USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > Newport > Annals of Trinity church, Newport, Rhode Island, 1698-1821 > Part 9
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Following his connection with the Church, Rev. Mr. Pollen became the Rector of the Church, at Kingston, Jamaica, and under date of March 12, 1761, from that place wrote to Dr. John Brett, touching the recent death of the king: "Our Church is in mourning, which, I believe, is more than you can say of yours. This, if it be true, proves we make a greater show of loyalty than you, tho' not of religion ; for I cannot find there came to ye Church when it was opened one person extraordinary, either to see the new decoration, or hear me, the new preacher. The difference between the Kingston and ye Newport churchmen is this : the former take care to pay the parson, but do not care to hear him preach ; the latter take care to hear the parson preach, but do not care to pay him. Whence I may likewise infer that ye former have more, honesty, tho' per- haps less sanctity than the latter."
II3
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
The Committee appointed to return thanks to the Society, having presented the following letter, draughted by them, it is approved of:
Revd Sir. Your most agreeable favor of the toth of February last, we received by the Rev. Mr. Pollen, who, with his family, arrived here the beginning of this month. We shall punctually perform our engagements made to the Honble Society, and do everything in our power that may contribute to render his mission agreeable to him. From the general good character we have received, and the small acquaintance we have had with him since his arrival, we promise ourselves great satisfaction and make no doubt but he will be greatly instrumental in promoting true religion among us, and therby answer the pious and charitable design of the Honble Society in sending him ; for which favor and all others we entreat them to accept our most grateful acknowledgements, and are, with profound respect, and with much esteem, Revª Sir,
Your Most Obedient Humble Svt's Signed by the Church Wardens.
September 17, 1754. John Powell118 was married to Jane Grant. November 12, 1754. Francis Brinley was married to Aleph Malbone.
December 3, 1754. Henry Ward was120 married to Esther Free- body.
January 6, 1755.
Voted: that from the first day of July last, the
118 John Powell was the son of Adam Powell [one of the Wardens of the Church in 1721] and Sarah Bernon. daughter of Gabriel Bernon, his wife. Jane Grant, was the daughter of Sueton and Temperance Grant. Mrs. Grant died on Long Island, where she went to be inoculated for the small- pox, in October, 1774. Mr. Powell removed with his children to Eng- land, and died at Ludlow, in 1800, aged 83 years.
120 Henry Ward was Secretary of the Colony, and then of the State, from 1760 to the time of his death, in 1797. His brother Thomas had filled the same office fourteen years, and another brother, Samuel, was Governor of the Colony from 1762 to 1763, and from 1765 to 1767.
114
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
proprietors of the double pews should pay as a tax towards the pay- ment of the Rev. Mr. Pollen's salary, per annum, £18; the pews and a half, £13.10, and the single pews £9, and the pews in the gallery £6.15, each.
Voted : that Mr. Pollen should be paid his salary at the rate of sixteen hundred pounds, old tenor, for one hundred sterling.
Easter Monday, March 31, 1755. Metcalf Bowler chosen Elder Church Warden, and Robert Jenkins, youngest.
Philip Wilkinson was added to the Vestry.
John Grelea was elected Clerk, at £100, per annum.
Voted : that hereafter the organist, in divine service, should play such tunes only to the psalms proposed to be sung, as the said Clerk shall direct.
George Owen was continued as sexton.
October 26, 1755. Voted : that the pew No. 27, that was formerly Captain Wm Bell's, and that which was Capt. W" Gibb's, No. 19, should be sold, and that sundry persons applying for pews, should draw lots for the pews ; when Mr. Robert Jenkins, in behalf of Capt. John Mawdsley, drew No. 27, at £300. Capt. John Dennis drew the southernmost half of pew No. 19, that was William Gibbs's, at £200, and Capt. Peter Harrison121 the north part of the said pew, at £200, and that the above mentioned pews should be subject to the same tax and other charges, as the other pews in the Church.
October 13th, 1755. Jonathan Thurston was chosen one of the Vestry, in the room of W" Coddington, deceased.
