USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Taunton > Tercentenary of Taunton, Massachusetts, 1639 [to] 1939, June 4-10 > Part 1
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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01823 0331
TAUNTON
GENEALOGY 974.402 T19TE
TERCENTENARY
TAUNTON FEMINS
1639
A TOWN 16
CITY 1864
1939
HI CONANNET
1639.
JUNE 4 - 10
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
TAUNTON - MASSACHUSETTS
Price 25C
1639
Taunton Tercentenary JUNE 7, 8, 9 PAGEANT
1939
"LIBERTY AND UNION"
by JOSEPH E. WARNER
NARRATORS
Joseph E. Warner
Eldridge Lloyd
Miss Mary O'Keefe
Rev. Martin Medary
Mrs. Hubert Hayter
Robert Leonard
Miss Eileen Henchey
David Marsden
Scenery Supervisor
Drama Group
Capt. A. Loring Swasey Miss Irene M. Foley
Rythm Group
Miss Louise F. Crowley
Choral Group
Allston E. Williams, Dr. George Allen
Choral Director
Luther Churchill
MEMBERS OF THE CAST ACT I
PRELUDE-Supervisor Miss Grace Hopkins
ELIZABETH POLE
Miss Maydelle Murphy
WILLIAM POLE
Dr. Charles J. Carey
REV. WILLIAM HOOKE
Rev. Douglas Swaffield
JANE WHALLEY HOOKE
Miss Anna Hart
SIR WALTER ERLE
C. Warren Rankin, Jr.
LADY JANE POLE
Mrs. Emily Tooker
MARY POLE HURST
Mrs. Jennie Bergold William A. Burton
SIR JOHN POLE
William H. Stevenson
KATHERINE POLE SOUTHCOTT
Mrs. Susan Thorndike
THOMAS SOUTHCOTT, Esq.
Henry C. Chase
ANN POLE WALROND
Mrs. Lillian Schultz
EDMUND WALROND
Harry Forbes
PERYAM POLE
Newton Collins
ELEANOR POLE FLOYER
Mrs. Mabel C. Reilly
ANTHONY FLOYER
Albert Waterman
GUESTS AND DANCERS
Miss Grace Hopkins
Gordon Owen
Jean and Richard Williams
Miss Irene Alger
Eunice and Robert Williams
Mr. Joseph Walker
Gilman Leonard
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Horton
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Rhodes
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Wordell
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Whitters
Miss Phyllis Chace
Mr. and Mrs. Luther Anthony, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Borden
EPISODE 1-Supervisor Mr. Harry Crossman
JOHN STRONG
Reynolds Crossman
RICHARD WILLIAMS
Mr. Alfred B. Williams
ELEANOR DEAN
Miss Alice Dean
WIDOW RANDALL
Miss Lillian D. Cowen
HENRY ANDREWS
Roy Williams
JOHN GILBERT
Russell Hathaway
TOWNSPEOPLE
Miss Gertrude Williams
Capt. Palmer C. Williams
Miss Mary E. Dary
Mr. Dwight Lane
Miss Alice Dean Mrs. Fred Campbell Mr. Clarence Parker Mrs. M. Elizabeth Parker
NICHOLAS HURST
TOWNSPEOPLE (Continued)
Mr. and Mrs. John Perron Mr. and Mrs. Charles Harvey Mr. Edward Burt Dorothy Spousta Miss Elizabeth Dunn Mr. Philip Hall
Clayton Wilbur
Mrs. Donald Berthold ( Alice Wood)
Miss Letitia Lincoln
Miss Ella T. Dary
Miss Mary Standish Perry
Miss Una Dary
Mrs. Villa Clapp Dwyer
Mrs. Fred Robinson
CHILDREN
Druzilla Williams
Winifred Hathaway
Charles H. Lincoln, Jr.
