USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Westerly > Some papers delivered before the Westerly Historical Society 1916-1927; and a list of the members Jan. 1927 > Part 7
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Unfortunately there is no way to form an opinion of his ser- mons but by hearsay ; because he preached entirely from notes which are impossible to decipher, as he used a system of abbreviations and rulings with large black periods. They appear to be carefully pre- pared, each one covers one side of two sheets of foolscap paper and is neatly folded like a legal paper, numbered and the subject, also in his shorthand, is written across the end.
There were ardent admirers of his preaching in his congrega- tion. A story is told of one who went to Brooklyn on a visit and was taken to hear Henry Ward Beecher. Upon returning her comment was, "He did not hold a candle to Elder Taylor."
At that time it was necessary. to be an ardent admirer of one's minister. In all those twenty-five years there were morning, after- noon and evening service, each with a sermon and a long one, and nobody stayed at home. There was also Sabbath School before the morning service. In the course of his long pastorate there were held several revivals at which numerous converts were made and bap- tised into the church.
It was at one of these revivals that the dramatic conversion of Ansel Bourne took place. He lived next door to Elder Taylor, was an atheist. steadily disregarding the customary observances of Sunday.
One day, while walking to the village, he by chance considered going to one of the meetings being held at the chapel, then quickly decided not to go, saying to himself, "I would rather be struck deaf and dumb forever than to go there."
Continuing his walk so far as Clark's Hill he soon felt weak and dizzy and sank upon a stone at the roadside to rest where he became unconscious. He was taken to his home. In the course of two weeks he gradually regained his strength and his senses one by one, until all returned but one. the power to speak.
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During this illness he grew to believe that his affliction was a punishment due to his sins. When he became strong enough he - attended several of the meetings at the chapel. each time writing a short prayer which he asked to be read. Elder Taylor complied with his request while Mr. Bourne stood in an attitude of prayer.
On Sunday afternoon, as on the other occasions, he presented a prayer written upon his slate for the Elder to read. which he did. Curiously the prayer closed with the words, "Why I feel as I do this afternoon, I cannot tell, but I do feel as though God was about to speak to Westerly, in what way I know not." When the reading of prayer ended and Mr. Bourne was still standing before the congrega- tion with his arms outstreched he suddenly spoke and falling upon his knees began to pray in a clear voice. Such an extraordinary scene made a profound impression and many believed that they had seen a miracle.
Soon after this occurrence he saw visions and a few years later disappeared. One morning on awaking he found himself in a town in Pennsylvania carrying on a small business under the name of A. J. Brown. After coming to himself he had no recollection of his life as A. J. Brown.
These strange mental phases attracted widespread interest and so eminent a psychologist as William James calls attention to this curious case in his psychology.
Often the new converts were baptised in the old canal which once ran through the town to supply power for the mills. Now the gas tank stands where these ceremonies took place. Later they were held in the river itself at the foot of Vincent Lane. These baptisms were sometimes in very cold weather when it was necessary to break through thick ice to make a pool. Tradition says that in spite of such desperate measures no one ever felt any ill effect, even when their robes froze before they could reach home, because they had been protected by divine Providence.
Fortunately Elder Taylor was blessed with a sturdy constitution calculated to stand such exposure. He was strong, and muscular as well, and his strength served him a good turn on several occasions.
One of these is quite amusing. On coming out of meeting one evening he discovered that his, horse, Charlie, had been stolen. So with his good friend Capt. Thompson he drove in the direction of the fresh tracks and overtook the thief with the horse near Anguilla and shouting in his clear ringing voice, "Whoa, Charlie!" the horse stopped. Then the Eller overpowered the thief, threw him upon the seat and sat upon him and so drove back to town.
Now those who once knew him, remember him best as the organ- izer and master of ceremonies of the Sunday school picnics which were held annually in connection with the church. His was the enthusiasm that put the spirit of joy and gaity into the occasion as well as the serious note in the shape of addresses with an appeal to strive for the best.
