USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Glocester > A brief history of the town of Glocester, Rhode Island : preceded by a sketch of the territory while a part of Providence > Part 4
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
ROADS.
A road that in the year 1762 passed from Providence to Connecticut through this town was by a number of persons residing in the towns through which the road passed, repre- sented to the Assembly to be so bad that carriages were not able to pass without great difficulty, that some part of the way was without inhabitants, and that the road could not be made passable without some assistance. If the road was in ' a good condition, commerce between Providence and Con- necticut would be greatly increased. The petition to raise necessary funds was granted by having a lottery, on con- dition that there should be no expense to the State. William Dean, Jonah Steere, Chad Brown, Abraham Winsor and Andrew Waterman were appointed directors to carry out these measures. In due time the road was put in good order for travel.
In 1772 a road was laid out in the north part of the town, from the colony line, at a place known as Alum Pond Hill, and leading southerly to Cook's mill, about the distance of five miles, crossing Clear river at the north end and meeting a highway laid out by Massachusetts Bay which leads from Oxford to Providence. To put said highway in good order, the Assembly granted a lottery to raise four hundred dollars. Messrs. Jonathan Harris, William Ross and John Howland were appointed directors. No expense to the State.
After lotteries were forbidden, toll-gates were established to raise funds to make repairs on turnpikes.
The road in the south part of the town with a toll-gate was made free in 1856.
In 1825 a charter was granted to Richard Burlingame and others for a turnpike beginning in North Providence and pass- ing through Johnston, and a corner of Scituate and Glocester, under the name of the Rhode Island and Connecticut Central Turnpike, with the permission to have two toll-gates in Glocester. One of these was opposite the hotel kept many 6
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
years, by Hezekiah Cady, in the western part of the town ; the other was established opposite the hotel kept many years by Mr. Richard Aldrich, in the eastern part of the town.
In 1826 the Smithfield and Glocester turnpike was named the Mineral Spring turnpike. Reports of a committee on turnpikes were annually to be made to the General Assembly.
The common roads are now laid out by the town and kept in repair by town taxes. The roads are generally kept in good condition.
APPIAN WAY.
In June, 1816, a charter was granted to incorporate the Foster and Glocester Appian Way Society, as follows:
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly, and by the authority thereof it is hereby enacted, That the said Society be and they hereby are authorized to make and establish a branch of the turnpike road which by law they have been authorized to make and establish, and to extend the said branch from some place at or near the dwelling house of Jonathan Williams,* in Glocester, to the southerly end of the turnpike laid out by the State of Connecticut, or any other road laid out, or which may be laid out, in that State, leading from Thompson into the Chepachet Turnpike Road, and to make the said branch in the same manner, and with all the same privileges, as they have power, by their own charter, to make any other part of said road ; Provided the said Society shall previously obtain the consent thereto, of all the proprietors of the lands over which it will pass, under their hands and seals."
No other recorded information has been found of the Appian Way by the author.
RAILROADS.
In January, 1874, the town of Glocester was authorized to subscribe and hold capital stock in the Providence and 'Spring- field Railroad Company.
* Jonathan Williams' homestead in Glocester was not far from that of Mr. Nathaniel Bowditch, in the western part of the town.
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
The Ponagansett railroad, to connect with the Hartford and Fishkill railroad and the Providence and Springfield rail- road, has not yet been made.
The Woonasquatucket Railroad Company was incorporated in 1857, the road to pass through or near the village of Che- pachet, on the petition of Daniel M. Salsbury, Ira P. Evans, Clovis H. Bowen, Horace Kimball, Jason Emerson, Albert L. Sayles, Otis Sayles, George H. Browne, Nathan B. Sprague, Thomas Barnes, Anthony Steere, William Winsor, Elisha Dyer, Zachariah Allen, Philip Allen, Amos D. Smith and Henry B. Lyman. The road was built, but passes through Oakland instead of Chepachet.
LOTTERIES.
