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 9
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92
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1667-1776.
of the town at that time.
The copy is entitled, "A list of ye o Riginol Rights and ye now oners of the fore mils Commons :"
" A list of the originell propri- etors' names of the township of Warwicke:
" The names of the now pro- prietors, as near as I can find out:
Samuel Gorton, 39
Sam'l & Hezekiah Gorton,
John Wiokes,
41
John Wickes,
Randall Holden,
43
Randall Holden,
Richard Carder,
28
John Carder,
Robert Potter,
09
John Warner,
John Greene, Sen'r,
35
Peter Greene,
John Warner,
21
John Warner,
francis Weston,
11 Amos Stafford,
Richard Waterman,
31
J'hn Warner & Randall Hold'n, Job Greene,
Rufus Barton,
47 Rufus & Benjamin Barton,
Henry townsend,
8 John Holden & Benj. Greene,
Christopher Unthank,
50
John Holden,
Ezekiel Holliman,
46 John Warner,
John Lippitt, Sen'r,
18 Moses Lippitt,
Richard Townsend,
19 John Low, Junior,
Peter Greene,
32
William, Elisha, & Barlo Greene,
Tho. Thornicraft,
16
Amos Lockwood & Samuell peirce,
James Greene,
23
Fones Greene,
tho. Greene,
49 Benjamin Greene,
Stukely Westcott,
22 Zorobabel Westcott,
John Smith,
6 Thankful Collins, Robert
John Smith,
14
Westgate, & tippitts,
Nathaniel Greene's children,
Nicholas hart,
7
John Wilkes & Geo. Westgate,
Walter Todd,
10
John Knowles,
John Cooke,
25
Stephen Low,
John Greene, Jr.,
1
Sam'll Greene,
Robert Westcott,
42 Abraham & Amos Lockwood, 27 Moses Lippitt,
John Townsend,
30 John Low & John Stafford,
Peter Buzigut,
24 John Warner,
John Downing,
36 John Low & William Utter,
Edward Inman,
13
John Greene, son of Richard Greene,
James Sweet,
2 Richard Greene,
Thomas Errington,
44 Benjamin Greene,
Amos Westcott,
4 Benony Waterman,
John Haydon,
33 Amos Stafford,
John Sweet,
26
John More,
93
NEW ENTERPRISES.
1667-1776.]
Mrs. Holmes,
12 George Hazzard, Jr.,
William burton,
40 Benj. Gorton & Wm. Greene,
Thomas Hedger, Sen'r,
29 John Carder,
Joseph Howard,
45 John Budlong,
William Eaton,
20 Anthony Low,
Peter Buzigut tenement,
48 John Rice,
Tho: Scranton, Sen'r,
5 Amos Stafford.
John Coles,
34 John Lippitt & Ben: Greene,
John Gorton,
3 Edward Gorton,
Ben: Gorton,
17 Tho: Stafford,
Francis Gizbon,
38
Geo. Hazard, Jr.,
the Mill owners,
51 Tho: Stafford,
the tenement on Conimicut, 32
Philip, Stephen, & Ephraim Arnold,
Walter Todd, second grant, 15
Moses Lippitt & Joseph Staf- ford."
The spirit of enterprise on the part of the inhabitants of this town after the close of the Indian war, mani- fested itself not only in dividing the lands of the Grand Purchase among themselves, but in developing their re- sources. The water power of the rivers was brought into requisition to furnish them lumber; grist mills were established in various places, and there were rude be- ginnings of manufacturing various articles needful for the comfort of the people. The old saw mill on Tuska- tucket brook failed to furnish the amount of lumber demanded by the increasing necessities of the people, and the timber lands in its vicinity were insufficient for their purposes. Farther up in " the woods," as the in- habitants were wont to term the present location of the thriving manufacturing villages, there was ample water power and a larger and better supply of lumber material. Hence their interest naturally drew them away from the quietude of Shawomet, and led them to establish saw mills on the banks of the Pawtuxet. A grant was made at a meeting of the Proprietors of the town on the 18th of January, 1677, to Henry Wood, John Smith, John Greene and John Warner, as an encouragement to them to " build a house at our plantation of Coweset, and a saw mill on ye fresh river in ye township, being ye south branch yt runs towards Pawtuxet." The grant con- sisted of one acre for the mill site, two acres for the in-
94
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1667-1776.
dividual use of each of those persons, adjoining ; and one hundred acres on the west side of the river for the use of the company. Certain conditions were annexed to the grant of easy fulfilment, and liberty was granted to cut the standing timber over a large space of territory in the vicinity. Provisions were m de that when the lands on the west side should be divided among the in- habitants, " so much shall be abated out of their pro- portion as ye said one hundred acres is out of their share or shares."
