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(Lilt  l^mtth  (Slnngrfgatinnal  QII|urrI| 
in  ICittlr  (Hampton. 


THE  TWO-HUNDREDTH  ANNIVER- 
SARY OF  THE  ORGANIZATION 
OF    THE    UNITED  CONGREGA- 
TIONAL CHURCH,  LITTLE  COMPTON. 
RHODE  ISLAND,  SEPTEMBER  7,    1904 


Published  by 
The  United  Congregational  Society 

Little  Compton,  R.  I. 


The  Providence  Press 

Snow  &  Farnham  Company 

Printers 

1906 


CONTENTS. 


Introductory  Notice         .         .  .         .         .         ,         . 

Committees      ......... 

Order  of  Exercises  ....... 

Historical  Discourse,  The  Little  Compton  United  Congre- 
gational Church,  Rev.  Wilson  R.  Buxton 

Addresses : 

Rev.  Augustus  M.  Rice 
Rev.  William  D.  Hart      . 
Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris 
Rev.  James  H.  Lyon 
Rev.  Thomas  R.  Slicer,  D.  D. 
Horace  G.  Shaw 

Abstract  of  Sermon,  Rev.  Albert  H.  Plumb,  D.  D. 
Historical    Address,     The    Town    of    Little    Compton 
R,  B.  Burchard         ....... 

The  Historical  Exhibit 

Catalogue  of  the  Historical  Exhibit  .         .         .         . 


Page 

5 
7 
9 

11 

37 
42 
46 
48 
53 
55 

57 

61 
109 
112 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Church     .         .         .         . 

Rev.  Wilson  R,  Buxton 

The  Old  Town  Hall,  old  print 

Rev,  Samuel  Beane 

Rev.  William  D.  Hart     . 

"  Betty  Alden  "  Monument      . 

Grave  of  Col.  Benjamin  Church 

Graves  of  "  Elizabeth,  who  should  have  been,"  and 

Lidia  who  was,  the  wife  of  Simeon  Palmer 
Commission  of  Col.  Sylvester  Richmond 
Interior  of    Old  Town  Hall,  old  print     . 
(yoramission  of  Col.  Sylvester  Brownell,  as  Major 
The  Governor's  Grandsons,  painting  by   E.    H. 

Blashfield 

George  S.  Burleigh         .... 


Frontispiece 

page 

11 

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16 

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28 

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42 

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76 

11 

78 

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80 

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82 

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84 

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89 

(( 

(1 

101 

(( 

107 

INTRODUCTORY. 


The  United  Congregational  Church  of  Little  Compton 
R   I    was  organized  November  30,  1704.    In  order  to  avoid 
so  far  as  possible  the  likelihood  of  inclement  weather,  the 
church  appointed  September  7,  1904,  as  the  day  of  cele- 
bration of  its  bi-centennial. 

In  preparation  for  that  event  a  general  committee  was 
chosen  by  the  church  consisting  of  Rev.  Wilson  R.  Buxton, 
pastor;  Deacon  Erastus  S.  Bailey,  J.  Webster  Coombs,  Ros- 
well  B.  Burchard,  Joshua  B.  Richmond,  and  James  E. 
Osborne  Other  committees  and  chairmen  were  named  as 
follows:  Reception.  Deacon  Geo.  W.  Church;  entertainment, 
Mrs  Oliver  H.  Wilbor;  refreshments,  Mrs.  William  H. 
Briggs;  conveyance,  Clarence  C.  Wordell;  music,  William 
H.  Briggs;  historical  exhibit,  Mrs.  Forbes  W.  Manchester; 
finance,   George  Harlan   Simmons;   decorations,  Henry   A. 

Groth. 

The  entire  church  and  congregation,  as  well  as  many 
summer  residents  enthusiastically  co-operated  and  by  their 
unstinted  generosity  and  labor  helped  to  make  the  pre- 
parations complete. 

On  the  day  of  the  celebation,  the  weather  being  favor- 
able large  audiences  assembled,  forenoon,  afternoon  and 
evening  in  the  auditorium  which  had  been  beautifully  de- 
corated with  flowers,  green  pine  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

Among  those  present  were  Miss  Flora  L.  Mason  and  Miss 
Montgomery,  of  Taunton,  and  Rev.  William  J.  Batt,  of  Con- 
cord Mass.,  descendants  of  Rev.  Richard  Billings,  first 
pastor  of  the  church;  Miss  Helen  L.  Shepard  and  Miss 
Fanny  W.  Burr,  of  Melrose,  Mass.,  grand-nieces  of  Rev. 
Mase  Shepard  third  pastor  of  the  church;  Rev.  Augustus 
M.  Rice,  of  Dunstable,  Mass.;  Rev.  William  D.  Hart,  of 
Wilton,  Conn. ;  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris  of  Riverside,  R.  I., 
and  Rev.  James  Lade,  of  Hanover,  Mass.,  these  being  the 
four  living  ex-pastors  of  the  church;  the  Hon.  Lucius  F.  C. 
Garvin,  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  who  made  congratulatory 
remarks,  and  Rev.  Albert  H.  Plumb,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the 


6  INTRODUCTORY. 

Walnut  Avenue  Congregational  Church,  Boston ;  Rev.  J.  H. 
Lyon,  of  Central  Falls,  who  brought  the  greetings  of  the 
sister  churches  of  the  Congregational  order  in  the  state; 
Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  R.  Slicer,  minister  of  All  Souls'  Church, 
New  York;  Rev.  Martin  L.  Williston,  of  Barrington;  Rev. 
Edgar  F.  Clark,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  this 
town,  and  Mr.  Horace  G.  Shaw,  of  New  Jersey. 

There  were  present  many  other  distinguished  visitors  as 
well  as  a  large  number  of  summer  residents.  The  towns- 
people were  numerously  represented  in  the  audience,  taking 
a  deep  interest  in  honoring  the  church  that  to  their  fathers 
had  been  the  gate  to  heaven  throughout  many  generations. 

The  exercises  began  at  10.30  a.  m.,  Mrs.  Henry  A.  Groth 
presiding  at  the  organ,  and  the  order  of  exercises  as  found 
on  a  subsequent  page  was  carried  out. 

During  the  intermissions  for  refreshments  many  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  visit  the  Grange  Hall, 
where  was  exhibited  a  remarkable  collection  of  antique 
furniture  and  many  articles  of  historic  interest  from 
families  in  the  town. 

Of  the  addresses  which  followed  only  the  historical  dis- 
course and  the  historical  address  are  printed  in  full.  Of 
some  of  the  others,  delivered  without  manuscript,  it  has  been 
impossible  to  reproduce  more  than  an  abstract. 

Mr.  Burchard's  address  contains  some  material  that  he 
had  prepared  but  which  for  lack  of  time  was  omitted  in  the 
delivery.  This  material  is  inserted  at  the  request  of  the 
committee.  The  sermon  by  Dr.  Plumb  was  replete  with 
anecdote  and  illustration,  but  being  delivered  without 
notes,  it  has  been  impossible  to  reproduce  more  than  an 
abstract.  In  general  it  may  be  stated  that  many  items 
of  interest  have  been  omitted  from  other  addresses  for  the 
reason  that  they  already  appear  in  the  published  report  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  175th  anniversary. 


COMMITTEES. 


General  Committee. 

KEV.  WILSON  K.  BUXTON,  ROSWBL„  B^BuECHAED, 

D..CON  EEABTUS  S.  BAILED,  JoSHUA  B.  ElCHMOND, 

J.   WBBSTKE  COOMBS,  J-^^^S  E.  OSBOEN. 

JSeoep«o«-DEACON  George  W.  Chuecb    Deacon  Tho^ 

HOWAEB,   AaTHOE   SeaBUBV,   HeNE.   PaOE  W,LB.E    THOMAS 

Beiggs  James  I.  Bailey,  Charles  Bone,  Galen  T.  Beown 
elT  MiBS  Aedelia  W.lbue,  Mkb.  Caeoline  Tolleb,   ME3. 

SiBAH     CHABE,     MiSS     MiEAKBA     PlEECE,     MeB.     DeBOHAH 

Otib,  Mes.  Saeah  Boeden,  Meb.  J.  I.  ^"^^^""^  «„  f ™- 
MONS  G.  M.  Geay,  Nath.  Church,  Mes.  Mart  N.  Beiggb, 
Mr'THOMAB  BEIGGS,  Meb.  Isaac  C.  Wilboue,  meb.  bene. 
Page  Wilbue,  Mrs.  Cheibtiana  Beownell  Mes.  G.  1. 
BEOWNELL,  MRS.  L.zziE  McFarland,  Mes.  John  beown 
Mes    Ciiaeleb   Bone,   M.bb   Alice   C.   Geay,  Miss  Ethel 

WORDELL      MES.     F.     k.     BEOWNELL,     JE.,     M.SS     CHAELOTXe 

beownell,  MES.  F.  U  Patten,  Meb.  J.  B.  S.einger,  Meb. 
Lysander  W.  Manchester. 

Retrcs,.nent^M...  W.  H.  Beiggs,  Meb^A.  B.  Simmons, 
MES.  Nath.  Chuech,  Mes.  E.  S.  Bailey,  Mes.  f-^-^^^' 
Mrs  .J.  W.  COOMBS,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Wilboe,  Mes.  J.  W.  Hdnt 
MR  F.  L.  Sherman,  Mrs.  Elva  Humphrey  Mrs.  George 
Shaw    Mrs.  Saeah  Bundy,  Meb.  Haeey  McFarland,  M.sb 

EEBECCA   TEIPP,  MEB.   W.   C.   WiLBCE,   MlBS  FaNNIE   BEOWN 

Meb  E  W.  Meebey,  Miss  Bessie  Hunt,  Mrs.  Lester  Sea- 
BLEY  MISS  ETHEL  Snell,  M.SS  Annie  Dyer,  Miss  Alice 
Gray  Miss  Lilian  Dunbae,  Miss  Ethel  Wordell,  Lester 
WiLBUB.  LESLIE  B.  coombs,  Elton  Geay,  Haeley  Davib 
HOMEE  Davis,  Aethue  Seabuey,  Allen  Seabuey,  Robert 
Shaw,  Karl  F.  Wordell. 


8 


COMMITTEES. 


Entertainment— F.  H.  Wilbour,  Mrs.  O.  H.  Wilbor,  Mrs. 
P.  H.  WiLBOuR,  Mrs.  F.  A.  H.  Bodington,  Miss  Mary  K. 
Seabury,  Mrs.  Annie  D.  Brownbll,  Mrs.  Caroline  Drum- 

MOND. 

Conveyance— Glarknce  C.  Wordbll,  John  W.  Hunt, 
Horace  F.  Dyer,  Oliver  H.  Wilbor,  D.  F.  Gifford,  Philip 
W.  Almy,  Don  H.  Gray,  Herbert  W.  Pierce,  F.  A.  H.  Bod- 
iNGTON,  Frederick  L.  Sherman,  William  C.  Wilbur,  James 
B.  Springer. 

Finance— George  H.  Simmons,  F.  R.  Brownell,  Jr.,  L. 
W.  Manchester,  Frank  W.  Tripp,  Harry  McFarland, 
Charles  Humphrey. 

Music—WihLiAM  H.  Briggs,  J.  G.  Hathaway,  Mrs.  H. 
A.  Groth,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Wordell,  Mrs.  D.  Frank  Gifford^ 
Mrs.  p.  W.  Almy,  Mrs.  Herbert  Pierce,  Miss  Elizabeth 
F.  Sowlb,  E.  W.  Mersey,  Miss  Lilian  Dunbar. 

Decorations— Henry  A.  Groth,  Mrs.  Lydia  J.  Warner, 
Roy  M.  Gray,  Miss  A.  A.  Lathrop,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Tripp. 

Histoncal  Exhibit— Mrs.  Forbes  W.  Manchester,  Mrs. 
R.  B.  Burchard,  Mrs.  Lysander  W.  Manchester. 


ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 


10.30  A.  M. 

Organ  Voluntary. 
Welcome,  by  the  Pastor. 

Anthem,  "Oh,  How  Lovely,"— W.  A.  Ogden. 
Responsive  Reading,  led  by  Rev.  Augustus  M.  Rice. 
Prayer,  by  Rev.  William  D.  Hart. 
Hymn,  "  O  God,  Our  Help  in  Ages  Past." 
Historical  Discourse,  "  The   Little   Compton  United  Con- 
gregational Church,"  by  the  Pastor,  Rev.  Wilson  R.  Buxton. 
Hymn,  "  O  God,  Beneath  Thy  Guiding  Hand." 
Addresses,  by  former  Pastors  : 

Rev.  Augustus  M.  Rice, 
Rev.  William  D.  HapvT, 
Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris, 
Rev.  James  Lade. 
Hymn,  "Blest  be  the  Tie  that  Binds." 
Doxology. 

A  Collation  served  in  the  Vestry  after  the  morning  Ser- 
vice.    Historical  Exhibit  in  the  Grange  HaU. 


2.30  P.  M. 


Organ  Voluntary. 

Anthem,  "Rock  of  Ages,"— E.  O.  Excell. 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  James  Lade. 

Hymn,  "  My  Faith  Looks  up  to  Thee." 

Address,  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Lyon. 

Solo,  by  Mrs.  Walter  J.  Bullock. 


10  ORDER    OF   EXERCISES. 

Address,  by  His  Excellency  Hon.  Lucius  F.  C.  Garvin, 
Governor  of  Rhode  Island. 

Historical  Discourse,  "  The  Town  of  Little  Compton,"  by 
Roswell  B.  Burchard. 

Hymn,  "  My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee." 

Addresses,  by: 

Rev.  Thomas  R.  Slicer,  D.  D., 
Rev.  Edgar  F.  Clark, 
Rev.  Martin  L.  Williston, 
Rev.  William  J.  Batt, 
Mr.  Horace  G.  Shaw. 
Hymn,  "  I  love  Thy  Kingdom,  Lord." 


A  Collation  in  the  Vestry  and  an  Historical  Exhibit  in  the 
Grange  Hall. 


7.30  P.  M. 
Organ  Voluntary. 
Invocation. 

Scripture  Reading,  by  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris. 
Anthem,  "  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  —  John  R.  Sweeney. 
Prayer,  by  Rev.  Augustus  M.  Rice. 
Hymn,  "  Rock  of  Ages." 
Sermon,  by  Rev.  Albert  H.  Plumb,  D.  D. 
Hymn,  "  All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus'  Name." 
Benediction,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Plumb. 


Rev.  Wilson  R.  Buxton 
Pastor 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE' 

THE    LITTLE    COMPTON    UNITED   CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 
By  Rev.  Wilson  R.  Buxtox. 


When  Ruth  in  company  with  her  mother-in-law  Naomi 
had  come  from  the  land  of  Moab  to  Bethlehem  and  had  seen 
the  grain-fields  of  Boaz  and  the  reapers  in  them,  her  wish 
was,  "Let  me  now  go  to  the  field  and  glean  among  the 
ears  of  grain  after  him  in  whose  sight  I  shall  find  favor." 
And  Naomi  said  unto  her,  "Go,  my  daughter.  And  she  went, 
and  came,  and  gleaned  in  the  field  after  the  reapers."  And 
when  Boaz  had  come  from  Bethlehem,  he  said  unto  Ruth, 
"Go  not  to  glean  in  another  field,  neither  pass  from  hence. 
Let  thine  eyes  be  on  the  field  that  they  do  reap,  and  go 
thou  after  them."  "And  at  meal  time  Boaz  said  unto  her, 
Come  hither  and  eat  the  bread,  and  dip  thy  morsel  in 
the  vinegar.  And  she  sat  beside  the  reapers;  and  they 
reached  her  parched  grain,  and  she  did  eat,  and  was  sufficed, 
and  left  thereof.  And  when  she  was  risen  up  to  glean, 
Boaz  commanded  his  young  men,  saying,  let  her  glean 
even  among  the  sheaves,  and  reproach  her  not:  And  also 
pull  out  some  for  her  from  the  bundles,  and  leave  it,  and 
let  her  glean,  and  rebuke  her  not." 

It  is,  I  confess,  with  feelings  not  unlike  those  which 
Ruth  must  have  experienced  that  the  historian  this  morn- 
ing, with  sickle  in  hand,  enters  this  field  of  fact  and  anec- 
dote with  reference  to  the  history  of  the  Little  Compton 
Congregational  Church.  For  the  field  is  very  extensive, 
and  a  number  of  Boaz's  skilled  reapers,  by  name.  Hart, 
Shepard,  Palmer,  Dexter,  Walker,  Goldsmith,  and  Beach, 
have  already  preceded  me.  And  yet,  taking  my  place  to- 
day, I  am  encouraged  by  the  thoughts  that  here  and  there  I 

(')  In  the  preparation  of  this  historical  discourse  the  author's  thanks  have  been 
especially  due  to  some  elderly  people  in  town  at  whose  feet  he  sat  while  they 
unrolled  the  past  and  related  to  him  the  traditions  of  the  elders. 


12  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

shall  find  some  barley  standing  that  the  sickles  of  these 
reapers  have  missed;  that  these  gentlemen  will  grant  me, 
as  the  reapers  of  Boaz  granted  to  Ruth,  the  privilege  of 
gleaning  even  among  the  sheaves  that  they  have  sickled, 
and  will  not  reproach  me  for  it;  that  they  will  allow  me 
even  to  pull  some  from  the  bundles  that  tliey  have  cut 
and  tastefully  bound,  and  that  at  noon  I  also  shall  be  called 
to  eat  of  the  bread  and  parched  barley  and  dip  my  morsel  in 
the  vinegar.  It  is  with  such  feelings  of  alternate  discour- 
agement and  joy  that  I  enter  to  glean  after  the  reapers  who 
have  preceded  me  by  the  space  of  twent^'-five  years. 

It  is  now  1674.  Fifty-four  years  have  gone  by  since  the 
Pilgrim  fathers  and  mothers  landed  at  Plymoutli  Rock. 
They  have  sought  in  their  own  way  to  win  the  Indians  to 
Christ;  and  when  they  have  won  a  small  number  of  them 
about  Plymouth,  and  killed  a  far  greater  number,  the}'  pro- 
ceed to  increase  the  sphere  of  their  religious  influence.  So 
that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  meditate  the  con- 
version of  the  aborigines  in  this  remote  region,  and  espe- 
cially their  great  chieftain  Philip  living  at  a  place  since 
known  as  Bristol.  And  in  his  "Historical  Collections  of 
the  Indians  in  New  England,"  Gookin  thus  writes :  ''There 
are  some  that  have  hopes  of  their  greatest  and  chiefest  Sa- 
chem, named  Philip,  living  at  Pockanockett.  Some  of  his 
chief  men,  as  I  hear,  stand  well  inclined  to  hear  the  gospel : 
and  himself  is  a  person  of  good  understanding  and  knowl- 
edge in  the  best  things.  I  have  heard  him  speak  very  good 
words,  arguing  that  his  conscience  is  convicted ;  but  yet, 
though  his  will  is  bowed  to  embrace  Jesus  Christ,  his  sens- 
ual and  carnal  lusts  are  strong  bonds  to  hold  him  fast  un- 
der Satan's  dominions."  And  in  a  letter  written  Septem- 
ber 14,  1674,  by  Reverend  John  Cotton,  pastor  of  the  Eng- 
lish church  at  Plymouth,  to  Daniel  Goodkin,  magistrate, 
living  in  Cambridge,  occurs  the  following:  "When  the 
courts  are  here  there  are  usually  great  multitudes  of  Indi- 
ans from  all  parts  of  the  Colony.  At  those  seasons  I 
preach  to  them;  which  I  mention,  because  God  hath  so  far 
blessed  it,  as  to  make  it  a  means  to  encourage  some  that  live 
very  remote,  to  effect  praying  to  God ;  viz.,  Manmanenat,  Sa- 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  13 

chem  of  Sokonnett  [Little  Compton],  and  some  principal 
Indians  of  Coquitt,  who  made  their  confessions,  and  de- 
clared their  willingness  to  serve  God;  and  they  do  improve 
all  the  opportunities  they  can  get  to  hear  the  word.  They 
came  to  hear  me  at  Acushnett,  when  I  preached  there;  and 
do  desire  further  means  of  instruction."  ^ 

But  in  another  sense  the  colony  at  Plymouth  is  a  believer 
in  expansion ;  for  "  in  1672  a  grant  is  obtained  by  cer- 
tain individuals  from  the  General  Court  at  Plymouth 
of  a  certain  tract  of  land  called  b}^  the  Indians 
Sogkonate^  lying  on  the  east  of  Narragansett  Bay, 
adjoining  the  bay  and  ocean,  with  the  view  of  making 
it  their  permanent  place  of  residence.  Col.  Benjamin 
Church,  of  Duxbury,  repairs  thither  in  1G74,  and,  having 
purchased  land  for  a  plantation,  erects  a  house  and  build- 
ings thereon.  In  June  of  the  following  year,  Philip,  the 
great  Sachem  of  Pockanockett,  declares  war  on  the  colon- 
ists, and  Colonel  Church,  by  reason  of  the  hostility  of  the 
Sogkonate  Indians,  leaves  his  plantation  and  repairs  to  the 
colonists  on  the  island  of  Khode  Island.  After  this  war, 
which  terminates  with  the  death  of  Philip  in  1G7G,  some 
white  people  emigrate  to  Sogkonate  from  Plymouth  and 
Rhode  Island  colonies,  and  six  years  later  this  tract  of 
land  is  organized  into  a  township  by  the  name  of  Little 
Gompton"-  — the  same  3'ear  in  which  Philadelphia  is 
founded  by  William  Penn. 

Now  just  as  one  fragment  from  the  granite  rock  contains 
all  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  original  mass,  so 
these  settlers  in  Little  Compton  from  Plymouth  and  else- 
where are  imbued  with  the  same  ideas  that  are  cherished  by 
those  kinsmen  whom  they  have  left;  and,  therefore,  among 
the  fundamental  conditions  for  a  vigorous  community,  they 
recognize  the  ministrations  of  the  gospel  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  church.  In  accordance  with  this  desire,  "when 
the  town  is  incorporated  in  1682,"  as  the  Rev.  William  Em- 
erson, the  father  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  informs  us,  "a 
right  of  land  is  granted  to  the  exclusive  use  of  the  minis- 


(')    Gookin's  Historical  Collections  of  the  Indians  in  New  England;  Mass.  Hist. 
Coll.  I.  Series,  1-2,  pg.  199. 

(2)    Manual  of  The  Little  Compton  United  Congregational  Church. 


14  BICENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OP   THE   UNITED 

try.  This  right  is  a  thirty-second  part  of  the  whole  town. 
Notwithstanding  the  appropriation,  part  of  it  by  some 
means  early  got  into  the  hands  of  the  town,  now  [1803]  re- 
mains there,  and,  from  the  circumstances  of  its  alienation, 
is  called  Pilfershire.'"  ^  And  further,  at  the  General  Court 
held  at  Plymouth  the  second  day  of  June,  1685,  it  is  "or- 
dered that  Little  Compton  and  the  villages  belonging  to  ye 
constablerick,  pay  this  year  fifteen  pounds,  to  be  raised  ac- 
cording to  law,  for  the  encouragement  of  some  to  preach 
the  Word  of  God  among  them,  or  otherwise  to  be  disposed 
of,  according  as  the  law  hath  provided."  -^ 

But  even  the  presence  here  of  a  goodly  number  of  Pil- 
grims and  their  descendants,  together  with  the  grant  of 
land  and  the  vote  of  money,  is  not  adequate  to  the  dispens- 
ing of  the  gospel  to  the  community.  For  how  are  they  to 
hear  without  a  preacher?  And  a  preacher  is  not  long  in 
coming  to  them.  For  "Eliphalet  Adams  is  chosen  their  re- 
ligious teacher,  in  public  town  meeting,  Sept.  7,  1697,  and 
continues  his  labors  until  Sept.  21,  1700.  On  November 
the  first,  the  Rev.  Peter  Thatcher,  of  Middleborough,  Mass., 
and  the  Rev.  John  Danforth,  of  Taunton,  visit  this  town 
and  preach,  and  on  the  Sabbath  following  they  administer 
the  ordinance  of  baptism  to  sixty-five  persons.  In  June, 
1701,  John  Clarke  is  chosen  minister,"^  who  continues  his 
labors  for  but  five  months,  and  is  then  succeeded  by  Richard 
Billings,  Nov.  14,  1701,  the  same  year  in  which  Yale  College 
is  founded.  Mr.  Billings  performs  his  duties  as  a  religious 
teacher  "to  the  satisfaction  of  the  pious  and  well  disposed," 
and  in  the  autumn  of  1704,  a  letter  missive  is  sent  to  some 
neighboring  churches  requesting  that  they  assemble  in  this 
town  by  their  elders  and  messengers  in  order  that  Mr.  Bill- 
ings may  be  ordained  and  some  individuals,  who  have  signi- 
fied their  intention  so  to  do,  may  enter  into  covenant  with 
the  Lord  and  with  one  another.  The  elders  and  messengers 
assemble  Nov.  30,  1704,  and  on  that  day  Mr.  Billings  is  or- 
dained and  this  church  is  organized  with  ten  male  members. 

(•)  Notes  on  Little  Compton,  by  Rev.  William  Emerson.  Mass.  Hist.  Society  Col 
lection,  1803. 

(-)    Plymouth  Colony  Records,  Vol.  VI,  pg.  170. 

(?)    Manual  of  the  Little  Compton  United  Congregational  Church. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  15 

And  who  is  this  young  man  thus  ordained  and  installed 
first  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  this  town? 
And  of  what  caliber  and  character  are  these  ten  men, — Wil- 
liam Pabodie,  Thomas  Gray,  William  Pabodie,  Jun.,  Joseph 
Blackman,  James  Bennett,  Joseph  Church,  Jonathan  Dav- 
enport, John  Palmer,  John  Church  and  Sylvester  Rich- 
mond? And  what  are  the  times  in  which  this  company, 
building  more  largely  than  they  know,  embark  on  their 
great  enterprise?  As  to  the  times,  it  may  be  said  that  in 
1704  Salem  has  for  twelve  years  been  resting  from  her 
witch-hanging  business;  that  Cotton  Mather  is  preaching 
in  Boston ;  that  Jonathan  Edwards  is  a  little  boy,  one  year 
old,  at  East  Windsor,  Connecticut,  destined  to  become, 
according  to  Mr.  John  Fiske,  *'the  greatest  intelligence  of 
the  western  world;"  that  Massachusetts  has  seventy-six 
Congregational  churches  and  eight  Indian  churches,  Con- 
necticut thirty-five  Congregational  churches,  New  Hamp- 
shire, seven ;  Maine,  two ;  Boston,  one  Episcopal  church  and 
two  Baptist  churches,  Rhode  Island  two  or  three  Baptist 
churches,  ^  and  that  in  the  last  named  State  there  are  to 
welcome  this  newborn  daughter  of  Plymouth  four  sister 
Congregational  churches — the  Newman  Church  at  East 
Providence  and  those  at  Barrington,  Bristol,  and  Kingston. 
And  as  to  the  men  thus  constituted  a  church,  these  bear 
Pilgrim  names  (one  of  them  having  married  a  daughter  of 
John  Alden  and  Priscilla  Mullins),  are  Puritan  in  faith, 
and  are  destined  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the  growth  of  the 
town  and  the  church.  And  of  the  minister  thus  authorized 
to  marry  and  administer  the  ordinances,  it  may  be  said 
that  he  comes  from  Dorchester,  Mass.,  has  probably  been 
born  in  England,  is  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  with 
the  class  of  1698,  and  is  not  altogether  devoid  of  personaJ 
charms,  since  Awashonks,  the  squaw — Sachem  of  the  Sog- 
konate  Indians,  expresses  to  him  her  strong  desire  that  he 
become  the  Sachem-Consort  of  the  tribe,  and  is  much  sur- 
prised and  mortified  to  learn  that  he  prefers  the  position  he 
already  holds. - 


(1)    Congregationalists  in  America,  by  Rev.  A.  E.  Dunning,  D.  D.,  pg.  203. 
{»)    From  letter  from  Miss  Flora  L.  Mason  of  Taunton. 


16  BI-CBNTBNNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF  THE  UNITED 

And  what  is  the  significance  of  this  ecclesiastical  union 
of  the  young  Englishman  and  the  ten  Pilgrim  descendants? 
First  of  all,  Mr.  Billings  now  has  the  power  to  marry  the 
swains  and  sweethearts  when  they  apply  to  him.  Hitherto 
during  the  three  years  he  has  served  the  people  as  their  re- 
ligious teacher  he  has  in  this  respect  been  at  a  serious  dis- 
advantage. For,  on  the  second  of  October,  1689,  at  Ply- 
mouth, ''Mr.  Joseph  Church  is  authorized  by  this  Court  to 
solemnize  marriages  in  the  Town  of  Little  Compton  until 
this  Court  shall  otherwise  order,"*  And  this  Joseph  Church, 
with  respect  to  the  matrimonial  business,  has  a  start  of 
Mr.  Billings  by  fifteen  years  and  a  lead  of  twenty-eight 
marriages.  But  the  minister  loses  no  time  making  a  begin- 
ning. On  the  seventh  of  December,  following  his  ordina- 
tion November  thirtieth,  he  unites  in  holy  matrimony  Sus- 
ana  Wilcox  and  Jonathan  Head.  Thenceforth  there  is  a 
lively  competition,  first,  between  the  minister  and  Joseph 
Church,  then  between  the  minister  and  Col.  Benjamin  and 
Thomas  Church,  and  later  between  him  and  Sylvester  and 
William  Richmond.  But  Mr.  Billings  finishes  the  race  in 
1748  with  a  long  lead  over  his  successive  competitors,  he 
having  at  least  two  hundred  and  forty-two  marriages  to  his 
crtdit  in  this  town  alone. 

Then,  too,  in  other  ways  the  minister  is  equally  stirring. 
He  has  some  knowledge  of  medicine;  and  since,  according 
to  tradition,  his  residence  is  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  Common,  thither  we  can  imagine  his  parishioners  com- 
ing for  succor  to  both  soul  and  body.  In  1723  the  congre- 
gation votes  to  build  a  new  meeting  house  "42  feet  long,  38 
feet  wide  and  20  feet  between  joists."^  The  edifice  is  com- 
pleted and  the  first  meeting  held  in  it  on  the  last  Saturday 
in  1724.  The  year  previous  Increase  Mather  dies  in  Bos- 
ton, declaring  that  "there  is  a  grievous  decay  of  piety  in  the 
land  and  a  leaving  of  the  first  love,  and  the  beauties  of  holi- 
ness are  not  to  be  seen  as  they  once  were.  The  very  inter- 
est of  New  England  seems  to  be  changed  from  a  religious 


(>)    Plymouth  Colony  Records,  Vol.  VII,  pg.  218. 

(')    Record  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  Celebration,  pg.  12. 


-=■  r 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  17 

to  a  worldly  one."  ^  Yet  this  is  not  true  of  the  state  of  re- 
ligion in  Little  Compton.  For  here  there  is  a  turning  of 
many  to  righteousness.  The  next  year  after  Mr.  Billings 
is  ordained,  the  Priscillas  of  the  parish,  recognizing  that  in 
Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  male  nor  fe- 
male, begin  to  come  into  the  church,  heirs  with  the  Aquil- 
las,  their  husbands  and  brothers,  of  the  same  promise.  Nor 
are  the  Indians  neglected.  These  swarthy  residents  are 
accustomed  to  assemble  together  for  worship.  They  meet 
in  a  building  of  their  own,  and  "once  a  month,  on  the  Lord's 
Day,  the  minister  instructs  them."  So  the  good  work  goes 
forward  under  the  leadership  of  this  man  of  God,  the  Lord 
adding  from  time  to  time  of  such  as  are  being  saved,  until 
the  year  1742-43,  when,  New  England  being  already 
awakened  by  the  great  revival  at  Northampton  under  Ed- 
wards, and  being  further  stirred  by  the  appeals  of  George 
Whitfield,  then  visiting  the  colonies,  this  parish,  remote 
from  the  centers  of  religious  excitement,  itself  begins  pow- 
erfully to  feel  the  throbbeat  of  the  divine  life,  and  seventy- 
five  souls  are  added  to  the  church  in  demonstration  of  the 
truth  that  ''My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it 
shall  accomplish  that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper 
in  the  thing  whereto  I  sent  it."  And  so  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  interest  in  religion  extends  beyond  Compton;  so 
that  August  eighteenth,  1746,  eight  male  and  fifteen  female 
members  are  dismissed  from  this  church  to  be  organized 
into  a  church  in  an  adjoining  town.  These  twenty-three 
disciples  take  what  falleth  to  them  and  depart,  not  into  a 
far  country,  but  to  Tiverton.  Nor  do  they  spend  their 
goods  in  riotous  living.  The  church  there  is  our  own 
daughter,  the  branch  of  our  planting. 

But  the  time  draws  nigh  when  the  good  man  and  faithful 
shepherd  must  depart  out  of  this  world.  He  has  received 
one  hundred  and  ninety-six  members  into  the  church.  He 
has  baptized  seven  hundred  and  twenty  eight.  He  has  min- 
istered to  the  sick,  comforted  the  dying,  preached  the  gos- 
pel to  the  poor,  and  now,  in  the  year  1748,  in  a  good  old  age, 


(1)     Concjrerjationalists  in  America,  by  Rev.  A.  E.  Dunning,  D.  D.,  pg-.  232. 


18  BI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

he  is  gathered  to  his  fathers,  and  what  is  mortal  is  buried 
beside  the  church  he  loved  so  well. 

It  is  now  1749.  Washington  is  a  youth  of  seventeen 
years  in  Virginia,  destined  to  lead  the  armies  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  the  cradle  of  American  lib- 
erty, has  been  built  but  seven  years.  Three  years  ago  the 
boundary  line  was  settled  between  the  Massachusetts  and 
the  Rhode  Island  Colony  when  Little  Compton,  together 
with  other  towns  to  the  north  and  northwest,  becomes  a 
part  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island.  Edwards  is  still 
preaching  at  Northampton.  There  are  in  this  town  ten 
hundred  and  four  whites,  sixty-two  negroes,  and  eighty-six 
Indians.  ^  The  church  hears  at  least  two  candidates,  a  Mr. 
Brown,  and  Jonathan  Ellis.  The  former  for  a  time 
''preaches  half  the  day  on  Lord's  Days  with  Mr.  Ellis,"  but 
is  not  permanently  retained.  Of  the  personality  of  Mr.  El- 
lis we  have  only  a  meager  account.  But  in  "Sketches  of 
Ministers,"-  written  by  Emerson  Davis  and  preserved  in 
his  own  handwriting,  occurs  the  following:  ''Reverend 
Jonathan  Ellis  of  Sandwich,  Mass.,  graduated  from  Har- 
vard in  1737,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Second  Church 
in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  November  eighth,  1738,  when  he  was 
but  twenty-one  years  old.  Being  naturally  earnest,  he  be- 
came exceedingly  enthusiastic,  and  said  so  many  extrava- 
gant things  that  the  people  became  disaffected  and  he  was 
dismissed  October  thirty-first,  1749."  He  is  installed  pas- 
tor of  this  church  December  fifth  of  the  same  year. 

For  thirty-six  years  Mr.  Ellis  continues  pastor  of  the 
church.  During  this  time  he  marries  almost  two  hundred 
couples,  but  he  receives  into  the  church  only  twenty-six 
members.  I  shall  attempt  no  explanation  of  this  poor  nu- 
merical showing  except  to  say  that,  while  political  agita- 
tion, Sabbath  desecration,  the  corruption  of  public  morals 
and  the  dissemination  of  atheistic  doctrines  doubtless  re- 
tard the  spiritual  work,  here  as  elsewhere,  the  most  ade- 
quate explanation  is  probably  that  the  minister  and  his 


(1)  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  Vol.  V  :  pg.  270. 

