The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 19

Author: National biographical publishing co., pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Providence, National biographical publishing co.
Number of Pages: 868

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his cultivated taste for books and pictures, he became a patron of art, and took pleasure in adding to the literary enjoyment of his fellow-townsmen. Smibert, Cosmo Alex- ander, and Feke painted portraits for his gallery ; and, with Daniel Updike, Edward Scott, William Ellery, Stephen Hopkins, Sueton Grant, John Brett, and others as asso- ciates, a literary and philosophical society was formed in 1730, which added to the lustre of Newport, then already distinguished as one of the most remarkable towns in the American colonies for its wealth, learning, and public spirit. Of this society Dean Berkeley was an active mem- ber, if indeed it did not owe its origin to him ; and during the time that he resided here he was the leading spirit in its debates. Out of this society grew the Redwood Library, which was founded in 1748, Abraham Redwood having placed at the disposal of the society, the previous year, the sum of five hundred pounds sterling, for the purchase of books in London, which was followed by the gift of a piece of land, the present site of the library, for a library build- ing, presented by Mr. Collins, of whom Dr. Waterhouse thus wrote in after years : " Henry Collins, a wealthy man and a man of taste, the Lorenzo de' Medici of Rhode Isl- and, caused a painting to be made of Parson Callender, as well as of some other divines, as Hitchcock, Clap, and Dean Berkeley, which I have often admired in the Collins collection ;" and the late Hon. William Hunter thus spoke of Mr. Collins in his unpublished Centennial Address, de- livered in Newport, in 1848: " Henry Collins loved litera- ture and the fine arts. He had taste, the sense of the beautiful in nature, conjoined with the impulse to see it imitated and surpassed by art. He was a merchant, opu- lent and liberal. Smibert, who is noticed by Horace Wal- pole in his Anecdotes of Early English Painters and En- gravers, was the father of true painting in this country. His selection by Berkeley as his artist, friend, and compan- ion is persuasive and adequate proof of his merits. He needed no patron. Collins was fortunate enough to en- gage his earliest labors; not for his own portrait only, but likewise those of the venerable Clap, and the worthy and pious Callender; and, above all, of Berkeley himself." In every movement calculated to promote the public inter- est Mr. Collins took an active part. He was one of the proprietors of the Long Wharf, the extension of which was commenced in 1739, and was only interrupted when the war broke out ; and although crippled in his resources when the project of building the market-house and gran- ary, now known as the City Hall, was started, in 1760, he gave it all the aid and support in his power. He was also one of the committee to erect a building for the Seventh- day Baptist Church, of which society he was a member. His commercial relations were very extensive, and it was through his maritime affairs that he was reduced from afflu- ence to poverty. The Admiralty Rule of 1765 swept away the labor of years, and, although he struggled against ad- versities, he was forced to declare himself a bankrupt.

IIe did not long survive the blow, but died about 1770, under the roof of the family of his former partner, who had passed away before him. He was never married.

HECKLEY, REV. JOHN, was born in Boston, in 1680. His parents came from England, and were able to give to their son the best education of the times in which they lived. Having acquired the rudiments of knowledge under the tuition of the famous " Mas- ter " Cheever, he was sent to England, and completed his studies at the University of Oxford. After his graduation he spent some time in travel over a large part of Europe, and then returned to Boston, where lie devoted himself to the pursuits of a literary gentleman. He was a decided Episcopalian in his religious sentiments, and did not hesitate to give utterance to his views. In 1723 he published a pamphlet, the design of which was to show that the Episco- pal form of church government was of divine appointment and intended to be perpetual in the Church of Christ. In the same year he published an edition of Leslie's Short and easy Method with the Deists, to which he appended a " Discourse concerning Episcopacy, in defence of Chris- tianity and the Church of England against Deists and Dis- senters." The sentiments avowed in this discourse were pronounced by a Court of Assize, before which he was ar- raigned, to be libellous, and he was fined fifty pounds. In 1727 he went to England to receive ordination, but such representations were made of his character and his sup- posed hostility to the royal family that he was refused ordination. In 1739, twelve years after, when he was fifty-nine years of age, he was ordained by the Bishop of Exeter. He was sent to Rhode Island, and became the minister of St. John's Church, in Providence, of which he took charge in May, 1739. He preached also once a month at . Warwick and Attleborough. His ministry as rector of St. John's covered a period of fourteen years. He died February 15th, 1754. An illustration of the con- dition of things in the parish which he had served may be found in the letter which the churchwardens wrote to the secretary of the " Society for the Propagation of the Gos- pel in Foreign Parts," soon after the death of Mr. Checkley : " Though the late minister made several small improve- ments to the glebe and house, yet its fences being out of repair, as well as the house, which will be expected by his successor to be put into order, and the church likewise wanting a great deal of repair, and there being few among us all to contribute towards such charges, we are very sorry we cannot promise any certain sum to our minister per annum until, please God, the present congregation is not only in better order or condition, but that it is in- creased." It is interesting to notice the differences of opinion which prevail with regard to Mr. Checkley. Mr. Updike, a sincere Episcopalian, thus apostrophizes him :

