Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 40, 1883

Chapter 40

Incorporation - Origin of the Name - William Blackstone - His History, Settlement, etc. - John Woodcock - His Garrison - First Ordinary - History of his Settlement Here - First Mill in Town - Attack on Joshua Barrows - His Petition for Allowance of Land - Grant Made to him - Agents Employed in England on Disputed Boundary - Angle Tree - Angle Monument.

" To Mis Excellency, Sir William Pliips Knight, Captain-General and Governor-in- Chief of their Majesty's Province, of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, with the Honorable Council and Representatives thereof now assembled in General Court at Boston, Oct. 17, 1694:

" That whereas our ancestors and some of ourselves have formerly purchased a certain tract of land commonly known by the name of the North Purchase, containing in length about ten miles from Patuckett River to Taunton bounds, and about eight miles from the Massachusetts line, between the two colonies to Rehoboth bounds, being in our apprehension lands sufficient for a township, and we being now already above thirty families on the place, besides other proprietors that at present live elsewhere, do humbly pray this Honorable Assembly to make us a township endued with such privileges as other towns are for these reasons following, viz. :

"First, and principally, for the honor of God, in that our distance is far to go on the Lord's days, some of us ten or eleven miles to Rehoboth to the public worship of God, which in the winter season is very inconvenient for us to go and especially for our children, and also we sustain in going so far to train, attend town-meetings, and to work in their highways, and our own in the meantime neglected.

-'Secondly, In that if we were a township, we should quickly (we hope) procure an able orthodox minister to teach us, and also a schoolmaster to instruct our children, which would incite more able and de-

1 Previous to this the North Purchase was within the jurisdiction, but not merged in the limits of Rehoboth. The inhabitants were subjected to the municipal authority, and had, for the time, all the rights of freemen of that town. It was, properly, a plantation of Rehoboth. It was ordered by Plymouth Court to be within the jurisdiction of that town until it should be incorporated, " July 5,1671." "The court have ordered that the North Purchase (so called) shall lie unto the town of Rehoboth until it comes to be a township; and in the meantime to bear the seventh part of all the rates that shall bo levied for the public charges of that town ; and when the said purchase shall become a township by itself, then the said township of Rehoboth to be eased in their rates." - Old Col. Records.

" Thirdly , In that we being as frontiers in danger of the enemy be tween Rehoboth and other places should, if we were a township, be in a better posture of defence when we are completed with officers amongst ourselves.

" Fourthly, We might further add the benefit that might redound to their Majestie's service, there being great store of ship-timber and cooperVstuff, which might with more facility be conveyed to the water" side were our habitations settled nearer.

Whereas there is a certain tract of land commonly known by the name of North Purchase, lying within the county of Bristol, containing in length about ten miles from Patucket River to the bounds of Taunton,3 and extending about eight miles in breadth from the line or boundary betwixt the two late colonies of Massachusetts and Plymouth, to the bounds of the town of Rehoboth ; being a convenient tract for a township, and more than thirty families already settled thereupon. For the better encouragement and settlement of said plantation :

Be it enacted by the Governor, Council, aud Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That henceforth the said tract of land as above described, and bounded by the township of Taunton and Rehoboth (no way to intrench upon either of their rights), be and shall be a township, and called by the name of Attleborough ; and shall have and enjoy all such immunities, privileges, and powers, as generally other townships within this Province have and do enjoy.

Provided, also, That the Inhabitants of the said place do continue under the power and direction of the Selectmen, Assessors, and Constables of Rehoboth (whereunto they were formerly annexed) as well referring to an}" assessments and arrears thereof, as all other things proper to the duty of Selectmen, Assessors, aud Constables, respectively; until they are supplied with such officers among themselves, according to the directions in the law in that case made and provided.

The boundaries described in the preceding act included the present towns of Attleborough and Cumberland, R. I., embracing a very extensive tract of land. The number of inhabitants at this time could not much exceed a hundred and eighty. They were mostly settled in the southerly and westerly parts of the town. These families were scattered over a considerable space; some had been herefrom an early period. Of the early settlements more will be said hereafter.

- It was named after Attleborough, Norfolk Co., England, a town of importance in the early ages of the kingdom, a market town, and the seat of the noble family of the Lords Mortimer. It has diminished in population and business in modern times.

Two of the proprietors and settlers in this town, John Sutton with his wife and four children, and John Daggett with his wife, came from " Attleburraye," England, and whose families had intermarried before their emigration, and suggested the name in memory of their native place.

Attle Borough

meadow, which was then considered the most valuable kind of land, and occasional clearings which had been cultivated by the Indians, and planted by them with maize, squashes, pumpkins, beans.

The Early Proceeding's of the Town after its Incorporation. - A few extracts from the early records of the town, illustrating the character of the times, will be interesting to the present generation.

The first town-meeting on record appears to have been held May 11, 1696, two years after the incorporation.1 At this meeting the town chose Mr. John Woodcock and Mr. John Rogers, late of Bristol, as agents " to manage our concerns in matters relating to that part of our township commonly called the Mile and Half, according to our petition and other copies which are in the hands of Mr. Henry Devens, Clerk to the House of Representatives, and did further appoint and impower Mr. John Woodcock to agree with and impower said Mr. Rogers, and take care to help him to such papers as may most concern our business for the promoting of matters relating to our township."

The next town-meeting was held Nov. 23, 1696, at which the town authorized the selectmen to make a rate for paying the town's debts, which amounted to £5 15s. 1'/. At the same time several individuals engaged to pay certain sums "by way of free gift towards the building of a meeting-house," and desired their names and sums might be entered accordingly -

March 22, 1696-97. The town taking into consideration who are by law allowed to vote in town-meetings, and finding so few allowed to vote, ordered that " all the inhabitants and town Dwellers" should have a right to vote in said meetings. At this time town officers were chosen for the year ensuing, viz. : " Mr. John Woodcock, Anthony Sprague, Daniel Jenks, Jonathan Fuller, Thomas Tingley, selectmen ; Anthony Sprague, town clerk ; I. Woodcock, constable ; Nicholas Ide and Joseph Cowel, surveyors ; Henry Sweet, tithingman ; Thomas Tingley and Samuel Titus, fence-viewers; John Woodcock, Anthony Sprague, and Daniel Jenks, assessors; John Lane, grand-juryman; Benjamin Force, for the jury of trials in April next at the Quarter Sessions at Bristol."

