The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 43

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 978

USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV > Part 43

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expression he has been a welcome speaker on many and varied occasions.

Charles Henry George married. April 10, 1861, at Providence, Clarissa Jackson, daughter of Captain Henry and Mary Ann (Wells) Jackson, the former a well known sea captain of this city, who afterwards engaged in the grain business here and finally removed to New York City, and the latter a member of a very old and distinguished Connecticut family. To Mr. and Mrs. George the following children have been born : I. Edward Augustus, born Feby. 4, 1865; educated at the Mowry and Goff School and Yale University, tak- ing at the latter institution both the usual classical course and the course in theology; he was ordained a minster in the Congregational church, June 1, 1891, and was placed in charge of his first pastorate at Newport, Vt .; after six years of service there, he was transferred to Willimantic, Conn., where he remained eight years, and then went to Ithaca, N. Y., where he became pastor of the First Congregational Church and remained in charge of it until September, 1918; since that time Mr. George has been supplying at the Euclid Avenne Pres- bvterian Church at Cleveland, Ohio, during the absence of the pastor in France; he married Mabel Goodrich, daughter of Judge William W. Goodrich, of New York, and they were the parents of one child, Winton, born 1900, a student at Yale University (1919). 2. Grace Thomson, born at Providence, July 28, 1869; married, Oct. 18, 1894, William C. Dart; Mr. Dart was born in April, 1869, at Providence, and was educated at the Mowry and Goff School of that city, and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, where he prepared himself for an expert position with the Rhode Island Tool Company, of which he is now the president; Mr. and Mrs. Dart are the parents of one daughter, Margaret, born Oct. 2, 1895. 3. Mary W., born in 1871, died at the age of two years. 4. Clarissa, born in 1873, died at the age of eight and one-half years. 5. Margaret, born Dec. 1, 1878; became the wife of Benjamin Franklin Vaughn, by whom she had one son, Benjamin Franklin, Jr. Later she married Her- bert A. Wheeler, now of Detroit, Mich. The death of Mrs. Charles Henry George occurred Sept. 4, 1880.

JOHN P. B. PEIRCE, the popular and efficient town clerk of North Kingston, R. I., and for many years a prominent citizen of this place, is a member of one of the oldest and most distinguished New England families and a descendant of the great Percy family of England, members of which were prominent in all parts of that country, one branch of which was the famous Percy family of Northumberland, of which "Hotspur," the great Earl of Northumberland, during the reigns of Henry IV. and V. of England, is probably the best- known figure. The family, representatives of which came to this country, gradually changed their name from Percy to Pearse, or Pearce, and so to the mod- ern American form of Peirce. The genealogist of the Peirce family claims that the American pioneer was of the twentieth generation from one Galfred, to whom the famous English family of Percy, or Pearce (Pers) (Pierce, Peirce) traces its ancestry. According to this writer, the lineage for the last four generations began

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with Peter Percy, who in turn was the son of Ralph, the son of Henry, the son of Henry, the son of Henry, the son of Henry, the son of Henry, the son of Henry, the son of Henry, the son of William, the son of Henry, the son of Agnes, the daughter of William, the son of William, the son of Alan, the son of William, the son of Galfred, already mentioned as the founder of the family. This Peter Percy was the standard bearer of Richard III. at the Battle of Bosworth Field, in 1485, and doubtless suffered the reverses, if not the death, of his redoubtable leader. He was the father of one Richard Percy, who founded Pearce Hall in York, England, where he lived and died. This Richard Percy had a son, who seems to have been the first to spell his name Pearse. He flourished at Pearce Hall, and had two sons, Richard and William. The elder of these, Richard Pearse, was born in 1590, and was the immi- grant ancestor of the American family. He resided in Bristol, England, and came to America in the ship "Lyons," of which his brother William was the master. He was the father of the following children: Richard, mentioned below; John, Samuel, Hannah, Martha, Sarah, William, and Mary.

