The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 89

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

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extremely tenacious, and was strongly attached to his native place. He had left Newport when he was fourteen years of age, and never lived there again, except during a few intervals during his voyages. His last exertion, two months before his death, was a long walk about the old parts of the town, reviving his family memories and cher- ished recollections. At his funeral in Andover the church was crowded with operatives from the mill, and his pall- bearers were two agents and two overseers who had served under him more than twenty-five years. Mr. Perry mar- ried, April 24, 1837, Elizabeth Ann Randolph, daughter of Richard Kidder Randolph, of Newport, by whom he had three daughters and one son. His second wife, who survives him, was Mary Ann Moseley, of Newburyport, to whom he was married March 3, 1849, and who bore him one son. For many years Mr. Perry resided at An- dover, Massachusetts, and died there August 30, 1878.

GAMES, JAMES HENRY, D.D., son of James and Sa- rah (Mumford) Eames, was born in Dedham, Mas- sachusetts, November 29, 1814. During his child- hood his parents removed to Providence. He prepared for college under the tuition of Mr. Stan- ton Belden, at Fruit Hill, and Mr. Caleb Farnum, in Providence. In 1835 he entered the college at Bristol, Pennsylvania, where he remained until the college was given up. He soon after entered the Junior class of Brown University, and graduated in 1839. Preparatory to taking orders in the Episcopal Church, he studied with Rev. John Bristed, Rector of St. Michael's Church, in Bristol. In December, 1841, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Gris- wold, and in December, 1842, took orders as a presbyter, under the same Bishop. His first parish was in Wakefield, where he became rector of the Church of the Ascension, holding that position till January, 1846, when he became rector of St. Stephen's Church, in Providence. He re- signed in 1850, at the solicitation of Bishop Henshaw, who wished him to perform missionary work in certain sec- tions of Rhode Island. For nearly eight years he was engaged in this work, from 1850 to 1858. Retiring for a season from his arduous labors, he made a long tour, Mrs. Eames accompanying him, through different countries of Europe, extending his journey to Egypt, Syria, and Pales- tine. In 1858 he was called to take charge of St. Paul's Church, in Concord, New Hampshire. His ministry here covered a period of twenty years (1858 to 1878) and re- sulted in building up a strong and efficient parish. A new and elegant church was built; the congregation increased ; and general prosperity attended the efforts of those who were interested in the welfare of St. Paul's. In addition to his parochial duties, Dr. Eames was, for more than eighteen years, chaplain of the Asylum for the Insane, located in Concord, and conducted a service on Sunday afternoon in the chapel of that institution. He also performed a large

amount of missionary work in different parts of the State of New Hampshire. He filled important positions in his- church in that diocese, representing it in the General Con- ventions, being a member of the Standing Committee and a trustee of the General Theological Seminary. In 1862 Norwich University, Vermont, conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Toward the close of his life, to escape the rigors of a northern climate and to secure needed relaxation, he spent a winter in the island of Bermuda. While fulfilling a purpose again to spend a winter in Ber- muda, he died, in the harbor of Hamilton, December 10, 1877. He married, in 1839, Jane Anthony, daughter of Hezekiah Anthony, Esq., of Providence.

ABCOCK, REV. WILLIAM ROBINSON, D.I)., son of Rowse 2d and Hannah (Brown) Babcock, was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, March 28, 1814. He enjoyed good advantages, and was trained to habits of industry. His education was begun in the private schools of his native town; but he was fitted for college at Plainfield Academy, Connecticut. Early in life his attention was turned toward liberal studies and the pur- suit of a profession. When, at the age of twenty years, he became personally and deeply interested in religion, and for the first time realized the true nature and extent of his obligations and his duty, he promptly resolved to devote his life to the work of the Christian ministry. En- tering Brown University, he graduated with high rank in the class of 1837, which numbered among its members such men as Nathan Bishop, LL.D., David Burbank, LL.D., and Professor Samuel S. Greene, LL.D. In the following autumn he entered the General Theological Seminary (Episcopal), in the city of New York, and after completing a three years' course of study in that institu- tion, was ordained by Bishop Griswold in 1840. During the first sixteen years of his ministry he was rector suc- cessively of Christ Church, Gardiner, Maine, St. Peter's Church, Salem, Massachusetts, and Trinity Church, Nat- chez, Mississippi. Then for a like period of sixteen years he was rector of St. John's Church, Jamaica Plain (now Bos- ton), Massachusetts. During the last year of his ministry there, his parishioners generously defrayed the expenses of an eight months' tour made by him through Great Britain and on the Continent, for the recovery of his health. He relinquished his parochial charge in the autumn of 1872, and removed to his native State. During the summers he resides in his charming villa at Narragansett Pier, and his winters are passed in the city of Providence, meanwhile rendering such occasional services to his clerical brethren as the state of his health allows. Religious and literary circles are always cheered by his presence. In 1869 he received from Brown University the degree of Doctor of Divinity, a recognition richly merited by his abilities, schol- arship, and character. In October, 1840, he married

