History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 75

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 75

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The occupation of this tract soon attracted the attention of other enterprising pioneers, and in 1680 a second grant was made to Edward Gray, of Plym- outh ; Nathaniel Thomas, of Marshfield; Benjamin Church, Daniel Wilcox, and Thomas Manchester, of Puncatest; and Christopher and John Almy and Thomas Waite, of Portsmouth, R. I., of a tract extend- ing south along the bay from the Quequechan to the town of Dartmouth and Seaconnet and inland from four to six miles. This tract was purchased from the Indians for the sum of eleven hundred pounds, and was known as the Pocasset Purchase, and was subse- quently incorporated as the town of Tiverton.

For several years after Freetown and Tiverton were incorporated there was a dispute respecting the boun- dary line between the two towns, which was amicably adjusted in 1700 by a committee, consisting of Josiah Winslow, Robert Durfee, and Henry Brightman, of Freetown, and Richard Borden, Christopher Almy, and Samuel Little, of Tiverton.

The division line settled by this committee ex- tended by a cleft rock, over which the store of Reed & Bowen 1 now stands, southwardly to the Fall River, thence the river to be the bound to its mouth, and from the cleft rock easterly about on the line of the present Bedford Street. This continued to be the line between these two ancient towns so long as Tiverton belonged to Massachusetts.

In 1740 a dispute arose concerning the boundary line between the colonies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and a royal commission was appointed to de- termine the true boundary, whose report, in 1746, was confirmed by the king, though appealed from by both colonies. Ex parte lines were run by Rhode Island, which were found incorrect when revised by Massa- chusetts in 1791.

"One of the decrees in the king's award mentioned 'a certain point four hundred and forty rods to the southward of the mouth of the Fall River,' from which a line was to be run three miles towards the east,

forming the northern boundary of that part of Rhode Island. In measuring this four hundred and forty rods the ex parte commissioners of 1746 'measured round a cove or inlet, and followed the sinuosities of the shore' until they reached a point from a quarter to a half mile farther north than if the same distance had been measured in a straight line. From this point they extended the three-mile line, running it through the southern part of the village of Fall River at the old Buttonwood Tree, so called, on Main Street, a little north of the present line of Columbia Street. No definite decision of the question in dispute was reached at the time, and in 1844 another commission was appointed, which in 1848 made a report to their respective Legislatures.

" In a matter so seriously affecting the interests of Fall River, it was deemed expedient to appoint a committee, consisting of Rev. Orin Fowler, Dr. Foster Hooper, and Dr. Phineas W. Leland, to petition the Massachusetts Legislature not to allow any settlement of the boundary line less advantageous than that granted by George II. in 1746. This committee claimed, and gave good reasons therefor, that George II. designed that the point from which to run the three-mile line should be four hundred and forty rods in a direct line from the mouth of the Fall River. They showed that in making these measurements as they had ' the Rhode Island commissioners added to their State a thickly-settled territory with about fif- teen hundred inhabitants, and a taxable property valued at nearly half a million dollars, when, if the measurements had been made in straight lines, not only would the design of George II. and his commis- sioners have been carried out, but Fall River would have been brought within the bounds of one State, with no danger of its thickly-settled territory being again placed under a divided jurisdiction.' In con- sequence of these representations the Massachusetts Legislature refused to ratify the decision of the com- missioners of 1848, and by agreement of the two States the question was referred to the United States Supreme Court.

" In 1860 the Supreme Court appointed engineers, with instructions to measure and mark a described line which should be the true boundary between the two States, the decree to take effect in March, 1862. The full claim of neither State was granted, but such a boundary fixed as to give an undivided jurisdiction to densely-populated districts without infringing on the rights of any. By this change of boundary Massachusetts acquired a territory comprising about eleven square miles. Of this about nine square miles, with a population of nearly three thousand six hun- dred, and a taxable property of some two million dol- lars, were embraced within the limits of the city of Fall River."

