Holmes, Dennis S. Boodry, Nathan'l A. Crosby, John Dexter, Nathan Crosby, James Cannon, Martin Hall, Lemuel LeBaron, Wm. L. Bourne, Ebenezer Jones, Barton Taber, and George Purrington, Jr., "in consideration of $1725." In this deed the property is described as " a certain lot of land with the buildings thereon, and also the fixtures therein, consisting of Pieoano, Seets, Desks, Bell, Philosophical Aparatus, etc., and known as the Mattapoisett Academy." The private institution was successfully maintained until the stress of war times came on, and its then instructor, George G. Harriman, took charge in 1862 of the village Grammar School. Capt. Zaccheus M. Barstow, having Mattapoisett the Town 323 left property to the town valued at nearly $9000, and provided that upon the winding up of the Lyceum that the income of his gift " be applied to the purposes of edu- cation in higher branches than are taught in primary English Schools," his trustees purchased from the pro- prietors the Academy building for $1450 out of the in- come, and in 1872 it was turned over to the town, "in trust as a part of the Barstow School Trust Fund." The Barstow School was opened (as a result of the legacy above referred to) in December, 1871, and Mr. Charles Smith, "with a registry of forty-six scholars, successfully operated during a term of three months." The town the next year made an appropriation in aid of the "Barstow School," and has continued to do so to the present time. The school was transferred in 1899 to the new village building, and beginning with this year (1906-07) its scholars have the privilege of attending, without cost, the new High School in Fairhaven. The year 1881 witnessed the birth of the "Free Public Library" in Mattapoisett. The beginning was certainly humble. At the annual meeting that year, the town voted that the "dog fund" should go to its aid, but this amount of $56.96 did not become available until the close of the year. Isaiah P. Atsatt at the same meeting, agreed to furnish a room and librarian for two years, and "Capt. Charles Bryant kindly volunteered a lecture on Alaska," the net proceeds of which, $7.20, were the only " available assets " of the first trustees. The Selectmen's office over" Atsatt's store " was used for a short time. Then an unused room in the upper story of the "Primary" schoolhouse was fitted with a few shelves and a high desk in a section railed off. " Col. Geo. M. Barnard, Jr., pre- 324 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester sented a large quantity of periodicals, some of them in bound volumes. With this kind donation, together with about twenty-five volumes, contributed in town in answer to printed solicitations," the library was opened to the public, and on Saturday afternoons sturdy children tug- ging homeward ancient half-year volumes of the Illustrated London News were often met. Monday evening, after seven o'clock, was "Library night," and was usually so popular that one had to draw a number for his turn, and the assistant in charge (on a salary of $18 per annum) frequently required the active aid of one or two of the trustees. On some week in the winter, books were called in, the library closed for the "annual examination, " when the trustees assembled in solemn session, verified the count and inspected the condition of all the books. In two years the library had accumulated 728 volumes and a cata- logue was issued. "Young ladies entertainments " are credited as adding to the funds and " Johnnie Morgan " and "Sunflower choruses" helped secure additional books. Steadily increasing rows of manilla covered book-backs, yellowed and soiled by constant wear, crept around the sides of the room and filled the available wall space. In 1892 the library was moved to a vacant store on the northeast corner of Main and Cannon streets, and thereafter was opened four times a week. In 1897 the town made an extra appropriation of $100 to fit up a connecting reading-room, and that year the library was opened for one afternoon and six evenings in the week. A most happy event was the offer of Mr. George Pur- rington, Jr., in the town meeting of 1902, of $10,000 for a building. As a result of this gift the present building Mattapoisett the Town 325 was erected upon a lot given by Mr. Samuel D. Warren. Money from the estate of William B. Rogers, in the hands of J. Chas. F. Atsatt, furnished book stacks and an acetylene plant. In the meantime the trustees had secured the re-cataloguing of the 4600 volumes then on hand ; and in 1904 the "free public library" stood well housed and equipped to influence the future intellectual life of the town. The list of trustees is as follows: Rev. Augustus H. Fuller, 1881-86; George H. Dexter, 1881-1905; William B. Nelson, 1881-93; Isaiah P. Atsatt, 1881-90; J. Chas. F. Atsatt, 1881-90, and 1893-95; William E. Sparrow, Jr., 1889-91; Sarah H. Crosby, 1892-93; Lemuel LeB. Dexter, 1894 — ; Nathan Smith, 1905 — ; Dr. Irving N. Tilden, 1905 — . Despite the pranks of mischievous youth, of which Mattapoisett has had its full share, its local history has been essentially peaceful. Illustrating the seriousness of offenses which have at times disturbed the serenity of the town, it appears that at one time the Selectmen were authorized "to provide a place to detain truants," and the question naturally arises, — were they to be detained from school ? Also in 1868 it was voted " to instruct the Selectmen to offer a reward of $20 for such information as shall lead to the conviction of any man, woman, boy or girl, breaking glass in town." History does not relate whether any women or girls were convicted. The problem of providing a place in which to main- tain its poor had early attracted the attention of the town. In 1865 the selectmen were authorized to pur- chase "the Barstow House," now the "Mattapoisett 326 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester House," and the "Harris House" later the Gammons house near J. L. Stackpole's cottage, which at present is the Nye house on Baptist street, was also proposed ; but no action was taken until in 1866 the "Joseph Hiller Farm" was purchased and fitted up as an almshouse. After a few years however, the number of inmates began to de- crease and the "poor house" is now hardly more than a name. The Rebellion forced the dependent relatives of many soldiers and sailors to seek aid toward their support, and in 1866 the town paid from the treasury the largest sum ever required for its poor. Of late years these expenses have been rapidly growing less. Addi- tional purchases of land have added to the almshouse farm, and it is now a very valuable property, with its shore frontage on Aucoot Cove. The village of Mattapoisett was equipped with fire apparatus before the separation from Rochester. The act of incorporation provided that "Mattapoisett shall pay to Rochester their proportion of twelve hundred dollars for the interest they have in the fire department; and Rochester shall relinquish all right and claim in said fire department to Mattapoisett." The next year the town voted "to accept Engine No. 1, with a company not exceeding 20 members to draw pay," and proceeded to purchase an engine house and fixtures for $396.49. And in 1859 it was reported, "the town now owns 1 Engine House and Lot, 2 Fire Engines, 12 leather and 11 wooden buckets, 25 feet suction hose, 600 feet leading hose, 2 torches, 1 lantern, 2 stoves and pipe, 4 fire hooks, 4 ladders about 100 feet, all in good condition for the relief of any portion of community that may be invaded by the calamity of fire." Engine No. 1 was kept in a shed in company Mattapoisett the Town 327 with the "hearse," on the premises of Prince Bolles on North Street. One very disastrous fire took place shortly before the incorporation of the town. It burned the "County House," as was called the hotel run by Leonard Ham- mond; the large stable with adjoining sheds belonging to the hotel, Eaton Hall, a boat-shop, Hammond's store then run by George Purrington, Jr., a "nine pin alley," and Jonathan H. Holmes's house. The fire swept towards the west, and after an unsuccessful attempt to blow up Eaton Hall, Jonathan H. Holmes's house was blown up and the flames stopped. It was during one of the coldest winter nights ever known in the town, and was the worst experience the town has ever had from fire. The stable stood where Thomas Luce's stable now stands; County House where the cellar hole may still be seen, just to the east of Purrington Block; Eaton Hall occupied the pres- ent location of Purrington Hall, and Jonathan Holmes's house was where Mendell's drug store now stands; the horse chestnut tree, which stood in Holmes's front yard, though injured, survived the fire and still stands. In 1857 S. K. Eaton was paid for "a plan of burnt district," and "James Ruggles's Vigilence Committee" received a large sum for investigating the causes of the fire. Another unusual fire was that of June 27, 1846, when the whale- ship, Joseph Meigs, which had just arrived here from a voyage with a full cargo and was anchored just inside Mattapoisett Light, waiting for an opportunity to reach Long Wharf, was burned to the water's edge. The fire was late at night and the burning oil made a brilliant spectacle. It is interesting that the hulk was towed ashore, the upper works rebuilt, and the ship again sailed. 