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DISCOURSE 

DELIVERED  AT  THE  DEDICOION 

OF   THE 

NEW  CHURCH  EDIFICE 

or   THE 

BAPTIST    CHURCH    AND    SOCIETY^ 

IN  WARJREN,  R.  I. 
MAY  9,  1846. 

Bt  JOSIAH  p.  TUSTINogl^tJ^'^^  ^^^S'r^^ 

i8G7      \ 

PROVIDENCE:  *^'"»»'ash\n^ 

*.  n.  BROWX.  25  MARKET  SaUAR*- 
1845, 


■-N 1  <\  IP' 


Warrex,  JuNt  10,  1843. 
At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Benevolent  Baptist  Society  in 
this  town,  held  in  the  Lecture  Room  of  the  Church,   on   the 
9th  inst.  it  was 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  undersigned  be  a  Commit- 
tee to  solicit  for  the  press  a  copy  of  the  Historical  Discourse 
delivered  at  the  Dedication  of  the  new  Church  Edifice,  on 
the  8th  day  of  May,  by  the  Reverend  Josiah  P.  Tustin,  Pas- 
tor of  the  Church." 

It  affords  us  pleasure,  Dear  Sir,  to  communicate  to  you  ^he 
above  resolution,  while  we  assure  you  of  the  continued  r«- 
gard  of 

Your  friends  and  obedient  servants, 
LEVI  HAILE, 
S.  P.  CHILD, 
A.  M.  GAMMELL, 
CHARLES  RICHiMOND,  jun. 
G.  M.  FESSENDEN, 


PREFACE. 


In  the  following  pages  there  are  some  historical 
notices  of  a  sacred  succession  of  Independent 
Churches,  in  the  Principality  of  Wales,  who  held 
the  sentiments  of  the  modern  Baptists,  in  more  or 
less  purity,  during  the  long  lapse  of  the  dark  ages, 
and  even  from  the  first  introduction  of  Christianity 
into  Britain.  It  is  the  history  of  principles,  rather 
than  the  names  of  sects,  that  has  engaged  our  at- 
tention. 

The  author  need  make  no  apology  for  directing 
the  attention  of  those  of  his  brethren  who  enjoy 
literary  leisure,  and  possess  a  religious  spirit,  to  a 
subject  always  interesting  whenever  named,  but 
which  has  been  sadly  neglected  by  scholars  in  the 
Baptist,  and  other  evangelical  persuasions.  It  is  a 
most  cherished  and  prevalent  opinion,  with  the 
Welsh  Baptists,  that  their  distinguishing  principles 
have  been  preserved  in  their  purity,  by  the  Cam- 
brian people,  through  all  the  ages    from  the  first 


▼1  PREFACE. 

introduction  of  Christianity  into  their  Island.  That 
God  has  had  his  scattered  and  hidden  people  in 
Piedmont  and  Holland,  as  well  as  in  Wales,  through 
the  night  of  the  dark  ages,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
But  it  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  His  wise  ar- 
rangement for  their  preservation,  that  they  should 
be  kept  in  obscurity,  and  that  obscurity  now  makes 
it  very  difficult  to  t?ace  their  history.  What  we 
find  concerning  them  in  the  historical  works  acces- 
sible to  the  general  reader,  are  but  the  scattered 
fragments  thrown  by  their  enemies  into  contempt. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  the  history  of 
Cambro-British  Christianity  is  yet  to  be  written. 
Adequate  attention  has  never  yet  been  given  to  the 
purely  Cambrian  portion  of  British  history.  The 
causes  of  this  neglect  can  readily  be  assigned. 
Among  these  reasons  is  the  fact  stated  by  Sir  James 
iMackintosh :  "  The  history  of  this  native  race  has 
not  yet  been  extracted  from  fable;  nor  has  any 
Welshman  yet  arisen  who  has  made  such  attempts 
to  recover  the  perhaps  still  remaining  materials,  as 
will  warrant  us  in  asserting  that  they  have  alto- 
gether perished.  An  early  conquest  damped  the 
national  feeling,  which  would  have  fondly  clung 
to  the  slenderest  fragment  of  such  memorials,  from 
the  pursuit  and  preservation  of  which  at  the  fa- 
vorable time  they  were  diverted  by  their  long  reli- 
ance on  the  legends  of  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth." 

But  we  may  safely  hazard  the  assertion  that  the 
materials  for  the  Ecclesiastic?!  History   of   the  old 


PRERACE.  ni 

British  Churches,  are  by  no  means  lost.  They 
are  locked  up  in  the  yet  untranslated  Welsh  lan- 
guage, and  deposited  in  many  an  old  Welsh 
book  or  manuscript,  laid  away  in  the  archives  of 
their  abbies  and  parish  churches.  Of  the  most  au- 
thentic and  valuable  writers  among  the  Welsh  Bap- 
tists, Joshua  Thomas'  History  of  the  Welsh  Bap- 
tists, is  the  most  accessible  :  but  even  of  this  work, 
only  some  meagre  portions,  imperfectly  translated,, 
have  appeared  in  the  English  language. 

All  that  has  been  attempted,  in  the  following  al- 
lusions to  Cambro-British  Christianity,  has  been  a 
rapid  bird's  eye  view  of  a  few  prominent  facts, 
chiefly  derived  from  such  authorities  as  Ivimey's 
History  of  the  Baptists ;  Robinson's  Ecclesiastical 
Researches,  and  Crosby's  History  of  the  Enghsh 
Baptists. 

Abundant  references  could  have  been  made  to  facts 
in  the  Civil  History  of  the  Welsh,  in  works  which 
are  accessible  to  the  author ;  such  as  Powell's  History 
of  Wales,  exhibiting  the  succession  of  the  Princes 
of  Wales,  from.  Cadwallader  the  last  king,  to  Llewe- 
lyn, the  last  prince  of  British  blood;  written  origin- 
ally in  British,  by  Caradoc,  of  Llancavan:  Published 
in  English  by  Dr.  Powell :  Also,  a  Sketch  of  the  early 
history  of  the  ancient  Cymry,  from  the  year  700  B.  C. 
to  A.  D.  500.  8vo.  London,  1803.  Also,  the  His- 
tory of  Wales,  with  an  x\ppendix,  in  Nine  Books.  By 
Rev.   William   Wanington.     London,  A.    D.   1786- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

But  the  abundant  materials  in  these,  and  in  similar 
works  could  be  brought  into  but  very  little  requisition, 
in  a  brief  historical  sketch,  such  as  this  pretends  to 
be,  the  only  object  of  which  is  to  take  a  rapid  glance 
at  the  order  of  events  as  they  stand  associated  in  the 
connexion  between  this  quiet  village  church  and  the 
ancient  churches  of  the  British  race,  on  another  con- 
tinent. Had  pastoral  duties  afforded  the  requisite 
leisure  for  such  a  service,  the  writer  would  gladly 
have  penetrated  further  into  the  Aboriginal  history 
of  this  vicinity,  and  have  exhibited  at  greater  length 
many  facts,  of  more  than  a  local  interest,  which  are 
intimately  associated  with  the  events  which  led  to 
the  settlement  of  this  Town,  and  the  organization  of 
this  Church.  Regretting  both  the  fact  of  the  hith- 
erto sad  neglect  of  our  local  history,  and  the  unwrit- 
ten memorials  of  the  worthy  men  who  deserved  a 
higher  meed  of  praise  than  such  a  passing  notice  ; 
and  lamenting  his  inability  to  present  this  Discourse 
in  a  better  form,  it  is  given,  such  as  it  is,  as  a  token 
of  respect  to  the  members  of  the  Church  and  Congre- 
gation under  his  pastoral  care,  by  their  sincere  friend, 

THE  AUTHOR. 
Warren,  July,  1845. 


MATTHEW  XXIII  :  ». 

««  One  is  your  Master,  even  Christ  :  and  all  yb 
ARE  Brethren." 

It  is  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  give  a 
summary  of  Christianity,  in  a  few  points  af 
doctrine,  expressed  in  a  few  words.  The  high- 
est efforts  of  sanctified  genius  and  the  greatest 
powers  of  human  expression,  when  employed  in 
defining  and  classifying  within  a  small  com.pass, 
the  peculiarities  of  the  Gospel,  have  been  atten- 
ded with  perplexity  and  dissatisfaction. 

The  Author  of  our  Religion,  "  who  spake  as 
never  man  spake,"  taught  the  spiritual  truths 
he  revealed,  in  language  which  could  only  have 
been  dictated  by  the  clearest  conceptions  of  his 
all-originating  mind.  He  connected  eternity 
with  time,  threw  a  strong  and  burning  light 
upon  the  shadows  of  futurity,  and  brought  home 
to  the  bosoms  of  men,  a  present  apprehension 
of  the  substantial  realiticsof  the  invisible  world 


10  HISTORICAL    DISCOLRSK. 

The  Doctrines  he  revealed  were  simple  and 
yet  sublime;  the  Worship  he  established  was 
spiritual  and  purifying;  the  Conduct  he  re- 
quired was  holy  and  benevolent. 

His  Religion  viewed  as  a  collective  system, 
may  be  considered  doctrinally,  as  to  what  we 
are  to  believe,  experimentally,  as  to  what  we  are 
to  feel,  practically,  as  to  what  we  are  to  do. 
The  equal  blending  of  doctrine,  feeling  and 
action,  in  the  high  exercise  of  a  well  propor- 
tioned symmetry,  is  the  human  realization  of 
the  great  Idea  developed  in  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

All  religion  grows  out  of  a  sense  of  human 
want ;  and  man  is  therefore  disposed  to  be  a 
religious  being. 

The  object  for  which  we  have  assembled  to- 
day, is  connected  with  religion.  To  its  sacred 
purposes  we  have  now  convened  to  dedicate 
this  Building,  as  a  tribute  of  grateful  homage 
to  Almighty  God,  and  of  adoring  love  to  our 
Saviour,  Jesus  Christ. 

The  declaration  of  the  objects  implied  in  this 
design,  would  be  an  appropriate  theme  for  our 
j)resent  discourse.  The  Doctrines  we  believe, 
the  Feelings  we  cherish,  and  the  Ends  we  pro- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  IJ 

pose  to  accomplish,  might  naturally  be  exhibited 
in  connexion  with  this  solemn  occasion.  But 
the  statement  of  our  Religious  Faith,  and  the 
illustration  of  our  cherished  Designs,  could  not 
be  satisfactorily  compressed  within  the  limits 
of  time  assigned  for  this  exercise. 

It  is  therefore  fitting  and  necessary  that  we 
should  restrict  our  views  to  a  smaller  compass, 
and  confine  our  attention  to  the  facts  that  be- 
long to  our  present  position. 

But  the  Present  is  connected  with  the  Past, 
by  the  ties  of  religious  as  well  as  of  civil  relation- 
ships. The  current  of  time  is  rapidly  sweep- 
ing by,  and  we  stand  on  a  spot  where  we 
can  look  back  upon  the  stream  as  it  rushes  up 
to  the  present,  and  down  its  course  as  it  glides 
away  in  its  onward  progress  to  the  ocean  of 
eternity.  The  memories  of  the  past  come  rush- 
ing up  before  us,  and  the  dim  visions  of  the  fu- 
ture rise  unbidden  to  our  view. 

We  stand  on  a  spot  hallowed  by  many  ai> 
association  of  ^Qcrcd  and  thriUing  iniQrtst, 


12  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE! 

It  is  well  for  us,  now  that  we  have  retired 
for  a  while  from  the  hum  of  business,  and  the 
common  interests  of  secular  life,  to  lift  the  vail 
that  hides  the  Past,  and  trace  the  line  of  events, 
which,  as  human  causes,  have  produced  the  re-' 
suits  of  the  Present.  "  God  lives  in  history," 
and  History  is  no  less  ''  Philosophy  teaching  by 
example,"  than  the  voice  of  God  teaching  by 
his  Providence. 

I  have  said  that  we  are  assembled  here  in 
contemplation  of  Religion  in  its  relations  to 
former  times;  and  these  relations,  as  they  af- 
fect us  personally  and  socially,  are  found  in- 
termixed v/ith  all  the  details  of  the  civil  and 
religious  History  of  the  generations  that  hav-e 
preceded  us. 

It  was  the  love  of  Religion,  and  of  Religious 
Liberty,  that  put  in  motion  the  train  of  events 
which  led  to  the  formation  of  our  social  insti- 
tutions and  brought  us  together  on  the  spot  of 
ground,  and  the  point  of  time,  we  now  occupy. 
There  can  be  no  proper  apprehension  of  our 
past  history,  whether  we  consider  ourselves  as  a 
religious  Society,  as  a  part  of  this  Town  or 
State,   or  of  the   New-England   Community, 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  !•'> 

without  investigating  those  religious  causes, 
which  led  to  the  formation  of  civil  and  religious 
society  on  this  Western  Continent. 

While  the  history  of  this  Church  and^Town, 
partakes  of  much  that  is  common  to  the  gene- 
ral characteristics  of  New-England,  it  is  more 
signally  distinguished  by  the  history  of  peculiar 
principles,  in  which  our  social  existence  origi- 
nated, and  with  which  we  have  always  been 
identified.  To  trace  the  history  of  these  pe-f 
culiar  principles,  and  the  events  with  which 
they  were  connected,  is  therefore  the  particular 
object  of  the  present  Discourse. 

The  Principles  which  I  design  to  illustrate 
historically,  may  be  reduced  to  three  : 

1.  Liberty  of  Conscience  in  Religious  con' 

cerns. 

2.  The    Independence    of    each    Christian 

Church  and  its  separate  existence  from 
Civil  Government, 

3.  The  admission  of  only  such  persons  into 

the  Church  as  profess  experimental 
Christian  Faith^  by  the  ordinance  of 
Baptism y  in  the  form  of  Immersion. 

B 


14  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

These  three  religious  principles  were  identi- 
fied with  the  origin  of  this  community,  and 
were  so  combined  in  the  belief  of  the  ancestors 
of  this  Church  and  Town,  that  in  their  estima- 
tion, the  presence  of  one  of  them  implied  the 
necessary  union  of  the  others,  and  the  rejection 
of  one,  in  its  logical  and  natural  tendency, 
■vitiated  or  excluded  the  whole  : — all  standing 
or  falling  together. 

These  views  of  Faith  were  considered  by  the 
forefathers  of  this  Church,  as  they  are  believed 
by  us,  their  representatives  and  successors,  to 
'be  identical  with  the  Doctrine  and  Worship  of 
the  Apostolic  Churches. 

It  should  be  distinctly  understood,  as  it  is 
fully  admitted,  that  these  principles  do  not  con- 
stitute the  Summary,  nor  even  the  most  consid- 
erable part,  of  the  Christian  System.  Nor  is 
it  pretended  that  each  and  every  one  of  them, 
or  all  of  them  together,  are  peculiar  alone  to 
the  Religious  Communion  with  which  we  stand 
connected,  in  distinction  from  all  other  names 
and  orders  of  Christian  people ;  and  it  is  the 
peculiar  glory  of  Evangelical  Christianity  in  the 
present  age,  that  the  lines  of  distinctive  differ- 
ence between  the  various  orders  of  Protestants, 


mSTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  15 

are  less  visible  than  in  most  preceding  period* 
since  the  Reformation  of  Luther.  At  no  time 
probably,  since  the  first  two  centuries  of  the 
Christian  Church,  has  there  been  so  deep  and 
general  a  disposition  among  earnest-minded 
Christians  to  derive  their'entire  faith  and  practice 
from  the  New-Testament  alone,  as  at  the  pres- 
ent. All  Evangelical  denominations  seem  dis- 
posed to  act  upon  the  principle,  that  the  Bible 
alone  is  the  religion  of  Protestants. 

The  claims  of  Tradition  and  Custom  are 
sifted  and  reduced  to  their  true  merits ;  and 
the  authority  of  the  Inspired  Scriptures  is  ele- 
vated above  the  ordinances  of  men.  And  hence 
there  is  less  to  distinguish  the  leading  evangel- 
ical denominations  from  each  other,  than  in 
former  ages. 

It  is  an  occasion  of  thanksgiving  on  this 
auspicious  day,  that  there  are  so  many  doctrines 
of  fundamental  importance  in  Religion,  which 
we  hold  in  common  with  the  whole  fraternity  of 
Evangelical  Protestants.  And  we  trust  that 
holding  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  bonds  of 
peace,  we  are  still  drawing  closer  together, 
disposed  to  act  upon  the  apostolic  precept, 
"  Whereto  we  have    already    attained,   let   us 


16  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

walk  by  the  same  rule,  let  us  mind  the  same 
thing." 

These  considerations  being  premised  and 
understood,  we  shall  be  free  from  the  charge 
of  intending  offence  to  any  Christian  sensibility, 
if  we  proceed  to  trace  out  the  progress  of  the 
peculiar  principles  which  characterized  the  ori- 
gin and  history  of  this  church  ;  even  if,  in  such 
illustrations  there  may  be  any  occasion  by  way 
of  contrast  to  point  out  the  errors  of  other  forms 
of  Faith. 

But  it  is  not  the  history  of  a  Sect,  or  the 
prevalence  of  a  name,  that  we  are  in  quest  of, 
so  much  as  the  history  oi principles.  It  should 
be  a  matter  of  small  concern  to  any  of  us,  as 
to  the  antiquity  of  our  denominational  appella- 
tives ; — which  in  the  case  of  almost  every  per- 
suasion of  Christians,  have  not  been  of  their 
own  selection,  but  most  frequently  bestowed 
on  them  in  a  way  of  reproach,  by  those  who 
were  their  enemies.  Such  was  the  case  with 
the  Puritans,  whose  name  was  applied  in  con- 
tempt to  a  class  of  men  of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy  ; — of  the  Methodists,  whose  zealous 
piety  provoked  the  invention  of  a  term  by  which 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  17 

(he  operations  of  religion  on  the  passions,  should 
be  rendered  opprobrious  to  the  formal  worldling 
or  the  proud  hypocrite  ; — of  the  Quakers,  whose 
modest  piety  was  charged  upon  them  as  a  mark 
of  servile  fear; — and  of  the  Baptists,  whose 
primitive  ordinance  has  characterized  them 
with  a  name,  they  never  preferred  or  selected, 
but  which  they  are  yet  perfectly  willing  to  bear. 

The  distinguishing  principles  to  which  I 
have  adverted,  as  characterizing  this  Church  in 
its  origin  and  formation,  are  believed  by  us  to 
be  identical  with  the  faith  and  practice  of  the 
Primitive  Christians.  Though  they  are  not 
summed  up  in  so  many  terms  in  the  language 
of  the  Text,  they  are  implied  and  embodied  in 
those  words  of  our  Saviour,  **  One  is  your  Mas- 
ter even  Christ :  and  all  ye  are  brethren  ;" — > 
words  which  are  an  appropriate  motto  for  a 
Baptist  Church. 

There  can  be  no  relighn,  without  authority 
to  enjoin  it :  and  the  doctrines  of  religion,  to 
have  any  influence,  must  rest  on  authority  of 
the  highest  order  ;  and  the  religion  that  is  from 
God,  has  such  authority.  Jesus  Christ  pro^ 
claimed  himself  a's  the   only  Mediator  between 


li^^  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

God  and  man,  and  the  only  Lord  of  the  hinnau 
conscience.  When  his  disciples  professed  his 
name,  they  declared  their  allegiance  to  him, 
and  their  internal  Faith,  by  public  Baptism. 
This  was  the  order  in  which  Christ  himself 
connected  the  conditions  of  obedience  ; — ''  He 
that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved." 
And  his  inspired  Apostles  observed  the  same 
principles,  in  the  same  order.  They  always 
regarded  Baptism  as  the  outv/ard  act  of  Inter- 
nal Faith  ;  as  the  test-oath  and  naturalization 
act,  by  which  a  stranger  and  alien  declared  his 
allegiance  to  Christ  his  King,  and  became  a 
naturalized  citizen  of  the  visible  church.  Thus 
the  apostle  Paul  declares  it,  as  the  act  of  a 
soldier  who  has  put  on  the  regimentals  of  the 
army,  into  which  he  has  been  sworn  :  or  as  the 
act  of  a  servant  assuming  the  livery  of  the  mas- 
ter, whom  he  has  bound  himself  to  serve  :  "  For 
as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ, 
have  put  on  Christ."  Nay,  the  very  method 
by  which  Baptism  was  administered, declared  its 
significance  and  its  binding  obligation.  It  wavS 
a  solemn  act  of  burial  in  water,  by  which  a 
man  declared  his  belief  of  the  burial  and  resur- 
rection  of   Christ :   his  own   deadness  to   the 


HISTORICAL    DISCOLUSi:.  Jl> 

world,  and  his  rising  again  to  newness  of  life. 
"Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were 
baptized  into  Jesus  Christ,  were  baptized  into 
his  death  ?  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him 
by  baptism  into  death :  that  like  as  Christ  was 
raised  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
even  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life. 
For  if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the 
likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the 
likeness  of  his  resurrection.'"' 

Thus,  each  believer  declared  his  own  disci- 
pleship,  to  his  own  Master.  What  was  required 
of  one,  was  necessary  for  all.  All  therefore 
were  received  into  the  community  of  Brethren, 
on  equal  conditions.*     There   were  no  char- 


*The  church  was  in  the  beginning,  a  community 
of  Brethren.  All  its  members  were  taught  of  God  ; 
and  each  possessed  the  liberty  of  drawing  for  him- 
self from  the  Divine  Fountain  of  life.  (John  vi. 
45.)  The  Epistles,  which  then  settled  the  great 
questions  of  doctrine,  did  not  bear  the  pompous 
title  of  any  single  man,  or  ruler.  We  find  from 
the  holy  Scriptures,  that  they  began  simply  with 
these  words  :  "  The  apostles,  ciders  and  brethren, 
to  our  brethren."  Acts  xv.  123." — D\luhignr's  Rc- 
fonnafinrr,  vol.  1,  p.  17. 


^!U  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

tered  or  hereditary  rights,  attaching  to  any  clasft 
or  order.     Each  Christian   Society  was  consti- 
tuted on  the  basis  of  the  social  and  moral  equal- 
ity of  all  its  members,  upon  the  professed  Faith 
of  each.     There  being  no   divinely  appointed 
model  of  church  constitution  and  government, 
given  by  Christ  or   his   apostles,  the   disciples 
were  left  to  their  own  discretion   in  arranging 
the  details  of  each  separate  community,  accord- 
ing to  the  customs  of  their  particular  age,  or 
country.     But  the  great  fundamental  principles 
of  their  Faith  contained  all  the  general  outlines,. 
within  which  the  particular  arrangements  of 
each   Society  must  be  necessarily    embraced. 
Each  church  inherently  possessed  the   authori- 
ty to  elect  its  own   officers,  who   should  act   as 
the  pastors,   and  official  representatives  of  the 
body;  to  determine  the  regulations  by  which  their 
affiiirs  were  to  be  governed,  and  the  particular 
conditions  of  admitting,  or  rejecting  members; — 
all  subject  however  to  the  general  outline-laws 
laid  down  by  Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles. 
The    churches,     accordingly,    which    were 
formed   during  the  life  time   of  the   apostles,, 
seem  to  have  been  nothing  more  than  convert- 
ed, or  Christianized  Synagogues,  which  in  each 
case  had  been  a  separate  and   independent  re-- 


IIISTOUICAL    DISCOURSE.  'il 

ligious  society  by  itself.*  So  that  when  the 
whole,  or  the  majority  of  the  members  of  any 
particular  Synagogue  had  become  converted, 
they  still  continued  the  same  organized  body 
as  before  ;  and  they  continued  to  use  their  for- 
mer privilege  of  electing  their  own  overseer, 
bishop,  or  pastor,  and  to  choose  deacons,  stew- 
ards, or  whatever  other  officers  were  necessary, 
for  the  executive  management  of  their  own  in=-. 
ternal  affairs. 

Each  Christian  Church,  therefore,  became, 
or  continued  to  be,  a  society  or  popular  assem- 
bly, formed  on  the  model  of  the  previously  ex- 
isting Synagogue,  having  a  free,  voluntary  and 
elective  government,  in  the  choice  of  its  own 
officers,  and  inheriting  within  itself,  all  the  ele- 
ments of  religious  liberty.  The  pastor  was 
simply  the  elected  teacher,  and  moderator  in 
their  assemblies,  holding  no  hereditary  rights, 
but  only  primus  inter  pares, — the  principal 
elected  by  his  peers. 


*  See  Lightfoot's  Harmony  of  the  New  Test.  Vol, 
III.  p.  257.  Also,  Coleman's  Primitive  Church,  pp. 
'.^3 — 47.  Also,  \Vhatolevs  Kingdom  of  Christ,  pji 
78—83. 


Q'2  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

The  standard  of  all  authority,  was  the  re- 
corded teachings  of  Christ  himself,  or  the  in- 
spired epistles  of  the  apostles,  who  alone  held 
a  higher  rank,  from  their  position  as  the  wit- 
nesses of  Christ's  ministry  and  resurrection  ; 
and  they  exercised  a  paramount  authority  as 
the  infallible  interpreters  of  the  Divine  Will. 
But  the  apostles  themselves,  disclaimed  any- 
thing like  the  hereditary  aristocracy  of  the  Le- 
vitical  priesthood  ;  and  by  their  own  sanction, 
they  legalized  the  popular  form  of  government 
in  the  Synagogue  worship,  as  the  mode  of  or- 
ganization in  the  newly  formed  Christian 
Churches.  They  made  not  the  slightest  claims 
to  an  order  of  the  Christian  ministry,  parallel 
or  analagous,  to  the  Levitical  priesthood  :  nor 
did  they  incorporate  into  their  worship,  the  ele- 
ments of  their  national  temple  service,  such  as 
a  sacrificing  priest,  the  altar  for  sacrifice,  the 
sacred  vessels,  or  any  of  the  glittering  regalia 
of  their  ritual  service.  The  only  Priest  they 
recognized  was  Jesus  Christ,  their  ever-living 
intercessor  ;  the  only  sacrifices  they  olfered, 
were  their  own  bodies  and  souls,  a  living  sacri- 
Oce,  as  a  voluntary  and  spiritual  service, — the 
sacrifices  of  a  pure  heart  and  a  benevolent  life  j 


X  jury  q£  wat— 
tbe  last  of  tile  vnc^es.    Sot  igaigt  ammdnr 


^oAiBssgiKeA^BstiexSj,  liie^  ipos&es  CLiiioir> 


24  Historical  discourse. 

ren,  as  independent,  yet  separate  branches  oi 
the  one  Spiritual  Community,  of  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  was  the  Invisible  and  Heavenly 
Head.  Still  with  all  this  outward  diversity  in 
organization,  they  were  all  one  in  the  fellow- 
ship of  love  and  faith,  holding  the  communion 
of  the  saints,  united  in  spirit  as  different  mem- 
bers of  one  body,  or  as  brethren  of  the  same 
great  family.  But  with  all  their  diversity  of 
endowments,  there  was  the  unity  of  Religion. 
''  There  were  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same 
Spirit :  diversities  of  administrations,  but  the 
same  Lord  :  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is 
the  same  God  who  worketh  all  in  all.  There 
is  one  body  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye  are  call- 
ed in  one  hope  of  your  calling :  one  God  and 
Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through 
all,  and  in  you  all  :  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
Baptism." 

There  was  no  visible  representative,  as  the 
earthly  head  of  each  of  these  churches,  or  of 
all  of  them  together :  but  Christ  himself  was 
the  invisible  Head  of  the  universal,  invisible 
church.  His  kingdom  was  indeed  within  the 
world,  but  it  was  not  of  the  world.     Though 


jHistorical  discourse.  2^ 

each  community  possessed  the  organized  form 
of  a  human  society,  it  was  yet  not  of  the  nature 
of  an  earthly  kingdom  ;  as  it  was  not  originat- 
ed for  any  earthly  purpose,  nor  conducted  on 
the  principles  of  worldly  policy.  Those  who 
were  members  of  this  spiritual  society,  formed 
for  spiritual  purposes,  might  yet  in  another 
capacity,  be  members  of  a  secular  society, 
formed  for  secular  purposes  :  if  they  were  schol- 
ars, they  might  belong  to  an  Academy  :  if  farm- 
ers, they  might  belong  to  an  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety :  if  they  w^ere  citizens  of  any  particular 
country,  they  were  to  retain  their  citizenship^ 
*'  rendering  unto  Caesar,  the  things  that  are  Cae- 
sar's ;  but  rendering  to  God,  the  things  that 
are  God's  ;" — but  the  authority  of  Caesar  vras 
never  to  bind  their  conscience,  nor  their  privi- 
leges as  Christians  ever  to  exempt  them  from 
the  lawful  claims  of  human  government,  within 
its  own  proper  capacity.  Christ  Vv'as  the  Mas-* 
ter  of  all,  as  believers ;  and  to  his  own  Master, 
every  one  was  to  stand  or  fall. 

Such,  in  outline,  were  the  simple  principles 
which  characterized  the  organization  cf  lh6 
Christian  church  in  its  best  and  earliest  days< 


tC  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSB, 

This  is  not  the  time,  nor  the  place  to  show 
how  these  distinguishing  principles  were  grad- 
ually obscured  and  neutralized,  and  became 
intermixed  with  forms  of  doctrine  and  worship 
foreign  to  those  of  the  original  church.  The 
faithful  pen  of  History  could  easily  trace  the 
rise  and  progress  of  insidious  errors,  which 
insensibly  stole  in  upon  the  unguarded  church, 
and  at  length  brought  on  the  spiritual  despot- 
ism, which  in  later  times,  reduced  her  to  a  ser- 
vile allegiance  to  secular  power.  But  without 
detailing  the  incidents  of  History,  it  is  sufficient 
to  show  the  progress  of  those  three  distinctive 
principles  to  which  I  have  adverted,  and  which 
entered  elementarily  into  the  formation  of  the 
apostolic  church, — the  corruption  of  which 
paved  the  way  for  the  subsequent  admission  of 
every  form  of  error. 

All  the  events  of  history,  reduced  to  a  simple 
analysis,  show  how  insidious,  but  yet  how  oper- 
ative, is  the  influence  of  a  false  principle,  or  of 
a  true  one,  misapprehended.  And  as  a  general 
fact,  perhaps  it  is  true,  that  for  want  of  candid 
and  attentive  reflection,  the  mass  of  men  do 
jiol  see  the  unsoundness  of  any  false  principle, 
till  its  working  is  fully  developed  in  practice. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  27 

and  they   see  the  baleful   results  to  which  it 
actually  and  legitimately  leads. 

Thus  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, a  misconception  of  the  supposed  efficacy 
of  Baptism,  led  to  the  conviction  that  it  was 
essential  to  salvation ;  and  hence  infants,  and 
others  who  were  in  danger  of  dying  without 
the  benefit  of  the  sacramental  grace  of  Bap- 
tism, received  the  application  of  that  crdmance, 
and  were  thus  supposed  to  be  absolved  from 
the  guilt  of  original  sin.  And  those  whose 
critical  state  of  health  would  endanger  their 
lives,  by  immersion,  received  the  application  of 
water  in  their  s'.ck  chamber,  or  on  a  dying  bed  : 
and  thus  was  introduced  Clinical  Baptism,^ 
which,  in  time,  prepared  the  way  for  a  general 
substitution  of  the  form  of  its  administration. 
By  thus  admitting  Infants  to  Baptism,  the  wall 
of  partition  between  tho  church  and  the  wcrld 
was  gradually  taken  down,  and  Christ's  visible 
kingdom  became  a  kingdom  of  this  world. 
By  exalting  the  efficacy  of  Baptism  to  a  Sacra- 


'  So  called  from  being  administered  onnhcd — from 
.a  G;eek  word,  signifylnor  couch  . 


^8  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

mental  Grace,  the  great  doctrine  of  Justification 
by  Faith,  insensibly  merged  into  the  notion  of 
a  covenant  ofworhs  :  and  thence  were  entailed 
the  devices  of  Popery,  and  the  belief  in  works 
of  Supererogation.  Henceforward  the  Doc- 
trine and  Worship  of  ^the  church  declined  to- 
gether. 

In  the  "same  manner,  the  gradual  elevation 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  led  to  a  commanding 
supremacy  over  all  the  other  churches  in  those 
territories  that  were  lawfully  subjected  to  the 
civil  government  of  the  Roman  Empire  :  and 
the  supremacy  which  the  neighboring  churches 
had  at  first  voluntarily  yielded  to  the  enlight- 
ened oversight  of  the  Roman  Bishop,  at  length 
led  to  the  usurpation  of  power,  which  by  the 
unhappy  concurrence  of  political  events,  re-^ 
suited  in  a  Diocesan  government,  which  super- 
induced the  greater  concentration  of  a  3Iefro- 
politan  bishopric,  and  this  was  at  last  matured 
into  the  still  higher  pretensions  o^di  Patriarchal 
supervision,  and  the  unlimited  despotism  of  a 
universal  Papal  Hierarchy. 

Henceforward,  Christianity  which  was  in- 
tended for  the  heart  of  man,  became  the  ser- 
vile creature  of  the  State,  and  the   instrument 


HISTORICAL    DISCOUESE.  29 

of  her  own  undoing.  Having  ascended  the 
throne  of  the  Cassars,  she  assumed  the  purple 
and  the  diadem,  and  enrolled  the  legions  of 
Rome  among  the  hosts  cf  the  faithful.  Then 
the  cross  was  lifted  in  the  van  of  conquering 
armies,  and  was  made  the  sanction  of  inquisi- 
torial injustice.  When  the  sword  was  once 
drawn  in  defence  cf  the  cross,  its  scabbard 
Was  thrown  away,  and  for  more  than  ten  cen- 
turies it  continued  the  scandal  of  religion,  and 
the  plague  cf  the  w^orld. 

But  though  the  name  of  Christianity  was 
applied  by  the  temporal  powders  to  the  worst  of 
purposes,  and  became  the  w^atchword  for  war 
tliroughout  Europe,  her  pure  spirit  still  lived 
in  the  hearts  of  thousands,  and  her  enlighten- 
incr  influence  was  never  lost,  in  any  acre.  Her 
conservative  power  may  be  clearly  traced  a- 
mong  some  smaller  or  larger  communities  in 
every  age  and  country  cf  nominal  Christendom. 
The  v^'itnesses  for  the  truth,  and  the  dissenters 
from  the  reigning  apostasy  of  Antichrist,  were 
always  found  among  thousands  of  sequestered 
r!:roups  of  Christians,  who  loved  the  Gospel, 
Hud  held  it  in  its  purity  of  Doctrine  and  of 
Worship :  who  arc   known    in    liistorv  by  the 


30  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

name  of  Novatians  at  Rome,  the  Donatists  in 
Africa,  the  Faulicians  in  Greece,  the  Cathari 
or  Puritans  in  Italy  :  in  all  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope, in  Germany  and  Holland,  these  Christ- 
ians were  knov/n  as  the  Albigenses,  Montenses, 
Waldenses  and  Anabaptists, — names  not  as- 
sumed by  themselves,  but  applied  in  contempt 
by  the  dominant  power  of  the  papal  church. 

It  would  be  easy  to  show,  that  while  the  long 
night  of  spiritual  despotism  brooded  over  Eu- 
rope for  so  many  centuries,  the  pure  worship 
and  simple  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  were  always 
preserved  by  a  band  of  faithful  witnesses  :  and 
its  light  can  be  clearly  traced,  sometimes  in 
brighter,  sometimes  in  feebler  lines,  from  the 
very  hrst  dav.n  of  the  star  which  guided  the 
men  of  the  East  to  the  cradle  of  the  Messiah. 

Though  her  light  was  smothered  and  con- 
cealed in  her  prison  house  at  Rome, — though, 
her  sanctity  was  defiled  and  her  authority  de- 
secrated, by  those  "  who  were  at  hate  with 
prayer  and  studied  curses,"  her  living  Spirit 
could  not  be  quenched,  and  her  dungeon  was 
broken  open  by  the  strong  arm  of  Luther,  and 
she  again  stood  forth  in  the  immortal  freshness 
pf  youth   and  beauty.     Its  influence   stopped 


HISTORICAL    DISCOLRSE.  31 

not  at  the  place  or  the  time,  that  gave  it  birth. 
It  restored  man  to  mental  independence  and 
moral  dignity,  while  at  the  same  time  it  fitted 
him  to  retain  this  supremacy.  We  can  trace 
its  great  principles  henceforth  animating  and 
governing  the  events  of  all  subsequent  history. 

It  would  be  an  easy  and  delightful  task  to 
trace  the  history  of  the  principles  of  the  apos- 
tolic and  primitive  churches,  through  various 
channels  and  by  various  names,  in  an  unbroken 
line  of  succession,  from  the  first  communities 
of  Brethren,  down  through  the  long;  night  of 
papal  despotism,  till  they  re-appear  in  ail  their 
brightness  and  beauty,  in  modern  times. 

But  the  particular  connexion  which  this  Bap- 
tist Church  sustains  to  the  church  of  Christ  in 
former  ages,  even  back  to  the  apostles'  times, 
will  enable  us  to  delineate  the  progress  of 
Christian  principles,  apart  from  all  the  churches 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe. 

It  is  a  fact  generally  known,  that  many  of 
the  Baptist  churches  in  this  country  derived 
their  origin  from  the  Baptist  churches  in 
Wales,  a  country  which  has  always  been  a 
nursery  for  their  peculiar  principles.  In  the 
earlier  settlements  in  this   countrv,   multitude^ 


32  HISTORICAL    DISC'OIRSE. 

of  Welsh  emigrants,  who  left  their  fatherland, 
brought  with  them  the  seeds  of  Baptist  princi- 
ples, and  their  ministers  and  members  laid  the 
foundation  of  many  Baptist  churches  in  New- 
England,  and  especially  in  the  Middle  States. 

It  is  not  pretended,  and  it  is  distinctly  dis- 
claimed, that  our  churches  in  this  country  lay 
claim  to  any  literal  cr  lineal  order  of  succes- 
sion from  the  apostles.  If  literal  succession 
were  worth  anything,  we  have  as  Baptists,  a 
much  clearer  and  a  much  cleaner  pedigree  than 
those  advocates  for  prelacy  who  trace  their 
ministry  through  the  turbid  channel  of  the  pa- 
pal apostasy,  and  who  are  forced  to  acknow- 
ledge the  Pope  as  a  true  Christian  Bishop,  and 
the  Romish  communion  as  the  true  Catholic 
Christian  Church.  But  the  very  nature  of  our 
peculiar  principles  leads  us  to  place  no  confi- 
dence in  the  doctrine  of  a  regular  and  literal 
apostolic  succession,  even  if  it  could  be  clearly 
made  out  in  favor  of  our  own  genealogical 
descent ;  a  theory,  however,  which  is  utterly 
untenable,  whether  viewed  in  the  light  of  his- 
torical evidence,  or  the  dictates  of  common 
sense :  a  theory  which  has  been  exploded  by 
the  ablest  divines  in  every  evangelical  commu- 


HISTORICAL    DIStOLRSL.  3S 

nity,  and  is  now  abandoned  by  the  most  candid 
and  independent  advocates  of  prelacy  itself.* 

While  we  speak  therefore,  of  the  clear  iden- 
tity and  unbroken  succession  of  the  pure  prin- 
ciples of  the  Gospel  doctrine  and  worship^ 
through  the  several  ages  of  the  past,  we  speak 
of  no  such  succession  as  implies  a  priesthood 
of  regular  descent,  or  of  such  religious  ordi- 
nances as  depend  for  their  sacramental  efficacy 
upon  the  authority  of  priest,  council  or  pope. 

The  valid  administration  of  the  Christian  or- 
dinances is  derived  from  the  nature  of  a  church, 
and  the  end  for  which  it  is  organized. 

In  nature,  each  Christian  Church,  is  an  or- 
ganized Society,  based  upon  a  mutual  covenant 
of  all  its  members,  having  the  inherent  right, 
like  every  other  Society,  to  elect  its  own  officers, 
form  its  own  particular  rules  and  by-laws,  to 
admit  or  dismiss  its  individual  constituents, — 
all  subject  hovv^ever  to  the  general  outline  con- 
ditions of  obedience  laid  down  by  the  authority 
of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church.  The  ends 
for  which  the   church  and  its   ordinances  are 


*  See  Whateley's   Kingdom  of  Christ,  pp.  182-«-- 
189.     Appendix  A. 


34  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

appointed,  are  the  spiritual  improvement  of  all 
its  members,  the  advancement  of  truth,  and 
the  direct  promotion  of  peace  and  righteousness 
on  the  earth. 

The  duties  of  ail  Christian  converts  are 
plainly  laid  down  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  among 
these  duties,  it  is  enjoined  that  they  should 
assemble  together  in  a  social  capacity,  to  pray, 
to  instruct  and  exhort  each  other,  to  observe 
mutual  watchfulness,  to  bear  each  other's  1  ur- 
dens,  and  to  enjoy  the  ordinances  of  religion. 
Any  body  of  Christian  converts,  brought  to- 
gether in  a  heathen,  or  in  a  Christian  land, 
are  perfectly  competent  to  organize  themselves 
into  a  church,  and  appoint  one  of  their  number, 
having  suitable  gifts,  to  the  office  of  the  minis- 
try. A  person  thus  elected  and  ordained,  is  as 
much  an  authorized  minister  cf  the  Gospel,  and 
possesses  as  high,  commanding  sanction,  to 
preach  and  to  administer  the  ordinances  of  re- 
ligion, as  if  an  unbroken  line  cf  elections  and 
ordinations  should  connect  his  ministry  with 
the  chair  cf  St.  Peter, 

On  these  principles  each  cf  the  independen 
Christian  Churches  of  our  forefatheri  was  form" 
td.     And  hence  fro.n  the  nature  of  the  case,  pa 


HifiTORtcAL  Discotns*.  5^ 

literal  or  lineal  descent  is  of  any  value,  even  if 
it  could  be  ascertained  to  be  historically  un- 
broken. But  the  Holy  Spirit,  acting  by  the 
Divine  Word,  can  create  a  church  and  ministry, 
"  ex  re  nata,"  without  any  pedigree  than  that 
of  Adam  **  who  was  a  son  of  God" — a  church 
fresh  from  heaven,  by  the  free  ill  apse  of  the 
Divine  Spirit. 

Such  was  the  principle  on  which  the  First 
Baptist  Chuich  in  this  State,  and  the  first  on 
this  continent  was  formed.  Roger  Williams 
and  eleven  cssociates,  feeling  the  inward  power 
of  Divine  Truth,  and  dissatisfied  with  what  they 
considered  the  abuses  of  the  doctrines  and  or^ 
dinances  in  surrounding  churches,  agreed  to 
form  themselves  into  a  Christian  Church. 
Taking  the  Bible  for  their  only  guide,  they 
saw  it  was  their  duty,  first  of  all,  to  profess  their 
inward  faithj  in  the  name  of  Christ,  by  the  or- 
dinance of  baptism-^which  symbolized  his 
burial  and  resurrection,  and  declared  their  own 
spiritual  separation  from  the  world,  by  their  dy- 
ing to  sin,  an4  their  arising  to  newness  of  life. 
There  was  then  no  properly  baptized  minister 
en  the  continent ;  and  yielding  to  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  they  appointed  Mr.  Ezekiel  Holli- 


36  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSK; 

man  to  baptize  Mr.  Williams,  who  then  in  turii 
baptized  all  ihe  rest.  If  the  validity  of  Baptism 
depended  on  any  sacramental  virtue  or  episco- 
pal ordination,  there  could  be  no  question 
as  to  its  regularity  in  the  case  of  those  bap- 
tized by  Mr.  Williams  himself  He  was  first 
a  regularly  ordained  clergyman  of  the  church 
of  England,  and  as  that  church  both  before  and 
after  its  separation  from  the  papacy,  had  re- 
cognized immersion  as  a  valid  and  primitive 
form  of  baptism,  the  act  of  Mr.  Williams  in 
baptizing  his  eleven  associates,  must  be  recog- 
nised as  Christian  baptism,  even  by  the  advo- 
cates of  prelatical  succession.* 

But  though  the  persons  thus  baptized,  might 
justly  consider  their  baptism,  and  all  descend- 
ing from  them,  as  valid,  according  to  the 
episcopal  theory^  they  did  not  for  a  moment 
rest  the  authority  of  the  ordinance  upon  any 
connection  with  prelatical  ordination.  They 
seem  to  have  acted,  as  Backus  suggests,!  on  the 

*  See  Knowles'  Memoirs  of  Roger  Williams,  pp. 
165—169. 

t  There  is  a  case  proposed  by  Zanehius,  Professor 
of  Theology  at  Heidelberg,  in  1568,  in  his  commentary 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  ^7 

Simple  principle  of  Scripture  and  common 
sense,  that  although  it  is  the  province  of  a  reg- 
ularly ordained  Christian  minister  to  dispense 
the  ordinances  of  religion, — and  that  in  ordinary 
cases  it  is  disorderly  and  inexpedient  to  depart 
from  this  general  principle,  yet,  that  in  cases 
of  necessity,  where  ministers  could  not  be  found, 
it  was  perfectly  proper  for  a  layman  to  admin- 
ister the  ordinances,  and  thus  commence  a 
regularly  established  ministry,  dc  novo.  Such 
is  the  testimony  of  the  earliest  Fathers  in  the 
Christian  Church,  and  of  the  ablest  Eclesiastical 
Historians.* 


on  the  fifth  chapter  of  Ephesians,  in  treating  of  Bap- 
tism, in  which  "  he  propounds  a  question  of  a  Turk 
coming  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ  and  to  faith,  by 
reading  the  New-Testament,  and  withal  teaching 
his  family  and  converting  it  and  others  to  Christ, 
and  being  in  a  country  where  he  cannot  easily  come 
to  Christian  countries,  whether  he  may  baptize  them 
whom  he  hath  converted  to  Christ,  he  himself  being 
unbaptized  ?  He  answers,  I  doubt  not  of  it,  but  that 
he  may,  and  withal  provide  that  he  himself  be  bap- 
tized of  one  of  the  three  converted  by  himself.     The 

"  Knowles'  Memoirs  of  Roger  Williams,  pp.  166,  7. 
n 


S8  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

In  consequence  of  a  misapprehension  of  the 
facts  connected  with  Roger  ¥/illiams'  baptism, 
it  has  been  often  and  heedlessly  repeated,  after 
that  it  has  been  so  often  contradicted,  that  all 
the  baptisms  and  ordinations  of  American 
Baptists,  are  traceable  to  Roger  Williams,  and 
that  his  were  irregid  ar  ; — and  thus  the  origin 
of  our  Denomination  in  this  country  has  been 
unjustly  imputed  to  him. 

Now,  although  all  those  who  were  baptized 
by  Mr.  Williams,  must,  by  the  admission  of 
Pedobaptists  themselves,  have  been  baptized, 
the  fact  is,  that  very  few  of  the  Baptists  in  this 
country  have  sprung  from  the  church  in  Pro- 
vidence. From  the  earliest  periods  of  our  col- 
onial settlements,  multitudes  of  Baptist  minis^ 
ters  and  members  came  from  Europe,  and  set- 
tled in  diiTerent  parts  of  this  continent,  each 
becoming  the  centre  of  an  independent  circle, 


reason  he  gives  is,  because  he  is  a  minister  of  the 
word,  extraordinarily  stirred  up  by  Christ;  and  so  as 
such  a  minister  may  with  the  consent  of  that  small 
church,  appoint  one  of  the  communicants,  and  pro- 
ride  that  he  be  baptized  by  him."  Backus,  Vcl.  1. 
pp.  105.  6. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  89 

wherever  they  planted  themselves.  There  are 
at  present  over  700,000  regular  Baptist  com- 
municants in  this  country,  and  of  these,  proba- 
bly not  one  hundredth  part  have  ever  had  any 
connection  with  the  venerable  church  in  Pro- 
vidence ;  *'  though  her  members  have  been 
numerous,  and  she  has  been  honored  as  the 
mother  of  many  ministers."* 

A  very  largo  proportion  of  the  earliest  Bap- 
tist churches  on  this  Continent,  were  directly 
of  Welsh  descent.  The  first  Baptist  church 
in  Massachusetts  wis  established  in  Swanzea 
in  1663,  when  the  Rev.  John  Miles,  with  a 
number  of  Baptist  members,  came  from  Wales, 
and  tradition  says,  brought  with  them  their 
church  records,  and  thus  re-established,  or  per- 
petuated the  church  which  had  previously  ex- 
isted in  Swanzea,  in  the  Principality  of  Wales. 

The  Warren  Baptist  church,  is  a  branch,  or 
rather  a  reproduction  of  the  Welsh  Baptist 
church  first  established  in  Swanzea. 

As  it  is  our  object  to  sketch  the  history  of 
our  peculiar  Christian  principles,  as  they  gov- 


■  Knowle*,  p,  169 


40  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE, 

em  the  events  of  human  society,  and  are  in- 
volved m  all  the  relations  of  the  past,  it  is  im- 
portant to  trace  the  connection  between  the 
Christianity  of  Wales  and  the  particular  Baptist 
church  from  which  this  Body  originated. 

The  Welsh  race,  from  which  the  ancestors 
of  this  church  sprung,  are  the  only  pure  de- 
scendants of  the  ancient  Britons.  The  earliest 
inhabitants  of  the  British  Islands  were  the  Celts, 
a  general  name,  descriptive  of  the  nations  in 
the  north-west  of  Europe,  in  the  times  of  Julius 
Caesar.  But  that  particular  part  of  this  race 
who  settled  in  Britain,  bore  the  still  more  an- 
cient name  of  Cimbri,  (or  Cymry,)  a  tribe  of 
Calmuc  or  Tartaric  origin,  who  soon  after  the 
Trojan  war,  sallied  forth  from  the  regions 
around  the  Caspian  sea,  and  traversed  their 
fearless  way  across  the  Continent  of  Europe, 
and  colonized  on  the  borders  of  the  German 
Ocean.  Passing  thence  into  the  north  of  France, 
in  the  province  of  Britanny,  they  crossed  the 
English  channel,  and  found  a  final  resting  place 
in  the  Islands  of  Britain. 

They  were  a  wild  aboriginal  race,  probably 
the  descendants  of  Gomer,  the  eldest  son  of 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  41 

Japlieth,  who  was  the  youngest  son  of  Noah  ; 
partaking  of  all  the  stern  qualities  of  the  ori- 
ginal Tartaric  race,  large  in  size,  of  great 
bodily  strength,  impetuous  in  war,  impatient 
of  labor,  and  gorerned  by  the  strong  impulses 
of  heroic  passion.  Such  was  the  original  stock 
of  that  wild  and  vigorous  race  of  men  subse- 
quently called  the  British,  whose  existence  be. 
came  authentically  known  to  the  civilized 
world,  about  the  time  of  Caesar's  invasion,  55 
years  before  the  Christian  era. 

The  exact  period,  and  the  particular  means, 
of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Britain, 
are  not  certainly  known.  We  know,  authen- 
tically, that  the  Gospel  was  early  and  widely 
diffused  in  Gaul  and  all  the  surrounding  coasts 
on  the  Continent,  in  the  first  and  second  cen- 
turies ;  and  on  this  account  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  it  should  early  have  reached  the 
neighboring  Island  of  Britain,  particularly  whea 
we  consider  the  maritime  habits  of  the  people. 
While  the  apostle  Paul  was  imprisoned,  for 
two  years  at  Rome,  about  the  year  of  our  Lord 
(33,  many  Welsh  soldiers,  who  had  joined  the 
Roman  army,  and  many  families  from  Wales, 
who  had  visited  the  imperial  city,  became  con- 


42  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE, 

verted  to  Christianity.  Among  these,  were 
Pomponia,  Grecina  and  Claudia  Ruffina,  the 
saints  in  Caesar's  household ;  the  first  of  whom 
was  the  wife  of  Aulus  Plautus,  the  first  Roman 
governor  in  Britain,  and  the  last  of  whom  was 
a  native  Briton,  the  daughter  of  Caractacus, 
the  Welsh  king,  and  whose  husband,  Pudence, 
was  a  believer  in  Christ. 

There  is,  therefore,  every  reason  to  believe, 
that  many  native  Welshmen,  converted  under 
Paul's  ministry  at  Rome,  or  by  the  instrumen- 
tality of  Christian  soldiers  in  the  Roman  army, 
carried  home  the  precious  seed  of  the  gospel, 
and  scattered  it  among  the  hills  and  valli^s  of 
Wales, 

From  this  period,  till  about  the  end  of  the 
second  century,  we  have  no  very  authentic  in- 
formation concerning  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Welsh,  who  at  that  time  were  the 
same,  not  only  in  origin,  but  in  name,  as  the 
unmixed  race  of  the  ancient  Britons.  About 
the  year  A.  D.  190,  we  find  Tertullian  boasting 
that  the  Gospel  had  subdued  the  savage  tribes 
of  Britons,  who  were  yet  unconquered  by  the 
Roman  arms.  At  about  the  same  time,  Lucius, 
a 'British  king,  sent  to  Gaul  or  to  RomC;  or 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  43 

more  probably  to  both,  for  Christian  teachers 
to  carry  on  the  missionary  work  among  his 
own  people.  Lucius  was  evidently  not  the 
original  founder,  but  the  restorer  and  second 
father  of  the  British  churches. 

It  is  much  more  probable,  however,  that 
Lucius  sent  to  Gaul  for  Christian  teachers  ; — 
from  the  fact,  among  other  reasons,  that  the 
Welsh  or  British  churches,  had  already  varied 
from  the  Romish,  in  many  ritual  matters ;  the 
British  churches  also  maintaining  their  inde- 
pendence against  the  already  growing  assump- 
tions of  authority  by  the  Roman  bishops :  while 
they  observed  the  same  rites  with  the  Gallic 
churches,  which  were  planted  directly  from 
Asia  Minor :  thus  proving  that  the  British 
in  the  second  century  principally  received 
their  Christianity  either  immediately,  or  by 
means  of  Gaul,  from  Asia  Minor,  which  may 
have  easily  taken  place  through  their  commer- 
cial intercourse.* 

During   the  Third,   Fourth  and  Fifth  cen- 


*  See  Neander's  Church  History,  p.  50  :  also,  Mo- 
sheim's  Eccl.  History,  pp.  99,  100:  also,  Mosheim'f. 
De  Rebus  Chri&tianorum,  pp.  S13— 15, 


44 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


turies,    Christianity   seems    gradually  to    have 
taken  root  among  the  British  race,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  royal  blood,  as  well  as  multitudes  of 
inferior  birth,  became  converts  to  the  Christian 
faith.     About  the  year  A.  D.  325,   the  Roman 
Emperor,    Constantine    the    Great,    a    native 
Welshman,  made  a  public  profession  of  Christ- 
ianity, at  the  same  time  abolishing  all  the  per- 
secuting edicts  of  his  predecessors,  and  prepar- 
ing the  way   for  the  dissolution  of  the  whol& 
system  of  paganism    throughout    the   Roman 
empire.     His  conversion  is  ascribed  by  Theo- 
doret,*  to  the  influence  of  his  mother,  Helena, 
who  was  a  Welsh  lady,  the  daughter  of  Coel- 
godebog.  Earl  of  Gloucester.     After  residing 
for  a  time  in  Britain,  with   her  husband,  who 
was  a  Roman,  they   removed  with  their  son 
Constantine  to  Rome,  where  he  subsequently 
achieved    a   brilliant   career,  and  became  the 
first  Christian  Emperor  in  the  world,  as  Lucius, 
another  Welsh  Prince,  135  years  before  him, 
had  been  the  first  Christian  king,  since   the 
earthly  ministry  of  him  who  is  King  in  Zion. 


*  Theodoret  Eccl.  Hist.  Liber  I.  cap.  17 :  also, 
»ee  Milner's  Eccl.  Hist.  Vol.  1.  p.  318  and  Vol.  II. 
p.  39. 


IllSTORiCAI-   Discouitsi:.  45 

During  the  interval  between  tlie  conversion 
;'  Constantine,  A.  D.  325,  and  the  Saxon  In- 
vasion, in  449,  the  process  of  gradual  corrup- 
tion was  working  out  the  results  of  Papacy 
among  most  of  the  churches  in  the  Roman 
Empire,  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  But  a- 
mong  the  Welsh,  or  native  Britons,  the  love 
and  practice  of  primitive  Christianity  still  pre- 
vailed, and  but  little  disposition  was  felt  to  ad- 
mit the  innovations  and  superstitions  of  the 
rising  reign  of  Antichrist. 

Their  faith  in  the  essential  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  was,  however,  severely  tried  by  the  pre- 
valence of  an  insidious  heresy,  which  began  to 
agitate  the  public  mind,  about  the  year  A.  D. 
405,  and  which  originated  in  the  philosophical 
speculations  of  one  of  their  own  countrymen. 
It  was  the  system  of  Pelagianism,  a  heresy  the 
most  deeply  rooted,  and  the  most  difficult  effec- 
tually to  combat,  that  ever  found  a  lodgment 
in  the  Christian  church ;  which  tasked  to  the 
utmost  the  profound  talents  of  St.  Augustine, 
at  the  time  of  its  origin,  which  taxed  all  the 
energies  of  Luther  and  Calvin,  at  the  Reform- 
ation in  the  IGth  century; — which  employed 
the  acutest  powers  of  our   American  Edwards 


46  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

and  which  has  tried  the  faith  of  multitudes  of 
Christians  in  every  age  since  its  origin.  The 
author  of  this  system  was  Pelagius,  a  native 
Welshman,  whose  real  name  was  Blorgan,  or 
Tilarigena,  translated  by  the  contemporary 
Greek  writers  into  Pelagius,  the  corres- 
ponding word  in  their  language;  and  it  is  by 
this  name  he  is  generally  known  in  history.* 

Combined  with  the  origin  of  Pelagianism 
and  the  religious  agitation  which  ensued 
among  the  British,  a  series  of  political  events 
now  began  to  change  their  social  destiny. 

Owing  to  the  declining  state  of  the  Roman 
Empire  at  its  centre,  the  last  of  her  protecting 
legions  were  withdrawn  from  Britain  about  the 
year  446.  Immediately  the  Picts  and  the  Scots 
from  the  North  poured  their  desolating  bands 
of  robbers  upon  the  British  territory,  while  the 
Angles,  Jutes  and  Frisians,  bands  of  piratical 
adventurers,  invaded  the  island  by  sea.  Thence- 
forward the  original  homogeneous  character  ct 
the  British  people  in  England,  became  greatly 
changed.  Wave  after  wave  of  foreign  popula- 
tion poured  in  upon  the  native  race,  and  be- 

^  Moehcim's  Eccl.  Hist  Vol.  I.  pp.  370—374. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  47 

came  intermixed  with  the  British  stock.  The 
most  numerous  and  successful  of  these  invading 
hordes,  were  the  Angles,  a  valiant  race  of  Ger- 
manic origin  from  the  vallies  of  the  Elbe,  who, 
rapidly  combining  with  the  original  British, 
impressed  upon  them  the  strong  features  of 
their  own  character,  and  gave  their  name  to  the 
principal  part  of  the  island,  which  thencefor- 
ward has  borne  the  name  of  Angland,  and  in 
modern  times  its  present  name  o^  England. 

But  a  large  portion  of  the  native  British,  and 
especially  of  their  young  men  who  had  been 
trained  in  the  Roman  army,  valiantly  resisted 
the  approaches  of  these  invading  foreigners, 
and  more  than  once  drove  back  the  barbarous 
tribes  from  their  island.  The  mercenary  bands 
still  continuing  to  return  and  desolate  their 
country,  the  British  people  who  were  still  un- 
mixed with  the  foreign  tribes,  called  in  to  their 
aid  and  defence  the  powerful  arms  of  the  Ger- 
man Saxons,  who  by  stratagem  and  treachery 
combined  with  the  Angles  themselves,  whom 
they  had  been  engaged  to  resist,  and  after  many 
bloody  and  desperate  battles,  drove  the  remain- 
ing British  before  them  into  the  mountains  of 
Walo?,  and  took  complete  possession  of  the  en- 


48  HISTORICAL    I>I>irOUR.SE. 

lire  country  of  England.  By  tliis  juncture  of 
the  Angles  with  the  Saxons,  and  both  together 
being  grafted  on  what  remained  of  the  original 
British  in  England,  was  laid  the  foundation  of 
modern  English  institutions,  and  the  basis  of 
the  Anoflo-Saxon  character. 

The  unconquered  remnants  of  the  ancient 
British  were  crowded  step  by  step,  by  each 
successive  wave  of  foreign  immigration  that 
swept  over  from  the  Continent,  till  they  were 
entirely  driven  out  of  England,  and  took  a  final 
refuge  in  the  sequestered  vallies  and  mountain 
fastnesses  of  Wales,  a  district  on  the  West  of 
England,  about  180  miles  in  length,  by  80  in 
breadth.  Here  these  relics  of  the  original 
Cambrian  race,  the  only  pure  descendants  of 
the  British  stock,  known  by  the  more  modern 
name  of  Welsh,  have  lived  for  1400  years,  an 
unmixed  and  homogeneous  people,  leaving 
behind  them  among  the  Anglo-Saxon  conquerors 
of  their  former  territory,  but  a  small  portion  of 
their  blood,  and  but  few  distinct  traces  of  their 
national  character.* 

The  disappearance  of  the  British  from  the 
soil  of  England,   was  followed  by  an   almost 

^  Appendix  B, 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  49 

entire  e5:tinction  of  Christianity  among  the 
compound  relics,  wliich  formed  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  ;  and  the  barbarous  religion  of  these  hea- 
then invaders,  sharpened  their  ferocity  in  their 
conflicts  with  the  British  Christians.  When  at 
the  end  of  150  years  from  the  Saxon  invasion, 
Austin,  with  forty  other  missionary  monks,  was 
sent  by  Gregory  the  Great  to  convert  the  Sax- 
ons, they  found  both  the  Christian  religion  and 
the  British  language  extinct  in  the  English 
territory;  an  avv^ful  proof  of  the  ferocity  of 
the  warfare  which  had  raged  between  the 
heathen  invaders  and  the  exiled  British  Christ- 
ians, the  only  remains  of  whom  had  become 
entirely  shut  up  among  the  mountains  of  Wales 
and  Cornwall,  except  a  few  in  Cumberland, 
en  the  borders  of  Scotland,  or  those  who 
had  been  driven  into  Britanny,  beyond  the 
English  Channel.  Over  all  the  rest  of  Eng- 
land, paganism  had  again  established  itself 
triumphantly  :  the  churches  were  demolished, 
or  converted  into  idolatraus  temples,  and  the 
public  worship  of  the  true  God  had  ceased,* 


"  Mosheim's  Eccl.  Hist.  Vol.  I.  p.  3«4. 
E 


50  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

During  the  interval  of  150  years  betwcer^i 
the  banishment  of  the  British,  and  the  arrival 
in  596,  of  Austin,  to  convert  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
who  had  now  become  entirely  pagans,  the  rem- 
nants of  the  old  British  race  had  found  a  safe 
retreat  in  the  sequestered  regions  of  Wales. 

