William Russell Sweet

"'William Russell Sweet" (11/18/1860-10/15/1946) early American artist, painter and wood carver.

Biography

William Russell Sweet [Joy, Robert, 1954, "Natural Bonesetters with special reference to the Sweet Family of RI", Bullentin of the History of Medicine, RI 28, No.3, p. 416-441.] was known throughout the Narragansett, RI area as ‘The Painter”, (documented by the post office receiving postcards and letter under such title) because of his prolific art works in watercolor and oil paintings, many wall murals done for the Newport, RI mansions, his restoration artwork, and his masterful wood carving of furniture and wall mounts.

Said to be "of gentle, good natured people" [Hazard, Thomas Rowland, Recollections of Olden Times, 1879, p. 264 Sanborn Press, Newport, RI ] "I consider the Sweets a most remarkable family, not only as natural bone setters, but as an innocent inoffensive, easy going, happy people." [Hazard, Thomas Rowland, The Johnny Cake Papers of Shephard Tom, 1879,p. 230, 334 Sanborn Press Newport, RI.] William and his family spend many summer days along the coastline of Rhode Island where he sketched and painted pictorial scenes. On loan to Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Museum by his family, William Russell Sweet carved hutch cabinet themed upon the classical poem “The Song of Hiawatha” from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a few samples of his carved wood chairs and wall plaques, and some of his watercolors.

Carved wood hutch cabinet themed for Longfellow's poem "Song of Hiawatha"

William Russell Sweet described each section of "“The Song of Hiawatha”" from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which influenced him while creating his artwork and carving the individual panels that comprise the hutch cabinet:

(WRS) "Hiawatha was troubled because his people had no way to record the great events of their life and history, or to give the names of the honored dead, or to remember the wisdom of their ancestors, he showed them how to make picture-writing."

*From Section 14 (Picture Writing)
*"…Such as these the shapes they paintedOn the birch-bark and the deer-skin;…"“…Thus it was that Hiawatha,In his wisdom taught the peopleAll the mysteries of painting,All the art of Picture-Writing,On the smooth bark of the birch-tree,On the white skin of the reindeer,On the grave-posts of the village…”"

(WRS) "Hiawatha traveled far to the west, to the land of the Dacotahs, to woo Minnehaha, the daughter of the Arrow Maker. Just before reaching the Arrow Maker’s wigwam, he stopped to shoot a deer to bring as a present."

*From Section X (Hiawatha’s Wooing)
*"“…To his bow he whispered, "Fail not!"To his arrow whispered, "Swerve not!"Sent it singing on its errand,To the red heart of the roebuck;Threw the deer across his shoulder,And sped forward without pausing…”"

(WRS) "Kwasind, “the very strong man”, was killed by envious dwarfs as he was floating, asleep, down the river in his canoe. They threw pine cones at him (the only things that could harm him) hitting him on his one vulnerable spot (the top of his head) and he toppled, dead, out of his canoe."

*From Section XVIII (The Death of Kwasind)
*"“…Sideways fell into the river,Plunged beneath the sluggish waterHeadlong, as an otter plunges;And the birch canoe, abandoned,Drifted empty down the river,Bottom upward swerved and drifted:Nothing more was seen of Kwasind…”"

(WRS) "Hiawatha called on the birch tree to furnish the bark for his canoe, on the cedar for its boughs for the ribs of the canoe, on the fir tree for its resin to make the canoe water-tight, on the tamarack for its fibers to sew the birch bark, on the hedgehog for its quills for the decoration of the canoe."

*From Section VII (Hiawatha’s Sailing)
*"…"Give me of your bark, O Birch-tree!Of your yellow bark, O Birch-tree!..I a light canoe will build me,…

…"Give me of your boughs, O Cedar!Of your strong and pliant branches, My canoe to make more steady,Make more strong and firm beneath me!..."

…"Give me of your roots, O Tamarack!Of your fibrous roots, O Larch-tree!My canoe to bind together,…”

…"Give me of your balm, O Fir-tree!Of your balsam and your resin,So to close the seams togetherThat the water may not enter,…”

…"Give me of your quills, O Hedgehog!All your quills, O Kagh, the Hedgehog!I will make a necklace of them,Make a girdle for my beauty,And two stars to deck her bosom!..."

(WRS) "Hiawatha set out to catch the sturgeon, Nahma. He lowered his line, made of twisted cedar bark, and challenged Nahma to take the hook."

*From Section VIII (Hiawatha Fishing)
*…”Take my bait," cried Hiawatha,Dawn into the depths beneath him,"Take my bait, O Sturgeon, Nahma!Come up from below the water,Let us see which is the stronger!"And he dropped his line of cedarThrough the clear, transparent water…”

Personal Notes

William Russell Sweet, son of Amos Reynolds Sweet and Sarah Coggshall Sweet, married Mary De Laigle Herndon 6/15/1893 and fathered 3 children: Colonel Russell Herndon Sweet, Leila Augusta Sweet-Hay, and Margaret Grace Waring Sweet-Treat.Buried in Oak Dell Historical Cemetery, Peacedale, Rhode Island.

William Russell Sweet's family genealogy [McParland, Martha, Jan. 1968, Family who Practiced the Medical Art of Bonesetting, "Yankee", RI, Vol. 32, p.80, 98-101. (reprinted from McParland, M., Feb. 16, 1830, Family who Practiced the Medical Art of Bonesetting, "Providence Journal",RI )] dates back to 1636, when John Sweet (emigrated to Salem, Massachusetts 1630 on the Winthrop Fleet, [Banks, Charles Edward, "The Winthrop Fleet of 1630", originally published: Boston, MA: 1930; reprinted Genealogical Publishing Co.: Baltimore, MD: 1961, etc.;ISBN 0-8063-0020-5] departing from Plymouth, England) who was granted land by Roger Williams, [RI Historical Society Library, registered Founders and Patriots abt. 1637 p. 234 State Records of RI.] as part of the 38 families who traveled with Williams from Massachusetts to establish the colony of Rhode Island based upon principles of complete religious toleration, separation of church and state, and political democracy; values represented in the USA constitution.

"Roger Williams insisted that land must be purchased from the Indians, rather than taken from them forcefully, in order to claim title to it. Williams then purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and established the settlement of Providence, Rhode Island." [Hazard, Thomas Rowland, Recollections of Olden Times, 1879, p. 264 Sanborn Press, Newport, RI. ]

Footnotes

External Links

* [http://pettaquamscutt.org Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Museum]
* [http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/hiawatha.html "Song of Hiawatha" Theotherpages.org]