USA > Rhode Island > Kent County > East Greenwich > History of the town of East Greenwich and adjacent territory, from 1677 to 1877 > Part 9
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He owned and occupied the house next north of the Court House on Main street, in the basement of which was a drug store, then styled an apothecary shop, which was conducted mostly by his niece, Amey Proud.
The crowds who flocked to hear John Casey preach and wondered at his power, little thought that he was moved by a spiritual influence so objectionable. Occupying an ex- alted position in the Society, and peculiarly gifted in the service of the ministry, often extending his gospel labors to quarterly meetings in other states, an insidious appetite for the stimulating influence of intoxicating fluids obtained such power over him, that he sacrificed everything to its gratification. People were amazed, but that did not change the fact. Friends persuaded, and committees admonished, but without effect. He was invited to silence, but paid no attention, and finally giving no hope of improvement or reformation, he was disowned by the Society, and a testi- mony of denial read against him at a public meeting.
The members of the Society of Friends used to be very free and social in their intercourse with each other, and the hospitality of their houses was generously proffered. On the occasion of monthly and quarterly meetings it has always been customary for those residing near the place of meeting to provide entertainment for all who came from a distance, and as East Greenwich was no exception to this custom, most of the resident families made extensive pre- parations for these occasions, even if they were not mem- bers. It was not uncommon, forty years ago, for the meet- ing-house to be completely filled on the day that the Rhode Island Quarterly Meeting was held here, and there would be as many as an hundred horses and carriages within the yard. But that is all changed, and the limited numbers that now assemble here come mostly by steam and rail.
The quarterly meeting is held during the first week in May, one of the pleasantest months in the year, and as a steamer from Fall River and another from Newport is chartered for the day to bring the Friends here in the morning and take them away at night, a number of others who have relations and friends residing here, take that op- portunity to make a visit for the day, so that quite a festi- val is made of the occasion.
Daniel Howland was an approved minister, who was contemporary with John Casey. He was the son of Daniel and Philadelphia Howland, and was married in 1793 to
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Sarah Greene, daughter of Richard Greene, of Potowomut. He was a man of large stature, and inclined to corpulency, but was very lively in conversation, with the heartiest and most mirthful laugh ever heard, and his genial nature en- deared him to a large circle of friends. He traveled fre- quently in the service of the ministry, visiting different parts of New England, and sometimes extending his jour- neys to the more distant meetings of New York and Penn- sylvania. His sermon was never long, but some thought it a trifle prosy, and he always preached the same one. It is said that William Almy, whose wealth and position gave him the self-constituted right to snub and reprimand whoso- ever he pleased, was once dining with Daniel Howland and others at a Friend's house, when William said, "Daniel, why does thee preach the same sermon over and over again ?" Daniel quickly replied, " When thee and my other hearers pay heed to my advice, then perhaps my Divine Master will give me something more to say." He never coveted either the wealth or honors of the world, but cultivated a small farm for his support. If wanting in worldly wealth, he was rich in faith, and in the assurance of a treasure laid up where "Neither moth nor rust can corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal."
Another minister of this period was Rowland Greene, who resided in Cranston, whence he removed to Plainfield, Connecticut, where a meeting-house was built and a prepara- tive meeting held, which formed a part of Greenwich monthly meeting. He returned to Cranston about the year 1835, where he continued to reside until his death. He was a physician by profession, but his frequent journeys in the ministry prevented his acquiring a regular or lucrative practice. He was of medium height, and dressed in a suit of light drab with knee-breeches, up to a late period, when the small-clothes gave place to pantaloons, and the drab was discarded for brown, the two only colors then worn by Friends. With a pleasant and pensive face, he pos- sessed a voice that was musical and persuasive, although his sermons were not remarkable for depth or eloquence; but they always pleased his hearers, and frequent visits to to the meetings of Friends all over New England and else- where, rendered his name familiar wherever the Society was known.