328 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Other fires might be mentioned, but in general the fire department has ably coped with the "invader," and Mattapoisett has been spared since 1857 a serious "calamity of fire." Its herring or alewife fishery has always been a matter of considerable value, as well as of annual interest to the town. The fish formed no small part of the food of many a family and the receipts from the sales were at times quite large. How valuable the "run" was, is shown by the numerous acts of legislature obtained to "preserve the fish called Alewives in Mattapoisett River." In 1788 a forfeiture of ten pounds was provided for any one who should set a net in the harbor " between the southwesterly end of the island, owned by Rev. Mr. La Barron, and from thence to the mouth of the creek which runs out of Bar- low's Pond"; and in 1811 the excluded limits were made "northward of a line running directly from the most southerly part of Capt. Job Haskell's farm on the westerly side of the harbor, to the most southerly part of Joseph Edward's land (now Ned's Point), on the easterly side of said harbor." The same protection was in 1830 extended to shad. In the very first year we find a payment to Noah Spooner of $185.89, the "expense of petitioning for a new herring river." In 1860 it was voted "to divide the income of the herring stream on the polls." Apparently the legality of the vote was questioned, as J. B. Ransom and James LeBaron were appointed a committee to get legal advice on the subject of division "and pay their own expenses." As a matter of fact, the Supreme Court afterwards decided that such a division could not be made. Mattapoisett the Town 329 Not satisfied with the run of herring in Mattapoisett River, in 1865 the town voted to establish a herring fishery in the creek or outlet leading from the Eel or Barlow's Pond to the harbor. An act of the legislature was obtained under which an abutment was built along the east side of the creek, and an attempt was made to induce an annual run of herring, but it was never very successful. An attempt had previously been made by a company of individuals, incorporated as the "Mattapoi- sett Oyster Co.," to plant and raise oysters in this pond and creek, but while partially successful, both herring and oysters seemed to prefer the deeper waters of Matta- poisett River. Among the early attempts of the town at improvement was the securing of authority from the legislature to pro- vide a public common, and in 1874 the town voted to accept the act. Public sentiment, however, turned against the project and the work was undone. The subject of laying out and discontinuing roads oc- cupied much of the town's time and of its records, which from 1857 to 1880 show: The discontinuance in 1858 of the " Old town road leading eastward from North Street near the house of James LeBaron;" the widening and straightening in 1861 of the highway from the "house of John Bowlin, now of George Fox," to Cedar Swamp Brook, "provided Solomon E. Bolles shall fill the slough of said road with stone and give the gravel from his barn cellar which he contemplates making and also one week's work on said road;" in 1868 the acceptance of Pearl Street, north of Church Street, "as now opened;" in 1874 the acceptance of the road known as "Freeman Street," leading by the houses of Charles 330 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Smith and James H. Tinkham; also that year the acceptance of a way from Main Street to Barnard's Island as a private way; the next year the action of the County Commissioners in widening and straightening North Street "from highwater mark northerly to the Rochester line," and that of the town in accepting the road known as Foster Street leading from Macy Bowman's to N. C. Ransom's. In 1876 the County Commissioners relocating, widening, and straightening Main Street, " from a point on Cannonville Hill, at the former residence of Prince A. Snow, to the Barstow Schoolhouse ; " also that same year, the acceptance of Mechanic Street, " from Church Street to Sturtevant Street," as laid out; and of Oakland Street, "as laid out;" in 1877 the County Com- missioners' altering of the highway between the house of J. L. Stackpole and the store of P. G. Munro; and in 1879 the acceptance of the report of the Selectmen widen- ing and straightening the road from the house of Isaac D. Tinkham to the town line of Acushnet. In general, the streets have kept their original names, but "Willis" and " Jerusalem " streets are names of the past. Practically the whole water front of Mattapoisett Village was a public common until after the close of the ship-building days, so that it was not until 1884 that the town, realizing the need of access to the harbor, secured the "Leonard Hammond ship-yard lot," the "Durfee Beach lot" in 1886, and still later the wharf property of the Mattapoisett Wharf Company. Another piece of land devoted to quite a different pur- pose came into the possession of the town in 1889, when Lemuel LeBaron, Weston Howland, and Wm. B. Nelson, the Precinct Committee of the First Precinct in Matta- Mattapoisett the Town 331 poisett, conveyed to the town the interest of the Precinct in "the Barlow Burying place, and being the same land conveyed to said Precinct and to the inhabitants thereof, by Elihu Sherman, by deed dated June 8, 1789." The first steam train passed through the town on the 4th of July, 1854. It consisted of an engine and a number of flat cars which were trimmed with birches, and a free ride to Fairhaven was provided for all. Later years have brought the daily "Dude" train, for the accommodation of summer residents, and a high-grade electric street car service. As early as 1876 the town began to experiment on watering its streets, and that year is found a payment to the Mattapoisett Wharf Company for "water from their dock." The original mode of keeping the ways in repair by a labor tax was soon changed to making money appropria- tions which were expended from time to time by different officials as the town changed its systems ; the price allowed for labor on the highways advancing from ten cents to twelve and a half cents an hour in 1859, and it was voted that " all who pay their highway tax before the 4th of July, either in money or labor have a discount of 20 per cent." The first substantial advance was made when the first mac- adam road was built in 1893 by William L. Hubbard, Ephraim A. Dexter, and Joseph R. Jenney, Road Com- missioners, under the supervision of Captain Jenney. A piece, 4900 feet long, was built at a cost of $1400, and at- tracted considerable attention outside the town. It lasted for many years and led to the adoption of this method of road construction. There are at the present time four- teen or fifteen miles of stone road in the town, more is 332 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester built each year, and its shore and woodland drives cannot be surpassed. Joseph E. Smith was the first and only " Pound Keeper" elected by the town, and in 1882 the town pound was con- veyed to him for the sum of $40. The next year $10 of this amount was refunded to him, presumably because the pound was missed less than was expected. The pound stood on the south side of the Fairhaven Road in the north- east corner of the house lot now owned by Nathan Smith. The conscientious service of its officers has been fre- quently recognized by the town. In 1874 the town passed a vote of thanks to Thomas Nelson, Town Clerk, for his long and faithful services. Ten years later a similar vote was given Capt. Franklin Cross, who had served twenty-one years as a Selectman. Henry A. Shurtleff, Town Clerk, and Wilson Barstow, Selectman for twenty-seven years, were honored in a similar manner in 1891; and in 1894 resolutions were adopted on the death of Noah Hammond, Selectman for twenty-one years, setting forth the town's obligations to him. While perhaps not unusual in Massachusetts, the Puri- tan strain of ancestry of the early settlers of Mattapoisett is shown by many given names appearing on the town's records, such as " Fear, Content, Justice, Hope, Wealthy, Thankful, Hope, Prudence, Patience, Charity, Mercy, Faith, Experience, Desire, Remember, Ransom, Re- solved." Even to the present time, the whole history of Matta- poisett may be read in the annals of "whaling." Even now it is rare to find on her streets a man of fifty years who has not shipped for at least one "cruise," and "Cap- Mattapoisett the Town 333 ens " are as common as were ever " Kurnels " in the South, after war time. Most of the well-to-do families owe their prosperity directly to "oil" and "bone;" and curiosities from the sea, or relics from foreign lands the world over, are treas- ured in every household. It will be many a year before the influences born of arduous toil and exciting adventure in every sea shall cease to bear fruit. Some day, as the wheel of time slowly turns, again the noise and strife of busy commercial enterprises may fill the streets and throng the wharves; till then, as one of her sons has written: "The wanderer o'er the troubled sea of life, Come safe to port here after all the strife, May think himself, aye, more than three times blest, At harbor in this quiet place of rest" List of Town Officers The following persons have served the town as indicated : Selectmen, Assessors and Overseers of the Poor from 1857 to 1907: Amittai B. Hammond, 1857-61, Joseph L. Cole, 1884-1900. inclusive. Reuben F. Holmes, 1888. Joseph E. Smith, 1857-62. Ephraim A. Dexter, 1888. Jarvis Ellis, 1857-61. Jonathan H. Holmes, 1891-93. Nathan H. Barstow, 1862. Allen D. Hammond, 1894-95. Thomas P. Hammond, 1862. James F. Hammond, 1894-96. Josiah Holmes, Jr., 1863-69. Thomas D. Dexter, 1895-97. Franklin Cross, 1863-83. Nathan S. Mendell, 1897-1902. Wilson Barstow, 1863-68, 1870- Abner Harlow, 1899-1901. 