July 12, 1697. The town voted to have a pound made according to law upon a piece of undivided land between the lands of Daniel Shepperson and James Jillson, near the Bay road.

Upwards of twenty years after the close of Philip's war, the inhabitants of the towns were often annoyed by strolling Indians, who disturbed and insulted the people. In relation to these disturbances the town passed the following- orders :

Jan. 31, 1()97-'.)S. At a town- meeting legally warned for the making of "some town orders or bylaws touching persons disorderly coming into town who have no rights or lands in the same, but are strangers and foreigners," the town passed the following orders : " It is ordered by the inhabitants of Attleborough, and voted in said meeting, that no person that is a stranger shall be received as an inhabitant without the consent or approbation of said town, or sufficient security given to the town by him or them that shall take in or harbor any person contrary to this order ; moreover, the selectmen are appointed to take due care and sufficient security, in the behalf of the town, of and for all such persons as shall receive in or harbor any stranger or foreigner ; or to give order and warning to such stranger or foreigner to depart the town, according as the law directs, and that with all convenient speed after knowledge or notice given of the same; so observing from time to time that the town be not charged with unnecessary charges."

2d. "The second order or by-law was touching Indian foreigners and strangers that have been complained of for uncivil carriages and behaviour towards some of the inhabitants of this town, for the prevention of which the inhabitants being desired to give their advice, by joint consent have voted and passed this act, That no foreign Indian or stranger should be allowed to come into town being armed under hunting pretences, nor suffered in the same to abide in drinkings and shootings at unseasonable times of night and threatenings to several persons, which is contrary to the law of this province, and disturbing to several of this town ; neither is any person or persons whatsoever within this town allowed to take in or harbor Indian or Indians armed other than such as hath been allowed or shall be allowed, without the unanimous consent of the inhabitants, at any time hereafter, but every person or persons transgressing against this order or by-law shall pay a line of five shillings each day for the use of the poor of this town for every such offence."

March 4, 1699 or 1700, in town-meeting, Daniel Shepperson gave a piece of ground to set a pound on "at a place commonly known and called Red Rock Hill, by the roadside by a pine-tree, which pound is to be built thirty feet square and finished by the last of June, 1700."

March 25, 1701. In town-meeting voted and appointed a "training-place, to be on the south side of David Freeman's house, between the two ways, viz., the Bay road and the road that leadeth to Nicholas Ide's house." At the same time the town " did by major vote appoint the last Tuesday in March, at nine o'clock a.m., to be their election day annually for choosing town officers according to law, without any further warning, so to continue till further order."

Feb. 9, 1702-3. It was voted that Ensign Nicholas Ide and Anthony Sprague with the selectmen be a committee to agree in behalf of our town concerning the lines and bounds between Attleborough, Dorchester, and Wrentham. It was also voted that the selectmen should make a town rate for the payment of town debts, and that a quarter part of said rate be levied upon the polls, and the rest upon the estates; and that said rate shall be paid in Indian corn at two shillings and sixpence per bushel, or rye at three shillings and sixpence per bushel, or oats at one shilling and sixpence per bushel, or in money.

The first English inhabitant of Attleborough was the celebrated William Blackstone, who had so many peculiarities and such a singular history, and who was also the first settler and sole progenitor of Shawmut, now the site of the beautiful city of Boston. Everything that can be recovered relating to this singular but amiable man must be interesting not only to the people of this town, but to all who feel an interest in the early history of these colonies.

There were two or three individuals at a distance, on Manerick and Thompson's Islands, in the harbor, apparently having no connection with him.

He came to this country from England about the year 1625, and settled first at Boston, the Indian name of which was Shawm id. Here he remained alone until the arrival of Governor Winthrop's company, in June, 1630. They at first located themselves at Charlestown ; but finding the water bad and " liking that plain neck that was then called Blackstone's Neck,1 they soon removed, by invitation, to the peninsula, where they found a good spring of water. Mr. Blackstone had been in England a clergyman of the established church. But he lived in an age of religious bigotry, intolerance, and persecution, and " not being able," as he said, " to endure the power of the Lord Bishops," he left his native land and sought an asylum in the wilds of America, where he might enjoy his own opinions unmolested. After residing a few years with the new settlers of Shawmut, he found the same intolerant and overbearing spirit among his new associates, and becoming "discontented with the power of the Lords Brethren," he was compelled to seek another retreat. In 1634 he sold his right and title in the peninsula to the inhabitants of Boston, each one paying him six shillings and some of them more. A reservation was made for him of about six acres where his house stood.

The peninsula of Boston was then called Blackstone's Neck, the whole of which he claimed as his property, aud this claim was recognized by the new settlers. With the purchase money he bought a "stock of cows," which he carried with him to his new settlement on the banks of the Pawtucket River.

" The deposition of John Odlyn, aged about 82 years; Robert Walker, aged about 78 years; Francis Hudson, aged about G6 years; and William Lytherland, aged 76 years. These deponents being antient dwellers and inhabitants of the town of Boston, from the time of the first planting thereof, do jointly testify and depose, that in or about the year of our Lord sixteen hundred and thirty-four, the then present inhabitants of said town (of whom the Hon. John Winthrop, Esq., Governor of the Colony, was chiefe), did treate and agree with Mr. William Blackstone for the purchase of his estate and right in any lands lying within the said neck of land, called Boston, and for said purchase agreed that every householder should pay six shillings, which was accordingly collected, none paying less, some considerably more, and the said sum was paid to Mr. Blackstone to his full content. Reserving unto himself about six acres of land on the point, commonly called Blackstone's Point, on part whereof his then dwelling-house stood. After which purchase the town laid out a place for a Training Field, which ever since, and now is used for that purpose, and for the feeding of cattle: Walker and Lytherland further testify that Mr. Blackstone bought a stock of cowes with the money he received, and removed near Providence, where he lived till the day of his death." Sworn to the 10th of June, 1684, before S. Bradstreet, Governor, and Samuel Sewall, Assistant.

