Author: Davenport, Rufus
Biography:
DAVENPORT, Rufus (1769-1839: ancestry.com)
A Boston merchant, he joined a group of other businessmen who bought up property for the purpose of building an aqueduct to bring fresh water to Cambridge MA. Under financial difficulties, he attempted in 1817 to sell half of the properties acquired--his share--but failed. His creditors would not accept his lands in lieu of payment, so he was "imprisoned" (in practice, confined in the Boston area) for debt. He embarked on a campaign for reform of the laws around credit and debt that he named Freedebtism or The Right Aim movement. He petitioned the government, distributed "Right Aim" bibles to schools, and published a poem on the subject. A contemporary source describes how "[h]e became almost insane against imprisonment for debt. His assiduity in the poor debtor's cause made many avoid him for his importunity." (Z. G. Whitman, The History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company [2nd edn. Boston 1842] 360; ancestry.com 6 July 2018) HJ