Thomas Howland was raised to the station of an elder in the Society of Friends at an early period, and through-
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out a life which terminated at an advanced age, he was an active member and thoroughly identified with the affairs of the Society. He owned a farm in East Greenwich, adjoin- ing that of his brother Daniel, about two miles from the village, where he chiefly resided. When the Friends' Boarding School was established in Providence, he was a teacher in that institution for some time. His personal appearance was attractive. Being about six feet in height, but sparely built, he possessed a countenance whose expres- sion was at once astute and benignant, as his manner was both authoritative and kind. Perhaps no person in New England Yearly Meeting had greater influence, and none whose counsel was more frequently sought than Thomas Howland's. His suavity of manners and equanimity of mind secured the love of his friends, while his keen wit and sound judgment, expressed in choice language, made him formidable in controversy. Without being strained, his politeness and affability seemed born of courts, and included all in its range ; rich and poor, young and old, were greeted alike, and always with an air of interest and condescen- sion. In the business meetings of the Society his remarks were always pertinent, and if he spoke amidst the tumult and confusion of town-meeting, the people at once became tranquil and listened with respectful attention. He was a valetudinarian for many years, and the number of coats and wrappers in which he was enveloped when attending meet- ing in inclement weather was truly wonderful. He man- aged to withstand all the blandishments of feminality dur- ing a long life, and died in the summer of 1845, as he had lived, a bachelor, in the eighty-second year of his age. Always deeply interested in the welfare of the Society, and especially solicitous for the guarded education of its youth, he fulfilled more than fourscore years, and passed from " works to reward."
Lloyd Greene was a character whose uneventful life and sorrowful death might well "point a moral." He was a brother of Dr. Rowland Greene, resided at Old Warwick, and was a consistent Friend and preacher, though his gift was not sufficiently extensive to merit the recommendation of the monthly meeting. The first meeting-house built at Warwick was partially destroyed in the severe gale of Sep- tember 23d, 1815, and Sylvester Wicks, who had removed from East Greenwich to Cranston, was appointed a com- mittee to rebuild it, which was done, and the result was
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the house which is still standing near the head of Old War- wick Cove, and which bears the marks and scars of an- tiquity. A meeting was held there once a month, and was called Lloyd's meeting. We attended that meeting when young, and remember very distinctly the ride down there on a pleasant First day morning in June. It was the only meeting held in the vicinity, and the well-to-do farmers, with matrons and maidens in holiday attire, filled the meet- ing-house. Lloyd preached as usual, and his peculiar face and manner made an impression which has never been effaced. His form was slight but very straight, and a bright complexion subdued the expression of a countenance whose cast of features was seldom seen outside of the " Celestial Empire." A head, entirely destitute of hair, except a nar- row rim around the base of the crown, was covered with a broad-brimmed white hat, and his dress was drab of the plainest shade. A voice both weak and flat fell harshly on the ear, but the audience listened attentively, and Lloyd seemed anxious to relieve his mind. Without brilliant mental power, he had considerable aptness in conversation.
Nicholas Congdon, of Cranston, a worthy Friend, whose plain bluntness was sometimes rather disconcerting, was conversing on the subject of pride, when Lloyd said he thought " every person should have some necessary pride." " What kind of pride is that ?" said Nicholas. Lloyd re- plied, "It is that pride which leads to amiability." He was married rather late in life, to Freelove, the daughter of Simeon Arnold, and the small gambrel-roofed house where he lived and the farm he cultivated were a paternal inheri- tance.
The history of the life of Lloyd Greene is rendered re- markable by its tragical end. The part of Warwick where he lived was rather isolated, until the raging fashion for summer resorts and sea-air turned the shores of our beauti- ful bay all topsy-turvey. But the same green fields and sloping hill-sides, the vista of blue ocean and the heights of Coweset, lighted up by the golden sunset, which have de- lighted the eye of artist and stranger, possessed a charm for the prosaic spirit of the quiet Friend, whose power he little knew.
