USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Middleborough > History of the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts > Part 25
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1 A portion of the foundation is still to be seen a little east of the present edifice.
313
THE GREEN
1690]
In early times, one of the most notable buildings in the neighborhood of the Green was the first parsonage, known as the " mansion house," on the site of the dwelling now occupied by William W. Wood. It was probably built about the time of the organization of the church, and remained until 1780, when it was destroyed by fire. With the exception of Oliver Hall, it was considered one of the finest houses in the town ; built with four gable ends, its rooms were spacious and high studded, and its front door opened into an enclosed yard.
PETER THACHER,1 the first minister to live here, was born October 6, 1688, and was graduated from Harvard in 1706. He had an excellent library, was a diligent student, and one of the most Peter Thacker learned men of his time. He married, January 25, 1711, Mary, daughter of Samuel Prince. She was known as " Madame Thacher," and was a woman of intelligence, of great help to the church, and noted for her benevolence.
The mansion house was used as a place of worship by Mr. Conant while the third meeting-house was being built, and it was here that he entertained Whitefield on his memorable visit to Middleboro in 1746. In this house also lived Samuel Prince,2 one of the most prominent men in the colony. He died in 1728, and was buried with distinguished honor be- tween the two large trees now standing at the west end of the burying-ground. His body was afterwards removed to the family tomb. Nathan Prince, his son, was a member of the First Church, and after graduating from Harvard, became an Episcopal missionary. " He was the author of a book on the Resurrection of our Lord, and of another on the govern- ment of the College, both of which were in great estima- tion." 3 Mrs. Prince was a daughter of Governor Hinckley of Plymouth Colony.
1 See History of the First Church of Middleboro, P. 36.
Ibid. p. 56. He came to Middleboro in 1723.
3 Allen's American Biographical Dictionary, p. 683.
314
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1775
The REV. SYLVANUS CONANT,1 the fourth pastor of the church, lived in the house formerly owned by James P. Spar- Sylvanus Conant 5 row; the house, built in 1752, is now standing on Plympton Street, and the garden adjoins the land known as the " Upper Green." It was supposed that Middleboro would remain loyal to the Crown on account of the influence of Judge Oliver, but this was nullified by the ardent patriotism of Rev. Sylvanus Conant and Zachariah Eddy. From the beginning of the oppressive legislation, Mr. Conant was bold and fearless in his utter- ance in the pulpit and elsewhere against the injustice of the mother country. He not only went as a chaplain in one of the regiments, but, owing to his earnest words, thirty-five of the members of his church enlisted, and Captain Joshua Eddy raised a company for service during the war. The follow- ing anecdote is told of him at the time of the general alarm throughout the town and country on the entry of the British into New Bedford : " It was on Sunday, and a messenger came in breathless haste into the meeting-house where Mr. Conant was preaching, and standing in the broad aisle cried, 'There is an alarum !' There was no answer nor any stir; the announcement was repeated ; the congregation were still un- moved ; again he cried in a loud voice, 'There is an alarum !' Mr. Conant, bending towards him, replied with great mildness and simplicity, 'We know it !' The messenger retired. Many of the men went out, but Mr. Conant resumed his discourse, most of his hearers being less disposed to be grave at the dreadful portent of the alarum than to smile at the manner in which the minister disposed of it." 2
Mr. Conant was a graduate of Harvard College, and deliv- ered an oration in 1775, in commemoration of the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth. This, with a volume of sermons published during his lifetime, shows his patriotism, scholar-