(2)  Sketches  of  Ministers,  by  Rev.  Emerson  Davis,  Congregational  Library,  Bos- 
ton. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  19 

people  do  not  launch  out  into  the  deep  and  cast  their  net  at 
the  right  side  of  the  boat.  Be  this  as  it  may,  as  a  result 
of  the  decline  in  the  membership  of  the  church  during  this 
long  pastorate,  it  after  a  time  comes  to  pass  that  there  are 
few  male  members  in  the  church.  But  men  a  parish  must 
have  to  attend  to  its  husiness.  And  many  good,  straight- 
forward men  Little  Compton  has  at  this  time :  only  they  are 
not  members  of  the  church,  and  there  is  no  telling  when 
they  will  be.  So  the  idea  is  conceived,  or  rather,  it  is  ap- 
propriated— for  it  is  not  new — that  there  shall  be  a  society 
composed  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  parish  who  wish  to  join 
it,  and  that  this  society  shall  have  charge  of  the  property 
of  the  parish  and  manage  the  finances.  And  right  here,  in 
this  psychological  pass  to  which  Ellis  and  his  people  have 
come,  is  the  genesis  of  The  United  Congregational  Society 
which  is  organized  in  February,  1785,  under  a  charter 
granted  by  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  "for  the  i)urpose  of 
raising  a  fund,  by  free  and  voluntary  subscriptions,  contri- 
butions, legacies  and  donations,  for  the  support  of  public 
worship  by  the  Congregational  Society  [now  known  as  the 
United  Congregational  Church],  in  the  town  of  Little 
Compton  aforesaid,  of  which  Reverend  Jonathan  Ellis  is 
the  present  pastor."  ^  The  granting  of  this  charter,  in 
answer  to  the  petition  of  forty-six  gentlemen  of  the  i)arish, 
is  the  last  important  event  connected  with  the  church  that 
transpires  during  his  pastorate.  For  fifteen  years  Mr.  El- 
lis has  been  a  near  neighbor  of  the  eminent  Dr.  Samuel 
Hopkins,  of  Newport.  The  conflict  between  England  and 
France  for  political  supremacy  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  War  of  the  Revolution  pass  into  history  during  the  resi- 
dence of  this  good  man  here;  and  now,  on  September  sev- 
enth, 1785,  just  one  hundred  and  nineteen  years  ago  to-day, 
he  dies,  his  body  is  buried  near  the  grave  of  Mr.  Billings, 
and  when  he  dies,  there  is  in  the  nearby  town  of  Newport 
a  lovable  little  boy,  but  five  years  old,  and  destined  power- 
fully to  influence  New  England  and  the  world,  and  his 
name  is  William  Ellery  Channing. 

The  church  is  now  without  a  pastor  for  a  year  and  a  half. 

(')    Charter  of  the  United  Congregational  Society. 


20  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

It  is  during  this  interim  that  Adam  Simmons,  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  reaps  a  rich  harvest  in  marriage  fees.  But  said 
Adams  Simmons  soon  comes  to  grief;  for  January,  1787,  a 
young  man,  Mase  Shepard  by  name,  is  called.  This  gentle- 
man is  a  native  of  Norton,  Mass.,  where  he  was  born  in 
1759,  is  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  has  studied  the- 
ology with  Kev.  E.  Judson,  of  Taunton,  and  is,  or  is  to  be- 
come— I  have  not  learned  which — a  brother-in-law  of  the 
father  of  Kalph  Waldo  Emerson.  But  the  problem  of  se- 
curing a  parsonage,  in  which  the  new  minister  is  to  live, 
now  engages  the  attention  of  the  parish  during  the  interval 
before  his  installation;  and  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this 
question  is  handled,  the  following  extract  from  the  Records 
of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  truly  photographic  of  the 
sentiment  in  many  churches  at  this  time,  speaks  most  elo- 
quently: ''Whereas  the  United  Congregational  Society  in 
the  town  of  Little  Compton,  x>referred  a  petition  and  repre- 
sented unto  this  assembly  that  God,  in  his  providence,  hav- 
ing taken  from  them  their  late  pastor,  Jonathan  Ellis,  by 
death,  they  have  unanimously  made  choice  of  a  young  gen- 
tleman to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them;  that  the  calamities 
of  the  time,  and  the  want  of  a  sufficient  fund  to  support  a 
minister,  necessitate  them  to  pray  this  Assembly  to  grant 
them  the  benefit  of  a  lottery,  for  raising  the  sum  of  six 
hundred  pounds,  of  the  paper  money  of  this  State,  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  parsonage  house  in  the  said  town,  for 
the  said  Society;  and  that  Messrs.  Perez  Richmond,  George 
Simmons,  Nathaniel  Church,  David  Stoddard,  Nathaniel 
Searle,  and  John  Davis  may  be  appointed  managers  thereof; 
which  being  duly  considered, 

"It  is  voted  and  resolved,  that  the  prayer  of  the  said  pe- 
tition be  granted;  that  the  said  Society  be  empowered  to 
set  forth  a  lottery  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  sum  of  six 
hundred  pounds,  lawful  money,  for  building  a  parsonage 
house  for  the  said  Society  in  the  said  town;  that  the  said 
Perez  Richmond,  Etc.,  be,  and  they  are,  hereby  appointed 
managers  of  the  said  Lottery,  and  empowered  to  agree  on 
a  scheme  for  the  same ;  provided,  they  shall  previously  give 
bond  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  State,  in  a  sum  double  the 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  21 

amount  of  said  scheme,  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
their  said  trust;  and  that  no  expense  accrue  thereon  to  the 
State."  1 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins,  of  Newport,  is  Moderator  of  the 
Council  which  on  September  nineteenth,  1787,  ordains  the 
gentleman  recently  engaged  to  preach ;  and  we  are  informed 
that  between  the  sessions  of  the  Council  refreshments  are 
served  at  the  house  of  Capt.  George  Simmons,  which,  in 
harmony  with  the  customs  of  the  day,  include  ''four  gallons 
of  rum,  three  gallons  of  wine,  one  gallon  of  brand}^,  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  pounds  of  veal,  twenty  pounds  of 
ham,  twelve  pounds  of  pork,  fourteen  pounds  of  beef,"  and 
various  other  good  things.  But  that  the  young  minister, 
the  traditions  of  the  elders  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing, touched  not  either  the  rum,  wine  or  brandy,  is  evident 
from  the  solemn  statement  (not  made  under  oath)  of  his 
famous  and  lamented  son,  the  late  Prof.  Shepard,  that  "My 
father  never  gave  or  accepted  any  form  of  distilled  liquor 
in  his  intercourse  with  his  people."^ 

Mase  Shepard  is  now  the  ordained  pastor  of  this  church, 
Only  two  days  ago,  that  is,  September  seventeenth,  1787, 
the  Constitutional  Convention  assembled  at  Philadelphia 
and  presided  over  by  the  illustrious  Washington,  after  four 
months'  deliberation,  adjourns,  having  completed  its  great 
work  and  framed  our  Federal  Constitution.  But,  of  course, 
Mr.  Shepard  is  not  aAvare  of  tliat.  Nor  does  he  know  that 
ere  long  a  terrible  catastrophe,  to  be  known  to  future  ages 
as  the  French  Revolution,  will  convulse  all  Europe.  Any- 
how, he  does  know  that  his  duty  is  to  do  with  all  his  might 
whatsoever  his  hand  findeth  to  do.  And  so,  constitutions 
and  revolutions  to  one  side  for  the  present,  he  goes  to  work 
with  singleness  of  purpose.  He  looks  over  the  town  and 
finds  that  it  has  a  white  population  which  may  be  divided 
as  follows:  Two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  males  and  two 
hundred  and  eighty-two  females  under  sixteen  years  of  age; 
fortv-six  males  and  sixtv-two  females  between  sixteen  and 


(1)    Records  of  The  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  Vol.  X,  pg.  232. 

(=)    One  Hundred  and  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  Record,  pg.  58. 


22  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

twenty-two;  one  hundred  and  ninety  males  and  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  females  between  twenty-two  and  fifty ; 
seventy-six  males  and  one  hundred  and  six  females  upwards 
of  fifty.  There  are  also  in  town  about  a  dozen  Indians  and 
thirty-four  negroes — in  all,  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty 
souls.  ^  And  the  one  point  in  the  parish  to  which,  next  the 
church,  the  people  look,  as  to  a  rock  in  a  weary  land, 
is  that  place  where  the  pastor  resides,  first,  about  a  half 
mile  north  of  the  Common,  and  afterward  a  short  distance 
south  of  the  Common,  where  subsequently  is  the  home  of 
Deacon  Isaac  B,  Richmond.  Thither  the  thoughts  and 
steps  of  the  people  go,  and  thence  to  the  people  speed  the 
love,  sympathy  and  watchfulness  of  the  pastor. 

The  personality  of  Mr.  Shepard  is  one  of  the  finest  com- 
pounds of  human  excellence  this  place  has  ever  known.  He 
is  described  as  ''a  man  of  jjeculiar  sociability,  amiability 
and  dignity,"  and  is  of  commanding  presence  and  powerful 
voice.  He  is  fond  of  children  and  baptizes  a  great  many 
of  them.  It  is  said  that,  often  when  calling  in  his  parish, 
meeting  a  boy  or  girl  in  the  road,  Mr.  Shepard  would  stop 
and  inquire,  ''Well,  whose  boy  are  you?"  or  "Whose  girl  are 
you?"  and  when  told,  would  say,  "I  hope  you  will  grow  up 
to  be  a  better  man  than  your  father  is,"  or  "I  hope  you  will 
grow  to  be  a  better  woman  than  your  mother  is."  Like 
Origen.  who.  first  at  Alexandria,  and  afterward  at  Caesa- 
rea,  instructed  the  youth  who  came  to  him  in  great  num- 
bers, this  godly  man,  though  ''not  a  close  student,"-  is 
wont,  on  a  smaller  scale,  to  imbue  the  young  men  of  this 
region  with  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  some  finding  his 
tutorship  a  gateway  to  the  ministry.  He  is  associated  with 
Samuel  Hopkins  and  William  Patten  in  the  formation  of 
the  Rhode  Island  Missionary  Society,  and  on  the  death  of 
Dr.  Hopkins  is  chosen  President  of  that  Society.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  six  marriages  credited  to  him  on  the 
books  of  the  town.  One  hundred  members  are  admitted 
during  the  first  eighteen  years  of  his  pastorate.  In  1806 
the  great  revival  comes,  and  in  one  year  one  hundred  and 


(1)    Records  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  Vol.  IX,  pg.  653. 

(')    Sketches  of  Ministers  by  Rev.  Emerson  Davis,  Congregational  Library,  Boston. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  23 

six  more  are  added.  The  discipline  is  enforced.  Com- 
plaints are  brought  before  the  church  at  different  times 
charging  one  brother  with  breach  of  promise,  which  is  not 
sustained ;  another  with  breach  of  marriage  contract,  which 
is  sustained;  another  with  injuring  his  brother  in  his 
worldly  interest,  which  is  not  sustained.  And  it  is  during 
this  pastorate  that  Lemuel  Sisson,  wife  and  eleven  children 
come  over  from  Newport  and  locate  at  Seaconnet  Point. 
There  in  their  house  the  ilrst  Methodist  meeting  in  town  is 
held.  In  1820  they  begin  to  hold  preaching  services.  In- 
terest increases  and  an  edifice  is  erected  in  1825.  Hence- 
forth Israel  is  divided,  not  geograpMcalli/,  but  psycholog- 
ically; and  to  the  credit  of  our  Methodist  brethren  be  it 
said  that  they  have  been  very  zealous  for  the  God  of  their 
fathers  and  have  set  up  idolatrous  shrines  neither  at 
Dan  nor  Bethel.  It  is  also  during  this  pastorate  that  the 
American  Board  is  organized,  the  mission  to  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  established,  Andover,  Yale  and  Bangor  Theological 
Seminaries  founded,  while  the  controversy  between  Trini- 
tarians and  Unitarians  in  New  England  goes  on  in  earnest. 
And  this  wonderful  man,  having  seen  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
revealed  at  home  and  abroad,  dies  February  fourteenth, 
1821,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age,  and  less  than  three 
months  before  the  conqueror  of  Europe  passes  away  at  St. 
Helena.  The  body  of  Mr.  Shepard  is  buried  beside  the 
church  he  has  led  from  strength  to  strength. 

Thus  far,  during  the  one  hundred  and  seventeen  years 
since  the  organization  of  the  church,  but  three  ministers 
have  been  shepherd  to  this  people.  Now  begins  the  period 
of  relatively  short  pastorates.  During  the  next  forty-six 
years  five  men  successively  minister  to  the  parish — Emer- 
son Paine,  Samuel  W.  Colburne,  Alfred  Goldsmith,  Samuel 
Beane  and  Nathaniel  Beach.  Mr.  Paine  graduates  from 
Brown  University  in  1813,  studies  theology  with  Dr.  Em- 
mons at  Franklin,  is  ordained  at  Middleborough  in  1816, 
and  comes  to  this  town  in  1822.  Two  years  before  his  ar- 
rival the  population  reaches  its  highest  point,  the  census  of 


24  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

1820  giving  fifteen  hundred  and  eighty  souls  to  Little  Comp- 
ton.i 

The  new  minister  brings  with  him  a  wife,  whom  he 
has  found  at  Dighton.  They  live  opposite  the  church,  near 
where  Mr.  Bodington  now  resides.  With  respect  to  body 
Mr.  Paine  is  short  and  stout.  He  is  a  very  sober  man,  even 
despondent,  often  declaring  when  he  comes  from  church 
Sunday  that  he  does  not  see  how  he  can  ever  preach 
another  sermon.  He  is  an  able  reasoner  and  a  profound 
thinker.  His  sermons  are  very  long — some  say  one  hour 
and  a  half.  A  gentleman  leaving  the  church  at  the  close  of 
a  Sunday  afternoon  service  is  heard  to  remark,  "Well,  he 
has  preached  the  hens  to  roost  this  time."  He  is  loved  by 
many,  respected  by  all,  though  not  a  favorite  with  everyone. 
Prayer  meetings  are  held  at  the  homes  of  the  people,  and 
always  announced  to  ''begin  at  early  candle  lighting."  The 
church  votes  to  revise  the  confession  of  faith,  and  a  commit- 
tee is  appointed  for  that  purpose.  The  minister  has  a  large 
Bible  class  that  meets  one  of  the  weekday  evenings.  His 
influence  is  very  great.  The  present  edifice,  except  the  tall 
steeple  and  basement,  is  erected  in  1832.  The  same  year  the 
membership  is  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine.  Heretofore 
the  church  has  lost  relatively  few  members  by  their  removal 
out  of  town.  Now  they  begin  frequently  to  be  dismissed 
and  recommended  to  churches  in  other  towns  and  cities 
whither  they  have  gone.  "The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away."  Mr.  Paine,  however,  receives  many  into 
the  church.  The  church  of  Christ  throughout  the  world  is 
beginning  to  manifest  great  interest  in  foreign  missions. 
Those  at  Beirut,  Syria;  at  Canton,  China;  in  Western  Tur- 
key, Siam,  Singapore,  Persia  and  West  Africa  are  founded 
during  this  pastorate.  And  the  heart  of  this  church  beats 
in  unison  with  that  of  the  Church  universal,  so  that  about 
this  time  "The  Male  and  Female  Missionary  Society"  is  or- 
ganized. John  C.  Calhoun  and  other  southerners  are  talk- 
ing secession,  and  the  country  is  ringing  with  the  peerless 
defense  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution  by  Daniel  Web- 
ster in  the  Senate  at  Washington.     Mr.  Paine  resigns  in 

(')    Rhode  Island  Manual,  1904. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  25 

1834,  and  is  succeeded  by  Mr.  Colburne,  who  is  tall  and 
stout,  jolly  and  pleasant,  comfortable  liimself,  likes  to  see 
others  comfortable,  is  a  good  speaker,  never  hurries  his  peo- 
ple, is  liked  by  all,  laughs  jokingly  at  those  who  are  anti- 
slavery  in  sentiment,  and  resigns  in  1838,  after  three  years' 
service. 

Mr.  Goldsmith  is  now  invited  "to  accept  the  pastoral  of- 
fice of  this  Church  and  Society,  with  a  salary  of  six  hun- 
dred dollars  annually,  and  the  Parsonage  added  whenever 
you  have  a  family,"  One  year  after  the  young  preacher 
comes  to  town  the  annual  Consociation  of  Congregational 
Churches  of  Rhode  Island  is  held  at  Scituate,  when  the  fol- 
lowing report  is  presented  by  the  committee  on  desecration 
of  the  Sabbath  and  adopted  by  that  body :  "This  Consocia- 
tion, feeling  itself  deeply  grieved  by  repeated  complaints 
of  Sahhath  desecration,  through  the  delinquences  of  mem- 
bers of  the  churches  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  well  as 
others,  traveling  for  purposes  of  business  or  pleasure  on  that 
holy  (lay,  do  most  solemnly  and  affectionately  advise  and 
exhort  all  the  members  of  our  churches  wholly  to  abstain 
from,  and  discountenance  all  such  traveling,  eitlier  by  pri- 
vate conveyance  or  in  public  stages,  steamboat  or  railroad 
cars.  And  so  important  do  the  Consociation  deem  this 
subject  that  they  advise  the  churches  to  consider  all  mem- 
bers persisting  in  such  delinquencies  as  proper  subjects  of 
reproof  and  admonition."^ 

The  new  minister  is  tall  and  slender,  is  a  spiritual 
preacher,  an  active  pastor,  and  soon  becomes  popular. 
The  church  has  no  organ.  Mr.  Goldsmith  proposes  that 
the  society  buy  an  organ.  Objection  is  made  that  there  is 
uo  one  to  play  it.  "You  get  the  organ,  and  I  will  furnish 
a  player,"  replies  the  minister.  And  shortly  he  makes  good 
his  promise  by  marrying  a  young  lady  and  bringing  her  to 
town.  They  live  where  Clarence  C.  Wordell  and  family 
now  reside,  the  society  having  purchased  that  property 
during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Colburne.  The  name  of  the 
minister's  wife  is  Sarah ;  and  a  good  musician  she  is,  and 


(')    Minutes  of  the  Evangelical  Consociation  of  Congregational  Churches  of  Rhode 
Island,  1841. 


26  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

often  at  the  midweek  service  the  minister  turns  and  says^, 
''Sarah,  sing  Ariel : 

Oh,  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth, 
Oh,  could  I  sound  the  glories  forth." 

The  pews  of  the  church  hitherto  have  faced,  and  for  some 
time  after  continue  to  face,  southward.  The  colored  peo- 
ple have  seats  reserved  for  them  at  the  north  end  of  the 
main  galleries.  They  take  their  lunch  between  the  Sunday 
services  along  the  road  now  known  as  "Nigger  Lane;"  and 
the  young  white  folks  go  down  under  the  willows  just  north 
of  the  present  parsonage  to  eat  theirs.  The  question  rela- 
tive to  the  use  of  wine  at  communion  is  agitating  the 
church  and  it  is  voted  to  refer  the  question  for  decision  to 
the  Reverend  Messrs.  Fowler,  of  Fall  River;  Shepard,  of 
Bristol,  and  Blodgett,  of  Pawtucket.  The  church  makes 
some  progress  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Goldsmith,  but 
in  one  respect  he  is  not  abreast  of  the  times.  He  does  not 
approve  of  slavery ;  nor  does  he  disapprove  of  it.  Many 
people  in  about  all  the  churches  at  this  time  feel  that  the 
subject  of  slavery  ought  to  have  no  reference  made  to  it 
from  the  pulpit,  because  such  reference  causes  trouble. 
Wendell  Phillips  tells  Harvard  after  the  War  that  from 
her  foundation  she  has  always  been  set  flint-like  against 
every  great  reform.  The  following  letter  is  written  in 
these  circumstances  and  sent  to  the  church  in  May,  1843 : 

"To  the  Memlers  of  The  Congregational  Church  in  Little 
Compton. 

"Dear  Friends:  The  undersigned  feel  that  they  can  no 
longer  retain  a  conscience  void  of  offense  towards  God  or 
man,  without  addressing  you  on  a  subject  which  lies  near 
our  hearts. 

"In  the  course  of  the  past  winter  a  request  signed  by 
twelve  of  the  church  was  made  to  your  pastor  to  call  a  meet- 
ing of  the  church  to  consider  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  the 
duty  of  the  church  in  relation  to  it.  This  he  utterly  re- 
fused to  do,  but  suggested  that  a  meeting  might  be  called 
by  the  senior  deacon  of  the  church.  Thereupon  some  of  us 
requested  Deacon  Burgess  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  church. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  27 

This  he  did,  and,  at  the  appointed  time,  those  of  us  who 
could  conveniently  do  so  repaired  to  the  meetinghouse,  but 
what  was  our  astonishment  to  find  that  with  one  consent 
our  brethren  and  sisters  had  failed  to  meet  us.  This  we 
consider  a  direct  violation  on  3'our  part  of  jour  covenant 
engagements  to  sympathize  with,  care  for  and  watch  over 
us, 

"In  consequence  of  your  wanton  violation  of  your  engage- 
ments, virtual  rejection  of  us  as  brethren  and  sisters,  re- 
fusal to  communicate  with  us  in  relation  to  certain  slan- 
derous reports  which  have  been  in  circulation  touching  our 
character  as  abolitionists,  and  your  manifest  determina- 
tion to  continue  to  countenance  the  awful  iniquity  of  slav- 
ery, by  holding  in  full  communion  and  fellowship  slavehol- 
ders, slaveholding  churches  and  apologists  for  slavery,  we 
feel  it  to  be  a  solemn  duty  we  owe  to  God,  to  ourselves,  and 
to  our  crushed  and  suffering  fellow  creatures,  to  consider 
ourselves  no  longer  members  of  the  Congregational  church, 
and  to  withhold  from  you  as  a  church,  all  Christian  com- 
munion, fellowship  and  support. 

"As  this  is  probably  the  last  time  we  shall  ever  address 
you  as  a  church  (unless  you  should  repent  and  bring  forth 
works  meet  for  repentance  in  respect  to  the  things  men- 
tioned in  this  letter)  we  take  this  opportunity  to  say  to 
you,  that  for  all  the  offenses  committed  against  us  by  the 
church,  or  by  individual  members,  we  tender  you  our  cor- 
dial Christian  forgiveness,  and  for  all  the  offenses  which  we 
have  committed  against  you,  whether  individually  or  as  a 
church,  we  ask  the  same  forgiveness  which  we  extend  to 

you. 

Thomas  Burgess,  Mercy  Wilbour, 

Samuel  S.  Burgess,  Lydia  Burgess, 

James  Bailey,  Thankful  Bailey, 

William  Wood,  Abagail  Bailey, 

Joseph  Coe,  Ruth  A.  Bailey, 

David  Shaw,  Diana  G.  W^ood. 

Orein  W.  Simmons,  Ann  G.  Tompkins, 
Ruth  Burgess,  Lydia  Bailey, 

Mary   Ann   Taylor."  ^ 

(')    Letter  In  possession  of  Mr.  Sidney  R.  Burleigli,  of  Providence. 


28  BI-CBNTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF   THE   UNITED 

The  same  day  the  above  communication  is  presented  to 
the  church,  a  committee  is  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
seventeen  members  who  have  withdrawn,  and  the  follow- 
ing July  fourth,  1843,  a  church  meeting  is  held,  Deacon 
Isaac  B.  Richmond  in  the  chair,  when,  after  a  motion  to  im- 
mediately adjourn  is  defeated,  the  following  resolution  is 
presented  and  adopted : 

"Resolved.  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  church  the  sys- 
tem of  slavery,  or  buying  and  selling  human  beings  for  gain, 
and  holding  them  in  involuntary  servitude,  is  a  great  polit- 
ical and  moral  evil,  offensive  to  God  and  man,  and  as  such 
we  ought  in  all  lawful  ways  to  discountenance  it  and  to  seek 
its  removal."  Mr.  Goldsmith  resigns  in  June,  of  the  follow- 
ing year.  The  dismissing  Council  speaks  of  him  as  ''An 
affectionate,  faithful  and  devoted  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  He  might  have  imitated  the  great  Dr.  Hopkins, 
who,  sixty  or  seventy  years  before  from  his  Newport  pulpit, 
had  boldly  denounced  human  slavery  and  persuaded  some 
of  his  parishioners  to  free  their  slaves ;  but  he  did  not.  And 
after  all,  perhaps  we  ought  to  be  tender  in  our  judgment  of 
those  who  failed  to  read  aright  the  signs  of  the  times;  for 
human  nature  is  to-day  just  as  shirking  and  compromising 
as  it  was  in  1843.  And  however  desirable  it  may  be,  it  is 
yet  not  to  be  expected  that  every  man  shall  have  the  sub- 
lim.e  moral  vision  and  courage  of  a  Martin  Luther  or  an 
Abraham  Lincoln. 

It  is  now  1844.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  is  preaching  at  In- 
dianapolis, three  years  hence  to  come  to  Plymouth  Church. 
Brooklyn.  This  church  calls  a  Mr.  Beane,  and  in  1846  it 
is  voted  unanimousy  to  install  him  and  to  give  him  a  sal- 
ary of  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars,  "together  with 
the  use  of  the  parsonage  place  and  society  pew  No.  62  for 
each  calendar  year,  with  leave  of  absence  for  three  Sab- 
baths ....  under  the  following  conditions :  That 
you  pay  all  lawful  taxes  on  said  place,  keep  the  walls,  bars, 
gates,  fences  in  good  repair;  also  the  internal  parts  of  the 
buildings,  painting  included,  and  leave  them  when  called  to 
do  so,  in  as  good  repair  as  when  received,  common  wear  ex- 
cepted."    In    his    letter    of    acceptance,    Mr.    Beane    says: 


Rev.  Samuel  Beane 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  29 

^'Having  thus  consented  to  become  your  pastor,  I  shall 
henceforward  close  my  ears  to  all  solicitations  from  other 
quarters,  feel  that  you  are  my  people,  and  endeavor,  as  much 
a^  in  me  lies,  to  promote  your  spiritual  interests." 

The  new  minister  is  a  lovable  man.  That  very  couple  are  in 
this  audience  whom  Mr.  Beane  hegins  marrying  in  West- 
port,  Mass.,  and  whom,  after  the  marriage  feast,  he  finishes 
marrying  on  the  public  highway  just  this  side  of  the  State 
line  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  eastward  of  the  Little 
Compton  Common.  The  mistress  of  the  parsonage  for  sev- 
eral years  has  been  principal  of  Wheaton  Seminary  at  Nor- 
ton. Mrs.  Beane  attends  the  meetings  of  the  Ladies  So- 
ciable and  the  ladies  read  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  and  other 
books  at  these  gatherings.  This  leader  among  the  Pris- 
cillas  is  accustomed  to  tell  them  how  beautiful  it  is  for  the 
wife  to  submit  to  the  husband,  often  quoting  the  words  of 
Paul  on  that  point:  "Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your 
own  husbands,  as  unto  the  Lord."  But  the  ladies  know 
that  Mr.  Beane  submits  to  the  will  of  his  wife  quite  as  much 
as  she  does  to  him.  The  minister  takes  a  firm  stand 
against  slavery  and  is  leader  of  the  movement  that  culmi- 
nates in  the  planting  of  trees  around  the  cemetery. 

But  it  is  the  more  properly  spiritual  work  of  the  church 
under  this  man's  leadership  for  which  his  pastorate  will 
ever  be  memorable.  The  church  sends  a  conciliatory  letter 
to  the  seventeen  members  who  have  withdrawn,  and  some 
of  them  resume  their  former  relation.  It  is  now  voted  that 
the  name  of  the  church  be  The  United  Congregational 
Church.  A  great  revival  comes  in  1849-50.  One  Sunday 
is  especially  memorable  for  its  solemnity.  And  as  to  the 
fruitage  of  the  revival,  I  will  let  the  report  of  the  church  to 
the  State  Conference  this  year  speak:  "Membership,  207. 
Amount  raised  for  benevolent  purposes,  |400.  A  powerful 
work  of  divine  grace  has  been  vouchsafed  to  this  church  the 
past  year,  which  has  affected  all  ages  and  classes,  and 
greatly  increased  the  strength  and  numbers  of  the  church. 
Sixty-five  have  already  been  added  b}'  profession,  and  others 
stand  propounded,  and  others  still  will  soon  make  a  pro- 
fession.    Congregations  on  the  Sabbath  increased  and  Sab- 


30  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

bath  School  flourishing."^      But  the  good  man  resigns  in 

1856  on  account  of  ill-health.  At  the  request  of  his  people, 
he  takes  some  months'  rest,  but  returns  still  of  the  opinion 
that  he  must  go.  He  is  loath  to  leave,  and  the  people  are 
loath  to  have  him  leave.  Not  since  the  death  of  the  la- 
mented Mase  Shepard  have  they  been  so  deeply  saddened  at 
the  prospect  of  parting  with  their  pastor.     He,  however,  in 

1857  takes  final  leave  of  his  loving  flock,  who  tell  him  that 
"in  times  of  distraction  and  trial,  he  has  been  a  wise  coun- 
selor; in  times  of  affliction,  a  great  comforter;  in  times  of 
prosperity,  a  most  efficient  aid."  Webster,  Clay  and  Cal- 
houn have  gone.  The  Republican  Party  has  been  born,  de- 
termined to  resist  the  further  extension  of  human  slavery 
in  America.  The  country  is  drifting  toward  civil  war.  For 
a  time  Mr.  Beane  is  principal  of  the  seminary  at  Beloit, 
Wisconsin,  and  later  preaches  some  years  at  Norton,  Mass., 
whence,  in  1865,  he  is  called  to  his  eternal  rest. 

The  leadership  of  the  church  now  passes  to  Nathaniel 
Beach.  This  gentleman  comes  here  from  Milbury,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  is  a  good  preacher,  a  faithful  pastor,  and  a 
social  man  among  the  people.  It  is  said  that  no  man  ever 
came  to  town  who  made  as  good  prayers  as  does  Mr.  Beach. 
He  always  says  the  right  word  to  the  sick.  He  does  not, 
however,  believe  in  women's  speaking  in  meeting.  Nor  has 
he  any  fondness  for  the  new  theology.  His  Bible  class  num- 
bers from  thirty  to  forty  members.  The  benevolences  are 
systematized  in  1861  and  the  church  votes  to  take  period- 
ical collections  for  the  different  objects.  The  pews  in  the 
church  which  hitherto  have  faced  southward  now  face  north- 
ward. The  church  decides  to  have  all  the  old  records  trans- 
cribed and  appoints  Isaac  B.  Richmond  and  John  Church  a 
committee  to  attend  to  the  matter.  The  membership  in 
1863  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-one.  The  Sabbath  School 
numbers  one  hundred  and  seventy-three.  The  same  year 
Mr.  Beach  reports  to  the  State  Conference  as  follows: 
"While  there  has  been  some  increase  in  the  Sabbath  School, 
and  hopeful  indications  at  times  in  our  community,  we 
must  report  another  year  of  spiritual  dearth, — must  say  as 

(1)    Minutes  of  the  Evangelical  Consociation  of  Rhode  Island,  June,  1850. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  31 

Simon  once  said  to  the  Master,  'We  have  toiled  all  night  and 
have  taken  nothing' — nothing  from  the  world  into  the 
church.  The  cares  of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches,  and  the  lusts  of  other  things  entering  in,  have  choked 
the  word  and  rendered  it  unfruitful  another  year.  But 
still  there  are  those  among  us  who  labor  and  pray  in  hope 
that  in  due  time  we  may  be  able  to  cast  the  net  on  the  right 
side  of  the  ship  and  gather  a  multitude  for  Christ."^  In 
another  report  to  the  State  Conference  he  says  that  "the 
Sabbath  School  and  the  prayermeeting  and  the  contribu- 
tions to  the  benevolent  objects  all  feel  the  depressing  in- 
fluence and  prolonged  spiritual  declension.  There  is  a 
lack  of  brotherly  love — a  disregard  of  covenant  obligations 
— a  neglect  of  the  prescribed  discipline  of  Christ's  church — 
a  general  apathy  and  worldliness."  This  pessimistic  tone 
pervades  most  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  church  to  the 
conference  during  this  pastorate,  so  that  quite  naturally  in 
18G6  the  pastor  persuades  the  church  to  supplement  gospel 
with  law  by  defining  that  clause  in  the  rules  that  refers  to 
''immoral  conduct  and  breach  of  expressed  covenant  vows" 
as  being  ''the  use  of  or  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors  as  a 
beverage;  the  occupation  of  the  hours  of  the  Lord's  Day 
with  ordinary  secular  labor;  or  with  visiting,  or  riding  for 
pleasure;  dancing  and  card  playing  and  social  amuse- 
ments." Mr.  Beach  resigns  in  1867.  His  pastorate  has 
c<  vered  the  period  of  the  Civil  War  when  the  national  con- 
science has  been  illumined  as  never  before  and  when  men 
and  battlefields  have  been  making  their  names  sacred  in 
the  annals  of  free  government.  He  has  received  about  fifty 
members  into  the  churchy  and  the  dismissing  Council  speaks 
of  him  as  "a  Christian  gentleman,  a  ripe  scholar,  and  a  la- 
borious and  faithful  Christian  minister." 

From  1867  to  the  present  time  no  less  than  seven  pastors 
successively  lead  this  church ;  and  their  periods  of  service 
are  as  follows:  George  F.  Walker,  1867-72;  Augustus  M. 
Rice,  1873-75 ;  William  D.  Hart,  1875-89 ;  Thomas  F.  Norris, 
1889-91;  James  Lade,  1892-98;  Charles  D.  Crawford,  1898- 
1900,  when  the  present  pastor  takes  up  the  work.      The 

(')    Minutes  of  the  R.  I.  Conference  of  Congregational  Cliurches,  June,  1863. 


32  BI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

church  and  society  vote  to  pay  Mr.  Walker  a  salary  of  ten 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  together  with  the  use  of  the  par- 
sonage place.  But  the  minister,  besides  being  a  writer  and 
preacher  of  ability,  is  somewhat  of  a  mechanic;  and  soon 
after  his  arrival  in  town  he  expresses  his  desire  for  a  new 
parsonage.  In  accordance  with  this  wish,  the  old  parson- 
age place  is  sold,  land  is  bought  and  the  present  parish 
house  built.  Then  as  he  and  his  people  walk  about  Zion, 
they  conceive  the  idea  of  raising  the  church,  putting  a  ves- 
try underneath  and  building  the  tall  steeple;  and  the  same 
is  undertaken.  Mr.  Walker  helps  shingle  the  renovated  ed- 
ifice and  he  himself  relates  that  one  day  the  fog^  is  so  thick 
that  he  nails  the  shingles  right  on  it.  The  new  parsonage 
place  becomes  the  scene  of  many  delightful  old  ladies'  par- 
ties in  strawberry  time.  The  rules  of  the  church  are  re- 
vised and  the  church  manual  reprinted;  and  in  1871  the 
Sunday  afternoon  service  that  has  come  down  from  a  for- 
mer time  is,  by  vote  of  the  church,  discontinued.  The  pas- 
tor resigns  in  1872  and  a  Mr.  Wheeler  is  then  offered  the 
largest  salary  that  has  ever  been  offered  any  minister  to 
come  here — twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  together  with 
the  use  of  the  parsonage, — but  he  declines  the  call. 

Of  the  next  four  pastors  and  the  work  they  did  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  speak  at  length,  did  time  per- 
mit; but  they  are  all  here  and  will  speak  for  them- 
selves. Suffice  it  for  me  to  say  that  Mr.  Rice  is 
remembered  as  a  vigorous  and  spiritual  preacher, 
and  one  who  does  much  to  start  some  people  in 
the  Christian  life;  that  Mr.  Hart  is  recalled  as  a  gospel 
preacher,  a  devoted  and  wise  pastor,  and  one  who  beautifies 
the  parsonage  grounds,  does  considerable  to  improve  the 
singing  and  the  Sunday  School,  organizes  the  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  and  materially  adds  to  the 
church  membership;  that  Mr.  Norris  is  still  thought  of  as 
one  who  has  served  as  a  youth  in  helping  put  down  the  Re- 
bellion, comes  to  this  place  full  of  the  energy  and  enthusi- 
asm of  the  mission  fields  of  Kansas,  and  always  has  a  good 
sermon;  and  that  Mr.  Lade  while  here  preaches  practical 

(1)    At  times  the  fog  in  Little  Compton  is  vei-y  dense,  completely  enveloping  the 
town. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH    OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  33 

sermons,  renders  efiBcient  service  as  chorister  and  is  a  faith- 
ful visitor  at  the  homes  of  the  people.  Reverend  Charles 
D.  Crawford,  after  graduating  from  college,  completes  his 
theological  course  at  the  Yale  Divinity  School.  He  serves 
as  pastor  of  a  church  in  Colorado  and  one  in  Kansas  City, 
and  then  comes  to  Little  Compton.  He  is  a  deep  thinker, 
an  earnest  preacher,  a  sympathetic  pastor,  and  a  Christian 
gentleman.  He  is  not  puffed  up,  does  not  behave  himself 
unseemly,  seeks  not  his  own,  is  not  easily  provoked,  vaunts 
not  himself,  rejoices  in  the  truth,  and  is  very  helpful  and 
kind  in  his  visits  to  the  sick.  ^  And  the  rest  of  the  acts  of 
these  men,  and  of  the  church  which  they  led,  behold !  they 
are  written  in  God's  Book  of  Life!  The  present  pastor 
comes  to  town  in  the  autumn  of  1900.  Two  preaching 
services  on  the  Sabbath  are  maintained.  The  church  man- 
ual is  revised  and  reprinted.  Over  twenty  members  are  re- 
ceived into  the  church.  Land  is  purchased,  sheds  built,  and 
other  improvements  made. 