For more than half a century he had quietly jogged on in the same round of duties, to meeting, to mill, and to market, when, in the spring of 1842, by the advice and persuasion of friends, and prompted by his own inclination
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to lessen the cares of life, he was induced to sell his home and remove to East Greenwich, where he could live at ease. But the experiment was unfortunate, for he missed the usual round of cares and duties, which had seemed a bur- den, but were really a pleasure. He missed the friends of boyhood and middle age, and he missed the monthly gath- ering of the rural neighbors in the ancient tabernacle, where he had held forth for their instruction. His peculiar temperament rendered him very susceptible to that terrible malady, home-sickness, which attacked his mind and com- pletely destroyed its balance. A negotiation for the re- purchase of his farm failed, and he grew melancholy and then inconsolable. Even the consolations of the religion he professed, were unable to restore and tranquilize his mind. He visited his old home one pleasant afternoon, and instead of returning to East Greenwich as expected, he looked for the last time upon the scenes he had loved so well, and go- ing to a barn near his paradise, died by his own hand, pre- ferring death there to life elsewhere.
Among the modes of faith which have rendered the Society of Friends a peculiar people, the practice of silent worship, to which reference has heretofore been made, is one which has often subjected them to the scorn, as well as the derision of the world. Even those who claim a Chris- tian experience and religious life, but confound action with adoration, think the time utterly wasted that is passed in silent meditation, ignoring the declaration of Christ himself, that "God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." If the object of di- vine worship is to please the ear and gratify the senses, then there is efficacy in vocal and instrumental sounds. The pealing organ, the singer's tuneful voice, and the preacher's words may be means of inspiration, but He who formed the "temple," and placed within it a living witness, loves a " contrite heart and a broken spirit," better than " sounding brass or tinkling cymbals." If true and acceptable worship is an act of the lips and not of the mind, of the hand and not of the heart, then there may be a sav- ing virtue in long prayers, tithes and fasting.
" As if the pomp of rituals and the savor Of gums and spices, could Jehovah please, As if His ear could bend with childish favor, To the poor flattery of the organ keys."
But meetings of absolute silence were not common at East Greenwich on the First day of the week, until within
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the past twenty years. The meeting at Wickford had no speaker for many years, and for a long time before it was given up it was attended by only two persons, Beriah Brown and Howland Vaughn, who sat together in silence the usual time, and then shaking hands, as the usual man- ner is of closing the meeting, went to their homes. Some- times inclement weather prevented more than one from at- tending.
At the period when the eloquent sermons of John Casey were filling the meeting-house with hearers, and the mild tones of Daniel Howland fell soothingly upon the ear, another voice was sometimes heard, which from small begin- nings was increased in compass and power until the gospel gift possessed by Thomas Anthony expanded far beyond mediocrity. His form and face are well remembered by adults of the present generation, for less than a score of years have passed since he was summoned from the field by death. The eventful year that gave birth to a nation, 1776, contained the birth-day of Thomas Anthony, whose father, Joseph Anthony, lived in North Providence, and who was a member and preacher among Friends.
Thomas was married in 1803 to Anna Knowles, of Cranston, and removed within the limits of Greenwich monthly meeting about the year 1806. He owned a farm at Pojack, in North Kingstown, and was engaged in the manufacture of salt.
The process of making salt would be quite a novelty at the present time. The water was pumped from the bay by windmills into large vats, whence it was evaporated by the sun, until only salt remained. The works were abandoned about the year 1840.
