{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":0.81,"endTime":2.73,"body":"The Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":0.81,"endTime":2.73,"body":"Williams Sycamore is the most"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2.73,"endTime":6.45,"body":"famous tree in Rhode Island."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2.73,"endTime":6.45,"body":"It's huge girth and spreading"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":6.45,"endTime":10.17,"body":"branches have been photographed,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":6.45,"endTime":10.17,"body":"climbed on, and loved by"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":10.17,"endTime":13.47,"body":"generations of visitors to Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":10.17,"endTime":13.47,"body":"Williams Park and Providence"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":13.53,"endTime":16.95,"body":"dating back to the late 19th"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":13.53,"endTime":16.95,"body":"century. It can be seen as a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":16.95,"endTime":22.26,"body":"stately tree in old postcards"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":16.95,"endTime":22.26,"body":"from 1905 and 1910. But what do"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":22.26,"endTime":25.89,"body":"we really know about our old"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":22.26,"endTime":25.89,"body":"friend? Why is the tree here?"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":25.92,"endTime":31.08,"body":"How old is it? And why is it so"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":25.92,"endTime":31.08,"body":"special? Who is Betsy Williams?"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":31.62,"endTime":34.74,"body":"Join me as my search for an"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":31.62,"endTime":34.74,"body":"origin story touches on the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":34.74,"endTime":38.85,"body":"legacy of Roger Williams, Rhode"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":34.74,"endTime":38.85,"body":"Island's founder introduces"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":38.88,"endTime":42.0,"body":"overlooked historical"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":38.88,"endTime":42.0,"body":"characters, including members of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":42.0,"endTime":46.35,"body":"Betty's family, reveals a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":42.0,"endTime":46.35,"body":"forgotten tree and follows a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":46.35,"endTime":49.47,"body":"divorce trial featuring an"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":46.35,"endTime":49.47,"body":"interloper who could have"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":49.47,"endTime":53.82,"body":"changed everything. This is also"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":49.47,"endTime":53.82,"body":"a story about 19th century women"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":53.82,"endTime":57.27,"body":"surviving on their own using"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":53.82,"endTime":57.27,"body":"their savvy to preserve their"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":57.27,"endTime":60.78,"body":"land when women had few rights"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":57.27,"endTime":60.78,"body":"and are expected to marry and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":60.78,"endTime":65.55,"body":"bear children. The patient,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":60.78,"endTime":65.55,"body":"gracious Betsy Williams Sycamore"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":65.58,"endTime":71.1,"body":"bore witness to it all. I'm your"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":65.58,"endTime":71.1,"body":"host, Doug Still, and welcome to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":71.1,"endTime":74.94,"body":"This Old Tree, the podcast about"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":71.1,"endTime":74.94,"body":"heritage trees and the human"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":74.94,"endTime":76.02,"body":"stories behind them."},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":79.51,"endTime":84.64,"body":"This"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":79.51,"endTime":84.64,"body":"old tree, standing here for more"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":84.64,"endTime":89.23,"body":"than four centuries. I wonder"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":84.64,"endTime":89.23,"body":"what you'd say to me....."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":89.0,"endTime":92.21,"body":"It was March 2005"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":89.0,"endTime":92.21,"body":"when I encountered the Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":92.21,"endTime":96.05,"body":"Williams Sycamore for the first"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":92.21,"endTime":96.05,"body":"time. I was an up and coming"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":96.08,"endTime":99.32,"body":"urban forester, and had just"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":96.08,"endTime":99.32,"body":"driven up from New York City to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":99.32,"endTime":103.1,"body":"Providence to interview for the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":99.32,"endTime":103.1,"body":"City Forester position. These"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":103.1,"endTime":107.33,"body":"jobs are few and far between, as"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":103.1,"endTime":107.33,"body":"career municipal arborists"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":107.36,"endTime":110.72,"body":"rarely leave their posts, and I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":107.36,"endTime":110.72,"body":"had my eye on Providence for a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":110.72,"endTime":114.74,"body":"long time. It seemed like the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":110.72,"endTime":114.74,"body":"perfect-sized city with lots of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":114.77,"endTime":118.73,"body":"character and charm, and I was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":114.77,"endTime":118.73,"body":"from New England. I knew there"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":118.73,"endTime":122.24,"body":"would be about 12 people around"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":118.73,"endTime":122.24,"body":"the table interviewing me,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":122.45,"endTime":127.04,"body":"including the Superintendent of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":122.45,"endTime":127.04,"body":"Parks, her deputy, the city"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":127.04,"endTime":130.25,"body":"council president, the president"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":127.04,"endTime":130.25,"body":"of the Rhode Island tree"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":130.25,"endTime":134.06,"body":"Council, and Peggy Sharp, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":130.25,"endTime":134.06,"body":"longtime philanthropist who"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":134.06,"endTime":137.27,"body":"created the very successful"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":134.06,"endTime":137.27,"body":"Providence Neighborhood Planting"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":137.27,"endTime":142.85,"body":"Program. I really wanted the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":137.27,"endTime":142.85,"body":"job, and I was nervous. But I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":142.85,"endTime":146.48,"body":"was early, so when I arrived at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":142.85,"endTime":146.48,"body":"the Casino, one of the historic"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":146.48,"endTime":149.78,"body":"buildings near the entrance of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":146.48,"endTime":149.78,"body":"Roger Williams Park, I parked my"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":149.78,"endTime":153.29,"body":"rental car and took a little"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":149.78,"endTime":153.29,"body":"walk. I took a path around the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":153.29,"endTime":160.19,"body":"bend and wow, there was a giant"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":153.29,"endTime":160.19,"body":"American Sycamore, possibly 80"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":160.19,"endTime":164.21,"body":"feet tall with a 100 foot plus"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":160.19,"endTime":164.21,"body":"spread. The branches were as"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":164.21,"endTime":168.11,"body":"thick as trees themselves. One"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":164.21,"endTime":168.11,"body":"branch was particularly eye"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":168.11,"endTime":172.82,"body":"catching. It hung very low with"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":168.11,"endTime":172.82,"body":"irregular bends and crooks and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":172.82,"endTime":176.93,"body":"lots of character. One elbow, so"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":172.82,"endTime":176.93,"body":"to speak, was a foot off the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":176.93,"endTime":180.65,"body":"ground. It was tied in with an"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":176.93,"endTime":180.65,"body":"old steel cable that was now"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":180.65,"endTime":184.28,"body":"embedded in the bark as the tree"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":180.65,"endTime":184.28,"body":"grew around it. If you are"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":184.28,"endTime":187.28,"body":"familiar with the American"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":184.28,"endTime":187.28,"body":"Sycamore, you know that the bark"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":187.28,"endTime":191.3,"body":"has multiple shades of gray,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":187.28,"endTime":191.3,"body":"light green and brown as the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":191.3,"endTime":194.6,"body":"tree sheds its thin outer"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":191.3,"endTime":194.6,"body":"layers, sort of resembling the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":194.6,"endTime":198.89,"body":"pattern on camouflage pants. But"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":194.6,"endTime":198.89,"body":"as you look up, the bark turns"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":198.89,"endTime":203.06,"body":"to a dazzling white in the upper"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":198.89,"endTime":203.06,"body":"trunk and branches, defining its"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":203.06,"endTime":206.09,"body":"structure in a way that is"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":203.06,"endTime":206.09,"body":"visible from far away like a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":206.09,"endTime":210.71,"body":"beacon. This was a stunner. What"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":206.09,"endTime":210.71,"body":"made the tree even more"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":210.71,"endTime":213.71,"body":"fantastic was how it was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":210.71,"endTime":213.71,"body":"situated in the landscape"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":213.86,"endTime":217.73,"body":"between two other landmarks. It"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":213.86,"endTime":217.73,"body":"stood directly in front of a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":217.73,"endTime":221.99,"body":"small red gambrel-roofed house"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":217.73,"endTime":221.99,"body":"with old windows that I later"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":221.99,"endTime":225.17,"body":"learned was the Betsy Williams"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":221.99,"endTime":225.17,"body":"cottage. I could clearly see it"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":225.17,"endTime":227.87,"body":"was an historic building,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":225.17,"endTime":227.87,"body":"although it was unmarked at the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":227.87,"endTime":231.83,"body":"time. The enormous tree grounded"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":227.87,"endTime":231.83,"body":"the building somehow, and vice"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":231.83,"endTime":237.5,"body":"versa. The two were a pair that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":231.83,"endTime":237.5,"body":"suggested a bygone era. On the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":237.5,"endTime":240.17,"body":"other side of the tree and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":237.5,"endTime":240.17,"body":"completing the visual picture"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":240.17,"endTime":245.54,"body":"was a 25 foot bronze statue of a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":240.17,"endTime":245.54,"body":"man in colonial garb. This was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":245.54,"endTime":249.44,"body":"Roger Williams - at least that's"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":245.54,"endTime":249.44,"body":"what the plaque said, standing"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":249.44,"endTime":252.44,"body":"on a granite pedestal in the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":249.44,"endTime":252.44,"body":"middle of a small roundabout."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":253.16,"endTime":257.63,"body":"Viewed together, the trifecta"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":253.16,"endTime":257.63,"body":"made the perfect picture. In"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":257.63,"endTime":261.17,"body":"fact, I later learned after"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":257.63,"endTime":261.17,"body":"collecting postcards of Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":261.17,"endTime":264.95,"body":"Williams Park from the turn of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":261.17,"endTime":264.95,"body":"the century, this picture -"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":265.07,"endTime":269.72,"body":"house, tree, and statue - had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":265.07,"endTime":269.72,"body":"been photographed for more than"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":269.75,"endTime":274.46,"body":"100 years, just as I saw it, and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":269.75,"endTime":274.46,"body":"just as it can be seen today."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":275.06,"endTime":278.75,"body":"This space is the heart and soul"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":275.06,"endTime":278.75,"body":"of Roger Williams Park, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":278.75,"endTime":280.85,"body":"epicenter that was the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":278.75,"endTime":280.85,"body":"centerpiece of Horace"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":280.85,"endTime":284.96,"body":"Cleveland's design in the 1880s."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":280.85,"endTime":284.96,"body":"The Sycamore is an essential"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":284.96,"endTime":290.69,"body":"part of this important picture,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":284.96,"endTime":290.69,"body":"the remarkable living portion. I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":290.69,"endTime":293.36,"body":"had no knowledge of the tree"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":290.69,"endTime":293.36,"body":"prior to coming to Providence,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":293.6,"endTime":296.63,"body":"but now I had something to break"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":293.6,"endTime":296.63,"body":"the ice with when I went in for"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":296.63,"endTime":300.8,"body":"my interview. In fact, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":296.63,"endTime":300.8,"body":"sycamore in its tremendous glory"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":300.83,"endTime":304.94,"body":"demanded attention, and it took"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":300.83,"endTime":304.94,"body":"me out of my nervousness. It"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":304.94,"endTime":310.34,"body":"spoke to me of time and history"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":304.94,"endTime":310.34,"body":"and vitality, and there and then"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":310.37,"endTime":314.87,"body":"kind of gave me an unexpected"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":310.37,"endTime":314.87,"body":"pat on the back. I went into the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":314.87,"endTime":318.41,"body":"interview and did just fine, and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":314.87,"endTime":318.41,"body":"later I found out I got the job."