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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01891 6004
GC 974.5 M72G
"The Man Who Feels No Sentiment of Veneration for the Memory of His Fore- fathers Who Has No Natural Regard for His Ancestors, or His Kindred, Is Him- self Unworthy of Kindred, or Remem- brance."
DANIEL WEBSTER
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ROGER WILLIAMS MEMORIAL PROSPECT TERRACE PROVIDENCE, R. I. WITH R. I. STATE CAPITOL IN THE DISTANCE
RALPH S. MOHR Author
Governors for
Three Hundred Years
1638-1959
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
163
REVISED EDITION EDITION LIMITED TO ONE THOUSAND COPIES COPYRIGHT, 1959, BY RALPH S. MOHR OXFORD PRESS 807
This book is dedicated in loving memory of my wife,
MARIAN J. MOHR
1
RALPH S. MOHR Author
FOREWORD
Every person should possess some knowledge of the history of his own country. It seems necessary to the existence of true and enlightened patriotism. Youth is the fittest season to acquire this knowledge. It is the season of the most leisure; the memory is then less incumbered; this knowledge gratifies that curiosity, which is natural to the human mind, and which is peculiarly strong in the early period of life.
Among the first settlers of Rhode Island were some of the best and wisest men of the age; men remarkable for their Christian piety, patience, fortitude, and benevolent enter- prise, deserving to rank among the worthies who have founded empires, enlightened na- tions, and given glory to the age and country in which they lived. Its history, in conse- quence, has been more entirely preserved, and better authenticated, from the time of its first settlement, than that of any other portion of the globe of equal magnitude and im- portance. No history is more replete with useful instruction and entertainment, and it fur- nishes many important lessons to warriors, statesmen and divines. It may be read and stud- ied with much profit by our youth.
The materials for the history of this favoured portion of the world, though abundant, have hitherto been scattered in many volumes, too expensive and too disjointed, to be rendered useful to the rising generation. To reduce them to a form, order and size adapted to the use of the higher classes in schools, and to families, has been my aim in compiling this work. I have endeavoured faithfully to bring into view the most operative causes, near and more remote, which led to the settlement of Rhode Island, with the im- pelling motives of the immediate agents in this bold enterprise, and to trace the steps by which she has risen to her present distinguished rank in the political, literary, and com- mercial world. To render the work interesting to youth, I have laboured to clothe my ideas in plain, familiar language, and to blend entertainment with instruction.
Conscious, that in compiling and publishing this volume, I have been prompted by an upright regard to the best interests of our country, I commit it to the candor and patronage of the public. I hope the youth of Rhode Island will read with pleasure and improvement, what I have written for their particular use, with labour and delight; that while reading, they will admire, then love, then imitate the shining virtues of their pious forefathers, be emulous to preserve pure their wise institutions, and like them, receive the applause and blessings of succeeding generations.
THE AUTHOR
The Biographical Histories and other pertinent records as wrillen in this book were compiled from various sources:
RHODE ISLAND STATE MANUAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA OF RHODE ISLAND
COLONIAL RECORDS OF RHODE ISLAND
NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, by John Callender, A.M. PICTURESQUE RHODE ISLAND, by Wilfred H. Munro THREE CENTURIES OF DEMOCRACY, by Carroll PORTSMOUTH TOWN RECORDS
THREE EARLY PROPRIETORS OF PROVIDENCE, by Fred A. Arnold HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND, by Samuel G. Arnold INTERPRETATION OF CHARTER, by John Williams Haley
VARIOUS QUAKER RECORDS AT NEWPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY EARLY MAPS, by John Hutchins Cady, (Reproduction from Rhode Island Boundaries, 1636-1659)
APPLETON'S CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA
A HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS MEN OF NEW ENGLAND PHOTOGRAPHY BY Leo Reardon
Grateful appreciation is extended to Clarkson A. Collins, III, Librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, and Clifford P. Monahon, Director of the Rhode Island Historical Society, for their cooperation and advice.
Index of Governors
Page
Allen, Philip
234
Andros, Sir Edmund 66
Anthony, Henry B 230
Arnold, Benedict 115
Arnold, Lemuel H. 210
Beeckman, R. Livingston. 306
Bourn, Augustus O. 272
Brenton, William 126
Brown, Russell
284
Bull, Henry 144
Burnside, Ambrose 255
Carr, Caleb 150
Case, Norman S. 314
Clarke, Jeremy
92
Clarke, Walter 132
Coddington, William, Sr 77
Coddington, William, Jr.
