The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 5

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 5

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Dr. Armington was very domestic in his habits, and found his chief enjoyment in the bosom of his family, and in the society of friends who always met a cordial welcome at his home. Though taking no active part in political affairs, he cherished firmly his early and deliberately formed opinions, which his ballot at the polls undisguisedly expressed. For many years Dr. Armington was a member of the school committee, and during his entire official connection with that body discharged with scrupulous fidelity the duties assigned to him. No one felt deeper interest in the education of the young, cr appreciated more accurately the im- portance of our public school system. Changes bear- ing evidence of improvement, either in the construc- tion of school houses, or in methods of teaching, re-

ceived from him a hearty approval, He was especially interested in the prosperity of the high school, and viewed with unmingled satisfaction the blessing it annually conferred upon its pupils and through them upon the city. To his profession as a physician Dr. Armington was faithfully devoted and the numerous families in which he practiced welcomed him in the sick room as a safe adviser and friend. He was prompt to meet all calls for professional services, and the cases of his poorest patients, from many of whom no pecuniary compensation was expected or rendered, always received conscientious attention. Even after declining health warned him to be sparing of his strength. his ready sympathy for the suffering prompted him often to transcend prudence in minister- ing at the bedside of disease and pain. He died with calm and cheerful submission to Divine Will. His life was formed under the abiding influence of fundamen- tal Christian principles to which he gave unqualified acceptance. To his family and to a wide circle of friends his death came as a deep grief. From the med- ical profession a respected and valued member was removed, while from a still wider circle of those by whom he was honored as a dispenser of healing had been taken one whose memory was ever fragrant of a kind and willing service. He was the last, but one, of a family of eight brothers and sisters. He passed away August 3, 1868, leaving behind a record full of usefulness and high worth.

Dr. Hervey Armington married, on December 25, 1825, Ardelia Allin, born April 21, 1803, daughter of Captain Pearce Samuel and Hannah (Baker) Allin. (See Allin IV). Their children were: Samuel Allin, married Sarah Sweet, both deceased; Hannah Bethiah, died unmarried; Horace Ward, died unmarried; Re- becca Baker, died unmarried; Emily Louise, died un- married; Juliana Trowbridge, deceased; Jerauld Tib- bitts, mentioned below ; Emma Foster, residing in Provi- dence, at the old family residence, at No. 108 Williams street; Hervey Blanchard, married Esther Paine, both deceased.

(VI) Jerauld Tibbitts Armington, son of Dr. Hervey and Ardelia (Allin) Armington, was born in Provi- dence, R. 1., September 14, 1842. He received his edu- cation in the private academy of John Austin, a promi- nent educator in Providence at the time, leaving school at an early age. From earliest childhood he had had a fondness for horses, and found his first employment in the thing he loved so well-driving an express wagon for a large company in Providence. In 1862, at the age of about twenty years, young Armington heard the call of the West, and with a company of friends set out on the long and arduous journey across the plains. The journey was made by prairie schooner, and the ultimate destination of the party was Denver, Col. Here Mr. Armington worked for a period of about three months, at the end of which time he saved enough money to buy an "outfit," and team of horses, and with these he started in a small way in the business which he later developed to such large proportions. Starting as a contractor, he soon made his way into the field of rail- road building. After a period, in which he met with much success in his business, Mr. Armington admitted to partnership with him Mr. Peter Seims, a man of considerable business talent and practical experience. The name of the firm became Armington & Seims, under which style the business was conducted until the retirement of Mr. Armington from business life. The firm was given the contracts for portions of the largest railroads in that section of the West, and became one of the most important of its kind in the immediate vicinity. Mr. Armington was also keenly interested in mining, and conducted large mining operations in the