Thus,  during  the  two  hundred  years  of  the  existence  of 
our  church  men  of  varying  individuality  have  preached 
from  this  pulpit.  Some  have  been  able  expounders  of  the 
word  of  God.  Others  have  excelled  as  pastors.  This  one 
has  been  conservative  in  theology;  that  one  more  liberal. 
Here  was  one  w^ho  was  aggressive  on  questions  of  moral  re- 
form ;  there  one  who  moved  more  slowly.  And  yet  if  all  of 
these  fifteen  men,  from  Richard  Billings  down  to  the 
speaker,  were  here,  not  one  of  us  could  say  to  another,  "I  have 
had  no  need  of  thee;"  for  is  it  not  true  that  the  selfsame 
Spirit  has  worked  in  and  through  all  these  leaders,  speak- 
ing the  gentle  word  here,  the  strong  word  there;  sounding 
the  conservative  note  at  this  time,  the  progressive  at  that 
time;  that  so,  in  this  place,  in  the  lives  of  succeeding  gene- 
rations of  men  and  women,  there  might  be  reproduced  all 
the  elements  of  character  that  the  Man  of  Galilee  exempli- 
fied who  was  gentle  as  a  mother  and  yet  strong  as  the  great 
reformer;  and  who,  while  believing  that  God  did  verily 
speak  unto  Moses  and  the  prophets,  himself  knew  the 
Father  at  first  hand?     And  as  the  minister  to-day  looks 


C)    Mr.  Crawford  passed  away  in  New  York  City  in  May,  1904. 


34  BI-CBNTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF   THE    UNITED 

through  the  records  of  the  church  during  thi§  long  period, 
seeing  the  prominent  family  names,  some  of  which  are  now 
locally  extinct ;  as  he  sees  pass  before  him  the  great  throng 
who  in  this  town  have  fought  the  good  fight  and  kept  the 
faith,  and  have  here  helped  create,  conserve  and  direct  a 
strong  and  righteous  public  sentiment,  while  he  is  fully 
convinced  that  the  members  of  this  church  during  the  two 
hundred  years  since  its  organization,  in  common  with 
Christ's  disciples  everywhere,  "have  been  touched  with  the 
feeling  of  our  infirmities"  and  that  "their  hearts  have  often 
burned  within  them"  as  their  shepherds  "talked  with  them 
by  the  way,"  he  jet  cannot  help  saying  of  those  shepherds, 
dead  and  living,  "Blessed  were  your  eyes  when  you  saw  and 
knew  these  men  and  women  in  Israel."  And  yet  it  will  not 
do  for  an  ancient  church  merely  to  thirst  for  the  glad  days 
of  the  past.  For  two  things  are  demanded  of  every  such 
church  located  in  a  New  England  town.  First  of  all,  both 
pastor  and  people  must  be  able,  intelligently  and  reverently, 
to  appreciate  the  Past — since  God  has  been  in  that  Past — 
and  understand  what  the  men  and  women  of  New  England 
have  accomplished  during  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty  or 
three  hundred  years,  and  the  terrible  sacrifices  involved. 
Then  they  must  be  able  to  discern  the  potentialities  of  the 
Present,  and  know  how  these  are  to  be  changed  into 
living  facts.  For  during  all  the  years  since  the  first 
Puritan  walked  these  shores  and  while  our  fathers  were 
bringing  forth  in  Yankeeland  a  civilization  grand  as  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  the  words  of  Scripture  have  always 
been  true  that  "What  is  seen  hath  not  been  made  out  of 
things  which  appear." 

The  people  who  worship  in  this  historic  place  are  now 
to  begin  the  ascent  of  the  third  century  of  the  noble  career 
of  their  church.  The  world-view  that  greets  their  eyes 
differs  materially  from  that  which  Pastor  Billings  and  his 
people  beheld.  Then  men  had  made  no  extensive  critical 
study  of  the  Bible.  They  knew  little  of  the  marvelous  reve- 
lations of  science.  The  ethnic  religions  had  not  been  made 
to  shed  much  light  on  the  thought  of  the  Apostle  that  whom 
the  Athenians   worshipped  in   ignorance,  him   Paul  was  de- 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  35 

daring  unto  them.     The  racial,  political  and  commercial 
movements,  which  in  our  time  are  vehicles  for  a  mightier 
inflow  of  the  life  of  God,  had  not  assumed  present  propor- 
tions.    The  larger  joy  of  Christian  toleration  was  not  un- 
derstood.    Today   all   this   is   changed.     God   has   said   to 
humanity,  "Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk;"   and  humanity, 
having  obeyed,  can  never  again  adjust  herself  to  the  isola- 
tion of  the  past.     The  Church  of    Jesus    Christ,    having 
moved   out  from  her  fastnesses,   will   never  return.     And 
right  here  is  the  opportunity  for  the  Puritanism   of  the 
fathers,  baptized  into  the  dreadth  of  the  Gospel,  to  teach 
the   Sovereignty  of  God,   a  stricter  interpretation  of  the 
moral  law,  a  more  faithful  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day 
and   those  germinal   truths   that   lie  at  the  heart   of  the 
Christian  religion.     And  let  no  one  imagine  that  he  can 
get  along  without  that  which  made  the  fathers  great  and 
good.     For  it  is  the  duty  of  every  generation  to  seek  the 
good  the  past  did  not  have  and  keep  the  good  the  past  did 
have.     To  teach   this   truth,  to  interpret  in   the  spirit  of 
Christ  the  wonderous  ways  of  providence  in  our  modern 
world,   to   have  all   men   see   and  act  out  the  truth  that 
through   the  worship  of  the  living  God  man's   nature  is 
attuned  to  the  Spiritual  Order  that  out  of  it  messages  may 
come  and  blessings  flow — such  is  a  part  of  the  work  which 
this  church  will  continue  to  do  through  coming  generations. 

O !  branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Little  Compton ! 
For  two  hundred  years  thou  hast  proclaimed  the  gospel  to 
the  people  of  this  town.  Thou  hast  brought  forth  many  no- 
ble sons  and  daughters.  Thou  hast  taught  them  how  to  go, 
and  they  have  leaned  on  thy  arm.  Thou  hast  baptized 
them,  pointed  them  to  God,  married  them  and  spoken  words 
of  comfort  to  them  when  dying.  Thou  hast  been  one  of 
God's  Good  Samaritans  going  through  all  this  region  and 
binding  up  the  wounds  of  poverty,  unbelief  and  suffering. 
In  thy  day  great  things  have  been  done  in  the  earth.  Wash- 
ington has  come  and  gone.  Franklin  has  chained  the  light- 
ning. Morse  has  invented  the  telegraph.  This  stalwart 
nation  has  risen  and  become  a  mighty  power.     The  Union 


86  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

has  been  saved.  The  slave  has  been  freed.  The  gospel  has 
been  preached  to  all  the  world.  But  thou  hast  not  been  a 
silent  witness  to  these  movements  of  Providence.  Thou 
hast  seen,  thou  hast  thought,  thou  hast  spoken.  Thy  min- 
isters and  thy  people  have  preached  righteousness.  Lo! 
they  have  seldom  refrained  their  lips.  And  thou  hast 
planted  abroad  the  Larger  Compton.  Thou  hast  sent 
Bishop  Brownell,  Professor  Shepard,  Ray  Palmer,  and 
George  W.  Briggs  to  do  the  Lord's  work  in  the  wider  world. 
And  thus  may  it  ever  be!  May  it  please  God  to  give  thee, 
O!  mother  of  so  many  of  the  faithful,  power  to  witness  to 
His  truth  in  coming  time!  May  he  permit  thee  to  live  to 
see  this  nation  free  from  every  curse  that  maketh  an  abom- 
ination and  a  lie  and  the  whole  earth  filled  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea !  May  he  give 
thee  many  worthy  sons  and  daughters  in  the  future,  as  in 
the  past,  who  shall  love  the  place  of  his  sanctuary  and  es- 
tablish here  his  work !     For,  as  Lowell  has  written, 

*    *     *     "I  might  as  well 
Obey  the  meeting-house's  bell, 

And  listen  while  Old  Hundred  pours 
Forth  through  the  Summer-opened  doors, 

From  old  and  young.     I  hear  it  yet, 
Swelled  by  bass-viol  and  clarinet, 

While  the  gray  minister,  with  face 
Radiant,  let  loose  his  noble  bass. 

If  Heaven  it  reached  not,  yet  its  roll 
"Waked  all  the  echoes  of  the  soul, 

And  in  it  many  a  life  found  wings 
To  soar  away  from  sordid  things. 

Church  gone  and  singers  too,  the  song 
Sings  to  me  voiceless  all  night  long, 

Till  my  soul  beckons  me  afar, 
Glowing  and  trembling  like  a  star."(i) 


(})  "  Credidimus  Jovem  Regnare,"  by  James  Russell  Lowell. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  37 


ADDRESS 

By  Rev.  Augustus  M.  Rice. 


It  is  difficult  for  me  either  to  express  or  repress  the  emo- 
tions which  arise  as  I  once  more  stand  in  this  place  and  re- 
call the  facts  that  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  this 
town  of  Little  Compton  and  original  members  of  this 
church,  whose  bones  still  lie  beneath  a  brown-stone  slab 
not  a  stone's  throw  from  this  pulpit,  was  my  first  New  Eng- 
land ancestor;  and  also  that,  kneeling  here,  with  the  hands 
of  the  elders  resting  on  my  head,  and  the  voice  of  the  sainted 
Dr.  Blodgett  of  Pawtucket  sounding  in  my  ear  as  he  offered 
the  ordaining  prayer,  I  was  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the 
gospel  ministry.  When  I  note  the  relation  between  these 
two  facts  so  far  apart  in  time  and  reflect  upon  the  changes 
which  have  passed  upon  all  things  beneath  the  sun  during 
the  two  hundred  years  between,  I  seem  to  see  in  this  church 
a  most  impressive  example  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 

I  can  note  but  three  things  which  in  this  town  are  at  all 
the  same  as  they  were  two  hundred  years  ago ;  the  ocean 
whose  waves  have  never  ceased  to  wash  these  shores  through 
all  the  changeful  years;  the  rocks  which  line  these  shores 
and  stand  as  bulwarks  to  defend  them  against  the  encroach- 
ment of  the  waves,  and  this  church  of  God  built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Proiihets,  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self being  the  chief  corner-stone,  in  whom  all  the  building, 
fitly  framed  together,  groweth  into  a  holy  temple  of  the 
Lord.  All  else  has  changed.  The  primeval  forests  as  well 
as  the  original  inhabitants  have  given  place  to  many  suc- 
cessors. Six  generations  of  men  have  in  turn  occupied  the 
earth  since  this  church  was  founded.  Governments,  cus- 
toms, laws,  habits  and  methods  of  living  have  suffered 
many  transmutations  since  that  early  day.     The  men  who 


38  BI-CENTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION    OP   THE    UNITED 

founded  this  church  saluted  another  flag  than  the  one  which 
now  drapes  these  walls;  they  swore  allegiance  to  the  sov- 
ereign who  ruled  across  the  seas;  they  dwelt  in  homes  far 
different  externally  and  internally  from  ours.  What  would 
the  founders  of  this  town  think  of  the  homes  which  now 
adorn  these  shores  and  dot  these  green  fields  about  us? 
The  costumes  they  wore,  the  utensils  of  their  home  life  both 
indoors  and  out  are  the  rare  curios  we  are  invited  to  in- 
spect at  the  Hall  this  afternoon.  What  knowledge  has  this 
generation  of  pot-hooks  and  trammels?  What  boy  or  girl 
can  tell  you  Avithout  a  dictionary  what  a  skillet  or  a  runlet 
was  used  for? 

Speaking  of  a  runlet  recalls  a  story  told  me  by  Gen.  Na- 
thaniel Church  which  illustrates  the  change  in  customs 
from  those  elder  days  and  may  also  have  a  bearing  on  one 
of  the  statements  made  in  the  historical  discourse  by  the 
pastor.  Gen.  Church  said :  When  I  was  a  boy  we  had 
what  was  called  the  "minister's  wood-hauling."  Just  be- 
fore cold  weather  in  the  fall  there  was  a  day  appointed 
when  the  men  went  with  their  axes  and  oxen  and  carts  out 
to  the  minister's  wood  lot  and  chopped  down  wood  enough 
to  last  the  minister  a  year,  and  hauled  it  to  his  house.  It 
was  great  sport  for  us  boys  to  go  out  with  the  men  and  see 
them  cut  down  the  trees.  About  the  middle  of  the  fore- 
noon the  minister  would  come  out  on  his  horse  with  a  run- 
let strapped  to  his  saddle  and  say,  "I  thought  I  would  come 
out  and  see  how  you  are  getting  on  and  bring  you  a  little 
something  to  refresh  you."  Then  he  would  get  off  his 
horse,  take  down  the  runlet,  and,  handing  it  with  a  cup  to 
some  one,  would  say,  "You  can  all  take  a  drink,  but  don't 
drink  too  much."  Then  they  all  took  a  drink,  but  they 
never  gave  me  any.  After  talking  a  short  time,  the  minis- 
ter would  ride  away,  saying,  "I  hope  you  will  have  a  pleas- 
ant day  and  no  accidents."  The  men  would  go  back  to 
work  and  presently  they  would  get  very  lively.  One  would 
say  to  another:  I  stump  you  to  cut  down  that  tree  before 
I  do  this  one.  And  the  axes  would  fly,  and  the  way  the 
trees  would  come  down  was  a  wonder  to  the  small  boys.     I 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  39 

was  several  years  older  before  I  saw  any  connection  be- 
tween that  runlet  and  the  way  those  trees  came  down. 

I  tell  this  story  as  it  was  told  to  me  nearly  thirty  years 
ago,  with  no  disposition  to  controvert  the  statement  quoted 
by  the  historian  to  the  effect  that  the  Rev.  Mase  Shepard 
never  used  and  never  gave  to  others  any  intoxicating  drink. 
General  Church  did  not  say  what  that  runlet  contained. 
He  was  not  permitted  to  know.  It  might  have  been  water 
from  the  spring,  or  some  other  liquid.  Each  one  can  draw 
his  own  conclusions.  It  is,  however,  quite  plain  that  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Shepard  knew  how  to  use  woodhauling  day  to  the 
best  advantage  for  his  own  woodpile.  He  \nsiy  very  well, 
for  all  that,  have  been  an  active  participant  in  the  temper- 
ance reforms  of  a  hundred  years  ago.  The  church  has  sur- 
vived and  been  found  worthy  to  survive  the  passing  of  many 
customs  prevalent  in  public  and  social  life  because  it  has 
been  the  most  potent  instrument  in  their  removal. 

This  church  has  survived  from  generation  to  generation 
because  of  the  beneficent  work  it  has  done  for  each  one  of 
them  successively.  When  churches  fail  to  do  that,  they, 
like  other  things,  pass  away.  This  church  has  always  ex- 
erted a  beneficial  influence  on  the  social  life  of  the  town. 
Whatever  may  be  true  of  city  churches,  the  country  church 
keeps  all  classes  of  people  in  helpful  touch  with  one  an- 
other. At  the  church  they  meet  and  greet  one  another 
every  week,  inquire  after  the  welfare  of  all,  interchange  bits 
of  innocent  neighborhood  gossip,  and  go  home  with  a 
stronger  feeling  that  they  are  members  one  of  another.  Be- 
ginning as  children  in  the  Sunday  School  the  young  people 
here  became  acquainted ;  in  the  church  choir  and  the  church 
social  they  met  under  circumstances  which  tended  to  pro- 
mote mutual  resfject  and  esteem,  and,  in  many  cases,  unions 
which  resulted  in  lifelong  happiness  to  all  concerned,  in 
pure  and  pious  homes  without  which  no  community  can  es- 
cape degeneracy. 

This  church  has  been  a  place  where  the  rich  and  poor  for 
six  generations  have  met  together  to  worship  that  God  who 
is  the  Maker  of  them  all.  For  that  reason  alone  it  deserves 
to  survive.     It  has  been  the  conservator  of  the  Christian 


40  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OP   THE   UNITED 

Sabbath — a  day  set  apart  from  worldly  pursuits  and  pleas- 
ures, for  rest  and  the  worship  of  God.  Without  such  a 
Sabbath  any  community,  however  intelligent,  will  lapse 
into  barbarism  gross  or  refined.  This  church  has  been  the 
custodian  and  defender  of  a  Holy  Bible  which  is  the  Word 
of  the  living  God  whose  truths  alone  can  make  man  free, 
whose  precepts  alone  can  make  him  godlike.  By  the  pub- 
lic reading,  teaching  and  proclaiming  of  that  Word  this 
church  has  brought  it  into  vital  and  saving  contact  with  the 
minds  and  hearts  and  lives  of  the  people  of  this  town ;  for 
that  purpose  it  was  founded  by  the  fathers,  and  for  doing 
that  work  it  has  no  substitute.  This  church  has  stood  for 
spiritual  realities,  has  kept  alive  in  this  community  faith 
in  an  invisible  God  and  an  unseen  world.  Always  and 
everywhere  among  men  the  strong  drift  has  been  toward 
materialism.  Force  and  phenomena  are  what  science  and 
philosophy  are  principally  occupied  with.  Men  learned  in 
such  matters  find  it  much  easier  either  to  ignore  or  deny 
the  existence  of  aught  else  thatn  to  demonstrate  or  even  ad- 
mit it. 

"  The  stars,  they  tell  us,  blindly  run, 
A.  web  is  woven  across  the  sky. 
From  out  waste  places  comes  a  cry 
And  murmurs  from  a  dying  sun." 

This  church,  however,  stands  for  just  the  opposite  of  all 
such  teachings  and  tendencies.  For  two  hundred  years  it 
has  here  taught  that  the  stars  do  not  blindly  run;  but  that 
the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God  and  the  firmament 
showeth  his  handiwork.  There  is  no  web  woven  across  the 
sky;  but  we  all  are  dwelling  under  an  open  Heaven  with 
whose  great  Euler  we  may  have  loving  and  unbroken  fel- 
lowship, and  the  angels  of  God  are  continually  ascending 
and  descending  on  missions  of  love  and  mercy  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men. 

The  cries  of  the  destroyer  and  the  destroyed  are  not  the 
only  voices  heard  from  out  waste  places.  For  God's  ten- 
der mercies  are  over  all  his  works;  not  a  sparrow  falleth 
without  our  Father:  he  opens  his  hand  and  supplies  the 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  41 

needs  of  every  living  thing,  giving  to  all  their  meat  in  due 
season.  For  every  cry  of  pain  heard  among  his  creatures 
there  are  a  thousand  notes  of  gladness.  And  although  in 
this  age  there  is  pain  and  travail  for  all  creatures,  we  live 
in  hope  of  a  better  day,  when  the  sun,  instead  of  being  a  dy- 
ing orb,  shall  shine  with  a  splendor  sevenfold  his  present 
brightness;  for  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  fill  the 
whole  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea,  when  sin  and 
death  shall  disappear  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away. 

Because  this  church  has  kept  men  in  this  pulpit  who 
preached  and  enforced  these  things,  and  because  in  these 
pews  there  have  never  been  lacking  men  and  women  who 
lived  and  died  in  the  belief  and  hope  of  them,  this  church 
has  been  found  worthy  to  survive  the  changes  of  six  gene- 
rations. God  grant  that  in  the  generations  to  come  it  may 
still  have  no  lack  of  the  same  kind  of  preaching  and  believ- 
ing: for  thereby  and  thereby  only  will  it  demonstrate  to 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church  and  to  all  men  its  fitness  to 
still  survive. 


42  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

ADDRESS 

By  Rev.  William  D.  Hakt. 


In  the  ten  minutes  for  reminiscences  requested  of  me,  I 
wish  first  of  all  to  thank  you  for  your  cordial  invitation  to 
me  and  for  your  generous  hospitality.  I  rejoice  that  the 
church  is  still  bringing  forth  fruit  in  old  age  (Ps.  92:14) 
and  is  displaying  the  full  vigor  of  youth. 

First  impressions  are  most  vivid.  I  well  remember  some 
of  my  first  experiences  in  Little  Compton.  I  remember  the 
first  Compton  man  whom  I  met:  the  genial,  well-informed 
Henry  M.  Tompkins,  that  delightful  conversationalist.  He 
met  me  with  a  carriage  at  Tiverton  station,  near  the  close 
of  a  Saturday  in  June,  1875.  I  remember  the  fog  that  en- 
veloped us  as  we  came  down  Windmill  Hill,  and  the  pitch 
darkness  before  we  reached  Deacon  Simmons'  roadgate.  I 
remember  thinking  what  a  great  dooryard  Deacon  Simmons 
must  have;  it  took  so  long  to  reach  the  house  from  the 
street.  The  cordial  welcome  from  the  Deacon's  family  and 
the  refreshing  repast  are  vivid  memories ;  but  especially  the 
being  awakened  at  dawn  by  the  gabbling  geese.  I  had 
come  from  a  quiet  home  in  New  Hampshire  where  such  ex- 
periences were  not  common.  Then  the  Sabbath  came  on, 
and  the  ride  to  church  in  the  family  carriage.  The  audi- 
ence in  this  house  were  greatly  pleased  with  the  sermon 
that  Sunday  morning,  and  well  they  might  be,  for  it  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ray  Palmer.  I  considered  that 
easy  candidating.  Dr.  Palmer  did  the  preaching  and  I  got 
the  call.  There  has  always  been  a  tender  spot  in  my  heart 
for  Dr.  Palmer.  Indeed  he  was  very  kind  to  me,  because, 
as  I  suppose,  of  his  love  for  this  church.  Here  he  came 
every  summer  to  visit  his  sister,  and  the  people  always  ex- 
pected a  sermon,  and  were  not  disappointed.  Here  he  came 
at    our    175th    anniversary,    and    gave    us    that    charming 


Rev.  William  D.  Hart 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  43 

resume  of  sixty-five  years.  The  Rev.  Dr.  George  Ware 
Briggs,  another  native  of  Little  Compton,  was  also  with  us 
at  that  time,  with  helpful  words  right  from  his  gi'eat  warm 
heart. 

The  mention  of  that  event  calls  up  the  fact  that  of  those 
who  participated  in  the  exercises,  or  composed  the  commit- 
tee on  publication,  ''I,  even  I  only,  am  left."  Some  of  you 
remember  there  were  also  present  former  pastors :  Gold- 
smith, Beach,  and  Walker;  also  Rev.  W.  H.  Sturtevant,  of 
Tiverton;  Rev.  Dr.  Jeremiah  Taylor,  of  Providence,  and 
Deacon  James  H.  Bailey,  of  Danielsonville,  Conn.  We  had 
letters  too  from  Prof.  Charles  U.  Shepard  and  his  sister, 
Mrs.  Boltwood,  and  from  Rev.  J.  P.  Lane,  of  Bristol.  All 
of  these  have  joined  the  great  majority.  Indeed,  of  the  133 
members  of  the  church  in  1875,  only  about  thirty  can  an- 
swer the  earthly  roll-call  now.  Precious  memories  throng 
our  minds  as  we  think  on  these  names.  It  would  be  a  pa- 
thetic pleasure  to  dwell  on  them,  did  time  permit.  They 
were  all  very  kind  to  me  and  my  family,  and  we  all  look 
back  to  the  days  spent  here  as  among  our  happiest.  This 
was  my  first  pastorate,  and  you  are  the  people  of  my  first 
love. 

My  relation  with  the  officers  of  the  church  was  always 
very  pleasant.  The  deacons  formed  an  efficient  triumvirate. 
They  differed  widely  in  their  individual  characteristics,  but 
worked  together  harmoniously  and  together  made  an  ideal 
composite  deacon.  Deacon  Richmond,  under  a  somewhat 
puritanical  exterior,  carried  a  warm  heart.  This  was 
shown  in  his  loving  devotion  to  the  partner  of  his  life.  And 
what  a  sweet,  beautiful  woman  she  was!  Deacon  Rich- 
mond attended  faithfully  to  the  business  end  of  the  church, 
while  he  did  not  neglect  its  spiritual  interests.  He  was 
fervent  in  prayer,  and  the  church  was  the  object  of  his  love. 
Deacon  Simmons  was  a  man  whom  everybody  loved.  This 
I  always  thought  was  because  he  lived  so  near  the  Master. 
He  used  to  say  that  after  a  hard  day's  work  nothing  rested 
him  like  the  prayer-meeting.  If  Deacon  Church  were  not 
here,  I  would  like  to  tell  how  I  loved  him,  and  how  much 


44  BI-CENTBNNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF   THE   UNITED 

he  was  always  doing  for  the  church  and  for  his  pastor.  I 
am  so  thankful  that  he  still  lives  to  encourage  and  uphold 
the  church  by  his  presence  and  his  prayers. 

In  the  last  years  of  my  pastorate,  two  more  good  men 
w^ere  chosen  to  the  diaconate,  and  in  Deacons  Howard  and 
Bailey  are  found  the  qualifications  necessary  to  that  oflSce 
as  stated  by  the  Apostle  Paul.  The  treasurer  of  the  society 
was  an  important  oflScial  as  concerned  myself,  for  through 
him  I  received  my  daily  bread.  Preston  B.  Richmond  per- 
formed this  work  faithfully  until  his  lamented  death,  after 
which  his  brother  William  assumed  the  duties  of  that  office. 
The  clerk  of  the  church,  during  all  my  pastorate  and  for  a 
much  longer  period,  was  Albert  H.  Simmons,  one  of  the 
most  spiritually  minded  men  of  my  acquaintance.  He  was 
a  great  heljj  to  me.  He  was  one  of  whom  I  think  we  may 
reverently  say,  "He  was  made  perfect  through  suffering." 

I  would  like,  if  I  could,  thus  to  go  through  the  whole 
congregation  and  speak  of  individuals,  but  it  would  make 
my  story  too  long. 

Among  the  old  ladies,  whom  it  was  my  duty  and  pleasure 
to  visit  were  Mrs.  Angeline  Grinnell,  Mrs.  Valentine  Sim- 
mons, Mrs.  Abigail  Bailey,  Mrs.  Mercy  Borden  and  Mrs. 
Prudence  Wilbor.  All  these  were  widows,  and  they  de- 
lighted in  prayer,  the  last  one  named  being,  perhaps,  the 
most  vigorous  of  them  all.  It  is  related  that  once  a  new 
minister  was  in  the  pulpit,  who  was  more  gifted  in  sound 
than  in  sense,  and  after  a  long,  wordy  discourse,  he  closed 
with  a  flourish  of  trumpets  ending  in  "Amen  and  Amen," 
whereupon  "Aunt  Prudy,"  sitting  right  down  there  near 
the  front,  involuntarily  exclaimed,  "And  I  say  Amen,  too." 

Among  the  most  influential  persons  in  the  church  in  my 
day  was  Mrs.  Arethusa  Briggs,  whose  devotion  to  Christ 
and  self-denying  service  in  His  name  have  been  a  power  for 
good  to  this  day,  and  earned  for  her  in  a  special  degree  the 
praise,  "She  hath  done  what  she  could." 

There  were  two  other  women  who,  though  very  different 
in  their  experiences,  are  associated  in  my  mind  as  workers 
together  in  every  good  cause.  These  were  Mrs.  Abel  Tomp- 
kins, and  Miss  Maria  Brownell.     It  is  a  beautiful  picture 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF  LITTLE  COMPTON.  45 

that  comes  before  me,  as  I  see  these  two  ladies,  with  a  large 
basket  of  presents  and  a  list  of  children's  names,  at  our 
Christmas  tree,  to  make  sure  that  no  child  should  be  over- 
looked in  the  distribution  of  gifts. 

The  Ladies'  Sociable  was  as  important  a  factor  in  the 
well-being  of  the  church  a  generation  ago  as  it  is  now.  The 
mention  of  that  name  brings  to  mind  a  most  efficient  circle 
of  women,  many  of  whom  are  still  active  in  the  good  work. 
Inseparably  connected  with  it  are  also  the  names  of  Miss 
Maria  Brownell,  Mrs.  Arethusa  Briggs,  Mrs.  Oliver  Brown- 
ell,  Mrs.  Deacon  Simmons  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Grinnell. 
Theirs  is  a  crown  of  righteousness  that  fadeth  not  away. 

In  my  mind  are  cherished  memories  of  the  Young  Peo- 
jjle's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  which  was  an  invalu- 
able aid  to  the  work  of  the  church.  In  connection  with  its 
organization,  we  remember  with  gratitude  the  services  of 
one  who  assisted  us  in  getting  tlie  society  under  way,  and 
who  by  his  enthusiasm  gave  an  impetus  to  the  work  which 
insured  its  success.  It  seemed  a  great  loss  to  the  cause  of 
Christ  and  the  church  when,  in  his  early  manhood,  there 
went  out  the  life  of  Joseph  R.  Alden. 

I  am  glad  you  celebrate  this  day.  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  present  action,  living  spiritual  condition,  and  assure 
you  that  you  are  held  in  daily  loving  remembrance  by  me 
at  the  throne  of  grace. 


46  BI-CBNTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF   THE   UNITED 

ADDRESS 

By  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris. 


After  the  eloquent  words  that  have  been  spoken  there  is 
little  that  I  can  say.  It  is,  however,  with  a  feeling  of  pride 
that  I  find  my  name  associated  with  the  long  list  of  illustri- 
ous men  who  have  occupied  this  pulpit. 

The  chain  which  binds  this  church  with  the  past  is  com- 
posed of  two  hundred  links.  Each  link  represents  a  year's 
history.  I  had  an  exceedingly  modest  part  in  welding  two 
of  those  links. 

I  have  always  thought  that  my  identification  with  this 
church  was  very  much  more  beneficial  to  myself  than  to  the 
people.  The  circumstances  which  led  me  here  and  the  ex- 
I  eriences  which  I  passed  through  while  here  are  among  the 
most  pleasant  of  my  life.  I  had  been  serving  a  church  in 
one  of  the  busy,  bustling  cities  of  the  west.  The  rumbling 
of  the  immense  trains  of  three  transcontinental  railways 
could  be  heard  from  the  parsonage  night  and  day.  There 
was  no  cessation  of  activity.  On  all  sides  were  evidences 
of  the  strenuous  life. 

The  contrast  between  such  a  field  of  labor  and  this  is  as 
great  as  can  be  imagined.  I  was  charmed  with  the  little 
town.  Everything  I  saw  had  an  attraction :  its  ocean  view, 
its  quiet  farms,  the  stately  church,  the  attentive  congrega- 
tion, the  unstinted  generosity  of  the  people.  At  no  place 
that  I  had  been  did  I  receive  so  warm  a  welcome,  and  in 
all  there  pervaded  a  spirit  of  peace  and  restfulness.  My 
stay  with  this  people  was  a  period  of  rest  and  recuperation 
that  I  much  needed. 

Another  thing  which  stood  out  in  marked  contrast  with 
my  western  work  was  the  home  life  which  I  observed. 
There,  everybody  seemed  to  be  striving  for  a  home,  They 
were  brave  men  and  women  who,  lured  on  by  the  hope  of 
bettering  themselves,  had  left  their  old  life  in  the  east  and 
were  pressing  toward  the  fertile  plains  of  the  west.  It  was 
a  gallant  struggle  in  which  some  succeeded  and  for  which 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  47 

some  were  still  struggling.  Most  of  the  homes  were  in  the 
process  of  making.  Here,  there  was  an  entire  absence  of 
such  conditions.  These  homes  were  established,  and  as  I 
entered  them  I  was  impressed  with  their  completeness  and 
order.  The  people  were  happy  and  contented.  I  had  never 
seen  such  before,  and  my  conclusion  was  that  here  was  an 
ideal  New  England  town,  with  ideal  homes  and  ideal  peo- 
ple, and  that  to  live  with  such  was  a  privilege  and  joy. 

There  was  one  thing,  however,  that  occasioned  perplex- 
ity. I  noticed  that  the  young  people  when  they  reached  a 
certain  age,  as  a  general  thing,  left  the  town  to  settle  in 
some  other  part  of  the  state  or  country.  In  the  building 
up  of  a  church,  the  pastor  invariably  looks  to  the  young. 
Without  them  the  constituency  of  a  church  is  very  much 
narrowed.  And  I  asked  the  question.  If  our  young  people 
leave  us  in  this  manner,  how  am  I  to  build  up  this  church? 
As  I  studied  the  problem,  certain  facts  were  disclosed  that 
proved  that  even  in  this  exodus  of  the  young  men  and  young 
women  of  the  church  there  were  certain  compensations. 

A  tourist  in  Maine  on  meeting  a  native  of  one  of  the 
sparsely  settled  sections  asked  him  this  question:  "What 
do  you  do  here?"  ''We  make  men,"  he  replied.  And  this 
was  true;  for  all  over  the  land  may  be  found  men  of  force 
and  genius  who  were  born  and  brought  up  in  the  state  of 
Maine.  And  the  same  is  true  of  Little  Compton  and  this 
church.  It  makes  men,  and  sends  them  out  through  New 
England  and  other  states.  And  among  those  who  have 
gone  may  be  found  many  who  have  reached  success  in  law 
and  literature  and  business.  Wherever  they  have  gone  they 
have  made  their  mark;  and  I  contented  myself  with  the 
thought  that  this  church  was  doing  a  great  and  noble  work 
if  it  could  prepare  the  boys  and  the  girls  for  the  life  that 
was  before  them,  so  that,  when  they  went  out  from  their 
homes,  they  would  take  the  strength  and  beauty  of  their 
early  training  and  impress  them  on  the  community  in  which 
they  were  to  live. 

I  esteem  it  a  privilege  and  pleasure  to  be  with  you  to-day. 
I  congratulate  you  on  the  happy  auspices  of  this  occasion. 
May  the  blessing  of  God  attend  your  future  efforts. 


48  BI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION    OF  THE   UNITED 


ADDRESS 

By  Rev.  James  H.  Lyon. 


I  HAVE  been  asked  to  bring  the  congratulations  of  the 
Congregational  churches  of  Rhode  Island  to  this  people. 
The  lot  fell  on  me,  not  because  I  could  do  it  an}^  better  than 
my  brethren,  but  because  I  am  a  kind  of  cosmopolitan 
bishop  of  our  apostolic  Congregational  order  in  the  state- 
heading  the  list  of  active  pastors  with  longest  service  in 
one  church,  a  little  over  thirty-seven  years. 

Besides  this,  I  think  I  hold  precedence  over  all  other  min- 
isters nov^'  living,  owing  to  the  generally  unknown  fact  that 
my  mother — Lucy  Little  Davis,  daughter  of  Major  John 
Davis — was  born  and  lived,  I  know  not  how  long,  in  Lit- 
tle Compton.  About  the  first  place  I  heard  of  when  I  was 
a  small  boy  was  Little  Compton.  It  was  the  whole  of 
Rhode  Island  to  me  then.  It  has  always  been  a  sacred  place 
to  me  because  my  mother  was  born  here. 

So,  in  a  way,  I  am  one  of  you  to-day — one  of  your  chil- 
dren come  back  on  this  happy  occasion  to  bring  you  my 
own  and  others'  sincere  congratulations. 

