USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fall River > Centennial history of Fall River, Mass. : comprising a record of its corporate progress from 1656 to 1876, with sketches of its manufacturing industries, local and general characteristics, valuable statistical tables, etc. > Part 27
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SKETCHES OF MAYORS.
His more public life commenced about 1851. In that year a town meeting was holden in Town Hall, to see if the town would instruct its representatives in General Court to cast their votes for Hon. Charles Sumner as Senator in Congress, there being a prolonged contest in that body to fill this office. At this meeting Dr. Davis addressed his fellow-citizens in favor of thus instructing their public servants, and most eloquently and forcibly urged the im- portance of Massachusetts being represented in the Senate by men true and faithful to the interests of freedom.
In 1853 he was chosen a member of the State Constitutional Convention, and in 1859 and 1861 a State Senator. He was appointed, in his first term, chairman of the Committee on State Charitable Institutions, and was also a member of the Committee for the Revision of the Statutes, the latter committee sitting between the two sessions of the Legislature.
Dr. Davis soon proved himself to be a fluent, convincing, and pleasant public speaker, during his first term as Senator delivering a speech, which was published, in favor of the erec- tion of the statue in honor of our commonwealth's great advocate of popular education, Hon. Horace Mann.
At a public meeting in Boston, on the day of the execution, in Virginia, of John Brown, he spoke in earnest condemnation of the spirit of the slave power, and predicted that this act would prove a fatal blow to the " peculiar institution."
In 1861, in the Senate, he was made chairman of the Committee on Education, also chair- man of the Special Committee on the Abolition of Capital Punishment, whose report was written by him ; the bill presented for this object, while adopted by the Senate, being lost in the lower House.
In relation to the change of boundary line dividing Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in 1861, a matter which caused great interest and much excitement in the community, he was very active and efficient in securing the line finally adopted and ratified by the Legislature of each State.
He was a member of the National Republican Convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln for President, in 1860, and also a member of that which nominated Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes as a candidate for the same office, in 1876.
He was appointed by Gov. John A. Andrew a member of the State Board of Charities, and is now, and has been since its organization, a member of the State Board of Health.
In 1873 Dr. Davis was elected mayor of Fall River, holding this position one year (but declining a re-election). On retiring from the mayoralty, he donated his entire net salary to the "Children's Home," a charitable institution of the city. In his inaugural, he recommended mprovements involving large expenditures of money, but which seemed necessary in the changing circumstances of the city. These recommendations were mostly adopted and finally consummated by the city. His administration was one of unusual activity in all depart- ments, great enterprises being made or projected during that year, and more labor performed than in the same period before or since. Some of these improvements were the erection of three spacious school-houses, three engine-houses and police-stations, the widening of Pleasant Street, from Sixth Street to the "Narrows" (a very important measure), the laying out and completing of other streets, etc. A plan of sewerage for the city was recommended and adopted by this government, and the " Betterment Law" was first put in operation. The City Hall was also completed in its remodelled form, and dedicated that year.
Dr. Davis is an earnest, public-spirited man, of good judgment, quick in perception, generally correct in his conclusions, prompt in his efforts to advance measures which he believes will prove for the good and welfare of the community at large, and broad in his views of the necessities of the hour.
· The constant friend and advocate of general education, he was elected a member of the General School Committee first in 1851, and has always given his voice and his vote for the best interests of the scholars of our public schools. It was during his administration as mayor that the city government adopted the provisions of State law whereby all school text-books are furnished the scholars of the public schools free of expense to themselves-a plan which
234
FALL RIVER AND ITS INDUSTRIES.
has worked well and satisfactorily to the entire community since its adoption. He is a gentle- man of large mental culture and benevolent disposition, possessing a kind and sympathetic heart. Having made good use of the opportunities given him of self-improvement, he has wrought his own way in the world, and been successful in his professional practice as in other respects. Early in the revival of interest in manufacturing pursuits in the city, he became much interested, and manifested his confidence therein by making large investments in this kind of property as well as in real estate. He was elected president of one corporation and director in several others, and thus, in various ways, has come to be one of our best and most useful public men-one whom his fellow-men have delighted to honor, and one who has never disappointed their hopes or betrayed their trust and confidence.
HON. JAMES F. DAVENPORT, EIGHTH MAYOR.