The ride from Pojack was tedious in the extreme. The road, like all others in Quidnesett at that time, was barred by numerous gates, but Thomas was always punctual in the attendance of meetings twice a week, and his resolution de- fied alike the heat of summer and the drifting snows of winter. His first public communication was at a First day meeting, and his remarks were prefaced by these words, " Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not; a body hast thou prepared me-in the volume of the Book it is written, Lo, I come to do thy will, O Lord !" His ministry was approved or recommended by the monthly meeting in the year 1817, and thereafter he occasionally, though not frequently, visited Friends and appointed meetings in other states. It
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may be remembered as a peculiarity of his gospel labors, that he rarely ever preached at a mid-week meeting, and was never silent on First day. He was a man of short stature and stoutly built ; had a pleasant countenance, and a vigorous organization. The regular attendance of meet- ings did not prevent a close attention to business, for such is the frailty of human nature that the germs of selfishness almost defy the power of religion; nor did the softening influence of heavenly grace altogether subdue the occasional ebullition of a temper which was naturally irascible, for it is not always possible for the " new birth" to change com- pletely the rank growth of the "old Adam." He was no lukewarm disciple, but he rated prevailing sins in "good set terms," and fearlessly assaulted the strongholds of Satan with the mighty battle-axe of truth. A ready flow of lan- guage was promoted by a pleasant voice and agreeable de- livery, so that the stolid hearer, if not moved by argument, was melted by exhortation. He skillfully traced the devious ways of transgression, warned his hearers against the in- sidious wiles of the " unwearied adversary," and then with glowing language described the benign influences of heav- enly love, and the glorious fruition of a godly life. He was often called upon to attend funerals among those who were not of his Society, and the country folks always spoke with reverence of "Elder" Anthony, as they respectfully termed him.
The process of decay which the hand of time has written upon all things terrestrial, was gradually going on, and the power of preaching could not arrest it. The members who had attended meetings were dwindling away, and the seats remained unfilled.
After having passed the allotted years of threescore and ten, Thomas Anthony sold his farm at Pojack and removed to East Greenwich, where he could be near the meeting and medical attendance, as the infirmities of age crept on. He had lost his wife in 1819, and in 1823 was married to Lois Chase, of Swansea, who died in 1843. Both left children and were buried in the meeting-house yard at East Greenwich, and in 1854, when towards the close of his seventy-eighth year, he passed from the scenes of labor and life, and was laid beside them.
Like the ancient prophet of Syria, his mantle descended upon successors, and two of his daughters possess the gift of prophecy ; one of whom, Mrs. Macomber preaches regu-
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larly in the meeting-house in East Greenwich, and her man- ner and tones bring vividly to remembrance the voice which so often resounded within its walls.
FRIENDS' BOARDING SCHOOL.
The Friends' Boarding School at Providence, Rhode Island, is an institution of learning which has attained considerable eminence, and as many of the youth of East Greenwich monthly meeting were educated there, some account of its early establishment may be interesting.
The subject of a yearly meeting school had been agi- tated throughout the Society for some time, and finally Moses Brown, a wealthy Friend of Providence, was induced to offer an eligible lot of land for the purpose of erecting a suitable building. For several years previous subscrip- tions had been made by members of almost every monthly meeting in New England to effect this object. The money had been placed at interest, a fund was slowly accumulat- ing, and in 1803 we find the following extract from the minutes of the yearly meeting :
" This meeting feeling a renewed concern that the object of establishing a school for the promotion of a guarded education, may still be kept in view, and put in execution as soon as it can be fully effected, do recommend to the several quarterly and monthly meetings to encourage Friends to a liberal subscription."
Accordingly Greenwich monthly meeting appointed Syl- vester Wicks, Thomas Howland and John Greene to pro- mote and receive subscriptions for the purpose of a yearly meeting school. In the year 1814 the following. extract from the minutes of the yearly meeting was sent to the several subordinate meetings :
" This meeting having obtained information, by the read- ing of the minutes of the meeting for sufferings, that a suita- ble lot for the erection of buildings to accommodate a Yearly Meeting School, containing about forty-three acres in the vicinity of Providence, had been offered for that pur- pose, by our friend Moses Brown, to this yearly meeting ; and the meeting for sufferings having satisfied themselves, through the report of a committee of their appointment that the lot affords a pleasant and healthful situation to erect suitable buildings upon, for this desirable object, which has for many years occasionally occupied the serious
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attention of this meeting, and having at this time a renewed engagement for the guarded education of our youth, and a very general agreement being manifested that the time has arrived wherein it may be entered upon with a better prospect of accomplishing the benevolent design than has been heretofore presented to our view, the present amount of the fund subscribed for this purpose, with its interest, being upwards of $9,000, and, although inadequate to the expense which will attend the erection of suitable buildings and other necessary outlays; we therefore recommend to Friends to aid the present fund by subscriptions in their freedom, and forward to the meeting for sufferings an ac- count of the sums, that they may be qualified to act therein ; we tenderly exhort Friends to be liberal in their subscriptions, according to the means afforded them, re- membering that we are only stewards of the goods we pos- sess, that we hold them by a very uncertain tenure, and that a righteous and benevolent disposition of a part of them may produce a blessing upon the remainder."
