USA > Rhode Island > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island > Part 30
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Oba Jackson
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Sarah, married William S. Skinner, in 1816. (3) Maria, married Hon. John Whipple Their children were John; Maria, married Rev. Dr. Francis Vinton ; Elizabeth, mar- ried Professor William Gammell as his first wife; Sarah C., married, first, Robert P. Swann, of Virginia-second, William H. Potter; Samuel, died young ; Harriet, married William S. Slater; William. (4) Harriet, married, 1815, Commodore Charles Morris, U. S. N., whose children were : Charles; Harriet, married Rev. Dr. Coolidge ; Louise, married W. W. Corcoran, of Washington; Eliza- beth, married Dr. John L. Fox ; Helen; R. Murray; Dr. William B .; Maria, married Rev. Mr. Duncan ; George; Julia, married Dr. Addison. (5) Dr. W. C. Bowen, to whom reference has already been made, married Rebecca Olney, in 1812 : they had one son, William.
0422OWEN, PARDON, M.D., an eminent physician, the fifth son of Dr. Ephraim Bowen, was born in Providence, March 22, 1757. The ancestor of the family from which he sprang, Richard Bowen, came to America not far from the year 1640. Dr. Bowen was a graduate of what was Rhode Island Col- lege, now Brown University, in 1775, bearing the honors of his class. Having pursued the study of medi- cine under the direction of his brother, Dr. William Bowen, he accepted an appointment, in 1779, as a surgeon on board a privateer, which had been fitted out to prey on British commerce. The vessel was taken, and he was a prisoner in Halifax for several months, when, having been exchanged, he returned to his native town. In a short time he embarked in other enterprises of a similar character, with the same experience of capture and imprisonment, of which he was the subject more than once. In 1783, he went to Philadelphia to perfect himself in his chosen pro- fession by attendance on medical lectures in that city, and returned to Providence after he had accomplished the pur- pose which took him from home. His rise in liis profes- sion was slow but healthy, and not many years elapsed before he was in the full tide of successful practice. The details of the life of a physician present but little of interest to the general reader. Dr. Bowen devoted himself with assiduity to the routine of his professional duties. He was a skilful surgeon as well as a good physician, and held himself ready to minister in all possible ways to the physi- cal comfort and relief of his patients. He kept himself well informed with reference to the literature of his pro- fession, and occasionally prepared articles for the medical journals of the day. Among these was an elaborate ac- count of the yellow fever, which prevailed in Providence in 1805. For some time he was the President of the Rhode Island Medical Society, of which, for many years, he was an active member. He was chosen a member of the Board of Trustees of Brown University in 1817, and
was in office until his death. In 1820 he had an attack of hemiplegia, or palsy on one side of his body, which disabled him from the practice of his profession. He passed the last few years of his life with Franklin Greene, his son-in- law, at Potowomut, Warwick. Amid scenes he loved, and surrounded by those who most tenderly cared for him, he passed to the world beyond. His death took place Oc- tober 25, 1826. Dr. Bowen was twice married, first to Mary, daughter of Thomas Fenner, February 9, 1738. His second wife was Lydia, daughter of Colonel Peter Mawney, whom he married June 10, 1746. The children by his first wife were (1) Governor Jabez Bowen, who married Sarah, daughter of Obadiah Brown. They had eight chil- dren. Among them were Horatio Gates, born in 1779, and for many years Librarian of Brown University, of which institution he was a graduate in the class of 1797, and Henry, for thirty years Secretary of the State of Rhode Isl- and. (2) Oliver, born November 17, 1742. The chil- dren by his second wife were (1) Dr. William (see sketch of his life). (2) Mary, unmarried. (3) Sarah, born 1750, married Thomas Lloyd Halsey. (4) Lydia, married John Jones Clarke. Their daughter Harriet married, 1811, Dr. Robert Hare, of Philadelphia; and their daughter Anna E., married, 1803, Oliver Kane. (5) Colonel Ephraim, married, for his first wife, Sally Angell. He was in the Revolutionary army, and formed one of the expeditions which captured and burnt the Gaspé. One of his daughters, Elizabeth, married Hon. J. H. Clarke (see sketch of his life), whose son, Hon. James M. Clarke, a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1838, was for several years U. S. District Attorney in Rhode Island. The second wife of Colonel Bowen was Sarah Whipple, by whom he had four children. (6) Benjamin. (7) Dr. Pardon Bowen, who married Elizabeth Ward. They had two sons and three daughters. (8) Benjamin, 2d. (9) Ann, who married Ed- ward Mitchell. (10) Betsy, married John Ward. (II) Fanny, married John E. Moore.