The Hon. James F. Davenport was born at Belleville, New Jersey, March 4th, 1832. His father, a calico printer, died when he was but eighteen months old, leaving a widow with five young children. The family moved to Taunton, Mass., in 1839, and to Fall River in 1841. Mr. Davenport had but meagre educational advantages, attending the public schools in Fall River from 1841 to 1848, and then going to New Jersey to learn the trade of an engraver. He had a natural talent for mechanics, and, as a boy, found his happiest moments when at work upon or about machinery. In the process of learning the engraver's art, he worked in the print-works at Belleville and Paterson, N. J., and at Providence, R. I., but returned again to Fall River in 1853, where for the next twenty years he was employed in the American Print Works, filling, during the later years of this period, the position of superintendent of the engraving depart- ment. From this responsible private service he was called by his fellow-citizens in 1874 to become mayor of the city of Fall River. For the few years previous to this date, his close at- tention to the duties of his business had greatly impaired his health, and left him but a modi- cum of his wonted strength and vigor, entailing a physical weakness with which he has had to contend through most of the successive terms of his mayoralty.
Mr. Davenport at an early period manifested an active interest in public matters, always aiming to keep himself thoroughly informed on the questions of the day. His first official life was as a member of the Common Council of Fall River in 1862. In 1871 he was again elected a member of the council, and upon its organization was chosen president, but held the position only a few months, when he was transferred to the Board of Aldermen, to fill a vacancy occur- ring in his ward. He was re-elected an alderman in 1872 and 1873, and in 1874 received the Republican nomination for the office of mayor. To this honorable and responsible position he was elected by a large majority, and, by the action of his fellow-citizens, was continued in the same office during the years 1875, 1876, and 1877.
Mr. Davenport's administration as mayor developed executive talent of a high order. His term of service covers a period of four years, full of active labor, and calls for prompt, discreet, and decisive action. During these years he has ever striven to act up to the sentiments expressed in his first inaugural address, viz., " As public servants, let us openly and earnestly endeavor to perform honestly the duties incumbent upon us, deciding every measure that may be brought before us for our consideration upon its true merits, with no disposition to evade responsibility or ignore any reasonable demand made upon us by our fellow-citizens." His term of office coming just at the close of an unexampled period of prosperity and growth, when, within six or seven years, a population was added equal in number to that which it had taken more than half a century to reach, involved many great and necessary improvements and public works, and a correspondingly large expenditure of money. Many of these were authorized by previous governments, but the execution of them was left to Mr. Davenport's administration, and in providing the necessary funds and carrying out these important measures,
235
SKETCHES OF MAYORS.
fraught with the future well-being of the community for many years to come, the highest execu- tive ability and most careful and considerate judgment were called into constant requisition. Thus, for example, a comprehensive system of sewerage having been adopted, upon an elabor- ate and scientific plan, suited to the wants of an expanding community, most of its main trunks and many of its connecting branches were constructed during the years 1873-77, involving an expense of over $250,000. Closely connected with sewerage was the system of public water- works, costing nearly or quite a million and a half of dollars, the means for which, realized by the sale of bonds, were mainly negotiated for and funded under the special supervision of Mr. Davenport, as chairman of the Committee on Finance. The widening of South Main Street, from the Park to the Rhode Island line, something like a mile and a quarter; of Pleasant Street, from Sixth Street to the Narrows, perhaps a mile and a half ; of North Main Street, from the Narragansett Mills to Steep Brook, about a mile ; the erection of the Davis, Slade, and Daven- port school-houses, and three engine-houses and police-stations, all authorized or begun by pre- vious administrations and necessitating an outlay of over $400,000, were consummated within these years (1873-77). The City Hospital was also built, the Park graded and improved, and many other measures of public utility accomplished, an expenditure demanded by the urgent and imperative wants of a community which, within a few years, had increased twofold in wealth, population, and business, and had more than doubled the area over which its interests were spread.
To be at the head of a government supervising these vast interests has been no mere child's play, but has called for the highest wisdom and discretion of the chief executive, and in devoting his whole time and attention to the duties of his office, Mr. Davenport has fairly earned for himself the commendation and confidence of his fellow-citizens. Through his instrumentality the floating debt of the city, amounting to more than a million of dollars, was successfully funded at a long term of years and a low rate of interest, and the credit of the city so established that temporary loans to large amounts are easily secured, while the bonds of the city have passed into the hands of capitalists for permanent investments, the few that come upon the market being quickly disposed of at a good premium. Notwithstanding these very large expenditures, the government the past two years has been so economically administered, that it has lived within the appropriations, though smaller than usual, and the debt of the city has also been decreased.
