USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > History of Rehoboth, Massachusetts; its history for 275 years, 1643-1918, in which is incorporated the vital parts of the original history of the town > Part 38
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394
HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
sub-let certain sections to different parties, including Abner Fish, James Paul, Richard Goff and others. The road was completed in 1829, although parts of it were poorly done. There were toll- gates, one near the Hopkins farm in Seekonk, and the other at first at Dea. Asahel Bliss's, near the Annawan Rock, where the old road crosses the pike; but later it was removed farther east to Walker's Corner.
Dea. Bliss deserves mention on account of his enthusiastic in- terest in having the road brought through the town, and not only gave the land through his estate but fenced it for more than a mile; while some others were obstinately opposed to the enter- prise, exacting as much as possible for their land, besides hindering the work in various ways. One man drew rocks and heaped them upon the road to block its progress. At length, after many hin- drances, the road was completed and, notwithstanding its many defects, was accepted by the commissioners.
Considered as a pecuniary investment it was a flat failure. It is doubtful if the original proprietors ever received more than a pittance, either principal or interest. For some reason the public would not patronize it; farmers along the route would go a long way round rather than pay a cent of toll. The income failed to pay expenses and the road became neglected and unfit for travel. At length the charter was revoked and it was mortgaged to Elder Galen Hicks of Taunton. Later Darius Goff and others petitioned the commissioners to lay out the road as a public highway, which was gradually brought about. Before this, however, the road was bid off at auction by Jonathan Wheaton, Richard Goff, William Marvel and a Mr. Leonard, who made repairs and hoped to make it pay, but they were disappointed; parts of the road were fenced up in 1841 and 1842. There was much discussion whether the land should revert to the original owners.
Finally becoming a public way, the people used it, but the towns never kept it in very good repair. In the spring of the year there would be long stretches of mud, and traffic was difficult. In the year 1895 about a mile of the road was macadamized in Rehoboth, beginning at the Seekonk line and running east. The state ap- propriated $5,000 for the work, which was done under the direction of Geo. N. Goff, chariman of the selectmen. Little by little, with many breaks and long delays, the improvement was extended un- til in 1908, after thirteen years, it was essentially completed. It is now a fine, hard road over which automobiles and other vehicles are continually passing. Other roads also in Rehoboth have been greatly improved and will compare favorably with those of neigh- boring towns.
For a number of years in the latter part of the nineteenth cen- tury there was talk of an electric railway between Taunton and Providence on the line of the old turnpike. The citizens of Re- hoboth Village and vicinity were anxious that the road should be
395
MISCELLANEOUS
deflected at the Annawan House so as to run through the Village, past the store, church, post-office, etc. Many of the citizens in the northerly part of the town, however, were strongly opposed to any divergence from the straight line of the "pike." Because of these hostile factions the enterprise was delayed for several years. At last, under the efficient leadership of Hon. G. N. Goff, a charter was obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature by James F. Shaw & Co., of Newburyport, deciding that the road should go through the Village. The charter was granted early in the year 1898, and so rapidly was the work of construction pushed forward that in June of the same year cars were running over the road, and soon a large and attractive power-house was built at Rehoboth Village, costing $100,000, which was afterwards discarded for eco- nomic reasons. The road was operated for a time under the name of the Old Colony Street Railway Co., and later by the Bay State Street Railway Co.
The electric road has added much to the comfort and prosperity of the town, its rapid transit enabling the young people to pursue advanced studies in the schools of Taunton and Providence, and residents to make daily trips for business. It also affords a con- venient means of reaching the town from outside, and brings all the people into closer contact with the larger centers of population.1
Endowed with a fine macadam highway and a first-class electric line, with other roads leading to the Village in prime condition, the prosperity of a thrifty people is assured.
SILK CULTURE IN REHOBOTH
According to tradition, several attempts were made early in the nineteenth century to manufacture silk in Rehoboth. Remnants of a mulberry orchard may still be seen on the Isaiah N. Allen place, north of Perryville, where it seems the industry was carried on, but no record of it can be found. Mr. William A. King has left an account of the silk-raising enterprise on Salisbury Street, at the Levi Hunt farm, in 1837-40, during which time he was identified with the industry. The Hunts had previously done something in the way of spinning silk in small quantities, as also some of their neighbors. They had an orchard containing an acre of large white-mulberry trees, besides a few trees of the black variety. About 1837, parties from Providence leased the orchard, erected a building, and commenced the culture of silk on a larger scale. The second year 200,000 worms were raised, producing about six hundred pounds of sewing-silk, considered equal to the best Italian. A large number of leaves were required, and the careless manner in which they were collected by children, who
1 In 1899 and for several years after, the Company's real estate in Rehoboth was assessed for $80,000; but since the removal of the dynamos, the sum has been much less. In 1914 it was $35,000 with a tax of $619.