ACKSON, HON. CHARLES, was born in Providence, March 3, 1797. He was the son of Richard and Nabby (Wheaton) Jackson, and the eldest of eight children. His early education was obtained at the Pub- lic School on Meeting Street, in Providence, where in spite of many obstacles and through much patient and per- severing labor he was fitted for college, and entered Brown University in 1813, while in his sixteenth year, graduating four years later in the class of 1817. He was ever a fa- vorite with his classmates, among whom were Dr. Lewis Miller, Judge Staples, and Governor Greene; and even at that early age manifested a strength of character and suavity of manner that made him an ornament to society and gave much promise for his future. Immediately upon leaving college he commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. James Burrill, and was subsequently admitted to the bar in
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1820, but after practicing a short time wearied of this pro- fession, finding it illy adapted to his enterprise and en- thusiasm, and turned his attention to the manufacture of cotton goods, in which business he continued until his death. His first attempt at spinning was in a small mill in Scituate, in the year 1823. Cotton manufacturing in New England was yet in its infancy, and his, one of the five mills in the United States where power-looms were used. From the first he was deeply interested in this pursuit, and under his care the villages of Jack- son and Fiskeville, little more than a wilderness when he came to them, grew to be thriving and important seats of manufacturing labor. Later he entered the Crompton Company, being one of its active members for over twenty years, but sold his interest a short time previous to his death. He was the first to commence the rubber business in Providence, having obtained a patent from Mr. Goodyear, which he afterwards sold to Dr. Isaac Hartshorn., He was also interested in the manufacture of fire-arms, which he began in Bristol, Rhode Island, and afterward removed to Providence, where it was continued on a much larger scale under the name of the " Burnside Rifle Works." Large and costly buildings were erected, an influential and wealthy company formed, and for a time the business was carried on successfully. The demand, however, for rifles becoming limited another change was effected, by which in the same buildings, with many additions, the manufacture of locomo- tives was engaged in under the name of the Rhode Island Locomotive Works. Here Mr. Jackson remained an active member of the corporation until increasing years and failing strength bade him lessen his business cares, when he sold out his interest. From his earliest manhood he was the enthusiastic patron and friend of inventors and patentees ; ever ready with advice and money, offering help and encouragement to the timid and scarcely formed ideas of inventive genius; giving unlimited time and pa- tience to experiments with often but little hope of success. There was never a subject brought under his personal su- pervision that he did not master, whether mechanical or sci- entific, and being gifted with unusual conversational ability and rare intelligence, his opinions were sought and valued. In the politics of Rhode Island Charles Jackson figured most conspicuously. He was often a member of the State Legisla- ture, was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Gov- ernor during the term 1845-46. At no time in the political history of Rhode Island did party feeling run so high as during a few years previous to his election, which included the memorable Dorr war. Mr. Jackson was upon the side of the government from the first, and his nomination for Governor was upon the issue of liberating Thomas Dorr from prison, to which he had been sentenced for life upon a charge of treason. Mr. Jackson was elected, and Mr. Dorr released, for which the former received much blame, and alienated many friends, both personal and political. His administration was hotly as-
sailed, as, indeed, was his personal character; but he was upheld by his firm belief in the moral right of his conduct, and successfully lived down the calumnies that were so freely circulated, standing at last fully vindicated before the people. Governor Jackson was blessed with an amiable, and, at times, jovial disposition, and an almost marvellous power in relating anecdotes, of which he possessed an in- exhaustible fund. He was twice married ; first to Cath - arine Dexter, daughter of Samuel Dexter, of Providence, to whom he was united November 20, 1827, and who died at Jackson, Scituate, in June, 1832. His second marriage was to Phebe Tisdale, the daughter of Joseph Tisdale, of North Kingstown, and occurred November 24, 1836, which union was blessed with seven children, three of whom, with their mother, survive him. He died in Providence, Janu- ary 21, 1876, in his seventy-ninth year, and was buried in the family lot in the North Burying-ground, with his parents and children. During the latter years of his life many hours were devoted to theological research and study. His family had ever been conspicuous in the Baptist Church, but he was never a member of any, nor an acknowledged believer in any particular faith. He expressed the utmost respect for religion, however, and often dwelt upon the purity and beauty of Christ's teachings. Almost his last sentence was the acknowledgment of a helief in a future state, and a firm confidence in the Creative Power to do all things wisely and well.
