Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 17, 1883

First Action of the Town - The Town-Meeting of 1774^The Resolves- Patriotic Women - They Resolve to Discontinue the Use of Tea - Interesting Incident - Revolutionary Soldiers - Extracts from Town Records.

Dartmouth was in no respect behind her sister towns of Massachusetts in devotion and sacrifice to the cause of liberty. She contributed freely in men and money, and although we find in the military annals of the period no names of distinction belonging to the town, yet we know that her people were thoroughly in sympathy with the Revolution. On the nineteenth day of September, 1768, Walter Spooner was appointed by the town to represent it in Faneuil Hall, Boston, to consider what wise and prudent measures should be adopted to prevent the distress and misery which were likely to come upon them by reason of the number of regular troops to be quartered in Massachusetts. In 1774 a town-meeting was called " to take into the most mature and serious consideration the melancholy and distressing situation of public affairs of this province, and to adopt and pursue all those rational and justifiable methods which, by the blessings of heaven attending our endeavors, will have the greatest tendency to remove from us and our fellow-sufferers those troubles we feel and fear under the present frowns of the British administration."

The town-meeting was held July 18, 1774. Hon. Walter Spooner, Benjamin Akin, Esq., William Davis, William Tallman, Maj. Ebenezer Willis, Jireh Willis, Seth Pope, Seth Hathaway, and Hannaniah Cornish were appointed a committee to prepare and draw up what they should deem most proper as expressing the sense of the meeting, and report in the afternoon for the town's consideration. The report of these gentlemen was accepted. It was voted, " That we are grieved at being necessitated to act a part which at first view appears unfriendly with respect to our manufacturing brethren and friends in Great Britain and Ireland ; but we trust we shall readily be excused by them when they consider that this part of our conduct is wholly designed, and in our judgment will have the greatest tendency of anything in our power, to save both them and us from bondage and slavery, for upon mature consideration we judge the several late unconstitutional acts of the British Parliament have a direct tendency to destroy the harmony which has subsisted among all the British subjects, and to entirely abolish the English Constitution and form of government ; and therefore, as the most probable means to prevent those destructive purposes, we unite with our American brethren, and

"Resolve, That we will not purchase any goods manufactured in Great Britain and Ireland which shall be imported from thence after this day ; that we will not purchase any English goods of any hawker or peddler; that we will not purchase any foreign teas whatever; that we will not export any flax-seed to any foreign market; that we do acquiesce in the nature and necessity of raising our proportion of money to pay the Congress and to raise the same by subscription, and that these resolves do remain in force so long as the present grievous acts of the British Parliament remain unrepealed."

At this meeting a committee of correspondence was chosen to act with other committees in America. And also a resolve was passed advancing " the town's proportion of the money to pay the committee of Congress."

In the county congress, held at Taunton, the same year, " to devise and act on such measures as the exigencies of the times require," the town was ably and patriotically represented.

Not the men alone, but the women of Dartmouth fully entered into the resolutions of non-intercourse with Great Britain. They had their League Society, which was more exacting in the observance of its principles than the Ladies' League Associations of the present day. In January, 1774, fifty-seven ladies of Bedford village had a meeting at which they entered into an agreement not to use any more India tea; and having heard that a gentleman there had lately bought some, they requested he would immediately return it. This request he complied with, whereupon the ladies treated him with a glass of " this country wine" and dismissed him, highly pleased with his exemplary conduct. A number of gentlemen present gave him three cheers in approbation of his noble behavior.

This occurred six months prior to the action of the town-meeting, and doubtless contributed much in forming the public sentiment of the town.

Revolutionary Soldiers. - The following list of soldiers, etc., is taken from Daniel Ricketson's excellent " History of New Bedford," published in 1858. These lists were furnished Mr. Ricketson by Thomas Kempton.

