USA > Rhode Island > Biographical history of the manufacturers and business men of Rhode Island, at the opening of the twentieth century > Part 1
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Gc 974.5 H14b 1252586
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01067 5467
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/biographicalhist00hall 0
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
OF THE
MANUFACTURERS
AND
BUSINESS MEN OF
RHODE ISLAND
AT THE OPENING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
JOSEPH D. HALL, Jr., Editor
190I J. D. HALL & CO., Publishers PROVIDENCE, R. I.
Copyright, 1901. By J. D. HALL & CO., Providence, R. I.
1252586
PREFACE.
The men who carry on the manufacturing business to the extent of about one hundred and ty millions of dollars annually, in a State where the population is less than half a million, and hers who are successfully utilizing many more millions in the various avenues of trade in close uch with manufacturing are worthy of a place in the records of events. It is, therefore, the object this book to record their names in convenient form for future reference, so that their achieve- ents may be known and their life work made a blessing to the future generations of Rhode land.
No records of a general character have ever been made of the men who held the important ins of commerce in our State during the past hundred years, and consequently there are few re- able sources of information that give the results of the labors of the busy men who shaped its isiness affairs, rounding out a century of progress that may well be looked upon as marvellous. ew states in any country can record such a rapid advance.
To atone somewhat for errors of the past, and to make ample provision for the future, this blication is issued. A production combining the highest degree of perfection that the engrav- s and printers arts have developed, with a fund of information that may be relied upon as accu- te in every detail, each item being carefully revised by the editor and verified by data furnished each individual manufacturer.
It is intended to give concise biographical records so far as they pertain to their business reer, the kind of manufacturing and the amount of business carried on by each, the capital in- sted, growth, improvement in methods, number of employés, and any other vuluable information at may be offered, together with half-tone portraits and plates of manufacturing plants and their oductions. Portraits and articles inserted in this book are not for the purpose of exalting any erson, but simply to show the faces of a goodly number of our manufacturers doing business the st year of the new century and to give a plain statement of facts relating to their productions. heir own achievements must sing their praises.
. No greater legacy can be handed down to posterity than a record of individual acquirements, plainly written as to enable others to profit thereby, and improve upon if possible. What would e world do to-day without a knowledge of the attainments of men like Franklin, Morse and dison? The majority of men do not reach such high planes, but there is scarcely a man of busi- s, no matter what line he may represent, if he be a thinking man, who has not a few ideas that e worthy of emulation.
THE PUBLISHERS.
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NORTH FROM CITY HALL
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EAST FROM CITY HALL
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BOSTON
STORE
SHEPARD
COMPANY
DEY GOODS, CARPETS
STORES
FURNITURE.
BICYC IS
SOUTH-WEST FROM CITY HALL
INDUSTRIES OF RHODE ISLAND.
The State of Rhode Island, with its population of 438,556, produces annually, in manufactured goods, to the value of upwards of one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, thereby giving it the full right and title to a prominent place among the great manufacturing and commercial centres of the world. This grand total is made up from a great variety of articles, but the most important are cotton, woolen and worsted goods, steam engines, machinery and tools in great variety, sterling silverware and jewelry.
The wheels of many of these industrial plants are kept going part of the time by utilizing the waters of the Blackstone, Pawtuxet, Pawcatuck, Moshassuck, Woonasquatucket and Wood Rivers, but steam and electricity provide the principal motive power that keep in operation the vast amount of machiney of the manufacturing plants of the State, thereby guaranteeing no loss of time on account of dry weather and low streams, such as the old time manufacturers had to con- tend with, because they were compelled to use these water ways for power exclusively.
In several lines of manufactures the State of Rhode Island leads the world, and in many it ranks second to none in the quality and volume of its productions. A large percentage of these goods find a ready market in foreign countries, and the century just opening promises a much wider foreign field for our business men to operate in.
More than one-fourth of the population of the State are employed in manufacturing establish- ments, and a large per cent. of these are classed among the most skilled artisans to be found in any country, many of them having been picked from among the best mechanics of Europe and induced to come to Rhode Island to labor in the various shops where the highest degree of skill is required in bringing out the kind of art productions that are made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company and others.
