Johnston Historical Society Historical Notes
Vol. VII, #2, November 1996
Louis H. McGowan, Editor

Mr. Mercy Borden
by Steve Merolla
The recent bus tour of historic houses and sites sponsored by the Johnston Historical Society has prompted me to relay an interesting story concerning one of the earlier personages of the area. One of our stops was at the King Cemetery at the corner of Hartford Avenue and Winfield Street. More properly this cemetery could be called the Borden-King Cemetery, for even though Governor Samuel Ward King and most of the King family are interred there, so is Governor King's great-grandfather, Mr. Mercy Borden. It was through Mercy Borden (1672-1753) that a large landed estate passed down to the King and Thornton families through marriage. Mercy Borden's estate probably comprised well over 200 acres and was worth over 5000 pounds, a considerable sum at the time. His daughter, Mary Borden, married Josiah King in 1759 and it was through this union that the King dynasty was established in Johnston.

One thing might strike you as being a little odd about Lieutenant Mercy Borden, and that would be his name!! Mercy was a name commonly bestowed upon a girl, and it seems that people over 250 years ago were also confused because in the old records of the Town of Providence, his name is variously recorded as Mercy, Marcy, and on a few occasions, Moxie. In deeds dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, his name is almost equally recorded as Mercy or Marcy. His will spells his name Mercy, and genealogists with access to old records indicate he was born Mercy. However, his headstone in the King Cemetery is carved with the name Marcy, and his wife's stone states that she was the wife of Marcy. So, what in fact is the proper usage? A clue may come from a Borden family genealogy authored by Mr. Hattie Borden Welch in the late 19th century, from which I will now quote.

It will no doubt appear strange to others as it does to me that the name Mercy, which is so often applied to females with singular propriety, should have been bestowed upon a son. I have often expressed my surprise at this, and others to whom I have mentioned this case have done the same; and until recently I have spelled the name Marcy. But recently I called upon Judge Potter of Johnston, who is a descendant of Mercy Borden [ed. note: Judge Zuriel Potter was Mercy Borden's great-great-grandson and one of the more influential men of the Town in the late 19th century], and who formerly lived in his old mansion, which is still standing and occupied. He informed me that the name was Mercy, and that it was bestowed upon him under peculiar circumstances. Judge Potter said that when Mrs. Borden was in an advanced stage of pregnancy she was sitting in her chair as usual, and her cat was lying asleep on the floor directly under her chair; a heavy shower of rain was falling at the time, accompanied with loud thunder and vivid lightning; one flash more vivid than the rest struck the house, and entering the room killed the cat under her chair, but left her unharmed. Under the excitement produced by this sudden and terrific shock she arose quickly, and looking upon the destruction around her, she exclaimed: "The mercy of God has spared my life and that of my child; and for this great mercy my child shall be called Mercy when born." In one hour from that time the child was born, and proved to be a son; but true to her vow she immediately bestowed the name Mercy upon him, which he bore through a long, prosperous and useful life.

Certainly a fantastic story. Whether this old family tale is based on fact, one can only speculate. In my opinion his birth name probably was Mercy, but just as today when some people are more commonly known by a nickname, it is probable that the nickname Marcy was commonly used to refer to Mr. Borden both during his lifetime and after his death.

Sources: Borden Genealogy, Hattie Borden Welch, R.I. Historical Soc. Library, on microfilm (CS/71/.C712/1901).

Society Doings
Things are continuing to go well with our group. We picked up 7 or 8 membership renewals with our last newsletter. We now have coast to coast mailings again with the renewals of Earl Belknap in California and Doug Belknap in Alaska. It was good hearing from them both. We also had renewals from old friends Thomas Stone of Greenville, Ohio, and Peter Voccio and Mr. and Mrs. Irving Almonte, both of the town. In addition, we would like to welcome new members: Carl and Susan Angell of Warwick, William Molloy of Johnston, and Phil Paige of East Providence.