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":319.49,"endTime":322.1,"body":"I can't help thinking that the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":319.49,"endTime":322.1,"body":"tree had something to do with"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":322.1,"endTime":327.02,"body":"it. I was City Forester for 17"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":322.1,"endTime":327.02,"body":"years, and along with all of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":327.02,"endTime":331.34,"body":"Providence is tree canopy, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":327.02,"endTime":331.34,"body":"tree was in my charge. Thank"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":331.34,"endTime":334.85,"body":"God, I didn't screw it up. The"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":331.34,"endTime":334.85,"body":"tree is alive and well and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":334.85,"endTime":338.0,"body":"people still pull over to snap a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":334.85,"endTime":338.0,"body":"picture of themselves or their"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":338.0,"endTime":341.45,"body":"families with the tree amazed at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":338.0,"endTime":341.45,"body":"how small they feel under it."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":342.2,"endTime":345.14,"body":"This past June, I left my post"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":342.2,"endTime":345.14,"body":"as City Forester for new"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":345.14,"endTime":350.0,"body":"horizons, including this"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":345.14,"endTime":350.0,"body":"podcast. But something was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":350.0,"endTime":353.78,"body":"eating at me. Despite the honour"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":350.0,"endTime":353.78,"body":"of caring for the Betsy Williams"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":353.78,"endTime":358.7,"body":"Sycamore, I realized I hadn't"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":353.78,"endTime":358.7,"body":"truly gotten to know it. I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":358.7,"endTime":361.58,"body":"always meant to dig into the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":358.7,"endTime":361.58,"body":"town records and the research,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":361.88,"endTime":365.6,"body":"but regular duties always came"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":361.88,"endTime":365.6,"body":"first. The realization hit me"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":365.6,"endTime":368.93,"body":"hard during a tree tour I was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":365.6,"endTime":368.93,"body":"leading last year, when the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":368.93,"endTime":372.83,"body":"group came to marvel at the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":368.93,"endTime":372.83,"body":"tree. But I had little to tell"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":372.89,"endTime":376.58,"body":"except for its dimensions and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":372.89,"endTime":376.58,"body":"how it was original to the park."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":377.09,"endTime":381.17,"body":"\"How old is it\" they asked, and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":377.09,"endTime":381.17,"body":"\"what are its origins? What's"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":381.17,"endTime":385.67,"body":"its story?\" People were begging"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":381.17,"endTime":385.67,"body":"for it. I kind of felt I had let"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":385.67,"endTime":391.64,"body":"them down, and in a strange way"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":385.67,"endTime":391.64,"body":"I'd let the tree down too. So"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":391.67,"endTime":394.94,"body":"last spring I started visiting"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":391.67,"endTime":394.94,"body":"the park archives in the Museum"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":394.94,"endTime":399.29,"body":"of Natural History. I met my"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":394.94,"endTime":399.29,"body":"colleague Rene Gamba, the museum"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":399.29,"endTime":402.41,"body":"director, who showed me the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":399.29,"endTime":402.41,"body":"research and documents that she"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":402.41,"endTime":406.43,"body":"had. I quickly realized that to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":402.41,"endTime":406.43,"body":"learn about the origins of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":406.43,"endTime":409.88,"body":"Betsy Williams Sycamore, I would"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":406.43,"endTime":409.88,"body":"need to learn about the life of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":409.88,"endTime":416.9,"body":"Betsy Williams herself. Renee,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":409.88,"endTime":416.9,"body":"welcome to the show."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":417.3,"endTime":419.76,"body":"Thanks so much"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":417.3,"endTime":419.76,"body":"excited to be here and share"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":419.76,"endTime":421.47,"body":"some things from the museum's"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":419.76,"endTime":421.47,"body":"archives."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":421.0,"endTime":423.64,"body":"I'd like to thank"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":421.0,"endTime":423.64,"body":"the Providence Parks Department"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":423.64,"endTime":426.52,"body":"and the City of Providence for"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":423.64,"endTime":426.52,"body":"allowing this interview and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":426.55,"endTime":432.28,"body":"helping you help me tell this"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":426.55,"endTime":432.28,"body":"story. Can you tell us how long"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":432.28,"endTime":436.21,"body":"you've been director of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":432.28,"endTime":436.21,"body":"museum, and maybe describe where"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":436.21,"endTime":437.5,"body":"we're sitting right now?"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":437.69,"endTime":439.58,"body":"Okay, great. So"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":437.69,"endTime":439.58,"body":"I've actually been with the"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":439.58,"endTime":447.47,"body":"museum for almost 23 years, been"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":439.58,"endTime":447.47,"body":"director over 10 years. And then"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":447.47,"endTime":452.15,"body":"right now we're actually sitting"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":447.47,"endTime":452.15,"body":"in the archives for Roger"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":452.15,"endTime":456.32,"body":"Williams Park, and I'm excited"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":452.15,"endTime":456.32,"body":"to pull some jewels out if you"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":456.32,"endTime":458.51,"body":"will, to tell our story today."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":458.84,"endTime":462.11,"body":"I love it up"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":458.84,"endTime":462.11,"body":"here. We're on the fourth floor."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":463.07,"endTime":467.06,"body":"[Yes] Fourth floor. You have to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":463.07,"endTime":467.06,"body":"climb this narrow, winding"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":467.06,"endTime":471.83,"body":"stairway - that creaks - through"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":467.06,"endTime":471.83,"body":"the back door in your office in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":471.83,"endTime":475.4,"body":"the front so nobody can get up"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":471.83,"endTime":475.4,"body":"here except for  passing through"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":475.4,"endTime":481.04,"body":"your office. And it's like a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":475.4,"endTime":481.04,"body":"little dark and damp."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":482.27,"endTime":485.09,"body":"Yeah, cuz we're"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":482.27,"endTime":485.09,"body":"actually in the the attic, if"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":485.09,"endTime":487.28,"body":"you will, of the museum."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":487.48,"endTime":491.41,"body":"So as City"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":487.48,"endTime":491.41,"body":"Forester and you know, us being"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":491.41,"endTime":493.54,"body":"the division with the bucket"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":491.41,"endTime":493.54,"body":"trucks [yes], we would come"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":493.57,"endTime":496.96,"body":"during rainstorms [laughs] and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":493.57,"endTime":496.96,"body":"clean out the gutters and get"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":496.96,"endTime":503.05,"body":"ready  to protect everything up"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":496.96,"endTime":503.05,"body":"here. This past spring, you were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":503.05,"endTime":506.68,"body":"kind enough to lead me up here"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":503.05,"endTime":506.68,"body":"into the archives to find out"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":506.71,"endTime":510.85,"body":"anything I could about the Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":506.71,"endTime":510.85,"body":"Williams Sycamore, because I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":510.85,"endTime":514.0,"body":"became obsessed, even more"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":510.85,"endTime":514.0,"body":"obsessed than I had always been."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":514.72,"endTime":519.73,"body":"And you ended up teaching me all"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":514.72,"endTime":519.73,"body":"about Betsy Williams herself and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":519.73,"endTime":525.55,"body":"her family. What's the general"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":519.73,"endTime":525.55,"body":"narrative around Betsy Williams"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":525.55,"endTime":526.96,"body":"and the beginning of the park?"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":527.0,"endTime":530.69,"body":"The cottage was"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":527.0,"endTime":530.69,"body":"where Betsy was actually born."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":531.35,"endTime":535.73,"body":"She's the great great, great"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":531.35,"endTime":535.73,"body":"granddaughter of Roger Williams."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":535.73,"endTime":536.87,"body":"Third great"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":535.73,"endTime":536.87,"body":"granddaughter."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":537.29,"endTime":543.38,"body":"Yes. So of Roger"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":537.29,"endTime":543.38,"body":"Williams, and she lived in that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":543.38,"endTime":545.72,"body":"cottage. She was born there"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":543.38,"endTime":545.72,"body":"lived there for a period of"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":545.72,"endTime":549.35,"body":"time. And because of her, we"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":545.72,"endTime":549.35,"body":"have this beautiful Roger"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":549.35,"endTime":552.92,"body":"Williams Park. She bequeath the"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":549.35,"endTime":552.92,"body":"land to the city of Providence,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":553.46,"endTime":559.76,"body":"in 1871 was was when kind of"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":553.46,"endTime":559.76,"body":"everything started and changed"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":559.76,"endTime":564.5,"body":"for this landscape. And, you"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":559.76,"endTime":564.5,"body":"know, a lot, you know, has"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":564.5,"endTime":567.35,"body":"changed the size of it is not,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":564.5,"endTime":567.35,"body":"you know, when she first gave"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":567.35,"endTime":569.6,"body":"him it was kind of a farm"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":567.35,"endTime":569.6,"body":"really,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":569.13,"endTime":572.471,"body":"originally 100"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":569.13,"endTime":572.471,"body":"acres are about [Yes], I think,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":572.544,"endTime":577.121,"body":"yeah, so the general narrative"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":572.544,"endTime":577.121,"body":"is Betsy Williams is third great"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":577.193,"endTime":581.843,"body":"granddaughter of Roger Williams."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":577.193,"endTime":581.843,"body":"She lived alone, she deeded the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":581.915,"endTime":586.347,"body":"property to city of Providence."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":581.915,"endTime":586.347,"body":"And that's the house that she"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":586.42,"endTime":590.778,"body":"lived in. A statue was built and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":586.42,"endTime":590.778,"body":"there's this there was this"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":590.851,"endTime":595.21,"body":"great tree there, or a tree"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":590.851,"endTime":595.21,"body":"there at the time. [Yep] I think"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":595.282,"endTime":598.77,"body":"generally people don't know much"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":595.282,"endTime":598.77,"body":"more than that."