The sense of security resulting from the enfeebled condition of the natives gradually increased by acces- sions to their own number with the prospect of still greater security as time advanced .* And during this time the natives had been steadily decreasing in number. It is a law in political economy that "industry will be applied to capital as every man enjoys the advantages of his labor and his capital."¡ If he is in doubt whether his labor will be rewarded, his efforts will be feeble. If he feels secure in his possessions and is reasonably certain that the expenditure of toil will result to his advantage there is inducement to labor freely. Heretofore the settlers were in doubt in these matters. They were harrassed upon every side, and there was little encour- agement to extend their efforts beyond the immediate precincts of their homes at Shawomet.
The relation of supply and demand in any community is such that the demand for any article usually pro- duces it. An enlightened community soon find that all its members are not best employed in any given production,
* Population of Warwick from 1708 to the present time:
Year ..... 1708. 1730. 1755. 1774. 1800. 1820. 1840. 1860. 1870. 1875.
Pop .... 480 1,178 1,911 2,438 2,532 3,643 6,726 8,916 10,453 11,614
Coventry was set off in 1741, and has now a population of 4,580, which gives a total of 16,194, as the population of the territory formerly in- cluded in the town of Warwick.
The number of families in this town in 1774 was 353. The names of the men at the head of these several families, may be found in the census of that date, arranged and published in 1858, by Hon. John R. Bartlett.
+ Wayland's Political Economy.
95
1667-1776.] FULLING MILL AT APPONAUG.
and hence arises the principle of a division of labor. Some will till the soil, others will grind the corn ; some engage in one department of toil and others in another, according as the one or the other form or kind of labor promises them the greatest reward, or is best suited to their inclinations. If a community is destitute of the kind of labor it needs, and there is sufficient demand for it, there is usually some one to supply it. Hence we find, at an early period in the history of the town, when the supply of wearing apparel of the quality de- manded was insufficient from the ordinary methods of production to meet the wants of the inhabitants, a skilled laborer from abroad found it for his advantage to come among them, and the inhabitants deemed it for their advantage to receive him. This led to the estab- lishment of a Fulling Mill at the village of Apponaug. The following are the acts of the Proprietors in refer- ence to this matter :
April 28, 1696. “Moses Lippit, James Greene, James Carder and Randall Holden are appointed to go with Mr. Micarter to Aponake, and to view a place desired by him to set up a fulling mill; and to see what accommodation they judge may be al- lowed to it, and so make report to the town at the next meet- ing."
June 6th, 1696. "These presents declare and testify that John Micarter, of the town of Providence in the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, having made appli- cation by way of petition to this town of Warwick, desiring leave and liberty for the building and setting up a fulling mill upon a small river at the place called and known by the name of Aponake, also, some convenient accommodations for the abode and residence of himself and family. The town having considered the premises have granted his request allways with this proviso, that the said fulling mill shall be finished and completed, fit to do the town service at or before the first day of May, which will be in the year 1697. And that the said John Micarter shall always be ready to do the towne's work upon as reasonable terms as they can have it done elsewhere in States about us, upon those considerations the town hath granted him one acre and a half of land, situate and being be- tween two wading places, the uppermost being the foot-way, the lowermost the horse-way; as also, allowed liberty for digging a trench at the entrance of Kekamewit brooke to
96
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1667-1776.
raise it sufficiently, which done will make a small island, which he may also make use of; and hath also liberty without and besides the bounds appointed him to "dry cloth upon the common; also privileges upon the common for fuel or fire wood necessary, and privileges for ten head of cattle to feed on the common; moreover seventeen acres of land or there- abouts, eastward from Robert Potter's farm, ranging easterly towards Coweset pond," &c. "Notwithstanding the town do reserve the liberty to themselves if they see cause to set up a town mill upon the same river," &c. "Said John Micarter hath liberty to raise Coweset pond two feet if occasion be for it," &c.
