Untitled - Rhode Island Historical Society

PUB1.1SHED lJ}' THE RHODE IS L..\SD H ISTORI CAL SOC IF.TY
$2 P OW ER S T RE E T, f'R OVID f. SCE 6. KII OD t: 1 S I. I\ '1I
G•."""". C. D ,,' , ~ , ""14••' :-;'~ "'SIU. M. Vo,• . J•., ''' .,'u."
F... "" I•. lI ,s c.If. IsL.. " I'
So.,t OF Ill. D'."Cf."D.• "T"
Nn-..· ~b. "' "F. Il S .
b~' Chari ... .....iIIiam farnham
[co nlinu..d from J ul)', l'IIi:!, p. 93J
[c.,...n]
Ou. W'''H I,roTO'' COL''' TY COL' liT H OL· :>!':. K"'G"To,
I n 1752 "I' ''''''I'}' u ol 0/ l-;'n lJ COlIn' )' ( '101

-
98 Ch';)tophcr.t. G'l'f'l1r:... [O ctober
Sta rti ng with T horea u, J had reached Christopher Greene. Per.
haps the ir lin's were no t only parallel hut actunllv UIIS"cd. In IA50,
at least. Thou-au's Friend H ar ry Hlak c W; I_~ teaching unde-r G recn e in
the Boston suburb of "l ilioll. But as I looked th rough the Plain
Speat.er. the Inters from .\ kott. th e ('''''''y submi tted til T h,' Dial. and
as I read the pam phlet hio.!!:raph y by j o-eph R. W('h"ln , I became
interested in Christopher Alb -rr GrtTllc him-elf. He had on ly it {('\\'
years. He made no nanu- fur dl"Cds nr for \\rilingc, Y(,( hi.. life had a
svmructrv . II will remind yuu of .\[il('" Co verdale. the na rra tor of
H awthun w's lUithl'f/ale lioma ncr, The fires of the reform movemen t
brought 011 1 their hr ight!·, t colore. Then eac h grayed. Coverdale
retreated 10 genteel leu-rs. Greene became a -choolteac'h er. From
this ck-r-lim- 1',\Ch could look back to the brief climax whose spirit we
wonder at.
I
GREE:"t:' S HISTOR Y involve, a furious negation sha red bv one
other reformer who al-o ch ances to share hi", Iamil v name.' Both
W illiam B. an d Christopher .-\. Greene "'pent the ir yout h at west Point
and their fiN! maturit y in th e United St;!tC"S .-\ml~ fig h ti n~ the
Seminoles. From th is ex treme of suppon. eac h then wen t tu all
extreme of opposition.
Christopher Greene hq,:an 10 foll('("1 his reromnu-udationv for
West Point in mid sum mer of 1830. He had turned fourteen on rlutwcntv-v-vcnth
of J une and was still a pupil at Kent Academy in his
na tive town of East G reen wich. a rew miles from Providence. lli­
Iarhcr's father . abo ca lled Christopher. wa .. the ~(}lln.~est brother of
the Rcvc luriona rv general, Nathanael G reene. W ith thi.. connection
for leverage. twelve men si~ned a ktt('r a..kin.g: the ~:uetary Df war
10 allDw young Ch ri"tophl"f to elller tht' military acad('my the following
JUlie, "at whic h timc he will lit' of proper ag(', ;illd of sullicielll
acquirenwnts. accord in~ to our opi nioll". to enter ...l id Institut ion: '
The ~e n ("fa l"'; brother sigllt'd fi"' I, "l" 1\"n ,all1e ~\T n ot her G rfJlf"lles, of
whom we need only note the hoy's b tlwr, llallletl :\'at hanael after hi"
famous 1I1lrle and arldressed as Captain 10 honor years of comma nd
in the East Ind ia trad \". The n'lll a illi ll .~ four included W a nt o n C N ·y.
hhose dau ght er Abby So phia th e Ca pta in had marr ic'd in 18 1-1.
:\l ore re('onu nendation.. \\ere '

100 Chr;jlojJhn.-1. G ' f'('ne: ... [O ctober 1963] Christopher .-1. Grccnr: ... 101
"Before a nation call rightfu lly enter into a wa r." so he beqins,
"two Ihin.l..,'S IllII'" he -ct tlcd - fir-a, t hai t he war is just: second. that it
is

