The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 38

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

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HEATON, LEVI, M.D., son of Deacon Ephraim and Anne Wheaton, and the fourth lineal de- scendant of Robert Wheaton, of Wales, an early settler of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, was born in Providence February 6, 1761. At the early age

of thirteen he entered Rhode Island College, and would have graduated in 1778, but the suspension of college ex- ercises for a few years, in consequence of the troubles in connection with the War of the Revolution, postponed his graduation until 1782. During this period of suspended collegiate study he turned his attention to medicinc, acting as a volunteer in the Medical Hospital in Providence, pass- ing the summer of 1779 at Westerly, in the office of Dr. Babcock, and completing his education as a pupil of Dr. William Bowen in Providence. In the autumn of 1782, while acting as a surgeon on board a privateer, his vessel was captured, and he was carried a prisoner to New York, and placed on duty on the prison-ship Falmouth. After the war was ended he was induced to take up his residence in the newly settled town of Hudson, New York. Here he remained ten years. The enterprise of starting this new town not proving as successful as was anticipated, Dr. Wheaton removed to the city of New York, where he re- mained two years, and then once more took up his residence in his native town. When a Medical School was organized in Brown University in 1812, he was appointed Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic; and when in 1822 this school was reorganized, he gave three or four courses of lectures upon the Theory and Practice of Physic and Ob- stetrics. He was a member of the Corporation of Brown University from 1798 to 1851, a term of service longer than that of any other member who had been connected with either the Board of Fellows or the Board of Trustees. For many years he was Physician of the Port of Provi- dence. In his personal appearance Dr. Wheaton was tall and erect, and was an ornament in whatever society he moved. He was not only an accomplished physician, but a more than ordinarily well-read man of letters. He pub- lished but little. A few articles regarded as of merit in his day were published in medical and other journals. He died, after a brief illness, August 29, 1852. Dr. Wheaton was married, January 2, 1785, in Newport, by Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins, to Martha, daughter of Joseph and Pe- nelope Burrill. Their children were (1) Catherine, born in Hudson, New York, December 11, 1785, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 5, 1866; (2) Walter V., born in Hudson, New York, January 5, 1787, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1860; (3) Han- nah, born in Hudson, New York, January 1, 1788, died in Hudson February 13, 1789; (4) Laura, born in Hud- son, New York, October 26, 1790, died in Providence, February 17, 1875 ; (5) Martha, born in Hudson, New York, April 29, 1792, died in Hudson April 2, 1795 ; (6) Joseph Burrill, born in Hudson, New York, May 8, 1794, died in Providence August 11, 1874; (7) Edward, born in New York November 8, 1796, died in Copenhagen Janu- ary 22, 1828; (8) Seth Amiel, born in Providence Novem- ber 13, 1798, died at Gibraltar February 8, 1819; (9) Mary Anne, born in Providence April 22, 1801, died in Providence October 8, 1802; (10) William, born in Provi-

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dence December 23, 1802, died in Providence October 16, 1804; (II) Francis Levison, born in Providence October 27, 1804; (12) Ju'ia, born in Providence November 28, 1808, died in Providence September 3, 1809.

ICKNELL, JOSHUA, was the fifth generation in de- scent from Zachary and Agnes Bicknell, who set- tled at Weymouth, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1635. Joshua's great-grandfather, Zachary, re- moved from Weymouth to that portion of Swansey, Massachusetts, which is now Barrington, Rhode Island, about 1705. Joshua was the son of Joshua and Jerusha (Peck) (Heath) Bicknell, and was born in Barrington, January 14, 1759. His school education was limited to the district-school instruction of the olden time, and com- prised the rudiments of arithmetic, reading, writing, and spelling. Born and bred to a farmer's life, he made a good practical use of these narrow educational advantages, and by reason of fine natural abilities, energy, and integrity, became a useful man and an honored citizen. He entered a public career when but a youth, and for the rest of his life served the town, county, and state in various official positions, both honorably and successfully. He was a Deputy in the General Assembly of Rhode Island in 1787, 1789-90-91-92-93-94, 1796-97-98, 1802-03-04, 1807-08, and 1823-24-25, and survived all who were members when he first took his seat, except two. He served as an Associ- ate Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island from 1794 to 1810, and from 1811 to 1818. He also filled various other public offices, by special appointment, with distin- guished ability. The purity of his life, the integrity of his motives, and the justice of his opinions and decisions, gave him the merited sobriquet of "Old Aristides." He was simple in his domestic habits, and when unoccupied with public affairs, devoted himself to his farm, and especially to fruit culture, in which he took great satisfaction. He united with the Congregational Church in Barrington in 1805, and held the office of Deacon until his death. He was one of the corporate members of the United Congrega- tional Society of the town, and served as its treasurer for forty years. The Providence Journal, under date of De- cember, 1837, in an obituary article on Judge Bicknell, thus justly sums up his life and character : " But very few men have been better known through the State, and perhaps none survived him who possess more historical and sta- tistical knowledge of the State from the commencement of the Revolution to the present time. Of no man may it be more justly said, he has lived devoted to the best in- terests of Rhode Island. No man more ardently loved his country. Respecting his talents and acquirements,-he read much, meditated much; but perhaps the most won- derful trait in his character was his extraordinary power of discrimination. In these particulars he has left few superiors, even among those more fortunate in opportunities for im-

