William West of Scituate, R.I., farmer, soldier, statesman
> -^ »'^^« V ^ ♦>'^.% ^ ^ »*^&ik»>^ V^'^o'^ \-^*y V^V \'W:^\<^^ V' A<^ ... <^ ^^ ^ "v^^V* ""X'^^V* *v^^V* X'^^V^ "V'' Sr "- ./V^&.\ oO*.-;^-^'^-o ,**.^^'.\ /.*;^.'"°. ;>%X / .*;^-X /'^^^°^^ /.':^-X V^^^^'X **»*»-ri'.'> v^»!i;kr%. *''^,-r«-'/'> V<*,;i;i^.*c^''\^^^^ WILLIAM WEST OF SCITUATE, R. I. FARMER. SOLDIER. STATESMAN By GEORGE M. WEST St. Andrews. Fla.. June. 1919 PANAMA CITY PUBLISHING CO. St. Aadnvi. FlorMa TS3 Gift Author DEC 2 l»l» K This edition is limited to fifty numbered and signed copies of v>hich thiis is No.^i5__ To My Great Grandsons Whom I trust will study the pait. as well as look into the future, and always remember that "People who take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants." PREFACE My purpose in collecting data and putting forth this memoir of William West, of Scituate. R. I., is that a forgotten loyal citizen of that State may receive such recognition as his patriotic and zealous work entitles him to, and incidentally to complete an unwritten chapter of family history. One cannot read of the many services rendered his State by William West without being surprised that there is no public record of his death, his burial place, or aside from the works of Beeman and Walker, of his life in Scituate. This little memoir, though fragmentary and lack- ing in literary style, seeks to set forth all the facts that the author could discover relative to William West's life, and is issued with the hope that it will incite Rhode Island's hi.storians and scholars to more fully in- vestigate his history and complete the work here begun. The writer has spent .some twenty-five years in .se- curing the facts herein set forth, having visited the West homestead in Scituate, searched the records there, and talked with some of the olde.st Scituaie in- habitants; carefully examined the Colonial Records of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as well as their Vital Records and Town Hi.stories; the records at Washing- ton relative to Rhode Island in the Revolutionary War. and the Pension Records for that State in that war; e.xamined the Census Records for the State for 1774 and 1790; looked through a large number of contem- porary State newspapers; corresponded with all the descendants of William West that could be found, and obtained from them family records; read numerous books on early New England and Rhode Island his- tory; and received much valuable information from J. N. Arnold. Rhode Island's historian; Miss Georgiana Guild, genealogist, of Providence; Byron O. Angell and Cyrus Walker, of Scituate, and C. S. Pierce, genealogist, of Springfield. Mass., to all of whom the thanks of the author are hereby extended. GEORGE M. WEST. St. Andrews. Fla.. June. 1919. William West OF SCITUATE. R. I. The silent influence of the primeval forests, and the everlasting granite hills that rise, terrace above terrace, from the wonderful bay that bisects Rhode Is- land, had much to do with the formation of the charac- ter of the early settlers of that State, knitting into their inmost fibre that stability and ruggedness for which they were noted. While the yearning for a greater personal and re- ligious liberty may have been the prevailing motive for the migration of many of these pioneers from the Mas- sachusetts colonies, inseparable from it was that long- ing for the ownership of land which was their heritage from a long line of forbears in Old England, where the condition of the farmer and laborer forbade their ac- quiring the lands they worked, which were under the control of the Lords of the Manor, and the Monasteries. Undoubtedly such were the impelling impulses that caused many of the descendants of Francis West,' of Duxbury, Mass., to remove to the western shores of Narragansett Bay, in Rhode Island, and westward along the Providence and Hartford pike, into Windham and Tolland counties, in Connecticut. But the emi- grant remained at Du.xbury throughout his life. View of the house from the south-east, showing the ful! story opening out or. the lawn from the basement, also height of the attic story. Also the location of the building on the side hill, which is a c;ranite rocky projection. WILLIAM WEST 3 Peter West, the third son of Francis, resided at Duxbury, and cared for his father in his old age, and his father's estate, which amounted to hut sixteen pounds and fifteen shillings, was given him by the Pro- bate court. Peter West had nine children,- all born in Dux- bury. His first son, the fifth child, was named Wil- liam. He was born May 4th. 1683. This .son William was married in 1709 to Abiah Sprague, of Hingham, Mass. Either before his marriage, or soon after, he re- moved to North Kingston. R. L. where he probably re- sided the remainder of his life. The North Kingston records show that he and wife. Abiah. signed a deed to land on November 28th. 1711, and again in April, 1713. Other deeds made by William West about 1721 have no wife's name attached, and it is possible that Abiah had died previous to that date. The descendants of Almy (West) Battey. a daugh- ter of William West, Jr.. state that Almy had told them that her grandmother's name was Sarah. There is a record in the North Kingston marriages of West and Sarah Baker being married in 1731. This might have been William We.st, Sr.. but the christian name is not legible, nor is there any proof that this was the Sarah he married, if he married a Sarah, as he might have married earlier than this date, and this .statement handed down by the daughter Almy is the only evi- dence at hand of William West of King.ston marrying other than Abiah Sprague. 