121 Peter Harrison was an accomplished architect-one who left his mark in Boston as well as in Newport. He was the architect of the front (the original) part of the Redwood Library, a beautiful and refined speci- men of Roman Doric architecture, and also of the City Hall and the Jews' Synagogue ; and it is probable that he designed some of the finer specimens of domestic architecture, still preserved to us.
115
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
Easter Monday, April 19, 1756. Robert Jenkins was chosen eldest Church Warden, and Joseph Wanton, Jr., youngest.
Vestrymen : Jahleel Brenton, Joseph Wanton, Godfrey Malbone. Edward Scott, John Brown, Peter Bours, James Honyman, Wm. Mumford, Jonathan Thurston, William Paul, Thomas Wickham, Charles Wickham, Daniel Ayrault, Jr., Evan Malbone, Philip Wil- kinson and Walter Cranston.
John Grelea, Clerk of the Church; William Paul, Clerk of the Vestry : and Geo. Owen, Sexton.
July 5, 1756. Voted : that Mr. Proud's allowance, for weekly winding up the clock, should be augmented to £26 per annum for the future.
October 16, 1756. Mrs. Elizabeth Cole,122 widow of Elisha Cole, was buried by Rev. Dr. McSparran.
October 18. 1756. Robert Stoddard13 was married to Mary Pease.
122 The following record was made in the books of St. Paul's, Narragan- sett, by Rev. Dr. McSparran :
" October 16, 1756. Being wrote and earnestly entreated to go to New- port for that purpose, I preached a funeral sermon for and on account of Mrs. Elizabeth Cole, widow and relict of the late Elisha Cole, Esq., who died many years ago in London, and buried her in the burying-ground in Newport. She was a good woman and a particular friend of the sub- scriber's, and she and her husband and family were baptized by me.
JAMES MCSPARRAN."
Elisha Cole was the son of John Cole, an early settler of Narragansett, and grandson of the famous Ann Hutchinson. One of his sons. John, became distinguished at the Bar, was made Chief-Justice, and held other important offices. Of Col. Edward Cole, the third son, mention has been made in these pages.
123 Robert Stoddard was a storekeeper in Newport. After the death of his first wife he married. November 29, 1767, Catharine Wanton, daugh- ter of Joseph Wanton and grand-daughter of Gov. William Wanton.
.
II6
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Easter Monday, April 11, 1757. Joseph Wanton, Jr., elected Eld- est Church Warden, and Charles Handy, the youngest.
No change was made in the Vestry.
Voted : that for the future the Rev. Mr. Pollen's salary should be paid in sterling money.
April 18, 1757. Voted: that the Rev. Mr. Pollen be allowed £200, old tenor.
May 19. William Redwood124 was married to Sarah Pope.
[St. John's Day, June 24, 1756. Services were held in the Church, and a sermon was preached before the "Society of Free and Ac- cepted Masons " by the Rev. Mr. Pollen.]
November 21, 1757. Voted : that Joseph Wanton, Thomas Wick- ham and Godfrey Malbone be a committee to learn on what terms Mr. Knotchell126 will act as organist for us, and to get a subscrip- tion for the payment of an organist.
February 13, 1758. Voted : that Mr. Joseph Wanton, Jr., and Mr. Charles Handy be a committee to write to Mr. Marmaduke Browne to know if he will act as Catechist in the Rev. Mr. Leam- ing's station.
Easter Monday, March 27, 1758. Charles Handy was chosen eldest Church Warden, and Andrew Hunter, the youngest.
Joseph Wanton, Jr., was added to the Vestry.
After the death of Stoddard she married Dr. Destailleur, a surgeon in the British army, and removed to Canada.
124 William Redwood was the fifth child of Abraham Redwood, born at Newport, June 1, 1734, removed to Philadelphia, and died at Burling- ton, N. J., without issue. January 14, 1815, he was buried in the Friends' burial ground, Philadelphia.
126 From the time the organ was set up in the Church there seems to have been difficulty in securing the services of an efficient and reliable organist, and for many years subsequent to this date the difficulty had still to be solved. Knotchell held the office till he died, in 1769.
