The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 9

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

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S VANDFORD, JOHN, was born in England, not far from the year 1600, and came to this country, landing in Boston in 1631. He was sworn a freeman April 3, 1632, and the same year was made cannoneer of the fort. In the famous " Antinomian controversy " he sympathized with Ann Hutchinson and her adherents, and as the result, was obliged to leave Massachusetts in 1638. His name appears in the civil compact formed by the nineteen settlers of Aquidneck. In 1640 he was ap- pointed Constable for Portsmouth, and in 1647 assistant to John Coggeshall, President of the four united towns of the state of Rhode Island. In 1651 a separation having taken place between the four towns, he served as President of Portsmouth and Newport from May, 1653, to May, 1654. The union of the four towns having been re-established, he was chosen General Treasurer of the State, and held the office from May 22, 1655, to May 21, 1661, and, after an interval of one year, to 1663. Under the Royal Charter of Charles II, he was again chosen to the same office, holding it from November 26, 1663, to May 4, 1664. He was Attorney- General from June, 1662, to May, 1664, and again from May, 1670, to May, 1671. Besides the offices already re- ferred to, Mr. Sandford was Secretary of State from May, 1656, to May, 1661, and again from 1666 to 1669. Subse- quently he filled the same office from 1671 to 1676, and from 1677 to 1686. His service to the state was a most useful one and covered a long period. Not long after Ann Hutchinson removed to a spot near Hurl Gate, all her household, sixteen in number, were murdered, with the ex-

ception of one or more of the children of John Sandford. The exact date of his death we have not been able to ascer- tain.

LATER, JOHN, brother and business copartner of Samuel Slater-the first to introduce successfully the spinning of cotton in America-son of William Slater, was born in Belper, Derbyshire, England, December 25, 1776. Receiving a good education, and developing mechanical aptness and taste, he learned the trade of a wheelwright, which then included in its scope the construction and setting up of all sorts of ma- chinery, and worked at Manchester and Oldham. At the suggestion of his brother Samuel, he made a special study of such machinery as was then profitable in the manufac- ture of yarns and cloths, with a view to transferring his ideas and skill to America. By invitation of his brother he came to this country in the latter part of 1803, and at once united his knowledge and skill with the ideas and plans of his brother, at Pawtucket, R. I., bringing with him particularly a knowledge of the mule spinning invented by the famous Samuel Crompton. His ideas were a great accession to the manufacturing interests already developed in Pawtucket under the guidance of his brother Samuel. In 1806 was formed the business firm of " Almy, Brown & Slaters," composed of William Almy, Obadiah Brown, Sam- uel Slater, and John Slater, equal owners. By this firm a purchase of property was made and a mill started in North Smithfield, thus beginning what has finally grown into the beautiful and prosperous village of Slatersville.

In 1807 John, having married, removed to Slatersville to superintend the mill and the rising village evoked by the new enterprise. Here he continued to reside through his laborious and successful life, steadily enlarging the mills and the young settlement, and directing business in other places in which he was interested. In 1833 he and his brother Samuel bought out the interests of Almy and Brown in Slatersville, and so became entire owners of these mills and privileges, becoming equal owners, under the firm-name of "S. & J. Slater." They had already, under the same firm-name, in 1823, purchased and put in operation the mill at Jewett City, Griswold, Conn. In 1825 John, on his own account, bought the mill property on Pachaug River, three miles above Jewett City, and named the place Hope- ville. Here he increased the manufacturing business and made it remarkably successful ; indeed, everywhere his skill, energy, and prudence insured success to his undertakings. In 1831 he purchased the interest of his brother Samuel in the Jewett City property, thus becoming sole owner of it, and placed his eldest son, John F., in charge as business manager. His second son, William S., assisted him in the conduct of the Slatersville interests. In other localities where he was interested with his brother Samuel he continued the copartnership as at Slatersville,