(II) Richard Peirce or Pearse, son of Richard Pearse, was born in England, in 1615. He probably came to the New England colonies with his father, and eventually settled at Portsmouth, R. I. Here his death occurred in 1678. He was at Portsmouth as early as 1654, when he witnessed a deed of twelve acres of land and a house purchased of William James by Henry Piercy. We also find him as witness to several other deeds in 1657, and to a will in 1658. He was admitted a freeman at Portsmouth, May 18, 1658, and continued to reside at this place until his death. He married, at Portsmouth, probably in the year 1642, Susannah Wright, daughter of George Wright, of Newport, who probably was born in 1620, and they were the parents of the following children : Richard, born Oct. 23, 1643; Martha, born Sept. 13, 1645; John, Sept. 8, 1647; Giles, who is mentioned below ; Susannah, born Nov. 22, 1652; Mary, born May 6, 1654; Jeremiah, born Nov. 17, 1656; Isaac, born in Dec., 1658; George, born July 10, 1662; Samuel, born Dec. 22, 1664.

(III ) Hon. Giles Peirce, son of Richard and Sus- annah (Wright) Peirce, was born about 1650, at Ports- mouth, and afterwards became one of the founders of the town of East Greenwich, R. I., in 1677. He was exceedingly prominent in the affairs of the new settle- ment, and the town meeting was held at his house. He was moderator of the town meeting in 1658, member of the General Assembly in 1690 and 1696, Town Council- man in 1677-84, 1691 and 1696. His death occurred Nov. 19, 1698. The Hon. Giles Peirce married, in April, 1676, Elizabeth Hall, who died in 1698, a daughter of William and Mary Hall, of Portsmouth, and they were the parents of the following children, born at Portsmouth and East Greenwich: Jeremiah, born Jany. 22, 1678; Susannah, born May 7, 1679; Elizabeth, born May 27, 1682; John, who is mentioned below; Mary, born Feby. 7, 1690.

(IV) John Pierce, son of Giles and Elizabeth ( Hall) Peirce, was born Jany. 11, 1687, and died in 1739. He married, June 9, 1709, Susannah Nichols, and they lived at East Greenwich, R. I. They were the parents of the

following children : Giles, born Sept. 21, 1710, and diec! Feby. 27, 1711; Giles, born April 22, 1712, and died March 17, 1713; Susannah, born Jany. 10, 1714; John born Aug. 4. 1722; Thomas, Elizabeth, Giles, mentioned, below; and Mary.

(V) Giles Peirce, son of John and Susannah (Nich- ols) Peirce, was born at East Greenwich, and resided; there and at North Kingston, where his death occurred. April 10, 1793. He was made a Freeman of Rhode Island in 1745, and some years after his marriage, the large land and estate of his father having been spent in lawsuits so that nothing of value was left of it, he moved to Block Island. He was a man of energy and enterprise and became the largest stockraiser at that place, especially of sheep, and was second to very few in the Colony, outside the Island. In the year 1775 he and Gideon Hoxie were appointed by the General Assembly to oversee stock on the Island. During the Revolution a large proportion of this stock was taken by the authorities to help out war expenses. In 1782 he purchased a large tract of land at North Kingston, and moved there in that year. Giles Peirce married Desire Case, daughter of Joseph Case, of North Kings- ton, and they were the parents of the following child- ren : Sarah, born Jany. 2, 1751; Lucy, born Sept. 2, 1753; Elisha, born Oct. 30, 1755, and died in 1764; Anna, born May 14, 1758; Joseph, born Sept. 14, 1760; Giles, born in 1763; John, who is mentioned below; Susannah, born in 1769; Thomas, born in 1770; and Desire.