1 History of the First Church of Middleboro, p. 37. 2 Eddy Note-Book.
1777]
THE GREEN
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STURTEVANT HOUSE HOUSE OF REV. SYLVANUS CONANT
ship, and profound knowledge of the great doctrines of the New Testament. It is said that upon his death there was weeping in every house in town, at the loss of one of their best and dearest friends. Some years after, Samuel Joseph May, one of the earliest anti-slavery men, said in a public utterance, " He was a strong man, he was a sound man whom many loved, his disposition was fortunate, for it was full of disposition for others. He seemed more than most men to be at home in the world. He found ways of doing good wherever he went, and thus made for himself of all places a heaven ; such glad interest for others beamed forth in his eyes that he seemed to have forgotten himself for others' welfare and their interest became his own. He was full of sunshine, radiant with hope, trusting in his God, and believing in man." He died of smallpox in the height of his usefulness as a minister of the gospel, a patriotic citizen, and a devout lover of his country, inspired with the belief that she would yet become a free, great, and mighty nation of the world. Eight of his parishioners, who died1 between December 5 and 18, 1777, were buried with him in the field then owned by one of them, John Smith, near the house of the late Otis Soule. They were Zachariah Eddy, Widow Rhoda Smith, Joseph Smith, Bethia Smith, John Smith, William Soule, Sarah Reading, and Hannah Love. The following is the inscription on the stone at his grave : -
1 History of the First Church of Middleboro, P. 37.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1808
Memento Mori. IN MEMORY OF
REV. SYLVANUS CONANT,
MINISTER OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN MIDDLEBOROUGH, WHO DIED OF SMALLPOX, DEC. 8, 1777, IN THE 58TH YEAR OF HIS AGE, AND 33D OF HIS MINISTRY.
So sleep the souls, and leave to groan, When sin and death have done their worst, Christ hath a glory like his own, Which waits to clothe their wasting dust.
Rev. Joseph Barker1 lived in the Conant house during his ministry. He was a profound student, an able preacher, and a man of large influence throughout the town and county. At the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of the church, he preached a commemorative sermon. A volume of his sermons, published at the time, is still extant, which indi- cates his scholarship and ability. While faithful in the dis-
1 Among his papers was the following letter to his daughter, which gives a picture of one phase of his life : -
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5th, 1809.
MY DEAR ELIZABETH : - Last Sabbath being new year's day, I preached for the first time for Mr. Bolch, to a respectible and attentive audience from Eph. 2 :7.
On Monday we had clear cold weather. This day attended levee at the Presi- dent's. A very large collection was there ; English, Scotch, Irish, French, Span- ish, Italian, German, Indian, Whigs, Tories, Federalists, Republicans ; men, women, old ladies and young ladies. We all stood about and walked about to see and speak to one another. I had considerable talk with one of our red sisters, she is the lady of Cherokee Sachem who is here; she can talk some English though her husband cannot. She is dressed well in English habit with silk gown, &c. She appears to be a sensible woman and intelligent. She tells me that they spin and weave, make their own clothes, keep cows, make butter and cheese and attend to agriculture and all the employments of civilized life ; that they have schools for their children and the gospel preached among them sometimes by missionaries.
Now, this great change in their habits has been effected by divine blessing at- tending the means used by Mr. Jefferson. All the missionaries ever sent there by the French and English have never done so much good as Jefferson has done since he has been President of the United States, and yet he is called an enemy to religion. I heartily wish all enemies of religion had as much humanity, be- nevolence, wisdom, moderation and firmness as that one man whom Federalists and Tories are wishing to destroy ; but his character will shine upon the page of history, while those of his vile calumniators will not.
I am your affectionate Father,
JOSEPH BARKER.
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1665]
charge of his duties as a minister of this church, he was, from the beginning, deeply interested in the public events of the day, and was elected, in 1805 and 1808, by a large majority to represent southeastern Massachusetts in the Ninth and Tenth Congress. While a member of the national House of Repre- sentatives, he was highly esteemed for his learning and his broad, statesmanlike views upon the great questions then be- fore the nation. He served upon prominent committees, and took an important part in the debate upon the resolution pro- hibiting the importation of slaves into the country.
Rev. William Eaton lived in the house formerly occupied by Ira Bryant. The other clergymen settled over this church have resided at the Upper or Lower Green.
About one mile to the east of the church on Plympton Road was the farm of John Nelson, one of the first settlers of the town.1 When Mr. Nelson went to Lakeville, he sold this farm to John Bennett. In 1824 Major Thomas Bennett, then the owner, while ploughing the ground where this first log house stood, came upon an Indian grave, in which were a knife, tomahawk, pipe, and other implements. There is no doubt that these belonged to the Indian who was shot from the fort and taken to Mr. Nelson's house, where he died.
