^o. y^^ °<^ o 'o » X ^o ^>^ ^' ^^&^^ A,'^ '^^ V.-- >"^^^?fe.-^- o ,0 ^^'-0^ ^j^'- "^^. « K BULLETIN OF THE Newport Historical Society Number Twenty-Eight NEWPORT, R. 1. January, 1919 Recollections of Jacob Chase A Paper read before the Newport Historical Society at the regular quarterly meetings November /6\ rgrS By LLOYD M. MAYER, Librarian By request of Rev. Dr. Roderick Terry, Presidoit oj the Society Cities cannot live independent of the country round about them. Newport would not be half as dehghtful a place as it is, were it not for the beautiful island upon which it stands. Therefore it is w^ith especial pleasure that material relating to the country life of Aquidneck is collected and preserved in our archives. For the Newport Historical Society folds in its sheltering arms not only the grand old town itself whose name it bears, but all those pleasant expanses of hill and field and woodland that stretch ten miles to the northward as the crow flies. And the dwellers therein are as cordially welcome to its halls and galleries as the visitors who have but to turn a corner to reach them. Through the kindness of one of our members we were presented some months ago with a manuscript entitled "THE RECOLLECTIONS OF JACOB CHASE" and this manuscript constitutes the leaven of my paper. Jacob Chase begins his story as follows: "Some people want me to w^rite what I can remember of old times. I am /\/6'/VG/0 79 yt'ars of iigc; ihv old mt-n oi' my you 111 arc all gone; the lluMi-middlc aged are gone. I am the old man now/' The "Recollections" were written in 1882 and this in conjunction Avith the number of years boasted by Mr. Chase at the time, points to the fact that he was born in 1803. Mr. Chase was therefore very clearly entitled to an excellent recollection of the War of 1812, that monster rock of glory in the memory of all good citizens of our beloved country. Anything that anyone can say or write who actually remem- bers the War of 1812, must needs be interesting, even if it Ileal only of the hills and vales, the streams and meadows, or the glistening sea ui)on which New])ort gazes from afar. The scenic setting of the "Recollections" lies in the vicinity of Law^ton's Valley. How many of us have not climbed the hill that dominates that picturesque spot, and paused in the ascent to comtemplate the lights and shadows of eventide as they touch the fair prospect with a soft caress of a good-night kiss! How many of us do not still retain sweet memories of picnics there when picnics were among the most delightful breaks in the educational monotony of childhood! I know there are many gathered here whose little souls first thrilled to the inspiration of the Battle Hymn of the Republic in or near Lawton's Valley, and whose bigger souls have thrilled more grandly to the same great strains in these very halls within the last twelve months. There are fairer scenes in the world to look iijion than Lawton's Valley, but are they as dear to us? Whittier says: "A dream to me alone is Arno's vale. And the Aihaml)ra's Halls are but a Traveller's Tale. The great poet loved his quiet New England surround- ings, and their only rivals were conjured up from the books of travel he had read. Hut we have seen and touched and lived in many of those other parts of the world which his pen so beautifully sketched. We have stood on the banks of the sluggish, muddy Arno; we have gazed on the snow- tipped Apennines; we have watched the glacier-born tor- rent plunging mist-wreathed from crag to crag with sullen roar to wind at last through sweet green meadows sparkling with the gorgeous wild flowers of beautiful Switzerland. Some of Lis have walehed the (hnvn and the sunrise flood with exquisite coloring the ice-bound peaks of tlie giant Himahiyas. But never was the ascendency of all this sub- hniily of nature in her grandest mold so great as to make our dear old Narragansett Bay and its adjacent shores seem small. Let us assume, therefore, that Jacob Chase, at nine years of age, was a happy little boy. He does not appear from his memoirs to have taken any very great interest in the momentous events of those days. We do not find in them any mention of the great war, the achievement of our honored Perry or anything of the sort. His first impres- sions appear to be of the school he attended, and especially of the schoolmaster, who is described as follows : "In 1810 or 1811 a school was kept in a private house by a learned man. He taught Algebra, Navigation, Survey- ing, and the commonn branches. He professed to be an astrologer and set horoscopes. He had a large book of astrology written by William Lilly of London, a scholar of Cornelius Agrippa of Florence. The book was brought to this country by the first George Lawton. It was lost about thirty years ago. After Lawton it was used by William Lilly