396
HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
were paid by the pound, proved disastrous to the orchard, and after three years the trees began to decline and many died. The silkworm raised at that time was the gray worm, which lives about five weeks. They were kept on hurdles, resting on narrow shelves, and must be kept from ants and fed carefully. Mr. William W. Blanding, who resided near-by, recalls vividly seeing the worms on the shelves, eating the leaves and bringing their jaws together with obvious noise. In spinning their cocoons their motions can be seen at first, but as they advance they are lost sight of al- together. When the cocoons are ready, the silk is spun and twisted and is at first stiff and hard, but when boiled the glue is removed and it becomes a beautiful pearly white, ready to take on various colors. The making of this silk created considerable interest in the community, and small quantities were made by a number of families, but the interest died away and the matter was forgotten.
THE ANNAWAN CLUB
The Annawan Club was chartered in September, 1898, by cer- tain Rhode Island men who felt the need of out-door recreation as a relief from their business or professional life. A finer sylvan retreat can scarcely be imagined than the one chosen on the bor- ders of the Bad Luck Reservoir, twelve miles from Providence, now transformed both in name and appearance and known as Annawan Lake. Its location is near Hill Crest, where Mr. George S. Baker has a beautiful summer home. The Club House stands on the brim of this lake in the woods, where pickerel and bass abound to tempt the piscatory taste of the members. On the other hand, owing to the generous concessions of neighboring farmers, lovers of the gun may tramp over two thousand acres roundabout with exclusive hunting rights. Trees have been planted in spots as a cover to quail and partridge.
The Club owns two hundred acres including the pond, partly encircling which is a strip of land presented by William B. H. Kelton. The Club sustains the most cordial relations with its neighbors and every year invites them to a clam-bake which helps to keep the social bond strong and enduring.
The Club-house is of cedar logs, cut from a near-by swamp and hewn by hand. It has an ample kitchen and living room, while its huge chimneys, one at either end, invite the cozy fire with its winsome roar. Here these men of congenial tastes take genuine comfort. Their number is limited to forty and the terms of ad- mission are strict. Not far away is the Club's farmhouse with its capable steward to care for the property and for its over-night guests.
The Club owes much of its enthusiasm to its several presidents who have served in the following order: William R. Randall, George S. Baker, William H. Sweetland, Frederick Hoard, Fenner Peckham.
397
MISCELLANEOUS
THE GOFF GATHERING ASSOCIATION
Capt. Shubael Goff was a grandson of Elder Enoch Goff of Dighton. He married Sally Briggs Goff of Rehoboth, where they continued to reside and where their fifteen children were born, of whom thirteen lived to maturity. Capt. Shubael died Oct. 14, 1854, and his wife Nov. 4, 1855. In the summer of 1870 the des- cendants held a family gathering at the Congregational Church in Rehoboth Village, at which twelve of the thirteen children then living were present. Tables were spread, each furnishing his part of the "picnic." It was a pronounced success and the feeling that it should be repeated the next year gave rise to the appointing of a committee to manage it.
The second gathering was at the home of Isaiah Goff of Paw- tucket, Aug. 24, 1871, with a clam-bake, which feature became long since a stated custom. With one exception, 1877, the families have met every year for forty-six years with gradually increasing numbers. In 1915 more than two hundred and twenty-five were assembled at the Carpenter homestead in Rehoboth, where no less than sixteen of its gatherings have been enjoyed. "So convenient and such a lovely place" is the universal comment. At six of these delightful occasions Peleg E. and Jennie (Carpenter) Francis have welcomed their friends.
On the 20th of August, 1908, the Goff Gathering Association was incorporated and the usual officers chosen. To sustain the interest of these Annual reunions, held regularly the last Thurs- day in August, the clam-bake is supplemented by field sports with nominal prizes for the winners. A prize is also given to the oldest person present and to the youngest child. A fund amounting to $1,500 affords sufficient income to cover expenses. This well-known gathering is now on a permanent basis. The pres- ident for 1916 was Bradford G. Goff and the treasurer James M. Goff.
It is worthy of note that the descendants of a single branch of this large family, viz., that of Enoch and Keziah (Luther) Goff, numbers at the present time ninety-six persons, including children of the fifth generation.
