USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. II > Part 11
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Still another incident refuting the belief that Rowland Robinson was a stern, hard man is in connection with that murder which in 1751 shook the country-side. That was the Carter-Jackson murder, which is, as Kipling would say, "another story" and which is told in another part of this book.
On the first of January, 1751, while Sheriff Robinson was in office, there was committed on Tower Hill, Rhode Island, a crime so dastardly and so cruel that for generations afterward children shuddered by their warm chimneysides to hear their elders repeat the story.
Filled with horror at the crime, and resolute that justice should be done, the Sheriff of King's County arrested Carter, the murderer, in Newport, and "without aid," Hazard says, "brought the criminal who was a remarkably powerful and des- perately resolute man" over two ferries and along the roads to Tower Hill for trial.
As they proceeded for some distance, the Sheriff riding a fine black horse and the prisoner on foot, the Sheriff noted that Car- ter walked with fatigue. And so this cold, hard, domineering man got down from his saddle, loosened the man's bonds, and made him mount the horse which he also rode.
Thus, Rowland Robinson, Sheriff of King's County, rode to Tower Hill with the murderer sitting behind him on the great black horse, and delivered his prisoner to the jail.
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ON THE TOWER HILL ROAD
The Indictment :-
"The Grand Jury for the County at Tower Hill do upon their Oaths in behalf of our said Sovereign Lord the King present that Thomas Carter, late of Newport in the County of Newport, mariner, not having the Fear of God before his Eyes, but being moved and seduced by the Instigation of the Devil upon the first day of January in the twenty-fourth year of His said Majesty's reign, Annoque Dominat 1750 (about nine o'clock in the after- noon of said day), in South Kingstown in the county of King's County, with Force and Arms upon the Body of One William Jackson, late an Inhabitant of His said Majesty's Dominion of Virginia, trader, being then and there in the Peace of God and our said Lord the King, an assault did make. And the said Thomas Car- ter with one Dagger to the Value of five shill- ings which said Thomas Carter then had and held drawn in his Hand, Feloniously, Volun- tarily and of Malice aforethought smote and wounded the said William Jackson; at said South Kingstown in said County feloniously and of malice aforethought at the Time afore- said giving said William Jackson Two Mortal Wounds upon the left Breast of about Two Inches in Breadth and about Five Inches in Depth and One Mortal Wound in his Neck of about Two Inches in Width and about Three Inches in Depth. Of which Mortal Wounds the said William Jackson at said South County Kingstown at the time aforesaid in- stantly Died.
And so the said Jurors upon their Oaths aforesaid say that the aforesaid Thomas Car- ter upon the aforesaid First Day of January in the year aforesaid at said South Kingstown in the County aforesaid, the said William Jack- son in the Manner and Forme aforesaid of Malice Feloniously and Voluntarily killed and Murdered against the Peace of our said Lord, his Crown and Dignity.
(Signed) D. Updike, Attorney for the King."
K ING GEORGE the Second sat upon the throne of England when these words were penned and the ink with which they were written has been dry nearly two centuries. The ancient, yellow papers searched bear conflicting dates, but it seems reasonably certain that it was on December 31, 1750, that the two men met and that it was on New Year's Day, 1751, that one Widow Nash en- tertained two travelers on their way to New- port. It is probable that she fed and shel- tered the two men in her home on that day,
and from her testimony given later it ap- pears that she also performed the homely services of mending a garment and dressing the hair of the man who hailed from "The Old Dominion of Virginia," Jackson by name.
The other traveler was Captain Thomas Carter, who had been owner and master of a small vessel that ran between Newport and New York. But Carter was in sorry plight that day, for he had been shipwrecked with loss of both his vessel and cargo off the coast of Long Island, and was making his way back home to Newport on foot when he had fallen in with Mr. Jackson. Jackson was coming North with a horse-load of deer- skins, and he seems to have formed a liking for the unfortunate mariner and shared his horse with him and generously paid their mutual daily expenses upon the road, Captain Carter being penniless.
Alternately riding and walking, the two men traveled the weary miles. Occasionally they stopped for food and rest at some con- venient farm-house or tavern, and it was be- cause Carter claimed to be sick that they stopped at the house of the Widow Nash for rest and refreshment before continuing on.