(VI) John Peirce, son of Giles and Desire (Case) Peirce, was born at Block Island, R. I., February 19, 1766, and lived at North Kingston during the major part of his life. In his latter years he removed to Providence, where his death occurred, July 11, 1848. He married (first) Polly Davis, who died in 1820, and (second), Nov. 6, 1825, Sarah Brown, born May 21, 1788, and died Dec. 30, 1859. John Peirce was the father of the following children by his second wife: John Brown, who is mentioned below ; Thomas C., born Sept. 17, 1829. Sarah Brown was the daughter of Stutely and Sarah (Congdon) Brown, and the grand- daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Congdon) Brown. She was a descendant of Beriah Brown, who was ad- mitted a freeman in Rhode Island in 1698.

(VII) Hon. John Brown Peirce, son of John and Sarah (Brown) Peirce, was born July 19, 1827, at North Kingston. He attended the district schools of his native region and the Lapham Institute at Smith- field, R. I. After completing his education, he fol- lowed for a time the profession of teaching in the pub- lic schools hereabouts, and then was employed as a bookkeeper and paymaster at Larsche's Mill, Smith- field. After a number of years in this employment, he entered into partnership with his brother, Thomas C. Peirce, and the two young men engaged in the grocery business at Providence. There they continued until 1849, when the discovery of gold in California drew them, as it did so many other adventurous young men, to the West. They accordingly sold out their business, and not long afterwards were in the gold fields of Cal- ifornia. As in the case of so many, however, their success as miners did not amount to a great deal, and a few years later Mr. Peirce returned to the East and

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formed a company to engage in the printing of calico. They began their operation at what is now known as the Greenwich Print Works, but afterwards removed to Smithfield. Bad fortune was in store for them, how- ever, and after a fairly successful beginning the panic of 1857 caused the company to fail. Mr. Peirce then became agent of the Providence Iron Foundry, and remained with that concern until 1863, when he entered the army. He began as a lieutenant and commissary in the Third Rhode Island Regiment of Cavalry, and was re-mustered September 22, 1863, and four days later detached as regimental quartermaster, while the regi- ment was recruited. He was commissioned, October 27, 1863, first lieutenant of Company A, Fourteenth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, and accompanied the Third Battalion, serving as quartermaster, but was later detached as acting assistant quartermaster in the Chief Quartermaster's Department at New Orleans, and served in that capacity until June, 1865. He then volunteered for duty as acting assistant quartermaster at Shreveport, La., and at one time had charge of the transportation department. He was mustered out Oc- tober 2, 1865, but was afterwards commissioned cap- tain in the regular army, and served until 1866. In that year he quit the army service and returned to Rhode Island, where he engaged in the grocery business at Wickford. Later he built up a very extensive grain bus- iness, and operated a steam grist mill. Mr. Peirce was always a public-spirited member of the community, and took a keen interest in public affairs, holding many of- fices of responsibility and trust. While a citizen of Providence, he was for three successive terms elected an alderman of the city from the Seventh Ward, but re- signed this office upon entering the service. In 1867 he was elected president of the Town Council of North Kingston, and served in that capacity for five years consecutively. He also represented the town in the Rhode Island Senate, in 1868, and 1869 and in 1873 was elected clerk of the town of North Kingston. This post he continued to hold until the close of his life, being elected and re-elected without opposition. In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and on several occasions received the nomination of his party for Secretary of State and Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island. In spite of his personal popularity, however, he was defeated for these offices in that stronghold of Republicanism, Rhode Island. In 1876 he was one of he delegates from Rhode Island to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis. Mr. Peirce was an exceedingly prominent Free Mason in his State, and was one of the fourteen members of that order who secured the return of the charter of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons, of Wickford, and was the first master of that lodge under the new charter. He became a Mason in Mount Vernon Lodge, No. 4, of Providence, and at the time of his death was 1 member of Washington Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons : Providence Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters, and St. ohn's Commandery, Knights Templar, all of Providence. He was a man keenly interested in the local traditions ind history of the State, and at the time of his death, which occurred March 26, 1885, was engaged in the writ-

