USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Pawtucket > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 2
USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Central Falls > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 2
USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Lincoln > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 2
USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Cumberland > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 2
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WILLIAM BLACKSTONE COMES TO AMERICA
And now we come to an observation of the first white man to come to this area of present Rhode Island. His name was William Blackstone, and since his presence had little or no influence upon the narrative about to be unfolded, his life story in America will be completed without further
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reference. Little is known of William Blackstone's early life in England; even the date of his birth has been lost in the shadow of the more illustrious Sir William Blackstone of legal fame, who may or may not have been of the same family. The first records of William Blackstone of Rhode Island connection are those that included reference to his education in England. It is known that he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts from Emanuel College, Cam- bridge, in 1617, and his Master of Arts degree in 1621. He was ordained an Episcopal clergyman the same year, and two years later joined an expedition to found a New England colony, with headquarters at or near Boston, having jurisdiction, civil and ecclesiastical, over all settle- ments in the New England section of America. The expedition arrived at its destination and a settlement was started but it received so little backing from the mother country that the leader soon gave up and returned home. William Blackstone remained and, in about 1625, settled at Shawmut, now called Boston, and built the first house erected there. This pioneer homestead stood on the west slope of Beacon Hill, on land now bounded by Beacon and Charles Streets, and faced the public park lands, today known as Boston Common. He lived alone, traded with the Indians, cultivated gardens, and tenderly nursed his apple trees, said to have comprised the first apple orchard in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. According to one historian, Blackstone's nearest neighbors were the Walfords, at what is now Charlestown, and Samuel Maverick, a trader, who lived at what is now East Boston. Although Blackstone was still a member of the Established Church of England, and a recognized official in that denomination, he was a true Separatist, openly declared his independence and rebelled against the rules and regulations of the lord bishops back in England.
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WILLIAM BLACKSTONE IN MASSACHUSETTS
In 1630, Governor Winthrop and his group of prospective colonists arrived from England and established a settlement on the north side of the Charles River, at a spot where Charlestown is now located. Later, when many of the Winthrop band fell sick because of the lack of pure water, Blackstone crossed the river and invited them to make their homes within his territory where there were many untainted springs that gushed ample supplies of fresh water. It must have been with a great deal of surprise that these weary and discouraged settlers made the acquaintance of this hospitable stranger, for they hardly expected to find an Englishman already established in a land regarded by them as an absolute wilderness. They were also surprised to observe that he wore the garb of an English clergyman, and this habit of his must have been hard for them to understand when he explained that he had left England to escape the tyranny of the potentates of the English Church. It is evident that Blackstone's quarrel was not one of doctrine but of ecclesiastical jurisdiction over individuals.
WILLIAM BLACKSTONE ASSERTS HIS RIGHTS
At any rate, Winthrop and his party crossed over into the section where Blackstone lived, built houses there, and called the place Boston, after Boston, England, the home of some of the company. According to tradition, these invited guests later attempted to oust their host, on the pretext of having a grant to the lands from the king. It is said that Blackstone replied to this ungracious attempt as follows: "The king asserteth sovereignty over this New Virginia (that was the name then applied to the lands along the Atlantic coast) in respect that John and Sebastian Cabot sailed along the coast without ever landing at any place; and if the quality of sovereignty can subsist upon
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the substratum of mere inspection, surely the quality of property can subsist upon that of actual occupancy which is my claim." Whether or not those were his actual words, the contention is characteristic of his ingenious logic and independence. However, the records show that each member of the Boston Colony paid him six shillings for the rights of his land, and he retained a few acres for his own use. On this land of his he continued to maintain his residence, his apple trees flourished, and so did the roses that he imported from England.
Blackstone remained in the midst of the Boston Colonists for five years although he consistently refused to join with them. Doubtless his social activities were not particularly pleasant, for he was quoted as saying on one occasion: "I came from England because I did not like the lord- bishops, but I cannot join with you because I would not be under the lord-brethren." It was all too clear to him that there was intolerance within and without the church, and like Roger Williams, he soon discovered that the Puritans, with all their good intentions, had added little to man's liberty of actions or of conscience here in this new land whither they had come to escape persecution.