They  say  you  are  200  years  old!  You  do  not  show  it  in 
your  looks.  You  appear  as  young  and  vigorous  as  a  church 
that  has  only  reached  "sweet  sixteen,"  or  its  majority.  I 
congratulate  you  on  being  so  old  and  at  the  same  time  so 
young.  I'ou  must  have  grown  old  very  gracefully — of 
course  you  have.  Without  the  grace  of  God  that  is  in  you, 
that  entered  at  the  beginning,  and  has  flowed  on,  sweet  and 
strong,  through  all  the  years,  you  would  have  withered  and 
died  long  ago.  Y^ou  have  kept  fat  and  flourishing  for  two 
centuries,  proving  the  presence  and  power  of  the  God  of  all 
grace,  who  called  you  unto  his  eternal  glory  in  Christ. 

I  congratulate  you,  in  the  name  of  all  the  churches,  that 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  49 

you  are  not  dying  or  going  to  die.  You  have  disproved  the 
saying  that  "the  good  die  young."  I  expect  to  meet  and 
greet  you  in  the  New  Jerusalem ;  and  that  is  yet  a  long  way 
off— farther  than  another  200  years  probably.  Our  sym- 
pathetic joy  mingles  with  your  gladness  to-day,  at  the 
thought  that  after  these  festivities  are  over,  even  after  all 
of  us  who  are  here  to-day  have  vanished  into  the  unseen, 
this  church  will  remain.  Other  hands  and  hearts  will  con- 
tinue its  life  and  work,  as  you  are  doing  in  your  turn. 

A  church,  like  a  man,  needs  to  have  a  good  supply  of  com- 
mon sense.  It  needs  to  be  resourceful  and  able  to  manage 
its  affairs  with  discretion.  It  should  know  how  to  make 
the  best  of  any  given  situation.  I  think  the  last  time  I 
was  here  you  showed  this  common  sense  ability.  You  had 
called  a  council  to  dismiss  your  ministei- — to  let  him  go  in 
good  Congregational  order  and  with  proper  endorsement. 
It  proved  to  be  a  very  stormy  day.  Only  a  minority  of  the 
churches  invited  came.  There  were  only  two  ministers 
present — possibly  three.  But  the  two  I  remember,  one 
a  black  man  and  the  other  white,  divided  the  offices  between 
them,  and  went  on  with  the  work  just  as  though  there  were 
a  full  quorum.  You  said  that  was  all  right.  So  said  we 
all  of  us.  The  retiring  minister  went  away  with  a  good 
recommendation.  I  think  he  is  here  to-day  to  prove  that 
everything  went  on  well.  It  is  related  of  Dr.  Alexander, 
who,  a  long  time  ago,  taught  theology  at  Princeton,  that  he 
said  to  his  students  one  day,  "Young  gentlemen,  if  you  are 
deficient  in  learning  you  can  get  more;  if  you  lack  piety, 
you  can  all  grow  in  grace;  but  if  you  have  no  common  sense, 
the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  you ! " 

There  is  no  cloud  or  gloom  of  that  kind  overhanging 
you.  Indeed,  a  Congregational  church,  organized,  as  all 
such  churches  are,  on  the  principle  of  Christian  and  apos- 
tolic common  sense,  may  reasonably  expect  to  have  cen- 
turies of  prosperity  and  progress  as  you  have  enjoyed. 

We  congratulate  you  also  on  the  worthy  list  of  ministers 
you  have  had,  including  the  modest  and  very  excellent  man 
who  is  now  your  pastor.  They  have  been  bargains,  though 
you  did  not  select  them  from  the  bargain-counter.     A  neigh- 


50  BI-CBNTBNNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

bor  of  ours  used  to  say  to  one  of  our  boys  who  was  quite  a 
worker:  "Don't  work  too  hard,  Charley;  good  boys  are 
scarce."  We  are  sometimes  told  that  good  ministers  are 
scarce.  I  do  not  think  so.  You  have  always  had  enough, 
and  good  ones,  too.  The  church  that  has  a  spiritual  and 
faithful  ministry  is  to  be  congratulated. 

And  good  deacons,  too — they  are  a  treasure — like  a  good 
wife.  It  is  reported  that  the  Little  Compton  church  has 
been  fortunate  in  its  deacons — and  in  the  wives  of  its  mem- 
bers, too.  Happy  is  the  people  that  are  in  such  a  case. 
They  can  never  be  in  the  sad  condition  of  that  church  of 
which  a  certain  man  was  a  member.  Some  one  asked  him 
whether  there  were  any  Christians  in  his  church.  He  re- 
plied that  he  knew  of  only  two — himself  and  his  wife;  but 
he  was  not  quite  sure  about  his  wife.  I  suspect  he  was 
like  that  complaining  person  who,  when  asked,  "How  are 
you  to-day?"  replied,  "I  feel  very  well;  but  I  always  feel 
badly  when  I  feel  well  because  I  know  I  am  going  to  feel 
worse." 

You  have  kept  the  faith,  too;  and,  of  course,  the  faith  has 
kept  you.  The  faith  that  is  sourced  and  centered  in  Christ, 
sunned  and  strengthened  by  his  surpassing  love,  purified 
and  sweetened  by  his  Spirit,  made  obedient  and  serviceable 
for  his  sake — this  faith  you  have  kept  these  200  years.  We 
congratulate  you  on  this  account.  By  it  you  have  lived 
and  helped  many  to  reign  in  life.  It  is  a  fine  record  for  all 
everywhere  who  have  made  it — -the  example  left  by  our  Mas- 
ter and  followed  by  Paul,  and  which  he  could  look  back 
upon  so  joyfully  at  the  finish  of  his  course.  It  is  an 
achievement  worthy  of  the  God  who  inspires  it,  and  of  the 
people  who  are  steadfastly  responsive  to  the  vision  of  life 
he  causes  to  shine  before  us,  and  sensitive  to  the  impulse 
from  Him  that  makes  it  sure. 

We  congratulate  you  on  your  love  for  the  church.  That 
is  Christ-like.  And  your  love  for  its  surroundings — these 
lovely  fields,  this  large  room  in  which  God  has  set  your  feet 
and  where  you  have  "abundant  space  to  live  his  life  and 
grow  his  growth;"  with  the  ocean,  too,  staying  itself  upon 
jour  shore,  and  sending  in  upon  you  the  benediction  which 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  51 

we  inland  court  and  come  to  you  to  share;  and  homes  where 
love  lightens  labor,  and  peace  abounds,  and  human  nerves 
have  rest  from  city  noise  and  strain.  I  will  wfirrant  that 
jou  feel  the  honest  satisfaction  felt  by  an  Irishman  in  his 
native  Emerald  Isle.  Three  men  were  in  each  other's  com- 
pany one  day — an  Englishman,  and  a  Scotchman,  and  an 
Irishman.  Said  the  Englishman  to  the  Scotchman,  "If  you 
were  not  a  Scotchman,  what  would  you  be?"  He  replied, 
^*If  I  were  not  a  Scotchman,  I  Avould  be  an  Englishman." 
Then  the  Scotchman  returned  the  question  to  the  English- 
man, *'If  you  were  not  an  Englishman,  what  would  you  be?" 
''If  I  were  not  an  Englishman,"  he  answered,  "I  would  be 
a  Scotchman."  Then  they  both  turned  to  the  Irishman. 
"If  you  were  not  an  Irishman,  what  would  you  be?"  To 
which,  with  true  fervor,  he  responded,  "If  I  were  not  an 
Irishman,  I  would  be  ashamed!" 

Quite  likely  your  sentiments  respecting  Little  Compton 
are  illustrated  by  the  Irish  end  of  that  story.  If  so,  I  come 
not  here  to  chide  you.  I  brought  no  complaints;  neither 
have  I  discovered  ground  for  any  since  I  came.  Congrat- 
ulations— sincere,  earnest,  hearty — from  all  the  churches. 
We  reverently  salute  you  enthroned  on  your  two  centuries 
of  church  life.  We  look  up  to  you  with  the  respect  due  to 
your  years.  A  few  of  our  churches  were  already  bej^ond 
their  A  B  C's,  or  well  on  in  life,  when  you  were  born.  Bar- 
rington  was  forty  years  old.  Bristol,  seventeen.  The  New- 
man Church  in  East  Providence  was  sixty-one  years  your 
senior.  Kingston  was  ahead  of  3011  by  nine  years.  But 
these  ancient  members  of  our  Congregational  household  are 
no  less  warmhearted  than  the  rest.  A  few  summers,  more 
or  less,  make,  no  difference — when  we  get  up  to  the  second 
or  third  century.  Our  youngest,  not  one  year  old  yet,  wants 
to  be  remembered  to  you  just  like  the  others.  Its  name  is 
Hope — Hope  Church,  of  East  Providence.  That  is  Provi- 
dence to  the  east,  toward  the  rising  sun.  We  are  all  on 
that  side  of  the  meridian — all  churches  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, and  facing  the  ever  ascending  Light  of  the  world. 


52  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OP   THE   UNITED 

We  all  share  in  the  rich  inheritance  of  hope,  for  which,  with 
yon,  we  render  thanks  to  Him  whose 

"  Glory  is  His  children's  good, 
Whose  joy  Ilis  tender  Fatherhood." 

And  though 

"  We  know  not  what  the  future  hath 
Of  marvel  or  surprise, 
Assured  alone  that  life  and  death 
His  mercy  underlies," 

we  can  hope  to  the  end  for  the  grace  that  shall  be  brought 
to  us  in  the  increasing  revelation  and  glory  of  Jesus  Christ. 
His  we  all  are,  and  Him  we  serve — our  common  Lord,  in 
whose  name  we  congratulate  you  to-day,  and  bid  you  God- 
speed. Go  on  in  faith  that  never  yields  to  fear,  in  hope 
that  lightens  toil  with  cheerful  song,  in  love  that  never 
fails  though  tongues  shall  cease  and  knowledge  be  done 
away.  Go  on  where  the  Master  leads,  his  banner  over  you, 
his  cause  your  constant  aim.  Keceive  his  "good  cheer,"  and 
ours  in  his  name,  for  all  the  coming  years.  Remember  his 
inspiring  word,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world."  Thank  God  and  take  courage,  as  well 
you  may,  with  all  who  love  our  Lord — loyally  partaking 
with  every  company  of  God's  sacramental  host  even  in  the 
"tribulation,"  if  need  be,  but  surely  in  the  "kingdom  and 
patience  which  are  in  Jesus."  For  your  "calling"  to  all 
this — to  the  things  that  are  highest,  richest,  most  endur- 
ing— for  your  spiritual  apprehension  of  God  and  his  glory 
on  earth;  for  your  earnest  aspiration  to  keep  your  light 
here  well  trimmed  and  bright;  for  your  increasing  and  un- 
ceasing fruitfulness,  made  sure  by  faithful  co-operation 
with  God,  accept  the  fervent  congratulations  of  all  the 
brethren  in  the  Lord. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  53 


ADDRESS 

By  Eev.  Thomas  R.  Slicer,  D.  D. 


The  presence  of  a  Christian  church  in  any  community 
shows  that  there  is  in  that  community  a  group  of  people 
who  believe  that  the  highest  function  of  the  human  soul  is 
worship,  and  that  they  are  resolved  to  maintain  a  cen- 
ter in  which  this  highest  function  shall  be  exercised — ac- 
centuated and  raised  in  power  by  this  association  of  a  com- 
mon purpose  with  its  exercise.  So  far  from  the  church  be- 
ing '"A  survival  of  the  Ages  of  Faith,"  it  is  in  the  best  sense 
a,  barrier  set  against  an  age  of  despair;  it  is  not  simply  a 
monument  of  the  past,  but  in  the  proportion  in  Avhich  it 
serves  its  divine  purpose,  it  is  a  challenge  to  the  future. 
For  a  free  church  in  which  the  mind  claims  the  liberty  of 
prophesying  is  apt  to  be  in  the  advance  movement  of  the 
mental  processes  of  any  sane  community.  The  church  was 
never  more  necessary  than  to-day.  In  the  midst  of  this 
hurry  of  modern  life  it  is  a  center  of  quiet  in  the  cyclone's 
heart ;  men  fail  of  intellectual  power  and  religious  peace  by 
over-activity,  and  the  neglect  of  times  of  meditation — 
"Come  in,  and  rest,  and  pray !"  is  the  church's  invitation  to 
a  world  smitten  with  the  superstition  of  being  always  busy 
at  the  expense  of  mental  and  spiritual  power.  Our  fever- 
ish activities  are  calmed  and  divine  energy  enters  our  spent 
lives. 

Moreover,  no  man  properly  estimates  his  support  of  the 
church  who  thinks  his  contribution  is  a  gift  which  his  gen- 
erosity has  bestowed;  it  is,  instead,  a  fee  that  he  has  paid 
for  his  own  religious  education  and  the  education  of  his 
family.  If  this  is  not  what  he  consciously  receives  for 
what  he  pays,  it  may  be  that  he  has  not  paid  enough  to  get 
what  costs  him  more  in  his  school-bills  and  his  manifold 


54  BI-CBNTENNIAL  CELEBRATION   OP  THE   UNITED 

ways  of  entertainment  and  instruction.  Many  a  man  has 
grown  weary  of  the  church  which  he  has  insisted  should  be 
kept  to  a  cheap  level  of  reluctant  support.  You  cannot  do 
a  wholesale  business  in  a  retail  plant.  The  man  who  is  nig- 
gardly with  the  church  is  being  really  mean  to  himself,  for 
it  exists  for  him  and  his  household.  These  are  the  men  who 
will  fatigue  serious  people  by  talk  about  conducting  the 
church  on  business  principles  and  say,  "I  pay,  whether  I  go 
or  not!"  Is  this  business?  The  first  principle  in  business 
is  to  he  at  the  place  of  husiness,  and  until  the  store  or  office 
can  be  turned  over  to  the  janitor  and  the  clerks,  it  can 
never  come  to  be  "good  business"  to  turn  over  the  church  to 
the  sexton  and  the  minister.  And  so  far  as  the  minister  is 
concerned,  his  contract  "to  be  on  hand"  is  no  more  binding 
than  that  of  the  pew-holder  or  church  supporters.  Con- 
tracts imph'  mutual  obligation.  You  cannot  make  a  fire 
\^ith  one  log! 

It  is  my  deliberate  judgment  after  years  of  careful  obser- 
vation in  the  ministry  that  the  man  who  systematical!}^  neg- 
lects, without  good  cause  preventing,  the  services  of  religion 
is  apt  to  lose  a  part  of  that  development  of  his  whole  nature 
for  which  these  services  supply  a  means  supplied  by  noth- 
ing else.  The  church  and  its  services  have  remained 
through  centuries  because  they  corresponded  to  the  needs  of 
human  nature.  These  needs  remain.  The  ripest  natures 
are  those  who  use  the  means  which  humanity  has  found 
efficient  to  enrich,  mellow  and  strengthen.  If  they  should 
ever  grow  so  strong  as  "not  to  need  the  church,"  then  the 
church  will  need  them,  for  the  sake  of  those  who  still  need 
the  church.  If  we  are  strong  we  have  to  prove  it,  not  by 
idleness,  but  by  service ;  if  we  are  wise,  there  are  many  still 
to  be  taught;  if  we  are  good,  the  proof  will  be,  as  long  ago 
given  by  him  who  went  about  doing  good,  and  who  yet  went 
into  the  humble  "Synagogue  at  Nazareth  on  the  Sabbath 
day  as  his  custom  was."  His  religion  has  been  well  defined 
"As  living  the  Eternal  Life  in  the  midst  of  time  by  the 
strength  and  under  the  eve  of  God." 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF  LITTLE  COMPTON.  55 

ADDRESS 

By  Mb.  Horace  G.  Shaw. 


On  this  interesting  occasion  it  affords  me  very  great 
pleasure  to  be  present  and  to  offer  a  few  words  as  represent- 
ing two  of  the  old  families  of  Little  Compton.  The  two, 
however,  have  become  many;  and  so  I  may  be  pardoned  if 
I  make  personal  allusions. 

Here  for  generations  was  the  home  of  my  ancestry.  Here 
I  passed  my  childhood  and  school  days.  To  this  town  I 
have  turned  for  the  short  vacation  periods  that  I  have  been 
permitted  to  enjoy  since  I  left  to  engage  in  the  mercantile 
business  nearly  fifty  years  ago. 

The  population  of  this  town  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
19th  century  was  larger  than  at  the  present,  they  tell  me; 
and  in  the  same  breath  I  am  informed  that  there  are  but 
few  changes.  And  I  concluded  the  latter  statement  true  as 
I  visited  my  old  haunt  along  the  shore  that  is  unchanged  at 
the  eastern  end  of  the  town.  But  on  returning  to  the  old 
homestead,  to  reply  to  a  telephone  call,  I  said,  My  grand- 
father lived  seventy-five  years  on  this  farm.  So  did  four 
great  grandfathers.  And  they  had  no  telephone;  and  I 
said,  The  town  Jias  changed — certainly  in  its  customs. 

To  turn  to  this  old  and  time-honored  church,  permit  me 
to  draw  a  picture  of  the  past:  Parson  Beane  enters  the 
pulpit,  then  at  the  other  end  of  the  audience  room.  Ezra 
Coe,  his  head  whitened  with  the  snows  of  many  winters,  is 
in  the  front  pew.  George  Cook  Bailey  occupies  a  seat  near. 
Capt.  Benjamin  Seabury  and  Gen.  Nathaniel  Church  enter 
their  pews  opposite.  John  Seabury  is  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  house;  also  the  venerable  pedagogue  who  on  week- 
days tried  to  instill  into  our  minds  the  mysteries  of  Brown's 
grammar.  Deacons  Wilbor  and  Richmond  now  enter.  It 
was  here  that  my  mother  during  a  period  of  grace  in  1850 


56  BI-CBNTBNNIAL  CBLBBEATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

confessed  faith  in  Christ  and  chose  that  better  part. 
Others  could  be  mentioned,  who  long  ago  joined  the  great 
majority,  and  still  others  of  a  younger  generation  with 
many  of  whom  the  steps  begin  to  falter  and  the  shadows  are 
lengthening. 

I  have  heard  from  those  who  preceded  me  of  the  men 
who  have  gone  out  from  this  town;  and  I  am  glad  that  I 
also  can  claim  Little  Compton  as  the  place  of  my  birth. 
And  if  I  can  look  back  two  hundred  years  and  see  my  grand- 
father, by  the  seventh  generation,  as  the  first  recorded  mem- 
ber of  this  church,  it  mattereth  less,  as  perhaps  forty  now 
before  me  are  in  about  the  same  way  related.  And  were 
my  cousins  just  now  to  withdraw  from  this  room,  a  small 
audience  would  be  left. 

I  thank  your  committee  and  the  members  of  this  congre- 
gation for  remembering  me  in  far  off  New  Jersey,  and  for 
giving  me  a  place  among  such  honorable  and  reverend  gen- 
tlemen, as  well  as  for  the  opportunity  to  be  among  my  rel- 
atives and  friends  on  this  important  occasion. 

This  church  has  had  a  grand  history.  May  the  coming 
years  be  the  brightest  and  best;  and  in  the  great  work  of 
the  church  I  bid  you  God-speed. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH    OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  57 


ABSTRACT  OF  SERMON 

By  Rev.  Albekt  H.  Plumb,  D.  D. 


'■'■Say  not  thoii^  What  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days  were  better  than 
these  ?  for  thou  dost  not  inquire  wisely  concerning  this.'"  Ecclesiastes 
VII.  10. 

It  would  appear  that  the  unwisdom  of  this  inquiry  lies  in 
its  groundless  assumption  that  the  former  days  were  bet- 
ter than  these,  when  a  si)irit  of  faith  in  God's  plan  and 
promise  should  preclude  all  such  assumptions. 

If  we  would  be  "men  who  have  understanding  of  the 
times  to  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do,"  we  must  cherish  a 
grateful  recognition  of  the  onworking  of  God's  plan  and 
the  fulfilment  of  his  promise  in  the  past.  ''In  all  thy  ways 
acknowledge  him  and  he  shall  direct  thy  paths." 

Historical  commemorations  greatly  aid  us  in  cultivating 
a  spirit  of  grateful  confidence  in  the  development  of  God's 
plan  according  to  his  promise.  For  these  commemorations 
help  us  to  a  due  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  modest  vir- 
tues of  ordinary  life.  While  we  acknowledge  our  indebted- 
ness to  great  leaders  and  the  deeds  wrought  in  some  great 
€risis  and  in  some  conspicuous  field,  yet  it  is  the  virtues  of 
the  common  people  of  the  rank  and  file  in  the  Christian 
Church,  the  character  of  our  American  homes,  as  generally 
found  in  our  communities  at  large,  on  which  the  nature  of 
our  civilization  and  the  prosperity  of  the  nation  depend. 

There  are  certain  manifest  features  of  modern  life  which 
very  clearly  indicate  the  merciful  character  of  the  divii?a 
purpose  in  ordering  the  progress  of  the  race. 

1.  There  is  the  general  concession  in  behalf  of  almost  all 
systems  of  philosophy  or  schemes  of  reform  that,  in  order 
to  command  popular  approval,  they  must  conform  to  the 


68  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF   THE   UNITED 

true  spirit  and  teaching  of  Christ.  Contrast  this  with  the 
attitude  of  the  ancient  Pagan  culture  as  manifest  in  the 
treatment  of  Paul  on  Mars'  hill.  ''Then  certain  philoso- 
phers of  the  Epicureans  and  of  the  Stoics,  encountered  him. 
And  some  said,  What  will  this  babbler  say?" 

2.  There  is  the  growing  and  intense  conviction  of  the 
great  mass  of  practical  Christian  men  that  in  God's  revealed 
will  in  the  Gospel  of  redemption  by  His  Son  we  have  the 
only  and  absolutely  indispensable  cure  for  the  appalling 
evils  of  our  time,  the  only  remedy  for  the  inveterate  sinful- 
ness of  the  human  heart.  The  widespread  corruption  in 
financial  and  political  life,  the  shameful  moral  indifference 
and  immoralities  of  many  of  the  luxurious  classes,  the  deg- 
radation and  violence  of  the  less  favored  classes,  the  cruel- 
ties and  oppressions  of  organized  labor  and  capital,  class 
animosities  and  industrial  warfare,  together  with  the  utter 
loss  of  faith  in  the  Bible  on  the  part  of  many,  by  reason  of 
the  destructive  higher  criticism,  temporarily  rife,  and  the 
consequent  neglect  of  religious  worship  furnish  alarming 
evidence  of  the  futility  of  all  endeavors  fQr  human  progress 
which  are  not  dependent  on  the  supernatural  presence  and 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  taking  the  things  of  Christ  and 
showing  them  unto  men.  "For  this  purpose  was  the  Son  of 
God  manifested  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil."  The  continual  outpouring  of  gifts  of  toil  and  of 
money,  the  heroic  sacrifices  and  consecrated  lives  of  innum- 
erable Christian  disciples  attest  the  truth  of  Christ's  words, 
"Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world"  and  "ye  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth."  If  there  was  ever  a  futile  endeavor,  it  is  the  effort 
to  make  earnest  spiritual  men  believe  that  the  Book  which 
has  wrought  such  wonderful  changes  and  built  up  such  no- 
ble characters  is  a  mere  human  composition,  an  untrust- 
worthy mixture  of  fiction  and  fraud.  With  a  more  intense 
conviction  than  ever,  men  are  holding  to  the  need  and  the 
fact  of  an  inspired  revelation,  "a  piece  of  information  given 
b,7  God  to  man  for  the  salvation  of  the  race." 

3.  There  is  a  comprehension  growing  more  and  more 
dear  that  the  world  owes  to  the  distinctively  evangelical 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  59 

truths  and  facts  of  the  Gospel  the  mightiest  motives  for 
transforming  human  character,  elevating  the  condition  of 
society  and  fitting  man  for  the  heavenly  world.  The  fact 
that  he  who  made  man  himself  became  man  and  tasted 
death  for  every  man  more  exalts  the  idea  of  the  worth  of 
the  individual  man  and  the  sacredness  of  his  rights  than 
any  other  fact  in  the  history  of  the  universe.  And  the  par- 
allel revealed  truth  that  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there 
is  no  remission  of  sin  and  that  Christ  gave  Himself  a  ran- 
som for  us  more  exalts  the  inviolability  of  law  and  the 
majesty  of  government  than  any  other  truth  revealed  to 
man.  In  the  exaltation  of  these  two  evangelical  facts  and 
principles  lies  the  secret  of  the  wonderful  advance  in  the 
protection  of  human  rights  and  the  establishment  of  free 
and  popular  government. 

4.  When  we  consider  the  peculiar  type  of  American  civ- 
ilization and  its  conspicuous  and  potent  exhibition  of  the 
democracy  of  Christianity  before  the  nations  of  the  world, 
we  are  led  to  look  with  amazement  upon  the  providential 
development  and  vast  increase  of  the  resources  of  our  na- 
tion as  a  world-power. 

5.  The  increased  dignity  of  man's  position  in  nature,  his 
deeper  insight  into  its  mysteries,  and  his  greater  control  of 
its  powers  vastly  enlarge  the  scope  of  his  spiritual  influence 
And  give  cheering  promise  of  his  coming  triumphs  in  the 
realm  of  religious  thought  and  character.  There  is  a  be- 
neficent trend  in  the  amazing  progress  of  invention  and  dis- 
covery. These  inventions  and  discoveries  are  the  scaffold- 
ing around  the  spiritual  temple  which  God  is  building  and 
are  valuable  chiefly  for  their  ministry  in  that  higher  realm 
where  spiritual  character  and  the  welfare  of  the  soul  are 
the  great  objects  of  the  divine  care. 

6.  There  is  a  more  general  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
economic  law  and  moral  law  are  from  the  same  hand.  This 
is  God's  world,  and  not  Satan's.  True  success  can  only 
come  by  conformity  to  God's  will.  Rapacity  is  never  sa- 
gacity. There  is  a  growing  predominance  of  Christian 
principles  and  Christian  men  in  the  management  of  affairs. 
There  is  no  use  in  fighting  against  nature.     "He  that  sin- 


^0  BI-CBNTBNNIAL  CELEBRATION   OP  THE   UNITED 

neth  against  me  wrongeth  his  own  soul."  "Godliness  is  prof- 
itable for  the  life  that  now  is  and  for  that  which  is  to 
€0ine."  There  is  an  arousing  of  the  public  conscience  in  be- 
half of  righteousness  in  all  social  relations  and  industrial 
affairs.  There  is  a  demand  for  publicity  in  the  complicated 
problems  of  modern  life.  Let  in  the  light.  Find  out  what 
is  fair  and  then  demand  what  is  fair.  High  authorities  in 
finance  say  that  men  do  not  want  to  do  and  do  not  dare  to 
<lo  the  acts  of  injustice  that  were  common  not  long  ago. 

In  view  of  these  and  other  manifest  tokens  of  God's  pres- 
ence with  his  people,  we  may  confidently  anticipate  the 
promised  hour  when  the  voices  in  heaven  shall  be  heard 
saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  King- 
dom of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ;  and  he  shall  reign  for 
ever  and  ever. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OP  LITTLE  COMPTON.  61 

HISTORICAL  ADDRESS. 

THE  TOWN  OF  LITTLE  COMPTON. 
By  Roswell  B.  Burchard. 


As  we  stand  and  look  from  the  elevatioii  which  is  crowned 
by  this  venerable  place  of  worship  and  view  the  surround- 
ing country,  we  should  be  insensible  to  the  best  blessings  of 
bounteous  Nature  if  we  were  not  joyous  that  our  lines  had 
fallen  in  a  place  so  pleasant.  The  eminence  of  Windmill 
Hill  to  the  north,  the  encircling  woodland  to  the  east,  old 
Ocean's  band  of  blue  to  the  south  and  the  broad  Sakonnet 
to  the  west  are  the  confines  of  a  truly  delectable  country. 
One  is  prone  under  this  influence  to  enter  this  sanctuary, 
open  his  hymn-book  and  sing  with  all  his  heart  and  all  his 
lungs,  as  the  Fathers  did  when  this  old  church  was  new : 

"  My  willing  soul  wf)uld  stay 
In  such  a  frame  as  this." 

Standing,  too,  upon  the  altitude  of  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury, and  turning  where  "the  centuries  behind  us  like  a 
fruitful  land  repose,"  we  should  be  ungrateful  for  the  best 
blessings  of  Divine  Providence  if  we  failed  to-day  to  do 
homage  to  those  generations  of  men,  who,  through  toil  and 
prayer  and  blood,  drove  the  furrow  of  civilization  that  we 
might  enjoy  its  fruitage. 

The  motive  of  tlie  hour  is  retrospection.  The  older  ])eo- 
ple,  contemplating  the  farms,  the  homesteads,  and  the 
friendships  of  their  youth,  observe  regretfully  the  remorse- 
less work  of  time,  the  relentlessness  of  change.  During 
my  short  residence  here  how  many  friendships  have  been 
made  and  lost,  how  many  places  have  been  made  irremedi- 
ably vacant!     Charles  Edwin   Wilbour,   Benjamin  F.  Wil- 

NOTE.  At  the  request  of  the  Committee  all  that  wa-  prep.tieu  i-r  aus  addieas  is 
herein  published,  though  portions  were  omitted  in  the  delivery— Ed. 


•62  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF   THE   UNITED 

bour,  George  A.  Gray,  Isaac  C.  Wilbour,  Warren  Kempton, 
Follen  Bebee,  Frederick  R.  Brownell,  George  S.  Burleigh, — 
what  amiable  associations  are  summoned  at  the  mention  of 
these  names! 

There  are  here  but  three  things  which  are  immutable :  the 
sea  and  its  bulwark  of  rocks,  the  sky  with  its  everlasting 
glory  of  stars,  and  the  tabernacle  of  the  changeless  God 
which  is  set  up  in  the  hearts  of  a  Christian  people.  The 
primeval  forests  are  gone.  Of  the  aboriginal  race  not  a  ves- 
tige remains  save  an  occasional  relic  picked  up  like  a 
strange  sea-shell  on  Time's  shore.  Canonicus,  Metacomet, 
Wamsutta,  Awashonks,  Weetamoe, — I  am  afraid  we  know 
better  as  the  names  of  mills  and  merchandise,  yachts  and 
steamboats  than  as  personages  who  have  influenced  our  own 
lives. 

Generation  after  generation  of  people  as  worthy,  as  gen- 
erous, as  clever  as  ourselves, — our  immediate  ancestors, 
have  passed  away  and  have  left  scarcely  any  tangible  sou- 
venirs of  their  belongings  or  any  written  memorials  of  their 
lives.  The  probate  records  contain  long  inventories  of 
household  treasures, — silver,  pictures,  swords,  watches, 
buckles,  canes,  family  bibles, — Where  are  they?  That  is 
the  question  vainly  asked  by  our  industrious  Committee  on 
the  Historical  Exhibit.  How  sacredly  we  treasure  their 
every  written  word,  no  matter  how  commonplace  or  homely. 
The  lesson  is :  Go  home  and  make  up  your  family  record 
and  write  your  biographies  for  the  delectation  of  your  pos- 
terity. Or,  if  reticence  restrains,  then  write  something 
about  your  fathers  and  grandfathers.  Among  my  most  val- 
ued possessions  is  a  long  letter  written  to  the  Rev.  Ezra 
Stiles  of  Newport  ^  by  the  grandson  of  Col.  Benjamin 
Church,  in  which  he  gives  a  personal  description  of  hip 
grandfather  and  an  account  of  his  fatal  fall  from  his  horse. 

In  view  of  this  universal  modesty,  or  lack  of  foresight, 
shown  in  the  scanty  nature  of  family  records,  it  is  fortunate 
the  early  American  colonists  introduced  the  practice  of  re- 


(')    Pastor  2d  church,  Newport,  1756-1777  ;  President  Yale  College,  1778-1795;  Editor 
■of  Benjamin  Church's  King  Philip's  War. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  63 

cording  all  conveyances  of  laud, — ^a  system  not  previously 
in  vogue  in  the  old  country. 

The  fruitage  of  this  antique  seed  one  may  find  to-day  in 
the  dingy  folios  enshrined  within  the  iron  doors  of  the  town 
hall  safe.  To  the  local  antiquarian  this  is  a  treasury  like 
that  of  Atreus.  Here  are  copies  of  the  deeds  of  Awashonks 
and  her  tribesmen  to  the  first  proprietors;  the  original  rec- 
ords of  these  proprietors,  and  a  complete  registry  of  deeds 
quaintly  entitled,  "Land  Evidence  Books."  There  is  a 
genealogical  record  of  families  covering  certain  periods, 
with  registers  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths,  and  finally 
the  records  of  all  the  town  meetings,  from  the  earliest  times 
to  the  present  day.^  There  is  also  an  ancient  map  of  the  town 
as  it  was  laid  out  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. A  map,  which,  to  my  mind,  is  equally  valuable 
though  not  so  ancient,  is  one  owned  by  Mr.  P.  H.  Wilbour, 
that  was  made  by  Otis  Wilbor  about  1842.  In  this  map 
the  names  of  the  original  landholders  are  substituted  for 
the  names  of  the  later  ones  which  are  entered  on  the  older 
map.  These  maps,  taken  together,  show  first,  those  to 
whom  the  original  lots  fell  at  the  first  drawing,  and  second, 
those  who  really  settled  on  the  land  or  OAvned  it  after  con- 
siderable selling  and  exchanging  had  taken  place. 

I  shall  not  attempt  a  connected  historical  sketch  of  this 
town.  That  has  been  carefully  prepared  by  Mr.  H.  W. 
Blake  in  the  history  of  Newport  County,  to  which  you  all 
have  access.'^  I  shall  simply  recall  certain  scenes,  incidents 
and  persons,  each  typical,  I  think,  of  their  several  epochs. 

ORIGIN. 

You  are  aware  that  we  were  not  a  part  of  Roger  Wil- 
liams's colony, — not  a  part  of  Rhode  Island  at  all,  but  of 


(')  Records  of  town  meetings  and  vital  records  before  1747  are  still  in  possession 
of  the  town,  but  the  "  land-evidence  "  and  probate  records  before  that  date,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Massachusetts  system,  are  at  the  ancient  county -seat,  Taunton. 

For  a  list  of  town  records  preserved  in  Little  Compton  town-hall  made  by  C.  S. 
Brigham  in  1903,  see  Annual  Report  of  American  Historical  Association  1903,  vol.  1, 
page  600. 

(-)  History  of  Newport  County.  Richard  M.  Bayles,  New  York,  L.  E.  Preston 
&  Co.,  1888.    The  chapter  on  Little  Compton,  written  by  H.  W.  Blake. 


64  BI-CENTBNNIAL  CELEBRATION    OP  THE   UNITED 

Massachusetts;  and  all  our  early  government  was  from 
Plymouth,  all  our  early  associations  Puritan.  It  was  not 
till  1746  that  Tiverton  and  Little  Compton  were  set  oj0f  as 
part  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the  boundary  line  was  a  fruitful 
source  of  dissension  until  it  was  finally  established  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  1862. 

Although  the  actual  beginning  of  Little  Compton  was  in 
the  lonely  settlement  of  Colonel  Church  in  1674,  it  would 
seem  that  the  legal  and  political  formation  of  our  town 
sprung  from  a  sort  of  western  land  speculation, — a  real  es- 
tate deal  on  the  part  of  the  good  Puritans  of  Plymouth  that 
invites  interesting  investigation. 

As  far  as  Plymouth  is  concerned  the  lands  lying  between 
Cape  Cod  Bay  and  Narragansett  Bay  were  a  sort  of  great 
unexplored  West.  After  a  half  century  of  settlement  Ply- 
mouth had  passed  the  infant  period  and  its  men  of  affairs 
began  "to  look  around"  for  profitable  investments. 

"It  would  appear,"  says  Mr.  Blake, ^  "by  implication,  at 
least,  from  the  Plymouth  record  that  there  were  two  classes 
embraced  in  the  population,  and  that  to  the  one  lands  were 
granted  by  the  other  in  recognition  of  services  rendered." 
Whether  these  "services"  were  rendered  in  war,  or  pesti- 
lence, or  road  building,  or  domestic  labor,  I  am  unable  to 
ascertain. 

The  earliest  record  known  to  relate  especially  to  Little 
Compton,  that  is  Saconet,  bears  date  of  June  4th,  1661, 
and  shows  "Libertie  is  granted  unto  some  who  were  for- 
merly servants  whoe  have  land  due  unto  them  by  covenant, 
to  Nominate  some  persons  to  the  Court,  or  to  some  of  the 
Magistrates,  to  bee  deputed  in  their  behalf  to  purchase  par- 
cell  of  land  for  their  accommodation  att  Saconett."^ 

When  this  "authority"  came  to  be  exercised  a  good  many 
"got  aboard"  who  were  by  no  means  servants.  In  fact  a 
sort  of  supplementary  enabling  act  was  passed  in  1662  un- 
der which  "Captain  Willett  is  appointed  by  the  court  to 
purchase  the  lands  of  the  Indians  which  is  granted  unto 
such  that  were  servants,  and  others  that  were  ancient  free- 


Q-")    Bayles'  History,  p.  975. 