At what point in their journey the mar- iner discovered that the benefactor pos- sessed, beside his peltries and valuable horse, a bag of silver is not known. But they evidently found good cheer in the wid- ow's house, for she not only fed them, but after she sewed the button on Jackson's coat or vest, she dressed his hair. While doing so, her attention was attracted to a peculiar lock of hair. One narrative says it was a close, round lock of black hair, quite differ- ent in appearance from his other locks; an- other says it was snowy white contrasting strongly with the color of the rest of his hair. At any rate, the widow noticed this peculiarity, and as the two men prepared to leave her house she remarked to Mr. Jack- son, jestingly: "If any one should murder you, I can identify your body by that queer lock of hair." The two travelers set forth, avowing that they would reach Franklin Ferry that night and cross over to Newport
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in the morning. It was near sunset on that ill-fated day when they left the house and perhaps the widow tucked away the price of their entertainment in the tea-pot that set high on her shelf and forgot about them - until circumstances recalled their visit very vividly to her mind.
Let the pedestrian or the motorist note, on the Tower Hill Road when next he pass- es over it, about a mile and a half out of Wakefield, a little cemetery overlooking the river. Near the roadside he will see a monu- ment erected by the late Mr. Thomas Peace Hazard. This is called the "Carter-Jackson" monument, and on its four sides is inscribed the story of the deed that happened there "about the hour of midnight" on that long past New Year's night.
For at just this point, on that fateful night, Thomas Carter came up close behind his good friend sitting on his horse, and smote him fearfully with a large stone on the back of his head. Jackson recovered a little and fled for his life to an old, deserted house nearby, the chimney of which was still standing in 1850. They called the spot "Chimney Hill" for a long time after this crime. But Carter pursued the poor fellow and finished him with the weapon so quaint- ly described in the "Indictment," - the "Dagger to the Value of Five Shillings," then dragged his body nearly a mile down the hill where he concealed it under the ice of the waters of Pettaquamscutt Cove.
Considering, perhaps, that he had done a satisfactory night's work, he then passed along toward Newport with Jackson's horse, the deer-skins and the "bagg of silver."
Mr. Hazard writes that it was "a few days" afterward, and another writer affirms that it was "seven weeks" later, that a man, spearing eels in the Narrow River, found the body of the murdered man, and the body was brought to the shore. No one knew who the stranger was - save one! That day it so happened that the Widow Nash was in the village on an errand of some sort and was among those who gathered around the body just drawn from the water. Suddenly her eyes grew larger, and she bent over the form on the ground. The corpse had a very peculiar lock of hair, one she had seen be- fore and remarked upon. Her trembling fingers searched along the front of his vest or coat, and, sure enough, - there was the
button that she had sewed on for the kind stranger who had picked up Captain Carter during his long journey from the wreck of his vessel in Long Island waters.
She recalled the jesting words she had flung after the departing travelers. - "If ever you're murdered," she had laughed to Jackson, "I can identify your body by that lock of hair."
The widow's testimony sent the Sheriff of King's County riding down to Newport mounted on a powerful black horse, in search of the murderer. The criminal was seated in his sister's house, on "The Point," with his sister's child in his lap, and the rec- ords say that "alone and unaided" Rowland Robinson brought this desperate, black- hearted criminal along the roads and across two ferries to the Tower Hill Jail.
Carter pleaded not guilty, but was proved to have committed the crime and to have endeavored to sell the deer-skins and poor Jackson's horse in Newport, claiming he had bought them from their former owner. Before he died he made full confession of his crime and gave the details of it. There were no palliating circumstances; he had simply seen that his benefactor possessed what amounted to wealth in those days, - namely, one pack of deer leather, to the val- ue of six hundred pounds (English money), one bag of silver to the value of four hun- dred pounds, one horse of the price of eighty pounds, and had coveted the riches so assembled, perhaps about $5400.00 in our present money, a good sum in those days.
