Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 3

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 3

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Following this important action, the records contain the following list of names with the register of their lands; many of these have al- ready been mentioned, but there are also many new ones, who became settlers somewhere in the territory of the towns into which Rehoboth was afterwards divided:

Mr.1 Alexander Winchester, Robert Morris,

Thomas Hett,

Mr. Howard,

John Matthewes,

John Allin,

Peter Hunt,

John Fitch,

John Meggs,

William Chesborough,

Robert Titus,

William Sabin,

Ralph Allin,

George Kendricke,

Henry Smith,

John Holbrooke,

Robert Sharp,

Zachary Roades,

John Peram,

Thomas Bliss,

Edward Gilman, sr.,

The Schoolmaster,

The Pastor,

Thomas Clifton,

Matthew Pratt,

Stephen Paine,

Joseph Torrey,

William Carpenter,

Edward Smith,

Widow Walker,

Samuel Butterworth,

James Clarke,

Richard Ingram (now Ingra-

Edward Patteson,

William Smith,

James Browne,

The Governour,

ham), The Teacher,

Richard Bowen,

Edward Bennett,

Thomas Loring,

Mr. Samuel Newman,

Obadiah Holmes,

Ralph Shepherd,

Mr. Peck,

Mr. John Browne,

John Reade,

Abraham Martin,

Thomas Cooper,

John Miller,

John Sutton,

Thomas Holbrooke,

Richard Wright.

The date of the registry of Robert Fuller's land was not until 1652.

Meetings of the inhabitants continued to be regularly held and such orders were passed as seemed necessary for the regulation of town af- fairs. On the 16th of March, 1645, it was agreed "that all the fence in the general field shall be fenced by the 23d of the present month;" a penalty was attached to neglect of this work. On the same day Mr. Browne, Stephen Payne, Mr. Henry Smith, Robert Martin, Thomas Cooper, William Carpenter, and Edward Smith were named as "towns- men" for one year. On the same day the town was ordered divided in- to two parts "for the making of the foot bridges and the keeping of them, and the highways leading to them to be done by the whole town."

On the 9th of June, 1645, " lots were drawn for the great plain, be- ginning upon the west side; and he that is first upon the west side shall be last upon the east." Fifty-eight persons drew these lots, who

1 The title "Mr." in early times carried with it considerable honor, and was not indiscrimi- nately applied, as at present.

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

were nearly the same as given in the preceding list of those who drew the original shares. Again on the 18th of February, 1646, another drawing was made " for the new meadow, and to be divided according to person and estate, only those who were under £150 estate to be made up to £150." Forty-six lots were drawn, the list containing the names of Nicholas Ide, Ademia Morris, James Redwaie, Robert Abell, John Dogget, that have not before appeared.

At a town meeting held June 22, 1658, lots were drawn "for the meadows that lie on the north side of the town." In the list of forty- nine persons who drew these lots appear a few names, among them Thomas Wilmoth (Wilmarth), Robert Wheaton, John Millard, jr., and John Millard, sr., Richard Bullock, Anthony Perry, Daniel Smith, Nicholas Peck, Rice Leonard, Robert Jones, Francis Stevens, John Woodcock, Edward Hall, Roger Amadowne, Will. Bucklin.

Finally and to complete these numerous lists of the pioneers of old Rehoboth, we have the following names "of the inhabitants and proprie- tors of the Towne of Rehoboth having Rights and Titles to the Meas- uages, Tenements and Lands contained in the quit-claim deed of William Bradford to the town of Rehoboth, which hath been reade and allowed in a full Towne Meeting, February the 7th, 1689:"

Mr. Samuel Angier,

John Redway,

Joseph Peck, jun'r,

Decon Thomas Cooper,

Sam'l Carpenter, John Tittus,

Hezekiah Pecke, .

