More on Mount Vernon, Rhode island

Keen business eyes were focused on a process by which western Rhode Island could profit by the rapid growth of Providence. Leverage through banking was a process by certain leading families with names such as Place, Frye, and Holden. Mount Vernon, a small area near Foster in Moosup Valley, held a store which was also a bank. In general banks held private funds which were lent, and for safety, probably no more than 5% of a wealthy man's income might be placed there. Mount Vernon bank was a radical exceptionⁱ

Pardon Holdenⁱⁱ in the 1830's had a $1,540 investment which was ¾ of his estate.

We have a nice description of this bank's early days in an historical recollection by Rachael Knight Budlong, about 1880.

The Mount Vernon Bank was situated in Foster near the Coventry line on the Plainfield Pike or stage road about two miles east of Rice City. The founders of the bank were Col. Nathaniel Stone, Pardon Holden, Elisha Fish and Peleg Place. The bank was chartered about 1824 and commenced operations in the fall of 1825, with Peleg Place as Cashier and Nathaniel Stone as President. The bank was kept for a few months in the west front chamber of the two storied house, which was owned and occupied by Pardon Holden. It was afterwards removed to a stone building which had been built by Dr. Thomas Carpenter and used for a while as a store after which it was sold to Pardon Holden. This building, together with a shed, stood a short distance west of his house, and was leased by him to the bank for as long a time as it should be used for banking purposes after which it should revert to Holden or his heirs.

Mount Vernon village, called after the bank, was a thriving village at that time. There were then two stages on the road, each driver carried a long tin horn which he blew before coming to a dwelling house. The stage house or tavern was kept by Elisha Fish, and was later sold to Moses Potter.

Mr. Holden was an enterprising man. He owned a large country store, which at that time meant to buy and sell everything. He had a plough shop for the manufacture of cast iron ploughs.

…

Peleg Place was the first cashier and a stockholder. He filled that office for eleven years when, becoming infirm from age, Charles M. Stone was chosen to take his place, which he held for eight years, when in the spring of 1844, he removed to Providence to take charge of an agency connected with the bank, a large amount of the business being done in the city. Raymond G. Place was the next and last cashier.

The daughter of Pardon Holden remembers distinctly riding home from Providence with her father, the latter bringing large sums of money in his breast pocket, often times not arriving until dark, something never done at the present time. He went to and fro two or three times a week without molestation although completely unarmed. Mr. Holden was a large and exceedingly powerful man fully able to cope with any opposition he was likely to meet in those days. He served the bank in this and every way in which he could further its interests until his health failed. Afterwards the packages of money were sent by the driver of the mail stage or any person considered perfectly reliable and not a dollar was ever lost in transportation. Fifty-five years ago {c. 1825} there were very few houses this side of the bridge.

It is difficult to put the pieces together, but it appears that the men who ran the bank took assets from providence and applied them to business schemes in the Foster area, and in turn took raw materials, processed them, and returned those at a premium profit to Providence. By 1850, the branch in providence was extremely successful and the bank managed significant assets for the time. We know this by a coincidence, an inside-job robbery that made headlines. At the time the bank had about $60,000 in capital stock, and $41,000 in circulationⁱⁱⁱ.

There was also a trade announcement:

Foster.— The Mount Vernon Bank, at Foster, Rhode Island, was entered between Saturday, the 4th of September {1852}, and the following Monday morning, and robbed of $ 10,300 in bills of the bank. About $ 7,000 were of the denomination of $ 50, and numbered mostly from No. 400 to 500, $ 2,000 of which had never been put in circulation. The remainder were in bills of $ 10, $ 20, and $ 100. The bank has issued the following advertisement: —

Caution.— The Mount Vernon Bank, of Foster, hereby cautions the public against receiving bills of the bank of the denomination of $20, $50, and $100, issued prior to this date. All parties holding bills of those denominations, which have been put in circulation by the bank, are informed that said bills will be redeemed on presentation at their counter.

By order of the Directors,

R. G. Place, Cashier

A rare 1852 deposit specimen

The signatures of Raymond Place and Henry Whitman are seen on this 15 May 1856 note. It is likely one held once by the Rhode Island Historical Society. Other species show that by 1 January 1857, a new president signed.

More trouble ensued in 1852^iv when:

Mount Vernon Bank V. Charles M. Stone.

Where a bill makes charges of fraud, which are not established at the hearing, the bill will be dismissed, notwithstanding it states other grounds upon which relief might have been granted, if not blended with the allegations of fraud.

In Equity. The Mount Vernon Bank was a Bank located in Foster, and the defendant was from the 8th of June 1844 to the 29th of May, 1850, their agent for the purpose of transacting the business of the Bank in the city of Providence, where the plaintiffs provided him with an office and books to be kept in the office, in which to record the business of his agency, and they paid him as such agent a salary of five hundred dollars per annum.  The bill alleged first, that the defendant had not fully accounted and had refused to deliver and exhibit the books of the Bank to the plaintiffs, and, in the second place, charged that the defendant fraudulently concealed the said books, fraudulently used the money of the Bank, and by fraudulent representations obtained a release or discharge of a portion of said account, and a surrender of the bond given for the faithful discharge of his duties as agent. The bill prayed for a decree for an account, a delivery of the books of the Bank, a surrender of the release obtained from the plaintiffs and a return of the bond. … After a careful examination of the evidence in relation to the charges of fraud, we feel bound to say that the plaintiffs in our judgment have failed to prove them.

The bank, essentially, was in deep trouble, and on an attack from within. A faction, by force or by subtlety, was attempting to commandeer the bank's assets.

An 1856 declaration^v .

MOUNT VERNON BANK.—87 Westminster Street {Providence, R.I}.

Incorporated, 1823. Capital, $92,778. Henry Whitman, President; Raymond G. Place, Cashier. Henry Whitman, Ira Brown, Raymond G. Place, Robert Knight, Wm. Hill, Giles M. Nichols, Thomas S. Battey, Whipple Phillips, Amos Fuller, John Henry Ormsbee, Thomas M. Remington, William H. Collins, Sterry Fry, Directors. — Annual meeting, first Monday in September. Dividends payable, first Mondays in September and March. Discount, Mondays and Thursdays.

