Samuel Smith's Revolutionary War Memoirs, 1855



Memoirs of the Life of Samuel

Smith (Middleborough, MA, 1853)

THE APPEARANCE OF a slim, privately-printed pamphlet in Middleborough in 1853 received little notice, despite its relative rarity.  It was a first-hand account of a common soldier’s experience in the Revolutionary War.  Had Samuel Smith of South Middleborough not been noted at the time of his death July 7, 1854, for authoring his Memoirs of Samuel Smith: A Soldier of the Revolution 1778-1788, he most assuredly would have been recognized for his longevity, living to the age of 95 – a remarkable feat at that time.  The elderly Smith’s avowed purpose in recording his recollections as a member of the Rhode Island regiment was to inform his friends of his earlier trials nearly three-quarters of a century earlier and to provide a small token to those who might give him financial assistance in his old age.

The work was printed by the Namasket Gazette of Middleborough which engaged in job printing work and appeared with little fanfare, eventually finding its way to the attention of Charles I. Bushnell a lawyer and numismatist with an avocation for Revolutionary history whose role in republishing a number of original accounts of the war undoubtedly rescued a number of them from oblivion and preserved them for posterity.  Among the items which came to Bushnell was Smith’s Memoirs which Bushnell had republished at New York in 1860, and had included four years later in a compendium with similar accounts which he published in 1864.  Unfortunately since that time, Smith’s account has languished and is little known to either Revolutionary scholars or Middleborough residents.

And though as a first-hand account of the Revolutionary War, Smith’s Memoirs were a novelty, such accounts were not entirely unknown.  Memoirs of Tarleton Brown, A Captain in the Revolutionary Army, Written by Himself, shared a very similar origin with those of Smith.  In 1843, the then 88-year-old South Carolinian Tarleton (1757-1845) was “persuaded that a few hints in relation to the scenes in which I have bore a part, in that glorious and memorable struggle for Independence would not be unacceptable to my friends and the general reader” and so dictated his recollections to his granddaughter’s husband which were published by the Charleston Rambler.  Again, like Smith’s, Tarleton’s reminiscences were destined for likely obscurity had they not been brought to wider attention through the agency of Bushnell who had them republished in 1862 whereupon they received greater notice.  Other accounts written in a similar vein to those of both Smith and Tarleton included The Revolutionary Adventures of Ebenezer Fox, of Roxbury, Massachusetts (Boston: Munroe and Francis, 1838), The Narrative of Ebenezer Fletcher, A Soldier of the Revolution (Bushnell ed.: 1866), The Narrative of John Blatchford Detailing his Sufferings in the Revolutionary War, Narrative of Major Abraham Leggett of the Army of the Revolution (Bushnell ed. NY: 1865), Journal of Solomon Nash, a Soldier of the Revolution 1776-1777 (Bushnell ed. NY:1861), A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Levi Hanford, a Soldier of the Revolution, and Journal of the Expedition Against Quebec, under Col. Benedict Arnold, in the year, 1775 by Maj. Return J. Meigs

Samuel Smith gravestone, South

Middleborough Cemetery,

Middleborough, MA, photograph

by Michael J. Maddigan, April 25,

2007.

Smith makes little comment upon his life subsequent to the war, and information regarding it is somewhat scant.  Following the war, he settled at South Middleborough, an outlying village of the town of Middleborough in Southeastern Massachusetts, setting down roots among other Smith families, though it was noted at the time of his death that he was “not of our Smiths.”.  At South Middleborough, Smith married Hope Doten (1765-1849), daughter of James and Elizabeth (Kempton) Doten of South Middleborough and raised a family of at least four children. 

Smith resided at various locations at South Middleborough, including the former parsonage of the Third Baptist Church of Middleborough where he is recorded as living in 1824.  It is likely that the parsonage was Smith’s original South Middleborough home, having been abandoned by the church when it relocated to Rock in the very late 1700s.  Establishment of the Reformed Methodist Society at South Middleborough in the 1820s, however, probably prompted the relocation of the Smiths so that the parsonage could once more be used for ministerial purposes, and it seems likely that the Smiths relocated at that time to the Maxim House further south on Spruce Street which had been acquired by Smith’s son, Chandler R. Smith in 1823.  In 1835, Chandler Smith provided his parents a life estate in the Maxim House which is the home most frequently associated with Smith and undoubtedly the scene where his memoirs were prepared.  Today known as the Smith-Wallen-Ryder House (the Wallens and Ryders being descendants of Smith), the Cape-style house has been restored.

Throughout his residence at South Middleborough, Smith was engaged in farming as were most of his neighbors, though he appears to have been instrumental in helping establish his son, Chandler R. as a local merchant.  At the corner of Spruce and Locust Streets, Chandler R. Smith about 1848 had “a Store or House built for the express purpose of keeping and selling therein to the people in the vicinity goods of such kinds as are usually kept and sold in stores in country places.”  Middleborough store.

Chandler R. Smith would become a recognizable merchant within South Middleborough and it was undoubtedly upon the basis of his son’s success, as well as his venerable old-age that Samuel Smith would come to be addressed within the community as “Governor” in his later years.

One story which has come down to us regarding Samuel Smith records his opposition to the arrival of the Cape Cod Branch railroad in 1848 which bisected the Smith family property at South Middleborough.  Vehemently opposed to the railroad on these grounds, an elderly Smith stood upon the tracks to block the path of the locomotive.  Only upon threat of being run down by an unsympathetic engineer did Smith relent and forgo his obstructionist campaign.  Though it is said that Smith ultimately recognized the benefits which the railroad brought to the community, the tale is indicative of the hardy and determined character of the man who sixty years earlier had served his new country with a similar fortitude.

Throughout his life, Smith remained an ardent patriot, attending annual July 4^th celebrations at New Bedford.  It is perhaps therefore fitting that he survived to witness one last Independence Day, passing away just a few days following on July 7, 1854.

THE TEXT OF THE FOLLOWING MEMOIRS has been prepared from an original 1853 copy of Smith’s Memoirs in the collection of the Middleborough Historical Association.  The small pamphlet measuring with an umber-colored paper cover is one of the few known copies to survive.

Preface to the 1860 Bushnell Edition

THE FOLLOWING WORK was originally published in Middleborough, Mass., in the year 1853, and the very small edition that was printed was chiefly circulated by the Author among such inhabitants of that town as had befriended him, or of whom he solicited alms.

Though but the memoirs of a private soldier, and of unpretending character, yet it is one of several similar ones extant, showing the trials undergone and the privations and sufferings endured by our ancestors in their noble contest for freedom. Samuel Smith, the author of the Memoirs, was for several years in the habit of annually visiting the city of New Bedford, and participating in the municipal celebrations on the Fourth of July. At the visit he made preceding his death, his mind was still unimpaired, and he was in the full possession of his physical strength.  He died in the town of Middleborough, on Friday, July 7th, 1854, in the 95th year of his age.

                                        CHARLES I. BUSHNELL

Introduction

I HAVE CONTEMPLATED for several years, placing before the American people, a few pages detailing some of the many incidents of my early life, my birth, parentage, and entrance into the army of the American Revolution, in 1776, &c., &c. Hoping that a recital of those labors, hardships, sufferings and trials may be kindly received by my fellow- countrymen, with a hearty response to the demand which I make upon them, namely : a perusal of these few pages, and the payment solicited for the same.

SAMUEL SMITH.

Middleboro, Mass., May, 1853.

MEMOIRS.

   I was born in Smithfield, in Rhode Island, on the 13th of June, A.D. 1759, of humble, creditable parents. My early education was exceedingly limited, never having attended school but two winters, and in that time barely learned to read some easy lessons without spelling, and to write the letters of the alphabet with a copy.

   When eight years old, I was afflicted with a fever sore, which entirely disabled me for a year, and prevented my ever having full use of my right arm.

   My mother died when I was about thirteen years old, and I was taken into the family of a friendly man, with whom I remained one year, receiving as a compensation for my work, necessary clothing and board. At the expiration of that time, I went to live with a bachelor, agreeing to stay three years, as at the former place, namely, for victuals and clothes. After being with him one and a half years, I was, like many foolish boys, enticed away by a stranger, and told by him that he would do better by me than the person with whom I then resided that he wished me to drive team, &c. In consequence of this flattery and deception, I ran away from the bachelor, and joined my new acquaintance.

   In three weeks, however, I returned, and begged the privilege of staying, which was granted.

   At the expiration of three years, I hired myself again to him one year, for necessary clothing and twelve dollars. The next year I was paid fifteen dollars and clothes; then my master relinquished house-keeping, and I was again destitute of a home. My parents being both dead, I was in a lonely condition, but was kindly cared for, and during a long illness which now prostrated me, carefully watched over by a widow, who was, indeed, to me like a “guardian angel.”  She also read and explained to me many passages of Scripture, which I did not before understand, and could not read for myself.