Joseph Peck, sen'r,

Richard Bowen,

John ffitch,

Samuell Tittus,

Thomas Bowen, sen'r,

John Woodcock, sen'r,

Joseph Tittus,

John Marten,

Serj. Thomas Reade,

John Carpenter,

Jonah Palmer, jun'r,

George Kenricke,

Thomas Grant,

Samuel Cooper,

Nichollas Ide, sen'r,

John Willmath,

Nathaniell Perry,

George Robinson, sen'r,

Samuel Blise, Jonathan Blise,

John Daggett, Thomas Cooper,

Robert Wheaton,

Richard Martin,

Joseph Buckland,

Joseph Daggett,

John Peren,

Samuell Paine,

Nathaniell Daggett,

Jonathan ffuller, sen'r, Enoch Hunt,

Joseph Browne,

Nathaniell Whitaker,

John Hunt, Ephrahim Hunt,

William Carpenter, jr., Isack Allen, Thomas Willmath, jr., John Woodcock, jun'r, Iserall Woodcock, Thomas Woodcock,

Eprahim Wheaton, Abiah Carpenter, James Carpenter, Samson Mason, Joseph Mason,

Rice Leonard,

Sam'1 Butterworth,

Joseph Buckland, jun'r,

Baruk Buckland,

Philip Walker, ffrancis Stevens, sen'r, John Ormsby, Nathaniel Chaffee,

Jonathan Woodcock, Samuel Newman, jr., John Kinsley,

Silas Titus,

Nath. Paine,"jun'r,

FROM 1637 TO 1685.

Samuel Sabin,

Timothy Ide,

William Robenson, Josiah Carpenter,

Serj. Preserved Able,

Jonathan ffuller, jun.,

Daniell Reade,

Jeremiah Wheaton,

ffrancis Stevens, jun'r,

Israll Reade,

John Shawe,

Richard Bowen, jun'r,

James Sabin,

Joseph Sabine,

Joseph Millerd,

John Sabin,

Richard Whiteaker,

Benjamin Millerd,

Noah Sabin,

Samuel Bullock,

John Bowen,

The Hieres of Thomas Ken- Thomas Ormsby, rick, Thomas Man,

Samuel Robinson,

Robert Millerd, sen'r,

David ffuller,

Mosses Reade,

Mr. Henry Sweeting,

John Jenkins,

Mr. Christopher Sanders,

Jathniell Peck,

John Jonson,

Jonah Palmer, sen'r,

Joshua Smith,

Daniell Shepard, sen.,

Samuell Palmer,

John Smith,

David ffreeman,

Noah Mason,

Richard Evens,

James Wilson,

Samuell Mason,

James Thurber,

James Welch,

Nicholas Ide, jun'r,

Sam'l Bowen,

John Bullock,

Sam'l Millerd, sen'r,

Jonathan Willmath,

John Callender,

Sam'l Millerd, jr.,

John ffrench,

John Bartlet's heires.

John Hall,

Joseph Borsworth,

Orphans.

Daniell Sabin, son of Nehemiah Sabin,

John ffuller,

Abiall ffuller,

Benjamin Paine,

Samuell ffuller, The Heires of Robert George Robinson, Jr.,

The Heires of Eldad Kins- Joanes,

Isake Mason, Thomas Bowen.

ley,

At a town meeting held December 10, 1650, the county rate was agreed upon and also it was voted "to have a convenient way, four rods wide (to be made by Edward Smith), to be for the town's use or any that shall have occasion to pass from town to Providence, or to Mr. Blackstone's."

There were already complaints from the Indians, and at a town meet- ing held March 15, 1651, it was agreed that Peter Hunt should accom- pany Mr. Browne to Plymouth to make agreement about the Indian complaints. In that year Stephen Payne and Richard Bowen were chosen deputies for the Plymouth Court; Walter Palmer and Peter Hunt, grandjurymen; William Smith and John Read, surveyors of highways.

At a meeting held December 12, 1653, it was voted " that the price of

Thomas Cooper and Na- Jonathan Carpenter, thaniel Cooper, sons of David Carpenter, Nath. Cooper, Sollomon Carpenter,

The Heires of Benjamin Zacheriah Carpenter, Buckland, Abraham Carpenter,

Benjamin Robinson,

David Newman,

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

corn should be 5s. ; wheat 5s .; rye 4s .; and Indian corn 3s. (provided that the corn be current and merchantable corn.")