provement. But that which adds the brightest lustre to his character is that his latter days have especially adorned the Christian life. The church of which he was a member, and in which he had long sustained an important office, have great reason to mourn that a good and distinguished man in Israel has fallen."

REENE, TIMOTHY, manufacturer, was born in War- wick, Rhode Island, June 12, 1760. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and a descend- 6 9. ant of John Greene, who came from England to Boston in 1635. Bred a shoemaker, he removed to Paw- tucket, North Providence, when he was between twenty and thirty years of age, and pursued his calling there. He soon added tanning to his business, and in order to obtain a suitable place for his work, purchased a lot by the side of the Pawtucket River, just below the falls, which was then called the Lower Anchor Shop. That spot afterward be- came the site of a cotton-mill, and the Greene Cotton Mills owned by his grandsons, still stand on the bank of the river Just before his removal to Pawtucket, Oziel Wilkinson, a blacksmith and machinist, and a prominent member of the Society of Friends, had become a citizen of that village. With him Samuel Slater boarded while reproducing the Arkwright patents, and subsequently married one of his daughters. Timothy Greene won the affections of another daughter, Lucy, and married her. Mr. Greene doubtless shared Mr. Slater's aspirations and anxieties about the new business he was transporting to this country, and was ready to co-operate with him; for six years after the erection of the original Slater's mill, on the western bank of the Blackstone River, another cotton-mill was built on the eastern side of that stream, in what was then the town of Rehoboth, Mass. This mill was built and carried on by the firm of S. Slater & Co., members of the firm being Oziel Wilkinson, Samuel Slater, Timothy Greene, and Wil- liam Wilkinson. What is now East Avenue in Pawtucket, was once called Pleasant Street, and the beginning of it was known in the latter part of the last century as Quaker Lane. As Mr. Greene's tannery was near this lane, he erected in that vicinity, in the early part of the present cen- tury, a dwelling-house, which is still standing. It occu- pies the site of the cabin which sheltered Joseph Jenks, the founder of Pawtucket, who emigrated to that place in 1655. Mr. Greene had three sons, the youngest of whom died shortly after reaching manhood. The others, Daniel and Samuel, became associated with their father in business. The firm of Timothy Greene & Sons carried on a cotton- mill on the eastern side of the river, while the firm of Samuel and D. Greene & Co., composed of the same par- ties, carried on a mill on the western side of the stream. They continued to engage in the business of cotton spinning for many years with varying success. During the war with Great Britain they were very prosperous; but rivals came

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into the field as Waltham, Lowell, and many other places erected mills. The Grecnes extended their operations, and owned an additional mill in Phenix. In 1829, however, a severe local revulsion came; cotton manufacturing suffered a check, and Pawtucket experienced great reverses. Many sanguine manufacturers had been induced to extend their business far beyond what their capital warranted, and when creditors became importunate their property was seized and ruthlessly sacrificed. Timothy Greene was among those who suffered a reverse of fortune. Being almost seventy years of age, he could not rally from the shock. His son Daniel, who had actually withdrawn from the business four years before, was yet from a neglect of certain formalities legally held for liabilities of the firm. He and his brother commenced business anew in 1831 ; but Samuel soon after- ward removed to Woonsocket, and in the employ of a local company, built up a prosperous business in the village of Bernon. Their aged father, however, held a subordinate position in the mill of his son Daniel until his death, which occurred February 8, 1834. Mr. Greene's wife survived until December 3, 1840.

