USA > Rhode Island > Bristol County > Barrington > A history of Barrington, Rhode Island > Part 36
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العلوى الــ
3.1
NEW ENGLAND STEAM BRICK COMPANY WORKS.
457
BARRINGTON BRIDGE.
The following bill is a sample of the business done :
" STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, &C.
To LUTHER MARTIN, DR.
To ferrying over and back Fifty one men belonging to Capt. Eben'r Peck's Company of Militia at 4 cts. per ferriage $4.08 cts., It being on Muster Day the 2nd Day of October, 1798.
Errors excepted ; pr. Luther Martin.
I hereby certify that Mr. Luther Martin ferried over the above men. EBEN'R PECK, Capt.
Also to ferrying over and back Gen'l T. Allin and seven troopers with their Horses at 6 cts. per Piece. 96 cts.
LUTHER MARTIN, Ferriman."
BARRINGTON, Oct. 29, 1798.
At the opening of the new century, prosperity was return- ing to an impoverished people and ready communication of the towns with each other and with the capitals, Providence and Newport, seemed indispensable for the advancement of business. Kelley's toll bridge connected New Meadow Neck with Warren and Bristol, and the land travel to and from Newport, Providence, and Boston, on the east side of the bay, traversed Warren, New Meadow Neck and Reho- both by way of Monroe's Tavern, through what is now See- konk and East Providence. The leading citizens of Barring- ton, Warren, and Bristol saw that this was a circuitous route and sought a more direct way. Their first act was to procure the removal of the gates and bars which obstructed the highway from Wannamoisett through the Brown neigh- borhood from Captain Willett's to Armington's Corners and to make of it a public thoroughfare. The Town Council of Barrington, consisting of Samuel Allen, Nathaniel Heath, Thomas Allin and, Elkanah Humphrey, united in an address to the town of Rehoboth, asking that a " Highway be laid out through the town of Rehoboth from Barrington to the
الأخلا ملك الأسديما الحيلة
der mott poortod
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THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
ancient road to Providence Ferry, inasmuch as Barring- ton had at great expense, obtained by a lottery, built a good and sufficient Highway to the Rehoboth line."
A meeting of citizens of Barrington, Warren, Bristol, and Providence, interested in the new road and bridge, was held at Major Cole's Hall, Warren, February 20, 1802, "in order to facilitate a communication between the towns of Warren & Barrington, and between the different parts of the town of Barrington, as well as for a great public road from Warren to Providence in the most direct route." The subscribers also agreed to associate into a Company for the purpose of building a Toll Bridge across Warren & Barrington Rivers, at a place called Little Island, beginning at the foot of the street from the house of John Jolls and thence over Little Island to Tyler's Point, thence to an highway between the houses of Widow Bosworth and John Low - or in such other place thereabouts as may be judged best.
SUBSCRIPTIONS.
SHARES. SHARES.
Charles Collins, Jr.
Ten Solomon Townsend, Jr., ... Two
Nicholas Campbell
Six Nathan Child
Three
Jabez Bullock.
Five
John Short. One
Nath'l Smith
Five
Preserved Alger Two
Joshua Bicknell
Five
Watson Ingraham One
Joseph C. Mauran
Five
WVm. Carr Two
Sam'l Martin
Eight John Champlin
Two
Wm. D'Wolf.
Ten
Eben'r Cole
Ten
Thomas Kinnicutt
Five
James W. Brayton
Two
Joseph Adams.
Two Caleb Carr.
Three
Matthew Watson
Two
Wm. Collins
Two
Nath'l Sanders
One
Ja's D'Wolf
Five
John Carr.
One
Anderson Martin
One
William Easterbrooks.
One
TOTAL SHARES
102
WARREN, February 20th, 1802.
Immediately after the Subscription was filled, a petition was drawn up & signed by the proprietors; likewise, another by the inhabitants of Barrington in general, and a third by
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السلعة
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TOLL BRIDGE COMPANY.
the inhabitants of Warren and Bristol generally, which were presented to the general Assembly ; in consequence of which a Charter of Incorporation was granted to the Warren & Barrington Toll Bridge Company.
