The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 6

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

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BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

himself, he finally resolved upon a war of defence, which, in the end, became one of revenge. This event was hastened by the murder of John Sassamon, a Wampa- noag Indian, who had been converted through the instru- mentality of Eliot, the Indian apostle, and had for some time served as Philip's confidential secretary and inter- preter. Sassamon charged Philip with plotting against the safety of the English, which accusation greatly in- censed Philip, and it was said he took steps to have his accuser put to death for his perfidy. Early in the spring of 1675 Sassamon disappeared, and after much search his dead body was found under the ice of Assawomset Pond, in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Three Indians con- nected with the council of Philip were arrested on suspicion of being his murderers. They were tried before the Plym- outh Court, condemned, and executed. This so enraged the followers of Philip that they committed various depre- dations, and it is said that Philip took but little pains to conceal his hostility or to check that of his subjects. On Sunday, the 20th of June, the Indians made a raid into the town of Swanzey, and while they were engaged in hostile demonstrations one of their number was fired upon and wounded by a colonist. This was the signal for open hos- tilities, and soon ensued the tragic scenes of the bloody conflict known in history as King Philip's War, which raged with unabated fury until the autumn of 1676. On the 12th of August of that year, Philip was surprised at the foot of Mount Hope by a party under command of Captain Ben- jamin Church, a man skilled in all the arts of Indian war- fare, and distinguished as the hero of the war. While en- deavoring to escape from his pursuers, Philip was shot down by a renegade Indian of his own nation, and thus the conflict was brought to a close. The war resulted in the complete subjection of the Wampanoag tribe, the death of 600 colonists, the destruction of thirteen towns, the burning of 600 buildings, the expenditure of nearly a million dollars for the suppression of the war, and an immense loss in goods and cattle. It is said that hostilities were commenced before Philip was prepared for combat, and that he wept when he heard of the death of the colonists in Swanzey. " The story of Philip has been variously told," says Greene, " some looking upon him as a crafty savage, loving the wiles and cruelty of Indian warfare and fighting with no other object than immediate success; others as an Indian patriot, contending for the independence of his country. In either case, if we judge him by the standard of his own people, he was a great ruler in peace and a valiant leader in war." The two hundredth anniversary of Philip's death was observed by the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1876, and in 1877 a monument was erected near the spot where the chieftain fell. Among the other Indian sachems who occupy a prominent place in Rhode Island history are those of the Narragansett tribe. The first chief of the Narragansetts mentioned in history was Tashtassuck, who had two .children, a son and a daughter, whom, it is said,

he joined in wedlock, because he could not match them according to their dignity, the issue of the marriage being four sons, the eldest of whom was Canonicus, who was born about 1565. Tashtassuck ruled over the Narragansetts when they numbered over four thousand trained warriors, and held the coast from Cape Cod to Connecticut. The old dominion had diminished when Canonicus came into power, the eastern part having come under the rule of the Wampanoags, and the western part under the dominion of the Niantics. The Narragansetts maintained peaceable relations with the English during the life of Canonicus, although engaged in several Indian wars, and that chieftain is especially noted for his firm friendship to Roger Wil- liams, whom he received with hospitality when Williams was obliged to cross the Seekonk River after his banish- ment, and to whom he made the grant of land embraced in Providence Plantations. Canonicus resided on the island of Conanicut, at the mouth of Narragansett Bay, and was an old man when Roger Williams and his followers set- tled in his territory. It is said that, although he was the sole governor or sachem when the English first arrived, he and his nephew Miantonomi were soon after associated in the administration of the government. " What were the particular conditions of the royal copartnership, or what was the occasion of it," says Thatcher, " cannot now be determined. Some writers suppose that the sole authority belonged to the younger of the two, and that the elder acted in the capacity of regent; but considering that the associa- tion continued during the whole term of the joint lives of the two, it appears more probable that Canonicus, finding himself far advanced in years, as well as incumbered with the charge of an extensive dominion, at the period of the first English settlements, thought proper to make such an alteration in his regal state as seemed to be required by the exigencies of the times. He therefore selected as an associate the most popular and active prince of his own family." History has preserved a very meagre account of Canonicus. Roger Williams speaks of him as " a wise and peaceable prince," who " once in a solemne oration," " in a solemne assembly," said to him, " I have never suffered any wrong to be offered to the English since they landed, nor never will. . ... If the Englishman speake true, if he meane truly, then shall I go to my grave in peace, and hope that the English and my posteritie shall live in love and peace together." Canonicus died June 4, 1647. He seems to have been a discreet and popular ruler, and a man of kindly disposition and courteous manners. Mianto- nomi, the nephew and colleague of Canonicus, was a high- spirited man, and is described as of large stature, stern in manner, " causing all his nobility and attendants to tremble at his speech." When messengers from the whites visited him in 1636, he " lay extended on a mat, and his nobility sat around on the ground, their knees touching their chins. At the close of their message Miantonomi replied, he was willing to have peace with the English, but not with the

BIOGRAPHIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Pcquots." Ilis wigwam was at the old Wonumctonomy Ilill, on the island of Rhode Island, north of Newport, now known as Tonomy Hill, and sometimes called Mianto- nomi Hill. Wonumctonomy, in whose honor that locality was first named, was the last sachem of the old Aquidnccks, conquered by the Narragansetts. Miantonomi, like his uncle Canonicus, was a firm friend of the colonists, whom he aided in the Pequot war, and is also noted for his hospitality to Roger Williams and his associates, to whom he made grants of land. In his unhappy contest with Uncas, sachem of the Mohegans, hc fell into the hands of the Commissioners of the United Colonies-Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven-was wrongfully condemned, and at last treacherously put to death near Greenville, Connecticut, in 1643. His death has been styled a " clerico-judicial murder," as clergy and magis- trates were guilty of it. Miantonomi's whole career with the English displayed " the nicest sentiment of honor, blended with a proper regard for his own dignity and absolute sovereignty," and he expected " to receive from his allies an equally honorable conduct." The place where he fell is marked by a granite block, and is now known as Sachem's Plain. " This," says Governor Hop- kins, " was the end of Miantonomi, the most potent Indian prince the people of New England had ever any concern with; and this was the reward he received for assisting them seven years before, in the war with the Pequots. Surely a Rhode Island man may be permitted to mourn his unhappy fate, and drop a tear on the ashes of Miantonomi, who, with his uncle Canonicus, were the best friends and greatest benefactors the colony (of Rhode Island) ever had. They kindly received, fed, and protected the first settlers of it when they were in distress and were strangers and exiles, and all mankind else were their enemies, and by this kindness to them drew upon themselves the resentment of the neighboring colonies, and hastened the untimely end of the young king." Another distinguished chieftain of the Narragansett tribe was Nanuntenoo, or Quananshett, commonly called by the English Canonchet, the son and heir of Miantonomi. He is supposed to have succeeded to his father's high rank after the death of Mcxham, son of Canonicus, and Pessacus, brother of Miantonomi, who for some time were at the head of the Narragansett tribe. Canonchet is described as " a large, muscular man, of great courage of mind, as well as strength of body." He espoused the cause of Philip, and when asked to surrender the hostile Indians who had taken refuge in the Narragan- sett country, replied : " Deliver the Indians of Philip! Never! not a Wampanoag will I give up. No! not the paring of a Wampanoag's nail!" In the fierce and bloody engagement, so fatal to the Indians, known as the Swamp Fight, which took place in South Kingstown, R. I., December 19, 1675, he displayed remarkable valor. " The last scene of his life," says Irving, "is one of the noblest instances on record of Indian magnanimity. Broken down

in his power and resources by this signal defeat, yet faithful to his ally and to the hapless cause which he had espoused, he rejected all overtures of peace, offered on condition of betraying Philip and his followers, and declared that 'he would fight it out to the last man, rather than become a ·servant to the English.' IIis home being destroyed, his country harassed and laid waste by the incursions of the conquerors, he was obliged to wander away to the banks of the Connecticut, where he formed a rallying-point to the whole body of western Indians, and laid waste several of the English settlements." While encamped on Blackstone River, near Pawtucket Falls, he was surprised and captured by a party under command of Captain Denison, of Con- necticut. In his endeavor to escape from his pursuers, he plunged into the river, when, unluckily, he slipped upon a stone and fell so deep as to wet his gun, which accident caused him to abandon all hope of escape. It is said that on being seized by a Pequot Indian, he made no resistance ; but when questioned by a young Englishman, Robert Stanton, who first came up with him, he regarded his youth- ful captor with an air of contempt, and replied in broken English : " You much child, no understand matters of war ; let your brother or your chief come, him will I answer." When offered his life on condition that he and his tribe would submit to the English, he disdainfully rejected the repeated offers and calmly said : " Let me hear no more about it." He was soon afterward taken to Stonington, Connecticut, where a council of war condemned him to death. When informed of his sentence, he answered : " I like it well ; I shall die before my heart is soft or I have said anything unworthy of myself." The Pequots were permitted to shoot him, the Mohegans to behead and quar- ter him, and the Niantics to burn his body, his head being reserved and sent to the English Council at Hartford, " as a token of love and fidelity to their civilized allies." Thus bravely and heroically perished the last sachem of the Narragansetts. Another famous sachem was Ninigret, or Juanemo, who is said to have been of Pequot origin, and was found by Roger Williams at the head of the old

