1 
 
HE HISTORY OF BRISTOL R. I. 
 
 THE STORY 
 
 Mount Hope Lands, 
 
 FROM THE VISIT OF THE NORTHMEN 
 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE INDIAN WAKS, THE CHARACTER AND LIVES 
 
 OP THE EARLY SETTLERS IN BRISTOL, THE EVENTS OF THE 
 
 REVOLUTION, THE PRIVATEERS OF THE "WAR OP 
 
 1812, DETAILS OF THE COMMERCE OF THE 
 
 PORT, AND SKETCHES OF ITS 
 
 DISTINGUISHED MEN. 
 
 BY WILFRED H. MUNRO. 
 
 ILLUSTRATGD. 
 
 PROVIDENCE: 
 J. A. & H. A. Reid, Printers AND PuBi.iSHE 
 
 1880. 
 
 ^ 
 

PREFACE. 
 
 " Whether I shall do anything worth while, if from the very be- 
 ginning of the city, I write a history of the Koman people, I neither 
 know very well, nor if I knew would I dare to say." So wrote the his- 
 torian Livy, as he sat at the window of his study and looked out upon 
 the splendid imperial city, rich with the conquests of many hundreds of 
 years. Whether 1 do anything worth while in writing the history of the 
 town of Bristol, is not the thought which has troubled me, for every 
 contribution to the history of a town or state has a definite and specific 
 value. From their varied threads the future historian shall some day 
 weave into graphic pages a faithful narrative of the progress of Amer- 
 ican civilization. Whether I am doing it in a worthy way — has been 
 the troublesome question that could never be satisfactorily answered. 
 For Bristol has a history peculiarly and strangely interesting to every 
 thoughtful man. Very few towns in the whole country can furnish so 
 many themes upon which the pen of the historian delights to linger. 
 
 In writing a local history two methods naturally present themselves 
 for the choice of him who takes the task in hand. One is, to make it 
 simply and only a local history; to give an epitome of all the legislation 
 of the town; to perpetuate and eulogize upon its pages the names of all 
 those who have taken a part that has raised them, in even the slightest 
 degree, above the general level of their fellows; to give extended lists of 
 those who have been its professional men, its merchants, its artisans and 
 its seamen; and to make mention of the houses in which these men 
 were born, and lived, and died. Such is the plan which has been often 
 adopted. It may answer in the case of many towns whose part in the his- 
 torv of their state has been light and comparatively unimportant. It 
 would not be worthy of the career of this town. 
 
 The other method is, to make the local names and details subordinate 
 to the part the town has taken in the development of the state and na- 
 tion; and to make extended mention only of those whose reputation has 
 passed beyond its boundaries and has become a part of the history of 
 the state. Such a method could not be employed in sketching the his- 
 tory of most American cities. I have deemed it the better one to pursue 
 in writing the history of Bristol. 
 
 This latter method, of course, necessitated a much greater amouot of 
 
4 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 labor, and on this account only did I hesitate for a moment before adopt- 
 ing it. It is but a little more than a year since the task was undertaken ; 
 it is much less than a year since the first page of the book ■was written. 
 No one who has not been engaged in such work can have more than the 
 very slightest idea of the amount of toil which it involves; of the hours 
 and days and weeks that must be spent in verifying the statements to be 
 presented. The labor of composition is the lightest part. The book 
 has, therefore, been hurried to the press under many disadvantages. 
 The chapters have been sent to the printer almost before the ink wa.s 
 dry, and but little time has been afforded even for the final revision of 
 the proofs. No opportunity whatever has been furnished for clothing 
 in more graceful diction jjaragraphs that have slipped carelessly from 
 the pen. 
 
 Abundance of material has never been lacking. The difficulty has 
 been to select from the great mass of facts those most deserving of rec- 
 ord. The reader will therefore very probably search in vain for much 
 that he has confidently expected to find. It is undoubtedly true that 
 many things have been overlooked and omitted, which ought here to 
 be given a place. I shall be very glad to be informed concerning such 
 subjects, that, if at some future time a new edition of this book shall be 
 called for, I may be able to incorporate them in it. I shall also be 
 grateful to any persons who will correct me concerning errors which 
 have doubtless crept into the work. I have tried to be accurate in my 
 statements, but am not so unwise as to suppose that I have uniformly 
 been so. 
 
 Into the matter of genealogy I have not ventured to go. A very little re- 
 search in the genealogical field is sufficient to convince one how impos- 
 sible it is satisfactorily to treat the subject. It Avould, moreover, have 
 required much more time than could well be spared from the rest of 
 the book. In the history of the churches a sketch of their different 
 pastors has very naturally found a place. Very few biographical 
 sketches besides have been inserted iu these pages. Only men who have 
 been unusually prominent, and who have held high official positions, have 
 thus been noticed. To pass outside this limit would be a dangerous 
 step. It would be exceedingly difficult to determine with whom to be- 
 gin, and at whose name to stop. Your pardon, therefore, reader, if I 
 have reluctantly allowed the merits of your ancestors to go unre- 
 corded. 
 
 In the chapters relating to the Revolution I had intended to place the 
 names of those who served as soldiers in the American Army. After a 
 careful examination of records it seems so impossible to present any- 
 thing like a complete list, that the plan was abandoned altogether. Re- 
 specting the privateers of the " War of 1812 " I also proposed to furnish 
 a much more extended account, but was obliged to limit myself to the 
 pages that have been given to the subject. I will be glad to re- 
 ceive additional information connected with the privateers and the com- 
 mercial history of the port, for another volume, the publication of which 
 is now contemplated. 
 
PIIKFACK. 
 
 Some corrections necessary in the following pages may as well be 
 made in this place. Additional research has furnished convincing proof 
 that PoppasquasJi more nearly conveys the sound of the Indian name of 
 the peninsula opposite the town, than any other spelling. The fact that 
 the sounds of the vowels in the English languaga are constantly chang- 
 ing, and that our ancestors always made their mode of spelling conform 
 to the sound, accounts for the various forms of the word found in the 
 old deeds. Pappoosesquaw, which has lately been forced into favor, 
 can with difficulty be traced back for a generation. It is an invention 
 of the present century, and has an entirely fanciful derivation. It should 
 not for an instant be tolerated. Two mistakes, made upon page 93, 
 attest the truth of what has just been written concerning genealogy. 
 From Mr. John A. Rowland, one of her descendants, I learn that the 
 wife of Jabez Howland was not a daughter of Governor Carver. Mrs. 
 Howland's maiden name was Elizabeth Tilley. In the year 1732, the 
 second Jabez Rowland died. The first Jabez died in 1711. On page 76, 
 in the paragraph upon Nathaniel Oliver, 1682 should have been the date 
 given. On page 172 one fact should have been stated much more posi- 
 tively. Capt Thomas Swan was, undoubtedly, concerned in the burn- 
 ing of the "Gaspee." In after years he delighted to rehearse the tale 
 of its destiuction. Many now living have heard, from Captain Swan's 
 own lips, of the part Simeon Potter and the boat's crew from Bristol 
 took in that memorable affair. Captain Swan used to give the names of 
 all his associates, but those names have entirely escaped the memory of 
 his auditors. On page, 310 it should have been said that the "Yankee" 
 had captured — not destroyed —British property amounting in value to 
 almost a million of pounds. On page 331, Clyde, i\'. Y., should have 
 been given as the present residence of the Rev. William Stowe. 
 
 yo mention the names of all those who have contributed to the infor- 
 mation embodied in this volume, would require very many paragraphs. 
 My obligations are greatest to Mr. Bennett J. Munro, and Mr. William P. 
 Monro. The former has, from his youth up, delighted to plunge into 
 the records of the past, and from them he has extracted a very great 
 amount of local information. The ready memory and remarkable 
 knowledge of the latter has very rarely failed to aid me when informa- 
 tion concerning any important point in the history of the town has 
 been desiied. To Mr. Alexander Perry I am also greatly indebted. 
 Through his courtesy in placing the books of his grandfather, James 
 DeWolf, at my disposal, I have been enabled to present the statistics 
 given in the chapter on the '* Yankee." 
 
 My task is by no means completed, even according to the plan I my- 
 self had marked out, but the limit originally assigned to the pages of 
 the book has been considerably exceeded, and the demand for its pub- 
 lication has become imperative. Just as it is, with all its imperfections 
 and shortcomings, I must present The Story of the Mount Hope Lands to 
 the kindly consideration of its readers. Lovingly and reverently, as it 
 becometh one of her sons to write, I have written the history of Bristol. 
 
b HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 I have tried, as Livy tried, to call to life again the vanished past ; to 
 place before her people a faithful picture of what the old town has been 
 — that, looking upon it, and cherishing ever the memory of the match- 
 less enterprise and wise forethought their fathers once displayed, they 
 may be inspired to deeds which shall prove them worthy sons of those 
 energetic and patriotic sires. 
 
 Shall I attempt, witli prophetic hand, to draw aside the veil which ob- 
 scures her future ? The busy hum of machinery now resounds through 
 her streets. Almost deserted is her harbor, and the wharves, that once 
 groaned beneath the load of foreign freights, are dropping slowly to 
 pieces; besides the daily steamers, only a few coasting vessels glide oc- 
 casionally over its tranquil waters. It will not always be so. Not alone 
 its merchant ships have vanished; the ships of the whole country have 
 almost passed away as well, and cautious capital has sought the surer 
 profits manufactures seem to offer. But in course of years there will 
 be a change. As the manufactures of the West are gradually developed, 
 the great mill-owners of the East will be obliged to seek other markets 
 for their products. Again, as in other days, it will be easier and more 
 profitable to reach them over the highway nature has placed at our 
 doors, than over those constructed by the hand of man. In process of 
 time, also, if we can judge of the future by the past, by the West itself 
 will a foreign market be needed, and then at least, if not before, the 
 seas will again be covered with American keels. The great sea-port 
 cities of to-day will not suffice to accommodate that mighty commerce, 
 and other great commercial centres will grow up along our shores. 
 This spacious, land-locked harbor will then once more be crowded with 
 ships, as of old, and the streets of the town will once more be thronged 
 with seamen. We may not. we probably shall not, live to see it; our 
 children possibly may not, — but our children's children surely will. 
 
 WILFRED H. MUNKO. 
 Bristol, R. I., Dec. 11, 1880. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Visits of the Northmen. — The voyage of Leif Ericson, 
 A. D. 1000 — Sails up Seaconnet River — Ei-ects dwellings on 
 shores of Mount Hope Bay — The German, Tyrker, discovers 
 grapes — Expedition of Thorvald, A. D. 1002 — Of Karlsefni — 
 Snorri Thorfiunson, born A. D. 1007 — Origin of name, Mount 
 Hope — Eric, Bishop of Greenland, sails to Vinland — Disap- 
 pearance of the Greenland Colony, .... Pages 16-23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Voyage of Vekkuzano. — Sails along the American coast, 
 A. D. 1524 — Description of the people — Voyage of Adrian 
 Block, Pages 24-26 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The First Visit to Massasoiet. — First appearance of Massasoiet 
 — The Pokanoket Indians — Winslow and Hopkins visit the 
 chieftain — Three Indian villages on Mount Hope Neck — De- 
 scription of savage life, ... ... Pages 27-30 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Second Visit to Massasoiet. — Massasoiet sick — Edward 
 Winslow and John Hampden visit him — Winslow's descrip- 
 tion of the visit, Pages 31-35 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 From the Death of Massasoiet to the Beginning of Phil- 
 ip's War. — Preparations of Philip — Death of John Sausaman, 
 
 Pages 36-40 
 
8 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 King Philip's Wak. — Philip's messenger sent to incite war, 1675— 
 Beuj. Church — June 20, war begun by Indians — English march 
 upon Mount Hope — Church's fort— Destruction wrought by 
 the Indians — Death of Philip — Captain Church's account, 
 
 Pages 41-52 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Question of Ownekship and John Crowne. — Dispute respect- 
 ing ownership of conquered lands — Claim of John Crowne— His 
 life — Information concerning Mount Hope — Letter from Ply- 
 mouth Colony, Pages 53-57 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Royal Grant of Mount Hope Lanos to Plymouth Colony, 
 
 Pages 58-59 
 
 CHAP T E R IX. 
 
 Grand Deed from Plymouth, conferring lands upon Walley, Oli- 
 ver, Byfield, and Burton, Pages 60-64 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Nathaniel Byfield.— His parentage aud birth — Petition for 
 exemption from military service — His dwelling-houses — Of- 
 fices — Personal appearance — Mr. Baylies' account of his life — 
 His life in Bristol — Epitaph Pages 65-73 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Other Proprietors. — John Walley — Stephen Burton — Na- 
 thaniel Oliver — Nathan Hayman, .... Pages 74-76 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 First Inhabitants. — John Gorham — Privileges contained in the 
 deed — First town-meeting — The name Bristol — List of citi- 
 zens admitted at first town-meeting, .... Pages 77-79 
 
 CHAPTERXIII. 
 
 Benjamin Church. — Birth and parentage — Goes to live at Sea- 
 connet — Characteristics, physical aud mental — Extract from 
 autobiography — His house in Bristol — Expeditious to the east- 
 ward — Treatment from Massachusetts — Death, . Pages 80-86 
 
CONTENTS. ¥ 
 
 CHAP T E R XIV. 
 John Saffix. — His ch<aracter and life — His retraction, Paqks 87-dO 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Otheij EakIvY Settlkks. — John Gary — Nathaniel IJosworth — 
 Nathaniel Reynolds — Hugh Woodbury — William Throope — 
 Nathaniel Paine — Samuel Waldron ~ Jabez Gorham — Chris- 
 topher Sanders — William Brenton — Jabez Howland — Rich- 
 ard Smith, Pages 91-93 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 How THE Town was Laid out. — Abstract of the Grand Articles 
 and explanation of the Deed of Highways — 128 house-lots laid 
 out — 500 acres in small farms — Lands for public use — For- 
 feit for not settling — Signers — Four streets north and south 
 — Nine cross streets — Commonages — Ministry lands and 
 school lands, Paoes 94-100 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Some Old Houses. — The first houses — The Bosworth house — 
 
 The Walley house — The two Byfield houses, . . Pages 101-109 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Gleanings fkoj[ the Recokds of the Fikst Half-Centuky. — 
 Provisions for the minister— The Book of Marks — Duties of 
 Selectmen and Constables — Rates made Dec. 22, 1682 — List of 
 Freemen — Towns of Bristol County — Market Day — Town 
 Shepherd — Decision of Mass. Governor respecting the Privi- 
 leges of the town — Grist-mills, cattle, blackbirds, foxes, etc. — 
 Births, marriages and deaths, 110-124 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Fikst Chukcu. — Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge — The meeting- 
 house — Rev. Samuel Lee — Rev. John Sparhawk, . . 125-134 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The McSpakkan Difficulty.- James McSparran chosen minis- 
 ter — Dr. Mather's opposition — Town and church meetings — 
 Goes to England and is ordained in Church of England, . . 135 
 
10 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 St. Michael's Church. — Services in the Walker House —Petition 
 to England — Subscriptions to church — Rev. James Oreni — Im- 
 prisonment of Church of England people — Rev. John Usher — 
 First vestry — Bell — Negro baptism — Kay bequest — Protest — 
 Church burnt — Rev. Dr. Caner — New church — Rev. John 
 Usher, Jr. —Rev. A. L. Clarke — Rev. A. V. Griswold, . 141-156 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MoBE Rkcokds. — Blazing chimneys — Fire and storms — Small- 
 pox — Wharf built — Failure of grain — Prices of merchandise, 
 etc. — Bui-ying-grounds — Annexed to Rhode Island — First R. 
 I. meeting — List of Freemen — Laws and Oaths concerning 
 bribery — Banks — Rope-walks — Vendue masters — Ministers 
 exempted from taxation — Bounties — Old Tenor bills — Com- 
 merce — Stocks and whipping-post, 157-166 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Destijtjction of the " Gaspee." — The capture and burning 
 of the "Gaspee" — Testimony of Aaron Briggs — Songby Capt. 
 Thos. Swan, 107-174 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Simeon Pottek. — Early life — Rhode Island privateers — Father 
 Fauque's account of the " Prince Charles of Lorraine " — Anec- 
 dote of Mr. Potter. —His life in Bristol — Protest against the 
 taxable valuation of the town — Death, . . Pages 175-185 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Census Statistics fkom 1748-1880.— General statistics — Census 
 
 of 1774, Pages 186-192 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CORKESPONDENCE, ETC., BEFOKE THE REVOLUTION. — Meeting 
 
 concerning "Boston Tea Party " —Resolutions — Letter of 
 town clerk — Subscription list— Letter of Wm. Bradford — 
 Letter from Boston committee — Donations from Rhode Island 
 — Proposals for altering the Constitution of Rhode Island, 
 
 Pages 193-201 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 The Bombardment.— The fleet of Sir James Wallace — Extract 
 from letter of LeBaron Bradford in Newport Mercury — Poem 
 — Incidents — Epidemic — Death of Rev. John Burt, Pages 202-208 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Bubxing.— The British land upon the Neck and descend 
 upon Warren — They march to Bristol along the main road — 
 Incidents — Enumeration of houses burnt — Conduct of the 
 soldiers — Anecdotes Pages 209-218 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Congregational Church, 1720-1880.— Day of fasting and 
 prayer appointed — Rev. Nathaniel Cotton, pastor — Rev. Bar- 
 nabas Taylor — The throat distemper — Rev. John Burt — New 
 church erected 1784 — Rev. Henry Wight — Letter concerning 
 politics - Rev. Joel Mann — The " Blue Hall " — " The Hall " 
 
 — The Sunday School — Rev. Isaac Lewis — Rev. John Stark- 
 weather — Rev. Thos. Shepard — Third church erected 1856 — 
 Notice of Dr. Shepard from Providence Journal — Rev. C. P. 
 Osborne — The Memorial Chapel — Rev. J. P. Lane — Officers, 
 
 Pages 219-233 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Days OF War AND Days of Peace. — Conditions of towns of 
 Narragansett Bay during the war— War measures— Intrench- 
 ments — Post Office established— Isaac Eslick's exploit — Block- 
 ade of the bay — Letter from Lord Percy — Row galley " Wash- 
 ington " — Distress of citizens — Storms — Lafayette — Winter 
 1779-80— Polls and ratable property — General Washington's 
 visit — The Mt. Hope farm — The Borland farm — The Vassal 
 farm — Census of 1785 — Fire engines — Paper money — Peti- 
 tion to Congress — Distillei-ies — Artillery Company formed 
 
 — Tavern bill — Richard Darby — The Potter library — Death 
 
 of Washington Pages 234-252 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 William Bradford. — Birth and early life — Character— Pro- 
 fessional and political life, and public services, . Pages 253-257 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIl. 
 Benjamin Bourne. — Sketch by Nathaniel Bullock, Packs 258-260 
 
12 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 The Methodist Church 1790-1880. — Rev. Jesse Lee — Rev. 
 George Whitefield — First sermon in Bristol — First class — 
 Early trials — Meeting-house built in 1805 — Ephraim K. Avery 
 — New church dedicated 1856 — Rev. Joseph Snelling — Rev. 
 Asa Kent — Rev. Thomas W. Tucker — Father Taylor— Rev. 
 Isaac Bonney — Rev. Dr. Morrison — List of ministers — Offi- 
 cers— Correction, Pages 261-273 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 The Voyage of "Nouwest John." — Capt. John DeWolf sails 
 from Bristol in the ship "Juno" upon a voyage to the north- 
 v^^est coast — Sells his vessel to the Russian American Company 
 and comes home by the overland route through Siberia, 
 
 Pages 274-279 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. • 
 
 Bishop Griswold and the Great Revivals. — Bishop Gris- 
 wold's early life and ministry — Visits Bristol and accepts a 
 call from St. Michael's Church — His style of preaching — Con- 
 dition of P. E. Church in Rhode Island — He is elected bishop 
 — The revival of 1812 — Dr. Tyng's account of the revival of 
 1818 — Bishop Griswold leaves Bristol — His literary work — 
 Divinity school in Bristol — Epitaph, . . . Pages 280-294 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 The Baptist Church, 1811-1880. — Sketch by Rev. H. M. Jones — 
 First Members — Rev. J. M. Winchell — The Stone Chapel 
 erected — Lotteries — Rev. Barnabas Bates — Vote of Town — 
 Succession of Ministers — Rev. J. N. Sykes — Rev. H. G. Hub- 
 bard —Rev. H. M. Jones— Rev. H. Crocker —Officers, Pages 295-301 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 The Yankee. — Owners — Officers — Articles of Agreement — 
 
 Cruises, Prizes, and Profits Pages 302-310 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 The Other Privateers. — The " Water Witch " — The " Hiram " 
 
 — The "Rambler" — The "Blockade " — The " Macdonough " 
 
 — The "Yankee Lass," Pages 311^515 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 CHAPTEU XXXTX. 
 The Septkmbki? Gat.ks OF 1815 and 18f)9, . Pagks 316-321 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 James DeWolf.— Mark Anthony Ue Wolf —Early life of James 
 DeWolf — His business capacity and success — His conduct in 
 the war of 1812 — Political Honors, etc., . Pagks 322-325 
 
 CHAPTER X L I . 
 
 St. Michael's Chukch, 1830-1880. —Rev. John Bristed — New 
 Church, 1834 — Rev. James W. Cooke — Rev. Joseph Trapnell, 
 Jr. — Rev. William Stowe — Burning of Church — Fourtli Church 
 Consecrated 1861 — Rev. Dr. Balch — Rev. G. L. Locke — New 
 Chapel — Officers, Pages 32<;-335 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 The Schools. — Town votes upon school matters — The Teach- 
 ers — School Lands — Quotations from Miss Luther's Historical 
 Sketch — Notices of Teacliers — The Byfield School — Dedica- 
 tion Ode Pages 330-347 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 The Slave Tkade. — The African business — Statistics from 
 " speech of Judge Smith of South Carolina, . . Pages 348-353 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 The Rom ax Catholic Church, 1854-1880. — Rev. M. McCalliou — 
 Bishop Cheveius— Erection of church in 1855— Its enlarge- 
 ment in 1870 — Remarks of Bishop MacFarland upon the 
 growth of the church throughout the diocese — Rev. C. J. 
 Rogers, Pages 354-357 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 Thk Roll of Honor. — List of Bristol soldiers and sailors. 
 
 Pages 358-362 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 Trinity Church, 1875-1880. — Bequest of Mrs. Ruth B. De- 
 Wolf — First services — First vestry — Rev. S. Moran — Church 
 built 1878 — Rev. J. H. Johnson — Officers, . Pages 363-365 
 
14 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Some Details Rkspecting the Commerce. — Early commercial 
 ventures — Bristol customs district created 1801 — Amount of 
 duties collected each year from 1801-1825 — The DeWolfs — 
 Whaling vessels — Table of tonnage from United States Treas- 
 ury Department, Pages 3CG-372 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 The Principal Manufactures. — Ship-building — The Herres- 
 hoff Manufacturing Company — The cotton mills— The butt 
 factory — The steam planing-mill — The oakum vv'orks — The 
 sugar refinery — The firearms manufactory — The National 
 Rubber Company, Pages 373-375 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 Gleanings from the Last Fifty Years. —The Dorr War — 
 Nathaniel Bullock — Byron Diman — Francis M. Dimond — J. 
 Russell Bullock — Railroad — Steamboats — Loss of territory 
 — Robert Rogers — Rogers Free Library — Press of Bristol — 
 The South Christian Society — The Advent Society — The 
 Bi-centennial Celebration, Pages 376-383 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 The Roll of Representatives, .... Pages 384-387 
 APPENDIX. — The Inscription upon the Rock, . Pages 
 
Illustrations. 
 
 Baptist Church 297 
 
 BoswoRTH House, 103 
 
 Bristol from the water Opposite Title. 
 
 Chapel of St. Michael's Church, 333 
 
 Cold Spring Monument, 43 
 
 Congregational Church, 230 
 
 High Street, from Church to State, 337 
 
 Methodist Church 267 
 
 Mount Hope, 19.5 
 
 Portrait of Benjamin Church, Opposite 80 
 
 Portrait of Nathaniel Byfield, Opposite 65 
 
 Portrait of Bishop Griswold Opposite 280 
 
 Portrait OF Thomas Shepard, D. D Opposite 231 
 
 Portrait of Ambrose E. Burnside Opposite 358 
 
 Residence of A. O. Bourn, 215 
 
 Residence of Mrs. M. DeW. Rogers, 341 
 
 Residence of W. T. C. Wardwell, 317 
 
 Residence of Dr. L. W. Briggs, 117 
 
 Residence of C. A. Greene, I'iS 
 
 Residence of Mrs. R. D. Smith 227 
 
 Residence of Mrs. Ramon Guiteras, 329 
 
 Residence of Capt. John Collins, 129 
 
 Residence of F. A. Easterbrooks, 211 
 
 Residence of Gen. A. E. Burnside, 187 
 
 Residence of Dr. J. C. Gallup, 241 
 
 Residence of S. P. Colt, 369 
 
 Rogers Free Library, 380 
 
 Rubber Works, Opposite 375 
 
 St. Michael's Church, 145 
 
 St. Mart's Church, 
 
 a55 
 
 Town Hall, 
 
 223 
 
 Trinity Church, 365 
 
 The Inscription on the Rock, 389 
 
 Warehouse of W. H. Bell, 251 
 
Chapter i. 
 
 THE VISITS OF THE NORTHMEN. 
 
 In the year of our Lord 1000, almost five centuries before 
 the sight of the green shores ' of Guanahani gladdened the 
 weary eyes of Christopher Columbus, Leif Ericson sailed 
 up the Pocasset River, and landed upon the shores of Mount 
 Hope Bay. He was one of that hardy Northern race whose 
 home has always been the ocean, and whose sails even now 
 overshadow the waters of every sea in the known world. In 
 the spring of that year, so runs the Icelandic saga, he bought 
 the ship of his countryman, Biarni Heriulfson, manned it with 
 a crew of thirty-five, and sailed from Greenland to explore 
 some strange shores lying far to the south. These shores 
 Biarni had seen (but had not explored) several years before, 
 when, in crossing from Iceland to Greenland, adverse winds 
 had driven him several hundred miles below his intended har- 
 bor. 
 
 Having first visited the lands which Biarni had last seen 
 (Newfoundland, which they called Helluland or the Land of 
 Broad Stones, and Nova Scotia, to which they gave the name 
 of Markland, the Land of Woods), the Northmen landed 
 upon an island lying to the south of the Cape Cod peninsula 
 
 * The limited space which must necessarily be given to the Northmen in the 
 pages of this book will not, of course, suffice for a full discussion of their 
 claims. The author has therefore deemed it best to make a simple statement of the 
 facts which their advocates have attempted to prove. For a full discussion of the 
 subject the reader may consult Rafn's Antiquitateti Amcricamv. The very admir- 
 able pamphlet by Mr. Alexander Farnum of Providence, is, without doubt, familiar 
 to many who will read this. 
 
18 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 where they perceived a peculiar sweetness in the dew.* Then 
 following the coast the explorers came to land at a place 
 " where a river flowed out of a lake." The tide was low, and 
 the shoals at the mouth of the Seaconnet River were even 
 more extensive than at the present time. The impatient 
 seamen were therefore obliged to wait for the rising tide to 
 cover the shallows and afford a passage for their ship. With 
 the tide they passed up the river and cast anchor in the lake. 
 Here they disembarked and erected temporary habitations, 
 but afterward,havingdetermined to remain during the winter, 
 built permanent dwellings from the stone which was so al)un- 
 dant upon tlie shores. 
 
 The waters of the rivers and bay abounded with fish of all 
 kinds, and the salmon were of greater size than any before seen. 
 Many wild animals were found in the forests. To these wander- 
 ers from the dreary Arctic regions, the land seemed wondrously 
 fair, and the climate exceedingly soft and mild. They thought 
 that cattle would be able to find provender in winter, as no 
 intense cold occurred ; " no snow fell,t and the grass did not 
 wither much." " The equality in length of days was greater 
 than in Iceland or Greenland. On the shortest day the sun 
 remained above the horizon from 7.30 to 4.30."| 
 
 When the dwellings were completed, Leif divided his men 
 into two companies to explore the country ; when one com- 
 
 * Probably the island of Nantucket, which is noted for its honey dew. 
 
 + The statement need not be taken literally, though the Northmen probably 
 chanced upon a winter as free from snow and ice as that just passed,— 1879-80,— 
 which would have seemed most mild to one coming from a countrj' like Norway 
 or Iceland. The grass has not " withered much," but has been green around many 
 of our dwellings. So also the grass must then have been green in the sunny open- 
 ings, protected from the cold north winds by the dense forests which covered most 
 of the peninsula. We must also take into considerationthe well-known fact that 
 this part of America has become colder by reason of the change in the direction 
 of the current of the Gulf Stream, and the descent of the Arctic ice. It is, perhaps, 
 well to remind some of our readers that the Bristol peninsula is never, in winter, 
 as cold by several degrees as the neighboring towns, and that snow, sufficient for 
 sleighing, is not of common occurrence. Moreover, the Northmen did not find the 
 succeeding winters as mild. 
 
 X This enables us to determine the latitude of the place. They had Skalholt, 
 Iceland time. The sun can rise and set at the time mentioned, on its shortest day, 
 Oct. 17, only in latitude 41 degrees, 21 minutes, 10 seconds, almost exactly that of 
 Mount Hope Bay. 
 
THE VISITS OP THE NORTHMEN. 19 
 
 pany went out from tlie camp tlie other was to remain as a 
 guard, and the exploring party was never to go so far that it 
 could not return on the same evening. Special charge was 
 given them to keep together. In all his arrangements Leif 
 showed himself a man well fitted for his position ; he was 
 wise and moderate in all things, and exceedingly careful of the 
 safety of his men. Like almost all of the Norse chieftains, he 
 was a man " strong, and of great stature," and liis bearing 
 was most dignified. 
 
 Among the party was a German, Tyrker by name, who had 
 lived for many years with Leif's father in Iceland and Green- 
 land. One day, when the exploring party came back, Tyrker 
 was missing, and Leif, with twelve others, went in search of 
 their lost comrade. Before they had gone far they met him 
 returning, but the appearance of the German was most singu- 
 lar. While he seemed partly to recognize his companions, he 
 yet stared strangely about, and addressed them not in Norse, 
 but in his native tongue. After a time his mysterious behav- 
 ior was explained ; he had wandered a little way from his 
 party and found some vines with ripe grapes upon them. 
 Tyrker had been born and brought up in a country where 
 grapes abounded, but during the many years of his sojourn in 
 the lands of ice and snow, the remembrance of it had almost 
 faded from his mind. As he ate the pleasant fruit, the 
 scenes of his youth came again before his eyes ; with the rec- 
 ollections of his childhood crowding upon him, he went back 
 to join his comrades, and to tell them what he had found, but 
 the merry voices of his German playmates were still ringing 
 in his ears, and the Norse language was for a time forgotten. 
 His discovery caused great joy, and was deemed so important 
 that the name of Yinland was given to the country. 
 
 On the next day they began to gather and cure grapes, and 
 to cut down timber, with which to load their ship for the 
 return voyage. They filled their long boat with the grapes, 
 and in the early spring went back to Greenland. 
 
 The return of Leif, and the accounts which his sailors gave, 
 naturally caused much excitement in that quiet community. 
 
20 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 and in the spring of 1002, Thorvald Ericson, taking his 
 brother's ship, and probably some of his old crew, started on 
 another voyage to Vinland. His object was to make a 
 thorough exploration of the new country. To these ventur- 
 ous seamen, accustomed to navigate the cold and stormy 
 ocean which lay between the Icelandic colonies and their 
 ancestral Norway, the journey to the sunny shores of this new 
 land must have seemed only a pleasant excursion. The dis- 
 tance from Greenland to Yinland was no greater than that 
 between Greenland and Norway, and the seas were never as 
 boisterous. 
 
 Thorvald perished in this expedition, and so the account 
 given is not as minute as we could wish. His followers nat- 
 urally remembered and repoi-ted only the main facts of the 
 voyage. They reached Vinland in safety, and passed three 
 winters in the dwellings which Leif had erected, and which 
 they called Leifsbudr, or Leifsbooths. The first year was 
 spent in exploring the lands lying to the southward ; in the 
 second summer the adventurers turned their steps to the re- 
 gions northof Cape Cod, andin this northern expedition Thor- 
 vald was shot and killed by the Skraelings, (natives).* His 
 comrades buried him upon a promontory which they called 
 Krossaness, — the Promontory of Crosses, — from the crosses 
 which they placed over his grave,! ^-nd returning, passed the 
 winter of 1004-5 in Leifsbooths. They went back to Green- 
 land in the spring of 1005, and carried with them a large 
 quantity of grapes, as their predecessors had done. 
 
 Two years later a more important character appeared upon 
 the scene. Thorfinn Karlsefni sailed from Iceland on a 
 voyage to the country of grapes — tarried for a while in 
 Greenland, where he married his wife Gudrid, and then with 
 tliree ships and one hundred and fifty-one (151) men, pro- 
 ceeded on his journey. With them went Gudrid and six 
 other women, wives of the principal leaders, for it was pro- 
 
 * The name is derived from the verb skraela, and means lean or shrivelled men. 
 + Christianity had been introduced into Greenland by Leif Ericson in 999. 
 
THE VISITS OF THE NORTHMEN. 21 
 
 posed to colonize the land. Tliorfinn wintered on the sliores 
 and islands of Buzzard's Bay, and here, in the year 1007, 
 Snorri Thorfinnson * Avas born, as far as we know the first 
 child of European blood who was born on the soil of the 
 American continent. 
 
 The spot wliich had been selected for their winter encamp- 
 ment seemed most pleasant, and promised abundant pastur- 
 age for the cattle which the explorers had brought with them. 
 But the mild breezes which had fanned the shores of Vin- 
 land seven years before no longer blew. The cold blasts came 
 sweeping down from the north, the forests were blocked with 
 snow, the waters covered with ice. The would-be colonists, 
 relying upon the mildness of the climate, had brought no 
 stores with them ; they could neither hunt nor fish, and so 
 almost perished from hunger. A whale, cast up upon the 
 shore, saved them in their time of greatest need, and furnished 
 them a food supply until the sun loosened the icy fetters 
 which had been fastened upon them. 
 
 Coasting along the shore in the spring of 1008, Thorfinn 
 came to the " i-iver flowing through a lake " which Leif had 
 described, was detained by the shallows at its mouth, as 
 Ericson had been, and at high tide sailed up to where the 
 river opened out into the lake. 
 
 This place the Northmen called Hop.f 
 
 The dwellings which had afforded ample shelter for Leif 
 and his party of thirty-five, could not accommodate this expe- 
 dition of almost five times that number. Additional houses 
 were erected, some near the bay, others at a distance from its 
 
 * From him the sculptor Thorvaldsen is descended. 
 
 + This probably was the origin of the Indian name Haup, or Montaup, from- which 
 the present name Mount Hope is derived. The Plymouth settlers only anj^licized 
 the name which had been given to the Mount Hope Lands by the Indian owners. 
 There is no mention made in the saga of the return of two of the chiefs of this 
 expedition to Iceland. It is quite likely that, with some of their followers, they 
 remained at Hop and married some of the Indian women. Thus, while all traces of 
 them would be lost in the course of a few generations, yet some of the names 
 which they gave might be retained. It is difficult otherwise to account for the 
 name Haup, which many familiar with the Indian language have declared to be )iot 
 Indian, and which yet was undoubtedly applied to the country by tiie native tribes 
 when the English colonists first heard of the territory. 
 
22 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 shores. Thorfinn noticed that where the land was low, corn 
 grew wild ; where it rose higher, vines were found. He, also, 
 was struck with the abundance of the fish,* and reported, 
 besides, that many wild animals were found in the forests. 
 This description agrees well with the accounts given almost 
 seven hundred years later by the earliest settlers of Bristol. 
 
 The winter of 1008-9 was mild; no snow fell, and the 
 cattle lived unhoused. 
 
 In the autumn of 1008, the Skraelings visited the little set- 
 tlement, and in the following spring came again in great 
 numbers to exchange their skins for goods. The traffic was 
 broken off by the appearance of one of the bulls which Thor- 
 finn had brought with him, and which had been turned loose 
 to graze. This creature rushed bellowing from the forest, 
 and so terrified the Skraelings that they paddled away in 
 their canoes as quickly as they could. After a month they 
 came back again, this time not to barter, but to fight ; and in 
 the engagement which followed, two of the Northmen fell, 
 and numbers of the natives were killed. 
 
 This battle convinced Thorfinn's people that the lands, 
 though excellent in quality, would yet be undesirable for a 
 colony, by reason of the hostility of the other inhabitants. 
 Retracing their course, therefore, they remained for a time 
 at their first winter encampment, then sailing homeward, 
 reached Ericsfiord, in Greenland, in 1010. 
 
 From this time expeditions to Vinland became frequent, 
 " for they were esteemed both lucrative and honorable," and 
 being frequent, were not regarded as worthy of special com- 
 memoration. We have, however, in the ArUiquitates Amer- 
 icana;, an account of one other, that of Freydis, and her hus- 
 band Thorvard, which was made in 1011. Freydis was a 
 daughter of Eric, and sister of both Leif and Thorvald, and 
 it is by reason of this kinship that her story is given. It is 
 
 * The Northmen dug- pits in the sand where the tide rose highest, and at low tide 
 there remained " sacred tish " in these pits. The name "sacred flsh " is still used 
 in Iceland, and is given to flatfish of the flounder and halibut kind. These may be 
 caught in the same manner to-day. 
 
THE VISITS OP THE NORTHMEN. 23 
 
 quite probable that other narratives may hereafter be brouglit 
 to light. 
 
 The annals of Iceland record that in 1121 Eric, Bishop of 
 Greenland, sailed thence to Vinland, which would seem to 
 prove that a permanent colony had been established there. 
 In 1347 it is stated in the same annals, that a Greenland 
 ship on a voyage to Markland was driven by a stress of 
 weather to Straumfiord,in Iceland, just as we in the paper of 
 
 to-morrow may read that the ship from New York to 
 
 Canton, has taken refuge in Newport harbor, to escape the 
 terrible storm which is raging outside. 
 
 The last Bishop of Greenland was appointed in 1406, and 
 since that time the Colony has never been heard of. Its two 
 hundred and eighty villages can only be traced by the exten- 
 sive ruins along the shores. Whether the colonists were 
 overwhelmed by the masses of ice which came surging down 
 from the polar regions, or whether they were killed by the 
 natives, we have no means of knowing. Perhaps they 
 perished through the fierce feuds which often sundered those 
 northern communities ; perhaps they sailed southward to die 
 in the country which Biarni Heriulfson had discovered. 
 The midnight of the Dark Ages had settled upon Europe, and 
 all interest in the fate of that remote people was lost. For 
 more than three hundred years the Greenland Colony disap- 
 peared from history, and with it all knowledge of Vinland 
 passed away from the minds of men. Only within a com- 
 paratively recent period have the old parchments on which 
 these deeds were recorded been rescued from oblivion, and 
 even now they are accessible to most readers only in the Latin 
 translation, which the society of Northern Antiquarians has 
 published. 
 
Chapter ii. 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF VERRUZANO. 
 
 The discoveries of Columbus, and the marvelous tales re- 
 specting the inexhaustible fertility and the wondrous treasures 
 of silver and of gold of the countries which he had brought 
 under the sway of Spain, induced many of the sovereigns of 
 Europe to send out exploring vessels which should secure for 
 them also, by right of discovery, a share in these rich posses- 
 sions. It is a somewhat remarkable fact, and one which has 
 been often noticed by historians, that nearly all of the famous 
 captains concerned in American explorations in the early part 
 of the sixteenth century, were Italians. Among these was a 
 Florentine named Verruzano (or Verrazani), who sailed in 
 the employ of King Francis I., of France. The account of 
 his voyage, which is here given, is condensed from Hakluyt^s 
 Voi/ag-es, 3d volume of the Quarto Edition, published in 
 London in the year 1800. Tlie narrative is specially interest- 
 ing because it contains tlie earliest full description of the 
 coast and the people of North America. 
 
 In the spring of 1524, Verruzano sailed along the coast 
 from North Carolina to Newfoundland, in the ship Dauphin 
 (Dolphin), and gave the whole country the name of New 
 France. Without disembarking, he passed Bloclc Island, which 
 he describes as being "in form of a triangle, distant from the 
 main land ten leagues," (the French league was then seven- 
 tenths of a mile shorter than the present league,) "" about tlie 
 bigness of the Island of Rhodes ; it was full of hills, covered 
 with trees, well peopled, for we saw fires along the coast ! We 
 gave it the name of Your Majesty's mother."* 
 
 Louise was the name of the mother of Francis I. 
 
THE VOYAGE OF VERRUZANO. 25 
 
 " We came to another land, being fifteen leagues distant 
 from the island, where we found a passing good liaven, 
 wherein being entered, we found about twenty small boats of 
 the people, which, with divers cries and wonderings, came 
 about our ship, coming no nearer than fifty paces toward us, 
 they stayed and beheld the artificialness of our ship, our shape 
 and apparel, then they all made a loud shout together, declar- 
 ing that they rejoiced ; when we had something animated 
 them, using their gestures they came so near us that we cast 
 them certain bells and glasses, and many toys, which, when 
 they had received, they looked on them with laughing, and 
 came without fear aboard our ship. 
 
 " They were dressed in deer-skins, wrought artificially 
 with divers branches like damaske, their hair was tied up 
 behind with divers knots. This is the goodliest people, 
 and of the fairest conditions that we have found in this our 
 voyage ; they exceed us in bigness, they are of the color of 
 brass, some of them incline more to whiteness, others are of 
 yellow color, of comely visage, with long and black hair, 
 which they are very careful to trim and deck up, they are of 
 sweet and pleasant countenance. The women are very hand- 
 some and well formed, of pleasant countenance, and comely 
 to behold ; they are as well mannered as any Avomen, they 
 wear deer-skins branched or embroidered as the men use, 
 there are also some of them which wear on their arms very 
 rich skins of Luzernes,* they wear divers ornaments accord- 
 ing to the usage of the people of the East. 
 
 " Every day the people repaired to see our ship, bringing their 
 wives with them, whereof they are very jealous, and caused 
 their wives to stay in their boats, and for all the entreaty we 
 could make, we could never obtain that they would suffer 
 them to come aboard our ship. There were two kings of so 
 goodly stature and shape, as is impossible to declare ; the 
 eldest was about forty years of age, the second was a young 
 man of twenty years old ; and when they came on board, the 
 
 * This animal (the luzcrne or luccrn), is by some supposed to be the lynx. 
 
Zb HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 queen and her maids stayed in a very light boat, at an island 
 a quarter of a league off. 
 
 " The mouth of the haven lieth open to the south, half a 
 league broad, and being entered within it, between the east 
 and the north it stretcheth twelve leagues, where it waxeth 
 broader and broader, and makes a gulf about twenty leagues 
 in compass, wherein are five small islands, very fruitful and 
 pleasant ; full of high and broad trees, among the which islands 
 any great navy may ride safe. This land is situated in the 
 parallel of Rome, in 41 degrees and 2 terces. The 5th of May 
 we departed." 
 
 Verruzano found vines and grapes, as the Northmen had 
 found them in Vinland so many years before, and he also 
 speaks of " oaks and cypress trees, and other sorts unknown 
 in Europe, damson and nut trees. Beasts were there in great 
 abundance, as harts, deer, luzernes, and other kinds." The 
 boats of these Indians were made of one log, hollowed out by 
 means of fire and tools of stone, and large enough to carry ten 
 or fifteen men. '' Their houses were made in circular form, 
 ten or twelve paces in compass, covered with mats of straw, 
 wrought cunningly together." For fifteen days the ship of 
 the Italian captain lay at anchor in the harbor of Newport, 
 while in his boats he made many excursions up the bay, and 
 without doubt visited the spot where Bristol now stands. 
 
 In the year 1614, Adrian Block, a Dutch navigator, starting 
 from New Amsterdam, first of all Europeans sailed through 
 Hurlgate, explored the coast of Connecticut, and fixed his 
 own name upon that island to which Verruzano had given the 
 name of the mother of his royal employer. "Afterward, 
 like his Italian predecessor, he sailed into Narragansett Bay, 
 where he commemorated the fiery aspect of the place, caused 
 by the red clay in some portions of its shores, by giving it the 
 name of Roodt Eylandt, — the Red Island, — and by easy trans- 
 position, Rhode Island." * It is very probable that his vessel 
 anchored in the harbors of the Mount Hope Lands, but no 
 complete narrative of his voyage can now be found. 
 
 * Arnold's Hist, of R. I., I. 70. 
 
Chapter hi. 
 
 THE FIRST VISIT TO MASSASOIET. 
 
 On the 22d of March, 1621, a band of Indian warriors 
 appeared on a hill which overlooked the little settlement of 
 the Plymouth colonists. Their chief was "a very lusty man, 
 grave of countenance, spare of speech, in his attire differing 
 little or nothing from his followers." His face was painted a 
 " sad red" and oiled, as were those of his subjects; a great 
 chain of white bone beads was about his neck, and from it 
 hung a little bag of tobacco. "In his bosom, hanging in a 
 string, was a great long knife." The- faces of some of the 
 warriors were only half painted, others were stained with 
 various colors, while some cheeks were decorated with crosses 
 and with the strange figures in which the savage taste de- 
 lighted. The bodies of some were naked, others were clad 
 in skins. All the Indians bore the weapons common to sav- 
 age warfare in their hands, and "all were strong, tall men in 
 appearance." They were chosen warriors from the Pokano- 
 ket tribe of Indians, and their chieftain was Massasoiet. 
 
 When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massasoiet was 
 one of the most powerful of the North American sachems, 
 thougli his dominions had been terribly afflicted by the same 
 pestilence which, shortly before that time, had almost annihi- 
 lated the other Indian tribes of New England. Nearly all 
 
 * This name is iisuall.v written Massasoit. The historical writers of the earlier 
 days seemed to recognize an additional vowel sound which this later spelling by 
 no means conveys ; the older form has therefore been adopted here. 
 
28 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 the tribes inhabiting the country lying between the Massachu- 
 setts and the Narragansett bays acknowledged his supreme 
 control, and many of the surrounding tribes also owned their 
 dependence upon him. 
 
 Under the general name of Pokanokets all these smaller 
 tribes were included. The ravages of the plague had reduced 
 the number of their warriors from three thousand to five Imn- 
 dred, but the Wampanoags, the particular tribe of Massasoiet 
 and his successor, Philip, had suffei-ed less severely than their 
 neighbors ; by reason of the fertility of the land which they 
 inhabited, and the uncommon facilities for fishing which its 
 waters afforded, they were rapidly i-ecovering from its devas- 
 tating effects. At this time, however, the number of their 
 fighting men did not exceed sixty. 
 
 Massasoiet had heard strange tidings of this band of colo- 
 nists which had come from unknown lands beyond the sea. 
 Stories of their undaunted courage, their unshaken spirit in 
 the midst of the most terrible trials, and above all, of those 
 wondrous weapons whose mighty and mysterious voice called 
 their victims to instant death, had reached his ears. With 
 the genius of a statesman, he saw at once the advantages 
 which would result from an alliance with such powerful neigh- 
 bors, and so at the earliest possible moment he had come to 
 make with them a treaty of peace. The result of the visit 
 was satisfactory to both parties. A treaty, proposed by the 
 Governor, and agreed to by Massasoiet, was concluded, " and 
 its conditions were faithfully observed for a period of fifty- 
 five years, exhibiting an instance of unexampled good faith, 
 fidelity and honesty in both parties." 
 
 In July, 1621, Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins were 
 sent by Governor Bradford to return the visit of Massasoiet. 
 The object of the journey was "to gain a better knowledge 
 of the country, to ascertain the strength and power of the 
 sacliem, to apologize for some misbehaviors, to strengthen 
 and regulate an intercourse, to procure corn, and to strengthen 
 their mutual good understanding." They carried with them, 
 as presents, a horseman's laced coat of red cotton and a cop- 
 
THE FIRST VISIT TO MASSASOIET. 29 
 
 per chain. With them went tlie Indian, Squanto, as guide and 
 interpreter.* 
 
 The residence of the chieftain was at Sowams, in tlie terri- 
 tory of Pokanoket. When the English landed at Patuxet, the 
 name Montop (or Monthaup), which had been given by the 
 Indians to the hill in Bristol, was by them anglicized to Mount 
 Hope, and the name of Mount Hope Neck was given to the 
 whole country as far as Miles' Bridge, in Swanzea. " On 
 this neck were three Indian villages, — Montop, located near 
 the Mount ; Kikemuit, around the spring of that name, and 
 Sowams, or Sowamset, near the spot where the village of 
 Warren now stands," f and not far from the old boundary line 
 between Warren and Bristol. As Massasoiet was absent when 
 they reached his residence, one of the Plymouth men at- 
 tempted to charge his gun, in order to give notice of their 
 arrival, but the women and children were greatly frightened, 
 and their terror could not be appeased until he had desisted, 
 and the interpreter had explained their pacific intentions. 
 The chief, having been apprised of their arrival, soon returned, 
 and received them with much joy ; he accepted, with pleas- 
 ure, the presents which they had brought, and immediately 
 proceeded to attire himself therewith. The salute which they 
 gave him on his arrival, by discharging their muskets, seemed 
 to charm him greatly, and the gorgeous raiment delighted 
 both the sachem and his followers. The Englishmen re- 
 quested Massasoiet to send this chain as a token, whenever he 
 sent any messengers to Plymouth, in order that no deception 
 might be practiced. To all the requests which they brought 
 forward, Massasoiet gave a ready assent, and after he had 
 addressed the messengers he harangued his own people, set- 
 ting forth his authority over more than thirty places, and 
 directing them to carry their furs and skins to the English. 
 
 * Squanto was the sole remaining native at Patuxet, or Plymouth, when the Pil- 
 grims landed. He was one of the twenty-seven Indians who had been treacher- 
 ously carried away some years before by the English Captain, Hunt. He had lived 
 for some time in London, and had learned a little English. He became greatly at- 
 tached to the Plymouth colonists, and continued their firm friend until his death. 
 His name is also written Squantum and Tisquantum. 
 
 tFessenden's History of Warren. 
 
30 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 His speech was received with great applause. " After this," 
 the narrator goes on, " lie lighted tobacco for us, and fell to 
 discoursing of England and the King's majesty." He en- 
 treated Winslow to use his influence with the colony to pre- 
 vent the French from trading at Narragansett, saying that " it 
 was King James' country and he was King James' man." He 
 evidently feared the power of the Narragansetts ; said that 
 they were a strong people, and had suffered nothing from the 
 plague. 
 
 As Massasoiet had not been informed of the intended visit 
 of the colonists, and had been absent for some time before 
 their arrival, no provisions had been collected at Sovvams. 
 The sachem and his guests were therefore compelled to go 
 supperless to bed, a striking illustration of the unthrift which 
 characterizes savage life. The abode of the chief was a wig- 
 wam a little larger than those of his followers. The sleeping- 
 place was a platform of boards, raised somewhat above the 
 p-round and covered with a thin mat. On this bed, says the 
 English chronicler, Massasoiet placed his visitors, " with him- 
 self and his wife, they at one end and the Englishmen at the 
 other, and two more of Massasoiet's men pressed by and upon 
 them, so that they were worse weary of the lodging than the 
 journey." 
 
 On the next day came many of the neighboring chiefs with 
 their followers to see the visitors. At one o'clock of that day 
 Massasoiet was able to set upon the table two large boiled 
 fishes which had been shot that morning. These fish were 
 all the food at hand with which to satisfy the hunger of the 
 sachem's guests, now numbering somewhat more than forty. 
 It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that Winslow and Hop- 
 kins, notwithstanding the fact that Massasoiet importuned 
 them to stay longer, deemed it best to depart on that day, 
 which they did, leaving the chief both grieved and ashamed 
 that he could entertain them no better. 
 
Chapter iv. 
 
 THE SECOND VISIT TO MASSASOIET. 
 
 In March, 1623, tidings came to Plymouth that Massasoiet 
 was sick and likely to die, and also that a Dutch vessel liad 
 been stranded near his residence. The Indians, when sick, 
 always expected visits from their friends. It therefore seemed 
 best to Governor Bradford to send another party to visit the 
 chief and to have a conference with the Dutch. The talents 
 of Edward Winslow, his former visit, his friendship to Mas- 
 sasoiet, and his knowledge of the Dutch language marked him 
 as the most fit man for the expedition. With him went, as a 
 companion, an English gentleman whose home was in London 
 but who was sojourning at Plymouth, and who greatly desired 
 to see the Indian country. For this young man, fate had in 
 store a most glorious future. To him it was reserved to take 
 the lead of the English people in their struggle against the 
 arbitrary power of the Crown, and to shed his life-blood in 
 that great contest which gave to England a free constitution. 
 His name was John Hampden. An Indian, Hobbamock, went 
 as guide, for Squanto, Winslow's guide in his first visit, had 
 died some time before. The story is given in Winslow's own 
 graphic words, though his account is somewhat shortened. 
 " We set forward and lodged the first night at Namasket.* 
 The next day, about one o'clock, we came to a ferry f in Combi- 
 tant's country. Upon my discharging my piece, divers Indians 
 came to us from a house not far off. There they told us that 
 Massasowat was dead and that day buried. This news struck 
 
 * Middleborough, Mass. t Across the Taunton River. 
 
32 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 US blank, but especially Hobbamock, who desired we might 
 return with all speed. I told him I would first think of it, 
 considering now that he being dead, Combitant was most 
 like to succeed him, and that we were not above three miles 
 from Mattapuyst, his dwelling-place. Although he were but a 
 hollow-hearted friend to us, I thought no time so fit as this to 
 enter into more friendly terms with him and the rest of the 
 sachems thereabout ; and though it were somewhat dangerous 
 in respect of our personal safety, because myself and Hob- 
 bamock had been employed upon a service against him which 
 he might fitly revenge, yet esteeming it the best means, 
 leaving the event to God in His mercy, I resolved to put it in 
 practice if Master Hamden and Hobbamock durst attempt it 
 with me; whom I found willing to that or any other course 
 might tend to the general good. So we went toward Matta- 
 puyst. In the way, Hobbamock brake forth into these 
 speeches: ' My loving sachem, 0, my loving sachem! Many 
 have I known, but never any like thee.' And turning him to 
 me, said, whilst I lived, I should never see his like amongst 
 the Indians ; saying he was no liar, he was not bloody and 
 cruel, like other Indians; from anger and passion he was soon 
 reclaimed ; easy to be reconciled toward such as had offended 
 him ; and that he governed his men better with few strokes, 
 than others did with many ; truly loving where he loved ; yea, 
 he feared we had not a faithful friend left among the Indians; 
 showing how he ofttimes restrained their malice, etc., — con- 
 tinuing a long speech with signs of unfeigned sorrow. 
 
 '• At length we came to Mattapuyst and went to the sachem's 
 place, but Combitant was not there but at Puckanokick, which 
 was five or six miles off. The sachem's wife gave us friendly 
 entertainment. Here we enquired again concerning Massa- 
 sowat ; they thought him dead, but knew no certainty. Where- 
 upon I hired one to go with all expedition to Puckanokick. 
 that we might know the certainty thereof, and withal to ac- 
 quaint Combitant with our there being. About half an hour 
 before the sun setting the messenger returned and told us he 
 was not dead, though there was no hope we should find him 
 
THE SECOND VISIT TO MASSASOIET. 33 
 
 living. Upon this we were mucli revived, and set forward 
 with all speed, though it was late within night ere we got 
 thither. When we came thither, we found the house so full of 
 men as Ave could scarce get in, though thej used their best 
 diligence to make way for us. There were they in the midst 
 of their charms for him, making such a hellish noise as it 
 distempered us who were well, and therefore unlike to ease 
 him that was sick. About him were six or eight women who 
 chafed his arms, legs, and thighs to keep heat in him. When 
 they had made an end of their charming, one told him that 
 his friends, the English, were come to see him. Having un- 
 derstanding left, but his sight wholly gone, he asked who was 
 come. They told him, Winsnow, — for they cannot pronounce 
 the letter 1, but ordinarily use n in place thereof. He de- 
 sired to speak with me. When I came to him, and they told 
 him of it, he put forth his hand to me, which I took. Then 
 he said twice, though very inwardly, 'Keen Winsnow?' 
 which is to say, 'Art thou Winslow?' I answered ' Ahhe,' 
 that is, yes. Then he doubled these words : ' Matta neen 
 wonckanet nanem, Winsnow I ' that is to say, ' 0, AVinslow! I 
 shall never see thee again.' Then I called Hobbamock and 
 desired him to tell Massasowat that the Grovernor, hearing of 
 his sickness, was sorry for the same ; and though by many 
 businesses he could not come himself, yet he sent me with 
 such things for him as he thought most likely to do good in 
 this extremity, and whereof if he pleased to take I would pres- 
 ently give him ; which he desired, and having a confection 
 of many comfortable conserves on the point of my knife, I 
 gave him some, which I could scarce get through his teeth. 
 When it was dissolved in his mouth he swallowed the juice 
 of it; whereat those about him much rejoiced, saying he had 
 not swallowed anything in two days before. Then I desired 
 to see his mouth, which was exceedingly furred and his tongue 
 swelled in such a manner as it was not possible for him to 
 eat such meat as they had. Then I washed his mouth and 
 scraped his tongue. After which I gave him more of the 
 confection, which he swallowed with more readiness. Then 
 he desired to drink ; I dissolved some of it in water and gave 
 
 3 
 
34 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 him thereof. Within half an hour tliis wrought a great alter- 
 ation in him in the eyes of all that beheld him. Presently after, 
 his sight began to come to him, which gave him and us good 
 encouragement. I inquired how he slept, and they said he slept 
 not in two days before. Then I gave him more, and told him 
 of a mishap we had by the way, in breaking a bottle of drink, 
 saying if he would send any of his men to Patuxet, I would 
 send for more of the same ; also for chickens to make him 
 broth, and for other things which I knew were good for him ; 
 and would stay the return of his messenger if he desired. 
 This he took marvelous kindly, and appointed some, who 
 were ready to go by two of the clock in the morning ; against 
 which time I made ready a letter. 
 
 " He requested me, that the day following I would take my 
 piece and kill him some fowl, and make him some English 
 pottage, such as he had eaten at Plymouth, which I prom- 
 ised. After, his stomach coming to him, I must needs make 
 him some v;ithout fowl, before I went abroad. I caused a 
 woman to bruise some corn, and take the flour from it, and 
 set over the broken corn, in a pipkin, for they have earthen 
 pots of all sizes. When the day broke we went out, it being 
 now March, to seek herbs, but could not find any but straw- 
 berry leaves, of which I gathered a handful and put into the 
 same ; and because I had nothing to relish it, I went forth 
 again and pulled up a sassafras root and sliced apiece thereof 
 and boiled it till it had a good relish, and then took it out 
 again. The broth being boiled, I strained it through my 
 handkerchief, and gave him at least a pint, which he drank, 
 and liked it very well. After this his sight mended more and 
 more; also, he took some rest; insomuch as we with admira- 
 tion blessed God for giving His blessing to such raw and 
 ignorant means, himself and all of them acknowledging us 
 the instruments of his preservation. 
 
 "That morning he caused me to spend in going from one to 
 another amongst those who were sick in the town, requesting 
 me to wash their mouths also, and give to each of them some 
 of the same I gave him, saying they were good folk. This 
 pains I took with willingness, though it were much offensive 
 
THE SECOND VISIT TO MASSASOIET. 35 
 
 to mc. After dinner he desired me to get liim a goose or 
 duck, and make him some pottage therewitli, with as much 
 speed as I could. So I took a man Avith me, and made a shot 
 at a couple of ducks, some six score paces off, and killed one, 
 at which he wondered. So we returned forthwith and 
 dressed it, making more broth therewith, which he much 
 desired. Never did I see a man so low brought, recover in 
 that measure in so short a time. 
 
 "About an hour after he began to be very sick, cast up tlie 
 broth, and began to bleed at the nose, and so continued the 
 space of four hours. Concluding now he must die, they 
 asked me what I thought of liim. I answered, his case was 
 desperate, yet it might be it would save his life ; for if it 
 ceased in time, he could forthwith sleep and take rest, which 
 was the principal thing he wanted. Not long after his blood 
 stayed, and he slept at least six or eight hours. When he 
 awaked I washed his face, and bathed and suppled his beard 
 and nose with a linen cloth. But on a sudden he chopped 
 his nose in the water and drew up some therein, and sent it 
 forth with such violence as he began to bleed afresh. Then 
 they thought there was no hope ; but we perceived it was but 
 the tenderness of the nostril, and therefore told them I 
 thought it would stay presently, as indeed it did. 
 
 " The messengers were now returned ; but finding his stom- 
 ach come to him he would not have the chickens killed, but 
 kept them for breed. Many whilst we were there came to 
 see him ; some, by their report, from a place not less than a 
 hundred miles. To all that came, one of liis chief men 
 pelated the manner of his sickness, how near he was spent, 
 how his friends, the English, came to see him, and how sud- 
 denly they recovered to him this strength they saw. Upon 
 this, his recovery, he brake forth into these speeches : ' Now 
 I see the English are my friends, and love me, and whilst I 
 live I will never forget this kindness they have showed me.' 
 Being fitted out for our return, we took our leave of him ; 
 who returned many thanks to our Governor, and also to our- 
 selves for our labor and love ; the like did all that were about 
 him. So we departed." 
 
Chapter v. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF MASSASOIET TO THE BEGINNING 
 
 OF KING Philip's war. 
 
 Massasoiet lived for thirty-nine years after the second visit, 
 and ever remained the firm friend of the white men. The 
 election of Winslow to the governorship served to render 
 him still more attached to the colonists. Whatever he could 
 accomplish by his influence, or bring about through his 
 power, was used to strengthen their interests. He saw ship- 
 load after shipload of new settlers disembarking and landing 
 upon his ancestral domains. For all these he cheerfully fur- 
 nished homes by making new grants from the unimproved 
 but fertile lands of his broad territory. Ere he died, the 
 feeble band which had landed at Plymouth had become a pow- 
 erful colony ; already their kinsmen began to look with covet- 
 ous eyes upon the fair Indian heritage, and day by day to en- 
 croach upon the domains of their dusky neighbors. Massa- 
 soiet beheld without alarm their attempts at territorial ag- 
 grandizement ; his savage mind, knowing nothing of the 
 mighty energy, the resistless force which had characterized 
 the career of his allies in past centuries, could not foresee 
 that the time would soon come, when, even upon the vast con- 
 tinent of America, there would not be room enough for the 
 white men and the Indians to live peaceably together, that 
 step by step the Indian must recede to the great plains lying 
 far to the westward, there gradually to fall before the deadly 
 weapons and still more deadly vices of their once feeble 
 neighbors. The Indian sachem saw his tribe increasing in 
 
DEATH OF MASSASOIET TO KING PHILIP S WAR. 6i 
 
 power and influence among the neighboring tribes exactly in 
 proportion as the strength of his English allies increased. 
 His lands, depopulated as they had almost been by the pes- 
 tilence, seemed to him large enough to furnish homes to all 
 who might ask for them, and he went down to his grave in 
 happy ignorance of the terrible fate which was so soon to 
 befall his unfortunate descendants. 
 
 Early in the year 1662, Massasoiet died and was succeeded 
 by his son Wamsutta. The reign of this ill-starred chieftain, 
 who is better known in history by his English name of Alex- 
 ander, was short. Summoned by the English to attend the 
 court at Plymouth, to answer some false accusation which 
 had been made against him, his haughty spirit could not brook 
 the indignities to which he was exposed ; chafing under the 
 disgraces which had been heaped upon him, he fell an easy 
 victim to the attacks of a fever, which was no doubt brought 
 on by the unfeeling and brutal treatment of the men to 
 whom his father had shown so many kindnesses. Before he 
 had been for a year the chief of the Wampanoags he died, 
 and was succeeded by his brother Philip. 
 
 Of the first years of Philip's reign we know but little. He 
 continued to grant new lands to the white settlers, as his 
 father and brother had done before him, and gave the colonists 
 reason to suppose that he would continue the peaceful policy 
 of Massasoiet. Not such was the intention of this Indian 
 warrior ; his comprehensive mind clearly discerned the in- 
 evitable fate which must befall his people unless the advance 
 of the white men was checked, and his active brain early be- 
 gan to devise measures which might restore the waning 
 supremacy of his race. 
 
 Fair now is the prospect which delights the sons and the 
 daughters of Bristol as they stand upon the summit of 
 Mount Hope and gaze upon the matchless panorama of 
 verdant fields, of waving forests, and of sparkling waters which 
 lies unveiled before them. The ceaseless energy and the 
 wise forethought of their fathers have made these fields to 
 *' blossom as the rose," their tireless daring has subdued the 
 
38 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 wild forces of the sea, and made it the highway upon which 
 the products of lands lying beneath far distant skies might 
 come to contril)ute to their comfort and to increase their 
 riches. 
 
 But fairer and dearer to the eye of the Indian chieftain 
 was the spectacle which more than two hundred years ago 
 entranced his wandering gaze. Every spot on which his eye 
 rested was I'ich to him from association and tradition. Here 
 his ancestors for unknown ages had lived and died. The woods 
 had echoed to their joyous shouts as the fierce wild beasts fell 
 before their victorious weapons ; the waters had flashed be- 
 neath their canoes as the vigorous arms of the dusky oarsmen 
 urged them over the tossing billows ; there were the glades 
 where the shy maiden had loitered with her delighted lover, 
 and just beyond were the green hillsides where the bones of 
 his fathers were resting. With an intensity which we of this 
 age of change can scarcely realize, the Indian loved the 
 home of his ancestors, and every look which Philip gave to 
 that beautiful picture must have encouraged him to more 
 mighty exertions to secure to his descendants this ancient 
 patrimony of his race. 
 
 The fields which he sold to the grasping white men were 
 sold for weapons with which he might defend the lands of 
 Mount Hope. Week by week, and month by month, the work of 
 preparation went on, and while the English were resting in 
 fancied security in their cheaply bought homesteads, Philip 
 was journeying from tribe to tribe, and by his burning zeal 
 inciting each warrior to bear his part in the heroic but unavail- 
 ing struggle which was so soon to come. In all his negotia- 
 tions, the son of Massasoiet proved himself a man of extraor- 
 dinary ability, the most wonderful Indian leader whom this 
 country has produced. Tribes which for centuries had been 
 deadly enemies were by him induced to clasp hands in friend- 
 ship, and to join the alliance against the common enemy. The 
 colonists heard, from time to time, the mutterings of the com- 
 ing storm, but did not dream of its terrible might until it was 
 almost upon them. The Indian was never inclined rashly to 
 
DEATH OF MASSAF^OIET TO KIN*; rHILlP's WAR. 39 
 
 share his intentions witli his neighbors, and the far-reaching 
 plan of destruction which Philip had devised made secrecy 
 more tlian usually necessary. Nearly all the tribes of New 
 England had been drawn into the conspiracy and were only 
 awaiting the signal from the sachem atPokanoket to descend 
 with torch, tomahawk and scalping-knife, upon the lonely 
 cabins in the country lying Ijetween the Penobscot and the 
 Hudson rivers. 
 
 The spring of the year 1676 had been fixed upon as tlie 
 time for the general uprising. No wars for thirty-eight years 
 had disturbed the peace of the New England colonies, and 
 such was their sense of security, and such the art of the 
 Indian leader, that but for one of those accidents which often 
 thwart the best-laid plans, and which forced the Indians to 
 begin the war a little sooner than they had intended, nothing 
 could have saved them from entire destruction. 
 
 John Sausaman, a Natick Indian, had been educated by 
 Eliot, the Indian apostle, and had by him been baptized. 
 Like most of his race who embraced Christianity, he soon 
 became weary of the cold formality of the Puritan colonists, 
 and again took up his abode with his kindred. When Philip 
 went to Plymouth, in 1662, to renew the league which had 
 been made by his father, Massasoiet, Sausaman attended him 
 as secretary and interpreter. Soon after this he committed 
 some offence which brought upon him the displeasure of 
 Philip, and, fearing the chieftain's wrath, he returned to 
 Ehot, was rebaptized, and again took up his residence at 
 Natick. Here he soon made himself not only to be held in 
 great estimation by the Naticks, but also greatly valued by the 
 English. During his sojourn with Philip he had been en- 
 trusted with a knowledge of all his plans, and when again a 
 resident of Natick he had occasion frequently to visit the 
 country of the Wampanoags, and often met the sachem him- 
 self. Being a man of much shrewdness, he soon learned the 
 desperate plans of Philip and communicated what he knew to 
 his friends, the English. Shortly after this time, in the 
 spring of the year 1675, he disappeared, and after much 
 
40 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 search liis dead body was found under the ice in a pond in 
 what is now Middleborough, Mass. It was thought that he 
 had been killed by tlie Indians because they suspected him to 
 have disclosed their plot. The government of Plymouth, 
 even after this warning, took no other precaution than to 
 direct a military watch to be kept over Philip's territory. 
 For the murder of Sausaman three of Philip's men were tried, 
 condemned on evidence which would by no means be deemed 
 sufficient at the present day, and executed without any delay. 
 This so exasperated the followers of Philip that he could no 
 longer restrain their violence. How much of his plan had 
 been detected by Sausaman he did not know, but fearing that 
 the colonists were apprised of its full extent, he deemed it 
 best no longer to check the ardor of his subjects, but at once 
 to begin the war. 
 
 The history of this war has been carefully written l)y able 
 historians; it seems advisable, therefore, merely to recount 
 its principal events, and to devote these pages especially to a 
 description of what was done in the Mount Hope territory and 
 the lands bordering upon it. The account follows closely 
 the narrative of Capt. Benjamin Church, who was an eye-wit- 
 ness of most of the scenes which he describes, and whose 
 truthfulness has never been questioned. 
 
Chapter vi. 
 
 KING PHILIP S WAR. 
 
 In tlie spring of 1675 Philip sent messengers to the chiefs 
 of the surrounding tribes, urging them at once to rise against 
 the English. Among the rest, six men were sent to Awa- 
 slionks, the squaw sachem of the Seaconnet Indians. Shortly 
 before this time, however, an English captain had settled in 
 the Seaconnet territory who was destined to exert a mighty 
 influence in the war which followed, and whose name at last 
 carried with it as much of terror to the Indians as did that 
 of Coeur de Lion to the wild hordes upon the deserts of the 
 East. His name was Benjamin Church. Captain Church 
 ever displayed a most wonderful tact in dealing with the 
 Indians. He had already acquired much influence with 
 Awashonks, and was invited to be present at the dance which 
 was to follow the arrival of the Wampanoag envoys. When 
 Church reached the place appointed he found the princess 
 herself leading the dance, while around her were gathered 
 hundreds of warriors from all parts of her kingdom. The 
 Mount Hope men were also there, " with their faces painted, 
 their hair trimmed up in comb fashion,* and their powder- 
 horns and shot-bags at their backs," as was the custom 
 among the Indian tribes when war had been resolved upon. 
 The conference which followed was long and stormy, and 
 more than once the life of Church was in imminent danger. 
 The sturdy warrior manifested no concern for his own safety. 
 He told the Indians that " if nothing but war would satisfy 
 
 * Like the comi) of a cock. 
 
42 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 tliem, lie believed he would be a thorn in their sides," and at 
 last persuaded the wavering Awashonks to throw herself upon 
 the protection of the government of Plymouth. At her ear- 
 nest solicitation he set out for the English colony, to confer 
 with its governor in her behalf, and on the way met Wceta- 
 moe,* Queen of Pocasset, whom he also induced to promise 
 to remain faithful to the colonists. At Pocasset, Church met 
 Peter Nannuit, the husband of Weetamoe, who informed him 
 that Philip was bent upon war — that he had held a dance at 
 Mount Hope for several weeks, and had entertained young- 
 men from all parts of the country. He also said that James 
 Brown, f of Swansey, and Samuel Gorton had gone to Mount 
 Hope during the dance. The young men wished to kill Mr. 
 Brown, but Philip pi'evented them, saying that his father had 
 " charged him to show kindness to Mr. Brown." Before 
 Church could return from Plymouth to Seaconnet the war 
 had already begun, and the Seaconnets, like all their neigh- 
 bors, were drawn into it ; but although his mission was then 
 unsuccessful it was productive of much good toward the end 
 of the war, for those Indians were by him persuaded to aban- 
 don the fortunes of Philip, and to join themselves as allies to 
 the English, when the colonists most needed their assistance. 
 
 On Sunday, June 20th, the war was begun by the Indians. 
 They plundered the empty houses of the settlers on Pokanoket 
 neck. The inhabitants of these houses were all at church, and 
 one account says that the Indians offered no violence to the 
 settlers whom they met, because an idea prevailed that the 
 side would be conquered which should shed the first blood. 
 Another writer records that the Indians, while engaged in 
 hostile demonstrations, were fired upon and wounded by the 
 colonists. 
 
 An express was sent immediately to Governor Winslow to 
 acquaint him with the situation. He at once issued an order 
 
 * Weetamoe was the widow of Alexander, and sister of Wootonekanuslie, 
 Philip's wife. 
 
 + Brown was a magistrate of Plymouth from 1670-75, and was very active in the 
 war. At this time he bore letters from the Plymouth government to Philip, which 
 were designed to pacify Philip. Gorton was his interpreter. 
 
KING PHILIP S WAR. 
 
 43 
 
 The Cold Spring Monument. 
 
 calling' out the Ply- 
 mouth Colony troops, 
 notified the Massa- 
 chu.setts governor of 
 the state of affairs, 
 and appointed the fol- 
 lowing Thursday to 
 be observed as a day 
 of fasting and prayer. 
 The I'lymouth forces 
 reached Swansey 
 June 21, and were 
 posted at Major 
 Brown's house and 
 at Miles' Bridge.* 
 These garrisons were 
 at Mattapoiset, in Swansey, twelve miles from Mount Hope. 
 In Swansey, then a town covering some miles of territory, 
 the first English blood was shed. A party had been sent out 
 from the garrison at Mattapoiset to bring in some corn which 
 had been left in a deserted house. The Indians fell upon 
 them and killed and mortally wounded six men. The noise 
 of the fighting was heard at the garrison, but the affair was 
 over before reinforcements came. It is said that Philip wept 
 when he heard of the death of these men. On the 24tli of 
 June the colonists were again attacked wliile returning from 
 tlie fast day service. One man was killed and two were 
 wounded. 
 
 The main body of the forces was stationed at Miles' Bridge, 
 because over this was the best route to Philip's country, but 
 Philip by this time had begun to fear lest he might be hemmed 
 in upon the Mount Hope peninsula, and so on June 29th, 
 with all his men, he left Pokanoket and passed over to Po- 
 casset (Tiverton). On Wednesday, the 30th, the whole 
 English force marched down Mount Hope Neck towards 
 Philip's abode. At Keekarauit were found the heads of eight 
 
 Miles' Bridg-e was over the Palmer River, four miles north of Warrei 
 
44 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 men set upon poles. Two miles beyond they came to the 
 empty wigwams, where many things were seen scattered 
 about in great confusion, thus attesting the hasty flight of 
 tlieir owners. Half a mile further on they passed through 
 fields of corn and came to Philip's own wigwam. Two miles 
 more brought them to Bristol Ferry, without seeing any In- 
 dians. The Indian leader had wisely determined that the 
 war must be waged in wider fields, and not until he saw his 
 allies deserting his lost fortunes, his warriors diminishing 
 daily in numbers, and all his hopes withering, did he come 
 back to make the last desperate and unavailing stand in de- 
 fense of his country and his life. The English remained that 
 night near the sea, and on the next day returned to Swansey, 
 being convinced that no Indians remained at Mount Hope. 
 
 Captain Church insisted that Philip had gone to Pocasset to 
 induce the Indians living in that part of the country to join 
 the conspiracy ; that he had not been beaten out of the Neck 
 but had gone of his own accord, and that it was advisable to 
 figlit him at once at Pocasset, before the wavering tribes had 
 cast in their lot with his. His counsels were disregarded, 
 and the English commander resolved to build a fort which 
 should command the principal entrance (by land) to tlie In- 
 dian possessions. The plan of building a fort, Church de- 
 nounced as being most absurd. It would consume much 
 time; forts were useless in Indian warfare, and why, more- 
 over, should they build a fort in a country already deserted. 
 Nevertheless, the fort was built, * and instead of a body suf- 
 
 * Note from Fesse/ideu's Historu of Warren, 1845. The writer, after dilig-ent 
 search, was fortunate enough to discover the remains of this fort. They are sit- 
 iiated opposite the narrows of Kickemuit River in Bristol, on the top of the most 
 southwestern of several hills, on the north side of a cove. They consist now chiefly 
 of the remains of the flre-place in the fort. This lire-place was made by preparing- 
 a suitable excavation and laying low stone walls at the sides and the end, for 
 which flat stones were used, evidently brought from the adjoining beach. The 
 remains of these ruins are now beneath the surface of the ground, which at this 
 place is depressed several inches below the average surface of the ground in the 
 immediate vicinity. The hill is fast wearing away, by the action of the water 
 which washes its base. The wearing away has already reached the flre-place, from 
 which the charcoal and burnt stones are often falling down the steeply inclined 
 plane beneath. It was here that Captain Church, when on his singular and adven- 
 turous expedition to capture Annawan, roasted hoi-se-beef for his men on the 28th 
 of August, I'jTO. Here, also, he confined several prisoners; he "hadcatched ten 
 
KiNCx Philip's war. 45 
 
 ficiently strong to oppose the force which the Indian chief 
 had gathered at Pocasset, only fifty men (and those unskilled 
 in savage warfare) were sent to oppose him. 
 
 (The land on which the fort was erected is now owned by 
 Mr. Seth W. Thayer.) 
 
 Captain Fuller was the leader of this company, and Church 
 was its lieutenant. Fuller asked Church whether he would take 
 the leadership, saying that " he feared the travel and fatigue 
 would be too much for him, as he was ancient and lieavy." 
 The future conqueror of Philip was only too glad of the op- 
 portunity, and cheerfully took it upon himself to excuse Cap- 
 tain Fuller from the inconveniences which might befall him if 
 he ventured into the hostile territory. For himself, he said 
 that he " would rather do anything in the world than stay and 
 build that fort." The expedition was only successful in afford- 
 ing its leader an opportunity to display his matchless prowess. 
 His men did not properly support him, and he was forced to 
 return to the garrison at Mount Hope. 
 
 Shortly after this Philip was compelled to retire from the 
 Pocasset territory, and fled to the Nipmuck country. Then 
 the tide of war rolled away from the Mount Hope lands and 
 beat with terrible fury against the unprotected settlements 
 in the country lying between Maine and New York. For 
 more than a year the dreadful conflict was carried on. All 
 New England was in mourning for " the flower and strength 
 of the country, who had fallen in battle or been murdered by 
 the enemy." At least six hundred men were killed ; thirteen 
 towns in Massachusetts, Plymouth and Rhode Island were 
 entirely destroyed and many others were greatly damaged. 
 " Six hundred buildings, mostly dwelling-houses, were con- 
 sumed by fire." The colonists expended more than .£100,000 
 in their effort to suppress the war, and the loss in goods and 
 cattle was immense. But the doom of the Indians was sealed. 
 Dreadful as was the loss of the English, still more horrible 
 was the fate of the unhappy Philip. One by one the con- 
 
 Indiaiis, " and they guarded them all night in one of thetiankers of the old English 
 garrison. See Church's Historj-, page 130, Ed. of 183T. 
 
46 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 federate tribes abandoned him ; the friends wlio had flocked 
 to his side in his prosperity deserted him when Fortune no 
 longer smiled. His brother and his most trusted followers 
 fell in battle at his side. His wife and his only son were 
 taken by the Englisli. Day by day his dominion was con- 
 tracted until he could no longer call the ground which he 
 occupied his own. He was forced to leave the open coun- 
 try in which the Red men had hunted for unknown ages, and 
 to take refuge in the deepest recesses of the forests and the 
 swamps. Yet even then, so high and unyielding was his 
 temper that he put to death one of his followers who Jiad pre- 
 sumed to speak of peace. He seemed to bear a charmed life, 
 and passed unharmed through the most deadly perils. He 
 assumed so many disguises that it was almost impossible to 
 recognize him, and this fact may perhaps account for his long 
 immunity from wounds. The battle in tlie Bridgewater 
 swamp seemed to shatter his last hopes of safety. After the 
 fight one of Captain Church's Indians said to him, " Sir ! you 
 have now made Pliilip ready to die, for you have made him as 
 poor and miserable as he used to make the English. You 
 have now killed or taken all his relations. We believe you 
 will soon have his head, and this affair has almost broken his 
 heart." The free child of nature, who had wandei'cd unre- 
 strained through mountain forest and verdant meadow, now 
 hunted and despairing, " like the deer returned to his natal 
 spot to die." 
 
 Not from the weapon of the white man was to come the 
 death-bearing missile. His priests had assured him that by 
 the hand of the English he should not die, and truly was their 
 prophecy fulfilled. Captain Church had succeeded, sometime 
 before, in reconciling Awashonks to the English, and had 
 taken one hundred and forty of her subjects into his service. 
 During the first part of the war the Plymouth government had 
 treated Church most shamefully, but was forced, finally, to 
 give him a command suited to his merits. When the news 
 was brought to him that Philip had taken refuge in the swamp 
 at the foot of Mount Hope, he immediately set out with his 
 
KING Philip's war. 47 
 
 company for the place, being determined at once to effect liis 
 captnre and thus terminate the war. An Indian deserter in- 
 formed him that the sachem and his followers had taken pos- 
 session of a small knoll, on the margin of a miry swamp, and 
 offered his services as a guide. The assaulting company was 
 made up both of Indians and Englishmen. They were directed 
 to approach Philip's camp as silently as possible, and not to 
 show tliemselves until daylight. Church rightly conjectured 
 that the hunted band would rush into the swamp as soon as 
 the alarm was given, and therefore placed a part of his com- 
 pany in ambush behind the trees, an Indian and an English- 
 man being placed together. Philip was relating to his friends 
 a dream which had disheartened him in the night ; the dream 
 had placed him in the hands of his foes, and it seemed to him 
 to presage his speedy end. At this moment one of his fol- 
 lowers happened to glance toward the spot where two of their 
 enemies Avere concealed. The Englishman saw the glance, 
 and, thinking himself discovered, fired his gun. The Poka- 
 nokets, without resisting, at once plunged forward to escape, 
 and Philip rushed straight upon two of the party in ambush. 
 The Englishman first aimed at the chieftain, but his gun 
 missed fire; his companion, Alderman, one of the Seaconnet 
 tribe, fired, his bullet penetrated the heart of Philip, and the 
 terrible warrior fell forward upon his face in the mire of the 
 swamp. * He was instantly dragged forth, and the body was 
 identified from his scarred hand, which had been badly torn 
 some years before by the bursting of a pistol. His head was 
 afterwards cut off, as was also the hand, and the latter 
 was given to Alderman as a trophy. This hand was preserved 
 
 * In 1876 the two hundredth anniversary of Philip's death was observed at Bristol 
 with appropriate ceremonies, under the direction of the Rhode Island Historical 
 Society. On the summit of Mount Hope a boulder monument, erected in 1877, beai-s 
 the inscription : — 
 
 " King Philip, 
 
 Aug-ust 12, 1676, O. S." 
 
 Beside Cold Spring- a massive block of granite records that : — 
 
 " In the Miery Swamp, 166 feet W. S. W. 
 
 from this Spring, according to tradition, 
 
 King Philip fell, August 12, 1676, O. S." 
 
48 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 in a pail of rum and exhibited by its owner throughout the 
 colonies. The headless body was quartered and hung* up to 
 rot above the ground. As he had caused many an English- 
 man's body to lie unburied, so his exulting captors determined 
 that not one of his bones should be buried. 
 
 Thus, on the 12th of August, 1676, fell this illustrious 
 sachem, the most able Indian warrior and leader whom the 
 people of this country have had to fight. By his foes his 
 character has been painted in the darkest colors. It was not 
 in their nature to be magnanimous to a fallen enemy who had 
 inflicted upon them such terrible calamities. A " damnable 
 wretch," a " hellish monster," a " bloody villain," are the 
 epithets which our pious ancestors delighted to bestow upon 
 him, and even the generous Church, in describing his capture, 
 calls him a " doleful, great, dirty beast." But, as the mists 
 of passion have rolled away, the character of the departed 
 chieftain has been rising in the estimation of mankind. We 
 see in him the patriot, brooding over the wrongs which were 
 daily inflicted upon his race, and rising, at last, in righteous 
 indignation to take vengeance upon its insolent and grasping 
 oppressors. Deeds of blood he undoubtedly committed, de- 
 vastation and death ever marked the path of Indian warfare, 
 but no vengeance so inhuman as the burning of the old men, 
 the women and the children, in the wigwams of the Narra- 
 gansett swamp, ever sullied his reputation, and his treatment 
 of his English captives was always more generous than that 
 which his foes accorded to him. For every deed of horror 
 which is charged against the Indians by the historians of that 
 time, a parallel can be found in those same pages where the 
 writers exult, in glowing words, over the chastisements which 
 they, as the chosen instruments of God, have been enabled to 
 inflict upon their heathen enemies. Philip fought as his an- 
 cestors had always fought, but the English met the atrocities 
 which the Indians committed by an atrocity still more brutal, 
 because contrary to all the principles of Christianity, which 
 they ever professed to hold dear. 
 
 At the close of the Indian war only six houses were left 
 
KINO Philip's war. 49 
 
 standing in Svvansey, and the whole neighborhood, swept again 
 and again as it liad been by fire and sword, Avas more 
 desolate than when the English first landed at Pl^^mouth. 
 Even the wigwams of the aborigines had disappeared ; their 
 occupants had either perished by the merciless weapons of 
 their Christian foes, or been sold into a slavery which was to 
 them more horrible than death. The stern decree of the 
 victors hurried to execution all the chiefs who had surren- 
 dered. Only the most insignificant of the captives were 
 spared. Captain Church alone seemed to feel some pity 
 toward his vanquished adversaries, but his merciful counsels 
 were disregarded by the men who had taken no part in actual 
 warfare, and had only looked upon the battle from afar. The 
 ministers,* to whom was referred the question as to what 
 disposition should be made of Philip's son, an interesting 
 boy nine years old, decided that the sins of the father should 
 be visited upon the child, and recommended death. The boy 
 however, was not killed. He was taken from the cool and 
 verdant shores of the Narragansett and shipped as a slave to 
 the Islands of Bermuda, there to die upon the white cliffs, 
 under the fierce rays of the semi-tropical sun. 
 
 The following is Captain Church's own account of the 
 slaying of Philip : — 
 
 " Captain Church, being now at Plymouth again, weary and worn, 
 would have gone home to his wife and family, but the government being 
 solicitous to engage him in the service until Philii) was slain, and pro- 
 mising him satisfaction and redress for some mistreatment he had met 
 with, he fixes for another expedition. 
 
 " He had soon volunteers enough to makeup the company he desired, 
 and marched through the woods until he came to Pocasset. And not 
 seeing or hearing any of the enemy, they went over the ferry to Rhode 
 Island, to refresh themselves. The Captain, with about half a dozen in 
 his company, took horses and rode about eight miles down the Island, 
 to Mr. Sanford's, where he had left his wife. She no sooner saw him, 
 but fainted with surprise, and by the time she was a little revived they 
 spied two horsemen coming a great pace. Captain Church told his 
 company that 'Those men (by their riding) come with tidings.' When 
 they came up, they proved to be Major banford and Captain Golding. 
 They immediately asked Captain Church what he would give to hear 
 
 * Samuel Arnold of Marshfleld and John Cotton of Plymouth. 
 4 
 
50 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 some news of Philip '? He replied, that was what he wanted. They 
 told him they had rode hard with some hopes of overtaking him, and 
 were now come on purpose to inform him that there were just now 
 tidings from Mount Hope. An Indian came down from thence (where 
 Philip's camp now was) to Sandy Point, over against Trip's, and hal- 
 looed, and made signs to be fetched over. And being* fetched over he 
 reported, that he was tied from Philip, 'who (said he) has killed my 
 brother just before I came away, for giving some advice that displeased 
 him.' And said, that he was fled for fear of meeting with the same his 
 brother had met with. Told them also, that Philip was now in Mount 
 Hope Neck. Captain Church thanked them for their good news, and 
 said he hoped by to-morrow morning to have the rogue's head. T he 
 horses that he and his company came on, standing at the door (for they 
 had not been unsaddled), his wife must content herself with a short 
 visit when such game was ahead. They immediately mounted, set spurs 
 to their horses, and away. 
 
 "The two gentlemen that bi'ought him the tidings told him they 
 would gladly wait on him to see the event of the expedition. He 
 thanked them, and told them he should be as fond of their company as 
 any men's; and (in short) they went with him. And they were soon at 
 Trip's ferry (with Captain Church's company), where the deserter was. 
 He was a fellow of good sense and told his story handsomely. He 
 offered Captain Church to pilot him to Philip and help to kill him, that 
 he might revenge his brother's death. Told him that Philip was now 
 upon a little spot of upland that was in the south end of the miry 
 swamp, just at the foot of the mount, which was a spot of ground that 
 Captain (Jhurch was well acquainted with. 
 
 " By that time they were over the ferry and come near the ground 
 half the night was spent. The Captain commands a halt, and bringing 
 the company together, he asked Major Sanford's and Captain Golding's 
 advice, what method it was best to take in making the onset; but they 
 declined giving him any advice, telling him that his great experience 
 and success forbid their taking upon them to give advice. Then Cap- 
 tain Church offered Captain Golding the honor (if he would please 
 accept of it), to beat up Philip's headquarters. He accepted the offer, 
 and had his allotted number drawn out to him, and the pilot. Captain 
 Church's instructions to him were, to be very careful in his approach to 
 the enemy, and be sure not to show himself, until by daylight they might 
 see and discern their own men from the enemy; told him also, that his 
 custom in like cases was to creep with his company on their bellies 
 until they came as near as they could; and that as soon as the enemy 
 discovered them they would cry out, and that was the word for his men 
 to fire and fall on. He directed him that wlien the enemy sliould start 
 and take into the swamp, they sliould pursue with speed, every man 
 shouting and making what noise lie could; for he would give orders to 
 his ambuscade to fire on any that should come silently. 
 
 " Captain Church, knowing that it was Philip's custom to be foremost 
 in the flight, went down to the swamp, and gave Captain Williams of Scit- 
 
KING Philip's war. 51 
 
 uate, the command of the right wing of the ambush, and placed an Eng- 
 lishman and an Indian together behind such shelters of trees, etc., as he 
 could find, and took care to place them at such distance, that none might 
 pass undiscovered between them ; charged them to be careful of them- 
 selves and of hurting their friends, and to fire at any that should come 
 silently through the swamp. But it being somewhat farther through 
 the swamp than he was aware of, lie wanted men to make up his am- 
 buscade. 
 
 " Having placed what men he had, he took Major Sanford by the hand 
 and said, ' Sir, I have so placed them that it is scarce possible Philip should 
 escape them.' The same moment a shot whistled over their heads, and 
 then the noise of a gun towards Philip's camp. Captain Church at first 
 thought it might be some gun fired by accident; but before he could 
 speak, a whole volley followed, which was earlier than he expected. 
 One of Philip's gang going forth, looked around him, and Captain Gold- 
 ing thought the Indian looked right at him (though probably it was bu^ 
 his conceit), so fired at him; and upon this firing, the whole company 
 that were with him fired upon the enemy's shelter, before the Indians 
 had time to rise from their sleep, and so overshot them. Hut their shelter 
 was open on that side next the swamp, built so on purpose for the 
 convenience of flight on occasion. They were soon in the swamp, and 
 Philip the foremost, who starting at the first gun, threw his petunk and 
 powderhorn over his head, catched up his gun, and ran as fast as he 
 could scamper, without any more clothes than his small breeches and 
 stockings ; and ran directly on two of Captain Church's ambush. They 
 let him come fair within shot, and the Englishman's gun missing fire, 
 he bid the Indian fire away, and he did so to purpose; sent one musket 
 bullet through his heart, and another not above two inches from it. He 
 fell upon his face in the mud and water, with his gun under him. 
 
 " By this time the enemy perceived that they were waylaid on the east 
 side of the swamp and tacked short about. One of the enemy, who 
 seemed to be a great, surly old fellow, hallooed with a loud voice and 
 often called out ' lootash, lootash.' Captain Church called to his Indian, 
 Peter, and asked him who that was that called so? He answered that 
 it was old Annawon, Philip's great Captain; calling on his soldiers to 
 stand to it, and fight stoutly. Now the enemy finding that place of the 
 swamp which was not ambushed, many of them made their escape in the 
 English tracks. 
 
 ••The man that had shot down Philip ran with all speed to Captain 
 Church, and informed him of his exploit, who commanded him to be 
 silent about it and let no man more know it, until they had driven the 
 swamp clean. But when they had driven the swamp through, and found 
 the enemy had escaped, or at least the most of them, and the sun now 
 up and so the dew gone, that they could not easily track tliena, the whole 
 company met together at the place where the enemy's night shelter was, 
 and then Captain Church gave them the news of Philip's death. Upon 
 which the whole army gave three loud huzzas. 
 
 " Captain Church orderd his body to be pulled out of the mire to the 
 
52 HISTORY OF BRISTOL, 
 
 upland. So some of Captain Church's Indians took hold of him by 
 his stockings and some by his small breeches (being otherwise naked), 
 and drew him through the mud to the upland ; and a doleful, great, 
 naked, dirty beast he looked like. Captain Church then said that foras- 
 much as he had caused many an Englishman's body to be unburied, and 
 to rot above ground, that not one of his bones should be buried. And, 
 calling his old Indian executioner, bid him behead and quarter him. 
 Accordingly he came with his hatchet and stood over him, but before 
 he struck he made a small speech, directing it to Philip, 'he had been a 
 very great man, and had made many a man afraid of him, but so big as 
 he was, he would now chop him in pieces.' And so he went to work and 
 did as he was ordered. 
 
 "Philip having one very remarkable hand, being much scarred, occa- 
 sioned by the splitting of a pistol in it formerly, Captain Church gave 
 the head and that hand to Alderman,* the Indian who shot him, to 
 show to such gentlemen as would bestow gratuities upon him ; and 
 accordingly he got many a penny by it. 
 
 ''This being on the last day of the week, the Captain with his com- 
 pany returned to the island, tarried there until Tuesday, and then went 
 off and ranged through all the woods to Plymouth, and received their 
 premium, which was thirty shillings per head for the enemies which 
 they had killed or taken, instead of all wages; and Philip's head went 
 at the same price. Methinks it is scanty reward and poor encourage- 
 ment; though it was better than it had been some time before. For 
 this march they received /o«r s/n7ij)i,rys and six pence a man, which was 
 all the reward they had except the honor of killing Philip." 
 
 * The same Indian whose brother Philip had killed, and who had informed the 
 English where Philip was. 
 
Chapter vii. 
 
 THE QLTESTION OF OWNERSHIP AND JOHN CROWNE. 
 
 The fertile lands of Mount Hope having fallen into the 
 hands of the English by right of conquest, a dispute at once 
 arose among the neighboring colonies as to their ownership. 
 They had, without doubt, been included in the territory orig- 
 inally granted to Plymouth Colony, but the prize was too 
 tempting to be relinquished without a struggle by the modest 
 settlers of Massachusetts Bay, and Rhode Island also brought 
 forward a claim to a share in the spoils. The matter was at 
 once placed before King Charles 11., by the agents of the sev- 
 eral colonies, and the question was fully discussed in the 
 Privy Council. 
 
 To make affairs still more complicated a new claimant ap- 
 peared, and pushed his cause with such energy and shrewd- 
 ness, that the conquered territory had almost fallen into his 
 hands. 
 
 John Crowne was a native of Xova Scotia, who had gone to 
 England in order to acquire fame and independence by the 
 powers of his mind. His reception in that country was not 
 favorable, and he was for a time an upper servant in an old 
 lady's family. From this position he soon extricated himself 
 by the wit and the excellence of his literary compositions, 
 and found means to bring liimself to the notice of the queen. 
 At the request of Rochester he wrote the " Masque of Calypso," 
 which was performed before the Court and gained him the 
 favor of the Merry Monarch. His works comprise seventeen 
 
54 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 plays and several poems, his most important play beino; tlie 
 " Comedy of Sir Courtly Nice." This play was written after 
 the Mount Hope matter had been decided, and if successful 
 was to secure for its author a place which would make him 
 independent for life ; but on the last day of rehearsal, and 
 before the comedy could be acted, the king died, and all the 
 hopes of the poet were blasted. 
 
 In 1656 William Crowne, the father of the poet, had pur- 
 chased a large tract of land in Nova Scotia, which had been 
 originally granted to Sir Wm. Alexander, Secretary of State 
 for Scotland. By the subsequent cession of the territory to 
 the French, the value of the purchase was almost wholly de- 
 stroyed. In 1679 John Crowne presented a petition to the 
 king in behalf of his father, stating that in consequence of 
 the delivery of that country to the French, " the petitioner 
 and his family have sustained almost utter ruin, and for which 
 they have never presumed to ask any compensation. But now 
 there happening to be in Your Majesty's disposal a small tract 
 of land in New England, called Mount Hope, lately in pos- 
 session of certain Indians destroyed in war by Your Majesty's 
 subjects, which at present remains desolate and uninhabited, 
 the petitioner humbly prays that Your Majesty will bestow said 
 small tract upon him, for the support of his parents and family, 
 although the value of the said land is in no way equivalent to 
 the damage sustained." 
 
 This petition was, on the twenty-fourth day of January, 
 1679, referred by the Council to the Committee on Trade and 
 Plantations. Randall Holden and John Greene, the agents 
 for Rhode Island, happened to be in London at the time, and 
 to them the committee at once applied for information con- 
 cerning the tract under discussion. The agents were asked 
 to answer three questions. " 1. What is the extent of the 
 lands of Mount Hope Bay in length and breadth ? 2. What 
 is the value of these lands at present? 3. Whether there be 
 any claim of propriety to said lands, made by any of the neigh- 
 boring corporations, or the inhabitants thereof? " To these 
 questions Holden and Greene made answer as follows, the 
 
QUESTION OF OWNERSHIP AND JOHN CROWNE. 55 
 
 reply to question three liaviiig evidently been made to suit the 
 claim which their colony had set up : — 
 
 "1. The extent of land is not much, it being- a neck of land 
 abutting upon the sea, and lying between the colonies of Rhode 
 Island and Plymouth, containing about four thousand acres. 
 
 2. The value we conceive to be about four thousand pounds. 
 It is at present uninhabited. 
 
 3. We conceive the propriety of these lands to be in His 
 Majesty, and that no corporation in New England hath any 
 right thereunto. It did lately belong to the Sachem Philip, 
 and was inhabited by him and his subjects, who are now 
 wholly destroyed by the late Indian war ; and although some 
 of the neighboring colonies would pretend a right by conquest, 
 yet we conceive none can have a real title thereto but from 
 His Majesty, who is the sovereign lord of all that country." 
 
 The committee also made other inquiries, and on the sixth 
 of February reported : " That the neck of land called Mount 
 Hope, in New England, may contain not above five or six 
 thousand acres ; that we cannot acquaint your lordships witii 
 the value of said tract, as there is no common rule in New 
 England for setting price on lands. But in general we knuw 
 that whereas the soil of the country is mostly very poor and 
 barren, this neck of land is accounted one of the best 
 parts thereof." The committee took occasion delicately to 
 remind the king, '' as on behalf of the New Plymouth colony, 
 so also of the other colonies, that there are no lands lying 
 among them that are not clearly contained and fully conveyed 
 in and by the charters already granted to those. His Majesty's 
 colonies respectively," they also still more effectually disposed 
 of Crowne's petition by expressing a belief that the land 
 would be " disposed of to particular persons before any notice 
 of Mr. Crowne's petition to Your Majesty will arrive there." 
 