   Soon after I regained my strength, there was a call for soldiers to go to Bristol, and many were drafted to go there. I was hired for one month to take a soldier’s place. When that time expired, I enlisted for three months, and when that time was served, I again enlisted in the Continental Army, but was never mustered as a soldier, on account of my right arm being shorter than my left.

   About this time a small party of recruits were detached from the forces at Bristol, to join the main army.  I was one of the number. We joined the main army in the Highlands, on the east side of Hudson River, opposite Stony Point.

   Soon after we joined the main army, Major Andre was brought into camp, and continued in the regiment till he was hung.  From the Highlands we marched to “Red Bank” where we had a severe battle with the Hessians.

   In this engagement they attempted several times to storm our fort, there being seven times as many Hessians as our number. They were, however, compelled to retreat. In this engagement we had one captain, one fife major, and five privates killed. Two of the privates were shot down, one on my right and the other on my left hand.

   The night following the battle we were all on duty, either in scouting parties or on trails. It fell to my lot to go with a party on trail, and in going about half gun shot from the fort we found Count Dunop wounded and concealed behind a pine, attended by his two waiters.  We took him and carried him into the fort. He lived but a short time and died of his wounds, having been shot through the knees with small grape-shot. The next day the whole regiment was employed, except those on guard and on scouting parties, in digging a trench and burying the dead. Here we buried between four and five hundred ; so many Hessians having fallen in the engagement.

   Having buried the dead, we hung three spies one white man and two negroes. The white man confessed that he had taken pay of the British, (a tankard full of guineas,) for conducting Hessians to Red Bank.

   Soon after this action the British shipping came up opposite a mud fort which we had built, and another action commenced. We succeeded, soon after the action commenced, in firing a red hot shot into one of their ships, the Roebuck, a ship of seventy-four guns, which connecting with her magazine, blew her up.

   Sometime in November, 1776, we were obliged to leave Red Bank on account of the cold, and we marched to Valley Forge, and again joined the main army being at this time nearly destitute of clothing, except what we secured in the Hessian fight. We stopped, however, sometime in the mountains, till we could procure provisions. We there visited a hermit, who was one of the oldest settlers, having lived forty miles in the wild wilderness for fifty years. As the regiment was passing the cabin of the hermit, the column halted, and there was liberty given for all to visit it. It was a nice cabin, furnished with furs and skins, A nice smooth bench set outside the door. About two rods from this cabin, to the right hand as we came out, stood a very large tree, with smooth bark, resembling poplar. On this tree was nicely pictured a warrior s face. There were days while we were on our march to Valley Forge, for winter quarters, that we were entirely destitute of food, sometimes two days at a time. On our march we came to a valley, which abounded with black walnuts and butternuts, where we tarried two days. We then continued our march till we came to the Schuylkill River. There we laid down to rest on our arms, with nothing but the broad canopy of heaven to cover us.  That night the snow fell about half a foot deep. Some had blankets and slept upon the frozen ground and covered themselves with them, while others had none, and slept entirely unprotected from the weather. We staid at this place two days. The second day, in the morning, we discovered near the camp a large flock of goats, which were taken, butchered and devoured to satisfy hunger. After two days we unloaded the baggage wagons, and hauled them into the river to make a bridge on which the regiment crossed. On the next march we suffered extremely, our feet being wet, and being compelled to travel on the wet, frozen ground, ice and snow. Those who had blankets cut off the corners arid wound them round their feet. Others who had none, secured rags and the like, or anything of the kind which had been thrown from the houses on the road on which we marched, and blood from our feet might be traced on the ground. We finally reached Valley Forge, our winter head-quarters, the forepart of January, 1777. Here I built a hut, and soon after finishing it, was taken sick, and was blind for about ten days. We remained at Valley Forge till sometime in June. Then we went out of our winter quarters into the fields with our tents, and marched from post to post till we met the British at Springfield, Penn., where we had a smart engagement, lasting for nearly two hours.* There being of us but a small brigade to contend against the whole British army, we were obliged for a time, in this action to retreat, and a company was detached from our brigade, in a flanking party, and attacked the British right flank opposite General Arnold s, the traitor.

   We contended in this engagement nearly an hour, until in fact the British had nearly surrendered to us, when we were obliged to retreat a short distance on a height of ground and took shelter, first in an orchard and from thence we retreated to an oak grove. Here we had the advantage of them. Our captain now ordered every man to shelter himself by standing behind a tree. In this engagement there was not a man on the American side killed or wounded except one captain, who received a shot through the left arm ; a flesh wound.  The next day after the battle, we were employed in burying the dead in the burying ground, and conveying the wounded to the hospital. I was selected with others to go to the hospital and attend the wounded. Much of my time while there was employed in attending and waiting on the doctor, having the care of his box of instruments. While there I saw a great many legs and arms cut off. I was continued in this occupation at the hospital, until the spring of It 78, when I joined my regiment again.

   While I was at the hospital I was under the command of the doctor, and I waited on him until he left the army, which was in the fall of the year 1778. The name of the doctor was Elias Cornelius.

   I believe him to have been a Christian, as he regularly attended meetings on Sundays, He was a Baptist by profession. When he went to church he always took me with him, as he wished me well. He also instructed me in the ways of righteousness. When he left the army I lost the company of my best friend. He returned from Springfield to his home in the city of New York.  After the British took possession of New York, he was obliged to leave the city, he being a true Republican.  His father and relatives were Tories. The last knowledge I had of him, he resided at Robinson Mills, in the State of New York, and the last time I saw him he was on a visit to Providence, two years after he left the army, when we took a final leave of each other. He entreated me to persevere in serving the Lord, that we might meet in a better world.

   Nothing material occurred until the next June, when the battle of Monmouth was fought. The day on which this battle was fought, was the hottest, I think, that I ever experienced. In fact, the heat was so excessive that I could not tell by which the most died, whether by the heat or the balls.

   In two days after this hot battle, the brigade was ordered to march to Rhode Island. (t.) We arrived on the Island just previous to the tremendous hurricane and rain storm, We had not pitched our tents. I found, however, a large hogshead, knocked in at one end, and got into it for shelter, Soon after the storm, an action took place. In this action the Americans were obliged to retreat. It so happened that it brought the Rhode Island brigade in the rear. Boats were employed all night in carrying off baggage and troops, About sun rise it came our turn to fight, and we descended upon a party of British at the fort on Butts Hill. The British scaled the walls on one side, while the Americans entered the gate.

  We drove the British completely from the fort, dismounted and spiked their cannon, and then hastened to the boats which were waiting for us, and retreated from the Island.

   Soon after, the drafted men were discharged, and we marched to Warren for winter headquarters. The soldiers called for pay, They had had promises of pay for one month in the new emission money. The money was retained by our officers, and we marched to Providence to see the General and get redress, which he promised we should have, and told our commander whenever we wanted redress, to write him, and he would endeavor that we should have it, so we all again submitted, and resigned ourselves to the orders of our old officers.

   In the course of the winter of 1778, many of the regiment to which I belonged were taken to go on ship board, to run down the river to attack and take the British shipping which lay there. The ship that I went on board of had two cannons Our orders were to run along side of the British shipping, board, and take them.

   I believe it was a happy incident to us that our captain run the ship aground on Pawtucket Flats, for thus ended this expedition. We then returned to our barracks at Warren, where we remained until the spring of the year 1779, when we were marched to Boston Neck.

   Our payment for services being unnecessarily detained, we all agreed to have a letter formed, setting forth our grievances, and sent to our General. The letter was made and handed to the Colonel to forward to the General, The Colonel refused to have the letter sent, and took the bearer of it and sent him in irons to jail, He then had him tried by a Court Martial, and sentenced to be hung in rive days. Three days after the sentence, all attended as usual at the calling of the roll. After the roll was called we were dismissed for the day. When the officers had retired, we agreed upon our plan to liberate the prisoner. Every soldier fixed his bayonet on his gun for the purpose of rescuing the brother soldier who was condemned to be hung. The drums beat the long roll as a signal. Every soldier was on parade, with his gun loaded and his bayonet affixed, We were determined to rescue the prisoner, who was innocent of any crime on behalf of his fellow soldiers. We were determined to a man to lose our lives or rescue our brother.

   There were but two officers in the regiment who would allow soldiers to converse with our head commander, for the purpose of settling questions in dispute. On we marched, agreed that fifteen only should be allowed to settle the affair. Meeting General Sullivan, he ordered us to halt, but we marched steadily on. Our old Major, whom we always and at all times authorized to speak to our Commander to settle questions and restore peace, rode in front of our ranks and wished us to halt, as Gen. Sullivan came to settle the disorder and to restore peace.

