Swansea Town (part 3 of 3)

In his youth Mr. Taylor made several voyages at sea. He always retained an interest in the welfares of seamen, and some time after leaving Swansea he established the Mariners' Bethel at Providence, R. I. Mr. Taylor was born at Beverly, Mass., in 1786, and died in Michigan in 1848. He had three brothers who were ministers, and a sister who was a minister's wife.

Richard Davis became pastor in November, 1830, and discharged the duties of that ofl^ce two years and six months. He died at Milwaukee, Wis., in 1868. A few years before his death, and a third of a century after the dissolution of his connection with the parish, the church sent a liberal sum of money to assist him in his old age. Tlie church edifice now in use was built while Mr. Davis was pastor, although it was not ready for occupancy until the beginning of the ministry of his successor.

Mr. Davis was succeeded by James J. Thatcher. His ordination as pastor was the first that had occurred since 1784. He remained vvitli the church nearly eight years. His ministry here was very successful, as were his subsequent labors elsewhere. Mr. Thatcher was born in Staftbrdshire, England, in 1811, and died in the town of Rehoboth, Mass., in 1874. The later years of his ministry were spent with churches of the Baptist denomination, and at one time he was pastor of the Baptist Church in Swansea.

In October, 1842, Isaiah Haley was ordained pastor. Although a worthy man, his ministry with this church continued only a few mouths. His death took place in 1869 in the State of Maine.

The next pastor was Jonathan Thompson. He was born in Vermont in 1794, and entered the ministry at an early age. In New York State, in the course of nine years, he organized several churches. After leaving New York he was pastor at Fall River two years, and at Boston two. From Boston he removed to Swansea, in the year 1843, to take the pastoral care of this church. At the end of five years he accepted a call to Providence, where he remained until 1850, when he returned to this place, and supplied the pulpit to the close of the year 1851. He died in New York in 1866, at the age of seventy-two years.

The Sunday-school was organized in the early part of Mr. Thompson's ministry, probably in the spring of 1844. In that year, and for the gratification of the members of the infant organization, who marched in procession from the church to the grove, each wearing a red ribbon as a badge, was instituted the " clambake," still recurring annually on the last Wednesday of August.

Mr. Thompson's successors are all living, and it will sutfice to mention their names, - H. P. Guilford, from 1848 to 1850 ; between 1851 and 1864, S. Fellows, B. F. Summerbell, S. K. Sweetman, and G. H. Allen ; from 1864 to the present time, J. W. Osborn.

In former times this church was known as a mother of churches ; in later years a large proportion of its young members have made their homes in neighboring cities, and in this way it has helped to increase the strength of many congregations. More than twenty of its members have been ministers, but of the number only one, the Rev. William Miller, is now li^^ng.

The first deacon of the church, as has been stated, was Isaac Mason. Without recording the names of all who have served in that position, it may be mentioned that within the present century five have borne the name of Buffinton, - three brothers, Gardner, John, and Stephen, Martin, a son of John, and Benjamin T., a son of Stephen. The last-mentioned father and son still survive, although Gardner, the older of the two brothers of Deacon Stephen Buflinton, began to ofiiciate three-fourths of a century ago.

The religious services on Sundays in the olden times consisted of a meeting for preaching at eleven o'clock, and a meeting for prayer and exhortation at four o'clock. The fashion of preaching but one sermon on Sunday, so common now but generally regarded as an innovation, has with occasional exceptions long prevailed in this church, perhaps from the time of the ordination of the first pastor. There is a tradition, on which the church records throw no light, that at first singing was excluded from the services. It is certain that there was opposition to the use ol' ii/usicnl notes at the time they were introduced by singers. When the " service of song in the house of the Lord" came to be regarded as an important part of public worship, it was scarcely possible to provide books for the congregation. From what was perhaps the only hymn-book in the parish the minister read a hymn ; he then passed the book to one of the deacons (those oflicials then occupying elevated seats near the pulpit), and he read a line or couplet; after that was sung he read as much more, and thus the alternate reading and singing continued to the end of the hymn.

At one time there was dissatisfaction on the part of several members because the majority "would not approbate women's public speaking in the church by way of exhortation." The church censured those disaffected members, but subsequently the censure was by unanimous vote expressly revoked.

The congregation early built or otherwise obtained a house of worship, for in 1719 a parish-meeting was held "in the meeting-house near William Wood's," and before the end of that year it was proposed to "make some addition to the meeting-house." This project was not carried into elfect, but " soon after" a new house was built. In the Puritan Churches of New England there was (even within a time quite recent) a strong prejudice against kindling fires in a house of worship. But the builders of the meetinghouse of 1720 did not share that superstition. Two platforms of brick were constructed, each surrounded by a row of bricks turned up edgewise (with no outlet for smoke or gas), and in cold weather charcoal fires were kept burning upon them. The house was built of oak and chestnut, and stood until the church edifice now used was occupied. In the " September gale" (1815) the roof was blown oft". The building was square in form, and when the roof was replaced it was so turned that what had been the ends of the house became the sides. At one extremity of the audience-room there was a pulpit large and high, flanked by the "deacons' seats."' These were not merely for ornament but use, for it is recorded that at a regular church-meeting for the transaction of business two brethren were chosen deacons, but as some members were absent, that action was submitted to an adjourned meeting on the following Sunday, when unanimous approval was expressed ; the deacons-elect (although to be " ordained" on a subsequent occasion) "then took their seats." What better example can be found of a recognition of both the rights of voters and the dignity of office? At the rear end of the room and on both sides were galleries capacious enough to accommodate a large part of the congregation.

The spacious and pleasant edifice now occupied was dedicated April 10, 1833. The noted Luther Baker preached. All the clergymen who participated in the services have passed away from this life. The house was entirely remodeled and somewhat enlarged in 1873.

The land comprised in the churchyard of the former house was given " for the accommodation of a meeting-house," by Dr. William Wood and Capt. John Brown. The portion giveu by the latter is described in the deed as a triangular lot of one-half acre. An adjoining lot was given for a parsonage in 1772 by Deacon James Brown. The parsonage was bought for thirty pounds, and moved to the place where it stood until torn down in 1865. Previous to that purchase the church had received bequests from Edward Luther, Jonathan Slade, and Anna Monroe, [ and soon after one from Sybil Slade. Borrowers paid i interest in some cases by "sweeping the meetinghouse" and in "coals for the meeting-house." The depreciation of the currency was such that only " nine dollars and one-eleventh in silver" were realized from \ a debt of "fifty pounds, old tenor." One of the "communion cups of solid silver" was given by Katherine Tilley, and the other by Elizabeth Slade.

In times more recent the church has been blessed with benefactors. Tamar Luther, Candace Brightman, William Mason, Joseph G. Luther, Elizabeth Bosworth, the sisters Joanna, Lydia, and Hannah. Mason, Mary Gardner, Phebe Kingsley, Samuel and Patience Gardner, and Betsy Bushee Pierce, by will or otherwise, have given money or pews, the income of which assists in defraying the current expenses of the parish. These generous persons are held in grateful recollection by those who enjoy the benefit of their considerate kindness.