The rapid expansion of the city involved many changes in the subordinate departments of municipal administration. The police force was reorganized, and its numbers increased, upon the completion and occupancy of the new police stations in the northern, southern, and eastern sections of the city. The morale of the force was brought to a higher standard, and greater efficiency secured in the discharge of their various and important, often delicate, duties. The introduction of water and the establishment of a large number of hydrants gave a new phase to the administration of the fire department, which led to its reorganization and distribution, and resulted in a more completely equipped department, and an improved personnel of the force. The appointment of the members of both of these forces devolves upon the mayor and alder- men, and in filling these positions Mayor Davenport has ever sought to increase the dignity and efficiency of each department, and to eliminate all elements that might impede the discip- line, energy, and cohesion of either body of men.
Another outgrowth of the rapid extension of the city in all directions, and the consequent changes involved in the laying out of highways, and improving the facilities of communication between different sections, was the question of benefit and damage to abutters, the settlement of claims for land taken, the rights of owners, and the thousand and one questions which arise where municipal and private rights are involved. Time is always required to bring these vari- ous questions to a point, and it was the lot of Mr. Davenport's administration to receive from its predecessors a legacy of lawsuits and questions of land damages, the settlement of which he found at an early date to be one of the most perplexing of his duties. Happily constituted by nature, with a kind, conciliatory spirit, calm and undisturbed amid trying difficulties, and peculiarly apt and winning in his contact with men, Mr. Davenport was especially fitted to deal
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FALL RIVER AND ITS INDUSTRIES.
with all these cases, successfully adjusting most of the points in controversy without resort to the courts, and, in cases where litigation had already been begun, securing results far more favor- able than the city could secure by negotiations with the opposing party. No small part of the time of the mayor has been required to examine the legal questions which have arisen, and, in the process of this schooling, Mayor Davenport has developed an exceptional aptitude for the comprehension and management of the intricate and perplexing problems of civic admin- istration.
Mr. Davenport, upon his first election to the mayoralty, determined to devote his whole time to the duties of his office, and has continued to do so through the successive years of his administration. His services, as a result, have been eminently successful, and no mayor ever had the confidence of the community to a higher degree. Conservative and prudent in matur- ing measures, yet prompt and vigorous in action when occasion demands, Mr. Davenport has qualities that especially fit him for public life. In the several years of his mayoralty, during which the laboring population have become restless, and been prompted to covert, if not open, violence by irresponsible leaders, when the least symptom of wavering or uncertainty on the part of those in authority might have precipitated riot and bloodshed, the firmness and courage of the chief executive were put to the severest test, and so satisfactorily did Mr. Davenport meet the crisis, that his praises have been sounded on every side. Unassuming in demeanor, and slight in physical proportions, he nevertheless has shown that he possesses an unflinching spirit, equal to all emergencies. Most affable and amiable of men, he has always made hosts of friends among those with whom he has been brought in contact.
ACT OF INCORPORATION
OF THE
TOWN OF FALL RIVER,
BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
1803.
4
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and three, AN ACT to divide the town of Freetown, and to incorporate the southerly part thereof into a separate town by the name of Fall River.
RE it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the southerly part of Freetown, in the County of Bristol, as described within the following bounds, with the inhabitants thereon, be, and they are hereby incorporated into a separate town by the name of Fall River, viz. :
Beginning in Taunton Great River so called, and thence running south seventy degrees, east on the lines dividing the lands belonging to the heirs of Samuel Valentine, from the lands of the heirs of William Valentine, and so continuing the same course about eight hundred and sixty rods, till it intersects a line running from the town of Dartmouth, north twelve degrees east, by the easterly of the twentieth great lot owned by Thomas Borden and Richard Borden, thence on the line last mentioned to Dartmouth line. Thence by the lines of the town of Dartmouth and Westport to the State of Rhode Island, thence on the line of said State into said river, thence by the channel of said river to the bounds first mentioned. And the said town of Fall River is hereby vested with all the powers and privileges, rights and immunities, to which other towns are entitled by the constitution and laws of this commonwealth.