" The Pocasset Purchase," says Rev. Orin Fowler, in 1841 (after reserving thirty rods wide adjacent to the Freeman's Purchase and the river and some other

1 In 1841.

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HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

small tracts), was divided into thirty shares and dis- tributed among the proprietors, the lot nearest the river being numbered one. This piece of land, in- cluding the water-power on the south side of the river to (the present) Main Street, and on both sides east of said street to Watuppa Pond, contain- ing sixty-six acres of land, was also divided into thirty shares and sold to the original purchasers. Col. Church and his brother Caleb, of Watertown (who was a millwright), bought twenty-six and a half of the thirty shares, and thereby became the chief owners of the water-power. On the 8th of August, 1691, Caleb Church sold his right in this property (thirteen and a half shares) to his brother Benjamin, who then became the owner of twenty-six and a half shares. Probably John Borden purchased the other three and a half shares. In 1703, Col. Church had moved to Fall River and improved the water-power by erecting a saw-mill, grist-mill, and fulling-mill. His dwelling-house stood between the present resi- dence of Col. Richard Borden and that of his brother Jefferson, and remained till within forty years. He continued at Fall River but a few years, and, Sept. 18, 1714, sold the above-named twenty-six and a half shares to Richard Borden, of Tiverton, and Joseph Borden, of Freetown, sons of John; and thus the lands on both sides of the river, with all the water- power, came into the possession of the Borden family, John Borden having previously purchased that on the north side, west of Main Street."

Caleb Church sold his interest for one hundred pounds. At this rate the whole sixty-six acres was val- ued, in 1691, at about seven hundred and forty dollars. The piece on the north side cost John Borden about thirty-one dollars and thirty-four cents ; total, seven hundred and seventy-one dollars and thirty-four cents. This included the whole of the water-power and most of the land where the village now stands, together with a strip east to Watuppa Pond. Twenty- six and a half shares of the above sixty-six acres were sold by Col. Church in 1714 for one thousand pounds.

The Village in 1803 .- The embryo settlement thus founded by Col. Church and John Borden was, however, of slow growth. Although Col. Church had erected a saw-, grist-, and fulling-mill on the stream, and was doubtless an enterprising man of that day, still there seemed to be nothing of particular advan- tage to attract the settler, and as late as 1803, one hundred years later, we find the village numbering only eighteen dwellings and about one hundred in- habitants.

" In North Main Street," says Rev. Orin Fowler, " there were six houses occupied by Charles Durfee, Daniel Buffington, John Luther, Abner Davol, John Cook, and Mary Borden. In East Central Street there were four occupied by Nathan Bowen, Perry Borden,

Seth Borden, and Elihu Cook. In West Central Street there were two occupied by Nathan Borden and Daniel Borden. In South Main Street there were five occupied by Simeon Borden, Richard Borden, Thomas Borden, Benjamin Brayton, and Francis Brayton. Near the shore there was one occupied by Thomas Borden. Of these eighteen families nine were Bordens."

From this period, however, as the natural advan- tages of the place began to be appreciated the growth of the settlement was more rapid, and in 1810 the population of the town numbered twelve hundred and ninety-six. And among this number was one par- ticularly enterprising spirit who did much to advance the interest of the town at that period, and became the pioneer in cotton manufacturing in Fall River, Col. Joseph Durfee. This pioneer mill of Col. Dur- fee's was a small affair, erected in 1811 at Globe vil- lage.

Fall River in 1813 .- Henry H. Earl, Esq., in his excellent work published in 1877, entitled "Fall River and its Industries," in speaking of the town in 1813, says,-

" The resident community of Fall River, or Troy, as it was then called, was located about what is now the centre of the city, the main street following the line of the present principal thoroughfare northward, and another considerable street trending eastward to the lake. The greater part of the residences were in these two avenues. Within a territory approximating to one and a half miles square, which would be desig- nated at that day the village, were about thirty dwell- ing-houses, three saw-mills, four grist-mills, one full- ing-mill, a blacksmithy with trip-hammer, and several small stores. The population was estimated at three hundred.

