USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 6
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Westport > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 6
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Dartmouth > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 6
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 6
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* The following are the inscriptions taken from a white marble shaft in the old graveyard at Acushnet village :
"JOHN PICKENS, of New Bedford, died July 31st, 1825, aged 82 years. He was an officer in the army of the Revolution, and after- wards served the town in various offices. He was long esteemed for his piety, integrity, and exemplary life."
" Mary Spooner, his wife; died Nov. 26th, 1809, aged 63 years."
" This stone was erected by John Pickens of Boston, son of John and Mary Pickens, and their only surviving son."
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cashier of the Bedford Commercial Bank, Joseph Ricketson, who through a series of misfortunes and heavy losses in business, wherein he had sus- tained an umblemished character for integrity, was now procuring the support of himself and fam- ily upon a salary, as before stated, of $500 per year. He was cashier of this Bank from 5th mo. 13th, 1816, to 10th mo. 6th, 1834. His age at the time he was appointed cashier was 45. He died at his house, No. 179 Union street, 10th mo. 9th, 1841, in his 71st year.
George Howland, the first President of the Bedford Commercial Bank, died at his house, 77 Walnut, corner of Seventh street, 5th mo. 21st, 1852, in his seventy-first year. He was chosen Pres- ident at thirty-five, and remained in that office until his death, having been half of his life Pres- ident of this institution.
In looking over the dust-laden books of the old Bank, the Insurance Company, and the early books and records of the present Bedford Commercial Bank, the mind is involuntarily led back to those days when they who are now sleeping beneath the sod of the valley, or fast declining in the vale of years, were the active representatives of our then little business community. Their simple habits, their quaint costumes, their open and unceremoni- ous manners, growing out of a large admixture of the principles of the Society of Friends, are brought into contrast with the present bustling and hurry- ing crowds in our streets, the jealousies, the ani- mosities and general unconcern for each other's
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weal. Undoubtedly in those days they had their faults and their troubles, but compared with the present time, even making all due allowance, the old and simple customs of our predecessors appear to have afforded greater comfort. It is, however, usually the case that the immediate successors of an industrious and thriving people become extrav-
agant in their tastes and pursuits. The value of mental culture is not at once learned, unless brought into contact with those more intellectually en- dowed, but usually follows, by the next generation, if the means for acquiring it are not squandered by their predecessors. That the value of education and the cultivation of the higher and more intel- lectual tastes are advancing in New Bedford, the interest now manifested in schools, libraries, and lectures, and works of art generally, sufficiently declares. It is thought, however, that as a people the inhabitants of New Bedford are not as con- siderate in their expenses as those of many other places in New England; that there is a great deal of rivalry in domestic arrangements, in houses, equipages, &c .; of which strictures a portion of the members of the Society of Friends is not exempt. It is to be hoped that the rising generation will learn to place a higher value upon more solid and lasting treasures in the different spheres of science, philosophy, the fine arts, and polite literature.
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CHAPTER IX.
THE ACUSHNET RIVER FROM 'ITS RISE TO THE HARBOR OF NEW BEDFORD-ISLANDS IN THE RIVER -THE NA- TIVE INDIANS-THE LAST OF THE WAMPANOAGS- SETTLEMENT OF FAIRHAVEN.
My readers must pardon me if I linger upon that part of our ancient township which to the anti- quarian and lover of nature is particularly interest- ing. The great features of any country or part thereof, it is generally thought, have much to do in the formation of the character of the people which lives within their inflence. A peculiar character be- longs to all islanders; and those who live by the sea- shore, or upon the sides of rivers, lakes, or mountains, partake in a greater or less degree of these nat- ural characteristics. Even a few miles separation changes wholly the prominent features of charac- ter; and before our population became so much mixed up with those from more distant parts of the country, a decided difference was even perceptible between the inhabitants of New Bedford and those from a few miles back in the country. I do not al- lude to the commercial character, which of course would be observed, but a certain kind of marine influence, seen in the eye, the complexion and the bearing of the one, - a kind of salt-water look, when contrasted with him brought constantly in contact with woods, fields, domestic animals, and agricul- ture.