SECTION II. Be it further enacted, that the said town of Fall River shall pay all the arrears of taxes, which have been assessed upon them, together with their proportion of all debts owed by said town of Freetown prior to the date of this Act, and that all questions relative to property already existing, shall be adjusted and settled in the same manner as if this Act had not been made; and that all property rights and credits of said town of Freetown be received and enjoyed by the said town of Fall River, according to their proportion of the taxes of said Freetown, as assessed in the last tax-bills.
SECTION III. Be it further enacted, that the said town of Fall River shall take upon them- selves, and support one half of all the poor now actually chargeable to said town of Freetown, and shall also bear, and pay one half of the expense of supporting such poor persons as may be sent back upon said town of Freetown from other towns, who removed from said town of Freetown prior to the passing this Act.
SECTION IV. Be it further enacted, that of all State and County taxes which shall be levied and required of said towns previous to a new valuation, the said town of Fall River shall pay four tenths.
SECTION V. And be it further enacted, that Charles Durfee, Esq., be and he is hereby authorized to issue his warrant, directed to some suitable inhabitant of the said town of Fall River, requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants of the said town qualified by law to vote in town affairs, to meet at such time and place as shall be expressed in the said warrant, to choose all such officers as other towns within this commonwealth are required by law to choose, in the months of March or April annually, and the officers so chosen shall be qualified as other town officers are.
1
238
CHANGES OF CORPORATE NAME.
In the House of Representatives, February 24, 1803. This bill having had three several readings, passed to be enacted.
JOHN C. JONES, Speaker.
In Senate, February 25, 1803. This bill having had two several readings, passed to be enacted.
DAVID COBB, President.
February 26, 1803. By the Governor approved.
CALEB STRONG.
True copy attest.
JOHN AVERY, Secretary.
A true copy attest.
WALTER CHALONER, Town Clerk, for 1803. .
CHANGE OF NAME .- " FALL RIVER" TO "TROY."
IN a warrant for the assembling of the legal voters of the town of Fall River, dated March 21st, 1804, a portion of article 5th reads-" Also to know the minds of the town respecting altering the name of the town, and if altered, by what name they would wish it called." At a meeting held May 8th, 1804, it was voted "that the present town of Fall River shall be called Troy." Tradition reports that this action was induced by a prominent citizen who had recently visited Troy, New York, and who became so enamored of its name, that, upon his return he induced his fellow-townsmen to give up the suggestive and appropriate name received from the red man, and assume that derived from the ancient and mythical Homeric city.
1804. AN ACT to change the name of the town of Fall River, in the County of Bristol.
Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by authority of the same, that from and after the passing of this Act, the name of the said town of Fall River shall cease, and the said town shall hereafter be called and known by the name of Troy, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. And nothing in this act contained shall be construed to impair any rights of the said corporation ; but the inhabitants of said town shall have, enjoy, and exercise all the powers, privileges and immunities as a corporation by the name of Troy, in as full and ample a manner as though the name of the said town had not been changed.
This Act passed June 18, 1804.
" TROY " TO " FALL RIVER."
AT a town meeting assembled March 18, 1833, it was voted "That it is expedient to have the name of the town of Troy altered to that of Fall River," and " that the selectmen be directed to petition the Legislature now in session, for an act to alter the name of the town of Troy to that of Fall River."
1834. AN ACT to change the name of Troy to Fall River.
Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that from and after the passage of this Act, the name of the town of Troy, in the County of Bristol, shall cease, and the said town shall hereafter be called and known by the name of Fall River, and by this name shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges, and subject to all the duties and obligations to which it would have been entitled and subject if the name had not been changed as aforesaid. February 12, 1834,
CLERKS OF TOWN AND CITY, 1803-1876. 239
TOWN CLERKS OF THE TOWN OF FALL RIVER, 1803-1854.
1803, WALTER CHALONER, I year.
1804 to 1813 inclusive,
BENJAMIN BRIGHTMAN, 10 years. "
1814 to 1815
WM. B. CANEDY, 2
1816 from March to Nov. 2, NATHANIEL LUTHER, when at a town meeting was made the following record : "Nathaniel Luther, the Town Clerk, being absent, made choice of Joseph E. Read to act as Town Clerk the remainder of the year (at all town meetings and all other business pertaining to the Town Clerk's duty) in the absence of Mr. Luther."
