USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > History of Newport County, Rhode Island. From the year 1638 to the year 1887, including the settlement of its towns, and their subsequent progress > Part 88
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Thomas
Danfe
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
north of "Tiverton Heights." The general management of the town schools devolves upon trustees annually elected. At the annual town meeting a school committee is elected. This com- mittee of three persons elect their own officers; their business is to examine the applicants for certificates, grant those where the examination proves satisfactory, and the applicant gives evidence of having a good moral character. This committee is also expected to visit the schools twice each term. An effort is being made to put the entire control of the schools in the hands of this committee. Since April, 1871, this committee has been composed of women. The first women elected were Mrs. Catherine J. Barker, Mrs. Moses T. Lawton and Ann E. Brown. The present committee are Mrs. Catherine J. Barker, superintendent; Mrs. Hannah F. Osborn, chairman; Mrs. Alonzo Hart, clerk.
In the apportionment of school money for the year ending April 30th, 1887, Tiverton received $2,039.98 from the state edu- cational fund.
LIBRARY .- One of the most potent secular educational in- fluences in this community is the Free Library and Reading Room at Whitridge hall. Here is exemplified the wisdom of the late Thomas Whitridge, whose generous philanthropy has given the town of Tiverton a free library of about 1, 700 volumes. Other gentlemen have contributed to the collection, but so thoroughly did Mr. Whitridge identify himself with the scheme at its inception that his name must ever be cherished by a public which appreciates the spirit of his liberality while enjoying the fruits of his wisdom.
The library is very suitably located in rooms at Whitridge hall, where there is also a pleasant reading room supplied with the usual periodicals and ample free accommodations for their perusal. This latter feature represents a broad impulse in behalf of the young men of the town, on the part of John S. West. The care of the reading rooms is assigned to Miss Mary Seabury, the librarian, whose courtesy and efficiency are im- portant elements in the popularity of this institution.
The privileges of the institution are made forever free to all residents of Tiverton, and the liberal construction put upon the term "residents" must render this one of the attractions of the place for those who are temporary residents of this beau- tiful summer resort.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
TOWN GOVERNMENT .- While Tiverton was a part of the Old Bay commonwealth, that wise division of the law-making power into two concurrent branches, entitled this town to a represen- tative in the popular branch. The persons elected by the town were styled " Representatives to the Great and General Court." The first election to this office is recorded in 1708, when Amos Sheffield was elected ; the next is on the 16th of May, 1730, when " Job Almy was chosen Representative to the Great and General Court at Cambridge."
Legislative honors, as the record intimates, were not at that time highly esteemed, for, on the 7th of July, 1732, the town "Voted Job Almy esqr. agent in behalf of the Town to go to boston aboute the New County and also to try to get rid of the find which is laid upon our Town for not sending a Represen- tative which find is Twenty pound."
Job Almy was elected again in 1735, 1738, 1740, and 1746. In 1739 Samuel Borden was elected in May, and Gershom Wodell in June. (This family name is now written Wordell). Ebenezer Taber was elected in 1741, these nine elections being the only ones recorded by the town while it belonged to Massachusetts.
