Members of the Herreshoff (her-res-hoff, no stressed syllable)[1] family of Bristol, Rhode Island, were, among other things, notable naval architects, naval industrialists, industrial chemists, and automobile designers and manufacturers.
[2][3][4] Charles Frederick Herreshoff (1809–1888) – on April 15, 1833, in Boston – married Julia Ann Lewis (1811–1901).
Herreshoff and Julia Ann Lewis, four were blind: Charles Frederick Herreshoff III (1809–1888), by way of his mother, Sarah Brown (maiden; 1773–1846), was a grandson of John Brown (1736–1803), merchant, slaveholder, and statesman from Providence, who, with his brothers – Nicholas (1729–1791), Joseph (1733–1785), and Moses (1738–1836), an abolitionist – was instrumental in (i) founding Brown University and (ii) moving it to their family's former land in Providence.
By way of his mother, Sarah Brown (maiden; 1773–1846), C.F Herreshoff III was a 4th great-grandson of Rev.
Nowadays, tens of millions of Americans have at least one ancestor who was in Rhode Island around 1600.