Mr. Blackstone received £30 for his right to the peninsula, as appears by the following record : The "10th day of the 9 mo. 1634," voted that a rate be made, viz., " a rate for £30 to Mr. Blackstone."2

In 1635 he removed to another retreat still farther in the wilderness. This place was on the banks of Pawtucket River, which now bears his name, and on the east side of it, and within the Old Colony, and was within the ancient limits of Attleborough, in that part called the Gore, now Cumberland, R. I. This was about ten years before the settlement of Rehoboth and a few years before that of Providence. In this solitary retreat he built his house, cultivated his garden, and planted his orchard. His house and garden he surrounded with a park, which was his daily walk. Here he remained for many years in entire seclusion from the world, here was none to disturb his lonely retreat. He was furnished with a library, and nature and study charmed his solitary hours. He thus seated himself for life, in peaceful solitude on the banks of the Blackstone.

2 Reckoning March the first month, this assessment was made in December; the purchase, of course, was made previous to this date, and Blackstone in all probability removed early in the subsequent spring.

His house he called " Study Hall," and the eminence near it was named Study Hill, which name it still retains. This place1 is about three miles above Pawtucket village, where the late Col. Simon Whipple resided. The Indian name of the place was Wawepoonseag. This name is mentioned in the Plymouth Records in describing the boundaries of the North Purchase in 1661 : " From Rehoboth ranging upon Patucket River, to a place called by the natives Wawepoonseag,'2 where one Blackstone now sojourneth."

During his residence here Mr. Blackstone married Mrs. Sarah Stevenson, widow of John Stevenson, of Boston, July 4, 1659.3 She died about the middle of June, 1673.4 He survived his wife only about two years, and died May 26, 1675,5 a few weeks before the commencement of the great Indian war, thus having escaped witnessing the horrors of that awful period and the complete destruction which awaited his fair domain. He had lived in New England about fifty years, nearly ten years at Shawmut (now Boston), and forty at this place. He must have been quite advanced at the time of his death, probably not far from eighty. A brief notice of his death is furnished by his friend Roger Williams. At the date of June 13, 1675, he says, " About a fortnight since your old acquaintance, Mr. Blackstone, departed this life in the fourscore year of his age. Four days before his death he had a great pain in his breast and back and bowels ; afterwards he said he was well, had no pain, and should live, but he grew fainter, and yielded up his breath without a groan." - 4th Mass. Hist. Coll., 6, 299.

Around him was still a wilderness when death snatched him from the sylvan retreat which he loved, but (though the footsteps of men were fast approaching) how would he be astonished to behold the region around it (the place which he once thought secure from the haunt of men) now, swarming with an industrious and thriving population ! How would he grieve to find the stream whose placid waters as they flowed by his dwelling he delighted to contemplate now in-

"March 5, 1671. Mr. Stephen Paine, Sr., of Rehoboth, and Mr. Nicholas Tanner were appointed by the court to see Mr. Blackstone's land laid forth according to the grant." - Old Col. Rec.

2 This is supposed by a writer in the Massachusetts Historical Collections to be properly the name of a brook, now called Abbott's Bun, which enters the river not far from Mr. Blackstone's residence.

1 " Mr. William Blackstone was married to Sarah Stevenson, widow, the 4th of July, 1659, by John Kndicott, governor." - Town Records of Boston. She was the widow of John Stevenson, of Boston, who had by her at least three children, - Onesinms, born 26th 10th month, 1643 ; John, horn - 7th month, 1045 ; and James, born Oct. 1, 1653. His second sun, John Stevenson, lived with his mother after her marriage with Mr. Blackstone, and after their decease continued at the same place during the remainder of bis life.

terrupted by numerous water-works, and the silence which then reigned around him now disturbed by the buzz of thousands of spindles ! To what ignoble purposes is his classic stream now devoted ! What a contrast ! It is a change which the peace-loving spirit of Blackstone could not endure. To enjoy that solitude which was congenial to his taste he would now be compelled to seek a new abode beyond the banks of the Mississippi.

Blackstone was by no means a misanthrope, but a man of natural benevolence, who took this mode of indulging his love for solitude and securing the unrestrained enjoyment of his own sentiments and tastes. He did not shun man because he hated him, but because he loved solitude more than society. He was fond of study and contemplation, and here he could enjoy both. Possessing an independent and original mind, he could not brook the dogmatical and persecuting spirit of the age, and to escape its influence he fled to the wilds of America.

He was not idle though in solitude. He cultivated his garden, and reared his orchard with his own hands, and is said to have been devoted to his books; though meditative in his habits, yet cheerful in disposition. He was acquainted with Roger Williams, the father of Rhode Island, - in some respects a kindred spirit, though far from his opinions, - and frequently went to visit him, and occasionally preached at Providence and the neighboring towns.

Among other anecdotes it is related of him that he tamed and rode a bull into Providence and on other journeys, but this of itself was not at that age proof of his eccentricity. It was a common practice in the rude state of the colonies, when horses were scarce and it was inconvenient to keep them, to follow such an example. Many instances are known of the same custom among the scattered colonists on their rough roads. Even John Alden, after the wedding of Priscilla Mullins, took his bride home on the back of a bull covered with a rich broadcloth, and led by him with a ring in the nose.

" He was also remarkable," says Mr. Baylies,6 " for his love of children." When he visited Providence he carried apples from his orchard to give to children, - the first they had ever seen. - Ca I lender's Discourse.

