USA > Rhode Island > Kent County > Warwick > The history of Warwick, Rhode Island, from its settlement in 1642 to the present time; including accounts of the early settlement and development of its several villages; sketches of the origin and progress of the different churches of the town, &c., &c > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
States commanded by Col. Greene, for April, 1779, may be found in "Spirit of '76," page 185. In the same work are also the lists of the several companies.
124
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1776-1800.
The cessation of hostilities was announced by Wash- ington in general orders, April 11, 1783, just eight years from the battle of Lexington, and the joyful news was forwarded to each town in the State. The people of Warwick hailed the announcement with gladness. Her soldier citizens could now return to their homes and en- gage in their ordinary peaceful pursuits. Great Britain had tested the strength and valor of the Yankees,* and found them greater than she supposed; and Yankee Doodle, the song of contempt composed by a tory officer, had found a tune that had inspired the American soldiery with a patriotic enthusiasm that led them on to final victory.
In June, 1795, the town voted to hold their town meetings in the meeting house at Apponaug, in case the society would allow them, otherwise at the house of Caleb Atwood.
* Yankee and Yankee Doodle .- Thatcher in his Military Journal (p. 19,) gives the following account of the origin of the word Yankee and of Yankee Doodle. "A farmer of Cambridge, Mass., named Jonathan Hastings, who lived about the year 1713, used it a's a favorite cant word to express excellence; as a Yankee good horse, or Yankee good cider. The students of the college hearing him use it a good deal, adopted it and called him Yankee Jonathan. Like other cant words, it soon came into general use. The song "Yankee Doodle" was written by a British Sergeant at Boston in 1775, to ridicule the people there when the American army under Washington was encamped at Cambridge and Roxbury."-Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution, p. 81. Note.
In Drake's "American Indians," another derivation of the word Yankee is given; this takes it from a Cherokee word eankee, which signifies coward or slave, and was bestowed upon the inhabitants of New England by the Virginians, because they would not assist them in the war with the Cherokees.
125
VARIOUS TOWN LAWS.
1800-75.]
CHAPTER VII.
From the year 1800 to the present time.
In June, 1805, it was voted, to instruct the represent- atives in the General Assembly to vote against the erec- tion of any turnpike gate within the county of Kent "to the injury of the inhabitants of said county."
In 1808, there was considerable excitement in the town occasioned by a bill before congress, for raising an army of fifty thousand men, in view of an anticipated war. A town meeting was called, and a series of resolutions passed denouncing the measure.
On April 18, 1810, it was voted in town meeting, that " the price of labor, for an able-bodied man, be seventy- five cents per day, that is, accounting nine hours labor for each day's work, he finding the necessary tools " &c.
In June, 1823, the Town Council were requested, in future to meet the second Monday of each month, and that "each and every one of the members of the council be allowed for their services four dollars a year, and that the law heretofore passed, allowing them eight shillings per year, be, and the same is hereby repealed."
At a town meeting, held Nov. 4, 1856, Thomas P. Lanphear was elected to the General Assembly, to fill the vacancy in the town's representation, occasioned by the death of Ex-Gov. William Sprague.
William Sprague * was one of the stirring business men
* Three brothers: Ralph, Richard and William, came to this coun- try, in 1628, and settled in Salem, Mass. Their father, Edward Sprague, was a fuller, of Upway, Dorsetshire, England. Ralph Sprague, was a prominent man, in Charlestown, Mass. and one of the
*11
126
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1800-75.
brother.
of his day and belonged to a race of manufacturers. His father, also named William, was a cotton manufac- turer and calico printer, and his descendants have pur- sued the same business with an energy and success that have made the name of Sprague known in connection with cotton manufacture throughout the civilized world. Previous to his election to the Gubernatorial office, Mr. Sprague had been a representative in Congress, and sub- sequent to that event, he was chosen United States Sen- ator, a position which he retained until the death of his father in 1843, when the demands of his business at home led him to resign his seat in the Senate. Further reference to him will be made, in connection with the accounts of the villages of Natick and Arctic. The fol- lowing letter from his nephew, ex-Governor Sprague, in answer to a note of enquiry, gives some of the prominent traits of his character :
PROVIDENCE, Sth June, 1875.