It is not the object of this book to give a detailed account of the manufacturing and business conditions of the State, gleaned from sources of a more or less unreliable nature, that in many instances may have been the fountain heads of many glaring errors that have been perpetuated by many an honest writer because he accepted them as facts on account of their repeated use, but its object is this : To allow each individual manufacturer and business man to give an account of himself and his business in his own language, and as much as he deems advisable for the enlight- enment of its readers in his particular line, thereby providing an original source of information that should prove more accurate and complete than any individual editor could possibly glean from material ordinarily at hand.
The following pages are devoted wholly to information relative to Rhode Island manufacturers, business men closely allied with manufacturing, and the products of the establishments under their control, in order to show who the men are, now living, that are shaping the commercial destiny of our Commonwealth at the open door of the Twentieth Century.
The cities of Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls combined are the great commercial and manufacturing centre of the State, for they constitute what might properly be said to be one compact municipality under three separate governments. The cities and towns of Woonsocket, Westerly, Bristol, Phenix, Pascoag, Warren, Wakefield, Peace Dale, Hope Valley, and others, are important business centres.
WESTMINSTER STREET, PROVIDENCE.
The Principal Retail Business Thoroughfare of the State of Rhode Island.
7
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Wickford Worsted Mills .- Since the adoption of the Constitution of 1843, when James Fenner was Governor, the State of Rhode Island has had a number of Chief Magistrates whose busi- ness was manufacturing, but during the past decade men of other callings, with one excep- tion, have filled the Governor's chair. It is, therefore, very fitting at the opening of the Twentieth Century, after the close of a hundred years of progress in the line of manufactures that may well be looked upon as marvellous, that a manufacturing Governor has been cho-
sen. One who has risen from the first steps in textile manu- facturing as an em- ployé, to the position of an employer, and proprietor of one of the successful woolen plants of our State, an experience that ena- bles him to fully un- derstand the secret of the success of manu- facturing, because of his acquaintance with the different stages of the business that lead up to the completed article, ready for the avenues of commerce, thereby enabling him to render reasonably correct judgment as to the kind of protection the Rhode Island man- ufacturer should have.
This being essential- ly a manufacturing community, it should strengthen the confidence of the men having in charge the great industries of our State to know that the man at the helm is a manufacturer, fully versed in all of the requirements that are necessary to make the State forge ahead in its chosen field even more rapidly than in the suc- cessful years gone by.
William Gregory was born in Astoria, L. I., August 3, 1849. His father, William Gregory, was a carpet weaver, and moved to Bean Hill, near Norwich, Conn., when William was a small
William Gregory. Governor of Rhode Island.
boy. In 1857 he removed to Moosup and went to work for the Almyville Company, and when the boy was ten years of age he went to work in this mill. It was in this town that young Wil- liam procured his early education, largely from evening schools. About this time the war broke out and the family removed to Westerly, R. I., where he again went into the mill to work ; this time as a designer in the mill recently owned by Warren O. Arnold. At the age of nineteen he was given charge of Whitehead's mill at Au- burn, and a few years later was superintend- ent of another woolen mill in Waterford, Mass., and later super- intendent of the wool- en mill in Bellville, R. I .; was in Ansonia, Conn., two years from 1878; in New York as general manager and agent for the A. T. Stewart Co. Return- ing to Rhode Island, he began the manufac- ture of worsted goods in what was known as the Chapin mill in Wickford, in 1881, and he has since added the Oak Hill mill, of Bell- ville, to his property, both of which had been abandoned for years. There are 1200 spin- dles ; 100 employés.
Mr. Gregory began his political career soon after going into busi- ness. Was town Representative in 1888 and for the three succeeding years; State Senator in 1894 and for the three years following ; delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1896. President and director of the Wickford National Bank; director in the Union Trust Co., trustee in R. I. Safe Deposit Co. of Providence; chair- man State Board of Charities and Corrections; member Franklin Lodge, No. 20, A. F. and A. M. of Westerly, and of the Central and Church- man's Clubs of Providence. Elected Lt. Gov- ernor 1898-99. Elected Governor in April, 1900.