2. "Peter West, son of Kinncis. died IVli. 20th. 1720-21; married I'a- tiencc . who died May Slh. 1725. in Plymi.ton. Mass. Ho lived in Dux- bury. Mass.. and inherited his father's estate. He also had a Krant west of South River. Children born in Duxbury: Mary, Oct. 3rd. 1675 who died younu; Marcaret. born March I2th. ISTS. married Jonathan Bryant of Plymp- ton: Esther, born Sept. 20th, 16S0: Ann. born Feb. 16th. 1682, married May 7th. 170.=;. to Elisha Curtis: William, born May 4th. 16«3. married Abiah Spraeue of Hiniiham : Mary, born Dec. 7th, 16SB; Benjamin, born July 7th. 168K; E'.isha. born March 2nd. 16»3. married (first) Dec. 10th, 1718, Mary Hearse, (second) Martha . lived in Kingston and Pembroke. Mass.; Samuel, born April 4th. 16fl7."— From Dr. Cornwall's article in N. K. H. & C. KeKister. and Winsor's "History of Duxbury.'! WILLIAM WEST Family records of various descendants of the fam- ily show that William West, Jr., of North King.ston, was the son of William We.st, son of Peter. But there are no records in North Kingston, or elsewhere in Rhode Island that give the least information as to the children of William West and Abiah Sprague, or of William West and a second wife, or of the birth of Wil- liam West, of Scituate. of his marriage, or of the birth of his childi-en. The family record in the family of the writer states that William West, son of William, son of Peter, was born in North King.ston, and lived 83 years. As Beaman, on the authority of those who attended his funeral, states that he died about 1816, that would place his birth in North Kingston at about 17.'?,3, which is probably not far from the correct date. He had evidently acquired land in North Kingston at an early date, as he afterwards sold land owned by him in that town, as is shown by deeds on record there. In fact William West was a large land owner, and owned lands in various parts of Connecticut as well as Rhode Island. When he became financially embarrassed in 1785, he applied to the legislature, and was granted leave to carry on a lottery to dispose of some of his property, which was scheduled as being a farm of 200 acres at Point Judith, in South Kingston, with 20 acres of salt marsh near; one farm in Killingly, Conn., in Thomp- son parish, containing 400 acres; also 200 acres of timber land in Killingly, Conn.; 300 acres in the town of Lyndon, Conn.; 380 acres in the town of Weston, Conn. ; and 450 acres in the town of Foster, R. I. There were also 60 cows, 8 oxen, 5 horses, and 100 sheep listed. Lands in this lottery did not include his home farm of 500 acres, but show seven other tracts contain- ing 1,950 acres. ■'' 3. Cyrus Walk.T, in N<.t,.s ..n .SrituatP. WILLIAMWEST 5 This energetic, popular, and prosperous young man undoubtedly, as was the custom in that day, mar- ried young, perhaps between his nineteenth and twen- ty-first year. He married Elener Brown, possibly a daughter of Charles Brown, though there were many families bearing the name of Brown residing in North Kingston at that time, the census of 1774 ^ enumerat- ing nine, nearly all of which included children over IG years of age at that date. The first authentic record we have of William We.sl, Jr., is that he was licensed as an inn keeper in Scituate in 1758', and that must have been about the time he came to that town from North Kingston, at which date he would have been about 25 years of age. This inn is said to have been on Chopmist hill, on the Brooklyn pike. There appears to have been a large movement of settlers into Scituate between the years 1755 and 1774, as the census shows but 1,813 inhabit- ants in the former year, and 3,601 in the latter, an in- crease of over 98 per cent in the 19 years. Possiblv this was the date of the opening of Hope furnace, which would have brought in quite a few settlers. On April 6th. 1759'', he bought a tract of land from Reuben Hopkins and Jonathan Aldrich, on the west side of Round Hill river (the Dolly Cole brook) near where it empties into the Ponaganset. Round Hill is the hill west of and adjoining Chopmist. and this tract must have been we.sterly on the pike, or near it, on which he was then living. This location is now in the Town of Foster. In August of the same year he purchased a fifty acre right in common land from Richard Brown. This was followed by the purchase on February 19th, 1760, of thirty acres from William Wilkin.son. This tract is de.scribed as follows: bounded on the north by land be- 4. Sec Census for 1774 and 17!)0 in Appendix. 5. Heaman's Historical Address, IS76. pane 36. 