USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > The History of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1836 > Part 25
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" Having been told that Robert devoted a portion of his time to reading, I offered to present him with a Bible, and some reli- gious Tracts, for which he appeared grateful, but informed me that he was already in possession of both, the gift of a pious lady of Providence ; which led me to make some enquiries as regard- ed his religious sentiments-his opinion of the existence of a Supreme Being-of the immortality of the soul-of future re- wards and punishments, &c. to which he unhesitatingly replied, that he never doubted the existence of a Supreme Being, from whom although invisible to us, nothing could be concealed, and to whom he believed we were all accountable beings, and would hereafter receive rewards or punishments according to the deeds of the body. From this belief he said he derived great conso- lation ; for, although great had been his trials and troubles in this world, he was not without a hope, that by complying with the
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terms of the gospel of a blessed Redeemer, he might be permit- ted in another to participate in those eternal enjoyments which were the promised rewards of the faithful."
By the generosity of some individuals, Robert afterwards had a more comfortable habitation erected, and where he terminated his life.
In his last sickness he was comfortably provided for by the Selectmen of Seekonk ; and the expenses of his burial were also defrayed by the town.
NATHAN SMITH, M. D., Professor in the medical schools of Dartmouth, Yale, and Bowdoin colleges, was born at Rehoboth, September 30, 1762. While he was still young, his parents removed to Chester, Windsor county, Vermont, where they re- mained until their death. Of his early life we know little, ex- cept that it was spent in acquiring the elements of education at the common country schools, and in aiding his father in agri- cultural pursuits on his farm. The following neatly drawn and animated sketch of the life and labors of Dr. Smith, is extract- ed from an eulogium,* pronounced on the occasion af his death, by J. Knight, M. D., professor of anatomy and physiology, in Yale College.
" Before he arrived at the period of manhood, in some of the latter years of the revolutionary war, he joined a body of the Vermont militia, which was stationed on the frontiers of that state, to repel the incursions of the Indian tribes of the neigh- borhood, and to keep them in check. How long he continued in this service is not known. He frequently alluded to the hard- ships and privations which he endured, while encamped in what was then a wilderness, with few of the necessaries, and none of the conveniences of life. While on this expedition he was shot at, and narrowly missed, by an Indian lying in ambush. These privations and dangers were not, however, peculiar to him, but were endured in common with many thousands of oth- ers of the hardy and enterprising inhabitants of our frontier set- tlements, during that perilous period, when property and life were exposed to all the dangers of savage warfare. While re- siding at his father's a portion of his time was occupied with what was then almost a necessary employment ; securing the game, and destroying the beasts of prey of the neighboring for-
* For a copy of this eulogium, and for some additional facts respecting Dr. Smith, I am indebted to the kindness of professor Silliman.
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ests. In these pursuits, small parties of young men were often absent from home for many days. On one of these excursions, he was left by his companions, in mid winter, at a distance from home, with a slender stock of provisions. While waiting for their return, his supplies were exhausted, and what was more unfortunate, a sudden thaw came on, which, softening the sur- face of the snow, then many feet in depth, rendered travelling impracticable. Here he was detained several days, subsisting entirely on the unsalted flesh of some game which he had taken, By the time the impediments to travelling were removed, he found himself afflicted in consequence of exposure and im- proper food, with a severe and distressing disease. With diffi- culty he reached the nearest house, where, and at his father's, he was, for many months, confined by sickness. Thus his life passed on in a course of laborious industry, and of hardy enter- prize, until he arrived at the age of twenty-four years. What his mental acquirements at this period were, we have no means of judging. And, although from the limited means of instruc- tion which he enjoyed, we cannot rate them high, yet, from the fact that he was engaged during some of the winter months, as teacher of a school in the vicinity, we are warranted in the be- lief, that they were more than were ordinarily obtained by the young men of the period, in that country.