At a late centennial celebration in Boston, under the direction of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a present of apples was sent to their table from Cumberland, said to have grown on the trees which grew from the sprouts of those in Blackstone's orchard. Some of the trees planted by his own hands were living one hundred and forty years after they were set

He was a minor when his father died, and had guardians appointed by the court.1 He lived on his inheritance till 1692, when he sold his lands to David Whipple,2 and soon after removed to Providence, and for a while contented himself with the humble occupation of a shoemaker. There,3 it is probable, he married his wife Katharine, and continued to reside till 1718, when he returned to Attleborough, and with his wife was legally warned out of town.4 He is presumed to be the person mentioned in the records, as no other of that name has been known in this part of the country.

It was generally supposed by historians that the family was extinct, and that the blood of Blackstone "runs not in the veins of a single human being." Recent research has led to the belief that his son removed to Branford, Conn., and settled on a neck of land not far from New Haven, where several families of that name have lived for many years. As John Blackstone disappeared from Attleborough, it is probable that he removed and settled there. I have been informed that there was a family of that name who lived there in seclusion for many years.

His son-in-law, John Stevenson, came with his mother when she married Mr. Blackstone, being about fourteen years old, and lived with them till their death. At one time it was supposed that Blackstone had a daughter married to John Stevenson, and that they lived with him. In a romance called "The Humors of Utopia," published many years ago, this fancied daughter of Blackstone is one of the characters introduced into the work, in which she doubtless figures as a creature of the field and forest, and appears in all the simplicity of her native charms ; and it seems a pity to dissolve this " gay frost-work of fancy" and dissipate the fair vision into the cold reality. The "son-in-law" of Blackstone proves to be only the «on of the widow of John Stevenson, who afterwards became the wife of Mr. Blackstone. This belief then .prevailing was doubtless founded on the

1 "June 1st, 1675. Lieut. Hunt, Ensign Smith, and Mr. Daniel Smith are appointed and authorized hy the court to take some present care of the estate of Mr. William Blackstone deceased, and of his son now left by him ; and to see that the next court he do propose a man to the court to be his guardian ; which in case he do neglect, the court will then see cause to make choice of one for him." - Old Col. Bee.

" Oct. 27th, 1675. Mr. Nathaniel Paine and Mr. Daniel Smith are appointed and approved by the court to be guardians unto John Blackstone, the son of William Blackstone deceased." - lb.

2 The original deeds, with John Blackstone's signature, are still in existence, and were in the possession of Mr. John Whipple, of Cumberland. The first is dated Sept. 10, 1692. He spells his name Blaxlon, which was undoubtedly at the time the true orthography.

4 For what cause does not appear, but may be conjectured. He had probably squandered his property, for tradition says he inherited but a small share of his father's prudence, and it was doubtless as a precaution against future liability for support, which was a customary proceeding in those days ; it was a civil and not a criminal process, and does not imply anything against the moral character of the person.

error contained in the Massachusetts Historical Collections in a short sketch of Mr. Blackstone, where it was stated that he had two children, a son and a daughter. He came into possession of a part of his father-in-law's estate, as appears by the following order of Plymouth Court, passed June 10, 1675, about two weeks after Blackstone's decease.

" Whereas the court is informed that one whose name is John Stevenson, son-in-law to Mr. William Blackstone, late deceased, was very helpful to his father and mother in their life-time, without whom they could not have subsisted as to a good help and instrument thereof, and he is now left in a low and mean condition, and never was in anjT measure recompensed for his good service aforesaid, and if (as it is said at least) his father-in-law engaged to his mother at his marriage with her that he should be considered with a competency of land out of the said Blackstone's land then lived on, which had never yet been performed ; and forasmuch as the personal estate of the said William Blackstone is so small and inconsiderable, that he the said Stevenson cannot be relieved out of it ; this court, therefore, in consideration of the premises, do order and dispose fifty acres of land unto the said John Stevenson, out of the lands of the said William Blackstone, and five acres of meadow to be laid out unto him by Ensign Henry Smith and Mr. Daniel Smith, and Mr. Nathaniel Paine, according as they shall think meet, so as it may be most commodious to him or as little prejudicial to the seat of Mr. William Blackstone as may be. By order of the court for the jurisdiction of New Plymouth."5 - Old Col, Bee,

6 The bounds of this grant are recorded in the records of the North Purchase, Book 1st, p. 47. Extracts are made for the gratification of those who may wish to know the situation of his lands.

" Imp. Fifty acres of upland lying upon Pawtucket River, most of it upon the South Neck, being part of that land that was left for Mr. William Blackstone, and granted by the Court to John Stevenson : bounded to the eastward the land of John Fitch and the Common ; westerly, Patucket River, and southerly; to the northward, the land of John Blackstone, it being 106 rods long."

1st. Two acres of meadow adjoining to the said lands lying in two pieces, one piece within the former tract of land and the other by the river side upon the Southernmost end of it.

2d. " Three acres of fresh meadow lying at the northeast corner of the meadow commonly known by the name of Blackstone's Great Meadow,* from a white oak tree marked, and so through the breadth of the meadow to the Run, the Run bounding it to the noithards; westward, the meadow of John Blackstone ; eastward, the swamp ; southward, the upland."

There is another tract which he probably purchased. " Fifty acres of upland, more or less, bounded east the land of Ensign Nich. Peck and Rob. Miller; north, the land of Sam. Carpenter; west, a highway four rods wide (between John Blackstone's land and this lot) and a little piece of common land; south, coming near John Fitch's grave, to the Common.

" There is to be taken out of this lot a highway 2 rods wide next to Sam. Carpenter's land to meet with the highway at the east end of said Carpenter's lot."