SOBES, REV. PEREZ, LL.D., son of Jonah and Freelove (Edson) Fobes, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, September 21, 1742, being a de- scendant in the fourth generation from John Fobes, one of the original proprietors of the town of Bridge- water. Having completed his preparatory studies, he en- tered Harvard College, where he was graduated in the class of 1762, having among his classmates Dr. Belknap, Governor Gerry, and Chief Justice Dana. He spent a year or two in teaching and in the study of theology, and in 1766 he was ordained pastor of the Congregational church in Raynham, Massachusetts. In 1786 Dr. Fobes was chosen Vice-President of Brown University, to take the place of President Manning, who had been elected a mem- ber of Congress. The same year he was chosen Professor of Natural Philosophy, and held this office until 1798. The University conferred upon him, in 1792, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He was elected one of the Fellows in 1795, and was in this office seventeen years. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He died in Raynham, February 22, 1812. He was married to Prudence, the eldest daughter of Rev. John Wales, of Raynham. Dr. Fobes bears the reputation of having been an excellent scholar. Hon. David Daggett speaks of him as " an uncommonly successful teacher, pos-
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sessing the two essential qualifications of great familiarity with the various branches of study and a rare talent at communicating knowledge. My recollections of him," he adds, " are exceedingly pleasant as one of the guides of my earlier years, to whom I was indebted for an important part of my intellectual training, and it gives me pleasure to testify my sense of obligation to him, and my high esti- mate of his intellectual and moral worth."
HO OF EATLY, SUETON GRANT, son of Andrew Heatly, was born at Newport in June, 1751. Andrew Heatly married Mary Grant, second daughter of Sueton and Temperance Grant, by whom he had issue -- Sueton Grant, Patrick, Jeanette, Mary, and Temperance Andrew Heatly was born November 16, 1725, died July 17, 1771. His widow subsequently married John Bell, a major in the British army, who, with his wife and her children, went to England, and died in the parish of St. Mary's, Islington, county of Middlesex. Bell's chil- dren, who were born in England, all died young. On the death of Andrew Heatly, Jacob Wilkinson, his warm friend, and a director in the East India Company, sent for Sueton Grant Heatly to come to England, and gave him a situa- tion in the office of the East India Company, where he developed qualities that led the company to send him to India. There he rapidly rose to distinction. In 1793 he was appointed Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals at Dacca, where he enjoyed a princely income. He lived in great state, spent his money frcely, and when he died, so lavish had he been, that he left but £2500. His death occurred in Bengal, June 4, 1794, after an illness of but two days.
ARNUM, GENERAL JAMES MITCHELL, a distin- guished officer in the Revolutionary War, was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1749. His grand- father, Samuel, came from Wales to Boston in 1649, and having purchased a large tract of land in the town of Dracut, he took possession of it in 1664. The subject of this sketch was a graduate of Brown University, then Rhode Island College, being located in Warren, Rhode Island, in 1769, taking the highest honors in the first class that went forth from that institution. After teaching a classical school for a brief period, he com- menced the study of law with Hon. Oliver Arnold, at that time the Attorney-General of the colony, and was admit- ted to the bar in 1771. He opened an office in East Greenwich, and soon found himself in the midst of a large and successful practice. His taste for military pursuits early developed itself. In 1774 he was chosen Com- mander of the " Kentish Guards," from which company of soldiers some thirty two commissioned officers were at
