The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 42

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

USA > Rhode Island > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island > Part 42

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

ELLEN, HON. WHEATON, was born at Seekonk, Massachusetts, October 26, 1806, and was the son of Samuel and Anne (Read) Allen. His apre father was the son of Dr. Samuel Allen, of See- konk, a prominent physician of his time; his mother's native town was Barrington, Rhode Island. Mr. Allen's early days were spent upon a farm, and after ob- taining such an education as the schools of his day afforded, at about the age of eighteen he shipped at Providence in the merchant service. Having inherited a fondness for a seaman's life, he exhibited rare energy and ability in his chosen calling, and soon became a shipmaster. During his career as captain, he made frequent voyages from New York to Cuba, and various southern ports in the United States. He also sailed to many European ports, including London, Liverpool, and St. Petersburg. In all his voyages he was eminently successful, and enjoyed the reputation of an able and reliable officer. In 1860, having acquired a compe- tency, he retired from the sea, and spent the remainder of his life with his family in Warren, Rhode Island. The citizens of the town, realizing his worth, immediately

186

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

elected him, in 1861, a member of the town council, to which position he was annually re-elected until his death. During many of these years he was also one of the town auditors. In 1865 he ably represented Warren in the Lower House of the General Assembly. In 1868 he was elected State Senator from Warren, and during the year served on several important committees. His official life in the town covered the period of the Civil War, and the many extra duties naturally connected with office at that time were performed by him in a most creditable man- ner. For some time he was a Custom-house Officer, and for many years, until his death, was a Director in the Hope National Bank. In consideration of the many courtesies extended by him to the Warren Artillery, he was chosen an honorary member of that organization. In 1840 he be- came a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In April, 1867, he united with the Warren Baptist Church, of which he was a generous and ardent supporter, and in which, for many years, he held the office of Clerk, and served as a member of the Standing Committee. He mar- ried, September 28, 1840, Maria Haile, daughter of John and Mary Ann (Lewis) Haile, of Warren. They had two children, Maria Haile, who died in infancy, and James Wheaton, born in 1847. Mr. Allen died July 30, 1871. He enjoyed the esteem and confidence of the community, and was regarded as one of the most upright and useful citizens of Warren.

G URGESS, HON. THOMAS, second son of Prince Burgess, was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, GCUSUES 50+ November 29, 1779. His ancestor, Thomas Bur- gess, arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, with a young family, not far from 1630. He resided for a short time in Lynn, Massachusetts, and then took up his resi dence in Sandwich, Massachusetts, becoming a large land- holder, and when he had become advanced in years, was known as " Goodman " Burgess. He lived on his estate forty-eight years, and died February 13, 1685. The third son of this Thomas, Jacob, had a son Ebenezer. The third son of Ebenezer, also named Ebenezer, had three sons, one of whom, Prince, was the father of the subject of this sketch. We are told with reference to him that " in persevering industry and religious trust he served God and his generation to the good age of eighty-four years. In the Revolutionary War he joined the armies of his country for a short campaign, and he bore the title of Lieutenant to the end of his life." Thomas Burgess, known for many years as " Judge " Burgess, was a grad- uate of Brown University in the class of 1800, under the Presidency of the distinguished Dr. Maxcy. The theme of his oration was " Civil Dissensions considered as a Prelude to a Change of Government." After his grad- uation he studied law with Judge Barnes, and being ad- initted to the bar, took a high rank, especially as a coun-