Niantic tribe. Some writers represent that he was the uncle of Miantonomi, and others that he was the brother or brother-in-law of that celebrated chieftain, whose memory he cherished. Ninigret was the imperial name of the rulers of his tribe, like the Pharaohs and Caesars of old. When Roger Williams first knew him, Ninigret, or Juanemo, was a young man, proud, reserved, brave, and a thorough pagan. Williams speaks of him as a " chiefe souldier," and he is said to have been usually successful in his wars with the Manisses and Montauks. When asked to favor the preaching of Christianity among his people, he replied that it would be better to preach it among the English till they proved its good fruits. He remained neutral during the Pequot war of 1632. In 1637, when Major John Mason marched with his intrepid band from Narragansett Bay to attack the Pequots in Groton, Connecticut, he halted

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HILBERT CHARLES STUART.

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

at Fort Neck, in Charlestown, the residence of Ninigret, and the centre of his dominion. Ninigret declined to take an active part in the war, but allowed his subjects to go as volunteers under Mason. In 1653 he was suspected of having formed an alliance with the Dutch against the English, and in September of the same year complaints were made to the Commissioners of the United Colonies that the Narragansett and Niantic sachems had waged war upon the Long Island Indians, which called for interference on the part of the commissioners. On the receipt of the report of messengers who had been dispatched to demand explanation and satisfaction, the commissioners decided to make war against Ninigret, but as a member from Massa- chusetts did not favor this decision, and entered a protest against it, it was not immediately carried into effect. In 1654 Ninigret, having refused to obey a summons to appear at Hartford, Major Simon Willard was sent into the Niantic country with a body of troops raised in the three united colonies, "to demand of Ninigret the Pequots sub- ject to his control, the tribute already due for them, and also a cessation of hostilities against the Indians of Long Island. On refusal to comply with these terms, they were to reduce him to submission and tribute by force and take hostages for security." When he heard of the approach of the troops, he fled into a swamp, ten or fifteen miles distant from the army, and messengers being sent to him to present the demand of the commissioners, he agreed to surrender the Pequots, but otherwise the result of the conference was very unsatisfactory to the commissioners. No further hos- tile movements were made against him, and he afterward maintained friendly relations with the colonists, to whom he finally sold a large portion of his territory. He refused to join in the great uprising of the Indians under Philip, of Pokanoket, against the whites, and on account of his fidelity his tribe and territory were spared, while the con- test resulted most disastrously to the Narragansetts. Nini- gret is supposed to have died soon after King Philip's war. While he was on a visit to Boston, in 1647, to meet certain colonial commissioners, a fine portrait of him was made by an English artist. His sister, Quaiapen, married Mexham, the son of Canonicus, and when Canonchet, the last sachem of the Narragansetts, fell, near the close of Philip's war, the Narragansetts and Niantics were consolidated in one nation, under the rule of Ninigret, and, though the majority were Niantics, they have since been called Narra - gansetts. By his first wife Ninigret had a daughter, who succeeded him, but did not reign long. By his second wife he had a son, Ninigret, who succeeded his half-sister, and died near 1722, leaving two sons, Charles Augustus Ninigret and George Ninigret. Charles Augustus became sachem, and dying left a son, Charles, who was acknowl- edged as sachem by a portion of the nation, while a greater part adhered to his uncle, George. Charles dying, George received the royal belt of peage in 1735. He left three chil- dren, Thomas, George, and Esther. Thomas Ninigret,