142
Coggeshall, John 88
Collins, John 192
Cooke, Nicholas 186
Cranston, John
138
Cranston, Samuel 152
Cozzens, William C. 250
Davis, John W. 276
Del Sesto, Christopher 336
Dexter, Gregory 102
Diman, Byron 226
Dimond, Francis
236
Dorr, Thomas W.
220
Dyer, Elisha 241
Dyer, Elisha, Jr. 288
Easton, John
148
Easton, Nicholas
130
Fenner, Arthur
194
Fenner, James
198
Flynn, William 312
Francis, John Brown 214
Garvin, Lucius F. 298
Gibbs, William C. 208
Gorton, Samuel 98
Green, Theodore F.
316
Greene, William
170
Wanton, Joseph 184
Wanton, William 161
Ward, Richard 166
Ward, Samuel 178
Harris, Elisha
228
Wetmore, George P.
274
Higgins, James
302
Hopkins, Stephen
174
Hoppin, William 238
Howard, Henry 262
Hutchinson, William
80
Jackson, Charles 222
Jencks, Joseph 155
Jones, William 200
Kimball, Charles D. 29-1
King, Samuel W. 218
Knight, Nehemiah
203
Ladd, Herbert W. 282
Lippitt, Charles W. 286
Lippitt, Henry 264
Littlefield, Alfred H. 270
Lyndon, Josias
180
McGrath, J. Howard
328
McKiernan, John S.
332
Padelford, Seth 258
Pastore, John O. 3.30
Pothier, Aram J .. 304
Quinn, Robert E. .......
..... 324
Roberts, Dennis J. ...... 33-4
Sanford, John 104
Sanford, Peleg
140
San Souci, Emery J. 308
Smith, James Y. 252
Smith, John 94
Sprague, William
216
Sprague, William (2nd) 248
Stuart, Charles
56
Taft, Royal C.
280
Turner, Thomas G. 246
Utter, George H.
300
Vanderbilt, William H.
326
Van Zandt, Charles C. 268
Wanton, Gideon 172
Wanton, John
164
Greene, William, Jr. 190
Gregory, William
292
Wilbour, Isaac 196
84
Williams, Roger
Page
GOVERNOR'S FLAG
RHODE
STATE OF
ISLAND
HOPE
FLAG AND PENNANT OF THE GOVERNOR
The flag and pennant of the governor shall be white bearing on each side the following: A gold anchor on a shield with a blue field and gold border; above the shield a gold scroll bearing the words in blue letters "State of Rhode Island"; below the shield a gold scroll bearing in blue letters the word "Hope"; the shield and scrolls to be surrounded by four blue stars; both the flag and pen- nant to be edged with yellow fringe. (General Laws, Chapter 19, Section 4.)
Hª
State House, Providence, Rhode Island
"TO-HOLD-FORTH-A-LIVELY-EXPERIMENT THAT-A-MOST-FLOURISHING-CIVIL-STATE-MAY-STAND AND-BEST-BE-MAINTAINED-WITH-FULL-LIBERTY IN-RELIGIOUS-CONCERNMENTS."
The Old State House, Newport, Rhode Island
PREFACE
Three hundred years with the Governors of Rhode Island is a presentation of the Past. however, a most important Past. Most of us live not only for today, but for tomor- row, and most of us are prone to forget the Past. It seems so unimportant. Yet, if we would only allow our minds to reflect the Past, I am sure we would have a better under- standing of what the future holds in store for us. In the three hundred years that have passed under the guidance of those who directed the future of our state, my story is about them.
It is a great heritage, and a proud heritage, that we find ourselves enjoying. We well should be proud of it. This heritage had an interesting start, and we deal with it from its infancy. It is interesting to follow the first migrators from England to Bos- ton in the early part of 1630, and soon from Boston to Portsmouth and then Newport. It is hard to visualize their exodus to these parts; one wonders about the methods of transportation. Over land? What were the roads? Probably paths worked out by the Indian tribes; although Boston was less than 50 miles away. this distance was consider- able 300 years ago, for it took several days to make the trip.
