The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 37

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

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SANO, REV. STEPHEN, M.D., the third son of Rev. John and Sarah (Stites) Gano, was born in the city of New York, December 25, 1762. His father was, at the time of his birth, pastor of the Gold Street Baptist Church. His ancestor, Francis Gano, or, as it was originally spelled, Ganeaux, was a French refugee from the island of Guernsey, who settled in New Rochelle, New York, where he dicd at the great age of one hundred and three. The grandson of Francis, Daniel Gano, married Sarah, daughter of Nathaniel Britton, of Staten Island. One of their children, John, was the father of the subject of this sketch. It was his intention to have placed his son under the care of Dr. Manning, whose wife was his aunt on his mother's side, and that he should take the full course of study in Rhode Island College. But the troubles growing out of the Revolutionary War prevented, and he studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. Stites, and at the age of nineteen entered the American army as a sur- geon. Having became a Christian, his mind was turned to the Christian ministry, and August 2, 1786, he was or- dained. He acted as a missionary in several of the settle- ments on the Hudson, and was pastor successively at Hills- dale and Hudson, New York. He received, in 1792, a call to the First Baptist Church in Providence, and con- tinued to act as pastor of that church during the remainder of his life, a period of about thirty-six years. His min- istry was a very prosperous one, and the church grew in numbers and strength during his busy pastorate. Dr. Gano was married four times-first, October 25, 1782, to Cor-

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nelia, a daughter of Captain Jonah Vavasour, an officer in the English navy, then a resident of New York. Their children were two sons and two daughters. The daughters married, one, Rev. John Holroyd, and the other, Rev. David Benedict, D.D., the well-known author of the His- tory of the Baptists. His second wife was Mary, daughter of Colonel Tallmadge, and sister of Colonel James Tall- madge, of New York. By this marriage he had one son and three daughters. Of the latter, Sally married Rev. Peter Ludlow; Maria T., Rev. Dr. Henry Jackson; Cla- rissa, first, Newton Robbins, and second, James Ludlow. His third wife was Mary, daughter of Professor Joseph Brown, the second of the " Four Brothers" Brown. Their only child was Eliza B., married to Joseph Rogers. His fourth wife was Mrs. Joanna Latting, of Hillsdale, New York, who survived him many years. Dr. Gano died August 18, 1828. Brown University, of which institution he was a trustee thirty-four years, conferred on him, in; 1800, the honorary degree of Master of Arts. He was Doctor by virtue of his connection with the medical profession. Ap- preciative notices of Dr. Gano may be found in Sprague's Annals, vol. vi.

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BABCOCK, HON. DANIEL, was born in North Ston- ington, Connecticut, August 31, 1762. He learned the trade of a blacksmith, and began business at Potter Hill, where he married and spent his life. He served, for forty-six years, as Justice of the Peace, and for nine years, from 1807 to 1816, was a member of the Upper House in the State Legislature, retaining the office by a unanimous vote. For ten years he filled, with honor, the Bench, as Judge of the County Court for Wash- ington County, and was the intimate friend and counsellor of Governors Fenner, Knight, and others. He was a true gentleman of the old school, and a devout Christian. For fifty-eight years he was a deacon in the Sabbatarian Church in Hopkinton, in which he also served, as chorister, for nearly half a century. Mr. Babcock firmly adhered to sound evangelical doctrines, and illustrated them in his private and public life. He became widely known, and was called for, near and far, as an arbiter and counsellor in difficult cases in Church and State. His brother, Dr. Christopher A. Babcock, was a distinguished surgeon in the Revolution, and died in the service. Mr. Babcock served, for a time, in the Revolutionary Army. He died September 18, 1846, aged eighty-four.

