Biography

In the 19th century Rhode Island was the home of two daredevils who achieved fame for their bold acts of daring. The first was Sam Patch who became nationally known …
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 “Some things can be done as well as others” … Sam Patch

In the 19th century Rhode Island was the home of two daredevils who achieved fame for their bold …
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In 2018 and 2019, in celebration of the 1869 founding of the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island, and its newer designation as Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, several …
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Note: This article is the second in a two-part series on the career of civil rights reformer George Downing. Readers can access Part I at https://smallstatebighistory.com/george-t-downing-and-the-black-convention-movement/

My self-respect revolts at …
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Fear not; no antagonism of interest would be the result of admitting in common to your workshops the colored mechanic, of admitting his child as an apprentice.

(Appeal to …
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Providence and the rest of Rhode Island have an amazing history of impressive manufacturing companies. Of all the hundreds from the nineteenth century, I call five of them based in …
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Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias, authors of an excellent history of King Phillips’ War (also called Metacom’s War), accurately describe the war as “America’s Forgotten Conflict.”  It was …
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In the run up to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, we will hear much about the Founding Fathers. Portsmouth, Rhode Island, however, was the first American community that …
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Visitors to Newport are sometimes informed that the luxurious hotel at 41 Mary Street in Newport, called The Vanderbilt, was originally built by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt as a magnificent mansion …
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I never met John Gordon. According to Rhode Island court records, John Gordon was a convicted murderer, executed in 1845 for the brutal murder of Amasa Sprague, a wealthy industrialist. …
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