The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 21

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

USA > Rhode Island > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island > Part 21

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

of Swansea, and a great part of Barrington,-these two places being consolidated into a township, which was called Warren, in honor of Sir Peter Warren, Knight of the Bath and Admiral in the Navy,-and a strip of land within which are comprised the present towns of Tiverton and Little Compton. In 1741 and 1742 Mr. Updike was appointed King's attorney for Kings, subsequently Washington, County. When the act was repealed appointing an attor- ney for each of the four counties of Rhode Island, and there was a return to the former arrangement of having one attorney for the whole colony, Mr. Updike was chosen to fill the office, and held it from 1743 to 1757. He found time amid the pressure of the professional duties which devolved on him to cultivate his literary tastes. He was one of the founders of the Redwood Library in Newport. He was on terms of intimate friendship with Dean Berkeley, who, upon his return to England, presented him an ele- gantly wrought silver coffee-pot, and after he reached home, forwarded to him a copy of his great work, the Minute Philosopher. Mr. Updike collected a valuable private library, and his wise selection of his books indicates the refined character of his tastes. We are told that among his professional brethren he was highly respected, and in all literary and professional associations of his time his name stands at the head. He was twice married, the first time to Sarah, daughter of Governor Benedict Arnold, who died childless, and the second time to Austis Jenkins, the grand- daughter of Mr. Wilkins, by which connection he came into possession of considerable property. He died in May, 1757. Two of his children survived him, -Lodowick and Mary. The former married Abigail, daughter of John Gardiner, and the latter, Judge John Cole.

PDIKE, LODOWICK, only son of Hon. Daniel Updike, Attorney of the Colony of Rhode Island, was born at Newport, Rhode Island, July 12, 1725. His education was acquired under the tui- tion of private tutors, his last teacher being Rev. John Checkley, Rector of St. John's Church, in Prov- idence. He studied for the legal profession, but did not. practice, having a large estate in North Kingstown, where he resided, the care of which occupied his time. His death occurred June 6, 1804. Mr. Updike was an Episcopalian, and to his zeal it was largely owing that St. Paul's, in Wickford, was erected. He married Abigail Gardiner, daughter of John Gardiner, of " Boston Neck." She was a niece of Dr. McSparran. She outlived her husband several years. They had a large family of children, eleven in num- ber, viz .: Daniel, James, Austis, Mary, Abigail, Sarah, Lydia, Lodowick, Alfred, Gilbert, and Wilkins. Mr. Up- dike was regarded in his times as one of the most eminent citizens of Rhode Island. It is said of him that " to strong intellectual powers, hc added an improved taste and great acquirements. His qualifications were such as fitted him

BIOGRAPIIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

to shine either at the bar, in the Senate, or in the field. But he preferred the shade of private life to the din of war, the tumult of popular assemblies, or the chicane of law. In a word, the name of honest man and pcace of con- science he preferred to the most pompons or worldly dis- tinctions. His hospitality was conspicuous. His door was open to the wayworn traveller as well as the more wealthy and splendid guest, and all ages and conditions were pleased and enlivened with his cheerful, learned, and refined conversation." William Goddard, the father of the late Professor W. G. Goddard, in a communication to the Providence Gazette, thus announces his death : " On Friday, the 8th instant, the remains of Lodowick Updike, Esquire, who died at his seat at North Kingstown, the preceding Wed- nesday (in the eightieth year of his age), were entombed among his venerable ancestors with those marks of respect due to his exalted merit."

PDIKE, HON. DANIEL, grandson of Attorney- General Updike, under the Royal Charter of Charles II., from 1722 to 1732, was born in North Kingstown, in 1761. He was the eldest son of Lo- dowick and Abigail (Gardiner) Updike. In accord- ance with the custom of the times in which he lived, he received his early education under the tuition of private instructors, who resided in the family, and were compan- ions as well as teachers of their pupil. He studied law under the direction of Hon. James M. Varnum, and at the time of his death was the oldest member of the bar in Rhode Island. He was admitted to the bar in 1784, and practiced his profession in Washington County for eleven years. For several years he represented his native town in the General Assembly, and for a number of sessions was the clerk of the House of Representatives. At the con- vention of delegates from the different towns in Rhode Island which met at South Kingstown, March 1, 1790, to ratify the Constitution of the United States, he was chosen Secretary. The convention was composed of men of the highest talent in the State, and the office to which Mr. Updike was elected was one which indicated the rank which he held among the distinguished gentlemen with whom he was associated. Rhode Island was the last of the thirteen original States of the Union that ratified the Constitution. It is somewhat remarkable that for a long time it was not generally known that there existed any record of the pro- ceedings of this convention. The Secretary of State had nothing among his records that indicated that such a con- vention had ever been in session. There was no direct proof in his office that Rhode Island had adopted the Con- stitution, although the subsequent action of the General Assembly was sufficient evidence that the convention had acted upon the questions presented for their consideration. Why the secretary, Mr. Updike, did not deposit his min- utes in the archives of the State, is not known. As late as

