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Adult Guardianship and Local Politics in Rhode Island, 1750–1800

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Abstract

This essay asks two main questions. (1) How did Rhode Island town leaders use adult guardianship during the turmoil of the Revolutionary Era? (2) What factors explain each town’s use of adult guardianships? Every town elected six councilmen each year to take care of local problems; these leaders had authority to enact discretionary guardianships to restrain and protect propertied adults whose behavior had caused complaint. Our analysis of data from 14 Rhode Island towns shows that town councilmen overall increased their use of adult guardianships significantly between 1750 and 1800. Guardianships declined during the height of warfare (1775–1781) but increased significantly after the war. Hopkinton showed the greatest use of this legal process and Providence the lowest. We found no significant correlation between a town’s use of adult guardianship and that same town’s population, wealth, or geographic region. The common factor appears to be the stress and disorder of the era. We investigated Hopkinton more closely and found that the town councilmen in this newest Rhode Island town put adults under guardianship in heavy-handed ways, especially in the 1780s and 1790s, often bypassing less intrusive and punitive solutions. The Hopkinton councilmen, we conclude, went to an extreme in using adult guardianship, but their actions were part of a widespread effort by Rhode Island town leaders to restore order in their communities after the Revolutionary War.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Japan and China, the legal responsibility for adult guardianship traditionally rested with the extended family, rather than with the state (Doron 2002, pp. 373–376; Yang 2019, pp. 12–15). In Germany and Sweden, guardianship stemmed from Roman law and traditionally rested on civil code (Doron, pp. 377–78, 383–84). In contrast, Israel took its system from English common law as it applied in Palestine by the British Mandate prior to 1948 (Doron, p. 380). Canada inherited a combination of English common law tradition and French civil law tradition (Yang, pp. 43–46). See also Sabatino and Wood (2012, pp. 35–55).

  2. 2.

    For a study of changes in Maryland law over 300 years, see O’Sullivan and Hoffmann (1995/1996).

  3. 3.

    See also O’Sullivan and Hoffman (1995/1996, pp. 13–17).

  4. 4.

    See also Wood (2005, pp. 19–20) and O’Sullivan and Hoffman (1995/1996, pp. 13–17).

  5. 5.

    Town council meeting of 26 September 1763, Warwick Town Council Records, 2:232. All Rhode Island guardianship information is taken from town council meeting minutes (hereafter TCM), written into the town council records (hereafter TCR) of each town. Additional information is taken from town meeting minutes (hereafter TM), written into the town meeting records (hereafter TMR) of each town. All town records are maintained in the town clerk’s office at the town halls of the respective towns.

  6. 6.

    TCM 24 August 1781, Warren TCR, 1:478.

  7. 7.

    TCM 11 November 1782, South Kingstown TCR, 6:90.

  8. 8.

    George Peck was placed under guardianship in 1783, Roger Brale in 1792, and Ibrook Whipple in 1796. See TCM 17 November 1783, Cumberland TCR, 5:503; TCM 28 January 1792, Cumberland TCR 3:280; and TCM 20 April 1796, Cumberland TCR 4:6.

  9. 9.

    TCM 5 February 1753 and 5 March 1753, Richmond TCR 1:114-16. The Lewis daughters’ guardian was directed to “take care of them and their estates” [emphasis mine]. The council records also refer to the cost of “nursing” the three women. TCM 3 May 1779, Richmond TCR 2:275–76.

  10. 10.

    TCM 18 November 1782, Middletown TCR 2:107.

  11. 11.

    The 14 towns are Cumberland, East Greenwich, Exeter, Glocester, Hopkinton, Jamestown, Middletown, New Shoreham, Providence, Richmond, South Kingstown, Tiverton, Warren, and Warwick. These towns constitute a stratified sample of Rhode Island’s 37 towns in the Revolutionary Era, taking into consideration population, wealth, economic orientation, age, and geographic location. For a discussion of the selection of these towns, see Herndon (1992a, b, Appendix A, pp. 320–336).

  12. 12.

    While the graph shows the percentage of minor and adult guardianships, a panel regression of per-capita wealth and per-capita adult guardianships also supports this conclusion.

  13. 13.