Ardelia Allin Amington

RMINGTON

Hlling

BIOGRAPHICAL

neighborhood of Denver and Great Falls, Mont., whither he removed later. He owned extensive property inter- ests in the latter place, and conducted several large ranches. He spent the greater part of his life and his stay in the West in the State of Montana. He was one of the founders of the town of Great Falls, Mont., and one of its most prominent public men and business officials. A leader in almost every phase of the com- munity life, he was also one of its best beloved friends. The Indians, in that country where the strongest an- tagonism and resentment against the "whites" was almost universal, loved and honored him, and were his friends. They called him the Medicine Man, because of his knowledge of the medical profession, gained in his early years from his father. Through his knowledge of medicine he was able to relieve much suffering among the ignorant Indians, and they regarded him as a staunch friend. He was also their champion among the whites. His gifts for charitable purposes, though unostentatious, were extensive, and large portions of his land in various parts of the country were given to men who had failed in prospecting or in business and were reduced to the point of necessity. His political affiliations were with the Republican party, and in ap- preciation of his services to the town he was elected with an overwhelming majority a member of the first Senate of the State of Montana, which incumbency he accepted for the purpose of accomplishing needed re- forms on behalf of the people. After the expiration of his first term, however, he refused to accept office again, though strongly urged to do so.

Mr. Armington was well known in the fraternal life of the town, and was a member of the Great Falls Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Montana. He also belonged to the Montana Pioneer Society. He was a gentleman of the old school, kindly, courteous, honorable, and well loved by the people to whom he gave the greater part of his life. He was popularly known as "Senator" or "Doctor" Armington, and occupied a very prominent and influential place in the hearts and lives of the people of Great Falls. Mr. Armington was the owner of the township of Arming- tion, near Great Falls. The last years of his life were spent with his sisters in Providence, where he died on December 10, 1916.

(The Allin Line).

For a period of more than two and a half centuries the family of Allin has held a position of prominence in New England. During this time the name has been spelled variously Allin, Allen, Allyn, frequently accord- Ing to the preference of the men who bore it, and often- times as a distinguishing mark, when there was more than one family of the name in a community. Faulty spelling in early records is responsible for much diffi- culty in tracing ancestry in the family. In the early years of the Colonial period we find many immigrants of the name in New England, the heads of families, and to-day the family is represented in every State in the Union. The Rhode Island family of Allin has been established there since the year 1683, and in successive generations has played an active part in the building of the little Colony and the growth of the Commonwealth. The name is found with great frequency in the rolls of soldiers serving in the wars of our country, and sev-

eral of them have achieved fame and distinction on the field of battle. The late Mrs. Armington, wife of Dr. Hervey Armington, was a descendant of one of the ancient Colonial families of Allin, tracing in a direct line to one of the early progenitors. She was a daugh- ter of Pearce S. Allin, of Seekonk, R. I., and a great- granddaughter of John Allin, of Portsmouth, R. I., where the family was established in the year 1683.

The arms of the Allin family is as follows :

Arms-Gules three swords barwise argent points to the sinister, hilt and pommels or, between four mul- lets, two in chief and two in base of the third.

Crest-On a Bible a hand couped close holding a sword erect.

(I) John Allin, of Portsmouth, R. I., where he was a prominent citizen, married Susan Goddard Wall, widow of William Wall. They were the parents of one child, James, mentioned below.

(II) James Allin, son of John Allin, was born in Portsmouth, and resided there all his life. He married Martha Pearce, daughter of Samuel and Esther (Wyley) Pearce, a member of a long established Rhode Island family. Their children were: Daniel, who re- moved to Pomfret, Conn .; Cyrus, of Brownsville, N. Y .; John Pearce, of Westmoreland, N. Y .; Pearce Samuel, mentioned below; Cynthia, of Amsterdam, N. Y .; Mat- thew, of Canajoharie, N. Y .; Caleb, of Brownsville, N. Y .; Thomas, of Amsterdam, N. Y .; James, of Amster- dam, N. Y .; Martha, of Johnstown, N. Y .; Susan, of Amsterdam, N. Y .; Henry, of Amsterdam, N. Y .; Juli- ana, of Amsterdam, N. Y.