Possibly this is the oldest church in Massachusetts which never had legal connection with a town. A brief outline of events connected with its history has been given, but the real Idstonj of a church (and especially of one including among its members so many generations, with modes of thought and life so divergent) can never be written. The effects of moral forces no man can chronicle, for no man can comprehend.

The Six-Principle Baptist Church. - In 1820, after the termination of Elder Philip Slade's connection with the parish of which he iiad been pastor, he conducted services at the residence of Deacon Ellery Wood. His adherents were recognized by tlie Six-Principle Baptist Yearly Meeting as a church of that denomination. Deacon Wood bequeathed his homestead for the maintenance of worship, and for several years after his decease meetings were statedly held on Sundays in a room of the dwelling which became the residence of the pastor, Elder Comstock. Occasional services were held after the removal of Mr. Comstock for some time, but not in the few years past. The farm is held by a trustee for the benefit of the Six-Principle Baptist denomination.

Christ Chitrch, Swansea Village.' - Bishop Eastburn, in his official report of 1846, says, "For the establishment of the church in this place we are indebted, under God, to the zealous labors of the Rev. Amos D. McCoy, rector of the Church of the Ascension, Fall River."

The church record states that " Mr. McCoy officiated in this village, on Sunday evenings and other occasions from the second Sunday in May, 1845, until November, 1847."

At thiit time no regular religious services were held in the community, the " Union Meeting," which dedicated its house of worship about 1830, having disintegrated. There were then but four communicants of the Protestant Episcopal Church resident in the town, and they were members of St. Mark's, Warren, R. I., and probably it was at the suggestion of the rector of that church (the Rev. George W. Hathaway) that services were first held in Swansea.

The Sund.ay-school was organized and superintended by Dr. George W". Chevers (then a practicing physician in Fall River, and afterwards a successful clergyman of the churcfh), "who with exemplary selfdenial and untiring assiduity devoted himself to this labor of love. This gentleman, for the nine months previous to January, 1848, conducted lay-reading on Sunday mornings and afternoons. He also engaged in soliciting funds toward the erection of the church," and doubtless his labors went very far toward making the enterprise successful.

Prominent among the first organizers of this parish were the Hon. John Mason, Capt. Preserved S. Gardner, John A. Wood, John E. Gr.ay, Hon. George Austin, William Pearse, and Benjamin H. Chase. Of these only two (the last mentioned) were ever communicants. Capt. Gardner was formerly a Baptist. But they were all men of integrity, faithful supporters of the church, and regul.ar attendants at its services.

William Pearse, John A. Wood, and Capt. Gardner at their decease left to the parish five hundred dollars each as a permanent fund for the support of the church.

nected with St. Mark's, Warren, always made it a point of honor to support and attend with liis fiiraily this less flourishing church ; and this high principle of devotion, characteristic of that old church family, has continued to be exemplified in Mr. William H. Pearse and family, who came in time to take the place of his uncle.

Mr. John A. Wood, though never a communicant, was devotedly attached to the services of the church, and for many years voluntarily assumed the care of the Lord's house without compensation, and was always particular that it should be comfortable and in order. And after his decease his son, Henry O. Wood, immediately succeeded him as a vestryman, and has long since served the parish as warden, treasurer, and clerk with a faithfulness worthy of his father's example.

Benjamin H. Chase, the only survivor, when about forty years of age, prepared for the ministry and work of the church, to which he was ordained by Bishop Eastburn in 18.54, and at this present time (1883), after a term of nearly thirty years of active and successful labors, is the highly-esteemed rector of St. Paul's Church, Portsmouth, R. I., which he is serving for the fifteenth successive year. Mr. and Mrs. Chase did much toward establishing Christ Church, and are still, as they ever have been, deeply interested for its present and future usefulness.

Christ Church, Swansea, was duly organized as a parish under the statute of this commonwealth on the 7th of January, 1846. The first vestry was composed as follows : William Pearse and John Mason, Esq., wardens ; .Tohn A. Wood, Joseph D. Nichols, Preserved S. Gardner, Benjamin H. Chase, and John E. Gray, vestrymen.

The church edifice was built largely by subscriptions outside of the community, and was consecrated the 2d day of December, 1847, at ten o'clock a.m., by the Rt. Rev. Manton Eastburn, of Massachusetts.

The building is a neat wooden structure, of simple Romanesque architecture, finished to the roof inside, has about two hundred sittings, and cost about two thousand dollars.

The bell cost one hundred and sixty-three dollars, and the handsome pipe-organ, which was built to order in 1867, cost one thousand dollars. These were both obtained by contributions solicited at home and abroad.

He was succeeded by the Rev. Benjamin Austin, who, at his request, was released from his engagement after the 1st of November of the same year.

About the beginning of the year 1853 the Rev. William Withington, of Boston, took charge of the parish, and remained until the 1st of January, 1856. .

The church was then served by the Rev. A. F. Wylie, rector of the Church of the Ascension, Fall River, and by his assistant, the Rev. A. E. Tortat, until April, 1808, when the Rev. George Heaton, M.A., of Cambridge, England, became the resident minister, and remained until August, 1869, when he resigned.

The Rev. William T. Fitch, rector of the Ascension, Fall River, soon assumed the charge and officiated most of the time until about the 1st of July, 1881, when the present rector, the Rev. Otis 0. Wright, of Providence, R. I., began his labors.

The population of the community, which would naturally be considered as the parish, is only about two hundred, nearly one-fourth of whom are connected with other Christian bodies, though most of them take more or less interest in the services of this church.

As in most of tli« agricultural towns, many of the young people leave the parish for vocations in other places, where they often become active and influential churchmen because of their early home training, so that, though the permanent growth of Christ Church has been both slow and small, the work of the parish has been vitally important both to the community and to the church at large.

This parish has always received financial aid from the Diocesan Board of Missions, and for many years its various interests have been largely sustained by the liberality of Mr. Frank S. Stevens, well known as the principal business man of the place.

The church wardens at present are William H. Pearse and Henry O. Wood, and the vestrymen are F. S. Stevens, Dr. J. L. Wellington, T. C. Chace, Jonas Altham, and Jeremiah Gray.

The TJniversalist Society of Swansea and Rehoboth.. - More than twenty years ago Mr. A. M. Rhodes began to preach on alternate Sundays in the former school-hou.se known as Liberty Hall, at Swansea Factory. Subsequently Union Chapel was erected, in which Mr. Khodes still officiates once in two weeks. The late James Eddy, Esq., a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of this town, was accustomed to contribute liberally for the support of this society, of which he was a steadfast member from its origin.