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Catharinc P. Pearce, youngest daughter of HIon. Dutee J. Pearce, of Newport, Rhode Island. Their children were: Ann B., born June 26, 1841, married Lieutenant-Colonel J. S. Poland, U. S. A., October 11, 1864; Emma G., born April 26, 1845, married Alonzo P. Iloward April 23, 1867, died August 7, 1868; Catharine P., born June 21, 1847, died August 26, 1848.

SMITH, HON. LEWIS B., son of Simon and Lydia Smith, was born at Nayatt, Barrington, Rhode Island, September 14, 1817, and was the second of five children, two sons and three daughters. His father was a farmer, and his sons were educated to a farmer's life, with the usual educational opportunities of fifty years ago. In addition to home-school training Lewis attended a select school for one term of three months, at Washington Village, Rhode Island. He has always lived on the homestead at Nayatt. He entered into the service of the town at his majority, and has occupied many of the local offices from time to time, serving now as President of the Town Council, an office which he has held in previous years. At the age of twenty-four he was elected to the House of Representatives under the old Charter, and continued in office five years. In 1842 he was chosen with Nathaniel Brown as a delegate to frame the Constitution of the State. In 1865 he was elected to the office of State Senator, which he held till 1873; was again elected in 1879, and still occupies that position. In 1878 Mr. Smith was appointed by Governor Van Zandt as a member of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, which position he now holds. He has been a delegate to many of the con- ventions of the Republican party, of which he has been a prominent member, and to which he has given very valu- able services. His business interests of late years have been connected more directly with the affairs of the Nayatt Brick Company, and with a large amount of probate busi- ness which has been committed to his care. He united with the Congregational Church in Barrington in 1832, and has held the office of deacon since 1857. He has also served as treasurer of the United Congregational Society from 1853 to the present time, a period of twenty-eight ycars. In 1871 he was a delegate to the National Congre- gational Council, at Oberlin. In 1839 he married Anna D. Martin, only daughter of Sullivan Martin, of Barrington, who died in July, 1861, the issue of the marriage being three sons. In November, 1862, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Judith R. Parker, daughter of Hon. James Bowen, of Bar- rington. In the various services he has rendered the town, the State, and the Church he has acted with wisdom, pru- dence, and a high regard for the welfare of individuals and the best interests of society. In public life he has been an earnest advocate of honesty and economy in the State gov- ernment, a warm friend of education, and a strong sup-

porter of the temperance cause. He is known as a man true to his own convictions and fearless in the advocacy of what he believes to be right.

OCKWOOD, MOSES BROWN, manufacturer, son of Benoni and Phebe (Green) Lockwood, was born in Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, August 25, 1815. On the completion of his thirteenth year he was sent to the Friends' School in Providence, where his diligence and proficiency in the branches of study he pursued won for him a high place in the regard of his associates and in- structors. In 1832 he was appointed assistant teacher of the school, and remained in that position for two years. In 1834 he was engaged as teacher of a similar institution in Westtown, Pennsylvania, but in 1835 was recalled to the school in Providence, with an appointment as principal. He was strongly attracted to the study of mathematics and natural philosophy, and entered with enthusiasm upon the pursuit of knowledge in such departments as physics and chemistry, at a time when such students and investigators as Davy, Lardner, Bache, Brewster, Silliman, and Faraday were claiming a large share of public attention, keeping abreast in after-life with the researches of Huxley, Tyndall, Agassiz, and later scientists. His contributions to scien- tific journals, and his instructions and lectures in the school and before the Franklin Society of Providence, of which he became a member in the year 1838, were interesting and valuable, showing evidences of a close study of his subject, both from original experiments and discoveries, and the researches of other students in the same field. In 1839 he was made Chairman of the Department of Chem- istry, and in 1840 elected a member of the Standing Com- mittee in the Franklin Society. His interest in natural science continued unabated through his lifetime, and his accurate knowledge in the branches of study which he pursued rendered him invaluable assistance in the various positions he occupied in connection with Brown Univer- sity and the public schools of the city of Providence. He received from the University the honorary degree of A.M. in 1857, and was for many years a member of the Examin- ing Committee in mathematics and astronomy. He was a member of the School Committee of the City of Providence for fourteen years, from 1855 to 1869. As an Examiner in the College he manifested an intelligent appreciation of the proficiency of students rarely possessed by non-profes- sional men. He was always a friend of the University, and made from time to time liberal contributions to its funds. As a member of the School Committee his counsel was always valued, and his labors were of great benefit to the cause of public education. Dceming a more active occupation than teaching conducive to his physical health, he left the Friends' School in 1838, and engaged with his father in the study and practice of civil engineering, con- tinuing in that pursuit until 1843, when, in connection