   We agreed to halt on condition that the officers should get in front, under the muzzles of our guns. These conditions were quickly complied with. The first request of the General was for us to lay down our arms. He said he could not converse with soldiers under arms.  We positively refused to accede to his request, and we all stood with our guns to our shoulders, loaded and bayonets affixed.

   The above took place in the road on a low piece of land. A small island was opposite the place where we halted. The General wanted us to march on the island.  We complied with his request. When we had marched on the island, he wanted we should stack our arms.  Our leader told the General that our arms would remain in each man’s hands until the treaty which we demanded was agreed upon. The General said he could not agree with soldiers upon anything while they were under arms. Then our leader told him he should march for the condemned man. The General told him that he had one black regiment in the fort, which we had to pass, who would cut us to pieces. The answer from our leader was: “We do not fear you, with all your black boys ! The prisoner we will have, at the risk of our lives!”

   The General then agreed that if we would march back, under order to our former officers, he would send the prisoner to the camp. This our leader refused to do, telling the General that he had marched his men there on conditions, and that he would march them back again if he would immediately deliver up the prisoner, and pledge his honor that there should be no one confined or tried in Court Martial for the same offence. It was apparently hard for the General to agree to it, but at last he complied with the terms and sent an officer for the prisoner, who was soon brought and delivered to us.

   We then marched to our old encampment with our comrade in the centre, and colors flying in his hands, and resigned ourselves to our old officers.

   We remained in our encampment until the British evacuated Rhode Island, when we took possession of it.  We remained here until we had orders to march southward.

   The first march we made was to Hartford, Conn., where we staid but a day or two, when we marched to Philadelphia, Penn., where we encamped a week or more, waiting for further orders and for the baggage to come up. We then marched to the head of Elk River, and took boats and went down the river to Little York.  Then came on a squall, and being in flat bottom boats, all landed on an island nearly opposite Little York, in the centre of the British forces. The enemy might have taken with ease the whole of the American troops which were there quartered, and all our bag-gage, had they dared to have attacked us. One British boat landed about a mile from our encampment, and sent out spies who fled before we could come up with them. It being a pleasant day we took to our boats and sailed by them.

   The next march we made was to Yorktown, where we encamped within half cannon shot of the British, and commenced a fortification by digging a trench, or rather by each man digging a hole deep enough to drop into. When this was accomplished, we stationed a man to watch the enemy s guns, at which every man dropped into his hole. But we soon left this ground, and in the night stormed two of their fortifications, and dug a trench all round the British encampment, completely yarding them in.

   Two nights after the storming of the fortifications, the British undertook to retake them, and mustering out a small party calling themselves Americans, came up in the rear of us. They entered the fort with but little difficulty, as there were but few of us in it, and very quickly those who were not instantly killed or taken, were driven out of it.

   Four days from that time Lord Cornwallis surrendered,  and in three days from the time Cornwallis surrendered, the British marched out on the plains, and stacked their arms and resigned and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, and each marched into town again.  The Americans followed them. In three weeks from the time the British surrendered, we took their shipping.

   Forty of the prisoners we took from their ships had a disorder with which our doctor was not acquainted. Its appearance was sudden. Some would fall down on the deck and froth like a mad dog ; others would begin to draw their heads down till their heels and head would touch together. An American of my acquaintance, who, to my certain knowledge, had been exposed repeatedly to the small pox for six years, caught it on board the British shipping and died.

   From York Town we marched to Saratoga, a long and tedious march, where we made our headquarters until the spring of 1783.

   In the winter, after the lakes had frozen up, we went to storm a fort on the frontier. Our army was conveyed in stages. In crossing Niagara River on the ice, just above the Falls, one stage containing six men and the driver, slipped sideways into the river, and was carried over the Falls and lost.

   We passed over across the Lake to a piece of swampy land, where the stages left us and returned home. We staid here two nights and a part of two days, when we learned by our spies, that the British had reinforced their fort with double the number of men they had before, and it becoming more than five degrees colder than when we started from Saratoga to cross the Lakes a number of men having frozen to death, and a great part of the regiment being more or less frozen but little regard was paid to the command of the officers, as every man did the best he could to protect himself from the cold. Sleighs were procured and furnished by the inhabitants, to carry the troops back to Saratoga. We remained at Saratoga until the latter part of the month of May, 1783, when the greater part of the regiment was disbanded by companies. Some of the companies were marched to Providence before their discharge was given them.

   I was selected to drive the Colonel’s baggage to Providence, under command of a lieutenant and a small guard, and then discharged without money or clothes.  I went to a place to board, but having no money to pay, the person with whom I boarded set me to driving trucks. The business he was in was small, and he entered into company with Samuel Bagley. I was finally hired to drive a baggage wagon from Providence to Boston. They agreed to give me one-third of the profits for driving, I to find myself. Bagley was agent, and about six months after I commenced driving, he sold what little property he had and ran away with the money. In consequence of this, I lost the whole of my earnings.

   I then shipped on board a brig, which was bound to the coast of Brazil, on a whaling voyage. We were gone nine months and seventeen days. We killed only five whales, which made sixty barrels each, (300). I lost my time, and was in debt for fitting out. In four days after my arrival home, I shipped for the West Indies, in a brig commanded by Capt. Seth Wheaton. Here I began a wickedness beyond every thing I had done before. In those days sailors were addicted to drinking and swearing. I contracted the habit of swearing, but not that of drinking, and did not follow all the sailors practices, being careful of the company I kept.

   The voyage was long and tedious, as the captain chartered his brig to a merchant in New York to go to Turks Island and load with salt. After we had arrived at Mooner Passage, we attempted to go through a narrow place, and the wind being ahead we had a very narrow escape.

   After we got to sea, we were very scant of provisions, calculating to obtain supplies at Turks Island. Being eighteen days from Curago, we were nearly destitute of bread and water, and four days previous to arriving at Turks Island, were obliged to come on an allowance of half a pint of water and half a biscuit a day. We were, however, at this point, nearly in sight of Port au Prince, but did not dare to go on shore with our boats. When we came so nigh to land that we could go on shore and return in five hours, our boat was hoist ed out, and the captain, merchant, three sailors and myself, left the vessel about 7 o clock, A. M., and pulled for the shore till 3 o clock, P. M., and reached the land.  The captain and merchant went in pursuit of provisions; the rest were left with me to take care of the boat.  Very soon after we landed, a negro came to the boat with bananas, plantains and oranges to sell. We purchased enough to make a good meal. The captain and merchant soon returned with a supply of provisions, which were brought to the boat by negroes. At five o clock, P. M., we pulled again for the brig. The light which we left burning in the morning and hanging in the shrouds, the mate put out after dark, and the wind blowing in shore, we made sail and run for the harbor.

   A man-of-war, not finding the captain, and only the mate, two hands and one passenger on board, and taking her to be a pirate, brought the brig under his stern.  When the light was put out, we put the boat about for the shore, it being exceedingly dark, and we had no compass. We again reached the land, and passed the remainder of the night in the small village where we had obtained our supplies. The next morning the brig was not to be seen, and we had to take to our boat again, and row across the bay, sixty miles to the harbor. We pulled all day, and at sunset were barely in sight of the shipping. When it became so dark that we could not discern the shipping, the captain selected a star in the horizon, and thus we reached the harbor about ten o clock.  As we approached the shipping, our boat was hailed by the sentinel of the man-of-war and ordered along side. Our captain was ordered on board, but in a short time was liberated, with provisions and water, to go on board of his own vessel.

   We staid in port about two weeks till the merchant had taken his cargo, and then sailed for New York, where we arrived in ten days ; discharged our cargo, and then sailed for Providence. On our passage down the Sound we experienced a heavy gale, and being in light ballast, were forced to make the nearest harbor, which was a cove on Long Island, where we laid for four days. Then we sailed out into the Sound, and it becoming perfectly calm, were floated about for four days longer, not making headway enough for steerage, being driven backwards and forwards with the tide. This was in the latter part of December, 1785, and the weather was piercing cold. After we had been becalmed four days, the wind blew a heavy gale, and we ran into New London, where we laid five days. On the sixth day, the weather proving favorable, we sailed again for Providence. The wind hauling to the east ward, began again to blow, and we steered for a small harbor on Long Island, where we staid three days.  Again we sailed and arrived at Newport. The next day we sailed for Providence, and after contending and forcing our way through the ice, arrived three miles below the town in twenty-one days from New York.