When the town became a factor in the little colony, the lower branch of the colonial legislature was known as the " House of Deputies." Sixty years later the legislators chosen by the towns were styled representatives. The following list shows by whom Tiverton has been represented: In 1747-48, by John Man- chester and John Howland; 1749, John Howland, Edward Wan- ton; 1750, John Manchester, Abraham Barker; 1751, John Man- chester, Samuel Durfee; 1752, Thomas Howland, Edward Wan- ton: 1753, Samnel Durfee, Edward Wanton; 1754-5, Samuel Durfee, Thomas Howland; 1756, John Brown, Thomas Howland; 1757, Thomas Howland; May, 1757-8, Samuel Durfee, John Bowen: 1759, Philip Tabor; 1760, Samuel Durfee, Philip Tabor; 1761-2, Thomas Anthony, Job Durfee; 1763, Samuel Durfee, Jonathan Davol; 1764, Job Durfee, Captain William Cooke; 1765-6, Captain William Cooke, Captain Edward Gray; 1767, Captain Edward Gray, Captain Isaac Manchester; 1768, Samuel Durfee, Captain Edward Gray; 1769-70, Samuel Durfee, Wil- liam Cook; 1771-2, Edward Gray, Oliver Cook; 1773, Edward Gray, Thomas Corey; 1774-5, Edward Gray, Captain John Cook; 1776, Gideon Almy, Colonel John Cook; 1777-8, Isaac Man- chester, William Cook; 1779, Thomas Corey; 1780, Gilbert Davol;
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
1781, Joseph Shearman; 1782, Benjamin Howland, Nathaniel Briggs; 1783-4, Benjamin Howland, Lemnel Bailey; 1785, Benja- min Howland, Nathaniel Briggs; 1786, Benjamin Howland, Joseph Almy ; 1787-90, Benjamin Howland, Thomas Durfee ; 1791-5, Thomas Durfee, Abraham Barker; 1795-7, Thomas Dur- fee, Christopher Manchester; 1797, Christopher Manchester, Joseph Durfee ; 1798, Christopher Manchester, Nathaniel Briggs; 1799, Nathaniel Briggs, John Borden; 1801-7, Christo- pher Manchester, William Humphrey; 1807, William Ilumph- rey, Philip Sisson; 1808, William Humphrey, John Cook; 1809, Christopher Manchester, Benjamin Howland; 1810, Christopher Manchester, William Humphrey ; 1811, William Humphrey, William Cory; 1812-15, Benjamin Howland, William Cory; 1815, Benjamin Howland, James Manchester ; 1816-19, James Man- chester, Job Dnrfee; 1819-21, Job Durfee, Joseph Durfee; 1821, Joseph Durfee 2d, Elihn Hicks; 1821 (second session), David Durfee, Jr., William Westgate 2d; 1822, David Durfee, Jr., Elihn Hicks ; 1822-24, David Durfee, Jr., James Manchester ; 1824, David Durfee, Jr., Joseph Durfee; 1825-7, Allen Durfee, Pardon Gray; 1827-8, Joseph Durfee, Pardon Gray; 1829, Par- don Gray, Peter Estes; 1830-3, James Manchester, David Dur- lee; 1833, Job Durfee, Robert Gray ; 1833-4, Joseph Durfec, Robert Gray; 1835-6, Robert Gray, Gideon H. Durfee; 1837, Robert Gray, David Durfee; 1838, David Durfee, Joseph S. Bliven; 1838-9, Joseph S. Bliven, Gideon H. Durfee; 1839-40, Joseph S. Bliven, George W. Humphrey: 1840, Samnel Sea- bury, George W. Humphrey; 1841, Samuel Seabury, William P. Bateman; 1842, Gideon H. Durfee, Adoniram Brown; 1843, James Manchester, Walter C. Durfee; 1844, James Manchester, Joseph Osborn ; 1845-8, Joseph Osborn, Robert Gray ; 1848, Robert Gray, Cook Borden; 1849, Robert Gray. William P. Sheffield ; 1850, William P. Sheffield, William P. Bateman ; 1851, Joseph Osborn, Nathaniel B. Durfee; 1832, William P. Sheffield, Joseph Osborn, Nathaniel B. Durfee: 1853, William P. Sheffield, Augustus Chace, Nathaniel B. Durfee; 1854, Natha- niel B. Durfee, Joseph Osborn, William G. Borden; 1855, B. F. Seabury, John G. Sargent, Stephen Fellows; 1856, Edward Gray, Jr., Frederick A. Boomer, AAllen Hart. The town was divided in 1856, and after that sent only one representative. 1856-60, Allen Hart; 1860, Joseph Osborn; 1861, Peleg S. Stafford; 1862,
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY,
Charles A Durfee ; 1863, Edward Gray ; 1864, Cyrenus Bliss ; 1865-71, Nathaniel B. Durfee ; 1872-5, Andrew H. Manchester ; 1876, Holder N. Wilcox; 1877-8, Andrew H. Manchester; 1879- 80, Joseph Osborn; 1881-82, Isaac Brown; 1883-4, Nathaniel B. Church; 1885-6, John R. Hicks; 1887, George W. Gray.