"One small, three-masted vessel, which had been engaged in foreign trade, but was, for a short period after the war, hauled up in the creek where the ' Old Depot' was afterwards located, and a few small sloops carrying cord-wood to Newport and Bristol, consti- tuted the local shipping interest. There was no regu- lar conveyance to Providence, and what freight was transferred between the two places went by craft ply- ing between Providence and Taunton, which, in de- fault of wharfage convenience at the Falls, stopped at the ferry two miles up the river, where all the cotton and merchandise was landed for some years. The first craft regularly sailing to Providence was a small schooner, or two-masted lighter, large enough to load ten bales of cotton and a small additional cargo of flour and miscellaneous goods. This was succeeded by the sloop 'Fall River,' of thirty or forty tons ca- pacity, and that again by the sloop ' Argonant,' and another craft whose name is forgotten, which sus- tained the communication till the steamer 'Hancock' was put on.

"The religious and educational structures of the village were far from suggestive of the present num-

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ber, convenience, or architectural beauty. 'In 1813,' says our chronicle, 'there was one poor old dilapi- dated wooden meeting-house, neither plastered nor lathed, which stood upon the line dividing the States, occupied occasionally. The regular place of worship on the Sabbath was at the Narrows, about two miles east. There was one, and only one, good school- house in the village, which stood on the corner of Annawan and South Main Streets.' The residences were of the usual simple and plain construction adopted in early New England communities, the most pretentious one being erected by Charles Durfee in 1811, and standing until 1857, when it was burned down. The richest resident from 1813 to 1824 was estimated worth forty thousand dollars, 'and there were but a small number of this class.' The entire valuation for some years did not exceed five hundred thousand dollars, and the total taxation in 1813 was fifteen hundred dollars."

The location as a manufacturing centre now began to attract the attention of leading men in this and adjoining towns, and the year 1813 witnessed the organization of the Fall River Manufactory and Troy Mills, and from that time to the present, the growth of the city as a manufacturing centre has been almost phenomenal.

CHAPTER XXIV. FALL RIVER .- (Continued.) WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.

Reminiscences of Col. Joseph Durfee-Early Incidents-1777 - Fall River exposed to the British-Organization of a Guard of Safety-The British approach the Town by Boats-Fired upon by the Guard at the Bay-Retreat of the Guard-Pursuit by the Enemy-Battle near the Bridge1-The Enemy defeated-Burning of Buildings by the British- Capture of Richard Borden-Retreat of the Enemy.

THE following reminiscences of Col. Joseph Dur- fee, written in 1834, is an invaluable contribution to the pioneer Revolutionary history of the town :

" Joseph Durfee was the eldest son of the late Hon. Thomas Durfee. He was born in April, in the year 1750, in what is now the city of Fall River. At that time, and until within a few years, the Fall River stream was owned by the Bordens. Much of what is now in the city, where are elegant buildings and a dense population, was then a wilderness, where the goats lodged in the winter seasons. The Bordens and the Durfees were then the principal proprietors of the Pocasset Purchase, and owners of the land on the south side of what is now Main Street for more than a mile in length. Thomas and Joseph Borden owned the south side of the stream, and Stephen Borden owned the north side. Thomas Borden owned a saw- mill and a grist-mill at that time, standing where the

old saw- and grist-mills stood near the iron-works establishment.

"Thomas Borden left a widow and four children, viz., Richard, Christopher, Rebecca, and Mary. Jo- seph Borden, brother of Thomas, owned a fulling-mill, which stood near where the Pocasset Factory now stands. He was killed by the machinery of his full- ing-mill. He left four children, viz., Abraham, Sam- uel, Patience, and Peace. Patience was my mother. Stephen Borden, who owned the north side of the stream, had a grist-mill and a saw-mill standing near where the woolen establishment has since been erected. He left six children, viz., Stephen, George, Mary, Hannah, Penelope, and Lusannah.