II7
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
John Grelea elected Clerk, and George Owen, sexton.
Voted : that Peter Bours and Edward Scott be a committee to ask of the Society a school-master, to supply the place of Mr. Jere- miah Leaming.
Voted : that Joseph Wanton, Jr., Andrew Hunter, and Christo- pher Champlin be a committee to have four pews built, agreeably to a vote passed in May, 1746, and that Isaac Stelle have the offer of one of them.
April 10, 1758. Voted: that the following gentlemen should have the pews, viz .: Thomas Cranston, No. 61 ; Francis Brinley, No. 62 ; Simon Pease,127 No. 63, and Isaac Stelle, No. 64 ; at the rate of £200 each, subject to the same tax as the pews adjoining.
March 29, 1759. Catharine Sorento, an adult Indian, was bap- tized.
April 9, 1759. Voted : that the Church Wardens and their suc- cessors, with Capt. Charles Wickham, and Evan Malbone, be a committee to repair the house left in trust by Nathaniel Kay, Esq., deceased, to the Minister, Church Wardens and Vestry of the above Church, and to lease it to Mr. Robert Crooke for five years, at the rate of SIII per annum, to be paid quarterly, and that the lessee give security for the payment of the rent. The committee also to lease the land given with said house, formerly rented to Mr. John Bennett, and that they inquire in what repair the fence was when Mr. Bennett first hired it, and who was obliged to keep the fence in repair.
127 Simon Pease was strongly conservative and looked well to the public interest. In 1750, when the paper money party was in power, and an effort was made to create another bank, in face of the £135,000 of paper money still afloat, he, with seventy-one other persons in Newport, signed a protest sent to the king. Bills on London were then selling at eleven hundred per cent.
IIS
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Voted : that the Church Wardens pay Capt. Charles Bardin £100, the balance of his account.
Easter Monday, April 16, 1759. Andrew Hunter and Capt. Isaac Stelle chosen Church Wardens. The Vestry remained the same, and William Paul, John Grelea and George Owen retained their offices.
Voted : that the Church Wardens receive the poor money from Mr. John Baninster, or any other person who inclines to pay it in, and let it on interest, with good security.
March 17, 1760. Voted : that the Church Wardens buy, for the use of the Church, a broad-cloth pall.
Easter Monday, April 7, 1760. Isaac Stelle was chosen eldest Church Warden, and John Mawdsley the younger.
The Vestry and other officers remain the same.
Voted : that Mr. James Honyman and Peter Bours should again solicit the Society to send us a school-master.
May 26, 1760. Rev. Gardiner Thurston128 was married to Mrs. Martha Sanford.
August 6, 1760. Voted : at a special meeting of the congrega- tion, that as the Rev. Mr. Pollen has now told us that he is deter- mined to leave us very soon, Edward Scott, James Honyman and Peter Bours, Esq., be a committee to write to ye Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and request them to
128 Rev. Gardiner Thurston, born in Newport, in November, 1721, was licensed to preach in 1748, and became the assistant minister of the Second Baptist Church. The pastor, Rev. Nicholas Eyres, died February 15, 1759, and April 29th of that year Mr. Thurston was ordained pastor of the Church. He died August 23, 1802. A concourse from this and neighboring towns attended his funeral, for he was widely known. The funeral discourse was preached by Rev. Stephen Gano, of Providence.
119
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
send a missionary, and that they also send over ye proof of our having payed Mr. Pollen what we promised.129
Voted : that Mr. Bours desire of Mr. Pollen a copy of his letter respecting the instruction of negro children.
Easter Monday, March 23, 1761. Capt. John Mawdsley and Benj. Mason were elected Church Wardens.
No change was made in the Vestry, and the clerks were the same. Edmund Bell was elected sexton.
Voted : that the Church Wardens pay Samuel Bours what may be due to him for boarding Rev. Mr. [Marmaduke] Browne.