WILLIAM BLACKSTONE LEAVES MASSACHUSETTS
Finally, in 1635, urged by his desire to pursue a seques- tered life of contemplation and study, in addition to other reasons, William Blackstone invested his small capital in cattle, and with his few belongings, including his precious books, he set out into the wilderness in search of a new home. He took with him one companion, named Abbot, from whom Abbot's Run, in Cumberland, takes its name. This little expedition of two men and a few head of cattle, including a bull, followed the Indian trails and finally came to a place called Wawepoonseag by the Indians. There a
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settlement was established in a territory without a single white inhabitant. It was then a part of Rehoboth, and is now Cumberland. His home was built at the foot of a three-terraced hill near present Lonsdale. On the second terrace, he dug a well, and on the top a shelter was erected which was called a study. Consequently, the hill became known as "Study Hill." Of course, one of the first things he did was to plant fresh shoots from his Boston apple trees, and slips from his imported English rosebushes.
THE FIRST SETTLER IN THE VALLEY
In this new and lonesome abode, Blackstone pursued his philosophical studies, and his library consisting of eighty- six volumes occupied the bulk of his time and attention. His books as well as his writings were destroyed after his death when his home was burned in an Indian attack in 1675. He, like his contemporary, Roger Williams, had no trouble with the Indians at any time, for he probably respected their rights and looked upon them not as savages and enemies but as neighbors. Despite the fact that William Blackstone has been referred to by many histories as a recluse, or as an eccentric, he did not remain a bachelor. After he had become well established in the shadow of Study Hill, he frequently made journeys to Boston, riding on a bull, and these visits finally resulted in his marriage to Sarah Stevenson, the widow of John Stevenson. The wedding ceremony was performed in 1659 by Governor Endicott, the groom preferring a civil magistrate to a minister of the Boston Church, which he persisted in refusing to join. Mrs. Stevenson had a son John by her first mar- riage, and she also gave the name of John to her son by the second marriage. This caused considerable confusion in the family records as time went on. John Stevenson was given fifty acres of the Blackstone farm after the death of
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his step-father, while John Blackstone became somewhat dissipated and squandered his heritage of the land. But, the latter eventually settled down to a respectable life in Branford, Connecticut, where his descendants acquired a high place in public esteem.
Mrs. Blackstone died in 1673, two years before her pioneer husband, and both were buried at the foot of Study Hill. It is interesting to read what Stephen Hopkins, the dis- tinguished citizen of Providence, once said about William Blackstone: "Mr. Blackstone used frequently to come to Providence to preach the gospel. .
. . Many of the trees which he planted about 15 years ago are still pretty, thrifty fruitbearing trees." These visits referred to by Mr. Hopkins were made when William Blackstone was quite old. He did not walk easily and therefore rode a bull on these excursions. Some people of his time looked upon him as a radical, but the children all loved him because he always brought them sweet, rosy apples, the first they had ever seen or tasted.
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FIRST SETTLER
His case is an interesting one especially since little or no space is devoted to him in the history books. He was the first white inhabitant of Boston and the first of Rhode Island. He maintained his devotion to the principles of the Established Church of England but he refused to submit to the intolerance of those who attempted to force religion upon him by civil decree. Later, when he found himself among refugees who sought to escape religious persecution, and they continued to allow intolerance to persist in their own circles, he sought liberty in the wilderness and there found what he had long sought. And with it all he stood as a keen thinker, a true apostle of pure religion, a rugged character of unflinching purpose, one of those rare in-
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dividuals who maintain ideals in the face of obstacles to which weaker souls succumb. In no way can he be classed as a great leader in man's age-long struggle to gain true liberty and freedom of conscience, but he was one who wanted such privileges and he persisted in his endeavors until his ideals had been attained to their fullest degree. It seems proper that William Blackstone found absolute independence of the individual man in things of the spirit in lands that are today a part of Rhode Island, acknowledged birthplace of full and complete religious liberty.