Staftord of Tiverton. I was eight years old when most of this was told me by older scholars, but some of these things I saw myself. The teacher had been an officer in the French w?lr in Canada. The house, now torn down, was one of the first built on the Island, the lower story of stone, the ends and chimney of stone. The roof went down to one story on the rear side. The upper story was of wood. The windows had leaden sash diamond shape glass four inches square. The house was quite large, one room twenty by eighteen feet, and two bedrooms on the end back of this. The kitchen was twenty by sixteen and a closet at the end. The house had two large and one small fireplaces. I never was in the upper story. It had a door in front and one in the rear. The house was near a spring, as all the old houses were. The teacher was sixty-eight years old that Christmas. His scholars were from twenty-four to twenty-eight years of age. The school was kept in the front room when not too cold; our dinner was eaten in the kitchen at a long table wdth the teacher at the head. They all made common stock. What was left over was for the teacher's supi)er and bieak- last. It was a medley of corned beef and sausages, Ijread, potatoes, cheese, pic and doughnuts, apples, and some cider, of which he was very fond. The punishment of tlie schohirs Avas to be kept from the table for small faults, and for large ones to have his dinner taken away. This but seldom haj)- l)ened. I think some of the larger scholars sometimes gave the teacher some Jamaica rum or gin. Then he was very gracious and would tell us great stories of Canada hunting, bears and wild geese. Sometimes he would sing us a song which even now 1 can remember. We kept Christmas and his birthday. At one there was a goose and a spare rib of ])ork in a large iron pot with a cast iron cover, very tight, set on the fire on the hearth covered with hot ashes and coals of fire. I think some of the large boys helped the old man the day before. The goose was stuffed with bread, pork antl sage and red peppers, and it was well cooked. We carried something extra that day, bread, pies, doughnuts, cheese, apples and cider. The old man had a large chair covered with red leather and he was dressed in a red coat of velvet, vest and breeches of small plaid of black and white, worsted stockings with clocks, large shoe buckles and buckles at his knees. A cocked hat and long cane with a gilt cross for head lay on the chair beside him." Mr. Chase speaks of remembering the first toidgc that conected our island with the mainland at Tiverton. These are his words: "1 remember the first bridge of wood was carried away. Some thought this was a judgment for fighting against God as he did not wish the island united with the mainland, else he would have made them so." References to atmospheric conditions and disturbances are always interesting. Mr. Chase refers to a great gale in 1815 as follows: "The great gale of 1815 blew down trees and stone walls. The tide rose twenty rows in our corn- field next the shore." (Is not this delightful — measurement of tide by rows of corn?) "The bay was filled with boats, wood, hay. ])umpkins, cornstalks. One large schooner drove u]) high and dry on Prudence in a cornfield. Dyer's Island was covered. Down by the grove (Portsmouth Grove) it was overflown all but the round hill that then was an island. The comet of 1810 with its long tail portended war. famine and pestilence. The cold season of 1816 and the sickness with the war of 1812 confirnied this and by many was considered heretical to doubt it. There was frost every month in 181(). In the i^real snowstorm of 1812, about Christmas time, Joseph Cundall was smothered to death going from his mill to the house, and was not found till the next March. Many sheep were driven into the snow, some smothered and pressed tlat by the snow, and not found till the next Spring." These references to the severity of the winter climate of our island in those days make us ponder. There were no stoves then — nothing but open fireplaces. What is now a plaything and a luxury with us was the only means of obtaining warmth or cooking food, and there must be grave doubts as to whether the charming proverb, 'The Lord tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," was very deeplj' seated in the hearts of the Islanders of Rhode Island of that period. How common today with us is the expression: Was ever such weather known? when the northwest wind is roaring with especial ferocity and our venerable dwell- ings tremble and vibrate under its relentless blows! What are such temporary inconveniences and petty hardships as we grumblingly endure, compared with the actual suf- fering that grim winter brought to our ancestors? It is easy, however, to see good in everything, provided one h)oks far enough. There