129 No reason is given in the records for Mr. Pollen's determination to. break the connection, but the following, from the " Abstracts of the Pro- ceedings of the Society," throws light upon the subject :
" The Rev. Mr. Pollen, late the Society's missionary to the Church in Newport, in Rhode Island, by a letter dated there July the roth, 1760, acquainted the Society that he had received an invitation to a parish in Jamaica, and hoped the Society would not take amiss his acceptance of it, as he should always retain the utmost veneration for them ; whether in or out of their service, gladly embrace any opportunity of promoting it ; that he was pressed immediately to embark for Jamaica, but he would stay and officiate in Newport till the beginning of winter.
" And the Church in Newport entreated the Society by a petition, dated September 23, 1760, to grant them another missionary, in the room of Mr. Pollen, then about to leave them : and they take the liberty to men- tion Mr. Marmaduke Browne, the Society's itinerant missionary in New Hampshire, as a clergyman of very good character, who had lately offi- ciated to them to the great satisfaction of the congregation, and they hoped to be quite happy under his pastoral care, would the Society be so good as to appoint him to that mission. This the Society have granted, Mr. Marmaduke Browne joining in the request, together with his father, the Society's missionary at Portsmouth, New Hampshire."
The following sermons, preached by Rev. Thomas Pollen, while in Newport, were published :
" A Sermon preached in Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island, on Thursday, May 29, 1755. Upon occasion of the Embarkation of some of
J20
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Voted : that the Wardens repair the school-house under our care, out of the rents of the estate left by Nathaniel Kay, Esq.
. July 5, 1761. Voted: that the Church Wardens pay to Mr. Browne what is due to him.
Voted : that Captain Northam have leave to build a pew on the north side of the gallery.
September 13, 1761. William Hunter130 was married to Deborah Malbone.
the Colony's Troops, in order to go against the Enemy. Published at the Desire of the Council of War, at Newport."
" Universal Love. A sermon at Newport, R. I., before a Lodge of Free- masons, June 24, 1757."
"May 29, 1755, Upon occasion of the Embarkation of some of the Colony's Troops, in order to go against the Enemy. By Thomas Pollen, M.A. Published at the Desire of the Council of War at Newport. Text : Save now, I beseech thee O Lord. I beseech thee send now Prosperity. Psalm cxviii., 25."
" The Principal Marks of True Patriotism. A Sermon preached in Trinity Church, at Newport, in Rhode Island, on the 5th day of March, 1758. By Thomas Pollen, M.A. And humbly dedicated to His Excel- lency, John, Earl of Loudoun."
130 Dr. William Hunter was a highly educated Scotch physician, who came to America in 1752, and settled in Newport. It is said that he was one of the devoted band who adhered to the Stuarts, and that his emigration grew out of his participation in the rebellion of 1745. In 1755 he was appointed surgeon of the regiment raised in Rhode Island to go against Crown Point, a posi- tion for which he was eminently fitted, he having served as surgeon in the British army before he came to America. It was in Dr. Hunter's tent that the brave Baron Dieskau died. In 1756 Dr. Hunter delivered in Newport the first course of anatomical lectures delivered in America. A ticket to this course, printed upon the back of a playing-card, is in the possession of one of his descendants, Dr. William H. Birckhead.
Before the Revolution, and up to the time of his death, Dr. Hunter
I2I
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
September 20, 1761. Peter Bours131 died.
[In October. 1761, a violent storm did serious injury to the Church spire. No mention is made of it in the Church records. The fol- lowing concise account of the event is from the Newport Mercury of October 27, 1761 :]
" On Friday evening last came on a terrible storm from the north- east, which continued increasing. with a heavy rain, and did not abate till after two o'clock in the morning. The violence of the wind broke off part of the steeple of Trinity Church, just below the second ball, which, in its direction towards the southwest. fell upon the adjacent house of Mr. John Hadwin, went through the roof and garret floor and broke the summer of the chamber floor, where it lodged, but happily for the family (who were greatly surprised by the shock) did no other damage."
espoused the cause of the Crown. He remained in Newport when the British took possession of the place, and died in 1778, after a few days' illness, of putrid fever, contracted while attending some sick prisoners. Mrs. Hunter was the youngest daughter of Godfrey Malbone. Many of Dr. Hunter's valuable books were given by his son, the late Hon. William Hunter, to Brown University.