ing of a genealogy of his family. Mr. Peirce married (first) Izitte C. B. Gardner, daughter of Jeremiah Gardner, of North Kingston, whose death occurred at Providence, in 1848. He married (second) Mary G. Brown, daughter of Samuel Brown of South Kingston. and (third) Abby A. C. B. Gardner, the sister of his first wife. She died December 28, 1904. By his first wife he had one child, John G., who died in infancy. By his second wife he had two children, Izitte G., de- ceased, and Colonel Thomas J. Peirce, mentioned below. Mary G. Brown, second wife of the Hon. John Brown Peirce, was a daughter of Samuel and Amey (Gard- iner) Brown, granddaughter of Jeremiah, Jr., and El- lenor (Lillebridge) Brown, great-granddaughter of Jer- emiah and Hannah (Sherman) Brown.

(VIII) Colonel Thomas J. Peirce, son of Hon. John Brown and Mary G. (Brown) Peirce, was born June 20, 1857, at Providence, R. I., and died May 10, 1913. As a child he attended the public schools of Providence and the East Greenwich Academy, remaining at the lat- ter institution for three years, and then entered the well-known Mowry & Goff English and Classical In- stitute at Providence. Upon completing his studies there, Colonel Peirce took a commercial course at the Bryant & Stratton Business College, and immediately afterwards became associated with his father in the grain business. For four years he acted as agent at Wick- ford, of the Newport & Wickford Railroad Company. Colonel Peirce was, like his father, a staunch Demo- crat for many years, and was active in the leadership of his party. In June, 1896, he was elected town clerk of North Kingston, and from that time until the end of his life held that position. He and his father to- gether held this office twenty-eight years. Colonel Peirce was also clerk of the school committee, and in 1887 and 1891 was appointed by Governor Davis a mem- ber of his staff, with the rank of colonel. In 1888 he was a delegate te the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis, and for many years was coroner and clerk of the Second District Court. Like his father, he was a prominent Free Mason, was past master of Washing- ton Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons, member of Newport Chapter, No. 2, Royal Arch Masons, mem- ber of Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters, past eminent commander of Washington Commandery, No. 4, Knights Templar, of Newport, a charter mem- ber of Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and member of Rhode Island Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret of the Ancient Scottish Rite. He was also a member of Beacon Lodge, No. 38, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and of the Improved Order of Red Men, being first past sachem of Ninigret Tribe, No. 18, and a mem- ber of the Sons of Veterans and the Sons of the Amer- ican Revolution. Colonel Peirce married, October 12, 1880, Sarah M. Wightman, daughter of Peleg W. Wightman, of Wickford, and they were the parents of the following children: Mary Izitte, born Sept. 14, 1881, married Nov. 19, 1904, Albert L. Rodman. of Lafayette, R. I .; John Perry Babcock, mentioned below; and Raymond Wightman, born Aug. 1, 1892, a resident of Wickford, R. I.

(IX) John Perry Babcock Peirce, son of Colonel

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Thomas J. and Sarah M. (Wightman) Peirce, was born February 5, 1883, at Wickford, R. I. As a lad he at- tended the public schools of this place, and then became a pupil of the Rogers High School, of Newport. Still later he studied at the Polytechnic Institute of Wor- cester, Mass., and became a member of Delta Chapter, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Upon completing his studies at the last named institution, Mr. Peirce secured a position as engineer on the State highway construc- tion under Colonel Robert F. Rodman. After the death of his father, which occurred in 1913, he was elected to the office of town clerk to succeed him, and has held that post up to the present time. He is also clerk of the Second District Court, and secretary of the Wickford Light & Water Company. Mr. Peirce has not remained in the party of which his father and grandfather were members for so many years, but is a Republican, taking a leading part in his party as they did in theirs. He was formerly chairman of the Re- publican Town Committee, and was very active in the political life of this place. In his religious belief he is an Episcopalian, and is treasurer and clerk of the parish of the Protestant Episcopal church of Wickford. He is a prominent member of the Masonic order, and is affiliated with Washington Lodge, No. 5, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of which he is past master; with Nar- ragansett Chapter No. 11, Royal Arch Masons, of East Greenwich, of which he is past high priest; and of Providence Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, and a member of Calvary Commandery, No. 13, Knights Templar, of Providence. Mr. Peirce is also a member of Beacon Lodge, No. 38, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Wickford, the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and is also a member of Newport Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. Mr. Peirce married, Novem- ber 9, 1912, Dora Evelyn Peirce, a native of North Kingston, where she was born, July 8, 1889, a daughter of Edward M. and Minnie ( Harvey) Peirce. Dora Evelyn Peirce is a distant relative of her husband, and is descended from Giles Peirce, of the fifth generation, from the founder, Richard Peirce, already given above, and the great-great-grandfather of John Perry Bab- cock Peirce. The line of descent from him is as follows :