(-)    Ibid. :  also  Dexter's  Church's  King  Philip's  War,  1865,  Vol.  I,  p.  2,  note. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  65 

men,  which  the  oourt  thinks  meet  to  add  to  them  that  have 
an  interest  in  the  said  grant  *  *  *  "  etc. 

The  lands  of  Tiverton  and  Fall  River  were  taken  up 
about  the  same  time  by  two  similar  companies:  The  Pur- 
chasers of  Pocasset  and  the  Proprietors  of  Puncatest. 

The  town  of  Little  Compton  was  laid  out  in  plots  on  pa- 
per before  any  white  man  had  settled  in  it,  and  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  its  external  boundaries  are  retained 
more  closely  to-day  than  any  other  town  in  Rhode  Island 
with,  as  someone  has  remarked,  the  single  exception  of  New 
Shoreham.i  With  possibly  two  or  three  exceptions  the 
original  grantees  never  saw  the  land  until  after  the  allot- 
ments were  made. 

On  the  22d  day  of  July,  1673,  twenty-nine  men  appeared 
at  Plymouth  and  claimed  their  respective  shares.  The  de- 
serving ''servants"  I  fear  were  in  the  minority  for  the  twen- 
ty-nine comprised  mostly  prominent  men:  His  Excellency 
Governor  Josiah  Winslow,  Constant  Southworth,  Daniel 
Wilcox,  William  Merrick,  and  Simon  Rouse, — these  with 
thirteen  others,  proved  title  in  their  own  right ;  John  Wash- 
borne  claimed  a  share  as  a  freeman,  and  fourteen  others,  in- 
cluding Benjamin  Church,  Joseph  Church,  John  Richmond, 
William  Pabodie,  claimed  in  the  right  of  others,  which  right 
they  had  doubtless  secured  by  purchase  from  the  servants 
aforesaid. 

These  twenty-nine  were  the  original  proprietors  of  Sa- 
conet,  whose  records  our  worthy  Town  Clerk,  Mr.  John  B. 
Taylor,  so  sedulously  guards  in  his  big  safe,  and  upon  whose 
title,  thus  conferred,  all  our  landed  interests  in  Little 
Compton  are  dependent  at  law.  They  were  mostly  resi- 
dents of  Duxbury  (the  home  of  Standish  and  Alden),  and 
Marshfield  (where  Governor  Winslow  and  Peregrine  White 
lived),  and  the  adjacent  country. 

Although  title  at  English  law  was  complete  by  the  grant 
of  the  Plymouth  Colony  there  were  still  the  moral  rights  of 
the  Indians  to  be  considered. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  it  was  agreed  that 


(1)    Block  Island. 


66  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CBLBBBATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  go  and  purchase  these 
lands  of  the  Indians.  The  first  tract,  comprising  most  of 
the  township  west  of  the  Common,  was  secured  for  the  sum 
of  seventy-five  pounds  sterling,  in  the  fall  of  1673. 

Mr.  Blake  recalls'  that  only  forty  years  before  this  oc- 
currence Koger  Williams  was  compelled  ^'for  the  sake  of 
public  peace"  to  burn  a  paper  in  which  he  advanced  the  doc- 
trine that  no  English  grant,  though  from  the  King  himself, 
would  be  valid  unless  the  natives  had  been  fully  recom- 
pensed. 

THE  TOWN^S  CHANGE   OF   NAME. 

The  name  Little  Compton  soon  supplanted  the  native 
name,  following  the  prevailing  custom  of  naming  settle- 
ments after  English  towns,  though  generally  no  appropri- 
ateness is  evinced  in  the  naming. 

The  records  of  the  Court  of  Plymouth  show  that,  upon 
the  petition  of  Mr.  Joseph  Church  and  the  other  Proprie- 
tors, the  name  Little  Compton  was  given  and  the  place  le- 
gally constituted  a  township  on  June  6,  1682  ;2  though  pre- 
vious to  that,  in  the  original  book  of  records  of  the  Propri- 
etors of  Saconet,  there  is  an  entry  relating  to  "Saconet  or 
Little  Compton"  dated  February  —  1682. ^  For  a  long 
time  after  that  the  names  were  employed  interchangeably, 
sometimes  the  double  expression  "Little  Compton  alias  Sa- 
conet" being  used  for  definiteness.* 

The  Rev.  William  Emerson,  father  of  Ralph  Waldo  Em- 
erson, and  brother-in-law  to  Rev.  Mase  Shepard,  suggested 
omitting  "Little"  from  the  name  in  the  first  published  arti- 
cle about  Little  Compton,  as  though  it  were  belittling  the 


(»)    Bayles'  History  of  Newport  County,  page  978. 

(')  Bayles'History  of  Rhode  Island,  page  994,  transcribes  date  July  7.  The  Genea 
logical  Dictionary  of  Rhode  Island,  J.  O.  Austin,  p.  43,  gives  the  date  June  6,  1682, 
correctly. 

(»)  "  February,  1682.  As  many  of  the  Proprietors  as  could  conveniently  be  treated, 
■were  willing  to  accommodate  John  Price  with  Ten  Acres  of  Land  at  Saconet  or  Little 
Compton  in  order  to  his  Dwelling  there,"  etc.  (The  editor  hopes  that  the  ancient 
word  "  treated  "  will  not  suffer  any  modern  misconstruction.)  Original  records  of 
the  Proprietors,  part  2  (i.  e.,  the  back  part  of  the  book,  the  volume  being  reversed) 
page  6;  Otis  Wilbor's  copy  of  the  records  Vol.  1,  page  190. 

(*)  Records  of  Proprietors,  May  18,  1686,  Otis  Wilbor's  copy,  p.  74;  May  17, 1693 
Ibid  p.  80. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  67 

towii's  dignity.  1      This  heresy  has  been  repeated   in  later 
jears.     I  hope  the  suggestion  may  never  be  adopted. 

LITTLE    COMPTON    IN    THE    OLD    COUNTRY. 

Little  Compton  in  England  is  a  very  ancient  though  un- 
important village  in  the  Edge  Hills  on  the  southern  boun- 
dary of  Warwickshire.  Nearby  is  a  "four-shire  stone"  lo- 
cated where  the  counties  of  Oxford,  Gloucester,  Warwick 
and  Worcester  meet. 

Little  Compton  boasts  the  stately  manor-house  of  Arch- 
bishop Juxon,  who  was  a  boon  companion  to  Charles  I,  and 
his  attendant  on  the  scaffold  at  Whitehall.  The  town  con- 
tains, besides  ancient  Eoman  remains,  some  interesting 
relics  of  the  time;  and  curious  stories  are  recorded  of  how 
the  Archbishop's  sporting  proclivities  roused  the  ire  of  the 
Cromwellian  soldiers. 

The  village  is  mentioned  in  Domesday  Book,  1086  A.  D. 
At  the  time  of  our  settlement  it  contained  only  180  inhabi- 
tants and  thirty-five  houses ;  and  at  the  time  of  our  Revolu- 
tion, it  having  increased  to  only  282  inhabitants,  was  thus 
early  outdistanced  by  its  American  namesake,  which  then 
boasted  of  1,232. 

The  history  and  description  of  Little  Compton  in  Eng- 
land may  be  found  in  the  Memoirs  of  Archbishop  Juxon, 
one  of  its  later  ministers.^ 

THE    INDIANS. 

You  are  all  aware  that  Little  Compton  was  occupied  by 
the  small  tribe  of  Saconet  Indians,  while  the  Pocassets  lived 
in  what  is  now  Tiverton  and  Fall  River.  The  Indian  names 
of  these  localities  were  Little  Compton,  Saconet;  Tiverton 
Four  Corners  (or  rather  the  neck  of  land  to  the  southwest), 
Punlcatcst,  and  Tiverton,  Pocasset.^  The  latter  names  have 
come  down  to  us  in  Pocasset  Neck  and  Puncatest  Neck. 
Into  the  etymology  of  the  word  Saconet  it  seems  useless  to 

(1)  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Collections,    tst  Series,  vol.  9,  p.  199. 

(2)  Memoirs  of  Archbishop  Juxon,  London,  James  Parker  &  Co.,  3869.  Copy  in 
Boston  Public  Library. 

(3)  Pocasset  included  all  the  land  from  Fall  River  to  Pachet  Brook. 


("iS  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OP   THE   UNITED 

inquire,  as  every  authority  who  has  tried  it  has  either  hon- 
estly given  it  up,  or  endeavored  to  frame  some  fanciful  con- 
nection with  the  sound  of  certain  Indian  words.  Thus  we 
have  "wild  goose,"  "haunt  of  the  black  goose,"  "conquered 
territory,"  "widening  of  the  stream,"  etc. ;  "black  goose" 
seems  to  have  been  the  accepted  meaning  for  a  long  time, 
but  the  learned  annotator,  Dr.  Henry  M.  Dexter,  in  his  edi- 
tion of  Church's  Indian  War,  repudiates  that  derivation.^ 
For  myself  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  whole  question  is  a 
"wild  goose"  chase  at  best. 

Nor  is  there  any  one  correct  spelling.  Colonel  Church, 
spelling  it  as  he  heard  it  from  the  Indians,  Sogkonate; 
later  writers  spelled  it  Soughkonate,  Sakonate,  Seconet,  etc. 
In  the  ancient  town  records  it  is  written  Seconet  or  Saconet.'- 
Kecently  the  local  usage  has  drifted  into  the  form  Seacon- 
net,  which  seems  to  be  objectionable  because  it  has  led  to  the 
mistaken  idea  that  the  place  derives  its  name  from  its  prox- 
imity to  the  sea. 

The  U.  S.  government,  on  its  maps  and  charts,  has 
adopted,  probably  for  no  very  learned  reason,  the  spelling 
Sakonnet,  and  as  this  seems  to  be  as  near  to  what  was  prob- 
ably the  Indian  pronunciation  as  anything,  the  golf  club, 
the  hotel  and  most  of  the  summer  residents  have  made  use 
of  that  spelling. 

AWASHONKS. 

The  name  most  familiar  to  us  among  all  the  Saconet  In- 
dians is  that  of  Awashonks.  She  was  the  squaw-sachem 
of  the  tribe  at  the  time  of  the  English  settlement.  She  lived 
to  a  good  old  age  in  this  place  and  died  here;  and  her  re- 
mains were  probably  buried  in  the  ancient  Indian  burying- 
ground  on  William  T.  Peckham's  land,  north  of  what  we 
call  the  Swamp  road.  The  rock  inscribed  with  her  name  by 
the  late  Mr.  I.  C.  Wilbour  was  intended  by  him  to  commem- 
orate her  memory  though  not  to  mark  her  grave. 

Her  real  name  was  probably  Aioa,  a  common  Indian  giv- 


(1)    Church's  King  Philip's  War,  edited  by  H.  M.  Dexter,  Boston,  1865,  Vol.  I,  page 
2,  note. 

(2)    Drake  says  "Commdnly  called  5eeo>i,et."    Hist,  and  Biog.  p.  249;  Dexter  adopt- 
ed Snconet. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  G9 

en-name,  SMmks  or  Shonks  being  a  title  wliicli  meant  squaw 
sachem.  ^ 

Poor,  good  woman,  she  deserves  more  than  i)assing  men- 
tion in  our  history'  for  she  was  of  Icindly  nature  and  she 
learned  too  well  the  truth  of  the  proverb:  ^'Uneasy  lies  the 
head  that  wears  a  crown."  She  was  the  faithful  ally  of  the 
settlers  through  all  the  Indian  wars,  and  wisely  submitted 
to  the  friendly  guidance  of  Colonel  Church,  although  oppos- 
ing all  the  affiliations  of  race  and  kindred.^ 

The  Awashonks  people,  like  all  the  Indians  from  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Savannah  River,  were  Algonquins. 
This  great  race  was  divided  into  many  nations  and  tribes. 
The  Narragansetts  occupied  the  lower  half  of  the  mainland 
of  Rhode  Island  west  of  Narragansett  Bay;  the  Pequots 
and  Mohegans  dwelt  west  of  them  in  Connecticut  and  New 
York;  the  Massachusetts  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  and  the 
Wampanoags  in  the  vicinity  of  Plymouth  and  westerly  to 
Narragansett  Bay.  The  home  of  the  Wampanoag  chief  was 
at  PokanoTcet,  or  Mt.  Hope,  which  latter  name,  by  the  way, 
Mr.  Dexter  says  is  Indian  Montaup  and  Mr.  Drake  insists 
is  English  Mount  Hope.^  Our  Saconets,  their  Tiverton 
neighbors,  the  Pocassets,  and  the  Nipmucks  who  dwelt  fur- 
ther north,  were  small  Wampanoag  tribes. 

ORIGIN  OF  TFIB   INDIAN  TRIBES. 

Mr.  Field*  says  that  it  is  useless  to  attempt  any  mention 
of  the  various  guesses  at  the  origin  of  the  Indian  tribes. 
Little  more  is  known  than  when  Roger  Williams  wrote: 
^'Frora  Adam  and  Noah  that  they  spring  is  granted  on  all 

hands." 

Roger  Williams,  like  others  who  have  had  to  do  with  In- 
dians, was  benevolently  inclined  at  first;  and  while  he  never 


(1)  Biography  and  History  of  the  Indians  of  North  America.  Samuel  G.  Drake, 
page  248,  note. 

(2)  For  a  biography  of  Awashonks  see  Biography  and  History  of  the  Indians  of 
North  America,  Samuel  G.  Drake,  page  249;  also  Dexter's  Benjamin  Church's  King 
Philip's  War,  Vol.  I,  p.  6,  note. 

(S)  Biography  and  History  of  the  Indians,  Drake,  p.  K'i,  note;  Church's  King 
Philip's  War,  H.  M.  Dexter,  Vol.  1,  p.  7. 

(*)    State  of  Rliode  Island  at  the  End  of  the  Century,  Vol.  I,  p.  10. 


70  BICENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF   THE    UNITED 

went  as  far  as  General  Sheridan,  who  is  said  to  have  de- 
clared, "There  was  no  good  Indian  but  a  dead  Indian,"  in 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  wrote:  "All  Indians  are  ex- 
tremely treacherous."  ^ 

AN    INDIAN    TRADITION. 

Longfellow  helped  to  rescue  the  picturesque  mythology  of 
the  Indians  from  oblivion.  A  page  from  the  legendary  that 
inspired  his  song  was  written  upon  our  shore.  In  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Historical  Society  Collections  of  1792,  you  will 
find  a  curious  tradition  which  relates  that  the  first  Indian 
on  the  Vineyard,  by  some  demonic  power,  caused  his  chil- 
dren to  be  turned  into  fish  ("killers").  The  mother 
mourned  "so  exceedingly  that  he  threw  her  away.  She  fell 
upon  Seconet  near  the  rocks,  where  she  lived  some  time,  ex- 
acting contributions  of  all  who  passed  by  water.  After  a 
while  she  was  turned  into  a  stone.  The  entire  shape  re- 
mained for  many  years,  but  after  the  English  came  some  of 
them  broke  off  her  arms,  head,  etc.,  but  the  most  of  the  body 
remains  to  this  day." 

RELATIONS   WITH    THE    INDIANS. 

It  is  to  the  lasting  credit  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  place 
that  though  as  Indian  fighters  they  were  second  to  none, 
their  relations  with  the  neighboring  Indians  were,  first,  last 
and  all  the  time,  friendly.  I  know  of  no  other  community 
where  friendly  relations  existed  until  the  Indian  race  had 
become  extinct;  where  treaties  had  been  made  and  honestly 
lived  up  to.  One  of  the  lasting  regrets  of  Colonel  Church's 
life  was  that  the  arrogant  and  ill-advised  authorities  at 
Plymouth  abrogated  his  solemn  promises  to  the  Saconets, 
and,  at  one  time  at  least,  sold  their  men  into  slavery. 

The  whole  Saconet  tribe  probably  never  numbered  more 
than  a  thousand.  Drake  says  that  in  1700  there  were  a 
hundred  Indian  men  among  them.  Blake  says  that  when 
their  church  was  organized  there  were  only  two  hundred  In- 
dians in  Little  Compton.     Their  village,  at  that  time  a  mere 


(»)    state  of  Rhode  Island  at  the  End  of  the  Centurj',  Vol.  I,  p.  15. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF  LITTLE  COMPTON.  71 

collection  of  huts,  was  located  northwest  of  the  Caleb 
Mosher  place,i  east  of  the  town  on  the  way  to  Westport. 
At  about  the  year  1750  an  epidemic  carried  off  many  of 
them,  and  in  1803  there  were  not  above  ten  Indians  in  Lit- 
tle Compton. 

The  death  of  Sarah  Howdee,  the  last  of  the  tribe,  occurred 
at  Little  Compton  and  was  reported  in  the  Providence 
Journal,  May  7,  1827. 

FORMATION    OF   THE   TOWNSHIP. 

Title  having  been  obtained  to  the  land,  the  proprietors 
met  at  Duxbury;  they  had  a  rude  plan  drawn  of  the  land 
between  the  Pocasset,  that  is  the  Tiverton,  line,  just  south 
of  Pachet  Brook  and  Taylor's  Lane,  the  line  of  the  Common 
and  the  river;  this  tract  they  divided  like  a  gridiron,  east 
and  west,  into  thirty-two  long  strips  or  sections,  about  thir- 
ty-five rods  wide  and  one  to  two  miles  long. 

The  proprietors  met  at  Duxbury,  April  10,  1674,  and  drew 
lots  for  these  sections.  Benjamin  Church  and  Joseph 
Church,  each  being  entitled  to  two  sections,  and  one  being 
reserved  for  the  minister.  There  were  thirty-two  sections, 
though  only  twenty-nine  proprietors. 

Within  a  year  Benjamin  Church  and  probably  John 
Almy  and  John  Irish  ^  settled  and  built  houses.  Benjamin 
Church  apparently  did  not  build  at  once  upon  either  of  the 
lots  which  fell  to  him,  but  upon  one  of  his  choice  well  up 
near  the  Tiverton  line,  apparently  on  the  southern  slope  of 
Windmill  Hill,  the  location  having  been  purchased  by  him 
from  William  Pabodie.^  He  later  lived  on  what  is  now  Ed- 
ward Howland's  farm,  and  finally  moved  to  the  James  Irving 
Bailey  farm. 

It  is  said  that  the  oldest  portion  of  the  B.  F.  Wilbur 
house,  near  the  Swamp  road,  was  built  by  him  for  one  of 
his  sons. 

A  roadway,  eight  rods  wide,  was  reserved,  running  due 

(>)    Bavles'  History,  p.  991.    O    Infra,  p.  87. 

(3)  I  gather  this  from  Baylf-s'  History,  p.  981,  and  Otis  Wilbor's  map  supra. 
Though  Mr.  Dextor  (Church's  King  Philip's  War,  Vol.  1,  page  U.  note)  locates 
Church's  early  home  on  Lot  19,  which  he  drew,  which  is  the  site  of  the  late  Edward 
W.  Howland's  farm. 


72  BI-CENTENNIAL  CBLBBEATION   OP  THE   UNITED 

south,  across  the  great  lots.  This  road  has  been  gener- 
ally retained  excepting  as  to  the  portions  between  Mrs. 
Drummond's  above  the  Common  road,  and  Taylor's  lane. 
We  may  wonder  if  the  ghosts  of  these  early  settlers  have 
been  engaged  during  these  recent  moonlight  nights  in  crit- 
ical observation  of  the  operations  of  the  stone  crusher  and 
the  steam-roller  upon  this  ancient  highway.^ 

A  second  purchase  was  made  by  the  same  proprietors  in 
the  same  year,  1673,  for  $116  2-3.  ^  It  contained  all  of  the 
land  at  the  south  shore  east  of  Bailey's  swamp;  other  pur- 
chases followed  of  the  intervening  land,  although  allot- 
ments do  not  appear  to  have  been  made  till  1675.  After 
that,  successive  allotments  speedily  followed,  till  all  the 
land  in  Little  Compton  was  taken  up. 

Interest  in  the  real  estate  business  seems  to  have  been 
brought  to  a  standstill  at  the  outset  by  King  Philip's  War 
in  1675. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  by  the  advice  of  Church, 
the  proprietors  set  off  a  tract  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
square  south  of  Taylor's  Lane,  including  the  farms  now  oc- 
cupied by  David  and  Philip  Wilbour  and  Mrs.  George  Gray, 
for  the  use  of  Awashonks. 

KING  Philip's  war. 

The  immediate  cause  of  King  Philip's  war  was  the  execu- 
tion of  three  Wampanoags  charged  with  the  murder  of  a 
converted  Indian.  The  real  issue,  however,  was  the  innate 
race  enmity  and  jealousy  at  the  aggression  of  the  settlers. 

Six  messengers  were  sent  by  Philip  from  Mount  Hope  to 
Awashonks  to  solicit  her  alliance  in  the  war,  and  to  tell  her 
that  a  great  armj'  was  coming  to  invade  the  Indian  terri- 
tory. These  ambassadors  were  received  cordially  by  the 
Saconets  and  a  great  dance  was  given.  The  faithful  queen 
sent  immediately  to  Colonel  Church,  who,  attended  only  by 
an  Indian  interpreter,  repaired  at  once  to  the  scene  of  fes- 
tivities.    Here,  he  says,  they  found  hundreds  of  Indians 


(>)    First  half  mile  Macadam  road  in  Little  Compton,  1903. 

C)    These  various  purchases  and  allotments  are  located  on  Otis  Wilbor's  map 
supra. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  73 

gathered  from  all  corners  of  the  queen's  domain.  ''Awa- 
shonks  her  self,  in  a  foaming  Sweat,  was  leading  the  Dance. 
But  she  was  no  sooner  sensible  of  Mr.  Churches  arrival,  but 
she  broke  off,  sat  down,  calls  her  Nobles  round  her,  orders 
Mr.  Church  to  be  invited  into  her  presence."  ^  She  put  the 
question  to  the  Colonel,  point  blank,  whether  the  story  of  the 
invasion  was  true,  and  the  wily  colonel,  probably  not  know- 
ing just  what  was  afoot,  asked  ''whether  she  thought  he 
would  have  brought  up  his  goods  to  settle  in  that  place  if 
he  apprehended  an  entering  into  war  with  so  near  a  neigh- 
bor." The  six  Mount  Hope  men  (or  Pokanokets'^ ) ,  in  all 
their  war  paint,  were  confronted  with  the  redoubtable  col- 
onel, and  Awashonks  proceeded  to  explain  to  him  that  their 
very  agreeable  message  was  that  unless  she  would  make  an 
alliance  with  Philip  he  would  secretly  burn  the  houses  and 
kill  the  cattle  of  the  English,  that  she  would  get  the  credit 
of  it,  and  the  vengeance  of  the  whites  would  fall  upon  her. 
The  captain's  blunt  answer,  intended  undoubtedly  for  the 
ears  of  the  royal  ambassadors,  was,  if  Philip  was  bent  on 
war  the  best  thing  she  could  do  would  be  to  have  these  six 
Pokanokets  knocked  in  the  head  and  slielter  herself  under 
the  protection  of  the  English.  This  cool-blooded  but  very 
effectual  bluff  settled  the  whole  business  as  far  as  Awa- 
shonks and  her  tribe  were  concerned,  but  it  brought  down 
upon  the  doughty  colonel  the  righteous  indignation  of  sev- 
eral thin-skinned  historians. 

Church,  bidding  Awashonks  to  stay  within  her  reserva- 
tion, hastened  to  Poeasset,  where,  on  the  hill  above  Stone 
Bridge,  he  had  an  audience  with  Weetamoe,-'^  Queen  of  the 
Pocassets,  and  urged  her  alliance  with  the  English.  This 
he  was  unable  to  secure,  she  declaring  that  all  her  people 
had  gone,  against  her  will,  to  Philip's  dance,  as  war  was 
certain. 

Having  made  sure  of  these  facts,  Church,  with  incredible 
celerity,  hastened  to  Plymouth,  reaching  there  after  a  jour- 
ney of  forty-two  miles  from  Tiverton,  or  fifty  from  Little 

(')    Dexter's  Church's  Kina;  Philip's  War.  Vol.  I,  p.  C 
(2)    Biog.  and  Hist,  of  Indians  of  N.  A.    8.  G.  Drake,  p.  252. 

(»)  Weetamoe  was  the  wife  of  Wamsutta  and  therefore  sister-in-law  of 
King  Philip. 


74  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OP   THE   UNITED 

Compton,  by  the  next  morning,  having  collected  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  on  his  way. 

The  war  was  then  on.  Maj.  William  Bradford,  son  of 
Gov.  Bradford,  of  the  Mayfloiver,  was  given  command  of  the 
Plymouth  soldiers,  and  he  at  once  requested  Church  to  ac- 
company him  and  to  use  his  influence  to  secure  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  "Gentleman  of  Rhode  Island."  This  courteous 
diplomacy  seemed  necessary  because  Rhode  Island  had  been 
excluded  from  the  confederacy  of  the  New  England  colonies, 
formed  for  mutual  defence  in  1643, — "on  account  of  her 
heretical  toleration  of  religious  freedom,  and  her  open  ad- 
vocacy of  liberty  of  conscience,"  says  one  historian;  and 
"because  they  had  not  been  able  to  institute  a  government 
such  as  could  be  relied  on  for  the  fulfilment  of  stipulations 
mutually  made  by  the  four  colonies,"  says  another.^ 

Church  being  cut  off  from  Little  Compton,  the  friendly 
Awashonks  was  left  in  entire  uncertainty  as  to  what  pro- 
tection she  could  expect  from  Plymouth ;  her  people  mean- 
while were  carried  away  by  the  tide  of  Philip's  early  suc- 
cesses. 

Church  at  the  time  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fighting  north 
of  Mount  Hope  Bay,  in  Swansea.  He  was  wounded  in  the 
Great  Swamp  Fight,  Dec.  19,  1675,  receiving  "one  bullet  in 
the  thigh,  a  small  flesh  wound  at  the  waist,  and  a  pair  of 
wounded  mittens."  The  narration  of  this  affair,  and  par- 
ticularly of  his  hand-to-hand  encounter,  after  being 
wounded,  with  a  greased  and  naked  Indian,  is  breezy  read- 
ing. 

After  many  adventures  Church  made  a  desperate  effort 
to  break  southward  through  the  hostile  Pocassets  to  keep 
his  pledge  with  Awashonks.  With  about  forty  soldiers  he 
hastened  from  Fall  River  to  Bristol,  over  Bristol  Ferry  the 
same  night,  the  next  night  across  the  Saconet,  where  Stone 
Bridge  now  is,  and  was  lying  in  wait  for  the  enemy  before 
daybreak.  An  anticipated  fight  was  spoiled  because  one  of 
the  Plymouth  soldiers  "troubled  with  the  epidemical  plague 
of  lust  after  tobacco  must  needs  strike  fire  to  smoke  it  and 


(')    Church's  King  Philip's  War,  Dexter,  Vol.  1,  p.  17,  note. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  75 

thereby  discovered  the  soldiers  to  tlie  enemy  who  precipi- 
tately fled." 

THE    FIGHT    OF    THE    PEASE-FIELD. 

Church  piloted  the  company  down  to  Tocasset  (or  Pun- 
katees)  Neck,  west  of  Tiverton  Four  Corners,  where  they 
succeeded  in  getting  undiscovered  into  Mr.  Almy's  pease- 
field.  *  Here  they  were  surprised  by  a  whole  horde  of  well- 
armed  Indians  and  Church  gave  his  Plymouth  men  their 
first  taste  of  real  Indian  fighting.  The  colonel,  almost  sin- 
gle-handed, kept  off  the  Indians,  while  his  men  were  taken, 
one  or  two  at  a  time,  into  canoes  which  had  been  sent  over 
from  Portsmouth,  for  the  soldiers'  deliverance,  when  the 
fighting  was  observed  from  the  other  shore.  Then,  levelling 
at  the  enemy  his  gun  which  was  loaded  with  his  last  charge, 
the  colonel  walked  boldly  across  the  pease-field.  He  picked 
up  his  hat  and  coat  where  he  had  dropped  them,  and  re- 
gained his  fellows  in  their  canoes  amid  a  hail  of  bullets. 
Two  of  these  struck  the  canoe  as  he  got  into  it,  one  grazed 
his  hair,  while  another  was  embedded  in  a  small  stake  which 
was  close  to  his  breast. 

He  embarked  all  his  twenty  men  safely,  after  a  six  hours' 
engagement  with  300  Indians ;  a  deliverance  which  the  good 
gentleman  often  refers  to  in  his  history  "to  the  glory  of  God 
and  His  protecting  providence."  I  scarcely  ever  ride  over 
Windmill  Hill,  or  sail  down  the  Sakonnet  River,  without 
trying  to  picture  this  lively  fight  in  my  awakened  imagina- 
tion. There  are  many  such  stirring  incidents  recorded  in 
Colonel  Church's  history. 

THE  TREATY. 

It  is  impossible  to  follow  Colonel  Church  through  the 
perils  and  adventures  of  the  war.  I  commend  his  book  to 
your  reading  as  really  containing  material  for  two  or  three 
modern  romances;  it  is  told  in  blunt,  pictorial  English  and 
has  the  charm  of  truth. 

Besides  the  reception  of  the  above-mentioned  ''embassy" 
and  the  fight  of  the  pease-field  which  occurred  on  the  shore 

C)      Church's  King  Philip'6  War,  Dexter,  Vol.  1,  p.  31,  and  note  p.  36. 


76  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBEATION    OP   THE   UNITED 

lots  west  of  Windmill  Hill,  there  were  two  other  interesting 
events  which  occurred  in  this  town,  viz. :  the  making  of  the 
famous  treaty  which  occurred  at  the  great  rock  on  the  Rev. 
William  Richmond's  farm,^  and  Colonel  Church's  parley 
with  the  Indians  at  Sakonnet  Point,  which  took  place  at 
Mr.  Lloyd's  bathing  beach.  The  latter  incident  occurred 
during  Colonel  Church's  hurried  canoe  trip  from  Wood's 
Holl  to  Portsmouth. - 

NOTABLE  PERSONAGES. 

The  name  of  one  of  the  most  influential  of  the  original 
settlers,  William  Pabodie,  seems  to  have  been  made  immor- 
tal because  of  being  his  wife's  husband.  His  grave  is 
marked  b}^  the  ancient  slate  slab  to  the  left  of  the  monu- 
ment to  "Betty"  Alden.  He  was  one  of  the  twenty-nine 
who  proved  their  shares  at  Plymouth  in  1G73,  and  he,  like 
the  Churches,  Richmond,  Irish  and  Rouse,  had  a  part  in  all 
the  subsequent  allotments.  He  was  one  of  the  committee 
sent  to  purchase  the  land  of  the  Indians ;  he  was  first  clerk 
of  the  corporation,  and  the  earlier  part  of  the  ancient  book 
of  records,  since  copied  for  the  town's  use  by  Otis  Wilbour, 
is  undoubtedly  in  his  handwriting.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
it  was  he  who  made  the  ancient  map  to  which  I  made  refer- 
ence as  being  among  the  town  records.  He  and  Elizabeth 
Alden  were  married  at  Duxbury  in  1644. 

On  which  of  his  several  allotments  of  land  William  Pa- 
bodie first  settled  is  uncertain,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
he  eventually  bailt  for  his  home  that  now  venerable  struct- 
ure which  constitutes  a  part  of  the  homestead  of  Mrs. 
George  Gray.  This  was  upon  a  small  grant  of  land  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Awashonks  Reservation,  which  he 
drew  in  the  allotment  of  1681.^  Elizabeth  was  the  daughter 
of  John  and  Priscilla,  of  the  Mayflower,  of  Plymouth  and  of 
Longfellow's  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish;  it  is  pleasant  to 
note  that  her  descendant,  John  Alden,  and  his  mother,  who 


(')    Dexter's  Church's  King  Phillip's  War,  Vol.  I,  p.  77.    Col-  Church  definitely 
locates  this  rock  on  Capt.  Richmond's  farm,  which  was  lot  No.  26,  allotment  of  1674. 
(»)     Ibid,  p.  73. 
(»)    Lot  23,  allotment  of  16S1 ;  see  Otis  Wilbor's  ancient  map. 


jSroiHiment  to 
Elizabeth  Alden  Peabody 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  77 

is  an  antiquarian  student  of  high  order,  have  their  summer 
home  among  us. 

The  monument,  into  which  Elizabeth's  tombstone  has 
been  set,  was  erected  in  1882  through  tlie  efforts  of  Mrs. 
Charles  Wilbour,  the  great-aunt  of  our  neighbor  and  rep- 
resentative, Philip  H.  Wilbour.  This  shaft  is  a  proper  me- 
morial to  mark  Mrs.  Pabodie's  last  resting  place,  though 
there  seems  to  be  something  of  dispute  concerning  the  state- 
ment that  she  was  the  first  white  woman  born  in  New  Eng- 
land, as  the  inscription  on  the  monument  records. 

One  never  feels  the  realism  of  long  past  events  so  keenly 
as  when  he  experiences  his  first  sensations  in  some  ancient 
burial  place  of  the  historic  dead : — among  the  effigies  of 
Henry  the  Seventh's  Chapel  at  Westminster,  before  the 
marble  tombs  and  rude  coffins  of  the  French  kings  at  Saint 
Denis,  or  beside  the  lead  caskets  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
in  the  cathedral  crypt  at  Granada.  A  like  realization  of 
the  nearness  of  past  lives  is  aroused  in  one's  mind  on  pro- 
ceeding, after  an  hour's  retirement  among  the  town's  old 
books,  into  the  ancient  cemetery  where  he  is  confronted 
with  the  half-obliterated  names  of  John  Rouse,  Constant 
Southworth,  John  Almy,  Nathaniel  Searle,  and  generation 
after  generation  of  Pabodies,  Richmonds,  Churches, 
Brownells,  Baileys,  Grays,  Grinnells,  and  the  rest. 

One  fondly  stoops  to  trace  the  archaic  records  on  the  fast- 
scaling  stones,  and  conjures  up  in  fancy  those  incidents 
which  have  come  down  to  us  in  the  lives  of  those  whom 
they  commemorate.  We  are  told,  for  instance,  that  Col. 
Benjamin  Church  "was  carried  to  his  grave  in  great  funeral 
pomp,  and  was  buried  under  arms."  Cannot  Fancy  picture 
that  winter  day  in  1718 ;  the  open  grave  by  the  little,  gray 
meeting-house,  the  great  concourse  of  villagers,  Indians, 
clergymen,  dignitaries  from  Providence,  Newport,  Ply- 
mouth, men  in  steeple  hats  and  knee  breeches,  women  in 
straight  gowns  and  kirtles,  the  pillioned  horses  hitched  and 
feeding  around  the  then  broader  confines  of  the  Common. 
And  good  Pastor  Billings  now  resting  in  a  neighboring 
grave,  standing,  with  great  Bible  in  hand,  while  the  long 
rifles  or  bell-mouthed  guns  of  the  soldiers  sound  the  last 


78  BI-CENTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

tribute  which  reverberates  across  fields  and  woodlands 
made  habitable  by  the  prowess  of  the  dead  warrior. 

Then  another  scene,  not  attended  with  marshal  pomp, 
but  appealing  more  tenderly  to  our  sensibilities.  Again 
an  open  grave,  one  a  few  paces  from  Colonel  Church's  tomb, 
— again  the  little  gray  meeting-house,  now  darkened  by  the 
weathering  of  a  hundred  winters, — a  great  concourse  of 
mourners  around  the  towering,^  gowned  form  of  the  Rev. 
Mase  Shepard,  the  good  pastor — shepherd  in  name  and  in 
fact,  at  the  grave  of  his  own  beloved  son,  John  Haskins 
Shepard,  applying  to  his  own  stricken  heart  the  consolation 
which  he  had  so  often  meted  out  to  his  afflicted  people.  The 
erect  form,  the  bowed  head,  the  beloved  familiar  face,  calm 
with  the  schooling  which  inures  the  New  Englander  to  re- 
press the  expression  of  grief, — the  stillness  of  the  evening, 
broken  by  the  utterance  of  self-abnegation :  "Not  my  will 
but  thine,  O  God,  be  done !" 