131 Peter Bours, who was at the age of 56 years at the time of his death, was an influential man, both in the Church and in the community. He had served the town with great fidelity, and when, through failing health, he was forced to retire from active life, " The town, from a just sense of the advantages of an upright administration, and to express their grati- tude, unanimously passed a vote that Col. Bennett and Mr. William Cod- dington wait upon Peter Bours, Esq., with their compliments, and thank him for the singular service he had done the town, and for that interested zeal and regard he has discovered on every occasion in the different char- acters he had maintained in the General Assembly upwards of twenty years, to promote the happiness and welfare of the Colony."-Newport Mercury, October 21. 1761.
Rev. Peter Bours. Rector of St. Michael's, Marblehead, from 1753 to 1762, was the son of the above Peter Bours. He died February 24, 1762, aged 36 years.
9
I22
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
November 2, 1761. Voted : that James Honyman and Edward Scott be a committee to acquaint the Society for Promoting the Gospel in Foreign Parts, that the Rev. Mr. Pollen has left us, and desire they will appoint the Rev. Marmaduke Browne in his stead, and that they will also send us a school-master.
Voted : that Mr. Robert Veates have the use of the school-house under our care, and that he have from out of the donation of Na- thaniel Kay, Esq., f10, old tenor, per boy, per annum, for teaching ten poor boys ; to begin from this day.
January 11, 1762. Voted : at a meeting of the congregation, that a minister should now be chosen ; Edward Scott, Daniel Ayrault, Jr.,132 Joseph Wanton and Walter Cranston dissented. Voted : that the Rev. Marmaduke Browne should be our minister, and that he shall receive from this Church, annually, as his salary, £100 ster- ling, to be paid in payments of £50 each, at the end of each six months ; provided the Society do not continue their mission.
Voted : that said salary should be raised by a tax on the pews.
Voted : that Capt. John Mawdsley, Benj. Mason, Andrew Hunter, Thomas Cranston and Charles Wickham be a committee to assess
132 Baileyraul second son of Daniel Ayrault, was born at East Greenwich, November 2, 1707, was sent to Boston, " to learn the art and trade of a merchant," and was engaged in business in Newport in 1726. In connection with Philip Wilkin- son, he was largely interested in navigation. His first wife was Susannah Neargrass, to whom he was married April 17, 1737. His second wife was Rebecca Neargrass, widow of Edward Neargrass, to whom he was married March 3, 1745. His third wife was Hart Brenton, daughter of Jahleel Brenton and Frances his wife. She died January 30, 1764, aged 39 years. Mr. Ayrault died April 20, 1770. Following in the steps of his father, he was active in all works of benevolence, and was a staunch sup- porter of the Church.
123
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
the pews, for raising £100 sterling, for payment to the minister, and £50 for the other Church officers.
Voted : that the above-named gentlemen be a committee to con- sider the making of an addition to our Church, and report to us on Thursday next.
I24
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
CHAPTER VIII.
1762-1771.
JANUARY 18, 1762. At an adjourned meeting, Voted : that the Church might be enlarged to the eastward, provided the gentlemen hereafter mentioned, give security to the Church, that they will make the addition without its being any expense to the other mem- bers of the Church, for which they are to have the pews, subject to a tax for defraying the expenses of the Church. The undertakers are as follows :
Thomas Cranston, Andrew Hunter, Silas Cooke, Robert Jenkins, John Jenkins, Benjamin Mason, Christopher Champlin, Samuel Goldthwait, Joseph Wanton, Jr., William Mumford, George Gibbs, Robert Stoddard, Francis Malbone, Benj. Wickham, Wm. Richard- son, Peter Harrison, Samuel Mumford, Joshua Almy, John Dupee, Solomon Townsend, Isaac Lawton, Nicholas Lechmere,133 Henry John Overing, John Magee, Sherman Clarke, Robert Crooke, Samuel Johnstone, Matthew Cozzens, George Croswell, Peter Mumford, John Miller, Ignatius Battar, Peter Dorden, Nathaniel Bird, John Chalo- ner, James Potter, James Drew, James Keith, James Roach, Robert
133 Nicholas Lechmere was appointed Searcher and Land Waiter in New- port, by the London Custom House, February, 1761, and was holding that office when the obnoxious persons who were appointed to enforce the Stamp Act, were set upon by a mob. With his associates, he was forced for the moment to seek shelter on board a sloop-of-war in the harbor. He married Elizabeth Gardiner, daughter of William Gardiner, of Narragan- sett, and left Newport at the time of the evacuation by the British.
