Moses Brown Ives


Moses Brown Ives was a businessman and philanthropist from Providence, Rhode Island who was partner in Brown & Ives and was President of Providence Bank. He also served as a trustee of Brown University, and was treasurer of Butler Hospital.

Early life

Moses Brown Ives was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 21, 1794 and named after Moses Brown, the co-founder of Brown University. He was the eldest son of Thomas Poynton Ives and Hope Ives. Among his siblings was older sister Charlotte Rhoda Ives, who married Professor William Giles Goddard ; and Robert Hale Ives Jr., who married Harriet Bowen Amory.
His paternal grandparents were Sarah Ives and Captain Robert Hale Ives, a master-mariner who was one of the original eighteen members of the Salem Marine Society. His maternal grandparents were Nicholas Brown Sr. and his first wife, Rhoda Brown. His maternal uncle was Nicholas Brown Jr. and among his first cousins was Nicholas Brown III and John Carter Brown II.
Ives graduated from Brown University in 1812 and then attended Litchfield Law School before traveling abroad in Europe.

Career

He followed his father and became a partner in Brown & Ives in 1832, president of Providence Bank, and trustee of Brown University. In addition, he served as treasurer of Butler Hospital.

Personal life

In 1833, Ives was married to Annie Allen Dorr. Annie, the daughter of Sullivan Dorr, a prosperous manufacturer and co-owner of Bernon Mill Village, was the sister of Thomas Wilson Dorr, the extralegal Governor of Rhode Island. Together, they were the parents of two children:
His desk-and-bookcase was made in Providence, Rhode Island at the end of the 18th Century. It was made in the Chippendale Style; mahogany is its primary wood.
Ives died on August 7, 1857 and was buried in Providence's North Burial Ground. Upon his death, he created a bequest which was used to provide some of the early funding for the creation of Rhode Island Hospital in 1863.