A substantial brick building was erected and completed in the year 1818, upon the land given by Moses Brown, on the hill northeast of the City of Providence. This land has become very valuable, and is now worth as many thousands of dollars per acre as it was hundreds at that time.
The following circular was issued on the 12th month, 2d day, 1818 :
"It is concluded that the Yearly Meeting Boarding School at Providence shall be opened to receive children the first of the next year-6th of the week. As the funds already raised for this institution have nearly all been ap- plied in building and furnishing the house, the price for board, tuition, books and stationery, washing and mending, is at present fixed at $100 per annum ; and it is expected that for each scholar $25 be paid in advance, at the begin- ning of each quarter; should this estimate prove higher than to meet necessary expenses, the price will be propor- tionally lessened. No child can be admitted for a less term than one quarter; nor in any other than a plain dress. Until a boarding house may be established in the neighborhood of the school, Friends or guardians that ac- company the children, may be accommodated with board and lodging at a moderate expense, with the superinten- dents, who are Mathew Purington and his wife. It is con- cluded that no child under eight years of age, except
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orphans, or such as are under the care of the monthly meetings, or in some special cases at the direction of the acting committee, shall be admitted. No boys are to re- main, or to be received, at the school, after they attain the age of fourteen years, without the liberty of said com- mittee.
All letters written to the children while at school, if sent by mail, must have the postage paid, or it will be charged to them.
"Signed by order of the School Committee.
SAMUEL RODMAN, Clerk."
In 1820 it became necessary to raise $2,000 more, in aid of the institution, and notice was sent to the quarterly and monthly meetings, requesting Friends to subscribe to this object. It is a rule among Friends not to accept of any funds, either by will, donation or subscription from any persons except from members of the Society.
A circular issued in 1821, reports the average number of children for that year about seventy-five, and gives the names of the instructors as Thomas Howland, Stephen A. Chace and Abigail Pierce.
In 1823 Greenwich monthly meeting comprised the pre- parative meetings of Greenwich, Cranston, Foster and Plainfield, while First day and mid-week meetings were held at Wickford and Coventry. Meeting-houses had been built at each of these places. The small body of Friends in Plainfield, Connecticut, was increased by the influence of Rowland Greene, who resided there for many years, and they were joined to the monthly meeting of East Green- wich because they were nearer than any other similar body. The air of Connecticut has never been favorable to the growth of Quakerism, for there has always been something peculiarly antagonistic between the "blue letter " laws of Presbyterianism-the religion which mostly prevailed there -and the spiritual liberty of the gospel as promulgated by the successors of George Fox. Of the meetings named above, only two are now maintained, those at Greenwich and Cov- entry The others were gradually reduced by death and removal until not a standard was left, and the houses remained closed until sold by order of the meeting.
It has been previously mentioned, that the clerk of the Greenwich monthly meeting in 1806, was Beriah Collins, who retained the office until 1815, when Thomas Howland was appointed. He performed the duties but a few years
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and resigned in 1818, when William Reynolds, who became a member of the Society in 1815, was chosen and held the office for about thirty years, until politic measures required a change ; so he resigned the place which he had impartially filled, with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of Friends. Perez Peck held the office of clerk during the stormy period of discord and separation in the Society, which has greatly reduced its numbers, and the causes of which it is so difficult for professing Christians of other de- nominations to understand. He was continued until the appointment of Solomon R. Knowles, who is the present clerk.
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