ATTEN, WILLIAM, D.D., son of Rev. William Pat- ten, of Hartford, Connecticut, was born in Hart- ford, in 1763. His mother was a daughter of the first President Wheelock. She died at Hartford, October 5, 1831, aged ninety-one. The subject of this sketch was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1780. Having completed his theological studies he accepted an invitation to take the pastoral charge of the Second Con- gregational Church at Newport, whose pulpit had become vacant by the resignation of Rev. Dr. Stiles. His ordina- tion as a pastor of the church occurred May 24, 1786, and this relation continued for about fifty years, ending April 15, 1833. The wife of Dr. Patten was Hannah Hurlbut, of New London. She died at Brooklyn, New York, Au- gust 30, 1855. She was a worthy companion of her hus- band in his ministerial work. It is said, to the praise of her benevolence, that she set up at Newport, in 1815, the first ragged school that was ever established in this coun- try. In this labor of Christian love she was assisted by Mrs. Floride Calhoun, of South Carolina. The children of Dr. and Mrs. Patten were William S., a lawyer and bank cashier in Providence, Chancellor for several years of Brown University; Joseph, of New York; George W., a Captain in the army; Ruth, wife of F. W. Hotchkiss, of Hartford; Mary Anna, wife of C. S. Halstead, of Brook- lyn; and one or two others. Dr. Patten died at Hartford, Connecticut, March 9, 1839. Brown University, of which he was a trustee from 1790 to 1839, conferred upon him, in 1807, the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. He published several sermons, one on The Slave Trade, 1792; Christianity the True Theology, in reply to Thomas Paine, 1795; on The Death of Dr. Stiles, 1795; on The Death of

Dr. Isaac Senter, 1799. He is represented as being a "distinguished theologian, but meek and lowly in heart, most kind and benevolent."

B LODGETT, REV. CONSTANTINE, D.D., son of Ben- jamin and Mary Blodgett, was born in Randolph, Vermont, November 17, 1802, and was a gradu- ate of Dartmouth College in the class of 1826. Among his classmates was the late S. P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Soon after graduating, he went to South Carolina, as a tutor, and spent a few years there. At this time the doc- trine of nullification was being proclaimed throughout the South, and Mr. Blodgett, foreseeing the evils to result there- from, became an earnest advocate of loyalty and law. In support of his views, he carried on a vigorous newspaper correspondence, and his articles were so pungent that he narrowly escaped a personal assault. While in South Caro- lina, he was set apart to the Christian ministry, and, in 1830, was ordained by the Harmony Presbytery of that State. Soon afterwards he returned North, and, in 1833, was settled over the Congregational church in Newmarket, New Hampshire. Here he remained for only three years, and then removed to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to take charge of the Congregational church in that town. He was installed July 27, 1836, and retained an unbroken pas- torate for thirty-five years, and resigned in June, 1871, his successor being the Rev. J. J. Woolley. He continued to maintain an intimate relationship with his church, however, and accepted the designation of retired pastor. Until fail- ing health compelled him to desist, he continued to preach to destitute societies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and to perform parochial duties in the neighborhood. During his long residence in Pawtucket, he attended 1 300 funerals, officiated at more than 600 weddings, and attended 170 ecelesiastical councils. He also took an active inter- est in the cause of education, and was an earnest advocate of temperance and of every other cause affecting the moral and religious welfare of the community. Such was the consistency of his life, the energy of his zeal, and his kind- ness of spirit, that he exerted a powerful influence and was instrumental in accomplishing great good. In 1860, Dartmouth College conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and he not only occupied a high rank in his own denomination, but was held in the highest esteem by the community at large. He died December 29, 1879. In noticing his death the Providence Fournal said : " In the death of Dr. Blodgett, Pawtucket has lost one of its oldest, best-known, and most valuable inhabitants, the Congregational denomination one of its wisest and most trusted counsellors, and the State a citizen, who was at once conservative and progressive; a friend of education, a conservator of morals, a teacher and exemplar of Chris- tian liberty. For more than forty years Dr. Blodgett was