Biographical Sketches Abner Slade

ABNER SLADE. Abner Slade, sou of Benjamin and grandson of Joseph Slade, was born in Swansea Oct. 2, 1792, on the homestead of his father, within a short distance of which his long lii'e of usefulness was passed. He was in the fifth generation from the first of the family who settled in Swansea, and the line of descent is (1) William, (2) Edward, (3) Joseph, (4) Benjamin, (5) Abner. (For ancestral history of the Slade family, see biography of William Slade, Somerset.) Mr. Slade was reared a farmer and tanner, and succeeded his father in business, and made tanning and currying his principal avocation during life. When he first began it, the custom was for the tanner to travel through the country on horseback and purchase hides, which, when tanned into leather, were sold, largely on credit, to the farmers and traveling shoemakers of the period. From this primitive condition of the trade Mr. Slade built up a business of large proportions, which became very remunerative. He was one of the most industrious, systematic, and persevering of men, and looked sharply after the minute details of every transaction. He was very successful, and this success may be attributed to his sterling integrity, his good judgment, and his earnest and steady persistency. He retired, with a handsome competency as the reward of his application and energy, from active business about 18-56, and the subsequent years of his life were devoted, in a busine.ss way, only to looking after his various investments. He never accepted nor wished for office in town, nor had political aspirations. He was a director of Fall River National Bank many years, and was interested in the Old Colony Railroad, and to some extent in the Providence and Worcester Railroad. He was also stockholder in various corporations and manufactures in Fall River. He married, Sept. 30, 1829, Sarah, daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Sherman, who was born Feb. 20, 1810. (Asa, son of Samson and Ruth Sherman, of Portsmouth, R. I., was born Dec. 22, 1779, and died in Fall River, Mass., Dec. 29, 1863, aged eighty-four years. He was a lineal descendant of Philip Sherman, who in 1636, with seventeen others, purchased from the Indians the islands of Rhode Island, - Patience, Hope, and Conanicut. Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Richard and Joanna Mitchell, of Middletown, R. I., was born Oct. 17, 1782, and died in Fall River April 22, 1858, in liis seventy-sixth year. They had ten children, of whom Mrs. Slade was third.)

Mr. and Mrs. Slade began housekeeping in a house standing on the .site of the present residence of Mrs. Slade, and for over half a century enjoyed as perfect felicity as can come from marriage of congenial spirits. Nothing ever cast a cloud over their home, and it was at the home circle where Mr. Slade sought rest and comfort after the toils of the day were over. They had no children, but they adopted a little girl of about two years, Sarah Bowers by name, to whom they gave the care of parents until her death in her twentieth year. They afterwards adopted Adeline F. Cole, when a girl of seven, and reared and educated her. She has lovingly repaid the care and attention given her. She was born March 29, 1849, married Charles A. Chace, son of Obadiah and Esther (Freeman) Chace, of Warren, R. I. They have three children, Benjamin S., Arthur F., and Warren O. They reside with Mrs. Slade. Mr. Slade passed through the years of life to a hale old age, in which the powers of thought and consolations of religion held sway until the last, and died Dec. 2,. 1879.

At a special meeting of the board of directors of Fall River National Bank, held Dec. 4, 1879, the following preamble and resolution was passed :

'* WiiKREAS, It has pleased our Heavenly Father to remove by death our higlily-respected associate, Abner Slade, at the ripe age of eightyseven years, who has been identified with this bank as director for more than tlvirty-three years, giving to it his counsel and judgment. A man honored for his sterling integrity and Christian cliaracter; therefore,

" Resolved, It is not as a mere formality that this board recognize the loss they have sustained, and in token of respect to his memory, and to manifest our sympathy with his family, this board will attend hia funeral in a body."

Mr. Slade was an earnest and unassuming member of the Society of Friends, and was beld in the highest esteem by his brethren. The Friends' Beview gave this just and well-deserved notice of him: "Abner Slade, an elder of Swansea Monthly Meeting of Friends, deceased, twelfth month, second, 1879, aged eighty-seven. He was truly a fiither in Israel. While we deeply feel our loss, and miss his sweet words of counsel, we can but rejoice when we think of his triumphal death, and remember how his countenance beamed with joy when he told us he was going to his home in heaven."

Frank Shaav Stevens

Frank Shaw Stevens was born in Rutland, Vt., Aug. 6, 1827. His father, Chauncey, married Lucinda Weeks and had four children, of whom Frank S. is the second.

Chauncey Stevens was a stage-man, and the proprietor of a hotel, stages, and livery in Westfield, N. Y. He finally settled in Willoughby, Ohio, where

Frank S. received a common school education. After the death of his mother, when he was in his fifth year, he lived with his uncle and aunt, Nathan Cushman and wife, with whom he resided for two or three years, and then went with his father to Ogdensburgh and Oswego, N. Y., remaining three or four years, then spending the balance of the time till he was thirteen with his uncle and aunt at Cleveland and Willoughby, Ohio. At the age of fifteen he entered the store of George T. Camp & Co., at Westfield, N. Y., as clerk, and was engaged in that capacity about four years.

This ended his youthful experience in these pursuits, for about this time the fame of the gold discoveries in California had reached him, and he resolved to try his fortune in a new field. To one of his temperament the adventures of an overland journey to California presented unusual attractions. It was in the spring of 1849, when the waste of mountain, plain, and wilderness lying between the Mississippi and the Pacific Coast had been almost wholly unexplored, except by such bold hunters as Carson and Fremont. A few of the "Argonauts of '49," had sailed for the newly-discovered El Dorado via Cape Horn ; a shorter cut had been explored across the Isthmus of Panama, and a few had gone that way ; a few caravans, perhaps, had been fitted out to cross the " Great American Desert" and the Rocky Mountains, but scarcely had a path been opened in the latter direction when Mr. Stevens and his company set out in the spring of 1849.

Their destination was Sacramento, Cal., vin the plains, going by water to Chicago, and by canal and river to St. Louis. They purchased their outfit in the latter city, and packing their goods in boats ascended the Missouri River to Omaha ; thence by teams they passed over the plains and the Rocky Mountains, arriving at Sacramento the last of August, 1849, having left Omaha early in May.

Mr. Stevens worked a short time at mining, but did not like the business. He returned to Sacramento, and there he met one Durfee, who was induced to join him in purchasing four yoke of oxen and an outfit for the purpose of hauling goods and provisions to the mountains to supply travelers and miners. Their team and equipments cost them one thousand and fifty dollars. Yet it was a profitable investment; the enterprise was a success from the first, but after making three or four trips high water came on, and they were compelled to give it up. Then he embarked ill the restaurant business, and was successful. He owned and ran stages from Sacramento to Placerville and Jackson until 1854, at which time the California Stage Company was organized with a capital of one million dollars, composed of all the stage lines in the State. He was its first vice-president, and had charge of certain divisions of the road until 1866. In the fall of 1858 he came to Washington, D. C, to look after his interests of the company, and from that time till 186G he made several trips back and forward. He continued in the livery business till 1858, and both in that and in "staging" he was quite successful. In 1858 he came to Swansea, and since 1866 has made it his principal home.