After Carter was condemned, he was kept in handcuffs continually until his execution. Once he complained to his jailer that they hurt his wrists. The jailer sent for the blacksmith, and Mr. Hull knelt before the prisoner, who was seated, to ease the fetters. They were connected with a band of iron about twelve inches long. Quick as chain lightening Carter lifted up his two hands, fettered as they were and struck Hull on the head with terrific force, meaning, of course, to overcome him and make his escape. He was foiled in the attempt, however, and it is said he "deeply regretted" that his effort had been in vain.
The execution, set for May 10th, 1751, between the hours of eleven o'clock in the morning and two o'clock in the afternoon,
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was duly carried out. The gibbet was erect- ed by the roadside on the eastern part of Tower Hill, the sentence being that he should be hanged by the neck until he was dead, and that then his body should be hung in chains nearby the place of execution and left there until consumed.
The Rev. James MacSparran, D.D., be- fore the execution preached a sermon to the condemned man and to the multitude as- sembled to see him hanged. And the words of the good man shed a light upon this dark picture, for, while abhorring the crime, and upholding the justice of his execution, he ended with these words of Heavenly com- passion.
"Oh, Lord, look down upon this unhap- py, poor man who needs Thy pity and Thy pardon." And then : "Oh, let not him whom
we are now commending to Thy mercy for- ever perish and be lost!"
It must have been with these words in his ears that Carter passed to his fate.
After the execution, the body was sus- pended in an iron frame near the roadside, and when the wind blew, the chains would creak dreadfully and the darkies in the neighborhood were too terrified to pass it in the dark night.
Thomas R. Hazard, in his "Recollections of the Olden Times," writes: "When I was a boy I used to sit in the kitchen chimney- corner and listen, with my hair on end, to Uncle Sci and other old negroes as they told how scared they used to be when they rode by of a dark night and heard the chains creaking in the wind, and ever and anon one of Carter's bones fall cajunk to the ground."
THE FIRST BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE
L IKE many another early religious or civil organization, the First Baptist Church, founded in Providence by Roger Williams in 1638, had to endure the lack of a meet- ing house for many years, alleviating the difficulty by either conducting services in the homes of various members or out-of- doors. Perhaps King Philip's War was an ill wind that brought some good, for, after that conflict, when Providence with un- daunted youthful courage was rebuilding herself and forgetting her dreary ashes, all institutions and organizations seemed to spring up with new life and vigor like the fresh green that soon hides the wastes of a burnt prairie. And thus, by 1700, the First Baptist Church, under the leadership of Pardon Tillinghast, had grown to a size where a meeting house became an absolute necessity. Consequently, Pardon Tilling- hast, at his own expense, erected a rude structure at the northwest corner of North Main and Smith Streets and, in 1711, deeded it to his church. This building, which tra- dition describes as resembling "a hay-cap, with a fire-place in the middle, the smoke escaping from a hole in the roof," was hard- ly adequate and only served until 1726 when a larger building, forty feet square,
was constructed on the adjoining lot to the south.
During the next fifty years the Baptist Church lost much of its first momentum and began to lag behind the rapidly grow- ing Providence. In the years just before the Revolution, when the town population had reached 4,000, the Baptists had only 118 members, but then in 1770, the Rev. James Manning came from Warren to Provi- dence to become the first president of the tiny hilltop college, soon to be known as Brown University. This was an event of deep importance to the First Baptist Church for the young President consented to serve as its acting pastor. Again the church re- sponded to fresh stimuli, and within a very short time, only three years, plans were be- ing discussed for the building of a large new meeting house in the center of the town. The record of the meeting, held in the home of Daniel Cahoon in 1774, reads as follows:
"Resolved, That we will all heartily unite as one man in all Lawfull Ways and means to promote the good of this Society; and particularly to attend to and revive the affair of Building a Meeting House, for the publick Worship of Almighty God; and also for holding Commencement in."
The "affair" was certainly revived with a ..
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will. Backed enthusiastically, the new proj- ect went ahead speedily. About 5,000 pounds was soon raised by private subscrip- tion for the erection of a building sixty feet square, and within a week after the first meeting it was decided to procure a lot of land from John Angell, an ideal tract lo- cated in the center of the town and only used by its owner as an apple orchard. The purchase was quickly negotiated by Wil- liam Russel, and five days later Joseph Brown and Jonathan Hammond were sent to Boston to study the churches there. How- ever, none of Boston's ecclesiastical archi- tecture pleased them as well as a particu- lar design which they found in James Gibbs' "Book of Architecture."
