USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Narragansett > A history of the Episcopal church in Narragansett, Rhode Island, including a history of other Episcopal churches in the state > Part 24
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" MANY Reports having been propagated injurious to the Character of Governor WANTON, in my Opinion without any Foundation in Truth, from an intimate Acquaintance with his public Conduct, dur- ing his Administration, I conceive it to be my Duty to endeavor to remove any unfavorable Impressions which may have been made on your Minds, from disingenuous Insinuations respecting his political Principles, by assuring you, that he has always manifested an affec- tionate Regard for your Charter Rights; and upon every Occasion exhibited the strongest Proofs of his Readiness to serve your true In- terest, by a chearful Concurrence with every Measure calculated to advance the Credit, Happiness, and Reputation of the Colony ; and I have the highest Reason to believe that he will not, in any Instance betray the sacred Trust which you have been pleased to repose in him, as your Chief Magistrate. I am, Gentlemen,
"Your real Friend and Servant, "Providence, April 15, 1775. DARIUS SESSIONS."
Governor Wanton, was, however, re-elected by the people on the third Wednesday of April, 1775; and in consequence of the Boston Port Bill, the Legislature was specially convened at Providence, on
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Saturday, the 22d day of the same April, and after the annual al election of Governor and Senate-but the officers elect could not by Charter, be inducted and sworn into office until the first Wednes- day of May ensuing. At this special session, the General Assembly passed the following preamble and resolution :
" At this very dangerous crisis in American affairs ; at a time when we are surrounded by fleets and armies, which threaten our immediate destruction ; at a time when the fears and anxieties of the people throw them into the utmost distress, and totally pre- vent them from attending to the common occupations of life ; to prevent the mischievous consequences that must necessarily attend such a disordered state, and to restore peace to the minds of the good people of this Colony, it appears absolutely necessary to this Assembly that a number of men be raised and embodied, properly armed and disciplined, to continue in this Colony as an Army of Obser- vation, to repel any insult or violence that may be offered to the inhabitants ; and also if it be necessary for the safety and preserva- tion of any of the Colonies, to march out of this Colony, and join and co-operate with the force of the neighboring Colonies ; It is voted and resolved, That fifteen hundred men be enlisted, raised, and em- bodied as aforesaid, with all the expedition and despatch that the na- ture of the thing will admit of."
To which resolution Gov. Wanton, and others, made the following protest :
" We, the subscribers, professing true allegiance to His Majesty King George the Third, beg leave to dissent from the vote of the House of Magistrates, for enlisting, raising, and embodying an Army of Observation of 1,500 men, to repel any insult or violence that may be offered to the inhabitants ; and also, if it be necessary for the safety and preservation of any of the Colonies to march out of this Colony, to join and co-operate with the forces of the neighboring Colonies-
" Because we are of opinion that such a measure will be attended with the most fatal consequences to our Charter privileges, involve the Colony in all the horrors of a civil war, and as we conceive, is an open violation of the oath of allegiance, which we have severally
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taken upon our admission into the respective offices we now hold in this Colony. JOSEPH WANTON,
DARIUS SESSIONS, THOMAS WICKES, WILLIAM POTTER.
"In Upper House, Providence, April 25, 1775." >
Notwithstanding the aforesaid protest, the act did pass the Senate ; the orders were issued, and Gen. Nathaniel Greene was appointed Brigadier General of the brigade. The protest created great excite- ment. At the May session of the Assembly, Governor Wanton trans- mitted the following letter :
NEWPORT, May 2, 1775.
To the General Assembly of the English Colony of Rhode Island, to be holden at Providence, on the first Wednesday of May, 1775.
GENTLEMEN :- As indisposition prevents my meeting you in the the General Assembly, that candor I have so often experienced from the Representatives of the freemen of the colony encourages me to hope that you will excuse my personal attendance at this session .-- Since the last session of the General Assembly at Providence, I have had the honor of receiving a letter from the Earl of Dartmouth, one of His Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, dated Whitehall, the 3d of March, 1775, enclosing the resolutions of the House of Com- mons, respecting the provision which they expect this Colony or Pro- · vince in America to make for the common defence, and also for the civil government and the administration of justice in such Colony, both which I have directed to be laid before you ; and also, a letter from the Provincial Congress, which are all the public letters I have received during the recess.