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with Amos D. Lockwood and R. B. Chapman, he entered into the business of manufacturing, under the firm-name of A. D. Lockwood & Co. Upon the organization of the Quinebaug Company in Danielsonville, Connecticut, in 1851, he was appointed its treasurer, and held the office from that time until his death. He also aided in organiz- ing the Wauregan Mills, January 14, 1853, and was treas- urer of that corporation for several years. Resigning his trust as treasurer, February 22, 1858, on account of ill health, he went to Europe, and spent nearly a year in travel, returning in November, 1859, with improved health. His capacity for business, and the confidence reposed in his good judgment and integrity, gave to him many offices of responsibility and trust. He was a director, Vice-Pres- ident, and President of the Mechanics' National Bank ; a trustee and Vice-President of the Providence Institution for Savings; trustee and member of the Committee of In- vestment of the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company ; director of the Providence Gas Company; director of several insurance companies, and was one of the original directors of the Providence and Worcester Railroad Com- pany. He served in the Common Council of Providence, as a member from the Third Ward, from 1845 to 1847 in- clusive; was a member of the House of Representatives in the General Assembly from the city of Providence in 1862-63 and 1863-64; and was elected Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for bringing water from the Paw- tuxet River into Providence, September 27, 1869. IIe held the last-named office at the time of his death, and was regarded as having largely contributed to the successful prosecution of this important public enterprise. In benev- olent and religious affairs he held an honored and honor- able place. He was a trustee of the Benefit Street Minis- try at Large from 1852 to the time of his death, and in 1865 was elected Vice-President of that charitable organization. In October, 1868, he was elected Vice-President, and on the 6th of April, 1869, President of the First Congregational (Unitarian) Society in Providence, and held the office until October, 1871. On the 9th of May, 1842, he married Alice Brown, daughter of Isaac Brown, Esq., who sur- vives him. He died May 13, 1872, leaving no children. The variety of Mr. Lockwood's gifts and occupations was harmonized by unity of purpose and principle. A student, instructor, manufacturer; a man of science and affairs, he met the demands of the hour with a spirit of fidelity and a clear and intelligent judgment. While he was conserva- tive in his opinions, he was not tenacious in holding them under the light of new discoveries and wider knowledge. His youth was earnest, active, well-balanced, and protected by moral principle and a sincere and simple religious faith. His mature manhood was kindly and mellow, happy in the enjoyment of literature, science, and art, genial, social intercourse, and a quiet domestic life. The interest which he took in public affairs was appreciated by his constituents, whose confidence in his integrity and abil-

ity outweighed his own desire for public life. He was not permitted to see the completion of the last great work with which he was intrusted-the introduction of water into the city of Providence-but the community is greatly indebted to his good judgment and skill. His desire to promote the public welfare caused him to provide in his will, that after the death of his wife, one-tenth of his property should be given for the establishment and maintenance of a free pub- lic library in Providence ; and in case of failure of issue on the part of another of his heirs, a second tenth was to be devoted to the same beneficent purpose. His life was so full of usefulness, and his services were so highly appre- ciated by the community, that his death was regarded as a public loss ; and the esteem in which he was held found expression in resolutions commemorative of his worth, adopted soon after his death by the City Council and the various organizations with which he was connected.