 The Council advised that letters be sent to the colonies of 
 Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and Rhode Island, 
 asking for information concerning the lands, and also for the 
 grounds on which their respective claims to ownership were 
 based. In its answer the General Court of Plymouth said : — 
 
56 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 "The lands of Mount Hope did belong to iSacliera Philip, 
 the grand rebel to Your Majesty, and first and principal dis- 
 turber of the peace of these, your colonies, and are clearly and 
 unquestionably within the Patent Grant made by your Royal 
 predecessors to this, your most ancient Colony of New Ply- 
 mouth (within which none might purchase or any way obtain 
 lands of the natives, but ourselves, or such as the authority 
 of this colony allowed), and these lands, with some othei-s, 
 were conquered by the joint forces of your subjects of the Mas- 
 sachusetts, Connecticut and New Plymouth, by the expense of 
 more than one hundred thousand pounds, besides an inesti- 
 mable damage sustained by particular plantations and persons, 
 and which was yet of greater value, by the loss of the lives of 
 many hundreds of our brethren, children, and choice friends. 
 Tlie profits of the war (excepting a fewjn'isoners taken in the 
 latter end thereof) was only land, and this colony having 
 borne their full proportion, both in forces and charge, and 
 being the seat of the war, suffered more in proportion than 
 any liad ; Mount Hope, with a small ragged neck of land more 
 adjoining to it for our part of profit, by agreement of the Con- 
 federate Colonies, we allowing them XI, 000, because our 
 lands were judged more valuable than theirs, and Mount Hope 
 with its appurtenances, by far the better part of all our con- 
 quest lands, we have put to sale for £3,000, but have not yet 
 found our chapmen. The quantity of Mount Hope we estimate 
 to be 7,000 acres at the most ; part of it good soil, and much 
 of it rocky, mountainous and barren. But that which com- 
 mends it, and causes us highly to esteem it, and earnestly to 
 beg that by Your Majesty's justice and favor we may enjoy 
 and not be deprived of it, is not only because we have fought 
 for it and paid for it, and many of us bled for it, but because 
 this colony, for want of good harbors, could never yet make any 
 considerable improvement of the sea ; but these places are 
 well accommodated for the settlement of a seaport town or 
 two ; whereby we hope we may, in a few years, be more ser- 
 viceable to Your Majesty, and live more happily." 
 
 The argument of the Plymouth men seemed conclusive, and 
 
QUESTION OF OWNERSHIP AND JOHN CROWNE. 57 
 
 the committee recommended to the Council that the title to 
 the lands should be fully confirmed to the Plymouth Colony, 
 a quit rent of seven beaver skins, or in default, fourteen marks 
 annually upon the estimated seven thousand acres being 
 reserved to the king. This was done Dec. 4, 1679, and on 
 the twelfth day of January, 1680, the king, by special grant, 
 conferred the lands upon the Plymouth Colony. 
 
Chapter viil 
 
 GRANT OF MOUNT HOPE TO PLYMOUTH COLONY. 
 
 No royal grant was made of the other lands conquered from 
 tlie Indians, the colony succeedhig to them by right of con- 
 quest. This special grant was made in consequence of the 
 different claims. 
 
 "Charles R. Trusty and well beloved. We greet you well! Have 
 with great Satisfaction read your Letter bearing Date first of July last, in 
 return to another from us the 12th of February, 167S-9, together with 
 Copies of other Letters from you unto us dated the 12th of June, 1677, 
 containing a Narrative of the success which you and other of our good 
 Subjects there have had against the Rebellious Enemy, and the total 
 overthrow given unto that Common Enemy; and the said Papers having 
 been particularly examined by the Lords of our Privy Council appointed 
 our Commissioners of Foreign Plantations, and their Opinion thereupon 
 being reported unto us, in our said Councill ; We have taken into our 
 Royall Consideration how, that by your Loyalty and good Conduct in 
 that War, you have been happy Instruments to enlarge our Dominions, 
 and (bring) that new Teritory of Mount-hope unto a more immediate 
 and perfect Allegiance and Dependence on us ! We are therefore gra- 
 ciously pleased to give and grant, and do hereby give and grant unto 
 you the full and entire Propertie of the said Tract or Scope of Land, 
 commonly called Mount-hope, containing by . . . Seven Thousand 
 Acres, being more or less, for the sole and proper Use and Behoofe of 
 yourselves and the rest of our said Colony of New Plymouth; to be 
 holden of us, our Heirs and Successors, as of our Castle of Windsor 
 in our County of Berks, in free and common Soccage, yielding and pay- 
 ing therefor to us our Heirs and Successors, as a Quit Rent and Acknowl- 
 edgement of this our Royall Donation, Seven Beaver Skins, to bee deliv- 
 ered att our said Castle of Windsor every yeare on the Feast of St. John 
 the Baptist, or in Default thereof Fourteen Marks, to bee paid into our 
 Royall Exchequer; the said Payment to commence from the Day of the 
 Date of these Presents; Saving, nevertheless, all such just Right and 
 
GRANT OF MOUNT HOPE TO PLYMOUTH COLONY. 59 
 
 Title to the Premises, or any Part thereof, as any others of our good 
 Subjects may lawfully have thereunto. 
 
 "And, Whereas Wee are given to understand that our said Colony of 
 New Plymouth was the most antient of all the rest within that our 
 Dominion of New England, and hapned to bee settled by so much 
 casualty as that you have only a general Grant from the old Councill of 
 Plymouth, and that there are wanting severall necessary Provisions for 
 your Incorporation, which are esteemed fit for the confirming of your 
 Peace and Happinesse, and the giving you a nearer dependence and pro- 
 tection from the Crow n ; for these Considerations therefore, and in regard 
 of the many Instances of your Loyalty, as well ancient as what hath 
 been by you lately exprest. We further graciously promise and declare 
 our Royal Intentions to confer upon our said Colony of New Plymouth 
 our Royal Charter that may containe all such Priviledges, Rights and 
 Franchises for your good Government and Advantage, as shall by you 
 upon due application be reasonably desired, and by us thought fitt. 
 And so wee bid you Farewell. From our Court att Whitehall, this 12th 
 Day of January, in the One and Thirtieth year of our Reign. 
 " By his Maj'^es Command 
 
 " H. Coventry." 
 
 (Address.) "To Our Trusty and well beloved Josiah Winslow, Es- 
 quire, Governor, and to the General Court of our Colony of New Ply- 
 mouth, within our Dominion of New England, and to our Governor and 
 Generall Couit thereof for the time being." 
 
Chapter ix. 
 
 THE GRAND DEED. 
 
 The title having thus been confirmed by royal grant, the 
 General Court of Plymoutli at once appointed a committee 
 to sell the newly acquired territory. This committee was 
 not long in finding purchasers. The grant was made by 
 King Charles, on the 12th of January, 1680, in his Court 
 at Whitehall ; and on the fourteenth day of September, 1680, 
 at Plymouth, Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley, and Wil- 
 liam Bradford, three of the committee, conveyed them by the 
 following deed to John Walley, Nathaniel Byfield, Stephen 
 Burton, and Nathaniel Oliver, for the sum of Xl,100, current 
 money of New England : — 
 
 " This indenture made the fourteenth day of September, Anno Domini 
 One Thousand Six hundred and Eighty, and in the thirty second year 
 of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second, over Eng- 
 land &c.. Between Josiah Winslow Esq', Governor of his Majestie's 
 Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Thomas Hinckley Esqr, 
 Deputy Governor, William Bradford Esq'', Treasurer — all of the afore- 
 said Colony, on the one part; and John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, 
 Nathaniel Byfield & Stephen Burton, all of Boston, in the Colony of the 
 Massachusetts in New England aforesaid, Merchants on the other part — 
 Witnesseth, that Whereas the said Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley, 
 William Bradford and James Cudworth Esq'-, were nominated elected 
 and chosen by the Honorable General Court held at Plymouth (or any 
 two of them) as a Committee to Consider of, treat about and finally 
 to determine all matters and things respecting, or any ways relating 
 to the Lands sometime pertaining to the Indians, late inhabiting the 
 Colony aforesaid by Conquest, and also to sell, alienate, enfeoff and 
 confirm the same Lands to such person or persons, and for such sum 
 and sums of money, and with such liberties, privileges, benefits and 
 
THE GRAND DEED. 61 
 
 immunities as to them shall seem most meet, as by the order of the 
 said Court more fully may appear. 
 
 " Now be it known unto all men by these presents, that the said Josiali 
 Winslow, Thomas Hinckley & William Bradford, by virtue of power 
 <rranted unto them as aforesaid, for and in consideration of the sum of 
 Eleven Hundred rounds of current money of New England to them in 
 hand, at and before the ensealing and delivery of these presents, by 
 the said John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel Byfield and Stephen 
 Burton, well and timely paid, the receipt whereof they do hereby 
 acknowledge, and themselves in behalf of the said Court and their 
 successors to be fully satisfied and contented, and thereof, and of every 
 part and parcel thereof, do in the name and in behalf of the said Colony, 
 acquit, exonerate and discharge the said John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, 
 Nathaniel Byfield, and Stephen Burton, their heii'S, executors, adminis- 
 trators & assigns, and each and every one of them by these presents, 
 have given, granted, bargained and sold, aliened, enfeoffed and con- 
 firmed; and by these presents do fully, freely, clearly & absolutely 
 give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeoff & confirm unto the said John 
 Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel Byfield & Stephen Burton, and to 
 their heirs and assigns forever — all that tract or parcel of land, situate, 
 lying & being within the aforesaid Colony of New Plymouth, com- 
 monly called and known by the name of Mount Hope Neck & Poppa- 
 squash Neck, with all the Islands lying near, or about the same Necks, 
 not exceeding five acres and not already legally disposed of. And also 
 all and singular the Land pastures, meadows, feedings, marshes, 
 STPamps, ways, easements. Creeks, Coves, harbors, mines, stones, 
 beaches, flats, fishings, fowlings, woods, underwoods. Trees, bushes, 
 fences, profits, privileges, rights, commodities, hereditaments, emolu- 
 ments & appurtenances whatsoever, growing, standing, lying, being, 
 arising or issuing forth, in, upon, or out of the premises or any part or 
 parcel thereof — or to the same, or any part or parcel thereof belonging 
 or in any wise appertaining (Excepting only and reserving the Lands 
 formerly granted to the Inhabitants of Swansey, according to the Lines 
 already run at the north end or entrance of said Neck, and also the 
 One hundred acres of Land now belonging unto the Family of the 
 Gorham's, and the Meadows formerly purchased of the Indians, and 
 his Majesty's part of Eoyal mines — together with all deeds, writings, 
 Court orders, evidences, grants and Miniments whatsoever, touching or 
 concerning the premises or any part or parcel thereof. 
 
 " And the said Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley, and William Brad- 
 ford, for themselves in the name and behalf of the said Court and 
 Freemen of the said Colony and their successors do hereby covenant, 
 promise and grant to and with the said John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, 
 Nathaniel Byfield and Stephen Burton and their heirs & assigns for- 
 ever, in manner and form following (that is to say) that they the said 
 Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley and William Bradford, or some or 
 one of them, shall and will within the time & space of twelve months, 
 next after the date hereof, cause good and suflicient highways to be laid 
 
62 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 out from all the adjacent towns unto the said Mount Hope Neck, within 
 the said Colony for the country's use. And further, that the said John 
 Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel Byfield, and Stephen Burton, and 
 all such other person or persons as shall inhabit the said Neck or Necks 
 of land, shall be free and clear from all ordinary and common country 
 rates from or by the said Colony, from the first day of April next 
 ensuing the day of the date hereof, unto the full end and term of seven 
 years from thence next ensuing, and fully to be complete and ended. 
 And also that all the inhabitants of the said Mount Hope Neck shall, 
 from time to time and at all times forever hereafter be free and clear 
 from all customs, payments, excise and impositions whatsoever from or 
 by the said Colony, and authority by them there established; for, upon 
 or by reason of any goods, wares or merchandise whatsoever, that shall 
 be imported or exported to or from the said Necks, or any part thereof, 
 or for entering or clearing any ship or ships or other vessel or vessels 
 •whatsoever, for coming into, lying in or going out of the Harbor or 
 Harbors belonging to the said Neck, or to or from any person or persons 
 inhabiting the said Neck. 
 
 " And further— that the said John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel 
 Byfield and Stephen Burton and their heirs and assigns forever, shall 
 have, possess and enjoy the whole and sole benefit, privilege and ad- 
 vantage of each and every ye Ferries that shall be and be made within 
 the precincts of the said Necks for the passing and repassing to and 
 from the said Necks with whatever other benefits they shall make of the 
 aforementioned premises or any part or parcel thereof. And that the 
 Inhabitants of the said Necks shall have liberty, and hereby have full 
 and free liberty from time to time, and at all times forever hereafter, to 
 send Deputies to the General Court of the said Colony according to the 
 number of Freemen, who shall have free liberties to act there as the 
 Deputies of other Towns in the said Colony. And also that the Inhabi- 
 tants of the said Necks shall have, and hereby have liberty annually to 
 choose from amongst themselves. Commissioners who shall be fully 
 empowered to keep a Commissioner's Court on the said Neck, for the 
 Trial and determination of all actions and causes under ten pounds, 
 which shall be brought unto the said Court (always allowing liberty of 
 appeals unto the Court of New Plymouth aforesaid). And further, that 
 when there shall be settled upon the Neck of Mount Hope the full 
 number of Sixty Families that then that part of the Colony shall be a 
 County, and there shall be liberty granted unto them to keep a County 
 Court on the said Neck, and all Actions arising within the same to be 
 tried there. And that the Town that shall be built on the said Neck 
 shall be the County or Shire town. And all meadows lying adjoining 
 to the said Neck shall belong to that township, saving the propriety 
 thereof to the respective owners of the same. And also that no man's 
 private interest of little or small value shall hinder the public good of 
 the Plantation that shall be settled upon the said Neck, particularly for 
 the setting up of Mills, or making of Mill ponds, or other public con- 
 cerns whatsoever, as the Court shall think fit, the aforesaid purchasers of 
 
THE GRAND DEED. 63 
 
 the said Neck, giving such satisfaction to the owners of said Land that 
 shall be improved for the public benefit, as shall be agreed u^jon by the 
 parties concerned, or as the General Court for New Plymouth aforesaid 
 shall judge meet and reasonable. And also all the estate, right, title 
 and interest, use, possession, claim, pro^jerty and demands whatsoever 
 of them the said Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley, William Bradford 
 and James Cudworth as a committee chosen by the said Court as afore- 
 said, or of the said Colony, or any that are or shall be in authority here, 
 in or to the said lands, liberties, privileges and immunities, or any other 
 the above mentioned premises, or any part or parcel thereof (excepting 
 only as before excepted) To have and to hold the said Tract or parcel 
 of land commonly called and known by the name of Mount Hope Neck 
 and Poppasquash Neck, (reserving only as before reserved) with all 
 the Islands lying near or about the said Necks, not exceeding five acres, 
 and not already disposed of, with all and singular the Lands, pastures, 
 meadows, feedings, marshes, swamps, ways, easements, creeks, coves, 
 harbors, mines, stones, beaches, flats, fishings, fowlings, woods, under- 
 woods, trees, bushes, fences, profits, priviledges, rights, commodities, 
 hereditaments, emoluments and api^urtenances whatsoever, growing, 
 standing, lying, being, arising or issuing forth in, upon or out of the 
 premises or any part or parcel thereof, or to the same or any part or 
 parcel thereof belonging or in anywise appertaining hereby granted, 
 bargained & sold, or meant, mentioned or intended to be herein or 
 hereby granted, bargained & sold, with their and each and every of 
 their rights, members and appurtenances whatsoever unto the said 
 John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel Byfield & Stephen Burton, 
 and their heirs and assigns forever, in as full, large, ample and beneficial 
 manner and form whatsoever, as the said Colony hath, may or might 
 have and enjoy the same. And to the only, sole and proper use, benefit 
 and behoofs of the said John Walley, Nath' Oliver, Nath' Byfield & 
 Stephen Burton and their heirs and assigns forever. And the said 
 Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley & William Bradford, in the name 
 and behalf of the said General Court and their successors & Inhabi- 
 tants of said Colony do hereby covenant, promise and grant to and with 
 the said John Walley, Nath' Oliver, Nath' Byfield & Stephen Burton, 
 their heirs and assigns in manner and form following (that is to say, 
 that they the said John Walley, Nath' Oliver, Nath' Byfield & Stephen 
 Burton and their heirs and assigns forever, shall and may by force and 
 virtue of these presents, from time to time, and at all times forever 
 hereafter, lawfully, peaceably and quietly have, hold, use, occupy, pos- 
 sess <and enjoy the above granted premises, with their appurtenances 
 and every part and parcel thereof, with all the liberties, priviledges, and 
 immunities aforementioned. Free and clear and clearly acquitted <fe 
 discharged of and from all, and all manner of former and other gifts, 
 grants, bargains and sales, leases, mortgages, jointures, judgments, 
 executions, entailes, forfeitures, and of and from all other titles, 
 troubles, charges, and incumbrances whatsoever had made, committed, 
 done, or (had made committed) or to be done by them, the said Josiah 
 
64 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Winslow, Thomas Hinckley, and William Bradford, or either of them, 
 or by any other person or persons by authority granted by the said 
 Court of New Plymouth, at any time, or times, before the ensealing 
 hereof (excepting only as before excepted) 
 
 " And Further, that the said Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley and 
 William Bradford, in the name and behalf of the said General Court 
 do further covenant, that they shall and will from time to time, and at 
 all times forever hereafter Warrant and defend the above granted 
 premises and each and every part and parcel thereof with the liberties, 
 privileges, rights, immunities and appurtenances above mentioned, in 
 Manner and form aforesaid, unto the said John Walley, Nathaniel 
 Oliver, Nathaniel Byfield and Stephen Burton, and to their heirs and 
 assigns forever against all and every person and persons whatsoever 
 anyways lawfully claiming or demanding the same or any part thereof. 
 
 And Lastly, that they, the said Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley 
 and William Bradford, shall and will cause this present Deed of Sale 
 and grant of the several liberties, privileges and immunities above 
 mentioned to be ratified and confirmed by the next General Court to be 
 holden at Plymouth aforesaid ; and do and perform all such further 
 and lawful Act and Acts, thing and things whatsoever for the better 
 confirmation, and Sure making of the premises unto the said John 
 Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel Byfield and Stephen Burton, their 
 heirs or assigns. In Witness whereof, the said Josiah Winslow, Thomas 
 Hinckley and William Bradford have hereunto set their hands and 
 seals the day and year first above written 
 
 Josiah Winslow Thomas Hinckley William Bradfokd 
 
 (and a seal) (and a seal) (and a seal) 
 
 " Signed, Sealed and delivered by the within named Josiah Winslow 
 and Thomas Hinckley, on the day of the date within written in the 
 presence of us 
 
 John Hayward Sert 
 Eliezer Moody Ser"^ 
 Anthony Eames 
 
 " Signed, Sealed and delivered by the within named William Bradford 
 on the 29"' of September 1680 in the presence of us 
 
 John Freeman 
 James B. 
 
 " The within named Josiah Winslow, Thomas Hinckley and William 
 Bradford came before us y^ 29"' day of September 1680 and did acknowl- 
 edge they had passed this deed in the behalf of the Colony of New 
 Plymouth, as their Committee thereunto instructed 
 
 John Alden j 
 
 James Cudworth } ^^ssZsian^s. 
 
Nathaniel Byfield. 
 
Chapter x. 
 
 NATHANIEL BYFIELD. 
 
 Of the four Boston merchants into wliose possession tlie fair 
 patrimony of the dead Philip had come, Nathaniel Byfield 
 was by far the most able and the most distinguished. His 
 family was one of note and influence in England. Rev. Rich- 
 ard Byfield, his father, was for a long time the pastor of Long 
 Ditton, in Surrey, England, and was one of the Westminster 
 Assembly of Divines. His mother was sister of that Juxon 
 who was Bishop of London, High Treasurer of England under 
 Charles I., and who, a personal friend as well as priestly ad- 
 viser, attended that unhappy king at the scaffold on the morn- 
 ing of his execution. 
 
 Nathaniel Byfield was the youngest of twenty-one children, 
 and was born in 1653. In 1674 he landed at Boston, and, 
 liking the country, immediately resolved to settle in America. 
 In 1675 he married Deborah Clarke,* and commenced busi- 
 ness as a merchant in Boston. 
 
 In his business career he was at once and always success- 
 ful, and by the close of King Philip's War had accumulated 
 
 * In the Plymouth Colony Records, the following petition, bearing date of Sept. 
 25. 1676, appears : " The Petition of Nathaniel Bylield humbly showeth that your 
 Petitioner is a stranger in the Country and lately married, and is now pressed to goe 
 out to warre against the Indians. And whereas the Law of God is plain, 24 Deuter- 
 onomy 5, that where a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not goe to warre, neither 
 shall he be charged with any business, but he shall be free at home one yeare, your 
 Petitioner doth humbly recjuest the favour of your honours to grant him the priv- 
 ilcdge and beniftt of the said Law, and to grant him a discharge from the present 
 service. 
 
 So shall he pray for your honours 
 
 Nathaniel Bvfiei.d." 
 5 
 
66 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 much property. His surplus wealth he invested in the 
 purcliase of Mount Hope. When the town of Bristol was 
 founded he became one of its settlers, and established his 
 residence on the peninsula of Poppasquash,* most of which 
 he owned. His dwelling-house stood near the spot where the 
 residence of Deacon William Manchester now stands. Not 
 far from tliis place may still Ijc seen the remains of a tomb 
 wherein lie buried those of his family who died during his 
 residence in Bristol. He also owned another and better 
 liouse on Byfield Street, of which an account will be given in 
 a subsequent chapter. 
 
 Mr. Byfield's wife, Deborah, died in 1717. To them were 
 born five children : three of these died in youth ; one daugh- 
 ter became the wife of Lieutenant-Governor Taylor, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, and died without issue ; another was married to 
 Edward Lyde, Esq., and her descendants to-day liold honor- 
 able positions in New England. In 1718 he married Sarah 
 Leverett, the youngest daughter of Governor Leverett, whom 
 he also outlived. Mrs. Sarah Byfield died in Boston, Dec. 21, 
 1730, leaving no children ; she was buried in the " Granary 
 Burial Ground," near Park Street Churcli, where her hus- 
 band's remains were afterwards placed by her side. 
 
 Nathaniel Byfield was for forty-four years a citizen of Bris- 
 tol, and ever exercised a commanding influence in its affairs. 
 In ihe Colony of Plymouth he also toolc a leading part, and 
 when it was divided into counties he was made chief judge 
 of the court established in the new county, his associates 
 being Benjamin Church and Jolin Brown of Svvansey. He 
 was five times a delegate from Bristol to tlic General Court 
 during his residence in the Mount Hope Lands, and was three 
 times afterward a delegate to tlie General Court from Boston. 
 Several times he was elected speaker of that honorable body. 
 " For 38 years lie was Chief Justice in the Court of General 
 
 * This name, Poppasquash, like all Indian names, has been spelled in many 
 ways. In various books and deeds we find Poppasquash, Pappasquash, Pappoose- 
 squaw, Pappasqua, and Poppy-Squash. The weight of authority seems to be in 
 favor of the first form. Respecting its derivation no satisfactory informatiou 
 can be given. 
 
NATHANIEL BYFIELD. 67 
 
 Sessions of the Peace and Common Pleas for the County of 
 Bristol." * For two years afterwards he also held the same 
 office in the County of Suffolk. He received five commis- 
 sions as Judge of Admiralty, from three different sovereigns : 
 from King AVilliam in 1697, Queen Anne in 1702—3 and 1709, 
 and from George II. in 1728. During his long term of 
 service none of his decisions were reversed by a superior 
 court. At the same time he held the three offices of Judge 
 of the Court of Common Pleas for Bristol County, Judge of 
 Probate for Bristol County, and Judge of Admiralty for the 
 Province of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire and Rhode 
 Island. For many years, also, he was one of His Majesty's 
 Council for the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In 1689 
 Mr. Byfield wrote an account of the proceedings against Sii 
 Edmund Andros and the Revolution in New England, which 
 was published in England that same year. The union of the 
 colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay involved him 
 in political controversies in which he became greatly distin- 
 guished and made himself one of the most conspicuous char- 
 acters in the new province. 
 
 Mr. Byfield was tall and of imposing presence ; his very 
 looks inspired confidence and respect; he possessed a fine 
 voice, and was a ready, easy speaker. Like all public men, 
 his motives were grossly misrepresented, and for his career 
 outside the limits of his adopted town, we have to rely mainly 
 upon the records left by his political enemies. Mr. Francis 
 Baylies, in his History of Plymouth, concedes his great 
 abilities, and gives the following notice of his career, evi- 
 dently much biased by personal prejudice : — 
 
 " As Colonel Byfield may be considered the principal 
 founder of Bristol, some further particulars of his life and 
 character may not be unappropriate to this work, although 
 not particularly connected with the exclusive history of 
 Plymouth. 
 
 " The character of the early population of Massachusetts 
 exhibited strong and peculiar traits ; even their virtues were 
 
 * Lane's Manual of First Church in Bristol. 
 
68 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 carried to such extremes tliat they seemed to have had some 
 alliance to resemblinoj vices ; sometimes their courage degen- 
 erated into rashness, their firmness into obstinacy, their pat- 
 riotism into factiousness, and their hatred of heresy and false 
 religion into cruel and atrocious bigotry. In the course of 
 nearly a century and a half, the history of Massachusetts 
 presents two remarkable epochs, during which the character 
 of the people was unchanged, but the objects of excitement 
 were very different. 
 
 " From the settlement of the colony, in 1630, to the issu- 
 ing of the quo warranto, in the latter part of the reign of 
 Charles II., their burning spirits flamed out in polemical and 
 religious controversies of the most violent and vindictive 
 character, terminating generally in the banishment of the 
 defeated party, and exercising its savage bigotry upon offend- 
 ing individuals. This spirit became extinct when the civil 
 rights were in danger, but from its ashes came forth another 
 consuming fire, which was only extinguished by the blood of 
 those convicted of witchcraft. The last ebullition of popular 
 rage was only an interruption to the progress of political 
 contentions, and the struggle for political rights, which, com- 
 mencing with the loss of the charter, gave a new aspect to 
 controversy, and wrought new channels for the passions ; 
 and, although after this period much apprehension was ex- 
 pressed that the Congregational relig-ion might be subjected 
 to restraints and impositions, yet the real fear was that the 
 Congregational part// might lose its political influence. 
 
 " In this memorable controversy, two distinguished per- 
 sons, both bearing the name of Elisha Cooke, father and son, 
 wielded the fierce democracy of the province for half a 
 century; the first dared to dictate to royalty, and to say in 
 the presence, ' the old charter or none.' Never was a contest 
 conducted with more persevering resolution, or with a more 
 tearless and determined spirit. In the House of Representa- 
 tives, the unceasing dispute with the royal governors was 
 conducted by the Cookes ; in their school those doctrines 
 were tauo-ht, those habits of fearless investigation touching 
 
NATHANIEL BYFIELD. 69 
 
 the supremacy of Parliament and the royal prerogative 
 were acquired, and those principles digested and established 
 wliich eventually produced an event which was scarcely con- 
 templated ; this controversy for free principles endured for 
 nearly a century, and its crisis was the Revolution. 
 
 " It was the fortune of Colonel Byfield to have been accident- 
 ally thrown into the struggle as the coadjutor of the Cookes, 
 and as a champion of the democratic party, and to have 
 wrought and suffered in a cause for which, perhaps, he felt 
 but little attachment. But secondary men are always fash- 
 ioned by circumstances, and follow in the paths which bolder 
 spirits have opened. The Cookes contended for principles, 
 Byfield for office ; the Cookes for popular rights, Byfield for 
 revenge ; and yet they contended on the same side and suf- 
 fered alike. Such is the composition of parties ; the loftiest 
 motives are mingled with the basest ; the most disinterested 
 patriotism with the most sordid selfishness I 
 
 " Colonel Byfield, much to his honor, resisted the insane 
 fanaticism of the people during their delusion on the subject 
 of witchcraft, and condemned the conduct of the Court with 
 much severity. 
 
 " In November, 1693, then being a representative in the 
 General Court from Bristol, he was elected Speaker of the 
 House, and so was the second speaker under the provincial 
 charter. In 1696, 1697, and 1698, he was elected a repre- 
 sentative from Boston. In 1698 he was again elected speaker, 
 and he was often a counselor. Being a person of great 
 enterprise and inordinate am1)ition, he commenced a course 
 of political intrigue and opposition, to bring about his great 
 end, wliich was to obtain the office of Governor of the 
 Province. 
 
 " He was no friend to Sir William Pliipps, and was very 
 much disliked by Increase Mather, who exercised a powerful 
 influence over the legislative bodies. 
 
 " In 1702, by the appointment of Governor Dudley, he suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Saffin in the office of Judge of Probate for the 
 County of Bristol, which he retained until 1710. 
 
70 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 " In 1703 he was appointed Judge of the Court of Ad- 
 miralty, from whicli he was displaced in 1715. Having been 
 harshly and injuriously reproved for some judicial proceed- 
 ings, in open council, by Governor Dudley,* lie conceived for 
 him such an implacable dislike, that he determined to make 
 a powerful effort to supplant him ; for this purpose he weut 
 to England in 1714. Dudley's influence had evidently de- 
 clined, and he was tottering in his place. 
 
 " The celebrated Jeremiah Dummer, the agent of Massa- 
 chusetts, was then in London. In a letter to Dr. Coleman 
 he gives a lively account of Col. Byfield's conduct there : — 
 
 ••' ' The second time (says he) that gentleman (Col. Byfield) 
 and I met was at my chambers, where we soon came to a 
 full understanding with each other with respect to the 
 present governor. I told him that both my duty and my 
 inclination led me to stand by his commission, with wliat 
 friends and wliat interest I could make ; and he replied that 
 he would by the help of God get him turned out, and therein 
 please God and all good men. Accordingly we liave botli 
 been pretty diligent, but I think he is now a little out of 
 breatli. His age makes him impatient of the fatigues of 
 application,, and his frugality makes him sick of coach-hire, 
 fees to officers and door-keepers, and other expenses ; so that 
 I believe he now heartily wishes himself safe in his own 
 government at Poppy-Squash. He is really an honest, 
 worthy man, but he is so excessively hot against Colonel 
 Dudley, that he cannot use any body civilly that is for him. 
 In a conversation I had with him before Mr. Xewman, he 
 used me very unhandsomely. The argument was whether 
 the General Assembly was for or against the governor. He 
 said the latter, because they would not address for him; 
 to which I answered, my intelligence was, that Dr. Noyes 
 opposed it upon the fact of its being a bad precedent which 
 future governors might claim the advantage of, when they 
 did not deserve it, and that thereupon the House rejected it. 
 
 * His quarrel with Governor Dudley was about Nathaniel Blagrrove's adminis- 
 tration of the estate of Nathan Haynian, one of the proprietors of Bristol. 
 
NATHANIEL BYFIELD. 71 
 
 To this the Colonel in great indignation said, • Well, .Sir ! 
 then you say the whole House of Representatives are turned 
 about by one man ? Take notice, Sir, that I shall go l)ack 
 again to New England.' Upon this, I told him his inference 
 was so disengenuous, and the menace he added was so 
 little like a gentleman, that I would never talk with him any 
 more on that subject, which I have strictly kept to, though 
 we have frequently met since.' 
 
 " In another letter of Dummer's, to Mr. Flint, dated in 
 1715, he says : — 
 
 " ' What Colonel Byfield says of me, as well as of Sir 
 William Ashhurst, is false ; and I can assure you, I found him 
 out in a good many lies* while he was here, notwithstanding 
 lie is ever nauseously boasting of his honesty. As for his 
 honor's negativing me, he may do what he pleases, but I 
 would have him consider that public places arc held by a 
 very slight and uncertain tenure, and that it is ill policy in 
 him to make any body his enemy.' 
 
 ^' Byfield's interest was not sufficient to obtain the govern- 
 ment, and it was bestowed on Colonel Shute, the brother of 
 Lord Barrington ; he returned to New England, and being 
 chosen a counselor in 1720, 1721, and 1722, was regularly 
 negatived by Governor Shute, whose administration was 
 disturbed by a moi-e violent party contention than was ever 
 known in Massachusetts. Shute left the government in 1723, 
 and Byfield was again negatived as a counselor by Lieut.- 
 Governor Dummer. After that, he was chosen regularly, 
 and served until 1729, when he was left out by the House, 
 but being in favor with Governor Burnett, he was again ap- 
 pointed Judge of Admiralty, and on the accession of Gov- 
 ernor Belcher, who was his relation, he was appointed a 
 judge of the County of Suffolk, to the exclusion of Colonel 
 Dudley, the son of his old enemy." 
 
 Of Mr. Byfield's course in Bristol, we have our own records 
 
 * Respecting this matter Mr. Baylies further says, in another place : " The gross 
 accusations of Jeremy Dummer, that he was regardless of truth, ought to be 
 taken with much allowance ; Dummer was his enemy, and had learned his morals 
 in the school of Lord Bolingbroke, whose tool for a time he was proud to be. 
 
72 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 to testify, and in tlicm lie always appears as an upright, pub- 
 lic-spirited citizen, generous in liis gifts to the town, an efficient 
 friend and supporter of religion and education, as his frequent 
 and liberal donations of land and money to advance the in- 
 terests of both, bear witness. To him the town is chiefly 
 indebted for the " school lands," whose rental has contributed 
 so much to the education of its children. Undoubtedly he 
 was somehat overbearing and dictatorial in liis manner, — the 
 commanding position which he held would serve to make him 
 so ; he was also exceedingly fond of liaving his own way, — 
 as who of us is not ? — and yet rarely do we see a public man 
 whose influence was so uniformly exerted on the side of truth 
 and justice. Fierce personal enemies he often made, and yet 
 his most bitter enemies Avere forced oftentimes to admit his 
 integrity of purpose, and his uprightness of spirit, and Avhen, 
 as in the case of his quarrel with Judge Saflin, the decision 
 of personal controversies was referred to unprejudiced arbi- 
 trators, judgment was almost always rendered in his favor. 
 That the town of Bristol was laid out on such an admirable 
 plan, with such broad and regular streets, and with the large 
 Common in its centre, we are indebted chiefly to him. 
 
 From the superstitious religious prejudices which warped 
 the judgment of so many of his contemporaries, he was sin- 
 gularly free, and he had the courage to condemn, in the most 
 unqualified terms, tlie bloody proceedings of the .Salem Witch- 
 craft delusion. When, in 1724, his advanced age forced him 
 to seek the greater comforts which Boston afforded, lie Ijy no 
 means relinquished his interest in Bristol, but continued his 
 liberal contributions to advance its welfare. He died in Bos- 
 ton on the 6th of June, 1733, monrned and lamenf.ed through- 
 out all the provinces. His will, dated December 6, 1732, shows 
 that he possessed great wealth for those old colonial days ; 
 it speaks of a mansion-house, stable and various out-buildings 
 in Boston ; a rope-walk, warehouse, wliarf and flats ; other 
 tenement liouses and stores ; lands covering much of Fort Hill, 
 and various lots from Beacon street, west and north, to Cam- 
 bridge street; valuable property in several other Massachusetts 
 
NATHANIEL BYFIELD. 73 
 
 towns, and several thousand acres of land in Maine and Ver- 
 mont. His property was very equitably divided among his 
 heirs, the bulk of his estate being left to his grandson, Byfield 
 Lyde, tlie son-in-law of Governor Belcher. To show his 
 catholic spirit he left a bequest of money to " all and every 
 minister of Christ, in every denomination in Boston." His 
 servants were also remembered with 'affection and counsel. 
 
 His remains were buried, as has been before said, in the 
 Granary Burial Ground ; his tombstone has long since disap- 
 peared ; it was inscribed with the Byfield coat of arms, and 
 the name Lyde was cut upon the sliicld. It also bore this 
 epitaph from the pen of the Rev. Mather Byles : — 
 
 "Byfield beneath in peaceful slumber lies; 
 Byfield the good, the active and the wise; 
 His manly frame contained an equal mind; 
 Faithful to God, and generous to manJtind; 
 High in his Country's Honors long he stood, 
 Succored distress and gave the hungry food; 
 In justice steady, in devotion warm, 
 A loyal subject, and a Patriot, firm; 
 Through every age his dauntless soul was tried; 
 Great while he lived, but greater when he died." 
 
 * In this will he sets free his negro slave. Rose, " broug-ht to Bristol fi'om the 
 West Indies early in the spring of 1718, in a Aery weak and hazardous condition, 
 judged then to be about thirteen years old." A copy of this will was kindly loaned 
 to the author by the Hon. Francis Biinley, of Newport, one of Mr. Byfield's lineal 
 descendants. 
 
Chapter xl 
 
 THE OTHER PROPRIETORS. 
 
 1. John "Walley. The name of John Walley stands first 
 on the Grand Deed, though he was manifestly second to 
 Byfield in influence and importance. He was born in the year 
 1644, probably in the city of London, as his father, the Rev. 
 Thomas Walley, was rector of St. Mary's, White Chapel, 
 about that time. We do not know in what year Mr. Walley 
 came to this country, but it is recorded tliat his father fol- 
 lowed him to Boston, arriving at that town on the " .Society," 
 from London, May 24, 1663. 
 
 John Walley was well known and greatly respected through- 
 out New England. He was a man of uncommon sweetness 
 and candor of spirit, and even in that age of fierce and un- 
 reasoning passion, seems to have made no personal enemies. 
 Except when he was dragged as an unwilling participant 
 into disputes, like that with Judge Saffiu, by the imperious 
 spirit of his partners in business ventures, his name rarely 
 appears in law-suits or personal controversies. All men 
 recognized his sterling worth, and gladly testified to his large 
 administrative ability. His gentle and retiring disposition 
 never allowed him to put himself forward as a candidate for 
 office, and yet office after office was continually thrust upon 
 him. His fellow-citizens knew that however unwelcome 
 might be the task which was assigned to him, lie would yet 
 discharge it with singular ability and uprightness. His name 
 often appears on the pages of Massachusetts history, and 
 
THE OTHER TROPRIETORS. 75 
 
 even political opponents, recog'nizing his impartial spirit, 
 frequently called him to share in their deliberations for the 
 welfare of the state. 
 
 For many years he was a member of the Council and 
 Judge of the Superior Court. In 1690 he commanded the 
 land forces of Sir William Phipps in the expedition against 
 Canada. This expedition was unsuccessful, yet Walley won 
 high commendation for his heroism and generalship. He 
 wrote a journal of this expedition, which is preserved in 
 Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts. His residence in 
 Bristol is still standing,* though much changed from its 
 ancient form. As a merchant he ac(piired a comfortable 
 fortune, the income of which he delighted to expend upon 
 objects of benevolence and for the support of religion. In 
 his old age a painful disease forced him to seek a more com- 
 fortable home in Boston, where he died on the 11th of 
 January, 1712. f 
 
 The Rev, Ebenezcr Pemberton, in a discourse which is un- 
 usually free from the fulsome praise which disfigures so many 
 of the funeral sermons of that age, recalls with loving ap- 
 preciation his many virtues, speaks of the '■'■ singular honor 
 which God did him in making him One of the Principal 
 Instruments in Planting a Flourishing Town and Church in a 
 Place surrounded with gross Error and Ignorance," and tells 
 of the sorrow with which men, in towns far remote from Boston, 
 heard the tidings of his death. 
 
 2. Stephen Burton. Of Stephen Burton we know but little. 
 He was the most scholarly man of the four proprietors, and is 
 said to have been educated at Oxford. He took comparatively 
 little part in the founding of the town, not being able to en- 
 dure much work because of a disorder in the head. " He was 
 the first recording officer of the county, and in his office of 
 Clerk of the Peace exercised the functions which are now 
 performed by the Register of Probate, Clerk of the Court of 
 Common Pleas, and Register of Deeds." His hand-writing 
 
 * On the north side of State Street, near Thames Street, somewhat back. 
 
 t Mr. Walley was Captain of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery of Boston. 
 
76 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 was very beautiful. Five times (in 1685, 1686, 1689, 1690, 
 1692), he represented the town as its deputy to the General 
 Court, and seems to have been highly esteemed by its citizens. 
 He died in Bristol on the twenty-second day of July, 1693.* 
 His house stood on Burton Street, and was burnt by the British 
 troops in 1778. 
 
 Nathaniel Oliver was a rich merchant of Boston. He 
 never settled in Bristol, but sold his share in the Mount Hope 
 Lands to Capt. Nathan Hayman. He seems always to have 
 retained his interest in the town, and in 1684 presented a bell 
 for the use of the church which had lately been established. 
 He signed the Grand Articles, but by a vote of the town was 
 allowed to withdraw from the contract upon payment of 
 thirty-five pounds instead of one hundred as there specified. 
 
 3. Nathan Hayman. The name of Nathan Hayman 
 appears in the records of the first town-meeting as one o£ the 
 four proprietors. He was a merchant and mariner of Boston, 
 a man of much enterprise and shrewdness. He died a few 
 years after the founding of the town, and was buried in the 
 cemetery east of the Common. By his own order he was 
 buried six feet east of the front wall, and this direction of his 
 has since been made use of by the surveyors to verify the 
 line of the street. His death occurred" July 27, 1689. Mr. 
 Hayman left two sons, Nathan and John. One daughter be- 
 came the wife of the Rev. William Brattle, of Cambridge, and 
 one was married to Thomas Church. His widow afterwards 
 married Nathaniel Blagrovc, and at her death, by the direc- 
 tion of her second husband, Mr. Hayman's grave was opened 
 and her remains were interred with those of the husband of 
 her youth. Next to them Judge Blagrove directed that his 
 own body should be placed at his death, and in the old bury- 
 ing-ground the two tombs may still be seen. 
 
 * Record of Deaths of Town of Bristol. 
 
Chapter xii. 
 
 THE FIRST INHABITANTS. 
 
 In 1669 the General Court of Plymouth Colony granted 
 one hundred acres of land within the present limits of Bris- 
 tol, to John Gorham, if it could he honorably purchased of 
 the Indians. The necessary arrangements seem to have been 
 perfected without difficulty, for on the first day of July, 1672, 
 Constant Southworth, James Brown and John Gorham were 
 appointed by the Court " to purchase a certain parcell of land 
 of the Indians, granted by the Court to said Gorham." 
 July 13, 1677, the Court ratified and confirmed this one 
 hundred acres to Gorham and his heirs forever. (This land 
 was north of the " Neck Burying-Ground," on the west side 
 of the main road, and remained in the possession of the 
 Gorham family for several generations. It is now [1880] 
 owned by Lewis Carr and George ."^mith.) 
 
 John Gorham must therefore be regarded as the first white 
 settler in Bristol, though it is not likely that he erected a 
 very substantial dwelling, and his home was broken up at 
 the beginning of the war. His descendants are yet living 
 among us. 
 
 The deed which the four proprietors had obtained from 
 Plymouth conferred special privileges upon the new town. 
 It was allowed at once to send deputies to the General Court ; 
 it was exempted from taxation for the space of seven years ; a 
 Commissioners' Court was established to try ordinary cases 
 (under the value of j£10), with the right of appeal to the 
 
78 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Plyraoutli Court, and it was also agreed that when sixty 
 families should have settled in the town a new county should 
 be established with it as the county seat. 
 
 The proprietors set themselves energetically to work to 
 procure desirable settlers. The task was by no means diffi- 
 cult. The many advantages of the Mount Hope Lands had 
 long been known throughout New England, and the special 
 opportunities for commerce which the fine harbor would 
 afford were evident to all. The man who had done the most 
 to secure to the English the possession of these fertile fields 
 was wisely secured as the proprietor of a (16th) sixteenth part 
 of the town, and the fame of Benjamin Church did much to 
 draw others of the substantial men of Plymouth and Mas- 
 sachusetts to the new settlement. 
 
 The deed was granted Sept. 14, 1680, and on the 29th of 
 September the General Court of New Plymouth ratified and 
 confirmed it, William Ingraham of Swansey, cooper, acting 
 as their attorney, having given possession of the land " by 
 turf and twig,"* to the four proprietors on the twenty-second 
 day of September, 1680. 
 
 In less than a year from this time the requisite number of 
 families had settled in the Mount Hope Lands, and on the 
 1st of September, 1681, the people met together and decided 
 that the name of the new town should be Bristol. This name 
 was not given because any large proportion of the inhabitants 
 had come originally from Bristol, England ; it is possible that 
 not one of the number had been born in that town ; but Bris- 
 tol was then the most important seaport in Great Britain, 
 and was specially prominent in the trade with the West 
 Indies and the American Colonies. The people of this new 
 settlement saw the unusual facilities for commerce which 
 their beautiful harbor offered, and in pleasant anticipation 
 of its future maritime importance decided to give it the name 
 of the great English port. 
 
 * This ceremony was verj- simple. Ingraham took his stand upon the land, in 
 company with AVailey and his associates ; breaking a twig f rem the nearest bush, 
 and plucking- a bit of turf from the ground beneath their feet, he handed both to 
 Mr. Wallej-, and the possession of the land was transferred. 
 
THE FIRST INHABITANTS. 
 
 79 
 
 The following- persons were, at that first town-meeting, ad- 
 mitted as citizens by John Walley, Nathaniel Byfield, Stephen 
 Burton and Nathan Hayman (the four proprietors) : — 
 
 Capt. Benjamin Church, 
 Doctor Isaac Waldron, 
 Nathaniel Williams, 
 Nathaniel Reynolds, 
 Benjamin Bosworth, 
 Edward Bosworth, 
 Samuel Penfield, 
 George Morye, 
 John Wilkins, 
 William Ingraham, 
 Nathaniel Paine, 
 Nathan Hayman, 
 Christopher Saunders, 
 Timothy Clarke, 
 John Saffin, 
 Solomon Curtis, 
 John Finney, 
 Jabez Gorham, 
 Hugh Woodbury, 
 John Rogers, 
 Jabez Howland, 
 Jonathan Davenport, 
 Richard Smith, 
 Joseph Baster, 
 William Brown, 
 John Corps, 
 
 Joseph Ford, 
 John Gary, 
 Edmund Ranger, 
 Benjamin Ingell, 
 James Burrows, 
 Uzal Wardwell, 
 Eliashib Adams, 
 Zachariah Curtis, 
 John Gladding, 
 Joseph Jacob, 
 Robert Taft, 
 Peter Pampelion, 
 Samuel Woodbury, 
 Samuel Gallop, 
 Henry Hampton, 
 John Thurston, , 
 Jonathan Finney, 
 Nicholas Mead, 
 Jeremiah Osborne, 
 John Bayley, 
 Joseph Sandy, 
 Jeremiah Finney, 
 George Waldron, 
 Thomas Walker, 
 Thomas Daggett, 
 Thomas Lewis, 
 
 John Pope, 
 John Martin, 
 David Cary, 
 Increase Robinson, 
 William Hedge, 
 Daniel Landon, 
 Widdo (Elizabeth) South- 
 ard, 
 Anthony Fry, 
 John Smith, 
 William Hoar, 
 Robert Dutch, 
 James Burrill, 
 Nathaniel Bosworth, 
 Benjamin Jones, 
 Richard Hammond, 
 William Brenton, 
 Watching Atherton, 
 John Wilson, 
 William Throop, 
 Major Robert Thompson, 
 Thomas Bletsoe, 
 Samuel Cobbett, 
 John Birge, 
 Richard White. 
 
Chapter xiii. 
 
 BENJAMIN CHURCH. 
 
 Benjamin Church was born at Duxbury, near Plymouth, in 
 the year 1639. He was the son of Richard Church, who came 
 to Massachusetts in the fleet with Governor Winthrop; the 
 father was a carpenter by trade, and his son was bred to the 
 same employment. On the 26th of December, 1667, Benjamin 
 Church married Alice Southworth, the grand-daughter of the 
 wife of Governor Bradford. For a few years after his mar- 
 riage he continued to live in Duxbury, occasionally sojourn- 
 ing in other towns of the colony, working at his trade when 
 the opportunity was offered, and contriving to accumulate 
 considerable money. In 1674 he was induced by Capt. John 
 Almy, of Rhode Island, to visit Sogkonate (.Seaconnet, now 
 Little Compton), was pleased with the region, purchased a 
 farm near the " East Passage," and erected two buildings 
 upon it. This was before the commencement of Philip's War, 
 and he was the first Englishman who had settled in that ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 " The next spring advancing, while Mr. Church was dili- 
 gently settling his farm, stocking, leasing and disposing of 
 his affairs, and had a fine prospect of doing no small things; 
 and hoping that his good success would be inviting unto other 
 good men to become his neighbors ; Behold ! The rumor 
 of a war between the English and the natives gave check to 
 his projects." * The farm at Seaconnet was given up, and not 
 until many years had elapsed did he go back to live upon it. 
 
 * Church's History. 
 
€(DiL.BIEI^JIAMI^ CHFBCIHI 
 
BENJAMIN CHURCEI. 81 
 
 Mr. Churcli ^yas tall and well proportioned, and his frame 
 was well knit, built for activity and endurance. As a young 
 man he was exceedingly active and vigorous, characteristics 
 which strongly commended him to his Indian neighbors. In 
 his residence of a year among the Indians, he had gained a 
 thorough knowledge of their character, and had acquired 
 great influence among them. 
 
 " His peculiar temperament, his activity, his constant cheer- 
 fulness and constitutional vivacity, as well as his determined 
 courage, gave him a decided and commanding influence over 
 this rude race ; and of all the English who bore commands 
 during the great war, none was so much feared, so much 
 respected, and finally so much beloved by them as this ter- 
 rible and triumphant enemy." 
 
 Captain Church possessed, in a remarkable degree, that 
 ardent thirst for glory, and that burning religious enthusiasm, 
 which in all ages has impelled men to deeds of the most 
 wondrous daring, and of the loftiest heroism. In the preface 
 to his autobiography, written when he was very near his end, 
 the old hero, with quaint and touching simplicity, discloses 
 to the reader the motives which had actuated his whole life : 
 " While I was thus busily employed," (in building up his 
 plantation at Seaconnet,) " and all my time and strength 
 laid out in this laborious undertaking, I received a com- 
 mission from the government to engage in their defence ; 
 And through the grace of God I was spirited for that work, 
 and direction in it was renewed me from day to day. And 
 although many of the actions that I was concerned in were 
 very difficult and dangerous, yet myself, and those who 
 went with me voluntarily in the service, had our lives, for the 
 most part, wonderfully preserved by the overruling hand of 
 the Almighty from first to last ; which doth aloud bespeak 
 our praises ; And to declare His wonderful works is our 
 indispensable duty. I was ever sensible of my own little- 
 ness, and unfitness to be employed in such great services. 
 But calling to mind that God is strong, I endeavored to put 
 all my confidence in Him, and by His Almighty power was 
 
82 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 carried througli evoy difficult action ; and my desire is that 
 His name may have the praise. 
 
 "It was ever my intent, having laid myself under a solemn 
 promise, that the many and repeated favors of God to 
 myself and those with me in the service might be published 
 for generations to come. And now my great age requiring 
 my dismission from service in the militia, and to put off my 
 armor, I am willing that the great and glorious works of 
 Almighty God to us, children of men, should appear to the 
 world; and having my minutes by me, my son has taken the 
 care and pains to collect from them the ensuing narrative of 
 many passages relating to the former and latter wars ; which 
 I have had the perusal of, and find nothing amiss, as to the 
 truth of it, and with as little reflection upon any particular 
 person as might be, either alive or dead. And, seeing every 
 particle of historical truth is precious, I hope the reader will 
 pass a favorable censure upon an old soldier, telling of the 
 many rencounters he has had, and yet is come off alive." 
 
 In times of peace, the blunt honesty, the hatred of all 
 sham and pretence, and the unsparing vigor with which he 
 denounced whatever seemed to him mean or low, often ren- 
 dered Church unpopular among his neighbors ; but in times 
 of the gloomiest and most wretched despondency, men 
 called for the service of his clear brain and strong right 
 arm, just as Rome, in her days of darkest despair, looked up 
 to Caius Marius to save the state. It was in fighting and in 
 managing Indians that he was most successful, and his 
 equal in this respect this comitry has never seen. " The cap- 
 ture of Annawon, for audacious and calculating intrepidity, 
 is unmatched in the history of partizan warfare, and exhibits 
 a sagacity which could estimate and measure the force of 
 moral power when operating on physical force with unerring 
 precision, and could truly judge how far the prospect of suc- 
 cess could justify the undertaking of an enterprise of appar- 
 ent desperation with most inadequate means, and finishing a 
 mighty war, after a triumphant train of fights, like a Knight 
 
BENJAMIN CHURCH. «d 
 
 of Romance, by the solitary and unaided efforts of one won- 
 der-working arm." * 
 
 At the beginning of the war Church removed his family to 
 Rhode Island for greater safety, while he hastened to devote 
 his own powers to the service of the colony ; but the wise 
 counsels of the man who had studied so carefully the peculi- 
 arities of the Indian character were disregarded, and those 
 were entrusted with the conduct of the war whose knowl- 
 edge, both of the Indians and of military affairs, was of the 
 most rudimentary kind. A long series of disasters at last 
 forced his unwilling opponents to give him the command 
 which his genius merited, and from that moment Fortune 
 seemed to smile upon the English. 
 
 It was in the fullness of his fame — when his praises were 
 on the lips of every man — that the gallant leader came to 
 dwell in the lands which had belonged to his dead foe ; a lasting 
 peace seemed to have been secured to the colonists by his 
 achievements, and in the heritage of Philip it seemed fitting 
 that Philip's conqueror should have his home. He built a 
 house on the north side of Constitution Street, near the cor- 
 ner of Thames Street, which many readers of this book Avill 
 remember ; the old chimney, a most picturesque ruin, covered 
 with creeping vines, was torn down to make a place for a 
 modern dwelling-house only a few years ago. 
 
 Captain Church was elected to many offices by the people 
 of Bristol ; of all these he discharged the duties Avith the 
 honesty of purpose and hearty zeal which characterized his 
 every action. He went to Plymouth as the first deputy to 
 represent the town at the General Court in 1682, and was 
 also its deputy in the two succeeding years. When the 
 colonies were again involved in hostilities, in what is known 
 as King William's War, he was, in September, 1689, ap- 
 pointed Major and Commander-in-Chief of an expedition " to 
 the Eastward." This expedition he conducted for a while 
 with his usual success, but he was not properly supported by 
 the colonial governments. The attention of the people of 
 
 * Baylies* History of Plymouth. 
 
84 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Massachusetts was too completely taken up with the affairs 
 of Sir Edmond Andros to allow them to bestow much thought 
 upon their friends in the remote villages of Maine. A coun- 
 cil was held and it was deemed best for Church to return to 
 Massachusetts that he might in person represent to its 
 authorities the defenceless condition of their suffering kins- 
 men. His representations were disregarded ; no aid was 
 sent, and the French and Indians, under command of Baron 
 Castine, massacred nearly all the inhabitants of Casco Bay. 
 For his services on this expedition the Government of Ply- 
 mouth voted to Church the paltry sum of X42, while Mas- 
 sachusetts coolly refused him any compensation whatever. 
 
 The mode of Indian warfare in the thinly settled districts 
 of Maine was different from that which the Red men adopted 
 in the more populous regions of Massachusetts. Major 
 Church foretold the failure of the expedition under the lead- 
 ership of Sir William Phipps, in which his townsman, Walley, 
 had embarked in 1690, and its issue justified his prediction. 
 At last, when other commanders had been repeatedly defeated, 
 he was entreated to lead another expedition. With three 
 hundred and fifty men he disembarked at Casco Bay and en- 
 tered upon a very successful campaign ; but the Government 
 of Massachusetts, alleging their great losses in the Canada 
 expedition under Phipps, declined to furnish provisions ; his 
 raw troops complained of their hard fare and entreated to be 
 sent home, and the disgusted leader was obliged to disband 
 his forces. 
 
 He returned to Boston, worn out with fatigue, his clothes 
 in rags, penniless. The niggardly government contributed 
 no money to supply his nqpessities, and treated him rather as 
 a criminal than as a leader who had rendered unequaled ser- 
 vice to the State. The conqueror of Philip was obliged to 
 depend upon the charity of the master of the sloop which 
 had brought him to Boston for his board for three days, and 
 upon the generosity of an honest drover for the money with 
 which to reach his home. He was even obliged to sell a part 
 of his lands to pay the expenses of this expedition, under- 
 
BENJAMLV CHURCH. 85 
 
 taken in the service of the colony. Malicious enemies, whose 
 evil doings he had often condemned with all the force of his 
 just indignation, spread abroad atrocious calumnies respecting 
 him. Their stories were soon proved to be false, but the 
 spirit of the gallant soldier was deeply wounded and he re- 
 fused for a time to take the command which was offered him 
 by Plymouth. Thrice afterward he went as commander of 
 Eastern expeditions, his last commission, as colonel, having 
 been made out by Governor Dudley. In each of these he 
 was successful, and after each he received the same infamous 
 treatment which the authorities of Massachusetts had before 
 accorded him. This meanness and sordid parsimony seem 
 to us at this day entirely inexplicable. Years after Mr. 
 Church's death the General Court of Massachusetts became 
 ashamed of their ingratitude, and rendered tardy justice to 
 his memory by granting his heirs five hundred acres out of 
 any unappropriated land in the province. 
 
 At the age of sixty-five, Colonel Church retired from mili- 
 tary pursuits. In his expeditions in the East he had not 
 won the fame which had crowned his earlier achievements, 
 but in none of them had he been defeated, in not one of them 
 had he even been repulsed. What other general of his age 
 oi" country can show as wonderful a record ? 
 
 ;Mr. Church lived several years in Bristol, and many of his 
 children were born here. From this place he removed to Fall 
 River, and finally went back to Littlp Compton. It is pleasant 
 to think, that notwithstanding his long service in war, he was 
 yet enabled by his energy and frugality in times of peace, to 
 acquire a comfortable yjroperty, and that his declining years 
 were not rendered bitter by the grinding chains of poverty. 
 While he was living at Little Compton, he learned that his 
 sister, Mrs. Irish, had lost her only child, and he went to pay 
 her a visit of condolence. On his return, his hoi'se stumbled 
 and threw him with great force on the frozen ground ; the 
 old warrior had become exceedingly corpulent, and the fall 
 ruptured a blood vessel. From the effects of this accident he 
 
HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 died on the 17th of January, 1718, being then seventy-eight 
 years of age.* 
 
 Few men ever served their country more devotedly or more 
 illustriously than he ; few were treated with greater injustice 
 and ingratitude when living, and few wei-e more sincerely 
 mourned when dead. Men forgot how often their own thin 
 armor of self-complacency had been pierced by the sharp 
 arrows of his fiery indignation, whenever the stern old hero 
 had observed any indication of meanness or littleness of spirit. 
 They thought of the upright citizen whose sturdy patriotism 
 had never wavered, even when his reputation had been unjustly 
 assailed by the most bitter calumnies which envenomed malice 
 could suggest ; of the valiant captain to whom, amid the fiercest 
 carnage of the battle, men looked for inspiration as to the 
 very embodiment of cool and unwavering courage. 
 
 * Mr. Church had five sons and two daughters. Of these, the young-est son, 
 Charles, was born, lived and died in Bristol. He was for years the Sheriff of the 
 County, and possessed much of his father's energ-y and force of character. He 
 lies buried east of the Common. From him Colonel Peter Church is descended. 
 
Chapter xiv. 
 
 JOHN SAFFIN. 
 
 Among the first inliabitants of Bristol was one who seeined 
 born for controversies. Like the war-horse, he " scented the 
 l)attle from afar," and was ever ready to plunge headlong 
 into the midst of it. In almost all the prominent disputes 
 of that early time, the name of John Saffin stands con- 
 spicuous as that of one of the leading disputants. Contests 
 from which he might easily have escaped, and in the issue of 
 which he could have had no special interest, he yet seems to 
 have engaged in from a pure love of disputation. He was 
 a man of undoubted ability and considerable education, was 
 often honored with responsible offices in his earlier years, 
 and but for his unfortunate temper, might have risen to the 
 highest posts in the colony. 
 
 Mr. Saffin was born in England. He was the eldest son 
 of Simon Saffin, merchant, of Exeter, and came to this 
 country when quite a young man. In 16G5 lie joined the 
 first church in Boston. In 1678 he was sufficiently promi- 
 nent to talce part in the ceremonies of Governor Leverett's 
 funeral ; in this same year his name appears on the hand- 
 bill of the committee of the Narragansett Proprietors, which 
 offered for sale tracts of land in that country. In con- 
 sequence of this handbill, he was arrested by the colony of 
 Rhode Island, after a trial was fined, and his estate was 
 forfeited. In 1680 he was one of the assignees of the title 
 of the Narragansett Country, and was present, in 1687, wlicn 
 Dudley organized the King's Province. In 1681:-85 he 
 
05 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 was a deputy for Boston to the General Court, and in 1686 
 his talents secured his election as Speaker of the House. 
 This office he continued to hold until the usurpation of 
 Andros. On 20th May, 1686, he was chosen by tlie General 
 Court of Massachusetts as one of the Confidential Committee, 
 to whom the care of the charter and all the important papers 
 was entrusted. Although his name is given in the list of the 
 original inliabitants of Bristol, he did not at once take up 
 liis abode in the town. Not until he had married the daugh- 
 ter of Mr. Lee, the first settled minister, did he finally cast 
 in his lot with the new settlement. When tlie first town- 
 meeting was held, he was probably present with the inten- 
 tion of becoming a citizen, but it was not until 1688 that he 
 became an actual resident. 
 
 In 1689, with Byfield as a colleague, he represented the 
 town at tlie General Court, and in 1691 and 1692 he was 
 again its deputy. He was first Judge of Probate in the 
 County of Bristol, holding the office from 1692 to 1702, 
 when Mr. Byfield succeeded him ; he was also judge of the 
 Superior Court of Massachusetts in the year 1701. In 1703 
 he liad incurred tlie enmity of Dudley, and his name was 
 erased from the list of the counselors. 
 
 In his later years his irascible temper seems to have led 
 him into all manner of excesses. He separated from his 
 wife * for some slight cause, and refused to live with her 
 again, although earnestly entreated so to do. Only ten days 
 before his death Cotton Mather addressed to him, upon this 
 subject, a letter of admonition and reproof, to which he seems 
 to have paid no attention. He died at Bristol, July 29, 1710. 
 His famous "retraction" of the charges Avhich he had 
 made against Byfield and Walley, is still presci-vcd ; the 
 charges had been referred to arbitrators, and Saffin was 
 judged to be in the wrong; the letter shows that 
 
 "E'en though vanquished he could argue still." 
 
 * Judge Saffin was thrice married. His first wife was Martha, daughter of 
 Capt. Thomas Willet, of Swansey (now Barrington). (Captain Willet was the first 
 mayor of New York.) Mrs. Elizabeth Lidgett was his second wife. He mariied 
 Rebecca Lee in 1688. 
 
JOHN SAFFIN. 89 
 
 JUDGE S affix's RETRACTIOX. 
 
 "Whereas I, who have heretofore subscribed, and eujoyned by an 
 award of arbitration dated the 7lh of July 1090, given under the hands 
 and seals of the Hon. William Stoughton, lieutenant governor, Isaac 
 Addington Esq., and John Leverett, M. A. Fellow of Harvard College, 
 to make a retraction and acknowledgment in writing under my hand of 
 sui)posed ill treatment, wrong and injury offered to Major John Walley 
 and Captain Nathaniel Byfield, two of the first purchasers of Mount 
 Hope Neck, by sundry reflections in a manuscript entitled "the 
 Original of the Town of Bristol, or a true narrative of the first settle- 
 ment of Mount Hope Neck, &c " which was made in behalf of the 
 inhabitants of said town, who for divers years have complained and 
 groaned under the grievances therein mentioned. 
 
 "Now, in order thereunto, I do hereby own and declare unto all 
 mankind, that if breach of promise to a person or people, in a matter 
 of great concernment be no evil ; if the chopping and changing of the 
 town commons to the great prejudice of the town; obstructing and 
 stopping up several ways leading to men's lands (some of them that 
 have been enjoyed above thirty years without molestation or disturbance,) 
 to be tolerable and not a nuisance strictly prohibited by the laws of our 
 nation, then I am exceedingly to blame in charging with evil in so 
 doing. If the granting of land upon a good consideration, and upon 
 the same promising to give a deed for the confirmation thereof, but 
 delaying it, and after eight or nine years quiet possession by the 
 grantee, these grantors give a deed of the same land unto others, if this, 
 I say, be just and righteous dealing, then I am exceedingly to blame in 
 charging with evil in so doing; 
 
 " If the taking up and dividing amongst themselves, and converting 
 to their own private use in farms and great pastures, the most of a very 
 considerable number of one hundred and twenty eight house-lots and 
 ten-acre lots, which were by the four first purchasers in their grand 
 articles under their hands and seals proposed, designed, and accord- 
 ingly laid out, and declared to be for the encouragement, use, benefit, 
 and accommodation, of so many families to build upon and settle on 
 Mount Hope Neck, (besides farms and bigger parcels of land,) to make 
 a town of trade as they were enjoyned by the Court of Plymouth; I 
 say if these actions of theirs be not prejudicial and injurious to the 
 inhabitants of the town of Bristol, then I have done them wrong in 
 saying or writing so. 
 
 "If the wilful suffering a certain water-mill, (built for the town's 
 use,) to fall and go to decay and utter ruin for by ends and sinister 
 respects, not repairing it themselves nor suffering others to do it, who 
 have also some right in it, be not a wrong and abuse to the town, said 
 purchasers making it first a great argument of encouragement for our 
 men to come and buy land of them to settle, in order to a town of 
 trade as aforesaid, which is at large set forth in their said articles, and 
 backed with many specious pretences and verbal juomises never ful- 
 
90 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 filled; now if these things are right and just, then I am exceedingly to 
 blame in charging them with evil in so doing. 
 
 "Again, if it be not an unrighteous thing in Major Walley to take 
 and receive £10 of the town of Bristol, and also many day's works of 
 them, promising and engaging himself for the same, to make a bridge 
 over a certain ci-eek in a way that should lead to said mill, but never 
 jjerformed it nor returned the money again, but instead thereof hath 
 stopi)ed the way as aforesaid; I say, if such doings and actions be just 
 and right, then I have done them wrong in writing to the contrary. 
 
 "And further, if the making of a deed by three of the first pur- 
 chasers, for the dividing of sixteen of the remainder of the one hun- 
 di-ed and twenty eight house-lots amongst four of them, pretending that 
 Captain Nathan Hayman was then and therein acting with them as if he 
 were alive, and did act and do as they did in all respects, (excepting 
 subscribing his name,) for which they left a blank or space giving under 
 their hands and seals, that on the twenty seventh day of June 1090, if 
 the said Nathan Hayman did with them personallj' oblige himself, his 
 heirs, &c, in the same manner as they did, three or four times men- 
 tioned in the said deed, whereas the man was dead and in his grave 
 eleven months before, I say if these and such like strange actions and 
 doings before mentioned, (all of whicli they have either owned or have 
 proved to be done by them,) be warrantable, legal, just and right in the 
 sight of God, or according to the laws of the nation, then I do hereby 
 own and humbly acknowledge that I have done the said Major John 
 Walley and Capt. Nathaniel Byfield much wrong and injury in ren- 
 dering their said actions in my said narrative to be illegal, unjust, and 
 injurious to the town of Bristol in general, and to myself in particular, 
 for which I am sorry. 
 
 " I confess I might have spared some poetical notions and satyrical 
 expressions, which I have used by way of argument, inference, or com- 
 parison, yet the sharpest of them are abundantly .^hort of those villi- 
 fying terms and scurrilous language which they themselves have fre- 
 quently given each other both in public and private, generally known in 
 Bristol. 
 
 " But above all 1 am heartily sorry that it is my unhappiness to dif- 
 fer so much in my apprehensions from the honored gentlemen, the 
 arbitrators, for whom I have always conceived and retained an honor- 
 able esteem and veneration, that I would even put my life into their 
 hands, the truth whereof may appear by this late submission of mine, 
 otherwise I should not have exposed myself as I have done. 
 
 "John Saffix." 
 
 (This was delivered to Major Walley and Captain Byfield, on Friday, 
 July 24, 1696.) 
 
Chapter xv. 
 
 OTHER EARLY SETTLERS. 
 
 Only a very incomplete account has been handed down to 
 us of the early lives of the other men whose names appear in 
 the record of the first town-meeting. 
 
 John Gary came to Bristol from Bridgewater, Mass. He 
 had been a merchant in London, and had accumulated some 
 property before coming to America. His father was John 
 Gary, a man of much influence by reason of his superior ed- 
 ucation and upright character, who came to Plymouth in 1630, 
 many years before his son's arrival. Tradition says that tlie 
 elder Gary tauglit the first Latin school in the colony. Mr. 
 Gary built a house on the north side of what is now known 
 as Malt House Lane. He was a brewer by trade, and his 
 brewery, from which the lane derived its name, was built near 
 tliis house. Some traces of this building may still be seen 
 on the farm owned by the late William Paul. Mr. Gary made 
 a great quantity of ale. The greater part of this he shipped to 
 Newport, from which port it was distributed throughout the 
 colonies. He carried on the business until his death, and was 
 succeeded in it by his son. When the church was organized 
 he was elected one of its deacons, and held the office until his 
 death. At the death of Stephen Burton, he succeeded to tlie 
 office which Burton had held. 
 
 Nathaniel Bosworth was the son of Dea. Benjamin Bosworth, 
 and was born in Hingham, Mass., in 1651. His mother, Re- 
 becca Stevens Bosworth, was killed by the Indians early in 
 Philip's War. Mr. Bosworth lived for a while in Rehoboth, 
 
92 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 and from thence moved to Bristol. He was both a cooper 
 and a fisherman. As a cooper he formed a business connec- 
 tion with hisbrotlier deacon, John Gary, and the two wrought 
 mightily together, not only in their business, but also in their 
 spiritual relations. He was chosen deacon on the organiza- 
 tion of the church. He died Aug. 31, 1690. His descendants 
 are still numerous among us. 
 
 Xatlianiel Reynolds was the son of Robert Reynolds, of 
 Boston, Mass., and was probably born in England. He was 
 admitted as a freeman in Boston in 1665, was a member of 
 the Artillery Company, and did good service in the Indian 
 war as captain of a company under Colonel Church. Mr. 
 Reynolds built his house on the northeast corner of Brad- 
 ford and Thames streets. The old building was torn down 
 only a few years ago, and the store of Mr. J. Howard 
 Manchester covers part of its site. The town records con- 
 tain this minute of his death : " Captain Nathaniel Reynolds 
 departed tliis life July 10th, 1708, his death being very sud- 
 den ; for going in from his garden, sat down about two 
 minutes, then rose up and went into his lodging-room, lay 
 down on his bed and dyed, as it were in a fainting fit." 
 
 Hugh Woodbury was born in Salem, June 30, 1650. 
 
 William Throop, commonly called Goodman Throop, was 
 of Scotch descent. He was a son of William Throop, who 
 came from Leyden in 1640. He died Dec. 6, 1704. His 
 descendants used to relate, with much pride, the particulars 
 of his triumphal entrance into the town. First of all Bris- 
 tolians, he made the journey from Barnstable " by team." 
 He loaded all liis household goods into an ox-cart, placed his 
 family thereon, and with stately grandeur, amid the plaudits 
 of envious but admiring spectators, moved onward to the 
 spot which he had determined upon for his habitation. 
 
 Nathaniel Paine came from Swansey. He succeeded 
 Byfield in his office of Judge of Probate. 
 
 Samuel Waldron had previously lived in Boston. 
 
 Jabez Gorham came from Barnstable. Christopher Saun- 
 ders, from Rehoboth. William Brenton, from Swansey. 
 
OTHER EARLY SETTLERS. 93 
 
 Jabez Howland was the second son of the John Howland 
 who came over in the " Mayflower." His mother was the 
 daughter of Governor Carver. He married Bethiah Thatcher, 
 and came to Bristol in 1681. He had ah-eady become ac- 
 quainted with the Mount Hope Lands, in the war which was 
 just ended, and in which he had served as Captain Churcli's 
 lieutenant. Mr. Howland was a man of great force and 
 energy, as he must needs have been who could prove himself 
 an acceptable lieutenant to that tireless warrior. Through- 
 out his long life he was honored with many and important 
 trusts by his fellow-townsmen. He died in 1732, Oct. 17. 
 
 Richard Smith, the first town clerk, was born in London 
 in 1643, came to Boston in 1673, and Nov. 9, 1680, removed 
 to Bristol. He built a house near the northeast corner of 
 Hope and Constitution streets, where his descendants, for 
 many generations, lived and died. He was a mason and 
 stone-cutter by trade, and the gravestone which he himself 
 fashioned, and on which he traced his autograph, may still 
 be seen in the burying-ground east of the Common. He 
 died in 1696. 
 
Chapter xvi. 
 
 now THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT. 
 
 Abstract of the Grand jirticlcs and Explanation of the 
 Deed of Highzvaxs. 
 
 I. The four proprietors had taken effective measures to pro- 
 mote the settlement of the town, even before all tlie formalities 
 necessary to the transfer of the title to the land had been 
 gone through with. In company with certain other men, to 
 whom they had sold shares in the land, they drew up and signed 
 what are known as the Grand Articles. 
 
 In these articles it was promised that there should be " in 
 that part of Mount Hope Neck lying opposite Poppasquash 
 Neck," one hundred and twenty-eight house-lots laid out. 
 Each lot by the water-side was to contain about one acre. A 
 highway of convenient breadth was to be laid out between the 
 lots and the sea-side, and those whose lots bordered on the 
 sea were to have the land lying between' the highway and the 
 sea, and the privileges of the beaches and flats as far as the 
 channel. All the other lots were to contain about two acres, and 
 to each of the lots ten acres were to be laid out at a convenient 
 distance. Those having an eighth part were to have two 
 house-lots together, two ten-aci-e lots together, and the first 
 choice. The holders of a sixteenth part were to choose single 
 house-lots and single ten-acre lots next. The holders of 
 thirty-second parts were to select lots in the order in which 
 they subscribed to the articles. 
 
 When all had chosen, those holding eighth and sixteenth 
 
 
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT. 95 
 
 parts were to choose the other half of their proi)ortioii of town 
 lots and ten- acre lots. The remainder of the land was to l)e 
 disposed of by the proprietors. 
 
 Five hundred acres were to be laid out in small farms, and 
 six hundred acres laid out in common. Of this common land 
 all the proprietors of the one hundred and twenty-eight house 
 lots, of the small farms, the Poppasquash Farm, the Ferry 
 Farm, and the Mill Farm, were to have the benefit. It was 
 agreed that suitable roads, liighways and streets should be laid 
 out. An allotment was to be made for the ministry, and such 
 accommodations provided for the same "■ as shall be deemed 
 necessary, which shall forever remain and be for the use of 
 the ministry for the time being." Such a quantity of land 
 as the first purchasers deemed requisite, was to be given for 
 the encouragement of the first minister, and lands were also 
 to be provided for the Meeting House, a Burying Place, the 
 Town House, the Market House and the School House. 
 
 The holders of the smaller portions of land gave bond to 
 the four proprietors faithfully to fulfill their part of the agree- 
 ment, and the proprietors bound thimselves, under penalty 
 of forfeiting one hundred pounds, to settle with their families 
 at Mount Hope within three years from the first day of May 
 following, and to continue living there until at least sixty 
 families should have settled. All others bound themselves 
 to settle within three years, and "to continue at least till 
 after the first of April next, come five years," under penalty 
 of losing their whole share. 
 
 A farm was to be laid out upon Poppasquash Xeck for the 
 four first proprietors and other purchasers, a mill was to be 
 built upon it and a road laid out to it, also a ferry was to 
 be established and a house built. Across the Xeck, by the 
 Swansey line, a fence was to be put up. 
 
 The four proprietors and all that had deeds granted them 
 bound themselves, under penalty of forfeiting ^£200, to build 
 a house within one year from the 1st of November following. 
 The house was to contain not less than two good rooms on a 
 floor, and was to be two clear stories high, with brick or 
 
yb HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 stone cliimiicys. It was stipulated tliat all other persons 
 should build a house " with not less than one good large 
 room and two clear stories high, with brick or stone chim- 
 neys," within one year from date of purchasing, on penalty 
 of forfeiting their lands. All persons were to fence their 
 house-lots within one year. 
 
 Also, " the four First Proprietors and such as shall have 
 deeds granted them, shall pay forty pounds per annum in 
 money value to the minister of the place, besides the valua- 
 tion that shall be laid upon their estate ; this to continue 
 until the minister can be comfortably supported with twenty 
 pounds. The twenty pounds shall bo paid besides the valua- 
 tion, &c., until the minister can be maintained without it." 
 
 Every settler had liberty to buy marsh meadow land ad- 
 joining his own, but none could buy any meadow land lying 
 against undivided land, unless by general consent. No un- 
 divided land could be sold unless the other proprietors had 
 the first refusal of it, under penalty of £500. Proprietors 
 were to have the refusal of lands to be sold, in preference to 
 strangers. Any two of •the first purchasers were empowered 
 to sue others for a breach of the articles, and any four of the 
 others could sue the four proprietors. Every settler was to 
 pay his portion towards the erection of a Minister's House 
 and a Meeting House. 
 
 These articles were signed on the twenty-seventh day of 
 August, 1680, " in the thirty-second year of the Reign of our 
 Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second over England, &c." 
 
 The signers were : — 
 John Walley, for an eighth part. 
 Nathaniel Oliver, for an eighth part. 
 Nathaniel Byfield, for an eightli i)art. 
 Stephen Burton, for an eighth part. 
 Isaac Waldron,*for a sixteenth part. 
 
 * Dr. Isaac Waldron died before the time had expired within which he was to 
 settle with his f amilj^ at Mount Hope. He repented of his purchase very soon 
 after it was made, and offered £50 to be released from the bargain. Not being- able 
 to obtain a release he sold much of his land in small lots. This was greatly to his 
 advantage but somewhat to the detriment of the town, as no man of equal means 
 and influence was induced to take his place. 
 
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT. 97 
 
 Benjamin Cliurcli, for a sixteenth part. 
 
 Nathaniel Williams, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 Nathaniel Reynolds, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 John Walley, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 John Wilkins, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 William Injrraham, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 Nathaniel Paine, for a thirty-second ]>art. 
 
 Christopher Saunders, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 Nathan Hayman,* for a thirty-second part. 
 
 John Walley, for a thirty-second part in behalf of Tim Clark. 
 
 Nathaniel Bosworth, for two-thirds of a thirty-second part. 
 
 Benjamin Joanes, for one-third of a thirty-second part. 
 
 Samuel Woodbury, for a thirty-second part. 
 
 * " Reserving liberty without penalty for building his house 
 and setting up chimneys, till October come twelvemonth." 
 
 II. The Deed of Highways, granted June 16, 1690, shows 
 that but little change has since been made in the streets in 
 tlie compact part of the town. The land was laid out in eight- 
 acre squares. Four streets are mentioned by name, " now 
 laid out lying between the two creeks at the north and south 
 end, running nearly north and south ; the lowest, Thames, 
 lyeth according to the convenience of the shore ; the next 
 above is Hope, four rods wide, and is straight from end to 
 end. The third street from salt water is High, five rods 
 wide, and is straight from end to end ; the fourth is Wood, 
 four rods wide, straight from end to end." Thames Street 
 is now three rods wide. It originally extended much further 
 south than its present limit. The angry waters of that terri- 
 ble day in September, 1815, swept away much of its southern 
 portion, and the lower end was quite recently closed up by 
 order of the Town Council. The other streets remain as 
 when first laid out. 
 
 Nine cross streets are described in the Deed, " that lie near 
 east and west, crossing the aforementioned and running down 
 to the sea, seven whereof are five rods wide." " Of the other 
 two the northernmost (Oliver) is four rods, and the southern- 
 most but one (Burton) is three rods in breadth. Every one of 
 said nine are straight, and run from Wood to low water mark, 
 except the northernmost, which is from High to low water 
 
 7 
 
98 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 mark." By the provisions of this Deed the inhabitants were 
 allowed " the improvement of wharfing or otherwise using 
 the breadth of any of the nine cross streets below low water 
 mark, provided such use be for the tovm's use and ivith the 
 approbation and consent of the major part of the inhabitants, 
 and the consent of the major part of the proprietors of the 
 lands on each side of the street ivhere such improvements shall 
 be made, and the consent of the major part of the Four Pro- 
 prietors living at the time of the improvement^ 
 
 No names were at first given to seven of these streets. 
 The four proprietors, being perhaps unable to agree upon any 
 except Charles and Queen, decided to leave the task of naming 
 to those who should come after them. It is to be regretted 
 in this connection that their posterity did not recognize the 
 pre-eminent claims to recognition of the four proprietors, and 
 that tlieir names are now applied to comparatively unimpor- 
 tant thoroughfares. Byfield Street (so called because Mr. 
 Byfield's town house was situated upon it) was not one of 
 the nine, but was opened for public use by Mr. Byfield some 
 years after this time. 
 
 The nine streets in order were Oliver, Franklin, Bradford, 
 State (first called Charles, afterward King Street), Church 
 (first called Queen Street), Constitution, Union, Burton and 
 Walley. Walley Street is now but four rods wide. Years ago 
 John Lindsay had a distillery on the north side of the street. 
 As his own lot was not sufficiently large to accommodate his 
 business he used a part of the street adjoining for sheds. At 
 that time the street was almost impassal)le because of the 
 rocky ledges which extended across it. A complaint was 
 made against Mr. Lindsay for trespassing, but at a town- 
 meeting his eloquence (or spirits) moved his fellow-citizens 
 to an exercise of great liberality, and the town voted to allow 
 him the use of one rod on the north side of the street during 
 its pleasure. Soon after, Mr. Lindsay walled in the rod of 
 land, and the original line has never been re-established. All 
 these cross streets are straight from end to end. Notwith- 
 standing the buildings and the fences which obstruct the shore 
 
HOW THE TOWN WAR LAID OUT. 99 
 
 ends of some of them, they may at any time be extended not 
 only to low-water mark but to the ship channel, if the peo- 
 ple of the town so desire and order. 
 
 The Back Road, Crooked Lane (now Bay view Avenue), 
 Mount Lane, Tanyard Lane, and Sanford (sometimes called 
 DeWolf) Lane, all of which are now four rods wide, are 
 described in the Deed, but had not then been named. Several 
 highways further north are also mentioned. One road, 
 beginning opposite the west end of what is now Walnut 
 Street, and extending to the salt water, does not seem ever to 
 have been opened. 
 
 To enable the proprietors of the small farms, and the 
 tenants of " the Commonages " more easily to reach their 
 lands, many small lanes were laid out, which were afterwards 
 closed by the men who had bought up the adjoining lots on 
 both sides. This accounts for the sudden ending of such 
 streets as Gooding's Lane. Access to the shore was secured 
 to all by means of certain drift ways, duly specified, some 
 of which have since inadvertently been allowed to be closed up. 
 
 " The Commonages " were mainly laid out between the 
 Back Road on the east, Wood Street on the west. Crooked 
 Lane on the north, and Sanford Lane on the south. Sanford 
 Lane was one of the drift ways extending to the sea, the 
 perpetual use of which is guaranteed in the deed. The 
 eight-acre tract which now forms the Common, was given by 
 the four proprietors, for the public use, benefit, and improve- 
 ment, " that is to say, for a Meeting House, Town House, 
 and for any other edifice for the town's use, for a market 
 place, burying'place, training-field, or any other public use, 
 with the approbation of the major part of the inhabitants." 
 
 A lot of land containing two acres was given to the town 
 " for the encouragement and use of an able orthodox minis- 
 try." This lot was situated at the southeast corner of High 
 and Bradford streets, the same upon which the church and 
 chapel of the Congregational Society now stand. For the 
 same purpose a twelve-acre lot west of tlie land " for com- 
 mon improvement," and a one hundred and fiftietli part of 
 
100 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 the Commonages were set apart. " For the encouragement 
 and use of an able schoohnaster," land of almost equal extent 
 and value was presented, the four proprietors thus making 
 manifest their conviction that religion and education should 
 go hand in hand. 
 
 Never, before, in New England, had a town been laid out 
 upon such a liberal scale, and with a more just appreciation 
 of what the future needs of the place would be. That 
 Bristol is now one of the most beautiful towns in the United 
 States, is due almost entirely to the wise policy which its 
 first inhabitants pursued. We, in this later day, have some- 
 what degenerated, in that we have allowed the newer por- 
 tions of the town to be cut up with a multitude of streets, 
 too small for any traffic, and laid out without any pretense 
 to regularity. At a day not far distant, it is quite possible 
 that our short-comings in this respect may have to be atoned 
 for by a large expenditure of money. In the matter of high- 
 ways, as in everything else, our ancestors thouglit it always 
 best to begin well. 
 
Chapter xvii. 
 
 SOME OLD HOUSES. 
 
 When the early settlers had selected their building-lots, it 
 was not difficult to gather together the necessary materials 
 for their houses. IMie site of the town was covered with a 
 dense growth of trees, the oak and the hornbeam predomi- 
 nating, and from each man's lot a large proportion of the 
 timber which he needed could be cut, while the adjacent 
 highway easily yielded the remainder. Only a comparatively 
 slight amount of labor was necessary to secure an abundance 
 of stone suitable for the foundations and the chimneys, and 
 lime was easily obtained by burning the shells which were 
 everywhere found upon the shores. The nails were usually 
 brought from Boston. 
 
 Not much diversity of taste was visible in the exterior 
 appearance of the first dwellings. In the Grand Articles it 
 was stipulated that the proprietors, and all who should have 
 deeds granted them, should build a house two stories high, 
 with not less than two good rooms on a floor. To build a 
 house with four rooms upon each floor would take more 
 time than most of the settlers could well spare from the 
 work of clearing their farms and making passable the streets ; 
 it would also be too expensive ; so the " camelopard " style 
 of building was adopted. This presented a goodly appear- 
 ance to the eye of him who stood directly in front, but began 
 to grow beautifully less as soon as the beholder shifted his 
 position ; a few steps only would be sufficient to establish 
 the fact that the stately mansion soon degenerated into a 
 
102 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 wood-pile. As tlie means of the owners increased, additions 
 and alterations were made to the early houses, and as the 
 later comers were enabled to devote more time and money 
 to the construction of their dwellings, the old type of house 
 gradually disappeared. A few of those built in later years 
 yet remain. One may still be seen on the west side of the 
 " Main Road," not far from " Poppasqnasli Corner." 
 
 Usually one chimney was deemed sufficient for each house. 
 Those who can recall the appearance of the old chimney 
 which used to stand near the northeast corner of Constitu- 
 tion and Thames streets (it once belonged to the house of 
 Capt. Benjamin Church), can get a very good idea of what 
 a stupendous thing the chimney of our forefathers was. 
 The brick chimneys were only about fourteen feet square, 
 but those which were built wholly of stone were, for the most 
 part, about twenty feet square at the base. All had immense 
 fire-places, usually large enough for a full-grown man to walk 
 into witliout stooping, and all were most admirably adapted 
 to keep a house cold. The carpenter's work, in those early 
 days, was somewhat rude and imperfect, but the ventilation 
 of the house was always most excellent, and there was never 
 any lack of fresh air. On the cold mornings of December 
 the members of the family would come shivering down to 
 breakfast, — for our hardy ancestors disdained to have a fire 
 in their sleeping-rooms. An enormous pile of huge logs 
 would be blazing upon the ample hearth, and the faces of 
 those who incautiously ventured too near the fire would be 
 almost blistered with the heat ; but in the farther corners of 
 the room the snow which had drifted in through the cracks 
 during the night would still lie unmelted upon the floor, and 
 even the coiTee left upon the table would soon be frozen in 
 the cups. It is not to be wondered at that our fathers, who 
 were brought up in this heroic manner, were able to endure 
 without much discomfort a degree of cold from which we, 
 their degenerate sons, shrink homeward in dismay. 
 
 Two years after the settlement of the town, some eighteen 
 dwelling-houses had been erected. The greater portion of 
 
SOME OLD HOUSES. 
 
 103 
 
 The Old Bosworth House. 
 
 these were pulled down, to give place to more modern dwell- 
 ings. Six were burnt by the British troops. Two of the 
 oldest still remain, though both have been greatly altered in 
 appearance. 
 
 Just north of the Town Bridge,* on the east side of the 
 road, stands the first house erected within the limits of 
 Bristol. It is now the residence of Mrs. James DeWolf 
 Perry, one of the descendants of its first owner. It was 
 built by Deacon Nathaniel Bosworth, in the year 1680. 
 Many changes and additions have been made since that time. 
 Only the southwest portion was built by Mr. Bosworth, but 
 his successors have taken care, in the additions which they 
 have made, to preserve the architectural peculiarities, and the 
 old mansion which has withstood the storms of two centuries, 
 still presents the air of quiet comfort which first made glad 
 the heart of Deacon Bosworth. The years have dealt ten- 
 derly with the old house, and the loving hands of its suc- 
 cessive occupants have carefully repaired the ravages of 
 time. The southwest room remains almost as it was when. 
 
 * In the old records this bridge is usually spoken of as the North Bridge, or the 
 bridge over the North Creek, to distinguish it from the South Bridge, almost 
 opposite Walker's Island. The South Creek must once have been almost as promi- 
 nent a feature of the town as the North Creek still is, but the many changes made 
 upon its banks within the past century, have almost caused us to forget that such 
 a creek ever existed. 
 
104 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 in 1680, the people of the little settlement gathered within 
 its walls for their first religious service. Mr. Bosworth 
 died in 1690, and the house remained in the possession of 
 descendants bearing his name until 1750. 
 
 In the year 1750 it was bought by Shearjashub Bourne,* a 
 lawyer of distinction who had settled in Bristol five years 
 before. Mr. Bourne's wife was a descendant of Nathaniel 
 Bosworth, and had previously inherited a part of his estate. 
 When Wallace bombarded the town, in 1775, Mr. Bourne was 
 living in the house. Its present owner received from her 
 mother, in her childhood, the tradition that several cannon 
 balls, shot from the British vessels during the bombardment, 
 had pierced the walls of the old building and lodged between 
 the ceiling and the floor of the second story. Incredulous 
 listeners had smiled with poorly concealed disbelief when- 
 ever the story was told, but the faith of its narrator had never 
 wavered. In 1863 the ceiling of the great parlor was torn 
 down to make some necessary repairs, and Mrs. Perry was 
 sarcastically invited to find the cannon balls. Scarcely had 
 she entered the room when down fell several large sized grape- 
 shot almost at her feet, and the voice of skepticism was 
 hushed. 
 
 In 1797, fleeing from the yellow fever at Providence, Judge 
 Benjamin Bourne f came to live in his father's mansion. Then 
 
 * Shearjashul) Bourne graduated from Harvard Colleg-e in lTi3, in tlie same 
 class with the Rev. John Usher, Jr. He died at nristol Feb. 9, 1781. 
 
 + Benjamin Bourne was born in the Old Bosworth House, Sept. 9, 175.5. He 
 graduated from Harvard Colleg:e in the class of 1775, and at once commenced the 
 study of law. His talents aud learning- soon grained for him a commanding 
 position in his profession, and the greater part of his life was spent in the public 
 service. In 1776 he was Quartermaster of the Second Rhode Island Regiment. 
 He was for several years a member of the General Assembly of Rhode Island, 
 and in 1789, in company with the Rev. James Manning, President of Brown Uni- 
 versity, he was deputed to present to the United States Congress the petition 
 setting forth the distressed condition of Rhode Island, and praying that her com- 
 merce might be exempted from foreign duties in the ports of the Union. When 
 Rhode Island adopted the Constitution of the United States, and became a mem- 
 ber of the American Union, In 1790, he was elected her first Representative to 
 Congress, and was re-elected to the Second, Third, and Fourth Cong:resses, serving 
 from Dec. 17, 1790, to 1796. In 1796 he resigned liis seat, and in 1801 he was appointed 
 Judge of the United States District Court, for the District of Rhode Island. 
 Judge Bourne received the degree of LL. D. from Brown University iu 1783, and 
 was a member of its Board of Trustees from 1793 until his death, Sept. 17, 1808. 
 
SOME OLD HOUSES. 105 
 
 the old house rang with the voices of the lawyers who made 
 the Rhode Island Bar illustrious three-quarters of a century 
 ago. James Burrill, then the Attorney-General of the State, 
 was a frequent visitor ; Benjamin R. Hazard (Black Ben, he 
 used to be called), Asher Robbins, Elisha R. Potter, who for 
 forty years was such a conspicuous figure in Rhode Island 
 politics, and Wilkins Updike, often crossed its threshold. 
 From the neighboring state of Massachusetts, Fisher Ames, 
 the man whom friends and foes alike acknowledged to be the 
 ablest debater in the National House of Representatives, came 
 frequently to visit his old college friend. With these older 
 lawyers there entered sometimes a young man whose wither- 
 ing sarcasm, wonderful knowledge of human nature, fervid 
 eloquence and rare reasoning powers afterwards did so much 
 to enhance the fame of Rhode Island whenever Tristam 
 Burges rose from his seat in the halls of Congress. 
 
 Judge Bourne made some changes in the house, and added, 
 for his library, the room at the southeast corner. In the 
 great gale of 1815 the inhabitants of the flimsier dwellings 
 of a later age fled to the stout old house, as a haven of refuge 
 when the fierce waves were threatening to engulf them. The 
 waters swept over the threshold, wrenched off a door or a 
 blind here and there, and filled the rooms of the lower story 
 level with the window seats, but no special harm was done to 
 the house itself. In 1863 the whole building was carefully 
 repaired, and the northeast part was added. The venerable 
 mansion shows to-day few signs of age, and seems likely to out- 
 last most of tlie houses which have lately sprung up around it. 
 
 The Walley house, of which, mention has been made in a 
 previous chapter, is also standing, though sadly changed. 
 The stout oaken beams which form its frame still remain 
 sound as of yore, but the exterior has been many times 
 changed, as the inroads of time have made repairs necessary, 
 or the tastes and the means of successive proprietors have 
 suggested alterations. The old building has passed through 
 strange vicissitudes. When it was erected, and for several 
 years after that time, no houses were built on the west side 
 
106 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 of Thames Street, and it stood in solitary state among trees 
 which almost 'surromided it, but which left its view of the 
 harbor unobstructed. From its upper windows curious eyes 
 looked outward upon bark canoes, gliding silently over the 
 sparkling waters, and the little shallops of the coasting 
 trade winging their way from port to port. Gradually houses 
 grew up about it, and the Indian canoes and humble shallops 
 gave place to the larger vessels which the West India busi- 
 ness required. These, again, passed away, and ambitious 
 warehouses received the rich freights which stately ships had' 
 brought from all quarters of the globe. Afterwards, a row of 
 insignificant buildings shot up in front of it, as if to mock its 
 former grandeur, the shrill whistle of the steamboat and the 
 busy hum of machinery were heard in the air, and the old 
 mansion which had welcomed beneath its hospitable roof 
 the famous statesmen, the accomplished divines, and the 
 lovely women of the old colonial days, awoke one day to find 
 that it had fallen forever from its high estate, and had 
 become a factory tenement-house. 
 
 Nathaniel Byfield built his first house on Byfield Street, 
 on the lot where the residence of Mr. Isaac F. Williams now 
 stands. It also was one of the earliest dwellings, and was 
 occupied until 1833, when it was torn down to make way 
 for the present building. The old house was two stories in 
 height, with a barn roof, and was nearly square, its dimen- 
 sions being thirty by thirty-eight feet. It was not built in 
 the " camelopard " style, already described, and had no " lean- 
 to." Its frame was made of the hardest kind of blue white- 
 oak, and was joined together in the strongest manner pos- 
 sible. These timbers showed no signs of decay when the old 
 building was taken down, and seemed indignantly to defy the 
 feeble efforts of the carpenters to fashion them for further 
 use : the keenest tools could hardly make an impression upon 
 them. Some of them, however, which were afterwards used 
 for the sills of another building, soon decayed when placed 
 in their new location. Like human beings, they had become 
 accustomed to one variety of climate, and could not endure the 
 
SOME OLD HOUSES. 107 
 
 change when exposed in their old age to strange draughts of 
 air. The great chimney, fourteen feet square, stood almost 
 in the centre of the house and directly opposite the front 
 door ; around this chimney it was necessary to go in passing 
 from the front of the house to the rear. This chimney was 
 built entirely of imported bricks, and was held together with 
 mortar mixed with shell-lime. So hard had this mortar 
 become by lapse of time that when the old chimney was 
 finally overthrown, it fell to the ground as a log would fall, 
 almost without a break. The floors were made of very wide 
 boards of some foreign wood, and were fastened with wrought- 
 iron nails ; no other kind of nails was used in the construction 
 of the house. The four rooms on the ground floor were eight 
 and a half feet high ; on the second floor they were perhaps 
 a foot lower. Huge beams ran across the ceiling of every 
 room, and the spaces between the beams were plastered. 
 (The hair used in the plaster was hogs' bristles.) The lower 
 front rooms were wainscoted, while the walls of the back 
 rooms were plastered. Immense fire-places in each room 
 were provided for warming the house. This was undoubt- 
 edly the finest of the early residences, the ample means of 
 its owner enabling him to build in more expensive style than 
 his neighbors. 
 
 When the house was built, Mr. Byfield probably intended 
 to live" in it. The farms upon Poppasquash at first l)elonged 
 to many proprietors, and it was not until he had acquired 
 the ownership of almost all the peninsula that he decided to 
 erect a second dwelling upon Poppasquash, and to make that 
 his homestead. The house on Byfield Street was, in the 
 earliest days of the town, devoted to public uses. At a town- 
 meeting held February 20, 1681-82, the town agreed to pay 
 Mr. Byfield XIO for the use of his house for one year, '•' or 
 so much of the house as Mr. Woodbridge (the first minister) 
 will be satisfied withal for the convenience of his family." 
 The lower front room at the south end was also engaged 
 " for the Town to meet in upon Sabbath days," the town 
 agreeing to leave it in good repair. Byfield Street was 
 
108 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 originally planned by Mr. Byfield himself, as a drive-way to 
 his house. Milk Street he opened in order the more con- 
 veniently to reach his stable, which stood upon Church 
 Street, near the spot where the three-story tenement-house 
 now stands. 
 
 The second Byfield house was built on Poppasquash, on 
 the lot where Deacon William Manchester's house now 
 stands. This was considered the finest site for a dwelling- 
 house on the peninsula, and was one of the last lots which 
 came into Mr. Byfield's possession. It had at first been 
 purchased by Major Walley, and was by him transferred to 
 his associate. This house was larger than the town house, 
 but was by no means as fine a building. It was a " camel- 
 opard," fronted south, and was two stories higli in front. 
 In the rear its roof was carried downward until it was only 
 about seven feet from the ground. This building was framed 
 with the same species of iron timber which had been used in 
 the first house. Some of its beams are still doing good 
 service in various out-buildings upon the Church farms. A . 
 large, double door, about six feet wide, opened to receive the 
 guests who came to share Mr. Byfield's generous hospitality. 
 Witliin the hall, two doors standing open on either side 
 displayed the white, sanded floors of two rooms, each six- 
 teen feet square. The windows of these rooms were fur- 
 nished with wooden blinds, — shutters we should call them 
 now, — an unusual luxury in those days. The walls of all 
 the rooms were plastered. No paint seems to have been 
 used, either upon the exterior or tiie interior, and the wood- 
 work was almost black with age when the house was finally 
 demolished. 
 
 The tenants of the house (it held four families in its later 
 years) used sometimes to fear that it would come tumbliug 
 about their heads in some of the autumn gales, so aged did 
 it seem, but their fears were groundless. The boisterous 
 winds, raging angrily about, might tear off here and there a 
 clapboard from the front, or send some of the long slab 
 shingles which covered the sides of the old building whirling 
 
SOME OLD HOUSES. 109 
 
 through the air, but the great oaken beams of the frame only 
 braced themselves the more firmly against the two immense 
 chimneys, and grimly defied the shrieking adversary. When 
 the house was near its end the floors of all the rooms sloped 
 downward from the chimneys ; the foundation walls had 
 settled away, but the chimneys stood as when the masons left 
 them. In each room were great fire-places, and, strange to 
 say, an oaken beam a foot in diameter ran across each fire- 
 place, exposed to the smoke and the flames of a hundred and 
 fifty years of fire. 
 
 One of these mammoth fire-places was almost directly 
 opposite the door at the back of the house. On a cold, snowy 
 day in November the father of the present owner of the land 
 rose early in the gray dawn of the mornjng and went out to 
 feed his cattle. As he passed into the kitchen he was some- 
 what troubled to find the outer door open and a snow-drift 
 upon the floor. He was not much surprised at the circum- 
 stance, however, for tramps were then unknown, and bolts 
 and bars were not looked after as in these later days. " The 
 wind has blown the door open," he thought, and went onward 
 to the barn-yard. At that time farmers paid little attention 
 to the housing of their cattle and left them to seek shelter 
 for themselves. All the cattle were there but one great ox, 
 and he could nowhere be found. Mindful of the snowy 
 kitchen, and possible reflections upon the subject from liis 
 good wife, the farmer did not stay long to seek for him, but 
 retraced his steps and was soon hard at work upon the drift. 
 Suddenly he became aware of an unusual sound from the 
 chimney, and turning about beheld the missing ox gazing 
 with tranquil approbation upon his labors. The animal had 
 wandered inquiringly up to the door, and it had yielded 
 hospitably to his touch. The fire had died upon the hearth, 
 but the great brick mass still retained an enticing warmth, 
 and the ox complacently accepted its genial shelter. 
 