Stevenson acquired a taste for solitary life by living with Blackstone, and resided here (it is believed, alone) till his death. There is no evidence of his ever having been married. His time was devoted to the cultivation of his lands and the pleasures of hunting. He died Sept. 16, 1695. His brother, James Stevenson, of Springfield, was appointed his administrator, who returned an inventory Oct. 11, 1695, from which it appears that his whole estate was valued at £57. 5. 2.1

This is all the account which I can find of the first settler within the bounds of the North Purchase and of those connected with him. But his name will be preserved in perpetual remembrance, for it is inseparably attached to that noble river which flows past the site of his ancient and solitary dwelling. His name is also transferred to works of art. His name has been assumed by towns, and banks, factories, and the streets of our cities. He has become a prominent historic character in the colonization of New England, and a striking figure on the canvas of its history. Just mystery enough about his life to attract and interest the reader. The Valley of the Blackstone has become celebrated as a manufacturing district, and contributes, by the advantages of its water-power, to the wealth and industry of New England. Hardly could Blackstone, the lover of undisturbed solitude and quiet, have dreamed when he forsook the peninsula of Boston and built his lonely dwelling on the banks of this placid stream, that his peaceful retreat would be so soon the scene of industry and the abode of a numerous population, and its silence broken by

Another record of land commences thus: "Likewise two acres of land that I took up adjoining to my own land, at the southerly end of it, which I had in exchange with my brother John Blackstone, etc."

To gratify the curious, the boundaries of John Blackstone's lands are added, by which the precise location ot his father's estate may be ascertained.

Imp. A hundred and fifty acres of upland, swamp, and meadow ground, more or less, containing the West Plain (commonly so callec}) and land adjacent ; bounded, to the northward, the land of Isaac Allen ; to the southward, the land of John Stevenson; to the westward, l'awtncket River; to the eastward, the land of John Stevenson, the highway and the undivided land, there running through it a country highway to Pawtucket River, four rods wide.

Likewise a parcel of fresh meadow commonly known by the name of Blackstone's Meadow, being eight acres, bounded to the eastward, the meadow oi John Stevenson, etc.

Likewise twenty acres bud out to John Blackstone, granted to him by the king's jury for a way taken through his farm to Pattuckel River), running seventy-six rods N. W. and by W., and forty-two rods S. W. and by S. bounded round by the undivided laud; this tract lying near the new road to Dedham.

Likewise two acres which he had upon exchange with his brother John Stevenson, adjoining to his own farm, on the westerly side of the country highway, next the house; bounded easterly by the highway, westerly his own farm, and southerly by a small run of water, and in consideration of it John Stevenson bad two acres of what John Blackstone was to have allowed by the king's jury for the highway through his land to the busy works of art ! Were his spirit permitted to revisit the scene of his former enjoyments he would be obliged to form a new garden and plant a new orchard, and to seek, in a more distant region of the West, a spot congenial to his taste.2

The place which he chose for his residence is a truly beautiful and romantic spot, such as a recluse and a lover of nature would select. The place where his house stood is on the east of a small hill, the surface of which would make an acre or more; on the east is a gradual ascent, but on the west it rises abruptly from the river to the height of sixty or seventy feet; there the Blackstone winds gracefully at its base,5 forming a slight curve at a short distance south of the hill. Its summit commands a fine view of the " valley of the Blackstone" to the distance of more than a mile on the south. On the east is a delightful and fertile valley consisting of a few acres, which opens to the south on the borders of the meadow, and is bounded on the east and northeast by a gentle eminence, on the top of which runs the " Mendon road," so often mentioned in the ancient land records. This valley was cultivated by the hands of Blackstone ; here was his orchard, where are seen the stumps of apple-trees, cut down within a few years, which are said to have grown from the sprouts of the first trees planted by him. His well is still pointed out at the southern border of this valley. Though now filled up with moss and weeds, the pure water still bubbles up from its fountains. His grave is also designated, though with less certainty ; it is in the orchard, about two rods east from the foot of the hill and north of the well. The " flat stone which it is said marked his grave" is not now visible. It is either removed or buried under the surface.

One Thomas Alexander, who was drowned in the river, was buried, it is said, by the side of Mr. Blackstone. Is it not probable that his wife is also buried at the same place?

The spot on which he lived has returned to its original state of nature. Sixty years ago, or more, a heavy growth of timber-trees was cut from this hill, and its surface is now thickly covered with young and thrifty wood. Oaks of a hundred years have grown on the garden of Blackstone!

It could never have occurred to him who, to avoid the notice of men, sought the Shades of solitude, that future ages would take so deep an interest in his history, that he would be an object of minute research to the antiquarian, and that every circumstance connected with his life

3 The river, within forty years past, has enlarged its channel at this place, and now washes the very base of the hill, as if attracted to the spot by a grateful remembrance of him who first sought its banks and loved its stream, and whose honored name it now bears. The margin of the river was formerly three rods, at least, west from the hill. The excavations for the railroad have also destroyed its original shape.

John Blaxton, vicar of Osmington, in Dorset, 1621. In 1650, Mr. John Blaxton incumbent, and had been so twenty-eight years. He was the author of the following work, published in 1634: "The English Usurer; or, Usury condemned by the most learned and famous Divines of the Church of England. Collected by John Blaxton, Preacher of God's Word at Osmington, in Dorsetshire.

The first settlement within the bounds of the present town of Attleborough was in the neighborhood of the Baptist meeting-house, where Hatch's tavern now stands. It was commenced by Mr. John Woodcock and his sons soon after the first division in 1669. Here he built a public-house on the Bay road, and laid out lands to the amount of about three hundred acres, which afterwards made an excellent farm. At this time and subsequently he took up, in several parts of the town, about six hundred acres,1 part on his own shares and the rest on rights which he purchased of Roger Amidowne, James Redeway, Andrew Willett, etc.

" July 5, 1670. John Woodcock is allowed by the court to keep an ordinary at the Ten-Mile River (so called), which is in the way from Rehoboth to the Bay, and likewise enjoined to keep good order, that no unruliness or ribaldry be permitted there." - Old Col. Bee.

His name first appears in the Rehoboth records the 28th 4th month, 1647, when he bought the lands of Edward Patterson. He was admitted a freeman of that town May 14, 1673.