Here,  unlike  their  English  conquerors,  they 
continued  to  be  simple-minded,  well-informed 
and  zealous  Christians,  retaining  the  primi- 
tive ordinances  of  religion,  the  independence 
of  their  churches,  and  fanning  the  flame  of 
patriotism  and  the  love  of  religious  liberty. 
They  remained  in  quiet  obscurity,  experienc- 
ing, so  far  as  is  known,  but  few  changes  of 
prosperity  or  adversity,  till  about  the  beginning 
of  the  seventh  century,  when,  at  the  re- 
introduction  of  nominal  Christianity  into  Eng- 
land, the  Welsh  Christians  again  appear  on 
the  page  of  history,  holding  forth  their  pecul- 
iar principles,  in  bright  contrast  with  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  times.  Gregory  the  Great, 
having  ascended  the  pontifical  chair  in  590, 
he  sent  Austin,  with  forty  monks,  in  596,  to 
convert  the  Saxon  pagans  to  papal  Christian- 
ity. 

In  a  short  time  nearly  all  the  Anglo  Sax- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  51 

ons  became  nominally  Christians.  The  way 
was  led  by  Ethelbert,  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  Saxon  kings,  among  whom  England 
was  then  divided,  who  had  married  a  christ- 
ian wife,  named  Bertha,  the  daughter  of  Char- 
ibert,  king  of  Paris ;  and  being  converted,  by 
her  influence,  <o  Christianity,  he  was  followed 
by  nearly  all  his  subjects,  of  whom  he  caused 
ten  thousand  to  be  baptized  in  a  single  day, 
in  the  river  Swale,  near  York,  which  by  roy- 
al edict,  was  consecrated  as  a  baptismal  river. 
This  kind  of  conversion  becomixig  so  rap- 
idly and  successfully  promoted,  Austin  was 
appointed,  in  597.  by  the  Court  of  Rome, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  primate  of  all 
England.* 


*The  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  Austin  being 
confirmed,  the  Pope  "  exhorted  him  to  proceed  with 
his  work  ;  advised  him  not  to  demolish  the  pagan 
temples,  but  to  convert  them  into  churches,  purifying 
them  with  holy  water  :  for  the  pagans  would  love  to 
■worship  in  the  places  long  held  sacred  :  only  the 
idols  must  be  destroyed.  He  also  advised  that  the 
people  be  allowed  on  festal  days  to  assemble  around 
the  churches,  erect  booths,  and  there  feast  them- 
selves, much  as  during  their  pagan   state,  yet  with- 


53  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Having  been  so  successful  among  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  in  the  year  604  Austin  attempted  to 
bring  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Rome,  and  to  a 
conformity  with  his  national  church,  all  the 
pastors  and  churches  of  the  ancient  Britons, 
who  are  thenceforward  better  known  in  history 
by  the  name  of  the  Welsh,  and  who  had  now 
been  entirely  shut  up  in  the  Principality  of 
Wales.  But  these  British  pastors  and  churches, 
the  successors  of  the  ancient  British  converts 
to  Christianity  in  the  first  and  second  centuries, 
utterly  refused  to  submit  themselves  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  Rome,  or  to  compromise  matters 
with  the  new  national  church  established  by 
Austin  in  England.  These  strenuous  Welsh 
Christians,  retaining  their  ancient  spirit  and 
the  institutions  of  their  primitive  Christianity, 


out  sacrificing  to    their   idols."     Mosh.  Eccl.   Hist. 
Book  1,  Cent.  VI.  Part  I,  Chap.  I,  Sec.  2. 

In  the  year  602,  Austin  built  his  Cathedral  at  Can- 
terbury ;  in  604,  he  erected  St.  Paul's  Church,  in 
London,  and  in  the  next  year  the  West  Monastery^ 
(afterwards  called  Westminster^)  adjoining  London. 
Thus  in  a  few  years  all  England  became  nominally 
Christian,  and  the  foundations  of  the  modern  English, 
church  were  laid. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  53 

turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  conditions  proposed 
for  their  union  with  Rome.  At  length,  how- 
ever, they  consented  to  hold  an  interview  with 
Austin,  in  a  council  which  met  on  the  borders 
of  Herefordshire,  which  on  the  part  of  the 
Welsh  was  composed  of  1200  pastors  and  dele- 
gates. The  chief  conditions  of  uniformity  pro- 
posed by  the  Roman  prelate  of  the  English 
church,  were  the  three  following.  First:  That 
the  Welsh  should  observe  the  festival  of  Easter, 
which  from  the  peculiar  religious  associations 
of  the  Romish  church  at  that  time,  was  the 
great  test  question  of  papal  allegiance,  and  the 
non-observance  of  which  was  incompatible  with 
their  communion  with  the  papal  church.  Al- 
though the  controversy  was  nominally  concern- 
ing the  time  of  the  great  festival  of  Easter,  the  real 
principle  involved,  was  the  question  of  spiritual 
bondage  to  Rome,  or  of  the  unfettered  liberty 
of  conscience  in  religion.  The  Second  condition 
proposed  by  the  English  prelate,  was  their  ec- 
clesiastical subjection  to  his  own  primacy  :  and 
this  involved  the  great  principle  as  to  whether 
Christ  should  be  king  in  his  own  kingdom, 
and  the  practical  question  of  the  union  of 
Church  and  State, and  ihc  original  independence 


54  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

of  each  church.  The  Third  term  of  uniformity 
submitted  by  Austin,  was  that  he  should  give 
Christendome,  which,  in  the  language  of  the 
times,  meant  baptism,  to  their  children.  And 
this  involved  the  great  religious  doctrine  of 
personal  responsibiHty  and  experimental  faith. 
These  three  propositions  comprehended,  in  fact, 
the  three  great  comprehensive  principles  asso- 
ciated in  the  events  which  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  this  Church  and  Town,  the  illustration 
of  which  will  be  more  distinctly  conspicuous 
in  the  details  of  our  ancestral  history. 

But  with  all  these  conditions  of  uniformity 
proposed  by  the  English  prelate,  the  Welsh 
pastors  and  churches  steadily  refused  compli- 
ance. 

Irritated  by  his  failure,  and  despairing  of 
effecting  the  desired  union  by  the  arguments 
of  reason  and  scripture,  to  which  the  Welsh 
resorted,  Austin  proposed  to  leave  the  settle- 
ment of  the  questions  to  miraculous  arbitration, 
"  by  agreeing  that  the  party  which  should  per- 
form a  miraculous  cure,  was  to  be  considered 
as  sanctioned  by  the  interposition  of  heaven.* 

^Bede. 


HISTORICAL    DLSCOURSE.  55 

He  pretended  to  have  cured  a  blind  man,  and 
to  have  exercised  other  miraculous  powers, 
which  pretensions  the  creduHty  or  the  pious 
fraudulency  of  his  followers  assisted  him  in 
maintaining.  But  the  Welsh  Christians  adher- 
ing to  the  principles  of  faith  and  the  religious 
ordinances  which  they  had  received  from  their 
British  ancestors,  were  accused  by  Austin  with 
holding  obstinate  prejudices  and  unpardonable 
heresy  ;  and  that  if  their  errors  of  faith  could 
not  be  cured  by  persuasion,  they  should  be  ex- 
tinguished with  blood.  Many  of  the  pastors 
and  delegates  were  put  to  the  sword  by  the 
bordering  Saxons,  who,  as  the  Welsh  historians 
say,  were  led  on  at  the  instigation  of  Austin^ 
who  was  enraged  at  the  insolence  of  their  con- 
scientiousness. This  crowning  act  of  cruelty 
was  consummated  but  two  years  before  the 
death  of  Austin,  in  607,  and  but  one  year  be- 
fore Gregory  the  Great  was  declared  by  the 
Emperor  Phocas  to  be  not  only  the  Pontiff  of 
Rome,  but  Bishop  of  the  universal  church,  and 
recognized  as  a  temporal  prince,  as  well  as  the 
spiritual  vicegerent  of  Christ  on  earth.  This 
great  event  is  the  landmark  which  the  Spirit 
of  Prophecy  had  predicted  as  the   visible  date 


56  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

ot  the  full  establishment  of  the  reigii  of  Anti- 
christ.* From  that  period  onward  till  the 
death  of  Llewellyn,  the  last  prince  of  the  Brit- 
ish blood,  in  1274,  when  Edward  I.  reduced 
the  brave  Cambrian  race  to  its  present  depen- 
dence as  a  Principality  of  the  English  crown, 
the  history  of  the  Cambro-British  people  is  in- 
volved in  much  obscurity.  Their  religious 
history  is  indeed  recorded  among  the  existing 
monuments  of  their  own  native  language ;  but 
as  Sir  James  Mackintosh  suggests, f  no  native 
Welshman,  in  modern  times,  of  sufficient  gen- 
ius and  industry,  has  arisen,  to  recover  the  re- 
maining authentic  records  of  their  history, 
which  their  national  feeling,  damped  by  con- 
quest, has  been  in  danger  of  neglecting,  amid 
the  perishable  legends  of  fable  and  tradition. 

The  faithless  and  merciless   acts  of  oppres- 
sion by  which  the  rapacious  invaders  had  al- 


*  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  National  Church 
of  England  was  fully  established  on  its  present  basis, 
within  one  year  of  the  time  when  Gregory  the  Great 
was  declared  by  royal  edict  to  be  the  visible  head  of 
the  universal  church. 

t  History  of  England,  Reign  of  Edward  I. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  O/ 

most  driven  the  unhappy  Britons  to  despair, 
produced  a  state  of  society  most  unfriendly  to 
the  preservation  and  transmission  of  that  part 
of  their  history,  for  subsequent  times. 

But  as  God  had  preserved  his  scattered  and 
hidden  people  in  Piedmont  and  Holland,  and 
as  thousands  were  found  in  every  age,  who 
formed  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  witnesses 
to  the  Truth,  so  now  in  Wales,  multitudes  of 
these  sequestered  people,  unbroken  in  spirit, 
formed  a  regular  chain  of  true  and  faithful 
witnesses  to  that  Gospel  which  they  had  re- 
ceived from  their  Christian  ancestors  of  former 
centuries,  and  which  they  here  preserved  amid 
their  quiet  and  fertile  vallies,  shut  up  by  lofty 
mountains  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  as  if  God 
had  designed  these  mountain  fastnesses  as  the 
barriers  of  protection  for  his  chosen  and  faith- 
ful people,  against  the  corruptions  and  assaults 
of  the  papal  hierarchy.  And  it  seems  to  have 
been  a  part  of  the  wise  arrangement  of  Provi- 
dence for  their  preservation,  that  they  should 
be  kept  in  obscurity,  and  that  obscurity  now 
makes  it  very  difficult  to  trace  their  history. 
What  is  chiefly  found  concerning  these  Welsh 
Christians   in  the   Ecclesiastical   and   Secular 


58  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Histories  of  their  Jater  Contemporaries,  are  but 
scattered  fragments,  which  their  enemies  in  the 
Church  and  State  of  England,  would  have 
gladly  thrown  into  obscurity  and  contempt. 

But  in  the  recesses  of  their  mountainous 
Principality,  they  still  retained  their  liberty  and 
independence,  and  loved  the  religious  princi- 
ples which  they  had  received  from  their  fathers. 
And  when,  in  later  times,  the  vail  of  darkness 
was  drawn  aside,  which  for  several  centuries 
had  hid  them  from  the  notice  of  the  world, 
they  reappear  on  the  page  of  history,  displaying 
the  same  noble  qualities  of  character  which 
distinguished  their  British  ancestors,  the  same 
native  frankness  and  generosity,  the  same  love 
of  liberty  and  hatred  of  oppression,  the  same 
characteristic  honesty  and  uprightness,  the  same 
love  of  home  and  of  country,  and  holding  their 
Christianity  pure  and  unmixed  with  human 
traditions,  as  they  received  them  from  their 
Christian  ancestors  of  the  first  centuries. 

Their  pastors  and  theological  writers  had 
but  few  opportunities  to  appear  on  the  great 
arena  of  the  historical  world  ;  subjected  as  they 
always  were,  to  the  prejudice  and  jealousy 
^yhich   are  ever  the    fate   of  a    despised    and; 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  o9 

dreaded  sect :  and  what  references  are  made 
concerning  them,  but  poorly  conceal  the  hatred 
of  their  enemies,  and  their  ill-disguised  dread 
of  the  influence  of  sentiments  before  the  light 
of  which,  their  own  cherished  systems  must 
have  withered  away.  Indeed  there  are  many 
evidences  that  these  Welsh  pastors  were  men 
whom  their  enemies  might  affect  to  despise, 
but  whom  they  were  compelled  to  fear.  The 
theological  colleges,  which  in  their  early  days 
were  located  at  Bangor  in  the  North,  and  Car- 
leon  in  the  South,  were  long  the  abodes  of  sa- 
cred learning.  In  the  Seventh  Century  it  is 
said  that  the  College  at  Bangor  was  resorted 
to  by  more  than  2000  theological  students  at 
one  time.  These  schools  of  piety  were  not 
like  the  Catholic  monasteries,  but  were  con- 
ducted on  much  the  same  principles  as  the  fra- 
ternities of  the  modern  Moravians,  or  like  the 
Baptist  Missionary  establishment  at  Serampore, 
in  India,  in  which  a  kind  of  community  of  in- 
terest and  affection  united  all  the  members  in 
the  bonds  of  Christian  brotherhood. 

But  in  later  times  the  British  pastors  received 
their  knowledge  of  Christianity,  apart  from  the 
institutions  of  learnincr,  each  drawing  for  him- 


60  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

self  from  the  oracles  of  Divine  Truth.  Distin- 
guished by  their  love  of  religious  liberty, 
opposed  to  the  authority  of  human  tradition  in 
matters  of  religion,  with  all  the  sympathies  of 
their  nature  against  the  union  of  ecclesiastical 
power  with  the  state,  and  exercising  the  great 
Protestant  doctrine  of  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment in  interpreting  the  Scriptures,  they  stood 
forth  as  the  representatives  of  these  great  prin- 
ciples which  the  primitive  British  Christians 
had  received  from  the  apostles,  which  were  al- 
ways preserved  by  a  sacred  succession  of  men 
of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  and  which 
at  a  new  and  fortunate  juncture  of  political 
affairs,  were  reasserted  and  practically  exem- 
plified by  Roger  Williams  in  establishing  this 
State,  and  by  John  Miles  in  establishing  this 
Town;men,bothofwhomwereofCambro-British 
blood,  and  both  of  whom  had  learned  the  prin- 
ciples of  Cambro-British  Christianity. 

If  it  belonged  properly  to  the  object  of  this 
discourse,  it  would  not  be  a  difficult  task  to  trace 
the  history  of  Baptist  Sentiments  in  other  and 
parallel  lines,  through  the  channel  of  history. 
But  as  previously  suggested,  it  is  not  our  purpose 
to  present  a  summary  of  a  denominational  creed, 


illSTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  6l 

iior  to  trace  the  prevalence  of  a  sectarian  name, 
thi:ough  all  the  historical  phases  of  the  past. 
Other  and  abler  pens  have  been  worthily  em- 
ployed in  rescuing  from  oblivion  the  memory 
uf  those  great  men,  the  lustre  of  whose  princi- 
ples shone  like  stars  in  the  dark  night  of  papal 
corruption.*  And  it  is  the  history  of  the  prin- 
ciples, rather  than  of  the  men, — of  the  senti- 
ments, rather  than  of  their  names,  that  chiefly 
interests  us  in  our  present  investigations. 

During  every  period  of  the  history  of  the 
British  Christians  in  Wales,  there  were  con- 
temporaneously with  them,  in  other  parts  of 
Europe,  Societies  of  men,  who  held  the  pure 
and  uncorrupted  principles  of  the  gospel :  and 
wherever  any  one  of  the  distinguishing  princi- 


*I  cannot  forbear  from  referring  in  this  place  to 
the  masterly  illustrations  of  Baptist  principles  in  the 
Historical  Discourse  of  the  Rev.  William  Hague, 
delivered  in  Providence  in  1839.  For  brevity  as 
well  as  comprehensiveness,  that  Discourse  contains 
the  clearest,  most  candid  and  philosophical  exhibition 
of  Baptist  principles,  and  the  true  nature  of  the  events 
which  led  to  the  establishment  of  this  State,  that  I 
have  any  Avhere  seen,  in  so  small  a  compass. 
P 


62  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

pies,  I  am  tracing,  was  held,  the  others  were 
generally,  and  intimately  blended  with  them. 
Wherever  the  doctrine  of  believer's  baptism 
was  cherished,  the  ideas  of  the  unfettered  lib- 
erty of  conscience,  the  independence  of  the 
church,  and  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Written  Word,  were  all  considered  its  logical 
deductions,  and  its  Scriptural  concomitants. 

And  when  the  Reformation  by  Luther  be- 
gan in  the  sixteenth  century,  there  were  multi- 
tudes of  Christians  in  Piedmont  and  Holland, 
who  came  forth  from  their  retirement,  and 
maintained  in  public,  what  the  pressure  of 
outward  persecution  had  before  prevented  them 
from  declaring  Many  of  them  long  before 
Luther's  time,  had  cherished  principles  which 
Luther  himself  never  clearly  apprehended  ;  and 
when  they  found  that  he  accepted  the  notion  of 
Consubstantiation  in  the  place  of  Transubstan- 
tiation,  and  maintained  the  right  of  the  magis- 
trate to  use  the  sword  in  suppressing  heresy, 
and  in  promoting  the  truth,  they  felt  that  the 
Lutheran  Reformation  needed  itself  to  be  re- 
formed. The  leaders  of  that  great  moral  revo- 
lution, not  advancing  to  the  full  extent  of  the 
results  to  which  their  own  leading  principles 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  63 

would  have  conducted  them,  were  thrown  into 
conflict  with  men  and  with  principles,  as  much 
in  advance  of  themselves,  as  they  were  in  ad- 
vance of  the  papal  church,  whose  authority 
they  had  thrown  off.  Luther,  Zuinglius  and 
Melancthon,  though  they  all  conceded  the  an- 
tiquity and  the  Scripturalness  of  the  doctrine  of 
Believer's  Baptism,  and  its  mode  by  immersion, 
yet  found  that  doctrine  connected  with  other 
principles  w^hich  involved  the  freedom  of  the 
conscience,  the  right  of  the  church  to  govern 
itself,  and  its  separate  existence  from  the 
State  : — which  were  conclusions  they  were  not 
yet  prepared  to  accept,  and  hence,  being  all 
logically  and  Scripturally  united,  they  were  all 
proscribed    together.*     Luther    admitted    the 


^  Bishop  Burnet  (History  of  the  Reformation,  Vol. 
II.  p.  176)  candidly  acknowledges  that  the  Baptist 
Denomination  in  England  have  been  unjustly  repre- 
sented, by  being  identified  with  some  of  the  German 
Anabaptists  who  engaged  in  the  political  disturban- 
ces at  Munster.  He  attributes  the  rise  of  the  Bap- 
tists in  Germany  to  their  carrying  out  the  principles 
of  Luther,  regarding  the  sufficiency  of  the  Scriptures^ 
and  the  rights  of  private  judgment ;  and  in  this  the 
Catholic  writers  agree  with  him,  who  charge  Luther 


64  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE,. 

nullity  of  Infant  Baptism  as  a  scriptural  ordi- 
nance, yet  practised  it,  from  the  connexion  it 
had  with  the  State  church,  and  with  other 
standing  ordinances  which  he  was  not  disposed 
to  abandon.*  Zuinglius  pleaded  for  Infant 
Baptism,  and  yet  (in  his  Work,  De  Paedobapt.) 
admits  that  "  The  institution   of  Anabaptism 


with  being  the  father  of  the  German  Baptists  and  say- 
that  when  he  persecuted  them  "he  let  out  the  life  of 
his  own  cause."  Robinson's  Ecclesiastical  Research- 
es, p.  543.  (For  the  above  reference  I  am  indebted 
to  Hague's  Historical  Discourse,  p.  66  ) 

*  Luther  says,  in  so  many  words,  "  It  cannot 
be  proved  by  the  Sacred  Scriptures  that  Infant 
Baptism  was  instituted  by  Christ,  or  begun  with  the 
first  Christians  after  the  apostles."  Quoted  in  Booth's 
Paedobaptism  examined.  Vol.  11  p.  4. — And  "Baptisni 
itself,"  Luther  says,  (Opera,  Vol.  I.  pp.  336,  7,)  "is 
nothing  else  than  the  word  of  God  with  immersion  in 
water."  And  again  he  says, — "  Washing  from  sins. 
is  attributed  to  Baptism  ;  it  is  truly,  indeed,  attribu- 
ted, but  the  signification  is  softer  and  slower  than  it 
can  express  by  Baptism,  which  is  rather  a  sign  both  of 
death  and  resurrection.  Being  moved  by  this  reason, 
I  would  have  those  that  are  to  be  baptized,  to  be 
altogether  dipped  into  the  water,  as  the  word  doth 
spund,  and  the  mystery  doth  signify." 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


r>5 


(as  Baptist  principles  were  then  called)  is  not 
a  novelty ;  but  for  thirteen  hundred  years  has 
caused  very  great  disturbance  in  the  church, 
nnd  has  acquired  such  strength  that  the  attempt 
1  this  age  to  contend  with  it  appeared  futile  for 
D,  time."     But  thirteen  hundred   years  back- 
ward from  the  time  of  Zuinglius,  carry  us  up 
()  the  early  part  of  the  third  century,  the  very 
period  when  infant  baptism  is  believed  to  have 
crept  into  the  church :  when   Tertullian,  who 
is  the  first  Ecclesiastical  historian  among  the 
ancient  Fathers  who  alludeHo  it,  mentions  it  as 
Jiaving  first  begun  to  be  practised  in  Africa,  in 
the  year  204  : — at  the  same  time  he  speaks  of 
it  as  an  innovation,  and  dissuades  from  baptiz- 
:ig  infants,  and  proves  the  delay  of  it  to  a  more 
lature  age,  is  to  be  preferred.   (Tertullian  De 
Japtismo,  Cap.  XVIII.) 

Previous  to  the  time  of  Tertullian,  there  is 
510  undoubted  mention  made  of  Infant  Baptism, 
in  any  way  :  and  from  the  silence  of  the  Fath- 
rs  between  Tertullian  and  the  Apostles,  on  the 
nbject,  the  matter  must  be  relinquished  as  an 
listorical  question:  and  wc  are  accordingly 
iroiight  up  to  the  Inspired  Scriptures  them- 
-ivo-     Noander,  the  most  candid  and  profound 


66  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE, 

Ecclesiastical  historian  of  the  present,  or  pes*^ 
haps  of  any  age,  says  of  the  apostolic  period — 
"  The  practice  of  infant  Baptism  was  remote 
from  this  age :"  and  he  adds^  "  Not  only  the 
late  appearance  of  any  express  mention  of  In-^ 
fant  Baptism,  but  the  long  continued  opposition 
to  it,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  not  of 
apostolic  origin."  (Eccles.  Hist.  Apostolic 
Age.) 

No  wonder,  then,  that  Mosheim,  the  great 
Lutheran  Historian  of  the  last  century,  should 
say  of  a  body  of  Christians  every  where  scattered 
over  Europe  in  sequestered  groups  in  every 
period  of  the  dark  ages, — "  That  they  held 
that  no  persons  ought  to  be  baptized  until 
they  come  to  the  full  use  of  reason."*  And 
the  same  historian  when  speaking  of  the  origin 
of  the  Anabaptists,  whom  he  associates  v.'iththe 
Waldenses,  Albigenses  and  Mennonites,  as 
interchangable  names  for  people  holding  sub- 
stantially the  same  principles,  says,  "  The 
true  origin  of  that  Sect   which   acquired  the 

'  Eccl.  Hist.  Vol.  n.  chap.  3,  p.  127, 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  67 

name  of  Anabaptists  by  their  administering 
anew  the  rite  of  baptism  to  those  who  came 
over  to  their  communion,  and  derived  that  of 
Mennonites  from  the  famous  man  to  whom  they 
owe  the  greatest  part  of  their  present  felicity, 
is  hidden  in  the  remote  depths  of  antiquity,  and 
is  of  consequence,  extremely  difficult  to  be 
ascertained."* 

But  the  line  of  descent  through  which  we  are 
at  present  tracing  the  prevalence  of  Baptist 
principles,  leads  us  to  discover  their  re-appear- 
ance in  England  and  Wales,  at  the  time  when 
Roger  Williams  stood  forth  as  their  rep- 
resentative, in  forming  this  State,  and  John 
Miles  as  his  counterpart,  in  colonizing  the 
district  now  embraced  within  this  Town.  Pre* 
vious  indeed,  to  the  prevalence  of  Luther's 
Reformation  in  England,  the  followers  of  John 
WicklifFe,  and  the  Lollards  who  were  substan- 
tially in  fact  and  principle  the  same  as  if  they 
had  been  called  by  the  7iamc  of  Baptists,  had 


^Mosheim  Bccl.  Hist,  Cent.   XVI.  Sect.  III.  Part 
II.  chap.  3.  §  2. 


C8  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

■Stood  up  as  the  hold  opponents  of  tradition  in 
religion,'' djudi  of  the  imion  of  ecclesiastical  pow- 
er with  the  State ;  and  they  were  too  often 
called  upon  to  seal  their  faith  with  their  blood, 
"  not  loving  their  own  lives  unto  the  death." 

And  when  the  pressure  of  civil  and  spiritual 
tyranny  was  removed,  the  fires  that  had  been 
sleeping  under  the  ashes,  again  broke  out  into 
a  flame,  and  soon  all  England  was  moved  by 
their  light  and  warmth.  The  consequence  was, 
that  when  the  English  reformation  began  to 
dawn,  Baptist  sentiments  were  proclaimed  all 
at  once,  in  many  parts  of  the  realm.  As  early 
as  in  1549,  we  are  told  by  Bishop  Burnet, 
(11  p.  143,)  that  many  Baptists  fled  from  Ger- 
many into  England,  who  maintained  that  Infant 
Baptism  was  no  baptism,  and  so  were  re- 
baptized. 

But  the  source  through  which  these  senti- 
ments were  mainly  derived,  by  those  who  a- 
dopted  them  in  England,  was  from  Wales. 
Two  hundred  years  before  the  Lutheran  Re- 
formation dawned  in  England,  John  Wickliffe, 
persecuted  for  boldly  maintaining  the  Truth  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  for  translating  them  int< 
Enj^lish,  was  compelled  to  retire  to  Hereford 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  69- 

shire,  and  the  adjoining  counties,  on  the  friend- 
ly borders  of  Wales,  and  there  the  seeds  cf 
truth  which  he  deposited,  took  root  and  flour- 
ished. It  was  in  that  very  neighborhood  that 
William  Tyndal  was  born;  who,  150  years 
after  Wickliffe's  death,  caught  the  light  of  his 
principles,  and  followed  his  footsteps  in  giving 
another  translation  of  the  Bible  to  the  English 
nation.  Both  of  these  men  were  Baptists,  in  all 
their  distinguishing  principles,  if  not  in  name. 
Tyndal  perished  in  the  flames  of  martyrdom, 
in  Flanders,  in  1532.  His  last  words  were, 
*'  Lord,  open  the  eyes  of  the  King  of  England." 
Wickliffe  died  a  century  and  a  half  before  him, 
in  1384,  not  an  actual  martyr,  but  from  the 
fatigue  and  suffering  incurred  in  persecution. 
Forty  years  after  his  death,  his  bones  were  dug 
up,  burnt  and  thrown  to  the  winds,  by  his  en- 
raged enemies. 

From  the  same  borders  of  ¥/ales  there  went 
forth  influences  that  stopped  not  at  the  place 
nor  the  time  that  gave  them  birth.  As  soon 
as  the  Reformation  dawned,  and  the  pressure 
of  persecution  was  removed,  there  suddenly 
f^ppeared  a  multitude  of  men  professing  Baptist 


70  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

sentiments.  Many  of  the  British  Christians 
came  forth  from  their  hiding-places  in  the  Prin- 
cipality of  Wales,  where  they  had  preserved 
the  doctrines  and  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel, 
unadulterated  by  the  corrupt  church  of  Rome, 
having  never  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.  This 
accounts  for  the  fact,  that  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Reformation  so  many  Baptists  all 
at  once  made  their  appearance.  No  one  can 
fell  lohen  they  first  became  Baptists  :  nor  how 
long  their  little  churches  had  continued  in  this 
British  Piedmont.  Hence,  in  less  than  a  hun- 
dred years,  their  sentiments  were  found  scat- 
tered all  over  the  Eng-lish  nation.  In  the  reiorn 
of  Charles  the  First,  and  in  the  time  of  the 
Commonwealth,  they  had  wondierfully  multi- 
plied. A  large  part  of  Cromwell's  army,  and 
many  of  his  generals  and  leading  officers  were 
Baptists  They  were  complained  of  by  their 
contemporaries,  "  as  growing  more  rapidly  than 
any  other  sect  in  the  land."'* 

If  the  limits  of  this  Discourse  permitted,  we 
could  name  a  catalogue  of  Baptist  Ministers, 
Civilians,  Scholars,  military  officers  and  other 

*  See  Baillie's  Letters,  I  p.  408 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  71 

professional  men,  the  number  of  whom  would 
surprise  even  the  general  reader,  who  is  not 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  history  of  those 
times.* 

A  large  proportion  of  those  free  and  bold 
spirits  who  bore  so  conspicuous  a  part  in 
rescuing  the  English  people  from  the  oppres- 
sion of  a  usurping  monarchy,  and  an  eccle- 
siastical despotism,  \vere  of  the  ancient  Brit- 
ish stock,  and  many  of  them  were  native 
Welshmen. 

Oliver  Cromwell  was  of  Welsh  origin,  and 
Roger  Williams  and  John  Miles  were  both 
born  in  Wales.  It  was  to  the  circumstances 
of  his  birth  and  early  training,  that  Roger 
W^illiams  was  probably  indebted  for  those 
great  prhiciples  of  religious  faith  and  human 
liberty  which  have  thrown  such  a  peculiar 
glory  around  his  name.  It  is  too  oiten  sup- 
posed and  asserted,  that  to  this  man  belongs 
the  praise  of  being  "  the  first  person  in  modern 
Christendom    to    assert    in    its   plenitude  the 


*  For  a  convenient  reference  to  this  subject,  see  an 
able  article  in  the  March  JNo.  of  the  Christian  Review 
for  1543, 


■j:Z  historical  discourse, 

doctrine  of  the  liberty  of  conscience,  the';; 
equality  of  opinions  before  the  law."*  The 
eloquent  historian  of  the  United  States  has 
given  currency  to  this  opinion,  which  he  with 
most  others  who  have  attempted  to  write  the 
history  of  Roger  Williams  and  of  Rhode-Island, 
have  mistaken,  from  a  m.isconception  of  the 
circumstances  connected  with  his  origin,  and 
from  a  want  of  acquaintance  with  the  relig- 
ious history  of  the  Cambro-British  people. 
While  every  existing  State  is  truly  represented 
by  Mr.  Bancroft  as  "  connecting  by  the  clos- 
est bonds,  the  energy  of  its  faith  with  its  form 
of  government,  there  appeared,"  he  says,  "  in 
their  midst,  one  of  those  clear  minds  which 
sometimes  bless  the  world  by  their  power  of  re- 
ceiving moral  truth  in  its  clearest  li^ht,  and  of 
reducing  the  just  conclusions  of  their  princi- 
ples to  a  happy  and  consistent  practice."  "  He 
announced  his  discovery  under  the  simple  prop- 
osition of  the  sanctity  of  conscience.  The 
civil  magistrate  should  restrain  crime,  but  nev- 
er control   opinion  ;  should  punish  guilt,  but 

"^  Bancroft's  Hist.  U.  S.  Vol.  I,  p.  375. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  73 

never  violate  the  freedom  of  the  soul."  *  *  * 
"  In  the  unwavering  assertion  of  his  views  he 
never  changed  his  position :  the  sanctity  of 
conscience  was  the  great  tenet,  which,  with  all 
its  consequences,  he  defended,  as  he  first  trod 
the  shores  of  New-England  :  and  in  his  extreme 
old  age  it  was  the  last  pulsation  of  his  heart.*" 
The  splendid  description  which  Mr.  Ban- 
croft has  given  of  Roger  Williams,  repre- 
sents him  as  emerp;inff  from  the  moral 
darkiiess  by  which  he  had  been  surrounded, 
and  in  the  deep  workings  of  his  keen  and  far- 
sighted  mind,  groping  and  grappling  and  bf ing- 
ihg  to  light,  a  mighty  principle,  the  tiucleus 
and  concomitant  of  other  stupendous  concep- 
tions, to  which  all  the  rest  of  the  world  were  as 
yet  strangers.  This  singular  eminence,  to 
which  the  father  of  this  State  has  been  exalted, 
is  equally  unnecessary  and  unreasonable.  It 
has  made  him  the  subject  of  undue  praise  on 
the  one  hand,  and  of  unjust  representation  on 
the  other.  His  defenders  have  been  betrayed 
into  a  spirit  of  vain-glorious  adulation  ,-  his  ac- 


♦  Bancroft's  Hist.  U.  S.  Vol.  I,  pp.  367,  8. 


74  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

cusers  have  been  quickened  into  a  spirit  of 
captiousness  and  detraction.  He  is  praised  by 
the  one  as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  which 
all  at  once  shed  its  brilliant  light  upon  man- 
kind, as  the  pole-star  of  their  destiny  :  by  the 
other,  he  is  viewed  as  an  erratic  planet,  break- 
ing from  its  orbit,  subject  to  no  law,  and  strik- 
ing its  path  into  the  realms  of  chaos.  He  has 
been  called  the  great  modern  law-giver  in  mor- 
al and  political  jurisprudence,  by  many  Bap- 
tists, who  are  willing  to  own  him  as  the  father 
of  their  religious  denomination  in  this  country; 
and  by  others  he  has  been  accused  with  being 
"  conscientiously  contentious^'^ — governed  by  a 
spirit  of  restlessness,  which  rendered  him  as 
liable  to  stumble  on  a  false  principle,  as  to 
alight  upon  a  true  one ;  while  his  worried  con- 
science was  nothing  but  a  sanctimonious  bundle 
of  pride,  self-ccnceit  and  evil  passions. 

Both  of  these  cppcsite  views  of  his  character 
are  equally  unfounded.  The  truth  is,  that  he 
possessed  a  noble  character,  combining  a  vig- 
orous intellect,  disciplined  and  furnished  by 
generous  learning,  with  a  moral  nature,  sof- 
tened and  sanctified  with  the  graces  of  piety. 
But  in  all  his  published  works,  and  in  all  his 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  75 

written  memorials,  there  is  no  evidence  that 
his  intellect  was  so  singularly  quick  and  far- 
sighted,  or  that  his  moral  philosophy  was  self- 
derived  from  his  own  original  conceptions. 
He  drew  his  moral  creed  from  the  Bible  alone : 
and  from  his  intercourse  with  multitudes  of 
noble  minds  in  his  fatherland,  whose  intellect, 
philanthropy  and  piety,  were  equal  to  his  own. 
Though  he  occupied  a  peculiar  position,  and 
seemed  to  strike  out  new  and  startling  theories, 
in  New-England,  he  was  not  in  advance  of 
thousands  in  Wales  and  in  England,  who  had 
as  clear  and  familiar  an  acquaintance  with  the 
great  principles  he  advocated,  as  he  had  him- 
self: and  from  whose  companionship,  indeed, 
he  must  have  derived  his  first  conceptions  of 
the  doctrines  he  maintained.  To  him,  indeed, 
belongs  the  honor  of  establisJiing  thejirst  civil 
government  in  modern  Christendom,  which 
gave  equal  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  its  sub- 
jects :  but  the  moral  principle  on  which  he  act- 
ed, so  far  from  being  his  own  original  discov- 
ery, was  the  carrying  out,  under  fortunate  cir- 
cumstances, of  the  great  idea,  v/hich  multitudes 
before  him  had  clearly  derived  from  their  Bibles, 
?ipart  from,  all  human  systems  of  ethics  or  poll- 


76  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

tics.  Both  he  and  they,  drew  their  sentiments 
from  the  Bible  :  and  they  had  long  held  as  sim- 
ple and  primary  convictions,  those  truths, which, 
when  once  boldly  advocated  before  the  world, 
seemed  like  the  inspirations  of  enthusiasm,  or 
the  daring  presumption  of  heresy  and  treason. 
And  they  were  but  links  in  that  long  chain  of 
witnesses  for  the  truth  which  connected  those 
Cambro-British  Christians,  who,  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  startled  Eng- 
land from  her  dreams  of  spiritual  slumber,  with 
generations  of  holy  men  before  them,  who  in 
every  age,  preserved  and  contended  for  the 
*'  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 

About  the  time  that  Roger  Williams  hac^ 
planted  his  colony  at  Providence,  on  the  basis 
of  those  truths  which  have  immortalized  his 
name,  among  the  multitude  of  his  contempora- 
ries who  held  the  same  sentiments  in  Wales 
and  in  England,  was  the  Rev.  John  Miles, 
whose  history  is  identified  with  the  origin  of 
this  Town. 

When,  under  the  influence  of  the  English 
Reformation,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  many 
distinguished  persons,  both  in  and  out  of  the 
established  Church,adopted  Baptist  Sentiments, 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  77 

'^sveral  of  them  visited  Wales,  to  confer  with 
(he  Churches  in  that  Principality.  Amono- 
these  Apostles  of  the  English  Reformation,  who 
visited  Wales,  were  Penry,  Wroth,  "William 
Erbury  and  the  celebrated  Vavasor  Powell. 
They  found  many  of  the  old  British  Baptist 
churches  who  held  the  sentiments  of  the  Re- 
formers, in  advance  of  the  Reformation  itself 
As  the  Waldensian  and  Piedmontese  Christians 
on  the  Continent,  were  disappointed  when  they 
found  that  Luther's  Reformation  still  allowed 
of  many  existing  corruptions,  the  reformer  him- 
self substituting  Consubstantiation  for  Tran- 
substantiation,  and  recognizing  the  jurisdiction 
of  civil  Government  in  the  affairs  of  conscience, 
so  these  old  Welsh  churches  were  not  disposed 
to  accept,  as  the  full  expression  of  their  relig- 
ious Faith,  the  doctrines  of  their  newly  reform- 
ed brethren  from  the  English  church.  Among 
these  churches  of  the  old  Baptist  order,  were 
six,  who  had  formed  an  association  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  ancient  Christianity.  These 
were  the  churches  of  Olchon,  Llanwenarth, 
Llantrisaint,  Carmarthen,  Dolan  and  Swanzea. 
It  is  the  last  of  these  six  churches,  with  which 
we,  as  a  people,  are  historically  connected. 


?ft  HISTORICAL    piSGQVRSE. 

In  the  year  1649,  being  the  first  year  of 
Cromwell's  protectorate,  the  Rev.  John  Miles 
became  pastor  of  the  Church  in  Swanzea,  in 
Glamorganshire,  a  county  in  the  south  of  Wales, 
He  soon  became  one  of  the  leading  ministers 
of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  that  Principality. 
In  1651,  he  was  sent  as  the  representative 
of  the  Baptist  churches  in  Wales,  to  the  Bap- 
tist Ministers'  Meeting,  in  Glazier's  Hall,  Lon- 
don, with  a  letter  giving  an  recount  of  the 
peace,  union,  and  increase  of  tl  e  Baptist 
churches  in  his  country  ;  and  returned  with  a 
letter  written  by  the  London  Ministers  to  their 
Brethren  in  Wales,  in  which  they  were  advised 
to  form  new  churches  ;  so  that  their  members 
who  resided  at  a  distance  might  be  made  more 
useful : '  and  that  the  smaller  churches  so  form- 
ed should  associate  together  for  the  occasional 
observance  of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  Christian  fellowship. 

Mr.  Miles  continued  his  ministry  with  the 
church  in  Swanzea  for  thirteen  years,  during 
which  time  he  added  two  hundred  and 
sixty-three    persons   to    his  church,*    at  the 

*BnckuB,Vol.I,  p.  351. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  79 

same    time,     acting    as   the    leading    repre- 
sentative of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  Wales, 
and  was  their  medium  of  correspondence  with 
the  Church^'s  in  London,   Dublin  and  several 
other  places.     But  in  1662,  two  years  after  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.  the  Act  of  Uniform- 
ity was  passed,  by  which  two  thousand  of  the 
most   pious   and  useful    ministers  in  England 
and  Wales,  not  conforming  to  the  requisitions 
of  the  established  Church,  were  ejected  from 
the  places  they  had  occupied  during  the  pro- 
tectorate   of   Cromwell.     Among    these  non- 
conforming ministers,  of  whom  many  were  em- 
inent Baptists,  was  the  Rev.  John  Miles,  who 
immediately  after  his  ejectment  came  with  some 
of  his  brethren  to  New-England,  bringing  their 
church-records  with  them.*t 

The  first  notice  we  find  of  Mr.  Miles,  on  his 
arrival  in  America,  is  at  Rehoboth,  where  find- 
ing spirits  kindred  to  his  own,  he  immediate^ 
gathered  around  him  the  materials  for  organizing 
a  church.  He  probably  landed,  at  first,  at  Bos- 
ton or  Salem,  but  discovering  that  the  spirit  of 


'  Backue,  Vol,  I,  p.  353.  I  Appendix  C- 


80  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

persecution,  which  had  banished  Roger  Wil* 
liams,  still  lingered  there,  and  lured  by  the  in- 
telligence that  some  of  his  brethren  were  scat- 
tered through  Rehoboth,  on  the  westerly  bor- 
ders of  the  Colony,  near  the  bounds  of  Rhode- 
Island,  he  soon  took  up  his  abode  in  that 
Township.  It  was  here  that  Mr.  Obadiah 
Holmes  had  resided,  who,  about  twelve  years 
before,  had  been  publicly  whipped  at  Boston, 
for  holding  Baptist  sentiments,  and  for  acting 
accordingly.  The  cruel  treatment  of  Mr. 
Holmes,  was  equalled  only  by  the  unjust  fine 
and  imprisonment  of  the  Rev.  John  Clarke 
and  Mr.  John  Crandall,  whose  only  offence 
had  been  to  hold  the  sentiments  of  the  Baptists, 
and  to  venture  on  a  visit  of  mercy  to  onelof 
their  aged  brethren  within  the  limits  of  Massa^ 
chusetts,  where  heresy  in  religious  opinions 
was  as  actionable  in  the  eye  of  the  civil  law, 
as  were  the  most  flagrant  vices  of  actual  con- 
duct.*    But  as  injustice   always  defeats  itself, 


*  Even  twelve  years  before  the  persecution  of  these 
three  men,  as  early  as  1639,  the  very  year  when  Roger 
Williams  established  his  church  in  Providence,  there 
>vas  an  attempt  made   to  form  a  Baptist  church  in 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  S\ 

&nd  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the 
church,  so  the  effect  of  this  inquisitorial  tyran> 
ny  was  to  create  a  re-action  in  favor  of  the 
sentiments  of  the  men  who  had  been  persecut- 
ed for  maintaining  them. 

On  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Miles  in  Rehoboth, 
finding  several  of  these  persecuted  heretics, 
whom  he  and  his  companions  in  their  father- 
land would  have  regarded  as  the  true  succes- 
sors of  the  ancient  British  Christians,  he  united 
with  them  in  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Butter- 
worth,  in  Rehoboth,  in  a  solemn  covenant,  in 
forming  a  new  church,  or  in  reproducing  the 
same  one  which  he  had  represented  in  Wales. 


Weymouth,  a  town  fourteen  miles  south-eaot  of  Bos- 
ton, The  leading  men  who  held  the  interdicted  sen-; 
timents,  were  John  Smith,  John  Spurr,  Richard  Sylr 
Tester,  Ambrose  Morton,  Thomas  Mackpeace,  and 
Hobert  Lenthall,  who,  being  presented  before  the 
Court,  for  their  heresy  and  treason  in  dissenting  from 
the  established  churches,  were  fined  and  imprisoned 
with  various  degrees  of  severity,  and  the  attempted 
organization  was  crushed  by  the  strong  arm  of  the 
secular  law.  See  Backus,  Vol.  I,  pp.  113,  114,  and 
:penedict,  Vol.  I,  p.  357. 


82  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE, 

The  names  of  these  original  constituents  wero 
John  Miles  Pastor,  Nicholas  Tanner,  James 
Brown,  Joseph  Carpenter,  John  Butter  worth, 
Eldad  Kingsley  and  Benjamin  Alby.  All  these 
seven  men  appear  to  have  possessed  high  stand- 
incr  and  influence,  notwithstanding  their  crime 
of  dissent,  as  their  names  are  often  found  in 
the  records  of  the  Towns  of  Rehoboth  and 
Swanzea, 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  this  church 
was  organized,  and  were  observing  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion  on  Baptist  principles,  the 
orthodox  churc'  es  of  the  Standin^r  Order  solic- 
ited the  government  of  Plymouth  Colony,  with- 
in whose  jurisdiction  the  church  had  been 
formed,  to  interpose  its  authority  for  the  ex- 
tirpation of  the  heresy.  In  accordance  with 
this  solicitation,  the  members  of  this  little 
chu "ch  were  fined  each  five  pounds,  for  setting 
np  a  public  religious  meeting  without  the 
knowledge  or  consent  of  the  Court,  to  the  dis- 
turbance of  the  peace  and  the  received  faith  of 
the  community.  They  were  at  the  same  time 
ordered  to  desist  from  their  meeting  for  one 
month,  and  advi:ed  to  remove  tl.eir  n  eeting  to 
pome  ether  place,  where  they  might  not  preju. 


HIStdRICAL    DISCOURSE  83 

dice  any  other  church.  Upon  this  order  and 
advice,  Mr.  Miles  and  his  church  removed  to 
Wannamoiset,  a  place  south  of  Rehoboth,  be- 
ing a  part  of  the  present  town  of  Barrington, 
not  then  included  within  the  limits  of  any  ex- 
isting town,  though  Rehoboth,  which  at  that 
time  embraced  nearly  all  of  the  present  County 
of  Bristol,  in  Massachusetts,  claimed  a  kind  of 
jurisdiction  over  it.  At  first  they  appear  only 
to  have  removed  ihe'ir  place  of  meeting  to  Wan- 
namoiset, as  permission  was  afterwards  given 
to  Mr.  Miles  to  purchase  land  and  to  continue 
his  residence  in  Rehoboth*  After  the  action 
of  the  Court  in  the  removal  of  the  church  from 
Rehoboth,  these  exiled  brethren  erected  their 
first  meeting-house,  about  three  miles  north- 
west of  Warren,  on  a  spot  within  the  limits  of 
Wannamoiset,  (now  Barrington,)  a  few  rods 
south  of  the  Rehoboth  line,  and  a  little  south 
of  the  road,  that  now  leads  from  Warren 
through  Seekonk,  to  Providence.* 

On  the  3Cth  of  October,  1667,  the  Plymouth 
Court,  according  to  the  encouragement  previ- 

"^  Appendix  D. 


84  mSTORICAL    DISCOURSE; 

ously  given,  made  to  the  founders  of  this  church, 
along  with  others,  a  grant  of  land,  to  be  called 
Swanzea,  after  the  name  of  the  Church  and 
Town  which  Mr.  Miles  and  his  friends  had 
left  in  Wales.  The  Plymouth  Colony  had  al- 
ways from  the  first,  exhibited  a  more  liberal 
spirit,  in  matters  of  religious  opinion,  than 
their  brethren  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.* 

It  was  in  the  Colonies  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
that  nearly  all  the  proscriptions  for  liberty  of 
conscience  were  enacted.  It  was  here  that 
those  suspected  of  Witchcraft,  were  hanged  ; 
that  the  Quakers  shared  the  same  fate ;  and 
that  the  Baptists  were  imprisoned  and  expatri- 
ated. As  Roger  Williams  had  always  receiv- 
ed more  candid  and  merciful  treatment  at 
Plymouth,  than  in  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  so  for  the  same  reason,  doubtless,  John 
Miles  and  his  friends,  at  their  first  landing, 
immediately  proceeded  to  find  a  resting-place 
l^ithin  the  limits  of  the  Plymouth  Colony.  And 
although  they  were  fined  and  silenced  by  the 
authority  of  that  government,  it  is  evident  that 
a  milder  policy  would  have  been  more  grateful 
to  the  Court  and  the  Ministers,  if  they  could 

*  Appendix  E. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


Bi 


honestly  have  seen  its  consistency  with  the  ex- 
isting union  of  Church  and  State,  and  the  re- 
ceived conviction  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
magistrate  to  use  his  sword  for  tlie  suppression 
of  heresy.  Accordingly,  the  Plymouth  Courts 
more  willing  to  remove  the  Baptists  from  their 
jurisdiction,  than  to  punish  them  within  it,  de- 
clared, *'  that  in  case  they  should  remove  their 
meeting  unto  some  other  place,  where  they  may 
not  prejudice  any  other  church,  and  shall  give 
us  any  reasonable  satisfaction  respecting  their 
principles,  we  know  not  but  they  may  be  per- 
mitted by  this  government  to  do  so."* 

On  the  30th  of  October,  in  the  same  year, 
(1667-8,)  the  Court  of  Plymouth  made  an  am- 
ple grant  of  all  the  district  called  Wannamoi- 
set,  and  parts  adjoining,  described  in  general 
bounds,  as  embracing  "  all  the  lands  between 
the  salt  water  and  river,  and  the  bounds  of 
Taunton  and  Rehoboth,"  to  be  held  by  Mr. 
Miles  and  his  friends,  for  their  accommodation, 
as  an  incorporated  Town,  within  which  they 
were  at  liberty  to  exercise  all  their  rights  of 

•Plymonth  Records,  July  2d,  1667. 


86  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

conscience  as  members  of  a  Baptist  church. 
The  territory  thus  granted  under  the  incorpo- 
rated name  of  Swanzea,  then  embraced  not 
only  what  is  now  Swanzea,  in  Massachusetts, 
but  also  the  present  town  of  Somerset,  in  the 
same  State,  and  the  present  towns  of  Warren 
and  Harrington,  in  Rhode-Island. 

The  two  fif  jt  names  in  the  petition  for  the 
grant  of  this  Town,  are  Mr.  Miles,  the  Pastor 
of  the  church,  and  Capt.  Thomas  VViilet,  who, 
though  not  a  Baptist,  but  probably  a  member 
of  the  Reformed  church  of  Holland,  yet  felt 
the  value  of  religious  toleration,  and  freely  join- 
ed with  Mr.  Miles  and  his  friends,  in  securing 
the  grant  of  a  Town,  within  which  liberty  of 
conscience  might  be  allowed  to  all  ;  who, 
thouorh  of  different  sentiments,  could  still  live 
as  peaceful  neighbors,  in  the  exchange  of  the 
civil  amenities  of  common  life.  The  spirit  of 
these  two  leading  men  doubtless  reflected  a 
generous  influence  over  all  the  community. 
As  Mr.  Miles,  like  Roger  Williams,  was  a 
scholar  and  a  well-bred  gentleman,  so  Capt. 
Willett  had  adorned  his  naturally  amiable  char 
acter  by  the  elegant  refinements  of  foreign 
travel,  and  the  intelligence  derived  by  compan- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  87 

ship  with  eminent  men  in  other  lands.  He 
was  one  of  the  last  of  the  Leyden  Company 
who  came  to  Plymouth,  and  by  his  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  manners,  customs  and 
language  of  the  Dutch,  was  frequently  sent  by 
that  Colony,  to  represent  their  interests  among 
the  people  of  New-Netherlands.  In  1647,  he 
became  the  successor  of  Capt.  Miles  Standish, 
in  the  command  of  the  military  at  Plymouth  ; 
was  frequently  elected  one  of  the  governor's 
assistants,  and  on  the  surrender  of  New-York 
by  the  Dutch  to  the  Englisii,  in  1664,  he  visit- 
ed that  town  with  the  Commissioners  of  Ap- 
peals, where  he  performed  his  duties  so  succes- 
fully  to  all  parties  concerned,  especially  to  the 
Dutch,  that  after  the  re-organization  of  the 
government,  he  was  elected  the  first  English 
Mayor  of  the  city  of  New-York,  which  office 
he  held  for  two  years.  After  acting  as  umpire 
between  the  Dutch  and  the  English,  and  heal- 
ing their  divisions  and  strifes,  his  peaceful  na-. 
ture  inclined  him  to  the  shac'es  of  retirement, 
and  he  returned  to  his  quiet  home,  in  that  part 
of  Swanzea  which  is  now  Barrington,  where, 
just  before  the  breaking  out  of  Philip's  war, 
he  died,  on  the  4th  of  August,  1674,  and  was 


•.  S8  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

buried  in  a  sequestered  spot,  about  three  miles 
west  from  this  place,  where  a  simple  stone, 
bearing  a  brief  inscription,  records  the  memo- 
rial of  a  man,  who  is  worthy  to  receive  from 
the  government  of  the  great  commercial  me- 
tropolis of  our  country,  a  more  appropriate  and 
enduring  expression  of  gratitude  they  owe  to 
their  first  English  Mayor.* 

When  the  Court  of  Plymouth  mr.de  the  grant 
of  Swanzea  to  Mr.  Miles,  Capt.  Willett,  and 
their  friends,  they  were  also  empowered  to  de- 
termine the  conditions  on  which  they  would 
receive  strangers  as  members  of  their  Town. 
As  a  refuge  was  thus  afforded  by  the  liberal 
nature  of  their  incorporation,  to  all  who  might 
have  different  scruples  of  conscience  in  matters 
of  religion,  and  to  adventurers  and  refugees, 
who  had  no  conscience  at  all,  care  was  taken 
by  the  Town,  that  none  should  be  admitted  as 
members  of  their  community,  who  should  cor- 
rupt the  morals  or  religious  character  of  the 
inhabitants,    or    who   were  likely    to   become 


*  Biographical  Note  of  Capt.  Willett.     See  Appen- 
dix F. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  80 

common  paupers,  as  a  charge  to  the  Town. 
Four  persons  were  appointed  by  the  Town,  at 
the  head  of  whom  was  Capt.  Willett,  to  pre- 
scribe the  conditions  on  which  any  might  be- 
come inhabitants,  and  in  performing  their  duty, 
they  adopted  the  following  conditions  : 

1.  That  no  erroneous  person  should  be  ad- 

mitted into  the  Township,  either  as  an 
inhabitant  or  sojourner. 

2.  That  no  man  of  any  evil  behaviour,  as  a 

ccntenticus  person,  should  be  admitted, 

3.  That  none  should  be  admitted  that  may 

become  a  charge  to  the  'i  own. 

These  rules,  while  they  strongly  reflect  the 
spirit  of  rigid  morality  which  marked  all  the 
early  colonists  of  New-England,  were  submitted 
for  review  to  Mr.  Miles  and  his  church,  in  con- 
sideration of  their  prominent  position  as  the 
leading  members  of  the  Town.  The  church, 
not  unmindful  of  their  distinguishing  principles, 
that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  of  this  world, — 
that  the  civil  magistrate  in  the  one,  has  no 
jurisdiction  in  the  spiritual  affairs  of  the  oth- 
er,— that  personal  faith,  expressed  by  baptism, 
is  the  only  proper  condition  of  membership  in 


90  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

a  Christian  church  ;  and  desiring  to  allow  the 
same  religious  liberty  to  others  which  they 
claimed  for  themselves,  made  an  address  to 
Capt.  Willett  and  his  associates,  not  members 
of  their  church,  in  which  address  they  gave  an 
explication  of  the  manner  in  which  they  wish- 
ed the  proposed  rules  to  be  understood,  and 
manifested  a  strong  desire  to  found  a  commu- 
nity on  the  liberal  and  comprehensive  princi- 
ples of  the  Bible,  by  which  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  man  may  be  best  promoted. 
The  explanations  made  by  the  church,  were 
agreed  to  by  Capt.  Willett  and  his  associates, 
as  Trustees,  and  being  unanimously  adopted, 
Feb.  20,  1669,  they  became  the  foundation  on 
which  the  Town  was  established. 

By  this  time,  although  the  larger  part  of  the 
citizens  of  the  Town  were  Baptists,  many  oth- 
er persons  besides  Capt.  Willett,  of  liberal 
sentiments  and  pious  life,  who  were  not  Bap- 
tists, were  concerned  in  the  settlement  and 
prosperity  of  the  Town. 

Notwithstanding  the  Second  Charter  of 
Rhode-Island,  granted  by  Charles  II.  on  the 
6th  of  July,  1663  (four  years  before  the  Town 


HISTORICA.L    DISCOURSE.  91 

of  Swanzea  was  incorpcrated,)  most  clearly- 
included  the  present  towns  of  Bristol,  Warren 
and  Barrington,  and  all  that  territory  *'  extend- 
ing eastwardly  three  English  miles,  to  the  east 
and  north-east  of  the  most  eastern  and  north- 
eastern parts  of  the  Narragansett  Bay,  as  the 
said  Bay  extendeth  itself  from  the  ocean  on  the 
south  unto  the  mouth  of  the  river  which  run- 
neth towards  the  town  of  Providence,"*  yet 
when  the  town  of  Swanzea  was  incorporated, 
four  years  afterwards,  the  Plymouth  govern- 
ment assumed  jurisdiction  over  all  the  territory 
embracing  the  present  towns  of  Bristol, t  War- 
ren and  Barrington,  and  granted  the  two  lat- 
ter as  a  part  of  the  Town  of  Swanzea. 

Some  questions  were  raised  by  the  Rhode-. 
Island  people,  respecting  these  boundaries,  and 
commissioners  were  several  times  appointed  by 
the  King  and  the  Colonial  governments,  to  set- 
tle the  difficulties  ;  but  the  original  grant  by 
the  Plymouth  Colony  was  still  maintained  for 
more  than  eighty  years,    and  the    boundaries 


*  See  Second  Charter  of  Rhode-Islahd 

1  See  note  on  Bristol  as  an  Indian  Town,   Appendix 


92  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

fixed  by  the  Charter  were  not  ascertained  and 
ackno  viedged  till  th3  year  1746,  when,  after 
repeated  litigation,  the  present  Town  of  Bris- 
tol, and  the  Town  of  Warren,  then  embracing 
what  are  now  both  the  present  Towns  ol  War- 
ren and  Barrington,  became  recognized  parts 
of  the  State  of  Rhode-Island. 

Accordingly,  it  is  only  ninety-nine  years 
since  the  Town  of  Warren  ceased  to  be  a  part 
of  Swanzea,  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts, when  its  inhabitants  became  citizens 
of  the  little  State,  in  whose  civil  and  moral 
welfare  they  have  ever  since  been  so  deeply 
interested. 

The  history  of  this  Church  and  Town,  there^ 
fore,  cannot  be  properly  contemplated  apart 
from  their  original  connection  with  the  Church 
and  Town  of  Swanzea,  with  which  they  were 
so  long  identified  as  constituent  parts. 

It  is  therefore  necessary  to  the  purpose  of 
this  Discourse,  to  present  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
continued  history  of  Swanzea,  from  the  time 
of  its  settlement  by  Mr.  Miles  and  Capt.  Wil- 
lett,  until  the  partitioning  of  this  Town,  and 
the  separate  organization  of  this  Church. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  98 

Nothing  of  special  interest  appears  to  have 
occurred  in  the  affrirs  of  the  Church  or  Town 
ofSwanzea,  from  1669  till  Philip's  War,  which 
began  in  June,  1675,  in  the  sufferings  of  which, 
the  Swanzea  people  bore  so  conspicuous  and 
melancholy  a  part.  At  the  beginning  of  this 
War,  the  Church  still  worshipped  in  their  first 
meeting-house,  about  three  miles  north-west  of 
this  place,  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of 
Miles'  Bridge,  the  place  now  known  as  Barneys- 
ville.  The  ground  occupied  by  the  present 
villaze  of  Warre.i,  though  then  a  part  of  the 
Swanzea  grant,  was  still  occupied  by  the  rem- 
nants of  the  once  powerful  tribe  of  Wamp^.no  ^^ 
Indians,  whose  former  chief,  the  good  and 
faithful  Massasoit,  had  held  his  residence,  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe,  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  spot  where  we  are  now  convened.* 
After  Massasoit's  death,  which  occurred  at 
some  time  between  the  months  of  May  and 
December,  of  1661,  his  son  and  successor, 
Philip,  repaired  to  Mount  Hope,  whic  then 
became,  probably   for  the  first  tii  e   t'  e  red- 


*  Appendix  H, 


94  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

dence  of  the  Great  Sachem  of  the  Wampano- 
ags. 

This  powerful  Chief  had  seen  his  father 
Massasoit,  holding,  with  enduring  constancy 
for  forty  years,  the  solemn  compact  which  he 
formed  when  he  welcomed  the  first  Englishman 
to  the  shores  of  Plymouth,  and  little  dreamed 
that  before  the  onward  march  of  civilized  soci- 
ety, the  race  of  red  men  must  fade  away,  and 
in  less  than  two  centuries,  leave  scarcely  a  re- 
lic of  a  noble  people,  who,  in  more  fortunate 
times,  would  have  been  an  ornament  to  their 
age,  and  to  human  nature 

Roused  by  the  recollections  of  ancient  glory, 
and  stung  with  the  consciousness  of  failing 
strength,  Philip  resolved  to  employ  his  mighty 
genius  in  combining  all  the  powerful  tribes  of 
New-England  Indians,  in  striking  one  exter- 
minating blow,  which  should  sweep  from  the 
land,  all  the  colonies  of  strangers,  who  had 
dotted  t!  eir  hunting  grounds  with  harvest 
fields,  and  farm  houses,  and  thriving  towns, 
and  aspiring  churches. 