The lottery system, sanctioned by the Legislature, was commenced as early as 1763. It seemed to be the best and surest way to raise needed funds to build bridges, churches, to lay out and repair roads, and make other public improve- ments. After a few years the legality of lotteries was with- drawn by the Assembly.
In 1774, "several persons of the inhabitants of the town of Glocester preferred a petition unto the General Assembly, praying that a lottery may be granted them for the raising the sum of five hundred pounds, lawful money, for the purpose of building a meeting house in the north part of said town, and purchasing a lot for the same ; and also a small lot for the use of their Society, commonly called 'The Old Standing Baptist,' which Society is under the care of Messrs. Edward Mitchel, John Winsor, William Bowen and Philemon Hynes ; that Messrs. Stephen Winsor, Arnold Smith, Martin Smith and Jesse Smith be appointed direc -- tors of the same."
The petition was granted, and it was provided "that said persons be managers of the said lottery, they giving bonds according to law in a sum double the amount of the sum
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
which is to be raised by the sale of the tickets, and that no expense be given to the State."
At the session of the General Assembly in January, 1790, "it was voted and resolved, that the Hon. Daniel Owen, Nathaniel Wade, Esq., and Mr. Seth Hunt, be appointed a committee to settle the account of Messrs. Stephen Winsor, Arnold Smith, Martin Smith and Jesse Smith, who were the directors of the said lottery for building a meeting house in Glocester, and that the expense thereof be defrayed by the said directors without any expense to the State."
The account was settled. Other lotteries were subse- quently made.
VILLAGES.
Chepachet. The site of the village of Chepachet has been the centre of public business in this section since its first settlement. As the population increased, business in various departments was quite extensive for a small place. In 1813 there were in some dozen stores for groceries, dry goods and farming utensils, several clerks. Much business was done here from towns around, reaching into Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Two public houses were formerly kept here; now there is but one. A post office was established here in 1806; and on that day Amherst Kimball was appointed postmaster. The following persons succeeded Mr. Kimball : Cyrus Cooke; Horace Kimball in 1845; Job Armstrong in 1849; Horace Kimball in 1853; William Hawkins in 1861; Walter A. Read in 1866, and Robert H. Wade in 1885.
The village is pleasantly situated on both sides of Che- pachet river, and is healthy. The climate is somewhat colder than in Providence. The large elms beautify the village.
In 1830 there was a great temperance movement ; liquors in all the stores were given up, and much less cider was made. A large temperance society was formed which exerted a healthful influence on many persons.
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
There were great turnouts when shows of wild animals were brought to the village. In 1825 a fine, large elephant was brought here, and room for a canvas tent on the ground of the Central Hotel was hired to show the animal. When the owners were leaving at twelve o'clock at night, and pass- ing the bridge in the village, the contents of an unerring rifle entered the brain of the poor elephant. He fell and died. The perpetrators of this fearful deed were afterwards taken, tried and damages assessed.
The village of Clarkville is in the northwest corner of the town. A tannery was here in the early part of the present century, and was continued for many years ; also a saw-mill. In 1818, Arnold Brothers put up a building to manufac- ture cotton yarn. The mill has several times been burnt and rebuilt and run as a shoddy mill. For several years it was in the hands of Horatio Darling, but now T. R. White & Co. run the mill.
West Glocester is a small village near Clarkville. This is a manufacturing place for carpet warp and heavy woollen goods, conducted by the firm of Hawkins & Houghton. A post office was established here in 1862, with Mr. Keach as postmaster.
Williamsville is about two miles south of Clarkville. It has a few houses and a grist-mill of long standing.
Harmony is in the eastern part of the town. It has about 200 inhabitants. The village has two stores, several mechan- ical shops, and a post office. Mr. Randall is postmaster. There is also a hotel here.
Spring Grove is a village of several houses about a mile east of Chepachet. Here Smith Mowry and his two sons, Scott W. and Brown, about 1836, purchased the Spring Grove mill and successfully carried on the manufacturing of cotton goods for about sixteen years. This mill then passed into several hands, until in 1868 it was purchased by T. R. White & Co. to manufacture shoddy goods.
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
HILLS.