" At this time an event occurred, which gave a new direction to his thoughts and his life. This event, trivial in its nature, and apparently casual, led him to the study, and finally to the practice, of a profession, which, for more than forty years, he adorned and improved. The events to be stated, add one more to the many well known cases, which show, by how small and apparently inoperative means, a wise overruling Providence controls and directs the affairs both of individuals and of nations. Mr. Smith was present, almost without design on his part, at a surgical operation performed by Dr. Josiah Goodhue, then, and for years afterwards, the most celebrated surgeon in that region. By witnessing this operation, his attention was directed to the structure of the human body, and his curiosity excited to learn more of a subject at once so novel and interesting. Shortly after, he mentioned to Dr. Goodhue his desire to engage in the study of medicine, and requested permission to enter his office as a student. The Doctor judiciously inquired of him, for they were almost strangers to each other, what had been his previous course of life, and what were his acquirements. The reply
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was, until last night, I have labored with my hands during my life. Dr. Goodhue told him kindly, that he was not in the hab- it of receiving young men as students, who had not received some preparatory education : giving him as the reason for this, that the profession of medicine was in a low state in that part of the country, and that to elevate it in reality and in public esti- mation, young men properly qualified only, should be encour- aged to engage in it. In conclusion, he stated to Mr. Smith, that if he would place himself under the tuition of some person capable of instructing him, and acquire so much literary infor- mation, as would enable him to enter the freshmen class of Harvard College, he would then receive him as a student. This judicious advice was happily followed. He selected the Rev. Mr. Whiting of Rockingham, Vt. as his instructor. With him he remained until the required condition was fulfilled. For three years after this he was a pupil of Dr. Goodhue, then re- siding in Putney, Vt. The assiduity and success with which he pursued his professional studies, are fully attested by his in- structor, who always regarded him, with that esteem and affec- tion, which can be excited in the mind of an instructor, only by diligence and good conduct on the part of the pupil. These kind feelings were fully reciprocated by Dr. Smith. He always spoke of this, his early friend, in the warmest terms of esteem and gratitude, as well for his early advice, as for his subsequent instruction, and for his countenance and support after he engag- ed in the practice of his profession. That respectable gentle- man still lives, and will mourn at the tidings of the death of a favorite pupil and devoted friend.
" Dr. Smith commenced the active duties of his profession at Cornish in N. H. After practising, with what reputation or success we are not fully informed, for two or three years, he visited Harvard University, for the purpose of availing himself of the advantages which that celebrated institution afforded. Here, he attended the several courses of lectures on Medicine and surgery, as well as those on Natural Philosophy, and other means of instruction, to which persons, not members of the aca- demical department, could gain admission. At the close of the term at Cambridge, he read an inaugural dissertation on 'The Circulation of the Blood,' which was received with high appro- bation, and, at the request of the faculty, was published. Hav- ing received the degree of Bachelor of Medicine from this University, he returned to Cornish, and engaged anew, with in-
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creased information and enlarged means of usefulness, in the practice of his profession.