(VI) Giles Peirce, son of Giles and Desire (Case) Peirce, was born in 1763, and died January 25, 1844. He resided at North Kingston, where he inherited a part of his father's estate, lying southwest of Roon's farm where, in 1866-67, he built a new house, which became his home for the remainder of his life. He mar- ried (first) Elizabeth Dodge, who died in 1810, and (second) Sarah Gardiner, daughter of Ezekiel Gard- iner, of North Kingston. His children by his first wife were as follows: William, born April 2, 1789; Rebec- ca, born in 1793; Giles, mentioned below; Edward, born in 1800, and died in 1817, and Desire, born Jany. 9, 1805. (VII) Giles Peirce, son of Giles and Elizabeth (Dodge) Peirce, was born in 1795, and died October 14, 1841. He also lived at North Kingston, and married, in 1813, Mrs. Mary ( Cole) Pearse, widow of - Pearse. They were the parents of the following child- ren : William, born March 12, 1814; Elizabeth, born May 3, 1816; Edward, mentioned below; and Darius, born Aug. 23. 1824.

(VIII) Edward Peirce, son of Giles and Mary (Cole) ( Pearse) Peirce, was born April 29, 1819. H. married, January 25, 1846, Frances M. Clark, and they were the parents of the following children: Edward! born May 16, 1847, and died May 24, following; Mary F., born Aug. 20, 1848; Edward M., mentioned below Julia A., born Ang. 2, 1852, died Jany. 27, 1854; Susar B., born Jany. 4, 1854; Julia A., born Jany. 14, 1857.

(IX) Edward M. Peirce, son of Edward and France !! M. (Clark) Peirce, was born January 13, 1850. He married, May 6, 1874, Minnie Harvey, and they were the parents of the following children: Frank E., born Dec 13, 1875; Leon M., born May 3, 1877; George E., borr Oct. 4, 1880; Charles L., born Dec. 3, 1882; Fannie Bell, born Sept. 5, 1886; and Dora Evelyn, who became; the wife of John Perry Babcock. Peirce, as mentioned above; Ella Harvey, born Feby 26, 1892; Gladys, borr Aug. 31, 1898.

John Perry Babcock Peirce is descended on the mater- nal side of his house from the distinguished Wight- man family of New England, which was founded in. this country by George Wightman. According to tra- dition, this George Wightman was in turn a descendant of Edward Wightman, who was burned at the stake for heresy at Littlefield, England, April 11, 1612, being the last martyr to suffer for his belief in this manner in England. George Wightman was a relative and possibly a brother of Valentine Wightman, of Whit- man, who early settled in Providence, R. I. The de- scendants of the former have more generally preserved the ancient spelling of the name, though occasionally using the more modern form of Whitman. In 1669 he. and others were arrested by the Connecticut author- ities and taken to Hartford because they owned alle- giance to Rhode Island, and were there kept in jail for some time. On May 20, 1671, he took the oath of allegiance, and in 1673 was admitted a freeman to! Rhode Island. On July 29, 1679, he and forty-one other residents of Narragansett petitioned the King. praying that he would "put an end to these differences about the Government thereof which hath been so fatal to the prosperity of the place, animosities still arising in the people's minds as they stand affected to this or that government." In 1686 he was constable, and in 1687 served on the grand jury. For a number of years; George Wightman was a member of the Town Council, and on May 17, 1710, he and seventeen others are rec- orded as having purchased seven thousand acres in Narrangansett of the vacant land ordered sold by the Assembly. In his will, which was proved February 12, 1722, he left his children well-cared for with land, stock and money. George Wightman married Eliza- beth Updike, and among their children was Daniel Wightman, of further mention.