sellor, in his profession. At the time of his decease this discriminating eulogium was passed upon him : “ Judge Burgess, distinguished through life by scrupulous integrity, by habits of great industry, and by the conscientious dis- charge of every trust, as well as by eminent sagacity and prudence, merited and acquired the confidence of his fel- low-citizens in a measure that is accorded only to the most blameless. ITis counsel was sought with a peculiar reliance on its value, and the weightiest affairs, the most delicate duties, were intrusted to him without apprehen- sion." He held the office of Judge of the Municipal Court from the organization of the city government of Providence, in 1832, till within a few years of his death. Of the Court of Common Pleas he was Chief Justice for a number of years. His industry, and the care with which he managed his affairs, secured for him a prosperous posi- tion in life, and he was a generous contributor to all worthy causes which appealed to his charity. In the year 1828 he was elected a member of the Corporation of Brown University, and remained in office till his death. For the last twelve years or more of his life he was a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Rhode Island. He married, November 16, 1803, Mary, daughter of An- drew Mackie, M.D., a lady of Scotch descent, residing in Wareham, Massachusetts, his native place. Their children were as follows : Sarah A., born July 8, 1804, who died in childhood; Thomas Mackie, for ten successive years Mayor of Providence, born June 6, 1806; Sarah A., 2d, born August 9, 1808, married to Amasa Paine, April 22, 1834; George, afterward Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, born October 31, 1809; Mary M., born October 10, 1813, mar- ried to Hon. John Kingsbury August 19, 1834; Frederic, born August 4, 1818; and Alexander, now Bishop of the Quincy Episcopal Diocese, Illinois. After a long and honorable life, devoted to the service of God and man, Judge Burgess died in Providence May 18, 1856.

OPPIN, COLONEL BENJAMIN, JR., was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, May 26, 1777. He en- tered upon active business-life when very young, going to the Southern States, and to the Isle of France, as supercargo. He was taken into partner- ship by his father, in the auctioneering commission busi- ness, and afterwards established the well-known commis- sion house of B. & T. C. Hoppin, in the East India and China trade, at a time when Providence was one of the centres of that great commerce. When a young man he was made Colonel of Volunteers of the Rhode Island Militia, and he also served as a member of the Rhode Island Legislature; but his life was mainly passed as a business-man, carrying on, and, in some instances, origin- ating, many important institutions, such as " The Wash- ington Insurance Company," "The Providence Dyeing, Bleaching and Calendering Company," " The Providence

187

BIOGRAPIIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Savings Bank," and " The Providence Bank." He mar- ried, November 14, 1802, Esther Phillips Warner, of Mid- dletown, Connecticut, a lineal descendant of Rev. John Cotton, the founder of Boston. His children were Ben- jamin, Levi, William, Elizabeth, Carrington, and James Mason. Mr. Hoppin was a representative merchant of Providence, highly esteemed for his stern, uncompromising integrity. His manners were dignified and polished, par- taking somewhat of the old regime, and he had marked geniality and hospitality of temper. He was of a com- manding presence, and retained his vigor and vivacity of mind to the time of his death, May 27, 1865, at the age of eighty-eight.

ING, DAVID, M.D., a distinguished Rhode Island physician, was born in Raynham, Massachusetts, in 1774. His preparatory college studies were pursued under the direction of Rev. Peres Fobes, LL.D., and he graduated from Brown University in the class of 1796. Several members of his class attained to great distinction in their different professions. He chose the profession of medicine as his calling, and with his classmate, the distinguished Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff, so long a physician in Boston, he entered the office of Dr. James Thatcher, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, as a student. Hav- ing completed his studies, he took up his residence in Newport, and entered at once upon an extensive practice placed in his hands by the death of Dr. Isaac Senter. He enjoyed peculiar advantages as a student, in consequence of coming into possession of the rare and valuable library of Dr. Senter. This library, as we learn from Dr. Usher Parsons, "contained the manuscript lectures of Cline, Hay- garth, and Astley Cooper; the admirable physiological treatises of Haller and Whyte; Morgagni on pathology ; fine copies of John and William Hunter's works, and the complete works of Cullen, whose rational theory and prac- tical views may justly be said to have created a new era in medical science." Dr. King commenced his practice in Newport at or about the time that the public mind was drawn to the consideration of the vaccine disease, and in spite of the most violent prejudice, he resorted to vaccina- tion as a preventive against small-pox. The first person who, in Rhode Island, submitted to vaccination, which was ad- ministered by Dr. King, was Walter Cornell, of Newport. In addition to his ordinary practice, Dr. King held the appointment of Surgeon to a detachment of United States troops stationed at Fort Wolcott. He was especially suc- cessful in treating cases of yellow fever in the fort, and advanced and strongly held to the non-contagiousness of the disease. He was an active member of the Rhode Island Medical Society, holding in it successively the offices of Censor, Vice-President, and President, being elected to the last office in June, 1830, and holding it until July, 1834.

