USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > Early Rehoboth, documented historical studies of families and events in this Plymouth colony township, Volume III > Part 3
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Early Rehoboth
Wright had "a great knowledge of the Scriptures and the strange confidence that while he held his Bible in his hand he looked upon himself as secure from all kinds of violence and the Indians finding him in that posture, deriding his groundless apprehension of folly therein, ripped him open and put his Bible in his belly" (post, page 17).
When the Indians burned Rehoboth and Providence only one man was killed in each town. The "tradition" as related by Bliss was true with the exception that the incident happened in Providence and not in Rehoboth and the man murdered by the Indians was not Robert Beers, the Irish brick-maker of Rehoboth, but a Providence man named Wright, as is so graphically told by the merchant of Boston in his letter to his friend in London under date of 22 July 1676. Bliss used, less dramatically and probably unknowingly, this pub- lished London story for his Rehoboth "tradition".
In the following pages will be found two original letters written from Rehoboth by Rev. Noah Newman to Rev. John Cotton of Plymouth, one dated 27 Mar. 1676 and the other dated 19 Apr. 1676, the latter here published for the first time-together with an original letter dated 5 May 1676, written by John Kingsley of Rehoboth to the clergy at Hartford, and an important Massachusetts Bay record dated 24 May 1676.
Suffering from their crushing defeat in the Narragansett Swamp Fight in December of 1675, the Indians dispersed into small com- panies and started on the war-path early the following spring, burn- ing and killing in Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay, and Plymouth Colonies. . On 25 Feb. 1676 they attacked the deserted town of Weymouth and burned seven or eight houses and barns and killed one or two persons. In the beginning of the month of March 1675/6 they burned twelve houses at Pawtucket, most of which were in the township of Rehoboth.
By 12 Mar. 1675/6, the Indians had penetrated to within two miles of the village of Plymouth where at Eel River they burned the house of Capt. William Clark, murdered Mrs. Sarah Clark, an infant, and some eight or nine persons from other families. Major Bradford captured the Indians, who were led by Tatoson. At a trial held at Plymouth 7 July 1676, the names of eleven of the Indians were proved [Plymouth Colony Records, vol. V, pp. 204-6].
On 13 Mar. 1675/6, about 400 Indians attacked Groton, Mass., burning about forty dwelling houses and other buildings and killing some of the inhabitants. On 17 Mar. 1675/6, the Indians burned all but a few of the houses left standing at Warwick, near Providence, killing one man, and burned the houses of the English remaining in the Narragansett country.
Capt. Michael Pierce* of Scituate, Plymouth Colony, with a com-
* Capt. Michael Pierce had been a resident of Hingham or Weymouth, Massachusetts Bay, before he removed to Scituate, Plymouth Colony. Hobart's Journal records "Persis, daughter of Michael Pierce baptised 1640", also "Michael Pierce's daughter born 1662, and Michael Pierce's wife died 1662". The first child may have been born at Hingham. He made his will in 1675,-" Being by the appointment of God, going out to war against the Indians, I do ordain this my last will: and first commit my ways to the Eternal God, &c". He then gives to wife Ann [second wife] the house
Courtesy of the Pilgrim Society
GOVERNOR JOSIAH WINSLOW
Josiah Winslow, son of Gov. Edward Winslow, born at Plymouth in 1629 and died at Marshfield in 1680, was half-brother to Peregrine White, the first white child born in New England. He was captain of a military company at Marshfield in 1652; one of the original proprietors of "Sowams" (now Barrington, R. I.) in 1653; and major in command of all Plymouth Colony military forces in 1658.
Josiah Winslow was the first native-born governor and first native-born general in New England. He was commander-in-chief of the military forces of the United Colonies in King Philip's War, commanding about 1,000 English troops at the Narragansett Swamp Fight on 19. Dec. 1675. On his way to Narragansett, Gen- eral Winslow with the Massachusetts and Plymouth troops was billeted in Re- hoboth the night of 10 Dec. 1675. Rev. Noah Newman, in his letter of that date, told of crossing over to Providence at the "Narrow passage" [Red Bridge] with the army upon a raft made of canoes and boards and there taking leave of the general and chaplains. One of the latter was Joseph Dudley, later governor of Massachusetts.