As the dispute between Great Britain and the Colonies is now brought to a most alarming, dangerous crisis, and this once happy country threatened with all the horrors and calamities of civil war, I consider myself bound by every tie of duty and affection, as well as from an ar- dent desire to see a union between Great Britain and her Colonies upon an equitable, permanent basis, to entreat you to enter into the consideration of the resolutions of the House of Commons, and also his Lordship's letter which accompanied that resolution, with the
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temper, calmness, and deliberation which the importance of them demands, and with that inclination to a reconciliation with the Parent State which will recommend your proceedings to His Majesty and both Houses of Parliament.
The prosperity and happiness of this Colony is founded on its con- nection with Great Britain, " for if once we are separated, where shall we find another Britain to supply our loss ? Torn from the from the body to which we are united by religion, liberty, laws and commerce, we must bleed at every vein."
Your Charter privileges are of too much importance to be forfeited. You will, therefore, duly consider the interesting matters now before you with the most attentive caution ; and let me entreat you not to suffer your proceedings for accommodating these disputes, which have too long subsisted between both countries, to have the least ap- pearance of anger or resentment ; but that a kind, respectful beha- vior towards His Majesty, and both Houses of Parliament, accompa- ny all your deliberations.
I shall always be ready to join with you in every measure which will secure the full possession of our invaluable Charter privileges to the latest posterity, and prevent the good people of this Colony from that ruin and destruction which, in my opinion, some of the or- ders of the late Assembly must inevitably involve them in, ifthey are not speedily repealed ; for besides the fatal consequences of levying war against the King, the immense load of debt that will be incurred, ifthe late resolutions for raising an Army of Observation of fifteen hun- dred men within this Colony be carried into execuiion will be insup- portable, and must unavoidably bring on universal bankruptcy throughout the Colony.
If I have the honor of being re-elected, I shall, as I ever have done, cheerfully unite with you in every proceeding (which may be con- sistent with that duty and allegiance which I owe to the King and the British Constitution,) for increasing the welfare and happiness of this government.
I am, with great respect and esteem, gentlemen,
Your most humble servant,
J. WANTON.
Between the day in April on which the General Officers were elected by the people, and the session of the Legislature in May, at
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which time those that were elected took the oath of office, the battle of Lexington had taken place ; American blood had been shed ; the popular mind was in a high state of excitement, and the Governor, by his letter, was adjudged a decided adherent to the cause of the Crown. The majority against him in the Legislature was strong and determined. Lieut. Governor Sessions and Thomas Wickes de- clined the offices to which they had been elected. At the same May session, Nicholas Cooke was elected Lieutenant Governor by the General Assembly, in the room of Lieut. Gov. Sessions, and James Arnold, in the room of Thomas Wickes.
At the same May session, the Legislature passed the following act to prevent Governor Wanton from acting as Governor :
"WHEREAS the Ministry and Parliament of Great Britain, sacrificing the glory and happiness of their sovereign, and the good of Britain and the Colonies to their own ambitious and lucrative views, have en- tered into many arbitrary, illegal resolutions for depriving His Ma- jesty's subjects in America of every security for the enjoyment of life, liberty and property, and have sent, and are still sending, troops and ships of war into these Colonies to enforce their tyrannical man- dates ; and have actually begun to shed the blood of the innocent people of these Colonies ; in consequence whereof this Assembly, at the session held on the twenty-second day of April last, passed an act for raising fifteen hundred men, as an Army of Observation, and to assist any of our sister Colonies : And whereas the Honorable Joseph Wanton, Esquire, then Governor of this Colony, did enter a protest against the said act, conceived in such terms as highly to re- flect upon the General Assembly, and upon the united opposition of all America to the aforesaid tyrannical measures : And whereas the said Joseph Wanton, Esq. hath neglected to issue a proclamation for the due observation of Thursday, the eleventh of May instant, as a day of FASTING and PRAYER, agreeable to an act passed at the said session : And whereas the said Joseph Wanton, Esq. hath been elect- ed to the office of Governor of this Colony for the present year, and been notified thereof by this Assembly, notwithstanding which, he hath not attended at this General Assembly, and taken the oath re- quired by law : And whereas the said Joseph Wanton, Esq. hath positively refused to sign the commissions for the officers appointed
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to command the troops so ordered to be raised : By all which he hath manifested his intentions to defeat the good people of these Colonies in their present glorious struggle to transmit inviolate to posterity those sacred rights they have received from their ancestors-
" Be it therefore enacted by this General Assembly, &c., That the Deputy Governor and Assistants (Senators,) be, and they are hereby forbid to administer the oath of office to the said Joseph Wanton, Es quire, unless in free and open General Assembly, according to the unvaried practice of this Colony, and with the consent of this Assem- bly. That until the said Joseph Wanton, Esquire shall have taken the oath of office as aforesaid, it shall not be lawful for him to act as Governor of this Colony in any case whatever. And that every act done by him, in the pretended capacity of Governor, shall be null and void in itself, and shall not operate as a warrant or discharge to any person acting by his orders, or under his authority."
