ANDREW
BROWN WHIPPLE, late of the village of Greenville, town of Smithfield, R.
I., was probably the oldest living direct descendant in Rhode Island of
Captain John Whipple, who came to this country from England as early as
1632, being on record of Dorchester, Mass., in that year. Captain John
Whipple was a carpenter by trade; he received a grant of land in Providence,
R. I., in 1637, and in 1659 bought land there. He was a deputy in
1666 and thereafter, and with his wife joined the church in 1641.
He died May 16, 1685, and was buried on his own farm, but later his remains
and those of his wife who died in 1666 were removed to the North Burial
Ground.
(II) Benjamin Whipple, son of Captain John and Sarah Whipple, was born in 1654, resided in Providence, and there died, March 11, 1704. He married, April 1, 1686, Ruth, daughter of James and Hannah (Field) Matthewson. The line of descent is through Benjamin (2), their eldest child.
(III) Benjamin (2) Whipple was born in Providence, November 11, 1688, but on arriving at man's estate removed to North Providence and located on a farm given him by his father. He was also a tanner and a currier, and a man of good standing in the community. He died in the one hundredth year of his age. He married (first) November 11, 1727, Sarah Bernon, daughter of ----- Bernon, a French Huguenot, who fled from France to escape religious persecution. He was a man of wealth and education, who was a great aid to the community in which he settled. Benjamin (2) Whipple married (second) Esther Miller, and had issue by both wives.
(IV) The next in line was Ephraim Whipple, fourth son of Benjamin (2) and his first wife, Sarah (Bernon) Whipple, who was born in North Providence, November 7, 1729, and became a farmer of the Fruit Hill section. He was a man of sound judgment and upright life, a leading member of the Baptist church, known far and near for his piety and Christian life. He married May Hawkins, and they were the parents of three sons: Emor, Benjamin and Ephraim, twins. The line continues through the first born, Captain Emor Whipple, grandfather of Andrew B. Whipple, of Greenville, R. I.
(V) Captain Emor Whipple, born about 1772, died July 31, 1849, and was buried in the cemetery near his farm, which is now occupied by a grandson, William H. Whipple, of North Providence. Captain Whipple was a well-known, substantial farmer, a captain of the local militia company, a member of the General Assembly, and a member of the Fruit Hill Baptist Church. He was a Democrat in politics, very charitable, and like his father deeply religious. He married Abigail Brown, who died December 15, 1838, in her sixty-sixth year.
(VI) Abraham Whipple, second son of Captain Emor and Abigail (Brown) Whipple, was born about the year 1800, at the farm in North Providence, R. I., now owned by his nephew, Benjamin H. Whipple, and died in Greenville, in the town of Smithfield. He was a farmer and a wheelwright, moving to Greenville in 1834, where he was long engaged in carriage and wagon building. He married Sarah Farnum.
(VII) Andrew Brown Whipple, of the seventh American generation, son of Abraham and Sarah (Farnum) Whipple, was born in Johnston, R. I., December 12, 1832, died February 22, 1919, at his home in Greenville, R. I., in which he had resided for sixty odd years. Up to the time of his death his sight and hearing was good, no artificial aid was required in reading, and his general health was excellent. He attended district schools in Smithfield and later was a student at North Scituate Seminary, there finishing his studies. His father was a farmer and landowner, and in early life Andrew B. was his father's helper; later he learned the wheelwright's trade with his father and finally succeeded him in business, continuing carriage building and general wheelwrighting in Greenville for about thirty years, with the exception of seven years spent in similar business in Providence. Finally he sold out, and in 1894 opened an undertaking establishment in Greenville, which he owned at the time of his death, although he surrendered the management to his able son and lived retired from business cares. He was very successful in all his undertakings, and in addition to his business and villa he was a large landowner.
Mr. Whipple was a long-time attendant of the Baptist church, and was one of the well-known and highly-esteemed men of his community. A Republican in politics, he had many honors bestowed upon him, having served three years in the House of Representatives; seven years as State Senator; one year as coroner of the town; was interested in the Smithfield Savings Bank. In the Legislature he served on important committees in both houses and worthily represented his constituency. Mr. Whipple was a member of Temple Lodge, No. 18, Free and Accepted Masons, of Greenville, and was the oldest living member of the lodge.
Mr. Whipple married, September 16, 1853, Rachel Sales Wilbur, who died
May 5, 1915, after a married life of sixty-two years. They were the
parents of a son, Charles Lucian, born September 22, 1858. He was
educated in the public schools, and from early manhood was closely associated
with his father in the wheelwrighting and in the undertaking business,
now in full management of the latter. He married Cora Sales Mowrey
[sic], March 26, 1895, and they are the parents of a son, Lucius Albert,
who is superintendent of the Home School in North Providence; he married
Mabel Ranger, and they have a daughter Dorothy.
 |
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| Andrew B. Whipple, 1832-1919
his wife Rachel Wilbur, 1835 - 1915 |
Lucius A. Whipple, 1887 - 1952
his wife Mabel G. Ranger, 1886 - 1973 |
 |
Henry F. Whipple
1849 - 1936 his wife Carrie A. Smith 1859 - 1948 |
 |
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| Charles L. Whipple, 1858 - 1934
Cory Mowry, his wife, 1862 - 1932 |
Albert J. Mowry, 1831 - 1901
Minerva Sayles, his wife, 1835 - 1903 |
HENRY
RICHARDSON -- There are few older names in history than that of Richardson.
