August 2012 - Warwick Historical Society

Greetings from the board:
www.warwickhistoricalsocietyonline.org
SUMMER 2012
As you all are aware we recently lost one of our own. Don D’Amato was a longtime supporter and
participant in the activities of our society. Over the years he provided us with a written account of the
history of Warwick as well as being our good friend. Both he and his daughter Terry Spencer have
turned over to us most of his writings and photos for safe keeping. The bulk of the material has been
scanned into our database and will continue to be available to all.

Don was the City Historian for about 20 years. Now the City Council has named his successor, Henry A L
Brown. Henry is our Vice‐President and has also been a long time supporter and friend. We have been
fortunate to have two such passionate historians as part of our family. Henry collaborated with Don on
most of his books and hardly a week goes by that Henry comes into the office with historical material on
Warwick and the Brown and Francis families that we are constantly scanning and adding to our
database.
Since our last newsletter we have been involved in a number of activities. In the Spring we had two
presentations at the Library, Civil War Observance and Hazel Kennedy’s Pawtuxet. Both were well
attended. In May we had our Annual Open House/Annual Meeting that was also well attended. A
number of things occurred in June. We co‐sponsored an event with the Historic New England Society at
the Arnold House in Lincoln. Robert Hunt Rhodes read excerpts from his book All for the Union on Elisha
Hunt Rhodes (1842‐1917) of Rhode Island who served in the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil
War. The documentary by Ken Burns on PBS was based on Robert Rhodes grandfather’s original diary.
We celebrated Madaleine Toy’s 101 st birthday at her Christopher Rhodes house in Pawtuxet with her
daughter Polly Barey as hostess. Also in June the library held an event celebrating the role of
quahogging in Warwick. We provided the images that were made into a permanent display for the
foyer. The next time you are in the library stop and relive some of quahogging’s history. On August 9 th
we had a display table at Oakland Beach National Night Out and Carnival to promote our Society and
solicit new members.
Our scholarship recipient this year, Matthew Rocheleau, completed his high
school years at Toll Gate with a 5 th place academic ranking overall in his class.
Matthew will be attending St Anselm’s College in the fall and is planning on
becoming a physician. Our best wishes are extended to him.
We recently changed our display at City Hall in the center hall case with material on Warwick Farms and
Dairies. In addition to some of the photos we were able to find and a listing of all the known farms by
village, there is our collection of old milk bottles from some of the dairies in Warwick and West
Warwick. This display will remain until we change it in the fall to political history in time for the
elections. Our case in the foyer continues to be maintained by Clouds Hill Museum in a collaborative
effort.

Research requests are a large part of our ongoing activities. Some of our recent searches based on
inquiries and interest are:
All the material on farms and dairies
The Hazard Hotel and the Hazard family of Warwick Neck mentioned below
Selecting photos from our collection to be used in an EPA publication related to Greenwich Bay
The material for the quahog display for the library mentioned above
Information on obituaries of the Keenzel family
Photos of the original Norwood School
Lakewood planned community layout map
Barton family genealogy and photos of the Barton farm
Photos of our 1827 bedspread that was originally in an exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum.
A member of the American Quilt Study Group is currently including our quilt in a current project
involving quilts made before 1850 that will hopefully be published.
In the last newsletter we were looking for information on the Hazard family and the Hazard Hotel.
Thanks to the Schulte family and Lorraine Potter‐Cooper we can now shed light on this previously
unknown property and family. The hotel was located at what is now 1000 Warwick Neck Ave. and is
confirmed by its location on an 1889 map of the area.

One of our members, Shirley Nordquist, has been writing about the history of Pontiac to add to our
database. See below for the first in a series she has written about early Pontiac settlers.
We were recently made aware of the above objects. They were removed from the Pawtuxet River near
the mill in Crompton. They are relatively heavy and appear to be made of concrete. The largest one in
the upper right is approximately 2 inches in diameter. Does anyone know what they are, or what they
were used for?
We are planning a regional meeting of local historical societies to discuss common interests and issues .
Hopefully this will promote a sharing of ideas that will encourage the growth and stability of all of us.
We all require a constant infusion of ideas if we are to continue to provide the services that are a benefit
to all and we need members to become involved and be active in all our activities.
We purchased and installed an air conditioner in our library. It has been too hot up there in the
summer. We can now work in relative comfort all year round. We have also been asking for estimates
for future maintenance projects for the house. These include painting of the exterior, new storm
windows and doors, added insulation for the attic and the crawl space under the kitchen, and bathroom
repairs. In past years we have received a legislative grant to help supplement our income to be used for
repairs and replacements. These grants have gradually been reduced each year until this year we have
been cut out entirely. Many of you have not paid your dues. It is imperative that we receive that
income if we are to continue to provide our services and maintain our historic house. If your label is
highlighted in yellow we have not heard from you this year. Please make every effort to submit your
dues. All donations are fully deductible under the tax code 501c3. If your dues are not paid we will have
to remove your name from our newsletter mailing list.
We haven’t forgotten about the Warwick Railroad book. There have been some technical problems
related to publishing to be resolved. There is another book in the offing. Henry Brown and Alan Clarke
have been working on a book about the Cole Farm. Again, as soon as it is published and available we
will let you know.
There are still two more library presentations to be done this year. They are Madaleine Toy’s photo
album of early 20 th century Pawtuxet and John Carothers postcard collection of Rocky Point and Oakland
Beach Amusement Parks. Dates TBA. Monitor our website and the library website in the fall for dates
and times. Be sure to join us.
The past isn’t dead, it isn’t even past—William Faulkner