ROGER WILLIAMS
And now our story of Pawtucket and its near neighbors shifts to one of the most significant episodes in the history of mankind-to the life and experiences of the one who shall forever be regarded as the greatest champion of civil rights and religious liberties-Roger Williams. Born in England when men were beginning to hope for the inherent rights and privileges of the individual, and when they first openly demanded the full exercise of these prerogatives, Roger Williams grew to manhood in an age of revolution. Early in life he found himself classed with those rugged individuals who did not conform to the regimentation of the soul, and soon he became convinced that the liberties which he so dearly sought might never be fully attained in his native land. The story of his education in England and of his service as chaplain in the household of a prominent manor lord are familiar to all readers of Rhode Island history; likewise the account of his coming to America and of his outspokenness, in the Massachusetts Colony, in respect to religious liberty and Indian rights, are epochal incidents in early American history.
It is probable that Roger Williams anticipated his eventual exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and
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so made verbal treaties with his friends, the Indians, for lands westward beyond the limits of Massachusetts territory. Therefore, when he made his hurried departure from Salem late in December of 1635, or during the following month, he journeyed through the frozen wilderness in the direction of Narragansett Bay hoping to find the chieftains with whom he had previously discussed his personal plans. Authorities agree that the historic flight of Roger Williams brought him at last to Sowams, the home of Massasoit, now Warren, Rhode Island. There he found not only a friendly welcome but also an opportunity to be of service to his kindly host, Massasoit, chief sachem of the Wam- panoags, who still maintained his friendly alliances with the Colonists at Plymouth, and this relationship dated back to the first coming of the Pilgrims in 1620. But, Massasoit was subject to the political domination of the Narragansett rulers, a condition brought about by a disastrous plague that had reduced the power of the Wampanoags some time previously.
ROGER WILLIAMS SETTLES IN SEEKONK
At the time of Williams' arrival in Sowams, Massasoit was planning a revolt against this humiliating Narragansett dictatorship and an Indian war seemed imminent. Roger Williams at once made every effort to prevent such a conflict. The early months of the historic year 1636 found him hurrying back and forth between Sowams and the royal wigwams of Canonicus and Miantonomi in the role of emissary and volunteer peace-maker. His efforts were, in the end, successful. In return for his settlement of differ- ences and for preventing bloodshed among these neighbor tribes, Roger Williams received food, shelter, clothing and a warm invitation to remain and to live in peace. In addition, he was given a stretch of land along the east bank
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of the Seekonk River for a settlement and there he estab- lished himself in the Spring of 1636, just a few miles from the place where the waters of the Blackstone River tumbled over the jagged rocks into the broader confines of the stream that flowed down past the first Williams' settlement located somewhere on the eastern shore of what is now Omega Pond in present East Providence. Others joined fortunes with the successful peace-maker and there these pioneers planted and started to erect rude shelters for themselves and families. Thus the first settlement by Roger Williams and his earliest associates was in Seekonk, as the Indians called that section of country lying along the eastern shore of the Pawtucket or Seekonk River.
THE FOUNDING OF PROVIDENCE
Then came a notice from the Plymouth governor that he desired Williams and the others to move across the river beyond the limits of Plymouth jurisdiction thereby avoiding any complications that might displease the Massachusetts Bay authorities. Following the advice of his friend, Governor Winslow, Williams immediately set out to find a desirable site for a settlement, and the story of this expedi- tion across the Seekonk to the opposite shore and thence to the sandy beach near a bubbling spring has become an outstanding episode in the narrative of American history.
The founding, in 1636, of a place called Providence and the provision of "a shelter for persons distressed for conscience," had direct connection with the several subjects of this account since the subsequent purchase from the Indians of lands including Providence and adjacent territory specifically mentioned Pawtucket. The famous document contained the following specifications: "At Nanhiggansick the twenty-fourth of the first month com- monly called March, in the second year of our plantation
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or planting at Mooshausick or Providence. Memorandum, that we Canaunicus and Meauntunomi the two chief sachems of Nanhiggansick, having two years since sold unto Roger Williams, the land and meadows upon the two fresh rivers, called Mooshausick and Wanasquatucket, so now by these presents establish and confirm the bounds of those lands, from the river and fields at Pawtucket, the great hill of Neotaconkonitt on the northwest, and the town of Mashapauge on the west. As also in consideration of the many kindnesses and services he hath continually done for us, . . we do freely give unto him all the land from those rivers, reaching to Pawtuxet river, as also the grass and meadows upon the said Pawtuxet river."