102 Christophrr A, Greene: ... (O ctober 1963] Chrij{opha "I. Greene: ... to:\
11
W ' I}::'\" G HF,EX E WkO T F. hi.. lcurr-, on Florid a, he \\;l'i a l-o aue mptin~
to pla y the man "de-igned for the Bar in Rhode 1..la nd," Uncle
Richard " 'a rd G reene \\ ;1" United Starr-s Di..trier .-\UOnlC\' there. a nd
th e ncpln-w entered hi, otlicr- til read Ihe law. He d id not ..ta v long.
H i..""JIl -uzgeas th at he "di....agreed \\ ith the policy 01 ddt· n d i n .~ a ca~
rig ht or \\ftlllg a nd wa." alwav.., perhaps. too idea li..ric 10 make a
.. \H.C(....... of la w or businec.," Either rca-on will do. The young: men
of principle in Xt·w En gland. t" ,>cT ially those who circled mo..1 widclv
around Ralph Waldo Lnu-r..on a nd William Lloyd Ga rrison . were
nut ~i \'l' n to the u..u a l ambition...
To make a li\'ing GITel1l' turned to teaching : in tilt' grammar
..('!Jolli nuarhcd to Brown Uuivcr..ity, in a private ,chool wit h Thomas
A. j cuck cs on Benefit Stn-rt in Providence, perhaps elsewhe re a.. well.
T Ilt" record's un certaint y about hi:.. job.. is not impo rtant. Unfortunatdy
it is nTH less pa rticular about his mind. a nd bv the fall of
IIl-lO(' ,md ahml'-.t without orde r. Since the con­
\Tntionldt no ret.·ord of its disc:-ntH"t', \\ e ranno l lell what G re{"m' said
there, if he t:0t in a n ~1 h i n t: among: tho-..e "f'ao;oned ex horters. But when
he Id t

104 Christopher A . Gru nt': ... [O ctober 1963 J
Christoph er A, Grunt': . ..
~ami1y of d \H· I1 in~. :\ d ear. sweet-looki ng stream COUN'S through
II - and after \\ Iwdin.1:: about point s of wood. and am()I1.~ cul tivated
knoll..., Ilwandn" its way to a quiet lillie ha y jutting lip to welcom e it
from th e neig hboring' ,c;rf'a t r iv er.... Three sn ug (·ott a.gcs make lip
t he hamlet in "l'lcas.uu Valle y.' '' Rn,L;tT" goes on to say that he him­
-c-lf want" "no , -alley" - or glen" - or other utopian seclusions."
and t his limited " ~ll1pathy r-utx "-ho rt his description . I ll' tells of the
terrain , but not of the ideas.
For th ese it would he delightful to haw' a manifesto, an d there is
none to he had. The partiripalll

106 Chrijtop hcr.1. G,un(': ... [O ctober 1963] Christoph.-, .1. Grrene: . lOi
("~ would have p UI it. The kingdom of heaven which can not a rrive
for all is at lea...t here f OT him. H e will no lon ger follow men. but " as
God hids me I will walk . and work. a nd "pea k. .c:-in · alms. marry
and live." .
1.1' 1 us firsr "1'(" how he wor-ks. In 1fH 1 the American rrunomv was
divided between "Iaw ry and a yn ll n~ industrial ca pitalism. Co'min~
(Jut from both , G rccne would he m-ither mast er nor slave neither
elllployer no r wage r-a m er nor trader. Listen to the extrnordinar...
opening sentences of h is paragraph on " Property." "There is no such
thing as individual propcrt v. Eve rv lh in.g that j" hrlon ~ to H umanity.
,rhal a man wants belon gs 10 him 10 US(": - :\0 m ailer wh o has
it in possession, ,hr ri,g-ht to use it helon.1:" to him who 11('("d" it. I
av-ert th is. universal rig-ht of ma n in mv life. \\"hat I 11("("d I tak r­
whr-n-ver I find it: ('xx~ pting when some other ha ..

IWI ( Ictol x-r 196 3] ChriJlophrr.1. Greene: , " 109
th e rerum journev.
III
TItF. C:O:'l.'Ff: ~~IO:'l.' '0 1':nw N '1I i" part of a letter an 'nmpan,'ing: an
("",1\ for The Dial. In the firv number or rhe Plair! Spct/An. Greene
had written a paracraph on l.mer-..o n', ami :\larg"an:"t Fulkr'" macal
im'. II \\;1" "tht, exponent of Liter •• rv Libertv. and thndoH' va luable:
but far from hI'inc: of Ihe hi.dlt',·t va lue." O f allthe " lli~l1i'b"
nll l~ .\ k oll \\a" a genuilw refor mer. "But tilt' Life tha r i" in Ihe",,'
nu-n." he conde-o-ndcd, "will brill,g- them o ut from the \\orld. and
at ( ' \'("f ~ "Iep they will find ,h t'm,d\'cs nearer ami ncan-r to tlH' ste-rn
Rdol"llln "." ' Xow that Ill' him-elf was no loneer out [rum tht' world
Ill" remembered its toln aIII pag-rs,'" ,
E 1lJ f l""Oll turned him duwn. " Ha d it rome into 111 \ ' hund-, at ;I
link ea rlier per iod:' he \\Tort' (;nTll(', >0 1 shou ld p; olMhh han
printed it; a" its doc-trim-v, thnuuh pcrhap k-It a liuh- 10 0 nunh
unlim ited for IN' &. interest, an' tru e. &: an' Slated wit h muc-h ,'i,g-our ,
But Reform is a word which