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It will not for my purpose be necessary any fur- ther to attest to the importance of the natural features of our section, under the head of its topog- raphy. We have no mountains, or even very high hills, yet the surface of the country is gently undulating, and of that more quiet order which often affords the most pleasant landscapes. Many people, particularly those of the more sensitive order, tire of or become overpowered by the greater and sublimer features of nature, such as moun- tains, cataracts, &c., and gladly return from the contemplation of these mighty demonstrations of divine power to more gentle and familiar scenes. Charles Lamb, while on a visit to his friend Cole- ridge, at Keswick, complained of being every morn- ing, on looking out of his window, confronted by Skiddaw, which to his metropolitan eye appeared overpoweringly sublime, although its height is but about three thousand feet, or half that of Mount
Washington. No scenery in England has received greater admiration, or become more immortalized in verse, than that about the villages of Olney and Weston, near the river Ouse, as described in the Task, as well as in the elegant letters of the poet Cowper, which have made these otherwise undis- tinguished places classic ground. And after all, the scenery so beautifully described by the genius of the poet is said to be inferior in natural charms to most of the rural districts of England. But Cow- per returned to it with the greatest pleasure, after a visit of six weeks at Eartham, in Sussex, the
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beautiful seat of his friend and brother poet, Will- iam Haley. The discerning eye will find beauty and interest in almost every haunt of nature, how- ever unattractive to the general observer; not, however, that our own district requires this illus- tration in the way of apology, for it cannot be ad- mitted for a moment but that New Bedford, and the old township of Dartmouth, have their full share of pleasant and picturesque scenery. With an extent of sea-coast, inclusive of the creeks and inlets, of not less than thirty or forty miles, with three fine rivers like the Acushnet, the Pasca- manset, and the Acoaxet or Nocochoke, the old township of Dartmouth, which, as my readers are by this time well aware, included the pres- ent township of New Bedford, cannot be regarded as possessing but a small degree of natural beauty.
The Acushnet* River, commercially, is the great object of interest to the inhabitants of New Bed- ford and Fairhaven, and as before mentioned, hav- ing no mountains or other remarkable natural char- acteristics, it must ever be considered the great natural feature of our vicinity. Rivers of no great- er merit than ours have been celebrated in history and song'; and few probably are aware of the pic- turesque beauty which it affords. But such is the case; there are views upon our river, and the ad- joining banks, which would attract the eye of the most fastidious lover of nature, and, transferred to
* Sometimes also spelled Aquesnet and Quishnett.
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canvas by a skilful landscape-painter, would equal any scenes of a quiet character in New England .*
Our river take its rise near the south shores of two of the beautiful Middleborough ponds, Ap- ponequet or Long Pond, and Aquitticaset, in a richly wooded dell, about ten miles from New Bed- ford, and for some distance on its course is known by the humble name of "Squin's Brook," so called from Watuspaquin, a noted sachem of the Nemas- ket or Middleborough Indians, and one of the most prominent allies of the great tribe of Wampanoags in the time of Pometacom, alias King Philip. The little stream, of crystal purity, flows quietly along through the woods and fields, occasionally in- tercepted in its course, as its size increases, by those obstacles and usually deformities to most rivers, mills and their dams, to the village of Acush- net, a little less than four miles from the city. From this place its course is unobstructed until it reaches the New Bedford and Fairhaven bridge, increasing in breadth until it empties into the har- bors of the latter-named places, formed by an arm of the sea which makes up from Buzzard's Bay.
There are several small islands in our river which add much to its beauty and interest. The south- ernmost, " Palmer's Island," at the entrance of the inner harbor, was, before the cedar trees had been destroyed, an interesting spot, and to the youth of New Bedford formerly afforded a kind of embryo Juan Fernandez for their Saturday adventures.
* I should not omit that our fellow-townsman, William A. Wall, has already painted one or more of these views.