Two names were highlighted by this writer, above. The first is the brother of Robie^vi Place, Raymond Gardiner Place, and the other, Whipple Phillips, the brother of Jeremiah Phillips, and uncle of Whipple V. Phillips. Note also that the 1852 robbery was by men whose last names were Fuller and Place –  black sheep of the family? Stone was attacked by a lawsuit. The bank was turbulent, and things needed to settle down.








The Mount Vernon Bank was declared^vii publicly “broken”, that is bankrupt or defunct, by 26 September 1857. It seems that the new president could not turn the bank around.

iThe economic & social transformation of rural Rhode Island, 1780-1850, p. 104 ff.

iiPardon Holden and Daniel Wood were plowshare makers as early as 1823 in Foster. See The Providence Gazette, 20 March 1823, page 1, ad.

iiip. 762 of The Bankers Magazine, Volume 2, 1949, for the year 1848.

ivMarch Term, 1852, Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 1854 Volume 2. By Thomas Durfee, Providence.

vp. 86, Rhode Island Register, In same issue, p., 166, W.V.B. Phillips is listed as a store keeper in Foster for the year 1856, published by George Adams (Volume II).

viSpelling during her life varied from Rhoby to Robie.

vii 26 September 1857 Hartford Weekly Times, page 2, colum 7. listed the Mount Vernon Bank as one of several banks suspended.    

Was Peleg Place of Mount Vernon, Rhode Island a Whig?

This blogger has made a circumstantial case that Jeremiah Phillips' family was a Republican-Democrat (i.e. democratic) under the influence of the two Daniel Howard's (father and son), as was much of north Foster, Rhode Island, later identified with Foster Center, Rhode Island.

The voting tended to be a 2:1 ration of Republican-Democrats to Whigs until the Dorr Rebellion, at which time the Daniel Howards switched to the "Law and Order Party".

From whence the Whigs?

Mount Vernon, Rhode Island.

How do we know this?  The most powerful authority political parties had from Andrew Jackson onward was the ability to appoint a local post master.  In the 1840's, when "franking" (the ability of a congressman to mail free mail, propaganda) became fully authorized, the post master also became the local precinct captain, in today's parlance.

Here is what I would call a "smoking gun". (I love Google as it allows the direct copying of many primary documents into Blogger).  On 22 June 1841, Peleg Place was appointed by Tyler as the postmaster.  The document is listed below, the preface by the president and Postmaster General, and page 22 listing the notable Peleg Place, of the Mount Vernon Bank.

One does not get to be a local postmaster lightly.  It means communing with the Governor, the U.S. senators, likely contributing to the party significantly, and getting the vote out.  If Peleg Place was a Whig in 1841, then the cashier, Raymond G. Place, would also be a Whig.  This would indicate that a youthful Robie A. Place, then of Rice City, would also have been Whiggish, though unable to vote.

This leads to a scenario:  After the Dorr Rebellion, Daniel Howard the younger, and Horace Howard, his son, were Law & Order men.  The voting patterns of Foster, Rhode Island slowly began to change.  At the same time of the disintegration of the Whigs, and the split of the Republican-Democrats to "Democrats", and the beginning to the "Republican Party", Jeremiah Phillips died, and James Wheaton and Whipple, V. came directly under the influence of the more conservative Raymond G. Place, their guardian.

Therefore, we can almost exactly time the transition of this branch of the Phillips family to the Republican Party during the years between 1844 and 1849, the most formative years of James (b. 1830) and Whipple (b. 1833).

Foster, Rhode Island, Contributes to War of 1812

This is a small snippet relating to Jeremiah Phillips' early life.  He was only 14 years old, so he likely did not contribute, but as Foster had only about 2,000 inhabitants, an expenditure of 100 days of labor in building fortifications, the community would be aware of the contribution.

Sorting Out All Those Daniel Howards

This blogger thinks that the untold story of how two Daniel Howards, the older and younger, influenced much of the democratic-republican voting of the 1830's and 1840's in Foster, Rhode Island - and Jeremiah Phillips and his family.  They were by all accounts of towering height, prodigiously long lived, somewhat resembling another hero - Andrew Jackson - and as honest as the day is long.  The people of Foster Center adored them, and they were each elected to office for more than 5 decades.  The son of Daniel Jr. was Horace, and he, too, was highly influential.

Here is a little extract I composed from a reference source.

Daniel Howard the younger.
Even he has that Andrew Jackson look.
His father, it was stated, more so.

The Real Andrew Jackson

_____


From a History of Isaac Howard of Foster, Rhode Island and his Descendants who have Borne the name Howard, by Daniel Howard, Windsor Locks, Conn., 1901.

In the beginning was Isaac Howard, birth year unknown, birth town unknown.  He came to America in 1722, and landed at Marblehead, MA.   In  afew years, he made it to Rhode island, and settled west of then-Warwick (the future Greene Station, of Coventry township).  Then he moved to Gibb's Pond, then to Rice City (Vaughn's Hill), then in 1752 settled on a plot of land south of the future Foster Center.  In 1755 he built a house, replaced years later (1831) by grandson Gorton Howard.

He married one Martha Rice of Coventry having eight known living children.  One of the youngest was named Daniel born in then-Scituate, later Foster.  Before discussing him, it must be noted the significant trait of the Howard family – their enormous height, and their proclivity to long life.

Isaac Howard died 4 November 1776,  leading guesses by his family that he was born about the year 1700.

Daniel was born 20 July 1752, though it is unknown why his first name was chosen.  Family history presents a curious coincidence that on 28 September 1753 Isaac purchased 20 acres of land on the Moosup River from a Daniel Abbot of Providence.

The original Daniel Howard married one Dorothy Clarke 14 February 1776.  He acquired 40 acres of Isaac's farm, and years later was the site of the so-called Howard Hill school house.  By all accounts he resembled President Andrew Jackson and was six-feet-five-inches tall.  He was justice of the peace for 15 years, and served in the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1790, the year Rhode island ratified the U.S. Constitution.  He was town clerk for 25 terms dying in office.  He died 14 September 1827.

Of this Mr Daniel Howard there were ten children, his namesake, Daniel, born 6th on 15 March 1787.