liD Christopher .~ l. Greene: ... [October 1963J Christopher A, Greene: ... II I
has yet told" can he experienced in his concluding sentences:
" Accounts of Slaws being wor ked to death, starved. whipped, haying
their harks lacerated by the claws of cuts, torn in pieces. & dro wned
by blood hounds, shot, stabbed, murdered & tortured in various ways,
ha w reached even t hro' the silent walls of fear & self-interest. & arc
now in authentic forms before the Northe rn pu blic. The horrors of
t he su fferings of this m ise-fable class 011 t he rem ote & secluded cotton
& sugar plantations, the taks of blood & incest. of the reckless grati.
fication of cruelly & lust, which th e fiery soil of Alabama & Louisiana
could tell ; these arc no t know n. l':cithcr can they be. For there is a
point in the relation of human suffering at whic h imagination ceases
to act; ~"i man astounded can only cry How Long Oh Lord Sh all the
Oppressor T rium ph . ;\[ y Sou l is moved. & the Spirit within me lifts
up its voice against this system."
Next to slavery he was touched most by "t he great unbound Satan
of the rimes." the system of privat e property. He had learned from
Godwin "that all the necessary business of ma nkind mig-ht be done
in two hours work a day, if all worked who are ca pable of working."
But private ownership "tends to accumulation," which "enables
some to live on the labor uf others" and forces must "to labor not
only more than two hours in a day bu t the whole day, & e\Try day."
:\Ioreo\Tr, th e condition repeatedly du plicates itself, so th at "the rich
become daily richer, the poor poorer."
Greene is no theoretician. \\'ith property, as wit h slave ry, he
wishes to wake h is reader through imag-es of act ua l m an actually
suffering. Let us " look a lillie into the details of its operation," he
says. " By it the poor man unfortunately diseased is forced still to
labor, though death be the consequence; - By it the children of the
poor in ou r manufacturing villages arc forced from the proper course
of youthful exercise & development, their bodies dwarfed by hard
labor & want of sleep, & their minds withered fur want of exercise:
By it God Give n intellect is corrupted into a mon ey getti ng machine:
By it men arc driven to intemperance. & all ma nner of gross physical
cnjovmcnt. for excess of one kind produces corresponding excess of
another, too much labor ur physical exertion induces too much phvsical
gratiticaticn ; By it are the comforts & even the necessa ries of life
rendered scarce, & want & suffering cnucndr-rcd: By it the Southern
Slave is hound in iron bands, bands which confine Hodv & Soul in
bitte r, dreadful bondage."
But it is one thing to outline a utopia and to idcutifv the chief
obstacles that keep us from it. It is quite another \0 tell liS how to
push them aside. Greene describes his five forms of slayer) more
emotionallv than sociologically. In his remedies too he is the man of
feeling and the m an of 'princ'iplc, unable to translate his humanity
into effective dailv action - " loa much unlimited for usc & interest."
Slavcrv in the'South will be ended first of all, T he slaves will
revolt: all white people will he killed: and the new South will secede
from the Union. " But in the end shall her destiny be gloriuus. Fur
there the coloured rarr- sha ll first rise into National dignity & th e state
of Civilization." Greene is among the earliest to recognize the slaves'
own role in their emancipation. 10 accept the idea of an autonomous
Xegro culture, and to recognize that the South could not move from
"Savaucrv" to "Civilization" without the activity of the Negro
people. But he put a wa ll around the Sou th, reducing the Northern
sympat hizers of freedom nearly to bystanders. The most a New
Engla nd abolitionist could du would he "to swell the cry of warning"
- that is, to urge the slaveholders to abolish slavery themselves by
appealing to their better natures and hy frigh tening them with revolution.
Perhaps be realized that the threat would most certainly
cancel out the persu asion.
The appeal to morality, though unsuccessful with slave holders,
would help free women and help hring about "t he downfall of
wealth," Two principles are involved. The first is t("mpt'rance, "the
great truth that it is wrong to cat or drink except for susrcnanrc."
The end of gluttony - for temperance is not merely heing preached
bu t "wi ll fina lly prevailv-c- will cut do wn woman's kitchen d uty,
giv ing her time "for development in Imagination, Reason & COII­
~cie nce." Her achievements will "demonstrate her absolute equality
with man and her right to an eq ual share in Government, Society,
and the Church." She will then ta ke her proper place in civil life,
"voting & being voted for equally with man." But acquisitiveness
tou, says Greene, anticipating certain later psycho logists, is to some
extent a "means of gratifying the Bod ily Appetites. And wit h the
subjugation uf these it must be partially destroyed."
T he second principle, which uperates against wealth more directly,
is "the cqualizurion of wages." It is unjust that some should have
more than thev need. others not enough. "B v being born into the
world , and do i ~ l g uur duty in it we are e-milled to food, clothing, and

lb;'b A·P20J:P E C Y· o f · C L I:GI: ·UILLIH·TH£·CITY·Of·PI2.0VID N ['191>2
' ..• ,-.....
THE ' PROV I DE NeE ' 1'2 .SERVATJON·SOCU:TY·
A PROSPECT OF COI.LEeE 1-1 11.1. I:\" TH E CIT Y O F PROVI DEJ\'CE
In 196 2 tfll' Providence Prc-a-rvatinn Society puhli-hcd in full m lllr t ill'
Prospect pictured above in black an d while, T his attractive panoram a of
the old Ea ~t Sirh- h ll i ldin ,~ W;J." d rawn and colo red hy Rosalind H ow l'
St urges . T Ill' on-ra il

