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toward... the War" for
Independence at age 62. He sold beef to the troops, gave up his salary for four years so they could be paid, and loaned the town an additional ÂŁ60 to pay the soldiers. The debt was never repaid. Despite his fervent patriotism, Adonijah Bidwell hung several portraits of the king in his house. Messengers and soldiers under the king's command would have often stopped by frontier outposts, therefore, pictures were needed to suggest loyalty to the king. Following the American victory, Adonijah died June 2, 1784 at age 68, leaving the farm and 1/3 of his possessions to his eldest son, Adonijah the Younger, as well as 1/3 of his worldly possessions to both Barnabas and widow Ruth.
165:. The space leaked and was bitterly cold in the wintertime. Eventually, it fell into an increasing state of disrepair and then burned down. All that remains are two foundation stones and the stone steps leading to the church. As the church slowly decayed, it is likely that Adonijah Bidwell would have held sermons in his own house, utilizing the 48 chairs listed in his
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66:. His mother was Prudence Scott, the daughter of Edward Scott of New Haven. The year of Bidwell's birth in 1716, Thomas Bidwell was lost at sea. Adonijah had a comfortable childhood. As a young adult, Adonijah Bidwell attended Yale College and graduated in 1740. He was intermittently a teacher, a chaplain for the British and colonial expeditions to
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Bidwell's sermons were written by himself in shorthand and later preserved. As the minister of
Housatonic Township No. 1, Bidwell would have been expected to write two sermons each week. Members of the church would congregate in the morning before taking a short break for midday meal. Those close
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in 1747. He chaplained other expeditions and ships between 1744 and 1747, and in 1748, accepted an offer to become the first minister of
Township No. 1. He also taught at schools during this time; in 1746 at Wintonbury, in 1747 in Simsbury, and in 1747–1748 in West Hartford. He also preached, from
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As tensions between the colonies and
Britain escalated, Reverend Bidwell took the side of the patriots. He also often centered his sermons around freedom, penning them in a cryptographic code to disguise the language to potential readers. In 1776, Adonijah Bidwell bore his "full proportion
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of
Suffield, Connecticut to take care of his four children. Ruth outlived the Reverend. After Adonijah's death, she married a Jonathan Judd, a second widower who was also a minister in Great Barrington. Upon his death in 1815, she lived with her brother and died at the age of 85.
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enough would travel back to their houses for dinner, however, most would bring along lunch pails. The second sermon began around 1:00 p.m. and stretched late into the afternoon. Reverend
Bidwell's sermons often dealt with love or forgiveness, however, his
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His house, finished in 1750, was located north of the
Township No. 1 Meeting House. The property was known as Deepwood Manse. The church formed on September 25, 1750, and he was installed pastor on October 3.
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code is too complex to gain more than the basic feel of a sermon. The meetinghouse, badly constructed and only half finished when
Adonijah arrived, was a poor place to hold service and
115:, a poet and the daughter of his former tutor. It was a childless marriage, and lasted until Theodosia's death in 1759 of unknown causes. A year after Theodosia died, he married
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History of the First
Congregational Society in Monterey, Mass: With Brief History of the Town and Account of the Anniversary Exercises October 10 and 11, 1900, p 14-15
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Donovan, Ken. "Precontact and settlement: Ingonish and
Northern Cape Breton from the Paleo-Indians to the 18th Century." The Nashwaak Review (2009): Vol 22-23. Issue 1
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In 1990, the former home of Adonijah Bidwell was made into a museum furnished with 18th century furnishings which matched his 1784 death inventory. Historian
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169:. The Reverend had five punch bowls listed in this inventory. His large home may have accommodated travellers passing through Tyringham on the
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143:. He was later accused of embezzling money and fled to Canada. Jemima Devotion died in 1771. One year later, Reverend Bidwell married
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Deepwood Manse Reported Sold, The North Adams Transcript (North Adams, MA) August 18, 1960, page 7, accessed January 8, 2017 at
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The War of American Independence, Select Bibliography, Colonial Wars: King George's War 1739-1748, history.army.mil
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History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men. Vol. 2.
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139:. Adonijah the Younger inherited the family farm, while Barnabas Bidwell became a member of the
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Joseph Edward Adams Smith, Thomas Cushing. Smith, Joseph Edward Adams, and Thomas Cushing, eds.
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Tyringham Massachusetts, 1890, in Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890, p647-648
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1747 to 1750 in West Simsbury (now Canton, Connecticut) and in 1749 in Kinderhook, New York.
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History of the Museum, The Bidwell House Museum, bidwellhousemuseum.org/index.php/history/
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Expedition to Cape Breton. Journal of the Rev. Adonijah Bidwell, Chaplain of the Fleet.
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207:" New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 27 (April 1873), pp. 153–160.
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Home page of the Bidwell House Museum, located in the former home of Adonijah Bidwell
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Tyringham: Bidwell history talk on frontier pastor The Berkshire Eagle 22 June 2016.
241:. Article first published in the Bidwell House Museum 2007 Newsletter. Archived from
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https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8246253/deepwood_manse_reported_sold_the_north/
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has researched Bidwell and presented on his life in talks at the museum.
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Genealogy to the Seventh Generation of the Bidwell Family in America
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23:. He played a large role in the formation and upkeep of the
318:." Historical Journal of Massachusetts 21, no. 2 (1993): 23.
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and, finally, a full-time minister for Township No. 1 in
384:. Courier Book and Job Press, 1900 (Monterey, MA) p611
239:"18th Century Events and the Life of Adonijah Bidwell"
62:, a wealthy merchant and store owner involved in the
303:Biographical Sketches of Graduates of Yale College
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173:which was located near the Meeting House.
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141:United States House of Representatives
74:. He was said to be ordained in 1744.
19:was the first minister of Housatonic
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38:, he participated in the victorious
82:In 1745 he was the chaplain on the
447:People from colonial Massachusetts
368:JB Beers & Company, 1885. p611
107:In 1752, Adonijah Bidwell married
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270:Bidwell, Edwin M. (1884-01-01).
211:Adonijah Bidwell sermon booklets
86:expedition to Louisbourg during
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350:Rev. Edward Taylor, 1642-1720
305:(New York, 1885), pp. 639-640
54:Adonijah Bidwell was born in
42:expedition during the third
58:, in 1716. His father was
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352:, The De Vinne Press, 1892
121:West Hartford, Connecticut
152:Church life and business
90:and served on the ship,
316:Bidwell's Saltbox House
171:Boston–Albany Post Road
72:Monterey, Massachusetts
40:Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
25:Monterey, Massachusetts
113:Suffield, Connecticut
56:Hartford, Connecticut
44:French and Indian War
348:Terry, John Taylor.
301:Franklin B. Dexter,
276:. J. Munsell's Sons.
203:Bidwell, Adonijah. "
125:Adonijah the Younger
32:Classically educated
462:Yale College alumni
314:Clute, Shirely S. "
177:Bidwell the patriot
84:William Pepperrell
137:Theodosia Bidwell
88:King George's War
78:Career beginnings
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225:References
192:John Demos
50:Early life
159:shorthand
145:Ruth Kent
198:Writings
92:Defense
28:militia
186:Museum
135:, and
68:Canada
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