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" Peace to thine ashes, untiring servant of Christ and the Church. The faith which sustained thee teaches us that ample amends will soon be made for all earth's forgetful- ness." President William Allen, a Puritan of the Puri- tans, after speaking of him as " a wit, a classical scholar, skilful also in Hebrew and Narragansett Indian," makes the amiable statement that " he was more remarkable for the eccentricities of his temper and conduct than for piety and learning." Mr. Checkley married, about the year 1715, Miss -- Miller, of Braintree, Mass., by whom he had two children, John and Rebecca.

ONYMAN, REV. JAMES, was born in England about the year 1675. Of his early history and education we have been unable to obtain any information. He was sent to this country on the application of the wardens and vestry of Trinity Church in Newport, in 1704, where he commenced his ser- vice as a missionary of that church. The original founder and patron of the church was Sir Francis Nicholson, who was Lieutenant-Governor of New York under Sir Edmund Andros, and Governor of that colony from 1687 to 1690. He held also other distinguished positions in this country, and in what are now the British Provinces. Through his instrumentality, probably, Rev. Mr. Lockyear com- menced preaching as an Episcopal minister in Newport. A handsome church was erected about the year 1702. It is alluded to in that year as being " finished all on the out- side and the inside pewed well, but not beautiful." The London Society sent over not only a missionary to take charge of the church, but as an encouragement to them, and perhaps a help to him, they made a present to them of a valuable library of the best theological books of that day, consisting of seventy-five volumes, mostly folio. A few years after this Queen Anne presented the church with a bell. Not feeling pecuniarily able or disposed, perhaps, to raise the funds needed to prepare for and hang this bell, the minister, wardens, and vestry wrote to the Governor of Massachusetts, and to the Rev. Samuel Miles, of Bos- ton, requesting each of them to send money left in their hands by Sir Francis Nicholson, which might be appro- priated to that purpose. Mr. Honyman seems to have been popular from the commencement of his ministry. He is represented as " a gentleman well calculated to unite his own society, which grew and flourished exceedingly under his charge, as well as to conciliate those of other religious persuasions, all of whom he embraced with the arm of charity." The signs of progress which were seen in the history of the church as the years passed away are indi- cated by the reports which we have of the transactions of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. In the report of 1720-21 it is said that " Mr. Hony- man, missionary at Newport, Rhode Island, preaches twice