The range of hills in the western part of the town extend to the Green Mountains in Vermont, and the views from the tops of some of them are grand. These hills were early known as the great rendezvous for deer ; also rabbits, squirrels and sparrows ; consequently venison and other kinds of game were abundant. The deer and the bucks fled from the hun- ters to the hill-tops, hence the name " Buck Hill." In 1728 a law was made to protect the deer. The deer chase seemed English and homelike to some of the settlers, but to kill a deer in certain portions of the year was punishable with a heavy fine.
Here a band of counterfeiters found a very secluded cave, where they counterfeited the Spanish milled dollars in 1786. They made them of two kinds; one was plated, the other mixed. Many persons were found implicated in several towns, and some out of the State.' After it was discovered, a settlement was made with the town and State. The pen- alty was very severe when actual proof of the counterfeiters could be proved.
"Cooper's Den" is quite a curiosity, and for the early settlers it was a good hiding-place. Absolona hill is about two and a half miles east of Chepachet. Matony hills run southeast by east some miles, and the turnpike crosses these hills near the south end of the range, about three miles southeast of Chepachet village. Swamicut valley is west of Matony hills, running north and south. The town is hilly and rocky.
From the top of Winsor's hill, Wachusett mountain, in Princeton, Mass., is seen in a clear day. The mountain is 3,000 feet high.
Pine hill is in the southwestern part of the town. From the Sayles Brown hill, on the great road that formerly led from Chepachet to Killingly, are fine views. Pine Orchard
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
hill, and some others, are very suitable sites for dwelling- houses.
RIVERS AND PONDS.
Chepachet* river rises in the western part of the town, on the farm of the late Judge Richard Steere. It is a durable stream for manufacturing, and has been long used for various mills. The river runs through Mill pond, where there is a saw- mill and various kinds of excellent fish for cooking; then, in about three-fourths of a mile, it passes through Keech pond, the largest natural division of water in the town. The river, after having run some miles, passing through the village of Chepachet, unites with Clear river and forms Branch river which flows into the Blackstone.
Suker stream runs into the Chepachet river northeast of the village. Early iron ore was obtained from Sea Patch river in this town for a forge in Woonsocket.
Ponaganset pond is near Pine hill, in the southwestern part of the town. This pond has had great attractions in the summer for its pond lilies. Ponaganset river flows from this pond and unites with the Moswansicut river to form the north branch of the Pawtuxet river.
Poquanatuck river flows from Ponaganset pond. Place reservoir is in the northwestern part of the town. Part of Killingly pond is in the southwestern part of the town. There are many small streams and brooks. The rivers and ponds have been of great use to the town.
In the Keech and Saw-mill ponds formerly there were more fish than at present. There were many pouts, shiners, eels, pickerels, perch, etc.
Waterman reservoir and the Smith and Sayles reservoirs are preserved for manufacturing purposes.
* Indian, signifying where the streams divide. The village is named from the river.
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
The ancient order of Free Masons was chartered at the time the town was set off. Friendship Lodge, No. 7, A. F. & A. M., had a meeting on the 21st of October, 1800. The fol- lowing officers were installed: Joseph Bowen, Master; Elijah Armstrong, S. W .; David Richmond, J. W .; Asa Burlin- game, Treasurer ; S. Owen, Secretary ; Oliver Owen, S. D .; Stephen Burlingame, J. D. In 1805 the meetings were more regularly held. The meetings were held in the village of Chepachet. In the year 1807 the following persons peti- tioned the Assembly for a charter for Friendship Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons from the town of Glocester, viz. : Anan Evans, Elijah Armstrong, Chad Sayles, Solomon Owen, William Steere, Jr., Joseph Bowen, Stephen Burlingame, John Wood, Joseph Hines, Levi Eddy, Cyrus Cooke, Duty Sals- bury, Thomas Owen, Daniel Tourtellot, Mowry Smith, John Wilkinson, Andrew Brown, Ebenezer Felch, Daniel Tucker, Angell Paine, Hiram Salsbury, Seth Thompson, Job Phette- place, Elijah Day, John M. Donald, Thomas Ingraham, James King, Jr., Joseph Putnam, Adfer Eddy, Abraham Belnap, Joseph Burgess, George Harris, Job Aldrich, Emor Olney, Pitt Smith, Seth Hunt, Jr., Stephen Eddy, William Reming- ton, Thomas Darling, Jesse Tourtellot, Thomas Eddy, Emor Winsor, Jeremiah Tourtellot, Elisha Sayles, and Samuel Matteson. The charter was granted with all the privileges of any organized society. One hundred and thirty members are reported. Regular meetings were held on Saturdays on or before the full of the moon.