Some  of  his  warriors,  burning  with  impa- 
tience for  the  attack  before  the  time  appointed 
by  Philip   for  the  general  onset,  had  already 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  95 

betrayed  his  design  by  committing  depredations 
on  the  settlement  in  Swanzea,  while  the  Baptist 
Church  and  Congregation  were  assembled   for 
worship,  on  Sabbatli,  the  20th  of  June,  167/), 
The  government  of  Plymouth  speedily  made 
preparations  to  protect  the  defenceless  inhabit-^ 
ants,   who  lived  in  this  vicinity,   and   several 
military  companies  were  at  once  called  out  from 
Plymouth  and  Boston,   and  at  the  same  time 
^the  people  were  requested  by  the  government 
to  observe  the  following  Thursday  as  a  day   of 
fasting  and  prayer.  While  the  Swanzea  Church 
had  been  observing  the   day  as  requested,  re- 
turning from  their  place  of  worship,  they  were 
surprised  by  the  Indians,  and  several  of  them 
were  killed,  among  whom  was  Eldad  Kingsley, 
one  of  the   first  constituent   members  of  the 
church.     The  people  of  Swanzea   and   Reho- 
both  were  soon  collected  into  garrisoned  houses; 
and  on  the   following  Monday,   June  28,  the 
forces  arriving  from  Plymouth  and  Boston,  they 
entrenched  themselves  in  the  mansion  house 
of  Mr.  Miles,  which  stood  about  fifty  rods  west 
of  the  bridge,  which  still  bears  his  name.    The 
next  day  the  troops  returning  over  the  bridge, 
marched  down  the  eastward  side  of  the  War- 


96  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

ren  river,  towards  Mount  Hcpe,  finding  on  their 
way  the  heads  of  eight  Englishmen,  whom  the 
Indians  had  murdered,  set  upon  poles  by  the 
side  of  the  road,  at  a  spot  about  one  mile  east 
of  this  place.  Marching  on  to  Mount  Hope, 
they  found  that  Philip  had  fled  to  the  east  side 
of  Taunton  River  :  but  nothing  daunted,  they 
attacked  his  warriors  in  their  fastnesses  wher- 
ever they  found  them  :  and  collecting  all  their 
forces  together,  they  crossed  the  Bay  into  the 
Narragansett  country,  and  by  a  series  of  well 
concerted  attacks,  they  carried  fire  and  sword 
into  every  wigwam  ;  and  striking  blow  after 
blow,  at  almost  every  point  at  once,  in  a  short 
time,  they  left  nothing  but  a  few  scattered  rel- 
ics of  the  once  powerful  tribes  of  the  Wam- 
panoags  and  the  Narragansetts.  Ph)lip,  hunt- 
ed down  like  a  stricken  deer,  at  last  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  the  treachery  of  one  of  his  own  people  : 
and  thus  sunk  the  last  of  a  noble  race,  whose 
melancholy  fate  would  even  now  have  been  al- 
most forgotten  and  unwept  forever,  but  for  the 
imperishable  interest  associated  with  his  mem- 
ory, by  the  brilliant  genius  of  Irving.  "  With 
heroic  qualities  and  bold  achievements,  that 
^ould   have  graced   a   civilized   warrior,   and" 


kiSTORICAt,    DISCOURSE,  97 

have  rendered  him  the  theme  of  the  poet  and 
the  historian  :  he  lived  a  wanderer  and  a  fugi- 
tive in  his  native  land,  and  went  down,  like  a 
lonely  bark,  foundering  amid  darkness  and 
tempest — without  a  pitying  eye  to  weep  his 
fall,  or  a  friendly  hand  to  record  his  struggle."* 

Although  one  half  of  the  dwellings  in  Swan- 
zea  were  laid  in  ashes  during  the  war,  the 
inhabitants  immediately  after  the  extermination 
of  the  Indians,  began  to  spread  themselves  in 
various  directions,  and  some  of  them  repaired 
to  the  site  on  which  this  village  now  stands, 
which  had  been  previously  occupied  by  the 
wigwams  of  Massasoit's  Indians.  In  a  short 
time  the  eastern  part  of  this  Township  be- 
came thickly  settled ;  and  as  there  was  no 
other  place  of  worship,  but  the  Baptist  meeting- 
house in  the  Town  of  Swanzea,  embracing  as 
it  then  did  what  are  now  the  Towns  of  Swan- 
zea and  Somerset  in  Mass.,  and  Warren  and 
Barrington  in  Rhode-Island,  the  people  found 
that  some  more  central  spot  must  be  selected 
for  the   accommodation   of  their   wide-spread 


Sketch  Book. 


98  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Accordingly,  two  years  after  the  war,  (1677) 
the  Town  resolved  to  assist  the  church  in  re- 
moviuor  their  meeting-house  from  its  former 
position  three  miles  N.  W.  of  this  place,  to  the 
lower  end  of  New-Meadow  Neck,  immediately 
opposite  this  village,  across  the  river.  But  as 
difficulties  occurred  in  their  attempted  removal 
of  the  House,  the  project  was  abandoned,  and 
in  about  two  years  afterward,  the  Town  assis- 
ted the  church  in  erecting  a  new  meeting-house, 
40  feet  long,  22  feet  wide,  with  16  feet  posts,  on 
the  site  of  the  old  grave  yard  at  Tyler's  Point, 
just  below  Kelley's  Bridge.*  At  the  same  time, 
they  built  by  the  side  of  their  meeting-house,  a 
dwelling  house,  which  the  Town  transferred  to 
Mr.  Miles,  to  indemnify  him  for  money  which 
he  had  advanced  tojhe  Town  in  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  Indian  war, 

The  place  of  the  new  meeting-house  at  Kel- 
ley's Bridge,  was  at  that  time  the  most  central 
point  in  the  Town,  and   was  then   called  the 

•The  vote  of  the  Town  to  assist  the  church  in 
creeling  a  house  of  worship  on  Tyler's  Point,  is  dated 
March  29,  1680. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE,  99 

•*  Pbce  of  Trade;"  and  for  sixty  years  after- 
wards, nearly  all  the  shipping  in  the  foreign  and 
coasting  trade,  held  by  the  people  in  this  vicin- 
ity, was  connected  with  wharves  and  ware- 
houses on  New-Meadow  Neck,  near  the  tvvo 
Bridges,  now  known  as  belonging  to  Capt. 
Bowen  and  Mr.  Kelley. 

But  the  population  continuing  to  extend 
northward  and  eastward  into  what  are  now  the 
Towns  of  Swanzea  and  Somerset,  in  Mass. 
in  the  course  of  twenty  years  after  the  meeting- 
house was  built  on  Tyler's  Point,  it  was  found 
to  be  extremely  unsuited  to  the  convenience  of 
the  majority  of  the  people;  and  accordingly, 
about  the  year  1700,  it  was  remo  d  to  North- 
Swanzea,  as  it  is  now  called,  to  a  spot  directly 
west  of  the  place  now  known  as  Cornell's  Tav- 
ern, where  it  stood  till  the  present  meeting- 
house of  the  Swanzea  church  was  erected,  in 
1717.  Tradition  says,  the  meeting-house  was 
moved  across  tlpe  Warren  River  to  the  east 
side,  on  the  ice. 

But  the  new  position  of  the  house  of  worship 
being  equally  unsuited  to  the  religious  accom- 
modation of  the  numerous  people  then  inhabi- 
ting the  present  Town  of  Barrington,  it  created 


100  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  another 
church  :  and  as  many  Congregationalists  had 
lived  in  various  parts  of  Swanzea  from  its  first 
incorporation,  advantage  was  taken  of  the  oc- 
casion thus  afforded,  and  the  present  Congre- 
gational church  in  Barrington  was  organized 
shortly  after  the  removal  of  the  Baptist  meeting- 
house, from  Tyler's  Point,  in  1700.  The  first 
meeting-house  of  the  Barrington  Congrega- 
tional church  was  erected  a  few  rods  south  of 
the  venerable  Elm  trees  at^  the  corner  of  the 
road,  one  mile  west  of  Warren. 

Notwithstanding  the  trying  circumstances 
in  which  Providence  had  placed  the  learned 
and  pious  Mr.  Miles,  he  continued  during  and 
after  the  Indian  war,  to  exercise  his  ministry 
with  great  success  and  acceptance.  While 
il^siding  at  his  first  location  near  Barneysville, 
he  was  engaged  in  the  noble  occupation  of  in- 
structing youth,  as  well  as  of  preaching  the 
Gospel.  He  appears  to  have  possessed  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  property,  and  was  always 
irreatly  interested  in  the  affairs  of  the  Town,  as 
-ell  as  of  the  church.  He  was  held  in 
'le  highest  esteem  by  the  other  religious  per- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  101 

suasions  ;  for  notwithstanding  his  almost  unpar- 
donable heresy  of  being  a  Baptist,  he  was 
employed  by  the  Congregational  churcii  of  the 
standing  order  in  the  Town  of  Rehoboth  to 
preach  for  them  once  on  a  week  day,  every 
fortnight,  and  on  every  alternate  sabbath,  dur- 
ing nearly  all  of  the  year  1666.* 

During  the  interval  between  1667-8,  till 
the  completion  of  their  new  meeting-house  on 
Tyler's  Point,  in  1680,  Mr.  Miles  preached  to 
his  persecuted  Baptist  Brethren  in  Boston  ;  and 
so  acceptable  was  his  ministry  there,  that  they 
urged  upon  him  the  proposal  to  become  their 
pastor,  which  however,  to  the  joy  of  his  people 
in  Swanzca,  he  did  not  accept.  After  the 
meeting-house  was  finished  he  returned  to  his 
church  and   residence  at  Tyler's  Point,  where 


*  Mr.  Backus  says,  Vol.1,  p.  5G6,  "  We  are  told 
that  being  once  brought  before  the  magistrates  (on  a 
charge  for  we  know  not  what,)  he  requested  a  Bible, 
and  upon  opening  it,  he  turned  to  tliese  words  in  Job  : 
19  :  23,  "  But  ye  should  say,  why  persecute  we  him, 
seeing  the  root  of  the  matter  is  found  in  me,"  which 
having  read  he  sat  down  ;  and  the  word  had  a  good 
effect  upon  their  minds,  and  moved  them  to  treat  hira 
with  moderation  if  not  with  kindness." 


102  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

he  continued  to  reside  three  years,  when  he  fell 
asleep  in  Jesus  on  Feb.  3, 1683.  He  exercised 
his  ministry  for  thirty-eight  years  ;  about  half  of 
that  time,  in  his  native  country,  where  for  sev- 
eral years  he  was  the  leading  Baptist  minister 
in  Wales ;  and  with  distinguished  success  for 
twenty  years  in  this  vicinity  during  the  stormy 
times  of  Indian  warfare,  and  the  more  unnatural 
despotism  of  religious  intolerance.  Less  fortu- 
nate than  his  noble  co-adjutor,  Capt.  Willett, 
not  even  a  rudely  inscribed  stone  points  out  the 
spot  where  rest  the  earthly  remains  of  a  man 
whose  memory  is  still  precious,  and  whose 
name  will  be  revived  with  immortal  honors  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  just.  He  was,  most 
probably,  buried  in  the  old  grave-yard  near 
where  his  dwelling  and  meeting-house  stood  at 
Tyler's  Point,  just  across  the  river,  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  from  this  place.* 


*  All  that  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  of  Mr. 
Miles'  family  is  that  his  wife  was  named  Ann  Hum- 
phrey, by  whom  he  had  three  children,  John,  Susan- 
nah and  Samuel.  John  must  have  been  a  full  grown 
man  when  Swanzea  was  founded,  as  he  was  one  of 
f.he  first  clerks  of  the  Town.     Of  hi»  daughter    ve 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  lOS 

After  Mr.  Miles'  death,  the  church  were  with- 
out a  pastor  for  nearly  two  years,  when  Capt. 
Samuel  Luther,  who  had  sustained  every  office 
of  honor  and  trust  which  the  proprietors  of  the 
Town  could  bestow,  was  ordained  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry  in  1685,  by  the  assistance  of 
Elders  Hull  and  Emblen  of  Boston.  Both  be- 
fore and  after  he  became  pastor  of  the  church, 
his  name  often  appears  on  the  Records  of  the 
Town  :  having  been  appointed  moderator  of 
the  Town  meeting,  and  on  the  most  important 
committees,  and  for  several  years  representative 
to  the  Legislature,  showing  the  este<^m  in  which 
he  was  held  both  at  home  and  abroad,  until  his 


know  nothing  but  the  name.  His  son  Samuel  was 
in  College  at  Cambridge  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
death.  In  1684  he  graduated  and  went  to  Fngland, 
and  after  receiving  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at 
Oxford  and  taking  orders  in  the  Episcopal  church,  he 
returned  to  America  and  settled  as  minister  of  King's 
Chapel  in  Boston  in  1689,  where  he  died  in  1729.  Mr. 
Backus  incorrectly  supposes  that  this  Samuel  was 
Mr.  MWes'  grandson,  but  there  are  several  facts  which 
prove  the  correctness  of  the  statement  in  Farmer's 
Register,  that  he  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Miles. 


J  04  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

death,  which  occurred  on  the  20th  Dec.  1716, 
having  been  pastor  of  the  church  upwards  of  SI 
years.  He  possessed  an  ample  estate,  and  re- 
sided on  the  west  side  of  the  Kickemuit  river, 
one  mile  east  of  this  place,  and  was  buried  in 
the  old  grave-yard  near  his  residence,  where  a 
tomb-stone  still  stands  over  his  ashes.  He  has 
had  a  large  posterity,  among  whom  was  the  late 
Col.  Ichabod  Cole,  the  present  venerable  Mr. 
Seth  Cole,  Capt.  Shubael  P.  Child,  and  many, 
if  not  most  of  the  numerous  families  bearing 
the  name  of  Luther,  in  this  vicinity. 

The  Rev.  Ephraim  Wheat  on,  who  for  12 
years  had  been  the  colleague  of  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Luther,  succeeded  him  as  sole  pastor  at  his 
death.  His  ministry  in  Swanzea  was  attei  ded 
with  such  great  success,  that  in  five  years  from 
1718,  he  baptized  and  received  into  his  ;hur;  h 
fifty  members,  and  during  the  17  years  cf  his 
pastorate,  he  baptized  about  one  hundred,  who 
became  memb  .  o  ii<-  church;  while  he  was 
also  instrumental  in  erecting  their  present  house 
of  worship.  He  wrote  an  account  of  the  re- 
markable revival  in  his  c  nr  h  t-.,  M  Thomas 
Hollis  of  London,  the   distinguished  Baptist 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE. 


105 


patron  of  Harvard  University,  who  sent  him  a 
letter  of  congratulr.tion  on  his  ministerial  suc- 

I  cess,  accompanied  with  a  present  of  becks. 
The  celebrated  John  Comer  was  his  assistant 
at  one  time  ;  und  at  a  later  period  the  same  ser- 
vice was  performed  for  two  years,  by  the  Rev. 
John  Callender,  who  afterwards  became  pastor 

;  of  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Newport,  where 
he  published  his  Century  Sermon,  with  enlarge- 
ments, containing  the  most  authentic  informa- 
tion extant,  respecting  the  early  history  of 
Rhode-Island.  During  the  ministry  of  Mr. 
Wheaton,  he  resided  within  the  bounds  of 
Rehoboth,  where  he  died  on  the  26th  of  April, 
1734,  aged  75,  and  was  buried  in  the  grave-yard 
near  the  residence  of  Dr.  Samuel  Bullock, 
where  a  decent  monument  stands  over  his  grave. 
Near  by  his  side,  was  laid  the  lamented  Comer, 
who  died  on  the  SSd  of  the  following  month, 
before  he  had  completed  his  30th  year.* 


*  The  descendents  of  Mr  Comer,  in  this  vicinity, 
have  in  their  possession,  two  volumes  of  his  journal 
and  correspondence,  which  would  furnish  ample  ma* 
terials  for  his  biography  ;  but  the  limits  proper  for 
this  Discourse  forbid  any  extended  notice  of  that 
rood  and  useful  man. 


106        HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE. 

Mr.  Wheaton  was  a  man  of  piety  and  talents, 
and  left  considerable  property,  with  a  numerous 
family.  His  four  sons  were  settled  on  different 
portions  of  his  lands,  and  among  his  lineal 
descendents  are  Judge  Wheatcn  of  Norton, 
Mass.,  Dr.  Wheaton,  an  aged  and  eminent 
physician  in  Providence,  the  Hon.  Henry 
Wheaton,  U.  S.  Minister  to  the  court  of  Prussia, 
the  Rev.  Henry  Jackson  of  New-Bedford, 
Mass.,  the  Hon.  Charles  Jackson,  present 
Governor  of  this  State,  and  the  large  and  re- 
spectable family  bearing  the  ancestral  name, 
who  reside  in  this  Town. 

During  the  last  yenr  of  Mr.  Wheaton's  min- 
istry, Mr.  Samuel  Maxwell  was  ordained  his 
colleague,  who  at  Mr.  Wheaton's  death,  became 
sole  pastor  of  the  church.  He  seems  to  have 
been  successful  in  his  ministry,  so  that  in  the 
six  years  of  his  pastorate,  he  baptized  about  fifty 
persons.  But  being  somewhat  unsettled  in  his 
principles,  he  became,  in  1738,  a  Sabbatarian, 
and  was  dismissed  from  his  office.  He  was 
however  always  esteemed  a  pious  man,  and 
lived  to  a  good  old  age,  in  the  south  part  of 
Rehoboth,  where  he  left  numerous  descendents 
who  still  bear  his  name,  in  that  neigborhood 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  107 

After  the  church  had  been  destitute  of  a 
pastor,  two  or  three  years,  they  elected  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  Herrington,  who  entered  upon 
his  office,  the  1st  of  July,  1742.  He  was  a 
man  of  remarkably  popular  talents,  having  al- 
most always  a  crowded  audience,  and  during 
his  short  ministry  of  six  years,  baptized  and 
added  to  the  church  about  eighty  persons. 
At  length,  however,  his  character  suffered  from 
the  imputation  of  improper  conduct,  and  not 
sufficiently  clearing  up  the  charges  against  him, 
he  was  dismissed  from  the  church.  May  3, 
X750,  when  he  went  to  Canterbury,  Conn, 
where  he  preached  to  a  few  people,  aud  lived 
in  obscurity  to  old  age. 

On  the  removal  of  Mr.  Herrington,  Mr. 
Jabez  Wood,  grandson  of  Thomas  Nelson,  the 
progenitor  of  the  extensive  Baptist  family  of 
that  name  in  Middleborough,  Mass.,  was  call- 
ed to  supply  the  pulpit,  and  after  considerable 
hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  church,  was  at 
length  ordained,  Sept.  5,  1751,  to  the  pastorate 
in  which  office  he  continued  without  much 
success  for  twenty-eight  years,  when  he  was 
dismissed,  and  removed  to  Vermont,  where  he 
iied  in  1794. 


108  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSfe. 

During  the  period  thus  briefly  sketched,  the 
interests  of  this  community  now  bearing  the 
name  of  Warren,  were  inseparably  connected 
with  the  Church  and  Town  of  Svvanzea,  of 
which  they  formed  a  part.  The  ministers  of 
that  church  had  been  men  of  able  talents,  and 
sound  religious  faith,  and  for  a  considerable 
part  of  that  period,  the  church  was  probably 
the  largest  and  most  flourishing  Baptist  church 
in  New-England. 

Their  members  resided  at  a  distance  of 
many  miles  around,  in  the  various  towns  which 
were  then  included  in  that  of  Swanzea,  and 
not  a  few  came  great  distances  to  enjoy  among 
this  highly  favored  people,  the  ordinances  of 
the  Gospel.  They  were  favored  with  repeated 
revivals  of  religion,  especially  during  the  min- 
istry of  Mr.  Wheaton,  when  there  were  up- 
wards of  two  hundred  regidar  members  of  the 
church,  and  a  very  large  and  respectable  con- 
gregation gathered  from  all  the  surrounding 
country. 

It  was  for  these  reasons,  that  the  distinct' 
organization  of  the  Warren  Baptist  Church,  is 
of  comparatively  so  recent  a  date.     The  Town 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.        109 

of  Warren,  though  plainly  included  in  the 
Rhode-Island  Charter  of  Charles  II.,  in  1G64, 
had  been  embraced  in  the  grant  which  the 
Plymouth  Government  had  made  in  partition- 
ing off  the  Town  of  Swanzea,  and  the  Massa- 
chusetts Government  claimed  jurisdiction  over 
it,  till  the  boundaries  fixed  by  the  Charter, 
were  ascertained  and  ratified  by  royal  enact- 
ment in  1746. 

The  question  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Massachusetts  and  Rhode-Island,  began  to  be 
discussed  in  the  Rhode-Island  Legislature  as 
early  as  1729,  in  which  year  Commissioners 
were  appointed  to  act  with  those  from  Massa- 
chusetts, in  settling  the  disputed  line,  but  not 
agreeincr  nothinor  effectual  was  done.  In 
1734,  Gov.  Wanton,  of  Rhode-Island,  sent  a 
petition  to  the  King,  praying  that  the  matter 
might  be  settled,  which  was  replied  to  in  1738, 
by  the  proposal  of  the  crown  to  appoint  a  com- 
mission from  the  other  Colonies.  But  to 
"  save  cost  and  altercation,"  it  was  deemed 
best  to  make  another  trial  to  settle  the  dispute 
among  themselves,  and  accordingly  a  new  com- 
mittee was  appointed  by  both  parties,  who  met 

K 


110  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

in  Bristol,  in  1739,  when,  as  before,  no  suc- 
cess attended  the  commission. 

In  1740,  the  King,  agreeably  to  his  rec- 
ommendation, appointed  a  commission  from 
without  the  Colony,  while  committees  were 
appointed  by  the  contending  parties  to  appear 
before  the  commissioners.  The  Court  met  at 
Providence,  in  June,  1741,  and  organized  by 
appointing  Cadwallader  Colden,  of  New-York, 
President  of  the  Board.  They  came  to  a  de- 
cision, June  30,  1741,  by  agreeing  to  transfer 
from  Massachusetts  to  Rhode-Island,  the  terri- 
tory of  Little-Compton,  Tiverton,  Bristol,  a 
large  part  of  Barrington,  and  a  portion  of 
Swanzea,  which  embraced  forty-seven  families, 
together  with  "  Attleborough  Gore."  But 
Massachusetts,  declining  to  comply  with  this 
decision,  appealed  to  the  King  in  Council. 

In  1746,  the  decision  of  the  King  and  Coun- 
cil was  received,  confirming  the  agreement  of 
the  Commissioners  :  whereupon  the  Legislature 
of  Rhode-Island  immediately  in  the  same  year, 
(1746,)  passed  an  act  incorporating  the  towns 
by  their  respective  names,  as  portions  of  Rhode- 
Island.  The  concluding  part  of  the  act,  is  as 
follows  :  "  And  that  part  of  the  territory  con- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  Ill 

firmed  to  Rhode-Island,  which  has  heretofore 
been  part  of  Swanzea  and  Barrington,  with  a 
small  part  of  Rehoboth  thereto  adjoining,  with 
the  inhabitants  thereon,  be  incorporated  into  a 
township,  by  the  name  of  Warren."  This 
name  was  given  in  honor  of  Admiral  Sir  Peter 
Warren,  who,  in  June  of  the  previous  year, 
(1745,)  commanded  the  English  fleet,  which, 
in  connection  with  the  Colonial  army,  of  about 
4400  strong,  commanded  by  Gen.  William  Pep- 
perell,  had  captured  Louisburg  and  the  Island 
of  Cape  Breton  from  the  French,  after  a  toil- 
some and  dangerous  siege  of  six  weeks.  By 
clearing  the  coast  of  French  ships  of  war,  Ad- 
miral Warren  rendered  the  greatest  service  to 
this  population,  wbx)  then,  as  now,  made  their 
chief  dependence  on  maritime  trade. 

By  the  same  act  which  partitioned  off,  and 
named  Warren,  as  a  part  of  Rhode-Island,  the 
"  Attleborough  Gore"  was  named  Cumberland, 
after  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  had  just 
before  gained  the  battle  of  Culloden,  for  which 
Americans  as  well  as  Englishmen,  shared  in 
the  national  pride  and  rejoicing. 

Thenceforward  the  population  of  this  village, 
which   had  previously  been  very  small,  began 


112  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

to  increase,  and  the  chief  seat  of  trade  was 
withdrawn  from  the  Barrington  side  of  the 
river,  and  wharves  were  built  and  shipping  ac- 
cumulated at  what  is  now  the  village  of  War- 
ren. 

Although  the  town,  at  its  first  incorporation 
under  its  present  name,  embraced  all  of  War- 
ren and  Barrington,  the  number  of  freemen 
admitted  as  Corporators  was  only  seventy-six, 
and  the  larger  part  of  these  resided  on  the  Bar- 
rington side.  Before  the  boundaries  between 
Massachusetts  and  Rhode-Island  were  settled, 
Barrington  had  been  separated  from  Swanzea, 
and  incorporated  under  its  present  name  in 
1718,  but  that  name  was  sunk,  when  the  town 
became  a  part  of  Warren  in  1746.  And  not* 
withstanding  the  population  considerably  in- 
creased for  the  next  twenty-four  years,  a  major- 
ity of  the  freemen  still  resided  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river  in  1770,  when,  thinking  that  their 
own  interests  would  be  better  served  by  a  di- 
vision of  the  Town,  and  believing  that  they 
were  unfairly  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the  people 
on  this  side  of  the  river,  they  petitioned  the 
Legislature  to  be  set  off  as  a  town  by  them- 
selves, under  their  former  name  of  Barrington. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE, 


113 


'  The  measure  was  opposed  by  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  the  population  ;  but  in  1770,  the  Legis- 
lature, yielding  to  the  demands  of  the  majority^ 
passed  an  act,  the  concluding  part  of  which  is 
as  follows  :  "  All  the  lands  on  the  westerly  side 
of  the  river  that  extends  itself  from  between 
Bristol  and  Rumstick  Northerly  to  Miles' 
Bridge,  is  to  be  made  a  township,  and  called 
Barrington."  The  name  of  Barrington  was 
thus  revived,  after  having  been  extinct  for 
twenty-four  years. 

'  The  separate  organization  of  the  Warren 
Baptist  Church  grew  out  of  the  circumstances 
in  which  Brown  University  originated,  both 
being  formed  at  about  the  same  time,  and  mu- 
tually connected  in  the  agency  by  which  they 
were  established.  As  early  as  the  year  1707, 
the  Philadelphia  Association,  composed  of  the 
Baptist  Churches  in  that  vicinity,  was  formed, 
with  the  view  of  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
Baptist  interests  in  An: erica.  At  an  early  pe- 
riod, they  projected  plans  for  the  education  of 
a  suitable  ministry :  but  at  that  time,  almost 
every  College  in  the  country  v/as  so  much  un- 
<ier  the  restrictions  of  denominational  govern- 


114  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

ance,  that  for  a  candidate  for  the  Baptist  min- 
istry to  be  educated  in  one  of  them,  was  too 
often  attended  with  a  humiliating  sacrifice  of 
feeling,  personal  position,  and  even  of  honora- 
ble Christian  principle  itself.  Even  so  late  as 
1780,  the  Massachusetts  government  allowed 
none  but  Congregational  ministers  to  be  over- 
seers in  the  University  at  Cambridge.* 

Accordingly,  the  "  Philadelphia  Baptist  As- 
sociation obtained  such  an  acquaintance  with 
the  affairs  ot  Rhode-Island,  as  to  bring  them- 
selves to  an  apprehension  that  it  was  practi- 
cable and  expedient  to  erect  a  College  in  the 
Colony  of  Rhode-Island,  under  the  chief  di- 
rection of  the  Baptists,  in  which  education 
might  be  promoted,  and  superior  learning 
obtained,  free  from  any  sectarian  religious 
tests."t 

The  distinct  project  of  establishing  a  Bap- 
tist College  in  this  State,  seems  to  have  origi- 
nated in  the  mind  of  Morgan  Edwards,  a  cel- 
ebrated Baptist  clergyman  of  Wales,  who,  in 
1761,  left  his  native  country,  and  arriving  in 


*  Backus,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  47. 
1  Backus,  Vol.  HI,  p.  235. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  115 

Philadelphia,  became  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  in  that  city.  He  at  once  be- 
came the  moving  cause  of  various  enterprises, 
which  have  placed  the  Baptist  churches  in  this 
country  under  great  obligation  to  remember 
the  talents  and  time  which  he  devoted  to  their 
best  interests,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

Immediately  after  the  plan  of  a  College  was 
attempted,  Mr.  Edwards  put  forth  vigorous  ex- 
ertions at  home  and  abroad,  in  raising  money 
and  obtaining  books  for  the  Institution,  and  he 
was  mainly  instrumental  in  procuring  for  it  a 
Charter  in  this  State.  In  the  later  periods  of 
his  life,  Mr.  Edwards  deemed  this  the  greatest 
service  he  ever  did  for  the  honor  of  the  Baptist 
name.* 

After  the  plan  for  forming  a  College  in  this 
State  was  distinctly  projected  by  the  Philadel- 
phia Association,  in  17G2,  they  selected  as  a 
suitable  leader  in  the  important  work,  Mr.  James 
Manning,  who,  in  September  of  the  same  year, 
had  taken  his  first  degree  in  the  College  of 


'  Funeral  Sermon  by  Dr.  Wm  Rogers  :  from  12th 
No.  of  Rippon's  Annual  Register. 


ii6  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

New-Jersey.  In  the  following  year,  while  on 
a  voyage  to  Halifax,  in  Nova-Scotia,  having 
been  directed  to  visit  Rhode-Island,  he  landed 
at  Newport,  and  proposed  the  subject  of  his 
mission  to  several  gentlemen  of  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination, among  whom  were  the  Hon.  Sam- 
uel Ward,  then  Governor  of  this  State,  Hon. 
Josias  Lyndon,  who  was  also  afterwards  Gov- 
ernor, Col.  John  Gardiner,  Deputy  Governor, 
and  twelve  others  of  the  same  persuasion,  who 
readily  concurred  with  the  proposal,  and  enter- 
ed upon  the  use  of  the  means  to  accomplish  it.* 
Notwithstanding  various  secret  contrivances, 
and  some  open  attempts  were  made  to  defeat 
the  enterprise,  an  a  nple  Charter  for  the  pur- 
pose was  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  this 
State,  in  February,  1764. 

It  immediately  became  a  question  of  great 
practical  interest,  as  to  where  the  College 
should  be  located.  No  funds  had  as  yet  been 
collected,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  College 
could  not  support  itself,  at  least  in  its  feeble 
beginning.     It  was  therefore  necessary  to  con- 


Backus,  Vol.  II,  p.  236. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  117 

aect  it  with  some  other  situation,  whose  pecun- 
iary income  would  furnish  means  for  helping 
to  assist  the  College.  At  that  time  there  were 
nearly  sixty  Baptist  communicants  residing  in 
the  Town  of  Warren,  the  majority  of  whom 
held  their  membership  with  the  Swanzea 
church,  and  nearly  all  of  them  seem  to  have 
preferred  to  be  considered  as  a  branch  of  that 
venerable  church,  in  whose  communion  they 
and  their  forefathers  had  found  so  much  edifi- 
cation and  comfort. 

It  was  with  reluctance  they  could  be  induc- 
ed to  leave  a  church,  so  time-honored  in  name, 
and  so  prosperous  in  state.  But  as  the  popu- 
lation of  this  village  was  then  rapidly  increas- 
ing, it  became  obvious  that  the  time  had  arriv- 
ed, when  they  would  best  secure  their  religious 
welfare,  by  continuing  no  longer  as  a  branch 
of  the  mother  church  in  Swanzea,  but  by  form- 
ing themselves  into  a  separate  and  independent 
body.  After  much  prayerful  deliberation,  it 
was  concluded  by  the  Baptists  in  this  Town, 
on  the  one  part,  and  by  the  friends  of  the  Col- 
lege, on  the  other,  that  Mr.  Manning  should 
remove  to  this  place,  with  the  view  both  of  or- 
ganizing a  church,  and  of  beginning  the  Co^ 


lis  HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE. 

lege ;  and  in  the  summer  of  1764,  removing 
with  his  family  from  New-Jersey,  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  this  village.  He  immediately 
opened  a  preparatory  Latin  school,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  was  diligently  employed  in 
preaching  the  Gospel,  having  been  previously 
ordained  by  the  Baptist  church  at  Scotch  Plains, 
near  Elizabeth-Town,  N.  Jersey,  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Miller.* 

On  the  15th  day  of  November,  1764,  the 
Church  in  this  place  was  constituted,  being 
composed  at  its  organization  of  fifty-eight  mem- 
bers, thirty-five  of  whom  had  been  received 
from  the  Swanzea  church,  and  twenty-three 
others,  some  of  them  having  been  baptized  by 
the  ReV:  Samuel  Maxwell,  who  had  preached 
for  a  time  in  this  town,  some  having  been  bap- 
tized by  the  Rev.  Gardner  Thurston,  of  New- 
port, and  some  by  Mr.  Manning,  after  he  arriv- 
ed in  this  place.  By  previous  appointment, 
the  members  intending  to  be  formed  into  a 
church,  had  engaged  the  Rev.  John  Gano  of 
New-York,  the  Rev.  Gardner  Thurston  of  New- 


Appendix  I. 


HISTORICAL    BISCOURSi;.  119 

"port,  and  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Hinds  of  Middle- 
"boro',  Mass.  to  assist  in  the  proposed  constitu- 
tion. The  day  being  kept  in  the  solemn 
exercise  of  fasting  and  prayer,  "  in  the  forenoon 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Thurston  preached  a  sermon,  and 
after  a  short  intermission  of  service,  the  people 
returned,  and  the  Rev.  John  GanO)  James 
Manning,  and  Ebenezer  Hinds,  each  made  a 
prayer  suitable  to  the  occasion,  after  which, 
the  church  covenant,  previously  prepared  by 
Dr.  Manning,  was  presented  and  read."* 

After  the  constituent  members  had  signed 
the  covenant,  "  they  were  asked  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Manning,  whether  they  in  the  presence  of 
that  assembly,  viewed  that  as  their  covenant 
and  plan  of  union  in  a  church  relation,  which 
question  was  answered  by  them  all  in  the  af- 
firmative, standing  up  ;  after  which,  three  of 
the  brethren,  Samuel  Hix,  Amos  Haile,  and 
John  Coomer,  in  behalf  of  the  Church,  pre- 
sented a  call,  previously  prepared  by  the  breth- 
ren, to  the  Rev.  James  Manning  to  become 
their  pastor.f     The  call   was  read  publicly  by 

*  Appendix  K.  t  Appendix  L. 


120  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

the  Rev.  Mr,  Gano,  after  which,  he  asked  the 
Rev.  James  Manning  if  he  accepted  it,  which 
was  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

"  Then  Mr.  Gano  preached  a  sermon,  suita- 
ble to  the  occasion,  in  which  he  reminded  both 
pastor  and  people  of  their  respective  duties, 
and  urged  the  mutual  performance  of  both, 
from  those  important  motives  which  the  nature 
of  the  relation  requires.  Thus  ended  the  so- 
lemnities of  the  day.* 

From  this  time  onward,  during  the  six  years 
of  Dr.  Manning's  ministry,  the  Church  and 
College  increased  and  flourished  together. 
Having  already  commenced  the  business  of  in- 
struction by  opening  a  Latin  school  immediate- 
ly on  his  arrival  in  this  town,  Dr.  Manning  had 
prepared  the  way  for  beginning  the  Collet, 
when,  in  Sept.  1765,  he  was  elected  its  Presi- 
dent :  but  he  seems  to  have  been  the  only  in- 
structer  till  in  1766,  when  the  late  Hon.  David 
Howell,  a  graduate  of  New-Jersey  College  in 
that  year,  was  appointed  the  first  Tutor  in  the 

'*  Quoted  from  the  Church  Books 


HISl-rtRlCAL    DISC'OLRSS.  121 

College.*  The  next  year,  (1767,)  the  Rev. 
Morgan  Edwards — to  use  his  own  words — 
*'  set  out  for  Europe  to  solicit  money  towards 
.paying  the  salary  of  the  President  and  Assis- 
tant ;  for  hitherto  we  had  no  funds  ;  and  suc- 
ceeded pretty  well,  considering  how  angry  the 
-mother  country  was  with  the  colonies,  for  op- 
,posing  the  stamp  act.  Afterwards  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Hezekiah  Smith  and  others  gathered  small 
^ums  in  America,  for  the  same  purpose,  but 
after  all,  the  endowment  is  so  scanty,  that 
^;he  College  is  in  arrears  to  the  President 
to  this  day,  who  has  suffered  considerably  by 
it." 

But  notwithstanding  the  pecuniary  embar- 
rassment of  the   College,  the  Church,  accord- 


*  "  During  a  large  portion  of  his  protracted  life,  Mr. 
•Howell  was  connected  with  the  College  in  Rhode- 
Island.  For  three  years,  he  was  a  tutor,  and  the  first 
ever  appointed  in  that  institution;  for  nine  .years, 
l*rofes3or  of  Natural  Philosophy ;  for  thirty-four 
years,  Professor  of  Law  ;  for  fifty-two  years,  a  mem- 
hev  of  the  Board  of  Fellows  ;  and  for  many  yearn, 
Secretary  of  the  Corporation."  Prof.  Goddard's  Me- 
moir of  Dr.  Manning. 
L 


123  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

ing  to  the  agreement  they  made  in  their  call 
to  Dr.  Manning  to  the  pastorate,  appear  to  have 
given  him  a  liberal  support.  Shortly  after  the 
Church  was  organized,  and  the  College  estab- 
lished, a  house  of  worship  was  erected  over  the 
precise  spot  occupied  by  the  one  recently  re- 
moved, and  about  two  thirds  of  the  size  of  the 
one  lately  taken  down  on  the  north  side  of  this 
Edifice,  and  overlapping  a  few  feet  of  ground 
covered  by  it;  and  a  spacious  mansion  was 
erected,  for  the  double  purpose  of  a  College' 
and  parsonage,  on  the  land  occupied  by  the" 
eastern  and  middle  parts  of  the  spacious  house' 
of  worship  in  which  we  are  now  convened.*" 

The  first  Commencement  was  held  in  the 
Meeting-House,  Sept.  7,  1769,  when  seven 
young  men,  matriculated  in  1765,  took  their' 
first  Degree  in  the  Arts.t  Of  these,  the  Rev. 
Charles  Thompson,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Man- 
ning in  the  pastorate  of  this  Church,  took  the 
highest  honors,  and  pronounced  the  Valedictory 
Address.  Two  more  of  this  class  were  emi- 
nently useful  Baptist  Ministers ;  one  of  whom, 

'  Appendix  M.  t  Appendix  N. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  123 

the  Rev.  William  Rogers,  D.  D,  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  Morgan  Edwards,  as  pastor  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Philadelphia,  and  for 
many  years  was  Professor  of  Oratory  and  Belles 
Lettres  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania ; — the 
other,  was  the  Rev.    William    Williams,  for 
many  years  pastor  of  the  Baptist   Church  in 
Wrentham,  Mass.  and  who  was  elected  to  the 
Fellowship  of  the  College  in  1789.     Mr.  Wil- 
liams, in  the  course  of  his  ministry,  instructed 
many  young  men  in  the  study  of  theology,  and 
probably  prepared  more  young  men  for  Rhode- 
Island  College,   than  any  other  man,  since  its 
beginning.    A  fourth  member  of  this  Class,  was 
Generai  James   Blitcliell   Varnum,    afterwards 
distinguished  for  his  eloquence  as  a  member  of 
Congress  from  the  State  of  Rhode-Island,  and 
was  also   a  Brigadier-General  in  the  American 
army   in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,   and  was 
subsequently   appointed   Judge  of  the  North- 
Western  Territory,  whither  he  removed  in  1787, 
and  died  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  in  1790,  aged  forty 
years.* 

*  See  Memoir  of  Gen.   Varnuni,  in  the  "  Memoirs, 
'•f  the  Rhode-Island  Bar,"  by  Wilkins  Updike,  Esq. 


124 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


In  immediate  connection  with  the  origin  of 
the  College  and  Church  in  this  place,  was  formed 
the  Warren  Association,  the  oldest  Baptist  As- 
sociation of  the  kind  in  N.  England,  which  took 
its  name  from  this  place,  where  its  first  meeting 
was  held,  in  1767.  Various  measures  had  be- 
fore been  repeatedly  resorted  to,  by  Baptist 
Churches  in  some  parts  of  New-England,  to 
combine  their  exertions,  in  order  to  procure 
exemption  of  the  civil  government,  from  the 
'*  ministerial  Taxes,"  and  other  annoyances  of 
the  kind,  to  which  they  were  subjected  by  the 
"  Standing  Order."  In  every  colony  in  Ne\y- 
England,  except  Rhode-Island,  the  Baptists 
were  exposed  to  various  civil  disabilities,  vvhile 
all  the  protests  and  remonstrances  to  which 
they  resorted,  had  proved  unavailing.  In  Mas- 
sachusetts, however,  the  appeals  of  their  min- 
isters and  churches  had  begun  to  incline  the 
Legislature  toward  a  more  lenient  policy  :* 
which,  awakening  in  the  Baptists,  the  spirit  of 
hope,  they  applied  to  several  of  their  indepen-. 
dent  sister   churches  in  the  other  colonies,  to, 

^  Appendix  O. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  125 

enter  into  an  association,   to  be  based  on  prin- 
ciples of  mutual  right  and  advantage,  and  social 
and  moral  equality,  the  main  object  of  which 
should  be  to  produce  a  closer  agreement  among 
themselves,  and  to  exert  a  joint  influence  over 
their  fellow-citizens  in  the  respective  colonies, 
and  their  Legislatures,  in  order  to  gain  the  same 
<iivil  and  religious  freedom,  which  had  hitherto 
been  monopolized  by  the  "  Standing  Order." 
On  the  2Sth   of  August,    1766,   the  Warren 
Church  voted,  "  That  an  Association  be  enter- 
ed into  with  sundry  churches  of  the  same  faith 
and  order,  as  it  was  judged  a  likely  method  to 
promote  the  peace  of  the  churches."     As  the 
location  of  the  College  in  conjunction  with  the 
church,   had  now  made  this  village  a  place  of 
resort  and  a  general  rallying-point,  for  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Denomination  in  these  re- 
gions, it  was  deemed  best  to  connect  the   an- 
nual meeting  of  the  Association  with  the  anni- 
versary of  Commencement,    so   that   all   who 
came  from  a  distance  might  have  the  opportu- 
nity of  attending  on  both  occasions.     Accord- 
ingly, the  anniversary  of  the  Association  was 
fixed  on  the  first  Tuesday  after  Commencement, 
which  order  of  time,  in  the  respective  auiiiver- 


126        HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE. 

saries  of  the  College  and  of  the  Associatioi^ 
has  ever  since  been  observed.* 

Immediately  after  the  first  Commencement, 
the  College  began  to  grow  in  social  importance, 
and  public  attention,  far  and  near,  was  attract- 
ed to  it.  As  no  public  edifice  was  yet  erected 
for  its  permanent  accommodation,  applications 
were  made  to  the  Corporation  from  the  counties 
of  Providence,  Newport,  and  Kent,  for  its  es- 
tablishment among  them,  each  holding  out 
strong  inducements,  in  competition  with  this 
town,  for  the  honor  and  benefit  of  its  location. 
This  church,  immediately  after  the  first  Com- 
mencement, voted  that  "  The  Meeting-House 
in  this  Town  be  and  is,  for  the  use  of  the  Cor- 
poration and  President  at  Commencement 
times ;  and  oftener,  if  wanted  by  either,  only 
so  as  not  to  interfere  with  Divine  Worship  : 
Provided,  that  the  College  Edifice  be  founded 
and  built  in  the  County  of  Bristol ;  and  that 
the  Parsonage  House  in  said  Warren  be  for  the 
use  of  the  President,  so  long  as  the  President 
be  our  Minister." 


*  Appendix  P. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  1*^7 

As  the  place  for  the  permanent  location  of 
the  College  was  still  undetermined,  the  four 
towns  of  Warren,  Providence,  Newport,  and 
East-Greenwich,  in  four  different  counties  of 
the  State,  all  preferred  their  claims  as  being, 
each  respectively,  the  most  eligible  situation. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  public  mind 
was  greatly  agitated  by  the  contention  which 
grew  out  of  these  conflicting  claims.  Mr. 
Edwards,  in  referring  to  the  subject,  says, 
*'  Warren  was  at  first  agreed  on  as  a  proper 
situation,  where  a  small  wing  was  to  be  erected 
in  the  spring  of  1770,  and  about  .£800  raised 
towards  effecting  it.  But  soon  afterwards, 
some  who  were  unwilling  it  should  be  there, 
and  some  who  were  unwilling  it  should  be  any- 
where, did  so  far  agree  as  to  lay  aside  the  said 
location,  and  propose  that  the  county  which 
should  raise  the  most  money,  should  have  the 
college." 

The  two  ablest  competitors  in  this  contest 
were  the  towns  of  Providence  and  Newport. 
The  latter  town  raised  <£4000  by  subscription, 
but  Providence  gained  the  advantage,  by  raising 
^4280,  and  after  an  earnest  discussion  on  the 
merits  of  the  conflicting  claims,  the  Corpora- 


128  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

tion,  on  the  7th  of  February,  1770,  decided  by 
a  vote  of  twenty-one  to  fourteen,  that  the  edi- 
fice be  built  in  the  town  of  Providence,  and 
there  be  continued  forever.* 

But  as  Dr.  Manning  had  been  identified  with 
the  College  from  its  first  foundation,  and  was 
the  soul  of  its  prosperity,  a  great  practical  dif- 
ficulty arose  between  the  Corporation  and  the 
Warren  church,  as  to  which  he  must  relinquish. 
He  was  devotedly  attached  to  his  people,  and 
they  were  as  devotedly  attached  to  him ;  and 
when  the  alternative  was  presented,  he  was 
about  to  resign  his  presidency,  rather  than  his 
pastorate.  After  considerable  correspondence 
between  the  Corporation  of  the  College,  and 
the  Warren  Church  and  Congregation,  Dr. 
Manning  was  persuaded  to  resign  his  charge 
of  the  church  :  and  in  the  following  May,  1770, 
removed  with  his  undergraduates  to  Provi- 
dence ; — which,  in  the  language  of  the  church 
records,  "  was  to  the  wonderment  of  his  people, 
he  being  greatly  admired  and  renowned,  before 


*  Manuscript  Letter  of  Dr.  Manning  to  Dr.  Heze- 
kiah  Smith,  dated  Warren,  Feb.  12,  1770. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


129 


he  rejected  his  people,  which  was  in  the  sixth 
year  of  his  ministry."  The  grief  of  the  church 
in  the  removal  of  their  admired  and  beloved 
pastor,  had  its  counterpart  in  the  dissatisfaction 
and  chagrin  of  the  town  in  losing  half  of  their 
territory  in  the  same  year,  when  Harrington 
was  partitioned  off,  and  erected  into  a  separate 
township. 

After  the  church  had  been  destitute  of  a  pas- 
tor for  about  one  year,  they  called  Mr.  Charles 
Thompson,  the  valedictorian  of  the  first  grad- 
uating class,  to  preach  to  them,  and  by  the 
assistance  of  Elders  Ebenezer  Hinds  of  Middle- 
boro',  and  Noah  Alden  of  Bellingham,  he  was 
ordained  to  the  pastoral  charge,  July  3,  1771. 
He  was  born  at  Amwell,  New-Jersey,  April 
14,  1748,  and  became  pastor  of  the  church  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three.  A  great  blessing  at- 
tended his  ministry ;  so  that  during  the  four 
years  of  his  pastorate,  the  membership  of  the 
church  was  almost  doubled.  But  when  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  broke  out,  in  1775,  its  per- 
nicious effects  were  sorely  felt  by  this  people. 
Mr.  Thompson  was  appointed  a  chaplain  in  the 
American  army,  which  office  he  held  till  1778, 
when  being   at  home  on  a  visit,  the  English 


130 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


troops  came  up  to  Warren*  on  the  morning  of 
May  25,  1778,  and  burned  the  Meeting-House, 
Parsonage-House,  an  Arsenal  and  several  pri- 
vate dwellings,  and  carried  Mr.  Thompson  away 
as  a  prisoner,  and  confined  him  at  Newport, 
from  which  he  was  released  in  about  a  month, 
by  what  means  he  never  knew. 

After  this,  he  preached  some  time  at  Ash- 


*  The  occasion  of  the  attack  upon  Warren,  was 
that  General  Sullivan  having  been  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  American  forces  on  Rhode-Island,  the 
English,  who  were  blockaded  at  Newport  by  the 
French  fleet,  were  anticipating  an  attack  upon  the 
Island  by  the  Americans  from  the  main.  To  defeat 
this  design,  the  English  commander  sent  500  men  up 
the  river,  who  landed  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of 
the  25th  of  May,  between  Bristol  and  Warren,  and 
moved  in  two  detachments,  the  one  for  Warren, 
where  they  destroyed  the  Meeting-House  and  Par- 
sonage House,  blew  up  the  Arsenal,  and  burnt  up 
other  property ; — the  other,  for  the  head  of  Kicke- 
muit  river,  where  the  boats  were  building  for  the 
American  expedition,  and  there  they  destroyed  about 
seventy  flat-bottomed  boats,  set  fire  to  one  state 
galley,  and  burnt  a  large  quantity  of  pitch,  tar,  ship- 
timber  and  other  property  belonging  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, at  that  place. 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.        131 

ford,  Connecticut,  till  1779,  when  he  became 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Swanzea.  So  great 
was  the  shock  which  this  population  sustained 
by  the  calamities  of  the  war,  that  the  church 
and  people  were  very  much  scattered,  many  of 
them  taking  refuge  in  the  interior  of  the  coun- 
try, and  so  few  remained,  that  no  public  relig- 
ious meetings  were  held  for  several  years.  A 
'large  part  of  the  remaining  members  of  the 
church  resumed  their  membership  with  the  ma- 
ternal church  in  Swanzea,  upon  the  condition 
that  they  should  have  full  liberty  to  be  dismiss- 
■ed  when  the  Providence  of  God  should  permit 
the  Warren  church  to  be  re-organized. 

Thus,  after  this  church  had  maintained  u 
separate  existence  for  fifteen  years,  it  again 
merged  into  the  original  church,  of  which  the 
Baptists  residing  in  this  village  and  immediate 
vicinity,  had  formerly  been  a  branch  for  about 
one  hundred  years,  previous  to  the  separate 
organization  of  this  church  in  1764.  It  was 
this  union  and  agreement  between  the  two 
churches,  that  encouraged  Mr.  Thompson  to 
become  the  pastor  of  the  Swanzea  church,  on 
the  7th  of  October,  1777.  Immediately  after 
Mr.    Thompson   commenced   his   ministry   at 


133  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Swanzea,  new  life  was  infused  into  the  church, 
and  a  glorious  revival  of  religion  ensued,  during 
which  he  baptized  seventy-five  persons,  about 
thirty  of  whom  resided  in  Warren.  The  con- 
nection of  the  Warren  with  the  Swanzea  breth- 
ren appears  to  have  been  distinguished  with 
the  happiest  influences.  It  was  not  till  after 
the  war,  that  this  church  ceased  to  be  a  branch 
of  the  maternal  church  at  Swanzea,  and  resum- 
ed its  Separate  existence.  On  the  5th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1784,  the  congregation  in  this  place 
resolved  to  build  another  House  of  Worship, 
on  the  same  spot  where  their  former  one  had 
stood  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  following  year^^. 
they  erected  the  Meeting-House  recently  taken 
down,  which  has  been  so  dear  to  the  religious 
Associations  of  a  large  part  of  this  congregation, 
from  their  earliest  childhood. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1785,  the  Legislature 
granted  a  charter  to  the  Benevolent  Baptist 
Society,  composedof  Baptist  members  and  oth-^ 
ers  friendly  to  their  interests,  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  a  permanent  fund  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  ministry  in  the  Baptist  Church 
and  Society  in  Warren.  The  House  of  Wor- 
ship having  been  erected,  and  a  chartered  So- 


HISTORICAT,    DISCOURSE.  13'3 

ciety  established,  with  a  fund  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry,  in  September  of  1786,  the  for- 
mer members  of  the  church,  and  others  who 
had  been  elsewhere  dispersed,  were  again  re- 
organized on  the  basis  of  their  former  covenant 
and  plan  of  union. 

Although  the  former  miembers  of  the  Warren 
church  had  encouraged  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Thompson  at  Swanzea,  after  their  own  church 
was  broken  up  in  the  war,  it  was  evidently  with 
the  expectation  that  he  might  become  their  pas- 
tor again,  whenever  they  should  be  re-organ- 
ized. His  ministry,  however,  had  been  so  em- 
inently successful  at  Swanzea,  and  his  engage- 
ments as  a  teacher  of  youth  were  such,  that  he 
could  not  honorably  relinquish  his  station,  and 
he  continued  the  beloved  and  useful  pastor  of 
the  old  Swanzea  church,  till  1803,  when  he 
removed  to  Charlton,  Mass.  where  soon  after, 
May  1,  1803,  he  died  of  the  consumption.* 

After  the  church  had  been  re-organized  in 
Sept.  1786,  in  the  following  month  the  Rev. 
John  Pitman,  removing  with  his  family  to  this 


*  Appendix  Q. 


134  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

town,  became  the  pastor  of  the  church,  having 
been  previously  ordained  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  Mr.  Pitman's  labors  were  very  ac- 
ceptable and  edifying  to  the  church,  and  at- 
tended with  a  moderate  increase  of  its  member- 
ship, having  baptized  eighteen  persons  during 
the  three  and  a  half  years  of  his  pastorate. 
Early  in  the  summer  of  1790,  he  resigned  his 
pastoral  office,  and  removed  to  Providence.* 
For  a  period  of  three  years  and  a  half,  aft 
the  removal  of  Mr.  Pitman,  the  church  wei 
destitute  of  a  pastor,  during  which  time  thr  , 
were  supplied  with  preaching,  principally  by 
the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Cole,  subsequently  of  Plain- 
field,  Conn,  and  by  various  other  ministers, 
who  visited  the  place.  At  length,  in  October 
of  1793,  Mr.  Luther  Baker,  born  in  this  town, 
June  11,  1770,  was  called  by  the  church  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  and  to  the  pastorship  of 
the  church,  which  soon  began  to  revive,  under 
his  care.  Mr.  Baker's  ministry  at  several  peri- 
ods was  blessed  with  extensive  and  powerful 
revivals  of  religion.     In  the  year  1805,  ninety 

*  Appendix  R. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


155 


persons  were  added  to  the  church,  nearly  all  of 
them  by  baptism.  Another  revival  commenced 
immediately  after  the  session  of  the  Warren 
Association,  which  was  held  in  this  place  in 
Sept.  1812,  in  which  over  sixty  were  baptized 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 

Within  the  period  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baker's 
ministry,  and  especially  within  the  forty  years 
extending  from  the  great  revival  in  1805,  up 
to  the  present  time,  this  church  has  been  re- 
peatedly blessed  with  refreshing  seasons  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord.  The  most  extensive 
and  powerful  work  of  grace,  known  by  the  name 
of  a  revival  of  religion,  which  this  church  has 
ever  experienced,  began  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  winter  of  18'20,  after  a  season  of  peculiar 
darkness  and  difficulty.  The  church  had  been 
divided  in  her  councils,  and  greatly  perplexed 
in  the  exercise  of  discipline,  in  matters  which 
related  to  their  former  pastor,  and  dissatisfac- 
tion crrowinor  out  of  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing  his  resignation.  They  had  been  for  some 
time  without  a  pastor  ;  but  under  the  faithful 
preaching  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gano,  of  Providence, 
who  with  others,  frequently  visited  this  people 
at  that  time,  in  the  fulness  of  the  blessinor  of 


136  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

the  Gospel,  and  with  an  unction  from  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  this  weary  heritage  all  at  once 
became  greatly  revived  ;  and  an  overpowering 
religious  influence  was  felt  by  this  population, 
which  was  never  equalled  by  any  thing  of  the 
kind,  before  or  since.  On  the  11th  of  March, 
of  that  year,  the  Rev,  Flavel  ShurtlefF  began 
his  ministry,  which,  in  conjunction  with  the 
faithful  labors  of  Dr.  Gano  and  others,  was 
blessed  by  the  great  refreshing  of  the  church, 
and  the  conversion  of  a  multitude  of  the  im- 
penitent. In  a  few  months,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  were  added  to  the  church,  nearly  all  by 
baptism,  who,  with  many  others  that  joined 
other  churches,  were  the  subjects  of  this  gra- 
cious visitation. 

But  the  period  of  time,  extending  from  the 
present,  up  to  the  great  revival  under  Mr.  Ba- 
ker's ministry,  is  so  familiarly  known  to  many 
who  still  live  to  relate  what  they  were  personal 
witnesses  of,  and  the  existing  records  of  the 
church  are  so  full  of  the  transactions  of  the 
last  forty  years,  that  it  would  only  be  an  easy 
work  of  compilation,  to  fill  up  many  pages  with 
events  of  glowing  interest,  and  sketches  of  re- 
markable character.     The  limits  of  this  Dis- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  137 

course,  already  too  much  extended,  forbid  us 
the  easy  and  pleasant  task  of  detailing  the  ma- 
terials of  history,  so  abundantly  to  be  found  in 
the  records  of  the  church,  in  the  personal  rec- 
ollections of  many  of  its  living  members,  and 
in  occasional  publications  containing  allusions 
to  this  church  and  people. 

Mine  has  been  the  more  difficult,  though  not 
less  pleasant  duty,  of  unfolding  to  view  the 
sources  of  our  religious  and  social  existence, 
by  collecting  facts  and  testimonials,  many  of 
which  had  become  well  nigh  lost  forever,  and 
most  of  which  were  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
present  generation.  It  must  be  the  work  of 
some  future  pastor  or  historian  of  this  church, 
to  take  up  its  history  at  the  points  where  we 
leave  it,  and  embody  those  materials  which  are 
much  less  likely  to  become  lost,  than  those 
which  have  furnished  the  sketches  presented 
in  these  pages.* 


*The  original  Records  of  this  church,  from  its  or- 
ganization in  1764,  to  the  burning  of  the  meeting- 
house and  parsonage  house  in  May,  1778,  were  mostly 
destroyed  in  that  fire.  The  Providence  of  God^ 
however,  so  ordered  it,  that  Mr.  John  Throop,  led  by 


138  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

This  church  has  had  from  the  beginning,  up 
to  the  present  time,  nine  regular  Pastors. 

The  First  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Man- 
ning, a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  in  the 
class  of  1762,  began  with  the  church,  Nov.  15, 
1764,  and  resigned  April  26, 1770, 

The  Second  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Charles  Thomp- 
son, a  graduate  of  Brown  University  in  the  class 
of  1769,  became  pastor  of  the  church,  March 
31,  1771,  and  closed  his  connection  with  the 
church,  when  it  was  scattered  and  disorganiz- 
ed by  the  burning  of  the  meeting-house.  May 
25,  1778. 

The  Third  Pastor,  the  Rev.  John  Pitman, 
became  Pastor  immediately  after  the  re-organ- 
ization of  the  church,  October  26,  1786,  and 
resigned  in  June,  1790. 

The  Fourth  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Luther  Baker, 
was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and 
to  the  pastorship  of  this  church,  on  the  third 

principles  of  friendship  to  the  church,  had  taken  a 
complete  copy  of  the  records,  up  to  November  30, 
1769 ;  which  with  disconnected  fragments  of  the  orig- 
inal records  saved  from  the  fire,  were  afterwards 
copied  into  the  Church  Books  by  William  Turner 
Miller  after  the  re-organization  of  the  church. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  139 

Thursday  of  October,  1793,  and  resigned  No- 
vember 1,  1814. 

The  Fifth  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Silas  Hall,  a 
graduate  of  Brown  University  in  the  class  of 
1809,  was  called  to  the  pastorate,  and  accepted 
the  call,  on  the  day  of  Mr.  Baker's  resignation, 
Nov.  1, 1814,  and  resigned  May  1,  1817. 

The  Sixth  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Chessman, 
a  graduate  of  Brown  University,  in  the  class  of 
1811,  and  a  licentiate  of  the  Second  Baptist 
church  in  Boston,  was  ordained  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry  and  to  the  pastorship  of  this  church, 
March  5,  1818,  having  supplied  the  pulpit  from 
August  of  the  preceeding  year.  He  was  dis- 
missed by  the  church,  Jan.  23,  1820. 

The  Seventh  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Flavel  Shurt- 
leff,  a  graduate  of  Brown  University  in  the 
class  of  1814,  commenced  his  labors  as  min- 
ister, March  11, 1820,  and  resigned,  September 
18,  1821. 

The  Eighth  Pastor,  the  Rev.  John  C.  Welsh, 
a  recent  member  of  Waterville  College,  and  a 
licentiate  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Boston, 
was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  and 
to  the  pastorship  of  this  church,  June  11,  1823, 
and  resigned;  November  I,  1840. 


140  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

The  Ninth  Pastor,  and  the  present  incum- 
bent, a  graduate  of  Brown  University  in  the 
class  of  1838,  was  recognized  as  Pastor,  April 
23, 1842. 

During  the  organized  existence  of  the  church, 
embracing  the  intervals  between  its  pastors,  it 
has  been  without  pastoral  care,  the  aggregate 
sum  of  eight  and  a  half  years. 