Carolyn G. Hall
Henry Dary, Jr. Charlotte Dary Gordon Dwyer Barbara Hewitt
INDIANS Clifford Webster, Manuel Dupont, Edward Morin
EPISODE 2-Supervisor Mr. Maxwell Whitters Those in previous scenes, and
FRANCES DIGHTON WILLIAMS Miss Mabel J. Williams REV. NICHOLAS STREET Mr. Howard Knox MASTER BISHOP Mr. Nelson Bishop
MESSENGER
Richard Williams
EPISODE 3, SCENE 1 Supervisors: Mrs. Mary Duarte and Mr. Thomas Rogers
KING PHILIP
Clifford Webster
CORBITANT
John McRae
TUSPAQUIN
Thomas Rogers
TOBIAS
WAMPAPAUM
Leslie Colp Robert Tweedy Everett Smith
MATTUSHAMAMA
AWASHUNKS
Donald Tweedy Warren Harradon Manuel Dupont
QUINNAPIN
Joseph Faria
PETER NUNNIT
John Whitters Edward Morin
WOTONEKANUSKI
Mrs. Eileen Creighton
AMIE
Mrs. Lillian Folcik
WEETAMOE
Lillian Haradon
SQUAW BETTY
Julia Eames
INDIANS
Thomas Rogers
Miss Betty Lynch
Daniel McGlashing
Mrs. Alice Macomber
Lawrence Leonard
Mrs. Edna Wilcox
Everett Smith
Mrs. Phoebe Dupont
Joseph Faria
Mrs. Margaret Smith
John Whitters
Mrs. Elsie Woodward
Warren Haradon
Mary De Thomas
Howard Deane Antone Perry
Alice Sartelle
Mrs. Lillian Folcik
Mabel Rogers
Mrs. Eileen Creighton
Jennie Bushie
SCENE 2-Supervisor Mrs. Marion Grant TOWNSPEOPLE
Mr. Joseph Church Mr. Eben Tisdale Mrs. Donald Berthold Carleton Walker Lillian Cowen Barbara Dexter
Harold B. Johnston, Jr. Harriet Brabrook Lincoln Brabrook Samuel Wilde Francis G. Coyle
ANAWAN
CANONCHET
JOHN SASSAMON
Marie Morin
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dary
Mr. Talbot Tweedy Mrs. Marion Grant
SCENE 4-Supervisor Mrs. Fred Fuller COMMANDER OF CAPT. WILLIAM H. BARTLETT POST NO. 3 HENRY N. HOPKINS Members of Memorial Day Committee
Mrs. Minnie Hutchins
Clarice Prunier
Mrs. Mabel Brimicombe
Elizabeth Dugan
Mrs. Mary Murray
Mary F. Reilly
Alice Dowling Emma Allen
Mary Travis
Mrs. Frank Larkin
Helen Bettencourt
Ella B. Curtis
EPISODE 6-Supervisor Mrs. Howard P. Smith
MISS LULU PLANT Mrs. Howard P. Smith
Clarence Hall Frank Twiss
SOLDIERS Richard Mahoney Francis McCaffrey
EPISODE 7 Supervisors: Mrs. Annie Munise and Mrs. Anna Mitchell Sweeney GIRLS' BICYCLE CLUB
Mrs. William McAloon
Miss Cecile McAloon
Miss Lois King
Miss Helen Campbell
Miss Mary Dunn Mrs. Rose Bliedon
BOYS' BICYCLE CLUB
Joseph Hathaway Calvin Cash
Howard Fitzgerald Paul Witham Harold Whynot
Harold Dudley
TANDEM RIDERS Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Whitters
BIG WHEEL BICYCLE RIDER
Ralph Owen
BAND Leader: Thomas Dennen
Robert Farrar William Hopkins John Schwarz
William Hewitt Arthur Furtado William Perry
FIREMEN William H. Wilson and James A. O'Keefe Ernest Molden
COACHMAN OF TALLYHOE
Mrs. Anna Sweeney Miss Julia Cosden
RIDERS Mrs. Tillie Lunney Mrs. Annie Mahoney
Miss Helen Chaisty
RIDERS IN EARLY AUTO
Mrs. Annie Munise and Mrs. Marcellus Lemaire
TOWNSPEOPLE
Mrs. Mary Duarte Mrs. Loretta McGrath Miss Margaret Chaisty Mrs. Lilla Nuttall
Miss Mary J. Mahoney
