USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > The History of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1836 > Part 2
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"Sixty acres of land and two shares in meadows in Provi- idence. The west plain, the south neck, and land about the house and orchard, amounting to two hundred acres, and the meadow called Blackstone's meadow.
"LIBRARY.
3 Bibles, 10s .- 6 English books in folio, £2 £2 10s.
3 Latin books, in folio, 15s .- 3 do. large quarto, £2 2 15
15 small quarto, £1 17s. 6d .- 14 small do. 14s. 2 11 6d.
30 large octavo, £4,-25 small do. £1 5s. 5 5 22 duodecimo, 1 13
53 small do. of little value,
13
10 paper books,
5
15 12 6
Remainder personal,
40 11
Total personal, 56 3 6
* " Mrs. Sarah Blakstone the wife of Mr. William Blarston buried about the middle of June, 1673."-Rehoboth Records.
t " Mr William B'akston buried the 28th of May, 1675."-Ib. Many of the ancient records mention the day of the burial, but not the day of the death of the persons. I have followed Snow, ( Hist. of Boston,) who says Blackstone died the 26th, which, if he was buried the 28th, cannot be far from correct.
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH.
This note is made in the margin ; " This estate (the movea- ables,) was destroyed and carried away by the natives." [Plym- outh Colony Records, 1675.] [Mass. Hist. Coll. x. 173, 2d Series. Comm. by Samuel Davis, Esq.] Blackstone's library, as may be seen from the above inventory, contained one hundred and eighty-six volumes, from folios to " paper books, "- a respectable library for those times, and for a private gentleman in the wilds of America. It is probable, or at least, not im- probable, that the " ten paper books " mentioned in the inven- tory, were manuscripts containing journals of his wanderings, and "golden opinions" purchased by "patient thought " on Study Hill. For it is not to be presumed that a man so devoted to study and retirement as Blackstone, and possessing a mind of that independent, original, and contemplative cast, could have suffer- ed its energies to run to waste, through the period of a long life, without having directed them to any specific object ; and had not the torch of the ruthless savage consigned his lucubrations to the flames, we might have known more of the life of this singular man, of whom there now remains little more than suf- ficient to awaken and excite our curiosity.
The character of Blackstone, so far as developed to us, is one of peculiar interest and of singular eccentricity. He was one of the few whose spirits are centuries in advance of the age in which they are sent, as though by mistake, to take up their abode on earth. Born at a period when religion formed the whole business, instead of the mere pastime, of life ; and find- ing the freedom of conscience, so necessary to the enjoyment of that religion whose native air is liberty, trammelled by the shackles of ignorance, and of bigotry, its inseparable companion ; he left the land of his fathers,-the friends of his youth, and the scenes of his boyhood sports, and sought an asylum on the stern and rock-bound shores of New-England. Here he found with the untutored savage that right which the polished Chris- tian had denied him,-" freedom to worship God." And when this far-off retreat was invaded by men stern and intoler- ant, and inheriting much of the bigotry of the mother ccun- try, " he uttered no complaints, he provoked no quarrels ; " but quietly sold his lands, and again retired from the face of civili- zation, and again took up his solitary abode in the wilderness : and luckily for his peace, the tide of civilization had but just reached him at the period of his death. It was on the occasion of his leaving Boston that he made the celebrated speech, which 2
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tradition has preserved and handed down to us : " I came from England because I did not like the Lord-Bishops, but I can- not join with you because I would not be under the Lord- Bretheren." * This speech gives us his character in bold relief. It does not show him to have been morose and misanthropic, but singular and independent, and desirous of enjoying his in- dependence. With Byron, le "loved not man the less, but nature," and nature's God, and the free enjoyment of his gifts, the "more."
" In his death," says Baylies, " this pilgrim father of Boston and Rehoboth was singularly happy. It happened a few days previous to the commencement of that direful war, which in a few days after gave his house and his books to the flames, and rendered his fair and cultivated domain a scene of desolation."