In the compilation of this History Book. it is difficult to place one event ahead of the other; each was important. My first impression, however, starts with those signers of the Portsmouth Compact in 1638. They were the founders of the first Government in the World to allow and insure to its citizens Civil and Religious Liberty. This very spot in which this solemn obligation became a reality still exists and is identified by a bronze marker on a huge boulder in an open field secluded from everything but the sky and God. A narrow path from a dirt road leads to this Sanctuary, and it is at this spot, in that open field, that each of us should thank God that those men, who signed that Compact, did so in our own beloved State.
It is further interesting to follow the career of those men who signed the Compact, for each of them played an important role in the moulding of our Government. Many of them were later chosen to the high office of Governor.
As author of the book, I wish to enlighten the reader that the facts and the historical records, as herewith shown, are a compilation of information attained from reliable sources. The author is not a historian by any manner of means; just a plain every day novice, interested in the forebears of this great State, to assist in the preservation of their deeds by keeping alive their memory, and trying to inculcate into the minds of all Amer- icans the importance of remembrance, and the gratitude we should exemplify, knowing full well that our present way of life, which is the greatest known to mankind, was made possible because of their wisdom and direction.
With the many writings and interpretations by good Rhode Island historians, my work was not too difficult. However, there were the usual discrepancies which, after all, must be expected in recording history 300 years in the making. The historian had to rely on those early records as written and recorded in the various archives. For the most part, those original records covered quite well in detail, except, in many instances, time took its toll in the readability of the early documents.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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Our principal objective for this book was locating the last resting place of the Gov- ernors. The graves of the early Executives were a trying problem to locate. The death rec- ord, if available, invariably gave no detail as to the place of burial. Early Quaker records revealed excellent information; much of our Newport data was secured from the Newport Historical Society, with the kind assistance of Mrs. Peter Bolhouse. Her ever willingness to assist was a much appreciated factor in our work. The real task, after locating ceme- teries where these early Executives were buried, was to locate the grave. In many in- stances, time and weather had taken its toll on the incriptions which had been engraved in the soft slate markers and which has long since disappeared; and to decipher the record- ing on the markers, one had to use his ingenious intuitions. In every instance, we feel confident that our deductions are correct.
We have been most fortunate to have been able to locate the graves of all the Execu- tive heads commencing with the first Executive William Coddington, 1638, with the ex- ception of three, namely, William Hutchinson, 1639-40; John Sanford, 1652-53; and Peleg Sanford, 1680-83, the latter being father and son, and all three from Portsmouth. An exhaustive study and research of these three executives have been our most trying prob- lem. So, to further interest the reader, I will publish elsewhere, pages 105-109, a genealog- ical review of John Sanford, which includes his will and from this document we can defi- nitely pin-point the probable location of his home; and, in all probability, he was buried on his farm, which is indicated near the ferry he operated, and after his death, according to his will, he bequeathed to his son, John, said ferry and the old home. For further reference, your attention is called to the several maps showing the real estate holdings of John San- ford. Also a short genealogical review of Governor Peleg Sanford, son of President John Sanford, whose place of burial still holds in abeyance our every effort to locate, it being my personal conviction that in all probability, he died in Newport and was buried there. Yet, the records of Portsmouth and Newport do not reveal the last resting place of this Gov- ernor.
Considerable time was spent in exploiting the final resting place of Governor Wil- liam Brenton, who served as the second Governor under the Royal Charter. Here also, we were unable to locate from authentic records the place of burial. There were many conflicting writings regarding his grave; some noted historians made record that he was buried in South Swansea. Arnold, during the early part of 1900, wrote, and with the aid of a Rhode Island newspaper, displayed a picture of the cemetery in which they proposed he was buried. Examination and investigation ruled this out. Basis for their deduc- tions presumably were based on the fact that once the Governor owned large land hold- ings; there, also, he conducted a trading Post near South Swansea, and, still further, his will was filed at Taunton. However, records also reveal that he owned 2,000 acres of land at Fort Adams, and that he built the largest house in the Colony. It was a huge affair, and was noted because of its four chimneys. On this farm he raised sheep, and at one time he boasted of having 11,000 sheep.