An act was passed at the same session authorising and empower- ing Henry Ward, the Secretary of the Colony, to sign all commis- sions instead of the Governor, and the same to be as valid as if signed by him.
At the June session, Governor Wanton demanded that the oath of office of Governor should be administered to him, which was denied, and the act of disqualification continued.
" The General Assembly, at the session holden in Providence on the first Wednesday of May last, having passed an act prohibiting His Honor the Lieutenant Governor and the Senate from administer- ing the oath of office to the Hon. Joseph Wanton, Esquire, who was elected Governor of this Colony for the present year, and declaring all acts by him done in the pretended capacity of Governor, null and void, until he shall be engaged in open General Assembly, and with the consent of the General Assembly, &c .: And the said Joseph Wanton having appeared before this Assembly, and demanded that the oath of office be administered to him : and this General Assembly having taken the same into consideration, do vote and resolve, That the said Joseph Wanton hath not given satisfaction to this Assembly : That the said recited act, passed at the last session, continue and be in force until the rising of the General Assembly at the next session."
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This act of disqualification was continued until the October ses- sion, 1775, when the General Assembly declared the office vacant by the following act :
" Whereas this General Assembly, at their session held in Provi- dence, on the first Wednesday in May last, made and passed an act (for divers weighty reasons therein mentioned,) to prevent the Hon. Joseph Wanton, Esquire, who was chosen Governor of this Colony at the General Election held on the first Wednesday of May, from acting in said office, which act hath been continued from session to session until now, without proceeding to declare said office vacant, from a tender regard to the said Joseph Wanton, and in order to give him an opportunity to make due satisfaction for his former conduct, and of convincing this General Assembly of his friendly disposition to the United Colonies in general, and to this Colony in particular : And whereas the said Joseph Wanton, by the whole course of his behavior since the passage of said act, hath continued to demonstrate that he is inimical to the rights and liberties of America, and is there- by rendered totally unfit to sustain the said office : And whereas the calamities of the present times make it necessary to this General Assembly to avail themselves of the advantages given them by Char- ter and the fundamental principles of the Constitution-
" This General Assembly therefore resolve and declare, &c., That the Joseph Wanton hath justly forfeited the office of Governor of this Colony, and thereby the said office is become vacant."
At the same session, the General Assembly elected Nicholas Cooke, then Lieutenant Governor, to fill the vacant office of Governor, and Doctor William Bradford to fill the office of Lieutenant Governor, vacated by the promotion of Mr. Cooke. They appointed a Commit- tee to receive from Gov. Wanton the original Charter, letters, &c., and deliver them to Nicholas Cooke, and the duplicate of the Char- ter from the late Lieutenant Governor Sessions, and deliver the same to Lieutenant Governor Bradford, his successor.
Governor Wanton maintained a dignified silence, and refused to comply with the last resolution. Thereupon the General Assembly at their February session, 1776, ordered the Sheriff of Newport to proceed to the house of Gov. Wanton, and to take possession of the . Charter, papers, &c., and deliver them to the committee, and, in case
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of any resistance by him, to take him into custody and bring him before the General Assembly.
