Sherman Notes

Sherman, Thomas

Married Agnes Melton (--?--). The name - also often spelled 'Shearman' and sometimes Shereman, Shurman, Shirman or Sharman, meaning 'a dresser or cutter of wool or of clothe', or referred to a person who traded in wool or was a clothier, weaver or worked with cloth, - is reputed to be of North German origin and the family is believed to have come to the vicinity of London at the time of the Saxon immigration - or invasion - in the Fifth Century. (The shearing of worsteds, fustians, etc. was known in nearby Norwich as 'Shermancraft.')

Possibly descended from Richard le Sherman, merchant, of Hythe - located not far from nearby Colchester - who, in the reign of Edward I, on July 8, 1274, at Westminister was granted a license to trade in wool; and Thomas was almost certainly descended from John Sherman who paid twelve pence in taxes in Yaxley in 1327 and from Henry, JohnÆs son, who was receiver of money for the Prior of Eye in County Suffolk near Yaxley. Thomas was referred to as 'Gentleman' in the records, a term indicating that while he had no title of nobility, he bore a coat-of-arms and was known to be descended from a family which had always borne one. (According to the records of the College of Arms, the Coat-of-Arms of the Shermans of Yaxley is the same, with slight variations, as that of the Shermans of Essex.)

He resided at Diss and Yaxley, England. Diss, which is in Norfolk on the north bank of the Waveney River about seventy-five miles northeast of London. The Waveney marks the boundary between the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and the village of Yaxley is close to Diss on the south side of the river. (The Suffolk Yaxley is not to be confused with another Yaxley just south of Peterborough near Norman Cross on 'Ermine Street.') The definite information about Thomas Sherman, while greater than available concerning his predecessors, is rather meager. However, it is known that he was a lawyer, that he served as church warden of the Yaxley Parish and that he was a 'man forceful and interesting.'

He survived the Wars of the Roses which raged intermittently from 1455 to 1485, possibly because he was not enough of an aristocrat to have a real stake in them and too much of an aristocrat to be included in the fighting levies of the nobles. After all, those wars were fought by only a few of the great barons, their friends and vassals and, above all, their mercenaries. All these constituted merely a few thousands of belligerents and they had to respect the neutrality of towns and villages as armed men were numerous and if vexed, would rally against Lancaster or York. So in the countryside and in the towns life went on, the crops were harvested and trade developed.

When Thomas died in 1493 at the age of 73 his will, written in Latin, gave to his son John his property in Diss and Yaxley and bequeathed to each of the four orders of Friars at Norwich the sum of three shillings and six pence, providing that they 'will have an honest Priest celebrate for my soul and the souls of my Parents and benefactors, for the space of four years', he left thirteen shilling and fourpence to the church at Diss while the Yaxley church received three shillings and eight pence and the reparation of the Reydon and Stuston churches was to be aided by bequests of two bushels of corn and four of malt apiece. These ecclesiastical requirements being satisfied, each godchild received the sum of fourpence. From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969. He was born in 1420. He died in 1493 at Diss, Cnty. Norfolk. 

Sherman, John

Married Agnes FULLER, daughter of Thomas FULLER. In the important occupation of the 'shearman,' or cloth-shearer, is found the origin of the surname Sherman. The Shearmen, those who sheared the nap and dressed the cloth, formed a company in York Guild. These guilds were all powerful in the mercantile fields in the centuries in which they flourished, and membership in them was highly prized. It was therefore natural that John, the Shearman, would, when the custom of using surnames obtained a practically universal vogue, adopt the name of his calling as his surname, Sherman.

The Sherman family, in the period when the name had become hereditary, rose to a position of great importance and influence in England, and supplied many noted men to the nation. Thomas's only son, John Sherman, lived also in Diss and Yaxley. Like his father he was termed 'Gentleman'. He died in 1504 and his will provided that his son, then less than sixteen years old, should inherit 'when he shall be twenty-two years old.' He was born in 1450 at Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk. He died in Nov 1504 at Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk. 

