USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Marshfield > Memorials of Marshfield, and guide book to its localities at Green Harbor > Part 4
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It is said that when Gov. Hutchinson exercised his blandishments upon an individual, and applied them in all their force, he seldom failed of prevailing, and Nath'l Ray Thomas fell a victim to these allure- ments. He was appointed a mandamus counsellor, and his mansion house was converted into quarters for British troops. He joined the British army at Boston, and accompanied it to Halifax on its evacua- tion thereof. His family returned to their home after the retreat of the Queen's Guards therefrom, having sojourned at a neighbor's during that period. At the close of the war, this beautiful inheritance of their father's, with the exception of one third, was confiscated, and they joined, with one exception, viz., the late Capt. John Thomas, their husband and father, at Nova Scotia. Were not the sacrifices of Nath'l Ray Thomas as great to royalty, as his neigh- bors' and namesakes' were to liberty ?
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Mrs. Thomas was the dau. of Henry and Elizabeth Packer Deering, of Boston ; she left an excellent character at Green Harbor. During the direful " dearth of bread," at one period of the war, she fed the very people from whom, in the warmth of party feeling, she had met much indignity. She deceased, 1810, at Windsor, Nova Scotia, aged 78 years. The following stanzas are extracted, from a tribute to her memory, by Mrs. Cunningham, dau. of the late Hon. Perez Morton :-
"Oh, snatched too soon! ere love could find One life bound hope decay, Ere time or sorrow from thy mind Could steal one charm away.
For though around thy fading brows The wintry storms had prest, Yet all, that cheerful summer knows, Was pictured in thy breast.
Still flashed the eye-and sparkling played More than could lips express, And still the melting smile displayed A soul of tenderness.
That soul by sense and judgment moved, By virtue's self inspired, Thou wert in every scene beloved, Through every change admired.
Though at thy heart so oft were driven The arrows of Despair, The tearful eyes were raised to Heaven And shielding Faith was there."
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The following extracts are from an historical let- ter, and other papers, forwarded by John Thomas, Esq., of Irvington, N. Y., which he received of Mrs. Henry Ward, to whose husband the letter was ad- dressed, when a boy at school of the age of 9 years.
WARWICK, March 5th, 1793.
My father, grandfather, and great grandfather, were all named Simon Ray. I shall distinguish them by first, second, and third; Simon Ray, 2d, came from England with his father, a lad of about sixteen years, to Plymouth ; a very respectable family. Whether his mother came or not, I do not know. But about the time Simon Ray, 2d, grew up, his father married a widow George, with ten children, which offended him, and he with seven others went to Block Island, and purchased it ; and they had but one cow to three families, and they used to catch fish called horse mackerel, and make hasty pudding, and put the milk in as we do molasses, that was their breakfast. They went four mile into the neck to clear the land. At night, when they came home, that was their supper, and they all lived in love and harmony, like so many good brothers. After a while, a son of the George family, having heard of the purchase S. Ray, 2d, had made, came to Block Island to see him. It was rare to see visitors, and being a connection of his father, and he of a benevolent make, and land plenty, told him he would give him half of his purchase if he would clear it, which he readily accepted ; and that is the land owned by the Mitchells and Paines, at this time.