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till Samuel's death, in 1835, and for a time afterwards with the heirs of Samuel. In 1818 was established the Burrillville Agricultural and Manufacturers' Bank (char- tered as early as 1815). In 1824 the name was changed to the Village Bank, and finally, in 1865, was styled the First National Bank of North Smithfield. Of this insti- tution Mr. Slater was the first president, and he continued to preside over it till his death. In business he was sys- tematic, studious, discerning, diligent, careful, prompt, and exact. He was a man of large form, and noble in appear- ance, as was also his brother Samuel. In disposition he was kind, hospitable, and generous. It was said no man could laugh more heartily than John Slater. In all affairs he was broad-minded and public-spirited, being particu- larly thoughtful and considerate of the interests of his workmen, and cherished a lively interest in the education and progress of the young. In educational, religious, and industrial interests Slatersville bore the impress of his worthy life. His business extended into other States. He was concerned, with Robert Rogerson and others, in a mill at Boylston, Mass. Robert Foss, the father of the twin brothers who were editors of the Woonsocket Patriot, was for many years his trusted private secretary or clerk. He married, in 1807, Ruth Bucklin, daughter of John Bucklin, of Pawtucket, R. I., and had eleven children, only four of whom, two sons and two daughters, lived to maturity, viz., Minerva, who married Dr. John C. Greene, of Lowell, Mass. (she died in early womanhood) ; Elizabeth, who married Dr. Elisha Bartlett, for many years Mayor of Lowell, Mass., Professor in the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, in New York, in the New York University, in the Medical Department of Dartmouth Col- lege, in Transylvania University, and in Berkshire Medical Institute. His sons were carefully trained to business pur- suits, particularly to manufacturing, and so were prepared to aid their father and to succeed him in the enterprises that he had established. John F. has become a celebrated and successful manufacturer in Connecticut, residing in the city of Norwich. William S. succeeded his father in Slatersville, and is elsewhere sketched in this volume. On the death of their father, the sons formed the firm of " J. & W. Slater." The father died in Slatersville, May 27, 1843, at the age of sixty-six years.

ROWN, REV. CHAD, the progenitor of the distin- G guished family of that name so well known for more than two centuries in the annals of Rhode Island, was a native of England, and born not far from the year 1600. He came to America in the ship Martin, in July, 1638, as is generally supposed. He, with his wife Elizabeth and his little family, came to Providence not long after Roger Williams settled there. It is impossible to fix the exact date of his arrival, the early records of the town having, many of them, been destroyed during King Philip's

war. It appears, from such evidence as we can have access to, that he occupied a position of prominence among his fel- low-citizens. Serious difficulties having arisen respecting the division of lands made by Roger Williams, the matter of the adjustment with the contending parties is thus re- ferred to by Williams : " The truth is, Chad Browne, that wise and godly soul (now with God), with myself brought the remaining aftercomers and the first twelve to a oneness by arbitration." Among the names of the owners of " home lots," extending from what are now North and South Main streets eastward to Hope Street, we find the name of the subject of this sketch. Upon a portion of this " home lot " was what is now the college campus of Brown University. In 1642 Mr. Brown was formally ordained as one of the pastors of the Baptist Church in Providence. For more than half a century the church had no meeting-house, the place of their assemblage for public worship being a grove or orchard, and in unpleasant weather in the house of some one of the members. The special theological controversy which occupied the minds of the colonists during Mr. Brown's ministry, was on the " laying on of hands," re- ferred to in the Epistle to the Hebrews, vi. 1, 2. The controversy gave rise to the formation of distinct Baptist churches in the colony, called "Six Principle Baptists," which have kept up their organization to this day. Mr. Brown performed the duties of the ministerial office till his death, which occurred about the year 1665. His re- mains, which originally were interred in a lot not far from where the new court-house, on the corner of College and Benefit streets, now stands, were removed, in 1792, to the North Burying-ground. Five sons survived the death of their father,-John, who married a Holmes; Judah, alias Chad, who died without children; James, who about the . year 1672 removed to Newport; Jeremiah, who, like his brother, became a citizen of Newport; and Daniel, who married a Herenden. Chad Brown seems to have been, really, the first pastor of the First Baptist Church in Prov- idence, the connection of Roger Williams having been of such brief duration, and of so informal a character, as to forbid that he should be recognized as its first pastor. The venerable John Howland says : "On the question among the founders of Rhode Island College on what lot to place the building-University Hall-they decided on the pres- ent site because it was the home lot of Chad Brown, the first minister of the Baptist Church."