Rev. O. P. Fuller :-
Dear Sir :- Your note of the 7th, is before me. The late ex- Governor Sprague died in 1856, almost in my arms. My age at that period was 25. My occupation and observation had been very much restricted up to that time. The burden that fell upon me consequent on the decease of the subject referred to, occupied all my time, until the war, and from that time to the present, very many and at times exciting incidents have oc- curred, that have in a measure shut me off from events and in- cidents connected with individuals with whom I have associated. My memory is not of that kind that at will enables me at once to call up without effort, incidents connected either with men or things.
The late ex-Gov. Sprague was an exceedingly reticent man. He seldom exhibited feelings through which one gains an insight into character. I have hardly made up my mind to-day
founders of the church there, in 1632; in 1630, the first constable; a representative, in 1637 and eight times afterward. In 1639, the Gene- ral Court granted him 100 acres of land, "he having borne difficulties in the beginning." He died in 1650, leaving a widow, four sons and a daughter. Richard Sprague was a merchant, and died Nov. 25, 1668, leaving no children. William, the youngest, removed to Hingham, Mass., in 1636, where he died October 26, 1675, leaving eleven children. See Frothingham's Charlestown, Lincoln's History of Hingham and Hosea Sprague's Genealogy of the Sprague family.
ยท 127
EX GOV. WILLIAM SPRAGUE.
1800-75.]
as to his weak or strong traits of character. and as to their variety. Knowing myself and my own weaknesses, I find in them much that was similar in the late ex-Governor. He was never mirthful. In that particular I force myself to be other- wise. He was of a thoughtful cast of mind. He lived within himself. This gave him a gloomy appearance, when probably his feelings were cheerful and contented. The absence of cheerfulness, and it may be of mirthfulness, in the character of men, is, in my opinion, a great hindrance to intellectual and spiritual growth. As an offset to this effect, if such it was, ex- Gov. Sprague possessed a physical structure unsurpassed. It was of the grandest character and proportions. I have never come in contact with a man that equalled him in that respect. His skin was as pure and untainted as that of the most delicate woman. His muscles were like steel. If his bones were now to be examined, they would be found to be nearer the con- sistency of ivory than those of ordinary men. Had the subject before us permitted his real nature its whole power to act. free from the influences of his occupation, in fact, had he permitted himself less excess in the occupation to which he devoted him- self, the character and power he would have unfolded would not have been surpassed by any man of his time. As it was, his general success is an evidence of his superiority. Had he abandoned his reticence, and imparted his experience to the young brain to which he left his business, he too would have had no great catastrophe to surmount. It was the reticence of the late ex-Governor Sprague in reference to those connected with him by family ties, that in a large measure may be attributed the check which has come on his business successor.
I wish I could give you an insight into the man. I cannot do so now, without devoting more time for reflection than I have at present command. I will forward your note to his more immediate family, who will give you dates of events that may make your task easier, if in no other way, by allowing you to compare them with those you may already have. I would, if I could, contribute more, than I now have, to the praise of one whom I esteem as a second father.
Very truly &c.,
W. SPRAGUE,
The resignation of Senator Sprague left a vacancy in the United States Senate, which was filled by the ap- pointment of John Brown Francis, January, 1844. Mr. Francis was born in Philadelphia, May 31, 1791. His father was John Francis, who married a daughter of John Brown, a merchant of Providence. Gov. Francis' first wife was Anne Carter Brown, daughter of Nicholas
128
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1800-75.
Brown, whom he married in 1822. She died in 1828, leaving two daughters, one of whom is the wife of Mar- shall Woods, Esq., of Providence. In 1832, he married his cousin, whose maiden name was also Francis. Gov. Francis died August 9, 1864, and Mrs. Francis, June 14, 1866. Of this marriage there were four children of whom two are now living. John Brown Francis, jr., the only son, died in Rome, of typhoid fever. Feb. 24, 1870. Gov. Francis graduated at Brown University, in 1808. Though of a somewhat retiring disposition, he was early called into public life, and held many offices of trust. He belonged at first to the old Federal party, and subse- quently to the Democratic party. He was moderator of the town meetings for many years in succession, inter- ested in the public schools of the town, and from 1824 to 1829 represented the town in the General Assembly. In 1833, he was nominated for Governor by the Antimasons and Jackson men, and elected, and was annually re- elected until 1839. He was elected Chancellor of Brown University in 1841, and held the office until 1854, when he resigned. Gov. Francis had an unusually fine, and commanding appearance. He was affable, courtly and dignified in his manners, and was one of the most popu- lar men of his day. Inheriting an ample fortune, and possessed naturally of a sympathetic, generous nature, he was always found to be a friend to those who needed his counsels or his purse. He lived, and died at Spring Green, in the eastern part of the town.