He lies buried in classic ground, about two rods east of his favorite Study Hill, where two rude stones mark his grave.+
His family here has long been extinct ; but his name will not be easily forgotten. It is identified with the river which flows past the site of his lonely dwelling, and with the canal which bears the produce of the interior of Massachusetts through the beautiful valley of the Blackstone to the city of Roger Wil- liams. And we hope and trust it will not be long ere the musing traveller will find it on some marble tablet, by the side of his spring in the metropolis of New-England, and over his grave on the banks of his stream.t
Blackstone resided in New-England about fifty years, during which he saw the settlements of the colonists springing up in every part of what, when he first beheld it, was one unbroken wilderness. But were his spirit permitted now to revisit the scenes of his former exile, how great the change he would wit- ness! Almost in vain would he search for the spot where he once inhabited. Where stood his lonely cottage on the wild
* Mass. Hist. Coll. x. 171-2; 2d Series.
t It is stated in the " Memoir of Blackstone " in the Mass. Hist. Coll. x. 170-3, 2d Series, that " he lies buried on Study Hill, where it is said a flat stone marks his grave." This is an errour. His grave is by the side of Study Hill, about two rods east of it. There is no " flat stone " now visible ; but simply rude stones of partly chrystallized quartz at the head and foot of the grave.
#President Kirkland and his lady, I have been informed, visited Cumberland a few years since, to ascertain the place of Blackstone's grave, with a view to erecting a monument over it; but unfortunately meeting with a person who knew little of Blackstone and still less respecting the place of his burial, they returned, concluding that the spot could not be identified.
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peninsula of Shawmut, he would now behold, " rising from out the wave,"
" As from the stroke of the enchanter's wand,"
and teeming with an active and intelligent population, the beau- tiful city of Boston. Where then he beheld the wigwam of the savage, he would now see the hall of legislation and the temple of learning. Where grew his young and thrifty orchard, and where bloomed the rose in his garden, now arise mansions of elegance and grandeur,
" On swelling columns heaved,-the pride of art."
And perhaps the very spot where he sheltered his cattle may be the site of the Tremont or of Faneuil Hall. The bay, whose bosom then felt nought but the light canoe of the Indian, he would now behold studded with the sail of every nation, and whitened with the canvas of a prosperous commerce. The shores where the young Indian gathered his shells, he would now see lined with wharves, laden with the products and luxu- ries of every clime.
Nor is the valley of the Blackstone hardly less changed. Little, but Study Hill and the beautiful river that rolls at its base, remains of its original features. It is true that he might see a remnant of his once beautiful orchard, and point out, per- haps, the stump of his favourite tree ;*- might find among the brakes and shrubs the well he stoned and from which he drank, and point to the site of his lonely dwelling; and, when he glanced at the spot where he ordered his ashes to be laid, might sigh over the ingratitude which had denied him a stone to record his name ; but he would find little to gratify his taste for soli- tude, and little that reminded him of his former solitary and peaceful abode. The forests have been levelled away, and even his favourite stream has not remained unchanged by time.t Smiling villages have sprung up in quick succession on its banks, at almost every winding of its course; and the howl of the wild beast and the yell of the savage have given place to the noise of the loom and the hum of the spindle.
* His favourite tree is said to have stood just south of Study Hill, where the remnant of a stump and roots of a tree were pointed out to me, as those which belonged to it. They more probably belong to one of its sprouts.
The river, within forty years past, I am informed by the aged of the in- habitants, has changed and enlarged its channel at this place. It now washes the very base of the hill, whereas the margin of the river was formerly three rods west of it.
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Concerning Blackstone's family little is known. We have no knowledge of his having been married till his marriage with Mrs. Stevenson, July 4, 1659, by Governour Endicott. Snow, in his history of Boston, supposes that Blackstone did not leave Boston till as late as 1638 ; and states in support of this suppo- sition, that he had land allotted him at Muddy river in Janua- ry of this year ; and afterwards adds, that in this allotment he had the portion of three heads allotted him. Mr. Savage, in his Notes to Winthrop's Journal, [vol. I. 45,] supposes this to be an errour, arising from the name of William Balstone being mistaken for that of William Blackstone. If Blackstone had land allotted him at Muddy river in 1638 by the people of Bos- ton, it must have been in consequence of his owning an estate in Boston ; for it will be recollected that when he sold the prin- cipal part of his estate there, in 1634, he reserved to himself six acres, which as yet we find no record of his having sold. Mr. Snow infers from his having the portion of three heads assigned him, in the allotment referred to, that his family, at this time, consisted of three persons. But if Mr. Snow is incorrect, (and Mr. Savage we should be surprised to find otherwise than cor- rect,) we have no record of Blackstone having any one with him till his marriage with Mrs. Stevenson; but it seems rather too much to suppose that he could have lived, thus isolated as he was from the world, without the aid of servants.