At the March session, the Sheriff reported, that with his deputies he forthwith proceeded "unto the house of the Honorable Joseph Wanton, Esquire, late Governor of this Colony, and in his absence, took and carried away from and out of said house, a chest, in which were and are deposited the Charter of the Colony," &c., and deliver- ed them to the committee appointed to receive them.
Thus ended the political life of the Wanton family in Rhode Is- land, which had for a great number of years, from uncommon per- sonal popularity and family influence, sustained so many important offices in the Colony.
During the occupation of Newport by the British forces, he led a quiet and unobtrusive life ; and on their departure, remained unmo- lested upon its re-occupation by the Americans. Gov. Wanton was a man of amiable disposition, elegant manners, handsome person and splendid appearance. He enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him. He dressed in the finest style of the times, with a large white wig, with three curls, one falling down his back, and one forward of each shoulder. He died at Newport, July 19, 1780, aged 75, and was interred in the family vault in the Clifton burial place.
Gov. Joseph Wanton married Mary, daughter of John Still Win- throp, of New London. They left three sons and four daughters.
1. Joseph, was an Episcopal clergyman, at or near Liverpool, in England.
2. William, who was appointed collector of the customs, at St. Johns, in Nova Scotia, and died there.
3. John, died young.
4. Ann, born March, 1734. In 1764, she was married to Winthrop Saltonstall, of New London, by Rev. Mr. Leaming. She died in 1784, and left five children. 1. Gurdon. 2. Winthrop. 3. Re- becca. 4. Mary W., and 5. Ann. Mary W. Saltonstall was mar- ried November 29, 1789, to Thomas Coit, of New London, by Rev. Henry Channing. Of their children, the Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D. D. is now the Episcopal Rector of Trinity Church, at New Rochelle, N. Y., and Rev. Gurdon S. Coit is an Episcopal clergyman, settled at Bridgeport, Ct. To the Rev. Dr. Coit, the distinguished defender of the Church, and author of " Puritanism; or, a Churchman's de- A38
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fence against its aspersions, by an appeal to its own history," the author acknowledges his obligations for important information and assistance.
5. Mary, married Capt. John Coddington, of Newport.
6. Elizabeth, married Thomas Wickham, of Newport.
7. Ruth, married William Brown, collector of the customs, at Newburyport, Mass., who was afterwards appointed by the British Government, Governor of Bermuda.
8. Catherine, married first, a Mr. Stoddard, and afterwards a Mr. Detileur, a surgeon in the British army.
Dr. Coit in a letter states : "Through my grand-father the chair in which Dean Berkely used to sit at Newport, has descended to me, and is still in good preservation. It is the one in which he is believed to have composed his ' Minute Philosopher.' "
BERKELEY'S CHAIR.
"September, 1765. The two last Sundays in this month the Rev. Mr. Bass, of Newbury, preached in St. Paul's, Narragansett, for Mr. Fayerweather."
" Edward Bass, D. D. was the first Bishop of Massachusetts. He
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was born in Dorchester in 1726, and graduated at Harvard in 1744. In 1752, at the request of the Episcopal Society at Newburyport, he went to England for orders, and was ordained by Bishop Sherlock. In 1789 he was elected by the Convention of the Protestant Episco- pal Churches of Massachusetts to the office of Bishop, and was con- secrated May 7, 1797, by the Bishops of Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland. Afterwards, the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island elected him their Bishop, and in 1803, a Convention of the Churches in New Hampshire, put themselves under his jurisdiction."
Dr. Alden Bradford, a Congregationalist, in his Biographical No- tices, says : "Dr. Bass was a good scholar, and a man of great moral worth. In his deportment he exhibited much mildness and benevo- lence, as well as charity for those of the Congregational order. He assumed no new authority, and claimed no greater power after he was Bishop, than before, and therefore, was highly respected in this higher office. His character was that of an Apostolic Bishop, as de- scribed by St. Paul. He died September 10, 1803."
" December 1765. Mr. Fayerweather married, at Dr. Babcock's, Capt. Dudley Saltonstall, to his daughter, Miss Frances Babcock, at Westerly."
