USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > North Kingstown > Facts and fancies concerning North Kingstown, Rhode Island > Part 3
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'Some of the uninjured Connecticut soldiers were quartered in what Deputy Governor Leet called, a house without walls.
'Only 20 men had been killed outright in the action. Twenty- two died on that march. These, with the 12 brought in, so that December 20th, we buried in a grave 34, next day 4, next day 2, and none since here.'
"He was writing on the 26th of January, our February 6th, 1675.
"Winter had set in early that year, and we may believe the ground was frozen. Hence the labor of digging the grave, which must have covered a considerable area, would be heavy and the grave on that account may have been shallow. A confirmation of these conjectures is at hand in the fact that Mr. Edwin Halsey Reynolds in digging the ancient site some thirty years ago could find no remains. A shallow grave allows the chemistry of nature to dispose of its contents in a short time. No metal articles appeared for the bodies were probably interred in thin clothing. Mr. C. B. Reynolds, who as a young man was present at the excavation, speaks of finding a stratum of black material in the trench.
"The only mark of the grave up to the present time, except the boulder at the south of it upon which we have placed our tablet, was the so-called 'Grave Apple Tree' blown down in the gale of 1813. Some letters are said to have been cut on a near-by rock in 1879, but a search today does not reveal them. The chief memory of this honorable resting place has been handed down in the Updike family, descendants of Richard Smith whose land this was. The tradition among them is authentic, as it seems to the committee, beyond all doubt. The spoken word that identifies this spot can be traced from people now living to the years before the Revolu- tion, when old inhabitants whose fathers had been the actors in the tragic drama were still alive."
This tablet was dedicated June 15, 1907, 26 years ago. Mr. Isham refers in his paper to Joshua Tift. He is a figure of legend, one of the tra- ditions of Cocumcussoc. The story as I have heard it is that he was generally known as Hatchet Tift and preferred Indian to white society. He is said to have fought side by side with the Indians at the fort, to have killed Seeley of the Connecticut forces, and to have been taken prisoner.
He was brought back with Winslow's forces, tried, on what charges. does not appear, and hanged from a gatepost at the main entrance to Co- cumcussoc. It is said he was drawn and quartered.
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There is another story of the time which, whether true or not, is characteristic. It has to do with the officers of the Puritan army dining and drinking in the great room of the block house, each with an Indian slave standing behind his chair. One of the officers, cheered by his cups, suddenly exclaimed that he would give a demonstration of what he thought of Indians and, rising, struck off the head of his Indian slave, which rolled to the corner of the room.
These tales, traditions though they are, are likely to have factual foundations. They are of a sort which does not develop spontaneously.
There is still a third tale which you may believe or disregard. That is that the cows grazing in the yard would never crop the grass on the Great Grave, although there it grew most luxuriently.
How much of Smith's block house survived the troubled months fol- lowing the Swamp Fight we are unable to determine. Peace was restored, prosperity returned, cattle and sheep multiplied, settlers moved in.
Richard Smith, the son, died and Lodowick Updike became master of Cocumcussoc. He visualized money-making opportunities in a village on some of the great acreage which had fallen to him. Settlers already had indicated its site by buying home lots on the point between the two coves which make back from Wickford Harbor-a settlement which had received its name from Connecticut about 1666 in honor of Elizabeth, wife of Gov- ernor Winthrop of Connecticut, whose birthplace was Wickford in old England.
So Lodowick Updike turned real estate speculator and platted a vil- lage. He called it-or it was called for a time-Updike's Newtown, perhaps in memory of the Newtown in Queen's Borough where his grandfather spent a few months. But the name did not stick.
Some of the streets projected by Updike never materialized. The cross- streets running off Main street, which under Updike was called the Grand Highway, probably are of his mapping. He himself, according to an old plat, had a stone house within a few hundred feet one way or another of the present Wickford House, but nobody knows where it was. Perhaps it was only a project house.
Wickford village is germane to our consideration only because it flows in this direct way from Cocumcussoc. The name Cocumcussoc belonged in Indian days to the brook which empties into the cove just south of the house.
