USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > Rehoboth in the past. An historical oration delivered on the Fourth of July, 1860 > Part 5
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Antipas,
March 29, 1673,
Jan 2. 1699, July 17, 1673,
Unmarried.
[Mr. Savage calls this wife Bethia Chickering, but her tombstone calls her Bathsheba. See Genealogical Dictionary, Vol. I., p. 376.]
The head of this family was Deacon in his father's church, and was a farmer. He was the Representative of the town in the General Court or Legislature of Massachusetts in 1696-97-98, and died at the age of 85.
63
GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
Unmarried.
Unmarried.
Hannah Kennick.
David,
John,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
July 1, 1668,
DESCENDANTS OF REV. SAMUEL NEWMAN.
Continued.
PARENTS.
PLACE OF BIRTH.
BORN.
DIED.
MARRIAGE AND REMARKS.
Samuel, son of Dea. Samuel,.
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
Feb. 21, 1662-3, Jan. 10, 1666-7,
June 25, 1747, April 8, 1718,
Oct. 8, 1696.
Hannah, daughter of - Kennick, CHILDREN.
Noah,
Samuel,
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
Sept. 1, 1697, July 30, 1699,
Dec. 8, 1762,
Dec. 8, 1762,
Dorothy 3 wives. [See his family.]
Hannah,
July 29, 1701,
Margaret, -
April 8, 1704,
Anna,
John, -
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
April 7, 1705, Dec. 8, 1706,
July 9, 1748,
April 7, 1726, Elisha Bliss. Junc 14, 1724, Ebenezer Bowen. Dec. 28, 1732, Abigail Perrin.
The head of this family was a farmer at Rehoboth. He was Deacon in the church founded by his grandfather, Rev. Samuel, and died at Rehoboth at the age of 85.
64
GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
DESCENDANTS OF REV. SAMUEL NEWMAN.
Continued.
PARENTS.
PLACE OF BIRTH.
BORN.
DIED.
MARRIAGE AND REMARKS.
Samuel, son of Dea. Samuel,
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
July 30, 1699,
Dee. 8, 1762,
Jane, daughter of - Walker,
1740,
Dec. 24, 1724.
Lydia, daughter of - Smith,.
Rehoboth, Mass.,
1758,
Sept. 14, 1757.
Susannah, daughter of - Barstow,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
1765,
Oct. 10, 1759.
CHILDREN.
David, L
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
April 2, 1730,
Oet. 12, 1822,
August 5, 1756, Jemima Fuller.
Sarah,
All by first wife,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
July 3, 1733,
Oct. 10, 1799,
Dec. 14, 1758, Jonathan Baldwin.
Nathan,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
Dec. 25, 1735,
Nov. 8, 1757,
Unmarried. Died in the French war.
Samuel,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
Mch. 22, 1738-9,
July 10, 1822,
Jan 1, 1761, Priscilla Peck.
The head of this family succeeded his father and grandfather as Deacon in the church which his great-grandfather founded. He was a farmer, and lived in that part of Rehoboth now known as Seekonk. He died at the age of 63.
9
65
GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
April 20, 1727,
July, 1743,
( David died instantly while in meet- 1 ing on Sunday at Seekonk.
Jesse,
DESCENDANTS OF REV. SAMUEL NEWMAN.
Continued.
PARENTS.
PLACE OF BIRTH.
BORN.
DIED.
MARRIAGE AND REMARKS.
Samuel, son of Dea. Samuel,
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
Mch. 22, 1738-9, Oct. 8, 1738,
July 10, 1822, May 15, 1814,
Jan. 1, 1761.
CHILDREN.
Noah,
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
Oct. 4, 1763,
Jan. 15, 1831,
Sarah Ormsbee and Lois Lane.
Lydia,
May 7, 1765,
May 5, 1835,
William Lawton of Newport, R. I.
Moses,
Dec. 3, 1767,
Feb. 10, 1817,
Unmarried.
Daniel,
Sarah, daughter of Peleg Peck. Unmarried.
