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 96
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The Philip J. Gray store mentioned has been occupied at various times since the days of Samuel Church by John Almy, Mr. Bliss, Isaac L. Tripp and Leroy M. White. In January, 1879, it passed into control of Mr. Gray, who owns and occupies it in his business as a general merchant.
The proximity of Adamsville to Westport harbor quite nat- urally suggested to the early merchants the idea of a packet boat to connect them with the markets of Providence, while the Fall River market, as an outlet for the products of their cus- tomers' farms, makes constant employment for a number of men and teams. One of these early packets was run by Henry B. Simmons, when it was the principal means of communication for the merchants here and at the Commons with Providence, which then was the chief base of supplies. A line of coaches from Westport harbor to Fall River during the summer season, and a daily mail from New Bedford, connect Adamsville with the outside world. Electric communication with Fall River and New Bedford renders possible to-day a volume of business which could not be compassed by the methods of a hundred years ago.
The first post office in the town of Little Compton was estab- lished here in 1804, and given the name of the town. On the 8th of March, 1847, the name of the office was changed to Adamsville, to correspond with the name of the village. The first postmaster was the old merchant, Samuel Church, whose appointment was dated October 1st, 1804. He served until July 1st, 1816, when William A. Brown was given the appoint- ment, and held the office as long as it was called Little Comp- ton. Albert B. Cory was appointed the day the name was changed, and Nathaniel Tompkins was appointed April 8th of the following year: Philip Manchester, May 14th, 1850;
·
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Albert H. Simmons, June 5th, 1861; Philip Manchester, Angust 6th, 1862; and his son Abraham, the present incumbent, July 9th, 1878.
POTTER'S CORNERS .-- Between the Commons and Adamsville is a district known as Potter's Corners, including school number seven of the town, which is second in size only to the one at Simmons' hill. A store was located here in 1865 by Noah M. Castino in a private residence. In 1880, Ernest L. Manchester built the store on the corner here, which, two years later was sold to Mrs. Castino (169), who has since, by good management, made the business successful. The mail for this community is handled by Mrs. Castino at the store as preliminary to the lo- cating of a government office here.
EDUCATION .- The attention given to public education is an- other criterion for judging the standard of morality and cul- ture of any people. By this standard, the town of Little Comp- ton ranks as equal to any in the state, and in the early years of its history as much attention was given to the subject of public instruction as other towns reserved until a later period in their development.
Nathaniel Searles, one of the leading minds in the early stages of the social development here, was the first man chosen in town meeting to the position of schoolmaster. This was in 1698 or 1699. He was chosen from year to year, his duties prescribed and his wages determined. This is the way they did it: " No- vember 20th, 1710. Nathaniel Searles is to be the Schol Mas- ter of this town for one year from the date of these presents And the town to pay him his years Sallary £26. The Schol is to be keept as followeth, the first half year to be keept where he now liveth & the third quarter at Lut. Woods or thareabonts & the last quarter at Will palmers or sum whare thareabouts."
The idea of school districts had this early beginning, and it appears that no officers were charged as now with the care of the schools as a separate duty, for on the 15th of May, 1712, it was " Voted that this town meeting Doth advise the Selectmen ther of to procure A Schol Master for this Towne & to remove quar- terly in to the four quarters of this Towne where the Selectmen shall order him to teach Schol."
Ten years later, May 7th, 1722, " Rogger Huzzill was chosen school master for the ensuing year for to teach & instruct our children & youth in reading, Writting & Arithmetick & to have
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
for his servise fourty 8 pound and to be paid quarterly & to move his school quarterly as the town shall order."
This custom of having fonr schools in the town was given the dignity of a town law in 1722. The control of the four schools was delegated to men residing in the respective parts of the town. This is their record in the premises:
" June 15th, 1722. Voted that this town shall be divided into four quarters according to the Numb'r of houses Aaron Davis, Richard Grenill, & William Briggs of John, are chousen to order whare the school shall be keept in ye northwest quar- ter of the town. Voted George Peirce, Richard Heart, Thomas Stodded, are chousen to order whare the school shall be keept in ye North east quarter of the town. voted George Brownell, William Wilbur, & William Wilbur son of Joseph are chonsen to order whare the school shall be keept in ye south est quarter of the town. voted Thomas Church, Joseph Sonthworth & Ensign Peter Taylor are chousen to order where the school shall be keept att the south west quarter of this town."
