[47]. Encyclopædia Britannica.
[48]. There is a tradition that it was he who first introduced potatoes to Rhode Island, bringing them from Ireland.
[49]. From a letter written to the author, by a descendant of Matthew, some years ago.
[50]. After Matthew Watson’s death, the clay pits remained idle for years, and a young forest gradually grew up.
[51]. Watson sold his brick in Newport and New York, as well as in other places. Bicknell says that “the brick mansions of some of the old Manhattan families were probably made of Barrington clay.”
[52]. Providence Gazette.
[53]. One account says he died in 1803, aged 107 years.
[54]. His second wife, Sarah, died in 1798.
[55]. In 1781 he is described as a “gentleman soldier.”
[56]. Recently clerk of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.