ULLOCK, HON. JONATHAN RUSSELL, was born at Bristol, Rhode Island, September 6, 1815. He was the son of Nathaniel Bullock and Ruth (Smith) his wife. After receiving a preparatory education he entered Brown University in 1830, and graduated in the class of 1834. He then entered upon the study of the law in the office of his father, and was admitted to the bar at Newport, in August, 1836. Soon after he removed to Illinois, and settled at Alton, where he commenced and continued the practice of his profession until April, 1843. During his residence at Alton he was chosen a member of the Common Council of that city. In 1843 he returned to Rhode Island, and associated himself in practice with the late Hon. Jos. M. Blake, then recently elected Attorney- General of the State. He continued in the practice of his profession until he was appointed Collector, in 1849. In April, 1844, he was elected, without opposition, first Repre- sentative to the General Assembly from Bristol ; and again, in April, 1845, and 1846. In 1847, having been engaged as counsel by the town of Bristol in an important question affecting its boundaries, then pending before the legisla ture, he declined a re-election. In May, 1849, he was appointed by President Taylor Collector of the Customs for the District of Bristol and Warren, and upon the death of President Taylor was re-appointed by President Fill- more. This office he resigned March 4, 1853, the day of the accession of Franklin Pierce to the Presidency. In April, 1859, he was elected to the State Senate, and in April, 1860, chosen Lieutenant-Governor. In December, 1861, he was appointed by the Governor Special Commis- sioner to adjust the account between Rhode Island and the United States, growing out of the expenses incurred by the State in raising and forwarding troops to suppress the rebellion. While engaged in this duty, in September, 1862, he was chosen an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. He remained upon the bench of the

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Supreme Court until March, 1864, when he was appointed by President Lincoln Judge of the District Court of the United States for the District of Rhode Island. In Sep- tember, 1869, in consequence of ill health, he resigned this office, and has since remained in private life. In Septem- ber, 1840, he married Susan Amelia, daughter of John De Wolf, and Sylvia (Griswold) his wife. She died October 7, 1866. In December, 1868, he married Emma, daughter of Stephen Westcott, and Mary (Smith) his wife, of West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

ANTHONY, HON. HENRY B., United States Sen- ator, and ex-Governor of Rhode Island, was born, of Quaker ancestry, at Coventry, Rhode Island, April 1, 1815. His father, William An- thony, was a native of Providence, and a prominent manufacturer at Coventry. His mother's maiden name was Mary Kinnecut Greene. She was a daughter of James Greene, of Warwick, a descendant of John Greene, who was an associate of Roger Williams, and one of the origi- nal purchasers of Shawomut, now called Old Warwick. Mr. Anthony prepared for college at his native town and at a private seminary in Providence, and graduated at Brown University in 1833, at the age of eighteen. At that time he was a frequent contributor to the columns of the Providence Journal, of which his cousin, George W. Jack- son, was editor and proprietor. He early attained a repu- tation as a terse and vigorous writer. In 1838, he became editor and joint proprietor with Joseph Knowles and John W. Vose, and has ever since been one of the proprietors of the Providence Journal. His paper, now under the editorial management of his copartner, Mr. George W. Danielson, is one of the best-conducted and most influen- tial dailies in the country. In 1849, Mr. Anthony was elected, on the Whig ticket, Governor of Rhode Island. His administration as Governor gave general satisfaction, and caused him to be re-elected in 1850. He was urged to accept the nomination for a third term, but declined a re-election. He was elected to the United States Senate from Rhode Island, as a Union Republican, to succeed ex-Governor Philip Allen, and took his seat March 4, 1859. Jefferson Davis, Slidell, Toombs, and Wigfall, with other Southerners, then occupied seats in the Senate Cham- ber, although they were meditating a secession from the Union. Douglas, Crittenden, and a few other Northern Democrats, vainly endeavored to avert the impending calamity. The Republicans were yet in the minority, but in their ranks were Sumner, Fessenden, Collamer, Foster, Grimes, Chandler, Wilson, and others who will be remem- bered among the ablest statesmen of the republie. During the war which soon followed, Mr. Anthony was a prominent member of the important Committee on Naval Affairs, where he aided in the ereation of a naval force and in the selec- tion of its officers. He did much to promote the efficiency