The  present  number  of  members  is  264 

The  whole  number  of  members  from  the  begin- 
ning is  770 
Of  these  there  were  at  its  first  organization,  58 
Added  by  Dr.  Manning,  in  six  years,  15 
Added  by  Mr.  Thompson,  unknown.* 
Added,  at  the  re-organization  in  1786,  by  dis- 
mission from  Swanzea,  of  those  not  formerly 
members  of  this  church,                                           18 
Added   by  Mr.  Pitman,  in  about  three    and 

a  half  years,  21 

Added  by  Mr,  Baker,  in  twenty-one  years,  251 

Added  by  Mr.  Hall  in  two  and  a  half  years,  34 

Added  by  Mr.  Chessman,  in  about  two  years,  3 


*  There  were  undoubtedly  many  persons  baptized 
and  added  to  the  church  under  the  ministry  of  Mr. 
Thompson, — but  the  records  containing  their  names, 
&c.  were  destroyed  by  the  fire.  No  account  of  those 
thus  added,  can  be  included  in  the  summary  oi 
members. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  141 

Added  by  Mr.  ShurtlcfF,  in  one  year  and  a  half,  13B 
[Added  in  the  interval,  2 

Added  by  Mr.  Welsh,  in  seventeen  and  a  half 

years,  179 

Added  in  the  interval,  23 

Added  by  the  present  pastor,  in  three  years  and 

a  quarter,  33 

Julyl,  1845. 

While  this  church  has  not  been  unduly  rigid 
in  the  maintenance  of  its  authority,  and  in  the 
administration  of  discipline,  it  is  yet  the  pain- 
ful fact,  that  since  its  organization,  of  all  the 
members  added,  seventy-six  have  been  excluded 
who  were  not  afterwards  restored,  being  a  frac- 
tion over  ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 

In  these  rapid  outline  sketches  of  our  social 
and  religious  history,  we  have  arrived  at  a 
period  known  to  the  personal  recollections  of 
many  who  are  now  before  me.  Time  only  for- 
bids the  picturing  forth  before  you,  of  those 
familiar  persons  and  events  that  would  awaken 
in  your  hearts  the  recollecton  of  your  dearest 
and  most  sacred  associations. 

Neither  can  we  enforce  at  present  those 
lessons  of  instruction  with  which  the  past  ad- 
dresses us  from  the  dust  and  sepulchre.  We 
have  been  reviewing  the    history  of  remoter. 


142  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

periods,  but  where  are  the  men  whose  lives  and 
whose  actions  we  have  been  recording?  "  Our 
fathers  where  are  they  ?  and  the  prophets,  do 
they  live  forever  ?"  The  glowing  hearts  that 
once  swelled  with  joy,  or  sunk  in  sadness,  at 
the  revival  or  the  declension  of  piety,  are  now 
cold  in  the  grave  :  the  eyes  once  watchful  for 
the  signs  of  the  times,  are  dimmed  forever  ;  the 
voices  that  chanted  the  high  praises  of  Israel's 
God,  are  silent  now;  and  ''the  old  familiar 
faces  are  gone."  Some,  whose  spirit  of  gen- 
erous piety,  longed  to  see  the  day  when  a 
temple,  such  as  we  are  in,  should  be  reared, 
have  not  lived  to  see  it ;  and  even  some  who 
beheld  these  massive  walls  slowly  rising,  have 
never  seen  their  completion ;  they  have  gone 
the  way  of  all  the  earth.  And  we  too  are  dwell- 
ing on  the  banks  of  that  stream  of  time  whose 
rapid  current  is  ever  winding  on  from  the 
eternity  of  the  past,  to  the  eternity  of  the  future; 
we  see  the  moving  course  of  events  on  its  sur- 
face ;  now  they  are  above  us ;  now  they  are 
below  us ;  but  they  never  stop  before  us. 

*' We  can  never  say  they're  here, 

But  only  say  they're  past." 

Meanwhile  we  should  feel  that  we  are  not  liv-^ 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  143 

ing  for  the  present,  nor  for  ourselves;  but  for 
the  future,  and  for  others ;  for  our  families  who 
are  the  hopes  of  the  church  :  for  the  young,  our 
substitutes  in  another  generation,  who  are  to 
receive  our  work  as  we  pass  it  over  to  them, 
and  to  hand  it  on  to  still  coming  aaes  ;  for  our 
country,  whose  existence  and  welfare  must  de- 
pend upon  the  maintenance  of  those  great  prin- 
ciples of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  which  our 
forefathers  brought  to  light  amid  surrounding 
darkness,  and  struggled  for,  amid  cruel  mock- 
ings  and  bloody  sufferings ;  and  for  God,  who 
is  first  and  last,  and  all  and  in  all,  God  over 
all,  blessed    forever. 

In  the  erection  of  this  noble  and  substantial 
Edifice,  we  have  been  doing  a  work,  less  for 
ourselves,  than  as  a  legacy  for  posterity  ;  and 
though  our  eyes  may  not  long  see  these  walls 
our  hands  have  builded, — and  its  earthly  glory 
will  all  fade  away  amid  the  splendors  of  the 
upper  sanctuary,  in  the  New  Jerusalem  ;  yet 
even  then  it  may  not  dim  the  brightness  of  a 
happy  retrospection  to  remember  that  on  earth 
we  were  willing,  as  the  royal  Psalmist  was,  to 
give  a  generous  offering  to  the  outward  beauty 
of  Divine  Worship.     Meanwhile,  we  hope  to' 


144  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSK, 

oifer  up  our  prayers  and  praises,  to  receive  in- 
struction and  encouragement  within  this  tem- 
ple, which  we  have  endeavored  to  render  chaste 
and  beautiful,  but  not  gorgeously  splendid,  nor 
superfluously  expensive;  unadorned  with  tin- 
sel and  tracery,  yet  solemnly  imposing,  and 
complete  in  its  proportions.  Yet  we  do  not 
forget,  that  our  sublime  and  spiritual  religion 
is  not  inconsistent  with  the  severest  exactness 
and  the  utmost  purity  of  taste  ;  that  the  inlets 
of  sensation  are  the  medium  of  our  earliest 
ideas,  our  most  permanent  associations,  and  of 
our  religious  impressions  themselves;  that  while 
they  who  worship  God  acceptably,  must  wor- 
ship Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  we  may  make 
the  sight  of  the  eye  affect  the  heart,  the  hear- 
ing of  the  ear  the  entrance  of  faith,  the  sounds 
of  harmony  the  source  of  inward  melody,  and 
our  lowly  worship  on  earth  the  emblem  as  well 
as  foretaste  of  those  celestial  services  where  the 
worshippers  are  "  before  the  throne  of  God^ 
and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple  : 
and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell 
among  them  ;  and  they  shall  hunger  no  more, 
neither  thirst  any  more  ;  neither  shall  the  sun 
light  on  them,   nor   any  lieat ;  for  the  Lamb 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  14i> 

,vh.ch  ism  the  midst  Of  the  throne  Shall  feed 
them,  and  shdl  lead  them  unto  living  fountains 
of  waters;  and  God   shall  wipe  away  all  tears 

from  their  eyes."  ,..,,„ 

Here,  then,  while  we  dedicate  this  temple  to 
the  spiritual  service  of  a  spiritual  God,  praying 
that  the  glory  of  this  latter  house  may  be  grea  - 
er  than  that  of  either  of  the  former,  let  us  seek 
after  greater  soundness  of  religious  doctrine, 
greater  purity  of  religious  discipline,  greater 
liberality  of  religious  sentiment,  greater  am.a- 
bleness  of  religious  manners,  greater  benevo- 
lencein  religious  philanthropy;  that  we  may 
have  communion  with  the  Father  m  his  house, 
tte  Son  on  his  throne,  and  the  Spirit  in  our 
hearts  ;  that  looking  through  the  v>s.ble  thing 
which  deceive,  to  things  invisible,  which  never 
deceive,  we  may  behold  the  glory  of  that  spirit- 
ual building,  not  made  with  human  hands,-the 
church  itself,  the  body  of  Christ,"  by  w^om 

all  the  building,  fitly  framed  together,  groweth 
unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord;  ."whom  al- 
so we  may  be  builded  together  for  an  habitation 
of  God  through  the  Spirit." 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  we  can  say,  m  the 
spirit  ofpiety  with  wluchthe  Psalmist,  who 


146  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

had  it  in  his  heart  to  build  a  temple  to  the 
Lord,  ''  not  offering  unto  the  Lord  his  God  of 
that  which  cost  him  nothing,"  could  express  his 
joy  at  going  up  to  the  sanctuary,  and  rejoice 
in  the  holy  city,  ''Peace  be  within  thy  walls, 
and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces.  For  my 
brethren  and  companions'  sakes,  I  will  now 
say,  Peace  be  within  thee.  Let  thy  work,  O 
Lord,  appear  unto  thy  servants,  and  thy  glory 
unto  their  children.  And  let  the  beauty  of  the 
Lord  our  God  be  upon  us  ;  and  establish  thou 
the  work  of  our  hands  upon  us;  yea,  the  work 
of  our  hands  establish  thou  it."     Amen- 


i 


APPENDIX, 


APPENDIX. 


Note  A.— Page  33. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  candid  and  independent  spir- 
it of  a  liberal  class  of  men,  who,  like  Dr.  Thomas 
Arnold,  late  of  Oxford,  and  Archbishop  Whately, 
love  the  form  of  episcopal  government,  and  yet  place 
the  question  of  Apostolic  succession  on  its  true  his- 
torical merits,  we  subjoin  a  few  passages  of  Bishop 
Whately,  on  the  "  Difficulty  of  ascertaining  unbroken 
succession." 

But  as  there  are  some  persons  who  are  too  ready 
to  separate  from  any  religious  community  on  slight 
grounds,  or  even  through  mere  caprice,  "  to  heap 
up  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears,"  it 
has  been  thought, — or  at  least  maintained, — that  the 
only  way  of  affording  complete  satisfaction  and  re- 
pose to  the  scrupulous,  and  of  repressing  schism,  is 
to  uphold,  under  the  title  of  "  Church-principles," 
the  doctrine  that  no  one  is  a  member  cf  Christ's 
Church,  and  an  heir  of  the  covenanted  Gospel-pro- 
raises,  who  is  not  under  a  Ministry  ordained  by  Bish- 
ops descended  in  an  unbroken  chain  from  the  Apos- 
tles. K* 


150  APPENDIX. 

Now  what  is  the  degree  of  satisfactory  assurance- 
that  is  thus  afforded  to  the  scrupulous  consciences  ol 
any  members   of  an  Episcopal   Church  ?    If  a  man 
consider  it  as  highly  probable  that  the  particular  Min- 
ister at  whose   hands   he  receives   the  sacred  Ordi- 
nances, is  really  thus  apostolically   descended,  this 
is  the  very  utmost  point  to  which  he  can,  with  any 
semblance  of  reason,  attain  :  and  the  more  he  reflects 
and  inquires,  the  more   cause  for  hesitation  he  will 
find.     There  is  not  a  Minister  in  all   Christendom 
who  is  able  to  trace  up  with  any  approach  to  certainty 
his  own  spiritual  pedigree.     The  sacramental  virtue, 
(for  such  it  is,  that  is  implied, — whether  the  term  be 
used  or  not  in  the  principle  I  have  been  speaking  of) 
dependent  on  the  imposition  of  hands,   with  a  due 
observance  of  apostolical  usages,  by  a  Bishop,  him- 
self duly  consecrated,  after  having  been  in  like  man- 
ner baptized  into  the  Church,  and  ordained  Deacon 
and  Priest, — this  sacramental  virtue,  if  a  single  link 
of  the  chain  be  faulty,  must,  on  the  above  principles, 
be  utterly  nullified  ever  after,  in  respect  of  all  the 
links  that  hang  on  that  one.     For  if  a  Bishop  has  not 
been  duly  consecrated,  or  had   not  been,  previously, 
rightly  ordained,  his  Ordinations  are  null ;  and  so 
are  the  ministrations  of  those  ordained  by  him;  and 
their  Ordination  of  others ;  (supposing  any  of  the 
persons  ordained  by  him  to  attain  to  the  Episcopal 
ofRce)  and  so  on,  without  end.     The  poisonous  taint 
of  informality,  if  it  once  creep   in  undetected,  will 
spread  the  infection  of  nullity  to  an  indefinite  and 
irremediable  extent. 


APPENDIX.  1^1 


And  who  can  undertake  to  pronounce  that  during 
that  long  period  usually  designated  as  the  Dark  Ages 
no  such  taint  ever  was  introduced?    Irregular.t.es 
could  not  have  been  wholly  e.xcluded  without  a  per- 
petual miracle;  and  that  no  such  .mraculons  mter- 
ference  existed,  we   have  even  historical  proof.- 
Amidst  the  numerous  corruptions  of  doctrme  and  of 
practice,  and  gross  superstitions,  that  crept  ,n  dur.ng 
those  ages,  we  find  recorded  descriptions  not  only  of 
he  profound  ignorance    and  profligacy   of    ife,  of 
many  of  the  Clergy,  but  also  of  the  grossest  irreg- 
Tarfties  in  respect  of  discipline  and  form.     We  read 
of  Bishops  consecrated  when  mere  children  ;-of  men 
officiating  who  barely  knew  their  letters;_of  Prelates 
expelled,"  and  others  put  into  their  places,  by  vio- 
lence -of  illiterate  and  profligate  laymen,  and  l.ab- 
tual  drunkards,  admitted  to  Holy   Orders ;  and  in 
short,  of  the  prevalence  of  every  kind  of  disorder 
and  reckless  disregard  of  the   decency   which  the 
Apostle  enjoins.     It  is  inconceivable  that  any  one 
even  moderately  acquainted  with  history,  can  feel  a 
certainty,  or  any  approach  to  certainty,  that,  amidst 
all  this  confusion   and  corruption,  every   requisite 
form  was,  in  every  instance,  strictly  adhered  to.  by 
men,  many  of  them  openly  profane  and  secular,  un- 
restrained by  public  opinion,  through  the  gross  iguo- 
lance  of  the  population  among  which  they  lived ; 
and  that  no  one  not  duly  consecrated  or  ordained, 
was  admitted  to  sacred  offices. 

Even  in  later  and  more  civilized  and  enlightened 
times,  the  probability  of  an  irregularity,  though  verJ 


152  APPENDIX. 

greatly  diminished,  is  yet  diminished  only,  and  not 
absolutely  destroyed.  Even  in  the  memory  of  per- 
sons living,  there  existed  a  Bishop  concerning  whom 
there  was  so  much  mystery  and  uncertainty  prevail- 
ing as  to  when,  where,  and  by  whom,  he  had  been 
ordained,  that  doubts  existed  in  the  mind  of  many 
persons  whether  he  had  ever  been  ordained  at  all.  I 
do  not  say  that  there  was  good  ground  for  the  suspi- 
cion ;  but  I  speak  of  the  fact,  that  it  did  prevail ;  and 
that  the  circumstances  of  the  case  were  such  as  to 
make  manifest  the  jwssihility  of  such  an  irregularity 
occurring  under  such  circumstances. 

Now  let  any  one  proceed  on  the  hypothesis  that 
there  are,  suppose,  but  a  hundred  links  connecting 
any  particular  minister  with  the  Apostles;  and  let 
him  even  suppose  that  not  above  half  of  this  number 
pass  through  such  periods  as  admit  of  any  possible 
irregularity  ;  and  then,  placing  at  the  lowest  estimate 
the  probability  of  defectiveness  in  respect  of  each  of 
the  remaining  fifty,  taken  separately,  let  him  consi- 
der v/hat  amount  of  probability  will  result  from  the 
multiplying  of  the  whole  together.  The  ultimate 
consequence  must  be,  that  any  one  who  sincerely 
believes  that  his  claim  to  the  benefits  of  the  Gospel- 
Covenant  depends  on  his  own  Minister's  claim  to  the 
supposed  sacramental  virtue  of  true  ordination,  and 
this  again,  on  perfect  Apostolical  Succession,  as 
above  described,  must  be  involved,  in  proportion  as 
he  reads,  and  inquires,  and  reflects,  and  reasons,  on 
the  subject,  in  the  most  distressing  doubt  and  per- 
plexity. 


APPENDIX.  l'>^ 


But  .f  each  man's  Christian  hope  is  made  to  rest 
on  h.s  receiving  the    Christian    Ordinances    at    the 
hands  of  a  Minister  to  whom  the  sacramental  vir- 
tue   that    gives    efficacy    to    those    Ordmances    has 
been  transmitted  in  unbroken  succession  irom  hand 
to  hand,  every  thing  must  depend  on  that  parUcuIar 
Minister:    and  his  claim  is  by  no  means  estabhsh- 
ed  from  our  merely  establishing    the  unmterrupted 
existence  ./  such  a  class  of  men  as  ChrisUanMrn 
isters      "You  teach  me,"  a  man  m.ght  say,      that 
my  salvation  depends  on  the    possession   by    you- 
the  particular  Pastor  under  whom  I  am  placed-of 
a  certain  qualification;    and    when    I    ask   for    the 
proof  that  you  possess  it,  you    prove  to  me  that  it 
s  possessed  generally  by  a  certain  c/as.  of  persons, 
cf  whom    you   are    one,    and    probably    by  a  large 
^najority    of  them!"     How    ridiculous  ,t   would    be_ 
thought,    .f  a   man    lay'^g    cla.m    ^o  the  throne  of 
some  country,  should  attempt  to  establish    .t  with- 
out producing  and  proving  his  own  pedigree   merely 
by  showing  that  that  country  had  alzcays  been  ur,- 
dcr  hereditary  regal  government! 


Note  B.— rage  48. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  unyielding  Br.tons  were 

dnven  into  Cambria,  multitudes  of  the  British  Christ- 

.ans  and  Br,t,sh  .oldiers,  fleeing  from  the   horror,  ol 

Ihe  Saxon  invasion,  passed   over   to   the    Continent, 


154  APPENDIX. 

and  took  refuge  in  that  peninsula  in  France,  between 
the  Seine  and  the  Loire,  then  called  Armorica^  bul 
which  has  ever  since  borne  the  name  of  Britanny, 
from  the  language  and  institutions  of  the  insular 
Britons.  Here,  by  their  intermixture  with  the  Franks, 
they  became  a  peculiar  people,  and  in  their  seques- 
tered region  have  ever  since  preserved  the  distinctive 
marks  of  their  Welsh  origin.  They  have  been  the 
glory  and  the  bulwark  of  the  French  nation;  inherit- 
ing the  same  simplicity  of  manners,  the  same  love  of 
liberty,  the  same  hatred  of  oppression,  the  same  in- 
vincible loyalty,  which  have  characterized  the  Welsh 
race  wherever  they  have  lived.  In  France,  as  \\e\\ 
as  in  Britain  and  in  the  United  States,  the  descend- 
ants of  the  Welsh  have  shown  to  the  world  that  the 
strongest  mental  independence  and  the  most  invinci- 
ble attachment  to  religious  liberty,  are  the  best  safe- 
guards to  the  stability  of  civil  institutions,  and  the 
permanent  interests  of  hurifan  society. 

When  in  the  last  century  the  French  Revolution 
was  desolating  all  that  was  dear  and  venerable  to  the 
people  of  that  bright  and  sunny  land,  the  Welsh  de- 
scendants in  the  plains  of  Britanny  along  the  Loire, 
were  the  last  to  yield  to  the  ferocious  policy  of  Dan- 
ton  and  Robespierre,  and  they  arose  as  one  man,  to 
stem  the  furious  tide  of  Jacobin  Republicanism.  The 
splendid  genius  of  Alison,  in  his  chapter  on  the 
*'  War  in  La  Vendee,"  has  drawn  an  immortal  eulo 
gium  of  those  "  Christian  martyrs  whose  blood  ce- 
mented a  fabric  of  eternal  duration."  These  descend- 
ants of  the  ancient  Britons,  present  one  of  the  most 


APPENDIX.  155 

brilliant  illustrations  on  record,  of  a  people  whose 
inherent  love  of  liberty,  and  undying  devotion  to  re- 
ligion, may  be  inseparably  connected  with  the  strong- 
est elements  of  patriotism,  and  the  safest  foundations 
of  national  perpetuity.  While  tlie  dogmas  of  Athe- 
ism were  propagated  by  their  natural  accompaniment.'? 
of  fire  and  sword,  desolating  the  altars  of  religion 
throughout  all  France,  "  there  sprung,"  says  the 
eloquent  historian  of  Europe — "from  the  aslies  of  La 
Vendee,  a  spirit  which  hurled  Napoleon  from  his 
throne,  and  is  destined  to  change  the  face  of  the  mor- 
al world.  It  first  put  the  cause  of  Revolution  openly 
and  irrevocably  at  war  with  that  of  Religion :  the 
friends  of  real  freedom  may  thank  it  for  permanently 
enlisting  on  ihc'ir  side  a  power  which  will  riever  be 
subdued."^ 


Note  C. — Page  79. 

From  the  fact  that  Mr.  Miles  and  his  friends 
brought  their  church  record.s  with  them,  it  has  been 
supposed,  with  good  reason,  that  the  Baptist  church 
in  Swanzea  is  but  the  continuation,  or  re-production, 
of  the  old  church  in  Swanzea,  in  South  Wales,  That 
the  old  church  records  were  actually  brought  to  this 
country,  seems  scarcely  to  admit  of  a  doubt,  though 
of  late,  some  have  been  disposed  to  question  the  fact. 

*  Alison's  History  of  Kurope,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  XII. 


156  APPENDIX. 

Tradition,  in  earlier  and  later  times,  among  the  Bap 
lists   in  the  vicinity   of  Swanzea,  asserts   the    fact 
I^Ir.  Backus,  in  his  History  of  New-England,  (Vol. 
If,  p.  117,)  in  speaking  of"  a  piece  of  villainy  which 
was  detected  in  Swanzea,"    says,   "  That  town  was 
first  granted  to  five  men,  three  of  whom  were   Bap- 
tists ;  and  they  laid  out  sundry  parcels  of  land,  which 
they  called  pastors'  and  teachers'  lots.     They    had  a 
large  and  curious  book  of  church  records,  which  was 
brought  from  Wales  ;  and  the  surveys  of  those  lots 
Were  recorded   therein.     In    1718,    Richard   Harden 
became  both   a  Deacon   and  the  Clerk  of  the  First 
Church  in  Swanzea;  and  was  encouraged  to  T)uild 
and  make  improvements  upon  one  of  those  lots,  near 
the  Meeting-House ;  and  he  was  also  a  leading  man 
in  Town-affairs.     Having  such   advantages,  he  was 
tempted  with  the  notion,  that  by  destroying  the  rec- 
ord of  those  lots,  he   could  obtain  that  whereon  he 
lived,  as  common  land.     And  behold,  all  the  records 
of  Swanzea  church,  betwixt  1663  and  1718  were  ta- 
ken out  of  the  Book,  and  have  never  been  recovered 
since." 


Note  D.— Page  S^. 

For  the  following  statement  I  am  indebted  to  the 
kev.  Abiel  Fisher,  present  Pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  Swanzea,  to  whose  diligence  and  fidelity 
in  collecting  the  scattered  memorials  of  hi3  ancient 
CHiurch  and  ToNvn,  I  am  indebted  for  several  of  thr; 


Jl 


Appendix.  ''*' 

facts    prpsonted    in   connection    with    the     Svvaiwei 

'''"Tt  ha.  been  supposed,  and  often  stated  by  Backus 
nnd  others,  that  the  first  Meeting-House  was  erected 
near  Kelly's  Bridge,  on  Tyler's  ?oint,  opposite  War- 
ren •  but  I   have   ascertained  that  it  was  about  three 
..iles  north-east  from  that  pomt,  a  little   south-wes 
of  the  road   leading  from  Warren,    to  Seekonk  and 
Providence.     The  very  spot  has  been  pointed  out   o 
me,  being  on  a  road  leading  from  the  main  road  to 
ihe  house   of  Squire  Allen,  lately  deceased      Th.s 
road  leads  out  of  the  main  road,  between  the  hov^es 
of  Timothy  P.  Luther  and    John    Grant,  onjy  20  or 
30  rods  from  the  latter.     The  line  of  Seekonk  is  only 
a  few  rods  north  of  this  spot.     It  seems  nearly  cer- 
tam,  that  while  most  of  the  church  resided  m  Reho- 
both,   (as  that  town  then  embraced  Seekonk,)  they 
chose  a  site  for  their  Meeting-House  as  near  their 
residence  as  possible,  where  they  could  be  permitted 
for  a  time  to  worship  God  according  to  the   dictates 
of  their  own  consciences." 


Note  E.— Page  84. 
The  founders  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  were  the 
first  band  of  those  free  and  pious  spirits,  who  rising 
a  ove  the  corruptions  of  the  National  Church,  had 
Z^t  their  native  land,  to  seek  a  purer  worship  fa. 
Itay  from  their  beloved  home.  ^^^^^^;^^- 
tiefis,  and   under   stormy   skies.     Ih.v    tue.       = 


loS 


APPENDIX. 


their  wanderings  by  removing  to  Holland,  "  where 
they  knew  that  they  were  Pilgrims,  and  looked  not 
much  on  those  things,  but  lifted  up  their  eyes  to 
heaven,  their  dearest  country,  and  quieted  their 
spirits."* 

Here,  under  the  ministry  of  their  excellent  pastor, 
the  devoted  John  Robinson,  they  lived  for  a  while, 
in  a  tolerable  degree  of  peace  and  comfort,  and  re- 
ceived many  converts  among  their  numbers,  whicir 
soon  amounted  to  30CI  communicants. 

But  desiring  to  live  under  the  protection  of  Eng^ 
land,  and  to  retain  the  name  and  language  of  Eng- 
lishmen :  and  being  unable  to  give  their  children 
such  an  education  as  they  had  themselves  received  ; 
and  grieved  at  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
many  other  religious  abuses  among  the  people  of* 
Holland;  for  these  and  many  other  similar  reasons^ 
they  began  to  agitate  the  question  of  removing  to' 
some  part  of  America;  and  finally,  after  many  a 
bafHing  detention  and  a  long,  tempestuous  voyage, 
they  commenced  the  colonization  of  New-England,. 
on  the  rock  of  Plymouth,  where  they  landed  on  the 
22d  of  December,  1620.  Here,  beneath  unknown 
skies,  with  the  wide  dreary  Atlantic  on  one  side,  and 
a  gloomy  unbroken  forest  on  the  other,  they  laid  in 
suffering  and  in  faith,  the  deep  foundations  of  that 
moral  character,  which  has  made  the  New-England 
people  the  pride  and  glory  of  our  nation,  in  peace,, 
and  in  war,  our  firm  and  immoveable  bulwark.    Nev- 

♦  Governor  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Colony. 


AP;  EXEIX, 


159 


cr  was  there  a  company  of  men,  of  stricter  virtue, 
whose  consistent  holiness  and  practical  fear  of  God, 
more  signally  honored  their  profession,  than  these 
Plymouth  Pilgrims. 

The  (Colonists  who  founded  Massachusetts  Bay, 
eight  years  afterwards,  were  not  Independents  or 
Separatists,  like  their  Plymouth  brethren,  but  were 
non-conforming  members  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Their  conscientious  convictions  and  their  dearest 
sympathies  still  attached  them  to  the  National  Church, 
while  they  opposed  Avhat  they  believed  to  be  her 
Romish  errors  and  superstitions  ;  and  though  in  all 
points  they  could  not  conform  to  it,  they  still  sought 
the  welfare  of  their  souls  in  its  ministrations  ;  and 
lamenting  what  they  believed  to  be  its  defects,  not  in 
a  spirit  of  bitter  hostility,  but  of  pious  grief,  they 
were  still  disposed  to  honor  the  good  and  forget  the 
evil,  so  strangely  mixed  in  the  doctrine  and  ritual  of 
that  communion.  They  were  yet  unwilling  to  break 
the  bands  of  ecclesiastical  fellowship,  and  only  wish- 
ed a  greater  freedom  for  the  exercise  of  their  personal 
faith,  by  a  practical  departure  from  the  ritual  econ- 
omy of  that  church ; — a  movement,  which  they  did 
not  then  foresee,  would  lead  eventually  to  an  entire 
separation  from  the  English  Establishment,  and  to 
the  formation  of  New-England  Congregationalism. 

Many  of  them  had  been  nursed  on  the  lap  of  lux- 
ury, while  not  a  few  were  cf  noble  birth  and  lofty 
station  ;  and  nearly  all  had  enjoyed  the  advantage 
c-i  the  highest  mental  and  social  culture.  In  the 
brilliant  display  of  their  personal   virtues  and  their 


160  APPENDIX. 

religious  graces,  they  reflected  more  of  cheerfulnes:. 
and  warmth  of  sentiment,  but  less  of  moral  coura^u 
and  singleness  of  purpose,  than  their  Separatist  hretli- 
ren  of  Plymouth;  while  in  the  want  of  a  candid  teni- 
per  towards  their  brethren  of  a  different  faith,  the 
isymmetry  of  their  character  was  more  frequently 
disfigured  by  a  spirit  of  relentless  intolerance,  wiiic- 
singularly  contrasted  with  the  general  display  i.: 
their  otherwise  almost  unrivalled  virtues.  They  h' 
lieved  in  Christ  as  the  only  Head  of  the  church,  an'.i 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the  only  standard  of  their 
Faith  :  and  as  such,  they  were  even  then  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  But  they  had 
not  yet  sufficiently  lost  sight  of  the  spirit  and  max- 
ims on  which  the  dominion  of  the  English  Throne 
and  Altar  were  based,  to  admit  the  claims  of  person- 
al conscience  to  their  full  extent ;  and  hence,  in 
forming  their  social  community  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  they  could  not  bring  their  civil  laws  and  relig 
ious  institutions,  both  together,  in  perfect  accordance 
with  the  principle  of  liberty  of  conscience  in  spiritual 
affairs.  Their  honest  piety  and  sincere  benevolence 
did  all  that  possibly  could  be  done,  to  reconcile  tho 
duty  of  an  implicit  faith  in  their  creed,  with  the  lib- 
erty of  every  man  "  to  think  as  he  pleased,  provided 
he  thought  right  ;"~and  of  this,  they  were  to  be  tho 
self-made  iudjics. 


APPENDIX.  161 

Note  F.— Page  88. 
BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTICE 

OF 

CAPT.  T.  VVILLETT, 

BY 

REV.  A.  FISHER,  OF  SWANZEA. 

Capt.  Thomas  Willet  was  one  of  the  last  of  the 
Leyden  company  who  came  to  this  country.  He 
arrived  at  Plymouth  in  1629,  being  then  16  or  18  years 
■old.  He  was  educated  as  a  merchant ;  and  as  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Holland,  he  had 
acquired  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  customs  and 
language  of  the  Dutch  :  a  circumstance  which  ren- 
dered him  so  highly  acceptable  to  the  Dutch  of  New- 
York.  On  his  arrival,  he  was  sent  by  the  people  of 
Plymouth  who  had  established  a  trading  house  at 
Kennebeck,  to  superintend  their  business  as  agent. 
He  continued  at  Kennebeck,  about  six  or  seven 
years,  when  he  married  a  lady  at  Plymouth,  and 
probably  removed  to  Dorchester,  and  thence  between 
1641  and  1647  returned  to  Plymouth.  In  1647  he 
became  the  successor  of  Miles  Standish  in  the  com- 
mand ot  the  military  at  Plymouth. 

In  1651  he  was  elected  one  of  the  Governor's  assist- 
ants,and  was  annually  continued  in  that  office  tilll665, 
when  the  pressure  of  his  other  duties  obliged  him  to 
decline  further  election,  and  James  Brown,  of  Swan- 
zea,  was  chosen  his  successor.  In  Feb.  1660  we  find 
Capt.  Willet  an  inhabitant  of  Rehoboth,   having  ob- 


162  ArPE.NDIX. 

tained  liberty  of  the  town  to  purchase   large  tracts  oi 
land  in  its  vicinity.     In  1661,  being   empowered  by 
the  Court  of  Plymouth,  he   puchased  of  VVomsitta, 
the  eldest  son  of  Massasoit,  the  large  tract  of  land  af- 
terwards called  Rehoboth  North    Purchase,  now  At- 
tleborough  and   Cumberland.     This  tract,  however, 
he  relinquished  into  the  hands  of  the  Plymouth  Col- 
ony in  1666.     He  was  also  the  original  purchaser  of 
Taunton  North  Purchase,   (now   Norton,   Mansfield 
and  Easton,)  as  well  as  of   many  other  tracts  of  land 
in  the  vicinity.     On  the   surrender  of  New-York  to 
the  English  under  Col.  Nichols,  in  August  1664,  by 
the  Dutch   Governor  Stuyvesant,  Capt.  Willett  ac- 
companied the  Commissioners  of  Appeals,  viz.  Nich- 
ols, Carr,  Cartwright  and  Maverick,  to  that  city  :  and 
rendered  them  great  service  by  his  acquaintance  with 
the  customs,  usages  and  language  of  the  Dutch,  in 
organizing  the  new  government.     He  performed  his 
duties  while  there  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  the 
parties  concerned,  and  rendered  himself  so  acceptable 
to  the  people,  that  after  the  organization  of  the  gov- 
ernment he  was  elected   the  first   English  mayor  of 
the  city  of  New-York.     To  this  ofiice  he  was  elected 
a  second  time  ;  and  the  Dutch  had  so  much  confidence 
in  his  integrity,  that  he  was  by  them  chosen  umpire 
to  determine  the   disputed  boundary  between  New- 
York  and  New- Haven.     While   he    was  Mayor   of 
New-York  he  appears  to  have    held  his  standing  as  a 
citizen,  and  his  property  at  Rehoboth,  and   to  have 
sustained  office  therein.     When  the  two  years  of  his 
Mayorality  had  expired  at  New-York,  he  returned  to 
^hoboth, 


APPENDIX.  163 

Capt.  Willett's  name  appears  the  first  on  the  list  of 
individuals  to  whom  liberty  was  given  to  form  a  town- 
ship by  the  name  of  Swanzea.  In  the  settlement  of 
the  town,  Capt.  Willctt  and  Mr.  Miles  may  justly  be 
considered  the  most  prominent  men  ;  and  they  are 
usually  styled  the  Fathers  of  the  Town.  He  contin- 
ued to  reside  on  his  farm  in  Swanzea,  during  the  re- 
maining part  of  his  life.  Capt.  Willett  on  July  6, 
1636,  married  Mary  Brown,  who  is  generally  supposed 
to  have  been  the  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Brown,  the 
elder,  at  Plymouth.  She  was  sister  of  Mr.  James 
Brown,  one  of  the  constituent  members  of  the  Swan- 
zea church,  and  whose  name  was  held  in  high  esteem 
in  the  the  town  and  colony.  Of  eight  children,  some 
of  them  died  in  childhood,  while  several  of  Capt. 
Willett's  descendants  have  distinguished  themselves 
in  the  history  of  the  country.  His  grandson  Francis 
Willett  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  colony  of  Rhode- 
Island.  Another  descendant,  his  great  grandson,  the 
late  Col.  Marinus  Willett,  served  with  distinguished 
honor  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  also  iMayor 
of  New- York. 

Capt.  Willett  appears  to  have  had  his  residence  at 
the  north  west  part  of  Swanzea,  a  part  of  which  is 
now  in  Barrington,  and  a  part  in  Seekonk,  where  he 
died,  August  4,  1674,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  He 
was  buried  at  the  head  of  Bullock's  Cove,  in  what 
is  now  Seekonk,  where  a  rough  stone  still  stands  to 
mark  the  spot,  on  which  is  legible  the  following  brief 
and  rudely  carved  inscription  : 


104  ATi'EXDlX. 

"1664 
Here  lyetli  the  body  of  the  wortiiy  Thomas  Willett, 
Esq.,  who  (lied  August  ye  4th  in  ye  64lh  year  of  his 
age,  anno 

Who  was  the  first  Mayor  of  New-York  and  twice  did 
sustain  the  place." 

His  wife  Mary    died  about  1660^  and  lies  by  hit: 
aide. 


Note  G.— Page  91. 
The  grant  of  the  Plymouth  Court,  in  16G7,  which 
described  the  town  of  Swanzea  as  embracing 
"  all  the  lands  between  the  salt  water  and  river,  and 
the  bounds  of  Taunton  and  Rehoboth,  &c." — has 
been  by  many  supposed  to  include  the  present  town 
of  Bristol^  as  well  as  Warren,  Barrington,  Swanzea 
and  Somerset.  Bristol,  however,  was  not  included 
in  that  grant,  but  continued  for  several  years  after, 
as  an  Indian  Toicnship.  After  Massasoifs  death,  in 
1661,  it  appears,  that  most  ot  the  remaining  Wampa- 
noags  removed  from  this  immediate  vicinity,  and 
were  collected  together  more  compactly,  on  a  smaller 
territory,  being  the  same  as  the  present  town  of  Bris- 
tol. In  a  Manuscript  Document  belonging  to  the 
town  of  Warren,  called  "The  Grand  Deed  of  Saile 
of  Lands  from  Osamequin  and  Wamsetto  his  son, 
Dated  29th  March,  1653,"  the  territory  described  as 
follows,  was  sold :  "  All  those  severall  parcells  and 
necks  of  ujilands.  Swamps  and  Meadows-  lycing  and 


APPENDIX.  165 

being  on  the  south  side  of  Sinkhunch  (Seckonk)  els 
Rehoboth,  «fcc."  After  the  deed  describes  the  lands 
thus  sold,  it  ends  as  follows: — And  the  said  Osame- 
quin,  (Massasoit,)  and  Wamsetto,  (Alexander,)  his 
son,  covenant,  promise  and  grant,  that  whensoever 
the  Indians  shall  remove  from  the  Keck,  that  then 
and  from  thenceforth,  the  aforesaid  Thomas  Prince, 
Thomas  V/illet,  Miles  Standish,  Josiah  Winslow, 
shall  enter  upon  the  same,  by  the  same  agreement, 
iis"  their  Proper  Rights  and  Interest  to  them  and  their 
heirs  forever." 

By  virtue  of  the  preceding  Deed,  the  remnants  of 
his  tribe,  after  Massasoit's  death,  began  to  collect 
together,  with  Philip  tor  their  chief,  on  the  Mount 
Hope  lands.  Some  Indians,  however,  still  continued 
to  live  in  Warren,  till  about  the  beginning  of  Philip's 
war,  as  they  were  reluctant  to  give  up  so  much  of 
their  territory  on  so  easy  terms. 

Frequent  altercations  took  place  between  the  Col- 
onists of  Swanzea  and  the  Wampanoags,  about  the 
boundary  lines  of  the  Mount  Hope  lands  ;  until  at 
length,  sliortly  before  the  war,  a  fence  was  run  from 
the  Warren  to  the  Kickemuit  rivers,  on  the  line 
which  is  the  present  boundary  between  Warren  and 
Bristol.  Tradition  says  that  this  fence  stood  for  many 
years  after  the  war. 

The  Indians  continued  to  hold  and  occupy  the  low- 
er part  of  the  Neck, — that  is,  that  portion  of  it  now 
constituting  Bristol — until  Philip's  war,  when  being 
exterminated  or  driven  away,  their  remaining  rights 
to  the  territory  were  extinguished.     The  propri«tor.s 


166  APPENDIX. 

of  Sowanis  claitneJ  tlie  deserted  territory  by  the  pro- 
visions of  tho  Grand  Deed  ;  but,  after  a  long  contro- 
versy, the  Government  decided  it  to  be  conquered 
land,  and  should  be  sold  to  assist  in  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  war.  "  In  1680,  Mount  Hope  terri- 
tory, about  7000  acres,  was  granted  to  the  colony  by 
the  crown,  for  their  services  and  sufferings  in  tho 
war.  *  *  Rhode-Isiand  urged  their  claim.  *  * 
Mount  Hope  territory  was  sold  soon  afterwards  by 
Plymouth,  for  three  hundred  pounds.  The  king's 
letter,  communicating  the  grant  of  Mount  Hope,  con- 
tained encouraging  assurances  of  further  favors,  upon 
proper  application."  (Morton's  Memorial,  Davis' 
Ed.  p.  469.) 

At  the  same  time,  the  Proprietors  of  Sowams,  in 
the  MS.  Record  Book,  say,  "  That  for  the  lands  now 
in  dispute  between  the  Proprietors  and  the  pnblique, 
whether  ours  or  conquered  Lands,  the  Proprietors 
doe,  (forthwith  all  as  one  man,)  take  effectual  course 
for  the  defence  and  clearing  our  Interest  in  the  Lands 
aforesaid."     (See  also  Holmes'  Annals,  I,  400.) 

The  Deed  of  Bristol,  given  by  the  Government  of 
Plymouth,  which  is  dated  Sept.  14,  1680,  states  the 
compensation  to  be  "Eleven  hundred  pounds  of  our 
current  money  of  New-England  ;"  and  describing  the 
land  called  "  Mount  Hope  Neck"  and  Poppasquaslj. 
Neck,"  says,  "  excepting  only  and  reserving  tlio 
Lands  already  granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  Swanze.i 
at  the  north  end,  or  entrance  of  said  Neck,  (being 
liie  same  as  Warren,)  and  also  the  one  Hundred  acres 
of  Land   now   belonging  unto  the  family  of  Gora£!i><. 


APPnxDix.  107 

and    the    meadows    formerly   purchased    of   the    In* 
dians." 


Note  11,— Page  93. 

The  ground  occupied  by  this  village,  was  undou'jt- 
edly  the  liome  of  Massasoit,  the  faithful  friend  of  the 
pilgrims.     Ever   since    the    time    of  his   death,    184 
years  ago,  tradition  has  represented  this  as  the  place 
■of  his  general  residence;    and  in   the  memory  of  the 
X)ldest  people  in  this  vicinity,  "  Massasoii's  spring," 
*iear  Baker's  wharf,  in  this   village,  has  been  a  time- 
honored  place,  associated  with  the  name  of  that  great 
■chief.     But  there  are  copious  proofs  of  more  authen- 
tic character  than  simple  tradition,  which  fully  estab- 
lish   this   fact.     The    arguments   proving    this  point 
would  here  be  adduced  ; — as  it  entered  into  the  plan 
of  this  Discourse  to  give  an  extended  supplementary 
notice  of  the   fact  that  Massasoit  held  his  residence 
near  the  spot  where  this  Discourse  was  pronounced  ; 
but  since  this  small  volume  has   been  put  to  press,  it 
has  been  deemed  desirable  to  illustrate  the  aboriginal 
and  colonial  history  of  this  neighborhood  much  more 
at  length,  than  was  contemplated  in  the  plan  of  the 
author;  and  accordingly,   the  subject  referred  to  in 
the  beginning  of  this  Note,  is  reserved  for  a  Supple- 
ment to  this  volume,  by  General  Guy  M.  Fessenden, 
whose  diligence  and  accuracy  in  such  investigations, 
specially  qualify  him  for  writing   the  Secular  History 
tjf  this  town.  The  author  the  more  cheerfully  resigns 


168  APPENDIX. 

these  topics  to  Gen.  Fcssendcn's  department,  as  lip 
already   indebted  to  that  gentleman   for  scveril  ^iJ^^i 
and  suggestions  presented  in  these  pnges. 


Note  1. — Page  1]S. 

The  fullowing  is  a  copy  of  tlie  letter  of  Dipmissio;i 
given  by  the  Baptist  church  at  Scotch  Plains  to  thr 
church  at  Warren,  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Manning, 

The  original  letter,  now  in  my  possession,  is  sign- 
ed by  all  the  male  members  of  that  chnrch,  fourteen 
in  number.  It  is  presented  as  a  happy  .<5pecimen  oi' 
the  metiiod  of  doing  church  business  by  our  fore- 
fathers. 

"  The  churcli  of  Jesus  Christ,  meeting  at  the  Scotcit 
Plains,  in  the  county  of  Essex,  province  of  East  New- 
Jersey,  professing  Believer's  Baptism,  Laying  on  of 
liands.  Election  of  Grace,  Effectual  Calling,  and  Final 
Perseverance  in  Grace,  &c. 

To  the  Ciiurch  of  Christ  of  the  same  Faith  and  Or- 
der,   in  Warren,    in   the    Government    of  Rhode- 
Island,  do  send  our  Christian  Salutation  : 
Dear   Brethren;    Whereas    our   Revd.    and   re- 
spected Br.  ]Mr.  James  Planning,  Iiath  by  yuur  call 
removed  his  Residence   from  amongst  us,  and   now 
abides  with  you;  and  hath  requested  of  us  a  Letter 
of  Dismission  in  order  to  Joyn  with  you.  And  hop- 
ing it  will  be  more  for  his  Comfort  and  your  Advan- 
tage so  to  do  :    We  therefore  recommend  him  as  an 
orderly  Zealous  Professor;  and  has  been  called  and 


APPENDIX,  109 

regularly  ordained  in  this  Church  to  the  Ministry  of 
the  Gospel,  in  wliich  his  Proficiency  and  Profitiing 
has  appeared  to  many :  And  we  doubt  not  when 
joyn'd  with  you  by  virtue  of  this  Dismission  as  he 
will  be  discharg'd  frona  our  immediate  oversight, 
Vou  will  receive  him  and  make  use  of  him  in  Love 
and  all  the  relative  Duties  of  his  important  Station. 
We  are  Joyn'd  in  our  Prayers  for  him  and  You  that 
the  glorious  Head  of  the  Church  would  bless  you 
with  every  Gift,  Grace  and  Prosperity,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  common  Lord.  Amen. 
November  ye  25th,  ano  1764. 

BENJAMIN  MILLER, 
[and  thirteen  others."] 


Note  K.— Page  119. 

COVENANT    OF    THE    BAPTIST     CHURCH, 
WARREN,  R.  I. 

Whereas  wc,  unworthy  sinners,  are  through  the 
infinite  riches' of  free  grace,  as  we  trust,  brought  out 
of  darkness  into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  Gospel, 
and  the  grace  of  it,  transformed  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God's  dear  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  only  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour, and  made  partakers  of  all  those  privileges  which 
Christ  purchased  with  his  precious  blood,  think  it  o)ir 
duty  and  greatest  privilege  we  can  enjoy  here  on  earth, 
to  walk  in  all  the  commandments  and  Ordinances, 
not  only  for  our  own  comfort  and  peace,  but  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  for  the  mn- 


170  APPENDIX. 

tual  help  and  society  of  each  other;  and  as  it  hath  pleas- 
ed God  to  appoint  a  visible  Church  relation,  to  be  the 
way  and  manner  whereby  He  is  pleased  to  commu- 
nicate to  his  people  the  blessings  of  his  presence,  a 
growth  in  grace  and  furtherance  in  the  knowledge  ot 
our  Lord  God, 

We  therefore,  this  day,  after  solemn  fasting  and 
prayer  for  help  and  direction,  in  the  fear  of  His  Holy 
Name  and  with  hearts  lifted  up  to  the  nK)st  high 
God,  humbly  and  freely  offer  up  ourselves  a  living 
sacrifice  unto  Him  who  is  our  God  in  Covenant, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  to  walk  together  according  to 
his  revealed  word,  in  visible  gospel  relation,  both  to 
Christ  our  only  head,  and  to  each  other  as  fellow 
members  and  brethren  of  the  same  household  of 
faith. 

And  we  do  humbly  engage,  that  through  his 
strength  we  will  endeavor  to  perform  all  our  re- 
spective duties,  towards  God  and  each  other,  and 
to  practise  all  the  Ordinances  of  Chtist,  according 
to  what  is  and  shall  be  made  known  to  us  in  our 
respective  places,  to  exercise,  practise  and  submit 
to  the  government  of  Christ  in  this  Church. 

And  we  declare  that  it  is  our  mind  that  none 
are  properly  qualified  members  of  this  Christ's  vis- 
ible Church,  but  such  as  have  been  wrought  upon 
by  the  grace  of  God,  delivered  from  their  sins  by 
the  Justifying  Righteousness  of  Christ,  and  have 
the  evidence  of  it  in  their  souls,  have  made  pro- 
fession thereof,  that  is,  of  a  living  faith  in  Christ, 
and  have  been  baptized  by  immersion,  in  the  name 
of  the  Holy  Trinity, 


APPENDIX.  171 

Further,  it  is  our  mind,  that  the  imposition  or 
tion-imposition  of  hands  upon  believers,  after  bap- 
tism, is  not  essential  to  Church  Communion,  and 
that  where  the  image  of  Christ  is  discerned,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  God's  word,  and  those  pre- 
vious duties,  but  now  mentioned  are  submitted  to 
according  to  Gospel  rules,  we  are  ready  to  hold 
communion  with  all  such  walking  orderly  in  the 
Church  of  Christ. 

And  now  we  humbly  hope  that  although  of  our- 
selves we  are  altogether  unworthy  and  unfit  thus 
to  offer  up  ourselves  to  God  or  to  do  him  any  ser- 
vice or  to  expect  any  favor,  or  mercy  from  him, 
yet  that  He  will  graciously  accept  of  this  our  free- 
will offering,  in  and  through  the  merits  and  med- 
iation of  our  dear  Redeemer,  and  that  He  will  em- 
ploy and  improve  us  in  his  service  to  his  own 
praise,  to  whom  be  all  the  glory  both  now  and 
forever.     Amen. 

[The  original  copy  of  this  church  covenant,  in 
the  hand-writing  of  Dr.  Manning,  is  now  in  my 
possession.  J.  P.  T.] 


Note  L.— Page  119. 
CALL  OF  THE  CHURCH  TO  MR.  MANNING. 

The  Chcrch  of  Christ  in  Warren,  in  the  Colony 
ofRliode-Island,  Baptized  upon  a  personal  profession 


172  APPENDIX. 

of  faith,  holding  the  doctrines  of  Regeneration,  Per 
severance  in  grace,  «fec. — being  constituted  and  or- 
ganized a  Church  this  15th  day  of  November,  A.  D. 
1764,  present  to  the  Revd.  James  Manning,  Jate  of 
Nassau  Hall,  in  New-Jersey,  their  Christian  saluta- 
tion : 

Reverend  and  dear  Sir, 
Inasmuch  as  God  in  his  Providence  hath  seen  lit 
to  give  us  an  opportunity  of  being  constituted  a 
church  of  Christ,  That  we  may  according  to  the  pat- 
tern showed  us  in  the  Gospel,  partake  of  the  or- 
dinances which  Christ  hath  left  in  his  church,  and 
walk  together  as  Brethren  in  Christ :  by  his  Apostles 
having  instructed  us  tJiat  ordained  pastors  are  those 
that  are  to  feed  his  people  with  knowledge,  and  ad- 
minister ordinances  amongst  them,  we  do  this  day 
unanimously  request  that  you  would  accept  this  our 
call  to  the  work  of  a  Pastor  over  and  amongst  us, 
having  been  fully  satisfied  heretofore  of  your  call  and 
ordination  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  a  regular 
church  of  Christ  in  Eiizabethtown,  East  Jersey,  under 
the  Pastoral  care  of  the  Revd.  Benjamin  Miller ; 
And  as  we  are  of  opinion  that  they  who  preach  the 
gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel,  we  do  here  declare 
our  intention  to  render  your  life  as  happy  as  possible 
by  our  brotherly  conduct  towards  you,  and  communi- 
cating our  temporal  things  to  your  necessities  so  long 
as  God  in  his  providence  shall  continue  us  together; 
your  acceptance  hereof  we  humbly  hope  will  be  a 
mean  under  the  divine  blessing  of  our  mutual   fui 


APPENDIX,  173 

'iherance  and  growth  in  grace;  thus   we  prefer  our 
request  and  subscribe  your  Brethren, 

JOHN  EASTOBROOK,  ^ 

BENJAMIN  COLE,  | 

SYLVESTER  CHILD,  ]     r    i  i  if   r  ,u 

JOHN  CHILD,  \    In  behalf  of  the 

EBENEZER  COLE,  j  ^^"''^^ 

JOHN  WEST,  1 

WM.  EASTOBROOKE.  J 


Note  M.— Page  122. 

Tho  first  House  of  Vv^orship,  built  by  this  Society 
in  1764,  was  about  44  feet  square,  with  a  four-sided 
hip  roof,  surmounted  at  the  top  and  centre  with  a 
small  belfry,  in  w^hich  was  hung  a  ship  bell,  the  rope 
of  which  hung  directly  down  in  the  audience  room, 
so  that  when  ringing,  the  sexton  stood  in  the  centre 
of  the  middle  aisle.  The  style  of  the  architecture 
was  very  plain,  without  tower  or  porch,  and  the  build- 
ing was  never  painted. 

The  front  door,  on  the  east  side,  led  directly  into 
the  audience  room  :  and  immediately  within  the  en- 
trance, to  the  right  and  left,  were  stairs  leading  into 
the  galleries.  At  the  west  side  was  the  pulpit,  with 
its  sounding-board.  This  church  had  then  introduced 
psalmody  as  a  part  of  public  v/orship,  though  even  so 
late  as  in  1764,  there  was  a  divided  use  among  the 
Baptist  churches  in  New-England,  some  churches  re- 
garding metrical  hymns,  and  all  kinds  of  music,  as 
unaathorized  by  the  New  Testament.  In  this  church  , 


174  APPENDIX. 

however,    there  was  then    no    organized  ehoir ;  tin 
hymns  were  rend  off,  two  lines  at  a  time,hy  tlie  Dea 
con,  and  sung  hy  the  congregation.     [For  the  facts 
abovestated,  the  author  is  indehted  chiefly  to  Ciencral 
(i.  M.  Fessenden.] 

The  second  Church   Edifice  was  erected  in   J 784, 
on  tlie  spot  occupied  by  the  former,  partly  on  the  same 
underpinning,  and  extending  westward  about  17  feet 
The  vote  of  the  Society  to  erect  this  building,  stands 
jecorded  Feb.  5,  1784,  when    they   adopted  the   plan 
by  which  the  house  was  built.     A    building  Commit- 
tee, consisting  of  Dea.    Ebenezer  Cole,   William  T 
jMiller  and  William  Barton,   were  appointed  and  au 
Ihorizcd  to  negotiate  with  General  Nathan  Miller,  to 
build  the  Iiouse  for  $2000.     It  appears,  however,  that 
tliis  sum  proved   too  small  to  erect  such  a  building 
with,  and  it  was  not  finished,  so  as  to  be  used,  till  in 
the   sumujcr  of  1786.     Its  diniensions  were  61  feet  in 
length  and  44  feel  in  width  ;   it  had  a  tower   at  the 
fast  and  front  end,  14  feet  square  and  44  in  lieight. 

This  house  at  first  contained  63  square  pews  on 
the  lower  floor,  and  Jiad  galleries  on  three  sides.  Tiie 
]»ulpit  at  the  west  end,  was  supplied  with  the  old 
fashioned  stunding-board.  In  1800,  a  steeple,  forty- 
three  feet  and  a  half  in  height,  was  placed  on  the 
lower,  making  the  whole  height  87  1-2  feet.  At  the 
i.ame  lime,  the  bell  still  in  use  by  the  Society,  was 
jilaced  in  the  tower.  In  the  tipring  of  1832,  the  old 
•square  peu.s  were  taken  Uj),  and  rcjdaced  by  niodeiu 
rlips,  making  74  on  the  lower  floor.  The  organ  now 
owned  by  the  kiuciclVj  was  ublaincJ  in  llic  aulunm  l^ 
lie  same  V(  ar. 


A.rpENf)ix.  rV5 

"in  Ahiy,  1844,  this  house,  to  make  room  for  tlic 
s4,one  building,  was  removed  a  little  northerly,  and  iii 
i\'ovcmher  of  the  same  year,  was  taken  down. 

The  present  Church  Edifice  is  erected  partly  or. 
llie  ground  occupied  by  the  two  former  Houses  of 
Worship,  and  partly  on  ground  south  of  that  location, 
including  the  land  on  which  the  original  Parsonage 
and  College  building  stood.  Its  dimensions  are  the 
following  :  the  length  of  the  body  of  the  house  is  84 
feet,  the  width  70  feet,  and  in  height,  34  feet  from 
the  ground  to  the  outside  cornice  :  in  front  is  a  tower, 
23  feet  square,  86  feet  high,  snrmounted  with  a  bat- 
tlement, rising  8  feet  and  projecting  out  one  foot. 
The  side  and  end  walls  of  the  main  building,  are 
surmounted  by  battlements  of  the  same  order  with 
the  tower,  rising  about  six  feet  from  the  roof.  The 
walls  of  the  building  are  constrncted  of  dark  brown 
and  gray  stone,  laid  in  iiorizontal  courses,  technically 
r.alled  the  "  Scotch  coursed  rubbls,"  the  courses  va- 
rying from  12  to  18  inches  in  height,  but  each  course 
carried  uniformly  round  the  whole  building. 

'JMie  thickness  of  the  lower  walls  at  the  foundation 
IS  7  feet,  brought  in  at  the  surface  of  the  ground 
to  3  feet,  while  at  the  upper  extremity  they  are  reduc- 
ed to  20  Indies.  The  thickness  of  the  main  walls 
is  5  feel  at  the  foundation,  brought  in  at  the  surface 
of  the  ground  to  2  1-2  Icet,  and  from  the  audience 
room  floor  to  tiie  fop,  the  walls  are  uniformly  two 
feet  thick. 

The  style  ol"  the  Ldilicc  is  ihe  RIodium  (j'othic, 
«A>iiibiling  the  outlinc&  of   llidl  oidei,  but  without  th.s 


176  APPENDIX. 

various  forms  of  tracery  and  carved  work  which  ren* 
der  that  order  of  architecture  so  gorgeous  and  expen- 
sive. There  are  fourteen  arched  windows  in  the 
main  building,  each  24  feet  high,  five  in  each  side, 
and  two  in  each  end.  There  are  also  five  arched 
windows  in  the  tower,  two  in  the  basement,  and  three 
in  the  organ  room,  the  one  in  front  being  very  large. 
The  windows  are  filled  with  stained  glass,  of  a  vari- 
ety of  colors,  interspersed  with  borders  and  interme- 
diate courses  of  white  ground  glass.  The  effect  of 
this  glass  is  to  throw  a  soft  religious  light  over  the 
whole  interior,  which,  combining  with  the  dark  col- 
ors of  the  wood  work,  and  the  long  drawn  aisles,  is 
very  solemn  and  impressive.  The  pulpit  is  of  a  very 
peculiar  construction,  its  floor  being  on  a  level  with 
the  tops  of  the  pews,  open  at  the  sides,  the  speaking 
desk  of  a  reduced  size,  the  platform  of  the  pulpit 
appropriately  furnished  with  carpet,  and  with  a  sofa 
and  chairs  made  of  black  walnut,  and  finished  with 
xirimson  velvet.  The  pulpit  is  lighted  by  lamps 
placed  on  heavy  bronzed  standards.  The  house  is 
lighted  by  four  large  bronzed  chandeliers,  each  hav- 
ing eight  burners.  On  the  floor  of  the  audience  room 
are  146  pews,  arranged  in  three  double  rows,  with 
four  aisles,  two  side,  and  two  medial ;  the  pews  are 
finished  in  combed  oak,  and  capped  with  black  wal- 
nut railings,  all  the  pews  being  uniformly  finished, 
and  cushioned  with  crimson  moreen.  There  are  also 
open  seats  on  the  side  aisles,  against  the  walls.  There 
is  a  gallery  across  the  building,  over  the  vestibule, 
""wan  room  being  in  the  tower,  on  a  level   with 


APPENDIX.  177 

In  llie  basement  story  is  a  lecture  room  capable  of 
accommodating  500  people;  a  committee  room;  a 
large  unfinished  lumber  room,  and  the  Pastor's  study, 
connecting  by  a  flight  of  stairs,  with  the  pulpit  above. 
The  house  is  warmed  by  two  large  furnaces,  of  the 
most  approved  construction  ;  while  ventilators  are  sq 
constructed  as  to  keep  the  air  in  the  house  at  all  limes 
pure,  and  the  temperature  equally  comfortable.  The 
lot  on  which  the  building  stands,  is  about  145  feet 
square,  inclosed  by  a  cast  iron  fence  of  ornamental 
picket  work,  surmounting  a  base  wall  of  dressed 
granite.  The  front  and  sides  of  the  lot  are  orna- 
mented with  elm  trees,  some  of  which  have  been 
growing  for  many  years. 

The  whole  expense  involved  in  the  erection  of 
this  building  is  about  $18,000.  The  Building  Com- 
mittee engaged  in  its  construction  were  Messrs.  S. 
P.  Child,  Lewis  Hoar,  J.  P.  Tustin,  S.  A.  Driscol, 
H.  H.  Luther,  Charles  Richmond,  jun,  G.  M.  Fes- 
senden,  and  C.  T.  Child.  The  design  of  the  build- 
ing was  furnished  by  Major  Russell  Warren,  of  Pro- 
vidence. The  stone  work  was  executed  by  Mr, 
William  Andrews,  of  Providence,  and  the  wood 
work  by  Mr.  C.  S.  Tompkins,  of  Warren. 
The  painting,  glazing,  staining,  &c.  were  done  by 
L.  Cole  &  Co.  of  Warren.  The  whole  Building  is 
constructed  of  the  most  substantial  materials,  and 
all  the  work  is  executed  with  fidelity  and  good 
taste- 


178 


APPENDIX. 


Note  N.— Page  122. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  first  Commence- 
mont  of  the  Rhode-Island  College  at  Warren,  Sep- 
tember 7,  1769,  from  the  Providence  Gazette  and 
Country  Journal,  printed  by  John  Carter,  September 
9,  1769. 

PROVIDENCE,  September  9. 

On  Thursday,  the  7th  of  this  instant,  was  celebrat- 
ed at  Warren,  the  first  Commencement  in  the  College 
of  this  Colony  ;  when  the  following  young  gentlemen 
<;ommenced  Bachelors  of  Arts,  viz  :  Joseph  BsltoUf 
Joseph  Eaton,  William  Rogers,  Richard  Stites,  Charles 
Thompson,  James  Mitchell  Varnum,  and  William  Wil- 
liams. 

About  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  gentlemen  concern- 
ed in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  College,  together 
with  the  Candidates,  went  in  procession  to  the  Meet- 
ing-House. 

