The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 49

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

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Congressional committees. In the General Assembly of Rhode Island, where he represented frequently his native town, his influence was of the most marked character. His power as a public speaker addressing a popular audi- ence was very great, and he swayed the multitude as few orators were able to do. For forty-five years he practiced his profession in the courts of the State and in the United States courts, retiring from the bar in 1850. Ilis published writings, besides a large amount of matter which he pre- pared for the press on topics of interest at the time in the community, were several of his political addresses, some of his arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States, a Fourth of July Oration, and Discourse on the Life and Services of Daniel Webster. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Brown University in 1844. The last few years of his life were spent at his country residence in Warwick. He died in Providence, October 19, 1866, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. He was twice married, the first time, in 1809, to Maria, daughter of Dr. William Bowen, of Providence, and the second time, in 1839, to Ellen De Wolf, daughter of Jotham Post, of New York. His widow, with a son and a daughter by his first marriage, survived him. By his first wife he had seven children. Mr. Whipple will long be remembered as one of the most brilliant and successful lawyers of Rhode Island.

OWEN, WILLIAM CORLISS, M.D., only son of Dr. William and Susan (Corliss) Bowen, was born in Providence June 2, 1785. A part of his college. course was taken in Brown University. When Rev. Dr. Maxcy was called to the presidency of Union College, Schenectady, he connected himself with that in- stitution, and was graduated in the class of 1803. Re- turning to Providence, he became a pupil of his uncle, Dr. Pardon Bowen, and pursued the study of medicine in his office for three years. Wishing to avail himself of the superior advantages offered by the medical schools of Europe for the study of his profession, he embarked for the Old World in 1806, and in Edinburgh placed himself under the instruction of Professor Hamilton and his asso- ciates in the medical school in that city. He received his degree in 1807, selecting for the theme of his dissertation, " De Sanguine Mittendo." Instead of now returning to America to commence the practice of his profession, he spent some four years longer in Europe in order to perfect himself in his chosen vocation, Some months were spent in Holland, one season in Paris, and for a period of nearly three years he was a private pupil of Sir Astley Cooper in London. In the early autumn of 1811 he returned to Providence, and commenced the practice of his profession. For two seasons, as Professor of Chemistry, he gave lec-

tures on that science in Brown University. While thus occupied he commenced a course of experiments for the purpose of ascertaining the basis of the bleaching liquor which was just then brought into use in England, design- ing to make practical the results of his experiments by establishing a bleachery in Providence. The inhalation of noxious vapors and gases while he was thus engaged proved fatal, and he died April 23, 1815, just as he was commencing his career with the prospect of a brilliant and successful future before him. Dr. Bowen was by far the most thoroughly educated physician of his time in Rhode Island. He had been the pupil of the first men in Europe, and had won their confidence and esteem. As a proof of this we are told that Professor Hamilton of Edinburgh called him in consultation in a dangerous disease of his own wife, and Sir Astley Cooper mentioned him with pride as his pupil. His endeavors to discover a process by which the wealth and prosperity of his native State might be increased proved the occasion of his death. His labors, however, were not in vain. Others took up the experiments which he was forced to lay aside, and the profitable and exten- sive bleacheries of Rhode Island are monuments of the scientific attainments and practical skill of Dr. William Corliss Bowen.

OWEN, HON. HENRY, of Welsh descent, son of Gre Lieutenant-Governor Jabez and Sarah (Brown) Bowen, was born in Providence January 5, 1785. He prepared for college in his native town, and graduated at Brown University in the class of 1802. With his classmate John Whipple he went to Schenectady with President Maxcy, when he was chosen President of Union College. Here he commenced the study of law, which he completed in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the office of Hon. Levi Lincoln, at that time Attorney-General of the United States. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Providence in 1806. In 1817 he was elected on the Anti-Federal ticket Attorney-General of the State, and re-elected the next year to the same office. He was chosen Secretary of State in 1819, and filled this office for thirty years, retiring from it in 1849 on account of inability readily to hear. It is indicative of the esteem in which he was regarded by his fellow-citizens, that the tenure of the office which he held for so many years was not affected by changes in political parties. " His term of office, with two exceptions, is the longest in the annals of Rhode Island, and his influence was very largely felt in shaping the forms of legislation in the State." He married, in 1808, Harriet Amanda Munro, of Providence, who died in 1857. Two sons and a daughter, of the eight children that were born to them, survived the death of their father, which occurred at Providence April 16, 1867. The names of his surviv- ing children were William, Charles, and Harriet.