The name exists in Durham, Yorkshire, in the counties of Salop, Warwick,
Worcester, Norfolk, Gloucester, Nottingham, Sussex and Surrey. There are
Richardsons also in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. In England, as
in America, the name is continued in many branches. From Burke's
'Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland', there is ample account of
the family history. The family is doubtless of Norman origin, and
its descendants attained eminence in many directions. Arms were granted
to several branches of the family in 1561, and at later dates. Richard
Richardson, Esq., of Bradford, in Yorkshire, afterward of Biesly, in that
county, paid a fine of forty pounds in 1630 for declining the honor of
knighthood from Charles I. All of the Richardson families mentioned in
Burke's 'Landed Gentry' had armorial bearings, crests and mottoes, and
were land holders. Many of them became prominent in literary, civil,
military and ecclesiastical pursuits. Henry Richardson's first American
ancestor was Samuel Richardson, who was born in England in 1610, and came
to America in 1636, settling in Woburn, where his elder brother, Ezekiel,
had preceded him. Thomas, a younger brother, also settled in
Woburn. The Richardsons became noted men among the other freemen
of Woburn, and held positions of trust in the community. Henry Richard's
ancestors in this country were Samuel (1), Stephen (2), William (3), Stephen
(4), Stephen (5), and Moses (6). Moses Richardson married (first) in Attleboro,
Hannah Pond, of Mansfield, daughter of Stephen Pond of that town.
To them were born three children, who died young. Moses Richardson
married (second) Eliza Andrews, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Gladding)
Andrews. Her father was a son of Zephaniah Andrews, colonel in the
Revolutionary Army, and her mother was a daughter of Nathaniel Gladding,
of Providence. Mrs. Richardson was a descendant of the Ingraham and
Gladding families who claim the site of the city of Leeds, bequeathed to
them from their English ancestor, Lord Joseph Wilson. The children
of Major Moses and Eliza (Andrews) Richardson were: Hon. Thomas Andrews
Richardson; Charles; George; Sophia Field, married Abel Foster; Henry;
Albert; Major James Lippitt Richardson; Oscar; Frank; and Elizabeth Andrews.
Three of the sons and four grandsons served in the Civil War. The
seven were in line at the first battle of Bull Run, Va., July, 1861.
After the battle there were six of the line who met. Samuel Foster,
Mrs. Abel Foster's son, was missing; and his fate was never known.
Henry Richardson was the fourth son of Moses and Eliza (Andrews) Richardson. He was born at the corner of Benefit and Power streets, in Providence, R. I., June 9, 1818. There were ten children born to Moses and Eliza A. Richardson in that house, all attaining adult life except the youngest, a little daughter, who died in her sixth year. Henry Richardson received the ordinary school education of his time, supplemented by a course at Mr. DeWitt's High School. Mr. Richardson entered into the jewelry business with his elder brothers in early life, learning the business, and afterward becoming a manufacturer himself. He was moderately successful, although the business was never a congenial one to him. He was a member of the First Light Infantry, and commanded one of the companies for several years. As orderly sergeant of the 'the West Point Company of New England', he participated in the celebration of the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument in 1843. Henry Richardson was brought up in the intimate association of the First Congregational Church (Unitarian), where his parents were life-long members. With his eldest brother, Thomas, he afterward became interested in, and joined the Baptist church. He found great happiness in Biblical research, and with Dr. Reuben Guild of Brown University, he was an invited guest at the First Baptist Meeting House for the ministers' Monday meetings, where Dr. Guild and himself were the only laymen. Mr. Richardson had no desire for political life, though he was frequently urged to represent his ward in the City Council. He held the position of assistant assessor in the internal revenue department in 1862 and 1863. Mr. Richardson married Lucy Fuller Armington, daughter of Asa Watson and Lucy (Fuller) Armington, of Providence, R. I. They had six children: Harry Armington, Lillie Eliza Andrews, Albert Fairleigh, Sophie Foster, Harriette Potter, and Daisy Lucy. Harriette Potter, and a nephew, Henry Darrell, son of Albert Fairleigh and Edith W. Richardson, are the sole surviving members of this branch of the family. Mr. Richardson died June 30, 1898, a few days after his eightieth birthday. He was a man of unblemished character and highly respected by those fortunate enough to know him. One of his friends, writing to Mrs. Richardson after her husband's death, fitly expressed the man and his character, 'He was the purest minded and most honorable gentleman I ever knew', and the writer himself stood very high in the respect of the citizens of Providence.
Mr. Richardson's Revolutionary ancestor, Colonel Stephen Richardson, of Attleboro, raised many companies for the army; one marched to Roxbury at the time of the so-called election battle. He also enlisted companies for the secret service, both Howland Ferry and General Spencer's secret expedition. He served his native town as assessor, town clerk, selectman, and in 1777 was chosen representative to the General Court. December 6, 1777, the town established a Superior and Inferior Court to hear and determine controversies that had arisen, or might arise. Of the seven inferior judges, Colonel Stephen Richardson was one. March 19, 1776, he was chosen a member of the committee of four to prepare instructions to the representative of the town, Captain John Stearns. In 1777 he commanded a company under Colonel John Daggett, stationed for one month on Rhode Island. In 1778, January 18, he and his brother, Captain Caleb Richardson, and five others, were chosen to prepare instructions to the town relative to the 'Articles of Confederation'. August 2, 1779, Colonel Stephen Richardson and two others were chosen members of the convention to meet at Concord the following October for the purpose of forming a State Constitution. In 1783, 1785, he was a representative of Attleboro.
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