Woodcock was a man of some consideration in those days, his name frequently appearing in toAvn offices and on committees. June 2, 1691, he was chosen deputy to the General Court from Rehoboth, and at several other times. He was shrewd, hardy, fearless, and adventurous, a character just suited to the times in which he lived, and the circumstances in which he was placed.

He held Indian rights in very low estimation. On one occasion he took the liberty of paying himself a debt due to him from a neighboring Indian without

1 A part of this was on Bungay River (where Bishop's shop lately stood), which he conveyed to his sou Jonathan, with the saw-mill thereon standing.

the consent of the debtor, or the intervention of judge, jury, or sheriff, for which achievement he received the following sentence from the court, an example of the rigid justice of the Puritans :

" 1654. John Woodcock, of Rehoboth, for going into an Indian house and taking away an Indian child and some goods in lieu of a debt the Indian owed him, was sentenced to set in the stocks at Rehoboth an hour on a training day, and to pay a fine of forty shillings." - Old Col. Bee. Court Orders, Book Zd.

Woodcock had two wives, - Sarah, who died in May, 1686, and a second one, Joanna, who survived him. He had a large family of children, some, if not all, of whose names I have ascertained (though no record of them is preserved on the books), viz., John, Israel, Nathaniel (killed by the Indians), Jonathan, Thomas, and at least three daughters, - one, married to Thomas Esterbrook ; one, to Samuel Guild ; and another, Deborah, to Benjamin Onion, May 24, 1683. There were two others of this name supposed to be children of John Woodcock, viz. : Alice, married to Baruck Bucklin, and Mary, married to Jonathan Freeman. There was also a Sarah Woodcock, who married Alexander Bolkcom.

John Woodcock, Sr., died Oct. 20, 1801, having arrived at a very advanced age, in spite of the many attempts which had been made by the Indians to destroy him. It is said that after his death the scars of seven bullet-holes were counted on his body. He was an inveterate and implacable enemy to the Indians, the cause of which will hereafter appear in the notice of some events in Philip's war. In encounters with them on several occasions he ran imminent risks of his life. He was foremost in all enterprises the object of which was the destruction of the Indians. He was a very useful man as a pioneer in the dangers of a new settlement, being cunning in contrivance, and bold and active in execution.

Woodcock's garrison2 was a well-known rendezvous during the Indian wars. It was one in a chain o'f fortifications extending from Boston to Rhode Island. There was one in Boston ; one in Dedham, at Ames' corner; Woodcock's, in this place; one at Rehoboth,3 now Seekonk ; one, it is said, at Swansea ; and another at Newport, on the island ; and perhaps others in the intermediate spaces.

Woodcock's was a famous station in those early times. The armies of the colony frequently halted at his garrison in their marches. It was on the route to Narragansett from Boston, in Philip's war. On one occasion, Dec. 9, 1675, six companies of foot, commanded by Maj. Appleton, numbering four hun-

- This was prohably the only house (excepting immediate neighbor's) on the " Bay road," between Rehoboth and Dedham, though this was then the main road from Rhode Island, Bristol, and Rehoboth to Boston.

dred and sixty-five, and a company of horse under Capt. Prentiss, about five hundred in all, a large army for those days (of course marching down the " Oulde Bay Road"), and reached Woodcock's in the night, and there rested till the next afternoon, and then marched on to Seekonk, where they met the army of Plymouth Colony, under Gen. Winslow, where the two forces were united a"d moved on their way to the great Narragansett fight. The Massachusetts forces must have rendezvoused at Woodcock's on their return.

This stand, which is lately owned and occupied by Col. Hatch, is the oldest in the county of Bristol, a public-house having been kept on the spot without intermission from July 5, 1670, to this time, June, 1833, during a period of one hundred and sixty-three years. It is situated on the Boston and Providence turnpike. I have been at considerable pains to ascertain the names of several owners in succession, and the times at which they purchased, some brief notices of which may be interesting to the reader.

It was established by John Woodcock, as already related, in 1670, the land having been laid out and cleared by him for the purpose. He occupied it about twenty-three years.

Feb. 17, 1693-94. John Woodcock, Sr., of Rehoboth (with Joanna his wife), for £390 money in hand received conveys to John Devotion, of " Muddy River, formerly of Boston," a tract of land containing two hundred and ten acres, being " at a place commonly called Ten-Mile River by a highway called Wrentham Lane," etc., " with the mansion or dwelling-house, barn, and all other out-housing and buildings (the smith's shop only excepted standing on the river) ;* also about thirty acres lying on northwest side the country road formerly given to his son John Woodcock, bounded by Ten-Mile River, etc., with his son's dwelling-house and barn on the same." " John Devotion took quiet possession of the same, April 9, 1694, in presence of Nathaniel Brentnall, William Chaplain."2

Woodcock laid out the ancient burying-ground near his house. In the above-mentioned conveyance is the following reservation : " Except a small parcel of at least six rods square, or the contents thereof, for a burying-place, in which my wife and several of my children and neighbors are interred, with liberty for my children and neighbors to come upon and make use thereof forever as occasion may be."3

- In this conveyance to Devotion is the following curious item : " also, all the said John Woodcock hia right to and privilege in a house and pasture at Wrentham for accommodation of his family and horses on Sabbath days and other public times, as occasion may be."

Previous to his removal he had a house at Rehoboth for a similar purpose. From this and other records it appears that he and his family were very attentive to public worship.

3 This is the oldest graveyard in the town, where the first settlers are buried. It is situated on the easterly side of the road opposite the hotel. The first interment in this place was that of Nathaniel Wood-

John Devotion occupied the premises more than seventeen years. He left no descendants here, and after selling his estate removed to Wethersfield, afterwards to Suffield.1 His wife's name was Hannah.

July 10, 1711. John Devotion, for four hundred pounds money paid, conveys the said farm (containing two hundred and eighty acres, more or less) to John Daggett, of Chilmark, in Dukes County, Martha's Vineyard (the first of that name who settled in this town), with twenty-five acres on Nine-Mile Run. Also, one whole share in the undivided lands in Attleborough.