6. N"li-s on Scituate. compiled l>y Cyrus Walker. WILLIAM WEST longing to the heirs of Joseph Wilkinson, on the east by land of John Hulet, on the south by land of Bernard Haile. and on the west by land belonging to the heirs of John Hopkins. This made three pieces of land that William West had bought in Scituate in less than a year. On March 27th. 1761". he purchased the tract that became his homestead, and which is known even today as the '-Big House Farm." This tract consisted of 500 acres, and was purchased of John Hulet who describes the property as "the same farm on which William We.st now liveth." and "is all that farm that I, the said grantor, purchased of Capt. John Hopkins, and part of that lot of land that I, the said grantor, purchased of Richard Steere and Peter Cook." The eastern part of this tract, some 200 acres, be- ing the part that Hulet bought of Stephen Hopkins, was the 150 acres selected by Major William Hopkins, in May. 1705, and fifty acres that he selected soon after, probably at the second division of the Providence Pro- prietors, being the purchase right of Thomas Suckling. As the deed from Hulet states that this is the "same farm on which William West now liveth," he must have removed from his Chopmist hill location to some point on this tract, previous to the date of the deed, which was March 27th, 1761. He paid for this 500 acres forty thousand pounds in current bills of the colony, of the "Old Tenor," a price that Beeman says is "not to be accounted for, except we admit the great depreciation of the cur- rency." At the same (ime John Hulet bought 230 acres in the same locality for which he paid but 1,800 Spanish milled dollars, or about $8 per acre. Walker says of the transaction: "At first glance this .strikes one as a fabulous price, but on further examination appears quite reasonable. Beeman's conjecture as to the depre- 7. Beaman. paite 24. Walker's Notes on Scituafe. WILLIAM WEST ciivtion of the paper currency was correct, as a little examination would have revealed to him. As fixed by statute the value of a Spanish milled dollar was, in 1761, equivalent to six pounds and ten shillings in the "Old Tenor" currency. With this light to guide us we find that the actual co.st was $6,153.85, or $12.31 per acre." With a house full of growing boys and girls and three slaves, William West during the next few years was busily engaged in opening up his farm, which in- cluded stock raising and the operation of a dairy, and marketing its products. He is said to have kept one hundred milch cows, besides numerous oxen, horses and sheep. Scituate was noted for a very fine breed of horses, equalling those for which, at later date, Ver- mont gained fame. It was not unusual for him to take 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of cheese to Providence at one time"*. This was done over the rocky, hilly roads, by ox-teams. The care of the milk from a hundred cows; the washing, carding, spinning, and weaving of the wool from his large flock of sheep, kept his many boys and girls busy, and there could have been but little idling amidst such surroundings. From the occupations that they follow- ed when grown, it would appear that the boys remain- ed farmers, and that the girls married farmers, all re- maining true to their early training. But it must not be taken for granted that it was "all work and no play" in their lives, or that there were no pleasures in such homes. Far from it. Almost ev- ery daughter had her favorite horse, and there was the best of hunting for the boys, gatherings at their own home and at those of other young people, with an oc- casional trip to Providence, twelve miles away. Nuts. apples, cider, pop-corn, and maple-sugar making in its 8. Beaman, paKe 26. WILLIAMWEST 8 season, aided in entertaining their own household of children, as well as those of the neighbors. William West was not, so far as known, a member of any church, but was a man whom his neighbors honored, and who, through his liberality, both in politics and re- ligion, acquired many friends. Schools were unknown in the community at that date, and children acquired their education from their parents, or an occasional private tutor. It is probable that some one of the rooms in the big house was used as a school room, with a private teacher in charge during some months of the year, probably in the winter. As an evidence of William West's popularity and the esteem in which he was held by his neighbors, he had been a resident of Scituate but two years when he was elected as Deputy from that township, (each country township being entitled to two Deputies in the Colonial Legislature) a position to which he was elected twelve times, as follows-': 1760, 1761, 1766, 1768, 1770, 1771, 1773, 1776, 1779, 1780, 1784 and 1785. He was also selected as the Moderator of the town of Scituate twice in 1765, elections being held semi-annually, and he held the office of ju.stice of the peace in 1774, 1775 and 1776. P'rom 1760 until 1790 William West was intimate- ly connected with the political and social life of Scitu- ate and Rhode Island. To the many public offices he held no salary was attached, and from his activity throughout the Revolutionary period, it is evident that he served his country from patriotic motives alone, and when and wherever he could be of most service. In 1775'" he built the "big house" on his home farm, a building that is still standing in a good state of 9. Beaman's list, appendix paite 2: R. I. Colonial Records, Vols. 6, 7, R. 9 and 10. 