Constantine Blodgett

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a conspicuous personage in his town, and that not by in- trusion, but by force of character; because he had well- settled opinions, the good of the community at heart, the courage to say what he thought, and the sound common sense which, directing him aright, he was able to bring to bear upon those with whom he came in contact. Very few men possessed so clear a head; no man ever had a kinder heart, or a truer conscience. In all those years the influence he has exerted as a man upon the social and moral progress of the community among which he moved has been for good, greatly for good, unceasingly for good. Pawtucket is wiser and better, in a worldly sense, for the life and words and conduct of Constantine Blodgett." He married, December 8, 1831, at Rice Creek, South Caro- lina, Hannah M. Dana, born in Sharon, Vermont, in 1806. Their children were, Maria, Sarah, George D., Charles C., Edward G., and Lucy W., only two of whom, Sarah and Edward, are now living.

ACKSON, HON. RICHARD, son of Richard and Susan (Waterman) Jackson, was born in Providence, July 3, 1764. His ancestry on both his father's and his mother's side, were among the most honored and respectable citizens of Rhode Island. Stephen Jackson, from whom he descended, was an Irish gentleman, who came to Rhode Island from Kilkenny County in the early days of the colonial history. The subject of this sketch was trained in part in the schools of his native town, and in part in Pomfret, Connecticut, to which place his father took his family in the time of the Revolutionary War, to place them beyond the excitements and dangers to which they were exposed in their home in Providence from the attacks of the British. Mr. Jackson early embarked in mercantile and manufacturing pursuits, in which he achieved success. He was associated with Cyrus Butler and Seth Wheaton, names distinguished among the merchants of Providence. In 1808 Mr. Jackson was elected a member of the Tenth Congress of the United States, being chosen a Rep- resentative to take the place of Hon. Nehemiah R. Knight, deceased. Subsequently he was re-elected to the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Congresses. His whole term of service lasted from November 11, 1808, to March 4, 1815. Mr. Jackson was a prominent citizen of Providence, and took an interest in all that concerned the welfare of his native town. For thirty-eight years he was President of .the Washington Insurance Company in Providence. Under his administration the company took a high rank among similar institutions in Rhode Island. In 1809 he was chosen a Trustee of Brown University, and his good com- mon-sense and excellent judgment rendered his counsels always worthy of respect and consideration by the corpora- tion. He remained in the office until his death, which oc- curred at Providence, April 18, 1838. Mr. Jackson married

Nabby Wheaton, March 19, 1795. Their children were Susan, Charles, Hannah, Mary, George, Abby, and Phebe. Charles was Governor of Rhode Island in 1845-46, and Henry became distinguished as a Baptist clergyman.

pen YER, BENJAMIN, M.D., was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, July 8, 1768. He was the eldest but one of seven children of Charles Dyer, 3d, who married Phebe Pearce, daughter of Nathan Pearce. His

9 father was the son of Charles Dyer, Jr., who mar- ried Abigail Williams, daughter of Thomas Williams, and great-granddaughter of Roger Williams. Charles Dyer, Ist, of Providence, came from Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, and purchased the farm now known as " Cabbage Neck," Cranston, his deed being datcd July 25, 1712. He married Mary Lapham, and they had seven children. The subject of this sketch received such educa- tion as the schools of his day afforded, and at an early age entered upon the study of medicine, under the direction of Nathan Truman, who was then one of the prominent phy- sicians of Providence. Dr. Dyer engaged successfully in the practice of medicine, and became associated with his brother, Charles Dyer, in the drug business, in Providence, in which he continued until his death. Hc pursued his profession with great assiduity for a period of twenty years, and then relinquished his professional business in order to devote his time to mercantile and manufacturing pursuits, and to the improvement of the extensive landed property belonging to himself and the firm of which he was a part- ner. His apothecary business rapidly increased, and the firm became large dealers in chemicals and dyestuffs, from the sale of which a handsome fortune was realized. In 1816, in company with his brother Charles, Benjamin Hoppin, Stephen Waterman, and others, he became inter- ested in the purchase and improvement of lands on the west side of the river, which then belonged to the Field estate. They filled in and laid out Dyer, Dorrance, Eddy, and other streets in that vicinity, and built wharves and store-houses, investing immense sums of money in the enterprise with great advantage to the city and serious loss to themselves. Dr. Dyer was also one of the originators of the Providence Dyeing, Bleaching and Calendering Company, and of the Phoenix Iron Foundry. In 1824 he built the Dyer block, on Broad Street. He also built the steam-mill on Eddy Street, now owned by Amos D. Smith & Co. He owned a large tract of land in Cranston, now Elmwood, between Broad and Greenwich streets, where he had a fine country residence for a summer home, and where he was interested in various agricultural enterprises. At one time he devoted considerable attention to the raising of currants for the manufacture of wine, and also to silk growing on his own premises. Some of his friends still remember seeing him at an agricultural fair dressed in a beautiful suit of silk

