In old Narragansett

In Short

This collection of regional sketches and narrative vignettes captures the unique social landscape of Washington County, Rhode Island. Set within large, plantation-style estates defined by Church of England ties and African slavery, the book weaves together local history, folklore, and domestic life. From clandestine lovers and craftspeople to superstitious figures, eccentric self-titled leaders, and china-hunting modern narrators, its characters move through a changing landscape. The work survives as a detailed, affectionate record of rural New England's layered cultural traditions, architectural spaces, and vanished customs.

The Story

The narrative opens in the coastal region historically known as the Kings Province or South County, an area marked by vast estates, unusual wealth, and a blend of English, Puritan, African, and Indigenous folkways. Against this backdrop, romantic and domestic dramas unfold. In one episode, young Hannah Robinson and her tutor-lover, Peter Simons, scheme to meet despite her father Rowland's stern opposition. With the quiet assistance of her mother and uncle, Peter hides in cupboards and whispers under a great lilac bush outside her window. The romance takes a sudden turn when Rowland Robinson catches sight of a letter dropping into the shadows and drives the suitor off into the dark with a buckthorn stick.

Beyond romantic intrigue, the text explores the daily labor and unique customs of the region. Hand-loom weavers such as Weaver Rose carry on time-honored crafts, using local patterns to produce rag carpets and coverlets while keeping alive the lore of earlier generations. Unusual local traditions, including debt-evading "shift-marriages" at public cross-roads, reflect the area's distinct legal and social history.

Folk beliefs and playful trickery continually surface. A gaunt former slave named Tuggie Bannocks, known for her Voodoo charms and soap-making skill, finds her superstitious fears manipulated when a group of prankish boys uses a modified bob-sled to disrupt her night, sending her into a panic of prayers and charms. In another quarter, Cuddymonk, a black farmer who styles himself "Gov'nor," faces arrest by Constable Cranston over an unpaid pig debt. Unfazed by the law, Cuddy turns the tables by demanding to go to jail to inspect the institutions of the land, eventually bartering his cooperation for a lucky dance on a bridge. Meanwhile, two runaway boys, Elam and Cotton, seek freedom in an unheated church "noon-house," only to be captured and publicly disciplined before being comforted with hearty meals by their mothers.

In later frames, a modern narrator hunts through old Narragansett for antique furniture and china. Her pursuits lead to absurd mishaps, including getting stuck in a wood-shed hen-house while inspecting a repairman's claw-foot chair leg, as well as unearthing hidden dark-blue "Dr. Syntax" pie-plates once stashed away by a vengeful Tory ancestor. The collection closes as night travel across haunted churchyards triggers eerie encounters with glowing columns, blending old fears with curious observation.

How It Unfolds

A secret courtship Hannah Robinson and her suitor arrange covert meetings with her mother's quiet assistance, using a bedroom cupboard and a large lilac bush for shelter. The affair reaches a climax when her father discovers a dropped letter and chases the lover away with a stick.

Crafts and custom Narragansett weavers preserve hand-loom techniques long after modern mills take over. Among their lore are tales of eccentric figures and regional anomalies, such as debt-clearing shift-marriages performed at local cross-roads.

Superstition and pranks Tuggie Bannocks attempts to invoke charms to ward off evil, only to be terrified by four local boys pulling a bob-sled prank. Her panic leaves her clutching a horseshoe and prayer-book for safety.

The governor's arrest Constable Cranston attempts to arrest Cuddymonk for a pig-related debt. Cuddy turns the arrest into a philosophical debate on politics and property before coaxing the constable into a good-luck dance on a bridge.

The noon-house runaways Elam and Cotton flee their homes to hide in an old church Sabbath-day house. Their hideout ends in public chastisement on the horse-block, followed by quiet comfort from their forgiving mothers.

The china hunter's misadventure A search for colonial antiques leads the narrator into a wood-shed accident that leaves her pinned in a hen-house frame. She is freed by the homeowner's axe before recovering a set of historical blue pie-plates.

Night on the haunted road Dr. Greene and a terrified Cuddy travel past a deserted churchyard. They spot a mysterious glowing column in the mist, sparking panic in the driver and scientific curiosity in the doctor.

The People

• Hannah Robinson: A young woman seeking to maintain her romance with her tutor despite her father's rigid hostility; she relies on her mother's quiet aid to meet him in secret.
• Rowland Robinson: Hannah's domineering father, whose fierce suspicion drives him to patrol his estate and violently chase off her suitor.
• Weaver Rose: A dedicated local craftsman who maintains traditional hand-loom weaving and preserves historical anecdotes, wages, and weaving patterns of the South County.
• Tuggie Bannocks: An elderly former slave skilled in soap-making and traditional Voodoo charms, whose deep superstitious dread makes her vulnerable to local pranks.
• Cuddymonk: An eccentric black farmer and self-proclaimed "Gov'nor" who responds to an arrest for debt with humorous philosophical arguments and sharp native wit.
• Constable Cranston: A local lawman who finds his efforts to enforce a warrant derailed by Cuddymonk's unconventional logic.
• Elam and Cotton: Two rebellious boys who run away to live in a church noon-house, only to face public discipline and subsequent maternal comfort.
• The Narrator: An avid collector of colonial antiquities whose search for rare china and furniture brings her into awkward, comical encounters with local country life.

In Its Own Voice

"Old Narragansett was, properly, all the lands occupied by the Narragansett Indians at the coming of the English." A foundational setting note describing the geographic boundaries and historical shifts of the Kings Province.

"Friend Earle! more money can be made by weaving than farming." Weaver Rose sharing practical wisdom and craft traditions in a letter detailing rural wages and loom patterns.

"No bribe’ll ebber soil dis hand while it fills de office ob de Gub’nor’s seat!" Cuddymonk proclaiming his dignity while negotiating with the constable on the bridge.

What It's Really About

The central concern of the work is the preservation of regional identity in the face of relentless historical change. It contrasts the grand, plantation-style independence of old South County with the changing social structures of nineteenth-century New England. Through its focus on hand-weaving, folk magic, shift-marriages, and church noon-houses, the book examines how isolated communities build distinct traditions. It highlights the tension between strict institutional authority and individual eccentricity, showing how ordinary people—from weavers and former slaves to stubborn patriarchs—navigate debt, labor, and social status. Beneath its lighthearted vignettes lies a quiet meditation on how memory, material objects, and oral history keep a vanished way of life alive for future generations.

Why Read It Today

This collection appeals to readers of regional Americana, social history, and traditional New England folklore. Reading it feels like sitting beside an old hearth while a knowledgeable local historian unrolls a scroll of community memories, combining sharp social observation with quiet humor.

The work does present distinct period difficulties. Readers will encounter archaic regional dialects, phonetic representations of nineteenth-century African American speech, and unexamined colonial attitudes regarding class, race, and slavery. Additionally, the narrative is episodic rather than continuous, operating as a set of loosely linked local sketches rather than a unified novel.

Despite these period barriers, the book remains valuable for its vivid details of domestic material culture. Its descriptions of hand-loom mechanics, colonial church life, and antique-collecting misadventures offer an authentic sense of place. The stories linger because they capture the human comedy of small-town life, where independence of mind and local tradition hold firm against the steady march of time.