pen BROWN, JOHN, eldest son of Rev. Chad Brown, was a native of England, and was born in the year 1630. His wife was Mary Holmes, daughter of Rev. Obadiah Holmes, of Newport. Of Mr. Brown's life and character we have very little in- formation. From the little that has come down to us from the early colonial times in which he lived, he seems to have been respected in the community. We find him to

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

be one of the commissioners from Providence to meet commissioners chosen to represent other towns in the col- ony at Warwick, August 31, 1654, the purpose of the meet- ing being to adjust certain difficulties which had arisen, which threatened to disturb the peace and harmony of the colony. He was appointed, in 1662, an associate with Roger Williams and Thomas Harris, Jr., the three constituting the Town Council of Providence. The date of his death we have been unable to ascertain. His surviving children were John, born March 18, 1662; James, Obadiah, Martha, and Deborah. Governor Joseph Jenckes married Martha.

BROWN, JAMES, grandson of Rev. Chad Brown, G and second son of John and Mary (Holmes) Brown, was born in Providence in the year 1666. He married Mary Harris, a granddaughter of Wil- liam Harris, who was one of the first five who originally came with Roger Williams to Providence. He was for several years pastor of the Baptist Church, first as colleague with Rev. Pardon Tillinghast, and on his decease associating with himself in the pastoral office Rev. Ebenezer Jenckes. He seems to have been of a generous, liberal spirit, not insisting that what he regarded as matters of minor consequence should be made texts of church fel- lowship. Of the details in the life of Mr. Brown our information is excecdingly scanty. The period in which he lived was not one for writing memoirs or extended obituary notices. We have this simple but comprehensive record of him,-that he was "an example of piety and meekness worthy of all admiration." He had ten children : John, who died in 1716, without issue; James, Joseph, Martha, Andrew, Mary, Obadiah, Jeremiah, Elisha, and Anna. These children married into families bearing well- known Rhode Island names: Barker, Rhodes, Smith, Comstock, Harris, Green, Field, Power, and Knowlton.

BROWN, JAMES, merchant, second son of James and Mary (Harris) Brown, was born in Providence, March 22, 1698. His tastes inclined him to mer- cantile pursuits, and he laid the foundation of the wealth and prosperity of his descendants, who have so distinguished themselves among the honorable and suc- cessful merchants of Rhode Island. He married, in 1723, Hope Power, daughter of Nicholas Power and grand- daughter of the Rev. Pardon Tillinghast. At his own expense Mr. Brown built the first meeting-house occupied by the First Baptist Church in Providence. A deed of the church edifice and of the lot on which it stood was executed to the church and their successors in the year 1711. Mr. Brown died April 27, 1739, leaving a widow and six chil- dren. Mrs. Brown died June 8, 1792, having reached the age of ninety years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brown were

members of the Baptist Church, and gave to their children a religious education. Their children were: Mary, who married Dr. David Vanderlight, a German, and a physician of Providence. She died May 6, 1795; James, who be- came master of a vessel, and died at York, Va., February 15, 1750; Nicholas, Joseph, John, and Moses. The last four are known in the annals of Providence as the " Four Brothers."