According to the Charter, it was ordered that the bridge was to be built from Warren to Little Island, thence to Tyler's Point and thence to the old Ferry Lane in Barring- ton ; that convenient draws, each of a width of thirty feet, to be raised in fifteen minutes, were to be maintained for the passage of vessels in Palmer's and Barrington Rivers, that a good able bodied man was to tend the bridge who could raise and lower the draw ; an annual meeting was to be held for the election of a president, vice do., treasurer and secre- tary to be chosen by a majority of the shares ; that the tolls at the said bridges were to be the same as at Kelley's bridge, provided that officers and soldiers on training days going to and returning from parade, and children going to and from school be exempt ; that whenever the stock-holders were reimbursed for all expenditures, the General Assembly might reduce the rate of toll of the bridge, and that the bridge be completed within two years. -
Mr. Duncan Kelley, the owner of Kelley's Bridge evi- dently saw that " his craft was in danger," by the erection of a bridge so near his own across both rivers, and the people saw as clearly that it would be to their advantage to use Kelley's bridge instead of building another in the same neighborhood, accordingly we find as the result of an agree- ment between the parties in interest, that the charter was amended at the June session of the Assembly, 1802, so that the bridge "will prove more commodious to the public as well as the said Company." It was enacted, that "the bridge should be built a little further Northerly, making the Eastern abutment thereof at or near the wharf of Captain Jeremiah Bowen in New Meadow Neck and continuing the same across the said river in such course or direction as shall be found most convenient to the opposite shore in Bar- rington," that the draw be limited to twenty-six feet in
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استود قته
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460
THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
width and that thirty minutes be allowed for raising and lowering the same. This legislation was the result of two agreements being made and executed on the 9th and 14th of May, 1802, between Duncan Kelley and the Barrington Toll Bridge Company by which Mr. Kelley was to repair his bridge and collect tolls, and the company to erect a bridge, keep it in repair, and collect tolls at the Barrington River. The tolls of the two bridges were to be divided equally between the parties on condition that each kept his own bridge in repair. The agreement was signed by Duncan Kelley, Ebenezer Cole, Jabez Bullock, Joshua Bicknell, Nathan Child, and William D'Wolf.
At the first election of the Barrington Toll Bridge Co., held at Warren, March 25, 1803, General Joseph Adams was elected president, Capt. Ebenezer Cole, treasurer, and Sergt. Charles Collins, Jun., secretary. Superintending committee, Samuel Martin, Joseph Adams, and Chas. Collins, Jun. The successive presidents of the B. T. B. Co. were Joseph Adams, 1803; Joshua Bicknell, 1804, 1805; Joseph C. Mauran, 1806; William Turner Miller, from 1807 to 1817; Jeremiah Bowen, from 1817 to 1823, James Bowen, IS23 to 1834; Allen Bowen, 1834 to 1841 ; Joseph Bowen, 1841 to 1862.
In September, 1815, this section was visited by a terrible gale from the south which destroyed a large amount of ship- ping on our coast and in Narragansett Bay, and swept away the two bridges connecting Barrington Necks and Warren. On October 14th the corporation met at Cole's Hotel, War- ren, and voted to choose a committee "to take care of the ruins of the late bridge and repair the said bridge as soon as practicable." Messrs. William T. Miller, Caleb Eddy, and Samuel Martin were chosen this committee, to take care of the repairs and confer with Mr. John Pearse, the agent of Kelley's Bridge." Money was needed for rebuilding and Solomon Townsend, Jr., raised $225 in Barrington. By vote of the corporation, the work of rebuilding began October 30, and on the 23d an assessment of $20 a share was made to
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CENTRAL BRIDGE.
meet the expenses of the repairs and later $12 a share was assessed for the same purpose.
In 1825 the treasurer, Samuel Martin, died and his widow was elected treasurer, who held the office till 1830, when James Bowen was elected. In 1831 Capt. James Bowen bought 52 shares of the stock of the Bridge Corporation, and the corporation came into control of Captain Bowen and his family. At the time of building the two bridges, separate tolls were collected at each, but when the properties came into the ownership of the two families, the Bowens and the Kelleys, an arrangement was made to collect the tolls at only one of the bridges and to divide the proceeds equally. This arrangement continued until 1872, when the state appropriated $6,000 to purchase the two bridges, and make them free to all travel, the care of the bridges thereafter to be assumed by the three towns, Bristol, Warren, and Bar- rington.
In 1894, two hundred and thirty years after the founding of the town, an important work was accomplished, which, had it been done in the earlier days, would have changed the history of the town in the development of the central section. For many years, possibly a century, the great need of a bridge across the Barrington River, above the Congregational Meeting House, had been felt and discussed by the people in town meeting and in private circles. As a result of peti- tions circulated through the town in favor of such a bridge, and presented to the General Assembly, an act was passed at the January session, 1877, authorizing the town to build a bridge at some point, to be selected, above the meeting·house, subject to the approval of the Harbor Commissioners of the State.