10. Beaman, patte 25. says: "In 1775 he (William West) put up the largest and most showy house that had ever been erected in Scituate. Mr. Welcome Arnold, who died some twenty years aito. was at the raising of this WILLIAMWEST 9 preservation, showing the choice quality of the material used and hiph Krade of workmanship. The wrought nails with which the clapboards were nailed to oak studding are holding as tightly today as when they were first placed, illustrating well the difference be- tween the wrought nails of that day and the machine- made product of the present. The half-tones of the big house, presented here- with, give several views of this remark-'ble building. It was built after the then most improved style of coun- try houses, with a gambrel roof, wide and ornamented front door, r.nd framed with everlasting oak. Evident- ly William We.st had this house planned :'fter the best styles in coloni.nl architecture and no exnen.se ws spared in its erection. It faces the south and, standing on a ?teep side hill house, and used often to speak of the Kreat Katherinir and interest of the oecasion. Liquors of all sorts were furnished, but while rum was very plenti- ful there was a choice kind of wine, of which the people were only permitted to take a little. This house is on the Providence and Hartford turnpike, (an error of Beeman's ; it is on the Providence and Brooklyn pike. — Ed.) three miles west of the villase of North Scituatc. It is a Kambrel-roofed house of two stories as it fronts the road, and of four stories on the end openinK to the east, includinir the basement and the attic story. The rooms in the house are very spacious, and the attic seems as larce as many meetinK houses, it heinc all in one room. It was quite a museum, with old fashioned looms, spinning wheels, chests of drawers and other articles, when I saw it. A very interestinK place is this house, built by Lieut. Gov. William West, co- eval with our Centennial year: * • • I rather think that not a few rebels were quartered there at times in the Revolution, and seditious conversation indulved in. and even rebellion openly talked of. and schemes de- vised aKainst the British troops and vessels. I don't see why that house, built on the premises where Gov. Hopkins and Commodore Eseck Hopkins were born, should not be placarded, these centennial days, with the noble and Iiatriotic words of Rhode Island statesmen and heroes as is the case today with the Old South Church in Boston. The old house was raised and built by pat- riotic men who knew how to handle the musket and the sword, and doubt- less did. most of them, serve in the American army and navy. If the old folks have Kone to their reward in heaven they have left a memorial of their day, in this edifice, and may it stand a century longer." The front door, being a good illustration of the front door, of the best of the old Colonial homes. The entire work is still in a good state of preservation. The clapboards are those originally placed on the house in 1775. WILLIAMWEST 11 or rocky projection, it has three full stories and a large attic on the east side, while showing but two stories in height on the front or south side. The attic is as large as a public hall, and when visited by the writer in 1911, it contained many old spinning wheels, looms, etc., re- minders of bygone days. One peculiar feature of the basement story on the east is that it is hewn out of the granite rocks on the west side, and one has but to step into a room on that side to draw water from the well, which is sunk in the rocks, and in which the water rises to near the level of the floor. On the north side of this basement is a cir- cular hole dug in the rock, around which are steps lead- ing down a short distance to the water, but just above the water are rows of shelves cut into the granite, on which, it is claimed, choice wines were stored. The fire place in this basement is very wide and deep, and the crane is of such heavy iron that it would support a kettle three feet in diameter. Just what this large lower room, with its immense fire place was used for, is now mere conjecture. But fronting as it does upon the lower slope on the east .side ot the house, it would be very convenient for many household pur- poses. The front door presents a study in colonial archi- tecture that would be interesting if followed up, as it is but an example of many that may yet be found in the better class of old homes throughout the New England States. The sunburst effect over the door is one not often met with ; the pillars, however, are quite com- mon. The side supports in imitation oc stone, with arching and keystone, also, are rarely seen. Like all old farm houses, there were various ad- ditions on the rear, probably used as wash rooms, for milk and cheese rooms, apple storage, wagon shed, and nearby the hen house and barns. Everything was close WILLIAMWEST 13 to the