USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Watch Hill > Early land holders of Watch Hill > Part 2
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Let us now take up the Foster family for a few moments. Jonathan Foster as I have informed you married Anna Jenckes and they had the following children: Anne, born in 1737, and married to Amos Pendleton ; Sarah, born in 1739, and married to Abel Larkin; Molly, born in 1742, and married to Samuel Berry; Jonathan, Junior, born in 1745, and married first to Sarah Main, secondly to Sarah Billings; George was born in 1755, and married Thankful Davis; Catherine, the only child to be born at Watch Hill, was born in 1764 and died at the age of twenty-two, unmarried.
Jonathan, Junior had four sons, Jonathan 3rd, Thomas, Michael and Dennison. George Foster had no issue. He was later known as "Daddy Foster" around town.
Both of the Jonathan Fosters died in 1781, the father dying first.
I quote in part from the elder Foster's will: "Also I give to my sd wife Anne the Improvement of the west End of my Dwelling House, which is called the New End with the Cellar under the same.
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Also the Improvement of about forty Acres of land of my homestead Farm." Item: "I give to my Daughter Catherine the Use and im- provement of my Stow Bedroom & the west Chamber in my Dwelling House & Quarter of Cellar under the west part of sd House that is to say that if sd Daughter Catherine should live and remain a Single woman." Item: "I Give & Demise to my beloved son Jonathan Foster the westermost part of my homestead farm Called Watch hill & Nap of Trees being part Upland, part Beach, & part Salt Marsh." Item: "to my said Son George Foster all the Remainder of my Homestead farm which I have not heretofore given Away with the House & Land on sd farm given in improvement to my Wife."
In Junior's will, item: "Unto my well Beloved Wife Sarah the use and Profit of all my Land & Buildings I die possessed of." And to each of his sons he gives "one Quarter part of all my Lands & Build- ings I Die possessed of."
During 1789 Hezekiah Wilcox deeded to Peleg Wilcox, one of his sons, "Marriner", of Westerly, a certain lot of land with a dwelling house. This is the first time that a house is mentioned as being at this location. The plot contained about half an acre. It is the site of the residence of the late Winslow N. York and it was situated somewhat behind the present Post Office building. During 1807, "Samuel Billings of Bridgewater, Oneida Co., N. Y., & my wife Mehitabel * * * * her former husband Peleg Willcox Deceasd re- leases right of dower" to the heirs of Peleg Wilcox.
The first United States Census was taken during 1790 and of interest to the Hill we find the following names: George Foster with four, Hezekiah Wilcox with six, and Peleg Wilcox with seven.
In 1797 Sarah Larkin, Anna Pendleton, Molly Berry, their re- spective husbands, and George Foster, all heirs of Jonathan Foster, Senior, deeded to the sons of Jonathan, Junior that land which · the elder Foster, as shown by his will, had wished his son to have. On the very same day the sons of Jonathan Foster, Junior, divided this inheritance between them. Thomas received the Nap of Trees sec- tion, his east bounds being present day Bay Street and the approach to the Watch Hill dock. He also reecived three-quarters of the land and half of the house that his grandfather purchased from Oliver Steward. The rest of the land to the East of Bay Street went to Michael and Dennison, also the remaining quarter of the land and the other half of the house. It was said that this part of the farin was very hard to farm, as it was hilly, stony, and quite sandy. For that reason they sold their share to their uncle, George Foster, in 1798. Michael lived in North Stonington for a while, before moving his family to Ohio.
In 1798 Thomas Foster sold his two pieces to Silas Babcock. Quoting this deed it says: "to a stub Set in the Ground Southerly of the Center of sd house thence Northerly through Said house as the
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Partition Between the two Westernest Rooms Runs and so to the first mentioned Bounds."
In 1800 Silas Babcock sold to Trustum Dickens of Stonington the acre and a half together with half of the house. During 1801 Silas Babcock sold the Napatree Point section to James and Ezra Babcock. They held it until 1804 when they sold to Daniel Babcock, and it was during the same year that he sold it to Joseph Barber of Westerly and Joseph Congdon of Stonington.
In 1802 Hezekiah Wilcox sold to Peleg Barber, gent., of West- erly, his remaining part of the Wells lot, but makes no mention of a dwelling house.
Sometime earlier Desire Hannah, who you will no doubt remem- ber was a daughter of Robert Hannah, gave her 27 acres to her niece, Hannah Wells, who was a daughter of James Wells, Junior, and Ruth (Hannah) Wells. In the meantime Hannah Wells had married Edward Anthony of Warwick, and it was they who sold these 27 acres to Peleg Barber in 1805. It was this deed that referred to the old draft made of the division of the Robert Hannah estate.