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The event was advertised long ahead with bright posters which made one long for the day. They read most attractively.
"Annual Excursion !
The Sabbath School connected with the Christian Church will set their table at Osbrook Grove !
The Mammoth Barge will leave the Wharf of Capt. Joshua Thomp- son, at 9 a. m. precisely, proceeding down the river to Osbrook Grove.
For Dinner ! At the spacious tables erected there.
After Dinner Orations, Races and Banquet Auction, etc.,
The whole amply interlarded with the superior music of the West- erly Brass Band.
Tickets for sale at Capt. Joshua Thompson's and Charles Bradford's. Price one dollar including dinner."
It sounds and must have been delightful as all accounts agree.
One of the boys who has not forgotten the fun at those August picnics has written a graphic sketch of them. It begins :
"Rev. John Taylor was pastor and Superintendent of the Sun- day School and my father Capt. Joshua Thompson was assistant Supt. It was the practice during the month of August for the Sab- bath School to have a picnic at Osbrook Grove at the mouth of the Pawcatuck River where it enters Little Narragansett Bay. For 30 odd years this Sabbath School had its annual picnic and never had but one postponement on account of stormy weather. Capt. Joshua Thompson was quite an expert weather prophet and he would take into consideration the moon's phases and plan a day when the tide served best to facilitate the navigation of the scow down to the grove and return. The picnickers, under the leadership of Elder Taylor as he was then called, who was a very popular personage, would start at high tide and have the advantage of the ebb tide or outer flow of the tide to take them down and returning on the flood tide or the inward flow of the late afternoon.
"In my recollection the merry crowd started from the wharf located at the foot of Gallow's Lane. now known as Cross Street. There was no tug boat on the river in those days but literage of cargoes of vessels was done by scows into which the cargo was trans- ferred and brought up to Westerly. The largest of these scows was selected by Elder Taylor for the excursionists and it was swept and garnished for the occasion and boxes and boards were procured for seating the men, women and children of the congregation and their large circle of friends. It was a great event in those days, and many
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people came from quite a distance to take the sail down the river ; also others drove down in wagons to the grove. Capt. Thompson was sailing master assisted by various river boatmen and at the appointed hour, usually nine o'clock, sail was hoisted and the voyage begun. A committee selected by Elder Taylor would start earlier in a smaller boat with barrels and baskets of dishes, knives, forks and spoons, and the lumber to erect the tables. These tables were usually made in the form of a hollow square aggregating in length about four or five hundred feet, covered with white cloth and spread with the necessary dishes to contain the variety of vegetables and brown bread and large platters containing many roast chickens or other poultry and meats which were carved by the committee. There were also many frosted cakes and pies.
"The American flag was floated from a pole raised in the top of one of the tallest trees which could be seen by the excursionists as soon as they came in distant sight of the grove. On arrival at the shore or marsh, boards from the seats were laid on the dampness that the excursionists could walk over dry-footed. Elder Taylor had a large banner floating over the path to the grove with this inscription in large letters. "Here we meet again." He, with the committee. would welcome all and invite them to have crackers and cheese to stay their appetites until the time for serving dinner. They usually had one whole cheese and a barrel of crackers which were eagerly sought by the children. Tubs of lemonade were furnished for the thirsty as well as pure water from a well nearby.
"One important event in the later years was the arrival from Watch Hill of nearly all the boarders at that time, and most prominent among them were Ex-Gov. Catlin of Connecticut and his noble wife. who did much to make the celebration a pleasure. Mrs. Catlin had the reputation of being an excellent swimmer at the bathing beach.
"Elder Taylor was an artist in making up bouquets of flowers which adorned the tables. The bouquets were pyramidal in shape and added greatly to the appearance of the tables.
"There was always good food, enough and to spare to everyone and many fragments to be gathered up at the close. In later years dinner tickets were sold for a sum, I think fifty cents, which entitled one to as many helpings as his appetite would accommodate.