As  we  pass  from  the  graves  of  the  Shepards,  father  and 
son, — reverently  noting  those  of  Richard  Billings  and 
Jonathan  Ellis,  the  earlier  ministers, — going  toward  the 
Pabodie  monument,  we  observe  a  low,  slate  stone,  with 
placid,  graven  cherub  and  ornate  border  decoration.  The 
inscription  reads:  "In  memory  of  Mr.  Richard  Grinnell, 
who  departed  this  life  March  15th,  1789,  in  the  73d  year  of 
his  age." 

Some  wild  and  fanciful  stories  are  told  of  the  voyaging 
of  the  man  who,  oblivious  of  all,  reposes  beneath  this  mod- 
est memorial.  The  folklore  of  the  town  would  have  it  that 
he  was  a  gallant  sailor  man  whose  flag  was  sometimes  the 
Union  Jack  and  sometimes  the  Jolly  Roger. 

•'  And  wickedly  he  sailed 
As  he  sailed,  as  he  sailed!" 

Indeed,  it  used  to  be  whispered  that  he  was  a  jovial  fel- 
low-marauder of  the  famous  Captain  Kidd.  When,  how- 
ever, we  come  to  line  these  stories  up  against  the  measuring 

(1)  "His  weight  was  fully  two  hundred,  and  his  figure  erect  and  symmetrical." 
175th  Anniversary  pamphlet,  p.  47.  The  old  portion  of  the  present  residence  of  Mr. 
J.  B.  Richmond  was  the  house  of  Rev.  Mase  Shepard.  His  grave  is  shown  at  the  left 
of  the  church  in  the  frontispiece. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  79 

stick  of  history,  we  find  that  like  many  of  the  oft-told  leg- 
ends, they  do  not  coincide  with  the  facts.  For,  in  this  case, 
we  find  that  Captain  Kidd  died  before  Captain  Grinnell 
was  born ;  and  in  this  way  I  am  afraid  will  go  all  the  fanci- 
ful traditions  which  have  been  told  at  many  a  winter  fireside 
concerning  this  famous  man.  He  was  the  son-in-law  of 
pastor  Billings,  was  a  good  sailor  and  a  successful  mer- 
chant, and  a  man  of  exemplary  habits.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  his  temporal  prosperity  excited  the  imaginations  of  the 
envious  to  create  tales  which  might  be  derogatory  to  the 
good  captain's  influence  in  the  community. 

No  stone  in  the  cemetery  has  occasioned  more  speculation 
than  that  of  "'Elizabeth,  who  should  have  been  the  wife  of 
Simeon  Palmer."  There  are  various  stories  connected  with 
this  good  lady.  Why  this  curious  phraseology  is  graven 
over  her  last  resting  place  no  one  knows,  but  certain  sug- 
gestive facts  appear  upon  the  town  records.  Her  name, 
which  the  stone  for  some  reason,  or  probably  no  reason, 
conceals,  was  Elizabeth  Mortimer.  She  Avas  born  in  1712 
and  died,  so  the  record  says,  August  10th,  1776;  the  stone, 
possibly  recording  the  day  of  burial,  is  marked  August  14th. 

Elizabeth  was,  in  fact,  the  wife  of  Simeon  Palmer,  having 
been  married  to  him  by  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Ellis  Sept.  5, 
1755.  She,  therefore,  was  his  wife  during  twenty-one  long 
years.  Let  us  hope  the  romance,  if  romance  there  was, 
ended  happily.  She  was  Simeon's  second  wife,  he  having 
been  married  in  1723  to  Lydia  Dennis,  who  having  given 
birth  to  six  children  died  in  1754.  That  no  unkind  feelings 
existed  because  of  the  earlier  marriage  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  Elizabeth's  only  child  bore  the  name  of  Simeon's  first 
wife — Lydia. 

The  good  old  aunties  of  our  town  have  told  the  little  chil- 
dren, and  those  little  children  when  they  became  good  old 
aunties  have  told  other  little  children  startling  stories  of 
how  it  happened  that  Elizabeth  failed  to  become  the  wife 
of  Simeon  Palmer.  One  of  these  which  had  considerable 
vogue  was  that  the  haughty-minded  Elizabeth  refused,  on 
the  evening  of  her  wedding  day,  to  partake  of  a  supper  of 
cat  meat  which  the  frugality  of  her  husband  had  suggested; 


80  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

and  horrified  at  such  a  method  of  life,  but  mindful  of  the 
obligations  of  her  marriage  vow,  had  thereafter,  though  liv- 
ing separate  from  him,  always  performed  the  wifely  duties 
of  repairing  Simeon's  clothing  and  darning  his  hosiery.  I  am 
afraid  that  the  hard-minded  searcher  after  facts,  while  he 
cannot  avoid  being  interested  in  these  traditions,  will  brush 
them  aside  with  those  of  the  Arabian  horse  and  Algerine 
princess  of  the  famous  sailor-man,  "Pirate  Dick."  ^ 

Simeon  was  unquestionably  a  man  of  prominence  in  the 
community  and  was  town  attorney  in  1796. 

THE  FRENCH  WARS. 

Fortunate  in  its  friendly  relations  with  the  natives,  the 
successive  storms  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars  passed 
around  our  peaceful  peninsula  by  sea  and  by  land.  It 
would  seem,  however,  that  the  community  sent  its  quota, 
both  of  ofBcers  and  men,  to  each  of  the  four  wars  and  boun- 
ties were  freely  offered  for  enlistments. 

It  is  recorded  that  after  Braddock's  defeat,  "Jonathan 
Ellis  at  Little  Compton  and  Joseph  Fish  at  Westerly 
preached  to  their  respective  congregations  on  the  justice  of 
the  war  and  prayed  for  the  success  of  the  armies."^ 

Edward  Eichmond,  one  of  the  original  settlers,  had  been 
a  lieutenant  in  King  Philip's  War.  He  was  a  lawyer  by 
profession ;  he  held  various  civil  positions,  and  was  the  col- 
onial attorney-general  1677-80.  He  was  one  of  the  grantees 
named  in  the  first  deed  from  Awashonks  to  the  settlers 
which  was  made  in  1673.  He  was  commissioned  captain 
(1690)  during  King  William's  War,  about  the  time  that 
Benjamin  Church  was  sent  by  Governor  Hinkley,  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  to  the  Coast  of  Maine.  ^  His  last  resting  place 
is  the  oldest  identified  grave  in  the  town  (1696).  It  is  in 
the  family  burial-place  on  the  old  farm  now  owned  by  Rev. 
William   Richmond.     This   farm   was   allotted   to   Edward 


(')  Note  :  In  a  subsequently  published  story  (1905),  entitled  Saint  Abigail  of  the 
Pines,  Elizabeth's  curious  epitah  has  been  made  use  of  without  her  permission  and 
with  no  acknowledgment  to  her. 

(')    Field's  State  of  Rhode  Island,  etc.    Vol.  1,  page  198. 

(')    Austin's  Genealogical  Dictionary  of  Rhode  Island,  p.  163. 


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CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  81 

Kichuioud's  brother,  John,  at  the  first  drawing  in  1G74,  as 
lot  26.  John  was  a  wealthy  resident  of  Taunton  and  ap- 
parently never  lived  in  Little  Oompton. 

Col.  Sylvester  Richmond  was  commissioned  lieutenant  in 
1710,  during  Queen  Anne's  reign,  and  as  colonel  by  Gov- 
ernor Shirley,  under  George  II  in  1742.  The  original  docu- 
ments of  the  commission  as  colonel  and  various  communica- 
tions from  Gov.  Shirley  are  in  possession  of  the  family.  He 
married  the  granddaughter  of  Elizabeth  Pabodie— "Betty 
Alden"   (1693). 

Colonel  Richmond  is  buried  near  his  son  Perez  within  the 
shadow  of  this  church,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  original 
incorporators. 

Col.  Sylvester  Richmond's  two  sons,  Sylvester, — 1698- 
1783,  and  Perez, — 1702-1770,  both  of  whom  were  born  here, 
were  prominent  in  the  French  Wars.  The  former  removed 
to  Dighton  about  1723.  He  commanded  the  Sixth  ]\Iassa- 
chusetts  Regiment  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg  under  Sir  Wil- 
liam Pepperrell.  ^ 

In  acknowledgment  of  his  services  he  was  invited  to  Eng- 
land to  receive  the  thanks  of  the  Crowm.  He  declined  the 
honor  for  himself,  but  sent  his  eldest  son,  Ezra,  to  King 
George  II,  who  conferred  a  commission  upon  him.^ 

It  is  said  that  Col.  Richmond  was  the  only  American  who 
entered  Louisburg  properly  exemplifying  the  care  of  the 
American  housewives.  The  rigors  of  the  siege  had  ex- 
hausted everything  in  the  camp  in  the  way  of  purple  and 
fine  linen  save  only  one  finely  ruffled  shirt  which  the  colonel 
had  carefully  stowed  away  in  the  bottom  of  his  gripsack  in 
order  that  he  might  appear  creditably  at  the  anticipated 
victory.  Much  did  his  comrades  marvel  at  the  colonel's 
spick  and  span  appearance  on  that  famous  occasion. 

Capt.  Perez  Richmond  was  commissioned  to  serve  under 
his  brother,  the  colonel,  in  1742.  His  commission  is  also 
preserved.     His  estate  lay  partly  in  Westport  and  partly 


(':>    Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Collections,  Series  VI.,  Vol.  10,  appendix 
p.  505. 

(2)    The  Richmond  Family,  J.  B.  Richmond,  p.  37. 


82  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

in  Little  Compton,  and  his  remains  rest  in  the  cemeten^  be- 
side this  church. 

You  will  find  on  the  gravestone  of  his  wife,  Deborah,  this 
mournful  couplet: 

"  Farewell,  vain  world,  thou  hast  been  to  nie 
Dust  and  a  shadow;  these  I  leave  with  thee." 

Let  us  suppose  that  this  melancholy  condition,  if,  indeed, 
it  were  hers,  was  due  to  the  early  demise  of  the  lamented 
Perez  whom  she  survived  a  dozen  years. 

The  older  Colonel  Sylvester  had  a  son  William,  who  was 
judge  and  town  clerk  of  this  town  (1731)  ;  he  in  turn  had 
two  sons,  Barzillai  and  William,  both  born  in  Little  Comp- 
ton,  who  were  colonels  in  the  King's  Army  in  the  French 
and  Indian  Wars.  Both  were  at  the  siege  of  Ticonderoga 
in  Colonel  Dalrymple's  regiment. 

William  early  moved  to  Providence,  and  Richmond  Street 
in  that  city  is  named  for  him.  He  raised  four  companies 
of  soldiers,  over  one  of  which  he  was  captain,  for  the  re-en- 
forcement of  General  Johnson's  command  at  Crown  Point. 

Barzillai's  brother,  William,  was  a  famous  son  of  Little 
Compton  in  Revolutionary  times ;  he  had  also  served  in  Can- 
ada and  at  Crown  Point,  as  lieutenant,  under  his  brother. 

The  Richmonds  were  not  the  only  family  whose  sons  hon- 
ored this  community  in  helping  to  maintain  English  su- 
premacy in  the  colonies;  with  the  above  record,  however, 
they  seem  to  have  been  very  prominent  all  through  this  fate- 
ful period,  and  I  mention  them  as  significant  of  the  impor- 
tant part  that  our  little  town  played  in  colonial  affairs. 

Col.  Benjamin  Church,  though  not  as  conspicuous  as  he 
was  in  King  Philip's  War,  was  equally  active  in  King  Wil- 
liam's and  Queen  Anne's  Wars.  He  was  in  command  of  five 
different  expeditions  on  the  coast  of  Maine  and  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  including  a  fruitless  adventure  against  Port  Royal 
(1704).  The  second  book  of  his  history  is  the  narrative  of 
these  expeditions. 

During  the  interval  between  the  French  Wars  and  the 
Revolution.  Little  Compton  prospered.  Remote  from  any 
seaport,  the  town  was,  in  colonial  days  as  it  is  now,  some- 


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CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  83 

What  isolated.  Its  industry  was  agricultural,  while  that  of 
Its  neighbors,  Newport  and  New  Bedford,  was  mercantile 
and  maritime.  But  farming  in  those  days  was  profitable 
Two  ferries  facilitated  traffic  with  Newport  Island;  How- 
land's  Ferrv,  where  Stone  Bridge  now  is,  and  Taggart's 
Ferry  which  plied  between  Fogland  Point  and  Middletown. 

That  this  means  of  transport  was  attended  with  danger 
is  evidenced  by  the  laconic  record  on  one  of  the  stones  in 
the  churchyard :  ^'Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Galen  Tay- 
lor, drowned  by  upsetting  of  a  ferry-boat  while  passing 
from  Rhode  Island  to  Little  Compton."  Nevertheless,  our 
Commons  became  a  way  station  for  traffic  between  Newport 
and  New  Bedford  and  Plymouth. 

Windmills  began  to  spread  their  picturesque  wings.  Col- 
onel Church's  grandson,  Thomas,  erected  a  windmill  near 
the  site  of  Dr.  Gardner's  house,  although  Mr.  Blake  says 
this  mill  was  built  by  William  Roach,  who  owned  the  farm 
after  the  Revolution. 

Another  mill  was  built  at  a  later  period  on  the  Commons 
nearly  opposite  the  church,  and  just  back  of  Miss  Wilbour's 
house.  On  the  top  of  Windmill  Hill  there  stood  another 
great  sail -spreader  which  was  probably  the  unknowing 
cause  of  our  long  hauls  up  that  sightly  elevation.  This  mill 
was  built  in  1828  by  Mr.  Cook  Almy,  who  sold  it  to  George 
A,  Gray,  and  he  in  turn  removed  its  bulky  usefulness  to  his 
farm — the  old  Pabodie  Farm,  where  it  went  its  daily  rounds 
until  1880,  Then,  Daniel  B,  Almy  lured  it  away  to  grace 
the  fashionable  hills  across  the  river;  there  it  still  turns 
and  grinds  Johnnie-cake  meal,  an  example  of  sobriety  and 
economy  within  the  purlieus  of  the  wealthy,  to  the  delight 
of  tourists,  artists  and  all  loyal  Rhode  Islanders, 

Another  mill,  which  stood  upon  the  lot  occupied  by  the 
Wilbour  Cemetery,  was  owned  by  Mr.  Clark  Wilbor,  father 
of  our  neighbor,  Oliver  H.  Wilbor.  After  Mr.  Clark  Wil- 
bor's  death,  this  mill  was  moved  across  the  road,  its  sails 
were  trimmed  and  now  as  the  residence  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Thonms  R.  Slicer  its  ancient  dome  shelters  the  grinding  of 
other  grain. 

In  1724  it  seems  that  church  and  state  in  Little  Compton 


84  BICENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

were  torn  apart  in  that  a  new  meeting-house  was  built  and 
the  old  building  used  hitherto  for  worship  and  for  town 
meetings,  since  1693,  was  turned  over  to  the  secular  uses  of 
the  Town  Hall  with  a  combined  poorhouse  and  public  tav- 
ern downstairs.^ 

This  venerable  structure,  whose  ancient  respectability  is 
now  a  trifle  down  at  the  heel,  after  a  continued  usefulness 
of  210  years  was  retired  from  public  service  without  a  pen- 
sion when  the  president  of  the  United  States  was  pleased 
to  appoint  a  new  postmaster  for  Little  Compton  and  to 
move  the  post  ofiSce  across  the  road  in  the  spring  of  1904. 

I  recently  ascended  to  the  attic  which  has  been  built 
within  the  rafters  of  the  old  Town  Hall,  Avhich  was  aban- 
doned in  1882.  The  history  of  this  old  building  and  the  tra- 
ditions and  associations  connected  with  it  have  been  handed 
down  in  a  scholarly  and  sympathetic  address  delivered  at 
the  dedication  of  the  new  Town  Hall  by  the  late  Isaac  C. 
Wilbour. 

I  tried,  under  the  guidance  of  Brother  Briggs,  to  picture 
to  my  mind  the  crowded  upstairs  room,  the  steep  ascent 
and  narrow  entrance  blocked  on  meeting  days  with  a  band 
of  not  always  amicable  village  politicians.  In  old  times 
among  them  were  such  notables  as  Gov.  Isaac  Wilbour,  Col. 
Joseph  Church,  William  Richmond  and  Lemuel  Sisson;  and 
within  the  recollection  of  some  of  you  here,  Deacon  Rich- 
mond, Col.  Nathaniel  Church,  his  brother  John,  Deacon 
Bailey  and  Valentine  Simmons.  Then,  the  meeting  packed 
into  the  little  square  amphitheatre,  whose  seats  rose  to  the 
eaves,  with  a  gallery  above,  the  latter  being  almost  within 
reach  of  the  speaker's  hand,  and  general!}'  lined  with  mis- 
chievous or  awe-stricken  small  boys. 

Here  were  woven  the  web  and  woof  of  the  political  his- 
tory of  the  town  which  the  records  show  to  be  of  a  charac- 
ter far  superior  to  that  of  many  more  pretentious  New 
England  communities. 

REVOLUTIONARY    PERIOD. 

That  Little  Compton  was  early  pledged  to  the  "policy  of 


(')    Isaac  C.  Wilbour's  address,  p.  9. 


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CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  85 

industrial  independence"  and  tliat  we  are  Protectionists  by 
heredity,  is  shown  by  the  following  Resolution  recorded  in 
1768: 

"Resolved:  That  Ave  do  engage  that  we  will  not 
purchase  any  of  the  following  articles  manufactured 
out  of  North  America; and  we  will  dis- 
courage the  use  of  mourning  apparel,  gloves,  etc.,  at 
funerals,  except  such  as  are  of  our  own  manufacture." 

That  it  never  wavered  Avhen  a  persistence  in  this  doctrine 
led  to  resistance  to  constituted  authority  is  evidenced  by 
another  Resolution,  which  was  passed  a  month  after  the 
Boston  Tea  Party  (February  3d,  1774). 

"That  whereas  there  is  an  act  of  Parliament  to  levy 
a  duty  on  tea  inported  into  America,  which  is  a  tax 
on  Americans,  therefore  it  is  Resolved,  That  we  will 
stand  ready  wath  our  lives  and  fortunes,  not  only  to 
assist  this  colony  but  likewise  the  patriotic  government 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  or  any 
other  of  our  sister  colonies." 

When  Boston  v.as  beginning  to  suffer  the  punishment  in- 
flicted tlirough  the  closing  of  the  port  against  commerce  by 
the  operation  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  (June  18,  1774),  patri- 
otic eloquence  rolled  through  those  two  little  windows  from 
under  the  oaken  timbers  of  1693,  and  it  crystallized  itself 
into  the  following  Resolution: 

"Resolved:  That  our  delegates  to  the  General  As- 
sembly be  instructed  to  aid  in  securing  a  grant  from 
the  General  Treasury  for  the  Poor  of  Boston  who  are 
suffering  under  the  severity  of  arbitrary  lavrs  .  .  . 
but  if  a  grant  cannot  be  obtained  out  of  the  General 
Treasury,  it  is  Voted :  Resolved,  we  will  make  a  grant 
out  of  our  own  Treasury." 

Again,  in  furtherance  of  the  above  (December  21,  1774,) 
a  vote  was  passed  in  Town  Meeting  to  raise  thirty  pounds 
for  the  suffering  people  in  Boston,— against  which  practical 
effort  I  regret  to  say  that  Elizabeth's  Simeon  and  one  other 


86  BI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

conservative  citizen  recorded  a  solemn  protest.  Perhaps 
Simeon  preferred  to  remain  standing  upon  the  proposition 
of  getting  an  appropriation  from  the  State  General  Assem- 
bly. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  above  resolution  was  passed  it 
was  voted : 

"That  the  Association  entered  into  and  signed  by  the 
delegates  of  the  Grand  Continental  Congress  convened 
at  Philadeli)hia,  September  5,  1774,  ought  to  be  faith- 
fully kept  and  observed." 

I  find  many  resolutions  tending  to  show  that  the  fires  of 
patriotism  were  not  suffered  to  fail  upon  our  shores.  Thus, 
November  29,  1776,  ''that  Adam  Simmons  be  appointed  to 
act  with  the  Committee  of  Safety  in  furnishing  the  soldiers 
who  are  immediately  to  be  raised  in  this  town,  with  blan- 
kets, knapsacks,  ^rearms,  bayonets,  and  cartridge  boxes, 
and  Voted  that  this  Town  give  thirty  shillings  lawful 
money,  to  be  paid  to  each  of  fifteen  able-bodied  men  who  j 

shall  first  enlist  out  of  the  militia  of  this  town." 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  the  population  of  the  town 
was  1,232,  of  which  304  were  white  males  over  sixteen  years 
of  age.  ^ 

A  state  committee  of  safety  had  been  convened,  composed 
of  one  man  from  each  county.  William  Kichmond,  of  Lit- 
tle Compton  represented  Newport  county. - 

This  man  was  the  William  Richmond  previously  referred 
to  as  a  lieutenant  at  Crown  Point.  He  was  as  conspicuous 
a  figure  in  the  community  during  the  Revolution  as  his  un- 
cle had  been  during  the  French  Wars.  He  was  colonel  in 
the  State  Brigade  in  1776,''  and  although  this  command 
was  broken  up  in  a  subsequent  reorganization  of  the  State 
militia  he  held  his  commission  throughout  the  war,  and  was 
at  one  time  military  governor  of  Newport.  It  is  said  that 
Colonel  Richmond's  was  one  of  the  names  urged  upon  Gen- 
eral Washington,  along  with  those  of  General  Sullivan  and 
Colonel  Lippett,  when  a  general  was  to  be  appointed  to  com- 

0)    Bayles'  History,  p.  1000. 

(«)    Bayles'  History  p.  309. 

(3)    For  the  roster  of  Col.  Richmond's  regiment,  see  Cowell's  Spirit  of  '76,  p.  23. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP  LITTLE  COMPTON.  87 

mand  the  army  of  defence  during  tlie  British  occupation  of 
the  island. 

In  January,  1776,  the  British  raided  Prudence  Island  and 
burned  seven  houses  there.  Colonel  Richmond,  together 
with  the  subsequently  famous  Colonel  Barton  and  other 
ofBcers,  was  dispatched  with  his  command  to  drive  them 
from  the  island.  This,  after  a  sharp  engagement,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  doing. 

In  April,  of  the  same  year,  he  planted  a  battery  on  Bren- 
ton's  point,  and  from  this  place  of  vantage  he  drove  off  the 
British  ship  Glasgoio  and  the  transport  Snoio,  which  were 
headed  for  Newport.  ^  Later  we  find  him  with  certain 
Ehode  Island  and  Connecticut  troops  sent  by  Washington 
to  the  defense  of  Eastern  Long  Island. 

Many  amusing  anecdotes  have  been  handed  down  con- 
cerning Colonel  Richmond.  The  following  may  be  found 
in  the  monumental  work  on  the  genealogy  of  the  Richmond 
family,  which  v/as  written  by  our  neighbor,  Joshua  B.  Rich- 
mond. It  is  told  that  while  on  a  visit  to  his  older  brother, 
Barzillai,  who  was  wedded  to  the  old  order  of  things,  the 
following  incident  occurred:  During  morning  devotions, 
after  the  Bible  reading,  when  prayer  was  about  to  be  of- 
fered, the  colonel  interrupted  the  proceedings  with:  ''I 
have  been  here  now  three  days,  every  morning  you  have 
prayed  and  haven't  mentioned  the  American  Congress  nor 
prayed  for  the  success  of  the  American  arms.  Now,  by 
God!  if  you  don't  this  morning  I'll  knock  you  down  with 
this  cane  when  you  say  Amen !" 

The  following  incident  should  be  associated  both  with 
the  veteran  colonel  and  our  ancient  town  hall : 

''Once,  in  high  party  times,  Col.  Richmond  was  told  by 
the  presiding  officer  that  his  vote  would  be  taken  out  of  the 
ballot  box  (though  well  known  since  boyhood  to  every  man 
in  the  town),  because  he  had  not  registered  his  name;  the 
colonel  replied :  'If  you  touch  my  vote,  I  shall  come  down 
with  this  cane  on  your  head.'  at  the  same  time  holding  the 
vote  in  his  left  hand  and  the  rebellious  cane  in  the  right 


(1)    Bayles'  History,  p.  329  and  p.  oiO;  Peterson's  History  of  Khoilc  Island,  p.  211. 


88  BI-CENTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

hand.  The  officer  attempted  to  extract  the  vote,  and  the 
cane  came  down  and  hindered  the  operation.  A  row  en- 
sued, in  the  midst  of  which  an  unexpected  combatant  ap- 
peared. Primus  Collins,  who  had  been  honored  with  elec- 
tion to  the  Negro  governorship  of  Rhode  Island  (an  ancient 
custom  in  that  state),  and  who  was  always  called  Governor 
Collins,  was  in  the  gallery.  The  white  of  his  eyes  and  of 
his  teeth  was  soon  visible,  and  exclaiming:  'It  is  about 
time  for  this  darkey  to  drop!'  he  leaped  from  the  gallery 
into  the  midst  of  the  combatants,  and  by  means  of  his  black 
face,  sudden  appearance  and  vigorous  blows  scattered  the 
opponents  of  'Old  Master'  right  and  left,  and  the  vote  re- 
mained undisturbed."^ 

Colonel  Richmond  lived,  died  and  was  buried  on  the  old 
family  farm.  Leaving  no  children,  he  bequeathed  his  prop- 
erty to  the  grandfather  of  the  Rev.  William  Richmond ;  the 
latter  now  makes  the  historic  homestead  his  summer 
residence. 

Colonel  Richmond  gave  a  triangular  lot  out  of  this  farm 
to  old  Primus.  This  little  piece  of  land,  being  shaped  like 
a  smoothing-iron,  was  known  for  generations  as  the  "Primus 
heater,"  just  as  the  famous  three-cornered  building  in  New 
York  by  a  corresponding  simile,  is  called  the  "Flatiron 
Building."  This  lot  was  bought  back  many  years  after- 
ward by  an  uncle  of  the  present  owner  so  that  the 
boundaries  of  the  farm  remain  to-day  as  they  were  when  the 
allotment  was  made  to  John  Richmond  as  Lot  No.  26,  in 
1674. 

A  Newport  County  regiment,  the  Third  Rhode  Island, 
was  mustered  in  on  May  3d,  1775,  with  Thomas  Church  of 
Little  Compton  as  colonel.  ^  He  was  a  leading  citizen  of  the 
town  and  state.  He  lived  on  the  farm  afterwards  known 
as  the  Sisson  farm  at  Sakonnet  Point,  and  he  sleeps  where 
his  devoted  townsmen  laid  him,  beside  this  building. 

I  have  Mr.  Isaac  C.  Wilbour's  authority  for  the  statement 
that  Little  Compton  then  raised  a  company  of  twenty-four 
men  under  command  of  Capt.  Thomas  Brownell. 

(')    The  Richmond  Family,  J.  B.  Richmond,  p.  74. 

(*)    Field's  History,  Vol.  I.,  p.  443;  Peterson's   History,  p.  204;  Cowell's  Spirit  of 
76,  p.  16. 


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CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  89 

The  tradition  that  this  company  served  at  Bunlcer  Hill, 
is.  T  think,  misleading,  for  it  appears  that  the  Rhode  Island 
regiments  at  that  time  were  united  to  a  so-called  Army  of 
Observation,  which  was  dispatched  to  Boston  under  General 
Greene.  They  encamped  first  at  Jamaica  Plain,  and,  after- 
wards, at  Cambridge,  while  the  Providence  Train  of  Artil- 
lery were  stationed  on  Roxbury  Neck.  ^ 

Mr.  John  Austin  Stevens  says,  "No  Rhode  Island  troops 
were  in  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill."^ 

This  may  have  been  true  as  to  Rhode  Island  commands, 
but  it  is  quite  certain  that  some  Rhode  Island  individuals 
such  as  our  own  Jonathan  Brownell  and  his  son  Sylvester, 
were  among  the  heroes  of  that  famous  event.  The  Brown- 
ells  went  to  the  war  with  the  Massachusetts  soldiers,  and 
Sylvester's  commissions  as  captain  and  major,  signed  by 
Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock,  respectively,  hang  in  the 
parlor  of  the  old  Brownell  homestead.  In  this  house  he 
died,  in  1840,  at  the  good  old  age  of  eight-two  years.  His 
son,  Thomas  Churcli  Brownell,  born  in  this  place  and  named 
after  the  veteran's  companion  in  arms,  became  rector  of 
Trinity  parish  in  New  York,  Episcopal  bishop  of  Connecti- 
cut and  first  president  of  Trinity  College. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  Capt.  Thomas  Brownell 
was,  together  with  Col.  William  Richmond,  a  rei>resenta- 
tive  of  Little  Compton  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  it  is 
natural  that  he  should  have  been  prominent  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  local  regiment.  T  am  informed  that  the  original 
roster  of  his  company  is  in  possession  of  ^Irs.  Cliavles  Ed- 
win Wilbour. 

In  June,  1775,  after  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  six  coni- 
panies  were  raised  to  recruit  the  regiments  before  Boston ; 
two  were  from  Newport  county  and  one  of  these,  the  Ninth, 
appears  to  have  been  officered  by  Little  Compton  men: 
Thomas  Gray,  captain ;' Lemuel  Bailey,  lieutenant;  and 
William  Southworth.  ensign. 


(i)    Bayles'  History,  p.  312. 
(-)    Bayles'  History,  p.  315. 

(3)    Historical  Regist«r  of  Officers  of  the  Continental  Army,  F.  B.  Heit  n-n.  Wash 
in^ton,  D.  C,  1893. 


90  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OP   THE   UNITED 

"In  October.  1775,  the  General  Assembly  ordered  another 
regiment  to  be  raised  for  one  year.  It  consisted  of  twelve 
companies  containing  750  men.  It  was  taken  into  Conti- 
nental pa}',  and  the  oflScers  received  Continental  commis- 
sions, when  the  regiment  marched  to  the  westward  in  Sep- 
tember, 1776."  This  was  Col.  William  Richmond's  regi- 
ment. 

Capt.  William  Manchester  commanded  one  of  the  com- 
panies. 

In  May,  1776,  the  Newport  County  regiment  was  divided 
into  two  regiments.  The  second  regiment  was  made  up  of 
the  companies  from  Tiverton  and  Little  Compton.  It  was 
commanded  by  Colonel  John  Cooke.  The  First  regiment 
comprised  all  the  other  companies  from  the  county.  ^ 

Toward  the  close  of  the  war  we  find  the  following  Little 
Compton  soldiers  enrolled  in  a  regiment  that  was  stationed 
at  old  Fort  Ticonderoga  in  1782,  viz. :  William  Brownell, 
Isaac  Peirce,  Job  Manchester,  Gardner  Brownell,  Richard 
Peirce,  David  Maxfield,  Stephen  Manchester,  and  Gideon 
Coggshall.  -  1 

Meanwhile  the  militia  was  strengthened  for  the  defence  ' 
of  the  town.  In  May,  1776,  it  was  reorganized  and  divided 
into  two  companies  officered  as  follows :  First  Company,  i 
Gideon  Simmons,  captain;  E])hraim  Simmons,  lieutenant;  f 
William  Bailey,  ensign.  Second  Company,  George  Sim-  ! 
mons,  captain;  David  Cook,  lieutenant,  and  Fobes  Little,  j 
Jr..  ensign.  Second  Company,  George  Simmons,  captain;  J 
David  Cook,  lieutenant,  and  Fobes  Little,  Jr.,  ensign.  1 

The  record  books  are  full  of  town  legislation  affecting  the  | 
war  and  frequent  appropriations  were  made  for  the  pay-  | 
ment  of  bounties  and  supplies.  I 

While  the  British  army  occupied  Newport  (1776-1779)  I 
our  shore  was  patrolled  from  Howland's  Ferry  (Stone-  j 
bridge)  to  Sakonnet  Point.  The  great  camp  was  on  Tiver-  ; 
ton  heights,  the  old  Wing  place  was  a  commissary  head-       ] 


(>)    Bayles'  History  of  Newport  County,  p.  342.    For  roster,  see  Cowell's  Spirit  of 
'76,  p.  25. 

(-)    Coweirs  Spirit  of  '76,  p.  245. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  \)1 

quarters.  Lafayette  stopped  for  a  time  at  the  old  house, 
now  externally  modernized,  known  as  the  Adoniram  Brown 
place.  Five  houses  in  Little  Compton  were  used  as 
"watch-houses,"  *.  e.,  sort  of  local  headquarters, — places 
for  changing  guard,  etc.  Two  of  these,  the  houses  now 
belonging  to  Thomas  D.  Grinnell  and  Samuel  Gray 
stand  to-day,  externally  about  as  they  were  in  Revo- 
lutionary times.  Capt.  Ephraim  Simmons  was  stationed 
at  the  Gray  house.  Mr.  Grinnell's  house  on  Brimstone  Hiil 
is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  the  town.  In  early  times  it 
was  owned  by  the  Irish  family. '  During  the  Revolution  it 
was  used  as  a  watch-house  under  command  of  Capt.  John 
Davis.  The  other  watch-houses  were.  Col.  William  Rich- 
mond's house;  Capt.  Benjamin  Coe's  house,  which  was  the 
home  of  our  neighbor,  Albert  T.  Seabury,  until  it  was  re- 
moved to  make  room  for  his  present  residence;  and  farther 
south,  the  house  of  Capt.  Thomas  Church  on  the  Sisson  farm 
at  Sakonnet  Point. 

The  guards  kept  a  vigilant  v.atch  upon  all  that  was  going 
on  upon  the  river  and  the  "opposite  shore,  and  especially 
upon  the  line  of  hostile  boats  which  was  stationed  in  the 
Sakonnet  river  to  blockade  Little  Compton  and  Tiverton 
and  prevent  supplies  being  shipped  to  the  American  cami> 
on  Tiverton  Heights. 

As  might  be  expected  these  opposing  forces  came  in  con- 
tact from  time  to  time  with  amusing,  or  lively,  or  sometimes 
fatal  consequences. 

In  January.  1777,  the  farmers  trained  a  twelve  and  an 
eighteen  pound  cannon  on  the  British  frigate  Ccrehiis 
which  was  lying  in  Fogland  cove,  killing  six  men  before  the 
vessel  could  draw  out  of  range.  One  Little  Compton  man 
was  injured. 

The  most  annoying  of  the  blockading  vessels  was  the 
EingfisJier,  a  man-of-war  of  IG   guns.      A  diligent  search 


(1)  John  Irish  settled  here.  The  present  house  was  built  before  the  Revolution; 
the  ancient  portion,  1074,  was  rebuilt  about  thirty  years  ago.  Bayles'  History,  p.  1015; 
Lot  16.  ancient  maps.  .  . 

Col.  Church  died  from  injuries  received  in  a  fall  from  his  horse  after  visitmp:  Mrs. 
Irish,  who  was  his  sister. 