BOON, REV. ABRAM, was born in Hopkinton, in 1763. The family name prior to 1800 was usually spelled McCoon, and indicates a Scottish origin. Abram passed through the trials of the Revolution with manly and patriotic devotion. He made a profession

of his Christian faith in 1786, and united with the Sabba- tarian Church in Hopkinton, in 1791. Called to the office of an Evangelist August 17, 1798, he complied, and was ordained on the 26th of the same month. His brother, Rev. Asa Coon, and nephew, Rev. William Coon, were both ordained in Hopkinton, and settled over churches in Rens- selaer County, New York. Being an eloquent speaker, sound in doctrine, wise in council, kind and faithful, he won and held a high place in public esteem. Mr. Coon married Prudence Edwards. He died in Hopkinton Vil- lage, September 28, 1813.

AMPBELL, JACOB, lawyer, only son of Archibald Campbell, Esq., was born in East Greenwich, in -57 1760. He was a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1783. He stood high in college as a scholar. For a short time after his graduation he had charge of a classical school in East Greenwich. Giving up his school he entered the law office of General J. M. Varnum to study for the legal profession. He was admitted to the bar and opened a law office in East Greenwich. The prospects of success in his profession were far from encour- aging, as the field was already occupied by General Var- num, a most accomplished and popular lawyer. Mr. Campbell was recognized by his fellow-citizens as a young man of good talents and pleasing address. When the treaty of peace was concluded between Great Britain and the United States he was invited to deliver an address on the auspicious occasion of the announcement of the event. This address has been preserved, and its delivery must have made a happy impression upon the minds of those who listened to it. He published a small volume of poetry, entitled Poetical Essays, and a number of prose essays. He is represented as being " tall, slender, and genteel; he had a beautiful head of hair, and was reputed as one of the hand- somest men of the day." A romantic attachment to Miss Eliza Russell, daughter of Joseph Russell, Esq., and the melancholy sequel of the affair, so far as she was concerned, was long remembered as among the most touching incidents in the history of the locality in which he lived. When he became a victim of consumption she watched him most tenderly through his illness, and when he died she shut herself up in her darkened chamber and pined away, dying of her sorrow and bitter disappointment. Mr. Campbell died March 5, 1788.

ADDY, MOSES, son of Richard Eddy, was born in Johnston, Rhode Island, March 26, 1766. He was a descendant of Samuel Eddy, the Pilgrim of Plymouth, who was born in England in 1608. The greater part of his life was spent in Provi- dence, where he died May 28, 1823. He was a prominent and highly-respected merchant in that city, and established a line of packets to New York, which for many years were

Stephen Berechnet

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the principal modes of travel between the two cities pre- vious to the introduction of steamboats. Among them were the following vessels : The Superior, the Ann, the Maria, the Venus, the Juno, and the Moses Eddy. A pas- sage in those days cost ten dollars, and the time required to make the trip was from twenty-four hours to five or six days, depending on the wind. On this line Captains Wil- liam and Jesse Comstock were long and favorably known to the public as navigators of Long Island Sound. Mr. Eddy was the elder brother of Judge Samuel Eddy. He did not himself enter into political affairs, but confined himself exclusively to his business, which he managed with great success. He used his wealth without ostenta- tion; and no citizen enjoyed more fully the esteem and confidence of the community. His character was spoken of in terms of the highest praise by his contemporaries. Integrity seemed to be so inwrought into his nature as to raise him above the power of those temptations which too often influence men engaged in commercial pursuits. He was distinguished by gentle and courteous manners, by a kind and eminently cheerful spirit, and by habits the most methodical and correct. Mr. Eddy married Hannah Car- penter April 6, 1794. Their children were Abby, Ann, Maria, Richard E., Moses, and Hannah.