II{ C hr;sloj)hrr A . Greene: ... [O ctober 1~ lti3J Chr;s/o/lhn. 1. (;'1'011': ...
shelter. :'\ ul h i n ~ ran ent itle us to mort". for whatever more we ta krdetract"
from tlu- sha re of some othe r." That is th e " true principle"
\\ hu-h "cannot I OIl .~ remain un acknowledg-ed ," for " w hoover opposes
him...elf to it. will o11 1~ succeed in creating physical disturbance."
Greene an-l"pls the mit- (If trude unions in furthering the principle of
the eq ualization of \\ a ges. But Iht·y a rc ( 0 advocate, not to fight.
..SUfT.·...,.. will follow o ll l~ from gent leness & forbea rance, spiritual
\H"apOIlS whic h ca n never fail."
" "hat a re we to make of a social -tratecv so unerlv divorced from
the pragmatic WIIt"1l C hri- ropher Gre~~c rct um ~d to the worl d
from Holly Home. he em harked on a new analysis of American
-ocic tv. Il l," sucrredrd. as I han- already shown. in anaching h is
utopia to what really existed with in our na tion: to machinery. to
divi..ion of labor, to organization. But in this area of strategv, of wh at
to do. he ...till thought \T'ry much as he had when he left Providence
for Hollv Horne. lo('"l:("l1e the come-outer. vou recall. was conscio us
of an inner -piritual force moving him. It was the moct po werful
force in his experience. arising, he felt , from his conrart with the
oversoul. The ..-ocial stralegy of pers uasion is th is same inne r force
la l('fa ll~ displan·d. He does not expect property owner" to expe rience
the ovcr-oul. But he ran still try to ma ke them aware of the higher
law, hoping that the cxrcmallv ind uced awareness will he as effective
with th em as the interna l vision had been with him. At the same
time. when he spea ks of women voting and runn ing for o(Jke. he
shows himsclf accept ing political action. wh ich is surely somet hing
more th an simple a ppea l to principle.
O m-e again, as with his ('ssay~ on th e Semi nole , r a r, we catc h a
ulim p..r-, I Iwlit·\·('. (,f ( :hri.stopher Greene'.s mind in motion . It i~ only
IH.J.:!. and I\l' W:lS at Holly lIonu' lcs.s th an a year ag'O. Grr atrr
ex pnil'llrt· with the dail y tk mands of the libe ration of .....om an or the
O\'l'r1 hrow of ...!aw ry or tilt' " eq ualization of wages" would tea ch him
new stra tq,:it's to :lccom pany his nt'w l:xpcrien ee of lX'i nlit i n ~ id e
AmlTiran ~o{'il't\".
The hiog-raphiraln'('ord sho ws no .such experience - nnt, at least,
for till' prl'st:lI t. (;1'('1'111' had never Iwen a prominellt man. H is pt'r.
"IlIlality \\ ;"I S ITut th ;lt of the full-time polit ical writer or o rg;"l nil./"r.
If hl' nlgaged ill ",I('ial ;J(·t inn aftn 18-1 2, it must han' hlTn in a "mall
way. tn 1)(' arcidt'll!ally WIlU' upon wh ile looking ill old journals for
"l' nlt'thill.~ 1'1"" . Then ' is. indtTd, a fam ily tradition th at he joined
Alcott 's sho rt- lived utopia at Fruirlands. bu t it cannot he substantiated.
" 'h en we meet him again. it is tilt' "UI1II1ICT of I a-n. and he is in
the Xlnssachn-cus town of T yn"...borough, principal of the biah
schoo l. There is still :I record hook in the r.lmil~. a worn ledcer that
has lo...t its spine and -ome of the ",:win~. in \, hich Greene entered a
vear's grades and a year's pett~ misconducts. 11m, far he is from t hl,"
disciple of .\lcott who w rote 011 education for the Plain Spl'akn! H e
had stood in awe before the my..l e r ~ of the child. come "fresh from
God" with instincts " Pure and Divine." T he -chool. he had written,
whilr- "profcs..ing to Ed ucate. that is to draw the Soul from till' gran'
of the Bodv, ..inks it deeper therein." Tile child cmcrs pure and then
re-experience... the Fall. For the schoolroom's law is not "kindnr-«
and 100c" but "coercion:' The master. " rod in hand. stand.. t h rea t­
cnin.g l~ between the c hild and his impul-e-." In place of the 10..1
....ml, the bov or gir l gcts "a little arithmetic. a lillie grammar. a lillieof
one and another of ..ueh unimportant thing-s"- prcci-clv the
thing" G reen e ranged ove r at T Y Ill.~...borough and in his later position...
At Bridgewater, in Horace xt an n's first Xo rmal Schoo l. was
X ich olas Tillinghast. who had lx-en a.....i..I;lIIt profes-or of ethio, at
\\'cst Point when Greene was a cadet. He convinced ;"!ann that the
collegc needed the ext ravagance of another male tear-her, for a woman
could be paid ha lf the wagl·. a nd brought in his former "Indent at
about twelve dolla rs a wcd c. Greene 1110n·d to Brid g-ewatn before
the end of Xlarch . IH.J.'>, and Idt two yl';H' later.
\\'here he went then we cannot II(' rertuin. The record i" confu-cd
by the Iact thaI Christopher A. a nd W illiam n. could bot h IX" called
Lt. Greene. O ne of them. U\lI...t likdy C hri-tophcr, became involved
with Charles V. Kraitsir. a ra di