The large house he named as "Hammersmith". The name was derived from the town in England where he was born. At his death in 1674, his son, Jahleel, was the ad- ministrator of his will, and it is evident that Jahleel lived at Fort Adams after his father's death. We find in the records of the John Stevens' Book (See Page #129 "Picture of Book") that Jahleel purchased from John Stevens a double headstone for the Governor in 1727. This was 53 years after the death of Governor William Brenton, and in this
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
13
John Stevens' record book is recorded the entire transaction which included carting of the tombstone, for which a charge of one pound was entered. This would indicate that the stone could not have been carted over a mile or two; thus, it was deduced that it had been hauled to Fort Adams. For here, at Fort Adams, on the gentle slope leading from Officers' Row towards the Administration Building, was the grave of Jahleel Brenton, son of Governor William Brenton. At this grave was a large slate stone covering the grave, and the inscription read, "Jahleel Brenton, born November 14, 1655; died November 8, 1732". The record thus indicates that Jahleel died about 5 years after he had purchased the headstone in remembrance of his father. I was informed by the late Howard Benson "a noted sculptor at Newport" and then owner of the John Stevens Shop. that there were no sculptors in Rhode Island prior to 1705, and it was in that year that John Stevens came to Newport and started cutting headstones, and this would account for the delay in mark- ing the grave of Governor Brenton.
Governor Brenton's record of public service indicates he served the state in various capacities for 37 years; he was the wealthiest man of his time. His land holdings were extensive throughout this state and the Bay Colony. In all probability, the land was acquired because of the fact that he was one of the first surveyors to come to America, and he was so commissioned by King Charles. This allowed him a certain number of acres per mile on all land he should survey in the New England Colonies. On his two thousand acre farm at Fort Adams, the grounds were laid out in a most artistic manner, and were kept in a high state of cultivation; the fruit trees were imported from England, and a wall of granite, five feet high, surrounded his "Hammersmith" Estate.
Now, we find ourselves confronted with the problem: where is Governor Brenton's grave? A complete search of the land at Fort Adams revealed the only ancient grave on those many acres of land was that of Jahleel Brenton. oldest son of Governor Brenton, and. as previously stated, this grave was marked by a flat slate ledger stone, properly iden- tified, and here again, we are beset with further problems, for this grave is swallowed up by a large Navy Housing Project, which necessitated the removal of the grave to another location. Authority for the removal was granted by His Excellency Dennis J. Roberts. and in accordance with Chapter 655, Section 9, of the General Laws of 1938, permitting such removals, Chester W. Williams, Chief of the State Division of Soldiers' Welfare, gave instructions for said removal. The work was done by the A. T. R. Construction Com- pany of Newport, under my direct supervision, as Chairman of the Rhode Island Graves Registration Committee, and Chester W. Williams. First, the body of Jahleel Brenton was exhumed, and the few bones uncovered were placed into a concrete urn, with a writ- ten statement containing pertinent information regarding the re-interment, and the urn was sealed airtight. Excavation was continued to the left of Jahleel's grave, and we en- countered another grave about 5 feet to the left and adjacent to the grave of Jah- leel Brenton. Here, we exhumed what is presumed to be the body of Governor William Brenton, and here we encountered more bones than found in the previous grave, with evidence of better preservation. Our deductions, concluded from the evidence uncov- ered such as long hand-wrought nails of about forty penny in size, indicated that the cas- ket was made of heavy plank and thus provided protection from collapse for many more years than the previously exhumed casket which also had entirely disintegrated; however, the nails found at that location were, in all probability, about eight penny in size and also were hand-wrought, which indicated that the casket was of light construction and perhaps
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
14
collapsed many years before the casket with the remains of the Governor. Here again, all the remaining bones were collected and placed into a concrete urn, with written perti- nent information regarding the re-interment.
And again our reasoning that the grave adjacent to Jahleel Brenton was that of the Governor, we felt was substantiated by other early traditions of similar conditions, such as Governor John Cranston, and his son Samuel Cranston. We find both buried side by side with the head in the West and the feet in the East; and in this case, we find that the wives of both Governors are buried in a cemetery elsewhere. Records reveal that Fran- ces Cranston Brenton, wife of Jahleel Brenton, died February 2, 1740, and she is buried in Common Ground Cemetery, Newport, R. I .; and we find that Mary "late ye wife of Samuel Cranston Esq., Governor of this Colony, who decest ye 7th day of ye 4 mo. Sepbr. in ye 48th year of her age 1710," buried at the Clifton Burial Ground, Newport, R. I.
