Eileen Gillespie Slocum: The Story of the Last Grand Dame

Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society. From the Gilded Age to her death in 2008. Behind the Hedgerow
Eileen Gillespie was born on Dec. 21, 1915, in Manhattan. Her father, Lawrence Lewis Gillespie, was a banker. Her mother, Irene Muriel Sherman, was the granddaughter of John Carter Brown, the philanthropist and bibliophile whose book collection formed the basis of the John Carter Brown Library for research in history and humanities at Brown University. His father, Nicholas Brown Jr., was the benefactor for whom the university named itself, changing it from College of Rhode Island in 1804. Other Brown family members included slave traders and abolitionists. From Bruce Weber, New York Times Eileen G. Slocum, 92, Dies; Society Doyenne and Republican Stalwart

A Scandal is part of this story, but the video is loaded with history on Rhode Island from early settlement.
In 1933. the society pages were flooded with photographs of Mrs Slocum, then known as Ms. Eileen Gillespie, and the announcement of her engagement to John Jacob Astor. In this interview she shares her reasons for breaking off her engagement to Astor. She married John Jermain Slocu.....the rest is in the video!

 

DADA Ladies of Chicago Daughters of the Revoltion, Mayflower Descendants of Elder Brewster and Roger Williams & Abolitionists

From Chicago Tribune March 1900

Mrs. Amelia Weed Hopkins Dada. DAR #14781 Lineage Book, Volume 15 Daughters of the American Revolution
Born in Pennsylvania. Wife of George Salmon Dada.
Descendant of Benjamin Weed and of Samuel Weed, of Connecticut; John Vredenburgh, Judge William John Vredenburgh, William John Vredenburgh, of New York, William Riddle, of Pennsylvania. Daughter of Harvey Howard Hamilton and Eva Josephine Hopkins, his wife. Granddaughter of John Richards Hopkins and Amelia M. Weed, his wife; James Wallace Hamilton and Elizabeth Bard Kurtz, his wife. Gr.-granddaughter of Walter Weed and Cornelia Vredenburgh, his wife; Rev. Daniel Campbell Hopkins and Martha Prentiss Richards, his wife; James Wallace Hamilton and Elenor Riddle, his wife. Gr.-gr.-granddaughter of Judge William John Vredenburgh and Elizabeth Townsend, his wife; Smith Weed and Mary Skelding, his wife; John Richards and Martha Prentiss, his wife; Samuel Hopkins and Elizabeth Houston (1754-1847), his wife (m. 1778); William Riddle and Martha McCorkle, his wife. Gr.-gr.-gr.-granddaughter of John Vredenburgh and Maryetje Van Wagenen, his wife; Benjamin Weed and Hannah Waterbury, his wife; Capt. John Prentiss and Sarah Christopher, his wife; William Houston and Nancy Hinman, his wife; Piatt Townsend and Maria Hubbard, his wife (m. 1760). Smith Weed, (1755-1839), volunteered in Tryon's invasion and was at the battle of Danbury, where he was wounded. He served in the Commissary during the Revolution. He was born at Stamford, Conn., and died at Albany, N. Y. His father was a member of the Committee of Safety and at the age of eighty was taken prisoner at Danbury.
William John Vredenburgh, (1760-1813), enlisted at seventeen in Capt. Peter Van Rensalaer's company, Col. James Livingston's regiment. He was born at New York City, and died at Skaneateles.

John Vredenburgh, (1730-94), served in the company of Grenadiers, 1775-6. Platt Townsend, (1733-1816), was examining surgeon for the army and navy. He was born and died on Long Island. Samuel Hopkins served in Capt. Hutchins company, 1777. He was taken prisoner and made his escape. He died in Salem, Washington county, N. Y. William Riddle served as a soldier, 1776-8, in Capt. James Gibson's company, Cumberland county militia. He received a grant of land at Port Royal, Pa., where he died. MRS. OLIVIA PAMELIA WELLS DADA DAR #33695 Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Volume 34 Daughters of the American Revolution Born in Prattsburg, New York. Wife of Samuel N. Dada.

