The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 43

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

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er TILLMAN, REV. MATTHEW, son of Deacon Elisha and Mary (Davis) Stillman, was born in Westerly, December 11, 1770, but early removed with his parents to a farm in Hopkinton, about two and a half miles from the village, where he received an excel- lent home education, spent most of his days, and died. At an early age he united with the Sabbatarian Church in the town, and immediately rose to a position of respect and influence. March 13, 1794, he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon David Nichols. He was ordained as an Elder June 3, 1804. The town in some portions was annoyed in his day by a sect of enthusiasts called Belden- ites, who believed in their own special inspiration, and claimed a spirit of prophecy ; but Mr. Stillman wisely de- feated their divisive designs by his silence. Mr. Stillman was of medium height and dignified mien, of a social and cheerful disposition and courteous manners. He died of apoplexy while sitting at his table, March 9, 1838, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and thirty-fourth of his min- istry.

ADELFORD, HON. SETH, Governor of Rhode Island from 1869 to 1873, son of John and Mary (Hcath) Padelford, was born in Taunton, Massa- chusetts, October 3, 1807. He was a descendant of Jonathan Padelford, who came to this country from England in early colonial times. One of the family,

John, a graduate of Yale College, was a surgcon in the American army during the Revolution, and died at Saint Eustatia, a prisoner of war. Seth Padelford received a common-school education at Taunton, and while yct a lad went to Providence, where he immediately found employ- ment in the wholesale grocery business. Soon afterward he engaged in the business on his own account. He carried it on successfully for a period of nearly forty years, when he retired with a competence, and with a good reputation as a careful financier and a public-spirited citizen. His habits of life, and his intelligent interest in the affairs of the community caused him to be regarded as one who possessed qualities of character which would make him a faithful public servant. He was therefore frequently called upon to fill positions of trust and responsibility. IIe was elected a member of the City Council of Providence, in 1837, and, also, in the same year, a member of the School Committee. He filled these offices for four years, during which time he performed an important part in the work of reorganizing and grading the Public Schools, and of building the required schoolhouses. He was again a mem- ber of the City Council in the years 1851-52, and a member of the School Committee in the years 1851-53. From 1864 to 1873, inclusive, he was once more a member of the School Committee, and did efficient work upon its Executive Com- mittee. In 1852-53 he was a representative of the city in the lower branch of the legislature. In 1863 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island, and held the office for two years. In 1868 he was a Presidential Elector, and helped to cast the vote of the State for General Grant. In 1869 he was elected Governor, and continued to hold the office by repeated elections till 1873, when he declined longer to be a candidate for the office. Immediately upon his retirement he was elected one of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the city, and continued to serve in that capacity until January, 1877, when he resigned the position, and declined all further public honors. His suc- cess in business naturally brought him into intimate rela- tions with the various interests of the city. His counsel was sought in furtherance of enterprises represented by the banks, insurance companies, and manufacturing corpora- tions. In March, 1861, he was elected a Director, and immediately thereafter, President of the Bank of North America, and held the office till the time of his death. He also served as a member of other boards of direction. He was a warm advocate of the anti-slavery and temper- ance reforms, and continued an earnest supporter of these movements until his death. He was chairman of a com- mittee to call a meeting of the citizens of Providence, March 7, 1854, to protest against the introduction of sla- very into the free territory of Nebraska. He was one of the Vice-Presidents of a meeting held June 7, 1856, to express the sentiments of the people regarding the assault made, May 22d, upon Charles Sumner by Preston S. Brooks. He was also for several years a Vice-President of the New