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made from products of his own culture. Ilis energy and enterprising spirit gave vigor and promised success to cvery undertaking, and the deep interest which he continually manifested in the public welfare caused him to be regarded as one of the most useful citizens of his day. As a phy- sician, he was skilful and devoted to his profession. He often sacrificed time, money, and professional services for the relief of the suffering poor. As an instance of his be- nevolence, it is said that during his professional career he was attending a poor woman who was dangerously ill with typhoid fever, and seeing that she could not recover if she remained in the unwholesome district where she lived, he removed her to his own home and cared for her until her health was restored. Ile was noted for his sociability, hospitality, and benevolence. Dr. Dyer was always one of the first to promote all practical charities and public institutions for good. Being of a modest and very retiring disposition, he never accepted official positions. He was a member of a sect known as Sandominians, of which it is said there is but one society in this country, at Danbury, Connecticut. The few members of the society in Provi- dence met with him and his family at his house, and he conducted the religious services. At his death, which oc- curred May 15, 1831, his family became members of the Beneficent Congregational Church. Dr. Dyer was married April 20, 1788, by Rev. Dr. James Manning, to Abigail, daughter of Benoni Pearce. She was born August 9, 1763, and died April 22, 1831. They had eight children : Mar- tha Pearce, Phebe, Abigail Pearce, Pardon Bowen, Eliza, Anstis, Benjamin, and Frances Elizabeth, of whom only Frances E., widow of Thomas J. Stead, is now living.

225 YER, BENJAMIN, JR., son of Dr. Benjamin and Abigail (Pearce) Dyer, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, May 1, 1302. He was educated in a private school and under a French tutor, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the French language. He early became a clerk in the drug store of his father and uncle, and on the death of his father, entered into partnership with Charles Dyer, Jr., in the same business, in which he continued for several years, and then for a short time engaged in the manufacture of glass. His time, however, was chiefly employed in the care of the large estate left by his father, the management of which made him an active and responsible factor in the several corporations in which his father was interested. In the various positions in which he was thus called upon to serve, he exhibited superior business capacity, and won the esteem of those with whom he came in contact. He was a member of the Beneficent Congregational Church of Providence, of which he was Treasurer for nearly thirty years, and was also a member of the Standing Committee. Mr. Dyer spent much time and money in helping the poor

and needy, and in building up the church. In contributing to benevolent objects, his principle was to give so that he would feel it. He was an carnest, faithful, Christian worker, and, like his father, was especially interested in the promotion of public enterprises in the city. Ile was thrice marricd. His first wife was Harriet Adie, daughter of Alexander Adie, of Providence, to whom he was mar- ried September 25, 1822. They had three children, Har- riet Adie, Benjamin, and Abby Pearce. On the 22d of May, 1829, he married Amelia Andrews, daughter of David and Phebe Andrews. The issue of this marriage was one child, Amelia Frances, who was married, October 25, 1854, to Dr. Amos Palmer, son of Dr. George and Emma Palmer, of Stonington, Connecticut. Dr. Palmer was born in Ston- ington, Connecticut, February 18, 1827, and graduated at the New York Medical College. He practiced medi- cine in Stonington, for five years, and was then com- pelled to relinquish his professional duties on account of failing health. He died in Providence, June 4, 1861. His wife survived him, and still resides in Providence. They had two children, Nellie, who died at the age of two years, and Amos Dyer Palmer, who is now a student. Mr. Dyer's last wife was Harriet S., daughter of Rev. Dr. Mark Tucker, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, to whom he was married May 27, 1841. He died February 19, 1862. His widow now resides in Providence.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 38

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