There are a halt dozen different spellings of the name-perhaps more. Undoubtedly in the phonetic transcription of the sound there was an "S" in the middle of the name. To Williams and others it was Cawcumsquissick. Later it became Cocumcussoc. The present owners of the estate gave it the spelling of today purely for the sake of euphony. It is easier to pronounce.
Through the years the place has been called Updike farm for four generations. Then it became the Congdon farm, and to many North Kings- town people today it is known as the Babbitt farm, each name denoting change of ownership.
Wilkins Updike, author of the invaluable History of the Narragansett Church, was the last of the family to own Cocumcussoc. In 1816 he sold it to Capt. Joseph Congdon.
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You will notice when you look at the house that the corners of the roof peak have been cut off and slanted. This I am told was done by one of the owners since Wilkins Updike's time with the idea that it gave the house a more ancient appearance.
It is not possible to consider in the time at our command details of the more recent history of this remarkable place. The house crystallizes the romance of South County traditions. From Cocumcussoc it is said, unfor- tunate Hannah Robinson fled to her lover's arms while visiting an aunt. Cocumcussoc watched the passage of Washington and his soldiers on their way from Cambridge to New London to take ship for New York. It saw the British war fleet sail proudly up the west passage and round Conani- cut into position before Newport. Lafayette is said to have been entertained there on his triumphal tour of the country after the Revolution. Doubtless Bishop Berkeley and Smibert the artist were guests of the house before the War of Independence.
I hope it will seem to you, as it does to me, that there is abundant reason for considering Cocumcussoc a spot of wonderful historical interest.
A LEGISLATIVE BILL OF 1835
MARJORIE HAMILTON DE BUCCI
M ATTHEW ALLEN, an early settler for whom Allenton was named, had three brothers -- Charles. William and Christopher or "Kit" as he was called. These brothers introduced business and built many houses. Kit was Speaker of the House of Repesentatives in 1835 and it was through his influence that a law was passed which forbade a husband to take property belonging to his wife to pay rum bills-or any other kind.
Up to that time, a husband was guardian over his wife and whatever she possessed belonged to him. If the husband ran up a large bill for liquor the rum seller could and did set in motion the law. An inventory of the property of the wife was taken and even food, clothing and furniture were sold and the wife and children turned out of their home when the real estate was attached. An instance is recorded where a shell comb was taken from a woman's hair.
In Bissell's, now. called Hamilton, a woman was left a life interest in real estate which was to be used by her without "Scrap or waste", and at her death, the estate was to go to her son. The husband had contracted a large bill and the creditor was about to take this property, rent or lease it, and use the money.
The woman's brother, hearing of this, told the woman to go to the Town Council and say that her husband was not fit to be her guardian and ask that her brother be appointed in his stead. This petition was granted.
After the passage of this bill introduced by "Kit" Allen, such abuses ceased.
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THE SIX PRINCIPLE BAPTIST CHURCH OF NORTH KINGSTOWN more familiarly known as the "Old Baptist Church In Stony Lane" MARY KENYON HULING
TIME passes on and often leaves a bit of sadness in its wake. A modest little building 26 by 38 feet standing deserted and alone on a back road in North Kingstown bears evidence of this fact. Passersby would scarcely notice it or realize that it might have once been a flourishing church but for the well filled graveyard about it. If this old building could tell the story of its past and of the long ago when people came from miles around to worship there, it would add much to the interesting history of the town. The organization of the Six Principle Baptist Church in North Kingstown is one of the oldest of that denomination in America and dates back to 1665. The First Baptist Church was founded in Providence by Roger Williams in the year 1639. The second Baptist Church was almost immediately formed in Newport.
According to church historians, Roger Williams was also instrumental in originating the North Kingstown Church body which sometime later built the Meeting House in Stony Lane. Richard Smith, the first white settler in this locality had leased land and erected a trading post in the midst of this Indian country in 1641.
From Calender's well known historical discourse it would seem that Williams used the post as a mission station almost to the close of his life. He mentioned that he had been told in 1738, by people who had known Williams, that he had held public worship once a month at Smith's for many years. Daniel Berkeley Updike in his book, Richard Smith, quotes from a letter written by Richard Smith, Jr., at Wickford, June 25, 1673, to John Winthrop, Jr., who was Governor of Connecticut Colony in Hartford, "Mr. Williams doeth exaceys amongst us and sayeth he will contuny itt, he precheth well and abel, and much pepell comes to her him to theyr good satisfaction."