1863, Hon. Wilkins Updike, the brother of the subject of this sketch, deposited with Hon. J. R. Bartlett, then Sec- retary of State, papers and documents and minutes of the proceedings of the convention, which had been preserved by its secretary (see sketch of Wilkins Updike). These papers are full of interest to persons who desire to acquaint themselves with matters pertaining to an earlier epoch in Rhode Island history. We find that thirty towns were represented at the convention, which was composed of seventy members. Newport had five delegates, and Prov- idence, Portsmouth, and Warwick four each. All the rest had two each. Hon. Daniel Owen, of Glocester, was elected President, and Daniel Updike, Secretary. We find an office held by two gentlemen, which has long since gone out of use in deliberative assemblies, to wit, the office of monitor. We are told that in the early proceedings of the General Assembly this office was held by prominent members, and their duty was to see order preserved, and that the attention of members was not distracted from the business before them. They reported to the speaker or president the names of all members seen reading papers, conversing with one another, or inattentive to the business before the meeting. Unfortunately the minutes of the arguments pro and con advanced by the members of the convention, were written down by the secretary in hand- writing which it is not easy to decipher, and the curiosity of the student of these important discussions must remain unsatisfied as he pursues his investigations. What has been made out from the imperfect minutes of the secretary may be found in Judge Staples's Rhode Island in the Con- tinental Congress, pp. 644-656. Mr. Updike was elected, in 1790, Attorney-General, and having served one year, he declined a re-election. He was appointed a Presidential Elector in 1796 to carry the vote of the State to Philadelphia, then the seat of government. This was the last official trust placed in the hands of Mr. Updike. He is spoken of as having been a gentleman of the old school both in man- ners and dress. His urbane and courteous deportment was on all occasions remarkable, and he left upon every mind the most grateful impression in regard to his character. Besides being a well-trained lawyer, he was well versed in the literature of his times. He had one of the best private . libraries in the State, and was familiar with the books that were found on its shelves. A long life of over eighty years was granted to him, his death occurring at East Green- wich, June 15, 1842.

PDIKE, HON. WILKINS, son of Lodowick Updike, and the youngest of eleven children, was born at North Kingstown, R. I., January 8, 1784. He pursued his early studies, as was the practice in wealthy families of the times in which he lived, under tutors, in his father's house. Subsequently he was sent to the academy in Plainfield, Conn. On completing his academic course, he entered the law office of Hon.

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

James Lanman, and commenced the study of the legal pro- fession. He was afterwards in the offices of Hon. William Hunter and Hon. Asher Robbins, of Newport, and Hon. Elisha Potter, of Kingston. He was admitted to the bar in 1808, and soon rose to distinction in his profession. For some time he resided at Tower Hill, then for two or three years at the old homestead in North Kingstown, and finally removed to Kingston, where he lived during the remainder of his life. He was for many years a member of the General Assembly. Here he was an earnest co- laborer with Hon. Henry Barnard, the School Commis- sioner, in giving increased efficiency to the cause of popular education. He also interested himself in securing the re- moval of the restrictions upon the rights of married women. His influence in the General Assembly was felt in many directions. Mr. Updike was also an author. His Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar is a valuable work. " But for these memoranda, which he only at that time could have collected, many of these men, so distinguished in their day, would be now forgotten." He also wrote a History of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, R. I. To col- lect the materials for this work, he carried on an extensive correspondence, and made use of a large amount of mate- rials which came into his hands. The whole of the matter thus gathered by him from many quarters is compressed into a volume of 533 pages. The book, being out of print, has become very valuable, and it is not easy to get a copy. In Judge Staples's book, giving an account of the action of Rhode Island with reference to the adoption of the Consti- tution of the United States, may be found some of the min- utes of the proceedings of the convention called to discuss the question of the acceptance of the Constitution. These min- utes have been for some time in the possession of Mr. Up- dike, and it was his purpose to prepare a full account of the convention, with notices of the prominent persons who took part in its discussions. The state of his health pre- vented him from carrying out his purpose. The wife of Mr. Updike, whom he married September 23, 1809, was Abby, daughter of Walter Watson, Esq., of South Kings- town. The children by this marriage were Thomas B., who removed to Pittsburg, Pa., Mrs. R. K. Randolph, Mrs. Samuel Rodman, Mrs. H. A. Hidden, Walter Wat- son, Miss A. T. Updike, Mrs. John F. Greene, Hon. Cæsar A., at one time Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Mrs. John Eddy. Mrs. Updike died several years before her husband, whose death occurred at Kingston, January 14, 1867.