Dr. Wheaton, of Providence, has kindly furnished the following memoir as an affectionate tribute to the memory of his early friend, Dr. Babcock, and his family :
PROVIDENCE, June 13, 1845.
DEAR SIR,-You wish me to furnish you with my recollections of Doctor Joshua Babcock, of Westerly. It is true, as I once told you, I lived with him in 1779, in the two-fold capacity of medical student and preceptor to his grandchildren. Being the neighteen years of age only, and never for a week absent from my paternal roof, it was an era in my life, at which my mind received many novel and strong impressions, but such as I little thought of being called upon to put on paper, after the lapse of sixty-five years.
Yet I am willing to contribute my mite to your laudable endeavors o rescue from oblivion the names and characters of those who have been conspicuous in the drama, which our little State has enacted in
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the successive stages of its history, regretting that the negligence of our predecessors has left you little more than the gleanings of what had been a productive field. For I believe no State in the Union of twice its size, has afforded more examples of the cardinal virtues, originality of character, strong minds, or mother wit ; but alas ! " they had no poet, and are dead."
Dr. Babcock, at the time of my intimacy with him, was about sev- enty-five years of age, apparently in good health, and of sound mind and memory. His ordinary family was small, consisting only of himself, his housekeeper, and two little grandchildren, of eight or ten years-one, the son of Adam, and the other of his deceased son Luke Babcock, -- so that it fell to my lot to pass many hours with him alone. I found his conversation always amusing, and often kindly intended for my instruction. But as I had been misrepreseted to him , by my college tutor, Mr. Howell, as one whose mind was “ pregnant, docile, and ductile," he most probably found his good intentions de- feated in respect to the latter.
The Doctor, with the advantages of a liberal education, had mixed much with the world ; been in public life, and seen much of the best society. He was personally well acquainted with most of the lead- ing men of the day, from New London to Boston, and especially New- port ; which, within his time, had rivalled New York in population and commercial importance. He abounded in anecdotes, and had a happy talent at telling a story. Seated in his " old armed chair" he would be very interesting ; had always something to narrate, illus- trative of the character and events, customs and manners of past and present times. I could easily fill a sheet or two of foolscap with an- ecdotes, which I then listened to with pleasure, but the charm of a story, you know, depends very much upon the unities, action, time, and place ; besides some of the best of them might touch blood which still circulates in living veins. I recollect one, however, which may not be liable to this objection. Asyou have lately mentioned Parson Fayerweather, as officiating at the marriage of the Doctor's daugh- ter Frances, let it be of him by way of sample. This gentleman, it seems, was long the Episcopal clergyman at St. Paul's, Narragansett, and a preacher more facetious than evangelical, having occasion, as he thought, to reprimand his parishoners for their negligence in at- tending Church. "You have a thousand frivolous excuses," said
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he, (naming several,) " but there is none more common with you, than the plea of foul weather, but come here, and you will always find Fairweather."
One of the most striking features of Doctor Babcock's char- acter, was his observance of method in every thing in his busi- ness, his style of living, amusements, or devotions. He was an early riser, and gave a morning hour to his farm. His breakfast was bread and milk, with some apple-pie, or fruit ofthe season, while his housekeeper and I were taking a cup of excellent coffee with but- tered toast. He would often rally us on our want of taste : " better live as I do;" would he say, "out of this old silver porringer and with this spoon, I have taken my breakfast for forty years." At dinner, and he kept an excellent table, he ate heartily, but always of one dish, be it roast or boiled, fish or flesh ; as he began, so he end- ed. He took cider as his common beverage, and a temperate glass of good wine. At tea, of which he was very fond, he drank exactly three cups. At a regular supper table, the fashion of those days, what- ever company he might entertain, after due attention to his guests, he confined himself invariably to his porringer of bread and milk.
At the close of the week, his family were called into the sitting- room to hear a chapter read from the Bible, and a prayer. Observ- ing at some of these readings, what I thought a deviation from the common language of the Bible, I had the curiosity to look into the ' one he made use of, and found it Greek. To the surprise I discover- ed, he replied : "I have always used it since I left college ; if I had not, I should have forgotten the language." Another proof of his methodical habits, and I might add, one deserving of imitation.
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