Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-12

The Bulletin of Information of the Westerly Historical Society. issued by President Ethan Wilcox, contains a letter from J. c. Krous. first assistant postmaster general, which states that according to records the post office at Westerly was established January 1, 1794. This quotation is from the Life of Benjamin Franklin.
 Tn the American colonies the pos tai service began thus Letters arriv- ing fronf~beyond the sea were usually delivered on board the ship into the hands of the person to whom they a member on board for the purpose of receiving letters. Letters not call ed for were taken by the captain to 8 coffee house near the wharf where they lay spread out on table await Ing the coming of their owners. Per- sons coming from adjacent settle ments called at the coffee house and carried away, not only their own let ters. but all the letters heloaging to people in their neighhorhood,. which they either delivered in person et de- posted at the house of the minister or magistrate or some relative of the per son to whom the letter was addressed Hence the custom grew up of deposit
 
 written in the town and dest ineG to a place in the interior as well as letters brought from the country and di- rected to an inhabitant of the town. As the settlements grew ill number and magnitude, it became usual to leave letters directed to one of them at the inn most frequented by the inhahi- tants of that settlement Thus several years before there was 3 post otice, or a post rider in the colonies. a rude slow, unsafe but neighborly system of letter delivery had sprung up; and long after the establishment e.e a post office, this neighhorly system ccntin- ued to be the main dependence of the people for the transportation of let ters for short distances"
 Henry Robinson Palmer, of Stoning- ton, will speak on the Lure of the Past. At the April meeting a paper on The Romance of Newport, prepared by Miss Maud Lyman Stevens, will be read by Miss L. Gertrude Stillman.
 Samuel Putnam Avery, of Hartford has presented the Westerly Public Ii brary an extra illustrated copy of By the Name of Park. Among the extra iiiustrations is a portrait of the donor, whose hearty cooperation made possi ble the improvements at the old Park burying ground last summer includ- ing the erection of a granite tablet to the memory of Rev. Joseph Park, NJ A., 17o5-1777.
 Dr. Lucy A. Rabeock, 8, the first woman to practice medicine in West erly, and a pioneer of women in the profession. died after :hree rears' ill., ness, in Alfred, N r, Sunday The body will arrive in Westerly today and burial will be at the First Hopkinton cemetery. Dr. Babcoek was born ir l Potter Hill. the daughter of Oliver and
 Phebe Babcock. After graduating
 from the Hopkinton academy, she completed course in medicine at tht
 New York Medical college and prac- tfced in Westerly for twelve years. About thirty years ago she retired
 from practice and went to Alfred, N Y, and lived in the Ladies' Boardins
 hall She was strong advocate o
 woman suffrage, worker in the caus,
 of temperance, and a devout membei
 Of the Seventh Day Baptist church
 She Is survived by a sister, Mrs. Juli.
 M. B. Amber. of Chatham, N Y. Sh, was sister of the late Nathan, Stephei
 and Daniel Babcock.