In 1862 he became engaged with Sherman Paris and Marshall J. Allan, under the firm-name of Paris & Allan (now Paris, Allan & Co.), wholesale liquor dealers, 51 Broadway, New York. Since 1869 he has been connected with the firm of W. A, Gaines & Co., in the distilling business in Kentucky.

Mr. Stevens is a director of the Mechanics', Granite, Stafford, Davol, Osboru, Slade, Laurel Lake, Bourne, and Globe Yarn-Mills, is president and director of the Merino Mills, and has been since the organization, also president of the Davol Mills, and was treasurer for three years. He is a director of the Metacomet Bank of Fall River.

In politics, his afliliations were with the Democratic party till the commencement of the war of the Eebellion, since which he has been a Republican, but he has never been an aspirant for political honors.

He has been twice married. First he married, in July, 1858, Julia A. B., widow of James E. Birch, and daughter of David Chace, of Swansea. She died in February, 1871 ; and he married for his second wife, in April, 1872, Elizabeth R., daughter of Joseph and Eliza Case, of Swansea.

Nathan Montgomery Wood

NATHAN MONTGOMERY WOOD. The first of the Wood family who came to America of whom there is any authentic record was William' Wood, who came from England, and after spending some time in the new colonies returned to England, and in 1634 published in Loudon a book entitled " New England's Prospects." Very meagre records were kept in those days, and it is not positive how many children this William Wood had, or what their names were, but after consulting all available authorities relative to early genealogical data, we feel justified in .stating as most probable that he had at least one son, John'-, who came to Plymouth Colony in the early days of that settlement, married and had two sons, John and Thomuf?, who were great hunters, and possessed of that hardy adventurous spirit so characteristic of our early pioneers. In search of a country where game was plenty, they first came to Seaconnet or thereabouts, and soon after went to Swansea, where Thomas settled. John, so tradition says, went still j farther west into Connecticut, which was then a wil- i derness. Thomas Wood^ was evidently a man of considerable consequence in his town. He was a surveyor, and divided and surveyed much land. He held in Swansea a large landed estate containing several hundred acres. Records indicate that he had two sons, Thomas and Joliii*.

This John had two sons, Noah and John. By his will he bequeathed the mill-place to his son John', and to Noah he gave the landed property west of the mill-farm, consisting of three farms, one of which, the homestead, is still in possession of the family. Noah had four sons, - Nathaniel, Aaron, Levi, and Jonathan. He bequeathed the homestead farm and the one adjoining to his son Aaron, and to the others he gave farms in the immediate vicinity.

Aaron, son of Noah, had children, - Nathan, Isaac, Levi, Aaron, Noah, Mason, Freelove, Sarah, Elizabeth, Innocent, Mary, and Polly. In the distribution of his property he bequeathed the homestead to his son Aaron. This Aaron had seven sons, - Levi, John, Nathan, Benjamin, Ira, Hiram, and Pardon, and two daughters, Polly and Sarah. Upon his decease the homestead went to all the sons, and to his wife, Polly, the use of it during her life. She died March 12, 1883, in her ninety-ninth year. The homestead farm is now in possession of Nathan Wood, son of Aaron, and Benjamin N. Wood, grandson of Aaron Wood, and nephew of Nathan M. Wood.

Johiv' Wood, who inherited the mill place from his father John*, had four sous, - John, Isaac, Nathan, and Seth, and two daughters, - Bethiah and Penelope. Seth!^, upon his father's decease, inherited the mill farm. He was a man of consequence in his day ; took much interest in public affairs, and during the war of the Revolution was commissioned directly from the State authorities as collector of taxes. He had three .sons, - John, Seth, and Haile, the latter by a second wife. Col. Haile" inherited the ancestral acres. He was one of the leading men of Swansea, holding various town offices and positions of trust and honor. He was an enterprising man, and one of the original founders of the Taunton Britannia Works, now known as Reed & Barton's Works. He resided in Taunton four years. He was colonel of militia, and took much pride and interest in military afiidrs. He was said to be the best horseman in the county. He was a man of fine physique, stood over six feet high, and weighed over two hundred pounds. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, and an ardent prohibitionist. He married Mary, daughter of Ebenezer Howard, of Woodstock, Conn., and had eleven children, - Haile N. (married Marian L. Chace, they have one son), Mary A. (deceased ; married E. Brayman, had six children, all of whom are dead), Williaia (deceased; married Harriet Burbank, of Taunton, had three children), Seth (married Mary Carver, of Taunton, had four children), Elizabeth (married Nathan Wood, of Swansea, had two children), Adeline (deceased; married Benjamin B. Wood, of Swansea, had five children),

Walter H. (married Amanda Gardner, has two children), Aiujusta (second wife of Benjamin Wood, they have one son), Laura (deceased; died unmarried), Nathan M., and Angeline (died in infimcy). Col. Haile was born November, 1788, and died May 6, 1860. His wife was born March, 1785, and died October, 1872.

Nathan M. Wood was born in Swansea, Mass., Jan. 16, 1825. His education was obtained at the common schools of his native town. His father was a farmer and miller, and Nathan was brought up to the same business, and, with the exception of about one year passed in Maine, he has always resided at his home in Swansea, which has been in the family so many generations. Nov. 7, 1848, he married Abby M. Kingsley, second child and eldest daughter of Elisha and Mary (Mason) Kingsley, of Swansea. She was born April 10, 1828, and is descended on the maternal side from Samson Mason, who was an Englishman, and an officer in the army of Oliver Cromwell until the latter was made lord protector of England. About 1650 he came to America, and was admitted an inhabitant of Rehoboth Dec. 9, 1657. His children were Samson, Noah, John, Samuel, Bethiah (who became the wife of John Wood), Sarah, Mary, James, Joseph, Isaac, Peletiah, Benjamin, and- Thankful. Peletiah had three sons, all of whom were ministers. Job, Russell, and John, all of them resided within a mile of each other. They were blacksmiths by occupation, and it is said used to "preach with their leather aprons on." They preached at a church occupying the site of the present Christian Church near Luther's Corners.

Job Mason had a sou Job, who occupied the ancestral home, and who had a son named Gardner, who was a seaman, and was drowned at Providence, R. I., while his vessel lay at that port. His wife's maiden name was Susanna Vinnicum. He left a daughter, Mary O., who was the mother of Mrs. Nathan M. Wood.

Nathan M. Wood is a Republican in politics, but liberal in his ideas in political as in all other matters. He has held various official positions, including nearly all the principal town offices, and some of them for more than twenty years. He was representative to the Legislature in 1875. 'He is a member of the Christian Church, and is also a member of Washington Lodge, No. 3, F. and A. M., and Webb Council, Warren, R. I.; Royal Arch Chapter, Fall River; and Cavalry Commandery, Knights Templar, Providence, R. I.