(III) Captain Pearce Samuel Allin, son of James and Martha (Pearce) Allin, of Portsmouth, R. I., was born in that town and grew to manhood there. He later removed to Seekonk, R. I., where he resided for the remainder of his life. He married Hannah Baker, and they were the parents of the following children: Mar- tha, Samuel Pearce, Louisa, Louisa (2), Ardelia, men- tioned below; Jeremiah, Joseph, William.

(IV) Ardelia Allin, daughter of Captain Pearce Sam- uel and Hannah (Baker) Allin, was born April 21, 1803. She married, December 25, 1825, Dr. Hervey Arming- ton. (See Armington V).

(The Chaffee Line).

From the nickname "le chauve," signifying literally the bald, came the surname Chaffee, undergoing numer- ous changes of form before it assumed that to which the family in England and America to-day adheres. Towards the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries the form of Chaffee was well established in England. with the result that with only slight variation the name is uniformly spelled in Ameri- can registers. The family in America dates from 1635, and is traced to one Thomas Chaffe, immigrant ances- tor and founder, large land owner and prominent mem- ber of the early settlements at Hingham, and Hull, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His progeny has been prominent in New England for many generations, and the family has contributed many men whose names are notable in the history of New England life and affairs.

The arms of the Chaffee family is as follows :

Arms-Azure a fesse lozengy argent.

(I) Thomas Chaffe, immigrant ancestor and founder, immigrated from England to America in 1635, in which

R I-2

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

year he settled in Hingham, Mass., where he received a grant of land. The first mention of him in the early records of Hingham occur in that year, when the town gave to John Tucker land adjoining his land. Although his name was not in the list of property owners in 1635, this record proves that he was a property owner, but the entry of it was not given until 1637. Under the same date there is another entry showing that the town gave him about two acres of salt marsh, and July 17, 1637, two acres of land on Batchellor street (now Main street) for a house. This small amount proves that he was unmarried at the time, as the amount of land for a house was given with regard to the size of the family. In October, 1637, he was given a lot of ten acres abutting on Thomas Turner's land on the north and Ralph Smith's land on the south. The next record of him is dated April 9, 1642, in Nantasket, later called Hull, where he was admitted with several others as a planter, and given two acres between the two hills next Pedcock's Island. There were to be at least thirty-two lots, and the planters were to take them in order; they were to have four acres of planting land and two acres of meadow land also. On May 29, 1644, the name was changed to Hull, and in July, a church was formed there. In both Hingham and Hull, Thomas Chaffe was a fisherman and farmer. The name of his wife is not known. He probably married in Hull, as no mention of him or his family is found in the notes of Rev. Peter Hobart, of Hingham. The town records of Hull, before 1657, have been lost. It is probable that his wife's name was Dorothy, as her sons both had daughters named Dorothy, and it was the custom to name children for their grandparents. The next mention of him in the records is a deed, February 4, 1650, in which he gives land over to Thomas Gill, of Hingham, and he and his son Joseph must have made a trip from Swansea, where they were living, in order to sign it. The last men- tion of him was in 1657, when a list of his lands was given. Between 1657 and on May 30, 1660, he had re- moved from Hull and settled in Rehoboth, then in Plymouth Colony. A deed has been found, dated May 30, 1660, in which he sells to Thomas Loring, Sr., of Hull, his house, orchard and two home lots containing four acres; a lot of meadow by "Streights River ;" two lots at Sagamore Hill, and two at Strawberry Hill; and also all his rights and privileges in all the island except Pedcock's Island. In this deed he calls himself "some time of Hull in the county of Suffolke," but does not say where he was living then. However, in the pro- prietor's records of Rehoboth, he was one of the pro- prietors at least as early as December 25, 1660, and the records also contain a description of the boundaries of land belonging to him. A few months after the sale of his property in Hull he made his first recorded pur- chase of land in Rehoboth, of Stephen Paine, Sr., Feb- ruary 9. 1660. On April 11, 1664, he then of Wanna- moisett, sold to Captain Thomas Willett and James Brown one of the two lots he received in the division of home lots. When Swansea was set off from Rehoboth in 1668, his home in Wannamoisett became a part of the town newly created. He very likely owned land in Rehoboth, as in a deed in 1675 he calls himself of Reho- both. In 1669 he sold to Joseph Carpenter property in New Meadow Neck. During King Philip's War he and

