Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 28

Author: Borden, Alanson, 1823-1900; Boston History Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 1399

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts > Part 28

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The first record of the bridge erected across the Great River at the Neck of Land is the following under date of July, 1667:

The Court allowed the sum of ten pounds, toward the building of a bridge over Taunton river.

This gives us approximately the date of the building of the first bridge. Under date of 1688 is found the following :

To John Crossman for repairing dra brig 01 15 00.

This shows that the first bridge had a draw, but the whole structure was doubtless primitive in character and rude in construction. In later years when vessels of sixty tons were built on the banks of Taun-

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ton River, a bridge of higher elevation and wider draw was demanded. The last draw bridge was removed in the early years of the century, the draw having been useless for a number of years, and was replaced by a wooden bridge, supported by a stone pier in the center; this re- mained until another wooden bridge was built in 1847, and this was re- placed by the present structure.

The bridge at the Weir is mentioned in a petition dated May, 1697, to the General Court for assistance in rebuilding and supporting a bridge in the southern part of Taunton. It was voted upon the petition, "That the bridge be supported according to former usage." A petition of the following year would indicate that the bridge needed entire re- building, which was accomplished at a cost of £80, half of which was paid by Taunton and half by Freetown, Tiverton, Little Compton and Dartmouth. 1

All the various bridges of this town cannot be noticed in these pages. One of the first ones in Taunton was probably over Mill River at Co- hannet street. There are reasons for believing that the Washington street bridge was the next. The lower bridge over Three-Mile River and Fisher's bridge were built prior to 1700; Morey's bridge and the bridges at Whittenton were undoubtedly also erected before the begin- ning of that century.2

This chapter will be closed with some further reference to the various industries established by the inhabitants of Taunton before the year 1700, aside from their occupation in clearing and tilling land. It was at the falls in Mill River, near the present Cohannet street, where the first dam was built to supply power to the grist mill and saw mill already noticed. The dam was probably built in 1639-40. There is reason to believe that this water power had considerable influence in the found- ing of a village around that point. An ancient document, dated in 1711, which was signed by one hundred and seven inhabitants of Taun- ton, states :

We have heard and some of us our fathers have told, that the very reason of building our town where it is, was that small river to set our grist mill on and there hath been one from the beginning of the town.

1 It is not known how many different bridges have been built at the Weir; it is believed they all contained a draw. The present iron bridge was raised considerably above the level of the wooden bridge replaced by it and the roadways also raised to correspond.

2 The freshet of 1886 carried away and damaged so many bridges in the town on Mill River, that an appropriation of $60,000 was made to replace and repair them. Several new iron bridges were then built which are still in use. There are at the present time between eighty and ninety bridges in the town, eleven of which are iron.

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THE CITY OF TAUNTON.

Thomas Linkon (as the name was then spelled) was the first miller, and became owner of the mill lot in 1649; he continued proprietor of the mill about thirty-three years, when he died, and his sons, John and Samuel, took possession of it. In 1688-9 Robert Crosman purchased the property for £60. In the same year the dam and mill were re- built and a fulling mill added at a cost of £160. These mills became well known as Crosman's mills, and continued in use until 1823, when they gave place to others that will be described in a later chapter de- voted to manufactures in the town. The fulling mill stood near the grist mill site as late as 1812, and was occupied by John Sturtevant; there Dea. Roswell Ballard commenced business before he converted Sproat's snuff mill into a fulling mill on Spring street. The saw mill built at this point has been noticed.

The need of a resident blacksmith was, of course, felt in the settle- ment at an early date, and efforts were successful to induce one to lo- cate in the place. Some £6 or £8 was contributed to "the smith " to pay his expenses, and Thomas Gilbert "in his good will tendered a certain lot sometimes called the lot of John Gingell upon terms viz. : three score bushells of good Indian corn." "Mr. Wilbar" also ten- dered the town a lot on certain terms, all for the benefit of the incom- ing blacksmith.

Preliminary steps were taken to establish iron works in Taunton in October, 1652, as shown in the following :

It was at a town meeting conferred and agreed upon between the inhabitants of Taunton and Henry Leonard of Braintree:

Imprimis, It was agreed and granted by the town to Henry and James Leonard, his brother, and Ralph Russell, free consent to come hither and join with certain of our inhabitants to set up a Bloomery Work on the Two Mile River.