April 16, 1722. John Daggett, for five hundred and fifty pounds, sells the same to Alexander Maxcy, " being his homestead, containing one hundred and seventy acres in two parts on the Ten-Mile Run, etc., at a place called Mount Hope Hill."6 The said Maxcy died in about a year after this purchase. At the division of his estate (1730) the establishment passed into the hands of his oldest son, Josiah Maxcy. After his death, in 1772 (if not before), it came into the possession of his son Levi Maxcy, who occupied it till about 1880, when he sold it to Col. Israil Hatch.

The old garrison house was torn down in 1806, and a large and elegant building erected on the spot, fiftyeight by sixty feet, three stories high!6 It thus appears that the first building erected on the place stood one hundred and thirty-six years. A great part of the timber was said to be perfectly sound, pierced, however, by many a bullet received in Philip's war. A relic of this house, it is said, was preserved in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Another early settlement was at the Falls (so called), now the Falls Factories. The natural advantages of a fine fall of water attracted the settlers to the spot. The banks of rivers were generally selected by the first occupants on account of the " natural meadows" which they afforded, and which were highly valued at a time when the face of the country was covered with forests.

The first person who laid out lands at the latter place (as near as can be ascertained from the records) was John Daggett, of Rehoboth, who, in October, 1677,' sold fifty acres of it to his brother, Thomas cock, who was killed by the Indians in Philip's war May, 1676, and was buried on the spot where he fell, which is still pointed out in the centre of the graveyard. This cemetery is now in a state of dilapidation, many of the stones have fallen down, and the whole is going rapidly to decay. It is the duty of that neighborhood or the town (a duty which gratitude demands) to see the ground decently inclosed and the stones erected, that the few memorials which now exist of our early ancestry may be preserved. * He had a son, John Devotion, a school-master, living in Swansea in

« The original building only was taken down; an addition, built at an early period, was moved a little back, where it stood in 1730, "carved o'er with many a long-forgotten name.'' A small remnant, one room, of the old garrison might then be seen adjoining the wood-house.

Daggett, of Martha's Vineyard. Edward Hall1 also at an early period owned fifty acres here, which he gave by will to his son John, and he sold it to John Stevenson and Samuel Penfield ; the latter sold it in 1686 to Thomas Daggett, of Edgartown, and Joseph and Nathaniel Daggett,2 of Rehoboth. This was the land immediately around the Falls including the privilege. The first mill built there was a "corn-mill," owned or occupied by the above-named Joseph Daggett, at what time is not known. This was doubtless the first mill in town. March 30, 1703, the town voted that Jos. Daggett, of Rehoboth, have the privilege " that the stream at the Ten-Mile River Falls shall go free of all sorts of taxes until a corn-mill has the constant custom of three-score families, and if a saw-mill be built, that to bear his equal share in public charges in said town."

The southeast corner of the town was early inhabited by people from Rehoboth. The borders of the Bay road, which passed through the neighborhood of Newell's and the city, were occupied by some of the first settlers. This was the main route from Bristol to Boston, and was the first road in town.

Proceedings of the Proprietors. - The proprietors of the Rehoboth North Purchase soon became a distinct body from the town, and kept separate books. It may be proper to detail some of the transactions of the proprietors, which will throw light on our early history, and give a view of the difficulties which they had to encounter in the settlement.

The proprietors' books commence in 1672. Previous to this their proceedings were recorded in the Rehoboth town books. A certain company (consisting of inhabitants of Rehoboth) purchased, as already appears, a certain tract of land of the Indians, through their agent, and the title was confirmed by the government,4 which tract was called the Rehoboth North Purchase. There were eighty-two purchasers or shareholders, seventy-six of whom had whole shares, and six half shares, making seventy-nine whole shares.5 They called meetings, and from time to time granted divisions of so many acres to a share, which were laid out to the shareholders by metes and bounds, by a committee and surveyor chosen for the purpose, under such regulations and instructions as were established by the company and were recorded by the clerk in the proprietors' books. This constituted a valid right to the lands so recorded. In this way all the original titles to land in this region were obtained. A transfer of

1 Then of Rehoboth, previously of Taunton. Admitted a freeman of Massachusetts May 2, 1638. One John Hall was admitted May 14, 1634, and another May 6, 1635. Edward had seven children, - John, horn before his father came to Rehoboth ; Samuel, Jeremiah, Thomas, Preserved, Andrew, Benjamin, from 1656 to 1668.

a share might be made by deed, a record of the sale being entered in the proprietors' books; or, a person might obtain a title to lands by purchasing of a proprietor a right to lay out a certain number of acres in a division already granted, which would be recorded to him in the same manner as to the original owner.

The grant was first made to such inhabitants of Rehoboth as held a fifty pounds estate and upwards, they having made the purchase ; but in 1670 all who were then inhabitants of that town were admitted as proprietors by entering their names, as appears by the fol lowing extract from a court order passed Oct. 7, 1670.

" Whereas, the lands on the northerly side of Rehoboth, now sold by deed and passed over to the proprietors of that town, viz., to all that hold lands there from a fifty pounds estate and upwards; yet by mutual agreement amongst themselves all the inhabitants were taken in to be joint purchasers, it is determined that the names of such as were not comprehended in the above-mentioned deed shall be entered in their town records and in the public records of the colony, to be, if they desire it, as full and equal purchasers and proprietors in those lands as the rest."

These lands were at first exempted from full taxation "to accommodate the poorer sort with land, and yet so as not to oppress them as much otherwise." The court ordered " that all the north lands, both farms and else," should be taxed in a rate separate from the town of Rehoboth, and should pay thirty shillings in a £40 rate to the colony, and in the same proportion in the ministerial and other charges, "until the court shall see cause otherwise to dispose concerning them, until which time they shall be and remain within the constablerick of the township of Rehoboth." Oct. 7, 1670.