116
• • •
;\ :\OT£ 0 :\ SOV RC ES
[Oc tobe r
hac tra veled. " T he l nfa m rv Dr ill," it co nclud es, " wi ll be a regular
cxerri-«- of the pupils." Il l' ieft ~ l iho n in 1851 after a squabble with
the t rtr-t e-r-s, started a private schoo l in Dorchester , and a few months
later moved 10 .\ b rit'lta. (Icorgin. to become professor of natu ra l
philo-ophv ami cln-mi..tr y at its ~I i l i t a ry Institute. It is almost as
thouch he had come- full circ le.
T he profc- sor-hip at ~la.r i cll ; 1 was Christopher Greene's last positio
n. " IIi.. health had broken," writes his son, " an d indeed he had
never I"TIl e-ntin-lv well "inn' hi" experience in Florid a. where he
-uflered muc h from had water a nd expos ure." He spent his last
week.. in Providence. \\ lu-re he had once preac hed utopia and aboli ­
rion. \r!WIl he d ied on Xovcmbcr 3D, 1853, only rhinv-scven years
old. G" rri',oll 's libemtor allowed his pa .....ing to go unnot iced .
So for the mo-t pa n has his life these hund red an d more years.
If \ \C' recollect him IIOW, it is for two reaso ns: firer. because we wish
to understand Thoreau, the genius who was G reene's and Chace's
an d Clarkc's a nd Da\·js's rc pre-enrative man ; second, beca use we
\, i..h to un derstand our-elves. \\ hn arc more Greene than Thoreau.
The ~rcat man. a" Em erson -.0 trulv un derstood him . makes fully real
what' is only pa rt iallv realized in tile lesser men who a rc the base of
his pyramid. H \\ e discover ourselves in him . he creates himself
through u....
Thi, ""al' rould n"l ha" .. I,,·..n .....rill'·" wi,h oUI ,h.. ma nm rripl . !\,r"do"dy Ir nl
Ill" IJ\' C:hri~lOl-lhl'T .-\. (;tr im"d from Ih.. :\l ilton Rr r ord , j uly.
,\u!\,,,'I. 19 15," Thi. is" I'

ll R The Collins- Richardson Fracas of 1787 [O ctobe r 1963J T he Collins- Rich-ardson Fraca s 0/ 1787 11 9
on for th e salva tion of our Lib e r t v-,'" : a~ for the merchants, he continued
. " their Religion is t rade a nd their G od is gain ami th ey that
Expect men 10 sarnficc their God and their Rrl igion for the l' ublick
will Certa inly be disa ppointed.":' W ilh views , the United Stl/lr, Ch.onirl,
(Providr m'p) , lIta}' 11, 1786 Or til(' l'",,,idn ,cc Ga:elle. ~la r 1:1. 1786.
postal service in Rhode Island . ',"hat would be done if Rhode Isla nders
attemp ted to pay for their mail with depreciated money And
what if the state and its officials insisted that the feder al postmasters
accept the paper currency Could the posta l service refuse th e bills
without infringing the sovereign laws of thr sta te which said they
were a ten de r in e\T ry busim-« transact ion
T he postm aster general of the United States, Ebe nezer H azard,
was fully appraised of the g;rowing difficulties Ill' woul d fa c-e becau se
of pa per money. an d be was fran kly apprehens ive ; "such Mon ey will
not ans wer to satisfy our Co ntracts with th e Prop rietors of th e Stages,"
he told the President of Congress, "and yet, br'ing a leg-al T ender in
the Slates wh ich han ' emitted it, the Postmasters in those Slates
conceive that they Illay 110t refuse to receive it." Amon g the postmasters
wh o asked Hazard for ad vice wa.. j ncob Richa rdson of
Xcwport. \1 ho se- rved in his pla ce for m orethan a generation between
I 7fl4 and 1fl13. After instructions from I laza rd and the resoluti ons
of ( :ongrcss, Richnrdson wou ld not deliver-any lett er for pa per money,
and he demanded th at the General As..emblv pay it" outstanding
accounts in gold and silver . T he Assembl y refused an d for a ti me
there was a juncture in relat ions betw een th e Newpo rt postmaster
and the uovcrruucnt of Rhode Island .
Soon aft erwa rds, ea rly in 17fl7, two commun ications addressed to
the gO\'ertlo r of Rhode Island arrived in the pOSI office at Newport,
Governor Collins, determined to uphold th e sovcrcigntv of Rhode
b land law and to receive his mai l, sent his son for the lett ers withou t
the lle c e s~ar y specie payment. Richa rdson refused to deliver the
letters. Thus provoked, Governor Collins a ppeared at the post office
r'Ell..r}" to tht Board 01 T rr a.' ury, :-