Henry and James Leonard were skilled iron workers from Wales and had already been employed in Braintree by the Winthrop Company. As further inducement to secure the founding of the works in Taunton the town granted the company the "woods on either side of the river, to cut for their cord wood and make coals, and also to dig and take moine ore at Two Mile Meadow, or in any of the commons appertain- ing to the town." A stock company was thereupon formed and the Leonard Brothers and Russell came from Braintree probably soon after the suspension of the works there in 1653. There is no record to show that Henry Leonard or Mr. Russell were engaged in the new com- pany, although they had land set off to them "as encouragement."

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

The number of men in the company was forty four, and two women- "Miss E. Pole, Jane Pole." These persons contributed from £5 to £20 each for quarter, half and whole shares. The construction of the dam across Two Mile River, and bringing from across the ocean of the heavy machinery for the works, occupied considerable time, and the first iron was not produced until 1656. In that year John Turner was " working ye forge." The product for several years was small. In 1660 the works were leased to George Hall, Hezekiah Hoar and Fran- cis Smith, who took into partnership thirteen others, most of whom were residents of Taunton. The works continued in operation with fair success until King Philip's war, when the record says, "many coals burned in the woods." In the next year the works were garrisoned and work went on with varying profit to the shareholders.

During this period a most remarkable financial condition ensued. Specie in the colony was very scarce, very little being coined for many years; no Bank of England notes were in circulation, and the first paper money issued in Massachusetts did not appear until 1690, and then in small quantity. Under these circumstances bar iron manu- factured at the Taunton works became an accepted medium of ex- change and entered largely into daily commercial transactions. An old ledger kept by Thomas Leonard, who was for thirty years manager of the works, has been discovered and contains many pages showing how iron was used in place of money. The first entry of this nature is the following :

Ensigne Thos. Leonard, please pay to Bar: Tipping nine shillings & three pence in iron as money: from yr friend, Richard Williams.

Taunton 16: 1st 1685-86.

There are scores of similar entries, varying in amount from a few shillings to several hundred pounds of iron. The school master, Mr. Greene, was paid "four shillings more in iron, as money " in 1684; the mother of Thomas Williams was paid "three hundred & half a qur. of iron which is part of ye price of ye ox" sold; Elizabeth Gilbert, a "late servant mayd" of Samuel Danforth, was paid by order, "the sum of thirty shillings in iron at 18sh. per Cent." etc. These orders and payments might be indefinitely prolonged, but the foregoing will indicate the peculiar business conditions of that period.

Shareholders in the old works received, from 1683 to 1691, on each share from £2 4s. to £4 8s. each year. During the ten years next prior

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THE CITY OF TAUNTON.

to 1700 the average received on half shares was £1 2s. In later years there was a gradual decline. 1

In the year 1666 James Leonard, sr., who had been connected with the Taunton iron works, saw an opportunity for another forge on Mill River and purchased ten acres of land with water privilege of William Hailstone. He made a contract with George Macey, giving him rights to build a dam connected with Macey's lands, and built a " forge or

bloomerie with one hearth " called the "Whittington Forge."" Asso- ciated with James Leonard were his sons Joseph, Benjamin, and Uriah, and the works were in operation in 1678. They also built and operated a grist mill at that point. The ore for these works was obtained from "Scadding's Moire," meadows of Watson's Pond and along up to Win- neconnet. James Leonard, sr., died in 1691 and the property passed to his heirs, who successfully conducted the business until 1805, the works having passed to possession of Samuel Leonard, youngest son of Judge Zephaniah Leonard, in 1789. In 1805 Samuel Crocker, Thomas Bush and Charles Richmond, who had been assistant clerks of Samuel Leonard in the Whittington and the Hopewell works, leased the water

power at Whittington. In 1810 they bought the grist mill, then owned by Lee Leonard, son of Jonathan, with fifty acres of land, for $4,000. The new lessees built a nail mill, where nails were cut by crude ma- chines and headed by hand by farmers and others near by. Improved machinery that completed the nail was invented within a few years. In 1807 they added a story to the nail mill and put in machines for spinning cotton yarn, which was woven by housewives on the domestic