    See also Jimenez (1987, pp. 49–64). Jimenez (1987, p. 51) notes that Massachusetts towns “had little do with guardianship cases” except when someone disputed a court ruling; in those cases, “town selectmen made the determination of sanity.” See also Montague (1895, pp. 5–11), who traced Massachusetts probate judges’ county-level authority back to the early English county court system. For Montague’s discussion of the Massachusetts probate courts’ authority to appoint guardians over adults, see pp. 12–13, 23–24, 32-34.

  14. 14.

    “An Act establishing Courts of Probate” and “An Act respecting Guardians,” The Public Laws of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (Providence: Carter and Wilkinson, 1798), 1:276–79, 1:316–18. For the more complicated (and expensive) system of adult guardianship in Scotland, see Houston (2003, pp. 165–186). Houston notes that “guardianship procedures in eighteenth-century Massachusetts were similar to those in Scotland” (p. 179). For adult guardianship in England, see Neugebauer (1996, pp. 24–39) and Neugebauer (1989, pp. 1580–1584).

  15. 15.

    During the period under study, some town clerks kept probate court business separate from nonprobate council business in the town books. In 1798, the Rhode Island General Assembly standardized record-keeping by requiring that clerks keep separate probate court minutes. See “An Act establishing Courts of Probate,” Public Laws of Rhode Island (1798), 276–78.

  16. 16.

    Acts and Laws of The English Colony of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations in New-England (Newport: Samuel Hall, 1767), 261–62.

  17. 17.

    Providence TCR vol. 5; Hopkinton TCR vol. 2; Warren TCR vol 1.

  18. 18.

    “An Act respecting Guardians” (1798), Sec. 2, 316–17; “An Act establishing Courts of Probate” (1798), Sec. 1, 276.

  19. 19.

    TCM 10 December 1781, South Kingstown TCR 10 December 1781.

  20. 20.

    The inventories were conducted 18 May 1752, and 1 January 1753, Richmond Wills 1:119–20. Ladd submitted two separate lists: the first (items held for them in a separate location) included cows, sheep, and household goods, totaling £370-13-9; the second (items already in their possession) included more household goods and cloth, totaling £207-15-6. When James Lewis died, his three disabled daughters Abigail, Hannah, and Ruth (by his first wife Abigail) were 35, 32, and 28 years old and still under their father’s care. Lewis had bequeathed to them “one quarter part of my movables,” stipulating that “beds, bedding, chests, boxes, wheels, chairs, clothing” and other goods “be equally divided between them” (Will of James Lewis, 5 April 1752 (probated 23 May 1752), Richmond Wills, 1:91–93). Lewis also stipulated that his unborn child by his second wife Susannah “whether it be son or daughter” should have “one fifth part of my lands before willed to my two sons.” Daughter Patience was born to Lewis’ widow 7 months after he wrote his last will (Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850, ed. James N. Arnold (Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891); Richmond, 6–30).

  21. 21.

    TCM 4 December 1797, 1 January 1798, and 12 February 1798, Tiverton TCR 5:59–60; TCM 15 December 1797, South Kingstown TCR 6:253. For example of “a due consideration” wording: The Tiverton council cancelled Abraham Burrington’s guardianship after some family members protested the action; the council spent one meeting “hearing what was offered for and against the same.” For example of “well founded” wording: The South Kingstown council concluded that Samuel Curtis should be put under guardianship, since Curtis had been “giving himself up to the practice of a daily inebriation, thereby disqualifying himself from taking a prudential care of his temporal interest.”

  22. 22.

    Houston (2003, p. 171) points out that the process of adult guardianship in Scotland was “potentially difficult, frequently expensive, and necessarily public,” making informal alternatives much more appealing.

  23. 23.

    Lower-level officials, such as town constables, were not treated with the same reserve as men who had been in the most prominent positions. In Jamestown, for example, the town council put Benjamin Carr, a former town constable and tax collector, under guardianship when his son complained about this elderly man “squandering away his estate” (TCM 6 March 1784, Jamestown TCR 2:155).

  24. 24.

    TCM 3 September 1793 and 2 December 1793, Hopkinton TCR 3:38, 41.

  25. 25.

    For a good review of the scholarly literature on insanity in early America, see Jimenez (1987, pp. 1–11). See also Eldridge (1996, pp. 361–386), Neugebauer (1987, pp. 481–483), Grob (1994), Bell (1980), and Deutsch (1949).

  26. 26.