In June, 1855, a proposition was made to divide the town into voting districts. The subject was referred to the November meeting, at which time the proposition was laid upon the table. At this meeting, a proposition being before the General Assembly, for the setting off of Potowomut from this town, and joining it to East Green- wich, it was voted :
" That the Senator and Representatives of this town, be, and they are hereby instructed to oppose, by all honorable means, the Granting of the Prayer of the Petition of John F. Greene, et. al." "Voted, that John Brown Francis, John R. Waterman,
a
S
0 i
1
1
129
RICHARD WARD GREENE.
1800-75.]
Simon Henry Greene, William Sprague, Cyrus Harris and Benedict Lapham, be a committee, with full power to employ counsel, and do all things necessary to the proper conducting of the opposition of this town to said petition."
The efforts of this committee were successful, and this fair portion of the town's domain, the birth-place of General Nathaniel Greene, and the residence of the late Chief Justice Richard Ward Greene, remains still a part of the town, though separated from it by the waters of Coweset Bay.
Judge Greene, who died a few months ago, will be regarded as one of the foremost, among the honored names of this state. His stately, dignified form impressed even the stranger. Straight as an arrow, even at four-score years, and standing over six feet, deliberate in his motions, his physical presence inspired respect, in addition to his wisdom and his years. He was born early in the year 1792, and died in the 84th year of his age. He was the son of Christopher and Deborah Ward Greene. His mother was a daughter of Governor Samuel Ward. He was educated at Brown University, and at the time of his death was one of its trustees. He studied law at the Litchfield Law School, an institution which graduated many of the wisest and best lawyers of the American bar. The occa- sion of his death afforded his associates an opportunity to bear willing testimony to his worth.
What efforts were made for the education of the chil- dren of this town during the first seventy-five years of its settlement it is impossible at this time to determine. Though it is probable that educational privileges were limited, it is not likely that the rising generation were allowed to grow up in utter ignorance of the elementary branches of knowledge. The character of the pioneers of this town preclude such a conclusion. The inhabi- tants were few in number, but a fair proportion of them were possessed of more than ordinary intelligence. Their school privileges and the methods of instruction were of such a character, however, as to find no place in the records of the town. Nor should we expect it to be otherwise, when we consider that the instruction of chil- dren was not considered to be the duty of the public until recently. The schools at this time were wholly of
130
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1800-75.
a private character until the inauguration of the public school system, within the past half century ; though for many years previous to that event there was a gradual progress toward that system. Early in the last century there are intimations in the town records (see account of Old Warwick on a subsequent page) of such schools in operation, which, though of a private character, afforded privileges to all who chose to avail themselves of them. As the last century closed, and the present dawred, in- creased interest was manifested in the subject of educa- tion, and several societies were incorporated by the General Assembly for this object.
The "Warwick North School Society was incorporated, March, 1794; the "Warwick West School Society," May, 1803 ; the "Warwick Central School Society," Feb., 1804, and the " Warwick Library Society," May, 1814. The Rhode Island Register for the year 1820, states that "Warwick contains ten schools and two social libraries."*
At the inauguration of the public school system in the State, a new impetus was given to the subject of education ; town school committees were appointed to have the general oversight of the schools, the town was divided into districts, and appropriations of money for their support was made thereafter annually. The fol- lowing persons were chosen the school committee for the year 1829 : John Brown Francis, Thomas Remington, Joseph W. Greene, George A. Brayton, Augustus G. Millard, Elisha Brown, Franklin Greene, Henry Tatem, Daniel Rhodes. Thomas Holden, Jeremiah Greene, Sion A. Rhodes, Rice A. Brown and Waterman Clapp. The committee of which, George A. Brayton, late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of this State, was the Secretary, made a report in behalf of the com- mittee, embracing the preceding year also, (no report of the year 1828 having been previously made), in
* It also states, that there are in the town 520 dwelling houses, 15 cotton factories, 2 woolen factories, one anchor forge, one gin distil- lery, 12 grain mills, 20 dry goods and grocery stores, and three druggist stores.