Descendant of Capt. Joseph Wells, Henry Wells, Elijah Taylor and Lieut. James Hulbert. Daughter of Ira Wells and Pamelia Taylor, his wife. Granddaughter of Henry Wells and Rebecca Collins, his wife; Elijah Taylor and Rachel Hulbert, his wife. Gr.-granddaughter of Joseph Wells and Thankful, his wife; James Hulbert and Eleanor Pomeroy, his wife. Joseph Wells, (1726-1817), commanded a company in the Cambridge regiment of New York militia. He was born in Hebron, Conn.; died in Cambridge, N. Y. Henry Wells, (1763-1829), served as a private in the Albany county militia. He was born in Cambridge, N. Y.; died in Wayne county.
Elijah Taylor, (1763-1841), enlisted in Capt. Job Alvord's company, 1780 in a regiment raised in Hampshire county. He was born in South Hadley, Mass.; died in Wayne Co., N. Y. James Hulbert, (1735-1824), served as lieutenant 1777 in Col. Elisha Porter's regiment which marched to Saratoga. He was born in Northampton, Mass., where he died.
Howard Harvey Hamilton of Chicago Ill., b. in McAllesterville Pa. May 7, 1850, learned the trade of typesetting and telegraphing, employed with P. r. r. co. as telegrapher many years, went to the Pa. and N. Y. r. r., was dept. supt. of telegraph in Sayre Pa., removed to Chicago 1885 (m. Oct. 1, 1874 Eva J. Hopkins, dau. of John Richard Hopkins, a pioneer abolitionist and underground r. r. to freedom man, son of Rev. Daniel*, Samuel*, David1 and James1, chief of pilgrims 1620, desc. of Elder William Brewster, she had 2 daus. viz.: Evelina Weed Hamilton and Amelia Weed Hopkins Hamilton, m. G. S. Dade); son of James Wallace Hamilton of Mifflintown Pa., b. in Juniata co. Pa. Dec. 15, 1822, held lieut. commission in civil war signed by Gov. Curtain Penn, was sheriff of Juniata co. (m. 1849 Elizabeth Bard Kurtz, b. Jan. 5, 1823, dau. of David Kurtz, b. Jan. 30, 1798, d. 1873, farmer, was one of 14 sons, had 5 sisters, m. Margaret Bard of Reading Pa., dau. of George Bard of Lancaster Pa., b. there Oct. 11, 1773, d. May 27, 1856, took oath of allegiance May 22, 1777, m. Elizabeth Swope, dau. of John Swope, b. 1747, son John, son of Yost Swope, coat of arms, son of George Philip and Margaret [Kitzmiller] Bard); son of James W. Hamilton of Port Royal Pa., b. in Edinburgh Scotland, soldier in rev. war, was sheriff, received a grant of land for services, served as highlander in war of 1812 (m. Eleanor Riddle, dau. of Capt. William Riddle 177678 of Port Royal and Martha McCardle, dau. of James McCardle of Germantown 1809, they had son stolen by the Indians and made a chief. From American Ancestry: Embracing lineages from the whole of the United States. 1888[-1898. Ed. by Frank Munsell

Rhode Island: First to Rebel, Last to Sign

Another Great Share from Jo Ann Butler 
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Declaration of Independence signing

Did you know that Rhode Island was the first North American colony to sever ties with Great Britain – two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4^th, 1776?  However, Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.  What’s up with that?

Roger Williams and Narragansetts

My immediate conclusion stemmed from the independent nature of Rhode Islanders.  The colony was settled by people who were either ejected from, or voluntarily abandoned Puritan Massachusetts after heated contention over – what else? – politics and religion.  Banished from Boston, Roger Williams beat it out of Salem ahead of the sheriff in 1636.  Anne Hutchinson, William Coddington, John Clarke and their compatriots comprised a mass exodus in 1638-39.  Religious and political tolerance were vital to these people.

Some of them had their idiosyncrasies.  Early Rhode Island was comprised of several towns circling Narragansett Bay, each led by charismatic leaders.  There were quarrels and dissension, but despite their ferocious independence, the various towns of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations united under a single government in 1647.

1663 Royal Charter

In 1663 King Charles II issued a new charter to Rhode Island.  The document reinforced Rhode Island’s freedom of religion, and granted them the ability to elect officers and enact laws – greater powers of self-rule than any other colony.

Gaspee burning

18^thcentury Newport and Providence prospered as seaports, and Rhode Island became the northwestern linchpin of the Triangle Trade.  The colony had a reputation for shady shipping practices, smuggling, and harboring pirates.  In 1764 Great Britain’s Sugar Act strengthened trade regulations and raised the duty that Rhode Islanders paid for their molasses.  Resentment grew, and in July 1769 the sloop Libertywas sunk and burned in Newport harbor.  The ship had once belonged to John Hancock, but was seized by British customs a year earlier because it was once used to smuggle wine (though apparently not by Hancock).  In 1772 the Gaspee, a British customs boat, went aground and was burned near Providence.

Boston Tea Party

Boston’s Tea Party was on December 16^th 1773.  In response, Great Britain’s Coercive Acts, known in America as the Intolerable Acts, soured relations further by closing Boston harbor until the tea was paid for, placing Massachusetts under direct royal governance, and quartering British troops in Boston homes.

The Intolerable Acts

On May 17^th 1774 Providence’s leaders called for a general congress to resist Great Britain’s punitive policies.  Rhode Island’s General Assembly responded by electing Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward as delegates to an anticipated Continental Congress.  Providence held its own Tea Party on March 2^nd 1775, and burned 300 pounds of India tea by “bringing in and casting into the fire, a needless herb, which for a long time has been detrimental to our liberty, interest, and health.”

A month later, after the battles at Concord and Lexington, Rhode Island’s government raised a navy of two ships, 24 cannons and swivel guns, crewed by 200 men.  At the same time, a 1500-man “army of observation” was also created, commanded by Nathaniel Greene.

Rhode Island state house

On May 4th in 1776, Rhode Island’s General Assembly met in the State House at Providence, and became the first American colony to renounce their allegiance to both Great Britain and King George III. Ten weeks later, on July 18, the Assembly ratified the Declaration of Independence.  Perhaps in an act of belated revenge, British forces invaded Newport in 1781, and seized the town’s land deeds, wills, and records.  The records were sunk in New York City harbor, creating endless frustration for historians and genealogists.

The British surrendered in 1781, and the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1787.  Delaware was the first state to ratify the document in that year.  However, Rhode Island was slow to accept the Constitution, and did not sign until May 1790.  Why so slow?  I’ll get that post up soon!

Helpful links:

Rhode Island History

US Constitution

http://ric.libguides.com/content.php?pid=133950&sid=1240751

Rhode Island’s 1663 charter: USA State GEN

Images:

John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence:
Roger Williams and the Narragansetts: 

1663 RI charter:

Gaspee: 

Boston Tea Party: 

The Rape of Boston:

Modern old State House: