USA > Rhode Island > A history of Block Island : from its discovery, in 1514, to the present time, 1876 > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
Mr. George Sheffield, brother of Wm. P., is one of the
347
TOSH.
most thorough, and well-to-do farmers of the Island, and is a highly esteemed citizen.
TOSH.
William Tosh was one of the settlers who embarked for Block Island, at Taunton, in 1662. He was not one of the first proprietors, but as a citizen was admitted freeman of the colony in 1664, was constable in 1676; died in 1685, and his property then inventoried shows that he was a well-to-do citizen, having 263 acres of land and dwelling-house, estimated at £288.
Ackers Tosh, probably a son of William, born in 1684, lived until he reached his one hundred and first year, ac- cording to the stone at his grave in the Island cemetery. He was admitted freeman in 1709.
Margaret Tosh was born June 26, 1726. William Tosh was born in 1733.
James Tosh was born May 26, 1735. (R. S. Dickens' Bible.)
Daniel Tosh, perhaps a brother of the first settler, Wil- liam, was admitted freeman in 1696, with several others of Block Island, and with James Sweet, who was then admitted, was kidnapped by a buccaneer in the bay, May 18, 1717. The fate of both of them is still a mystery on the Island.
The estate of the senior Wm. Tosh, inventoried in 1685, furnishes us with the prices of things in general then on the Island.
1 Chest and lock, £0 5 0 ·
1 Churn and firkins and glass bottles, ·
0 12
0
1 Cupboard and kneading trough, 0
3
0
1 Chest, 0 8
0
3 Bushels of salt,
0 £ 6 0
100 Pounds of cheese, .
1
5 0
1 Feather bed and bedding,
.
.
1 15 0
348
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
1 Frying pan and dishes, . £0 2 0
1 Pot and kettle, chain trammel, 1 15 0
1 Hatchel, other lumber in the chamber, .
0 15 0
0 18 0
0 14 0
2 Pitchforks and 2 old hoes,
.
1 Cart and wheels,
1 0 0
3 Chains and 2 clevises,
1 10 0
3 Yokes, .
0 6
0
Waring clothes,
1 6 0
13 cows and a bull,
4 Oxen,
8 Calves, last year,
9 0 0
6 Calves, .
4 Two-year olds, vantage, .
2
5 0
1 Heifer, 3 years old,
2
5 0
1 Mare and a horse colt, .
3 10 0
30 Swine,
12 0 0
50 Sheep, . 12 0 0
288 0 0
1 Small gun, 0 12
Old iron, cabbages, and wheels, barrels, 1
3
0
1 Qr. pot, .
0
3 6
8 Acres of corn, .
8 0 0
1 Indian servant for life, .
·
7 0 0
.
.
.
30 0 0
16 0 0
.
.
·
2
8 0
.
.
WRIGHT.
John Wright was a resident of Block Island in the early part of the Revolution. In 1776 he and some of his neighbors had considerable trouble with the authorities at Newport on account of an alleged friendliness to the British.
Wm. L. Wright, a native of the Island, its first post- master, moved to Exeter, Otsego Co., N. Y., in 1837, taking children with him. His son,
1 New pot and four wedges,
Pails, hoes, and grinding stone,
0 4 0
263 Acres and dwelling-house,
0
.
349
WRIGHT.
George M. Wright, born in 1817, on Block Island, taught school here the winter that his friend S. Ray Sands taught; attended select school in Hartwick, N. Y., and afterward, in 1841, was employed in New York city by the firm of Jeremiah & Nathaniel Briggs, in the forwarding and transportation business. Subsequently he was superintendent of the Seaman's Friend and Re- treat, on Staten Island, and in 1851, became a citizen of New Brunswick, N. J., and was there general agent of Geo. W. Aspinwall's steam towing line, in 1854. In 1855 Mr. Wright moved to Bordentown, N. J .; was there mayor three years; in 1865 was elected State Senator for three years; for many years was inspector and collector of the Delaware & Raritan Canal company-collecting millions and reporting every cent to the entire satisfaction of the company; for the last twenty years largely interested in steam boats, being a director in the Pennsylvania Steam Towing & Transportation company, and also engaged in banking. In February, 1876, he was elected State Treas- urer of New Jersey for three years, and it is hoped by his old friends on Block Island that he may live long and continue to be an honor to the home of his childhood.
There are many names of excellent families on the Island not here represented. All who have desired to have their genealogy briefly sketched have had an oppor- tunity to present the same to the writer. A whole volume, indeed, might be filled with biographical sketches of the Island families. Hereafter, it is hoped, there will be greater conveniences in ascertaining names, dates, and relations. The Milikins, the Conleys, the Peckhams, the Spragues, the Willises, the Allens, the Hayses, the Stead- mans, the Coes, the Dunns, and the Gortons, and others are old and respectable names worthy of commemoration.
30
350
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
PECULIAR AND PITIABLE.
In almost every community there are persons so differ- ent from the generality of mankind, so nondescript, that without classifying them at all, each may be considered by himself as an abnormal specimen of humanity. Some can hardly be said to belong either to the sane, or to the insane; either to the civilized, or the uncivilized; either to the happy, or the miserable portions of society. Block Island has had its share of such. It has also had in- valids, worthy persons, singularly afflicted.
" VARNY " was an abnormal Islander. This part of his name is all we need to perpetuate. He seems to have been a pet of "Old Harry," as he was called. The latter was very rich, and delighted in lavishing his wealth on Varny. Old Harry's pet had his own way of enjoying presents of money, one of which was to use a dollar bill for lighting his pipe. At this Harry took no offense, for he was eccentric, and was proud of his ability to furnish such a spendthrift, and even went so far as to give Varny a deed of a good farm. In process of time, however, Harry offended his protegé, and the latter, in a fit of re- venge burned up the deed of said farm.
Varny's house was, for a time, one of those little stone and earth ice-houses at the Harbor, the wood-cuts of which may be seen in Harper's Monthly for July, 1876. His household companions were a dog, and a pig. For the latter he seemed to have the stronger attachment, and called him "Rig-Dug." The pig reciprocated his master's attachment, and did not seem to be embarrassed with a sense of inferiority in the family. There existed between them a uniformity of aspirations and content- ment, except at certain times, when Rig-Dug would grunt good-naturedly at things which caused Varny to swear so frightfully as to make a swarm of boys run for their hiding places like rats when lightning gets into a cellar.
351
PECULIAR AND PITIABLE.
Those boys, though now pretty " old boys," still remem- ber the dark nights, when the rails went down Varny's chimney, when the beach-stones made music on his door -no glass to jingle, for he had no windows,-and when they scattered for their lives to escape from the wrath of the companion of Rig-Dug and Fido.
Once Varny got the best of the joke. Some men, see- ing the fun which the boys had by putting rails down said chimney, repeated the trick by putting a couple of small masts down the same. Soon after they were stepped in Varny's fire-place he kindled a brisk fire at their feet which necessitated a hasty exit. His eccentric mode of living was after he became a widower. Abnor- mal as he was, Varny is said to have had a son, whose name, by giving it a little touch of Latin, was
FRACUS. How he came to have this name, whether from some fracas, or something else, is unknown. He, too, was peculiar. His aberration from the laws of nature, living to old age in solitude; his exhibitions of rude paintings with which to interpret prophecies; and his making Gen. Washington a central figure of his inter- pretations; and his outdoor lectures to a passing throng; and his lonely waitings for some one to come to the place of his appointment, are evidences of his having better thoughts and feelings than did his father, and that, though
he now sees with obscured vision, yet hereafter he may better understand the duties and joys of society and the glorious reality of the shadows now lingering over his mental horizon. Time and eternity may prove that Fra- cus is less crazy to-day than some whose elegant mansions, in view of his lonely cottage, are distinguished by guests who seek only the pleasures of the present. Some who are little here will be great in the world to come, and some who are greatest here will be among the least there. ABNORMITY. The character to which this name is ap-
352
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
propriate, on the Island, is as indescribable as the inside of a kaleidoscope. The rays in him are peculiarly mixed and angular. There is light in him, but of what kind, whether of nature or of revelation, or "darkness," it is not always easy to determine. But few exhibit a greater zeal for religion, and but few are believed by some to have less than he has. He imagines himself to be one of the humblest, while evincing great pride over his imagined superiority. He has claimed the supernatural gift of praying and exhorting in what he calls the "unknown tongue." He claims that he has healed the sick in twenty minutes by his prayers of faith. He is very boastful over his obedience to all the commandments, and has embraced many opportunities to class large congregations of Chris- tians with adulterers and thieves because they do not keep the seventh day holy as he does; and yet his behavior in seventh day meetings has been so bad as to break them up repeatedly. He repeats Scripture with great fluency, while the truths that pass from his tongue seem to have produced but a slight impression upon his mind. He goes from house to house to exhibit himself, and to talk about himself. Because David danced before the Lord, Abnor- mity glories in having a religious dance before men. His preaching gift is so great in his own estimation, that he begged the privilege of a dying neighbor to preach his funeral sermon on the ground that neither of the two pastors on the Island was competent for that service. He condemns persecution in strongest terms, and yet evidently seeks it. He is a great talker, and yet says but very little. He often talks about honesty, but has had the cheek to sell old hens for chickens, and when the trick was dis .. covered, declared to the merchant that they were chickens. He is as much of a compound of contradictions as the toper's beverage in which was, "Lemon to make it sour;
353
PECULIAR AND PITIABLE.
sugar to make it sweet; brandy to make it strong; water to make it weak."
Abnormity was once a little foiled. He contrived a plan for demonstrating his superiority over two ministers.
His syllogism seemed to be this : "I cured a disease, by prayer, in twenty minutes; if these two ministers cannot do as much, then I am greater than both." A lame arm and shoulder, real or feigned, were a test subject. He laid his disease before one minister for trial. Then he pre- sented himself before the other, saying: "We are com- manded, if any among you are sick, to call on the elders, it don't say call on the doctors, but on the elders, to be healed by the prayer of faith. I believe in going by the Scriptures, and have come to have you cure my arm and shoulder, and you can do it, if you are a true minister- for I have cured the sick by prayer in twenty minutes- and I have tried the other minister, and he has had twenty- four hours to heal it in, and I am no better, which shows that he is not a true minister-now I want to see what you can do."
Minister No. 2, replied: "Are you willing to follow the Scriptures strictly, to be healed by the prayer of faith?" " Yes," he replied. "Then, if we go about this accord- ing to Scripture, we must follow the Scripture order. In the first place you must call on the "elders," not one at a time, as you have done with us. In the second place, you must have faith in our prayers to heal you, and in the third place we must "anoint," you either in part or all over, " with oil," and it will be a matter for us to consider whether or not to use kerosene." "Well, well," said he, " I don't know about having kerosene put on me," obtain- ing, perhaps, for the first time in his life, a glimpse of the necessary steps to be taken to be healed in the days of miracles. Before his visit closed, during which all was said in a serious manner, he gestured with his lame arm
30*
354
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
about as freely as he did with the other, and has not applied for healing since then.
Some of his recitations of Scriptures, some of his pray- ers and exhortations, and some of his exhibitions of faith, whether moved by the spirit which actuated the effemi- nate demoniac that followed Paul and Silas at Philippi, or by a better spirit, have certainly been extraordinary. In the sieve which Satan shakes, in spite of him, the wheat will come to the surface, occasionally. Abnormity has made a zig-zag mark which it is feared he will never straighten. He has some worthy ancestors, and many good relatives now living, and is known somewhat abroad, but should not be considered as an average, but as a pecu- liar representative of Block Island.
THREE DEAF, MUTE, AND BLIND BROTHERS.
They were all thus afflicted in early childhood, and all grew up to be old men. The few ideas which they ob- tained from partial vision in their earliest years were of great value to them in youth and manbood. Two are dead, and one is living. They were all bright boys, and by their activity and kind dispositions have secured not only sympathy from the more highly favored, but a good degree of respect from them also. Though supported mainly by the town, they have exhibited a desire to help themselves as much as possible. They were very good fishermen, by having a little assistance. Their friends . conversed with them rapidly by signs made by moving their hands, and by touching various parts of their per- sons. They, in turn, quickly recognized and distinguished indviduals by their height, breadth of shoulders, shape, beard, faces, depth of chest, quality of dress, and by whatever their hands might touch. They were able to go to various parts of the Island, and to return alone,
355
THREE DEAF, MUTE, AND BLIND BROTHERS.
feeling their way with canes. They were familiarly known as Blind Varnum, Blind Nelson, and Blind Henry.
The last one named is now living. .