Sherman, Thomas

Married Jane WALLER, daughter of John WALLER and Margaret THOROLDE. The History of Rhode Island says he 'was born about 1480.' He resided at Diss, on the river Waveney, between the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. His will mentions, property, including the manors of Royden and Royden Tuft, with appurtenances, at Royden and Bessingham, and other properties in Norfolk and Suffolk. Jane Waller was probably not his first wife.

Thomas Sherman was apparently responsible for a considerable improvement in the family fortunes and definitely responsible for a considerable increase in its size. He also lived in Yaxley and was a 'Gentleman'. He became an attorney-at-law with a large practice in the Court of Common Pleas. He served as a Deputy Sheriff in 1540 and 1546 and as a church warden of Yaxley, whose parish now owed its allegiance to the King of England instead of the Pope of Rome.

He was a wealthy man, possessing the manors of Royden and Roydentuft at Royden and Bessingham and other manors and landed estates in the vicinity. A manor, incidentally, may contain one or more villages or hamlets or only part of a village. It is a noble sort of fee, always claimed by prescription; i.e., by long continuance of time beyond the memory of man. Thus Thomas' ownership of these manors confirms our belief that the family had lived in this area for generations. Thomas married Jane Waller, daughter of John Waller, Esq., of Wortham, and she bore him ten children - all were sons and all, except one perhaps, married, and all were still living in 1551 when he died and was buried in Yaxley. An item in 'Annals of Medical History', December 1921, p. 316, mentions 'Richard Sherman, M.D. of Caius College (Cambridge University), 1567' who may quite possibly have been the second son of this Thomas Sherman. From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969. He was born in 1490 at Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk. He died in Nov 1551 at Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk. 

Married Agnes BUTLER. 'Clothier'. Perhaps he adopted this calling because, as a fourth son with nine brothers, he received a relatively small share of his wealthy father's estate and thus had to abandon the life of landed proprietor and seek a new method of maintaining and increasing what he had. So he turned to that British staple - wool, whose export after the Black Death bought the food needed for common survival. Henry, however, did not deal in raw wool, but as a Clothier became a pioneer in a new type of enterprise based upon it.

At about this time the Craft Guilds were becoming outmoded. Since the days of the Romans and Saxons the housewives of County Essex had spun their woolen yarn, taken it to the weaver who wove it into cloth, and passed it on to the customer right in the same town. It was all local. But now demand was broadening, markets were expanding, and goods manufactured in one town were sold in another or across the Channel. The adjoining counties of Suffolk and Essex were good 'sheep country' and the skill of the Flemish weavers who, fleeing from religious persecution early in the fourteenth century, sought refuge here, had helped to make this area one of the richest parts of England. Served by rivers running down to the Channel ports, this was an ideal site for the development of the woolen cloth industry. From the back of the sheep to the finished goods which were carefully baled and loaded on a cart, or stowed aboard a ship for transportation to the city merchant.

However, the local craftsmen were not in contract with the consumers in the expanding market. Now men were needed who had knowledge of this market, plus the capital to finance operations during the period required to process and distribute the wool from sheep to shop. So there occurred what might be termed a Preliminary Industrial Revolution and the capitalist-employer-distributor, the 'entrepreneur', came into being. In the woolen cloth trade he was the 'Clothier'. As competition grew, individual Clothiers stamped each bale of their goods with their distinctive trademarks. Some dyed their cloth in their 'woadhouses' where it was colored blue with the juice of the fermented leaves of woad - a plant used by our more ancient British ancestors to paint their bodies. (This plant [Isatis Tinctoria], now extinct in England, can be seen in the gardens of The Cloisters in New York City.)

Controlling production and distribution from raw wool to finished cloth, the Clothier, and his fellows in other industries, became important factors in the economic community and obtained more influence and power in local and national government. Henry Sherman had the capital, the intelligence and the initiative to benefit from these developments. He, his sons and his grandsons were Clothiers for at least a century, and there is one document that shows that Shermans were still in the same business in Essex in 1895. Though Henry had been born in Colchester, he carried on his trade in Dedham, which is in County Essex a few miles north of his birthplace. Being on the River Stour, only about fifteen miles upstream from the important port of Harwich, Dedham may have been better than Colchester as a shipping point for the goods produced by the Sherman enterprise. The business occupied 'Sherman's Hall' which stands today as do numerous other ancient buildings of the Essex Clothiers. This Hall -- still bearing the Sherman name -- is just across the street from Dedham's church. From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969. History of Rhode Island has birth 'about 1530.'