90. Lester W. Jenney, 1901— Isaac Hiller, 1868. Horace F. Field, 1902— Bruce F. Shaw, 1869-73. Isaiah P. Atsatt, 1903-04. Noah Hammond, 1874-94. Everett C. Stetson, 1905— 334 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Samuel Sturtevant, Jr., 1857-60, inclusive. Benjamin W. Shearman, 1860-66. Henry Taylor, 1867-68. A. S. LeBaron, 1869. Treasurers and Collectors, 1857-1907 Isaiah P. Atsatt, 1870-82. Reuben F. Holmes, 1883-87. Benjamin L. Boodry, 1888. Freeman C. Keene, 1888-99. Elwood B. Hiller, 1900— Town Clerks, 1857-1907 Thomas Nelson, 1857-74. Lemuel LeB. Holmes, 1874-76. Reuben F. Holmes, 1876. Henry A. Shurtleff, 1876-91. William B. Nelson, 1891-93. George H. Dexter, 1893-1905. William N. Johnson, 1905— School Committee, 1857-1907 Josiah Holmes, Jr., 1857-61, 1866-69. Weston Howland, 1857-60, 1872- 76. Wm. E. Sparrow, 1857-59, 1867- 72. Woodbridge R. Howes, 1859-61. Wilson Barstow, 1860-66. Noah Shearman, 1861-62, 1870- 71. Henry Barstow, 1861-65, 1870-71. Thos. Nelson, 1862-67. Noah C. Sturtevant, 1865-68. Jonathan H. Holmes, 1868-70. Herbert Shurtleff, 1869-70. William Weaver, 1871-74. Jarvis Ellis, 1871-74. Joshua L. Macomber, 1872-78, 1879-82, 1887-96. Joseph L. Cole, 1872-75, 1876- 86. Geo. Purrington, Jr., 1874-76. William E. Sparrow, Jr., 1875- 76, 1885-87. Nancy M. Caswell, 1876-79. William B. Nelson, 1878-81. Edward B. Hiller, 1882-85. Mary F. Dexter, 1882-87. Alonzo W. Westgate, 1886-87. Charles Bryant, 1887-90. David H. Cannon, 1887-92, 1894- 97. Pliny A. Allen, 1890-91. Charles H. Johnson, 1891-94. Joseph L. Meigs, 1892-97. Robert L. Dexter, 1896-97. Charles H. Tinkham, 1897-1900. Clara L. Hammond, 1897-98. Lemuel LeBaron Dexter, 1897 — Elizabeth E. Shaw, 1898. Heman G. Holmes, 1898— James S. Burbank, 1900-03. Mary W. Wood, 1903- Among members of the professions from Mattapoisett since its incorporation are: Laimjers. — John Eddy, John W. Hammond, Nahum Mattapoisett the Town 335 Leonard, Jr., Lemuel LeBaron Holmes, Thomas W. Hammond, Hollen M. Barstow, Alvah E. Snow, Frank M. Sparrow, Lester W. Jenney, J. E. Norton Shaw, Lemuel LeBaron Dexter, and Jonathan H. Holmes. Doctors. — William E. Sparrow, William W. Sweat, Dr. Bartlett, Dr. Bass, Woodbridge R. Howes, Charles E. Bolles (D.D.S.), Roland Hammond, Herbert Shurtleff, Thomas W. Hammond, David H. Cannon, Clarence L. Howes, John C. Shaw, Henry A. Shurtleff, William F. Holmes, Ministers. — Pliny A. Allen, Jr. CHAPTER XIV MATTAPOISETT OF THE PRESENT DURING the fifty years of independent town history there have been two eras. Mattapoisett was once a busy seaport; it is now a summer resort. After the ship-yards were abandoned, and the sound of the hammers — which yet lingers with such charm in the memories of the older people — was stilled, a kind of decadence set in. It was no longer the inevitable thing for the young men to make their "first voyage;" and, if good sailors, to continue following the sea, or if not, to settle down at ship-building or farming. Instead, they went West, or to the large cities, and so established their homes where they could find employment. The young women, having no longer their traditional amusement of watching for ships to come in, and of writing six months' news to absent sailor boys, caught the new spirit of inde- pendence and also went away to seek their fortunes. The older people and the easy-going remained, and the times were very dull indeed. One finds in a town report of the period a pessimistic page on which Mattapoisett is con- trasted most unfavorably with "brisk and flourishing in- terior towns," and a prayer is offered that "some busi- ness may be instituted in which we can all participate." An old sea captain, whom most can yet remember, used to sum up the situation with less elegance, and Mattapoisett of the Present 337 say with a thump of his cane: "The town is getting a cant." The ministers could no longer pray with the old-time weekly fervor for " those that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in the great waters," nor could the vil- lagers throng the wharves on a summer's evening to watch a vessel slide off the ways. Long Wharf Middle Wharf and Short Wharf no more were covered with great casks of oil and the piled-up paraphernalia of whaling enterprise. Ned's Point light house still threw its nightly beam across the harbor, but no whaleman, returning from an Arctic voyage, had a lookout aloft, scanning anxiously the distance to catch the first gleam of its welcoming light. No merchant ships were eagerly waited by sailors' wives in Mattapoisett, and new stones were rarely set up in the village burying-grounds to the memory of sons or hus- bands lost at sea. The shipping in the harbor was re- duced to a few schooners in the fall that brought, perhaps, a cargo of coal; and departed, laden with box-boards, for Philadelphia or some other home port. But as the village waited, and the years passed by, a time came when the popularity of summer seaside homes was established among the wealthy people of the cities, and the south shore of Massachusetts began to be "dis- covered." Mattapoisett was too charming in location and natural beauty to be passed unnoticed. The first to perceive its possibilities, and to make for themselves a place of summer rest, were Mr. and Mrs. George M. Barnard, of Boston, who came in the fall of 1869, and soon bought up much of the shore and inland property, and continued as summer residents of Mattapoisett as long as they lived. Their home, the old Benjamin Barstow 338 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester house, now owned by their granddaughter, Miss Mary W. Barnard, has an unbroken exposure to the sea, a beautiful view of the harbor, and has — although much enlarged — been kept in its simple old-style character, with the pic- turesque weather-beaten trees around it. The Barnards were soon followed by other families, who built new cottages or made over old houses all along the shore, many of whom have continued to come summer after summer, growing more and more attached with the associations of years. Among these early summer visitors were Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and his son, Mr. Justice O. W. Holmes, Jr. The latter owned and oc- cupied for many seasons — but has lately sold it — the old Cowen place on the eastern shore of the town just back of the " Cedars, " — a rocky elevation of the beach crowned with those hardy trees. Hon. George O. Shat- tuck built on the Edwards' land next the lighthouse, which place is now the summer home of Hon. Charles S. Hamlin. Another Boston lawyer, J. Lewis Stackpole, converted the Hall blacksmith shop, west of the "com- pany ship-yard," into a summer home on the sea sands, swept always by the sea winds. Thomas Parsons, of Boston, whose place just east of the village includes in its former bounds the lot of St. Philip's Episco- pal Church; and Francis E. Bacon, the Boston merchant, whose charming house and garden are in " Cannonville," were among the earlier summer residents, and their families are to-day still welcomed back with each return of the vacation season. So also is the family of Edward Atkin- son, the scholar and social economist, who, until his death, came regularly to his quiet home, which nestles in the woods with an outlook toward the sea. On the grounds Mattapoisett of the Present 339 is the big boulder, — "the Great Rock," — around which generations of Mattapoisett children have picnicked and played, and have wished it could tell them of its long-ago journey in the ice age, and of when and how it was broken in two. Some were drawn back to Mattapoisett by family ties. Mrs. Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard was often a visitor in her native town, and Rogers L. Barstow, the Boston banker, and Mrs. Seavey, Mrs. Battelle, and Miss Munroe, the granddaughters of old "Squire Willis, ..." have many interests and associations with the past, to attach them to their summer homes. William T. Faunce, the Boston shoe man, son of the kindly remembered old Baptist minister, has enlarged and improved his old homestead; and James T. Jones has returned to his native town and converted the William LeBaron place into a summer residence. Within recent years rows of smaller cottages have been built along Pico and Crescent beaches, and at various points on the Necks, either for personal occu- pancy or for rental, and for these the demand increases. Of course the chief attraction to visitors, and the par- ticular pride of the inhabitants, is the harbor. The land seems to stretch out long, guarding arms on either side. On one is Ned's Point, with the lighthouse, and on the other is the Neck, named long ago by the Indians, "An- tassawamuck Neck." This harbor is always beautiful under sunny or cloudy skies, or by moonlight; and the fresh southwest breeze tempers the hottest midsummer day. The opportunities for boating, fishing and bathing are good, and the public bathing beach, so wisely acquired by the town some years ago, is more and more used, both by the village people and by the transient visitors. Of 340 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester these latter there are many each summer, two hotels are often crowded, and more would doubtless come if accommodation were more easily obtained. Around the town are many beautiful drives. The macadam roads run not only along the shore, but stretch back into the fragrant pines which abound in all the Old Rochester territory. One can take visitors first down the Neck road for the pretty view of the village and the curving line of shore stretching to the lighthouse, with the gay-colored roofs piled high on " Cannonville Hill," and beyond the light "Strawberry" and "Angelica," stretching out toward the Falmouth shore. On the west neck there is the winding, woodsy, Brandt Island road ending over across the bridge on the island itself. An- other circuit back from the water, to the northern limit of the town, leads through alternate pieces of pine wood- land and cultivated farms, "around Wolf Island." The island is not evident, but it is there, formed