8
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
The Gorham Manufacturing Company .- On the wall of one of the upper rooms of the Gor- ham Company at Broadway and 19th street, New York, in its simple, old fashioned frame, hangs an old engraving dating from the early years of the century. This example of the skill of some long dead provincial engraver, though cherished with care, has little, perhaps, to com- mend it as a work of art. It is a view of what, at that time, was one of the leading hotels of Providence: "The American House, by Richard Smith, cor- ner of North Main and Steeple streets, opposite the First Babtist (sic.) Meet- ing House," as is care- fully set forth in its title. It is a simple, four-square, building, whose style bespeaks the date of its con- struction. It is not, however, the hotel it- self, but the little gambrel-roofed dwell- ing house in its rear, but a stone's throw up Steeple street, which gives to the engraving its interest for the Gorham Com- pany.
Across the gable of this little house runs a sign,"Gorham, Web- ster & Price, Silver Spoons and Jewelry." Here it was that in 1831 Mr. Gorham added to his former business of jeweller the manufacture of silverware - a manufacture which, necessarily conducted on a most limited scale, had as its basis the principles of commer- cial integrity and honest craftsmanship. From this modest beginning the business has steadily grown, until to-day the Gorham Company stands among the foremost of the prominent manufacturing establishments in this country of great enterprises.
Chalice in Sterling Silver. Gorham Mfg. Co.
For many years the business remained on the site upon which it was first established by Mr. Gorham ; additional property being from time to time acquired as the business increased until the entire block was occupied, the hotel itself being eventually absorbed ; but the limit of ex- tension in this locality was at length reached, and, still more room being needed, in 1889 the present enormous factory was erected in a suit- able position on the outskirts of the city.
Here are a few fig- ures showing the continuous and rapid growth of the busi- ness: In the year 1852, some twenty years after its estab- lishment, the total capital of the firm was $12,000 ; ten years later this had grown to $100,000. In 1863, when the present company was incorporated (this in- corporation becoming operative two years later), its capital was fixed at $300,000. In 1872 this was again enlarged to $ 1,200,000 At the present time the company has an authorized capital of $5,000,000, of which $4,200,000 has been issued and is em- ployed in its busi- ness. The increase of business has kept pace with the in- crease of capital. The continuous growth of the concern is also shown by the changes which it has made from time to time in its New York headquarters. Beginning with modest cham- bers in Maiden Lane, in 1859 they found them- selves in their own building in the same head- quarters of the jewelry trade ; in 1871 a move was made to Bond street ; in 1877 they were housed further up town, in Union Square ; while in 1884 a further upward movement was made
71
Plant of the Gorham Manufacturing Company, Providence, January 1, 1901.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
to Broadway and 19th street, where their present headquarters form onc of the architectural fea- tures of New York City. During the greater part of this time however, they have still main- tained a store in Maiden Lanc, and their whole- sale and retail trade there now forms an impor- tant feature of the business. It must, however, be borne in mind that a very large part of the output of the Gorham Company finds its way to the public through the retail jewellers' estab- lishments throughout the United States. For half a century the relations between the com- pany and the leading houses throughout the country have been most cordial.
Perhaps the most marked illustration of the continuous growth of the business is to be found in the increase of the number of employés. At first, of course, Mr. Gorham employed very few hands, but as early as 1852 these had been added to until the number reached 40 ; ten years later this number had doubled, and at the date of the incorporation of the company the em- ployés numbered 300; in 1872 there were 500 men on the pay roll ; and on January 1, 1900, the total number of employés of the company in its different departments reached the extraordi- nary figure of 1,842.
Much of Mr. Gorham's success was due to the friendly relations existing between himself and the men he employed. He would know each one of them personally, and take an interest in him as an individual as well as a workman, while the men would take a pride in their work and do their best to show that the confidence was not ill-bestowed. While it is impossible that the same personal bond which existed in Mr. Gorham's day should unite a body of over 1,800 men with their employers, yet the same princi- ple governs the dealings of the company, and the employés have consistently been made to feel that they are individuals and not mere ma- chines, and that individual effort will be recog- nized and lead to fitting advancement.