During the period of 1806 to 1810 it was with four different sales that Hezekiah Wilcox transferred to Trustum Dickens land totaling 17 acres. The last plot sold contained about four acres and included a dwelling house, on or about the site of the present residence of Wm. H. Peck. Hezekiah Wilcox died and was buried at Watch Hill in 1819.
On May 3, 1806, George Foster sold Watch Hill Point, con- taining about four acres, to William Ellery, superintendent of Light- house Service, United States of America, for five hundred dollars. Just one day previous at a meeting held in Westerly the freemen of the town voted to give all rights and interest to the place known as Watch Hill Point to Rhode Island, so that the state in turn could cede all rights and interest to said Point to the Federal Government, reserv- ing, however, the right to serve papers thereon.
A number of different authors have placed the building of the lighthouse anywhere from 1802 to 1808. However, in answer to my letter the superintendent of Lighthouses informs me that "Watch Hill Lighthouse was originally established in 1807." This building was of wood and shingle construction, having been built by Elisha Woodward of New London. The light was supplied by a bank of ten lamps. There was also a one-story house for the keeper and his family. These structures stood for some fifty years before being replaced by the present lighthouse which also shelters the keeper and his family. This took place in 1858. At the same time, the point was built up with huge granite blocks to hold the land which was being slowly eaten away by the action of the waves. In place of the ten lamps, a powerful lamp fitted with a fresnel lens was installed. At that time it was a steady white light. The fog horn was added about 1908 or 1909. With the use of bright electric street lights it became increasingly
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harder for the mariner. off shore to be able to discern which light was which; so, to keep pace with the times, the lighthouse was equipped with a flashing light, showing a white flash followed by two reds.
The first keeper was Jonathan Nash, who with his numerous sons was later destined to become the pioneer landlord of the Hill. He had charge of the light for about 27 years. It was during the summer months that he accommodated a few paying guests, and that is what probably paved the way or gave them the taste for inn- keeping.
I have been unable to ascertain where he came from. In the census of Rhode Island taken in 1774 there were two Jonathan Nash families listed as living within the township of Charlestown. At that time our Jonathan would be about eleven years of age. Aside from the census I can find no record of either family being there. In the will of Jonathan Burdick, dated March 20, 1787, and recorded at Westerly April 6, 1791, it mentions "my daughter Wealthy Nash," and in an item in the will he gives his gun to "my beloved Grandson Jonathan Nash." His marriage is recorded in the Westerly Records as follows: "Jonathan Nash Jr. son to Mr. Jonathan Nash of Westerly & Betsy Michel daughter to Mr. George Michel of Groton made their personal appearance in Westerly on the 7th day of January 1793 and were lawfully joined together in marriage by Isaiah Willcox, Elder." In 1802 Benjamin Pendleton sold to Jonathan Nash, Junior, "fisherman," lot number 33, on the Pendleton Lottery Plat, at Lot- teryville. From the records I presume that he had three brothers, Nathan, Asa and Isaac; they all were married in Westerly, but soon moved away. Jonathan, Junior, and Betsy had ten children as fol- lows: Betsy married to James York, Jonathan to Sally Gavitt, Joseph Comstock to Margaret-, James Sheffield to Mary Ann Gavitt, Lydia to Henry Dickens, Nathan to Eliza Fitch, George Mitchel to Harriet M. Bliven, Ellery to Susan Barber, Winslow to Abbey Fitch, and Martha to Albert W. Crandall. It is strange to relate that all of the sons died in the order of their birth. All of the sons and the sons-in-law more or less followed the sea in their younger days, before settling down to life ashore. Jonathan 3rd died at sea off the African Coast, and he was buried on the Island of St. Thomas.
During 1807 Westerly collected from the Hill the amount of $8.67 in taxes, as follows: George Foster, $4.80, Peleg Barber, $2.67, and the Naps, $1.20 I wonder if they grumbled about high taxes?
The ill feeling against the Mother Country came to a head in 1812 when war broke out between the United States and Great Britain. The Coast Guard was again on the alert against the approach of an enemy. All was comparatively quiet along the local coast, except for a passing Britisher now and then, until 1814, when the British appeared in force off Stonington, and after being refused the surrender of the town proceeded to bombard it. The fleet was forced to withdraw. At the same time the Westerly artillery company was called to the
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Hill to prevent any attempt that might be made by the British to land. At this time Napatree Point was much wider and it was very thickly wooded.