every Sunday, catechizes twice a week, and administers sacrament every month, and has baptized in about two years past seventy-three persons, of whom nineteen are adults." The missionary reports " that he had been lately to preach at Providence, a town in the colony of Rhode Island, to the greatest number of people he ever had to- gether since he came to America ; that no house being able to hold them, he was obliged to preach in the fields; that they are getting subscriptions for building a church, and he doubts not but there will be a considerable congregation." For a period of between two and three years-1718-1727- he occasionally performed divine service in the Narra- gansett Church, and administered the rites of baptism and the Lord's Supper. In 1724 the church had outgrown their place of worship, and in 1726 a new one was consecrated to religious service. The body of this building, towards the erection of which Mr. Honyman contributed £30, was seventy feet long and forty-six wide. It had two tiers of windows, was full of pews, and had galleries all around the east end. It was said to be the most beautiful building of its kind in that day in the Colonies. The missionary circuit of Mr. Honyman included at this time the towns of Newport, Freetown, Tiverton, and Little Compton. In September, 1729, Dean Berkeley arrived in Newport (see sketch of Berkeley). The story of the circumstances con- nected with his landing at Newport is full of interest. It was not at all the intention of the Dean when he left England to go to Newport, but to Bermuda, for what pur- pose may be seen in the sketch referred to. The captain of the vessel lost his reckoning and was unable to find the desired haven. He concluded to steer northward until they discovered land unknown to them, but which they supposed was inhabited by savages. It proved to be Block Island. They were informed that Newport was not far off; that in the town was an Episcopal church, of which Rev. James Honyman was the minister. The Dean wrote a letter to Mr. Honyman, which was sent to him by a mes- senger before the vessel arrived in Newport. It being a holy-day, Mr. Honyman was in his church performing ser- vice when the messenger arrived. The letter was sent to him in his pulpit. Having perused it himself, he deemed its contents of sufficient importance to be read to the con- gregation. As the Dean might at the moment be actually landing, the worthy minister dismissed the congregation, and, placing himself at their head, marched in procession to the wharf, reaching it but a short time before the arrival of the vessel with the Dean, his family, and friends, to whom a most cordial greeting and hearty welcome were extended. With a little touch of honest pride Mr. Hony- man writes in his report to the Society in London, under date of September 20, 1732 : " I take the pleasure of tell- ing you this known truth, that betwixt New York and Bos- ton, the distance of three hundred miles, and wherein are many missions, there is not a congregation in the way of the Church of England that can compare with mine or equal

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it in any respect ; nor does my church consist of members that were of it when I came here, for I have buried them all ; nor is there any one person now alive that did then belong to our church, so that our present appearance is entirely owing to God's blessing on my endeavors." Later still, in 1738-9, he writes " that he finds his work growing on his hands as he grows in years, but he will go on, with the Di- vine assistance, to promote to the utmost of his endeavors the interests of religion, according to the designs and ex- pectations of the venerable society." The reports of the labors of Mr. Honyman reach on through many years. The long service at length came to an end. The faithful cler- gyman died July 2, 1750, at an advanced age. On his grave- stone in the churchyard of Trinity Church was placed an inscription which sets forth the virtues of the deceased. He did a good work for the cause of religion in the town where for almost fifty years he was devoted to his Master's work. The Hon. James Honyman, a distinguished lawyer of Rhode Island, was his son. He had also a son Francis, and a daughter Cecilia, who married William Mumford, of South Kingstown.

AWNEY, COLONEL PETER, a descendant of a Huguenot, who came to this country after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and lived for a time in what is known as Frenchtown, in Kingstown. His name was Le Moine, which was changed into Money and subsequently into Mawney. Peter Mawney was born in East Greenwich, about the year 1689, where he spent a greater part of his life. He was twice married, the first time to Mary Tillinghast, who died in February, 1727, and the second time to Mercy, daughter of Par- don Tillinghast. He had a numerous family. One of his daughters, Lydia, was the wife of Dr. Ephraim Bowen, one of the most eminent Providence physicians of his time. Another, Mary, married James Angell. She was the grandmother of Professor William G. Goddard. Sarah was married to Joseph Whipple, the grandfather of Hon. John Whipple. A son of Colonel Mawney was John Mawney, who was the husband of Amey Gibbs, who is said to have been a descendant of Sir Henry Gibbs, of Dorsetshire, England. One of the children of John and Amey Maw- ney was Dr. John Mawney, a physician, and at one time Sheriff of Providence County. He was in the celebrated expedition which destroyed the Gaspee. He died in Crans- ton, in March, 1830. The descendants of Colonel Mawney are very numerous, and have been and now are represented in many highly respected families in Rhode Island, New York, and elsewhere. Among them were Mary, wife of IIon. Elisha R. Potter, of South Kingstown, member of Congress, 1796-1797 and 1809-1815. They were the parents of Judge Elisha R., Dr. Thomas M., U. S. N., Wil- liam Henry, James B. Mason, and Mary Elizabeth Potter.

YRUDDY, HON. SAMUEL, jurist and statesman, was born GM March 31, 1769, in Johnston, R. I. He was the son of Deacon Richard Eddy, who was a descend- ant, in the fourth generation, of Samuel Eddy, the first settler of that name in this country, who came to Plymouth in 1630, and who was the son of the Rev. William Eddy, Vicar of Crainbrook, county of Kent, Eng- land. Judge Eddy's mother was Martha, daughter of Samuel and Anna (Brown) Comstock. He attended school in the country until 1781, when he began a course of study with Rev. Dr. James Manning, the first president of Brown University, which institution he entered in 1783, his father having removed to Providence. He attained eminence as a scholar during his collegiate career, being appointed salutatory orator at his graduation, in 1787. The follow- ing year he commenced the study of law with Benjamin Bourne, Esq. On the 28th of February, 1790, he was ap- pointed a delegate to the State Convention which decided on the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. The 27th of March of the same year he was admitted to the bar, and the 6th of May following was elected clerk of the Superior Court. The degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Brown University in 1791. The next year he was admitted freeman of the town of Provi- dence. October 20, 1793, he was chosen clerk of the General Assembly, and was appointed in the February following as one of the committee to collect and revise the laws of the State. On the 8th of May, 1794, he resigned the office of clerk of the Superior Court. He was Secre- tary of State from December, 1797, to May, 1819. On the 20th of October, 1805, he was baptized by the Rev. Stephen + Gano, and became a prominent member of the First Bap- tist Church, frequently attending thereafter the meetings of the Warren Association as delegate from that church. In March, 1818, he published a tract entitled, Scripture its own Interpreter in relation to the Character of Christ, which created considerable discussion in theological cir- cles. In the same year he became associated with the First Congregational (Unitarian) Church, about the same time publishing a tract entitled, Reasons offered, by Samuel Eddy, Esq., for his opinions, to the First Baptist Church in Providence, from which he was compelled to withdraw for Heterodoxy. Several editions were published. Many years thereafter a tract from his pen was published by the American Unitarian Association. In 1818 he was elected, without opposition, as representative in the Sixteenth Con- gress, and was re-elected in 1820 and 1822, serving six years. In May, 1826, he was elected Fifth Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of the State, and the next year became Chief Justice, which office he held until June, 1835. For several years he was also secretary of the cor- poration of Brown University. In his late years he spent much time for recreative ends in the study of natural sci- ences, making a fine collection of minerals and shells. Judge Job Durfee, the successor of Judge Eddy as Chief

Eddy

Samuel

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Justice, rendered a tribute of respect to the memory of the latter, characterizing him as possessed of a strong and active mind, and his ruling idea of the love of the true, in that form in which it was most positive, definite and cer- tain. This was carried into all his judgments, even those rendered on the minor duties of life. His open and fear- less honesty spoke in every word and act, and thus public confidence was fully awarded to him. Judge Eddy was married four times. First, November 11, 1792, to Eliza- beth Bucklin, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Bucklin. She was born September 20, 1768, and died October 27, 1799. December 2, 1801, he married Martha Wheaton, daughter of James and Anna (Angell) Wheaton. She was born October 22, 1780, and died February 1, 1808. April 25, 1809, he married Naomi Ann Angell, daughter of Elisha and Anna (Fenner) Angell. She was born March 7, 1788, and died February 13, 1817. October 17, 1824, he married Sarah N. Dwight, widow of Gamaliel L. Dwight, and daughter of David and Mary (Brown) How- ell. Judge Eddy died February 3, 1839. Of his children who grew to maturity were Martha, who married Oron- dates Mauran ; Jonathan Abbott, who is still living in Bar- rington; Mary, who married William Chace; and Anna, who married, in 1831, George M. Richmond, son of Sam- uel Richmond. Of the children of the last named, Walter Richmond is president of the Richmond Manufacturing Company, engaged in the production of printed goods, and Frank Eddy Richmond is the treasurer of the same. How- ard Richmond, another brother, is treasurer of the Cromp- ton Manufacturing Company.

ISCOX, REV. THOMAS, son of Rev. William His- cox, of Newport, was born in 1686. He was married at the age of seventeen to Bethia Clarke, daughter of Joseph Clarke, and united with the Newport Church at the age of twenty. He removed to Westerly, where he became a freeman in 1769, and town clerk in 1716. He was afterwards justice of the peace and town treasurer, acting in the latter office for sixty years, till 1772. In 1716 he was elected deacon, and also served the church as clerk. Appointed an elder in 1719, he was confirmed publicly in 1727, in which year he acted in Lyme, Connecticut, June 7, as one of the mod- erators in the meeting for the discussion of great religious points, between Rev. John Bulckley, of the Standing Order, and Rev. Valentine Wightman, on the part of the Baptists- a memorable debate, afterwards published by the parties. Mr. Hiscox enjoyed good opportunities for study, and availed himself of them to a remarkable extent for those times. While he filled the Sabbatarian pulpit in Newport a steel-plate portrait of him was executed, showing him in the old-time clerical dress. On the death of Rev. John Maxson, Jr., in 1750, Mr. Hiscox was chosen to the pas- toral office of the Westerly church, now in Hopkinton.

At the same time Thomas Clarke was elected assistant elder and Joshua Maxson deacon, " with authority to ad- minister the ordinance of baptism." Thomas Clarke died November 26, 1767, aged eighty-two years, having served as an assistant seventeen years. The church at this time enrolled five hundred and forty-eight members. After a laborious and effective career, Mr. Hiscox died, May 20, 1773, in the eighty-seventh year of his age.

ILLETT, COLONEL, FRANCIS, son of Andrew Wil- lett, was born at Boston Neck, North Kings- town, in 1693, and was a grandson of Thomas Willett, who, in 1629, came, a young merchant, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was engaged in the fur and Indian trade, by which he became very wealthy, and owned several estates, one of which was in Barrington. Being a person of more than ordinary intelligence and weight of character, he accompanied Colonel Nichols as a counsellor in his attack upon Manhattan (now New York), in 1664, and was appointed by him first Mayor of that place. When the Dutch resumed the government of New York he returned to Barrington, where he died, August 4, 1674. His son Andrew, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Plymouth, October 5, 1655, his wife being Mary, daughter of John Brown, Esq. He was in earlier life a trader in Boston, Massachusetts, but subsequently removed to the family estate on Boston Neck, which he bequeathed to his sons Thomas and Francis. The former dying in 1725, the estate came into the possession of Francis. His wife was Mary Taylor. They had no chil- dren. He was educated as a merchant, but possessing large estates he did not engage in commercial pursuits, but devoted himself to the care of his property. The estate at Boston Neck was a tract extending a mile and a half in one direction and a mile or more in another direction, and was the original seat of the Indian Sachem, Miantonomi. On the Willett farm resided for a time the famous Colonel Whalley, one of the regicide judges who condemned Charles I. to death. Colonel Willett died February 6, 1776.

GouJus y PULL, HONORABLE HENRY, Attorney-General of Rhode Island, the grandson of Henry Bull, one of the first purchasers of the island of Rhode Island, was born November 23, 1687. His near rel- atives all died when he was quite young, and he was placed under the charge of his aunt, Mary ( Bull ) Coggeshall, and apprenticed to learn the trade of a carpenter. He worked at his trade several years after he reached his majority. Dissatisfied, however, with the calling he had selected, he decided to study law. It is related of him that " when he had made up his mind to practice law, he went into the garden to exercise his talents in ad-

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dressing the court and jury. He then selected five cal)- bages in one row for judges, and twelve in another for jurors. After trying his hand there for awhile, he went boldly into court and took upon himself the duties of an advocate, and a little observation and experience there convinced him that the same cabbages were in the court- house which he thought he had left in the garden ; five in one row and twelve in another." His knowledge of law must have been considerable, and, considering how imperfect his early training was, he deserves great credit for the attainments which he made. In the prime of his life, his personal appearance is said to have been remarkably prepossessing; he was nearly six feet high, of light complexion, and had blue eyes ; was well proportioned and handsome, and graceful in his manners. His public services rendered to the colony were of a conspicuous char- acter. He represented Newport from time to time in the General Assembly; was elected Attorney-General in 1721, and re-elected in 1722; was Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1728-29; was one of the committee to engage in the controversy between Rhode Island and Massachusetts respecting the eastern boundary, also one of the committee to revise the colony laws in 1728. When the Court of Common Pleas was established in 1749 he was the first Chief Justice. His death occurred December 24, 1771. He was twice married, the first time to Martha Odlin, by whom he had four sons and three daughters, and the second time to Phebe Coggeshall, by whom he had seven sons and three daughters.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 19

Author: National biographical publishing co., pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Providence, National biographical publishing co. Number of Pages: 868

Author: National biographical publishing co., pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Providence, National biographical publishing co.
Number of Pages: 868