William Ellery

William Ellery, a lawyer turned abolitionist, joined the Rhode Island Sons of Liberty and replaced Samuel Ward at the Continental Congress in 1776, where he served on the Marine committee and other committees, including foreign relations, while serving as a judge of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. He became an advocate for the abolition of slavery in 1785 and was appointed as the First Collector of the Newport port under the Federal Constitution, where he served until his death in 1820. A Founding Father who signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation representing Rhode Island, Ellery also collaborated with Reverend Ezra Stiles to draft a charter for what is now Brown University.