" At this period the medical profession, in that vicinity was at a low ebb. The country itself, was to a great extent a wilder- ness, throughout which were interspersed flourishing towns and villages. This state of the country was a type of the medical profession. The large majority of the physicians were unedu- cated and unskilful. This was true with respect to all of New- Hampshire, except Portsmouth and its vicinity, as well as the neighboring state of Vermont. There were physicians and surgeons, respectable for their talents and attainments, scattered over this region ; but they were few when compared with the whole number. This state of his favorite profession was pain- ful to the benevolent and enterprising mind of Dr. Smith. In- stead of merely taking advantage of it, to elevate himself by the ignorance of others, he early engaged, with his usual vigor, to correct it. The most obvious and effectual means to remedy this evil, was to furnish those who were about to enter upon the profession, with an opportunity of obtaining a correct pro- fessional education. To accomplish this object, he projected the plan of a medical institution in connexion with Dartmouth College, located at Hanover in New Hampshire. The plan was soon completed, and Dr. Smith was appointed professor of medicine. For several years, the business of instruction in the various branches of medicine and surgery, as well as the aux- iliary sciences, was performed by him alone. To qualify him- self more thoroughly for this employment, which he probably foresaw was to occupy a large portion of his future life, he de- termined to derive larger stores of knowledge from what had been long considered as the fountain of medical science ; the school of Edinburgh. He accordingly left a practice which had then become lucrative, and again became a pupil, seeking instruction from those who were well qualified to give it. He spent about a year in Great Britain, partly, in attending a full course of Medical Lectures in Edinburgh, where the elder Monro and Dr. Black were then active teachers ; and partly in witnessing the practice of the hospitals in London. That this visit was full of interest and improvement to him cannot be doubted. He was perhaps in the best state to be improved by it. He was of mature years, had studied and practised enough to know, not only in general what every physician should learn,
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but, what in particular was necessary for him ; and he was ar- dent and zealous in the cause of his profession. His course; after his return to his native country, was one of almost unri- valled success. The medical school, which he was the means of establishing, flourished in a high degree, under lis auspices, and those of the able professors who were, in the course of a few years associated with him. The number of pupils, which, for several years after the establishment of the school was about twenty, gradually increased, so that for many of the last years of his connection with it, the average number was not far from sixty. These, upon the completion of their education, were scattered over the neighboring parts of New Hampshire and Vermont, and other more distant places in New England. They gradually occupied the stations rendered vacant by the death of the older members of the profession, and by the loss of business of those who were incompetent. Thus, that portion of the country became filled with a race of young, enterprising, intelli- gent physicians, who all justly looked up to Dr. Smith, as their friend and professional father. This, together with his de- servedly high, and continually increasing reputation, as a kind, attentive, and skilful physician and surgeon, necessarily drew upon him a vast amount of business. Every physician, espe- cially all who had been his pupils, desired him as their coun- sellor : the sick and the friends of the sick, looked to him as their last resort in all cases of difficulty.
" The labor which he endured in traversing, for the most part on horseback, such an extensive country, then, in part, almost a wilderness, over mountainous regions, and roads which were often nearly impassable, at every season and in every vicissitude of weather ; the good which he accomplished, in affording ad- vice and instruction, and by imparting a portion of his own vigor and energy to the younger members of the profession, as well as the more direct benefit which he afforded to the sick and distressed, can scarcely be estimated.
" Thus he continued his laborious and successful exertions in the business of instruction at Hanover, and in the practice of his profession, in that vicinity, until the autumn of 1813. At this time, he accepted the invitation, which had been previously given him, to occupy the chair of a professor, in the Medical Institution of Yale College, then just established in this city. From that time to the present, he has delivered an annual course of lectures, on the Theory and Practice of Physic and
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Surgery, to the class of medical students in this institution, Since that period, he has also delivered a course of lectures on the same branches at Dartmouth College ; one at the Vermont University in Burlington ; and two at the recently established and flourishing Medical Institution of Brunswick College in Maine. To trace the career of Dr. Smith, as an instructor, and as a practitioner of physic and surgery, since his removal to this city, would be only to repeat the account which has been given of him, while residing in Hanover. To this place have resort- ed for many years past, from seventy to ninety young men ; and it is no injustice to Dr. Smithi's associates, to say, that a principal object has been, to learn from his wisdom and experi- ence, the practical parts of their profession. Here, the sick and unfortunate, from every part of the country, have collected to receive the benefit of his skill. In addition to his practice in the immediate vicinity, he has been called to visit, professional- ly, every county, and almost every town in the state, as well as many more distant places in the neighboring states. Thus his life has been one continued scene of active, laborious and use- ful exertion."