"Then came the fun. One specialty was running races for a striped stick of candy. Elder Taylor would stand at one end of the race course holding at arm's length the candy, and the assistant superintendent was at the other end of the course to start the racers evenly. I think the race course was about 100 feet long. The victor caught the candy as he went past the extended arm. There were sack races, and various other sports and entertainments. There was singing by the church choir and congregation, and later years the excur- sionists were accompanied by the Westerly Brass Band which was considered, especially by the children, an extraordinary addition to the occasion as it had a large brass horn and two drums.
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"After the sports were ended then the auction commenced, and the bouquets together with any remaining whole parcels of food such as chickens, ducks, and whatnot were sold to the highest bidder, causing much merriment. More music by the congregation or the band, and some speeches by Elder Taylor and by various ones, then the hour of departure would be announced according to the time of tide and wind, and the party would arrive home about six or seven o'clock in the afternoon always having had a very enjoyable time."
The Christian Church of Westerly was dedicated in 1844 and Rev. John Taylor was its second minister. He came there a young man and grew old in its service and in time became a conspicuous and beloved figure. He was social and witty, always had his joke, all of which made him popular and possibly was why he so often officiated at weddings. It was a common occurrence for couples to drive up to his door to be married.
Toward the close of his life he moved back into the village to the same house on High Street that he occupied when he first came to Westerly. There he suffered a shock and after an illness of a few months, when he was quite helpless, he died on October 12th, 1872.
A description of him written by his son presents him quite vividly.
"My father, John Taylor, was a trifle over six feet high, weighed about 200 pounds with strong sloping shoulders and full breast. His gait was very dignified and when he walked down the aisle of his church, he had a kind of majesty about him which made a decided impression upon his audience.
"He wore plain black clothers with a white linen collar which turned down over a white linen stock which was starched very stiff, fastened with hooks and eyes at the back.
"His voice had a great degree of magnetism, was very loud, penetrating and sympathetic. He was an orator by nature-was con- siclered in his denomination a very powerful preacher.
"At times he was eloquent.
"He was not a literary man, knew nothing of the standard poets of his time nor of essayists or orators. He read very little except the newspapers, the New York Tribune and Christian Messenger. He was an ardent admirer of Horace Greely and believed in him as an oracle. He belonged to the Christian Denomination, believed in re- generation, baptism. atonement, etc., but rejected the trinity, fore- ordination, close communion and infant baptism.
"He was strictly and rigidly upright and so honest that he was unjust to himself. I remember many instances of where he has lost his due for fear people should even think him unjust.
"He had moods of melancholy from which it seemed at times he would never emerge, then he would have moods of hilarity when he was the most jolly, humorous and lively of men. His mind at such times was very active and he was intensely comical and witty. Then he would laugh till the tears ran down his cheeks. He was very kind-
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hearted and had a strongly emotional nature, would give far beyond his means to relieve distress, was inclined to trust men.'
His neighbor remembers him as tall and distinguished looking with a shock of thick white hair, who with his cane stepped briskly down the street.
Woodrow Wilson has said that the true American is a frontiers- man, meaning by a frontiersman a man who is equal to the emergency, is able to take up the work circumstances present. By this measure Elder John Taylor can be called a true American. Born from the vigorous stock of our early settlers he instinctively undertook the work at hand. Skillful with tools he made for his home good pieces of furniture, little boxes and picture frames, sometimes ingeniously decorated with shells. and no doubt worked on the house itself dur- ing its building. He cultivated a splendid garden and had a genius for growing beautiful flowers of wonderful variety, as well as carry- ing on his nursery business.
Sundays found him in his pulpit.
He cared for his family properly, was a kind and generous parent and judging from his slender income, it is evident that he made made many sacrifices that his children might succeed. In addition, he labored for the improvement of the community in which he lived. faithfully performing the duties of its citizens. How utterly beyond all estimation is the ever-widening influence of such a life. What nobler goal a true American ?
