Daniel Updike, the son of Ludowick and Catherine (Newton) Updike, was born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. His grandfather was Gilbert Updike (Gysbert Opdyck), who came to New Amsterdam from Wesel sometime before 1638. When New Amsterdam was taken over by the English, in 1664, he emigrated to Rhode Island, and there married the daughter of Richard Smith, who had purchased a very large tract of land from the Narragansett Indians.
Daniel was instructed at home by a private tutor and supplemented his education by a period of travel. He then took up the study of law.
Updike was admitted to the bar and established himself at Newport. Natural ability and an attractive personality quickly brought him to the front in the affairs of the colony. In 1722 he was elected attorney-general, which office he held continuously for the next ten years.
One of his most important cases was the trial in 1723 of thirty-six pirates captured by an English vessel off the coast of Long Island. In 1724 he was appointed one of the commissioners who, with representatives from Connecticut, sought to locate definitely the boundary line between that colony and Rhode Island. The settlement of this controversy was protracted until 1726 when, since no agreement could be reached, the final decision was made by the King in Council.
Updike declined election as attorney-general in 1732 to accept nomination for governor; he was defeated, however, by his opponent, William Wanton. In 1740 he again represented his colony in a boundary line debate, this time with Massachusetts. The case was discussed before commissioners appointed by the King, Updike's speeches being described by a contemporary, Judge Lightfoot, as a brilliant performance (Wilkins Updike, Memoirs, post, p. 49). The decision reached by the commissioners proved unsatisfactory to the Massachusetts delegation, and the location of this boundary also was eventually settled by the King in Council.
Since Updike's retirement from the attorney-generalship, a law had been passed providing that each county of Rhode Island Colony should have its own attorney-general, and in 1741 Updike was elected to the office for Kings County, and held it until 1743 when the law was repealed. He was then again elected attorney-general for the whole colony, remaining as such until his death.
In appearance he was a man slightly above the average height, with a dignified bearing, and a clear, pleasing voice, which contributed to his success as a speaker.
Updike was an outstanding leader in the political life of Rhode Island. In 1749, when the supreme court of Rhode Island ruled that no English statutes could be considered in force unless definitely adopted by the colony, Updike was one of the group of lawyers who selected the statutes to be proposed for adoption. He was also active in literary and social interests of the colony. He was a charter member of the society for the promotion of knowledge and science which was founded in Newport in 1730, and out of which grew the Redwood Library.
Updike was married first, December 20, 1716, to Sarah, daughter of Gov. Benedict Arnold. She died in 1718, and on December 22, 1722, he married Anstis Jenkins, whose inheritance added considerably to his own ample patrimony. His third wife was Mary (Godfrey) Wanton, whom he married March 14, 1745.