Mrs. Marguerite Chamberlain Miss Matilda Zwetchkenbaum Miss Mabel Trucchi Miss Anthony Rose Miss Mary Dooley
Mrs. Alice Fitzgerald
EPISODE 8-Supervisor Mrs. Edmund Gregg
MONSIGNOR JAMES COYLE Edwin McCormick
Joseph Schein Edmund Gregg Robert Conaty Jeremiah T. Foley Joseph Orsi George Horan William Kearns
OLD NINTH COMPANY Laurence Brackett Abner Cassidy
Gale Wood Thomas Nassar
Francis Galligan Carleton Butler
Adelard Marotte Bernard Meinhardt
Milton Lewis
Thomas Conrad
Thomas Powers Fred Caplin
Sam Anderson
Mrs. Edward Donnelly Mrs. Robert Conaty Mrs. Edmund Gregg Mrs. Joseph Orsi Mrs. Francis Linane Mrs. John Hogan
Mrs. James McCrystal
RED CROSS NURSES
Mrs. Thomas Conrad Miss Julia Solmer
Mrs. Bernard Meinhardt
Mrs. Helen Bettencourt
Mrs. Herman Leonard
Mrs. Lester Harwood
Mrs. Elizabeth Mack Mrs. Emile Marotte
Mrs. Doris Willis
Mrs. Claire Prunier
Mrs. Alice Dowling
Mrs. Sophia Cote
EPISODE 9
Mrs. Elizabeth Leahy
1. THE BIRTHDAY CAKE
2. THE DIADEM OF STARS
DANCERS OF NATIONS ENGLISH
Doris Goldman Ethel Halekas Virginia Coffin Genevieve Butler
Patricia McNally Anna Harrison Lillian Bannon Marguerite Reilly
Beatrice Marotte Evelyn Babeau Bernadette deChamplain Mildred Boudreau
Dorothy McCarty Catherine McCabe Marjorie Strange Elizabeth Synan
Josephine Miga Stella Knopinski Waltela Rusiecki Katherine Niedziocha
Veronica Foster Lydia Delgado Delphina Correia Carmen Furtado
Geraldine Souza Ruth Ankian
Genevieve Pacheco
Mary Fontes ITALIAN
Edera Bella Carla Catenelli Rosetta Maschio Jennie Mezzera
Ada Alegi Alba Ferrari Dorothy Gughelmi Lola Valentine
Elsie Alegi Millicent Swaffield Lillian Weatherbee Jean Williams
RUSSIAN Florence Bik Anna Klebash Vera Zoslosky Eleanor Carey
Rebecca Hopkins Mary Masterson Lorraine Williams Anna Kytyk
3. THE LEGACY OF THE LIGHT OF LIBERTY Girl of 1939 Boy of 1939.
Miss Jane Pepler Master Jerry Foley
4. TAUNTON AND LIBERTY AND UNION FOREVER Goddess of Liberty and members from the Episodes 5. ONE GOD, ONE COUNTRY, AND ONE FLAG Entire Cast
Patricia Lianides Phyllis Dwyer Elizabeth Leonard
Dorothea Williams
IRISH
Barbara Gregg Dorothea Prairie
Jeanne Sullivan Ruth Hanna
Gertrude O'Neill
Anna McNamara
Irene Saint
FRENCH
Lorraine Morin
Lucille Morin
Rita C. Piche
Lorraine Courcy
SCOTCH
Ruth Taylor Beatrice Amaral
Virginia Vincent Dorothy MacVaugh POLISH
Stella Lozinski
Stephanie Dukacz Mary Dukacz Mildred Kijak PORTUGUESE
Helen Rocharz Catherine Sypek Anna Slovick Adela Baran
Mary Camara Beatrice Amaral Zulmira D'Arruda Louise Agrella
Theresa Arieta Joan Rusconi Jennie Rusconi Domenica Rusconi
Bessie Halekas Janet Leonard
Betty Marsch
Priscilla Hodges
Beatrice Reilly
Lorette Garceau Ruth Emond Lillian Beaulieu Helen Nadeau
Bernice Taylor Lucille Viveiros Theresa Blain Jeanette Lee
GOLD STAR MOTHER
POSTLUDES
Miss Rachel Morse
CHARLES W. DAVOL, PRINTER, TAUNTON
CHURCH GREEN IN 1856.
Showing the First Parish Church, the Town Hall (now City Hall) and the Liberty Pole.