The fourth son of Thomas was our ancestor Henry Sherman, born in 1524 some thirty miles south of Yaxley in Colchester, County Essex. With him there came a change in the type of life and possibly in the social position of our line of the family for he is termed not 'Gentleman' but 'Clothier'. Henry's wife was Agnes Butler and she gave him five sons and two daughters. Their eldest son was Henry. Their second son, Edmund, was the ancestor of General William Tecumseh Sherman, but when Henry died in Dedham in 1590 at the age of seventy his will left 20 pounds to his son Henry and his armor to his sons, Henry and Robert (who was a physician). He was the god-son of Thomas Wace, of Eye, County Suffolk, whose will, dated June 22, 1533 and proved March 5, 1538, contains a legacy of '6s. 8d. to my god-son Henry Sherman'. Henry's father was an executor of the will. His third wife was Margaret.  Reprinted in the Narragansett Historical Register was the information written by Rev. David Sherman, Wilbraham, Mass. as it was originally written in the New England Historic and Genealogical Register of January and April 1870. The information is quoted below.

The Shermans are of German origin. In the fatherland the Sherman, Schurman, Schearmann, Scherman, often occurs, and was not doubt transferred to London and its vicinity many centuries ago by the Anglo-Saxon emigrants, where it still remains numerous. From this metropolitan stock a scion was transplanted to Dedham, County Essex, England, which long flourished and sent out other shoots.

The name is derived from the original occupation of the family. They were cloth dressers or Shearers of the cloth. The family at Dedham retained the occupation of the family and also the coat of arms worn by those in and about London. In New England are found two distinct families bearing the name of Sherman. One of them descends from William Sherman who came with the Pilgrims about the year 1630, and settled at Marshfield, where his descendants still remain. Of his place of birth and English antecedents we know nothing. The other is the Dedham stock, a branch of which emigrated to New England and settled in the vicinity of Boston. It is the Dedham line we now propose to trace.

The first of the name in that line of which we have any knowledge, and perhaps the one who originally emigrated there was Henry Sherman. Few dates are given. The early records of the family are scant, yet we hope to be able to obtain something more.

Henry Sherman, of Dedham, County Essex, England; probably removed there from County Suffolk, as he bore the Suffolk Sherman coat of arms. He was born in 1524 at Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk. He married Maryan Smyth WILSON on 5 Jun 1581 at Dedham. He died in 1590 at Dedham, Cnty. Essex. 

Clothier in Colchester, County Essex, England. Like his father he became a Clothier for, more important than the ú20 and the armor, his father bequeathed to him 'my Shearman's crafte' and added: 'I give to Henry Shearman, my son, all the household which is in this house which he hath already'. Thus it seems that he was already living and working in 'Sherman's Hall' and there he presumably lived and worked throughout his life. From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969 History of Rhode Island states his birth as 'about 1555.' At the age of 23 he married Susan Lawrence and they produced seven sons and four daughters. Henry and his wife died within two weeks of one another, perhaps of the same malady, and their wills were probated on the same day, September 12, 1610. Both are buried in Dedham. The Narragansett Historical Register quoting the N.E.H.G.R. lists a daughter Elizabeth, but not Phebe and Ann. He was born in 1545 at Dedham, Cnty. Essex. He married Susan LAWRENCE on 14 Jun 1568 at Moze, Cnty. Essex. . 

Sherman, Samuel
born c Jan 1572/73 at Dedham, Cnty. Essex.

Samuel Sherman of Dedham, the last of our line to be a Clothier in England. The prosperity of the eastern and southeastern counties (including Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex) was largely based on the cloth industry and when, in 1625 - 1630, this business went into heavy decline, the results were disastrous because the area was already suffering a severe economic depression. Unemployment rose, there was not enough food, and poor relief had to be doubled.

