USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. IV > Part 15
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Late in the day, the first President and the President later to be, made their way through cheering crowds to the packet and soon set sail for New York. Washington had visited Rhode Island three times before but, at least, once, Thomas Jeffer- son saw both Newport and Providence right, as we say, and there is no reason to believe that he did not thoroughly enjoy the best that Rhode Islanders could offer in the way of entertainment and hospitality.
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JOHN BROWN HOUSE
S OME buildings are distinguished from the moment they are finished, and the future may destroy them only at great loss. Some buildings achieve impor- ance by withstanding the assaults of time. All about are buildings destined to be called historic when their beauty, their type, or their experience has been left in loneliness by the winnowing of time. These are part of our inheritance from three and more centuries past, - to recog- nize and understand such buildings is our birthright, and to protect them is our duty. It can be our achievement, having added to the inheritance, to pass it on.' With these and other phrases, Laurence Vail Coleman, Director of the American Association of Museums, begins the first chapter of his volume entitled: "Historic House Museums." His injunction, or ob- servation, in respect to buildings which should be preserved, has been heeded in some measure here in Rhode Island, but in no more significant instance than the pres- entation to the Rhode Island Historical Society by John Nicholas Brown of the famous mansion of his great, great uncle, John Brown.
Who was John Brown, and what is known about the erection of his beautiful and famous mansion, which has been taken over and is now occupied by the Society? Among the early Providence settlers was the Reverend Chad Brown, first pastor of the First Baptist Church, the first society of that denomination organized in Amer- ica and the second oldest in the world. Between the years 1715 and 1720, one of Chad Brown's descendants, Nathaniel Brown, began building ships in his yards somewhere in the vicinity of present Exchange Place. There, sloops, schoon- ers and brigs, the largest probably not exceeding one hundred tons, were con- structed for use in the coastal trade, and, too, in the rapidly-expanding trade be- tween the New England colonies and the West Indies. Meanwhile, two of Chad Brown's great grandsons, James and Obidiah, started in business together, about 1733, and, within three years they
had four sloops in the West India trade. Of these, James Brown married Hope Power, a granddaughter of Pardon Tillinghast, builder of the first wharf and warehouse in Providence. James and Hope Brown had four sons, Nicholas, Joseph, John and Moses, all of whom were associated in business from about 1763 until 1773. Moses is, perhaps, the best known of these four Brown brothers, largely be- cause of his varied interests and public- spirited acts, although the other three were also prominent in the industrial and commercial life of the community. All were public benefactors and leaders in civic endeavors.
John, the third brother, was born in Providence, January 27, 1736, presumably in the home of his parents on lands now occupied by the Providence County Court House. Not much is known of his youth, but, a wealth of evidence reveals that the firm of Nicholas Brown and Company, of which he became a partner when he was approximately twenty-seven years old, provided, through its varied interests and activities, unusual opportunities for first- hand training in business and in civic lead- ership. For example, the Brown brothers were principally responsible for the re- moval of Rhode Island College from War- ren to Providence; John Brown laid the cornerstone of University Hall; the firm of brothers erected the original college build- ing. All were generous benefactors of Rhode Island College, but the name was not changed to Brown University until 1804, following a large gift by Nicholas II, son of Nicholas, one of the four. John held the office of Treasurer of the College from 1775 to 1796, and he was the leading figure in the First Baptist Church, whose famed meeting house was built from plans and designs by James Summers (Sumner) and John's brother, Joseph. John Brown supplied the boats that carried the local patriots from Sabin's Tavern down to Namquit Point on the never-to-be-for- gotten evening in June 1772, when the hated Gaspee had the misfortune to lose out in a chase that ended in her destruc-
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tion; and John Brown was the principal founder of the Providence Bank, now the Providence National Bank, oldest in America under national charter. He was an influential leader in the movement which finally induced Rhode Island to ratify the Federal Constitution, and he was a strong advocate for an adequate navy to protect American commerce on all seas.