After  they  had  taken  their  seats  respectively,  and 
the  audience  were  composed,  the  President  introduc- 
ed the  business  of  the  day  with  prayer;  then  follow- 
ed a  salutatory  oration  in  Latin,  pronouuced  with 
much  spirit,  by  Mr.  Stites,  which  procured  him  great 
applause  from  the  learned  part  of  the  assembly.  Ho 
spoke  upon  the  advantages  of  Liberty  and  Learning, 
and  their  mutual  dependence  upon  each  other,  con- 
cluding with  proper  salutations  to  the  Chancellor  of 
the  College,  Governor  of  the  Colony,  &c.  particularly 
expressing  the  gratitude  of  all  the  friends  of  the  Col- 
lege to  the  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards,   who  has  encoun- 


APPENDIX.  179 

tered  many  difficulties  in  going  lo  Europe,  to  collect 
donations  for  the  Institution,  and  has  lately  returned. 
To  which  succeeded  a  forensic  dispute  in  English, 
on  the  following  Thesis,  viz  :  "  The  Americans^  in 
their  present  circumstances^  cannot^  consistent  with 
good  policy^  affect  to  become  an  Indepetident  State." 
Mr.  Varnum  ingeniously  defended  it  by  cogent  argu- 
ments, handsomely  dressed  ;  though  he  was  subtilly 
but  delicately  opposed  by  Mr.  Williams,  both  of 
whom  spoke  with  emphasis  and  propriety. 

As  a  conclusion  lo  the  exercises  of  the  forenoon, 
the  audience  were  agreeably  entertained  with  an  ora- 
tion on  Benevolence^  by  Mr.  Rogers ;  in  which,  among 
many  other  pertinent  observations,  he  particularly 
noticed  the  necessity  which  that  infant  Seminary 
stands  in,  of  the  salutary  effects  of  that  truly  Christ- 
ian virtue. 

At  three  o'clock,  P.M.  the  audience  being  conven- 
ed, a  syllogistic  dispute  was  introduced  on  this  The- 
sis :  "  Materia  cogitare  non  potest.''  Mr.  Williams 
the  respondent ;  Messieurs  Belton,  Eaton.,  Rogers  and 
Varnum  the  opponents.  In  the  course  of  which  dis- 
pute, the  principal  arguments  on  both  sides  were  pro- 
duced towards  settling  that  critical  point. 

The  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  was  then  conferred 
on  the  candidates.  Then  the  following  gentlemen, 
(graduates  in  other  colleges,)  at  their  own  request 
received  the  honorary  degree  of  I\Ia8ter  in  the  Arts, 
vi2  •  Rev.  Edward  Upham,  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards, 
Rev.  Samuel  Stillman,  Rev.  Hezchiah  Smith,  Hon. 
Joseph  Wanton,  Jun.  Esq.,  Mr.  Jabez  Boweiiy  and  Mr, 


180  7^ppENDIX. 

David  Howell^  Professor  of  Pliilosophy    in  said  Co!  ■ 

The  following  gentlemen,  being  well  recommend- 
ed by  the  Faculty  for  literary  merit,  had  conferred  on 
them  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  in  the  Arts,  viz: 
Rev.  Abel  Morgan^  Rev,  Oliver  Hart,  Rev.  David 
Tkotnas,  Rev.  Samuel  Jonas,  Mr.  John  Davis,  Mr. 
Robert  Strettle  Jones,  Mr.  John  Stitcs,  Rev.  James 
Bryson,  Rev.  James  Edicards,  Rev.  William  Boulton, 
Rev.  John  Ryland,  Rev.  William  ClarJ:,  Rev.  Joshua 
Toulmin,  and  Rev.  Caleb  Evans. 

A  concise,  pertinent  and  solemn  charge  was  then 
given  to  the  Bachelors  by  the  President,  concluding 
with  his  last  paternal  benediction,  which  naturally- 
introduced  the  valedictory  orator,  Mr.  Thompson, 
who^  after  some  remarks  upon  the  excellences  of  the 
oratorial  art,  and  expressions  of  gratitude  to  the  pat- 
rons and  officers  of  the  College,  together  with  a  val- 
ediction to  them,  and  all  present,  took  a  most  affec- 
tionate leave  of  his  classmates.  The  scene  was 
tender — the  subject  felt — and  the  audience  affected.* 
The  President  concluded  the  exercises  with  prayer. 
The  whole  was  conducted  with  a  propriety  and  so- 
lemnity suitable  to  the  occasion.  The  audience, 
(consisting  of  the  principal  gentlemen  and  ladies  of 
this  Colony,  and  many  from  the  neighboring  govern- 
ments) though  large  and  crowded,  behaved  witii  tho 
utmost  decorum. 


[*  The  original  manuscript  copv  of  this  Oratic>n,  iit  the  hand- 
•vvritin?  of  Mr.  Thompson,  is  in  the  possession  of  bis  descend - 
ants,  in  this  town.  J-  P-  T.T 


APPENDIX.  181 

Not  only  the  candidates,  but  even  the  President, 
Were  dressed  in  American  manufactures.  Finally,  be 
it  observed,  that  this  class  are  the  first  sons  of  that 
College,  which  has  existed  for  more  than  four  years, 
during  all  which  time  it  labored  under  great  disad- 
vantages, notwithstanding  the  warm  patronage  and 
encouragement  of  many  worthy  men,  of  fortune  and 
benevolence;  and  it  is  hoped,  from  the  disposition 
which  many  discovered  on  that  day,  and  other  favor- 
able circumstances,  that  these  disadvantages  will 
>30on,  in  part,  be  happily  removed." 


Note  O.— Page  124. 

As  early  as  in  1753,  after  various  memorials  iarid 
remonstrances  addressed  to  the  Government  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, by  several  Baptist  churches  in  that  Col- 
ony, the  spirit  of  intolerance,  by  which  the  "  Stand- 
ing Order"  had  exacted  the  ministerial  Tax  from  the 
Baptists,  and  otherwise  subjected  them  to  very  op- 
pressive civil  disabilities,  was  so  much  softened,  that 
the  Lieut.  Governor,  Council,  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, passed  an  act,  entitled,  "  An  act  in  addi- 
tion to  an  act,  passed  the  IS'th  year  of  his  present 
Majesty's  reign,  entitled.  An  act  further  to  exempt 
persons  commonly  called  Anabaptists,  within  this 
province,  from  being  taxed  for  aid  towards  the  sup- 
port of  ministers."  One  passage  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  of  that  session 
stands  thus  : — 


182  APPENDIX. 

"  Be  it  enacted^  bj  the  Lieut,  Governor,  Council 
and  House  of  Representatives,  that  no  person  for  the 
future  shall  be  so  esteemed  to  be  an  Anabaptist  as  to 
have  his  poll  or  polls  and  estate  exempted  from  pay- 
ing a  proportionate  part  of  the  taxes  that  shall  be 
raised  in  the  town  or  place  where  he  or  they  belong, 
but  such  whose  names  shall  be  contained  in  the  lists 
taken  by  the  assessors,  as  in  said  act  provided,  or" 
such  as  shall  produce  a  certificate  under  the  hands 
of  the  minister,  and  of  two  principal  members  of  such 
church,  setting  forth,  that  they  conscientiously  be- 
lieve such  person  or  persons  to  be  of  their  persuasion, 
and  that  he  or  they  usually  and  frequently  attend 
the  public  worship  in  such  church  on  Lord's  days. — 
And  he  it  further  enacted,  that  no  minister  nor  the 
members  of  any  Anabaptist  church,  as  aforesaid,  shall 
be  esteemed  qualified  to  give  such  certificate,  as 
aforesaid,  other  than  such  as  shall  have  obtained 
from  three  other  churches,  commonly  called  Anabap- 
tists, in  this  or  the  neighboring  provinces,  a  certifi- 
cate from  each  respectively,  that  they  esteem  such 
church  to  be  one  of  their  denomination,  and  that  they 
conscientiously  believe  them  to  be  Anabaptists,  the 
several  certificates  as  aforesaid  to  be  lodged  with  the 
Town  Clerk  where  the  Anabaptist,  (desiring  such 
exemption,)  dwells,  some  time  betAvixt  the  raising  or 
granting  of  the  tax,  and  the  assessment  of  the  same 
on  the  inhabitants.  This  act  to  continue  to  be  in 
force  for  five  years  from  the  publication  thereof,  and 
no  longer." 


APPENDIX.  183 

Note  P.— Page  126. 

For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  Warren  Associ- 
ation, the  following  account  is  presented  from  Bene- 
dict's History  of  the  Baptists. 

"  WARREN  ASSOCIATION. 

This  body  was  formed  in  the  place  from  which  it 
took  its  name,  in  1767,  at  which  time  three  ministers* 
from  the  Piiiladelphia  Association  came  u  with  a 
letter  to  encourage  the  measure.  Only  f  ur  churches 
at  first  associated,  viz.  Warren,  Haverl  HI,  Belling- 
ham,  and  the  Second  in  Middleborough.  The  dele- 
gates from  six  other  churches  were  present,,  but  they 
did  not  feel  themselves  ready  to  proceed  in  the  un- 
dertaking. As  the  annual  Commencement  :f  the 
College  had  been  fixed  on  the  first  Wednesday  of 
September,  the  anniversary  of  the  Association  was 
appointed  the  Tuesday  after.  This  arrangement  is 
still  observed.!  The  second  and  third  sessions  of  this 
Association  were  held  in  the  place  where  it  was 
formed.  The  fourth  was  at  Bellingham,  and  the  fifth 
at  Sutton,  in  1771,  by  which  time  it  had  increased  to 
20  churches,  and  over  800  members.  This  year  they 
began  to  print  their  Minutes,  and  have  continued  to 
do  so  to  the  present  time.  The  two  churches  in  Bos- 
ton fell  in  with  this  establishment  a  few  years  after 
it  was  begun,  but  it  was  some  time  before  the  Provi- 
dence church,  which  is  now  the  oldest  and  largest  in 

*  Jfr.  Backus  has  not  mentioned  their  names.  Dr.  Jones  and 
Morgan  Edwards  were  probably  two  of  them. 

t  During  about  twenty  years  past,  the  Association  has  had  the 
first  day  of  its  meeting,  on  the  first  Wednesday  instead  of  th« 
first  Tu,esday  after  Commencement. 


184  APPENDIX. 

it,  could  be  brought  into  its  measures.  The  doctrine 
of  the  laying-on-of-hands  was  probably  the  principa. 
cause  of  this  delay.  This  Association  for  a  number 
of  years  included  a  large  circle  of  churches,  whicL 
were  scattered  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  in 
Rhode-Island,  Massachusetts,  New-Hampshire,  Ver- 
mont and  Connecticut.  Most  of  them  were,  however, 
in  Massachusetts,  aud  in  process  of  time,  Boston  be- 
came not  far  from  its  centre.  It  has,  from  its  begin- 
ning, been  a  flourishing  and  influential  body  ;  has 
contained  a  number  of  ministers  of  eminent  standing 
in  the  Baptist  connection ;  has  successfully  opposed 
the  encroachments  of  religious  oppression  ;  has  aided 
the  designs  of  the  College  at  Providence  ;  has  devised 
plans  of  a  literary  and  missionary  nature ;  and  has 
been  more  or  less  concerned  in  whatever  measures 
have  had  a  view  to  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of 
truth,  of  the  Baptist  interest  in  New-England,  and 
remoter  regions.  By  this  body  were  presented  many 
addresses  to  the  rulers  of  Massachusetts,  and  some  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  against  civil  oppressions 
for  conscience'  sake;  by  it  also  were  issued  many 
publications  in  defence  of  religious  freedom.  It  was 
almost  constantly  employed  in  measures  of  this  kind, 
from  its  formation,  to  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1783; 
and  no  small  success  attended  its  exertions." 


Note  a.— Page  133. 
Additional  notice  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Thomp- 
son, by  Rev.  A.  Fisher,  of  Svi^anzea. 

Besides  the  great  and  gracious  revival   of  religioa, 


APPENDIX.  185 

under  Mr.  Thompson's  ministry  with  the  Svranzea 
church,  immediately  after  his  settlement,  in  1780, 
there  were  two  more  revivals  during  his  ministry 
i  with  this  people;  one  in  1789,  and  the  other  in  1801, 
which  greatly  encouraged  the  church  and  the  minis- 
ter. The  whole  number  baptized  by  him,  while 
minister  at  Swanzea,  was  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
six.  But  inconsequence  of  the  re-organization  of  the 
Warren  church,  and  the  formation  of  other  churches 
within  the  circle  formerly  embraced  by  the  Swanzea 
church,  the  decrease  of  this  church  was  so  great,  that 
before  Mr.  Thompson  left,  his  field  of  labour  had  be- 
come very  much  lessened,  so  that  when  he  left  the 
church,  it  was  not  much  larger  than  when  he  found 
it. 

His  support  was  small,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to 
labour  with  his  own  hands,  keep  store,  and  instruct 
scholars,  to  obtain  a  living.  Mr.  Thompson  was  a 
native  of  New-Jersey,  having  been  born  at  Amwell, 
April  14,  1748.  As  Mr.  Manning  came  from  New- 
Jersey  at  the  beginning  of  the  Rhode-Island  College 
in  Warren,  Mr.  Thompson  came  on  with  him,  or 
very  soon  afterwards,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an 
education.  After  the  irruption  of  the  English  troops 
into  Warren  drove  Mr.  Thompson  with  his  family 
away  from  the  place,  he  abode  for  a  short  time  in 
Ashford,  Conn,  preaching  at  various  places,  until  he 
settled  in  Swanzea,  in  1779.  Here  he  faithfully  per- 
formed the  duties  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  with 
much  success,  for  the  period  of  twenty-three  years, 
when  he  removed  to  Charlton,  Mass.  where  he 
died,  May  1,  1803.  (^.^ 


186 


APPENDIX. 


In  the  early  part  of  his  ministry  he  married  Miss 
Sally  Child,  daughter  of  Sylvester  Child,  of  Warren, 
by  whom  he  had  five  children,  viz.  William,  Abby, 
Margaret,  Sally  and  Charles. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  tall  in  person,  and  of  a  fine  fig- 
ure. The  expression  of  his  countenance  indicated 
benignity  and  intellect.  He  was  industrious,  improv- 
ing his  time  as  if  he  knew  its  value.  In  his  family 
he  was  kind,  but  firm,  and  the  same  qualities  he  dis- 
played in  the  church  and  everywhere  else. 

As  a  preacher,  he  had  a  voice  of  great  compass,  of 
sweet  and  commanding  tones.  His  feelings  were 
deep  and  tender;  often  he  wept  over  the  people, 
lyhile  he  uttered  his  voice  in  notes  of  thunder,  to 
awaken  the  sinner  from  his  sleep  of  death.  His  ser- 
mons were  studied,  but  not  generally  written.  He 
understood  his  own  deep  responsibility  ;  he  knew  the 
account  he  must  give  to  the  great  Judge  ;  he  felt  the 
worth  of  the  soul ;  and  with  emotion  besought  tho 
sinner  not  to  die.  In  language,  he  was  plain  and 
forcible  ;  he  feared  not  to  declare  the  great  truths  of 
the  Bible, — such  as  man's  sinfulness  and  helplessness, 
the  holiness  of  God's  law,  and  ihe  blessedness  of  the 
gospel.  He  clearly  held  up  and  maintained  the  gov- 
ernment of  God,  and  his  election  of  his  people  to  eter- 
nal life.  He  well  understood  that  all  his  hopes  of 
success  depended  on  the  gracious  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  short,  he  never  in  his  preaching  lost 
sight  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  in  which  he  gloried.  And 
while  he  dwelt  on  these  glorious  themes,  he  led  hie 
hearers^to  look  at  death,  the   resurrection,  the  final 


APPENDIX.  187 

judgment,  heaven  and  hell.  On  the  one  hand,  he 
portrayed  the  glories  of  heaven  ;  and  on  the  other,  in 
melting  but  awful  strains,  he  showed  to  the  impeni- 
tent the  agonies  of  the  second  death.  Such  preaching 
could  not  fail  to  lead  the  wicked  to  tremble,  and  in 
multitudes  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  The 
church  he  fed  with  the  bread  of  life,  so  that  under  his 
ministry  they  were  instructed  and  rendered  holy. 

He  was  also  very  successful  in  the  instruction  of 
youth;  and  many  were  the  young  men  whom  he  in- 
structed in  the  ways  of  science  and  of  virtue.  Such 
talents  as  he  possessed  could  not  be  hid  ;  he  was  often 
called  to  preach  on  public  occasions,  and  multitudes, 
besides  the  people  of  his  own  particular  church,  were 
benefited  by  his  faithful  labors.  At  his  death  well 
might  it  be  said,  "  A  great  man  has  fallen  in  Israel." 

Mr.  Fisher  adds ; — 

The  churches  of  Swanzea  and  Warren  stand  in  the 
relation  of  mother  and  daughter.  As  in  the  order  of 
nature,  while  the  daughter  advances  from  youth  to 
womanhood,  the  motherbecomes  old  anddecrepid,  so 
it  is  in  tliis  case. 

Once,  after  the  daughter  had  gone  out  from  her 
mother's  house,  in  her  extremity  she  was  received 
back  to  be  cherished  in  her  bosom.  Now  that  the 
mother  has  become  old  and  weak,  it  is  hoped  that  the 
daughter  will  not  forget  the  knees  on  which  she  was 
dandled,  while  the  mother  rejoices  in  her  prosperity. 


188  APPENDIX. 

Note  R.— Page  134. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICE  OF  REV.  JOHN 
PITMAN. 

The  Rev.  John  Pitman  was  born  in  Boston,  Aprii 
26,  1751.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  he  removed 
with  his  father,  to  engage  in  mercantile  business,  at 
Beaufort,  S.  C. ;  but  after  a  short  residence  there,  he 
returned  to  Boston.  Though  educated  by  religious 
parents,  he  describes  himself  as  having  early  tried 
"  to  harden  himself  in  sin,  and  shake  off  the  restraints 
of  his  early  education.  He  became  profane,  active  in 
all  mischief,  and  was  surpassed  by  few  of  his  com- 
panions in  iniquity.  In  this  course  he  continued,  till 
some  time  in  1769;  when  He  who  has  all  power  was 
pleased  to  say,  Thus^far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther. 
Then  his  conscience  was  alarmed  in  reality  :  his  sins 
rose  to  his  view,  and  the  fuars  of  eternal  misery  press- 
ed upon  his  mind.  He  resolved  to  change  his  course 
of  life,  to  repent  and  turn  to  God." 

The  subsequent  exercises  of  Mr.  Pitman's  religious 
experience,  given  in  extensive. details  in  his  own  pa- 
pers, describe  the  progress  of  a  soul,  having  been  first 
enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  see  the  plague  of 
his  own  heart,  through  all  those  successive  acts  of  a 
work  of  grace,  till  it  comes  to  see  the  excellence  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  suitableness  of  the  plan  of  salvation 
revealed  in  the  gospel,  and  its  final  and  appropriating 
application  for  a  personal  interest  in  the  promised 
blessing, — peace  in  believing,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  He  was  baptized  by  Dr.  Stillman,  Feb.  24j 
1771. 


APPENDIX.  1S1> 

Though  he  had  become  a  citizen  of  that  "  kingdom 
which  is  not  of  this  world,"  he  loved  his  country, 
was  an  early  advocate  of  its  independence,  and  felt  it 
his  duty  to  maintain  its  rights  and  privileges.  At  the 
passage  of  the  "  Boston  port  bill,"  in  1774,  he  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,  and  subsequently  joined  a 
volunteer  company,  consisting  principally  of  Quakers 
belonging  to  that  city.  During  the  various  scenes  of 
his  military  duty,  and  on  other  occasions,  he  not  only 
displayed  the  bravery  of  the  soldier,  in  a  righteous 
cause,  but  in  an  eminent  degree,  that  decision  and 
attachment  to  the  service  of  his  Heavenly  Father 
that  gained  him  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  his  com- 
panions. 

Air.  Pitman  began  to  preach  in  1777,  having  pro- 
bably united  with  some  church  in  Philadelphia,  by 
whom  he  was  approved  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel. 
After  he  was  ordained,  he  preached  at  various  places 
in  New-Jersey,  from  1777  till  1781,  when  he  again 
removed  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

On  Sept.  21,1778,  he  was  married  to  Rebecca  Cox, 
daughter  of  Richard  Cox,  of  Upper  Freehold,  N.  J. 
While  at  Philadelphia,  he  was  engaged  chiefly  in 
secular  business  for  the  support  of  his  family,  but  al- 
ways preached  the  gospel  on  the  Sabbath,  and  at  oth- 
er times.  For  about  five  months,  in  the  latter  part  of 
1781,  he  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the  First  Baptist  church 
in  that  city,  after  the  church  had  been  left  without  a 
pastor,  by  the  secession  of  their  former  pastor,  Mr. 
"VVinchester  and  his  party,  who  adopted  the  sentiments 
9^  the  Universalists.     In  May,  1784,  he  removed  tq 


190  APPENDIX. 

Providence,  R.  I.  where,  although  he  became  engag- 
ed in  different  kinds  of  secular  busines?,  he  devoted 
part  of  his  time  to  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge 
in  his  ministerial  profession,  and  to  its  several  voca- 
tions. In  Sept.  1785,  he  was  appointed  steward  of 
the  College,  and  continued  in  that  office  one  year, 
during  the  greater  part  of  which  he  supplied  the  Con- 
gregational church  in  Attleborough,  Mass. 

In  Oct.  1786,  he  received  an  invitation  from  the 
Baptist  church  in  Warren,  R.  I.,  to  become  their  pas- 
tor, and  after  resigning  his  office  in  the  College,  re- 
moved thither  with  his  family,  and  continued  to  offi- 
ciate as  their  minister,  till  July,  1790,  when  he 
removed  to  Providence,  and  re-united  with  the  Bap- 
tist church  there. 

His  preaching  in  Warren  was  abundantly  blessed 
He  was  highly  respected  in  the  town,  and  the  utmosL 
harmony  subsisted  between  him  and  the  church. 

In  the  first  great  revival  in  the  Warren  church  in 
the  years  of  1804-5,  several  who  were  then  added  to 
the  church,  dated  their  first  awakenings  from  his 
preaching.  He  continued  to  supply  the  Warren  pul- 
pit frequently,  after  his  removal  to  Providence,  till 
the  20th  of  March,  1791,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to 
officiate  as  minister  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Paw- 
tuxet,  R.  I. 

Mr.  Pitman  held  his  residence  in  Providence,  and 
continued  to  preach  for  the  church  at  Pawtuxet  for 
six  years,  when  in  April  of  1797,  he  commenced 
preaching  for  the  Baptist  church  in  the  First  Precinct 
of  Rehoboth,  Mass.  being  the  same  that  was  subse-. 


APPENDIX.  191 

^utntly  erected  into  a  separate  town,  under  the  an- 
cient [ndian  name  of  Seekonk. 

Here  lie  labored  in  the  ministry  with  only  a  short 
interruption,  the  remaining  part  ot'  his  life.  His  ex- 
crtiony  among  this  people  were  crowned  with  the 
liivine  blessing.  Gradual  atiditions  were  frequently 
made  to  the  church  during  his  ministry  ;  and  in  the 
year  1820,  the  Lord  poured  out  his  Spirit  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  that  town,  and  thirty-seven  were  added 
to  the  church. 

On  Monday  night,  July  22,  1822,  after  having 
preached  on  the  preceding  Sabbath  with  unusual  en- 
gagedness  and  solemnity,  he  was  attacked  with  apo- 
plexy, which  terminated  fatally  on  the  following 
Wednesday,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age. 
A  few  minutes  after  he  was  first  taken,  he  remarked, 
"  I  shall  die,  and  not  live." 

His  remains  were  interred  on  the  ensuing  Friday, 
^vhen  a  very  appropriate  sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev. 
William  Rogers,  D.  D.  from  2  Cor.  v.  1. 

A  portion  of  Dr.  Rogers'  sermon  at  the  funeral  of 
Mr.  Pitman,  is  to  be  found  in  the  September  No.  of 
the  American  Baptist  Magazine  for  1822,  in  which 
an  elevated  character  is  given  of  Mr.  Pitman,  as  a  man^ 
a  Christian^  and  a  Minister.  In  the  November  No. 
of  the  Magazine  for  the  same  year,  is  an  extended 
and  ably  written  biographical  notice  of  Mr.  Pitman, 
from  which  nearly  all  the  facts  in  this  Note  are  ex- 
tracted, and  of  which,  this  article  pretends  to  be  a 
very  short  abridgment.  The  judgment  of  some  of  the 
eldest  and  most  candid  of  Mr.  Pitman's  living  friends. 


192  APPENDIX. 

in  this  town  and  elsewhere,  has  been  sought  by  the 
writer;  and  they  uniformly  agree  in  saying  that  the 
Biogr-'phy  referred  to  in  the  Magazine  is  drawn  with 
great  candor  and  discrimination.  Many  person- 
al recollections  of  interesting  incidents  in  Mr  Pit- 
man's history,  could  be  supplied,  by  some  among  iiS, 
who  knew  and  loved  him  well;  but  the  brevity  need- 
ful and  proper  for  this  small  work,  necessarily  fore- 
closes them,  Mr.  Pitman  left  a  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren to  mourn  their  irreparable  loss. 


CONCLUSION. 

No  sketches  have  been  drawn  in  these  articles,  of 
the  pastors  of  this  church,  after  Mr.  Pitman,  to  the 
present  time.  They  are  all,  with  one  exception, 
(Rev.  Daniel  Chessman)  still  living;  and  the  record 
of  their  life  and  character  more  properly  belongs  to 
some  future  and  more  extended  history  of  this  church. 
The  writer  closes  these  records  of  the  events  and  the 
men  of  former  times,  feeling  that  it  will  be  an  ea«y 
and  grateful  tagk,  at  some  other  time,  to  take  up  this 
history  from  the  points  where  it  is  now  left ;  and  the 
materials  of  which  must  hereafter  be  more  abundant 
and  accessible,  than  the  sources  from  which  these 
sketches  are  drawn. 

It  is  with  pleasure,  that  in  connection  with  this 
Discourse,  the  author  can  introduce  within  the  covers 
of  the  same  book,  a  supplementary  article  by  General 
Guy  M.   Fessenden,  who   has  undertaken   a  similar 


APPENDIX.  193 

work  of  exhuming  the  materials  for  the  early  history 
of  this  town,  to  what  the  present  writer  has,  with  re- 
spect to  this  church.  Both  these  articles  are  design- 
ed to  be  like  the  base  ofan  inverted  cone  or  pyramid, 

•  ler  at  the  foundation,  and  tapering  to  a  point,  nar- 

wer  as  we  come  down  to  the  present. 


SUPPLEMENT. 


THE 
HI  STORY    OF 

W  A  11  R  E  N,  R.  1. 

FROM    THE 

EARLIEST  TIMES ; 

WITH    PARTICULAR    NOTICES 

OP 

MASSASOIT  AND  HIS  FAMILY, 

By  G'?'i^l.  FESSENDEN. 


PROVIDENCE: 

H,  il.  DROWN,  25  MARKET  SQUARE, 
1848. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  pages  were  written  at  the  solicitation' 
of  the  Author's  friends,  supported  by  his  own  view 
of  the  importance  of  such  a  work. 

The  connection  of  Massasoit  and  his  immediate 
household,  with  the  first  settlers  of  New-England, 
constitutes  an  important  feature  in  the  early  history  of 
our  country. 

From  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  correct  information, 
respecting  that  distinguished  aboriginal  family,  and 
especially,  the  place  of  their  residence ;  writers,  living 
at  a  distance  from  the  scenes  they  describe,  have  been 
led  into  erroneous  statements,  and  these  errors  have 
been  copied  and  repeated  in  subsequent  historical 
compilations. 

The  local  residence  of  the  writer  gives  him  the  ad- 
vantage of  reconciling  facts  and  testimonies,  which 
could  not  be  reasonably  expected  of  others,  differently 
situated. 

Besides  making  due  acknowledgment  for  the  quo- 
tations given,  the  writer  deems  it  proper  to  observe, 
that  he  has  derived  much  information  from  the  fol- 
lowing works : 

Young's  Chron.  of  the  Pilgrims,  Holmes'  Annal?, 


VI  PREFACE. 

Davis'  Morton's  JMemorials,  Drake's  Book  of  the  In- 
dians, Church's  and  Hubbard's  Hist,  of  Philip's  War, 
Old  Indian  Chronicle,  R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Hakluyt's 
Voyages,  Prince's  Annr.ls,  Mather's  Masrnalia,  Bhss' 
Hist,  of  Rehoboth,  Barber's  Hist.  Coll.,  Adams'  and 
Barber's  Histories  of  N.  England,  Updike's  Mem.  of  R. 
I.  Bar,  Belknap's  Am.  Biog. ,  Kno%Yles'  and  Gammell's 
Mem.  of  Roger  Williams,  Backus'  Hist,  of  the  Bap- 
tists, Thatcher's  Ind.  Biog.  Hubbard's  Hist.  N.  Eng- 
land, Manuscripts, — Record  Book  of  the  Proprietors 
of  Sowams,  and  parts  adjacent,  from  1653  to  1751, — 
Swanzea  Records  from  1670  to  1718, — Warren  Rec- 
ords from  1746. 
Warren,  August,  1845. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  WARREN. 


The  early  history  of  this  town,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  lapse  of  time,  the  various  nation- 
al, state  and  town  governments  under  which  it 
has  passed,  and  the  diversified  sources  to  which 
we  are  compelled  to  resort  for  information,  in- 
volves difficulties  of  research,  requiring  much 
patience,  candor  and  industry. 

The  territory,  of  which  it  is  a  part,  since 
first  known,  has  been  successively  under  the 
national  or  subordinate  jurisdiction  of  the  Abo- 
rigines, of  France,  England,  North  and  South 
Virginia,  New  Plymouth,  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  Rhode-Island.  Besides  following  these 
general  changes,  the  town  while  under  the  In- 
dian Sachems,  was  called  So-wams  in  Pokano- 
ket,  until  1667,  when  it  became  a  constituent 
part  of  Swanzea,  Mass.  which  was  incorporated 
that  year.  It  so  remained  till  1746,  when  it 
was  set  off  from  Massachusetts  and  annexed  to 
Rhode-Island,  and  including  Barrington,  which 
had  been  previously  erected  into  a  separate 
township  in  1718,  was  incorporated  into  one 
town  by  the  name  of  Warren.  In  1770,  the 
town  was  divided,  the  western  part  resuming 


t)  SUPPLExMENT. 

the  name  of  Barrington,  the  remaining  part 
constituting  the  town  with  its  present  limits. 

The  history  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  ot 
this  place  and  vicinity,  their  character  and  con- 
dition at  the  time  of  the  first  visit  of  white  men, 
their  decline  and  final  dispersion  before  the 
irresistible  force  of  civilization,  are  full  of  in- 
terest. The  brilliant  discovery,  by  Columbus, 
of  the  western  world,  in  1492,  induced  the  great 
maritime  powers  of  Europe  to  send  exploring 
vessels  to  this  continent,  with  the  object  of  ac- 
quiring territory  by  right  of  discovery.  It  is 
somewhat  remarkable  (as  historians  observe,)* 
that  three  great  commercial  powers  should  em- 
ploy for  that  purpose,  persons  all  of  the  single 
nation  of  Italy,  which  was  not  then  noted  for 
its  extensive  navigation.  While  Spain  em- 
ployed Columbus  of  Genoa,  and  England  the 
Cabots  of  Venice,  France  engaged  the  services 
of  Verrazzano  of  Florence,  to  which  we  would 
add,  (and  we  are  surprised  at  the  omission) 
that  Portugal  also  employed  an  Italian,  Amer- 
icus  Vespucius  of  Florence. 

Of  these,  the  French  pilot,  Verrazzano,  dis- 
covered and  visited  this  vicinity.  We  find  that 
Francis  I.  of  France,  in  the  spring  of  1524, 
sent  the  ship  Dolphin  (or  Dauphin)  Capt.  Ver- 
azzano,  who  sailed  along  the  coast,  from  South- 
Carolina  to  Newfoundland,  occasionally  stop- 
ping and  visiting  the  coast,   and    named   the 

''*  Holmes'  Annals,  I.  55. 


SUPPLEMENT.  7 

vvliole  country  Neiv-France.  On  this  voyage, 
he  entered  the  Narragansett  Bay,  the  account 
of  which  visit,  and  his  description  of  the  na- 
tives, v/e  take  from  his  letter  to  the  King,  after 
his  return.*  He  states  that  he  sailed  from 
Madeira  on  the  17th  of  January,  1524,  in  the 
ship  Dolphin,  with  eight  months'  stores  and  50 
men ;  that  he  made  the  land  after  steering  a 
west  course,  in  50  days,  and  passed  on  along 
the  coast  northerly,  until  he  came  to  Block 
Island.  We  now  quote  his  words,  as  given  by 
the  translator  : 

"We  discoured  an  Hand  in  forme  of  a  tri- 
angle, distant  from  the  maine  land  ten  leagues, 
about  the  bignesse  of  the  Hand  of  Rhodes  ;  it 
was  full  of  hils  couered  with  trees,  well  peo- 
pled, for  we  saw  fires  all  along  the  coast ;  we 
gaue  it  the  name  of  your  Majesties  mother.! 
And  we  came  to  another  land,  being  15  leagues 
distant  from  the  Hand,  where  we  found  a  pass- 
inor  good  hauen,  wherein  beinor  entred,  we  found 
about  20  small  boats  of  the  people,  which  with 
diuers  cries  and  wondrings,  came  about  our 
ship,  comming  no  nearer  than  50  paces  towards 
vs,  they  stayed  and  beheld  the  artificialness  of 
our  ship,  our  shape  and  apparel,  then  they  all 
made    a   loud  showt  together,   declaring  that 

*  Published  in  "  Hakluyt's  Voyages,"  A.  D.  1600. 
New  Edition,  Quarto,  London,  1800.    3d  Vol.  p.  357. 

t  Louisa  was  the  name  of  the  mother  of  Francis 
I. 


8  SUPPLEMENT. 

they  reioyced ;  when  we  had  something  ani- 
mated them,  vsing  their  gestures,  they  came  so 
neere  vs,  that  we  cast  them  certaine  bels  and 
glasses,  and  many  toyes,  which,  when  they  had 
■received,  they  looked  on  them  with  laughincr, 
and  came  without  feare,  aboard  our  ship." 

''  They  were  dressed  in  deer  skins  wrought 
artificially  with  diuers  branches  like  damaske, 
their  hayre  was  tied  vp  behind  with  diuers 
knots.  This  is  the  goodliest  people,  and  of 
the  fairest  conditions  that  we  haue  found  in 
this  our  voyage  ;  they  exceed  vs  in  bignes,  they 
are  of  the  colour  of  brasse,  some  of  them  in- 
cline more  to  whitenesse,  others  are  of  yellow 
colour,  of  comely  visage,  with  long  and  blacke 
haire,  which  they  are  very  careful  to  trim  and 
decke  vp,  they  are  of  sweete  and  pleasant 
countenance; — the  women  are  very  handsome 
and  well  favoured,  of  pleasant  countenance  and 
comely  to  behold ;  they  are  as  well  manered  as 
any  women,  they  were  deeres  skins  branched 
or  embroidered  as  the  men  use,  there  are  also 
of  them  which  weare  on  their  armes  very  rich 
skinnes  of  Luzernes,  they  weare  diuers  orna- 
ments according  to  the  vsage  of  the  people  of 
the  east." 

"  Wee  bestowed  15  dayes  in  prouiding  our- 
selues  ;  evry  day  the  people  repaired  to  see  our 
ship,  bringing  their  wiues  with  them,  whereof 
they  are  very  ielous  and  caused  their  wiues  to 
stay  in  their  boats,  and  for  all  the  intreatie  we 
•could  make,  we  could  neuer  obtain  that  they 


SUPPLEMENT.  9 

would  suffer  them  to  come  abord  our  ship. 
There  were  two  kings  of  so  goodly  stature  and 
shape  as  is  posible  to  declare  ;  the  eldest  was 
about  40  yeeres  of  age ;  the  second  was  a  young 
man  of  20  yeeres  old  ;  and  when  they  came  on 
board,  the  Q,ueene  and  her  maids  stayed  in  a 
very  light  boat,  at  an  Hand,  a  quarter  of  a  league 
off."  "  There  was  a  little  Hand  neere  the  ship 
where  the  men  went,  the  woods  v/ere  okes,  ci- 
presse  trees,  and  other  sorts  vnknown  in  Eu- 
rope, damson  and  nut  trees ;  there  are  beasts 
in  great  abundance,  as  harts,  deere,  Luzerns, 
and  other  kinds." 

He  then  describes  their  boats,  as  made  of 
one  log,  by  the  aid  of  fire,  and  tools  of  stone, 
and  were  of  sufficient  capacity  to  carry  10  or 
15  men.     He  continues  : — 

"  We  saw  their  houses,  made  in  circular 
forme,  10  or  12  paces  in  compasse,  coured 
with  mattes  of  straw,  wrought  cunningly  to- 
gether." "  They  live  long  and  are  seldom 
sicke,  and  if  they  chance  to  fall  sicke  at  any 
time,  they  heale  themselves  with  fire,  without 
any  physitian,  and  they  say  that  they  die  for 
very  age." 

"  The  mouth  of  the  hauen  iieth  open  to  the 
south,  half  a  league  broad,  and  being  entred 
within  it,  between  the  east  and  the  north,  it 
atretcheth  twelve  leagues,  where  it  waxeth 
broader  and  broader,  and  maketh  a  gulfe  about 
20  leagues  in  compasse,  wherein  are  fiue  small 


10  SUPPLEMENT 

Hands,  very  fruitfull  and  pleasant ;  full  of  hie 
and  broade  trees,  among  the  which  Hands  any 
great  nauie  may  ride  safe.  Turning  towards 
the  south,  in  the  entring  into  thehauen,  on 
both  sides  there  are  most  pleasant  hils,  with 
many  riuers  of  most  cleare  water  falling  into 
the  sea."  "  In  the  middest  of  this  entrance, 
there  is  a  rocke  of  free  stone  growing  by  nature, 
apt  to  build  any  castle  or  fortress  there."! 
"  This  land  is  situated  in  the  parallel  of  Rome,  1 
in  41  degrees  and  2  terces.  The  oth  of  May 
we  departed  " 

Most  writers  who  have  noticed  the  discove- 
ries of  Verazzano,  consider  the  foregoing  ex- 
tract as  referring  to  Block  Island  and  Narra- 
gansett  Bay.*  The  latitude  41d.  40m.  is  given 
by  him  very  correctly,  considering  that  in  those 
days  the  marine  instruments  for  observing  it. 
were  the  astrolabe,  semisphere,  ring  and  cross- 
staff.  The  general  description  is  very  accurate 
and  disagreements  are  found  only  in  some  of  the 
distances  and  magnitudes  given  by  him,  which 
are  readily  accounted  for  ; — first,  from  the  fact, 
that  at  that  time  a  French  league  was  seven 
tenths  of  an  English  mile  shorter  than  the  pre-- 


*  Bancroft  Hist.  U.  S.  T,  15,  16;  New- York  Hist 
Col.  1,  45-60  ;  Belknap  Am.  Biog.  I,  33  or  63;  Moul- 
ton  New-York,  I,  147,  148;  N.  Amer.  Review  XIV, 
p  293-311;  R.I.  Hist.  Coll. 


SUPPLEMENT.  11 

ent  league ;  and  also,  that  in  writing  to  the 
King  an  account  of  his  wonderful  discoveries, 
Verazzano  would  naturally  be  likely  to  over 
estimate. 

This  visit  constitutes  the  first  ever  made  by 
white  or  civilized  man  to  any  portion  of  the 
State  of  Rhode-Island ;  nor  was  a  second 
made  until  after  tlie  lapse  of  ninety-seven  years, 
during  which  time  the  attention  of  the  Euro- 
pean governments  was  turned  to  the  peculiarly 
exciting  state  of  affairs  at  home,  and  but  little 
was  done  in  the  way  of  discovery  on  this  con- 
tinent. Some  settlements  were  attempted  at 
the  south,  but  mostly  failed  ; — the  eastern  fish- 
ery was  carried  on ;  but  there  is  no  account  of 
any  visit,  during  that  long  period  to  any  place 
in  or  near  the  territory  of  Rhode-Island. 

The  fact,  we  think,  is  fully  established,  that 
the  second  visit  of  civilized  white  men  to  any 
part  of  the  State,  was  made  to  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  the  village  of  Warren. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury, the  spirit  of  discovery  and  settlement  on 
this  continent,  again  revived  under  more  aus- 
picious promises  than  before.  In  1620,  our 
pilgrim  fathers  landed  at  Plymouth,  and  were 
soon  visited  by  the  principal  Sachem  of  the 
territory  between  Narragansett  and  Massachu- 
setts Bays,  and  a  simple  treaty  entered  into 
between  the  parties.  This  Sachem  was  Massa- 
9oit,  who  resided  at  the  Indian  village  of  So- 


12 


SUPPLEMENT. 


warns,  in  the  Pokanoket  territory,  about  40 
miles  distant  from  Plymouth.  The  village  or 
town  of  Sowams  was  situated  upon  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  Warren,  and  the  dwelling  of  Mas- 
sasoit  was  located  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
running  spring  near  BaKer's  \vharf  * 

The  region  now  constituting  Bristol,  Bar- 
rington  and  Warren,  in  Rhode-I&Iand,  with 
parts  of  Swanzea  and  Seekonk,  in  Massa- 
chsetts,  was  called  Pokanoket  by  the  In- 
dians, and  was  the  district  occupied  by  the 
tribe  of  Wampanoags,  under  the  imme- 
diate government  of  Massasoit,  whose  do- 
minion, however,  extended  over  nearly  all  the 
south-eastern  part  of  Massachusetts,  from  Cape 
Cod  to  Narragan.^ctt  Bay. 

The  comparative  mildness  attending  the 
plague  of  1616,  in  this  region,  the  fertility  of 

*  Massasoit's  spring  is  situated  about  80  feet  from 
the  original  ni^h  water  mark,  on  land  gradually  de- 
scending to  the  river,  ft  is  near  Baker's  wharf,  in  a 
pubic  street,  and  in  its  natural  state  was  a  common 
but  powerful  spring.  In  consequence  of  making  the 
street  and  wharf,  and  erecting  buildings  near  the 
spot,  and  raising  the  land,  the  spring  has  been  exca- 
vated and  walled  up  like  a  well.  It  is  noAV  eight  feet 
deep  :  at  five  feet  from  the  bottom,  a  sluice  way  is 
left  in  the  wall :  the  water  never  fails,  but  is  always 
up,  or  near  to  this  aperture,  and  for  eleven  months 
of  the  year,  a  stream  the  size  of  a  man's  arm,  is  run- 
ning through  it.  Near  the  shore  it  comes  to  the  sur- 
face, and  flows  into  the  river.  The  water  is  of  a  pur« 
and  excellent  quality. 


SUPPLEMENT.  IS 

the  soil,  the  uncommon  facilities  for  fishing, 
and  being  the  head  tribe  of  the  nation,  and  res- 
idence of  the  principal  chief,  caused  Pokano- 
ket  to  be  more  thickly  settled  than  any  other 
portion  of  Massasoit's  dominions. 

The  hill  in  Bristol  then  called  Montop  was 
immediately  renamed  by  the  English  Mount 
Hope :  this  gave  a  name  to  the  whole  neck, 
which,  from  the  Mount  to  Miles's  bridge 
in  Swanzea,  was  known  as  Mount  Hope 
neck.  On  this  neck  were  three  Indian  villages, 
viz.  Montop,  located  near  the  Mount ;  Kikc- 
muit,  around  the  spring  of  that  name,  and  So- 
wams  or  Soivamset  (pronounced  S'womset)  on 
the  spot  where  the  village  of  Warren  now 
stands. 

The  remains  of  these  settlements  are  plain 
id  be  discerned ; — in  this  immediate  vicinity, 
human  bones  are  o'ften  disinterred,  shells  a- 
bound  in  the  soil,  and  many  Indian  relics,  con- 
sisting of  warlike  instruments,  and  implements 
for  domestic  and  mechanical  purposes,  are  fre- 
quently collected.*  Around  Kikemuit  spring, 
tor  a  space  of  ten  acres,  the  soil  is  mixed  with 
oyster,  clam  and  quahaug  shells,  to  the  depth 
of  several  feet. 

Some  authors  have  located  the  residence  of 

"  Tlie  writer  lias  made  a  coilcction  of  curious  re- 
lics of  undoubted  aboriginal  origin,  which  havo  been 
bund 
stood 


14  SUPPLEMENT. 

Massasoit  at  Mount  Hope ;  others  have  sup- 
posed it  to  have  been  m  Barrington.  The  for- 
mer appear  to  have  been  led  into  their  mistake, 
by  supposing  that  as  Philip  had  for  some  time 
resided,  and  at  last  was  killed,  at  Mount  Hope, 
that  it  was,  therefore,  the  residence  of  his  fath- 
er Massasoit,  and  his  brother  Alexander  before 
him ; — while  the  latter  have  been  betrayed  into 
their  error,  from  a  misconstruction  of  a  note  in 
Callender's  Historical  Discourse.* 

*  The  following  is  the  note  referred  to  in  Callen- 
der's Hist.  Dis. — "  Perhaps  Sowarjis  is  jiroperly  the 
name  of  the  river,  where  the  two  Swanzea  rivers 
meet  and  run  together  for  near  a  mile,  when  they 
empty  themselves  into  the  Narragansett  Bay  ;  or  of 
a  small  island,  where  the  two  rivers  meet,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  INew  Meadow  Neck,  so  called."  R.  1.  Histo 
Coll.  IV.  84. 

This  note  of  Callender's  is  not,  as  has  been  sup- 
posed, his  own  correction  of  a  statement  made  by 
himself,  but  the  pass.ige  in  his  discourse,  to  which  he 
refers,  is  a  q'jotation  from  Clark's  narrative,  viz. 
"  Sowams  is  tlie  neck  since  called  Phebe's  Neck,  in 
Barrington."  We  have,  therefore,  the  opinions  of 
both  dark  and  Callender,  as  to  the  location  of  Sow- 
ams. They  are  both  worthy  of  consideration  ;  the 
former  from  its  antiquity,  and  the  latter  from  the  fact 
of  his  having  been  the  assistant  minister  at  Swanzea, 
from  1728  to  1730.*  These  two  authorities  agree  in 
placing  Sowams  somewhere  on  the  shores  of  Warren 
river,  no  intimation  having  been  made   by   either  of 


*  Mr.  Callender  had  an  aunt  buned  on  New  Meadow  Neck, 
on  whose  grave-stone  is  the  following  inscription  : — ''  Sarah, 
wife  to  Edward  Luther,  Esq.  daughter  of  Ellis  and  Mary  Cal- 
lender, of  Boston.    Died  June  2,  1711,  aged  27  years." 


SUPPLEMENT.  15 

The  earliest  accounts  do  not  locate  Massaso- 
it's  residence  at  either  of  those  places.  His 
dwelling  is  always  stated  as  being  at  Sowam- 
set  or  Pokanoket ; — the  latter  a  general  name 
for  the  territory  occupied  by  his  tribe  ;  and  the 
former  the  name  of  the  particular  village  of  his 
residence.*  The  facts  tending  to  prove  this 
statement,  and  also  that  the  present  village  of 
Warren  was  formerly  Sowamset,  will  now  be 
noticed. 

them,  as  to  Sowams  being  at  Kickemuit  or  Mount 
Hope,  or  at  any  other  place.  At  tJie  time  when  they 
wrote,  probably  but  very  little  importance  was  attach- 
ed to  the  residence  of  Massasoit,  and  VVinslow's  nar- 
rative was  probably  but  little  known  out  of  England, 
where  it  was  published. 

The  small  island  mentioned  (called  Little  Island) 
is  about  500  feet  in  length  by  about  150  in  breadth. 
The  soil  is  a  mere  swamp  ;  the  salt  grass  is  cut  from 
it  yearly,  and  this  constitutes  its  only  use.  Ordinary 
tides  nearly  cover  it,  and  extra  high  tides  completely 
overflow  it.  Any  person  acquainted  with  the  island, 
would  at  once  decide,  that  it  never  was,  and  never 
could  be,  the  residence  of  a  human  being.  Of  course, 
there  is  no  spring  of  water  upon  it,  nor  is  there  one 
to  be  found  on  the  southern  part  of  New  Meadow 
Neck. 

Now  if  it  can  be  established  (of  which  we  have  no 
doubt)  that  Massasoit's  residence  was  upon  the  east 
side  of  Warren  river,  then  the  testimony  of  these  two 
authors  must  be  considered  as  in  favor  of  the  location 
which  we  indicate. 

*"  Massasoit,  they  brought  down  to  the  English,, 
(at  Plymouth,)  though  his  place  was  at  forty  miles 
distance,  called  Sowams,  his  country  called  Pokano- 
ket."—Hubbard's  History  N,  E,,  p.  59. 


16  SUPPLEMENT. 

In  the  summer  of  1621,  Governor  Bradforcr 
concluded  to  send  a  deputation  to  Massasoit, 
on  a  friendly  visit,  to  make  him  a  present,  to 
learn  the  exact  place  of  his  residence,  to  see 
the  country,  to  confirm  the  former  treaty,  and 
to  procure  seed  corn.  Accordingly,  on  Tues- 
day, the  3d  of  July,  16^.1,  Mr.  Edward  Wins- 
low,  subsequently  Governor  of  Plymouth  col- 
ony, Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins  and  an  Indian  nam- 
ed Squanto,  Squantum  or  Tisquantum,  for  a 
guide,  commenced  their  journey,  and  from  Mr. 
Winslow's  narrative,  we  can  easily  trace  the 
course  of  their  route.  Their  first  day's  travel 
brought  them  to  a  spot  now  called  Titicut,  a 
village  on  Taunton  river,  in  the  north-west 
part  of  Middleboro',  where  they  passed  the 
night.  The  next  morning,  Wednesday,  July 
4,  they  proceeded  six  miles  by  the  river,  on  the 
south  side,  to  a  well-known  wading  place, 
where  they  crossed  over,  and  proceeding  on, 
arrived  that  afternoon  at  Pokanoket,  the  resi- 
dence of  Massasoit.  They  remained  with  him 
two  nights,  and  the  intervening  day  of  Thurs- 
day, July  5,  lodging  in  his  dwelling.  This  day 
'Massasoit  brought  two  fishes  that  he  had  shot.'* 


*  Probably  Bass,  as  those  fish  swim  near  the  sur- 
face.— R.  Williams,  in  his  "Key,"  says  of  the  In- 
dians, "  They  kill  Basse,  (at  the  fall  of  the  water,) 
with  their  arrows."  And  "  Purchas"  says,  "  Tliey 
will  with  arrowea  kill  birds  flying,  fishes  swimming 
beasts  running." 


SUPPLEMExVT.  17 

<  )ji  Friday  morning,  July  6,  before  sunrise,  they 
departed  for  home  :  they  passed  the  following 
night  at  the  same  place  they  passed  the  first 
night  out,  and  the  next  day,  Saturday,  July  7, 
arrived  home,  "  wet,  weary  and  surbated." 
They  reported  the  distance  as  about  40  miles 
from  Plymouth,  speak  of  a  number  of  rivers 
that  they  waded  through,  but  not  a  word  is 
said  of  crossing  an  unfordable  river,  especially 
at  the  close  of  the  journey,  or  at  their  leaving, 
("  before  sunrise")  for  home,  which  they  must 
have  done,  if  they  crossed  Warren  river  into 
Barrington.  So  obvious  is  this,  that  no  person 
in  this  vicinity,  either  of  Barrington  or  Warren, 
entertains  the  least  idea  that  these  travelers 
could  have  passed  Warren  river. 

In  March  of  the  year  1623,  Mr.  Winslow 
was  again  sent  on  a  visit  to  Massasoit ;  he  was 
accompanied  this  time  by  Mr.  John  Hamden, 
and  an  Indian  named  Hobbamock,  for  a  guide. 
The  narrative  of  this  journey  is  given  by  Wins- 
low  more  minutely  than  the  former,  both  of 
which  were  originally  published  in  London  in 
1622  and  1624,  respectively,  and  have  been 
correctly  republished,  for  the  first  time,  in  1841, 
by  Rev.  Alexander  Young,  in  his  work  entitled, 
*' Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims."  The  incidents 
of  this  expedition  to  Sowamset  in  Pokanoket, 
possessing  greater  interest  than  the  former,  and 
bearing  directly  upon  the  points  to  be  estabv 


18  SUPPLEMENT. 

lished  in  this  investigation,  will  here  be  trans- 
cribed almost  entire.*     It  commences  ; — 

"  News  came  to  Plymouth  that  Massassowat 
was  like  to  die,  and  that  at  the  same  time  there 
was  a  Dutch  ship  driven  so  high  on  the  shore 
by  stress  of  weather,  right  before  his  dwelling, 
that  till  the  tides  increased,  she  could  not  be 
got  off.  Now  it  being  a  commendable  manner 
of  the  Indians,  when  any,  especially  of  note, 
are  dangerously  sick,  for  all  that  profess  friend- 
ship to  them,  to  visit  them  in  their  extremity  ; 
therefore  it  was  thought  meet,  that  as  we  had 
ever  professed  friendship,  so  we  should  now 
maintain  the  same,  by  observing  this  their  laud- 
able custom  ;  and  the  rather,  because  we  desir- 
ed to  have  some  conference  with  the  Dutch. 
To  that  end,  myself  having  formerly  been  there, 
and  understanding  in  some  measure,  the  Dutch 
tongue,  the  Governor  again  laid  this  service 
upon  myself,  having  one  Master  John  Hamden 
for  my  consort,  and  Hobbamock  for  our  guide. 
So  we  set  forward,  and  lodged  the  first  night 
at  Namasket.t  The  next  day,  about  one  of 
the  clock,  we  came  to  a  ferry  in  Conbatant's 
country. J  There  they  told  us  that  Massasowat 
was  dead,  and  that  day  buried  ;  and  that  the 
Dutch   would   be   gone  before  we  could  get 

*  The  points  of  abridgment  are  not  marked  in  this 
cjxtract  from  Winslow's  Journal. 

tNow  Middlcborougli,  Mass. 

I  This  ferry  was  across  Taunton  river. 


SVPPLEMEMT.  19 

thither,  having  hove  off  their  ship  aheatly.  This 
news  struck  us  blank,  but  especially  Hobba- 
mock,  who  desired  we  might  return  with  all 
speed.  Considering  now,  that  he  being  dead, 
Gonbatant  was  the  most  like  to  succeed  him, 
and  that  we  were  not  above  three  miles  from 
Mattapuyst,  his  dwelling  place,  I  thought  no 
time  so  fit  as  this  to  enter  into  more  friendly 
terms  with  him,  and  the  rest  of  the  Sachims 
thereabout,  I  resolved  to  put  it  in  practice,  if 
Master  Hamden  and  Hobbamock  durst  attempt 
it  with  me ;  whom  I  found  willing  to  that  or 
any  other  course  [which]  might  tend  to  the 
general  good.  So  we  went  towards  Matta- 
puyst. In  the  way,  Hobbamock  brake  forth 
into  these  speeches  :  "  My  loving  sachim,  my 
loving  sachim  !  Many  have  I  known,  but  never 
any  like  thee  "  And  turning  him  to  me,  said, 
whilst  I  lived,  I  should  never  see  his  like 
amongst  the  Indians  ;  saying,  he  was  no  liar, 
he  was  not  bloody  and  cruel,, like  other  In- 
dians; in  anger  and  passion  he  was  soon  re- 
claimed ;  easy  to  be  reconciled  towards  such 
as  had  offended  him ;  and  that  he  governed  his 
men  better  with  few  strokes,  than  others  did 
with  many  ;  truly  loving  where  he  loved  ;  yea, 
he  feared  we  had  not  a  faithful  friend  left  among 
the  Indians  ;  showing  how  he  ofttimes  restrain- 
ed their  malice,  &/C.  continuing  a  long  speech 
with  signs  of  unfeigned  sorrow. 

At  length  we  came  to  Mattapuyst,  and  went 
to  the  sachim's  place  ;  but  Conbatant,  the  sa- 


10 


SUPPLEMENT. 


chim,  was  not  at  home,  but  at  Puckanokick, 
which  was  some  five  or  six  miles  off.  The  sa- 
chim's  wife  gave  us  friendly  entertainment. 
Here  we  inquired  again  concerning  Massasow- 
at ;  they  thought  him  dead,  but  knew  no  cer- 
tainty. Whereupon  I  hired  one  to  go  with  all 
expedition  to  Puckanokick,  that  we  might 
know  the  certainty  thereof,  and  withal  to  ac- 
quaint Conbatant  with  our  there  being.  About 
half  an  hour  before  sunsetting,  the  messenger 
returned,  and  told  us  that  he  was  not  yet  dead, 
though  there  was  no  hope  we  should  find  him 
living.  Upon  this  we  were  much  revived,  and 
set  forward  with  all  speed,  though  it  was  late 
within  night  ere  we  got  thither.  About  two  of 
the  clock  that  afternoon,  the  Dutchman  de- 
parted ;  so  that  in  that  respect  our  journey  was 
frustrate. 

When  we  came  thither,  we  found  the  house 
so  full  of  men,  as  we  could  scarce  get  in, 
though  they  used  their  best  diligence  to  make 
way  for  us.  There  were  they  in  the  midst  of 
their  charms  for  him,  making  such  a  hellish 
noise,  as  it  distempered  us  that  were  well,  and 
therefore  unlike  to  ease  him  that  was  sick. 
When  they  had  made  an  end  of  their  charming, 
one  told  him  that  his  friends,  the  English,  were 
come  to  see  him.  Having  understanding  left, 
but  his  sight  was  wholly  gone,  he  asked,  Wlio 
was  come  ?  They  told  him.  He  desired  to 
speak  witli  me.  When  I  came  to  him,  he  put 
forth  his  hand  to  me,   which  I  took.     Then  he 


SUPPLElMliNT.  '^J 

Said  twice,  ^'  Art  thou  Winslovv  ?"  I  answered, 
yes.  Then  he  doubled  these  words,  "  O  AVins- 
low,  I  shall  never  see  thee  again."  Then  I  call- 
ed Hobbamock,  and  desired  him  to  tell  Massa- 
sowat  that  the  Governor  sent  me  with  such 
things  for  him  as  he  thought  most  likely  to  do 
him  good,  and  whereof  if  he  pleased  to  take, 
I  would  presently  give  him  ;  which  he  desired ; 
and  having  a  confection  of  many  comfortable 
conserves,  &.c.  on  the  point  of  my  knife,  I  gave 
him  some,  which  I  could  scarce  get  through 
his  teeth.  When  it  was  dissolved  in  his  mouth, 
he  swallowed  the  juice  of  it;  wdiereat  those 
that  were  about  him  much  rejoiced,  saying  he 
had  not  swallowed  any  thing  in  two  days  be- 
fore. Then  I  desired  to  see  his  mouth,  which 
was  exceedingly  furred,  and  his  tongue  swelled 
in  such  a  manner,  as  it  was  not  possible  for 
him  to  eat  such  meat  as  they  had.  Then  I 
washed  his  mouth,  and  scraped  his  tongue,  af- 
ter which  I  gave  him  more  of  the  confection, 
which  he  swallowed  with  more  readiness.  Then 
he  desiring  to  drink,  I  dissolved  some  of  it  in 
water,  and  gave  him  thereof  Within  half  an 
hour,  this  wrought  a  great  alteration  in  him, 
in  the  eyes  of  all  that  beheld  him.  Presently 
after,  his  sight  began  to  come  to  him,  which 
gave  him  and  us  good  encouragement.  I  in- 
quired how  he  slept,  and  they  said  he  slept  not 
in  two  days  before.  Then  I  gave  him  morCj 
and  told  him  of  a  mishap  we  had  by  the  way, 


22  SUPPLEMENT. 

in  breaking  a  bottle  of  drink,  saying  if  he  would 
send  any  of  his  men  to  Patuxet,  I  would  send 
for  more  of  the  same ;  also  for  chickens  to 
make  him  broth,  and  for  other  things,  which  I 
knew  were  good  for  him  ;  and  would  stay  the 
return  of  his  messenger,  if  he  desired.  This 
he  took  marvellous  kindly,  and  appointed  some, 
who  were  ready  to  go  by  two  of  the  clock  in 
the  morning  ;  against  which  time  I  made  ready 
a  letter. 

He  requested  me,  that  the  day  following,  I 
would  take  my  piece,  and  kill  him  some  fowl, 
and  make  him  some  English  pottage,  such  as 
he  had  eaten  at  Plymouth,  which  I  promised. 
After,  his  stomach  coming  to  him,  I  must 
needs  make  him  some  without  fowl,  before  I 
went  abroad,  I  caused  a  woman  to  bruise  some 
corn,  and  take  the  flour  from  it,  and  set  over 
the  broken  corn,  in  a  pipkin,  for  they  have 
earthen  pots  of  all  sizes.  When  the  day  broke, 
we  went  out,  it  being  now  March,  to  seek 
herbs,  but  could  not  find  any  but  strawberry 
leaves,  of  which  I  gathered  a  handful,  and  put 
into  the  same  ;  and  because  I  had  nothing  to 
relish  it,  I  went  forth  again,  and  pulled  up  a 
sassafras  root,  and  sliced  a  piece  thereof,  and 
boiled  it,  till  it  had  a  good  relish,  and  then  took 
it  out  again.  The  broth  being  boiled,  I  strain- 
ed it  through  my  handkerchief,  and  gave  him 
at  least  a  pint,  which  he  drank,  and  liked  it 
very  well.  After  this,  his  sight  mended  more 
and  more  ;  also  he  took  some  rest ;  insomuch 


SUPPLEMENT 


•2S 


a,^  we  with  admiration  blessed  God  for  giving 
Ills  blessing  to  such  raw  and  ignorant  means, 
liuuseH'and  all  of  them  acknowledging  us  the 
instruments  of  his  preservation. 