by the Matta- poisett River dividing and uniting again, and between two little narrow bridges the road crosses the lower corner of it. There is still less evidence of the "wolf," which, according to one tradition, roamed there once. Accord- ing to another it was only a man named Wolfe from whom the place was called. To those who delight to explore old roads and cart paths leading into the woods, this part of the town is very attrac- tive, especially when the laurel is in bloom. The great fluffy masses of white flowers seem to catch all the sun- beams, and to lighten up the dim vistas of the shady paths. The swamp apple blossoms, which have about the same season, are less beautiful, but the air is made sweet by their fragrance. If one is interested in geological Mattapoisett of the Present 341 curiosities there is in this neighborhood the impression in the stone called the " Devil's foot," and also the " Dumpling Rock," which a man can move with one hand, but which many stout young men together have vainly tried to roll off its rocky base. For longer drives there is the fifteen-mile circuit through Marion and Rochester, or the still longer courses around the Lakeville ponds, or around Long Plain and Fair- haven. Skirting the bay the macadam is unbroken from New Bedford to Sandwich and is a trunk route for auto- mobiles. By trolley and steam train or boat, Plymouth and the Cape, Martha's Vineyard and even Newport, and all the resorts of Narragansett Bay, are within easy reach for single-day excursions. If one prefers to seek solitude, there are attractive old woods roads leading by the " Boat Rock," or to Solomon's, and even through to the neighbor- ing towns, upon which one can tramp for miles without view of any dwelling. The Mattapoisett River flows along, in the inconsequent way of rivers, from Snippituit to the sea. It is beautiful when seen from the highway, but still more beautiful in the dark places where the trees and tangled vines inter- lace overhead, and the cardinal flowers in August make vivid spots of color all along the banks. It was the Indians' course to the seashore, and if their shades any- where revisit the glimpses of the moon it must be beside this stream. One wonders if they seek the nearly vanished spring where, by tradition, on their return from the shore, they made the first clambakes, naming the spot the "place of rest," and thus giving a name for the river and the town. Where the river begins to widen out is the romantic spot known as "Lovers' Bridge," a rustic 342 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester log foot-way has long existed across the stream, and according to the legend it was the trysting place for an Indian maiden and her lover from the North who came down the river in his canoe to meet her. From the bridge winding paths lead to open fields, from which more shady lanes can be followed further in various directions to the highways. One path, leading through thickets of sweet briar roses, follows the course of the river for some dis- tance. Of the public buildings none has more interesting associations than the old "Barstow High School," once the Congregational meeting-house, and later the Academy. Its churchly architecture made it rather a unique school- house, and gave it a certain dignity and sanctity. It had been separated into two stories, and the upper one in- cluded a small hall used as a lodge-room by the Sons of Temperance. This room was always securely locked and was as interesting and mysterious as Bluebeard's chamber to the children ; but the rest of the building they could generally overrun. At times they were even allowed to climb the dusty, creaking stairs to the belfry steeple and to eat their lunches there on a summer's day, with the village all below and the distant sparkling waves melting away into the blue sky at the horizon line, — which line was plainly circular, therefore the world must be round as the geography said. Now that the new and spacious school building on Church Street has been given by Mr. H. H. Rogers, the former Barstow schoolhouse has be- come the Grange Hall. The old Grammar schoolhouse, considerably more than a hundred years old, which stood formerly on the corner of Church and Pearl streets, has been purchased for the Universalist society and fitted up Mattapoisett of the Present 343 for a church home. It now stands on the south side of Church Street, facing the new brick schoolhouse, — an interesting example of the contrasts of time. The town hall now occupies the corner where once stood Ezra Brownell's house and the engine house. This last named building had a career of varied usefulness as workshop, store, and "Little Belt" meeting-house, and is now a dwelling on Baptist Street. On Barstow Street is the new Public Library and the Soldiers' Monument, the gift of George Purrington, Jr., to the town. A summer visitor once said that he could not imagine Mattapoisett in the winter. To think of it without the life and color, the yachts in the harbor, the summer ver- dure, and the summer girls, was quite impossible. Like the old enchanted city, Germelshausen, which had one day in a hundred years and then sank under the bogs and the marshes, it seemed to him that Mattapoisett must vanish from one season to another. Occasionally on a winter's evening the streets may appear so utterly deserted that one might almost imagine that to be the case. But the enchanted sleep effect is only out of doors; within, one finds warmth and cheer; and his meeting, club, society, or class, very much awake and alive, and ready to settle all questions temporal and spiritual. For the social activities of the town are largely in the line of societies. Of course the people entertain each other more or less, but weekly, fortnightly, and monthly meetings abound. There are the numerous auxiliary societies of the churches, the Lodge of the Sons of Tem- perance, and the W. C. T. U.; the Grange, the Memorial Association, — a social organization mostly of Grand Army men and their families; dancing classes, whist 344 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester clubs, reading circles, and study classes to suit all tastes. As a needed change one man recently proposed to organ- ize a "home rest" club, each member pledging himself to spend one evening a week at his own fireside, but that has not yet been organized. The Village Improvement Association was started in 1904, mainly through the efforts and influence of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Hamlin. Since its inception, Mrs. Hamlin has continued its president, and under her leadership there has been enthusiastic support from every one. Many improvements have been made, materially bene- fiting and beautifying the town, and the society will in- crease in usefulness in the future. Could the old sea captain, previously quoted, return to us, and should he discern any deviation from the perpendicular now, he would but need to point it out to the Improvement Association to have it instantly taken in hand and righted up. A year ago some benevolent citizens organized a so- ciety to maintain a summer home for convalescing or tired out people who need rest and change, but cannot afford the usual rates of board at the seashore. The successful first year of this home seems to justify a con- tinuance of the work. For the last twenty years Mattapoisett has increased steadily in population and in valuation. In supplying the needs of the vacation spenders many hands find employ- ment in varied ways. The trolley has placed the village within the suburban radius from New Bedford, and the lately established steamship line to that port from the Western Islands has tended to stimulate the immigra- tion of the Portuguese into the villages and farms of all Mattapoisett of the Present 345 the Old Rochester territory, and one wonders what changes their influence will make in the future upon this town which has always followed the old New Eng- land ideals. So Mattapoisett sits to-day on her beautiful open harbor; the waters of Buzzards Bay roll in as blue as ever; the alewives still go up the river each April; there is still good fishing in the bay and shell fish on the shore. The catboats ride at their moorings around the buoy, or their sails glisten in the sun far out toward the Fal- mouth shore. The old family names are on the narrow elm-shaded streets, and many of the ancient houses look out upon them still. The town is full of pleasure-seekers who play tennis or golf, drive, sail, or fish, or dance at the Casino; but there is always the sense of rest and quiet, the salt air full of ozone, the fragrant breath of the pines, and the respite from city noise and dust. And all along the shore from Aucoot Cove to the Fairhaven line, each year sees new homes built for those who seek their rest in close touch with nature and old ocean. Vacation and holiday are a part of the world's true needs, and in lending its own quiet charms to these forms of human demand, this seaside village has entered into a new and worthy role, more harmonious, per- haps, than were the activities of the past, with the mus- ical name that it carries, — Mattapoisett, — the place of rest. We can look with hope into the future for the increas- ing prosperity and attractiveness of the town, and we know that those who will be in our places then will linger 346 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester with the same interest over our present as we do over the past which in this volume has been reviewed, for "The present time is like a nearer sail, Fretted and torn and soiled by stormy tears; Anchored far out beyond recalling hail, All sails look white across the sea of years." The Bay Path's End 347 THE BAY PATH'S END The snake-like trail, o'er hill, through dale, Winds to a mound beside the sea O'er which the white-winged Gods shall sail From their far land of mystery. Here clustered wigwams thinly smoked 'Mid fields of undulating maize; And here the arrow-maker chipped, In those last neolithic days, The flakes of milk-white quartz to shape Keen-edged, or barbed, for chase or fight, — To stain with Narragansett blood, Or stop the wild-goose in its flight. Here Wampanoag wampum strung, Carved from the blue-eyed quahog shell, Or framed the birch-bark's graceful curves To cleave the broad Atlantic swell. The warrior bent the tough oak bow With tight-stretched vibrant deerskin string, Or decked the scalp-lock with the plumes Far-borrowed from the eagle's wing. With harsh-hued war-paint on the face, Dug from the shore-side beds of clay, A wild, fierce silhouette he made Upon the headlands of the Bay. Here Massasoit saw unmoved The Pale-face paddle to his shore; Here met the Little Captain bold, And smoked the peace-pipe o'er and o'er. Here, where still from the white sand floor The crystal waters bubbling burst, The hunted Philip knelt one day Within the wood to quench his thirst. To-day no signal rends the ear In fish-hawk's cry or night-owl's screech; The Red-man's spirit stalks unseen In moonlight eves beside the beach. 