his family, as well as near neighbors, doubtless lived in "Chaffe's Garrison," a stone building near his house, and during that time he bought more land of Francis Stevens in Rehoboth. On December 28, 1676, there is a record of an agreement in regard to "lands purchased of Asamequin and Wamsitto his sonne." The last men- tion of him in his life is March 16, 1679-80, in an agree- ment concerning the Paine Lots and also "pasturing neck." He made his will, July 25, 1680, and in it men- tions his two sons, Nathaniel and Joseph. It was proved March 6, 1683, and an inventory of his estate taken May 15, of the same year. Thomas Chaffe was promi- nent and highly respected in the towns in which he re- sided. His children were: Nathaniel, mentioned below ; Joseph, probably born between 1639 and 1646 in Hull.

(11) Nathaniel Chaffee, son of Thomas Chaffe, was born between the years 1638 and 1642, probably at Nan- tasket or Hull, Mass., and died in Rehoboth, September, 1720. Between 1657 and 1660 he settled in that part of Rehoboth which later became Swansea. On May 19, 1670, he was chosen constable, and from that time onward occupied a prominent place in local affairs. He was a large land owner, inheriting some from his father, and increasing his holding considerably by pur- chase. He bought sixty acres of land from Obediah Brown in Rehoboth, and later two parcels of land of twelve and a half and ten acres each from John Mar- tin, of Attleboro. That he was highly valued as a citt- zen is evident from the fact that after his removal from Rehoboth he was invited to return to the town, and as an inducement was offered more land. Four months later he returned. Nathaniel Chaffee was a blacksmith, and from the nature of his work, and the dependence of early settlements on the work of the blacksmith, he held a prominent place in the life of the early settle- ment. The blacksmith in those days made practically all farm implements, household utensils, arms, bells, etc. Nathaniel Chaffee became a freeman in 1681, on March 26, of which year he was elected constable. On March 22, 1693, he was chosen tythingman. He received numer- ous grants of land. During King Philip's war he con- tributed £3, 16s. 6d. to the war fund. He married, in Swansea, Mass., August 19, 1669, Experience Bliss, daughter of Jonathan and Miriam ( Harmon) Bliss, and they were the parents of eleven children, the first three of which were born in Swansea, the others in Rehoboth. Children : Dorothy ; Thomas, born Oct. 19, 1672; Rachel; Nathaniel, Jan., 1675-76; Jonathan, mentioned below; David, Ang. 22, 1680; Experience, March 24, 1682; Mehitable, Oct. 30, 1687; Daniel, Oct. 30, 1687; Noah, Jan. 19, 1690; Noah, Dec. 17, 1792.

(III) Jonathan Chaffee, son of Nathaniel and Experi- ence (Bliss) Chaffee, was born in the town of Rehoboth, Mass., April 7, 1678. On February 10, 1701-02, he re- ceived from his father four and a half acres of land near "Broken Cross." He subsequently became very prominent in the life and affairs of Rehoboth, and took active part in civic life. On March 19, 1704, he was chosen to the office of field driver. On November 21, 1715, he and one hundred and ten others agreed to pay for building a new meeting house. In 1718 he pur- chased one hundred acres of land from Joseph Russ for £8 in Ashford, Conn. On December II, of that year, he was a member of a jury of trials. In 1819 he

BIOGRAPHICAL

bought of Jeremiah Allen one hundred additional acres in Ashford. He was a large landowner and a consider- ably wealthy man, an influential citizen, and a highly respected member of the community. On March 28, 1720, he became tythingman, and from that time until his death held public office continuously. Jonathan Chaffee married in Rehoboth, Mass., November 23, 1703, Hannah Carpenter, daughter of William and Miriam (Searles) Carpenter, who was born April 10, 1684. In 1767 she was the executrix of her husband's estate. He died December 31, 1766, leaving a will dated May 5, 1754. He is buried in the old burying ground formerly in Rehoboth, but now in the village of Rum- ford, R. I., where his grave is marked by a stone bear- ing the inscription :

Jonathan Chaffe Departed this life December 31, 1766, in the 89th year of his age.