His education was in the local schools being taught by one Benjamin Dolton of the University of Dublin, Ireland.  Daniel was known by his outstandingly beautiful handwriting and was for most of his father's clerkship, his assistant.  Upon Daniel the elder's death, Daniel the younger took the town clerk's office and held it for 25 years.  It is this Daniel who married Jeremiah Phillips' sister.  This Daniel died in 1879.

He had one son, Horace born 31 January 1810.  He was elected as one of two delegates to the late summer 1842 state constitutional convention defending suffrage.

The Daniel Howard (A.M.) and writer of the Howard genealogy was born in Foster, R.I. On 15 December 1864.  This Daniel later became principal of Windsor Lock, Conn.

This Daniel Howard's father was Pardon Tillinghast Howard (born 2 August 1839, m. 3 May 1863, still alive in 1901); Pardon Tillinghast Howard was son of Horace Howard, who was son of Daniel Howard the younger, the son of Daniel Howard the elder, the son of the family founder Isaac..

1798 Foster, Rhode Island documents

Phillips Orphans: November 1848 to August 1850

Lovecraft's Grandfather: The Business Career of Whipple van Buren Phillips

Appendix

"The Phillips Orphans: November 1848 to August 1850."

Below is a listing from the 1850 census, asserted to have been taken 8 August 1850, but the question asked was data as of 1 June 1850.

This writer draws from this document {facsimile from Mormon Genealogy online source}, Faig. [See below for reference], and cemetery references.

Jeremiah Phillips died in a grist mill accident on 20 November 1848. James Wheaton Phillips was at that time 18, and of age. However, due to debts, he did not inherit the property which went into complicated receivership. The time between the death of Jeremiah and the Census was 21 months. We have minimal data on these months. WVP was attending school as was his sister Abbey.

Faig did a review of the estate proceedings in August 1990. This can be summarized below.

• Raymond G. Place, husband of Jeremiah Phillips' niece Eliza Lyon Fry and already in place as Cashier at the Mount Vernon Bank, was appointed administrator of the estate by Daniel Howard, Clerk. This was on 4 December 1848. (Note this was a very quick 14 days.)
• Inventory was taken by Albert Foster, Abraham Place (a relative listed on the 1850 census), and John Vaughn on 18 December 1848. (28 days after Jeremiah's death.) The inventory was extensive, but insufficient to pay debts. It was typical corn, animals or animal products of pig, goose, horse, ox, bees, cow, turkey. Wheat was rare and not listed. Total $637.75, a not insignificant sum.
• Inventory submitted 1 January 1849. Committee confirmed Raymond G. Place to liquidate inventory except for wearing apparel of the children.
• The preliminary report was submitted on 4 March 1849.
• 2 July 1849 Samuel Tillinghast and Jason T Place went before the probate court (Peleg Place had died in the interim).
• After a notice, the estate was sold at The Mount Vernon Bank on 30 June 1849. At that time it was seen that debt was $1252,21, of which Jeremiah's brother had $495.49 outstanding.
• 27 August Raymond G Place presented his report.
• 1 October 1849 the Committee met all real property was ordered sold. The farm first.
• 17 November 1849 it was reported that 73 acres were sold in Foster and 12.5 acres in Coventry.
• Final report was submitted on 4 December 1849.

In summary, the orphans became penniless. Their uncle, Whipple Phillips, Raymond G. Place, Job W Place, and others in the community met legal obligations and still allowed James W Phillips a piece of land to set up farming. WVP went to school and assisted.

"James W Phillips" is listed twice on the Census with two different ages.

@@@ further research @@@@

Reviewing the data from the U.S. Census of 1850 and starting with the entries at Job W Place, the assumed clan patriarch, the Phillips orphans seem to have come quickly under his umbrella. If dollars are a place keeper for wealth and influence, Peleg Harrington and Jason G Place had the highest business values, and every other land owner were on a relatively equal landing.

If we conclude that the Phillips orphans were under the Job W Place umbrella, we can make a decision on what role "Mary E Stanton" played. She was not listed as a landowner, and perhaps could not be a landowner in Foster. If this were her property (i.e. she was a widow), it can't be determined by any additional data at this time. Therefore, she must have been a housekeeper and appointed guardian.

This brings up an additional piece of data that might be relevant. There is a very early burial in the Place-Battey (FR090) Foster cemetery: Sally Stanton (1790c - 12 APR 1815). This one single pieces of data, of only one "Stanton" buried in Foster makes Mary E Stanton a very elusive individual. If she married a Place, or other citizen, her name would have not been Stanton. If she was a widow, no sign of ancient Stantons can be found, other than one Joseph Stanton, rather famous at his time.

James W Phillips was the elder of the family, and of age. He was a farmer, and he was the head of the house both officially, by age, and by community designation. James did not need a guardian, and certainly not by a female resident in 1850 Rhode Island. This writer will follow a thesis that Mary E Stanton was an assistant to the family. It may later be found, looking at the 1840 census data, that Jeremiah Phillips had her under his household, but this, of course, is untenable speculation as of now. What the census data seems to make clear, and will be the thesis here, is that the Phillips orphans were not specifically living under Mary E Stanton's roof. She shows no ownership of property, and despite the reforms after the Dorr Rebellion, she may not have been able to own property.

References:

The Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project Index, p. 380.

Internet http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/cemetery/cemetery340.html accessed on 18 Januaryt 2012, and when this was recorded, the following data was pertinent located 10 ft south of MOOSUP VALLEY RD at TEL pole # 56; 2521 burials with 25 inscriptions from 1822 to 1944; 40 ft x 40 ft in fair condition enclosed with a stone wall]. No other Stanton in the database is buried in a Foster cemetery. Job W. Place was buried in Foster cemetery FR083, so we cannot make a direct correlation between Mary E Stanton and the Place family, but some vague connection is allowable as she appears to be an isolated "Stanton" on Phillips and Place land in 1850. There are four listings for burials of "Mary E Stanton" and 13 other "Mary Stanton". One comes close to to match her officially noted birthday of 1812, indicated by her age of 38y in 1850. This is Mary Moore {Bell} Stanton 1814 - 20 APR 1887 NT001 which is in Newport. This is an unlikely candidate. Sadly, this writer cannot find any additional notes on Foster's Mary E Stanton in any online databases.}

Kenneth W. Faig, Jr, Mahossauk Review, Candlemass, 1992. "Lovecraft's Last Yeoman Farmer Ancestor, p. 7 ff. Provided by author.