In the various literary and philanthropic institutions of Newport he took an interest. For many years he was a director of the Redwood Library, and for some time the President of its Board of Directors. No good object deserving attention, which would in any way benefit his fellow-citizens, failed to enlist his regards, and he occupied a position of the highest character in the community. He died November 14, 1836. The wife of Dr. King was Anne Gordon, by whom he had five children, four sons and one daughter, Ann, who died in 1843. The oldest son, George Gordon, became a lawyer. He married Elizabeth Leaver, of Washington. The second son is the present Dr. David King, of Newport. The third son was Edward, who be- came a merchant, and died in 1876. The fourth son was William Henry.

NIGHT, REV. RICHARD, a celebrated preacher, and author of the History of the General and Six-Principle Baptists, was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, October 5, 1771. His father was Deacon Stephen Knight, of the South Scituate Six- Principle Baptist Church, who was a descendant of Rich- ard Knight, Esq., who came from England in the early history of the State, and was one of the first settlers in the town of Cranston. The subject of this sketch resided in the town of his nativity during his life, with the exception of about three years. On his conversion, in early man- hood, he worshipped with the Six-Principle Church in Scituate, with which he united in 1804, and enjoyed the ministry of Rev. John Westcott, of the Foster Church. His activity and power as a speaker soon brought him into public notice. He was ordained as Pastor of the Scituate Church, October 19, 1809, by Elders Westcott, Manchester, and Sprague. This church he continued to serve with great fidelity and success till his death. Of one of the revivals that occurred under his ministry, he says, in his history, " A reformation took place, and, in the course of three years, one hundred and fifty souls were added to this society, when it consisted of two hundred and seventeen members." His church finally numbered over four hun- dred members. In 1827 he published, under the patron- age of the Rhode Island Yearly Meeting of Six-Principle Baptists, his valuable octavo volume, of about 370 pages, entitled History of the General and Six-Principle Bap- tists in Europe and America : In Two Parts. This work exhibits much research, and is now of great historic worth, as it contains the annals of many Rhode Island churches, and valuable biographical sketches. His ministry was long and highly honored. For fifty-three years he occu- pied the pulpit of the Scituate Church, " not ceasing in his labors till within a few months of his decease," which oc- curred in Cranston, at his residence, April 10, 1863, in the ninety-second year of his age. His son, Rev. Samuel B. Knight, born in Cranston, June 24, 1802, was ordained

188

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Assistant Pastor of the Scituate Baptist Church, November 28, 1839; preached there and in different places in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and finally dicd in the old Knight homestead in Cranston, January 25, 1879.

HILD, CAPTAIN SHUBAEL, son of Caleb and Mary (Colc) Child, was born in Rehoboth, Massachu- setts, September 28, 1779. His father, a native of Warren, Rhode Island, was for many years a noted ship-builder of that town, and at the time Warren was destroyed by British troops, had just completed a new house, which was burned. The family fled to Reho. both, Massachusetts, where they remained for a short time, and returned to Warren soon after the birth of the subject of this sketch, which occurred in Rehoboth, in the home of Shubael Peck, whose name was given him. Captain Child was educated in the schools of Warren, and at an early age was apprenticed to Nathan Phillips, a printer, with whom he remained eight years. After learning his trade he began a sea-faring life, and by rapid promotion soon became a ship-master. In this capacity he sailed many years for the celebrated shipping-house of William Wilson, of Baltimore, Maryland. He followed the sea constantly until 1812, when he established himself in Balti- more as a job printer. At the close of the War of 1812 he resumed his position as ship-master, in which he con- tinued until 1825. After giving up the positions of captain and marine merchant, he returned to Warren and engaged in the whaling busines. His former em- ployers having unbounded confidence in his integrity and business capacity, took a large interest in the ships with him. He retained an interest in the shipping business for many years after retiring from active life. During his career as captain he visited nearly all parts of the world, and at the time of the great famine in Ireland conveyed the first ship-load of provisions to the starving people. For sev- eral years he held the office of President of the Warren Marine Insurance Company, and was also for a time President of the Warren Bank. In 1834 he became a member of the Warren Baptist Church, of which he was ever after an earnest and liberal supporter, and in which he was for many years Church Auditor. He married, May 7, 1807, Priscilla B. Child, daughter of Sylvester and Pris- cilla. (Bradford) Child, who died December 26, 1840, the issue of the marriage being three children, Mary Cole, Harriet Newell, and Charles Thompson. Mrs. Child's father was a ship-builder in Warren, and a direct descend- ant of Governor Bradford, of Massachusetts. Her mother was a native of Bristol, Rhode Island. On the 21st of May, 1843, Captain Child married Adaline Croade, daugh- ter of John Croade, of Warren, who died May 16, 1875. Captain Child died January 4, 1876, at the age of ninety- six, being the oldest citizen of Warren at the time of his