1 The remainder of the history of these early works may be briefly told. Capt. Thomas Leon- ard, after many years of successful management, was succeeded in 1713 by his son, Dea. Samuel Leonard ; he died in 1745, after thirty-two years of service, and was followed by his son, Dea. Samuel Leonard, jr., who became the owner of many shares. He died in 1749, after only five years' service, leaving a large incumbrance on the property and declining stock. Dea. Elijah Leonard, who had been in the Chartley works, succeeded his brother as elerk and manager, and soon afterward built the mansion a little east of the forge ; he remained in charge until 1777; but for twenty years the shares depreciated in value, owing to increased cost of coal and declining production of good ore, and growing competition at other points. The works finally hardly met expenses and the ineumbrance resulted in the sale of a large portion of the shares to Dea. George Leonard, of Middleborough, brother of Dea. Elijah, who, in 1770, sold 712 sixteenths to Josiah Dean for 690; in 1777 Mr. Dean became sole owner and converted the bar iron forge into a rolling mill and nail works, and also made copper bolts for ship builders. After about forty years of management of the works he died and his son, Josiah, succeeded for a few years, when another son, Eliab B. Dean, took the plant. In 1825 he changed the nail works into an anchor forge. Heavy iron manufacture was carried on by him and his son and successor, Theodore Dean, for about forty years, when the works were suspended in 1876. It should be stated that on the division of Taunton, in 1731, creating Raynham, these works were included in the new town.

? This is the origin of the name, Whittenton, as now in legal use.

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looms. Both the nail mill and the yarn factory were burned in 1811 and a cotton mill was built on the site. Mr. Bush died in 1817 and the remaining partners imported patterns and made looms for weaving the first fine cotton cloth in the vicinity. Another nail mill was built on the east bank of the dam, where Elisha Gilmore was in charge and Albert Field, Warren Burbank and others learned the trade. The mill passed cut of existence nearly seventy years ago, leaving the site for the great works of the Whittenton Mills Company, noticed in a later chapter.

Other iron industries were established at about the beginning of the last century, but will be left to the chapter devoted to manufactures.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE CITY OF TAUNTON IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

After the close of Queen Anne's war in 1713, as noticed in the pre- ceding chapter, the inhabitants of New England were not left long at peace. Indian depredations began on the frontier in 1720 and con- tinued until 1723 and war was declared; but fortunately it was of brief duration and peace was signed at Boston. A company was organized for this campaign in which William Canady (or Kennedy) was the only Taunton soldier enrolled. He was promoted from ensign to lieutenant, and again to captain, and in the later war commanded the Fifth Foot Company of Taunton.

For about twenty years peace was maintained, when again, in 1744, hostilities between France and England were renewed and Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, took prompt and effective action against the enemy. Louisburg was captured in the spring of 1745 and other Eng- lish successes led to the peace of 1748. Existing records indicate that "Captain Canady," before mentioned, commanded a company in the Third Regiment of Bristol county, which company was largely made up of Taunton men.

The peace treaty of 1748 was impotent to remove existing subjects of controversy between England and France. Vast areas of territory in America were still claimed by both powers and the maintenance of peace was impossible under the circumstances. In 1749 provincial

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THE CITY OF TAUNTON.

troops were sent to the northern frontier. Attached to this force was a troop of horse from Taunton comprising thirty three men and twelve officers; Zephaniah Leonard was in command.

A temporary peace was broken in 1754, and what is known as the French and Indian war continued until 1762. In the records of the first year of this prolonged war is found the following :

Company in His Majesties service employed for the defence of the Eastern front- iers under command of Thomas Cobb, Captain. Jonathan Carver, 1st Lieut., Rich- ard Cobb, 2d Lieut., Samuel Andrews, 3d Lieut., Josias Winslow, Ensign.

Besides three sergeants, a trumpeter and a clerk, this company in- cluded thirty-four men. Its term of service was about six months.