THE GREAT FRESHET Feb. 11-13, 1886
The greatest freshet ever known in Rehoboth, and which affected also a considerable part of eastern Massachusetts and Connecticut, occurred on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13, 1886. On Thursday morning, Feb. 11th, it began to rain and continued moderately through the day, but poured in torrents through the night and most of the following day, melting the snow and flooding Palmer's River, causing its waters to rush over the road by the Village mill, carrying in its current masses of ice and tons of stones,
398
HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
gravel, etc., wearing a channel four feet deep through the road-bed on either side of the bridge which it undermined. This made the stream impassable, so that no mail was taken over to the office until Saturday, when it was passed across on a tight rope. The roaring of the flood made it impossible to converse across its breadth. Practically all the bridges on Palmer's River were destroyed, in- cluding the two at Orleans Factory. The east end of the mill was ruined, the floor having been washed away and the sides broken through. No such deluge was ever known in Rehoboth, unless we except the bursting of the Bad Luck Reservoir in 1859, when all the bridges below on the stream were swept away. No mail came through from Boston from Friday until Tuesday evening (Feb. 11 to 16), as the railroads were badly washed. There was no travel for several days either on the Boston and Providence or the Old Colony roads. The property loss amounted to hundreds of thou- sands of dollars. To illustrate the severity of the freshet in Re- hoboth, some of the milkmen who started for Providence could not get through, nor could they get back home with their teams, by reason of the swollen streams and missing bridges.
REHOBOTH, SEEKONK, PAWTUCKET AND EAST PROVIDENCE DETECTING SOCIETY
This society was originally the Rehoboth Detecting Society, as Rehoboth then included the other towns whose names have been added: Seekonk in 1817, Pawtucket in 1855, and East Providence sometime later. The organization was effected Nov. 21, 1796, at the home of Dr. James Bliss of Danforth Street. The object was the protection of the members' horses from thieves, and if possible the apprehension of the thieves themselves. In those days horses were frequently stolen and their recovery was difficult, as there was no rapid transit and phones and telegrams were unknown. Within three years there were more than one hundred members, and the number was afterwards increased to about three hundred. Any citizen of good character may become a member by paying $1.25, which protects one horse, and fifty cents for each additional horse. According to the constitution, "There shall be annually chosen by ballot or nomination not less than twelve Detectors, one of whom shall be chosen as chief, whose duty shall be to direct, order and supervise the movements of the other Detectors, and these, together with any member who may have a horse or horses stolen, shall constitute the Board of Detectors."
Edwin Darling was chief for many years. For ten years Hon. Oliver Chaffee was president and James Nash was secretary. Another long-term president was Nathl. M. Burr, with whom P. E. Wilmarth served as secretary. The present officers are, Ellery L. Goff, president; Frank L. Thomas, secretary; Albert C. Goff, treasurer; and S. S. Rich, chief detector.
399
MISCELLANEOUS
The by-laws, adopted Nov. 28, 1871, required the annual meet- ing to be held the third Monday in October at the town hall in East Providence, at which a supper was usually served. In recent years this rule has been suspended and the annual meetings have been held in Rehoboth. It is still customary to have a supper and also some entertainment.
The first annual supper was held in Thomas Kennedy's dining- rooms in Pawtucket, in February, 1876, at $2.00 a plate. Re- marks were made by Oliver Chaffee of Seekonk, Darius Goff and George Crawford of Pawtucket, and Wm. W. Blanding and J. C. Marvel of Rehoboth. Along in the eighties a series of shore-dinners became very popular, and on one occasion five hundred tickets were sold. At least two of these gatherings were at Silver Spring and two at Bullock's Point. The writer recalls an annual supper of the society served on Monday evening Oct. 15, 1883, at the old town hall in East Providence, at which more than a hundred mem- bers were present. His diary for that evening reads: "A poor supper was furnished with tobacco-smoke for dessert." But the fun was great. Speeches were made, sparkling with wit, “clean as a hound's tooth," by Charles A. Lee of the Pawtucket Chronicle, and by that prince of story-tellers, Thomas G. Potter, also by Dea. Joseph Brown and others, which kept the house in a roar; the flood-gates of laughter were open and the meeting closed in the merriest of moods.
The society has never made an assessment on its members, and all horses stolen, or all but one, have been recovered. There are at present 291 members, and the sum of $504.48 was in the treasury at the last report.
OLD RECORDS
Some of the old commercial records are suggestive of ancient habits and customs. Business entries running back into the mid- dle of the eighteenth century are extant in the family of Mr. G. N. Goff, from which a few extracts are made for the entertainment of our readers. The oldest of these account-books consist of sev- eral sheets of foolscap laid together with stitches up and down the middle, over which the leaves are folded, this forming a long, nar- row booklet, sometimes covered on the outside with brown paper. One of these contains accounts kept by Samuel, son of Anthony, and brother of Richard, Goff, between the years 1746 and 1754, showing that he ran a saw-mill, did teaming and mended shoes. A few items are culled with the old spelling retained:
"September 16, 1746. Mr. B. Col(e) detter
£ s. d.