He has five children, - Nathan Howard, born Feb. 15, 1851, died in infancy; Abby Isabel, born Nov. 16, 1854 (married Hiram E. Thurston, has one child, Louise, resides in Providence, R. I.) ; Mary R. P., born May 28, 1857 (married Nathan Slade, has one child, Mary A., resides in Somerset) ; Angeline H., born June 30, 1859 (married Franklin G. Arnold, and resides with her parents) ; and Eloise K., born Aug.

Mr. Wood is one of Swansea's most prominent and prosperous men, and, aside from his farming and milling business, is largely interested in a manufacturng business in Fall River.

Marcus A. Brown

MARCUS A. BROWN. Marcus Aurelius Brown, son of William and Freelove (Wood) Brown, was born in Swansea, Mass., Dec. 19, 1819, near what is now Cole's Station. He comes from an old New England family of consequence in the days of the first settlements. From old records and historical documents we ascertain that John Brown, the first of this line of Browns, had acquaintance with the Pilgrims in Leyden, Holland, before the sailing of the " Mayflower" in 1620, in which vessel he probably was financially interested. He was originally from England, where he was born in 1574, but we cannot definitely trace the family in that country. The exact year of his coming to America is unknown, but in 1636 he was living in Duxbury, and in 1643 in Taunton. He was a man of importance in public affiiirs, and one of the leading men of Plymouth Colony. He was assistant for seventeen years from 1636, served as commissioner of the United Colonies for twelve years from 1644, and died in Swansea, near Rehoboth, where he had large estates. Savage gives the date of his death as April 10, 1662, and says that his will, made three days before his death, provides for the children left to his care by his son John, and names his wife Dorothy and son James executors. This is doubtless the correct date of his death, as his wife Dorothy died Jan. 27, 1673 or 1674, aged ninety. John Brown-, born 1636, died in Rehoboth in 1660. He married a daughter of William Buckland, and had five children, - Jo/to', Joseph, Natlianiel,Lydia, and Hannah, - whom he left, as above mentioned, to the care of his father. He was a strict Puritan and a devout man, standing high in community and colony affiiirs. John Brotun^ was born about 1657 in Rehoboth, m.arried Ann Dennis, of Norwich, Conn., and had two children, - John* and Samuel. He died in 1724. He was a man of positive nature, unflinching in the discharge of everything he deemed a duty. It is said of him that he was so enraged at his son (John) when he joined the Baptist Church that, supposing the latter's residence to be partially on his land, he was going to pull the part to which he laid claim away from the other, thus aiming to destroy the house, but a survey made to ascertain the fact showed that no portion of the house touched his land. Whether the tradition be true or false, it tells the character of the men of that perilous pioneer period. Athletic, strong-minded, and positive in character, they were well fitted to develop civilization from the unpromising and savage surroundings, and to contend ably with its foes. Among these settlers the Browns were leaders, and their different generations were prominent in church and local matters. From 1672 to 1692 the deputy for several years was a Brown. John Brown* was born April 23, 167.5, in Swansea, married Abigail, daughter of James Cole, July 2, 1696, and died .^pril 23, 17.'52, leaving at least one son, Johiv'. The lands bequeathed to Mrs. Brown by her father were transmitted from their purchase from the Indians to generation after generation for more than two centuries, and never were conveyed by deed until their purchase by H. A. Gardner. John* was also prominent, held a captain's commission, and was an earnest and consistent man. We extract from church records in Swansea : " The Church of Christ in Swansea, soon after December, 1719, built a new meeting-house on land given said church by Capt. John Brown and William Wood for that purpose." Lieut. John Brown" was born in Swansea in 1700, married, in 1722, Lydia, daughter of Joseph Mason. She was born in Swansea in 1704. They had five children, one of whom was William.

John Brown" was a large farmer, owning slaves. He was well to do, and was honored with various offices. He is recorded as Lieut. John Brown. We extract again from the church records : " June 14, 1753, James Brown was on a committee to receive in behalf of the church a deed of some land which our beloved brother, John Brown, proposes to give to said church for its use and benefit forever." He died May 18, 1754. His wife died Feb. 17, 1747.

William Brown (sixth gener.ation) was born April 14, 1729, in Swansea, was a farmer, and much employed in public matters; he surveyed land for years, settled many estates, was a man of distinction and ability, and much esteemed by his townsmen. He owned a handsome property in land and slaves. He married in 1753, Lettice, daughter of Hezekiah Kingsley, who was born in 1732. They had eight children, - Elizabeth, married Edward Gardiner (they were grandparents of Mrs. Marcus A. Brown) ; Joseph (died aged twenty, a British prisoner on one of the terrible prison-ships); Luranella, married Reuben Lewis ; Amy ; Betty, married Aaron Cole ; Mary, married Benjamin Butterworth ; Sarah, Williaml Mr. Brown died in 1805. His wife survived him two years. William Brown, Jr. (seventh generation), was born on the old home in Swansea, a short distance south of Cole's Station, Sept. 13, 1776. He was reared a farmer, and inherited the entire landed estate of his father (about one hundred and forty acres). He was an unassuming, hard-working man, very social, with a remarkable memory (a faculty possessed by many of the family in a large degree). He could repeat whole chapters from the Bible, and had no need to refresh his memory of any event by memoranda. He devoted himself to agriculture ; married Freelove, daughter of Aaron and Freelove (Mas(m) Wood, of Swansea, in 1799. She was born Sept. 28, 1780. They had nine children attaining

Source changes here: from A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts (Vol. 2), by Hutt, Frank Wolcott, published 1924; 4,230 words in this source stream.

Swansea Town

Every topographical feature of hill, vale, pasture, river and seashore, combines in the unsurpassed rural setting in which the town of Swansea finds itself today, a town of slow growth, but one in which dwells enduring respect for and recognition of the historical beginning and progress of the county. The town is in the southwest part of Bristol county, with Seekonk, Rehoboth and Dighton on the north, Dighton and Somerset on the east, and Somerset and Mount Hope Bay on the south. It forms part of that old tract of country that the natives had called Wannamoisett, and originally, part of Rehoboth, this State, and of Barrington, Rhode Island, were within the Wannamoisett section. There are two prominent names in the older history that have to do with the beginning of the town; and there is one name in particular that is dominant in the present-day foundations of the community. The two older names are those of Rev. John Myles and Captain Thomas Willett; and the benefactor of recent times is Hon. Frank S. Stevens.

Because of the fact that Rev. John Myles of Swansea, in Wales, settled here and organized here the second Baptist church in this country, to him the town owes its origin, the Plymouth Court that year granting to this church, with others, the Swansea township. At that time there also came to settle here, the diplomat of his day in this section, namely, Captain Thomas Willett, purchaser of the Attleboro country from the Indians, and who later became the first English mayor of New York, when the latter was ceded by the Dutch. These were the founders. In our own day Hon. Frank S. Stevens proved the generous town father in his notable gifts for the housing and enrichment of many of the public institutions.

Rev. John Myles was a pioneer church organizer and town builder. Having begun his ministry in South Wales, on the other side of the Atlantic, in 1645, he gathered a congregation and instituted a church there in 1649, during the first year of the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. But upon the passing of the "Act of Uniformity" in 1662, with Charles II as King, two thousand clergymen found themselves without a church living.