under the command of Capt. Thomas Kempton, in Col. Danielson's regiment, to the 1st of August, 1775 :" Thomas Kempton, captain ; AmasaSoper, first lieutenant; John Chadwick, second lieutenant; John Swift, George Brownell, Thomas West, John Sullings, sergeants; James Spooner, Robert Crosman, Elijah Allen, Paul Weston, corporals ; Obed Cushman, filer ; Simeon Fuller, drummer ; Benjamin Adams, Eleazer Allen, Joshua Austin, David Babcock, Noah Ball, Jabez Bennet, Thomas Bennet, Jonathan Bradshaw, Prince Brownell, Gamaliel Bryant, Jessey Burt, John Coggeshall, William Counts, Robert Crosman, Jr., Louis De Moranville, Thomas Eskridge, John Gammons, Phineas Hammond, Roger Hammond, George Haskins, David Hathaway, John Hathaway, Lemuel Hathaway, David Kentch, Silas Kirby, Robert Knowlton, David Lewis, Humphrey Macomber, Preserved Merrihew, Jonathan Mosher, Jacob Mott, Isaac Noble, John Ormsby, Silas Perry, Peter Phillips, Peter Sands, Daniel Sherman, John Sherman, Lemuel Sherman, John Solomon (Indian), John Spooner, Giles Tallman, Joseph Trafford, Lettice Washburn, Nathan Waste, privates; amounting to fifty-eight, all from Dartmouth, with the exception of three, - Louis De Moranville, Freetown ; Phineas Hammond, Rochester; and David Lewis, Rhode Island. The time of enlistment was in the month of May, 1775. The time of service, with a few exceptions, was three months ; the shortest, one month and twelve days. Their headquarters was Roxbury ; the allowance, one penny per mile for travel ; greatest distance of travel, sixty-nine miles; least, fifty-seven. The amount the captain received for this campaign was £18 10*. lit/.; the first lieutenant, £12 16s. 4cl ; the second lieutenant, £10 18s. 9c/. ; the four sergeants, £1 15s. 7'L, £5 9s., £5, 15s. 7c/., £5 2s. lid.; the four corporals, £4 12s. 2d., £2 18s. Sd., £5 3s., £3 Is. ; the lifer, £4 10s. lOd. ; the drummer, £5 3s. These were the amounts paid after deducting what had been charged for supplies. The difference in the amounts paid to the officers, as well as the privates, was mainly owing to the greater or less supplied them. This old muster-roll contains twenty-three columns under the following heads, viz.: "Men's names," "Towns whence they came," " Rank," " Time of enlistment," "Travell." "Amount at Id. a mile," "Time of service," "Whole amount," "Guns," "By whom supplyed," " Price," " Bayonets," " Of whom received," " Price," " Cartridge-boxes," " Of whom received," "Price," " Cloathing," "Of whom received," "Amount,"' "Advance Wages," " Blankets received more than entitled to by enlistment," " Amount of deduction," " Balance." The amount paid for travel, £14 os. 10'/. The whole amount allowed each private before discount ranged from a little more than £4 to £6 10s. The number of guns supplied was twentysix, - amount for same, £41 10s. ; four bayonets, with sheaths and belts, supplied by Jireh Swift, amounting to 8s. 2c/.; thirty cartridge-boxes, supplied by Jireh

Swift, amounting to £6 7s. Gd. ; twenty-seven pairs of shoes and one cap, supplied by Jireh Swift and Commissary Blaney, the shoes at 6s. and the cap 2s., amounting to t'8 4s. ; the amount paid for advance wages £2 each, excepting the captain and two lieutenants, - £108 : the whole expense amounting to £389 lis. tyd. ; the balance, £227 2s. lid.

Capt. Kempton was a descendant from Manasseh Kempton, one of the early proprietors of Dartmouth, and the father of Thomas Kempton. Previously to this period (1775) Capt. Kempton had been master of a whaling-vessel from this port, and a large portion of those who enlisted in his company had been his sailors. Capt. Kempton had previously received a commission as ensign of the militia from Governor Hutchinson, bearing date May 13, 1773. Subsequent to his command of the Dartmouth company at Roxbury, he received the commission of lieutenant-colonel, but owing to a failure of health he left service at the evacuation of Boston by the British troops. He was born April 20, 1740, and died Jan. 27, 1806, in his sixty-sixth year. Of the two other companies from Dartmouth that joined the Revolutionary army, one was commanded by Capt. Egery, of Fairhaven, and the other by Capt. Benjamin Dillingham, of Acushnet :

May 20, 1776. - Gen'l Church, Seth Pope, Abraham Shearman, Philip Shearman, James Soul, Nathaniel Kichmond, Philip Taber, Pardon Brownell, and William Wood was chosen a Committee of Correspondence and safety.

Emission for paying their proportion of Beef required of them by a late resolve of the Gen. Court, for paying their County tax agreed on in January last.

Price of Commodities, Labor, etc. - Dartmouth, Feb. 22d, 1777. Recorded by Benj. Akin, Town Clerk; William Davis, William Tallman, Jabez Barker, Jr., Selectmen of Dartmouth.

Annexed to the articles hereafter mentioned is the price in the room of that affixed to those of the same denomination in the above Statement.