120 T hl' (,'o/lins-Ri(h'lTdwn Fracas01 /787 [O ctober 1963] T he Collins· RirhIlTlbo1l Fracas 01/787 121
in pn"oll and , l indi n ~ the po"tmil-r n of th .. Contin ..ntal
C.onlt"rr", I...u r r. of Bacho:- an d H al a rd . Thl' :--li ddkto...n. Conn, ). April 16. 1787.
liThe comm..nt arv in Ih.. Vi' l:i"ill r" d"" " lfit " t Ch,nnicl.. (R ichmond) .
April 25, 1787 i. ,n:..aling ; t Il

K EWS -
K OT ES
l\lr. John H . \\'dl~ continu.-, his invaluable work of indexing the
Wi)5 Rhode Island census. I II addition to the towns mentioned in the
j uly. 1~1(l2. and janua rv. 1%:1, issues of Rhode Island History he has
now completed Barrington . Bristol, Cumberland. Ea-a Providence,
Pawtucket. Smithfield. and Wn rren. Remain ing to be indexed are
Newport County and the City of P rovidence.
Another volunteer worker. M rs. Ethel Galotta. has completed the
indexing of the ltosicorth GCTl/'alogy. compiled by l\trs.•\Iary
Boswort h Cla rke. Xlrs. Galoua's index will he reproduced on microcards
and thus made available to libraries through out the country.
* • *
O n j uly I the Society published .-l R hode lslrmdcr R eports 071
I";ing Phili/!"s \I (lT.thr Second W illiam H arris Letter of A 1l,!;lHl. 1676.
tra nscribed and edi ted by Douglas Edward Leach , ;\",sociate Professor
of H istory at Vanderbilt Univrr-itv. T wo versions of H arr is's long
letter , gi\'ing a detailed account of the war, are included: one an
exact transcription and the other a modernized version with punctuation
and spdlin.~ more intelligible to most readers tha n the seventeenth
centurv original.
T he work is thoroughly annotated and handsomely hound. Copies
arc obtainable from the Soc-ietv at p.7:'J, postpaid.
1963]
Neu.s-Notes
(Xew York. IRB! ). the other a pastel of Ann Cooke. daughter of
Governor Cooke, horn Febru ary 23, 1751 /2 (perhaps the work of
W illiam Blodgett ). l\lrs. Moulton was interested in genealogy and in
the past has giHll the Society materials that she has discovered in her
search. l\lore material Ilf this sort has romr- to us at this time.
• • •
T he librarv -, supply of copies of the january. 1957, issue of Rhode
i sland ll istorv is extremely low. \ \ 't' would be glad to haw as many
copies as members can return. T his issue is easily recognized. since it
has a rose colored cove r with a p icture of General Burn side as a young
mall on the front. :\ny of th e Socie ty's publications, must particularly
early ones, arc always welcome.
• • •
Friends and relatives of the late Robert P. Bolan sent checks in his
mcrnorv to the Society at the time of his dea th. The library will buy
books with this money and mark them wit h a bookplate hearing his
name. M r. Bolan was interested in The Rhode Island H istorical
Society. and we are glad that we shall be able to perpetuate his
mcmorv in this wav.
• • * • • *
An exhibition of mater ial relative to Oliv er Hazard Perrv in COIIlrm-moration
of the one hundred fiftieth anniversarv of his victory at
the Hartle of Lake Eric is planned for the late fall. During the summer
a number of the Society's Perry relics, including his sword and jacket,
have ber-n exhibited at the Detroit Historical M useum .
In j ul ~
• * *
the fenr-r- around the Surirtv 's property was repaired and
painted, following a schedule which calls for this work's being
repeated ('\Try four years.
• • •
By the terms of the will of the late M rs. Edward C. ;\ IOllItOIt the
Societe was left two table- which had dl'scl'nded to her from her
ancestor. Governor Xu-hnla-; Cooke. and two painting". one an oil of
the encounter of the Guerrier. and the Constitution by J. O . Davison
122
T he portrait of j oseph Wanton by j ohn Smibcn was exhibited at
the T crccntenarv Exhibition at the North Carolina Xl uscum of Art
in Raleigh from Murch ~3 to April 28. T he painting- will be sent to
the l\Iinncapclis Insthute of Art lor their Four Centuries of American
Art exhibition, which will be held from Xovember '27 to J a nuary 19.
• * •
Beginn ing j anuary 2. 19G4, the library hours will be as follows;
l\londay, I ; flO to 9; 00 p.m.; T uesday through Friday, 9; flO a .m. to
5;00 p.m. Thesc hours will oe ronrimn-d at the new library huilding
as soon as we occupy it. Beginning j anuary 2. 1964. j oh n Brown
Hou-c will be op en to visitors Sunday. 3: O() to f :()() p.Ill.; Xlondav.
I : 00 to 5: 00 p.rn.: T uesday through Friday, 9: 00 n.m. to 5; 00 p.m .
T he lib ra rv will not he opented on Sunday. T he huilding is closed
UII Saturday.
12:1