   Arriving in Providence, I went to my old boardinghouse and staid three days, when I shipped and went on board of a sloop bound to the West Indies. The crew consisted of captain, mate and four hands all drunkards except a lad of about eighteen years and myself.  We had on board ten oxen.

   We cleared from Providence in the morning, in a rain storm. By nine, P. M., Block Island was two leagues astern of us, and all hands below, drunk. It was blowing a heavy gale, arid I had been placed at the helm before leaving the land. It became dark, and not knowing the bearings of Nantucket Shoals, neither had I time to look in any book or on any chart to ascertain.  I placed the lad at the helm while I went into the steerage and took the stopples out of the kegs of rum and let it run out on the floor. The two hands came on deck the next morning sober and continued so till our arrival at the West Indies. The captain and mate kept half drunk the whole voyage. They were not even capable of managing the vessel, or of discharging or loading.  The mate staid on board a sloop loading with sugar. while we were loading. When we hauled out into deep water to sail for home, the captain was hardly capable of giving orders. At five o clock, P. M., he gave me the charge of the vessel, calling all hands and ordering them to obey my orders the same as if I were the captain, and then went below. About eight o clock the next morning he again made his appearance on deck, ordered the boat alongside, and then two hands to row him on shore.  It being Sunday I kept all hands on board Monday morning the captain came on board in a negro boat, and gave all hands liberty to go on shore to spend the day.

   We staid in port two weeks, loaded with cotton and sugar, and cleared for Providence. We had a very pleasant voyage home, except with our captain and mate, who were very cross and ugly. The captain and myself had a few words one day, and I informed him that I knew my duty as a seaman. He ever after on the voyage, appeared to owe me a grudge. A few days out, our  studding sail halyards gave way at the end of the boom where it was rigged out at the end of the yard.  The captain called upon me to go aloft and reef the halyards. There was no foot rope to rest the feet upon, but I had to crawl out on the yard with the halyards in my hand.  When I had got about half way out, the captain sung out with an oath: “Now fall overboard, and I will pick you up when I come this way again.”  I was obliged to cling to the spar to the utmost of my strength, and had it not been for the stillness of the wind and the smoothness of the sea, should have fallen off.

   We had a moderate breeze on our passage home till we made Block Island. The wind being to the north we could not run to Rhode Island, but anchored off Stonington, where we remained three days. In weighing  anchor, we did not get it to the cat-head as quick as the captain wished, he (being so intoxicated he did not know what he wanted,) began to curse and swear, directing foul language towards me, saying were he nigh some desolate island, I should starve to death. I in formed him that I had ever done my duty as a faithful seaman, and obeyed all his commands. He frequently quarreled with the mate and all hands. I sailed the vessel from our anchorage in Stonington to Providence. About half way from Newport to Providence, I called the captain, he having slept his nap out.

   Having discharged the cargo, I called for my pay, which was six dollars a month, and the captain offered me a kind of paper currency which the State had issued as a cheat. I refused this currency. He declared I should take that or nothing. I lost my wages.

   Next day I visited a brother, five miles in the country, whom I found ploughing, it being a very warm time in the spring of 1786.

   Upon revisiting Boston, I shipped on board a Plymouth packet. Subsequently I sailed on another voyage to the West Indies, and upon returning from which I came to Middleboro , where I have resided for about thirty-seven years, with a less varied life than that which is recounted in the foregoing pages, and from which place this little work is submitted. Having touched in these few pages, on some of the incidents of my younger years, I most humbly beg to arrest your attention one moment longer.

   FELLOW COUNTRYMEN : I need not tell you that I have seen the British guns fired in anger, or that these lungs which now but feebly respire the vital air of heaven, have been suffocated with the smoke of British powder.  I need not tell you that those dim eyes have guided, or that those now palsied limbs have directed the American ordnance, when your country groaned, and Americans bled by the cruel oppression of Britain. I need not tell you that these ears have been stunned by the thunder of the cannon, the clashing of steel, and rattle of musketry, or even that I have lived, not only in the days but with our beloved Washington, the father of his country ! No ! it is not to impose upon you self-praise, or to arouse your passions by a recital of any exertions of my own, in behalf of the American Revolution, or even again to revert to those times which tried men s souls, but merely to say, gentlemen, I am an old man a very old man more than four-score years and ten, and stand nigh the borders of the grave!  I can speak to you but a short time longer. Hear me for my cause!

   Should our country, in your time, be invaded by a foreign foe, and you be called to act the part of men American born men may you enter the field, and should it be ordered and ordained that your bones should bleach in the soil of your country, like those who fell in the American Revolution  - may you say -  “Let justice be done, though the heavens should fall.”

Notes

Samuel Smith
Smith was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, the son of Benjamin and Abigail (Walling) Smith who were married at Smithfield, November 13, 1752, by William Arnold, Justice.  The couple appears to have had but three children: Chloe born June 2, 1754; Enos born March 20, 1757; and Samuel born June 13, 1759.  Smith describes his parents as "humble", perhaps a euphemism for poor.  Following his mother's death about 1772, Smith appears to have been "bound out", a common practice by those unable to support family members.  Smith replaced another soldier, a common practice through the mid-nineteenth century when drafted men could pay money to another to replace them.  It is likely that Smith joined the Second Rhode Island Regiment which was formed at this time.

Major John André
Major John André was a British spy hung October 2, 1780 for complicity in the attempted surrender of West Point by Benedict Arnold.  Clearly, Smith has confused the timing of the episode.  Bushnell simply notes that “the reader will perceive that the author is guilty of several anachronisms in the course of his narrative.”  Andre was not captured until 1780, some four years following Smith’s presence at Stony Point.

Battle of Springfield, Pennsylvania
This battle did not take place until June 23, 1780 - another anachronism in Smith's memoirs.

Battle of Red Bank,  Delaware River south of Philadelphia, October-November, 1777
Following the occupation of Philadelphia, the British sought to secure control of the Delaware River without which their control of the city would remain untenable.  Recognizing this, the Americans moved to block the river below the city.  An anonymous British diarist from the time recorded that "the rebels have endeavoured with vast labour and expense to stop up the navigation of the Delaware River by sinking several ranges of a kind of cheavaux de fries across the channel, to prevent our fleet from getting up to the city."  The obstructions were placed between Red Bank on the New Jersey shore where the Continentals had established a rudimentary fort known as Fort Mercer, and an island in the river upon which the somewhat more substantial For Mifflin was raised.  In an effort to reduce Fort Mercer, British General Howe despatched a force of 2,000 Hessian troops under General Count Carl Emil Kurt von Donop.  On October 22, 1777, Americans led by Christopher Greene of Rhode Island repulsed the Hessian troops.  Sources vary as to the number killed from 200 to 600, including von Donop.  Smith's Memoirs clearly indicate the higher number.  Though not of great strategic importance (Fort Mercer was later abandoned when the British made it untenable following their taking of Fort Mifflin), it was of tremendous emotional import for the Continental troops.

"We hung three spies"
Two spies were hanged November 1, 1777, for having conducted the Hessians to Red Bank.

Sinking of the Augusta
In his Memoirs, Smith clearly confuses the 64-gun warship Augusta with the smaller 44-gun Roebuck.  As part of the effort to secure the Delaware, a force of British war vessels was brought to bear in the attack upon Forts Mercer and Mifflin, as noted by Smith.  The 64-gun Augusta, 44-gun Roebuck, 18-gun sloop of war Merlin, frigates Liverpool and Pearl and a galley ship sought to force their way upriver with the incoming tide.  The Pearl's log recorded that the fleet "work'd up the River in order to engage the Rebel Vessels and prevent their firing on our Troops, who appear'd to be much gall'd from the Enemies Shipping; 1/2 past 5 the Rebel Galleys &c. began firing n us, which was return'd by the Roebuck, Augusta & Cornwallis Galley."  Unfortunately for the British, both the Augusta and Merlin ran aground on shoaling sands on October 23 off Fort Mifflin, following which Augusta caught fire.  Though the British frantically tried to salvage the burning ship, it ultimately had to be abandoned.  The fire ignited its magazine which exploded and destroyed the Augusta, the largest Royal Navy warship lost in the entire Revolution.  The survivors were taken aboard the remaining ships, including the Roebuck.

"Sometime in November we were obliged to leave Red Bank"
Fort Mercer was evacuated in mid-November 1777, following the British capture of Fort Mifflin.

Valley Forge
Though Smith's narrative contains little detail, it clearly indicates the suffering experienced at Valley Forge where it is estimated some 2,000 died during the course of the winter of 1777-78, with Smith himself falling ill.  Food and clothing were both scarce, and Washington was moved o write "that unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place ... this Army must inevitably ... starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can."