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":598.81,"endTime":601.3,"body":"No, and you know,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":598.81,"endTime":601.3,"body":"for periods of time, it's always"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":601.54,"endTime":604.15,"body":"been shrouded in mystery. People"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":601.54,"endTime":604.15,"body":"want to go inside, you know,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":604.42,"endTime":607.75,"body":"again, I drive by that every day"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":604.42,"endTime":607.75,"body":"when I come into work, don't"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":607.75,"endTime":610.15,"body":"think much of it but I see"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":607.75,"endTime":610.15,"body":"people peering in the windows"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":610.15,"endTime":613.6,"body":"and you know, wondering more"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":610.15,"endTime":613.6,"body":"about about that cottage and"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":613.6,"endTime":618.07,"body":"probably don't even realize that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":613.6,"endTime":618.07,"body":"was kind of like the start of"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":618.07,"endTime":621.94,"body":"the park. That it was because of"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":618.07,"endTime":621.94,"body":"that and she had that land that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":621.94,"endTime":625.99,"body":"she bequeathed to the city that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":621.94,"endTime":625.99,"body":"started this beautiful park and"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":626.02,"endTime":627.13,"body":"you know, being in..."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":627.45,"endTime":629.31,"body":"It really feels"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":627.45,"endTime":629.31,"body":"like you're looking into"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":629.31,"endTime":633.27,"body":"history, when every time we"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":629.31,"endTime":633.27,"body":"drive by that these three"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":633.6,"endTime":639.03,"body":"elements, you know, that's the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":633.6,"endTime":639.03,"body":"core of Roger Williams Park,  I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":639.03,"endTime":643.29,"body":"feel like. [Yes] Digging a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":639.03,"endTime":643.29,"body":"little deeper into family, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":643.29,"endTime":647.55,"body":"Williams family, could you"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":643.29,"endTime":647.55,"body":"describe a little bit more about"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":647.58,"endTime":649.86,"body":"when the house was built and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":647.58,"endTime":649.86,"body":"why?"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":650.34,"endTime":655.26,"body":"Is is believed that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":650.34,"endTime":655.26,"body":"the cottage was actually built,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":655.71,"endTime":659.22,"body":"was actually built by Nathaniel"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":655.71,"endTime":659.22,"body":"Williams, who was Joseph's"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":659.22,"endTime":661.02,"body":"grandson, for his son James."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":661.77,"endTime":664.47,"body":"Nathaniel would"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":661.77,"endTime":664.47,"body":"have been the great grandson of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":664.5,"endTime":665.25,"body":"Roger Williams."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":665.25,"endTime":669.45,"body":"Mm hmm, and they"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":665.25,"endTime":669.45,"body":"believe it was in 1773. So it"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":669.45,"endTime":671.07,"body":"was actually you know, built by"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":669.45,"endTime":671.07,"body":"hand."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":671.0,"endTime":673.4,"body":"So the Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":671.0,"endTime":673.4,"body":"Williams cottages as we now"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":673.4,"endTime":677.6,"body":"know, it was built in 1773. But"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":673.4,"endTime":677.6,"body":"it wasn't built for Betsy who"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":677.6,"endTime":680.93,"body":"wasn't even born yet. And it was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":677.6,"endTime":680.93,"body":"really built for Betsy his"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":680.93,"endTime":685.64,"body":"father James at the behest of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":680.93,"endTime":685.64,"body":"his father, Nathaniel Williams,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":686.03,"endTime":690.8,"body":"as he directed in his will of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":686.03,"endTime":690.8,"body":"1773. Nathaniel and his wife and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":690.83,"endTime":694.19,"body":"I were living nearby in the will"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":690.83,"endTime":694.19,"body":"portioned out the large farm"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":694.19,"endTime":698.57,"body":"into parts for his children."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":694.19,"endTime":698.57,"body":"James was the third son, and the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":698.57,"endTime":702.41,"body":"two older sons Frederick and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":698.57,"endTime":702.41,"body":"Nathaniel Jr. first got their"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":702.41,"endTime":706.25,"body":"share, but were instructed to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":702.41,"endTime":706.25,"body":"build a house for James on the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":706.25,"endTime":710.12,"body":"property that later became the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":706.25,"endTime":710.12,"body":"park. Nathaniel didn't die until"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":710.12,"endTime":714.35,"body":"1782 however, so I personally"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":710.12,"endTime":714.35,"body":"question whether the house was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":714.35,"endTime":718.46,"body":"built in 1773, when the will was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":714.35,"endTime":718.46,"body":"written. Wouldn't the house had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":718.46,"endTime":722.57,"body":"been built after probate in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":718.46,"endTime":722.57,"body":"1782, when James inherited the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":722.57,"endTime":726.35,"body":"land,? It wouldn't really matter"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":722.57,"endTime":726.35,"body":"much except with how I date the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":726.35,"endTime":730.1,"body":"age of the sycamore tree, but"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":726.35,"endTime":730.1,"body":"more on that later. Nathaniel"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":730.1,"endTime":734.3,"body":"Williams was the great grandson"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":730.1,"endTime":734.3,"body":"of Roger Williams. For those of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":734.3,"endTime":737.99,"body":"you not from Rhode Island, Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":734.3,"endTime":737.99,"body":"Williams is a towering figure in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":737.99,"endTime":741.14,"body":"our history as the first"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":737.99,"endTime":741.14,"body":"European to settle in the area"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":741.14,"endTime":745.25,"body":"in 1636, then known as"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":741.14,"endTime":745.25,"body":"Providence Plantations, no"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":745.25,"endTime":748.43,"body":"longer called that by the way,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":745.25,"endTime":748.43,"body":"after he was ousted by the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":748.43,"endTime":751.94,"body":"Puritans from Salem for his"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":748.43,"endTime":751.94,"body":"religious beliefs, and was sent"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":751.94,"endTime":755.9,"body":"out into the wilderness."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":751.94,"endTime":755.9,"body":"Sidenote, 12 families"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":755.9,"endTime":760.16,"body":"accompanied Roger Williams to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":755.9,"endTime":760.16,"body":"Rhode Island in 1636, one of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":760.16,"endTime":765.2,"body":"which was led by the 10th great"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":760.16,"endTime":765.2,"body":"grandfather of yours truly - me!"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":765.56,"endTime":769.37,"body":"His name was Stukely Wescott,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":765.56,"endTime":769.37,"body":"and I am blue blood in Rhode"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":769.37,"endTime":772.91,"body":"Island, but you don't really"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":769.37,"endTime":772.91,"body":"need to know that. I'm also"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":772.91,"endTime":776.3,"body":"going to take this moment to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":772.91,"endTime":776.3,"body":"recognize the land. When"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":776.3,"endTime":779.6,"body":"settling Providence Plantations"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":776.3,"endTime":779.6,"body":"on the banks of the Great Salt"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":779.6,"endTime":783.62,"body":"River, Williams negotiated a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":779.6,"endTime":783.62,"body":"deal with the Narragansetts."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":784.07,"endTime":788.36,"body":"This is Narragansett land,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":784.07,"endTime":788.36,"body":"Williams negotiated a deal with"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":788.36,"endTime":791.69,"body":"the sachems Canonicus and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":788.36,"endTime":791.69,"body":"Miantonomo, and they sold the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":791.69,"endTime":795.38,"body":"land directly to him. He"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":791.69,"endTime":795.38,"body":"eventually relinquished most of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":795.38,"endTime":798.89,"body":"the land to the common stock,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":795.38,"endTime":798.89,"body":"but this particular piece of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":798.89,"endTime":801.62,"body":"land stayed in the ownership of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":798.89,"endTime":801.62,"body":"the Williams family."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":801.8,"endTime":806.3,"body":"Betsy was in fact"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":801.8,"endTime":806.3,"body":"born there in 1790, to James and"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":806.3,"endTime":806.87,"body":"Mary."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":807.2,"endTime":811.43,"body":"How many children"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":807.2,"endTime":811.43,"body":"did James and Mary have?"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":812.129,"endTime":815.039,"body":"So they actually"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":812.129,"endTime":815.039,"body":"had four children? So I only"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":815.039,"endTime":818.609,"body":"think of Rhoda and Betsy, but"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":815.039,"endTime":818.609,"body":"they had two others, Charles and"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":818.609,"endTime":819.569,"body":"Tillinghast."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":820.02,"endTime":823.65,"body":"What happened to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":820.02,"endTime":823.65,"body":"Betsy's father James, and how"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":823.65,"endTime":824.4,"body":"long does he live?"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":825.54,"endTime":829.44,"body":"So they believe the"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":825.54,"endTime":829.44,"body":"father died 1809."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":831.04,"endTime":834.91,"body":"So father James"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":831.04,"endTime":834.91,"body":"died in 1809 at the age of 57,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":835.18,"endTime":840.07,"body":"leaving his wife Mary a widow at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":835.18,"endTime":840.07,"body":"52 years old. Betsy was 19 at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":840.07,"endTime":844.75,"body":"the time. There was no will. By"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":840.07,"endTime":844.75,"body":"law 1/3 of the estate"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":844.78,"endTime":847.99,"body":"automatically went to Mary, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":844.78,"endTime":847.99,"body":"rest to be split by the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":847.99,"endTime":851.77,"body":"children. However, brother"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":847.99,"endTime":851.77,"body":"Charles had married and moved to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":851.77,"endTime":854.98,"body":"New York to start a family, and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":851.77,"endTime":854.98,"body":"gave up his interest in the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":854.98,"endTime":859.18,"body":"estate. Tillinghast had left"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":854.98,"endTime":859.18,"body":"too, although it is unclear"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":859.18,"endTime":862.75,"body":"where. Later, he was convinced"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":859.18,"endTime":862.75,"body":"to relinquish his part"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":862.75,"endTime":867.7,"body":"ownership. That left Mary and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":862.75,"endTime":867.7,"body":"daughters Rhoda and Betsy to run"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":867.7,"endTime":872.32,"body":"the farm, and each owned a third"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":867.7,"endTime":872.32,"body":"of the land. I can only imagine"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":872.32,"endTime":875.59,"body":"how difficult it was to run the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":872.32,"endTime":875.59,"body":"farm after the patriarch had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":875.59,"endTime":879.49,"body":"passed away, how scary it must"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":875.59,"endTime":879.49,"body":"have been to lose father James"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":879.49,"endTime":882.94,"body":"and what strength it took to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":879.49,"endTime":882.94,"body":"negotiate the realities of being"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":882.94,"endTime":886.69,"body":"a woman in the early 19th"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":882.94,"endTime":886.69,"body":"century, but still keep the farm"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":886.69,"endTime":891.19,"body":"going. They must have hired farm"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":886.69,"endTime":891.19,"body":"labor, as women were only"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":891.19,"endTime":895.03,"body":"expected to perform household"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":891.19,"endTime":895.03,"body":"duties. On top of that was the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":895.03,"endTime":898.78,"body":"burden of the Williams legacy."