Page:History of Barrington, Rhode Island (Bicknell).djvu/234

 184 THE HISTORY OF BAKRINGTON. torn and law in both colonies, and Mr. Brown insisted on paying the deficit of those refusing to pay taxes assessed against them for that purpose. During Mr. Myles's life, the church and the town 6f Swansea got on well together and there was comparative unity and peace between them. As we have seen, later, even the Rehoboth Church used its good offices on various occasions and learned that even non-conforming Baptists might be good neighbors as well as respectable Christians. At the time of Mr. Myles's death, in 1683, the church and the parsonage were at the lower end of New Meadow Neck, south of the road connecting the two ferries then, the two bridges now. This was called " The Place of Trade," and was the centre of business for people of Swansea and South Rehoboth. As the population increased, the western part of Swansea (now Barrington) grew rapidly as did the north- ern and eastern parts, and the church on the Neck was not conveniently located for the attendance of the remote set- tlers, then separated by rivers without convenient bridges or ferries. About the year 1700 the people of North Swan- sea agitated the removal of the meeting-house to their neigh- borhood. The majority of votes decided the matter in favor of the northern part of the town, and the meeting-house was removed to that section, as tradition says, across the ice from New Meadow Neck. This removal of the meeting- house, while for the time a sore trial, proved in the end a great blessing to the people living on the west side of Swan- sea River, for it was the occasion of securing both a church and a town of their own. Another strong reason influenced the action of the Barrington people besides the change of location of their meeting-house, and this was the new policy adopted by the Baptist Church on the accession of its new pastor, Elder Samuel Luther. Captain Samuel Luther was one of the most influential townsmen of Swansea, and a member of the church from its founding. He was ordained to the work of the ministry in 1685, and became pastor of the church as the successor of Rev. Mr. Myles. He was