To two days ox work 0 10 0
for craking of flax 2 10 0
400
HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
"November 10, 1749.
maiger Philip Wheeler detter £ s. d.
to fiching two barrals of rom from Bristol 100
"June 15, 1754. Thomas Redaway detter
£ s. d.
to three pounds and a half of tobaker 0 10
6
To one days work
1 5 0
To weveing
2 17 6
to an aks half
0
5
0
to my mear one day
0 12 0
to making one plow
500
"Thomas Redaway Cr.
£ s. d.
to twelve pounds and a half of flax 4 7
6
to one days work with my oxen
1 10 0
to one barrel of sider
2
0 0
to one busel of solt
0 15 0
to two brals of sider
600
to two hundred of ha (hay)
4 0 0"
These items show (1) that oxen were used on the farm; (2) that flax was still cultivated; and (3) that cider was made and sold by the barrel. A later book of accounts kept by Joseph Goff, from 1773 to 1776, has charges for liquors sold at the Goff Inn.
"March, 1774.
Bizer Pack (Abiezer Peck) Dr.
£ s. d.
for one dram
00 3%
for one dram of brande
0 0 5 12
for one dram
0 0 31/2
for one dram
0
0 31/2
for half a dram
0 0
for rum and brande
0
0 6
"November 1774. Timothy Fuller detter
£
8.
d.
for two quarts of rum
0
1 2
for two quarts of rum
0
1 2
for one dram
0
0 3%
for half a pint of brande
0
0 91%
for one dram of brande
0
0
for half a mug of flip
0
0 4
for one mug of flip
0. 0 8
for two pipes
0
0 2"
Note: Twenty-six orders in one column include eight for flip.
401
MISCELLANEOUS
"October 5, 1774. Thomas Carpenter
detter
£ s. d. 2 0 3
for four quarts of rum
for one quart of rum 0 1 0
for two quarts of rum (four times) 0 2 0
for two mugs of flip 0 1 4"
Thomas Turner was a liberal patron and paid in making and mending shoes. For making one "pear of shues" he charged £013s. 0d.
Joseph Goff was an all-round man who not only kept the inn but also a store and saw-mill and wove cloth. His account book of general merchandise (8 x 13 foolscap) runs from 1763 to 1785:
"March 1764. John Davis detter £ 3. d.
to richard one days work
0
1 6
to one peg (pig) 0
4 0
to six pounds of iorn 0
1 3
to 200 feet of inch bords 0 8 6
to my mear to go to metten (meeting) 0
1
6
for my mear to Warron 0 2 0
to weveing 9 yerds and 3 of cloth 1
2
4
"October 1771. Ichabod Waid detter £
3. d.
for eight pounds and a half of iron 0 1 9
for teen pound and three quarters 0
1 10
for three pounds and a half of iron 0 0 9
for three ox shues 0
0 6
for one lether aprien
0 3 0
for one quart of rum
0 1 0
for eight quarts of rum (three orders) 0
5 0
for four quarts of rum 0
2 3"
We infer that Mr. Wade was a blacksmith, and like many others believed in license and that rum was "the staff of life."
"June, 1772, Jonathan Bliss was Dr. £ s. d.
to sawing 8895 feet of boards 506
"August 1772. John Davis Jr. detter £ s. d.
for one bushel of ry
0 4 0
for half a day breaking ground 0
4 0
for two quarts of rum (four orders) 0
1
2
for four quarts of rum (two orders) 0
2 3
(1775) for sawing 881 feet of bords 0
11 9
for one bushel of petaters 0 1 2
for one bole of tode (bowl of toddy) 0 0 9
for half a dram 26
0 0 212
402
HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
"March 1774. Abdiel Bliss detter £ s. d. for sawing 710 feet of two inch plank 0 17 8
for sawing 802 feet of two inch and a half
1 4 0
for sawing 183 feet of mapel boards 0 2 9
for sawing ox youks 0 1 0
"Joseph Bullock detter £
S. d.
to one apron
0
2 6
to one apron
0
2 6
to one Short (shoat)
0
1 6
to one peck of flax seed
0
1 6
to broad cloth and trimmings
3
2
5
to three yards and half of fine cloth and thread 0 14 2"
Richard Goff, son of Joseph, operated a mill for fulling and dress- ing cloth, located nearly opposite the Goff homestead on the eastern branch of Palmer's River. His day-book shows that he carried on this business as early as January, 1776, and continued it to 1817. To this mill the people far and near brought their garments or cloth to be dyed or pressed or "Barskined," a word corrupted from the Scotch "busk" to dress. Each job is indicated by an initial letter, as f for fulling, D for dyeing, P for pressing and B, for "Barskin," which is usually written in full and with a capital. Out of more than two thousand entries a few samples are given. The terms were always spot cash.