Capt. George Curwin, of Salem, relieved of his command on charges preferred by Capt. Daniel Henchman, was Gov. Josiah Winslow's brother-in-law.
The illustration is from a photograph of a life portrait painted in England in 1651.
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New Source Material for King Philip's War
pany of about 50 English and 20 Christian Indians from around Cape Cod, was ordered* early in March to pursue the enemy. He proceeded to Taunton and then to Rehoboth, where on 26 Mar. 1676 at the edge of the "Seekonk Plain",t about three miles northwest of the present Newman Congregational Church, he fought some 900 Indians in what is known as "Pierce's Fight", the story of which is told by Rev. Noah Newman in his letter written from the Newman garrison, Rehoboth, to his friend Rev. John Cotton at Plymouth, the day after the fight.
Bliss, in his History of Rehoboth (1836), pages 91-2, printed the letter of Mr. Noah Newman, written from Rehoboth 27 Mar. 1676 to Rev. John Cotton at Plymouth, the day after Captain Pierce's fight at Rehoboth. In a footnote Bliss said: "The original copy of this letter is in the possession of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Mass. I have followed the original as nearly as pos- sible in the date, as well as the rest of the letter. John Fits, Jr., and John Miller, Jr., belonged to Rehoboth, and also Thomas Man. What is torn off had on it, probably, the name of one from Eastham, and the word Rehoboth. It will be seen that besides what is torn off, there are five names that follow Eastham".
Now the truth of the matter is that Bliss apparently never saw this original letter but copied, without saying so, the letter as printed by Deane in his History of Scituate (1831), and at that did not make an accurate copy.
In a foot-note Mr. Deane said that "several years previously [to 1831] Hayward Pierce, a lineal descendant of Capt. Michael Pierce, showed him a copy of this letter and informed him that the original was in the possession of Rossitter Cotton, Esq., of Plymouth, a descendant of the Reverend John Cotton to whom the letter was addressed." Rossitter Cotton told Mr. Deane "that he had sent this letter, with others, to the Antiquarian Society at Worcester. By the politeness of the venerable President of that Society, the original letter was found and copied for us by Emory Washburn, Esq., of Worcester".
Inasmuch as both the Deane and the Bliss copies of this important Newman letter have been used as source material for more than one
"which I last built", &c. To son Benjamin "my present dwelling house"; to son John "all my lands in Hingham"; to son Ephraim £5; to daughter Abigail Holbrook £5; to daughters Elizabeth, Deborah, Ann, Abiah, Ruth, and Persis, £50 each [Deane's History of Scituate (1831), pp. 325-6]. * At a meeting of the Council of War held at Marshfield 29 Feb. 1675, it was ordered, "that the Souldiers now under Presse, from the southern Townes be at Plymouth on Wednesday, the 8th of this Instant [March] in order vnto a further March, and with them 20 or 30 of the southern Indians whoe together with the other whoe are vnder Presse, to goe forth vnder the Comand of Captaine Michael Peirse and Lieftenant Samuell Fuller" [Plymouth Colonial Records, vol. V, p. 187]. This order is clearly out of place in the record book and should be under the meeting held 7 Mar. 1675/6.
t Bliss, writing in 1836, said that "the spot where Pierce's Fight took place is still pointed out. It is between the villages of Pawtucket and Valley Falls, nearer the latter, at a spot, which, I have been told, was formerly called 'The Many Holes'. It commenced on the east side of the river, but the severest part of the action was on the west, immediately on the bank of the stream. Some have placed the site of this battle considerably farther up the river, between the bridge called 'Whipple's Bridge' and 'Study Hill', the former residence of Blackstone. But from this battle, having been sometimes styled by the older inhabitants 'The Battle of the Plain', from its having been fought on the border of the great 'Seekonk Plain'; the former spot, tradition being equally strong in its favour, seems to possess the highest claims to being the battle ground" [Bliss, Hist. of Rehoboth, p. 88].