An appendix to the foregoing deed may be interpreted as follows:
"1639. Memorandum 3 mo. 9th day.
"This was all again confirmed by Miantonomi, he acknowledged this his act and hand, up the streams of the Pawtucket and Pawtuxet without limits, we might have for our use of cattle.
Witness hereof
Roger Williams Benedict Arnold
THE PURCHASE OF THE LANDS
In other words, the original sale of land or grant from the Indians and the confirmation at a later date made the limit of the Narragansett Purchase or Providence Plantations, from the Pawtuxet River to the Pawtucket River and extending westward and northward indefinitely. Although there is some doubt in respect to definite boundaries it can be assured that the part of present Pawtucket that lies on the western banks of the Blackstone-Pawtucket-Seekonk streams was included in the original purchase of the terri-
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tory of Providence. Ten years after Providence had been founded, Massasoit claimed rights to lands west of the river in Pawtucket, Central Falls and Lincoln, and an honest effort was made by Roger Williams, Gregory Dexter, Robert Williams and Thomas Olney to satisfy these claims although it was apparent that Massasoit was subject to the Narragansetts and therefore had lost certain land rights. Following the peaceful and honorable policies of Roger Williams, this group of early settlers offered Massasoit a price for his land and in their opinion effected a legal and proper sale even though the sachem did not conclude the transaction.
In 1641, Edward Winslow and John Brown of Plymouth purchased, in behalf of the colony, from Massasoit, an area of land embracing the territory now included in the towns of East Providence, Seekonk, and Rehoboth and portions of Barrington and Warren and the east side of Pawtucket. According to tradition, the price paid was ten fathoms of wampum and a coat for the sachem. This purchase was made by the Plymouth men who acted as agents for a company of people then living in the Weymouth and Kingston sections of the Bay colony. The first actual settlement was not started until 1644, when about thirty men with their families located there and called the place Rehoboth. Self governed at first, this settlement later was placed under the jurisdiction of Plymouth. A second pur- chase was made from the Indians in 1645 including portions of the present towns of Swansea and Barrington, and in 1668 King Philip, son of Massasoit, signed a quit claim deed acknowledging the sale of this land by his father and that payment had been received.
Before that, in 1661, Wamsutta, brother of Philip, sold lands included in the towns of Attleboro, Cumberland and a part of Woonsocket and small portions of Mansfield and
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Norton. This was known as the Rehoboth North Purchase, and from 1666 was under the jurisdiction of Rehoboth until the larger portion was incorporated as Attleboro in 1690.
RIGHTS RECOGNIZED AND RESPECTED
This review of early land transactions clearly shows that virtually all of the land included in that area which is called the Lower Blackstone River Valley came into the hands of the white settlers in a legitimate fashion. The original owners were treated fairly and squarely in all property transfers; their rights recognized and respected. It is refreshing to observe that in the area wherein true liberty was given to all men, there was no evidence of inconsistency in respect to the rights and privileges of those who soon found themselves unable to compete with the more highly civilized strangers who came from afar to displace them.
Our narrative brought us through the period of prehistoric background and across the indistinct span of aboriginal occupancy to the first settlement by a white man. Then we found how the Lower Blackstone River Valley came to be acquired by right of purchase by certain groups and now we come to the point where the first settler of the place called Pawtucket appears upon the scene, but the story of his remarkable life and contributions to human progress goes back to a point long before his actual arrival at the "falls of water."
HOPES FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Among many of his ambitions Roger Williams held high hopes for his settlement to develop into a manufacturing and industrial center, and this fact is borne out in a com- munication addressed by him to his fellow settlers wherein he wrote: "I have been sollicited and have promised my helpe about iron worcks, when the matter is ripe, earnestly
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desirous everie way to further the good of the Town of Providence." The solicitation that led to the foregoing expression very likely came from a Mr. Joshua Foote, formerly of London, and who lived in Roxbury before removing to Providence. In the opinion of some, Foote, described as an iron-monger, did undertake to establish a manufacturing business of some kind in Providence, but there is no evidence to indicate that this venture was suc- cessful. Historians state that Joseph Jenks, Sr., of Lynn, had been instrumental in furnishing some of the capital for this venture. The hopes of Roger Williams and his associates were soon realized shortly after the arrival of the one who was destined to be the first white settler of Pawtucket. His name was Joseph Jenks, Jr., a skilled worker in iron and metals, the prototype of a long line of illustrious artisans who have brought everlasting fame and distinction to this center of industry and creative genius.