348 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Long sleep to warrior and long dreams, A Happy Hunting in the West, A swift canoe o'er pleasant streams, And here a peaceful Place of Rest. Charles Elmer Jenney. EXTRACTS FROM THE RECORDS ROCHESTER SOLDIERS AND SAILORS IN EARLY WARS These lists are necessarily imperfect. They have been compiled by Mrs. James L. Hammond from various sources, such as assessors' tables, etc., and especially from lists made by Miss Mary H. Leonard and others from the rolls in the State archives. Future research will undoubtedly add many names. The list for the Revolutionary War has been compared with the official record as far as that has been pub- lished, and is therefore correct for the names given. FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS 1748 In Col. Doty's Regiment Joseph Dexter 1755-6 In Col. Doty's Regiment Nath. Holmes Ab'm Ashley Constant Dexter John Foster William Comes Daniel Dexter 1756 Joshua Hammond 1760 Barnabas Hammond Jeduthan Hammond Paul Sears William Griffith Joseph Edwards Joseph Bumpass John Coltran (?) Avery Parker Stephen Bennett David Perry Nathan Bassett William (Negro) 350 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester 1762 Officers in First Plymouth Regiment Capt. Nathaniel Ruggles Ensign George King Lieut. John Winslow Rochester men, Col. Doty's Regiment, in hospital at Crown Point Abm. Ashley Nathaniel Holmes Constant Dexter C Ashley Delano Joseph Doty Dead Doty Constant Dexter Zenas Delano Joseph Robinson Joshua Hammond Muster Rolls, Capt. Bradford's Company under Col. Tho. Doty, 1758-60. Dominicus Hovey Jonathan Crapo Lot Cowen(?) Barnabas Freeman John Brigs Amasa White Ishmael Trip Isaac Job David Sers Joseph Barlow Micah Griffin Silas Burgis Elihugh Eldridge Joseph Snow Joseph Moss Aquilla Benson Samuel Brigs Service in Canada Paul Sears Jabez Dexter Ebenezer Dexter Charles Sturtevant John Mags Isaac Handy William Southworth Robert Clarke Nehemiah Bosworth, Jr. Service in Canada Col. Doty's Regiment, 1758-60 Samuel Hastings Luke Tobey Pollypus Hammond Edward Doty Samuel Steward Earl Clap Micah Sprague, Recruiting Officer Old Rochester Soldiers and Sailors 351 Recruits from Rochester 1760 Elhanan Cowing ( ?) Gideon Bennet Stephen Bassett Nathan Bassett David Perry William (Negro) Samuel Burgis James Wing Nathaniel Besse In Bradford's Company, Doty's Regiment, were the following Ro- chester men: Benjamin Hovey Constant Southward Joseph Barlow Thomas Southard John Meigs Josiah Freeman Jacob Allen (?) John Meigs Luther Arnold Joseph Barlow Eph'm Doty Clark Foster Asa Robinson Joseph Barlow Marcus (?) Robinson In Capt. Pratt's Company Thomas Combs Elna Barlow Zebulon Haskel Elnathan Combs Solomon Doty Samuel Joy John Bennett Gideon Cobb (?) Ebenezer Barrows Galens Sparrow John Barlow Muster Roll of Capt. Bartlett's (Plymouth) Company Stafford Hammond Zibedy (?) Delano Joseph Look Nath. Winslow William Doty Joseph Dexter E Doty Constant Southward Joseph Bessy Gamaliel Arnold From Pay Roll, Abel Keen's Company Solomon Young In Stephen Holmes' Company Nathan Forster 352 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Nathan Foster In Abel Keen's Company Joshua Morse REVOLUTIONARY WAR In the official printed record of service, "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War," many of the following names appear several times under various spellings, which variations are there noted under the commonly accepted form of each name. Joshua Allen William Annible Charles Anthony Kennedy (also given Canada) Asher Abiel Atwood Abner Baker Joseph Bailey Stephen Barden Amittai Barlow Ebenezer Barlow Joseph Barlow Obed Barlow William Barlow Joseph Bassett Melatiah Basset Newcomb Bassett Rufus Bassett Silas Bassett Stephen Basset Thomas Bassett Willam Basset, Jr. David Bates Elijah Bates Moses Bates Sylvester Bates Beats Aquilla Benson John Benson Nathaniel Bessey Seth Blackwill Charles Blankinship George Blankinship William Blankinship Lot Bly William Bly Amos Boals Asa Boles Ebenezer Bowles Hosea Bolles Joshua Boalls Asa Bomp Nehemiah Bosworth John Bozworth John Bozozard Arnold Briggs Elihu Briggs Elisha Briggs Elisha Briggs Elisha Briggs, Jr. Isaac Briggs John Briggs John Briggs, Jr. Joseph Brigs Nathan Briggs Nathaniel Briggs Samuel Briggs Seth Briggs James Brown Charles Budget Stephen Burdin Bangs Burgess Ebenezer Burges Ichabod Burgess Old Rochester Soldiers and Sailors 353 John Burggs Samuel Burges William Cammel Ebenezer Cannon Lemuel Casvel John Caswall Elijah Caswell, Jr. Thomas Caswell John Chilson Charles Church Jonathan Church Thomas Church Silvanus Churchil Thomas Churchill Benjamin Clapp Earl Clap Ichabod Clap Increase Clap Kenelm (?) Clap Seth Clap Barnabas Clark Ebenezer Clark George Clark John Clark John Clark, 3rd. Jonathan Clark Joseph Clark Joshua Clark Josiah Clark Melatiah Clark Nathaniel Clark Roger Clark Weston Clark William Clark Elemuel Clarke Caleb Combs Ebenezer Cornell Jabez Cottle William Cowen Asahel Cowing William Cowing Elnathan Crapo Jeremiah Crapo William Crapo Daniel Croxford Nathaniel Cushing Manuel Dagget John Daley Benjamin Davis Joseph Davis Harper Delino Jabez Dileno Nathan Delano Benjamin Dexter Caleb Dexter Constant Dexter David Dexter Ephraim Dexter Isaiah Dexter Jabez Dexter Joshua Dextor Noah Dexter Silas Dexter Thomas Dexter Emanuel Doggett Barnabas Doty John Doty Thomas Doty David Edwards Jonathan Edwards Samuel Eldred Ebenezer Ellis George Ellis Joel Ellis Joshua Ellis Nathan Ellis Rowel Foot Ebenezer Foster Tilly Foster Alden Freeman John Gallt Dodavah Garland Jonathan Garland Thomas Gould 354 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester John Gray Samuel Green Benjamin Gurney George Gurney Levi Gurney Josiah Haket Seth Hall Reuben Hamlin John Hammett Anthony Hammond Barzillai Hammond Benjamin Hammond Daniel Hammond Ebenezer Hammond Edward Hammond Elijah Hammond Elnathan Hammond George Hammond Gideon Hammond Gideon Hammond, 2nd. Hunne'l (Hunnewell) Hammond James Hamon John Hammond John Hammond John Hammond Joseph Hammond Josiah Hammond Nathaniel Hammond Noah Hammond Phineas Hammond Polypus Hammond Seth Hammond Shubael Hammond Stafford Hammond Stephen Hammond Edward Handy Elisha Handy James Handy Jonathan Handy Silas Handy Zaccheus Handy, Jr. Aaron Harlow Barnabas Haskel David Haskell Elias Haskel Elnathan Haskell Elnathan Haskell, Jr. James Haskell Job Haskell Joseph Haskel Joseph Haskell, 2nd Micah Haskel Nat Haskel Timothy Haskel Jonathan Haskell Moses Haskell Nathan Haskell Zebulon Haskell Benjamin Haskins John Haskins Nathaniel Haskins Thomas Haskins Benjamin Hatch Jonah Hatch Joseph Hatch Jonathan Hatch Sylvanus Hatch Ichabod Hartheway Savory Hathaway Seth Hathaway Simon Hathaway Solomon Hayward John Hazeltine John Hiller Timothy Hiller Israel Holmes William Hopper Abel House Ezra Hovey Israel Hovey Solomon Howard James Howland Nathan Jenne, Jr. Samuel (?) Jenne Old Rochester Soldiers and Sailors S55 John Keen Consider King Ebenezer King Ichabod King Jonathan King Nathaniel King Lemuel LeBaron Barzilla Livingston Sherman Lincoln Adam Look Samuel Look Francis Luce Samuel Lombard Caleb Lumber Josiah Lumbard William Maxwell John Meiggs Church Mendall Daniel Mendall Samuel Mendall Seth Mendall John Millard Rev. Jona. Moore Ebenezer Morse John Morse Benjamin Morton John Muxam Barzillai Nickerson William Nicoll Robert Noulton Ezekiel Nye Ichabod Nye Nathan Nye William Nye John Oliver Russell Oliver John Omey Philip Omey William Paddy Ephraim Painee Abner Pane Ebenezer Parker Joseph Parker Thomas Parlow Cuff Perry James Perry William Poddy Dr. John Pitcher Theophilus Pitcher Ebenezer Pope Elnathan Pope Isaac Pope Seth Pope Caleb Randall Constant Randall David Randal Elisha Randel Hathaway Randol Jethro Randel John Randall Lemuel Randel Micah Randall Moses Randall Nehemiah Randel Seth Randel William Randall Christopher Ricks Nathaniel Rider Robert Rider Roland Rider Israel Roach Prince Rodman Elisha Ruggles Nathaniel Ruggles Timothy Ruggles Jeffrey Sachamus Samuel Samson Nathan Savery Allen Sears David Sears Judah Sears Nathan Sears Nathaniel Sears Silas Sears 356 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Jeffrey (also given Jephthah) Sechamin Christopher (also given Crispan) Shaw Isaiah Shaw Isaac Sherman William Shermand John Short Joshua Shermon Godfrey Shreve John Simmons Nathaniel (also given Nathan) Smith Richard Smith William Smith Borman Snow David Snow Ebenezer Snow Edmund Snow Isaac Snow Ivory Snow James Snow