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ELLEN, HON. PHILIP, Governor of Rhode Island from 1851 to 1853, cldest son of Zachariah and Anne (Crawford) Allen, was born in Providence, September 1, 1785. He pursued his studies pre- paratory to college under the tuition of Tutor Jeremiah Chaplin, afterwards President Chaplin of Water- ville College, in the University Latin School, and was a graduate of Brown University, in the class of 1803. On leaving college he turned his attention to mercantile pur- suits, in which his father had been engaged for many years prior to his death in 1801. Mr. Allen carried on an ex- tensive business, especially in the products of the West Indies. In 1812 he became interested in the manufacture of cotton in Rhode Island, and continued in the business during the remainder of his life, devoting himself for thirty years and more to the printing of calico. For ten years, from 1827 to 1836, he was President of the Rhode Island Branch of the United States Bank. During the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, he was a representative from Provi- dence in the General Assembly. The Democratic party being in the ascendant elected him, in 1851, Governor of the State, and re-elected him the two succeeding years to the same office. Soon after the close of his third term of service he was chosen a Senator of the United States. He was, in general, friendly to the administra- tions of Presidents Pierce and Buchanan, but opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. He was an impor- tant member of Congress, especially as his intimate and extensive acquaintance with manufactures made his judg- ment reliable in matters pertaining thereto. He mar- ried, in 1814, Phoebe, daughter of Benjamin Aborn, of Providence. They had eleven children. He died in Providence, December 16, 1865.

ITMAN, JUDGE JOHN, son of Rev. John and Re- becca (Cox) Pitman, was born in Providence, February 23, 1785. His father was settled as a Baptist minister in Warren, and subsequently in Seekonk. He prepared for college under the tuition of Rev. William Williams, of Wrentham, Massa- chusetts, and was a graduate of Brown University, in the class of 1799, before he had completed his fifteenth year. He commenced at once the study of law in the office of Hon. David Howell, and was ready to be admitted to the bar of Rhode Island after two and a half years' study. As it was deemed best for him to continue his studies until he had reached a more mature age, he went to Poughkeepsie, and was in the law office of Hon. T. Bailey. In June, 1806, he was admitted to practice in the city of New York, and soon after to practice in the other courts of the State. He spent a short time in the State of Kentucky, whither he had gone with the inten- tion of settling. He changed his purpose, and in 1808

returned to Providence, where he remained until 1812, when he took up his residence in Salem, Massachusetts. Ilcre for some four years he remained, having a large and successful practice. The next four years, from 1816 to 1820, he resided in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In the au- tumn of 1820 he once more returned to his native town. A few months after opening an office in Providence he was appointed United States District Attorney for Rhode Island, and in August, 1824, United States District Judge, which office he held during the remainder of his life. His relations to Providence, and to different institutions having for their object the social and intellectual welfare of the community, were of the most intimate character. He was President of the " Rhode Island Society for the Encourage- ment of Domestic Industry " for ten years. For eighteen years he was President of the Corporation of the Provi- dence Athenæum, at the end of which period he declined a re-election. He was at different times a member of both hranches of the Corporation of Brown University, receiving from this institution, in 1842, the honorary degree of Doc- tor of Laws. He was not unfrequently called upon to deliver public addresses on civic and literary occasions, some of which were published. He married, October, 1812, Mary, daughter of Benjamin Talbot, of Providence. Their children were nine in number, six of whom survived their father. Among these are Henry Pitman, Esq., and General J. S. Pitman. He died suddenly, heing found dead in his bed on the morning of the 17th of November, 1863. He was an upright judge, a wise counsellor, and a sincere Christian, and his name will long be cherished among the most honored citizens of his native State.