Mr. Blackstone had one son by his marriage with Mrs. Ste- venson, John Blackstone, born at Rehoboth ; but at precisely what time I am not able to learn, as no record of his birth is to be found on the town books. This was, so far as we are ac- quainted with his history, his only child .* Of him we are able to learn but little, nor does he otherwise interest us than as the son of Blackstone.+ He was a minor when his father died, and had guardians appointed him by the Plymouth Court, as ap- pears by the Records : "June 1st, 1675 .- Lieut. Hunt, En- sign Smith and Mr. Daniel Smith are appointed and authorized
* It is erroneously stated in the short sketch of Blackstone, in the Mass. Hist. Coll. x. 170-3, 2d Series, to which I have had occasion frequently to refer, that he left two children, a son " and a daughter married to Mr. John Ste- venson." This errour probably arose front John Stevenson being called the son-in-law of Blackstone. This, as has been seen, he became by the mar- riage of his mother with Mr. Blackstone.
f For what is here stated concerning John Blackstone, I am indebted, next to tradition, particularly to Mr. Dagget's excellent and faithful history of Attleborough.
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by the Court to take some present care of the estate of Mr. William Blackstone deceased, and of his son now left by him ; and to see that at the next Court he do propose a man to the Court to be his guardian ; which in case he do neglect, the Court will then see cause to make choice of one for him."- Plymouth Col. Rec.
He lived on his paternal inheritance till 1692, when, having squandered his estate by his intemperate and idle habits, he sold his lands to David Whipple, and soon after removed to Provi- dence. Here he labored in the occupation of a shoemaker ; and it is probable that here he married his wife Katharine, as no record of his marriage appears either on the Rehoboth or Attleborough Records. He continued to reside in Providence till 1713, when he returned to Attleborough, and, with his wife, was legally warned out of town. For what cause is not stated, but may be conjectured. He afterwards removed, as tradition says, to Con- necticut, and settled not far from New Haven ; where, I have been credibly informed, were living a few years since a family of the same name, inheriting the peculiarities, for which the first of the name here was distinguished, and with the same unconquerable love of solitude .* Tradition says also, that a son of John, and grandson of Mr. William Blackstone, fell at the taking of Louisburg, in the French war, whither he marched in the capacity of a Lieutenant.
His son-in-law, John Stevenson, came with his mother, on her marriage with Mr. Blackstone. He was then about four- teen years of age ; he continued with them until their decease, and proved himself very serviceable in their declining years. For his filial attention and kindness the Court of Plymouth re- warded him with a part of Mr. Blackstone's estate, as appears by the following order, passed June 10th, 1675, about two weeks after his death.
" Whereas the Court is informed that one whose name is John Stevenson, son-in-law to Mr. William Blackstone, late deceased, was very helpful to his father and mother in their life-time, without whom they could not have subsisted as to a good help and instrument thereof, and he is now left in a low and mean condition, and never was in any, recompensed for his
* The Hon. Francis Baylies informed me, that some years since, while trav- elling in Connecticut, he heard of a family there of the name of Blackstone, who were noted for their eccentricities, particularly for their love of solitude.
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good service aforesaid, and if, (as it is said at least,) his father- in-law engaged to his mother at his marriage with her, that he should be considered with a competency of land out of the said Blackstone's land, then lived on, which hath never yet been performed ; and forasmuch as the personal estate of the said William Blackstone is so small and inconsiderable, that he the said Stevenson cannot be relieved out of it; this Court, there- fore, in consideration of the premises, do order and dispose fifty acres of land unto the said John Stevenson, out of the lands of the said William Blackstone, and five acres of meadow, to be laid out unto him by Ensign Henry Smith, and Mr. Daniel Smith, and Mr. Nathaniel Paine, according as they shall think meet, so as it may be most commodious to him or as little pre- judicial to the seat of Mr. William Blackstone as may be. By order of the Court for the jurisdiction of New Plymouth."- Plym. Col. Rec .*
"Stevenson acquired a taste for solitary life by living with Blackstone, and resided here, (it is believed, alone,) till his death. There is no evidence of his ever having been married. His time was devoted to the cultivation of his lands and to the pleasures of hunting. He died Sept. 16, 1695. His brother, James Stevenson, of Springfield, was appointed his administra- tor ; who returned an inventory, Oct. 11, 1695, from which it appears that his whole estate was valued at £57 5s. 2d. His house, lands, and meadows at £50. His gun, cutlass, and cartouch box, 18s." &c. &c .- Daggett's History of Attlebo- rough.