one time and another in the Revolutionary Army. How the news of the battle of Lexington stirred the patriotic blood of the " Kentish Guards" we learn from a communication from John Howland, the honored President of the Rhode Island Historical Society, who says that "when the news of the Lexington battle reachcd East Greenwich, Varnum's company mustered and marched to Providence, on their way to the scene of action. I recollect seeing them on their arrival. Nathanael Greene, of Coventry, afterwards the General, was a private with a musket on his shoulder, and Christopher Greene, afterwards Colonel Greene, was also there, a private in the same company." When, in 1776, Rhode Island raised two regiments, Varnum was ap- pointed to the command of the first, and it made one of five regiments which constituted a brigade under the command of General John Nixon. In February, 1777, General Varnum was appointed Brigadier-General in the Conti- nental Army by Congress. His services under this ap- pointment are thus briefly summed up by Mr. Howland : " He commanded all that body of troops on the Jersey side of the Delaware when the British and Hessians took possession of Philadelphia. General Washington's pur- pose was to prevent the passage of the enemy's shipping up the river, and for this purpose a strong fort was erected on Red Bank and a battery on Mud Island. The two Rhode Island regiments were stationcd at Red Bank, and a regiment of Marylanders on Mud Island. Colonel Christopher Greene commanded the two Rhode Island regiments, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Smith on Mud Island, and Varnum the whole line of the coast in New Jersey." The object which General Washington had in view was secured, and his confidence in the military skill of General Varnum was amply rewarded by the results which followed. General Varnum, in 1778, commanded a brigade in Sullivan's expedition on Rhode Island. He resigned his commission in the army in 1779, and was ap- pointed, at once, Major-General of the Militia of the State, in May, 1779. He was unanimously re-elected to this office every year during the rest of his life. He was chosen, in 1780, a Delegate to Congress from Rhode Island. He saw the evils of confederation, and keenly felt the mortifying position in which Congress found itself in its relations to so many independent States. " They are authorized," he said, " to make war or peace, but they are not competent to the means of supporting either. Suppose they call upon the States for money or supplies, and some of them neglect or refuse, as they invariably do, where is the power of compulsion? And without that, it is evident the best measures may be frustrated. We have stumbled upon expedients too long; we have too long trifled with objects of the greatest magnitude; we have trusted to Heaven for success to our arms, while we have neglected to improve the mcans with which the God of nature has blessed us." It was thus that some of the ablest men in Congress reasoned, and, as is well known, it was not many
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years before the Articles of Confederation were displaced by the Constitution of the United States. On retiring from military life, General Varnum returned to his professional work, and took a prominent part in the political move- ments of his time. IIe was elected a member of Congress in 1786. The personal appearance of the Gencral at this time may be thought worthy of mention. Hon. Asher Robbins left on record this description of him as he ap- peared in court on a certain occasion. After describing Dr. Johnson, of Connecticut, his opponent, he continues : "On the other hand appeared General Varnum, with his brick-colored coat trimmed with gold lace, buckskin small elothes, with gold lace knee-bands, silk stockings, and boots (General Barton and himself being the only gentlemen that wore boots all day at that period); with a high, deli- cate, and white forehead, with a cowlick on the right side; eyes prominent and of a dark hue; his complexion rather florid; somewhat corpulent ; well-proportioned and finely formed for strength and agility; large eyebrows; nose straight and rather broad ; teeth perfectly white; a profuse head of hair, short on the forehead, turned up some, and deeply powdered and clubbed. When he took off his cocked hat he would lightly brush up his hair forward; with a faseinating smile lighting up his countenance, he took his seat in court opposite his opponent. Then imagine the movements, attack, defence, and mental gladiature of these distinguished jurists, blended with the courtesy of knights, and you have some tame conception of the reality." Gen- eral Varnum was appointed one of the Judges of the Northwestern Territory, established by the Ordinance of 1787. In May, 1788, he left Rhode Island to enter upon his duties, fixing his residence at Marietta, Ohio. He was not in good health when he left home, and the change of climate and association with a kind of life to which he was not accustomed, proved fatal to him. He died at Marietta, January 10, 1789. In Updike's Biographical Sketches, pp. 222-226, may be found a most touching let- ter which he wrote to his wife, in which he expresses the tenderest sentiments of affection for her, and his sincere belief in the Christian religion and his personal trust in the Saviour.