Reinterment of Governor William Brenton and his son Jahleel Brenton is in a spe- cial triangular lot provided by the United States Navy, through the authority of Rear Admiral J. H. Wellings, Commander of the Newport Naval Base, as per a letter direct- ed to Chester W. Williams, Chief of the State Division of Soldiers' Welfare, and to my- self as Chairman of the Rhode Island Graves Registration Committee. This lot is lo- cated near the present Fort Adams Base Cemetery and photographs illustrated under the biography of Governor William Brenton are shown elsewhere in this book.
In concluding this preface, I wish to express my grateful appreciation to all those who have made the writing of this book a reality. My sincere thanks to Chester W. Wil- liams for his personal co-operation as well as that of his entire staff, Robert T. Scott, Graves Registrar, Mrs. Eva B. Paquin, Secretary, Mrs. Margaret Smith, Clerk-typist, and Mrs. Alice Thompson Smith, who accomplished an excellent job of research. Her research provided us with the necessary information to intelligently carry out our program. And finally, do I pay my respects to Mr. Leo Reardon, State Photographer, who accom- panied me during the entire project. The photography in this book is his accomplish- ment, and it records a masterpiece of photographic art.
PHOTOGRAPHER LEO REARDON AND R. S. MOHR AT THE ROELKER BURIAL GROUND WARWICK, R. I. 1954
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
15
THE ROYAL CHARTER OF 1663
vi the gren
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A
LOCATED IN THE SENATE LOUNGE STATE HOUSE PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND This charter is preserved in a fire proof vault under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State and is available to all visitors for observation.
16
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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94. 0 4
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, &C.
THE CHARTER
GRANTED BY KING CHARLES II,
July 8, 1663, and in Force Until the Constitution, Adopted in November, 1842, Became Operative on the First Tuesday of May, 1843
CHARLES the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas, we have been informed, by the humble petition of our trusty and well-beloved subject, John Clarke, on the behalf of Benjamin Arnold, William Bren- ton, William Codington, Nicholas Easton, Wil- liam Boulston, John Porter, John Smith, Samuel Gorton, John Weeks, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, Gregory Dexter, John Coggeshall, Joseph Clarke, Randall Holden, John Greene, John Roome, Samuel Wildbore, William Field, James Barker, Richard Tew, Thomas Harris, and Wil- liam Dyre, and the rest of the purchasers and free inhabitants of our island, called Rhode Island, and the rest of the colony of Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New England, in America, that they, pursuing, with peaceable and loyal minds, their sober, serious, and religious intentions, of godly edifying them- selves, and one another, in the holy Christian faith and worship, as they were persuaded; to- gether with the gaining over and conversion of the poor ignorant Indian natives, in those parts of America, to the sincere profession and obedi- ence of the same faith and worship, did, not only by the consent and good encouragement of our royal progenitors, transport themselves out of this kingdom of England into America, but also, since their arrival there, after their first settle- ment amongst other our subjects in those parts, for the avoiding of discord, and those many evils which were likely to ensue upon some of those our subjects not being able to bear, in these re- mote parts, their different apprehensions in re- ligious concernments, and in pursuance of the aforesaid ends, did once again leave their desira- ble stations and habitations, and with excessive
labor and travel, hazard and charge did trans- plant themselves into the midst of the Indian natives, who as we are informed, are the most potent princes and people of all that country; where, by the good Providence of God, from whom the Plantations have taken their name, upon their labor and industry, they have not only been preserved to admiration, but have in- creased and prospered, and are seized and pos- sessed, by purchase and consent of the said na- tives, to their full content, of such lands, islands, rivers, harbors and roads, as are very convenient, both for plantations, and also for building of ships, supply of pipe-staves, and other merchan- dise; and which lie very commodious, in many respects, for commerce, and to accommodate our southern plantations, and may much advance the trade of this our realm, and greatly enlarge the territories thereof; they having by near neigh- borhood to and friendly society with the great body of the Narragansett Indians, given them encouragement of their own accord, to subject themselves, their people and lands, unto us; whereby, as is hoped, there may, in time, by the blessing of God upon their endeavors be laid a sure foundation of happiness to all America: And whereas, in their humble address, they have freely declared, that it is much on their hearts (if they may be permitted) to hold forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments; and that true piety rightly grounded upon gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty: Now, know ye, that we, being willing to encourage the hopeful un- dertaking of our said loyal and loving subjects,
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