On June 26th, 1655, it was agreed in town meeting "that Mr. New- man, our teacher, should have fifty pounds a year, and those seven men whose names are hereto appended were chosen a committee for the levying of a rate according to person and estate for the raising of said maintenance." The men were Joseph Peck, Thomas Cooper, Richard Bowen, Stephen Payne, Robert Martin, Peter Hunt, William Sabin. This Rev. Samuel Newman founded, very soon after his ar- rival in Rehoboth, what is now the First Congregational Church in. East Providence, and the General Court granted £250 for building a meeting-house; of this sum they relinquished {50 to aid in building the church at Palmer's River, on three acres of land given by Jethniel Peck, Capt. Samuel Peck, and Jonathan Bliss. The church was not built or organized until 1721, the society then comprising ten members.

The original Rehoboth (or Seacunk), remained territorially intact until 1667, when a division took place, caused, as very many early ones were, by religious differences; this resulted in the withdrawal of a party of Baptists from Parson Newman's church and the founding of the First Baptist Church in Swansea, and the later incorporation of the town, as set forth in the following documents :

Whereas, Liberty hath been formerly granted by the Court of jurisdiction of New Plymouth, unto Capt. Thomas Willett and his neighbors of Wannomoisett, to be- come a township there if they should see good, and that lately the said Capt. Willett and Mr. Myles, and others, their neighbors, have requested of the Court that they may be a township there or near thereabout, and likewise to have granted unto them such parcells of land as might be accommodate thereunto not disposed of to other Townships; this Court have granted unto them all such lands that lyeth between the Salt water Bay and coming up Taunton River (viz.), all the Land between the Salt water and river and the bounds of Taunton and Rehoboth not prejudicing any man's particular interest, and forasmuch as Rehoboth hath meadow lands within the line of Wannamoisett, and Wannamoisett hath lands within the line of Rehoboth, lying near the south line of Rehoboth-if the two townships cannot agree about them amongst themselves, the Court reserves it within their power to determine any such controversy.

1667, March. The Court hath appointed Captaine Willett, Mr. Paine, Senr., Mr. Brown, John Allen, and John Butterworth, to have the trust of admittance of Town Inhabitants into the said town, and to have the disposal of the Land therein, and ordering of other the affairs of said Town. The Court doe Allow and Approve that the Township Granted unto Capt. Willett and others, his neighbors, at Wannamoi- sett and parts adjacent, shall henceforth be called and known by the name of Swan- sea.

FROM 1637 TO 1685.

The township of Swansea, thus granted, originally included what are now the towns of Somerset, Barrington, and a large part of Warren, R. I .; the two latter became a part of Rhode Island when the bounds between that State and Massachusetts were fixed. In 1669 a tract of land called Papasquash Neck, with the exception of one hundred acres, was annexed to Swansea, and on August 11, 1670, the bounds between Rehoboth and Swansea were finally fixed. On November 1, 1679, the bounds between Swansea and Mount Hope were fixed.

Shortly after the granting of the township, Capt. Thomas Willett made three proposals to his associates regarding admission of settlers, as follows:

1. That no erroneous person be admitted into the township as an inhabitant or sojourner.

2. That no man of any evill behaviour or contentious persons to be admitted.

3, That none may be admitted that may become a charge to the place.

These proposals were replied to by the assembled church, specif- ically and in detail, defining the meaning of each proposition. In brief, the inhabitants explained that none who were not heretics, or who would not deny the magistrates' power to punish evil doers, or refuse to keep the Sabbath and support the church, should be excluded. This reply was signed by John Myles, pastor, and John Butterworth, and was accepted and ratified. Thereupon the following proceedings took place :

At a town meeting lawfully warned, on the two and twentieth day of the twelfth month, commonly called February, in the year of our Lord 1669, it is ordered that all persons that are or shall be admitted inhabitants within this town, shall subscribe to the three proposals above written, to the severall conditions and explanations therein expressed before any lot of land be confirmed to them or any of them.