    On attitudes toward and treatment of the elderly in early America, see Fischer (1977) and Achenbaum (1978, pp. 1–6); see also Field and Syrett (2020, pp. 370–384). On alcohol consumption in early America, see Rorabaugh (1979), Salinger (2002), and Lender and Martin (1982, Chap. 1).

  27. 27.

    For a recent study of illness in early America that incorporates a discussion of Revolutionary War veterans, see Mutschler (2020, pp. 183–222). See also Resch (2002) and Blackie (2010).

  28. 28.

    For a relevant study, see Dayton (2015, pp. 77–99).

  29. 29.

    On domestic violence in early America, see Pleck (1987) and Daniels and Kennedy (1999).

  30. 30.

    TCM 17 November 1783, Cumberland TCR 5:503.

  31. 31.

    Edward Pierce of Charleston, George Lewis of Richmond, and the Samuel Kinyon of Charlestown all “refused to serve” when they were first appointed in February 1753. One month later, David Lewis, who had been appointed “in their stead,” also refused. John Ladd of Charlestown agreed to serve, but he resigned in 1755, and the council recruited Jacob Lewis of West Greenwich. This appointment lasted. More than 20 years later, the Lewis daughters were still living in Jacob Lewis’ household in West Greenwich, and the Richmond council was continuing to inspect the guardian’s account, which included payment for “nursing and boarding” the three women. TCM 5 February 1753, 5 March 1753, 3 March 1755, 3 May 1779, and 2 December 1782, Richmond TCR 1:114, 1:115-16, 1:176, 2:275–76, 2:337.

  32. 32.

    TCM 30 December 1777, Warwick TCR 3:40; TCM 15 December 1784, Warwick TCR 3:168.

  33. 33.

    TCM 12 March 1787, Warwick TCR 3:200.

  34. 34.

    TCM 28 April 1788, Warwick TCR 3:226.

  35. 35.

    TCM 27 June 1767 and 13 June 1768, Warwick TCR 2:286 and 2:302. Reuben Wightman was one of the town constables at the time he made this complaint to the Warwick council; he was later elected as town sergeant, the chief law enforcement position.

  36. 36.

    TCM 18 July 1772 and 21 March 1773, Warwick TCR 3:16 and 3:23–24.

  37. 37.

    TCM 21 March 1773, Warwick TCR 3:23–24.

  38. 38.

    TCM 5 April 1756, Warren TCR 1:126.

  39. 39.

    TCM 5 December 1757, Warren TCR 1: 158.

  40. 40.

    TCM 1 December 1760, Warren TCR 1:211.

  41. 41.

    TCM 14 April 1796, Warwick TCR 4:393.

  42. 42.

    TCM 10 January 1797, Warwick TCR 4:410.

  43. 43.

    The original guardianship occurred at TCM 10 December 1750, Warwick TCR 2:88-89. He appeared in the Rhode Island 1774 Census (Cherry Fletcher Bamberg, “The 1774 Census of Rhode Island: Warwick,” Rhode Island Roots, 30 (2004), p. 201). He appeared in the Rhode Island 1777 Military Census for Warwick, showing as “60+” years of age (The Rhode Island 1777 Military Census, transcribed by Mildred M. Chamberlain (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985)). He appeared in the Rhode Island 1782 Census, with 1 adult male and 1 adult female in his household (Jay Mack Holbrook, ed., Rhode Island 1782 Census (Oxford, MA: Holbrook Research Institute, 1979), 119).

  44. 44.

    TCM 14 September 1789, Warwick TCR 3:261.

  45. 45.

    TCM 8 July 1797, Warwick TCR 4:420. See also Patricia Reed, “Henry Straight of Portsmouth and East Greenwich, R.I., and His Family,” Rhode Island Roots 40 (2014): 192.

  46. 46.

    Sydney James (1975, p. 56) found that each Rhode Island town “in its own way developed basic institutions” and “tried to bring into use daring ideas about the exercise of the body politic.”

  47. 47.

    On Rhode Island in this era, see McLoughlin (1986a), Polishook (1969), Lovejoy (1958), and Conley (1977). Rappleye (2006), Coughtry (1981), Sweet (2003), Withey (1984). See also Jones (1992), Coleman (1963), McLoughlin (1986b), and Lemons (1986).

  48. 48.

    Providence TCR 5:61–104; Herndon (1992a, pp. 292–95).

  49. 49.