When, on the first Tuesday of May, 1843, the charter of 1663 was superseded by the provisions of the state constitution, Tiv- erton became entitled to one vote in the state senate. This office was filled from 1743-47, by David Durfee; 1848, Joseph Osborn; 1849-52, William C. Chapin; 1853, Joseph Osborn; 1854-55, Ol- iver Chace; 1856, Edward Gray, Jr .; 1857-59, Cyrenns Bliss; 1860, Gideon H. Durfee; 1861, Clark Estes; 1862, Gideon H. Durfee; 1863, Joseph Osborn: 1864. Gideon II. Durfee; 1865-75, Joseph Osborn; 1876, Gideon H. Durfee; 1877-78, John F. Chace; 1879-82, Andrew H. Manchester; 1883-84, Isaac Brown; 1885, Nathaniel B. Church; 1886, Henry Clay Osborn; 1887, Nathan- iel B. Church.
Town Clerks .- In 1699 David Lake was elected; in 1703, Thomas Townsend; 1705, Amos Sheffield; 1710, Richard Bor- den; 1712, Robert Dennis; 1730, John Sisson; 1732, Thomas Manchester; 1738, William Wilcock; 1739, Joseph Howland; 1739, John Manchester; 1745, Thomas Howland; 1747, Restcome Sanford; 1771, Walter Cook (great-grandfather of John T. Cook); 1790, Lemnel Taber; 1803, Pardon Gray; 1814, Thomas Durfee; 1829, Asa Gray; 1843, Charles. Durfee; 1850, Asa Gray; 1867, Nathaniel B. Durfee; 1871, George N. Durfee, son of N. B .; the present clerk, elected in 1883, is John T. Cook.
Prior to 1715 the freemen of the town held their meetings at the house of Daniel IFowland. From that year the residences of Thomas Manchester, David Lake, John Howland and Isaac Howland were used until 1747. The meetings of 1748-54 were at the house of Nathaniel Little; those of 1755-60 at the resi- dence of Peleg Barker; 1761-62, Thomas Howland; 1763, Jona- than Luther; 1772, Isaac Cory; 1777, Friends' Meeting Honse; 1780, John Howland; 1782, Nathaniel Briggs; 1789, Philip Man- chester; 1795, Joshna Crocker; 1796, store of Burroughs & Dav- enport, and at the house of John Cook, Howland's Ferry; 1797, Benjamin Howland; 1798, store of Burroughs & Davenport; 1801, Taylor Davenport: 1829, George Lawton and Stone Bridge Ho- tel; 1840, Nicholas E. Durfee; August 31st, 1841, and since, at Town Hall.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Prior to 1807, town meetings were held annually for the election of town officers on the third Monday in May, but in that year, by a proper notice for the meeting in May, a large number of freeholders agreed to request the town clerk to call a meeting for the first Monday of June, and it was voted at that meeting, "that the Town Meetings for the Election of Town Officers for the Town of Tiverton shall be held annually from this date on the first Monday of June."
CHAPTER XIX.
TOWN OF TIVERTON (Concluded).
Hon. Joseph Osborn .- Joseph Church .- Samuel West, A. M., M. D .- Miss Han- nah Howland West .- Joshua C. Durfee .- Christopher Brownell .- Samuel E. Almy .- Asa Davol .- Isaac Brown .- Job Wordell .- Personal Paragraphs.
HON. JOSEPH OSBORN .- Among the men whose lives have re- flected honor upon the place of their birth, few, if any, deserve more honorable mention here than Judge Joseph Osborn, of Tiv- erton. Born in the third year of the century, he passed his four score years in the town where his father, Thomas Osborn, and his mother, Ann Durfee, spent the thirty-six years of their married life, which began in 1797. Two older brothers, William and Thomas, and three younger, Wilson, Weaver and James M., and a sister, Eliza, the fifth of the seven, made up the gen- eration to which the judge belonged and of which only the two younger brothers survive.