At Rehoboth, in 1663, Rev. Mr. Myles re-established his Wales Church, that today is known as the First Baptist Church in Swansea. But the intolerance that then prevailed here and there among earliest settlers in this county and elsewhere, drove him and his followers farther south, to a place called New Meadow Neck, and there, as has been stated, the court gave a grant to this church, to be known as Swansea, naming it from the Swansea in Wales, whence the minister had emigrated. At the place of their first plantation here they were treated with bigoted severity, Mr. Myles and James Brown being fined £5 each and Nicholas Tanner twenty shillings, for setting up a public meeting without the court's approbation. The place of their eventual freedom from religious molestation - Swansea, then consisted of Shawomet, now Somerset; Mattapoisett, now Gardner's Neck; Kickemuit, between Cole and Warren rivers; New Meadow Neck, and Wannamoisett Neck. Early Swansea has since received various subdivisions - that of 1717, when Barrington was separated and incorporated; that of 1747, when Little Compton, Tiverton, Barrington, Cumberland and Warren were separated from the original territory by the sectional line between Massachusetts and Rhode Island; and that of 1790, when Shawomet was divided and made Somerset.

Such was the incident of Swansea's first share in the making of the present county of Bristol, and with the grant of the township, there were fifty-five signers admitted. A condition in the division of public lands existed in Swansea for ten years that had nothing to correspond with it in the new plantations, anywhere. It was that of an unequal division of lands, in which the men of the colony were divided into three ranks, those of the first rank receiving three acres to two granted those of the second, and to one granted those in the third rank. This was a landed aristocracy that was finally brought to a close in 1681, when the committee granted to five men, their heirs and assigns forever, "the full right and interest of the highest rank." Then the town took matters into their own hand and repudiated the act of the committee.

The first record that we have of white men's visitation and white men's settlement here is that contained in the Plymouth Records, which re-state the well known fact that in March, 1623, Governor Winslow and John Hampden visited the sachem Corbitant on Mattapoisett, now Gardner's Neck, South Swansea; but it was in June, 1664, that King Philip conveyed that district to William Brenton of Newport, who devised the whole in his will to his son Ebenezer, who conveyed it in 1693 for £1700 to Samuel Gardner and Ralph Chapman. In June, 1675, there were several houses on the Neck, and about seventy persons were stopping at a garrison house, occupied by a Bourne, who were conveyed to Rhode Island after King Philip's War began, all the houses on the Neck being burned by the Indians.

In March, 1677, the General Court ordered that henceforth Wannamoisett and parts adjacent should thereafter be known by the name of Swansea, and that Captain Thomas Willett, Mr. Paine, Senior, Mr. James Brown, John Allen and John Butterworth have the trust of admittance of the town's inhabitants and disposal of the land therein.

The Churches and Schools. - It has been shown how the First Baptist Church was instituted here by Rev. John Myles. He died February 3, 1683, and he was succeeded in this ministry July 22, 1685, by Captain Samuel Luther, who died December 20, 1716, after thirty-two years as pastor. It is pointed out that in 1700 the meetinghouse was removed to the vicinity of Myles Bridge. Ephraim Wheaton became associated with Captain Luther in 1704; he succeeded to this ministry at his death, and it was during his pastorate that the church records appear to begin, in 1718. Samuel Maxwell succeeded Mr. Wheaton up to April 15, 1739. Elder Benjamin Harrington was installed as pastor August 15, 1742, and he was dismissed May 3, 1750. Jabez Wood was ordained pastor September 5, 1751, and the office was again vacated in 1778 or 1779. Mr. Thompson, pastor of the Baptist church at Warren, was made pastor of the Myles church, October 7, 1779, his own church having been burned May 25, 1778. Upon the rebuilding of his Warren church, Mr. Thompson returned to that society, and Rev. William Northrup succeeded him here in the spring of 1804. Rev. William Barton was his successor in 1808, and he was dismissed at his own request in the spring of 1810. The ministers in succession from that time have been: Revs. Abner Lewis, to April, 1819; Benjamin Taylor to 1821; Benjamin Pease, to 1823; Luther Baker, 1824- 32; Jesse Briggs two and one-half years; O. J. Fisk, October 1, 1835, to April 1, 1836; Abiel Fisher, 1836-46; J. J. Thacher, 1846-54; Silas Hall, 1854-57; J. W. Horton, 1857-64; A. W. Ashley, 1864-67; J. A. Baskwell,. May, 1868, to September, 1870; C. Bray, January, 1871, to May, 1874; the church being supplied by R. E. Barrows and others until April, 1876, when Rev. J. W. Horton was settled for the second time to January 1, 1882; Rev. G. W. Bixby, February, 1882, to 1891; Rev. Fred E. Bixby, 1892-98; Rev. Lucian Drury, 1898-1904; for the next three years there was no settled minister; Rev. Reuben J. Davis, 1907-08; there was no settled pastor from 1908 to 1913; Rev. Frederick J. Dark, 1913 - -. Up to the year 1846, this church, states Rev. Otis Olney Wright, the historian, occupied probably the oldest church building in the county, and probably the oldest Baptist house of worship in America. 'Tradition says that it was built in 1717.

About the year 1690, services were being held in the east part of the town, that with the church organization in 1693, as the Church of Christ in Swansea, were the origin of the Christian Church. From 1803 to 1819, preachers from the yearly meeting of the Six-Principle Baptists were in charge of the services; but on February 10, 1820, the church regained its ecclesiastical freedom. Thomas Barnes had been ordained pastor in 1693. He died June 8, 1706. He was succeeded by Joseph Mason, son of Samson Mason, one of the soldiers of Cromwell, and he by John Pierce in 1715. Each of these last two preachers lived to be about ninety years of age. Job Mason, a nephew of the senior pastor, was ordained in May, 1738. He died July 17, 1775.

During the pastorate of Job Mason, thirty-three members of his church were dismissed at their own request to constitute a church to congregate in Rehoboth; and in 1763 several more members, together with others from Rehoboth and from Providence, emigrated to Sackville, now New Brunswick. Russell Mason succeeded his brother Job until his own death in 1799, at the age of eighty-five years. John Mason, another brother, was ordained pastor in 1788, and died in 1801, also at the age of eighty-five years. It was in 1788 that members living in Dartmouth organized for religious worship. Benjamin Mason succeeded John at his death, he dying in 1813, at the age of eighty-three years. Ministers successively then were: Philip Slade, to the close of 1819; Mr. Taylor, who was pastor ten years; Richard Davis, who became pastor in 1830, and so remained two and one-half years; James J. Thatcher, pastor from 1832 to 1841; Isaiah Haley, ordained in October, 1842, was pastor a few months; Jonathan Thompson, 1843-48, during which pastorate the Sunday school was organized. The church had a number of supply pastors. Those who have been pastors since 1889 were the following-named: Lester Howard, 1889-93; B. S$. Batchelor, supply; Thomas S. Weeks, 1894-99; John MacCalman, 1899-1900; W. Parkinson Chase, 1900-01; William J. Reynolds, 1901-06; Carlyle Summerbell, 1906-08; Fred L. Brooks, 1908-09; Ernest R. Caswell, 1910-14; W. E. Baker, 1916 - .