As a member of Congress and a ship- owner, he had a twofold interest in naval protection. He had his own property to protect, and he knew, by practical exper- ience, how effectively the cause of inde- pendence might be supported by means of fast-sailing, well-equipped and well-armed fighting ships. Immediately after the close of the Revolutionary War, John Brown, under his own name, operated a fleet of speedy vessels, many of which were built at India Point in Providence. The most famous of his large fleet was the General Washington, which set sail from Narragansett Bay, in 1787, on the first voyage by a sailing vessel from Prov- idence to China. Another of his famous ships was the President Washington. After the marriage of John Francis to his daughter, Abby, John Brown took his son-in-law into partnership under the name of Brown & Francis, their ships making long voyages to any port in the world where a profitable trade could be found. Certainly it seems proper that this successful, enterprising man of many interests, this wealthy civic leader, whose name was known from Hong Kong to Madagascar, should have been the one to build what has long been regarded as one of the most magnificent mansions in America.
According to the old 1664 map of Provi- dence which shows the home lots of the original proprietors, present Power Street, running east and west across Benefit Street, was then a highway leading up from the Towne Street, now South Main, across Benefit to the "Highway at ye Head of ye lots in ye Neck," or Hope Street. This early highway, or path, apparently turned in a southeasterly direction to form, or meet, the Watche- moket and Montaup Trail crossing the Seekonk about where the Washington
Bridge is located. The map shows the lot of Nicholas Power on the south side of the highway, hence the name Power Street, or Power Lane, with the lot, or plantation, of William Wickenden on the north side. After the middle of the eight- eenth century, when Benefit Street had been laid out, a portion of this original Wickenden property was known as the "Joseph Whipple 18 acre lot."
On May 10, 1768, Nicholas Brown, eld- est of the famous four, purchased that part of the Whipple estate extending east from Benefit Street to Hope Street, less a small lot, sixty by eighty feet, within the confines of the tract, then owned by Nicholas Cooke. The Cooke property occupied what is now the northeast corner of Power and Brown Streets, being within the confines of the lot upon which Thomas P. Ives built his brick mansion, in 1804, and now occupied by his descendants. Mr. Ives was the first President of the Providence Institution for Savings. On February 10, 1769, Nicholas Brown sold to his brother John a one and one half acre lot at the southwest corner of his property, and there, fronting on Power Street, a few steps up from Benefit Street, John Brown erected the permanent home and headquarters of the Rhode Island Historical Society, one of the nation's finest examples of architectural design, enduring construction and artistic crafts- manship.
The structure is said to have been de- signed by Joseph Brown, who had already exhibited his remarkable talent for con- ceiving breathtaking architectural harmo- nies in his collaboration with the designer and planner of the First Baptist Meeting House. Unfortunately, Joseph Brown died on December 3, 1785, previous to the laying of the cornerstone, but the dimen- sions, floor-plans, rises, elevations, scales and decorative motifs of this palatial residence must have been carefully worked out on paper before his death, for the con- struction of his brother's home was shortly thereafter undertaken. It was completed, in 1787, under the supervision of Zepha- niah Andrews, a mason by trade, and also a business man and statesman.
Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas (stability, utility, beauty), the three qualities indis-
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JOHN BROWN HOUSE ON POWER STREET IN PROVIDENCE, PRESENTED BY JOHN NICHOLAS BROWN TO THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOR LECTURES, MEETINGS, AND FOR HOUSING THE SOCIETY'S LIBRARY, RECORDS AND COLLECTION OF VALUABLE RELICS. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
pensable in a fine building were conceived in the mind of the designer, skillfully and harmoniously combined the finished prod- uct of the mason, bricklayer, carpenter, plasterer, wood carver, turner, and worker in metals. The exterior of the squarish, gracefully ornamented, imposing brick 'House founded by John Brown, Esq., 1786" as the lettering cut into a stone lintel above a side doorway reads, was undoubtedly a delight to the eyes of the six or seven thousand residents, who made up the population of Providence at the time. The structure remains a delight to the eye, for it has been little altered. The ell attached to the rear, joining the main part of the residence with the one surviving outbuilding, the stable, was a later addition, but this extension has not harmed its perfect proportions. Solidly founded, its railed-in-roof towering high, its spacious terraced grounds fenced and
pleasingly graded, the mansion of John Brown well merited the privilege of long survival. Through a massive gate swinging from stone posts supporting the celebrated marble figures immortal- ized by the poet Poe, one steps beneath a columned porch, or portico, and enters the panelled door, opening directly into the great, or lower, hall. In the fore- ground, sixteen wide stairs boldly ascend to the first landing, and, beyond at the rear, through an arched opening, is the entrance to the ell. The inner bannister of the grand stairway has the appearance of an unrolling ball of tape, suddenly halted in its descent from above, while the horizontal coil of mahogany at the lower extremity of the outer rail swirls around the tiny inlay of white ivory, the "Peace Point," evidence that the builder was paid in full for his labors. On either wall of the lower hall Corinthian columns
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support choice marble busts said to have been brought to the mansion from Ver- sailles. To the left, at the southwest corner of the house, is the ancient parlor, now the reception room for the Society; and to the right, the music room, pres- ently used for lectures and meetings of patriotic societies. Directly north of the parlor was once the private office, or study, where John Brown long ago poured over his papers, interviewed his ship- masters, and where he gazed through the twelve-paned windows at the top-masts of his great ships moored near his busy wharves and warehouses. The second and third floors were changed somewhat with the passing of years to suit the con- veniences of occupants, but the upper chambers once used for sleeping, are all equipped with massive fire-places, no two alike. Mantels, doorways, dados and cornices from top to bottom of this gra- cious abode are perfect examples of the Pythagorean principle of balance and pro-
portion - all are exquisitely chiseled from enduring wood in classical patterns, both ornate and conventional.
President George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and countless others, great and near great, have admired the generous but simple harmonies of line and balance retained to this day in the fine old place for luxurious living. Present and future generations may now enjoy the beauty of its carved mouldings, the richly-fash- ioned doors, the ornamental cornices, the polished knobs, handles, and the service- able hinges, latches and locks. In such an appropriate establishment, the Rhode Island Historical Society, custodian of much which should be preserved from the past in Rhode Island, finds itself rapidly expanding in membership and in educational services to the state. The Society's innumerable and priceless treas- ures from days gone by could have come to no more attractive place of historic charm.
JONATHAN MAXCY
NE often wonders if twentieth century inventions and practices are not gradually weakening the powers of oratory among men gifted by Nature with talents for thinking, writing and talking. With modern devices for speech amplification, a whisper can be relayed to every fireside in the world, although the one who utters that whisper may not, necessarily, be able to keep a classroom awake throughout a ten-minute dissertation delivered without benefit of electrical assistance. Micro- phones and radio waves have made it possible for speakers to embrace vastly larger audiences than before the days of speech amplification and broadcasting, but that does not mean that this age is producing better speakers, or more impor- tant, better thinkers. Oratorical expres- sion from within the deadening walls of sound-proof studios, or from behind con- fining and disconcerting batteries of "mikes" perched high and low around a pulpit or a rostrum, soon take away some
of the essentials of effective public elo- quence - platform poise, gestures, facial expression, vocal power, phrasing, timing, modulation and personality.
On the other hand, ghost writers (those who write material for others to speak or to sign for publication) and private publicity specialists make it possible for prominent public figures to make speeches on various topics nearly as fast as they can be presented before audiences seen and unseen, but there again the modern orator often lacks a basic essential of effec- tive eloquence - time, and ofttimes the ability, to prepare his own thoughts in his own words for delivery to an audience. A carefully ghost-written or prepared, hurriedly-skimmed-through speech, read by a prominent person, through a micro- phone, resembles but little the old time oration prepared by a speaker who wrote his own material or made his own notes in longhand; who faced an audience with his own thoughts expressed in his own
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words; and who swayed, fired, bored, enthused, convinced, wearied or per- suaded his hearers with his natural vocal powers or limitations; and who relied upon what he had to say and how he said it.
To some degree television will require development again of certain attributes to good public speaking, but it is not likely that a silver-tongued, arm-waving, table-pounding voice of the people will ever find it necessary to shake the rafters, fill the far corners of a crowded audi- torium, reach the ears of those perched in trees or clinging to fence tops with the strength and resonance of his natural, non-amplified God-given powers of vocal expression. But all ages have known great, inspiring natural speakers - Rhode Island has had a goodly share, and it is of one of these you will now read a brief description.