is no reason why we should not assume that the harsh treatment accorded the early settlers })y Mother Nature (who in this hemisphere was more than half savage anyway) contributed to the development of that powerful physique and lofty mentality which are among . the distinguishing features of the true Newporter of today. Mr. Chase goes on: "I wall write some old stories of old times which I heard from my grandfather, who died in 1816, aged 80 years. I was then thirteen years of age and lived in the same house with him. When he was young he lived with his great-grandfather who lived near Assonet, Massa- chusetts, and was very old. When a young man he removed from Newburyport; and here I will tell the names of our line of Chases as we have them. The first William at Newburyport from England; his son Benjamin; his son William moved to Assonet, Massa- chiisetts, about 1090. His son Isaac lived at Somerset. His son James lived at Newport on the Malbone Farm. His son Zacciicus lived at Portsmouth. His son Shadrick, his son Jacob, his son Charles, and his son Herbert K. Uved in Portsmouth. Rhode Island The liouse where my grandfather lived had a large kitchen, 21x20 feet, and fireplace in front. Near by lived six boys one or two years older than myself. ^Ye met in long winter evenings here to parch corn and eat apples and to make candy. We had plenty of cider and when it was very good my grandfather would have his chair brought out with his long l)ipe and drink some cider and eal apples and ])arched corn — for his teeth were sound and never lost but one. Then he would tell us of old times and things his great-grandfather did when they first came to Assonet. First how he and his two sons came in the fall, and built a hut 25x15 and four feet high with stones between two trees. On these they laid a pole. From this pole to the wall they laid other poles and covered them with thatch which grew on the marsh near by and laid poles on this to keep it in place. They left a hole in the roof covered with a piece of birch bark with a pole to keep it in place and to open it, and under this hole they made a fire and the smoke went up and out. They made a door of bark and one or two holes for light, open in pleasant weather and closed in cold. Thej' banked the wall with dirt and it was warm. They brought one live-pint brass kettle, one iron pot, some axes, a hoe, some large needles, and one extra suit of clothes, mostly buckskin. They cut and burned trees and cleared some land to plant in the spring Grapes were very plenty; they got some and ])ressed for vinegar. Evenings and stormy days they made some tubs and barks for holding things. There were some Indians near them. They made friends and traded for fish and oysters. Eels were large and plenty. One, they thought, would weigh six pounds. And their skins they stripped and braided into ropes. Fish lines were made of Indian hemp. This hemp is something like milk- weed, lilack ducks were plenty and the Indians would give four for a fish hook. They caught the ducks with a bone about an inch long with a hole about a third from one end and pointed at both ends. This was attached to a short 6 string and bailed with a grass root. The l)ird would swal- low and pulled tlic bone aeross the throat. Afterwards they used iish hooks. The dueks were salted and smoked. The eels w^ere split and the backbones taken out, and then salted and dried. Ducks laid their eggs in the woods and were quite plenty and they had all they wanted. (Think of eggs today a dollar a dozen!) They also got some deer meal and dried it. The Indians caught snudl bears which they got and dried about one hundred pounds. Rabbits, partridges, squirrels and raccoons were easily caught. They had a gun and ammunition which they used sparingly. Dried berries were obtained from the Indians, all they wanted. One of the sons staid here all winter and cut wood. He cut sonie cedar logs for cooper stuff. Corn w as bought of the Indians. This they pounded and nuide a coarse bread. It was also hulled and boiled and then pounded and baked before the fire. This was the first Johnny cake ever heard of. (In- dians used to carry cakes of baked corn meal on their long trots across the wilderness. Was the original name Journey Cake?) In the spring grandfather and son came uj) and planted corn and raised near thirty bushels. They had some turnips and other seeds and raised some red peppers. These were a great treat. Potatoes were not raised at thai lime. Eight bushels of beans were a'so raised. Deer invid was roasted before the fire. Bear meat, rabbits and woodclnicks were usually made into stews with ground nuts and arti- chokes which grew wild and quite plentiful. Sweet charvel and herbs w^ere raised and some were good seasoning. In the past winter fhey hired an Indian to go to New- buryport