TERCENTENARY
of
TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS
TAU
NTON
1639
A TOWN
TY 1864
COHANNI 7
CIT
1939
1639
June 4 - 10
Published by The Taunton Tercentenary Committee, Inc. 1939
The Taunton Tercentenary Committee (INCORPORATED)
:
Board of Directors
Joseph E. Warner, President
Frederick B. White, Treasurer Harold B. Johnston, Clerk Rev. Wilton E. Cross, Recording Secretary Miss Rachel Morse, Corresponding Secretary
Rev. James Dolan William H. Reed
Merle T. Barker
Richard Wastcoat
Charles F. Park
Wilbur E. Forbes
Members
Joseph L. Anthony
Charles T. Alger
Walter R. Baylies
William M. Lovering
George A. Bosworth
Hon. Robert M. Leach
A. Cleveland Bent
Mrs. Percival C. Lincoln
Francis J. Bassett
Peter Moreau
Mrs. Merle T. Barker
Joseph H. Martin
Dr. Charles J. Carey
Thompson Newbury
Mrs. Henry H. Church
Francis O'Boy
Mrs. Sutherland Orr
Mrs. Henry F. Dauphin
Miss Florence Presbrey
Hon. Ralph Davol Miss Alice S. Emery
Ralph L. Ricketson
A. Loring Swasey N. Louis Stone
Miss Alice Galligan Robert Heap Allen P. Hoard
Mrs. Arthur R. Sharp Frank L. Tinkham
Ernest K. Vanderwarker
Enos W. Hart
Allston E. Williams
Alfred B. Williams
Howard L. White
Charles G. Washburn
Miss Ruth A. Crossman
Mrs. Arthur R. Crandell
Mrs. A. Boylston Nichols
Marcus A. Rhodes Miss Maydelle Murphy
William O. Kingman
Mrs. Frank R. Knox
Charles W. Davol Miss Grace Dean
Hon. Arthur E. Poole
Frank B. Fox, Esquire
Mrs. George T. Hartshorn Frank W. Hutt
Pursuant to the Charter and By-Laws, Committees were created with Joseph E. Warner, as General Chairman, and an Executive Committee composed of the Directors.
Printed by C. A. HACK & SON, INC. Taunton, Mass.
TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS
In July, of the year 1621, two white men, guided by a friendly Indian, paused on a rise of ground above the banks of Taunton River, and looked across the "goodly fields" on either side. Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins, on their way from Plymouth to Mt. Hope to pay a friendly visit to Massasoit, sachem of the Wampanoag Indians, gazed with interest at the fertile, well- timbered country "both champanie and hilly, like many places in England," which lay deserted now, since the plague of 1612 had ravaged the Indian village of Tetiquet, and reported their discovery to the people of Plymouth. Two years later, Winslow, with John Hampden, crossed the river again, to visit Massasoit, who was dangerously ill, and, according to the Indian custom, wished to receive all his friends before his death. It is pleasant to learn that Winslow's home-made remedies cured the sachem and prolonged his life for many years. When other ships followed the path of the Mayflower, and the early settlements became too crowded, some of the colonists remembered Edward Winslow's report and found their way to Tetiquet.
Among these first settlers, the most familiar name is that of Elizabeth Pole, daughter of Sir William Pole of Devonshire, "a gentlewoman, an ancient maid." With her younger brother, William, she left England at the age of forty-five and settled first at Dorchester, then, desiring more land, drove her cattle to Teti- quet where she purchased land from the Indians, paying them, according to legend, with a pot of beans and a jackknife. Follow- ing her lead, others came from Dorchester and the neighboring settlements, and in 1638, forty-six men and women, of whom William Pole was one, bought from Massasoit for two shillings per acre, the plantation known by the Indians as Cohannet, "the land of quick-running waters", consisting of sixty-four square miles, a little to the west of Tetiquet. Elizabeth Pole's name is not on the list of purchasers, but she was held in honor by the authorities, as being the founder of the town, and given lands in the first pur- chase, especially laid out for her by Captain Myles Standish. Through the seventeen years of her life in Taunton, she seems to
5
have been a leader in civic affairs, a shareholder in the Taunton Iron Works, and instrumental in the establishment of the first church to which, at her death, she left "for the furtherance of any special service thereof, one cow, whichsoever the overseers shall like to take for that end."
The little settlement was isolated from both Plymouth and Dorchester by intervening Indian villages, and perhaps for that reason, it early developed a spirit of independence and community life. In 1639, Cohannet was recognized as a town, the first inland town in the Colony, and sent representatives to the General Court at Plymouth. In 1640, the townspeople petitioned to change the name of the town to Taunton "in memory of our dear native country." Since they had come to this wilderness in search of freedom to worship, the first concern of the townspeople was the establishment of a ministry and a meeting-house. Church meet- ings were held on the banks of the river or in the houses, until 1647, when a log meeting-house was erected. William Hook, a graduate of Oxford, was the first minister, and it is proof of the close bond existing between the people of the colonies and those of the mother country, that his first sermon preached in Taunton, was published in England and was entitled, "New England's Teares for Old England's Feares-on a day of Publike Humiliation in behalf of our native Country in time of feared Dangers." The laws for the observance of Sunday were very strict. No fast driving or smok- ing was allowed within two miles of the meeting-house or while going to and from it, and one townsman was summoned to Court for needlessly going to Bridgewater and back on Sunday. We know that the first school was established as early as the church, from the fact that the Reverend Mr. Hook was ordained by Master John Bishop, the schoolmaster, and in 1647, an act was passed, making the support of public schools compulsory and declaring that education should be universal and free.