Chapter xviii. 
 
 GLEANINGS FROM THE TOWN RECORDS OF THE FIRST 
 HALF-CENTURY. 
 
 The history of the town during the first fifty years of its 
 existence may be glganed in a very satisfactory manner from 
 the records of the town-meetings. From such a source at 
 the present time, only a series of dry and uninteresting 
 resolves could be brought forward, to tire the patience of the 
 reader, but in those earlier days, when the number of inhab- 
 itants was small, when all were members of one church, and 
 the church and town were one, common desires, common 
 needs, and common trials stamped a vivid and lasting impres- 
 sion of the times, even upon the dull pages of the town clerk. 
 
 The first meeting for the transaction of general business 
 was held on the tenth day of November, 1681. Jabez How- 
 land was chosen town clerk until the succeeding June, and 
 Jabez Gorham, surveyor of highways for the same period. It 
 would appear that " prophane" persons had made their appear- 
 ance in the settlement, even at that early date, and that their 
 presence had been tolerated and perhaps encouraged by 
 thoughtless settlers, because their assistance was needed in 
 clearing away the forests and in building houses. The law 
 which the General Court had passed " For the preventing of 
 prophane increasing in the Colony, which is so provoking to 
 God, and threatening to bring judgment upon us," was en- 
 tirely disregarded, therefore the town voted, 
 
 " That if any Inhabitant entertain or employ any person, after he hath 
 been ten days orderly warned out of the said Town, shall be liable to 
 
TOWN RECORDS OF THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. Ill 
 
 pay ten shillings a week for the use of the Town so long as he shall enter- 
 tain him or them afterward." 
 
 "Voted, a pair of Stocks be made and set up speedily, and that a 
 Pound be built and the charges to be paid out of the Rates." 
 
 •'The Town orders Fifty pounds to be Rated, Forty pounds for and 
 towards the Building of a House for the Minister,* and Ten pounds to 
 defray publick charges in the said Town. This rate to be paid in Money 
 or equivalent to Money, to be paid at or before the 15th day of May 
 next." 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel Byfield, Capt. Benjamin Church, and Ser- 
 geant John Gary were appointed Raters. 
 
 At the next meeting, Feb. 20, 1682, Jabez Gorham agreed 
 to provide wood for Mr. Woodbridge and his family for one 
 year, for ,£5 in silver money. When we consider that fire- 
 wood was more plenty than anything else in the little town, 
 we can form some idea of the enormous amount which was 
 deemed necessary for each household, from the price wliicli 
 Mr. Gorham placed upon his own labor. At least forty cords 
 a year must have been consumed by each family. 
 
 At this meeting 
 
 " The Inhabitants of said Town agreed that no Horse nor Horse kind 
 shall be suffered to go at large upon the Common, but such as are kept 
 for saddle or draught, and that all such horses, their color with their 
 mark, shall be by the owners of them brought to the Town Clerk and 
 he to enter them into the Town Book, and if any neglect to do so, if 
 their Horse or Horses be taken up, the owner of such Horse or Horses 
 shall be liable to pay Twenty Shillings, that is to say — Ten Shillings to 
 the use of the Town and Ten Shillings to the person that takes him up, 
 and that all persons that have any Horse or Horses going upon the 
 Common, they shall brand them with the Town brand, with a B on the 
 off shoulder." 
 
 This book of Marks, etc., is still preserved, and furnishes 
 interesting reading to the antiquarian. In tliis book was 
 kept a record of all horses brought into the town, and also 
 of those exported from it. Much attention was paid to the 
 breeding of horses in those earlier years, and very many 
 cargoes of them were shipped to the West Indies and the 
 Spanish Main. The first recorded sliipment was made by 
 
 *The proceedings respecting the choosing and supporting the minister will be 
 given in a subsequent chapter. 
 
112 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Nathaniel Byfield, on the 6th of November, 1686. A num- 
 ber of his horses were placed on board the " Bristol Mer- 
 chant," bound for Surinam, and the distinguishing charac- 
 teristics of each animal are carefully specified. 
 
 Mr. Jabez Howland does not appear to have made a very 
 efficient town clerk, and at a meeting held May 22, 1682, 
 Richard Smith was chosen in his stead, " to do the office of a 
 Town Clerk, and to enter upon record what former town 
 orders had been made." The town had by no means lost 
 confidence in Mr. Howland, for it immediately proceeded to 
 elect him to the responsible office of Selectman.* His col- 
 leagues were Benjamin Church and John Rogers. Captain 
 Church was elected to represent the infant town at the General 
 Court, and Increase Robinson was chosen Constable. 
 
 The Constable's Oath was as follows : — 
 
 "You shall Swear to be truly Loyal to our Sovereign Lord King 
 Charles, his Heirs and successors, you shall faithfully serve in the office 
 of a Constable, in the Township of Bristol on Afount Hope, for this pres- 
 ent year, according to that measure of AVisdom, understanding and 
 discretion God hath given you, in which time you shall diligently see 
 that Majesty's peace commanded be not broken but shall carrj' the 
 persons before the Governor of this Corporation, or some, or one of his 
 
 * The office of Selectman was, at this time, one of very great importance. The 
 General Court had enacted that either three or tlve such officers should be chosen in 
 each town ; they were empowered " to hear and determine all debts and differences 
 arising betwixt person and person, not exceeding thirty shillings," to hear and 
 determine differences between settlers and Indians, to give forth summons in His 
 Majesty's name, and to determine controversies accoi'ding to legal evidence, to 
 administer oaths, and issue executions. They were required to take notice of all 
 who should come into the government, and to require an account of all who should 
 neglect to attend public worship from supposed prof anity or slothf ulness. No sin- 
 gle persons could live by themselves or in any families but those approved by them. 
 They could, with the constable, " repair to any house or place where they might 
 suspect that any slothful did lurk at home or get together in companies to neglect 
 the public worship of God, or profane the Lord's Day," and return the names of 
 offenders at the next court for punishment. They were thus the chief executive 
 and police officers of the towns ; they were judicial officers also, and had a general 
 oversight over manners and morals. It is not to be wondered at that men some- 
 times shrank from the responsibilities of the position, and that a law had to be passed 
 fining any man who should refuse to take the office. The following oath was 
 required of the selectmen : — 
 
 " You shall, according to the measure of Wisdom and discretion God has given 
 you, faithfully and impartially try such cases between party and party, brought 
 before you, as also give summons respecting your trust as Select Man of the Town 
 of Bristol for this present year. So help you God." 
 
 The office of constable was also a very important one. Its duties are accurately 
 defined in the oath above given. 
 
TOWN RECORDS OP THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. 113 
 
 Assistants, and there attend the hearing of the Case, and such order as 
 shall be given you, you shall apprehend all suspicious persons and 
 bring them before the said Governor, or some one of his Assistants as 
 aforesaid. You shall duly and truly serve such Warrants and Sum- 
 mons' as shall be directed unto you from the Governor and Assistants 
 before mentioned, or by such as are, or may be DeiDuted by the Court 
 to grant Warrants and Summons' in his Majesty's name within your 
 Town or Liberties, and shall labor to advance the peace and happiness 
 of this Corporation, and oppose any thing that shall seem to annoy the 
 same, by all due means and courses. So help you God who is the God 
 of truth and .the punisher of falsehood." 
 
 By a law of the colony passed in 1659, each constable was 
 obliged to provide himself with a staff, and if not re-elected 
 he was required to deliver this badge and weapon of office 
 to his successor. Any one refusing to take the office was 
 fined £4. 
 
 September 7, 1682, the first action respecting a school 
 was taken. 
 
 "Voted concerning a School, viz. : That each person that hath Chil- 
 dren in Town ready to go to School shall pay three pence the week for 
 each Childs Schooling to a Schoolmaster, and the Town by Rate ac- 
 cording to each Ratable Estate shall make the wages amount to 
 Twenty-four pounds the year. The Select Men to look out a Grammar 
 Schoolmaster and use their endeavor to attain five pounds of the Cape 
 Money granted for such an end." 
 
 (The subsequent votes on school matters will be given 
 in the chapter on the schools.) 
 
 At a town-meeting held December 22, 1682, 
 
 " It was voted and ordered that things Ratable shall be valued as 
 f olloweth — 
 
 Meadow Land at thi-ee pounds the Acre. 
 
 Land improved by Plow or Hoe, at thirty shillings the Acre. 
 
 Land within fence for pasture for their own particular use at twenty 
 shillings the Acre. 
 
 Dorman Land at forty shillings a hundred Acres. 
 
 A yoke of Oxen at six pounds. 
 
 A Cow at forty sliillings. 
 
 A two year old at twenty shillings. 
 
 A yearling at twelve shillings. • 
 
 A Horse at three pounds. 
 
 A Mare at forty shillings, 
 
 A two year old Colt at twenty shillings. 
 
 A year old Colt at ten shillings. 
 8 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 A Swine of half a year old at four shillings. 
 A Swine of a year old, and upwards, at ten shillings. 
 Sheep at twenty shillings the score. 
 
 Single i)ersons that have been here three months five shillings a piece. 
 The rate of faculties and personal abilities, to be left at the Eaters 
 discretion." 
 
 May 28, 1683, " John Rogers had a grant from the Town 
 by vote that the Selling of Wine and Rum by Retail might 
 be added to his former license." This was the first license 
 given to sell any liquors at retail. 
 
 Up to Aug. 9, 1686, the first Training Day, forty-four per- 
 sons had taken the Oath of Fidelity,* one of the essential 
 conditions to the exercise of the right of suffrage. These 
 were : — 
 
 June 20, 1683. 
 
 John Wilkins, 
 Hugh Woodbury, 
 Jonathan Davenport, 
 Richard Smith, 
 John Corps, 
 Joseph Ford, 
 John Hinton, 
 
 Nathaniel Bosworth, 
 
 Samuel Gallup, 
 Uzal Ward well, 
 Thomas Daggett, 
 Joseph Sandy, 
 
 Capt. Nathan Hayman, 
 John Wilson, 
 Watching Atherton, 
 Peter Pampelion, 
 
 George Waldron, 
 Thomas Walker, 
 John Pope, 
 John IVIartin, 
 James Burrill, 
 Benjamin Jones, 
 Zachary Curtis, 
 
 May 21, 1684. 
 Samuel Woodbury, 
 
 May 17, 1685. 
 William Brown, 
 Joseph Griffing, 
 Jeremiah Finney, 
 Philip Bumpus, 
 
 August 9, 1686. 
 John Thurston, 
 Jeremiah Bosworth, 
 Samuel Smith, 
 
 John Gladding, 
 Bellamy Bosworth, 
 Edward Bosworth, 
 Nicholas Mead, 
 Robert Taft, 
 Joseph Jacobs. 
 
 Solomon Curtis. 
 
 John Bailey, 
 George jNIorye, 
 James Burroughs. 
 
 Samuel Penfield, 
 George Gold, 
 Robert Dutch. 
 
 * The Oath of Fidelity was as follows: "You shall be truly loj-al to our 
 Sovereign Lord King- Charles, his heirs and successors, and whereas you choose at 
 present to reside within the government of New Plymouth, you shall not do or 
 cause to be done any act or acts, directly or indirectly, by land or water, that shall 
 or may tend to the destruction or overthrow of the whole or any the several 
 plantations or townships within the said government that are or shall be orderly 
 erected or established, but shall contrawise hinder, oppose, and discover the same, 
 and such intents aud purposes as tend thereunto, to the governor for the time 
 being, or some one of the assistants with all convenient speed. You shall also 
 submit unto and obey all such good and wholesome laws, oi'dinances, and offices 
 as are or shall be established within the limits thereof. So help you God." 
 
TOWN RECORDS OF THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. 115 
 
 The name of Beiijamin Church frequently appears in the 
 early records. He was the first deputy of the town at Ply- 
 mouth, and one qf the first selectmen, and was so often 
 appointed on committees to take charge of public business, 
 that the absence of his name from the records indicates, in 
 almost every case, his absence from the town at tliat time. 
 In 1683 the wolves had become exceedingly troublesome, and 
 Captain Church had evidently expressed his mind in very 
 strong terms concerning the ineffectual warfare which had 
 been carried on against them, for it was voted in May, that 
 " Forty shillings forth of the next rate," should be given to 
 such person or persons as should make two wolf-pits " to the 
 liking of Capt. Church and Sergeant Gary; the benefit of the 
 Pits to go to the makers of the Pits provided he keep them 
 well." Henry Hamton rashly attempted the task, and his 
 work was by no means satisfactory. Oct. 24, 1683, the town 
 agreed to leave the controversy with Hamton to be decided 
 by the constable and selectmen, and Church agreed to make 
 tlie pits within a month. Of course we read nothing further 
 concerning the matter. 
 
 On the 24th of October, 1683, the name of John Safifin first 
 appears upon the minutes of the proceedings. He had neg- 
 lected to pay the rate which had been assessed against him, 
 and ^Valley, Byfield, and Church were appointed a committee 
 to attend to such cases. At this same meeting a rate of £250 
 for the erection of a meeting-liouse was ordered, and in 
 anticipation of its immediate completion 
 
 " It was Voted that the May for Warning all Town Meetings for here- 
 after, shall be by a paper posted on or by the Meeting House Door and 
 Signed by him as the Law directs, and shall be set up three J)ays or 
 mure (one of the three being a Sabbath day) before said Meeting." 
 
 The meeting on May 21, 1684, seems to have been very 
 poorly attended (for a long time tlie inhabitants of the col- 
 ony were allowed to send in their votes by proxy), and it was 
 
 " Agi-eed that every Inhabitant of this Town, that doth not appear 
 and attend at the Town Meeting orderly warned at the time appointed, 
 shall for every neglect, pay two shillings, to the use of the Town, to be 
 addtd to their next Eate, and gathered or levied together with their 
 
116 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Kate, unless they give their excuse to the Select Men before the next 
 Rate be made, and the major part of the Select Men be satisfied there- 
 with." 
 
 At this meeting Mr. Walley completed the arrangement 
 respecting " a Cart Bridge over the Creek near Mr. Bos- 
 worth's," which is alhided to witii such satisfaction to Major 
 Walley in Judge Baffin's retraction.* The following addi- 
 tional agreement reads very strangely at this age : " Agreed 
 that said Walley finding good gates and keeping them in good 
 repair every inhabitant in town shall be liable to pay Five 
 Shillings to said Walley, each time they leave any of the 
 gates open that are in the way to the mill, every inhabitant, to 
 be accountable for his family.''^ 
 
 Sept. 16, 1684. "The Town orders that William Carrenton shaU 
 have forty shillings in money for Ringing the Bell at five of the Clock 
 in the Morning, and nine of the Clock at Night for the Week, and ta 
 ring four times on the Sabbath day, the time commencing and begin- 
 ning April IStli last passed and from thence to complete a whole year. 
 It is also ordered that what person soever shall presume to Ring the 
 Bell at any unreasonable time shall forfeit five shillings in Money, for 
 the use of the Town to be gathered by the Constable, by Warrant from 
 a Magistrate." 
 
 This was the bell which had been presented for the use of 
 the people by Nathaniel Oliver, in 1682. It had not been 
 given outright, but had been loaned for an indefinite time. 
 The town had agreed to deliver the bell to Mr. Oliver when it 
 should be called upon to do so, or if the bell should be " damni- 
 fied, to make satisfaction." It was at first hung in a tree at 
 the corner of High and State streets (on the lot where the 
 residence of Dr. Lemuel W. Briggs now stands), but was hung 
 on the top of the meeting-house in 1692. The practice of 
 ringing the bell of the Congregational Church at nine o'clock 
 at night was continued until 1871. Nathaniel Church was 
 the last bell-ringer, and held the office almost thirty years. 
 
 In 1685 the colony was divided into three counties, bearing 
 the names of Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable. The County 
 of Bristol, of which Bristol was created the shire town in 
 
 * See page 90. 
 
TOWX RECORDS OF THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. 11" 
 
 Residence of Dr. Lemuel W. Briggs. 
 
 accordance with tlie provisions of the Grand Deed,* com- 
 prised the following towns and plantations : — 
 
 Incorpoiated in TaUllton, 
 
 1639. 
 164.5. 
 
 Cohmuict, 
 
 Hehoboth, 
 
 Seekutik, 
 
 ^Vanlta)noisr.t, 
 
 Dartmouth, 
 
 Acciisheim, 
 
 Swansey, 
 
 Pokaiuiket, 
 
 Smcams, 
 
 Bristol, 
 
 ( Comprised the towns of Norton, Dig:hton, Rajn- 
 * ham, Baston, Mansticld, and Berkley. 
 
 vSeekonk, Pawtucket. 
 
 ( New Bedford (Accushena), Westport (Aceukset), 
 ^ Fair Haven (Sconticutt). 
 
 Warreu, Barringtou, Somerset. 
 
 Kikcmuit. 
 
 Little Compton, Seacoruiet. 
 Freetown, A^onct, Troy. 
 
 Rehoboth North Purchase 
 Gore, 
 
 Pancaterxt, 
 
 Pncasset. 
 
 Plantations, 
 
 j Attleborough 
 ' Cumberland. 
 
 Tiverton." 
 
 At this time Bristol was the most thriving town in the 
 colony, and was steadily increasing in influence and import- 
 
 * See page 62. 
 
 + From the Xeiv England Memoj'ial. 
 
118 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 ance. In the succeeding year Sir Edmund Andres attempted 
 to collect from tlie town the tax of one penny per pound, 
 which had been levied throughout tlie colony for the sup- 
 port of the government. This action of the royal governor 
 called for a vigorous remonstrance from the people, and the 
 selectmen (Capt. Benjamin Church, Mr. Thomas Walker, 
 and Mr. John Rogers) were instructed to write " to liis 
 Excellency, our Governor, to request him to confirm tlie 
 Grant of the former Governor to this Town, whicli was to be 
 free from all Country Rates for seven years, which term of 
 years is not out till the First of April next come twelve 
 months." " The answer from his Excellency and Hon*^ Coun- 
 cil was, that this Town should be free from one Country Rate, 
 which was the first general rate made in the Country by 
 virtue of his Excellencies, our Hon'' Governor and Council's 
 Order."* 
 
 April 29, lOSO. " Upon an extraordinary occasion of the Colony send- 
 ing to all Towns concerned, to send their Agents to Plymouth, for to 
 consider what might most tend to the peace, settlement, and unity of the 
 Colony. And thereupon, the Town employed Capt. Nath. Byfield, and 
 Lieuten't Stephen Burton, for the end above mentioned." 
 
 Sir Edmund Andros had just been deposed, and the state 
 of all Xew England was very unsettled. 
 
 " By virtue of a Warrant from Gov. Hinckley, Dated at Plymouth, 
 Octob. 17, 1()89, for the proportion of this Town, towards a War Rate 
 amounting to thirty-five pounds. At a Town Meeting, Nov. 8tli, 1()89, 
 were chosen Mr. Stephen Burton, Will'm Throop, and Serj't Cary, 
 Raters for the Town, for this Rate." 
 
 This was in the time of King William's War, Benjamin 
 Church had been appointed Major and Commander-in-Chief 
 of the forces of the United Colonies, and had gone on his 
 first " Expedition to the Eastward." f 
 
 Nov. 18, 1689. "John Corps, chosen Pound-keeper, and digger of 
 Graves, likewise he is chosen Sweeper of Meeting-house, and Ringer of 
 the Bell, and the Selectmen are to agree with him by the year." 
 
 * It was the custom to exempt new settlements from taxation for seven years. 
 + See page 83. 
 
TOWN RECORDS OF THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. IIO' 
 
 Jan. IS, 1692. '"Voted, that Widow Corps shall have three pounds 
 for this year, it being for Uinging the Bell for Sabbath days, and Town 
 Meetings, and also for Sweeping the Meeting house — the Year begin- 
 ning Nov. ISth, ir.Dl." 
 
 Ill 1692 the Colony of Plymouth was united to its younger 
 sister of Massachusetts Bay. The first deputies to represent 
 the town in the new government were John Saffin and Stephen 
 Burton, chosen on the thirtieth day of May, 1G92. 
 
 March 23, 1693. It was voted tliat every town-meeting 
 should begin and end with prayer. In the earlier years of 
 the colony this had everywhere been done as a matter of 
 course, and the fact that such a vote was necessary marks a 
 great change in the character of the people. Jan. 5, 1694, it 
 was voted, 
 
 " That those that go away from a Town Meeting before said Meeting 
 be discharged according to a former Town order by Prayer, shall forfeit 
 and pay each man one shilling (for every such breach of order), to be 
 added by the Eate-makers to their Town Rate, the account of them to be 
 given in by the clerk." 
 
 "October 30th, 1093. At a Town Meeting it was Voted, that we 
 would have in this Town a Market Day, with the several orders thereto 
 belonging, which was signed by John Gary and Thomas Walker, 
 Selectmen, and presented to, and approved by the Hon'ble Court of 
 Quarter Sessions on Octob. 31st, the day immediately following. As 
 Attests, John Cary, Clerk. 
 
 " To all People, more especially to all our good friends and neighbors, 
 to whom these presents shall come: The Inhabitants of the Town of 
 Bristol send Greeting. 
 
 " Know ye, that whereas it hath been suflficiently proved by long ex- 
 perience in England and elsewhere: That Markets and Fairs have been 
 of great utility and benefit, both to Town and Country, in divers 
 respects, too large to be here inserted — We the Inhabitants of the s'd 
 Town having duly considered the premises, do take up a resolution, 
 God willing, to make an essay therein, to which purpose, by virtue of 
 the liberty granted us, with other Towns by the Hon'ble General 
 Assembly, impowering us to make bye Laws, or Orders suitable to our 
 state and condition, and amongst other orders, have made one to this 
 effect, viz. 
 
 " That no person or persons Inhabitant of the Town of Bristol, shall on 
 any pretence whatsoever. Buy or purchase any provision or other things 
 usually brought into the said Town to be sold, on any other day of the 
 Week, save only upon Thursday (which we do hereby publish and 
 declare to be our Market day) except what any one may Buy at the 
 dwelling House or Farm of any living remote, on the penalty of forfeit- 
 
120 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 ino- the one half of the value of what is otherwise bought, to the use of 
 the Town, not exceeding forty shillings, at one time, nor shall any pre- 
 sume to forestall the Market, by buying anything upon the Road, or 
 Highway coming to Market, on the like penalty. This order to com- 
 mence and be in force on the next Thursday after the Fair at Bristol to 
 be held in May next ensuing, that no person may plead Ignorance 
 hereof. 
 
 "This order was confirmed at their Majesties Court of Quarter Ses- 
 sions, held at Bristol in October, 1693. As Attests, John Gary, for the 
 County of Bristol. Licensed according to Order, Boston, December 3d, 
 1693." 
 
 " Voted, June 26th, 1694, at a Town Meeting. Whereas the Inhabitants 
 of this Town have upon mature consideration, hired a Shepherd to keep 
 a general flock of Sheep on the Common, consisting of several particu- 
 lars, for the mutual good and benefit of the whole, and that it is found 
 very prejudicial, and inconvenient in divers respects, that there should 
 be any private or particular flock, or flocks of Sheep kept also ui)on the 
 Commons, especially between the South Creek by Mr. Walkers, and the 
 Xorth Highway that goes out at Thomas Burches Farm across the Neck, 
 East and West — It is therefore ordered that no person or persons shall 
 henceforth keep or cause to be kept, or fed upon the Commons or un- 
 fenced Lands within the i^recincts, or bounds aforesaid, other than such 
 as shall be put into the hands or custody of the Town Shepherd, to be kept 
 and fed with the general, or Town flock of Sheep, under the penalty of Im- 
 pounding and paying three pence per Sheep for every one so found upon 
 the Common, and the Shepherd, Hayward, or any other person may take 
 the benefit of the penalty, as the Law in like Cases directs. This above 
 order is confirmed by the Quarter Sessions July 12th, 1694. Attests, 
 John Cary, Clerk." 
 
 At a meeting held March 23, 1696, it was voted, 
 
 " That the Town now and henceforward from time to time shall choose 
 a Moderator, to propose and manage things in the several Town Meetings 
 as the Town shall have occasion." 
 
 Until this time tlie magistrate holding the highest rank of 
 those present had always presided at the meetings. Under 
 this new rule Major Benjamin Church was the hrst to be 
 chosen Moderator. 
 
 May 2.3, 1696. " Some of the Town of Bristol lately having had a sight 
 of the Grand Deed, granted by the General Court of Plymouth, to the 
 Proprietors and Inhabitants of said Town, that they shall be free of 
 Impost and Excise, and finding that by the Law of this Province, we 
 are debarred of that privilege, which by Charter we find we are entitled 
 unto, The Town therefore, having duly considered the premises, have 
 at a Town Meeting legally warned, chosen Major John Walley, Captain 
 
TOWN RECORDS OP THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. 121 
 
 Nathaniel Byfield and Mr. Ebenezer Biinton, to inform the General 
 Court of the same, and to manage that affair on their behalf, that .so the 
 Town may have their Privileges." 
 
 It appears very strange that no attention should have been 
 called to this subject before, but it must be remembered that 
 very few printed copies of deeds were made in those days — 
 indeed the laws of Plymouth Colony were for a long time 
 preserved only in manuscript form. In the succeeding Jan- 
 uary a copy of the Deed was placed upon the town records. 
 
 Action was again taken upon this subject in 1698. The 
 efforts of the committee appointed to bring the matter before 
 the General Court had not been sufficient to prevent further 
 imposts, but the town was determined to maintain its rights, 
 and voted that two persons should be chosen each year " to 
 maintain and defend all the rights and privileges granted in 
 the Deed." They were empowered to sue, arrest and implead 
 " any person, or persons, who shall upon any pretence what- 
 soever, trespass upon, molest or disturb any of the Inhabi- 
 tants of said Town in the lawful use or improvement of any 
 of the aforesaid privileges." This determined action had its 
 effect, for in 1703 the town was desired by Governor Dud- 
 ley to appoint men who should specially present its caus6 to 
 the Governor and- Council. For this purpose John Saffin, 
 Esq., and Nathaniel Blagrove, Gentleman, were chosen. 
 (The hand of Saffin is clearly visible in the whole matter.) 
 The Governor and Council, having heard the arguments of 
 Saffin and Blagrove, decided that the town was no longer 
 entitled to exemption from imposts, excises and duties, as 
 it had become a part of the Province of Massachusetts. In 
 this opinion the House of Deputies did not concur, the cause 
 of Bristol being ably presented by its two attorneys, and by 
 John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, and Timothy Clarke of 
 Boston. The question was finally settled by a decision of the 
 Council, recorded a few days afterward : " The former part 
 of the clause of privilege is expired and determined, being to 
 continue only during that Government ; the latter part, about 
 the clearing of ships and entering ships, was, and is, contrary 
 to divers Acts of Parliament." Aug. 27, 1703, a vote was 
 
122 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 passed by the town, thanking the three men above named, 
 " for their services to the Town in asserting the privileges 
 wliich belonged to it." 
 
 March G, 1697. "Whereas Major John Walley and clivers other Gen- 
 tlemen, concei-ned in the settlement of Mount Hope (alias Bristol), 
 did bind and oblige themselves by Certain Articles, the one to the other 
 to do, perform and accomplish certain particular things in said Articles 
 contained, that might be of use and benefit to the Inhabitants that 
 should settle in said Town of Bristol. And whereas a good Gristmill 
 was one thing promised in said Articles, and proposed as an encourage- 
 ment by the Gentlemen to Inhabitants that should come in and settle 
 in said Town, as a considerable privilege and advantage, the want of 
 which hath been greatly prejudicial to the Inhabitants that come to 
 settle in said Town &c 
 
 " Tlierefore, we the Inhabitants of Bristol aforesaid, being legally 
 warned and met together the Sixth day of March 1697, do unanimously 
 vote and agree, that there be three men chosen as a Committee for and 
 in belialf of the Town, to treat with the said Major Walley, and to 
 make, or to accept of such reasonable propositions as shall be made 
 for the recovery of our privileges in that respect, or by any other lawful 
 way and means for the procuring of said privileges — and to prosecute 
 the same to effect, for us the Inhabitants of Bristol, who shall be ready 
 to give reasonable consideration for their care and trouble. 
 
 Mr. John Saffix 
 The persons chosen as a Committee are Mr. Nath^ Blagrove 
 
 Captain Sam^ Gallup " 
 
 The inhabitants witliont donbt had g'-ounds for complaint 
 in this matter. The grist-mill, built by Mr. Walley some 
 years before, was at this time in such a dilapidated condition 
 as to be almost useless, and the highway leading to it had 
 been practically closed. But it is quite possible that Mr. 
 AVallcy also had causes for complaint against the town. 
 Certain it is that Mr. Saffin's undisguised animosity to 
 Walley and Byfield greatly prejudiced the arbitrators against 
 him when judicial action was finally liad in the matter. 
 Perhaps it injured the cause which he represented, for the 
 final issue was favorable to Mr. Walley. 
 
 From the very earliest days the records are full of orders 
 like the three following : — 
 
 March 20, 1705. " Voted, that no Geese shall henceforth go upon the 
 Commons, Streets, Lanes, or Highways within this Town." 
 
TOWN RECORDS OF THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY. 123 
 
 " Voted, that no Horse, nor Horse kind, shall go on the Common 
 without being Fettered all the year, this Vote to begin on the first of 
 April next." 
 
 March 5, 1707. "Voted, that no Swine of any sort after the tenth of 
 April next, shall be or Run at large on the Commons, or Highways 
 within this Town of Bristol, upon the penalty of paying twelve pence 
 per head for every Swine that shall be found and taken up, for the first 
 year, and two shillings per head for the fviture, to be paid by the 
 owner of such Swine to any person that shall so take them up, or Im- 
 pound them." 
 
 March 5, 1707. "Voted for the encouragement of Col. Byfield, his 
 building a Mill, or Mills, in Bristol, for the grinding of all sorts of Grain, 
 for the Towns use, that the said Mill, or Mills shall be Rate free to all or 
 any publick Taxes, during the time of their being serviceable to the Town 
 in that way; provided also that the said Mill, or Mills, be set up and fin- 
 ished within the space of tliree years, and ujion or near the Pond, near 
 to the House of Mr. Belarniy Bosworth in Bristol aforesaid." 
 
 "Voted, that the Windmill now belonging to and in the possession of 
 Mr. Thomas Walker in Bristol afores'd shall be forever Rate free ta 
 any publick Tax, so long as it shall remain a Corn Mill." 
 
 Mr. Byfield had profited by his experience in the quarrel 
 with Judge Saffin, as witness the following : — 
 
 March 18, 1709. " Whereas Col. Byfield having formerly proposed the 
 building of a Mill, or Mills, at or upon a certain Creek, near Belarmy 
 Bosworth, at the same time the Town did Vote the s'd Mills to be free 
 from all public Rates, provided they were built within the space of three 
 years next following, and be serviceable for the Towns use and benefit 
 — It was now declared (at this Town Meeting, that the said Mills were 
 built) by the s'd Col. Byfield, and desired that a minute thereof might 
 be made and entered in the Town Book, which by the Town was allowed, 
 and ordered accordingly." 
 
 March 22, 1708. "Voted that every Enlisted Soldier within this Town 
 shall be obliged to bring in to the Clerk of the Town twelve black birds 
 heads by the tenth of June next, under the penalty of paying one shilling 
 for the use of the Town and every person that shall (over and above his- 
 proportion) bring in any black birds heads, shall receive twelve pence for 
 every Dozen that shall be so brought in to the Clerk of the Town, who is 
 desired to keep an account thereof ; i)rovided this order continue in 
 force this year only and no longer. 
 
 "Voted that every person who shall kill any Foxes, old or young, 
 shall (for their encouragement therein) receive out of the Town Treas- 
 ury, for every Old Fox twelve pence, and for every Young Fox, six 
 pence." 
 
 March 17, 1709. "Voted, that the order about black birds and foxea 
 be revived and continued for one year more, with this addition, that 
 the time for the bringing in of the s'd black birds shall be the last of 
 
124 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 June, and that the same order shall extend to the killing of blew Jawes, 
 and that every Crow killed shall be 3d, if entered with the Clerk, and that 
 12d shall be abated in the penalty of not bringing in a Dozen of black birds 
 by the time, which if any shall wholly omit or refuse to do, the penalty, 
 one shilling, shall be by the Assessors added to his Town Rate." 
 
 March 10, 1710. " The order about foxes, black birds &c., voted to be 
 continued another year." 
 
 Ill 1711 the order was continued for another year. 
 
 March 10, 1710. " Whereas it was voted in the General Town Meet- 
 ing in March, three years jiast, as an encouragement to Colonel Nathan- 
 iel Byfield to build one or more mills on his farm at Poppasquash, near 
 the Town. That the said mills should be forever free from being valued 
 in or to any rate or tax to the Province, Town or County, and the said 
 Byfield, having built and finished two tide mills for grinding corn which 
 do very well, but the tides are so small that they fall short of supplying 
 the Town with Meal, which hath put the said Col. Byfield upon build- 
 ing a Wind-mill near the same Water-mill, and for his encouragement 
 to proceed in so good a work. It is Voted, That all the Grist mills built 
 or to be built by the said Byfield upon the end of his farm next the 
 Town known by the name of Poppasquash shall be forever free from 
 paying to any Rate or Tax whatsoever." 
 
 March 12, 1711. "John Liscomb chosen to ring the Bell and sweep 
 the Meeting house and also to look after the Boys, to prevent their 
 playing in time of Publick Worship on the Lord's day. 
 
 The first birth recorded in the town records was that of 
 Nathaniel, son of Richard and Joyce Smith, May 17, 1681, 
 but this first child of Bristol parents was born upon the Island 
 of Rhode Island, whither the mother had gone to obtain 
 more comfortable quarters and better attendance, Bristol 
 being at the time little more than a logging camp. " 1681, 
 Hope, the son of John Corps and of Deliverance his wife, 
 was born November 8th, being the first English child born in 
 this town." The first recorded marriage was that of William 
 Corbet and Elener Batrop, Sept. 19, 1683, Captain Church 
 being the officiating magistrate. " Benjamin Twing was 
 drowned out of a canoe " Jan. 14, 1680-81, " in going from 
 hence to Rliode Island and was not found," — the first death; 
 and March 25, 1682, " was buried the wife of Caleb Lambert 
 and her child, she dying in childbed." She was buried in 
 the cemetery east of the Common, the first interment after 
 the settlement of the town. 
 
 I 
 
Chapter xix. 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH. 
 
 At the first meeting for the transaction of public business 
 held after the organization of the town, it was voted that .£40 
 should be rated towards building a house for the minister. 
 In the first book of the town records, covering the period 
 from the date of its organization to December, 1718, one hun- 
 dred and ten of the votes passed related to the meeting-house 
 or the minister. At first, religious questions were settled in 
 town-meeting by the whole body of the citizens, without any 
 preliminary action by the church ; at last, meetings were 
 called " For to have the Town's Concurrence with the Clmrch's 
 choice of a Minister." 
 
 In the year 1680, just after the Deed had been granted, but 
 before the settlement of the Mount Hope Lands had been 
 fairly begun, Mr. Benjamin Woodbridge* was secured as the 
 
 * Benjamin Woodbi'idg-e was a son of the Rev. John Woodbridge, the first pastor 
 of the first church at Andover, Mass. His mother was the daughter of the Hon. 
 Thomas Dudley. He was educated at Harvard College, but does not appear to have 
 graduated from that institution, as his name is not given in the Triennial Cat- 
 alogue. His two brothei-s, John and Timothy, were graduates of Harvard, and 
 wei-e also ministers. Mr. Woodbridge was ordained over the " Presbyterian Party," 
 in Winsor, Conn., March 18, 1670, and after a ministry of about ten years, came to 
 Bristol. Shortly after his withdrawal from this town, he was settled in Kitterj', 
 Maine. 
 
 "In 1691, he resided in Portsmouth, N. H. In 1698, he was living in Charlestown, 
 Mass., and was employed by the town of Medford to preach for six months, pro- 
 vision being made for conveyance from his home to Medford every Saturday, and 
 return every Monday. His preaching was so generally acceptable that movements 
 were made to give him a call, but matters were not hastened, and, at length, difll- 
 culties arose which prevented his settlement. He was, however, an.vious to settle, 
 
126 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 first minister. Mr. Woodbridge moved with his family to»the 
 little town at an early date, and continued to reside in Bristol 
 as its minister for about six years. During his residence 
 the first meeting-house was built, but no church was organ- 
 ized. The first religious 'services were held in the house oi 
 Deacon Nathaniel Bosworth. (See page 103.) Afterward, 
 and until the completion of the meeting-house, public worship 
 was conducted in the town house of Nathaniel Byfield, and 
 rooms for Mr. Woodbridge and his family were secured in 
 the same building.* At first no salary was guaranteed to the 
 minister, but his house-rent and fuel were provided for by the 
 town, and various " Rates," adapted to the pecuniary ability 
 of the people and the apparent needs of his family, were im- 
 posed from time to time. The question of salary was the 
 cause of much dissension, and eventually caused the with- 
 drawal of Mr. Woodbridge from the town. 
 
 "Nov. 29tli, 1684, it was voted that Mr. Woodbridge's salary for this 
 year be made up to Eighty pounds as Money, — and for the next year 
 to be made up Ninety pounds as Money, — and for the year 1686 to be 
 made up as a Hundred pounds as Money, and the same for each year to 
 be yearly made up, discounting of each year so much as shall be con- 
 tributed by strangers; and the Hundred per annum to continue until 
 the time that, by agreement of the Court of Plymouth, the Town is 
 to pay toward the Colony charge, and then to come to such further set- 
 tlement with Mr. Woodbridge as may be according to the ability of the 
 
 and persisted in acting- as the town's minister, contrary to tlie advice of a council 
 of clergymen and elders from Boston, and in spite of votes of the town, in 1704, 
 ' that what they had done about Mr. W.'s settlement he nvUl and void,' and in 1705, 
 ' that they would not proceed to settle Mr. W. as their minister.' AVith a few 
 earnest friends he attempted to gather a church ' contrary to the advice of the 
 Elders in that neighborhood, without advice or respect of the inhabitants of the 
 town, and without the countenance and concurrence of the neighboring churches.* 
 This highly irregular attempt was met by an earnest protest from the town. Ap- 
 peals were then made to the General Sessions of the Peace, at Charlestown, and to 
 Governor Dudley and his Council, both of which were decided adversely to the 
 claims and course of Mr. Woodbridge. Finally the case was referred to a council 
 of churches, who censured both parties, and advised the quiet withdrawal of Mr. 
 W. The advice was not followed, however, and Mr. Woodbridge continued to 
 preach until his death, Jan. 15, 1710, after a residence of nearly ten years, aged 65 
 years; and on the same day, with commendable promptitude and just liberality, 
 the town voted £10 to defray the expenses of his funeral,— an act which proves 
 that they would not let the sun go down upon their animosity."— From Broohs' His- 
 tovji of Mcdford, quoted in Bev. Mr. Lane's Manual of First Church in Bristol. 
 * See page 107. 
 
THE FIRST CHURCH. 127 
 
 Town, whether it be more or less, and for tlie raising of tlie sum yearly 
 for Mr. Woodbridge, it is to be by contribution, if what they contribute 
 be not less than their proportion according to such rules as are hereafter 
 set down, and such as contribute short, or not at all, to be Rated by the 
 Selectmen, and gathered by the Constable Each year." 
 
 This vote caused mucli bitter discussion, and on the 9th 
 of December was made null and void, and the following pro- 
 posal of Mr. Woodbridge was adopted : — 
 
 "To the Inhabitants of the Town of Bristol: Understanding there 
 hath been some difference and disturbance among you respecting my 
 maintenance, in order to your satisfaction and more comfortable unit- 
 ing in that affair and that it may be always settled in a peaceable way, I 
 do propose that from the twenty-fifth day of April next, and so onward 
 during my continuance, I will take up with a free and weekly Contribu- 
 tion, Provided, if it doth not amount to sixty pounds per annum, the 
 Town forthwith to make it up and if ever it come to above an hundred 
 per annum the overplus to be at their dispose, and this, notwithstand- 
 ing my former agreement by me, or Vote by yourselves shall wholly 
 answer my expectations from the Town. 
 
 December 4th, 16S4. Benj: Woodbiudge." 
 
 At the same meeting it was also 
 
 "Agreed that if any Inhabitant shall altogether neglect or be very 
 
 remiss, or give very inconsiderable according to their Estate, or fails to 
 
 the Ministers maintenance, it shall be at the liberty of the Raters, with 
 
 the advice and consent of the Select Men or major part, to Rate such 
 
 . persons to other Town Charges according to their discretion." 
 
 Mr. Woodbridge was evidently anxious to effect a perma- 
 nent settlement, but while a large portion of the inhabitants 
 had been glad to avail themselves of his services for a time, 
 it is plain that after they had enjoyed his ministration for a 
 year or two the idea of settling him as their pastor had 
 become distasteful to the leading men of the place. He seems 
 to have been a fairly acceptable preacher, but was most indis- 
 creet in temporal affairs, giving his opponents many oppor- 
 tunities to censure him for unwise and inconsiderate conduct. 
 The subject was finally brought before the town, May 17, 
 1686. " It was propounded whether any persons were against 
 Mr. Woodbridge, his return again hither, and to settle with 
 us as our Minister." Eleven men voted against his settle- 
 
128 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 merit; between tv;eiity and thirty votes were g'iven in liis 
 favor. Many of the votes cast for liim were given by men 
 who were known to be opposed to his settlement, but wlio 
 were yet unwilling to seem to vote for his dismissal. 
 
 Even after this strong expression of opinion, Mr. Wood- 
 bridge was not wise enough to withdraw from the contest. 
 On the 28th of June, 1686, John Walley, Xathaniel Byfield, 
 Nathaniel Reynolds, Xathaniel Bosworth, John Gary, and 
 Hugh Woodbury, all leading men of the town, " for 
 themselves and in behalf of sundry others," united in a letter 
 to the Rev. Increase Mather, and the church in Boston, ask- 
 ing that a council to consider the whole matter might be 
 called for the third Wednesday of July. It is probable that 
 this decided action convinced Mr. Woodbridge of the ho})e- 
 lessness of his cause, and that it w^as followed by his with- 
 drawal, for there is no record to show that the council was 
 ever held. 
 
 Oct. 24, 1683, at a meeting of the town, .£250 were or- 
 dered to be raised to defray the expense of building a meet- 
 ing-house, and John Walley, Nathaniel Byfield, Benjamin 
 Church, John Gary, and John Rogers were appointed a com- 
 mittee to superintend its erection. In the succeeding year 
 the house was built on the spot where the Gourt House now 
 stands. No records have been preserved of its exact dimen- 
 sions. Various writers have described it as spacious and w^ell 
 constructed, square in form, with double galleries, one above 
 the other. It was clapboarded inside and out; its cap-roof 
 was surmounted in the centre by a bell tower, within which, 
 in 1692, was hung the bell which Mr. Oliver, some years 
 before, had presented for the use of the town. The bell-rope 
 hung directly down from the belfry to the centre of the church, 
 and rendered Goody Gorps a very conspicuous person, when, 
 after the death of her husband, the sexton, " she used to ring 
 the people to church for three pounds a year, as her lamented 
 husl)and had done ere he died." Over the preacher's head 
 was a dormer window (the records speak of it as " the Dor- 
 man or Luthorn window "), and on each of the four sides were 
 
THE FIRST CHURCH. 
 
 129 
 
 Residence of Capt. John Collins. 
 
 double rows of windows, so the building was well lighted. 
 The money appropriated by the town did not suffice to finish 
 the interior of the meeting-house, and so by vote of the cit- 
 izens, various individuals were permitted to construct pews 
 upon the floor at their own expense. This license, in time, 
 caused much trouble, as men did not always consult the pub- 
 lic convenience when they selected a place for a pew, and 
 many votes relating to the subject appear upon the town 
 records. The pews were usually square, with oaken doors,* 
 " through the rounds of which the children used to peep at 
 each other, when the people rose for prayer and praise." 
 Many years elapsed before the floor of the building was 
 entirely covered with pews, but the large galleries always af- 
 
 * The door of the pastor's pew is still preserved as a precious relic of the past, 
 in the Congregatioual church, on High Street. 
 
130 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 forded ample seating room. Separate galleries were provided 
 lor the women, — our modern method of seating the worship- 
 ers in church would have appeared most unseemly to our 
 rigidly decorous ancestors. After a hundred years of service, 
 some of the rafters of the old meeting-house were transferred 
 to the second house of worship, when the first building was 
 pulled down, and venturesome enthusiasts may still inspect 
 them in the roof of the present town hall. The timber for 
 the building was cut from the adjacent common. Tradition 
 says that a boy sent from the house of Jabez Howland on 
 Hope Street (Capt. John Collins' house stands next south of 
 the lot on whicli the house stood), with the dinner for some of 
 the workmen, failed to make his appearance at the expected 
 time, whereupon work was suspended, and after much search 
 he was found wandering bewildered in the dense forest not far 
 from Mr. Howland's house. 
 
 When Mr. Woodbridge withdrew, Bristol had become the 
 most important and flourishing town in the Plymouth Colony, 
 and the necessity for sending thither some man of command- 
 ing ability, to heal the wounds caused by the unwise conduct 
 of the late minister, and to build up a strong church in the 
 rising town, was apparent to all. The Rev. Samuel Lee, an 
 English dissenting clergyman, esteemed a man of profound 
 learning and remarkable eloquence, had just landed in Boston, 
 and to him the eyes of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay 
 turned as to the man most fitted for the place. At the sug- 
 gestion of friends in Boston, Mr. Lee visited Bristol, and wa& 
 received with great enthusiasm by its iuhabitants. At a town- 
 meeting held Nov. 9, 1686, it was 
 
 " Voted and agreed, by a full vote and unanimous Consent, to call the 
 Rev, Samuel Lee to the work of the Ministry in this Town, which was 
 accordingly done by the whole that were present at the Town Meeting, 
 waiting on him at Mr. Byfield's, where one appointed manifested their 
 invitation to him and he took it into consideration." 
 
 The town voted £60 per year for his salary, and £50 
 towards building him a house. He accepted the call, and 
 began his labors April 10, 1687. 
 
THE FIRST CHURCH. 131 
 
 On the 3d of May, 1687, the church was organized in due 
 form, by the mutual consent and agreement of the eight men 
 whose names follow. At its organization, and for many years 
 afterward, it was known as "The Church of Christ in Bris- 
 tol." Nathaniel Bosworth and Jolin Cary were the first dea- 
 cons. The original members were Maj. John Walley, Capt. 
 Xathaniel Byfield, Capt. Benjamin Church, Nathaniel Rey- 
 nolds, John Cary, Hugh Woodbury, Goodman Tliroop, and 
 Nathaniel Bosworth. 
 
 Samuel Lee was the son of Samuel Lee, a wealthy citizen 
 of London, and was born in 1625. From his boyhood he 
 manifested a great fondness for boolcs, and the ample means 
 of his father enabled him to gratify his literary tastes to their 
 fullest extent. He was educated at the famous St. Paul's 
 School, and at Wadham College, Oxford. He took the degree 
 of Master of Arts at Wadham in 1648, and was soon after a 
 Fellow of the same college. In 1656, he was made a Proctor 
 in the University of Oxford. For several years he was the 
 minister of an Lidependent church at Nevvington Green, near 
 Bishopsgate, London. It is said that he was offered a living 
 in the Established Church, which he rejected on account of 
 his strong sympathy with the Non-Conformists. In 1686, in 
 order that he might more freely exercise his office in the min- 
 istry in accordance with his own sense of duty, he emigrated 
 to New England, arriving at Boston in June of that year. 
 
 Very soon after his settlement in Bristol, Mr. Lee began to 
 build his house. He had inherited all of his father's large es- 
 tate, and probably possessed greater wealth than any other 
 citizen of the town. The house which he erected was built 
 in the old English style, and was one of the finest mansions 
 in New England, at the time of its completion. It stood on the 
 site of the present store-house of the Usher Brothers, a little 
 back from Thames Street, on the east side. It was two stories 
 high, with a gambrel roof; it had also a "lean-to." A very 
 wide staircase, with steps which were only four inches high, 
 was one of the principal features of the house. In the early 
 part of the present century, this house was always spoken of 
 
132 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 as "The Old Bay State," but why this name was given to it 
 cannot now be ascertained. In its last years, this home of 
 the first pastor was used as a sailor boarding-house. It was 
 torn down more than sixty years ago, and the only relic 
 of it now remaining, is a small pane of glass in the posses- 
 sion of Mrs. Robert Rogers, on which is inscribed the name 
 of Martha Finney.* 
 
 Mr. Lee's stay in Bristol was brief. Amid the privations 
 and the discomforts of a life in rude New England, he sighed 
 for the ease and scholarly retirement which had fallen to his 
 lot in his native land. Upon the accession of King William, 
 who was supposed to favor greater privileges for the Dissent- 
 ers, he determined to return to England. Accordingly, in 
 1691, he left his post in Bristol, and with his family embarked 
 at Boston on tlie ship " Dolphin." After a stormy voyage, 
 the vessel was captured by a French privateer, near the coast 
 of Ireland, and its passengers were carried into St. Maloes, in 
 France. His family were allowed to proceed thence to Lon- 
 don, but he was detained a prisoner. The hardships of a 
 long voyage in the winter season, disappointment, anxiety, 
 and confinement, combined to bring on a violent attack of the 
 prison fever, from the effects of which he died in prison, in 
 December, 1691. As a heretic, he was buried outside the 
 walls of the town. 
 
 Of Mr. Lee, nearly all his contemporaries speak in terms 
 of the highest commendation. Cotton Mather calls him " the 
 light of both Englands." President Stiles says, " He was the 
 light and glory of the Church in Bristol, and one of the most 
 learned divines in Christendom." " Allen " says, " He spoke 
 Latin with elegance, was a master of Physic and Chemistry, 
 and well versed in all the liberal Arts and Sciences." His 
 published works are contained in some dozen volumes.f 
 
 * The house was for many years the home of Jeremiah Finney and his son 
 Josiah, and all the children of the latter were born in it. Martha Finney and her 
 sister, the wife of the late Mr. William DeWolf, in their youth occupied the study 
 in which Mr. Lee had thought and written. The first two of Mr. Dc Wolfs children 
 were also born in it. 
 
 t \t one time Mr. Lee was much interested in the study of Astrology, and col- 
 lected a hundred or more volumes upon the subject. These he afterward burned, 
 having become convinced of the dangerous tendencies of the science. 
 
THE FIRST CHURCH. 133 
 
 The miiiistiy of Mr. Lee, though brief, was yet very success- 
 ful ; the church was greatly strengthened, and harmony was 
 restored between its members. For four years after his 
 departure, the town was without any settled pastor, the pul- 
 pit being supplied by vai'ious ministers, at fifteen shillings per 
 week. In July, 1693, a call was extended to the Rev. Jolm 
 Sparhawk.* A salary of <£60 per annum was offered him, 
 with £5 a year additional for fire-wood (XIO for fire-wood as 
 soon as he should have a family), and the improvement of the 
 ministry lands. The call was accepted, and on the 6th of 
 
 The sermons of this learned divine, which were so highly praised at the begin- 
 ning of the last century, would hardly receive the same commendation if pro- 
 nounced to-day from a modern pulpit. Their extravagant style and strained 
 metaphors would be somewhat distasteful to the practical minds of the nineteenth 
 century. The following specimen is taken from " The Joy of Faith " : — 
 
 " Let the world rage in storms of contradiction, and like him in Laertius, affirm 
 snow to be black, or assert the sun shines not when I see it, or a cordial comforts 
 not when I feel it, or that a troubled conscience is but a melancholy fancy, when 
 the terrors of the Lord drink up the spirits of men. These should be sent to 
 Anticyra to purge with Hellebor for madness. Pray what energy or power can be 
 in a printed paper, in the reading of a chapter wherewith Austin and Junius were 
 converted from sin to God, or what powerful charm in hearing a mean Preacher, 
 perhaps none of the Learnedest, like the blessed Fishermen of Galilee, to change 
 the heart ; if so many proud, haughty, and rebellious sinners who of direful perse- 
 cutors have sometimes turned tender cherishers and protectors of the Church of 
 God ! were it not for the fire of the Word of the Lord of Hosts, that melts the 
 stone of the heart, and the hammer of that Word that breaks the sturdy Zauzum- 
 mins all to powder ; insomuch that bitter scoffers have been changed into witty 
 TertuUians and turned their satires into panegy ricks. What can that be imagined to 
 be that works so sti-ange effects upon whole nations from the East to the W'estern 
 Indies, whitened the Blackmoors, civilized the hearts of Scythians more ragged and 
 brutish than the Rocks and Hyrcanian Tygers that gave them suck, and beautified 
 the barbarously painted Britains far beyond the oratory of the Gaules. It could 
 be no other power than the awful dread of the Divine Majesty, and the melting 
 sweetness of his Mercy concomitant with his heavenly Word." 
 
 The authorship of this address to King William, written for the Plymouth Gov- 
 ernment, is ascribed to him : — 
 
 " We humbly beg your Excellent Majestj-, that you would indulge this first 
 plantation of our dear Lord in New England's Plymouth, within the garden of 
 j'our royal bosom, to protect and amplify our privileges, according as your 
 sagacious wisdom and tender love may judge mete, upon our further addresses to 
 your Majesty, in any further particular requests, and we shall most devoutly and 
 humbly supplicate the great God of Heaven, to give your Majesty the grand niart'h 
 of honor, to be successful in all what your Majesty hath been pleased to design to 
 undertake for the reformed cause throughout the world, that under Christ, you 
 may not only, like another Augustus, dilate your Empire to the Eastern, but that 
 both the Indies may be enriched with such diamonds and spices, that are the orna- 
 ments of the Celestial Jerusalem, under your prosperous and heaven directed 
 conduct." 
 
 * Mr. Sparhawk was born in ItiW, and graduated from Harvard in the class of 
 1689. No record of his ancestry has been preserved. 
 
134 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 October Mr. Sparhawk began his labors in the town. After 
 a year's trial the following vote was passed, and on the 12th 
 of June, 1695, he was installed as the second pastor of the 
 church : — 
 
 " We the Inhabitants of the Town of Bristol, being met together this 
 19th day of September, 1694, do for the maintaining of tlie Public Wor- 
 ship of God amongst us, and for the Love and Honor we bear to the 
 Rev'd Mr. John Sparhawk, and hopes of speedy settlement by him, 
 and for the putting a full and final stop to any further discourse relat- 
 ing to Strangers contribution as an overplush to the Minister (here with 
 us) do agree upon the consideration above said, and do hereby promise, 
 to pay to the said Mr. Sparhawk by Weekly Contribution or other ways 
 within the year, the sum of seventy pounds per annum whilst he i-emains 
 a single man, and eighty pounds by the year, when he comes to keep a 
 Family, and this we promise during his continuance in the Work of the 
 Ministry with us." 
 
 For almost twenty-three years Mr. Sparhawk served the 
 church in Bristol as its pastor. He did not possess the deep 
 learning of his predecessor, but he was yet an excellent 
 preacher, conscientious, hard-working, and entirely devoted 
 to the spiritual interests of his flock. The Rev. Mr. Burt, 
 twenty years after his death, testified that his name still 
 " remained exceedingly dear and precious to his people." He 
 died on the 29th of April, 1718, and was buried upon the 
 Common, in the cemetery close by the church. His tombstone 
 has since been placed upon the green, just outside the south- 
 ern wall of the present church edifice. 
 
Chapter xx. 
 
 THE McSPARRAN DIFFICULTY. 
 
 Mr. Sparhawk died in the happy consciousness that liis 
 work in Bristol had been most blessed. As a result of his 
 faithful and untiring labors, a strong congregation had been 
 gathered together. No dissensions for many years had dis- 
 turbed its harmony, and a prosperous future seemed to await 
 the church. Could he have known that a bitter controversy 
 was to divide the town, almost before the turf was green 
 upon his grave, that for years u fierce discussion was to be 
 carried on, and that a quarter of a century afterwards an 
 angry fire would gleam in the eyes of men, whenever the 
 name of the man who was called to be his successor was 
 spoken of, how much less tranquil would have been the last 
 moments of the dying pastor ! 
 
 Ill June, 1718, Mr. James McSparran, a young man born 
 in Ireland,* of Scotch parents, bearing the credentials of a 
 licentiate of the Presbytery in Scotland, landed in the chief 
 town of New England. Shortly after his arrival in Boston 
 he came to Bristol to visit a relative, the Widow Pampelion,! 
 who lived at the corner of State and Hope streets. The 
 church had, a short time before, extended a call to Mr. 
 Samuel Checkley, of Boston, and had just received a letter 
 from him declining to become its pastor. The pulpit was 
 vacant, and the young Irishman was invited to preach in the 
 
 * At Dung-ivcn, County of Deny. 
 
 + The name is sometimes spelled Papilio and Papillion upon the Town Records. 
 The family was probably of Huguenot origin. 
 
136 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 )neeting-house on the Sunday after he reached Bristol. Mr. 
 McSparran possessed, in an unusual degree, the remarkable 
 eloquence with which so many of the children of Ireland have 
 been endowed, and his wonderful oratory made such a deep 
 impression upon the minds of his hearers, that at a church- 
 meeting held on the 16th of December, 1718, he was invited 
 to settle in the town as its pastor. On the 22d of December 
 the town concurred in the church's choice, seventy-three 
 votes being cast for Mr. McSparran. and but three against 
 him. A salary of £100 per annum was voted him, and £100 
 was voted toward the expenses of his settlement. The town 
 had increased in wealth and population, and no objection was 
 raised against the payment of this salary, which was so much 
 larger than that which Mr. Sparhawk had received. 
 
 "The choice of this McSparran," says the Rev. Mr. Burt, 
 " opened the door to all manner of confusion and disorder. 
 Several scandalous immoralities were soon after reported of 
 him. Dr. Mather, of Boston, and other ministers wrote to 
 the church, by no means to settle him. But the affections 
 of many towards him for his excellent oratory rendered them 
 slow to believe anything to his disadvantage, whilst others 
 were as implacably set against him. Two days were set apart 
 for his ordination, but the ministers sent for would not lay 
 hands on such a man to separate him to the work of the Min- 
 istry. But he, being fond of a settlement, and hoping to pre- 
 vail with the church, offered to submit to lay ordination." 
 
 No record has been preserved of the charges made against 
 Mr. McSparran. It must be borne in mind that he had scarcely 
 been six months in the country when Dr. Mather wrote to 
 the church in Bristol concerning him, and that his conduct 
 in Bristol had been above reproach. Nothing but " unguarded 
 conversation " was ever charged against his life in this town. 
 The fact that these charges were brought forward in the first 
 instance by the Rev. Mr. Mather, gives us good ground for 
 believing that they were grossly exaggerated. Perhaps the 
 high-spirited young Irishman had declined to yield to the im- 
 perious will of the all-powerful Doctor. The history of Mas- 
 
THE McSPARRAN DIFFICULTY. 137 
 
 sacliusetts shows that Mr. Mather was, tliroughout liis whole 
 life, a most bitter partisan, and that he often allowed per- 
 sonal prejndicesto warp his judgment and influence his actions. 
 It is possible that there were some grounds for the accusa- 
 tions, and the ready acknowledgment by Mr. McSparran of 
 '• unguarded conversation," shows that he was not always tem- 
 perate in his efforts to refute the charges. The air which he 
 had breathed ifi his infancy may have inclined him to rush with 
 unthinkijig vehemence into the controversies which awaited 
 him on his arrival in America, but a long and useful and blame- 
 less life in the " Narragansett Country," shows that his bitter 
 experiences in Bristol had acted like a refiner's fire in burning 
 away the imperfections which clouded his early career. His 
 humble deportment under most distressing circumstances, 
 and his earnest desire to be reconciled to the church, won the 
 hearts of all his congregation, and made them eager to forget 
 the shameful reports which had been spread. 
 
 The charges were thoroughly investigated, committees being 
 sent to the towns in which the alleged misconduct was said to 
 have been committed. The results were very favorable to 
 Mr. McSparran, and on the 25th of May, 1719, this minute 
 was adopted by the town : — 
 
 " The accounts lately received from Barnstable and Ply- 
 mouth in favor of the Reverend Mr. James McSparran, being- 
 read in public Town Meeting, together Avith our own experi- 
 ence of his good conversation during his al)ode in this Town, 
 and his humble Christian deportment under the present 
 afflictive Providence, with his ready acknowledgment of his 
 unguarded conversation in times past, with his earnest 
 desire under his hand which hath been now read, to be recon- 
 ciled to the Church of Christ, demand our Christian com- 
 passion in the exercise of that fervent charity which covers 
 the multitude of sins. We do in duty, as well as affection, 
 declare our hearty forgiveness of all his past miscarriages 
 and that we do receive him as our Brother in the Lord, 
 humbly depending upon the boundless mercy and compassion 
 of our most gracious God througli the merits of our blessed 
 
138 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, for pardon and acceptance. 
 We most earnestly desire that all Christian People referring 
 to this our dear and Rev"* Brother, Mr. James McSparran, 
 would put on charity which is the bond of perfcctness and 
 all these scandalous reports that have been spread abroad 
 will, as they ought, be buried in oblivion." 
 
 " Tlie above writing being distinctly read in the Town 
 Meeting, and people being asked whether they had any 
 objection against it or any part of it, it was unanimously 
 voted in the affirmative as the mind of the Town, no one 
 objecting after the vote was called, except Col. Paine. 
 
 Attest: Samuel Howland, Toiun Clerk.^^ 
 
 This action appears to have given universal satisfaction ; 
 harmony seemed completely restored, and arrangements were 
 made to call a council for Mr. McSparran's ordination on 
 the 22d of October. But his enemies outside the town were 
 by no means inclined to let the matter drop. Before the 
 appointed day came, a report that his credentials were 
 fraudulent was spread abroad, and the controversy was 
 renewed with greater bitterness. Mr. McSparran at once 
 proposed : First, To withdraw entirely from the town, if 
 the clmrch would grant him an honorable dismission, " with 
 such testimonials as the law of love and duty will suggest 
 his due or not;" or, Second, To go to Ireland to procure a 
 eonfirmation of the truth of his credentials, and to return 
 the following June to resume his work, if the testimoni^als 
 should be satisfactory. Oct. 13, 1719, the church voted his 
 dismission, "but was unwilling to be under a promise of 
 staying for his return." This action having been submitted 
 to the town for concurrence, the town voted not to concur, 
 and adopted instead this vote : " Voted that Leave is given 
 by the Town to Mr. James McSparran, our present Minister, 
 to take a voyage to Ireland, in order to procure a confirma- 
 tion of his credentials, the truth of which being by some 
 questioned ; and that he return to us again sometime in June 
 next ensuing, and proceed in the work of the Ministry 
 
THE McSPARRAN DIFFICULTY. 139 
 
 with US. if lie procure the confirmation of the aforesaid 
 credentials." 
 
 On the 20th of June the town had heard nothing from the 
 absent minister, and voted to await his return until the fol- 
 lowing September, but Mr. McSparran never came back to 
 the Congregational Church. Either upon the long voyage or 
 while he was in England, a change came over his Ecclesias- 
 tical vicAvs (perhaps the treatment which he had received at 
 the hands of the Massachusetts ministers may have led him 
 to question the truth of the religious dogmas which they 
 held) ; on the 21st of August, 1720, he was admitted to 
 Deacon's Orders in the Church of England by the Bishop of 
 London ; on the 25th of September was advanced to the 
 Priesthood by the Archbishop of Canterbury ; on the 23d 
 of October was commissioned a missionary for the Province 
 of Xcw England, and shortly after re-crossed the Atlantic, as 
 the missionary of " The Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel in Foreign Parts," "to Narragansett in New England, 
 who is to officiate as opportunity shall offer at Bristol, Free- 
 town, Swansey, and Little Compton, where there are many 
 people, members of the Church of England, destitute of a 
 Minister." * 
 
 The result of this action of Mr. McSparran was the forma- 
 tion of a parish of the Church of England in this town. 
 The people who had clung to him so closely in his time of 
 trial were naturally influenced by his subsequent conduct. 
 The establishment of St. Michael's Church through his 
 instrumentality of course made his opponents still more 
 bitter against him, and the peculiar circumstances of the 
 case made the relations between the Congregationalists and 
 
 * Mr. McSparran was educated at the University of Glasgow, and was made a 
 Master of Arts bj- that institution in 1709. In 1T31 he was honored with the degree 
 of Doctor of Sacred Theology by the University of Oxford. He was the missionary 
 of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and Rector of St. 
 Paul's Church, Narragansett, from 1721 until his death, in 1757. In 1868, by author- 
 ity of the Diocese of Rhode Island, a monument was erected to his memory, in the 
 old churchyard at North Kingstown. In the Cabinet of the Rhode Island Histiri- 
 cal Society, at Providence, excellent portraits of him and of his wife are still 
 preserved. 
 
140 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 the Episcopalians more unpleasant than they otherwise would 
 have been. Mr. Burt says of Nathaniel Cotton, the third 
 pastor of the Congregational Church, who was ordained to 
 the post in 1721, that he " went through a world of trouble 
 with the Church party," and the town records contain many 
 protests from the Church of England men, against what tliey 
 deemed the unjust and intolerant actions of tlie Congregation- 
 alists. The influence of the greater liberality in regard to 
 religious matters which prevailed in the neighboring State 
 of Rhode Island, in time made itself felt, and caused both 
 parties to be more moderate in their views and actions than 
 were the inhabitants of the other towns of Massachusetts, 
 and the annexation of the town to Rhode Island, a quar- 
 ter of a century afterward, put a stop forever to religious 
 intolerance. 
 
Chapter xxi. 
 
 ST. MICHAELS CHURCH. 
 
 From the Founding of the Parish, in 1721, to the Death of the 
 Rev. John Usher, Jr., in 1804. 
 
 The first services of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
 this town were conducted by laymen, in the early part of 
 the eighteenth century, in the house of Mr. William Walker, 
 Mr. Walker's dwelling stood between High and Wood streets, 
 a little north of the road which skirts the head of Walker's 
 Cove.* 
 
 Among the early settlers there were, without doubt, some 
 men who were strongly attached to the Cimrch of England 
 and her services, and the movements which finally resulted 
 in the formation of St. Michael's Parish were probably begun 
 several years before Mr. McSparran came to the town. The 
 events which followed his coming made the establishment 
 of the parish more easy, but did not by any means suggest it. 
 
 Sixteen years before the McSparran difficulties, Mr Keith, 
 a missionary of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
 Foreign Parts, sent to ascertain the spiritual needs of the 
 North American Colonies, liad carried back to England a 
 petition from the inhabitants of Swansey and parts adjoining, 
 for the establishment of a Mission of the English Church in 
 
 * The stones of the old graveyard of the Walker family still remain, not far 
 away from where the house once stood. The oldest grave is that of " lohn ye son 
 of Thomas and Elizabeth Walker— who dyed May the 3ii 17 IP, aged 34 years." On 
 the stone at its foot is this inscription : " Hce was furst born of this race, and 
 f ui'st buried in this place " Thomas Walker, one of the first settlers, who died 
 Aug. T, 1734, in the seventieth year of his age, also lies in the same place. 
 
142 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 that town ; in this petition some of the inhabitants of Bristol 
 had' probably joined. 
 
 It is hardly probable that Mr. McSparran had much to do 
 with the organization of the mission in this town. His let- 
 ters show that he must have been present at some of the 
 earlier meetings, and that the treatment which he received 
 at the hands of many of his old congregation was such as to 
 discourage him from further action. The records of the 
 Propagation Society show that in the year 1720, letters had 
 been received by the Bishop of London, from men prominent 
 in Bristol, appealing for a Church of England minister, and 
 promising to build a church. Before an answer to this 
 appeal had been received, measures were taken to erect the 
 building. Col. Henry Mackintosh gave the land and j6200 
 in money, <£100 were contributed from Boston, <£100 also 
 from Newport, and smaller sums came from other towns. 
 Neai-ly X1,000 were raised in this place, which shows that 
 much interest was felt and that many were concerned in the 
 matter. 
 
 In the year 1721 the Rev. James Orem was sent over as 
 the first minister, with a salary from the society of X60 per 
 annum. He found the church building unfinished ; the ex- 
 terior and the steeple were completed, but the floor was not 
 laid and the walls were not plastered. The church was a 
 handsome wooden building, sixty feet long and forty feet 
 wide. It stood on the same lot on which stands the present 
 church edifice. Such was the zeal of the congregation, that 
 on the Saturday following his arrival a temporary floor was 
 laid, benches and chairs were provided, and on the next day 
 between two and three hundred people, not only from Bristol, 
 but also from Swansey, Tiverton, and other neighboring 
 towns, gathered for the service. The building was finished 
 very shortly after, and Mr. Orem reported to the society in 
 England that the inhabitants had expended over £1,500 upon 
 it, and that the congregation which gathered each Sunday 
 within its walls was very large, much interest being mani- 
 fested in the church. 
 
ST. Michael's church. 14-5 
 
 Mr. Orem's stay in Bristol was short. He was a man of 
 much ability, of pleasing address, and well qualified for build- 
 ing up the parish. His success seems to have been much 
 greater than lie had anticipated, but the fierce passions which 
 had been called into life by the McSparran controversy had 
 by no means subsided, and the policy pursued by the leading 
 religious body was not a liberal one. In the Narragansett 
 Church Records this item appears : " In Bristol, New Eng- 
 land, Feb 5 1722-3 were imprisoned twelve men of the 
 Church of England, for refusing to pay towards the support 
 of the Presbyterian teacher there, viz : Mr. Nathaniel Cotton. 
 — Mr. McSparran being sent for to visit the gentlemen afore- 
 said in prison, and in Mr. Orem's absence, preached in Bris- 
 tol Church, Feb 10th." Mr. Orem had gone to Boston to 
 present the case to the governor of the Province, as the fol- 
 lowing extract from the New England Courarit of Feb. 11, 
 1723, shows. (The Courant was the first paper issued by 
 Benjamin Franklin) : — 
 
 " Boston Feb 11. Last week the Reverend Mr. Orum, 
 Minister of the Episcopal Church at Bristol, came from 
 thence with a Petition from twelve of his hearers, (who are 
 imprisoned for refusing to pay Rates to the Presbyterian 
 Minister of Bristol) to the Lieut. Governor, who, with the 
 advice of the Council, promised Mr. Orum to use his interest 
 for their relief at the next meeting of the General Assembly, 
 the men being imprisoned by Vertue of the Laws of the 
 Province." 
 
 The Narragansett Records also show that at a meeting of 
 the Vestry, April 4, 1723, a letter from Mr. McSparran to 
 the Lord Bishop of London, " begging that he would espouse 
 the cause of the Church of England, at Bristol, where the 
 Dissenters have lately imprisoned twenty persons, and dis- 
 trained upon the estates of several other churchmen for the 
 payment of the rate to support their teacher, Mr. Nathaniel 
 Cotton, was read and concurred in, and subscribed by all 
 present." In the succeeding March, three gentlemen of 
 Rehoboth were imprisoned at Bristol for refusing to cpn- 
 
144 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 tribute towards tlie support of the Presbyterian minister in 
 Relioboth. Ineffectual protests of this nature continued to 
 be made by the Church of England men, even until 1744, 
 when a more liberal policy was adopted. 
 
 The fact that this contest was continued for so long a 
 time, shows that it must from tlie first have been a very 
 bitter one. Perhaps it was on this account that Mr. Orem 
 chose so soon to sever his connection witli this town. The 
 letter which he wrote for the three Congregational ministers 
 of Connecticut (the Rev. Dr. Cutler, President of Yale Col- 
 lege, Rev. Daniel Brown, Tutor, and the Rev. Dr. Samuel 
 Johnson), who had decided to take orders in the Church of 
 England, and had gone to England for that purpose, shows 
 that he had a very keen sense of the wrongs and indignities 
 wliich had been heaped upon them by their late associates, 
 and that he despised the narrow-minded bigotry which could 
 descend to such persecutions. In a little more than a year 
 after his coming to America, Mr. Orem was offered a chap- 
 laincy on one of His Majesty's ships of war, stationed at New 
 York. This he accepted, and went to live in a place much 
 more suited to his tastes than was the quiet Massachusetts 
 town. The Rev. Daniel Browne, whose name has lately 
 been mentioned, was designated by the Propagation Society 
 as his successor, but was stricken with small-pox a few days 
 after his ordination in England, and died in a very sliort 
 time. 
 
 In the year 1723 the Rev. John Usher was sent by the 
 society as the second missionary to the struggling church. 
 Mr. Usher was the son of Lieutenant-Governor Usher,* of 
 New Hampshire. He was a graduate of Harvard College, 
 in the class of 1719, and had gone to England for his ordina- 
 tion. He was for a short time the missionary at St. George's, 
 South Carolina, but almost all of his long and useful life 
 was spent in this town. The rectorship of Mr. Usher was at 
 
 * " John Usher was a bookseller and stationer in Boston, a Colonel and Coun- 
 cillor. He was five years Lieutenant-Governor of New Hampshire from 1693, and 
 was afterwards re-appointed in 1702."— ^Mew's American BU>grai)hical Dictionary. 
 
ST. MICHAEL S CHURCH. 
 
 145 
 
 St. Michael's Church. 
 
 once and always 
 successful. He 
 found the parish 
 weak and feeble, 
 and bitterly op- 
 posed by the dom- 
 inant religious 
 body. His careful 
 attention built up 
 a healthy chui-ch, 
 upon foundations 
 so strong that not 
 even the miglity 
 throes of the Rev- 
 olution were able 
 to destroy them, 
 and his judicious 
 conduct gradually 
 
 overcame the enmity with which he and his work were at 
 first regarded. 
 
 A year after his arrival he reports forty-five families in his 
 congregation (there were perhaps five hundred inhabitants in 
 the town), and in the next year thirty communicants. The 
 first adult baptism which he records* is that of Mehetabel 
 Truck, an Indian woman ; the first child baptized was his 
 own son, Jolin Usher, Oct. 6, 1723. This baptism was his 
 first official act. He married John Linsey and Hannah Hoar, 
 Nov. 28, 1723. 
 
 At the Easter Meeting in 1724, the first Yestry was elected. 
 The vestrymen were Col. Henry Mackintosh, Maj. Ebenezer 
 Brenton, Capt. Thomas Lawton, Capt. Samuel Little, Messrs. 
 William Munro, William Walker, Jabez Howland, Henry 
 Bragg, Obadiah Papillion, and Nathaniel Boswortli. Jabez 
 Howland f and Nathaniel Bosworth were chosen wardens. 
 
 *The first baptism on the Church Records is that of Alice Woodale, adult, 
 baptized by Mr. McSparran, in 1721. 
 
 + In front of the wooden church which was burned on the 5th of December, 
 1858, stood the old slate gravestone which had marked the resting-place of his 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 These were all prominent men in the town. Colonel Mack- 
 intosh was one of its wealthiest citizens; Major Brenton, 
 Captain Little, and Jabez Howland were sent to represent 
 the town at the General Court, and the names of the others 
 frequently appear in the town records as holding offices of 
 trust and importance. 
 
 In 1725 Colonel Mackintosh presented an additional i)iece 
 of land to the church. He had at first given only the ground 
 upon which to erect the building. Tlie second donation made 
 the lot eiglity-six feet in length on King Street, and sixty-six 
 feet in breadth on Hope Street.* 
 
 In 1728 a sum of money was raised for the purchase of a 
 bell, and Mr. Nathaniel Kay, of Newport, was authorized to 
 order it from England. The bell reached Newport in safety, 
 and two men were sent from Bristol with a sloop, to trans- 
 port it to its final destination. The purchase of the bell had 
 been accomplished only after much labor, and considerable 
 self-denial on tlie part of the little parish. The hearts of the 
 men who were bringing it up the bay swelled with pride as 
 they looked upon it, and they resolved to suspend it from the 
 mast, that its rich tones might proclaim its arrival to the 
 people who were so eagerly awaiting it. But the sledge ham- 
 mer used to awaken its sleeping music, was wielded by the 
 brawny arm of Thomas Waldron, a giant in size and strength ; 
 his strokes were given with vigor but not with discretion, and 
 the bell was broken ere the echoes of its first note had died 
 away. The circumstance seems to us a trifling one, Init to 
 the parish at that time, the disappointment was most bitter. 
 The broken bell was shipped to England to be recast, and when 
 
 wife: "Ye body of Patience, ye wife of Jabez Howland, died Oct. ye 23, 1721, 
 Aged 52, being- ye fii-st intered in St. MichaePs churchyard." It bore this quaint 
 but beautiful epitaph : — 
 
 " The Daine who takes her rest within this tomb, 
 
 Had Rachel's comely face, and Leah's fruitef ul womb ; 
 
 Abigail's wisdom, Lydia's purer heart, 
 
 Martha's just care, and Mary's better part." 
 
 * The names of the cross streets \aried at different periods in the town's history. 
 Church Street was called at one time Kiuji Street, at another. Queen Street. This 
 fact must be borne in mind in examining- old deeds. 
 
ST. Michael's church. 147 
 
 it came back to Bristol in the succeeding year, and was placed 
 in the steeple, it proved to be one of the best in the country, 
 and could be distinctly heard at Pawtuxet, twelve miles away. 
 "• There were two important questions agitated in the parisli 
 in the year 1730, which appear to have excited considerable 
 interest ; one was, whether the salary of Mr. Gallop, the 
 principal singer, should be increased from tliirty shillings, and 
 the other, if he should sing without reading the first line ; 
 both of these weighty questions were submitted to the de- 
 cision of the rector. In 1731 the society had so much in- 
 creased that, for the accommodation of all its members, it 
 became necessary to add galleries to the church, and the 
 pews in them were readily sold. A singular vote was passed 
 this year, which required the Rev. Mr. Usher to support all 
 the widows of the churcli from what he received as his own 
 salary, as small as it must have been." * (Mr. Usher received 
 sixty pounds per annum from the Propagation Society. 
 From the parish he received from eighty to a hundred and 
 thirty or forty pounds each year, but the value of the 
 colonial currency was very fluctuating.) In 1734 a steeple 
 clock was added to the church by private subscription. In 
 1730 Mr. Usher reports to the Propagation Society : " I have 
 liad sundry negroes make application for baptism, that were 
 able to render a very good account of tlie hope that was in 
 them, and their practices were generally agreeable to the 
 principles of the Christian religion. But I am not permitted 
 to comply with their request and my own duty, being forbid 
 by their masters, notwithstanding they have the Bishop of 
 London's letter and the late Bishop of Asaph's sermon to 
 that purpose, to which I have added my own endeavors, both 
 from the pulpit and in private conversation, to persuade them 
 to comply therewith." This report shows a somewhat strange 
 state of popular feeling. How long it continued w^e do not 
 know. In 1740 he reports the baptism of one adult negro, 
 but does not state whether he was a slave or not. In 1746 
 he reports tliirty negroes and Indians in his congregation. 
 
 * Updike's Nairagansett Church. 
 
148 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 In 1735 Nathaniel Kay, of Newport, His Majesty's Col- 
 lector of Customs, besides a bequest of silver for communion 
 purposes to each of the four churches in his district,* and a 
 bequest of lands and money to the Newport Church, left also 
 to St. Michael's Church the tract of land which is now known 
 as the Point Farm,f the income from which was to be devoted 
 to the instruction of " ten poor boys in Grammar and 
 Mathematics," and to the support of the church ministry. 
 (The teacher was, if possible, to be a clergyman, Episcopally 
 ordained.) For the erection of a school-house he gave, besides, 
 two luindred pounds in money. The church came into pos- 
 session of this property in the following year, but it was not 
 until 1744 tliat permission was obtained from the town to 
 place the school-house upon the public lands. The building 
 was erected upon Constitution Street, between Hope and 
 Higli streets, in the middle of the street, as were most of 
 the public buildings in those days, and was used until 1798 or 
 thereabouts. (In 1800 it was voted by tlie vestry tliat the 
 rector should sell the school bell.) The bequest of Mr. Kay 
 has been, and still continues to be, a source of much income 
 to the parish. A literal carrying out of its terms is no 
 longer possible, by reason of the changes which have been made 
 in the public school system of the town, but the spirit of the 
 donation is still complied with. In 1800 the actual control 
 of the farm passed out of the hands of the -church, the prop- 
 erty having been leased to " Jeremiah Ingraham, his heirs 
 and assigns," for nine hundred and ninety-nine years. 
 
 Upon the establishment of this school, and for several years, 
 the Church of England people protested, though ineffectually, 
 against being taxed for the support of the town school. In 
 1744 the influence of the liberal religious sentiment of Rhode 
 Island had been marked by a petition from the town to the 
 General Court, that the two congregations of the place might 
 
 * Trinity Church, Newport; St. PauVs Church, Narrag-ansett ; King's (now St. 
 John's) Church, Providence ; and St. MichaeVs Church, Bristol. 
 
 + The Point Farm was for se\cral years leased to the second John Usher. From 
 his residence upon it the name of Usher's Cove came to be applied to the little bay 
 which indents its eastern shore. 
 
ST. Michael's church. 149 
 
 be allowed to impose a tax each, for the support of its own 
 minister. It would seem that the town had the right to tax its 
 citizens for such a purpose, but that no such power belonged 
 to the churches. In January, 1746-47, Bristol became a part 
 of Rhode Island, and consequently we find no further record 
 of votes upon matters purely religious in the town-meetings. 
 The school question, however, was not immediately settled, 
 for in March, 1746-47, we find the following vigorous pro- 
 test : — 
 
 ' ' Mr. Moderator : — 
 
 •' We, the underwritten, freeholders of the Town of Bristol, and Trus- 
 tees of a school in Bristol aforesaid, founded and endowed by our late 
 public benefactor Nathaniel Kay, Esq.deceased, for the benefit of the 
 ohildreu of the Church of England in Bristol, and other members of the 
 said Church beg leave to enter thefollowing protest against a vote this day 
 passed against the consent of us the Protestors notwithstanding what 
 we have already offered to the contrary relating to the maintaining a 
 free school in said town by a tax to be levied as well upon us, who have 
 manifested our dissent in the most peaceable manner, as those who have 
 promoted it and are the only persons to receive benefit thereby, and that 
 for the following reasons, to wit; 
 
 •' I'J- We protest one and all against the whole and every part of said 
 vote by reason it is an encroachment upon the liberties and privileges 
 granted to the members of the Colony of Rhode Island, by his late Majes- 
 ty's Royal Charter, and ever since continued by his successors, and still in- 
 dulged by his present Most Gracious Majesty, which privilege is confirmed 
 to us by the good laws of the Colony wherein they guard against any 
 one Society endeavoring for pre-eminence over other Societies. 
 
 " 2'y- Because there is no such instance of a Free School in the whole 
 Colony, being thus supported. 
 
 "3'y- Because this would not be equal, to oblige us to pay toward the 
 support of a school we stand not in need of neither expect to reap 
 benefit from, which reason in a special manner we presume will have its 
 due weight with those gentlemen who formerly objectfed against a young 
 gentleman* keeping the public school, though otherwise every way 
 qualified, but only that he attended the church sometimes, when they 
 would at the same time have received equal advantage with those of 
 the Church. 
 
 " 4'y- Because we have already according to the Will of our late 
 benefactor erected a school for the benefit of the children of the Church 
 and though at present we are not so happy as to have a Master yet we 
 have been and still are in pursuit of a gentleman of sober life and con- 
 versation that shall be well qualified to instruct the children in the 
 
 Probably Mr. John Usher, .Tr. 
 
150 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Grammar and Arithmetic and doubt not of succeeding very speedily; 
 for these reasons we beg this our protest may be entered in behalf of 
 ourselves and others, members of the Chuich of England in Bristol, 
 reserving what we have further to object until you and we shall appear 
 before those who are able and we doubt not are willing to do justice 
 between man and man and will preserve us from being trampled upon 
 and brow beaten upon any account whatever. 
 "Dated at Bristol, the 9th of March, 1746-7. 
 
 John Walker, I 
 Simeon Munko, ^ 
 
 Church ]]'ardens. 
 
 Thos. Lawton, 1 
 
 Nathl. Boswouth, ! 
 
 Natiil Pearse, I 
 
 Simeon Potter, 
 
 Nathl. Munro, 
 
 William Pearse, \-Vestr7jinen.'" 
 
 William Martin, 
 
 William Cox, i 
 
 John Lindsey. I 
 
 William Hoar, 
 
 Bennet Munro, J 
 
 To this protest, answer was made at the next town-meeting, 
 April 15, 1747 : — 
 
 " Voted, That the true intent and meaning of the town vote made and 
 passed at the last town meeting, relating to the raising of the sum of one 
 hundred and seventy-three pounds, for the maintaining a free school in 
 this town is that the Church of England people in this town shall be 
 exempted from paying any part thereof saving such as send their chil- 
 dren to the said school." 
 
 At tlie spring meeting in 1749, the Episcopalians were again 
 cxerapted, the assessors were ordered to impose a tax upon 
 the other inhabitants, " as soon as the Gentlemen of the 
 Church of England give a list of the people that attend that 
 Church." 
 
 A few years after, both ministers were, by vote of the town, 
 exempted entirely from taxes. Religious questions no longer 
 divided the people, and from this time until the outbreak of 
 the Revolution, the relations of the two congregations seem 
 to have been entirely harmonious. In 1751 Mr. John Usher, 
 Jr., was employed to teach the town school. 
 
ST. Michael's church. 151 
 
 In 1756 the church edifice was thoroughly repaired, and 
 from this time until the death of the rector, the affairs of the 
 church were fairly prosperous.* The population of the town 
 was declining by reason of emigration, in the last years of Mr. 
 Usher's life, but the church held its own. The venerable 
 missionary had become a cripple, but still continued to preach 
 twice every Sunday until his death. He died April 30, 1775, 
 being then seventy-five years of age. For fifty-two years 
 he had served as the rector of St. Michael's ; in that time he 
 had baptized 713 persons, 185 times he had performed the 
 marriage ceremony, and 274 times he had officiated at funer- 
 als. The hand of death was mercifully laid upon him before the 
 fierce tempest of the Revolution burst upon the church and 
 town, seeming for a time entirely to efface the results of his 
 half-century's woik. He was buried beneath the chancel of 
 the church where he had served so long and faithfully, and 
 of which he was destined to be the last minister. The Rev. 
 Mr. Doyle, of Cambridge, was, after his death, invited to offici- 
 ate in the parish for the term of six months, but his health 
 failed him, and he left before the period of his engagement 
 had expired. In 1776 Dr. Henry Caner, who had been for 
 thirty years the missionary in charge of King's Chapel, Bos- 
 ton, and who had been forced to leave his post by reason of his 
 .strong Tory principles, was appointed the missionary of the 
 Propagation Society for this place, but the appointment was 
 only an honorary one. Bristol was then no more suited for the 
 residence of a Tory than was Boston, and it is hardly possible 
 that Dr. Caner ever visited the town. 
 
 On the 5th of May, 1778, the church was burnt by a band 
 of British soldiers from Riiode Island, under the command of 
 Colonel Campbell. It was at the time a prevailing opinion 
 that the soldiers had been informed that what appeared to be 
 
 *" In the year 1757, one of Mr. Usher's sons who had been preparing for the 
 sacred ministry, took passag'e for Eng-land with the purpose of obtaining ordina- 
 tion. The same fate befell him, as, by a curious coincidence, had many yeai-s be- 
 fore overtaken one of the Congregationalist ministers of the town, the Hev. Dr. 
 Lee. The ship in which he sailed was captured by a French tleet, and young Mr. 
 Usher, some time later, died of disease in the French castle of Bayonue." — 7?er. 
 George L. Locke's " HMorical IMscourge." 
 
152 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 tombs under the church were the powder magazines of the 
 town, and that the building was a Dissenters' meeting-house. 
 Some papers whicli have within a few montlis been dis- 
 covered among the manuscripts of tlie late John Carter 
 Brown, of Providence, add somewhat to our meagre stock 
 of information upon the subject. The first is a petition 
 to the English Society, sent after peace had been declared, 
 asking for aid to rebuild the church ; it is signed by the 
 wardens and vestry of the parish. After mentioning the 
 burning of the dwelling-houses, the paper goes on to say : 
 " The Church of England had not been open for any purpose 
 whatever, fi-om the time of our Pastor's decease (excepting 
 a few condoling sermons delivered there by the neighboring 
 missionaries) till 'twas broke open by the King's Troops and 
 fire set to the Pulpit. If all the town had been reduced to 
 ashes, our church Avas so situated, and the wind, tho' high, 
 from that quarter that we should have saved her." The 
 second is the letter accompanying the petition, from Mr. 
 John Usher, Jr.. to the secretary of the society, and is dated 
 March 3, 1784. Mr. Usher says that he has registered a 
 catalogue of the society's books,* and lodged them in the 
 hands of the eldest church warden, to await the pleasure of 
 the society. Respecting the burning, he says : " A member 
 of the church acquainted the second in command under 
 Colonel Campbell in that excursion, that the church had not 
 been open since tho commencement of the war, for any pur- 
 pose whatever, and that the members of that church were 
 friends to Government, upon which the Officer ran to the 
 Church Door, but 't was too late, the Pulpit was all on fire. 
 Two minutes sooner would have saved the Church." 
 
 From the burning of the church until the close of the war 
 the intensity of bitterness with which everything English was 
 regarded, rendered it entirely impossible for the Church of 
 England congregation to hold any services in the town ; but 
 
 * lu 1724 a small library of standard theologrical works had been sent over by 
 the Propagation Society, for the use of its missionary in Bristol. Some of these 
 volumes are still in the possession of St. Michael's Parish. 
 
ST. Michael's church. 153 
 
 through all those weary years the church organization was 
 preserved, through the untiring zeal of Mr. John Usher, Jr., 
 the son of the late rector, and the man who was destined to be 
 his successor. When the time came for the annual Easter 
 meeting he, as the senior warden and clerk of the parisli, did 
 not fail to call its few remaining members together, formally 
 to go through with the duties which belong to Easter Monday. 
 For a few years these meetings were held in secret, since by 
 many unthinking zealots in New England the terms " Church- 
 man" and " traitor " were at the time held to be synonymous, 
 but a vestry was annually elected and a record of the proceed- 
 ings very carefully made. 
 
 The minutes of the meeting held April 16, 1781, show that 
 this unjust distrust of the church as a whole had worn away, 
 and that possibly there may have been some unpleasant col- 
 lisions between the differing members of the parish. The 
 meeting had been duly warned, and a full list of officers was 
 chosen. At the end of the record is a note stating that, for 
 reasons hereafter to be assigned, the names of those who 
 attended the meeting as parishioners and took part in the 
 election of officers are set down. Some eighteen names, 
 many of them very prominent in the town records, are given, 
 and the record closes thus : " The meeting finished with little 
 or no opposition or warmth." 
 
 Immediately after the close of the war the services of the 
 church were resumed, Mr. Usher acting as lay reader, and the 
 Episcopal clergymen from neighboring towns occasionally 
 being present to administer the sacraments. These services 
 were held at first in the Court House,* but in 1786 and 1787 a 
 new church was erected on the site of the old, a plain wooden 
 building, sixty feet long and forty feet wide, having seventy- 
 four pews on the ground floor, and galleries on three sides. f 
 
 * The old Court House stood in the middle of State Street, half-way between 
 Hope and High. It has sinee been moved to the western corner of the little street 
 which runs north from Bradford, between Hijfh and Wood streets, where it is still 
 used as a dwcllingr-house. 
 
 tin 1811 this building- was enlarged, twenty-four feet being added to the western 
 end, making the editice eighty-four feet long. It was finally torn down in 1833, to 
 
15-4 HISTORY OF BRISTOL, 
 
 It is ])robable that this building was not completely fur- 
 nished until 1793. In 1792 a vote was passed, tlianking Col. 
 Simeon Potter for his liberality in painting the building and 
 for other benefactions ; in 1793 the thanks of the parish 
 were also presented to Richard Pcarse and Moses Vandoorn, 
 for their benefactions, and a plan for pewing the church and 
 for building the pulpit was adopted. The greatest difficulty 
 was experienced in raising the money to pay for this edifice, 
 and Mr. Usher could hardly find purchasers for its pews, 
 even at the nominal price of ten dollars each. The wonder 
 is, that in the peculiar condition of the times, the idea of 
 building should have been entertained by the parish, and the 
 successful carrying out of the project not only shows a great 
 amount of zeal on the part of the congregation, but also 
 indicates very liberal contributions from the few persons of 
 wealth who were then numbered among its members.* The 
 fact that the parish was kept alive so many years with only 
 the services of a lay reader is also remai'kable. As a lay 
 reader, Mr. Uslier could marry and bury, but of course could 
 not administer the sacraments. In 1791 twenty-five per- 
 sons were confirmed by Bishop Scabury, of Connecticut, and 
 on the 31st of July, 1793,1 Mr. Usher was ordained priest. 
 For several years he had been urged to take orders, but his 
 advanced age seemed, both to him and to others, — especially 
 to Bishop Seabury, — to render this step undesirable. The wel- 
 fare of the parish at last appeared to make it absolutely neces- 
 sary, and on the 21st of August, 1792, he had addressed tliis 
 letter to the President of the Diocesan Convention : — 
 
 ''Gentlemen : From an ardent zeal to promote the glory of God, from 
 
 make room for the beautiful Gothic structure which was destroyed by fire on the 
 5th of December, 1858. A part of the old church was incorporated in the building 
 which is now used for a blacksmith's shop, near the head of the Fall River Steam- 
 boat wharf. 
 
 * In 1T99 Colonel Potter presented a bell to the parish. The inscription upon 
 this bell was in French. Whence it came we do not know. Perhaps it had fallen 
 into Captain Potter's hands when he sailed the seas in his famous privateer, the 
 " Prince Charles of Lorraine." 
 
 t This date is given, in his own handwriting-, in the "Records of Births, Mar- 
 riages and Deaths." 
 
ST. Michael's church. 155 
 
 a strong desire to lead man into the way of l)appiness, from these 
 motives I would wish to dedicate the few remaining days of my life and 
 usefulness, to answer these purposes. Eesting it also upon this issue, 
 that I trust myself inwardly thereunto moved. On these principles 
 accept, Gentlemen, of my warmest and sincerest thanks for the address 
 and the sanction given the address to Bishop Seabury on my behalf; 
 and that as soon as it can be conveniently effected I shall present myself 
 to our Right Eeverend Bishop Seabury, in order to answer your good 
 intentions. 
 
 I am. Gentlemen, 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 John Usuek." 
 
 Mr. Usher officiated as the rector of the parish until 1800. 
 He was then seventy-eight years old, three years older than his 
 fatlier had been when he died, and the labors of his position 
 seemed too much for his feeble strength. At a parish meet- 
 ing held March 30, 1800, the aged rector announced that 
 the Rev. Abraham L. Clarke, tlic i-ector of St. John's Church, 
 Providence, was about resigning his charge, and advised that 
 he be invited to the rectorship of St. Michael's. Mr. Clarke 
 accepted the position April 9, 1800, but resigned it within 
 a few months, and was elected assistant minister, while Mr. 
 Usher was re-elected rector. The change was probably 
 <lcemcd necessary by reason of the provisions of the Kay 
 bequest. Mr. Usher took no active part in the work of tlie 
 parish, and was simply its rector emeritus. The relations 
 between Mr. Clarke and his congregation do not appear to 
 have been very satisfactory, the insufficient income was 
 probably at the bottom of the trouble, and in 1803 he 
 resigned.* Mr. Usher died in July, 1804, being then eighty- 
 two years of age, and was buried beneath the chancel of the 
 church, near the tomb in which the remains of his father had 
 been laid. The Rev. A. V. Griswold had entered upon his 
 duties in the parish a few months before this time. 
 
 For more than three-quarters of a century the two Ushers 
 had served St. Michael's Church. The father, entering upon 
 the work in the vigor and strength of early manhood, had 
 
 * He removed to Long Island, wliere he died shortlj' after. 
 
156 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 found the aslies of a bitter controversy yet glowing, and had 
 been met by the violent prejudices which that controversy 
 had engendered. These prejudices had melted away before 
 his quiet, persistent performance of duty, and in his maturer 
 years he had been honored by the respect and esteem of 
 all with whom he came in contact. As his steps became 
 feeble and his eye grew dim, the whole horizon was darkened 
 with the shadows of a coming storm, but death had stricken 
 him down at his post before the black war-cloud burst 
 upon country and town. When the helm slipped from his 
 djdng hand, his son had seized it, and had guided the 
 church safely through the seething billows of the Revolution. 
 Of the more prosperous day that was dawning upon the 
 town, the son caught glimpses, and in the quiet eyes of Mr. 
 Griswold read a happy promise of the bright future, which, 
 under his prayerful and heaven-aided direction, was so soon 
 to bless the church. 
 
Chapter xxii. 
 
 MORE RECORDS. 
 
 At a town-meeting held March 23, 1721, it was voted: — 
 
 "Whereas persons often purposely or negligently suffer their chim- 
 neys to be on fire, whereby their houses are in danger of being burnt; 
 For the prevention thereof, It is voted, that whoever of the inhabitants 
 of this town living between the two bridges, viz: Walker's Bridge and 
 Bosworth's Bridge (so called), shall for the future suffer their chimneys 
 to be on fire, so as to blaze out of the top, shall forfeit and pay the sum 
 of five shillings as a line therefor, one half thereof to be for the use of 
 the poor of the town, and the other half to him or them that shall inform 
 and Sue for the same before any one of his Majesty's Justices of the 
 Peace for this County." 
 
 The inhabitants of the town in those earlier days seem to 
 have been exceedingly careless about this matter, even after the 
 above vote had been passed. The Rev. Nathaniel Cotton, in 
 a letter dated Oct. 30, 1723, makes mention of a destructive 
 fire, which had just consumed two valuable buildings, '^ with 
 sundry English goods." (" Two niglits later," Mr. Cotton 
 writes, " a violent storm broke up all the wharves, destroyed 
 the bridges, and drove several vessels on shore, doing damage 
 to the extent of two thousand pounds.") 
 
 Sept. 26, 1721, the first mention of the small-pox occurs ; 
 it is probable that there were no cases of the disease at that 
 time, as there is no subsequent record to show that a house 
 was procured. At that meeting it was 
 
 " Voted, That the Selectmen be directed to take care and get some 
 convenient house to carry any person into that shall be taken with the 
 small-pox, if it please God to suffer that said distemper to come among 
 us." 
 
158 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 June 9, 1722, Nathaniel Bosworth, cooper, was, by vote of 
 the citizens, granted " ten feet in breadth of beach and flats, 
 on the north side of tlie street called Jones Street, at the 
 north end of the town, and below Thames Street, for to build 
 a wharf thereon, only reserving liberty to land on said wharf 
 all goods, wares, or other things wliatsoever, belonging to tlie 
 Town for public use, from time to time, without paying 
 wharfage." " This was the first wharf built in the town, and 
 is at present owned by the Providence, Warren & Bristol 
 Railroad Company, at the foot of Oliver Street, and has been 
 known for many years as the Parker Borden Wharf. At this 
 time there were two private landings, one near the wharf 
 built by the late James DeWolf, and the other on Avhat was 
 called Warehouse Point, where the long wharf now stands." * 
 
 In the year 1721 the town of Taunton presented a petition 
 to the General Court, asking that the County of Bristol might 
 be divided, and that it might be made the shire town of the 
 new county. Colonel Byfield and Nathaniel Blagrove were 
 chosen by the town of Bristol to appear at the next Court 
 and show cause why the county should not be divided. The 
 petition was not granted, but the action of Taunton at this 
 time, and afterwards, prepared the way for the final transfer 
 of Bristol to the jurisdiction of Rhode Island. 
 
 The grain crop of the town seems to have been almost a 
 failure in 1724, for, at a meeting held Nov. 6, the selectmen 
 were appointed a committee " to procure one hundred and 
 fifty pounds upon interest, and to lay it out according to their 
 discretion for a stock of Indian Corn and other grain to sup- 
 ply the Inhabitants of the town." This grain was sold under 
 the direction of the selectmen, and at prices fixed by them. 
 Their management of the enterprise was so successful that a 
 profit of six pounds and eleven shillings was secured. This 
 sum was, at a subsequent meeting, ordered to be divided among 
 the members of the committee. 
 
 A special town-meeting was held on the 20th of November, 
 
 * From B. J. Muaro's account of Bristol, in the Illustrated HUitory of Rhode 
 Maud. 
 