The officers of the company are Edward . Holbrook, President and Treasurer ; George H. Robinson, Vice President ; J. F. P. Lawton, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer.
Beginning with the company in 1870, at first in a minor position, Mr. Holbrook has advanced through the different branches of the business until he has now filled every position of impor- tance in its commercial department, and has
devoted much of his timc and attention to the manufacturing and designing departments, so that it may fairly be said that he has a practical acquaintance with every detail of the vast or- ganization he controls. From the very first the welfare of those under him has been one of his first considerations. There are few keener and at the same time more sympathetic critics of the artistic element in the work produced than Mr. Holbrook. It is this fact that has played a large part in advancing the Gorham Company to the position it holds in the artistic world. Nor has he lost sight of more material considerations in his treatment of the workmen. Only recently he has erected near the factory a most pictur- esque and comfortable building which not only serves as a place of recreation for the employés, but which is devoted to supplying to them at actual cost a good and substantial mid-day meal. It includes a large central dining hall and reading room and a basement for over 400 bicycles, as well as a pleasant room for the female employés, and comfortable bed-rooms for the accommodation of those officers of the company who may be visiting the works for a day or two at a time.
Within the past few years, the company has established a school of handicraft which has revived in a large measure the ancient glories of the silversmith's art, producing real hand- wrought subjects which are known as "Martelé" work, Mr. William C. Codman being the prin- cipal designer. The use of the hammer enters so largely into the manufacture of these goods, it shows that it is possible for a great commer- cial establishment to produce real hand-wrought work which shall claim attention solely because of its purely artistic merit. It implies a return to the underlying principals of those days when the silversmith's craft was a living art in design as well as in technical execution.
Mr. George H. Robinson has had his share of work in helping develop the business of the company to its present great proportions, and Mr. J. F. P. Lawton, who is so well known in Rhode Island, has held an honorable position for a number of years. He first entered the employ of the company in August, 1859, as bookkeeper, and January 1, 1865, upon its incor- poration, he was elected Secretary of the company, which office he has held continuously to the present time.
II
AND BUSINESS MEN OF RHODE ISLAND.
Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company .- The business of this company was begun in 1833 by David Brown and his son, Joseph R. Brown. David Brown retired in 1841, and the business was conducted by his son Joseph until 1853, when Lucian Sharpe became his partner, and the firm of J. R. Brown & Sharpe was formed. The firm was incorporated in 1868 un- der the name of Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co.
In 1853, twenty years after the founding of the business, although the concern had earned the repu- tation for producing the best and most ac- curate work, their total floor space was only 1,800 square feet ; in 1857 their total force consisted of twenty men. A large part of their time was then de- voted to watch re- pairing and the mak- ing of small tools for jewelers' use
From 1859 their growth as a manu- facturing concern was rapid, and the old buildings on South Main street became crowded. In 1872 there were more than 300 men employed, and they decided to move to the present location.
The Latest Improved Milling Machine. Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co.
The plant has continued to grow until the present buildings, which are said to be among the best in America for their line of business, have a floor space of about eight and one- half acres and more than 2,000 men are employed. The buildings are modern in every particular, and methodically arranged. The heating, lighting and sanitary arrangements are of the best; the workshops are constantly kept in such a condition of cleanliness and order,
and the men are provided with such conven- iences as to encourage the best work.
There is a mutual relief association for the benefit of the employés, and a large library of technical and reference books, together with other works by the best authors, is provided for them.
The invention and development of the ma- chines and tools made by this company was stimulated to a large degree by the manu- facture of the Willcox and Gibbs sewing ma- chine, commenced in 1859. To this industry, which still occupies part of their works, they owe the milling and grinding machines, WN & SHARPE MFC.CO. PROVIDENCE. K.I. U. S.A. and the cutters that can be ground without Nº2 changing their outline, as well as a number of their gauges and other tools for accurate meas- urements, that have established their repu- tation and greatly mod- ified and improved machine- 1 shop prac- tice through- out the world. They intend that the mach- ines and tools of their manufac- ture shall be the best in their respective classes. Cylindrical bearings are accurately ground, plain bearings are scraped to surface plates, and alignments are correct.