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":895.03,"endTime":898.78,"body":"The land had been passed down"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":898.78,"endTime":902.86,"body":"from Roger Williams through five"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":898.78,"endTime":902.86,"body":"generations. I asked Ruth"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":902.86,"endTime":906.13,"body":"McCauley, a local historian and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":902.86,"endTime":906.13,"body":"history teacher at Lincoln"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":906.13,"endTime":909.46,"body":"school in Providence, to paint a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":906.13,"endTime":909.46,"body":"picture of the situation they"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":909.46,"endTime":909.88,"body":"were in."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":910.15,"endTime":913.45,"body":"What other rights did women"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":910.15,"endTime":913.45,"body":"lack? What was expected of women"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":913.45,"endTime":913.99,"body":"in general?"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":914.56,"endTime":918.13,"body":"Well, they"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":914.56,"endTime":918.13,"body":"couldn't vote obviously. And so"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":918.13,"endTime":920.71,"body":"they were forced to submit to"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":918.13,"endTime":920.71,"body":"laws in which they actually had"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":920.71,"endTime":921.49,"body":"no voice."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":921.0,"endTime":924.9,"body":"This was really a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":921.0,"endTime":924.9,"body":"story about women, I feel."},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":924.0,"endTime":927.15,"body":"Yeah, oh"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":924.0,"endTime":927.15,"body":"definitely. And I think it's,"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":927.69,"endTime":929.67,"body":"it's interesting, because"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":927.69,"endTime":929.67,"body":"probably one of the few things"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":929.67,"endTime":932.97,"body":"that women could do at this time"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":929.67,"endTime":932.97,"body":"was run a farm. I mean, a number"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":932.97,"endTime":937.41,"body":"of women had run farms in the"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":932.97,"endTime":937.41,"body":"Revolutionary War, when the"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":937.5,"endTime":942.78,"body":"husbands were off fighting, and"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":937.5,"endTime":942.78,"body":"so it was not considered odd for"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":942.78,"endTime":945.36,"body":"women, especially widows and"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":942.78,"endTime":945.36,"body":"unmarried women."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":945.39,"endTime":947.64,"body":"Right, there must"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":945.39,"endTime":947.64,"body":"have been... life expectancy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":947.64,"endTime":951.69,"body":"wasn't very high, especially for"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":947.64,"endTime":951.69,"body":"men who might have been killed"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":951.69,"endTime":956.1,"body":"in war, or a farm accident or"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":951.69,"endTime":956.1,"body":"[absolutely] anything [yeah]. So"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":956.1,"endTime":959.4,"body":"it must not have been too"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":956.1,"endTime":959.4,"body":"unusual then for a widow to run"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":959.4,"endTime":962.49,"body":"a farm [no]. Were they expect it"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":959.4,"endTime":962.49,"body":"to remarry?"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":962.54,"endTime":964.4,"body":"Oh, absolutely,"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":962.54,"endTime":964.4,"body":"and most of them did. They"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":964.4,"endTime":968.36,"body":"married quite quickly, because"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":964.4,"endTime":968.36,"body":"you just needed, you needed the"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":968.36,"endTime":969.47,"body":"labor [right)]."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":968.94,"endTime":972.156,"body":"By the end of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":968.94,"endTime":972.156,"body":"1814, one of the three women did"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":972.226,"endTime":976.351,"body":"find a suitor, and that was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":972.226,"endTime":976.351,"body":"Rhoda. She was 27. Not old, but"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":976.421,"endTime":980.616,"body":"at that time most women would"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":976.421,"endTime":980.616,"body":"have been married by that age."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":980.686,"endTime":985.231,"body":"James Straight was younger, just"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":980.686,"endTime":985.231,"body":"21 or so he said, a laborer at a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":985.301,"endTime":989.636,"body":"woollen mill. He started calling"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":985.301,"endTime":989.636,"body":"on Rhoda and they got to know"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":989.706,"endTime":993.831,"body":"each other. Mary and Betsy got"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":989.706,"endTime":993.831,"body":"to know him too, as he would"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":993.901,"endTime":998.096,"body":"come by the farm. Rhoda and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":993.901,"endTime":998.096,"body":"James were married the following"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":998.166,"endTime":1002.501,"body":"June of 1815. But prior to the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":998.166,"endTime":1002.501,"body":"wedding, something didn't smell"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1002.571,"endTime":1003.83,"body":"right about James."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1004.29,"endTime":1008.31,"body":"There was actually"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1004.29,"endTime":1008.31,"body":"a thought that her fiance was"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1009.0,"endTime":1012.87,"body":"interested in her real estate."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1009.0,"endTime":1012.87,"body":"So somehow they [yeah] they"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1013.29,"endTime":1014.58,"body":"assumed, knew that..."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1014.0,"endTime":1015.38,"body":"Two days prior to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1014.0,"endTime":1015.38,"body":"the wedding, Rhoda mortgaged her"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1015.38,"endTime":1016.55,"body":"share of the estate to her"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1015.38,"endTime":1016.55,"body":"mother, and did not tell James."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1016.55,"endTime":1018.32,"body":"This episode was researched and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1016.55,"endTime":1018.32,"body":"brought to light in the 1994"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1018.32,"endTime":1030.11,"body":"article written by Barry Norton"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1018.32,"endTime":1030.11,"body":"called, \"Betsy's Jewel,\""},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1030.26,"endTime":1033.65,"body":"published in a journal called"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1030.26,"endTime":1033.65,"body":"Old Rhode Island. Perhaps this"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1033.65,"endTime":1036.35,"body":"was a test for the young man to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1033.65,"endTime":1036.35,"body":"see what his true intentions"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1036.35,"endTime":1040.13,"body":"were. Perhaps he was less"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1036.35,"endTime":1040.13,"body":"interested in Rhoda's welfare,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1040.34,"endTime":1043.88,"body":"and more interested in the land"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1040.34,"endTime":1043.88,"body":"and becoming Lord of the Manor."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1044.78,"endTime":1048.59,"body":"We'll never quite know for sure"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1044.78,"endTime":1048.59,"body":"whose idea it was. But almost"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1048.59,"endTime":1052.04,"body":"certainly Mary and Betsy were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1048.59,"endTime":1052.04,"body":"part of the decision making. It"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1052.04,"endTime":1053.24,"body":"was a brilliant move."},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1053.27,"endTime":1057.32,"body":"The mother and"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1053.27,"endTime":1057.32,"body":"Betsy were very smart. They they"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1057.32,"endTime":1061.58,"body":"saw what was possibly coming"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1057.32,"endTime":1061.58,"body":"down the pike, so to speak"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1061.61,"endTime":1066.14,"body":"[right] and got ahold of her"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1061.61,"endTime":1066.14,"body":"land before the wedding, which"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1066.14,"endTime":1069.86,"body":"was a pretty smart move, because"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1066.14,"endTime":1069.86,"body":"it meant that James could not"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1069.86,"endTime":1073.7,"body":"claim it. I mean, he could wait"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1069.86,"endTime":1073.7,"body":"it out, I suppose for the others"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1073.7,"endTime":1076.85,"body":"to die, but I don't think that"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1073.7,"endTime":1076.85,"body":"was what he wanted to do."},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1076.0,"endTime":1076.69,"body":"And I wonder whose idea it was?"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1076.69,"endTime":1078.13,"body":"Yes, I would have liked to have"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1076.69,"endTime":1078.13,"body":"been a fly on the wall"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1078.13,"endTime":1084.67,"body":"[laughing] when they were having"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1078.13,"endTime":1084.67,"body":"that discussion and Rhoda"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1084.67,"endTime":1087.85,"body":"probably wasn't in the room."},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1084.67,"endTime":1087.85,"body":"[Right?] And then they summoned"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1087.85,"endTime":1091.36,"body":"her in and said, \"Listen, we got"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1087.85,"endTime":1091.36,"body":"to tell you something.\""},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1091.36,"endTime":1093.94,"body":"I suspect mother"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1091.36,"endTime":1093.94,"body":"Mary had something to do with"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1093.94,"endTime":1099.04,"body":"it. [You bet] Well, James did"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1093.94,"endTime":1099.04,"body":"not pass the test. After the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1099.04,"endTime":1102.97,"body":"wedding. When he found out what"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1099.04,"endTime":1102.97,"body":"happened he hit the roof. He"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1102.97,"endTime":1106.3,"body":"became abusive both verbally and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1102.97,"endTime":1106.3,"body":"physically. The four of them"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1106.3,"endTime":1109.48,"body":"were living together in the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1106.3,"endTime":1109.48,"body":"little cottage, and his abuse of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1109.48,"endTime":1113.53,"body":"Rhoda was heard throughout the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1109.48,"endTime":1113.53,"body":"house. At one point, in a rage,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1113.53,"endTime":1117.58,"body":"he threw Rhoda down the stairs."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1113.53,"endTime":1117.58,"body":"He finally left the house to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1117.58,"endTime":1121.0,"body":"live elsewhere and got involved"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1117.58,"endTime":1121.0,"body":"with another woman. It was a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1121.0,"endTime":1126.4,"body":"terrible situation. Rhoda wanted"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1121.0,"endTime":1126.4,"body":"a divorce, and by 1817 it had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1126.4,"endTime":1130.33,"body":"finally gone to trial. Feeling"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1126.4,"endTime":1130.33,"body":"industrious, I tracked down the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1130.33,"endTime":1134.17,"body":"original handwritten transcripts"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1130.33,"endTime":1134.17,"body":"at the judicial archives in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1134.17,"endTime":1137.11,"body":"Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Here's"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1134.17,"endTime":1137.11,"body":"an excerpt from wrote his"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1137.11,"endTime":1139.63,"body":"opening statement made through"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1137.11,"endTime":1139.63,"body":"her lawyer."},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1139.0,"endTime":1143.29,"body":"Let it"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1139.0,"endTime":1143.29,"body":"be respectfully show with that"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1139.0,"endTime":1154.27,"body":"Then Betsy took the stand and"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1139.0,"endTime":1154.27,"body":"describe what happened in"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1143.29,"endTime":1146.44,"body":"she intermarried with said"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1143.29,"endTime":1146.44,"body":"husband about two and a half"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1146.44,"endTime":1150.46,"body":"years ago, hoping and expecting"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1146.44,"endTime":1150.46,"body":"to enjoy all that happiness,"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1150.73,"endTime":1154.72,"body":"which is always anticipated and"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1150.73,"endTime":1154.72,"body":"usually enjoyed in the marriage"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1154.72,"endTime":1160.03,"body":"date. But she is petitioning"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1154.72,"endTime":1160.03,"body":"Your honor, that all her hopes"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1160.06,"endTime":1163.57,"body":"so fondly cherished have been"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1160.06,"endTime":1163.57,"body":"blunted, and her most sanguine"},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1163.57,"endTime":1165.52,"body":"expectations disappointed."},{"speaker":"Rhoda's Lawyer statement","startTime":1169.03,"endTime":1170.23,"body":"emotional detail."