This permissive act prepared the way for the action of the town at the annual town meeting, in April, 1894, when it was voted to instruct the Town Council to appoint a commit- tee to procure plans and estimates for a bridge over Barring- ton River, at or near the Congregational Meeting House. At a special town meeting, held in the Town Hall on Satur-
வன் -ரீராம் பாணன்லா சரஸ் வமரனி கர் மம்
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THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
day, June 30, 1894, the committee referred to above, con- sisting of Messrs. Royal D. Horton, George T. Baker, and Charles H. Bowden, made a written report to the town, on plans and estimates as instructed by the town.
Subsequently the town voted :
"I. To build a bridge at a cost not to exceed nine thou- sand dollars.
2. To authorize the Town Council to appoint a committee to build said bridge.
3. That the committee thus appointed shall serve without compensation.
4. To authorize the Town Treasurer to hire the sum of nine thousand dollars, or as much as may be necessary to pay for the building of said bridge."
At the same meeting Royal D. Horton, George T. Baker, and Charles H. Bowden were elected the Committee on bridge building, and they were confirmed by vote of the Town Council, July 2, 1894.
The committee organized by the choice of Royal D. Hor- ton as Chairman, and George T. Baker as Secretary.
After an extended correspondence with bridge builders in all parts of the country, the committee advertised for bids for building a bridge and the approaches to the same, as a result of which a contract was made with the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., of Berlin, Conn., for the bridge proper, and an- other contract for the approaches was made with Messrs. Corcoran & Hunter, of Providence, R. I.
The plans as finally agreed upon having been submitted to the board of Harbor Commissioners and approved by them, work upon the bridge was commenced on August 6, 1894, and prosecuted continuously until finished, about Dec. 1, 1894.
On Tuesday, November 13, 1894, the bridge was tested by the engineer. with a load weighing twelve tons, consisting of a low gear loaded with steel rails and stone. The greatest defection noticed was three-eighths of an inch, and was not
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CENTRAL BRIDGE.
observable after the team had passed on. The test was very satisfactory in every particular, and on the report of the en- gineer, the committee accepted the bridge as having fulfilled all that the contract called for. The bridge was publicly accepted by the town and dedicated to public uses in Decem- ber, 1894, by appropriate services in the town hall. Addresses appropriate to the occasion were made by R. D. Horton, chairman of Building Committee; William T. Lewis, presi- dent of the Town Council ; Rev. John W. Colwell, and an historic address by Thomas W. Bicknell.
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CHAPTER XXIX
CEMETERIES
The Cemetery, "God's Acre " - Burial Hill - Tyler's Point - Little Neck - Prince's Hill - Forest Chapel Cemetery - Inscriptions - Epitaphs.
A DECENT regard for the body as the tenement of man has led all nations to make some provision for it after physical death has taken place. The old doctrine of some mystical reunion of the body and spirit at the resurrection has led to embalming and various other customs which have tended to preserve as long as possible the earthly part of our being. So sacred are burial places regarded among Christian people that the churchyard has been called "God's Acre." The Saxon phrase grew out of the notion that the mortal seed planted on earthly soil would sometime and in some way germinate for an immortal harvest.
The really significant reason for care of our dead grows out of the memorial character of the grave, and the monu- ment which should mark it, and it is evidence of a high standard of Christian intelligence and love when we witness the proper monument and memorial offerings in memory of the departed. Here in the churchyard or cemetery seem to centre and localize the affection and regard held for our friends, and our minds group about the grave the memories for which it stands. Here they have a certain "local habi- tation and a name."
. Westminster Abbey, in London, is one of the oldest of the great church cemeteries of England, and those who would pay respect to the memory of her great men, her heroes, her poets, her statesmen, her crowned heads, go there to meditate, and cast their wreaths of affection or honor. The most interesting spot at Mt. Vernon is the tomb
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اصلوا لل وحة
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OLD TRAINING FIELD AND CEMETERY
465
BURIAL PLACES.
of George Washington. The tomb of Grant on the Hudson, far away from the scenes of his birth, the great events and acts of his life, and the place of his death, will be visited for ages as the spot to learn heroism and awaken a truer patriot- ism. The whole of the great hero's life seems to stand over his grave, as an unchiselled monument of heroic stature, to remind us of his life-work for his country. The country's loving gratitude and the world's reverence will increase with the years, as that mausoleum shall be visited. Mt. Auburn, at Cambridge, will stand as the memorial of the great poet Longfellow, the statesmanship of Sumner, and the scientific research of Agassiz, while Sleepy Hollow, at Concord, will forever be the Mecca of the worshippers of Hawthorne Tho- reau, Alcott, and Emerson. A worthy remembrance and love will lead to a loving and reverential care, and the soul must be dead to human sentiment and loyalty to family, ancestry, or race, which is not interested in perpetuating the memories of those, of whose lives we are the warp and woof.