"We remained at Valley Forge until sometime in June"
Fearing a French blockade, the British forces under General Clinton withdrew from Philadelphia.  Learning of this, Washington moved to intercept Clinton, and the Continental Army moved out from Valley Forge June 19, 1778, upon receiving news that Philadelphia had been abandoned by the British.

Elias Cornelius (1758-1823)
Though of a Loyalist family, Cornelius enlisted January 1, 1777, and because of some medical background, he served as a surgeon's mate in the 2d Rhode Island regiment under General Israel Angell.  Cornelius, like Smith, served at Red Bank, but was captured before the army entered winter encampment at Valley Forge.  Cornelius escaped on January 7, 1778, and rejoined his regiment at Valley Forge.  Cornelius later wrote reminiscences entitled Journal of Dr. Elias Cornelius, A Revolutionary Surgeon: Graphic Description of his Suffering while a Prisoner in Provost jail, New York, 1777 and 1778.

The Battle of Monmouth (New Jersey), June 28, 1778
The battle was fought between Washington and the main body of the Continental Army which moved eastward from Pennsylvania to attack the rear of the retreating British army led by Sir Henry Clinton as it departed Freehold, New Jersey, with the purpose of reaching Sandy Hook and embarkation for New York.  The British were evacuating Philadelphia and New Jersey as untenable, fearing that French naval forces might cut their supply lines.  General Charles Lee was the first to attack the rear of the British force, but retreated when the British turned to repulse the attack.  Both sides claimed victory.  While the British achieved their aim of evacuating their army intact from New Jersey, the Americans could claim that they had forced the evacuation of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  The battle which was marked by excessive heat is today perhaps best remembered for the presence of Mary Hays (Molly Pitcher).  The American satisfaction over the outcome of Monmouth was marred, however, by subsequent wrangling over Lee's actions.  Lee demanded to be court martialled in the belief that such a body would exonerate him of charges of insubordination.  It did not.  He was found guilty, a verdict later upheld by Congress, and allegations of treason would continue to dog him.  Another Middleborough soldier, Captain Joshua Eddy is said to have been witness to Washington's castigation of Lee.

The Battle of Rhode Island
A force was despatched under General John Sullivan to move northward into Rhode Island and join with French naval forced for an attack upon Newport.  Before it could reach the city, the American force clashed with the British at the northern end of Aquidneck Island.  Continental forces performed a tactical withdrawal to a line which ranged across the island just south of Butt's Hill in preparation for an invasion force of 100 British vessels encouraged by the departure of d'Estaing's fleet for repairs in Boston.  The storm which Smith mentions occurred on August 11 and 12, and laid flat cornfields and hayfields over the course of the two days.  On the evening of August 30-31, the British permitted the American forces to withdraw by boat to Tiverton and Bristol.  Following the battle, the regular troops rejoined Washington and a small force was retained at Fort Barton in Tiverton.

Black Troops
Undoubtedly a reference to the 1st Rhode Island, a nearly all African-American regiment.  The 2d Rhode Island also included black troops.  Rhode Island, along with Massachusetts, emancipated slaves willing to serve as soldiers, paying compensation to their owners for the loss of their "property".

October 25, 1779
The date the British finally evacuated Newport, Rhode Island

Independence Day, Late 1800s

Fourth of July postcard, early 20th century. 

Virtually unknown today is the practice of sending

Independence Day greetings such as cards and postcards,

a common part of late 19th and early 20th Fourth of July

celebrations.

Independence Day celebrations of late 19th century Middleborough were usually confined to small family get togethers or a quiet day spent relaxing.  Evenings might be devoted to neighborhood displays of fireworks.  Pranks, more typically associated with Hallowe'en, were also engaged in with one of the most commonplace being the ringing of the local church bell at midnight, as indicated by this undated news item from the local newspaper from just before the turn of the last century.

Young America commenced celebrating the 4th as soon as the clock struck the midnight hour.  Soon the bell of he Methodist church pealed forth, and it was subsequently found that some one gained entrance, and by attaching a rope to the bell and bringing it out of doors and over the fence, they were able to ring the bell free from discovery.  Later the bell of the Baptist church was rung awhile.  Guns, pistols, crackers, torpedoes and tin horns kept up a continuous round of noise to the annoyance and disturbance of sober and quiet citizens.

Most of the stores were open a short time in the morning, but were closed the balance of the day.  The streets of town were reasonably quiet through the day.  To the pond, Lakeside, visiting friends out of town, on a trip to Boston, Brockton, Taunton, Wareham or Onset, filled up the hours of the day to those who wanted to 'celebrate.'  Many a family spent the day quietly at home in restful enjoyment and freedom from business cares.

At the ponds, the day was very quietly observed.  The steamer met an accident, losing part of her smoke stack, which caused some delay.  A bolt was also lost, which delayed the passage, and the passengers were not landed until about half past one o'clock.  The regatta was postponed on account of the strong breeze.

In the evening several parties showed fireworks display, among them being C. W. and Philip E. Kingman, J. B. Ryder, Geo. H. Washburn, Casper Littlehale, and conductor Charles Jones.  An extra train ran to Taunton in the early evening to allow visitors to witness the fireworks.

Farrar's Fireworks Stand, 1932

Prior to the state ban on their commercial sale, fireworks were readily available each summer to Middleborough and Lakeville residents as evidenced by this photograph of Farrar's fireworks stand from the summer of 1932.  Local vendors were licensed by the Board of Selectmen to sell fireworks, fire crackers, sparklers and other pyrotechnic novelties, and their locations were required to be situated away from congested areas within town in the event of a mishap.  Farrar's which was long an Everett Square landmark was operated by Percy G. Reed who specialized in the sale of this unique summer staple throughout the 1930s, with business conducted in a small woodframe building erected specifically for the purpose.  The location of the photograph is unknown, though it is believed to have been taken close to the center of Middleborough.

Gathering Water Lilies

Nemasket River, Middleborough, MA, photograph, early 20th century.
A young man on the Nemasket River gathers water lilies which fill the stem and stern of his canoe.

Other lilies grow in the river, too, that are like roses...

- Herodotus, The Histories

Common on local lakes and ponds, as well as the Nemasket River, water lilies have long been part of local history.  Native Americans employed the plant for medicinal purposes, and ate the flower buds, seeds, young leaves and roots (which were dried and ground into flour).  Later, the plant was increasingly regarded for its aesthetic value, and its profuse presence on a pond at Rock belonging to Ichabod F. Atwood late in the season in 1862 was deemed newsworthy enough to be documented in the pages of the Middleborough Gazette and Old Colony Advertiser on October 25th of that year.  At the time it was noted of the lilies that they were "in all stages of development, from the forming bud to the full-blown, perfect flower." 

Gathering Waterlilies, Jerome Thompson

(1814-86), oil on canvas, 1867.

During the Victorian era, gathering water lilies was a not uncommon sight, and the practice was documented by artists of the day including Middleborough native Jerome Thompson, Eastman Johnson and P. H. Emerson.  More prosaic use of the practice of lily gathering was put to use on advertising trade cards, some distributed locally.  Overly zealous collectors, however, threatened to strip local ponds and the river bare of he flower so much so that in July, 1908, signs were placed at Rock Pond on Smith Street forbidding the taking of lilies.  Interestingly, at one time, the water lily was proposed as the state flower of Massachusetts.  It however lost out to the Mayflower which was adopted in 1918.

Walking Tour of Rock Village: Church and Industry - Miller Street to Highland Street

On Saturday, July 18, the Middleborough Historical Commission and Rock Village Church sponsored an historic walking tour of a portion of Rock Village.  For those readers who may have missed the well-attended event, a self-guided tour which may be printed appears below. This tour encompasses Miller Street from the Rock Church south to Highland Street with brief excursions to the Rock Cemetery and the Rock on Walnut Street.  Several of the sites are associated with either the Rock Village Church or the Rock Mill.  Use caution while walking along the roadways at Rock, many of which are without sidewalks, and please respect the private properties which are being viewed!  The tour takes approximately an hour and a half and provides both a pleasant leisurely walk and an informative introduction to Rock's history.

“Rock is a charming New England village, and natives who have migrated to far away places, and some not so far, often declare that, in their opinion, no place in the world compares with the home of their youth, Rock Village.”

- Mertie E. Romaine, History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts, Vol. II (1969)

Begin the tour in front of the Rock Village Church on Miller Street

Rock Village Church (1880), 94 Miller Street. In 1879, the Independent Congregational Church was organized at Rock by 20 parishioners of the Third Baptist Church on Highland Street under the guidance of Reverend W. Clarkson Ryder and the following year this “commodious chapel” was erected, being dedicated in June, 1880. The church emphasized the doctrine of scriptural Holiness and consequently became known as the “Holiness Church.” It was here in 1890 that representatives of various Holiness congregations met and organized the Central Evangelical Holiness Association which became the foundation for the Church of the Nazarene. Following the destruction of the Third Calvinistic Baptist Church on Highland Street in 1918, the two churches merged and continued to meet here, being known for a time as the Rock Village Federated Church. In 1920-21, the chapel was enlarged and the steeple added to give the church its current appearance.