},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1170.87,"endTime":1172.46,"body":"My"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1170.87,"endTime":1172.46,"body":"sister, Rhoda Straight, has been"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1172.46,"endTime":1176.72,"body":"treated very unkind by her"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1172.46,"endTime":1176.72,"body":"husband in my presence. Not long"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1176.72,"endTime":1179.54,"body":"after they were married, he"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1176.72,"endTime":1179.54,"body":"began to show his temper and"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1179.54,"endTime":1182.33,"body":"quarrel with her and he never"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1179.54,"endTime":1182.33,"body":"has visited the house since"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1182.33,"endTime":1187.1,"body":"except he gave her such"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1182.33,"endTime":1187.1,"body":"language. One time his temper"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1187.1,"endTime":1190.25,"body":"ran very high, and he pushed her"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1187.1,"endTime":1190.25,"body":"against the side of the house"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1190.52,"endTime":1194.06,"body":"and over the chair, which hurt"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1190.52,"endTime":1194.06,"body":"her very much. She was not able"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1194.06,"endTime":1197.81,"body":"to do any kind of work for three"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1194.06,"endTime":1197.81,"body":"or four weeks. Then he kicked"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1197.81,"endTime":1201.74,"body":"her several times. One time, we"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1197.81,"endTime":1201.74,"body":"were at work in the chamber"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1201.74,"endTime":1205.61,"body":"weaving,  I, and her husband,"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1201.74,"endTime":1205.61,"body":"and my sister. He got mad about"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1205.61,"endTime":1209.21,"body":"his work and ordered her"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1205.61,"endTime":1209.21,"body":"downstairs. As she walked toward"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1209.21,"endTime":1212.96,"body":"the stairs, he took a brush"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1209.21,"endTime":1212.96,"body":"handle and pushed her off. As"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1212.96,"endTime":1217.31,"body":"she went, she caught on her"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1212.96,"endTime":1217.31,"body":"hands and feet, gave her a very"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1217.31,"endTime":1221.78,"body":"great shock, but did not break"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1217.31,"endTime":1221.78,"body":"any bones. He disturbed the"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1221.78,"endTime":1227.0,"body":"house day and night. I and my"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1221.78,"endTime":1227.0,"body":"mother and sister lost a great"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1227.0,"endTime":1230.54,"body":"many night's sleep by his"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1227.0,"endTime":1230.54,"body":"quarreling. One night he got up"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1230.54,"endTime":1233.6,"body":"in the forefront of the night"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1230.54,"endTime":1233.6,"body":"and was gone for more than an"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1233.6,"endTime":1236.6,"body":"hour I should think. He was"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1233.6,"endTime":1236.6,"body":"always treated very kind and"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1236.6,"endTime":1240.38,"body":"very handsome in our house in"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1236.6,"endTime":1240.38,"body":"every respect. He never received"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1240.38,"endTime":1243.5,"body":"a cross word from his wife or"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1240.38,"endTime":1243.5,"body":"any of our family to my"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1243.5,"endTime":1247.58,"body":"knowledge. One day, he sat"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1243.5,"endTime":1247.58,"body":"making a mortar, got his temper"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1247.58,"endTime":1251.0,"body":"very high, and threw the mortar"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1247.58,"endTime":1251.0,"body":"at her. The mortar glanced from"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1251.0,"endTime":1255.08,"body":"her clothes and fell upon her"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1251.0,"endTime":1255.08,"body":"foot. It was very unkind to her."},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1255.86,"endTime":1258.68,"body":"In sickness, talked very"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1255.86,"endTime":1258.68,"body":"enhanced unhandsome to her, told"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1258.68,"endTime":1264.05,"body":"her she was not sick, to get up"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1258.68,"endTime":1264.05,"body":"and wash and mend his clothes. I"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1264.05,"endTime":1267.35,"body":"think she did her duty to him in"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1264.05,"endTime":1267.35,"body":"every respect, and all kinds of"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1267.35,"endTime":1271.73,"body":"work for him in making cloth"},{"speaker":"Betsy Williams testimony","startTime":1267.35,"endTime":1271.73,"body":"stockings, washing and mending."},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1272.32,"endTime":1274.96,"body":"If they could"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1272.32,"endTime":1274.96,"body":"divorce and they really, that"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1274.96,"endTime":1278.98,"body":"was very rare. They had to give"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1274.96,"endTime":1278.98,"body":"up like the rights of the"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1278.98,"endTime":1279.67,"body":"children."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1279.82,"endTime":1282.25,"body":"It was difficult"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1279.82,"endTime":1282.25,"body":"to obtain a divorce at that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1282.25,"endTime":1282.55,"body":"time."},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1282.58,"endTime":1285.7,"body":"Extremely"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1282.58,"endTime":1285.7,"body":"difficult. There was... until"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1285.7,"endTime":1288.34,"body":"the middle of the 19th century,"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1285.7,"endTime":1288.34,"body":"the only grounds for divorce"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1288.34,"endTime":1291.85,"body":"were adultery and cruelty. Now"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1288.34,"endTime":1291.85,"body":"another thing that would have"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1291.85,"endTime":1295.57,"body":"really helped at this time -"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1291.85,"endTime":1295.57,"body":"most of the people who got"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1295.57,"endTime":1299.59,"body":"divorces were people of some"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1295.57,"endTime":1299.59,"body":"consequence, and because the"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1300.19,"endTime":1303.07,"body":"this was the Williams family,"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1300.19,"endTime":1303.07,"body":"[right] interest in Roger"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1303.07,"endTime":1306.46,"body":"Williams was surging at this"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1303.07,"endTime":1306.46,"body":"time. That probably made it a"},{"speaker":"Ruth Macaulay","startTime":1306.46,"endTime":1308.41,"body":"very high profile case."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1308.5,"endTime":1311.92,"body":"Even Mary took"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1308.5,"endTime":1311.92,"body":"the stand, and unfortunately was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1311.92,"endTime":1315.34,"body":"cross examined with probing"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1311.92,"endTime":1315.34,"body":"questions about the secretive"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1315.34,"endTime":1319.81,"body":"mortgage. But Mary didn't bite."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1315.34,"endTime":1319.81,"body":"She stuck to the facts about the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1319.81,"endTime":1323.86,"body":"adultery and the cruelty shown"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1319.81,"endTime":1323.86,"body":"by James. I can't help but play"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1323.86,"endTime":1325.54,"body":"one more excerpt from the trial."},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1325.0,"endTime":1327.16,"body":"How"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1325.0,"endTime":1327.16,"body":"long has the father of the"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1327.16,"endTime":1328.84,"body":"petitioner been dead?"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1329.38,"endTime":1331.75,"body":"I think it is"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1329.38,"endTime":1331.75,"body":"seven years last November."},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1331.84,"endTime":1334.15,"body":"What"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1331.84,"endTime":1334.15,"body":"portion of your husband's estate"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1334.15,"endTime":1336.49,"body":"fell to your daughter Rhoda"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1334.15,"endTime":1336.49,"body":"Straight?"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1336.97,"endTime":1340.0,"body":"Myself and four"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1336.97,"endTime":1340.0,"body":"children inherited the estate."},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1340.57,"endTime":1344.62,"body":"He died without a will, and I"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1340.57,"endTime":1344.62,"body":"administered on the estate."},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1344.0,"endTime":1347.9,"body":"Have"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1344.0,"endTime":1347.9,"body":"you had the control of Rhoda's"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1347.93,"endTime":1351.11,"body":"estate, which descended from her"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1347.93,"endTime":1351.11,"body":"father, since her father's"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1351.11,"endTime":1353.93,"body":"decease, both real and personal?"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1353.99,"endTime":1356.15,"body":"I administered on"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1353.99,"endTime":1356.15,"body":"the estate and the"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1356.15,"endTime":1357.83,"body":"administration is not yet"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1356.15,"endTime":1357.83,"body":"settled."},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1357.86,"endTime":1360.08,"body":"Did you"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1357.86,"endTime":1360.08,"body":"receive from the said Rhoda a"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1360.08,"endTime":1364.34,"body":"mortgage of her real estate some"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1360.08,"endTime":1364.34,"body":"short time before the marriage"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1364.37,"endTime":1369.23,"body":"without making the same known to"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1364.37,"endTime":1369.23,"body":"said James? [Yes] What was the"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1369.23,"endTime":1372.86,"body":"cause of keeping the mortgages"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1369.23,"endTime":1372.86,"body":"secret from said James?"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1372.92,"endTime":1374.24,"body":"Mary doesn't"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1372.92,"endTime":1374.24,"body":"answer."},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1374.81,"endTime":1378.08,"body":"Did the"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1374.81,"endTime":1378.08,"body":"said Rhoda express a wish to her"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1378.11,"endTime":1382.16,"body":"that said James should not be"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1378.11,"endTime":1382.16,"body":"informed of the mortgage before"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1382.16,"endTime":1383.03,"body":"her marriage?"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1383.3,"endTime":1384.89,"body":"Mary doesn't"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1383.3,"endTime":1384.89,"body":"answer this either."},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1385.05,"endTime":1387.24,"body":"Did"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1385.05,"endTime":1387.24,"body":"said Rhoda make a conveyance to"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1387.27,"endTime":1390.12,"body":"you of her interest in the"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1387.27,"endTime":1390.12,"body":"personal state that came from"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1390.12,"endTime":1394.86,"body":"her father within one year next"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1390.12,"endTime":1394.86,"body":"before her marriage? [Yes.] How"},{"speaker":"James Straight's lawyer","startTime":1394.86,"endTime":1396.6,"body":"long before the marriage was it?"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1396.78,"endTime":1398.49,"body":"I think it was"},{"speaker":"Mary Williams","startTime":1396.78,"endTime":1398.49,"body":"short of a month."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1399.68,"endTime":1403.88,"body":"Everything was at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1399.68,"endTime":1403.88,"body":"stake. Most importantly, ugh,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1404.03,"endTime":1407.66,"body":"the three women needed to remove"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1404.03,"endTime":1407.66,"body":"this nasty interloper from their"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1407.66,"endTime":1410.84,"body":"lives. They needed to protect"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1407.66,"endTime":1410.84,"body":"the Williams' land from"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1410.84,"endTime":1414.32,"body":"mismanagement or worse. And they"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1410.84,"endTime":1414.32,"body":"wouldn't have known it exactly,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1414.53,"endTime":1418.34,"body":"but from our perspective here in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1414.53,"endTime":1418.34,"body":"the 21st century, the entire"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1418.34,"endTime":1421.76,"body":"future of Roger Williams Park"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1418.34,"endTime":1421.76,"body":"was on the line, the park that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1421.76,"endTime":1424.91,"body":"has meant so much to generations"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1421.76,"endTime":1424.91,"body":"of people. And if the property"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1424.91,"endTime":1428.21,"body":"had been developed by Straight"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1424.91,"endTime":1428.21,"body":"in some other way, the Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1428.21,"endTime":1431.6,"body":"Williams Sycamore would have"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1428.21,"endTime":1431.6,"body":"been toast. It took three years,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1431.6,"endTime":1435.08,"body":"but in 1820 the judge finally"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1431.6,"endTime":1435.08,"body":"ruled that the divorce was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1435.08,"endTime":1442.94,"body":"allowed to happen. The estate"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1435.08,"endTime":1442.94,"body":"was saved. [Music]"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1443.02,"endTime":1446.71,"body":"Six years later, Mary Williams"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1443.02,"endTime":1446.71,"body":"passed away leaving Rhoda and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1446.71,"endTime":1450.91,"body":"Betsy alone. Rhoda did not marry"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1446.71,"endTime":1450.91,"body":"again and Betsy never married."