From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969. Baptised January 11, 1573/4. Samuel Sherman, the last of our line to live out his life in England, was baptized in the parish church on January 11th. In about 1597 he married Philippa Ward and they had four sons and three daughters, at least two of whom died young. The three sons who lived to maturity were Samuel, Henry and our ancestor, Philip. Samuel and Philippa are believed to have lived for a time at Dedham, but the exact location of their home is not known, though a number of houses still standing in the village belonged to the Sherman family. However, they spent a considerable part of their lives at Ardleigh, one of Samuel's properties near Dedham, and there he died when he was still in his early forties. Samuel's will, probated on March 2, 1616, mentions three sons and his daughters, Mary and Martha. At the time of his death his eldest son, Samuel, was only fourteen, and his youngest, Philip, only five so they were obviously unable to carry on their father's business. Eventually all three sons decided to leave England and come to America, Philip being the first to arrive in 1632-3. He married Philippa WARD in 1597. He died in 1615 at Ardleigh, Cnty. Essex. 

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Notes: He was made freeman, May 14, 1634, in Roxbury, Mass., standing next on the list after Governor Haynes. Freemen constituted the colony's 'General Court' (General Assembly).  The General Court made rules, laws or ordinances.  The Freemen elected the Governor and Board of Assistants (later called Magistrates).  He was the first Secretary or Recorder of the Colony of Rhode Island, 1648 to 1656,  Representative, 1656, and a member of the 'Towne Council' every year from 1656 to 1673.  In 1679 he was the Tax Assessor.  In 1683 he was chosen to lay out a highway.

His father's will sometimes spells the name 'Phillipp', and some records in R.I. spelled it 'Phillip Shearman'.  Name also spelled Shearman in his will.   Baptised February 5, 1610.  At the time of his father's death Philip, the youngest, was only five.  Eventually all three sons decided to leave England and come to America,  Philip being the first to arrive (in Roxbury, Mass. - now central Boston) about 1632-3,  when twenty-three years old.   The prosperity of the eastern and southeastern counties (including Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex) was largely based on the cloth industry and when in 1625 - 1630 this business went into heavy decline, the results were disastrous because the area was already suffering a severe economic depression. Unemployment rose, there was not enough food, and poor relief had to be doubled.  Since Samuel Sherman died in 1615 when his three sons were too young to manage his estate and, knowing how serious were the problems that faced his business in the ensuing years of economic distress and political turmoil, we can imagine that by 1632 Samuel, Henry and Philip were casting about for a way to better themselves.

Also, the area in which they lived was one where Puritanism had taken its strongest hold and the leaders of the Puritan movement at home and in the New England colonies were bound together by ties of blood, marriage and neighborhood.  The Shermans knew that by joining their friends and relatives and going to Massachusetts Bay they would be moving to a community whose religious beliefs and practices would accord with their own ideas.  As far as Philip is concerned, this factor must have played an important part, for his life in America shows that he took his religion seriously and was willing to make sacrifices in order to follow the dictates of his belief.  The brothers were part of the twenty thousand English who migrated to the New England Puritan colonies between 1630 and 1640.  Due to the above mentioned economic and religious factors a large percentage of these came from the eastern and southeastern counties, and from these counties they brought to their crude pioneer settlements the names of the tidy towns and villages they had left behind -- Dedham, Hingham, Boston, Cambridge, Stamford, Ipswich and many another which have now become as much American as they are English.

Among the emigrants in the sixteen-thirties were five other Sherman descendants of Philip's great-grandfather Henry who had founded the family business.  Two of these returned to England to resume their former occupation as clothiers; the other three decided to remain in the New World and today practically all 'authentic' American Shermans (i.e. those who did not adopt the name) are descended from our ancestor Philip and his brother Samuel or from those three cousins - 'Hon. Samuel', 'Capt. John' and another John.  From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969.