Jabez,
Aug. 10, 1803,
Unmarried.
Sarah,
Feb. 14, 1776,
April 1, 1776,
Unmarried.
Samuel,
Oct. 12, 1777,
July 15, 1832,
Charity Bourne.
Priseilla,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
Aug. 29, 1779,
Living in 1860,
Unmarried.
GENEALOGICAL
RECORD.
The head of this family was a farmer, and died at the age of 84. The second son, David, was a Baptist clergyman.
66
Sept. 20, 1770, Aug. 24, 1772, March 9, 1774,
July 10, 1800, June 10, 1810,
Huldah,
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass.,
Oct. 21, 1761,
Nov. 21, 1782,
Unmarried.
David,
Priscilla, daughter of Joseph Peck, _.
DESCENDANTS OF REV. SAMUEL NEWMAN.
Continued.
PARENTS.
PLACE OF BIRTH.
BORN.
DIED.
MARRIAGE AND REMARKS.
Samuel, son of Samuel,
Rehoboth, Mass., Somerset, Mass.,
Oct. 12, 1777, Feb. 5, 1779,
July 15, 1832, Aug. 2, 1815,
Jan. 10, 1800, at Somerset, Mass.
Charity, daughter of Stephen Bourne,
Charity taught school some years be- fore marriage and after. S. C., her oldest son, learned his earlier les- sons of education from this chari- table mother.
CHILDREN.
Sylvanus Chace,
Rehoboth, Mass.,
Feb. 5, 1802,
Living in 1860,
Sophronia Smith, 1837, and Harriet L. Dunham, 1852,
Joseph Peck,
Elvira,
Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth, Mass., Rehoboth. Mass.,
June 24, 1805, Dec 10, 1806,
Feb. 15, 1827,
Jan. 10, 1807,
Susan, daughter of Dr. Daniel Barrus. Unmarried.
Samuel,
Jan. 15, 1808,
Jan. 20, 1810, Living in 1860,
Unmarried.
Elvira Augusta,
Dec. 25, 1809,
John Grace and Gardiner Pierce.
GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
The head of this family was a manufacturer of hats, and died at the age of 55.
67
DESCENDANTS OF REV. SAMUEL NEWMAN.
Continued.
PARENTS.
PLACE OF BIRTH.
BORN.
DIED.
MARRIAGE AND REMARKS.
Sylvanus Chace, son of Samuel __ Samuel ..
Dea. Samuel __ Dea. Samuel .. Dea. Sam- uel .. Rev. Samuel of England, ...
Rehoboth, Mass.,
Feb. 5, 1802,
Living in 1860,
Sophronia, daughter of Jonathan Smith, son of John __ Eber __ William __ Nathan- iel of England,.
Killingly, Ct.,
Oct. 28, 1807,
Sept. 20, 1851,
August 5, 1837, at Killingly, Ct.
Harriet Louisa, daughter of Dea. Danicl Dunham, son of Abiel,
Attleboro', Mass.,
Dec. 25, 1819,
Living in 1860,
Jan. 26, 1852, at Pawtucket, R. I.
CHILDREN.
George Washington -
1
Glocester, R. I.,
Feb. 14, 1839,
Sept. 6, 1840,
Unmarried. Unmarried.
Gilbert Lafayette,
Twins,
1
Glocester, R. I.,
Feb. 14, 1839,
Samuel,
Warwick, R. I.,
Jan. 13, 1843,
Aug. 28, 1840, Living in 1860, Aug. 10, 1847,
Unmarried.
Sophronia Chace, ___
Cumberland, R. I.,
Nov. 26, 1845,
Unmarried.
For remarks on the head of this family, see Concluding Note, on page 60.
These seven tables contain what, in genealogy, is called a "lineage of families," being only one family in each of the seven generations, and by no means all of the descendants. The united ages of the heads of these seven families is 492 years, being an average of a fraction over 70 years each. Those who would live the full life of man, should learn the physiological laws of Nature, and obey them. Her penalties are sure, her statutes are never repealed, and her code contains no pardoning power.
