The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 31

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

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posite the foot of Planet Strect, in which dwelling houses, etc., to the value of $300,000, were destroyed. The death of Governor Fenner occurred at Providence, October 15, 1805, and he was succeeded in office by his son, Governor James Fenner, who was the first regularly elected governor after the decease of his father, being chosen to office in the spring of 1807.

ATERHOUSE, DR. BENJAMIN, was born at New- port, Rhode Island, in 1754, and died at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, October 2, 1846, aged ninety-two years. He was the son of Timothy Waterhouse, who was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Newport County, and who died at Newport March 20, 1792, aged 78 years. Dr. Waterhouse studied medicine in Newport for several years, but in 1775, just at the breaking out of the war, he went to England, where he was placed under the care of Dr. Fothergill, who was a relative of his mother, and who took the deep- est interest in his welfare. He also had a letter to John Wilkes, of whom he wrote freely in after years in his essay on Junius. Under the roof of Dr. Fothergill he remained three years, closely attending to his studies, which he pur- sued also at Edinburgh, and finally in Leyden, where he graduated in 1780. Leyden was then a place of educa- tion in great repute. Charles Townsend, the Duke of Richmond, Akenside, Dyson, and several German and Russian princes had been educated there, and the diploma of the University was a prize coveted by students. While pursuing his studies there he spent his vacations in travel- ling through different parts of Europe, and when his course was completed he returned to America, prepared to follow his profession. Three years later, 1783, he received the appointment of Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the University at Cambridge. At that time there was but one medical school in America,-the one in Philadelphia. His position was not a very comfort- able one in the early years of his connection with the Uni- versity, for, real or imaginary, he felt that he was looked upon with jealous eyes by the medical profession in Bos- ton, and that slights were put upon him,-a feeling that probably could be traced to his own sensitive nature rather than to any real cause for complaint. While en- gaged in his duties as Professor at Harvard College, Dr. Waterhouse found time to write a number of books, among others, Heads of a Course of Lectures on Natural History, 1810; The Botanist, 1811 ; and a Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, a novel founded on fact, 1816. In 1799 his attention was drawn to inoculation for kine pock by the discovery of Jenner, and it at once became with him an absorbing study. With a zeal that knew no bounds he labored with pen and voice to make known the advantages to be derived from inoculation, and he was the

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first physician in America to resort to it in his practice. This was in 1800. In 1810, when the prejudice against inoculation had been overcome, and the advantage of re- sorting to it as a means of protection from the small-pox was generally recognized, Dr. Watcrhouse petitioned the Legislature of Massachusetts to grant him some remunera- tion for the services he had rendered the public in bring- ing it into notice. In 1812 he severed his connection with the University, and in 1813 was appointed by President Jef- ferson Medical Superintendent of the nine United States Medical Ports in New England, which office he held till 1820, when he wholly withdrew from professional life. From that time he gave his attention-save when drawn aside for the moment by peculiar and extraordinary cases-to literary matters, and chiefly to the Letters of Junius. These letters, he held, were written by Lord Chatham. To this end he wrote a long treatise, in which he devoted quite as much space to anecdotes, biograph- ical sketches, and historical dissertations as to the sub- ject in question. He was very fond of writing for the press, and had an extensive correspondence with numerous learned societies of which he was a member. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and of similar societies in Bath and Manchester, England. In the Red- wood Library there is a portrait of Dr. Waterhouse at the age of twenty-two years, painted by Gilbert Stuart, and presented to the Library by Mrs. Waterhouse.

GOSTER, HON. THEODORE, son of Hon. Jedediah and Dorothy (Dwight) Foster, was born in Brook- field, Massachusetts, May 10, 1752, Old Style. He received a classical education, and was a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1770, his class being the second whose names appear in the gene- ral catalogue. Such was his proficiency in his studies, although but a few months over eighteen years of age, that the University conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts, which degree he received also from Dartmouth Col- lege in 1786. He studied law and commenced the prac- tice of his profession in Providence. For six years, 1776- 82, he represented Providence in the General Assembly. For many years he was Town-clerk. In May, 1785, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Admiralty. He was elected Senator from Rhode Island to Congress, and twice re- elected, serving the State in this capacity from December 7, 1790, until March 3, 1803. During this period also, his brother, Dwight Foster, was a member of Congress from Massachusetts, serving in the House of Representa- tives from 1793 to 1799, and in the Senate from 1800 to 1803; and Abiel Foster, a third cousin of his father, was a member of the House of Representatives from New Hamp- shire, from 1789 to 1791, and from 1795 to 1803. From 1812 to 1816 Mr. Foster represented, in the General As-