Philip signed the articles of incorporation as one of the group that purchased Aquidneck Island from the Indians, and moved to Portsmouth, R.I. in 1638.   From the HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND, Biographical, 1920: In 1635 he returned to England for a short time, but was again in Roxbury, November 20, 1637, when he and others were warned to give up all arms.  The church record says that he was brought over to 'Familism' by Porter, his wife's stepfather.  In 1639 he was one of the purchasers of the island of Aquidneck from the Indians, new Rhode Island, and on the formation of a government there in 1639 became secretary under Governor William Coddington.  The Massachusetts authorities evidently believed that he was still under their jurisdiction, for on March 12, 1638, though he had summons to appear at the next court, 'if they had not yet gone to answer such things as shall be objected.'  He did not answer this summons, but remained in Rhode Island, where he continued to be a prominent figure in the affairs of the colony.  He was made general recorder, 1648 to 1652, and deputy from 1665 to 1667.  He was public-spirited and enterprising.  After his removal to Rhode Island he left the Congregational church and united with the Society of Friends.

Tradition affirms that he was 'a devout but determined man.'  The early records prepared by him still remain in Portsmouth, and show him to have been a very neat and expert penman, as well as an educated man.  His will showed that he was wealthy for the times. From The New England Historic and Genealogical Register of January and April, 1870.

Hon. Phillip, [two Ls] born in Dedham, England, died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  In the Anne Hutchinson trouble in Boston he took the popular side, but as Gov. Winthrop finally prevailed, he with others found it convenient to emigrate to Rhode Island.  In Providence they met Roger Williams who advised them to purchase the island of Aquetnet, now Rhode Island, of the Indians.  The purchase was completed March 24, 1638.  On July 1, 1639, they established a regular government, with Wm. Coddington, Governor, and Phillip Sherman, Secretary. After this he often held office in the Colony, and in critical periods. He was a man of intelligence, wealth, and influence, and frequently consulted by those in authority.  The early record prepared by him still remains in Portsmouth, and show him to have been a neat and skillful penman, as well as an educated man.  After he emigrated to Rhode Island he left the Congregational Church, and united with the Society of Friends.  Tradition affirms he was a devout as well as a determined man.

Sherman, Samson
Birth : Apr 1642 Portsmouth, Newport, RI
Death : 27 Jun 1718 Portsmouth, Newport, RI
 
He had a farm next to his farther's.  He later inherited half his father's home farm. He was elected Constable, and served as juror three times at the Colony's Court of Trials and once at its Grand Inquest.  Spelled 'Shearman' in his will. From The New England Historic and Genealogical Register of January and April, 1870, he died in 1720. 

Sherman, Job
Birth : 8 Nov 1687 Portsmouth, Newport, RI
Death : 16 Nov 1747 Portsmouth, Newport, RI

Sherman, Samon
Birth : 23 Sep 1737 Portsmouth, Newport, RI
Death : 24 Jan 1801 Portsmouth, Newport, RI

Samson SHERMAN. He lived in Portsmouth, where he spent his entire life, engaged in agricultural pursuits. Also spelled Sampson. 

Sherman, Job
Birth : 21 Jan 1766 Portsmouth, Newport, RI
Death : 24 Jan 1848 Newport, Newport, RI

In 1796 he removed from Portsmouth to Newport, where he became the founder of the business which is now [1920] conducted under the firm name of William Sherman & Company Dry Goods Concern. The location was moved to 135-137 Thames Street in 1798, where it remained for four generations of Sherman's. It was then sold to William Leys Dry Goods Co. From the History of Rhode Island, 1920: He was a leader in the business and financial life of Newport in his day, and was one of the original trustees of the Savings Bank of Newport. He was a staunch Whig, and prominent in public affairs, supporting every movement of importance for the advancement of the welfare of the community. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and for many years served as trustee of the Society in Newport. 

Sherman, Albert

Birth : 14 Aug 1815 Newport, Newport, RI
Death : 30 Jun 1884 Newport, Newport, RI

In early life he learned the trade of sailmaker, an occupation which he followed for many years in Newport and later at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he was engaged successfully in business until 1841.  In that year he returned to Newport and established himself in the dry goods business on lower Thames street, in which field he was highly successful. The History of Rhode Island, 1920:  Ill health forced him to lead a life of comparative retirement, and although he maintained throughout his life a deep interest in public affairs, he never aspired to public office.  He was a Republican in political affiliation.  Mr. Sherman was for many years a director in the Merchants' Bank of Newport, and was active in the founding of the Newport Hospital, to which he was a generous donor throughout his life.  He was a member of the Society of Friends. 