Meat : Shoemaking. - Fresh pork /5 per lb. Men's best shoes made of neat leather at Bedford, Fair Haven, and Oxford 9/ other parts of the Town 8/ - Men's best calf-skin shoes at Bedford, Fair Haven, and Oxford 12/ - all other parts of the Town at 10/ - Women's shoes 6/, making men's shoes at the shops of the workmen at Bedford, Fair Haven, and Oxford 4/ - all other parts of the town 3/ - and at the house of the imployer shoes of a full size 2/ - women's cloth shoes 8/ - smaller shoes in proportion to men's & women's shoes & all other shoemaking iu the usual proportion for mending.

West India Bum. - Good full proof West India rum by the h'h 8/ per gallon including the h'h 8/2 per gallon by the barrel exclusive of the barrel & 9/ by the single gallon, smaller quantities in proportion.

New England rum good full proof 4/2 pr. gallon by the hogshead and barrel exclusive of 13/4 for hogshead, & 4/4 for the barrel & 4/10 single gallon for distilling Xew England Rum /6 a gallon.

Molasses of the quality 3/8 pr gallon by the h.h. including the Hogshead 4/ by barrell 4/4 by the single gallon. Best Muscorado sugar 66/ pr Cwt. by the H.H. 72/ by the single cwt. & /10 single lb. Choco best quality £7 pr cwt. Chocolate 2/2 pr lb. Good cotton wool 3/6 pr lb by the bag and 4/ pr. single lb. Good coffee 1/4 pr. lb. by wholesale & 1/8 pr. lb. by retail. West India and Cherry rum /6 pr. gill flip & Toddy 1/2 pr. mug or bowl. Flour from the southern states 36/ pr. cwt. Rice by the single hundred 36/. Good refined bar iron 60/ pr. cwt. Nail rods & nails not stated. Horse shoeing in Bedford and Fair Haven 5/6 other parts of the town 4/9 hoes of the best quality stealed up the corners 5/ grand coork 1/ pr lb. Making a half trimed coat at Bedford & Fair Haven 13/ jackets 5/6 britches 6/6 and other tayloritig in proportion, and other parts of the Town half trimed coats 11/ Jacoats, 5/6 britches 5/6 approved man Taylor at the house of the imployers 3/ pr day and found as usual. Mowing and reaping 4/ pr. day, common labor in summer season 3/ pr. day. All women's work & combing not stated. Work men's best hunting saddles with housing 80/ saddle bags best sort 24/ well made pilliana 12/, good bridles with bits 8/ without bits 5/4. House carpenter's work 4/ pr. day. Masons work 4/6 and found as usual. Bedtick /9 pr. yd for toe-cloth and plain flannel /6 pr. yd, and all other wearing in the like proportion. This done by the selectmen & committee of safe.

May 18, 1779. - At a town meeting held at the townhouse in Dartmouth on Tuesday, the 18th day of May, 1779, Benj. Aikin, Esq., chosen moderator the Town voted on the first article in the warrant for calling the meeting that this town at this time don't choose to have a New Constitution or Form of Government, the number of voters present was seventy, and all voted in the affirmative. Voted on the Third Article in the Warrant for calling this meeting ; that all the men in this Town who shall be called for the defence of this State or any of the United States for the present year, shall be raised at the expense or charge of said town, that shall be raised in consequence of order or orders from the General Court or Council of this State, and Robert Earl, Elihu GifFord, and John Chaffee are chosen a Committee, when any men are sent for or required to be raised as afores'd they are empowered to procure said men at the expense of said Town in the cert, way and manner they can; and said committee are to be reasonably paid for their services.

Oct. 14, 1780. Voted that 1057 pounds and 16/ silver money be raised by way of tax on the inhabitants of said town. . . . for purchasing the towne proportion of beef sent for by the General Court to supply the Continental Army.

Jan. 12, 1781. Augt. Voted that each soldier that shall enlist for 3 yrs shall have a Bounty of 200 silver dollars - 50 of s c dollars to be paid at his passing muster, the remainder to be at interest until paid.

Voted that Capt. Henry Jenne Capt. George Clayhouse, Capt. Benj. Wilson, Capt. William Hicks, Elihu GifFord, & John Aikin be elected a committee to enlist the soldiers and to pay down said money, & to give their securities to said soldiers or procure some person or persons to give security as sd soldiers shall like & sd committees are also empowered to hire the whole of said money on the credit of sd Town & sd Town are accountable to the sd Court for all the money they shall pay or hire.