Turn right from the church and head north to a small dirt parking area adjacent to the railroad track which is the

Site of Rock Village Station (1848-1938).  In 1846, the Cape Cod Branch Railroad was incorporated for the purpose of constructing a rail line from the existing Fall River Railroad line from near that company’s depot at Middleborough center to Sandwich on Cape Cod.  A site was selected for a station at Rock where the line crossed Miller Street.  As elsewhere, arrival of the railroad opened Rock to new markets and was the impetus for the development of the village’s lumber industry.  The line was constructed by Irish laborers throughout 1846 and 1847 with the first fifteen miles between Middleborough center and Wareham opening on January 26, 1848, though the first train had passed through earlier on May 29, 1847.

Despite the convenience of the railroad, ridership remained relatively low, and the bulk of the railroad company’s receipts were derived from freighting.  Rock residents successfully opposed proposals by the railroad to close the Rock and South Middleborough stations and create a new station midway between the two communities.  The view of Rock residents was supported by the state which maintained that such a plan would disrupt the habits which had arisen since the establishment of the railroad.  Nonetheless, in 1867 Rock was made a flag stop with the flagman being required to signal approaching trains to stop.  The flagman also had other duties such as ensuring the safety of pedestrians and vehicles which crossed Miller Street at grade.  This remained an important part of the flagman’s role until 1929 when electric crossing signals were installed.

Passenger service was finally abandoned in 1938 by the Old Colony’s lessor, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad which closed the Rock station.
 

Another transportation revolution for Rock came in 1901 when the Middleboro, Wareham & Buzzards Bay Street Railway constructed a trolley line from Middleborough center to Wareham which passed through Rock Village, running along Miller Street to Smith Street where it made a 90-degree turn before running back to Wareham Street.  By July 3, 1901, the line had reached Rock, with cars tested on the line later that month making the run between Middleborough and Rock in 15 minutes.  The street railway provided Rock residents with easy access to Middleborough and other points, and offered more frequent service than the steam railroad, ridership on which began to decline.  The street railway, itself, was abandoned in 1923-24 and replaced first by jitneys, and later by buses.

 

Beyond the railroad line at the southeast corner of Miller and Smith Streets is the

 

Israel Smith House and Store (c. 1845), 88 Miller Street.  This structure at the southeast corner of Miller and Smith Streets long housed Israel Smith’s grocery and dry goods store.  Born at South Middleborough, Smith (1817-1902) relocated to Rock in 1842 at which time he opened a store which he operated until 1901.  “In early days he purchased his goods in Plymouth, where they were brought by vessel, and transported them on ox teams to his store.”  Smith was instrumental in the location of a railroad station at Rock by the Cape Cod Branch Railroad and he served as the first station agent there, as well as Rock’s postmaster for nearly 40 years.  An early promoter of the Rock mill, Smith was the oldest resident of Rock at the time of his death in 1902.

By the turn of the century, Joseph C. Turner was operating the store here.  He was succeeded in 1906 by Walter C. Thomas.  The building is noteworthy for having been the first building at Rock to be wired for electricity during Thomas’ tenure as shopkeeper, shortly after the electrical line was extended to Rock in 1912.  It was also likely the first building at Rock to have a telephone, which was installed in the 1880s.

It was in this building as part of Smith’s store that the Rock post office was located.  Established in 1849, the post office operated until 1934 when fourth class post offices were closed and replaced with the rural free delivery system.

Cross Miller Street to the south side of the railroad line to the long building set back from the road.  This is the

former Rock Village Store (late 19^th century), 91 Miller Street which began life as a stable and a house at one time occupied by the caretaker of the Levi O. Atwood estate further south on Miller Street.  In 1938, Atwood sold the house and stable building to James T. McKechnie who operated the Puritan Market on Wareham Street at Fall Brook and who proposed converting the stable into a store.  It is said that the stable served as an air raid shelter (fortunately never used) during World War II.  The operation served as a store under various owners until the late 20^th century.

Beyond the store is Walnut Street.  Turn right and proceed beyond the former Rock Village Store to the

 

Site of the Rock Mill (1865, burned 1939) which occupied a large parcel between Walnut Street and the railroad line.  The mill was operated by various firms over the years though it was long informally known as the Rock mill.

The lumber and box-making mill was established in 1865 as the Rock Mill, and was powered by a 20 horse power engine and employed 9 operatives.  In 1868, it was acquired by H. N. Thomas and operated as one of the largest sawmills in Middleborough as H. N. Thomas & Company.  Ten years later, Charles N. Atwood acquired the mill and under his direction it “became one of the successful industries in this section in the manufacturing of wooden boxes”, ultimately employing some fifty men.  The 2-story mill building was located on Walnut Street.  Sawing and planning was done on the first floor while box-making was conducted on the second floor.

Atwood’s son, Levi O. Atwood (1870-1949), was a member of the firm briefly between 1891 and 1893 before joining permanently about 1903 or 1904 at which time the firm became known as C. N. Atwood & Son.  In 1914, the elder Atwood retired and control of the business was assumed by Levi O. Atwood, the name of the company being changed at the time to reflect the change in ownership.   The L. O. Atwood Company survived a devastating fire in 1922, but it ultimately succumbed to business pressures during the Depression, and between 1934 and 1937 the plant remained idle.    

In 1937, the Rock Manufacturing Company, headed by President Albert W. Charbonneau, acquired the L. O. Atwood Company property and resumed operations, manufacturing cranberry, apple and fish boxes, “Cape Cod wells”, hornbeam rollers, wooden novelties and finely-finished flatware chests and cigarette boxes.  At the time of the Rock Manufacturing Company’s formation, its role in reviving the business of the community was applauded by Mrs. Anne C. Wyman, a summer resident at Chippoponquet on Long Point Road and an investor in the company.  “At the time of the incorporation of the company there were many empty houses in Rock, which have since been filled with happy families,” wrote Mrs. Wyman.  Consequently, the loss of the mill to fire in 1939 was a devastating blow to the community and both Charbonneau and his employees angrily blamed the town for the consequence of its failure to extend the municipal water line to Rock Village.  When questioned about the rebuilding of the mill following the 1939 fire, Charbonneau responded, “Just how far we go at the Rock depends, as I said, on whether we can have water.” 

The plant, in fact, was rebuilt, but operated on a much smaller scale until June, 1956, when the forced bankruptcy of the Rock Manufacturing Company resulted in the sale of the property.  

 
At its peak, the Rock mill was an enormous operation.  By 1925, on average, 2 million board feet of lumber were stacked in the yard which surrounded the mill on the north and west and it was the largest manufacturer of wooden boxes and box shooks in southeastern Massachusetts.

One of the few remaining buildings from the Rock mill plant is the Levi O. Atwood Mill Boiler House (1922; rebuilt 1939), 9 Walnut Street, with its prominent smokestack.  The boiler house was constructed in 1922 using elements from the earlier power plant to provide electrical power to the company’s adjacent box mill.  The building housed a 250 horsepower steam-powered electrical generating plant to power the mill machinery.  The boiler house was substantially rebuilt again following a fire on June 29, 1939 and remained in use until the mill became obsolete.  The plant’s chimney with its decorative brickwork was long prominent on the Rock skyline.  It is an interesting example of early 20^th century industrial architecture.

 

To view a portion of the rocky ledge which gives Rock its name, turn right and continue along Walnut Street for a short distance, otherwise turn left and return to the Rock Village Church. (Be careful while walking along Walnut Street which is without sidewalks).  Where Walnut Street passes up hill and through the treeline, the

 

Rock is visible on either side of the road, with a particularly large mass to the left.  The outcropping or exposed ledge covers a considerable area and distance on the west side of Miller Street.  In the days when the surrounding land was cleared for agricultural purposes, the rock was much better exposed and formed a prominent geographic landmark.  Further south, near where the ledge meets Miller Street, early residents held religious services outdoors near the rock, and the noteworthy practice helped give the community its name.  Though efforts were made following the Civil War to exploit the granite ledge, the effort was not a commercial success. 