better known as King Tom, was born in 1736, and began to rule in 1746. During his reign much of the Indian reservation was sold, and a portion of the tribe, dissat- isfied from the increase of the whites and the narrow- ing of their hunting-grounds, emigrated to the State of New York and affiliated with the red men of that region. King Tom yielded much to the light of Christianity, and in 1765 he petitioned the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to establish schools for the children, closing his letter with the hopeful words: " That when time with us shall be no more, that when we and the children over whom you have been such benefactors shall leave the sun and stars, we shall rejoice in a far superior light." The dwelling-house built by him is still standing in Charlestown, R. I., south of Queen Anne's Road, near Coronation Rock and Fort Neck. As a result of the " great revival," the Indian church was organized in 1750, and King Tom was a firm friend to the preachers among his people. He was succeeded by his sister Esther, who was succeeded by her son, George Ninigret. The latter was reigning during the period of our Revolution. When about twenty-two years of age, George Ninigret was killed by the falling of a tree. He was the last of the Niantic sachems, commonly called the Narragansett sachems. After his death the tribe was governed by an annually elected governor, or president, and a council of four members, and in 1707 the tribe and reservation of lands came under the jurisdiction of Rhode Island. The old Indian burying-ground in Charlestown has been suitably inclosed and marked by the State.

STUART, GILBERT CHARLES, the distinguished, portrait painter, was born in Narragansett, Rhode Island, in 1756. His decided taste for art early developed itself. A Scotch painter named Alex- ander, residing in Newport, gave him his first les- sons in painting, and formed so strong an attachment to the youthful artist, that on his return to his native land he invited him to accompany him. He accepted the in- vitation. Soon after they reached Scotland, Alexander died, and Stuart found himself a stranger, without funds, in a strange land. Self-reliant and full of courage, he determined to work his way back to America, and to effect his object he shipped on a returning vessel as a common sailor before the mast. Immediately on reaching home he commenced his labors as a portrait painter, trying the experiment first in Newport, and then in Boston and New York. When he was but twenty-two years of age he de- termined to seek his fortune in the Old World, and in 1778 sailed for London. In that great metropolis he passed through an experience which has so often been the lot of men of genius. "He was," as we are told, "a way- ward and eccentric genius, proud as Lucifer, and on his arrival in London he found himself full of poverty, enthu- siasm and hope-often a painter's only capital." He must

BIOGRAPIIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

have known that his countryman, Benjamin West, was a distinguished artist in London, but probably he was too sensitive to obtrude his acquaintance upon him. West, however, found him out, and at once bestowed on him those delicate attentions which would be so much appre- ciated by a high-spirited young man. He says, himself : "On application to West to receive mc as a pupil, I was welcomed with true benevolence, encouraged and taken into the family, and nothing could exceed the attentions of the great artist to me ; they were paternal." He remained for several years a member of his family, and before leav- ing his hospitable mansion he painted a full-length portrait of West, which, as a work of art, elicited expressions of the warmest commendation. About the year 1781 he commenced independent practice, and soon rose to great distinction, taking high rank among the best artists of Great Britain. While he was thus winning reputation and success in his profession in London, his great abilities attracted the attention of the Duke of Rutland, who invited him to visit Dublin, promising him his influence and patronage. When he reached Dublin, in 1788, he found that his noble friend was dead. He was not daunted by what seemed to be a misfortune, but at once offered his services as a painter of portraits, and had no difficulty in securing the best patronage of the city. Subsequently he resided for a time in Paris, where also success rewarded his labors. A brilliant future was before him if he should continue in his professional employment in the Old World. But, says his daughter, " the love of his own country, his admiration of General Washington, and the very great desire he had to paint his portrait, was his only induce- ment to turn his back upon his good fortune in Europe." In order to carry out this one most cherished purpose, he embarked for New York in 1793, and made a home for his family in that city. In 1794 he went to Philadelphia, where arrangements had been made with Washington that he should sit for his portrait. The President received him with great courtesy. Stuart used to say that when he found himself for the first time in the presence of Wash- ington, he felt embarrassed, and that it was the first time in his life that he felt awe in the presence of a fellow-man. The first picture which he took did not satisfy him, and he destroyed it. Long meditation on what he desired to accomplish, in order to give to posterity a correct likeness of the " Father of his Country," had awakened an intense desire, amounting to a passion, in the bosom of the artist to reach his ideal, and he could be content with nothing short of perfection. His second portrait corresponded better with his conception of what he was aiming to secure. This second portrait is the one from which he made all his subsequent copies. It is now in the Boston Athenaeum, together with a head of Mrs. Washington. Dunlap tells us that Stuart painted it on a three-quarter canvas, but only finished the head. "This beautiful image of the mind as well as features of Washington was offered to the