house, and all c-onveniently arran.ucd to do the work with as few steps as possible. This was the house in which this leadiiiK character of Scituate, and all Rhode Island, met his many politi- cal friends, planned with them for the activities of the Rhode Island forces, to secure means and material to carry on the war, and, it is rumored, joined hands with others in the fitting out of privateers. If the old build- ing could speak, it could undoubtedly tell an interest- ing .story of these meetings, and of many others where pleasure took the place of busine.ss, for William West was a sportsman as well as a statesman, and in those days Scituate was well stocked with bear. deer, squir- rels, and other varieties of game, and it is .stated that many prominent citizens used to visit that section to hunt, among which Beeman names Governor Fenner. James Aldrich, William West, Joseph Wilkinson, John Hulet, Richard Brown, and others. In view of the fre- quent visits of the governor and other prominent poli- ticians to the neighborhood on these hunting trips, it may be concluded that when the hunt '.vas over, the mistress of the big house, and her daughters, were promptly on hand to dispense its hospitality, and that many political schemes were then and there concocted. The inns of that date were the centres at which the local, state and colonial news was gathered and dis- seminated. And that of William West undoubtedly was no exception. In fact from his rapid rise in author- ity in Scituate, he must have been, from the first, a leader in the community. It has been stated that the War of the Revolution really began in 1763, and Rhode Island was one of the first colonies to actively object to the various oppre.ssive acts of the Home Government in London. The citizens of Rhode Island have always claimed that the first of- fensive act of the patriotic colonists was the seizure WILLIAM WEST 14 and destruction of the British revenue cutter Gaspee, in Narragansett bay, on June 10th, 1772. This daring deed was but an illustration of the sentiment and feel- ing in Rhode Island from 1768 until the outbreak of the war in 1774. A historian has characterized it as "the first bold, overt, organized stroke of the Revolu- tion." That William West was even then taking a prom- inent part in matters pertaining to the safety and pro- tection of the colonies, is shown by his appointment in September, 1774", to serve on a "Committee of Cor- respondence" for the town of Scituate, to meet with the committees of the neighboring towns, and in Sep- tember, 1774, he was chosen with others as a committee relative to the Boston blockade. For seven years, dur- ing the period from 1760 to 1773, inclusive, he had been the Deputy for Scituate, and was the Justice of the Peace for the town in 1774, therefore it would be quite in line with his public work that he should have been thus chosen. From that time on until 1790, William West was one of the most distinguished men in public life in the state, especially representing his home town of Scitu- ate. The numerous titles which he acquired durin;jr these years will, in themselves, give some idea of the work he was engaged in. and his standing in Scituate and throughout the state. He was a Deputy for 12 years in the Colonial Legis- lature; a Moderator for the town; a Justice of the Peace; Colonel of the .3rd R. I. Regiment; Brigadier General of the Rhode Island Militia; Brigadier General of the Providence County Brigade ; Member of the Council of War for the State; Deputy Governor; and one of the Justices of the Superior Court ol Judicature. II. R. I .Colonial Records. Vol. 7. iWKe 2H.3. WILLIAM WEST Court of Assize, and General Gaol Delivery. Besides these official positions, he was often chosen to head committees connected with the prosecution of the war, or appointed individually to carry out war measures'^. The following extract from Beeman is an illustra- tion of the work he was thus called upon to do, and ex- hibits the patriotic spirit of the town and the confidence of the citizens in Colonel West. It reads as follows: "At a Town Meeting held April 28th. 1777, it was Voted that Col. William West be appointed to use the utmost of his endeavors and abilities, by giving direc- tions to his under-officers, as well as using his influ- ence otherways. to raise soldiers by enlisting the num- ber of men assigned to be raised in this town, by Act of Assembly aforesaid." On May 5th following, he was chosen chairman of a committee "to prepare and divide into classes the male inhabitants of the town, liable to bear arms,"'^ seemingly somewhat of a select- ive conscription such as our Government adopted in raising the great National Army in 1917. Numerous and important must have been the meet ings held in the "big house," and the gatherings there in the wilds of Scituate undoubtedly included many of of the statesmen and army and navy officers of the State. It was a prominent and well known building the residence of one of the state's leaders, but twelve miles from Providence, in a community whose patriot ism was above question, yet .so secluded in the wilder . Vols. 7. H, :• and 10. Hcitma al Army. Beaman's Hii Scituate. Smith's Civi newspapers. The Col ■ appointments see Colonial Recor<ls o storical ReKister of the OfTicera of th Address with Appendix. Walker's Notes on Military List of R. 1.. and contemporary R. I. Records have many items relative to William ;o mention ; for instance. Volume 8 has reference 174. 