The life of Mase Shepard, as pastor for more than a third of a century, was as much a part of the educational as of the re- ligions history of the town. The Puritan clergy measured use- fulness by intellectual as well as spiritual results, and we may expect to find that feature conspicuous in the practice of the Congregational churches which, more truly than any other, may be considered, in form, as the successor of the Pilgrim fathers. His son, Professor Charles U. Shepard of New Haven, Conn., writing on this subject and alluding to Ray Palmer, the poet, says:
" It was through my father's exertions that a very superior instructor was obtained for the special benefit of a few families resident near the center of the town. One of these was that of Judge Thomas Palmer, between whose family and ours there existed a close intimacy. The teacher employed was Rev. John Sandford, of Berkley, Mass. Mr. Sandford was an uncommonly fine English scholar, and in every respect a lovely character. In particular, he was a zealous and inspiring teacher. A portion of his success evinced itself in that of some of his pupils in their after life: and in none more strikingly than in two of the young Palmers, one of whom became a prosperous merchant in Boston, but whose wealth was as nothing compared with his extraordi- nary excellence of character and Christian usefulness; the
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
other, rising if possible, still higher in the public estimation as young ladies' teacher, a pastor, the manager of an important Christian charity, a literary writer, and most of all, as the author of a hymn destined to be sung around the globe by every kindred and tongue where the name of Jesus is spoken or his dying love adored."
In August, 1722, Thomas Gray was chosen to teach with the title, then for the first time used in the records, "Grammar- School master." He taught for one year and then the town in- structed "Joseph Southworth their Representative to inquire at Cambridge for a Grammar school master to serve the town and to know what he wishes year and when he can come." This idea of giving a townsman charge of the hiring a teacher is the first trace of the school trustee system under which all the schools are now managed. This was the recognized method in June, 1725, when the town meeting directed that " Mr. George Pierce be desired to agree with Mr. dlames Robonson to keep school in Little Compton one year and not to exseed 40 pounds for said year, and to move quarterly if ye Town sh'ld cause. also to teach all children that are sent to him to read, wright sypher and Latten."
Ray Palmer, himself, speaking on this subject of school fa- cilities in his native town, recalls the names of Steuben Taylor, Jonathan Bigelow and John Sandford as among the teachers of his time. To Mr. Sandford he attributes the formation of the library of that time which, as managed by Esquire Pardon Brownell, was for years an important element in the educational problem of the town.
Isaac B. Richmond, whose relations to the church are noticed elsewhere, was the means of having an academy opened here at the Commons, and for seven or eight years a higher education was within the reach of the people at home. The building, now a tenement, standing south of his homestead, then stood a few rods south of Thomas Briggs' residence. Cuder the pro- vision of the state law for a free school, Little Compton in 1846 voted $120.
The public school system of the town now consists of ten schools. The school census of January, 1886, shows 202 between five and fifteen years of age. Eighty five per cent. of this num- ber were in average daily attendance. For the last current year the town participated in the educational fund of the state to the amount of $1,247.89.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
The superintendent is William D. Hart, whose great personal care for the general as well as particular interests of the schools has, during his five years of service, been a potent impulse to- ward their substantial advancement. His reports to the town are models of neatness and care, and it seems that his ser- vice, much of it in excess of his prescribed duty, is well ap- preciated.
The Free Public Library here is the outgrowth of a library established about 1845 by certain shareholders, who purchased a small collection, consisting principally of Harper's publica- tions. Public interest in this collection was so inconsiderable, and the revenue from fines and assessments so insignificant, that the library was of very little value as an element of public edu- cation, when the state law was passed providing an appropria- tion of fifty dollars per annum in aid of any town establishing a library of five hundred volumes. Frederick R. Brownell was instrumental in securing the consent of the stockholders to turn over to the town the whole collection. The books were accepted by the town in town meeting, and Mr. Brownell was appointed a committee to secure the aid from the state.
The first board of managers were Frederick R. Brownell, Ben- jamin F. Wilbur and Jediah Shaw. Doctor Cowan was libra- rian while he was town clerk. Philip H. Wilbur was elected manager, vice Jediah Shaw, deceased. The collection, now numbering eleven hundred volumes, is increased annually by the state appropriation. F. R. Brownell is librarian.