SMITH, RICHARD, the first white settler in North Kingstown, and a man of great distinction, was a native of Gloucestershire, England, but who, it is said, " for his conscience to God, left fair posses- sions," "and adventured with his relations and estate to New England, and was a most acceptable and prime leading man in Taunton, in Plymouth colony. For his conscience sake (many differences arising) he left Taunton and came to the Narragansett country, at Wick- ford, in 1639, where by God's mercy and the favor of the Narragansett sachems he broke the ice (at his great charge and hazards) and put up, in the thickest of the barbarians, the first English house among them." In 1641 he had a house at the head of Point Wharf Cove, the timber of which was brought from Taunton River by water. He purchased a tract of land of the Narragansetts, computed at 30,000 acres. This was the third settlement made in Rhode Island, the first being in Providence in 1636, the second being in Portsmouth in 1638. Smith immediately erected an important trading station, and was associated with Roger Williams in trade and public affairs. The juris- diction of the territory he occupied came into sharp and long dispute between Rhode Island and the adjacent colonies, Massachusetts and Connecticut in turn seeking to establish a claim on the Narragansett country. Smith's block-house-a real garrison-was the stronghold reached by the colonial forces after the " Great Swamp Fight " and victory of December 19, 1675, when the Indians lost about seven hundred men, and the whites about two hundred. In Smith's garden, near a large rock (now bearing a drill mark), were buried in one grave forty-two of the white men who fell in the struggle. This is known as the " Great Grave." The spot is about a mile north of the present village of Wickford, on what latterly was known as the Updike farm. Mr. Smith's daughter married Dr. Gilbert Updike, and from her descended Daniel Updike, the Attor- ney-General of the colony for twenty-four years, and the intimate friend of Bishop Berkeley. His son, Richard, was a major in the service of Cromwell, and also served the colony. Mr. Smith's wife brought from Gloucestershire the recipe for making the celebrated Cheshire cheese, which was adopted in the Narragansett country. The tract of land at one time owned by Mr. Smith was nine miles long and three miles wide. He was the first white owner of Ilog Island, at the mouth of Bristol harbor, having bought it of Wamsutta, a Wampanoag sachem, in 1658.

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

He was one of the leading men of his time. His prin- ciples made him a fit colaborer of Roger Williams, who always spoke of him in terms of esteem, and who finally sold to him his chief interest in the Narragansett country. Smith, like Williams, always bought his lands of the natives, and was a man of clear religious principles. He died about 1670, and was buried near his house, which still stands, and the rude tombstones remained unlettered for more than two hundred years, till Major Theodore War- ren chiselled on them Mr. Smith's name. The burial- ground has recently been inclosed by stone posts and iron rails, at the expense of the Updike family. Mr. Smith's son, Major Richard Smith, died in 1692.

RNOLD, GOVERNOR BENEDICT, son of William Arnold, was born in England, December 21, 1615, and was among the early Puritan emigrants from the Old Country to Massachusetts. Sympathizing with Roger Williams in his views on civil and religious liberty, he was among the first settlers of Provi- dence. His name appears on the first conveyance in the records of the town. It is attached to a " memorandum, 3 m., 9th day, 1639," which is added to the deed convey- ing a grant of land by Massasoit. " This was all again confirmed by Miantonomi ; he acknowledged this his act and hand, up the streams of Pawtucket and Pawtuxet without limits, we might have for our use of cattle. Wit- ness hereof (signed) Roger Williams, Benedict Arnold." By comparing dates it will be seen that Mr. Arnold was at this time only a little more than twenty-three years of age. His name appears on the list of fifty-four persons to whom the "town lots," i. e., the lots bounded by what are now North and South Main streets and Hope Street, were assigned to the first settlers of the town. His name also appears in the Civil Compact in which the signers declared : " We do promise to subject ourselves in active and passive obedience to all such orders or agreements as shall be made for public good of the body, in an orderly way, by the major assent of the present inhabitants, etc .; " and when, not long after, another instrument was drawn up, designed to secure more stability and good order in the management of civil affairs, this paper was signed by Mr. Arnold. It will thus appear that from the very outset, and when he was but a young man, he took an interest in mat- ters affecting the welfare of the little colony. In 1642 he was one of four of the inhabitants who, becoming dissatis- fied with the conduct of Gorton and his company, placed themselves and their lands under the government and pro- tection of Massachusetts, where they all remained for sixteen years, with the exception of Mr. Arnold, who, before the completion of this period, removed to Newport. He took an active part in Indian affairs, doing what lay in his power to allay the hostile spirit of the natives. His

