Barrington in the Dorr Rebellion

Barringtonians argued over voting rights and reapportionment just as the rest of the state did. A subsequent Congressional report disclosed that 52 Barrington men—28 of whom met the property qualification for voting under the Charter, and 24 of whom did not—voted in favor of the People’s Constitution in December 1841. Included in the relatively well-to-do group were some familiar family names: Heath, Peck, Martin, Drown, Smith, and others. In other words, Dorr’s support in Barrington, as in the rest of the state, did not come only from the disenfranchised, but from men motivated by what can aptly be called “idealism.” It seems clear, however, that “conservatives,” who wanted to preserve their own power and the power of the small towns within the state, outnumbered the “rebels” in town. This post is sponsored by our partners.

In June 1842 Barrington’s Militia didn’t get to Chepachet in time to see even limited action. Historian Russell DeSimone, who has studied the Rebellion in detail, identifies only two Barringtonians (Charles Kimbell and Wilmarth Heath) among the 250 prisoners taken there, probably because there was no organized Dorrite militia from Barrington. Heath (whose home still stands on County Road, just north of Middle Highway) was one of only three men to receive a jail sentence and a $500 fine—the other two were Thomas Dorr himself and Seth Luther of Warren. (For more on Wilmarth Heath, see Appendix II.)

The Barrington Militia that answered the Governor’s call and marched under the flag now preserved in the town Museum included 32 officers and men from the town. Many of those militiamen were from the same families and neighborhoods as those who had voted for the People’s Constitution. Barrington’s resident historian, Thomas Bicknell, whose history was published in 1898, does not mince words: “In Barrington, as well as throughout the state, the excitement was intense, and personal hatred was bitter between members of the two parties. Family ties were broken by the strains of partisanship. Personal danger, more real than fancied, led many Dorrites of Barrington to secrete themselves or flee from the town.” (Bicknell, A History of the Town of Barrington, p. 495. More detailed information about who supported each side is given in Appendix I and Appendix II.)