Mark Snow Nicholas Snow Paul Snow Richard Snow Samuel Snow Thomas Snow Andrew Sothworth Daniel Southward David Southworth John Southworth Stephen Southworth Joshua Spooner Samuel Sprague John Stephens Nye Stephenson John Stevens Nathaniel Stevens Nye Stevens Charles Stetson Peleg Stewart Samuel Stoder (?) James Stuart Charles Sturtevant John Sturtevant Zadok Sturtevant Thomas Tabb John Tanner Hezekiah Tinkham Thomas Tobey The official record of the following has not yet been published, and the remainder of this list is therefore unverified. Ruben Tripp John Wallis John Warren Richard Warren, Sergt. Calvin Washburn Ephraim Washburn Isaac Washburn Thomas Weeden Eliphalet Weeks Joseph Wellen Francis West Joseph Whellen Cornelius White Justis White Mel'a White Thomas Whiteridge, Corp. Richard Whittemore Benjamin Wilbor, Corp. James Wilkens Thomas Wilkens Thomas Wilkey Samuel Wilomen (?) William W T iltshire Wing, Jr. Old Rochester Soldiers and Sailors 357 Benjamin Wing David Wing James Wing John Wing Joseph Wing Joseph Wing, Sergt. Jonathan W T ing Philip Wing Shubael Wing Stephen Wing Asa Winslow Edward Winslow John Winslow Kenelm Winslow Lemuel Winslow, Nathan Winslow Stephen Winslow Tisdale Winslow Howland Yong ( ?) Henry Yong, Corp. Solom Yong, Lieut. Sergt. The following names appear in the official record, but without resi- dence given. They were undoubtedly Rochester men. Oliver Allen Weston Allen Jonathan Amiable Samuel Arnold John Baker Aaron Barlow Seth Barlow Gideon Bester Gideon Besto Gideon Bestow Hopestill Bisbee Dennis Blackwell Job Blankinship Amaziah Bolles Benjamin Bolles David Bolles John Bolles Peter Bosworth (Barstow) Benjamin Brown Elisha Brown Seth Bumpus Ebenezer Burge Elijah (also given Elisha) Burge Seth Burges Thomas Carter Earl Church Jeremiah Clap John Clap Isaac Clark Lemuel Clark William Conant James Cowing Barnice Crain Edward Croell Stephen Cushing Cephas Cushman Samuel Daggott San ford Davis Stephen Delano David Dexter, Jr. Elijah Dexter Elisha Dexter Jonathan Dexter Joseph Dexter Jerathmeel Doty Joseph Edwards John Ellis Malachi Ellis Thomas Ellis Robert Foote Job Gibbs Aaron Hammond Enoch Hammond 358 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester "Iturael" (Israel?) Hammond John Hammond, 3rd. John Hammond, 4th Roger Hammond Ebenezer Haskell Lot Haskell Peter Haskell Timothy Haskell Thomas Hiller Abner Hillman Dominicus Hovey Nathaniel Jenne Joseph Levitt George Lincoln Barnabas Luce Stephen Luce Jesse Lumbart John Macomber Alden Manter Zaccheus Mead Ebenezer Meads Ebenezer Meigs Nathaniel Meigs John Miller John Muxcomb John Muxham, 2nd George B. Nye Peter Oliver Aaron Parker Asa Pease Joseph Perry Jonathan Pope Asaph Price Joseph Prince Amos Randal William Raymond John Rider David Rogers Dr. Samson Jabez Shearman Abishai Sherman Cornelius Sherman Elisha Sherman Joshua Sherman Micah (also given Micajah) Sher- man Nathaniel Shearman Richard Sherman Stephen Sherman Joseph Snow Joshua Snow Nathaniel Snow Josiah Sole George Taylor William Tanner James Swift Job Sturtevant John Spence Andrew Sturtevant Wilbr (Wilber) Southworth WAR OF 1812 Ten thousand militia were called out in Massachusetts for the service of the War of 1812. No militia company is accredited to Rochester on the regular rolls. Jesse Haskell, Serg't Thomas Ellis, Corp. Capt. Stall's Company of Artillery, under Gen. Goodwin, in service at New Bedford from June 16 to August 1, 1814. Jona. Kinney Seth Mitchell Old Rochester Soldiers and Sailors 359 A Company in service in New Bedford and Fairhaven, Col. Lincoln's Reg't, June 30 to July 14, 1814. Sergeant's Guard at Rochester under General Goodwin, June and July, 1814. Jonathan Vaughn, En. Joseph Doty, Corp. Thomas Ashley, Sergt. Azel Bryant, Corp. Tillotson Dunham, Sergt. Privates Philip Avery Elijah Briggs Briggs Crapo Peleg Clark Joseph Bennett Joseph Bishop Barnabas N. Douglas John Sears Jesse Pratt Richard Corsing (?) Jonathan King John Cornwell Benjamin Rider Samuel Cowing Joseph Lombard Charles P. Hammond Moses Bates Solomon Hitchman Micah Blackwell William Stetson Eph'm Snow Peleg Hathaway Mich Stevens John Shearman Ensign's Guard at Rochester, under General Goodwin, from Sep- tember to October, 1814. Moses Mendall Ensign Dennis Prince, Sergt. Israel Hammond, Sergt. Perez Bassett, Corp. Jared Blankinship, Corp. Samuel Mendall Eph'm Snow Benjamin Snow Gideon Dexter Luke Dexter James Snow Caleb L. Cannon Jonathan Dexter Geo. Boston (Barstow ?) Jr. Nathaniel Cushing Jabez Handy Privates Francis Hillis Lemuel W. Lain Paddock Bates George Blankinship James Blankinship, Jr. William Crapo Briggs Crapo Josiah Cobb James Freeman Eph'm Tinkham Benjamin Cushing 360 Mattapoisett and Old Rochester n A RATE BILL OF THE INHABITANTS OF ROCHESTER, 1776 From the original in the possession of Lemuel LeBaron Dexter Mattapoisett. The figures show the total tax levied, including Polls, Real, Per- sonal, and Faculty taxes. Polls were assessed 5s. 5d. Oliver Allen, £1 Ephm Annible, 5s. 10c?. Saml Annible, 5s. 5d. Eleazer Allen, 5s. 5d. Jeremiah Austin, £2 7s. 10c?. Nathan Briggs, 9s. Od. 2q. Ebenr Barlow, 5s. 10c?. Nathl Bessey, 6*. 8d. 2q. Willm Barlow, 7*. 10c?. 2q. Thos Bolles, 16s. 9d. 2q. Seth Blackwell, £1 3s. 4c?. Saml Bolles, 17s. 2d. 2q. Joseph Barlow, 6s. lOd. Moses Barlow, lis. 4c?. 2c/. Aaron Barlow, 17s. 8c?. Silas Briggs, lis. 4c?. 2q. Saml Briggs 2nd, £1 2s. U. 2q. Silas Briggs Junr, 7s. 9c?. Obed Barlow, 15s. 9c?. Amittai Barlow, 15s. 9d. George Barlow, 6s. 3d. 2c/. Benja Bolles, lis. 6c?. Benja Bolles Jnr 5s. 5d. Seth Barlow, 7s. 5d. David Bolles, 15s. 4c?. Gideon Bestow, 17s. 2d. 2c/. Seth Bestow, 8s. 10c?. Wyat Barlow, 8s. lie?. Ebenr Bolles, 5s. 5d. Hosea Bolles, 5s. 5d. Amesiah Bolles, 8s. 2c?. Thos Carter, 5s. 5d. Robert Clark, 14s. Joseph Cannon, 7s. 8c?. 2c/. Thos Dexter, 5s. 5d. Silas Cross, 5s. 5d. Lot Cowing, 8s. 9c?. Nathl Cushing, 17s. lc?. Stephen Cushing, Gs. 10c?. 2c/. Earl Clap, .£1 0s. 5d. Ebenr Cannon, 7s. 3c?. 2q. Ezekiel Clark, lis. 10c?. Cephas Cushman, 9s. 2c?. 2c/. John Clark, Is. 5d. John Clark 4th, 5s. 5d. John Clark 3rd, 15s. lie?. Joshua Cowing, 15s. Zebeth Cowing, 7s. Zadock Cowing, 6s. 7c?. Asael Cowing, 6s. 7c?. Seth Cowing, lis. 8c?. John Curby, 14s. 8c?. 2c/. Charles Church, 12s. Id. Richard Church Jnr, £1 2s. 0c?. 2c/. wd. Bathiah Church, 19s. lie?. 2q. Lemuel Church, 5s. 5d. Gideon Cornall, 7s. James Clark, 5s. 5d. Seth Dexter, 19s. 8c?. 2q. Elijah Dexter, 7s. 9c?. Assessors' Rate Bill 361 wd Mary Dexter, £1 2s. Jsiah Dexter, 6*. Id. 2q. Jabez Dexter, 7*. Ephm Dexter, lis. lid. 2q. Caleb Dexter, 11*. lid. 2q. Benja Dexter Junr, 15s. 3d. 2q. Jonathan Dexter, 9*. 2d. 2q. David Dexter, 9s. 2d. 2q. John Dexter, 17s. 9d. 2q. John Dexter Junr, 5s. 5d. Silas Dexter, 5s. 5d. Edward Dexter, 8s. 9d. Benja Dexter, 17s. Id. 2q. Saml Eldredg, 5s. 5d. John Ellis, <£1 Os. 3d. 2q. Joshua Ellis, 5s. 5d. John Ellis Junr, £1 Is. Joseph Edwards, 5s. 5d. Elnathan Eldredge, 19s. Id. 2q. Joel Ellis, £1 3s. 4d. 2q. David Edwards, 8s. Chillingsworth Forster, 5s. 5d. Silvenas Gibbs, 12s. 6d. 2q. Abel House, 5s. 5d. Henry Headley, 8s. 5d. 2q. James Headley, 8s. Od. 2q. John Haskell Junr, 15s. U. 2q. Elijah Hammd, 7s. 5d. 2q. Jabez Hammd, Junr 1(R 2q. wd Abigail Hammd, 19s. 13d. Oq. Barzillai Hammd, 6s. 3d. Honeywell Hammd, 6s. Id. Josiah Hammd, .£1 Is. 3d. 2q. Elnathan Hammd, 5s. 5d. James Hammd, £1 Os. 3d 2q. Israel Hammd, 15s. John Hammd 2nd, 5s. 5d. John Hammd 3rd, 5s. 5d. Gideon Hammd, 7s. 9d. Nathan Hammd, 12s. lid. 2q. Enoch Hammd Esqr, £1 4s. lid. 9q. Elisha Hammd, 1£ 7s. Id. 2q. Ebenr Hammd, 7s. 3d. 2q. wd Mehittable Haskell, £1 l s . 8d. 2q. Elias Haskell, 5s. 5d. Barnibas Haskell, 5s. 5d. wd Anna Haskell £1 12s. 9d. 2q. David Hammd, 5s. 5d. Dominicus Hovey, 6s. Id. Saml Hovey, 5s. 5d. Thos Haskell, 6s. 6d. 2q. wd Abiah Haskell, 9s. lid. Zebulon Haskell, 5s. 5d. Job. Haskell, 6s. 3d. %q. Seth Hiller, £1 10s. lid. Ebenr Holmes, 6s. 19d. 2q. Isaac Handy, 7s. 3d. 2q. Jonathan Handy, 5s. lOd. Silas Handy, 5s. 5d. Moses Hiller, 19s. 3d. Isaac Hiller, 14s. Sd. Solomon Howard, 5s. 5d. wd Rebecca Hiller, 16s. id. Silvenas Hammd, ls. 9d. Nathl Hammd, 15s. 2rf. John Hammd, £1 6s. 6d. 2q. Timo Hammd, 18s. 6d. Zoath Hammd, 5s. lOd. Ebenr Haskell, 5s. 5d. Benja Hatch, lis. 6d. 2q. Lurey (?) Hatch, ls. 2d. Willm Irish, 16s. 5d. 2q. Noah Hammd, 5s. 5d. Saml Jenne, 7s. 9d. John Keen, 6s. 5d. Josiah Lumbard, 5s. 5d. Stephen Landers, 5s. lOd. George Lincoln, 5s. 5d. Zacchs Mead, £1 4s. Id. John Marshell, £1 lis. 2d. 2q. John Meggs, 7s. Nathl Meegs, 10s. 362 Matlapoisett and Old Rochester Jabez Norton, 12s. lOd. Ichabod Norton, 6s. 3d. Matthew Norton, 5s. 5d. Elijah Norton, 7s. Jonathan Nye, lis. lid. 2q. George Bonum Nye, 17s. 4d. 2q. Nathan Nye Junr, £1 4s. 3d. Willm Nye, 5s. lOd. Asa Price, 7s. Id. Theophilus Pease, 4s. 9d. 2q. Theophilus Pease Junr, lis. 4d. 2q. Doct John Pitcher, lis. lid. Isaac Pope, 7s. lOd. 2q. Isaac Pope Junr, lis. lOd. Stephen Perry, £2 10s. 4d. James Randol, £1 2s. 5d. 2^. Nathl Ruggles Esqr, £1 9s. 2d. 2q. John Randol, 8s. lid. David Randol, 8s. Od. 2?. Simeon Randol, £1 0s. 7d. Amos Randol, 8s. Od. %q. John Randol Junr, 5s. 5d. Lemuel Randol, 7s. lOd. 2q. Wd Mary Read, 18s. 8d. Lemuel Randol Junr, 5s. 5d. Thos Southworth, £1 4s. 6d. %q. Daniel Southworth, 5s. 5d. Joseph Snow, 6s. 3d. 2q. Seth Snow, 15s. 7d. <2q. Nye Stevens, 5s. 5d. Boreman Snow, 5s. 5d. John Shearman 2nd, 18s. 6d. 2^. Willm Shearman 4th, 6s. Willm Shearman 2nd, £1 2s. lid. Jabez Shearman, 5s. 5d. Saml Shearman, 16s. 2d. %q. Nathl Sears, 16s. 4d. Ebenr Sears, 6s. Andrew Stevens, lis. 5d. Timo Stevens Junr, 10s. lOd. Prince Stevens, 6s. lOd. 9q. Charles Sturtevant, £1 13s. Charles Sturtevant Jun, 5s. 5d. Cliarles Stetson, 14s. 4d. Ezra Stetson, 15s. lid. Wilber Southworth, 15s. lid. John Simonds, 6s. Zadock Sturtevant, 19s. lOd. Micah Sturtevant, 5s. 5d. Jonathan Sturtevant, 8s. James Stuart, 2s. 4d. James Stuart Junr, 7s. 5d. 9q. Anthony Savory, 7s. 3d. Ichabod Smith, lis. 2d. 2?. Joshua Snow, 7s. 2d. Timo Snow, 5s. 5d. Willm Shaw, Dart, Is. 9d. Consider Sampson, lis. 3d. Joshua Studley, 6s. Saml Sampson, 8s. 4d. Abisha Shearman, 15s. 9d. %q. Elihue Shearman, 15s. 7d. 2q. Jesse Trip, 13s. 7d. Saml Trip, Dart, 5s. lOd. Jonathan Trip, 5s. 5d. John Terry, lis. 8d. Majr Zacchs Tobey, Dart, 3s. id. 2q. Peter Tinkham, 7s. 3d. 2q. Charles Tinkham, 5s. 5d. Ephm Tinkham, 5s. 5d. Isaac Vinsent, Dart, 4s. 4d. 2q. Willm Wiltshire, 7s. 9d. John Winslow, £1 10s. 6d. wd Bethiah Winslow, 17s. 8d. Nathan Winslow, 5s. 5d. wd Margaret Wing, Is. 9d. Jonathan W 7 ing, 6s. 5d. Charles Wing, 5s. 5d. Capt Edward Winslow, £1 4s. Tisdale Winslow, 7s. 3d. John Wallise, 5s. 5d. Timo West, 13s. Jonathan Wing Junr, 10s. Assessors' Rate Bill 363 Solomon Young, 175. $d. Willm Nichols, 7*. Id. Solomon Young Junr, 5s. 5d. Daniel Croxford, 5s. 5d. Thos Tobey, 5s. 5d. Wkittemore, 5s. 5d. Asa Winslow, 5*. 