removal to Newport was in 1653. We find his name upon the list of " commissioners " from that place, appointed to adjust certain difficulties and to bring about the union of the towns of Rhode Island under the charter or patent granted by the " honored Parliament of the Commonwealth of England." At the meeting of the General Assembly in September, 1654, he was elected a " colony officer " till the next May, and was re-elected the following year. For four years, 1657-61, he held the office of President of the colony, and under the charter of King Charles he was Governor from May, 1663, to May, 1666; also from May, 1669, to May, 1672. During Governor Arnold's second term of office, serious difficulties sprang up with the colony of Connecticut, which at one time threatened the peace and welfare of both the colonies. The Governor was appointed as agent of Rhode Island to proceed to England and defend what was believed to be the rights of the colony under the charter. The two towns of Westerly and Stonington maintained a sort of internecine strife for many years. In 1677 Mr. Arnold was again chosen Governor, and was in office at the time of his death, which occurred June 20, 1678. Governor Arnold was a leading man of the times in which he lived, and occupied a conspicuous place in Rhode Island history. Hon. S. G. Arnold says of him : " His liberal views and thorough appreciation of the Rhode Island idea of intellectual freedom appear in the letters that, as President of the colony, he wrote in reply to the arrogant demand of the United Colonies when they urged the forcible expulsion of the Quakers. Throughout his long and useful life he displayed talents of a brilliant order, which were employed for the welfare of his fellow-men."

RENTON, GOVERNOR WILLIAM, is supposed to have been born in Hammersmith in England, not far from the commencement of the 17th century. He was among the early settlers of Massachusetts, hav- ing been admitted as a freeman in Boston, May 14, 1634. For three years, 1634-37, he was a selectman of Boston, and for one year, 1635, was a Deputy in the General Court. August 20, 1638, he was admitted as a freeman of Pocasset, or Portsmouth, in the island of Rhode Island. In January, the year following, he was appointed an " Elder," to assist " Judge " Coddington in his judicial duties, etc. He was among the first settlers of what is now New- port, where he had assigned to him four acres of land. His fellow-citizens chose him from time to time to fill the highest offices of honor and trust. He was Deputy Gover- nor of Aquidneck or the island of Rhode Island from March 12, 1640, to May 19, 1647. He subsequently held the same office from November, 1663, to May, 1666. He was President of the four united towns of Providence, War- wick, Portsmouth and Newport, from May, 1660, to May, 1662. He was Governor under the Royal Charter from

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

May, 1666, to May, 1669. Subsequently, in 1672, he was again clected governor, but declined to serve. His death oc- curred in 1674. Governor Brenton owned extensive tracts of land on Rhode Island, in Narragansett and other places. He had seven children, three sons and four daughters. His oldest son, Jahleel, died without issue, November 2, 1732, and was buried on Brenton's Point. This son held a com- mission from William and Mary, and was Collector and Sur- veyor-General of the customs of the colony. His second son was William, who was one of the first settlers of Bristol. His third son was Ebenezer, who also lived in Bristol, and probably died there. His son of the same name acquired military distinction and bore the title of " Major." The four daughters of Governor Brenton were Sarah, Mehitabel, Abigail, and Elizabeth. Several of his descendants reached eminence as naval officers; Jahleel, his great-grandson, rose to the rank of admiral in the British navy, and his son of the same name, Sir Jahleel Brenton, was also an admiral, and another son, Edward, a post captain. 'Another of his descendants, John, was secretary to Admiral Provost on the East India station, and a post captain.