92  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OP   THE    UNITED 

in  the  sandy  shore  south  of  High  hill,  below  Fogland,  at  low 
tide,  will  reward  you  with  a  view  of  her  sea-picked  ribs.  There 
is  a  diversity  of  tradition  as  to  how  she  came  to  be  stranded 
and  blown  up  (July  30th,  1778).  One  story  is  that  on  the 
arrival  off  Fogland  of  three  of  Count  d'Estaing's  frigates, 
the  Kingfisher  and  two  "galleys"  were  set  on  fire  by  their 
own  crews.  "Their  shotted  guns"  we  are  told,  "went  off 
in  all  directions,  and  their  magazines  exploded  to  the  con- 
fusion and  consternation  of  friend  and  foe."  ^  A  more  en- 
tertaining narrative  is,  that  during  a  dark  night  our  folks 
hastily  threw  up  a  little  earth-work  on  High  hill  near  where 
the  Kingfisher  lay  at  anchor;  they  dragged  down  some  can- 
non and  opened  up  a  merry  and  unexpected  bombardment. 
In  the  confusion  of  getting  out  of  the  way  in  a  hurry,  it  is 
said  that  the  ill-fated  vessel  was  run  aground  with  the 
above-mentioned  finalc- 

In  October,  1778,  the  "galley"  Pigot,  200  tons,  armed  with 
eight  twelve-pounders,  blockaded  the  Sakonnet  River.  Maj. 
Silas  Talbot  started  out  from  Providence  in  a  small  sloop, 
the  Hawk,  with  two  three-pounders.  One  dark  night  he 
dropped  below  Fogland  point,  secured  reinforcements  to  his 
crew  from  Topham's  regiment  at  Little  Compton,  and  with 
a  sudden  surprise  and  hurrah  captured  the  British  vessel 
without  the  loss  of  a  man  on  either  side.-^ 

Meanwhile  the  home  guard  was  kept  moving.  A  maraud- 
ing band  of  desperadoes,  headed  by  one  William  Crosson, 
was  sent  out  from  Newport  to  wage  a  guerilla  warfare 
upon  the  surrounding  country.  They  raided  through  the 
Island  over  Swansea  Neck  and  into  Fall  River.  They  made 
several  midnight  boat  sorties  against  our  Little  Compton 
farms.  The  depredations  of  Crosson's  band  became  noto- 
rious, and  measures  taken  to  apprehend  him  were  fruitless 
until  Little  Compton  men  took  the  matter  into  their  hands. 
A  curious  boat,  which  they  called  a  "shaving  mill,"  was 
fitted  out  at  Sakonnet  Point,  and  in  it  a  party  of  men  un- 
der  Lemuel    Bailey    effected    Crosson's    capture.     He    was 

(')    Bayles'  History  of  Newport  County,  pp.  380  and  906. 
(2)    Fragmentary  Sketches,  etc.,  P.  F.  Little,  p.  9. 

(»)  Arnold's  Historj- of  Rhode  Island,  Vol.  II,  p,  432.  Bayles'  History  of  New 
port  County  p.  389  and  p.  906. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH    OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  98 

taken  under  a  strong  guard  to  Providence  where  he  nar- 
rowly escaped  the  wrath  of  the  populace.  ^ 

Among  the  reckless  associates  of  Crosson  was  one  Goulds- 
borough.  One  night  in  July,  1779,  he  landed  a  party  at 
Sakonuet  Cove,  surprised  the  two  sons  of  Judge  Taggart, 
who  were  doing  sentry  duty,  bayoneted  one  of  them  in  cold 
blood  and  took  the  brother  and  his  father  prisoners  to  New- 
port. The  thrilling  story  of  the  subsequent  escape  of  the 
surviving  brother,  in  company  with  Capt.  Benjamin  Borden 
of  Fall  River,  is  told  in  William  Taggart's  Memoirs,  in  a 
rare  and  quaint  book  long  out  of  print.  ^ 

The  story  of  the  Taggarts  perhaps  merits  more  than  pass- 
ing mention,  for  it  leads  to  local  liistorical  discussion  of 
considerable  interest,  which  remains  to  be  adjusted. 

Major  William  Taggart,  whose  home  was  just  across  the 
river  from  Almy's  Wharf,  had  commanded  a  flotilla  of  gun- 
boats under  General  Sullivan,  the  American  commander, 
and  thereby  incurred  the  enmity  of  the  British. ^  When  Sul- 
Hvan's  troops  retreated  from  the  island,  the  British  burned 
Taggart's  house.  In  recognition  of  his  services  we  find  the 
General  Assembly  ordered  that  the  land  deeded  to  Gideon 
Sisson  by  Thomas  Church,  still  in  possession  of  the  latter, 
be  set  apart  for  Taggart's  use."*  Col.  William  Richmond  was 
appointed  to  hold  the  land  for  him.  This  was  the  great  Sa- 
konnet  Point  farm,  including  the  242  acres  between  Long 
Pond,  the  road  by  the  Sisson  house  and  the  sea,  which  land 
had  descended  directly  to  Thomas  Church  from  his  famous 
ancestor. 

Gideon  Sisson,  who  Avas  no  relative  of  Lemuel,  from 
whom  our  Methodist  neighbors  spring,  was  a  Newport 
Tory;  and,  he  having  been  adjudged  a  traitor,  his  lands, 
here  and  elsewhere,  were  confiscated. 


(1)    History  of  Rhode  Island,  Rev.  Edward  Peterson,  New  York,  1S53,  p.  222. 

O    Memoirs  of  William  Taggart— Cynthia  Taggart's  Poems,  p.  xxxv;  also  Cow- 
ell's  Spirit  of  '76,  p.  321. 

(-')    Bayles'  History,  p.  1001. 

{*)    Rhode  Island  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  8,  p.  323. 


■94  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

Mr.  Blake,  in  Bayles'  history,  locates  the  occurrence  at 
the  Bailey  cottage  on  Mrs.  Kempton's  property,  ^  and  in  the 
recent  voluminous  history  of  Rhode  Island  by  Mr.  Edward 
Field  this  is  accepted  as  correct,  a  picture  of  the  house  in- 
serted, and  the  tragedy  rehearsed  in  all  its  harrowing  de- 
tails.- 

The  Palmer  and  Bailey  descendants  repudiate  the  asser- 
tion that  the  peaceful  homestead, — forever  hallowed  as  the 
favored  resort  of  the  author  of  the  hymn,  "My  Faith  Looks 
Up  to  Thee,"  ever  suffered  this  tragic  baptism  of  blood. ^  I 
think  the  family  are  correct  and  the  historians  in  error.  It 
appears  certain  that  it  was  the  adjoining  (Sisson)  farm 
that  was  appropriated  to  Taggart's  use,  and  it  would  seem 
probable  from  all  the  facts  of  the  narrative  that  the  cruel 
occuri'ence  took  place  there.* 

In  passing,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Gideon  Sisson's 
lands  were  restored  to  him  after  the  war ;  Taggart  was  rein- 
stated at  Newport  and  was  one  of  a  committee  of  four  to  re- 
ceive General  Washington  there  in  1781." 

The  ploughshare  of  history  turns  up  the  story  of  the  Tag- 
garts  again  in  the  next  century  in  a  peaceful  but  no  less  pa- 
thetic narrative.  The  surviving  brother  was  discovered 
iSfty  years  later,  in  1832,  by  the  Rev.  James  Cook  Rich- 
mond, father  of  our  neighbor,  Rev.  William  Richmond,  suf- 
fering the  extremities  of  poverty  and  old  age  in  his  home 
at  Taggart's  Ferry,  which  place,  by  the  way,  took  its  name 
from  a  cousin  of  the  veteran.  The  old  man's  daughter  Cyn- 
thia, when  Mr.  Richmond  found  them,  had  lain  bed-ridden 
for  eleven  years  with  paralysis,  composing  meanwhile,  a 


(')    Bayles'  History  of  Newport  County,  p.  1002. 

(»)  State  of  Rhode  Island  at  the  End  of  the  Century,  Edward  Field,  Vol.  Ill,  p. 
638. 

(^)    Rev.  Ray  Palmer  was  bom  in  the  old  cottage  on  George  T.  Howard's  farm ;  li 
lived,  while  a  boy,  at  the  Common,  in  the  house  which  is  now  the  residence  of 
JTathauiel  Church. 

(*)  After  the  above  was  written  the  writer  procured  Mr.  P.  F.  Little's  pamphlet, 
*'  Fragmentary  Sketches,"  etc.,  in  which  this  scene  is  conclusively  located  on  Col. 
Sisson's  farm. 

(«)    CowcU's  Spirit  of  '76.  p.  226. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH    OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  95 

perhaps  superabundance  of  verses,  dolefully  religious,  in 
consonance  with  her  unfortunate  condition  and  the  atmos- 
phere of  her  environment. 

The  Eev.  James  Cook  Richmond  made  her  and  her  verses 
the  subject  of  a  little  book  entitled,  "The  Rhode  Island  Cot- 
tage or  a  Gift  for  the  Children  of  Sorrow"  (1835).  This 
book  went  through  a  second  edition  in  1842  and  a  third  in 
1851.  I  was  fortunate  in  rescuing  copies  of  the  earlier 
editions  from  the  bottom  of  a  basket  of  old  books  on  the 
sidewalk  of  the  bookstore  at  the  Old  South  Church  in  Bos- 
ton. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  daughters  of  the  Hon.  John 
Jay,  Mr.  Richmond  had  this  good  lady's  poems  published,  ^ 
and  he  was  further  influential  in  raising  money  which 
placed  the  Taggarts  beyond  the  pangs  of  want  and  secured 
the  tardy  recognition  of  a  pension, — which  began  to  be  paid, 
as  pensions  too  frequently  are,  on  the  eve  of  the  old  man's 
removal  from  the  scenes  of  earthly  tribulation. 

For  fourteen  months  after  July,  1778,  the  pent-up  |)atri- 
ots  on  the  island  kept  up  an  underground  communication 
with  the  outside  world  through  Little  Compton,  and  the 
American  officers  were  constantly  apprised  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy.  This  was  managed  by  Isaac  Barker, 
a  Middletown  farmer,  at  one  end,  and  at  the  other  Lieuten- 
ant Chapin  of  Sherburne's  Regiment,  who  was  stationed  at 
Little  Compton  and  quartered,  I  am  told,  in  the  Amasa 
Gray  house. ^  Great  adroitness  was  required  on  the  part 
of  Barker,  as  he  was,  during  the  whole  time,  the  unwilling 
host  of  British  soldiers  from  whom  probably  he  acquired 
the  greater  part  of  the  information  which  he  transmitted. 

When  the  people  in  Newport  desired  to  send  a  communi- 
cation to  the  main-land,  a  certain  pair  of  bars  were  left 
down,  or  placed  standing  against  the  wall,  or  Mr.  Peleg 
Peckham's  barn  door  was  left  open,— all  in  accord  with  a 
prearranged  system.  Then  after  nightfall  a  paper  was  to 
be  found  in  a  certain  place  on  the  Compton  shore;  a  small 


(')    Cynthia  Taggart's  Poems,  Providence,  1834. 

(-)    The  house  of  Samuel  Gray  previously  rasntionad. 


96  Bl-CENTENNIAL   CELBBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 

vault  covered  with  a  flat  stone,  on  the  Middletown  shore 
served  as  the  depository  for  messages  at  that  end.^ 

These  facts  have  also  been  handed  down  in  the  family  tra- 
ditions of  the  household  of  our  neighbor,  Mrs.  Sidney  K. 
Burleigh.  Her  great-grandfather,  William  Wilkinson,  who 
was  a  sergeant  in  Colonel  Archibald  Crary's  Providence 
Regiment  and  that  officer's  secretary,  was  stationed  for  one 
winter  at  Little  Compton.  He  found  his  duties  were  not 
very  burdensome  and  he  employed  himself  evenings  in  read- 
ing to  your  entertaining  grandmothers.  He  was  wont  to 
narrate  to  his  grandchildren  stories  of  frequent  nightly  ad- 
ventures when  he  had  procured  these  mysterious  papers 
and  hurriedly  ridden  with  them  to  his  superior  officers. 

It  is  said  that  the  despatches  which  in  this  manner 
brought  to  the  island  the  inspiring  news  of  Burgoyne's  sur- 
render, two  days  before  its  official  announcement,  are  still 
in  the  possession  of  the  Barker  family. 

The  Lieutenant  Chapin  referred  to,  at  one  time  during 
his  stay  in  this  town,  took  a  whaleboat  manned  by  six  Lit- 
tle Compton  men  out  from  Sakonnet  Cove  and  captured  a 
British  brig  bound  for  New  York,  which  was  probably  be- 
calmed off  the  point.  His  prisoners,  including  the  wife  of 
Sir  Guy  Johnson,  were  brought  to  Little  Compton. 

Benoni  Simmons,  who  lies  buried  here,  was  a  sailor  dur- 
ing the  Revolution.  A  British  cannon-ball  carried  away  his 
right  arm.  He  was  a  seaman  on  the  Alliance^  the  vessel 
which  took  Lafayette  to  France  in  1781.  He  used  to  tell 
how  the  famous  general  asked  and  was  granted  permission 
to  take  charge  of  the  quarter-deck  guns  when  a  British  man- 
of-war  hove  in  sight — and  how  he  valiantly  kept  the  deck 
"whence  all  but  him  had  fled."^ 

Cushing  Richmond  who  was  born  in  Little  Compton  died 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  a  prisoner  on  board  the  Jersey 
prison-ship  New  York — old  Thomas  Bailey  and  two  others 
were  seized  on  our  bathing-beach  and  imprisoned  on  the 
same  vessel — George  William  Curtis  wrote  a  sonnet  upon 
the  pathetic  fate  of  "the  Rhode  Island  prisoner"  on  this 
dreadful  vessel.^ 


(•)    History  of  Rhode  Island,  Rev.  Edward  Peterson,  New  York,  1853,  p.  220. 
(-)    P.  F.  Little's  Fragmentary  Sketches,  p.  5. 
(=)    Richmond  Family,  p.  191. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITXLE  COMPTON.  97 

AFTER   THE    REVOLUTION. 

Independence  secured,  our  town  was  still  in  the  advance 
guard  of  enlightened  political  movement.  Rhode  Island 
hesitated  to  enter  the  constitutional  compact,  wavered  and 
fell  on  the  wrong  side,  2,708  voting  against  and  237  in  favor 
of,  ratifying  the  federal  constitution. 

The  Union  was  formed  without  this  colony,  she  joining, 
as  you  know,  after  the  government  was  inaugurated.  Had 
Little  Compton  had  her  way  in  the  matter  Rhode  Island 
would  have  been  in  with  the  other  states,  for  her  vote  was 
G3  to  57  in  favor  of  ratification.  Bristol  w  as  the  only  other 
town  in  the  state  which  favored  the  compact  which  we  now 
call  the  charter  of  our  liberties.  ^ 

During  the  War  of  1812,  the  stirring  episodes  of  the 
blockade  were  re-enacted. 

The  most  aggravating  of  the  English  vessels  which  har- 
rassed  our  shore  and  waylaid  the  boatmen  on  the  river  was 
the  sloop  Nimrod.  Many  were  the  fireside  stories  told  of 
her  and  her  ciev,-.  -  The  following  has  been  taken  from  the 
Newport  Mercury  of  June  26th,  1813: 

"On  Friday  last  a  Launch  and  Barge  from  the  brig  Nim- 
rod with  about  40  men,  chased  on  shore  about  one  mile 
south  of  Fogland-ferry  in  the  east  passage  a  sloop  belong- 
ing to  Nantucket  from  New  York,  with  a  cargo  of  flour  and 
corn.  The  crew  left  the  sloop,  when  she  was  immediately 
taken  possession  of  by  the  British  and  set  on  fire.  The  mili- 
tia in  the  neighborhood  assembled  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
from  behind  a  stone  wall  near  the  edge  of  the  bank,  com- 
menced firing  upon  the  British,  and  soon  compelled  them 
to  quit  the  sloop,  with  the  loss  of  two  men.  The  fire  was 
immediately  extinguished  and  the  sloop  was  got  off  and 
carried  further  up  the  river.  The  enemy  had  possession  of 
the  sloop  for  so  short  a  time,  that  neither  the  vessel  or  cargo 
were  materially  injured. 

Several  12-pound  shot  were  picked  up  on  the  shore  and  In 
the  bank  and  fields,  which  was  fired  from  the  launch.    The 

(1)  Records  of  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  Vol.  X.,  pp.  271,  275. 

(2)  P.  F.  Little's  "  Fragmentary  Sketches,"  p.  20. 


98  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE    UNITED 

spirited  conduct  of  the  militia  of  Little  Compton  is  enti- 
tled to  the  highest  praise.  We  are  gratified  in  saying  that 
no  injury  was  sustained." 

I  have  intruded  upon  these  exercises  too  long  to  dilate 
upon  the  first  century  of  prosperitj-  under  American  inde- 
pendence, although  I  would  gladly  dwell  upon  scenes  and 
anecdotes  which  have  been  imparted  to  me  by  my  indulgent 
neighbors. 

OLD-TIME    CHURCH    SERVICES. 

This  community  is  unusually  fortunate  in  possessing  an 
imperishable  picture  of  its  social  life  during  the  first  half  of 
the  last  century  in  the  printed  record  of  the  exercises  at  the 
anniversary  twenty-five  years  ago:  the  addresses  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Hart,  fervid  with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  pastor  whose 
heart  is  his  people's;  of  Rev.  Ray  Palmer,  the  poet,  glowing 
with  memories  of  the  childhood's  home;  of  Professor 
Charles  U.  Shepard,  the  scholar  glowing  with  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  son  who  adored  his  father's  memory,  and  spar- 
kling with  the  humor  of  the  gifted  litterateur. 

How  vividly,  how  tenderly,  how  cleverly  is  the  old  meet- 
ing-house, and  the  long  and  formal  services  therein  con- 
ducted, described,  in  order  that  the  memory  of  them  might 
be  preserved  for  coming  generations!  The  one-story, 
weather-beaten,  barn-shaped  building,  so  often  glorified  as 
with  Pentecostal  light;  the  Sabbath  worshippers  quietly 
assembling  for  service,  in  best  broadcloth  or  rustling  silk, 
or  humble  gray;  some  on  horseback,  some  in  chaises,  some 
walking  along  the  blossoming  byways  or  across  the  distant 
fields;  the  pillioned  horses  depositing  in  turn  their  fair 
and  coquettish  burdens  at  the  church  door;  the  imposing 
appearance  of  Deacon  Brownell's  coach, — the  only  two- 
horse  vehicle  in  the  town ;  the  pausing,  if  it  were  winter,  at 
the  great  stove  in  the  entry-way  to  fill  the  footstoves  for  the 
comfort  of  the  nether  members,  while  doctrinal  theology 
and  spiritual  inspiration  were  supposed  to  keep  the  bodies 
of  the  hearers  aglow.  Then  the  decorous  entrance  of  the 
women  into  the  high-backed,  balustraded  pews;  the  hush 
attending  the  arrival  of  the  silk-gowned  clergyman,  accom- 


^L 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH    OF   LITTLE  COMPTON.  99 

panied  by  Dame  Shepard,  and  followed  by  their  numerous 
progeny,  walking  in  subdued  procession.  The  rising  of  the 
minister  in  the  ])ulpit,  which  was  the  signal  for  the  men  to 
cease  their  door-yard  contention  concerning  fish,  crops,  or 
politics  and  to  take  their  places  for  worship,  followed 
by  the  tramping  of  the  men  down  the  aisle  and  up  the  gal- 
lery stairs;  the  shutting  to  of  the  big  pew-doors,  and  the 
general  settling  down  to  the  quiet  of  the  two  hours'  ser- 
vice. Professor  Shepard  narrates  that  there  was  a  momen- 
tary stay  in  the  i)roceedings  occasioned  by  a  large  and  aged 
man's  solemnly  mounting  the  pulpit  steps.  This  gentle- 
man was  Mr.  John  Gray,  whose  infirmity  of  deafness  en- 
dowed liim  with  the  exceptional  privilege  of  standing,  all 
through  the  service,  at  the  minister's  side  with  a  great, 
brazen  ear-trumpet  held  in  close  proximity  to  the  preach- 
er's face.  How  prosaic  and  commonplace  compared  with 
such  an  arrangement  are  the  modern  tubes  and  telephones 
wdiich  mechanically  connect  the  pews  with  the  pulpit! 

Then  it  was  customary  that  there  should  be  another  de- 
lay, for  Mistress  Margaret  Lynn  was  an  important  func- 
tionary and  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  She  was  the  sexton, 
and  of  her  it  was  sometimes  whispered  tJiat  she  cleaned  the 
various  pews  with  an  assiduity  proportioned  to  the  owner's 
liberality ;  and  the  ear-trumpet  and  the  morning's  text  must 
needs  be  suspended  while  she  rustled  down  the  aisle  and  dis- 
posed her  ample  petticoats  in  the  straightened  confines  of 
her  pew  beside  the  pulpit. 

After  another  brief,  impressive  silence  there  came  the 
lining  out  of  the  hymns,  each  couplet  being  read  by  the  pas- 
tor and  sung  by  the  congregation,— an  alternation  of  song 
and  speech  which  must  have  been  jolting  to  the  melody  of 
the  hymn.  In  early  days  the  congregation  were  kept  some- 
where near  the  key  by  the  twang  of  chorister  John  Taylor's 
tuning-fork,  and  in  later  days  by  the  note  of  a  violoncello, 
which  time-honored  instrument  may  be  seen,  in  perfect  con- 
dition, in  our  Historical  Exhibit. 

The  lengthy  sermon  was  not  interrupted,  but  varied 
merely,  by  the  occasional  promenade  up  and  down  the  aisle 
of  Deacon  Tompkins ;  he  was  a  short,  fat  man,  whose  par- 


100  BI-CBNTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION   OP  THE   UNITED 

tial  paralysis  precluded  his  staying  long  in  a  set  position 
and  therefore  this  peripetetic  license  was  accorded  for  the 
amelioration  of  his  distress.  I  fancy  there  are  some  here 
before  me,  who,  while  they  covet  no  such  infirmity  are  never- 
theless envious  of  so  acceptable  a  privilege. 

To  my  mind  the  descriptions,  such  as  that  of  the  Sabbath 
service,  the  gathering  after  service  at  the  parsonage,  the 
polishing  of  the  above-mentioned  ear-trumpet,  and  other  oc- 
currences of  parish  experience,  found  in  Professor  Shep- 
ard's  letter  are  of  a  literary  value  akin  to  the  pictures  of 
colonial  life  in  Hawthorne's  famous  tales.  Selections  from 
this  letter  v/ould  make  entertaining  reading  for  us  at  the 
winter  fireside,  or  at  church  festivals  or  school  entertain- 
ments. Such  readings  would  be  far  from  tiresome  and 
would  tend  to  renew  the  traditions  of  old  days. 

If  time  permitted  there  are  stories  that  might  be  told 
of  Dorr's  Rebellion  and  of  the  years  of  peace  and  prosperity 
previous  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War.  During  the 
latter  period  the  Common  presented  almost  its  present  ap- 
pearance, except  that  the  houses  looked  newer  and  better 
kept,  and  the  village  bore  a  front  of  greater  vigor  and  pros- 
perity. There  was  an  inn  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
travelers  who  were  brought  into  town  by  the  two  lines  of 
Concord  stages,  whose  appearance  from  New  Bedford  and 
Fall  River  constituted  the  most  notable  break  in  the  quiet  of  j 
the  day.  And  then  the  busy  windmill  across  the  road  south 
of  the  cemetery  added  liveliness  to  the  scene. 

Little  Comptou  was  the  birthplace  of  one  United  States 
senator.  James  Freeman  Simmons  first  saw  the  light  in 
the  old  farmhouse  now  owned  by  Rouse  Pearce.  One  gov- 
ernor of  Rhode  Island  was  born  and  lived  here, — Governor 
Isaac  Wilbour.  ' 

Probably  most  of  3'ou  are  familiar  with  the  large  paint- 
ing in  Mr.  Wilbour's  parlor.  It  is  indeed  a  treasure  in 
which  the  whole  town  may  have  pride.  Mr.  Blashfield,  the 
artist,  is  one  of  the  great  men  of  his  time,  and  his  work  in 
many  capitols  will  help  to  save  the  memory  of  statesmen 
and  soldiers  from  oblivion.  It  speaks  well  for  his  taste 
and  discernment  that,  in  the  gardens  of  Italy  and  on  the 


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CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  101 

waters  of  old  Nile,  he  wooed  and  won  a  woman  of  Little 
Compton  ancestry.  Side  by  side,  man  and  wife  have  la- 
bored in  the  fields  of  literature  and  art.  Their  edition  of 
''Vasari's  Lives  of  the  Painters,"  and  their  books  on  "The 
Italian  Cities"  have  become  classics.  Mrs.  Blashfield's  own 
literary  work  in  lighter  vein,  such  as  Masques  of  Cupid, 
and  numerous  magazine  articles  have  started  a  new  growth 
of  laurels  upon  the  governor's  family  tree. 

The  painting  to  which  I  have  referred  is  a  life-size  pre- 
sentment of  three  white-headed  and  snowy-bearded  old  gen- 
tlemen engaged  in  the  deliberation  of  a  matter  which  is  in- 
dicated upon  the  document  spread  before  them,  the  map  of 
the  Little  Compton  "Gret"  road,— a  subject  which  cannot 
fail  to  arouse  our  local  sympathy.  The  old  men  are  Isaac 
C.  Wilbour,  Charles  Edwin  Wilbour  and  Isaac  Wilbour 
Brownell.  Looking  into  space  from  a  framed  portrait  be- 
hind them  appears  the  face  of  a  beardless  young  man,  who 
is  clad  in  the  straight-cut  brown  coat  and  folded  neck-cloth 
of  a  century  ago.  The  j^outhful  figure  represents  Governor 
Isaac  Wilbour.  There  is  fine  humor  in  the  title  of  the 
painting  "The  Governor's  Grandsons."  Governor  Wilbour 
entered  public  life  when  he  entered  manhood.  He  was  rep- 
resentative from  this  town,  and  became  speaker  of  the  As- 
sembly. He  was  twice  lieutenant-governor  and  succeeded 
to  the  governorship  on  the  death  of  Governor  Mumford.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  ofiice  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress. Subsequently,  for  eight  years,  he  Avas  chief  justice 
of  Rhode  Island. 

The  following  anecdote,  which  is  too  good  to  be  lost,  al- 
though well  authenticated,  has,  I  believe,  never  been  pub- 
lished. 

The  time  is  after  the  Revolution  and  before  the  War  of 
1812.  The  scene,  Tiverton  Four  Corners,  a  great  concourse 
of  people  filling  the  roadway  between  the  two  country 
stores— the  "red  store"  and  the  "white  store."  Conspicu- 
ous in  the  throng  is  a  handsome  young  man  of  distinguished 
bearing,  a  ruffled  front  and  snowy  stock  surmounting  his 
straight-cut  frock  coat,  his  abundant  hair  wrapped  and  tied 
in  a  queue. 


102  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

Attended  by  a  couple  of  officers  in  uniform,  supported  by 
an  officious  sheriff  and  a  constable,  it  is  evident  that  the 
young  man  is  a  person  of  authority. 

The  centre  of  all  the  hubbub  is  a  terrified  woman  bound 
to  an  upright  stone  post.  The  occasion  of  it  all  is  that 
Governor  Wilbour  is  about  to  attend  the  painful  execution 
of  the  sentence  of  the  Court  that,  for  some  misdemeanor, 
the  woman  shall  be  flogged.  The  women  of  the  town  are 
surging  around  his  Excellency  agitating  a  violent  protest 
against  the  proposed  indignity  to  one  of  ''the  sex." 

The  governor,  compelling  silence  in  a  few  temperate 
words,  upholds  the  supremacy  of  law  and  expounds  the  ex- 
ecutive duty, — receiving  an  insurbodinate  wail  in  response 
from  an  unappreciative  audience.  Temporizing  for  a  mo- 
ment with  rebellion,  his  Excellency,  inquiring  what  the  law 
says  ''anyhow,"  reads  from  the  pages  of  the  Statute :  *'The 
condemned  prisoner  shall  be  tied  to  an  upright  post  and 
flogged  according  to  the  sentence  of  the  Court."  Another 
rebellious  outcry — in  soprano,  followed  by  an  expectant 
hush,  during  which  his  Excellency  profilers  the  suggestive 
inquiry,  "But  ladies!  If  it  happened  that  there  should  be 
no  'upright  post,'  how  could  the  law  be  carried  out?" 

Whereupon  a  hundred  willing  hands  unite  in  overthrow- 
ing, not  for  the  occasion  only,  but  for  all  time,  the  offensive 
instrument  of  public  castigation,  and  since  then  no  woman 
has  been  publicly  flogged  in  Rhode  Island. 

The  governor  sleeps  in  the  family  burial  place  beside  the  '(' 

ivy-covered  belfrey  where,  at  rare  intei'vals,  the  music  of 
chimes  may  be  heard  answering  through  the  sunset  stillness 
the  tolling  of  the  lonely  bell  that  rocks  with  the  heaving  of 
the  neighboring  sea. 

You  know  the  place, — and  the  golden  emblem  pointing 
heavenward.  It  is  the  Egyptian  sign  of  immortality,  an- 
cient as  the  pentateuch,  but  like  the  Christian  cross,  sym- 
bolizing the  desire  of  the  ages — the  life  eternal. 

Near  the  governor's  grave  lie  two  of  his  ''grandsons." 
One  was  a  traveled  and  learned  Egyptologist,  versed  in 
hieroglyphic  lore;  the  other,  keeping  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way  at  home,  employed  his  leisure  hours  in  the  study  of 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  103 

books  and  nature.     Over  his  Avindow  which  overlooks  fields 
and  sea  and  sky  is  carved  the  legend : 

"  Earth,  Ocean,  Air,  Beloved  brotherhood.*' 

Shakespeare's  Orlando,  in  the  woods  of  Arden,  hurning 
with  a  less  idyllic  flame  than  his,  is  said  to  have  fastened 
his  romantic  rhymings  to  the  trees.  Onr  neighbor,  his 
heart  pnlsing  with  the  love  of  nature,  roved  like  a  Druid 
through  the  woodland  communing  with  its  mysteries. 
Sometimes  in  your  forest  ramblings  you  may  find  yourself 
confronted  by  a  hidden  shrine  his  hand  had  set  up — a  tab- 
let, perhaps,  secured  to  the  branches  of  some  stately  oak  in- 
scribed with  a  suggestive  (quotation  from  Emerson  or  Tho- 
reau. 

These  kinsmen  in  their  diverse  wavs  exemplify  the  truth : 

"  To  him  who  in  the  love  of  Nature  holds 
Comnnmion  witli  her  visible  forms  she  speaks 
A  various  language." 

THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

We  must  also  pass  over  the  period  of  the  Civil  War  in 
which  Little  Compton  played  her  part,  save  to  recall  to 
those  who  were  witnesses  of  the  scene,  the  brilliant  maneu- 
vers on  the  village  Common  of  the  Little  Compton  Home 
Guard, — forty  rifles,  George  W.  Staples,  first  lieutenant; 
James  Brownell,  second  lieutenant;  and  Solomon  Whitney, 
third  lieutenant;  Oliver  Page  Peckham,  first  orderly  ser- 
geant; Frederick  R.  Brownell,  second,  and  Frank  Staples, 
third,  with  Boriah  Brigham,  Isaac  Brownell  and  Albert 
Gray,  the  corporals, — and  all  under  command  of  General 
Nathaniel  T.  Church,  then  prominent  in  state  military  af- 
fairs, mounted  on  his  prancing  coal-black  saddle-horse  and 
resplendent  with  sash,  slioulder  straps,  chapeau,  and  flash- 
ing, gold-mounted  sabre. 

Proudly  the  little  company  is  marched  past  the  reviewing 
stand  at  Mr.  Brown's  store.  Squire  Philip  F.  Little  beating 
the  drum,  and  his  boy.  Henry  Little,  now  a  prosperous  New 
York  publisher,  playing  the  fife,— and  all  treading  jauntily 
to  the  marshal  air  of  "Lumps  of  Puddin'  and  Pieces  of  Pie." 


104  BI-CE3NTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

The  Fall  River  Journal  of  September  28,  1861,  which, 
through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Church,  may  be  read 
in  our  Exhibit,  gives  a  two  and  a  half  column  account  of 
one  of  these  inspiring  events.  It  describes  the  distin- 
guished personages  present  and  says:  ''The  Company 
looked  most  finely,  and  showed  that  they  had  been  pretty 
well  disciplined  by  their  worthy  Commander,  Honorable 
Nathaniel  Church.  The  'brave  sojer  boys'  were  attired  in 
neat  uniform,  black  glazed  military  caps,  blue  jackets  and 
black  pants  with  white  stripes.  No  military  officer  looked 
better  or  made  a  nobler  appearance  than  Capt.  Church.  So 
we  may  say  of  the  brave  'sojer'  boys  under  command  of 
Captain  Church.  .  .  .  Among  the  privates  of  the  com- 
pany we  were  pleased  to  notice  the  tall,  manly  form  of  Col. 
Oliver  C.  Brownell,  the  Representative  to  the  General  As- 
sembly. .  .  .  While  waiting  to  enjoy  the  eating  of  the 
smoking  clams  and  sup  the  tasty  plates  of  chowder,  the 
company,  under  command  of  Major  Henry  T.  Slsson  (who 
was  at  the  Battle  of  Bull's  Run),  went  through  the  Zouave 
system  of  drill  service,  lying  on  the  ground  while  firing 
blank  cartridges,  etc.,- — showing  that  the  gallant  young 
major  had  made  some  proficiency  in  the  science  of  military 
tactics  while  fighting  in  defence  of  his  country  under  the 
valiant  Colonel  Slocum." 

I  regret  the  necessity  which  occasions  the  omission  of  a 
narrative  of  the  heroic  achievement  of  our  late  neighbor,  to 
whom  reference  has  just  been  made.  Colonel  Sisson  was 
the  hero  of  many  brave  deeds,  but  the  action  to  which  I  es- 
pecially refer  was  that  at  "Little"  Washington,  N.  C,  where 
with  a  part  of  his  command,  the  Fifth  Rhode  Island  Ar- 
tillery, he  rescued  a  whole  Massachusetts  regiment  from 
annihilation,  and  thus  placed  his  name  upon  the  immortal 
roll  of  national  heroes.  ^ 


(')   History  of  5th  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Heavy  Artillery,  J.  K.Burlingame,  p.  144. 

Note  :    A  member  of  the  rescued  44th  Massachusetts  Regt.,  in  a  description  of 

this  exploit  in  the  Providence  Journal,  June  '24,  J 906,  writes  :    "  It  has  always  been  a 

mystery  why  the  exceeding  gallantary  of  Col.  Sisson  in  coming  to  our  relief  was 

not  more  widely  known,  for  few  braver  deeds  were  done  during  the  war.    *  *  * 

Funston  won  deserved  honor  and  fame  by  au  action  no  braver  or  more  perilous 
tlian  Sisson 's.    Rhode  Island  should  be  proud  of  such  a  son. " 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   Or   LITTLE   COMPTON.  105 

I  suppose  there  would  be  a  responsive  rustle  throughout 
this  congregation  if  I  should  ask  those  to  rise  who  remem- 
ber Squire  Little. 

"P.  F.  Little,  Esq.,  Job  Printer,  Deputy  Sheriff  and  Com- 
missioner of  Deeds,  author  of  "Little's  Legal  Advisor," 
''Live  and  Let  Live,"  "Mind  Your  Stops,"  etc.,  etc.,  manu- 
facturer of  Laura  Keene  Hair  Dye  and  Little's  Diaphanic 
Soap.  Come  one,  come  all.  Examine  specimens  and  leave 
your  orders !  I  N.  B.  Suits  in  Justice  Court  promptly  at- 
tended to.''  ^ 

His  name  was  not  mentioned  this  morning  in  Mr.  Bux- 
ton's discourse,  and  probably  that  he  should  be  eulogized 
from  this  pulpit  years  after  his  death  vrould  have  been  far 
from  his  own  idea  of  the  appropriateness  of  things;  and  yet 
so  characteristic  was  his  personality  that  a  portrayal  of 
Little  Compton  life  during  and  after  war  times  would  be 
hardly  complete  if  it  failed  to  recall  the  little,  white  cot- 
tage that  your  memories  will  replace  on  the  site  of  the 
Grange  Hall,  and,  appropriately  enough,  right  in  the  midst 
of  our  historical  exhibit.  You  will  remember  the  gaunt  fig- 
ure, the  black  head  and  piercing  eyes  that  bent  over  the 
printing-press  from  which  issued  the  only  newspapers  of 
which  Little  Compton  ever  boasted:  The  Little  Compton 
Platonic  and  The  Village  Bell.  Thence,  too,  emanated, 
among  other  choice  things,  the  following  remarkable  pro- 
ductions, of  which  he  was  the  author,  printer  and  pub- 
lisher: "A  Sailor's  Narrative  of  Twenty-four  Voyages  or 
the  Adventures  of  Joseph  J.  Grinnell  of  Little  Compton,  R. 
I.,  giving  an  account  of  his  imprisonment,  his  being  con- 
demned to  be  hung  and  his  miraculous  escape."  (Two 
pamphlets,  1858). 

"The  Deserters— A  thrilling  and  exciting  story  of  the  Re- 
bellion, by  P.  F.  Little,  Esq.  If  you  begin  to  read  this  story 
you  will  want  to  finish  it  before  laying  it  down.  Little 
Compton,  R.  I.,  1869." 