In this publication, Faig stated, "The household seems to be next south of the homesteads of Job W. Place and Abraham Place of Johnson Road. Perhaps Mary E. Stanton was keeping house for the children. One would normally expect that Susan Esther Phillips, the elder surviving daughter, would undertake this function, but she may by this time have already been ailing, since she died on July 28, 1851, aged only twenty-four. James Wheaton Phillips (1830-1901) married Job W. Place's daughter Jane Ann Place (1829-1900) in 1853 and probably purchased the farm of Job's deceased brother Abraham Place (1800-1852) at about this time."

Schedule I. - Free Inhabitants in The Town of Foster in the County of Providence State of Rhode Island enumerated by me, on the 6^th day of August 1850. Elisha Johnson Ass't Marshall

(The data above, itallics are handwritten. There are 13 columns of data, and below are columns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9. For item 1 and 2, I have placed a #, and for item 4 I have placed a y afterwards. For item 9, all are "Rhode Island" unless noted.}

{in the margin is a "1"}

#1 #1 Samuel Greene 67y M Farmer $1000

Polly 54y F

#2 #2 Peleg Harrington 66y M Farmer $2300

Harriet 45y F

Betsey F 10y F

James W Phillips 17y M laborer

#3 #3 John Johnson 41y M Farmer $1000

Susan 36y F

Elizabeth 11y F

Wanton 69y M Farmer

#4 #4 Job W Place 54y M Farmer $900

Asenath 56y F Massachusetts

Lester 10y M

Jane A 21y F

#5 Aaron B Place 27y M Carpenter $900

Hannah 20y F

Manford 1y M

#5 #6 Abraham Place 49y M Farmer $1200

Nabby 54y F

Lydia 83y F $12

Fanny Card 10y F

#6 #7 James W Phillips 20y M Farmer {no $ amount recorded}

Susan E 23y F {not in school}

Whipple VB 16y M Farmer {has attended school}

Abby E 10y F {has attended school}

Mary E Stanton 38y F

#7 #8 George Place 57y M Farmer

Giffey 58y F

#8 #9 Sally Place 63y F

Jason G 29y M Farmer $9000

Rhoby A 23y F

Leander T 11y M Connecticut

#9 #10 Albert Foster 47y M Farmer $1000

Cynthia 47y F

John C 22y M laborer

Meelrum M 19y M laborer

#11 Otis Foster 42y M Farmer $1000

Rushee 50y F

Fanny 19y F

Angeline 18y F

Louise 14y F

Oliver 12y M

{Below is a portion for the next page included to show the proximity of Casey B Tyler to the Phillips orphans}

{in the margin is a "3"}

#19 #21 Casey B Tyler 30y M merchant $0

Betsey 28y F

#20 #22 Dean Burgys 48y M Farmer $700

Dolly 45y F

Jared H 22y M black smith

Job G 24y M stone mason

#23 Esther Jenks 68y F

Julia 38y F

1. Dwelling house numbered in the order of visitation.
2. Families numbered in the order of visitation.
3. The name of every Person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1850, was in this family.
4. Age
5. Sex
6. Color (all were white listed)
7. Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each Male Person over 15 years of age.
8. Value of Real Estate owned.
9. Place of Birth, Maning the State, Territory, or Country.
10. Married withing the year
11. Attended School within the year
12. Persons over 20 years of age who cannot read or write.
13. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, pauper, or convict.

Jeremiah S McGregor

This is a name Lovecraft scholars do not know.

He was a man well acquainted with Whipple, and they saw each other often in Coventry (Greene). They even had a few adventures together like the night WVP was almost killed at a Christmas party.  You'll have to wait for that essay and more on the man.

McGregor is a man I have gotten to know and like.  In his old age, he often wrote the most beautiful prose and poetry.  A bit flowery for many tastes, it was received by all with anticipation.  His work could fill up a whole book just from the pages of the Gleaner.  He actually did write a book about his hero relative, Dr. McGregor.

I will add one his anecdotes here, and a brief clip.


A Sudden Change

One of the most sudden changes in the atmosphere I ever heard of, occurred many years ago in one of the western states.  It was in the spring of the year and the weather was very warm and sultry.  Every frog pond was alive with peeping frogs when all at once a cold streak came over that part of the country and froze those frog ponds over so quick that the frogs had not time to pull their heads under water, so the next morning the boys were sliding on those ponds kicking the frogs heads off.

{signed} J. S. McG.

30 F Below Zero: 24 January 1857 at Coffin Road

Hear is a near death experience - one of several - for the Whipple V. Phillips family.  It also mentions the Sprague family in connection to the most important Hartford, Providence and Fishkill railroad system.  Lastly, it mentions the elusive "Coffin Road".

Water froze immediately and as hard as steel and as adhesive as the worst superglue.  These are temperatures that New England just did not see. The headlines stated that it was the worst of the century.

We know that Amos and Edward Fiske took over the Tyler store in 1855, and sold to Whipple V. Phillips in 1855.  After two years, WVP moved to the Coffin Road junction, later to be called Greene Station, or just Greene, Rhode Island.  It seems that WVP was not at the Coffin Road station on 24 January 1957 for the heroic efforts of the railroad men.

But he was surely freezing in the store back in Foster, Rhode Island.

Daniel Howard: Democrat

For our purposes of increasing the circumstantial evidence of Jeremiah Phillips being a democrat, we add the evidence of Daniel Howard, a significantly important individual in Foster, Rhode Island.

Foster Centre is a later name for the area believed to have been the general area within the township that the Philips family lived prior to 1848.  See map from circa 1890's, the only one currently available at this writing.