sembly of Rhode Island, the town of Foster, which bore his name. Mr. Foster had the tastes of an antiquarian, and collected a vast amount of material for a " Ilistory of Rhode Island." He did not live to complete this work. In Governor S. G. Arnold's History there are several allu- sions to the manuscripts of Mr. Foster. He died in Providence, January 13, 1828. He was twice married, first, October 27, 1771, to Lydia Fenner, of Providence, daughter of Arthur Fenner, and sister of Governor James Fenner, of Rhode Island. Mrs. Foster died in June, 1801. They had three children: Theodosia, who marricd Stephen Tillinghast ; Augusta, Sophia, and Theodore Dwight. Mr. Foster married (second), June 18, 1803, Esther Bowen Millard, daughter of Rev. Noah and Hannah (Bowen) Millard, of Foster, Rhode Island. By this marriage there were five children : Maxwell Stewart, Samuel Willis, Dwight Cranston, Theodore, and Luzelia Sarah, who married Joseph Willard Seymour. Mr. Foster was a trustee of Brown University twenty-eight years,-1794- 1822.

GOODWIN, HENRY, a lawyer of distinction and At- torney-General of Rhode Island, was born in Boston, as is supposed, not far from the year 1750, and was educated at Harvard University. He was the son of 6 Benjamin Goodwin, his mother being Hannah Le Baron, of Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1782 he married Mary Bradford, the daughter of Governor Bradford, of Bristol. Having studied for the profession of law, he opened an office in Taunton, Massachusetts, and removed subsequently to Newport, where he remained during the rest of his life. He was chosen Attorney-General in 1787, in the place of William Channing, and held the office for two years. He is represented as a man of brilliant but erratic genius. His eloquence, we are told, was at times overpowering ; his rhapsodies of expression overflowing. He wrote some fine poetry and a number of tragedies, in which were said to have been some highwrought scenes and beautiful and touching descriptions. President Man- ning said of him " that such a rare genius was not born once in a century." Some of the peculiarly marked features of his character have led to the conclusion that he proba- bly, at times, was the victim of mental derangement. " Un- fortunately," remarks Updike, "the treatment of mental disease was but imperfectly understood at that period, even by physicians. Had it been, probably this splendid and eloquent man might have been restored to public useful- ness." Mr. Goodwin in person was somewhat above the middle stature and well proportioned. " His dress," says Hon. Asher Robbins, " was at the top of the 'mode,' rich and showy; it was an object of particular attention with him. Not one of the bar vied with him in this par- ticular. He was patronized by the paper-money party, and they made him Attorney-General of the State; but he

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would not go all lengths with them, and they withdrew their patronage." He died at Bristol, while visiting his father-in-law, Governor Bradford, May 31, 1789.

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100 ESSENDEN, HON. BENJAMIN, son of William and Martha (Freeman) Fessenden, was born in Sand- wich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, June 13, 1797 His father, a man of excellent character, learned the art of printing in New York and Phila- delphia, married and settled in Sandwich, and engaged in mercantile business. His grandfather and great-grand- father, of the same name with himself, were graduates of Harvard University, and his great-grandfather was a Con- gregational minister. His mother was a daughter of General Nathaniel Freeman, a Colonel in the Revolution, and after- wards a Brigadier-General of militia. She died at the age of eighty-one. His mother's brother, Nathaniel, was a graduate of Harvard University, and became a Judge of the- Court of Common Pleas, and finally a member of Congress as colleague of John Quincy Adams. William Fessenden had nine children, Stephen, Benjamin, Nancy (who mar- ried Captain Ezra Nye), Martha, William Joshua, Na- thaniel, Tryphosa, Charles, and Henry. Benjamin en- joyed superior home advantages. He was fitted for col- lege at the Barnstable Academy, under Elisha Clapp and others. Entering Harvard College in 1813 he graduated with honor in 1817. Among his classmates were Hon. George Bancroft, Hon. Caleb Cushing, and Dr. Stephen H. Tyng. In scholarship and character he was not un- worthy of the distinguished class to which he belongcd. As a candidate for the ministry in the Unitarian denomina- tion he studied three years in the Cambridge Theological School, from which he graduated in 1820. His first ser- mon was preached in Lexington. For a time he preached in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, for the venerable Timothy Alden. In 1821 he settled with the Unitarian church in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, as successor to Rev. James Flint, D.D., and received ordination September 19, 1821, the sermon of the occasion being preached by the gifted Henry Ware. Here he labored with marked favor for four years, until impaired health compelled him to re- sign his pulpit. In 1825 he removed to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he engaged, with Edward Mason, in mer- cantile affairs. While in Pawtucket, his religious views and feelings underwent that great change termed conver- sion or regeneration, and renouncing some of his old points of faith, he became an evangelical Christian, and took de- cided ground in favor of temperance, anti-masonry and anti-slavery principles. From this new era in his religious life he associated with the regular Baptists, though not as yet becoming a church member. In 1833 he settled in Val- ley Falls, Rhode Island, and was connected with the Ab-