It was a custom quite common in early New England, and not yet entirely gone, for families to set apart a small lot on their own farms, as family burial places. Several of these existed in Barrington, among them being those of the Pecks, the Chaffees, the Allins, the Bicknells, the Browns, the Smiths, the Watsons, and others. The intermarriage of families, led others of different names, but with common in- terests, to unite in a common burial ground, and this courtesy of burial was extended to neighbors and others in family lots. Mr. Matthew Allin of Barrington, in a letter to Mr. Thomas Medbury of Rehoboth, writes : "As for your request to be buried in my land, I grant you with all freedom, so no more at present, but I remain your friend until death."
As the first permanent settlers of Barrington made their homes on New Meadow Neck, in the neighborhood of the Baptist Church, it would be most natural to select a public burial place in the neighborhood. . This was done, and the burial ground on the sunny knoll at the head of Hundred 30
الحر الد ماينا الأعيرة النا
على والان خلاله
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466
THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
Acre cove, is the place of the first interments of the whites on Barrington soil. The oldest graves are marked, if at all, by rude field stones, without inscriptions, so that it is impos- sible to tell when or by whom the ground was first used for burial purposes. We may believe that some of the slain of Philip's war were among the first to be laid at rest at Burial Hill. The tombstone of earliest date in this yard is that of Renew Carpenter, wife of Benjamin Carpenter, who died July 29th, 1703, aged forty-three years. Her husband died in 1727, aged sixty-nine years. As the land of this burial place is private ground, the graves are neglected, and unless some action be taken to care for the grounds and protect the monuments, all evidence of a burial place will soon be ef- faced.
After the Indian war of 1675, the meeting-house of the New Meadow Neck colony was established at the lower end of the neck and a lot of land was chosen south of the meet- ing-house on what is now known as Tyler's Point. After this time interments began to be made at Tyler's Point, on land which may have been a part of the training field or a part of the pastor's and teacher's lots, and near to the new house to which Mr. Myles returned as pastor after the trouble with Philip was over. Mr. Myles died in 1683, and it is probable that his remains were the first deposited in the new burial ground at Tyler's Point. If so, his grave is among the unmarked mounds in this old cemetery, but his name and memory should be reverenced by the generations present and future. Gray's inspired Elegy applies to the mounds at Burial Hill and Tyler's Point.
" Perhaps, in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire ; Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast, The little tyrant of his field withstood, Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest; Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood."
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الحرية الصيـ
467
TYLER'S POINT CEMETERY.
The first memorial stone with record at Tyler's Point is erected to the memory of Frances Low, who died June, 1702, aged about 70 years. One of the most interesting persons of Pilgrim history, buried in this cemetery, was Mrs. Desire Kent, who died at the great age of 94 years.
The inscription is as follows :
MRS. DESIRE KENT, Wdo. of Mr. SAMUEL KENT of Barrington. Was the first English
Woman's Grand Daughter on New England. Died Febry ye Sth, A. D. 1762, Aged about 94 years.
It is not clear for what reason, but it is certain that obstructions had been placed to the approach to the Tyler's Point ground, for on June 8, 1726, it was ordered that " Whereas there is fences or incumbrances on the highway on New Meadow Neck leading to the burying place and train field, It is voted that Ebenezer Martin be impow- ered to pull down and remove all such fences or incum- brances on said highways and to lay open the burying place and train field, as formerly lay open and that the town will bare him harmless in all lawful charges." There is no rec- ord as to the success of Mr. Martin's efforts in behalf of the town as no report was recorded, but from the action of the town the next year, we infer that the ownership of the land was the question in dispute and that the claimant had fenced up the burial ground and the training field to protect his claim. On the 18th of May, 1727, the people were again assembled in town meeting at the meeting-house, the able and popular Timothy Wadsworth was chosen moderator as
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THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
usual, when Lieut. James Adams, Samuel Kent, and Samuel Allen were chosen a committee "to act on behalf of the town concerning the land lying on New Meadow Neck which has been a training field and a burying place, on which a meeting-house has been formerly built, about obtaining and maintaining the town's rights with respect to said land and to make report to the town as soon as they have a conven- ient opportunity." It does not appear by the records that the convenient season to report ever came and the claim of the town against that of individual owners was held in the balance for one hundred and twenty-seven years. Mean- while four generations had been born and buried and seem to have had an unobstructed passage to the tomb.