EMIGRATION
EARLY FAMILIES IN PONTIAC
A family emigrated from Marbohemmet in Bone in Alvsborgslan in the spring of 1852 to
search for happiness in the great, new land in the west. This was a farmer named Anders Petter
Maganuson, his wife Britta Maria, and daughter Johanna Sophia. During the long and dangerous
trip across the Atlantic Ocean in a sail vessel, the daughter became ill and died during the
voyage. She was buried at sea.
The family settled first in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where a daughter Emely was
born. Shortly thereafter they moved to Union, Connecticut, where Mr. Magnuson found work in
a sawmill. Twin daughters were born there, but one of them died at a young age, and the other,
Jennie, survived. Sadness befell them again when their house in Connecticut burned, and their
worldly possessions perished in the flames. Thereafter they moved to Providence in 1857.
When war broke out in 1861, Mr. Magnuson enlisted in the First Rhode Island Artillery
Regiment, and was involved in many bloody battles. After the war ended, he returned to Rhode
Island and rented a farm in the Posnegansett section of Warwick, near Spring Green. He later
bought land in the Hillsgrove area, and lived there until his death. His daughters Emely and
Jennie were married to two sons from the Hallin family. When the Swedish Lutheran Church
was organized in Pontiac in 1874, they were received as members there. Mrs. Magnuson, born
in Hossna on September 9, 1882, died on January 12, 1894. Mr Magnuson, born in Timmele
(Timmelhed) on September 14, 1814, died on October 11, 1897. Both are buried in the church
yard at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Warwick.
The Magnuson family has perhaps been the reason more than any other that so many
people have emigrated from the province of Vastergotland to Rhode Island. Soon after Mr.
Magnuson settled in the Spring Green area, he began to think that on this side of the Atlantic
one could find a good living for many in Sweden who were left behind there by friends and
relatives, and were waiting for the deciding word from him that they also might come here.
From Hossna, Bone, Timmele (Timmelhed) and Dalum and other neighboring communities they
came, a single family or individual, one after another. As soon as they had become acclimated to
their new environment , they sent for their acquaintances, and this continued for several years.
One of the first who on Mr. Magnuson’s advice came here was Anders Bengtson from Boras,
who with his wife came to the Magnusons in 1865.
Anders Bengtson found work in the textile mill in Pontiac, and in a short time settled in
this village, becoming the first Swede to live there. It later became a Swedish village. The
Bengtson family left their sons in Sweden, namely Albert, Herman, and Axel, and also a daughter
Emma, but within three years they sent for them. Mrs. Magnuson’s sister Johanna and her
husband Carl Johan Persson were the next who joined relatives in Rhode Island. It was the
spring of 1866. Like the Bengtsons, they lived at first with the Magnusons, but then moved to
Pontiac, where both the husband and the wife found work at the mill. Mrs. Persson was the

first Swedish woman who earned a day’s pay at the mill. Since she at first did not understand a
word of English, it was very awkward for her, but one of the brother’s young daughters, Emely,
now Mrs. Joseph Hallene, stayed with her as she worked and served as Mrs. Persson’s
interpreter. The following year the Perssons sent for their sons that they had left behind in
Sweden, and the older sons Alfred and Gustaf arrived in August of 1886, and the younger sons,
Sven and August, arrived in December. In the spring and summer of 1868, the influx of Swedes
into Pontiac began in earnest. Verner Johnson and his wife Kristina came from Jonkoping,
Anders Gustaf Johnson from Dalum, and Claes Johan Ahlstrom from Timmelhed. In 1875, the
town of Warwick had recorded 218 persons from Sweden, which was double that of Providence.
The years 1868 and 1869 are rich in sad memories for the Swedish people because of
crop failure which struck a large section of Sweden. This in part hastened the immigration to
America during this time. Steamships were now also in full use, and made the trip over the
ocean quicker and more comfortable than during the time of the sailboats of the 1840s when a
previous wave of immigration had occurred.
Anna‐Lena Hultman of Hossna, Vastergotland, tells of life in the rural area of her home
town in the late 1800s in the book “Bygd och Gardar kring Galtasen,” a collection of stories by
the Hossna Hembygdsforening. This period was a time of extensive emigration. Some of the
reasons were overpopulation in the rural areas, especially among the “torpar class;” low wages;
hard work; shortage of food; and the inability to see any light in the future in this community.
There was also a lack of industry in this area.
From 1843 to 1901, 578 people moved from this area, the largest number occurring in
1882. At that time, the main reason was crop failure, especially with potato cultivation, which
was an important source of income. Also there was rising propaganda for travel to America. At
one point, eleven families from Hossna traveled on the same boat. The emigrants traveled by
horse and wagon to Goteborg; boarded a mail boat en route to Hull, England; a train to
Liverpool; and then a ship to New York. Many continued on to Providence, Rhode Island.
Often one member of the family borrowed money for the cost of the ticket. Once in
America, that member saved enough money to bring over another family member, until the
whole family was reunited here.
Hultman, Anna‐Lena. “Emigration.” Bygd och Gardar kring Galtasen. Ed. Hossna
Hembygdsforening. Boras: Sjuharadsbygden Press, 1979.
Osterberg, J. S. Svenskarna I Rhode Island. Worcester: Svea Press, 19
Editor’s Note: The spelling in this article is original Swedish, not typos.