About the middle of July, 1829, Dr. Smith was seized with a severe illness, which left him in very precarious health. He continued weak and debilitated through the remainder of sum- mer and autumn ; but, with the exception of a few days, dis- charged his accustomed arduous duties. On the 13th of the succeeding January, he first perceived a slight numbness of the left hand, with other symptoms of paralysis, which gradually in- creased, until the morning of the 26th, at six o'clock, when, af- ter a long and brilliant career of usefulness, he slept the sleep of death. He was then in the sixty-seventh year of his age. He was interred in the burying ground at New Haven, where a neat marble monument, after the model of that of Scipio at Rome, has been erected over his grave.
" That Professor Smith, "- to borrow still farther the elegant language of Dr. Knight, " was no ordinary man, the story of his life already told, most conclusively proves. In early life he was a poor boy, in a comparatively obscure village, with a lim- ited education, and still more limited means of advancing it. Thus he remained, until past the period when most men are fixed in their situation for life. At this time his mind received a new impulse. He resolved to render himself useful and dis- tinguished. Having chosen his profession, he entered at once,
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tvith the decision which marked his character through life, upon the work of preparing himself for it. The means of acquiring an education were furnished almost entirely by his own exer- tions. He appears for many years, to have laboured to acquire property, only to expend it in advancing his knowledge of lite- rature and medicine. Following this purpose with untiring zeal, he obtained a medical education, such as was then almost unknown in New England. With the same zeal, activity and intelligence; he entered upon the practice of his profession, and subsequently upon the business of instruction. By pursuing this course his reputation gradually increased, until he became more extensively known, than any other medical man in New England. Indeed it is doubted whether any other man in New England, of any profession, possessed so large a number of personal acquaintances and friends.
"His acquaintance was not only extensive, but reached to eve- ry rank in society. The poor knew him as their benefactor ; the sick, as their skilful, attentive physician ; the rich were honored by his society ; and the wise and the good received him as their friend and companion.
" At the same time, his influence over medical literature was equally extensive. . This influence was exerted, through his large acquaintance among medical men, by his advice and ex- ample, as well as more directly through the medium of the va- rious medical schools, which were favored with his instructions. By means of his influence thus exerted, he effected, over a large extent of country, a great and salutary change in the medical profession. The assertion, that he has done more for the improvement of physic and surgery in New England, than any other man, will, by no one, be deemed invidious. If the accomplishment of objects so important, with means so limited ; the raising and sustaining so high and extensive a reputation, from so humble an origin ; the advancing in such a degree, one of the liberal professions, over so large a country, be not marks of strong native talent, fostered by industry, I know not where indications of such talent can be found."
Dr. Smith possessed a strong, discriminating, and inquisitive mind ; a retentive memory ; a remarkable power of reducing all the knowledge which he acquired, to some useful practical purpose ; an undaunted moral courage ; a delicate and tender sen- sibility ; and a feeling and benevolent heart. His manners were pleasing and interesting ; he possessed high social qualities ; and 34
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in all companies-learned or unlearned, polished or otherwise, his free and animated conversation, his fund of lively anecdote, and the acuteness of his remarks upon all subjects, whether re- lating to the common affairs of life, or the more important con- cerns of morals and literature, rendered him a welcome guest. His works, entitled " Medical and Surgical Memoirs," were published, 8vo., 1831. One of his sons, Nathan R. Smith, is a distinguished physician at Baltimore, and a professor in the Baltimore Medical College. A second, Dr. Solon Smith, re- sides at Sutton, Mass. ; and a third, Dr. Morven Smith, at Westfield, Mass.
BENJAMIN WEST, L. L. D., a distinguished mathematician and philosopher, was born at Rehoboth in the year 1730. His- grandfather came from Great Britain, and settled in the part of Rehoboth adjoining Swansey. His father, who was a respecta- ble farmer, removed, while Benjamin was but a boy, to Bristol, R. I. In that village he received all the education, which was not the fruit of his own unaided and persevering exertions, from the Rev. Mr. Burt. From his earliest years he discovered a re- markable fondness and aptness for mathematical studies. His pecuniary resources were very limited ; and Mr. Burt, who could discover in the expanding mind of the boy the germ of the fu- ture eminence of the man, kindly furnished him with books, and did whatever was in his power to foster his rising genius.