S. Ray, 3d, always kept them in fear of dispossessing them ; but I believe he gave them a quitclaim before he died ; I don't know at what age. But when Simon Ray, 2d, married a Thomas, at Marshfield, of a very good family, and brought her to Block Island, and had three daughters. Mary, the eldest, mar- ried an Englishman, who carried her to England, and she was the first American lady introduced to the king, and kissed his hand ; the second were Saba, she married a Sands, on Long Island, and
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that family were her offspring, Comfort and those at Block Island. The 3d was Dorothy; she married a Clapp, at Rye,-some of them are living,-very clever people. Simon Ray, 3d, was their only son ; I don't know his age when his mother died ; but although he, S. Ray, 2d, was offended and left his father because he m. a widow with ten children, he married a widow with eleven; and then Simon Ray, the 3d, left his father and went to New London and married a Manovin ; by whom he had a Simon, Gideon, Na- thaniel and Mary. Simon and Gideon were sea-faring men, of excellent character ; Nathaniel was a tiller of the ground ; he had one son, Simon Ray, and died. The' son, Simon Ray, the 3d, educated at New Haven College. His three sons, and grandson, all died, I think, between the age of 20 and 23 years. Their sis- ter, Mary, went to Marshfield to visit her relations, and there she married into her own family, a Thomas ; she died young, leaving an only child, Nathaniel Ray. He was left rich; a farm that would cut 100 loads of salt hay, well stocked house, well furnished with everything. He was educated at Cambridge, and when he was of age it was all wasted but the land. He married Sally Deering, of Boston, a charming girl, and your grandma was at the wedding; had sack posset and a beautiful drest plumb cake for supper. They had a large family of children ; and when the war came he was chosen a mandamus councillor, and being badly advised, accepted it, and went off with the regulars and died at Halifax. His widow lives genteelly in that country on a farm. Simon Ray, 3d, lived a widower twenty-one years ; had buried all his sons, and his daughter lived so far from him, that he came to Warwick and married my mother, a maiden lady of 37 years, Deborah Greene, sister to Daniel and Phillip Greene, and daugh- ter of Job and Phebe Greene. He was a councillor, had a large landed estate. They went to Block Island, and had we four lovely sisters ; Judith, who married a Hubbard; Ann, who married your grandaddy, Samuel Ward ; Catharine, your grandma Greene, and Phebe, who married a Littlefie-, probably Littlefield.
Now I must return to Simon Ray, 2d. He lived to be 101 years 1 month and 1 day old. He was blind and lame many years. In the French war, a privateer landed and used the inhabitants very
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ill. He had a chest moved and they supposed it was money. They tied him to a tree, and whipped him to make him tell, and I think they left him for dead. After he was lame, he learned a great deal of the Bible by heart ; he could say all the Psalms, the New Testament, and a great deal of the Old. My father went in one day and asked him how he did; he said very poorly ; for he made it a constant rule to repeat, I've forgot how many Psalms and chapters in a day, and to-day I've only repeated fifty. He asked my father one day how the season was. Oh! said my father, a very severe drought, and seemed to repine. He said, my son, let God alone to govern the earth. I just remember him, sitting in an arm chair, with white hair, and being pleasant; and the night he died he called us all to him, and told us to remember our Creator in the days of our youth, and the advantage of living virtuous lives and making God our friend, and the peace and happiness we should enjoy in the other world. I remember my mother cutting up plain cake and cheese at his funeral, and she cut it in a cheese tub, and it was served in pewter platters; he desired her to do it. You are descended of reputable ancestors on all sides. You had four grandaddy governors, and that you may be as worthy man as they all were, is the sincere wish of
Your affectionate grandma,
CATY GREENE.
John Thomas, an orphan boy of 14 years, was a passenger to New England, in the ship Hopewell, 1635. A tradition is transmitted to us, that a pater- nal property had been lost to him by being improp- erly entrusted. He was kindly taken under the care and protection of Gov. Edward Winslow, and was long the faithful steward at Careswell. His name stands next to Winslow's on the first list of those who bore arms in the township. He m. Sarah, d. of James Pitney, 1648. The farm which Gov. Winslow
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gave for the better accommodation of a neighbor- hood, was transferred to him 1649, where he lived. He d. about 1676, and Sarah, his widow, 1682. Their children, were John, b. 1649, m. Sarah -; Elizabeth, b. 1652. She was the female attendant of the distinguished Pilgrim mother, Susanna White Winslow, in her declining years; and by her the tradition of the dutiful deportment of her son Pere- grine to her has been handed down.
Samuel, b. 1655, m. Mercy, dau. of Dea. William Ford, 1680; Daniel, b. 1659, m. Experience, dau. of Thomas Tilden, 1698 ; Sarah, b. 1661, m. Benjamin Phillips, 1681; James, b. 1663, m. Mary, dau. it is believed, of Stephen Tilden ; Ephraim, b. 1667-8, a member of the emigrating party from Green Har- bor to Little Compton ; and Israel, b. 1670, m. Be- thiah Sherman, deacon of the First Church from 1734 to his decease, 1755.
John, jr., succeeded to the paternal home. He was drowned, 1699, leaving no children. The homestead was next transferred to John, eldest son of his brother Samuel, who m. Lydia Waterman, 1714. They had Zeruiah, 1714, m. James Bradford and removed to Plainfield, Conn .; Ann, b. 1717, d. early ; Anthony, b. 1719, m. Abigail Alden ; John, b. 1724; Sarah, b. 1726, m. Jeremiah Kinsman and removed to Connecticut; and Kezia, b. 1730, d. 1751.
