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Religious Noncomformity in Sandwich, Barnstable, MA and Stamford, CT
"From the first settlement of the place, (Sandwich's) inhabitants were looked upon by the authorities at Plymouth as more than commonly indifferent to the execution of laws in favor of uniformity in worship. Many persons had been subjected to fines for speaking disrespectfully of the laws, and of the mode of conducting public worship. So great became the falling off of attendance upon the ministrations of Mr. Leverich, the first minister, that (about 1654) he concluded to leave the place, and for nearly twenty years, the people were without a regular pastor.
In the meantime Mr. Richard Bourne and (2376) Mr. Thomas Tupper, persons of a religious turn of mind, and possessed of some powers of public speaking, but without regular ordination, conducted the services on Sunday. Each of then had his party and each was the occupant of the pulpit according as he might have the most adherents. The congregation had become much reduced in numbers, and was not formally divided, though distracted by the factions. One portion of them are said to have been tinged with fanaticism and were much blamed for driving away the late pastor. Another portion is said to have been disgusted with such a state of affairs and to have mainly withdrawn from public worship...
On 17 July, 1657, (2368) Lt. John Ellis III, (2384) Ezra Perry Sr. and William Swift were found to be in arears in paying the minister's (presumably Mr. Leverich's) salary.... In that same year, "the people called Quakers" made their first(?) appearance in Sandwich. In Bowden's "History of the Society of Friends in America," it is mentioned that two English Friends, named Christopher Holden and John Copeland, came to Sandwich on June 20, and had a number of meetings, and that their arrival was hailed with feelings of satisfaction by many who had been long burdened with a lifeless ministry and dead forms in religion. But the town had its advocates of religious intolerance and no small commotion ensued. The Governor issued a warrant for their arrest, but when a copy of the warrant was asked for by William Newland, at whose house the meetings had been held, it was refused, and its execution was resisted. A severe rebuke and a fine were then inflicted upon them. The two prisoners were sentenced to be whipped, but the selectmen of the town declined to act in the case, and the marshal was obliged to take them to Barnstable to find a magistrate willing to comply with the order.
(4756) William Gifford was a Quaker and his wife, (4757[3]) Mary, was a 'vagabond' 'travelling' Quaker missionary. Per Little Compton Families which cites the Tallman family records by William M. Emery, "(4756) William Gifford, a member of the Society of Friends, is found at Sandwich in 1650. Although he suffered the persecutions visited upon the Quakers of that time, he prospered in material affairs and became a large land owner. It is supposed that he was the (4756) William Gifford who in 1647 or earlier was ordered by the court at Stanford to be whippped and banished. He lived at Sandwich until his death 9 Apr 1687".
Tradition reports that many meetings were held at a secluded spot in the woods, which was afterwards known as "Christopher's Hollow." Numerous complaints were made against divers persons in Sandwich for meetings at private homes and inveighing against magistrates, and several men and women were publicly whipped for disturbing public worship, for abusing the ministers, for encouraging others to hold meetings, for entertaining the preachers and for unworthy speeches. Daniel Wing, with three others, was arrested for tumultuous carriage at a meeting of Quakers and severely fined, though there is no evidence that a single Quaker was present, besides the preachers, and it is certain that neither of these persons professed at that time any adherence to the new sect. (2368) John Ellis was among those found not "guilty" of participating in the "Quaker meeting".
(SRC: See "A Historical and Genealogical Register of John Wing of Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, and his descendants, 1621-1888," pp. 26-36 [John Wing], [1888]; also REF: http://www.parsonstech.com/genealogy/trees/rturner/d1698.htm)
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