BUSINESS INTERESTS .- Little Compton is essentially an agri- cultural town, and the principal revenues of the present gen- eration are the products of the farms, consisting of corn, hay and live stock. Within the last few years the raising of poul- try for the city markets has been added, to a greater or less ex- tent, to nearly every farmer's business. Many of the people make this their main dependence, and following a nearly uni- form system, the fields through the town are dotted with the buildings where the flocks are colonized. The middle man is not a great favorite with the average Granger, but this indus- try, whatever may come to be its proportions, may be credited to those who have made a ready market at home for all these products by becoming themselves middle men and trustworthy buyers.
The city market for dressed poultry is the ultimate outlet
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
for these products. The collecting of the stock from the vari- ous farmers and handling it, with reference to the prices and demands of the outside market, is a business of considerable proportions. E. A. Cornell, of Adamsville, and the firm of Brightman & Lincoln (111) are principally depended upon in this matter by the producers in the town. Mr. Brightman be- gan this business at his farm in 1881. They killed and shipped, in 1886, not less than 3,000 geese, 3,500 ducks and 6,500 other fowls. During the time they were fitting this stock for market $1,500 worth of grain was fed. Four men, besides the partners, are employed. They depend upon New York and Boston mar- kets. Wild geese are bred in the town. A pair weighing forty pounds is not exceptional, the price frequently reaching 28 or 30 cents per pound.
The first grist mill in the vicinity, accommodating the fami- lies of Little Compton, was the one at the Puncatest settlement, in Tiverton. Another, just east of the town line at Adamsville, at a later date began to supply a portion of the people of this town. These were the water mills of an early day, both outside the town whose patronage was their partial support.
The first water mill erected within this town was between the Commons and Adamsville. It is still standing-or one in the same place-known as the Simmons mill. Benjamin Simmons, the father of Samuel Simmons (156), built the dam about the year 1750, and erected a mill with two run of stones. Here, for years, the families of this town and part of Tiverton were supplied with flour and meal. The power was secured by an old-fashioned "undershot" wheel which has since given place to the modern Turbine. The mill passed through the hands of other generations of the Simmons family, was owned by Nathan Skinner, George R. Brownell, George H. Woodman, and is now the property of James N. Pierce.
South of Potters' Corners, a half mile, William Manley built a grist mill which he subsequently sold to Peleg Peckham (142). It was owned later by Gideon Church and came to be generally known as the Church mill. It was abandoned about 1848.
On the farm of Thomas E. White was a water grist mill, built probably by Adam Simmons for his son Isaac. The water supply was that which the original proprietors reserved for common use when they plotted the seventy-four house lots for the village site in 1677. As the farms along this stream were
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
cleared and tilled, the supply of water was diminished and the mill abandoned.
Wind power was utilized here at an early day for grist miil purposes, but now there are none of these mills in operation in the town. One on the Butler lot near the Commons, was abandoned about forty years since. For several years, before and after 1800, a large mill was in operation at Seconnet point where Doctor Gardner's cottage now stands. It was probably built by William Roach before either of the other two men- tioned.
The octagonal wind mill, with its four canvas sails, is as much an institution and product of New England as Thanks- giving, or pumpkin pie, or Indian summer, and several have served their day and generation-some of them two genera- tions-in the domestic economy of Little Compton, in reduc- ing to meal the native corn, as the first step in the preparation of that delectable dish known as the New England "Johnny Cake." The mills themselves, like the mills of the Gods, grind slow. They are winged creatures, surely, and some are of the migratory species. One of these was built in 1828 in Tiv- erton by Cook Almy who sold it to George A. Gray who re- moved it to Little Compton where it did service until 1880. Daniel B. Almy of Portsmouth bought it that year, and remov- ing its parts to that town, again set it up.