1816 from Nov. 2 to 1820 inclusive, . JOSEPH E. READ, 5+ years. "
1821 to 1824 inclusive,
1825,
1826 to 1830 inclusive,
BENJAMIN ANTHONY, 5
years.
1831 to 1835
.
STEPHEN K. CRARY, 5
1836 to 1845
BENJAMIN EARL, IO
1846 to 1847
GEORGE S. BAKER, 2
6.
1848 to 1852
SAM'L B. HUSSEY, 5
1853,
JOHN R. HODGES, . I year.
CITY CLERKS, 1854-1876.
1854, ·
JOHN R. HODGES, I year.
1855 to 1863 inclusive,
ALVIN S. BALLARD, 9 years.
1864 to 1876
GEO. A. BALLARD, . 13
1
-
.
JOHN C. BORDEN,
4
NATHANIEL B. BORDEN, I year.
TOWN OFFICERS, 1803-1854.
240
A.D.
Selectmen.
Treasurer.
School Committee.
Representative to General Court.
A.D.
Selectmen.
Treasurer.
School Committee.
Representative to General Court.
1803
Thomas Borden. Benjamin Durfee. Robert Miller.
Abrahamn Bowen.
Voted not to send.
1815
Benj. W. Brown. Sheffel Weaver. Bradford Durfee.
Joseph E. Read.
Joseph E. Read.
1804
Samuel Thurston. Benjamin Durfee. Robert Miller.
Abraham Bowen.
Abraham Bowen.
1816
Sheffel Weaver. Wm. Ashley. Wm. Read.
Joseph E. Read.
Hezekiah Wilson.
1805
Nathan Bowen. Pardon Davol. Elijah Blossom, Jr.
Abraham Bowen.
Jonath'n Brownell.
1817
Sheffel Weaver. Abraham Bowen. Wm. Ashley.
Joseph E. Read.
Hezekiah Wilson.
Joseph E. Read.
1806
Jona. Brownell. Abraham Bowen. Elijah Blossom, Jr.
Abraham Bowen.
Jonath'n Brownell.
1818
Benj. W. Brown. Charles Pitman. James G. Bowen.
Benj. W. Brown. Charles Pitman. James G. Bowen.
Joseph E. Read.
Joseph E. Read.
1807
Jona. Brownell. Elijah Blossom. Stephen Leonard.
Wm. B. Canedy.
Abraham Bowen.
1819
Sheffel Weaver. Benj. W. Brown. Rich'd Borden, 2d.
James G. Bowen.
Voted not to send.
1808
Nathan Bowen. Henry Brightman. David Wilson.
Charles Durfee.
Sheffel Weaver. Wm. B. Canedy. Wm. Read, Jr.
Abraham Bowen.
182I
Robert Miller. Chas. Pitman. Enoch French.
James G. Bowen.
Abraham Bowen.
1809
David Wilson. Wm. Read, Jr. Chas. Durfee.
Charles Durfee.
Robert Miller.
Robert Miller. Charles Pitman. Enoch French.
James G. Bowen.
Robert Miller.
1810
David Wilson. Wm. Read, Jr. Charles Durfee.
Edward Shove.
Robert Miller.
Joseph E. Read. Benj. W. Brown. Edmund Chace.
James G. Bowen.
Wm. B. Canedy.
18II
David Wilson. Wm. Read, Jr. Benj. Bennett, 2d.
Benjamin Brayton.
Robert Miller.
1824
Enoch French. Hezekiah Wilson. William Read.
James Ford.
Wm. B. Canedy.
1812
Hezekiah Wilson. Wm. B. Canedy. Wm. Borden.
Edward Shove.
Edward Shove. Wm. B. Canedy. Edmund French.
Robert Miller.
1825
Enoch French. Hezekiah Wilson. William Read.
James Ford.
Oliver Chace. Bradford Durfee. Robert Chappell.
James Ford.
1813
Wm. B. Canedy. Wm. Borden. Isaac Winslow.
Joseph E. Read.
Robert Miller.
1826
Enoch French. Hezekiah Wilson. William Read.
James Ford.
Jason H. Archer. Wm. B. Canedy. John Lindsey, Jr.
Voted not to send.
1814
Wm. Borden. Benj. W. Brown. Sim. Hathaway.
Joseph E. Read.
Joseph E. Read.
Jos. Hathaway. Jas. Ford.
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