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1451.42,"endTime":1454.18,"body":"From all accounts the two lived"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1451.42,"endTime":1454.18,"body":"peacefully, if a bit"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1454.21,"endTime":1457.66,"body":"eccentricly. Accounts were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1454.21,"endTime":1457.66,"body":"gathered late in the century"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1457.66,"endTime":1460.84,"body":"from old-timers who knew them,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1457.66,"endTime":1460.84,"body":"and they were published in books"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1460.84,"endTime":1463.72,"body":"about the park that painted a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1460.84,"endTime":1463.72,"body":"picture of virtuousness and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1463.72,"endTime":1468.79,"body":"domestic bliss. The two were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1463.72,"endTime":1468.79,"body":"slipping into myth. Here's an"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1468.79,"endTime":1473.08,"body":"excerpt from a chapter of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1468.79,"endTime":1473.08,"body":"1897 book, \"The People's"},{"speaker":"Pleasure Ground","startTime":1473.08,"endTime":1475.84,"body":"Roger Williams"},{"speaker":"Pleasure Ground","startTime":1473.08,"endTime":1475.84,"body":"Park Illustrated.\""},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1475.93,"endTime":1478.42,"body":"In all"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1475.93,"endTime":1478.42,"body":"her household and other affairs,"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1478.42,"endTime":1482.8,"body":"Betsy Williams was very"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1478.42,"endTime":1482.8,"body":"exclusive, careful in all she"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1482.8,"endTime":1487.21,"body":"said, and did and never calling"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1482.8,"endTime":1487.21,"body":"on her neighbors, who at that"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1487.21,"endTime":1491.26,"body":"time nearly all lived at some"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1487.21,"endTime":1491.26,"body":"distance, without an invitation."},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1492.22,"endTime":1496.51,"body":"In business matters, she was"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1492.22,"endTime":1496.51,"body":"most astute, attending to"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1496.54,"endTime":1500.65,"body":"everything herself, and"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1496.54,"endTime":1500.65,"body":"depending solely upon her own"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1500.65,"endTime":1504.88,"body":"judgment and ability, which"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1500.65,"endTime":1504.88,"body":"seldom if ever failed her."},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1505.3,"endTime":1509.23,"body":"Beside the park property she"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1505.3,"endTime":1509.23,"body":"left at her death an estate of"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1509.23,"endTime":1513.97,"body":"considerable value. The greater"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1509.23,"endTime":1513.97,"body":"portion of this was accumulated"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1513.97,"endTime":1518.14,"body":"by the efforts of herself and"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1513.97,"endTime":1518.14,"body":"her sister from raising flax and"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1518.14,"endTime":1521.83,"body":"spinning it into linen, out of"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1518.14,"endTime":1521.83,"body":"which they manufactured many"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1521.83,"endTime":1526.75,"body":"saleable articles such as"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1521.83,"endTime":1526.75,"body":"sheets, pillowcases, shirts, and"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1526.75,"endTime":1531.04,"body":"the like. In fact, both Betsy"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1526.75,"endTime":1531.04,"body":"and Rhoda Williams were"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1531.04,"endTime":1535.81,"body":"industrious, frugal women who"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1531.04,"endTime":1535.81,"body":"made tell to some purpose"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1535.84,"endTime":1539.53,"body":"whatever they undertook to do,"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1535.84,"endTime":1539.53,"body":"and prudently, the fruits of"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1539.53,"endTime":1543.67,"body":"their labors. When out walking,"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1539.53,"endTime":1543.67,"body":"Betsy and Rhoda always dressed"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1543.67,"endTime":1548.8,"body":"alike, and invariably walked"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1543.67,"endTime":1548.8,"body":"single file, Betsy in the lead,"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1549.07,"endTime":1553.42,"body":"and Rhoda as close behind her as"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1549.07,"endTime":1553.42,"body":"ease of locomotion would permit."},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1553.72,"endTime":1557.95,"body":"And a quaint sight it was to see"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1553.72,"endTime":1557.95,"body":"them going into town to market"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1557.95,"endTime":1563.5,"body":"their berries, each with a pail"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1557.95,"endTime":1563.5,"body":"in either hand, and clad in long"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1563.53,"endTime":1568.54,"body":"plaid Cape cloaks with close"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1563.53,"endTime":1568.54,"body":"Quaker-like bonnets and long"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1568.54,"endTime":1573.55,"body":"veils. Betsy Williams and her"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1568.54,"endTime":1573.55,"body":"sister always lived together"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1573.55,"endTime":1577.69,"body":"with no one else in the family,"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1573.55,"endTime":1577.69,"body":"and Betsy was the ruling spirit"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1577.72,"endTime":1581.47,"body":"of the household. With Rhoda,"},{"speaker":"People's Pleasure Ground","startTime":1577.72,"endTime":1581.47,"body":"her word was law."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1582.26,"endTime":1584.33,"body":"Betsy really"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1582.26,"endTime":1584.33,"body":"comes off as the leader in the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1584.33,"endTime":1587.6,"body":"household in that passage."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1584.33,"endTime":1587.6,"body":"Here's another account from a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1587.6,"endTime":1592.4,"body":"park publication written in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1587.6,"endTime":1592.4,"body":"1936. \"They say Betsy was tall,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1592.4,"endTime":1595.94,"body":"straight and thin with beautiful"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1592.4,"endTime":1595.94,"body":"auburn hair and sharp black"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1595.94,"endTime":1599.78,"body":"eyes. While Rhoda was short and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1595.94,"endTime":1599.78,"body":"plump with curly brown hair that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1599.78,"endTime":1603.47,"body":"never could be kept in place."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1599.78,"endTime":1603.47,"body":"Betsy managed the household"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1603.47,"endTime":1607.22,"body":"affairs, for she was quite sure"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1603.47,"endTime":1607.22,"body":"Rhoda could never remember what"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1607.22,"endTime":1611.51,"body":"was necessary to do or leave"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1607.22,"endTime":1611.51,"body":"undone. They both liked brown"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1611.51,"endTime":1615.08,"body":"sugar. but Betsy was sure the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1611.51,"endTime":1615.08,"body":"light brown was the best, while"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1615.08,"endTime":1619.13,"body":"Rhoda would eat nothing but dark"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1615.08,"endTime":1619.13,"body":"brown. They believed in dividing"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1619.13,"endTime":1623.12,"body":"the housework and Betsy swept"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1619.13,"endTime":1623.12,"body":"half of the rooms, washed her"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1623.12,"endTime":1626.57,"body":"dishes and made up her half of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1623.12,"endTime":1626.57,"body":"the great four poster bed where"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1626.57,"endTime":1630.35,"body":"they both slept. Sometimes they"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1626.57,"endTime":1630.35,"body":"had rather heated arguments"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1630.35,"endTime":1633.53,"body":"about closing the curtains on"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1630.35,"endTime":1633.53,"body":"the bed at night. But on the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1633.53,"endTime":1636.35,"body":"whole they lived a very"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1633.53,"endTime":1636.35,"body":"friendly, comfortable life,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1636.65,"endTime":1639.53,"body":"jogging into town twice a week"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1636.65,"endTime":1639.53,"body":"with eggs and butter for the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1639.53,"endTime":1643.73,"body":"market, going calling in there"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1639.53,"endTime":1643.73,"body":"stiff, full skirted taffeta"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1643.73,"endTime":1648.08,"body":"gowns and sitting in the shade"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1643.73,"endTime":1648.08,"body":"under the great trees. Wait a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1648.08,"endTime":1652.64,"body":"second - trees? Plural? We're"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1648.08,"endTime":1652.64,"body":"going to come back to that. But"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1652.64,"endTime":1654.98,"body":"I'm not sure Betsey and Rhoda"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1652.64,"endTime":1654.98,"body":"would have wanted their lives"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1654.98,"endTime":1658.64,"body":"described in this way as part of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1654.98,"endTime":1658.64,"body":"their legacy. But the gods of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1658.64,"endTime":1661.88,"body":"history have done worse, I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1658.64,"endTime":1661.88,"body":"suppose. And I get the sense"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1661.88,"endTime":1664.34,"body":"that the two sisters were doing"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1661.88,"endTime":1664.34,"body":"the best they could under the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1664.34,"endTime":1668.24,"body":"circumstances. Imagine living in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1664.34,"endTime":1668.24,"body":"close quarters with your sibling"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1668.24,"endTime":1672.17,"body":"for decades on end. In their"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1668.24,"endTime":1672.17,"body":"later years, they ended up"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1672.17,"endTime":1675.62,"body":"moving to a house on nearby"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1672.17,"endTime":1675.62,"body":"Pontiac Avenue and renting the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1675.62,"endTime":1680.93,"body":"cottage to tenants. Rhoda passed"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1675.62,"endTime":1680.93,"body":"away in 1864, and that left only"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1680.93,"endTime":1685.82,"body":"74 year old Betsy, alone."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1680.93,"endTime":1685.82,"body":"Without children or other heirs,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1685.85,"endTime":1689.45,"body":"she had some decisions to make."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1685.85,"endTime":1689.45,"body":"She hired a guardian who helped"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1689.45,"endTime":1693.98,"body":"to see to her affairs, Mr."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1689.45,"endTime":1693.98,"body":"Joseph Cook. He was a developer"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1693.98,"endTime":1697.4,"body":"creating new housing in nearby"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1693.98,"endTime":1697.4,"body":"Elmwood. As the city expanded"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1697.43,"endTime":1700.94,"body":"outward from the downtown"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1697.43,"endTime":1700.94,"body":"towards the Williams farm, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1700.94,"endTime":1704.75,"body":"land became much more valuable"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1700.94,"endTime":1704.75,"body":"and attractive. Some said that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1704.75,"endTime":1708.65,"body":"Mr. Cook couldn't be trusted,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1704.75,"endTime":1708.65,"body":"another man making claims on our"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1708.65,"endTime":1712.43,"body":"property.  But he suggested that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1708.65,"endTime":1712.43,"body":"she donate the land, which was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1712.43,"endTime":1715.49,"body":"actually in Cranston, to the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1712.43,"endTime":1715.49,"body":"city of Providence for it to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1715.49,"endTime":1719.63,"body":"become a magnificent park, one"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1715.49,"endTime":1719.63,"body":"to rival parks in other cities"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1719.66,"endTime":1723.47,"body":"during this age of the urban"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1719.66,"endTime":1723.47,"body":"parks movement. This time, Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1723.47,"endTime":1727.01,"body":"was in complete control. Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1723.47,"endTime":1727.01,"body":"thought this was a good idea,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1727.01,"endTime":1730.46,"body":"and bequeathed the land to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1727.01,"endTime":1730.46,"body":"Providence in her will. She died"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1730.49,"endTime":1731.99,"body":"in 1871."