Next to William Blackstone came the celebrated Roger Wil- liams, and pitched his tent for a while on the ground which after- wards became Rehoboth. His early history, like that of Black- stone, is, to a great extent, involved in obscurity. He was born in 1599, and, as is generally supposed, was a native of Wales,t and educated at Oxford.} After having left the Univer-
* Those who are desirous of seeing the bounds of this grant, as also the bounds of the land of John Blackstone, and thus ascertain the precise location of Blackstone's estate, will find them minutely described in Daggett's Histo- ry of Attleborough, pp. 31. and 32.
1 Tradition places his nativity in Wales, and his education at Oxford.
# Wood in his Athenae Oxonienses, after giving an account of a gentleman named Roger Williams, says, " I find another Roger Williams, later than the
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sity, he commenced the study of the law ; but finding the- ology more congenial to his taste, he soon directed his attention to that, and received Episcopal orders. His non-conformity to the established Church of England, brought upon him the dis- pleasure of the "Lord-Bishops," and exposed him to severe persecutions. To enjoy therefore that liberty of conscience, of which he was ever, both in England and America, the bold and fearless advocate, and which, on the establishment of his col- ony at Providence, formed one of the prominent features of his government, he left the mother country and came to New-Eng- land. He arrived at Nantasket, (Hull) February 5, 1631, and was settled over the church at Salem, as teaching elder, in con- nexion with Rev. Samuel Skelton, April 12th, of the same year. With his settlement here the Court of Boston were dis- pleased, and interfered, as appears from Winthrop's Journal [vol. I. p. 53, Savage's ed.] : " At a Court holden at Boston, April 12, the day of Mr. Williams's settlement at Salem, ' (upon information to the Governour, that they of Salem had called Mr. Williams to the office of teacher,)' a letter was written from the Court to Mr. Endicott to this effect: "That whereas Mr. Williams had refused to join with the congregation at Boston, because they would not make a public declaration of their repentance for having communion with the churches of England, while they lived there ; and besides, had declared his opinion that the magistrate might not punish a breach of the Sabbath, nor any other offence, as it was a breach of the first table ; therefore they marvelled they should choose him without advising with the Council ; and withal desiring him that they would forbear to proceed till they had conferred about it." __ May the 18th, 1631, Mr. Williams took the oath of freemen .- The persecution thus early commenced by the Court at Boston, soon increased to such a degree that, before the close of the
former, an inhabitant of Providence in New England, and author of (1.) A Key to the language of New England, London, 1643, oct. (2). The Hireling Ministry none of Christ's, or a Discourse of the Propagation of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, London, 1652, qu. &c. But of what University the said Williams was, if of any, I know not; or whether a real fanatick or Jesuit." "This assertion of Wood renders it doubtful whether Mr. Williams was educated at Oxford, or elsewhere. In the absence of all evidence, it might be thought more proba- ble that he received his education at Cambridge, where a large portion of the Puritans were educated. Coke, himself, (Sir Edward, the supposed patron of Roger Williams,) was a graduate of Cambridge, and would probably prefer to place Williams there. Inquiries have been sent to England, for information on this point, but they have not been successful."-Prof. Knowles's Mem. of Roger Williams, p. 24.
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summer, Mr. Williams was forced to leave Salem and retire to Plymouth ; where he preached as assistant to Mr. Ralph Smith, about two years. Gov. Bradford thus speaks of him : "He was freely entertained among us, according to our poor ability, exercised his gifts among us, and after some time was admitted a member of the church, and his teaching well approved ; for the benefit whereof I shall bless God, and am thankful to him ever for his sharpest admonitions and reproofs, so far as they agreed with truth."-[Prince's Chron. p. 377, new ed. Boston, 1826.] Morton admits that he " was well accepted as an as- sistant in the ministry." [Memorial, p. 151, Davis's ed.] In 1633, Mr. Williams obtained a dismission from the church at Plymouth, having been invited by the church which he had previously left at Salem; to return, and assist Mr. Skelton, whose declining health unfitted him for his duties. He accord- ingly returned, and, after the death of Mr. Skelton, in 1634, was made sołe minister of the church. His return to Salem was, probably, in August, 1633. [See Prof. Knowles's Mem.