" The widow of Joseph Borden was afterwards mar- ried to Benjamin Jenks, by whom she had six chil- dren,-John, Joseph, Hannah, Catherine, Ruth, and Lydia. The widow of Stephen Borden was married to John Bowen, by whom she had two sons,-Nathan and John.

" At that time, and until within a few years, there were but two saw-mills, two grist-mills, and a fulling- mill standing on the Fall River. There are now about forty different mills on the river. The stream was very small ; but the falls were so great that there was little occasion for dams to raise a pond sufficient to carry the wheels then in operation. A small foot- bridge, which stood near where the main street now crosses the stream, afforded the only means of passing from one side to the other of the stream, except by fording it. There was formerly a small dam near where the Troy Factory now stands, over which the water flowed the greater part of the year. When it failed, those who owned the mills near the mouth of the stream hoisted the gates at the upper dam and drew the water down. It was no nncommon thing, twenty-five or thirty years ago, for the water to be so low and the river so narrow at the head of the stream that a person might step across without difficulty. It was frequently not more than six inches deep. At one time there was a foot-bridge of stepping-stones only across the Narrows between the North and South Ponds.

"Our country has been involved in three wars since my recollection. The first was with the French and Indians, when we fought for our lives. The French offered a bounty for every scalp which the Indians would bring them. It was therefore certain death to all who fell into the Indians' hands. I distinctly recollect the time when Gen. Wolfe was killed, and of seeing the soldiers on their march to reinforce the army. I saw many men enlist into the service, and among them Joseph Valentine, father of William Valentine, of Providence. I was then about ten years of age.

" The second war was with Great Britain, during the greater part of which I was actively engaged in the service of my country. We then fought for our liberty. We were divided into two parties, called

1 This battle was fought nearly in front of the location of the present City Hall.

312

HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Whigs and Tories, the former the friends of liberty and independence, the latter the enemies of both. Before the Revolution broke out the Whigs were busy in making saltpetre and gunpowder, in making and preparing small-arms, in training and learning the art of war. At this time we of this State were British subjects, and constituted what was then called the Colony of Massachusetts. Conventions were held in the colony to transact the business and consult upon the affairs of the colony. At one of these conven- tions I received a captain's commission, signed by Walter Spooner, Esq., and took the command of a company of minute-men.

"British ships, commanded by Wallace, Asque, and Howe, early in the Revolution, were off our coast, in the river and bay, harassing and distressing the towns of Newport, Bristol, and other towns on the river. I was called upon with my company and such others as could be mustered to guard the shores and prevent the British from landing, until the colony could raise a force sufficient to protect the inhab- itants from their depredations.

"In 1776, after the battle on Long Island, a rein- forcement was called for to cover the retreat of the American troops. I was ordered to take the com- mand of a company of sixty men and march forth- with to the army then retreating from New York. These orders were promptly obeyed. With the com- pany under my command, I joined the regiment commanded by Col. Thomas Carpenter, and by a forced march we reached the army a few days before the battle at the White Plains. In that engagement I took an active part.

"Soon after my return home from the battle at the White Plains, the British landed at Newport, on Rhode Island, and took possession of that town. I was called upon to proceed immediately with my company to assist in covering the retreat of the small forces then commanded by Col. John Cook from the island of Rhode Island. This was effected without loss, though attended with difficulty and delay, as there was no bridge from the island to the mainland. At that time the inhabitants in the south part of Massachusetts and Rhode Island were in a critical situation. They were nearly surrounded with British emissaries. A part of the English squadron lay off our coast, and their troops had possession of the south part of Rhode Island. Both were harassing our towns, destroying property, and making prisoners of the in- habitants. In addition to this, we had Tories at home, enemies in disguise, who were aiding and abetting the British, while they professed friendship for the cause of liberty and for those who were shedding their blood to obtain it.