1
-
131
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
1800-75.]
which a detailed account of their labors is given. This report states that the committee was organized on the 21st of June, 1828, and proceeded to divide the town into suitable districts and make arrangements for suitable places in which to hold the schools. They divided the town into eleven districts. The Crompton district was set off in 1830. The number of scholars attending the schools in 1829 was reported as 763, and the amount of money expended, $908 50. In 1830, the number of scholars had increased to 840.
In November, 1845, an unsuccessful attempt was made to induce the town to provide convenient school-houses for the several districts. The matter came up the following year again, when it was again decided to leave the several districts to provide for their wants in this respect. It was soon found necessary to appoint some individual, whose duty it should be to superintend the schools, to examine candidates for teaching, visit the schools at stated intervals, and report their condition, with such suggestions for their improvement as in his judgment seemed desirable ; and at a town meeting held Feb. 18, 1848, the committee were authorized to employ a suita- able person for this purpose, at an expense to the town of not exceeding fifty dollars. This amount has been gradually increased to $200. The following persons have served the town as superintendents ; Rev. Zalmon Tobey, Rev. Geo. A. Willard, Rev. Benjamin Phelan, Oliver P. Fuller, Ira O. Seamans Esq., Wm. V. Slocum, Esq., and John F. Brown, Esq.
There has been a gradual increase of the number of scholars and expenditures of money, a better class of text-books, and a more thoroughly qualified class of teachers as time has advanced, but whether the children of the town as they leave the schools are generally better informed than those of a score of years ago, may be a question. A larger number leave the public schools at an earlier age than formerly, which would lower the general standard of intelligence in a commu- nity. A few do this to enter schools of a higher grade,
132
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1800-75
but a larger class, especially those whose parents are of foreign birth, to enter the mills and earn their living. The annual expenditures for the schools of this town have advanced from $3,635 61 for the year 1854, $5,162 15 in 1860, $10,274 50 in 1870, to $11,261 07 in 1874. The report of the school committee for the year 1874-5, gives the number of districts as sixteen,-Arctic not included-three of which, Natick, Phenix and River- point, have three departments ; four of the remainder have two departments, viz. : Centreville, Apponaug, Crompton and Pontiac; the remainder one only. Num- ber of boys registered, 857; number of girls, 787. Average cost per scholar the preceding year, $6 75.
The rebellion against the United States government assumed a positive form by the bombardment of Fort Sumpter on the 12th day of April, 1861. On the 15th of the same month the President issued his proclamation for seventy-five thousand men, and the next day Gov. Sprague issued his order for the immediate organiza- tion of the First Regiment. On the 20th, a detach- ment of that regiment was on its way to Washington. The work of recruiting was pursued vigorously, the several towns of the State vying with each other in making up their quotas. The amount paid by this town for bounties to soldiers during the progress of the war, was $94,214 52: amount paid in aid of families of vol- unteers, $28,183 26 ; aggregate disbursements for war purposes, $122,397 78; amount assumed and repaid by the State, $31,800 00, leaving the actual expense of the town for war purposes, $90,597 78. *
* Adjutant General's Report for 18 j5.
1
ACCOUNTS OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEVERAL VILLAGES IN THE TOWN OF WARWICK.
134
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
Sketches of the Origin and Development of the Several Villages in the Town of Warwick.
Before giving a specific account of the several villages that form so important portions of the town of Warwick, let us in fancy ascend one or two of the surrounding hill tops and take a bird's eye view of them. The scenery from them is one of rare grandeur and beauty. Not so extensive, it is true, as may be obtained from the summit of Mt. Washington and other noted elevations, but one that will amply repay the necessary effort to observe it. Nearly a score of thriving manufacturing villages, strung together like beads upon a string, full of busy industry, nestling along the two branches of the river, that gives the village its name, may be seen at a single glance-each possessing its peculiar features of interest, and altogether forming a community of thrift and enterprise that has borne an important part in making our little State noted beyond her limited bounda- ries.
