Fobes, Rev. Perez (1742-1812)
Role: Professor & TrusteeDates:
Portrait Location: Barus & Holley 400
Artist: Howe, Archibald M. ()
Portrait Date:
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 21 1/2
Framed Dimensions: 31 1/2
Brown Portrait Number: 53
Brown Historical Property Number: 1503
Perez Fobes was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1742. Though he was debilitated by frequent illness (his weak health was a constant trial during his life), he nevertheless acquired sufficient education to matriculate at Harvard University, from which he graduated at the age of twenty, in 1762. After his graduation, Fobes taught school and studied for the ministry. In 1766, he was ordained as a Congregational minister, and took a post as a pastor at the Congregational Church in Raynham, Massachusetts. Fobes remained a pastor at the church until his death, fifty-six years later. In addition to his civilian pastorate, Fobes served as a chaplain in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, a position for which he volunteered despite the precarious state of his constitution. Fobes was a recognized intellectual and educator, and in 1786, when Brown University's President James Manning was elected a congressional representative from the state of Rhode Island, Fobes was asked to step in as his temporary replacement as leader of the fledgling college. Upon Manning's return, Fobes took a professorship of natural philosophy at the college, a position which he occupied from 1786 until 1798. Fobes did not confine himself to a single discipline, however. He was interested in history and genealogy?his study of his wife's family is still cited today, and he also authored a history and geography of his hometown of Raynham, Massachusetts. In addition, he studied astronomy, botany, physics, and a variety of other sciences. As well, he remained committed to education in many forms and at many levels: he gave public lectures on a variety of his interests; in 1796, he took charge of Bridgewater Academy, from which post he sent many students to Brown; and in 1798, he became a trustee at Brown, and served in this capacity until his death in 1812.
Fobes married Prudence Wales, daughter of the Reverend Samuel Wales of Raynham, Massachusetts, in 1775. They had two daughters, Nancy and Polly.
Fobes' granddaughter, Abby W. Deane, bequeathed this portrait to Brown in 1889.