bott's Run Company in the manufacture of cotton goods, and had good success so far as his own exertions controlled the affairs. Here he labored for thirty-two years, retiring from the business in 1865. In 1855, and again in 1856, he was chosen a member of the General Assembly of the State, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1869 and in 1870 he was elected a member of the State Senate. Originally a Whig, he became a Republican on the formation of the lat- ter party, and always maintained a deep interest in public affairs. During the Rebellion he was one of the committee of the town of Cumberland to provide for the families of the soldiers. In 1870, though seventy-three years of age, he was appointed Postmaster of Valley Falls, and filled the office for eight years. For twenty-five years he was the Superintendent of the Valley Falls Baptist Sabbath-school. In his eightieth year he was baptized by Rev. E. S. Wheeler, pastor of the Valley Falls Baptist Church, and heartily united with that body, to which other members of the family belonged. He married, December 13, 1821, Mary Wilkinson (born October 11, 1804), daughter of Isaac Wilkinson, of Pawtucket, of the distinguished Wil- kinson family, that gave to Rhode Island so many men of mechanical skill, enterprise, and stanch virtues. Mrs. Fessenden inherited the strong family traits of intelligence, kindness, and decision of character. She had no brothers, and but one sister, Nancy, who married Henry Marchant. Mr. Fessenden died January 6, 1881. He had nine chil- dren : Benjamin (who died young) ; Oziel W. (who died at the age of sixteen) ; Benjamin (who died young); Mary W., now wife of Hon. William F. Sayles; William (who died at the age of twenty-four); Charles H. (machinist, engi- neer, soldier, accidentally killed, April 10, 1865, at Rolla, Mo., while a member of the 29th Wisconsin Regiment) ; Robert, a prominent military officer and merchant ; Benja- min (who died young) ; and Russell F. Robert entered the Union Army May 2, 1861, as a private in the Ist R. I. D. M .; joined the 9th R. I. Volunteers, as Ser- geant-Major, May 26, 1862; became Lieutenant of the Ist R. I. Volunteers, October 1, 1862; after leaving the national service was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Pawtucket Light Guard, August 1, 1865; was appointed, July 4, 1866, Brigade Major and Inspector of Second Brigade State Militia, and served till April 20, 1869, when he was appointed Division Inspector on the staff of the Major-General, with the rank of colonel, which, on account of the pressure of private business, he resigned, September 11, 1869. Colonel Fessenden is now a member of the large wholesale house of " Fidler Brothers & Fessenden," in Providence. Alike in his domestic and public life, Benjamin Fessenden was beloved and honored. His attainments, virtues, and activities were of a noble order. Everywhere he was true, gentlemanly, generous, and schol- arly, delighting in the society of the wise and good. Com- prehending the common weal, he counted all public inter- ests as dear as his own. While his strength continued, he

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stood forth bravely and faitlifully for all good service. As a fitting termination to his worthy life, his death was a Christian triumph, full of serene hopc, confidence, and joy.