The meetinghouse of this society was "near William Wood's", when in 1719 an addition was built to it; and '"'soon after' a new house was built, of oak and chestnut, and stood where the present church stands. The latter was dedicated April 10, 1833, and this house was entirely remodeled in 1873. It is believed this is the oldest church in Massachusetts that never had legal connection with a town.

Beginning in 1820 and for a number of years, a Six-Principle Baptist church was maintained, the first pastor being Elder Philip Slade, formerly pastor of the old Baptist church. Deacon Ellery Wood bequeathed his homestead for the maintenance of worship, and meetings were held some years, and discontinued.

The interests of the people of the Catholic faith are increasing year by year. St. Francis Church at Barneyville and St. Dominique's at Swansea Centre were both established in 1910-11, under the care of Father Bernard Percot, of St. Anne's, Fall River.

A Union meetinghouse was dedicated December 29, 1830, on the site occupied by the Town Hall. Services of dedication were shared by people of many denominations. The meetings at this church were finally brought to a close, and the building was demolished, the site being unoccupied for a number of years.

The First Universalist Society of Swansea was organized in 1838, the pioneer preacher of that belief having been Rev. Aaron L. Balch. The society has not held meetings here for many years.

The first of the Episcopal services held in this town was that of May, 1845, when Rev. A. D. McCoy, of the Church of the Ascension in Fall River, maintained Sunday evening services until November, 1847. A church had been organized meantime, January 7, 1846, and a Sunday school was established by Dr. George W. Chevers, of Fall River. The church edifice was dedicated December 2, 1847, the first resident rector being Dr. John B. Richmond. Prominent among the first organizers of Christ Church were Hon. John Mason, Captain Preserved S. Gardner, John A. Wood, John E. Gray, Hon. George Austin, William Pearse, Benjamin H. Chase. The last only were communicants. William Pearse, John A. Wood and Captain Gardner each left the parish $500 as a permanent fund for the support of the church. The church services were first held in the Union meetinghouse. The building that was dedicated in 1847 had about two hundred sittings, and cost about $2,000. Rev. Mr. Richmond served from January l, 1848, to January, 1852, and was succeeded for a few months by Rev. Benjamin Austin. In 1853, Rev. William Withington of Boston came, and remained until January, 1856. Successively, rectors have been: Rev. William B. Colburn; Rev. N. Watson Munroe, March, 1859, to February, 1864; Rev. A. F. Wylie and Rev. A. EF. Tortat to April, 1868; Rev. George Heaton, M.A., to August, 1869; Rev. N. Watson Munroe, June, 1871, to Easter Monday, 1877; Rev. William T. Fitch to July, 1881; Rev. Otis O. Wright to February 15, 1888; Rev. Ernest Marriett, April 2, 1888, to December 12, 1889; Rev. Percy Grant, 1890 to 1893; Rev. Herman Page, to about 1900; Rev. Edward Benedict, December 26, 1900; Rev. J. Wynne- Jones, May 17, 1909, The last service in the old church was held June 18, 1899, and the building was sold at auction June 21. The cornerstone of the present church was laid August 27, 1899, and the consecration of the new church took place June 6, 1900, by Right Rev. William Lawrence, D. D.

Rev. John Myles, the first pastor of the first church here, was also the first schoolmaster. It was ordered, December 19, 1673, that a school should be started in the town for the teaching of grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic; also Latin, Greek and Hebrew; as well as for the reading and writing of English. Mr. Myles held the school in various parts of the town, as was customary throughout the province before the building of schoolhouses. Jonathan Bosworth is mentioned as the next schoolmaster, in . 1698, and he also taught in the various sections of the town. Then came John Devotion, who taught the schools for more than a quarter of a century.

The appropriation for the maintenance of Swansea's schools in 1922 was $41,635, and the total number of pupils then enrolled in the schools was 607. The town has no high school, but attending the high schools elsewhere there were fifty-eight at Fall River, twenty-two at Warren, R. I, and one at Somerset. The local schools at this date were Bank street, Gardner, North street, and Stevens, the latter the gift of Hon. Frank S. Stevens.

Swansea in the Wars. - Tuesday, June 22, 1675, the first blood of the King Philip War was shed at Gardner's Neck in Swansea, six men being killed or mortally wounded. On Thursday, June 24, others were killed there, and most of the houses were burned. The garrison house of pastor

It has been ascertained that 416 Swansea men bore arms in the Revolutionary War, whether for long or short periods. September 26, 1774, Colonel Andrew Cole, Captain Levi Wheaton, Captain Philip Slade, Richard Cornell and Captain Luther Thurber were chosen the first committee from this town to meet with delegates from other towns to deliberate with regard to the exigencies of the times. The town provided guns, powder, lead and flint, and directed that fifty men be enlisted to be ready at a minute's warning. 'Troops were repeatedly called out from this town to the defence of the shores. Three militia captains of this town were particularly active throughout the struggle: namely, Peleg Sherman, aiterwards colonel; Philip Slade, and Peleg Peck. Colonel Peleg Slade was also an ardent friend of the patriotic cause.

Swansea responded well to the call of the War for the Union, and the town was represented in all branches of the service. One hundred and thirty men went from and were hired by and for the town. A tablet in Town Hall contains the names of Swansea soldiers in all wars. The number that served from here in the World War was seventy-three.

Various Institutions - The Town Hall, one of the most attractive of any in the towns in this county, was dedicated September 9, 1891, the gift of Hon. Frank §. Stevens to the town. The building, which is of rough field stones taken from walls on farms owned by Mr. Stevens, with Longmeadow brownstone used for trimmings, is upon a lot nearby the residence 'of its donor. The tower is thirteen feet square and fifty-six feet in height, and contains a bell and clock. On the occasion of the dedication, Job Gardner was president of the day; speakers were: Hon. Frank S. Stevens, donor of the building; Hon. John Summerfield Brayton, the orator; Rev. Percy $. Grant, chaplain; Rev. Benjamin H. Chase;. Major James Brown, of Taunton, the first Swansea man to graduate from college; Jonathan M. Wood of Fall River; Hon. Edwin L. Barney of Fall River.