That  morning  he  caused  me  to  spend  in  go- 
i  i'T  from  one  to  another  amongst  those  that 
V  're  sick  in  the  town,  requesting  me  to  wash 
I'ii'ir  mouths  also,  and  give  to  each  of  them 
e>  >!ne  of  the  same  I  gave  him,  saying  they  were 
f^:H)d  folk.  This  pains  I  took  with  willingness, 
tlunigh  it  were  much  offensive  to  me.  After 
dinner  he  desired  me  to  get  him  a  goose  or 
duck,  and  make  him  some  pottage  therewith, 
with  as  much  speed  as  I  could.  So  I  took  a 
man  with  me,  and  made  a  shot  at  a  couple  of 
ducks,  some  six  score  paces  off",  and  killed  one, 
at  which  he  wondered.  So  we  returned  forth- 
with, and  dressed  it,  making  more  broth  there- 
with, which  he  much  desired.  Never  did  I  see 
a  man  so  low  brought,  recover  in  that  measure 
in  so  short  a  time. 

About  an  hour  after,  he  began  to  be  very 
sick,  cast  up  the  broth,  and  began  to  bleed  at 
the  nose,  and  so  continued  the  space  of  four 
hours.  Concluding  now  he  would  die,  they 
asked  me  wh^.t  I  thought  of  him.  I  answered, 
his  case  was  desperate,  yet  it  might  be  it  would 
save  his  life  ;  for  if  it  ceased  in  time,  he  would 
forthwith  sleep  and  take  rest,  which  was  the 
principal  thing  he  wanted. — Not  long  after, 
his  blood  stayed,  and  he  slept  at  least  six  or 
eight  hours.     When  he  awaked,  I   washed  liii 


24  SUPPLEMENT. 

face,  and  bathed  and  suppled  his  beard  and 
nose  with  a  linen  cloth.  But  on  a  sudden,  he 
chopped  his  nose  in  the  water,  and  drew  up 
some  therein,  and  sent  it  forth  again  with  such 
violence,  as  he  began  to  bleed  afresh.  Then 
they  thought  there  was  no  hope  ;  but  we  per- 
ceived it  was  but  the  tenderness  of  his  nostril, 
and  therefore  told  them  I  thought  it  would  stay 
presently,  as  indeed  it  did. 

The  messengers  were  now  returned ;  but 
finding  his  stomach  come  to  him,  he  would  not 
have  the  chickens  killed,  but  kept  them  for 
breed. 

Many,  whilst  we  were  there,  came  to  see 
him  ;  some,  by  their  report,  from  a  place  not 
less  than  an  hundred  miles.  To  all  thcit  came, 
one  of  his  chief  men  related  the  manner  of  his 
sickness,  how  near  he  was  spent,  how  his  friends 
the  English  came  to  see  him,  and  how  sudden- 
ly they  recovered  him  to  this  strength  they  saw. 
Upon  this,  his  recovery,  he  brake  forth  into 
these  speeches  :  "  Now  I  see  the  English  are 
my  friends,  and  love  me ;  and  whilst  I  live,  I 
will  never  forget  this  kindness  they  have  show- 
ed me.  At  our  coming  away,  he  called  Hob- 
bamock  to  him,  and  privately  revealed  the  plot 
before  spoken  of,  agamst  Master  Weston's  col- 
ony, and  so  against  us,  saying  himself  also  in 
his  sickness  was  earnestly  solicited,  but  he 
would  neither  join  therein,  nor  give  way  to  any 
of  his.  With  this  he  charged  him  thoroughly 
to  acquaint  me  by  the  way,  that  I  might  inforru, 


SUPPLEMBNT.  Z> 

the  Governor  thereof,  at  my  first  coming  home. 
Being  fitted  for  our  return,  we  took  our  leave 
of  him  ;  who  returned  many  thanks  to  our  Gcv- 
erndr,  and  also  to  ourselves  for  our  labor  and 
love  ;  the  like  did  all  that  were  about  him.  So 
we  r'eparted. 

That  night,  through  the  earnest  request  of 
Conbatant,  who  till  now  remained  at  Sawaams, 
or  Puckanokick,  we  lodged  with  him  at  Mat- 
tapuyst.  Here  we  remained  only  that  night, 
but  never  had  better  entertainment  amongst 
any  of  them.  The  day  following,  in  cur  jour- 
ney, Hobbamock  told  me  of  the  private  con- 
ference he  had  with  Massasowat,  and  how  he 
charged  him  perfectly  to  acquaint  me  there- 
with, as  I  showed  before  ;  which  having  done, 
he  used  many  arguments  himself  to  move  us 
thereunto.  That  night  we  lodged  at  Namas- 
ket,  and  the  day  following  arrived  at  home." 

Although  these  narratives  sufficiently  estab- 
lish the  locality  of  Sowams,  and  therefore  the 
residence  of  Massasoit,  we  can  refer  to  other 
portions  of  history,  corroborative  of  them. 

Tradition,  confirming  our  conclusion,  is  yet 
extant  amoncj  the  people  of  Warren ;  eld«^rly 
persons  nov/ living,  quote  their  predecessors  as 
having  received  this  testimony,  from  the  fiisl 
white  people  who  settled  in  this  vicinity.  A 
map  of  Neu -England,  originally  published  in 
1677,  republished  in  18'2G  and  prefixed  to  Da- 
vis'  edition   of  Morton's  Memorial,   although 


20 


SUPPLKMENT. 


very  imperfect  in  many  respects,  has  a  crown 
marked  upon  it,  evidently  to  denote  the  resi- 
dence of  the  principal  Sachem.  This  crown 
is  not  placed  on  the  seaward  end  of  Mount 
Hope,  or  any  other  Neck,  nor  is  it  on  the  west 
side  of  Warren  river,  but  exactly  where  War- 
ren stands. 

In  the  "judgment"  of  the  Court  of  Commis- 
sioners, held  in  Providence,  to  decide  the 
boundary  question  between  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode-Island,  dated  June  30,  1741,  is  this 
passage  :  "  That  the  place  where  the  Indian 
called  King  Philip  lived,  near  Bristol,  was  call- 
ed Pauconoket,  and  that  another  place  near 
Swanzea,  was  called  Sowams  or  Sowamsett." 
From  this  extract  it  is  evident  that  Sowams 
was  between  Bristol  and  Swanzea,  and  nearest 
the  latter; — as  these  two  townships  adjoin, and  a 
point  near  the  division  line  would  seem  to  be 
intended  ;  which  is  precisely  where  we  decide 
it  to  have  been. 

Mr.  Morse,  in  the  first  volume  of  his  Geog- 
raphy, 5th  octavo  edition,  1805,  in  a  description 
of  Warren,  expressly  states,  *' This  was  also 
the  dwelling  place  of  Massasoit,  afterwards 
called  Osamequin,  an  Indian  Sachem,  who  was 
the  great  friend  of  the  Plymouth  pilgrims  in 
the  infancy  of  their  settlement.  His  spring, 
near  the  margin  of  the  river,  still  bears  his 
name." 

The  Rev.  Alex.  Young,  from  whose  book, 
''  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims,"   the  precedinij 


SUPFLLMENT.  '^  / 

narrative  of  Winslow's  Journal  is  extracted, 
expressly  states  on  page  208,  where  Winslow 
describes  his  arrival  at  the  residence  of  Massa- 
soit,  "  They  arrived  at  Warren,  R.  I." 

From  the  foregoing,  and  other  historical 
writings,  the  following  statements  may  be  con- 
sidered as  established  facts : 

1.  That  the  Indians  invariably  gave  names 
to  all  varieties  of  land  and  water,  as  necks, 
hills,  rivers,  springs,  villages,  countries,  &-c.* 

2.  That  the  first  settlers  generally  retained 
those  names,  however  uncouth,  until  the  places 
named  were  occupied  by  the  English,  and  often 
after. 

3.  That  *'  Mount  Hope"  had  a  name,  and 
although  it  was  known  for  many  years  previous 
to  1676,  while  in  actual  possession  of  the  na- 
tives, yet  no  Indian  name  has  ever  been  men- 
tioned except  Mont-haup,  and  therefore  that 
was  its  Indian  name.t 

4.  That  Mont-liau])  was  readily  Anglicised, 
and  for  no  other  reason,  the  English,  at  once, 
called  it  Mount  Hope. 

5.  That  in  consequence,  the  whole  neck, 
including  Bristol  and  Warren  village,  was  call- 
ed Mount  Hope  neck.  Mount  Hope  lands,  &c. 

6.  That  ".  Pokanoket"  was  a  name  for  the 
territory  occupied  by  the  Wampanoags,  includ- 

'^R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.  ed.  of  Callender's  Hist.  Disc.p.88. 
t  It  was  called  Mount  Hope  at  least  as  early  as  166fi- 
Mort.  Mem.  267. 


23  SUPPLEMENT, 

ing  Bristol,  Warren,  B'^rringtoii  in   R.  Island, 
and  pnrts  oi  Swanzea  ai  d  Seekcnk,  Mass. J 

7.  That  there  was  a  place  in  Pckancket^ 
called  Sowams,  or  Sowamsct^  and  that  was  the 
place  of  Massasoit's  residence.! 

8.  That  Pokanoket  and  Sowams  are  spoken 
of,  by  the  earliest  writers,  synonymously,  as  be- 
ing the  residence  of  Massasoit ;  but  Mount 
Hope  and  Kikemuit,  are  neither  so  spoken  of, 
but  the  contrary  is  plainly  the  fact  respecting 
them.§ 

9.  That  in  going  to  Sowam.s  twice  and  back, 
Mr.  Winslo  v  mentions  Crossing,  and  particu- 
larly describes^  Taunton  river ;  that  he  left 
Massasoit's  residence  once  "  before  sunrising," 
and  arrived  there  once  "  late  within  night," 
yet  he  says  nothing  of  crossing  a  deep,  wide, 
rapid  and  unfordable  river,  just  at  the  termina- 
tion of  his  journey  out ;  and  that  therefore  he 
did  not  cross  Warren  river,  and  consequently, 
Sowams  was  not  in  Barrington. 

10.  The  Indian  name  for  the  southern  part 
of  Barrington  neck  was  Popanomscut,  while 
the  northern  part  was  called  Wavnamoisett ; 
Sowams  therefore  could  not  have  been  in  Bar- 
rington. 

11.  That  Massasoit  lived  "  some  five  or  six 
miles"  from  Mattapuyst  (Mattapoiset,  or  Gard- 
ner's Neck,  in  Swanzea)  that  Mount  Hope  is 

t  Mort.  Mem.  55. 
§  Mort.  Mem.  169. 


SUPIM.KMEXT,  "29 

nine  miles    from    Mattapoiset ;    and  therefore, 
Mount  Hope  was  not  Sowams. 

12.  That  Kikemuit  was  on  Kikemuit  river  ; 
that  said  river  is  shoal,  diiOficult  and  dangerous 
of  access  to  a  stranger,  hardly  suitable  for  sloop 
navigation,  and  only  then  at  high  water ;  there- 
fore a  "  Dutch  ship"  and  a  stranger  would"  not 
and  could  not  sail  up  it ;  that  Kikemuit  was  its 
original  Indian  name,  and  therefore  not  So- 
wams, 

13.  That  Sowams  was  on  Sowams  river ; 
(now  Warren  river,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
town  from  Kickemuit  river)  which  river  is  nav- 
igable for  ships  of  500  tons  to  Warren  ;  the 
channel  being  crooked,  a  "  Dutch  ship"  might 
readily,  at  that  time,  have  run  aground. 

14.  That  Massasoit  lived  where  a  Dutch 
ship  run  aground  "  right  before  his  dwelling  ;" 
and  therefore  it  was  Warren  river,  and  not 
Kikemuit  river,  that  the  Dutch  ship   went  up. 

15.  That  if  Winslow,  who  is  peculiarly  mi- 
nute in  his  descriptions,  had  gone  to  Mount 
Hope,  he  would  have  described  that  remarkable 
elevation ;  his  not  mentioning  it,  is  proof  that 
he  did  not  visit  it. 

16.  That  the  Indians  always  settled  around 
running  springs,  and  therefore  Massasoit  did 
the  same  ;  and  that  the  spring  and  location  we 
decide  as  having  been  his,  are  in  every  respect 
suitable,  the  former  sendin"^  out  a  larcre  stream 


30  SUPPLEMENT. 

of  pure  water,   the  latter   attractive   and  well 
adapted  as  a  place  of  residence.* 

17.  That  the  ordy  spot  that  conforms  to  all 
the  conditions  of  the  testimony,  that  reconciles 
all  the  different  statements,  and  that  agrees  with 
all  the  ancient  descripti(5ns  (especially  those  of 
Winslow)  of  Massasoit's  residence,  is  at  the 
spring  called  Massasoit's  spring,  near  Baker's 
wharf,  in  Warren. 

This  town  being  the  residence  of  the  princi- 
pal Sachem,  was  the  place  first  occupied  by  the 
English,  of  any  in  the  State.  Four  years  before 
Roger  Williams  settled  upon  the  Mooshausick, 
or  Blackstone  upon  the  Sneechtaconet,  and  six 
years  before  Coddington  upon  Aquidneck,  an 
English  house  was  established  in  the  year  1632, 
and  Englishmen  resided  (probably  for  trade) 
at  Sowamset.  In  Gov.  Winthrop's  journal  is 
the  following  statement : 

"  April  12,  1632.  The  Governor  received 
"  letters  from  Plymouth,  signifying  that  there 
"  had  been  a  broil  between  their  men  at  Sc- 
**  wamset  and  the  Narragansett  Indians,  who 
*'  set  upon  the  English  house  there,  to  have  ta- 
"  ken  Owsamequin,  the  Sagamore  of  Packano- 
*'  cott,  who  fled  thither,  with  all  the  people,  for 
"  refuge ;  and  that  Capt.  Standish  being  gone 
*'  thither,  to  relieve  the  three  English  which 
"  were  in  the  house,  sent  home  in  all  haste  for 

*  Young's  Cliron.  Pi  I,  p.  207. 


SUPPLEMENT.  31 

"  more  men  and  other  provisions,  upon  intelli- 
''  gence  that  Canonicus,  with  a  great  army,  was 
"  coming  against  tliem ;  on  that,  they  wrote  to 
*'  our  Governor  for  some  powder,  to  be  sent 
"  with  all  possible  speed ;  for  it  seemed  they 
*'  were  unfurnished.  Upon  this,  the  Governor 
*'  presently  despatched  away  the  messenger 
*'  with  so  much  powder  as  he  could  carry,  viz. 
"  27  pounds.  The  messenger  returned  and 
"  brought  a  letter  from  the  Governor  (Bradford) 
"  signifying  that  the  Indians  were  retired  from 
*'  Sowamsett  to  fight  with  the  Pequots." 

Capt.  Standish  remained  some  time  at  So- 
wamsett ;  for  Gov.  Winthrop  received  a  letter 
from  him  at  that  place,  on  May  1. 

The  location  of  Warren  being  ascertained 
to  have  been  the  place  of  Massasoit's  residence, 
it  is  rendered  proper  that  some  notice  should 
here  be  given  of  the  character  and  history  of  a 
man,  who,  though  a  heathen,  proved  himself 
true  to  the  dictates  which  the  light  of  nature 
suggested.  He  possessed  all  the  elements  of  a 
great  mind  and  a  noble  heart.  With  the  ad- 
vantages of  civilized  life,  and  the  light  which 
a  pure  Christianity  would  have  supplied,  he 
might  have  achieved  a  brilliant  destiny,  and  oc- 
cupied a  high  niche  in  the  temple  of  fam.e. 
This  chief  never  has  had  full  justice  done  to 
his  character.*    In  all  the  memorials  of  Indian 


*  Trumbull,  Ind.  Wars,  p.    43,  says  of  Massasoit, 
"He  seems  to  have  been  a  most  estimable  man.     He 


'^IZ  SUPPLEMENT.  j 

character  which  have  come  down  to  us,  Massa- 
soil's  character  stands  above  reproach.  No  one 
has  ever  charged  him  with  evil.  Other  Indian 
chiefs  appear  on  the  page  of  history,  as  noted 
for  some  one  great  act,  or  distinguishing  qual- 
ity, mostly  of  a  warlike,  but  occasionally  of  an 
amiable  or  benevolent  nature  ;  yet  after  a  brief 
space,  betrayed  into  some  act  of  weakness,  or 
guilty  of  cruelty  and  want  of  fidelity.  But 
from  the  time  when  Massasoit  repaired  to  Ply- 
mouth, March  22,  1621,  to  welcome  the  Pil- 
grims and  to  tender  to  them  his  friendship,  till 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  1661,  a  period  of  more 
than  forty  years,  when  the  Pilgrims  were  weak 
and  defenceless,  encountering  sickness,  want 
.and  death,  when  at  almost  any  moment  Massa- 
soit could  have  exterminated  them,  in  no  one 
instance  did  he  depart  from  those  plain  engage- 
ments of  treaty  which  he  made  when  he  plight- 
ed his  faith  to  strangers.  He  was  not  only 
their  uniform  friend,  but  their  protector,  at 
times  when  his  protection  was  equivalent  to 
their  preservation.  It  was  well  for  the  Pilgrims 
that  Massasoit  lived  between  them  and  the  pow- 
erful tribe  of  the  Narragansetts,  under  Canoni- 
cus,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Bay,  who  early 
showed  a  determination  to  attack  and  expel 
them,  and  w^re  prevented  only   by  Massasoit. 

was  just,  humane  and  beneficent,  true  to  his  word, 
and  in  every  respect,  an  lionest  man." 

A  suitable  character  is  also  given  him  in  Thatcher's 
Ind.  Biog.  Vol.  I,  pp.  13-2— 14(4. 


SrPPLKMKNT.  3^ 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  the  faithful  char- 
acter and  the  unusually  amiable  disposition  of 
Massasoit,  combined  with  the  singular  sickness 
which  so  extensively  prevailed  among  the  In- 
dians between  Narragansett  Bay  and  Cape  Cod, 
in  1G17,  were  preparations  made  by  Divine 
Providence  for  the  reception  of  the  Pilgrims. 
The  only  account  of  the  personal  appearance 
of  Massasoit,  which  we  have,  is  found  in  Davis' 
edition  of  Morton's  Memorial,  p.  GO.  "  The 
king  is  a  portly  man,  in  his  best  years,  grave 
of  countenance,  spare  of  speech."  The  exact 
time  of  his  death  is  unknown  ;*  but  from  cer- 
tain historical  facts,  it  is  rendered  quite  cer- 
tain that  he  died  some  time  in  the  autumn  of 
1661.  Assuming  his  age,  at  the  arrival  of  the 
pilgrims,  to  have  been  about  40  years,  (he  be- 
ing "  a  portly  man,  in  his  best  years,")  he 
must  have  been  upwards  of  80  at  his  decease* 
Some  years  previous  to  his  death,  he  associated 
Mooanam,  alias  Yv^amsutta,  alias  Alexander, 
with  him  in  his  government ;  and  in  the  few 
last  years  of  Massasoit's  life,  we  notice  that 
Alexander  acts  occasionally  in  his  own  name. 

*  Published  documents  prove  Massasoit  to  have 
been  alive  in  May,  16G1,  and  very  probably  so  late  as 
in  September  of  the  same  year.  (See  Drake's  Book 
of  Indians,  Art.  Uncas ;  and  Thatcher's  Ind.  Biog. 
Vol.  I,  p.  291)  and  on  the  13th  of  Dec.  1G61,  we  find 
by  a  letter  of  Roger  Williams,  that  Massasoit  was 
dead  :  under  that  date  lie  writes, — "  Ousamaquin,  the 
Sachem  aforesaid,  also  deceased."  Knowles'  Mem.  . 
Rog.  Williams,  p.  406.  t 


34  SUPPLEMENT. 

The  pilgrim  fathers  entertained  the  greatest 
regard  for  Massasoit,  and  the  account  of  their 
reception  of  him  at  his  first  visit  is  curious  and 
interesting.  On  Thursday,  the  22d  of  March, 
1621,  only  101  days  after  the  pilgrims  had 
landed  at  Plymouth,  Massasoit,  accompanied 
by  his  brother  Quadequina,  and  sixty  of  his 
warriors, — all  armed  with  bows  and  arrows, 
their  faces  painted  "  some,  black,  some  red, 
some  yellow,  and  some  white,  some  with  cros- 
ses and  other  antic  works ;  some  had  skins  on 
them  and  some  naked  :  all  strong,  tall  men  in 
appearance," — approach  Plymouth,  in  order  to 
form  a  friendly  league.  Having  first  sent  word 
to  the  English  of  his  coming,  he  suddenly  made 
his  appearance  with  his  warriors,  in  imposing 
array,  upon  a  hill,  (now  called  Watson's  hill) 
a  short  distance  from  the  new  settlement.  In 
the  rear  of  the  hill,  is  seen  the  valley  through 
which  Massasoit  wound  his  way,  in  order  not 
to  be  seen  until  he  arose  upon  the  hill  and  ar- 
ranged his  company  of  picked  men,  in  the  best 
manner  to  impress  the  pilgrims.  Immediately 
the  pilgrims  essayed  to  make  a  show,  to  pro- 
duce an  effect  upon  the  barbarians  ;  but,  alas  I 
sickness  and  death  had  spread  such  havoc 
among  them,  in  that  most  distressing  winter, 
that  nearly  half  of  their  number  were  now  no 
more,  and  of  the  remaining  number,  few  were 
prepared  for  any  pressing  emergency.  But  a 
crisis  had  now  come,  and  something  must  be 
done.     First  of  all,  Edward  Winslow  went  to 


SUPPLEMENT.  35 

the  imposing  company  of  heathen  strangers, 
carrying  a  pair  of  knives,  a  chain  and  a  jewel 
for  Massasoit,  and  a  knife  and  jewel  for  his 
brother  ;  also  a  pot  of  strong  water,  with  some 
biscuit  and  butter  for  a  treat,  which  were  read- 
ily accepted.  Winslow  remaining  as  a  hostage, 
Massasoit  with  twenty  unarmed  men,  descend- 
ed the  hill,  towards  the  pilgrims.  Capt.  Stand- 
ish  mustered  his  company  ;  but  so  reduced  had 
they  become  at  this  time,  that  only  six  musket- 
eers composed  it.  The  captain  made  his  best 
display ;  deep-toned  orders  were  given,  follow- 
ed by  facings  and  wheelings,  and  handling  of 
matclilocks.*  Shade  of  Baron  Steuben  !  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  refer  to  you  as  the 
nc  lilus  ultra  of  old  fashioned  tactics ;  but  the 
Btyle  of  those  used  on  this  occasion,  was  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  old  in  your  day  ! — Capt.  Stand- 
ish  marched  with  his  company  to  the  brock  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  to  meet  Massasoit,  and  gave 
him  a  military  salute,  which  was  politely  res- 
ponded to  ;  the  distinguished  visitor  was  then 
conducted  to   an   unfinished    building,  hastily 


*The  musket,  at  that  time,  was  the  matchlock  ; 
the  lighted  match  was  attached  to  a  spring;  to  fire 
the  piece,  the  pan  called  the  "toucli  pan"  was 
previously  opened,  and  on  springing  the  match,  its 
lighted  end  would  bo  brought  in  contact  with  the 
powder  in  the  pan.  Matchlock  muskets  were  first 
used  in  1521.  Bayonets  were  first  attached  to  mus- 
kets aboqt  IGOO.  Flint  locks  were  first  used  about 
1700. 


36 


SUPPLEMENT. 


prepared  with  *'  a  green  rug  and  three  or  four 
cushions"  Then  Gov.  Carver  approached, 
followed  by  the  band,  consisting  of  a  drum  and 
a  trumpet,  and  the  military  company.  The 
governor  and  the  king  saluted  each  other  by 
kissing  hands,  when  Carver  took  a  seat  and 
called  for  "  strong  water"  and  "  fresh  meat," 
of  which  they  all  partook,  and  then  proceeded 
to  treat  of  peace  and  mutual  protection.  A 
plain  and  short  treaty  was  agreed  upon  and 
signed,  which  was  afterwards  kept  for  fifty 
years.  After  signing  the  treaty.  Gov.  Carver 
conducted  his  guest  back  to  the  brook,  and 
took  leave  of  him.  Then  Gluadequina  and  oth- 
ers came  down  the  hill,  were  received  and  treat- 
ed in  the  same  manner,  and  then  dismissed. 

The  place  of  Massasoit's  residence  having 
been  ascertained,  it  becomes  an  inquiry  of  pe- 
culiar interest,  to  know  something  concerning 
his  family.  His  family  was  numerous,  consist- 
ing, so  far  as  is  known,  besides  his  wife,  of  two 
brothers,  Q,uadequina  and  Akkompoin ;  three 
sons,  Mooanum,  alias  Wamsitta,  alias  Alexan- 
der ;  Pometacom  or  Metacom,  alias  Philip, 
and  a  son  named  Sunconewhew  ;  a  daughter, 
of  whose  name  we  are  ignorant;  Alexander's 
w^ife,  Namumpum  or  Weetamoe,  Philip's  wife, 
Wootonekanuske,  and  Philip's  son. 

QuADEQuiNA  "  was  a  very  proper  tall  young 
man,  of  a  very  modest  and  seemly  countenance." 
(Young's  Chron.  Pil.  195.)  We  have  already 
mentioned  his  visit  to  the  Pilgrims  on  March 


SUPPLEXICNT.  37 

226,  1621,  with  Massasoit ;  he  appears  to  have 
filled  some  hijxh  station  in  his  brother's  ffov- 
ernment.  Ou  Sept.  13,  l(r21,  he,  with  eight 
other  principal  men,  signed  a  "  Treaty  of  Ami- 
ty" with  the  Pilgrims. 

Akkompoin,  is  best  known  in  history  as 
counsellor  to  king  Philip,  in  his  war  ;  his  name 
is  occasionally  seen  attached  to  deeds  of  land, 
made  by  Philip.  It  is  also  found  on  several 
treaties  made  by  Philip  with  the  English  ;  a- 
mong  which  were  those  made  at  Plymouth, 
August  6,  16G2;  at  Taunton,  April  10,  1671, 
and  Plymouth,  Sept,  29,  1671.  In  the  year 
1CG3,  Philip  and  "  Uncompawen"  claimed  a 
part  of  New  Meadow  Neck  in  Barrington,  up- 
on the  ground  that  it  was  not  included  in  the 
grand  deed  of  1653,  made  by  Massasoit  and 
Alexander.  "  Although  it  appears,"  says  the 
record  at  Plymouth,  "  pretty  clearly  so  ex- 
pressed in  said  deed,  yet  that  peace  and  friend- 
ship may  be  continued,  Capt.  Willett,  Mr. 
Brown,  and  John  Allen,  in  behalf  of  themselves 
and  the  rest,"  agreed  to  give  Philip  and  Uncom- 
pawen  the  sum  of  £11  in  goods  (Drake  III,  15.) 

On  Sunday  the  30th  of  July,  1676,  twenty 
Bridgewater  men,  learning  that  Philip,  with 
his  otiicers,  warriors,  wife  and  son,  were  prowl- 
ing about  in  their  vicinity,  proceeded  to  hunt 
for  him  ;  they  came  upon  a  party  of  the  enemy 
at  "  a  certain  place"  upon  Taunton  river,  at- 
tacked and  killed  ten  of  them,  one  of  whom 
•was  Akkompoin.  t* 


39-  S.UPPLEKENT. 

MooANAM^  alias  Wamsitta,  alias  Alexander^ 
the  eldest  son  of  Massasoit,  and  his  heir  appa-^ 
rent,  was  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
Wampanoag  government  for  a  number  of  years 
previous  to  his  father's  decease.  The  deed  of 
1653  was  made  in  the  joint  names  of  himself 
and  Massasoit.  Alexander  married  Weetamoe,. 
**  queen  of  Pocasset." 

In  1662,  soon  after  the  death  of  Massasoit,. 
Wamsitta  and  his  brother  Metacom,  repaired 
to  Plymouth,  and  *'  professing  great  respect," 
requested  that  English  names  might  be  givea 
them,  wlien  the  Court  named  them  respectively, 
Alexander  and  Philip.  Soon  after  this,  Gov. 
Prince  of  Plymouth,  learning  that  Alexander 
was  plottincr  rebellion  against  the  Eno-lish,  sent 
Major  Winslow  with  ten  armed  men,  to  take> 
him  and  bring  him  down  to  Plymouth,  to  an- 
s^vver  to  the  charge ;  on  arriving  there,  he  was- 
taken  sick,  returned  home,  and  died  in  a  few- 
days. 

Thus  Aleitander  became  Chief  Sachem  and' 
died  within  a  year,  and  was  succeeded  in  the 
sachemship  by 

PoMETAcoM,  or  Metacom,  alias  Philip. 

Few  of  the  aboriginals  occupy  so  conspicu- 
ous a  position  in  history,  as  this  noted  chief. 
''  King  Philip's  war"  has  immortalized  his 
name,  and  although  one  hundred  and  seventy 
years  have  since  passed  away,  it  is  yet  a  sub- 
ject of  frequent  and  common  remark.  He 
marrie:!  Wootonekanuske,  own  sister  to  Weet- 


SUPPLEMEMT.  39 

amoe,  his  brother  Alexander's  wife.  Of  her 
we  know  nothing,  only  that  she  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  Col.  Churcli,  on  the  31st  of  July, 
1676. 

In  16G5,  Philip,  acccrdincr  to  an  Indian  law 
or  custom  in  such  a  case,  with  an  armed  force, 
repaired  to  Nantucket,  to  kill  an  Indian  named 
Assasamoogh,  who  had  spoken  disrespectfully 
of  his  father  Massasoit.  The  Indian  fled,  but 
Philip  would  not  leave  the  island  until  the  Eng- 
lish had  paid  a  large  ransom  for  him.  (Nine 
years  after,  that  same  Indian  was  a  preacher  to 
a  native  church  of  30  members.) 

From  his  contiguity  of  residence,  Philip  was 
intimate  v.ith  the  first  settlers  of  Warren.  In 
iG()9,  he  sold  to  Hugh  Cole  and  others,  500 
acres  of  land  in  Swanzea.  This  tract  was  on 
the  west  side  of  Cole's  river,  which  took  its 
name  from  Mr.  Hugh  Cole,  who  resided  there- 
on previous  to  1675.  At  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Indian  war,  two  of  Hugh  Cole's  sons  were 
made  prisoners  by  the  Indians  and  taken  to 
Philip's  head-quarters,  at  Mount  Hope.  Philip, 
from  his  friendship  for  their  father,  sent  them 
back  with  a  message,  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
injure  him,  but  as  his  younger  warriors  might 
disobey  his  orders,  advised  him  to  repair  to 
Rhode-Island  for  safety.  Mr.  Cole  immediate- 
ly made  ready  and  started  with  all  his  family. 
They  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance,  when 
he  beheld  his  house  in  llamcs.  After  the  war, 
Mr,  Cole  returned  and  located  on  the  east  side 


4D  SUPI'LEMENT. 

of  Towiset  Neck,  on  Kikemuit  river,  in  War- 
ren. The  farm,  and  the  well  he  made  in  1677,. 
are  yet  in  possession  of  his  lineal  descendants. 
Philip  also  performed  a  simihir  act  cf  kindness 
in  protecting  the  family  of  Mr.  James  Brown, 
one  of  the  constituent  members  cf  the  Swanzea 
church. 

On  the  r2th  of  August,  1676,  King  Philip 
was  surprised  and  killed  by  Col.  Church,  at  a 
little  knoll  on  the  south-west  side,  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Hope.  Church  had  him  beheaded  and 
quartered;  his  head  and  scarred  hand  he  gave 
to  AkUrman,  the  Indian  who  shot  him,  to  ex- 
hibit through  the  country.  The  remains  of  his 
corpse  were  left  suspended  from  four  different 
trees. 

Namumpum,  alias  Weetamoe,  Queen  of  Po- 
casset  (now  Tiverton)  was  the  wife  of  Alexan- 
der ;  and  from  all  accounts  she  was  an  arrogant 
and  consequential  woman.  Several  times  she 
entered  complaints  at  Plymouth  Court,  against 
her  husband,  mostly  on  account  of  his  not  pay- 
ing her  the  portion  of  proceeds  of  lands  which 
she  claimed.  She  lived  on  a  hill  a  little  north 
of  Rowland's  ferry  bridge.  After  the  death  of 
Alexander,  we  find  her  the  wife  of  Peter  Nan- 
uit,  who  was  the  first  person  to  inform  Col. 
Church  of  the  certainty  of  war,  and  that  Philip 
had  promised  his  men  that  the  next  Lord's  day, 
when  the  people  were  at  church,  they  might 
commence  killing  cattle,  ^c.  In  the  war  of 
1675,  Weetamoe  and  her  husband  were  at  va- 


SUPPLEMENT.  41 

riance,  she  taking  sides  with  the  Indians,  and 
lie  fighting  under  Col.  Cliurch  against  her  peo 
])le.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war,  she 
was  driven  from  her  own  territory  by  Col. 
Church  ;  and  not  long  afterwards,  we  hear  of 
her  by  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Rowlandson  (wife 
of  Rev.  Joseph  Rowlandson)  who  was  taken 
captive  at  the  burning  of  Lancaster  by  the  In- 
dians, on  the  10th  Feb.  1676.  In  the  narra- 
tive of  her  captivity,  she  states  that  she  was 
purchased  by  a  Narragansett  chief,  named 
Quinnapin  (nephew  to  Miantonnomo)  who  had 
three  wives,  one  of  whom  was  Weetanioe,  whom 
she  (Mrs.  Rowlandson)  served  as  a  slave.  She 
observes,  "A  severe  and  proud  dame  she  was; 
bestowing  every  day,  in  dressing  herself,  near 
as  much  time  as  any  of  the  gentry  of  the  land; 
— powdering  her  hair  and  painting  her  face, 
going  with  her  necklaces,  with  jewels  in  her 
ears,  and  bracelets  upon  her  hands.  When  she 
had  dressed  herself,  her  work  was  to  make  gir- 
dles of  wampum  and  beads."  On  a  particular 
occasion,  Mrs.  R.  says  she  was  dressed  in  "  a 
kersey  coat,  covered  with  girdles  of  wampum. 
Her  arms  from  her  elbows  to  her  hands,  were 
covered  with  bracelets  ;  there  were  handfuls  of 
necklaces  about  her  neck,  and  several  sorts  of 
jewels  in  her  ears.  She  had  fine  red  stockings, 
and  white  shoes,  her  hair  powdered,  and  her 
fice  painted  red,  that  was  alwa}s  before 
black." 

Weetamce  finally  returned  with  Philip  to 


42  SUPPLEMENT. 

the  vicinity  of  her  former  home,  and  on  the 
6th  of  August,  1676  (six  days  before  Philip 
was  killed)  fleeing  towards  her  home  in  Pocas-* 
set,  before  a  party  of  Englishmen,  who  were 
out  in  pursuit  of  herself  and  her  company,  she 
arrived  at  Mattapoiset,  and  attempting  to  cross 
over  to  Pocasset  on  a  raft,  she  failed  in  her 
effort,  and  was  drowned,  and  her  body  wash- 
ed ashore  at  Mattapoiset,  where  the  Eng- 
lish discovered  it,  and  cut  off  the  head, 
which  they  carried  to  Taunton,  and  stuck 
upon  a  pole,  without  knowing  (as  Cotton  Ma- 
ther says)  whose  head  it  was ;  but  some  In- 
dian prisoners  there  saw  it,  and  "  made  a  most 
horrid  and  diabolical  lamentation,  and  fell  into 
such  hideous  bowlings  as  can  scarce  be  imitat- 
ed, crying  out  that  it  was  their  queen's  headj^ 
What  became  of  Peter  Nannuit,  the  second 
husband  of  Weetamoe,  we  knov*'  not ;  but  her 
last  husband,  Quinnapin,  was  taken  prisoner, 
carried  to  Newport,  tried  by  a  Court  Martial  on 
the  24th  of  August,  1676,  and  shot  the  next  day. 

SuNcoNEWHEW,  was  the  third  son  of  Massa- 
soit.  Of  him  we  know  but  little.  His  name 
appears  attached  to  a  deed  given  by  Philip, 
March  39,  1668,  confirming  the  sale  of  the 
town  of  Rehoboth,  made  by  his  father  in  1641.. 
The  signature  is,  "  the  mark  of  S.  Suncone-- 
whew,  Philip's  brother." 

The  Daughter  of  3Iassasoit.  Of  her,  but 
little  is  known.  Philip  gives  as  a  reason,  in  a 
letter  to  Gov.  Prince,  why  he  did  not  visit  Ply-^^ 


srpPLSWENT.  43 

mouth,  that  his  "  sister  is  verey  sik."  The 
letter  is  supposed  to  have  been  written  about 
the  year  1GG3.  (Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  2d  vol.) 
On  Sunday,  the  30th  of  July,  1(576,  she  was 
taken  prisoner  by  a  company  of  Bridgevvater 
soldiers,  in  the  same  skirmish  in  which  her  un- 
cle Akkompion  was  killed. 

The  son  of  Philip,  is  the  last  person  of  the 
family  we  shall  notice.  His  name  is  not  given, 
but  his  fate  is.  Mrs.  Rowlandson  states,  that 
■during  her  captivity,  she  was  requested  by  Phil- 
ip to  make  some  clothes  for  his  son,  for  which 
he  paid  her.  He  was  nine  years  old  when  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  by  Colonel  Church, 
on  the  31st  of  July,  1676,  and  carried  to 
Plymouth.  It  became  a  question  of  great 
importance,  as  to  what  should  be  done  with 
this  son  of  Philip.  The  English  doubtless  con- 
sidered that  much  more  danger  was  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  the  son  of  Philip,  than  from 
any  other  of  their  prisoners,  of  whom  they  had 
many  on  hand,  and  among  them  was  Philip's 
wife,  the  mother  of  the  boy.  We  hear  of  no 
discussion  as  to  the  disposal  of  any  but  of  him. 
It  was  obvious,  that  whatever  punishment  was 
inflicted  upon  him,  could  be  only  on  account 
of  his  father's  sins.  As  usual  on  doubtful  oc- 
casions, the  English  sought  the  opinions  of  the 
clergy,  to  solve  this  question,  which  to  them 
was  so  intricate.  The  replies  of  several  minis- 
ters are  extant,  and  were,  on  the  whole,  in  fa- 
vor of  sparing  the  boy's  life.     Their  decision 


44  SUPPLEMENT. 

was  founded  upon  the  rule  laid  down  in  Deut. 
24  :  16  ;  and  2d  Chron  25  :  4.  He  was  finally 
shipped  off,  with  a  great  number  of  his  coun- 
trymen, in  the  spring  of  1G77,  and  sold  into 
slavery,  either  in  Spain,  Bermuda  or  the  West- 
Indies. 

The  village  of  Sowamset,  having  been  the 
place  of  Massasoit's  residence,  was  visited  by 
Edward  Winslow,  shortly  after  the  arrival  of 
the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth ;  and  about  nine 
years  afterwards  by  Miles  Standish,  and  others, 
who  had  ventured  to  open  there  a  trading  es- 
tablishment with  the  Indians.  This  spot  had 
therefore  probably  become  somewhat  familiar^ 
at  a  very  early  period,  to  the  people  of  Ply- 
mouth, in  their  associations  with  Massasoit  and 
his  numerous  subjects. 

Accordingly,  it  seems  most  probable  that  the 
place  now  occupied  by  the  village  of  Warren, 
was  visited  by  Roger  Williams,  before  any  oth- 
er part  of  the  present  territory  of  Rhode-Island. 
Mr.  Williams  had  openly  and  fearlessly  advanc- 
ed his  great  doctrines  of  civil  and  religious 
freedom,  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try ;  and  his  opposition  to  the  prevailing  opin- 
ions of  his  contemporaries  at  Boston  and  Salem, 
brought  down  upon  him  the  stern  visitation  of 
the  secular  power,  which  these  puritans  had 
always  thought,  should  be  employed  for  the 
support  and  defence  of  religion.  The  viewa 
of  Mr.  Williams  being  so  utterly   uncongenial 


SUPPLKMEXT.  40 

with  those  of  his  puritan  brethren,  on  matters 
of  *'  soul  liberty,"  and  the  personal  accounta- 
bility of.  each  man  for  his  religious  opinions  to 
his  Maker  alone,  he  was  already  disposed  to 
leave  the  settlement  at  Salem,  and  seek  an  asy- 
lum for  himself  and  friends,  even  before  the 
last  act  of  persecution  was  passed,  which  ban- 
ished him  from  the  colony.  Several  facts  ren- 
der it  distinctly  evident,  that  he  had  for  some 
time  before,  contemplated  a  removal  from  Sa- 
lem, to  Massasoit's  vicinity.  We  shall  give 
a  few  prominent  facts  bearing  upon  the  case, 
and  express  opinions  which  we  think  are  fairly 
deducible  from  the  premises. 

Gov.  Winthrop's  journal  gives  an  account  of 
Mr.  Williams'  trial,  and  his  sentence  of  ban- 
ishment. He  says, — "  He  had  drawn  above 
twenty  persons  to  his  opinion,  and  they  were 
intended  to  erect  a  plantation  about  the  Narra- 
gansett  Bay."  "  A  pinnace  was  sent  (from 
Boston)  to  carry  him  aboard  the  ship,  but  when 
they  came  to  his  house,  they  found  he  had  been 
gone  three  days  before ;  but  whither,  they 
could  not  learn."  Between  the  time  of  Mr. 
Williams'  departure  from  Snlem,  in  the  middle 
cf  January,  1G3(3,  till  the  last  of  the  following 
April, — a  period  of  about  100  days, — it  is  re- 
markable that  there  is  no  record  of  his  situa* 
tion,  how  or  where  he  passed  all  that  interven- 
ing time.  A  majority  cf  writers  on  this  sub- 
ject, express  their  belief  that  he  passed  that 
u 


46  SUPPLEMENT. 

time  in  part  with  his  old  friend  Massassoit. 
which  of  course  must  have  been  in  the  village 
of  Sowams. 

Several  passages  in  Mr.  Williams'  letters,  as 
well  as  in  other  authorities,  prove  that  while 
contemplating  a  removal  from  Salem,  previous 
to  the  act  of  his  banishment,  he  had  consulted 
Gov.  Winthrop  on  the  subjectj  had  mortgaged 
his  house,  in  order  to  raise  funds  and  make 
suitable  preparation  ;  that  his  mind  was  direct- 
ed towards  Massasoit's  neighborhood  as  a  place 
of  abode,  and  that  he  left  Salem  deliberately, 
and  not  in  flight,  as  a  fugitive  before  the  imme- 
diate pursuit  of  a  sheriff. 

In  a  letter  of  Mr.  Williams  to  Maj.  Mason, 
dated  Providence,  22d  June,  1670,  he  says, 
"  Gov.  Winthrop  privately  wrote  me  to  steer 
my  course  to  the  Nahigonset  Bay."  "  I  steer^ 
ed  my  course  from  Salem  (though  in  winter 
snow,  which  I  feel  yet)  unto  these  parts."  "  I 
was  sorely  tossed  for  one  fourteen  weeks,  in  a 
bitter  winter  season,  not  knowing  what  bread 
or  bed  did  mean." 

In  the  same  letter  he  again  speaks  of  Gov. 
Winthrop  as  "  my  true  friend  Mr.  Winthrop, 
the  first  mover  of  my  coming  into  these  parts." 
In  a  letter  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  1654,  he  says,  "  Upon  the  express  ad- 
vice of  your  ever  honored  Mr.  Winthrop, 
deceased,  I  first  adventured  to  begin  a  planta- 
tion amoncr  the  thickest  of  these  barbarians," 


SUPPLEMENT.  47 

Most  writers*  on  this  .subject  have  thouglit 
that  Mr,  Williams  came  on  foot  from  Salem  to 
Massasoit's  residence,  and  account  for  the  four- 
teen weeks  after  his  banishment,   on  the  sup- 
position of  his  being  a  large  part  of  that  time, 
a  fugitive  in  the  wilderness.     Mr.  L.  Bliss,  Jr. 
in  the  History  of  Rehoboth,   says,   "  His  jour- 
ney was  by  water,  in  the  very  heart  of  winter  ; 
and   after  suffering  incredible  hardships,  from 
cold,    and   hunger    and    fatigue,    for   fourteen 
weeks,  he  arrived  and  pitched  his  tent  at  Seek- 
onk."     Various  extracts   from   Mr.   Williams' 
letters    and    depositions,    exhibit    expressions 
which  show  that  he  had  friendship  and   regard 
about  equally,  for  Massasoit,  Canonicus,  and 
Miantonomo.     In   one  of  his  letters,  he  says, 
*'  In  gifts  to  Ousamequin,  yea,  and  all  his,  and 
to  Canonicus,  and  all  his,  tokens  and  presents, 
many   years  before  I   came   in  person  to  the 
Narraganset,  and  when  I  came  I  was  welcome 
to  Ousamequin,  and  to  the  old  prince  Canoni- 
cus."    In  another  letter  he  says,  "  I  mortgaged 
my  house  in  Salem,  for  supplies  to  go  through." 
In  a  letter  or   deposition,   dated  "  Providence, 
13,  10,  61,  so  called,"  (13th  of  Dec.  1661)  he 
states,  "  r  testify  and  declare,   that  at  my  first 
coming   into  these  parts,   I   obtained  the  lands 
of  Seekonk  of  Ousamequin."     From  this  de- 
position, it  is  rendered  certain,  that  in  what- 
ever way  Mr.  Williams  traveled  from  Salem, 

'"  Knowlcp,  Bancroft,  Gammell. 


48  SUPPLExMENT. 

he  came  first  to  Massasoit,  and  obtained  his 
permission  to  settle  at  Seekcnk.  The  peculiar 
phraseology  in  seme  of  Mr.  Williams'  letters, 
obliges  us  to  agree  with  Mr.  Bliss,  in  the  state- 
ment that  he  came  by  water,  but  it  is  incredi- 
ble that  he  would  be  fourteen  weeks  on  the 
passage.  We  know  that  Roger  Williams  was 
an  excellent  boatman  ;*  but  we  do  not  find  him 
using  the  terms  and  phrases  of  seafaring  life 
on  other  occasions,  except  when  the  subject 
matter  of  his  remarks  has  something  of  a  ma- 
rine character;  and  there  is  too  much  of 
this  seafaring  language  in  his  letter  to  Major 
Mason,  to  suppose  it  merely  as  a  figure  of 
speech. t 

The  probability  of  Mr.  Williams'  having 
visited  Massasoit  by  water,  in  his  wandering 
from  Salem,  is  greatly  confirmed  by  consid- 
ering that  the  only  mode  of  transportation  at 
that  time,  was  by  water.  Boats  frequently 
came  from  Massachusetts  to  Narragansett  Bay, 
on  trading  voyages  for  corn,  &lc.  Doubtless 
Mr.  Williams  had  a  long  and  tedious  passage 
from  Salem,  and  suffered  much  from  the  in- 
clemency of  the  Vv-eather. 

*Mr.  Williams  when  73  years  of  age,  rowed  him- 
self in  a  boat  from  Providence  to  Newport,  in  one 
day,  the  8th  of  January,  1673,  a  distance  of  30  miles. 
— Knowles,  p.  338. 

t  Besides  the  seamen's  phrases  above,  Mr.  Wil- 
liams says  to  Major  Mason,  "  J  should  not  be  mj-. 
Jested  and  tossed  vp  and  down  again." 


SUPPLEMKNT.  49 

After  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Williams  at  the  re- 
sidence of  Massasoit,  he  probably  spent  his 
time  in  exploring  this  vicinity  of  country,  seek- 
ing an  elio^ible  site  for  his  new  settlement.  It 
is  with  feelings  of  peculiar  interest  we  reflect 
upon  the  time  that  Roger  Williams  was  a  guest 
of  Massasoit,  probably  nearly  all  of  the  months 
of  February  and  March  of  1636,  when  Sowams 
was  a  thriving  Indian  village,  the  river  banks 
dotted  with  Indian  huts,  and  these  native  lords 
of  the  soil  lived  free  from  all  the  restraints  of 
civilized  and  conventional  life.  We  may  imag- 
ine Roger  Williams,  accompanied  by  Massa- 
soit, traveling  about  both  by  land  and  by  water, 
visiting  the  many  beautiful  spots  in  the  vicinity 
of  Warren,  and  then  returning  to  the  hospita- 
ble dwelling  of  the  chief  Massasoit,  loved  by 
his  tribe,  and  the  fame  of  Williams  as  the  friend 
of  the  Indians  having  preceded  him,  both  of 
them  would  be  met  and  hailed  wherever  they 
went,  with  expressions  of  love  and  respect. 

It  was  doubtless  at  this  time,  that  Mr.  Wil- 
liams acquired  that  intimate  knowledge  of  pla- 
ces, which  enabled  him,  two  years  after,  when 
John  Clarke  and  others,  seeking  a  place  to 
found  a  settlement,  called  on  him  for  advice, 
to  direct  their  attention  to  the  most  eligible 
places,  and  he  "  readily  presented  two  places 
before  them,  in  the  Narragansett  Bay,  the  one 
on  the  main,  called  Sowwams,  and  Aquetneck, 
now  Rhode-Island." 


50  SUPPLEMENT. 

Having  ascertained  the  town  of  Warren  as 
the  place  of  Massasoit's  residence,  and  alluded 
to  the  various  changes  of  ownership  and  gov- 
ernment, to  which  this  region  of  country  has 
been  subjected,  we  now  propose  to  give  a  con- 
nected account  of  the  several  towns  W'hich 
were  partitioned  off  from  this  vicinity  of  Mas- 
sasoit's territory. 

Reliohoth  was  the  first  permanently  settled 
town  in  this  immediate  neighborhood.  The 
Rev.  Samuel  Newman,  with  a  large  part  of  his 
congregation  from  Weymouth,  and  a  number 
of  persons  from  Hingham,  settled  upon  a  cer- 
tain tract  of  land  about  ten  miles  square,  in 
1644,  which  they  had  previously  purchased  from 
Massasoit,  in  1641.  This  first  purchase  then 
called  Rehoboth,  now  constitutes  the  present 
towns  of  Rehoboth,  Seekonk  and  Pawtucket, 
in  Mass.  The  inhabitants  of  Rehoboth,  after- 
wards at  different  times,  made  other  purchases 
of  lands  lying  contiguous  to  their  town,  from 
the  Indians  :  and  over  these  new  purchases,  as 
they  became  inhabited,  the  jurisdiction  of  Re- 
hoboth was  extended  by  act  of  the  Plymouth 
Government.  From  these  various  purchases, 
several  of  the  adjoining  tovrns,  including  War- 
ren, which  were  subsequently  erected,  were 
wholly  or  in  part,  partitioned  off. 

The  second  Rehoboth  purchase  of  land,  was 
Wannamoiset,  in  3645,  which  now  constitutes 
the  northwestern  part  of  Barrington  Neck. 

The  third  regular  purchase,  was  of '^  Sowams 


SUrPLEMENT.  51 

and  Parts  Adjacent."*  This  embraced  Bar- 
rington  Neck,  called  by  the  Indians  Popanom- 
sciit,  being  the  southeastern  part  of  that  town  ; 
and  all  the  meadows  around  the  various  and 
several  shores  of  Bristol,  Warren,  and  New- 
Meadow  Neck.  These  meadows  or  grass  lands, 
included  in  this  purchase,  embraced  a  strip  or 
border  of  land  of  unequal  width,  (as  wide  as 
the  salt  grass  would  grow  from  the  river,)  run- 
ning all  around  the  several  Necks,  viz,  New- 
Meadow,  Mount  Hope,  Popasquash,  and  both 
sides  of  Kikemuit  river. 

The  fourth  regular  purch-^se,  called  the  "  Re- 
hoboth  North  Purchase,"  was  made  of  Wam- 


*  Although  the  Deed  of  this  third  purchase  em- 
braced all  of  Earrington  Neck,  called  Popanoinscut, 
the  notoriety  of  Massasoit's  residence  rendered  it 
suiTicient  at  that  time,  to  call  all  the  tract  by  the  gen- 
eral name  of  "  Sovvanis  and  Parts  adjacent."  The 
whole  of  Barrington  was  allotted,  taken  up,  and  set- 
tled, under  its  original  Indian  names ;  but  Soicums  is 
never  mentioned  as  being  on  the  west  side  of  War- 
ren river.  In  the  Record  Book  of  the  "  Proprietors 
of  Sowams  and  Parts  adjacent, "Warren  river  is  call- 
ed Sowams  river.  (Page  11,  under  date  of  June  29, 
1G33.)  In  other  places,  in  the  same  book,  under  va- 
rious dates,  the  Korthirestem  part  of  Barrington  is 
called  Wannamoisctt :  the  Southeastern  part  coming 
up  to  the  line  of  the  former,  is  called  Popanomscut ; 
the  extreme  point,  subsequently  named  Rumstick,  is 
called  Chachapacasset :  Keio  Meadoio  JN'VcA-,  is  first 
called  by  that  name,  June  29,  1653  :  Mount  Hope 
Hiil  and  Mount  Hope  AVcA"  are  applied  to  those 
places,  first  under  dates  in  1631. 


o:^  Si;i'i>LEM£NT. 

sitta' alias  Alexander,  in  1661.  This  tract 
embraces  what  are  now  the  towns  of  Attle- 
borough,  Mass.,  Cumberland,  R.  I.,  and  a  small 
part  belonging  to  the  present  town  of  Rehoboth. 

The  town  of  Seekonk  was  taken  from  Reho- 
both, and  incorporated  as  a  separate  town  in 
1S13, under  its  ancient  Indian  name  of  Seekonk. 
PawtucJcet  in  Mass.  was  taken  from  Seekonk, 
and  incorporated  as  a  separate  town  in  1828. 
Attlehorough  was  taken  from  Rehoboth  and 
incorporated  in  1604.  Oambcrland  was  taken 
from  Attlehorough,  and  incorporated  in  1746. 
In  1667,  Swanzea  was  incorporated,  and  it 
then  included  Wannamoiset,  all  the  rest  ci 
Barrington,  with  Somerset,  Mass.  and  Warren , 
R.  I,  Barrington  was  separated  from  Swan- 
zea, and  first  incorporated  in  1718  ;  but  in  1746, 
was  included  in  the  charter  by  which  Warren 
was  incorporated.  Somerset  was  separated 
from  Swanzea,  and  incorporated  in  1790. 
While  it  constituted  a  part  of  Swanzea  it  \\p 
called  the  "  Shawamet  purchase." 

We  now  come  to  the  incorporation  of  Wa  r- 
ren  in  1746. 

The  question  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Rhode-Island  and  Massachusetts,  had  been 
contested  at  various  times,  by  different  parties, 
ever  since  1664,  until  1729,  when  the  Rhode- 
Island  Legislature  appointed  commissioners,  to 
act  with  others  from  Massachusetts,  and  were 
authorized  to  ascertain  and  settle  the  disputed 
line.     Nothing  having   been   accomplished  by 


SLPFLEMENT.  Ot> 

this  attempt,  Gov.  Wanton   of  R.    I.  in  1734, 

sent  a  petition  to  the  King  to  have  the  question 
settled,  which  was  replied  to  m  1738.  This 
reply  proposed  a  commission,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  crown  from  the  other  colonies. 

But  to  "  save  cost  and  altercation,"  both 
parties  agreod  to  make  another  eifort  to  settle 
the  disputed  question  by  mutual  arbitration, 
without  resorting  to  a  higher  tribunal.  Even  so 
early  as  in  1733,  both  of  the  rival  Provinces, 
by  acts  of  Assembly,  had  appointed  each  of 
them  "  three  indifferent  persons  to  decide  the 
matter,  with  a  power,  if  they  could  not  agree, 
to  name  a  seventh."  These  six  Commissioners, 
thus  appointed  as  a  court  of  reference,  met 
in  Bristol,  in  1739,  but  "they  could  neither 
agree  in  settling  the  boundaries,  nor  in  the 
choice  of  a  seventh  person." 

In  1740,  according  to  the  previous  recom- 
mendation of  the  king,  a  commissioner  from 
places  without  the  two  colonies,  was  appoint- 
ed by  the  king  in  council,  at  the  same  time 
that  committees  were  appointed  by  the  con- 
tending parties,  to  appear  before  the  Board 
of  Commissioners. 

The  court  met  in  Providence,  in  June,  1741. 
Cadwallader  Colden,  of  New-York,  was  chosen 
president  of  the  board.  On  the  30th  of  June, 
1741,  the  court  decided  to  transfer  from  Mas- 
sachusetts to  Rhode-Island,  Attleborough  Gore, 
Little  Compton,  Tiverton,  Bristol,  a  great  part 
of  Barrington,  and  a  portion  of  ^Swanzea,  em- 


54 


SLPPLE.MEAT. 


bracing  forty-seven  families.*  From  this  de- 
cision of  the  court,  Massachusetts  dissented  in 
whole,  and  Rhode-Island  in  part,  and  both  par- 
ties appealed  to  the  King  in  Council. 

These  appeals  were  brought  before  the  king's 
council,  December  11,  1744,  and  then  referred 
to  a  committee,  who  made  a  report  on  the  28th 
of  May,  1746,  confirming  the  judgment  of  the 
Commissioners.  This  decision  was  received 
in  this  country  in  the  same  year.  Immediately 
the  Legislature  of  Rhode-Island  passed  an  act 
incorporating  the  several  towns  under  their  re- 
spective names,  as  constituent  parts  of  Rhode- 
Island.  The  concluding  part  of  the  act,  is  as 
follows  • 

"  And  that  part  of  the  territory  confirmed  to 
Rhode-Island,  which  has  heretofore  been  part 
of  Swanzea  and  Barrington,  with  a  small  part 
of  Rehoboth  thereto  adjoining,  with  the  inhab- 
itants thereon,  be  incorporated  into  a  town- 
ship by  the  name  of  Warren." 

The  name  of  this  town  was  given  in  honor 
of  Admiral  Sir  Peter  Warren,  who  the  year 
before,  June,  1745,  had   commanded  the   En- 


*  It  is  evident  that  the  people  of  Swanzea  included 
within  the  disputed  territory,  preferred  to  be  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Rliode-Island  ;  as  they  passed  a 
vote  at  a  Town  Meeting  of  Swanzeti,  on  the  27th  of 
March,  1741,  that  they  were  willinjr  to  come  under 
tlie  Rhode-Island  Government,  and  expressed  their 
apprehension  that  they  belonged  rightfully  to  Rhode- 
Jdand, 


SUPPLEMENT,  .>-J 

giish  fleet,  which  in  conjunction  with  the  col- 
onial army  of  4,400  men,  under  the  command 
of  Gen.  William  Pepperell,  captured  Louisburg 
and  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  after  a  storming 
and  siege  of  six  weeks  continuance. 

In  1770,  the  inhabitants  of  the  west  part  of 
the  town,  petitioned  the  Legislature  to  be  set 
off- by  themselves,  and  incorporated  into  a  town 
by  the  name  of  Barrington.  This  measure  was 
opposed  by  the  eastern  portion  of  the  people, 
embracing  what  i&  now  Warren  ;  but  their  op- 
position to  the  measure  was  without  effect. — 
A  part  of  the  act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  in 
1770,  is  as  follows  : 

"  All  the  lands  on  the  westerly  side  of  the 
river  that  extends  from  between  Bristol  and 
Rumstick,  northerly  to  Miles'  Bridge,  is  made 
into  a  township  and  called  Barrington." 

The  name  of  Barrington  was  thus  revived 
and  the  town  re-organized,  after  having  been 
extinct  for  twenty-four  years.  Bristol,  it  will 
be  seen,  was  not  included  in  any  of  these 
chano-es  and  divisions  through  which  these  oth- 
er  towns  have  passed.  Although  the  territory 
of  Bristol  seems  to  have  been  claimed  by  the 
Swanzea  proprietors  after  Philip's  war,  it  was 
decided  to  be  conquered  land,  and  therefore 
belonging  to  the  crown  ;  and  it  was  first  char- 
tered as  a  town,  under  its  present  name,  in 
1680.* 

*  "  Montaup,  which  became  the  subject   of  a  dis- 


.'S6  SUPPLEMENT, 

The  original  deed  from  the  Indians,  of  the 
territory,  embracing  a  part  of  Warren,  possess- 
es considerable  interest,  as  well  from  its  intrin- 
sic value  as  a  legal  instrument,  as  it  also  is 
supposed  to  be  the  last  deed  that  Massasoit  ever 
sicrned.  At  the  time  it  was  criven,  he  insisted 
upon  the  English  binding  themselves  "  never 
to  draw  away  any  of  his  people  to  the  christian 
religion."  This  was  a  point,  however,  which 
he  subsequently  yielded  ;t  and  if  his  rejection 
of  Christianity  was  a  sin,  it  was  the  fault  of  his 
ignorance,  while  by  rejecting  the  Gospel  he 
doubtless  supposed  he  would  be  promoting  the 
welfare  of  his  people. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  this  Deed,  taken 
from  the  Record  Book  of  the  "  Proprietors  of 
Sowams  and  parts  adjacent  :" 

THE  GRAND  DEED  OF  SAILE  OF  LANDS 

from  Osanieqiien  and  VVamsetto  his  son,  dated 

29th  I\Iarch,  1653. 

TO  ALL  PEOPLE  to  whome  these  presents 
shall  come,  Osamaquin  and  Wamsetto  his  Eldest 
Soiie  Sendeth  greeting.  KNOW  YEE,  that  wee 
the  said  Osamequin  &  Wamsetto,  for  &  in  Con- 
sideration of  thirty  five  pounds  sterling  to  us  the 
said  Osamequin  and  Wamsetto  in  hand  payd  By 
Thomas  Prince  Gent;  Thomas  Willet  Gent:  Miles 
Standish  Gent:   Josiah  Winslow  Gent:   for  And 

pute  between  the  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  Col- 
onies, was  finally  awarded  to  the  latter,  by  a  special 
decision  of  king  Charles."  Thatcher's  Indian  Bio^ 
1.  174. 

t  Thatcher's  Ind.  liiog.  L  139. 