In the campaign of 1755 Capts. Nathaniel Gilbert and Job Smith both commanded companies, and in the second expedition to Crown Point in that year Capt. Richard Godfrey was in command of a com- pany, most of whom were from Taunton. A journal of the campaign of this company is in existence and is owned by Elmer Dean Robinson.1

Throughout the years 1756-7 the records show that Taunton men were conspicuous in the military operations of the English. Col. Eph- raim Leonard was in command of a regiment; Capt. James Andrews of a company, while returns are shown from Capt. Joseph Hodges of ten men; Capt. Samuel Thacher of one; Capt. Benjamin Williams of seven; Capt. Joel Bradford of ten, and in a later return of seven; Capt. Joseph Hall of six. In the campaign of 1758 among the militia drafted from Massachusetts were a few from Taunton. Capt. Richard Cobb, of Taunton, enlisted a company of Taunton soldiers in 1758, to serve in Col. Timothy Ruggles's regiment. In 1759 companies of thirty or more men were enrolled under Capt. Philip Walker, Capt. Job Winslow, Capt. Samuel Glover, and smaller numbers under other officers. In 1760 Capt. Thomas Cobb's company had fifteen men cred- ited to Taunton; Capt. John Williams, nine men besides himself; Capt. Ebenezer Cox, sixteen men, and smaller numbers with other officers. All of which goes to show that patriotism in this town was not wanting in the old days.

The part taken by Bristol county in the war of the Revolution has been adequately described in earlier chapters of this work. Taunton was foremost among the various towns of the county in that conflict from the time of the signing of the Port Bill in the fall of 1774, to the

1 See Emery's History of Taunton, pp. 419-21.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

close of the struggle. In October, 1774, a flag was unfurled at the top of a liberty pole on Taunton training field. The commissioned offi- cers of the Third Regiment met on the 9th of November and by vote divided the regiment into the East and the West divisions, Taunton being in the East division, with eleven companies of troops, seven of which were in Taunton, under command respectively of Capts. Na- thaniel Leonard, Simeon Williams, John Reed, Israel Dean 2d, Cor- nelius White, James Leonard and Ebenezer Dean. The following quaint memoranda is from the records of the regiment:

On Monday ye 21st day of November, 1774, the East Division of ye 3d Regiment in ye County of Bristol met at Taunton and Drawed up in a Battalion in Captain Toms Cobbs Shed Lot [now the post-office square] so called by ye Adjutant Major Abijah Hodges in manner hereafter described, viz.

A description of the formation of the battalion on that occasion fol- lows in the record. A plan of the formation shows a troop of horse, but no such soldiers are mentioned. Under date of February 20, 1775, there is a record of the formation by " the several foot Companeys in Taunton " of "three companies of Minnit Men," as recommended by the Provincial Congress. These proceedings clearly show the patriotic activity of the town in the early days of the Revolution. When the message came calling for minute men, these companies marched to Roxbury on the 20th of April, 1775. In the same month the call for troops was made under which Massachusetts was to furnish 13, 600 men, and a regiment was at once raised in Bristol county, under command of Col. Timothy Walker, of which one company was from Taunton, commanded by Capt. Oliver Soper. Many other separate enlistments were made at that time.

In the spring of 1776, when the militia of the county was reorgan- ized, Col. George Godfrey, of Taunton, was promoted to brigadier- general, and other officers were chosen in several of the towns, as de- scribed in earlier pages. From that time forward to the close of the war every quota of Taunton was promptly filled. Among the organ- izations prominently mentioned in the records are found companies in which were more or less Taunton men, commanded by Capts. Mat- thew Randall, Joshua Wilbore, Thomas Carpenter, Robert Crossman, Zebedee Redding, Edward Blake, Noah Dean, Ebenezer Dean, Samuel Fales (a company of matrosses), Isaac Thayer, Josiah King, James Macomber, Peletiah Eddy, Josiah Crocker, Jacob Haskins, and several others in whose organizations a few men of this town were enlisted.

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THE CITY OF TAUNTON.

The list of Revolutionary pensioners of the town includes one hundred and thirty-six names.

When peace was finally secured in the triumph of the American col- onies over the mother country, it was maintained until the war of 1812, with the exception of the short-lived outbreak known as Shays's rebel- lion, of which Taunton was the immediate scene. This fool-hardy en- terprise has been described in earlier pages of this volume.

Towards the close of the seventeenth century considerable apprehen- sion began to be felt regarding titles to lands. There had been con- troversies with adjoining towns as to boundaries, and some of them were not yet settled. Various votes were passed in Taunton and com- mittees appointed to obtain a confirmatory deed from the governor. For example :

This 8th of January, 1683. The town hath by vote chosen John Hathaway, senior, and John Richmond to go abroad to procure evidence for the strengthening and fur- ther confirmation of our township.