Frowned on by fortune, but gifted by nature with powers above the ability of gold to purchase, his uncommon acquisitions were the admiration of his contemporaries, and secured to him a reputation, which few, with no greater advantages, have ever attained. The mathematics, in their several departments, were his favorite study, though he made respectable, and even exten- sive, acquisitions in general knowledge.
About the year 1753, he removed to Providence, where he opened a school. This, however, after some time, he relinquished; and, from an expectation of improving his pecuniary circumstan- ces, engaged in mercantile pursuits. While in this occupation, he opened the first book-store in Providence. He continued in this business till the commencement of the Revolutionary war, when, in consequence of the embarrassment of his affairs, he was obliged to relinquish commercial business entirely, and seek some other employment for the support of his family. During the war Mr. West was a zealous patriot ; and, Providence being
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a depot for military stores and supplies for the American army, he was engaged in manufacturing clothing for our troops till very near the close of the war. During all this time, however, he found some leisure for study, and applied himself to his favorite pursuit with an unyielding energy. About the year 1763, he commenced the publication of an almanac, the astronomical cal- culations designed for the meridian of Providence ; and contin- ued to publish it annually till about 1793. In, or about, the year 1766, he calculated an almanac for the meridian of Halifax, (Nova-Scotia); and continued to furnish annually the copy of an almanac calculated for that meridian, until near the close of his life in 1813, with the exception of a short period during the Revolutionary war. As early as 1766, he made some very accurate observations upon a comet that appeared that year, which he communicated to Professor Winthrop of Cambridge.
The transit of Venus, which occurred on the 3d of June, 1769, and that of Mercury, which happened in November fol- lowing, afforded him a favorable opportunity of establishing a more extended and permanent reputation, as a mathematician and astronomer. He published a tract on the transits of these planets ; and also furnished a communication respecting them to the Royal Society of London. The reputation which he had by this time acquired led him to a correspondence with some of the most distinguished scientific men in the country, on various mathematical and astronomical subjects. In 1770 he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University. In 1770 he was unanimously elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and received their diploma. He was also made an honorary member of the American Philo- sophical Society at Philadelphia. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, he resumed the business of teaching a school, and continued in this employment till 1786, when he was elected Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in Brown University ; but did not enter upon the actual discharge of the duties of his professorship, until 1788. During this interval, he officiated as Professor of Mathematics, in the Protestant Episcopal Academy at Philadelphia. Whilst here he enjoyed the society and friend- ship of the distinguished scientific men of that city ; and among the number were Franklin and Rittenhouse. In 1788, he en- tered upon the duties of his professorship at Providence ; and at the commencement, in 1792, the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him for his distinguished services in the cause of science. The duties of his professorship he continued
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to discharge, with equal credit to himself and advantage to the institution, till the year 1799, when he retired from a situation to which he had imparted honor. In 1802, Mr. West was ap- pointed Post-master at Providence, which situation he filled till his death, that occurred August 13, 1813, in the 83d year of his age.
Besides his observations on the transits of the planets, Mer- cury and Venus, Mr. West furnished several articles, which are to be found in the memoirs of the literary societies with which he was connected. He also left behind him many writings which he contemplated issuing from the press. He collected, with much expense, a library, containing many rare and valuable works in the several departments of science, to which he was passionately attached. His wife was Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith of Bristol, R. I. He left one son and three daughters .- [Alden's Collection of Am. Epitaphs and Inscrip- tions, Vol. IV. p. 85, No. 689. Gazetteer of Connecticut and Rhode Island, by C. Pease and John M. Niles, Hart- ford, 1819.]
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