5d. Beard, 55. 5d. Ebenr Bishop, 5s. 5d. Abraham Devill, 10s. 4 Benjamin 52, 53, 75, 74, 113, J 114, 188 Dix, General Dornie, Captain 68 160 Benjamin, 2d Caleb Charles 308 Doty, Barnabas 130 107, 160 John 115 272 Dotey, Joseph Mary 37, 38, 56, 113 56 Constant 53, 18£ 1,192,196,217 414 Index PAGES PAGES Dotey, Col. Thomas 118 Faunce, Elder Thomas 267 "Dotti, Madame" 56 Elder William 264, 265, 266, Drown, Rev. Edward 269 267 Dryad 296 William T. 258, 264, 266, Dunham, Andrew 263 339 Asa 260 Fearing, Andrew 54 Elizabeth 260 Israel 65 General 152 Field, Horace F. 333 Joseph 37, 56 Finney, Doctor 249 Mary 260 Fitch, Doctor Forbes, James D. 270 275 E Foster, Benjamin 37, < Chillingsworth 14, 56, 58 56 Earliest Times 5-20 James 56, 112, 113, 153 Early Church and the Pre- Lothrop 272 cincts, The 72-96 Fortune 6 Eaton, Solomon K. 90, 149, 187, Fox, George 329 188,240,248,251, 294, 308, Frasher, Susannah 260 322, 327 Freeman, Elisha 113, 120 Eddy, John 334 John 113, 114 Edwards, Jos. 260 Olivia H. 319 Eighteenth Century, The 97-125 Seth 225,227,238, 239, 240, Kills, Rev. John 274 294, 321 Eld ridge Elnathan 212 Fuller, Rev. Augustus H. 253, 325 Rev. Mr. 266 Ebenezer 260 Samuel 219 Ellis, Albert 309 Daniel S. 309 G Doctor 181 Elizabeth 37, 53 Gage, Thomas E. 152 Experience 259 Gallon, James 68, 308 Jarvis 305, 333, 334 Gelatte, Holder 260 Jesse 259 General Features 21-35 John 53 Gerry, Gov. Elbridge 209 Malachi, 149, 259, 262, 263 Gibes, Sulvenas 203 Mollie 260 Gideon Barstow 295 Thomas 149, 180, 184, 186, Gifford, John L. 68, 308 259 Joseph 113 Timothy 260 Peleg 240 Unice 259 Robinson 308 Walton N. 112 ,173 , 180, 181 Washington 283 William 262, 271 William C. 309 Emerson, George B. 28 Goff, Elder 256 Emmons, Doctor 82 Goodspeed, Rev. Frank I.. 253 Everett, Gov. Edward 232 Jabez 271, , 275, 321 Rev. Noble 1,225 Melintha Oliver J. Goodwin, Rev. Ezra S. 275 309 156 F Gorham, Albert H. Gosnold, Bartholomew 309 5 Falkner, Rev. William H. 269 Gould, Rev. William 226, 238 Index 415 PAGES PAGES Gray, Captain 306 Hammond, Hiram 268 Graham, William H. 309 Israel 51, 191, 192, 194, 204, Green, Polly 260 209, 212 Griffeth, William 110 Jabez 188, 189, , 191, 196 Griffith, Samuel 114 James 263 William 113 James A. 309 Gurney, Rev. David 81 James F. Jesse Joa 333 240, 245 260 H John 1, 12, 38, 49, 56, 74, 75, 113, 114, 188, 189, 190, Hall, Abner 240 191, , 193, 206 Daniel 167 John, Jr. 192 Deborah 261 John W. 309, , 318, 334 Elizabeth 261 John Wilkes 68, 271 Larnet, 271 Joseph 260 Martin 240, 322 Josephus 121 Hamblen, David 64 Josiah 191 Hamblin, Helen M. 223 Larnet H. 309 Hamlin, Charles S. 270 , 338, 344 Leonard 188, 221, 240, 286, Mrs. Charles S. 344 294, 321 Hammett, Joseph 149 Lothrop 131 Hammond, Allen D. 333 Mary 74, 189 , 238, 319 Amittai B. 113, 149, 167, Mary, Jr. 74 168, 173, 180, 183, 188, Micah 131 217, 222, 238, ! Ul, 305, Nancy 260 314, 321, 333 Nathan 114 , 189, 192 Anna 86 Nathaniel 51, 113, 115, 129, Anthony 131 130, 131, 136, 139, 141, Antipas 113, 192, , 199, 207 148, 188, 204, 207, 217, Archelaus 192, 295 259, 263 B. F. 321 Noah 38, 39, 51, 187, 188, Barzillai 113, 188. , 192, 206 212, 218, 219, 220, 251, Benjamin, Jr. 19, 50, 52, 113, 256, 268 , 318, 333 114, 188, 189, 190, , 191, 193, Polypus 86 199, 263 Priscilla 189 B. Frank 309 Priscilla N. 321 Bezald S. 271 Roger W. Roland 272 Buretta W. 319 309, 335 Calvin 131 Rowland 51 Charles B. 306 Samuel 11, 37, 39, 49, 56, Christopher Clara L. 263 334 73, 74, 113 Seney 260 Ebenezer R. 271 Seth lai Edward 51, , 129, 130 Stephen 113 Elizabeth 50 Thomas C. 240 Enoch 51, 113, 188, 203, 204, Thomas P. 305, 333 207. , 210, 218 Thomas West 295, 335 George F. Gideon 51, 130. 309 219, 220, William Hancock, John 50 137, 212 240, 242 Handy, Levi 172 416 Index PAGES Harlow, Abner 179, 181, 183, 188, 239, 240, 321, 322, 333 Nathaniel 222 William 305 Harrington, Rev. Eli 92 Harris, William 33 William, Jr. 309 Harrison, Abraham 260 Haskell, Amelia 260 Betsey 260 Doctor 169 Elisha 130 Elnathan 130 Eugenia 58 Jesse 122, 148, 150 John 56, 57 Joseph 57, 114, 116 Lot 144 Lucy 260 Major 176 Mark 39, 57, 73, 112, 116 Mark, Jr. 57 Mary 73, 74 Nathaniel 168 Polly 260 Rocksa 260 Roger 57, 75, 113 Seth 122, 169 William C. 176 Zebulon 82 Hatch, Benjamin 167, 219 Hathaway, David 152, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 176 Gilbert 180, 181 Judah 46, 306 Mr. 236 Sarah E. C. 256 Thomas 276 Hawes, Rev. Joel 247 Hayden, Benjamin F. 309 Charles H. 309 Higgins, Thankful 260 Hiller, Alpheus B. 309 Barnabas 271 David 276 Ebenezer R. 309 Edward B. 334 Elwood B. 334 Isaac 319, 333 Timothy 88, 113, 151 Hinckley, Governor 59 PAGES Hinckley, Thomas 17, 37, 38, 56 Hix, Elder Daniel 256, 257, 258, 259, 261, 262, 266 Elder John 217, 219, 256 Holbrook, Rev. W. A. 269 Holmes, Dr. Abiel 230 Mrs. Abiel 230 Abigail 74 Abraham 1, 24, 25, 43, 46, 56, 58, 73, 74, 87, 93, 94, 95, 100, 106, 107, 110, 111, 112, 113, 118, 123, 128, 129, 139, 140, 141, 146, 148, 149, 151, 167, 168, 169, 171, 299 Anna 74 Charles J. 113, 147, 148, 149, 173, 174, 177, 178 Charles J., Jr. 149 Eben 113, 114, 149 Ebenezer 168, 171, 172, 300 Experience 58, 74, 101 Heman G. 309, 334 Isaac 58, 73, 74, 75, 104, 105, 114 John H. 184, 186 Jonathan H. 287, 322, 333, 334 335 Josiah 58, 263, 277,' 287 Josiah, Jr. 277, 287, 294, 305, 322, 333, 334 Lemuel LeBaron 68, 184, 188, 287, 334, 335 Oliver Wendell 338 Oliver Wendell, Jr. 338 Reuben F. 287, 333, 334 Rev. S. 226, 232 Thomas 263 William F. 335 Hooker, Thomas 253 Hope, Nathan 118 Hopkins, President 232 House or Hows, Abel 221, 222 Hovey, Domenicus 200, 219 Ez. 131 Rev. Ivory 64, 194, 195, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207 Mrs. 233 Mrs. Olive 200 Howard, Abner 259 Index 417 Howard, Hulda PAGES 259 Jordan, Samuel R. ] PAGES 310 Susanna Howes, Clarence L. 261 335 Joy, Lidah • 74 Deborah F. 321 Freeman B. 160 K Oakes R. 272 Woodbridge R. 68, 273 ,310, Keen, Abel 118 320. , 334 , 335 Keene, Ebenezer, Jr. 261 Howland, Rowland 240 , 24S I, 322 Freeman C. 334 Weston 188, 240 ,330 i, 334 Keith, Albert 310 Hubbard, Mrs. Elizabeth 214 Charles F. 310 William L. 255 , 331 Marshall 305 Hudson, Joseph 272 , 322 Kellner, Rev. Mr. 269 Huggins, Leon M. 284 Kelton, Elder George N, 257 Humphrey, Mrs. 255 King, Caleb 188 Rev. Robert 254 Caleb, Jr. 294 Hunter, Agnes 249 Charles A. 270 Hutchinson, Governor 133 George, 113, 149, 169, 172, Huttleston, Capt. Henry 230 180 James W. 310 Jonathan 122 I Theophilus 68. ,112, 113 ,149, 179, 180, 183 ;, 184 Indian Peter 19 Kinney, Abigail 260 Infant Baptisms and Mar Jireh, Jr. 310 riages 370-405 John 263 Isaake 16 Jonathan Thomas William H. 221 , 263 260 310 J Konkeal, Christian 271 Jenks, Rev. George F. 274 Jenne, Nathan 113 L Jenney, Charles Elmer 347 Job 271 Landers, Bethuel 321 John 191 Larselle, Rev. Nathaniel 252 ,253 Joseph, Jr. 272 Laurel 295 Joseph R. 331 Lawrence, Bishop 269 Lester W. 333, 335 Elder 258 Jenny, Samuel Sarah 219 Joshua 113 260 Lawson, Elias 310 Johnson, Charles H. 334 Leach Mary 240 Thomas W. 310 Leach, Milton H. 188 William N. 334 Leavit, Joseph 259 Jones, Ebenezer 322 Leavitt, Robert E. 310 Mrs. Ebenezer 275 LeBaron, A. S. 334 Rev. Frank S. 268 Abby P. 319 James, T. 274, 339 Elizabeth 223 LotN. 169, 240, 241 Francis 208 Jordan, Olive 195 Frederick L. 310 Samuel 195 James, 322, 328, 329 418 Index PAGES LeBaron, John 180 John A. 149, 210, 220, 221, 226, 239, 240, 310, 321 Dr. Lazarus 208, 223, 238, 321 Rev. Lemuel 12, 21, 25, 33, 64, 69, 119, 131, 143, 207, 208, 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 220, 222, 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 230, 233, 238, 256, 328 Lemuel 180, 184, 185, 200, 203, 227, 240, 256, 322, 330 Mrs. 223 William 151, 188, 223 William H. 310 Leonard, Charles 66 Mary Hall, 3 Nahum 184 Nahum, Jr. 112, 310, 335 Lewis, David 186 Lincoln, General 141 John 219 Sherman 122, 210 List of members, 1772 368, 369 List of Maximum Prices Rochester, 1777 363-366 Little, Isaac 44 Livingstone, Rev. Charles 249, 250 David 249, 250 Mrs. 250 Neil 249 Lobre, Franklin A. 304, 310 Look, Gilbert A. 310 Olivia R. 319 Samuel 195 Lothrop, Barnabas 10, 36, 37, 38, 56 John 10, 56 Rev. John 7, 50 Joseph 12, 36, 37, 38 Samuel 59 Lout, Jeremiah 113 Lovel, Joseph 121 Luce, Francis 131 James 263 Joseph S. 38, 180 Rowland 151 Shubael K. 310 Stephen C. 178, 180 Luce, Thomas PAGES 160, 284 M Machacom 9 Macomber, Elder 268 Joshua L. 277, 334 Macy, Nathaniel 282 Magges, Ebenezer 203, 206 Mahoney, Dennis 266 Maltby, Rev. Erastus 241 Mann, Doctor 153 Horace 146, 232 Masshell, Josiah 110 Maxwell, Rev. Benjamin F. 252 Marchant, Miss 264 Maritime and Other Indus- tries 279-301 Marshall, Allen 122 Martin, Rev. David L. 268 Jesse 270, 271 John 112 Rev. T. D. 269 Mason, Rev. Charles 