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Early Rehoboth
hundred years, and many names have been left out of each copy, the following correct transcript is here first printed :
"Reverend & Dear Sir
of the first "Rehoboth. 27 76
I received yo's Dated the 20 of this Instant wherein you gave me a dolefull relate of what had happened wth you & what a distressing Sab: you had pt[ ] I have now according to the words of yor owne Letter an opper- tunit[y] to retaliate yor account wth a Relation of what yesterday Happ[ened] to the great sadning of all our hearts filling us wth an awfull expect[ation] of wt further evills it may be antecedaneous too both respecting our[selves] & you. upon the 25 of this Instant Cap.t Peirce went forth wth a small party of his men & Indians wth him, & upon discovery of the [en]emy fought him wth out damage to himselfe, & Judged that he had Con[sidera]bly damnifyed them. yet he being of no greater force Chose rather [to] r[e]tre[a]te & go out ye next morning wth a recrute of men & ac[cording]ly he did taking Pilots from us that were acquainted wth ye ground. But it pleased the Sovereign God so to order it, yt they were inclosed wth a great multitude of the enemy wch hath slaine 52 of o[ur] Engl: & 11 Indians-The account of their names is as follows: From Scituate 18 of wch 15 slaine (viz) Capt Peirce; Sam[torn]1 Benj: Chittington,2 John Lathrope, Gershom Dodson, Sam Prat, Thom: Savery, Joseph Wade, Will: Wellcome,3 Jer: Bastow, John Ensign, Joseph Cowwen, Joseph Perry, John Perry,4 John Rowse. Marshfield 9 slaine: Thomas Littell, John Ems,5 Joseph White, John Burroughs,6 Joseph Phillips, Sam: Bump John Low Mor[illegible] John Brance. Duxburough 4 slaine: John Sprague, Benj. Soafillegible]7 Thomas Hunt, Joshua Phobes8-Sandwich 5 slaine: Benj: Nye[ ] David9 Bessey, Caleb Blaike, Job Gibbs, Stephen Wing .- Barnstable 6 slaine: Luift. Fuller, John Lues,1º Eliezir C[torn],11 Sam Lennet,12 Sam Childs, Sam Boreman.13-Yarmouth [ ] John Mathews, John Gage, Will Gage, Hen: Gage, Hen: Gold. Estham 4 slaine: Joseph Nessefeild, John Walker, John M [torn], Nathaniel Williams.14 of Rehob: slaine 4: John Read, Benj. [torn],15 John Fitch Junir, John Meller Junir, & Thomas Man is returned wth a Sore wound. There Sir you have a sad account of the Continuance of Gods displeasure against us yet still I desire steadfastly to Looke unto him who is not only able but willing to save all such as are fit for his salvation. It is a day of ye wickeds tryumph but the sure word of God tells us his tryumphing is brief. Oh that we may not lengthen it out by our Sins. - The Lrd helps to Joyne i[ssue] in our prayers Instantly & earnestly for ye healing & helping of our Land, our extremity is Gods oppertunity- Thus wth our dearest respects to yo's Mrs. Cotton & such sorrowful friends as are wth you I rest
"yo! ever Assured Freind Noah Newman
1 Bliss stated this name to be Samuel Russell.
2 Chittington, not Chittenden as stated by Bliss.
3 Wellcome, not Wilcome as stated by Bliss.
John Perry left out by Bliss.
