Background
Stephen Gano was the fourth child of Rev. John Gano and his first wife, Sarah (Stites) Gano. He was born on December 25, 1762, in New York, soon after the beginning of his father’s pastorate there.
Stephen Gano was the fourth child of Rev. John Gano and his first wife, Sarah (Stites) Gano. He was born on December 25, 1762, in New York, soon after the beginning of his father’s pastorate there.
The Revolution interrupted his preparation for college, and Gano entered upon the study of medicine under his maternal uncle at Cranbury, New Jersey.
Rhode Island College conferred the degree of A. M. upon him in 1800.
After four years of training, Gano was appointed surgeon’s mate in the Continental Army, June 1779, and the next year enlisted on a privateer, Insurgent.
These three years of adventurous service for his country were passed' before Gano reached his twentieth birthday. Subsequently, he resumed the practise of medicine, at Tappan, New York.
In 1783, he united with his father’s church, where he was ordained on August 2, 1786.
Following his second marriage in 1789, to Polly Tallmadge, he visited his father in Kentucky, and on January 20, 1790, was active in the formation of the first Baptist church in the Northwest Territory, near Hamilton, Ohio.
After serving at Hudson and several other places in New York, he was invited in 1792 to supply the Baptist church at Providence. He was not formally elected pastor till March 1, 1796, but the Warren Association Minutes from 1793 onward rightly designate him as minister of that church.
He also made numerous evangelizing journeys and participated in many of the broader movements of a religious and community nature.
From 1794 till 1827, he was a valued member of the Providence school committee; from 1794 till his death, a trustee of Rhode Island College.
Gano was a man of rather liberal views; while not reaching the position of open communion, he did not adhere to the prevailing restricted communion of his denomination and would baptize those who preferred to unite with other than Baptist churches.
Late in life, Gano wrote for his children a brief account of his hardships, involving two shipwrecks, being marooned on an uninhabited island, and confinement in chains on a prison ship.
In the history of this venerable church, Gano’s pastorate - lasting until his death - still stands as the longest and as one of great importance. Technically it had been a “Six Principle” church and Gano himself had been “under hands. ”
Becoming convinced that the rite was not based upon Scriptural authority, he induced the church to abandon the practise. His pastorate was marked by frequent revivals; he baptized many students and some who became eminent leaders.
On October 25, 1782, Gano married Cornelia Vavasour, daughter of Capt. Josiah Vavasour of the British navy. His second marriage was in 1789, to Polly Tallmadge.
His second wife died in 1797, and on July 18, 1799, he married Mary Brown of Providence, who survived less than two years. On October 8, 1801, he married Mrs. Joanna Lattine.