In May, 1665, a mutual fire insurance company was incorpo. rated by the state legislature, to do a local business in this town and Tiverton. The first board of directors consisted of Isaac B. Richmond, who was chosen president, Gideon HI. Durfee, Oliver C. Brownell, Charles W. Howland, Isaac C. Wilbour, and Job Wordell. Andrew HI. Manchester was made a director in 1876, Henry Durfee in 1881, Frederick R. Brownell in 1883, and Henry I. Richmond in 1884. Israel Allen was elected secretary 1865, Preston B. Richmond 1866, Frederick R. Brownell 1883. The treasurers elected have been: Gideon H. Durfee, 1865; Henry Durfee, 1880; Job Wordell, 1881. Mr. Wordell is the company's agent for Tiverton, and George F. Taylor for Little Compton. In 1884 the present president, Isaac C. Wilbour, was elected. Their assets in June, 1887, were $10,000 in savings banks, and premium notes amounting to over $70,000. The executive committee in 1887 consisted of Isaac C. Wilbour, president ex officio, and Oliver C. Brownell, Frederick R. Brownell and Henry I. Richmond.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Nearly all the fire risks of the two towns are carried by this company, and their experience warrants a continuation of this system of insurance. The premium notes are written obliga- tions of the insured. Dividends to the makers of these notes are declared from the net earnings of the company.
An enterprise, bearing an important relation to the future possibilities of the town, was undertaken in 1887 by a company of six persons: John Sisson, George Drowne, Frank T. Church, Valentine Simmons, John Davis and Mrs. Doctor Cowan. Late in the fall they finished a hotel at the Point, the only one in the town, which every indication shows is to be a nuclens of a large summer community there. It is known as the Seconnet Point hotel.
65
CHAPTER XXI.
TOWN OF LITTLE COMPTON (Concluded).
Colonel Benjamin Church .-- Colonel John Church .- Nathaniel Church .- Joseph Church .- Thomas Church .- William Pabodie .- Major Sylvester Brownell .- Isaac Bailey Richmond .- James F. Simmons .- George W. Briggs, D. D .- Ray Palmer .- The Coe Family .- Colonel Henry T. Sisson .- Levi W. Sisson. -Ephraim Bailey Sisson .- Albert Seabury .- George Arnold Gray .- Edward Wing Howland .- Philip W. Almy .- Personal Paragraphs.
T HE lives of several men, well known beyond the narrow bounds of this little township, have reflected credit upon this as the place of their birth or residence. No question has been raised in two hundred years but that COLONEL BENJAMIN CHURCHI, in his military, business and political relations, was the most conspicnous figure in the local history of the town. His fame and his usefulness were as broad as New England, and in the general histories of the new world his deeds are always recognized. He and his brother Joseph each were original own - ers in the first Seconnet purchase. They were sons of Richard Church, an Englishman, who came to America in 1630 and died at Dedham in 1667. His will, dated shortly before his death, says: "Equally divided *
* * only my son Joseph shall have a dubble portion * * * by reason of the lameness of his hand whereby he is disabled above the rest of my children from the getting of a livelihood."
Colonel Church thoroughly understood the character of the Indians and their modes of warfare, which latter he adopted with great success. Ile was to southern New England what Miles Standish had been to the first generation of Plymouth colonists-a buckler and shield in the hour of danger; but he had far more experience in military affairs than fell to the lot of the Pilgrim captain. It was destined for him to strike the first and the last decisive blows in Philip's war, by which he is now best known to fame. So great was the reputation he gained that he was afterward constantly called to the field to repel the
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
French and Indians at the north and east. He served in no less than five expeditions against Canada and Maine, as commander- in-chief of the colonial forces sent out by the royal governors of New England. The first time was at the request of Sir Edmund Andros, in 1689; again, in 1690, by Hinckley; then, in 1692, he was commissioned by Sir William Phipps; next, in 1696, by Staughton; and finally, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, he was urged by Governor Dudley, in 1704, to command the forces for . the fifth time sent ont against the French, and accepted. He was born at Duxbury in 1639. He married Alice Southworth, granddaughter of the distinguished wife of Governor Bradford, by whom he had five sons and two daughters. The wife of the late Deacon Sylvester Brownell, of Little Compton, was his great-granddaughter. Colonel Church was killed by a fall from his horse, Jannary 17th, 1717-18, in his seventy-eighth year. The history of his wars, under the title "Entertaining passages relating to Philip's War, with some account of the Divine Prov- idence toward Benjamin Church," was written by his son, Thomas, from the colonel's dictation. The volume contains a Latin ode by a grandson, attesting the scholarship of his de- scendants. Some branches of the family have settled in differ- ent parts of the state or moved elsewhere. Some of the descend- ants of the old hero still reside in Little Compton, where they preserve the position and the patrimonial estates inherited from their illustrious ancestor. Governor Winslow, in his letter to the king, June 26th, 1677, accompanying presents of the spoils of Philip, "being his Crown, his Gorge and tivo Belts of their own making of their goulde and silver taken from him by Capt. Benjamin Church," speaks of Church as "a person of loyalty, and the most successful of our commanders." The original let- ter is in the British State Paper Office, New England papers, Vol. III., page 16.