Aug. 3, 1741. The west end of the town was set off and incorporated into a township to be known as Cov- entry. The following is the report of Daniel Abbott, John Potter and Thomas Spencer, the committee ap- pointed to make the division; which report was accepted :
"We having met in said Warwick on the 24th day of August, last past, and proceeded to run said line, beginning at the westermost part of the Coweset Farms, in said Warwick, and from thence ran one line south seven degrees west, until we came to the north bounds of East Greenwich and the south bounds of said Warwick, where we made a large heap of stones, making several heaps of stones in the said lines, and marking several trees in said line, with the letter W, on the east, and the letter C, on the west; then beginning at the first mentioned bounds and run north seven degrees east, until we came to the north bounds of said Warwick and the south bounds of Providence, making a large heap of stones on the east end of a rock, in said bounds, and made several heaps of stones and marked several trees in said line, as aforesaid; the which we now make as our return for the fixed and certain bounds between the aforesaid town of Warwick and the afore- said town of Coventry; and that the said town of Coventry be hounded east on the town of Warwick, south on East and West Greenwich, west on the line that divides the Colony of Rhode Island, &c., and the Colony of Connecticut, and north on the south bounds of the towns of Providence and Scituate."
By this act sixty and three-fifths square miles of terri- tory were cut off from the town of Warwick to form the new town, leaving forty-three and one-tenth square miles. These are the present areas of the two towns.
William Greene of this town having served as Deputy Governor for the three preceding years was elected in
97
KENT COUNTY ORGANIZED.
1667-1776.]
1743 to the office of Governor, holding the office nearly eleven years, between 1743 and 1758, dying in office on January 23d of the latter year, aged 61 years. He was the grandson of Deputy Governor John Greene. Of the governors under the royal charter he was the eighth who had died in office, two of them having deceased the same year. Their names were Benedict Arnold, June 20th, 1678 ; William Coddington, Nov. 1st, 1678 ; John Cran- ston, March 12th, 1680; Caleb Carr, Dec. 17th, 1695 ; Samuel Cranston, April 26th, 1727; William Wanton, Dec. 1733 ; John Wanton, July 5th, 1740 ; Wm. Greene, January 23d, 1758.
During the period of Gov. Greene's administration the continent of Europe was in a state of the greatest commotion, occasioned by the Spanish war and its com- plications. " The whole continent was in arms, and bat- tles by sea and by land as fruitless as they were ceaseless, presented a scene of blood that had never been equalled- in modern times." France declared war against England, having espoused the cause of Charles Edward, and Eng- land now issued a counter proclamation against France. The war was announced to Gov. Greene by the Duke of Newcastle * and preparations were made for putting the colony in a state of defence.
The General Assembly, held at Newport, the second Monday in June, 1750, incorporated the towns of East Greenwich, Warwick, West Greenwich and Coventry into a county, to be called the county of Kent .; They previously formed a part of Providence county. The. act provides that " a court house of the dimensions or near the dimensions of the court house in Providence, be built in the town of East Greenwich, by a free contribu- tion of the inhabitants of said county of Kent." At the session of the Assembly in February, 1752-3, represent- ation being made that the court house was built agree- ably to the provisions of the former Assembly, but was yet unfinished within, and the inhabitants felt themselves
R. I. Col. Rec. v. p. 80. ¡ R. I. Col. Rec. v. 301.
9
98
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1667-1776.
unable to finish it, on application a lottery was granted them " as the easiest method to raise money sufficient to finish it, and for erecting a fence around the jail." *
The colonists from the time of the first settlement of the country had been ardently attached to liberty and extremely jealous of any invasion of either their political or religious rights. They had been induced to leave their native land in the hope that here they would be re- lieved from oppression and arbitrary power. They still maintained their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain and cherished sentiments of strong attachment to the mo- ther country. The long and oppressive wars with the In- dians and the French had seriously retarded their pro- gress for a season, and the severe restrictions placed by Great Britain on their trade had been borne with con- siderable impatience. After the conquest of Canada had freed them from some apprehensions, new complications awaited them from another quarter, which eventually resulted in the war of the revolution. It was claimed that the wars which now were carried on by Great Britain in defence of her American colonies had greatly added to her national debt and consequently largely in- creased the burdens of her subjects, and that in view of this she might reasonable indemnify herself for the ex- penses incurred by a tax upon the colonies. This reason was met by the colonists by declaring that the expenses
* The granting of lotteries by the General Assembly had become so common that in December, 1760, an act was passed empowering the directors of them to call special courts, in case they desired it. They were granted to build bridges, dams, pave streets, erect meeting houses, parsonages, repair roads, school houses &c., and one in 1774 to Abia! Brown to buy new furniture for his house which had been des- troyed by fire. In 1764, one for the sum of £106 lawful money to re- pair the bridge at the Fulling Mill, and Messrs. Elisha Greene, jr., Thomas Arnold aud Gideon Arnold were appointed directors of the same. In 1772, one to raise $500 to rebuild "the town wharf in War- wick harbor," and Capt. Benjamin Gorton, Capt. Thomas Greene and Capt. John Lippitt were appointed its managers. One in 1774, to William Holden, torepair a dam across the Pawtuxet river, in con- nection with which he had a grist mill. The upper part of the dam had been carried away with a flood the winter before. The grant was for £50, and Capt. William Potter and Mr. John Wickes, son of Robert, both of Warwick, and Mr. Anthony Helden of East Greenwich, were appointed its directors. See R. I. Col. Rec. for these years.