death. He was a high-minded Christian gentleman, whose enterprising spirit and exemplary character reflected honor upon the town in which he resided.

10 ALBONE, EDWARD G., an American portrait painter, was born in Newport, in August, 1777. He exhibited a love for art when he was a mere boy, and at the early age of seventeen removed -to Providence, where he devoted him- self to miniature painting, and to the painting of portraits. In the spring of 1796 he took up his residence in Boston, and was soon fully occupied with his professional duties. His reputation, especially as a miniature painter, having become established, he visited the principal cities of the North, where he found abundant opportunities for the ex- ercise of his art. With Washington Allston he sailed for Europe in 1801. He resided in London for several months, enjoying the treasures of art in that great city, and improv- ing himself in various ways in his profession. While re- siding in London he painted "The Hours; the Past, Present, and the Coming." The history of this gem of art, which may be seen in the northwest anteroom of the Providence Athenæum, it may be a matter of interest to refer to. As already intimated, Malbone painted it in England. It came into the possession of his sister, Mrs. H. Whitehorne, of Newport. Although for a long time hung up and exposed to the light, it retained the freshness and beauty of coloring it had when originally painted. Dunlap says, " I have seen it more than once, and never saw it without renewed admiration." It is supposed that. the subject was suggested from a picture to which the title of "The Hours" was given, which he saw, and very much admired, in London. The following verses, written by an appreciative poet, were addressed to the artist through one of the New York papers :

" Whoe'er beheld thy rosy Hours And could, unfelt, their beauties see, The mind is his where darkness lowers, And his the heart that mine should flee.

" May memory to thy mind present The past with gentle, placid mien, When hope, prophetic spirit sent, Waving her golden hair was seen.

" And may thy present hours be bright As the fair angel smiling there ; Without a cloud to dim their light- Without a thought that sets in care.

" But for the future-Oh ! may they Be crowned with bliss, and wealth, and fame ! And may this little humble lay, Be lost 'midst songs that sound thy name."

189

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

On his return to America, Malbone was for several years, with rare devotion, occupied with his professional pur- suits. His health, at length, gave way under his close application to his labors. Consumption marked him as one of its victims. He sought to recover his wasted ener- gies by resorting to a milder climate. But the attempt was vain. He died at Savannah, Georgia, May 7, 1807, in the thirty-second year of his age. Rhode Island may justly be proud of having been the birthplace of two such distinguished artists as Gilbert Charles Stuart and Edward G. Malbone.

ASON, HON. JAMES BROWN, son of John and Rose Anna (Brown) Mason, was born in Thompson, Connecticut, in 1774. He was descended from an English ancestry. Three families of the original stock, all of them representing different types of character, came to this country at different times. The first, John Mason, the Puritan, settled first in Massachusetts as early as 1630, ten years after the landing of the Pilgrims. Subsequently he removed to Connecticut. George Mason, or as he was generally called, Colonel George Mason, was a member of the English Parliament, and well known as a Cavalier. He was in the famous battle of Worcester, England, in 1651, and after the defeat of the royal army by Cromwell, he fled in disguise, came to America, and set- tled in Virginia. The Southern Masons sprang from him, none of this particular family having ever settled north of Mason and Dixon's line. Samson Mason, from whom the subject of this sketch descended, was, in England, a Round- head, and as such opposed to his brother. He was an officer in Cromwell's army; a radical in politics, and like some of the most distinguished officers and soldiers in the army, a Baptist in faith. He came to this country about 1650. His first home was in Dorchester, Massachusetts, from which place he removed to Rehoboth, and subse- quently for " conscience sake " to Swansea. We learn that before his removal from Rehoboth he had assisted in building the Baptist meeting-house in Swansea, for which he was summoned before the authorities of Plymouth col- ony, fined fifteen shillings, and warned to leave the juris- diction of the colony. " So far as these families were con- cerned, the old issues of Roundhead and Cavalier, brought by George and Samson to the country of their adoption, continued to exist in their descendants. Two hundred years passed away, with the moulding and modifying influence of republican institutions, but in the recent struggle between freedom and slavery, the seed sown in Norfolk and Reho- both bore their legitimate fruit in the antagonisms of the South and the North." James Brown Mason was a gradu- ate of Brown University under President Manning in the class of 1791. Among his classmates were Hon. William Hunter, LL. D., and Hon. Jonathan Russell, LL.D., names