We now quote freely from: History of Isaac Howard of Foster, Rhode Island, and his descendants who have borne the name of Howard, bt Daniel Howard, privately printed at Windsor Locks, CT, 1901

HON. DANIEL HOWARD was born in Foster, R. I., March 15, 1787. His education was ol)tained in the common schools of his town, where he was especially fortunate in having as his instructor for one year Benjamin Dolton, a graduate of the University of Dublin, Ireland, a teacher famed for his learning, and especially for his penmanship, Under the training of this master he became the most expert penman in his town, and when in 1803 his father was elected town clerk of Foster he rendered much aid as assistant. His father died in September, 1827, and on the first day of October following he was elected to the vacant office of town clerk, which office he held continuously for twenty-five years. During this time he served thirteen terms as Representative in the State legislature, a term being at that time half a year. On his journey home from Providence at the close of each week, a distance of nearly twenty miles, which he usually made on foot, it was his custom to stop at the wayside inns, where the people would be gathered to hear from him what had been the business of the week.

In 1834 he became one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, serving nine years between that time and 1848, being the choice of his party whenever it was successful at the polls. He was off the bench in 1835 and on again in 1836 and '37; off till 1842; then on again till 1848. From 1844 to '48 he sat as associate with the judge of the Supreme Court.

In politics he was a Democrat. During the Dorr troubles of 1842 he favored the extension of the suffrage, but could not countenance the course pursued by the Dorrites to accomplish it. Hence he allied himself with the Law and Order men.

In local public affairs he was the most prominent man in Foster. He served fifteen years as justice of the peace; was assessor of taxes; was called upon to administer upon thirty-one estates; was a practical surveyor; was much in demand as a conveyancer and to draft wills and write all forms of legal papers for his townsmen and the citizens of adjoining towns; was much resorted to for legal advice, and, in short, was looked upon for half a century as a sort of legal umpire for his section of the state.

In 1811 he purchased his brother Gorton's interest in the farm which for seven years they had owned together, about two miles south of Foster Center, and on which they had already built a house and barn.

In 1856 Judge Howard built another and larger house, uniting it to the older one. These were his home from 1811 till his death, except that from 1838 to '41 he lived with his son Horace at Foster Center and again in 1843, after the death of Horace, he moved there to look after the interests of the estate, remaining till the spring of 1846, when he sold the property and returned to his farm.

On September 24, 1809, he married for his first wife Betsey Phillips (b. August 22, 1789), daughter of Asaph and Esther Phillips of Foster. She died December 16, 1849.

For his second wife he married, April 21, 1851, Lurana Howard (b. March 11, 1815), widow of his nephew, William Howard, and daughter of Saiimel and Elizabeth (Whipple) Wilbur of Seituate, R. I. He died July 15, 1879. His widow now lives with his grandson, Pardon T. Howard.

He had one son by his first wife: Horace, born Jan. 31, 1810.

That Howard was critically influential is an historic fact.  There is some interest that Howard Phillips Lovecraft derived his first name from this local legend.  This despite that Whipple Van Buren Phillips was a life long Republican.  We do not know when he converted, but as James Wheaton Phillips was also a life long Republican, it was possibly after their father's death.  Alternatively, the split may well have occurred at the Dorr Rebellion convention as some "Democrats" were more radical, and Howard was a civilized "Law and Order" man.

We have one more piece of testimony, from Casey B. Tyler.  It parallels the same details with more genealogy.  (Here).  He reports Howard was a member of the East Greenwich, R.I. committee (1842) after the Dorr Rebellion (more on this in a future blog essay) to make the new constitution guaranteeing male suffrage.

Most notable, see that Judge Howard was married to Betsey Phillips (1789-1849) ** who was Jeremiah Phillips' older sister.

As pointed out elsewhere, Foster, Rhode Island can be considered a tribal community from an anthropological and sociological perspective.  They tended to associate by clans, and marriages were at least partially arranged through elders - at least approval was sought and given in many cases.  It was not unusual to have first cousin marriages in New England. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are later examples of this.  These types of marriages tended to cement and secure social hierarchies and political connections.  The same types of marriages currently happen in the Middle east, the Near East, and in other third world and second world cultures.

This said, if Judge Howard was a Democrat, it is highly probable that Jeremiah was influenced by this great man to also be a Democrat..




**[dates courtesy of Ken Faig, Some of the Descendants of Asaph Phillips and Esther Phillips of Foster, Rhode Island. Mr. Faig may not have been aware at the time of the exact date of ]

Judge Daniel Howard's (the younger) Obituary

1850 Census with James Wheaton Phillips listed as head of family

Locofoco

This is a word that has a twisted and tortured past.

On or about the year 1834 (patented 16 April 1834), a man named John Marck of New York created and marketed a self-lighting cigar.  The tip was coated with ingredients that when rubbed by friction, the cigar lit without aid of embers or candle.

There are three etymological derivations suggested by historians.

1.  Called by Marck a "locofoco cigar", in imitation of the relatively new word "locomotive", which by the uneducated was supposed to mean, self-moving.  Railroad trains were only just coming online at this time.

2.  From Latin, loco foci meaning in lieu of fire.

3.  More likely from Italian, fuoco meaning fire.

At about this same time, Lucifer matches were created using similar constituent chemicals and materials.  Giving off a sulfurous odor when lit, these slender wooden sticks were struck by friction and ignited when the  mixture of antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch was rubbed quickly.  Lucifer, of course, was Biblical, the "light bearer", thus a slight misnomer.  This stick brought fire as well as light.  By an odd tangent, locus in quo was a circumlocution for Hell, and thus often itself became a circumlocution for the devil.  Some feel the matches "locofoco" were derived in parallel to this idea.

While all well and good, and these items certainly used eventually by western Rhode Island when WVP was a little boy, the political meaning is more consequential.

For our purposes, we follow Howe.

The locofocs emerged within the workingmen's wing of the Democratic party in New York City, but they did not always support trade unionism ... they got their name from a meeting on October 29, 1835, in Tammany Hall... The party regulars nominated their slate of candidates for the coming municipal election and declared the meeting adjourned; when disaffected workers' delegates tried to prolong the meeting in order to contest the outcome, the organization turned out the {natural gas} gaslights.  But the insurgents had come prepared with candles and newly invented sulfur friction matches, called "locofocos" (or "lucifers").  Able to proceed with the meeting, they fielded a slate of their own ... by 1837, the Locofocs had gained enough concessions from the regulars to return to the party fold ... although sarcastically called "locos" ("mad" in Spanish) by their critics, the Locofocos took pride in their name.  [See reference * below]

This is another example of how the Phillips family in little Foster, Rhode island followed not Connecticut, nor Massachusetts, but New York politics.  While not radical, this portion of Foster seemed determined to follow the new Democratic party and garner male suffrage and other rights proposed by New York factions.