THOMPSON, REV. CHARLES, was born in Amwell, New Jersey, April 14, 1748. His preparatory studies were pursued at the Hopewell Academy, New Jersey, under the tuition of Rev. Isaac Eaton. Having formed the acquaintance of Rev. James Man- ning, who was about to commence the collegiate institution, now Brown University, in Warren, he was induced to con- nect himself with the infant college as a member of its first regular class, and graduated with the highest honors Sep- tember 7, 1769. During his eollege course the attention of Mr. Thompson had been directed to the study of theology, and he had commenced preaching. Upon the removal of
the college from Warren to Providence, President Manning, who had been the pastor of the Baptist church in Warren, resigned, and Mr. Thompson was chosen to succeed him, being ordained in March, 1771. For four years he sus- tained the position to which he had been called, and his ministry was so successful that the membership of the church was doubled. The end of the four years' service referred to found the young pastor in the midst of the stirring scenes of the Revolutionary War. He resigned his pastorate and accepted an appointment as Chaplain in the army, and held this office for three years, meanwhile his family eontinuing to reside in Warren. On the morning of May 25, 1778, while he was on a visit to his family, the British troops came up to Warren, burned the meeting- house, parsonage, arsenal, and several private houses, and Mr. Thompson was taken prisoner to Newport. He was released in about a month, but through what instrumentality he never could learn. At the close of his service as Chap- lain he preached for a short time in Ashford, Massachu- setts, and then returned to the neighborhood of his old church in Warren, which, being unable, on account of the heavy losses it had sustained by the burning of its house of worship, to support a minister, united with the first Bap- tist Church in Swansey, and Mr. Thompson became the minister of the combined congregations. He remained twenty-three years in this position. During this period the church enjoyed several powerful revivals of religion, which resulted in the addition of a large number to its member- ship. The last year or two of his life were spent in Charl- ton, Massachusetts, where he died May 4, 1803. Besides his ministerial duties, Mr. Thompson was engaged at dif- ferent times in the work of educating young men. He was an accomplished scholar, as well as a devout Christian, and an able and successful preacher. His descendants reside in Rhode Island.
JENNER, GOVERNOR ARTHUR, son of Arthur and Mary (Olney) Fenner, was born in Providence, in 1745. The ancestor whose name first appears in Rhode Island history was Arthur, born in England in 1622. He was among the early and most prominent citizens of Providence, and was chosen to fill many im- portant posts of honor and trust. He was appointed a " Com- missioner " for Providence in 1650, which office he held for several years. In 1659, he was chosen a member of the Town Council, his associates being Roger Williams and John Sayles. He was actively engaged in King Philip's War, and was among those, aceording to Judge Staples, "that stayed, and went not away," from Providence, when most of the inhabitants of the town fled to the island of Rhode Island, as a place of safety from the Indians. He was appointed captain of what was called the " King's Gar- rison." Some time previous to this Roger Williams had
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petitioned the town for the establishment of such a gar- rison, praying that the house of William Field might be fortified for a security to women and children, and that " some defence might be put on the hill, between the mill and the highway," for a like purpose. The hill is that over which Stampers Street now passes, and the house of William Field was situated where the Providence Bank now is. Judge Staples says that "the remains of the gar- rison-house were still standing within the recollection of some persons living in 1836." It is an interesting coinci- dence that the new Light Infantry Armory, on South Main Street, stands upon almost, if not quite, the exact spot on which stood that early garrison-house. When the distribution of Indian captives was made, to which allu- sion is made in the sketch of John Smith, the miller, Captain Fenner had a whole share in the product. The October following the close of the war, he was honorably discharged from his duties, as captain, by the General As- sembly. We find his name, in subsequent years, as con- nected with attempts to settle boundary and other ques- tions. He was, in all respects, a leading man of his time. It is also to be said that the father of the subject of this sketch, known in the history of the State as Arthur Fen- ner, Jr., was a prominent citizen of his time. His son, Arthur, was appointed by the town of Providence one of the "Committee of Inspection," recommended by the Continental Congress, which held its first meeting in the Chamber of the Town Council, December 24, 1774. This circumstance indicates the position which the future gov- ernor took in the contest which ended with the establish- ment of the independence of the United States. For many years he was clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in Providence. At the spring election for State officers, in 1790, Governor Collins having made himself unpopu- lar with his party, the Anti-Federal, because, by his cast- ing vote, a convention was called to discuss the question of the acceptance or rejection of the Constitution, a Co- alition party was formed, and Arthur Fenner was nomi- nated as an Anti-Federal candidate for governor, and Samuel J. Potter, a Federalist, as deputy-governor, and they were elected. Governor Fenner was so popular in the State that he was chosen chief magistrate every year during the remainder of his life, and was in office at the time of his death. The following are some of the leading events which took place during his administration. The visit of Washington to Rhode Island in August, 1790. The establishment of the " Providence Bank" in 1791. The rebuilding of Weybosset Bridge in 1792. The first movement towards the construction of the Blackstone Canal, made by incorporating a company, in February, 1796, the project having originated with John Brown, merchant, who subscribed $40,000 towards the stock. The visit of President Adams, with his family, to Providence, in 1797. The " great fire " of January 21, 1801, in Provi- dence, on the west side of South Main Street, nearly op-
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