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Restoring a Ure-Reunlutionary House
By MRS. HARVEY C. PERRY
The would be restorer must follow the advice in the famous old English recipe :- "First catch the hare." This we did almost by accident when we acquired the old Randall Farm in North Stonington about a year ago. The last idea we had then was to be restorers, however. We were merely looking for a country residence for our cows who had had several encounters with cars and trucks on the Watch Hill Road on their way to and from pasture and were finding town life increasingly uncongenial.
Now every resident of Westerly is familiar with the fact that he has the "choice of 400 farms situated conveniently to town and de- sirable in every way." It seemed to us that being on the ground we should be able to pick a perfect one, and we proceeded to make a list of qualifications. It must be near town, it must be on state road. but not too near the road. it must have a view of salt water. it must have big trees, it must have a house which we could enjoy if we decided to retire to it in our old age near to congenial neighbors, and the house must be old. and unimproved enough to have still the central chimney and the brick oven. If you know the Randall Farm you will know it possesses all these qualifications except the view of salt water. Instead it offers a wide sweep to the east and north toward the Miner Meeting House and Pendleton Hill. and has all sorts of charms which were not stipulated, such as springs and ponds and cranberry bogs.
Of course we didn't realize what a serious scrape we were get- ting into till we discovered how old and interesting the house was and how much might be made of it. But after all we were saved, by the fact that the house was bought primarily for the farmer to live in and therefore could not be restored in the real sense of the word. What we have done would be more accurately described as repairing. We have merely tried to make the house livable, endeavoring all the time to do nothing which could permanently spoil it from the anti- quarian point of view. That is how it stands now. Two rooms at the west end we reserved for our own uses, they have received even less attention than the main part of the house. We have heard all sorts of tales about what we have done and what a marvelous collection of antiques we have installed. It all makes the reality seem very small. The few nice pieces of old furniture which we do own. we like much too well to put up there where we can see them only once or twice a
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week. Our own two rooms are furnished with such things as we are willing to spare and the rest of the house with the furniture of the family now living there.
However, if we haven't done much we have studied and talked and thought a good deal about what ought to be done, and this fact is my only qualification for presenting this paper, for I am not even a Yankee by birth and must confess that it was only a comparatively few years ago that I learned the true significance of so fundamental a feature as the central chimney. Do you who have always seen this realize how distinctive it is of the earliest New England houses ?
The country in which I was born is the very southeast corner of Pennsylvania. The three counties around Philadelphia were settled by English and Welsh Quakers and pre-revolutionary houses are common enough. But they are built of stone, and that being the case it was easy to incorporate chimneys, any number of them, in the end walls which were always eighteen inches or two feet thick. The cen- tral chimney, comprising in one five or six fireplaces and their flues. besides a Dutch oven and a smoke oven, were more economical of stone, but just why the New Englanders should have been more eco- nomical of stone than the Pennsylvanians is not evident. Just west of the Quakers, in Lancaster County and beyond. came the German settlers, erroneously called "Pennsylvania Dutch." They had still other traditions of architecture, but nowhere except in New England do we find the central chimneys, and nowhere else do the old houses take on the bleak, austere look which strikes us foreigners so forcibly.
We made a study of what a restorer should do in such a case as ours. He must face at the outset the problem-What sort of a re- storation shall this be? Shall it be an accurate and absolute return to the old times, producing a result fit for a historical museum with no stoves, no plumbing, no central heating. etc .? This has been done in several cases by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Or shall the house become a home. comfortable and liv- able, attempting to preserve the ancient spirit without loss of the comforts and conveniences which the years have brought. as Mr. Ford has most successfully accomplished at the Wayside Inn.
Of course we had no choice, the latter course was the only one possible, and it possible only to a very limited degree.
When this question is answered, there follow two even larger. How old is your house? And how were houses of its age originally planned, built and decorated ?
There are ways and ways of trying to answer the first of these. as to age; and more ways of trying than ( there are of ) succeeding. This, however, is a familiar difficulty-very few of the really old houses are accurately and exactly dated. In the case of the Randall House the only clue seemed to be a Randall family tradition that the house was supposed to be about two hundred years old.