J OH ~ S ~ II T H. T HE ~IILLER . OF PROVIDE~CE.
RHODE ISLAX D
S O ~ I E OF H iS DESCF.XDAXTS
h ~' ell \RLE ~ W I L LI,HI F ,\ k S II Ht
[ro nti nur d from J uh-. I Q63, p. 93/
4; MAJ OR R V fl; S ~' SXUTU (Capl.John. 4 Benjamin.' John.: John 1 ) .
h. II )Iay 1710 ; d. 12 Feb. 18()() in the pa n of Glocester which
beca me Burrillville : m. in Glocester by Richard Smith. justice.
I: XO\·. 1751. ) Iarcy T aft ." " identified in the Root manuscr ipt as
the daughter of Israel T aft of Uxbridge. ~I a "' married
Ibnid Parke-r of l'rovidcm-r: ~f.\ lt A L\ A:-;:-; S~l lT JI
who du-d in all accident at ~' i a g ar;J Fa lls 2 1 Sept.
lfl69 at fifty-fin' YI\lrs : ~hll. Y S~lITIi who was a u
invalid hUI lived ttl h l' seventy-four: a nd S\ ~II'FL
j.-\.\lI-:s S~IlT Il w h o d int ill :\(' \1' YOlk 11 jan. 1892 at
scvr-n tv-two. I It- was for manv y,'a l" ill rhe- woolen
trnd.. in H",t nn and :\"'\ York and i, hurir-d with his
:1! ' ~Cumbrrla"d I'rohat". 1·1 :21;'1,
:w1.\rnold. " p. rit .• (; 100 '"1''' lIinl". :1, h~ .

126 / O}lIl Smith, the .\/ifla . 0/ Providence [October 1963] John Smith.lhl' ,I/i/hr. 0/ l'roi-idcnce ] 0 ­ _ I
\,if,'. ~ lal'\' E. Goodhue. at Swan Po in t C'·IIlt'll'l'\ .
I'ro\'id" nn :..\ h n the dea th of I{u fus the four S i S l l'l~"
Ch-rm-nrinn. M ahala. :\Ia l'\', and E lma . hou ~h l a
hOllsl' at Fou nta in and ~lalh "wSOJl , I I"I"I' IS, Provldt·II"
·. whr-rc tlu-v lived unt il Elrna was almu-. III lu-r
final davs -hvlivcd with a l::randm'plww in Providenc....
'2 »II . L W I ~ ' Sxrrru. h. 19 :'\0\' . I777 ;:I!"-' Root manu-cript
s;lys h,' married Prussia Sack-c. He was Idl a 1,'1::;ll'y
" if Ill' r-ver sh o u ld return."
:\ j O:'o.' ,\ 1I 1 5\11111. h . 16 Sl'pl. 17i!~ ; 3 '''' d. 2:\ j u ly HUH;
111. J.1n!, K r-nm-dv.
Rlltlll\1 ... \ 11'111 , h . li82 ;3'" d. 2~ ~ ta \ 1B."II : m . Cal"h
S,I\'ks.
'
.1 W \R :'o.'t,R :\h n l.l:'o." S\IITIl. h ..i :'\ O\". I i 8 1;3\" d . 2.'"1 S" p t,
18:18 : Ill. I f .luis 181 f ~ la ry BI'II"\,,,. h. 28 ~ta y I 798,
6 jOtl 1 S su r u. h . .'J April li8i ;3~0!< d. :m :'\0\'. 18 18 ; Ill. in
Cumlwrbnd 8 :\ priI 18 11 Sarah S,1\·I,·", of Est'k Sa\ 'ln
of CUlll hl'"Tla nd.~' ·' . .
7 DRI·s ILL.\' S'IITII. b. 18 j UIlt" I iB9. Roo t manu-cript
say' she married Aa ron She pa rd -on.
Cnu o OF J \ \I f.S ":'o.' fl I. YDI.\ S\IITII:
8 I. YOI.-\1 S \l ITH, b. 7 July 1792. 1 "1 Root manuscript sa ys
she urarru-d a C a pron .
II R IlUIl,\~ S m TII. h. 22 J.1Il. 17.'">5 ; d . 9 Se pt. I 761. l " ~
111 S Y L\H~ S urr u. h. n Jan. 17.i 7 ; d . 21 :'\ O\". 17.'"J9. ~"3
IV I>.-\C I \ I\S \ lITl I ,h . I ROn , 1 7 .i9 ;d . 5S t"p t. l i61.~ " 1
92 V CI I.~ n ' l S\IlTIl , b. 1:1 ~ la l"f h 1762; ~"'-' Ill. 20 :'\ 0\., 17ft! a t
Swa ll~('a. :\ b s~ad H I " ' Il S , ElIzaheth C la rk. d ;lug-h lt'nln !>o1.1r r i a ~ , ' ~. .1 : 35,
1""1bid., CUlllhnLond !>o l a r r i a ~ ,.. ' , :l: 58.
"'I flJid ., Smi lhfi" ld Fr i " nd ~ R"l'ord" i: 1'17.
, ., ~ '''\ \rnuld, np. (; t.. (; I" ...·' It·r lI irt h, , :l : ti I
'''·'.\rnuld, op. cit, S....'tn"·a Fr i"n,h !>o l a rr i a ~ ~ " 7: :'J~.
'''' ""'\"101d, I h;d., S",ilhfidd Fr i.'nd, Hinh,. 7, 1