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Sherman, Benjamin
Birth : 1712

As a youth he was a weaver.  After his marriage he seems to have engaged in frequent land transactions.  He also was a purchaser of outstanding notes and collected many of them by process of law. Twenty-five cases of this character appear in the court records from 1763-1768; then note until 1771.  He was his own attorney in the courtroom and managed his suits shrewdly...  Frank Dempster Sherman, quoted by Roy Sherman That he was a Tory sympathizer is evident from the records of South Kingstown.  In the summer of 1779 he with many other prominent residents was under suspicion and was removed from his home and held a prisoner in Coventry until Oct. 1779 when 'the enemy having departed' he was permitted to return.  There is a tradition that 'he wagered his farm against a copper that the British would be victorious' and so lost the farm.  The source of this tradition is found in his land transaction with Timothy Locke, mariner, to whom he deeds 80 acres July 14, 1775 for 100 pounds.  As recently as 1910 on of the lots on this farm was called the 'Copper Lot 

Sherman, Robert A.
Birth : 31 Jan 1843
Death : 30 Oct 1904 Westerly, RI

As a young man learned the carpenter's trade under his father's instruction.  In the employ of Hall & Dickinson (of Westerly) he finished his apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, and after a considerable period with this firm was employed at his trade in Mystic and still later in Lafayette.  Throughout this time he had improved every opportunity to add to his knowledge of the various branches of his trade and the construction business, and about 1870 he established as a manufacturer of builders' furnishings.  His beginning were modest, his first shop on the second floor of a small building on Main street, but success attended his operations from the start, necessitating more commodious quarters and increased facilities. Contracting and building departments were added to his business and his field of operations widened far beyond its original local limits. During the latter years of his life his two sons were partners in the direction of this strong, prosperous enterprise, which included one of the largest planing mills in the State. Attended schools of his native town [Exeter, RI] and Kingston Hill.

From 'History of Rhode Island' Biographical, 1920:  He was ambitious to have a part in larger affairs than afforded in his home, and he went to Westerly, walking the distance for lack of funds for transportation and carrying with him all his possessions.   In the civic life of Westerly his influence was always used for the fostering of its welfare and the development of the town in accordance with worthy municipal standarts. He was a member of the Town Council, Franklin Lodge No. 20, Free and Accepted Masons, and was a trustee of the Broad Street Christian Church. 

Sherman, Charles E.
Birth : 23 Apr 1877

After graduating from M.I.T. he at once entered his father's business, and later, with his brother, Frank A., was admitted to the firm. After the death, in 1904, of their father, the business was incorporated as the R.A. Sherman's Sons' Company, with Charles E. Sherman as president. The new administration brought no radical changes, the policies of the founder continued in a vigorous, profitable enterprise of wide reputation.  He is also director and treasurer of the Westerly Automatic Telephone Company, director and executive commetteeman of the Washington Trust Company, and director of the Westerly Building & Loan Association. His prepration for college was obtained in th Westerly schools and after a course in the high school he entered the Massachussetts Institute of Technology.  At this institution he won high honors in scholarship and was graduated in the class of 1900. From 'History of Rhode Island' Biographical, 1920:  His clubs are the Misaquamicut Golf, of Watch Hill, and the Colonial Club, of Westerly, both of which he serves as a member of the board of governors, also the Thames Club of New London. 

Sherman, Frank A.
Birth : 20 Aug 1879

After M.I.T. he began business life in connection with his father's extensive business and soon afterward was admitted to the firm.  With the incorporation of the business, after the death of the founder, he became secretary and treasurer of the R. A. Sherman's Sons' Company, his elder brother Charles E. Sherman, president.  Many structures throughout the region have been erected by the company.  The Memorial Library and the Niantic National Bank are among the older works of the company, while numerous industrial plants, residences, and public buildings have been erected in recent years. After completing his work in the public schools, he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston and was graduated in 1903 with the degrees of B.S. and M.E. From 'History of Rhode Island' Biographical, 1920:  He is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 20, Free and Accepted Masons, to which his honored father belonged, and is a member of the Colonial Club, of Westerly.