ok of the church contains a list of the members of Mr. Myles's
church in Swansea, from 1640 till 1660, with letters, decrees,
ordinances, etc., of the several churches of the denomination in England
and Wales. This book, now in the possession of the First Baptist Church
in Swanzey, Massachusetts, is probably a copy of the original Welsh
records, made by or for Mr. Myles's church in Massachusetts, the
sentiments of which controlled their actions here.

Of the seven constituent members, only one was a member of Myles's
church in Wales--Nicholas Tanner. James Brown was a son of John Brown,
both of whom held high offices in the Plymouth colony. Mr. Newman and
his church were again aroused at the revival of this dangerous sect, and
they again united with the other orthodox churches of the colony in
soliciting the Court to interpose its influence against them, and the
members of this little church were each fined five pounds, for setting
up a public meeting without the knowledge and approbation of the Court,
to the disturbance of the peace of the place,--ordered to desist from
their meeting for the space of a month, and advised to remove their
meeting to some other place where they might not prejudice any other
church. The worthy magistrates of Plymouth have not told us how these
few Baptist brethren "disturbed the peace" of quiet old Rehoboth. Good
old Rehoboth, that roomy place, was not big enough to contain this
church of seven members, and we have to-day to thank the spirit of
Newman and the order of Plymouth Court for the handful of seed-corn,
which they cast upon the waters, which here took root and has brought
forth the fruits of a sixty-fold growth.

From a careful reading of the first covenant of the church, we judge
that it was a breach of ecclesiastical, rather than of civil, law, and
that the fines and banishment from the limits of Rehoboth were imposed
as a preventive against any further inroads upon the membership of Mr.
Newman's church. In obedience to the orders of the Court, the members of
Mr. Myles's church looked about for a more convenient dwelling-place,
and found it as near to the limits of the old town and their original
homes as the law would allow. Within the bounds of Old Swanzey,
Massachusetts, in the northern part of the present town of Barrington,
Rhode Island, they selected a site for a church edifice. The spot now
pointed out as the location of this building for public worship is near
the main