201. 20'l, -221. 2>\. :!<(0. 493. .i29. 644 and WILLIAM WEST 16 ness that it would be a most fitting meeting place for the "rebels." as the patriots were then called. In the meantime his wife and children carried on the e.xtensive farm work, did their part in preparing the wool and weaving the cloth from which they made blankets and garments for the Scituate troops and to clothe themselves, and silently co-operated in the great work that was to bring into the world a new nation. One or more of the boys volunteered early in the war, John, as shown by his pension record, having lived in Scituate when first called into service, the date not given. '^ He further states that he enlisted in Novem- ber, 1776, in Captain Stephen Kimball's company of R. \. Militia for one year. He was in the battle of Rhode Lsland in July, 1778, having enlisted in the spring of that year, for seven months, in Captain Jonathan Hopkins' company, Colonel Livingston's regiment from New York. There might have been other sons in the army, but of this there is no record. Another reason for the patriot leaders' meeting at the home of General West, might have been that it was within seven or eight miles of Hope Furnace, where cannon and balls were being made for the army and navy. This furnace, like many others scattered about the country at an early day, secured its ore from near- by workings, and made various articles of rough iron- ware for the early settlers. But Hope Furnace was more than a mere melting pot; it made anchors, and bored out the cannot that were cast, so that they left there in a completed condition. Rufus Hopkins bought an interest in this furnace in 1766, and took charge of it. It must have furnished a goodly number of cannon, which were used not only in the army, but on the nu- merous privateers that were fitted out by Rnode Island citizens. 14. U. S. Pension Files, pen.sion applied for 1832. WILLIAMWEST 17 In the year 1775 the Governor appointed Eseck Hopkins as General in command of troops to be raised for the defense of the shores of Narragansett Bay, and Colonel West was appointed second in command. '•'^ In October of that year he was appointed by the General Assembly on the Committee to procure muskets for the use of the Continental Army, and to enquire concern- ing cannon for the use of the Colony."' The military history, and account of the positions held at this time by Colonel West are somewhat con- fused in the records handed down to us. Coincident with his appointment as second in command to General Hopkins is the statement, in the Colonial Records, that he was, in 1775, appointed Brigadier General of the Rhode Island Militia, and served until 1777. He re- signed this position on January 20th, 1776. but this re- signation does not appear to have been accepted until January, 1777, when, owing to there being two Brig- adier Generals of the Rhode Island Militia to take com- mand, he was dismissed from the service, and given a vote of thanks by the General Assembly. Informatir.u relative to this appointment is also found in Heitman's Historical Register of the Officers of the Contintnl.il Army. In May, 1776, he was appointed Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Providence County Militia,'" which po- sition he appears to have held during the years 1776. 1777, and 1778. It is quite probable that the rank of Brigadier General of the Rhode Island Militia was more honorary than otherwise, and that his position as Colonel of the Providence County Regiment did not conflict with his higher rank as Brigadier General, and 15. Beaman. pake 25. 16. R. 1. Colonial Record.i. Vol. 7. 17. R. I. Colonial Records. Vols. 7 and X. and Smith's Civil and Military WILLIAMWEST 18 which was abolished because there were two officers of the same grade, with work for but one. As the ap- pointment by the Governor, in 1775, of Colonel West as second in command to Hopkins, does not appear to have carried with it any title, it is possible that this was a Brigadier General's position, as Hopkins is list- ed as a General, with West second in command. However, these were not the only positions Colo- nel West was called upon to fill during the strenuous days of 1776. In February of that year he was appoint- ed by the General A.ssembly on a committee for the town of Scituate to procure arms and accoutrements for the use of the Colony,'^ and in December of the .same year, with General Vamum. he was appointed by the General As.sembly to assist Brigadier Fr.incois Lel- lorquis DeMalmedy in the plans of the latter for forti- fying the state. '^ Beeman states that on January 12th, 1776. Governor (probably General) We.st sends an order from headquarters to Captain Knight for nine privates and a commissioned officer, for fatigue duty. Page 467 of the Colonial Records. Vol. 7, for that year states that General West had arrested spies, etc.. and states the action taken by the General Assembly relative thereto. In December. 