Officers in 1828 : Benedict Aldrich, Master; Isaac Aldrich, Warden ; Willard J. Smith, Junior Warden; Jethro S. Lap- ham, Senior Deacon; Sterry J. Smith, Junior Deacon ; Richard Lapham, Treasurer; Arthur A. Ross, Secretary ; Otis Sayles and Otis Eddy, Stewards ; Esek Phetteplace, Tyler.
Officers in the above society in the year 1884: Joseph Perkins, Renssalaer A. Cooper, Edward L. Phetteplace, Albert
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
Potter, William J. Tracy, William Blackmar, Carlton G. Smith, George E. Cutting, George O. Bligh, Martin W. Young, Edwin M. Neff, Randall Mowry, Walter A. Read, Felix S. Slavin. About ninety members. The society had a Free Masons' hall in the village.
The Chepachet Division, Sons of Temperance, No. 14, was organized October 24th, in the year 1872. The following officers were installed October 6, 1884 : Mrs. James Angell, Ed. Webster, Mrs. R. H. Wade, Mrs. M. D. Arnold, Mrs. S. Sweet, Miss Eva Sweet, Fred. Wilson, Miss Frances Wil- son, Mrs. U. T. Potter, E. L. Leveck, William Sweet, Rev. H. E. Johnston, Chaplain. During the last twelve years over thirteen hundred dollars have been paid into the treas- ury. It has about forty members. The meetings of the society are held in the vestry of the Congregational meeting- house. Mrs. U. T. Potter, Worthy Patriarch; Mrs. Mary A. Sweet, Recording Scribe, in 1885.
Harmony Division, Sons of Temperance, No. 13, was chartered February 4, 1875. It meets Saturday evenings at the Harmony chapel. A. J. Hubbard, Worthy Patriarch ; Henry C. Brown, Recording Scribe, 1885.
BANKS.
In February, 1804, the Farmers' Exchange Bank was char- tered, to be located in the village of Chepachet, with a capital of $ 100,000. President, John Harris; cashier, Mowry Smith. Daniel Owen, Simon Smith, Timothy Wilmarth, James Aldrich, John Harris, John Wilkinson, Elisha Mathew. son, Solomon Owen, Samuel Winsor, Daniel Smith, Simeon Smith, Mowry Smith and Daniel Tourtellot were appointed directors of said bank. Daniel Owen resigned in March, 1804, and William Rhodes was elected to fill his place. The books of the bank were kept in a confused state, according to the final report of the Assembly's committee to examine the bank. The directors did not at any time have a proper
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
knowledge of the management of the bank. In 1808 nearly all the directors sold out their shares. John Harris continued president, and in 1808 William Colwell was appointed cashier ; Elisha Fairbanks and Samuel Dexter were made directors. It was evident to men doing business with the bank that there was great mismanagement with some of the officers, and that the affairs of the bank needed to be examined. A bank business meeting was called, and the following new directors were appointed, viz .: Obadiah Brown, Seth Hunt, Jr., Mark Steere ( son of Richard ), Jesse Mowry and Samuel Fenner. They delivered the books to the General Assembly.