Children of Jonathan and Hannah (Carpenter) Chaf- fee, born in Rehoboth: Jonathan, born June 25, 1704; Nathaniel, Oct. 20, 1705; Hannah, mentioned below ; Dan, Feb. 26, 1710; Miriam, Aug. 22, 1712; Susanna, Sept. 22, 1714; Ephraim, Jan. 25, 1716; William, 1717; Susanna, June 10, 1720; Deliverance, Sept. 4, 1721 ; Josiah, May 2, 1723; Susanna, Aug. 28, 1728.

(IV) Hannah Chaffee, daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Carpenter) Chaffee, was born in Rehoboth, Mass., October 3, 1707, and died there February 22, 1799. She married in Rehoboth, May 27, 1729, Joseph (2) Armington. (See Armington II).

Hannah (Carpenter) Chaffee, mother of Hannah (Chaffee) Armington, wife of Joseph (2) Armington, was a daughter of William and Miriam (Searles) Car- penter, as above stated, and granddaughter of William Carpenter, the founder of this family, which is one of the most notable of early American families. Her lineage is contained in the following article.

(The Carpenter Line).

Arms-Argent a greyhound passant and chief sable. Crest-A greyhound's head erased per fesse sable and argent.

Motto-Celeritas, virtus, fidelitas.

These arms are found on the tombstone of Daniel Carpenter, of Rehoboth, who was born in 1669. This family is of ancient English origin, and of great an- tiquity in Herefordshire and other parts of England. The American branch of the family is descended from the English family of Carpenter of which the Earl of Tyrconnel was a member. In 1761 the Earldom of Tyrconnel in Ireland was given to a third George Car- penter, and this branch became extinct in 1863. The line of Lord George Carpenter was the same as that of the American immigrant of the family, William Car- penter, founder of the largest branch of the Carpenter family of America. Three other families of the name were established here in the early part of the Colonial period, one by another William Carpenter, of Provi- dence, R. I., another in Philadelphia, and a fourth fam- ily in Connecticut by Daniel Carpenter, who died in Farmington, in 1651.

The pedigree of the English house, extending from 1303 to 1605, and covering ten generations, up to the American immigrant, follows :

(I) John Carpenter, the first of the name found in English records, was born about 1303, and was a mem- ber of Parliament in 1323.

(II) Richard Carpenter, son of John Carpenter, was born about 1335. He married Christiana -, and they were buried in the Church of St. Martin, Out- witch, Bishopsgate street, London. He was a goldsmith.

(III) John (2) Carpenter, son of Richard and Chris- tiana Carpenter, was a brother of the noted town clerk of London, whose bequest founded the City of London School.

(IV) John (3) Carpenter, son of John (2) Carpenter, married and had a son William, mentioned below.

(V) William Carpenter, son of John (3) Carpenter, was born about 1440, and died in 1520. He resided in the parish of Dilwyne, Herefordshire, and is called William of Homme.

(VI) James Carpenter, son of William Carpenter, died in 1537.

(VII) John (4) Carpenter, son of James Carpenter, died in 1540.

(VIII) William (2) Carpenter, son of John (4) Car- penter, was born about 1540. His children were: James, inherited the estate of his father ; Alexander, born about 1560, and his youngest child is thought to have been the William of Cobham to whom the arms were confirmed in 1663; William, mentioned below; Richard, probably settled in Amesbury, Mass., and was the progenitor of the Providence branch of the family in America.