with a hand sled. He carried skins and furs of beaver and bear. He did the journey in about twelve hours. This Indian could be trusted as he would not drink rum. This was uncommon. He was afraid of a letter wrote on i. piece of birch bark. It was read to him and the man to whom it was directed read it to him. He thought this was witch- craft and would not carry it except it was wrapped in a fox skin and tied around his neck. He brought back an iron kettle, a brass pot, some flour and other things. That spring they made some salt by evaporating salt water. At their leisure they made some tubs of cedar and white oak. Acorns were parched and made into coffee, and chocolate was made fioiii hickory luits. Oyster shells were burned for lime. Willi this, skins were cleaned of hair and grease. These were tanned in a large hollow snag log with oak bark and sumac. The Indians taught them to make dishes out of turtle shells. Box turtles were used for small ones. These smoothed and polished on the outside were quite hand- some. The large mud turtles made a good steak. In the spring a feast as gotten up for the Indians. About twenty were jjresenl. The feast was made ui) of fish, oysters, baked deer meal cooked as we do at a chunbake. The bear meal was slewed. A mud Untie weighing about forty l)()unds was sli'wed with ground nuts, ai'tichokcs, sweet char\el and red pejjpers with some hulled corn. lieans were a wondt I'fui Jish. The) had some iron spoons, knives and clam shells. A |)udding made of hulled corn and pounded with some berries dricni and maple syrup; and at last a qiuu'ler gill of rum for the men and half a dozen colored beads for the s([uaws and i)api)ooses. This made the Indians friendly for life and it ended in a smoke. The son who returned home worked wilh a black- smilh. He made a luunmer and tongs and a rutle i)air of l)ell(n\s but had nothing for a nose, so Ihey cut olf a piece of the long gun and found it was better than it was before. An iron stone or a piece of iron ore was used for an anvil. Hy continual use the saw became quite thill and the files worn oul. He made a chisel and by drawing the temper oul of the files they were shari)ened and then I'e-lempered I'eady for use on the saw . For lish sj)c>ars, knives and lish hooks, the Indians would give fish, eels, oysters, ducks and eggs, deer and bear meat, berries or anything they had. Providence was the nearest town, but to gel there they liad to cross the river, so they went to Plymouth and Pors- mouth. To Portsmouth they could go by canoe and carried furs and some articles they required. For clothing they wore doe skin shirts and the rest of buckskin. Iron was rather scarce. For shooting bear or deer an iron rod was taken and jiointed at the end and then cut oti' about half an inch long. This did very well for a ball. In the fall grandmother and daughter came and brought a large dog for safeguard. He was very useful killing skunks and s' \v()odcluick.s. 'llicy fixed up tilings as only a woman can. In the spring corn, beans and pumpkins were planted, also some potatoes for the first time. A saw and grist mill was built at Assonet. About this time a cow was bought and a frame house was built and this was the last of this life." The manuscript speaks of buried treasure on the Island : "I never knew how stories of buried money originated, but on the sea coast many places are to be found mostly attributed to Kidd, the pirate. On the east side of the Island, near the farm of the late John Rogers, (a quarter mile south of Vaucluse) money was buried by Kidd, and after the revolutionary war, as many had buried money and dug it up, it excited many to dig for treasure. There was an old man sixty years since who told me this story, one of many, of money buried on the Black Point farm. (3ne of his ancestors knew the exact spot and had all the papers re- lating to it. Hut for some reason it was to be kept secret during his life. Soon after his death his house was burned with these papers, but a scrap on which w^as left was money and gold on three square pieces. They did not dare to dig in the day time, and in the night many superstitions must be observed. Every tool used must have a piece of silver on the handle; there was a man hired to guard it and no word must be spoken while digging. Once w^hen it w^as dug for the bar struck the iron box, and one spoke and there was a flash of light and the box disappeared and they never could find it again. Farther north more money was buried. Near was a carpenter's shop and a blacksmith's where there were many apprentices working. The owners were jolly men. and evenings they w^ould tell of money buried near. They made ready to dig some night. They nuist dig on the last of the month of the moon. The place was near an old wall running east and west. They began to dig. Nothing was