The North Road, Chepachet, late 19th century. Today this is Route 102 heading north from the stoplight. Rev. Morrell would have traveled this road on May 17, 1882, to get to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Seth Mowry on the occasion of the "Ladies Circle" meeting at which "new rule in regard to supper" (potluck in today's terms) was tried. To reach the Mowry home, he would have turned right at the head of the road for a short distance beyond. The Diary states that on June 3, Rev. Morrell helped Mr. Mowry in his garden and Mr. Mowry, in turn, helped Rev. Morrell put slating on a black board. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Main Street, Chepachet, looking north from the bridge. The first building on the right was the grocery store of Walter Read, later Brown and Hopkins Store (see Diary entries mentioning Mr. Read on May 21, June 11, and July 4). The building next to it was at one time the store of Job Armstrong, founding member of the Chepachet Free Will Baptist Church. The fourth (last) building from the left was at one time the large home of Clovis Hildovis Bowen, who died in 1875 before the period of this Diary. Rev. Morrell, however, mentions a "Mr. Bowen" in the Diary entry for May 25 and 26. Clovis Bowen had three sons living in 1882: Edward Steere Bowen (born 1850), Clovis Henry Bowen (born 1853), and Herbert Anthony Bowen (born 1861). The two older sons moved to Pawtucket; Herbert stayed in Glocester, and may have been the person referred to in the Diary, and may at this time have been still living in this house. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Mrs. and Mr. Walter A. Read. Mr. Read is mentioned in Diary entries on May 21, June 11, and July 4th. He was an excellent vocalist and active member of the Congregational Church. From the photographic collection of Robert E. Steere, Sr., courtesy of Robert E. Steere, Jr., and Martha Willard.

Home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Read, Main Street, Chepachet, largely as it appeared in Rev. Morrell's day. Mr. Read was later the Treasurer of the State of Rhode Island. The house has been moved to Chestnut Hill Road. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Chepachet Congregational Church (now Union Church) on Main Street, the location of the praise meeting described in the May 21 Diary entry (and many other events in the narrative). It was built in 1846. Simeon Sweet, mentioned in the Diary entry for June 11, is believed to be driving the lumber wagon in this photograph. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Thomas Whipple Steere (see Diary entry for May 27). From the Steere Family Association, Inc., The John Steere Family Album, Walton, New York 1981, p. 84.

Home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Whipple Steere, Chopmist Hill Road, Chepachet. Rev. Morrell stayed overnight with Mr. and Mrs. Steere and their family on May 27, although they may not have been living at this house then. Mr. Steere was later a Deacon of the Church and the Chairman of all but one Old Home Day celebration from 1909 to 1926. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smith Olney, neighbor to Alexander Morrell, early 1880's. This house stands across the street from the Baptist Parsonage and to the west of it. Mr. Olney is sitting in the wagon. He is mentioned in Diary entries on May 29, May 30, and June 20, which state that Rev. Morrell worked for him helping to build a cupboard; later Mr. Olney helped Rev. Morrell plant his beans and corn. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smith Olney. He is mentioned in Diary entries for May 29 and June 20; Mrs. Olney is mentioned in the Diary entry for June 30. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Putnam Pike, looking West, late 19th century. The building on the left is the Baptist Parsonage, where Rev. Morrell lived. The building in the center was the home of Ernest E. Hopkins, probably built just after Rev. Morrell left Chepachet. The building on the right, built in the 18th century, is a house that would have been very familiar to Rev. Morrell. It was owned at times by the Eddy and by the Kimball families, and later by Ernest Hopkins. These last two buildings are still in the Hopkins family. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Deacon Smith A. Steere and his wife Mary Phetteplace Steere at their home off Douglas Hook Road in Chepachet, taken around the time of Rev. Morrell's pastorate. They accompanied Rev. Morrell on a trip to East Killingly, CT, and were very active in the church. Rev. Morrell commends Deacon Steere, Church Treasurer, for his prompt payment of Rev. Morrell's salary. Deacon Smith A. Steere is mentioned in Diary entries on May 29, June 5, June 21, June 26, and July 5. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Home of Deacon Smith A. Steere off Douglas Hook Road, Chepachet. The house is now occupied by Lois Steere Boire, Deacon Steere's great grand-niece. This is about how it looked during Rev. Morrell's pastorate. Courtesy of the Glocester Heritage Society.

Deacon Smith A. Steere Gristmill, photograph taken 1896. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Main Street, Chepachet, looking south, showing the beautiful elms that lined the village during the time that Rev. Morrell ministered to its people. The livery stable of William R. Parkhurst (see Diary entries for June 2 and 25) is the second building from the left. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Home and connected barn of William R. Parkhurst, Main Street, Chepachet, late 19th century. The house and barn still stand southeast of the stop light in their original location. Parkhurst's livery service is mentioned in Diary entries on June 2 and June 25. Courtesy of the Glocester Heritage Society.