The Frank S. Stevens Public Library building was dedicated September 19, 1900, the cornerstone having been laid October 31, 1899. Job Gardner was president of the day, Hon. Albert C. Pillsbury and Rev. Herman Page were orators, and Hezekiah Butterworth read verses. In September, 1882, Rey. Otis Olney Wright, rector of Christ Church from 1881 to 1888, instituted the Christ Church Book Circle, composed of twentyone members; and as a result, the Swansea Public Library 'Association was formed May 9, 1883, the officers being: President, Rev. Otis Olney Wright; vice-president, James H. Mason; secretary, Miss Julia R. Wellington; collector and treasurer, Frank R. Stebbins; librarian, Rev. O. O. Wright; assistant librarian, Mrs. O. O. Wright; trustees: Henry O. Wood, Frank S. Stevens, Job Gardner. On June 14, 1883, the Book Circle donated its books to the library, and on June 23 that year, Narragansett Lodge, No. 58, I. O. G. T., disbanding, donated its library, also. At first the institution was located in the Israel Brayton house; in June, 1884, it was removed to Mrs. Katharine Gardner's vacant store building. October 1, 1885, it was in the old store and postoffice building, then the property of Hon. Frank S. Stevens. In September, 1891, the books were removed to the library room in the Town Hall. In March, 1896, the town voted. to establish a free public library, and in the following May, the Library Association voted to present its books and property to the town. The gift was accepted, and the Swansea Free Public Library was opened September 26, 1896, and a delivery station was established at North Swansea, in charge of Mrs. Mary S. Greene; another at Swansea Centre, in charge of John B. Eddy; and a third at Hortonville, in charge of Mrs. Delmar A. Cummings. Rev. O. O. Wright continued as librarian until his removal to another pastorate in February, 1888; Miss Carrie A. Chase, now Mrs. Elmer D. Young, was librarian from February to May, 1888. Miss Julia R. Wellington, the first and only secretary of the association, was elected librarian, June 2, 1888, and she has continued to serve to date. At the death of Hon. Frank S. Stevens, April 25, 1888, his will declared that the town of Swansea should receive the income of $2,500 for the purchase of books for a free public library; and the executors were directed to expend $10,000 in erecting and furnishing a public library on the lot occupied by the Town Hall, elected by the testator, and to be known as the Stevens Public Library building.

The dwelling house of Reuben Chace, known as "The Buttonwood," three-quarters of a mile west of Swansea Village, was the first postoffice, Mr. Chace being appointed postmaster July 1, 1800. John Mason succeeded him as postmaster, June 17, 1814, at the present office in the village. John A. Wood succeeded him June 12, 1849, and he so continued until June 6, 1853, when Mr. Mason was returned to the office. Again, on March 23, 1864, Mr. Wood was reinstated. His son, Henry O. Wood, was appointed June 18, 1867. He resigned May 24, 1887, after twenty years of service, when Lewis S$. Gray was appointed. Miss Fanny E. Wood succeeded Mr. Gray in the office. The Barneyville postoffice was established at North Swansea in February, 1830, the name afterwards being changed to North Swansea. Mason Barney was appointed postmaster February 20, that year. His successors were: Alvan Cole, June 28, 1836; Captain James. Cornell, February 28, 1838; Mason Barney, June 24, 1841; Mason Barney, Jr., in April, 1867; William P. Mason, February 12, 1872. Swansea Center postoffice was established December 29, 1888, with Seth W. Eddy as postmaster. Hortonville postoffice was started January 19, 1885, with L. L. Cummings as postmaster. South Swansea postoffice was established on Gardner's Neck October 24, 1890, with the appointment of Frank J. Arnold.

The Dorothy Brown Lodge Hall, built in 1899, was dedicated March 29, 1900, and it is said that this is the only Rebekah lodge in the country that owns its hall and has invested funds. 'The lodge has a membership of more than one hundred. In 1893 a number of Swansea Odd Fellows, members of lodges elsewhere, started a Rebekah lodge here, being granted their charter August 11, 1893. The lodge was instituted in the Town Hall, December 11, that year, as the Dorothy Brown Rebekah Lodge, No. 122, I. O. O. F., the name being given at the suggestion of Hon. John S. Brayton, as having been that of the wife of John Brown, one of the early settlers. She died here January 27, 1674, at the age of ninety years. Four of her direct descendants have been members of this lodge.

Industries - The Swansea Dye Works, known throughout and beyond this section for the excellence of its product, employs fifty to sixty hands.

A number of industries have been established on the site of this works. Straw paper was manufactured here about 1840, by William Mitchell, Wood avenue leading thereto then being known as Paper Mill lane. Then Munroe and Howard carried on a bakery, succeeding Howard and Mitchell in the same line. Mary I. Altham then started the first bleachery here, she being succeeded by Mayall and Hacker, Hacker and Watson, John Monarch, James Butterworth and James Hacker, whose plant was burned; James Kirker and the Eagle Turkey Red Company, then the present Dye Works. A fifty by one hundred feet addition was built in 1916.

The North Swansea Manufacturing Company employ fifty to sixty hands in the manufacturing of collar buttons, sleeve links, tie clasps and stick pins. The plant originated in 1879, when the firm of D. R. Child Company was established by Daniel R. Child, of Providence. He built his small shop in the shipyard lot at Barneyville, where he manufactured collar buttons and sleeve links. A few years afterwards he removed to the present lot, where he enlarged the building. He sold to J. L. Fenimore in 1894, who transferred to Lorenzo P. Sturtevant. John L. Shabeck bought the plant in 1910, and after six months sold to Charles G. Green and G. R. Church of Warren, R. I. It was called North Swansea Manufacturing Company in 1911, when Benjamin F. Norton and J. F. Wheeler were admitted.

Of the older industries, the following were prominent in their day: The Swansea factory, stated to have been the second cotton factory in this country. The factory and dam were constructed in 1806 by Oliver Chace, and in successive years to 1836 it passed through numerous hands. The factory was burned in 1836, and was never rebuilt. Dexter Wheeler in 1805 began spinning yarn by horse-power at his father's farm in Rehoboth. In 1806 he built a small mill in Swansea, and placed some hundreds of spindles therein. In 1809 removal was made to Fall River, then Troy, where the Fall River Manufacturing Company was originated. In the eastern part of Swansea on the John Tattersall farm, it is understood that bog iron was worked in the town's early history. An old deed is extant which indicates that there were forges and iron-works in Swansea in 1725.

Miscellaneous. - Swansea observed the 250th anniversary of its incorporation as a town in August, 1919, with a brilliant pageant on the Dorothy Brown Hall grounds, and with three thousand people present. The pageant was dated from the seventeenth century to the present day, and was divided into episodes, interludes, tableaux and masks, and mingled with music and dancing.

The town has the distinction of having had but three town clerks within the space of a century, namely John Wilson, 1814 to 1864; J. E. Luther, 1864 to 1880; Henry Wood, 1880 to 1923.

The Rest House for Episcopal clergymen is another of the many gifts that have come from the beneficence of the Stevens family, that institution being provided by Mrs. Stevens.

The population of Swansea in 1922 was approximately 2,300. The number of residents assessed on property April 1, that year, was 1,048; non-residents assessed on property, 970; assessed on polls only, 253; total, 2,271. The valuation of personal. estate was $526,060; of real estate, $1,768,382; total valuation, $2,294,442. The rate of tax per $1,000 was $33.40.