to be said about it. Soon there was a flash of light; then a face shown over the wall covered with fire. They all started to run. There had been some ropes stretched in their path and some fell over these ropes. A gun was fired, and one fainted and fell. The rest looked out for number one. None dug there again. In writing of buried treasure, I have never heard of but three 9 successful linds. One man hired a simple boy, a pauper, to lielj) him clear out his cellar. In scraping with his hoe he pulled out a stone in the bottom of the cellar wall. In al- io inpting to put it back he discovered a hole in which was a tin box or kettle, very rusty, with some silver money in it, no one ever knew how much. A man and his son buried money in two places. One of the places he promised his father he would never leil of and he never did. The other was near a rock. At this rock on the tenth day of June at eight o'clock in the morning at the highest point of the shadow of he rock just below there was an iron rod. This was fastened to a teakettle with money in it. This was found, but how much none knew. A poor man was hired to build a fence near Newport. In digging a post hole he found an earthern pot of money. He bought the land and built a nice house and had money left, none knew how much. After tile great gale of 1815 there happened a circum- stance known to but two men, both now dead. The bank of the town farm was twenty or more feet high. At the time of that great gale this bank was washed away to quite an amount and left exposed two feet and a copper chain was left sticking out. They dug this out and found a man's skeleton wrapped in sheet lead. This, I think, they buried in the Hazard burying lot near by on the town farm. I think no one but myself ever heard of this before. Grandfather, in his stories, told of how they got a fire with a bone drill and milkweed silk wet in oil; how they hung a stone on an oak limb with an eel skin over a hollow stone, and when the wind swung the limb it pounded the corn that was in the stone." Mr. Chase's connnents on prices of those, days are worthy of note : "Ai)ples were plenty and were sold at Newport and P)ristol Ferry at twenty cents per bushel and for cider at one dollar i)er barrel. Not much money in circulation. Wool, pork and beef sold for cash to pay taxes. Other farm produce was traded for groceries. Butter was twelve cents, cheese four to six cents. We then burned wood costing four to six dollars per cord landed on the shore. Wood mostlv brought from Assonet, Mass. 1(1 There has been several old stone houses torn down in my time; the George Cornell house at the foot of the lane; near it, to the west, the Albro house had leaden sash and diamond glass. Then south, another Albro house; further south the Hrightman house; then near the West Road the "Joe" house, built with the old ferry house near the town farm. Then the Thomas Sherman house of wood, nearly opposite the Charles A. Chase place and a small house south called the Petty Place. South of Lewis Thurston's a large stone house two stories high called "The Schooner" built by the Cornells, with leaden sashes and diamond windows. These houses all but one have been lived in since I can remember. The Lawton house owned by Pxoberl Thurston was torn down forty years since. It had stone ends and was a garrison house at the time of the Indians. There was a way from the cellar to the water, now walled up. The old house near Charles A. Chase's torn down 35 years since. Had stone ends, two stories high, built by Hazard, bought many years ago by Isaac and John Lawton. This was partly torn down and enlarged for a tavern when the ferry was on their shore to Prudence and from there to Warwick and Providence. Bristol then was a wilderness. I remember the ferry house at Prudence. There are some remains of the wharf now. There has been several mills in Lawton's Valley, and some before my remembrance. The first I remember was washed away in August 1827 or 1828. This has been re- built and torn down. At one time it was used by J. Dennis to build spinning frames and to card wool. Below this was one used by Walter Cornell for carding and fulling. In our day the mill in Lawton's Valley did most of the grinding. W^e carried our corn to mill on horseback or man back. We could get a horse or cart no nearer to the mill than 30 rods. In those days we had no wagons. Our meal bags were made of home-uiade tow cloth woven kersey three-quarters of a yard wide and doubled together, meas- uring three-eighths in wddth and one and one-half yards long so as to reach across the horse's back. I w^ell remember many of the stories of the jolly old miller. He had seen much of the world, having in his young 11 clays been a sailor. A I sixlocii he sailed Iroin Newport with Captain Fowler to the eoast of Africa for a cargo