State of Massachusetts, by the artist, for one thousand dollars, which they refused to give. Those intrusted with our national government passed by the opportunity of doing honor to themselves during the life of a man they could not honor, and the only portrait of Washington was left neglected in the painter's workshop, until the Boston Athenaeum purchased it of his widow." The excellence of this painting led other artists to attempt to make a copy of it. An English portrait painter, Winstan- ley, made several copies of it, and succeeded in palming one of them off on a Boston merchant for five hundred dollars, which he had lent the artist, taking the portrait as his security for the payment of his loan. The painter, soon after getting his money, absconded. The merchant found that he had been imposed upon. The picture was little better than a daub, and, what was worse, the purchaser found himself the butt of the town's ridicule for having suffered himself to be so deceived. The only thing he could do gracefully to get out of his trouble was to get Stuart to make a copy of his own Washington for six hundred dollars. This he did in nine days, and the picture now hangs in Faneuil Hall, Boston. Subsequently, in 1800, he painted, to fill an order from the General Assembly of Rhode Island, two other copies, one of which is in the State House in Providence, and the other in the State House in Newport. The last days of Stuart were spent in Boston, where he painted a large number of portraits, which are scattered all over the country. As a painter of heads, no artist of modern times has surpassed him. On the other parts of his pictures he bestowed but compara- tively little labor. His last portrait was one of Hon. John Quincy Adams, the face only of which was the production of his pencil. Mr. Stuart, while residing in London in 1786, married the daughter of Dr. Coates. By this mar- riage he had thirteen children, two of whom were born in London. Two of his children were sons, one of whom had much of the ability of his father as a painter. The youngest daughter, Miss Jane Stuart, has achieved success and reputation as an artist. Stuart died in Boston, July, 1828. His remains were placed in the cemetery of the Episcopal Church, in which he worshipped while residing in Boston.

HURCH, COLONEL BENJAMIN, a celebrated officer in the Indian wars, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Warren) Church, was born at Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, in 1639. His father, a house-builder by trade, served in the Pequot war, and died December 27, 1668, leaving nine children. Benjamin learned the trade of his father. At the age of twenty-seven he mar- ried Alice Southworth, of Duxbury, Massachusetts. He first appeared in public life in 1668. In 1673 he assisted in purchasing Seaconet (Little Compton), Rhode Island, where he settled in 1674. He engaged in the war against

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Philip, and was a conspicuous actor in the great swamp fight in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, December 19, 1675, when he was severely wounded. He was commis- sioned Captain by Plymouth Colony, July 10, 1676, and marched to capture the Nonpansets. Serving under an enlarged commission, he captured prisoners at Acushnet. On July 30 he chased Philip into the swamps of Norton and Rehoboth, and took many prisoners. He marched to Pocasset woods August 10. Finally meeting Philip at Mount Hope, he slew him, August 12, 1676. On Septem- ber II he captured Annawon. June 7, 1677, he became a magistrate at Seaconet and Pocasset, and assisted in bound- ing lands (Talamanucke's). On September 14, 16So, he signed and sealed the Grand Articles for the settlement of Bristol, Rhode Island, to which place he soon removed. He became one of the original members of the Congrega- tional Church in Bristol, May 8, 1687. On September 6, 1689, he was commissioned Major and Commander-in- chief of the Plymouth forces for the Eastern Expedition ; on the 18th started for Casco, Maine, and had an engage- ment with the enemy on the 21st, losing eleven killed and ten wounded. He was commissioned for the second Eastern Expedition, September 2, 1690. In 1696 he re- moved from Bristol to Fall River, and on August 3 was chosen for the fourth Eastern Expedition. In January, 1703, he appears as Lieutenant-Colonel, and was commis- sioned for the fifth Eastern Expedition, March 18, 1704. Soon after this he removed from Fall River to Little Compton, where, November 29, 1704, he aided in forming the Congregational Church, of which he remained a con- sistent and valued member till his death. In 1706 he was a representative of the town in the State legislature. His historical works, Entertaining Passages, etc., or Church's Philip's War, and his Eastern Expeditions, ap- pear to have been dictated to his son Thomas, at the place of his last residence. He was much engaged in public affairs. His death occurred January 17, 1717, and was occasioned by a fall from his horse. His wife died March 5 of the same year. His children were, Thomas, Constant, Benjamin, Edward, Charles, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Martha. Colonel Church was one of the ablest, bravest, noblest men of his time in the colonies.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 6

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