The methods that they employ in manufac- turing contribute largely to the accuracy and convenience of their machines and tools. These methods include the use of specific machines, fixtures, limit gauges, and the manufacture of a great many parts at one time, together with a thorough system of inspection. There are in their shops a number of machines and tools
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Plant of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, Providence, January 1, 1901.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
not found in many establishments, and yet that are necessary to determine the accuracy of work. Accurate work cannot be done advan- tageously, perhaps in many instances it is even impossible, without them.
Their measuring machine is one of these ap- pliances, used to determine the accuracy of standard gauges aud other articles that must be finished to exact size. With these machines readings to .0001", or with ordinary care varia- tions not exceeding .00005" can be made.
In this same class are the linear standards that were prepared by them for their own use. After these were completed they were compared with the government standards and the mean error found to be only .00002". The standards have been divided with the greatest care and accuracy, and, for example, their rules and scales are as nearly exact copies as expert mechanical skill, aided by special machines, can make them.
Of more general use in the shops are the long straight edges, the master surface plates, the limit gauges, and the very interesting test tools for sewing machine and similar work.
All machinery and tools are subject to rigid inspection, and, when deemed necessary, to actual operation before being packed. The fit- ness of the machines for the purposes intended is best shown by the class of shops that use them in all parts of the world. They are readily understood, easily operated, and made with such precision that they are not liable to get out of order, an advantage that machinists appreciate.
A comparison of the original universal milling machine, built in 1862, with the modern machine shows that, while there have been great im. provements in construction, all of the funda- mental principles were embodied in this machine which was patented by J. R. Brown, February 21, 1865. The cylindrical grinding machines, now so important a factor in modern shop practice, were originated at these works, the first success- ful machine being designed by J. R. Brown, and patented February 27, 1877. The well known form of milling cutter, that can be ground without changing the outline, was patent- ed November 29, 1864. They first began the man- ufacture of scales and rules in 1850, and in 1852 Samuel Darling began a similar line of work, which resulted in the copartnership of Darling, Brown & Sharpe in 1866.
The officers at present are Lucian Sharpe, Treasurer ; Henry D. Sharpe, Secretary.
Taft Machine Co .- Manufacturers of combi- nation overseaming and straight stitch carpet sewing machines, for hand or electric power. Business established by J. C. Taft in 1876. Incorporated under the present name in 1900. Officers, Jerome C. Taft, President ; Henry G. Thresher, Treasurer ; Herbert M. Fillebrown; Secretary. Machines sold extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Jerome C. Taft was born in Canterbury, Conn., Sept. 19, 1847. Learned the trade of a machinist. Opened a machine shop in Providence in 1872: after a few years invented the carpet sewing machine that is said to be the best machine of its kind, and began their manufacture under the patents that he had secured. Works now located at 40 Friendship Street, Providence.
A. A. Presbrey & Son Co .- Manufacturers of kegs and packing boxes of all descriptions, also contractors and builders and dealers in hemlock, spruce and pine lumber, shingles, clapboards, etc., planing, moulding and sawing done for con- tractors. The business was originally establish- ed by A. A. Presbrey, and the first name of the concern was Presbrey & Myrick, that name be- ing used for a number of years. Allen A. Pres- brey, President and Treasurer of the company, was born in Taunton, Mass., in 1845. Began the manufacture of wooden boxes as early as 1858 in the city of Providence. Mr. Presbrey was a member of the Providence City Council in 1897 and 1898; member of the Central Club of Providence, Treasurer of the Church of the Mediator. Walter A. Presbrey, Secretary of of the A. A. Presbrey & Son Co., corner Sum- mer and Meadow Streets, Providence, was born in Providence, R. I., 1867. Learned civil engineering and was in the employ of the City Engineer at the City Hall for a number of years prior to his becoming a co-partner in the A. A. Presbrey & Son Co. Elected Councilman this year, 1901, from the Seventh ward of the city of Providence.
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