In March, 1809, the Assembly appointed a committee to investigate all the concerns of the Glocester Bank and make a report. This they did. It was found in a fearful condition. The cashier, Mr. Colwell, was committed to close confine- ment, no person being allowed to converse with him. The president of the bank left the State, and his estates were put under attachment. All the members of the General Assem- bly manifested a full determination to take the most vigorous and decided measures to thoroughly probe this iniquitous deed to its very centre. The cashier and directors were cited and appeared before the General Assembly with bank books and papers. By this examination it was ascertained that the bank had issued bills to an enormous amount, far beyond their capital; that they had taken notes from Andrew Dex- ter, Jr., in Boston, without an indorser, payable at the expi- ration of eight years from November, 1808, at two per cent. interest for upwards of $800,000. The president of the bank was then in Boston, and the plates on which the bills were impressed.
An article in The American, a newspaper published in Prov- idence, March, 1809, has the following : "The funeral of the Farmers' Exchange Bank, in Glocester, is on its way to the General Assembly at East Greenwich. It appears on exam- ination of the books and papers at Glocester, by a committee appointed for that purpose, that a certain well-known trader in bank stock, living in Boston, had got out of that bank
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
something more than half a million of dollars, for which he had given only his note without an indorser, payable at the end of eight years from November last [1808], with two per cent. interest, to the cashier, his successors in office or order. The bank is shut, and probably never to be opened again for similar business. The sign is taken down and the keys are in the vicinity."
Obadiah Brown, Esq., and Seth Hunt, Jr., both of Provi- dence, were appointed a committee by the General Assembly to take into possession all the effects, books and papers of the Farmers' Exchange Bank, and to collect and present an account of the same at the next meeting of the Assembly. This they did, and a report of the committee before the Assembly, in February, 1809, was published in a pamphlet of forty-three pages.
In February, 1818, a number of people of the town of Glocester obtained a charter for another bank, to be called the Franklin Bank, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars. ' President, Jesse Tourtellot ; cashier, Cyril Cook ; directors, Jesse Tourtellot, Amherst Kimball, Cyrus Cook, Joseph Bowen, Joseph Wilmarth, Timothy Sweet, Amasa Eddy, Jr., Thomas Owen, Jr., Asaph Wilder, Jr., Job Armstrong, Ira Phetteplace Evans, Thomas Mathewson and John Hawkins. This bank was successful and continued to do business until the present national system was introduced in 1865, when it was voted to discontinue business. The following are the names of the directors of the bank when it was closed in 1868, viz .: Amasa Eddy, Horace Kimball, Clovis H. Bowen, Lawton Owen, Smith Peckham, Horace A. Kimball, Leonard Sayles, Joseph B. Smith. President, Joseph B. Smith; cashier, Horace A. Kimball. The bank paid out its surplus to the stockholders, October 2, 1868.
Several persons from this town were shareholders in the Greenville Bank when it was formed. The following persons were the petitioners for the bank: Daniel Winsor, Joseph Mathewson, Dexter Irons, Nathan B. Sprague, Asa Winsor,
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
Richard Smith, Stephen Steere, John S. Appleby, Reuben Mowry, Silas Smith and Elisha Steere.
Bank stock owners of this town in general, now invest their money in banks in Providence, or in United States bonds.
MILITARY.
OFFICERS OF TRAINED BANDS IN 1781. (GLOCESTER.)
First Company-Peter Lewis, Captain ; Henry Wheeler, Lieutenant ; Zephaniah Keach, Ensign.
Second Company-Samuel May, Captain ; James Colwell, Lieutenant ; Arnold Smith, Ensign.
Third Company-Nathaniel Wade, Captain ; John Pray, Lieutenant ; Esek Brown, Ensign.
Fourth Company-Isaac Ross, Captain ; Jeremiah Irons, Lieutenant ; Seth Ross, Ensign.
1784. Senior Class Company-Benajah Whipple, Captain ; Ezekiel Phetteplace, Lieutenant ; Edward Salsbury, Ensign.
First Company-Henry Wheeler, Captain ; Simeon Bowen, Lieutenant ; Jeremiah Phillips, Jr., Ensign.
Second Company-Arnold Smith, Captain; Abner Chilson, Lieutenant ; Israel Cooke, Ensign.