Both because Joseph Brown wished to copy this design of a Marybone Chapel, as shown in Gibbs' book, and because, due to the new provision, more room would be needed to accommodate graduating classes at Commencement it was decided to increase the size of the building to eighty feet square. Therefore, more land was needed, and an adjoining lot on the South was pur- chased from Amaziah Waterman for 855 pounds, an amount equal to that paid to Angell. In addition to this need for more land, there was a corresponding need for more money, and, though the Baptists were somewhat reluctant to do so, they secured the permission of the General Assembly to launch a public lottery in order to raise about 2,000 more pounds. Around twelve thousand lottery tickets were sold through- out New England at prices ranging from two and one-half to five dollars each, bring- ing in a net profit of 1,900 pounds.
Three of the famous Brown brothers had some important connection with the erec- tion of the building, but it was Joseph Brown who drew up the detailed plans. He had already chosen a beautiful design for a steeple out of the same book by Gibbs, but he had a mass of further detail to attend to. The skill of this Rhode Islander was truly amazing, almost rivalling that of Peter Har- rison, and to this day prominent architects can scarcely find a single item that could be changed for the better. The fluted Ionic columns, the unusually large capitals, the groined arches, and the scrolls and panel- ling display a mastery of architectural line
and proportion hardly expected of an amateur.
On June 1, 1774, ground was broken, and on August 29th, when the side frames and roof trusses were ready to be raised, the event was celebrated by a general holiday. In less than a year from the latter date, on May 28, 1775, the building was dedicated, though it was then uncompleted, for the spire had yet to be put in place. President Manning, on that memorable morning, took his text from Genesis 28:17, "This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven."
The pulpit in which he stood was more lofty than that now in use for its rail was on a level with the lower line of the gallery. Below him sat the deacons, facing the audi- ence, while behind him was a beautiful Venetian window, partially screened by heavy curtains and now long closed. His congregation sat in the old-fashioned square pews which had seats on three sides. There were 126 of these pews on the floor, but at that time the gallery had benches only.
Of course, it is the auditorium which is of the greatest interest to the visitor. This has a main entrance directly through the tower, reached by double stairways, but there are also two entrances in the rear and one each at both the north and south sides. The original square pews were removed in 1832, and 144 new pews put in. At the same time the upper gallery at the west end which had been used for slaves was taken away, the sounding board was dismantled, and the pulpit altered. Two years later the organ, a gift of Nicholas Brown, was installed, but it was yet fifty years before the recess con- taining the baptistry was added. The seat- ing capacity of the main floor is between 800 and 900 persons, while the gallery will hold between 500 and 600 more. Such a capacity is ample for the regular religious services, but now much too small for con- ventions or college exercises.
One of the most beautiful of all the inte- rior ornaments is the crystal chandelier which hangs in the main auditorium. It was presented by Hope Brown, in 1792, in memory of her father, the first Nicholas Brown, and it is believed to have been first lighted on the evening of her wedding to Thomas Poynton Ives, even though the
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ceremony was not performed in the meet- ing house but in the family home on Thomas Street. The chandelier was bought in London, but the glassware was probably made in the famous works at Waterford, Ireland. Up to 1884, the 24 globes were fitted with candles, and the chandelier itself attached by a long chain hanging from the attic of the building. The raising and lower- ing was aided by a counterweight, consist- ing of a box filled with Revolutionary cannon balls and bar shot. In 1884 an ad- dition, for the baptistry, was made to the rear of the building and a stained glass window was added as a memorial to Mrs. Hope Ives by her granddaughter, Mrs. Wil- liam Gammell. The crystal chandelier was fitted with gas burners and an iron pipe took the place of the chain. However, by 1914, with the substitution of electricity, the original chain was restored. There have been various other kinds of subsidiary light- ing fixtures, ranging from crude whale-oil lamps to the present indirect electric light- ing. The means for heating the building passed through similar elementary stages of development which began with foot- stoves carried to the services by members who could afford them.