John, son of John and Lydia Waterman Thomas, m. Hannah, dau. of Nathaniel Thomas, Esq., of
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Plymouth, a woman of intelligence and accomplish- ments, who lived to an advanced age, dying 1819, universally respected. He was a physician, having studied medicine with Dr. Tufts, of Medford, and commenced the practice of his profession in his na- tive place, Green Harbor. In a few years he removed to Kingston, near Plymouth, where he practised suc- cessfully, except when connected with the army, until his decease.
In 1746 he accompanied a body of troops to An- napolis Royal, as second surgeon. In 1755 he was appointed surgeon's-mate, in Shirley's Regiment, but soon left the medical staff and was appointed a lieutenant. In 1759 he received a Colonel's com- mission, and continued with the Provincial Army until the capitulation of Montreal, where he com- manded the Massachusetts and New Hampshire troops.
The commencement of the American revolution found Col. Thomas engaged in the practice of his medical calling, at Kingston, amid domestic happi- ness, professional distinction, and military fame. In September, 1774, a Congress of the County of Ply- mouth, was held at Plympton, and by adjournment, at Plymouth. John Thomas, Esq., was one of the delegates from Kingston, and Col. Anthony Thomas and Capt. William Thomas were the delegates from Marshfield. The resolutions then adopted were con- sidered well suited to the critical state of the times. In Provincial Congress, February, 1775, Col. Tho-
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mas was appointed one of the general officers of the army.
Previous to the battle of Lexington, the said Con- gress created the office of Lieutenant General, and appointed him thereto. Soon after the Continental Congress claimed the army at Cambridge as the army of the United Colonies, and appointed general officers to command the same. Thomas, by some precedence in dates, was not appointed the first brigadier of the army, to which command he was entitled, although he was so called in the commission. Gen. Wash- ington, in his first letter to Congress from Cambridge Camp, dated July 10, 1775, regrets the steps which had been taken in the appointment of general officers in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and writes, "Gen. Thomas is much esteemed, and most earnestly desired to continue in the service. I must join the general opinion, that he is an able and good officer, and his resignation would be a public loss."
Washington, in a letter to Gen. Schuyler, says, " The arrangement of the general officers in Massa- chusetts and Connecticut has been very unpopular and injudicious, and is returned to Congress for fur- ther consideration, and has much retarded my plan of discipline."
Congress passed a special resolve that Gen. Tho- mas should have the precedence of all the brigadiers in the army, in which decision the army and the public fully acquiesced. But previous to the decision of Congress, Thomas had withdrawn from his com-
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mand, at Roxbury, concluding that he could not, in honor, serve in an army and be commanded by those he had so recently in command. Efforts were made in various quarters to retain him in the army, which have no parallel in the military annals of this country or Europe. The first letter of solicitation was from James Warren, Speaker of the House of Represent- atives, dated Watertown, 22 July, 1775; another, under date of July 23, 1775, was from Gen. Lee, said to be the first time in his life he ever conde- scended to address any one in the language of en- treaty. Under the same date is found a long letter from Gen. Washington, soliciting, in the most forcible language, his continuance in the army, from which we make the following extracts.
After depicting eloquently the danger to his country of his retiring from its service, he says :-
" I admit, sir, that your claims and services have not had due respect ; worthy men of all nations and countries have had reason to make the same complaint ; but they nobly stifled the dictates of resentment and made their enemies ashamed of their injustice. And can America show no such instances of magnanimity ? For the sake of your bleeding country, your devoted province, your charter rights, and by the memory of those brave men who have already fallen in this great cause, I conjure you to banish from your mind every suggestion of anger and disappointment ; your country will do ample justice to your merits ; they already do it by the sorrow and regret expressed on the occasion, and the sac- rifice you are called to make, will, in the judgment of every good man and lover of his country, do you more honor than the most distinguished victory. You possess the confidence and affection of the troops of this province particularly. Before it is too late,
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I entreat, sir, you would weigh well the greatness of the stake, and upon how much smaller circumstances the fate of empires has depended. As to myself, sir, be assured I shall with pleasure do all in my power to make your situation easy and honorable, and that the sentiments here expressed flow from a clear opinion that your duty to your country, your posterity, and yourself, most ex- plicitly require your continuance in the service.