The grandfather, William Osborn, was born at Newport in 1729, married Elizabeth Shrieve twenty-two years later, and died soon after attaining to his eighty-first year. The family tradition places the ancestors among those English boys who, early in the New England, found these shores more kind to their aims and their ambitions.
In his domestic relations, ever the subject of his greatest pride and his kindest care, Judge Osborn was signally favored. His wife, Eliza, the fifth child of Samnel and Catherine Borden Gardner (32), lived to see her sixty-second year, and nearly to complete the thirty-sixth year of their married life. Here in Tiverton, at the homestead where their youngest danghter, Eliza, now lives, they saw their little family of five reach man- hood and womanhood, and here death closed the gate of earthly possibilities to their son, Jason, when scarcely twenty-two. Their oldest child, Ann C., is Mrs. Samuel B. Allen, of Fall River.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
The oldest son, after several years of business in Fall River and Boston, became a resident of Brooklyn, and with those qualities of head and heart which might be looked for in a son of Judge Osborn, he came to have extensive relations with bank- ing circles, and is now the well and favorably known William J. Osborn, banker and broker, of New York. Henry Clay, the youngest son, following the footsteps of the father, has success- fully devoted his attention to mixed husbandry and live stock dealing, and has represented Tiverton in the state senate.
The foundation of Judge Osborn's fortune was laid in the slow, plodding way of the live stock dealer, making weekly pilgrimages to Brighton and becoming widely acquainted with the farmers of half the state. Later, he became interested in the cotton mills at Fall River and made some very wise invest- ments, from which was developed the larger portion of his for- tune. He was a director in the Osborn Mills, a director of the Pocasset Bank, and president of the Citizen's Savings Bank from its organization in 1851.
The record of the trustees' special meeting, April 21st, 1883, contains this resolution:
"Resolved, That by the death of the Honorable Joseph Os- born, President of this Corporation from its organization, the Citizens' Savings Bank has been deprived of a wise counsellor, a discreet and faithful Trustee and an efficient presiding officer. He was a man of sterling integrity, Christian character, true to every trust reposed in him, honest in all his dealings, diligent in business, a friend to the poor and suffering, a lover of right, unswerving and implacable in his opposition to duplicity, wrong and oppression."
On the following week the Newport Mercury published an article by Hon. William P. Sheffield, his lifelong acquaintance and friend, containing these facts and comments:
" Mr. Osborn early attracted and constantly preserved the good opinion of his fellow-citizens. Under the old charter he was elected one of the ten Senators that then constituted the upper branch of the General Assembly. He was, also, under the old regime, long a justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Ile was a member of the convention called to frame a State con- stitution in 1841, known as the Landholder's convention, and has been often chosen by his townsmen to represent them in each branch of the General Assembly; at one time he was a
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IJISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
member of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, and for forty-four years was treasurer of his native town. In all of these trusts he was faithful, and adorned the offices with which he was entrusted. But he was more than a good officer, for he lived a spotless life and gathered the harvest of a good name for the inheritance of the children he has left behind him. He was an industrions, eqnable, energetic, and well balanced man, successful in his undertakings because they were conceived in good judgment and carried on by constant and persevering effort to consummation. He was, through his life, devoted to the cause of temperance, and a consistent member of the Baptist church for many years. Judge Osborn was a man of peace, for he composed more neighborhood differences and settled more quarrels than any five men in Tiverton. He has lived a long and useful life, and in the maturity of age, holding his usefulness to the last, with his life-work well done, has been gathered into the heavenly fold. The gift of such a life is a benefaction to the community in which it is spent. There is not room enough in the world for both the old and the young; by the order of nature the former give place to the latter, and when a good man's life is brought to an end withont any asso- ciation with decrepitnde or decay, so that he can be remembered only as in the vigor of his intellectual force, such a life and such a death, both give occasion for thanksgiving and not for sorrow."