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England Emigrant Aid Society, and was a generous con- tributor to its funds. After the emancipation of the slaves he was President of the Rhode Island Association for the Benefit of the Freedmen. His moral and political influ- ence was always exerted in opposition to slavery. In the work of education, charity, and religion, Governor Padelford was prominent and effective. As Governor, he was Chairman of the State Board of Education, and also Chairman of the Trustees of the State Normal School. He was especially efficient in the re-establishment of the Normal School, and both in and out of office was very ardently interested in its success. He contributed freely and generously to Antioch College, Ohio, and to Brown University. He was a mem- ber of the Rhode Island Historical Society from 1857. He was a Director of the Providence Athenaeum in 1858- 62. His interest in the education of the people was also manifested in the provision which he made by will for the establishment of a public library in case his surviving heirs should die without issue. As an active member of the Providence Aid Society, as a Trustee of the Benefit Street Ministry at large, from its beginning, in 1841, until 1875, and President of that corporation for five years, from 1870 to 1875, as ex-officio a Trustee, while Governor, and in 1877-78 an Auditor of the Rhode Island Hospital, and as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Animals, he showed his readiness to en- gage in works of benevolence and mercy, and his efficiency in their direction. Very early in life he became a member of a Christian church. He was one of the original founders of the Westminster Congregational (Unitarian) Society, in January, 1828; was its Treasurer in 1831-32; and its Pres- ident for seven years, from June, 1860, to October, 1867. For five years, from 1869, he was President of the Chan- ning Conference. He was also a Vice-President of the National Unitarian Conference from 1870 till the time of his death. For four years, from 1866, a Vice-President of the American Unitarian Association, and for several years a Vice-President of the Rhode Island Bible Society. He spent nearly a year with his family in Europe, from July, 1857, to June, 1858. On his return he made a valu- able gift to the Providence Athenaeum of three works on art, in thirteen volumes, relating to the history of painting and sculpture in Italy. He indulged his taste for art by the purchase of several paintings of merit and costly pieces in marble and bronze. He was twice married; first, to Miss Louisa Rhodes, October 19, 1834, and the second time to Mrs. Mary (Barton) Pierce, October 2, 1845. He died August 26, 1878, after a sickness of a few weeks' duration. His widow, and two children of the former marriage-Miss Maria Louisa Padelford and Mrs. Emily Rhodes Remington-with a grandson, Seth Padelford Remington, survive him. There was no issue of the second marriage. Governor Padelford won his way from obscurity to prominence and honor, and from poverty to wealth, by the exercise of prudence, industry, and perse-

verance. In every position which he filled he endeavored faithfully, conscientiously, and according to his best judg- ment, to perform every duty which belonged to it, even to the slightest detail. This was especially manifest in his administration as Governor of the State." He had, what is too often wanting in official life, the sense of personal respon- sibility. He accepted the burdens, as well as the honors, of the offices which he held, and bore them with rare fidelity. He was a man of great persistence of purpose, of unwearied industry, of deep convictions, and good im- pulses. His faith in Divine Providence in all the circum- stances of life was unshaken, and from the beginning to the end he endeavored to illustrate with constancy the principles of religion and duty which he had cherished in his early days.

EXTER, EBENEZER KNIGHT, son of Knight and Phebe (Harris) Dexter, was born in Providence, April 26, 1773. Early in life he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and pursued his business with such industry and careful attention, that, in a few years, he accumulated a handsome fortune. He was Mar- shal of the District of Rhode Island for several years be- fore his death. " He held the office," says Judge Staples, " in most inauspicious times for himself. During the em- bargo, non-intercourse, and war, his duties were arduous, and sometimes directly contravening the wishes and the interests of a large portion of the community. Yet he so carefully and skilfully managed, that he lost not the esteem and respect of his fellow-townsmen, nor the confidence of the government." The condition of the poor of his na- tive town seems to have awakened his deepest sympathy, and induced him to make generous provisions for their wants. It was found that by his will he had committed, in trust, to the town of Providence, what must ever be re- garded as a princely donation. The Rhode Island Ameri- can, of the date of August 20, 1824, a few days after the death of Mr. Dexter, which occurred August 10, says : " The forty-acre farm, in Providence Neck, a part of this liberal bequest, is given on the condition that the town shall erect thereon, within five years, an almshouse, which is to be inclosed with an extensive and permanent wall, within twenty years, and we hope, ere long, to see a Dexter Asylum rearing its walls in these pleasant and productive fields." The freemen, in town-meeting, No- vember 22, 1824, voted to accept the gift thus generously bestowed, on the conditions upon which it was made by the donor, and directed that the property, to be forever known as the " Dexter Donation," should be kept distinct from the other property and funds of the town, by the town treasurer. In 1826, a building committee was ap- pointed to superintend the erection of the Dexter Asylum, which cost somewhat over $43,000, and was completed in