JOHN BENNETT was the son of Peter Bennett of Bristol, Eng- land, from which place he emigrated in 1665. He was a weaver by trade, and on ac- count of some do- John Bonnot Joonis mestic trouble, at the death of his mother he moved to this country, at the age of twenty-three. He settled at Jamestown, Va., then went to Beverly, Mass., where he became a landholder. From there he moved at the time of the Salem witchcraft, probably to escape annoyance from that delusion, and after spending a year in Weymouth, he came to Middleboro in 1687. He lived near the Cox sawmill, then built a house between that formerly occupied by Elijah Shaw 1 See chapter on Early Settlers.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1700
and the sawmill, and afterwards purchased1 a farm owned by John Nelson, where he built a house on the site of the one which had been burned by the Indians after the death of their comrade. He took the oath of fidelity in 1689, and was select- man of Middleboro in 1692, 1693, 1695, 1697, and 1698. He was elected town clerk, March 28, 1693, which office he held for about thirteen years. He was a proprietor in the Twenty- six Men's Purchase at the running of the bounds in 1696, and owned lots in the Sixteen Shilling Purchase, and four lots in the South Purchase, of which he was clerk in 1689.2 He married Deborah Grover of Beverly, in 1671. She died March 22, 1718, aged seventy, and was buried in the grave with her husband.
The house was built with a single room in front, and a porch projecting from one end, facing the highway. It was low in the ceiling, with large oak beams crossing overhead ; the sills and sleepers rested on the ground. The door was filled with large- headed nails for protection against the Indians. This house, fa- mous as the birthplace of several generations of Middleboro's citizens, was taken down in the early part of the last century. It had been visited by Peregrine White, the first child born to the pilgrims in this country, and was the home of Nehemiah Bennett and his wife Mercy. From him many facts relating to Nehemiah Bennett the early history of the town were obtained by the Massa- chusetts Historical Society, and published among their collections, and it is to him and his wife that we are indebted for much which would probably have been lost had it not been for their interest in local affairs.
Mercy Bennett was born in 1699, and died in 1799. She was a woman of unusual intelligence, and retained her mental facul- ties until the time of her death. In the great snowstorm of 1717, she with two other girls walked to Plymouth and back the same day to attend public service.
Upon the eastern corner of the Lower Green and facing
1 There is a discrepancy as to the date of this purchase. General E. W. Peirce says 1687; Eddy Note-Book, 1691.
2 Early Records of Middleboro, p. 114.
1750]
THE GREEN
319
OLD SPROAT TAVERN
Plymouth Street stood the famous Sproat Tavern, taken down in the year 1898. For many years it was the only inn in this part of the town, and for more than two centuries was justly celebrated for its generous hospitality.
One writer of New England history says, " Religion was an ever present thought and influence in their lives, but they possessed another trait - with them neighborliness was as ever present, as sincere as their godliness - hence the estab- lishment of the ordinary for the entertainment of travellers, the mutual comfort of the settlers." All through the country, licenses to keep taverns were granted on the condition that they be near the meeting-house, and inn-keepers were obliged to clear their houses during the church service. Orderly con- duct was required and drunkenness was frowned upon, yet liquor was freely used by minister and layman alike. As early as 1646 the General Court passed a law by which landlords were forbidden " to suffer anyone to be druncken or to stay drinking in his house above an hour at one tyme " 1 under pen- alty of five shillings. The use of tobacco was considered much more degrading than indulgence in intoxicating drinks. News- papers were not common, but at the tavern one could usually be found, and here men and women gathered to read and dis- cuss the news of the day and all items of interest. The tavern was so situated that the arrival of the stage-coach was an
1 Laws of Plymouth Colony, p. 50.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1700
event of daily interest, -bringing visitors, or travellers on the way from Plymouth to Taunton and New Bedford. In the French and Indian War, the men of the town came here to enlist. In the Revolutionary War, it was the rendezvous for military men, and here the patriots of the town assembled to discuss the stirring events of the times. From this tavern, after the drill upon the Green, the companies of Middleboro men marched to join the army in the different parts of the country. The spot is still pointed out where stood the famous liberty pole,1 with the scale, showing the required height of the soldier. The prominent men of the colony, as well as distin- guished noblemen from England, on their way to visit Oliver Hall, have stopped here. Probably at few inns in the colony were more illustrious men entertained than in this noted hos- telry. It was the rendezvous of the men who marched to Plym- outh in the War of 1812, and for a generation after, training day was observed on this "Green " each year.