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*[What hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, Daniel Walker Howe, "The New Economy", p. 544.  Online references use the year 1834, but we follow the historian Howe here.]

Implications of WVP as Postmaster

An invaluable book on general 19th century American history is:

This book is one of many that I used in understanding Whipple Van Buren Phillips' world.  Growing up in Kentucky in the late 1950's and 1960's, the Civil War was still very much alive to me.  A day didn't go by when it wasn't refought.  But even with years of school and college, the 19th century was very distant to me.  I had to re-learn it all to understand WVP.  This book is one of the best on the subject for its time period.  I don't say that, those who gave it awards said it.

One thing I discovered reading this and other books was that the mail system was critical.  I refer to snail-mail, of course.  And truly it did seem to crawl at a snail's pace, as there were few good roads in the earliest days.  The Roman Empire had a better mail system than in WVP's childhood in New England, and mail still  traveled best by ship.

That changed with Andrew Jackson's presidency.  He realized that if he appointed mail carriers, they would be indebted, and they would vote for him.  If they did not - they were out!

If Jackson realized the benefits of patronage, Van Buren was a master of it.  All presidents afterwards used it as a lethal weapon to ensure votes, and reward those who supported them.

Post Masters were not accidental.  They were chosen carefully by Governors, Senators, and others to reward important individuals.  Mail was often searched, and reports given to those who asked.  The mail carrier was essential in distributing campaign literature, and canvassing for votes.

Howe states on page 496:

"Jackson's Third Term"

"Although the customs offices, land offices, and Indian agencies all provided federal jobs, the postal system dominated the patronage machine that made the national Democratic Party work.  The expansion of the Post Office thus fostered both the communications revolution and the development of a modern party system.  Even before becoming the formal head, Kendall largely controlled appointments to branch post offices ... Kendall understood the potential of the communications revolution as well as anyone in America - as he would also demonstrate later as Morse's partner in the telegraph industry."

By the time WVP got to Coffin's Corner, which was slowly becoming known as Greene, he was being seen as a young man on the move.  By then, a staunch young Republican, WVP had got the governor's notice.  Essentially, he was being groomed as a politician whether he realized it or not.

The mail train was as innovative as "America On Line" was at the turn of the millennium.  It was a game changer, and WVP was right there at one of the most important junctions on the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill railroad system which was being run by the powerful extended Sprague family.

These things don't just happen.  From the moment WVP left Foster and went to Kent County, he was noticed.  The Spagues noticed, the bankers noticd, the sprawling Tillighast clans noticed, and soon wealthy Providence men would notice as well.

Lovecraft paints a picture of WVP as owning the town of Greene.  This is not right.  There were already wealthy and powerful men in the neighborhood.  However, WVP leveraged his charm, political and business savvy, and saw opportunities where others did not.  Being postmaster, like his uncle in Illinois, was crucial for his plans.





A review of What Hath God Wrought is here.

An Amazon preview is here.

5 August 1833: Martin Van Buren on R. I. Suffrage

I can't tell you how lucky I was to find this.  Pure serendipity.

A group of Providence merchants looking for authorities to discuss (and agree with) universal (Caucasian) male suffrage wrote to then-VP Van Buren.  Van Buren was well known for dodging a straight answer.  

He once told a story on himself that a man approached him and asked him if the sun rose in the east?  Van Buren replied that he did not rise so early as to notice.  A classic political dodge.

Yet here, he goes out of his way not only to speak of New York's track record of suffrage, but to do it as Vice President.

It would be almost impossible for Jeremiah Phillips to miss this.  I find it more circumstantial evidence that Jeremiah was a Van Buren man, a democrat.

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Washington Globe August 5, 1833

Monday,  5 August 1833

CORRESPONDENCE.

PROVIDENCE, May  31, 1833.

RESPECTED SIR:—At a meeting held in this city on the 19th ultimo, of persons favorable to the adoption in this State of the Massachusetts mode of Suffrage, the subscribers were appointed a prudential committee with an understanding that they should report their proceedings at subsequent meetings.

For many years, the proposed plan has been much on the minds of some of the Committee, but whenever proposed, some objection or other has always been interposed by the timid or the interested.

For four or five years past, the election of Jackson to the Presidency, has been urged by a majority of freeholders in this State, as an insurmountable objection against General Suffrage, from the well known fact that he was emphatically the choice of the democracy or common people, and from their real or
pretended fears that he would use his military prowess to subjugate the liberties of the people, and build a despotism on their ruins.

Notwithstanding the Committee is composed of individuals of all parties now existing in the State, yet they all agree that whatever differences of opinion may at present prevail on minor political questions, yet that the real or pretended fears alluded to, have been completely annihilated, and that those who formerly urged them, to defeat our enterprise, must acknowledge one of two things: either that the democracy of the country decided safely in choosing our present Chief Magistrate, or having decided unsafely — the strength and purity of our glorious republican Constitution is sufficient to regulate any temporary error which the system of General Suffrage may occasion

Soon after our appointment, our former opposers not having the effrontery to urge their exploded objection, must needs create new ones. The first was that "the Massachusetts mode of Suffrage, would ruin Rhode Island," and that "the best part of the citizens of that State, regret their extension of  Suffrage, and would willingly adopt the Rhode Island mode were it practicable for them to do so."

We immediately addressed letters to Hon. Francis Baylies, Hon. J.Q. Adams and Hon. Daniel Webster, to ascertain from such high authority if those things were so.

The answers of Messrs. Baylies and Adams, have been published pretty generally in the newspapers. From Mr. Webster, we have received no answer.

Having so completely proved this first new coinage of our opponents to be a counterfeit we were in hopes that the time had at least arrived, when our favorite project would be adopted, without further opposition; but our hopes were vain, for their mint has issued an other objection in this shape:

"If General Suffrage is allowed in this State, it will be the same as it is in New York, where vessel loads of foreigners land. and go immediately to the polls and vote away the rights and moneys of American born citizens."