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1830. It was in all respects a first-class structure, and ad- mirably adapted to the uscs for which it was designed. The stone wall, built around the forty-acre lot, which, ac- cording to the directions of the will, was to be three feet at the surface of the ground and eight feet high, was finished in 1840. It is 6220 fect in length, and, as origi- nally built, contained 7840 cords of stone, and cost about $22,000. Some changes and improvements on the build- ing have been made within a few years, which have added greatly to its convenience, and its architectural beauty. The Asylum began to be occupied in the latter part of the summer of 1828, under the superintendence of Mr. Gideon Palmer. The number of paupers received into it at first being sixty-four, including five children. The Dexter Asylum is an institution, of which, with its beautiful sur- roundings, the citizens of Providence are justly proud. The far-seeing sagacity and benevolence of its donor have secured for the poor of the city a comfortable home for all time to come, not surpassed by the almshouses of any other city in the country. Mr. Dexter married, January I, 1805, Miss Waitstill Howell, of Providence. They had no children.

HARLE, HON. CALEB, was born February 25, 1771, and died July 13, 1851. Mr. Earle came from Massachusetts to Providence while a young man. He was a carpenter by trade, but after awhile be- came interested in the lumber business as one of the firm of Earle & Branch; was successful, and became wealthy. He was also interested in navigation, being an owner in several vessels, and built one large brig, the Francis. At one time he was Colonel of a military com- pany called the Volunteers, and was considerably inter- ested in politics, being a Republican as then opposed to the Federals. He held a commission from the General Government at Washington, to be used in case of neces- sity in the times of the Hartford Convention. For several years he was a Representative from Providence in the Legislature of the State, was Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island from 1821 to 1824, and twice, in 1824 and again in 1828, an Elector of President of the United States. He was a director in one of the city banks, and was interested in several others; was a member of the Rhode Island Mechanics' Association, and was quite prominent as a member of the Masonic fraternity. In all his relations, public and private, Governor Earle was re- garded as eminently a true man. Frankness, benevolence, candor, and integrity, constituted the prominent traits of his character in his intercourse with society. In his do- mestic relations he was ever kindhearted, sincere, and affec- tionate. He married Amey Arnold. They had two sons and three daughters,-James M., Henry, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, and Francis, all deceased,

WILLIAMS, REV. THOMAS, son of Joseph and Lucy (Witter) Williams, was born in Pomfret, Con- necticut, November 5, 1779, in that portion of the town known as Brooklyn. At the age of sixteen he entered Williams College, then in its infancy, where he remained between two and three years, when he was obliged to leave on account of impaired health. After a brief respite from study he entered, in 1798, the Junior class in Yale College, and graduated in 1800. From 1800 to 1803 he was engaged in teaching in Beverly, Massachusetts, Woodstock and Norwich, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts. He was licensed as a preacher by the Windham County Congregational Association, May 17, 1803. Late in that year the Connecticut Missionary Society sent him as a Home Missionary to the southern portion of the State of New York, and on his return he was ordained, May 16, 1804, at Killingly, Connecticut. In the early part of this year, the celebrated Dr. Emmons gave him instruction in theology, and thus was formed a life-long friendship betwen these two theologians, who in the main sympathized in doctrinal views. In 1803 and 1805 he made two missionary tours to New York, preach- ing part of the next year at Branford, Connecticut. In January, 1807, he began to preach for the Pacific Congre- gational Church, Richmond Street, Providence, Rhode Island. Here his congregation gradually increased, and often the church was scarcely large enough to accommo- date the audiences which assembled to hear him. Among his habitual hearers at this time were numerous students of Brown University, who were attracted by his able and earnest preaching, and ninety of whom afterwards became ministers of the gospel, including Rev. Dr. Judson, the missionary, Dr. Burgess, of Dedham, and Rev. Dr. Ide, of Medway. He received the degree of Master of Arts from both Yale College and Brown University. From 1816 to 1821 he was pastor of the church in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and in July, 1821, returned to his Provi- dence charge, where he remained until 1823. He subse- quently preached at Attleboro and Hebronville, Massachu- setts, and Barrington, Rhode Island; afterwards resided in Hartford, Connecticut, and East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and, finally, in 1843, settled permanently in Provi- dence. He continued to preach in various places until a few years before his death. His diary states that he delivered 2200 sermons between April, 1840, and Novem- ber, 1868. He was an earnest and forcible preacher, and his style was marked by occasional eccentricities of man- ner and speech that served to make his sermons more striking and powerful. His prayers often made so deep an impression on the memory of his hearers that they were spoken of years after they were uttered. His self-sacrifice and kindly spirit secured for him the respect and con- fidence of all, and he was familiarly known as " Father Williams." He was exceedingly quick at repartee, and a number of anecdotes have been reported concerning his