Samuel Green Arnold, in his history of Rhode Island, speaks of the controversy over the ownership and government of the Narragansett Country, or King's Province, between Massachusetts and Connecticut which lasted for many years. In 1664 a friendly letter was sent to Connecticut in regard to the difficulty between the two Colonies. The conflict of jurisdiction placed the Narragansett settlers in a very difficult position. They wrote asking for advice, saying that Richard Smith, Jr., was under bond to answer to Rhode Island and that a constable might soon be expected at Wickford. The Council at Hartford soon established a court at Wickford and conferred on the inhabitants power to choose their own officers and recommended them to obtain "an able orthodox minister." It seems that they soon fol- lowed this advice for from Field's History, Volume 1, page 98, we find that in 1666, Thomas Baker, one of the first pastors of the Second Baptist Church of Newport, is known to have removed to Kingstown and it is said to have gathered a church of which he continued in charge until his death in 1710.
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During the greater part of that time the meetings must have been held at the Smith Trading House at Cocumcussoc. Certainly until after King Philip's War in 1675, there would not have been any building in the com- munity large enough to accomodate a large gathering.
Undoubtedly Roger Williams induced Elder Baker to come from Newport and thoroughly organize a church and become its first preacher. Elder Richard Knight, in his History of the Baptists written in 1827, also refers to Elder Thomas Baker as one of the first Six Principle Pastors in Newport, who soon after his ordination, removed to North Kingstown and raised up a church in that order. And he also said that it was the first. church in that colony.
The first mention that we find of a meeting house for the organization is on page 107 of Austin's Genealogical Dictionary, under the date of August 12, 1703. "Alexander Huling deeded half an acre of land for a Baptist Meeting House." This deed is in the Town Clerk's office at Wick- ford written on a small sheet of paper yellow with age, and reads as fol- lows: "For love and good will to my loving friends, Jeremiah Wilkie and Valentine Wightman of the Baptist Church of Christ, in the Narragansett Country, I give half an acre of land to make use of for building a meeting house for the worship and service of God, situated about 26 rods northeast from my now dwelling house in Kingstown."-Signed, Alexander Huling. The man who gave the land is buried in back of the church and the follow- ing inscription can still be plainly seen on the slate head stone: "Here lies ye body of Capt. Alexander Huling who died July ye 29, 1725." Many of his descendants have been buried in the old graveyard around the meeting house since then. An old cellar in the large field just south of the church gives evidence of being built many years ago. There is a great chimney foundation in the center of the ruins. The broad flat door steps are still in place with stepping stones set in the steep hill in back that leads down to the spring. The old two-story house that stood there burned in 1906, soon after Mrs. Mary Wood, its last occupant, died. And all that is left to mark Alexander Huling's "now dwelling house in Kingstown" is the tumbled-in cellar, and a few clumps of purple lilacs.
From the fourth deed in the North Kingstown records, which is called the Huling Purchase, we find the old church mentioned again. "May 27, 1709. From the Colony Agents to Alexander Huling, Thomas Havens, John Hall, Joseph Austin, William Havens, Benjamin Nichols, William Hall, William Spencer, and John North,-1,824 acres of land near Devil's Foot Rock. Bounded on the East by the Pequot Trail, south on highway that leads into the country, north on the Fones Purchase, west on road leading to East Greenwich." Mention is also made "of a way to be laid out to the Meeting House." It is interesting to note that the road leading in a westerly direction from the Post road at Cocumussoc, passes very near the old church which is about two miles distant, wending its way onward through the section called Scrabbletown, it passes Wilkie's or Queen's Fort and goes on into the country. In the early days this must have been the Indians' trail to their fort and winter settlement, and was later laid out as a road, which was first called Church Lane, but is now known as Stony Lane. Alexander Huling married Elizabeth Wightman, a granddaughter of Gysbert Updyck 'and Catherine Smith. It is possible that the tract of land called the Huling
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Purchase was inherited by his wife from the Smith estate, as it was all inside the three-mile limit leased from the Indians, and later sold by the Colony Agents to people who had been living on the land for several years before th adjustment of the disputed territory.