Chepachet Schoolhouse, late 19th century. It was built in the 1830's by the same architect who built the Chepachet Congregational (today Union) Church. It was located on Douglas Hook Road east of the present Town Hall. See Diary entry, June 5, where Rev. Morrell mentions a Town Meeting (which he did not attend) and the Superintendent of Schools. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Mrs. and Mr. George Wheeler Steere, at least one of whom is mentioned in Diary entries on May 29, June 5, 21, and July 6. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Home of Mr. and Mrs. George Wheeler Steere, 1882, during the pastorate of Rev. Morrell. It is now the home of George O. Steere, Sr., their grandson, and his wife, Kathryn G. Steere. It is located on John Steere Road northeast of the Village. A scrapbook entry of Mrs. G. W. Steere indicates that Rev. Morrell visited her here when she was ill. Left to right: Martha Sayles Steere (Mrs. George W.), Benjamin Steere (their son, holding horse), George Wheeler Steere, George Wheeler Steere, Jr., (their son) and John P. Steere. Sr., (their son). Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

The White Mill, owned by Fenner White and later Henry Clay White, as it appeared during the pastorate of Rev. Morrell. It burned in 1897. See Diary entry June 7. Notice the steeple of the Chepachet Meeting House at the right. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Home of Charles A. Slocum. He is mentioned in Diary entries on June 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12. Rev. Morrell conducted Mr. Slocum's funeral service here. It was also the home of Ziba Slocum, Mr. Slocum's son, and later the home of Howard and Maude Farnum. It still stands on Dorr Drive. Courtesy of the Glocester Heritage Society.

Home of Simeon Sweet, quite possibly with his family in front, late 19th century. It stands across the street to the west of Acote's Hill. Mr. Sweet, who was a lumberman and undertaker, supplied materials for repairing the Meeting House during Rev. Morrell's pastorate. He is mentioned in the Diary entry for June 11 as superintending the funeral of Charles Slocum. Courtesy of the Glocester Heritage Society.

Acote's Hill Cemetery, not long after the time of Rev. Morrell's pastorate. He mentions funeral services for Dorcas Paine, [William Arnold] White, Charles A. Slocum, and Christopher O'Brien, who are buried here. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

The home of Edwin Valentine is the large dwelling with a half-dozen steps leading up to its entrance, the third house from the left, located on the east side of Main Street, Chepachet. It was formerly the home of Cyrus Cooke. It was torn down and replaced by a gas station, which still stands here in the middle of the village. Mr. and Mrs. Valentine are cited for their musical offerings, vocal and instrumental, at the Congregational (now Union) Church. See Diary references to Mr. Valentine and his wife on May 21 and July 4, and to the unnamed Superintendent of the Valentine Mill on June 12. Courtesy of the Glocester Heritage Society.

Main Street, Chepachet, looking south from the bridge, late 19th century. The third house in from the right is that of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Read. Mr. Read is mentioned in Diary entries on May 21, June 11, and July 4th. The first building on the left housed the front portion of the Valentine Mill, which still stands. See Diary references to Mr. Valentine and his wife on May 21 and July 4, and to the unnamed Superintendent of the Valentine Mill on June 12. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

The Valentine Mill, photographed during the late 19th century. The front portion of this mill still stands on Main Street, Chepachet on the south side of the Chepachet River. The wooden portion pictured here was torn down in the 1990's. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Congressman Warren O. Arnold, employer of William Neff and next-door neighbor of Rev. Morrell, who is mentioned in the Diary entry for June 21. From the photographic collection of Robert E. Steere, Sr., courtesy of Robert E. Steere, Jr., and Martha Willard.

The home of Congressman Warren O. Arnold (formerly the home of Congressman George Huntington Browne), as it appeared during the 1880's. Located near the Baptist Parsonage on the same side of Putnam Pike, it is today the rectory of St. Eugene's Church. From the photographic collection of Robert E. Steere, Sr., courtesy of Robert E. Steere, Jr., and Martha Willard.

William Goodman, taken in the 1880's, at about the time of Rev. Morrell's pastorate. He is almost certainly the "young Goodman" referred to in the Dairy reference for June 21. He is buried in Acote's Hill cemetery. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.

Home of Robert Wade, possibly the Wade mentioned as giving Rev. Morrell two quarts of strawberries at the close of the Strawberry festival in the Diary entry for June 24. This home was located at the junction of Main Street, Putnam Pike, and North Road (where the traffic light now is) on the east side of Main Street. It was torn down to make way for Freddie Halbig's garage. A pizzeria is now located there in the former garage building. Courtesy of the Glocester Heritage Society.

William Henry Steere and his wife Rachel Steere. They are mentioned in the Diary references for May 29 and June 27. He was a proprietor of the Meeting House, and a major contributor to the building of the Church vestry in 1892. From the Steere Family Association, Inc., The John Steere Family Album, Walton, New York 1981, p. 120.

Home of William Henry Steere, Boston Road (now Old Victory Highway), Chepachet, late 19th century picture. It is here that Captain Cyrus Sturdivant took tea, as mentioned in the Diary entry for June 27. It burned in 1918. The stones from his cellar hole have recently been moved to the Meeting House to construct new steps for the Vestry under the supervision of Paul Anderton. From the Steere Family Association, Inc., The John Steere Family Album, Walton, New York 1981, p. 120.

Chepachet Congregational Church, late 19th century, site of the Chepachet Fourth of July celebration, 1882, as described in the Diary entry for that date. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Home of James Brown, late 19th century. This house was later occupied by Caroline Burton, Church Secretary for many years. A Miss Lowe, mentioned in the Diary entry for June 24 and also as a participant in the July 4th Celebration, was said to be boarding with the Brown family at this location in the Diary reference for July 4. From the photographic collection of Robert E. Steere, Sr., courtesy of Robert E. Steere, Jr., and Martha Willard.

Benedict Aldrich, whom (according to the Diary) Rev. Morrell visited on July 5, 1882, was approaching 90 years old at that time, and not in the best of health. Courtesy of Edna Kent.

Marcia Arnold (left), and Ellen Arnold (right), schoolteachers. See Diary entries, June 11 and 19. Courtesy of Clifford Brown.