This famous old house was built by James Soule in the year 1700, and soon after was occupied by the well-known family of Littles. Originally, it was only one half as large as when taken down, the northeastern part having been built first. From the second story was hung the sign, which is still pre- served, and which is said to have been the first on any tavern to publicly express the sentiments of liberty, then creating so much excitement throughout the country. It was particularly daring on the part of Colonel Sproat, the proprietor of this old inn, to thus advocate the cause of independence in oppo-
1 In a letter of Dr. Peter Oliver, Jr., under date of October 27, 1774, he writes : " The week before last our Sons of Lyberty here, put up a Lyberty Pole on the Green. Our Minister grac'd the solemnity with his presence, and made a prayer under the Pole, and an harangue upon Lyberty. It was a day sat apart for the Officers of the Company to resign their offices. Mr. Conant took the pikes, and gave them to the new Officers : he has rendered himself very ridiculous to many of his friends.
"Ere this reaches, you will receive the News-Papers, which will give you an in- sight of our present troubles and difficulties. The Judge (Chief Justice Peter Oliver,) has been in Boston these 8 or 10 weeks, to save his life; and Madam has been there these 3 weeks, and are both going to winter there." Diary and Letters of Thomas Hutchinson, vol. i, p. 264.
32I
THE GREEN
1775]
sition to the views of so influential a man as Judge Oliver. The house retained much of its original furnishing in the wainscot, the great fireplace, the deep-seated square windows, and latticed panes of glass. In the room which formerly led to the tap-room were to be seen a shelf and panel, relics of the past ; the tap-room continued for genera- tions with the same furnishing. The kitchen showed the large oak beams as first placed over the ceiling, with the Dutch brick and panel work of English make about the large ENTERTAINMENT FOR: ALL: SONS: OF LIBERTY~ fireplace. In the early part of the last cen- tury it was enlarged to accommodate the many patrons of the inn. Here many of the congregation who worshipped in the adjoin- SIGNBOARD OF THE OLD SPROAT TAVERN ing old meeting-house used to assemble every Sabbath noon during the intermis- sion. There was a roaring fire in the large open fireplace, and near by was the well, still to be seen, with its long well-sweep. There are those now living who remember the gilded ball which hung on a post near the well.
During the "noonings " the large room was crowded, and the conversation there carried on was interesting and instruc- tive. Some of the best thinkers of the town were there, dis- cussing the current news of the day, as well as the sermon from its theological, argumentative, and scriptural point of view. Captain Joshua Eddy in Revolutionary times, and later his son, Zachariah Eddy, were often the chief speakers on these occasions. It was at one of these noonings that Frank- lin met them and spoke concerning their crops and the best way of enriching and draining their land. He gave them a few copies of " Poor Richard's Almanac," which were after- ward eagerly sought after, and were usually hung over the fireplace under the king's arm. The old were never tired of repeating the sayings of that Sabbath afternoon, and taught them to their children and their children's children, so that the name of Franklin was one of the most honored in the
322
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1775
old parish. In after years, the men of Middleboro appreciated what George III had said to his ministers during the early days of the Revolution, "Beware of that crafty rebel, Ben- jamin Franklin, he has more brains than all the rest put together, and will outwit you all."
Ebenezer Sproat was an influential man, of large and com- manding figure, and held the office of treasurer and selectman for some years. He was the proprietor of the Sproat Tavern, and under his management the house acquired much of its reputation. He died January 23, 1786,1 aged sixty-nine. His son, COLONEL EBENEZER, was born in the year 1752, and in- herited the virtues of his father, and in addition to this, he was
Throat Joint
noted for his boldness and energy, tempered by prudence and sagacity. When quite young he became interested in public affairs of the colony, and before he reached his majority, saw the inevitable consequences of the tyrannical acts of the Crown. He was one of the first to enlist in the Revolutionary army, and was with the troops to oppose the British possession of Newport at the time of its first invasion. He entered the army as captain, and such was his ability that he was promoted to the rank of major in the Tenth Massachusetts Regiment, com- manded by Colonel Shepard. In 1778 he was with John Glover's Brigade of four regiments in Providence, as lieutenant-colonel. It was said at that time that he was the tallest man in his regi- ment, being six feet four inches in height, and of perfect pro- portions. He had winning ways, and yet the sternness of an able military commander. He was a strict disciplinarian, but his agreeable manner, his intelligence and cheerful disposition, made him a universal favorite with his officers and men. His knowledge of the art of war and the thorough discipline that he maintained attracted the attention of Baron Steuben, who 1 History of the First Church of Middleboro, p. 240.