68
GENEALOGICAL
RECORD.
All by first wife,
FULL AND COMPLETE REPORT
OF THE
ECCLESIASTIC AND CIVIC
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
AT SEEKONK, [THE ANCIENT REHOBOTH,]
JULY 4, 1860.
[PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE. ]
HISTORICAL CELEBRATION.
IN the month of May, 1860, a meeting of the Congregational Church at Seekonk was holden to take into consideration the subject of projecting some sort of a celebration of the ancient settlement of that town and church.
A Committee of Arrangements were chosen, and the whole matter placed in their hands,-the Committee requesting their pastor, Rev. Mr. Barney, to sit with their body as an advisatory member. After extending invitations to such as they desired to take part in the exercises, and receiving their replies, the Committee issued the following public notice as a programme of their intended celebration :
ECCLESIASTIC AND CIVIC CELEBRATION,
AT SEEKONK, MASS.
It has been proposed that the Religious Societies and the Citizens of Seekonk and the seven towns of which the ancient Rehoboth has been the nursing Mother, should hold a friendly, religious and patriotic gath- ering at the original CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHI thereof, at SEEKONK, on JULY 4th, 1860, at 10, A. M., for the purpose of commemorating the origin and historic scenes of the ancient Rehoboth, [now Seekonk], and of passing in review the life and character of its original founder, and of paying respect to the ever memorable birth-day of our COMMON COUNTRY.
That this gathering may be simple and unostentatious, and yet befit- ting a religious and patriotic people, the following brief Programme has
10
74
THE CELEBRATION.
been adopted, excluding powder and other emblems of War, while at sunrise and sunset the peals from the Church Bells will " ring out " their respects for the NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
I.
Invocation to the Throne of Grace by Rev. Constantine Blodgett, D. D., Pastor of the Congregational Church of Pawtucket. 1
II.
Reading of select portions of Scripture by Rev. A. H. Stowell, Pastor of the First Baptist Church at Seekonk.
III. Music and Hymn by the Choir.
IV.
Prayer by Rev. James O. Barney, present and tenth Pastor of this the original Church, and who will also conduct the exercises.
v.
Reading of the Declaration of Independence by Hon. Johnson Gardner, a native of the town, and descendant of one of its early settlers.
VI. National Ode by the Choir.
VII. Historical Oration by S. C. Newman, A. M., of Pawtucket, a native of the ancient Rehoboth, and lineal descendant in the seventh generation from its founder and first Pastor.
VIII. Original Hymn written for the occasion. .
IX.
Remarks and Benediction by Rev. David Benedict, D. D., of Pawtucket.
At the close of the services, the company will repair to a temporary Pavilion near the Church, where [at a moderate price] all who desire it
75
THE CELEBRATION.
can join the festive board and partake of refreshment and the enjoyment of enlightened sociality ; and all who have a taste for this class of historic gatherings, without distinction of party, creed, sect or sex, and especially those descendants in neighboring States, the ashes of whose ancestral forefathers repose in the ancient Cemetery connected with this venerable Church, are hereby invited to mingle in these sacred and patriotic festivities.
JOSEPH BROWN, r ROBERT M. PEARSE, JOSEPH B. FITTS, ISAIAH HOYT, WILLIAM ELLIS,
Committee of
Arrangements.
NOTE .- Several interesting antiquated relics of this people, more than two cen- turies ago, will be exhibited on this occasion.
With this announcement, printed in circulars with correspond- ing envelopes for convenience, and in the newspapers in the vi- cinity, the Committee entered upon the discharge of their duties ยท with intelligence, ability and energy ; and their success will be best told in the following account of the result, compiled prin- cipally from reporters of the press, (for whom the Committee furnished special accommodations, both in the church and at the dinner,) commencing with the remarks of the very able reporter [E. R. Gardiner] of the Providence Evening Press, issued on the afternoon of July 5 .*
While our Providence streets were the scene of the din and discomfort inseparable from a city celebration of the Fourth, it was a pleasant fortune to escape from them and participate in a more quiet and more pleasurable mode of paying respect to the national anniversary provided in a rural suburb. The broad and grassy plateau of Seekonk, venerable with historic interest ; its ancient church and cemetery, containing monuments that now
*Justice requires us to say that the several journals there represented, viz : the Pawtucket Gazette and Chronicle, Pawtucket Observer, Providence Post and Press, Boston Journal, and some others, all published able but more or less condensed reports ; and in this description we have drawn more or less from them all, with- out being able to credit them in detail.
