American Revolution - Along the Shore

 Rhode Island's Newport Harbor 

Newport Harbor was occupied by British forces during the American Revolution from December 1776 to October 1779. This created a constant threat to patriot militias in the region. It was a short distance across these waters along the shores of Warwick Neck and East Greenwich that my wife's seventh great grandfather, Matthew Manchester, assured those militia were provisioned.

Matthew was approaching sixty years of age when the Continental Congress declared its independence from British rule. Born in Rhode Island and living in Cranston - Matthew would have been very much aware of the pre-Tea Party, Gaspee Affair in 1772, where Colonist set fire to a British Customs Schooner in Narragansett Bay.

Matthew was conducting land transactions in the region as early as the 1760s and was respected in the community. That respect grew as he served to review lists of men eligible for the militia, tax collection and financial accountability for the town, represent at the Rhode Island General Assembly, and deciding upon public health initiatives such as Smallpox inoculation plans.  He held the title of Captain so he was likely in the militia at one point - though the title was probably more honorary by the time of the American Revolution. Even so, we might speculate whether he had prior knowledge or involvement in the Gaspee Affair.

After the war, Capt. Matthew Manchester became an early participant in Northwest Territory land speculation, acquiring shares within two years of the Ohio Company’s formal land grant phase in 1792. By 1794, he was conducting transactions involving hundreds of thousands of acres—land originally entrusted to Rufus Putnam (who turns out to be my 4th cousin) and others for distribution. His grandson, also named Matthew, later managed the business end of these holdings in the region that would become Marietta, Ohio.

Matthew appears to have prospered substantially during his lifetime. He also fathered twenty children most of whom remained in Rhode Island. Some of those children prospered well, and others faced harder times during their lifetimes. My wife's third great grandfather, Sanford Manchester, was Matthew's great-great grandson. Sanford was making his living as a coachman in the shadow what would soon be a playground of the Gilded Age elite.

Fortunes and fame of families are won, lost, and diluted as time, opportunities, and choices transpire. Matthew wasn't famous.  Newport affairs associated with the American Revolution are not well known or publicized.  And yet, like everything, each event, each opportunity, and each choice collectively and somewhat unwittingly shapes the future. In every case, choices matter.