SUPPLEMENT.  O/ 

in  the  behalfe  of  themselues  and  divers  others  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  Plimouth  Jurisdiction,  whose 
names  are  hereafter  specified,  with  which  said 
summe  we  the  said  Osamequin  and  Wainsetto 
doe  Acknowledge  ourselues  fully  satisfied  con- 
tented and  payd,  HAUE  freely  and  absalutely  bar- 
gained and  Sold  Enfeoffed  and  Confirmed  and  by 
these  presents  Doe  Bargaine  Sell  Enfeoffe  and  Con- 
firme  from  us  the  said  Osamequin  and  Wamsetto, 
and  our  and  Every  of  our  haiers  unto  Thomas 
Prince,  Thomas  Willet,  Miles  Standish,  Josia  Wins- 
low,  Agents  for  themselues  and  William  Bradford 
Senr  Gent :  Thomas  Clark,  John  Winslow,  Tho- 
mas Cushman,  William  White,  John  Adams  and 
Experience  Mitchell,  to  them  and  Every  of  them, 
their  and  Ev^eryof  their  haiers  and  assigns  forever; — 

All  those  Severall  parcells  and  Necks  of  vpland, 
Swamps  and  Meadows  Lyeing  and  being  on  the 
South  Syde  of  Sinkhunch  Els  Rehoboth,  Bounds 
and  is  bounded  from  a  Little  Brooke  of  water,  cal- 
led by  the  Indjans,  Mosskituash  Westerly,  and  so 
Ranging  by  a  dead  Swamp,  Estward,  and  so  by 
markt  trees  as  Osamequin  and  Wamsetto  directed 
unto  the  great  River  with  all  the  IMeadow  in  and 
about  ye  Sydes  of  bothe  the  Branches  of  the 
great  River  wtii  all  the  Creeks  and  Brookes  that 
are  in  or  upon  any  of  the  said  meadows,  as  also  all 
the  marsh  meadow  Lying  and  Being  wth  out  the 
Bounds  before  mentioned  in  or  about  the  neck 
Called  by  the  Lidians  Chachacust,  Also  all  the 
meadow  of  any  kind  Lying  and  being  in  or  about 
Popasquash  neck  as  also  all  the  meadow  Lyeing 
from  Kickomuet  on  botli  sides  or  any  way  Joyn- 
ing  to  it  on  the  bay  on  Each  Side, 

TO  HAUE  AND  TO  HOLD  all  the  aforesaid 


58  SUPPLEMENT. 

vpland  Swamp  Marshes  Creeks  aiul  Rivers  withe 
all  their  appurtinances  unto  the  aforesaid  Thomas 
Prince,  Thomas  Willett,  Miles  Standish,  Josia 
Winslow  and  the  rest  of  the  partners  aforesaid  to 
theme,  And  Every  of  theui  their  and  Every  of 
their  haiers  Executors  And  assignes  for  Ever  And 
the  said  Osameqnin  and  Wamsctto  his  Sone  Cov- 
enant promise  and  grant,  that  whcnsoeuer  the  In- 
dians Sliall  Rcmoiie  from  the  Neck  that  then  and 
from  thenceforth  the  aforesiid  Thomas  Prince 
Thomas  Willet  Miles  Standish  Josiah  Winslow 
shall  enter  vpon  the  Same  by  the  Same  Agree- 
ment as  their  Proper  Rights  And  Interest  to  th.em 
and  their  heirs  for  Ever  To  and  for  the 

true  perforemance  of  all  and  Every  one  of  the  afore- 
said sevcrall  Perticulars  wee  the  said  Osamequin 
and  Wamsetto  Bind  us  and  every  of  us  our  and 
every  of  our  heirs  Executors  Administi'ators  and 
Assignes  ffirmly  by  these  presents. 

In  Witness  whereof  wee  haue  hereunto  sett  our 
hands  and  Scales  this  twentieth  day  of  March, 
anno  Domini  1653. 

The  marke  of  ?V3 
OSAMEQUIN  &  a  (Sealc.) 
WAMSETTO  isi  &  (Seale.) 

Signed  Sealed  &  Delivered 
in  ye  Presence  of  us 
John  Browne 
James  Browne 
Richard  Garrett 

There  were  eighteen  dwelling-houses  within 
the  limits  of  Warren,  previous  to  Philip's  war. 
located  at  the  northern  and  eastern  part.  These 


SUPPLEMENT.  59 

Iiouses  were  all  burned  down  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war,  and  the  residents  dispersed, 
most  of  them  going  to  Rhode-Island,  where 
they  remained  a  year  or  more.  They  were 
well  received  by  the  Islanders,  and  by  jjermis- 
sion  planted  and  raised  a  crop  of  corn  for  their 
subsistence.     (Callender.) 

We  next  take  an  extract  from  the  origi- 
nal charter  of  the  town  of  Swanzoa,  as  it  is 
copie^^l  in  the  Town  Records.  ''  A  True  copy 
of  the  grant  of  this  Town  of  New-Swansey, 
Lying  upon  Record  at  the  Court  of  Plymouth, 
Blarch  1,  1067  :  This  Court  have  granted  unto 
them ;  all  such  Lands  that  Lyeth  betwixt  the 
salt  water  Bay  and  coming  up  Taunton  river, 
(viz.)  all  the  land  between  the  salt  water,  and 
river,  and  the  bounds  of  Taunton  and  Reho- 
both  not  prejudicing  any  man's  particular  In- 
terest." These  bounds,  it  will  be  seen  at  once, 
emln-ace  the  whole  of  the  town  of  V/arreu. 

What  became  of  this  charter  is  now  un- 
knovvU  ;  but  it  would  seem  from  a  clause  in  the 
second  charter,  that  the  former  was  deemed 
imperfect  or  insufficient.  The  clause  alluded 
to,  refers  to  the  first  grant,  and  is  as  follows : 
"  It  may  be  now  questioned  whether  y^  s^ 
grant,  conveyance  and  surrender  be  sufficient, 
firm,  authentic,  sure  in  law  to  all  intents  ac- 
cording to  the  true  meaning  thereof,  as  is  to  be 
cjesircd,   for  want  of  formality  or  rules  of  law. 


60 


SUPPLEMENT. 


usual   or   requisite   in   such  cases.     Now  for 
y^  more  and  better,"  &c. 

The  second  charter  bears  date  July  23,  1689, 
in  which  the  bounds  of  the  town  are  thus  ex- 
pressed : 

''  Butted  and  bounded  according  to  Court 
grant  towards  ye  West,  upon  ye  great  salt  wa- 
ter Bay  and  River  that  goeth  up  towards  ye 
Town  of  Providence  ;  even  so  farr  up  towards 
ye  North  as  ye  south  line  or  bounds  of  ye 
Town  of  Rehoboth ;  and  upon  that  line  to- 
wards ye  East,  upon  ye  Bounds  of  Rehoboth 
aforesaid ;  and  then  Northerly  untill  it  come 
to  ye  Bounds  of  ye  Township  of  Taunton,  on 
which  it  also  bounds  ;  Along  upon  ye  River 
called  Taunton  River ;  &l  likewise  towards  ye 
South  is  bounded  upon  the  North  line  of  ye 
Towne  of  Bristoll,  that  runneth  cross  Mount 
hope  neck  to  ye  River  of  Swansey  afores'^  to- 
wards ye  West ;  according  to  ye  Grant  of  ye 
Court  of  New  Plimouth  afores^". 

The  precise  time,  when  the  first  dwelling- 
house  was  built  upon  the  spot  now  occupied  by 
the  village  of  Warren,  we  have  no  means  of 
clearly  ascertaining.  The  site  of  the  village 
is  named  in  the  Swansea  Town  Records 
as  Brooks'  pasture,  as^early  asl071  1.  At 
a  town  meeting  Feb.  25,  1679,  the  fol- 
lowing action  was  taken  upon  the  distribu- 
tion of  this  territory :  ''  It  is  voted  that 
the  whole  Tract   of  Land  called   Brooks'  Pas- 


SUPPLEMENT. 


61 


tiire*  up  to  the  old  fence  by  John  Wheaton 
shall  be  divided  in  a  distinct  division,  and  a 
survey  up  to  Swanzey  Two  Mile  to  be  taken." 
Also,  at  a  town  meeting,  Au<t.  31,  1680,  ''  It 
is  ordered,  concluded  and  agreed,  that  whereas 
the  committee  chosen  for  the  survey  of  Brooks' 
Pasture  the  25  of  Feb.  1G79,  Have  now  brought 
in  their  report  of  it  to  be  Three  hundred  acres. 
It  is  now  ordered  That  convenient  Highways 
be  laid  out  in  said  land  ; 

That  the  Land  for  House  Lots  be  laid 
out  ; 

That  the  remainder  be  laid  out  to  each  man 
according  to  his  proportion  as  Rankt,  and  that 
each  man  draw  his  Lot  when  put  in  form." 

The  above  mentioned  drawing  for  the  divid- 
ed lots  took  place  on  April  10,  1 082. 

Town  Meeting  Oct.  19,  1G81,  is  the  follow- 
ing record,  "  That  complaint  be  made  to  a 
Majestrute  to  panell  a  Jury  to  lay  out  a  High- 
way through  Brooks'  Pasture  to  the  Ferry  to 
New  Meadow  Neck."  All  the  above  extracts 
are  taken  from  the  Swanzea  Toiun  Records. 
Turning  to  the  Projjrictors'  Mecords,  we  find 
the  following : — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  Apr.  1,  1718, 
"  Then  a  vote  was  passed  yt  Brooks'  Pasture 
and  ye  Island  thereby,  should  be  let  out." 

*  The  tract  called  Brooks'  'pasture  is  identical  with 
nearly  all  the  part  of  Warren  that  is  now  compactly 
built,  as  well  as  the  eastward  extension  ot  the  vicinity, 
on  the  Bristol  line.  v* 


b»  SUPPLEMENT. 

"  At  a  proprietors  meeting  on  ye  29  of  Feb. 
1719-20,  It  was  voted  yt  it  should  be  put  into 
a  notification  for  ye  laying  out  of  Brooks'  Pas- 
ture." 

"  At  a  proprietors  meeting  ye  16  of  March, 
1719-20,  a  vote  was  passed  y't  Brooks  Pas- 
ture should  be  laid  out."  At  another  meeting 
of  the  Proprietors,  April  19, 1725,  was  enacted 
the  following  :  "  By  virtue  of  a  warrant  from 
one  of  his  Majesties  Justices  of  ye  Peace  for  ye 
County  of  Bristol,  Voted,  That  the  land  in 
Brooks'  Pasture  be  all  laid  out  in  102  lots,  ac- 
cording to  quantity  and  quality." 

These  several  votes,  above  enumerated,  refer 
to  different  portions  of  the  land  to  be  divided, 
and  became  the  basis  of  all  the  deeds  of  real 
estate,  by  which  tenure  in  landed  property  is 
still  held  in  Warren. 

Having  given  some  account  of  the  various 
divisions  of  territory,  and  the  successive  gov- 
ernments, through  which  this  territory  has 
passed,  it  belongs  to  the  history  of  Warren, 
to  exhibit  some  of  the  leading  events  of 
Philip's  War,  which  had  its  beginning  within 
the  limits  of  the  town. 

We  shall  give  a  short  summary  of  the  open- 
ing events  of  that  bloody  and  destructive  war. 
The  field  where  Philip  collected  and  arrayed 
his  forces,  "  on  the  upper  part  of  the  neck," 
was  within  this  town.  The  people  of  Plymouth 
were  awakened  to  their  danger,  and  the  colony 
put  on  their  guard,  by  the  following  deposition, 


^UPPLEMliNT.  03 

given  at  Plymouth  a  short  time  previous  to  the 
war,  by  one  of  the  early  citizens  of  Warren, 
"  Hugh  Cole,  aged  forty-three,  or  thereabouts, 
being  deposed,  saith ;  That  in  February  last 
passed  before  the  date  hereof,  he  went  to 
Shewamett,  and  two  Englishmen  more  with 
him ;  and  that  their  business  was  to  persuade 
the  Indians  to  go  to  Plymouth,  to  answer  a 
complaint  made  by  Hezekiah  Luther.  The 
Indians  (saith  he)  seeing  us,  came  out  of  the 
house  towards  us,  being  many  of  them,  at  the 
least  twenty  or  thirty,  with  staves  in  their  hands; 
and  when  the  Indians  saw  there  were  but  three 
of  us,  they  laid  down  their  staves  again.  Then 
we  asked  the  Indians  what  they  did  with  those 
staves  in  their  hands  ?  They  answered,  that 
they  looked  for  Englishmen  to  come  from  Ply- 
mouth, to  seek  Indians,  to  carry  them  to  Ply- 
mouth, but,  they  said,  they  were  not  willing  to  go. 
*'  And  some  time  after,  in  the  same  morn- 
ing, Philip  the  Chief  Sachem,  sent  for  me  to 
come  to  him,  and  I  went  to  Mount  Hope,  to 
him.  And  when  I  came  to  Mount  Hope,  I  saw 
most  of  the  Indians  that  I  knew  of  Shewamett 
Indians,  there  at  Mount  Hope,  and  they  were 
generally  employed  in  making  of  bows  and  ar- 
rows, and  half  pikes,  and  fixing  up  of  guns. 
"  And  I  saw  many  Indians  of  several  places 
repair  towards  Mount  Hope.  And  some  days 
after  I  came  from  Mount  Hope,  I  with  several 
others,  saw  one  of  Captain  Willett's  rangers 
coming-  on   post  on  horseback,   who   told   us. 


64  SUPPLEMENT. 

that  king  Philip  was  marched  up  the  neck, 
with  about  three  score  men  ;  and  Zacary  Eddy, 
on  his  report,  went  to  see  if  he  could  find 
them ;  and  he  found  them  towards  the  uijpcr 
part  of  the  neck,  in  several  companies. 

"  One  Caleb  Eddy  further  saith,  that  he  saw 
many  there  in  arms ;  and  I  was  informed  by 
John  Padduck,  that  he  saw  two  several  guns, 
loaded  with  bullets  or  slugs  ;  and  I  further  tes- 
tify that  those  Indians  that  I  saw  coming  to- 
wards Mount  Hope,  as  aforesaid,  came  better 
armed  than  I  usually  have  seen  them  ;  Further 
saith  not."* 

Philip  had  been  for  some  time  suspected  of 
making  warlike  preparations,  and  upon  enqui- 
ries being  instituted,  an  Indian  named  Sassa- 
man,  formerly  Philip's  secretary  and  counsel- 
lor, was  induced  to  reveal  to  the  English,  the 
fact  of  the  Sachem's  intention  of  commencing 
hostilities.  Philip,  exasperated  at  this,  caus- 
ed Sassaman  to  be  killed,  and  his  body  put 
under  the  ice  of  Assawomset  pond,  in  JNlid- 
dleborough,  Mass.  ;  and  to  induce  the  be- 
lief that  he  was  accidentally  drowned,  his 
slayers  left  his  gun  and  hat  upon  the  ice. 
This  event  occurred,  January  29th,  1G75. — 
When  the  body  was  discovered,  the  neck  was 
broken,  and  it  had  other  marks  of  injury,  which 
the  English  at  once  concluded  must  have  been 


*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol.  G.     Thatcher's  Ind.  Bio. 
159. 


SUPPLEMKNT.  65 

inflicted  by  other  hands  than  his  own.  Besides 
this,  an  Indian  testified  his  having  seen  the 
murder  committed  by  four  Indians.  In  the 
following  June,  three  of  the  accused  were  ar- 
rested, tried  and  convicted  by  a  jury  at  Ply- 
mouth. The  jury  was  composed  of  twelve  En- 
glishmen and  four  Indians  ;  and  their  decision 
was  the  following : — "  Wee  of  the  jury,  one 
and  all,  both  English  and  Indians,  doe  joyntly 
and  with  one  consent,  agree  upon  a  verdict." 
Two  of  the  condemned  Indians  were  hanged 
on  the  8th  of  June,  and  the  other  shot  within  a 
month.  The  Plymonth  Court  then  sent  an  or- 
der to  Philip  to  appear  before  them,  and  render 
an  account  for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  af-^ 
fair.  Rather  than  obey  this  injunction,  which 
involved  so  much  risk  to  himself,  he  chose  to 
commence  the  war  at  once. 

He  and  his  tribe  immediately  sent  their 
wives  and  children  over  to  the  Narragansetts, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Bay,  for  protection. — 
At  this  time,  Philip  resided  at  Mount  Hope,* 

*  For  the  benefit  of  persons  unacquainted  with  the 
location  of  Mount  Hope  JVcck,  we  present  a  brief  gen- 
eral description  of  it.  Mount  Hope  Neck  is  about 
nine  miles  in  length,  two  miles  wide  at  each  end,  and 
narrowing  to  one  mile,  at  a  point  about  three  miles 
from  the  northern  extremity.  About  half  of  the  neck 
projects  into  the  bay  ;  tlie  remaining  part  is  formed 
by  the  Kikemuit  river  on  the  east  side,  and  Warren 
river  (formerly  Sotcams  river)  on  the  west.  About 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  opening  of  the  Warren  river 
into  the  bay, it  is  divided  by  Little  Island  and  KcwMcad- 


66  SUPPLEMENT. 

where  he  was  diligently  engaged  in  gathering 
and  preparing  his  forces.  His  available  war- 
riors, under  his  iinmediate  command,  including 
the  tribe  of  his  sister-in-law,  Weetamoe,  the 
Pocassets  in  Tiverton,  were  about  500  men, 
besides  1000  warriors  whom  he  depended  up- 
on, by  his  league  with  the  neighboring  tribes. 

The  English  settlements  nearest  to  Philip's 
head  quarters,  were  situated  at  the  northern 
part  of  Vv^arren.*  On  Sunday,  tlie  20th  of 
June,  1675,  Philip's  warriors  marched  up  the 
neck,  and  plundered  some  of  the  colonists' 
houses,  tenantless  for  the  time,  in  consequence 
of  their  occupants  being  absent  at  church. — 
An  express  was  sent  to  Gov.  V/inslo^v,  at  Ply- 
mouth, who  immediately  ordered  the  following 
Thursday  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  Fasting 
and  Prayer,  at  the  same  time  that  he  issued  or- 
ders calling  out  the  troops,  and  notified  the 
Governor  of  JMassachusetts  of  the  state  of  af- 
fairs in  Swanzea.  On  ^londay,  June  21,  the 
troops  under  Major  Cudworth,  left  Plymouth, 
and  tliey  arrived  at  Swanzea  as  early,  at  least, 
as  the  24th.     It  is  stated  by  some  authors  that 

ow  Neck.  About  one  mile  of  the  northern  end  of  the 
neck  is  in  Swanzea  ;  the  next  two  and  a  half  miles, 
including  the  "  narrow  of  the  neck,"  are  in  Warren  ; 
the  remaining  five  and  a  half  miles  are  in  Bristol. 

*  "There  was  a  settlement  within  Mount  Hope  Neck, 
appertaining    to    Swanzea.     It    contained    eighteen 
houses,  all  destroyed."     Morton's  Memorial,  Appen 
dix,  463. 


SUPPLEMENT.  67 

the  troops  could  not  have  been  in  Swanzea  on 
the  24th  ;  but  certain  facts  overlooked  by  these 
writers,  show  that  the  troops  from  Plymouth 
were  quartered  in  some  parts  of  Swanzea,  when 
the  Indians  attacked  the  people  returning  from 
public  worship,  on  the  appointed  fast  day, — 
Captain  Church,  an  actor  in  tJie  war,  states, 
the  Plymouth  troops  v/ere  in  Swanzea,  on  the 
24th  ;  and  a  letter  from  ]\Ir.  Nathaniel  Thomas, 
in  JMorton's  Memorial,  p.  429,  is  dated  the  25th 
of  June,  and  speaks  of  the  tragical  affairs  of 
the  previous  day:  and  continues  "^  the  forces 
here  are  dis[)ersed  to  several  places  of  the  town, 
and  some  to  Rehoboth,  which  this  day  we  in- 
tend to  draw  into  a  smaller  compass."  The 
territory  of  the  town  of  Swanzea  was,  at  that 
time,  of  great  extent,  being  not  less  than  twelve 
miles  in  length.  It  seems,  therefore,  plainly 
evident  that  the  troops  from  Plymouth,  were 
quartered  in  detached  companies,  in  different 
parts  of  this  widely  extended  town.  Not  know- 
ing the  forces  of  the  Indians,  they  considered  it 
imprudent  to  pass  down  the  Neck,  to  attack 
them  at  Mount  Hope,  till  the  Boston  troops 
arrived.  Iluljbard  says,  respecting  the  first  at- 
tacks of  the  Indians,  especially  that  on  the  fast 
day,  "  all  which  outrages  were  committed  so 
suddenly,  that  the  English  had  no  time  to  make 
any  resistance."  The  Indians  had  already  kil- 
led the  cattle  of  the  English,  in  Swanzea,  and 
on  one  occasion,  one  of  them  being  refused 
liquor,  and  attempting  to  take  it  by  force,  was 


C}8  SUPPLEMENT. 

fired  upon  and  wounded.  But  on  Thursday, 
June  24th,  the  day  appointed  for  a  fast,  as  the 
Svvanzea  people  were  returning  from  church, 
they  were  fired  upon  by  the  Indians,  and  one 
man  was  killed  and  another  wounded.  Two 
men  going  for  a  surgeon  to  attend  the  wounded 
man,  were  killed  in  the  way.  Six  men  were 
killed  in  another  part  of  the  town ;  and  in  a 
short  time,  so  closely  were  the  colonists  beset, 
that  the  Indians  would  "  shoot  at  all  the 
passengers,  and  killed  many  that  ventured 
abroad."* 


*  Most  writers  ag-ree  that  the  first  English  blood 
was  shed  on  Thursday,  the  fast  day,  as  we  have 
mentioned  above  ;  but  a  passage  in  Hubbard's  Indian 
Wars,  which  gives  an  account  of  the  killing  of  the 
"  six  men,"  presents  a  different  statement,  and  refers 
to  "  six  men"  who  were  killed  before,  and  not  in- 
tended as  the  same  who  were  killed  on  the  fast  day. 
The  express  sent  on  June  20,  to  notify  Governor 
Winslow,  of  the  threatened  danger  pending  over 
Swanzea,  on  its  return  the  next  day,  passing  through 
Bridgewater,  left  there  a  requisition  for  twenty  well- 
armed  men,  to  repair  forthwith  for  the  defence  of 
Bourn's  garrison  at  Mattapoiset  in  Svvanzea,  which 
contained  seventy  persons,  including  only  sixteen 
men.  Seventeen  of  the  Bridgewater  troops  imme- 
diately started  on  horseback,  "  and  were  the  first  that 
were  upon  their  march  in  all  the  country."  On  their 
way  to  Mattapoiset,  they  met  many  people  of  Swan- 
zea, "  newly  turned  out  of  their  houses,  making  dole- 
ful lamentations  and  bewailing  their  losses."  On  the 
22dof  June,  as  a  part  of  these  Bridgewater  troops 
had  gone  to  escort  Mr.  Brown,  their  pilot,  home,  on 
their  return  from  this  duty,  toward  the  garrison,  they 


SUPPLEMENT.  60 

On  Saturday,  June  20,  a  company  of  infant- 
ry, under  Captain  Daniel  Henchman,  and  a 
company  of  mounted  troops  under  Captain 
Thomas  Prentice,  left  Boston  for  Mount  Hope. 
Captain  Mosely,  of  Boston,  also  raised  a  large 
company  of  volunteers  who  left  soon  after. — 
On  Monday,  June  28,  the  above  named  three 
companies  arrived  together  at  Mr.  Miles'  house 
*'  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  bridge  lead- 
ing into  Philip's  lands."  Here  they  joined  the 
forces  from  Plymouth  which  had  previously 
been  quartered  in  various  parts  of  Swanzea, 
but  which  were  now  drawn  together  into  a 
smaller  compass.  The  same  day  twelve  of 
Capt.  Prentice's  troops  passed  over  the  bridge, 
and  were  attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  killed 
one  of  the  English,  named  William  Hammond. 
Previously  to  this,  the  Indians  had  boldly  ap- 

came  suddenly  upon  a  party  of  Indians  ;  but  not  be- 
ing molested,  and  being  unauthorized  to  fight,  unless 
they  were  first  assaulted,  they  passed  on  towards 
their  ga,rrison,  where  they  found  a  party  of  the  Eng- 
lish going  to  a  barn,  about  one  fourth  of  a  mile  dis- 
tant, for  corn.  The  soldiers  informed  them  that  they 
had  seen  the  Indians  but  a  short  distance  back,  and 
advised  them  not  to  go.  Notwithstanding  this  ad- 
vice, the  English  went,  and  were  attacked  at  the 
barn  by  the  Indians,  and  six  of  their  number  killed. 
The  troops  hearing  the  attack,  immediately  prepared 
their  horses  and  rode  to  the  barn,  when  the  enemy 
fled.  This  tragical  affair  appears  by  the  statement 
of  Mr.  Hubbard,  to  have  occurred  on  Tuesday,  the 
22d  of  June,  two  days  before  the  fast  day. 
w 


70  SUPPLEMENT. 

proached,  and  shot  two  sentinels  on  duty  at 
Miles'  Garrison. 

On  Tuesday,  June  29th,  nine  or  ten  Indians 
showed  themselves  near  the  garrison,  upon 
which  the  horsemen  and  Mosely's  volunteers 
pursued  them  for  a  mile  and  a  quarter  beyond 
the  bridge,  where  they  killed  five  or  six  of  the 
Indians,  and  then  returned  to  head  quarters. — 
In  consequence  of  this  disastrous  charge,  Phil- 
ip became  alarmed,  and  in  the  following  night, 
he  with  all  his  men,  left  Mount  Hope  Neck  in 
their  canoes,  and  passed  over  Taunton  River 
to  Pocasset. 

On  Wednesday,  June  30th,  the  whole  En- 
glish forces  marched  down  Mount  Hope  Neck 
towards  Philip's  abode.  At  the  distance  of  "  a 
mile  and  a  half"  from  Miles'  bridge,  they  came 
to  some  houses  newly  burned.*  They  also 
noticed  a  Bible  newly  torn,  and  the  leaves  scat- 
tered about.  *'  Two  or  three  miles  further 
on,t  at  the  narrow  of  the  Neck,"  they  saw  the 
heads  of  eight  Englishmen,  stuck  up  on  poles 
near  the  highway.  These  they  took  down  and 
buried.  Proceeding  "  two  miles  further,"  they 
found  "  empty  wigwams  and  many  things  scat- 
tered up  and  down,  arguing  the  hasty  flight  of 

*  This  would  bring  tliem  near  Rock  Raymond,  or 
Kings'  Rocks,  as  they  are  now  called. 

t  Tliis  was  doubtless  near  the  Pound,  on  Kicke- 
muit  River.  The  pound  did  not  then  exist,  but  was 
first  built,  as  it  now  stands,  in  16S5. 


i 


SITPLEMENT.  71 

the  owners."!  For  a  ''halfmifc  further  on," 
they  passed  through  fields  of  stately  corn, 
and  came  to  Philip's  own  wigwam.  "  Two 
miles  further,  they  came  to  the  sea-side,"  and 
Captain  Cudworth,  with  some  of  the  Plymouth 
forces,  passed  oyer  to  Rhode-Island. <^ 

Major  Savage  and  his  command  rested  all 
through  a  rainy  night  in  the  open  field.  On 
the  morning  of  Thursday,  July  1,  Major  Sav- 
age's command  returned  to  head  quarters  at 
Mr.  Miles'  house.  On  their  way,  they  met 
many  stray  dogs  without  masters.  On  Friday, 
July  2,  the  troops  scoured  the  country  north  of 
Miles'  bridge,  and  killed  four  or  five  of  the  en- 
emy. On  Saturday,  July  3,  Capt.  Mosely  and 
his  trooi)s,  with  Capt.  Page  and  his  dragoons, 
again  traversed  Mount  Hope  Neck,  to  make 
sure  of  the  departure  of  the  enemy.  On  Sun- 
day, July  4,  Captain  Cudworth  returned  from 
Rhode-Island  to  the  garrison,  having  left  forty 
jnen  under  the  command  of  Captain  Church, 
to  build  a  fort  on  Mount  Hope  Neck.*  On  Mon- 

t  This  was  at  Weypoiset,  or  the  narrous  of  Kickc- 
ijiuit  River,  in  Bristol. 

§  The  above  marked  quotations  are  from  Hubbard's 
Indian  Wars. 

*  The  writer  after  diligent  scarcli,  was  fortunate 
enough  to  discover  the  remains  of  this  Fort.  They 
are  situated  opposite  tlie  narrou-s  of  Kiclcemuit  river, 
in  Bristol,  on  the  top  of  the  most  south-western  of 
several  hills,  on  the  north  side  of  a  cove.  They  con- 
sist now  chielly  of  the  remains  cf  the    fire-place   in 


72  SUPPLEMENT. 

day,  July  5,  Capt.  Hutchinson  arrived  from  Bos- 
ton, with  new  orders,  and  on  the  next  day,  July 
6,  all  the  troops  except  Captain  Cudworth  and 
his  command,  started  for  Narragansett  to  treat 
with  that  tribe,  in  order  to  prevent  their  taking 
part  with  Philip. 

It  does  not  belong  to  the  object  of  these  re- 
searches, to  extend  the  history  of  the  Indian 
war,  any  farther  than  to  show  the  causes  by 
which  it  originated,  and  to  ascertain  and  define 
the  particular  localities  in  Warren  and  its  vi- 
cinity, which  were  the  scenes  of  the  opening 
part  of  that  tragical  and  distressing  period. — 
After  Philip  had  withdrawn  his  forces  from 
Mount  Hope  Neck,  the  various  Indian  tribes 

the  fort.  This  fire-place  was  made  by  preparing- 
a  suitable  excavation,  and  laying  low  stone  walls  at 
the  sides  and  the  end,  for  which  flat  stones  were 
used,  evidently  brought  from  the  adjoining  beach. — 
The  remains  of  these  ruins  are  now  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  which  at  this  place,  is  depressed 
several  inches  below  the  average  surface  of  the  ground 
in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  hill  is  fast  wearing 
away,  by  the  action  of  the  water  which  washes  its 
base.  The  wearing  away  has  already  reached  the 
fire-place,  from  which  the  charcoal  and  burnt  stones- 
are  often  falling  down  the  steeply  inclined  plane  be- 
neath. It  was  here  that  Captain  Church,  when  ou 
his  singular  and  adventurous  expedition  to  caj^ture 
Annawan,  roasted  horse-beef  for  his  men,  on  the  26tli 
of  August,  1676.  Here,  also,  he  confined  several 
prisoners  ;  he  "  had  catched  ten  Indians  ;  and  they 
guarded  them  all  night  in  one  of  the  flankers  of  the 
f>ld  English  garrison  "     Church's  Hist.,  p.  130 


SUPPLEMENT.  73 

in  tills  part  of  New-England,  mostly  entered 
into  league  with  him.  The  storm  of  war  burst 
upon  the  devoted  colonies ;  and  it  continued 
to  rage  with  fearful  violence  for  more  than  a 
year  after  Philip  was  first  driven  from  Mount 
Hope  Neck.  Its  consequences  were  disastrous 
in  the  extreme ;  it  caused  wide-spread  and  uni- 
versal mourning  throughout  New-England. — 
As  the  result  of  this  most  distressing  of  all  the 
Indian  wars  with  the  Colonists  of  New-Eng- 
land, at  least  six  hundred  of  the  inhabitants 
who  were  "  the  flower  and  strength  of  the 
country,  fell  in  battle  or  were  murdered  by  the 
enemy."  ''  Twelve  or  thirteen  towns  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, Plymouth  and  Rhode-Island,  were 
utterly  destroyed,  and  others  greatly  damaged." 
''  About  600  buildings,  chiefly  dwelling  houses, 
were  consumed  with  fire."  More  than  100,000 
pounds  sterling  were  expended  by  the  Colo- 
nists, besides  an  immense  loss  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  goods  and  cattle.  Among  the 
houses  burnt,  thirty-four  were  in  Swanzea, 
which  left  only  six  houses  standing  in  the  town 
at  the  close  of  the  war.* 

Philip's  war  had  so  reduced  to  ruins  the 
town  of  Swanzea  and  the  surrounding  vicinity, 
that  the  whole  neighborhood  was  nearly  as  des- 
olate as  a  wilderness.  Shortly  afterwards, 
however,  the  scattered  population  gradually  re- 

*  Judge  Davis'  Appendix  to  Morton's  Memorial. 
w* 


74  SUPPLEMENT. 

turned  and  settled  upon  the  deserted  territory. 
There  being  no  Indians  left  on  Mount  Hope 
Neck,  the  settlements  of  the  English  soon  oc- 
cupied the  sites  of  the  former  wigwams  and 
villages  of  the  natives. 

The  Plymouth  government  at  a  very  early 
period  had  encouraged  the  organization  of  com- 
panies of  Proprietors,  or  joint-stock  companies, 
who  were  empowered  to  buy  lands  of  the  In- 
dians, and  then  sell  and  divide  such  lands  a- 
mong  themselves,  on  conditions  of  mutual 
agreement.  These  companies  of  Proprietors 
were  required  to  keep  a  book  of  Records  and 
Memorials,  in  which  the  various  divisions  of 
land  were  to  be  entered ;  and  they  were  empow- 
ered to  make  choice  of  some  one  of  their  num- 
ber as  clerk,  to  enter  and  record  the  several 
divisions  of  their  lands  in  due  form  and  course 
of  law.  These  entries  thus  became  permanent 
records  of  real  estate, ''  to  be  transmitted  and  re- 
main to  posteritie," — provided  the  entries  of  such 
lands  should  not  infringe  or  hinder  the  entry  of 
said  lands  in  the  records  of  the  respective  towns, 
within  whose  jurisdiction  the  territory  of  such 
company  of  Proprietors  might  happen  to  fall. 
The  purchases  of  land  from  the  Indians  were 
recorded  on  parchment  with  great  care  and 
exactness ;  but  when  the  Proprietors  would 
come  to  subdivide  these  tracts  among  them- 
selves, the  only  individual  title  of  each  owner 
to  his  portion,  would  consist  of  a  recorded 
vote,  passed  at  a  regular  Proprietor's  meeting, 


SUPPLEMENT.  75 

certifying  that  such  a  portiom  had  been  allotted 
to  him.  After  the  several  towns  in  this  vicin- 
ity had  become  incorporated,  town  meetings 
and  Proprietors'  meetings  were  frequently  held, 
independently  of  each  other,  and  it  sometimes 
happened  that  the  separate  action  of  one  of 
these  bodies  would  be  at  variance  with  that  of 
the  others. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  Philip's  war,  by  vir- 
tue of  the  grand  deed  of  sale  from  Massasoit, 
authorized  by  the  Plymouth  court,  the  Sowams 
purchase,  excepting  the  belt  of  meadow  land 
bordering  on  the  water  courses,  which  had 
previously  been  apportioned,  was  divided  into 
suitable  tracts  for  farms  and  building  lots,  and 
thus  were  laid  the  foundations  for  the  owner- 
ship of  all  the  real  estate  in  the  town  of  War- 
ren. 

In  the  course  of  time,  the  Proprietors  sold 
out  portions  of  their  lands  to  other  people,  who 
in  selling  again  to  one  another,  gave  regular 
title  deeds.  We  have  already  stated  that  Brooks' 
pasture,  which  included  the  site  of  the  village 
of  Warren,  was  laid  out  and  divided  among  the 
Proprietors,  in  several  portions,  at  different 
periods,  extending  from  1680  to  1725. 

But  the  territory  of  Warren,  being  then  a 
part  of  Swanzea,  was  subject  to  the  legislation 
of  that  town,  as  a  branch  of  the  Plymouth  col- 
ony ;  and  the  lands  not  owned  and  divided  by 
the  Sowams  Proprietors,  were  distributed  ac- 
cording to  regulations  adopted  by  the  town  of 


76  SUPPLEMENT. 

Swanzea,  on  the  7th  of  Feb.  1670.  By  these' 
regulations,  it  was  "  ordered,  that  all  lots  and 
divisions  of  lands  that  are  or  hereafter  shall  be' 
granted  to  any  particular  person,  shall  be  pro- 
portioned according  to  the  three-fold  ranks 
underwritten,  so  that  where  those  of  the  first 
rank  shall  have  three  acres,  those  of  the  second 
rank  shall  have  two  acres,  and  those  of  the  third 
rank  shall  have  one ;  and  that  it  shall  be  iri^ 
the  power  of  the  Selectmen  for  the  time  being,. 
or  Committee  for  admission  of  inhabitants,  to 
admit  of  and  place  such  as  shall  be  received  as 
inhabitants,  into  either  of  the  said  ranks,  as 
they  shall  judge  fit,  till  the  number  of  three 
score  inhabitants  shall  be  made  up,  and  that 
when  the  said  number  of  three  score  is  accom-. 
plished,  the  lands  that  are  already  bought  shall; 
be  divided,  and  proportioned  according  to  the- 
said  three-fold  ranks  ;  that  in  the  mean  time,, 
the  said  Selectmen  or  Committee  shall  hav& 
full  power  to  grant  lots  unto  such  persons  as- 
may  not  be  placed  into  any  of  the  said  ranks, 
until  further  order  provided  ;  the  grants  not  ta 
exceed  nine  acres  to  a  man."  [Then  follow 
the  three  ranks  of  landholders  in  separate  col- 
umns, as  determined  by  the  Committee.] 

The  legislation  of  Swanzea,  from  its  first 
incorporation  in  1667,  till  the  district  of  War- 
ren ceased  to  be  a  part  of  it  in  1746,  was  al- 
ways characterized  by  the  spirit  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom,  which  first  led  the  fathers  of 
the  town   to  make  it   a  safe   asylum   for  those 


SUPPLEMENT.  77 

who  wished  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  conscience.  And  yet  a 
careful  distinction  was  preserved  between  hiw- 
lessness  respecting  civil  and  social  duties,  and 
that  liberty  of  the  soul  in  religion  which  they 
did  not  feel  it  their  right  to  abridge  or  coerce. 
It  was  made  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  stand 
in  his  place,  in  providing  measures  for  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  the  town.  At  a  town 
meeting,  lawfully  warned,  Nov.  4,  1670,  it  was 
"  ordered  that  whatsoever  inhabitant  of  this 
town  shall  absent  himself  from  any  town  meet- 
ing to  which  he  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be 
legally  warned,  he  shall  forfeit  for  every  such 
offence,  four  shillings."  In  so  new  and  un- 
settled a  state  of  the  community,  great  care 
was  taken  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  citizens 
from  trespass  by  each  other,  and  also  to  guard 
against  misunderstanding  or  collision  with  the 
Indians,  who,  till  Philip's  war,  occupied  the 
lands  of  Mount  Hope  Neck,  south  of  the  line 
now  separating  Warren  from  Bristol.  To 
guard  against  trespass  by  each  other's  cattle 
upon  the  newly  laid  out  farms,  at  a  town  meet- 
ing, June  14,  1072,  "  Jonathan  Bosworth  was 
a])proved  of  and  appointed  by  the  town  to  keep 
an  ordinarij  ;  and  to  be  Pound  keeper,  and  for 
every  beast  that  is  pounded,  he  is  to  have  three 
pence  poundage."  To  render  equal  justice  to 
the  neighboring  Indians,  even  so  late  as  at  the 
very  eve  of  Philip's  war,  the  town,  in  regular 
meeting,  May  19,  1G75,  "  ordered  that  Nathan- 


78  SUPPLEMENT. 

iel  Lewis  and  Caleb  Eddy,  do  view  the  fence* 
between  the  Indians  and  the  town,  and  return 
the  defects  thereof  to  the  town,  by  the  sixth 
day  come  seven  night."  Also,  "  ordered  that 
every  man  shall  fetch  his  cattle  out  of  the  Neck, 
within  the  fence,  and  that  all  cattle  that  are 
found  there  after  the  3d  of  June,  and  brought 
to  Pound,  shall  pay  for  every  beast  or  horse, 
2s.  6J." 

An  equitable  assessment  was  levied  upon  all 
the  citizens  of  the  town,  for  charges  incurred 
in  purchases  of  land  made  by  the  town  from 
the  Indians,  and  also  for  expenses  necessary 
for  the  common  welfare.  Thus,  at  a  town 
meeting,  lawfully  warned,  Nov.  18,  1G72,  it 
was  '*  ordered  that  the  committee  chosen  by 
the  Town,  for  the  management  of  the  Pruden- 
tial affairs  of  the  Town,  shall  levy  the  several 
proportions  of  Pay  due  from  the  Inhabitants  for 
the  Land  lately  purchased  from  Philip  Sachem, 
by  Mr.  Constant  Southworth,  and  other  charges 
relating  thereunto." 

At  the  same  time  that  the  authority  of  the 
town  claimed  no  right  of  visitation  or  interfer- 
ence in  matters  of  personal  religious  foith,  it 
made  provisions  for  the  support  of  religious- 
teaching,  for  the  common  moral  welfare  of  the 

*  It  seems  that  the  fence  running  from  Warren  to 
Kickemuit  rivers,  on  what  is  now  tlie  line  between 
Warren  and  Bristol,  had  been  the  boundary  between 
Swanzea  and  the  Indians,  for  aoxne  time  previous  to 
1675. 


SUPPT.EMEN'T.  79 

people.  After  the  Baptist  Church  had  seen 
the  necessity  of  removing  their  first  house  of 
worship,  near  the  borders  of  Rehoboth,  to  a 
more  central  and  eligible  location,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Townsmen,  March  13,  1675,  ''there 
was  granted  unto  Mr.  John  Miles,  Pastor  of 
the  Church,  one  acre  of  land  at  the  lower  end 
of  New  Meadow  Neck,  viz  :  the  south  lot  on 
the  east  side,  for  to  build  upon."  At  a  town 
meeting  lawfully  held,  Oct.  12,  1676,  it  was 
ordered,  "  according  to  a  former  agreement, 
'that  the  meeting-house,  if  removed,  shall  be  re- 
moved to  the  lower  end  of  New  Meadow  Neck." 
^In  consequence  of  the  dispersion  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  this  neighborhod  during  the  war,  Mr. 
Miles  was  probably  induced  for  a  season,  to 
change  his  residence ;  and  after  preaching  a 
considerable  time  in  Boston,  he  was  again  pre- 
vailed upon  by  the  "[people  of  Swanzea,  to  re- 
turn to  his  former  charge.  While  thus  absent, 
and  in  anticipation  of  his  return,  at  a  town 
meeting,  Sept.  5,  1677,  John  Allen,  John  But- 
terworth  and  Hugh  Cole,  were  chosen  to  agree 
with  a  carpenter  to  build  Mr.  Miles  a  house  of 
residence  ;  and  at  Town  meeting,  May  27, 
1678,  John  Allen  and  John  Brown  were  chosen 
to  draw  up  a  letter  in  the  behalf  of  Church  and 
Town,  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  John  Miles,  Pastor  of 
the  church  and  Minister  of  the  town,  manifest- 
ing their  desire  of  his  return  to  them  ;  and 
Thos.  Easterbrooks  was  chosen  to  carry  the 
Town's  letter  to  Mr.  Miles  at  Boston.     After 


80  SUPPLEMENT, 

much  delay  in  attempting  to  remove  their  for 
mer  meeting-house,  and  probably  at  last  fuid- 
ing  it  an  impracticable  project,  at  length,  at 
Town  meeting,  Sept.  30,  1679,  it  was  "  voted 
and  ordered  that  a  meeting-house  of  40  feet  in 
length,  and  22  feet  in  breadth,  and  16  feet  be- 
tween joints,  be  forthwith  built ;  and  a  Com- 
mittee be  chosen  for  the  letting  out  of  said 
work  and  finishing  the  same,  viz  :  John  Allen, 
Hugh  Cole,  William  Ingraham,  Committee  ;" 
and  at  a  Town  meeting,  legally  warned,  March 
29,  1680,  it  was  "  voted  that  the  meeting-house 
be  set  up  at  the  lower  end  of  New  Meadow 
Neck,  and  that  the  Committee  for  said  house 
appoint  the  individual  place." 

From  this  period  onward,  the  town  having 
recovered  from  the  sad  effects  of  the  war, 
measures  were  taken  to  ensure  the  increase  of 
business,  and  the  welfare  of  the  population,  in 
the  town  of  Swanzea,  and  especially  in  the  dis- 
trict of  the  present  town  of  Warren.  At  a 
town  meeting,  held  March  29,  1680,  it  was  vo- 
ted and  ordered  that  Miles  bridge  be  re-built 
with  all  convenient  speed.  This  bridge  had 
probably  been  destroyed  in  the  Indian  war,  and 
was  of  great  importance,  as  the  thoroughfare 
for  travelers  crossing  the  Warren  river.  At 
that  time,  there  appears  to  have  been  no  regu- 
lar ferry  at  Warren,  as  the  necessities  of  the 
public  had  as  yet  created  no  demand  for  one. 
But  after  the  survey  of  Brooks'  Pasture,  in 
1679,  and  the  site  of  the  present  village  there 


SJJPPLEMENT.  81 

Oil  was  laid  out  for  house  lots,  it  was  ordered, 
Town  meeting,  Aug.  31,  1680,  ''that  conven- 
ient highways  may  be  laid  out  in  said  Land;" 
and  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  October  19, 
1681,  a  petition  was  made  to  a  justice,  "  To 
impannel  a  jury  to  lay  out  such  highways  as 
are  at  present  needful,  namely,  through  Brooks' 
Pasture  to  the  ferry,  to  New  Meadow  Neck." 
By  this,  it  appears  that  the  settlements  at  War- 
ren, and  the  newly  erected  town  of  Bristol,  and 
also,  the  overland  traveling  between  Newport 
and  Providence,  required  that  a  convenient 
ferry  should  be  provided,  affording  a  ready  pas- 
sage across  the  Warren  river,  at  the  lower  end 
of  New  Meadow  Neck.  For  this  purpose,  at 
a  Town  meeting,  March  13,  1681,  "  It  was 
voted  that  six  acres  of  land  be  left  perpetually 
to  accommodate  a  person  to  keep  the  ferry,  or 
to  be  improved  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
town,  as  they  shall  see  fit,  and  that  this  land 
be  laid  out  by  the  Committee  formerly  chosen 
by  the  town  to  lay  out  Brooks'  Pasture,  and 
that  it  be  laid  out  as  conveniently  as  may  be."* 
After  the  land  comprising  Warren  and  the 
other  parts  of  Swanzea,  had  been  divided  a- 
mong  the  various  Proprietors,  and  all  the  re- 
maining rights  of  the  Indians  to  the  soil  had 
become  extinguished,  the  town  enacted,  March 
21,  1684,  that  all  the  deeds  of  purchases  of 
lands  from  the  Indians  to  the  English,  should 

^  In  1725  this  ferry  lot  was  reduced  by  authority  of 
the  town,  to  one  acre  and  a  quarter  in  size.         x 


82  SUPPLEMENT. 

all  be  called  in,  and  if  any  were  found  not  re- 
corded at  Plymouth,  they  should  be  recorded 
there  with  all  convenient  speed ;  and  for  the 
safe  keeping  of  these  records,  they  ordered  a 
box  to  be  procured,  with  three  locks,  which 
was  to  be  kept  for  safety,  wherever  the  town's 
committee  might  order.  At  a  town  meeting, 
May  22,  1699,  it  was  voted,  "  that  the  keys  of 
the  town  box  for  keeping  the  town  records  and 
writings  shall  be  in  the  keeping  of  the  Select- 
men, appointed  from  year  to  year,  provided  the 
Selectmen  chosen  yearly  be  proprietors  in  the 
town  of  Swanzea." 

By  this  time,  the  community  began  to  be 
well  organized,  and  the  business  of  the  neigh- 
borhood considerably  increased.  The  spot  oc- 
cupied by  the  village  of  Warren,  on  account  of 
the  advantages  of  the  deep  water  in  the  river„ 
soon  drew  a  portion  of  the  population  of  Swan- 
zea to  its  vicinity,  for  the  purposes  of  ship- 
building and  navigation.  As  early  as  Jan.  1, 
1684,  a  majority  of  the  town  voted  that  "  Tim- 
othy Brooks  may  keep  entertainment  for  travel- 
ers;" while  for  the  convenience  of  the  public, 
scattered  over  the  wide  spread  town,  it  was 
voted,  although  protested  against  by  several 
citizens,  Sept.  9,  1685,  "  that  the  place  of  all 
public  meetings  should  be  between  Mr.  Miles' 
house*  and  the  great  bridge ;  and   a  house  be 

*  Probably  Mr.  Miles'  old  mansion  house,  neai 
Miles'  bridge. 


SUPPLEMENT.  83 

there  built  for  that  end  by  a  free  contribution." 
The  people  in  this  vicinity,  in  those  early 
times,  seem  to  have  been  duly  mindful  of  the 
necessity  of  education  and  religion,  as  the  only 
safe  basis  for  the  organization  of  society;  though 
in  respect  to  the  modes  of  supporting  religion 
by  law,  they  were  at  that  time  an  exception 
from  the  existing  usages  of  the  other  towns  in 
the  colony.  They  allowed  the  church  to  hold  its 
own  doctrines,  &l  to  administer  its  own  discipline, 
without  interferance  by  the  secular  authority. 
On  Aug.  28,  .1693,  a  warrant  having  been 
read,  from  the  Quarter  Session  of  the  colony, 
requiring  the  town  to  choose  a  minister  accord- 
ing to  law,  the  town  meeting  was  addressed  by 
a  committee  of  the  church,  who  desired  the 
vote  of  the  town,  expressing  their  assent  and 
approbation  to  the  fact,  "  that  they  had  a  min- 
ister that  they  apprehended  was  according  to 
law,  viz.  Elder  Samuel  Luther,"  and  on  the 
17th  of  the  following  month,  the  town  "  voted 
and  chose  Elder  Samuel  Luther,  minister  of  tlie 
town  of  Swanzea." 

The  people  also  provided  for  the  education 
of  their  children  at  public  expence  ;  and  on 
March  2S,  1699,  the  town  "  confirmed  the 
agreement  made  by  the  Selectmen  with  Mr, 
Jonathan  Bosworth  to  be  school-master  for  the 
town  of  Swanzea  the  year  ensuing,  and  to  teach 
school  in  the  several  places  in  the  town  by 
course,  and  to  have  for  his  salary  c£18  per  year, 
one   quarter    in  money,  and  the  other   three 


84  SUPPLEMENT. 

quarters  in  provisions,  at  money  price."  To* 
carry  on  the  business  of  education,  the  Select- 
men subsequently,  January  12,  1702,  agreed" 
with  Mr.  John  Devotion,  school-master,  to  give 
him  c£12  current  money  of  New-England,  to 
be  paid  quarterly,  and  the  town  to  "  pay  for 
his  diet ;"  and  he  was  ordered  to  remove,  each 
quarter  to  different  places  in  the  neighborhood, 
while  the  Selectmen  agreed  with  the  school- 
master to  allow  him  205.  ster.  to  be  paid  by  the 
town  towards  the  keeping  of  his  horse.  After- 
wards, at  town  meeting,  Dec.  28,  1713,  it  was 
"  voted  and  agreed  that  the  school-master's 
abode  (boarding)  shall  be  paid  after  the  rate  of 
4s.  per  week,  in  provisions  at  money  prices." 
The  inhabitants'^^eem  also  to  have  cheerfully 
taxed  themselves,  for  all  the  expenses  necessary 
for  the  general  improvement  of  the  town  and 
neighborhood. 

At  a  town  meeting,  held  March  23,  1707-8, 
it  was  agreed,  "  that  if  any  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  town  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  kill  a 
grown  wolf  or  wolves  within  this  township, 
they  shall  be  allowed  ten  shillings  a  head  out 
of  the  town  treasury,  over  and  above  the  allow- 
ance of  the  law."  At  another  time,  March  3, 
1708,  the  town  taking  into  consideration  the 
great  destruction  of  Indian  corn,  by  crows, 
blackbirds  and  squirrels,  agreed  that  every 
householder  in  the  town  should  kill  or  cause  to 
be  killed  six  of  the  great  sort  of  blackbirds  or 
six  squirrels,  and  one  crow  should  pass  iji  kv. 


SUPPLEMENT.  SS. 

for  two  blackbirds  or  squirrels ;  and  they  were 
to  be  killed  and  their  heads  brought  in,  by  the 
lOtli  of  the  following  June,  to  men  appointed 
for  the  purpose  of  counting  them ;  and  if  any 
householder  should  neglect  or  refuse  this  duty, 
as  aforesaid,  he  shall  for  his  defect,  pay  two 
pence  for  every  head  that  is  wanting  of  said 
number,  at  the  lOth  of  June;  and  the  commit- 
tee appointed  to  count  the  heads  were  empow- 
ered by  the  town  to  prosecute  the  order  and 
dispose  the  fines  as  the  law  directed. 

It  seems,  however,  that  no  assessment  of  tax- 
es was  more  cheerfully  paid  by  the  people,  than 
the  raising  of  money  for  the  defence  of  their 
civil  and  reliirious  rights.  The  original  foun- 
dation  settlement,  by  which  the  charter  of  the 
town  had  at  first  been  granted,  allowed  every 
man  the  undisturbed  exercise  of  his  own  person- 
al faith  in  matters  of  religion.  Some  interfer- 
ence with  this  religious  liberty  having  been 
made  by  the  court  of  Plymouth,  the  people  at 
full  town  meeting,  Oct.  24,  1712,  by  a  unani- 
mous vote,  declared  "  that  all  the  inhabitants 
of  this  tovv'n  shall  enjoy  their  conscience  liberty, 
agreeable  to  the  foundation  settlement  of  said 
town,  and  are  not  obliged  to  uphold  and 
maintain  the  worship  of  God  elsewhere  than 
where  they  choose  respectively  to  belong  or  to 
assemble  "  They  also  voted  to  raise  a  fund  of 
five  hundred  pounds,  and  as  much  more  as 
might  be  necessary,   to    maintain   and  defend 


86  SUPPLEMENT. 

the  town's  grant  and  foundation,  at  any  court 
or  place  proper  for  such  purpose.  The  town 
empowered  its  agents  to  send  their  grievances 
before  her  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  if  they 
could  not  enjoy  their  rights  and  privileges 
granted  by  the  court  at  Plymouth,  and  con- 
firmed by  royal  charter.  The  Selectmen  were 
ordered  and  empowered  to  assess  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  according  to  a  rateable  pro- 
portion, and  the  money  was  to  be  supplied,  if 
necessary  by  the  following  autumn. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  practical  liberality  and 
equity  which  distinguished  this  population  at 
that  time,  is  the  fact,  that  while  the  ministry  in 
the  Swanzea  Baptist  church  was  supported  by 
the  town,  in  the  mean  time  a  Congregational 
church  had  been  formed  on  the  west  side  of 
New  Meadow  Neck,  in  Barrington,  and  some 
of  these  inhabitants  adhering  to  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  proposed  in  1717,  that  the  town 
should  either  raise  a  tax  of  =£120  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  minister,  or  allow  them  to  be 
formed  into  a  separate  town  or  precinct.  The 
people  of^fmi  declared  their  principles;  &,  having 
read,  at  town  meeting,  the  petition  in  question, 
with  the  charter  on  which  they  had  at  first  been 
established,  "  after  considerable  fair  and  loving 
conference  with  said  petitioners  upon  the  prem- 
ises," it  was  voted,  "  that  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  should  enjoy  their  conscience  liberty, 
according  to  said  foundation  establishment  oi 
'?aid    town  ;    and   arc  obliged   to    uphold  and 


SUPPLEMENT. 


87 


maintain  the  ministry  and  worshipof  God,  only 
in  the  several  churches  or  congregations  where 
they  respectively  choose  to  belong  or  assemble, 
and  not  obliged  to  support  any  church  but 
where  they  partake  of  its  teaching." 

The  year  follovk'ing  this  transaction,  the 
territory  west  of  Warren  river  was  divided  from 
Swanzea,  and  erected  into  a  separate  town,  and 
so  continued,  till  Warren  and  Barrington  to- 
gether became  a  single  town  in  Rhode-Island, 
by  the  act  which  ascertained  and  settled  the 
line  of  division  between  Rhode-Island  and 
Massachusetts,  in  1746. 

At  the  time  when  Warren  became  a  sepa- 
rate town,  the  population  was  still  small,  and 
the  majority  of  its  wealth,  if  not  of  its  inhab- 
itants, was  on  the  Barrington  side  of  the  river. 
The  attention  of  the  people  was  at  that  time 
almost  entirely  given  to  navigation  and  ship- 
buildinor.  The  first  town  meeting  in  Warren, 
after  its  separate  organization,  was  held  on  the 
10th  of  Feb.,  1747,  at  the  house  of  John  Child, 
which  stood  on  the  north  side  of  Market-street, 
near  Allen's  corner.  At  the  same  time  a  col- 
ony rate  of  =£5000  being  assessed  on  the  State, 
c£115  of  that  sum  was  levied  on  Warren  as  its 
proportionable  share.  Previous  to  1747,  two 
public  Ferries  had  been  in  regular  operation, 
the  one  leading  ft-om  Main-street  over  the  site 
of  the  present  bridge  owned  by  Mr.  Kelly,  the 
other  leading  from  the  foot  of  Washington- 
*vcet  acros;j  the  river  to  BarrhijTton, 


S8  SUrPJLEMENf 

In  1756,  the  only  streets  then  laid  out  in  the 
village,  were  Main-street,  leading  from  J0II&' 
gate  on  the  Bristol  line  to  Kelly's  ferry;  and 
from  Main-street,  eastward,  was  the  present 
Market-street ;  and  leading  westward  toward 
the  river,  were  Miller-street ,  Church-street, 
and  Washington-street,  leading  to  the  ferry.* 

In  that  year  (1756,)  the  numher  of  houses  :"n 
the  present  village  was  about  twenty-five, t  ard 
at  the  same  time,  there  had  been  erected,  ard 
were  in  use,  three  of  the  present  wharves,  viz. 
those  of  John  T.  Child,  Caleb  Eddy,  and  Na- 
than Child. 

From  this  period,  till  the  revolutionary  war, 
embracing  a  term  of  twenty  years,  the  town 
contniued  to  grow  steadily  in  its  population, 
and  in  the  increase  of  its  business.  The  chief 
dependence  of  the  people  was  on  maritime 
trade,  in    its   various   forms   of  ship-building  ; 

*The  names  of  these  streets  as  now  used  were 
subsequently  applied. 

t  The  houses  in  the  village  of  Warren,  in  1756, 
were  located  and  occupied  as  follows  ;  On  Main-street, 
by  John  Kelly,  Amos  Bowen,  Allen  Cole,  Amos 
Thomas,  John  Wheaton,  John  Easterbrook,  Amos 
Haile,  James  Bushee,  Mr.  Jolls,  at  the  gate,  &  a  black- 
smith's shop  ;  On  Market -street,  by  John  Child,  <fe  a 
school-house  ;  On  Millcr-strcet,  by  Mrs.  Lewin,  Na- 
than Miller  ;  On  Church-street,  Squire  Maxwell,  Ca- 
leb Turner;  On  Washington-street,  by  Caleb  Carr 
(kept  as  a  tavern)  Samuel  Miller,  Benj.  Easterbrook; 
On  the  shore,  by  Samuel  Hicks,  John  Luther,  Thomas 
Cole,  and  one  or  two  stores, 


SUPPLEMENT.  8U 

coasting,  West-India  and  Foreign  navigation, 
and  the  whale  fishery. 

This  community  at  that  time,  seem  to  have 
paid  a  due  regard  to  matters  of  manners  and 
morals.  Repeated  acts  of  the  authorities  of  the 
town  are  on  record,  which  show  that  the  mag- 
istrate used  not  his  office  in  vain,  as  a  terror  to 
evil  doers,  and  as  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well. 
Thus,  in  1748,  a  fine  of  lOs.  was  levied  upon 
an  individual  in  the  town,  for  disorderly  be- 
haviour, and  the  money  paid  into  the  town's 
treasury :  and  in  1752  and  3,  two  men  were 
fined  by  the  town,  each  <^'l,  for  cursing  and 
swearing.  To  make  such  evil  doers,  and  all 
other  disturbers  of  the  peace  and  morals  of  the 
community,  a  warning  to  others  and  a  shame 
to  themselves,  the  town' ordered,  April  19, 1769, 
the  erection  of  a  pair  of  stocks,  in  a  convenient 
place  in  the  compact  part  of  the  town,  and  ano- 
ther pillory,  in  a  convenient  place,  on  the  west 
bide  of  the  river.* 

The  inhabitants  of  this  village,  for  their  re- 
ligious   welfare,    had    generally    attended    the 

*  The  pillory,  or  pair  of  stocks  in  the  village,  was 
permanently  located  on  the  side-walk  on  the  west 
side  of  Main'Street,  about  a  rod  north  of  its  corner 
\yith  Jeiferson-street.  The  punishment  of  the  pillory 
was  at  that  time  considered  a  great  promoter  of  good 
conduct,  and  to  make  the  exposed  culprit  as  conspic- 
uous as  possible,  the  stock  frame  of  the  pillory  in  this 
village,  was  placed  across  the  side  walk,  so  that  it 
])artly  obstructed  the  passage  on  the  side  next  to  the 
street. 


90  SyPPLEMENT. 

church  ill  Swanzea,  of  which  many  of  them 
were  members,  till  in  1764,  when  the  Baptist 
church  in  this  town  was  organized,  which,  in 
connection  with  the  Rhode-Island  College,  be- 
gun in  this  place  the  same  year,  and  chartered 
in  1765,  and  with  the  Warren  Baptist  Associa- 
tion, formed  at  this  place  in  1767,  soon  afford- 
ed not  only  a  religious  home  for  the  inhabitants, 
but  became  a  centre  of  assemblage  and  a  source 
of  influence  for  the  friends  of  religion  and  learn- 
ing throughout  a  wide  extent  of  country. 