1776, the General As- sembly voted that Generals Varnum and West be re- quested to forward such works .... and get men and supplies. In April, 1777, he was appointed by the General Assembly for the town of Scituate, to advance £2.024 for bounties. 20 The same month he was appointed by the General Assembly to procure blankets from the town of Scituate for the use of the Continental troops.-' IS. R. I. Colonial RecordB. Vol. 7. 19. R. I. Col. Records. Vol. 8. 20. R. I. Col. Records. Vol. 8. paire 201. 21. R. I. Col. Records. Vol. 8. WILLIAMWEST 19 In May of that year he was appointed Governor's As- sistant,22 and during the same month, chairman of a committee for the town of Scituate to ascertain the number of effective soldiers wanting to complete the Continental battalion then being raised by the state. 2-' He was also made the choice of the General Assembly for 7th Assistant in the House.-' It will be noted that he was a Deputy in 1776. and in the appointments he received in that year he is re- ferred to as Col. West, possibly from his having receiv- ed the appointment of Colonel of the Third Rhode Is- land Regiment in May of that year. However, he was not a Deputy in 1777 or 1778, probably feeling that he had enough public duties to attend to without being a member of the legislature, with its two regular sessions a year, and freciuently two additional ones. But he re- turned to the legislature again in 1779. In 1778 the General Assembly granted £.3,021.05 to Col. West as bounties to his regiment in the late ex- pedition against Rhode Island,-''' it being a matter of record that General West's troops acted as reserves in that battle, and aided in covering the retreat. This is the only battle in which, as shown by the records. Gen- eral West took part. His son John, who was also in this battle, speaks of his father. General West, in his affidavit asking for a pension, as one of the generals engaged therein. Rhode Island seemed determined that he should be a brigadier general, for in May, 1779, in the officers chosen by the General Assembly, he was made Briga- dier General of the Providence County Brigade.-'^ This 22. R. I. Col. Records, Vol. 8. 23. Bcaman, pave 2.^. 24. R. I. Col. Records, Vol. H. paKe 224. 25. R. I. Col. Records. Vol. S. paKe 4S:!. 26. R. I. Col. Records, Vol. 8. Smith's List, Vol. 1. WILLIAMWEST 20 was but a little time before the British evacuated Rhode Island, and probably when the state was organizing additional forces to meet the invaders. IIBO In May, lOTO, he was made a member of the Coun- cil of War of the state of Rhode Island, 2' and in the same month was elected Deputy Governor, 2« serving from May. 1780. until May. 1781. With the close of this term of office came prospects of peace, and Gener- al West's connection with military affairs in Rhode Is- land apparently ended, but he was chosen a Deputy for Scituate for the years 1784 and 1785. Later on we find him leading the country people, as against the cities, when matters came up which divided these classes, and it appears that the country people were victorious and carried their point. But, like many another soldier and statesman who had given his time and money to his country's cause, he now found himself financially embarra.ssed. his farm neglected owing to his frequent enforced absences during the preceding six years, a currency that was worthless, having fallen from par, in 1776, to a point, in 1782. where it would not be accepted at all. and. as has been said by a prominent writer. "There are scarce- ly any evils or dangers, of a political nature, and spring- ing from political and social causes, to which a free people can be exposed, which the people of the United States did not experience during that period." Rhode Island suffered possibly more than other colonies because of her very poor financial .system, and the emission of a large sum of paper money, which was never redeemed. As the financial stress became great- er, the colony sought relief by issuing more paper money, thus adding fuel to the fire. 27. R. I. Col. Records. Vol. 1). 28. R. I. Col. Records. Vol. 9. paRe 62. WILLIAM WEST 21 Such were the conditions that confronted William West upon his return to the quiet retreat of his Scituate farm at the close of the war. However, he did not give up. but with the indomitable courage that had made him a leading figure through the dark days of the Colonies, he set about retrieving his badly broken fortune. In 1785 he sought relief from pressing financial embarra.ssment through securing from the legislature the privilege of conducting a lottery for the disposal of lands and personal property.