1781]
THE GREEN
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appointed him inspector of the brigade, an office he filled to the satisfaction of his superior officers. He was a friend of General Washington, and was frequently admitted to his con- fidence. Dr. Thacher, in his journal of military events, thus speaks of Colonel Sproat : -
"In the mutiny which broke out in January, 1781, in the New Jersey line, stationed at Pompton, in New Jersey, a de- tachment of five hundred men was ordered out to suppress it. In this detachment Col. Sproat was second in command, and Maj. Oliver was one of the field-officers. The distance from the main encampment was thirty or forty miles, and the snow two feet deep; it took nearly four days to accom- plish the march. When they came in sight of the insurgents, Gen. Robert Howe, the commander, ordered his men to load their arms ; and as some of the officers distrusted the faithfulness of their own men, so prevalent was disaffection in the army, that, before making the attack, he harangued the troops on the hei- nousness of the crime of mutiny, and the absolute COLONEL EBENEZER SPROAT necessity of military sub- ordination ; that the mutineers must be brought to an uncon- ditional submission. The men entered fully into the patriotic spirit of their officers, and marching with the greatest alac- rity, surrounded the huts so as to admit of no escape. Gen. Howe ordered his aide-de-camp to command the mutineers to parade in front of their huts, unarmed, in five minutes. Ob- serving them to hesitate, a second message was sent, when they instantly obeyed, and paraded in a line, unarmed, two or three hundred in number. The general then ordered three of the ringleaders to be selected for condign punishment. These
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[1781
unfortunate men were tried on the spot, Col. Sproat being president of the court martial, standing on the snow, and they were sentenced to be shot immediately. Twelve of the most active mutineers were selected for their executioners. This was a most painful task, and some of them, when ordered to load their guns, shed tears. Two of them suffered death on the spot ; the third one was pardoned, as being less guilty, on the representation of their officers. Never were men more completely humbled and penitent. Tears of sorrow and of joy streamed from their eyes, and each one seemed to con- gratulate himself that his forfeited life had been spared. The general then addressed the men in a very pathetic and im- pressive manner : showing the enormity of their crime, and the inevitable ruin to the cause of the country, to which it would lead. They remained true and faithful soldiers to the end of the war."
That service, Colonel Sproat often said, was the most pain- ful ever imposed upon him, but such was the position of the continental army at this time that the insubordination man- ifested in the New Jersey troops called for most severe mea- sures, and after that lesson there was no further mutiny on the part of any of the troops.1 It is to the credit of the men from the New England colonies that no revolt ever occurred among them, and Washington said at one time in view of this, " God bless the New England troops."
In the early part of the war Colonel Sproat was at home on a furlough, when his fondness for a joke was seen in the fol- lowing incident : Three soldiers, passing through Middleboro, stopped at the tavern, where his mother placed what he con- sidered a rather scanty meal before them. When they inquired the price, he called to his mother, " How much is it worth to pick those bones ?" " About a shilling, I suppose," was the answer. He returned to the room, took three shillings from the drawer, and handed one to each of the men, who went on their way much pleased at their treatment. Later, when his mother asked for the money, he exclaimed as if in surprise, " Money ! did I not ask you what it was worth to pick those
1 Hildreth, Lives of the Early Settlers of Ohio.
325
THE GREEN
1805]
bones ; and you replied a shilling ? I thought it little enough for such a job and handed them the money from the till, and they are gone."
After the war he lived in Providence, where he married Catherine, daughter of Abraham Whipple. In 1786 he was ap- pointed surveyor for Rhode Island of the lands west of the Ohio, and later settled upon the banks of the Marietta River. His fearless character, as well as his fairness in dealing with the Indians, soon won their respect. The Indians called him Hetuck, or Big Buckeye, from his eagle eye and stately bear- ing. He rose to be a prominent man in the state, and from the name the Indians gave to him, Ohio took the name of the Buckeye state. At the recent celebration of the city of Mari- etta, Colonel Sproat was duly honored as the founder of a number of institutions which have rendered Ohio the Massa- chusetts of the West. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. He died in February, 1805.
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