One of the best views may be had from Prospect Hill, a point on the New London turnpike, midway between the villages of Centreville and Natick, and the best time, the morning, when the sun from the east sends his full beams over the surrounding landscape. To the east- ward and ten miles distant lies the earliest settled portion of the town, called originally Shawomet, but of late years, Old Warwick, with the pleasant sea-side summer resorts of Rocky Point, Oakland Beach and Buttonwood Beach, and nearer in the same direction the village of Apponaug. Almost at our feet is the cosy little hamlet of Arctic, upon the south branch of the
1
135
WARWICK VILLAGES.
Pawtuxet * river, with its spacious mill and cleanly sur- roundings, its regular rows of tenement houses, skirted with trees, the whole reminding one of a miniature kingdom of children's toy-houses, with the mill as the palace of the king. To the southward lie the villages of Centreville and Crompton, with their manufactories, churches and dwellings embowered with trees, whose heavy foilage adds increasing beauty to the scene. Still farther off, bearing to the right, in homage to the river, we behold the village of Quidneck, with the old " Tin Top," as a prominent object, and still beyond, the village of Anthony, with its mammoth new mill; these last two villages being in the town of Coventry. Washington lies just beyond. These commencing with River Point at our right and out of view from this posi- tion, form the seven principal villages of the south branch of the Pawtuxet.
Starting again at our immediate right at River Point, where the two branches of the river unite, and following the north branch we have before us the village of Clyde, with the extensive works of Hon. Simon H. Greene & Sons, Lippitt, Phenix, Harrisville, Arkwright and the less distinctly visible ones of Fiskville, Jackson and Hope. Each lying apparently quiet between the wooded hills that loom up on either side, but teeming with an active, busy population. The last five mentioned lie without the boundaries of Warwick, but belong essen- tially to the Pawtuxet family.
Moving a few rods to the eastward to the brow of the hill, we have another view, still more extensive. At our feet nearly, lies the village of Natick with its large cotton mills, which take the full flow of the united branches of the Pawtuxet with Pontiac a mile or two
* Pawtuxet is an indian name, as also Pawtucket and Pawcatuck, all names of rivers in Rhode Island. Pawtucket is said to signify great falls ; Pawtuxet, little falls, and Pawcatuck, no falls, but I do not vouch for them. Williams in his key to the Indian language does not give their meaning. Judge Potter says Pawtucket means a "union of two rivers and a fall into tide water, because there the fresh water falls into salt" .- [Pequot Testimonies, p. 266.
136
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
beyond. Thence onward the State Farm in Cranston, and in the distance, Providence, Warren, Bristol, Fall River and Newport. The best time for this view is in the afternoon, when the sun is shining upon them from the west.
Auf equally extensive and no less beautiful view may be obtained from the eminence on Woodside avenue, near the residence of the late J. W. A. Greene, on the afternoon of a clear day. If the view is taken from these positions on a moonless and cloudless night of winter, when the stars overhead seem reflected by the numerous lights below, the brilliantly lighted mills appear like so many new constellations; and after gazing awhile in dreamy wonder, one is inclined to forget which is the true firmament.
The little streams that squirm their way through these villages, are very industrious, providing the princi- pal and during a greater part of the year almost the sole power for driving the machinery of some thirty large cotton mills, with the necessary machine shops for repairs, with gristmills, sawmills, &c. Each village flows the water back to the one above it, and thus form a succession of watery steps from the reservoirs to the sea. Beside this, and when about exhausted from these accumulated labors, it very benevolently devotes itself to the domestic and mechanical uses of the good people of Providence. So that we may regard the Pawtuxet river, not only as a very benevolent and hard working river, but in some restricted sense as a Rhode Island Institution. To it we owe especially the present pros- perity of the villages along its banks, and in a large measure their very existence .*
* In the year 1858, Hon. Henry Rousmaniere. then a resident of this town, published a series of articles in the Providence Daily Journal, entitled "Letters from the Pawtuxet," giving a detailed account of the rise and development of most of the villages situated along he line of the river, abounding in historical, genealogical and traditional matter. Mr. Rousmaniere was State Commissioner of Public Schools in the State, and died in Providence several years ago. The "Letters" are honorably mentioned by Lieut. Governor Arnold in his history of Rhode Island, and in a recent conversa-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.