BATERMAN, JOHN O., son of John and Sally (Wil- liams) Waterman, was born in Canton, Massa- chusetts, November 4, 1810. His parents re- moved to Johnston, Rhode Island, in 1811. He early acquired habits of industry, alternately work- ing in a cotton-mill and attending school until the age of eighteen. During the years 1827, 1828, and a por- tion of 1829, he was a clerk in the store of the Merino Mills in Johnston. A part of the latter year he spent at Plainfield Academy, Connecticut. In 1830 he went to New Orleans, where his father was engaged in the cotton trade. In the spring of that year he returned to Rhode Island, and was appointed agent of the Eagle Mills, for John Waterman & Co., which position he held until 1847. While connected with these mills he resided in Providence, and took a deep interest in matters pertaining to the pros- perity of that city. For many years he was a prominent member of the Board of Independent Fire Wards, and was elected a member of the Common Council of Providence, from the Sixth Ward. In 1845 he was elected to represent Providence in the lower house of the General Assembly,

LoNaturen

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and re-elected in 1846. In 1848 he removed from Provi- dence to Warren, Rhode Island. The year before his re- moval to the latter place he began building the first mill of the Warren Manufacturing Company. The business of this company increased to such an extent as to necessitate the erection of two other mills, one of which was built in 1860, from the accumulations of the first mill, and the other in 1870, from the accumulations of the first and second mills, the present number of spindles being 58,000, the number of looms 1400, and the products sheetings, print cloths, and jaconets. The company represents a capital of $600,000, and all of the mills have been remarkably suc- cessful. In his position as agent and treasurer of this cor- poration Mr. Waterman was widely known in business circles as a careful manager and a sagacious financier, and he was therefore frequently called upon to fill responsible official positions in institutions representing large moneyed interests, On the 28th of May, 1855, he was elected a Director of the Firemen's Mutual Insurance Company of Providence, and was chosen a Director of the Equitable Fire and Marine Insurance Company at its organization, August 20, 1860. He held the same position in the Black- stone Mutual Fire Insurance Company from the date of its organization, June 22, 1868, and in the Merchants' Mutual Fire Insurance Company from its organization, October 12, 1874. He was one of the prime movers in organizing the Sowamset Bank (a State bank) at Warren, in July, 1855, at which time he was elected a Director. In 1864 the First National Bank of Warren was organized, at which time he was elected a Director, and in 1866 became Vice- President, which position he occupied until his death. He was also one of the founders of the Warren Institution for Savings, of which he was chosen Trustee in 1870. In 1875 he was chosen a Director of the Old National Bank of Providence, and was subsequently elected President of that institution, which office he held until his death. He was also a member of the Providence Board of Trade, as well as other institutions. In 1838 he married Caroline F. San- ford, daughter of Joseph C. Sanford, of Wickford, Rhode Island. She died in 1840. In 1848 Mr. Waterman mar- ried Susan J. Bosworth, daughter of Colonel Smith Bos- worth, of Providence. There were two children by this marriage, Caroline F. and John, who succeeded his father as agent and treasurer of the Warren Manufacturing Com- pany. Mr. Waterman died suddenly at his residence in Warren, April 24, 1881, in the midst of a life of unusual activity and usefulness. He represented that class of men whose untiring industry, superior natural gifts, and strict integrity place them at the head of the great manufacturing interests, for which Rhode Island is justly celebrated. Although not a church member, his religious views were in sympathy with the Protestant Episcopal Church, and he always took a deep and active interest in the welfare of that communion. He was very generous and kind-hearted, and often assisted many deserving persons and enterprises.

He was particularly interested in the societies formed by the young men of the town in which he lived, and gave them substantial aid.