Brown's first President was James Manning, and his successor was Jonathan Maxcy who was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, September 2, 1768. Jona- than Maxcy's earliest known ancestor, according to the records, was his great- grandfather, Alexander Maxcy, who came from Gloucester and settled in Attleboro
about 1721. His grandfather, Josiah Maxcy, was a prominent public figure, serving, for many years, as a member of the colonial legislature of Massachusetts. Jonathan's father was Levi Maxcy and his mother's maiden name was Ruth Newell, daughter of Jacob Newell. Quot- ing freely from the volume "The Literary Remains of the Rev. Jonathan Maxcy' published in 1844, we find that the subject of this biographical review was an unu- sually brilliant youth, showing evidences of extraordinary talent and maturity of intellect at an early age. Often when a mere lad, he amazed his companions by giving them samples of extemporaneous oratory, said to have belied his tender years. His parents were soon convinced that the lad deserved the benefits of a liberal education therefore he was placed, preparatory for admission to college, in the Academy at Wrentham, Massachu- setts, then presided over by the Rev. William Williams, a member of the first class graduated at Brown in 1769.
In 1783, at the age of fifteen, Jonathan Maxcy entered Brown, a year or so after University Hall was relinquished by the French garrison and classes on the Hill were resumed. While an undergraduate, his love of study, brilliant intellect, refine- ment of manners, and good behavior won for him the high regard of both the in- structors and fellow students. He became an unusually accomplished scholar, quick to learn and versatile. As a writer, his compositions were recommended by the teachers as models to his classmates. Thus were laid, in early years, the founda- tions of his future eminence.
He graduated in 1787, with the highest honors of his class, - at Commencement, he delivered a poem. Immediately after receiving his diploma, still a minor, he was offered a position as a tutor, and for four years in this capacity he discharged his duties with such ability and wisdom that there remained no doubt in anyone's mind that Jonathan Maxcy was destined for a distinguished career in the world of letters. But, then, he experienced a new, or added, interest, religion - he joined the First Baptist Church in Providence, then under the pastoral care of Dr. Manning. In 1790, the year when Rhode Island became a member of the Union, the year when President Washington paid this State his last and triumphal visit, Mr. Maxcy was licensed to preach, and was soon after invited to supply the pulpit of the First Baptist Church, Dr. Manning having resigned his pastoral office. Then began his long and brilliant career as a scholarly, masterful, inspiring public speaker. So active was this youth- ful preacher, so vigorous, his mind so comprehensive, his piety so pronounced, that he was promptly invited to the pastoral charge of Rhode Island's ancient house of worship. Mr. Maxcy was ordained as the Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Providence, September 8, 1791. On the same day that he was ordained, he was appointed Professor of Divinity by the Corporation of the Col- lege, and elected a Trustee. Keeping in mind the observation made in the pre- amble to this account, we read how the Rev. Maxcy prepared his sermons with care and accuracy, how he delivered them
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in a manner refined, dignified and impres- sive, and how they were always heard with profound attention and delight. In his pulpit addresses and pastoral visita- tions he always had something worthwhile to say, and he knew how to say it.
Then came another channel of oppor- tunity for this famed orator of Providence. President Manning of Brown was stricken ill on Sunday morning July 24, 1791, and he died on the following Friday. The Corporation of the College did not long deliberate as to his successor. At Com- mencement the following year, Jonathan Maxcy was unanimously elected President of the College. He resigned his pastorship of the meeting house at the foot of the Hill, September 8, 1792, on the same day that he was placed in the presidential chair of his Alma Mater on the summit of the Hill. At the Commencement suc- ceeding his inauguration, University Hall was illuminated with candles placed in the chamber windows and somewhere on the roof or hanging from the upper story was placed a transparency displaying the name of the new president and the words "President 24 years old." For the benefit of the younger generations who have never witnessed an old time torch-light procession, a transparency was a wooden box or frame covered with a painted cloth sign illuminated from within by candles or oil-soaked flares, the grandfather of modern electric signs.