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humorous and quaint sayings. He published about twen- ty-four different sermons and treatises, including several volumes on doctrinal themes. He married Ruth Hale, daughter of Isaac and Ruth (Jewett) Hale, of Newbury, Massachusetts. She died in Providence, March 7, 1867. They had seven children, four sons and three daughters. Mr. Williams died September 29, 1876, in the ninety- seventh year of his age, at the house of his son, Rev. Nathan W. Williams, formerly pastor at Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and Peace Dale, Rhode Island, and now a resident of Providence.

URRILL, HON. JAMES, LL.D., son of James and Elizabeth (Rawson) Burrill, was born in Provi- dence, April'25, 1772. He was descended from George Burrill, one of the early settlers of the town of Lynn, Massachusetts, and a wealthy land- holder in that place, who died in 1653. He pursued his preparatory studies in the school of Mr. William Wilkinson, and was a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1788, when he was but sixteen years of age. He began the study of law immediately after he graduated, and was admitted to the bar in 1791. He rose rapidly to distinc- tion and to a large practice in his profession. In 1797, when but twenty-five years of age, he was chosen Attorney- General of the State, and was in office from October, 1797, to May, 1814. He was Speaker of the House in the Gen- eral Assembly from May, 1814, to October, 1816. In 1816 he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. He occupied this position only a single year, having been chosen United States Senator in 1817. He won for himself a very high rank as a member of Congress. " To the Senate of the United States," says Professor Goddard, " there perhaps has never belonged a more useful legislator or a more practical statesman. All who knew Mr. Burrill marvelled at the opulence of his resources and at his power to command them at pleas- ure. In the operations of his mind there was no indica- tion of caprice, of feebleness, or of confusion. On the contrary, he was always judicious, luminous, and forcible -master of an infinite variety of facts and principles, and ever ready in applying them. He seldom wrote, al- though he was capable of writing well ; and it is sad to think that his fame as a lawyer and as a statesman must soon become only a matter of dim traditionary recollec- tion. He was indeed the pride of our little Common- wealth, and we all felt that he had won for it an estimate, which, on the score of its territorial extent and numerical importance, it could never have extorted." One of the most masterly efforts of Mr. Burrill was his speech on what was known as the " Missouri Question." In the bill for the admission of Missouri into the Union was a clause prohibiting the introduction of slaves into the new State. In

support of this clause the Senator from Rhode Island made a speech which, says the Hon. William Pinkney, opposed to the passage of the Missouri Bill, " was distinguished for its ability, and for an admirable force of reasoning, as well as by the moderation and mildness of its spirit." Mr. Burrill died December 25, 1820. He married, October 8, 1797, Sally Arnold. In 1821 one of his daughters was married to George Curtis, and another to William R. Greene.