OWELL, DAVID, Judge, LL.D., was born in New Jersey, January 1, 1747, and was a graduate of the College of New Jersey in the class of 1766. Soon after leaving college, at the urgent request of President Manning, he became his associate in the new college, now Brown University, which had com- menced its existence in Warren the year previous. He was tutor in the institution three years; and then, in 1769, was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philos- ophy, holding that office until the suspension of college exercises in consequence of the Revolutionary War. Be- sides giving instruction in the studies which belonged to his special department, he also taught the French, German, and Hebrew languages. He was Professor of Law for thirty-four years, although it does not appear that he gave lectures in that department. He was a member of the Board of Fellows of the Corporation of Brown University for fifty two years, and for many years the Secretary of the corporation. Upon the decease of President Manning, July 24, 1791, he was requested to preside at the approach- ing commencement in September, and also at the com- mencement following, on which occasion, says Professor Goddard, " he delivered to the graduating class Baccalau- reate Addresses, which, as specimens of undefiled English and excellent counsel, were deservedly admired." For many years he practiced law in Providence, and held a high rank among the members of the Rhode Island bar. He was a member of Congress under the Confederation, from Rhode Island, and subsequently was called to fill offices of trust and responsibility of the highest character in the State. He was appointed United States Judge for the District of Rhode Island in 1812, and filled that important position until his death. He married Mary, daughter of Jeremiah and Waitstill Brown, one of the early pastors of the First Baptist Church in Providence. She died in the sixty-first year of her age, July 6, 1801. They had five children : (1) Jeremiah, who graduated from the University in the class of 1789, and was for some time a member of the United States Senate; (2) Roger Williams, who died at the age of twenty, just as he was about to graduate from college ; (3) Waitstill, the wife of Ebenezer Knight Dexter, who left to Providence the " Dexter Training Grounds," the " Dexter Asylum Grounds," and a large portion of his great estate; (4) Mary, wife of Mason Shaw, Esq., of Castine, Maine; (5) Sarah, wife of Gamaliel Lyman Dwight, and afterwards wife of Hon. Samuel Eddy, LL.D. " Judge Howell," says Professor Goddard, " was endowed with extraordinary talents, and he superadded to his en-

dowments extensive and accurate learning. As an able jurist he established for himself a solid reputation. He was, however, yet more distinguished as a keen and bril- liant wit, and as a scholar extensively acquainted, not only with the ancient, but with several of the modern languages. As a pungent and effective public writer he was almost un- rivalled; and in conversation, whatever chanced to be the theme, whether politics or law, literature or theology, gram- mar or criticism, a Greek tragedy or a difficult problem in mathematics, Judge Howell was never found wanting. Upon all occasions which made any demands upon him he gave the most convincing evidence of the vigor of his powers, and of the variety and extent of his erudition." He died in Providence, July 21, 1824.

ILLER, GENERAL NATHAN, son of Colonel Na- than Miller, was born in Warren, Rhode Island, March 26, 1743. Of his early history we have been unable to obtain any information, except that he was a ship carpenter by trade. Early in the Revolutionary War he appears upon the stage of action. In October, 1775, the General Assembly appointed him Commissary to the troops, under the command of Brigadier- General Esek Hopkins, who were stationed on Rhode Island. By a vote of the General Assembly, passed May 5, 1779, the militia of the several counties were formed into brigades, and General J. M. Varnum was elected Major-General of these forces, and Mr. Miller was chosen Brigadier-General for the county of Newport. The Assem- bly, February 26, 1781, voted to supply the place of the French army, soon to be withdrawn from Newport, and to call out 1200 militia to serve for one month, under Brigadier-General Miller. At the February session, 1786, he was elected, with President James Manning, to repre- sent the State of Rhode Island in the Continental Con- gress. Mr. Manning was prompt to take his seat at the appointed time in New York, but for some reason General Miller delayed joining him for several weeks. President Manning writes to Governor Collins, under date of May 26, 1786 : " I took my seat in Congress the 2d of this instant, in full expectation that General Miller would follow me in a few days, with the necessary supply of money to sup- port us. But, to my surprise, I have not heard from the General since my departure from Rhode Island. Destitute of money to defray my necessary expenses, and at a loss to conjecture the reasons of the General's delay, you must naturally conclude that my situation is far from being agreeable." In a similar strain he writes two letters to General Miller, in which he speaks of being "reduced to the very last guinea and a trifle of change, my lodging, washing, barber's, hatter's, tailor's bills, etc., not paid." The probable explanation of the unhappy state of things