Blind Varnum is remembered, among other things, by his adroitness in catching lobsters that were smaller than the legal standard. He contrived a plan by which he made the lobsters the aggresssors, and himself an actor in self-defense. His mode of procedure was simply to have the lobsters catch him. To do this, knowing well their powerful pincers, Blind Varnum would muffle his feet with stockings and rags fastened around his toes, and then, in the warm days of summer, when the tide was low, waded out into the bay, near the old pier, as deep as it was safe for him to do, and there would work his feet around the rocks, and into the sand until he felt the lobsters pinching his toes. Thus the lobsters caught him, and he, in defense, mastered them, strung them, and sold or ate them. He was drowned, while fishing.
Blind Nelson made a deep impression upon the Island- ers by his religious character. Though unable to hear or say a word, or see a thing, his religious convictions were clearly expressed, and his desire to be baptized and become a member of the church was gratified. His faith- ful attendance at times of worship, was unmistakable proof of his consciousness of the fulfillment of the prom- ise of the Saviour to be where his followers are assem- bled in his name. He also gave expression to his faith and emotions in the conference meetings in a manner which others could understand. By signs made with his hands, as he arose, the love of his heart was indicated, his hope of having his eyes opened, his ears unstopped, his tongue loosened, and of going to heaven were forci- bly expressed by silent gestures, while many a tearful eye looked upon his face tinged with the radiance of faith
356
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
like that which shone out from the martyr Stephen. He died several years ago.
Blind Henry is perhaps, a little more intelligent than was either of his brothers mentioned. During the win- ter he remains at home, but in summer the walk of two miles to the Harbor is frequently performed to get a few dimes from visitors, and to enjoy the many little favors conferred upon him by his well-known townsmen. No one seems to understand better than he the times and places for meeting the new arrivals by steamer. Many have seen him holding his hat by the way-side. His the- atrical performances, such as dancing, taking part upon the battlefield, sporting, killing his game, picking off its feathers, and eating it with a relish, using his cane for a gun, and his fingers for knife and fork-these with his jolly good nature while others are witnesses, and an occa- sional rap of his cane given to a perplexing boy, added to the narrow escapes from being run over by teams, keep his acquaintances mindful of his pitiful condition.
It is interesting to notice the elements of human nature in some way exhibited by Blind Henry. His love of money is variously manifested. After a year's acquaint- ance with a minister who always gave him a few pennies when they met, Henry, showing him great respect by removing his hat and by slapping the minister on the shoulder, instantly anticipated the little alms, and on one occasion put out his hand too soon to receive the money, and instantly withdrew it as the thought occurred to him that he was hasty in begging from a minister. Here were evident a high respect, a strong love of money, and a quick and delicate sense of propriety, and a mortifica- tion for asking so hastily for alms, which he soon received. Henry likes a good bargain. When he buys pipes, to- bacco, and other items, good quality and full measure are demanded, and in order that he may not be cheated, he
357
THREE DEAF, MUTE, AND BLIND BROTHERS.
feels of the cheeks of the merchants before buying, by gently passing his hands over their faces. Some cheeks he will trust much more readily than he will others, and some he will not trust at all.
Blind Henry gives very good evidence of having seen the Friend whom blind Bartimeus saw before his eyes were opened to the light of day. Two funerals had recently occurred on the Island, and Henry learned about them. Soon afterward he described them, and the char- acters of the deceased persons, and their destiny. The one was a devoted Christian. Without a word spoken, by the sign with his finger which indicated a curl of hair on the neck, those standing about him knew he meant a woman. With his thumbs and fore-fingers he gently pulled down his eyelids. He then laid his cane down upon the ground slowly, keeping it horizontal. Then he put one hand to one end of the cane and the other hand to the other end to represent head and foot stones. Then he stooped over the cane, and motioned with his two hands as if he were rounding up the earth over the grave. Then, after standing up a moment he stooped down, put his hands together over the imagined grave, separated them in a way that indicated the opening of the grave, repeated these motions several times, then rose up and stretched one hand high toward heaven. All understood him. He told us silently, "she is dead; " " she is buried;" " she will rise again; " "she 'has gone to heaven." The other funeral was similarly described, the description closing with motions indicating that the wicked man had gone down.
Blind Henry keeps the Sabbath. If he loses the day of the week he inquires for the day of rest. To rebuke a wrong, he points up.