BING, GOVERNOR SAMUEL WARD, was born in Johnston, May 23, 1786. His name is especially identified with Rhode Island history. In 1839 there was no election of Governor or Lieutenant- Governor, and the subject of this sketch being first Senator, or Assistant, acted as Governor for that year. He was chosen Governor in 1840, '41, and '42. A part of the period during which he was the chief magistrate of the State was one of great political ex- citement, connected with the discussion of what is known as the "Suffrage Question." The firm and conciliatory course pursued by Governor King did much to allay the bitterness of party strife and secure the satisfactory result which was at length reached in the settlement of the important questions which had agitated the public mind. The wife of Governor King was Catherine, daugh- ter of Olney Angell, of North Providence, by whom he had fourteen children, seven of whom died young, the other seven surviving their parents. Mrs. King died in 1841. Governor King died in Providence, January 21, 1851. " Few men," said a writer of a brief obituary notice of him, " have enjoyed in their day to a greater degree the confidence of the public, and few men in their private lives have exhibited greater amiability and genuine kind- ness of heart. In the troublous times of 1842 his conduct won the approbation of friends and conciliated his oppo- nents, and in his voluntary retirement he carried with him the respect and esteem even of those against whom he acted in seasons of unusual difficulties."

OGERS, WILLIAM SANFORD, son of Robert and Mary (Rhodes) Rogers, was born in Newport, in 1785. He derived his name from William San- ford, a son of Hon. Peleg Sanford, at one time Governor of the State. Early in life he was en- .9 gaged in the mercantile marine, and, for a time, was super- cargo in the employ of Messrs. Earle & Allston. He was appointed a purser in the Navy in 1812, and remained in office until 1835, at which time he resigned his com- mission. He is represented as being a gentleman of varied and refined culture, living a life of great purity and seren- ity. The prosperity of his native city was a matter of great interest with him, and he testified his regard for his early home, as we shall see, in the most substantial, and even princely way. On opening his will after his decease, which took place in Boston, May 5, 1872, it was found that he had made many munificent bequests. Brown Uni- versity had already enjoyed the tokens of his liberality in

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the form of a $1000 scholarship, which he namcd the " Newport Scholarship." He had also given $500 for the purchase of chemical apparatus. In his will was the fol- lowing : " I give Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, from which my father graduated in 1782, and my uncle, Rev. Dr. Rogers, graduated in the first graduating class of the institution, $50,000, from the interest of which shall be supported a Professorship, to be called ' The New- port Rogers Professorship of Chemistry.' I presume there may be now a Professorship of Chemistry in the institution, but this is a favorite pursuit of mine, besides, I wish the birthplace of my father, uncle and self, may appear on the records of the University." In his will Mr. Rogers made provision for an additional scholarship of $1000. His largest bequest was the munificent sum of $100,000, given under certain conditions, for the establishment of the New- port " Rogers High School," an institution which already takes high rank among the best schools of its grade in the country. He gave also $4000 to the Redwood Library. $70,000 he gave as private donations. The residue of his estate, after paying the bequests, was given to his nephew, Mr. John E. Allston. The total amount of the estate was estimated to be over half a million dollars. Mr. Rogers never married. " His was an equable and gentle life ; his purposes were all accomplished, when, at a ripe old age, with no stain upon his record, the gate of death gently opened, and he entered the paradise of rest, beloved and lamented by all who knew him."

ILLIAMS, JEREMIAH, M.D., was born in Digh- ton, Massachusetts, August 5, 1786. His aca- demic studies were pursued at the Bristol Academy, in Taunton, Massachusetts. He com- menced the study of medicine, which was com- pleted at the Massachusetts Medical College, in Boston. Soon after taking his degree he removed to Warren, R. I., where he remained during life. For more than thirty years he was in a very extensive practice, not only in Warren, but in all the adjacent villages. In all matters pertaining to his profession he was greatly interested. He was, at the time of his death, one of the few surviving physicians who in 1812 petitioned for the charter of the Rhode Island Medical Society, of which society he was for a time one of the Vice-Presidents. In the establishment of the War- ren Ladies' Seminary he took an active interest, being one of its most liberal patrons and supporters. To the sup- port of the religious and benevolent organizations of War- ren he was a liberal contributor. In addition to the duties of his profession he was extensively engaged in other branches of business, and by an unwearied industry and perseverance he accomplished an amount of personal labor such as few men have been able to perform. By his enter-

prise in various directions he acquired a large estate. Ilis character was a marked one. He had strong prejudices, and expressed his opinions without equivocation. Among the families where in his professional capacity he was called to visit, he made strong and life-long friends, and his death was sincerely mourned by a large circle of ac- quaintances. No physician in Bristol County had a more extensive practice than Dr. Williams. His death occurred January 1, 1842. He left a widow and two daughters ; one daughter now resides in Warren.