(IX) William (3) Carpenter, son of William (2) Carpenter, was born in England, in 1576. He sailed from Southampton, England, with his wife Abigail, and his son William, in the ship "Bevis" and landed in May, 1638. He returned to England in the same vessel, and it is thought he came merely to assist his son in making a home for himself and his family. He resided in Lon- don.

(X) William (4) Carpenter, immigrant ancestor and founder of the family in America, was a son of William (3) and Abigail Carpenter, and was born in England in 1605, and died in Rehoboth, Mass. He was admitted a freeman of Weymouth, May 13, 1640; was representa- tive from Weymouth, 1641-42; and from Rehoboth, in 1645. He was constable in 1641, and was chosen pro- prietors' clerk of Weymouth in 1643. He drew lot No. 18 in the division of lands in Rehoboth, June 30, 1644, was admitted an inhabitant of the town, March 28, 1645, and the following June was made a freeman. It was through his influence that the grant of Seekonk, other- wise known as Rehoboth, was made by the General Court then at Plymouth. This was the tract of land selected by Roger Williams for a settlement, when he was driven out of the Massachusetts Colony. In 1647 William Carpenter was made one of the directors of the town, and again held that office in 1655. The legal business of the town and colony was transacted princi- pally by him. He paid £8, 17s., 3d. toward defraying the expense of King Philip's war, and was one of a committee to lay out a road from Rehoboth to Dedham. About 1642 he received a commission as captain from the Governor of Massachusetts, and was called upon to act for the protection and ownership of the Pawtuxet lands. The records show him to have been a yeoman, and his estate was valued at £254, IOS. Governor Brad-

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

ford, who married his consin Alice, favored William Carpenter in all his measures in the Plymouth Court, and in all their dealings they were close friends. Wil- liam Carpenter married, in England, Abigail who was provided for by his will of April 21, 1659. She died February 22, 1687. Children: John, born in Eng- land, about 1628; William, mentioned below; Joseph, born about 1633; Hannah, born in Weymouth, Mass., April 3, 1640; Abiah, born April 9, 1643; Abigail, born April 9, 1643, twin of Abiah; Samuel, born in 1644.

(XI) William (5) Carpenter, son of William (4) and Abigail Carpenter, was born in England about 1631. He married (first) in 1651, Priscilla Bennett; she died on October 20, 1663; he married (second) Miriam Searles, who survived him and died May 1, 1722, aged (according to her gravestone) ninety-three years. He died January 26, 1703, in Rehoboth. William Carpenter was elected town clerk of Rehoboth, May 13, 1668, and with the exception of one year held the office until his death. He was deputy to the General Court of Plym- outh in 1658 and 1668. In the latter year he was also chosen deacon of the church. In 1670 he was one of a committee to settle the bounds between the town of Taunton and the north purchase, and the clerk of the community of the north purchase in 1682. He was also one of the purchasers of the latter place and drew his lot in the meadow, May 26, 1668. At a meeting of the purchasers, February 18, 1695, it was voted that there should be a division of fifty acres to each shareholder, and William Carpenter was chosen surveyor. He was a man of superior ability, accurate in all his business transactions, and a reliable counsellor in the colony. He was also noted for his fine penmanship, a rare accomplishment in early New England. His house stood on the left side of the road leading from the East Provi- dence meeting house to Rehoboth. His estate was valued at £215 5s. 4d. He was a prosperous farmer, and nota- ble figure in the Massachusetts Colony in his day. Chil- dren of first marriage: John, born Oct. 19, 1652; Wil- liam, June 20, 1659; Priscilla, born July 24, 1661 ; Ben- jamin, Oct. 20, 1663, the day of his mother's death. Chil- dren of second marriage: Josiah, born Dec. 18, 1665; Nathaniel, May 12, 1667; Daniel, Oct. 8, 1669; Noah, March 28, 1672; Miriam, Oct. 16, 1674; Obadiah, March 12, 1677-78; Ephraim, died young; Ephraim, April 25, 1683-84; Hannah, mentioned below; Abigail, April 15, 1687.

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 5

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