Now if it would not infringe on your valuable time, nor the dignity of your high office, (both of which every American citizen has an equal interest in,) the subscribers would consider it as a great favor to receive from you answers to the following questions:

1st.  What are the laws in New York, concerning the Right of Suffrage.

2d.   Do you consider there is any evil arising either under the present law or practice in New York, so great as that one would be, of sacrificing the true Democratic principle of General Suffrage, to any notion of expediency arising from a fear that some are now allowed to vote who are incapable of exercising that high privilege?

And lastly.   Have you any doubts of the perfect safety of trusting to the virtue and intelligence of the aggregated voters of New York, under your present election laws, to manage the public concerns?

As these questions relate solelyto the affairs of the State of New York, we can see no impropriety in a distinguished native born citizen answering them, but if our humble opinions (on this last point) are. overruled by those who certainly have a better opportunity and a better right to judge, the only part we
can act is to submit without a murmur.

Very respectfully, your fellow citizens,
WILLIAM I. TILLINGHAST, Barber.
LAWRENCE RICHARDS, Blacksmith.
WILLIAM MITCHELL, Shoemaker.
SETH LUTHER, Housewright.
WILLIAM MILLER, Currier.
DAVID BROWN, Watch & Clock Maker

Hon. MARTIN VAN BUREN,
Vice President of the U. S.

[The Committee thought it necessary for Mr. Van Buren's information to state, that in R. Island, no citizens, however otherwise qualified to vote, unless such as own land;  and their eldest son; while in Massachusetts all citizens can vote who have resided in the State one year and the county six months, and have paid a poll tax.)

WASHINGTON, July 9th, 1833.

Gentlemen—I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, requesting information concerning the manner in which the right of Suffrage is regulated in the State of New York, together with my opinion upon the utility and practical operation of the system now in force there.

I can have no objection whatever to furnish the information you desire, but I feel some delicacy, under the circumstances of the case in expressing an opinion on the several points to which you refer.   The right of suffrage not only controls the election of the State functionaries, but that of the elective officers of the General Government, is, by the Federal Constitution, made dependent on it; and in this respect, it is undoubtedly to be considered, not only as a matter of primary importance to those who are immediately interested in it, but as a subject of interest to all parts of the Union. The settlement of all
questions connected with this franchise in any particular State, has however usually been regarded belonging exclusively to the people of that State; and under ordinary circumstances any interference by a citizen of another State, would justly be considered as improper. Thus viewing the matter, I certainly should not have ventured an opinion upon any point bearing on the question now under discussion in Rhode Island, had it not been for the request contained in your letter, which the relations I hold to the people of the United States make it my duty to respect.

By the first Constitution of New York the possession of a freehold estate of the value of $250 over and above all debts charged thereon, was necessary to entitle a person to vote for Governor, Lieut. Governor and Senators  — Members of Assembly were chosen by persons paying taxes and possessing freeholds of the clear value of $50, or renting tenements of the annual value of five dollars.

The obvious injustice, and ascertained in-utility of this regulation, together with other  causes, led in 1821, to the call of a Convention for the revision of our State Constitution  — of that Convention I had the honor to be a member, and in the discharge of the duties imposed upon me by that situation I labored, and in conjunction with a majority of the Convention, labored successfully, to abolish the freehold qualification.   The principle which I then advocated and which was established by the amended Constitution, extended the right of voting for all elective officers of the State Government to every citizen who should contribute to the support of Government, either by the payment of taxes in money, or by labor on the highways, or by service, according to law, in the Militia. The results of experience and the progress of liberal opinions, soon led to a further extension; and by an amendment to the Constitution finally adopted in 1826, the right of suffrage was given to every male citizen of full age, who shall have been an inhabitant of the State for one year, and of the county for six months,
preceding the election. This provision however, does not extend to persons of color, who by the Constitution of 1821, are not allowed to vote, unless they have been for three years citizens of the State, and for one year before the election, seized and possessed of a free-hold of the clear value of $250, and have been rated and paid a tax thereon.

The Government of New York has for several years, been administered under the liberal system established by the new Constitution, and the still more liberal amendment of 1826, in a manner which appears to have been satisfactory to the people. It is possible, that there may be some who regret the extension of the right of suffrage, and who would be gratified by the revival of the old qualifications; but I do not believe that such a feeling entertained by any considerable portion of our citizens, I am very sure that any attempt to restrict the exercise of the right and more especially to restore the freehold qualification, would be put down by an overwhelming majority.

In acting upon this subject, my own course has never been influenced by any apprehension that it would be dangerous to the rights of property, to extend the right of voting to those who were without property. Our experience has, I think, fully demonstrated, that in a community like that which composes a great majority of every State in our confederacy, there is no reason for alarm in this respect.

At an earlier period of my public life, I was not entirely free from apprehensions of the influence of wealth upon so extended a suffrage as that which is now possessed in New York. Upon this head, however, we are now able to speak from full and satisfactory experience; and it has given me the highest gratification to be convinced, that my fears were without adequate foundation.—  Numerous opportunities to test the firmness of our citizens, and their ability to resist the seductions of wealth, have been furnished within the last twelve years; and although some local and temporary advantages may have been occasionally gained through such means, the general incorruptibility of our citizens has been triumphantly established.— Nor have I any doubt that such will long continue to be the history of our people; for although a greater disparity in their condition may naturally be expected from an increase of population and other causes, yet on the other hand it may be hoped that the means of education, and of moral improvement will be proportionally increased, and that under their influence the spirit of independence and of intelligent patriotism, which now prevails among all classes will be cherished and exhibited by every succeeding generation.

With my best wishes for your individual prosperity, and for that of the State to which you belong,

I remain, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

M. VAN BUREN.
To Messrs. William I. Tillinghast, Lawrence Richards, William Mitchell, Seth Luther, William Miller,
and David Brown.