RUSSELL, HON. JONATHAN, son of Jonathan and Abigail Russell, was born in Providence, Febru- ary 27, 1771. He graduated at Rhode Island College (now Brown University) in 1791, with the highest honors of his class. He was bred to the law, but never engaged in its practice. Subsequently he em- barked in commercial pursuits. His predominant taste, however, was politics, in which he became well versed. In 1810 he acted as Chargé d' Affaires at Paris, on the re- tirement of General Armstrong, Minister to France. The following year he went to England, and was received in London as Chargé d'Affaires, November 15, 1811. The notification of the declaration of war against Great Britain devolved upon him in his official capacity. On the 18th of January, 1814, he was appointed one of the commission- ers to negotiate and conclude a treaty of peace with Great Britain, at Ghent. Associated with him in this important duty, were John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, and Albert Gallatin. At the same time that he was made a Commissioner he received the appointment of Minister Plenipotentiary to Sweden, and when he had performed his duties at Ghent, he went to Stockholm, where he remained until October 16, 1818. Upon his return, he settled at Mendon, Massachusetts, and was soon after elected a member of Congress from the district in which he resided, serving two terms, 1821 to 1825. He was a member of the convention which met at Boston in 1820, to revise the laws of Massachusetts. Mr. Russell is said to have been " a versatile, forcible, elegant, and facile writer; and, when the subject permitted, handled his pen with a caustic severity seldom surpassed." Yet, besides his diplomatic correspondence while in Paris, Stockholm, and London, he left no evidence of his literary abilities, except an oration delivered in Providence on the 4th of July, 1800; an eloquent tribute to the memory of Nathaniel Hayward, a classmate, pronounced in the college, Septem- ber 25, 1789 ; and probably some other addresses upon particular occasions. The oration we have mentioned was a most brilliant effort of its kind, and passed through many editions. Within a few years it has been printed entire in the columns of the Providence Journal. Mr. Russell died at Milton, Massachusetts, February 17, 1832. He married, first, Sylvia Ammidon, April 3, 1794, who died July 10, 18II. His second wife was Lydia, daughter of Barney

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Smith, whom he married at Boston, April 2, 1817. She dicd at Milton, Massachusetts, December 20, 1859. The children by the first marriage were Amelia E. Russell ; George Robert Russell, deccased, who married Sarah P. Shaw, of Boston, and had seven children; Carolinc A. Russell, deceased, who was twice married, first, to Jazariah Ford, and, second, to Francis Taft, eight children being the issue of both marriages ; and Anna Matilda Russell, deceased, who married Philip Ammidon, of Boston, and had one child. Mr. Russell's children by Lydia, his sec- ond wife were : Ida Russell, deceased ; Geraldine I. Rus- sell, who was twice married, first, to George Rivers, and, second, to George Bruce Upton; Rosalie G. Russell ; and Jonathan Russell, deceased, who graduated at Harvard College in 1845, was American Consul at Manila for sev- eral years, and for many years head of the commercial house of Russell & Sturgis, at Manila. (" Genealogy of the Russell Family," by Bartlett.)

ILBUR, JOHN, a celebrated Quaker preacher and writer, son of Thomas and Mary Wilbur, was born in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, July 17, 1774. Strictly educated as a Friend of the old school, he was of exemplary deportment, and re- ligiously inclined from early life. Securing a good educa- tion, he often taught school successfully, and was engaged as a land-surveyor through life. In 1793 he was married to Lydia Collins. He was appointed an elder at the age of twenty-eight, and was officially acknowledged by his Monthly and Quarterly Meetings in 1812. Ardently at- tached to the principles of Fox and Barclay, as understood by his Society, he became their exponent and expounder, trusting in the divinity and work of Christ, and regarding good works as the fruits of a living faith. In 1824-25 he travelled through various parts of New England, and in 1827 visited the State of New York. From 1831, to 1833, he visited and addressed the Friends in England. From 1840 to 1844, and, indeed ever after, he bore calm but decided testimony against what he regarded the Gurney Schism in the ranks of his Society. In 1852-53 he trav- elled and preached in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. In 1853-54 his second visit, for religious labor, was made to England. His private writings were very extensive. After the Gurney Schism, he published, in 1845, a duodecimo of 355 pages, entitled A Narrative and Exposition, &c. His Journal and Correspondence, an octavo of 596 pages, published by his friends, appeared in 1859. He often ministered, with acceptance, in assem- blies of other denominations. So faithful was he in op- posing innovations made by Elias Hicks and Joseph J. Gurney, that many were displeased, and a division in the Society ensued. From that point the old party were

known as Wilburites. The life of John Wilbur was one of purity, industry, and sincerity. He died May I, 1856, in his eighty-second ycar, and was buried in the Friends' graveyard in Hopkinton.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 43

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