76
THE CELEBRATION.
show the date of 1653; its romantic loveliness of scenery, its neat dwellings, its gay pavilion and its happy group of people, from distant towns and States, returning to do honor to the founders and the historic scenes of their ancient birth-place, presented a spectacle long to be remembered by those who wit- nessed it as it yesterday thus appeared. Never was more ap- propriate place or occasion for such re-union, and never were the details of a memorial meeting better planned or more suc- cessfully carried out. In the judicious selection of speakers and the felicitous manner in which they performed their duties; in the well-timed sentiments and the excellent and abundant cheer that was provided ; in the numbers and the enthusiasm of the participants ; in the feeling of deep reverence for the past exci- ted, and in the loveliness of the day, all was a complete success. Such interesting festivities have perhaps never before been known in Seekonk; never probably were its bright fields and pleasant drives so well and so extensively appreciated as yesterday. The deeds of the men associated with these scenes in early days were vividly brought up in review before their descendants who had assembled from the seven towns of which the ancient Rehoboth has been the nursing mother, to commemorate the fame of a no- ble ancestry. A deep impression pervaded all that they were indeed standing on classic ground, and they united as those who might never meet again in paying tribute to the virtues and exploits of their fathers as exhibited on that soil two hundred years ago.
At an early hour, crowds of people began to gather from the neighboring towns and villages, and although the railway station was near the location,-putting the place in connection with the surrounding country,-yet there were visible at one time, eight hundred and five family carriages on that broad plateau. It was by far the largest gathering ever witnessed there since the settlement of the town; yet such was the admirable arrange- ments of the Committee, that not a gun, nor even a single pow- der-cracker, was fired, nor the least appearance of intoxicating liquors or unbecoming behavior witnessed throughout the day,
77
THE CELEBRATION.
in all that sober, reflective, contemplative and yet eminently cheerful multitude.
The first part of the exercises, those announced in the pro- gramme, was held in the Congregational Church; and at 10 o'clock, A. M., the appointed time, the venerable edifice was filled to overflowing. The invocation for Divine assistance was by Rev. CONSTANTINE BLODGETT, D. D., Pastor of the Congre- gational Church at Pawtucket. The reading of select portions of Scripture was by Rev. A. H. STOWELL, Pastor of the First Baptist Church at Seekonk, and were appropriate selections read from a Bible printed at Geneva in 1608, and brought by Gov. Bradford in the Mayflower in 1620, now two hundred and fifty- two years old. A fervent and very appropriate general prayer was offered by Rev. JAMES O. BARNEY, the tenth and present Pastor of this ancient church, who also conducted all the exer- cises in these services by introducing the different participants at the proper time and place. The Declaration of American Independence of July 4, 1776, was read in good style by Hon. JOHNSON GARDNER, now of Pawtucket, but a native of Rehoboth. The Oration of the day was delivered by S. C. NEWMAN, A. M., of Pawtucket. It occupied about two hours in its delivery, but was of sufficient interest to command the closest attention of the audience throughout. The Oration was both ecclesiastic and civic, according to the programme, and the audience gave evi- dence that the orator of the day had acceptably performed the task assigned him.
The following original hymn written for the occasion by Rev. WILLIAM M. THAYER, of Franklin, Mass., was sung after the conclusion of the Oration :
What voices from the silent past, In whispers clear and low, That tell of precious seed broad cast, Two hundred years ago !
When first the Saviour's herald true Came o'er the ocean wave, Here to erect an altar new, And here to find a grave.