5 Ems, not Eams as stated by Bliss.
6 Burroughs, not Burrows as stated by Bliss.
7 Soa[ ]. Bliss stated this name to be Soal.
8 Phobes, not Fobes as stated by Bliss.
9 David, not Daniel as stated by Bliss.
10 Lues, not Lewis as stated by Bliss.
11 Bliss said that this name was probably Clapp.
12 Lennet, not Linnet as stated by Bliss.
11 Boreman, not Bereman as stated by Bliss.
14 The whole line, "Nathaniel Williams. of Rehob: slaine 4: John Read, Benj: [torn]" was left out by Bliss, who said that "what is torn off had on it, probably, the name of one from Eastham and the word Rehoboth". On the contrary, it is not torn off, but written plainly in the body of the letter. 15 This was clearly Benjamin Buckland recorded in the Rehoboth records as being "slaine on the 26 Mar. 1676". Bliss, p. 95, stated that "about the time of the Revolution the bodies of these soldiers were disinterred by a party of Providence physicians, and one of the bodies was ascertained to be a Bucklin, of Rehoboth, from his very large frame and a set of double teeth all around".
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New Source Material for King Philip's War
"Since the writing of this letter John Mathews & Sam Linnit are found alive.16
The letter is indorsed on the back: "From Mr. Newman, March 27, 1676". In a somewhat younger hand is written: "Newman,17 Shove,18 Walley, Maj. Bradford, Capt. Oliver, Keith, Fr. Mather,19 Moth20 Mather, Sister Mather Seaborn Cotton,21 Walker, Moody, Mrs. Newman. Read".
[Original Letter, American Antiquarian Society.]
The following letter, written from Rehoboth on 19 Apr. 1676 by Rev. Noah Newman to Rev. John Cotton at Plymouth, is here published for the first time. It is an important record and among other things tells of the people of Providence watching Rehoboth in flames and of their belief that the Indians would pass on and not burn their town; of the Indians' call for Valentine Whitman and subsequent talk with Roger Williams; and of Rehoboth's three-day labor in burying the English slain in "Pierce's Fight", with some help on the last day from Dedham and Medfield. Mr. Newman conducted the services for the mass burial of Captain Pierce, Lieu- tenant Fuller, sixteen soldiers, and one Indian.
"Rehoboth. Aprill 19.76
" Reverend & Dear Sir
This day I received yo's of the 11 of this instant & am glad of an oppertunity by the same post that brought it to returne you this answer; Thanks be to God we have yet the most of our lives given us as a prey though many of our habitations are desolate & in ashes, the losse of wch is not so much to be taken to heart by us as our sins wch occassioned the same, oh that we could truly humble our selves under the mighty hand of God who Can & will exalt us in due time; I canot but often reflect upon the patience & long sufferance of our most mercyful father who made our enemys stay so long for their Comission to do us any harm, & had not our God seen it needfull for us that y. have never had it to this day; & truly by that disturbance & astonishment that I have seen in some mens spirits since the late tryall I fully discover we had need of it, to convince us of our security who were ready to thinke such things would not befall us, but why we should promise our selves such immunity I know not, Nor why that wch our sins hath been so long parties of, & so visibly drawing on upon us so long a time should so much startle & astonish us being Come I know not; Sundry amongst us upon the desolation made by fire began to conclude there was no subsisting,* but I have not yet received it that God Calls us to a removall unlesse we Could leave our sins behinde us, wch I se little likelyhood of at present.
"If it should be the pleasure of God to bring this country universally loe & that the Lrd by his providence (having truly humbled us) should Intreate anything further for a imminant writing, & to our Spirituall advantage as well as our Temporall might be designed therein this would be more taking wth me than anything I have heard yet. But for men still to goe about wth this Question Who will shew us any good argues still an old frame, & an aptnes to thinke that if the present distresse be but avoided all is well, & I likewise fear a removal will involve us in such new Cares & hurryes, yt we shall forget
16 This whole line was left out by Bliss. This memo was perhaps written by John Cotton, who also underlined the names Sam Lennet and John Mathews. Bliss italicized the name John Mathews (as did Deane) but not that of Samuel Lennet (neither did Deane).
17 Antipas Newman, minister at Wenham, brother of Noah.
18 George Shove, minister at Taunton, brother-in-law of Noah Newman.
19 Fr. Mather is, of course, "Jn. Mather".
20 "Moth", not "Math" Mather as stated by Bliss.
