Benedict Lapham (June 26, 1816 – June 16, 1883) was a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

industrialist and philanthropist.

Biography

Pentecostal Collegiate Institute, North Scituate, R

He was born in

Burrillville, Rhode Island Burrillville is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,158 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated as an independent municipality on November 17, 1806 when the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized ...

to a

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

family on June 26, 1816. His parents were Phebe Arnold and Reverend Richard Lapham, a farmer, and a minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Lapham farmed before becoming involved in manufacturing in

, and Palmer and

Douglas, Massachusetts Douglas is a town in Southern Worcester County, Massachusetts. The population was 8,983 at the 2020 census. It includes the sizable Douglas State Forest, managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). History The name of Dou ...

, and he managed a farm for the Albion Manufacturing Company in

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town that is located in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 cens ...

. Lapham attended Bushee's Academy at Bank Village, Rhode Island studying

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects ...

and later worked several years as a carpenter and wheelwright. He then worked with the Tillinghast factory in

East Greenwich East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan ...

, and the other mills in North Scituate, Centreville, Wallum Pond, Pascoag, and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

, Rhode Island. He married Ann Eliza Austin in November 1849. Lapham served in the militia during the

Dorr Rebellion The Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842) (also referred to as Dorr's Rebellion, Dorr's War or Dorr War) was an attempt by disenfranchised residents to force broader democracy in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, where a small rural elite was in control of ...

and was a member of

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected ...

, Rhode Island State Senate, state commissioner of the Antietam Cemetery, president of the town council, Delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention, justice of the peace. In 1863 he purchased and funded the

Smithville Seminary The Smithville Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution established in 1839 on what is now Institute Lane in Smithville-North Scituate, Rhode Island. Renamed the Lapham Institute in 1863, it closed in 1876. The site was then used as the campus ...

and gave it back to the

Free Will Baptist Free Will Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal est ...

Association. It was renamed the Lapham Institute in his honor, but closed in 1876. He died at his home in Centerville, Rhode Island on June 16, 1883, and was buried in

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organ ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapham, Benedict 1818 births 1883 deaths University and college founders American Civil War industrialists People from Burrillville, Rhode Island Burials at Swan Point Cemetery 19th-century American philanthropists