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1733.04,"endTime":1738.47,"body":"So in her will, she decrees that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1733.04,"endTime":1738.47,"body":"the land can't be used for"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1738.92,"endTime":1740.75,"body":"various reasons,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1740.75,"endTime":1742.82,"body":"mm hmm, has to be"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1740.75,"endTime":1742.82,"body":"named after Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1742.82,"endTime":1744.89,"body":"has to be named"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1742.82,"endTime":1744.89,"body":"after Roger Williams and there"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1744.89,"endTime":1746.06,"body":"has to be a statute."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1746.87,"endTime":1750.47,"body":"Betsy's will stipulated that the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1746.87,"endTime":1750.47,"body":"Park must be called Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1750.47,"endTime":1754.19,"body":"Williams Park and a monument"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1750.47,"endTime":1754.19,"body":"should be created to memorialize"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1754.19,"endTime":1758.3,"body":"him. In preserving Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1754.19,"endTime":1758.3,"body":"Williams legacy, Betsy had come"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1758.3,"endTime":1765.17,"body":"through for the family. [Music]"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1765.0,"endTime":1769.92,"body":"The unveiling of the monument in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1765.0,"endTime":1769.92,"body":"1877 was a spectacular affair."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1770.1,"endTime":1774.48,"body":"Among the dignitaries were the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1770.1,"endTime":1774.48,"body":"mayor, the chief of police, a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1774.48,"endTime":1778.62,"body":"platoon of police officers, a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1774.48,"endTime":1778.62,"body":"grand marshal, the Knights"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1778.62,"endTime":1783.3,"body":"Templar, the Order of Free and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1778.62,"endTime":1783.3,"body":"Accepted Masons, marching bands,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1783.36,"endTime":1788.19,"body":"and a detachment of cavalry."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1783.36,"endTime":1788.19,"body":"20,000 people attended. And"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1788.19,"endTime":1791.73,"body":"there was a procession that led"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1788.19,"endTime":1791.73,"body":"from Market Square downtown all"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1791.73,"endTime":1795.66,"body":"the way out to the new park."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1791.73,"endTime":1795.66,"body":"There were 1,600 schoolchildren,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1796.11,"endTime":1799.29,"body":"all of this surrounding our"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1796.11,"endTime":1799.29,"body":"Sycamore which bore witness to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1799.29,"endTime":1802.26,"body":"it all. Here's part of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1799.29,"endTime":1802.26,"body":"introduction to the ceremonies"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1802.26,"endTime":1806.07,"body":"made by Mr. Arthur Dexter, the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1802.26,"endTime":1806.07,"body":"Chairman of the Committee of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1806.07,"endTime":1807.81,"body":"City Council on Parks."},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1808.02,"endTime":1811.44,"body":"This monument"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1808.02,"endTime":1811.44,"body":"erected by the City of"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1811.44,"endTime":1816.24,"body":"Providence to perpetuate the"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1811.44,"endTime":1816.24,"body":"memory of Roger Williams, is"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1816.24,"endTime":1822.09,"body":"completed and has been customary"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1816.24,"endTime":1822.09,"body":"and solemn form been pronounced"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1822.15,"endTime":1827.1,"body":"perfect. We are now upon land"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1822.15,"endTime":1827.1,"body":"once owned by Roger Williams,"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1827.22,"endTime":1830.61,"body":"and bequeath to the City of"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1827.22,"endTime":1830.61,"body":"Providence by Miss Betsey"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1830.61,"endTime":1835.77,"body":"Williams, his great, great,"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1830.61,"endTime":1835.77,"body":"great granddaughter. The love"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1835.77,"endTime":1839.31,"body":"she bore to the city her"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1835.77,"endTime":1839.31,"body":"ancestor founded, and her"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1839.31,"endTime":1843.72,"body":"reverence for his memory,"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1839.31,"endTime":1843.72,"body":"prompted this bequest by which"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1843.75,"endTime":1848.34,"body":"she provided that this tract of"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1843.75,"endTime":1848.34,"body":"land, which contains about 100"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1848.34,"endTime":1854.43,"body":"acres, might forever be kept for"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1848.34,"endTime":1854.43,"body":"public uses, and be known as"},{"speaker":"Arthur Dexter","startTime":1854.43,"endTime":1856.71,"body":"Roger Williams Park."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1856.74,"endTime":1860.1,"body":"But there was one"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1856.74,"endTime":1860.1,"body":"more thing. One description from"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1860.1,"endTime":1865.11,"body":"the official 1877 statute"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1860.1,"endTime":1865.11,"body":"dedication ceremony publication,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1865.68,"endTime":1869.88,"body":"describe the following. \"The"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1865.68,"endTime":1869.88,"body":"monument is erected on the high"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1869.88,"endTime":1873.57,"body":"bank west of the lake facing"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1869.88,"endTime":1873.57,"body":"west, and is visible from the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1873.57,"endTime":1877.65,"body":"lake and for most parts of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1873.57,"endTime":1877.65,"body":"park, while the ancient mansion,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1877.74,"endTime":1881.76,"body":"our little cottage, and old"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1877.74,"endTime":1881.76,"body":"trees give it a local"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1881.76,"endTime":1885.78,"body":"surrounding peculiarly"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1881.76,"endTime":1885.78,"body":"appropriate.\" Wait a second,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1885.78,"endTime":1890.97,"body":"again - old trees - plural?"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1885.78,"endTime":1890.97,"body":"Rene, and I took a closer look."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1891.74,"endTime":1894.56,"body":"Here's one thing that I learned"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1891.74,"endTime":1894.56,"body":"when I came and met with you"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1894.56,"endTime":1895.85,"body":"last spring. We looked at a few"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1894.56,"endTime":1895.85,"body":"old photographs. Could we get"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1895.85,"endTime":1896.87,"body":"those out now and take a look at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1895.85,"endTime":1896.87,"body":"them again? [Yes.] So right now"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1896.87,"endTime":1907.85,"body":"we're looking at the oldest"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1896.87,"endTime":1907.85,"body":"known photograph of the Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1907.85,"endTime":1912.59,"body":"Williams cottage and Roger"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1907.85,"endTime":1912.59,"body":"Williams Park. There is not one,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1912.59,"endTime":1918.02,"body":"but two trees in this photo. And"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1912.59,"endTime":1918.02,"body":"then you showed me some of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1918.02,"endTime":1922.1,"body":"old postcards and there's always"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1918.02,"endTime":1922.1,"body":"two trees, there were two"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1922.13,"endTime":1925.79,"body":"historic trees in front of Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1922.13,"endTime":1925.79,"body":"Williams cottage. [Mm hm.] In"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1925.79,"endTime":1931.01,"body":"the postcards and old photos I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1925.79,"endTime":1931.01,"body":"had seen in the past, the way"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1931.01,"endTime":1935.27,"body":"that the angle lined up with the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1931.01,"endTime":1935.27,"body":"cottage and the statue and the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1935.27,"endTime":1941.18,"body":"tree, the second tree was always"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1935.27,"endTime":1941.18,"body":"right behind. Right behind it. I"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1941.18,"endTime":1945.32,"body":"had missed it all this time!"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1941.18,"endTime":1945.32,"body":"Maybe you could describe this"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1945.32,"endTime":1948.83,"body":"photo, what does it look like?"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1945.32,"endTime":1948.83,"body":"This is a postcard, I think from"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1948.83,"endTime":1951.32,"body":"about 1905."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1952.04,"endTime":1955.79,"body":"So of course you"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1952.04,"endTime":1955.79,"body":"see, you know, some other"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1955.82,"endTime":1959.33,"body":"shrubbery and things and you can"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":1955.82,"endTime":1959.33,"body":"kind of see there's two trees"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1959.0,"endTime":1964.16,"body":"There's the Betsy"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1959.0,"endTime":1964.16,"body":"William Sycamore, looking huge,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1959.33,"endTime":1959.51,"body":"there."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1964.88,"endTime":1969.11,"body":"towering over the cottage."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1964.88,"endTime":1969.11,"body":"[Yes.] And then a very large"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1969.11,"endTime":1971.81,"body":"tree on the other side of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1969.11,"endTime":1971.81,"body":"path, it looks like, with"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1971.81,"endTime":1977.24,"body":"benches. [Mm hm.] And so I can"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1971.81,"endTime":1977.24,"body":"tell when you first showed these"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1977.24,"endTime":1983.12,"body":"to me - I got a picture of it"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1977.24,"endTime":1983.12,"body":"and shared this with a another"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1983.12,"endTime":1988.28,"body":"arborist that I know - Tom Morra"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1983.12,"endTime":1988.28,"body":"- and we both determined this is"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1988.28,"endTime":1993.14,"body":"a mulberry tree. So in the late"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1988.28,"endTime":1993.14,"body":"18th century and early 19th"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1993.14,"endTime":1996.11,"body":"century, they encouraged"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1993.14,"endTime":1996.11,"body":"property owners to plant"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1996.11,"endTime":2000.73,"body":"mulberry trees. It's not sort of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":1996.11,"endTime":2000.73,"body":"the weed tree that it is now. It"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2000.73,"endTime":2005.53,"body":"was desired because they thought"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2000.73,"endTime":2005.53,"body":"that we could recreate the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2005.53,"endTime":2009.1,"body":"silkworm industry, because"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2005.53,"endTime":2009.1,"body":"silkworms love mulberry trees"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2009.1,"endTime":2013.69,"body":"and feeding off mulberry leaves."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2009.1,"endTime":2013.69,"body":"And that was a potential cottage"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2013.69,"endTime":2018.07,"body":"industry, so to speak. And so"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2013.69,"endTime":2018.07,"body":"they were planted in front of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2018.07,"endTime":2018.64,"body":"homes."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2018.88,"endTime":2022.12,"body":"It was a mulberry tree and I had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2018.88,"endTime":2022.12,"body":"missed it all these years in the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2022.12,"endTime":2025.87,"body":"old postcards. It was just"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2022.12,"endTime":2025.87,"body":"waiting to be noticed. It was"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2025.87,"endTime":2029.11,"body":"standing behind the glory that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2025.87,"endTime":2029.11,"body":"is the Betsey Williams Sycamore,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2029.41,"endTime":2033.52,"body":"just as Rhoda Williams had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2029.41,"endTime":2033.52,"body":"quietly stood, quite literally,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2034.15,"endTime":2037.84,"body":"behind Betsy Williams. It was an"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2034.15,"endTime":2037.84,"body":"important part of that original"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2037.84,"endTime":2041.71,"body":"landscape, the core image of"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2037.84,"endTime":2041.71,"body":"Roger Williams Park, just as"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2041.71,"endTime":2045.19,"body":"Rhoda played a vital role in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2041.71,"endTime":2045.19,"body":"preserving the farm. For that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2045.19,"endTime":2049.78,"body":"reason, I feel we've got to give"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2045.19,"endTime":2049.78,"body":"this tree it's due. I hereby"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2049.78,"endTime":2054.49,"body":"proclaim, with the powers given"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2049.78,"endTime":2054.49,"body":"unto me by myself, that from"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2054.49,"endTime":2058.03,"body":"henceforth its name is now the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2054.49,"endTime":2058.03,"body":"Rhoda Williams Mulberry. [Music]"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2066.13,"endTime":2069.73,"body":"But finally, how old is the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2066.13,"endTime":2069.73,"body":"Betsy William Sycamore? Without"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2069.73,"endTime":2072.91,"body":"drilling in to do a core sample"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2069.73,"endTime":2072.91,"body":"of the trunk, which is something"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2072.91,"endTime":2075.16,"body":"I really wouldn't want to do"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2072.91,"endTime":2075.16,"body":"because of the wounding"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2075.16,"endTime":2079.15,"body":"involved, I'm giving a new"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2075.16,"endTime":2079.15,"body":"estimate based on two things."