" Early in the spring of 1777, I received a major's commission, and was stationed at Little Compton, in the State of Rhode Island, in the regiment under the command of Col. John Hathaway, of Berkley, Mass. At Little Compton, and in that neighborhood, I con-

tinued several months on duty with the regiment, often changing our station to repel the invasions of the enemy and to protect the inhabitants from their frequent depredations. In the fall of 1777, I returned home to Fall River. I found the citizens, among whom were my relatives and best friends, exposed and continually harassed by the enemy. I applied to several of the leading and influential men of this place, and proposed raising a guard for the safety and protection of the inhabitants. They coincided with my views, and the necessity of a guard to protect our defenseless inhabitants. I went to Providence to con- sult Gen. Sullivan, who was commander-in-chief of all the forces raised in this section of the country, and to obtain assistance from him. He approved of my plan of raising a guard, and gave me an order for two whale-boats, and an order also for rations for twenty men, drawn upon the commissary, then at Bristol. I soon raised a guard, procured the store now standing at the end of the Iron-Works Company's wharf in this place for a guard-house, where we met every day, called the roll, and stationed sentinels for the night to watch the movements of the enemy, and give the alarm when approached. The orders of the sentinel were peremptory,-that if a boat was seen approaching in the night, to hail them three times, and if no answer was received, to fire upon them. It was not long before one of the guard, Samuel Reed, discovered boats silently and cautiously approaching the shore from the bay. The challenge was given, but no answer received. He fired upon the boats. This created an alarm, and the whole neighborhood were soon in arms. I stationed the guard behind a stone wall, and kept up a constant fire upon the enemy, until they brought their cannon to bear upon us, and commenced firing grape-shot among us, when, as we were unable to return the compliment, it was deemed advisable to retreat. Two of the guard were sent to remove all the planks which laid over the stream for foot-people to cross upon, and to cut off, as far as possible, every facility for crossing the stream, except the upper bridge. We then retreated slowly until we reached the main road, near where the bridge now crosses the stream. I then gave orders to form and give them battle. This was done, and never were soldiers more brave. So roughly were the enemy handled by our little band of Spartans that they soon beat up a retreat, leaving behind them one dead and another bleeding to death, besides the wounded whom they carried away.

" The wounded soldier left by the enemy, before he expired, informed me that the number of the enemy who attacked us was about one hundred and fifty, commanded by Maj. Ayers. When the enemy landed they set fire to the house of Thomas Borden, then nearly new. They next set fire to a grist-mill and a saw-mill belonging to Mr. Borden, standing at the mouth of the Fall River. These buildings I saw when set on fire. When the British troops re-

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FALL RIVER.

treated, as they were compelled to do from the shots of our little band of volunteers, they set fire to the house and other buildings of Richard Borden, then an aged man, and took him prisoner. We pursued them so closely in their retreat that we were enabled to save the buildings which they had last fired. The British were frequently fired upon, and not a little annoyed by the musketry of our soldiers as they passed down the bay in their boats on their retreat. Mr. Richard Borden, whom they took prisoner, was in one of their boats. Finding themselves closely pursued by a few American soldiers, who from the shore poured in their shot and balls upon them as fast as they could load and fire, and finding them- selves in danger from the musketry of these few brave Whigs who pursued them, they ordered Mr. Borden, their prisoner, to stand up in the boat, hoping that his comrades on the shore would recognize him, and desist from firing upon them. But this he refused to do, and threw himself flat into the bottom of the boat. While lying there a shot from the Americans on shore killed one of the British soldiers standing by his side in the boat. Mr. Borden was obsti- nately silent to all the questions which were asked him, so that not being able to make any profitable use of him they dismissed him in a few days on parole. This engagement took place of a Sabbath morning, on the 25th of May, 1778. The two British soldiers killed in this engagement were buried at twelve o'clock on the same day of the battle, near where the south end of the Massasoit Factory now stands.

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History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 75

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1818

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818