We, whose names are hereunder written, do freely, upon our admission to be in- . habitants of this town of Swansea, assent to the above written agreement, made be- tween the church now meeting here, at Swansea, & Capt. Thomas Willett & his as- sociates, as the sd agreement is specified & declared in the three proposalls afore written, with the several conditions & explanations thereof concerning the present & future settlement of this town. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed.

This was signed by fifty-five persons. From that time forward town meetings continued to be held and the usual regulations for the simple government of the community were established. From the records of town proceedings prior to the erection of Bristol county, the following is taken:

At a Town-meeting Lawfully warned y" 19th of May, 1670, John Myles, junr., is

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

chosen Clerk for this present year. John Allen, senr., is chosen Deputy, Nath1. Chafy constable, Samuel Luther grandjuryman, Benj. Alby waywarden, for the en- suing year.

Mr. James Brown, Nicholas Tanner, and John Allen, sen., were chosen selectmen for ye ensuing year.

At a Town-meeting Lawfully warned on ye 11th of May 1671, Mr. James Brown was chosen Deputy, and Hugh Cole grandjuryman, and John Martin Constable. Nathaniel Peck, Joseph Carpenter, and Zechariah Eddy were chosen waywardens. Mr. James Brown, Hugh Cole, and Samuel Luther were chosen selectmen.

At a Town-meeting lawfully warned November ye 8th, 1671, John Allen, Snr., Hugh Cole, Nicholas Tanner, & Nathan1 Peck are chosen Raters for a Town Rate.

At a Town-meeting Lawfully warned on ye 21 May, 1672, Mr. Brown was chosen Daputy & Thomas Barnes constable. Thos. Lewis grandjuryman, Nath1. Chafy & Jonathan Bozworth, & Hezekiah Luther, surveyors of highways; Mr. Brown, Thos. Luis were chosen selectmen.

1670. It was ordered yt whatsoever inhabitant shall absent himself from any Town-meeting to which he shall at any time hereafter be Legally warned, he shall forfeit for every such absent four shillings.

It is ordered that all lotts & divisions of land that are or shall be granted to any particular person shall be proportioned to the threefold rank underwritten, so that where those of the first rank have three acres, those of the second rank shall have two, and those of the third rank shall have one.

Those admitted to the first rank are recorded as Mr. ; the others with no title. These were landholders without rank.

1671. Those of ye first rank shall pay three pounds twelve shillings apiece, and those of the second rank shall pay two pounds eight shillings apiece, and those of the third rank one pound four shillings apiece.

The Baptist Church to which Swansea was granted made little prog- ress until after Philip's war, and Mr. Myles during most of three years previous to 1679, preached in Boston. In September of that year, after a vote to remove the church to the lower end of Meadow Neck was rejected, a vote was passed "that a meeting-house of forty feet in length and twenty-two in breadth and sixteen feet between joints be forthwith built." From this and other records it appears that the place of meeting was changed. Mr. Myles died in 1683, and was succeeded, July 22, 1685, by Rev. Capt. Samuel Luther, just after the incorpo- ration of the county.1

1 The subsequent history of this early church is briefly as follows: Rev. Luther died in 1716, and it was during his ministry that the meeting-house was removed to near Myles's Bridge. It is thought that the membership at that time reached about two hundred, scattered through what are now Rehoboth, Middleborough, Bellingham, Haverhill, Taunton, Warren and Som- erset. Other energetic pastors followed and the church prospered. The first deacons were not chosen until 1718, when John Thomas, Nathaniel Luther and Richard Harding were placed in that

FROM 1637 TO 1685.

Seekonk township remained a part of Rehoboth until 1812; it was in that part of Rehoboth territory that the early settlements were made and it remained an active and prosperous part of the region until the establishment of the new State line, which robbed it of the very por- tion that had invited the pioneers.