An 1819 Description of Foster, Rhode Island

From:

A Gazetteer of the States of Connecticut and Rhode-Island: Written with Care and Impartiality, From Original and Authentic Materials.  John Chauncey Pease, John Milton Niles, Hartfod, Printed and Published by William S. Marsh, 1819.

page 340-341

FOSTER

FOSTER, a considerable township, is situated on the section of the State, 15 miles from Providence; bounded on the south by the township of Coventry, in county of Kent, on the west by towns of Killingly and Sterling, the State of Connecticut, on north by Gloucester, and on east by Scituate.  The mean length of the township, from north to south is more than 8 miles, and its mean breadth about 6 miles, comprising about 50 square miles.

This township is of a geological character; and sections of it present very rugged features being hilly, rocky and broken.  The soil is a primitive gravelly loam, generally deep and strong, affording good grazing; but the lands in general are too stony and rough for arable purposes.  There are extensive forests in the town, particularly in its western section, which afford large supplies of valuable timber. The agricultural productions consist of the various articles of the dairy business, and a grazing system of husbandry.   The principal stream within the town is the Ponongansett river, which has its source in a pond of the same name, in Gloucester.  This stream is the principal branch of the Pawtuxet river; the latter of which empties into Providence river, about five miles below the town of Providence.  Hemlock brook, a branch of the Ponongansett, rises in the interior of this township and after many windings, runs easterly into the border  of the town of Scituate, where it unites with the Ponongansett.   Moosup river, a branch of the Quinibaug, runs through the western part of this town, passing into Coventry, and thence into Connecticut. Upon these streams there are numerous sites for mills and other water works.

The Providence and Norwich turnpike road runs about three miles through the southwesterly part of this town; and the Providence and Hartford turnpike leads through its north section. The mail stage passes daily (excepting Sundays) upon these roads; the principal eastern mail being conveyed upon these two roads alternately.  Charters have been granted for two other turnpikes, one of which is contemplated to lead through the centre of this town. and to unite with the Providence and Hartford turnpike in Scituate, about eight miles from Providence.  The other is to run further south, and unite with the Providence and Norwich turnpike, about 12 miles from Providence.  Another turnpike has also been granted, which is to lead from the Friends' meeting house through the whole length of the town, intersecting the several turnpikes already noticed. This is to be called the Foster and Gloucester Appian Way from an idea that this may be the commencement of an artificial road leading from Rhode Island to Canada. Period = sic} which may bear some resemblance to the famous Roman road that bore this appellation, having been made by Appius Claudius.   When these roads are completed there will be few towns in the State better accommodated with roads.

Of the manufacturing and mechanical establishments in the town, there are 1 Cotton Factory, 1 Woolen Factory, 1 Clothier's Works, 1 Carding Machine, 11 Grain Mills, 13 Saw Mills, 3 Tanneries and 2 Trip hammer shops.  There are 7 Mercantile Stores.

The population of the town in 1800 was 2458; in 1810 it was 2601; and there are about 400 Dwelling houses about 450 Freemen or Electors; and 4 Companies of Militia, besides 2 chartered Companies; one called the "Foster safe Guards," and the other being partly composed of inhabitants of Scituate, the "Scituate and Foster Independent Rifle Company."

There are 10 Schools usually maintained, which arc provided with houses, and one Social Library. {period = sic} comprising a valuable collection of books.   There are three religious Societies, two of Baptists and one of Friends, all of which are provided with houses for public religious worship.

The amount of taxable property according to the United States  assessment in 1815, was $342,070.   In the year 1662, William Vaughan, Zachariah Rhodes, and Robert Wcstcot, purchased of the Indians a tract of country called West Quanaug, bordering easterly on Providence. This was called the West Quanaug purchase, and comprised nearly the southern half of the town of Foster.   A number of individuals of Newport were afterwards associated with the first purchasers, among whom were Gov. John Cranston, Caleb Carr, Thomas Clark, William Foster, Clement Weaver, Aaron Davis, John Jones and Latham Clark, most or all of whom have now descendants in the town.  In 1707 this purchase was divided by lot among 29 proprietors, but the first settlement was not commenced until 1717. The first settler was Ezekiel Hopkins, whose descendants are now very numerous in the town; there are also here a number of the descendants of the two Governors, John Cranston and Samuel Cranston.   Foster was incorporated with Scituate in 1730, forming the western section of that township, which was divided in 1781, when the western section was incorporated as a separate town, by the name of Foster, which it received from the Hon. Theodore Foster, who for many years was a senator in the senate of the United States, and who is now an inhabitant of the town.

That Middle Name: Van Buren. From whence?

Oh perhaps you remember a little song:

The Battle of New Orleans

 written by Jimmy Driftwood 

 sung by Johnny Horton 

 In 1814 we took a little trip 

Along with Colonel Jackson 

down the mighty Mississip. 

We took a little bacon 

an' we took a little beans 

And we caught the bloody British 

at the town of New Orleans.

Well, despite some interesting inaccuracies of this wonderful song, there was another little trip that President Jackson took.  Try to find it in the history books.  Folks, it ain't easy!  It took me weeks slogging through textbooks, Google documents, and ancient Google newspaper scans.  Sadly, due to some court cases, Google has reduced the ability to search these old archives now.  This blogger was very, very lucky to be in the right place and the right time to get this information.

A long essay can be found in the tabs above.  It will be revised periodically.

One of the primary reasons that the blog is essential is to capture images to use in the texts of essays and other online documentation.

Here is the map constructed from the meager data obtained.

Extension of WVP's Estate 27 Dec 1904

Here you will see a primary document after the death of WVP.

(Whipple Van Buren Phillips).

The petition for extension of time in the matter of the estate of Whipple V> Phillips was granted.

It seems highly likely that WVP's close friend, eventual Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justicen Clarke H. Johnson, filed this.  While Susie and Howard had already moved by now, it likely kept them less stressed.  It may also mean the estate home on Angel Street was not yet sold, and therefore they had more time to move items out of the home.

This is a true treasure, and was very hard to find.  Enjoy!

Things to come.

This is a huge undertaking.  In the next weeks, essays, blogs, references, images, and many other items of critical interest will be displayed.  Stay tuned, and learn more about Whipple Van Buren Phillips.

Whipple Van Buren Phillips

Welcome to my little experiment.

You know Lovecraft.  You think you know Lovecraft's grandfather.

You don't.

He lived an exciting life of business in the Gilded Age, the age of Tycoons.

This is his story.

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Last Updated:  14 November 2012