21 Bliss made this two names, Seaborn and Cotton.
* This reference is apparently to the danger of famine, which is so dramatically set forth two weeks later, 5 May 1676, by John Kingsley in his letter to Connecticut. He says that only two men knew that he was writing it and that one opposed, who was probably Mr. Newman. The other man who knew of the letter was probably Deacon Walker.
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Early Rehoboth
the Lrds Controversy wth us. Our freinds at ye Cape hath made us a motion of drawing downe that way, it was Considered by us the last weeke & ye answer returned in the Negative; As to yor invitation given me & my family I returne you most hearty thanks & reckon you one of my Dearest freinds with whom I could willingly live & dye, but at the pesent I must respect the public interest, The Lrd reward you for all yor former kindness & pesent care & love; If I should not take heart & be incouraged at such a time as this is who should for I perceive my wealth increaseth & I find more falling into my lap than I can possibly improove. The other day it was disputed by some whether they should give me this one house that I now live in,* & Now I have more houses given me than I know what to doe wth & many intreaties to use them; If it were not so I have no Cause to mistrust the Care & faithfullnes of the Lrd God of my fathers who hath ever done for me more than I could aske or thinke.
" In answer to yor desire about our desolation, The 28 of March the enemy appeared early in the morning very numerous & overpowered our towne & fell presently to fyring of empty houses & burnt about 35 housest that had
* This was the new parsonage built for the minister, Mr. Noah Newman, just before the outbreak of Philip's War, during which it was used as a garrison-house and called "Newman's".
t William Hubbard in a supplement to the second edition of his Narrative on the Indian Wars published in London in 1677, gives the following additional data not found in the first Boston Edition of 1677:
"Warwick, a Town near Providence, seated upon a Neck of Land, environed by the Sea, was all of it burned by the Enemy at several Times, [4] the chief Mischief there done was upon March 16, 1676, and the Place wholly deserted by the Inhabitants for a Time, yet but one Man killed, that was too confident of his Safety, as is said [Hubbard's Narrative, Supplement, London 1677, p. 2-John Carter Brown Library].
"Providence is the Town next Warwick, where were eighteen Houses burned, June 28, 1675. March 29 following, fifty-four Houses were there burned, and most of the Rest as they were deserted by the Inhabitants withdrawing to Road-Island [Ibid., p. 4].
"Petuxet is another small Place within four Miles of Providence, where were twelve Houses burned in the Beginning of March 1676 [pp. 66, 67]. It was by a small Brook called Abbotts Run, that falls into Patuxet, (a River near Providence) where Captain Peirce and his Men were slain [Ibid., pp. 3, 4].
"Seaconke or Rehoboth, where were burned eight Farm-houses in the End of June, and be- ginning of July 1675. On March 28, 1676, forty five Dwelling Houses were there burned, whereof thirty eight were inhabited, and the Owners thereby turned out of Doors, and left without House or Harbour. Beside twenty-one Barns, two Corn-mills, one Saw-mill burnt at the same time. June 16, 1676, eight Farmhouses were there also consumed by the Fire of the Enemy. The Persons slain here were seven, four with Capt. Pierce, March 26, 1676, another March 28, another April 28, the last, May 29" [Ibid., p. 2].
"The following mention of the burning of the town by the Indians, on the 28th of March, is made in a letter, written, at that time, by the Council of war at Plymouth, to Governour Leverett, of Massachusetts Colony. The copy, found among the Winslow papers, has no date, but from the contents it is inferred that it was written on the 31st of March, 1676: 'Another messenger, with sad tidings, at the heals of the other, from Rehoboth; that town in flames, 28 instant, soon after daylight. the enemy having fetch't away sundry cattle the day before and lay all night in their hearing, burnt 60 houses and barns, appeared very numerous, and continued lurking thereabout after it'" [Bliss' History of Rehoboth (1836), p. 96, as copied from the Appendix of Morton's Memorial, Davis Ed., p. 438].
Including the twelve houses burned in Pawtucket, we have, according to Hubbard, a total of seventy-three dwelling houses, twenty-one barns, two grist mills, and a sawmill or a total of nearly one hundred Rehoboth buildings burned by the Indians, which figure would seem to be approxi- mately correct.