Thrice blessed they-the fathers all- Who suffered, toiled and prayed, And at the Master's early call, These pure foundations laid 1
Thrice happy we-their children here- Who share their labors now, And worship God with hope -- nor fear Where first they made their vow 1
Long where the sainted fathers trod, May we guard well the dust Of him who taught in faith for God I A dear and sacred trust.
And when in turn our lives are spent, And tear drops o'er us flow. May we ascend where NEWMAN went, Two hundred years ago.
78
THE CELEBRATION.
Spirited and tasteful music was set to these hymns by Dea. D. B. FITTs, formerly of Seekonk, but now organist at the Con- gregational Church in Holliston, Mass., who also wrote an origi- nal piece of music for the original hymn on this occasion; and the singing was beautifully executed by a choir of twenty-five well trained voices, [Dea. Fitts presiding at the organ,] the whole being under the direction of DANIEL PERRIN, Esq., of Seekonk, a gentleman who exhibited ample qualifications for the task he was called to sustain.
Rev. DAVID BENEDICT, D. D., of Pawtucket, to whom had been assigned the Benediction, prefaced that service with the following brief but appropriate remarks :
"I am always pleased with such anniversaries as this. I like these re- unions of the widely dispersed members of a town. I like these efforts to preserve the ancestral association of this, the ancient town of Rehoboth, including what are now seven towns within a territory of ten miles square purchased of the great Massasoit, the friend of Roger Williams. It has been the nursery of piety and intelligence, fruitful in talent and worthy in its moral character. A day like this-so fruitful in honorable and christian development-will, I trust and believe, remain among our most cherished recollections to the end of life. And now, may that overruling Heavenly Protector, who has guided the barque of our forefathers over the stormy seas of their probationary trials, and conducted them, as we believe, to the man- sions of eternal rest, be still our Protector to the end of life, and to the same final triumph, through His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen."
These services in the church were of a most interesting char- acter, and were listened to with uninterrupted attention by an audience of twelve hundred people, including a very large num- ber of men of mark in the literary, theological and political world. And every part of these historic and patriotic exercises was, by the visibly apparent smiles of Heaven, executed in exact accord- ance with the original programme of the Committee, and evinced their ability in all their arrangements.
THE DINNER.
A large and beautiful pavilion, providing dining accommoda- tions for more than a thousand people, had been erected ncar the church, to which the congregation next betook themselves
79
THE CELEBRATION.
for the enjoyment of the pleasures of the festive board and of enlightened sociality. The tables were most tastefully and boun- tifully spread, and the tent proved none too large for the guests. After the company were seated, the Divine blessing was invoked by Rev. PEREZ MASON of Boston.
The dinner was prepared under the management of James M. Bishop, Esq., of Seekonk. Every seat was occupied ; he had enough for all and to spare, and if hundreds had to wait a second table, none were allowed to go away hungry, whether with or without one of his thirty-eight cent tickets ; and such were his most admirable arrangements, in point of assistants, &c., that but one plate and four tumblers were broken, among all his table ware, during the whole process until everything was finally re- turned to its place ; and in addition to order, quietness and social comfort, the dinner, in a pecuniary point of view, more than real- ized the most sanguine expectations of the Committee.
After the feast of material good things had been disposed of, the guests prepared themselves for the enjoyment of the intel- lectual part of the entertainment, consisting of appropriate sen- timents and responsive speeches, which formed one of the most delightful features of the occasion. The President, Rev. JAMES DEAN of Pawtucket, who gracefully presided at this festal board, announced the intellectual feast in a brief but eloquent speech, and closed by introducing GEORGE OWEN WILLARD, Esq., Editor and Proprietor of the Pawtucket Observer, as toast-master for the occasion. The toasts and responses were as follows :
The first sentiment was-
The Congregational Church of Seekonk-She this day welcomes the children of the ancient Rehoboth to the old homestead.