"The  Belle  of  Pocasset.  A  Romantic  Wedding  or  Marry- 
ing with  Vengeance,  in  connection  with  a  Business  Card 
Directory"   (1873). 

(>)    Copy  of  one  of  Mr.  Little's  business  cards. 


106  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

"The  Yankee  Privateer  Antelope  of  the  Narragansett.  A 
thrilling  story  of  the  Last  War  on  Land  and  Sea,  by  P.  F. 
Little,  author  of  a  Sailor's  Narrative;  Live  and  Let  Live; 
The  Legal  Adviser;  The  Adopted  Daughter;  Deserters,  etc., 
etc.,  Little  Compton,  R.  I.,  1876." 

"Fragmentary  Sketches  and  Incidents  in  Little  Compton 
and  Tiverton  during  the  Revolution  and  the  War  of  1812, 
By  P.  F.  Little,  Esq.    Never  before  published,  1880." 

During  the  War  with  Spain  the  spirit  of  '76  in  this  vil- 
lage was  revived.  The  government  established  a  signal- 
station  at  Sakonnet  Point  and  Colonel  Sisson's  son,  Henry, 
drilled  a  company  of  volunteers  at  the  town  hall.  Old  guns 
were  taken  down  from  their  resting  places  over  family 
hearthstones,  or  hunted  up  in  corners  and  in  garrets.  A 
motley  collection  they  made. — flint-locks,  hammer-locks  and 
breech-loaders, — smooth  bores,  rifles,  muskets  and  shot 
guns,  "better  or  worse,  richer  or  poorer,"  ready  for  service 
at  the  country's  call. 

Very  recently  the  Quaker  service  has  become  one  of  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  town  known  only  to  memory  through  the 
ancient  meeting-house  on  Brimstone  Hill,  which  remains 
a  relic  of  past  days.  I  hope  something  may  be  done 
for  its  preservation.  This  house  was  built  in  1815 
though  I  imagine  some  of  the  interior  fittings  survived  from 
the  earlier  building.  How  quaint  the}^  are, — the  wooden 
partition,  with  swinging  door  and  windov/.  which  may  be 
lowered  by  ropes,  like  a  theatrical  scene,  to  separate  the  men 
from  the  women  worshippers ;  the  elders'  pew  at  the  end,  the 
little  gallery  that  one  may  reach  from  below,  and  the  plain 
board  benches,  smoothed  and  polished  by  generations  of 
prayerful  sitters.  And,  then,  how  pathetic, — those  lonely 
services.  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  year  after  year,  of  the  last 
survivor  of  his  sect, — the  silvery  head  bowed  in  solitary 
prayer  and  silent  communion  with  the  past. 

I  have  mentioned  only  a  few  of  the  people  whose  lives 
have  enriched  the  memories  of  this  place  and  shown  that 
"peace  hath  her  victories"  as  well  as  war.  I  wish  there 
could  be  recorded  memorials  of  them  all.  Fortunately 
sketches  of  many  of  our  neighbors  and  their  families  have 


George  S.  Burleigh 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH    OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  107 

been  published  in  the  History  of  Newport  County,  to  which 
I  have  made  frequent  reference. 

One  of  the  endearing  memories  we  shall  all  of  us  carry 
through  life  is  that  of  the  village  poet.  He  looked,  he  lived, 
the  part — he  did  not  affect  it— for  his  life  was  spontaneous 
and  beautiful  as  the  blossoms  that  embowered  his  home. 
His  patriarchal  presence,  his  illumined  face  with  silvery 
wealth  of  flowing  hair,  when  encountered  on  some  wooded 
byway  brought  Camelot  to  mind  and  bards  who  sang  of 
chivalry.  An  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Burleigh  was  a  bene- 
diction to  be  remembered  all  one's  days.  Though  he  was 
absent  during  the  winter,  this  was  his  home.  His  wife  was 
a  Little  Compton  girl,  and  the  inspiration  of  his  life  and 
his  poetry  germinated  and  bloomed  under  the  influence  of 
the  woods,  the  air,  the  ocean,  the  life  and  the  love  that 
environed  his  seaside  home. 

Mr.  Burleigh's  literary  labors  v.ere  largely  devoted  to 
magazine  productions  and  editorial  work.  The  publica- 
tions of  his  own  which  have  been  left  to  us  are :  Anti- 
Slavery  Hymns,  1842 ;  The  Maniac  and  other  ])oems,  1849 ; 
Signal  Fires,  185G ;  and  a  translation  into  English  verse  of 
Victor  Hugo's  La  Legende  des  Siecles,  1867. 

It  was  he  who  composed  the  verse  graven  upon  the  Eliza- 
beth Alden  monument. 

We  should  be  familiar  with  his  description  of  "A  Storm 
on  Saugonnet."^ 

"  Then  came  the  storm  with  its  signal  drum, 
All  night  we  iieard  on  the  eastern  shore 
The  ste.3dy  booming  and  muffled  roar 
Of  the  great  waves'  tramp  ere  the  winds  had  come! 
***** 

"  With  the  measured  march  of  a  miglity  host 

The  ground-swell  came,  with  wave  upon  wave, 
On  the  red  Saugonnet  rocks  they  drave. 
And  scattered  their  foam  over  leagues  of  coast. 

***** 

"Spectral  and  dim  over  sunk  Cutty  wow 

Tlie  White  spray  hung,  but  we  heard  no  shock, 
For  the  liquid  thunder  on  red  Wall  Rock 
Crushed  out  all  sound  with  its  deafening  blow. 


(>)    In  "  Poems  of  Places."    H   W.  Longfellow,  Ed.  Boston. 


108  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION 

"  In  the  swirl  of  the  Hopper  the  waves  were  ground 
To  impalpable  dust;  the  Ridge  Rock  roared 
To  the  crash  of  a  new  Niagara  poured 
Right  up  the  crags  with  a  slippery  bound! 

-  "  Over  Brenton's  Reef  where  tlie  west  hung  black, 
O'er  tlie  cloudy  bar  of  the  Cormorant  Rocks, 
The  white  seas  hurried  in  huddling  flocks 
With  the  wolf-winds  howling  along  their  track." 

And  now  closing  let  us  recall  his  words,  freighted  with 
the  love  of  Nature  and  the  supremacy  of  faith : 

"  Not  yet,  not  yet,  O  darling  mine! 
O  ISIotlier  Nature,  call  me  not  today, 
With  wood  and  wave  and  beautiful  sunshine. 
And  all  thy  fresh  Divine, — 
For  heavy  shadows  on  my  spirit  weigh. 


"I  turn  me  from  thee.  Mother  Mild, 
Into  the  heavens  of  Thought,  and  spirit's  Faith; 
There,  great  and  calm,  with  Godhood  over-smiled 
Loving  and  undefiled  — 
I  see  the  dead  victorious  over  death." 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  109 


THE  HISTORICAL  EXHIBIT. 


The  Historical  Exhibit  in  the  Grange  Hall  was  an 
afterthought.  But  it  was  a  happy  one.  The  possibility  of 
gathering  together  at  this  anniversary  all  the  family  heir- 
looms and  other  treasures  of  the  neighborhood  was  alluring. 
Mrs.  Forbes  W.  Manchester,  Mrs.  Roswell  B.  Burchard  and 
Mrs.  Lysander  W.  Manchester  constituted  themselves  a 
volunteer  committee.  Wagons  were  hurried  from  house  to 
house  and  everybody  lent  a  willing  hand  in  bringing  out 
living-room  fixtures  that  had  remained  undisturbed  for 
generations  and  in  ransacking  garrets  for  household  uten- 
sils whose  ancient  use  offered  occasion  for  modern  discus- 
sion. Nothing  was  imported  from  beyond  Windmill  Hill 
or  Westport  except  some  souvenirs  of  the  old-time  ministers. 
China  and  other  breakables  were  of  necessity  leTt  behind. 
So  hurried  were  the  preparations  that  many  desirable  things 
were  overlooked,  but  take  it  all  together  the  results  were 
of  surprising  interest. 

And  what  tender  recollections  these  homely  objects 
aroused  in  the  older  people!  What  anecdotes  they  in- 
spired, and  what  a  revelation  of  old  days  they  presented  to 
the  young ! 

A  day  spent  among  these  ^'exhibits"  with  such  a  descrip- 
tive book  as  Alice  Morse  Earle's  "Home  Life  in  Colonial 
Days"  offered  an  opportunity  for  rare  entertainment. 

Here  was  an  old-fashioned  loom  with  all  its  accessories 
in  operation,  Mrs.  Andrew  W.  Lawton  throwing  the  shuttle 
with  practiced  hand.  There  was  a  great  wool-wheel  with 
Mrs.  Ralph  Wilcox  or  Mrs.  Elva  A.  Humphrey  spinning 
merrily,  while  Mrs.  John  A.  Seabury  supplied  the  necessary 
"wool-rolls"  which  had  lain  forgotten  for  years  under  her 
attic  eaves.    Here  again  was  a  flax-wheel  with  all  its  ac- 


110  BI-CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION    OF   THE   UNITED 

companying  outfit  of  brake,  swingling-knife,  hetchels,  clock- 
reel,  etc. 

This  antique  machinery  bore  witness  to  the  labor  and 
the  skill  that  was  employed  in  the  making  of  each  of  the 
hundreds  of  specimens  of  homespun  fabric  that  were  un- 
folded that  day. 

The  walls  of  the  hall  v\^ere  draped  with  a  unique 
collection  of  those  famous  old-time  blue  and  white,  or  brown 
and  white  bed  coverlets,  showing  all  the  well-known  de- 
signs and  some  of  the  curious  ones  which  one  may  find 
pictured  in  Mrs.  Earle's  book. 

There  was  a  fine  exhibit  of  samplers  bearing  familiar 
names;  and  embroidered  pictures: — Paul  in  a  top  hat  and 
Virginia  in  silk  negligee  and  hair  ribbons;  young  women 
pondering  over  funeral  tablets  beneath  weeping  willows; 
family  trees  and  memorial  records  done  in  silk  and  water- 
color. 

There  was  a  collection  of  costumes  and  needlework  and 
everything  in  homespun  from  doylies  to  frock  coats.  There 
were  the  christening  and  wedding  gowns  of  the  grand- 
mothers and  the  swallow-tails  and  waistcoats  and  uniforms 
of  the  forefathers.  There  were  calashes  and  pumpkin  hoods 
and  slat  bonnets,  with  chapeaus  and  stove-pipe  hats  near  | 
at  hand  as  of  old.  And,  then,  there  were  cradles  of  every 
description,  a  trundle-bed,  baby-tenders  and  toy  furniture.  . 
There  were  the  saddle  and  pillion  upon  which  some  village 
bell  rode  to  church,  the  foot  stove  which  kept  her  warm 
while  there;  the  poke-bonnet,  gown  and  slippers,  and,  in 
a  secluded  corner,  the  beautifully  wrought  stays  that  she 
wore.  Theie,  too,  were  the  hymnbook  from  which  she  sang 
and  the  violoncello  which  accompanied  her  voice;  the  com- 
munion cups  of  1711  and  1741  from  which  she  received  the 
Sacrament,  the  manuscript  of  the  lengthy  sermon  and  the 
spectacles  through  which  its  illuminating  passages  were 
read. 

Pewter  and  brass  glittered  in  one  corner  while  another 
was  somber  with  the  rust  of  ancient  fire-arms. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  HI 

The  sterner  life  of  the  fathers  was  recalled  by  a  collection 
of  Indian  relies,  a  Colonial  helmet,  guns,  pistols  and  side 
arms,  a  "blunderbuss"  and  a  true  sword  of  Bunker  Hill. 

The  followiug  catalogue,  necessarily  incomplete,  is  given 
with  the  hope  that  the  location  of  these  relics  may  be  re- 
membered, and  that  at  some  future  day  they  may  be  again 
gathered  together.  Each  exhibitor  vv^as  given  a  card  to 
identify  the  exhibit  and  it  is  desirable  that  these  should 
be  preserved. 

The  bare  list  of  these  articles  may  seem  commonplace 
enough,  when  described  separately,  however,  many  would 
prove  of  surpassing  interest.  Thus,  "an  invitation  to  a 
dance  written  on  the  eight  of  hearts"  seems  worthy  of  con- 
sideration when  one  reads  in  Weir  Mitchell's  "Hugh  Wynne" 
(Vol.  II,  page  127)  that  the  hero  received  many  invitations 
and  said :  "It  may  amuse  those  for  whom  I  write  to  know 
that  nearly  all  were  writ  on  the  white  backs  of  playing 
cards."  One  surmises  that  the  old  clock-reel  could  tell 
tales  when  he  hums  the  Colonial  refrain : 

"And  he  kissed  Mistress  Polly  when  the  clock-reel  ticked." 

The  spoon  moulds  are  worth  looking  at  when  one  is 
told  that  most  New  England  communities  possessed  but 
one  pair  of  them,  and  that  they  were  passed  round  to  make 
pewter  spoons  for  the  whole  neighborhood;  and  so  he  sees 
something  in  the  pipe-tongs,  when  he  finds,  in  Mrs.  Earle's 
book,  the  picture  of  a  pair  just  like  those  herein  catalogued 
and  reads  that  it  is  a  rare  specimen.  In  fact  many  of  these 
articles  are  pictured  in  that  interesting  volume  and  among 
them  the  following:  Flint-wheel,  Betty  lamps.  Colonial 
bottles,  bed  coverlets,  calashes  and  other  bonnets,  band- 
boxes, spoon-moulds,  candle-moulds,  waffle-irons,  skillets, 
pot-hooks,  griddles  and  other  hearth-stone  utensils,  spinning- 
wheels,  clock-reels,  swifts,  quill-wheels,  loom-temples,  tape 
looms,  wool  cards,  hetchels,  etc. 


112 


BICENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION   OF  THE   UNITED 


CATALOGUE  OF  THE  HISTORICAL  EXHIBIT. 


Committee : 


Mrs.  Forbes  W.  Manchester,  Mrs.  Roswell  B.  Burchard, 
and  Mrs.  Lysander  W.  Manchester. 

Loaned  ty : 

The  United  Congregational  Society  op  Little  Compton: 
A  silver  communion  cup  inscribed,  given  by  J.  Church, 
Esq.,  to  y**  church  of  Christ  in  little  Compton  on  1  d. 
1  m.  1711. 

Another  cup,  companion  to  the  above,  with  the  in- 
scription: Given  b}'^  Tho^  Baley  to  y*^  church  of  Christ 
in  Little  Compton,  June  y®  first  1741. 

Mrs.  S.  R.  Allen  :     Candle  moulds. 

Miss  Vesta  Almy:  2  bedspreads;  bonnet,  3  embroidered 
collars;  pair  spectacles;  beaded  bag;  Newport  Mercury, 
1760. 

Erastus  S.  Bailey  :  Runlet  of  Ebenezer  Church,  200  years 
old ;  weighing  measure ;  2  communion  cups. 

Mrs.  Sarah  F.  Borden  :  2  mahogany  chairs ;  2  documents, 
1764;  gravy  boat,  cover  and  platter;  2  cut  glass  bottles 
and  stoppers ;  tea  caddy ;  basket ;  platter. 

Mrs.  George  H.  Brayton  :  16  arrow  heads ;  2  antique  knives 
and  forks;  butcher  knife;  bottle;  6  dresses  of  various 
periods ;  petticoat.  Homespun  fabrics :  Apron ;  baby 
blankets;  7  towels,  plain  and  striped;  2  silk  scarfs;  3 
caps;  9  handkerchiefs;  table-cloth;  2  skirts;  4  shawls; 
hat. 

Mrs.  Thomas  Brayton  :  Loaner's  wedding-dress,  1862 ;  Mr. 
Brayton's  wedding  waistcoat ;  straw  bonnet  worn  when 
loaner  was  a  child;  very  large  bandbox;  burningfluid 
lamp. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH   OP   LITTLE  COMPTON.  113 

Loaned  by : 

Mrs.  Mary  N.  Briggs:  Pewter  lamp;  embroidered  needle 
book  belonged  to  Margaret  Hussey  of  Nantucket ;  minia- 
ture buffet  made  by  Samuel  Nye  of  Wareham,  1810,  for 
Delia  Nye;  three  legged  table;  wooden  spoon. 

Mrs.  William  H.  Briggs:  Piggin;  2  spools  of  linen;  dress; 
silver  spoon ;  spoon,  1750. 

Mrs.  Thomas  Briggs:  Blue  and  brown  woven  bedspread 
of  Diana  Briggs  made  into  portieres;  2  pewter  ladles; 
war  club,  from  Sandwich  Islands,  given  Jeremiah 
Briggs;  pitcher;  cup;  Holy  Bible;  marriage  certificate, 
Gray  and  Church ;  tablespoon,  100  years  old ;  teaspoon ; 
Indian  beaded  cushion;  pottery  jug;  glass  jug;  glass 
cruet;  stone  jug;  vase  of  Mrs.  Capt.  Seabury,  100  years 
old. 

E.  C.  Brownell  :     Cup  and  saucer. 

Mrs.  Richmond  Brownell:     2  chairs;  snuffbox. 

F.  R.  Brownell  :     2  commissions  of  Sylvester  Brownell,  the 

loaner's  great-grandfather,  signed  by  Sam.  Adams  and 
John  Hancock. 

Pardon  C.  Brownell  :     Pair  brass  candlesticks. 

Mrs.  Emma  Buckley  :  Pair  English  wooden  clogs,  worn  by 
a  child;  teapot;  cup  and  saucer. 

Mrs.  John  C.  G.  Brown:  Pewter  plate;  copper  lustre 
pitcher,  belonged  to  loaner's  grandmother;  linen  home- 
spun handkerchief;  China  mustard  pot;  tureen;  old 
Dresden  cup. 

Mrs.  Roswbll  B.  Burchard:  Embroidered  picture,  Paul 
and  Virginia,  by  Mary  Simmons;  embroidered  picture, 
Tombstone,  by  Prudence  Simnjons;  5  blue  and  white 
coverlets;  white  spread,  homespun  linen;  black  and 
white  striped  blanket  of  homespun  woolen;  3  glass 
bottles ;  silver  snuffers  on  tray.  Prudence  Church ;  pipe- 
tongs,  wrought-iron,  belonged  to  loaner's  great-great- 
grandfather; pipe  box;  glass  jar  with  lion  on  top;  blue 
and  white  china  platter;  foot-stove;  embroidered  map 
of  England,  done  in  1809 ;  picture  painted  on  velvet ;  3 


114  BI-CBNTBNNIAL   CELEBRATION   OP  THE   UNITED 

Loaned  hy: 

pairs  brass  andirons;  tall  brass  pendant  lamp;  bronze 
lamp;  17  silver  spoons;  2  hair-cloth  cylinder  trunks; 
cradle;  wooden  candlestick;  brass  candlestick;  candle 
moulds;  lantern;  pewter  tray;  pewter  lamp;  5  pewter 
porringers;  pewter  basin;  teapot,  sugar  bowl  and 
cream;  pitcher,  Liverpool-ware;  mahogany  table; 
bureau ;  washstand ;  workstand ;  work  table ;  shaving 
glass;  vases;  lantern;  clock;  bowl;  pitcher;  jug; 
John  Church's  sled ;  "thousand  legged"  mahogany  table ; 
piece  of  Mary  Helen's  wedding  dress;  homespun  bed- 
quilt  and  sheets ;  green  spectacles ;  lava  inkstand ; 
scriber  for  marking  lumber ;  wig  block ;  wool  wheel ; 
swifts ;  knot  reel ;  hetchels. 

Mrs.  Sydney  R.  Burleigh  :  Home  made  shears ;  Colonial 
blunderbuss;  sword  worn  at  Bunker  Hill;  calash;  P. 
F.  Little's  books :  "The  Deserter,"  "Belle  of  Pocasset," 
"Yankee  Privateer,"  "Antelope  of  the  Narragansett," 
"Comptonian  Platonic;"  3  books  written  by  George  S. 
Burleigh:  "Signal  Fires,"  "The  Maniac,"  "Legend  of 
the  Centuries." 

Miss  Mary  S.  Burlingame:  2  glass  candlesticks;  2  brass 
candlesticks;  blue  and  white  bedspread;  spyglass,  be- 
longed to  Oliver  Brownell. 

Mrs.  Emily  J.  Butler:  Brass  spoon-mould,  for  making 
pewter  spoons;  plate;  cider  mug. 

Thomas  F.  Caer  :  Horse  pistol ;  Queen's-arm  gun ;  flintlock 
musket,  1798;  tallow  lamp. 

Mrs,  William  L.  Cassard  :  Applique  and  patchwork  calico 
quilt. 

Mrs.  Nathaniel  Church:  Almanac;  Watts'  hymns; 
needlework;  coat,  belt,  sword,  sash,  spurs,  hat,  which 
belonged  to  Gen.  Nathaniel  Church;  baby  tender;  ivory 
knife  with  Indian  design;  Fall  River  Journal. 

George  W.  Church  :  Marriage  certificate  written  by  Rev. 
Mase  Shepard;  poetry  on  house  that  stood  where  Old- 
acre  Cottage  stands;  flint  and  steel. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OP   LITTLE   COMPTON.  115 

Loaned  "by : 

Mrs.  Edgar  F.  Clark  :  Stone  mould  for  making  buckles ;  3 
fossil  stones;  book,  '^Confession  of  Faith." 

Mrs.  Richard  B.  Com  stock  :     Embroidered  mull  collar. 

Mrs.  James  W.  Coombs  :     Blue  and  white  woven  bedspread. 

Miss  Ethel  Drowne  :  2  cradles  that  belonged  to  Valentine 
Simmons. 

Mrs.  Addie  L.  M.  Davis:  Wooden  plate,  125  years  old; 
coat;  mallet  and  mahogany  chisel,  used  in  olden  times 
to  cut  loaf  sugar  which  came  in  shape  of  a  haystack  and 
was  broken  off  as  needed ;  blue,  white  and  black  coverlet, 
18th  century. 

Mrs.  George  M.  Gray:  Mirror,  with  painted  glass  picture 
in  upper  section  of  frame  110  years  old,  belonged  to 
Miranda  White;  mahogany  chair. 

James  L.  Gray:     Violoncello. 

Mrs.  George  A.  Gray:  Corner  chair;  silhouette  of  Betsey 
Briggs,  teacher  in  L.  C.  in  early  part  of  18th  century; 
hand-made  pins;  silver  scissors;  embroidered  pocket- 
book;  spoon,  supposed  to  have  been  "Betty"  Alden's;  2 
forks;  2  knives;  5  pieces  of  Continental  money;  letter 
of  Marque  to  Samuel  Briggs,i  by  William  Greene,  1779; 
letter  of  Sam'l  Briggs  to  his  wife,  1779 ;  instructions  to 
privateers,  signed  by  William  Greene,  1779;  David 
Durfee,  Jr.'s,  letter;  history  of  the  Quakers;  skein  of 
flax. 

Samuel  B.  Gray  :  Coat  and  military  sash  worn  by  Amasa 
Gray  in  the  militia  in  1825 ;  3  gold  ornaments ;  revenue 
tax  bill. 

Mrs.  Abbib  Grinnbll:  Old  clock;  white  neckerchief  of 
Nancy  Grinnell;  feather  flowers. 

Mrs.  Emma  M.  Grinnell:  Ancient  Bible;  pair  wooden 
candlesticks;  2  runlets. 

Thomas  D.  Grinnell:  Family  record;  sword;  cutlass; 
candlesticks;  sermons,  1812;  2  arrowheads;  2  flintlock 
pistols  and  3  flints. 


116  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OP  THE   UNITED 

Loaned  iy : 

Mrs.  Henry  A.  Groth  :  Pair  brass  candlesticks ;  homespun 
linen  sheet ;  mortar  and  pestle ;  2  pewter  plates ;  book  of 
early  R.  I.  laws;  15  coins;  Pamelia  Burgess'  spoon,  over 
200  years  old ;  wooden  pitchfork. 

John  Sbabury  Hathaway  :  Homespun  linen  tablecloth  of 
great-great-great-grandmother,  Mary  Coggeshall  Man- 
chester. 

John  Hoxie:     Flint-lock  pistol;  2  Indian  war-clubs;  gun. 

Asa  R.  Howland:  Pewter  plate;  oak  spindle-back  arm- 
chair; rush  bottom  armchair;  cotton  stockings  and  cap. 

Mrs.  Edward  L.  Hunt:  Pewter  teapot;  yellow  silk  waist; 
drab  and  purple  silk  gown;  gown. 

Mrs.  Elva  A.  Humphrey:  2  coins,  1787,  1788;  wooden 
plate;  pewter  plate;  5  children's  primers;  Rev.  Ray 
Palmer's  candlesticks. 

Mrs.  John  H.  Jewell:  Silver  spoon,  250  years  old;  silver 
spoon;  account  of  ordination  of  Rev.  Mase  Shepard  in 
1787;  list  of  drafted  men  in  Little  Compton,  1863; 
Ancestor,  Thomas  Brownell's  commissions  as  Ensign, 
1816,  and  as  Lieutenant,  1817;  family  registry,  1789; 
memorial  picture,  1809;  baby  chair;  2  cradles. 

Mrs.  T.  Warren  Kempton  :  Wooden  candlestick ;  tallow 
dip;  powderhorn. 

Mrs.  George  W.  Kirb y  :  Pewter  tumbler ;  pewter  plate ; 
china  pepper-box. 

Mrs.  Andrew  Henry  Lawton  :  Weaving  loom  with  shut- 
tles, loom  temples,  wool  cards,  rake  or  comb  for  separat- 
ing strands  of  the  warp,  and  other  accessories;  quill 
wheel. 

A.  A.  LoTHROP :     Framed  piece  of  material. 

John  T.  T.  McKenzie:  4  military  hats;  haversack,  round- 
about ;  canteen ;  military  coat ;  cartridge  box ;  knapsack. 

Abraham  Manchester:     Saddle  and  pillion. 

Mrs.  Forbes  W.  Manchester:  Wool  cards;  hetchels;  flax- 
wheel;    wool    wheel;    clock-wheel;    swifts;    swingling 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OP  LITTLE  COMPTON.  117 

Loaned  hy: 

knife;  hanging  griddle;  piggin;  skillet;  wood  bowl; 
iron  candlesticks ;  candle  box ;  foot-stove ;  brass  handled 
tongs;  antique  kitchen-chair;  sampler  of  Lydia  Shaw. 

Mrs.  Lysander  W.  Manchester:  Three-cornered  chair; 
200  years  old;  pot-hooks  and  trammels;  brass  candle- 
stick. 

Miss  Flora  L.  Mason  :  Vinegar  cruet  of  Richard  Billings, 
loaned  by  his  descendant. 

Miss  Carrie  E,  Mayo:  Little  basket;  little  skillet;  three- 
legged  iron  kettle. 

Mrs.  Elkanah  Palmer:  Chair;  water  bucket,  runlet;  4 
pictures  of  Prodigal  Son;  picture,  Noah's  Ark;  picture, 
Byron  and  Marianna;  7  wicker  baskets;  veil  and  bon- 
net; 3  bonnet  boxes;  shoemaker's  bench  with  81  tools; 
cooper's  adz;  11  shoemakers'  lasts  and  3  tops  with 
them ;  trundle  bed ;  wooden  shoemakers'  clamp ;  tin  tea- 
caddy;  2  pairs  andirons,  (iron)  ;  antique  patchwork 
quilt ;  bundle  of  tallow  dip  sticks ;  warming  pan ;  small 
skillet. 

LoRiNG  A.  Palmer:     Sewing  stand;  bundle  of  quills. 

Mrs.  William  Tweed  Peckham  :  2  antique  bottles  from 
Indian  graves  in  cemetery  north  of  the  Swamp  Road; 
3  Indian  stone  hammerheads;  7  flint  arrowheads;  pipe; 
flint  wheel  and  tinder  box. 

Sarah  C.  Peckham  :     Antique  table. 

Charles  H.  Peckham  :  2  family  records ;  2  old  cups  and 
saucers,  great-grandmother's  wedding  present. 

Miss  Miranda  Pierce:  Blue  and  white  crib  blanket,  1787; 
flannel  sheet  woven  by  Hannah  Head;  white  spread 
woven  of  first  Slaterville  cotton,  sold  in  Little  Comp- 
ton  about  100  years  ago;  stays  made  and  worn  by 
Hannah  Davenport  about  1755;  pewter  candlestick;  4 
old  tallow  dips ;  shot  bowl ;  powderhorn ;  hank  of  yam ; 
shuttles  made  by  H.  Head;  ancient  stone  bottle;  tea- 
pot; Dorr  War  bayonet;  Civil  War  saddlebags;  book, 
"Imitation  of  Christ,"  1802. 


118  BI-CBNTENNIAL   CELEBRATION   OP   THE   UNITED 

Loaned  hy: 

Mrs.  p.  a.  Pierce:  Antique  silver  spoons;  2  brass  candle- 
sticks; iron  candlestick;  wooden  candlestick;  patch- 
work quilt;  silk  shoulder  shawl,  75  years  old,  Mary 
Woodman's;  candle  snuffers  and  tray;  chair  belonging 
to  Nathan  Slade  of  Swansey;  mahogany  table;  rocking 
chair;  wooden  spoon;  blue  and  white  homespun  linen 
square,  75  years  old.  Emblem  Wilbour's ;  doll's  bonnet ; 
sampler;  picture. 

Mrs.  Abraham  J.  Potter:  Ancient  bitstock,  the  bit 
turned  by  twisted  cords;  candle-moulds. 

Mrs.  Joshua  B.  Kichmond  :  Photographs  of  3  Colonial 
commissions  of  ancestors,  Sylvester  and  Perez ;  ancient 
picture  of  a  Providence  church;  sleigh-bells;  waffle 
irons  with  very  long  handles. 

Mrs.  Andrew  Sawyer:  Blue  and  white  coverlet;  coat; 
bonnet;  pair  spectacles;  Betty  lamp;  bellows;  pewter 
platter;  silver  spoons;  wooden  knife  and  fork;  pair  of 
pistols;  powderhorn. 

Mrs.  John  A.  Sbabury:  Sampler;  sampler  of  Lydia  Coe, 
1795;  sampler,  Marion  Grasson,  1822;  picture,  Gothic 
beauties;  pair  yellow  slippers,  piece  of  Deborah 
Church's  wedding  dress  in  which  she  was  married  to 
Adam  Simmons  in  1755;  large  wool  (spinning)  wheel; 
pair  of  cards  for  carding  wool;  antique  wheel  head; 
hetchels;  spool  rack;  tow  bag;  spooling  wheel;  tape- 
loom;  flax-wheel;  bundle  of  antique  wool-rools  for 
spinning;  iron  lantern;  embroidered  bag;  2  antique 
glass  bottles;  2  small  skillets;  ancient  stone  bottle; 
pewter  tumbler;  brass  candlestick. 

Miss  Mary  K.  Seabury  :  Brass  lamp ;  leather  trunk  of  Otis 
Coggeshall ;  sampler  of  Maria  Shaw,  1827. 

Arthur  Seabury  :     Old  Indian  dish. 

Miss  Helen  L.  Shepard:  An  autograph  sermon  by  Rev. 
Mase  Shepard. 

Abel  B.  Simmons:  Violoncello  and  bow,  formerly  used  in 
church. 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH   OF   LITTLE   COMPTON.  119 

Loaned  hy : 

Mrs.  Robert  Snow:  Family  record;  holder  and  sinker; 
warming  pan;  4  spoons  "B.  H.";  Spanish  bell;  minia- 
ture; antique  cotton  print  bed  hanging;  calash;  slip- 
pers; 2  powderhorns;  shaving  case;  mirror;  picture, 
"Fisherman's  Dog;"  toaster  from  oven;  brass  kettle; 
Machero  cigar  lighter;  Nancy  Swift's  spoons;  Abigail 
Pope's  spoons;  blue  woven  bedspread;  harness  frame 
for  making  harness  for  loom.  Pewter:  4  candlesticks; 
pitcher;  2  mugs;  3  candle-snufters;  tray;  platter;  3 
plates;  2  dishes;  2  porringers. 

Miss  Elizabeth  F.  Sowle  :     Pewter  lamp ;  pewter  platter. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Sowle  :  Large  wooden  spoon ;  pair  of  velvet 
slippers ;  nurse  lamp ;  Britannia  teapot. 

Mrs.  Zoeth  H.  Soule  :  Book,  "The  Doctrine  of  Regenera- 
tion," 1738. 

Mrs.  James  B.  Springer:  Small  pewter  porringer;  sampler 
worked  by  Rhoda  M.  (Mrs.  Forbes  W.)  Manchester, 
1841;  embroidered  collar  which  belonged  to  loaner's 
grandmother,  Lydia  Shaw. 

Mrs.  Walter  Sylvia:  Squire  Little's  lantern;  brass  and 
crystal  lamp;  brooch  owned  by  great-grandmother; 
brown  pitcher. 

Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Taylor:  Sampler  worked  by  the  loaner  at 
age  of  five  years. 

Mrs.  Francis  O.  Teipp  :     Tin  tallow  lamp, 

Mrs.  Lydia  J.  Warner  Wooden  candlestick ;  pewter  tea- 
pot, plate  and  mug;  sampler,  Phebe  Ann  Harris,  1832; 
2  placques. 

Mrs.  Isaac  C.  Wilbour  :  Bedspread  made  of  three  wedding 
gowns;  knife  and  fork  100  years   old. 

Miss  Ardblia  M.  W^ilbor:  4  tables,  one  of  which  belonged 
to  Simon  Peckham. 

Mrs.  Charles  R.  Wilbur:  Chairs;  pewter  basin;  2  pewter 
plates;  glass  lamp  300  years  old,  belonged  to  John 
Sawyer;  blue  and  white  pitcher  and  bowl;  blue  and 
white  bedspread. 


120  BICENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION. 

Loaned  by: 

Mrs.  Daniel  Wilbour:     Pair  brass  andirons: 

Miss  Florence  Wilbour:  2  snuffboxes;  velvet  bag  of 
Elizabeth  Briggs,  100  years  old;  dimity  knee-breeches 
and  figured  linen  vest  of  Capt.  Samuel  Briggs;  pink 
slippers,  100  years  old;  pack  of  playing  cards;  dance 
invitation  to  Miss  Briggs  printed  on  back  of  8  of  hearts 
playing  card;  Mrs.  Alexander  Wilbour's  pink  silk 
gown;  Judith  Wilbour's  sampler,  1810. 

Mrs.  Oliver  H.  Wilbor  :  2  shell  combs  100  years  old ;  em- 
broidered letter  case  150  years  old;  will  of  Jonathan 
Wilbur,  1799;  deed  of  Anthony  Wilbour,  1797;  blue 
velvet  beaded  purse;  sampler;  Clark's  Magazine,  1795; 
Gospel  Labours  of  Churchman,  1779;  nose  glasses  in 
wooden  case ;  silver  spoon,  ''L.  W, ;"  Staffordshire  pickle 
leaves;  cup;  basket;  cider  mug;  pink  table-scarf;  2 
china  sauce  dishes. 

Mrs.  B.  F.  Wilbur:  Baby  chair;  calash;  foot  stove;  saddle 
and  bag;  law  book;  3  candelabra;  46  p^'isms;  2  chairs; 
2  inlaid  snuffboxes;  mission  chair;  candle  mould; 
spindle  chair;  portrait  of  W.  Bates;  skillet;  kettle,  3 
legs;  sampler  made  by  Friscilla  Alden;  bonnet  made  by 
Hannah  Milk  of  Boston,  1830;  portrait,  Dr.  Lloyd 
Brayton,  about  1820. 

Mrs.  Philip  H.  Wilbour:  2  Indian  relics  of  stone;  9 
documents;  Josiah  Shaw's  orations,  1798;  almanack, 
1796;  Military  Companion,  1810;  Gov.  Dorrs  "Broad- 
side;" letter  to  Hon.  Isaac  Wilbur,  1807;  bill  of  arrest 
for  Charles  Wood,  1825;  General  Assembly  document, 
1807.  Do.  1806;  value  received,  Nathan  Searle,  1707; 
skillet;  map  of  original  allotments  of  Little  Compton 
land,  made  by  Otis  Wilbor. 

Mrs.  William  B.  Wilber:     Patchwork  quilt  of  which  the 
red.  portions  were  made  from  coat  worn  in  War  of  1812 
by  Walter  Wilbour. 
Mrs.  Clarence  C.  Wordell:     3  tables;  book,  1707. 


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