Some information also we were able to get from books, especially
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from "Early Connecticut Houses" and "Early Rhode Island Houses," by Isham and Brown, and "Early Domestic Architecture of Connecti- cut," by J. Frederick Kelly. All these books are in the Westerly Library. All are extremely interesting, full of detailed architect's drawings and minute information, illustrations and examples from houses still in existence. The main outline of the development of the pre-Revolutionary New England house is given herewith, in a sort of combined quotation from these three books and from the Handbook of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
In the work of these first builders we find the universal and persistent use of a single material for framing. That material of course was oak. That the colonists, with abundance of other woods. both hard and soft, at their disposal, should have chosen oak means simply that they elected to use the one material with the working of which they were already most familiar. They used it not only for framing but also for exterior covering, floors, and so on.
Oak as a framing material was never outgrown during the colonial period and only after 1800, was it superseded for struc- tural purposes by white pine and the other soft woods.
After the brief log cabin period appeared the first structures which may truly be called houses. It is probable that at first they were of the one-room plan, a story and a half or two stories high. with the chimney stuck at one end. But additional space must soon have become necessary. This was obtained simply by adding another room or unit of construction on the opposite side of the chimney, which thus became enclosed. The house then had two rooms-the keeping room or hall and the parlor, with a central chimney, in front of which was the entry, often called the "porch," containing the stairs to the second floor.
To meet the constantly increasing demand for more room after the two-room plan had become firmly established as a type the simple expedient of adding a lean-to across the rear of the house was resorted to, which addition resulted in the provision of three addi- tional rooms on the first floor, the kitchen with small buttery, bed- rooms-one at either end-and a large attic on the second.
This was accomplished by continuing the main house roof in back from the ridge down to the ceiling level of the first floor. The pitch of the lean-to roof was generally the same as that of the old roof above it. The lean-to, at first merely an addition. presently became an integral part of the construction. The next development was accom- plished by building the house of two full stories throughout, letting the first floor plan remain that of the lean-to house. The plan of the second floor, like that of the first, became a layout of five rooms, the two large front chambers, a kitchen chamber behind the chimney and smaller rooms on either side of it corresponding to the buttery and bedrooms on the first floor.
The most striking external feature of this change is the disap- pearance of the long lean-to roof with its fine lines sweeping from
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the ridge nearly to the ground. These full two-story houses began to be built not earlier than 1700, and this is the style of the Randall House.
The lean-to type house probably most familiar to Westerly peo- ple is the old Brightman House on the Post Road, near the Mul- berry Glen filling station at Quonochontaug.
Lean-to houses and those of two full stories both present a front facade with a door and nine windows, one over the door and others grouped in pairs on either side. When the five upper windows are evenly spaced across the front you may be fairly sure that the house does not belong before 1800. Usually spacing on both sides of the door was the same, but symmetry was often sacrified to con- venience. In the Randall House, for instance, the east room is 20 x 20 feet, the west room 14 x 20 feet, with a corresponding lack of bal- ance on the outside. Neither chimney nor front door hold a middle position. The five or six little square windows over the door should, according to rule, contain bulls-eye glass.
Up to the middle of the 18th century, when this period drew to its close, utility had been the determining influence. This gave way to other influences. Massiveness was replaced by elegance and refine- ment of detail, qualities which reached their culmination at the close of the Adam period.
The chimney had hitherto been the central feature and from its position behind the stair porch had actually governed the plan of the house. There now began a change-the introduction of the cen- tral hallway and the consequent division of the chimney into two parts. It will be seen that the new arrangement thus really consisted of two houses of the two-room plan turned at right angles to their former positions, separated by a hallway. In certain remote regions, however, the earlier type of course persisted until a later time. For an instance of this there is the Palmer house at Pendleton Hill built in 1807, but almost identical in plan with the Randall House, though so much later.
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