distinguished in the annals of American history. He studied medicine and practiced for a time in Rhode Island, and then removed to South Carolina, where also he was a physician. Here he married, and on the decease of his wife, about the year 1798, he returned to Rhode Island, and shortly after having become a member of the family of Mr. John Brown, one of the " Four Brown Brothers," he became intimately connected with that gentleman in the management of his business affairs. For several years he was a member of the General Assembly, and Speaker of the House from February, 1812, to May, 1814. He repre- sented the State in Congress from December 4, 1815, to March 4, 1819. He died September 6, 1819. The second wife of Mr. Mason was Alice, daughter of John and Sarah (Smith) Brown, whom he married July 16, 1800. Their children were Abby Mason, who married Nicholas Brown ; Sarah Brown Mason, who married first George B. Ruggles, and second Levi C. Eaton ; and Rosa Anna Mason, who married William Grosvenor.

@PRAGUE, WILLIAM, the first calico-printer in Rhode Island, and one of the first to introduce that busi- ness into America, son of William and Mary (Waterman) Sprague, was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, June 5, 1773. His ancestry is traced back to Jonathan Sprague, first mentioned in Rhode Island his- tory in 1681, who for many years was a member of the General Assembly from Providence, being Speaker of that body in 1703, was widely known as a Baptist minister, and wrote the able and spicy letter of February 23, 1722, in answer to the request made by certain Congregational clergymen of Massachusetts to the leading citizens of Providence. The family, by marriage, was connected with Roger Williams, and has in later years given to the world such men of letters as Rev. William B. Sprague, of Albany, New York, and Charles Sprague, the poet of Bos- ton. The Spragues are traced back through Wales and Holland to an Italian origin. William early engaged in the manufacture of cotton cloths, spinning the yarn and giving the weaving to families in the country near and far. At last he introduced the art of calico-printing in its first forms, beginning with the styles known as " Indigo Blues." These works were constructed in Cranston, about three miles from Providence. Mr. Sprague's sons, Amasa and William, who had been trained in the mills, were at length received into business with him as partners. New cotton- mills were erected in Cranston, Johnston, and the village of Natick, and throughout the country arose a great de- mand for the calicoes. Even when he had acquired wealth he preserved his wonted industry and simplicity of habits. The following anecdote, illustrative of his character, is re- lated of him: Having driven his double ox-team into Providence with a load of ship-timber, he met the solid

190

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

men of that city gravely talking about the straitened affairs of Samuel Slater, who, it was fearcd, might fail. Having listened to the statements made, he finally said with em- phasis, " Gentlemen, these expressions of sympathy for Mr. Slater are all very well; but my sympathy is to the extent of ten thousand dollars." He then cracked his whip and drove on. Mr. Sprague married Anne Potter, whose mother was a Williams, and a lincal descendant from Roger Wil- liams. He had three sons, Amasa, William, and Benoni, and two daughters, Susan and Almira. Mr. Sprague and his sons were men of large stature and great physical strength. He died March 28, 1836. His extensive busi- ness fell into the hands of his sons, Amasa and William, who formed a new firm under the name of A. & W. Sprague, a firm that has since entered largely into the his- tory of the State. Amasa studied the nature of chemicals and dyes and the mixing of colors, and inaugurated the great advance on the " Indigo Blues." He was also a successful merchant. William looked especially to, the de- partment of machinery. New mills were built, and the business was largely extended, using all the water-power at Natick, Arctic, and Quidnick. The mills were of brick or stone, many stories high, and the dwelling-houses around them formed notable villages.

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

The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 42

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