The Baker Family 'settled a short distance northwest of the church, which leads us to believe that the building was erected between 1703 and 1710, before the death of Elder Baker, and also seems to explain its loca- tion. Occasionally when the old church is mentioned someone will remark that they had been told that it was built across the road and later moved to where it now stands. There is nothing in any of the records to substantiate this. It is very probable that these people have been confused by the story of the old "Hornbeam" Chapel in Lafayette, which was moved across the road in that village many years ago.
There is no definite record as to when the meeting house was built, but an old letter from this church found among the Exeter Baptist Church records, dated 1750, sheds some light on the subject. This letter will be more fully explained later. The letter reads in part: "About forty years ago a number of people in Kingstown in the Colony. of Rhode Island called Six Princable Baptifts which did agree to propigate the Gofple of Jefus Chrift they embodied themselfs into Church order and in Order to Carry on the Publick Worfhip of God ther was given by a friend a piece of land to fet a meeting houfe on which was don by thefe people and So by subfcription." And a little later in the letter when mention is made of the ownership of the meeting house; "the meeting hous is ours for tivo reafons becaufe we chiefly built it." This letter is dated "May ye 8th, 1750," and states that the land was given about forty years before and that the church was built by subscription, bringing us back again to the date of 1710. Some historians have mentioned that there have been records from 1710, but all records from that date to 1766, except the letter of 1750, have completely disappeared. After the death of Elder Frederick J. Caterer, the last pastor to hold regular services in the meeting house, the church records from 1766 to 1906 fell into the hands of a nephew, who sometime later took them to England where they were appraised by a London book seller who said that they were unique and valuable. The records were soon after offered for sale by a Solicitor of 52 Bedford Square, London. The result of this offer is not known. (The writer was fortunate in having these records loaned to her for a short time before they were taken over seas, and had the opportunity to take many interesting notes from them.)
References to the meeting house are often made in land transfers in that vicinity. One, dated October 13, 1747, read in part as follows: "Alexander Havens to John Hoyle of Providence, 147 acres of land bounded on east by road that leads to Baptist Meeting house." Another item in a deed dated November 16, 1769, mentions that John Reyonlds, son of Peter, gave a report of laying out the road to East Greenwich from the Baptist Meeting House.
From the Secretary's minutes of the business meeting held January 2, 1773, there is evidence that the meeting house had been standing for many years and was in need of repairs. They read, "Took into consideration the repairs of the meeting house, and agreed to repair it by free subscription, a subscription paper was drawn for the collection of the same, and Elder
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James Wightman and Bretheren Christopher Alin, John Whitford and Benj. Davis are to receive the moneys given for the repairs, and deliver the same to those that shall be appointed to procure the stuff and carry on the work." It must have taken a long time to get the money together and make the necessary repairs, for it is many years later at a business meeting held July 5, 1788, called to authorize Elder Hill to purchase a tenement, evidently for a parsonage, that it was noted that Benjamin Tefft paid William Rey- nolds three pounds toward the repair of the meeting house. Benjamin Davis was the clerk for the day. No doubt there were many other items in the minutes in regard to the repair work. This was during the troublous period of the Revolutionary War which accounts for the long delay. About 70 years later the meeting house was extensively repaired, and modernized, all proof of its age was completely obliterated, excepting the broad floor boards and the square, straight-backed pews. The walls are several inches thick and it is supposed that the corner posts were built in at that time when the walls were lathed and plastered. A marker bearing the date 1842, was placed in the ceiling to commemorate the event but has fallen down long since and never been replaced. The late Mrs. Philetus Lawton, who was born in 1842, and lived on the Stony Lane road about a mile west of the church, said that her mother had often told her about when the meeting house was renovated, and of the big gathering at the rededication service.