The New Meadow Neck burial ground continued to be used for many families of the eastern part of the town. Still the town possessed no deed of the land, until March 18, 1854, when, as the result of considerable agitation and town meet- ing discussion, Mr. Jesse Davis and wife deeded to the town "A certain lot of land in Barrington, and now used for a burial place, situate near the river and southerly from my mansion house containing 106 square rods with the right of way over land of grantee from the road to the burial place, the said premises and way to be used for burial purposes."
The burial ground at the head of Bullock's Cove, in an- cient Wannamoisett, was located on the farm of John Brown, Senior. The first burial in this ground was probably that of Mr. Brown's son, John Brown, Jun., who died in 1662. His death was followed by that of his father, the same year. Mary (Brown) Willett, daughter of John Brown, Sen., and wife of Capt. Willett, died in 1669, and was followed by the death of her husband, five years later, in 1674. "Dorothy Brown, widow of John Brown, Sen., died Jan. 27, 1673, being the goth. year of her life or thereabouts, and was buried on the 29th of January," say the records of John Myles, Jun., Town Clerk. Chiselled deep in the heavy stones, over the grave of Captain Willett, is the following inscription :
ம் பிரா ஒர்ண்டல்
469
PRINCE'S HILL CEMETERY.
1674.
e Here lyeth y Body e of y wor THOMAS
Headstone.
r WILLETT esq who died e th e th August y 4 in y 64 year of his age anno
WHO WAS THE
FIRST MAYOR
Footstone. OF NEW YORK & TWICE DID T SVSTAINE Y PLACE
After the division of Swansea and the incorporation of Barrington as a separate town, a Congregational meeting- house was built on the main road leading south from Barring- ton Centre Railroad Station, at the corner of what was known as "Jenny's Lane." The population on the main neck de- manded a burial ground on the east side of Barrington River, and at a town meeting held Jan. 18, 1727-8, Timothy Wads- worth, Moderator, "Lieut. Peck, Zachariah Bicknell, and James Smith were chosen a committee to lay out a burial place, and to agree with Ebenezer Allen what to give him for the ground, and to make report to the town at the next meeting." At the adjourned meeting held at the meeting- house on the 8th of February, the town voted to give Eben- ezer Allen five pounds for half an acre of land, for a burial place, at Prince's Hill. Mr. Allen's deed, under date of De- cember 31, 1729, conveys to the town of Barrington, "A certain piece of land lying on or near Prin ce's Hill so called in Barrington, containing half an acre to be for the use and benefit of the town forever for to bury their dead; butted and bounded as follows, viz .: Northerly as the fence now stands. Easterly on the river, Southerly to a black oak tree marked thence to the highway to a stake and heap of stones, West upon the highway."
The half acre described above contains the oldest of the graves and monuments at Prince's Hill, and its area may be
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IDR TUR
دار الشاوعات
470
THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
easily seen by noticing the position of gravestones in that part of the yard southeast of the tomb and the ravine which extends to the river. The fence referred to probably stood on the east bank of the ravine, but the river and highway are the only bounds that can be determined. The earliest burial in this yard was that of William Tiffany, son of Eben- ezer and Elizabeth Tiffany, who died Jan. 2, 1728, aged 18 years.
In the year 1806 a parcel of land lying southeast of the Allen lot, and adjoining it, was bought by Solomon Town- send, as the first purchase was almost wholly occupied. This lot was purchased by the Town Council and confirmed by vote of the town, Dec. 2, 1806.
A second addition was made to the Prince's Hill burial ground by a purchase of a lot on the northwest of the Allen lot and adjoining it, of Josiah Kinnicutt. At a town meeting held May 29, 1826, it was voted "That Ebenezer Tiffany, Josiah Kinnicutt, and William Allin be a committee to lay out the new burying ground at Prince's Hill (so called) in suitable and convenient lots, and report a plat of the same. and some plan for the accommodation of families in particu- lar lots." The Kinnicutt purchase is that part of the ceme- tery between the ravine on the east, the highway, the present line on the northwest, and the river bank. The third addi- tion to the Prince's Hill ground was made by purchase of the Rev. Francis Wood, of a lot south of and adjoining the Townsend purchase, containing one and one-quarter acres, and cost $197. This lot was obtained and platted, and the tomb near the ravine was built by the efforts and under the direction of the writer. The four purchases, including over four acres, are held by the town by clear titles, as shown in the Town Clerk's records. This burial ground has been lately increased in size, by the addition of land acquired by the town for town purposes, and is now (1898) being graded and laid out in lots.
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