The Story of Pawtucket
JOSEPH JENKS, SR.
The father of Joseph Jenks, Jr., was famed for his skill in working in brass and iron in England and was induced by Governor Winthrop the younger to come to New England in 1642 for the purpose of establishing an iron works some- where in the Colonies. Specimens of the bog-iron, found in the swamps of Saugus, Massachusetts, had been taken to England and analyzed, and an organization called "The Company of Undertakers for the Iron Works" was formed to developed these natural resources on this side of the Atlantic. Joseph Jenks, Sr., came to New England
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to superintend the construction of the pioneer industry and therefore had the honor of being the first worker in iron and brass in the American Colonies. His foundry, located on the west bank of the Saugus River, then within the limits of what is now Lynn, but now of Saugus, Massachusetts, developed rapidly under the supervision of Joseph Jenks and was soon the main source of supply for many of the agricultural and domestic implements and tools used by the settlers far and near. The first casting was an iron kettle, which is still in existence in the Lynn Public Library. History has immortalized this man with the following observation: "Joseph Jenks deserves to be held in per- petual remembrance in American history as being the first founder who worked in brass and iron on the Western Continent. By his hands the first models were made and the first castings taken of many domestic implements and iron tools."
A PIONEER ARTISAN
In 1646, Joseph Jenks obtained a patent for an improved type of water wheel which meant a new kind of sawmill, and this sawmill was the first one put up in this country. This patent (granted by the General Court of Massa- chusetts) was the first to be issued in America. It was he who made the first dies for the famous "Pine Tree" shillings, and in 1654 he devised the first American fire engine ordered by the Selectmen of Boston. Five years after his arrival in New England he set up his own shop and forge near the original iron works and there he started to specialize in the manufacture of scythes and other tools requiring a fine edge and temper. In 1655 he was granted a Massachusetts patent for scythes. The first machine for drawing wire was also made by Jenks. Apparently the versatility of this craftsman had no bounds except the limitations of time
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THE FIRST CASTING MADE
IN AMERICA
SAUGUS IRON WORKS 1642
ESENTED TO THE CITY OF LYNN
BY
JOHNE HUDSON
A DESCENDANT OF
THOMAS HUDSON
THE OWNER OF THE SITE OF THE RON WORKS, TO WHOM THE FIRST CASTING WAS GIVEN
THIS CASE PRESENTED BY CITIZENS OF LYNN 1892
The first iron foundry in America was built in 1643 by Joseph Jenks, in Lynn, Mass. The first casting was an iron kettle
The home of Nathaniel Jenks, Son of Joseph Jenks, Jr.
Rear View of Nathaniel Jenks' House on North Main Street, about 1880 Tradition states that the ell on the rear of the house was the original house built by Joseph, the Founder. This was the first framed house built in Pawtucket, and was located near the present Boys' Club Building
and energy for early Colonial records are filled with refer- ences to his remarkable achievements and industrial activities.
JOSEPH JENKS, JR.
While the father had been making a success of his iron works in the New World his two sons had been living with their grandparents, since their mother had died. The older of these two sons, Joseph, Jr., who was born in 1632, in Colebrook, near London, came to America in 1647 and joined his father. Since he inherited a natural aptitude for craftsmanship he soon became active in his father's industry. This young man married Esther Ballard of Lynn, and later he left to take up residence among those who, for thirty-six years, had been building and expanding a group of settlements around the waters of Narragansett Bay. Joseph Jenks, Jr., first settled in Warwick where it is on record that he served as foreman of the jury in the case of a drowning accident. In the year previous he had been granted land on either side of the Pawtuxet River which he thought would be a suitable place for a sawmill where he might install the machinery and tools brought with him from Lynn. Not a great deal is known concerning the Jenks establishment in Warwick since he soon discovered a much more desirable site for his project and removed there without delay.
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