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The craggy rocks and old cedar trees formed a fine opportunity for the exercise of youthful ro- mance, and many will remember with pleasure their experiences in this way." The next island north lies near the Fairhaven shore, and is known as " Crow Island." A ropewalk formerly ex- tended from the main to this island. Pope's Isl- and still retains some of the primeval cedars, and is a very pleasant feature of the river. Fish Isl- and. has entirely lost its natural beauty by the wharves, railway, workshops, &c., located upon it, forming one of the busiest marts of our busy town. The great draw of the New Bedford and Fairhaven Bridge lies between this island and the main on the New Bedford side. Further up the river is the rocky bluff called the " Isle of Marsh," which, however, is only insulated at high water. A pretty little island without a name, but which might be called Fish-Hawk Island, from the fact of an old tree which stood there until within a few years having been a place of resort for this bold and rapacious bird of prey, may be seen from the Acushnet road in the front of " Woodlee," and belongs to the farm of Willard Nye. These isl- ands, as before stated, add materially to the beauty
* I find the following interesting historical fact connected with this island, in Drake's Book of the Indians:
" When Little Eyes was taken at Cushnet in 1676, Lightfoot was sent with him to what is now called Palmer's Island, near the mouth of Cushnet River, where he held him in guard until he could be safely conducted to Plimouth."
Little Eyes, as well as Lightfoot, was a warrior of the squaw Sa- chem Awashonks, who resided at Sogonake or Seconct. The former was inimical to the whites, but the latter joined Capt, Church with Awashonks.
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of our river; and it is desirable that their natural characteristics, particularly those having trees upon them, should be preserved.
The views for most of the way from the source or fountain-head to the village of Acushnet are limited, but many of them very pleasant and pic- turesque-one in particular, just above the old paper-mill. Here the stream is rendered quite ex- pansive by the mill-dam, and on the eastern side is an undulating landscape, well interspersed with trees, and other objects of interest.
From the high grounds at the north-west part of the city, known as the "Acushnet Heights," the view up the river is rarely surpassed for beauty; broad, extensive, stretching for several miles into the north-east, the blue river diminishing gradually in the distance, calling to mind the truthfulness of those lines of Longfellow,
" So blue yon winding river flows, It seems an outlet from the sky."
The view from this point is said to have attracted the admiration of that great genius in literature and lover of nature, Washington Irving, while on a visit here a few years ago.
The view of the harbor and the villages of Ox- ford and Fairhaven, Sconticut Neck, the broad bay, and the islands in the distance, presents a different, but little less pleasing scene. Approached from the south while sailing up the harbor into New Bedford or Fairhaven, the eye stretches for miles up the river and its sides studded with pleasant farms and country seats, terminated by
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the spires of the pleasant little village of Acush- net, so well known to the inhabitants of both the. above places. The ride "around the river," des- pite the new road around Clark's Point, is still the favorite drive of all who love the quiet and beauty of rural scenery.
Our river affords an abundant variety of scale and shell-fish, such as tautog, scup, bass, &c., qua- haugs, clams, and formerly oysters.
To the native Indians, the Acushnet river must have been a most valuable source of livelihood, as well as of pleasure. In the eye of imagination, we can revert to those days before the white man had reached these shores, when the noble forest trees grew down to the water's edge, with an occasional clearing upon some dry spot for the growth of In- dian corn, and where in wild and silent beauty stood the wigwam, its wreath of blue smoke rising above the trees, the noble sons of the forest, with their bows and arrows, pursuing their game, or in the light canoe of birch bark shooting across the river, or moored upon its bosom catching their scaly prey. So it appeared to the eye of the first discoverer of these shores, before spoken of, Bar- tholomew Gosnold, in 1602.
The noble old forest trees have long since fallen beneath the woodman's axe, and the corn-fields, meadows and pastures, with the younger growth of woods, now present a pleasant but far different scene to the eye of the beholder; yet however interesting they may prove to us, in the words of the poet we may say -
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" Methinks it were a nobler sight To see these vales in woods arrayed, Their summits in the golden light, Their trunks in grateful shade; And herds of deer that bounding go, O'er rills and prostrate trees below."
Old Dartmouth appears to have been at the time of the advent of the first settlers thickly peopled with Indians belonging to the powerful tribe of Massasoit, the Wampanoags; and the shores of the three great rivers before mentioned were their favorite residences. Even the Indians from the in- terior, those about the Middleborough ponds, and elsewhere, were in the habit of going occasionally to the sea-shore for shell-fish. The old post-road leading from New Bedford to the said ponds was orig- inally the Indian foot-path; and it is also probable that most of the old roads leading from place to place had a similar origin. During the middle and even to the latter part of the last century, a few of the lingering remnant of the once noble possess- ors of this soil remained, retaining to the last their ancient form of habitation, the wigwam, or a hut. But one solitary specimen of a full-blooded native is now to be found within the precincts of the old township of Dartmouth,-an aged woman by the name of Martha Simons, who lives in a small house upon an Indian reservation, near the end of Sconticut Neck. She is the last of her race, a lone and almost forsaken creature, a sad but interesting sight to visit, and of so little consequence, even in her own estimation, as to be surprised that any stranger should find anything in her, or her race, to interest him. In must remain a sad commentary
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upon the cruelty and avariciousness of the white man, that a whole race of a once powerful and noble people should be thus swept away.
