Mineral Spring Cemetery Tour Preservation Society of Pawtucket

Mineral Spring Cemetery Tour Preservation Society of Pawtucket The village of Pawtucket, North Providence, RI was a small, but growing community in 1774 and at that time, the only burying place in the village was a small private lot owned by the Jenks family. Others had to be buried in Providence, or in the Newman cemetery in Rehoboth. There was an urgent need for a burying place in Pawtucket. Members of the Jenks family, on behalf of a Baptist sect called the antipaidobaptists, led the charge to establish a public cemetery in the village. They chose a spot just west of the village, known as Bagley’s Pine Woods. Despite the name, the land was in fact owned by Jonathan Jenks, Jr. Esq. (1746-1787)**, Gideon Jenks, Col. Eleazar Jenks (1747-1822), and Nathaniel Jenks (1749-1830).* Jonathan was a Justice of the RI Supreme Court and the grandson of Pawtucket founder Joseph Jenks through Judge William Jenks. Gideon, Eleazar, and Nathaniel were blacksmiths. Two acres of their land were deeded to the village. Half an acre was reserved as a location for a public meeting house, which was never built. In 1774, the Log Bridge Road cut through Jonathan Jenks’ land; the land for the cemetery was on the north side of the road. Eventually, the cemetery expanded and the road had to be moved. Log Bridge Road is now named Conant Street. Just inside the gate and behind the cemetery office is a memorial to Samuel Slater, containing the graves of his two wives, Hannah Wilkinson (1744-1812, daughter of Oziel Wilkinson and Lydia Smith) and Esther Parkinson (1778-1859), and his son Samuel, Jr. (1802-1821) who died at the age of 19. Samuel Slater Samuel Slater (1768-1835) is often called the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution." American industrialists, such as Moses Brown (1738-1836), had been struggling in the 18th century to build a consistently working spinning machine. Moses, with his son-in-law William Almy and his cousin Smith Brown, had started a mill in Pawtucket. They wanted to manufacture cloth for sale, using water-powered spinning wheels, jennies, and frames. They acquired a 32-spindle frame "after the Arkwright pattern," but could not operate it. The Arkwright design was named for its inventor Richard Arkwright who was English and the mill designs were prevented from being taken out of England. Twenty-one year-old Samuel Slater was working with the Arkwright mill design in England, but recognized there weren’t likely going to be opportunities there for him to be a superstar in the textile industry. In 1790 he wrote to Moses Brown offering his services, and Moses accepted. Samuel signed a contract to replicate the British designs. The deal provided Slater the funds to build the water frames and associated machinery, with a half share in the profits. In 1793, Slater and Brown opened their first factory in Pawtucket. Start on the path to the right. Very soon on the right you will see the white square pillar at the grave of Barney Merry. Capt. Barney Merry (1784-1847) Barney Merry was from Scituate and had a long career as a sea captain. He decided to enter the bleach and dye business, and in fact was the first in Pawtucket to establish a bleachery (in 1805). The business passed to his son Samuel who ran it until 1870. Continue on the path and follow the turn to the left. Just after the turn, you will see the grave of Levi Tower marked with a square pillar. Levi Tower Captain Levi Tower was born in Blackstone (Mendon), Massachusetts, on August 18th, 1835. He completed his courses at the University Grammar School in Providence and eventually entered Brown University. Poor health interrupted his college studies, so he decided to engage in business in Pawtucket, where his father lived. Levi was interested in the military and eventually became a captain in the Pawtucket Light Guard. When the Civil War began, he entered the First Rhode Island Light Artillery as an ensign, and was soon transferred to the Second, as captain of Company F. Tower was killed in 1861 very early in the first Battle of Bull Run “while cheering on his men to fight.” Levi regularly attended St. Paul's church in Pawtucket. Walk in a few feet and look for these graves: Isaac W. Collyer & Sybil Burrell Isaac and Sybil were the parents of Samuel Smith Collyer, the namesake of Collyer Park directly across the street from the cemetery’s entrance. The park contains the Collyer Monument. Collyer Monument (outside the cemetery) The monument was built by the sculptor Charles Parker Dowler to honor Samuel Smith Collyer, a fallen Pawtucket firefighter. The life-size bronze sculpture rests on a pedestal of Westerly granite, to which a bronze plaque