MORE RECORDS. 159 
 
 1727, to set prices on articles of merchandise in order to rate 
 tliem. Tlie following schedule of prices was adopted : Good 
 Barrel Beef, £2, 10s. pr. bbl. ; Good Pork, £5 : Winter Wheat, 
 6s. 6d. pr. bushel ; Summer do., 5s. 6d. ; Barley, 4s. 6d. ; 
 Good Rye, 4s. 6d.; Good Indian Corn, 2s. 6d. ; Oats, Is. ; 
 Good Peas, clear of bugs, 7s. 6d. ; Good Flax, Is. 2d. pr. lb. ; 
 Good Hemp, 7d. : Beeswax, 2s. 4d. ; Butter, lOd. ; Dry 
 Hides, 4d. ; Tanned Leather, lOd.; Dry Cod Fish, £1, 5s. pr. 
 quintal ; Good Oil, £2 pr. bbl. ; Mackerel, £1 ; Whale Bone, 
 3s. 4d. pr. lb. ; Bay Berry Wax, Is. 2d. ; Turpentine, 10s. pr. 
 cwt. ; Bar Iron, <£2, 5s. ; Tobacco, 6d. pr. lb. ; Tallow, 6d. ; 
 Cast Iron, £2 pr. cwt. In this year a second ferry was es- 
 tablished to connect Portsmouth with Bristol. 
 
 In 1732 the small-pox had begun its ravages. March 27, 
 William Gladding, having been "put out of his house for 
 several months by reason of the small-pox," had his lease 
 proportionally extended. Mr. Gladding was living in the house 
 upon the Common, which the town had allowed John Liscomb, 
 the sexton, to build, and which, with the improvements about 
 it, it liad bought in 1728 from his widow. (For the house 
 £28 were paid, for the well £8, and for the fence 40 shillings.) 
 The building stood on Church Street, about half Avay between 
 High and Wood streets. A small depression still remains 
 Avhere the cellar once was. The house was frequently used 
 as a small-pox hospital in after years, perhaps on account of 
 its nearness to the burying-ground. In 1760 Mr. Gladding 
 was allowed £10 on this account; the records show that 
 in that year three men died in his house, of disease con- 
 tracted on Captain Potter's vessel. 
 
 In 1737 Thames Street was " ascertained " to be three rods 
 wide, Nathaniel Hubbard, Timothy Fales and Jonathan Wood- 
 bury having been appointed a committee for that purpose. 
 In 1739 the part of the Common "east of Gladding's house " 
 was designated as a burying-ground. The first burying-ground 
 w^as the one east of Wood Street, to which some six acres 
 were added in 1811, and which is still used. After the meet- 
 ing-house was built, the ii;round near it was used as a resting- 
 
160 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 place for tlie dead. It was not until 1824 tliat a portion of 
 the town's farm upon the Neck, was set apart as a burying- 
 ground. 
 
 The last town-meeting of the citizens of Bristol, Mass., was 
 held on the first day of January, 1746-7. The arrangements 
 for the transfer of the town to the jurisdiction of Rhode Island 
 had already been determined upon. Capt. Jonathan Peck and 
 Mr. Nathaniel Bosworth were chosen as " agents to represent 
 the town, and prefei" a petition to the General Assembly at 
 Providence, when they shall set, in order to continue and con- 
 firm the privileges of the town." Timothy Fales, Jonathan 
 Woodbury, Joseph Russell, Samuel Rowland and Judge Dun- 
 bar, were appointed to assist them in drawing up the petition. 
 
 The five towns of Bristol, Warren, Tiverton, Little Comp- 
 ton, and Cumberland became a part of Rhode Island on the 
 twenty-seventh day of January, 1746-7. A special session 
 of the Legislature was called to organize the new territory. 
 The two southern towns were annexed to Newport County, 
 Cumberland became a part of Providence County, and a new 
 county was organized from the intervening district, with 
 Bristol as the shire town. In each town a s{iecial justice of 
 the peace was appointed, whose duty it was to preserve the 
 peace and to issue a warrant to call the inhabitants together, 
 on the second Tuesday of the next February, for the purpose 
 of choosing town officers and deputies to the General Assem- 
 bly. Jonathan Peck was appointed Justice of the Peace for 
 the town of Bristol. 
 
 The first town-meeting of the citizens of Bristol, Rhode 
 Island, was held on the " Second Tuesday of February in 
 the Twentieth year of his Majesty's. Reign (George II.) 
 A. D. 1746-7, being y^ tenth day of said month." Jonathan 
 Woodbury was chosen Moderator, and Samuel Howland, Town 
 Clerk. Jonathan Peck was chosen First Deputy, and 
 Nathaniel Bosworth Second Deputy to the General Assembly. 
 Jonathan Woodbury, Joseph Russell, Maj. Thomas Greene, 
 Jonathan Peck, Capt. Jeremiah Finney and Thomas Throope, 
 Jr., were elected as members of the Town Council. Jona- 
 
MORE RECORDS. 
 
 161 
 
 tlian Woodbury, Joseph Russell and William Munro were 
 appointed Rate-Makers. Joseph Russell became the Town 
 Treasurer, with a salary of £S, old tenor,* per annum, for 
 his services. 
 
 At this meeting the following freemen " took the Oath of 
 Bribery and Corruption : " — 
 
 Samuel Smith, 
 Thomas Throope, 
 Joseph Reynolds, 
 Dea. John Throope, 
 Nathaniel Bosworth, 
 Hopestill Potter, 
 John Dyre, 
 Elisha May, 
 Thomas Throope, Jr., 
 Jeremiah Finney, 
 Maj. Thomas Greene, 
 William Gallop, 
 Samuel Viall, 
 Cornelius Waldron, 
 John Walker, 
 Jeremiah Diman, 
 Rogers Richmond, 
 John Bushee, 
 Timothy Ingraham, 
 Joseph Russell, Esq., 
 George Dunbar, Esq., 
 William Pearse, 
 
 Joshua Bayley, 
 Joseph Eddy, 
 Ebenezer Dyre, 
 Joseph Wardwell, 
 William Hoar, 
 Thomas Weaver, 
 William Bosworth, 
 Simeon Munro, 
 John Bosworth, Jr., 
 John Wardwell, 
 James Bosworth, 
 John Munro, 
 Samuel Bosworth, 
 Capt. Samuel Gallop, 
 Nathaniel Pearse, 
 Isaac Lawton, 
 John Lindsay, 
 John Throope, Jr., 
 Benjamin Salsbury, 
 William Coggeshall, 
 Elisha Weaver, 
 Joseph Reynolds, Jr. 
 
 John May, 
 Thomas Kinnicutt, 
 Joseph Waldron, 
 Joshua Ingraham, 
 John Oldredge, 
 Joseph Waldron, Jr., 
 James Wardwell, 
 Benjamin Reynolds, 
 Capt. Thomas Lawton, 
 Nathaniel Munro, 
 Benjamin Smith, 
 John Howland, 
 Samuel Howland, 
 Henry Bragg, 
 Jonathan Peck, 
 Thomas Munro, 
 Nathaniel Fales, 
 John Hubbard, 
 Bennett Munro, 
 Dr. Aaron Bourne, 
 Nathaniel Carey, 
 William Coggeshall, Jr. 
 
 " The most detestable crime of Bribery " was alarmingly 
 prevalent in the colony of Rhode Island at this time (its 
 absurd paper-money system was at the bottom of the whole 
 trouble!), and the General Assembly had enacted very 
 
 * The bills of the " Banks," which Rhode Island had issued, up to the year 1740, 
 " had merely expressed so many pounds, shillings, or pence, at which they were to 
 pass current, while in this issue (the seventh) the General Assembly further at- 
 tempted to fix their value in gold or silver coin. Their value, as determined by the 
 law, was to be nine shillings per ounce of sterling alloy (silver), or six pounds, 
 thirteen shillings and four pence per ounce of coined gold. This was the beginning 
 of what was known as new tenor bills. Occasionally a quantity was printed 
 fi-om the old plates, which was known as old tenor. These terms continued to be 
 used until about the year 1758, subsequent to which time all bills were called lawful 
 money bills."— R. 1. Hint. Tract, No. 8. Bills of Credit, or Paper Mom!) of lihoiJe 
 Island, page 5,3. 
 
 tFor a full account of the paper-money issues, the reader should consult Mr. 
 Rider's exhaustive tract, quoted in the preceding note. 
 11 
 
162 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 stringent laws upon the subject, at its session in Newport, in 
 the preceding August. The property qualification for free- 
 holders had been doubled. Only those could vote who held 
 property of the value of £400, or which would rent for at 
 least .£20 per annum (the eldest son of each freeholder was, 
 however, entitled to a vote), and the " Oath of Bribery and 
 Corruption " which follows, was required to be taken by each 
 freeman before he was allowed to vote. The town clerk was 
 required to keep a list of the freemen, and to send a copy 
 thereof to the state officers at each annual election. One 
 vote unlawfully obtained by any officer invalidated his elec- 
 tion. 
 
 "You, A— B — do solemnly swear (or affirm), That you have not, 
 nor will not, receive any money, or other reward, nor any promise of 
 any money, or other thing, by which you may expect any money, or 
 future reward, at the election of any officer to be chosen in this Colony: 
 And that you will not bargain or contract with any person, directly or 
 indirectly, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Oath, (or 
 affirmation) ; but that you will use your Freedom for the good of the 
 Government only, without any other motive: And this declaration you 
 make, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation what- 
 soever." 
 
 Every officer, from the governor down to the constable, 
 was required to make this declaration : — 
 
 "You, A — B — being chosen and appointed to the office of do 
 
 hei-eby sincerely and solemnly declare. That you do justly and truly 
 abhor the most detestable crime of Bribery, and that during the time 
 you shall execute your aforesaid office, you will use the utmost of your 
 endeavors to expose, and bring to justice, all persons whatsoever, who 
 shall, directly or indirectly take any reward, or promise of reward, 
 for their votes in choosing any officer in this Colony; and that you will, 
 as far as in you lieth, cause the laws of this Govei-nment to be put in 
 execution against all persons so offending, without partiality or affec- 
 tion." 
 
 In 1747 Capt. Jonathan Peck and Capt. Simeon Potter 
 were granted permission " to make a Rope-Walk and to make 
 or lay Rigging" on High Street. Many votes concerning 
 rope-walks appear on the old records. Within the memory 
 of not a few of our citizens, some of our streets have been 
 
MORK RKCORDS. 
 
 163 
 
 Residence of Mr. Charles A. Greene. 
 
 closed by numberless lines of cordage. In the last century, 
 and in the early part of tiie present century, this business was 
 a very important one. The labor-saving machinery which is 
 now used in the manufacture of cordage had not then been 
 invented, and all the rigging was made by hand. In some of 
 the old rope-walks forty and fifty men were often employed. 
 All the long buildings have now disappeared. The last of 
 the series was owned and managed by Mr. Samuel Sparks, 
 who died not many years ago. It stood on the south side of 
 Constitution Street, between Hope and High streets. 
 
 On the 9th of March, 1747, John Walker was chosen 
 Vendue Master. This office had been established by the 
 Legislature of Rhode Island many years before. At first 
 only Newport was empowered to hold public auctions, but in 
 1719 a law was passed, establishing vendue masters in every 
 town. Their fees were two and a half per cent, on the 
 
164 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 amount of sales, and they were required to settle with the 
 owners of the goods within five days. 
 
 Feb. 8, 1747-S. " Mark Antony DeWolf took the Oath of Bribery and 
 Corruption and was admitted a Freeman." 
 
 Dec. 16, 1751. "Voted that the two Ministers, viz Mr. Usher and 
 Mr. Burt, and their estates be exempted from paying rates or taxes for 
 this year." 
 
 April 15, 1752. " Voted that Mr. Thomas Kinnicut be desired to 
 make a new gate at the north end of the town, on the east side of the 
 neck, across the Highway, and likewise to make a piece of stone wall 
 to complete the fence across the said way." 
 
 This was the fence just north of Crane's Lane, which 
 marked the boundary line between Bristol and Swansey, and 
 which continued to be the northern limit of the town until 
 a portion of its territory was annexed to Warren in 1873. 
 The gate was upon the " Back Road." 
 
 April 4, 1757, £500 were ordered to be raised " for advanc- 
 ing the bounty of those that shall voluntarily enlist in the 
 present expedition." " The Old French and Indian War " 
 was being carried on. Bristol w^as required to furnish eleven 
 men of the four hundred and fifty which the General Assem- 
 bly of Rhode Island had ordered. Warren, also, was required 
 to furnish the same number, and Maj. Thomas Greene was 
 appointed muster-master for Bristol County. The soldiers 
 were to be enlisted for one year, and the bounty seems dis- 
 proportionally large, but it must be borne in mind that the 
 men were paid in paper money.* 
 
 * The following- table, fixing the value of " old tenor " bills, at different periods, 
 was made by the General Assembly in June, 1763. 
 
 £. s. d. [ £. s. d. 
 
 1751, 2. 16. = One Spanish Milled Dollar. 1758, 6. 0. = One Spanish Milled Dollar. 
 
 1752, 3. 0. = •' " { 1759, 6. 0. = 
 
 1753, 3. 10. = " " 1760, 6. 0. = 
 
 1754, 3. 15. = " " 1761, 6. 10. = 
 
 1755, 4. 5. = " " 1763, 7. 0. = 
 
 1756, .5. 5. = " " 1763, 7. 0. = 
 1757,5.15.0 = 
 
 " To understand the exact value of the dollar in Federal Money, at the several 
 periods referred to, the pound must be reckoned at twenty shillings of sixteen 
 and two-thirds cents each, or $3.3S ; so that in 1751, the Spanish dollar was worth 
 S9.33, and in 1763, $23.33."— fi. I. Colonial Recoi'ds, Vol. VI., page 361. 
 
MORE RECORDS. 165 
 
 August 11, 1762. "Voted, That inasmuch as Capt. William Holmes is 
 about to carry Mrs. Mary Gaindet and her daughter to Amsterdam in 
 Holland, if said Mary or her daughter should be taken sick there, and 
 the said William Holmes should be obliged to pay for the same, by reason 
 of his landing them there, this town will reimburse the same to said 
 Holmes or his owner on demand, and also any other charge he the said 
 Holmes may be obliged to pay for them by compulsion of authority." 
 
 The commerce of the port was at this time quite extensive, 
 about fifty vessels, mostly sloops and brigantines, being owned 
 here. The " fore-and-aft " schooner (which is a purely Amer- 
 ican invention, the first one having been built at Gloucester, 
 Mass., in 1714) had not then acquired the popularity which 
 it now enjoys. Most of the vessels of the last century were 
 rigged with square sails ; many, even, of the sloops carried a 
 square top-sail. Occasionally a " Snow " came to anchor in 
 the harbor. This was a vessel rigged very much like a mod- 
 ern " bark," with fore and main-masts, and very near the 
 main-mast a small mizzen-mast, which carried a try-sail. 
 The principal trade was with the West ladies. 
 
 In 1762 Dr. William Bradford was first chosen as moderator 
 of a town-meeting (he had been elected one of the deputies 
 in the preceding year), and from this time until his death 
 his name appears in the records of all the important measures 
 in which the town was concerned. 
 
 May 17, 1764. " Voted, That Mr. John Usher's account for keeping 
 school one year and a half, viz: from August 10th, 1762, to February 10 
 1764, amounting to one thousand and fifty pounds, old tenor, be allowed 
 and paid out of the School Treasury." 
 
 One Spanish milled dollar at that time was worth £1 in 
 old tenor bills. 
 
 Dec. 19, 1767. "Voted, That there be some suitable persons chosen, 
 to put the law in Execution, with respect to Indian, Negro, or Mulatto 
 servants, or slaves being out at unseasonable time of the night." 
 
 About this time the town-meetings were held in Mr. Ilaile 
 Turners tavern, on Hope Street. The house has just been 
 torn down to give place to the residence of Mr. Charles A. 
 Oreene, the Editor of the Bristol Phctnix. 
 
166 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 July 15, 1768. " The Town Council was informed that a vessel belonging- 
 to Simeon Potter, Esq., and commanded by Mark A. DeWolf, Jr., just 
 in from the West Indies, had on board 'a negro wench, sick with the 
 small-pox, and that sundry persons belonging to said vessel were come 
 on shore.' Fearing that the disease would spread, unless effectual 
 means should be taken to prevent it, the Council ordered Jonathan 
 Munday to examine the persons supposed to be afflicted, and to give 
 notice to the Council whenever symptoms of disease should appear on 
 any of them. Richard Hoath was ordered to go on board the vessel 
 and clean it. None of the crew were allowed to come on shore." 
 
 In 1771 Dea. John Howland was directed to erect a new 
 pair of stocks and a whipping-post. These appurtenances of 
 tlie town's judiciary were erected near the Court House, on 
 State Street. The stocks were placed on the sidewalk, high 
 up upon the bank, that their occupants might be the more 
 clearly seen by all the passers-by. They continued to be used 
 until the early part of the present century. The stocks and 
 the whipping-post were used to punish very many lesser 
 offences against the laws. Sometimes a prisoner was sen- 
 tenced to be " whipped out of town." An ox-cart was pro- 
 cured, the prisoner was tied to the rear end, and as the oxen 
 moved slowly along, the requisite number of lashes was ad- 
 ministered. This practice was still in vogue within the mem- 
 ory of many persons now living. 
 
Chapter xxiii. 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE " GASPEE. 
 
 On the ninth day of June, 1772, the first British blood 
 shed in the contest which resulted in the Independence of 
 America, v;as shed upon the British armed schooner " Gaspee." 
 The " Gaspee " had been stationed in Narragansett Bay to pre- 
 vent smuggling, but its commander, Lieutenant Duddingston, 
 had discharged liis duty with needless severity, and had made 
 himself and his vessel exceedingly unpopular. On that day, 
 while chasing the sloop " Hannah," bound from New York, 
 via Newport, to Providence, the "Gaspee" ran aground on 
 Namquit — now called Gaspee — Point, while the " Hannah " 
 reached Providence in safety. Immediately a drummer went 
 through the streets proclaiming the situation of the hated ves- 
 sel, and calling for volunteers to desti'oy her before the next 
 high tide should float her again into safety. The volunteers 
 were desired to meet that evening in the house of Mr. James 
 Sabin, on South Main Street. Eight long boats, each with five 
 muffled oars, were provided by Mr. John Brown, and started 
 down the Imy on their dangerous enterprise a little after 10 
 o'clock. The oars were muffled to enable the boats to reach 
 the " Gaspee " without being perceived. There was no attempt 
 at disguise on the part of those engaged in the expedition. 
 As the party approached the vessel, a little after midnight, 
 they were joined by another boat from Bristol, under the com- 
 mand of Capt. Simeon Potter. Their approach was perceived 
 by the people of the " Gaspee," and as the boats dashed forward 
 shots were fired from the British schooner and returned by 
 
168 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 the attacking party. The vessel was boarded, and after a 
 short but desperate struggle, in which the English commander 
 was severely wounded, was captured. The captured crew 
 were bound and put upon the shore. The vessel was set on 
 fire and entirely destroyed, and in the clear morning light 
 the boats went joyfully homeward. The participants in the 
 affair made no effort to conceal it ; indeed, some of them 
 boasted of their exploit when they reached Providence, but 
 although a reward of X 1,000 was offered by the British 
 authorities for information which might lead to the convic- 
 tion of the offenders, no one was ever brought to trial. The 
 news of tlie destruction of the " Gaspee " spread quickly 
 throughout the English Colonies ; and with the story went also 
 the tidings, that notwithstanding the fact that the British 
 Government had pronounced the act high treason, and liad 
 offered a large reward for the detection of the criminals ; 
 notwithstanding the fact that the boats had gone liomeward 
 in broad dayliglit, and that almost every one in Providence 
 knew the names of the attacking party, yet no one of any 
 character could be found in Rhode Island to testify against 
 these bold outlaws. The little testimony offered was always 
 successfully contradicted, even when it seemed very straight- 
 forward, as was tlie case with tliat of Aaron Briggs, whicli 
 is here given in full : — 
 
 " The examination of Aaron, a mulatto, upon oath, taken this 14th 
 day of January, A. D. 1773. 
 
 " Aaron Briggs, aged eighteen years, or there about, declares, that at 
 the age of five years, he was bound by the town of Portsmouth, an 
 apprentice to Capt. Samuel Tompkins, of Prudence Island, until he 
 should arrive at the age of twenty-four years; from which time, until 
 he went on board the man-of-war, he was constantly in the service of 
 the said Captain Tompkins, as a laborer on his farm. 
 
 " That his master kept a two-mast boat in which to transport his 
 farm produce to market; which was the only sail-boat within five 
 miles of his master's farm, at the time the Gaspee was burnt. That, at 
 that time, one Kemington, who lived about one mile from where the 
 deponent lived, had a row-boat, large enough for six hands to row ; also, 
 one Ephraim Peirce, at about a mile and a half distance, had a two- 
 mast boat; and that the sails of his master's boat had been taken off 
 some time before the night on which the Gaspee was burnt; and she 
 leaked in such a manner, that she could not sail. 
 
THE DESTRUCTION OP THE " GASPEE." 169 
 
 " That a little after sunset, on the night in which the Gaspee was 
 burnt, he left the island of Prudence, but does not know the day of 
 the week, or the day of the month; that he went off the island in a 
 little fishing boat, of two oars, which boat lay just before the house; 
 that before sunrise, and about an hour after day-break, he returned to 
 his master's house, from the shore where they landed the people be- 
 longing to the Gaspee; which shore was about a mile above said 
 Gaspee; and the Gaspee about six miles from his master's house; and 
 that it was about four or five miles from his master's, to the place 
 where they landed the Gaspee people; that he found the oars in the 
 boat, that he went oft" said island in. 
 
 " That the reason he went oft" the island was to carry the boat round 
 to the east side of said island, to carry a man named Samuel Faulkner, 
 a hired man, to Bristol the next night; and that this young man told 
 the deponent, that he would ask his master's leave for that purpose. 
 That going round said island, at about half a mile from said shore of 
 said island, he met a boat and one Potter, whose Christian name he does 
 not know, and whom he in company with Faulkner, above-named, had 
 once seen on a wharf at Bristol, and there heard him called by the name 
 of Potter. And further says, that said Faulkner told him, that that was 
 the person who owned the rope-walk in Bristol that they had been in; 
 that when he met said Potter, as above mentioned, he was in a boat 
 which was rowed with eight oars; that the time he met the said Potter, 
 was about half an hour after he, this deponent left the island, and he, 
 said Potter, was about five miles from Bristol; that there were eleven 
 men in said boat; said Potter was in the stern sheets; that the weather 
 was cloudy; that when Potter hailed him, they were about fifteen rods 
 distant. 
 
 "The first words Potter spoke, was by asking who was in that boat. 
 
 " The deponent answered he was in there. 
 
 " Potter told him to come that way, he wanted to speak to him. 
 
 "Upon which, he went to him; and Potter told him he wanted this 
 deponent to go up with him, about a mile, and that he would be back in 
 an hour. 
 
 " This deponent said he could not, he was in a hurry to go home. 
 
 " To which. Potter replied, he must go with him. 
 
 "The deponent answered, he could not; he must go home or his 
 master would punish him; and this deponent then began to row away. 
 
 "Potter told him he wanted this deponent to go with him, to fetch 
 something down, which this deponent had forgotten; and that he would 
 pay him for so doing. 
 
 " This deponent said he would rather go home, for if his master should 
 miss him, he would say he was out all night, and flog him. 
 
 " Upon which. Potter said, there is no can't in the matter; you must 
 go along with me, we shall be back in an hour; and further said, give 
 me your painter, you need not row, we will carry you up there. 
 
 "Upon which this deponent gave them the painter; tliat he, this 
 deponent, being in his own boat, was rowed up by Potter's boat, till 
 they came within half a mile of the schooner. 
 
170 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 " Potter then said to this deponent, get into my boat; that he got 
 into the boat; Potter then told him, they were going to burn the man- 
 of-war schooner, and that he, this deponent, must go with him. 
 
 "To which he replied, that it was hard for him to be brought there, 
 where he might lose his life. 
 
 " Potter then said, they were all upon their lives. 
 
 " This deponent still repeated, it was hard for him to go. 
 
 "But Potter said he must go, now he wa.s there; and that they would 
 give him a weapon, and he must do as they did, knock them down, and 
 not let them kill him, if he could help it, and gave him a handspike; 
 the rest were armed some with cutlasses, some with muskets; this 
 happened at about 10 o'clock, at night. 
 
 "Potter further told this deponent, that they expected sixteen or 
 seventeen more boats from Providence. 
 
 "In about an hour afterwards, they met eight boats, about half a 
 mile from the schooner, which appeared to be pretty full of people. 
 
 " Upon their meeting, Potter and two men, called Brown by the peo- 
 ple, whom this deponent did not know, talked about how they should 
 board the schooner. One of these persons, called Brown, got into 
 Potter's boat, on which they were hailed from the Gaspee, and told 
 to stand off; upon which. Brown said row up. Immediately after, he, 
 this deponent, saw the captain of the schooner come upon deck, in his 
 breeches, and fired a pistol into one of the boats, and wounded one of 
 the men in the thigh; that he saw a man who was in the boat with 
 Potter, and who was called Brown, fire a musket which wounded the 
 captain; after which there was no more firing; but they instantly 
 boarded the schooner; that the captain of the schooner when he was 
 wounded, he thinks, stood by the foreshrouds, upon the left hand 
 side. When they got on board, there were about four of the schooner's 
 men on deck, and the rest were coming up out of the hold, and some- 
 body said, 'Knock 'em down and kill them; no matter what you da 
 with them.' That this deponent did not know the Browns, nor hear 
 them called by their Christian names; and further declares that it was 
 John Brown, who shot the captain, and that he hath never seen either 
 of the Browns since. 
 
 " That after they got possession of the vessel, they took the hands 
 belonging to the schooner, and threw them down the hold ; and this 
 happened about 3 o'clock in the morning. Then the people searched 
 the vessel, took the captain's papers, which he desired they would give 
 him, but they refused, tore them, and threw them overboard. Then 
 they took the Gaspee's people, tied their hands, and put them into the 
 boat and carried them ashore, this deponent going with them. By the 
 time they got half way ashore, the schooner was on fire ; that before 
 they went ashore, a doctor whom they called Weeks, from one of the 
 boats, dressed the captain's wounds ; that when they had landed the 
 people, they untied their hands and let them go, and the captain of the 
 schooner they carried up to a house. 
 
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE " GASPEE." 171 
 
 " After they had landed the men, they put off to return, and Potter 
 told him he would give him two dollars for what he had done, which he 
 accordingly did; upon which this deponent set off in his own boat, and 
 rowed home ; that it was about 4 o'clock, when they had landed the 
 schooner's people ; that it was a moonlight night, but sometimes 
 cloudy ; that soon after the people had boarded the schooner, they 
 hoisted the top-sails, her head laying up toward Providence, and he saw 
 nothing further done to her or her sails ; that the schooner, when they 
 boarded her, was aground ; that the person who acted as the surgeon, 
 he thinks he has seen at his master's house ; but is not sure it was the 
 same person. 
 
 " This deponent further says, that the person to whom he first gave an 
 account of the above affair of burning the Gaspee, was Capt. Linzee, of 
 the Beaver. Soon after the burning of the schooner, he went aboard 
 the Beaver, in his master's said boat ; that immediately upon his going 
 on board they put him in irons, because they imagined he intended to 
 run away from his master ; it was about 10 o'clock at night when the 
 deponent was put in irons, and was released about 10 o'clock the next 
 day, and then they were going to flog him. After he was tied up to the 
 mast, one of the Gaspee's men, called Paddy Alls, jumped up and told 
 the captain that he thought he, this deponent, was one that was aboard 
 the schooner Gaspee. About this time, the deponent had said nothing 
 about the burning of the schooner, nor had made no discovery relating 
 to what he knew. 
 
 "The captain asked the man if he was sure of it. He said, yes. 
 
 " The captain asked what clothes he had on. The man said two 
 frocks. 
 
 "Then the captain told the man to examine what clothes he had, 
 which they* found were two frocks. There was no mention made of any 
 other clothes. The next day Paddy Alls and the deponent were called 
 up before the captain, who asked Paddy if he was sure that this de- 
 ponent was one concerned in the attack on the schooner. He said, yes. 
 
 " He further asked him if he could swear to it. He answered, yes. 
 
 "That the captain then administered an oath to the said Paddy, upon 
 the Bible, who swore that this deponent was there. The captain then 
 said to this deponent, ' My lad, you see this man has declared you were 
 there, and if you don't tell who were there with you, I will hang you at 
 the yard-arm immediately; and if you do you shall not be hurt.' Upon 
 which this deponent told the captain all the heads that were there, the 
 captain saying he did not want to know anything about the poor people^ 
 but only the heads. 
 
 "This deponent further says, that he never spoke to any of the- 
 Beaver's crew till he got on board; that his master's boat, in which this- 
 deponent went on board the ship, his master went on board and received 
 again ; that this deponent went on board said man-of-war with an in- 
 tention not to return again to his master; that he, this deponent never 
 was christened, and that he should have told Captain Linzee all he 
 knew relating to the Gaspee, immediately upon his going on board, if 
 they had not put him in irons. 
 
172 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 " The deponent further says, that the morning after the burning of 
 the schooner, when he returned to his master's, he went to bed with 
 two black servants, with whom he usually slept; he lay there a little 
 while, and upon his master's knocking, he got up and went to fetch the 
 cows. That when he first returned to his master's house, he got in at a 
 lower window, on the south-west part of the house, which opens into 
 the middle room ; that during the whole transaction on said night the 
 schooner was burnt, no man called this deponent by name or knew 
 him." 
 
 This deposition was sworn to on the fourteenth day of Jan- 
 uary, A. D. 1773. When the negro, Aaron, made a statement 
 of the foregoing facts, a few weeks after the bm-ning of the ves- 
 sel. Governor Wanton was recommended by Admiral Montagu 
 of the English fleet, to arrest the parties charged by the negro 
 witli having been concerned in the " Gaspee's " destruction. 
 This Governor Wanton did not do. " Whetlier," says Mr. 
 Bartlett, in the Rhode Island Colonial Records, " he knew 
 they were concerned in tlie affair, which is probable, and 
 desired to screen them, or whether he disbelieved the state- 
 ment of Aaron, and determined to make it so appear, the 
 reader must judge. But it seems he lost no time in obtaining 
 the following affidavits." The affidavits given, went to prove 
 that the negro did not leave the island of Prudence on the 
 night in question. On the other liand, Patrick Earle, a sailor 
 on the " Gaspee," " well remembered that he heard the name 
 of Potter mentioned." He described tlie person addressed 
 as Potter, as being "tall and slim, with a long, sharp nose, in 
 light-colored long clothes, his hair tied behind, looking more 
 like a shore man than a seaman ; " which corresponds very 
 w^ell with tlie descriptions of Colonel Potter which have been 
 handed down to us. Earle further testified, that when the 
 " Gaspee's " people were carried ashore, he loosed his hands 
 from the cords which confined them, and helped Aaron Briggs 
 row the bow-oar. 
 
 The following song, composed at the time, is attributed to 
 Capt. Thomas Swan, of Bristol, who is supposed to have been 
 one of the participants in the affair: — 
 
 'T was in the reign of George the Third, 
 Our public peace was much disturbed 
 
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE " GASPEE." 173 
 
 By ships of war that came and laid 
 
 Within our ports, to stop our trade. 
 
 Seventeen liundred and seventy-two, 
 
 In Newport Harbor lay a crew 
 
 That played the parts of pirates there, 
 
 The sons of freedom could not beai-. 
 
 Sometimes they weighed and gave them chase, 
 
 Such actions, sure, were very base. 
 
 No honest coaster could pass by 
 
 But what they would let some shot fly; 
 
 And did provoke, to high degree, 
 
 Those true born sons of liberty; 
 
 So that they could no longer bear 
 
 Those sons of Belial staying there. 
 
 But 't was not long 'fore it fell out, 
 
 That William Duddingston, so stout. 
 
 Commander of the "Gaspee" tender, 
 
 Which he has reason to remember, 
 
 Because, as people do assert, 
 
 He almost had his just desert; 
 
 Here, on the tenth day of last June, 
 
 Betwixt the hours of twelve and one. 
 
 Did chase the sloop, called the " Hannah," 
 
 Of whom one Lindsay was commander. 
 
 They dogged her up Providence Sound, 
 
 And there the rascal got aground. 
 
 The news of it flew that very day, 
 
 That they on Namquit Point did lay. 
 
 That night about half after ten 
 
 Some Narragansett Indian men. 
 
 Being sixty-four, if I remember, 
 
 Which made the stout coxcomb surrender; 
 
 And what was best of all their tricks, 
 
 They in his breech a ball did fix; 
 
 Then set the Ynen iii^on the land, 
 
 And burnt her up, we understand; 
 
 Which thing provoked the King so high 
 
 He said those men shall surely die ; 
 
 So if he could but find them out. 
 
 The hangman he '11 employ, no doubt; 
 
 For he 's declared, in his passion. 
 
 He '11 have them tried a new fashion, 
 
 Now, for to find these people out. 
 
 King George has offered very stout, 
 
 One thousand pounds to find out one 
 
 That wounded William Duddingston. 
 
 One thousand more, he says he '11 spare. 
 
 For those who say the sheriffs were; 
 
174 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 One thousand more there doth remain 
 For to find out the leader's name; 
 Likewise, five hundred pounds per man 
 For any one of all the clan. 
 But let him try his utmost skill, 
 I'm apt to think he never will 
 Find out any of those hearts of gold, 
 Though he should offer fifty fold. 
 
 Of the author of this song, Judge Staples says, in his 
 Documentary History of the. Destruction of the " Gaspee : " 
 " He richly deserves the tlianks, not only of his contem- 
 poraries, but of posterity ; not so much for the sweet poetry 
 of his song, as for the ballad shape in which he invested the 
 transaction. Undoubtedly some tune was found at the time 
 to match it, notwithstanding the limping gait of some of the 
 stanzas ; and as it was sung in the circle of boon companions, 
 they recalled the light of the burning ' Gaspee ' to their recol- 
 lection, and hailed it as being, what subsequent events have 
 shown it to be, the dawning light of freedom, whose mid-day 
 effulgence now overspreads the land." 
 
Chapter xxiv. 
 
 SIMEON POTTER. 
 
 •' I love with all my heart, ' The man thats called a Tory, 
 
 The independent part. To plague is all my glory. 
 
 To obey the Parliament How righteous is the cause. 
 
 My conscience won't consent. ; To keep the Congress laws ! 
 
 I never can abide To fight against the King, 
 
 To fight on England's side. Bright Liberty will bring. 
 
 I pray that God may bless 
 The great and Grand Congress. 
 This is my mind and heart 
 Tho' none should take my part. 
 
 Lord North and England's King 
 I hope that they will swing. 
 Of this opinion I 
 Kesolve to live and die." 
 
 These simple rhymes, handed down from tlie Revolntionary 
 days in the handwriting of Captain Potter, are still preserved 
 by a descendant of one of his sisters. They enable us to form 
 a very accurate impression of the character of a man, who, 
 for almost half a century, was one of the most conspicuous 
 figures in the history of the town and State. 
 
 Simeon Potter was the son of Hopestill Potter, of Bristol. 
 He was born in this town in the year 1720, in a house which 
 stood at the southeast corner of Church and Hope streets. 
 His boyhood was, without doubt, spent upon the ocean, at 
 that time both the play-ground and school of the adventurous 
 youth of Narragansett Bay, His education must liave been 
 almost entirely neglected. His letters are those of an exceed- 
 ingly illiterate man ; they show that even in his raaturer years 
 he could have made no effort to atone for the educational de- 
 ficiencies of early life. At the age when men are usually 
 uncertain what course in life to adopt, he had already attained 
 to a commanding position, through his great force of character 
 and unusual natural abilities, and, like most self-made men 
 
176 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 whom wars and conflicts have tossed into prominence, lie was 
 inclined greatly to undervalue the advantages of education. 
 When he came back to reside in the little seaport from whence 
 he had gone forth a huml)le sailor lad not many years be- 
 fore, his purse was overflowing with the riches acquired in wild 
 marauding excursions upon foreign shores ; his great wealth 
 made him a man of mark in the community, and secured for 
 him a deference which would by no means be accorded at the 
 present day. The turbulent times in which his life was cast^ 
 at first seemed to demand just such turbulent characters as 
 was Captain Potter, to assist in working out the problems 
 which were then requiring solution. Into all the conflicts 
 of the age, he plunged with the same eagerness and thought- 
 lessness which, in other days, had been the characteristic 
 of the mail-clad warriors of the middle-ages, and in those 
 contests his happy fortune ever preserved him from dangerous 
 wounds. When his age made it no longer possible for him to 
 engage in contests of arms, his pugnacious disposition forced 
 him into legal controversies, and kept him breathing the air 
 of the court-room, even when he had numbered more than 
 fourscore years of life. The story of his career well illustrates 
 the changed conditions of the times, and marks the immense 
 difference between the Bristol of to-day, and the Bristol of a 
 hundred years ago. 
 
 In all the foreign wars in which the Xew England colonies 
 were involved during the eighteenth century, in consequence 
 of their allegiance to Great Britain, Rhode Island was second 
 only to Massachusetts in furnishing money and soldiers. The 
 little colony furnished more privateers and seamen, than did 
 any of her sisters ; from the year 1700 to the beginning of 
 the Revolution, at least 180 private, armed ships must have 
 been sent out from her ports. In one year, almost one-fifth 
 of the adult male population were engaged on board of vessels 
 of this class. From all the ports of Narragansett Bay, there 
 sailed forth long, sharp, rakish-looking vessels, Avhose marvel- 
 ous powers of sailing placed the slow-moving ships of the 
 French and Spaniards entirely at their mercy. Speed was 
 
SIMEON POTTER. 17T 
 
 the one thing sought for in the construction of these privateers, 
 and they were crowded with adventurous seamen, who handled 
 them with wondrous skill. The long guns which they carried, 
 and the ease with which they were mancenvred, enabled them 
 to do deadly harm at a distance which prevented the guns 
 of their adversaries from inflicting any damage upon them- 
 selves. A broadside at short range, from an ordinary man-of- 
 war, would have crashed through tlieir hulls and sent them at 
 once to the bottom of the ocean, but the seamanship of tlieir 
 commanders almost always preserved them from the chance of 
 such a catastrophe. From the fury of the terrible gales which 
 drove them upon rocky coasts no human skill could save them ; 
 their slight frames were at once dashed to pieces, and death 
 w^as, in almost every case, the lot of the hapless crew whom 
 such a fate befell. 
 
 The kind of warfare in which these vessels were at times 
 engaged, would be deemed rather disreputable at the pres- 
 ent day. A descent upon an unguarded coast, and such a 
 plundering of the houses of defenceless citizens as was the 
 universal custom in the wars of the last century, would now 
 bring no honor to the participants in such a raid ; Ijut men 
 have grown more scrupulous since that time, and now regard 
 as little better than piracy, acts which were then everywhere 
 regarded as the inevitable accompaniments of civilized war. 
 It will not answer for us to consider these matters from a 
 nineteenth century point of view ; we must take into account 
 the sentiments of the age that is past, and judge them as men 
 were then accustomed to judge them. At that time such an 
 expedition as that which is here recorded conferred honor 
 and reputation upon all who took part in it. 
 
 Of most of these voyages the record has long since passed 
 away. Of the one in which Captain Potter was engaged, a 
 very complete account has been strangely preserved, and 
 within a few years made public. At the sale of a somewhat 
 famous library, in England, many years ago, a set of the 
 Letters of Jesuit Missionaries from 1650-1750, contained 
 in some fifty volumes, was purchased by the present Bishop of 
 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 California, and broiiglit to this country. Bishop Kip after- 
 wards published a translation of the letters which especially 
 related to American history, and it is from his book that the 
 account of the " Prince Charles of Lorraine " is taken. Father 
 Pauque, Missionary of the Society of Jesus, was the author of 
 the original letter, which is dated '' At Cayenne the 22d of 
 Dec, 1744," and the extract which follows is given in his 
 own words Cthough greatly abridged), as translated by Bishop 
 Kip : — 
 
 " Scarcely had war been declared between Fiance and Enf^land, when 
 the English were sent from North America to cruise among the islands to 
 the leeward of Cayenne. Having gone too far south, and the water giving 
 out, they approached Oyapoc to obtain some. The Aroiias Indians hav- 
 ing beeu seized by the English, gave them information of the little colony 
 of Oyapoc, of which they were ignorant, and on which they had no designs 
 when leaving their own country. Everything united to cause us to fall 
 into the hands of these pirates.* Their chief was Captain Simeon Potter, 
 a native of Xew England, fitted out to cruise with a commission from Wil- 
 liems Gueene, Governor of Rodelan,! and commanding the vessel ' Trince 
 Charles of Lorraine,' of ten cannon, twelve swivel-guns, and a crew of 
 sixty-two men. Having learned the situation, the force and everything 
 which related to Oyapoc, they determined to surprise it. The English 
 were within the place before any one had time to collect his thoughts. 
 Our commander, however, fired and wounded in the left arm the English 
 captain, a young man about thirty years of age. J What is singular, the 
 captain was the only one wounded on either side. He was a man small 
 in stature and not in any respect differing from the others in dress. He 
 had his left aim in a sling, a sabre in his right hand, and two pistols in 
 his belt. He was acquainted with some words of French, told me that 
 I had nothing +o fear, as no one would attempt my life. 
 
 •' They transported from our houses, furniture, clothes, provisions, all 
 with a disorder and confusion that was remarkable. The captain said 
 to me, as an excuse for himself, that the French had taken, pillaged, 
 and burned an English j^ost named Campo, and that several persons had 
 been smothered in the flames. He said that he regretted having come 
 here, as this delay might cause him to miss two merchant vessels, richly 
 loaded, which were on the i^oint of sailing from the harbor of Cayenne. 
 What gave me the greatest pain was to see the sacred vessels in these 
 profane and sacrilegious hands. 1 told them what faith and religion 
 
 * " Les Corsaires," is the term which Father Fauque uses. 
 
 + William Greene was Governor of Ehode Island in 1744-5. The " Prince Charles 
 of Lorraine " was owned in Newport ; she sailed from that port, Sept. 7, 1744. 
 
 i Father Fauque was mistaken in that point. Simeon Potter was but twenty- 
 four at the time. 
 
SIMEON POTTER. 179 
 
 inspired me to say. With words of persuasion I mingled motives of 
 fear for so criminal a profanation. I saw many moved, and disposed to 
 retain these articles to me; but cupidity and avarice prevailed, and all 
 the silver was packed up and carried aboaid the vessel. The captain 
 told me that he would willingly yield to me what he was able to return, 
 but that he had no control over the others; that all the crew having part 
 of the booty, he was not able, as captain, to dispose of any but his own 
 share. On the next day, the pillage recommenced. Each carried to the 
 fort whatever happened to fall into his hands, and threw it down in a 
 pile. One arrived wearing an old cassock; another in a woman's petti- 
 coat; a third with the croAvn of a bonnet on his head. It was the same 
 with those who guarded the booty. They searched in the heap of clothes, 
 and when they found anything which suited their fancy, — as a peruke, 
 a laced chapeau, or a dress, — they immediately put it on, and made 
 three or four turns through the room with great satisfaction, after 
 which they resumed their fantastical rags. They were like a band of 
 monkeys, or of savages who had never been away from the depths of 
 the forest. A parasol or a mirror, the smallest article of furniture a 
 little showy, excited their admiration. This did not surprise me, when 
 I learned that they had scarcely any communication with Europe, and 
 that Rodelan was a kind of little republic which did not pay any tribute 
 to the King of England, which elected its own Governor every year, 
 and which had not even any silver money, but only notes for daily com- 
 merce. 
 
 " I was waiting for the return of those who had been to visit the dwell- 
 ings, when they came to me to say that it was necessary for me to go on 
 board the ship. We embarked in a canoe, and although the ship was 
 now no more than three leagues distant, we nevertheless only reached 
 it in about eight hours, in consequence of the remissness of the rowers, 
 who were constantly drinking. On the following days, the long boat 
 made many trips to land, so that we had the pleasure of having good 
 water, tho' many scarcely used it, preferring the wine and rum Avhich they 
 had on the deck at will. I ought to say in commendation of the captain 
 that he was entirely sober. He even frequently expressed to me the pain 
 he felt at the excesses of his crew, to whom, according to the custom of 
 these pirates, he was obliged to allow an abundance of liberty. 
 
 "On Sunday morning, I waited to see some religious service, but every 
 thing went on as usual. The captain took out a book of devotion, and 
 I noticed that during this day and the following Sunday he occasionally 
 looked at it. As the boats were con.stantly going and coming transport- 
 ing the pillage, one came that very evening bringing five Indians. I rep- 
 resented to Capt. rotter that, as the Indians were free among us, he 
 ought not to take them prisoners. But he answered me ' that this kind 
 of people were used for slaves in Rodelan, and that he should take them 
 thither in spite of all that I could say.' lie has in fact carried them 
 away, with the Aroiias whom he had first captured in tlie Bay of 
 Oyajjoc. On Tuesday morning those arrived who had been to plunder 
 the dwellings, carrying with them what they had pillaged, which to 
 
180 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 their great regret was inconsiderable. The next day, all the morning 
 was passed in making np packages, in destroying all the fnrniture which 
 remained in the different houses, and in tearing off the locks and hinges 
 of the doors, particularly those which were made of brass. At last they 
 set fire to the houses of the inhabitants, which were shortly reduced to 
 ashes. I prayed them at least to spare the church, but they burned it. 
 They told me that the winds had undoubtedly carried thither some 
 sparks which had set it on fire. At last after everything was carried 
 to the boats, the sailors finished by burning all the buildings of the fort. 
 At length, having rowed out into the river, they shouted many times 
 'Houra,' whicli is their ' Vive leroL' and their cry of joy." 
 
 Such is the account which has becu brought to light, of 
 the descent upon Oyapoc. It does not present a very pjleasing 
 picture, and yet on account of it Captain Potter and liis ves- 
 sel became very famous.* Bishop Kip says that the first 
 officer of the privateer at this time was a young man from 
 the island of Guadaloupe, who had married one of Captain 
 Potter's sisters, — Mark Antony DeWolf, the first of that 
 name which has since been so prominent in the annals of 
 Bristol. According to Mr. William P. Sheffield, of Newport, 
 wlio has made a special study of the history of the old New- 
 port privateers, Mr. DeWolf was not the first officer of the 
 " Prince Charles of Lorraine," but the clerk of Captain Pot- 
 ter. The "Prince Charles" was wrecked during a violent 
 snow-storm, not long after her return from this South Ameri- 
 can voyage. She was driven on the rocks at the east side of 
 Seaconnet Point, and very quickly broken to pieces. 
 
 The story goes, that Captain Potter's vessel was visited l)y 
 some of the officers of a British man-of-war just after her 
 return. The Englishmen were delighted with her trim ap- 
 pearance, and expressed their pleasure to her commander. 
 They did so, however, with the air of patronizing condescen- 
 sion which our British brethren then deemed it proper to 
 assume in their intercourse with the natives of rude America. 
 Proud as Lucifer, was the young Rhode Island sailor, and 
 the arrogance of his guests was bitterly galling. For a time 
 
 * The letter of Father Fauque also describes the voyage of the privateer along- 
 the coast, and the events which preceded his exehang-e. Some of the silver which 
 Captain Potter brought home with him from Oyapoc is still in the possession of 
 descendants of his family. 
 
SIMEON POTTER. 181 
 
 he forbore to reply, but at last one of them ventured to ask, 
 " why he did not apply to His Majesty for a commission ; the 
 King would undoubtedly be glad to give him a larger and 
 better ship." Then the wrath of the American captain 
 blazed forth. " When I wish for a better ship I will not ask 
 His Majesty for one ; I will build one myself," he said, and 
 turning upon his heel, left the astonished Englishmen to won- 
 der at what he could have taken offence. 
 
 Captain Potter left the sea and came to Bristol to live very 
 soon after the town was annexed to Rhode Island. In 1746 
 his name first appears in the list of the vestrymen of St. 
 Michael's Church, and in 1747 he built the rope-walk, which 
 was afterwards to prove the source of such a great income to 
 him. He was first chosen to represent the town in the General 
 Assembly in 1752, and from that time until the Revolution 
 his name can frequently be seen in the records of that body. 
 During his residence in this quiet town, it must not be supposed 
 that his life was entirely a tranquil one. On the contrary, he 
 was rarely without some lawsuit or personal quarrel to engage 
 his superfluous energy, and passed his days in a state of de- 
 lightful conflict. His maritime experience had intensified a 
 naturally imperious disposition, and in the little town he 
 found men with dispositions just as imperious, who were by 
 no means disposed to submit to his dictation, and who were 
 ever ready to oppose their wills to his. The air of Xarragan- 
 sett Bay seems always to have had a tendency to develop a 
 marked individuality in men, and to bring about a social 
 state which can be observed nowhere else in the United 
 States. 
 
 In November, 1761, at a session of the Superior Court held 
 in Bristol, a bill of indictment was found against Simeon 
 Potter, for an assault made upon the Rev. John Ushei". In 
 consequence thereof a verdict was found against him, and 
 he was fined £500.* Of the cause of his trouble with Mr. 
 Usher we know nothing. Possibly a glance at the characters 
 
 * This fine was not as large as it now seems to have been. A Spanish milled dol- 
 lar at that time was worth £U, 10s. in Rhode Island paper money. 
 
182 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 of tliG two men may give us a clew. Mr. Usher was essen- 
 tially an aristocrat in his sympathies, the son of a man who 
 had held an important office in the colonies; he also held the 
 extreme ideas of the supremacy of his profession which pre- 
 vailed in the early days of the settlement of New England. 
 From all the members of his parish he required a degree of 
 deference which Captain Potter, who was of humble origin 
 and a thorough democrat in his views, with all hisattacliment 
 to the Church of England, was by no means inclined to yield. 
 The conflict between the two imperious wills must have been 
 a very bitter one. Possibly the layman was faring the worse 
 in the encounter, for, meeting his pastor upon the street one 
 day, he paused not for further discussion, but immediately 
 knocked him down, with the disastrous pecuniary result which 
 has just been mentioned. Captain Potter could be extremely 
 generous when his sympathies were thoroughly enlisted, as 
 his many gifts to St. Michacrs Church in later years testify, 
 but ordinarily he was rather careful of his money, and the 
 result of this trial was bitter indeed.* Whatever the trouble 
 was, it did not prevent Mr. Potter from becoming a firm friend 
 and supporter of the Rev. John Usher, Jr., in the latter part 
 of his life. 
 
 Into the contest which resulted in the independence of the 
 American Colonies, Simeon Potter at first plunged with all 
 the ardor of his nature. His participation in the destruction 
 of the " Gaspee " has been already detailed. For several years 
 before the war began he had been a member of the General 
 Assembly, and his fellow-members were so impressed by his 
 ability and zeal, that when the office of Major-General of 
 the forces of the colony was created, in December, 1774, he 
 was the first man chosen to fill the position. His conduct 
 during the bombardment of the town shows that he had then 
 lost none of the intrepidity of his youth, but from some un- 
 
 * On one occasion a young' nephew, upon whom fortune had not then smiled, 
 was talking with Mr. Potter and bewailing his apparent lack of success iu life. 
 '•How, Captain Potter," said he, "shall I g-o to work to make some money." 
 " Make money I make money ! " was the reply, " I would plow the ocean iato pea- 
 porridg-e to make money." 
 
SIMEON POTTER. 183 
 
 known reason his zeal appears to have waned as the war went 
 on. The records indicate that he had no share in it, and 
 tliat he soon ceased to take any active part in the affairs of 
 the town and State. 
 
 In 1776 he was chosen one of the Governor's Assistants, 
 bnt at many of the sessions of the Assembly he did not pre- 
 sent liimself at all. At the December session a vote was 
 passed requesting hiin to render his reasons for so absenting 
 himself, and asking him to give his attendance at the next 
 session. In March, 1777, the committee appointed to assess a 
 tax upon the inhabitants of the State estimated the taxable 
 valuation of Bristol at .£50,000. Warren was valued at 
 £20,000, and Barrington at £22,575.* Against the report of 
 the committee, Mr. Potter entered the following protest : — 
 
 "I, the subscriber, do beg leave to protest against the estimate, as 
 now apportioned by the committee for that purpose; it appearing to 
 me that there is a manifest error, as it is evident from the present dis- 
 tressed situation of the town of Bristol, it is estimated at too high a 
 value; the inhabitants being removed by reason of the troops being 
 barracked in their houses, and no trade or business of any kind being 
 by them done; they being under the disagreeable necessity and the 
 expense of removing their families and effects, and hiring abroad places 
 for their families to reside in; the rivers and bays being by the Author 
 of Universal nature so situated, that the ships of war of his Britannic 
 Majesty, and the tenders belonging to the same, can at all times harass 
 them, and keep the inhabitants from their lawful employments, unless 
 the same standing force should be kept up, which at all times (while 
 they are there stationed) renders their houses and estates to them in 
 a great measure useless. 
 
 " Under all these disadvantageous circumstances, it appears to me, and 
 I think must to every reasonable member, that the said town is not 
 able at present to pay so large a tax as either of the towns of Warren or 
 Barrington; on the.^e considerations it is, that I as an inhabitant of this 
 town, and a member chosen by the free suffrages of the same, and the 
 state in general,! to sit here to see justice impartially administered, 
 do protest in solemn form against the said apportionment. 
 
 Simeon Pottek. 
 Providence, March 8, 1777." 
 
 * In 1776 the population of Bristol was 1,067 ; of Warren, 1,005 ; of Barrington, 538. 
 + Under the old charter the assistants, who came afterward to be tailed sena- 
 tors, were chosen by the whole State, and not by particular towns. 
 
184 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 His name appears for the last time in the colonial records 
 in the bills ordered to be paid at this same session. 
 
 "Simeon Potter, for three whale-boats, taken by order of General 
 West and Colonel Richmond, for the troops to oo upon rrudence, at the 
 time it was attacked by Wallace; for two whale-boats taken by order 
 of Governor Bradford, to go upon Hog Island, to take off stock &e.: 
 for cordage delivered to William Throop, by Governor Bradford's order, 
 and for the use of his careening fall to draw cannon &c £3-3, 4s. Ct?." 
 
 At a town-meeting, May 14, 1777, Colonel Potter was 
 chosen Moderator, bnt after the usnal officers were elected, 
 he " withdrew and refused to attend the meeting any longer." 
 A tax-collector's account was thereupon presented, which 
 showed that he had neglected to pay all his taxes. From 
 tliis date until May 10, 1780, his name disappears from the 
 records. At that meeting it was voted : " That the Asses- 
 sors make enquiry and make report to the town at the 
 adjournment of the meeting, what part of Colonel Simeon 
 Potter's rates remain unpaid, and that Mr. Smith, the col- 
 lector, be desired to apply to the Assessors of the town of 
 Swanscy, to know at what time said Potter began to pay 
 taxes in said town and what part of his personal estate has 
 been rated from time to time in said town." He had taken 
 up his residence in Swansey, though he still maintained a 
 household in Bristol. (Until 1775 he had lived in the house 
 in which he had been born. After it was burnt by British 
 troops, he went to live in the old house which stands on the 
 west side of Thames Street, about half way between Brad- 
 ford and State streets.) 
 
 While heceased henceforth to participate in town affairs, he 
 yet continued to retain his interest in St. Michael's Church. 
 In 1792 the vote of thanks, of which mention has been made 
 in a previous chapter, was passed, and in 1793 his name again 
 appears in the list of vestrymen, which list it continues to 
 head from that year until the year of his death. He died 
 Feb. 20, 1806, aged eighty-six years. Colonel Potter, though 
 twice married, left no descendants. By his will,* his large 
 
 * A small farm in Swansey was by this will given to one of his slaves, in the 
 possession of whose heirs it still remains. 
 
SIMEON POTTER. 185 
 
 estate was divided among liis nine sisters and their descend- 
 ants, tliongh not in equal portions. At liis death it was val- 
 ued at about a quarter of a million, but among the assets 
 were included very many notes and bills which jjroved to be 
 entirely worthless, and the amount which was finally divided 
 among his lieirs did not reach one-half of the original esti- 
 mate. 
 
 From liis house on Thames Street, llie old captain was 
 borne to his last resting-place in the burying-ground upon the 
 Common. Full of strife and tumults was the century in 
 which his manhood was spent ; stormy and passionate his own 
 career had been. He was, perhaps, the last survivor of the 
 old sea-captains who, as English subjects, had sailed out from 
 Narragansett Bay during the first lialf of the eigliteenth cen- 
 tury, to make war upon the enemies of Great Britain. Won- 
 derful had seemed the wealth which he had thus acquired. 
 ]]ut among those who crowded about his bier and silently 
 joined in the long funeral procession, were men who would 
 ere long sail forth from the harbor of Bristol in a little ves- 
 sel that was destined to collect from tlie merchants of Eng- 
 land, a tribute many times exceeding that which he had 
 •exacted from England's foes. 
 
Chapter xxv. 
 
 CENSUS STATISTICS FROM 1 748 TO 1880. 
 
 The census returns of tlie year 1748, the first taken after 
 the town became a part of Rhode Island, show that Bristol 
 had then a population of 1,069. For the convenience of the 
 reader, the total population of the town at each census, from 
 that year to the present time, is given in one chapter. The 
 full returns of 1774 are also given. A glance at the names 
 will reveal the immense difference between the population 
 then and now. In that year almost all of the inliabitants, 
 except the negroes, were native Americans ; in 1875, 1,386, 
 
 nearly one-fourth, and in 1880 * were born in foreign 
 
 lands. Some names of families prominent at that time can- 
 not now be found in our directory, and yet a wonderfully 
 large proportion of them are still heard upon the streets of 
 the town. From tlie recapitulation of the returns for the 
 whole State, the reader will be able to judge how great, and 
 how entirely disproportionate to its size, was the influence 
 which the little town exerted in the revolutionary times. A 
 like study of each census would show that the town has 
 always taken an unusually prominent part in state affairs. 
 
 POPULATION AT DIFFERENT DATES. 
 
 1748 1,0G9 
 
 1755 1,080 
 
 1774 1,209 
 
 1776 1,0G7 
 
 1782 1,032 
 
 17SK) 1,40(3 , 1830 3,034 
 
 1800 1,678 ' 1840 3,490 
 
 1810 2,693 I 1850 4,61G 
 
 1820 3,197 1 1860 5,271 
 
 1865 4,649 
 
 1870 5,302 
 
 1875 5,829 
 
 1880 6,028 
 
 Returns not yet received. 
 
CENSUS STATISTICS. 
 
 187 
 
 Residence of A. E. Burnside, U. S. Senator. 
 
 The following table shows the rate per cent, of increase or 
 decrease in the population in the several periods ; the minus 
 sign ( — ), indicates a decrease : — 
 
 
 13.1 
 
 
 18.7 
 
 1860-1865 
 
 ....—11.8 
 
 1774 178** 
 
 14 6 
 
 1820-1830 
 
 1830-1840 
 
 1840-1850 
 
 1850-18C0 
 
 ....- 5.1 
 .... 15. 
 .... 32.3 
 .... 14.2 
 
 1865-1870 
 
 14. 
 
 178'2-1790 
 
 1790-1800 
 
 1800-1810 
 
 .... 3(3.2 
 .... 19.3 
 .... 60.5 
 
 
 on 
 
 1875 1880* 
 
 
 
 The number of colored persons in the town at different 
 dates was as follows : — 
 
 1748. 
 1774. 
 1782. 
 1790. 
 
 1800 . 
 
 113 
 
 177 
 
 213 
 
 171 
 
 1840 
 
 . . 171 
 
 1870 
 
 1875 
 
 1880* 
 
 135 
 
 1810 
 
 18''0 
 
 1850 
 
 1860 
 
 1865 
 
 200 
 
 234 
 
 145 
 
 190 
 
 1830 
 
 
 
 There were 13 Indians in Bristol in 1748, 16 in 1774, 2 in 
 1782. 
 
 ♦Returns not yet received; the blank is left that the reader may insert the 
 figures at his own convenience. 
 
188 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 CENSUS OF BRISTOL IN THE YEAR 1774. 
 
 Allen, Sarah . . . 
 Addie, Joseph . . . 
 Barrows, .Tolm . . 
 Burt, John .... 
 Bosworth, James . . 
 Bradford, ^ViIliam . 
 Bradford, Daniel . . 
 Bradford, Priscilla . 
 Bosworth, Benjamin 3d 
 Bosworth, Benjamin 
 Bosworth, William . 
 Boswortli, William Jr. 
 Blake, Ebenezer . . 
 Burr, Simon . . . 
 Bullock, Lenox . . 
 Bourn, Shearjashub 
 Bourn, Shearjashub Jr 
 Church, Peter 
 Church, Nathaniel 
 Church, Unis . . 
 Church, Samuel . 
 Carey, Nathaniel 
 Cary, Ichabod . . 
 Cob, Elizabeth 
 Clarke, Lemuel . 
 Coomer, John . . 
 Cushing, Josiah . 
 Champlin, Thomas 
 Chase, Isaac . . 
 Coggeshall, William 
 Cogjteshall, Sarah 
 Coggeshall, Newby , 
 Coggeshall, George 
 Christopher, William 
 Cox.x:, William Jr, 
 Diman, James 
 Diman, Jeremiah 
 Diman, Jonathan 
 Diman, Nathaniel 
 Diman, Joseph 
 DeWolf, Charles . 
 DeWolf, Mark Anthony 
 Drown, Richard . 
 Drown, Solomon . 
 Drown, Jonathan 
 Eslich, Isaac . . 
 Eslich, Mary . . 
 Finney, Jeremiah 
 Finney, Josiah 
 Fales, Natlianiel . 
 Fales, Timothy . 
 Fales, Nathaniel Jr 
 Fales, Jonathan . 
 
 Jr. 
 
 1 
 
 WHITES. 
 
 
 
 j Males. 
 
 Females. ] 
 
 1 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 1 
 
 
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 2 
 
 ^ 
 
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 2 
 
 
 
CENSUS STATISTICS. 189 
 
 Cknsus of Bristol in the Year 1774.— Continued. 
 
 Gladding, John . 
 CladdinR, Daniel 
 Gladding, William 
 Gladding, John Jr. 
 Glover, John . . 
 Greene, Thomas, Far 
 Gain, Andrew . . 
 Gray, Thomas . . 
 Hoiigh, Elizabeth 
 Hill, Bernard . . 
 Harding, William 
 Holmes, William 
 Rowland, Jolm . 
 Howland, John Jr. 
 HarscaJl, IVIary . 
 Hubbard. John . 
 Hoar, William 
 Hogens, John . . 
 lugraham, John . 
 Ingraham, John Jr. 
 Ingraham, Jeremiah 
 Ingraham, Timothy 
 Ingraham, Joshua 
 Jolls, Robert . . 
 Jolls, Mehetabel . 
 Jolls, Ebenezer . 
 Jolls, John . . . 
 Kinnicutt, Sarah 
 Lynsey, Joseph . 
 Lynsey, William 
 Lynsey, William Jr 
 Lynsey, Elizabeth 
 Lamb, Sarah . . 
 Lefavour, Daniel 
 Liscomb, Samuel 
 Lawless, William 
 Muuro, Bennet Jr. 
 Munro, Nathan . 
 Munro, George 
 Munro, Mary . . 
 Munro, William . 
 Munro, Hezekiah 
 Munro, James . . 
 Muurc, Stephen . 
 Munro, Bennett . 
 Munro, William 2d 
 Munro, Charles . 
 Mimro, Hannah . 
 Munro, Edward . 
 Munro, Nathaniel 
 Munro, Archibald 
 Munro, Nathan 2d 
 Munro, Simeon . 
 Munro, William 3d 
 
 Family 
 
 WHITES. 
 
 Above 
 16. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 '2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 .> 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 ; 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
190 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Census of Bristol in the Year 1774. — Coniinued. 
 
 Manchester, Seabury 
 Manchester, Nathai 
 Maxlield, Daniel 
 Mingo, Jolm . . 
 McCarty, William 
 McCarty, Margaret 
 May, John . . . 
 Martindale, Sion 
 Munday, Jonathan 
 Morris, John . . 
 Newning, James 
 Oklridge, Joseph 
 Oldridge, AUetha 
 Oldridge, John . 
 Oldridge, John 2d 
 Oxx, Samuel . . 
 Oxx, George . . 
 Pearse, Nathaniel Jr 
 Pearse, liichard . 
 Pearse, William . 
 Pearse, George 
 Pearse, Thomas . 
 Pearse, Nathaniel 
 Peck, Jonathan . 
 Peck, Loring . . 
 Paine, Mary . . 
 Pratt, John . . 
 Potter, Hopestill 
 Potter, Simeon 
 Phillips, Nathaniel 
 Richardson, David 
 Read, Joseph . . 
 Reynolds, Joseph 
 Reynolds, Joseph Jr 
 Reynolds, Mercy 
 Russell, Joseph 
 Rosbottom, Benjamin 
 Salsbevy, Benjamin 
 Salsbery, Caleb . 
 Salsbery, Levi 
 Salsbery, Bennet 
 Swan, Thomas . 
 Sanford, Kestcomb 
 Sanford, Joshua . 
 Smith, Nathaniel 
 Smitti, Benjamin 
 Smith, Johii . . 
 Smith, Nathaniel 
 Smith, Peter . . 
 Smith, James . . 
 Smith, Richard . 
 Smith, Josiah . . 
 Smith, Stephen . 
 Smith, John . . 
 
 iel 
 
 WHITES. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 _^_ 
 
 16. 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 ^ 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 
 i 
 
 2 i 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 "l 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 •i 1 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 •• 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 '•■"5 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 ' 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 (5 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 "i 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 '4 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 'i 
 
 1 
 
 '2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 .'5 ! 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 ; 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 3 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 1 
 
 -"> ! 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 ' 
 
CENSUS STATISTICS. 191 
 
 Census of Bristol in the Year 1774. — Continued. 
 
 
 
 
 
 WHITES. 1 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 FAMILIES. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 a 
 1 
 
 Blacki 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 
 
 
 Sniitli, Samuel 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Smitli, Billings . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Salbev, Edward . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 ." 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 Thurber, Caleb . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Throope, William . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Tliroope, Esther . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Usher, John . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Usher, John Jr. . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Usher, Hezekiah . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 Usher, Allen . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 Van Doom, Anthony 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 '4 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 AYalker, Patience . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 West, William . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 '2 
 
 
 
 
 f> 
 
 West, Oliver . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 West, James . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 West, Samuel . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 AVest, John . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 "i 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Ward well, Phebe . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 . 
 
 
 
 
 G 
 
 Wardwell, Joseph . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Wardwell, Benjamin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 AVardwell, Isaac . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 "2 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Wardwell, Stephen 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Wilson, William 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Wilson, John . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Wilson, Jeremiah . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 ! . 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Wilson, Thomas . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 ' . 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 White, William . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 1 • 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Woodbury, Lydia 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Wliitaker, Samuel . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Waldron, John . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Waldron, John 2d . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 Waldron, Cornelius 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 AValdron, Isaac . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Waldron, Nathaniel 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 "2 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Waldron, Phebc . . 
 
 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Young, Joyce . . . 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 272 
 
 232 
 
 319 
 
 250 t 16 
 
 I 114 
 
 1,209 
 
 recapitulation. 
 
 Whole number of Families, 197 
 
 Total Wliites 1,079 
 
 Grand Total, .... 1,209 
 
192 
 
 CENSUS STATISTICS. 
 
 RECAPITULATION OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE COLONY OF 
 RHODE ISLAND, ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL CENSUS 
 TAKEN IN 1774. 
 
 
 .2 
 
 WHITES. 
 
 i 
 
 1 ■ 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 W c 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 MALKS. 
 
 FEMALES. 
 
 ^ 
 
 S 
 
 1 
 
 'o 1 
 
 
 §. 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 i 1 
 
 5 
 
 ^H 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 Above 
 
 Under 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 16. 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 Newport, . . 
 
 1,590 
 
 2,100 
 
 1,558 
 
 2,624 
 
 1,635 
 
 7,917 
 
 46 
 
 1,346 
 
 9,208 
 
 Providence, . 
 
 655 
 
 1,219 
 
 850 
 
 1,049 
 
 832 
 
 3,9.50 
 
 68 
 
 303 
 
 4,321 
 
 Portsmouth, . 
 
 sao 
 
 343 
 
 341 
 
 400 
 
 285 
 
 1,369 
 
 31 
 
 122 
 
 1,512 
 
 Warwick, . . 
 
 ;j53 
 
 569 
 
 512 
 
 615 
 
 4a5 
 
 2,161 
 
 1 88 
 
 89 
 
 2.438 
 
 Westerly, . . 
 
 257 
 
 421 
 
 441 
 
 44:^ 
 
 401 
 
 1,706 
 
 37 
 
 69 
 
 1,812 
 
 New Shoreham, 
 
 75 
 
 109 
 
 119 
 
 121 
 
 120 
 
 469 
 
 51 
 
 55 
 
 575 
 
 East Greenwich, 
 
 275 
 
 416 
 
 345 
 
 464 
 
 ms 
 
 1,563 
 
 31 
 
 69 
 
 1,663 
 
 North Kingstowi 
 
 1, ;}6i 
 
 538 
 
 497 
 
 .595 
 
 5.52 
 
 2,182 
 
 79 
 
 211 
 
 2,472 
 
 South Kingstowr 
 
 1, 364 
 
 550 
 
 ^^ 
 
 597 
 
 484 
 
 2,185 
 
 310 
 
 440 
 
 2,8.3.5 
 
 Jamestown, . 
 
 69 
 
 110 
 
 90 
 
 118 
 
 82 
 
 400 
 
 1 33 
 
 131 
 
 .56;J 
 
 Smlthfield, . . 
 
 476 
 
 742 
 
 665 
 
 769 
 
 638 
 
 3,814 
 
 23 
 
 51 
 
 2,888 
 
 Scituate, . . . 
 
 564 
 
 909 
 
 879 
 
 933 
 
 817 
 
 3,538 
 
 1 S 
 
 55 
 
 3,601 
 
 Glocester, . . 
 
 535 
 
 743 
 
 724 
 
 740 
 
 719 
 
 2,926 
 
 
 19 
 
 2,945 
 
 West Greenwich 
 
 304 
 
 429 
 
 395 
 
 465 
 
 456 
 
 1,745 
 
 
 19 
 
 1,764 
 
 Chariestown, . 
 
 307 
 
 312 
 
 315 
 
 aio 
 
 264 
 
 1,241 
 
 528 
 
 .52 
 
 1,821 
 
 Coventry, . . 
 
 274 
 
 474 
 
 .555 
 
 493 
 
 470 
 
 1,992 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 2,023 
 
 Exeter, . . . 
 
 289 
 
 441 
 
 415 
 
 478 
 
 446 
 
 1,780 
 
 17 
 
 67 
 
 1,864 
 
 Middletown, . 
 
 l;J3 
 
 210 
 
 179 
 
 :i59 
 
 1.56 
 
 804 
 
 13 
 
 64 
 
 881 
 
 Bristol, . . . 
 
 197 
 
 272 
 
 232 
 
 319 
 
 256 
 
 1,079 
 
 16 
 
 114 
 
 1,209 
 
 Tiverton, . . 
 
 298 
 
 418 
 
 .500 
 
 438 
 
 4;34 
 
 1,790 
 
 71 
 
 95 
 
 1,9.56 
 
 Warren, . . . 
 
 lf)8 
 
 237 
 
 251 
 
 255 
 
 185 
 
 928 
 
 7 
 
 44 
 
 979 
 
 Little ("ompton, 
 
 218 
 
 304 
 
 254 
 
 382 
 
 220 
 
 1,160 
 
 25 
 
 47 
 
 1,332 
 
 Richmond, . . 
 
 189 
 
 286 
 
 316 
 
 324 
 
 287 
 
 1,313 
 
 ! 30 
 
 24 
 
 1,257 
 
 Cumberland, . 
 
 2<i4 
 
 400 
 
 408 
 
 478 
 
 450 
 
 1,736 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 l,75(i 
 
 Cranston, . . 
 
 340 
 
 476 
 
 399 
 
 .517 
 
 390 
 
 1,782 
 
 19 
 
 60 
 
 1,861 
 
 Hopkinton, 
 
 299 
 
 427 
 
 420 
 
 477 
 
 415 
 
 1,739 
 
 31 
 
 48 
 
 1,808 
 
 Johnston. . . 
 
 167 
 
 242 
 
 ''27 
 
 254 
 
 234 
 
 9.57 
 
 9 
 
 65 
 
 1,031 
 
 No. Providence, 
 
 im 
 
 193 
 
 172 
 
 2:30 
 
 197 
 
 792 
 
 7 
 
 31 
 
 830 
 
 Barrington, 
 
 91 
 
 142 
 
 118 
 
 162 
 
 120 
 
 542 
 
 18 
 
 41 
 
 601 
 
 
 9,450 
 
 14,042 
 
 12,731 
 
 15,349 
 
 12,38(i 
 
 .54,460 
 
 1,479 
 
 3,668 
 
 59,707 
 
Chapter xxvl 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC., BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 The story of the " Boston Tea Party " is so familiar, and 
 has been so often told, that even a slight account of it is as 
 unnecessary as it would be out of place in these pages. The 
 tea was thrown overboard from the ships in Boston Harbor 
 on the night of December 16, 1773. On the sixteenth day of 
 February, 1774, a meeting of the citizens of Bristol was called, 
 to give expression to the sentiments of the town respecting 
 the matter. This meeting was very fully attended. Simeon 
 Potter was chosen Moderator. Letters relating to the sub- 
 ject, which had been received from the committees of cor- 
 respondence in the towns of Boston and Newport, were read, 
 and a committee, consisting of Joseph Russell, Nathaniel 
 Fales, Simeon Potter, William Bradford, Shearjashub Bourne, 
 Benjamin Bosworth and Joshua Ingraham, was appointed, to 
 draw up a series of resolutions, to be presented for the ap- 
 proval of the town at a subsequent meeting. 
 
 At a town-meeting held February 28, 1774, the committee 
 reported the following resolutions, which were adopted. A 
 copy was ordered to be entered in the records and printed in 
 the Newport Mercurij : — 
 
 "Resolved 1^'— That our ancestors were neither Felons nor outhxws, 
 but tlieir emigration from their native laud and all that was dear and 
 valuable to them, was the effect of tyranny and oppression. 
 
 "2'i:.v. — That arriving in America and purchasing the Soil of the 
 natives, who were sole Lords and Proprietors of It, they had a right of 
 Jurisdiction Independent on the Parent State. 
 
 " 3.iiy. _ That in their feeble State, being unable to support that Right, 
 they put themselves under the allegiance and protection of the Crown 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 of Englaud, who to encourage their perseverance in Subduing a wilder- 
 ness, which has since been a great emolument to the British Crown, 
 stipulated to secure their natural, civil and Religious rights, both to them 
 and their posterity, by charter; concerning which the late Bishop of 
 Salisbury, (Dr. Burnett,) was pleased to say that there was a greater 
 Sacredness in the Charter of New England than in those of the Corpora- 
 tions of England, because those were only acts of grace, whereas the 
 Charter of New England was a contract between the King and the first 
 patentees. 
 
 •'4thiy — That our privileges have been invaded and several attempts 
 made to deprive us of them, especially by a late act of Parliament Im- 
 powering the East India Company to import tea subject to a duty, &c. ; 
 it is therefore voted and resolved that whoever shall be in any way aiding 
 or assisting in landing, unloading, purchasing, vending or receiving any 
 of the said tea or any other dutied tea, shall be decreed an enemy to his. 
 Country. 
 
 "5thiy — Considering the vast amount of Territory, wealth and power 
 that the plantations in North America are to the Crown of Great Britain, 
 that it was obtained by our Ancestors without any expense to the Crown,, 
 with the toil of their lives and expense of their blood and treasure ; Con- 
 sidering also our own exertions for the Crown in the late war, especiallj' 
 in the reduction of Louisberg, in the year 174-5, which purchased a peace 
 for the whole nation then involved in calamitous war, we say considering 
 these things, to invade our privileges is the most cruel ingratitude, for 
 although the Charges of that Expedition have been in part reimbursed 
 by the Crown, yet what restitution has been or can be made for the 
 flower of the land who were slain in battle, and the charges conse<iuent 
 thereon have been and still are a burden to this Town, as there are sev- 
 eral of the widows of those who were either slain in battle or died in the 
 service of their King and Country, who have been and still are supported 
 by the Town. 
 
 •'Gthiy — That to invade our privileges is as impolitic as it is cruel, as. 
 several millions of good Subjects are thereby disaffected, and may in 
 time be provoked to renounce their allegiance and assert an independ- 
 ency. 
 
 •'7thiy — What makes our grievances the more intolerant is that so. 
 many unnecessary officers are supported by the earnings of honest In- 
 dustry, in a life of dissipation and ease, who by being properly employed 
 might be useful members of society. 
 
 >' gthiy — Instead of exploring another asylum, with the blood of our an- 
 cestors boiling in our veins, we are determined to join with our brethren 
 on the Continent in all Lawful measures to Defend our rights and privi- 
 leges in this good land which our fathers have transmitted to us, their 
 posterity, as a token of their dearest affection. 
 
 • '9thiy — That whilst we assert our freedom, we would by no means 
 deprive others of theirs, and that a difference in Sentiments under the 
 influence of reason and virtue ought by no means to produce an aliena- 
 
CORRESPONDENCE., ETC., BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 195 
 
 Mount Hope. 
 
 tion of affection, or interrupt a friendly Intercourse and mutual exchange 
 of good offices. 
 
 " lO'biy. _ We apprehend that there is danger from another quarter gen- 
 erally unforeseen and unsuspected. That that anarchy and Confusion 
 which seem to prevail, will as naturally establish tyranny and arbitrary 
 power, as one extreme leads to another. Many on the side of Liberty, 
 when they see it degenerating into anarchy, fearing that their persons 
 are not safe nor their property secure, will be likely to verge to the other 
 extreme, of which those that envy us our happiness and prosperity will 
 avail themselves to carry their designs into execution. Our determina- 
 tions therefore are as firm for the support of Government agreeable to 
 our excellent Constitution, as for the defence of our own rights and 
 privileges. 
 
 " lltiiiy._That as we have hitherto approved ourselves Loyal subjects, 
 so we take this opportunity to express our allegiance to our Gracious 
 Sovereign George the third, and entire confidence in the rectitude of his 
 intentions, being persuaded that if the wicked were taken from before 
 the throne, an happy Era would commence, that our petitions would 
 be heard and our complaints eased, that the Wisdom, Justice and Clem- 
 ency of administration would conciliate the affection of the Colonies, 
 which, under the smiles and protection of the parent state, by increasing 
 in wealth and power would be a further addition to the Strength and 
 Glory of Great Britain. 
 
 " Voted, That the thanks of this meeting be given to the Towns of 
 Boston and Newport, and the other patriotic towns on the Continent, for 
 their virtuous and spirited opposition to the measures of administration, 
 
196 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 and their noble exertions in defence of our invaluable rights and privi- 
 leges. 
 
 " Voted, That the Clerk send copies of these resolves to the Committees 
 of the towns of Boston and Newport, and procure them to be printed in 
 the Newport Mercury." 
 
 Ill a few days the following letter was dispatched to the 
 Committee of Correspondence for Boston. The foregoing- 
 resolutions were enclosed in it : — 
 " Gentlemen :- " Bristol, March 4th, 1774. 
 
 " We the Committee of Correspondence for this Town, are now to 
 acknowledge the favor of your friendly letter of the first of Dec, and 
 it is with great pleasure and satisfaction we review the noble, spirited, 
 and undaunted llesolutions of Boston and places adjacent, and the pat- 
 riotic measures by them adopted and carried into execution for the cause 
 of liberty with so much perseverance and unanimity. Your assiduous 
 and strenuous exertions in opposition to the base designs of a venal min- 
 istry to enslave a free people, will transmit your names with renown to 
 the latest posterity. We sincerely unite with you in the common cause. 
 You will have inclosed the Eesolutions lately come into by this Town; 
 we shall on all occasions cultivate a friendly correspondence and com- 
 munication with you and all others that assert the same generous and 
 disinterested iirinciples of Liberty. It is evident the Ministry have long 
 meditated a design of taxing America under the specious pretence of 
 supporting Government, and thought by monopolizing the tea trade in 
 the hands of the East India Company, the Revenue would be increased 
 at pleasure, but happy for us the Poison was early discovered under that 
 specious pretext. 
 
 " They have already tried if any advantage could be had by force of 
 arms, and have no reason to be proud of the exi^erimeuts. 
 
 " These are some of the sad effects of mistaken policy; they must have 
 forgot that maxim in Politics, that the true art of Governing consists in 
 not Governing too much. 
 
 " If anything should occur relative to the subject matter of our corre- 
 spondence, we shall communicate by our Town Clerk, directed to yours. 
 You will take the same method, if agreeable, in keeping upacorresi^ond- 
 euce with this Town. 
 
 "We are Gentlemen, with great esteem 
 
 •' Your Friends and Humble Servants. 
 
 "Jos. Russell, Town Clerk. 
 
 "Per order of the Committee of Bristol." 
 
 The Boston Port Bill took effect June 1, 1774 : — 
 
 " At a town meeting held Sept. 19 1774, William Bradford Esquire was 
 chosen Moderator. It was voted by said meeting, that a subscription be 
 
CORRESPONDENCE, ETC., BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 19^ 
 
 immediately opened for the purposes mentioned in the warrant, to wit, 
 for the relief of the poor distressed inhabitants of Boston, said subscrip- 
 tion to be closed on the first day of November next." 
 
 The subscription list was kept in the office of the town clerk. 
 The money raised was placed in the hands of William Brad- 
 ford, and was by him forwarded to Boston. The following is 
 a copy of the subscription paper: — 
 
 "We wiiose names are underwritten, Inhabitants of the Town of 
 Bristol, do severally promise to pay to Joseph Russell Esq., the present 
 Town Clerk, for the Town of Bristol, the several sums affixed to our 
 names, for the support of the poor and distressed Inhabitants of the 
 Town of Boston, said money to be sent to the Selectmen of the said 
 Town of Boston, and by them to be used at their discretion, and said 
 subscription to be closed on the first day of November, Anno 1"~4. 
 
 "Bkistol, Sept. 19th, A. D. 1774." 
 
 LAWFUL MONEY. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 William Bradford, . 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 Simeon Bullock, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 1. 
 
 0, 
 
 Daniel Bradford, 
 
 1. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 James Nooning, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 3. 
 
 0. 
 
 xVnthony Vandoorn, 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 Thomas Jethro, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 Richard Smith, . . 
 
 0. 
 
 (>. 
 
 0. 
 
 N. Ilix West, . . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 3. 
 
 0. 
 
 John Howland, Jr., . 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 William Coggeshall, 
 
 . 1. 
 
 4. 
 
 0. 
 
 Jeremiah Ingraham, 
 
 0. 
 
 15. 
 
 0. 
 
 Jeremiah Diman, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 9. 
 
 0. 
 
 Benjamin Bosworth, 
 
 0. 
 
 IS. 
 
 0. 
 
 Hezekiah Usher, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 Nathan Munro, . . 
 
 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 John Waldron, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 18. 
 
 0. 
 
 Stephen Ward well, . 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 Simeon Potter, . . 
 
 . 7. 
 
 4. 
 
 0. 
 
 Stephen Smith, . . 
 
 0. 
 
 15. 
 
 0. 
 
 John May, .... 
 
 . 0. 
 
 (i. 
 
 0. 
 
 Jonathan Diman, 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 Jonathan Russell, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 9. 
 
 0. 
 
 William Lindzey, Jr., 
 
 0. 
 
 7. 
 
 6. 
 
 Nathaniel Smith, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 Thomas Swan, . . 
 
 0. 
 
 C), 
 
 0. 
 
 Charles Munro, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 1. 
 
 G. 
 
 Joseph Wardwell, . 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 8. 
 
 Josiah Smith, . . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 Josiah Finney, . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 Samuel Church, . . 
 
 . 1. 
 
 (■>. 
 
 0. 
 
 Mark Anthony DeWolf, 
 
 0. 
 
 G. 
 
 0. 
 
 Richard Pearse, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 G. 
 
 0. 
 
 Lemuel Clark, . , . 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 Benjamin Smith, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 15. 
 
 0. 
 
 James Smith, . . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 Daniel Lefavour, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 (). 
 
 0. 
 
 Joseph Pratt, . . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 .3. 
 
 0. 
 
 Joseph Russell, . . 
 
 . 1. 
 
 4. 
 
 0. 
 
 Peter Church, . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 IS. 
 
 0. 
 
 John Howland, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 G. 
 
 0. 
 
 John Norris, . . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 Loring- Peck, . . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 William Pearse, . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 1.5. 
 
 0. 
 
 William Holmes, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 James Munro, . . . , 
 
 0. 
 
 4. 
 
 6. 
 
 Mary Paine, . . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 G. 
 
 0. 
 
 John Glover, . . . , 
 
 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 William Munro, . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 18. 
 
 0. 
 
 Jonathan Glover, . . 
 
 0. 
 
 4. 
 
 c. 
 
 John Coomer, . . . 
 
 . 0. 
 
 9. 
 
 0. 
 
 Joseph Diman, . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 3. 
 
 0. 
 
 William Throopc, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 7. 
 
 G. 
 
 Samuel West, . . . . 
 
 0. 
 
 2. 
 
 4, 
 
 Jeremiah Finney, 
 
 . 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
198 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 £. s. d. I £. 
 
 Ebenezer Blake, ... 0. 3. 0. ] Jonathan Peck, ... 1. 4. 0. 
 
 Thomas Peck, .... 0. .3. 0. 
 Hezekiah Munro, 
 
 Joseph Reynolds, 
 
 John Usher, ....(). 12. 0. Nathaniel Pearse, 
 
 Nathaniel Gary, . 
 John Burt, . . . 
 Josiah Gushing, . 
 Nathaniel Fales, Jr. 
 Samuel Throope, 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 (>. 
 
 18. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 18. 
 
 8. 
 
 1. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 12. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 G. 
 
 0. 
 
 Nathaniel Pearse, Jr., . 0. 6. 0. 
 Joseph Lindzey, . 
 Joshua Sandford, 
 
 Shearjasliuh Bourne, 
 Samuel Oxx, . . . 
 Nathaniel Fales, . . 
 
 0. 
 
 6. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 (3. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 18. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 18. 
 
 0. 
 
 0. 
 
 C. 
 
 0. 
 
 1. 
 
 10. 
 
 0. 
 
 With the money, Mr. Bradford sent this letter : — 
 
 "Bristol, R. I., 30th December, 1774. 
 " Gentlemen : — 
 
 ''Agreeable to a vote of the Town of Bristol, appointing me to send 
 you the money that should be raised in said Town, for the support of 
 the distressed inhabitants of Boston, I now send you by Mr. Mumford, 
 the small sum of forty-seven pounds, seventeen shillings, and six pence,* 
 lawful money, to be by you disposed of for the purpose aforesaid, at 
 your discretion, which was all that could be at this time collected. 
 Should have been exceeding glad it had been more, but you may depend 
 that all due care will be taken in this town from time to time, to afford 
 you the relief your circumstances may require, and our abilities will af- 
 ford, to enable you to hold out in so just a cause, against the combina- 
 tion of all wicked and mischievous beings, from the highest source of 
 evil down to Lord North. That you maybe so enabled to hold out, and 
 be finally victorious over your and our enemies, shall be my constant 
 care by all the industry in my power to contribute, as it will afford me 
 the greatest pleasure on earth . 
 
 "I am, Greutlemen, 
 
 "Your most humble servant 
 
 " William Bradford. 
 " £47. 17.S. Qd. 
 " To Samuel Adams. Esq., and others ; the Committee for 
 rer.eiving the Donations for the Town of Boston.^' 
 
 In January the following answer was received : — 
 
 "Boston, January 2d, 177-"). 
 " Sir: We are much obliged for your care in forwarding to the Gom- 
 mittee of Donations, the generous subscriptions of our worthy brethren 
 of Bristol, for the support of the distressed inhabitants of Boston, amount- 
 ing to forty-seven pounds seventeen shillings and six pence,* pr. Mr. 
 
 *£48. is. id. were contributed. The small balance must have been expended in 
 other ways. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE, ETC., BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 199 
 
 Miunford. It shall be applied afjreeable to the intent of the benevolent 
 donors. 
 
 "Inclosed is a printed account of the general method observed by the 
 Committee in the distribution of the charities of our friends, which we 
 hope will prove satisfactory. 
 
 ■' The Committee present their sincere thanks in behalf of the Town of 
 Boston, for this instance of their kindness, and are particularly obliged 
 for their purpose to afford further relief in time to come, should the case 
 require it. 
 
 "Our humble acknowledgments are due to God, who has raised up 
 benefactors to this much abused and oppressed town. Under all our 
 darkness some light hath been made to arise. We trust o\u- Cause, which 
 indeed is a common cause and of the greatest importance to America, is 
 a righteous cause and that God will maintain it. 
 
 "If He shall please to grant us the Wisdom and Prudence, the Firm- 
 ness, Help and Blessing we need, we shall put our enemies to shame, and 
 in due time have cause to rejoice in this great Salvation. 
 " We are with great Eespect 
 "Sir, Your much obliged and affectionate 
 
 "Friends and Fellow Countrymen 
 
 " David Jeffries. 
 "Pr. order of the Committee of Donations." 
 " Mr. William Bradford, at 7?ri.sfoL" 
 
 " 111 the Mass. Hist. Society archives tlie correspondence of 
 the Boston committee with the contributors to the relief of 
 the poor in that town in 1774-5 is preserved. Fiom the let- 
 ters that related to Rhode Island, it appears these donations 
 were sent : .Scituate 120 sheep, Gloucester 95, Smithfield 150, 
 Johnston 57, East Greenwich 25 sheep and 4 oxen, Tiverton 
 72 sheep, S. Kingstown 185, Providence 136 and <£51 in 
 cash, Newport 81000 or £300, Cranston 4 oxen, N. King.s- 
 town 70 sheep, Bristol £48, Warwick 5 oxen, N. Providence 
 £18. Total 860 sheep, 13 oxen, £417 in money. Little 
 Compton sent £30, which does not appear in the correspond- 
 ence ; and there were several large subscriptions by private 
 persons besides." * 
 
 A glance at the recapitulation of the census returns, given 
 on page 192, will show how veiy generous was the contribu- 
 tion of Bristol. 
 
 *ArnfihVs Histori/ nf Rhode Man I, Vol. II., pa:?- 341. 
 
200 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 The following communication from the Providence Gazette 
 of Oct. 19, 1771, has been mentioned by many historians, 
 and is now reprinted for the first time. It occasioned much 
 discussion throughout the colony, but did not meet with 
 much favor. The printer deemed it necessary to publish 
 with it a slight apology for its introduction, and to promise 
 the use of his columns for a reply. This was published a 
 few days later, and very cleverly demolished the arguments 
 brought forward : — 
 
 PROPOSALS FOR ALTERING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE 
 GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 •' It is a well-known truth, that Anarchy and Confusion ai'e as danger- 
 ous to any society, as absolute Monarchy and despotism. This truth 
 was never better experienced than under the sevei'al governments of 
 Ancient Rome, and many other states, which have suffered the various 
 changes of government. Intestine quarrels and divisions without a 
 standing army, seldom fail of proving the downfall of every state in 
 which they happen, unless in Subjection to some superior power, as is 
 the case with the Colony of Rhode Island. 
 
 " The greatest happiness that any state can enjoy, is to have its rights 
 and privileges well secured; and there is no way whereby this can be 
 done, but by confoi-ming to a certain sett of laws and precepts, well 
 adapted to the Constitution and nature of the Country, the state having 
 power to put in execution those laws and precepts, without which they 
 are of no efficacy or consequence whatsoever. If experience did not 
 teach us the impossibility of putting good and wholesome laws in 
 execution in this Colony, what may be said on this head might be 
 justly censured; but since long and woful experience evinces the truth 
 of the observation, I think it high time that some other plan of govern- 
 ment was adopted, that we may have our lands, our goods, and what- 
 ever we hold near and dear, secured, and not have a party rabble run 
 away with what we have procured, by our indefatigable industry, and 
 hard fatigue. 
 
 " The Colony of Rhode Island is too small and contracted, ever to 
 prevent the confusion and dreadful consequences of an elective legisla- 
 ture. I need not mention the vast expense, as well as the loss of time, 
 and corruption of morals which attend this method of election; and 
 many other matters, fatal to common right. Again, it often happens 
 in small states or commonwealths, where they are indulged with an 
 elective legislature, that the Community are so divided in sentiment, 
 with respect to those persons whom they esteem properly qualified to 
 sustain the highest offices of the state, that that party which gains 
 the majority by a single vote, has power to establish the greatest 
 
CORRESPONDENCE, ETC., BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 201 
 
 Ignoramus at the head of Government, whereby the state may be 
 greatly endangered, and exposed not only to the ridicule and derision 
 of every policy, but also to final ruin and destruction. 
 
 " Since the truth of what I have preserved can not be denied, I would 
 propose that this small colony, which is not larger than many of the 
 Counties in other Colonies and Provinces of America, be divided; the 
 one part ceded to Massachusetts, and the other half to Connecticut; 
 that a Committee be appointed for the purpose of making the division, 
 and negotiating whatever else may be necessary for the same; or else 
 tliat they be directed to apply to his Majesty, that he would be graciously 
 pleased to appoint a Governor to preside in and over his Majesty's Eng- 
 lish Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 
 
 "Much more might be said on this subject, but every i^erson that 
 animadverts in the least on the proposition, cannot but discern the 
 necessity of a change of government in this Colony, 
 
 "A Friend to Pkopekty." 
 Bkistol, October 16 1771. 
 
Chapter xxvii. 
 
 THE BOMBARDMENT. 
 
 On the afternoon of Saturday, the 7th of October, 1775, 
 the British war-vessels, which for some months had been sta- 
 tioned at Newport, left their anchorage, and, with a favoring 
 breeze from the south, sailed leisurely up the bay. The fleet 
 consisted of three ships of war, the " Rose," the " Glasgow," 
 and the " Swan," one bomb-brig, a schooner, and some smaller 
 vessels.* Capt. Sir James Wallace led the squadron, in the 
 "Rose," his flag-ship. The wind died away as the vessels 
 sailed onward, and it was almost sunset when they reached 
 Bristol. 
 
 The news of their approach spread quickly thi-ough the 
 town on the afternoon of that perfect autumnal day. The 
 labors of the week were over, and the greater part of the pop- 
 ulation, suspecting no evil, assembled upon the wharves to 
 gaze upon the unusual spectacle. Xever has the harbor of the 
 old town beheld a more striking display than was then pre- 
 sented. With sails that were only just distended by the dying 
 breezes, the ships drifted slowly over the water that rippled 
 with gentle murmurings about their bows. The rays of the 
 setting sun tinged every mast, and sail, and rope with a golden 
 light, making a scene of wondrous beauty, that never faded 
 from the recollection of those who beheld it. Everything 
 seemed to speak of peace, except the black mouths of the frown- 
 
 *Tlie Providence Gazette's account says that the fleet consisted of the 'Rose,' 
 the 'Glasg'ow,' and the 'Swan,' with several armed tenders and transports, in all, 
 about fifteen sail." Arnold also says fifteen sail. The " Rose " was a frigate car- 
 rying twenty guns, the " Glasgow " carried twenty-four, the " Swan," twenty. 
 
THE BOMBARDMENT. 203 
 
 ing- cannon that here and there lurked, as if forgotten, in the 
 dark liiills of the larger ships. 
 
 Captain Wallace, in his flag-ship, anchored within a cable's 
 length of what is now the Fall River steamboat wharf ; the 
 '' Glasgow " dropped anchor a little further south. The other 
 ship, attempting to take a position still further south, grounded 
 on the " Middle Ground." The schooner ran up and took a po- 
 sition opposite to the Town-bridge, and within a pistol-shot of 
 it, and not far from her the bomb-brig anchored. At eight 
 o'clock a royal salute was fired from the flag-ship, and shortly 
 after, a barge from the same vessel pulled in to the wharf where 
 most of the principal men of the town were assembled. The 
 commander of the barge, stepping upon the wharf, demanded 
 to see some representative man of the town, and William 
 Bradford went forward to meet him. 
 
 "The lieutenant informed him Captain Wallace had a de- 
 mand to make upon the town, and desired that two or three 
 of the principal men, or magistrates of the town, would go 
 on board of his ship within an hour and hear his proposals, 
 otherwise hostilities would be commenced against the town. 
 The above-named gentleman, as a magistrate, replied, that in 
 his opinion Captain Wallace was under a greater obligation 
 to come ashore and make his demands known to the town, 
 than for a magistrate to go on board of his ship to hear them ; 
 and added, that if Captain Wallace would come to the head 
 of the wharf the next morning he should be treated as a 
 gentleman, and the town would consider his demands. With 
 this answer the lieutenant returned on board the ' Rose.' 
 The inhabitants, being made acquainted with the above con- 
 versation, repaired to the wharf, and waited with the utmost 
 impatience for a reply from Captain Wallace till an hour had 
 expired, when the whole fleet began a most heavy cannon- 
 ading, and the bomb-vessel to bombard and iieave shells and 
 carcasses * into the town, which continued without intermis- 
 sion an hour and a half. In the meantime. Colonel Potter, 
 
 * Carcasses wei-e hollow, oval vessels, bound together with iron hoops, and filled 
 with all kinds of combustibles to set fire to building-s. 
 
20-1 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 in the hottest of the fire, went upon the head of the wharf, 
 hailed the '[Rose,' went on board, and requested a cessation 
 of hostilities till the inhal)itants might choose a committee to 
 go on board and treat with Captain Wallace ; which request 
 was complied with, and six hours were allovv^ed for the above 
 purpose. Colonel Potter returned and made a report to the 
 Committee of Inspection, who chose a select committee to 
 hear Captain Wallace's demands ; which, after they had gone 
 on board, Captain Wallace informed them were a supply of 
 two hundred sheep and thirty fat cattle. This demand, the 
 committee replied, it was impossible to comply with, as the 
 country people had come in and driven off their stock, save a 
 sheep and some milch cows. After some hours had expired 
 during negotiations, without coming to any agreement. Cap- 
 tain Wallace told them, ' I. have this one proposal to make : 
 If you will promise to supply me with forty sheep, at or before 
 twelve o'clock, I will assure you that another gun shall not be 
 discharged.' The committee, seeing themselves reduced to 
 the distressing alternative, either to supply their most invet- 
 erate enemies with provisions, or to devote to the flames the 
 town, with all the goods, besides near one hundred sick per- 
 sons, who could not be removed without the utmost hazard of 
 their lives ; I say, seeing themselves reduced to this dreadful 
 dilemma, of two evils reluctantly chose the least, by agreeing 
 to supply them with forty sheep at the time appointed, which 
 was punctually performed. . . . After the ships had re- 
 ceived their supply, and stole about ninety sheep and some 
 poultry from Popasquash, they weighed anchor and moored 
 at Popasquash Point. The next day they went into Bristol 
 Ferry-way and fired a number of shots at the housed and peo- 
 ple on each shore. Three of their ships got aground, but the 
 tide rising toward evening, they left and have not molested us 
 since." * 
 
 * Accoi-ding- to the Providence Gazette, the fleet " left Bristol hai-bor at 3 o'clock, 
 Sundaj-, and lay some time between Poppasquash and Hog- Island. At the last place 
 thej- landed and cut up a quantity of corn. On Monday morning- the ' Rose ' and her 
 tender ran ag-round on West Muscle-bed Shoal, Rhode Island side, and from thence 
 were fired upon by minute men. . . . Se^■eral balls went through the ferry- 
 house at Bristol." 
 
THE BOMBARDMENT. 205 
 
 The passage just quoted is taken from a letter written by 
 LeBaron Bradford, a younger son of William Bradford, to 
 correct an inaccurate account of the bombardment, which had 
 appeared in the Newport Mercury. With it the account 
 given in the " Annals of Bristol," a series of articles published 
 thirty-five years ago in the Bristol P/ieuix, agrees in all essen- 
 tial particulars. Mrs. Williams, in her Life of General Bar- 
 toa, gives a somewhat different version of the affair. Ac- 
 cording to Mrs. Williams, tlie sheep were collected together, 
 but were not sent on board, and the British vessels were 
 driven from their position by a battery of light artillery 
 under the command of Captain Martin, of Seekonk. Her 
 account is hardly worthy of belief. At a town-meeting held 
 April 17, 1776, .£10, 10s. were ordered to be paid to Captain 
 Jonathan Peck " for 21 sheep delivered to Captain Wallace," 
 and £9, Os. 6d. to Benjamin Bos worth for nineteen sheep 
 delivered to the same person. 
 
 The following poetic effusion was for a while exceedingly 
 popular : — 
 
 THE BOMBARDMENT OF BRISTOL. 
 
 In seventeen hundred and seventy-five 
 Our Bristol town was much surprised 
 By a pack of thievish villains. 
 That will not work to earn their livings. 
 
 October, 't was the seventh day, 
 As I have heard the people say, 
 Wallace, his name be ever curst, 
 Came in our harbor just at dusk, 
 
 And there his ships did safely moor, 
 And quickly sent his barge on shore 
 With orders that should not be broke, 
 Or they might expect a smoke. 
 
 Demanding that the magistrates 
 Should quickly come on board his ships, 
 And let him have some sheep and cattle. 
 Or they might expect a battle. 
 
 At eight o'clock, by signal given, 
 Our peaceful atmosphere was riven 
 By British balls, both grape and round, 
 As plenty afterward were found. 
 
206 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 But oh: to hear the doleful cries 
 Of people running for their lives! 
 Women, with children in their arms, 
 Running away to the farms. 
 
 With all their firing and their skill 
 They did not any person kill. 
 Neither was any person hurt 
 But the Reverend Parson Burt. 
 
 And, he was not killed by a ball, 
 
 As judged by jurors, one and all; 
 
 But being in a sickly state. 
 
 He fi'ightened fell, which proved his fate. 
 
 Another ti'uth to you I'll tell, 
 That you may see they levelled well; 
 For, aiming for to kill the people, 
 They fired their shot into a steeple. 
 
 They fired low, they fired high, 
 The women scream, the children cry; 
 And all their firing and their racket 
 Shot off the topmast of a packet. 
 
 Many incidents of the bombardment have been handed down 
 to us. It seems probable that the object of Wallace was not 
 to harm the town, but only to intimidate its inhabitants. The 
 guns of the vessels were discharged at such an angle that 
 most of their shot passed over the houses and landed in the 
 rising ground behind the town. Some of the buildings, how- 
 ever, were pierced by the shot. * Among these was the Bos- 
 worth house, of which mention has been made in a former 
 chapter. One of the balls struck a locust tree upon State Street, 
 and glancing, entered the Walley house, where it was found in 
 1840, by some workmen who were repairing the ceiling. An- 
 other ball " entered Finney's distil-house, and passed through 
 three hogsiieads and barrels of rum, and spilt their contents ; " 
 more of a misfortune in those days than it would be deemed 
 at the present time. A good sized grape-shot pierced the walls 
 of Mr. Benjamin Smith's dwelling (on the west side of Hope 
 Street, just north of Franklin), and passing over the bed in 
 
 * " The Church, the Meeting- House, the Court House, and several dwellings 
 Avere damaged." — PronV/ence Gazette. 
 
THE BOMBARDMENT. 207 
 
 which his imbecile son lay sleeping, lodged in the fire-place, 
 where it was allowed to remain for some time as a memento. 
 A great gap was made in the stone wall near the residence 
 of Governor Bradford (northeast corner of Hope and State), 
 and while that gentleman was climbing the fence which sepa- 
 rated his garden from his house, a frolicsome shot knocked 
 into the air the board on which his hand had just rested. 
 One man, drawing water from a well, was astonished to find 
 the curb falling in splinters from the effects of another ball. 
 Even at this day the rusty balls are occasionally turned out by 
 the plowmen, as portions of the hill-sides that have been long 
 uncultivated are once more prepared for the crops. 
 
 The consternation of the inhabitants during those weary 
 hours cannot be described. The mood of nature itself was 
 changed, and black storm-clouds took the place of the gorgeous 
 skies of a few hours before. Through the darkness that was 
 lighted only by the glare of the " carcasses " that the bomb- 
 brig belched forth, the frightened people rushed onward to the 
 remote farm-houses, which alone seemed to promise them 
 safety. An unusually fatal epidemic* had been raging in the 
 town for some weeks. William Bradford's wife had been car- 
 ried to her grave only the day before, and three corpses were 
 still lying unburied. But from their homes more than sixty 
 of the sick were hurriedly brought forth on their couches by 
 terror-stricken bearers, amid pitiless torrents of rain that en- 
 veloped them as with a winding-sheet. It is said that several 
 afterwards died, as a result of this exposure. 
 
 And yet, strange to say, no one was struck that night by 
 the flying missiles, and when in the morning the people gath- 
 ered again in the houses, it seemed that all had been wonder- 
 fully preserved from death. But as the hour for morning 
 service came, the congregation which for more than thirty 
 
 * The desci-iptions of the bomhardmcnt g-ivcn in the newspapers of that day all 
 make mention of this epidemic. From the Providence Gazette of September 30th, 
 we learn what it was. In the account, which is g-iven in that issue, of the funeral 
 services of Mr. Bennett Munro, of Bristol (he died September 25th, aged sixty- 
 seven, and was " followed to the grave by thirteen mournful sons and dauurhters "), 
 we read that he died of dysentery, and that " geventeen have died there of that dis- 
 ease within a fortnight past." 
 
208 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 years had listened to the godly admonitions of the Rev. John 
 Burt, inquired in vain for its faithful jDastor. For a long time 
 he had been sick and feeble, and as the noise of the cannon 
 was heard, and the shots went whistling through the air, with 
 faltering steps he had tottered forth from his house, and 
 joined the throng that was fleeing from the town. No one 
 had spoken with him, no one had noticed him. Lying dead 
 upon his face in the midst of a field of ripened corn, at last 
 his people found him. No angry ball had mangled his fi-ail 
 body, but while he was wandering, weak and bewildered, the 
 Angel of Death had met him, and with gentle hand had beck- 
 oned his eager spirit away from a world that seemed too full 
 of woe. 
 
Chapter xxviil 
 
 THE BURNING. 
 
 On Sunday, May 25, 1778, at a little before daybreak, a 
 band of 500 British and Hessian troops, under the command 
 of Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, landed on the shore of tlie 
 farm on the west side of the town, which now belongs to the 
 heirs of the late Samuel Martin. Proceeding across the fielda 
 in a northeasterly direction, they came out upon the main 
 road very near the place where the residence of Mrs. Swett 
 now stands. Thence marching northward, they entered War- 
 ren, leaving behind at Burr's Hill a small detachment to 
 guard their rear. At Warren they quickly put to flight the 
 small number of inhabitants who seemed inclined to dispute ' 
 their march, disabled several pieces of cannon, and then hur- 
 ried onward to the Kickemuit River. Here, at a point just 
 below the present stone bridge, a large number of flat-boats 
 had been collected by the Americans, with the design of mak- 
 ing an expedition against the enemy. To destroy these boats 
 was the special object of the British forces. The troops piled 
 seventy or more of them together and burnt them. They 
 also burnt the row-galley, " Washington," and a grist-mill. 
 Returning to Warren they blew up the powder magazine, set 
 fire to the Baptist Church, the Baptist parsonage, and several 
 other buildings, and having pillaged many houses and taken 
 many prisoners, proceeded by the main road to Bristol. On 
 their route through Warren, to and from the river, they 
 passed through Main and Market streets.* 
 
 * " Aged people, still living- among us, well remember the appearance of these 
 soldiers as they passed through the 60 wn. The British were dressed in old-fashioned 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 " At Burr's Hill were two or three houses, as there are 
 at the present time. In one of these houses Richard Smith, 
 Esq., Sheriff of the County, had taken up his residence, 
 removino- from the compact part of the town after the bom- 
 bardment. When the troops passed up, his wife, known to 
 many now living as ' Aunt Susie Smith,' took the alarm, 
 and gathering their valuables together, packed them in a 
 chest, and buried them in a smoke-house in the rear. Two 
 of the soldiers visited the house, and were given some break- 
 fast. As they left the table, one of them seized the silver 
 teapot, saying he was going to have that. Mrs. Smith, who 
 was a little woman, but very smart, also seized hold of the 
 teapot, saying he should not have it. After quite a severe 
 struggle, during which Mrs. Smith plied her tongue with 
 great vigor, the soldiers retreated from the house, and the 
 teapot remained Avith its owner." * 
 
 As the soldiers marched along the main road, small squads 
 were sent out from time to time, to visit the farm-houses 
 which stood back from the road, and many farmers were 
 thus taken prisoners. Among those captured were John 
 Coomer, Jonathan Peck and his negro man Nero, Loring 
 Peck, and Peter Church, the father of the Peter Church of 
 the present day, who still lives upon the ancestral farm. 
 As the troops approached the house of Joseph Reynolds 
 (at present the home of his great-grandson, Samuel G. Rey- 
 nolds), all the family, with the exception of Mr. Reynolds him- 
 
 red coats, cocked hats and small clothes, with a great display of laced trimmings, 
 shoe and knee buckles. The Hessians wore enormous fur caps, and large, wide, 
 and loose boots, into which thej' thrust all kinds of articles pilfered from the 
 houses ; and these articles hanging over the tops of their hoots, gave them a sin- 
 gularly grotesque appearance as they left the town. A lady now living, and 
 several others, were at the time in the house which was afterwards Bradshaw's 
 bake-house, on the east side of Main Street. They saw the troops pass by in hasty 
 retreat, and at a short distance in the rear a single individual, encumbered with a 
 big drum, unable to keep up with the main body. These heroic women ran out 
 and surrounded him, and told him he was their prisoner, when he immediately sur- 
 rendered, saying he was glad of it, for he was faint and tired. This prisoner was 
 afterwards exchanged for one of the citizens of Warren." — Fesscnden's History of 
 Warren, imyc 94, Note. 
 
 * From an article in the Bristol Plieni.r, published on the one hundredth anniver- 
 sary of the burning of the town. 
 
THE BUENING, 
 
 211 
 
 '^4' 
 ■^ 
 
 I if f'^^^ 
 
 Residence of Mr. Frederick A. Easterbrooks. 
 
 self, who was suffering from a severe attack of rheumatism, 
 left the house and took refuge in a building which stood near 
 the mill, at a considerable distance from the house. The offi- 
 cer in command of the detachment which visited this building 
 was very gentlemanly in his behavior, and did not allow his 
 men to molest in any way those who had fled thither. 
 Among these fugitives was a slave, named Cato, whose in- 
 flammable nature was so stirred up by the excitement which 
 the occasion produced, that it was only with the greatest 
 difficulty that he was prevented from discharging his musket 
 at tlie soldiers as they marched away. Xot as considerate as 
 his subordinate, was the officer in command of the main 
 body, for Mr. Reynolds was forced to leave his sick-room 
 and accompany the troops to Newport, whence, however, 
 he came back not many days after, having been exchanged. 
 
 Colonel Campbell had been directed not to attempt to 
 force an entrance into Bristol, if he should find any troops 
 
212 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 drawn up to oppose him. When, therefore, the column 
 reached the road leading to Poppasquash, a halt was com- 
 manded, and scouts were sent forward to reconnoitre. At 
 this crisis an aged woman was discovered hastily removing 
 from a wall some garments which had been placed there to- 
 dry. Her the scouts seized, and threatened they would take 
 as a prisoner to Newport, unless she informed them of the 
 number and location of the American troops, and the situa- 
 tion of the leading houses. The terrified woman quickly 
 gave the desired information, and the British commander, 
 finding no enemy to oppose him, marched down through 
 Hope Street. 
 
 The American forces in the town at the time numbered 
 about three hundred men. They consisted of a portion of 
 a regiment of militia, under command of Col. Nathaniel 
 Gary, and Capt. Nathaniel Pearse's company of artillery.* 
 The militia were quartered in various houses on Hope Street ; 
 the headquarters of the artillery were at the south corner of 
 Hope and Burton streets. When the alarm was given the 
 militia were hurriedly drawn up on State Street, in the rear 
 of the Court House, and the artillery formed in line upon 
 Burton Street. As is usual in such cases, the number of the 
 attacking party was grossly exaggerated by those who brought 
 the news of their approach to Colonel Gary, and with his- 
 small force he did not deem it advisable to oppose them. He 
 therefore marched his men out of the town, going by the 
 Mount Lane to the Back road. Tlie town was thus placed at 
 the disposal of the English. 
 
 At the '' Parson Burt House," which stood near the spot 
 where Mr. Thomas J. Usher's house now stands, the work of 
 destruction began. Until his death, three years before. Par- 
 son Burt had been a most zealous patriot, and seems specially 
 to have incurred the enmity of the British by his bold and 
 scathing denunciations of the course pursued by the English 
 
 * In January, 1776, by order of the Leg-islature, " artillery companies, with two 
 fleld-pieces and fourteen men each, were formed, in all the seaboard towns, seven- 
 teen in number." 
 
THE BURNING. 213 
 
 Government. To the house in which he had lived, and in 
 which his family were supposed to be living, the torch was 
 first applied. With the two barns which stood near it, it was 
 entirely consumed. Parson Burt's family were not living in 
 the house at the time, however. At his death they had re- 
 moved to a house which stood north of his old dwelling and 
 considerably back from the street. Thus they were not harmed 
 by the fire. Mr. Burt's house was occupied at the time by a 
 man named Wilkins. Opposite it was the one-story cottage 
 of William Christopher, a Scotchman whose wife had died 
 some months before. Mr. Christopher was away upon Pop- 
 pasquash, with the troops guarding the barracks, and his four 
 children were left alone in the house. When the soldiers 
 entered, to plunder it and set it on fire, the three elder girls 
 huddled together, almost beside themselves from fright. But 
 the motherless babe, who was held in the arms of her eldest 
 sister, knew no fear ; as the brilliant uniforms and glancing 
 weapons approached, the little one stretched out her hands 
 and smiled upon the officer in command. The smile went 
 straight to the soldier's heart, and taking the child in his arms 
 he asked her name. He was told that it was Mary. " That 
 is the name of my mother and sister ; we are not sent here to 
 destroy innocent children, and, God help me ! I will not," he 
 said, and turning about, left the house unharmed. 
 
 Next south of Parson Burt's house was the dwelling of Dr. 
 Richmond ; this was burned, as was also Dr. Aaron Bourne's 
 house, which stood on the corner where the rectory of Trinity 
 Church now stands. In the possession of Doctor Bourne was 
 a large amount of Continental paper money. When the ap- 
 proach of the troops was proclaimed, the family, fearing rob- 
 bery but never dreaming of anything worse, hid the money 
 in the garret, tucking it away behind the rafters. It was 
 burned with the house. The subsequent depreciation in the 
 value of the Continental currency did much to reconcile Doc- 
 tor Bourne to his loss. At this corner a few royalists had 
 prepared a cask of punch with which to welcome their friends, 
 but the troops had stern business before them, and a well- 
 
214 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 directed kick from an officer's foot sent the liquor trickling 
 down the street. On the west side of Hope Street, upon the 
 lot where the Boston Store now stands, was the dwelling of 
 a Mrs. Woodbury. This was set on fire. No water could be 
 procured, but the women of the house, coming to its rescue 
 from the dairy with large milk-pans full of milk, succeeded 
 in extinguishing the flames. When the building was torn 
 down in 1858, the scars which the fire had made were once 
 more brought to light. Between Bradford and State streets, 
 on the west side of Hope Street, were three small buildings, 
 — a blacksmith's shop, a carriage-house, and a store-house. 
 These were burned, as was also the dwelling of William Coxx 
 (on the site of Mr. Farrington's store), and Stephen Smith's 
 house, on the northwest corner of State and Hope streets. 
 On the northeast corner of these streets was the residence of 
 Deputy-Governor William Bradford. It was, of course, de- 
 stroyed.* On State Street the troops turned aside to fire the 
 house of Anthony Van Doom, next west of Stephen Smith's 
 house. 
 
 In the house of Hezekiah Usher, southeast corner of Hope 
 and State, many women and children were gathered. The 
 owner of the house was a Tory, and the neighbors thought 
 that it at least would be spared. Into it some of the soldiers 
 at first went without their officers, but at the sound of the 
 shrieks which greeted their rude entrance, a lieutenant came 
 to the relief of the terrified women, and protected them from 
 further violence. They were conducted to a place of safety, 
 but the house was burned. Thence south, all the houses on 
 the east side as far as Church Street, — Nathaniel Smith's, 
 John Waldron's, the house belonging to the heirs of William 
 Wardwell on the north corner of Court Street, Hopestill Pot- 
 ter's on the south corner, and the Oxx house near Church 
 Street, were set on fire. Of these the Oxx house alone was 
 saved. Jonathan Fales' house, on Church Street, near Hope, 
 
 * When the house was fired, one of Mr. Bradford's negro servants was about 
 sitting- down to his dinner. With his frying-pan in his hand he ran to the East 
 Bur.ving-Ground, and there having seated himself upon a tombstone, calmly pro- 
 ceeded to finish his meal. 
 
THE BURNING. 
 
 !15 
 
 Residence of Mr. Augustus O. Bourn. 
 
 was also destroyed. On the soutlivvest comer of State Street, 
 James Smith's house was burned. Between this house and 
 the Episcopal Church there were no buildin<>;s. The particu- 
 lars of the destruction of St. Michael's Church have I)ecn 
 already given on page 152. There were no buildings upon 
 the west side, between Church and Constitution streets. 
 AVilliam Munro's house, which stood near where Mr. Brun- 
 sen's house now stands, was the last burned on that side. 
 Going south from Churcli Street, the soldiers burned Col. 
 Simeon Potter's house, southeast corner of Church and Hope, 
 Thomas Martin's on the south corner of Byfield Street, Sam- 
 uel Liscomb's (not far from Mr. Frederick A. Eastcrbrooks' 
 
216 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 house), and Mark Anthony DeWolf's house on south corner 
 of Burton Street. This last house was used as the headquar- 
 ters of the artillery company. It was one of the oldest houses 
 in the town, and was built by Stephen Burton, one of the Four 
 Proprietors. 
 
 About thirty buildings in all (the Episcopal Church, nine- 
 teen dwelli]ig-houses, and some smaller buildings), were en- 
 tirely destroyed before the troops re-embarked upon their 
 boats. The houses burned were either used as barracks 
 or were the homes of prominent rebels. Thirty or more 
 of the citizens were carried away as prisoners. Among 
 these was Hezekiah Usher. It is related that when the troops 
 reached the corner of State Street, their commander was 
 addressed in a rather pompous manner by a gentleman, with 
 the salutation, "I am a friend of the king." ''You are just 
 the man we want. Fall in ! " was the reply, and he was 
 carried away captive. Perhaps this may have been Mr. Usher. 
 While the other prisoners were sent at once on board a prison- 
 ship, he was allowed to go at large on parole, through the 
 kind exertions of Governor Wanton in his behalf. Many of 
 the slaves were also carried to Newport, and it is said that 
 they were treated with greater severity than were their mas- 
 ters. Captain Westcott and nine privates, who had been sta- 
 tioned at Poppasquash, were taken by a boat's crew which 
 tlie British sent thither to surprise them. 
 
 By the time the retreating column reached the Ferry road 
 the Americans had rallied, and had begun to attack them from 
 behind. A platoon of prisoners was therefore formed in the 
 rear of the soldiers to protect them. This measure furnished 
 a very effectual relief, and probably saved many lives. When 
 tlie troops landed, an express had been sent by the Americans 
 to General Sullivan, at Providence, to apprise him of the at- 
 tack and to implore aid. Colonel Barton, with about twenty 
 liorsemen, at once set off to harass the enemy and to detain 
 tliem until the main body should arrive. Having collected 
 two hundred or more volunteers upon the way he attacked 
 the foe near Bristol Ferry, and was severely wounded in the 
 
THE BURNING. 217 
 
 tbigli. The British loss in this skirmish was never ascer- 
 tained, but it was supposed to be considerable, as much blood 
 was found upon the road along which they passed. The 
 Americans had four men wounded. 
 
 The lot of the captives on board of the prison-ship was 
 wretched in the extreme. Among them was William Glad- 
 ding, the miller, whose grist-mill stood on the point at the 
 west end of Hope Street, which is almost opposite the resi- 
 dence of Mr. A. 0. Bourn. " One day, after they had l)een 
 there some two weeks, Col. Peter Church, who found it hard 
 to get along with such fare, addressing Mr. Gladding, who was 
 quite an old man, asked : ' How long, do you think, Mr. Glad- 
 ding, before we shall be released ? ' Mr. Gladding, who was 
 somewhat noted for his jokes, replied, ' I hope not soon.' 
 Colonel Church, surprised at his reply, said, ' Why do you 
 say so, Mr. Gladding ? ' when the latter answered, ' Because 
 all my life I have been wanting to see rich and poor on the 
 same footing, and all fare alike, and we have it here.' This 
 ' communistic ' reply caused a hearty laugh." * 
 
 Varying accounts have been written concerning the treat- 
 ment which the inhabitants received at the hands of the ma- 
 rauders. Mrs. Williams, in her Life of General Barton, 
 gives free reins to her imagination in the following passage. 
 " The inhabitants were plundered of everything valuable they 
 (the British) could lay hands on. The females even had their 
 clothes taken — all that were deemed of sufficient value to carry 
 away — and their rings forced from their fingers. Even the 
 colored women were commanded to deliver up theirs, mostly 
 brass. So grasping were these robbers that the papers of that 
 day state that they carried away a cargo of brass ornaments 
 plundered from the servants of the different families." f The 
 conduct of the common soldiers was undoubtedly rude, and 
 €ven brutal, but the officers seem to have done all that was 
 in their power to restrain their excesses. Of the truth of 
 
 * Phciiix article. 
 
 + Life of General Barton, page 74. The account, given on the next page of the 
 same book, of the treatment which Mrs. Usher received, is grossly exaggerated. 
 
218 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 this statement many traditions bear witness. " At the north- 
 east corner of Hope and Union streets stood the house of 
 William Hoar. Two or three soldiers entered the house. One 
 of them seized a string of gold beads that were about the 
 neck of a young woman. The string was broken, and the 
 beads rolled upon the floor. While the scramble was going 
 on for the beads an officer entered and, learning wliat had 
 been done, kicked the soldier out of the house and apologized 
 for his rudeness." * 
 
 * Plwni.v article. 
 
Chapter xxix. 
 
 THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 On the 22d of September, 1720, the first day of October 
 was set apart as a day of fasting and prayer by the church 
 in Bristol, in view of the unhappy condition into whicli it 
 had fallen by reason of the controversy concerning Mr. 
 McSparran. Very many ministers from the neighboring 
 town were present by invitation on the day appointed for the 
 special services, and through their wise counsels unity was 
 once more secured to the divided church. 
 
 Dec. 22, 1720, on the one hundredth anniversary of the 
 landing of the Pilgrims, the church chose the Rev. Nathaniel 
 Cotton to be its pastor. The town ratified the choice in the 
 succeeding January, voted Mr. Cotton .£100 towards the ex- 
 penses of his settlement, and a salary of XlOO per annum, 
 and the " strangers' contribution." At a subsequent meeting, 
 the " improvement of the ministry lands " was bestowed upon 
 him. Aug. 31, 1721, he was duly ordained as pastor, the 
 Rev. Joseph Belcher,* of Dedham, preaching the ordination 
 sermon. 
 
 Nathaniel Cotton was descended from the Rev. John 
 Cotton, of Boston, who came from England to this country in 
 1633. His father was the Rev. Roland Cotton, of Sandwich ; 
 his mother was Elizabeth, the only daughter of Nathaniel 
 
 * A portrait of Mr. Belcher may now be seen in the cabinet of the Rhode Ish\nd 
 Historical Society. 
 
220 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Saltonstall, of Haverhill. He was born at Sandwich, Mass., 
 June 17, 1698, and graduated at Harvard College in 1717. 
 He was but twenty-three years of age when he came to this 
 town, — too young a man, it would seem, to direct the chui-ch 
 in those days of violent disputes. Notwithstanding his 
 youth, his ministry appears to have been most successful. 
 Over one hundred baptisms were reported during his term of 
 office, and the meeting-house was thoroughly repaired and 
 greatly improved. Not long after his settlement in Bristol, 
 he married the widow of William Sanford, of Newport, by 
 whom he had eight children, four sons and four daughters. 
 The labors of his office soon proved too much for the strength 
 of the young pastor. He died July 3, 1729. Of him Mr. 
 Burt says : " He was a man of flaming zeal and undissembled 
 piety, of singular prudence, of admirable patience, and for the 
 cause of Truth and Righteousness he was as bold as a lion." * 
 " Shortly after the decease of Mr. Cotton, the church and 
 town, with a remarkable degree of unanimity, united in 
 calling the Rev. Barnabas Taylor, voting him two hundred 
 pounds for settlement, and a yearly salary of one hundred 
 and forty pounds, together with the use or income of the 
 Ministry lands, and the strangers' contribution. The call 
 was accepted, and he was duly installed the Fourth Pastor, 
 1729, December 25th. There are no church records during 
 this ministry, and we have no means of knowing any fruits 
 of his labors. Mr. Burt says, ' he was much admired at 
 first ; ' but for some cause, respecting which the record is 
 silent, he failed to give satisfaction, and, by the advice of an 
 Ecclesiastical Council, was dismissed 1740, June 3d." f Mr. 
 Taylor was a graduate of Harvard College, in the class of 
 1721. After his dismission from the church he devoted 
 himself to the work of teaching. It was during his pastorate 
 that that fearful disease, the " throat distemper," swept along 
 
 * Mr. Cotton's three brothers, John, Josiah, and Ward, were all graduates of 
 Harvard Colleg-e, and all Cong-reg-ational ministers. Josiah Cotton was for several 
 years pastor of the Beneficent Congregational Church of Providence. 
 
 + Rev. Mr. Lane's Manual, page 119. 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 221 
 
 the Atlantic coast. " It was the greatest scourge ever known 
 in New England, and was especially fatal to children. It is 
 described as a ' swelled throat, with white or ash-colored 
 specks, an efflorescence on the skin, great debility of the 
 whole system, and a strong tendency to putridity.' " * 
 
 In the year 1736 more than thirty children died in Bristol 
 of this disease. One of the stones in the East Burying- 
 Ground commemorates " six children of Deacon Benjamin 
 Gary and Mrs. Susanna his wife, who all died of the throat 
 distemper within the space of one month, anno 1736." 
 
 Mr. Taylor's successor was the Rev. John Burt, ordained 
 May 13, 1741. Mr. Burt was a native of Boston, born in 
 1716. He graduated at Harvard in 1736. When he assumed 
 the charge of the church, it numbered 77 members, — 28 men 
 and 49 women. During his thirty-four years of service, "65 
 were admitted to the full communion, 118 consented to the 
 covenant commonly called the ' half-way covenant,' by virtue 
 of which they were permitted to present their children in 
 baptism, but not to partake of the Lord's Supper (this plan 
 of admission to partial ordinances was abolished by vote of 
 the church at the settlement of the Rev. Henry Wight), and 
 526 persons were baptized." f 
 
 At his coming Mr. Burt found that the church records 
 which his predecessors had left, were exceedingly meagre. 
 With a just sense of the rights of posterity in this regard, he 
 wrote, from the information then at his command, a very con- 
 cise account of the past history of his charge, and a sketch 
 of its condition as he found it. With this account he pre- 
 faced the records, which he kept with much fullness and ac- 
 curacy during his whole life. It is this account which has 
 been so often quoted in these pages. The tragic death of Mr. 
 Burt, on the 7th of October, 1775, has been already described ; 
 the subsequent burning of his house by the British troops, 
 May 25, 1778, has also been mentioned. During his ministry 
 the town was annexed to Rhode Island, and he was conse- 
 
 * Arnold's Rhode Islarid, Vol. II., page 116. 
 + Dr. Shepard's Historical Discourse. 
 
222 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 quently the last minister of the Congregational Church who 
 was settled by vote of the town. His salary, voted in town- 
 meeting, Jan. 5, 1740-41, * was £250 in silver money, at 28 
 shillings per ounce, or its equivalent in paper currency, the 
 " strangers' contribution," and the improvement of the par- 
 sonage-house and ministry lands. 
 
 The shadow of the coming Revolution disturbed the pleasant 
 relations which for many years had existed between Mr. Burt 
 and the venerable rector of St. Michael's Church. Mr. Usher 
 was a staunch royalist. In his public addresses he counseled 
 passive obedience and non-resistance, arguing that " the powers 
 that be are ordained of God." If tradition is to be believed, 
 Mr. Burt responded to these utterances in words of great 
 force and vigor. Of the sentiments which Mr. Usher pro- 
 claimed, he said, " it is a damnable doctrine, and none but 
 fools will believe it." 
 
 During the dark days which followed the death of Mr. Burt 
 no effort was made to secure a settled pastor for the church. 
 Any attempt of the kind would have been almost entirely 
 useless. Many of the congregation had left the town, and 
 those who remained were so cramped in means that they 
 could not contribute anything toward the support of a minis- 
 ter. When life came back to the place, at the close of the 
 war, active measures were at once taken to infuse new vigor 
 into the church. In 1783 a subscription for a permanent 
 fund, " the annual interest of which to be appropriated for the 
 support of an Orthodox Congregational Minister," was started. 
 Oct. 4, 1784, a charter was granted by the Legislature of 
 Rhode Island, to the " Catholic Congregational Society, of 
 Bristol, R. I.," " for the purpose of raising a fund by free 
 and voluntary subscriptions, contributions, legacies and dona- 
 tions, for the support of public worship in the Congregational 
 Society in the town of Bristol, of which the Rev. John Burt 
 was the late Pastor." 
 
 * Hereafter, the dates will be given according- to the Gregorian Calendar. In 
 1752, that calendar was adopted in England and her colonies, and the new year was 
 made to begin on the 1st of January, instead of the 25th of March. 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 223 
 
 The Town Hall. 
 
 In 1784 the old meeting-house, in which the congregation 
 had met for one hundred years, was torn down. The second 
 house of worship was erected at the corner of Bradford and 
 Hope streets. It was raised June 12, 1784, and finished and 
 dedicated Jan, 5, 1785, tlie day on which the Rev. Henry 
 Wight was ordained pastor. It was built in the style of 
 architecture which then prevailed among the Congregational 
 churches, " with square pews, high pulpit. Deacon's seat in 
 front, and sounding-board overhead." Its walls were after- 
 ward covered with " hard finish," and the square pews were 
 supplanted by those of more modern style. The house stood 
 in Bradford Street, fronting on Hope Street. The two elms 
 which now stand outside the curbing, and the open space 
 north of the house on the southeast corner, serve to keep the 
 fact fresh in our memories. This building was presented to 
 the town in 1856, the beautiful stone church in which the 
 
224 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 society now worships having just been completed. By the 
 town it was moved to its present location on Bradford Street, 
 where it is now used as the Town Hall. Its exterior appears 
 very much as it did in the days of Parson Wight, only a few 
 unimportant changes having been made. The interior of the 
 building has been several times altered. As soon as it came 
 into the possession of the town, a second floor was put in, and 
 in its second story for a few years (from 1858 to 1864), the 
 State Normal School found a home. In the rooms which the 
 Normal School had occupied, the sessions of the High School 
 were held, from the year 1865 until the completion of the 
 '' Byfield School " in 1873. Four years ago the second floor 
 was taken away, and the present arrangement of galleries, 
 etc., was made. 
 
 Henry Wight, the sixth pastor, was born in Medfield, Mass., 
 May 26, 1752, and graduated from Harvard College in 1782. 
 He found but thirty-six members (seven males, twenty-nine 
 females) when he assumed the charge of the church. Two 
 hundred and twenty-eight additions to its membership were 
 made during his term of service. " His ministry, continuing 
 for nearly half a century, longer than that of any other pas- 
 tor, was characterized by catholicity in intercourse with other 
 denominations, and an amiability of spirit and fidelity to his 
 convictions of right, which won respect and confidence. He 
 took an active interest in the political questions of the day, and 
 did not hesitate to introduce topics of this nature in his 
 pulpit ministrations, which offended some whose views dif- 
 fered from his, and led to their withdrawal from the society. 
 He was singularly faithful in recording all the votes of the 
 church, and even the informal proceedings of conferences 
 and committee meetings. He also kept for many years quite 
 a full record of current events in the town, particularly of 
 marriages and deaths, and this book has already proved to be 
 of invaluable worth in proving titles to property and to the 
 bounties and pay of soldiers, and others, who died in the 
 Government service." * 
 
 * Mr. Lane's JMonual, page 136. 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 225 
 
 The following letter was addressed to Mr. Wight by the 
 men who disliked his political sermons. It l^ears no date, 
 but must have been written before 1803, inasmuch as after 
 tliat year we find most of its signers enrolled as members of 
 St. IMichael's Parish. It is inserted to show how intense 
 was the party spirit of the age. A manuscript copy of the 
 original paper, made at the time of its presentation, is now 
 in possession of Mr. John P. Reynolds, a descendant of one 
 of its signers : — 
 " .Sir; — 
 
 "We the undersigned being your particular friends, and perliai)s 
 Equally desirous of preserving undisturbed every rational ancient form 
 of Public Worship, with those, who, from political motives, have been 
 of late unusually clamorous against the Legislature of this State for 
 opposing a motion in its late session, recommending to the citizens of 
 said State the keeping a day of public Thanksgiving; — being also sat- 
 isfied in our opinion, that the Members of said Legislature, consist- 
 ing principally of certain sects and representatives of those sects, as 
 Quakers, Baptists, etc., were conscientiously actuated in their opposition 
 to the legislative appointment of said day of Thanksgiving, — exercis- 
 ing that great fundamental principle of religious liberty expressly 
 guaranteed to the citizens of said State in their Charter granted by 
 Charles 2^^ — principles explicitly recognized too by the varioiis charters 
 and constitutions of every State in tiie Union; — and having moreover, 
 beard on days of public worship, the public Teachers of Religion, in- 
 stead of inculcating the salutary Doctrine of our Savior (the object of 
 their settlement), advocating the Politics of a Political Faction by grossly 
 censuring the majority of the Legislature of said State*' for having merely 
 exercised that religious liberty, ' sought with so much travail,'' by our Fore- 
 fathers, particularly by the Rev^i Roger Wiliiains, our First Settler; do, 
 therefore, and for the following, amongst a variety of other substantial 
 reasons, declare our express Disapprobation against your perverting the 
 sacred Desk into a Stage for the purpose of exhibiting political Disquisi- 
 tions — especially against the Legislature of said State, viz — 
 
 " !*'• Your Society contracted with you for the performance of the 
 religious duties of a faithful Minister of the Gospel, not for the per- 
 formance of those of a political Expositor, or a Keviler of legislative 
 Authorities. 
 
 "2^"J- Gentlemen of your Clerical Profession ought to be the last 
 persons in the world to obtrude the boisterous Subjects of Politics, 
 in hours of public worship, upon the religious meditations of your 
 Societies. 
 
 "grtiy. Your Occupation as a public Teacher of Religion is sufficiently 
 copious to occupy more than all your attention. 
 
 "4thiy. In republican Governments, like ours, the citizens have equal, 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 if not better sources of political Information than those derived from 
 the Clergy. 
 
 " 5thiy. Tiie exclaiming against legislative Proceedings, in public Asso- 
 ciations, has a direct tendency to disseminate Discord amongst Neigh- 
 bors, and to subvert the very basis of all Civil Governments; and 
 
 "Gtiiiy. When men of your Calling (of sufficient ability) are disposed 
 to become the Detailers of political Scandal, they, taking advantage of 
 the confidence 'reposed in them by the unsuspecting religious Orders, 
 have generally become vicious Partizans in Politics, if not dangerous 
 tools of Despotism. 
 
 " Although it is our most sincere wish to continue your Friends and 
 Parishioners, yet unless you desist from intermeddling with political 
 subjects, however against our inclination it maybe, we shall be obliged 
 to withdraw ourselves from the Society. 
 
 (Signed by) Charles DeWolf, 
 
 Joseph Reynolds, 
 John DeWolf, 
 Barnard Smith, 
 James DeWolf, and by 
 several other Parishioners." 
 
 * " In your Thanksgiving Sermon, after commenting upon the proceed- 
 ings of our State Legislature, you made use of the following, or similar 
 observation, to wit, ' that it is to be feared that the conduct of a major- 
 ity of the Legislature of this State tends more to the promotion of anar- 
 chy and confusion than good order.' But while we. mention the above, 
 it is just, however, to observe, (if it can be of any consolation to you), 
 that the above remark, tho' tending directly to propagate the principles 
 of disorganization, was not so extraordinary as an expression not long 
 since used by an Episcopalian preacher, who to promote the great cause 
 of Federalism, (as Ave presume) had the impudence to accuse the ma- 
 jority of said Legislature, because it would not interfere with the So- 
 cieties of the various Denominations of this State in recommending 
 a public day of Thanksgiving (not a day of Christmas), yes, this Fed- 
 eralist, who openly avows the British Government to be the best in the 
 world, accused the majority of said Legislature of being actuated with 
 Principles of Infidelity ! ! !" 
 
 Dr. Wight was tlie sole pastor of the church until 1815, 
 when the Rev. Joel Mann was ordained as his colleague. 
 During the revival of 1812 the Rev. Dr. Isaac Lewis, of New 
 York, journeying in search of health, came to the town, and 
 for six months was employed as Dr. Wight's assistant. He 
 was invited to settle as colleague pastor, but declined. At 
 his own request Dr. Wight was dismissed from his pastorate 
 Nov. 11, 1828, but continued to reside in Bristol until his death. 
 He lived in the brick house at the northwest corner of Brad- 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 227 
 
 Residence of Mrs. R. D. Smith. 
 
 ford and High streets, which is now used for a grocery store 
 and market. He was a member of the Board of Fellows of 
 Brown University from 1793 to 1833, and received the degree 
 of Doctor of Divinity from that institution in 1811. He died 
 in Bristol, Aug. 12, 1837, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. 
 
 The Rev. Joel Mann, who was settled as Dr. Wight's col- 
 league Nov. 15, 1815, was born at Oxford, N. H., and gradu- 
 ated at Dartmouth College in 1810. He served as pastor of 
 the church until Sept. 14, 1826. One hundred and thirty 
 additions to the church were made during his pastorate. He 
 is still living in Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 During Mr. Mann's residence in Bristol, the " Hall " was 
 erected in which the conference-meetings were held for so 
 many years. Before its erection, meetings were held and 
 lectures delivered in private houses. The first hall used for 
 
228 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 the purpose stood near the residence of Mrs. Richard D. 
 Smith, on State Street. Of this buikling the church used the 
 second story only ; Mr. Wyatt Manchester used the lower 
 story as a school-room. It was called the " Blue Hall," and 
 was finally removed to the " Neck " and converted into a 
 dwelling-house. Afterwards, another hall on State Street 
 was used, and then the Court House was hired for the days 
 when the court was not in session. In 1821-22, on the 
 parsonage lot, on the north side of Bradford Street, a build- 
 ing was erected for conference uses, at a cost of about $720. 
 It was a plain, wooden structure, measuring forty by thirty 
 feet, with wails ten feet high and an arched ceiling. It was 
 furnished with wooden benches, the seats on either side of 
 the desk, intended for the elders of the congregation, being 
 considerably higher than the others. " One of the builders 
 wished to have it called ' Puritan Hall,' and cut those words 
 with considerable care on what he designed for the corner- 
 stone ; but another, with iconoclastic tendencies, broke the 
 stone in pieces with a maul, so the edifice was ever spoken of 
 as simply ' The Hall.' " * On the completion of the Memorial 
 Chapel, in 1870, the building was sold to the Second Advent 
 Society. By them it was moved to its present location, 
 near the corner of High and Church streets. 
 
 In the spring of 1815 the first Sunday School connected 
 with the church was established. It was continued until 
 the succeeding winter. In 1816 another Sunday School was 
 opened. This was managed with considerable success by 
 various individuals until the 26th of June, 1820, when the 
 church by formal vote assumed its charge. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1828, Rev. Isaac Lewis was installed as pastor. 
 He continued to labor in the town until his voice failed him, 
 when, by his own request, he was dismissed Sept. 28, 1831. 
 Mr. Lewis was the son of the Rev. Dr. Isaac Lewis, of Wilton, 
 Conn. He was born at Wilton, Jan. 1, 1773. He graduated 
 at Yale College in 1794, and pursued his theological studies 
 under the direction of Doctors Stiles and Dwight, of the same 
 
 * Mr. Lane's Manual, page H~. 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 229 
 
 institution. Previous to his coming to this town he was 
 settled at Cooperstown, N. Y., at Goshen, N. Y., and at 
 Greenwich, Conn. In 1830, under his ministrations, another 
 revival was felt in the church, but its manifestations were 
 much less wonderful than those which had preceded it. Mr. 
 Lewis received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Dela- 
 ware College in 1844. He died in New York City, Sept. 23, 
 1854, in the eighty-second year of his age. 
 
 The ninth pastor was the Rev. John Starkweather, a na- 
 tive of Worthington, Conn., and a graduate of Yale College 
 in the class of 1825. He was installed Dec. 14, 1831. His 
 connection with the church was brief. The dissatisfaction 
 and want of confidence in him which was felt among the 
 members of his congregation, was at length expressed in a 
 written communication, signed by twenty-one male members. 
 The matter was referred to an Ecclesiastical council, who 
 advised the dissolution of the pastoral relation. He was 
 dismissed Dec. 29, 1834. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Shepard was Mr. Starkweather's successor. 
 Thomas Shepard was born in Norton, Mass., May 7, 1792. 
 He graduated from Brown University in 1813, and from the 
 Andover Theological Seminary in 1816. From 1816 to 
 1819 he was employed as a missionary and teacher in the 
 State of Georgia. June 16, 1819, he was settled at Ashfield, 
 Mass., as the colleague of the Rev. Nehemiah Porter. He 
 remained at Ashfield about fourteen years, and was after- 
 wards, for about two years, an agent of the American Bible 
 Society. He was installed as pastor of this church April 
 30, 1835. In the earlier years of his ministry in this town 
 the parsonage on Bradford Street was built. In 1855 the 
 present Congregational Church building was commenced. 
 It was dedicated Nov. 25, 1856. 
 
 "The house is located on the corner of Bradford and High streets, 
 fronting on the latter. It has three entrances in front, and a rear 
 entrance at the southeast corner, leading to the library and the pulpit, 
 and also leading to the chapel recently built. It has a tower on the 
 northwest corner, eighteen feet square, with buttresses extending up- 
 ward about eighty feet, surmounted with belfry and turrets. The full 
 dimensions of the house are as follows: Length, 101 feet: width, 67 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 The Congregational Church. 
 
 feet; walls 28 feet high 
 in the clear, and 39 feet 
 from the floor to the 
 ape.x of the nave of the 
 main arch. The styl« of 
 architecture is gothic. 
 The trimmings and but- 
 tresses are of pure gran- 
 ite; the filling-up is of a 
 stone somewhat different 
 in quality, presenting a 
 pleasing variety in figure 
 and color. The roof is 
 covered with slate and 
 tin. The interior is fin- 
 ished with groin-arched 
 ceiling, with eight pend- 
 ants or corbels for spring- 
 ing the arches, and from 
 which depend the chan- 
 deliers. The pews, numbering 114 on the main floor, are circular, trimmed 
 with black walnut and neatly upholstered. The pulpit, communion table, 
 and chairs are of black walnut, harmonizing well with the general style 
 of the house. The recess back of the pulpit is richly frescoed, as are 
 also the arches in the ceiling of the roof. The organ, made by Messrs. 
 Hook, of Boston, is finished to correspond with the interior of the 
 church. The case is gothic, 34 feet high and 14 feet wide; it has 3iJ 
 registers or stops, and is of sui^erior tone and capacity. The orchestra 
 is dropped within a few feet of the main floor, and harmonizes in style 
 with the pulpit at the opposite end. The entire floor of the church is- 
 richly carpeted, and the whole interior is lighted with gas. The 
 architect was Seth H. Ingalls, and the master builder was William 
 Ingalls, both of New Bedford, Mass." 
 
 William B. Spooner, Messadore T. Bennett, Josiah Glad- 
 ding, Stephen T. Church, and Nathan Bardin, were the build- 
 ing conniiittee under whose supervision the edifice was erected. 
 To realize the differences which less than two hundred years 
 had made, the reader will do well to compare the description 
 just given (it is taken from the Church Manual) with that of 
 the first meeting-house, given on page 128. 
 
 In 1846 Dr. Shepard was elected a corporate member of tlie 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. In 
 1853 he received from his Alma Mater the degree of Doctor 
 of Divinity. On the seventh day of May, 1865, being then 
 
Rev. Thomas Shepard, D. D. 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 231 
 
 just seventy-three years of age, he resigned the active duties 
 of his pastoral office and asked that a successor might be 
 appointed. The resignation was accepted, and the use of the 
 parsonage during the remainder of his life was tendered to 
 him. He died on the 5th of October, 1879. The following 
 extract from a notice of his life (in the Providence Journal 
 of Oct. 6, 1879,) in a most admirable manner describes his 
 life and character, and gives voice to the sentiment with which 
 all the people of Bristol regarded him : — 
 
 " Dr. Shepard was an eminent representative of the old school of New 
 England divines. His personal presence was imposing, his manners 
 were dignified and courteous; he carried, without effort and without 
 affectation, both into his official and into his private relations, the gravity 
 and decorum and self-respect which befitted his sacred office. During 
 his long career he never failed to honor his profession, and those who 
 were familiar with his life and conversation were constrained to honor it 
 in him. As a preacher he was marked by solid thought and by practical 
 acquaintance with religion. He always esteemed the plain enforcement 
 of the great vital truths of the Gospel to be the first duty of the preacher. 
 Though decided in his own theological views, he had no taste for con- 
 troversy, and lived in charity with all men. The universal respect with 
 which he was regarded in the community where he passed so many 
 years, knew no limitations of sect. A cordial lover of all good men, he 
 was in turn beloved by all, and in his death many not of his own 
 spiritual fold, will mourn a most valued counselor and friend. 
 
 While always, so long as his strength lasted, devoting himself with 
 untiring zeal to the duties of his profession, Di-. Shepard was much 
 more than a faithful parish minister. He was also a most public-spirited 
 citizen, and lent his aid, without stint, to every measure that promised 
 to promote the general good. For years he rendered the most valuable 
 service as Chairman of the School Committee, and when the great move- 
 ment was commenced, thirty years ago, for elevating the standard of 
 public education in this State, it received from no one a moi-e earnest 
 and intelligent and unwearied support. Like all the older clergy of 
 New England, a conservative both in religion and politics, he was always 
 decided in his support of sound policy, and loyal in his allegiance to 
 constituted authority. After he retired from all official position, his fel- 
 low-citizens insisted upon regarding him as a public character, and 
 whenever he .appeared before them, spontaneously accorded to him the 
 manifestations of respect which were due to his venerable age, his use- 
 ful career, and his unblemished character. In him they lose at once 
 their oldest minister and their most honored citizen." 
 
 The Rev. Cyrus P. Osborne was ordained as pastor, Nov. 2, 
 1865. Mr. Osborne was born at East Boston, Mass., and is a 
 
232 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1859, and of An- 
 dover in the class of 1862. In 1870, a favorable opportunity 
 having been presented him to visit Europe and the Holy Land, 
 at his own request he was dismissed on tlie sixth day of June. 
 During his pastorate the debt which had been weighing upon 
 the church for many years was paid, and the Memorial 
 Chapel* was built. The chapel was dedicated Feb. 14, 1870. 
 A plain mural tablet of marble in the large room tells the story 
 of its erection. 
 
 THIS CHAPEL 
 
 DEDICATED TO THE SERVICE OF GOD, THE FATHER, SON 
 
 AND IIOIA- GHOST, 
 
 WAS ERECTED IX ISliO, IX MEMORY OF 
 
 WILLIAM AND (CHARLOTTE DeWOLF, 
 
 DECEASED 1829, 
 
 BY THEIR DAUGHTERS, CHARLOTTE DeWOLF AND 
 
 MARIA DeWOLF ROGERS. 
 
 " We hare thmujlit <tf tlni Utviiiij kiiulness 
 O God in tlie midst i>f tlm temiAe." 
 
 The Rev, James P. Lane was the twelfth i)astor of the 
 church. Mr. Lane is a native of Candia, N. H., the son of 
 the late Isaiah Lane, m. d. He graduated at Amherst Col- 
 lege in 1857, and pursued his theological studies at Andover, 
 Mass. He was pastor of the Congregational Church at East 
 Weymouth, Mass., from 1861 to 1866. He was installed as 
 
 * " The chapel adjoins the church edifice, with which it harmonizes in material 
 and style. The walls are of rubble stone ; the door, windows and butti-csses, of 
 dressed granite. The side walls are thirteen feet, and the main gable thirty-four 
 feet high. The ceiling is finished to the height of twenty-nine feet. A vestibule ten 
 feet by eleven feet joins the chapel to the church. A north wing extends across 
 the end of the vestibule and in the rear of the church, twenty-six feet by twentj'- 
 two feet, two inches. A south wing projects from the opposite side, fifteen feet by 
 twenty-one feet, eight inches. The main audience-room, with which the wings are 
 connected by sliding doors with ground glass panels, is thirty-three feet by fifty 
 feet." The ceiling is finished in a style corresponding to that of the church. In 
 the western, or front gable, is a large gothic window of stained glass ; a similar 
 window of ground glass is also iilaced in the north gable. The other windows are 
 of ground glass. By means of the sliding doors the three rooms may be thrown 
 into one. 
 
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 233 
 
 pastor of the Free Church, in Aiidover, xVpril 4, 1866. From 
 Aiulover he removed to Bristol, assuming the charge of this 
 congregation Jan. 11, 1871. In tlie spring of 1880, he re- 
 signed his pastorate, and since that time has been living in 
 Hyde Park, Mass. His successor has not yet been chosen. 
 The present officers of the church are : William Manchester 
 and Parmenas Skinner, Jr., Deacons ; Martin Bennett and 
 Messadore T. Bennett, Assistants ; Martin Bennett, Treas- 
 urer ; William H. Spooner, Clerk ; Chandler H. Coggeshall, 
 Superintendent of the Sunday School. The members of the 
 Standing Committee are the above, ex-ojficio, and John 
 Adams, William H. Bell, William H. Church, Allen T. Usher, 
 William Burnside, and Seth W. Thayer. 
 
Chapter xxx. 
 
 DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 
 
 During the first years of the Revolutionaiy War the con- 
 dition of the seaport towns of Rhode Island was pitiable in 
 the extreme. An Englisli fleet was stationed at the mouth of 
 Narragansett Bay ; its chief city was occupied by the troops 
 of Great Britain, and marauding parties, sent out from New- 
 port from time to time to secure provisions, did not hesitate 
 to carry away from the houses and farms whatever suited 
 the lawless fancy of the men who composed tliem. The 
 beginning of the long struggle saw the waters of the bay 
 covered with merchant ships ; upon the wharves which lined 
 its shores the productions of foreign lands lay piled, and the 
 streets of its larger towns were noisy with the accents of 
 sailors from many a distant clime. This was the period of 
 Newport's greatest prosperity.* But for the war, that fair city 
 might to-day have been one of the great centres of American 
 commerce. But the British fleet which anchored in its har- 
 ber in 1775 gave the death blow to its commercial supremacy. 
 It manufactories were soon closed, its ships one by one fell 
 into the hands of the enemy, and its patriotic population, im- 
 
 * " Hor population was over eleven thousand. She had seventeen manufactories 
 of sperm oil and candles, five rope-walks, three sugar refineries, one brewery, and 
 twentj'-two distilleries of rum, an article which in those days was deemed essential 
 to the health of the sailor and the soldier, and all hard-working men. Her foreign 
 commerce found employment for nearly two hundred ships, her domestic trade for 
 between three and four hundred coasting ci-aft. A regular line of packets kept 
 open her communication with Loudon for passengers and mails. Her society had 
 never lost the intellectual impulse given it by Berkeley." — Greene's History of 
 Rfwdc Mand, payc 203. 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 235 
 
 poverislied and despairing, were forced to flee for safety to 
 the inland towns, which the English troops did not ventnre to 
 approach. From the effects of " the British occupation " New- 
 port never recovered. Not until 1850 did it again number 
 as many inhabitants as in 1775 ; its lost ships have never 
 been replaced. 
 
 With the exception of Newport, Bristol suffered more from 
 tlie war than did any other town of Rhode Island. In some 
 respects it fared even worse than the island capital, for the 
 situation of Newport — its importance as a naval station — 
 saved it from the shells and the torclies which fell to the lot 
 of Bristol. Tiie share which Bristol had taken in the destruc- 
 tion of the " Gaspee" had drawn toward it the hostile re- 
 gard of the British navy ; the bold and fearless utterances 
 of its leading citizens, and the prominent part which they 
 bore in the affairs of the colony, served completely to fix its 
 attention. The home of Simeon Potter and of William Brad- 
 ford could not expect to be unnoticed by the enemies of Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 The people of the town seem to have anticipated tlie 
 troubles about to come upon them. They early began to de- 
 vise measures for defence. On the twenty-fifth day of April, 
 1775, six days after the fight at Concord and Lexington, the 
 town voted that a watch sliould be set, and that " all men, 
 from the age of sixteen years to sixty, shall be liable to at- 
 tend upon said watch." At a town-meeting held Sept. 4, 
 1775, it was 
 
 "Voted; That fifteen small arras with bayonets be purchased for 
 the use of the town, and that Mr. Benjamin Bosworth and Mr. Stephen 
 Wardwell be a Committee to procure said arms, and the Town Treas- 
 urer be directed and empowered to hire the sum of forty-five pounds 
 lawful money for the purchasing said arms. 
 
 "Voted; That the assessors be directed to make a rate or tax, on the 
 polls and estates of this town for the above sum, that the said rate be 
 made forthwith, and that the whole of said rate be paid in Cash. 
 
 "Voted; That Deacon Howland and Mr. Benjamin Bosworth be ap- 
 pointed to overhaul the cartridges that are already made, and see that 
 they are good, and that they make a number more as they shall judge 
 sufficient for the use of the town. 
 
236 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 " Voted; That the Town Council, be directed to request Colonel Potter 
 to remove a number of cannon which he lias lying upon his wharf, to 
 some convenient place, to prevent their falling into the hands of our 
 enemies. 
 
 On the 7th of October came the bombardment. From that 
 date until the close of the war, the records are full of votes 
 concerning military matters. 
 
 Dec. 12, 1775, " Voted, that some Intrenchments be made near the har- 
 bor in this town to prevent the enemy from landing." 
 
 William Bradford, Simeon Potter, Benjamin Bosworth,and 
 Jeremy Ingraham, were appointed a committee to construct 
 these defences. " The intrenchments here mentioned were 
 built along the shore, extending south from the foot of State 
 Street, down as far as the foot of Burton Street, near Rich- 
 mond's wharf. They were composed of a wall five feet high, 
 built of turf and stones, filled up on the inside with loose 
 earth and small stones." * 
 
 In 1775 " the postal system of Rhode Island was fully or- 
 ganized, by the establishment of routes, officers, and rates of 
 postage, and the appointment of post-riders. William God- 
 dard (formerly printer of the Providence Gazelle) had com- 
 pleted his plan, and laid it before Congress, but this Col- 
 ony anticipated, by nearly six weeks, the action of that body 
 on the subject." f Jonathan Russell was appointed Postmaster 
 at Bristol. 
 
 In 1775, as appears from the Colonial Records^ the " Vi- 
 per," English sloop-of-war, took the sloop " Polly," of New 
 York, and put a midshipman with a prize crew on board, 
 with orders to take the vessel into Boston. Isaac Eslick, 
 of Bristol, had just been captured by the enemy. He was 
 placed on board the " Polly" as pilot, and freedom for himself 
 and the repossession of a boat and some goods that had been 
 taken from him was promised him, if he would pilot the sloop 
 faithfully into Boston. With great address, Eslick, with two 
 of the men belonging to the sloop who had been left on board, 
 brought the sloop into the Seaconnet River, where she was 
 
 * AnnaUnf Bristol. 
 
 + Arn>,UV>< Rhadr Mand, Vol. II., pag-e a52. 
 
DAYS OP WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 237 
 
 taken possession of by Gen. Eseck Hopkins. Two hundred 
 and fifty dollars were voted him by the Legislature, for his 
 achievement.* 
 
 Jan. 13, 1776, the British came up from Newport to Pru- 
 dence Island, with twelve vessels and 250 men, drove off the 
 Imndred minute men who opposed them, burned seven houses, 
 and carried away 100 sheep. On the next day reinforcements 
 from Bristol and Warren were sent to the aid of the inhabi- 
 tants; a battle lasting three hours was fought, and the enemy 
 were driven back to their ships with a loss of fourteen men 
 killed and very many others wounded. The stock, hay, etc.^ 
 were at once sent off from the island, the troops were ordered 
 away, and the General Assembly, realizing the great dangers 
 which menaced Bristol, directed one of the companies wliich 
 had been stationed at Prudence, to proceed to its defence. An 
 artillery company was shortly afterward formed in the town, 
 of which Robert Jolls was chosen Captain and Samuel Reed, 
 Lieutenant. A fort was also erected at Bristol Ferry. From 
 the beginning of the war until several months after the battle 
 of Rhode Island, Aug. 29, 1778, the people of Bristol lived in 
 constant dread of attacks by British fleets. 
 
 On the fourth day of May, 1776, two months before the 
 Declaration of Independence was voted by the Continental 
 Congress, the Colonial Assembly of Rhode Island formally 
 renounced its allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain and 
 declared itself an independent state. On the second day of 
 December the darkest period in the history of the State began. 
 On that day, with seven ships of the line and four frigates. 
 Sir Peter Parker appeared off Block Island. That same week 
 he entered the bay with seventy transports having 6,000 men 
 on board, and took possession of the City of Newport. The 
 English commander had recognized the fact that from Rhode 
 Island harbors would come most of the privateers that were 
 so dreaded by merchant ships of his country, and deter- 
 mined to blockade the mouth of xN"arragansett Bay, and, if 
 necessary, to destroy the towns that were situated upon its 
 
 * Rhode Island Colonial Records, Vol. VI1„ page 391. 
 
238 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 shores. At liis coming, the small body of American troops 
 that had been stationed upon the Island of Rhode Island 
 were at once withdrawn. Part of the forces, under Colonel 
 Cook, went into camp near l^iverton ; the rest, under com- 
 mand of Brigadier-General West, were stationed at Bristol. 
 At the next session of the Legislature the women and children 
 in all the sea-board towns, and especially in Newport, Provi- 
 dence, East Greenwich, and Bristol, were advised " to move 
 with their furniture to the interior." In every one of these 
 towns destruction seemed to await their homes. The inju- 
 dicious and passionate conduct of the general in command at 
 Bristol secured for the town the hearty dislike of Lord Percy, 
 who had succeeded to the command of the British troops 
 when General Clinton went back to England. Of this fact 
 the following letter bears Avitness : — 
 
 "Newpoht, April Sth, 1777. 
 
 ''Sir: I received your letter of the Otli by the flag of truce which 
 brought Mrs. Paine from Bristol, and should have sent you an answer 
 immediately to the same place, had not the unprovoked impertinence of 
 Messrs. West and Yarnum obliged me to put a stop to all flags of truce 
 coming from Bristol or Tiverton. I have, therefore, been under the 
 necessity of sending this to Updike's, Newtown, as well as 3Irs. Stacy 
 and her children, and shall send the other ladies you mention in your 
 letter as soon as they come to this island, for be assured, Sir, it will give 
 me pleasure to oblige you personally, from whom I have always received 
 that attention and civility which jjersons who are really gentlemen will 
 ever show each other. You will please direct that the ladies be sent 
 from any place except Bristol or Tiverton, for whilst Mr. West and Mr. 
 Yarnum remain there, I shall permit no communication with either of 
 the above places. This, Sir, you must be sensible can be no inconven- 
 ience to me, or the troops under my command, as we have neither rela- 
 tions, friends, or acquaintances on the continent. How far it may be to 
 the inhabitants, who may perhaps wish to hear sometimes from their 
 friends, 1 cannot tell; but if it is, they must thank those whose conduct 
 occasioned it. Be assured. Sir, no person wishes more than myself to 
 alleviate the miseries of war as far as possible, and I am really sorry at 
 being thus prevented from granting those little indu4geucies which 
 are generally allowable during such periods. Any request. Sir, you are 
 pleased to make me, which is in my power to grant, I shall always with 
 pleasure attend to, and am, Sir, 
 
 " Your humble servant, 
 
 "Percy. 
 "William Bradford, Esq., &c., &c." 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 239 
 
 April 2, 1777, the row-galley " Washington " hlew up near 
 the town, killing eight men and intensifying the feeling of 
 despair which was settling upon the people. This was the 
 galley that was afterward destroyed by the same expedi- 
 tion which burned the town. It was built in 1775. At the 
 time of this accident it was manned by a crew of fifty men, 
 and propelled by thirty oars. It carried for an armament one 
 cighteen-pounder and some swivel-guns. It was afterward 
 repaired and rigged as a schooner. 
 
 In July, 1777, the capture of General Prescott by Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel Barton, revived the drooping spirits of the town, 
 but the relief was only temporary. The state of affairs at 
 this time is well described in this resolution, adopted in the 
 August town-meeting : — 
 
 " Whereaait appears by the late apportionment of a tax upon the several 
 tovy^ns of this State, this town is over-rated considering its present cir- 
 cumstances. It is now a garrisoned town, the buildings improved as 
 barracks for soldiers, its fences consumed for fuel, the lands for near 
 two miles laid waste, many of the buildings totally ruined and destroyed, 
 the Inhabitants moved out, many of them into other Governments with 
 their estates, and the exposed situation of the town to be annoyed by 
 the common enemy every hour, the farms can't be improved to any 
 advantage, it is therefore, voted: That a jietition be preferred by the 
 fx-eemen to the General Assembly for relief in the premises." 
 
 The 25th of May, 1778, saw most of the compact part 
 of the town in flames, and on the 12th of the following 
 August came that terrible storm which for two days swept 
 land and sea with a besom of destruction. Nothing could 
 withstand its fury. The scanty crops that a few bolder 
 spirits had ventured to plant were entirely destroyed. The 
 tents, in which the people had taken refuge after the destruc- 
 tion of their houses, were torn into shreds by the mighty 
 force of the tremendous wind. Men crouched for shelter be- 
 hind stone walls, and the air was full of the missiles hurled 
 by the hand of wrathful nature. A cold and drenching rain 
 came down, to complete the tale of horror, and brooks that 
 for ages had rippled musically between peaceful banks were 
 
240 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 swollen into raging torrents, that covered the fields with an 
 angry flood. When the storm was over, horses and cattle 
 were found dead in the fields, and beside them were found 
 also many of the men who had vainly hastened to their aid. 
 This storm was for years called the " French storm," to dis- 
 tinguish it from the still more deadly " Hessian storm," which 
 came four months later.* 
 
 In September, 1778, Lafayette took the command of the 
 ports about the Island of Rhode Island. His principal 
 corps was stationed at Bristol. He was intrusted witli the 
 care of Warren, Bristol, and the eastern shore, as he him- 
 self writes to General Washington in a letter dated " Camp 
 near Bristol, Sept. 7, 1778." Another letter is dated " Bris- 
 tol, near Rhode Island." On the 2-Ith of September he writes, 
 " I have removed my station from Bristol and am in a safer 
 place behind Warren." During his stay in this town, the 
 Marquis lived in the house of Joseph Reynolds, upon Bristol 
 Neck. Mrs. Reynolds, the great-grandmother of the present 
 owner of the house, had been informed of the approach of 
 her noble guest, and had made suitable preparations for his 
 reception. More than an hour before the time which had 
 been appointed for his coming, a young Frenchman rode up 
 to the house, and dismounting, tied his horse to a tree which 
 stood near it. Plainly, one of the general's attendants, 
 thought Mrs. Reynolds ; and her negro servant, Cato, was at 
 once sent to conduct him to the room designed for the sub- 
 ordinate officers. The young man expressed a desire for 
 something to eat, and he was accordingly seated at the table 
 which had been prepared for his commander, though his 
 hostess wondered greatly that he could not control his ap- 
 petite until a more appropriate hour. The officer ate very 
 heartily of the dinner that was placed before him, but sat so 
 
 ♦"Another terrible storm, more severe than that which had disabled the con- 
 tending squadrons in August, caused g-reat disaster on sea and shore. The depth 
 of the snow and the intensity of the cold was unparalleled in this vicinity. Sentinels 
 were frozen at their posts, or stifled by the whirling- snow, and so many Hessians 
 perished from cold and exposure on that dreadful night in Newport, that this 
 gale was long known as 'the Hessian storm.' " — Arnold's Rhode Island, Vol. II., 
 pa{jc 4;M. 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 
 
 241 
 
 The Home of Dr. J. C. Gallup. 
 
 long at the table that Mrs. Reynolds was forced to address 
 liim, and to remind him that his general was momentarily ex- 
 pected, when, to her intense amazement, the young man an- 
 nounced that he was the visitor whose arrival the household 
 were so eagerly awaiting. 
 
 During the terrible cold of the winter of 1779-80 the peo- 
 ple of Bristol suffered more than any other inhabitants of the 
 State. All their supply of wood had been exhausted, and the 
 Legislature was forced to come to the relief of the town by a 
 grant of fuel from the public stores. Wood sold in most parts 
 of the State for twenty dollars a cord. Provisions also failed. 
 Corn sold for four silver dollars a bushel, and potatoes for two 
 dollars, — unheard-of prices in those days. For six weeks the 
 bay was frozen from shore to shore. Far as the eye could 
 reach the ice extended out to sea. 
 
 On the 25th of October, 1779, the foreign troops that for 
 three vears had menaced the State with destruction, sailed 
 
242 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 out from the harbor of Newport, and in 1780, the inhabitants 
 who had fled from Bristol during the British occupation of 
 Rhode Island, began to come back. A special act of the Leg- 
 islature was passed, restoring to them the rights of citizen- 
 ship which liad been forfeited by their residence abi-oad. 
 French troops were stationed in the town, but the war had 
 been transferred to other fields. A burial-place upon Poppa- 
 squash was granted to the French, and they were quartered 
 in barracks which liad been erected upon the Vassal and 
 Point farms. Upon these farms hospital buildings were also 
 erected. l^omc of the barracks were afterwards moved 
 across the harbor on the ice. One of tliem is still standing 
 upon the west side of High Street, near the corner of Brad- 
 ford Street. It is the gambrel-roofed house in which Mr. 
 Champlin Bowen lives. 
 
 In 1780 the committee appointed by the General Assembly 
 " to take an estimate of the Polls and Ratable Property within 
 the State." reported in Bristol, 171 ratable polls, sixteen 
 slaves, from ten to fifty years of age, X4,lll in money and 
 trading stock (an amount exceeded by but six towns), 755 
 ounces of plate (only eight towns had more), 103 "horses 
 from G mos.," 117 oxen, 535 horned cattle, 1,877 sheep and 
 goats, and X65,779, as the ratable value of the town. Every 
 town in the State but North Providence, Warren, and Barring- 
 ton, had more ratable polls and a larger ratable value than 
 B]-istol ; no better evidence could be furnished of the terrible 
 losses that the war had inflicted upon it. 
 
 ]\Iarch 13, 1781, General Washington passed through Bris- 
 tol on his way to Providence. When the news of his ap- 
 proach was received, a company of inhabitants, mounted upon 
 horseback, went down to the ferry to meet him, and to 
 escort him to the village. Accompanied by his aids, lie passed 
 directly through the town, riding the entire length of Hope 
 Street. As he passed State Street, a salute was fired in front 
 of the Court House, which then stood in the middle of the 
 street. " When he passed Bradford Street, the inhabitants, 
 clad in their best apparel, stood upon either side of the street, 
 being divided according to their sexes, and as he passed, 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 243 
 
 showed their respect for liim by strewing his path with flow- 
 ers, evergreens, etc., accompanied with liighest marks of 
 civility. When Wasliington reached the Bridge he turned to 
 the inhabitants, and addressed them in brief but eloquent 
 manner, returning the kindness and civility which had been 
 shown him." * 
 
 In 1783 the tract of land known as the Mount Hope Farm, 
 confiscated several years before, and appropriated to dis- 
 charge the balance of pay due to the officers and soldiers of 
 the battalions of Col. Christopher Greene and Col. Henry 
 Sherburne, was sold by the State to Nathan Miller, of War- 
 ren. It had been the property of Isaac Royal, a Tory, who 
 had fled from the Colony at the beginning of the war : it 
 comprised the land which now lies between the farms of Mr. 
 Moses Wood and Bishop Howe. For many years William 
 Bradford, of Bristol, had been designated by the State to col- 
 lect the rent of this farm. Mr. Bradford bought it from Mr. 
 Miller very shortly after the sale by the State. It had been 
 sold to Mr. Miller as a farm of 385 acres and 111 rods. After 
 its purchase by Mr. Bradford, it was resurveyed by Caleb 
 Harris, and was found to contain but 368 acres and 40 rods. 
 The purchase-money of 17 acres and 17 rods, amounting to 
 <£103, 10s., was accordingly paid back to Mr. Miller from the 
 state treasury. In a house which stood upon this farm, Mr. 
 Bradford lived for the rest of his life. He was a man of 
 great energy, rose very early, and was accustomed to take 
 long walks over his extensive domains before the sun appeared. 
 In 1793, when he was a member of the United States Senate, 
 President Washington passed a week with him at " The 
 Mount." The descendants of Governor Bradford, with par- 
 donable pride, love to tell the story that has been handed 
 down to them : " of how the two, clad in that beautiful, old- 
 
 * Annals of Bristol. "Mi-s. Burt, the widow of the Eev. John Burt, after her 
 husband's death maintaiued herself by keeping school. When Washington passed 
 through town, Mrs. Burt, wishing to impress it on the minds of lier scliolars, 
 caused them to learn the following verses, which they were required frequently 
 to repeat : — 
 
 In seventeen hundred and eighty-one, 
 
 I saw General Washington." —Ibid. 
 
244 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 fashioned attire of black velvet — dressed very much alike — 
 with ruffles around their wrists and at their bosoms, and with 
 powdered hair, promenaded the piazza and talked together 
 hour after hour." 
 
 Most of the " Tory Estates " were sold before the " Mount 
 Farm." The Borland farm, at the Narrows, was purchased 
 by Shearjashub Bourne. The estate of William Vassal, upon 
 Poppasquash (now known as the Herreshoff farm), was 
 bought by John Brown, of Providence, Xov. 20, 1781. For 
 its 221 acres, and the buildings which stood upon it (except- 
 ing the barracks), Mr. Brown paid £3,293, 6s. 3d. Mr. 
 Vassal belonged to a family very prominent in Massachusetts 
 in the days before the Revolution. His principal residence was 
 in Boston, and there most of his time was spent. He pos- 
 sessed great wealth, and was very benevolent, dispensing 
 with a free hand his gifts to the poor. But he was a member 
 of the Church of England, and was loyal to the English 
 Crown. Tradition has it, that at the very beginning of the 
 struggle, the passions of the people of Bristol were so stirred 
 up by his bold expressions of loyalty to Great Britain, and 
 his denunciations of the course pursued by the colonies, that 
 he was one day stoned in the streets of the town by those 
 whom his bounty had often relieved. 
 
 In 1783 Jonathan Russell was appointed Intendant of Trade 
 for the Town and County of Bristol. 
 
 In January, 1785, a census of the town was taken by the 
 Rev. Henry Wight. The whole number of inhabitants was 
 1,195. There were 126 dwelling-houses ; 10 widowers and 
 bachelors, heads of families ; 218 distinct families ; 34 wid- 
 ows, heads of families, besides several young widows who 
 lived with their parents ; 78 persons above 60 years of age '^ 
 628 children who lived with their parents ; 328 children under 
 10 years of age; 122 domestics, who were either hired, or 
 lived in families ; 73 slaves* of both sexes; 25 free negroes, 
 and other persons of color. 
 
 * In 1784 an act providing for the gradual abolition of slavery, and forbidding 
 the introduction of slaves for sale, upon any pretext whatever, had been passed by 
 the General Assembly. 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 245 
 
 " Fire Engine No. 1 " was purchased for the use of the 
 town in 1784. The first " Fire Wardens" were : Benj. Bos- 
 worth, Jr., John Howland, Jonathan Russell, Jeremiah In- 
 grahara, and Richard Smith. This engine was bought in 
 Boston, and was placed in a house at the foot of Bradford 
 Street. It was a hand-engine, as were two others purchased 
 in the early part of the present century. They were fed by 
 water brought in the leather buckets which the law then re- 
 quired every man to hang in his house. The " Hydraulion " 
 was bought in 1838 ; " Engine No. 4," in 1844. In 1800 the 
 ■" Hook and Ladder Company " was formed. 
 
 The last issue of paper money * by the State of Rliode 
 Island was made in 1786. To enforce the circulation of a 
 worthless currency, the General Assembly passed the most 
 stringent laws, notwithstanding the solemn protests that were 
 presented against its course. Providence, Newport, New 
 Slioreham, Bristol, and Warren only, had the courage to re- 
 sist the will of the exultant partisans, who were throttling the 
 commerce of the State. A few months later, when the still 
 more odious " Test Act " was submitted for the consideration 
 of the people, the citizens of Bristol again had the honor 
 and the good sense to instruct its representatives to oppose 
 its enactment. An enlightened public spirit, and a just 
 conception of the principles which govern the development 
 of trade, seem always to have characterized the acts of the 
 town. (In 1786 no Thanksgiving Day was appointed by the 
 authorities of Rhode Island, but Bristol observed the day set 
 apart by Massachusetts.) When, in 1788, the question of 
 adopting the Federal Constitution was submitted to the peo- 
 ple of the State, in Bristol and in Little Corapton only did 
 the fi'iends of the Constitution succeed in returning a majority 
 in its favor. In the succeeding year. Providence, Newport, 
 and Bristol each presented petitions to the Federal Congress 
 representing the distressed condition of the State, and pray- 
 ing that ita commerce might be exempted from foreign duties 
 
 *See Arnold's Histi>r)i of Rliode Island and the Historical Tract already men- 
 tioned, for a f uU history of the paper-money issues. 
 
246 ■ HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 in the ports of tlie Union. A most successful result followed 
 these petitions from the three leading sea-ports ; the vessels 
 of Rhode Island were, for a time, exempted from the payment 
 of import duties. In 1790 Rhode Island, last of the " old 
 thirteen " colonies, became a part of the American Union. 
 The adoption of the Constitution was celebrated in Bristol 
 on the thirty-first day of May. The citizens assembled in 
 front of the ^State House (the Assembly* met at Bristol in 
 those days), and listened to speeches from the leading men 
 of the place. A salute of thirteen guns was fired, and one 
 gun was added in recognition of the claims of Vermont. 
 
 June 4, 1792. A distillery for the manufacture of New 
 England rum commenced operations. It belonged to Shear- 
 jashub Bourne and Samuel Wardwell, and stood on the 
 wharf wh^re the Namquit Mill now stands. In it, for neai'ly 
 thirty-five years, two hundred gallons of rum were made each 
 day. A ready market for its product was found on the 
 coast of Africa. The first distillery in the town was built at 
 the beginning of the eighteenth century. It stood near the 
 southwest corner of Union and Hope streets, in the triangle 
 formed by Union, Hope, and Thames streets. (The southern 
 end of Thames Street had not then been washed into the 
 bay.) A second was built in 1751, on the west side of 
 Thames Street, between State and Bradford streets. Anotlier 
 was placed on the east side of Thames Street, where Mr. 
 William H. Spooner's store now stands. At one time, five 
 of these establishments were in active operation. In each of 
 them, molasses was converted into rum. The last was 
 closed in 1830, the business having ceased to be profitalile. 
 The water which they used was brought in wooden pipes 
 from a spring about two miles northeast of the town. These 
 old wooden pipes are still dug up, from time to time, as 
 trenches are made for water and gas pipes. 
 
 In 1793 the spider wind-mill, which was afterward moved 
 to a lot near the head of the harbor, was erected upon the 
 Common by Nathaniel Smith and Shearjashub Bourne ; in that 
 
 * The Assembly met in this town for the first time in 1785. 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 247 
 
 year, also, a bell weighing nearly seven hundred pounds, and 
 a clock costing $200, were purchased by the town and placed 
 in the steeple of the Congregational Church. The price of 
 the bell was thirty-seven and one-half cents per pound. 
 
 June, 1794, the charter of the Bristol Train of Artillery 
 was granted. The charter members of the company were : 
 Samuel Wardwell, William De Wolf, Samuel Y. Peck, and 
 John Bradford. By the charter the company was made inde- 
 pendent of all regiments ; when in active service it was to be 
 under the command of the governor of the State only. Its 
 members (which, exclusive of officers, " must not exceed 
 sixty-four in number ") were exempted from bearing arms, or 
 doing military duty in the militia of the State. The first elec- 
 tion of officers was held April 7, 1796, when Samuel Wardwell 
 was chosen Captain, with the rank in the militia of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel ; William DeWolf, First Lieutenant, with rank of 
 First Major ; Samuel Y. Peck, Second Lieutenant, with rank 
 of Second Major ; and John Bradford, Ensign, with rank of 
 Captain. Commissions corresponding to these offices were 
 issued by the State. The sergeants chosen were : Jacob 
 Babbitt, Ambrose Waldron, Simeon Munro, and Samuel Slo- 
 cum. In 1797 two brass field-pieces (said to have been cap- 
 tured from the British at the surrender of Burgoyne) were 
 presented to the company by the State, " to be fired on all 
 public occasions." These pieces are still used for the pur- 
 pose specified. 
 
 The following interesting commentary is well worth inser- 
 tion. It reproduces more vividly the customs of the day, than 
 would many pages of manuscript : — 
 January 24th 1795 
 the town Covinsel ^i'- 
 
 to a Nip of Grog — — (> 
 
 to a Dubel.Bole of tod 0—2 — 
 
 Febiiary 2 
 
 to a Dobel Bole tod 0—2 — 9 
 
 toaGlasforMr. Bosworth 0—0 — 3 
 
 to 2 Nips Grog 0—1—0 
 
 to S Supers 0-12-0 
 
 to a Dobel Bole tod 0-2-9 
 
248 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 March 2 
 
 to a Bole of tod 0—1 6 
 
 to a Dobel of tod q o q 
 
 to a Dobel Bole tod _ 3 _ 
 
 to 6 men Coflfee _ 9 _ 
 
 April 7 to a Dubcl IJolc 
 
 of Punch 0—4 — 
 
 to 8 men Coffee 0—12 — 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 3 6 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 
 
 0— 3 — (3 
 
 to a Nip Grog 0—0 — 6 
 
 May 4 to a Nip 0-0-0 
 
 to 2 Dubel Boles Punch — S — 
 
 to 8 Supers — 1-' — 
 
 June 1 to a Dubel 
 
 Bole Punch 0—4-0 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Punch 0-4-0 
 
 to 7 men Supers 0-10-0 
 
 July 6 to a Nip Grog 0-0-0 
 
 to a Nip Punch 0-1-0 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Punch 0—4-0 
 
 to Punch 
 
 0— 1 — 
 
 to 8 men Supers !•'> o 
 
 Aurgust 3 to a Nip Punch 0—1 
 
 to a Nip Grog 0—0 — 6 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Punch 4 Q 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Punch . 4 
 
 to 8 men Supers . . . — 12 
 
 Sep' 6 to a Bole Grog and a 
 
 Bole Punch 0—3-0 
 
 Sept s to Brandy Slings . . . . ' , . . 0—0 — 9 
 
 to Brandy Sling — 9 
 
 tot^i'og 0—0 — 6 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Punch 0—4 
 
 to 7 men Dinners 10 6 
 
 to 7 men Supers — 10 r 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Punch 
 
 0— 4 — 
 
 to a Dubel Bole Grog *> 
 
 Sept 9 to a Bole Punch 2 
 
 to Grog 0—1-0 
 
 Sept^ 12 to a Bole of tod 0—1 4 
 
 October 4 to a Bole tod 1 4 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 0—2 — 8 
 
 to 7 men Supers — 10 — 
 
 to a Pint Rum 0—4 
 
 to 3 Boles Grog 
 to a Sling 
 
 November 2 
 
 0— 3-0 
 0— 2 — 
 
— 
 
 1 —4 
 
 — 
 
 9 — 
 
 — 
 
 1—4 
 
 — 
 
 — G 
 
 — 
 
 — 6 
 
 n — 
 
 1—0 
 
 — 
 
 2 — 8 
 
 — 
 
 0-S 
 
 — 
 
 1 — 4 
 
 — 
 
 2-8 
 
 — 
 
 2-8 
 
 — 
 
 2 — 8 
 
 — 
 
 10-0 
 
 DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OF PEACE. 249 
 
 "to a Bole of tod 
 
 to 6 men Supers 
 
 to a Bole of tod 
 
 Xovember 10 
 
 to a Nip Grog 
 
 to a Nip Grog 
 
 to a Sling 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 
 
 Docembci- 7 
 
 to 2 Glases Brandy 
 
 to a Bole tod 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 
 
 to a Dubel Bole tod 
 
 to 8 Supers 
 
 Dec 7"' 1795 Reed payment \ 
 
 in full for the within & foregoing C 
 
 Stephen Wardavell. \ 
 
 Sept. 11, 1798, Richard Darby was released from prison 
 Ijy the Supreme Court of the State, which was then sitting 
 in this town. The Darby episode was a very curious one and 
 •deserves to be recorded. The account which follows is taken 
 from the Annals of Bristol: — 
 
 " Mr. Darby was a native of New Jersey. He came to this town in 
 3Iay, (1798) for the purpose of teaching a school. He taught in a school 
 house which was situated on the neck, near where Mr. Henry DeWolf * 
 now lives. He commenced with only seven scholars, but such were his 
 faculties for interesting and instructing youth, that he soon gathered a 
 full school, numbering about forty scholars. Having been here about 
 two months he declared his belief to a few individuals, that there was 
 money buried somewhere in this region. He assured them that this mat- 
 ter had been revealed to him, and that it was expressly for the purpose of 
 obtaining this money that he had come to this town. He told them that 
 in order to secure the money, the whole matter should be kept aprofomid 
 secret, and that a company should be formed to take proper measures for 
 obtaining it. About forty of the citizens of this place and Warren, 
 joined with him in carrying out his purposes. Among these were some 
 of the most respectable men of the community, and who sustained a 
 highly religious character. He told them that if they would be sincere 
 and faithful in following his directions, he would get the money. He 
 •charged them to hold as their watchword in this matter, sincerity and 
 
 * Mr. Fitz Henry DeWolf now lives in his father's house. 
 
250 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 confidence in their leader. He met with them in the night time, and led 
 them with an open Bible in his hands, in marching around in a circle * and 
 performing certain magical operations. The ring around which they 
 marched was about thirty feet in diameter. It was situated near where 
 Mr, Ladieu now lives. When he had continued this coui'se for several 
 weeks, he attempted to bring his project for duping his followers, to a 
 consummation. He accordingly told them that he had received intelli- 
 gence of the sickness of his friends at home, but that he would instruct 
 them how to proceed in his absence. He then produced a blank sheet of 
 paper folded in the form of a letter, whicli he pretended to entrust to a 
 person whom they appointed, (but by sleight of hand dropped a written 
 one) saying that this letter must be kept with the seal unbroken for a 
 certain number of days, (to allow him time to abscond,) and then must 
 be opened in presence of them all, and if they were to be successful, 
 writing would appear on this blank sheet, which would tell them what 
 to do, 
 
 " The letter was locked up among the private papers of the person, un- 
 til the time appointed; when it was opened according to order, and to 
 their great satisfaction, writing appeared. The family were several 
 times aroused from their slumbers bjj4:i scratcldmj at the desk; which they 
 supposed to be some spirit, writing upon the sheet there deposited. 
 They were instructed to purchase a quantity of mineral sand, of a black- 
 smith in Cumberland, which would break the enchantment by which the 
 money was held. A committee was therefore furnished with money, and 
 sent to Cumberland to get the sand. But when they were told that it 
 was to be sold at about a dollar an ounce, they were led to suspect their 
 leader of some intrigue. They immediately withdrew and held a con- 
 sultation among themselves, the result of which was that they should 
 frighten the blacksmith, and make him tell them whether Mr. Darby 
 had not been there and furnished him with the sand, and ordered him to 
 sell it at this exorbitant rate. 
 
 " The blacksmith fearing their threats of tar and feathers or a like pun- 
 ishment, for being concerned in such a plot, frankly told them that their 
 suspicions were not unfounded, and that Mr. Darby was then at a house 
 not more than a mile distant. The committee immediately repaired to 
 the house, and had Mr. Darby arrested and brought before a Court of 
 Inquiry, and afterwards before the Supreme Judicial Court, by which he 
 was released as above mentioned. No charge of deception could be proved 
 against him, as he had never told them that they should receive the 
 money, but only ' if faithful to him he would get the money.' Although 
 
 * When nristol boys and girls are learning to skate, almost the first thing they 
 attempt in the line of fancy skating is to " cut the Darby ring." Very few of them 
 know why the ring is so called, and what a noted person Mr. Darby was. Mr. 
 Ladieu lived in the long, one-story house, which stands on the east side of the main 
 road, a little north of the present boundary line between Warren and Bi'istol.' 
 Thirty or forty years ago, the stages passed within a few feet of its front door, and 
 a swamp covered the site of the present road-bed. The track of the old road may 
 still very easily be traced, in the field next south of the house. 
 
DAYS OF WAR AND DAYS OP PEACE. 
 
 251 
 
 Furniture Warehouse of Mr 
 
 he was thus cleared by law, he 
 was not suffered to leave the 
 town until his followers had 
 resented this gross insult by 
 presenting him with a thick 
 coat of Tar and Feathers." 
 
 In 1798 the first Public 
 Library of the town was 
 established. Subscribers 
 for one hundred shares at 
 five dollars a share were 
 easily obtained, and a 
 charter of incorporation 
 was granted by the As- 
 sembly at its May session. Of the five hundred dollars orig- 
 inally subscribed, three hundred were given by Col. Simeon 
 Potter, and one hundred and twenty-one by Capt. Charles De- 
 Wolf. In grateful recognition of the liberality of the princi- 
 pal donor, the association was called " The Potter Library 
 Company." Its first meeting was held in the " Academy,'* 
 Nov. 3, 1798. Nearly all of the money subscribed was at once 
 invested in books, and a very excellent library was thus ob- 
 tained (as a reference to its catalogue, now in the possession of 
 the Librarian of the "Rogers Library" will show). Some 
 rather singular rules were enforced respecting the circulation 
 of the books. The time they might be held by a subscriber 
 depended on their size, and when two or more persons a[»plied 
 at the same time for the same book, an auction was held, and 
 the highest bidder carried it away. Yearly dues of twenty-five 
 cents, to preserve and increase the library, were required from 
 each member. Thomas Richmond was the first to hold the of- 
 fice of Librarian and Treasurer: Joseph M. Blake succeeded 
 him. The library was opened only on Saturday afternoons. 
 The company was dissolved in 1837, and its property was di- 
 vided among those who then held its shares. 
 
 The death of George Washington caused very deep grief 
 among the people of Bristol. Several times he had visited the 
 town, and his commanding presence was familiar to all its 
 
252 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 citizens. On the 29th of December, 1799, a funereal discourse 
 on the character of the dead President was delivered in the 
 Congregational Church by the Rev. Henry Wight. January 6, 
 1800, was set apart for tlie observance of his obsequies. On 
 tlie morning of that day a salute was fired upon the Common, 
 and the bell was tolled. At two o'clock, in the afternoon, a 
 procession was formed in the following order : — 
 
 Independent Company of Bristol Grenadiers. 
 
 Bristol Train of Artillery. 
 
 with their field-pieces and wagons. 
 
 Clergymen of the Town. 
 
 LlEUTENAXT-GOVERNOR BRADFORD, 
 
 attended by 
 
 Judge Bourxe, Ma.jor Bradford, and Colonel Wardwell. 
 
 Judges of the Covinty Court. 
 
 Officers of the Town Council and Custom House. 
 
 Officers of the Militia. 
 
 Mr. Daniel Adams, 
 
 with his pupils. 
 
 Mr. Daniel Bradford, 
 
 with his pupils. 
 
 Citizens and Strangers. 
 
 On the 22d of February, 1800, in accordance witli a resolu- 
 tion of the Federal Congress recommending the people of 
 the United States to assemble, " publicly to testify their 
 grief for the death of General George Washington, by suitable 
 eulogies, orations and discourses, or by public prayers," the 
 citizens again gathered in the Congregational Meeting-House, 
 and listened to an eulogy pronounced by Allen Bourne, a 
 young lawyer of the town. 
 
Chapter xxxl 
 
 WILLIAM BRADFORD. 
 
 " A RICH man with a good heart, is surely one of the great- 
 est blessings which God sends on the earth." So Bishop 
 Griswold, in a funeral discourse, briefly summed up the char- 
 acteristics of the man whose name stands forth more prom- 
 inently than any other in the history of Bristol. 
 
 William Bradford was born at Plympton, in Plymouth 
 County, Mass., Nov. 4, 1729 (0. S.). His father was Lieut. 
 Samuel Bradford, a descendant in the fourth generation of 
 one of the company who came over in the " Mayflower," — 
 William Bradford, the man who, on the death of Carver, 
 was elected to succeed him as tlie governor of Plymouth 
 Colony. In his early youtli Mr. Bradford gave promise of 
 the talent that was afterward to make him so conspicuous. 
 The natural bias of his mind at first seemed to incline him to 
 the practice of medicine, and the best advantages were there- 
 fore afforded him to pursue the study of that science. At 
 the age of twenty-two, under the tuition of Dr. Ezekiel Hor- 
 sey, of Hingham (Dr. Hersey was a distinguished physician 
 and early benefactor of Harvard College), he had attained 
 the best medical education which was possible at that time 
 to those who studied medicine in this country. 
 
 In 1751 he married Mary LeBaron, the daughter of Dr. 
 Lazarus LeBaron, of Plymouth, and settled in Warren, R. I. 
 '' His affable and affectionate manner, united to his skill and 
 success, soon gained him a liberal encouragement, which sel- 
 
254 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 dom falls to the lot of so young a practitioner, however mer- 
 itorious. He was particularly well qualified in the art of 
 surgery, was considered as tiie principal operative surgeon in 
 the vicinity where he resided, and in an extensive circle, per- 
 forming difficult operations with great dexterity, skill and 
 judgment." * After practicing for a few years at Warren he 
 removed to Bristol, where a better field for the exercise of his 
 large abilities awaited him. The date of his removal is un- 
 certain. His name first appears on the town records in 1758 ; 
 it is probable that he had then been for some time a resident 
 of Bristol. 
 
 In 1761 Doctor Bradford was first chosen to represent the 
 town in the General Assembly, of which for so many years 
 he was destined to be the most conspicuous member. In 1764 
 he was made the speaker of that body. It must have been 
 about this time that he commenced the study of law. The 
 success which attended his entrance upon the political arena 
 naturally tended to concentrate his attention upon legal 
 rather than medical sul)jects. He appears for the last time 
 as " Doctor " in the records of 1767 ; from that time forward, 
 until he had won the right to a much more honorable title, 
 he is William Bradford, Esquire. A hundred years ago the 
 success of a lawyer depended not so much upon his knowl- 
 edge of law as upon his personal character. The judges 
 were seldom lawyers, and a man of imposing presence and 
 great personal magnetism could, even in his first case, exer- 
 cise a wonderful influence over the minds of a jury. In law, as 
 in medicine, accordingly, Mr. Bradford quickly rose to emi- 
 nence. Says Mr. Thacher : " It may justly be said of him, 
 that very few ever arrived so near to superior eminence in 
 two professions which required so much attention necessary 
 to a proper discharge of each." 
 
 Mr. Bradford entered upon political life during a period 
 well suited to the display of his unusual executive ability. 
 The " times that tried men's souls," found him burning with 
 patriotic zeal, and eager to thrust himself forward into the 
 
 * Tliachcr's Medical Biography. 
 
WILLIAM BRADFORD. 255 
 
 forefront of the contest for independence. The story of his 
 life during the days of the Revolutionary War, may be traced 
 on every page of the history of the State. When the strug- 
 gle began he was a member of the General Assembly ; from 
 1775 to 1778 he was the deputy-governor; in 1778, Avhen the 
 State released him for a time from its service, he was again 
 sent to share in the councils for its welfare, as a representa- 
 tive from Bristol ; year after yeai- he was continued as the 
 town's representative, until he was selected to represent Rhode 
 Island in the Senate of the United States. 
 
 When the Committee of Correspondence was created, in 
 May, 1773, " to obtain the most early and authentic intelli- 
 gence of all such acts and resolutions of the British Parlia- 
 ment, and measures of the ministry, as may relate to or af- 
 fect the British Colonies in America; and to maintain a cor- 
 respondence and communication with the other colonies con- 
 cerning these important considerations," he was chosen one 
 of its members. The important part he took in the Bristol 
 town-meetings when the arbitrary hand of British power was 
 laid so heavily upon helpless but defiant Boston, has already 
 been mentioned. When the news of the battle of Lexington 
 shattered the last hopes of the men who had until then dreamed 
 of a peaceable solution of the questions at issue between the 
 colonies and the mother country, Nathaniel Green and Wil- 
 liam Bradford were sent by the General Assembly to Con- 
 necticut, as a committee to consult with the Assembly of that 
 Colony upon measures relating to the common defence. In 
 May, 1775, the Committee of Safety was appointed, whose 
 duty it was " to furnish and pay the troops, and with the two 
 highest military officers, to direct the movements of the army 
 of observation, if required to march beyond the Colony." 
 This committee was composed of two members from Provi- 
 dence County, and one each from tlie other counties of the 
 State. Mr, Bradford was the member chosen to represent 
 the County of Bristol. 
 
 On the seventh day of November, 1775, the General Assem- 
 bly formally deposed Governor Wanton from his office, do- 
 
2r56 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 clared the office of governor vacant, and elected Nicholas 
 Cooke, the deputy-governor, to fill the vacancy. To the posi- 
 tion made vacant by the promotion of Governor Cooke, Wil- 
 liam Bradford was chosen. Thus it happened that he was the 
 last deputy-governor of the Colony of Rhode Island, and the 
 first to hold the office in the independent state which suc- 
 ceeded it; for, when the Assembly again met. May 4, 1776, 
 the act abjuring allegiance to the British Crown, was passed. 
 
 In October, 1776, Mr. Bradford was appointed a delegate to 
 the Continental Congress, but from the record of the pro- 
 ceedings of Congress it appears that he never took his scat 
 in that body. The fleet of the enemy was then lying at the 
 mouth of Narragansett Bay, and his presence in Bristol was 
 probably more necessary at that critical time than his attend- 
 ance at the sessions of Congress. The company cf militia 
 ordered to the defence of Bristol in January, 1776, had been 
 placed under his orders, and for some time the defences of the 
 town were his special charge. His appointment in that year 
 as chairman of the Committee to examine Surgeons and Sur- 
 geons' Mates for the army and navy, sliows that he must still 
 have retained his interest in the healing art ; the fact tliat 
 he assisted in dressing the wound of Colonel Barton (which 
 the latter had received when he hastened to the relief of burn- 
 ing Bristol in 1778), also testifies to his interest in his old 
 profession. 
 
 The coming of the fleet of Sir Peter Parker, in December, 
 1776, and the occupation of Newport by the 6,000 men that 
 came with him, has already been mentioned. It was reported, 
 soon after their arrival, that the enemy intended to march upon 
 Boston, by way of Providence. A convention was thereupon 
 held to devise some means for raising an army to oppose their 
 progress. It met at Providence, Dec. 25, 1776, and was made 
 up of three delegates from each of the New England States. 
 Stephen Hopkins, William Bradford, and Henry Ward, were 
 the Rhode Island members. July 7, 1777, the Assembly ap- 
 pointed three delegates to attend a convention at Springfield, 
 " to consider the subject of the currency, and the defence of 
 
WILLIAM BRADFORD. 257 
 
 Rhode Island ; " tliey wore Steplicn Hopkins, William Brad- 
 ford^ and Paul Mnniford. 
 
 In 1777 Mr. Bradford was appointed to lease the estates of 
 the Tories that had been confiscated by the rotate. October, 
 1779, he was one of the Council of War. July, 1780, he was 
 chosen to attend a convention of the New England States, 
 held in the city of Boston. The convention was called that 
 some method might be devised by which the Americans could 
 furnish supplies to their French allies. Four months later a 
 convention, called for a similar purpose, met at Hartford. It 
 sat for two weeks, and the result of its deliberations was 
 most important. It advised that recruits should be enlisted 
 for the tvar, instead of for a limited time, and embodied its 
 views on the general condition of the country in a series of 
 resolutions, ten in number, which were sent to the several 
 States. Of this convention Mr. Bradford was Pi'csident. 
 
 So, through the wliole of the long struggle we see his name 
 appearing. For more than twenty years in succession, either as 
 deputy-governor or one of the representatives from Bristol, he 
 was a member of the Rhode Island General Assembly. In Octo- 
 ber, 1792, he was chosen a member of the United States Sen- 
 ate, and so for a time the town was forced to relinquish her 
 claim upon him; but in 1797, having resigned his senatorial 
 office, he again appeared as its representative, and was regu- 
 larly returned as such until 1 801. For eighteen years — longer 
 than any other ever held the office — he was the Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives of the Colony and State of Rhode 
 Island. Thirty-five years he represented the town of Bristol 
 in that body. He entered the Colonial Assembly when his 
 frame was young and strong, and his pulses were leaping with 
 the superabundant vigor of early manhood. Not until his 
 eye had grown dim, until his hair Avas silvered with the frosts 
 of age and his shoulders were bent with the weight of almost 
 fourscore years, did he withdraw from the pul)lic service. He 
 died at Bristol on the sixth day of July, 1808. 
 
Chapter xxxil 
 
 BENJAMIN BOURNE. 
 
 The following sketch of the life and character of a man 
 who was one of the most prominent lawyers of Rhode Island 
 at the beginning of the present century, was prepared many 
 years ago for a book that was never published, — the second 
 volume of Wilkins Updike's Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar. 
 Its author settled in Bristol shortly after Judge Bourne's 
 death, succeeded to a large share of his practice, and was re- 
 peatedly elected to offices of honor and responsibility by the 
 people of the town and State. It is here inserted in full, not 
 only because it was written by one who had been a student in 
 the office of Judge Bourne, and had therefore enjoyed excep- 
 tional facilities for forming a just estimate of his powers, 
 but also because it seems eminently fitting to preserve in- 
 more enduring form, for tiie benefit of posterity, an article 
 from the facile pen of Nathaniel Bullock : — 
 
 " The late Judge Bourne was the sou of Shearjashub Bourne, who came 
 from Sandwich, Massachusetts, about the middle of the last century, 
 and married and settled in Bristol. He had received a liberal education 
 at Cambridge, and his first employment here was that of a school-mas- 
 ter. He was, however, probably at the same time engaged dui;ing his- 
 leisure hours in reading law, for he soon commenced the practice, became 
 i-espectable in the profession, and presided several years as Chief Justice 
 of the Supreme Court, and, it is thought, held the office at his death, in 
 1781. 
 
 " Benjamin Bourne, the subject of this sketch, was born in Bristol, 
 September 9th, 175.5, was placed early under the instruction of Rev. S. 
 Townsend, the then Congregational minister of Barrington, by whom 
 he was prepared for Cambridge University, at which he graduated with 
 distinguished honors, in a class many of which became eminent in their 
 day, in the pulpit, or at the forum, and in our national or State councils. 
 After a short interval at school keeping, in which it is understood that 
 
BENJAMIN BOURNE, 259 
 
 lie did not succeed to his mind, lie resorted to the study of the law in the 
 office of General Varnum, the most able advocate of his time. But the 
 Revolution having already come on, diverted him from his studies. He 
 thought with the Roman orator, ' silmt enbn Icyes inter arma.' In 
 August, 1776, just after the disastrous battle on Long Island, the dark- 
 est period of the war, he was appointed ensign of a company in the 
 Rhode Island brigade of continental troops, and immediately entered on 
 the stirring and to him untried scenes of the camp. He was, however, 
 soon transferred to the quartermaster's department, and discharged the 
 duties of an assistant, with the utmost diligence and fidelity, till the 
 Northern army was disbanded. On leaving the army he resumed his 
 studies, and soon commenced his professional career at Providence, 
 where he rapidly established an enviable reputation for probity and 
 talents. He was not only patronized as a faithful, sound lawyer, but 
 became popular as a man and as a sagacious statesman, at a time, too, 
 when popularity was no deceptive indication of merit. 
 
 " At the age of thirty-four Judge Bourne was elected a member of Con- 
 gress by an overwhelming majority, in opposition to the whole force of 
 a party that had recently controlled the State, and continued to be re- 
 turned a member of that body till he received the appointment of Dis- 
 trict Judge, on the death of Judge Marchant, in 1796. While serving in 
 Congress he displayed the rare combination of talents for business and 
 talents for debate. He spoke but seldom, and never without marked 
 effect. On the new organization of the United States Courts, just before 
 the close of the elder Adams' administration, he was appointed one of 
 the Judges of the Eastern circuit, composed of Massachusetts, Maine, 
 New Hampshire and Rhode Island ; but on the repeal of the act creating 
 this intermediate court, he, with his associates, was ousted from the 
 bench, and compelled to assume his profession for the suj^port of his 
 family. 
 
 "In his politics Judge Bourne was a decided Federalist, stood high 
 among the illustrious men of that party, and maintained an intimate 
 correspondence with Hamilton, Pickering, Sedgwick, Ames and others. 
 Some of the remains of this correspondence are still preserved in the 
 family archives, and, though mutilated for the sake of autographs, show 
 a familiar interchange of sentiment on the policy and movements of the 
 functionaries of the General Governments, and the cordial feelings of 
 personal confidence and friendship mutually cherished. 
 
 " On taking his seat upon the Bench Judge Bourne removed to Bristol, 
 and fixed himself and family upon his patrimonial estate, a small but 
 beautiful farm at the northern entrance of the village, now belonging to 
 Mrs. James D. W. Perry, his only grandchild. Here he took up his abode 
 for the residue of his days, devoting his leisure to the improvement of his 
 lands, in the enjoyment of a'free social intercourse with his many friends, 
 and in the exercise of a generous but unostentatious hospitality. On 
 his return to the bar business followed him here, so that he immediately 
 found himself in full practice. His former clients, who were among 
 the principal merchants and business men of the State, had not forgot- 
 ten his talents or fidelity. He went the circuit of the courts, and was 
 
260 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 eiiga<;ed in all the most important trials. He had a mind naturally strong, 
 and so disciplined by education and habit, that its powers were ever at 
 his command. His conceptions were remarkably quick, clear and com- 
 prehensive, his language at the bar chaste and appropriate, his utterance 
 full and rapid, and yet perfectly distinct. In common conversation, as 
 well as in argument, when there was nothing unusual to excite, words 
 flowed from his lips without the least apparent effort, lie was, never- 
 theless, far from phlegmatic in his temperament. There was quite enough 
 of excitability to be aroused on proper occasions. A severe conflict on 
 an important question would never fail to kindle up his mind with burn- 
 ing ardour, flash across his animated countenance, making every feature 
 eloquent. It was an occasion of this sort upon which he made his last 
 display in Court. lie appeared there as the advocate of an only brother 
 whose maritime disasters had reduced him from wealth to insolvency, 
 in a cause deeply implicating the integrity and character of that brother. 
 It was a cause of the first importance, involving points of law which had 
 never before been mooted in the State. The result depended on the 
 construction of a statute which had never before elicited discussion. 
 The contest was waged, too, against opposing counsel of no ordinary 
 forensic powers, one whose brilliant mind shed lustre on the bar, and 
 whose displays of eloquence in our national Legislature have been sel- 
 dom if ever surpassed. Both parties were men of high standing and of 
 great influence. The trial occupied several days and was attended with 
 no little excitement. The utmost efforts of the advocates were put in 
 requisition on both sides, and exerted with a zeal rarely witnessed. The 
 case finally resulted in the triumph of Mr. Bourne ; but it was a dear 
 bought victory to his advocate, who retired from the cause physically 
 exhausted by the conflict. The exertion fixed a wasting disease upon his 
 lungs, under which he lingered a few short mouths and expired Septem- 
 ber 17, 180S. 
 
 " In his person he was rather above the common height, well propor- 
 tioned, athletic and corpulent. The whole contour and outline of his 
 noble visage gave assurance of no ordinary man. In his high forehead, 
 broad Ciceronian face and dark bushy brow, .shading an eye vivid with 
 expression, phrenologists would have discovered strong moral and intel- 
 lectual capacities. There was a certain dignity in his countenance 
 which at first glance gave it a cast of sternness, but the repulsive aspect 
 vanished the moment he sjioke. Of dress he was negligent almost to a 
 fault, yet his manners were always such as bespoke the gentleman. 
 His conversational tact, facetiousness and other companionable qualities 
 made him the favorite guest wherever lie went, the nucleus, delight and 
 life of every social circle. Though at the head of the Bar while in prac- 
 tice, he was remarkable for his courteous deportment towards the Court 
 and his professional brethren, and often fostered the younger members 
 with his aid and encouragement. To his pupils he was familiar and 
 communicative, and few ever had such ready facilities for imparting in- 
 struction. He finished his cour.se before age had made much inroad 
 upon his constitution or at all impaired his mental faculties, and left the 
 world, as is believed, without a personal enemy." 
 
Chapter xxxiii. 
 
 THE METHODIST CHURCH. 
 
 179C-18S0. 
 
 "Ixtlie center of Boston Common still stands a gigantic elm — the 
 crowning ornament of its beautiful scenery. On a fine summer after- 
 noon in July, 1790, a man of middle age, of a serene but shrewd coun- 
 tenance, and dressed in a style of simplicity which might have been 
 taken for the guise of a Quaker, took his stand upon a table beneath the 
 branches of that venerable tree. Four persons approached and gazed 
 upon him with surprise, wliile he sang a hymn. It was sung by his soli- 
 tai'y voice; at its conclusion he knelt down upon the table, and, stretch- 
 ing forth his hands, prayed with a fervor and unction so unwonted in 
 the cool and minute petitions of the Puritan i^ulpits, that it attracted 
 the groups of promenaders wlio had come to spend an evening Iiour in 
 the shady walks, and by the time he rose from his knees, they were 
 streaming in processions from the different points of the Common, 
 towards him. While he opened his small Bible and preached to them 
 without notes, but with the 'demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' 
 the multitude grew into a dense mass, three thousand strong, eagerly 
 catching every utterance of the singular stranger. One who heard him 
 at this time says: 'He presented us with such a variety of beautiful 
 •images, that I thought he must have been at infinite pains to crowd so 
 many beautiful things into his memory. But when he entered upon 
 the subject matter of his text, it was witli such an easy, natural flow 
 of expression, and in such a tone of voice, that I could not refrain from 
 weeping; and many others were affected in the same way. When he 
 was done, and we had an opportunity of expressing our views to each 
 other, it was agreed that such a man had not visited Xew England since 
 the days of Whitefield. I heard him again, and thought I could follow 
 him to the ends of the earth.' " 
 
 Such is the account the ^letliodist historian, Stevens, gives 
 of the first appearance in Boston, of Jesse Lee ; the man to 
 wlio.se self-denvinq; zeal the Methodist Churcli in Bristol owes 
 
262 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 its existence. It is a most admirable description, not only 
 of the way in which Lee raised himself to prominence and 
 influence in New England, but also of the course the Metho- 
 dist preachers of the last century everywhere adopted. 
 
 To the remotest parts of the country, these bold itinerants 
 penetrated ; shrinking from no hardships, enduring, oftentimes 
 indeed appearing to court persecutions from the rude and ig- 
 norant pioneers to whom especially their efforts were directed. 
 Everywhere upon the frontiers crowds flocked to hear them, 
 and everywhere the most extraordinary scenes attended their 
 preaching. In the cities and the older towns of the east, 
 their success, though great, was not so marked, but among the 
 mountains of the south and the dense forests of the north and 
 west, the spirits of the adventurous settlers were mightily in- 
 flamed by their impassioned harangues, and the multitudes 
 which formed their audiences were swayed by their burning 
 words, as grain-fields are moved by the breath of the onrush- 
 ing winds. The wonderful growth of the Methodist Church in 
 America is one of the most remarkable things in the history 
 of this country, and well merits the attention so many writers 
 have devoted to it. 
 
 The story of the founding of the church in Bristol presents 
 features similar to those which can be observed in tracing the 
 history of the denomination in the other important towns of 
 New England, According to Mr. Stevens, Jesse Lee was the 
 first Methodist preacher to address an audience in this place. 
 In this point the historian is mistaken ; to a much more dis- 
 tinguished man belongs this honor. Wednesday, Sept. 17, 
 1740, fifty years before the coming of Lee, George Wliitefiehl 
 preached at Bristol. In a letter dated Boston, Sept. 26,1740, 
 he mentions the fact.* He had landed at Newport a few days 
 before, and was on his way to Boston. There, not long after, 
 an audience of twenty thousand people gathered beneath the 
 trees of the Common, to listen to his soul-stirring words. On 
 his arrival in Bristol, Mr. Wliitefield was refused permission 
 to preach in the meeting-house or the church, but through the 
 
 * Whitcfidir)< M'ink< (London, 1772), Vol. I., page 2i;i 
 
THE METHODIST CHURCH. 263 
 
 exertions of Lydia, the wife of Hopestill Potter, the use of 
 the Court House was allowed him.* 
 
 The Rev. Jesse Lee delivered his first sermon at Bristol, 
 July 2, 1790. On the 30th of June he had preached at New- 
 port. Capt. Daniel Gladding (the grandfather of Peter Glad- 
 ding, the present town clerk), learned this fact, and also 
 ascertained that on the next day Mr. Lee was to pass through 
 the town. 
 
 " Having a curiosity to know wliat kind of people tlie Methodists were, 
 he resolved to stop the preacher, and induce him, if possible, to address 
 the good people of Bristol. On July 1, he looked out sharply to hail the 
 stranger as he passed. At last he saw two men leisurely trotting their 
 liorses through the village. Being at a distance from them, he dropped 
 his work, and set off upon a run to overtake them. He reached them 
 upon the bridge, after they had passed the village. Inquiring, quite out 
 of breath, if they were Methodist preachers, he ascertained that one of 
 them was Lee himself. They were induced by his entreaties to return, 
 and were entertained at his house. The next day, their curious host 
 spread far and wide a notice of their arrival, and of Lee's intention to 
 address them. He preached to them accordingly, and passed on to War- 
 ren." — Letter of Rev. Asa Kent. 
 
 Two years after, in May, 1792,t the first class was formed 
 at the house of Captain Gladding. For its formation the 
 labors, in the preceding year, of the Rev. Lemuel Smith 
 and the Rev. Menzies Rainor, had prepared the way. It 
 numbered about sixteen persons, Daniel Gladding, William 
 Pearse, Allen Wardwell, Jonathan Peck, Nathaniel Munro. 
 George Sandford, John Gladding, Sylvester Munro, William 
 Throope Waldron, and Benjamin Doty, being among its 
 members. The first quarterly meeting of the society was 
 held in the fall of 1792, and the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper was the 
 first presiding elder to visit the church after its formation. 
 Services were at first held in the Court House ; " not," says 
 
 * From a descendant of Mrs. Potter, the author gained this infoniiation. and also 
 first learned that Mr. Whitefield had preached in Bristol. It would seem that the 
 great preacher was detained by the rain, and that on this account he desired thf 
 shelter of a roof. It is said that he possessed a voice of such wondrous power, that 
 when he was preaching in Market Street, Philadelphia, its tones could be hi-ard on 
 the opposite shore of New Jersey, and that the crews of the vessels upon the Dele- 
 ware Kiver could distinguish his words. 
 
 + This date is taken from the Annals of BrMcl. Captain Cladding's house is still 
 standing on Thames Street, next south of the Sugar Refinery. 
 
2G4 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Mr, Stevens, " without much annoyance from the rabble, wlio 
 concerted numerous plans to disturb and break up their 
 meetings." 
 
 Not very promising appeared the prospects of the society 
 in those early days, and the story of the persecutions showered 
 upon its members seems now almost incredible. " In the 
 spring of 1795, three of the most important families of the 
 church left the town, and the society became so discouraged 
 and reduced, botli in numbers and resources, that a house 
 could not be found to accommodate the preacher at his peri- 
 odical visits." * Thomas Coope was then upon the circuit. 
 He announced, one day, that he could visit the town no more^ 
 unless a lodging was provided for him. " About this time, 
 two young ladies joined the dwindling church, and entered with 
 the warmest sympathy into all its necessities and trials. Thev 
 immediately exerted themselves to procure a ' prophet's 
 chamber,' and the funds necessary to continue Methodist 
 preaching in the town. Their pious diligence was successful. 
 Means were provided, the lodging procured, and made all 
 right just before what would otherwise have been their last 
 meeting. Thus was the germ of Methodism in Bristol saved 
 from utter decay." f 
 
 In 1803 the first decided action was taken respecting the 
 erection of a house of worship. In that year permission was 
 granted by the town to William Lindsay and others to place 
 a church building on the southwest corner of the Common. 
 (The only public building standing upon the front of tlie 
 Common at that time was the Academy. This had been 
 erected in 1791 ; it stood where the Court House now stands.) 
 The funds for its erection were procured by subscription in 
 the succeeding year, the year of Bishop Coke's J visit to the 
 
 * Memorials of Methodism, page 264. + Ibid. 
 
 :t; Thomas Coke was an Eng-lishman, a graduate of Oxford, and a curate in the 
 Established Church. Having joined the Methodists, he became an assistant of 
 Wesley, and in 17H4 was ordained by him as Superintendent (not as Bishop,— Wesley 
 rejected that title,) of the Methodist Church in America. At Baltimore, Dec. 25» 
 1784, the church was organized under his direction. In this town he preached both 
 in the Court House and in St. Michael's Church, his ordination in the Church of 
 England securing hini the use of the latter. During his visit in Bristol he stayed 
 at the house of the late William Pearse, on Hope Street. 
 
THE METHODIST CHURCH. 265 
 
 town. In 1805 the outside of a plain, wooden building, two 
 stories high, forty feet wide, and fifty feet long, was com- 
 pleted ; rough benches for a time served for seats ; a year 
 afterward the inside was finished.* Galleries were built on 
 three sides — north, south, and west — and in the west gal- 
 lery the singers were placed. In this building services were 
 held until the present church was completed. It is now 
 standing upon Wood Street, and is used as an armory by 
 the Light Infantry Company. 
 
 The revivals of 1812 and 1820 seemed to assure for the 
 church a career of continued prosperity ; the first brought it 
 about a hundred members. More than twice that number 
 sought its communion as a result of the second. But dark 
 days were coming. In the year 1832 the trial of Ephraim K. 
 Avery, for a crime very similar in its nature to that for which 
 the Rev. Mr. Hayden was lately arraigned in Connecticut, 
 threw the community into a state of intense excitement. 
 Nor was the excitement confined to Bristol ; it passed beyond 
 the boundaries of Rhode Island. Very quickly the eyes of 
 Xew England, and indeed of the whole country, were turned 
 upon this town, with an interest far exceeding that mani- 
 fested in the late Hayden trial. Mr. Avery was acquitted by 
 the judges before Avhom his case was brought, but under 
 such circumstances that the verdict was hardly more favor- 
 able than a conviction would have been. The question of 
 his innocence was by no means decided, and for months the 
 action of the court was the subject of the most bitter discus- 
 sion throughout the country. Naturally, though of course 
 unjustly, the Methodist Church suffered from the obloquy 
 its minister had incurred. All through the land it reeled 
 under the stunning effects of the blow. To the society in 
 this place the wound was almost mortal. One of the ablest 
 ministers of the denomination, Charles K. True, a man who 
 afterwards earned for himself a highly honorable name, was 
 
 * The pews were made in the phiincst style possible, yet Bishop Asbuiy, when 
 he visited the town in 1809, protested earnestly tigainst their use. The>- apijeared 
 to him to savor rather of Presbyterianism than of Methodism. 
 
266 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 sent to succeed Mr. Avery, but his untiring efforts seemed to 
 have ahnost no reviving effect ; not for many years was the 
 lost vigor regained. 
 
 Sept. 17, 1856, the present cliurch was dedicated, the Rev. 
 Dr. Shepard, of the Congregational Church, and the Rev. Jo- 
 seph Trapnell, of St. MichaeFs Church, taking part in the 
 services. From the Phenix, of Sept. 27, the following ac- 
 count is taken : — 
 
 " The house is located on the north side of State Street, between Hope 
 and High streets, and is built of wood. It was designed by Perez Ma- 
 sou, Esq., of Providence, and built under the superintendence of Mr. 
 Philip B. Bourne, of this town. Its dimensions are (32x80 feet, with a 
 beautifully proportioned spire, 162 feet in height. On the first floor is a 
 large and airy vestry, a large room designed for the ladies' sewing-circle, 
 and another room for committees, etc. The upper part of the house 
 contains 120 pews, and side galleries with twelve pews in each. The pul- 
 pit is situated in a recess at the north end of the house. The orchestra 
 is at the south end, containing a fine-toned organ, manufactured by Sim- 
 mons & Co., of Boston, at an expense of $1,500. The pews, galleries, 
 and orchestra, are grained a rich oak color — the work was executed by 
 James Dawson, of New York. The pulpit is of polished black walnut, 
 designed and executed by Mr. J. S. Weeden, of this town, and is an ele- 
 gant specimen of workmanship. In the rear of the jDulpit is a splendid 
 sofa, also manufactured by Mr. Weeden. The walls are richly orna- 
 mented with waterproof fresco; the ceiling and perspective are perfectly 
 beautiful. The design and execution was by J. Stanley D'Orsay, artist, 
 of New York. The house is lighted with gas, which emits its bright 
 flame from five neat chandeliers, and gives a most pleasing effect to the 
 beauty of the house. In its appearance, the entire house is chaste and 
 beautiful. . . . An elegant communion service was presented to the 
 church by a highly respected member of tlie Episcopal Church.* The 
 whole cost of the structure, including the organ, the furnishing, the lot 
 of land on which it stands, and a neat iron fence which encloses the 
 premises, is $23,000. Up to the present writing, pews have been sold to 
 the amount of $15,000. Some fifty pews remain unsold, but will undoubt- 
 edly be disposed of in a few weeks." 
 
 To give even a slight account of the lives of the ministers 
 who have been placed in charge of the church, is of course 
 impossible. Such an account would be virtually a history of 
 the Methodist Church in New England, from its foundation 
 until the present time. Nearly all the men famous in the 
 
 *Mr. Leiiiiicl C. Kichniond. 
 
THE MRTHODIST CHURCH, 
 
 207 
 
 early days of Method- 
 ism served for a wliile 
 in this town ; and the 
 importance of the sta- 
 tion lias secured for it 
 tlie ministrations of 
 some of the ablest men 
 of the denomination in 
 tliese later years. 
 
 Of the earlier preach- 
 ers, Joseph Snelling 
 was more prominently 
 connected with this 
 town than any other. 
 No man, indeed, ever 
 served this church lon- 
 ger than he. In 1796 
 he was first placed 
 upon the circuit ; in 
 1800 the church was 
 again assigned him, and in 1805 he was working here for the 
 third time. To this post he was again sent for the succeeding 
 year. In that year a great revival attended his labors.* 
 When the Conference again met, in 1806, tlie church in 
 Bristol deemed his presence so necessary, that it sent an 
 agent to request liis reappointment, ^^ays Mr. Snelling, in 
 his Life : "As I had already been there two years in succes- 
 sion, I told our friends I had no idea their request would be 
 granted, as it was contrary to the rules of our discipline. When 
 the question was brought forward Bishop Asbury at first said 
 it could not be, and gave a peremptory refusal ; but liaving 
 considered the matter, and by the earnest solicitation of our 
 friends, he at last consented for me to go. My station was 
 now Warren and Bristol ; it before was called Bristol and 
 Somerset. I preached very little in AVarren, as tiiere was a 
 local preacher living there, but spent my time chietly at Bris- 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 
 * This revival does not appear to have extended beyond the Methodist Clmrch. 
 
208 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 tol." This was one of tlie earliest instances in whicli the 
 spirit of the rule of itinerancy was broken ; its letter was 
 observed by changing the designation of the station. Of Mr. 
 Snelling, Stevens says : " He has been characterized by mod- 
 erate, but good talents, hearty and successful zeal, a temper 
 full of sweetness, and manners of an endearing amiability. 
 All who have known him have loved him." 
 
 The great revival of 1812-13, during which " more than 
 four hundred converts joined the Methodist Church in this 
 State," permanently connects the name of Asa Kent with this 
 town. Mr. Kent was born in AVest Brookfield, Mass., May 9, 
 1780- He began preaching in 1802, and in 1812 was sta- 
 tioned in this town. His earnest and effective service in tliose 
 wonderful days made his reappointment a matter of course 
 in the succeeding year. From 1814 to 1817, he continued to 
 direct the affairs of this church, as the presiding elder of the 
 district. (The district then embraced Rliode Island and a 
 part of Massachusetts.) In 1822-23 he was " superannuated,"' 
 but for many years continued to preach. His last appoint- 
 ment ^vas Edgartown, Mass. He was a delegate from New 
 England to the General Conference at New York, 1812, and 
 to the Conference at Baltimore in 1816. He died on tlie 1st 
 of September, 1860. For almost sixty years his name had 
 been called at the commencement of each annual conference. 
 Of him, Bishop Haven says : " He attracted audiences by his 
 quaintness; he edified them by his soundness of doctrine and 
 simplicity of faith." In the " minute" of his death, entered 
 upon the records of the conference, he is described as a 
 " good preacher, rich in Christian experience and original 
 thought; Hi. good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." 
 
 The Rev. Thomas W. Tucker was the pastor in the still 
 more wonderful revival of 1820. The story of his life was 
 told by his wife in a book published eight years ago {Itiner- 
 ant Preaching-') . His experiences were the experiences of 
 all who took the " traveling connection " in that day ; for the 
 Methodist rule of itinerancy assigns the same fortunes to its 
 jireachers, and for the most part crushes out individualism. 
 Mr. Tucker found the cliurcli weak and languishing, — almost 
 
THE METHODIST CHURCH. 209 
 
 entirely destitute of s])iritual vigor. He left it strong and 
 triumphant, — a power in the community and the State. Before 
 he left Bristol, in the summer of 1820, he received 220 into 
 the society, and twenty more joined it after he left the town.* 
 But the health of the preacher suffered from the excessive 
 labor which the revival imposed upon him. Five years later, 
 having been forced for a time to relinquish his work, he 
 found among the people whose spiritual zeal he had done so 
 much to awaken, the rest that had become an imperative 
 necessity. Mr. Tucker possessed a very sweet and melodious 
 voice, one of the most necessary endowments in a success- 
 ful Methodist minister ; it was equally effective in prayer- 
 meetings and in sick-rooms, and aided greatly " his beautiful 
 gift in prayer." He died Aug. 6, 1871, in the eighty-first 
 year of his age. While Mr. Tucker was laboring as an ex- 
 horter in the city of Boston, he was instrumental in securing 
 to the service of the church, the unique talents of a rough 
 young sailor, who afterwards acquired a world-wide celebrity. 
 
 "The year was 1810, and the occasion an awakening-meeting in the 
 vestry of the Biomfield Street Church. A powerful discourse liad been 
 preached bv that gifted and stirring preacher, Elijah Hedding, and sev- 
 eral awakened individuals had, in response to the general invitation, 
 come forward to the altar, when Mr. Tucker, wdio was an active, zeal- 
 ous young member, noticed a roughly clad, and rough appearing indi- 
 vidual, api^arently a sailor, who seemed much distressed in mind. 
 Approaching him, Mr. Tucker kindly urged him to go forward with the 
 other inquirers and kneel at the altar. Though reluctant at first, ho 
 finally yielded, and, in the course of the evening, he came out of his trial 
 triumphantly. He never forgot the agency of Mr. Tucker in his conver- 
 sion, and always, after embracing and kissing him in his impulsive man- 
 ner, would address him as 'My dear Father,' 'My earthly Savior." 
 Mr. Tucker has often said that Edward T. Taylor, at the time of his con- 
 version, was, to all appearances, one of the roughest and most un- 
 promising specimens of a sailor that he had ever seen, and gave but faint 
 promise of a brilliant career. The rough diamond was then uncut." 
 
 Father Taylor himself used to say, in describing the events 
 of that night : " I was dragged through the lubber-hole (he 
 liad climbed through the window of the chapel instead of 
 
 *In the succeeding year (1821) the church building was enlarged to accommo- 
 date its increased congregation. It was sawed in two, and lengthened by tlic 
 addition of several feet. 
 
270 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 entering by the door), bronght down by a broadside from the 
 seventy-four (Mr. Hedding), and fell into the arms of Tliomas 
 W. Tncker." 
 
 The famous " Sailor Preacher " was stationed at Bristol in 
 1826, two years before he entered upon that wonderful career 
 in Boston. Many books might be written concerning liini. 
 In some respects he was one of the most remarkable men 
 that ever lived. Says Dr. Bartol : "No American citizen — 
 Webster, Clay, Everett, Lincoln, Clioate — has a reputation 
 more impressive. In the hall of memory his spiritual statue 
 will forever have its own niche. What is his peculiar place ? 
 He belonged to no class. In any dogma he was neither 
 leader nor led. He is the sailor's representative. Those 
 were landsmen. He stands for the sea, the greatest delegate 
 the ocean has sent upon the stage of any purely intellectual 
 calling, at least in this part of the world ; and his fame has 
 been borne into thousands of ships, by almost millions of 
 mariners, who have christened him Father, into every port 
 and commercial city of the globe. The sailor says he has 
 been in places where the United States had not been heard 
 of, but not where Father Taylor had not ; while the universal 
 eagerness of all other classes to hear him has been scarce 
 less than of the navigators, who make so great a division of 
 our fellow-men." 
 
 The name of Isaac Bonney is still well remembered by the 
 Methodist Church in Bristol. Mr, Bonney was born at Hard- 
 wick, Mass., Sept. 26, 1782. He became a member of the New 
 England Conference in 1808, and was live times stationed 
 in this town. His biographer says : " So generally accept- 
 able was Father Bonney that he was frequently returned 
 to the same appointment, at the earnest desire of the people. 
 . . As a man he was of noble bearing, of strong and 
 vigorous constitution. ... As a pastor, he was faith- 
 ful, especially in his attention to the sick. . . . His 
 influence in the Conference was great. ... He took an 
 active part in the reforms of the day; temperance, education, 
 and anti-slavery received his cordial support, and he was truly 
 a good minister of Jesus Christ." In 1850 Mr. Bonney came 
 
THE METHODIST CHURCH. 271 
 
 to Bristol to spend the remainder of his days. Many are the 
 recollections that have been called up Avhenever his name lias 
 been mentioned in preparing this sketch of the church. Ills 
 mind was always bright and active, and he was oftentimes 
 exceedingly happy in the use of language, and in repartee." 
 " Father Bonney " was very much interested in the erection 
 of the new church. He lived to see its corner-stone laid, but 
 not to witness its completion. While on a visit to some 
 friends in Marlboro', Mass., he died on the 16th of Septem- 
 ber, 1855. 
 
 The present pastor, William Yeach Morrison, d. d., was 
 born in West Middlesex, Penn., Jan. 23, 1830. He gradu- 
 ated at Alleghany College, Meadville, Penn., in 1854, and af- 
 terwards spent three years at Concord, N. H., in the theolog- 
 ical school that has since been merged in the Boston Univer- 
 sity. From this school he graduated in 1857, and in the same 
 year joined the Providence Conference at its session in this 
 town. His first charge was at Millville, Mass. In 1874 he 
 was made presiding elder of the Fall River District, retaining 
 the post for four years. But for a rule of the episcopacy 
 forbidding the appointment of a presiding elder for a second 
 consecutive term, this office would have been assigned to him 
 a second time, in accordance with a request of the churches 
 he had served. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
 from his Alma Mater in 1877. 
 
 The following list of the ministers who have been assigned 
 to duty in this town, is the only complete one yet made. It 
 is believed to be correct, having been verified, as far as possi- 
 ble, by reference to the "Minutes" of the annual confer- 
 ences, and to the biographical sketches of the old preachers, 
 that have been published from time to time. It is possible 
 that other liames should be added in the earlier years. The 
 fact that assignments were at one time made for a shorter 
 period than one year, that they were made to the circuit and 
 
 * To a member of the congri'egation, who had asked him one day if he had a good 
 jyarden, he replied : " No, sir, I have not a good garden, but I have a very good 
 liasket." Many such apt speeches might be recorded; this suffices to show his 
 character. 
 
272 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 not to tlie town, and that the year for which the assignments 
 arc still made is not tlie calendar year, makes the task of 
 tracing the appointments a difficult one. The town was for 
 the first time recognized as a separate station in 1804, but 
 several times after that date its minister was required to 
 include Warren, Somerset, and sometimes Rhode Island, in 
 his field of labor. 
 
 17'JO. 
 
 Jesse Lee. 
 
 1791. 
 
 Lemuel Smith. 
 
 
 Menzies Kaiiior. 
 
 1792. 
 
 Lemuel Smith. 
 
 1793. 
 
 Philip Wager. 
 
 
 Enoch Mutlge. 
 
 1794. 
 
 John Clialmers. 
 
 1795. 
 
 Zadoc Priest. 
 
 
 Cyrus Stebbins. 
 
 
 Thomas Coope. 
 
 1796. 
 
 Daniel Ostrander. 
 
 
 Joseph Snelling. 
 
 1797. 
 
 Nathaniel Chapin. 
 
 
 Wesley Budd. 
 
 1798. 
 
 Jordan Rexford. 
 
 
 Daniel Webb. 
 
 
 John Broadhead. 
 
 1799. 
 
 Ezekiel Canfield. 
 
 
 Joshua Hall. 
 
 
 Truman Bishop. 
 
 1800. 
 
 Joseph Snelling. 
 
 
 Solomon Laugdon. 
 
 1801. 
 
 John Finnegan. 
 
 
 Daniel Fidlei. 
 
 1802. 
 
 Eeuben Hubbard. 
 
 
 Caleb Morris. 
 
 
 Allen H. Cobb. 
 
 1803. 
 
 Alexander McLane. 
 
 
 Noble W. Thomas. 
 
 
 Thomas Lyell. 
 
 1804. 
 
 Alexander McLaue. 
 
 1805. 
 
 Joseph Snelling. 
 
 
 Nehemiah Coye. 
 
 
 Ebenezer Easty. 
 
 1808- 
 
 ". Joseph Snelling. 
 
 1808. 
 
 Jordan Rexford. 
 
 1809. 
 
 Samuel INIerwin. 
 
 1810. 
 
 Nehemiah Coye. 
 
 1811. 
 
 Thomas Asbury. 
 
 1812-13. Asa Kent. 
 
 1814. 
 
 Edward Hyde. 
 
 1815. 
 
 Benjamin R. Hoyt. 
 
 1816. John Lindsey. 
 
 1817. Benjamin Sabin. 
 1818-19. Thomas W. Tucker. 
 1820-21. Isaac Bonney. 
 1822. John W. Hardy. 
 182.3-24. Timothy Merritt. 
 
 1825. Phineas Peck. 
 
 1826. Edward T. Taylor. 
 Charles Virgin. 
 Leonard GrilHn. 
 Isaac Bonney. 
 Ira M. Bidwell. 
 Lewis Bates. 
 Ephraim K. Avery. 
 Charles K. True. 
 
 1834-35. Jefferson Haskell. 
 1836. John Lovejoy. 
 1837-38. James C. Bontecou. 
 
 Ephraim Scott. 
 
 Charles Noble. 
 
 Van Renssalaer Osborn. 
 
 Hebron Vincent. 
 1844-45-46. Isaac Bonney. 
 1846-47-48. Jonathan Cady. 
 1848-49-50. Richard Livesey. 
 1850-51. Frederick Upham. 
 1851-52-53. Elihu Grant. 
 1853-54. George W. Stearns. 
 1854-55-56. Henry H. Smith. 
 1856-.'>7-58. Andrew McKeown. 
 1858-59. William Livesey. 
 1859-60. Henry Baylies. 
 1860-61-62. David H. Ela. 
 1862-63-64. Samuel F. Uphani. 
 Micah J. Talbot. 
 T. Snowden Thomas. 
 Daniel A. Wliedon, d. d. 
 1870-71. George L. AVestgate. 
 1871-72. Edgar M. Smith. 
 1872-73-74. William T. Harlow. 
 1875-76-77. Edward Edson. 
 1878-79-80. AVm. V. Morrison, d. d. 
 
 1827. 
 1828. 
 1829. 
 18.30. 
 1831. 
 1832. 
 1833. 
 
 1839-40. 
 1841-42. 
 1842-43. 
 1843-44. 
 
 1864-65-66. 
 1866-67-68. 
 1868-69-70. 
 
THE METHODIST CHURCH. 273 
 
 The principal officers of the society are as follows : — 
 Trustees — Francis Bourn, President; George H. Burgess, 
 Secretary; John W. Pearse, Treasurer ; David Waldron, Pe- 
 ter Gladding, Walter B. Stanton, James T. Freeborn, Richard 
 B. Franklin, George W. Simmons. Stewards — Mason 
 Pearse, Ambrose Waldron, George J. Smith, Robert Gregg, 
 George H. Peck, Edward Talbee, John Lawrence, William 
 Smith, Ezra Dixon. Class Leaders — Richard B. Franklin, 
 A. F. Marchant, Edward Fish, William R. Peck. Superintend- 
 ent of Sunday School — George H. Peck. 
 Whole number of members of the church in full con- 
 nection, 327 
 
 Whole number of probationers, ... 81 
 
 Total, 408 
 
 Number in Sunday School, .... 310 
 
 Note. Since the foregoing- pages were printed, the author has learned that 
 the date of the formation of the first class, given on page 263, is not the correct 
 one. The church was founded in the summer of 1791, and is therefore the oldest, 
 but one, of the Methodist Churches in New England. The church in Lynn, Mass., 
 only is older. In the year 1791 Jesse Lee made a second \isit to the town. It was 
 during this visit, and through his personal efforts, that the church sprang into ex- 
 istence. The Rev. Dr. Samuel F. Upham is the authority for this statement. 
 While Dr. Upham was the pastor of the church, he prepared a very full and 
 complete sketch of its early history, some of its first members being then alive and 
 able to supply the needed information. This sketch, unfortunately, was never 
 published. Some time ago it passed out of its author's hands, and cannot now be 
 found. Its loss is very greatly to be deplored. 
 
Chapter xxxiv. 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF " NORWEST JOHN. 
 
 On the thirteenth day of August, 1804, the ship "Juno" 
 sailed out from the harbor of Bristol. Three months before, 
 the vessel had brought into the town the first cargo it had 
 ever received from a Chinese port. Now, as it passed away 
 from sight, longing eyes watched its departure with an interest 
 far exceeding that which a short time before had greeted its 
 arrival. Another pioneer voyage was before it. Not until three 
 years had dragged away did the beholders hope again to gaze 
 upon it. It was bound for the northwest coast. Only a few 
 years had elapsed since the enterprise of Boston had opened 
 this new avenue to wealth, and the dangers, from hostile natives 
 and unknown reefs, that still attended the voyage, deterred 
 all but the most venturesome spirits from embarking their for- 
 tunes in such an enterprise. 
 
 The " Juno " was a full-rigged ship of two hundred and fifty 
 tons, and was considered in every respect a " crack " vessel. 
 She was filled with a cargo of goods, to be bartered for furs 
 with the natives, and was worth, with her cargo, 135,000. On 
 account of the dangerous business before her, a battery of 
 eight guns had been placed on her decks, and she had likewise 
 been provided with all the necessary implements of war. Her 
 principal owners were James, Charles, and George DeWolf,and 
 her captain was a relative of theirs, a young man only twenty- 
 four years of age, John DeWolf . Her crew numbered twenty- 
 six men, all told. They were Samuel G. Newell and John 
 A. Thomas, mates ; James Moorfield, clerk ; Richard Cam- 
 
THE VOYAGE OP " NORWEST JOHN." 275 
 
 mett and Joseph Hooper, armorers ; Thomas Hunt, boat- 
 swain ; John Jones, carpenter; D. Bucklin, E. Bucklin, W, 
 H. Tripp, D. Tatton, J. Stokes, J. Wheeler, W. Foy, J. 
 Marshall, J. D. Cook, W. Phipps, J. Wheesner, J. Powers, S. 
 Patterson, seamen; J.Hanson, cook ; E. D. Parker, musician ; 
 R. Hitchcock, tailor ; and T. Murphy and J. Mahoney, boys. 
 
 Captain DeWolf passed the Cape Yerde Islands, Sept. 24th. 
 He was fifty-six days in reaching "the Line," and crossed it 
 in 24° west longitude. He filled the water-casks from the 
 dense rains that came down while the vessel was lying be- 
 calmed upon the equatorial seas. Not long afterwards the 
 ship " Mary," bound from Boston on a similar voyage, was 
 spoken, and the two captains agreed to " double the Horn " to- 
 gether, — not an unusual arrangement in those days. Through 
 the carelessness of the " Mary " the ships collided (fortunately 
 without injury) not long after, and the agreement was conse- 
 quently broken. Having rounded " the Horn," the " Mary" 
 was again met on the 13th of December, and the ships sailed 
 in company until Dec. 29th. The " Juno " had then been 
 138 days out ; her copper was badly worn away in places, and 
 her stock of fuel was exhausted, so that only once each week 
 could any cooking be done ; her captain therefore deemed it 
 best to put into the nearest Chilian port to repair damages, 
 and to take on board a supply of wood. On the 8th of Jan- 
 uary the " Juno " reached Valparaiso, but was at once ordered 
 to leave the bay. The United States were then only a feeble 
 nation ; the English were all powerful upon the South Ameri- 
 can coast, and no favors were shown to American ships. 
 Captain DeWolf, nevertheless, remained at anchor long 
 enough to take on a supply of wood and water, and then sailed 
 for Coquimbo. At Coquimbo the necessary repairs were made. 
 Leaving that port, Jan. 28th, on the 7th of April Vancouver's 
 Island was sighted, and preparations for trading were at once 
 begun. 
 
 On the 10th of April the "Juno" dropped anchor at New- 
 ettee, and found there the ship " Pearl," of Boston. New- 
 ettee was only an inlet for trading, and the market had 
 
276 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 already been very thorouglily gleaned by the " Pearl." From 
 thence the vessel proceeded to Kygarney, picking up a few- 
 furs at various points on the way. At Kygarney were found 
 the ships " Vancouver " and " Caroline," of Boston. From 
 that port the " Juno " sailed to Magee's Harbor, on Norfolk 
 Sound, and anchored off the Russian fort. The governor of 
 the Russian post was an officer of sixty-five years, who had 
 spent eighteen years upon the coast. Captain DeWolf wisely 
 made his acquaintance, and found him very genial and enter- 
 taining. The lot of a Russian governor in that far-off region 
 was not an enviable one, and the advent of this bright Ameri- 
 can captain must have been to him very pleasant. At this 
 port the supply of furs was not large, so down the coast the 
 " Juno " sailed again to Newettee. Here were the " Lydia," 
 the "Vancouver," and the "Atawhalpa," as well as the 
 " Pearl " and the " Mary," all of Boston. The " Atawhalpa," 
 while lying at anchor near the shore, had been attacked by 
 the natives. Her captain and all the officers had been 
 killed, and many of her crew had been wounded. Not long 
 after this the " Juno " grounded while cruising too near the 
 shore, and was left high upon the rocks, so tiint a man could 
 walk under her, when the tide went down. With the fate of 
 the " Atawhalpa " before their eyes, not much rest came to 
 the crew until the returning tide floated them again into 
 safety. The contact with the rocks had greatly damaged the 
 copper upon the ship's bottom. Captain DeWolf therefore 
 determined to go to Norfolk Sound to make the necessary 
 repairs under the protection of the guns of the Russian fort. 
 On the 20th of August he sent one thousand sea-otter skins 
 home by the " Mary." 
 
 At Norfolk Sound the ship was beached, and found to be 
 very much injured. Her commander, notwithstanding this 
 fact, made preparations for a voyage to California. He pur- 
 posed taking with him fifty or sixty of the Kodiak Indians, to 
 catch the sea-otters, whose skins were so valuable. But while 
 waiting for these Indians a Russian brig arrived, whose com- 
 ing entirely changed his plans. On this brig was a noble- 
 
THE VOYAGE OF " NORWEST JOHN." 277 
 
 man, Nicholas Resanoff by name, one of the proprietors of 
 the Russian American Company. Resanoff had lately been 
 appointed an ambassador to Japan. He had come to the post 
 to build a vessel in which to visit that country and the coast 
 of California. Captain DeWolf jestingly offered to sell him 
 the " Juno," and to his surprise found the Russian very anx- 
 ious to conclude a bargain. The result of the jest was that 
 the " Juno " (and her remaining cargo) was sold tor 868,000. 
 Captain DeWolf received : — Bills of exchange on the Rus- 
 sian American Company's Directors at St. Petersburg, $54,- 
 638 ; 572 sea-otter skins, valued at 113,062 ; Cash, $300. 
 A difficulty had at first arisen respecting the disposition to 
 be made with the crew of the " Juno." To meet this diffi- 
 culty the Russian placed at the disposal of the Americans a 
 small craft of forty tons — completely rigged, with two suits 
 of sails, four guns, thirty muskets with necessary ammuni- 
 tion, and provisions for the crew for one hundred days. This 
 little vessel, the " Yermerk," was at once sent to Canton in 
 charge of the first mate and the clerk. Captain DeWolf 
 remained behind, with Parker as an attendant. Baron Res- 
 anoff had invited him to take an overland journey to St. 
 Petersburg, and the spirit of the young sailor leaped with 
 delight at such a rare opportunity of beholding the vast Rus- 
 sian Empire. 
 
 The " Juno " sailed away on her voyage, and the two 
 Americans were left at the post to await her return. The 
 Rhode Island captain was by no means idle. His room- 
 mate was a German naturalist and doctor, named Langsdorff, 
 and the two roamed at will through the surrounding country. 
 The food furnished to the lower classes was not remarkable 
 in quantity or quality. Dried fish, beans, and oil, were the 
 staple articles. The officers lived well, and danced much to 
 while away the time. The Sitka Indians regarded the strange 
 foreigner with a very favorable eye, and showed him many 
 kindnesses. The governor also took him at once to his 
 heart. Together, they made the first garden ever known at 
 New Archangel (and got quite " blue " afterward in celebrat- 
 
278 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 ing that noteworthy event, wrote the Captain, more than half 
 a century afterward, in describing it). 
 
 Captain DeWoif was disappointed in his plan for leaving 
 the place. A twenty-five ton vessel was at last given him by 
 the governor, and on the 30th of June, 1806, he sailed 
 proudly away from the sound as skipper of this remarkal)le 
 craft. His friend, Dr. Langsdorff, accompanied him. Parker, 
 of course, shared his fortunes. His crew numbered seven 
 men. But the vessel was a " tub " ; it never made more 
 than five knots an hour, under the most favorable circum- 
 stances. From port to port they went, and at one place took 
 on board two passengers, a widow and her eighteen-year-old 
 daughter. The widow brought with her a stock of provis- 
 ions, several barrels of eggs put up in oil, smoked geese, 
 dried and pickled fish, etc. The superintendent objected to 
 the departure of the widow, but it seemed a matter of human- 
 ity to take her home from that barren coast, and the officer's 
 objections vanished in the barrel of the " ardent" which was 
 placed at his disposal. 
 
 The dreary Arctic ice covered the waters in the early fall, 
 and on the 22d of September the " tub " was obliged to put 
 into Petropowlowsk for the winter. This afforded the Bristol 
 sailor an opportunity for mastering the art of sledging. He 
 also acted as godfather at a christening, making fifteen cir- 
 cuits round a tub with the other participants in the ceremony, 
 as a part of the exercises. On the 26th of May, with eighteen 
 persons, all told, on board, he left the winter harbor, and on 
 the 27th of June reached Ochotsk in safety. 
 
 Then the most novel part of the journey began. From 
 Ochotsk, the " Great American Captain " was sent on with 
 all haste to Yakutsk, on the Lena River, five hundred miles 
 away, special horses being furnished him from the post sta- 
 tions along the route. Thence, in a hired boat, he went up 
 the Lena River to L-kutsk, the capital of Siberia. Every time 
 he stopped, crowds flocked together to see the wonderful curi- 
 osity, '^ the Great American Captain on a boat, going on gov- 
 ernment business." To Tomsk, the journey was made h)' per- 
 
THE VOYAGE OF " NORWEST JOHN. 
 
 279 
 
 ^oska — a box rounded at the bottom and fastened to the axle- 
 tree. It had a covered half-top like a cradle ; the captain put in 
 a feather bed and pillows, thinking thus to " get along with- 
 out much chafing." Vain hope — he reached Tomsk "used 
 up." The patent pervoska in which he had taken so much 
 pride, was a delusion. He got one on springs instead, with 
 room for two, and took in a passenger, Dementy Simonitch. 
 With him he journeyed to Tobolsk, the ancient capital of 
 Siberia. There he noted the peculiarities of a Russian leave- 
 taking. The ladies and gentlemen took their places in a row. 
 The gentlemen laid their right hands on each others backs, and 
 kissed each other on the cheeks. The ladies kissed the gen- 
 tlemen upon the cheek, but gave in return only the back of their 
 right hands to be saluted ; a most aggravating proceeding it 
 was to the impulsive young sailor, who was sorely tempted to 
 violate etiquette in the case of one young lady of great 
 beauty. From Tobolsk, he passed to Ekatereinburg, to Mos- 
 cow, to SfPetevshurg, — the first American 2vho had made that 
 wonderful journey. His bills of exchange had been made for 
 Spanish dollars. They were at fifteen per cent, premium. On 
 the first day of April, 1808, after an absence of three years and 
 eight months, Captain DeWolf returned to his home in this 
 town. In two years and six months from the day when the 
 " Juno " sailed out of the port, her owners had received the 
 net proceeds of the voyage. It resulted in a clear profit of 
 one hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that the sobriquet of " Norwest 
 John " was for years one most familiar to Bristol lips, and 
 well might its owner be proud of the designation. It was 
 given him on his return, to distinguish him from others who 
 bore the name of John DeWolf. It clung to him until his 
 death. A rare old age was vouchsafed him. He retired 
 from the seas in 1828, and for some dozen years devoted him- 
 self to the cultivation of the farm near Mount Hope, on which 
 Bishop Howe now lives. About the year 1840, he removed 
 to Roxbury, Mass. Late in life he printed in book form the 
 account of his voyage, from which the foregoing abstract was 
 made. He died in Dorchester, Mass., March 8, 1872, aged 92. 
 
Chapter xxxv. 
 
 BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 
 
 Alexander Viets Griswold was born in Simsbury, Hart- 
 ford County, Conn., April 22, 1766. Elisha Griswold, his 
 father, was descended from Matthew Griswold, an English- 
 man, who came to America about the year 1630. His mother 
 was the grand-daughter of Alexander Viets, a German physi- 
 cian who settled in Connecticut during the first half of the 
 eighteenth century. His parents on both sides " were respect- 
 able, and considered wealthy in a town where few, if any, were 
 possessed of larger estates." In his early youth he displayed 
 the quick intelligence, the amiable disposition, and the love 
 of study, which marked his whole life. 
 
 The Rev. Roger Yiets, his maternal uncle, was a graduate 
 of Yale College, a fine scholar, and a man of very unusual abil- 
 ities ; he possessed the largest and best library of the region 
 in which he lived. At the age of ten young Griswold went 
 to live with this uncle. His days were spent in labor upon 
 a farm; the evenings were devoted to study. Mr. Yiets was 
 a most excellent teacher ; he saw the great capabilities of his 
 nephew, and did all that was in his power to develop his latent 
 talents. It was at first intended that the young man should be 
 educated at Yale College, but the means of his father were so 
 straightened during the troubled years of the Revolution, that 
 it was deemed best for him to be prepared for entrance to the 
 senior class. The close of the struggle for Independence pre- 
 vented this plan from being carried into effect. Mr. Yiets 
 
Rt. Rev. a. V. Griswold, D. D. 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 281 
 
 was one of the clergymen who remained loyal to the English 
 Crown. A living in Nova Scotia was offered him by tiie 
 " Propagation Society," and he accepted it. He urged his 
 nephew to accompany him to his new field of labor. The 
 young man determined to forego the honor of a college 
 diploma, and to accept the invitation. His uncle's careful 
 teaching and carefully selected library (every book of which 
 -young Griswold had read) had undoubtedly prepared him as 
 well for his life's work, as a college course of four years in 
 those unsettled times could have done. 
 
 For some time he had been tenderly attached to Elizabeth 
 Mitchelson, the daughter of a neighboring farmer. The jour- 
 ney to remote Nova Scotia was then one that could be ac- 
 complished only with great difficulty, and at very great cost. 
 Frequent communication with Connecticut was out of the 
 question. When Mr. Griswold might return to claim his 
 bride was uncertain. The pair were married, and together 
 prepared to set out for their new home. This step, taken to 
 facilitate the departure for Nova Scotia, was really the means 
 of preventing it altogether. The relatives of Mrs. Griswold 
 deemed the bleak northern climate too severe for her delicate 
 frame, and persuaded her husband to remain in Coniiecticut. 
 Thus, the future bishop was not allowed to bury himself in the 
 obscurity of a remote province, but was saved for the useful 
 and honorable career tnat awaited him in New England. 
 
 In 1794 he determined to become a clergyman of the Epis- 
 copal Church, and was that year admitted as a candidate for 
 orders. In the following June he was ordained as deacon, 
 and in October, 1795, was advanced to the priesthood by 
 Bishop Seabury. His first charge was in Litchfield County, 
 Conn. It comprised the parishes of Plymouth, Harwinton. 
 and Litchfield. Says Dr. Stone, in his Life of the Bishop : 
 " His ministry in Litchfield County was as humble as it was 
 laborious ; but it left behind a gracious, sweet savor, which is 
 tasted with satisfaction in the remembrances yet living among 
 the hills." Part of his support was earned by labor upon a 
 farm. In the harvest time he often worked as a day laborer 
 
282 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 for seventy-five cents per day. He was a man of mighty 
 frame, and herculean strength ; " one of his day's works was 
 worth as much as that of two common men." Many are the 
 incidents that have been transmitted concerning that Immble 
 life. 
 
 " On a general view of the first ten years of his ministry, 
 Mr. Griswold is found to have acted in various capacities : 
 as a teacher of the district school in the winter ; as a day 
 laborer among his parishioners in the summer ; and as a 
 sharer in all the lowly occupations and cares of a country 
 life among the retired hills of Connecticut ; as well as in the 
 proper duties of his office as a Christian teacher and spirit- 
 ual pastor to his flock. He shunned nothing in truth that 
 could bring him into most familiar and unguarded inter- 
 course with his people. . . . And yet, in all his famil- 
 iarity with them, in the harvest field, by the wayside, in] his 
 fishing excursions by night, in his school discipline of the 
 urchins committed to his care, in all his unbendings and 
 minglings with his people, he never forgot his character as a 
 minister of Christ ; was never off his guard; never said, or 
 did, on week days, what could mar his proper influence on 
 the Sabbath ; when he entered the house of God, and spoke 
 as an ambassador for Christ, there was nothing to detract 
 from the power of his speech, or to counteract the influence 
 of his wise instructions." * 
 
 In 1803 he visited Bristol, not with any idea of leaving his 
 post in Connecticut, but simply to see a country that was new 
 to him, and to obtain a little relaxation. The parish of St. 
 Michael was then without a rector, and he was invited to take 
 charge of it. He declined the invitation. The prospects of 
 increased usefulness, or of personal advantage, did not seem 
 
 * stone's Life of Bishop GrisivoU, 88-89. " Riding- along the road one day, he 
 passed the garden of one of his parisliioners, who was a justice of the peace. The 
 ' Squire ' was preparing- to remove a rock, or large stone, from his garden 
 g-round. The earth had been dug from around it ; and 'Squire W. and his men were 
 lifting hard, but in vain, to remove it. Seeing this, Mr. Griswold sprang from his 
 horse, leaped the garden fence, and, though in his best dress, seized the fresh 
 earthed stone, and, with an exertion of his almost herculean strength, helped them 
 heave it from its bed. Such were his habits of intercourse with his flock." 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 283 
 
 to him to warrant the change. The parish was offered to him 
 a second time, and he again refused it. In his autobiography- 
 he says : " 1 then supposed I should hear no more from Bris- 
 tol. But, about the middle of the following winter, to my sur- 
 prise, one of their most respectable parishioners, Mr. William 
 Pearse,a warden of the church, appeared at my house with 
 still more pressing solicitations that I should take the charge 
 of that destitute parish ; urging many reasons why it was 
 my duty to consent to the change. This affected me seriously, 
 and there seemed to be in it a call of Divine Providence. To 
 leave a people who had been so uniformly kind to me, and all 
 of whom, without exception, //mc/ reason to believe, would be 
 grieved at my leaving them, excited in my mind a painful 
 struggle, whicli they only who have been called to the like 
 trial, can realize. It is sufficient to say that with fear and 
 trembling I gave my consent, and in May, 1804, one year after 
 my first visit there, I was in Bristol with my family. Bishop 
 Jarvis had given his consent that I should spend a few years 
 there, though at the same time expressing a wish that I 
 should, after that, return to his diocese." 
 
 It was through the liberality of James DeWolf, that the 
 transfer was accomplished. A small vessel belonging to Mr. 
 DeWolf, was by him sent to Hartford, the port upon the Con- 
 necticut River nearest to Harwinton, to transport Mr. Griswold 
 and his household to Bristol. Harwinton was distant some 
 twenty miles from the river. Capt. John DeWolf, who bad 
 not yet earned his famous sobriquet, was sent in charge of 
 the vessel. 
 
 Mr. Griswold found about twenty-five families connected 
 with the church. There were not quite as many communi- 
 cants. The town numbered, perhaps, two thousand inhabit;) nts. 
 It was full of energy and physical vigor. Its wharves were 
 lined with vessels from the West Indian ports, and it was just 
 beginning to engage in the more extensive commerce with 
 Europe and the East, that afterward made it so famous. But 
 very little interest was felt in religious matters. In some re- 
 spects, therefore, the change was not a promotion for the new 
 
284 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 rector. He had left three large parishes, witli more than two 
 hundred communicants, to assume the spiritual direction of 
 one witli hardly one-tenth of that number. Yet tlie removal 
 seems to have been providentially brought about. Unseen 
 forces were at work in Bristol, and the presence of Mr. Gris- 
 wold was as potent as any other influence in producing the 
 change in the moral atmosphere of the town. The annual 
 income (mostly derived from the Kay bequest) of the rector 
 of the parish was at this time about six hundred dollars 
 per annum, — too small a sum to support the large family of 
 Mr. Griswold, in a place where the expenses of living were 
 lai'ger than in most towns in New England. He was therefore 
 obliged to eke out his income by teaching a select school. 
 The same life of self-denial and lowly toil seemed before him 
 that had been his lot in Connecticut. 
 
 The new rector found that in some respects his parish was 
 very different from his old field of labor. During the first 
 years of his ministry political excitement was unusually fierce 
 throughout the country, and from many of the "Orthodox " 
 puljjits, fiery sermons were delivered, that discussed in the 
 freest manner the party questions that were daily arising. 
 Into this discussion Mr. Griswold never entered. Even in 
 familiar conversation it was exceedingly difficult to ascertain 
 his political views. In his pulpit such themes were never al- 
 luded to. 
 
 " His early preaching, like that which generally prevailed 
 in our church at that time, was rather moral than evangeli- 
 cal ; that is, devoted more to the illustration and enforcement 
 of the moral precepts and virtues of Christianity, than to the 
 development and application of the spiritual trutlis and doc- 
 trines of the Gospel. ... In his moral preaching, how- 
 ever, there was a point, a plainness, and a sort of quickening 
 vitality." * In Connecticut more than in any otlier state was 
 there exceeding intolerance in the matter of religious belief. 
 The Calvinists of that State sneered at the Episcopalians as 
 formalists and bigots ; the Episcopalians looked upon the 
 
 * Dr. stone's Life. 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 285 
 
 Calvinists as fanatics. From the pulpits of both religious bod- 
 ies sermons were delivered that dwelt almost entirely upon 
 sectarian divisions, and matters of controversy. The follow- 
 ing extract from the bishop's autobiography, written when 
 he was seventy-four years of age, is therefore specially 
 interesting : — 
 
 "111 Rhode Island I found a materially different condition of thinfjs. 
 Those of my sermons, which, in Connecticut had appeared to be most- 
 acceptable, and were most applauded, gave offense in Bristol, Provi- 
 dence, and Newport; and I soon found that, by continuing the controver- 
 sial style of preaching, some of her most pious members would be driven 
 from the church. This was particularly true of those called Methodists. 
 They had recently formed a society in Bristol, consisting of a few re- 
 spectable people, who had been communicants in the Congregational 
 Church. On my arrival in Bristol, they had a minister who preaclied 
 for them one-half of the time; and as I was informed (too late, indeed), 
 they at once passed a resolution in their meeting, that they would for 
 the other half, attend my ministry. It has since been ray belief, that 
 had I, in my teaching at that time, followed the example of St. Paul, 
 (1 Cor. ii., 2; ix., 19-22) they would have united with the Episcopal 
 Church. But, the Lord reigns; and perhaps He ordered it for the best. 
 The Episcopal Church was soon filled ; and the Methodists soon had a large 
 society there, and have been instrumental of much good. So far as I 
 know, I was, of our clergy in New England, the first to hold evening lec- 
 tures. Though this is now a thing so common, yet it was then by many 
 of our good people exceedingly disliked. Our Bishop in Connecticut 
 once observed in my hearing, ' night preaching and pulpit praying are 
 two things which I abhor.' But other denominations practised both ; 
 and soon after my settlement in Bristol I found that many of my parish- 
 ioners attended these meetings ; and it was, at first, from fear of the re- 
 sult of their straying away among those who appeared to have more 
 zeal, that I proposed to our Vestry, and with difficulty obtained their 
 leave to open my church for a third service on Sunday evenings. I have 
 had reason to believe that this was the most fruitful part of my minis- 
 try, because more people attended at the third service than at the other 
 two, not a few of whom attended our service at no other time. I con- 
 tinued the practice of three services every Sunday for thirty years; 
 so long indeed as I had a parish particularly under my pastoral care." 
 
 In 1809 he was invited to the rectorship of St. Michael's 
 Church, Litchfield, Conn. Both the situation and the terms 
 upon which it was offered, were very favorable ; he deter- 
 mined to accept it. He was diverted from his purpose by an 
 occurrence, to him totally unexpected, and in his view exceed- 
 
286 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 ingly providential. On the twenty-ninth day of May, 1810, 
 the delegates from the churches in Massaclmsetts, Rhode Is- 
 land, New Hampshire, and Vermont, met together in the city 
 of Boston to elect a bishop for the eastern diocese. Their 
 choice fell upon Alexander Y. Griswold. Mr. Griswold was 
 one of the delegates from Rhode Island, but no thought of 
 his election to the office seems to have entered his mind. 
 When the idea was suggested to him that he was to be chosen, 
 he was thrown into the wildest agitation, and absolutely re- 
 fused to entertain it. When the vote of the Convention was 
 made known he was completely overpowered by his emotions, 
 and after a few moments' pause rose and refused to accept the 
 proffered honor. He appeared overwhelmed with a sense of 
 his own unfitness. Only after the earnest solicitation of the 
 clergy in the eastern diocese was he prevailed upon to assume 
 the responsibilities of the position. May 29, 1811, he was 
 consecrated bishop, in Trinity Church, New York City. 
 
 Concerning the effect which his elevation to the Episcopate 
 produced upon Mr. Griswold, the Rev. Dr. Crocker, of St. 
 John's Church, Providence, wrote as follows : "• To all who 
 knew him intimately, and observed him carefully, it was ob- 
 vious that his providential promotion was the means of bring- 
 ing home to his heart, with a power which he had never before 
 felt, the conviction that he was an appointed instrument in 
 the hands of God for tlie good of his people. His public dis- 
 courses assumed a warmth, an unction, an authority, an evan- 
 gelical character, that had not previously belonged to them. 
 And it should never be forgotten that the extraordinary revi- 
 val in the summer of 1812, one year after his consecration, 
 was the fruit of his growing faithfulness." 
 
 Concerning the revival of 1812, the bishop writes thus in 
 his autobiography : — 
 
 "In the year 1812, there was in Bristol an awakened attention to the 
 subject of religion, which was very wonderful, and the like of which I 
 had never before witnessed. It commenced among the members of my 
 parish, when no such thing was looked for, nor indeed thought of. No 
 unusual efforts had been made with any view to such an excitement. 
 My administering of confirmation in the parish a few months previously 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 287 
 
 had not improbably some effect. My recent ordination to the Episcopate 
 was the means of awakening my own mind to more serious thoughts of 
 duty as a minister of Christ; and in consequence I had, no doubt, 
 with more earnest zeal preached ' Jesus Christ and him crucified.' The 
 change which I first noticed was the appearance of increased seriousness 
 in the congregation; especially in leaving the church after service. 
 There was little or no laughing, or merry salutation among the people; 
 neither talking of worldly things. After the benediction, and a minute 
 of private prayer, they retired silent and thoughtful. Some soon began 
 to express a religious concern respecting their spiritual state, and were 
 anxious to know ' what they should do to be saved.' 
 
 " In consequence of this awakened and increasing inquiry, I began to 
 meet with them one or two evenings in the week, not only that we might 
 unite in praying that they might be led into the way of truth, and enjoy 
 the comforts of hope, and of peace in believing, but that I might save 
 time to myself and them, by conversing at the same time with a number 
 who were in the same state of mind. 1 soon found that the number of 
 such inquirers had increased to about thirty; and in a very short time 
 the awakening was general throughout the town and was very wonder- 
 ful. Very much to my regret, the number of communicants had hith- 
 erto been small, — but about forty; and yet, notwithstanding the very zeal- 
 ous efforts of those of other denominations to draw the converts to their 
 respective communions, a large number of adults (forty-four) were bap- 
 tized, and a hundred were added to my communion of whom more than 
 half had before been accustomed to attend worship in other places or in 
 no place. These converts were not encouraged in ranting, or in any en- 
 thusiastic raptures; nor did they incline to any extravagance; but gladly 
 hearkened to the words of truth and soberness; and very few of them 
 afterwards 'turned from the holy commandment delivered unto them.' " 
 
 More than half a centiuy has passed away since that great 
 religious wave swept through the town. But even now the 
 aged cheeks will glow, and the eyes that have been dimmed 
 by the passing years will sparkle again with the brightness 
 of youth as the memories of that wonderful time are called 
 up. The first among the laymen to take part in the move- 
 ment, was a sea-captain who had just returned from a voyage 
 to the Island of Trinidad. Before he left Bristol, the un- 
 wonted fervor of Bishop Griswold's sermons and discourses 
 had turned his thoughts toward the attainment of the holier 
 and higher life, whose glories the bishop was ever placing 
 before his people. The awful solemnity of the ocean bad 
 completed the lesson. On Saturday night he returned from 
 his voyage. The next day, when the bishop had finished his 
 
288 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 sermon, the emotions that stirred the soul of the sailor en- 
 tirely overcame the modesty that usually kept him back from 
 the public notice. Rising from his seat, he went forward to 
 the old wine-glass pulpit in wliich the preacher was yet stand- 
 ing, and conversed with him earnestly for a few moments, 
 while the congregation looked on with amazement at the un- 
 usual interruption. With that benignant smile which marked 
 his gentle nature. Bishop Griswold assented to the request 
 that was preferred ; and placing his hand upon the shoulder of 
 the eager enthusiast, he turned to the congregation and said : 
 
 " My friends, Captain wishes to tell you what the Lord 
 
 has done for his soul." Then the quiet sailor told to the 
 congregation the story of the change that had been wrought 
 in him ; told it without a thought of the unusual part lie was 
 assuming ; told it in the simplest words, with no attempt at 
 eloquence or effect, but with the wondrous power of God's 
 love so plainly before his eyes that the minds of all his hear- 
 ers went with him upon the sea, and felt the struggle which 
 had brought his soul out of darkness into light. Never, even, 
 had the inspired words of their pastor stirred the people of 
 St. Michael's Church more strongly. When he ceased there 
 was hardly a dry eye in the congregation. Only a few well- 
 chosen words did the bishop add to intensify the lesson, and 
 then dismissed his people with the usual benediction. From 
 that day the revival became general. Through the town it 
 spread, till the mind of every one was turned to thoughts of 
 the life that was to come. The sound of the workman's 
 hammer was unheard for a season, the horses stood idle in 
 their stalls, the noise of merry laughter ceased as the crowds 
 of serious worshipers poured onward to the churches. For 
 days these remarkable scenes could be witnessed ; their effect 
 could be observed for years, — can still be traced, in fact. 
 Such a revival now would be impossible ; the busy manufac- 
 turing town of to-day would turn carelessly away from words 
 to which the ears that were accustomed to tales of dreadful 
 disaster upon the ocean, lent a willing attention. 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 289 
 
 Tlie influence of tlic revival spread througliout the dioce?e. 
 In St. John's Church, Providence, the Rev. Dr. Crocker felt 
 its quickening effects and rejoiced in the more ready at- 
 tention that was given to his more earnest words. Rev. Dr. 
 Henshaw, the future bishop of Rhode Island, was an assistant 
 to Bishop Griswold at the time. He never forgot the lessons 
 then learned in Bristol. 
 
 Of the effects of this awakening upon the parish, Dr. Tvng, 
 who became a resident of Bristol seven years later, writes as 
 follows : " The revival of 1812 consofidated and established 
 the parish of Bristol as one of the most flourishing and truly 
 Christian churches in the diocese. It gave it a reputation and 
 an influence among the Episcopal churches of New England, 
 as distinct and marked as the Church of North Hampton, 
 under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards. But, unlike that 
 church, its conservative Episcopacy kept it from all disscn. 
 sions, and its inwrought submission to its venerated and faith- 
 ful pastor, established it in complete unity of faith and feeling 
 among the Christian people who constituted the Church of 
 God therein. Never, perhaps, was the conserving influence of 
 Episcopal principles, institutions and ordinances, more re- 
 markably and honorably displayed." 
 
 By some of his clergy, mainly those of Massachusetts, Bishop 
 Griswold's course i)i this revival was criticised as being en- 
 tirely at variance with the traditions and customs of the Epis- 
 copal Church. The bishop's own testimony shows the injustice 
 of the criticism. His ready mind divined at once the proper 
 course to pursue under the unusual circumstances, and his rare 
 executive ability enabled him to avoid the difficulties that 
 might have blocked the path of a less able man. In this con- 
 nection the testimony of Dr. Tyng is again of value. " Of all 
 the men in our church, Bishop Griswold was intensely an 
 Episcopalian, — an Episcopalian born and bred. All his 
 habits, tastes, and convictions, were on the side of his own 
 church, and in favor of its ministries and forms, its liturgies 
 and articles." 
 
 According to the almost invariable rule, this period of in- 
 
 19 
 
290 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 tense religious excitement was followed in a few years by one 
 of religious apathy. In tliis case, perhaps, the change which 
 the bishop laments as he makes his daily entry in his diary, 
 was more apparent to him than to those who were not famil- 
 iar with the church. When Dr. Tyng commenced his life in 
 Bristol, in 1819, he thought he had never before seen a more 
 flourishing church. Sixty years afterwards he writes, " a more 
 really flourishing Christian church I have never seen since." 
 But if the minds of his congregation were somewhat diverted 
 from religious tlioughts, not in the slightest degree was it due 
 to the remissness of their religious teacher. The cares of 
 his large diocese weighed heavily upon him, but not on this 
 account did he neglect the welfare of the parish to which he 
 had become so tenderly attached. His labors in its behalf 
 became more unremitting, and at last the change came. Dr. 
 Tyng thus describes it : — 
 
 " lu the opening of the year 1820 a new and very wonderful scene and 
 experience was presented to me in this work of my youthful ministry. 
 Bristol was visited with a very remarkahle revival of religion, the mani- 
 fest work of the spirit of God. At this time there had been but little in 
 the previous autumn to indicate it. Our weekly meetings had not been 
 largely attended in the immediately preceding months, partly perhaps 
 owing to the weather, but more to the spirit of worldliness which had 
 been spreading abroad. On the last precedent Friday evening, the reg- 
 ular week night, not twenty persons were present in the school-room in 
 which the meetings were held. The aspect was very discouraging. On 
 the succeeding Sunday evening, the Bishop, after preaching twice in the 
 day, was taken ill in the evening service, and was unable to complete his 
 sermon. The effect of this sudden interruption was very solemn and 
 impressive. He was assisted slowly to his house by some of his friends. 
 The residue of the congregation were gathered in small companies for 
 mutual expression around the church. As I came out of the church, I 
 stopped where one such company were assembled around a young 
 woman as if she were sick. On approaching the place, I was called to 
 her as one in deep spiritual distress. This proved to be the first drop 
 of a gracious shower. 
 
 "The next morning to this Sabbath was probably occupied in every 
 f ami ly with thought and conversation about the events which had occurred 
 on this evening. The day revealed an extensive, almost an universal in- 
 fluence and interest, awakened among the people. The general conversa- 
 tion became directed to the one subject of religious truth and teaching. 
 As we mingled in our common acquaintance, this change of general feel- 
 ing among the people was displayed in a very remarkable manner. Sue- 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 291 
 
 ceeding days indicated tlie same feelin<j: still increasing and extending. 
 This wide-spread earnestness among the church people demanded an as- 
 sembling for the special consideration of the subject, and made them 
 unwilling to wait until the regular weekly meeting on Friday evening. 
 We therefore appointed one for Thursday evening, in a private house* 
 opposite the church. 
 
 " It was with unbounded surprise that I went into the house at the hour 
 appointed. It was crowded in every room, stair-case and entry, as if 
 some unusually crowded funeral were there. But for ministering to this 
 people, hungry for the bread of life, I was there alone. They had placed 
 a Bible and Prayer-book on the first landing of the stairs. The people 
 were crowded above me and below me, as far as my eye could reach, 
 in the most eager attention to the Word. It was the most solemn assem- 
 bly I had ever seen, and its impression upon my mind and memory, was 
 overwhelming and abiding. But this was the commencement of months 
 of work of a similar description; and from this day we had a similar 
 meeting appointed for every evening. These were held in various rooms 
 and houses throughout the town. The evening meetings were usually 
 held in the Academy Hall. My whole time for about three months was 
 given up to this one work. Three times every day I was engaged in ad- 
 dressing different assemblies in different parts of the town and of the 
 surrounding country, and in conversing with awakened and auxious per- 
 sons connected with these meetings. 
 
 " Such a scene in human society as Bristol then displayed, I had never 
 imagined. The whole town was given up to this one work. The busi- 
 ness of the world was for a time suspended. The stores were in many 
 instances closed, as if the whole week were a Sabbath. The general 
 thought of the peojile seemed to be devoted to the one great purpose of 
 the soul's salvation. The reality and depth of the irai^ression were 
 proved by the large number of persons who became truly the fol- 
 lowers of the Lord Jesus. During the most of this period the Bishop 
 was confined to his house by sickness. As soon as he was able to be 
 abroad, a confirmation was appointed in the Church." 
 
 More than one hundred persons were confirmed as a result 
 of this revival. As in the former case in 1812, the work 
 which began in St. Michael's was quickly spread througliout 
 the town, and the other congregations received equally large 
 accessions. From other towns came crowds of people to 
 gaze upon the scenes that were daily presented. From Fall 
 River a packet brought a full load of sight-seers. The voy- 
 age was prompted only by curiosity, but when tiie hour came 
 for the return of the vessel the captain waited in vain for his 
 passengers. They, too, had yielded to the wonderful in- 
 
 * sir. William H. Bell now lives in the house. 
 
292 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 fluences of the hour, and had joined the throng of worshipers. 
 The next day the most of them went back, no longer scoffers 
 but penitents. 
 
 For nine years longer Bishop Griswold continued to reside 
 in Bristol. Almost as soon as he had been consecrated he 
 had been advised and besought to take up his abode in a 
 more central location, from whence he could more easily 
 reach all the parts of his large diocese. But tlie old town 
 ■was exceedingly dear to him. When lie removed from Har- 
 winton to Bristol he took with him a wife and eight beautiful 
 children. When he removed from Bristol to Salem all but 
 one of them were dead. In the churchyard, just behind the 
 chancel, were eight white marble tombstones. There lay the 
 wife of his youth,* and there were sleeping three of the chil- 
 dren who had been born to him in Bristol. It is not won- 
 derful that he clung to the place with all the strengtli of his 
 nature, and resisted for so long a time the temptations that 
 were offered to induce him to remove from it. 
 
 In 1830 he removed to Salem and assumed the rectorship 
 of St. Peter's Church. Five years later the pressure of cir- 
 cumstances forced him to resign this parish also, to devote 
 himself entirely to his Episcopal duties. He removed to Bos- 
 ton and there spent tlie remainder of his life. On the 15th 
 of February, 1813, the aged servant of God was called away 
 from his labors. For some years he had felt that deatli would 
 come to him suddenly, but the consciousness liad brought 
 with it no feeling of terror. When the sun was going down 
 his duty led him to the residence of the man who had lately 
 been chosen to assist him in the work of the diocese, Bishop 
 Eastburn. With his usual firm tread he mounted the steps; 
 but as he reached the top the message came. The eyes of 
 his successor rested upon his dead form wlien the door was 
 opened. No man was ever more sincerely mourned. 
 
 Tlie amount of literary work which Bisliop Griswold ac- 
 complislicd in addition to the labor a parish ordinarily im- 
 poses, was really marvelous. While in Bristol, as he writes 
 
 * Bishop Griswold was twice married. His second wife was Mrs. Amelia Smithy 
 the widow of a brother of Bishop Smith, of Kentucky. 
 
BISHOP GRISWOLD AND THE GREAT REVIVALS. 293 
 
 in liis autobiograpliy, lie delivered several courses of lectures, 
 one course of about eighty or ninety on the four Gospels in har- 
 mony. These lectures he was urged to publish, but declined 
 to do so. He afterwards destroyed them, with twelve or 
 fourteen hundred manuscript sermons besides. "I also de- 
 livered a series of discourses, thirty-three in number, on the 
 Acts of the Apostles ; about twelve on the Catholic Doctrine 
 of the Trinity ; one on each of the Ten Commandments, to 
 which I added five on our Lord's summary of the Decalogue, 
 several on the Catechism and the Apostles' Creed, and one on 
 each chapter of the Revelation of St. John. I also delivered 
 a course of seventy lectures on the five books of Moses." 
 These courses of lectures were all delivered Sunday evenings. 
 They show how careful was his style of work and how thorough 
 was his knowledge of the subjects concerning which he wrote. 
 " However little the world may have been aware of it, that 
 quiet, modest, humble bishop drew from his German ancestry 
 so large an inspiration of the German industry, aye, and of 
 German genius for scholarship, that, had he been even mod- 
 erately able to indulge his inclinations, free as he was by 
 Divine grace from German errors, he could not have failed 
 of leaving behind him, as the fruit of his long life of study, 
 some of the most precious as well as abundant contributions 
 to the theological learning of the Church." * 
 
 He also found time to superintend the studies and direct 
 the work of many students in what Dr. Stone calls " the best 
 theological seminary which the eastern diocese ever had, — 
 perhaps the best that any diocese will ever have." Alexander 
 Jones, S. Brenton Shaw, J*. H. Coit, Stephen H. Tyng, J. P. 
 K. Henshaw, Soutlierland Douglass, William Horton, Norris 
 M. Jones, James Tyng, George Griswold, Joseph Muenscher, 
 and James Wallis Eastburn, were among his ])upils. (Mr. 
 Eastburn was a brother of the late Bishop of ^Massachusetts. 
 He came to Bristol in 1816. In connection with Mr. Robert 
 C. Sands he wrote Yamoydeti; A Tale of the Wars of Kiiig 
 Philip, a poem in six cantos. This work was commenced in 
 
 * Dr. Stone's Life of Bishop Griswold, page 180. 
 
294 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 November, 1817, and finished during the succeeding year. A 
 copy may be found at the Rogers Free Library. Mr. Eastburn 
 was but twenty years of age, and Mr. Sands but eighteen, 
 when tlie poem was written.) 
 
 Yery soon after his coming to Bristol, Mr. Griswold entered 
 into the intimate relations with Brown University which he 
 maintained throughout most of his life. In 1810 he was made 
 a Master of Arts; and in 1811, very soon after his election to 
 the Episcopate, he received from the college the degree of 
 Doctor of Divinity (Princeton in 1811, and Harvard in 1812, 
 conferred tlie same degree upon him). Sept. 2,1812, he was 
 elected a member of the "Board of Fellows," and in 1815, 
 was made the " Chancellor of the University." This office he 
 held until his removal to Salem. In 1832 he was elected a 
 member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown. His inter- 
 est in the fortunes of the University never waned. 
 
 By a strange combination of circumstances, the remains of 
 the first and only bishop of the eastern diocese do not lie in 
 Bristol, among the people with whom his life was most closely 
 connected. At his death his body was placed beneath the 
 chancel of Trinity Church, Boston. Shortly before the fire 
 came which reduced the church and a great part of the city to 
 ashes, they were carried to Dedham, and there, in St. Paul's 
 Churchyard, under the shadow of a massive monument, they 
 now repose. In St. Michael's Church, Bristol, a mural tablet 
 bears this inscription to his memory : — 
 
 In memory of the 
 
 BT. REV. A. V. GRISWOLD, D. D., 
 
 Bishop of the Eastern Diocese, 
 
 and for many years Rector of this Church. 
 
 Born in Simsbury, Conn., April 22, 1766, 
 
 Died in Boston, Mass., Feb'y 15, 1843. 
 
 A noble man, a true Christian. 
 
 A faithful pastor, a Holy Bishop, 
 
 Combining- singular moderation with 
 
 immovable firmness. 
 
 Great ability with beautiful modesty. 
 
 Earnest piety 
 
 with the widest charity. 
 
 After a long- life of extended usefulness, 
 
 with no stain upon his memory, 
 
 he has entered into rest. 
 
 " The memory of the just is blessed." 
 
Chapter xxxvi. 
 
 THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
 1811-1880. 
 
 " The First Baptist Church in Bristol originated in the conscientious 
 convictions of a pious physician, Dr. Thomas Nelson. He came to 
 Bristol in the year 1801, and feeling the want of the church privileges 
 to which he had been accustomed, he determined to remove, and with 
 this end in view, sailed for New York. A terrific storm arose, the 
 packet was wrecked, and all on board were lost except two, one of 
 whom was Dr. Nelson. The impression made upon his mind was such 
 that he felt himself another Jonah, having attempted in vain to flee 
 from the presence of the Lord. This was at the close of 1807. He 
 returned to Bristol, and in a few years welcomed into the town a num- 
 ber of the same faith as himself. In 1811 there were enough, it was 
 thought, to constitute a church, which was accordingly formed August 
 22d of that year, with twenty-three members. By the close of the fol- 
 lowing year this number was more than doubled. Preaching was main- 
 tained at intervals by different ministers, then statedly by the Rev. 
 Simeon Coombs. Rev, James M. Winchell, the first Pastor, commenced 
 his labors in October, 1812. By an act of marked courtesy* on the part 
 of Bishop Griswold, then Rector of St. Michael's Church, the ordination 
 services took place in that church, the sermon being preached by Presi- 
 dent Messer, of Brown University. At this time the Baptist place of 
 worship was in the house of Dr. Nelson, on what is now State Street, 
 a large upper room having been finished by him for that purpose. 
 The house is still standing next east of the present Baptist parsonage. 
 Meanwhile arrangements were made to build the substantial stone 
 edifice still occupied by the church, which was dedicated in November, 
 1814. The building is 45x65 feet, with an audience-room accommodating 
 about five hundred; is tastefully frescoed, and furnished with a fine 
 organ. There is a lecture-room below, with a committee-room adjoin- 
 ing." — From an IIMorical Sketch by the Bev. HovHird M. Jones. 
 
 These are the names of tliose wlio were recognized as the 
 First Baptist Church in Bristol. "They are 23 in all, 7 
 
 * By a somewhat similar act of courtesy on the part of the bishop, the use of 
 the pulpit of St. Michael's Church was granted, five years later, to Bishop Chev- 
 erus, the lirst Roman Catholic IJishop of Hoston. 
 
296 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 males and 16 females. Males — Thomas Nelson, Lemuel W. 
 Briggs, Royal Thresher, Sylvanus Leonard, Daniel Ander- 
 son, Perry M. Peckham, John Briggs. Females — Eleanor 
 West, Hopcstill Munro, Hannali Martin, Elizabeth Thresher, 
 Lydia Clark, Mary Simmons, Mehitabel Clark, Priscilla 
 Shaw, Frances Batliburn,Phebe Lincoln, Lydia French, Sarah 
 Walker, Hannah Shroden, Deborah Luther, Laurana Brown, 
 Sybil Thomson," * The first minister to administer the com- 
 munion to tlie little flock was the Rev. Stephen S. Nelson, 
 a brother of Dr. Nelson. 
 
 James Manning Winchell, the first pastor, deserves more 
 than a passing notice. His stay in Bristol was short, but he 
 was a man of fine scholarship and unusual abilities as a 
 preacher, and the church prospered greatly under his minis- 
 trations. Mr. Winchell was a native of tlie town of North- 
 east, Duchess County, New York. He graduated at Brown 
 University in the class of 1812, and the Bristol church was 
 his first pastoral charge. He had been in Bristol a little 
 more than a year when he received an invitation to become 
 the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston. This in- 
 vitation he accepted, and removed to his new field of labor 
 very shortly after. His life was a short one ; he died in Bos- 
 ton, of consumption, Feb. 22, 1820. Before his death he had 
 become famous as the editor of the standard edition of Watts' 
 Hymns. He also published two discourses on the history of 
 the First Baptist Church in Boston. Of him Rev. Dr. Rufus 
 Babcock wrote as follows : " It seems to me that young Win- 
 chell's manner in the pulpit approached more nearly to that 
 of Summerfield — that prodigy of youthful loveliness — than 
 any other that I ever witnessed. There was the same winning 
 simplicity and naturalness in the one as in the other. Win- 
 chelTs thoughts were clear, but not profound ; his arrange- 
 ment was so natural and lucid that tlie attentive hearer could 
 hardly fail to treasure mucli of his discourse in his memory." 
 
 The " Stone Chapel " — so the church building was called 
 for many years — was finished at a cost of about $7,000. The 
 
 * Itov. Mr. Hubbard's Ilistoj-ical Discourse. 
 
THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
 297 
 
 Baptists of Bristol 
 were too poor to 
 bear all the ex- 
 pense of its erec- 
 tion, although the 
 town, following the 
 precedent it had 
 established several 
 years before in the 
 case of the Method- 
 ists, liad granted 
 them a portion of 
 the Common as a 
 site for the edifice. 
 The needed funds 
 were therefore pro- 
 cured by means of 
 a lottery, tlien the 
 most common ex- 
 pedient for raising money.* 
 
 Dr. Nelson did not live to witness the completion of the 
 " Stone Chapel." He died in 1814. a few weeks after the 
 departure of Mr. Winchell. Ilis loss was felt by his fellow- 
 Baptists to be almost irreparable. If he had been living five 
 years later the church might possibly have escaped the with- 
 ering blight which then fastened itself upon it. In the montli 
 of May, 1814, the Rev. Barnabas Bates was chosen to suc- 
 ceed Mr. Winchell. Mr. Bates was an Englishman (born 
 1785), a remarkably able man. For four years the church 
 prospered under his wise leadership. At his suggestion, the 
 
 The Baptist Church. 
 
 *The papers of that day are full of lottery advertisements, and every year 
 several charters for lotteries Avere granted by the Rhode Island General Assembly. 
 No one's moral sense was offended or shocked by them. The Congrej?ational 
 Church and St. Michael's Church had more than once replenished their exhausted 
 purses in this way. The Methodist Church alone is free from the reproach that 
 now is attached" to such a course. This, however, was not duo to any scruples 
 on the part of the members of that society, but simply because the cost of its 
 church building was small and the money was easily raised by subscription. Capt. 
 James DeWolf, a member of St. Michael's Church, contributed nearly one-fourth 
 of the money expended in its erection, and there were other large contributions 
 from pei-sons who were not Methodists. 
 
298 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 first Sunday School in tlie town was establislied, in the year 
 1816. "In this enterprise, this church and the Congrega- 
 tionalist Church in this town, appear to have been partially 
 united. They each established a school about the same time, 
 and once in so many weeks the two schools met together in 
 concert, when the teachers from each gave in their reports, 
 and the pastors of the two churches made such remarks and 
 suggestions as seemed to be called for. This was the same 
 year in which the first Sabbath School in this country was 
 opened in tlie city of New York." * 
 
 "But in the summer of 1818, Mr. Bates began to preacli different doc- 
 trines from those lield by tlie cliurch, and from those which he had 
 preached during the first four years of his ministry in Bristol. He began 
 to express strong Unitarian sentiments, and to deny flatly and openly the 
 divinity of Christ. He would not consent that the Article of Faith 
 adopted by the church at its organization should be read in Church 
 Meeting; nor that the Doxology should be sung at the close of worship. 
 The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, so dear and precious to the heart of 
 every Evangelical Christian, Avas by him sneered at and ridiculed in the 
 pulpit, and held up to view in the most odious light in which it could pos- 
 sibly be presented." t 
 
 The course of Mr. Bates at once divided the church into 
 two rival factions, and very bitter quarrels ensued. The Bates 
 party obtained possession of the church edifice, and continued 
 to hold it for seven years, although their leader was mean- 
 while deposed from the ministry. :|: Mr. Bates finally gave up 
 
 * Rev. Mr. Hubbard's Historical Discnurse. + Ibid. 
 
 I^The following vote, passed in Town Meeting, Aug. 31, 1824, is especially inter- 
 esting in this connection. It shows what wei-e the opinions of the great mass 
 of the citizens upon the subject ; and also defines the tenure by which the lands oc- 
 cupied by public and private buildings upon the Common are held : — 
 
 " Whereas, The Freemen of this Town in their corporate capacity, are and always 
 have been the agents and guardians of the Lands, etc., belonging to the Corpora- 
 tion ; and whereas they have permitted buildings to be erected on the public 
 square belonging to the Town, for the education of children, and for public 
 worship, 
 
 RcsolmU That we do, and always have considered, any transfer of the property 
 in said buildings or appurtenances, with intention to convert them to any other use 
 than that originally intended and understood by the parties, at the time permission 
 was given or granted for setting such building on said Town's Common land, a 
 Violation of the Agreement and Right granted, and such right forfeited and an- 
 nulled bj- the party owning, or pretending to own, such building or buildings. 
 
 Resulrcd, That we consider any individual pretending to purchase or to hold in 
 his own Right, or to have any conti-ol over any such building, as a violation of the 
 right or permission to set said building on the Town Land, and any attempt to pull 
 down or carry away said l)uiUling, or any part thereof, or anything to the same 
 
THE BAPTIST CHURCH. -»» 
 
 preaching entirely, and devoted himself to secular pursuits. 
 He was for a time the Collector of the Port of Bristol, but 
 having become very unpopular was removed from his office. 
 The fact that he was a zealous Free-Mason and that the Anti- 
 Masonic feeling was very strong in the town may have had 
 much to do with his unpopularity. He was afterwards con- 
 nected for some years with the New York Post Office, and dur- 
 ing that period devoted his fine abilities to bringing about a 
 reduction in the postal rates of the United States. He pub- 
 lished very many pamphlets concerning the matter of postal 
 reform, and went about the country delivering lectures upon 
 the subject. Through his efforts a very great reduction in 
 the rates of postage was made. By his admirers he was 
 styled " the Father of Cheap Postage in the United States." 
 He died at Boston in 1858. 
 
 During the years when the Bates party held possession of 
 the " Stone Chapel," the services of the church were held in 
 the morning in the " Brick School House" and the " Acad- 
 emy Hall ; " in the evening in private houses. All that time 
 it was without a pastor, and consequently had no share, as a 
 church, in the revival of 1820. When the chapel came again 
 into the possession of its rightful owners, in 1825, the Rev. 
 John Newton Brown, of Providence, became the pastor of 
 the church. Mr. Brown remained in Bristol about a year, 
 and removed hence to Maiden, Mass. He afterwards won 
 distinction as the editorial secretary of the Baptist Publica- 
 tion Society, the editor of the Ci/dopcEclia of ReJig-ious 
 Km IV I e doe, and of several denominational journals. 
 
 After Mr. Brown's departure the church had no settled 
 pastor for about four years. In 1829-30 the labors of Rev. 
 Arthur A.Ross brought about a "Revival" which added 
 twenty-two to its membership. In 1831-32 Enoch E. Chase 
 was the pastor. Fernando Bestor served for six months from 
 August, 1833. In 1835 several Baptist families settled in the 
 
 belonging, or to convert to private use, or to any other use than that originally 
 intended, of Teachina- in Religion, or Literature, will be by us considered a Trespass 
 and Violation of our Rights as a Town : all which Trespasses and Violations of our 
 Rightswearedeterminedtoprevent, if in our power. Voted and Resolved that 
 this order go into effect. Attest, Allen AVakdwell, Town Clerk." 
 
300 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 town, and in March, 1836, the church again felt itself aljle to 
 call a pastor. For three years from that time it enjoyed tlie 
 ministrations of the Rev. Zalmon Tobey, a graduate of Brown 
 University, in the class of 1817. Mr. Tobey's pastorate was 
 very successful. The Rev, William L. Brown succeeded him, 
 remaining from September, 1839, until June, 1842. Rev. 
 Edward Freeman served one year from August, 1842. "In 
 January, 1844, the pastoral office was committed to Rev. 
 James N. Sykes, * wlio filled it with ability and success until 
 near the close of 1847." During his residence in Bristol Mr. 
 Sykes distinguished himself by his efficient service upon the 
 School Committee. He was one of the men most influential 
 in the establishment of the High School. 
 
 John F. Bigelow succeeded Mr. Sykes, remaining until 
 1850. Joseph M. Graves (1850-2), J. N. Hobert (1852-5), 
 Benjamin Carto (1855-6), Nathan A. Reed (1856-8), and 
 Horace G. Hubbard (1859-63), followed. On the 22d of Au- 
 gust, 1861, Mr. Hubbard delivered the Fiftieth Anniversary 
 Historical Discourse, from whence very many quotations have 
 been made in this chapter. It was published at the request 
 of the church. Mr. Hubbard is a native of Ciiampion, Jef- 
 ferson County, N. Y. ; born August 17, 1829. His early life 
 was spent on a farm. He graduated from the Theological 
 Department of Madison University, New York, in 1858, and 
 in 1874 received from that university the honorary degree of 
 A. M. His first pastorate was Milford, Mass. From Milford 
 he was called to Bristol. Since his departure from Bristol he 
 has been settled at Chatham, Mass., Brentwood, East Wash- 
 
 * " This widely-known and esteemed Baptist clergyman died in his native place, 
 Agawam, West Spring-field, Mass., Sept. 27, 1880, aged 67 years. He graduated at 
 Brown University in 1841, with Hon. S. G. Arnold, Prof. H. S. Frieze, and Merrick 
 Lyon, LL. D., and Rev. Drs. Kendall Brooks and Franklin Wilson. His preaching, 
 while a student, at Fruit Hill, North Providence, is still fondly remembered. His 
 settlements in the ministry were at North Reading, Mass., Bristol, R. I., Chelsea, 
 East Boston, and Newburyport, Mass., Plainsville and Lima, Ohio, and Greenville, 
 Conn. Gifted with a clear, logical intellect, and moved by a warm Christian love, 
 he became distinguished as a strong doctrinal preacher. His classical and theolog- 
 ical culture stand revealed in the writings that he gave to the press- His virtues 
 and his labors will be recalled in all the communites he served. Doubtless from 
 overwork of mind he finally fell asleep from cerebral disease. His name is justly 
 held in honor. He married (1> Aug. 3, 1843, Caroline S. Anthony ; and (2) May 26, 
 1857, C.itharine P. Anthony, daughters of James Anthony, of Providence, R. I. He 
 leaves four children."— rroci<lcncc Juunuil of Sept. 38, 1880. 
 
THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 301 
 
 ington, Meriden, and South Lyiideboro', N. H. In the last 
 town he is now living. 
 
 Edward T. Hunt, John Blain, and Joseph J. Peck, followed 
 Mr. Hubbard, and in 1869 the Rev. Howard Malcom Jones 
 began the longest and most successful pastorate in the history 
 of the church. Mr. Jones was born in Burmah. His father, 
 Jolin Taylor Jones, D. D., was a graduate of Amherst College 
 (1825), and the first resident Protestant missionary in the 
 kingdom of Siam. From 1830 to 1833, Dr. Jones was sta- 
 tioned in Burmah. In 1833 he went to Siam. Mr. Jones 
 graduated from Brown University, in the class of 1853, and 
 from Newton Theological Seminary in 1857. His pastorates 
 have been as follows: Schoolcraft, Mich., 1858-59 ; Racine, 
 Wis., 1859-62 ; Fredonia, N. Y., 1863-69 ; Bristol, R. I., 
 1869-79. When he came to this town in September, 1869, 
 he found the church tower destroyed by the gale that had 
 lately swept over the town, and the members of the church 
 divided and disheartened. The house was soon put in repair, 
 and after a longer period, spiritual prosperity dawned. An 
 excellent parsonage was secured, chiefly through the energy 
 of the late Mrs. Harriet B. Norris, and Mr. Jones had the 
 happiness of leaving the church in every way stronger and 
 more united than it had ever been before. His present charge 
 is Shelburne Falls, Mass. 
 
 The Rev. Henry Crocker, the present pastor, is a native of 
 Brewster, Mass. He graduated from Brown University in 
 1867, and from the Newton Theological Seminary in 1870. 
 From October, 1870, to April, 1879, he was settled in Dam- 
 ariscotta, Me. In December, 1879, his pastorate in Bris- 
 tol began. The deacons are John Lake and George U. 
 Arnold. Charles H, Spooner is the treasurer, John Lake is 
 the superintendent of the Sunday School, and L. L. Anders- 
 trom, the clerk. It numbers about 130 members. The fact 
 that the church maintained its existence for so many years, in 
 the face of disasters that seemed irretrievable, shows how in- 
 tense was the zeal that animated the breasts of its members, and 
 how strong and unconquerable was their faith. After years of 
 trouble, a prosperous future seems now to be allotted to it. 
 
Chapter xxxvii. 
 
 When the act declaring war between the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, and the United States of 
 America, was passed, June 18, 1812, the port of Bristol was 
 at tlie zenith of its commercial prosperity. By tlie enter- 
 prising merchants who were then guiding the destiny of the 
 town, its commerce Iiad beeii extended to all parts of the 
 globe, and its vessels had been sent to plow the waters of 
 every sea. The declaration of war seemed to it the death- 
 knell of its commerce, and loud were its denunciations of the 
 course pursued by the majority in Congress. Before most 
 of the merchants of that day, only visions of disaster and 
 ruin arose, as they gloomily pondered over the future. Not 
 so with James DeWolf. Not one doubt concerning the final 
 success of the American cause seems to have entered into his 
 mind. While he read the proclamation of President Madi- 
 son, his heart was bounding with joy. From the hands of the 
 English war-vessels, whose delight it was for years to harass 
 the commerce of America, Mr. DeWolf had suffered heavy 
 losses. Of these losses he had kept a most accurate account, 
 and he had longed for the day of retaliation to come. The 
 successful cruise of his father upon the " Prince Charles of 
 Lorraine " was ever before his eyes, and the angry Potter 
 blood was boiling in his veins. By the act of Congress, the 
 President of the United States was authorized to issue com- 
 missions, or letters of marque and reprisal, to private armed 
 
THE '' YANKEK." 303 
 
 vessels. The friends of Mr. DeWolf saw, througli that 
 clause, a possible way opened for retrieving their losses. It 
 was the opportunity he had been eagerly anticipating, and he 
 was ready to embrace it when it came. Some months before, 
 he had found a vessel well adapted to his purposes, — a little 
 brigantine, built at Haddam, Conn., and on tlie thirtictli day 
 of June, 1812, only eleven days after the President had issued 
 his proclamation, he sent this letter to the Secretary of 
 War: — 
 
 "Bristol R I, 30tli June 1812 
 " The Honorable William Eustls, Secretary of War: — 
 
 " Sir: I have purchased and now ready for sea, an ai-med Brig, (one 
 of the most suitable in this country for a Privateer) of one hundred and 
 sixty tons burthen, mounting eighteen guns, and carries one hundred 
 and twenty men, called the Yankee, commanded by Oliver Wilson. 
 Being desirous that she should be on her cruise as soon as possible, I 
 beg you will cause a commission to be forwarded as soon as practicable 
 to the Collector of the District, that this vessel may not be detained. 
 " I am very respectfully, Sir, 
 
 " Tour obedient servant, 
 
 " James DeWolf." 
 
 On the thirteenth day of July the commission of the 
 " Yankee " was issued. The officers named therein were 
 Oliver Wilson, Captain ; Manly Sweet, James Usher, 2d, and 
 Thomas H. Russel, Lieutenants. Mr. DeWolf was the owner 
 of three-fourths of the vessel, John Smith was the owner of 
 one quarter part. These were the articles of agreement under 
 which the vessel sailed : — 
 
 "ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT 
 
 BETWEEN THE OWNERS, OFFICERS AND COMPANY OF THE PRIVATE 
 ARMED VESSEL, OF WAli, YANKEK. 
 
 " 1st. It is agreed by the parties that the Owners fit the Vessel for Sea 
 ^nd provide herwith Great Guns, small arms, powder, shot and all other 
 warlike stores, also with suitable medicines and every other thing neces- 
 sary for such a Vessel and her Cruise for all of which no deduction is to 
 be made from the shares, for which the Owners or their substitutes shall 
 receive or draw One Half the nett proceeds of all such Prizes or prize as 
 shall be taken, and the other half shall be the property of the Vessel's 
 Company to be divided in proportions as mentioned in the 15th article 
 except the Cabin-stores and furaiture which belong to the Captain. 
 
304 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 "2<i- That for preserving due decorum on board said Vessel, no man 
 is to quit or go out of her on board any other vessel, or on shore without 
 leave first obtained of the Commanding officer on board under the 
 penalty of such punishment or fine as shall be decreed by the Captain 
 and Officers. 
 
 " S*^- That the Cruise shall be where the Owners or major part of them 
 shall direct. 
 
 "4"'- If any person shall be found a ring-leader of any Mutiny or 
 causing disturbance, or refuse to obey the Captain, or any Officer behave 
 with Cowardice, or get drunk in time of action, he or they shall forfeit 
 his or their shares of any dividend or be otherwise punished at the dis- 
 cretion of the Captain and Officers. 
 
 " 5''^- If any person shall steal or convert to his own use any part of a 
 prize or prizes or be found pilfering any money or other things belong- 
 ing to this Vessel, her Officers or Company, and be thereof convicted by 
 the Officers, he shall be punished and forfeit as aforesaid. 
 
 nQth. That whoever first spies a Prize or sail, that proves worth 100 
 dollars per share, shall receive Fifty Dollars from the gross sum; and if 
 orders are given for boarding, the first man on the deck of th.e Enemy, 
 shall receive Half a share to be deducted from the gross sum of Prize 
 money. 
 
 " 1"i- That if any one of the said Company shall in time of action lose 
 an eye or a joint he shall receive Fifty Dollars, and if he lose a leg or an 
 arm, he shall receive Three hundred Dollars to be deducted out of the 
 gross sum of Prize money. 
 
 (<§th. That if any of the said Company shall strike or assault any 
 male prisoner or rudely treat any female prisoner he shall be punished 
 or fined as the Officers shall decree. 
 
 "gth. That if any of the said Company shall die or be killed in the 
 voyage, and any Prizes be taken before or during the action in which he 
 is so killed his share or shares shall be paid to his legal representatives. 
 
 " 10'i»- That whoever deserts the said Vessel, within the time herein- 
 after mentioned, shall forfeit his Prize money to the Owners and Com- 
 pany of the said Vessel, his debts to any person on board being first 
 paid out of it, provided it does not amount to more than one half the 
 same. 
 
 " ll"i- That on the death of the Captain, the command to devolve on 
 the next in command and so in rotation, 
 
 " 12th- That no one of said company shall sell any more than one half 
 of his share or riglit of claim thereto of any prize previous to her being 
 taken. 
 
 " i;-]th. That the Captain and Officers shall appoir-t an agent of said 
 Vessel's company for and during the term of said Cruise. 
 
 " 14"'- That all and every one of said Company do agree to serve on 
 board of the said Vessel conformable to the terms herein mentioned for 
 the term of Four Months beginning the said term at the time of her 
 departure from harbour of Bristol. 
 
 " 15'b- That the One Half of the nett proceeds of all Prizes taken by 
 
THE " YANKEE." 305 
 
 the said Vessel which is appropriated to the Vessel's company shall be 
 divided among them in the following manner (viz) To the Captain 
 sixteen Shares and all such privileges and freedoms as arc allowed to 
 the Captains of Private armed vessels of war from this Port. 
 
 '"To the first Lieutenant nine shares. To the 2"'! & 3i Lieutenants 
 and Surgeon, Eight Shares each. Prize masters and :Masters Mate and 
 Captain of Marines six shares each; Carpenter, Boatswain, and Gunner 
 four shares each. Boatswain's Mates two and one half shares each. 
 The residue to be divided among the Company in equal shares excepting 
 Landsmen or raw hands who draw one and one-half shares each, and 
 Boys who draw one share each. Ten shares to be reserved to the order 
 of the Captain to be distributed by him to such as he may deem de- 
 serving among the Vessels Company." 
 
 To give a detailed account of the wonderful career of the 
 " Yankee," and the daring exploits of her officers and crew, 
 would require many more chapters than the limit assigned to 
 the number of pages in this book will allow. Only a few of 
 the most prominent points in her history can be mentioned. 
 The author, however, deems the subject so important, that from 
 the abundant material now at his command he proposes some- 
 time to publish a full account of the career of the " Yankee," 
 and of the other privateers that sailed out from this port 
 during the last war with Great Britain, In that work will 
 be given an extended account of the events that can only be 
 touched upon here. 
 
 Before she had been a fortnight at sea the " Yankee " had 
 tapped the vein that was for three years to inundate Bristol 
 with its golden stream. In her first cruise of less than three 
 months she captured ten prizes, took or destroyed nearly half 
 a million dollars' worth of property, and paid for herself over 
 and over again. Not always without resistance were the 
 prizes taken, as this account of her fight with the " Royal 
 Bounty" (from Coggeshall's American Privateers} shows: — 
 
 " On the first of August, 1S12, the Yankee was cruising off the coast 
 of Xova Scotia. At noon she saw a large ship on the lee bow, four miles 
 distant; made all sail and prepared for action. The Privateer, being to 
 windward, ran down on Royal Bounty's weather quarter and gave her 
 the first division; soon, as she doubled on the enemy, the whole broad- 
 side. The ship returned the compliment, and the action continued with 
 spirit on both sides. The two vessels being near, the Yankee's marines 
 kept up a continual fire, very destructive to the Royal Bounty. The 
 
306 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Yankee's shot cut her sails and iig<?iiig to pieces and killed her helms- 
 man. A few moments after, the ship became unmanageable. The Yan- 
 kee then ran off a short distance and luffed to, athwart the bows of the 
 Royal Bounty, gave a raking broadside, and at the same time poured in 
 a constant shower of musketry which soon compelled the enemy to 
 strike her colors. The ship proved to be the Royal Bounty, Captain 
 Henry Gambles. She was a fine ship of C.5S tons, mounting 10 guns, 
 carrying 25 men, from Hull in ballast, seven weeks out for Prince Ed- 
 ward's Island. The Privateer took out the prisoners and manned the 
 prize for the United States. The Yankee had three wounded and her 
 sails and rigging somewhat damaged. The Royal Bounty had two men 
 killed, the Captain and six officers and seamen wounded. The action 
 lasted one hour. The ship was terribly cut up in sails and rigging and 
 all its boats were stove. More than one hundred and fifty shots passed 
 through the sails or lodged in the hull and spars. The wovuided pris- 
 oners were carefully attended by the Yankee's surgeon." 
 
 If ever a vessel was " lucky," this little hermaphrodite brig 
 was that vessel. One of her first prizes was the ship " Fran- 
 cis." Her cargo alone could be confiscated, but it netted 
 over $200,000 to her startled captors. Every share in that 
 first cruise brought more than seven hundred dollars to its 
 owner. No wonder that the sailors who thronged the streets 
 of Bristol fought for a place upon her decks, and that the 
 middle of October saw her sailing away on a second cruise. 
 Oliver Wilson again commanded the vessel. The lieutenants 
 were Seth Barton, John H. Vinson, and Thomas Jones. Cap- 
 tain Wilson's instructions were, to scour the west coast of 
 Africa, and come home in the track of vessels sailing to 
 Europe from Brazil and the West Indies. After a cruise of 
 one hundred and fifty days the "Yankee" came leisurely into 
 the harbor ; but not alone. On one side was a fine brig of 
 about 210 tons, — the " Shannon." * She was laden with cot- 
 ton, and with her cargo sold for $67,521. The letter-of- 
 marque schooner "Alder" sailed on the other side. She was 
 a copper-bottomed vessel of great speed, and had been a 
 
 * When the cargo of the " Shannon " was sold, Captain DeWolf found that his 
 losses, received at the hands of British cruisers, had been entirely made up from 
 the sales of the prizes captured by the " Yankee." Accordiug-ly, when the " Shan- 
 non " was again ready for sea, he rechristened the vessel, and gave it the name of 
 the " Balance." The next vessel sent in was renamed the " Prize," and the next, 
 the " Remittance." 
 
THE " YANKEE." 307 
 
 French privateer before she was captured by the English. 
 Neither vessel nor cargo were very valuable. She had been 
 sent in by Captain Wilson for possible use as a privateer. 
 Six other prizes had also been taken. Two of them had been 
 destroyed. One only had been recaptured. Tliis was the 
 " Fly," of London, a new and handsome brig. She was cut 
 out from under the guns of a fort that mounted fifty pieces of 
 artillery, by the " Yankee's " boat. But though this prize was 
 recaptured by the British, the 800 ounces of gold that had 
 been found in its cabin came home in the Bristol privateer. 
 The value of each share in the second cruise was $838.40. 
 
 The space of two months sufficed to make the necessary re- 
 pairs, and on tbe 10th of May, 1813, the vessel was again 
 commissioned. May 20th she sailed from Newport. Elislia 
 Snow was her commander ; Thomas Jones, Samuel Barton, 
 and George A. Bruce, were his lieutenants. In company with 
 the '• Yankee," sailed for a time the " Blockade," a privateer, 
 owned also by James DeWolf and John Smith. Manly Sweet, 
 the first lieutenant of the " Yankee " in her first cruise, com- 
 manded the second vessel. Aug. 20, 1818, Captain Snow 
 had captured the number of prizes sufficient to "make up a 
 handsome cruise, calculating one-half the prizes to be re- 
 taken," and was back again in Bristol. The snow, " Thames," 
 a vessel of 312 tons, carrying 2,087 bales of cotton, and 
 valued with her cargo at $110,000, was the most important 
 result of the cruise. Amount of prize-money apportioned to 
 each share, $173.54. 
 
 Thomas Jones was the fourth captain. His lieutenants 
 were Thomas Milton, George Eddy, and Sampson Gullifer. 
 " One hundred and nine souls (some small) " composed the 
 crew, as Golden Dearth, the clerk, attested. Sept. 10, 1813, 
 the voyage began. The " track of the homeward-bound 
 vessels near the Grand Banks," was the principal cruising 
 ground specified in the sailing orders. The prizes were di- 
 rected to "make for Nantucket Shoals, and get into the first 
 port on the Vineyard (i. e., the Vineyard Sound), avoiding 
 Boston." The fourth cruise was a failure. Only two small 
 
308 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 vessels — the schooner "Katie" and the brij^ "Marquis of 
 Huntley " — were sent into port. The former paid $12.59 to 
 each share ; the latter, $4.70. 
 
 The next cruise saw Elisha Snow again in charge of the 
 brigantine. Thomas Jones was " Second Captain," Samuel 
 Barton, John Smith, and Francis Elliot were lieutenants. 
 Four prizes were taken. Tliree of them were small vessels 
 that brought no money to their captors. The " Yankee " was 
 driven into New Bedford by an English man-of-war. Her 
 capture seemed inevitable, and her crew deserted almost to a 
 man. But : — one of the prizes reached Portland in safety, and 
 that prize was the " San Jose Indiano." The gross receipts 
 from the sale of that vessel and cargo amounted to more 
 than half a million dollars. The owners received $223,- 
 313.10 as their share of the net profits of the fifth cruise. 
 Not one of the boys in the crew of the privateer received 
 less than $700 from the voyage ; the negro waiters in the 
 cabin — Cuffee Cockroach and Jack Jibsheet were their 
 names — received, the one $1,121.88, the other $738.19 ; to 
 Captain Snow was paid $15,789.69. 
 
 On the first day of October, 1814, were issued the sailing 
 orders for the sixth and last cruise. A new set of officers 
 walked the decks of the privateer. They were William 
 C. Jenckes, Commander ; Benjamin K. Churchill, Second 
 in Command ; A. B. Hetherington, Henry Wardwell, and 
 Samuel Grafton, Lieutenants. In the private instructions 
 issued to Captain Jenckes special attention was paid to the 
 definition of "neutral" property. Two years before, the 
 people of Great Britain had sneered at tlie American Navy 
 as something entirely unworthy of notice. Bitter experience 
 had shown them their error. In many engagements the war- 
 ships of the United States had fought with English men-of- 
 war and compelled them to strike their colors ; the little 
 American privateers that swarmed -about the path of British 
 commerce had forced the merchants of England to conceal 
 their property under neutral flags. The " Yankee's" captain 
 was advised to send in a " neutral " if he fired upon him 
 
THE " YANKEE." 309 
 
 (" as was once the case with the ' Yankee'"), or if he liad 
 destroyed any papers. He was instructed, that " if any one 
 of a House shipping property resides in England, or in an 
 English colony, that share of the shipment is good prize of 
 war. Notwithstanding he may liave been born a neutral, and 
 lived in a neutral country all his life ; if he is now domiciled 
 in the enemy's country, it is sufficient to condemn his prop- 
 erty." In the sentence : " You must depend principally upon 
 the goods you take on board to make your cruise, as the 
 prizes you man will be very uncertain," one sees the pith of 
 the letter of instruction. The prizes made during the cruise 
 of 105 days are named in a letter from B. K. Churchill, the 
 second captain, dated Beaufort, N. C, Jan. 21, 1815. " We 
 have captured five prizes, viz. : the brig ' Lady Provost,' 
 brig ■■ Courtney,' ship ' St. Andrews,' ship ' General Welles- 
 ley,' and a schooner from Bermuda with flour. We also took 
 a brig with jerked beef, which we gave up to the prisoners. 
 I am sorry to say that we have no goods on board except 
 ^1,000 in cash and a small case of jewelry. The ' Yankee ' 
 is very miuch in want of repairs." Captain Churchill's let- 
 ter concludes as follows : — 
 
 " P. S. I have lost one of my legs this cruise." 
 Of these last prizes only the " Courtney " brought much 
 money to the owners and crew of the privateer. She was 
 carried safely into New Bedford, and sold with her cargo for 
 about seventy thousand dollars. The " General Wellcsley" 
 was an East India ship of 600 tons. She was built, in the 
 strongest manner possible, of teak wood, carried sixteen 
 guns, and was manned by a crew of eighty-six. She was 
 bound from London to Calcutta, had separated from her con- 
 voy, and was taken by the " Yankee " after a running fight. 
 Her estimated value was $200,000. James M, Blinn was 
 placed on board as prize-master, with orders to take her into 
 Charleston, S. C. The sixty-two Lascars who formed a part 
 of her original crew were left on board the prize. The 
 " Wellesley " grounded on Charleston bar when she had almost 
 reached her destination, a strong gale came up very shortly 
 
310 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 afterwards, and she became a complete wreck. Two of the 
 prize crew and fifty-two Lascars were lost with her. Thus 
 fickle fortune, who had befriended the " Yankee " during all 
 the years of the war, frowned upon her as the close of the 
 contest came. Feb. 17, 1815, the Treaty of Ghent was rati- 
 fied at Washington, and the mission of the privateers was 
 ended. May 2, 1815, the little brigantine was once more 
 lying at anchor in the harbor of Bristol. The implements of 
 war were upon her decks, but the ten men who had shipped 
 at Beaufort as her crew were " governed by the Rules and 
 Regulations of the merchant service." Less than three 
 years had passed away from the time when she had received 
 her commission as a private armed vessel of war. In those 
 three years she had taken more prizes than any other 
 American privateer ever captured, she had destroyed British 
 property amounting in value to almost a million of pounds, 
 and she had sent into Bristol a round million of dollars as 
 the profit from her six cruises. 
 
Chapter xxxviii. 
 
 THE OTHER PRIVATEERS. 
 
 When we examine the liistoiy of the other privateers 
 which sailed from Bristol, tlie wonderful fortune of the " Yan- 
 kee " is very plainly evident. They were six in number : the 
 " Hiram," the " Blockade," the " Macdonough," the " Water 
 Witch," the " Yankee Lass," and the " Rambler." To this 
 list the " Brutus," the " Saranac," and the " Curlew " should 
 possibly be added ; though the papers concerning them can- 
 not now be found. Only one of these vessels, the " Water 
 Witch," sent any prizes into port. The "Water Witch "was 
 a little schooner employed in freighting goods between Bris- 
 tol and New York. Like all the vessels then employed in 
 running the blockade which the British cruisers had estab- 
 lished, she was a very fine sailer. On this account her own- 
 ers (James DeWolf and John Smith) procured for her a 
 privateer's license, that she might capture the small coasters 
 engaged in furnishing the Englisii fleet with supplies. Pier 
 one prize, a flour-laden schooner called the "Cynthia," netted 
 a profit of about $5,000. Of this amount, four-fifths was 
 placed to the credit of the owners. The remainder was 
 divided among the sixty shares held by the officers and crew, 
 
 A short and tragic career was that of the " Hiram." The 
 presence of the ship " Francis " in the harbor stimulated 
 many of the Bristol merchants to embark in the business of 
 privateering, and the " Hiram " was the second private 
 armed vessel sent out from the port. She was of sixty tons 
 
312 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 burden^ had been built for service as a pilot-boat in the Vine- 
 yard Sound, was staunch and strong, and sailed remarkably 
 well. She was owned by a stock company, of which Nathan 
 Bardin held the controlling interest. Most of her officers 
 also held shares in the stock. Mr. Bardin was the agent. 
 James Wilson, an Englishman who had married and settled 
 in Bristol, was her captain ; among her officers were Nathan 
 Gardner, William West, and Henry B. Bliven, all of Bristol. 
 Her crew numbered fifty. Twenty days from the date of her 
 purchase the " Hiram " was ready for sea. She sailed Aug. 
 3, 1812, intending to make a cruise of four months. For two 
 months nothing whatever was heard from her, but on the 
 10th of October this letter appeared in the Columbian Phenix, 
 a paper published at Providence. 
 
 [From the Columbian Phenix or the Providence Patriot, Oct. 10, 1812.] 
 
 "LOSS OF THE HIRAM OF GO TONS, 3 GUNS AND FIFTY MEN." 
 
 [Extract of a Letter from Mr. John B.Dirker, to the Editor of the New London 
 Gazette, dated at St. Harts, Sept. 12, 1812.] 
 
 " I received the following account of the loss of the Privateer Schooner 
 Hiram of Bristol R. I. James Wilson, Commander, from the Carpenter. 
 
 •' On the 19 '^ of August 1S12, at 2 p. m. Lat. 19 n., being at the foretop, 
 heard a pistol go off; soon after she blew up, carrying everything on 
 the quarter deck, together with the cabin furniture into the air; I then 
 came down and assisted in clearing away the boat, in order to save 
 some of our lives, as the schooner was sinking. After we got the boat 
 out, she was upset several times — so many getting into her. The 
 boatswain however persuaded them to quit the boat, by telling them 
 that he would make a raft, which he attempted but found it impossible. 
 At length we got our boat ready, and six of us got into her, viz: Samuel 
 CoUman, carpenter, Robert Robinson, boatswain, Samuel Biown, seaman, 
 Charles Prince, seaman, (the two latter were colored), and Harry, a 
 mulatto boy. who was so much burned and wounded, that he died in 
 about two hours after leaving the wreck. We cut two pieces out of his 
 thighs, (which we dried in the sun and committed the body to the 
 waves) on which we subsisted, without any fresh water, for four days 
 and a half. 
 
 "Before we left the unfortunate spot, we looked for an officer to 
 assist us to navigate our boat, but not finding any we put up a prayer 
 to God to carry us to some of the Islands ; after this we rowed to the 
 south all night, and made a small sail out of a case of a mattress, and 
 run down before the wind, and on the 24"> of August we saw the land; 
 we then pulled to the windward, until daylight, and finding it not safe 
 
THE OTHER PRIVATEERS. 313 
 
 to land on that part of the Island, we rowed round to leeward. At 2 
 p. M. we landed on Barbuda, being all able to walk except Brown; him 
 the inhabitants carried with us to the Governor, John James, Esq., who 
 treated us in the most humane and tender manner, giving us every 
 assistance in his power. After remaining there four days, we were sent 
 to Antigua, where the American Consul treated us very ill, and the 
 boatswain and myself begged a passage on a schooner bound to St. Barts, 
 where we arrived on the 6th of September and received all the assist- 
 ance we needed from the benevolent Captain William R. Noyes, whose 
 kindness we shall never forget." 
 
 Beyond the facts contained in this letter, nothing was ever 
 learned concerning the fate of the " Hiram." A few days be- 
 fore the privateer sailed, the ship " Rebecca," Henry Nimmo, 
 Master, arrived in Warren, from one of the southern ports. 
 " Among her crew were five rough-looking Englishmen, who 
 shipped to come North, with the avowed intention of joining 
 the privateer service, and preying upon the property and lives 
 of their own countrymen. Learning that the ' Hiram ' was 
 about ready for sea, they shipped on board, thus completing her 
 complement." Popular conjecture for a long time associated 
 the presence of these seamen on board with the destruction of 
 the vessel. 
 
 The " Rambler " was a brig of 200 tons ; Captain Appleby 
 washer commander. She was a " Guiiieaman," and her priva- 
 teer's license was taken out as a possible aid to her voyage, 
 but was not the main cause of it. A writer in the Newport 
 Mercury has summed up her career as follows : " She took a 
 numberof vessels, among them the ship ' Union,' from Jamaica, 
 with coffee; which prize was retaken by the ' Curlew,' and 
 was subsequently lost. The ' Rambler ' also drove a twenty- 
 gun ship ashore on the coast of Africa. She was subse- 
 quently chased by an English frigate, and having lost her 
 main-top-gallant-mast, was overtaken and captured, — a thing 
 which would not have occurred but for the above accident, 
 for she was a superior sailer." 
 
 The schooner "Blockade" and the brig " Macdonough " 
 belonged to the owners of the "Yankee." The former sailed 
 from Bristol on a four mouths' cruise Nov. 19, 1812. For a 
 while she sailed in company with the " Yankee," but seems to 
 
314 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 have derived no profit from the arrangement. She made 
 some dozen or more captures, but all of her prizes were re- 
 taken, and she brought only a bill of expenses back when 
 she came again into the harbor. Her log-book, still preserved, 
 presents a faithful picture of a privateersman's life. Judged 
 by the standard of to-day, it does not seem to have been a 
 very enjoyable one. The officers who signed the paper con- 
 ferring a power of attorney upon the owners, were Manly 
 Sweet, Captain ; and Benjamin Bowen, Paul Florence, John 
 French, Jr., Stephen Simmons, Moses Deane, John Carpenter, 
 George Phillips, and Obed B. Hussey. The " Blockade " was 
 lost at sea during her second cruise ; only three of those who 
 sailed forth in her ever came back. 
 
 The " Macdonough " was the largest, fastest, and best of 
 the Bristol privateers. In one thing only was she inferior to 
 tlie "Yankee," but that was in a very essential point, — suc- 
 cess. She was built in Warren during the last year of the war, 
 by Capt. Caleb Carr. Her model was so admirable that it 
 secured for her builder an order for a war-vessel from the 
 United States Government. Her sailing powers were mar- 
 velous. She was employed as a merchant vessel after the 
 war, and once made the voyage from Havana to Bristol in 
 six days, though for one whole day she was lying becalmed. 
 Oliver Wilson was her captain. She made one cruise only, 
 and effected very many captures, but she had entered the 
 contest too late. All of her prizes were retaken, and she 
 came back empty-handed. This is the story told in her 
 " log-book" of one of her encounters. 
 
 Jan. 31, 1815. At 12 m. discovered a large ship under our lee, making 
 signals, about two leagues distant, showing two tiers of ports. At 1 p. 
 ji. edged down for her, and discovered her lower battery to be false; 
 immediately prepared for action. At 2 o'clock bore up for his weather 
 quarter and hoisted our colors, the enemy at the same time hauling up 
 his courses and lying by for us. At half past two commenced action 
 within musket shot, observing the enemy to fire seven guns from his 
 broadside, besides swivels, with a tremendous shower of musketry; 
 which led us to suppose her to be a troop ship, in which we were not 
 mistaken. At half past three passed close under her bows to rake her, 
 when we discovered her decks full of soldiers, who gave us a tremen- 
 
THE OTHER PRIVATEERS. 315 
 
 clous volley. At three-quarters past 3, our braces, bowlines, and 
 luiidyards being all shot away, our sails literally cut to pieces, rigging- 
 much damaged, and two guns dismounted — eleven men wounded, 
 seven severely, seven shot in our hull, our fore and mainmasts badly 
 wounded, our stern boat had two 18-pound shot tlu-ougli her, the 
 enemy being far superior to us in point of metal, having eighteen 9 
 pounders and at least 300 soldiers besides her crew,— thought prudent 
 to haul off. Our enemy, having suffered considerably to appearance, 
 bore away for Teneriffe with some of her people slung over her side, 
 stopping shot holes. At 3 A. m. tacked ship to south west, all hands be- 
 ing employed in repairing sails, rigging, gun carriages, and other 
 damages." 
 
 The " Macdonoiigh " arrived at Savannah March 7, 1815. She 
 was at last sold in Cuba, to parties wlio fitted her out as 
 a slaver. Being chased one day by a man-of-war wlien she 
 had a cargo of slaves on board, she ran for shelter into the 
 harbor of Matanzas, struck upon a reef, and very soon went 
 to pieces. Her crew were saved, but her human freight was 
 lost. 
 
 The " Yankee Lass " made but one cruise, sailing in the early 
 part of April, 1814. A gallant officer commanded her, Capt. 
 Benjamin K. Churchill ; her first lieutenant was Seth Barton ; 
 one of the bravest men that ever sailed from the port, but she 
 was not successful. She was a small vessel, and carried 
 about eighty men. On her return from her first and last 
 cruise, her commander was transferred to the deck of the 
 " Yankee," as second captain. 
 
Chapter xxxix, 
 
 THE SEPTEMBER GALES OF 1815 AND 1869. 
 
 When the sun went down, on the 22d of September, 1815, 
 the wharves of Bristol were once more lined with merchant 
 vessels, as they had been three years before, in the days 
 which preceded the reign of the war-ships. The crowds of 
 sailors, that for months had lounged listlessly about, had 
 again found employment. Energy and activity seemed to 
 pervade the air. For nearly a week a light wind from the 
 northeast had been blowing, and several vessels were almost 
 ready to avail themselves of its aid. One, the brig " Rich- 
 ard," was lying at her wharf with her crew on board, pre- 
 pared to sail on the morrow. At about 2 o'clock on the 
 morning of Sept. 23d, the wind began to increase, and 
 was shortly blowing very heavily. Wlien the dusk was 
 changed to daylight, and the ebb tide was just turning to 
 flood, the strong air current from the northeast was met by 
 another, equally strong, from the southwest. The two com- 
 bined to produce a tremendous gale, and the exultant tem- 
 pest, driving the great waves before it, came roaring up the 
 bay, and burst with irresistible force upon the town. 
 
 Almost instantly the work of destruction began. The 
 post office was then kept in a building which stood, partly 
 over the water and partly upon the land, near the head of 
 the Rubber Works wharf. Fierce Tritons in terrible sport 
 lifted the building from the piles that supported its western 
 side and dashed it instantly to pieces. Those who happened to 
 
THE SEPTEMBER GALES. 
 
 317 
 
 Residence of Mr. William T. C. Wardweli. 
 
 be in the building barely escaped with their lives. Mr. Da- 
 vid A. Leonard, the postmaster, lost all his books and papers, 
 and 1600 in money besides. Upon the Long wharf Mr. Jacob 
 Babbitt had built a row of brick warehouses. They were 
 almost filled with merchandise when the storm began. From 
 the centre to the west end tliey were entirely overthrown ; 
 more than 140,000 worth of sugar was destroyed, and the 
 greater part of the goods they contained was scattered along 
 the shores of the harbor, when the gale subsided. In a 
 building which stood at the head of Wardwell's wharf, lay 
 the corpse of a woman who had died during the night. For 
 her dead body her husband and friends engaged in dreadful 
 contest with the demons of the tempest. Out of the house 
 
318 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 and across the street tliey bore her, while the surging waves 
 were dashing waist deep about them. The sea, disappointed 
 in its prey, broke tlirough the walls of the house, then turned 
 in its rage and swallowed up the lower part of Thames Street 
 for the length of more than two squares. The air was filled 
 with great timbers which the wind had caught up and sent 
 whirling about like feathers, and kite-like flew the boards be- 
 fore the gusts. The crash of falling trees was heard on every 
 side. 
 
 Those who looked upon the harbor saw great sheets of 
 water lifted from the crests of the billows, and the sail-boats 
 and small coasters hurled northward with such velocity that 
 the eye could hardly follow them. Nor were the larger 
 vessels safe. Very quickly, Captain Swan, of the "Richard," 
 saw that his only safety lay in yielding to the power of the 
 storm. He stationed his crew at their posts, raised the jib a 
 little to give his vessel steerage way, placed his most careful 
 hand at the wheel, and with the speed of thought went flying 
 toward the head of the harbor. Then, as now, a causeway 
 separated the mill-pond from the outer water, but right over 
 the feeble barrier the " Richard " went, carrying away a part 
 of the old wind-mill in her course, and was soon sent far up 
 upon the meadow at the head of the pond. Not a man was 
 hurt on board of her ; the brig itself was but slightly injured, 
 yet it cost more than her value to launch her again in the 
 deep waters of the bay. The beautiful " Macdonougli " had 
 doffed the garb of war, and was lying at anchor in the har- 
 bor, until a cargo for the West Indies should be secured for 
 her. She was forced from her moorings, and driven ashore 
 upon Poppasquash, not far from the house of the late Robert 
 Rogers. Her evil genius saved her from injury in the harbor 
 of Bristol, for a slaver's ignominious end upon a Cuban reef. 
 
 The brig " Juno," a vessel of 160 tons, snapped her detaining 
 cables, and started upon a career of destruction. Across 
 James DeWolf's wharf she was driven, knocking to pieces one 
 of its buildings on her way, and setting the little brig " Toad 
 Fish" adrift 
 
THE SEPTEMBER GALES. 319 
 
 a fine brig that was waiting for a cargo from Wardwell's dis- 
 tillery, at what is now the wharf of the Namquit Mill. The 
 victim was fresh from the ways, her keel had never leaped upon 
 the waters of the ocean ; unprepared for such rough usage, 
 she sank without a struggle where the "Juno" had struck 
 her. Near her the " Juno's " own course was stayed, while her 
 cargo was tossed about from billow to billow.* Upon that 
 same wharf the little " Toad Fish " and a good-sized sloop 
 were left by the retiring waves a few hours afterward. Two 
 and three hundred feet upward into many of the cross streets, 
 more than one vessel was forced, sometimes with cargo on 
 board, and one large sloop, the " Elamsville," a North River 
 packet, was driven into the orchard of Samuel W. Church. 
 More than twenty vessels were in the harbor, and only one 
 rode out the gale. 
 
 Five men started to go to the relief of a vessel breaking to 
 pieces upon Poppasqnash. The heart of one failed him before 
 he had accomplished half his journey, and he sought safety in 
 a house which stood upon Shipyard Point. His companions, 
 William Harding, Jr., John Reed, and Josiah Reed, his 
 brother, and Henry Bosworth, went onward to die. To the 
 stout bars of a gateway, through which the sea was surging, 
 they clung for a time, with the strength despair gives to 
 drowning fingers, but, one by one, the waves beat them off, 
 and threw their corpses far up upon the meadows. 
 
 At noon the violence of the wind began to subside ; at 2 
 o'clock, in the afternoon, the storm was over ; at sunset hardly 
 a breath of wind ruffled the waters, so quickly did Nature re- 
 pent her of her terrible wrath. That night the sloop " Cos- 
 mopolite " came in from the West Indies ; she had had a pros- 
 perous voyage, and no gale had hindered her course. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. Quietly and peacefully it 
 dawned, but the Sabbath stillness chilled the hearts of the 
 
 * The next day the owner of the " Juno's " cargo went alon? the shores of the 
 harbor with a paint-brush, carefully marking all of the wi-eckage that was, pre- 
 sumably, his. Some wags, who had observed him at his work, followed in his 
 path not long afterwax-d, and placed a very conspicuous JUNO upon the dead 
 body of a horse that was lying upon the beach. 
 
320 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 people. A dreadful awe fell upon them when the bells began 
 to toll, and the bodies of the drowned rnen were borne to the 
 Congregational Meeting House in Bradford Street, for their 
 funeral rites. Never did words from that pulpit fall upon 
 more attentive ears. With the terrible proofs of God's might 
 before their eyes, the warnings from a minister of God could 
 not be disregarded. 
 
 Not for many months and years were the marks of the 
 gale obliterated. The papers of that day place the value of 
 the goods destroyed at 1150,000. It must surely have reached 
 $100,000, — a very much larger sum then, than it is now, be 
 it remembered. All the shores were covered with fragments 
 of the wrecks ; all the streets were blocked by the trunks of 
 the fallen trees. But the energy of the people quickly raised 
 the town out from the midst of destruction ; its commerce 
 was checked for a short time only ; its wharves were soon re- 
 paired ; another year saw them again loaded with merchan- 
 dise ; the lost vessels were speedily replaced. 
 
 A little more than half a century afterward, on the 18th 
 of September, 1869, came that other gale of which the recol- 
 lections are yet so fresh. Of the first no extended account 
 was ever written ; of the second, the careful attention of the 
 editor of the Bristol Phenix has preserved a very accurate 
 record. From the account printed in the Phenix, the infor- 
 mation given in this chapter is mainly derived. Very differ- 
 ently sound the stories of the destruction wrought at the 
 different times. The little sea-port of 1815, with its less than 
 three thousand inhabitants, had grown into a thriving manu- 
 facturing town of almost twice that number. The damage 
 to the shipping interests, which made up so large a part of the 
 losses of 1815, figures but little in the accounts of 1869. 
 The first gale was far more severe than the second and the 
 losses were proportionally much greater. 
 
 The second gale began on the afternoon of Wednesday. 
 The morning was pleasant, with a strong breeze from the 
 southeast. The wind continued to increase in violence until 
 about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when it culminated in a 
 
THE SEPTEMBER GALES. 321 
 
 complete hurricane, lasting about two liours, and sweeping 
 everything before it. As in the first gale, almost every sail- 
 boat in the liarbor was either driven ashore, dashed in pieces, 
 or sunk. Of the half-dozen or more vessels in the harbor, 
 none were seriously damaged ; some of them were driven 
 ashore, but most of them were launched again without very 
 great expense. The damage to property was about tiie same 
 as in 1815. One hundred and sixty-seven shade-trees were 
 blown down. No lives were lost, and but few persons were 
 injured. At the National Rubber Company's works, both of 
 the large chimneys were blown down, and the walls of several 
 brick buildings very badly injured. A part of the roof of the 
 Sugar Refinery was blown off, and the building considerably 
 damaged. The lower cotton mill also lost a portion of its 
 roof, and was otherwise injured. The basement machinery of 
 both mills was damaged by water. The steam saw and plan- 
 ing mill of the late Capt. Joseph L. Gardner, which has since 
 been destroyed by fire, was unroofed and partly blown down. 
 The Roman Catholic Church was started from its foundation, 
 but otherwise suffered no harm ; the steeple of the Baptist 
 Church was blown down, and the Memorial Chapel of the 
 Congregational Church was partly unroofed. Several frame 
 houses were entirely demolished ; these were newly-built 
 dwellings, of a style very unlike those that withstood the gale 
 of 1815. The track of the railroad across the Bridge flats 
 was almost entirely washed away, and between Bristol and 
 Providence hardly a bridge was left in its place. All the 
 wharves of the town were more or less damaged, but the tide 
 did not rise as high as during the first gale. 
 
Chapter xl. 
 
 JAMES DeWOLF. 
 
 The career of James DeWolf furnishes one of the best ex- 
 amples of the infinite possibilities for individual advancement 
 which our republican system of government affords. None 
 of the advantages of wealth or station were his in his youth, 
 yet his brilliant abilities made him a Senator of the United 
 States, and secured for him one of the largest fortunes of 
 which the country could boast. The story of his life, if told 
 in detail, would read like one of the wildest chapters of a 
 romance. 
 
 Mark Anthony DeWolf, the father, was an humble sailor, 
 wliom the sudden fancy of Simeon Potter rescued from a life 
 of obscurity upon the island of Guadaloupe, that his children 
 might rise to wealth and influence in America. Mr. DeWolf 
 married a sister of Captain Potter, became the master of one 
 of his brother-in-law's vessels, settled in Bristol long before 
 the Revolution, and there ended his life. More than a very 
 modest income he never possessed in his most prosperous days, 
 and as the size of his family increased, his ability to support 
 it proportionally diminished. His children enjoyed only the 
 limited opportunities for education presented by the village 
 schools of a century ago, and poverty compelled his sons to 
 take up their father's calling before their school-days were half 
 completed. But all who reached mature age became mer- 
 chant captains; nearly all of them attained the possession of 
 large wealth, and made themselves men of mark in the town 
 and State. 
 
 James DeWolf was born in Bristol, March 18, 1764. Dur- 
 
JAMES DeWOLF. 323 
 
 ing tlie Revolutionary War, when he was only a lad, he left 
 his home and shipped as a sailor boy upon a private armed ves- 
 sel. Twice in his boyhood he was exposed to the dangers of 
 naval battle, and twice he was captured by the enemy. For 
 many weeks he was detained a prisoner upon the Bermuda 
 Islands. His zeal and activity quickly brought him into notice ; 
 liis manifest ability won for him speedy promotion. When the 
 war was ended he entered the employ of John Brown, of 
 Providence, and was made the master of a vessel ere he had 
 passed out of his teens. His earliest voyages as captain were 
 made to the coast of Africa in the slave trade. This now 
 abhorred traffic was then esteemed perfectly reputable and 
 legitimate ; the most enlightened nations did not hesitate to 
 engage in it ; its morality and propriety were questioned by 
 no one. 
 
 Every business in which Captain DeWolf engaged brought 
 wealth into his coffers ; the wonderful gift of grateful Bac- 
 <ihus seemed to have been bestowed upon him ; Midas-like he 
 changed everything into gold by his magic touch. Before he 
 was twenty-five years old he had amassed a fortune and might 
 have retired from business, but a life of idleness had for him 
 no charms. His active brain was continually devising new 
 enterprises, and he was ever ready to stake all that he pos- 
 sessed, to compass the attainment of more brilliant hopes. 
 Thus, while his fellow-merchants were cautiously weighing the 
 possible chances of success in ventures in untried fields, he 
 was accustomed to rush boldly in, sweep away the rich prizes 
 that so often await a pioneer, and leave for those who fol- 
 lowed him only the moderate gains that ordinary business 
 affords. 
 
 No one seconded more heartily the measures which brought 
 about the war of 1812, than Mr. DeWolf. How extensive 
 were his investments in privateers the reader has already 
 learned. But not for personal reasons only did he rejoice at 
 the commencement of hostilities. He was convinced that the 
 interests of the whole country demanded it, and he believed 
 most thoroughly in the justice of the American cause. All 
 his sympathies were enlisted in it; all that he possessed he 
 
324 HISTORY OF BllISTOL. 
 
 confidently staked upon the final issue of the conflict. Not 
 only did he cause the banks in which he owned a controlling 
 interest to invest their available capital in United States 
 bonds, but when the credit of the Nation was lowest, and it 
 found much difficulty in raising money, he advanced the 
 needed funds from his own fortune. Tiie remarkable speed 
 of the privateer " Macdonough" having directed public at- 
 tention to her builder, a sloop of war, the " Chippewa," was 
 ordered to be constructed in his ship-yard. Accordingly, Com- 
 modore 0. H. Perry, as agent for the United States Govern- 
 ment, contracted with Capt. Caleb Carr, of Warren, to build 
 the ship within ninety days. " On March 15, 1814, only fifty- 
 seven days from the time her keel was laid, although there 
 had been many stormy and snowy days, this ship of 411 tons 
 burthen, and carrying sixteen guns, was delivered to the Com- 
 modore, ready for her rigging and armament ; and in a few 
 days afterwards she went to sea, completely armed and 
 rigged." * The money for the construction and equipment of 
 this vessel was advanced by Mr. DeWolf from his own private 
 purse. 
 
 When to most observers the shipping business was still the 
 most important in the United States, he had foreseen the great 
 strides the country would soon take in population, wealth and 
 refinement, and the immense preponderance which manufac- 
 tures were destined to attain. So, in the year 1812 he built, in 
 the town of Coventry, a cotton factory, the Arkwright Mills. 
 These he continued to own and direct as long as ho lived. 
 
 Like many retired sea-captains, Mr. DeWolf took great in- 
 terest in agriculture. In Bristol and its neighborhood he 
 owned nearly a thousand acres of land. Upon a beautiful site, 
 not far from Mount Hope, he had built the stately mansion in 
 which the widow of his son, William Bradford, now lives, and 
 from thence in the early morning he strode forth to super- 
 intend the cultivation of liis fertile acres. How he found 
 time to attend to his immense business, was a mystery even to 
 those who knew him best. In farming, as in everything else, 
 
 * Fessenden's Ilvstorij vf Warren. 
 
JAMES DeWOLF. 325 
 
 lie seemed to have tlie smallest details of liis various trans- 
 actions always at his command. 
 
 Political honors frequently fell to his lot. Almost thirty 
 years he represented his native town in the State Legislature, 
 and for two years he was the speaker of the lower house. In 
 1821 he laid aside the speakqr's gavel to take his place as a 
 Senator of Rhode Island, in the National Congress. In the 
 United States Senate his unequaled business experience made 
 liim the recognized authority in all matters purely com- 
 mercial, and secured for him when he spoke, an attention 
 that was accorded to no other man. He was a strong " Pro- 
 tectionist," and was the first to propose the " drawback " sys- 
 tem for articles manufactured in this country from material 
 brought from foreign lands — which has since been so exten- 
 sively adopted. But the slow progress of congressional leg- 
 islation was distasteful to his active brain, his own ever- 
 increasing business demanded more and more of his time, and 
 lie resigned his seat before his term had expired. Until his 
 death he continued to represent Bristol in the Rhode Island 
 Legislature. 
 
 In })erson Mr. DeWolf was tall and commanding. Always 
 carefully and richly attired, he attracted unusual attention in 
 an age when much more care was bestowed upon personal 
 adornment than is now given. 
 
 As a citizen, Mr. DeWolf filled a position in Bristol no man 
 had ever occupied before, — one which no other man will prob- 
 ably again hold. The prosperity of his birthplace was al- 
 ways most dear to him ; its welfare he always regarded as 
 identical with his own, and many were the schemes for its ad- 
 vancement which he devised. When he died there was no 
 one to take his place, and the news of his death seemed for a 
 while to crush the life out of the town. With its every in- 
 dustry he had been more or less intimately connected ; hardly 
 a project had been set on foot where his aid had not been in- 
 voked ; never a subscription for a worthy object had been 
 started which his name had not generously led. He died at 
 the residence of one of his daughters, in New York City, on 
 the twenty-first day of December, 1837. 
 
Chapter xli, 
 
 ST. MICHAEL S CHURCH, 
 
 On the departure of Bishop Griswold, the Rev. John Bristed,. 
 who for eighteen months had been assisting him in his parish 
 work, was chosen to succeed him as the rector of St. Michael's 
 Church. Mr. Bristed had lately been ordained to the ministry 
 by Bishop Griswold, but he was a man more than fifty years 
 old, who had already gained for himself reputation and wealth 
 in another profession. He brought to his work in Bristol a 
 wider experience, a more varied and extensive learning, and 
 a more highly cultivated mind than any of his predecessors. 
 
 He was born in Dorsetshire, Eng., Oct. 17, 1778, in a par- 
 ish of which his ancestors for many successive generations 
 had been rectors. In the famous Winchester School he ob- 
 tained a very thorough, classical education, and after com- 
 pleting the usual preparatory course, entered the medical 
 college in Edinburgh, of which the celebrated Doctor Aber- 
 nethy was the head. From the college, at the end of tliree 
 years, he obtained a diploma, but it would appear that he had 
 taken up the study of medicine as a means of mental discipline, 
 and not with any intention of practicing as a physician, for 
 almost immediately after leaving Edinburgh he commenced 
 the study of law, and in due time was admitted to the Bar. 
 In the year 1806 he came to America, and began his career 
 as a lawyer in New York City. After many years of lucra- 
 tive practice, his convictions of duty led him to forsake the 
 legal profession to prepave for entrance to the ministry of the 
 
ST. Michael's church. 327 
 
 Episcopal Church. In 1824 he began the study of theology 
 with Bishop Griswold, and after a somewhat longer candidacy 
 tlian usual, was ordained. 
 
 Mr. Bristed felt very keenly the peculiar responsibility 
 which fell to his lot as the successor of such a pastor as Bisliop 
 Griswold, but very ably and satisfactorily did he discharge 
 tlie duties of his position. Almost his first work in the min- 
 istry had been the building up of the parish in Warren. In 
 the autumn of 1828 he had begun to hold church services in 
 Cole's Hall, and in November of the same year, St. Mark's par- 
 ish had been formed. In 1829, through his energetic efforts, 
 St. Mark's Church had been built. As soon as he became the 
 rector of St. Michael's, Mr. Bristed began to devise measures 
 for the erection of a new church. This had been one of the 
 ends for which Bishop Griswold had striven many years in vain. 
 The opposition of a few leading men had been sufficient to 
 make the new building an impossibility during Bishop Gris- 
 wold's rectorship, though the old church had long been too 
 small comfortably to seat its large congregation. In 1832 
 such extensive repairs became necessary that Mr. Bristed 
 found but little difficulty in bringing about the erection of a 
 new church. On the sixth day of March, 1834, the edifice 
 was consecrated by Bishop Griswold. It was a building 
 eighty-five feet long by fifty-four wide, — " one of the most 
 beautiful and commodious churches in the country." It was 
 erected upon the site where the two former churches had 
 stood. On the day after its consecration " a sufficient num- 
 ber of pews were sold to defi-ay the whole cost of tlic build- 
 ing (amounting to nineteen thousand dollars), including a 
 basement lecture-room fifty feet square, a large organ, and a 
 fine-toned bell." 
 
 This beautiful edifice was not the first result of Mr. Bristed's 
 labors in Bristol. He walked very carefully in the path in 
 which his predecessor had trodden, and in 1830-31 a " re- 
 vival " had brought over a hundred new communicants into 
 the church. A few years later, in 1838, the Reformed Metlio- 
 dist Society of Bristol having been dissolved, another large 
 accession was made to the membership of St. Michael's. 
 
328 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 In 1837 Mr. Bristed's strength began to fail, and the Rev. 
 Francis Peck and the Rev. Thomas F. Fales, both natives of 
 the town, became in turn his assistants. The Rev. James H. 
 Fames also served the parish for a year as Mr. Bristed's as- 
 sistant. In 1843 his continued ill health compelled him to 
 give up work entirely and to resign the rectorship. After 
 his resignation he still retained his residence in the town. 
 He died on the 23d of February, 1855. * 
 
 The Rev. James Welch Cooke was Mr. Bristed's succes- 
 sor. His rectorship extended from 1844-1850. Through 
 his efforts the wooden chapel, which has since been sold and 
 moved to the eastern end of State Street, was built in 1848, 
 at a cost of about $1,200. This building was originally 24 
 
 * Beside the tablet erected to the memory of Bishop Griswold, in the present ed- 
 ifice, is placed another witli this inscription : — 
 
 Beneath 
 
 the shadow of this Church, 
 
 rest in hope the mortal remains of the 
 
 REV. JOHN BRISTED, 
 
 some time Rector of the same- 
 
 As a man, replenished with various learning, 
 
 accurate and instant in memorj', 
 
 instructive and brilliant 
 
 in conversation. 
 
 His mind was intensely acti\'e, 
 
 His wit ready and sparkling, 
 
 His gifts and resources alwas's at command. 
 
 As a preacher, sound in doctrine, 
 
 fervent in spirit, copious in language, 
 
 and oftentimes thrilling in delivery. 
 
 He was wise to win souls. 
 
 As a pastor, diligent, cordial, and sympathizing. 
 
 The affluent he attracted by his courtesy, 
 
 the poor by his beneficence, 
 
 And blessed all with the light of his example. 
 
 " Whose faith follow 
 
 Considering the end of their conversation ; 
 
 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, 
 
 to-day and forever." 
 
 Mr. Bristed, besides being a man of most brilliant colloquial powers, was also an 
 unusually able writer, and published very many boolis. These are the titles of 
 some of his works: RcsDurces of the United States; The Adviser, a Moral and Lit- 
 erary Tribunal (4 vols.) ; JVofes of a Pedentrian Tour thro' part of Highland Scotland 
 in 1801; A Collection of Critical and Philosophical Essays; Edwa7-d and Anna (a 
 novel) ; and Thovrjhtu on the Anglican and Anglo-American Churches. Some five oi- 
 six others might be mentioned. In 1820 Mr. Bristed married a daughter of John 
 Jacob Astor. Ho left one son, Charles Astor Bristed, who also won a very envia- 
 ble literary reputation. 
 
ST. MICHAPXS CHURCH. 
 
 329 
 
 Residence of Mrs. Ramon Gui 
 
 feet wide and 48 feet long ; after the erection of the present 
 cliurch edifice the chapel was lengthened 24 feet, to accom- 
 modate the greatly increased Sunday School. 
 
 In the Russell Genealogy, its editor, Mr. John R. Bart- 
 lett, has placed this account of Mr. Cooke : — 
 
 "James Welch Cooke, the eldest child of Joseph S. and Mary (Welch) 
 Cooke, was born in Providence, March .5, 1810. Having received a full 
 academic education, he entered Brown University, graduating with his 
 class in 1829. He then began a course of legal studies, in the office of 
 the late Samuel W. Bridgham, the first Mayor of Providence. Before 
 they were completed, however, he addressed himself to preparation 
 for the Episcopal ministry. Upon his graduation at the Theological 
 Seminary of that Church in New York, his first clerical field was Lons- 
 dale, R. I., where through his instrumentality Christ Church was 
 founded; in which a memorial window, presented a few years since, tes- 
 tifies of him. He closed his pastorate theie in 1835, having accepted the 
 invitation of St. George's Church, New York, to become its Assistant 
 Rector. Here he remained as the Associate of the late Rev. Dr. James 
 Milnor, until 1843, when he succeeded the late Rev. John Bristcd in the 
 Rectorship of St. Michael's Church, Bristol, R. I., formerly and for 
 
330 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 many years, under the pastoral charge of Bishop Griswold. At the 
 close of 1851, he returned to New York, as Secretary of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Board of Foreign Missions. His peculiar zeal in this service 
 cost him his life. Having visited the Isthmus of Panama, on what he 
 considered a special duty, he contracted a disease for which that region 
 is noted, sickened upon the return trip, and died (April 12, 1853.) two 
 days after reaching New York." 
 
 The following description of Mr. Cooke's theological views 
 (also given in the Russell Genealogy^ is interesting as 
 showing what the views of his parish must have been, to a 
 greater or less degree, upon the same subjects : — 
 
 "He was a very earnest disciple of what are termed 'Low-Church' 
 views. His unfeigned Evangelicism gained him an esteem by no 
 means confined to his successive congregations, and far more consonant 
 to his feelings than was an incident which occurred a few years before 
 his death. He deemed a candidate for orders, of whom he was one of 
 the examining priests, to be unsound upon a vital point of gospel doc- 
 trine, and he declined to join in his ordination. But inasmucli as 
 unobjectionable candidates were to be ordained at the same time, he 
 was present and assisted in the ceremonies. When, however, contrary 
 to his understanding of the matter, he was called upon to impose his 
 hands upon this one also, he held aloof to the undisguised displeasure of 
 the Bishop. It is not inappropriate to state in this connection that 
 while Mr. Cooke loved and revered the Episcopal Church, he was more 
 than tolerant toward other Christian bodies, for he delighted to mani- 
 fest a fellowship with members of every Evangelical sect." 
 
 On the first day of January, 1852, the Rev. Joseph Trap- 
 nell, Jr., became the rector of the parish. Mr. Trapnell is 
 the son of the late Rev. Joseph Trapnell, and was born at 
 Bemmerton, Wiltshire, Eng., June 19, 1814. He came to this 
 country in 1819, and was graduated from St. John's College, 
 Annapolis, Md., in 1836. (Since his departure from Bris- 
 tol he has received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the 
 same institution.) His first rectorship was in Trinity Parish, 
 Upper Marlboro, St. George County, Md. ; thence he went to 
 St. Andrew's Church, Baltimore ; from Baltimore he came to 
 Bristol, where he served St. Michael's with great fidelity for 
 five years. He was chosen rector of St. John's Church, 
 Keokuk, Iowa, in 1857, and after a few years of labor in that 
 parish, was called to St. Mark's Church, Frederick County, 
 Md., of which he has been for the last nineteen years, and 
 still is, the rector. 
 
ST. Michael's church. 331 
 
 The Rev. William Stowe * was elected rector of St. Michael's 
 parish at the Easter meeting in 1858. In that year the clmrch 
 received from Mrs. Lydia S. French the very valuable gift of 
 the lot of land lying next west of the church, with the sub- 
 stantial dwelling-house standing thereon, to be used as a 
 rectory. At about a quarter before twelve o'clock on the night 
 of Sunday, Dec. 5, 1858, the church was discovered to be on 
 fire. The flames, when first seen, were bursting out from the 
 large window in the eastern end of the building. So rapid 
 was the work of destruction, that by 1 o'clock the church was 
 in ruins. " The rector succeeded in saving his robes. A 
 Prayer-book, a book of Psalms and Hymns, two chairs, a look- 
 ing-glass and an umbrella-stand only were saved besides. The 
 church was so densely filled with smoke that no one could 
 safely enter it, and it was useless to attempt the removal of 
 any but the articles named. These, with the exception of the 
 two books, were all from the robing-room." Thus the parish 
 a second time saw its church in ruins, but under circumstances 
 very different from those which attended the destruction of 
 the first edifice. The feeble band which had enjoyed the min- 
 istrations of the missionary sent over from England by the 
 " Propagation Society," had become a strong and vigorous 
 congregation, one which for years had been one of the most 
 important of the Episcopal churches in New England. While 
 the ashes were yet smoking, the vestry met together and de- 
 cided that a new church should at once take the place of the 
 old one. Peace and prosperity were then smiling upon the 
 land, and the dark cloud that was soon lowering upon the 
 southern horizon had not then taken definite shape. Perhaps 
 if the fire had come two years later, the work of rebuilding 
 would not have been so easy. 
 
 On the twelfth day of April, 1860, the corner stone of the 
 present church was laid ; on Tuesday, the twenty-sixth day of 
 
 * Mr. stowe was a deacon at this time, having but recently entered the ministry 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was ordained to the priesthood very soon 
 after he became rector. During his rectorship a parish debt of Sli^OO, which had 
 been incurred for repairs and altei-ations of the old church, was paid. From Bristol 
 he went to Port Huron, Mich., where he remained nine years. He is now rector of 
 St. John's Church, Clyde, N. S. 
 
832 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 November, 1861, the edifice was consecrated. From tlie de- 
 struction of the old church until the new one was completed, 
 the congregation met for service in the old Methodist meet- 
 ing-house upon the Common. The new building should have 
 been finished at a much earlier date, but in the latter part of 
 August, 1860, the roof and the end walls which were nearly 
 completed, fell in, through some defect in the work or the 
 materials, necessitating very much additional labor. (On 
 Tuesday evening Mr. James DeW. Perry was admitted to the 
 order of deacons, the services being held in the newly-con- 
 secrated edifice.) 
 
 This is the description of the building, which appeared the 
 next day in the Providence Post: — 
 
 " The buildinj^ is a fine gotliic structure of freestone, with a steeple on 
 the soutlieast corner. It Avas built from plans furnished by Saeltzer & 
 Valk, of New York, by George Ricker, of Newark, N. J. In its dimen- 
 sions it is 111 feet long by 72 broad, 'and 72 feet from the floor to the 
 apex of the roof. The steeple is 130 feet high, including a freestone 
 tower, a belfry, and a spire of wood covered with slate. The roof is 
 double, the clear roof resting on five arches on each side, which are sup- 
 ported by heavy columns. The windows are of stained glass.* On the 
 left of the chancel are two marble tablets in niches, inscribed respec- 
 tively to Bishop Griswold and the Rev. John Bristed. The body of the 
 house contains 131 pews, capable of seating 750 persons, while the gallery 
 ■which is over the vestibule will seat 7-5 more. The organ, which is from 
 Hook's establishment, Boston, is on the right of the chancel. The pews, 
 organ, desk, pulpit, and chancel rail are of black walnut, and the font is 
 of white marble, and all except the pews and organ were furnished by 
 the ladies of the parish. The entire floor is carpeted with a neat pattern 
 in red and black, and the pews are upholstered ready for use. The cost 
 of the building complete was about $3-5,000, and the organ cost in addi- 
 tion thereto, $2,000." 
 
 One-third of the pews sold for nearly two-thirds of the cost 
 of the edifice. The highest sum paid as " choice money " was 
 one tliousand dollars. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Stowc resigned the rectorship, to accept a call 
 to Grace Church, Port Huron, Michigan. He was succeeded 
 by the Rev. Dr. Lewis P. W. Balch.f Dr. Balch remained 
 
 * The windows of the clere story have since been replaced with others of ligrhtor 
 ghis?, to give more light. 
 
 + Dr. Balch was born at Leesburg, Va., Feb. 1, 1814. He was ordained deacon by 
 IJisho]) White, and priest by Rishop Mead. From 1853-1860, he was the secretary of 
 
ST. MICHAKLS CHURCH. 
 
 333 
 
 but one year, resigning in 
 1866 to become a canon 
 of tlie Catliedral of Mont- 
 real. 
 
 In 1867 the Rev. George 
 L. Locke, a native of Bos- 
 ton, and a graduate of 
 Harvard College (class of 
 1859), became the rector. 
 During his rectorship 
 the parish has increased 
 in membership and in 
 strength. Only two of 
 the churches in the dio- 
 cese surpass it in the 
 number of communicants 
 rolled upon its books. 
 
 Chapel of St. Michael's Church. 
 
 420 names being, at present cu- 
 In the year 1877, St. Michael's 
 Chapel, one of the most beautiful edifices of the kind in the 
 country, was erected. It deserves the following somewhat 
 extended description which appeared i)i the Phoenix of April 
 21,1877. 
 
 " The new Chapel of St. Michael's Parish is located on the east side of 
 Hope Street, on a site rising gently towards the rear. The building is 
 rectangular in plan, 52 by 76 feet, with a porch projecting five feet iu 
 front. The foundations are solidly built of local stone and enclose a 
 cellar the full size of the building. The cellar is devoted to the heating 
 apparatus, which consists of two ample Boynton furnaces, with pipes 
 leading to all the rooms. The building is in the pointed style of archi- 
 tecture, with walls of brown stone from the McGregor quarries at 
 East Longmeadow, Mass., laid in rock-face broken ashlar, with joints 
 pointed with red mortar. The roof is covered with best dark Pennsyl- 
 vania slate. At the northwest corner is a small bell turret, terminating 
 in a metal cross. The open porch at the front leads to a commodious 
 vestibule, which connects directly with the main room, the infant class 
 room, 12^ by 26 feet, and another room 14 by 21 feet, for classes and gen- 
 eral parish purposes, and by stairs, with the cellar and belfry. Adjoin- 
 ing the last-named room, and connected with it by sliding doors, is a 
 similar room. Both of these and also the infant class room, the former 
 
 the House of Bishops. He was Canon of the Cathedral of Montreal from 186«-1871. 
 He was Archdeacon of Kent, Huron, and Canou to the Cathedral in 1874. He died 
 in Detroit, Mich., June 4, 1875. 
 
334 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 two on the north and the latter on the west, are connected with the 
 main room by handsome glazed screens which are arranged to slide up 
 into the partitions so as to throw the whole suite together with little ob- 
 struction to sight and sound. Another room, 8 by 14 feet, opening from 
 tlie main room on the north, is arranged for the Sunday School library. 
 At the northeast corner of the building, and connecting with the main 
 room, is the rector's study, 11 by 14 feet. This has adjoining it a small 
 robing-room, which has an outside door, and a door opening to platform 
 of main room. The platform is arranged somewhat after the manner of 
 a chancel, though hardly of size and proportions, to warrant that title. 
 At the south of the platform is an organ chamber, 6 by 7 feet, with 
 arches opening to platform and to main room. The main room is 34 by 
 .50 feet. The vertical walls are twelve feet high, and the upper part is 
 finished up into the roof about 25 feet, showing the trusses, which are 
 finished with stained white pine. The other rooms are 12 feet high, fin- 
 ished with flat ceilings. Above the ceilings is an open space under the 
 roof which has an opening for ventilation at each end under the ridge. 
 Connecting with the si)ace under the roof, are ventilators in ceilings of 
 main and class rooms, arranged to open and close by means of cords. 
 
 The doors and inside finish throughout are of ash, and most of the 
 floors are of southern hard pine. The windows of the south side are 
 glazed with decorated cathedral glass, those on the north side where 
 more clear white light is wanted, and some others, have plain glass with 
 tinted borders. The walls and ceilings throughout, except the rector's 
 study, are tinted in distemper, and treated with considerable color deco- 
 ration, rich but sober in effect. 
 
 The study, in order to give it a rather more domestic character, has its 
 walls decorated very appropriately with paper hanging. The arched 
 panel at the north of the chancel arch is filled with a set of tablets 
 richly illuminated in gold and color, and having the Commandments, the 
 Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, with a design at the top having a cross 
 entwined with ivy and holly. These tablets are tlie gift of Henry 
 Codman, Esq., who also gave the rich crimson Brussels carpet of the 
 platform. For artificial lighting, the building is amply provided with 
 gas fixtures of polished brass. The main room has a large central 
 chandelier, and a suitable number of side brackets, and the side rooms 
 have chandeliers and brackets as their needs require. The main room is 
 furnished with ash seats with reversible backs, and the other rooms 
 have appropriate ash furniture made specially for them. The reading- 
 desk, lectern, table and platform seats are of black walnut. The chapel 
 has been built from designs and under the direction of Mr. Stephen C, 
 Earle, of Boston. The builders were Norcross Brothers, of Worcester. 
 The cost of the building with heating apparatus, exclusive of furniture, 
 has been about $12,500. 
 
 The parish of St. Michael's has furnished much more than 
 its proportion of ministers to the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 Besides Bishop Griswold, it has given two bishops, the Rt, 
 
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH. 335 
 
 Rev. Benjamin B. Smith, of Kentucky, for some years tlie 
 presiding bishop of the church, and the Rt. Rev. Mark A. 
 DeWolfe Howe, of Central Pennsylvania. At least a dozen 
 more of its ministers, now living, were born within the limits 
 of the parish, while many others, besides, are at rest from 
 their labors. 
 
 These are at present the wardens and vestry of the parish : 
 Wardens — Jonathan D. Waldron and Robert S. Andrews; 
 Vestrymen — Thomas J. Usher, George H. Pearce, Theodore 
 P. Bogert, John H. Pitman, Andrew R. Trotter, Otis Munro, 
 Edward S. Babbitt, William T. C. Wardwell, Samuel P. Colt, 
 Herbert F. Bennett and Wilfred H. Munro.* 
 
 * In the list of the first vestry of the parish, elected on Easter Monday in 1724, 
 appears the name of William Munro, an ancestor, five generations removed, of the 
 author of this book. From father to son in unbroken line the office has come down 
 for one hundred and fiftj'-six years. The fact seems most remarkable. It would 
 be difiicult, perhaps, to find its parallel. 
 
Chapter xlii. 
 
 THE SCHOOLS.* 
 
 Four years before the day when the people of Bristol met 
 together in their first town-meeting, the General Court of 
 Plymouth Colony enacted that if any town of seventy families 
 should be destitute of a grammar school^ it should be taxed X5 
 for the support of such a school "to the end that learning 
 may not be buried in the graves of our fathers." This law 
 was still in force when Bristol was founded, but a mandate 
 from the General Court was not needed to induce the liberal- 
 minded founders of the town to take action in the matter. 
 In the Grand Articles suitable provision for the support of a 
 school was made, and at the fourth town-meeting, Sept. 7, 
 1682, this vote was passed : — 
 
 Voted: " That each person that hath children in town ready to go to 
 school, shall pay 3d. the week for each child's schooling to a school- 
 master, and the town by rate according to each rateable estate shall 
 make the wages amount to twenty-four pounds the year. The selectmen 
 to look out a grammar schoolmaster and use their endeavor to obtain 
 five pounds of the Cape moneyt granted for such an end." 
 
 * In the year 1875, at the request of the School Committee, a very able and com- 
 plete historical sketch of the public schools of Bristol was prepared by Miss Ellen 
 R. Luther, for publication in the " centennial year." From Miss Luther's account 
 the extended quotations which appear in this chapter are taken. 
 
 ■I- The profit arising- from the fishery upon the Cape was devoted to the mainte- 
 nance of fframmar schools. In this connection the exact meaning of the term 
 grammar school should be carefully borne in mind. The only kind of grammar 
 taught in those days was Latin grammar ; the only grammar schools were those in 
 which the study of Latin was pursued. The study of English grammar has only 
 within a comparatively recent period become an essential feature of a school 
 course. In England the original meaning is for the most part still attached to the 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 337 
 
 The Byfield School. 
 
 Samuel Cobbitt became the first "schoolmaster" of the 
 town in 1685. A house lot, a ten-acre lot, and a portion of 
 the "land for common improvement," were set apart for his 
 use, while a small sum of money was also appropriated to 
 defray the expenses of his moving to the town. Thencefor- 
 ward, votes concerning the school and schoolmaster appear 
 almost as frequently upon the town records as those concern- 
 ing the meeting-house and the minister. 
 
 Mr. Cobbitt held the position of schoolmaster until 1694-, 
 when Josiah Hervey was appointed to succeed him, with a 
 salary of X25 .per annum, and the use of the school-lands. 
 " Mr. Hervey's stay among the youths of the town seems to 
 have been short, for it stands recorded that in 1699 Mr. 
 Easterbrooks was ' re-elected' schoolmaster with a salary of 
 
 name ; in this country we have almost entirely lost sight of its primary signification. 
 This fact, therefore, is apparent in this vote — that the town of Bristol, in its very 
 earliest years, raised its voice in favor of the most advanced education which could 
 then be obtained. 
 
 22 
 
838 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 £30. Part of this was to be paid by the scholars themselves, 
 ' 3d. a week for Reading and Writing, and 4d. for Latin ; ' 
 the remainder to be made up by the town." Toward the end 
 of the year it was proposed, on account of the increase of in- 
 habitants on the outskirts, to divide the town into two school 
 districts^ the " North Creek " being the dividing line. The 
 opposition of Mr. Easterbrooks defeated the plan that year, 
 but in 1700 the representations of those living north of the 
 bridge were sufficient to bring about the object desired. The 
 sum of X20 was voted to the part of the town south of the 
 North Creek, provided it " improved a schoolmaster " eight 
 months of the year, and £10 were voted to those living north 
 of the bridge for maintaining a school for four months. 
 
 In 1701 Mr. Severs succeeded Mr. Easterbrooks. In the 
 following year <£20 were appropriated for the building of a 
 school-house in the compact part of the town, the school hav- 
 ing before been taught in private houses. There is no record, 
 however, to show that a school-house was built at that time. 
 " Mr. Severs remained until 1705 and was succeeded by 
 Samuel Howland, in 1709. He was ' persuaded to tarry ' 
 until 1712. Upon his resignation of office, Timothy Fales 
 was installed ' school master.' The total expense of maintain- 
 ing the town government at this time was .£60, forty of 
 which went to the schoolmaster. Mr. Howland was after- 
 wards Town Clerk for many years." 
 
 " In 1714 Mr. Byfield conveyed to John Nutting, who was teacher of 
 the Grammar School at that time, for the use of the schools forever, 
 certain lands known ever since as the ' school lands.' These are in four 
 lots or parcels ; a lot lying between Church and Byfield streets and ex- 
 tending west of High Street to the estate of the late John Hoard; a lot 
 at the east of the town, bounded on the west by the old buryingground 
 and the estate of the late Leonard Waldron, on the north by State Street, 
 on the south by the Mount Road, and extending east as far as the prop- 
 erty of Mr. John Barney ; a lot between State Street and Bradford Street, 
 extending west from Wood Street one hundred and sixty-five feet; a lot 
 on the main road to Warren. A part of this land was rented the very 
 next year, and most of it has been productive of more or less income 
 ever since, much of it being at present leased for a long term of years. 
 For a very longtime the school was mainly supported by this income. 
 The people were never taxed directly for this purpose after this gift, un- 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 339 
 
 til far into the present century. It must have been some time between 
 1830 and 1840 (1839) tliat the Committee first asked for a special appro- 
 priation from the town for the support of the school. The sum asked 
 ■was $500. The request was granted without difiiculty. The amount 
 received from the rent of the lands was, previous to the appropriation, 
 eked out in various ways." 
 
 In 1718, and for many years afterward, a license fee, vary- 
 ing from 21s. to £4, was charged upon all houses of enter- 
 tainment, and the money obtained was devoted to the support 
 of the schools. In 1729 the schoolmaster was instructed to 
 receive from each scholar 4s., or its value in fire-wood. In 
 1818 (May 2d), a vote was passed that all money which 
 should come to the town from the property of strangers dying 
 within its limits, should be devoted to the support of the free 
 schools. 
 
 Voted, "That the Town Council be instructed to exact a reasonable sum 
 from all persons who may dance the slack rope or wire, or perform any 
 feats of activity, or exhibit any animal or wax figures, or other show in 
 this town who exact pay from their spectators ; and to collect double 
 the sum exacted in case any person shall presume to exhibit without 
 their permission, and that the money arising under this Act be appro- 
 priated to the support of free schools." 
 
 In 1832 the Committee were instructed to demand from all 
 those scholars whose parents were able to pay it, a sum not 
 to exceed twenty-five cents, for the purchase of books, sta- 
 tionery, etc. This practice prevailed until 1867 ; since that 
 time the schools have been entirely free. The scholar, from 
 his entrance to the primary until his graduation from tlie 
 high school, pays nothing whatever for his education, and the 
 town provides even the books and the stationery which he 
 uses. 
 
 In 1724 it was proposed to settle a schoolmaster for the 
 term of seven years. The salary was to be <£50 per annum 
 for a single man ; £60 for one who was married. Mr. Amos 
 Throope was induced to take the position, but at the end of 
 seven months, having received a call to the ministry from 
 Woodstock, asked from the town a release from his engage- 
 ment. Mr. John Wight, of Dedham, was his successor, 
 
340 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 beginning his term of office in 1728. Having proved himself 
 an excellent teacher, at the expiration of one year he was re- 
 elected for seven years. 
 
 The town-meeting, in 1727, appropriated <£50 for the erec- 
 tion of a school-house. It was a one-story, gambrel-roofed 
 building, twenty-six feet by twenty, and twelve feet between 
 joists, it was thought large enough to hold sixty scholars ; 
 many more than that number were frequently packed into it, 
 for the seating (?) accommodations of those days admitted of 
 indefinite expansion. The school-house was placed behind 
 the Court House in State Street (nearly opposite the M. E. 
 Church lot), and stood until 1799, when it was taken down 
 and the school was transferred to the Court House. 
 
 Mr. Wight remained until 1740. In 1738 he w^as charged 
 in town-meeting with not doing his duty, but nevertheless 
 retained his place for two years longer. Mr. Hovey followed, 
 with a salary of X130; from 1742 to 1747 Shearjashub 
 Bourne held the office. Prom the expiration of Mr. Bourne's 
 term of service until the year 1772, the schoolmasters appear 
 and disappear with bewildering rapidity. Daniel Bradford, 
 John Throope, Bosworth Kinnicutt, John Coomer and Samuel 
 Pearse taught the "Neck School" during that time. The 
 teachers in town were Shearjashub Bourne, Israel Nichols, 
 Leverett Hubbard, Bellamy Bosworth, Nathaniel Lindall, 
 John Throope, Josiah Brown, Haile Turner, John Barrows, and 
 John Usher, Jr. In 1764, £1,050 were paid to Mr. Usher for 
 teaching for a year and a half.* From 1772 to 1781 no 
 school whatever was maintained. Samuel Bosworth taught 
 from 1781-1788, and from that time forward the schoolmas- 
 ter's name disappears from the records of the town-meetings. 
 The direction of affairs relating to the schools was about 
 that time committed to the charge of a prudential committee, 
 and the committee kept no records. 
 
 "In 1802 Peter Church, William DeWolf, William Cogges- 
 hall and others, living on the Neck, presented a petition in 
 town-meeting, praying to be allowed to build a school-house 
 
 * See pag-e 165. 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 341 
 
 Residence of Mrs, M. DeW. Rogers. 
 
 Oil the ten-acre school lot on the main road to Warren. 
 This petition was granted and a brick building, twenty-two 
 feet by twenty, was erected. This was used for a public 
 school until 1841, when a new school-house was built much 
 nearer the town, on the east side of the road, on a part of the 
 land belonging to the Asylum Farm. The town appropriated 
 $500 for this purpose, and in 1843 it sold the old brick house 
 and laid out the proceeds on the new one." Only a pile of 
 bricks now marks the site of the old building. 
 
 John DeWolf, Moses Van Doom and Charles Collins were 
 in 1804 appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions for a 
 new school-house in the south district (the compact part of 
 the town). The money needed was easily obtained, the 
 Masonic Society bearing half the expense of erection, and 
 securing a lodge-room in the second story. The Iniilding was 
 not entirely completed until 1809, a small appropriation being 
 made for it by the town that year. It has since that time 
 been greatly enlarged.* 
 
 * The sum of $700 was named upon the subscription paper, " to be applied to 
 building: a brick house upon the Common, to be 50 feet in leng-th, 28 feet in width. 
 
342 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 The town was divided into three school districts, stretching* 
 from shore to shore, in 1811. " The North District extended 
 from ' Peck's Hill ' to Warren ; the Middle began at ' Peck's 
 Hill,' and extended to Poppasquash Corner, and included 
 Poppasquash ; the South District comprised the remainder of 
 the town." In that same year the school lands, which before 
 had been rented annually, were leased for periods of from 
 twenty to fifty years. 
 
 " After 1788, as has been before said, the town records do not hold 
 themselves responsible for the name of the schoolmaster. About the 
 year 1835, the Committee began to issue a yearly report of the condition 
 of the schools. Of these none is known to exist of a date earlier than 
 1838. There is, then, an interval of fifty years, from 1788 to 1838, of which 
 there is no written record w'hatever, and which must therefore be filled 
 — as far as it is filled at all — from memory. This portion of school 
 history will of necessity be somewhat unsatisfactory. No successful 
 attempt can be made to fix any date before 1825, and there is not want- 
 ing a reasonably strong suspicion that the list of teachers, especially the 
 earlier ones, is not perfect. Daniel Bradford, mentioned before as- 
 having taught on the Neck — or perhaps his son — is the most remote 
 name that it is possible to lay hold upon with any degree of certainty, 
 and he must have come a long time after Samuel Bosworth, as he 
 is within the memory of people living now. He was succeeded by 
 Mr. Swan, who in his turn gave place to Mr. Rawson, and he again to 
 Capt. William R. Noyes. Of the first three there is nothing to be said 
 but that they taught the school, managed it with more or less success, 
 and were themselves more or less managed by unruly boys, who would 
 stuff seaweed into the stove pipe, and thought it was a fine thing to 
 " thrash " the schoolmaster. But the name of Captain Noyes is a familiar 
 one to the older inhabitants of the town, many of whom were his 
 scholars. He was as successful as it was possible for any one to be, in 
 the days when everything seems to have been arranged with a view to 
 hindering and nothing for helping the teacher. Text-books were very 
 scarce, one or two of a kind doing duty through the whole school. 
 A scholar commenced his education with Alden's Speller. When he had 
 mastered this he was expected to learn a lesson twice a week from the 
 New Testament. From this he passed to the English Speaker. These, 
 together with DaboU's Arithmetic, made up the list of text-books. 
 Occasionally, to lighten the labors of the teacher, monitors were 
 employed from the more advanced scholars, but not systematically. 
 Captain Noyes was a remarkably fine penman, the copies which he wrote 
 
 and two stories high — the expense of the building to be equally borne by the town 
 and the Masonic Society — the first story, or ground floor, to belong to the town for 
 a free school room forever." James De Wolf's subscription was $400, George De- 
 Wolf and Charles DeWolf subscribed $100 each. 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 343 
 
 being almost as fine as copper-plate. He set all the copies and mended 
 all the pens. He taught navigation to young men going'to sea, but this 
 was quite separate and distinct from his I'egular work. He was 
 succeeded by Otis Storrs. 
 
 "At this point we reach a reliable date. About the year 1826, Mr. 
 Storrs came to Bristol and opened a private school in the Academy, on 
 what is known as the Lancasterian system. His success was so great that 
 in 1828 the Committee asked him to take the town school and allow girls 
 to go and share his instructions with the boys. Before this, girls did not 
 go to the public school. Upon his acceptance, they enlarged the brick 
 school-house and fitted it up with reference to the workings of this ])e- 
 culiar system. The teacher's desk stood on a raised platform at the 
 west end of the room. Down the length of the school-room, through the 
 middle, ran a single aisle. On each side of this were arranged semi-cir- 
 cular desks, with seats on the outer curve for the scholars. The desks 
 did not have lids but were open in front, and each accommodated eight 
 scholars. On the inner curve was a bench where they sat to recite. 
 The monitor who heard the recitations, had a stool in the centre of the 
 circle. The teacher heard the monitors recite and had the supervision 
 of the school. This system was very popular at the time. Mr. Storrs 
 was succeeded by John Cross, and he by James E. Hidden." 
 
 Dennis S. Gushee became teacher of the Grammar Scliool 
 in 1836. He was not a believer in the Lancasterian system, 
 and the school-rooms were therefore remodeled and arranged 
 after the more modern plan. He continued to teach until 
 1849. During his term of office a vigorous and successful ef- 
 fort was made by the Committee to give system to the school 
 organization. Several grades were established. The highest 
 school was called the Select Scliool ; the other grades were 
 the Grammar, the Intermediate, and the Primary. 
 
 A committee was appointed by the town in 1830 to pur- 
 chase the Academy of Mr. James DeWolf. The building was 
 erected in 1791, for the use of a private school. From time 
 to time the town had hired a portion of it, when the number 
 of scholars was too large to be accommodated in the Brick 
 School-House. When the committee approached Mr. De- 
 Wolf upon the subject, he at once presented the town with a 
 deed of the building. It was used thenceforward until the 
 " Byfield School " was compleied, wlien it was sold at auction 
 and moved away ; it has since been converted into two dwelling- 
 houses. About the time of the purchase of the Academy, 
 
344 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 primary schools were organized. Tlie North and South Pri- 
 mary and the Northeast District school-houses were built in 
 1848. 
 
 The School Committee of 1849 was authorized to elect a 
 Superintendent of Schools, with a salary of not more than 
 $200. The Rev. Thomas Sliepard was the first to hold the 
 office. The following is the list of Superintendents : — 
 
 Eev. Thomas Shepard 1849-1855. l John N. Burgess 1862-18C4. 
 
 George B. Monro 1855-1859- Robert S. Andrews 18C4-1877. 
 
 Robert S. Andrews 1859-1862. I Parmenas Skinner, Jr 1877 . 
 
 •' For along time some of the more liberal minded of the citizens of 
 Bristol had felt the need of a higher course of study than that pursued 
 in the Grammar School. But the least suggestion of such a thing was 
 met by violent opposition. But the project had among its supporters 
 three men of culture and influence, whose own liberal education ena- 
 bled them to appreciate more clearly than most, the influence of a higher 
 system of study, not only upon the students themselves, but also on the 
 general intelligence and- cultivation. These were Eev. Thomas Shepard, 
 Eev. James W. Cooke, and Eev. James N. Sykes. Supported by the other 
 members of the School Committee, they did valiant service for the 
 cause, and at length won the victory — won it, but did not dare to ac- 
 knowledge that they had. 
 
 "In the autumn of 1848, the Committee were holding their regular 
 meeting in Mr. Shepard's study. They had debated whether it was pos- 
 sible to establish a High School. There had been expressed a good deal 
 of doubt, both on account of want of means and lack of general friend- 
 liness towards the undertaking. All present were strongly in favor of 
 it, yet all were taken by surprise when Mr. William B. Spooner rose and 
 moved that such a school should be organized. The subject was now 
 fairly before them, and although they were frightened, almost, by the 
 audacity of the scheme, when it came to assume a tangible shape, the 
 motion was seconded and carried without a dissenting voice, and the 
 "Select School" became a fixed fact — the " Select School," for they 
 did not choose to offend the prejudices of the town by calling it the 
 " High School." They were contented for the present with the fact, the 
 name would come all in good time. 
 
 "The scholars who were to constitute this school were selected from 
 the various schools in the town. They were forty-five in number, and 
 they occupied the lower part of the Academy. The school opened 
 auspiciously, with William E. Jillson at the head. The committee were 
 most fortunate in the selection of this the first teacher. He was a man 
 of genial disposition, easily accessible, and regarded his pupils as his 
 personal friends. His success was such as to win the admiration of 
 even the enemies of the school. To the extreme regret of the Committee 
 and of the school, the connection came to an end in the fall of 1849. 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 345 
 
 Mr. Jillson was afterwards Assistant Librarian at the Congressional 
 Library, at Washington, and later, Librarian at the Public Library, 
 Boston. He was succeeded by Lafayette Burr, under whom the school 
 went on prosperously something over two years. 
 
 "In the spring of 1851, Dr. Nathan B. Cooke was elected to fill the 
 place left vacant by Mr. Burr. Dr. Cooke was a doctor of medicine and 
 a miaister of the Baptist Society, but owing to an affection of the throat, 
 he was obliged to give uji preaching for a number of years, during 
 which time the Committee were so fortunate as to secure his services. 
 A more faithful, thorough and interested teacher no school ever had. 
 While it was under his charge a systematic plan of study was adopted. 
 This, together with the fact that the school had increased greatly in 
 numbers, rendered an assistant teacher necessary, and created a demand 
 for more room. The Academy Avas therefore enlarged in 1852, and the 
 school moved up stairs. The east end of the upper part had been 
 separated from the main room by a partition and sliding doors, and was 
 used for a recitation-room, and Mary W. Shepard was installed assistant. 
 Not long after, a small sum of money was exjiended by the Committee 
 for philosophical apparatus. For the space of nine years Dr. Cooke 
 remained in the position. At the end of this time he removed to 
 Newton, Mass., where he taught two years. While there he met 
 Prof. Lewis Monroe, the elocutionist, who encouraged him to think 
 that it was possible for him to resume preaching. It had always been 
 a source of deep sorrow to him that he was debarred from following his 
 chosen calling, and upon Professor Monroe's decision he removed to 
 Leicester, Mass., to take charge of a parish, and thence to Lonsdale, 
 E. I., where he remained until his death in 1871. His remains were 
 brought to Bristol, and laid in Juniper Hill Cemetery. 
 
 "Upon Mr. Cooke's withdrawal in 1860, Thomas W. Bicknell, of Bar- 
 rington, was elected to the office. He remained three years, and then 
 left, to accept the principalship of one of the grammar schools of Provi- 
 dence. Henry S. Latham, a most accomplished scholar, succeeded him. 
 At the end of four years, the Committee paid Mr. Bicknell the deserved 
 compliment of asking him to become the principal of the school again. 
 He accepted the invitation and remained two years. Mr. Bicknell 
 received the office of Commissioner of Public Schools in 18G9, which 
 he retained several years. He is now editor of the Neiv England Journal 
 of Education. 
 
 "In 1869, Frank G. Morley was chosen principal. Although young, he 
 developed a remarkable ability for imparting information, and unusual 
 talent for controlling the school. . . , For nearly six years he 
 labored. At the end of this time his health failed, and he sent his 
 resignation to the Committee to take effect at the end of the term. 
 But so rapid were the inroads of disease that he was forced to leave 
 soon after the middle. He went to IMttsficld, Mass., where he died of 
 consumption at the residence of his father. Rev. J. B. Morley, Aug. 1, 
 1875." 
 
346 
 
 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 Miss Ellen R. Luther, the assistant teacher, was placed in 
 charge of the school after the departure of Mr. Morley ; re- 
 taining its control until Mr. Charles Fish was elected prin- 
 cipal. Mr. Fish taught but one term and was succeeded bj^ 
 Walter F. Marston. At the end of two years' service Mr. 
 Marston resigned and Edward D. Mason was chosen to fill 
 his place. Mr. Mason resigned in 1879, and was succeeded by 
 Mr, James A. Estee, the present principal. The following is 
 the list of the principals of the High School, with their terras 
 of service and the names of the colleges (so far as known) 
 from which they graduated : — 
 
 W. E. Jillson (Brown Univ. 1846) 1848-49 
 
 Lafayette Burr ( 
 N. B. Cooke, M.D.( 
 T. W. Bieknell ( 
 H. S. Latham ( 
 T. W. Bieknell ( 
 
 1848) 1849-51 
 1840) 1851-30 
 
 18(53) 1863-67 
 1860) 1867-69 
 
 F. G. Morley (Williams Col. 1867) 1869-75 
 
 Charles Fish ( — )1875 one term. 
 
 W. F. Marston ( ) 1875-77 
 
 E. D. Mason (Dartmouth Col.1872) 1877-79 
 James A. Estee (Alfred Univ. 1873)1879 — 
 
 In 1851 a school for colored children was opened. It con- 
 tinued to be maintained until 1864, when by act of the Legis- 
 lature, all distinctions of color in the public schools were 
 abolished. 
 
 Mr. Joshua Kendall, the principal of the State Normal 
 School (from 1868 to 1864 the sessions of the Normal School 
 were held in Bristol), was elected chairman of the School 
 Committee in 1862. Under his superintendence, a very rad- 
 ical change was made in the grading of the schools. The 
 High School and the primary schools remained as before, 
 while five successive grades were placed between them. Other 
 changes have since been made. The schools of the South 
 District now are : one High School, three grammar, three 
 intermediate, one advanced primary, and four primary 
 schools. Throughout the winter, two evening schools, one 
 for boys and one for girls, are maintained. 
 
 In the year 1871 the necessity for more improved accom- 
 modations for the schools had become so apparent that the 
 erection of a new building was determined upon. The old 
 Methodist meeting-house, which stood upon the southwest 
 corner of the Common, was moved away and the " Byfield 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 347 
 
 School " was erected upon its site. The building is two sto- 
 ries high, with a French roof. It contains eight school-rooms 
 and a large hall above them. The cost of this school-house 
 was $40,000 ; its furnishing cost 84,700 besides. 
 
 Its architect was C. T. Emerson, of Lawrence, Mass., and 
 James Lawless, John R. Slade, Solon H. Smith, John B. 
 Munro, William H. West, James M. Gifford, and Alfred 
 Pierce were the building committee chosen to superintend 
 its construction. It was dedicated with appropriate exer- 
 cises, Saturday, Sept. 6, 1873. The following " Dedication 
 Ode " was written for the occasion by the Right Rev. Dr. 
 Howe : — 
 
 When first upon the rock-bound strand 
 Our pilgrim fathers made their home, 
 
 Beside their huts, with pious hand, 
 They built for prayer an humble dome. 
 
 Soon in the forest-clearing rose 
 
 The village school of logs unhewn. 
 The roof was green Avith hemlock 
 boughs, 
 Through creviced wall the light was 
 strewn. 
 
 The fathers toiled and fought by turns 
 To break the soil— repel the foe ; — 
 
 Th' heroic fire that inly burns, 
 Was fanned to flame that roof below. 
 
 The house of prayer, the village school — 
 These were the muniments of power, 
 
 The strength to hold, the skill to rule, 
 Were drawn from these in needful 
 hour. 
 
 O, shades of holy men and brave. 
 Whose dust lies buried round these 
 walls, 
 
 Wake from your tranquil rest, we crave, 
 And hover o'er these votive halls. 
 
 The full-grown village school behold. 
 Planted in faith by works displayed I 
 
 Your logs have sprouted, and we hold 
 Our festal day beneath their shade. 
 
 Come, thronging generations, come. 
 Here gird your souls for generous 
 strife, 
 
 Beneath this roof find Learning's home ; 
 And near it seek the Tree of Life ! 
 
 God of our fathers, still maintain 
 The heritage their prowess gave ! 
 
 Churches and schools henceforth remain 
 Th' armories of the free and brave. 
 
Chapter xliii. 
 
 THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 To give an' accurate account of the share which Bristol and 
 the other towns of Rhode Island once took in the slave-trade 
 is now impossible. Its immense profits made those who were 
 engaged in it unwilling to make public many facts connected 
 witli the business ; — the higher moral tone which now pre- 
 vails throughout the world has induced their descendants to 
 suppress all the evidences which proved the participation of 
 their ancestors in it. This sensitiveness is natural, but 
 unnecessary. Let us not hold our ancestors responsible 
 for deeds which in their day Avere not regarded as sinful. 
 Perhaps a century hence actions and practices which now 
 occasion no comment, may seem in the highest degree blame- 
 worthy to those who shall succeed us. For the slave-trade 
 the author does not propose to make the slightest defence. 
 In liis opinion it admits of none. It justly merits tlie infamy 
 the world now heaps upon it. For those merchants and 
 seamen of Bristol who engaged in it during the seventeenth 
 and eighteenth centuries, and prior to the year 1808, when it 
 was declared illegal, a few words of explanation and apology 
 may well be offered. 
 
 It is not necessary liere to recapitulate the history of 
 slavery, as it had existed in the world before America was 
 discovered ; the facts are familiar to all intelligent readers. 
 Among all tlie nations of the world the institution has at 
 some time flourished in some form. Negro slavery was the 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADE. 349 
 
 result of the great maritime discoveries of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury. The African slave-trade was begun by the Portuguese 
 in 1444, and the other nations of Europe were not slow in 
 following in the track of those enterprising navigators. Dur- 
 ing the reign of the Stuarts the trade flourvshed in England 
 with great vigor, and its extension to the English colonies 
 became a matter of course. There were vjhite slaves as well 
 as black in America, as those who have read Charles Reade's 
 Wandering Heir may, perhaps, have realized. The supply of 
 laborers was very limited, and Indians conquered in battle 
 were sold into servitude by their conquerors. The first negro 
 slaves sold in the English colonies were brought in a Dutch 
 vessel and landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in the year 1620. 
 Yery soon the "peculiar institution" acquired a firm foot- 
 hold, and for years scarcely a doubt was raised as to its 
 propriety or morality. 
 
 We have no means of knowing when the first negro slaves- 
 were landed in Bristol. Their coming was not deemed a fact 
 so unusual as to be worthy of a record. In Nathaniel By- 
 field's will (as has been before mentioned), he gives orders 
 for the disposition of his negro slave. Rose, " brought to Bris- 
 tol from the West Indies in the spring of 1718." It is quite 
 possible that the first vessels to ply between this town and 
 the West Indies were both willing and desirous to bring back 
 slaves upon their return trip. The early establishment of 
 distilleries shows that the people of Bristol must soon have 
 ceased to draw their slave supply from the West Indies, and 
 that they soon began to invest capital in the African slave- 
 trade. 
 
 This was the way in which the business was conducted : 
 Nearly all the owners of the distilleries also owned many 
 vessels. From Cuba a cargo of molasses was procured and 
 quickly converted 'into New England rum. From the distil- 
 lery the great casks went straight to the hold of a schooner 
 or sloop lying at the neighboring wharf. Some light goods, 
 suited to the barbaric tastes of the natives of the coast, were 
 also placed on board, and the vessel was cleared for the coast 
 
350 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 of Africa. The voyage was almost always a long one, for the 
 vessels were built to carry freight, and not for speed ; the 
 stay upon the coast was also somewhat protracted (depend- 
 ing greatly upon the condition of the inland tribes, from 
 whom the captives were mostly obtained). One by one, the 
 hogsheads of rum would be bartered for slaves, until the 
 desired number was obtained, and then the captain would 
 sail for Cuba, or one of the neighboring islands, where he 
 was always sure of a ready market for his cargo. There he 
 would load with molasses for Bristol, and so the round would 
 be completed. 
 
 The number of negroes taken on board was never very large. 
 It did not pay to take too many. The owners were also ex- 
 tremely careful of the health of their cargo. They did not force 
 their human freight into quarters as crowded as those with 
 which the sailors who served upon privateers were well con- 
 tent. The slaves were not packed together as the emigrants 
 from England have been upon the Liverpool clipper-ships, 
 within the memory of many now living. The voyages were 
 made without a very great amount of hardship. Most of the 
 letters from the masters of the slave-vessels have been lost. 
 Occasionally they are met with and furnish very entertaining 
 reading. No scruples respecting the nature of their business 
 appear to have troubled these writers. One captain piously 
 writes : " We have now been twenty days upon the coast, and 
 by the blessing of God, shall soon have a good cargo." The 
 following is a very good specimen of the correspondence. (It 
 was furnished for publication in the Phosnix five or six years 
 ago, by the son of the writer.) 
 
 "St. Thomas, April 1, 1796. 
 " Captain James DeWolf: 
 
 "This will inform you of my arrival in this port safe, with seventy- 
 eight well slaves, I lost two on my passage. I had sixty-two days pas- 
 sage. I received your letter and orders to draw bills on thirty days' 
 sight, but I have agreed to pay in slaves — two men slaves at twenty- 
 eight Joes,* and one boy at twenty-five Joes and another at twenty Joes. 
 I found times very bad on the coast. Prime slaves are one hogshead 
 
 * The Joe or Johannes is a gold coin of Portugal, named for King John, whose 
 image it boars. Its present value; is eight dollars. 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADE, 351 
 
 and thirty gallons of rum or seven Joes gold, and boys one hogshead of 
 rum, I left Captain Isaac Manchester at Anemebue with ninety slaves on 
 board, all well. To-morrow I shall sail for Havana, agreeable to your 
 orders. I shall do the best I can, and without other orders load with 
 molasses and return to Bristol, 
 
 " I remain your friend and humble servant, 
 
 "Jeremiah Dimax," 
 
 The Legislature of South Carolina opened the ports of that 
 State for the importation of African slaves in 1804. They 
 remained open for four years, and during that period 202 ves- 
 sels, with nearly 40,000 negroes on board, entered the harbor of 
 Charleston. The election of James DeWolf to the United 
 States Senate, sixteen years afterward, brought out some in- 
 teresting statistics which might otherwise have escaped no- 
 tice. It should be remarked here, that while the name of De- 
 Wolf rises most naturally to the lips when the part which 
 Bristol took in the slave-trade is spoken of, yet the DeWolfs 
 were by no means the only persons interested in the traffic. 
 The men of that family were most prominently concerned in 
 it, and made the most money by it ; consequently, their con- 
 nection with the business is remembered, while that of their 
 less conspicuous associates is lost sight of. 
 
 One of the Senators from South Carolina, Judge Smith, 
 delivered the speech from which the figures that follow are 
 taken. The question whether Missouri should be admitted 
 as a slave state was then under discussion. In the North pub- 
 lic opinion concerning slavery had greatly changed since 1808, 
 and in parts of the South, even, the subject was beginning to 
 be looked at in a different light. In South Carolina, the 
 chief of the Slave States, very little change had come over the 
 minds of the great mass of the people ; but the leading plant- 
 ers, who formed the governing class, had begun to realize that 
 there was a distinction — mysterious and subtle, but yet far- 
 reaching — to be drawn between the man who, in other days, 
 in a perfectly legitimate business upon which the world had not 
 frowned, had ventured his fortune upon the ocean and exposed 
 his life to the dangers of equatorial hurricanes and the deadly 
 dews of Africa, — and the more fortunate being, whose life of 
 
352 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 contented ease was supported by the labor of slaves pur- 
 chased without a hint of risk, or of danger. This haughty 
 assumption of superiority did much to widen the breach that 
 was opening between the North and the South, and to pre- 
 cipitate the contest from whose throes the country has only 
 just emerged. 
 
 Judge Smith in his speech reflected severely upon the bit- 
 terness the people of Rhode Island had lately shown against 
 slaveholders, and especially against the admission of Missouri 
 as a slave state. "This, however, he believed could not be the 
 temper or opinion of the majority, from the late election of 
 James DeWolf as a member of the Senate, as he had accu- 
 mulated an immense fortune by the slave-trade." He went on 
 to show, that of the two hundred and two vessels whose names 
 he gave, " ten and their African cargoes belonged to Mr. De- 
 Wolf." This recapitulation closed his speech : — 
 
 Hecapitulation of the African Trade, and by what Nations Supported 
 FROM 1st January, 1804, to 31st December, 1807. 
 
 ngiag to Charleston, . 
 
 61 
 
 Vessels belonging- to Sweden, . . 
 
 1 
 
 " Rhode Island, 
 
 . 59 
 
 " Great Britain, 
 
 . TO 
 
 " " Baltimore, 
 
 4 
 
 " " " France, . . 
 
 3 
 
 " Boston, . . 
 
 1 
 
 
 — 
 
 " Norfolk, . . 
 
 3 
 
 
 203 
 
 " Connecticut, 
 
 . 1 
 
 
 
 Consignees, natives of Charleston, 13 i Consignees, natives of France, 
 " Rhode Island, 88 
 " Great Britain, 91 
 
 202 
 
 Slaves Imported at Charleston, from the 1st January, 1804, to the 31st 
 
 December, 1807, and by what Nation. 
 British, 19,949 
 
 French, 
 
 In American Vi 
 
 Charleston, S. C, 
 
 Of this number there belonged to foreigners. 
 
 Leaving imported by merchants and 
 Planters of Charleston and vicin- 
 ity, 2,000 
 
 Bristol, 3,914 1 
 
 1,078 
 31,027 
 
 7,733 
 5,717 
 
 Newport, 3,488 I 
 Providence, 556 ■ 
 
 Warren, 
 Baltimore, 
 
 Rhode Island, 8,238 
 
 5,717 
 20,744 
 
 Savannah, 
 
 300 
 
 Norfolk, 
 
 287 
 
 Hartford, 
 
 250 
 
 Boston, 
 
 200 
 
 Philadelphia, 
 
 200 
 
 New Orleans, 
 
 100 
 
 12,331 
 39,075 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADE. 353 
 
 In 1808 the African slave-trade was prohibited by law, and 
 very shortly after that time the leading nations of the world 
 united in efforts to suppress it. But because it immediately 
 became more profitable than it ever had been before, men still 
 continued to engage in it. Then came the " horrors of the 
 Middle Passage," the recital of which even now curdles the 
 blood. The old, easy-going, and comparatively comfortable 
 vessels of former years were abandoned, because unsuited to 
 the changed conditions of the business. Ships built only for 
 speed took their places. Into their shallow holds hundreds of 
 human beings were remorselessly thrust, and over the stifling 
 mass inhuman owners did not hesitate to draw the hatches 
 whenever the dreaded men-of-war came in sight. The sicken- 
 ing details need not be mentioned here. It was the fiendish 
 cruelty of those voyages which drew upon the accursed traffic 
 the execrations of the whole civilized world, and which cov- 
 ered those who had formerly engaged in the business with a 
 load of opprobrium they did not deserve. With those voyages 
 the name of Bristol should not be connected. 
 
Chapter xliv. 
 
 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 On the twentieth day of May, 1854, three days after his 
 ordination to the priesthood, the Rev. Michael McCallion was 
 appointed pastor of Warren and Bristol, by the Rt. Rev. 
 Bishop O'Reilly, of Hartford. In Warren a little church had 
 been erected to accommodate the small congregation which 
 his predecessors upon the mission station. Fathers Daly, 
 Moore, Mallon, Tucker, and Lamb had gathered together. 
 In Bristol the same clergymen had occasionally officiated, 
 but no church had been erected, and the few scattered fami- 
 lies could hardly be called a congregation. 
 
 The appointments to the parishes of the Roman Catholic 
 Cliurch, are made upon a system very different from that 
 which prevails in other religious bodies. The connection be- 
 tween the pastpr and his flock is meant to be a permanent 
 one. It cannot be dissolved at the will of the people. The 
 bishop of the diocese confers the appointment, and he alone 
 has the power to dissolve the pastoral relation. Thus a parish 
 priest who does his duty, is very rarely called upon to change 
 his field of labor, unless he has manifested abilities which en- 
 title him to much higher preferment in the church. Very 
 rarely do the pastors themselves care to make a change. Con- 
 tinual residence gives them opportunities for influence which 
 itinerating ministers are seldom able to acquire. 
 
 Father McCallion is a native of Ireland. He was educated 
 at the Sulpician College in Montreal, and the Theological Sem- 
 inary in Baltimore. Immediately after receiving his appoint- 
 
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 355 
 
 ment he began his 
 labors in the field to 
 which he felt that his 
 life's work had been 
 allotted. The Warren 
 church had already 
 become well estab- 
 lished, and in that 
 town, therefore, he 
 fixed his residence. 
 Bristol was to be for 
 many years simply a 
 mission station. On 
 the first Sunday he 
 was permitted to cele- 
 brate Mass in the 
 Town Hall, but the 
 use of that edifice was 
 afterwards denied him, and he was obliged to hold services in 
 private houses. The fact that " Know-nothingism " at that 
 time held sway in the town, may, perhaps, account for this 
 display of religious illiberality. Very different was the treat- 
 ment which had been accorded to Bishop Cheverus, the first 
 Roman Catholic who is recorded to have preached in tliis town,* 
 as this account from one who heard him testifies. Bishop 
 Cheverus came to this town to visit a French family in 1817. 
 
 "Bishop Griswold, learning of his visit here, at once called upon hira 
 and the visit was reciprocated. He was invited to preach in St. Michael's 
 Church and notice thereof was promulgated. It was in the spring of 
 that year, and if my memory serves me right was shortly after Easter. I 
 was a lad at the time, and accompanied my grand-parents to the Church. 
 The audience was quite large, drawn together chiefly by motives of curi- 
 osity. The services were held at 11 o'clock. Bishop Cheverus was a 
 small man, rather below the medium size, dressed in black, and wore an 
 
 St. Mary's Church. 
 
 * " From the Baptismal Register of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, in Boston, 
 we learn that occasional visits were made by Rev. Drs. Matig-non and Cheverus to 
 the town of Bristol, as early as 1811 and 1813, where the children of certain French- 
 Americans were baptised; at which time, no doubt, the few Catholic residents 
 had Mass, and received the other consolations of their religion." —Ber. James Fit- 
 ton's Sketches of the Establishment of the Church in New England, page 213. 
 
356 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 outside cloak with a small cape, the fashion of those days. He spoke in 
 a rapid tone, but distinctly, and his sermon was listened to with great 
 attention. Bishop Cheverus spent several days in this town, during which 
 he visited the leading families and was received with marked atten- 
 tion." * From the Bristol Phoenix. 
 
 The erection of St. Mary's Church was commenced in Au- 
 gust, 1855 ; on the second Sunday of the following October 
 the edifice was dedicated. It was a plain wooden building, 
 with no architectural pretensions, having seating accommo- 
 dations for about five hundred people. It served the parish 
 for about fifteen years. In the year 1870 the congregation 
 had far outgrown the accommodations of the church building, 
 and its enlargement became absolutely necessary. Very great 
 changes were therefore made, and its seating capacity was 
 nearly doubled. Extensive improvements in decoration and 
 furnishing made it one of the most beautiful of the country 
 churches in the diocese. The cost of the changes and addi- 
 tions was about $16,000, a very large sum for so poor a con- 
 gregation to raise. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1870, the church was dedicated by Bishop Mac- 
 Farland ; the Eev. Mr. McCallion, the pastor, the Rev. Charles 
 J. Rogers, then a deacon, and ten other clergymen taking part 
 in the services. In his address to the congregation* at that 
 time, the bishop made use of these words : " I congratulate 
 you, my dear children, on the accomplishment of the, for you, 
 great work which we now see before us — the improvement 
 of your church. At first I thought that your good pastor and 
 yourselves had made a mistake in building your clmrch too 
 large ; but I doubt not, after all, that it will be here as in the 
 other missions of the diocese, ere long too small to accom- 
 modate yourselves and the influx of Catholics. The growth 
 of our church has been exceedingly great, particularly in 
 this diocese. Fifty years since. Catholicity was almost un- 
 known in Rhode Island and Connecticut, the present diocese. 
 
 * Bishop Cheverus was remarkable for his humility and charitable laboi-s. He 
 became a cherished friend of Bishop Griswold, whom he much resembled in char- 
 acter. He was afterwards recalled to France and appointed Bishop of Montauban 
 by Louis XVIII. In 1828 he was made Archbishop of Bordeaux and Peer of France, 
 and in 1836 became a Cardinal. 
 