99
WAR APPROACHING.
1667-1776.]
had been incurred by Great Britain because the colonies were valuable to her; that she was interested in their defence from the great benefit, present and prospective, resulting from the monopoly of their commerce, and that their own exertions and expenses had been greater than hers, in proportion to their ability.
In 1764, the celebrated stamp act was passed, laying a duty on all paper used for instruments of writing as deeds, notes, &c., and declaring all such writings on unstamped material to be null and void. * A duty on glass, lead, paints and paper, and an import duty of three pence a pound on tea was proposed. On the arrival of the news of the stamp act in Boston, the people were much ex- cited, " the bells were muffled and rung a funeral peal." Rhode Island shared in the general discontent. In July, 1769, "the British armed sloop Liberty, Capt. William Reid, cruising in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay in search of contraband traders, had needlessly an- noyed all the coasting craft that came in her way. Two Connecticut vessels, a brig and a sloop, were brought into Newport on suspicion of smuggling. An altercation ensued between the captain of the brig and some of the Liberty's crew, in which the former was maltreated and his boat fired upon from the vessel. The same evening the people obliged Reid, while on the wharf, to order all his men, except the first officer, to come on shore and answer for their conduct. A party then boarded the Liberty, sent the officers on shore, cut the cable and grounded the sloop at the Point. There they cut away the mast and scuttled the vessel, and then carried her boats to the upper end of the town and burnt them. This was the first overt act of violence offered to the British authorities in America. ¡ The two prizes escaped. This was followed by various acts of resistance of minor importance, all of which tended to the same result that eventually transpired."
* Not only upon the old wills of this period, but on some of the proprietors' records, and even the plats before me are seen this re- minder of British taxation.
. ii, p. 297.
100
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1667-1776.
The approach of the centennial of American Indepen- dence revives in all quarters of the iand the various in- cidents and events connected with the great struggle. A perfect rainy season of claims to notice, animated by a patriotic spirit and local pride, and stimulated by local traditions is upon the land and will continue for the year to come. It matters but little in what particular spot the struggle began, where the first blood was shed, or who were the principal actors-little in comparison with the results of that struggle. Yet as matters of history, such minor events become interesting and will always be cherished by a liberty-loving people. At a recent cele- bration at East Westminster, Vt., a claim was made that the first blood of the Revolution was shed within its limits, on the 13th of March, 1775, when William French and Daniel Houghton were shot by Tories, in the Court- House, and thus secured a monument erected to their memory by the State. This monument bears the names of the proto-martyrs and also the following unique epitaph copied from the headstone of William French :
"Here William French his body lies For murder his blood for vengeance cries; King George the Third his Tory crew That with a bawl his head shot threw ; For Liberty and his Country's good He lost his life, his dearest blood."
Whether this was the first patriotic blood that flowed in immediate connection with the revolutionary war, I am not able to say. It is certainly in order for any one to dispute it and set up a better claim.
For several years previous to the actual outbreak of the American revolution, much trouble had been occasioned by an illicit trade carried on by vessels along the coast, which induced the Commissioners of Customs to place armed vessels at different points to prevent the smuggling of goods into the several ports. Among these vessels thus posted was the British armed schooner Gaspee, of eight guns, commanded by Lieut. Duddingston, which was accompanied by another called the Beaver. Dud- dingston had seized twelve hogsheads of rum and some
101
DESTRUCTION OF THE GASPEE.
1667-1776.]
sugar which belonged to Jacob Greene & Co., which were on board a sloop bound for Greenwich as one ac- count has it, but which was more likely bound for Ap- ponaug, where the Greenes had their storehouse and where they received their coal and black sand for their anchor forge in Coventry. It was soon after this affair that the destruction of the Gaspee took place on the Warwick coast and the first Tory blood shed in connec- tion with the revolutionary war, the details of which we quote from the statement made in 1839 by Col. Ephraim Bowen, who was concerned in the affair and was probably the last survivor of the gallant little band.
