Joseph Bartlett, I

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Married Abigail Aldrich, Nov. 7, 1744, William Arnold, Justice of the Peace, officiating. His father, Jacob, gave him, 6th Feb., 1737-8, his homestead, and two other tracts of land already described—see Jacob3. The ist of March, 1745-6, his uncle, Moses, gave him his homestead, where the latter then dwelt, consisting of forty acres, etc., " about a mile from said town of Providence, bounded by the Killingly road, and the Plainfield road, at the parting of the two roads," etc., with all the buildings. He was admitted a freeman of Providence. May 1746. He appears not to have been more prospered on the estate than had been his brother, Jacob, who had previously had an experience there, and, May, 25, 1748, he sold, for .£500, the same land to Moses which the latter had iormerly given him, and returned to Bellingham and Cumberland,* and lived without further change, so far as ascertained, on the old homestead given him by his father, Jacob. This place, owned, in 1879, by George Waterman, and before referred to, is situated in the lot, a short distance west from the Mendon road, not far from the school house, where the old Boston turnpike, as it was formerly denominated, intersects with it, and is at about an equal distance from the Woonsocket road, on the south, and the residence of Joseph's son, Livin, now owned by Leprelet Miller.

The homestead house stands on a little knoll, facing the south, the barn being a few rods to the westward, and just back from the house, is the old well-sweep, where the "old oaken bucket" is still suspended, and seems to invite the thirsty pilgrim to partake of the clear, sparkling water in the well beneath, and over which it seems to hang, like a protecting arm. Near the well, is a large elm tree, under which, no doubt, several generations of the Bartletts have refreshed themselves, and been shielded from the hot rays of the sun in midsummer, by its widely spreading branches and thick foliage. About half way between the house and the Woonsocket road, is the old Bartlett burying ground, where a number of the generations of the Bartlett's have found rest, very near the scenes of their labors.

Between the house and the Mendon road, on the east side, stands the house that was occupied by Joseph's son, Joseph, Jr. It was owned, 1879, by Alexander Bartlett, a lineal descendant.*

• The boundary line between the states had then been settled, and the old homestead was ihereafter to be in Cumberland. Some of the land, however, was across the line, in liellingfram, the line dividing the land about an eighth of a mile north of the housy.

Joseph, and his wife, Abigail, were Quakers, and members of the Smithfield Monthly Meeting. They were married in that society, and Joseph was frequently called upon to serve the society in different concerns. He was a member of the town council, and identified with the town's interests in various affairs. He was interested in the blacksmithing establishment on Muddy Brook, although confined principally to farming. It is handed down by their descendants that Joseph and his wife were a very pious couple, and took great pains with the education of their children in the ways of religion. Joseph was of a rather poetical turn of mind, and composed several poems, among which is one entitled, " A Father's Exhortation to his Children," and another, "To Such as are at Ease in Their Sins." He died, Dec. 1, 1791. His sons, Jacob and' Abner, were administrators of his estate. Abigail, his wife, died about 1804. Both were buried in the old Bartlett burying ground.

Many persons have been eulogized for their great and good deeds, yet few have improved their opportunities as well, and left behind them such an enviable reputation for probity of conduct and purity of mind, as is accredited to the good, earnest, pious old Quaker—Joseph Bartlett.