The order and rank of the commissions is under the considera- tion of the Continental Congress, whose determination will be re- ceived in a few days ; but, at all events, I shall flatter myself that the result will be your resolution to assist your country in this day of distress. That you may reap the full reward which such a conduct deserves, is the sincere wish of
Sir, You very Obedient and most humble servant, GEORGE WASHINGTON.
" The Address of the Field Officers belonging to the Camp in Roxbury.
To the Hon. JOHN THOMAS, Esq. :
SIR,-Your appointment as Lieutenant General by the Pro- vincial Congress, in consequence of which you took the supreme command in this camp, gave singular satisfaction to all acquainted with your character, both on account of your inflexible attach- ment to the liberties of your country, and your knowledge and experience in military movements ; and to your vigilance, pru- dence and skilful management is to be ascribed, in a great measure, that order and regularity for which this camp has been celebrated, and which are essentially requisite to the very being of an army. To these important services you have the purest incense to a great and good mind, the unfeigned thanks of the officers and soldiers under your immediate command, as well as of every friend to his country and the rights of mankind. We
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are penetrated with the deepest concern that, by an unfortunate concurrence of events, an arrangement is made which leads you to think that you cannot continue in the army consistent with those delicate and refined sentiments of honor which are pecu- liarly characteristic of the soldier. We would not solicit you to do anything derogatory to your reputation, or the rank you have formerly sustained ; but as no man has so much endeared himself to the regiments which compose your brigade as yourself, we earnestly request that you would assume the command of it; that vast dignity and consequence of the cause we are contending for, may be more than a counterpois to other considerations, of what nature soever, that your country may still be advantaged by your abilities ; and though mistakes are entailed to humanity, we doubt not the gratitude and justice of your countrymen will reward you in some degree adequate to your merit.
After all, we submit the matter to your Honor's decision, assur- ing you that although we shall part with you with regret, yet we will demean ourselves as becomes the soldier.
In behalf of the within mentioned officers,
THEO. COTTON, PRESIDENT.
Roxbury, July 25th, 1775."
John Thomas being an honest man, an ardent patriot, and good officer, these petitions prevailed, and he again resumed the command of the camp at Roxbury. In the battle of Bunker Hill, in June, Thomas took no direct part, although his post at Roxbury was cannonaded during the whole day of the battle, and the original plan of the British was to approach his command and take Dorchester Heights. From this time to March, 1776, Gen. Thomas commanded the most exposed camp of the besieging army at Roxbury, and by constant vigi-
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lance preserved it from insult and injury. Among his troops, composed of undisciplined countrymen, he was the first to introduce order and regularity without severity.
On Monday, the 4th of March, in the evening, Gen. Thomas took possession of Dorchester Heights, the incredible labor performed on the following night under his care and direction.
The evacuation of Boston by the British can all be found already written on the pages of our coun- try's history ; thinking, however, it may be accepta- ble to the reader, we will transcribe a letter written to his wife at this period :-
DEAR MRS. THOMAS :-
We have for some time been preparing to take possession of Dorchester Point. On last Monday night, about 7 o'clock, I marched with about three thousand picked men, beside three hundred and sixty ox-teams and some pieces of artillery. Two companies of the train of teams were laden with materials for our works. About 8 o'clock we ascended the high hills, and by day- light got two hills defensible.
About sunrise, the enemy and others in Boston appeared nu- merous on the tops of the houses and on the wharves, viewing us with astonishment, for our appearance was unexpected to them. The cannonading which had been kept up all night from our lines at Lamb's Dam, and from the enemy's lines likewise, at Lechmere's Point, now ceased from these quarters, and the enemy turned their fire towards us on the hills, but they soon found it was to little effect.
About 10 o'clock we discovered large bodies of troops embark- ing in boats with their artillery, which made a formidable appear- ance. After some time they were put on board transports, and
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several of the ships came down near the castle, as we supposed with a design to land on our shore. Our people appeared in spirits to receive them. We were now in a good posture of de- fence, and had two thousand men added to our number. The enemy viewed us critically, and remained in that situation that night. The next day they came to sail, and returned to town and landed their troops. On Friday, about 2 o'clock, P. M., they sent a flag of truce, with a paper, a copy of which I enclose.