No estimate of the man would be complete which had not regard to the harsh limitations bounding his horizon in the be- ginning of his career, as well as those broader fields of effort and influence in which, as a successful man of affairs, he found himself in middle life. The generation which knew him as a poor boy, as a teacher, as a fisherman and as a struggling young farmer, has passed away. Only one of the four men who, with him in business as cattle drovers, made a competence for them- selves, remains to-day, and the younger generation, remembering him only as a man of mature years, with a fortune to enjoy and an honorable name to bequeath, may scarcely appreciate that from sterner needs than many know he gained by patient care the one and earned by the life he lived the other, and made the place his memory fills to-day in the hearts of those who knew him best.
After handling, as treasurer, for more than half his life the
943
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
financial interests of the town, he declined a re-election, and when he presided for the twentieth time as moderator of town meeting the people attested their esteem by voting him an hon- orary seat with whoever might preside at any future meeting. In this day of free speech, when no virtue can shield a public man from the criticisms of the ignorant and the insults of the envions, many have been the stormy meetings when, but for his great coolness and power as an extempore publie speaker, the town's interest which he had at heart would have suffered.
The judge, while making his almost paternal relations to Tiv- erton his greatest public care and study, still regarded his seat with the ten in the old charter senate as the crowning honor of his political life, and among the dearest memories of his old age were the friendships of that time. As one by one all those as- sociates passed away, the last two passing scarcely a season be- fore him, a subtle suggestion-perhaps not saddening, yet surely casting its shadow-filled the last of his days with a tender pathos and a dream in which his closest friends well knew they had no part.
JOSEPII CHURCH .- The progenitor of the branch of the Church family resident in Rhode Island was Richard Church (121), who came from England with Governor Winthrop in 1630, and settled in New England. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Warren, in 1636. He died in Dedham, December 27th, 1668, and his wife in Hingham, in 1670. Their children were: Elizabeth, Joseph, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Caleb, Charles, Richard, Abigail, Hannah, Sarah, Lydia, Priscilla and Deborah. Nathaniel, of this number, married Sarah, daughter of William Barstow, and had children : Abigail, Richard Na- thaniel, Alice, Joseph, Charles and Sarah. The birth of Charles, of this number, occurred in 1683, and his death in 1726. He married Mary Pope, of Dartmouth, whose children were : Charles, Mary, Susanna, Hannah, Seth and Alice. Their son, Charles, born in 1710, died May 6th, 1762. He married, in 1735, Frances Turner, and had children : Charles, Joseph, Mary, Hannah, Seth, Benjamin, Susanna and John. The second son, Joseph, was born in 1742 and died in 1816. He married, in 1765. Sarah Brightman. Their children were : Ruth, Ann, Susannah, Rebeccah, Sarah, Joseph, Prudence, Hannah, Mary and Lemuel. The eldest son, Joseph, was born September 28th, 1779, and died October 5th, 1858. He married, in 1802, Hannah
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Peckham, whose children were : Julia Ann. Ruth, Francis P., Calista, Joseph (subject of this sketch), Isaac, Elizabeth, Bell- jamin B., Sarah, Lemuel, Huram, Janette and Lemuel 2d.