The three deaf, mute, blind brothers were wholly mute and deaf from infancy, and all wholly blind after the
358
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND
age of twenty-five. Varnum was drowned at the age of about sixty, Nelson, at about sixty-five, died of consump- tion; and Henry is now living at the age of seventy.
PAUPERS.
These are not numerous upon Block Island, for a living is here obtained with but little exertion. They are only eight, in 1877, and are not sent away from home to a county house, nor are they kept at one place. At an an- nual town meeting the keeping of each pauper for the ensuing year is given to the lowest bidder for the same. One by one they are thus put up at auction, and distrib- uted over the town. They are not, however, left to the mercy of the bidder. If an unworthy citizen underbids for one of the more respectable paupers, the bid is nulli- fied by the objections of the friends of said pauper. Thus instead of putting the poor into the care of strangers the Islanders keep them, at less expense, among their friends and kindred, and the town authorities see that they re- ceive proper attention.
SUFFERING KATY.
More than fifty years ago, in a comfortable cottage overlooking the Sound, and Montauk, from the west side of Block Island, a pious man looked upon the sun setting in the western waters, to see it rise no more. About two months after he went to his rest his daughter Katy was born. While prattling upon her mother's knee, and frol- icking about the door-yard in childhood; while strolling over the fields and plucking wild flowers, and along the beach gathering shells and pretty pebbles in girlhood; and while enjoying the mirthful society of "young men and maidens," it was well for Katy that she knew not how long and dark a cloud was to gather over her earthly horizon. No youthful female with a higher, broader
359
SUFFERING KATY.
brow; with more intellectual features, all most perfectly chiseled; with raven tresses, and black eyes more capti- · vating than Katy, had walked upon the Island. But, on account of her accidental fall, suddenly the faces that were wont to meet her with smiles and gleeful words were changed, and brought her expressions of pity and words of sympathy.
Katy received an injury at the age of twenty which laid her upon a bed of great suffering. Her strength was so much reduced as to deprive her of the privilege of walking for one long year. She had previously become a member of the Free-Will Baptist church of Block Isl- and, and bore her suffering with Christian submission. " Heaven hides the book of fate," and it was a blessing to her that she could not read in it her future. This first year of pain was only one of the ten in succession. These ten long years of painful days and " wearisome nights" were only the beginning of Katy's sorrows. One year was added to another, keeping her constantly upon her bed, until a score of them had passed by her cottage with- out bringing to it relief. The companions of her youth came to her bedside less frequently. Some were pressed with domestic cares, some had moved away, all had changed, and some were buried who had expected to follow Katy to her resting place. Twenty years in bed ! Had she said, when first prostrated, like Job, “When shall I arise and the night be gone ?" who could have supposed that the reply, "twenty long years," would have been only a partial answer to her inquiry ? Yes, ten more than twenty years of pain were in store for poor Katy. She has patiently worn them away. Thirty years of her life have been spent upon a bed of pain and sorrow.
During this long period of suffering, Katy has man- aged much of her time to take care of herself almost entirely. No place among her kindred, however com-
360
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
fortable, has been able to give her such contentment as the roof beneath which she was born, and the room in which she has suffered so much. There, by means of sticks with hooks and forks on the ends of them, like those used by merchants to reach things up high, she has helped herself. There, with shelves on the wall back of her bed, and on the walls at its head, she has reached
things without troubling others.
There, with a small
cooking-stove near her bed, with her hooks and forks that have handles five or six feet long, after the fire has been kindled, she has done the little cooking required, with some feelings of independence. There, with fuel prop- erly placed, she has replenished her own fire without call- ing upon others. It would astonish many to know how much she has done to help herself during these thirty invalid years. In so doing, her will and ingenuity have been developed, as may be seen in her conversation. In the meantime her religious sensibilities have been chas- tened and refined as gold in the furnace. Reading the Bible has occupied much of her time when health would permit. Committing poetry to memory, and often repeat- ing it, has also been a source of comfort, As she has considered herself, for more than twenty years, so near to death's door, the following stanzas have been repeated by her many times, as appropriate for others to remember:
" These eyes that she seldom could close, By sorrow forbidden to sleep, Sealed up in the sweetest repose, Have strangely forgotten to weep.
" Her months of affliction are o'er, Her days and her nights of distress, We see her in anguish no more, She has gained her happy release.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.