I have had but very little sleep or rest this week, being closely employed night and day. But now I think we are well secured. I write in haste, thinking you may be anxious to hear, as there is much firing this way. We lost but two men killed in all this affair. How things are in Boston, or what loss they have sustained from our shot and shells, at present we are not informed; but I am sensible we distressed them much, from appearances. I have wrote you enclosed by the same hand, and am in haste,
JNO. THOMAS.
Dorchester Hills, in a small hut, March 9, 1776.
Your son John is well and in high spirits. He ran away from Oakely privately ; on Tuesday morning got by the sentries and came to me on Dorchester Hills, where he has been most of the time since.
The disobedient son John, left on Monday even- ing at Roxbury, in charge of his colored servant Oakely, was the late Col. Thomas of Kingston, and was then but ten years of age, and fearless by the side of George Washington and John Thomas did he stand in those days of danger.
Gen. Thomas, while in his proud command at Dorchester, was promoted and appointed by Congress to a more important station, viz., Major General of the troops led into Canada by Montgomery and
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Arnold. A letter from Congress, written by John Adams, to him, under date of March 7th, 1776, says :-
" The delegates from your native province were much embar- rassed between a desire to have you promoted and placed in so honorable a command on the one hand, and a reluctance of losing your services at Roxbury or Cambridge on the other. But all agree you ought to be placed where you could do the most service, and Canada was thought by some the most important post in America."
After the British army had left his native province, Gen. Thomas took his departure for Canada. With great exertion, and worn down with the fatigues of a long march through an unsettled country, he reached the camp on the 1st of May. The army then consisted of but two thousand, and the small pox was raging in their midst, medicines and neces- saries for the sick were wanting, and not more than nine hundred men were fit for service. He was well aware an attack from the British might be expected, and on the 5th he called a council of war, who determined they were not in a condition to risk an assault, and that the sick should be removed to Three Rivers. On the 8th he wrote the intelligence to Gen. Washington of his having raised the siege of Quebec and commenced his retreat.
They proceeded to De Chambeau, where another council of war was held, when it was agreed to retreat to the mouth of the river Sorel. While here, anxiously awaiting reinforcements, he was attacked
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by small pox, of which he deceased, 2 June, 1776. In his professional life he had been familiar and successful with the disorder, yet had never taken it by inoculation or otherwise.
His perfect collection and soundness of mind, to the close of his last sickness, was noticed by all his attendants, among which was the late Judge Joshua Thomas, of Plymouth, then one of his aids. In his person he was six feet high, erect and well pro- portioned, and in appearance was commanding. In his manners affable and of unaffected sincerity. He never lessened his character or martial fame by arrogance or ostentation. Granting to all the ap- plause due to their merit, he enjoyed that due to himself with universal assent.
The remains of this beloved son of Green Harbor and of Liberty are resting on the frontiers of our country in an unrecorded grave.
" He, midst the forests of our land, By a dark stream was laid; The Indian knew his place of rest, Far in the cedar shade."
MRS. HEMANS.
Thomaston, Me., incorporated 1777, was named in honor of Gen. John Thomas.
John Thomas, Esq., of Irvington, N. Y., is grand- son of Gen. Thomas, from whom, in pamphlet form, the materials for this memoir were received.
John Thomas, sen., was, it is supposed, from Wales.
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SAMPSON.
Paul Sampson, a descendant of the Mayflower Pilgrims, Henry Sampson and Miles Standish re- moved from Duxbury to Marshfield about the middle of the last century. He had Sylvia, Olive, Caleb, Luther, Chandler, b. 1768, Calvin, b. 1770, Proc- tor, 1772, and Martin, 1776.
Luther removed to Readfield, Maine, where he founded the Wesleyan Seminary at Kent's Hill. This locality was first settled by three young men from Marshfield, viz .: Nathaniel Ford, Nathaniel Thomas, and Nathaniel Kent; this last named soon deceased, and this far known place was named in respect to his memory.
SOMERS.
John Somers lived on the farm west from the par- sonage. His wife was Elizabeth. They had Eliz- abeth, b. 1686 ; John, b. 1688; Mary, b. 1691 ; and Nathan, 1693. This family removed to Rochester, Mass. Dea. Israel Thomas was the succeeding owner of this estate, in whose family it remained for three successive generations. 3 It is now the country residence of John T. Dingley, Esq., of Bos- ton. The house standing thereon was erected by Dea. Israel Thomas, enlarged by his son, Dea. Nehe- miah, a man of sterling worth in the township, who rendered invaluable service in the American revolu-
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