ANDALL, STEPHEN, M.D., a Surgeon in the Rev- olution and a distinguished citizen of Providence, son of Peter and Freelove (Dexter) Randall, was born in North Providence, Rhode Island, August 1762. He enjoyed excellent advantages of home training and in the schools of his day, and studied medicine under the celebrated Dr. Jonathan Arnold. He became an eminent physician ; served as a Surgeon in the Revolutionary army, for which he received a pension, and accumulated a very large property in lands both in Rhode Island and Vermont. Dr. Randall lived in Providence, on North Main Street, at the head of Randall Street, that street being named for him, as he gave it to the city and it was laid through his lands. He married, January 22, 1786, Lucina Winsor, daughter of Abraham Winsor, of Smithfield, and had six children, Joseph, Ann Frances, Lucina, Stephen, Amey, Mary. He and his wife were members of the First Baptist Church in Providence, and greatly esteemed. Dr. Randall died March 15, 1843, aged eighty years. His wife died November 20, 1844, aged eighty-five years.

ANDALL, STEPHEN, son of Dr. Stephen and Lu- cina (Winsor) Randall, was born October 22, 1793. He was a man of wealth, and distinguished himself in encouraging the writing of Rhode Island history, particularly in gathering the pa-

pers and facts relative to Roger Williams, from whom he was descended through his mother. He left a sum of money to remain on interest till it (with other contribu- tions), shall reach the sum of $75,000, for the erection of a Roger Williams monument on Prospect Hill. For seve- ral years he was a Member of the Legislature from North Providence, and variously served his native town with great efficiency. His moncy was freely and largely given to promote religious interests and the public welfare. His benevolence was proverbial. He married, October 12, 1831, Susan H. Arnold, who died February 10, 1870. He died July 30, 1874, at the age of eighty, and was laid in his tomb in the North Burying Ground of Providence.

ENEDICT, DEACON, STEPHEN, son of Thomas and Zelota (Sprague) Benedict, was born in Milton, Saratoga County, New York, January 15, 1801. The English ancestor of this family, Thomas Bene- dict, came to Massachusetts in 1638, then removed to Long Island, and afterward to Connecticut, where he became a man of influence. Stephen's father, Thomas, who was of the fifth generation from the first settler, served as a soldier in the Revolution, and was an enterprising farmer. He removed from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Sara- toga County, and afterward to New Lisbon, Otsego County, New York, and finally, in 1833, to Central Falls, Smith- field, Rhode Island, where he died, leaving a large family. Stephen was employed on his father's farm, attending school in the winter till near his majority, receiving the best of home training and religious instruction. In 1821, as his half-brother, Rev. David Benedict, D.D., the Bap- tist historian, had settled as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he went to that place, and engaged to work in a machine-shop, and afterward in a cotton-factory. In 1828 he formed a copartnership with Hon. Joseph Wood, and removed to Billingham, Massa- chusetts, where they operated a cotton-mill for Mr. Jubal Ingraham. In 1829 they removed to Albion Village, Rhode Island, where they operated the mills belonging to Mr. George Wilkinson. In 1831 they removed to Central Falls, then in Smithfield, now in Lincoln, and purchased of Dwight Ingraham an interest in the mills of the Thread Company, and commenced the manufacture of cotton print cloths, their mill being known as the " Benedict & Wood Mill." Their business was managed with remarkable reg- ularity and conscientiousness for thirty-seven years, during which time they were greatly prospered. In 1865 the firm was dissolved, and Deacon Benedict succeeded to the entire charge of the old business, which he conducted with his usual ability and success till his death. He early united with the First Baptist Church in Pawtucket, of which his half-brother was for many years the honored pastor, and filled the office of Deacon for about twenty-five years. He