During the next year on September 23, 1815, Dame Nature smote the coast with a terrible gale that did irreparable damage from which the shore line never recovered. This famous gale began in the Southeast and slowly swung to the Southwest, spending its force in a few hours, but what hours they were! A house owned by Samuel Bliven situated on the Naps was washed down by the mountainous high seas. These gigantic seas made never to be recovered losses to the Naps. It was this gale that denuded the Naps of its thick woods, and reduced it in size to its present width. Keeper Nash related how he could remem- ber when the coast line from Watch Hill Point to the Naps was almost a straight line. I wonder if that wasn't a little bit exaggerated? I, myself, can remember when the bathing beach was much wider than it is now. Year by year sees more and more of the beach washed away. On the other hand Sandy Point has been making towards Rhoades Folly.
Also during 1815 Trustum Dickens of Stonington sold to George Grace of Stonington, mariner, the acre and a half that he had bought from Silas Babcock. As the deed mentions a house, and not half a house, I take it that the house might have been moved onto Dickens' land, or the other half might have been torn down. Grace also bought from George Foster three-quarters of an acre, but the deed mentions no house, nor half of a house. So thus, again, we find the two acres under one owner.
Two years later, in 1817, Trustum Dickens sold to Grace the first five acres that he bought from Hezekiah Wilcox. This plot was called the Grace Pasture for many years, but with the advent of the twentieth century this appellation has disappeared.
During 1822 Jonathan Nash made his first purchase of land in Watch Hill from Peleg Barber. This piece was all of the Desire Han- nah plot and half of the Wells plot. It contained about 30 acres, and the consideration was eight hundred dollars. It is the site of the present Ocean House, and where once stood the Watch Hill House.
Sometime during this period George Grace mortgaged his lands, and later died. His widow, Freelove Grace, sold her dower right to this land to Amos I. Main, who later sold this right to Jonathan Nash. In the meantime the Deputy Sheriff sold the land to Jonathan Nash. This sale took place during 1826.
In 1828 Trustum Dickens sold to Nathan Fitch a small piece of land with a house thereon standing, which is probably the one now owned by Wm. H. Peck. At the same time Dickens sold to Nash four acres, mostly salt marsh. This piece was just west of the Grace Pasture, and bordered on the Bay. During the next year Nash purchased the remainder of Dickens' land. These purchases gave Nash a belt of land
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running from the Ocean to the Bay, with the Foster holdings on either side.
From now on it will be easier for me, and less confusing to the reader if I discuss the disposal and subdivision of the different estates tract by tract. At this time the land was held as follows: George Foster 120 acres, Jonathan Nash 61 acres, Napatree Point, according to a deed this point contained about 298 acres, which amount was prob- ably somebody's pipe dream, heirs of Peleg Willcox about half an acre, Nathan Fitch about one-quarter acre, and the Lighthouse property with four acres.
I will take up the Jonathan Nash tract first. It was during 1839 that he first started selling his land to relations. Henry Dickens was the first to buy, purchasing half an acre together with half a house. The division line ran through the "middle of the front door of the house where I now reside." This piece was located on the East side of the Plimpton Road. Later in the same year George Nash bought for one hundred dollars three-quarters of an acre, together with the other half of the house, being just to the east of Dickens' property. This house, later enlarged, was to be the Dickens' House, an inn, and it was torn down in 1906. In 1840 Nathan Nash bought from his father half an acre, which was located just to the West of Dickens' lot, and bor- dered on the Bay. Nathan also took to inn-keeping, as he built the Narragansett House. The inn remained in Nash hands for three gen- erations, before being sold to Eugene Barney and Anna Ford. In 1843 Jonathan Nash sold to his son-in-law, Albert Crandall, a small plot where now stands the Catlin Cottage. Crandall later bought ad- joining plots which, together with the first purchase, made up the prop- erty that today is owned by the Phelps sisters and Mrs. J. F. Champlin. His house is still standing, though it has been turned about and added to, being known as the Catlin House. In 1844 the price of land began its skyward creep, when George Nash bought from his father eight acres with a dwelling house and other buildings for $2500. This was the site of the Watch Hill House we knew, and at the time the original. Watch Hill House had probably been built for some years. The original Watch Hill House