Grand and distinct, the John Brown House’s imposing federalist façade befits Providence’s most influential family. This 1788 mansion belonged to the wealthiest and most successful entrepreneur of his age: John Brown. A China trade merchant, slave trader, privateer, and Son of Liberty, John Brown Is also well known for his role as an instigator in the 1772 sinking of the Gaspee. John Brown (1736-1803) was one of six children born to James Brown II and Hope Power, of whom only four lived to adulthood: John, Nicholas, Moses, and Joseph.

Known for seeking enterprise anywhere he could, John Brown made his fortune as a slave trader, China trade merchant, real-estate speculator, shipbuilder, and privateer. The subject of slavery came to be a source of great turmoil within the Brown family. Seeking profit among the hundreds of Africa-bound slave ships leaving Rhode Island, the Brown family contracted the Sally in 1764. Captained by Esek Hopkins, the Sally’s voyage was crippled by delays, violent uprisings, and sickness among those held captive. The venture ended in disaster and the experience dissuaded John’s brothers from ever again directly involving themselves in the trade, though John went on to finance at least four additional voyages. He later was the first American to be tried and convicted for continuing his involvement in the slave trade, in violation of the Slave Trade Act passed by Congress in 1794.

A fierce individualist, John Brown helped found and lead the Sons of Liberty in Rhode Island. During the American Revolution, John Brown supplied the newly established Continental Navy with its very first ship, the USS Providence. Elected to 5th United States Congress in 1799, John Brown served as Rhode Island’s representative from 1799 to 1801.

Commanding an indomitable view upon College Hill at 52 Power Street, John Brown’s house now serves as a national historic landmark and house-museum. Above all, John Brown’s intended his home to communicate his status to other early American elites. From its grand wrap-around stairways, to its finely crafted ornamental archways, to its gilded and painted wallpaper, the home is a testament to the sheer material wealth and status that was to be expected of Rhode Island’s founding merchant dynasty.

For more (including 4 images) view the original article

This home of Declaration-signer Stephen Hopkins (1707 – 1785) is among the oldest still standing in Rhode Island and the oldest in Providence. Hopkins lived here with his family and at least seven enslaved people in eight rooms that are now chock-full of antiques, Hopkins’ personal heirlooms, and general 18th-century objects.

Over the almost 45 years that Hopkins owned this house, at least 19 others resided there as well. Among these residents were Hopkins’ first wife Sarah and their seven children; his second wife Anne and her three children; enslaved woman Fibbo (Phoebe) and her two enslaved children Primus and Bonner Jr.; and four enslaved men St. Jago, Prince, Toney, and Adam. Quakers were among the first to speak out against slavery in the colonies. Despite mounting pressures from the Society of Friends, Hopkins emancipated only St. Jago among the people he owned, and lost his membership in the Society as a result. St. Jago went on to work as a sailor and has living descendants today.

The house played host to such luminaries as George Washington in 1776, on one of his four trips to Providence. Then-governor Nicholas Cooke wrote to Washington that “General [Nathanael] Greene [a Rhode Islander] having informed me that your Excellency proposed to set out for Providence this Day I do myself the Honor to acquaint that a House is prepared for you and your Lady.” Martha Washington did not accompany her husband to Providence, and in fact, Hopkins himself was not even present for Washington’s visit: he was at the time attending the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Stephen Hopkins became embroiled in the first violent act of resistance to the British Crown in the colonies during the infamous Gaspee Affair, which predates the Boston Tea Party by a year. Serving as Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1772, Hopkins was strongly encouraged to make known the names of the men who had set fire to the British customs ship The Gaspee and kidnapped its captain, Lieut. Dudingston. The Crown wanted Hopkins to provide “a full and particular account of all the proceedings had and done by him for discovering and bringing to justice the persons who committed the aforesaid offence.” Hopkins promised to do so “without loss time.” Though he may have agreed to investigate the “offence,” Hopkins, a staunch patriot, apparently had no intention of doing so, as there is no record of any such written account.

For more (including 3 images) view the original article