It was the firm intention of the authorities that the people of Taunton should lead godly, sober and industrious lives. Five selectmen headed the town government, and the first town clerk was elected as early as 1654. For serious infringements of the law, the culprits were ordered to appear before the General Court at Plymouth. The capital crimes were idolatry, witchcraft, blas- phemy, murder, man-stealing, false witness and conspiracy, and these crimes were punishable by branding on the forehead, whipping, imprisonment in the pillory or the stocks, and even, for repeated offences, death in the hanging lot owned by the town near the site of the Plain Cemetery. Belief in witchcraft did not flourish
6
so violently in Taunton as in some of the neighboring settlements, though there were rumors concerning certain families in the north section of the town, who had gained much wealth through entering into a league with the devil. A member of one family was fired upon when she appeared one day in the town in the shape of a strange cat, and it was reported of another that at his death the devil appeared to claim him and leaving, jumped from the win- dow to a rock, leaving imprints which can still be seen. Many of the early trespasses consisted of selling shot or lending guns to the Indians, and in 1651, the whole town was presented before the General Court for not having a sufficient stock of powder and shot. Even such minor matters as costumes and hair-dressing were regu- lated by the authorities, and it was decreed that "no person whose visible estate, real and personal, shall not exceed the value of two hundred pounds, shall wear any Gold or Silver Lace or Gold and Silver Buttons."
During the first years, farming was the principal occupation. The land was cleared of the "good timber" reported by Edward Winslow, and the "goodly fields" were easily fertilized with fish from the river. At first the corn was taken to Plymouth or Dor- chester for grinding, but in 1652, a grist mill was built on the river between Cohannet and Winthrop Streets, and a few years later, a saw-mill was built near by. This, however, caused trouble. Even before the white men came, the value of the fisheries had been appreciated, for it is reported that "hundreds of Indians would come from Mt. Hope and other places every year in April, with great dancings and shoutings to catch fish at Cohannit." Now it was found that the dam of the saw-mill hindered the passage of the alewives up the river, and the town authorities fined the owner twenty shillings and directed him to break down the dam, stating succinctly in the town record: "Voted, that the fish should have a convenient passage up and down Mill River."
As the colonists adjusted themselves to their surroundings, they found materials for the organization of other industries. In 1652, iron ore was discovered on the banks of Two Mile River. A stock company was formed, a dam built across the river on the main road leading to Raynham, and three experienced work- men from Braintree where the manufacture of bar iron had already been started, were invited to join in the enterprise. In 1656, the manufacture of iron was begun, and for many years, bar iron was used in place of money in the community. One of the early man- agers received as salary, "ten hundred of iron yearly." We know that the iron industry was considered important, because the
7
bloomers employed at the forge were freed from military training so that they might not be interrupted in their work. In 1666, another forge was built, called "Whittington Forge." At this time Taunton was also the centre of the tar industry which reached such a height that the court was obliged to regulate the sale, pre- venting the indiscriminate sale of tar to people outside the colony.
Meanwhile, the settlement was growing rapidly. As early as 1642 Taunton petitioned the General Court for more. land and was given Assonet Neck. Four years later, land near Nemasket Pond was added, and in 1665 the lands between Tetiquet and Taun- ton were joined with the town. The North Purchase in 1668 and the south purchase in 1672 added many acres to the township. The town records of 1675 show that there were ninety-six heads of families living in Taunton and by 1685 there were eighty scholars on the list of Taunton schools, "some of whom had entered Latin." In this same year, Plymouth Colony was divided into the three colonies of Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable, and much to the disappointment of the Taunton people, Bristol was made the shire town of Bristol County, chiefly because it bore the same name.
Surrounded as it was by unreliable, if not definitely hostile Indians, Taunton early developed a military spirit. In 1639, Captain William Pole commanded a military company of fifty- four members, and was ordered to exercise the inhabitants in the use of arms. Every man in the community was ready at the sound of alarm, to report at the meeting-house and a specified number of men was required to bring arms to all public meetings, and to church on Sunday. In 1661, Massasoit died, and the latent fear in the hearts of the colonists sprang into active terror, for, while Massasoit had been friendly, his son Philip, now reigning sachem of the Wampanoags, had no love for the English. Military com- mittees were formed from different towns to confer in the event of an Indian uprising, and lists were kept of all men between six- teen and sixty, able to bear arms. Several treaties were made with Philip, but the neighboring Indian bands grew more and more unruly. A block-house was erected for the protection of the women and children, and in 1671 the Massachusetts Bay Colony was asked for help and Philip was summoned to a meeting in the Taunton meeting-house. On one side of the meeting-house sat three commissioners from Plymouth Colony, three from Massa- chusetts Bay. On the opposite side sat Philip, surrounded by his warriors. Accused by the commissioners of collecting firearms, he sullenly surrendered them and signed a pledge of friendship. But he continued to plot against the English, and in 1675 John
8
Sassamon, an interpreter, told the Plymouth government that Philip was preparing for war. A few days later, Sassamon was found dead in Assawampsett Pond, and for his murder, three Indians were executed at Plymouth. Philip retaliated with open warfare, firing first on the people of Swansea, later, attacking Taunton. When the news of the impending attack reached the Cape towns, they sent messengers to the people of Taunton, urging them to leave the town and seek safety on the Cape; but the towns- people refused to flee, and when Philip arrived he found the town so well fortified that he withdrew after burning two houses. Through the years 1675 and 1676, Taunton was a centre of military activity, as the military quotas of the surrounding towns were organized there on their way to Plymouth. Finally the forces of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut united in defence and over- whelmed the Indian forces. In all, Taunton lost fifteen men.
With the beginning of the eighteenth century, Taunton settled down to a period of industrial expansion. The manufacture of iron continued, with the building of the Chartley Iron Works in the North Purchase, King's Furnace at East Taunton, the Hope- well Iron Works on Mill River, and the Baylies Iron works in the west part of the town where the anchor for the frigate Consti- tution was made and carried to tide-water, in Dighton by ten yoke of oxen. In the middle of the century, brick-making was begun, and the bricks were sent to market down the river. Commerce flourished upon the river and "sloops of ten to twenty tons were plying with cargoes of iron, brick and other articles to and from Providence, New York and Newport." As early as 1661, a draw- bridge had been built over Neck of Land to accommodate the passage of boats up and down the river and in 1699, Thomas Coram, a master ship-builder of Boston, became interested in the possibilities of shipping on the Taunton River and came here to build a shipyard in the South Purchase. In 1760 a lottery was held, to raise money for removing the rocks and shoals from the river, the better to accommodate the increased shipping, and in 1789, Dighton was made a port of entry, with a collector of the port and a Custom House.
The new industries brought about changes in the town's boun- daries. Most of the factories were on the outskirts and the groups of workers who settled nearby, found it inconvenient to live so far from the place of public worship. In 1711 the North Purchase was incorporated as the town of Norton, and a year later the South Purchase became the town of Dighton. Twenty years later, Raynham and Berkley became separate towns. Taunton
.00
was not eager to part with these sections of her township, but recognized their difficulties and let them go with the admonition that within two years each town was to procure "a learned orthodox minister of good connection" and erect a meethouse. Changes were taking place also in the county boundaries. In 1740, Bristol was given to Rhode Island and in 1746 Taunton realized her ambi- tion to become the shire town, and built a Court House. From this time, the Court House was used for public meetings, as the meeting-house was no longer large enough.
In 1726 a new meeting-house had been built and most of the townspeople worshipped in the meeting-house as they had in the early days of the settlement, but as the town increased in popula- tion and grew in security, independence of thought developed. In 1740, St. Thomas Episcopal Church with a congregation of thirty families was built in Oakland, on land left in trust for King's Chapel by Thomas Coram, the ship-builder, to be used "if ever hereafter the inhabitants of the town of Taunton should be more civilized then they are now, and should incline to have a Church of England built among them." Shortly after this, a few Baptists settled in the town, and in 1767 the North Taunton church was built. In 1791, a dispute over the selection of a minister arose among the members of the meeting-house congregation, recently incorporated under the name of the First Congregational Society of Taunton, and a large number of the congregation withdrew, leaving only three men and one woman. The rebels worshipped at first in a barn, later in a meeting-house built in the west part of the town and the society continued to flourish in both the old and the new meeting-houses. As it was required by statute that schools be placed near meeting-houses, the founders of Bristol Academy bought land across the street from the first meeting-house and there, in 1794, erected "a permanent foundation for the instruction of the rising generation in useful, polite and humane literature and accomplishments." Here the first Masonic organization in Massa- chusetts, King David Lodge, A. F. and A. M. held its first meet- ing in 1798.
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