of Roger Williams, p. 55, note.] Here, as elsewhere, he was bold and fearless in proclaiming his tenets, both religious and political. He asserted that the Charter of Massachusetts was invalid and unjust, as the soil and sovereignty were not purchased of the natives. He even refused to commune with the members of his own church, unless they would separate themselves from the other churches of New-England. [Winthrop, vol. I. p. 166, Savage's ed.] These were unpal- atable doctrines to the people of that day, and drew upon him the united opposition and two-fold virulence of Court and Cler- gy. He was severely reprimanded and threatened by the Court ; but as he firmly believed it the prerogative of man to think as he pleased and speak as he thought, he would neither desist for the threats of enemies nor the entreaties of friends ; and in October,* 1635, was accordingly sentenced to perpetual banishment, and ordered to depart out of the Colony within six weeks .- [Winthrop, vol. I. p. 171, Savage's ed.]
The sentence was in these terms: " Whereas, Mr. Roger Williams, one of the elders of the church of Salem, hath broached and divulged divers new and dangerous opinions, against the authority of Magistrates ; as also writ letters of defa- mation, both of Magistrates and churches here, and that before
* Winthrop places the banishment in October, but the Mass. Colonial Rec- ords, [vol I. p. 163,] state that it took place Nov. 3, 1635.
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any conviction, and yet maintaineth the same without any re- tractation ; it is therefore ordered, that the said Mr. Williams shall depart out of this jurisdiction within six weeks now next ensu- ing, which, if he neglect to perform, it shall be lawful for the Governour and two of the Magistrates to send him to some place out of this jurisdiction, not to return any more without license from the Court."
Mr. Williams obtained permission to remain till spring ; but as he still persisted in preaching in his own house, orders were sent, Jan. 11, 1636, to seize him and send him to England. Being seasonably apprized of the designs of the Court, he es- caped their hands, and, in compliance with the secret advice of Governour Winthrop, steered his course for Narraganset Bay. His journey was by water, in the very heart of winter; and after suffering incredible hardships from cold, and hunger, and fatigue, for fourteen weeks, he arrived and pitched his tent at Seekonk, afterwards Rehoboth. In describing this journey in a letter to Major Mason, written thirty-five years afterwards [" June 22, 1670, ut vulgo," ] he says, " I was sorely tossed for one four- teen weeks, in a bitter winter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean." He obtained of Ousamequin a grant of land now included in the town of Seekonk .* It is probable that this was a mere verbal grant, as no record of it is to be found, nor any mention of a record ; and probably also, it was simply a permission to settle on the land, without any specified portion being assigned.
The spot in Seekonk where he fixed his dwelling, we are assured from good authority, was a short distance above the Central Bridge, and on the east side of the Cove, on what is called Manton's Neck.+ His house, we learn from the same source, stood near a spring on this neck. There are four differ- ent springs in this place, for which different individuals claim this
* " ] first pitched, and began to build and plant at Secunk, now Rehoboth." Letter to Major Mason.
t Prof. Knowles, in his Memoir of Roger Williams, says, in a note, p. 101, that " the venerable Moses Brown assured him, that he had ascertained this fact, to his own satisfaction." Since commencing this history, I called on Mr. Brown, to know the grounds on which he assured himself of this fact : he told me that he, some years since. found among the manuscripts of his grandfather a paper which stated that Roger Williams lived near a spring on Manton's Neck. He said, that immediately on finding this paper, he rode to Seekonk, to ascertain, if possible, where Roger Williams lived ; but that three different springs were pointed out to him, on Manton's Neck, by different individuals, as Roger Williams's springs,-all within the compass of half a 3
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honour ; but the one to which it most probably belongs is a few rods from the east bank of the cove, in a lot owned by Ham- mond Cole, about 15 rods east of his house, and about 20 rods nearly north of the house of Samuel Daggett. This is a clear and beautiful spring, and the water in the warmest weather in summer, is said to be as cool as that of any well in the town of Seekonk. Some of the inhabitants pretend to point out the precise spot where Roger Williams's house stood ;* but as his house was but a temporary cottage, to leave it to tradition to designate the spring from which he drank, is as far as we should be willing, here, to yield to her authority.
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