Third Company-Nathaniel Wade, Captain; John Pray, Lieutenant ; Esek Brown, Ensign.
Fourth Company-Isaac Ross, Captain ; Jeremiah Irons, Lieutenant ; Seth Ross, Ensign.
GLOCESTER GRENADIERS.
In June, 1792, "in consideration that the preservation of this State, as well as other States, depends under the pro- tection of God upon the military skill and discipline of the inhabitants, that the following officers and soldiers in the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment, in the town of Glocester, commanded by Col. Stephen Winsor, viz .: Joctan Putnam,
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
Elisha Mitchell, Amaziah Harris, Thomas Steere, Elisha Brown (son of David), Stephen Cooke, Jr., Moses Taft, Joseph Putnam, David Thompson, Gideon Cooke, John Greene, Daniel Curtis, Henry Phillips, John Cooke, Duty Salsbury, William Phetteplace, Daniel Smith, Richard Sals- bury, Richard Mitchell, David Bowen, Ezekiel Phetteplace, Stephen Barnes, Thomas Barnes, Benjamin Cooke, David Taft, John Arnold, Jesse Tucker, Vial Salsbury and Darius Mitchell, all of Col. Stephen Winsor's Fourth Regiment, in the county of Providence, but all residents of the town of Glocester. The above officers and soldiers petitioned, with certain limitations to numbers, etc., to form themselves into a company by the name of the 'Glocester Grenadiers.' Each officer and soldier of said company shall be five feet and nine inches in height, the number not to exceed sixty- four, exclusive of officers." It was granted and by that name to have a perpetual succession. The above company was an independent one.
State military officers to command the Fourth State Regi- . ment from Glocester :
1791. Senior Class Company-Jonathan Eddy, Captain ; Joctan Putnam, Lieutenant ; Eliakim Phetteplace, Ensign.
First Company-Thomas Mitchell, Captain; Thomas Win- sor, Lieutenant ; William Wheeler, Ensign.
Second Company-Israel Cooke, Captain : Rufus Williams, Lieutenant ; Jesse Cooke, Ensign.
Third Company - Amos Winsor, Captain ; Jonathan Cowen, Lieutenant ; Isaac Wade, Ensign.
Fourth Company-Willard Eddy, Captain ; George Hunt, Lieutenant ; Pitt Smith, Ensign.
Fifth Company-Edmond Green, Captain ; Jabez Arnold, Lieutenant ; Oliver Cornell, Ensign.
1793. Senior Class Company-Jonathan Eddy, Captain ; Eliakim Phetteplace, Ensign.
First Company- Thomas Winsor, Captain ; William Wheeler, Lieutenant ; Benajah Sweet, Ensign.
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HISTORY OF GLOCESTER.
Second Company-Asa Ballou, Captain ; Will Lapham, Lieutenant.
Third Company-James Potter, Captain ; Isaac Wade, Lieutenant ; John Wells, Jr., Ensign.
Fourth Company-Pitt Smith, Captain ; Daniel Sayles, Lieutenant ; Joshua Winsor, Ensign.
Fifth Company-Edward Greene, Captain ; Jabez Arnold, Lieutenant ; Oliver Cornell, Ensign.
1794. Senior Class Company-Seth Hunt, Captain ; Eli akim Phetteplace, Lieutenant ; Nathan Cooper, Ensign.
First Company-Thomas Winsor, Captain ; William Wheeler, Lieutenant ; William Hawkins, Jr., Ensign.
Second Company-Asa Ballou, Captain; William Lapham, Lieutenant.
Third Company-James Potter, Captain ; Isaac Wade, Lieutenant ; Stephen Cowing, Ensign.
Fourth Company-Pitt Smith, Captain ; Daniel Sayles, Lieutenant ; Ezekiel Emerson, Ensign.
Fifth Company-Benedict Burlingame, Captain'; Esek Brown, Lieutenant ; Benjamin Harris, Ensign.
1795. Senior Class Company-Rufus Steere, Captain ; Nathan Cooper, Lieutenant ; Esek Brown, Jr., Ensign.
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