is attached. After his schooling, Collyer took a job at the Pawtucket Post Office as a clerk and later was a store clerk. He became a machinist and worked for about seven years before partnering with his uncle, Nathan S. Collyer. Nathan Collyer died in 1877 and two years later Samuel inherited the business. He also served on the board of water commissioners in charge of developing the Pawtucket Water Works. He played an active role as a member of the Town Council of North Providence, serving as its president for three years. From 1848 to his death, Collyer was connected to the fire departments of North Providence and Pawtucket, rising to the rank of Chief Engineer in 1874. A fire engine accident in July 1884 took his life. The monument was dedicated on the final day of Pawtucket's Cotton Centenary Celebration in 1890 and was attended by Governor John W. Davis. Samuel is buried in Riverside Cemetery. Davis had in 1874 established the Riverside Cemetery, before he entered politics. He too is buried there. Go back to the paved path and follow it. Near the end you will see (on the left) the grave of Franklin Rand. Franklin Rand (1806-1877) Franklin worked as a mechanic at the William H. Haskell Manufacturing Company, for which he built the country’s largest press for cold punching nuts out of bar iron. He also invented the self-locking blind catch, to prevent window blinds from being opened from the outside. At the end of the path, turn left and continue. Look to the left for the grave of John Curien. Capt. John George Curien John Curien was born in France and died here in 1824 at the age of 91. His epitaph reads: “He crossed the raging ocean, this county for to save; Twas France that gave him birth, and America a grave.” John’s great grandson Thomas Moies married Eunice Haskell, the daughter of William Henry Haskell and Hannah Tingley (the Haskell factory is one block from the cemetery). His great grandson Charles Parmenter Moies was the first mayor of Central Falls. Take the next left and follow the path back toward the front gate. In the section on the left you will find many Jenks family graves. This is the oldest section of the cemetery. Stephen Jenks, Jr. (1756-1837) Stephen was the son of Captain Stephen Jenks (1726-1800) and Sarah Hawkins. His brothers were Eleazar (1747-1822), Nathaniel (1749-1830), Moses (1751-1820), Benjamin (1758-1832), and Jerahmeel Jenks (1762-1822). All but Nathaniel are buried nearby. Eleazar and Nathaniel, with their cousin Jonathan Jenks were owners of the land that was sold to the town for the cemetery. Stephen married Marcy Arnold in 1775, and in 1818 he married Marcy’s sister Ruth. They were daughters of Joshua Arnold and Amey Bucklin. Stephen was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son was Alvin Jenks (1798-1856), who with David Fales incorporated the Fales & Jenks cotton machinery factory in Central Falls. Alvin is buried in the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. Margaret Bagley Jenks (1743-1821) Margaret was the daughter of Samuel Bagley and Phebe Carpenter, and the wife of Ichabod Jenks (1732-1803). Ichabod was the brother of Captain Stephen Jenks (1726-1800). Their parents were Nathaniel Jenks (1703-1739) and Lydia Arnold. This Nathaniel was the grandfather of the previously mentioned Jenks brothers (Jerahmeel et al.). Moses Jenks (1751-1820) Moses married Lois Tingley, daughter of Samuel Tingley and Margaret Short. Their daughter Lois (1783-1873) married John Cummings, which explains why Moses is buried under an obelisk marked Cummings. One of Moses’ sons was Pardon Jenks (1774-1860), whose family is buried close to Mineral Spring Avenue. Continue walking on the path toward the front gate. Look on the right for the Read family plot with an iron fence around it. Ervin Read (d. 1899) Ervin was a freemason who served as the Recorder for the Holy Sepulchre Encampment in Pawtucket. Freemasonry is a group of organizations that trace their origins to the fraternities of stonemasons. The Red Cross of Constantine, or more formally the Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Appendant Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and of St John the Evangelist, is a Christian fraternal order of Freemasonry. Candidates for the order must already be members of a local masonic lodge, and must also be members of the Christian religion, ready to proclaim their belief in the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The organization draws inspiration from the Catholic chivalric orders of Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Timothy Greene (1760-1834) Timothy worked as a shoemaker and at some point started a tannery.

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