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was a quict, thoughtful, prudent man, faithful and thorough in the discharge of all the duties required of him. He was a Director in different institutions, and was for many years the President of the People's Bank and also of the First National Bank of Pawtucket. Industrious, economical, and farseeing, he acquired a handsome estate. In the anti-slavery movement he was a pioneer, and during the Civil War, though exempt from service by age, he was particularly active, by counsel and contributions, in sus- taining the nation. His kindness, benevolence, and in- tegrity gained for him the highest regard of his fellow- citizens. He married, August 9, 1830, Bathsheba A. Bar- ber, of Billingham, Massachusetts, who, since his death, has brought special honor upon the Benedict name by her benefactions. He died in his mansion at Central Falls December 25, 1868. In his will, among other worthy legacies, he left $2000 to the American Baptist Home Mission Society for general purposes. His devoted widow, in compliance with a suggestion of Deacon Benedict, added to this contribution another $1000, and when the educa- tional needs of the freedmen were laid before her, added to the above sums $10,000, making $13,000, with which was purchased the well-known Benedict Institute in Colum- bia, S. C., as a school for the freedmen or colored people of both sexes. Since the first purchase Mrs. Benedict has added at one time $10,000, and made yearly donations of about $1000, until she has now given, in addition to her husband's legacy, about $30,000, and continues her yearly gifts to sustain the Institute. Really the Benedict Institute is her work, undertaken at the suggestion of her husband before the needs of the freedmen were known, and is a monument to her Christian benevolence.

G BUTLER, CYRUS, Merchant, son of Samuel and Mary (Athearn) Butler, was born in Providence, May 16, 1767. His father was born in Edgar- town, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and early removed to Providence, where he became a success- ful and eminent merchant. For some time he conducted business, with his sons as partners, under the firm-name of Samuel Butler & Sons. His last days were marked by ease and affluence, by the respect and love of all who knew him, and by a recognition of his fidelity, patriotism and religious conscientiousness. He died June 29, 1814, aged eighty-five years. His wife was the daughter of Jethro and Mary Athearn, of Martha's Vineyard. She was born September 16, 1731 (old style), and died Jan- uary 1, 1819, in her eighty-eighth year. The children of Samuel and Mary Butler were, (1) Samuel, Jr., born in 1757, long distinguished as a merchant in Providence, as a member of the firm of Samuel Butler & Sons, and as the head of the house of Butler, Wheaton & Jackson, and who died December 11, 1814, in his fifty-eighth year, leav-

ing three children, William, who died August 8, 1839, in his fortieth ycar, Stephen, who died in 1816, and a daugh- ter, Sarah, who married Alexander Duncan; (2) Mary, who married Peter Taylor, and died March 16, 1799, aged forty-five; (3) Betsey, who married Robert Davis, and died June 5, 1815, aged fifty-five; (4) William, who died young ; (5) George, who died at the age of seventeen ; (6) Joseph, who died on his passage from the West Indies, March 7, 1788, at the age of twenty-three; (7) Cyrus, the subject of this sketch. Cyrus was well trained to business pursuits, beginning his mercantile career with his father and brother Samuel, in the firm of Samuel Butler & Sons. Their old store stood on the south side of Weybosset Street, nearly opposite the present Arcade. On the death of his father and his brother Samuel, in 1814, Cyrus carried on the business on his own account. For a time he was an importer and wholesale dealer, after the style of the old house of Brown & Ives, and his importations were usually very successful. He finally confined his business trans- actions to this country, became a large dealer in real estate and stocks, and also engaged in banking. He resided first on Weybosset Street, but finally built the substantial brick edifice on Westminster Street, No. 72, next east of the Arcade, and there lived until his death. He was one of the most sagacious of merchants, and far-seeing in all his transactions. His successes seemed almost marvellous. He was regarded as shrewd and lucky, but he was always hon- orable in his dealings, and his word was as good as a bond. He could give a history of nearly all the city property, and of lands lying around the city, and he knew the value and history of houses as well. He was a stockholder in the Bank of North America, of which, for many years, he was President. He also became a large private banker, having his own office in the house he built and occupied on Westminster Street, where the real estate interests of Alexander Duncan are still managed by George A. Leete, as agent. Mr. But- ler was one of the largest stockholders in the Blackstone Manufacturing Company, and was interested in several other prosperous corporations. Politically, he was a Whig, but not ambitious of public office, choosing to devote his time entirely to business. He was deeply interested in all questions of city finances. He was a member of the Ec- clesiastical Society of the Beneficent Congregational Church in Providence. In the building of the Arcade, in 1827-28, he had a large share, becoming the owner of the eastern half of that structure, which cost $145,000. "For two generations he was distinguished for the soundness of his judgment, the strength of his character, and the fixedness of his purpose." Mr. Butler accumulated an immense property, being, at the time of his death, " the wealthiest man in the State, and probably the wealthiest in New England." His sympathies in behalf of the insane, whom he considered " as objects peculiarly worthy of commis- eration," induced him to make liberal provision for this unfortunate class. On learning of the bequest of $30,000