Our big event since the last newsletter was our bus tour held on November 17 of this year. We sold 36 tickets which enabled us to make about $115 in profit. 26 people actually made the trip and all seemed quite happy to have taken the journey with us. We visited four building interiors, made major stops at a soapstone quarry and a cemetery, and made a few shorter stops where we did not get off the bus. We started out at the nearby Graniteville Baptist Church, where long-time church member and church historian Robert Jackson presented a fascinating history of the old-time meeting house. Our next stop was the Clemence-Irons House where we treated to an informative and interesting lecture on the house and its former inhabitants by the caretaker. At the soapstone quarry on Hartford Avenue, we were presented with a fine talk on the quarry and the people who worked it by society member Arthur Iannelli. A short stop up the road took us to the Governor Samuel Ward King Cemetery, where society member Steve Merolla very capably told us about this cemetery and some background of its most famous families, the Bordens and the Kings. We then traveled to Thornton, where we stopped outside the James F. Simmons House and St. Rocco's Church. Pat Macari next told us about the Benjamin Belknap House, where our first town meeting was held. Our last stop was at the Dean Kimball House where the owners, Warren and Ellen Lanpher, graciously opened their wonderful home for our tour group. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

Louis McGowan provided narration on the bus and Dan and Nancy Brown coordinated coffee and pastries at our headquarters. We now have three display cabinets where tour-goers viewed some of our historical artifacts. All in all, it was a wonderful day and we would like to do another tour in 1997.

At our September meeting, Frank Spencer treated our membership to another fine slide show. He is a delight! At our October meeting, Walter Foster explained the ins and outs of doing genealogy. He explained how to start research, where to go, and when. Louis McGowan gave a slide presentation on old amusement parks of Rhode Island at our November get-together.

On December 6th eleven of our members visited the Dean Kimball House once more for a holiday get-together with Warren and Ellen Lanpher. The house looked very festive and we spent a very pleasant evening socializing. You could almost forget that it was the 20th century!

Our cemetery committee is moving along nicely with the cataloging of town cemeteries. We have finished about ten so far and we will be going out every Sunday morning this winter to continue the project.

We are hoping to obtain a legislative grant this winter so that we can start up our plaquing program once again. We will probably start off with 10 or 15 buildings for the next year.

We have signed the contract for the photo-book on the town, so please be thinking of photographs to include. We are mainly looking for older photos but good shots of recent vintage can also be used. Street scenes, building views, portraits, or family scenes can be included. Help your society and get your name in the book in the process! By the way, we spend no money in printing this book. The publisher foots the whole bill.

Thanks to all our members who are contributing furniture, artifacts, photos, etc. to our society. Since our last newsletter Al Kimball graciously donated a billy club, a chief's badge, and handcuffs that belonged to his grandfather. We are proudly displaying them in our display cabinet. Gina Perrotta gave us a nice pair of copper candleholders that are sitting on our parlor mantle. Walter Armstrong turned over to us another fantastic Pocasset Worsted Mill artifact, an early 20th century insurance drawing. If I have forgotten to thank anyone for their gifts, please remind me. We very much appreciate the generosity of all our donators.

Belknap House Update
The society is still negotiating with the seller for the purchase of the Benjamin Belknap House. We decided at a general meeting that we should try to acquire this important building even though it is in deplorable condition. Our reason for this decision was based on the historic value of the house. The first recorded town meeting in Johnston was held there in March 1759. Our plan is to form a town-wide committee to raise funds to purchase the property. Restoration would be done through grants. We will keep you posted!

Time To Renew
Have you paid your 1997 membership dues yet? The cost is only $8.00 for an individual or $10.00 for a family membership. Get involved—join today!

Election Results
At our October meeting we elected a new slate of officers. This was our first election in a number of years, and it completes our growth back to a fully-functioning organization. Thanks to Smokey Ullucci for heading the nominating committee. The new officers are as follows:

President: Louis McGowan
Vice-President: Pat Macari
Treasurer: Dan Brown
Recording Secretary: Bel Peters
Corresponding Secretary: Mike Carroll
Trustee: Everett Cogswell
Trustee: Steve Merolla

Christmas Party
28 members and guests attended our annual Christmas party on December 15, 1996 at our headquarters. The house looked great thanks to decorating by Bel Peters, Nancy Brown, Leisa Jorgensen, and Stacy Peters who used live greens and candles to lend a festive air to the gathering. Everyone bought a decoration for our lovely tree, which was donated by Dan Brown. A roaring fire in the kitchen made us all feel nice and toasty, while we sampled the delectable food dishes that were donated by our members. A highlight of the evening occurred when Mike Carroll got out his guitar and he and Leisa led us in singing Christmas carols. We never did get the Twelve Days of Christmas right, but that's what you get with non-union musicians. Thanks to all who came and made the evening such a success.