of slaves. He afterwards commanded a brig that carried horses and mules to tile West Indies. In his later days his stories were somewhat confused about Africa and the West Indies, sharks, sea serpents, gold dust, ivory, palm trees one hun- dred feet high without a limb yielding wine, milk and oil; slaves and the river Benny. He also used to tell about the "Dark Day," and the great snowstorm in the year 17(30; General Washington, General Lafayette and Count Rocham- beau and the Revolution generally. Some of his best stories were about the families whose names ended in "ton," Wash- ington always first on the list; then Codchngton, Wanton, Lawton, Thurston, P)arrington, and others of renown." There are many other interesting features in "THE RECOLLF.CTIONS OF JACOB CHASE," but as this is the first time in more than a year that w^e have been able to include real cake in the list of our post-literary refresh- ments, I havn't the heart to keep our honored guests wait- ing another minute. 12 SOCIETY NOTES Siiict' Ihc iasl iiK'cling ol' the Board of Directors, wliich was held on September 10, the sal- ient points of interest in the experiences and operations of the Society appear to be as fol- lows : The War Relics Loan Exhi- bition has been largely attend- ed, especially on Sunday after- noons, when on many occa- sions the rush of visitors has been so great as to necessitate the services of an extra attend- ant in order properly to safe- guard from prying fingers the precious objects of our several collections. A large and varied collection of minerals has recently been added to our treasures. These are now being examined by an expert mineralogist, and we hope to give some account of their value at our next meet- ing. The last page of this Bulletin contains the notice of a book for sale at the Society's rooms and at the bookstores of New- port. This book is entitled "Early Religious Leaders of Newport," and it is so full of virtue and wisdom, and so at- Iri^.ctive in form, that no fur- ther advertisement should be necessary than the plaudits of those wlio have read and en- joyed it. But doubtless owing to the overwhelmina flood of war literature that has inun- dated the v.'orid, the scales of this admirable work have made but slow progress. Yet it would indeed bo difficult to find so much of good in any other form priced at only one dol- lar. We earnestly reconnnend it to all our members and friends. Fhere has been within the past two years so great a de- mand for our Bulletins, that many of the issues are now completely exhausted. And the inquiries come in thick and fast and we cannot satisfy them. Now we shall be very glad indeed to pay ten cents jper copy for such numbers as are missing from our archives These are The numbers: 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17. One of these has been asked for this very day; it is No. 5, with a paper written by Mrs. William H. Birckhead on Gov- ernor William Codington, and read before the Society in No- \ember, 1912. Two really wonderful oil paintings have recently been added to our collection. They represent two distinguished gentlemen of Newport w^ho nourished in the eighteenth century and whose honored re- mains lie in old Trinity church- yard. It has been suggested that a ceremonious presenta- tion of these valuable portraits shall constitute one of the fea-^ tures of the next regular quar- terly meeting of the Society. The policy of the present management*^ is to make the Society as popular with and as useful to the community as possible, and to this end no re- quest on the part of its patrons 13 and friends Unit can reasonably be granted is ever declined. Tbe rooms are universally acknow- ledi^'ed to be the most central, the most attractive, and the most convenient place of meet- ing in the good old town, and there has never been one dis- cordant note in this p?ean of l)raise. Following is the list of the ex-Society meetings held in or.r rooms since the annual meeting of the Socielv on Mav 22, 1918: 1. Friday, June 14. Daugh- lers of the American Revolu- lion. 2. Wednesda.y, June 20. Danghters of the American Revolution. 3. Saturday, June 29. New- l)()rt Improvement Association. I. Monday, July 1. Newport Im{)r()vement Association. 3. Grand Meeting of the Red Cross Society. 6. July 6. Newport Improve- ment Association. 7. July 13. Newport Im- provement Association. 8. July 19. F Hinerette Unit meeting — Miss Wetmore. 9. xVug. 7. Nathaniel Greene Memorial. 10. Aug. 9. Newport Im- l)rovement Association. II. Aug. 15. Concert, Mrs. W. A. Clarke. (Especial praise was accorded by Mrs. Clarke fer read before tlie Societv July lo. ioi~i fD :t — Fod^c^ atfdie Rooms of the Society ^ and at the Bookstores in Newport Pvice $1.00 .0- ^: ST. AUGUSTINE ^^ ^v FLA. W^^ ': ■^0 V t j^^.: -^ DOBBS BROS. LIBRARY BINDING 'yi%