Benjamin Vaughan MD

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

LLD (19 April 1751 – 8 December 1835) was a British political radical. He was a commissioner in the negotiations between Britain and the United States at the drafting of the Treaty of Paris.

Life

Vaughan was born in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

to Samuel Vaughan, a British banker and West India merchant planter of Irish Protestant descent, and his Anglo-American wife, Sarah Hallowell, daughter of shipbuilder, Benjamin Hallowell. He was educated at Newcome's School and Warrington Academy and attended Trinity Hall, Cambridge, without graduating.''Vaughan, Benjamin (1751-1835), of Finsbury Square, London.''
historyofparliamentonline.org He then studied Medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1785, during his stay in Edinburgh, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank, Dugald Stewart, and

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. 1726 – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, Agricultural science, agriculturalist, chemist, chemical manufacturer, Natural history, naturalist and physician. Often referred to a ...

. His broader long-term interest was in politics and sciences, the latter leading to his friendship with

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. In 1786, Vaughan was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in Philadelphia, to which his father, Samuel Vaughan, had been elected a member two years prior. Vaughan was a political economist, merchant and medical doctor. Through Benjamin Horne, brother of John Horne, he met the politician Lord Shelburne. Shelburne then used Vaughan in a diplomatic role, to try to bring peace between Great Britain and the United States, towards the end of the American War of Independence. He was also a middleman in reconciling Franklin and Shelburne. He was elected at a by-election in 1792 as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Calne in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, and held the seat until the 1796 general election (he was absent from 1794). He spoke in parliament in strong defence of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in Jamaica, in his maiden speech. However, in February 1794, he came out in favour of the abolition of the slave trade. He felt that since slaves could no longer be repressed by ignorance and fear, they should be given inducements not to rebel. During his period in London he lived in

Finsbury Square Finsbury Square is a square in Finsbury in central London which includes a six-rink grass bowling green. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the north of the City of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the p ...

. He was arrested in 1794 on grounds of treason, regarding the supposed invasion of England by the French. After 1794, Vaughan left France for Switzerland and later to America. His interest in republicanism lead to his permanent departure from Britain. He settled in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and then on a farm in Hallowell, Maine in 1797. He is thought to be the builder (or related to the builder) of Hallowell House in

, and it is possible his Jamaican links give rise to the district being called Jamaica Plain. In 1805, Vaughan was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and in 1813, he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society. He died in Hallowell in 1835.

Family

Vaughan married in 1781 to Sarah Manning, daughter of William Manning (died 1791), and sister of William Manning. They had several children, including: * Harriet Manning Vaughan (1782–1798) * William Oliver Vaughan (1784–1826), who married Mary Argy (1786–1856) * Sarah Vaughan (1785–1847) * Henry Vaughan (1786–1806) * Petty Vaughan (1788–1854) * Lucy Vaughan (1790–1869), who married William Emmons (1784–1855) * Elizabeth Frances Vaughan (1793–1855), who married Samuel Clinton Grant (1796–1853) The family and their descendants remained in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

after Vaughan settled in Hallowell in 1797 and continue to reside in the town today. John Vaughan and William Vaughan were his brothers.

Legacy

Several places are named after Vaughan: * City of

Vaughan, Ontario Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

is in his honour * Indirectly Vaughan Road is linked to him as the northern end of the road headed into then Township of Vaughan. * Vaughan Road Academy, named after Vaughan Road * Vaughan Stream in Hallowell, MaineHistoric Hallowell
historichallowell.mainememory.net * Vaughan Field in Hallowell * Vaughan Homestead, his Hallowell estate, now a museum * Vaughan Secondary School until name change to Hodan Nalayeh Secondary School in 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Benjamin 1751 births 1835 deaths British diplomats Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Merchants from the British West Indies 19th-century English medical doctors British republicans British emigrants to the United States Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Hallowell, Maine People from Boston Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Calne British MPs 1790–1796 19th-century American people People educated at Newcome's School Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 18th-century Jamaican politicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the American Philosophical Society