Bliss in his History of Rehoboth (1836), p. 95, gives the number of buildings burned as " [near] forty [dwelling] houses and thirty barns", quoting "Hubbard's Narrative, p. 125", as his authority. The London edition of Hubbard's work mentions on p. 67 the figures quoted by Bliss but in the supplement on p. 2 gives later revised figures which apparently were unknown to Bliss. Bliss also says that the houses burned "were around the 'Ring of the Town' now called 'Seekonk Common' and that only two houses were left standing,-the garrison-house, which stood on the spot where the house of Phanuel Bishop now stands, and another house on the south end of the common which was preserved by black sticks having been arranged around it so as to give it, at a distance, the appearance of being strongly guarded". The Phanuel Bishop house stands (1947) on the site of Samuel Newman's house which was burned by the Indians. The Newman garrison-house was the new parsonage built for Noah Newman just prior to the outbreak of the Indian war and stood on the northeast side of the present Newman Avenue between the meeting house and the present Newman Congregational Church. There were also three other garrison-houses in Rehoboth, John Fitch's, John Peren's, and Nathaniel Paine's. The house surrounded by black sticks at the south
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New Source Material for King Philip's War
familyes belonging to them besides four other vacant houses yt had no in- habitants & Barnes-they also slew one man* gone at a distance from his Garrison early in the morning. they killd several Cattell & burnt much hay they drew aside in the evening & pitcht their Camp by the side of ye towne, rose up at day light the next morning tooke their walke over to providence & theire did likewise .- my great trouble was that notwth standing all yr fair warnings we had yet things were too much unsettled wth us, so yt they had more provision & other treasure especially at Providence, than we should have needed to have left ym, yt we had not been unresonably secure. Provi- dence though they saw us in a flame incouraged themselves the enemy would steer some other Course & by that means exposed a 100 bushells of Corn & meal much goods & mony to ye enemys wch was all taken away.
"The buryall of the slaine tooke us 3 days the burden of it lying upon our towne, the 3d day we had some from Dedham & Medfield that afforded their helpe therein, ye first day there was 17 English & 3 Indians buryed, The 2d day that I might expresse my respect to Capt Peirce & Leift: Fuller who dyed so Honorably,I went forth & yt day we buryed 18 English & one Indian, ye 3d day they buryed 7 or 8 Eng: and one Indian since search hath been made but no more Can be found I know not but some might wander & perish in ye woods being strangers.
"When the Indians were at Provid : they Called to speake wth one Valentine
end of the common was owned by Robert Fuller whose wife and child were killed by the Indians. Instead of only two houses standing after the war there were at least five and perhaps more.
* This man was Robert Beere (Beare, Beer) who had m. at Rehoboth, 25 June 1673, Elizabeth Bullock and had a son Benjamin born there 6 June 1674. The original record reads,-"Robert Beere, slaine 28 Mar. 1676". Arnold makes no mention of these records in his Rehoboth Vital Records. At Providence, R. I., on 22 Sept. 1698, Benjamin Beeres with Thomas Olney, Sr., and Samuel Winsor, Jr., were witnesses to the will of Henry Browne [Early Providence Town Records, vol. VI, p. 221]. Benjamin Beeres of the town of Providence died there intestate 3 June 1714. His wife Rachel also being dead, the care of his estate fell to the Town Council. An inventory amount- ing to £64:12:00 was taken 5 July 1714 by Richard Browne and Samuel Winsor [Ibid., vol. VI, pp. 159-160].
Bliss in his History of Rehoboth, p. 96, said:
"The town records give the name of only one person slain by the Indians at this time: 'Robert Beers slain ye 28 March, 1676'. He was an Irishman, and a brick-maker by trade. It is said that he was a religious, but eccentric and superstitious, man: and, that on the approach of the Indians, he refused to go into the garrison-house, but sat down in his own house with his bible in his hand, believing that while he continued reading it, nothing could harm him. He was shot through the window and fell with his bible in his hand".
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