In Cole's History of Washington and Kent Counties, we find a list of the ministers succeeding Elder Baker after his death in 1710. Elder Richard Sweet who lived in East Greenwich, assigned his property to Pardon Till- inghast and removed to North Kingstown, preaching there until his death in 1740. The next pastor was Elder David Sprague, a native of Hingham, Mass., who preached at Scituate, Rhode Island, for a time, after which he removed to North Kingstown where he united with the Six Principle Church. Elder Sprague was ordained in 1737 as colleague to Elder Sweet who had become blind, leaving the ministerial duties chiefly devolving on Elder Sprague. After the death of Elder Sweet in 1740, he had full charge of the church and society and soon began to advance Calvinistic views which caused much uneasiness and dissatisfaction. The ungovernable Elder was often admonished but still persisted. Finding that he could not be re- claimed, upon a petition signed by 74 members, he was dismissed from the church and refused the privilege of preaching in their meeting house. This is the letter or petition that was referred to some time earlier. It is a very interesting document, and sets forth the whole difficulty that existed between Elder Sprague and the church members. Many of these misunderstandings seem very trivial today but were considered serious at that time. One of the things objected to was; that Elder Sprague and some of his followers main- tained, "that it was A duty for Chriftians to Sing with Loud and Joined voice with Rhime and tunes of Mans Compofures in publick afsembles These things to Gether with many other greavous and Strange carringson put many of our members into a great Flufter So that we became a poore Scattered people sumwhat Like Sheep without a Shepherd." Elder Sprague removed to Exeter and founded a Baptist Church in that town in 1750. He was succeeded by Elder Samuel Albro, who died March 29, 1767, aged fifty-one years. He is buried directly in back of the meeting house, and his wife Alice who died 20 years later sleeps beside him. Elder James Wight-
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man was their next pastor, and continued his labors until his death in 1791. The Providence Gazete of March 29, 1791 has this to say of the venerable minister. "Elder James Wightman died at East Grenwich aged 82 years, 2 months and I day. He had been ordained Elder of a Baptist Church in North Kingstown more than twenty years ago. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Thomas Manchester of Coventry. His text was from 2nd Corinthian, 13:11. Rev. John Gorton of Warwick was ordained as as- sistant to Elder Wightman in 1781, and after his death had charge of the society until 1794. Elder Hill was an able man and the church seemed to prosper for a while during his pastorate, but he was dismissed for some mis- demeanor. The exclusion of Elder Hill greatly retarded the progress of the Church for many years, as they were without any pastor or any public gifts to carry on the work. Pastors from other churches held services there from time to time and administered communion, enabling the church to continue.
John Gardiner was called by the church and ordained as its pastor in 1808, continuing to 1850, when he became blind. He died in Connecticut about 1861. Due to his long pastorate, the church was known far and wide for many years as "Elder John Gardiner's Six Principle Baptist Church." Elder John Slocum was ordained in 1834, and from 1850 until succeeded by Elder Samuel K. Matteson, had charge of the church and society. Elder Matteson was ordained in 1858 and was called to preach at the "Seminary" or Frenchtown church in 1869, but drove over to the "Old Baptist" every alternate Sunday afternoon to exhort to the faithful a few who gathered there. He lived near Green's Corner in East Greenwich and ran a grist-mill to help earn a livelihood. These loyal preachers received little pay for their services and had to find some other way to support their families. Most of them were self-taught and seemed to have a natural gift for interpreting the Scriptures. During the fall of 1886, Elder D. L. Bennett, an evangelist from Knotty Oak Church of Anthony, held revival services in the old meet- ing house for six weeks, and in response to his labors, 17 persons were converted. The Church seemed to be in a flourishing condition at that time, but this was the last of any great activity to take place there. Elder Frank B. Scribner held services there for a time, and William Reynolds of Davisville, also held preaching services for a while. Services were inter- mittent for many years. Elder Henry Allaby of Quidnessett Church, and Elder Frederick J. Caterer were among the last ministers to hold regular meetings there.
"Precher" Pardon Tillinghast, was an interesting character in the church for several years. His journal written by himself January, 1781, when he was 45 years of age, and telling of his experiences in the church "and deal- ings of God," are with the Exeter Church records. He evidently joined the Stony Lane Church during Elder Albro's pastorate, and soon felt that he had the gift to preach but did not get much encouragement or the oppor- tunity to do so. To quote from his journal of many pages, "I thought if I was in a proper place I could speak of God, but how to get there I could not tell. About two or three years after I joined the church, there was an aged sister and mother in Christ that died and was to be buried from the meeting house. I helped to carry her into the meeting house, and when I had set the corpse on the table it then came to me that I was where I had sometimes wanted to be, and it seemed that I dare not go away. I sat down
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