June 10, 1707. Voted that all who have lands laid out in the North Purchase, and have not renewed their bounds since the 1st of March last, shall, between this date and the last of September next, renew the same, or forfeit the sum of ten shillings, to be recovered as a debt due, the one-half to the informer and the other half to the proprietors, any one of whom are authorized to prosecute this act.

At the same meeting it was ordered that all the timber cut on the undivided lands should be forthwith seized, and a committee was appointed to hear and determine by what right it was cut, and if found without good right, then to take the methods of the law in that case provided.

Sept. 16, 1707. Voted that the committee, with the surveyor, shall lay out all needful highways for the proprietors in said purchase, and make restitution to persons whose lands are taken for this purpose in any of the undivided lands.6

November, 1708. The proprietors chose a committee to look after the northerly bounds of their purchase. At this time commenced the long and tedious contest about the northern boundary of the purchase, which was the Old Colony line. The subject was discussed at every meeting, and committees often appointed to devise means of protecting the rights of the purchasers. Petitions were sent to the General Court, counsel were employed to defend their rights, and finally a petition and an agent were sent to England.

July 21, 1714. Voted that two acres of land on the hill before Mr. David Freeman's, where the buryingplace now is, shall be laid out for a burying-place for Attleborough. This is the graveyard near the village called the city.

June 13, 1717. Voted unanimously that Col. Nathaniel Paine, Esq., Mr. Richard Waterman, Esq., Lieut. Anthony Sprague, Mr. Daniel Jenks, and Mr. Daniel Smith be a committee to see to the northerly bounds, hereby giving them full power to act in all respects in behalf of the whole propriety concerning running the line between Attleborough, Wrentham, and Dedham, where it ought lawfully to be stated according to our purchase deed.

July 14, 1717. The committee were authorized to defend all suits of law that may be commenced by any person or persons against the propriety, and to empower any attorney or attorneys that may be needful for advice, and further to commence any action or actions that they may think proper for the benefit of the said propriety.

Nov. 2, 1720. Voted that the former committee still proceed with their petitions, even until they send to England about the right of our northern line (if they cannot be heard in our own government), and that the expense be paid by the proprietors according to their several interests.

Feb. 21, 1726-27. Voted that any person or persons who will sue for our rights in the land challenged by Dorchester or Stoughton, Wrentham and Bellingham. and to the south of Nathan Woodward and Solomon Saffrey's line, and on the north of the town, and all that part that lieth within their challenge, shall have the fourth part of said tract of land if they recover it to the use of the propriety. Maj. Leonard, Esq., ('apt. John Foster, and Fnsign Daniel Peck appeared in said meeting and accepted the offer.

1 At a subsequent meetiDg, in 1752, the clerk was authorized to sell to any of the proprietors seventy-nine ami one-half acres of undivided land at eight shillings lawful money per acre.

many specimens are still remembered, and of whose wit and eccentricity tradition lias preserved numerous anecdotes, lie seems to have suffered the common fate of poets, poverty. J lis petition is recorded at length in the proprietors' books, which is transcribed merely for the amusement of the reader:

The prayer of this petition our good-natured forefathers could not resist. " Upon the hearing of the aforesaid petition of Joshua Barrows there were sundry persons in said meeting, which were proprietors, which gave him land to take up upon their rights, - their names are as followeth," etc., - making in the whole thirteen acres which were laid out and recorded to him.

It appears from the report of a committee that an agent was actually employed in England to defend their boundaries. In their account are the following items :

To expense at Providence, when both committees met there to wait on Governor Jencks, and writing to send to England after his return from England, etc 17 6

Jan. 3, 1750-51. Chose Col. Thomas Bowen, Maj. John Foster, and Capt. Samuel Tyler a committee, fully empowering them to prepare a petition praying the General Court that some effectual method may be taken for the perfecting of a straight line3 from the middle of Accord Pond (so called) westward to that station which is three English miles south of the

3 The cause of dispute was an angle in the Old Colony line, which is said to have originated in this way : The commissioners win. were appointed in 1640 by the two colonies to run the line between them commenced at a rock called Bound Rock in the middle of Accord Pond, Which is in the line between ScitUate and Cohassett (once part of Ilingham), intending to reach by a straight line the most northerly point of Plymouth Colony, "ti the easterly line of Rhode Island, but when they had arrived within about three miles thej discovered that their course would carry them far to the south of tin- intended point. Instead of rectifying the whole line, they made an angle and took a new course so far north as to reach the line point. At this turn stood a large oaktree, marked, which was called Angle Tree. A large stone monument has been since elected on the spot by Attleborough and Wrentham.

southernmost part of Charles River, agreeable to a settlement made by the government of New Plymouth and the Massachusetts in the year 1640.

Sept. 26, 1751. Made choice of James Otis, of Boston, and John Foster, of Attleborough, Esqs., a committee, in addition to Benjamin Day and Nathaniel Smith (chosen at a former meeting), to present a petition about to be heard at the General Court at their next session, and to pursue said petition until it is fully determined by said court, and to petition anew, if need be, to have the line settled on the northerly part of our purchase.

May 19, 1752. Chose a committee and gave them full power to eject any person or persons out of the possession of those lands they have possessed themselves of within the North Purchase grant without the consent of the proprietors, as also full power to sue and pursue any action brought for the purpose to final judgment and execution.

May 27, 1754. The committees of Rehoboth North Purchase and Taunton North Purchase entered into an agreement to commence actions of ejectment against persons who had intruded upon their respective purchases, the costs to be borne equally by the two proprieties.

The most valuable parts of this purchase were taken up by these divisions many years since. A small but broken and unproductive remnant of this land yet remains common and undivided on Cutting's Plain, on the road from East Attleborough to Wrentham.

From their records and the extracts which have been made it appears that the proprietors made their own regulations, gave their own titles to lands, and, in fact, enacted all their laws relative to the ownership and the original conveyance of lands included in their purchases.