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made by Nicholas Brown for the founding of a hospital for the insane, Mr. Butler donated $40,000 for the same purpose, on condition that $40,000 more should be con- tributed from other sources, and that $50,000 should be kept as a reserved fund, only the interest of which should be used to defray the current expenses of the hospital. In honor of Mr. Butler, the noble institution thus founded, in 1847, was named the Butler Hospital for the Insane. It now has a reserve fund of $85,000, a farm of one hundred and forty acres, and beautiful and well-arranged buildings. By Mr. Butler's large donation the grand object was effec- tually accomplished, " and the giver established a claim to the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, which will endure so long as there is a single heart to feel for the saddest calamity that can befall a fellow-man." He was permitted to see the institution completed, and to know that it had entered upon its benevolent mission before his decease. He died at his residence in Providence, August 22, 1849, aged eighty-two, and was buried in what was then known as the West Burying-ground, but his remains, with those of the other members of the family buried there, were afterward re- moved by Alexander Duncan to the North Burying Ground, where a monument was erected to his memory. After making various bequests in his will, he left the bulk of his great estate to his niece, Sarah Butler, now Mrs. Alexander Duncan. In recognition of the inheritance, the Duncans, in 1872, erected the massive and elegant building, occupy- ing the square between Westminster Street and Exchange Place, named the Butler Exchange. This building is of stone and brick, six stories high, and cost about $1,000,000. Mr. Duncan has continued to use the inherited estate for wise and deserving ends, giving both money and council to the Butler Hospital, and to all the benevolent institu- tions and associations of the city. He has carried out Mr. Butler's wish expressed in his will, that he should improve the real estate left by him in the city of Providence, where he had always resided.

JOURO, REV. ISAAC, came to Newport from the West Indies about 1760. At that time there were about sixty families of Jews residing in Newport. A congregation was organized. Mr. Touro was chosen priest, and in 1762 the syna- gogue, still standing on Touro Street, was erected, and the following year it was dedicated. The influence of the Jews increased, and they became an important element in the mercantile and commercial affairs of the place. With the breaking out of the Revolution they were scattered ; Mr. Touro went to the West Indies and died at Kingston, December 8, 1783. He was a man of learning, and dur- ing his stay at Newport he enjoyed the respect and confi- dence of the people in a large degree. With the clergy- men of the various denominations he was on the most friendly relations, and to him the Rev. Dr. Stiles was in-

debted for his knowledge of Hebrew. Mr. Touro mar- ried, in Newport, a sister of Moses Hayes, of Boston. Two sons and a daughter survived him. After the declara- tion of peace Mr. Hayes removed from Newport and took with him the family of his sister. One of the sons was the late Abraham Touro, who left a fund of ten thousand dollars for the support of the synagogue and cemetery, and a further sum of five thousand dollars was given by him, the interest to be expended in keeping the street now known as Touro Street in repair. Judah Touro was another son. He died in New Orleans in 1854. While living he was a benefactor of Newport. In 1814 he gave two thousand dollars to the Redwood Library, to be ex- pended on improvements, and at his death he left the library the sum of three thousand dollars.