We  have  no  certain  means  of  ascertaining 
the  population  of  Warren,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolutionary  War.  When  the  territory 
embracing  the  six  towns  of  Cumberland,  Bar- 
rington,  Warren,  Bristol,  Tiverton  and  Little- 
Compton,  was  set  oif  from  Massachusetts  and 
became  a  part  of  Rhode-Island,  the  aggregate 
population  of  all  these  towns,  was  4767,  con- 
sisting of  4196  whites,  343  blacks  and  228  In- 
dians. But  no  adequate  measures  were  taken 
to  ascertain  the  census  of  these  towns,  singly 
and  respectively,  at  least  of  the  town  of  War- 
ren, till  it  became  necessary  to  number  the 
population,  in  order  to  supply  the  requisite 
quota  of  soldiers  created  by  the  demands  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  For  a  period  of  seven 
years  before  Barrington  was  separated  from 
Warren,  in  1770,  the  average  recorded  votes 
of  the  freemen  of  the  town,  for  Governor, 
were  96  annually  ;  and  for  seven  years  after 
that  period,  the  average  vote  of  the  freemen. 


SUPPLEMENT,  91 

of  Warren,  was  46.  The  latter  number,  re- 
duced so  low  by  the  division  of  the  town,  is 
also  partly  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact, 
that  some  of  the  citizens  were  absent  from 
their  homes,  engaged  in  the  war.  The  act- 
ual number  of  the  population  of  Warren,  as 
reported  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  town 
to  take  the  census,  on  Feb.  22,  1777,  was  sev^ 
en  hundred  and  eighty-nine. 

The  people  of  this  town  were  conspicuous 
and  interested  actors  in  the  scenes  of  trial  and 
suffering  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  As  early 
as  Nov.  20,  1775,  it  was  voted  in  town  meeting 
that  a  military  watch  should  be  kept  in  the 
town  ;  and  that  if  any  man  refused  to  watch 
when  notified,  he  should  pay  the  sum  of  three 
shillings  :  on  Feb.  5,  1777,  the  town  voted  that 
an  Artillery  company  should  be  raised  among 
their  citizens,  and  Daniel  Fisk  was  chosen 
captain,  and  Benjamin  Cole,  Lieutenant.  On 
the  12th  of  the  same  month  it  was  voted  that 
Shubael  Kinnicut  should  purchase  two  good 
fire-arms  with  bayonets  and  cartridge-boxes, 
for  the  use  of  the  only  two  persons  in  the  town 
who  were  unable  to  equip  themselves. 

As  the  time  of  struggle  and  suffering  had 
now  come,  the  town  proceeded  to  adopt  meas- 
ures necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  their 
share  of  the  common  service.  In  town-meeting, 
assembled,  May  6,  1776  it  was  voted  that  the 
town  treasurer  should  employ  suitable  persons 
♦o  make  up  the  powder  and  ball  into  cartridges, 


92  SUPPLEMENT. 

belonging  to  the  town ;  and  all  persons  that 
possessed  lead  or  balls  were  desired  to  bring 
them  to  the  town  treasurer,  who  was  directed 
to  purchase  them  ;  and  they  also  ordered  that 
all  the  militia  and  alarm  men  should  bring  their 
guns  to  the  tov/n  treasurer,  in  order  that  their 
cartridges  might  be  made  to  suit  the  differently 
sized  guns.  The  town  having  been  required 
by  the  law  of  the  State,  to  furnish  a  quota  of 
ten  men  for  military  service,  it  was  voted  at 
town-meeting,  Sept.  16,  1776,  to  send  twelve, 
and  that  every  soldier  that  should  equip  him- 
self, complete  with  gun,  bayonet,  knapsack, 
cartooch-box  and  blanket,  should  have  twen- 
ty shillings. 

There  being  yet  some  doubt  as  to  the  princi- 
ples of  some  in  the  community,  in  this  time, 
which  required  every  man  to  do  his  duty,  the 
town  required,  Oct.  14,  1776,  that  every  man 
in  their  midst  should  sign  "  the  Test  Act,"  or 
appear  and  give  his  reasons  for  refusing ;  and 
that  the  town  clerk  should  ascertain  the  num- 
ber of  guns  and  all  munitions  of  war  belonging 
to  the  town,  in  the  hands  of  the  militia. 

At  this  time,  such  had  already  become  the 
scarcity  of  provisions,  that  the  article  of  salt 
was  sold  as  high  as  six  dollars  per  bushel.  But 
to  prevent  extortion  by  individuals,  the  State 
government  took  charge  of  the  salt  which  had 
now  become  so  high  and  scarce,  and  dealt  it 
out  to  the  different  towns,  at  the  low  price  of 
six  shillings  per  bushel ;  and  the  town  of  War- 


SUPrLEMENT,  93 

ren,  by  vote  of  July  1,  177G,  divided  and  pro- 
portioned the  article  among  their  people  at  the 
price  fixed  by  the  State ;  while  by  vote  of  the 
20th  of  the  following  October,  they  ordered 
that  no  person  should  be  allowed  to  receive  salt 
who  refused  to  subscribe  to  the  Test  Act. 

A  committee  consisting  of  Daniel  Cole  and 
William  Barton,  appointed  to  estimate  the 
quantity  of  grain,  and  the  number  of  inhabitants 
in  the  town,  reported  at  town  meeting,  Feb. 
22,  1777,  the  number  of  inhabitants  as  789, 
and  14  refugees  from  the  county  of  Newport  : 
and  the  quantity  of  grain,  as  1,202  bushels  of 
Indian  corn,  and  89  bushels  of  rye,  and  not 
barley  sufficient  for  seed  grain.  On  the  12th 
of  the  following  July,  it  was  voted  that  a  com- 
mittee should  receive  the  flour  that  was  propor- 
tioned to  the  town,  and  deal  it  out  to  the  sold- 
iers' families,  at  £l.lQs.  per  cwt. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  about  500  British  and 
Hessian  troops,  under  the  command  of  Lieut. 
Colonel  Campbell,  started  from  New^Dort  by 
water,  and  arrived  before  day-break  at  a  place 
about  half  a  mile  south  of  Peck's  rocks,  on  the 
Bradford  farm,  in  Bristol,  when  having  landed, 
they  immediately  proceeded  to  Warren  by  the 
main  road.  On  arriving  at  the  village  of  War- 
ren, they  dispersed  the  inhabitants,  disabled 
several  pieces  of  cannon,  and  then  hurried  on 
with  the  greater  part  of  their  forces  to  the  Kick- 
emuit  river,  to  a  point  just  below  the  present 


94  StPPLEMEXl'. 

Stone  bridge,  where  a  large  number  cf  boat^ 
had  been  collected  by  the  Americans,  to  facili- 
tate a  contemplated  expedition  against  the  ene- 
my. These  boats  the  British  piled  into  a  heap 
and  burned.  They  then  returned  to  Warren, 
where  they  finished  their  work  of  destruction 
by  burning  the  Baptist  church,  parsonage,  pow- 
der m.agazine,  and  several  other  buildings,  pil- 
lacrinCT  the  houses,  and  takinp-  a  number  of  the 
citizens  away  as  prisoners.  Fearing  an  attack 
from  the  neighboring  American  militia,  they  de- 
parted in  great  haste.*  On  their  route  both 
ways,  to  and  from  Kickemuit  river,  they  passed 
through  Main  and  Market-streets. 

*x\gecl  people,  still  living  among  us,  well  remeui- 
ber  the  appearance  of  these  soldiers,  as  they  passed 
through  the  town.  The  British  were  dressed  in  old- 
fashioned  red  coats,  cocked  hats  and  small  clothes, 
with  a  great  display  of  laced  trimmings,  shoe  and 
knee  buckles.  The  Hessians  wore  enormous  fur 
caps,  and  large,  wide  and  loose  boots,  into  Vv^liich 
they  thrust  all  kinds  of  articles  pilfered  from  tlie 
houses ;  and  these  articles  hanging  over  the  tops  of 
their  boots,  gave  them  a  singularly  grotesque  appear- 
ance, as  they  left  the  town.  A  lady  now  living,  and 
several  others  were  at  the  time  in  the  house,  which 
was  afterwards  Bradshaw's  bake-house,  on  the  east 
side  of  Main-street.  They  saw  the  troops  pass  by  in 
hasty  retreat,  and  at  a  short  distance  in  the  rear,  a 
single  individual,  encumbered  with  a  big  drum,  una- 
ble to  keep  up  with  the  main  body.  These  heroic 
women  ran  out  and  surrounded  him,  and  told  him  he 
was  their  prisoner,  when  he  immediately  surrender- 
ed, saying,  he  was  glad  of  it,  for  he  was  faint  and 
tired.  This  prisoner  v/as  afterwards  exchanged  for 
one  of  the  citizens  of  Warren. 


SUPPLEMENT.  95 

Early  in  the  morning  an  express  had  been 
sent  to  Providence  to  inform  the  Americans  of 
the  attack  upon  Warren.  General  Barton  im- 
jiiediately  started  with  a  party  of  mounted 
troops,  in  advance  of  a  body  of  infantry,  under 
General  Sullivan,  to  the  defence  of  his  native 
town.*     Before  he  arrived  at  Warren,  the  ene- 

"*  General  WilHani  Barton  was  born  May  26,  1748, 
in  tlie  liouse  on  Towiset  Neck,  (in  tiie  east  part  of 
Warren,)  which  is  now  occupied  by  his  grand  neph- 
ew, Mr.  Benjamin  Barton.  The  graves  of  the  Gen- 
eral's parents  are  near  each  otiier,  in  the  family  bury- 
ing ground,  on  tiie  far  n  ;  and  are  inscribed  as  follows  ; 
Capt.  Benj.  Barton,  died  April  22,  1773,  aged  70;  — 
IMrs.  Lydia,  wife  of  Capt.  Benj.  Barton,  died  Oct.  9, 
ISOS,  aged  SS. 

The  liistory  of  Geu.  Barton  is  so  connected  with 
the  general  history  of  the  country  in  the  times  of  the 
revolutionary  war,  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  en- 
tor  niinutely  into  the  details  of  his  evenlful  life.  Im- 
mediately after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  he  entered 
into  the  military  service  of  his  country,  and  received 
the  commission  of  Colonel  in  the  continental  army, 
and  Brigadier  General  of  the  lihode-Island  troops. 
His  head  was  wise  to  plan,  and  his  hand  to  execute 
the  daring  enterprizes  of  heroism.  His  capture  of 
<jencral  Prcscott  displayed  a  firmness  and  an  intrepid- 
ity rarely  equalled  on  tlie  page  of  history.  Some 
time  before,  jMajor  General  I^ee,  of  the  American 
army,  being  separated  from  liis  troops,  was  betrayed 
by  a  tory  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  As  his  servi- 
ces wore  in  great  demand  by  his  country,  General 
Barton  conceived  the  bold  design  of  capturing  an  ofii- 
cer  of  equal  or  superior  rank,  in  order,  by  an  exchange 
of  prisoners,  to  effect  the  lelease  of  General  Lee. 
Having  determined  to  surprise  and  carry  off  General 


W  SUPPLEMENT. 

my  had  fled ;  and  following  in  pursuit,  he  came 
upon  them  near  Bristol  Ferry;  but  his  party 
being  too  weak  to  attack  their  whole  force,  and 
the  General  receiving  a  severe  wound  from  a 

Prescott,  he  visited  Warren  to  procure  two  whale 
boats,  (as  the  people  before  the  war  had  cairied  on 
the  whale  fishery,)  which,  with  others  obtained  else- 
where, were  taken  to  a  place  near  Howland's  Ferry, 
and  prepared  for  the  critical  undertaking  by  muffling 
the  oars  and  rowlocks  with  undressed  sheepskins. 
Awaiting  a  favorable  opportunity,  he  crossed  the  bay 
unobserved,  on  a  dark  night,  to  Warwick  Neck,  from 
which  place  he  could  take  his  points  of  observation  j 
and,  in  the  night  of  July  10,  1777,  he  succeeded  in 
accomplishing  his  brilliant  enterprize.  The  following 
account  of  the  capture  of  Gen.  Prescott  is  taken  from 
the  Providence  Gazette,  of  July  12,  1777,^ — two  days 
after  the  affair.  "Thursday  morning  last,  a  party  of 
38  men  of  the  Troops  of  this  State,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Col.  William  Barton,  of  this  town, 
accompanied  by  Major  Adams,  of  the  Train,  Capt. 
Phillips,  Lieuts.  Potter  and  Babcock,  and  Ensigns 
Stanton  and  Wilcox,  went  in  five  boats  from  Warwick 
Neck,  with  a  view  to  take  Major  General  Prescott, 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Troops  on  Rhode-Island,  whose  head  quarters  was 
then  at  a  house  about  four  miles  from  Newport.  The 
Colonel  and  his  party,  after  passing  the  enemy's  ships 
and  guard  boats,  landed,  about  12  o'clock  at  night, 
and,  with  infinite  address  and  gallantry,  got  to  Pres- 
cott's  undiscovered.  A  sentinel  at  the  door  hailed, 
but  was  immediately  secured,  and  the  party  immedi- 
ately, breaking  the  doors  and  entering  the  house,  took 
the  General  in  bed.  His  Aid-de-camp  leaped  from  a 
window  in  his  shirt,  and  attempted  to  escape,  but  was 
taken  a  few  rods  from  tiie  house.  The  party  soon 
after  returned  to  their  boats,  with  their  prisoners,  and 


SUPPLErvIENT.  97 

inusket  ball  in  his  right  leg,  the  pursuit  was 
abandoned.  After  the  enemy  had  destroyed 
considerable  property  in  Bristol,  they  re-em- 
barked in  their  ship,  which  repaired  from  their 
first  landing  place  to  Bristol  Ferry  just  in  sea- 
son to  escape  an  attack  from  the  Americans, 
who  had  now  arrived  under  the  command  of 
General  Sullivan. 

Soon  after  this  attack,  a  part  of  General  Var- 
num's  brigade  was  ordered  to  Warren.  One 
regiment  was  encamped  upon  the  field  imme- 
diately south  of  the  rocks  upon  the  summit  of 
Windmill  OY  Graves^  Hill;  where  are  still  to 
be  seen  the  levelled  and  graded  places  where 
their  tents  were  pitched.   The  following  winter 

some  lime  after  they  had  put  off,  the  enemy  fired 
rockets  from  their  several  posts,  as  signals  for  an 
alarm,  but  too  late  —  the  bird  had  fled.  The  prison- 
ers were  safely  landed,  about  day  break,  at  Warwick 
]\eck.  On  receiving  the  intelligence  here,  a  coach 
was  immediately  sent;  and  the  General  and  his  Aid. 
dc-camp,  attended  by  Col.  Barton  and  some  other 
officers,  arrived  in  town  at  twelve  o'clock.  This  bold 
and  important  enterprize  must  reflect  the  highest  hon- 
or on  Col.  Barton  and  his  little  party.  A  Lieut.  Col- 
onel of  the  Horse,  with  at  least  70  Light  Dragoons, 
took  Major  General  Lee,  (betrayed  by  a  Tory,)  five 
miles  from  his  troops.  A  Lieut.  Colonel  of  Foot, 
with  only  38  privates  and  6  officers,  has  taken  a  Chief 
Commander,  when  almost  encircled  by  an  army  and 
navy." 

General  Barton  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lafayette.  Ho  died  at  Providence,  Oct. 
22,  1831,  aged  85  years.  \* 


98  SUPPLEMENT. 

the  troops  stationed  in  Warren  were  quartered 
in  stores  upon  the  wharves  and  in  private 
dwellings. 

After  the  attack  upon  Warren,  the  people 
took  still  greater  precautions  than  before,  to 
prevent  surprise  by  the  enemy.  The  citizens 
fortified  one  of  the  bluffs  on  Burr's  Hills ;  the 
breast-work,  guard-house  and  sentry-box  were 
upon  the  west  end  of  the  second  hill  from  the 
north  ;  here  they  kept  a  guard  day  and  night, 
during  the  war.  The  expenses  incurred  by  the 
town  in  these  military  services,  were  very  great. 
In  July  of  1779,  it  was  voted  in  town  meeting, 
that  the  guard  be  continued  in  the  town  ac- 
cording to  their  first  enlistment,  and  six  hun- 
dred pounds  were  raised  to  pay  the  charges 
incurred ;  and  on  the  4th  of  tlie  next  month, 
the  town  again  voted  to  raise  a  guard  of  26 
men,  to  have  the  pay  and  rations  granted  by 
the  council  of  war ;  and  Moses  Turner  was  ap- 
pointed to  draft  a  petition  to  send  to  General 
Gates,  for  the  supply  of  rations  for  the  guard. 

But  the  pressure  of  necessity  becoming  still 
greater,  the  resources  of  the  people  of  this  town 
were  taxed  to  the  utmost  extent.  With  a  patri- 
otic zeal,  that  was  unwearied  and  inexhausti- 
ble, the  town  voted,  March  11,  1779,  that 
Daniel  Cole,  Joseph  Smith  and  William  Barton, 
be  a  committee  to  ascertain  what  persons  in  the 
town  had  done  more  military  duty  than  was 
their  proportion,  during  the  two  expeditions 
against  Rhode-Island,  and  to  allow  them  such 


SUPPLEMENT.  99 

sums  of  money  as  the  committee  might  think 
just,  in  order  to  bring  the  military  duty  equal 
throughout  the  town  ;  while,  at  the  same  time, 
the  town-treasurer  was  directed  to  hire   1500 
dollars,  to  purchase   grain   for  the  use  of  the 
town.     The  State  government  having  assumed 
the  regulation  of  the  pricesof  provisions,  which 
had  now  become  very  scarce  and   dear,   and 
these  proceedings  being   a  great  occasion  of 
complaint  to  those   whose  selfishness  inclined 
them  to  practice  extortion,  and  whose  treachery 
inclined  them   to  favor  the  enemy,  the  town 
voted,  August  20,  1779,  that  they  unanimously 
approved  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
of  this  State  ;  and  on  the  7th  of  the  next  month, 
they  appointed   a  committee  of  correspondence 
and  inspection,  to  be  empowered  to  investigate 
the  conduct,  and  receive  complaints  against  all 
persons  offending,  and  upon  evidence  of  guilt 
obtained,  to  inflict  punishment  by   advertising 
them  as  enemies  to  their  country. 

As  the  Avar  approached  to  a  close,  the  suffer- 
ings of  want  and  poverty  began  to  stare  the 
people  in  the  face.  Nothing  but  the  most  en- 
during and  patriotic  zeal  could  thus  have  with- 
stood •'  necessity's  sharp  pinch."  Poor  as  the 
people  had  become,  the  town  voted,  July  3, 
1780,  that  a  proper  person  be  appointed  at  the 
expense  of  the  town,  to  carry  such  winter  cloth- 
ing as  the  friends  and  connections  of  such  sol- 
diers as  may  enter  into  the  continental  service 
at  the  present  campaign,  may  provide  for  them. 


100  SUl^PLEMENT. 

On  the  first  of  the  next  month,  the  town  ai> 
pouited  Henry  Ormsbee  to  tarnish  their  militia 
with  camp  furniture,  viz.  21  mess  pots,  21  mess 
pails,  21  mess  bowls,  5  narrow  axes,  and  3  bag- 
gas^e  carts ;  and  at  the  same  time,  Sylvester 
Child  was  appointed  to  purchase  500  weight  of 
beef,  on  the  credit  of  the  town,  the  price  not 
to  exceed  50^.  per  cwt.  On  the  14th  of  the 
same  month,  the  town  voted  to  raise  the  sum 
often  thousand  dollars  as  a  town  tax,  one  half 
to  be  raised  in  two,  the  other  half  in  four 
months.  The  continental  paper  money  having 
become  much  depreciated,  the  town  raised, 
Feb.  2,  1781,  £15,  13s.  in  silver  and  gold,  to 
satisfy  a  request  of  the  General  Assembly,  to 
pay  for  the  town's  proportion  of  beef.  At  the 
same  town  meeting,  Nathan  Miller  was  direct- 
ed to  pay  the  wages  of  the  men  enlisted  for  six 
months,  at  the  rate  of  40  shillings  per  month. 
During  the  last  two  years  of  the  war,  there  are 
several  recorded  votes  of  the  town,  showing  the 
care  which  the  people  took,  for  the  soldiers 
who  had  gone  from  this  town.  Thus,  March 
19,  1781,  the  town  directed  John  Child  to  pur- 
chase f  cwt.  of  sugar,  ^  cwt.  of  coffee,  and  one 
bushel  of  rye  meal,  for  the  soldiers  doing  duty 
on  Rhode-Island,  who  went  from  this  town. 
While  they  voted  March  6,  1782,  to  appoint 
Capt.  David  Barton  to  enlist  the  town's  propor- 
tion of  men  for  the  continental  army,  they  at 
the  same  time  appointed  John  Child  to  pur- 
chase  fifty-six  yards  of  tow   cloth    and  eight 


SUPPLEMENT. 


101 


ptiirs  of  stockings,  according  to  the  act  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  to  deliver  these  articles 
for  their  use,  at  East-Greenwich. 

After  the  Revolutionary  War  was  brought  to 
a  close,  it  was  found  that  the  suiferings  of  the 
people  of  Warren  during  those  trying  times^ 
had  been  severe  in  the  extreme.  Business  had 
been  almost  entirely  driven  away  from  the  place, 
and  the  families  of  the  soldiers  especially,  suf- 
fered severely  from  want  of  the  necessary  com- 
forts of  life.  Besides  the  destruction  of  the 
military  stores  deposited  here,  and  also  the 
boats,  &,c,  at  Kickemuit,  with  the  loss  of 
the  church,  parsonage  and  college  buildings^ 
and  several  other  houses,  and  the  private  pro- 
perty pilfered  from  the  inhabitants,  the  follow- 
ing is  a  statement  of  the  shipping  lost  during 
the  war,  up  to  January  I,  1783,  belonging  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Warren. 

Schr.  Roby,  Capt.  Kingsly,  cargo  oil,      100  tons 

Brig ,  Mason,  cargo  oil,  120     " 

Sloop  U.  States,  Coddington,  45     *' 

Schr.  Weasel,  Paine,  15     " 

Brig ,  Mauran,  120     " 

Schr.  Moses,  Miller,  cargo  sugar,  &e.       GO     " 
Sloop  Polly,  Whiting,  45     " 

Sloop  Gen.  Stark  (privateer)  Pearcc,      120     " 
Sloop  George,  Champlin,  60     " 

Brig  Gen.  Wayne,  Pearee,  120     « 

Sloop  Abigail,  Miller,  45     " 

Schr.  Swordfish,  Collins,  120     « 

Sloop  Rebecca,  Champlin,  60     " 

Schr.  Hunter,  Crawford,  60     " 


Making  a  total  of  1090  tons. 


102  SUPPLEMENT. 

ascertained  to  be  lost  up  to  that  period,  only 
ninety  of  which  was  insured. 

As  the  chief  dependence  of  the  people  was 
on  the  various  branches  of  maritime  business, 
the  disastrous  effects  of  the  war  were  the  most 
conspicuous  in  this  department.  The  citizens, 
however,  very  soon  commenced  anew  their  for- 
mer occupations,  and  ship-building  was  again 
carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent.  The  Bap- 
tist church  was  rebuilt  in  1785;  the  popula- 
tion began  to  grow  in  numbers  and  in  wealth  ; 
and  soon  the  village  of  Warren  assumed  an  ap- 
pearance of  neatness  and  enterprise  unknown 
before.  While  various  branches  of  commerce 
were  pursued  to  a  considerable  extent,  for  ma- 
ny years  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  ship- 
building was  the  largest  item  of  their  business. 
Many  of  the  ships  built  here  were  celebrated 
for  their  uncommon  speed  in  sailing.  One  of 
these  vessels  was  the  U.  S,  frigate  ''  General 
Greene,"  of  600  tons  burthen,  and  arranged 
for  32  guns.  This  frigate  was  ordered  by  Oli- 
ver Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury, 
and  was  to  be  commanded  by  Capt.  C.  R.  Perry, 
the  father  of  O.  II.  Perry,  who  to  superintend 
the  construction  of  the  ship,  removed  with  his 
family  to  Warren,  in  1798.  This  ship  was 
built  in  the  yard  of  Messrs.  Cromwell  and  Caleb 
Child,   and   cost  the   Government,  u'hen  coi:; 


SUPPLEMENT.  103 

pleteJy  fitted  for  sea,  8105,492  32.  She  was 
iaunched  and  sailed  in  1799.* 

Another  first-rate  vessel,  of  very  uncommon 
speed,  built  at  this  place,  was  the  sloop  of  war 
"Chippewa."  Commodore  O.  H.  Perry,  as 
agent  for  the  U.  S.  Government,  contracted 
with  Capt.  Caleb  Carr  to  construct  this  ship  in 
the  shortest  possible  time  ;  and,  on  March  15, 
1814,  only  57  days  from  the  time  her  keel  was 
laid,  although  there  had  been  many  stormy  and 
snowy  days,  this  ship  of  411  tons  burthen,  and 
carrying  16  guns,  was  delivered  to  the  Commo- 
dore, ready  for  her  rigging  and  armament :  and 
in  a  few  days  afterwards  she  went  to  sea,  com- 
pletely armed  and  rigged.! 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years  after  the  revo- 
lutionary war,  the  business  of  Warren  consid- 
erably increased,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  it  had  acquired  a  basis  of  per- 
manent success.  From  the  latter  period  till 
the  present  time,  the  people  have  been  various- 
ly engaged  in  trade  ;  while  no  event   of  mate- 

*  In  1814,  the  "  General  Greene"  was  lying  at  the 
Washington  navy  yard,  when  that  city  was  about  to 
be  attacked  by  the  British ;  and  in  order  to  prevent 
her  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  she  was  des- 
troyed by  the  order  of  government. 

t  In  the  year  before,  the  privateer  "  Macdonough," 
of  300  tons,  which  was  so  successful  during  the  war, 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Wilson,  was  built  in 
the  same  yard  and  by  the  same  person  as  the  Chippe- 
wa. She  was  also  celebrated  for  her  remarkable 
speed. 


i04  SUPPLEMENT. 

rial  importance  has  disturbed  its  onward  and 
gradual  prosperity.  The  last  war  with  Great 
Britain  was  felt  as  lightly  by  this  town,  as  by 
almost  any  other  commercial  town,  in  propor- 
tion to  its  business  and  population,  on  our  sea 
coast. 

Before  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  whaling 
business  was  carried  on  in  Warren  to  some 
considerable  extent ;  but  after  that  period  it 
altogether  ceased,*  till  it  was  recommenced  in 
July  of  1821,  when  the  ship  Rosalie  was  pur- 
chased and  fitted  out  for  a  whaling  voyage  to 
the  Pacific  ocean.  Since  that  period  there 
have  been  fitted  out  from  this  port  21  ships,  G 
barks,  and  3  brigs  for  whaling,  amounting  to 
9900  tons.  The  present  fleet  in  this  service 
consists  of  17  ships  and  5  barques,  amounting 
to  7161  tons.  There  have  also  been  lost  and 
condemned  during  this  period  of  24  years,  4 
ships  and  two  brigs ;  while  one  barque  and  one 
brig  have  been  sold,  all  amounting  to  1839 
tons.  There  are  also  at  present,  belonging  to 
Warren,  in  the  merchant  service.  West  India 
trade,  freighting  and  coasting  business,  2  ships, 
6  brigs,  3  schooners,  and  5  sloops,  amounting 
to  2082  tons  :  which,  toofether  with  the  whalinsr 


*ln  1795,  the  only  whaler  belonging  to  the  state 
of  Rhode-Island,  was  the  brig  "Ranger,"  of  122 
tons,  of  Providence.  Besides  this  there  was  then 
no  other  whaler  belonging  to  the  country  out  of  the 
state  of  Massachusetts. 


SUrPI.EMENT.  105 

Inisincss,  make  tho  present  aggregate  of  ton- 
nage belonging  to  this  port  9*243  tons. 

The  increase  of  the  commercial  business  in 
tliis  town,  about  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  led  to  the  organization  of  the  Warren 
Insurance  Company,  which  was  incorporated 
Jan.  1,  1800,  with  a  capital  of  $40,000.  This 
institution  ceased  from  underwriting,  July  1, 
1844.  Its  earnings  during  the  forty  four  and  a 
half  years  of  its  existence,  clear  of  all  expen- 
ses, were  $455,250  63 :  total  amount  of  its 
losses  paid  out,  $199,450  63  :  amount  of  div- 
idends paid  to  the  stockholders,  $255,800, 
averaging  during  the  time,  14  per  cent,  per  ann.* 

The  state  of  trade,  and  the  increase  of  bus- 
iness, for  successive  periods  during  the  last 
sixty-five  years,  may  be  represented  by  the  fol- 
lowing statement  of  additions  by  admeasure- 
ment and  tonnage  in  the  port  of  Warren ;  the 
account  of  which  is  furnished  by  Capt.  Wm. 
Turner,  for  many  years  surveyor   of  the  port. 

Added : 


From  1790 

to 

1800, 

62 

vessels. 

,  5403  tons. 

''  1800 

to 

1810, 

45 

4505  '' 

"  1810 

to 

1820, 

31 

4533  '' 

''  1820 

to 

1830, 

39 

7808  '' 

''  1830 

to 

1840, 

28 

4727  '' 

"  1840 

to 

1845, 

14 

3925  *' 

*  For  the  account  of  the  shipping  statistics,  and 
he  Warren  Insurance  Company,  the  writer  is  indebt- 
d  to  Paschal  Allen,  Esq.  z 


106 


SUPPLEMENT. 


The  increase  of  population  in  this  town 
seems  not  to  have  varied  much  from  the  pro- 
portional increase  of  the  general  population  of 
the  state  of  Rhode-Island ;  though  its  present 
numbers  show  an  unusually  large  addition 
within  the  last  few  years.  The  estimated  pop- 
ulation of  the  town  in  1748,  two  years  after  its 
separation  from  Massachusetts,  was  680,  of 
which  about  600  were  whiteSj  50  blacks,  and 
30  Indians. 


po 

pulation  of  Warren 

The  population  of  Rhode 

was 

Island  in  1701  was  estima- 
ted at  about         10,000 

In 

1755 

925* 

In  1730          17,935 

(( 

1770 

979'^ 

"    1748          34,128 

(C 

1782 

905 

"    1755          40,414 

<( 

1790 

1122 

"    1770          59,678 

(( 

1800 

1473 

"    1782          52,442 

t( 

1810 

1775 

"    1790          68,825 

<( 

1820 

1806 

"    1800          69,122 

(( 

1830 

1806 

"    1810          76,931 

(C 

1840 

2438 

"    1820          83,059 

1845  nearly  3000 

"    1830          97,210 

"    1840        108,830 

The  following  table  of  the  thermometer, 
kept  by  Paschal  Allen,  Esq.  shows  the  average 
temperature  for  8  years,  from  1837  to  1844 
inclusive. 

Average  heat  of  8  Autumns,  (Sept.  Oct.  Nov.)  51.16. 
«  "      of  8  Winters,    (Dec.  Jan.  Feb.)  30.  05. 

"  "      of  8  Springs,  (Mar.  April,  May,)  48.  93. 

«  "     of8  Summers,  (June;  July,  Aug.)  70. 28. 


*  Then  including  Barrington. 


SUPPLEMENT.  107 

Of  these  eight   years,    the    average    annual 

lieat  was 49.  35. 

Maximum  was  in  1839        .         .  50.  63. 

Minimum  was  in  1837    .         .         .  47.  79. 

Maximum,  Autumn,  1840    .         .  52.  17. 

Winter,  1842         .         .  34. 

Spring,  1840     .         .  .49.  14. 

Summer,  1843      .         .  70.  16. 

Minimum,  Autumn,  1842          .  .     49.  14. 

Winter,  1844        .         .  25.  01. 

Spring,  1843    .         .  .42.  79. 

Summer,  1837      .         .  67.  75. 

The  average  number  of  deaths  for  20  years 

iding    1834,    was    about   IJ  per  cent,  of  the 

lole  population  of  the  town.     Since  that  time 

bill  of  mortality  is  as  follows  : 


In 


* 


No.  of  deaths. 

Over  70  years, 

1834, 

32 

4 

1835, 

19 

7 

1836, 

34 

4 

1837, 

38 

4 

1838, 

33 

7 

1839, 

34 

4 

1840, 

38 

4 

1841, 

38 

12 

1842, 

33 

5 

1843, 

41 

G 

1844, 

39 

8 

Bill  of  lytahty  furnitlicd  by  Capt,  Wni.  Turner. 


108  SUPPLLMENT. 

Having^  given  a  general  view  of  the  leading 
facts  in  the  history  of  Warren,  during  succes- 
sive periods,  it  remains  for  us  to  exhibit  some 
statements,  besides  those  already  given,  of  the 
present  state  of  the  town.  The  history  of  the 
Baptist  church  having  been  written  in  the  for- 
mer part  of  this  volume,  no  notice  of  it  need 
here  be  taken.  We  shall  now  present  some 
facts  in  the  history  of  the  Methodist,  and  the 
Episcopal  churches,  beginning,  in  the  order  of 
time,  with 

The  Methodist  Church. — The  first  Meth- 
odist sermon  ever  preached  in  Warren,  wa 
delivered  by  Rev.  Daniel  Smith,  in  the  fall  a 
1789.  The  second  was  delivered  by  the  Re. 
Jesse  Lee,  the  celebrated  pioneer  of  Methodiim 
in  New-England,  in  July,  1790.  In  the  •!- 
lowing  year  he  again  preached  in  Warren,  nd 
was  followed  by  Rev.  Lemuel  Smith  and  Jev. 
Menzies  Rayner,  who  for  six  months  preahed 
alternately  once  a  fortnight.  At  the  epira- 
tion  of  that  time,  a  class  was  formed  mder 
their  direction,  consisting  of  12  or  14niem- 
bers.  In  the  fall  of  1792,  a  church  wasorgan- 
ized  by  Rev.  Ezekiel  Cooper,  preaher  in 
charge  of  the  circuit.  The  Rev.  Ph  ip  Wa- 
ger was  the  first  regularly  appointed  m lister  to 
this  station,  in  1793.  Until  1794,  i\\(  Society 
held  their  meetings  in  a  spacious  b''n,  fitted 
up  and  rendered  convenient  for  theinccomnK!- 
dation,  which  stood  near  the  north  iid  of  the^ 


SUrrLEMENT.  109 

back  road,  between  the  old  and  the   new  roads 
leadiiio;  from  AVarren  to  Swanzea. 

Daring  the  ministry  of  Rev.  John  Chahners, 
the  stationed  preacher  in  1794,  the  Society 
erected  a  neat  church  edifice  in  the  village. 
This  was  the  first  church  edifice  belonging  to 
the  Methodist  denomination  in  Rhode-Island, 
and  next  to  the  one  in  Lynn,  Mass  ,  which  was 
the  first  in  New  England.  The  dedication 
sermon  was  preached  from  Ilaggai  II  :  9,  on 
Sept.  14,  1794,  by  Rev.  Jesse  Lee. 

This  Society  in  its  inftmcy  encountered  ma- 
ny trials.  In  the  year  1800,  its  number  was 
reduced  to  two  members,  both  of  whom  were 
females.  During  the  following  year,  about  fif- 
teen were  baptized,  and  joined  the  church.  In 
1805,  the  church  edifice  was  furnished  with  a 
pulpit,  sounding-board,  and  48  pews. 

In  1833,  the  house  was  raised,  and  a  tower, 
steeple,  and  basement  story  were  added  to  it. 
In  the  January  session  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, in  1834,  the  church  obtained  a  charter  of 
incorporation.  The  church  and  congregation 
continued  still  to  increase,  so  that  in  1830,  it 
became  necessary  to  enlarge  the  building  ;  and 
accordingly,  13  feet  were  added  in  length  to 
the  north  end,  and  the  old  fashioned  square 
pews  were  taken  down,  and  replaced  by  modern 
slips.  The  number  of  pews  under  the  new 
arrangement  was  74. 

In    1844,    the   numbers    attending    worship 


110  SUPPLEMENT. 

with  this  church,  had  so  increased,  that  it  again 
became  necessary  to  enharge  the  accommoda- 
tions. It  was  therefore  concluded  to  erect  a 
new  house,  of  greater  dimensions ;  which  deter- 
mination was  immediately  carried  into  effect. 
This  new  church  edifice  is  a  very  beautiful 
specimen  of  architecture.  The  length  cf  the 
body  of  the  house  is  78  feet;  the  extreme 
length,  including  the  piazza  for  the  colonnade, 
is  91  feet,  and  its  breadth  is  62  feet.  The 
height  from  the  ground  to  a  heavy  projecting 
jet  work,  is  39  feet.  The  front  elevation  of 
the  house  is  strikingly  beautiful  ;  from  a  gran- 
ite base  arise  four  Grecian  Doric  columns,  32 
feet  in  height,  and  4J  in  diameter  at  the  base, 
supporting  a  heavy  corresponding  pediment ; 
above  this,  from  the  roof  rises  a  lofty  steeple, 
of  accurate  proportions,  the  whole  height  of 
which  from  the  ground  is  130  feet.  The  build- 
ing contains  132  pews  en  the  lower  floor,  be- 
sides commodious  galleries  around  three  sides; 
and  there  is  a  basement  story  lOh  feet  in  height. 
The  ceiling  of  the  audience  room  is  panneled 
and  arched ;  which,  together  with  the  walls, 
are  painted  in  Fresco,  which  gives  a  very  plea- 
sing; and  elegant  effect.  The  interior  arrange- 
ments,  size,  and  general  appearance  of  this 
building,  place  it  in  the  front  rank  of  New 
England  churches.  Its  present  church  mem- 
bers are  231. 

The  next  in  order  of  time,  in   its  organiza- 
tion, is 


SUPI'LEMENT.  Ill 

St.  Mark's  Ciiukch. — For  many  years  there 
had  been  several  individuals  and  families  resi- 
ding in  Warren  and  its  vicinity,  strongly  at- 
tached to  the  Episcopal  church,  a  part  of  whom 
attended  worship  at  St.  Michael's,  Bristol.  Mr. 
John  Luther,  a  highly  respectable  citizen,  gave 
by  will,  dated  June  14,  1762,  a  lot  of  land  for 
the  erection  of  an  Episcopal  church,  which 
land,  however,  afterwards  became  converted  to 
another  use. 

The  first  Episcopal  minister  that  ever 
preached  in  Warren,  within  the  mem.ory  of  the 
present  inhabitants,  was  Rev.  Mr.  Henshaw, 
the  present  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  in  1812, 
then  a  young  man  in  Deacon's  orders,  and  pur- 
suing his  theological  studies  at  Bristol,  under 
the  care  of  the  late  venerable  Bishop  Griswold. 
A  desire  was  then  expressed,  by  several  influ- 
ential individuals,  that  an  Episcopal  Church 
might  be  established  in  the  town  ;  but  the  war 
with  England  existing  at  that  time,  caused  so 
great  a  depression  in  the  business  prosperity  of 
the  town,  that  the  project  was,  for  the  time,  re- 
linquished. In  the  autumn  of  1828,  the  Rev. 
John  Bristed  commenced  holding  church  ser- 
vice in  Cole's  hall,  on  Sunday  afternoons;  the 
Bishop  expressed  his  approbation,  and  preached 
the  first  sermon. 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  a  church 
was  organized,  under  the  name  and  title  of  St. 
Mark's  Church,  Warren.  During  the  follow- 
ing January  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 


112  SUPPLEMENT. 

a  charter  was  obtained.  The  following  per- 
sons composed  the  first  Wardens  and  Vestry  : 

Wardens. — Geo.  Pearse   and  Geo.  Monroe. 

Vestrymen.  —  Freeborn  Sisson,  William 
Carr,  William  Collins,  John  Stockford,  Na- 
thaniel Phillips,  William  Turner,  Seth  Peck, 
John  Pearse,  Amasa  Humphrey,  Charles  Whea- 
ton,  and  John  R.  Wheaton. 

In  1829,  the  Church  and  Society  erected, 
(with  the  exception  of  about  8800,  obtained 
through  the  agency  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bristed,  from 
abroad,)  a  neat  and  handsome  church.  This 
building,  standing  in  the  centre  of  a  spacious 
quadrangular  lot,  bounded  on  three  sides  by 
public  streets,  and  with  its  full  Ionic  front,  is 
justly  considered  an  ornament  to  the  town  ;  it 
was  completely  furnished,  and  provided  with  a 
small  organ,  the  first  ever  introduced  into  War- 
ren, The  church  was  consecrated  by  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Griswold,  on  the  15th  July,  1830, 
and  Rev.  G.  W.  Hathaway  appointed  Rector. 

In  1834,  the  congregation  had  so  enlarged, 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  add  eighteen  feet 
to  the  body  of  the  church,  affording  room  for 
twenty-four  additional  pews  ;  at  the  same  time 
a  projection  of  ten  feet  was  added  for  a  vestry 
room.  The  length  of  the  body  of  the  building 
is  eighty  feet ;  the  extreme  length,  including 
the  vestibule  and  vestry,  is  one  hundred  feet, 
and  it  is  forty-two  feet  in  breadth.  In  1836, 
the  present  powerful  organ  was  set  up,  at  a  cost, 
including    additions   since   inade,   of  over  two 


,.  J 


SUPPLEMEXT.  113 

llioiisand  dollars.  In  1839,  the  present  bell, 
(two  previous  bells  having  been  broken,)  weigh- 
ing above  1900  pounds,  was  put  up,  and  the 
interior  of  the  church  has  lately  been  elegantly 
finished  and  painted  in  Fresco. 

The  whole  cost  of  the  church  and  furniture 
has  been  about  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  chur:-.h  commenced  with  only  one  com- 
municant belonging  to  the  town,  and  two  others 
in  the  vicinity  ;  since  then,  under  the  success- 
ful instrumentality  of  the  present  and  only  Rec- 
tor, two  hundred  and  thirteen  have  been  added  ; 
the  present  number  being  one  hundred  and  fif- 
ty. One  hundred  and  eighty-nine  have  been 
confirmed,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
have  been  baptized.  Four  of  those  admitted 
to  the  communion  have  been  ordained  to  the 
ministry;  and  one  female  communicant  dedica- 
ted herself  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  work, 
and  became  a  victim  to  the  deadly  climate  of 
Africa.  Connected  with  the  church,  is  St. 
Mark's  Parish  ScJiool,  which  was  established 
by  a  vote  of  the  corporation  of  St.  Mark's 
church,  in  1845.  It  is  designed  more  particu- 
larly for  the  accommodation  of  the  families  of 
the  parish  ;  though  it  is  open  to  all  who  may 
wish  to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages. 

A  new  and  commodious  house,  nearly  oppo- 
site the  church,  has  been  purchased,  and  fitted 
lip  for  its  acconmiodation.  The  school  is  under 
the    special    supervision    and    direction  of  the 


I  14  SUPPLEMENT. 

Rector,  Wardens,  and  Vestry  of  the  church , 
and  is  desighed  to  be  made  equal  to  the  best 
schools  in  the  country.  Instruction  is  given 
in  all  the  branches  of  an  ordinary  classical  and 
ornamental  education. 

The  instructors  are  Mr.  Henry  W.  Pearse, 
Principal;  Miss  Sarah  Collins,  Miss  Ann  Fran- 
ces Andrews,  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Burr. 

Having  described  these  churches  and  the 
Parish  School  connected  with  the  latter,  we  next 
present  an  account  of  the  other  public  institu- 
tions. 

The  Wap.ren  Ladies'  SeminaPvY. — This 
flourishing  Institution  for  the  education  of  young 
ladies,  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  north  end  of 
the  town,  a  little  removed  from  the  midst  of  the 
village.  The  seminary  building  is  a  large  and 
commodious  house  of  three  stories  in  height,  is 
forty-six  feet  in  front,  and  including  an  exten- 
sion of  the  rear,  is  seventy-eight  feet  in  length. 
There  is  attached  a  large  garden  and  play- 
ground, for  the  convenience  of  physical  exer- 
cise. The  property  is  owned  by  several  gen- 
tlemen of  the  town,  who  have  generously 
devoted  its  income  to  the  cause  of  a  liberal 
education.  The  present  Trustees  of  the  Insti- 
tution are  the  following  named  gentlemen  : — 
S.  P.  Child,  H.  li.  Luther,  C.  Richmond,  jun. 
Esqrs.  and  Rev.  J.  P.  Tustin. 

The  school  first  commenced  in  May,  1834, 
under  the  tuition  of  Robert  A.  Coffin,  A.  M. 
assisted   by  Mrs.  Coffin  and  three  other  ladies,. 


in  the  several  departments  of  instruction.  Mr. 
Coffin  retained  the  charge  till  January  1,  1838. 
The  present  high  degree  of  prosperity  of  this 
seminary  has  been  attained  by  the  indefatigable 
labors  of  A.  M.  Gammeil,  M.  A.,  who  for  the 
last  four  years  has  presided  over  its  interests, 
assisted  by  Miss  Mary  A.  Reed,  Miss  Rebecca 
W.  Gammeil,  Miss  Mary  A.  Barry,  and  Miss 
Sarah  H.  Walker.  The  average  number 
'of  pupds  is  about  70.  There  are  connect- 
ed with  the  Seminary  an  extensive  chem.ical 
and  philosophical  apparatus,  a  library  of  well 
selected  volumes,  and  a  large  cabinet  of  shells, 
minerals  and  other  illustrations  of  natural  sci- 
ence.— This  Seminary  is  believed  to  offer  the 
best  facilities  for  female  education. 

Among  the  other  Institutions  of  the  town, 
riTe  the  following  :  Eleven  Private  schools,  em- 
bracinor  about  300  scholars  in  average  attend- 
ance,  and  three  Public  schools,  with  an  average 
attendance  of  about  230  scholars. 

The  Warren  Lyceum,  commenced  as  a  de- 
bating society  by  the  name  of  the  Social  Club, 
in  March,  18*29,  and  was  incorporated  in  1831. 
In  1844,  by  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  the 
name  was  changed  to  Warren  Lyceum. — 
It  now  consists  of  upwards  of  one  hundred 
members,  and  possesses  a  library  of  700  vol- 
umes. During  the  v/inter  season,  it  sustains  a 
series  of  popular  lectures. 

The  Philanthropic  Society  of  Warren^  form- 
ed for  the  common  benefit  of  widows  and  or  • 


HO  SUPPLEMENT. 

phms  of  its  (biisassd  niGnibors,  was  instituted 
January,  1794,  and  was  incorporated  February, 
1799.  The  capital  stock  of  this  Society  inves- 
ted in  1845,  is  83400.  It  has  about  ninety 
members  who  are  at  present  living. 

The  Washington  Lodge  of  Free  Masons, 
was  instituted  in  1798,  and  incorporated  by 
act  of  General  Assembly  in  the  following  year. 
A  Royal  Arch  Chapter  was  authorized  by  n 
dispensation,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1809. 
The  number  of  Masons  connected  with  the 
Lodge  at  the  present  time,  is  fifty-six. 

The  Amity  Lodge  No.  6,  of  the  Lidependent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  instituted  October 
10,  1844,  and  now  consists  of  fifty  members. 

T/i3  Warren  Ba,nk,  was   chartered  in  1803, 
with  a  capital  of  $135,000;  shares  850  each. 

The  Hope  Bank,  was    chartered   in   182-2^ 
with  a  capital  of  8120,000  ;  shares  8100  each. 
In  the   active  business  of  Warren,  there  la 
invested,  in  1845,  about, 

8500,000  in  the  Whale  Fishery, 
$200,000  in  Foreign  Trade, 
8100,000  in  Domestic  Trade, 
8100,000  in  Manufactures. 

The  Burial  Places  belonging  to  Warren,  in 
consequence  of  the  antiquity  of  this,  and  the 
surrounding  settlements,  are  objects  of  consid- 
erable historical  interest,  mainly  in  consequence 
of  their  being  the  resting  place  of  several  per- 
sons distinguished  for  the  part  they  acted  ia. 


JB. 


SUPPLEMENT.  117 

the  scenes  of  former  generations.  These  Burial 
Places  will  be  noticed  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  first  used  for  the  purposes  of  sepulture. 

1.  The  Burial  Place  upon  New-Meadow 
Neck,  was  at  one  period  within  the  limits  of 
Warren,  and  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  grounds 
in  this  vicinity.  The  earliest  inscription  in  it, 
is  upon  the  stone  that  records  the  decease  of 
Frances  Low,  in  June,  1702,  aged  70 ;  but 
there  are  nearly  an  hundred  graves,  evidently 
of  a  more  ancient  date;  many  of  them  are 
nearly  obliterated  and  are  marked  only  by  two 
rough  stones  without  inscriptions.  As  this 
neighborhood  was  settled  upon  by  the  English, 
about  the  year  1670,  it  is  probable  that  the 
ground  was  commenced  as  a  burial  place  at, 
or  near  that  time. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  there  are  but 
few  monumental  inscriptions,  in  New-England 
of  a  date  previous  to  the  year  1700.  Even  at 
Plymouth  there  are  only  some  six  ;  the  earliest 
of  which  is  dated  1681,  and  the  others  respec- 
tively, 1684,  1687,  1691, 1697  and  1699.  The 
100  unknown  graves  at  New-Meadow  Neck 
are  doubtless  those  of  the  first  settlers,  in  this 
vicinity.  One  of  them  is  without  doubt,  the 
resting  place  of  Rev.  John  Miles,  the  first 
minister  of  Swanzea  ;  another  that  of  the  first 
Hugh  Cole. 

Of  those  whose  names  arc  inscribed,  we 
have  already  noticed  the  grave  of  Rev.  John 
& 


118  SUPPLEMENT. 

Callender's  aunt  in  this  ground.  There  is  one 
other  that  we  shall  notice,  who  deceased  when 
that  territory  constituted  a  part  of  Warren.  The 
inscription  upon  the  grave-stone  is  as  follows :  — 
"Mrs.  Desire  Kent,  w  do  of  Mr.  Samuel  Kent, 
of  Barrington,  was  the  first  English  woman's 
grandaughter,  [born]  on  New  England,  died  Feb. 
ye  8th,  A.  D.  1762,  aged  about  94  years." 

We  learn  from  her  descendants,  that  she  was 
the  grand-daughter  of  Mary  Chilton,  the  first 
person  of  the  Mayflower's  passengers  who 
stepped  upon  Plymouth  Rock.  Mary  Chilton 
was  married  to  John  Winslow,  the  brother  of 
Gov.  Edward  ;  their  daughter,  Sarah  Winslow, 
was  married  to  Edward  Gray;  their  daughter. 
Desire  Gray,  is  the  Desire  Kent  above  named. 

2.  The  Second  Burial  Ground  used  in  this 
vicinity,  was  on  the  Kikemuet  river.  The  old- 
est inscription  in  it  is  that  of  John  Luther,  who 
died  April  14,  1697,  aged  34 ;  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  ground  was  commenced  to  be  used 
about  that  time. 

In  this  ground  is  buried  one  of  the  Governors 
of  this  State, —  the  Hon.  Josias  Lyndon;  he 
married  Mary  Carr,  a  near  relative  of  the  an- 
cestors of  the  families  of  that  name,  now  resi- 
ding in  Warren.  When  the  British  took  pos- 
session of  the  island  of  Rhode-Island,  Gov. 
Lyndon  fled  with  his  family  to  Warren.  The 
leading  events  in  his  life  are  alluded  to  in  the 
inscription  upon  his  tomb  stone,  which  is  as 
follows  : 


SUPPLEMENT.  IIC 

"lu  Memory  of  the  Hon.  Josias  Lyndon,  Esq. 
He  was  born  in  Newport,  on  Rhode  Island,  on  the 
10th  of  Blarch,  A.  D.  1704,  and  received  a  good 
education  in  early  life.  In  the  year  1730,  he  was 
chosen  Clerk  of  the  Lower  House  of  Assembly, 
and  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  the  County  of  New- 
port, and  continued  so  with  great  applause,  with 
the  intermission  of  only  two  years,  until  his  death. 
In  the  year  17(18,  to  put  an  end  to  the  violence  of 
party  rage,  he  was  prevailed  on  to  accept  the  place 
of  Governor,  which  he  filled  with  Reputation. 

He  died  of  tlie  Small  Pox,  at  Warren,  on  the 
30th  of  March,  1778. 

His  manners  gentle,  and  innocent  his  life, 
His  faitli  was  firm  on  Revelation  built ; 
His  parts  were  solid,  in  usefulness  he  shin'd, 
His  life  was  long  filled  up  witli  doing  good." 

3.  The  Warren  North  Burial  Ground  is 
located  within  the  village.  A  grave  stone  in  it 
has  the  following  record ;  ''  John,  son  of  Mr. 
John  Thurber  and  Ruth  his  wife ;  he  died  July 
19,  1773,  aged  1  year,  3  months,  and  10  days  : 
The  first  that  was  buried  in  this  Burying 
Place." 

Upon  another  stone  is  this  inscription  :  "  In 
memory  of  Mrs.  Lillis,  the  wife  of  Ebenezer 
Cole,  Esq.,  who  departed  this  life  March  8,  A. 
D.  1775,  aged  sixty  years.  This  is  the  second 
person  buried  in  this  ground." 

A  monument  in  this  ground  commemorates 
the  name  of  Nicholas  Campbell,  who  was  born 
in  the  island  of  Malta,  Dec.  24,  1732;  he  came 
to  this  country  previous  to  the  Revolution,  and 


120  SUPPLEMENT. 

was  one  of  the  number  who  threw  the  tea  over- 
board in  Boston  harbor,  in  1773. 

He  discharcred  the  duties  of  a  ^ood  citizen, 
and  was  highly  respected;  he  accumulated 
property  by  industry  and  upright  dealing,  and 
at  his  death,  (which  occurred  in  his  97th  year, 
on  July  21,  1829)  he  left  by  will  about  $5000, 
as  follows  ;  "  My  will  is  that  the  residue  of  my 
estate  shall  be  by  my  Executors  placed  in  some 
public  funds,  the  interest  whereof  to  be  appro- 
priated to  the  schooling  of  indigent  children, 
i)oth  male  and  female,  of  the  Town  of  Warren, 
and  for  other  charitable  purposes." 

He  then  directed  that  the  above  fund  should 
be  managed,  in  perpetimm,  by  his  three  execu- 
tors, on  the  demise  of  one  of  whom,  the  survi- 
vors were  to  appoint  another  in  his  place,  and 
so  on  forever. 

4.  The  Warren  South  Burial  Ground  is 
established  upon  the  modern  plan,  of  making 
the  resting-place  of  the  dead  an  attractive  re- 
sort to  the  living. 

The  proprietors  of  this  ground,  now  number- 
ing one  hundred  and  thirteen,  obtained  a  charter 
of  incorporation  in  1840.  They  purchased  a 
piece  of  land,  measuring  over  seven  acres,  and 
laid  out  about  one  half  of  it  in  256  lots,  of  16 
feet  square  each,  with  avenues  and  alleys  run- 
ning at  right  angles  with  each  other. 

The  nine  avenues  leading  North  and  South 
are  named  alphabetically  from  A  to  I,  commen- 


H 


SUPPLEMENT.  121 

cing  on  the  west ;  and  the  lots  in  each  avenue 
are  numbered  from  1  to  32,  commencing  at  the 
north  end,  and  alternating  from  side  to  side. 

A  Receiving  Tomb  was  built  the  same  year, 
at  a  cost  of  $350. 

The  monument  standing  about  two  rods 
northwest  of  the  Receiving  Tomb,  is  upon  the 
first  grave  made  in  this  cemetery ;  it  was  made 
on  the  27th  of  Feb.  1840. 

The  affairs  of  the  corporation  are  managed 
by  a  board  of  trustees ;  and  its  plan  requires 
that  all  funds  received  from  the  sale  of  lots, 
shall  be  expended  upon  the  premises  ;  any  per- 
son purchasing  a  lot  becomes  thereby  a  mem- 
ber of  the  corporation,  but  a  lot  can  qualify  for 
membership  only  one  person.  On  the  demise 
of  a  member,  the  lot  left  by  him  must  contain 
250  square  feet  unoccupied,  to  qualify  an  heir 
or  successor  as  a  member ;  and  if  there  is 
more  than  one  heir,  the  trustees  are  to  decide 
who  of  them  is  to  represent  the  lot  in  the  cor- 
poration. 

The  trustees  can  prosecute  individuals  for 
misdemeanor  and  trespass,  and  the  members 
are  competent  witnesses  in  such  suits. 


In  concluding  this  historical  sketch  of  War- 
ren, it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  allusions  to  the 


1^2  SUPPLEMENT. 

recent  affairs  of  the  town  have  been  purpose- 
ly avoided,  for  the  reason  that  it  does  not  be- 
long to  the  plan  of  this  work  so  much  to  make 
a  formal  record  of  events  familiar  to  the  public, 
as  it  has  been  to  disclose  the  sources  of  our 
past  history.    The  materials  for  continuing  the 
present  and   future  history  of  the  town   will 
doubtless  be  preserved  and  easily  obtained  at 
any  time  hereafter,  when  they  may   be  needed. 
In  the  notices  given  in  the  first  part  of  this 
treatise,  of  the  earliest  visits  of  foreigners  to 
this  vicinity,  the   assertion  was  made  that  the 
voyage  of  Verrazanno  to  Narragansett   Bay, 
was  the  first  ever  made  by   white  or  civilized 
man   to   any   portion   of  Rhode-Island.     The 
writer  has  given  due  attention  to  the  accounts 
of  the  alledged  Ante-Columbian  voyages  of  the 
Northmen  to  this  country,   and  especially  to 
those  portions  of  their  voyages  which  are  sup- 
posed to  refer  to  their  passing  in   A.  D.    1002 
and  1008,  through  the  east  passage  of  Narra- 
gansett Bay  to  Mount  Hope  Bay.     He  is  fully 
convinced  that  more  historical  light  is  requi- 
site to  ascertain  the  precise  localities  visited  by 
them.     It  is  obvious  that  the  positive  disagree- 
ments in  these  narratives  completely  outnum- 
ber and  outweigh  those  parts  of  their  descrip- 
tions which  are  in  the  least  applicable  to  facts, 
as  they  are  known  by  us.     A  ^ew  extracts  will 
serve  as  specimens,  to  show  that  their  state- 
ments are  at  variance  with  the  conclusions  at- 
tempted to  be  drawn  from  them. 


SUPPLEMENT.  123 

These  narratives,  as  publislied  by  Professor 
Rafn,  say  that  the  Northmen  "  sailed  south- 
wards, and  arrived  at  a  place  M-here  a  river 
falls  into  the  sea  from  a  lake.  Opposite  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  were  large  islands.  They 
steered  into  the  lake,  and  called  the  place 
Hop."  This  description,  it  is  asserted,  refers 
to  a  visit  made  by  the  Northmen  to  Mount 
Hope  Bay,  through  the  eastern  or  Seaconnet 
passage.  But  there  are  no  islands  ''  opposite 
to  the  mouth"  of  that  passage.  Professor  Rafn 
liimself  says  that  "  Hop''  in  the  Icelandic  lan- 
guage, means  a  small  bay,  or  the  land  around 
it.  Of  course  it  does  not  mean  hill  or  mount ; 
and  the  theory  which  has  supposed  the  term 
Montaup,  as  used  by  the  Aborigines,  to  have 
been  first  applied  by  the  Northmen  to  Mount 
Hope,  is  groundless. 

The  narratives  state  that  *'  there  were  no 
houses  in  the  country,  but  the  people  dwelt  in 
holes  and  caverns  ;  —  that  the  people  were  sal- 
low and  ill-looking  ;  had  ugly  heads  of  hair, 
large  eyes,  and  broad  cheeks."  These  accounts 
altogether  disagree  with  the  known  habits  and 
appearance  of  the  aborigines,  when  visited  by 
Verrazanno.  The  narratives  further  say  that 
"  Karlsefne  and  his  company  had  erected  their 
dwelling-houses  a  little  above  the  bay,  and  there 
they  spent  the  winter.  No  snow  fell,  and  the 
cattle  found  their  food  in  the  open  fields."  It 
is  obvious  that  this  account  cannot   apply  to    a 


124  SUPPLEMENT. 

latitude  so  far  north  as  Rhode-Island.  Again  f 
the  description  says,  —  "the  Skrellings,  (na- 
tives,) had  a  sort  of  war  slings ;  they  elevated 
on  a  pole  a  tremendously  large  ball,  almost  the 
size  of  a  sheep's  stomach ;  this  they  swung 
from  the  pole  upon  land  over  Karlsefne's  peo- 
ple, and  it  descended  with  a  fearful  crash. 
This  struck  terror  into  the  Northmen,  and  they 
fled  along  the  river."  This  account  is  not  on- 
ly inapplicable  to  all  the  native  tribes  on  the 
American  continent,  but  wears  a  shade  of 
improbability  and  absurdity,  with  respect  to 
any  people. 

Another  account  represents  the  Northmen 
as  discovering  a  tribe  of  men  "dressed  in 
white."  From  Mount  Hope  Bay,  it  is  inferred 
by  some  writers,*  that  the  Northmen  proceeded 
to  Massachusetts  Bay;  and  there  they  saw 
"  something  at  a  distance  which  glittered." 
This  account  of  what  they  saw,  bears  such 
strong  marks  of  being  fabulous  and  incredible, 
that  it  materially  vitiates  the  credibility  of  the 
whole  narrative,  and  nullifies  all  the  deductions 
which  pretend  to  identify  this  vicinity  with  the 
places  visited  by  the  Northmen.  We  give  this 
absurd  story  just  as  it  stands  in  the  narrative. 
The  object  which  "  glittered  at  a  distance," 
"  was  a  uniped,  who  immediately  betook  him- 
self to  the  bank   of  the   river  where  the  ship 

*  Northmen  in  New  England  ;  by  JosJiua  T.  Smith. 


¥ 


SUPPLEMENT.  125 

lay.  Thorwald  Eirekson  was  sitting  near  the 
helm.  The  uniped  shot  an  arrow  at  him. — 
Thorwald  died  of  the  wound.  The  uniped 
subsequently  retired.  Thorfinn's  crew  pursued 
him.  They  presently  saw  him  run  into  a  neigh- 
boring creek.  They  then  returned,  and  one  of 
them  sang, 

"  Pursue  we  did, — 
'T  is  true,  no  more, 
The  uniped, 
Down  to  the  sliore. 
The  wondrous  man, 
His  course  quite  clear, 
ThrouHi  Ocean  ran." 


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