PDIKE, HON. C. A., son of Wilkins and Abby (Watson) Updike, was born in Kingston, R. I., March 7, 1824. He was fitted for college under the tuition of Rev. Thomas Vernon, whose classical school had a high reputation, and graduated from Brown University in the class of 1849. Among his class-

mates were Rev. Dr. William H. Alden, of Portsmouth, N. H .; President James B. Angell, of the Michigan Uni- versity; Hon. Rowland Hazard, of Peacedale; Rev. Dr. IIeman L. Wayland, of Philadelphia; and Hon. B. F. Thurston, of Providence. Soon after his graduation, Mr. Updike commenced the study of law in the office of his brother, W. W. Updike, Esq., and was admitted to the bar in 1851. In addition to the discharge of his professional duties, he served his fellow-citizens in various offices to which he was elected. He was a member of the Common Council of the city of Providence from 1859 to 1863; a member of the lower house of the General Assembly from 1860 to 1864; and was Speaker of the House from 1860 to 1862, discharging the duties of the office with dignity, im- partiality, and ability. He is represented as having been " a fine public speaker, inheriting much of his distinguished father's wit and humor, and, like him, was a thorough Rhode Islander, attached to the traditions and institutions of his native State and familiar with its history." In the later years of his life there were developed symptoms which indicated disease of the heart. The forebodings of his friends were realized, and he died suddenly, October 9, 1877. He married, December, 1858, Elizabeth Bigelow, daughter of Seth Adams, of Providence, who, with one son, survived the decease of her husband. A beautiful tribute to the memory of Mr. Updike by his classmate and friend, President Angell, of the Michigan University, was published in the Providence Journal, October 25, 1877.

MARK, REV. JOSEPH, the only Presbyterian minister ever settled in Westerly, Rhode Island, and a man of note in his times, was born March 12, 1705. After graduating from Cambridge College, Massachusetts, he was appointed a missionary "to the Indians and such English as would attend in West- erly, Rhode Island," which field of labor he entered in 1733, occupying a meeting-house on a lot of land " given by George Ninigret, chief sachem of the Indians." The lot comprised twenty acres, and was situated near the post-' road, in the eastern part of the present town. His con- gregation came from Westerly, Charlestown, and Narra- gansett. His work was slow and difficult till 1740, when the Great Revival broke upon New England. George Whitefield landed in Newport, September 14, 1740, and immediately his influence spread over the country. Gil- bert Tennent, on his way to and from Boston, visited West- erly and preached with signal effect. Here, too, was heard the voice of Whitefield, and the rousing exhortations of the eccentric James Davenport. The Presbyterian church was organized, with Mr. Park as pastor, August 13, 1742. Rev. Nathaniel Eells, of Stonington, and Rev. Joseph Fish, of North Stonington, assisted at the ordination. Great religious changes occurred in the town, and affairs

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

drifted in the direction of the Baptists, so that, in 1751, Mr. Park removed and settled at Mattatuck, in Southold, Long Island. Here he labored till 1756, when he returned to Westerly, and was formally settled again, May 23, 1759. This church probably established the first Sabbath-school in this country. The church record reads : " May ye 10th, 1752. This Society having for some time practiced hear- ing our children read a portion of ye Holy Scriptures, and repeat ye Assembly's Catechism publickly in our meeting on Lord's Day; judging it to be a happy means of Edifi- cation, and likewise of collecting money for pious uses, . .. have this day passed a vote to have these things statedly practiced in this Society." Mr. Park had three sons, Lieutenant Joseph and Sergeants Benjamin and John, engaged in the reduction of Crown Point. His son Ben- jamin " fought and fell with General Warren on Bunker Hill." Of the church in Westerly, Mr. Park was the only pastor. Changes in religious views in the town and the shock of the Revolution scattered the congregation beyond the power of recovery, but the good influence of the faith- ful minister remained. Mr. Park left a large number of influential and honorable descendants. A somewhat famous sermon of his, preceded by a narrative, was pub- lished in 1761. He died in honor at his home in West- erly, March 1, 1777, in the seventy-second year of his age, and forty-fifth of his ministry. His wife, Abigail, died October 19, 1772, in her sixty-eighth year.