after being added to a number of times was detached from the wing that had been built to the North, and moved to where now stands the stucco cottage of Miss Bush. Serving as an annex it stood there for a number of years until the land was sold to- Miss Bush at which time it was again moved to its present site, oppo- site the cottage of A. C. Shinkle. It owes its escape from the great con- flagration of 1916 to the heroic efforts of the men from Fort Mans- field and their hose line. Next year, 1845, Winslow Nash bought from his father half an acre. This was located North of Nathan's and West of Dickens'. Winslow also had the yen for inn-keeping, as he built the Bay View House, now known as the Bay View Apartments. During the same year Joseph, another son, bought three-quarters of an acre, this being the site of the present Plimpton House. Joseph later sold this
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to William Nash. Also, during the same year, Jonathan set aside a burial plot as there were "no provisions in the disposition of my estate for a family burying ground, and being desirous to provide for the same, do for that purpose, and for that purpose only, give and grant to my son a certain lot of land situate on the Southerly side of the Wells' lot so called, & adjoining land on the South of said George M. Nash. Containing one-quarter acre and is now occupied as such." The site of this burying ground, I think, was about where the front porch of the Ocean House is located. All of the Nash family that were interred there have been removed to the Nash plot at River Bend Cemetery. As George Nash was the possessor of the Watch Hill House, he sold the three-quarters of an acre and the half of a house to his brother-in-law, Henry Dickens, for 350 dollars in 1846. The next year Joseph Nash sold to William Nash his three-quarters acre and a house. This house was later moved to Lower Pawcatuck by placing it on a barge. The house may still be seen. It is on Mechanic Street just North of the thread mill. Jonathan Nash died in 1846 at the age of 83 years. It was not until two years later that his heirs sold the estate to Lemuel Vose and to George M. Nash. Vose bought two sections for $1141. The first section was about 14 acres bordering on the Ocean and part of the Desire Hannah plot. The other section contained about 15. acres, and included the Grace Pasture and quite a frontage on the Bay. The :section that George Nash took contained six acres and was the present Ocean House Grounds on the East side of Bluff Avenue. In 1855 .George Nash bought from Joseph Thompson three lots, the first being three acres lying on the West side of Bluff Avenue and opposite the Ocean House. The other two plots were small ones to straighten boundary lines. In 1850 and 1859, George Nash bought much of the beach land westward from the lighthouse property. In 1865 he sold the Watch Hill House and some surrounding land to Sarah H. Berger for $38,000. She, in turn, sold to Messrs. D. F. Larkin, W. H. Chap- man and H. Campbell; they in turn sold to the Hales, and after the death of Mr. and Mrs. Hale, the Watch Hill House came to A. C. Shinkle and James M. Pendleton.
Now for the small plot belonging to the heirs of Peleg Willcox. During 1838 Horace Willcox, who was a son of Isaac Willcox, who was a son of Peleg Willcox, sold to William W. Rodman of Stonington this lot and house for $300. Think of buying a lot and house on Watch Hill for $300! Horace Willcox in his deed to Rodman men- tions, "the same house and lot where my Father Isaac Wilcox formerly lived". In 1840 Rodman sold to Isaac W. Gavitt. In 1848 Isaac Gavitt bought Wm. Nash's land and house; so in 1849 he deeded the "Wilcox lot" to James L. Gavitt for $60. Note that the house has dis- appeared, the deed not mentioning it. Again in 1852 the lot is sold to Benjamin K. Langworthy of Hopkinton for one hundred dollars, and a year later he sold it to Albert Crandall. In 1855 Crandall sold the same half acre known as the "Wilcox lot" to Joseph S. York for 160
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dollars. The Yorks have told me that when this lot was purchased there was a foundation, but no house. The land has remained in York hands to the present day.
It might be well to say at this time that Isaac Gavitt sold to John D. Harvey for $200.30 the three-quarters of an acre with a dwelling house that formerly belonged to Wm. Nash. In 1865 Harvey sold out to Andrew S. Plimpton of Hartford. It was he who built the hotel that, today, bears his name. Harvey obeyed the Greeley saying of "Go West, Young Man," but after a few years he grew homesick for the sea, and returned to the Hill. Of his three sons, one survives and still resides at Watch Hill: Captain Emulus B. Harvey. As a young man Captain Harvey followed the sea like all the young bloods of the Hill. He served during the World War in the Navy, and later was a pilot on one of the New London ferry boats until they were laid off.