" Like the shadows in the stream, Like the evanescent gleam Of the twilight's failing blaze, Like the fleeting years and days, Like all things that soon decay, Pass the Indian tribes away."
The following lines were written after viewing a fine picture, entitled
THE LAST OF THE WAMPANOAGS: *
Sad and alone the warrior sank him down Beneath the branches of a riven oak.
Like leaves before the autumn blast, had flown His once brave comrades, by the white man's stroke.
He looked upon the ancient forest trees, Within whose fostering shade his fathers slept;
And as their tops waved 'neath the passing breeze, He sighed adieu, and, though a savage, wept.
His bow unstrung, his hatchet cast aside, His war-plumes vainly placed upon his brow; His manly breast no longer swelled with pride- But doomed at last beneath his fate to bow.
His heart is broken; and from death alone He seeks a refuge, where he may again,
In broader fields and hunting-grounds unknown, Meet his lost race, no more to suffer pain.
So stretched upon the mossy woodland turf, He wraps his robe around his heaving breast; The brown November leaves upon him fall, And here alone he finds a final rest.
The moaning winds throughout the forest drear A fitting requiem for the warrior lend; - But naught to him, now death hath sealed his ear, And kindly to his woes has made an end. D. R.
* The Wampanoags were a large and powerful tribe, over which Massasoit (Wasamequin,) and after him his son Metacomet (Bo- metacom, or King Philip,) presided. The Dartmouth Indians be- longed to this tribe.
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At the north end of the township is the beautiful little sheet of water, known as Myles's or Sassa- quin's Pond. It lies about 8 miles north of New Bedford, and is included in the farm of Jonathan Tobey. The Pascamanset River, which passes through Smith's Mills, and empties into Buzzard's Bay about 4 miles below Russell's Mills, takes its rise from this pond.
The scenery around Smith's Mills is very pleas- ant, and around Russell's Mills very picturesque, probably more so than any other within the precincts of the old township of Dartmouth. The view of New Bedford from the fort at Fairhaven, with the harbor, shipping, &c., is admired by all strangers, as well as our own people, and that of Fairhaven from the shore near the Smoking Rocks, on the west side of the outer harbor, is also very fine, and entitles the village to its pleasant name.
The interests of New Bedford and Fairhaven are in a great degree identical, the chief business of both places being the whale-fishery. Fairhaven is a thriving place, and in 1855 contained 4693 in- habitants. It is a cool and pleasant summer resi- dence, having the south-west breeze from the bay, and in this respect possesses advantages over New Bedford ; but on the other hand it is also more ex- posed to the cold blasts of winter, particularly from the north-west. Although the two places are but one mile or less apart, and connected by a bridge, each place possesses its individual character, quite distinct from the other. From the early influence of the Quaker principles, New Bedford has been,
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until within a few years at least, a peculiar place, while our neighbor across the river has resembled more other New England towns along the sea- board. In fact, Fairhaven always strikes us as possessing a more marine character, arising proba- bly from the principal part of the village lying near the water, and which peculiarity, as the town extends back, will to a considerable degree, as in New Bedford, disappear. After the division of the old township of Dartmouth in 1787, Fairhaven and New Bedford remained as one township until 1812, when a division was made between them. At this time, and for many years after, the post- office and custom-house were at the foot of Bridge street, New Bedford.
Joseph Rotch, who came from Nantucket to New Bedford in the year 1765, not being able to obtain as much land as he wished in New Bedford, made an extensive purchase of land in the rear of the village of Fairhaven. He wished to purchase upon the shore, but not being able to do so, relin- quished his intention of settling at Fairhaven, and located himself in New Bedford. The particulars of this event I have given in a previous chapter.