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2079.48,"endTime":2084.22,"body":"Number one, the large trees"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2079.48,"endTime":2084.22,"body":"described at the 1877 ceremony,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2084.55,"endTime":2088.3,"body":"and as seen in the photos we"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2084.55,"endTime":2088.3,"body":"just looked at, could easily be"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2088.33,"endTime":2093.34,"body":"100 years old. This is not a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2088.33,"endTime":2093.34,"body":"stretch. And number two, there"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2093.34,"endTime":2096.58,"body":"was such a thing as bridal trees"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2093.34,"endTime":2096.58,"body":"back in the colonial and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2096.58,"endTime":2100.81,"body":"post-colonial era. When a new"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2096.58,"endTime":2100.81,"body":"couple built a house It was a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2100.81,"endTime":2104.47,"body":"tradition among some to plant"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2100.81,"endTime":2104.47,"body":"two trees in the front yard to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2104.47,"endTime":2108.46,"body":"symbolize unity and longevity."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2104.47,"endTime":2108.46,"body":"Elm trees were documented bridal"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2108.46,"endTime":2112.9,"body":"trees and sycamores, too. But as"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2108.46,"endTime":2112.9,"body":"we discussed, homeowners were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2112.9,"endTime":2115.54,"body":"also encouraged to plant"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2112.9,"endTime":2115.54,"body":"mulberry trees, and they were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2115.54,"endTime":2119.14,"body":"the rage for a period of time."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2115.54,"endTime":2119.14,"body":"So it's conceivable to me that"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2119.14,"endTime":2122.77,"body":"these two trees the American"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2119.14,"endTime":2122.77,"body":"sycamore, and the mulberry were"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2122.77,"endTime":2127.39,"body":"planted as bridal trees when the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2122.77,"endTime":2127.39,"body":"cottage was built in 1773, or"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2127.42,"endTime":2131.83,"body":"1782, as I suspect. That puts"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2127.42,"endTime":2131.83,"body":"the age of our sycamore at at"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2131.83,"endTime":2136.57,"body":"least 240 years old. I challenge"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2131.83,"endTime":2136.57,"body":"anyone to come up with a better"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2136.57,"endTime":2139.9,"body":"theory. We don't know what"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2136.57,"endTime":2139.9,"body":"happened to the Rhoda Williams"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2139.9,"endTime":2144.46,"body":"Mulberry, or how long it lived."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2139.9,"endTime":2144.46,"body":"I know that it lived until 1925"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2144.52,"endTime":2147.58,"body":"as Rene and I found it in a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2144.52,"endTime":2147.58,"body":"little known catalog of trees in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2147.58,"endTime":2152.44,"body":"the park. My guess is that the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2147.58,"endTime":2152.44,"body":"140 plus year old tree broke"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2152.44,"endTime":2156.19,"body":"apart and succumbed to age as"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2152.44,"endTime":2156.19,"body":"mulberries do. And back to"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2156.19,"endTime":2156.7,"body":"Renee... [Music]"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2157.24,"endTime":2161.89,"body":"As Museum director and also as a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2157.24,"endTime":2161.89,"body":"Rhode Islander, what meaning"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2161.89,"endTime":2163.27,"body":"does this tree have for you?"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2164.86,"endTime":2168.85,"body":"I've been coming to"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2164.86,"endTime":2168.85,"body":"this park since I was little."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2169.15,"endTime":2173.74,"body":"When you come into the park,"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2169.15,"endTime":2173.74,"body":"it's one of the things that you"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2174.16,"endTime":2178.09,"body":"always remember, something that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2174.16,"endTime":2178.09,"body":"I recall always being here and"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2178.09,"endTime":2182.47,"body":"looking at is that tree and a"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2178.09,"endTime":2182.47,"body":"memory for many people because"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2182.47,"endTime":2184.9,"body":"it's the one thing that's been"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2182.47,"endTime":2184.9,"body":"constant.  As you said, it's"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2184.9,"endTime":2187.24,"body":"been here for a period of time."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2187.24,"endTime":2189.01,"body":"It's part of the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2187.24,"endTime":2189.01,"body":"sense of place."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2189.01,"endTime":2192.1,"body":"Yes. You know that"},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2189.01,"endTime":2192.1,"body":"trees still stands."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2192.36,"endTime":2194.1,"body":"Thanks for"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2192.36,"endTime":2194.1,"body":"speaking with me today and"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2194.1,"endTime":2195.9,"body":"taking me up into the archives."},{"speaker":"Renee Gamba","startTime":2197.19,"endTime":2197.64,"body":"You're welcome."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2198.71,"endTime":2200.6,"body":"Well, that's the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2198.71,"endTime":2200.6,"body":"story of the Betsy William"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2200.6,"endTime":2203.99,"body":"Sycamore, at least through my"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2200.6,"endTime":2203.99,"body":"eyes. I hope I've done it a"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2203.99,"endTime":2207.83,"body":"solid. I've also gotten to know"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2203.99,"endTime":2207.83,"body":"Betsey Williams, with whom the"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2207.83,"endTime":2211.58,"body":"sycamores intricately linked."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2207.83,"endTime":2211.58,"body":"She lived just about her whole"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2211.58,"endTime":2215.18,"body":"life beneath that tree, drawing"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2211.58,"endTime":2215.18,"body":"comfort from it again and again"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2215.18,"endTime":2218.75,"body":"through changing times. Rhoda"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2215.18,"endTime":2218.75,"body":"and the Rhoda Williams Mulberry"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2218.75,"endTime":2222.17,"body":"should never be forgotten"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2218.75,"endTime":2222.17,"body":"either. I hope you'll listen in"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2222.17,"endTime":2225.32,"body":"to future episodes of This Old"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2222.17,"endTime":2225.32,"body":"Tree. Each time we'll learn"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2225.32,"endTime":2228.32,"body":"about a new heritage tree"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2225.32,"endTime":2228.32,"body":"somewhere in the world, past or"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2228.32,"endTime":2232.85,"body":"present, and it's human stories."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2228.32,"endTime":2232.85,"body":"I hope you'll subscribe and also"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2232.85,"endTime":2236.57,"body":"find This Old tree on Facebook"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2232.85,"endTime":2236.57,"body":"and Instagram. We'll also begin"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2236.57,"endTime":2239.84,"body":"a segment called Tree Story"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2236.57,"endTime":2239.84,"body":"Shorts, where you can submit"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2239.84,"endTime":2242.72,"body":"your own one to three minute"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2239.84,"endTime":2242.72,"body":"story about the tree that's had"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2242.72,"endTime":2246.23,"body":"the most meaning in your life."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2242.72,"endTime":2246.23,"body":"Just record it on your voice"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2246.23,"endTime":2250.01,"body":"memo app and email it to me, see"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2246.23,"endTime":2250.01,"body":"the show notes for the email."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2251.12,"endTime":2254.6,"body":"Lastly, I'd like to thank Renee"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2251.12,"endTime":2254.6,"body":"Gamba and Ruth Macaulay for"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2254.6,"endTime":2258.47,"body":"appearing on the show, and our"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2254.6,"endTime":2258.47,"body":"readers Robb Barnard, Ed"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2258.47,"endTime":2262.67,"body":"Nardell, Martha"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2258.47,"endTime":2262.67,"body":"Douglas-Osmundon, Andy Sabo,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2262.97,"endTime":2267.11,"body":"Margaret Sabo, and Laura"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2262.97,"endTime":2267.11,"body":"Maxwell. Martha"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2267.14,"endTime":2271.13,"body":"Douglas-Osmundson is our editor."},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2267.14,"endTime":2271.13,"body":"Here's arborist and songwriter"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2271.13,"endTime":2274.73,"body":"Dee Lee to take us out with his"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2271.13,"endTime":2274.73,"body":"music. Thank you for joining us,"},{"speaker":"Douglas Still","startTime":2274.73,"endTime":2275.72,"body":"see you next time."},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2276.23,"endTime":2281.36,"body":"This"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2276.23,"endTime":2281.36,"body":"old tree, standing here for more"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2281.36,"endTime":2287.57,"body":"than four centuries. I wonder"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2281.36,"endTime":2287.57,"body":"what you'd say if you could talk"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2287.57,"endTime":2296.81,"body":"to me about what it's like to"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2287.57,"endTime":2296.81,"body":"be, this old tree. Shadow and"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2296.81,"endTime":2305.18,"body":"shade, kids down the block are"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2296.81,"endTime":2305.18,"body":"selling lemonade. Send them down"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2305.18,"endTime":2313.7,"body":"to cool breezes sweet cascade,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2305.18,"endTime":2313.7,"body":"tailor made by this old tree. In"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2317.6,"endTime":2325.46,"body":"1600 you were just a seed,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2317.6,"endTime":2325.46,"body":"reaching bothers sky, high."},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2326.15,"endTime":2333.98,"body":"Waiting for a chance to take"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2326.15,"endTime":2333.98,"body":"your place in the warm sunshine."},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2337.34,"endTime":2346.1,"body":"Here I go, high above the place"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2337.34,"endTime":2346.1,"body":"where the people grow, leave my"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2346.1,"endTime":2351.68,"body":"troubles on the ground far"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2346.1,"endTime":2351.68,"body":"below, so I can get to know,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2352.13,"endTime":2370.43,"body":"this old tree. Summer sparke in"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2352.13,"endTime":2370.43,"body":"your leaves. Autumn winds will"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2370.43,"endTime":2389.06,"body":"bring relief. Winter calls for"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2370.43,"endTime":2389.06,"body":"you to sleep. Spring returns"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2389.06,"endTime":2400.49,"body":"again in green. But the town -"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2389.06,"endTime":2400.49,"body":"ships on the water side spy your"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2400.49,"endTime":2407.3,"body":"royal crown. Sentinal of green,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2400.49,"endTime":2407.3,"body":"two points off starboard bow,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2408.56,"endTime":2418.88,"body":"homeward bound to this old tree."},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2408.56,"endTime":2418.88,"body":"In 1800 you felt the thunder or"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2418.88,"endTime":2427.28,"body":"roll, lightning split the sky,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2418.88,"endTime":2427.28,"body":"high. Though the fire raged in"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2427.28,"endTime":2436.25,"body":"the little town below, you"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2427.28,"endTime":2436.25,"body":"managed to survive, this scar"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2436.25,"endTime":2446.39,"body":"upon your side. This old tree,"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2436.25,"endTime":2446.39,"body":"reach out and touch a living"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2446.39,"endTime":2455.27,"body":"history! Beneath my hands an"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2446.39,"endTime":2455.27,"body":"ancient mystery, how small I am"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2455.3,"endTime":2464.21,"body":"by this old tree. How small I am"},{"speaker":"This Old Tree song - Dee Lee","startTime":2455.3,"endTime":2464.21,"body":"by this old tree."}]}