Rev. JAMES O. BARNEY, the present pastor, ordained in 1824, responded as follows :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :
Honored, as I feel that I am, to stand in the place of the tenth and present pastor of this ancient and venerable church, it is my privilege and pleasure to extend to you her most cordial, christian salutation.
80
THE CELEBRATION.
Though years have passed away since she entered upon her third century, she is still as hale and healthful as ever, and this day reports herself to be the mother of seven towns, thirty-eight churches, and more than thirty thousand living descendants.
We, who are the immediate members of her family, this day welcome you all to the " Old Homestead ;" the identical spot where our Puritan fathers and mothers met, more than two hundred years ago, to pray, to praise and worship God.
We meet and greet you as brothers and sisters, without reference to party or sect. And as we look over this great and orderly assembly, gathered from so many States, towns and churches, our hearts swell with emotions of love, and prompt us to say, " Behold our mother and sisters and brothers."
Gathered as we are, we deem it a fitting occasion to render thanks to our Heavenly Father that we are the children of those pious parents, who, on these sacred grounds, offered prayers that reached up to the throne and affected the heart of God, and procured for us the richest blessings in His gift.
And now, dear friends, as brevity and good sense are to be the order of the table, and as we know of nothing that more fully and briefly ex- presses our feelings toward you, we close our welcome by invoking upon you all this Divine benediction [Numbers vI., 24, 25, 26]: "The Lord bless you, and keep you ; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you ; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace."
The second sentiment was-
The Early Settlers of New England-They feared God rather than man.
Rev. PEREZ MASON of Boston responded to this sentiment in the following manner :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :
My father was born on this spot, ninety years ago. When three years old, he was carried by his parents to Grafton, New Hampshire, where the country was so poor that if the doctrine be true that people receive in this life punishment for their sins, they must have been grossly wicked ! I have seen the tears course down his cheeks as he told the tale of the poverty and distress of that noble-hearted band of men and women, the
81
THE CELEBRATION.
early settlers of his adopted town. There they struggled with pain and poverty ; and all the cradle they had for years, was one-half of a hollow log. But they overcame these obstacles, and a few of the family yet remain.
But, Mr. President, amid it all, I feel honored, doubly honored, in being permitted to be present with you on this occasion. Here some of the carly settlers of New England had their trials and conflicts, but their unyielding reliance on God for protection enabled them to triumph. May their posterity never think less of God and the Bible.
You not only had among them, Sir, your ministers, your physicians and your jurists, but you also had poets ; and well do I remember one of the efforts of one of those rustic bards which was taught me by one of my ancestors nearly fifty years ago. The young man was burning a coal-pit then not far from where we are now assembled, and going from here to Providence, he purchased a quart of new rum. On his way back, he imbibed so freely that he became intoxicated, and fell into his coal-pit and came near being burned to death; and after having par- tially recovered, he perpetrated the following verse, in which there is probably more truth than poetry :
" A quart of rum from Providence come ;- And through that sin, I plainly see, The pit did funk and I got drunk, And that's the eend of me."
But, aside from these simplicities, I rejoice that so much of the puri- tanic spirit is here to-day. Theirs was a spirit of stern integrity ; and in listening to the Oration to-day, we found that Rehoboth was on hand in the Revolution, to furnish her quota of men to defend the liberties of the country.
As a descendant from Old Rehoboth, I am glad to be here. And I thank God that many of my ancestors were men who feared Him and kept His commandments. I feel honored in the privilege of mingling in these festivities, and in paying our respects to this venerable mother of seven towns. God bless her.
The third sentiment was-
The difficulties encountered and overcome by the early settlers of New England, though formidable in their nature, and apparently well calculated to discourage and dishearten the most sanguine, yet those very difficulties and obstacles gave a tone to the character of those early adventurers and their posterity, that has made New England what she is.
11
82
THE CELEBRATION.
Rev. WILLIAM M. THAYER of Franklin, Mass., (author of the " Bobbin Boy,") who was expected to respond to this sentiment, being absent, Rev. DAVID BENEDICT, D. D., of Pawtucket, re- sponds as follows :
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