Those who climb up the several flights of stairs to the attic over the auditorium may see the sturdy Colonial architecture, the huge crossbeams of oak, held mostly by wooden pins, and the wooden pulley and windlass for raising the chandelier. Another flight brings one to the great tower clock. The present one was installed in 1873, being the gift of Henry C. Packard, but the first clock, brought over from England, had previously served as the town's prin- cipal timepiece for about one hundred years. The present dials are seven feet in diameter, made of ground glass and illumi- nated automatically by electricity.
By climbing yet one more flight, an ener- getic visitor may arrive at the small open space beside the bell, a spot midway be- tween the tip of the steeple and the ground.
The total height is 185 feet. The bell, four inches thick, and weighing 2,500 pounds, was brought from England at the same time as the original clock. Rung too vigorously in 1787, it cracked and had to be twice re- cast before it was completely mended. When clocks in the town were few, this bell rang regularly at sunrise to wake the peo- ple; at noon to announce the dinner hour, and at night for the curfew, a custom which has long been continued.
This is, of course, but the merest summary of the history and architecture of this fa- mous old building. Mr. Norman M. Isham has undoubtedly compiled the most com- plete survey of the structure in a book which he assembled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the erection of the building. But, herein we may at least pay our bit of homage and inspire our bit of interest in this beautiful example of Colonial "Georgian" architec- ture. Its slim, delicately-formed spire has won increasing admiration with the years, while its stern, yet charming interior may be said to have incorporated an intangible spirit of holiness. Though this meeting house has shown a ruggedness of construc- tion which has enabled it to withstand the gales and tempests of the passing years- and even the greatest of these, such as the storm of 1815-it is now given more of the attention which it deserves. It is inspected annually with the greatest of care, and more than once have sums exceeding its original cost been expended in its upkeep. Yet, the old meeting house which has been the scene of so many great public memorial services has been maintained in its original purpose and condition. Its location at the corner of North Main and Waterman Streets is now unique, for it is the exact geographical center of the city. As the dec- ades pass the building becomes a heritage of increasing charm and value to the resi- dents of Providence and an intriguing and beautiful landmark for many who visit this growing city.
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"P'INT, JUDY, P'INT"
M ANY MEN" seem to have had "many minds" in relation to the origin of the name "Point Judith." Some say it was named for the wife of John Hull, Bos- ton goldsmith and mintmaster, while others claim that it was named for Judith Stod- dard, mother of Mrs. John Hull. Also, there is the legend that the name was given by some churchmen from Boston who came here to deprive by trickery some prospec- tive buyers of the land. They took the name from the Bible, in which it appears as rep- resenting the southern part of Canaan which was allotted to the Tribe of Judah, and these men chose to call the southeastern boundary of their pretended purchase "Point Judith." And then, just as we apparently get the mat- ter straightened out, we see that on some of the earliest maps the name is printed "Point Juda Neck."
Perhaps the most childish theory is that the name came through the ejaculation of a harassed seaman. The story goes that a Nantucket captain was lost in a fog and did not know in which direction to steer. His daughter, in the boat with him, presently cried out that she spied land. The old Cap- tain, not so quick to see it, commanded anxiously, "P'int, Judy, p'int!" But by the name of "Point Judith" this point of land is now known to all mariners as one of the most dangerous spots along the Atlantic coast. It is on the west side of Narragansett Bay, and was discovered in 1524 by Verra- zano, a Venetian, also the discoverer of Block Island.
Point Judith is a part of the town of Nar- ragansett, and the famous "Pettaquamscott Purchase" covered the land that the boun- daries of this town and those of South Kings- town now outline.
Samuel Sewall was one of the seven orig- inal purchasers of this tract. He bought many acres on the west side of "The Great Pond" (Atlantic Ocean). This was Point Judith. Judge Sewall it was who married Hannah, only daughter of the Boston gold- smith and mintmaster before mentioned. She it was whom her father placed on one
side of a great scale on her wedding day and in the presence of the assembled guests carefully balanced the other side with shin- ing, new "Pine Tree Shillings." Not until the scale was perfectly balanced did the silver stream of coins cease flowing.
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