of the Union armies, and the comfort of those who served in them, and supported liberal pension bills for the wounded, and for the widows and orphans of those who fell. He took an active part in framing the great Recon- struction measures, advocating equal rights for all. His most important Senatorial services, however, have been rendered on the Committee on Public Printing, of which he was Chairman for eighteen years. During that time, the execution of the printing and binding was greatly im- proved and its cost was diminished, while many important reforms were carried out. In March, 1869, Mr. Anthony was elected President pro tempore of the Senate, and served until the election of Mr. Wilson as Vice-President, when he declined a re-election. He was a member of the Na- tional Committee appointed to accompany the remains of President Lincoln to Illinois, in 1865; and was one of the Senators designated by the Senate to attend the funeral of General Winfield Scott, in 1866. He was a delegate to the " Loyalists' Convention," at Philadelphia, in 1866. Having been re-elected in 1864, 1870, and 1876, Mr. An- thony's Senatorial career extends over a period of more than twenty years, and exceeds that of any other person now in the Senate. He is not a frequent speaker, but when he addresses the Senate, is always listened to with marked attention. He has delivered numerous memorial addresses, among which may be mentioned those on Sen- ator Stephen A. Douglas, July 9, 1861 ; on Senator John R. Thompson, December 4, 1862; on William Pitt Fessen- den, December 14, 1869; on Major-General Nathanael Greene, June 20, 1870; on Roger Williams, January 9, 1872; on Senator Jonathan Trumbull, March 8, 1872; on Roger Sherman, March 8, 1872; on Chevalier Charles Louis d'Arsac de Ternay, December 16, 1873 ; on Senator Charles Sumner, March 11, 1874; on Senator William A. Buckingham, February 27, 1875; and on Vice-President Henry Wilson, January 21, 1876. Mr. Anthony married, October 16, 1838, Sarah Aborn Rhodes, daughter of Gen- eral Christopher Rhodes, of Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, a descendant of Zachariah Rhodes, an early settler of Rhode Island, and an associate of Roger Williams. She died in New York, July 11, 1854.

EWETT, PROFESSOR CHARLES COFFIN, an eminent bibliographer and librarian, son of Rev. Paul and Eleanor (Punchard) Jewett, of Salem, Massachu- setts, was born in Lebanon, Maine, August 12, 1816. Concerning his childhood and youth we know but little. His father was a graduate of Brown University, and for several years was a tutor in that institution,-a man of accurate learning, of cultivated taste, and of very retiring habits. In the education of his children he took unwearied pains. His eldest son was formerly a publisher and bookseller in Boston, well known for his connection

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with the celebrated Uncle Tom's Cabin. Another son was for several years a professor in Amherst College. Charles attended the excellent schools of Salem, graduating at the Latin School. In 1831 he entered Dartmouth College, but transferred his relations in his Sophomore year to Brown University, where he graduated in the famous class of 1835. He spent two years in teaching at the Uxbridge Academy, in Massachusetts, and subsequently entered the Theological Seminary at Andover. Here he devoted him- self especially to philology and the Oriental languages and literature, in which departments of knowledge he attained great proficiency. While here Mr. Jewett was for a time Librarian of the Seminary, and he assisted Dr. Taylor in the preparation of the printed catalogue. At this time he was intending to spend several years, and perhaps his life, in the East, as a missionary, and he had accordingly, at the close of his theological course, marked out for himself extensive study and research, for which ample facilities had been offered him. When ready to embark so slight a cir- cumstance as the misdirecting of a letter informing him when the vessel in which he had taken passage was to sail, changed his whole future life. The vessel sailed without him, and he took charge for a time of Day's Academy, in Wrentham, Massachusetts. His winning ways, genial temper, and cordial affection, especially for those whom he instructed, endeared him to friends and pupils alike. In 1841 he was appointed Librarian of Brown University, entering upon his duties in October. He at once set him- self to the task of rearranging the books, then numbering ten thousand volumes, and of preparing a catalogue. For this kind of work he had a special aptitude. It was pub- lished in 1843 and attracted much attention, being favorably noticed in the North American Review and other periodi- cals. Soon after the publication of the catalogue he was elected Professor of Modern Languages, in addition to his duties as Librarian. He immediately embarked for Europe, where he spent several years, principally in France, Ger- many, and Italy, devoting himself to the acquisition of the languages of those countries, and making himself familiar with libraries and library economy. During his residence abroad he made valuable purchases of English and classi- cal books, under the direction of the Library Committee. He was also intrusted by the late Mr. John Carter Brown with large commissions for the purchase of standard Ger- man, French, and Italian books. These purchases, amount- ing to seven thousand volumes, were made with singular fidelity and skill ; and they now constitute the choice treas- ures of the Library. In 1848 he accepted an appointment as Assistant Secretary and Librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington. He entered upon his duties with characteristic ardor, determined to carry out the ex- pressed wishes of Congress, and build up a great national library for the " Diffusion of Useful Knowledge." In the long controversy that ensued between science and literature, as represented by Professor Henry and Professor Jewett,

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 89

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