BILBOUR, HON. ISAAC, was born in Little Comp- ton, Rhode Island, on the farm now owned by Henry Butler, April 25, 1783. He was a descendant of Samuel Wilbour, who was in Boston as early as December 1, 1633, at which time he was admitted to the church in that town. He be- longed to the Hutchinsonian party, and was one of eigh- teen associates with William Coddington, John Coggeshall, and John Clarke, who purchased and settled Aquidneck, in March, 1638. He was a man of great enterprise and large wealth for that time, having property in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Taunton, and Boston, Massachusetts. The latter part of his life he returned to Boston, where he died September 29, 1656. His will is dated April 30th of that year. His son Samuel, who inherited the property in Portsmouth, was one of the grantees of the charter of 1663. The name is variously spelled Wildboar, Wilbore, Willbore, Wilbor, Wilbur, and Wilbour. The first form of the name is the original, and the latter is the form used by the branch of the family in Little Compton. Their coat- of-arms is a hunter spearing a wild boar in a wood. It may be seen painted on the wall of a chamber of the resi- dence of Mrs. Prudence Wilbour, in Little Compton. The family has three crests, two of which have the wild boar. William Wilbour, a grandson of Samuel Wilbour first mentioned, was one of the early settlers of Little Compton, and the founder of this branch of the family, which is very numerous. He died in 1710. His descend- ants possess a large portion of the wealth of this town. Isaac Wilbour, the subject of this sketch, was one of the most prominent of the descendants of the last-named member of the family. His parents were members of the Society of Friends, in the principles of which he was edu- cated. He married, May 17, 1786, Hannah, daughter of Deacon Philip Tabor, of Westport, Massachusetts. His children were Tabor, born in October, 1787, and died young ; Eliphat, born March 12, 1789; Hannah Borden, born February 4, 1793; Philip, born July 12, 1795 ; Pa-

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tience Tabor, born May 27, 1798; and Sarah Soule, born May 9, 1804. From 1793 to 1800 Isaac Wilbour filled various offices in town. In 1801 he was a member of the General Assembly, and again in 1805, when he was also Speaker of the House. In 1806 he was Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant-Governor, and as there was no election that year he was acting Governor. He was Rep- resentative in Congress from 1807 to 1809. The death of Francis Malbone, Senator from Rhode Island, occurred this year, and Governor Fenner appointed him to fill the vacancy ; but the ill health of his wife compelled him to decline the honor. Though he was not educated a law- yer, yet such was the confidence in his official integrity and judgment, and such his knowledge of both the forms and principles of law, that he was elected to the office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1818. As Hon. James Fenner, Chief Justice, declined to act, the duties of this important office devolved upon him, and were dis- charged by him with such signal ability that he was suc- cessively elected to this office from 1819 to 1826. In 1827 he resigned and retired from office, and the Hon. Samuel Eddy, an able lawyer, was elected to fill his place. Re- ferring to the change, Hon. Dutee J. Pearce remarked that " though the public might get more law, they would not get more justice." When he was Speaker of the House, in 1805, the people of the north part of Glocester petitioned to be set off in a separate town. As the com- mercial party in the State was opposed to the increase of political power in the country towns, there was a tie, upon which he gave the casting vote. But it failed in the Sen- ate. The next year he was Speaker of the Senate, when there was a tie vote, as there had been in the House the previous year, upon which he gave the casting vote, and it became a law. The petitioners were so grateful for this act that they offered to call the new town after his name. With characteristic modesty he declined the offer, where- upon the Hon. James Burrill, who was standing by, said that " he should esteem it a high honor to have the new town called after him." " Well," said Judge Wilbour, "you can take it." So the large and prosperous town in the northwest corner of the State was called Burrillville. Judge Wilbour's long official career was without reproach. After his retirement to private life he was much devoted to the interests of religion, and his voice, so often heard in courts of law and halls of legislation, was now often heard in prayer and exhortation in the Friends' Meeting- house in Little Compton. He died in the Christian faith October 4, 1837, aged seventy-four years.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 37

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