OWARD, HON. DANIEL, son of Daniel and Doro- thy (Clark) Howard, was born in Foster, Rhode Island, March 15, 1787. He was the sixth of a family of ten children, eight of whom lived to be upwards of seventy-five years of age. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Howard, came to this country from England and settled in Foster, about 1755. His son Dan- iel came into possession of a portion of the homestead farm, and built what is the present homestead of the How- ard family. The subject of this sketch inherited a vigorous constitution, a strong mind, and powerful memory. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, and for some time worked on the farm in summer and taught a district school in winter. In 1803 his father was elected Town Clerk, and he being an excellent penman, soon began to assist him in the office. In 1823 he was elected to the State Legislature, in which he served thirteen terms, and was regarded one of the most useful members of that body. Upon returning home at the close of the week (nearly always on foot, a distance of twenty miles), he would stop at the wayside inns, where the neighbors would be gathered to hear from him the business of the week. In September, 1827, his father died, having filled the office of Town Clerk for upwards of twenty-four years. The first day of October following he was elected to suc- ceed him. Besides the office of Clerk, he filled that of Justice of the Peace, Assessor of Taxes, and other official positions. Being a man of great practical common sense, and of strict integrity, he was called upon to administer on the estates of many deceased persons. He was also fre- quently called upon from all parts of his own and adjoining towns for counsel in matters of probate and questions of law. About 1840 he was elected one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, in which capacity he served for nine years. In politics he was a life-long Democrat. In the Dorr troubles of 1842, although being in favor of the extension of the suffrage, he could not countenance the course pursued to accomplish it, and therefore became one of what was known as the Law and Order Party. After this his party became the minority, and in the spring of

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1852, after a vigorous contest, Mr. Raymond G. Place was elected Town Clerk in his stead, Mr. Howard having served continuously from his first election. Thus did father and son fill the office for forty-nine consecutive years. Afterward he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Toward the close of his life he became partially blind, so that he could neither read nor write; yet he continued to give val- uable counsel until his death, which occurred July 15, 1879. He was twice married. His first wife was Betsey Phillips, daughter of Asa Phillips, of Foster, by whom he had one son, named Horace, who married Hannah Ran- dall. For his second wife he married Lurana, daughter of Samuel Wilbur, of Scituate, Rhode Island, who sur- vives him. He left two grandsons, Pardon T. and Horace, and a number of great-grandchildren. One brother only is left of his father's family, Rev. Gardner Howard, who lives on the homestead, and is now in his eighty- third year.

ANFORTH, HON. WALTER RALEIGH, the son of Job Danforth, was born in Providence, April 1, 1787. He fitted for college in the schools of his native town, and was a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1805. He commenced the study of law soon after his graduation, in the office of Hon. James Burrill, and for a short time after his admission to the bar was this gentleman's law partner. For a period of eleven years (1807-1818) he was most of the time Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Providence, or in the corresponding position in the Court of Common Pleas. He became in 1820 editor and joint proprietor of the Provi- dence Gazette, displaying great ability and tact in the man- agement of this paper and the other papers which were its successors, the Microcosm, the Express, and the Republi- can Herald. For ten years Mr. Danforth was a member of the Town Council of Providence. In 1829 he was appointed Collector of Customs for the port of Providence, and held this office till 1841. For one year, 1853, he was Mayor of Providence. In the various offices he held he discharged his duties with fidelity, and secured the respect not only of his political friends, but of those who were op- posed to him. His acquaintance with the men and the affairs of his native State was of the most familiar charac- ter. Mr. Danforth wielded a polished pen. " He wrote nothing to corrupt or defile the public taste. His language was always that of undefiled English. Addison and Gold- smith, Dryden and Pope were the models of his youth; and in all after-life he never allowed a paragraph to pass from his pen polluted either by coarseness or vulgarity." He married, in June, 1811, Elizabeth Ann, the youngest daughter of John Carter, Esq., of Providence, who, with one son and five daughters, survived him. He died in Providence, August 11, 1861.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 49

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