Daniel Wightman, son of George and Elizabeth (Up- dike) Wightman, was born January 2, 1668, and died at Newport, August 31, 1750. He was a house carpenter by trade, and in 1704 was ordained at Newport as min- ister of the Second Baptist Church, having joint care of the parish with the Rev. James Clarke. His pastor- ate extended over nearly fifty years, and after the death of his first colleagues, in 1736, the Rev. Nicholas Eayres was associated with him and finally succeeded him in the

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pastorate. He was a large landowner, and we find his name recorded as engaged in many transactions, both in buying and selling land in the community. He mar- ried Katherine Holmes, and from them the line de- scends through George and Mary (Clarke) Wightman ; George and Elizabeth (Sweet) Wightman; George and Waity (Sweet) Wightman; Thomas S. and Mary (Weeden) Wightman, and Peleg W. and Catherine W. (Babcock) Wightman, to Sarah M. (Wightman) Peirce, wife of the Colonel Thomas J. Peirce, and mother of John Perry Babcock Peirce, of this sketch.

ENOCH WILCOX VOSE-The American sur- name of Vose is undoubtedly a variation of the ancient English surname, Vaux or Vans, also spelled Vallibus and Vanlx. Vorse is identical with Vose. It is said that the illustrious family of Vaux derived the name from the department of the name in Normandy, where seven or more places .bear the name. From earliest times the family has been prominent in France. A tomb erected in 1615 in the church of St. Clair, Naples, by Hieronymus de Vanx, contains the bones of his an- cestors, among them, Antonia, Queen of Sicily; Isabella De Vaux, Queen of Naples; Cecelia, Countess of Savoy; and many others of royal blood. The English family is descended from Bertrand de Vaux, living in A. D., 929, a favorite of Robert I., Duke of Normandy, grandfather of the Conqueror. The great barony of Gilsland in Cumberland was given to Hubertus, also called de Vallibus or Vaulx, by the Crown. The family had seats in Boverton, Glamorgan; Wipsnot, Bedford- shire; Marston Mairley, Wiltshire; Corely and Pyer- main, Cumberland; and Storesby, Yorkshire. The Vose family has been prominent in New England life and affairs for two and a half centuries. The Rhode Island family of the name, of which the late Enoch W. and Joshua Vose were members, has had its principal seat in Westerly, R. I., since the closing decades of the eighteenth century.

(I) Robert Vose, the immigrant ancestor and founder, was born in Lancashire, England, in the town of Gar- ston, near Liverpool, about 1599, the son of Thomas and Margery Vose. He settled in Dorchester, Mass., and in July, 1654, bought of the heirs of the "Worship- ful John Glover," one hundred and seventy-four acres of land in Dorchester on the easterly and southerly sides of Robert Badcock's river. This farm lies in what is now the town of Milton, and it remained in the hands of direct descendants of Robert Vose for two hundred and fifty years. The purchase also in- cluded land on the south slope of Brush Hill, which continued in the possessions of the family through many generations. By an indenture drawn June 13, 1662, and executed May 18, 1664, he conveyed to the town through a board of eighteen men, which doubtless in- cluded every church member and freeman in the set- tlement, eight acres of land to be used for church pur- poses, this tract situated on or near Vose's lane and Center street. On this lot a ministerial house was erected in 1663, and the second meeting house in 1671. Robert Vose lived in what is known as the old Glover house, near the junction of Canton avenue and Brook road, in Milton, Mass. He was made a freeman in

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 43

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn Publication date: 1920 Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society Number of Pages: 978

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 978