Caleb Ormsbee

Caleb Ormsbee (1752-1807) was an American master builder and architect of Providence, Rhode Island. Two of his buildings have been designated United States National Historic Landmarks.

Caleb Ormsbee
Born(1752-10-15)October 15, 1752
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 31, 1807(1807-12-31) (aged 55)
Providence, Rhode Island
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsNightingale-Brown House, Thomas P. Ives House
House for Joseph Nightingale, Providence, Rhode Island, 1791–92.

Life and career

Ormsbee was born October 15, 1752, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts to Daniel and Keziah (Cummings) Ormsbee.[1] His training is unknown, but he may have served his apprenticeship with Jonathan Hammond,[lower-alpha 1] a carpenter who was associated with Joseph Brown in designing and building the First Baptist Church in America in 1774.[2]

Ormsbee was self-trained in design.[3] He is known to have owned a copy of A Book of Architecture, published by James Gibbs in 1728, which he is believed to have purchased from the estate of Joseph Brown.[2] He also looked to contemporary American architecture, and based his design for the 1795 building of the First Congregational Church on the Hollis Street Church in Boston, designed by Charles Bulfinch and built in 1788.[3]

John Holden Greene was an apprentice of Ormsbee beginning in 1794, and remained in his employ until his death in 1807.[4]

Personal life

In 1774 Ormsbee married Molly Walker, also a Rehoboth native.[1]

Ormsbee died December 31, 1807, in Providence.[5]

Works

Notes
  1. Also spelled Jonathan Hammon.
  2. Located at 407-409 Benefit Street. Ormsbee lived in 407 Benefit until his death.[6]

References
  1. James N. Arnold, Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896 (Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1897)
  2. Norman M. Isham, The Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in Providence: A History of the Fabric (Providence: Charitable Baptist Society, 1925)
  3. John Hutchins Cady, The Civic and Architectural Development of Providence, 1636-1950 (Providence: The Book Shop, 1957)
  4. Woodward, W. Mckenzie (2003). "Greene, John Holden". Grove Art Online. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T034776. ISBN 978-1-884446-05-4. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. Gravestone
  6. William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986)
  7. "College Hill: Nightingale Brown House," brown.edu, Providence Architecture, n. d. Accessed July 6 2021.
  8. Nightingale–Brown House NRHP Registration Form (1989)
  9. Thomas P. Ives House NRHP Registration Form (1970)


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