Captain Joseph Church, the subject of this sketch, was born February 20th, 1809, and died August 16th, 1887. His father was commander of a packet running from Providence to Fall River, and resided at the latter point, the birthplace of his son, who received a common school education, and at an early age sought employment in a woolen mill. He was naturally at- tracted to the water, and soon after embarked in the congenial but perilous life of a fisherman. About 1840 he removed to Tiverton and engaged extensively in fishing, which pursuit was continued during the remainder of his life. In 1870 he became interested with his sons in the menhaden fisheries, a brief ac- count of which is given below. Mr. Church was married, March 27th, 1834, to Jemimah, daughter of Captain Nathaniel and Sarah B. Boomer, of Fall River, Massachusetts, born Jan- uary 17th, 1813. Their children are : Daniel T., born January 10th, 1836; Isaac L., October 21st, 1838; Joseph, October 10th, 1840; James B., February 15th, 1843; Nathaniel B., October 3d, 1845; George L., January 2d, 1847; Calista (21), June 29th, 1851; and Fisher, September 19th, 1853. Mr. Church was in his polit- ical affiliations a democrat, always a strong partisan and zeal- ons for the success of his party. While active and influential, he invariably declined all overtures leading to official position. He was extensively engaged in the shipping of fresh fish to the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Albany, and in his com- mercial relations brought to bear a general information, the habits of a well-trained business man, and a strict integrity which won respect and confidence. Mr. Church until the end of his life continued to be an active and useful citizen. His widow survives and resides with her son, George, in Tiverton.
The Church family are largely identified with the business interests of Rhode Island as the active partners in the firm of Joseph Church & Co., manufacturers of menhaden oil, guano and fertilizers. The menhaden is a fish found in abundance in Atlantic waters, the commercial value of which can hardly be overestimated. They are conceded to be the most abundant species of fish on the eastern coast of the United States. The rapid increase in size and fatness as soon as they approach our shores indicates an abundant supply of food. The oil manu-
945
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
facturers report that in the spring a barrel of fish often yields less than three quarts of oil, while later in the fall it is not un- common to obtain five or six gallons. The commercial import- ance of this fish has but lately come into appreciation. Twenty- tive years ago it was thought to be of small value, but since that time its uses have been manifold. As a bait fish it excels all others. As a food resource it is found to have great possi- bilities. As a source of oil the menhaden is of more import- ance than any other marine animal, while the refuse of the oil factories supplies a material of much value as a fertilizer. It is estimated that its absence from our waters would probably re- duce all our other sea fisheries to at least one-fourth their pres- ent valne.
The house of Joseph Church & Co., established in 1870, em- braced as partners Joseph Church, Daniel T. Church, Isaac L. Church, Joseph Church, Jr., Nathaniel B. Church, James B. Church and Job Hathaway. A factory was purchased at Bris- tol, Maine, and devoted to the manufacture of menhaden oil and guano, the daily capacity being about eight hundred bar- rels. The supply of fish on the coast of Maine having materi- ally decreased, it was deemed advisable in 1878 to change the location, and the factory in Portsmouth, built by Thomas L. Robinson, was purchased. As the business increased, the di- mensions were proportionally enlarged and the factory remod- eled to afford greater convenience. It has now a capacity of four thousand barrels of fish per day, which is converted into oil and gnano. Two hundred and twenty-five men are employed in the various departments of labor, and seven fishing boats are in operation during the season. These are steamers, and to James B. Church may be given the credit of first applying steam in fishing for menhaden, and thus revolutionizing the business by rendering it possible to explore remote waters. The home market for the product of this factory is found in New York, Boston and New Bedford, though much of it sup; plies a foreign demand. A large part of the business of the Messrs. Church consists of the catching of fish as an article of food. A million and a half pounds are annually caught and distributed in New York, Philadelphia and adjacent markets.
SAMUEL WEST, A. M., M. D., * for many years a distinguished physician, was born in Tiverton August 9th, 1806, and died * By George W. Briggs, D. D.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
January 7th, 1879. He had an ancestry which should not be forgotten. One grandfather was Samnel West, D. D., of New Bedford, who was one of the most prominent ministers of his day. Not only was he an honored and most effective preacher, but his councils were sought in respect to great public inter- ests. He was a member of the convention for the adoption of the constitution and its sturdy advocate. Replying to those who argued against it, he said that it seemed to be taken for granted that the federal government was going to be put into the hands of crafty knaves. "I wish," he said, "that the gentlemen who have started so many possible objections would try to show us that what they so much deprecate is probable. Because power may be abused, shall we sink into anarchy ? May we not ra- tionally suppose that the persons we shall choose to administer the government will be, in general, good men ?"
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