269 Massasoit 6 Mather, Rev. William L. 248 Mattapoisett in the Civil War 302-312 Mattapoisett of the Present 336-347 Mattapoisett the Town, 313-335 Maximum Prices, 1777, List of 363-366 Mayflower 6, 160, 246 May hew, Francis LeBaron 234, 256 Rev. Joseph 206, 207 Matthew 182, 240, 321, 322 Means, Mrs. Sophia 287 Meed, Meede, or Mead, Zac- cheus 203, 210 Meigs, Alice 256 Meigs, Joseph 233, 298, 327 Joseph 112, 149, 151, 179, 220, 221, 265, 270, 272 Joseph L. 334 Loring 149, 152, 183, 186, 286, 294, 321, 322 Members, Second Church, List of 368, 369 Index 419 PAGES PAGES Mendall, Ellis 260 Norton, Jabez 210 Moses 151 Nott, Rev. Samuel 226 Seth 265 Noyes, William 114 Mendell, Caleb 261 Numpus 16, 17 Ellis 275 Nye, Charles 128 Maria 261 Charles H. 275, 310 Nathan S. 255, 333 George B. 63, 113, 118 Paul 116 Mavro C. 311 Samuel 272 Stephen 271 Seth 270, 271 Meribah 19, 20 Merithew, William 240 O Merrihew, Stephen 268 Ocean Rover 305, 306 Merrithew, Alexander C. 310 O'Connor, Daniel 311 Merry, Mr. 23, 70 "Old Tony" 19 Miggs . . . Miller, Seth, Jr. 261 Oliver, Rev. Dr. Andrew 269 178 Edward 270 Mireck, Phebe 259 Oscar 160 Mitchell, Richard 241 Samuel 297 Moore, Jonathan 85 P Rev. Jonathan 64 i, 84, 85, 86, 87, 129, 153 Paddock, Bishop Benjamin Professor 255 H. 269 Susanna 85 Paine, Jane 62 William 210, 220 Francis M. 311 Morse, Edward A. 310 Nancy 261 Frederick L. 310 Robert Treat 137 George F. 310 Vira 260 H. W., Rev. 273 Palmer, Mr. 111 Theodore S. 310 Rev. Samuel 205 Morton, George 37, 56 Papamo 9 Marcus 81 Parker, Aaron 131 Nathaniel 81 Rev. Mr. 194, 207 Polly 81 Parlor, Mary 259 ML Vernon 160 Parlow, Jesse 61 Munro, Martha H. 283 Keziah 61 P. G. 330 Paumpmuitt 12 Munroe, Miss 339 Parsons, Theophilus 270 Myers, John 109 Thomas 269, 270 Rev. William L. 248, 250, 251 N Paybody, William ' 37, 38, 56 Pearce, Peleg 321 Nelson, Thomas 241, 261, 302, Peardon, Rev. James W 275 305, 334 Pease, Abner 283, , 285, 287 William B. 325, 330, 334 Theophilus 156 Niles, Rev. Mr. 205 Theophilus, Jr. 218 NimTod 151 Peck, George G. Peckham, Capt. William F. 311 Norton . . . 131 176 Aaron 112, , 113, 188 311 420 Index PAGES Penn, William 50 Sir William 50 Perchard, Clement H. 311 Perkins, Benjamin 260 Rev. H. W. 269 Judah 260 Luke 80 Noah C. 174 Perry, John 38 Ruth 74 Thomas 74 Petenunuitt 17 Phelan, John E. 311 Phelps, Rev. Charles H. 253, 254 William 253 Philip 11, 16, 17 Phipps, Sir William 42 Pierce, George 184, 311 Joshua 113 Peleg 240 Pitcher, Betsey 66 John 177 Plaisted, Rev. lchabod 82 Planter 281 Pope, Benjamin F. 188 Seth 37 Potter, Rev. William F. 274 Powel, Ralph 37, 56 Pratt, Captain 118 David 286 Price, Asa 131 Prince, Samuel 42, 43, 56, 58, 59, 73, 108, 110, 114 Joseph 59, 108, 114 Rev. Thomas 59 Thomas 6 Purrington, Francis M. 311 George 270, 271 George, Jr. 274, 307, 322, 324, 327, 334, 342 Henry J. 311 Isaiah 266 James 263, 270, 271 John A. 311 Joseph 96, 173 Samuel 263 Quincy, President Josiah 231 K PAGE3 Randall, Andrew 26V Charles N. 311 Clement 263 Daniel 259 Elijah W. 304, 311 Fayette E. 311 George W. 311 Jeremiah 61, 176 Jethro 259 John 113, 114 John H. 263, 272 Lewis 263 Keziah 61, 261 Lvdia 261 Richard 261 Robert C. 148, 160 Robert C, Jr. 160 Stephen 256 Thomas 61, 114, 160, 319 Randol, Thomas 190 Randolph, David 259 Ransom, James B. 268, 328 N. C. 330 Sidney 311 Theodore S. 311 Ratcliffe, Rev. Charles A. 254 Rate Bill of the Inhabitants of Rochester, 1776 360-363 Raymond, William 112, 114 Reed, Hosea 272 Revolutionary War, The 126-142 Rhodes, Rev. J. Frank 275 Richmond, Israel 221 William L. 311 Rider, Widow 261 Robbins, Rev. Ammi Ruha- mah 207, 223 Rev. Chandler 202, 207, 225 Rev. Francis 244 Rev. Thomas, D.D. 1, 147, 154, 159, 160, 162, 170, 171, 172, 176, 178, 190, 197, 198, 214, 215, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 232, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 265, 266, 272 Robenson, Anna 259 Robinson, Benjamin F. 311 Index 421 PAGES Robinson, Jedediah 259 Rochester 282 Soldiers and Sailors in Early Wars 349-359 Rogers, Abisha 222 David 131 Henry H. 320, 342 Judith C. 321 Libni 284 Moors or Moores, 131, 188, 210 William B. 240, 256, 321, 325 Ross, John E. 271 Rounseville, Alden 183, 184 Alden, Jr. 160 Job P. 311 Rounsville, William H. 311 Rugg, Charles P. 148 Ruggles, Elisha 148, 270 James 112, 149, 168, 169, 173, 176, 184, 185, 186 Micah H. 112 Nathaniel 113, 114 Samuel 113, 115 Rev. Timothy 64, 73, 74, 75, 79, 83, 85, 115, 116, 189 Timothy, Jr. 76, 108, 110, 114, 116, 117, 118 Russell, Lewis 271 Ryder, John S. 2, 145 Savery, Rufus 149 Schoppe, Rev. William G. 274 275 Seabrease, Rev. A. W. ' 269 Seabury, Rev. P. G. 226 Sears, Isaiah 238, 321 Nathaniel 133 William 149, 180 Seavey, Mrs. 339 Settlers and the Settlements, The 48-71 Shattuck, George O. 338 Shaw, Bruce F. 227, 268, 333 Mrs. Bruce F. 269 Calvin 221 Elizabeth E. 334 George 263 PAGES Shaw, John A. 268 John C. 335 J. E. Norton 335 William 263 Shearman, Benjamin W. 334 Daniel 260 Deborah 260 Edward 271 Elijah 212, 217, 219 Noah 334 Samuel 114 Thankful 260 Thomas 272 Zephaniah 262 William 260 Sherman, Elihu 331 Noah 311 Thomas 260-272 Shiverick, Rev. Samuel 43, 72 Shurtleff, Henry A. 312, 332, 334, 335 Herbert, 334, 335 Silva, Edgar 284 Simpson, Oscar 312 Skiff, Abigail 260 Slatery, Rev. Charles Lewis 269 Smellie, James 160 Smith, Rev. Benton 274 Charles 323, 330 Rev. Edward G. 252 Isaac 149 James A. 312 John 312 Joseph E. 268, 305, 332, 333 Nathan 325, 332 Royal 180 William 122 Snow, Allen W. 312 Alvah E. 335 Charles F. 312 Dennis 271 Dolly 260 Edward F. 304, 312 Elisha 312 Elliot R. 256 Elder Frederick 267 George D. 304, 312 Henry L. 312 Isaac 133, 134 Ivory, 2d 272 James, 2d 271 422 Index PAGES Snow, Joseph 263, 271 Levi 240 Linus 171, 180 Martin 172 Nicholas 113 Prince A. 330 Prince, Jr. 27 Russell E. 268 Samuel 263 Silas W. 210, 312 Stephen 240 Thomas 220, 221 William E. 312 Wyatt 240, 270, 271 "Southard, Dr." 233 Southw'd, Andrew 131 Southworth, Abigail 217 Andrew 171, 222, 233, 239, 240, 321 Gideon 187, 188, 191, 192, 204, 222 Newton 240, 270, 271 Priscilla A. 321 Wilber 188, 203, 206, 219, 262, 263, 270, 271 Sparrow, Alice Frank M. Priscilla William E. William E, Spooner, Alis Ebenezer Isaac Noah Thomas Spoor, Orange Mrs. Orange Sprague, Nathaniel 321 335 319 66, 255, 334, 335 Jr. 325, 334 74 74 74 328 259 321 321 58, 112, 113, 148 Noah 19, 58, 79, 112, 113, 114 Samuel 58, 112, 113, 114, 127, 133 Stackpole, J. Lewis, Jr. Standish, Capt. Miles Stephens, Waty Stetson, Everett C. Stevens, Nie Timothy Weighty Steward, James 155, 270, 330, 338 7, 246 259 333 131 131 262 114 PAGES Stiles, Henry 246 Stocking, Rev. C. H. W. 269 Stockman, Elder E. A. 268 Stoddard, Elizabeth Barstow 68, 228, 229, 230, 339 Richard Henry 68, 228, 229, 230 Stone, Richard 312 Studson, Mary 260 Sturtevant, John Bourne 1 Charles 57, 113, 153 Josiah D. 242 Noah C. 188, 240, 242, 334 Samuel 240, 294, 322 Samuel, Jr. 149, 188, 322, 334 Sullings, Rev. Hervey 242, 265 Summers, John 113 Suscacow, Peter 12 Sussex, Duke of 231 Sweat, William W. 312, 335 Taber, Barton 322 Mrs. Elizabeth 66, 182 Humphrey 268 Joseph R. 256, 271, 294 William Henry 304 William Loring 275, 294 Tardin, Thamsen 189 Taylor, Henry 187, 188, 319, 334 Rev. Henry B. 274 Mr. 236 Rev. Mr. 266 Theodore K. 172, 272 William 248, 254 Temple, Rev. Edward F. 274 Tenney, Rev. Charles R. 273 Thacher, Rev. Isaiah 247, 248, 250 Thatcher, Rev. Peter 119, 207, 243 Thompson, Dr. Ezra 160 Isaac 146 Zebulon H. 168 Thorpe, William 150 Tiffany, Dexter 270 Tilden, Irving Niles 256, 325 Tinkham, Charles 259 Index 423 PAGES Tinkham, Charles H. 304, 312 Ephraim 259 Isaac D. 330 James H. 330 Unice 259 Tobev, Deacon 220 Thomas 188, 217, 263 Toby, Elisha 131 William 131 Tomson, John 10, 11 Totosin 12, 17, 32 Trident 281 Tripp, Bathshebah 259 Charles A. 312 Ebenezer 305, 312 Elder Howard 266 Jesse 259 Job 312 Mariah 259 Stephen 276 Trowbridge, Rev. J. P. 65, 80 Tryon, Rev. James L. 269 Tuck, Rev. John 205 Tucker, Edward T. 275 Tupper, Rev. Elisha 192, 193, 199 Nathan 192, 196, 198 Turner, Rev. Mr. 202 Thomas 114 Tuspaquin 10 Tuthill, Rev. C. Julian 255 U Upham, Rev. C. Utley, Rev. Samuel Rev. William Vaughn, Jonathan Veazie, Samuel, Mr. Vose, Rev. Henry C. W Wadhams, Mrs. P. A. Wanderer 252 225 82 151 194 273 65 287 Warren, Henry PAGES 270 James 126 Joseph 37 Samuel D. 325 Washburn, Ezra E. 240 John 271 John M. 312 Lucy B. 321 Watachpoo 7 Waterman, Eleazer 222 Jabez 272 Sylvanus D. 312 Weaver, W T illiam 334 Webster, Daniel 149 Weeks, Ansel 173, 176, 251, 270 Warren 270 Weetamoe 17 Weld, A. H. 2 West, Drucilla 207 Rev. Thomas 64, 79, 81, 134, 202, 207 Timothy 217, 219 W T eston, Anna 260 Lewis S. 312 Westgate, Alonzo W. 334 Lydia 259 Wheeler, Rev. Mr. 250 Whitcomb, James 113 White, Colonel 130, 139 Ebenezer 55, 127, 148 John 55, 113 Melatiah 113 Mr. 246 Samuel 37, 39, 55, 56, 74, 110 Whitin or Whiting, Elder 262 Whitridge, Abigail 260 Joseph 118, 260 Mary 74 Peleg, 112, 113 Whittemore, Charles J. 270 Wicks, Ansel 271 Warren 271 Wigglesworth, Rev. Michael 205 Wilbur, Abigail 261 John E. 312 Prudence 260 Wilcox, Elizabeth 261 George W. 312 William S. 305, 312 Williams, Mr. Ill Rev. Mr. 202 Index PAGES PAGES Williams, Thomas 131 Winslow, Gov. Josiah 36 Willis, Elijah 112, 113, 148, 168, Kenelm 36, 37, 54 172, 173, ] , 263, 265, 271 Mercy 74 294 Micah 260 Nathan 112, 113, 148 Samuel 74, 148 Willkcy, Edward H. 240 Thomas 54, 192 Wing, Butler 113 Winston, Elizabeth R. 255 David 112, 113, 115, 127 Winthrop, Gov. John 13 Elisha 113 Wood, Abner 80 Jo 131 Elder Israel 265 John 53, Mary W. 334 John W. 168 Zenas 80 Samuel 112, 113, 114 Worth, Henry B. 122 Stephen 113, 276 Wright, Henry M. 312 William 276 Wyett 131 Winslow, Edw ard 6, 75, 106, 107, 113 Y Gov. Edward 54 Young, Henry P. 240 (Seneral 117 Martha O. 321 Hannah 260 Sol 131 Job 54, 56 Solomon 218