"1776. Cornal Wm Bullock £ s. d.
f D Clarat (claret) P. 10 (yds) 0 12 0
Lt. Abdiel Bliss f Barskin 7 (yds) 2 2 0 Lt. Abdiel Bliss D B P mits 0 7 6
Caleb Carpenter f Blankits 1014 (yds) 0 2 7
1778. Joseph Goff f Barskin 51/2 0 16 6
1779. Col. Thomas Carpenter P old cot 0 12 0
Widow Tabitha Goff f Barskin 4 0 2 8
Nathan Hix D B P old cloke 0 12 0
Abiah Bliss f Barskin 6 1 16 0
1781. Smith Wheaton
D Sinament (cinnamon) color 0 8 9"
Note: Cinnamon color was seldom ordered, but claret more frequently.
The following items are from the town treasurer's book, which runs from 1745 to 1790:
"May 17, 1747. Then recd. of Robert Sutten the sum of Seventeen Pounds old tener for rent of the School Land. £ s. d.
17 0 0
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MISCELLANEOUS
Oct. 12, 1749. Then recd. of Capt. Benj. Buowen the sum of £2. Os. Od. old tener for rent of the School Land at the Hogge Pen Pint for yr 1748."
"May 23, 1749. Then recd. of Thomas Parry (Perry) the Sum of £20. 0s. Od. as a fine for not serving as Con- stable in yr 1749."
In the same year and for the same reason James Bucklin and Na- thaniel Walker each paid a fine of twenty pounds, which would suggest that the duties were irksome. Each constable was assigned to a certain section of the town for collecting the annual rates, which until 1759, when the town was divided into precincts, were of two classes, the town rate and the ministerial rate; e.g. in 1746 Constable Jonathan Thurber's town rate was £104. 98. 6d. His ministerial rate was £73. 18. 8d.
SOME OLD REHOBOTH CUSTOMS
These are based in part on random notes by Dr. H. E. Horton, a portion of whose boyhood was spent at the home of his grand- father, Samuel Baker, Jr., on Brook Street, in Rehoboth. Did space permit, these items might be greatly multiplied and ex- panded. They were common to many New England towns in their early history.
In the matter of temperance, it was the custom for every corner grocery store to keep rum for sale, which might be drunk at the store or taken home at the option of the buyer. The license sys- tem was unknown. In the autumn much cider was made by the farmers, some of which was made into vinegar and sold, and the rest was kept on tap to be drunk while it lasted. Not a few of the men acquired a taste for hard cider and were known as tipplers. Although seldom completely intoxicated, they were often boozy. It was not unusual for a tippler to pour down at one quaffing a quart mug full of cider. In the olden times every family kept rum in decanters on the sideboard or on a shelf in the cupboard. The men of the house drank usually in moderation and treated their guests, including the dominie of the parish, who rarely showed signs of over-indulgence.
While harvesting the summer's crop of hay, the farmers drank rum in the field and shared it with their hired men. They would pour a little rum into a tumbler and then fill it with cold water from a rundlet, although they often drank clear water from the rundlet itself. In the house hot water was used to dilute the rum, which was sweetened with soft yellow sugar and drank as "toddy." The boys liked to hang around and lick out the tumblers.
Some of the Rehoboth men took much interest in fishing. It was great sport to catch the shad which came up Palmer's River .to spawn in the spring of the year. They came in large numbers
404
HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
as far as Shad Factory, and the men and boys at sundown, having finished their day's work, would hasten with seines to the river and gather in large numbers of these delicious fish, which they baked and ate with a keen relish. Some of them they salted down for later use. After a time the town each year sold the priv- ilege of catching shad with seines to the highest bidder, who would have the choice of spots and invite his friends to share the sport with him. "No matter how hard the day's work nor how tired the arms and legs, at the touch of the seine all was forgotten."
Another delicacy were the herring which swarmed up the river in schools, even as far as Rehoboth Village, and also up the Rocky River, and were caught and strung on birch sticks. Each fish would be wrapped in a corn-husk or brown paper, baked in hot ashes, and eaten steaming hot, - a dish fit for an epicure.
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