COLONEL JOHN CHURCH, * son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Tay- lor) Church, was born in Little Compton, on the 17th day of March, 1794. He was a lineal descendant of Richard Church and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Warren, who came in the "May Flower," in 1620. The direct line of descent is John'; Joseph®, 1764-1840; Ebenezer®, 1725-1825; Caleb', 1701- 1769; Joseph', 1663-1715; Joseph', 1638-1711; Richard', 1608- 1667.
By F. R. Brownell.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
John' moved to Providence about 1812, and was connected with John H. Green in business, as an architect and builder. He afterward became the senior partner of the reliable firm of Church & Sweet. Being interested in military affairs, he be- came colonel of the Providence infantry, and while occupying that official position, escorted General Lafayette into and out of Providence, when that distinguished friend of our country vis- ited Rhode Island in the year 1824. He was a member of the city council of Providence in 1832, director of the Providence . Mutual Fire Insurance Company for many years, and of sev- eral of the Providence banks.
THE CHURCH HOMESTEAD.
In 1841 Colonel Church retired from business in Providence and returned to his native town, where he had previously erected a house on the large estate which had been owned by his ances- tors from the time of the first settlement of Little Compton, and which is now owned by his sons, John and William S. This beautiful country home was the hospitable center of a large circle of relatives and friends for the remainder of his life. He represented his native town in the general assembly several years, was a member of the town council, and held other offices: but having no desire for office, he many times refused the so- licitations of his friends to be a candidate. With his excellent wife, Prudence W. Simmons, whom he married in 1816, he
John Church.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
united with the Congregational church in Little Compton about 1852. He died November 18th, 1882.
He was a man of line personal appearance, of great decision of character, of unswerving integrity, a lover of peace and good order, a helper in every good work, and possessed the esteem and respect of all who knew him. The memory of his manly life is a rich legacy for his children, and will long be cherished by his friends. "Without fear and without reproach," might truly have been his epitaph.
NATHANIEL CHURCH .- Joseph Church, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, and his wife, Elizabeth, had children : John, Peter, Benjamin, Susan (Mrs. Augustus Peck- ham), Lydia (Mrs. James Brownell), and Nathaniel. The last named son was born December 17th, 1801, in Little Compton, and married Sarah C., danghter of Gray and Hannah Wood. Their children are: Cordelia, born in 1827; Hannah E., 1828; Mary A., 1830, deceased; Francis T., 1832; William M., 1835, deceased; Joseph, 1837, deceased; Alexander, 1839; Henry S., 1841, deceased ; Eliza, 1843, deceased ; and Natha- niel. General Nathaniel Church for nearly two generations filled a prominent place in the political and social life of the county. At the age of thirty-two he entered the general assent- bly as representative, and was from that date a member of the upper or lower house for thirty-four years. During the early days of the rebellion he, as the oldest member of the senate, acted as governor for a brief period. When the militia was or- ganized he received a brigadier general's commission and took great pride in discharging the duties of the position. His genial nature won for him many friends and caused him to be sincerely mourned.
His son, Nathaniel (who is the nephew of Colonel John Church of the preceding biography), was born December 13th, 1845, in Little Compton, where, with the exception of a brief interval in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he has since resided. His education is more the result of observation and careful habits of thought than of hours spent over his books at school. Bred to the work of the farm in his youth he has since been de- voted to his chosen calling and occupied the homestead farm. To this he has added an extensive traffic in grain, flour and feed. Mr. Church was married on the 17th of January, 1869, to Mary E., daughter of Alfred C. and Elvira M. Briggs, born
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