Abigail Sprague's History of Cumberland

Historian, Cumberland, R.I.

Notes, circa 1890-1906

Size: 1.5 linear feet

Catalog number: MSS 1023

Processed by: Rick Stattler, July 1999

©Rhode Island Historical Society

Manuscripts Division

Abigail Allen Field was born in Taunton, Massachusetts circa July 1830, the daughter of George A. and Rachel (Covell) Field. The family settled in Cumberland, R.I. circa 1836. Abigail married blacksmith Nathan C. Sprague (1821-1894) in Cumberland on October 8, 1848. She had nine children as follows, and died circa 1909:

2) Georgia (b.ca.1854). Married William A. Marks, a Cumberland mule spinner, in 1879.

These notes were compiled by Abigail Sprague during several years of research as an amateur historian of her home town. Her intent was probably to compile an authoritative town history of the sort that was quite popular around the turn of the century. Like most of these amateur historians, Sprague took special note of the genealogical ties between the town's largest families, of the town's role in the Revolutionary War, the details of daily colonial life, and of the town's founding fathers. More unusual was her interest in the Dorr Rebellion. She drafted several essays and notes on the Rebellion, all forthrightly supportive of Dorr and his followers. One piece (filed under "Field Family") tells the story of an unnamed "father of several grown and growing daughters" who arrived in Woonsocket Village from Massachusetts in 1836 and was soon caught up in the constitutional struggle. He was arrested in 1842 for his Dorrite sympathies, and was defended in court by his adult daughter. The jury "found the only way to stop her volubility was to shoot her, or let her father go", and chose the latter. We know that the young Abby Field was born in Massachusetts in 1830 and was in Cumberland by 1838 (see Blaxton family file); it seems possible that this story was about her father and sister, as recalled through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl.

She also demonstrated an affinity for the poor and laboring classes of the town which is unusual in the sometimes elitist world of amateur history. Her own background seems to have been solidly working-class. Her notes are filled with descriptions of orphans, crippled peddlers, quasi-assimilated Indians, unwed mothers, poor farm inmates, and petty thieves. These stories not only make her notes more interesting to read, they also provide documentation of groups that are difficult to document.

Abigail Sprague's notes extend over 2300 pages, in various stages of organization and legibility. They include several excellent drawings of older homes and landscapes by her husband Nathan. Some topics have been worked up into lively stories, nearly ready for publication. More frequently, we have only her cryptic notes. Her sources are rarely cited. They probably included official town records; printed state histories; visits to local cemeteries and historic homes, conversations and correspondence with town elders; and personal recollections. If Sprague had completed her work in 1900, it would have been an excellent example of its genre, and of immense value to modern historians. However, it is not suitable for publication as a book in its present state. Only small portions have actually been written, and her research notes are not well documented or comprehensive enough to suit modern standards. However, she compiled an enormous amount of town folklore, anecdotes, family traditions and events that were common knowledge among the older generation of her day. These notes have acquired a somewhat legendary status of their own while still in private hands. Several historians and genealogists have already used the original copy of these notes, including Robert V. Simpson, who cited them in his North Cumberland: A History (1975). However, they have never been generally accessible to the public before 1999. The following samples are illustrative of the sorts of stories which caught Sprague's interest:

"Tom & Abraham Darling were brothers, they made themselves obnoxious to their neighbours by their thevish habits and the dissolute persons who came to their house." (Darling family file)

In 1834, a teacher named Mr. Gale was so abusive to the small students that several older students drew up a threat to flog the teacher if he did not desist (Schools file)

The story of Ansel Whipple, a peddler who was born with "almost no legs at all", and slept in his cart (Whipple family file)

How James Dexter's potato whiskey was used to cure rattlesnake bites (Dexter family file).

Anecdote about Rev. Ruben Potter, who got shamefully drunk while officiating at a wedding in 1820, and was taken home by a guest to sober up (Temperance file)

Personal reminiscence signed by "Abigail Allen (nee Field) Sprague" re picking apples in Cumberland in 1838 from a tree that was the offspring of William Blackstone's apple tree (Blaxton family file).

"Kate Bogman was a girl whose family, disgusted and disgraced by her conduct, sent her out from Prov. to Cum., hoping to thereby get rid of the shameless creature. She went to do house at the Poor Farm. Here she soon manifested her natural depravity, those most interested procured her marriage to John Howard, a feeble minded man, a peddelar by occupation who lived with his mother on Tower Hill. His mother would not allow the bride to stay in her her house" (Bogman family file).

Essay on Dorcas Peters, who circa the 1770s had several illegitimate children and "was left uncared for and desolate... her neighbors called her a witch." Describes her alleged "baleful influence"; illustrated with clip art of a witch and three bats (Peters family file).

These notes have passed through several generations of female descendants of Abigail A. (Field) Sprague since her death circa 1909. They were initially passed on to her daughter Ida E. (Sprague) Vose, who died in 1939. They then were passed on to Mrs. Vose's daughter Lydia B. (Vose) Foster (1874-1944), or directly to Mrs. Vose's granddaughter Ida Mae (Foster) Carpenter (1898-1985). In 1985, they were inherited by Mrs. Carpenter's daughter Carol Lees (Carpenter) Anderson. In 1998, Mrs. Anderson's daughter Susan (Carpenter) Shaye donated a photocopy of her great-great-great-grandmother's notes to the Rhode Island Historical Society.

Abigail Sprague did not come close to turning her notes into a finished book. Some of the photocopied notes had some rudimentary organization along neighborhood lines, but some were completely unorganized. Research was difficult in this form. In 1999, the notes were sorted by family name or subject matter to facilitate research. For some of the neighborhoods, Mrs. Sprague compiled lists of "chapters." Those interested in these neighborhoods can use her lists to cross-reference the family files.

Dozens of pages were found that appear to be gravestone transcriptions, though they are rarely identified as such. During processing, some of these pages were compared with the entries in the Rhode Island Cemetery Database, and when possible identified in pencil. Some entries were not found in the database, and may represent lost cemeteries.

It should be stressed that the present organization does not reflect the original order of Abigail Sprague's notes. If she had any system of organization, it was lost over the years. Notes on the Dorr Rebellion or the Whipple family, for example, were found in dozens of locations. Many of the pages pertain to more than one family or subject. The researcher must still read through all of the notes to be completely thorough. However, the present organization will allow easy access to some of the most pertinent notes on any particular subject.

Box 2, folder 122. Jenckes family - Drawing of Daniel Jenks House in 1860 (built ca. 1750)