ARD, GOVERNOR SAMUEL,, son of Governor Rich- ard Ward, was born at Newport, R. I., May 27, 1725, and graduated at Cambridge College, Mass., in 1743. In 1745 he married Anna Ray, of Block Island, and removed to Westerly, R. I., where he began his public career. His excellent character, liberal education, and legal attainments soon won for him public confidence, and he became a leader in the town and in the colony. Fitted to guide in public affairs, he rose to the highest seat in the gift of the people, being chosen Governor three times-in 1762, in 1765, and in 1766. At this time there was a warm political contest between what was then known as the Ward and Hopkins parties, Ste- phen Hopkins being the leader of the latter. It was, also, the exciting period when the Stamp Act was agitating the whole country, and irreconcilable differences with the mother country were reaching their culminating point. Governor Ward acted a cool, decided, able, noble part in resist- ing the aggressions of England. The papers that ema- nated from his pen are among the highly cherished records of the State. The manifesto composed by him, and adopted by Westerly, February 2, 1774, and widely circulated, kindled enthusiastic responses. It is a masterly paper, both in style and sentiments, and the fifteen resolves lucidly set forth the points of complaint against Great Britain. Associated with him in his patriotic endeavors, by appoint-

ment, were Hon. Joshua Babcock, James Rhodes, George Sheffield, and James Babcock. They corresponded with committees in other parts of the country,-in Boston, Phil- adelphia, and Virginia. Governor Ward was distinguished for his penetration, calmness, earnestness, and firmness. Very wisely, at the opening of the Revolutionary struggle in 1774, he was chosen by the colony as colleague with Stephen Hopkins, to whom he was now perfectly recon- ciled on party grounds, to represent Rhode Island in the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia. To this respon- sible position he was reappointed in 1775, and while in the discharge of his duty, died in Philadelphia, March 25, 1776, deeply mourned by Congress and by his native colony.

ARD, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SAMUEL, of the First Rhode Island Regiment of Infantry in the war of the American Revolution, was born at West- erly, Rhode Island, November 17, 1756. He was descended from Roger Williams, and was the sec- ond son of Governor Samuel Ward, a patriot and states- man of very noble character, and most enlightened views and foresight, who, after being Chief Justice of Rhode Island, also distinguished himself when Governor by his courageous opposition to the Stamp Act, being the only Colonial Governor who refused to take the oath to enforce that unjust measure. Governor Samuel Ward's career was a remarkable one, he being three times elected Governor, and subsequently leading the war party in Rhode Island, besides early advocating Independence when a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776. Lieutenant- Colonel Ward was educated at the College of Rhode Island, where he was graduated with honors in 1771. He became a very intimate friend of General Nathanael Greene, next to Washington the greatest general of the Revolution. At the outbreak of the Revolution he raised a company in Kings and Kent counties, Rhode Island, re- ceiving a commission as captain from the colonial govern- ment, signed by his uncle Henry Ward, the Secretary of State. He marched with his company to the siege of Bos- ton, forming a part of Colonel Varnum's regiment. Cap- tain Ward was stationed first at Roxbury, then at Jamaica Plains, and then at Prospect Hill. He subsequently joined a detachment of Rhode Island troops, two hundred and fifty strong, who volunteered under Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Greene to join Arnold's force, numbering in all eleven hundred men, directed to reinforce General Montgomery before Quebec by way of the Kennebec River, in Maine. They marched from Prospect Hill, near Cambridge, September 10, reaching Kennebec River the following day. The march of the expedition through the wilderness of Maine, wading a hundred miles up the Ken- nebec, carrying bateaux and kegs of provisions, marching a hundred miles on short three-days' provisions, wading over three rapid rivers, marching through snow and ice

BIOGRAPIIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

barefoot, and crossing the St. Lawrence where it was guarded by the enemy's frigate, was one of the most ter- rible on record. On the 20th of November, 1775, Arnold marched his command from Quebec to Point aux Trem- bles, where General Montgomery joined them, after cap- turing Montreal and sailing down the St. Lawrence. The American forces then proceeded to Quebec, and made a most daring attack on the city the morning of the 3Ist of December in three dctachments, under cover of a heavy snow-storm. Captain Ward with his company, forming part of Lieutenant-Colonel Greene's command, fought his way far into the city, reaching the second barrier. After a desperate struggle, in which one hundred and twenty of the command were killed and wounded, the remainder were all made prisoners. Captain Ward remained a prisoner until August 11, 1776, when he was paroled with the others and sent to New York by sea. After his exchange he was promoted major in the First Rhode Island Infantry, and after serving at Morristown, with General Washington's army, was next sent with his regiment to Peekskill, during General Burgoyne's movements. Major Ward with his regiment, commanded by Colonel Greene, was next stationed at Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, on the Delaware, where on the 22d of October, 1777, he took part in the brilliant de- fence of the fort and the repulse of the Hessians under Count Donop. At the request of Colonel Greene he wrote the official report of the battle, preserved in Wash- ington's correspondence. With his regiment he was next stationed at Valley Forge, and, receiving a short furlough, was married in Rhode Island, March 8, 1778, returning to camp soon after. His regiment being now consolidated, Major Ward went home with Colonel Greene to Rhode Island, where they were very active in raising a new regi- ment, partly composed of colored men. This was attached to General Sullivan's command, and took part in the bat- tles on Rhode Island, in which Major Ward ably com- manded his regiment. He was now promoted lieutenant- colonel, was detached to command a Light Corps of troops near Providence, and subsequently stationed at North Kingston and Newport. At the commencement of 1781 a large number of officers of the Rhode Island line retired on half pay, Lieutenant-Colonel Ward being among the number. Hc now went into business as a merchant, made a voyage to China, and then removed to New York, also making two voyages to Europe. He remained settled in New York until 1804, when he returned to Rhode Island for many years, but finally removed to Long Island in 1816, and dicd in New York, August 16, 1832, after a noble and useful life. His eldest son, Henry, inherited his member- ship of the Cincinnati, and was an intelligent man of business. His second son, Samuel Ward, became a mem- ber of the celebrated firm of Prime, Ward & Sands, and was the father of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, the authoress and poetess. Richard R Ward was a lawyer and antiquarian. Two other sons, John and William G., cstablished the firm

of Ward & Co., bankers, and also maintained the honorable record of their ancestors.

BENEDICT, REV. DAVID, D.D., the " vencrable historian of the Baptists," was born in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Conn., on the 10th of October, 1779, being the oldest of a numerous family of chil- dren. His parents were Thomas and Martha (Scud- der) Benedict. His father, who served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution, was an enterprising farmer and a man of gentlemanly hearing. He removed from Norwalk to Saratoga County, New York, afterwards to New Lisbon, Otsego County, and in 1833 to Rhode Island, where he died. The mother, who was a woman of rare worth, died in 1786, while her eldest son was a mere lad of seven years. The subject of this sketch was early taught to work, with such scant opportunities for education as a country school of the last century afforded. At the age of fourteen he left home, and was apprenticed to a shoe- maker in the town of New Canaan, adjoining Norwalk. For seven years he applied himself diligently to his trade, working always with a book on a shelf within reach, and devoting his spare moments to reading, for which he had a remarkable fondness. While here he became interested in religious truth, and on the 8th of December, 1799, was baptized by the Rev. Stephen Royce, and united with the Stratfield Baptist Church. At the expiration of his appren- ticeship he engaged himself as a journeyman in a large shoe establishment in the city of New York, where he re- mained one year. Having decided on a collegiate course, he, in 1802, relinquished flattering business prospects, and entered the academy of Rev. Stephen S. Nelson, at Mount Pleasant, now the seat of Sing Sing Prison. Here he re- mained two years; during which time he defrayed his ex- penses in part by teaching the younger pupils. One of the lads whom he thus instructed in the rudiments was Francis Wayland, afterwards the distinguished president of Brown University. By the most intense application he was not only enabled to prepare himself for college while with Mr. Nelson, but also to enter an advanced class. He thus overtaxed his mental and physical powers, in consequence of which he injured his eyes, and impaired for the time being his health. In the fall of 1804 he entered the junior class of Brown University, under the presidency of the Rev. Dr. Messer. One of his instructors was Calvin Park, father of the distinguished Andover professor and divine. Another was the Hon. Judge Howell, who, for more than a quarter of a century, gave lectures on jurisprudence in the University. He was graduated in 1806 in a class of nineteen members, delivering at commencement an oration on " Ecclesiastical History," which attracted much atten- tion at the time. Immediately after his graduation he was ordained as pastor of a Baptist Church in Pawtucket, which

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 21

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