The historic seat of learning, over which President Maxcy presided, flourished under his administration, and his fame as an educator spread to all sections of the Union. The splendor of his genius and his brilliant talents as an orator and a spiritual leader were seen and admired by all. He was never overbearing or dic- tatorial, and it has been said that his government of the College was reasonable, firm and uniform, and marked in its administration by kindness, frankness and dignity. Under President Maxcy, Brown acquired a reputation for highest cultural attainments and eloquence second to no seminary of learning in the United States. Still in its youth, still in the formative state, Brown then needed financial assist- ance, but none was forthcoming from the: State Legislature. However, accom-
plished eloquent scholars were sent forth from the College and they soon brought fame to Brown, to their illustrious teacher and to themselves. They, in turn, pro- vided the means whereby Brown might grow and prosper.
In 1802, after the death of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D.D., President of Union College, Schenectady, New York, Dr. Maxcy was elected to the presidency of that institution. He officiated with distinguished reputation until 1804, when he was called to another sphere of action. In that year, upon the establishment of the South Carolina College, at Columbia, South Carolina, he received the unsolic- ited appointment of President of that College. He accepted and entered upon his official duties hoping that the climate would be more favorable to his rather delicate constitution. Again he rose to greater heights with his brilliant mind and celebrated eloquence, and under his administration the college in the South attained a high rank and reputation. There he remained for sixteen years until his death, on June 4, 1820.
Perhaps one of the best tributes to Brown's second President, and, probably, her greatest orator, can be found in a letter pertaining to one of President Maxcy's speeches published in the Charleston City Gazette. Therein the writer said in part "- I never heard such a stream of eloquence - every ear was delighted, every heart was elated, every bosom throbbed with gratitude - there was not heard the slightest deviation from the most correct enunciation and grammatical arrangement; all the powers of art seemed subservient to his absolute control. In short, I never heard anything to compare to Dr. Maxcy's sermon, in all the course of my life; and, old as I am, I would now walk even twenty miles through the hottest sands to listen to such another discourse. I am persuaded I shall never hear such another in this life."
Dr. Jonathan Maxcy was a great, natural public speaker - no longer can we hear his clear, ringing voice as he convinced his hearers of the existence of God by observing that "He shines in the verdure that clothes the plains, in the lily that delights the vale, and in the forest
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that waves on the mountain" - but we can read and re-read the immortal word pictures that once Jonathan Maxcy
voiced to multitudes in a pure, eloquent, poetically beautiful inspiring oratorical style.
THE TURK'S HEAD
TT IS rather queer and sometimes odd how styles and customs change. Some seem to pass out of existence almost overnight; others fall more slowly by the wayside, so slowly in fact that we hardly notice their losing fight against change and innovation and, only after they have long been de- ceased, suddenly feel their absence and vent our belated regrets. Of course we are not always regretful. The vast majority of changes are for the better, though of others we cannot be quite so sure. In tak- ing up the new and discarding the old we generally acquire new facility, new expe- dition, but it is usually at the loss of a cer- tain picturesqueness, a certain intangible quality whose memory affects us more poignantly as the years pass. All classes of material things suffer the sickle of time. and favor; the days of the tavern, the stagecoach, the oyster bar, squarerigger, windjammer, and clipper, the Fabulous Forties and the Gay Nineties . .. they are all behind us now, preserved only in history and literature. But it is not in these that we are especially interested at this instance. It is with a class of objects not so prominent but certainly as pic- turesque.
As you stroll along the city streets of this day and generation, streets which are almost completely illuminated at night by a host of glowing signs and advertise- ments and are equally colorful by day, have you ever let your memory or curi- osity hark back to the days when a dif- ferent kind of sign attracted the eye of the passerby and advertised the wares or services of the community's varied estab- lishments? These were such things as a suspended oyster shell over the door of an oyster bar, a golden horse swinging above a livery stable, the familiar mortar and pestle before the shop of the apothecary, and, perhaps most common of all, the wooden Indian, religiously carved and
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