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is to be found in the fact that the State treasury was so low in funds that it could not or would not pay the expenses of its delegation. The history of the whole affair is not very creditable to the honor and integrity of the General Assembly. Dr. Manning, we have supposed, was a man of very gentle and amiable spirit, but in view of the fact that when he was finally paid for his services it was in the paper money of the State, which had run down from six to one, we can hardly wonder that he writes, " A more in- famous set of men, under the character of a legislature, never, I believe, disgraced the annals of the world." General Miller finally took his seat in Congress, July 14, 1786. Up to this time Rhode Island had no vote on any question before Congress. At the General Election in May, 1786, he was elected member of Congress, from the first Monday in November, 1786, for one year, but neither he nor his colleague, George Champlin, took their seats dur- ing the session for which they were elected. The truth is that, under the Articles of Confederation, some of the States felt but little interested in being represented in Congress. It may be that the experience which General Miller had already had of the dilatoriness of the State in paying the necessary expenses of its delegation may have led him to decline to enter upon what, probably, might prove a thankless task. Rhode Island refused to send a delega- tion to the Convention held in Philadelphia, in 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation, and when the question of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States was presented to the legal voters of the State, the vote stood 237 yeas and 2708 nays. We do not find the name of Gen- eral Miller among the recorded voters of Warren. Judge Staples says that the friends of the Constitution refused to vote in most of the towns. It was generally understood that they would not attend the meetings. How strong was the opposition to the Constitution may be inferred from the circumstance that seven times the General Assembly had negatived acts proposing to call a convention to see what steps should be taken towards securing its ratification, and so close was the final vote that it was decided by the cast- ing vote of Governor John Collins. The act was passed Sunday, January 17, 1790; the time for holding the con- vention was appointed the first Monday in March, and the place, South Kingstown. The number of delegates chosen was seventy. General Miller and Mr. Samuel Pearce rep- resented the town of Warren. In the brief minutes of the convention which have come down to us his name appears several times among the speakers as an earnest advocate for the adoption of the Constitution, and it must be confessed he was a little pro-slavery in his sentiments. This session of the convention adjourned on the 6th of March, to meet at Newport, on the fourth Monday in May. It was ex- pected that the different towns would, meanwhile, act upon a " Bill of Rights " and " Amendments " proposed to the United States Constitution. When the time specified ar- rived, May 25, 1790, General Miller was no longer liv-

ing, his death having occurred May 20. The wife of General Miller was Rebecca Barton, who died August 21, 1817. Their children were Patience, who, in 1767, mar- ried Rev. William Williams; Abigail, who was born De- cember 26, 1766 ; and Nathan, who died comparatively a young man. We close this sketch of General Miller by recording the fact that Rhode Island ratified the Constitu- tion of the United States (a step which would have greatly rejoiced General Miller had he lived) May 29, 1790.

ITCHCOCK, ENOS, D.D., was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1744, and was a graduate of Harvard College, in the class of 1767. Imme- diately on his graduation he commenced his theo- logical studies, and in about two years was licensed to preach. He was ordained in 1771, and became a col- league with Rev. Mr. Chipman, pastor of the Second Con- gregational Church, in Beverly, Massachusetts. Early in the Revolutionary War he offered his services as a Chap- lain in the army, and received an appointment to act in this capacity. " In this situation," says his biographer, " his social qualities and engaging deportment made him highly acceptable, while his nice regard to decorum and dignity of character commanded respect, and added weight to his efforts on the side of order and virtue, of patriotic bravery, zeal, and perseverance." His pastoral relation with the church in Beverly continued for some time while he was in the army, but was amicably dissolved in 1780. He first preached in Providence not long after his dismis- sion from the Beverly church, and during a period of one or two years performed occasional services in that town. In 1783, on the 3d of October, he was installed as pastor of the Benevolent Congregational Church and Society of Providence, in which office he continued for nineteen years. As a good citizen, as well as a religious teacher, he endeavored to promote the social and moral welfare of the town, making himself especially conspicuous for the deep interest he took in the cause of popular cducation, working not only in person, but by his pen endeavoring to form and control public sentiment on a matter of such vital importance to the welfare of the community. To his efforts it was largely owing that the elegant house of wor- ship on Benefit Street was erected. Towards the estab- lishment of a fund for the support of the ministry in this church he bequeathed the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars. Brown University conferred upon him, in 1788, the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was chosen a Fellow of the University in 1785, and remained in office until his death, which occurred February 27, 1803. A marble tablet in the church, which was built during his ministry, commemorates his virtues and keeps alive the memory of an honored and beloved pastor.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 31

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