Now for the George Foster holdings. The old homestead known as the Foster House is now owned by Miss Adams. George Foster sold his 120 acres to Clarke Davis of Stonington for four thousand dollars in 1834. This land had remained in Foster hands for eighty years, the father having bought it in 1754. Davis held this land until 1848 when he sold to Lemuel Vose for $3600. A week or so later Vose added the Nash property to his acres. In 1850 Vose sold to Joseph L. Thompson 16 acres for 800 dollars. This sale included land to the east of the Plimpton House and the land owned today by Walter S. Price. In 1859 Vose sold to George Nash twelve acres for eight hundred dollars. This plot was about the same piece that Hezekiah Wilcox sold to Jonathan Foster, excepting, of course, the Watch Hill Point. People at the time considered Nash crazy to pay such a sum for a pile of sand, but he had the last laugh, as he sold the High Bank site for $15,000. Believe it or not à la Ripley. During 1865 Vose sold various small pieces to Albert Crandall and Joseph York, a piece on the Bay to Plimpton and one to D. F. Larkin. In 1871 Vose sold to Nathaniel R. Chase about two acres that surrounded on three sides the Nathan Fitch quarter acre which had also been purchased by Chase. Chase in turn sold this to John D. Harvey, whose heirs sold to Capt. Walter H. Davis, who in turn sold in 1907 to the present owner, Wm. H. Peck. Vose sold his remaining land to C. J. Everett who made a half-hearted effort to sell the land as cottage sites, but only eight sales resulted. In 1886 he sold out to Lyneas Norton, Jacob S. Burnet, and Walter St. John Jones for the sum of $22,500. It was these gentle- men who formed the Syndicate that was successful in disposing of all the land.
Of the Napatree section I have not as yet completed my research work; so I shall be able to tell the story only as far as I have it. In 1804 James and Ezra Babcock sold the "Naps" to Daniel Babcock, and he, at once, sold to Joseph Barber and Joseph Congdon a piece about 175 rods long, running west from Bay Street and containing about 10 acres. Some years later, during 1829, Joseph Congdon, now of Pom-
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fret, sold his half interest to Isaac Champlin. In the meantime Sylvester Gavitt had purchased the land to the west. In 1843 Isaac Champlin sold his half interest to Warren G. Frazier. In 1850 George Nash purchased from Frazier this half interest, Frazier reserving, however, the right to cross said land and collect sea weed. This portion finally came into the possession of the Larkin family. They, through three generations, have vastly improved the property, making it what it is today, the safest and best bathing beach on the coast, of which Watch Hill is justly proud.
Of the Vose land bought by Joseph L. Thompson, some of it went to Dickens, some to George Nash, and some to Crandall. The part that Thompson retained was where the Atlantic House was erected.
Many of the deeds up to quite recently refer to Watch Hill Cove as Pawcatuck Bay, or Pawcatuck River when using that body of water as a bounds. In one deed it was referred to as Wilcox's Cove.
Before ringing down the curtain it would not be out of the way to induge in a few general remarks of interest.
Of the hotels, the Watch Hill House came first, being run by the Nash family. It is claimed that George Nash opened this house in 1840, but I think that his father, Jonathan Nash, probably managed it earlier, as George Nash didn't purchase the land and buildings until 1844. In 1856 the Atlantic House opened its doors and enjoyed the cream of the trade until about 1869. It was first managed by Dickens and Taylor for a few years, they being succeeded by O. Spencer. During its last years before the fire, it was renamed the Colonial House and was owned by Walter Price. The Plimpton House was built shortly after 1865 by A. S. Plimpton who had managed the newly built Dixon House in Westerly. It has been owned by numerous people since. John Kebabian, who died during the latter part of April 1936, was a late owner. He made many marked improvements, built five cottages, and lost them all recently by a mortgage sale to the Washington Trust Co. The Larkin House was built in 1869, and after some additions became the largest hotel at the Hill, being owned and run by the Larkins for many years. It was sold to the Griscoms, and razed in the fall of 1906. After George Nash sold the Watch Hill House, he felt lost without a hotel to manage; so he built the Ocean House. This
hotel later became the property of the Brewer family, who have owned it ever since. Of the smaller inns there were the Narragansett House, the Bay View House, and the Dickens' House. The last hotel to be built was the Columbia House, now owned by Walter S. Price.
Regarding transportation: Originally there was but one road, or driftway running from Westerly to the Point. Early travelers in using this driftway had to pass through many gates which necessitated a halt to open and close the bars. It wasn't until 1867 that the road from Lotteryville to Watch Hill was fenced in and opened at a cost of about eight thousand dollars. The old road or driftway is in about the same location as the Westerly Road of today, but then it ran clear to the
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