 

Return along Walnut Street to Miller Street and the Rock Village Church.  Adjoining the church to the right (south) is a small white building with a porch and bay windows.  This is the former

 

Rock Village Library (1905), 96 Miller Street which was initially used as a store by Harvey N. Atwood and following 1926 by Walter C. Thomas.  Atwood had been a provisions dealer at Rock since about the time of his marriage in 1868, first at Miller and Smith Streets and later here.  In its later years, the store operated as Atwood & Company and in 1895 advertised “We carry as fine and varied a stock of General Merchandise as can be found in any city,” selling dry goods, grain, groceries, wall hangings and other merchandise.  Sometime in the 1890s, Atwood constructed a store building here, which caught fire and burned in March, 1905, severely damaging the neighboring chapel building in the process.  The present building was built during the summer of 1905 by contractor B. F. Phinney.  In later years, Atwood retired from the grocery business, though the building was rented for commercial use.  One tenant appears to have been a branch of the A&P which vacated the building in the fall of 1925.  In 1926, Walter C. Thomas acquired the operation and continued it through 1936 when it was closed.

Between 1946 and 1974, the building was the home of the Rock Village Library.  In 1930, the Rock Village Library was organized as a private lending library, acquiring this building in 1946.  Benefactors of the library which operated until 1974 included Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Wyman, summer residents at Chippoponquet on Long Point Road (now the Stuart Morgan Conservation Area).  The Rock Village Library was notable for not only the service which it provided, but for the fact that it helped provide Rock with a continuing sense of identity, particularly during the 1930s which proved a difficult decade for Rock, with a number of long-standing institutions closing including the Rock mill and Rock post office in 1934, the Rock store in 1935 and the Rock station in 1938. 

Next door is a small house set on a rise above the street.  This is the

Harvey N. Atwood House, (c. 1892), 98 Miller Street.  Atwood (1849-1935) was a store owner at Rock for many years.  He was the son of Ichabod F. Atwood and brother of Charles N. Atwood (1844-1938). Between 1936 and 1946, the house was owned by the Rock Village Library.

 

Continue south along the left side of Miller Street a short distance until you arrive at a number of large trees by the road and two multi-family dwellings set back from the street.  This is the

 

W. Clarkson Ryder House site (mid-19^th century), 108 Miller Street.  Originally constructed by Lewis Holmes, the Cape-style house which once occupied this site was later occupied by Holmes’ son-n-law, Reverend W. Clarkson Ryder, leader of the movement to establish the Independent Congregational Church at Rock in 1879.  For 15 years, Ryder served as pastor of this church which was also known as the Holiness Church and which grew sizably during his pastorate.  Ryder was also noted as the founder of the Rock Holiness Camp Meetings which were held continuously until just before World War I, with the Rock Camp Meeting Association being established in 1876. In 1897 it was written of these meetings:

A number of years ago Mr. Ryder began a grove meeting on his land, with five tents.  It has become under his management a camp meeting, with six large society tents, a ladies’ pavilion, tabernacle, preacher’s stand, and with seats for about one thousand, large dining-rooms, etc.  A company has been formed to continue these meetings, which are held in July of each year, and are for the promotion of Scriptural holiness.”

Ryder died in 1905 and many attributed his death to shock upon hearing of the suicide the previous day of his friend and religious co-worker Jabez Frank Smith who hanged himself from a pine tree in the woods at Rock.

Later, in the 1940s and 1950s, the house was occupied by Farmer [John C.] Brown who achieved national notoriety for his master cells which claimed to promote plant and animal growth and health.  According to Brown in 1948, the cell “takes all the fight and hatred out of men and animals alike.  It will prevent disease and pestilence.  It will prevent famine.  It will make pigs fatter; make cows produce more milk.  It makes the atom bomb obsolete … The master cell is my God, and it will bring peace to all men.”  Despite a number of testimonials attesting to the efficacy of the cell, the Food and Drug Administration judged the cell a fraud and prohibited its sale or promotion.  During Brown’s brief period of fame, he was featured in national periodicals, including Time magazine.

Continue south along the left side of Miller Street some distance to a large wood-shingled gambrel house set back from the road on the right, the
 

William F. Clark House (c. 1903), 120  Miller Street.  William F. Clark was originally engaged as a teamster doing general work hauling loads.  This experience undoubtedly led to his being Middleborough Road Surveyor.  Clark purchased 17 acres here at Rock for the construction of this house.  Clark resigned his position with the town, and for a period of time was employed at the Atwood Mill further north on Miller Street.  He resigned his position as foreman of outdoor work at the mill in 1929.  Later, the house was occupied by Sylvester Greene.

Continue south along the left side of Miller Street to the

Rock Baptist Parsonage (c. 1872), 126 Miller Street.  In 1872, the Third Baptist Society of Middleborough acquired the property here from the estate of Lucetta B. Ewer, and constructed the parsonage thereon. In 1872 the former parsonage was sold.  This house remained used for this purpose through the early 20^th century.  The house was occupied in 1934 by Bradford Westgate (1853-1939).  In 1934 shortly before the Rock mill closed, Westgate was noted as the mill’s longest serving employee, having entered its employ in the fall of 1891, where he was engaged as a boxmaker. 

 

Turn left onto Highland Street and proceed up the hill to the

 

Rock Cemetery and Mortuary Chapel (1925), Highland Street.  The Rock Cemetery is comprised of five historic cemeteries: the Old Burying Ground to the west of the Memorial Chapel, the East Burying Ground to the east of the chapel, and the Ewer, Thomas and Hope’s Rest Cemeteries on the south side of Highland Street.  In 1907, control of all five was assumed by the Rock Cemetery Association which has provided for their care since that time. 

 

The Rock Cemetery Mortuary Chapel, now occupied by St. Andrew’s Traditional Anglican Church, sits on the site of the Third Baptist Church of Middleborough.  The first church on the site was dedicated in the mid-1790s and sixty years later, a replacement was built in 1852.  Of this church it was stated that “seldom is a country church more beautiful than was Rock Baptist church.”  This church was destroyed by fire on December 4, 1918, when lightning struck the roof of the church.  The sermon delivered the Sunday following the calamity by Reverend M. F. Johnson took as its text Isaiah 64:11, “Our Holy and Our Beautiful House, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire, and our pleasant things are laid waste.”  In 1925, the Mortuary Chapel was constructed to a design by local architect Wilson G. Harlow of Middleborough who also designed the original Central Fire Station on North Main Street in Middleborough as well as the original portion of the Mayflower Co-operative Bank on South Main Street.  The chapel assumed the functions of the earlier cemetery receiving tomb while providing a suitable place to hold burial services.

Take some time to tour the cemetery and view the monuments.  When ready, return to Miller street passing along the way an

 

Original portion of Miller Street.  This drive way on the left at the intersection of Miller and Highland Streets is an original portion of Miller Street which took a 90-degree turn to the west here.  In 1927, under the direction of the County Commissioners, this corner was eliminated and the safer bend created.  Further west, yet another section of the road was abandoned, though it still exists under the name Old Miller Street.

Return to Miller Street.  By in large, the historic houses on the west side of the street are nearly all connected with the Tinkham, Barrows or Atwood families.  The house directly ahead is the 

 

Henry C. Tinkham House (1907), 129 Miller Street.  The Tinkham family for a number of generations had been prominent at Rock and this house as well as the nearby houses at 125 and 123 Miller Street are associated with members of the family.  Though the parcel of land on which the house stands was acquired in 1893 from the Marchant heirs, the house was not built by Henry Clay Tinkham (1854-1929) until 1907.  Tinkham was engaged as a dealer in lumber, horses and cows, though he is perhaps best remembered as an avid hunter of fox, raccoon and rabbits, the pelts of which were sold.  The Middleboro Gazette of the period contains numerous accounts of Tinkham’s successes in this line.  Tinkham was well remembered in the neighborhood.  “Mr. Tinkham was of a genial nature, generous, kind hearted, an excellent neighbor and a loyal friend…. A home loving man, none could hold a higher place in a home.”  The house is perhaps most noted for its field stone walls which feature a number of quartz rocks which give the walls their variegated appearance.

 

Adjoining the Henry C. Tinkham House on the north is the

 

Ephraim Tinkham House (1767), 125 Miller Street, one of the oldest extant houses in Rock Village.  The house is believed to have been constructed by Ephraim Tinkham in 1767 and owned by the Tinkham family for several years.  In the early 1800s, it was occupied by Reuben Gibbs who sold the house in July, 1865, to Reverend Seth Ewer.  Ewer served 54 years as a preacher, though some didn’t think much of his preaching.  Dr. Leroy Milton Yale of Tisbury stated rather harshly that Ewer was not well received by the people there and was not much of a scholar, calling Ewer’s sermons “long, …uninstructive and often quite irksome.”  In 1873, Ewer’s heirs sold the house to George Marchant, a farmer, and in 1893 it was acquired by Henry C. Tinkham whose sister, Martha T. Smith appears to have occupied the home for a time.  Between 1936 and the late 1980s, the house was owned by Henry C. Tinkham’s grandniece, Eva A. (Shaw) Griffith and her husband Edward.  In 1990, it was acquired by Lee Smith who restored the house to its original appearance which is indicative of the homes of Rock’s mid-18^th century residents.

 
Continue north along Miller Street passing the following houses:
 

Adaline A. Shaw House (between 1879 and 1895), 123 Miller Street.  This house was occupied by the Shaw family for about 100 years, beginning with Adaline A. Shaw, the widow of Henry W. Shaw (who was the sexton of the Rock Cemetery) and the sister of Henry C. Tinkham.  The house was later occupied by Adaline Shaw’s grandson Washington Henry Shaw (1896-1983) and his wife, Irene. 

 

Murdoch G. Hartling House (1923), 121 Miller Street.  A native of Canada, Hartling (1887-1984) was an employee at the state farm in Bridgewater as well as the Rock mill.  This house represents the type of small family home built during the period.

Barrows-Morton House (early-mid 18^th century), 115 Miller Street.  This house is reputed to date from early in the 17^th century and was owned for much of its history by the Barrows and Morton families.

In 1836, the house was sold by Abner C. Barrows to his sister Lucetta (Barrows) Morton Ewer (1801-87) who occupied it along with her two husbands, Seth Morton (1792-1847) and Reverend Seth Ewer (1791-1870).  Mrs. Ewer was the granddaughter of Nathaniel Barrows, the original benefactor of the Rock Cemetery, and she continued the family tradition by maintaining a private burial ground later known as the Ewer Cemetery on Highland Street.  Mrs. Ewer concluded what was undoubtedly one of Middleborough’s earliest pre-nuptial agreements upon her marriage to her second husband, Reverend Seth Ewer in 1863, keen to protect her assets which included her homestead here and the Ewer Cemetery, for the benefit of her children by her first marriage.

Having agreed to marry each other by the leave of Divine Providence, and whereas we both have children living and have more or less real estate and personal property we hereby mutually promise and agree to waive all legal claims to each others property either real or personal estate, in case one outlives the other and thus abide each the others last will and testament whatever that may be as found written and executed at the death of either party.

The house was later occupied by Mrs. Ewer’s son, John Q. Morton (1827-1896), who was the station agent at Rock as well as the postmaster following 1889.  Still later, the house was occupied by Morton’s daughter, Hannah H. Morton (1857-1933) and it remained in the Morton family until 1936 when it was sold to Colonel Victor page of Stamford, Connecticut.

 

Harry Clark House (late 19^th century), 113 Miller Street.  This house was occupied in the early 20^th century by Harry Clark, brother of William F. Clark, and an employee in the Rock mill.

 

Captain Ichabod F. Atwood House (c. 1868), 111 Miller Street.  The Captain Ichabod F. Atwood House is one of a series of three adjoining houses constructed by three generations of the Atwood family over a nearly forty year period.  The succession of houses built by Ichabod F. Atwood, Ichabod’s son Charles N. Atwood, and Charles’ son Levi document the changing architectural tastes of the era, as well as the changing fortunes of the Atwood family.  Though originally a teacher (he taught for over 30 years) and interested in educational matters, Ichabod F. Atwood (1820-1901) was the founder of the lumber milling industry at Rock, and the father of two sons who became prominent in the industrial and commercial life of the community, Charles N. Atwood and Harvey N. Atwood.  Ichabod F. Atwood moved to Rock in the 1860s from Fall Brook where he had served as the clerk and treasurer of the Fall Brook Lumber Company.   He was politically active in Middleborough, serving as a selectman, overseer of the poor, member of the school committee and a justice of the peace from 1849 through 1898.  Atwood took his title of “captain” from the time when he served in the local militia.  Atwood was recalled in 1925 as “one of the sterling citizens of a former generation and one whose influence was felt for good in his native town.”

Following Atwood’s death, his son Charles retained ownership of the property which was rented to various residents over the years.  In 1906, Charles W. Swett moved here from his property which he sold to Levi O. Atwood for the construction of Atwood’s house.

Charles N. Atwood House (c. 1886), 109 Miller Street.  Charles Nelson Atwood was a box manufacturer at Rock, and his mill was responsible for providing employment to numerous Rock residents throughout the years.  In 1878, Atwood acquired the mill founded by his father from Horatio N. Thomas and under Atwood’s direction it “became one of the successful industries in this section in the manufacturing of wooden boxes,” ultimately employing some 50 men.  Atwood was considered a sympathetic employer, sponsoring annual outings for his operatives and their families, including clambakes, beach excursions, sight-seeing jaunts and shopping trips.  Of him it was said that “while many employers may have the means to provide such a pleasure day but few have the inclination.”  More notable was his action to increase the wages of his employees in early 1903.  “Atwood … called a meeting of his men Saturday, when it was about time to pay off, and told them that of his own free will he had concluded to give them 10 hours’ pay for nine hours’ work, the new schedule to go into effect” immediately.  Atwood was able to parlay his success as a prominent local manufacturer into a political career serving as a Middleborough selectman and later as a Massachusetts Representative.  Atwood’s first wife, Ruzilla (“Rosie”) Amanda Barrows (1846-74) was a great-granddaughter of Nathaniel Barrows who deeded the land for the Rock Cemetery in 1803.  Atwood was the father of Alton B. Atwood, Levi O. Atwood and Ichabod F. Atwood, all of whom became prominent wooden box manufacturers in Massachusetts. 

In March 1886, Atwood purchased the land on which the house was erected from his father, Ichabod F. Atwood.  The house Atwood constructed in the Eastlake style reflects Atwood's prominence within the community as well as the growing wealth of the family.  Atwood was the first person to own an automobile at Rock, acquiring it in 1901, and in 1907 he built an "automobile house".  The Charles N. Atwood House now houses the Rock Village Bed & Breakfast.

 

Levi O. Atwood House (1906), 103 Miller Street.  Charles N. Atwood’s son, Levi O. Atwood (1870-1949) was a member of the C. N. Atwood milling operation briefly between 1891 and 1893 before joining permanently about 1903 at which time the firm became known as C. N. Atwood & Son.  Levi O. Atwood operated the mill until the economic climate of the 1930s prompted its closure in 1934.  Like his father, Levi O. Atwood was a Middleborough selectman, and he served three local banks at Middleborough as trustee, director or officer for several years, demonstrating the influence which the Atwood family held. 

Atwood purchased the property from Charles W. Swett and had the existing buildings relocated elsewhere (presumably Walnut Street) in order to create space for his new house, ground for which was broken in March, 1906.

Joshua K. Bishop House (c. 1895), 99 Miller Street.  Joshua K. Bishop (1852-1919) came to Rock from Walnut Plain in 1894, acquiring the property here.  He was the brother-in-law of Charles N. Atwood and not surprisingly found his employment in the Rock mill.  In the period immediately following Bishop’s death, the house was rented to various parties including Alfred Shurtleff of the Highlands who resided here between 1920 and 1921.  In 1922, the house was sold to Oscar Westgate.

 

Martha T. Smith House (date unknown), 97 Miller Street.  In 1908, Martha T. Smith (1856-1933) acquired a vacant lot here, formerly part of the Swett farm, from Levi O. Atwood.  It is likely that the house was moved here from another site, possibly from the site of Levi O. Atwood’s house, or from the Rock mill.  Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Isaac Tinkham, the sister of Adaline Shaw and the wife of Roland Smith.  Sometime after 1926, she went to live with her grandniece Eva Griffith in the Ephraim Tinkham House at 125 Miller Street.  Following Mrs. Smith’s death, the house was left in trust to benefit the children of Washington Henry Shaw.  Since that time, it has had several owners.  It is nearly identical in appearance to the Shaw House at 123 Miller Street.

Conclude the tour by returning to the Rock Village Church.

To learn more about Rock's history, read Elysian Fields: An Illustrated History of Rock Cemetery, available at the Middleborough Public Library or for purchase through the Rock Cemetery Association.  All proceeds benefit the cemetery.

Thank You

I'd like to thank the Rock Village Church and Pastor Brian Cook for sponsoring a wonderful Community Day at Rock yesterday - a celebration of history and community on the occassion of the 250th anniversary of the church's foundation.  The history of the Rock Church and its predecessors, the Third Baptist Society of Middleborough and the Independent Congregational Church of Rock, as well as that of Rock Village itself, was well represented in a fine historical display at the church as well as a walking tour of a portion of the village co-sponsored by the Middleborough Historical Commission.  The events were well attended and the large turn-out was gratifying.  The role of the Rock Village Church as caretaker of the community's history is much appreciated, and it is hoped that similar events may be held in the future.