-^ Messrs. Caleb Har- ris, Thomas Holden. James Aldrich and Daniel Owen, all prominent citizens, were appointed managers of this lottery. Such lotteries were quite common in that day, and were frequently authorized by the legislature. As has been stated in another portion of this memoir, some 1,950 acres of land, with cows, horses, oxen and sheep, were disposed of in this lottery. There are traditions in Rhode Island that ^^'illiam West was also interested in privateering, which was one of the most lucrative busine.sses of that maritime colony, relative to which it is stated that in less than five months in 1776, there were commissioned from Rhode Island sixty-five privateers. Fortunes were often made on one trip of these vessels, but again for- tunes were lost with the loss of the vessels and cargo, and it is stated in the tradition connecting William West with this business, that he lost two vessels with cargoes, which still further damaged him financially. But Rhode Island was not yet through with the public services of William West. He was elected as one of the Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, Court of A.ssize, and General Gaol Delivery, and .serv- ed during the years 1787, 1788 and 1789.-"' This 29. R. I. Col. Records, Vol. 10, and Walker's Notes on Scituate. 30. R. I. Col. Records, Vol 10 WILLIAMWEST 22 closed his public career, and from thence on William West's life was one filled with disappointments and failures. He could not recover the ground lost through de- preciation of the currency and his absence from his farm and business, and by 1792 his affairs had become so involved that he was forced to sell his home farm, which was done on July 19th. 1792. to his four sons-in- law. Jeremy Phillips of Gloucester. Job Randall and Gideon Smith of Scituate. and Joseph Baltey of War- wick, taking from them a bond of defeasance. s' At the time this sale was made, certain claims were being pressed against General West which he contended were unjust, and which he stated that he would never pay. This bond was never redeemed. It was trans- ferred by General West on the 10th of March. 1801. to Job Randall, who was given in that transfer an un- limited power of attorney to transact all business con- nected with the property as though it were his own.^^ From a reading of this bond it will be seen that there was then an execution in force against William West for the sum of $1,360. in favor of Benjamin Talbot, and that there were al.so various notes due and payable to William West, which the parties to the bond agreed to collect, being secured for any expenses they might incur in so doing by this bond of defeasance. This bond and its subsequent assignment, though executed in 1792 and 1801 respectively, were not re- corded until June 21st, 1809. It is stated by some of William West's descendants that ho never realized any- thing further from this property, which naturally en- gendered hard feelings. His sons and daughters had by this time married, and lived in homes of their own, 31. Sec Bond of Defea>ancc in Apppnilix. 32. Sec Transfer of Ilon.l of nofcKsanc- in AMicn.ln. WILLIAMWEST 23 and William West, now over seventy years of age, broken in fortune and deserted by friends, passed the remainder of his days in poverty. At one time he was incarcerated in the Providence jail for some time for debt, imprisonment for debt be- ing a common thing in those days. He said that the claims against him were unjust and that he would die in jail before he would pay them. Mary West, daugh- ter of Samuel, son of General West, who married Peleg Angell, stated that she rode to Providence regularly each week to visit her grandfather while he was in jail, carrying things to him. Just when he was released, or how, is not ascer- tainable. However, he passed his last days at the resi- dence of his son Samuel, and the daughter Mary, above spoken of, .states that she cared for him during his last illness. This son Samuel lived on a north and south road which is, in a direct line, about two miles from the big house. This north and south road crosses the Brooklyn pike on Chopmist hill, and by this road it is about three miles and a half from the General West homestead to that of his son Samuel. The old house of the latter was torn down some years ago. Just when William West died is not known. Bee- man stated, in his address in 1876,-''' that "it occurred about 60 years ago," and that Elder Westcott attended the funeral. This would make the date about 1816. According to the .statements of relatives who attended the funeral, his grand daughter Mary We.st being among them, he was buried at a point near his old home, where there are three unidentified graves, said to be those of William West, his wife, and a son. This spot is diagonally opposite from the big house in a southwesterly direction, on a little eminence that ap- pears to have been used as a family burial place, and 33. Beaman. paBe 26. Walker's Notes on Scituate. WILLIAMWEST 24 which includes the Ki'ave of at least one other person. There is naught but rough pieces of granite, standing at the head and foot of these three graves, to mark them. And there are none but similar field stones to mark the last resting place of William Hopkins and his wife, Ruth, the father and mother of Stephen Hopkins. Of the personal appearance of William West. Bee- man says: "He was a man rather above the middle height, a bony sinew man, long favored, with a promi- nent nose." The prominent nose, the so-called West nose, has been a characteristic feature of many of his descendants. 