125
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
Lockwood, James Duncan, William Hunter, John Bannister, Joseph Scott, Simon Pease, Jr., and Francis Brinley.134
Easter Monday, April 12, 1762. Benjamin Mason was chosen eldest Church Warden, and Samuel Brenton, youngest. Vestrymen : Jahleel Brenton, Godfrey Malbone, Joseph Wanton, Edward Scott, John Brown, James Honyman, Wm Mumford, William Paul, Daniel Ayrault, Jr., Evan Malbone, Philip Wilkinson, Walter Cranston, Joseph Wanton, Jr., Charles Wickham, and Thomas Cranston.
William Paul, clerk of the Vestry, John Grelea, clerk, and Rich- ard Durfee, sexton.
Voted : that the Church Wardens, Evan Malbone and Capt. John Mawdsley be a committee to repair the steeple by subscription, and that they consult a carpenter, and make report at the next meeting what the expense will be.
October II, 1762. At a meeting of the congregation, Voted : that Thomas Cranston, Daniel Ayrault, Jr., Samuel Bours and Evan Malbone be a committee to examine into the Church's account with those persons who have the Church's money in their hands, and make report to a future meeting of the congregation.
Voted : that Mr. Benjamin Mason buy a book proper, in which the Church's accounts may be properly kept, and deliver it to Mr. Thomas Cranston, of the committee.
The plot of the Church given on the following page, is from a rough draught in the hand-writing of Daniel Ayrault, Jr., after the enlargement of the Church, in 1762. The owners and occupants of pews are given as follows-the numbers corresponding with those on the plot :
13+ The church edifice was cut in two, and the eastern part was moved east to the line of the street; the intervening space was filled in, making two bays in the interior and affording thirty-six additional pews. The points of juncture can easily be discovered by an observing eye.
126
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
1862.
1889.
Vestry
16
17
83
89
-
16
"
15
90
20
14
18
52
53
91
54
55
94
85
21
13
51
54
86
14
5
56
86
22
12
20
50
55
8 5
52
SI
8%
23
121
49
56
8
94
12
SI
$ $
*
24
10
22
48
57
83
50
80
89
25
25
47
58
82
16
11
49
60
79
90
26
24
46
97
48
18
91
7
25
45
60
80
98
8
47
62
77
12
100
26
44
61 19
99
7
46
63
78
43
62
78
100
6
45
64.
75
94
29
-28
42
63 77
74
95
29
41
16
4
43
68
73
96
$30
40
65
75
102
3
42
67
72
97-
66
74
103
41
98
12
1
3Z
67
73
104
1
40
69
70
99
33
33
68
72
69
21
70
37
36
Vestry
No.
I. Mrs. Munday,
2. Nathaniel Mumford,
3. Mrs. Chase,
4. Mrs. Gidley, a pew and a half,
No.
5. Mrs. William Coddington, a pew and a half,
6. Daniel Updike,
7. James Honyman,
8. Mrs. Cowley,
65
44
101
64
30
34
35
36
m
15
11
27
39
127
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
No.
9. Captain James,
IO. Mrs. Almy and Mrs.
Lawdy?
II. Captain Cook,
12. Captain Joshua Almy,
13. Dr. William Hunter,
14. Christopher Champlin,
15. Peter Mumford,
16. Jonathan Nichols, double pew,
17. Captain J. Lawton, 18 and 52. Minister's Pew, double,
19. James Miller,
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