    Figure 9.3 shows changes in use of adult guardianships. A panel regression of the 690 counts of guardianships by year and town is behind these observations on the differences between periods. The 1775–1781 period is below all other coefficients with at least a 10% significance level; the 1791–1800 period is only significantly different relative to 1760–1767 and 1775–1781. Still, the trend suggests an increase in the towns’ use of adult guardianships interrupted by the revolutionary war. Figure 9.5 shows changes in use of guardianships for minors. The dip during the revolutionary war and into 1790 is significant at the 5% level, according to a panel regression of the rate of minor guardianships with fixed effects by period. The decline of 1791–1800 relative to the 1750–1759 period is significant at the 10% level.

  50. 50.

    TCM 21 April 1783, Hopkinton TCR 2:113.

  51. 51.

    “An Act dividing the Town of Westerly,” Acts and Laws of Rhode Island (1767).

  52. 52.

    On Hopkinton in the late 1700s, see Herndon (1992a, pp. 18–49) and Herndon (1992b, pp. 103–115).

  53. 53.

    TCM 29 August 1786 and 7 June 1789, Hopkinton 2:257 and 2:305.

  54. 54.

    TCM 13 December 1791, Hopkinton TCR 3:9.

  55. 55.

    TCM 20 August 1796, Hopkinton TCR 3:84.

  56. 56.

    TCM 18 November 1765, 21 March 1768, 6 March 1769, 1 January 1770, Hopkinton TCR 1:85, 1:119, 1:127, 1:139.

  57. 57.

    TCM 7 April 1783, Hopkinton TCR 2:112.

  58. 58.

    TCM 6 February 1786, Hopkinton TCR 2:245.

  59. 59.

    TCM 24 March 1794, Hopkinton TCR 3:46.

  60. 60.

    TCM 5 September and 3 October 1796, Hopkinton TCR 3:86–87.

  61. 61.

    TCM 3 September 1793, Hopkinton TCR 3:38. John Maxson Sr. was born on April 21, 1701; his son John Maxson Jr. was born August 27, 1725. See Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1:117.

  62. 62.

    At the time of Hopkinton’s founding, the Sabbatarian Church was the only church in Hopkinton.

  63. 63.

    TM 4 April 1757, Hopkinton TMR 1:1–5; Griswold (1877, pp. 17–18). John Maxson, Jr., who made the complaint against his father, was elected to the town council regularly from 1760 onward. He served as town clerk from 1768 to 1774. Hopkinton TMR vol 1 and 2.

  64. 64.

    TM 25 August 1761, Hopkinton TMR 1:41; Griswold (1877, 38–39).

  65. 65.

    TCM 3 September 1793 and 2 December 1793, Hopkinton TCR 3:38, 41.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Ruth Wallis Herndon & Amílcar E. Challú

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  1. Ruth Wallis Herndon
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Correspondence to Ruth Wallis Herndon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Religious Studies, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, USA

    Patrick Gray

  2. College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Joshua Hall

  3. Department of History, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Ruth Wallis Herndon

  4. Applied Economics, Facultad de Economia y Empresa, Zaragoza, Spain

    Javier Silvestre

Appendix: Herndon on Murray

Appendix: Herndon on Murray

John Murray strongly influenced the direction of my scholarship. During the years that he and I were on faculty together at the University of Toledo (1996–2007), he helped me keep social history in conversation with economic history. He fed me classic and recent books and articles that used economic data to tell a story about the past. One of the greatest benefits of being on the same campus with him was getting to hear his critiques of new scholarship; he had a new book in hand every time I walked into his office, and I always left with a recommended reading list. A conversation with John was even more productive than browsing through book reviews in a scholarly journal. Further, during those years at UT, John gave me a great gift of his time by reading every piece of scholarship I had produced, including my lengthy dissertation on Rhode Island towns during the Revolutionary Era. He had fruitful ideas for developing and publishing pieces of the dissertation. It has been a great sadness not to be able to consult him as I wrote this essay, which began with my dissertation and took on new life when John asked questions about adult guardianship that I couldn’t answer. This essay answers some of John’s questions.

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Herndon, R.W., Challú, A.E. (2022). Adult Guardianship and Local Politics in Rhode Island, 1750–1800. In: Gray, P., Hall, J., Wallis Herndon, R., Silvestre, J. (eds) Standard of Living. Studies in Economic History. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06477-7_9

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