Turning now to the southern part of Bristol county, we find that the large tract that comprised the old town of Dartmouth was divided into thirty-four shares, which were distributed among the same number of shareholders, among whom were three women. This territory included the present towns of Dartmouth, Westport, New Bedford, Fairhaven and Acushnet-all of the county south of Freetown and Fall River; and also a part of the present towns of Tiverton and 'Little Compton down to 1746, as shown by the Rhode Island records. A part of the original thirty-six proprietors became actual settlers. The date of the purchase from the Indians was, as before stated, November 29, 1652. The following document from the records of deeds of the Plymouth Colony, book 2, page 107, gives the names of the proprietors:

The names of those who by order of the purchasers met at Plymouth the 7th day of March, 1652, who by joint consent and agreement of the said purchasers are to have their parts, shares or proportions at the place or places commonly called and known by the names Acushena, alias Acquessent, which entereth at the western end of Weeckatay and to Coaksett, alias Acoakus, and places adjacent, to extend three miles to the eastward of the most easterly part of the river or bay called Coaksett, lying on the west side of Point Pritt 1 and to the most westermost side of any branch of the aforesaid river, and to extend eight miles into the woods, the said tract or tracts of land so bounded as above said, which is purchased of the Indians, which were the right proprietors thereof, as appears by a deed under their hands, with all marshes, meadows, rivers, waters, woods, timbers, and other profits, privileges, emunities, commodities and appurtenances belonging to the said tract or tracts above expressed, or any part or parcel thereof to belong unto the parties whose names are underwritten who are in number thirty-four whole parts or shares, and no more, to them and their heirs and assignees forever.

Mr. William Bradford, one whole part or share. Captain Standish, Mr. John Alden, Mr. Collier and Sarah Brewster, Mr. Howland and William Bassett, George Morton, Manasses Kempton, James Hurst, John Dunham, sr., John Shaw, sr., Fran-

office. In 1788-89 the condition of the church was depressed; but renewed interest was awakened when the church in Warren was burned by the British on May 25, 1778, and its congregation re turned to the parent society in Swansea. A great revival followed and about 1781 the remains of the Oak Swamp church came into this fold. In 1786 the Warren church returned to its own juris- diction and rebuilt their church. It should be remembered that this was the first Baptist meet- ing-house in Massachusetts and was probably built in 1717; up to 1846 it was doubtless the oldest church edifice in Bristol county. In later years the society declined and at the present time the church is not in active existence.

1 Gooseberry Neck (Point Prill).

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

cis Cooke, John Cooke, Joshua Pratt, George Soule, Constant Southworth, Miss Jen- nings, Steven Tracye, John Faunce, Henry Sampson, Philip Delanoye, Miss Warren, Robert Bartlett, William Palmer, Edward Dotye, Samuel Hickes, Peter Brown, Francis Sprague, Moses Simons, Samuel Eaton, Thomas Morton, Samuel Culbert, Edward Holman, Edward Bumpus. In all thirty-four shares.1

On the 8th of June, 1664, this tract of territory was established as the town of Dartmouth, and four years later, on the 3d of June, 1668, the bounds of the town were fixed. The town remained intact until the erection of New Bedford, February 23, 1787. The records of early settlement in some parts of old Dartmouth are fragmentary and meager. The Baptists and Quakers of the settlement firmly resisted the imposition of a tax by the Plymouth Court for the support of min- isters in addition to the province tax, though they faithfully met the latter. The Plymouth authorities moreover were troubled that stated preaching was not maintained according to the established Puritan faith. This called forth the following order in 1671 :

In reference unto the town of Dartmouth it is ordered by the court that whereas a neglect the last year of the gathering in the sum of fifteen pounds according to order of court to be kept in stock towards the support of such as may dispense the word of God unto them, it is again ordered by the court that the sum of fifteen pounds be this year levied to be as a stock for the use aforesaid, to be delivered unto Arthur Hathaway and Sergeant Shaw, to be by them improved as opportunity may present for the ends aforesaid.

This order did not accomplish the desired end and three years later, "the Governor, Mr. Hinckley, the treasurer, Mr. Walley, Lieut. Mor- ton, and John Tomson did engage to give meeting with others .to propose and endeavor that some provision be made for the preaching of the word of God amongst them." Even the destruction of the set- tlement in this town by the Indians was turned by the Plymouth Court into an evidence of the wrath of the Almighty against the people for their neglect to worship in the Puritan faith, and the following order was issued :

1 It shouldbe stated in this connection that as early as 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, with a party of adventurers, sailed from Falmouth, England, in the ship Concord, with the purpose of establishing a plantation on the American coast. Rounding Cape Cod and naming it from the abundance of fish he saw near the shores, he landed on the west end of the island which he called Elizabeth, in honor of his queen. This island is now known as Cuttyhunk. On an islet in a small pond on that island he built a fort and. storehouse, and a flat-bottomed boat in which to reach them. Meanwhile Gosnold took a few of his companions, crossed the bay and landed near Round Hill, where they were cordially received by the Indians, who made their visitors presents of "skins of wild beasts, tobacco, sassafras root, turtles, hemp, artificial strings colored (wampum), and such like things." This was the advance guard of English immigration to these shores. This party of explorers returned to England to relate the story of their adventures and did not return.

FROM 1637 TO 1685.

This court taking into their serious consideration the tremendous dispensation of God towards the people of Dartmouth in suffering the barbarous heathen to spoil and destroy most of their habitations, the enemy being greatly advantaged thereunto by their scattered way of living, do, therefore, order that in the rebuilding and re- settling thereof that they so order it as to live compact together, at least in each vil- lage, as they may be in a capacity both to defend themselves from the assault of an enemy, and the better to attend the public worship of God, and ministry of the word of God, whose carelessness to obtain and attend unto we fear may have been a prov- ocation of God thus to chastise their contempt of His gospel, which we earnestly de- sire the people of that place may seriously consider of, lay to heart, and be humbled for, with a solicitous endeavor after a reformation thereof, by a vigorous putting forth to obtain an able, faithful dispenser of the word of God against them, and to encourage them therein; the neglect whereof this court, as they must and God will- ing, they will not permit for the future.

Very little success attended the efforts of the court in this direction, though they were persistent and long continued. The Quakers and Baptists were of stern, unyielding character and would not give up their faith, as shown further on and in the history of New Bedford herein. The following extracts are from the records:

May 22, 1674. At a town meeting the 22nd of May in the year 1674 John Cook was chosen debity Arthur Hathaway Grandjuryman William Jad Constable John Russell iams Shaw and William Palmer selectmen. Daniel Wilcox, Peleg Sherman and Samuel Cudbard surveyors and James Shaw clerk. [This record is much muti- lated. ]

July 22, 1674. At a town meeting 22d July 1674 it is ordered that all our town meetings doe beginne at ten of ye clocke and to continue until ye moderator doly release the town not exceeding four of ye clock.

It is all so ordered that all such persons as doe necklectt to a yeer all the town meetings shall forfitt to the town 1 shilling and six pence a pece and for coming to meeting to latt three pence an hour.

It is also ordered that the town clarke shall gather up all aforsaid finnes and shall have ye on hallfe of them for his pains and in ceace any doe refuse to pay them re- turne the neame to ye town.

Henry Tucker Joseph Tripp and Jeames Shaw are chosen reatters for this follow- ing year.

The ministerial controversy is hinted at in the following:

Feb 4, 1685. At a town meeting held in Dartmouth 4th of Feb. 1685 John Cook Seth Pope and Joseph Tripp are choseu A jants to apear at month Court Next to be holden at New Plymot and there to mak answer to said Court in the Town's be- half for the Towns not making a Rate of twenty pounds this year for the incorreg- ment of a minister to preach the word of God amongst them.

Although the date of the following is a little past the year of the formation of the county, it is proper to give the following record at this point : 4

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Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 3

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