Among the original proprietors of Dartmouth mentioned in the confirmatory deed of William Bradford, the Deputy-Governor of Plymouth Col- ony, November 13th, 1694, who probably settled on the Fairhaven side of the Acushnet River, were Seth Pope, Thomas Taber, Jonathan Delano, Isaac Pope, Lettice Jenny, Samuel Jenny, Mark Jenny, Valentine Huddlestone, Samuel Spooner, William
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Spooner, John Spooner, Joseph Tripp, James Tripp, Daniel Sherman, Edmund Sherman, Aaron. Da- vis, &c.
At the time the British troops marched around the river, after committing their spoliations in New Bedford, &c., they passed through the villages of Oxford and Fairhaven, without destroying any property, directly to the fort. The troops however landed at Fairhaven the next night; but through the bravery of a young man by the name of Israel Fearing, a major of the militia, and a few others, they were successfully repulsed, and abandoned their object, which was undoubtedly to burn the place.
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CHAPTER X.
THE WHALE-FISHERY, CONTINUED FROM CHAPTER VI- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES- ARCHITECTURE OF OLDER AND MORE MODERN BUILDINGS, &C.
To our sister queen, the ocean-bound island, Nan- tucket, must be awarded the palm of pioneership in this noble enterprise. Other branches of com- merce have their attractive and important features, in a greater or less degree. Those who spread their broad canvas and stretch across the almost bound- less deep, and bring from foreign climes the com- forts and luxuries which have become, as it were, the necssaries of life, bringing into intimate rela- tionship people remotely situate from each other, are full of interest, and afford subjects of philosoph- ical study and research, expanding the energies, and affording as they do employment to whole na- tions ; but for noble daring, heroic enterprise, and thrilling interest, none is so fertile of material as may be found in the annals and history of the whale-fishery. Capt. Scoresby, a practical seaman, as well as a gentleman and scholar, has given in his elaborate works a valuable record of his experi- ences ; but it would require the pen of a Defoe or Cooper to do justice to the romance of real life to be found in the experience of many a sailor em- ployed in this arduous service. Launching out into the great deep in their small and clumsily constructed vessels, our early adventurers became
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noted for their courageous and hardy exploits ; and with all the improvements in naval architecture, and the modern appliances of comfort introduced on board our whaling vessels, the business may still be considered as the most heroic and hazard- ous of all maritime pursuits. Cases are not infre- quent where serious calamities occur, either by the dying struggles of the monster of the deep, or an intended attack by him: boats are shattered, and their whole crews exposed to the double danger of - the sea and the exasperated monster; even large vessels are sometimes destroyed .* The case of the
* The ship Union, of Nantucket, of which Capt. Edmund Gardner, now one of our most respected citizens, was master, was so badly in- jured by striking a spermaceti whale, in the year 1807, Oct. 1, when only twelve days from Nantucket, that she soon after sunk. The conduct of Capt. Gardner upon this terrible occasion, although a very young man, and this his first voyage as master, is represented as highly judicious and praiseworthy, for by " his prudence, courage and fortitude " they were effectual in preserving good order and in encouraging the crew to use their best exertions for the common safety. After being at sea seven days and eight nights, Capt. Gardner, with his officers and crew, consisting of nine in all, reached the island of Flores, one of the Azores.
The ship Essex, Capt. George Pollard, on the 20th of November, 1820, in latitude 40' south, longitude 119° west, was attacked by a whale, " which, coming with full speed, struck the ship a little for- ward of the fore chains," injuring her so much as to place her in a sinking condition; but not satisfied with one blow, the same whale struck the ship a second blow, and nearly stove in her bows. By the time the ship's company had got on board the boats " the ship fell upon one side and sunk to the water's edge."' A narrative of the loss of this ship and the great sufferings of the crew has been published.
"A WHALE ATTACKING A SHIP. The ship Cuban, of Greenock, Captain Galloway, which arrived at that port from Demarara in 1857, met with a most extraordinary adventure on her homeward voyage. When in latitude 43 39 north, longitude 26 50 west, the ship, which was running before the wind at the rate of 9} knots an hour, received such a severe shock that she heeled over several strakes, and her way was completely stopped, while the men who were sleeping in the star- board berths of the top-gallant forecastle were thrown out upon their chests. Shortly after the shock an immense whale rose at a short distance from the ship's quarter, and after lying motionless for a short
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