My 7X great grandparents Joseph and Martha (Pray) Wilkinson were born in Providence, Rhode Island in the latter part of the 17th century. They were married in Smithfield, Providence, RI in 1713 and went on to have a large family of 15 children.
Joseph Wilkinson had come to the northwest part of Scituate in 1703 and spent 10 years establishing himself there prior to their marriage. He erected the first barn there to house the first cow brought to town. His home, on the most northern turnpike, was considered to be a good farm. It was said that Martha had planted apple trees on their farm during the first year of their marriage. Both were doing their parts to establish a good home for their family in the new community.
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| Locations of Providence and Scituate, R.I. - Google Earth |
Joseph was known to have used the hunting lodge that was built for the convenience of sportsmen from Providence and surrounding places. But sometimes the tables were turned and it was the wildlife doing the hunting.
One often repeated story tells how Joseph and Martha in their early married years had to keep guard on their sheep at night to protect them from bears and wolves. The sheep were kept in log enclosures near the house. One night Joseph and Martha were awakened by the sound of a bear rolling the logs away; they had to get up quickly to rescue their sheep.
Another frequently told animal story relates to Martha being visited by a bear when she was home alone. Martha had an apple tree full of ripe fruit that the bear was shaking from the tree. In desperation, Martha took her husband's loaded gun kept on a peg on the wall for just such emergencies. She took one shot. This so frightened her that she dropped the gun, ran back into the house and fastened the door. When her husband returned home and was told what she had done, he went out investigate and found the bear dead near the apple tree. Not only had Martha saved their apples but also provided some fresh bear meat for the family.
In fairness to the bears, black bears were believed to have been common throughout Rhode Island when the first Europeans arrived. Colonists soon cleared about 2/3 of the forest lands, drastically reducing bear habitat. It isn't surprising that the bears were doing what they could to find food amid depleting resources. Bears had essentially disappeared from the area by the 18th century.
Joseph died at the age of 58 and is buried in the Westcott-Wilkinson Lot (also known as R.I. Historical Cemetery #14); Martha lived to the age of 91 and probably told her bear story many times to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
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| Westcott-Wilkinson Lot burial site for Joseph Wilkinson (and possibly Martha Pray Wilkinson) |
photo courtesy Gene Kuechmann of Findagrave.com
Some Resources:
- A History of Scituate, R.I., Being an account of its Early Settlement & Events to the Present, Compiled by the American Studies Class, Scituate Jr./Sr. High School, N. Scituate, Rhode Island, Project Heritage 1977
- Beaman, C.C., An Historical Sketch of the Town of Scituate, RI, published by Order of the Town Council, Delivered in Scituate July 4, 1876 at the Request of the Town Authorities, Phoenix Capron & Campbell, Steam Books and Job Printers 1877
- Roberts, Gary Boyd, "Genealogies of Rhode Island Families volume 1", New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1989
- Kuffner, Alex, Providence Journal 11 June 2019, "Bears, too, Finding R.I. A Good Place to Settle Down" article accessed online 25 August 2025 from The Herald News at https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/2019/06/11/bears-too-finding-r-i/4938185007/
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