123 John Smith, thl' J/illa , of Proridcn cc [O ctober ClI lI_DRt:S OF Z,\IX!G'I ,\SO Rowt,SA ( C O \ I ,q ')(:K) S~IITH:
A M Y As s . OTi S ~h s o s and FOSTER " 'ALCOTT. twi ns,
and POLLY .\SS S\lITII.
3 Rrr II: S ~t1TII. h. 13 St·pt. 1789: m. Ebcr Ald rich.
., ~~ Il R ~: S"ITIf. h. H Mav 1792: d. 28 Feb 1858 : Ill. in
Uumlx-r lond I July 1810 Amas-a Whippl f".
c, !',-\llt.s et.: S.\lIT1I, b. 6 April 179 --1 : m. Turner Ha skell.
6 Am,Y EIl.LS: SmTH. h. I M arr-h 1796: m. J ob SIl"'n'
of Glocc- n- r. of .-\s.a and ~la ry ( Irom) Slc·,·n'.
7 \\'tI.I.I,-\ .\1 B.: SmTlI, h. 18 I\U~. 1799: d. I.') ~la r,h 18,j.J:
m. ill C um berla nd 17 J une 1827 Lucy Gra nt. of J a1-.7 .
8 .\ R ~ S _ \ ~I.: S"lrll . h. '!.7 :'\0 \ '. 1800: d. 7 Feh. iass.
9 L" OIAB.1 S.\IITII. b. 23 J uh lB09: m. C ha rles ~1 " l e al f .
\ '11 S\f\R\G S.\IITII. b. 22 April 1767: d. 6 Ik e. 1767. 421
9.t \ '111 1'~ \ l)CX Il Swrru. b. I J a n. 1770:~~z rn. n :\lay 1790 Rowr-na
( :t>ln~ l n..-k. h. 12 Xov. 1766. daughter of G('org..· a nd Kath ­
erim- Co mstock of SlllithfIdd. ~~3 whose death is re-ported in
lilt' Rhodf Island A merican issue of 9 J UIl(' 181--1. Zadoc
mar rh-d 2 ) 23 J une 1819 ~lary Sweet of AIII...tlOTO.&lUl:!h.
u-r n( 1'';lChariah and Elizabeth Austin of Wellinglon .
~1a , saeh u ' I · II ~ . · ~· Zadoc was a Q uaker a nd lin-d in
Hun-illville.
O n I I J U l

T I I E R HO DEI S I. A l\' D II 1ST 0 R IC A L S O C 1 E T v
:"II·;W ~ lL\I B ERS
J un e L 1961 to September 20, 1961
\Ir. Lloyd L. Allen
San ~la t eo , C~l.
.\ Ir. Earle B. :\ rno ld
:-':orth S("it,,~ tP , R, 1.
M rs. H cnrv N. Arnold
Crpen.., R. L
M rs. Arn old H . Barbcn
Seneca Falls, 1\" . Y.
\ Ir. Ch arles H . Bf'chtold
Kingsto n, R. I
~[ i -"-,, Barbara B. Brand
N,." York. :-;. Y.
\ Ir ~ . H ora ce I. Bri .IU~ -"
\Irs. J ohn ~l. Buflinton
Mr. Duncan Buttrick
Ba rr inr.;to n, R. I.
Rev. Arthur Preston Colhou rn
I' aw tu, k,·t, R. I.
Mr. Calvin B. Dew ey
Cranston. R. I.
Col. J. Danforth Edward,
Wa kd id d . R . I.
~Ip;. J. Danforth Edw ard,
Wakd id d. R. r.
Mr. William A Gardner
\[ rs. Will iam A. Gardner
\I i ~-" Rut h ~1. Gilm ore
Dr. Francis H. Horn
Kingston, R. I.
\ Ir. T horn ton x. \lcCiure
Kin gston, R. I.
\ Ir. Ralph S. \ Iohr
.\ [r. \krrill B. Patt erso n
Cranston. R. 1.
Mrs. W illiam Potter
Cranston. R. L
~ Ir. Frederick B. Reilh
East P ro vid ~ n c ~ , R. I.
M r. Randolph E. Romano
East G rl'pnwich , R. I.
Mrs. Gcorge E. Sinkinson
\Ir~.
Cl ifford E. Smythr­
Cranston, R. I
;"{r. joseph P. Spang III
Dr n fidd, Mass.
\ Ii ,,~ Shi rle\ A. Whi{('omh
Wa rw id , R . I.