This 6th of July, 1685. The town hath voted and agreed to choose two men to send to the Court at Plymouth to do their best endeavor to procure the confirmation of our township as it is already drawn up by the selectmen and by some others. The men chosen is John Hathaway, senior, and Thomas Leonard.

There were alleged encroachments on the part of Bridgewater, and on May 16, 1686, a committee was appointed to investigate the matter. In the following October action was taken regarding the two miles that had been claimed by Swansea people. These efforts to obtain a further confirmatory deed from the government continued down to 1690. On the 8th of July, 1689, it was voted to give Major Bradford £20 for his release and confirmation, and voted to make a rate of £25, the extra £5 to defray charges. " Lieutenant Macey, James Walker, sr., George Gooding, William Harvey and Thomas Leonard were a com- mittee to proportion what each man should pay, including proprietors in the old township, the North and South Purchases, and Assonet Neck.

On the 20th of February, 1690-91, the town acted with reference to obtaining a charter for this colony, and expressed its readiness to pay a proper portion of the cost; but all efforts failed, and that year was the last of the existence of the Plymouth Colony.

The number of innabitants in Taunton increased largely during the eighteenth century; farms were cleared of the forest; many new in- dustries were founded, and commerce with other points increased. The public affairs of the town were administered by conscientious and usually

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

able men, to the best of their ability; though sometimes in the face of considerable friction. The division of the town into precincts already referred to, was a subject which created a great deal of dissension in the first quarter of the century, culminating in 1727 in the building of the meeting-house, before described. After a presentation of a petition, of the inhabitants of the westerly part of the town for a precinct, a remonstrance was issued on December 25, 1727, signed by one hundred and sixty four persons, which begins with the following strong lan- guage:

We, the subscribers (and many others) inhabitants of Taunton in the several parts thereof, humbly offer that we are greatly surprised to hear, that notwithstanding God's awful and striking providences, and especially that awful and threatening stroke in removing from us by death our aged, honored, and beloved pastor, the Rev. Mr. Samuel Danforth, some of our neighbors are making this dark and difficult hour an opportunity to carry on a very dangerous, unhappy design, going from house to house, persuading people to sign a petition or petitions to this Hon. Court to divide our aged town into precincts, which must needs tend to our utter confusion and ruin; obstructing our building a new meeting house, which our town has sol- emnly voted to do.

The meeting-house was built under town proceedings of November 21, 1726, as follows;

Whereas on the aforesaid day it was voted by the Town of Taunton that they will build a new meeting house and to stand within three or four rods of the old meeting- house.

2d Voted that the new meeting-house shall be fifty six foot in length, forty six foot wide and twenty seven foot stud this to be the bigness and proportion of said house. 3d Voted that Capt. John Andrews, Capt. Samuel Williams, and Mr. Nathaniel Crossman be a committee to build and finish the new meeting-house now voted.

4th Voted that the money agreed upon by said town to repair the old meeting- house or at least that part thereof not yet laid out, also what any particular person have obliged himself to pay in repairing our public meeting-house, that is now in- debted to said town, be laid out in building of a new one now voted.

The sum of £300 was then voted for the cost of erecting the house.

The old meeting-house was used as a town hall until 1746, when the court house was erected. In relation to building a new meeting-house in 1726, and the reason why one was needed, the following from the records is interesting :

Nov. 21, 1726. After a long debate the house divided; the people were drawn out of doors and standing in two files were numbered by Justice Williams, the moderator, this in order to get a voat for the new meeting house. The moderator with some others returned into the meeting house and sent for a candle, and proceeded to pass a vote for the bigness of said house.

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THE CITY OF TAUNTON.

Great harts of people in Taunton are kept in awe and subjection to the center people as is supposed by being indebted to them, and dare not appear personally to voat, as they do by paper, which is a privalidge many times denyed to them, and when they are allowed to voat by paper there is a list of their names drawn, and no man to voat in town affairs until his name be called, and if his voat be offered before he be called, it is thrown by, which I think has provoked some so much that they have not voated at all, and when there has been a center man called, or those who have promised to voat for it it has been observed to be a customary thing, if he be not ready at the first call, to call again and again, until he can be found if possible he be any where neare or in the house; but if a skirts man be not ready at the first call he may take his chance.

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Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 28

Author: Borden, Alanson, 1823-1900; Boston History Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Company Number of Pages: 1399

Author: Borden, Alanson, 1823-1900; Boston History Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 1399