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 357 
 
 There were then only three Catholic families in both states. 
 In 1828, forty-two years ago, there was but one Catholic 
 Church in the whole diocese. Now there are in the diocese 
 of Hartford,* 200,000 Catholics, 100 churches^ and a priest 
 to attend to each church." 
 
 The Bristol church remained an out-mission of Warren 
 until 1874. In that year it became an independent parish, of 
 which the Rev. Charles J. Rogers was appointed resident 
 pastor on the sixth day of March. That same year a resi- 
 dence for the priest was built on the lot next south of 
 the church. The present value of church property is about 
 130,000. St. Mary's Total Abstinence Society, founded in 
 1873, has attained great strength and been productive of 
 much good in the parish. ' The Rev. Father Rogers was born 
 in Philadelphia in 1842, and is a nephew of Father McCallion. 
 He was educated at Holy Cross College, Worcester, and at 
 St. John's College, Fordham, graduating from the latter insti- 
 tution in 1867. He studied theology at St. Joseph's Theo- 
 logical Seminary, Troy ; was ordained sub-deacon by Cardinal 
 McCloskey, deacon by Bishop Williams, of Portland, and 
 priest by Bishop Conroy, of Albany. Dec. 17, 1870, he 
 became his uncle's assistant in the parish of Warren and 
 Bristol, serving as such until his appointment to the pastor- 
 ship of St. Mary's Church, Bristol. 
 
 * In 1872 the Diocese of Providence was set off from the old Diocese of Hartford, 
 and the Rev. Thomas F. Hendricken was made its bishop. 
 
Chapter xlv. 
 
 THE ROLL OF HONOR. 
 
 To prepare a complete and accurate list of the names of the 
 Bristol men who served in the Army and Navy during the late 
 war is almost an impossibility. It is not in the nature of man 
 to be accurate respecting names, residences, and regiments. 
 Some of the names enrolled upon the books of the town do 
 not appear in the Adjutant- GeneraVs Report. The town- 
 books, on the other hand, contain no record of many soldiers 
 whom the Adjutant-General of Rhode Island credits to Bris- 
 tol. From these two sources only, this roll has been made out. 
 Many names besides ought, doubtless, to appear, but no others 
 are found upon the two sets of books. The army record is 
 confined entirely to Rhode Island regiments. The number 
 of his regiment is given after the soldier's name. The names 
 of those who (according to the records of the State of Rhode 
 Island) died in the service are printed in italics. Of the 
 regiments here represented, the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, 
 Seventh, Fourteenth, First Light Artillery, and First, Second 
 and Third Cavalry were enlisted for three years. Most of 
 them were reorganized at the expiration of that time; the 
 greater portion of their men re-enlisted and were still re- 
 tained in the service. The Eleventh and Twelfth regiments 
 served for nine months. Three months was the term of 
 service of the First, Ninth and Tenth regiments, and the 
 First and Tenth Light Batteries. It is entirely unnecessary 
 to specify the battles in which the different regiments were en- 
 
Ambrose E. Burnside, 
 u. s. senator. 
 
THE ROLL OF HONORo 
 
 359 
 
 gaged. Ill the office of the Rhode Island Secretary of State 
 the reader may derive full information upon that subject. 
 
 Ambrose E. Burnside, Colonel of First Regiment, May 2, 1861; Briga- 
 dier-General, Aug. 6, 1861; Major-General, March 18, 1862; Commander 
 of the Department of North Carolina; Commander of the Ninth Army 
 Corps; Commander of the Army of the Potomac; Commander of the 
 Department of Ohio; resigned April 15, 1865. 
 
 John H. Adams, 4th. 
 
 George Alger, 5th. 
 
 Edward Anthony, Jr., 7th. 
 
 Jacob Babbitt, 10th, 7th. Major. 
 
 Samuel Bagnall, 12th. 
 
 John A. Balcolm, 3d. 
 
 Charles H. Ballou. 
 
 D. S. Ballou, Navy. 
 
 Albert Barnes, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 Leonard B. Barnes, 5th. 
 
 Archibald Bell, 5th. 
 
 Adams J. Bennett, 12th. 
 
 George Blackwell, 3d Cavalry. 
 
 Leonard B. Blake, 12th. 
 
 Gilbert S. Bliss, 12th. 
 
 Lewis S. Bliss, 7th. 
 
 Wm. J. Booth, r2th. 
 
 Lyman B. Bosworth, 2d. 
 
 Frank G. Bourne, 2d. 
 
 Amasa W. Bowen, 2d. 
 
 "Wanton O. Bowers, Navy. 
 
 "Wm. J. Bradford, 2d. Lieut. Adjt. 
 
 Wm. L. Bradford, 2d. 
 
 Isaac Brayley, 5th. 
 
 Francis T. Brightman, 5th. 
 
 John Bromley, 3d Cavalry. 
 
 John Brown, 2d. 
 
 "Wm. Brown, 4th. 
 
 Charles H. Bullock, 2d. 
 
 James F. Bullock, 5th. 
 
 John S. Bullock, 3d. 
 
 "Wm. H. Bullock, 2d. Lieut. 
 
 "Wm. B. Burns, 2d. 
 
 George A. Bush, 2d. 
 
 Henry F. Bush, 2d. 
 
 Thomas F. Cahill, 5th. 
 
 Henry F. Card, 5th. 
 
 James T. Card, 7th. 
 
 Daniel Cavanaugh. 
 
 Amos B. Chace, 2d, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 Vincent Chace, 4th. 
 
 Samuel K. Chaffee, 2d. 
 Stephen B. Chaffee, 7th. 
 Thomas D. Chaffee, 7th. 
 Edwin B. Church, 12th. 
 "Wm. A. Church, 12th. 
 Robert Clough, 5th. 
 Isaac N. Cobb, 2d. 
 John S. Coggeshall, Battery C. 
 "Wm. M. Coit, 2d, H. G. 
 George G. Cole, 2d. 
 Henry J. Cole, 2d. 
 Luther Cole, Jr., 9th, 12th. Lieut. 
 Samuel B. Cole, 9th. 
 William Collins, 7th. 
 Giles S. Congdon, 3d. 
 Henry R. Congdon, 3d. 
 Richmond Daggett, Navy. Act. En- 
 sign. 
 Isaac Dakir, Jr. 
 Isaac L. Darling, 12th. 
 Wm. J. Darling, 12th. 
 John W. Dearth, 12th. 
 Thomas Decker, 1st Cavalry. 
 Joseph C. DeConques, 3d Cavalry. 
 James Dee, 3d Cavalry. 
 Thomas Dempster, Battery E. 
 Arthur Dennis, Battery C. 
 Charles H. DeWolf, 10th. 
 James A. De"Wolf, 1st. 
 Jas. F. De"Wolf. Capt. Com. Dept. 
 "Wm. H. De"Wolf, 1st. 
 Wm. H. DeWolf, Navy. Act. Master. 
 Wm. R. DeWolf, 14th. 
 George Dill, H. G. 
 George W. Diman, 12th. 
 H.'H.lDoty. 
 Charles Douglas, 1st. 
 George H. Douglas, 12th. 
 Horace F. Drake, Battery G. 
 James Duffee, Jr., 2d, 12th. 
 Thomas Duffee, 12th. 
 
360 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Freeboru C. Dunbar, 12th. 
 
 George P. Dunbar, 2d. 
 
 John A. Dunbar, 4th. 
 
 Robert R. Dunbar, 12th. 
 
 Wra. F. Dunbar, 2d. 
 
 Andrew Durfee, 5th. 
 
 Wm. Dwyer, 12th. 
 
 Gardner Easterbrooks, Jr., 12th. 
 
 George Easterbrooks, Navy. 
 
 Geo. T. Easterbrooks, 2d. Lt. Capt. 
 
 Moses P. Easterbrooks, 2d, Navy. 
 
 Philip Easterbrooks, 2d. 
 
 Wm. H. Easterbrooks, 4th, 7th. 
 
 Wm. H. Easterbrooks, ii., 5th. 
 
 Wm. W. Eddy, 10th. 
 
 David Farnsworth, 5th. 
 
 Robert Farnsworth, 5th. 
 
 Eugene A. Fish, 5th. 
 
 Rufus Fish, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 Stephen F. Fish, 4th. 
 
 Henry W. Fitts, 3d Cavalry. 
 
 Thomas Fitts, 7th. 
 
 Josephus Franklin, 7th. 
 
 Charles Freeman, 14th. 
 
 Victor Gabriel, 3d. 
 
 Charles DeW. Gibson, Battery H. 
 
 14th. Lieut. 
 Henry C. Gifford, 4th. 
 James Gifford, Navy. 
 Henry F. Gladdinrj, 4th. 
 James H. Gladding, 7th. 
 James N. Gladding, Jr., 7th. 
 John A. C. Gladding, 4th. 
 Nathaniel Gladding, 12th. 
 James F. Goff, 12th. 
 Isaac Gorham, 12th. 
 William T. Gorham, 12th. 
 Jeremiah I. Greene, 9th, 5th. 
 Willard H. Greene, 12th. 
 John Grimshaw, 5th. 
 Mark A. Handy, 5th. 
 William R. Handy, 2d, 4th. 
 Nicholas C. Hatch, 12th. 
 Solomon D. Hatch, 2d. 
 Daniel Hazard, 12th. 
 Nathan B. Heath, Navy. Act. Master, 
 
 and Act. Lieut. 
 JohnHeffernan. 12th. 
 Jonathan Hilton, 5th. 
 Isaac H. Hoar, 3d Cavalry. 
 James Hoard, Jr., 7th. 
 Frank Hornung, 12tli. 
 
 Royal D. Horton, 11th. 
 George Howard, 4th. 
 James H. Hyde, 12th. 
 George S. Ingraham, 2d. 
 Dutee Johnson, 5th. Lieut. 
 PelegG. Jones, 7th. 
 Frank Keating, 2d. 
 John Keating, 12th. 
 Robert Keating, 2d. 
 Frank V. Kelley. 
 Alonzo Kenney, 2d. 
 Pardon T. Kenney, 12th. 
 Samuel Kinder, Jr., 12th. 
 William Kinder, 5th. 
 George H. King, 7th, 3d Cavalry. 
 Cassander Kingman, 12th. 
 Cassander Kingman, Jr., 2d. 
 Sanford H. Kingsley, 1st. 
 Walter B. Kingsley, 1st, Navy. Mu- 
 sician. 
 Daniel G. Lake, 2d. 
 Jonathan Lake, 5th. 
 John Lawrence, 2d. 
 William J. Lawton, 5th, 
 George A. Leonard, 7th. 
 James E. Lewis, 2d. 
 John P. Lindsey,5th. 
 William F. Lindsey, 5th. 
 Byron D. Liscomb, 5th. 
 Isaac F. Liscomb. 
 Theodore Livesey, 4th. 
 Edward Lowder, 2d. 
 James Lowrey, 5th. 
 Lorenzo V. Ludwig, 5th. 
 Hiram Luther, Jr., 12th. 
 Jeremiah Luther, Jr.,2&.. 
 Alex. H. Manchester, 7th. 
 George B. Manchester, 12th. 
 Isaac B. Manchester, 7th. 
 James D. Manchester, 2d. 
 Jos. S. Manchester, 2d, 7th. Lieut. 
 Henry Warland, 2d. 
 Barney F. Martin, 12th. 
 William M. Martin, 2d. 
 James Mason, Navy. 
 James A. Mason, 12th. 
 Jacob Mattison, H. G. 
 George H. Maxfield, 2d. 
 George W. Maxfield, 2d. 
 Caleb Mayhew, 12th. 
 Charles H. V.Mayo, 1st Batt., 7th. 
 Hugh McCabe, Battery H. 
 
THE ROLL OF HONOR. 
 
 361 
 
 Richard McCartney, 12th. 
 
 James McGee, 2d. 
 
 Jolin McGregor, 2d, 
 
 A. F. Mclntyre, Navy. 
 
 James Mclntyre, 5th. 
 
 Samuel McKay, 2d. 
 
 Edward M. Meiggs, 5th. 
 
 John R. Meiggs, 7th. 
 
 At)raham Meyers, 4th. 
 
 Edward B. Meyers, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 George W. Meyers, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 Benjamin F. Miller, 7th. 
 
 William A. Miller, 4th. 
 
 Benjamin B. Morris, 2d. 
 
 Joseph N. Morris, 7th. 
 
 Owen V. Morris, 3d Cavalry. 
 
 Allen B. Mott, 4th. 
 
 George F. Munro, 12th . 
 
 Samuel Munro, Jr. 
 
 Allen M. Munro, 2d. 
 
 Benjamin S. Muuroe, Battery A. 
 
 Fitz E. W. Munroe, 12th. 
 
 Francis Munroe, 7th. 
 
 Wm. H. Munroe, 2d, 12th. 
 
 George T. Mutton, 2d, 12th. 
 
 Allen M. Newman, Navy. Act. Mast. 
 
 John S. Newman, 2d. 
 
 Simeon A. Newman, 2d. 
 
 Edward T. Nichols, 9th. 
 
 Michael Noon, 1st, 2d. 
 
 William H. Northup, 7th. 
 
 Jeremiah O'Brien, 5th. 
 
 John G. O'Connor, 2d. 
 
 Jeremiah O'Shea, 5th. 
 
 Charles F. Page, 7th. Lt. and Adjt. 
 
 Alfred Peahody, 2d. 
 
 Frederic Peabody, 2d. 
 
 James T. Pearce, 1st, 3d. 
 
 "Walter Pearce, Navy. Act. Ensign. 
 
 Wm. F. Pearse, 12th. 
 
 George H. Peck, 2d, H. G. 
 
 Benjamiyi Peckham, 7th. 
 
 Raymond H. Perry, Battery B. Lieut. 
 
 3d Cavalry. Captain, Major. 
 Sylvester Perry, Cavalry. 
 James T. Phelps, 7th. Lieut, 
 Allen Pierce, 7th. 
 Alonzo Pierce, 12th. 
 Cornelius C. Pierce, 2d. 
 George M. Pierce, 1st Cavalry. 
 Henry C. Pierce, 2d. 
 John Potter, 7th. 
 
 Frank T. Ramiers, 7th 
 
 Joseph Redfern, 5th. 
 
 William H. Richmond, Navy. Act. 
 Master. 
 
 Gilbert Richmond, Navy. Act. Mas- 
 ter. 
 
 Lewis Richmond, Staff oflficer. Capt., 
 Maj., Lieut.-Col., Adjt.-Gen. 
 
 George Ridgeway, 5th. 
 
 John H. Robbins, 14th. 
 
 Richard Rose, Battery E. Navy. 
 
 Wm. Rose, Navy. 
 
 John W^. Rothwell, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 Wm. Savage, 5th. 
 
 Joseph A. Seymour, 7th. 
 
 George R. Shaw, 12th. 
 
 David Shawcross, 5th. 
 
 Ezra H. Sherman, 7th. 
 
 William A. Sherman, 2d. 
 
 Robert Shippee, 2d. 
 
 Rufus Shippee, 2d. 
 
 William J Shippee, 4th, 7th. 
 
 Simon M. Sidlinger, 2d, Batt. A. 
 
 Geo. W. Simmons, 12th. 
 
 Henry F. Simmons, 2d. Lieut. 
 
 Samuel C. Simmons, 12th. 
 
 Thomas Simpkins, 5th. 
 
 Gardner W. Sisson, 5th. 
 
 Richard Skinner, 1st Cavalry. 
 
 Geo. Slade, 12th. 
 
 George F. Smith, 12th. 
 
 Theodore H. Smith, 12th. 
 
 Joseph B. Sparks, 2d. 
 
 Edward W. Spencer, 12th. 
 
 George A. Spencer, 7th. 
 
 George W. Stetson, 12th. 
 
 Henry L. Sutton, Battery D. 
 
 Samuel O. Swan, Navy. 
 
 Thomas Swan, Jr., 1st. 
 
 Ferdinand Sweet, 4th. 
 
 John B. Sweet, 7th. 
 
 George H. Tence, 3d. 
 
 William Tepper, 2d Cavalry. 
 
 Henry Thiele, 12th. 
 
 John A. Thompson, 2d. 
 
 Edwin H. Tilley, 12th. 
 
 Robert Toye, 2d. 
 
 John Turner, 12th. Adjt. 
 
 Thomas F. Usher, 2d. Lieut. 
 
 Thomas F. Vaughn, 1st. 
 
 John G. Vicars, 12th. 
 
 Alfred B. Waldron, 1st. H. G. 
 
862 
 
 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 Charles A. Waldron, 2d. Lieut. 
 William H. Waldron, 1st, 12th. 
 James D. Wardwell, Jr., 12th. 
 Josiah S. Warren, 2d. 
 Wallace F. Warren, 2d. 
 George W. Weeden, 2d. 
 Henry M. Weeden, Battery D. 
 Clark Whitford, 7 th. 
 John F. Whitford. 
 Moses G. Whitney, 5th. 
 Albert Wilkie, Navy. 
 George E. Wilkinson, 5th. 
 James F. Wilkinson, 2d. 
 
 Abel Willis, Jr., 7th. 
 
 Andrew Wilmarth, 5th. 
 
 Franklin E. Wilmarth, 5th. 
 
 Horace Wilmarth, 5th. 
 
 Joseph M. Wilmarth, 4th. 
 
 Nathan B. Wilmarth, Battery. 
 
 John G. Wilson, 2d. 
 
 John D. Wingate, 3d, Navy. Act. 
 
 Ensign. 
 Henry Winseman, 7th. 
 William Wiuterbottom, 3d Cavalry. 
 Allen G. Wright, 5th. Captain. 
 
Chapter xlvi. 
 
 TRINITY CHURCH. 
 
 Trinity Church, Bristol, owes its existence mainly to the 
 pious beneficence of a former communicant of St. Michael's 
 Church, Mrs. Ruth B. DeWolf. Mrs. DeWolf died in 1874. In 
 her will she directed that the greater part of a very consider- 
 able estate should be given to the parish " next and first or- 
 ganized according to the usages, principles, and canons of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States and the 
 Diocese of Rhode Island." One condition of the gift was, 
 that the pews or seats of the church edifice which might be 
 erected, should not be sold or rented for a longer time than 
 one year, the wish of the testator being that the church might 
 be " maintained as nearly as possible on the ' Free Seat ' sys- 
 tem ; " another was, that the parish should be organized and 
 admitted to the Convention of the diocese before any real 
 estate should be conveyed to it. 
 
 Feb. 16, 1875, a meeting was held for the purpose of organ- 
 izing a parish which should acquire possession of the property 
 thus devised. A constitution and by-laws having been adopted, 
 and parish officers chosen, a committee was appointed to ac- 
 quaint the bishop of tlie diocese with what had been done, 
 and to request him to bring the matter before the Standing 
 Committee. Measures were also taken to procure a charter 
 for the parish from the General Assembly. April 7, 1875, 
 at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of 
 
364 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Rhode Island, it was " Voted, That the Standing Committee 
 give their consent to tlie organization of Trinity Church, Bris- 
 tol, whenever the vestry of the proposed parish shall make 
 such provision for the security of the property from which, by 
 the will of Mrs. DeWolf, they are to derive benefit, as shall 
 be satisfactory to the trustees therein named, and shall be so 
 certified by the trustees to the Secretary of the Standing Com- 
 mittee." The necessary provisions were quickly made, and 
 at a meeting of the wardens and vestry of the parish, held 
 April 27, 1875, a letter from the bishop was read, in which 
 " acting in accordance with the advice and consent of the 
 Standing Committee," he consented to the organization of 
 the church. 
 
 The first service was held on Whitsun-day, 1875, in the 
 " Odd Fellows Hall " on Bradford Street, the Rev. Dr. Henry 
 Waterman, formerly rector of St. Stephen's Church, Provi- 
 dence, being the officiating clergyman. The first officers of the 
 parish, elected after the charter was obtained, were : Wardens 
 — Henry C. Sayles and Robert F. Tiernan ; Vestryinen — 
 LeBaron Bradford, Ellery W. Greene, Edward M. Spooner, 
 William D. Skinner, Robert Murray, Robert Lawder, Edward 
 A. Blake, Thomas Henderson, and John P. Reynolds. No 
 rector was chosen during the first two years, but services were 
 regularly held each Sunday by several clergymen. 
 
 In 1876 the church was admitted into union with the 
 Convention of the diocese. In the fall of that year, the Rev. 
 Samuel Moran, a native of Providence, and graduate of 
 St. Stephen's College, Annandale, took the charge of the 
 parish, and on Easter Monday, 1877, was elected its first 
 rector. In June, 1876, upon the lot at the northeast corner 
 of Bradford and Hope streets, where Mrs. DeWolf had lived, 
 the corner-stone of a church was laid, but the building was 
 not really begun until All Saints' Day, 1877. In 1878 the 
 edifice was completed. It is a wooden structure, 90 feet by 
 38, furnished tastefully and in churchly style, and has seat- 
 ing accommodations for 350 people. 
 
 Mr. Moran resigned the rectorship in 1878, and in 1879 
 
TRINITY CHURCH. 
 
 365 
 
 Trinity Church, 
 
 the Rev, Joseph H. Johnson was elected his successor, Mr. 
 Johnson is a native of Schenectady, N, Y., a graduate of 
 Williams College (Class of 1870), and of the General Theo- 
 logical Seminary. From the time of his ordination to the 
 ministry until his coming to Bristol, he held the charge of 
 Holy Trinity Church, Highland, N, Y, The church numbers 
 10!2 communicants and is in a very flourishing condition. An 
 excellent boy-choir adds much to the attractiveness of its 
 services. Its oflficers are : Wardens — John P. Reynolds 
 and H. Frank Munroe, Vestrymen — Henry C, Sayles, 
 Henry F. Card, J. Russell Bullock, Charles Y. Perry, Wil- 
 liam R. Trotter, Thomas G, Holmes, John H. H. Mott, 
 William F. Williams, and Darwin Almy. 
 
Chapter xlvii. 
 
 SOME DETAILS RESPECTING THE COMMERCE. 
 
 The reader possibly imagines that definite and accurate in- 
 formation respecting tlie commerce of Bristol may easily be 
 obtained from the official books. This is by no means the 
 case. The official records are almost entirely inaccessible, 
 completely so to one whose time for examining them is lim- 
 ited to a few short months. Until the year 1801 Bristol was 
 included in the Newport Customs District. To that city, 
 therefore, one must go for the facts desired. In the loft of 
 its Custom House the enthusiastic inquirer is pointed to a 
 huge pile of boxes and told that there is the information he 
 seeks. The boxes are not marked, and no memorandum of 
 their contents has been preserved. Only by a most careful 
 examination of each one could the wished for information be 
 obtained. Though the courteous official obligingly places tbe 
 loft at your disposal, the shrinking spirit recoils in dismay 
 from the undertaking. After the Revolutionary War, and be- 
 fore Rhode Island became a member of the American Union, 
 a large amount of interesting matter was embalmed in the 
 books of the General Treasurer. The reader is respectfully 
 referred to a number of old-fashioned trunks, in the loft of 
 one of the buildings rented by the State in the city of Provi- 
 dence, for information concerning tliat period in the town's 
 commercial history. Before the Bristol Custom House was 
 built, the zealous attention of some former Collector secured 
 the preservation of such papers and books as the flames of a 
 private house had not already devoured, by packing them in 
 
SOME DETAILS RESPECTING THE COMMERCE. 367 
 
 various boxes, etc., and bestowing them in a loft upon Thames 
 Street. There tliey still remain. In the Custom House only 
 the invoice books are preserved, and in them the cargoes dis- 
 charged at Warren are not particularly designated. The in- 
 formation given in this chapter must, therefore, be general 
 rather than specific. 
 
 Very soon after its settlement Bristol began to engage in 
 commerce with the West Indies and the Spanish Main. Men- 
 tion of the first recorded shipment has already been made on 
 page 111. Many such followed it before the year 1700 was 
 reached. In 1690 fifteen vessels engaged in foreign commerce 
 were owned by Bristol citizens. The number gradually and 
 steadily increased until, just before the Revolution, the name 
 of the town was borne upon the sterns of fifty vessels. They 
 were usually of small size, and very many of them were sloops. 
 It was the age of little vessels, and these sloops were more 
 frequently sent upon voyages to Europe and the coast of Af- 
 rica, than our largest schooners are now employed for the 
 same service. We look back with amazement upon men who 
 were willing to expose their lives to the ocean-storms on 
 board such feeble shallops, but those very men might possi- 
 bly deem it foolhardy to brave a hurricane in tlie unwieldy 
 vessels in which the nineteenth century delights. 
 
 Various kinds of produce, pickled fish, horses, sheep, etc., 
 made up the cargo upon the outward voyage. Coffee, molas- 
 ses, sugar, rum, and tropical fruits were brought back. In 
 1691, Deacon Bosworth shipped on board the sloop "Dol- 
 phin," 540 ropes of onions, which had been raised upon his 
 farm. The cultivation of this vegetable was for years one of 
 the chief industries of the town ; as many as 100,000 bushels 
 having sometimes been sent to market in the course of a year. 
 
 During the first half of the eighteenth century, and until the 
 Revolution, considerable capital was invested in the whale 
 fishery, though the business was conducted upon a plan very 
 different from that which was followed a hundred years later. 
 In the early days of the colonies whales sometimes entered 
 Narragansett Bay, and almost all of them were taken by 
 
368 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 means of the " shore fisheries," L e., the boats would be sent 
 out from the shore in pursuit, whenever a " school " came in 
 sight. Sloops and little schooners were afterward placed in 
 the business. In 1775, perhaps fifty whaling vessels were 
 sent out from Rhode Island ports. Some of these were of 
 course owned in Bristol, but how many cannot be ascer- 
 tained. Upon the town records of that period, mention of 
 " whaleboats " is very common. The war with Great Britain 
 broke up the fisheries, and when peace came the whales 
 were no longer found near the coast, having gone to other 
 feeding-grounds. In 1795, the only whaler in the State was 
 the " Ranger," a brig (or snotv, the term brig was then 
 frequently applied to snow-rigged vessels), of 122 tons. It 
 was owned in Providence. Very few whaling vessels besides 
 were employed in the country, and Massachusetts owned 
 "them all. 
 
 In 1801, the Bristol Customs District was set off from the 
 Newport District, and Jonathan Russell was appointed its 
 first Collector. Until the beginning of the present century 
 the firm of Bourne & Wardwell had been most prominently 
 identified with the commerce of the town. At one time they 
 are said to have owned forty-two vessels. The first cargo 
 entered upon the invoice book of the new district was that 
 of the schooner " Isaac," John Weir, master, from Port 
 Antonio, Jamaica. She was consigned to the master, and 
 John W. Bourne ; brought 9,334 gallons of 3d and 4th 
 proof rum, and six hogsheads of sugar, and paid $3,464.23 
 duty. During the first twenty-five years, 1,262 foreign ar- 
 rivals, an average of fifty each year, were entered upon 
 the books. The largest number entered in any one year 
 was ninety-six, in 1810 ; the smallest was nineteen, in 1814 
 — the worst year of the last war with Great Britain. The 
 sum total of duties paid during that period was $2,369,- 
 424.33, an average of $94,776.97 each year. In 1813 the 
 largest amount was paid into the Treasury, $152,966.04 (the 
 cargo of the " Francis," prize to the " Yankee," was charge- 
 able with a goodly portion of that sum) ; in 1801 was paid 
 
SOMK DETAILS RESPECTING THE COMMERCE. 369 
 
 Residence of Mr. Samuel P. Colt. 
 
 tlie smallest amount, $29,375.10. Very few cities in the Union 
 could present such a record, though the population of the 
 town during those years never exceeded 3,'200. Some of the 
 vessels entered each year discharged their cargoes in Warren, 
 but the share of that town in that great business was com- 
 paratively small. Its greatest ventures upon the ocean were 
 made in after years in the whale fishery. 
 
 The ship •" Juno " brought into the harbor in 1804 the first 
 cargo imported directly from China. Voyages to the " North- 
 west Coast " naturally followed the trade with the "Celes- 
 tial Empire." A large and profitable business was also es- 
 tablished with the ports of both Northern and Soutliern 
 Europe. The West Indian business was not neglected. An 
 extensive trade with the coast of Africa was also maintained. 
 
 The following table shows the amount of duties collected 
 
370 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 each year from 1801 to 1825 inclusive, and the number of 
 vessels arriving from foreign ports : — 
 
 1801 . 
 
 . 23 . 
 
 . $ 29,375 10 1 
 
 1810 . 
 
 . 9() . 
 
 . .$152,380 92 
 
 1819 . 
 
 . 69 . 
 
 . $126,437 87 
 
 1802 . 
 
 . 41 . 
 
 . 32,805" 40 ! 
 
 1811 . 
 
 . 89 . 
 
 . 109,181 78 
 
 1820 . 
 
 . 50 . 
 
 . 121,570 40 
 
 1803 . 
 
 . 48 . 
 
 . . 41,989 15 
 
 1812 . 
 
 . 55 . 
 
 . 100,137 61 
 
 1821 . 
 
 . 44 
 
 . 137,275 06 
 
 1804 . 
 
 . 56 . 
 
 . 82,531 28 
 
 1813 . 
 
 . 30 . 
 
 . 152,966 04 
 
 1822 . 
 
 . 48 . 
 
 . 95,.561 42 
 
 1805 . 
 
 .. 56 . 
 
 . 94,301 86 
 
 1814 . 
 
 . 19 . 
 
 . 72,468 42 
 
 , 1823 . 
 
 . 47 . 
 
 . 95,424 71 
 
 1806 . 
 
 . 61 . 
 
 . 118,964 89 
 
 1815 . 
 
 . 33 . 
 
 . 120,693 53 
 
 1824 . 
 
 . 53 . 
 
 . 111,116 64 
 
 1807 . 
 
 . 43 . 
 
 . 61,743 23 
 
 1816 ; 
 
 . 48 . 
 
 . 78,543 97 
 
 1825 . 
 
 . 42 . 
 
 . 98,821 73 
 
 1808 . 
 
 . 48 . 
 
 . 91,349 95 
 
 1817 . 
 
 . 53 . 
 
 . 74,095 28 
 
 
 
 
 1809 . 
 
 . 42 . 
 
 . 66,022 40 
 
 1818 . 
 
 . 68 . 
 
 . 103,665 69 
 
 
 
 
 When we reflect that a corresponding numl)er of coasting 
 vessels were also employed, — a number much greater, it 
 must be remembered, in those pre-railroad days than would 
 now be needed, — some idea of the busy harbor of those years 
 can easily be formed. 
 
 The name of DeWolf is most frequently seen upon the 
 Custom House books of that period. James DeWolf was the 
 leading merchant of the town ; William DeWolf, Charles 
 DeWolf, and George DeWolf, each carried on a widely ex- 
 tended business. The erection of the houses of James De- 
 Wolf at " the Mount," William DeWolf upon Poppasquash, 
 and George DeWolf * upon Hope Street, marked the success 
 that attended their commercial enterprises. At one time 
 George DeWolf seemed destined to surpass his uncle, James, 
 in wealth, but reverses came, and swept away his fortune. 
 His failure almost paralyzed the town. 
 
 After the year 1825 the commerce of the port began 
 slowly, though steadily, to decline. The renewal of the whale 
 fishery liad much to do with this. About that time the first 
 ship was fitted out to start upon a whaling voyage. It made 
 a very successful cruise, and others were at once placed in 
 the business. In 1887 the arrival of sixteen vessels " from a 
 whaling cruise," is recorded. Perhaps half of these belonged 
 in Warren. The Bristol whaling fleet that year numbered 
 nineteen vessels. This is the list given in the Bristol 
 Phwnix : — 
 
 Now owned and occupied by his grandson, Mr. 8. P. Colt. 
 
SOME DETAILS RESPECTING THE COMMERCE. 371 
 
 Ganges 380 Roger Williams 285 , Sarah Lee 236 
 
 Milton 388 Leon idas 353 ^ Golconda 360 
 
 Balance 322 I Troy 156 
 
 Gen. Jackson 329 
 
 America 258 
 
 Bowditcli 399 
 
 Canton Packet 312 
 
 Corinthian 503 
 
 201 Metacom. 
 
 L. C. Richmond .... 341 { 
 
 Gov. Fenner 376 
 
 Fama 363 
 
 Anne 223 Gov. Hopkins Ill 
 
 The business began to decline before the discovery of gold 
 in California, but the gold fever gave it its death-blow. Many 
 of the old merchant vessels that had been converted into 
 whale-ships took a cargo of gold-hunters safely around Cape 
 Horn, and were then suffered to go to pieces upon the 
 shoals of the " Back Bay," near San Francisco.* 
 
 The West India business ceased when the firm of A. T. & 
 T. J. Usher was dissolved in 1873. At present the town has 
 no foreign commerce. Its capital is almost entirely invested 
 in manufactures. It has still a small coasting fleet. Twenty- 
 seven vessels, ten steamers, and seventeen sailing craft hail 
 from the port. They are mostly of very light tonnage. Only 
 two of the steamers are over 100 tons burden. The largest 
 vessel is the three-masted schooner Charles S. Bayliss, of 
 466.95 tons. The accompanying table, showing the ton- 
 nage, enrolled and licensed, of the Bristol district, from 
 1816 to 1861, was furnished from the office of the Secretary 
 of the Treasury at Washington. How much of this amount 
 of sliipping was owned in Bristol cannot well be ascertained. 
 It will, perhaps, be safe to assume, that up to the year 1840, 
 two-thirds of the vessels of the district hailed from this port ; 
 and that after that year one-half of the aggregate amount of 
 tonnage should be charged to Warren. 
 
 * In 1871 the writer saw upon the " Back Bay Lands," peeringr out from the sand 
 that had been heaped around, the slowly decaying timbers of an old ship, with 
 Bristol, R. I., faintly visible upon her stern. 
 
372 
 
 HISTOBY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 Date 
 
 Registered 
 Ton. 
 
 Year. 
 
 1816 
 
 5,874.16 
 
 1817 
 
 6,388.40 
 
 1818 
 
 7,607.21 
 
 1819 
 
 7,650.12 
 
 1820 
 
 6,610.64 
 
 1821 
 
 7,034.12 
 
 1822 
 
 6,717.20 
 
 1823 
 
 6,877.81 
 
 1824 
 
 7,068.0:5 
 
 1825 
 
 6,500.89 
 
 1826 
 
 6,598.77 
 
 1827 
 
 7,604.24 
 
 1828 
 
 8,330.85 
 
 1829 
 
 8,228.42 
 
 1830 
 
 6,654.84 
 
 1831 
 
 7,167.68 
 
 1832 
 
 10,747.75 
 
 1833 
 
 13,318.47 
 
 1835 
 
 13,850.38 
 
 1836 
 
 14,960.78 
 
 1837 
 
 13,901.84 
 
 1838 
 
 13,134.70 
 
 1839 
 
 10,301.68 
 
 Enrolled 
 
 and I Agg-r 
 Licensed \ of I 
 
 Ton. 
 
 egato 
 Dlst. I 
 
 1,008.86 
 4,285.63 
 1,089,03 
 1 322.22 
 l!366!21 
 1,804.06 
 1,535.15 
 866.90 
 995.46 
 1,882.64 
 2,612.03 
 2,841.64 
 3,259.10 
 2,968.05 
 1,431.83 
 2,200.48 
 2,131.69 
 3,071.48 
 3.160.23 
 2,716.59 
 2,725.41 1 
 3,212.42 
 5,121.35 
 
 6,909.33 
 
 7.763.22 
 
 8,759.67 
 
 10,290.11 
 
 8,036.32 
 
 8,890.00 
 
 8,340.67 
 
 7,771.11 
 
 8,011.62 
 
 8,883.58 
 
 9,210.80 
 
 10,513,08 
 
 11,590.00 
 
 13,284.00 
 
 8,086.72 
 
 9,368.21 
 
 12,879.45 
 
 16,390.00 
 
 17,010.61 
 
 17,677.42 
 
 16,276.29 
 
 16,347.17 
 
 15,422.08 
 
 Date 
 Year. 
 
 1840 
 1841 
 1842 
 1843 
 1844 
 1845 
 1846 
 1847 
 1848 
 1849 
 1850 
 1851 
 1852 
 1853 
 1854 
 1855 
 1856 
 1857 
 1858 
 1859 
 1860 
 1861 
 
 
 Enrolled 
 
 Registered 
 
 and 
 
 Ton. 
 
 Licensed 
 
 
 Ton. 
 
 8,893.58 
 
 6,996.52 
 
 8,191.53 
 
 4,737.67 
 
 9,043.58 
 
 4,457.80 
 
 10,746.16 
 
 3,029. 3(i 
 
 12,454,82 
 
 2,482.14 
 
 11,163.01 
 
 2,541.71 1 
 
 13,705.67 
 
 2,419.09 ' 
 
 12,617.08 
 
 2,437.75 
 
 12,715.75 
 
 2,356.67 
 
 13,070.36 
 
 2,487.50 1 
 
 11,247.12 
 
 1,951.27 j 
 
 10,229.39 
 
 1,948.24 
 
 11,464.26 
 
 2,162.44 1 
 
 10,467.56 
 
 2,379.89 
 
 12,642.76 
 
 1,960.55 
 
 14,572.13 
 
 1,922.03 1 
 
 15,282.58 
 
 1,668.77 i 
 
 13.431.56 
 
 1,721.02 i 
 
 14,894.43 
 
 1,375.27 1 
 
 14,068.59 
 
 1,443.61 
 
 8,399.02 
 
 1,374.34 
 
 6,008.28 
 
 1,197.22 
 
 Aggregate 
 of Dist. 
 
 15,840.15 
 12.929.25 
 13,501.43 
 13,775.52 
 14,937.00 
 13,704.72 
 16,124.76 
 15,087.88 
 15,072.47 
 15,557.80 
 13,198.39 
 12,177.63 
 13,626.70 
 12,847.60 
 14,603.30 
 16,499.16 
 16,951.40 
 15,152.58 
 15,769.70 
 15,512.25 
 9,773.36 
 7,205.50 
 
Chapter xlviii. 
 
 THE PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURES. 
 
 Mention has already been made of the earlier manufactur- 
 ing industries of the town, the grist-mills, distilleries, rope- 
 walks, etc. ; the ship-building interests were also important in 
 early history and should have been noticed in their proper 
 place. In 1696 were built the first two vessels of which we 
 have any record. They were the " Grampus " and the " Dol- 
 phin." Like all the vessels of that period they were of very 
 light tonnage. From that time forward, for more than a cen- 
 tury, ships were built from time to time as the trade of the 
 port required, but the business did not become very brisk 
 until about fifty years ago. From 1830 to 1856 perhaps sixty 
 vessels were built and rigged at this port. The figures pre- 
 served by the United States Treasury Department make the 
 number rather larger than that, but ships built in other towns 
 were probably included in the official returns. After 1856 
 no vessels were constructed until the Herreshoffs began to 
 build yachts and sail-boats in 1863. In ten years about two 
 hundred decked vessels of various sizes were launched from 
 their yard. Then the character of their business was changed ; 
 since 1873 they have built steamers only. They are now 
 building '• Steamer Number 73." The firm is styled the 
 Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. The manufacture of 
 the " Safety Coil Boiler " is one of its specialties. Some of 
 its steam-vessels have attained a speed of 22 7-8 miles an 
 hour. 
 
374 HISTORY OP BRISTOL. 
 
 Oil works and candle factories naturally followed invest- 
 ments in whaling vessels. The first of these establishments 
 began operations in 1830, or thereabouts; others quickly fol- 
 lowed it. The business was continued for a little more than 
 tliirty years. 
 
 In 1836 the first cotton mill was erected. It was owned 
 by the Bristol Steam Mill Company, and proved a very profit- 
 able investment. In 1843 the factory was burned, but was at 
 once rebuilt and in 1844 was again in operation. It has 
 passed through various hands, and is now known as the Nam- 
 quit Mill. The Richmond Manufacturing Company are its 
 owners. The Pokanoket Mill, erected in 1839, is owned by 
 the same company. In the two mills are 21,152 spindles and 
 484 looms. These two mills in 1875, when the last State 
 census was taken, reported 1,917,335 yards of print-cloth 
 and 2,200,000 yards of sheetings as tlie amount of their 
 product for that year. 
 
 A company for manufacturing butts, hinges, and iron cast- 
 ings was formed in 1844. A factory was erected upon Thames 
 Street, and the business was prosecuted with varied success 
 until 1852, when the buildings were burned and were not re- 
 placed. 
 
 About the year 1847 a large steam saw and planing mill 
 was built upon the lot next south of the Pokanoket Mill, and 
 a very extensive business was carried on for several years. 
 The building was twice burned, once in 1857, and again in 
 1861. It was rebuilt after the second fire, but soon after- 
 wards ceased to be profitable, and was devoted to other 
 uses. 
 
 The Sugar Refinery commenced operations in 1849, and 
 passed through the hands of several sets of owners with indif- 
 ferent success until the late war broke out. Then sugar re- 
 fining became very profitable, and continued to be so for 
 many years. The factory is now owned by the Phenix Sugar 
 Refining Co., but the refinery has been for a long time idle. 
 It has a producing capacity of 350 barrels of sugar per day, 
 and once furnished employment for 225 men. (The great 
 
THK PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURES. 375 
 
 buildings may be seen in the cut of Captain Collins' house 
 on page 129.) 
 
 In the building now used as a machine-shop by the Herres- 
 lioff Manufacturing Company, the manufacture of breech- 
 loading fire-arms was carried on for about four years by 
 General Burnside. Complications tlien arose, and the works 
 were closed in 1857. About the same time a manufactory 
 of oakum was operated upon Franklin Street. In 1858 a fire 
 consumed the buildings and closed up the business. 
 
 The erection of the buildings of the National Rubber Com- 
 pany was begun in 1864. In 1865 the macliinery of the 
 factory was set in motion. The various buildings, etc., cover 
 about six acres of ground. Upwards of twelve hundred 
 operatives are employed. All kinds of rubber goods are 
 manufactured, but special attention is paid to the manufac- 
 ture of boots and shoes. From five to six thousand pairs of 
 these are made each day. The number can easily be doubled 
 when necessity requires it. The monthly pay-roll of the com- 
 pany amounts to about $35,000. The value of its annual 
 product is very nearly $2,000,000. 
 
 These are the principal manufactures. According to the 
 statistics of the last census (1875), there were in the town 
 sixty-one manufacturing establishments. They employed 
 eleven steam engines of 840 horse power, and forty-two 
 steam boilers. The number of hands employed was 1,488. 
 The sum paid for wages during 1875 was ^'562,177 ; the value 
 of materials used was $1,763,574, and $2,976,600 was the 
 value of the manufactured product. 
 
Chapter xlix. 
 
 GLEANINGS FROM THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 
 
 To a description of the events which have marked the his- 
 tory of the town during the last fifty years, many pages might 
 easily be devoted, and yet, after all, very little demands a 
 record here. Many men who were themselves a part of the 
 times can still be consulted, if precise and accurate informa- 
 tion is desired ; the files of the Bristol Phoenix also cover 
 most of the period, and are especially rich in local informa- 
 tion. From the Phcenix and the Providence Journal., a very 
 truthful picture of the age might easily be drawn. 
 
 When, in 1842, the State was convulsed by the contest con- 
 cerning the suffrage, Tiiomas W. Dorr found but few adher- 
 ents in this town. Its citizens rallied strongly to the side of 
 the " Law and Order " party, and sent very nearly two hundred 
 and fifty men to swell its ranks at Chepachet. The " Dorr 
 War " is too recent an event to require discussion at this 
 time. When the adoption of the wQ'ff Constitution was voted 
 upon by the people of the State, the vote of Bristol was : 
 "For the Constitution, 341 ; against it, None." 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock was elected lieutenant-governor of the 
 State by the "Law and Order" party in 1842. He held the 
 office for one year. The following sketch of his life is from 
 the volume of Rhode Island biography about to be published 
 by the National Biographical Publishing Co. Through the 
 courtesy of Mr. J. H. Cheever, Treasurer of the Company, it 
 is here inserted : — 
 
GLEANINGS PROM THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 377 
 
 "Bullock, Hon. Nathaniel, Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island from 
 1842 to 184.3, son of Samuel and Silence (Bowen) Bullock, was born in 
 Rehoboth, Mass., May 1, 1779. He was fitted for college, by Rev. Charles 
 Thompson, pastor of the Baptist Church in Swansea, and teacher of a 
 classical school, lie was a graduate of Brown University in the class of 
 1798. Immediately after his graduation he went South, and was for 
 some time engaged in teaching in Charleston, S. C. During his spare 
 hours he devoted himself to the study of law. In the early part of 1801 
 be returned to his native State, and soon after went to Bristol, R. I., and 
 became a law student in the office of Hon. Benjamin Bourne. He was 
 admitted to the bar of Rhode Island in that year, and commenced the 
 practice of his profession in Newport, in partnership with Hon. William 
 Hunter. In the latter part of 1808, he returned to Bristol, the death of 
 two eminent lawyers of that place, Judge Bourne and Governor Bradford, 
 preparing the way for his professional services theie. He represented 
 Bristol in the General Assembly every year, with the exception of three, 
 from 1815 to 1827. In the year last mentioned, he was appointed by 
 President Adams Collector of Customs for the District of Warren and 
 Bristol, and held that office until August, 1830, -when he resigned. In 
 1838, he was the Democratic candidate for Governor, and failed of an 
 election by a few votes. His name was placed on the ' Law and Order ' 
 ticket in 1842. and he was chosen Lieutenant-Governor of the State. At 
 the time of his death, he was the oldest member of the Rhode Island 
 bar. ' In soundness of judgment, in knowledge of his profession, in 
 integrity of character, and in genial and kindly social qualities, he was 
 the peer of the distinguished men with whom he was so long associated, 
 and whom he so long survived.' The closing years of his life were spent 
 in the quiet of his liome, where he delighted to commune with the best 
 authors, and where, especially, he took pleasure in the study of the 
 Sacred Scriptures. He married, in September, 1812, Ruth, daughter of 
 Stephen Smith, a merchant in Bristol, who died in November, 1829. Mr. 
 Bullock died at Bristol, Nov. 13, 1807, in the eighty-ninth year of his 
 age. His three sons and a daughter survive him." 
 
 Governor Bullock was followed in office, as lie had also 
 been immediately preceded, by Byron Diman. Mr. Dimau 
 was re-elected to the lieutenant-governor's office each year 
 until 184(3, when he was chosen governor. Of him Mr. 
 Cheever also furnishes the following sketch : — 
 
 "Diman, Ex-Governor Byron, eldest son of Jeremiah and Hannah 
 (Luther) Diman, was born in Bristol. R. 1., Aug. 5, 179r>. In his youth 
 he enjoyed the advantages of an excellent private .school kept for many 
 years by the late Bishop Griswold. Here, according to the testimony 
 of one of his classmates, the veneiable Bishop Smith, of Kentucky, he 
 held the first place, his devotion to study creating a tie between teacher 
 and pupil which was only dissolved by death. Tlie literary tastes thu.s 
 
378 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 early formed were cherished and developed. Up to a late period in his 
 life, he was a diligent reader, and few men not belonging to the class of 
 professed students possessed more varied and accurate information. 
 He was well versed in English literature and general history, and espe- 
 cially at home in topographical and antiquarian lore. At an early age he 
 entered the counting-house of Hon. James DeWolf, and continued in 
 the most confidential relations with that gentleman until his death, in 
 1837. He engaged in the whale fishery, which at one time was largely 
 prosecuted at Bristol. In various other ways he was closely identified 
 with the business interests of that town. He was at one time treasurer, 
 and afterward president of the Bristol Steam Mill; a director of the 
 Pokanoket Mill ; and for many years president of the Bank of Bristol. 
 In all his business relations he was actuated by the most generous and 
 forbearing spirit. The distressed applied instinctively to him for aid, 
 and seldom were they refused. Mr. Diman was early and actively 
 engaged in politics. He was an enthusiastic Whig of the school of 
 Henry Clay. For many year's he was a member of the Legislature. He 
 was a delegate to the Harrisburg Convention, which nominated General 
 Harrison for the Presidency. During the exciting' days of the ' Dorr 
 war,' he was a member of the Governor's Council. When the new 
 Constitution was adopted, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, and in 
 1846, at the disruption of the ' Law and Order ' party, he was elected 
 Governor. No persuasion could induce him to hold the office longer 
 than a year, and he was deaf to all solicitations to accept a higher posi- 
 tion, even that of United States Senator. The only official connection 
 that he retained with the State was as commissioner of the indigent 
 blind, deaf and dumb. To the duties of this office he gave great atten- 
 tion. He issued tlie call for the first meeting held in Bristol for the 
 organization of the Republican party, and he gave to the policy of Presi- 
 dent Lincoln a cordial and unhesitating support. He died of apo- 
 plexy, at his residence in Bristol, Aug. 1, 1865. A fine portrait of 
 him by Lincoln graces the chamber of the State House in Providence, 
 Governor Diman was twice married ; first, to Abby Alden Wight, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Henry Wight, B. r>. By this marriage there were four chil- 
 dren, among whom were J. I^. and H. W. Diman, both of whom grad- 
 uated at Brown University. His second wife was Elizabeth Ann Lis- 
 comb, the issue of this marriage being one child, who survives him." 
 
 . A native of Bristol again filled the gubernatorial chair in 
 1853. In that year Gov. Philip Allen resigned, to accept 
 the office of United States Senator, and Lieut.- Gov. Francis 
 M. Dimond succeeded to the post thus made vacant. A 
 strangely picturesque career was that of Mr. Dimond. He 
 was born in Bristol in 1796, and here, at the age of sixty- 
 three, lie died, but comparatively few of the years of his life 
 were spent in this town. Very early in life he went to the 
 
GLEANINGS PROM THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 379 
 
 Island of Cuba, and there spent several years ; for a time he 
 was United States Consul at Port-au-Prince. He lived 
 some years in New Orleans, and before the Mexican War, 
 was Consul of the United States at Vera Cruz, Mexico. 
 During the war his local knowledge proved exceedingly 
 valuable to the United States Government. When the expe- 
 dition against Vera Cruz was planned, he was summoned to 
 Washington, where his accurate memory quickly supplied 
 the greatly needed chart of the Mexican harbor. Sailing from 
 Havana, that he might be present at the storming of the 
 city, he was shipwrecked upon tlie way ; for two days and 
 nights he was tossed about in an open boat, and only reached 
 Vera Cruz on the day after its bombardment. He neverthe- 
 less entered the city with the American army, and served 
 as its official interpreter. Until the American troops were 
 withdrawn, he was the Collector of the captured city. He 
 was lieutenant-governor and governor for one year. His 
 afterlife was mainly spent in efforts to secure the construc- 
 tion of the Southern Pacific Railway. Of this railway com- 
 pany he was elected president. He died in Bristol, in 1858. 
 
 Ex-Lieutenant-Governor and ex-Judge J. Russell Bullock 
 still resides in this, his native town. 
 
 Until the year 1830 communication with Providence was 
 maintained by means of packet sloops and stage-coaches; in 
 that year the packets found their occupation gone, for a line 
 of steamboats plying between Fall River and Providence, 
 and stopping at Bristol on each trip, was established. Twen- 
 ty-seven years later, the picturesque stage-coaches were forced 
 into retirement, the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad 
 having begun to run its trains in 1857. For several years a 
 line of steamers, running to New York City, made this their 
 eastern port of departure, but in 1869 they were transferred 
 to Fall River. 
 
 For many years the possession of a certain tract of land 
 near the Warren boundary line was a fruitful source of con- 
 tention between the two towns, and numerous petitions con- 
 cerning the matter were presented for the consideration of 
 
380 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 The Rogers Free Library. 
 
 the General Assembly. The petitioners had uniformly re- 
 ceived " leave to withdraw " until 1873, but the Legislature of 
 that year lent a favorable ear to their request, and Bristol 
 awoke only to find tliat it had lost forever a goodly portion of 
 its patrimonial estate. 
 
 In the year 1814 a younj 
 
 12 years of age, Robert 
 
 Rogers, of Newport, came from that then less important com- 
 mercial town to engage in the extended foreign commerce 
 that was bringing such wealth into Bristol. He married a 
 daughter of Mr. William DeWolf, and soon after formed 
 a business connection with his father-in-law. For years he 
 was one of the most prominent merchants of Bristol, and 
 before his death he had become its wealthiest citizen. Dur- 
 ing his life he frequently declared his intention of giving a 
 library to his adopted town. After his death his widow 
 found certain memoranda upon the subject among his papers, 
 and at once determined to carry into effect her husband's 
 plans. The result is the beautiful building upon Hope Street 
 — the Rogers Free Library. The building was dedicated in 
 1878, Prof. J. Lewis Diman, of Brown University, delivering 
 
GLKANINGS FROM THE LAST FIFTY YKARS. 381 
 
 the dedicatory address. It was built at a cost of about $20,- 
 000, and, with a valuable collection of books that had formed 
 a part of her husband's library, was presented to the town of 
 Bristol by Mrs. Rogers in that same year. A portion of the 
 second story only is used by the library. The Young Men's 
 Christian Association occupy one room, their library having 
 been merged in the free library. The lower floor is occupied 
 by two banks, and the i-ent paid by these institutions is used 
 to defray the I'unning expenses of the library. 
 
 Tiie following is taken from the quarto Histori/ of Rhode 
 Island : — 
 
 " The Press of BrLstol. Tlie first newspaper printed and published in 
 Bristol was started in January, 1807, and was entitled the '■Mount Hope 
 Eagle.'' It was published by the late Capt. Golden Dearth, and the late 
 D. A. Leonard was editor, and also postmaster. It was in existence but 
 one year. The printing office was located in a building which stood on 
 the same site now occupied by the ' Bristol Phoenix.' The ' Bristol 
 Gazette' was started in September, 1833, by Bennett J. Munro, Esq., 
 as editor and publisher, and the late W. H. S. Bayley as printer. In the 
 January following, Mr. Bayley purchased the entire establishment, and 
 became publisher and editor. The ' Gazette ' was published for four 
 years, and then was discontinued. After the lapse of a few weeks, the 
 'Bristol Pho3nix' was published from the same office by Mr. Bayley, 
 who continued its publication until his death, in March, 1862. The es- 
 tablishment was subsequently purchased by C. A. Greene, who is the 
 present editor and proprietor. The 'Phoenix' is issued every Satur- 
 day morning; is a thirty-two column paper, and contains each week an 
 interesting story, good miscellaneous selections, general intelligence, and 
 full reports of local news. In January, 1878, the ' Phoenix ' entered 
 upon its forty-second volume. In May, 1840, a small newspaper, enti- 
 tled 'The Bristol Eagle,' was published by Mr. Greene, the present 
 editor of the ' Phoenix,' and T. Rutherford. It was continued only for 
 one year." 
 
 " The South Christian Church (Baptist) was organized in 1833, and 
 services were held at first in the Court House, then in a hall over a store. 
 In 1834 they erected, at a cost of about $3,600, a house of worship on 
 High Street (corner of Constitution i, with fourteen menbers. The 
 first pastor was Harvey Sullings; Zalmon Tobey, G. F. Sanborn, Heze- 
 kiah Burnham, George W. Kilton, David Knowlton, J. J. Lawskee, 
 Stephen Fellows, S. K. Sweetnian, J. S. Jones, and William Miller suc- 
 ceeded him." 
 
 The society was dissolved a few years ago ; its house of 
 worship has lately been sold to tlie " Odd Fellows." 
 
382 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 " The Second Advent Society was organized in 1843, witli about twen- 
 ty-five members. Its first meetings were held in private houses, subse- 
 quently in a public h.ill on State Street. O. R. Fassett was the first 
 regularly installed pastor. About this time their meetings were held 
 in the Court House, and some time after the society divided. One 
 party built a church on State Street, where they continued to hold 
 meetings for several years. At present, meetings are held in a church 
 on High Street." 
 
 The society has no settled pastor. 
 
 On Friday, Sept. 24, 1880, the town celebrated its Bi-Cen- 
 tennial Anniversary. As a full account of the proceedings is 
 about to be published in pamphlet form, only a brief mention of 
 the programme observed is needed here. The management 
 of the celebration was placed in charge of a large commit- 
 tee, who performed their duties with great ability and success. 
 On the night of Thursday, almost all of the dwellings in 
 the compact part of the town were brilliantly illuminated. 
 Until a late hour the streets were crowded with throngs of citi- 
 zens and strangers, passing on in orderly procession to view 
 the varied decorations. No disturbances occurred to mar the 
 enjoyment of the occasion, either on Thursday or Friday, 
 and the beautiful September v;eather seemed to have reserved 
 its choicest smiles to grace the festival of the pleasant old 
 town. Through the week a very interesting collection of 
 portraits and ancient relics was on exhibition at the Town 
 Hall, under the efficient management of Mr. John DeWolf. 
 In the morning of Friday a long procession was formed upon 
 High Street, under the direction of Mr. Samuel P. Colt, Chief 
 Marshal of the day. Through the })rincipal streets of the 
 town it marched, and was at last dismissed upon the Com- 
 mon, near the tent where the literary exercises were to be 
 held. The Chaplain of the day, Rev. George L. Locke, of 
 St. Michael's Church, opened the services with prayer. Mr. 
 LeBaron B. Colt, Pi-esident of the Bi-Centennial Committee, 
 followed with a brief address of welcome. The historical 
 address was delivered by the Rev. Professor J. Lewis Diman, 
 D. D., of Brown University ; the poem was read by the 
 Rt. Rev. M. A. DeWolfe Howe, d. d., Bishop of Central Penn- 
 sylvania. (Both the orator and poet were natives of the 
 
GLEANINGS FROM THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. 383 
 
 town.) Tlie benediction was pronounced by the Rev. Wil- 
 liam V. Morrison, d. d., of the Methodist Church. The ex- 
 ercises were interspersed with singing by a choir ot" chil- 
 dren from the pul)lic schools, and by music fi'om the Boston 
 Cadet Band. 
 
 After the literary exercises were concluded, dinner was 
 served to the visiting sons and daughters in an adjoining tent. 
 After-dinner speeches were made by Gov. Alfred H. Little- 
 field, representing the State of Rhode Island ; Col. Thomas 
 W. Higginson, of the staff of Governor Long, representing 
 the State of Massachusetts ; and Mr. William J. Miller, rep- 
 resenting the town of Bristol. Hon. Henry B. Anthony, of 
 the U. S. Senate; Ex-Gov. Charles C. Van Zandt; Bishop 
 Howe, of Central Pennsylvania; President E. G. Robinson, of 
 Brown University, and President Zachariah Allen, of the 
 Rhode Island Historical Society, also spoke. United States 
 Senator Ambrose E. Burnside, a resident of Bristol, was the 
 toast-master. The planting of four trees upon the Common, 
 to commemorate the four founders of the town, terminated 
 the exercises of the afternoon. The tree-planting exercises 
 were under the charge of Mr. Edward S. Babbitt, who intro- 
 duced the several speakers with appropriate remarks. The 
 tree planted to the memory of Nathaniel Oliver was dedi- 
 cated by one of his descendants, Mayor Henry K. Oliver, of 
 Salem, Mass. At the Stephen Burton tree, Mr. Wilfred H.. 
 Munro, of Bristol, spoke. Mr. William J. Miller, of Bristol, 
 was the representative of John Walley ; and Francis Brinley, 
 Esq., of Newport, was chosen to deliver the address com- 
 memorating his ancestor, Nathaniel Byfield. The Byfield 
 tree was an oak, the other three were elms; they were 
 planted in a square not far from the centre of the Common. 
 A promenade concert in the evening, in the large dining-tent, 
 closed the public observance of the celebration. 
 
Chapter l. 
 
 THE ROLL OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 In this roll the names of Bristol citizens who were mem- 
 bers of the Governor's Council in Massachusetts, or of tlie 
 Council or Senate of Rhode Island, prior to 1843, are not 
 given. The names of John Walley, Nathaniel Byfield, John 
 Saffin and others, would appear in the Massachusetts records ; 
 those of Simeon Potter, John DeWolf, William Reynolds, 
 William DeWolf, AVilliam Pearse, Byron Diman and others, 
 would be found in the records of Rhode Island. But it 
 would be impossible to make the list complete, as the resi- 
 dences of the members of the Council and Senate do not 
 appear upon the official books. 
 
 In the General Court of Plymouth Colony. 
 
 1682-3. Benjamin Church. 
 
 1(584. Benjamin Church. 
 John Walley. 
 
 1685-6. Stephen Burton. 
 John Rogers. 
 
 1686-7-8-9. Administration of Sir 
 Edmund Andros.uo Represent- 
 atives chosen. 
 
 1689. Nathaniel Byfield. 
 Stephen Burton. 
 
 Jabez Howland. 
 John Rogers. 
 John Saifin. 
 Stephen Burton. 
 Jabez Howland. 
 John Saffin. 
 William Throope. 
 Plymouth Colony joiued to 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 In the General Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 1692. John Saffin. 
 Stephen Burton. 
 
 1693. Nathaniel Byfield 
 
 1694. Nathaniel Byfield. 
 John Cary. 
 
 1695. John Rogers. 
 
 1696. Ebenezer Brenton. 
 
 1697. Jabez Howland. 
 1698-1702. Ebenezer Brenton. 
 
 1703. Nathaniel Blagrove. 
 
 1704. Simon Davis. 
 1705-10. Nathaniel Blagrove. 
 
 { 1711-15. Simon Davis. 
 I 1716-17. Samuel Gallop. 
 (Speaker.) ' 1718-20. William Throope. 
 
 1721. William Throope. 
 Simon Davis. 
 
 1722. Samuel Little. 
 
 1723. William Throope. 
 1724-26. Nathaniel Paine. 
 1727. Nathaniel Paine. 
 
 Samuel Little. 
 1728-9. Nathaniel Paine. 
 1730-36. Charles Church. 
 
THE ROLL OP REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 385 
 
 1737-40. Stephen Paine. 
 
 1741. Stephen Paine. 
 Thomas Greene. 
 
 1742. Stephen Paine. 
 
 1743. Charles Church. 
 
 1744-5. Stephen Paine. 
 1746. Charles Church. 
 Bristol annexed to Rhode Island Jan- 
 uary 27, 1746-7. 
 
 In the General Assembly of Rhode Island. 
 
 1747. Jonathan Peck. 
 
 Nathaniel Bosworth. 
 
 Thomas Greene. 
 1748-9. Jonathan Peck. 
 
 Thomas Greene. 
 
 1750. Jonathan Peck. 
 Thomas Greene. 
 Shearjashub Bourne. 
 
 1751. Jonathan Peck. 
 Joseph Russell. 
 
 1752. Jonathan Peck. 
 Simeon Potter. 
 Simon Davis. 
 
 1753. Joseph Russell. 
 Simon Davis. 
 
 1754. Joseph Russell. 
 Thomas Greene. 
 
 1755. Joseph Russell. 
 Shear jushub Bourne. 
 
 1756. Thomas Greene. 
 Nathaniel Fales. 
 
 1757. Simeon Potter. 
 William Pearse. 
 
 1758. Joseph Russell. 
 William Pearse. 
 
 1759. Joseph Russell. 
 Simon Davis. 
 
 1760. Simon Davis. 
 Joseph Reynolds. 
 
 1761. Simeon Potter. 
 William Bradford. 
 Daniel Bradford. 
 
 1762. William Bradford. 
 Daniel Bradford. 
 
 1763. William Bradford. 
 Simeon Potter. 
 
 1764. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 Simeon Potter. 
 
 1765-6. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 
 Nathaniel Pearse. 
 1767. Simeon Potter. 
 
 Nathaniel Pearse. 
 
 Thomas Greene. 
 
 1768-9. Simeon Potter. 
 William Bradford. 
 
 1770. Christopher EUery. 
 William Pearse. 
 
 1771. Christopher Ellery. 
 William Pearse. 
 Daniel Bradford. 
 
 1772-4. Simeon Potter. 
 William Bradford. 
 
 1775. Dep.-Gov. Wm. Bradford. 
 Maj.-Gen. Simeon Potter. 
 Benjamin Bosworth. 
 
 1776. Dep.-Gov. Wm. Bradford. 
 Shearjashub Bourne. 
 Nathaniel Pearse. 
 
 1777. Dep.-Gov. Wm. Bradford. 
 Nathaniel Fales. 
 Stephen Smith. 
 
 1778. Dep.-Gov. Wm. Bradford. 
 Nathaniel Fales. 
 
 Daniel Bradford. 
 
 1779. William Bradford. 
 Benjamin Bourne. 
 Daniel Bradford. 
 
 1780. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 Benjamin Bourne. 
 
 1781-4. William Bradford. (Speaker. 
 
 Nathaniel Fales. 
 1785-7. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 
 Stephen Smith. 
 1788-90. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 
 Shearjashub Bourne. 
 1791-3. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 
 Samuel Wardwell. 
 1793-7. Samuel Wardwell. 
 
 Loring Peck. 
 1798-1800. Wm. Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 1800-2. William Bradford. (Speaker.) 
 
 Shearjashub Bourne. 
 1802-3. William Bradford. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 1803. Joseph Wardwelli 
 
386 
 
 HISTORY OF BRISTOL. 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 1«04. 
 
 "William Ccgrgesball. 
 
 
 John Howe. 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1824. 
 
 George DeWolf. 
 
 1805. 
 
 "William Reynolds. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 
 James De"Wolf. 
 
 
 Benjamin Norris. 
 
 1806. 
 
 Benjamin Bosworth, 2d. 
 
 1825. 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. (Speaker.) 
 
 
 "William Coggeshall. 
 
 
 George DeWolf 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1826. 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 1807. 
 
 Caleb Littlefield. 
 
 
 Benjamin Norris. 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1827. 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 1808. 
 
 John DeWolf. 
 
 
 Benjamin Norris. 
 
 
 Daniel Bradford. 
 
 
 John Howe. 
 
 
 Samuel Reynolds. 
 
 1828. 
 
 John Howe. 
 
 1809. 
 
 James DoWolf. 
 
 
 Benjamin Norris. 
 
 
 Samuel Wardwell. 
 
 
 Byron Diman. 
 
 1810. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 Samuel Coggeshall. 
 
 
 Samuel Wardwell. 
 
 1829. 
 
 Byron Diman. 
 
 
 William Pearse. 
 
 
 John Howe. 
 
 1811. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 William Pearse. 
 
 1830. 
 
 Jacob Babbitt. 
 
 1812. 
 
 James DeWoU. 
 
 
 Ichabod Davis. 
 
 
 William Pearse. 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 Natlianiel Gladding. 
 
 
 John Howe. 
 
 
 John Bradford. 
 
 1831- 
 
 2 James DeWolf. 
 
 .1813-14. Nathaniel Gladding. 
 
 
 Ichabod Davis. 
 
 
 John Bradford. 
 
 1833. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1815. 
 
 Nathaniel Gladding. 
 
 
 Ichabod Davis. 
 
 
 John Bradford. 
 
 
 Benjamin Norris. 
 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1834. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Fales. 
 
 
 Benjamin Norris. 
 
 1816. 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 1835. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 William Reynolds. 
 
 
 Ambrose Waldron. 
 
 1817. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1836. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 
 , Joseph M. Blake. 
 
 
 William Reynold.s. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 1818. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 1837. 
 
 James DeWolf. 
 
 
 William Reynolds. 
 
 
 Joseph M. Blake. 
 
 
 Charles De"Cvolf. 
 
 
 Byron Diman. 
 
 
 John DeWolf, Jr. 
 
 1838. 
 
 Byron Diman. 
 
 1819. 
 
 James DeWolf. (Speaker.) 
 
 
 William Pearse, 2d. 
 
 
 Hopestill P. Diman. 
 
 
 Ambrose Waldron. 
 
 1820. 
 
 James DeWolf. (Speaker.) 
 
 1839. 
 
 Joseph M. Blake. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 
 1821. 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 1840. 
 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Wardwell. 
 
 
 William Pearse, 2d. 
 
 
 John DeWolf, Jr. 
 
 1841. 
 
 LiEUT.-Gov. Byron Diman. 
 
 1822. 
 
 Nathaniel Bullock. 
 
 
 John Howe. 
 
 
 George DeWolf. 
 
 
 William Pearse, 2d. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Wardwell. 
 
 1842. 
 
 LiEUT.-Gov. Nathaniel Boi^ 
 
 1823. 
 
 George DeWolf. 
 
 
 LOCK. 
 
 
 Nathaniel Wardwell. 
 
 
 John Howe. 
 
THE ROLL OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 387 
 
 Joseph M. Blake. 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 
 1843. New Constitution adopted. The 
 names of the Senators are 
 printed in italics : — 
 
 1843. LiEUT.-Gov. Byron Diman. 
 NathanifA Bullock. 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 
 Jacob Babbitt, Jr. 
 
 1844. LiEUT.-Gov. Byron Diman. 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 
 J. Russell Bullock. 
 Charles Fales. 
 
 1845. LiEUT.-Gov. Byron Diman. 
 George Pearse. 
 
 J. Russell Bullock. 
 Jacob Babbitt, Jr. 
 
 1846. Gov. Byron Diman. 
 George Pearse. 
 
 J. Russell Bullock. 
 
 Jacob Babbitt, Jr. 
 1847-8. George Pearse. 
 
 John DeWolf. 
 
 William H. S. Bay ley. 
 1849. George Pearse. 
 
 Charles Fales. 
 
 Hezekiah C. Wardwell. 
 1850-1. Byron Diman. 
 
 Hezekiah C. Wardwell. 
 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 
 1852. Byron Diman. 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 William B. Spooner. 
 
 1853. Lieut. -Gov. Francis M. Di- 
 
 MOND. 
 
 Benjamin Hall. 
 J. Russell Bullock. 
 John B. Munro. 
 
 1854. Benjamin Hall. 
 William B. Spooner. 
 John B. Munro. 
 
 1855. William P. Monroe. 
 Stephen T. Church. 
 John B. Munro. 
 
 Joseph M. Blake. 
 
 1856. Willia7n P. Monroe. 
 John B. Munro. 
 William H. Church. 
 John B. Herreshoff. 
 
 1857. William H. S. Bay ley. 
 John B. Munro. 
 
 1858. 
 
 1859. 
 
 1860. 
 
 John B. Herreshoff. 
 William H. ti. Bay ley. 
 Messadore T. Bennett. 
 Samuel Sparks. 
 J. Evssell Bnllock. 
 Samuel W. Church. 
 Henry W. Diman. 
 LiEDT.-Gov. J. Russell Bul- 
 lock. 
 William H. S. Bayky. 
 Samuel W. Church. 
 Henry W. Diman. 
 
 1861. William H. S. Bayley. 
 Samuel W. Church. 
 Henry W. Diman. 
 
 1862. Sanmel W. Church. 
 Joseph M. Blake. 
 John Turner. 
 
 1863-5. Samuel W. Church. 
 
 Joseph M. Blake. 
 
 James DeW. Perry. 
 1866-7. Saimiel W. Church. 
 
 James DeW. Perry. 
 
 Theodore P. Bogert. 
 1868. Samuel W. Church. 
 
 Theodore P. Bogert. 
 
 James M. Gooding. 
 
 Samuel W. Church. 
 
 Theodore P. Bogert. 
 
 John C. Pegram. 
 1870. Isaac F. Williams. 
 
 Theodore P. Bogert. 
 
 William T. C. WardwelL 
 
 Isaac F. Williams. 
 
 John Wesley Pearse. 
 
 William T. C. Wardwell. 
 
 William T. C. Wardwell. 
 
 John Wesley Pearse. 
 
 John Turner. 
 1873-4. John Turner. 
 
 William J. Miller. 
 
 Charles A. Green. 
 1875. Joh7i Turner. 
 
 William T. C. Wardwell. 
 
 Isaac F. Williams. 
 1876-8. Augustus O. Bourn. 
 
 William H. Spooner. 
 
 Samuel P. Colt. 
 1879-80. Augustus 0. Bourn. 
 
 William H. Spooner. 
 
 LeBaron B. Colt. 
 
 1869. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
Appendix. 
 
 THE WRITING UPON THE ROCK. 
 
 Between Mount Hope and the Narrows, upon the shore of 
 the farm of Mr. Artliur Oodinan, lies the rock with the singu- 
 lar inscription, which is represented upon this page. The 
 name and the race of liim who cut it have never been known to 
 the modern inhabitants of the Mount Hope peninsula. When 
 the first white settlers came to Bristol, they saw the strange 
 characters almost as we see them to-day. The Indian tribes 
 our ancestors knew, had no written language : the record 
 made cannot therefore be theirs. Imagination delights to 
 connect it with the visits of the Northmen described in the 
 opening chapter of this book. It is easy to conjecture in 
 wliat manner the record was made. As the boat of the 
 Northmen approached the shore, when the tide was almost at 
 the flood, the broad, flat surface of the rock presented itself 
 invitingly to their feet amid the huge round boulders that 
 
390 APPENDIX. 
 
 covered most of the shore. (A part of these boulders have 
 since been removed, having been used in the construction of 
 a wharf not far away.) When the party set out to explore 
 the surrounding country one of their number was left in 
 charge of the boat. As the tide went down he seated him- 
 self upon the rock with his battle-axe in his hand, and amused 
 himself by cutting his name and the figure of his boat upon 
 its surface. The rock is of " graywacke ; " while it can 
 easily be cut, it yet retains unchanged for ages cliaracters 
 traced upon its surface. The first or left-hand letter of the 
 inscription is probably incomplete. The edge of the rock 
 seems to have been broken off at that place. Between the 
 third and fourth characters it would appear that a piece of 
 the rock had also been chipped out, possibly by the careless 
 stroke of the graver himself. There are marks to show that 
 another letter once had a place there. The rock was lost 
 sight of for a number of years, and has quite recently been 
 rediscovered. When Professor Diman wrote his historical 
 sketches (The Annals of Bristol) in the Bristol Phcenix, 
 thirty years or more ago, no one knew its location. This is 
 not remarkable, for while the rock is about ten feet long by 
 six wide, the inscription covers only a very small part — 
 hardly two feet — of its surface, and is by no means promi- 
 nent. Mr. William J. Miller, in his Wampanuag' Indians, has 
 given a copy of this inscription, differing in some slight })ar- 
 ticulars from the one here presented. 
 
Index. 
 
 Academy, 264. 
 
 Adams, D., 252. 
 
 Adams, J., 233. 
 
 Advent Society, 382.- 
 
 Africau Slave Trade, 352. 
 
 Alderman, 47, 52. 
 
 Alexander, 37. 
 
 Allen, Z., 383. 
 
 Almy, D., 365. 
 
 Anderson, D., 2!16. 
 
 Anderstrom, L. L., 301. 
 
 Andrews, R. S., 335, 344. 
 
 Andros, Sir E., 118. 
 
 Annawon, 51. 
 
 Annexed to Mass., 119, to R. I., IGO. 
 
 Anthony, 11. B., 383. 
 
 Arnold, G. U ,301. 
 
 Articles of the " Yankee," 303. 
 
 Artillery Company, 247. 
 
 Asbury,' Bishop, 265. 
 
 Avery, Rev. E. K., 265. 
 
 Awashonks, 41, 42, 46. 
 
 Babbitt, E. S., 335, 383. 
 Babbitt, J., 247, 317. 
 Balch, Rev. L. P. W., 332. 
 Banks and Paper Money, 161. 
 Bardin. N., 230. 312. 
 Barrows, J., 340. 
 Barton, Col., 216, 23!t, 256. 
 Barton, S., 306, 307, 308, 315. 
 Bates, Rev. B., 297. 
 Bayley, W. H. S.,381. 
 Bell, from Oliver, 116. 
 Bell, W. H., 233. 
 Bennett, H. F., 335. 
 Bennett, M., 233. 
 Bennett, M. T., 230, 233. 
 Bestor, Rev. F., 209. 
 Bi-Centennial Celebration, 382 
 Bicknell, T. W., 345. .346. 
 Bigelow, Rev. J. F., 300. 
 Blackbirds, etc.. 123. 
 Blagrove, N., 70, 76, 121, 158. 
 Blain, Rev. J., 301. 
 Blake, E. A., 364. 
 Blake, J. M., 251. 
 Blinn, J. M., 309. 
 
 Bourne, B. 
 Bourne, F. 
 Bourne, J. 
 Bourne, P. 
 Bourne, S. 
 
 Bliven, H. B.. 312. 
 
 Block, A., 26. 
 
 " Blockade," 307, 313. 
 
 Bogert, T. P., 335. 
 
 Bombardment, 202, XXVII. 
 
 Bonney, Rev. I., 270. 
 
 Book of Marks, 111. 
 
 Borland Farm, 244. 
 
 Bosworth, B., 193, 195, 235, 236, 245, 
 
 340. 
 Bosworth, H., 319. 
 Bosworth, N., 91, 97, 126, 128, 131, 
 
 145, 150, 158, 160, 367. 
 Bosworth, S., 340, 342. 
 Boundary Question, 379. 
 Bourne, A., 213, 252. 
 
 , 104, 252, XXXII. 
 , 273. 
 W.. 368. 
 B., 266. 
 
 104, 193. 244, 246, 258, 340. 
 Bourne & Ward well, 368. 
 Bowen, B., 314. 
 Bradford, D., 340, 342. 
 Bradford, J., 247, 252. 
 Bradford, L. B., 205, .364. 
 Bradford. Wm.. 165. 193. 198, 203, 214, 
 
 236, 238, 243. 252, XXXI. 
 Bragg, H., 145. 
 Brand of Town, 111. 
 Brenton, E., 120, 145. 
 Brenton, W., 92. 
 Bribery, etc., 161, 162. 
 Brick School House, 341. 
 Briggs, A., 168. 
 Briggs, J., 296. 
 Briggs, L. W., 296. 
 Brinley, F., 73. 383. 
 Bristed, Rev. J . 326. 
 Brown, Rev. D., 144. 
 Brown, J., 42, 244, 340. 
 Brown, Rev. J. N., 299. 
 Brown, Rev. \V. L., 300. 
 Bruce, G. A., 307. 
 " Brutus," 311. 
 Bullock, J. R., 365. 379. 
 Bullock, N., 258, 376. 
 G. H., 273. 
 
392 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Burgess, J. N., 344. 
 
 Burnham, H., 381. 
 
 Burning, 209, XXVIII. 
 
 Burnside, A. E.. 359, 375, 383. 
 
 Burnside, W., 233. 
 
 Burr, L., 345, 346. 
 
 Burt, Rev. J., 208, 212, 221, 243. 
 
 Burton, S., 75, 96, 118, 119, 383. 
 
 Burying-Grouuds, 109. 
 
 Bytield, N., X.,'88, 96, 98, 111, 112, 120, 
 
 123. 124. 128, 131, 158, 383. 
 Byfield Houses, lOG, 108. 
 Byfield School, 347. 
 
 Caner, Rev. H., 151. 
 
 Cape Money, 336. 
 
 Card, H. F., .365. 
 
 Carpenter, J., 314. 
 
 Carto, Rev. B., 300. 
 
 Cary, B., 221. 
 
 Carv, J., 91, 111, 115, 118, 119, 128, 
 
 131. 
 Cary, N., 212. 
 Census Returns, 188, 244. 
 Charter Privileges, 121. 
 Chase, Rev. E. E., 299. 
 Cheverus, Bishop, 295, .355. 
 Christopher, W., 213. 
 Church, B..41. 45,49, 66, XIII., 97, 
 
 111, 112, 115, 118. 120, 124, 128, 131. 
 Church's Fort, 44. 
 Church, P., 210, 217, 340. 
 Church. S. T.. 230. 
 Church, W. H., 2.33. 
 Churchill, B. K., 308, 309, 315. 
 Clarke, Rev. A. L., 155. 
 Cobbitt, S., 337. 
 Coggeshall, C. H., 233. 
 Coggeshall, W., 340. 
 Coke, Bishop, 264. 
 Cold Spring Monument, 47. 
 Collins, C.,341. 
 Colt, L. B., 382. 
 Colt, S. P. 3.35, 382. 
 Commerce, 165, XLV^II. 
 Common Laud, etc, 95, 99. 
 Congregational Bell, 247. 
 Congregational Chapel, 232. 
 Congregational Hall, 227. 
 Constable's Duties, etc., 112. 
 Cook, N. B., 345. 346. 
 Cooke, Rev. J. W., .328, .344. 
 Coomer J., 210,340. 
 Coope, Rev. T., 264. 
 Cooper, Rev. E., 263. 
 Corbet, W., 124. 
 Corps, J., 118, l'J4. 
 Corrections, 5. 
 
 Cotton, Rev. N., 140, 143, 157, 219. 
 Cotton Mills, 374. 
 County of Bristol, 116, 117. 
 Court House, 153. 
 Coxx, W., 150, 214. 
 Crane's Lane, 164. 
 Crocker, Rev. Dr., 286. 
 Crocker, Rev. H., 301. 
 
 Cross, J., 343. 
 Crowue, J., 53. 
 "Curlew," 311. 
 
 Darby, R.,249. 
 
 Deane,M.,314. 
 
 Dearth, G., 307, .381. 
 
 Dedication Ode. 347. 
 
 DeWolf, C, 226, 251. 274, 342, 370. 
 
 DeWolf, G.,274, 342,370. 
 
 DeWolf, H., 249. 
 
 DeWolf, James, 226, 274, 297, mi, 
 
 303, 307, 311, XL., 342, 343, 350, 351, 
 
 370. 
 DeWolf, John, 226, 274. 283, 341, 382. 
 DeWolf, M. A., 164, 180, 216, 322. 
 DeWolf, Miss C, 232. 
 DeWolf, Mrs. R. B, 363. 
 DeWolf, W., 232,247.340, 370, 380. 
 Dimau, B.,377. 
 
 Diman, Rev. J. L., 380, 382, 390. 
 Dimond, F. M., 378. 
 Distilleries, 246. 
 Dixon, E.,273. 
 Donations for Boston, 199. 
 Dorr War, 376. 
 Dotv, B., 263. 
 Doyle, Rev. Mr., 151, 
 Dunbar, Judge. 160. 
 Duties paid, 370. 
 
 Eastburn, Rev. J. W., 293. 
 Easterbrooks, Mr., .S37. 
 Eddy, G., 307. 
 Elliot, F., 308. 
 Eslick.I., 236. 
 Estee, J. A., 346. 
 
 Fales, J., 214. 
 Fales. N., 19;^. 
 Fales, T., 159, 160. 
 Fales, Rev. T. F.,328. 
 Fassett, O. R., 382. 
 Federal Constitution, 245. 
 Fellows, Rev. S., 3S1. 
 Fidelity, Oath of, 114. 
 Field Pieces, 247. 
 Fines, 115. 
 Finney, J., 132, 160. 
 Fire Engines, 245. 
 First House, 103. 
 First Inhabitants, 79. 
 First Meeting House, 128. 
 First Town-Meeting. 78. 
 First Training Day, 114. 
 Fish, C.,M6. 
 Fish, E., 273. 
 Florence, P., 314. 
 Fore-and- Aft-Schooners, 165 . 
 Forfeitures, 95. 
 " Francis " 306. 
 Franklin, R. B., 273. 
 Freeborn, J.T., 273. 
 Freeman, Rev. E., 300. 
 Freemen, List of, 114, 161. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 898 
 
 Free Schools, 339. 
 Frencli, J., 314. 
 French, Mrs. L. S., 331. 
 French Burial-Place, 242. 
 French Hospital, 242. 
 French and Indian War, 1G4. 
 Fuller, Capt., 45. 
 
 Gallup, S., 122. 
 
 Gardner, N., 312. 
 
 Gardner, J. L., 321. 
 
 "Gaspee," 167. 
 
 Geese, etc., 123. 
 
 "Gen. Wellesley," 30!). 
 
 Gifford, J. M., 347. 
 
 Gladding, D., 263. 
 
 Gladdina:, J., 230, 263. 
 
 Gladding, P., 273. 
 
 Gladding, \V., 159, 217. 
 
 Gorham, Land of, 61, 77. 
 
 Gorham, J., 92, 111. 
 
 Graded Schools, 343, 346. 
 
 Grafton, S., 308. 
 
 Grammar Schools, 336. 
 
 Grand Articles, 94. 
 
 Grand Deed, 60. 
 
 Grant to Plymouth, 58. 
 
 Graves, Rev. J. M., :hOO. 
 
 Greene, G. A., 381. 
 
 Greene, E. W., 364. 
 
 Greene, T., 160, 164. 
 
 Gregg, R., 273. 
 
 Grist Mills, 122, 123. 
 
 Griswold, Bishop, 155, XXXV., 295, 
 
 355. 
 GuUifer, S., 307. 
 Gushee, D. S., :U3. 
 
 Haile Turner's Tavern, 165. 
 Hampden, J., 29. 
 Harding, W., 319. 
 Hayman, N., 70, 76, 97. 
 Henderson, T., 364. 
 Henshaw, Bishop, 289. 
 Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., 373. 
 Hervey, J., 337. 
 Hessians, 209. 
 Hetherington, A. B., 30S. 
 Hidden, J. E., 343. 
 Higginson, T. W., .383. 
 High School, .■!44. 
 Highways, 97. 
 "Hiram," 311. 
 Hoar, W., 150, 218. 
 Hohart, Rev. J. N., 300. 
 Hohhamock, 31. 
 Holmes, T. G., .365. 
 Holmes, W., 1()5. 
 Hop, 21. 
 Hopkins, S., 28. 
 House Lots and Houses, 94, 95. 
 Hovey, Mr., MO. - 
 Howe, Bishop, .334, 347, 382, 383 
 Howland, J., 5, 93, 110, 112, 130, 145, 
 166, 245. 
 
 Howland, P., 146. 
 Howland, S., 138, 160, 338. 
 Hubbard, Rev. H. G., 300. 
 Hubbard, L., 340. 
 Hubbard, N., 159. 
 Hunt, Rev. E. T., .301. 
 Hussey, O. B., 314. 
 
 Indians, 187. 
 Indian Corn, 158. 
 Ingraham, J., 193, 236, 245, 
 Ingraham, W., 78, 97. 
 
 Jenckes, W. C, 308. 
 Jillson, W. E., 344, 346. 
 Jol'.nson, Rev. J. H., -365. 
 .Tolls, R.,237. 
 Jones, B., 97. 
 
 Jones, Rev. H. M.. 295, 301. 
 Jones, Rev. J. S., 381. 
 Jones, T., 306, 307. 
 "Juno," 274,319. 
 
 Kay, N., 146, 148. 
 Kendall, J., 346. 
 Kent, Rev. A., 263, 268. 
 Kickemuit, 29. 
 Kilton, Rev. G. W., 381. 
 King Philip, 37-51. 
 Kinuicutt, B., .340. 
 Knowlton, Rev. D., 381. 
 
 Lafayette, 240. 
 
 Lake, J., 301. 
 
 Lancasterian System, 343. 
 
 Lane, Rev. J. P., 232. 
 
 Langsdorff, Dr., 277. 
 
 Latham, U.S., 345, 346. 
 
 Lawder, R., 364. 
 
 Ijawless, J., 347. 
 
 Lawrence, J., 273. 
 
 Lawskee, Rev. J. J., 381. 
 
 Lawton, T., 145,150. 
 
 Lee, Rev. J., 261, 263, 273. 
 
 Lee, Rev. S., 88, 130,131. 
 
 Leif Ericson, 17, L». 
 
 Leif's Booths, 20. 
 
 Leonard, D. A., 317, 381. 
 
 Leonard, S., 296. 
 
 Letter of Protest, Cong. Soc, 225. 
 
 Lewis, Rev. I., 226,228. 
 
 License Fees, etc., 339. 
 
 Lindall, N., 340. 
 
 Lindsay, J., 98, 145, 1.50. 
 
 Lindsay, W.,264. 
 
 Liscomb, S., 215. 
 
 Little, S., 145. 
 
 Littlefield, A. H.,383. 
 
 Locke, Rev. G. L., 3.33, 382. 
 
 Lotteries, 297. 
 
 Luther, Miss E. R., 336, 346. 
 
 McCallion, Rev. M., 354. 
 " Macdonough," 314, 318. 
 
394 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 MacFarland, Bishop, 356. 
 
 Mackintosh, H., 142, 145. 
 
 McSparran, Rev. J., 135, 143. 
 
 Manchester, W., '228, 233. 
 
 Mann, Rev. J., 226, 227. 
 
 Marchant, A. F., 273. 
 
 Marston.W. F., 346. 
 
 Martin, T.,215. 
 
 Martin, W., 150. 
 
 Mason, E. D., 346. 
 
 Massasoiet, 27, 31, 37. 
 
 Methodist Ministers, 272. 
 
 Miles' Bridge, 43. 
 
 Miller, Rev. W., 381. 
 
 Miller, W. J., 383, 300. 
 
 Milton, T., 307. 
 
 Ministry Lot, 99. 
 
 Ministers' Taxes remitted, 164. 
 
 Monro, G. B., 344. 
 
 Monro, W. P., 5. 
 
 Moorfield, J., 274. 
 
 Montop and Mount Hope, 21, 29, 54, 
 
 57,61. 
 Moran, Rev. S., 364. 
 Morley, F. G., 345,346. 
 Morri.son, Rev. W. V., 271, 383. 
 Mott, J. H. H., 3G5. 
 Mount Hope Eagle, 381. 
 Mount Hope Farm, 243. 
 Munro, B., 150, 207. 
 Munro, B. J., 5, 381. 
 Munro, J. B., 347. 
 Munro, N., 150, 263. 
 Munro, O., 336. 
 Munro, S., 150,247, 263. 
 Munro, W., 145, 161, 215, 335. 
 Munro, W. H., 336, 383. 
 Munroe, H. F., 365. 
 Murray, R.,364. 
 
 National Ruhher Co., 375. 
 Nelson, Rev. S. S., 296. 
 Nelson, Dr. T., 295, 297. 
 Newell, S. G.,274. 
 Newport in the Revolution, 234. 
 Nichols, I., 340. 
 Normal School, 224, :M6. 
 North Bridge, 103. 
 Northmen,!., 388. 
 Norwest John, 274. 
 Noyes, W. R., 313, .-542. 
 Nutting, J., 3.38. 
 
 OflScial Oath, 162. 
 Old Tenor Bills, 164. 
 Oliver, H. K., 383. 
 Oliver, N., 76, 96,121,383. 
 Onions, 367. 
 Orem, Rev. J., 142. 
 Osborne, Rev. C. P., 231. 
 
 Paine, N., 92, 97. 
 Paper Money, 245. 
 Papillion, O., 145. 
 Parker, E. D., 275. 
 
 Pearce, G. H., 335. 
 
 Pearse, J. W.,273. 
 
 Pearse, M., 273. 
 
 Pearse, N., 150, 212. 
 
 Pearse, S., 340. 
 
 Pearse, W., 150, 263,264. 
 
 Peck, Rev. F.,328. 
 
 Peck, G. H., 273. 
 
 Peck, J., 160, 162, 205, 210, 263. 
 
 Peck, Rev. J. J., 301. 
 
 Peck, L., 210. 
 
 Peck, S. v., 247. 
 
 Peck, W. R., 273. 
 
 Peckham, P. M., 296. 
 
 Perry, A., 5. 
 
 Perry, C. V.,365. 
 
 Perry, Rev. J. D. W., 332. 
 
 Petition to Congress, 246. 
 
 Philip's son sent to Bermuda, 49. 
 
 Phillips, G.,314. 
 
 Pierce, A., 347. 
 
 Pitman, J. H., 335. 
 
 Pokanoket Indians, 28. 
 
 Pokanoket, or Puckanokick, 32, 42. 
 
 Polls and Ratable Property, 242. 
 
 Poppasquash, 6, 66. 
 
 Population Statistics, 186. 
 
 Post Office, 236. 
 
 Potter, H., 175, 214,263. 
 
 Potter, S., 150, 159, 162, 167, 175, 
 XXIV., 193, 203. 215, 236,251, 322. 
 
 Potter Library, 251. 
 
 Press of Bristol, 381. 
 
 Prices of Merchandise, 159, 241. 
 " Prince Charles of Lonaine," 178. 
 
 Private Armed Ships, 176. 
 
 Private Instructions to Privateer Cap- 
 tains, 308. 
 
 Privileges of Mt. Hope Settlers, 62. 
 
 Proposals for Altering the Constitu- 
 tion. 200. 
 Protest from Church of England Peo- 
 ple, 149. 
 
 Qualifications of Freemen, 162. 
 
 Railroad, 379. 
 
 Rainor, Rev. M., 263. 
 
 " Rambler," 313. 
 
 Rates, 113. 
 
 Rawson, Mr., 342. 
 
 Reed, J., 319. 
 
 Reed, Rev. N. A., 300. 
 
 Reed, S., 237. 
 
 Reformed Methodist, 327. 
 
 Resolutions Boston Tea Party, 193. 
 
 Revivals, 267, 286, 290, 327. 
 
 Reynolds, J., 210, 226, 240. 
 
 Reynolds, J. P. , 364, 365. 
 
 Reynolds, N., 92, 128,131. 
 
 Richmond, Dr., 213. 
 
 Richmond, L. C, 266. 
 
 Richmond, T., 251. 
 
 Rhode Island, 26. 
 
 Robinson, Rev. E. G., 383. 
 
 Robinson, I., 112. -i i 
 
INDEX. 
 
 396 
 
 Rock Picture, 388. 
 
 Rogers, Rev. C. J., 357. 
 
 Rogers, J., 112, 114, 118, 128. 
 
 Rogers, R., 380. 
 
 Rogers, Mrs. R., 232. 
 
 Roll of Representatives, 384. 
 
 Rope Walks, 162. 
 
 Ross. Rev. A. A., 299. 
 
 Row-galley Washington, 239. 
 
 " Royal Bounty," 305. 
 
 Russell, J.. 160, 161, 193, 236, 244, 245, 
 
 Russell, T. H., 303. 
 Rutherford, T., 381. 
 
 Saffin, J., 69, XIV., 115, 119, 121. 
 
 Sanborn, Rev. G. P., 381. 
 
 Sauford, G., 263. 
 
 " San Jose Indiano," 308. 
 
 Sands, R. C, 293. 
 
 " Saranac," 311, 
 
 Saunders, C, 92,97. 
 
 Sausaman, J., 39. 
 
 Sayles, H. C, 364, 365. 
 
 Schools and Schoolmasters, 113, 336. 
 
 School Districts, 342. 
 
 School House, 340. 
 
 School Lands, 338. 
 
 School Superintendents, 344. 
 
 Seaconnet Indians, 41, 42. 
 
 Selectmen, Oath, Duties, etc., 112. 
 
 Severs, Mr., 3.38. 
 
 " Shannon," 306. 
 
 Shepard. Rev. T., 229, 231, 266, 344. 
 
 Ship-building, 373. 
 
 Simmons, G. W., 273. 
 
 Simmons, S., 314. 
 
 Skinner, P., 233, 344. 
 
 Skinner, W. D., 364. 
 
 Skraelings, 20. 
 
 Slade, J. R., 347. 
 
 Slaves, 73, 147, 165, 187, 244, 349. 
 
 Slocum, S.,247. 
 
 Small-Pox, 157, 159, 166. 
 
 Smith, B., 226. 
 
 Smith, Bishop, 334. 
 
 Smith, G. J., 273. 
 
 Smith, J., 215, 303, 307, 308, 311. 
 
 Smith, Rev, L., 263. 
 
 Smith, N., 124, 214, 246. 
 
 Smith, R., 93, 210, 245. 
 
 Smith, S., 214. 
 
 Smith, S. H., 347. 
 
 Smith, W., 273. 
 
 Snelling, Rev. J., 267. 
 
 Snorri Thorfinnson, 21. 
 
 Snow, 165. 
 
 Snow, E., 307. 
 
 Song about " Gaspee," 173. 
 
 South Christian Church, 381. 
 
 Sowams, 29. 
 
 Sparhawk, Rev. J., 133, 135. 
 
 Sparks, S., 163. 
 
 Spider Windmill, 246. 
 
 Spooner, C. H., 301. 
 
 Spooner, E. M., 364. 
 
 Spooner, W. B., 230, 344. 
 
 Spooner, W. H., 233. 
 
 Squanto, 29. 
 
 Stanton, W. B., 273. 
 
 Starkweather, Rev. J., 229. 
 
 Steamboats, 379. ^^ 
 
 St. Mary's Church, 356. 
 
 St. Michael's Chapel, 333. J 
 
 St. Michael's Church, 141, 152. 
 
 Stocks and Whipping-Post, 166. 
 
 Storms, 157, 239, 240. 
 
 Storrs, O., 343. 
 
 Stowe, Rev. W.,5, 331. 
 
 Streets, 97, 98. 
 
 Subscriptions for Boston, li)7. 
 
 Suffrage Restored, 242, 
 
 Sugar Refinery, 374. 
 
 Sullings, Rev. H., 381. 
 
 Sunday Schools, 228. 
 
 Swan, Mr,, 342. 
 
 Swan, T., 5, 172, 318. 
 
 Swansey, 49. 
 
 Sweet, M.,303, 307, 314. 
 
 Sweetman, Rev. S.K.,381. 
 
 Sykes, Rev. J. N., 300,344. 
 
 Talbee, E.,273. 
 Tavern Bill, 247. 
 Taylor, Rev. B., 220. 
 Taylor, " Father," 269. 
 Tenure of Land, 298. 
 Test Act, 245. 
 Text-Books, 342. 
 Thayer, S. W., 233. 
 Thomas, J. A. , 274. 
 Thorfinn Karlsefni, 20, 22. 
 Thresher, R., 296. 
 Throat Distemper, 220. 
 Throope, A., 339. 
 Throope, J., 340. 
 Throope, T., 160. 
 Throope, W., 92, 118, 131. 
 Tiernan, R. P., 364. 
 Tobey, Rev. Z., 300, .'JSl. 
 Tonnage, Table of, 372. 
 Town Hall, 223. 
 Trapnell, Rev. J., 266, XM). 
 Trotter, A. R., 335. 
 Trotter, W. R.,365. 
 True, Rev. C. K., 265. 
 Tucker, Rev. T. W.,268. 
 Turner, H., 340. 
 Tyng, Rev. S. H., 280. 
 Tyrker, 19. 
 
 Upham, Rev. S, F,, 273. 
 
 Usher, A. T., 233. 
 
 Usher, A. T. &T. J.,:571. 
 
 Usher, H., 214, 216. 
 
 Usher, James, 303. 
 
 Usher, Rev. John, 144, 149, LW, 152, 
 
 153, 165, 181, 222, 340. 
 Usher's Cove, 148. 
 
896 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Valuation of Bristol Co., 183. 
 
 Van Doom, A., 214. 
 
 Van Doom, M., 341. 
 
 Van Zandt, C. C, 383. 
 
 Vassal Farm, 244. 
 
 Vassal, W., 244. 
 
 Vendue Master, 163. 
 
 Verruzano, 24. 
 
 Vinland, 19. 
 
 Vinson, J. H., 306. 
 
 Waldron, A., 247, 273. 
 
 Waldron, D., 273. 
 
 "Waldron, J., 96, 214. 
 
 Waldron, J. D., 335. 
 
 Waldron, S., 92. 
 
 Waldron, T., 146. 
 
 Waldron, W. T., 263. 
 
 Walker J., 150, 163. 
 
 Walker, T., 118, 119, 123. 
 
 Walker, W., 141, 145. 
 
 Walley House, 105. 
 
 Walley, J., 74, 84, 96, 97, 116, 1!; 
 
 122, 128, 131, 383. 
 Wampanoag Indians, 28. 
 Wamsutta, 37. 
 Ward well, A., 263, 299. 
 Ward well, H., 308. 
 Wardwell, S., 235, 246, 247, 252. 
 Wardwell, W., 214. 
 Wardwell, W, T. C, 335. 
 
 Washington, General, 242, aJ2. 
 Waterman, Rev. H., 364. 
 "Water Witch," 311. 
 Weeden, J. S.,266. 
 Weetamoe, 42. 
 Weir, J., 368. 
 West, W., 312. 
 West, W. H.,347. 
 Whaleboats and Whaleships, 
 
 368, 370, .371 . 
 Whipping Post, etc., 166. 
 Whitefield, Rev. G., 262. 
 Wight, Rev. H., 224, 252. 
 Wight, J., 339. 
 Wilkins, J., 97. 
 Williams N., 97. 
 Williams, W. F., .365. 
 Wilson, J., 312. 
 Wilson, O., 303, 306, 314. 
 Winchell, Rev. J. M., 295, 296. 
 Winslow, E., 28, 31. 
 Winter of (1779-80), 241. 
 Woodbridge, Rev. B., Ill, 125. 
 Woodbury, H., 92. 
 Woodbury, J., 159, 160, 161. 
 Woodbury, S., 97, 128, 1.31. 
 Writing on Rock, 389. 
 
 Yamoyden, 293. 
 " Yankee," 302. 
 " Yankee Lass," 315.