HERMAN, PHILIP. The Civil Compact, founded at Providence for the occupation of the island of Aquidneck, now Rhode Island, was signed by the nineteen settlers, March 7, 1638. One of the sign- ers, who became one of the proprietors, was Philip Sherman. All of the signers, with the exception of Wil- liam Coddington and Randall Holden, had been dismissed by the famous act of the previous November, which for- mally banished them from the Massachusetts colony. The settlement was called Pocasset, and at the meeting for the election of officers the following year, 1639, seven assist- ants were chosen, " for the help and care of condueting public. business and affairs," one of the number being Philip Sherman. These officers constituted a court for set- tling any dispute involving less than forty shillings. Some of the settlers removed to the southern end of the island and formed another settlement, known as Newport, but Sherman remained at Poeasset, which name was changed in 1639 to that of Portsmouth. In May, 1648, the " Gen- eral Court of Election " was organized, and at the first election Philip Sherman was ehosen General Reeorder, and at the spring election in 1650 he was again elected to the same office.

ANNING, REV. JAMES, D.D., a distinguished seholar and divine, the first President of Rhode Island College, now Brown University, was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, October 22, 1738. His father, Isaac Manning, was a farmer in easy circumstances. IIis son enjoyed superior advan- tages for intellectual culture, and at the age of eighteen

entered the academy at Hopewell, where he was fitted for college by the Rev. Isaac Eaton. In 1758 he entered the College of New Jersey at Princeton, where he was gradu- ated in 1762, with the second honors of his elass. Among his classmates were his intimate friend Rev. Hezekiah Smith, D.D., of Ilaverhill, Mass .; Ebenezer Hazard, the first Postmaster-General of the United States; Jona. Dick- inson Sergeant, the first Attorney-General of Pennsylvania ; and Hon. Isaac Allen, who was the Valedictorian. Soon after graduating, March 23, 1763, he was united in mar- riage to Margaret, daughter of John Stites, Esq., a " ruling elder " in the Seotch Plains Baptist Church, and for several years the Chief Magistrate of Elizabethtown. On the 19th of April following he was publicly ordained and set apart for the work of the Christian ministry, to which he had con- secrated his life. Having been chosen by the Philadelphia Association as a leader in the enterprise of establishing in Rhode Island a Baptist College, "in which," to use the words of the historian Backus, " education might be pro- moted and superior learning obtained, free from any sectarian tests," he at once set out on his mission. In the month of July, 1763, he arrived at Newport and submitted his plans to Colonel Gardner, the Deputy Governor, and other gentlemen of like views. The result was an applica- tion to the General Assembly the month following for a charter, which was finally granted in February, 1764, the delay having been caused by opposition on the part of those who were unfriendly to the enterprise. Immediately after this Manning removed with his wife to the town of Warren, and established a Latin school, which is still continued in Providence, under the name of the " Univer- sity Grammar School." He also preached statedly on the Sabbath. His zeal and eloquence soon attracted crowds of hearers, many of whom were converted. On the 15th of November, 1764, a Baptist Church was organized, over which he was duly installed as Pastor. This relation he sustained six ycars, or until the removal of the college to Providenee. In 1765, having been appointed President by a formal vote of the corporation, he commenced the work of college instruction with a single pupil, William Rogers, a lad from Newport. In 1767 the Warren Asso- ciation, which owes its origin to the suggestions and per- sonal influence of Manning, and which is the mother of all similar associations in New England, held its first meeting in connection with the Warren church. The first com- mencement of the College was held in the meeting-house on the 7th of September, 1769. The occasion drew together a large concourse of people from all parts of the colony, inaugurating the earliest state holiday in the his- tory of Rhode Island. Seven young men, most of whom acquired distinction in after-life, then took their bachelor's degree in the arts. At once a contest arose as to where the College should be permanently located. The four towns of Warren, East Greenwich, Newport, and Provi- dence all pressed their claims for the honor of giving the

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 9

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