" In the year 1772, the British Government had stationed at Newport, Rhode Island, a sloop of war, with her tender, the schooner called the Gaspee, of eight guns, commanded by William Duddingston, a lieutenant in the British navy, for the purpose of preventing the clandestine landing of articles sub- ject to the payment of duty. The captain of this schooner made it his practice to stop and board all vessels entering or leaving the ports of Rhode Island, or leaving Newport for Providence. * On the 10th day of June, 1772, Capt. Thomas Lindsey left Newport, in his packet, for Providence, about noon, with the wind at north; and soon after the Gaspee was under sail in pursuit of Lindsey, and continued the chase as far as Namcut Point, which runs off from the farm in Warwick, about seven miles below Providence, and is now owned by Mr. John B. Francis, our late governor. Lindsey was standing easterly, with the tide on ebb, about two hours, when he hove about at the end of Namcut Point, and stood to the westward and Duddingston, in close chase, changed his course and ran on the Point near its end and grounded. Lindsey continued on his course up the river and arrived at Providence about sunset, when he immediately informed Mr. John Brown, one of our first and most respectable merchants, of the situation of the Gaspee. He immediately concluded that she would remain
* Dea. Pardon Spencer relates an anecdote of one of the fishermen living on the Pawcatuck river about this time. It appears that the fisherman with his "smack" ventured down the river and was over- hauled by one of the guard boats of a war vessel stationed near its mouth. After being detained awhile, the fisherman was released, but not until his patriotism and indignation had reached a considerable height. On departing he exclaimed ;- " Only let me catch that man- o'- war up the Pawcatuck river and we'll see what will become of her." It did not occur to him, that a "man-of-war" might possibly find other difficulties in navigating the Pawcatuck than those he had in mind.
*9
102
HISTORY OF WARWICK.
[1667-1776.
immovable till after midnight, and that now an opportunity offered of putting an end to the trouble and vexation she daily caused. Mr. Brown immediately resolved on her destruction, and he forthwith directed one of his trusty shipmasters to col- lect eight of the largest long boats in the harbor, with five oars each, to have the oars and oar locks muffled to prevent noise, and to place them at Fenner's wharf, directly opposite the dwelling of Mr. James Sabin, who kept a house of board and entertainment for gentlemen, being the same house purchased a few years later by Welcome Arnold, one of our enterprising merchants, and is now owned by, and is the residence of Col. Richard J. Arnold, his son.
About the time of the shutting of the shops, soon after sun- set, a man passed along the Main street, beating a drum and informing the inhabitants of the fact, that the Gaspee was aground on Namcut Point, and would not float off until three o'clock the next morning, and inviting those persons who felt a disposition to go and destroy that troublesome vessel, to repair in the evening to Mr. James Sabin's house. About 9 o'clock I took my father's gun and my powder horn and bullets and went to Mr. Sabin's house, and found the south-east room full of people, when I loaded my gun, and all remained there till about 10 o'clock, some casting bullets in the kitchen and others making arrangements for departure; when orders were given to cross the street to Fenner's wharf and embark, which soon took place, and a sea captain acted as steersman of each boat, of whom I recollect Capt. Abraham Whipple, Capt. John B. Hopkins (with whom I embarked), and Capt. Benjamin Dunn. A line from right to left was soon formed, with Capt. Whipple on the right, and Captain Hopkins on the right of the left wing. The party thus proceeded till within about sixty yards of the Gaspee, when a sentinel hailed, "Who comes there?" No answer. He hailed again and no answer. In about a minute Duddingston mounted the starboard gunwale in his shirt and hailed, "Who comes there?" No answer. He hailed again, when Capt. Whipple answered as follows: " I am the sheriff of the county of Kent * * * : I have got a warrant to apprehend you * * * ; so surrender * " I took my seat on the main thwart near the larboard row-lock, with my gun by my right side and facing forwards. As soon as Duddingston began to hail, Joseph Bucklin, who was standing on the main thwart said to me, " Eph, reach me your gun, I can kill that fellow? " I reached it to him accordingly, when, during Capt. Whipple's replying, Bucklin fired and Duddingston fell, and Bucklin exclaimed : " I have killed the rascal !" In less than a minute after Capt. Whipple's answer, the boats were along- side of the Gaspee, and she was boarded without opposition. The men on deck retreated below, as Duddingston entered the
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