USA > Rhode Island > Biographical history of the manufacturers and business men of Rhode Island, at the opening of the twentieth century > Part 2
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J. Crocker & Son .- Manufacturers of silver plated casket trimmings, wire and sheet metal goods. Works at 409 Pine street, Providence. Established in 1875 by Josiah Crocker, father of Eugene B. Crocker, the present proprietor. Employ 12 hands.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
History of the J. B. & S. M. Knowles Co .- The foundation of a successful and permanent business is craft-skill. In 1852 Henry L. Web-
Joseph B. Knowles.
ster, a practical silversmith, and Joseph B. Knowles, a practical jeweler, united their skill and forces and founded the firm of H. L. Web- ster & Company, the ancestor of the subject of this sketch.
They started in business on Meeting Street, in the rear of what is now known as the Lons- dale Block. They manufactured spoons by hand, forging them from the stock as the custom then was. The quality of their work was the prevailing one of coin, as the English standard of Sterling was not introduced into this country until 1853 and did not come into universal use among manufacturers for several years. The firm adopted the new standard in common with other manufacturers, and since then their trade mark has stood for Sterling Silver only.
The practical ability of the two men asserted itself in two ways. First, in having first-class workmen, and second, in establishing an appren- tice system. The reputation of the house has always rested on their flatware production and is, to-day, second to none in this country. In 1854 the factory was moved to the Tingley Build- ing on South Main Street; in 1858 to Eddy and
Middle Streets and the firm name was changed to Knowles & Ladd; in 1868 they moved to 95 Pine Street and the name, through changes, be- came J. B. & S. M. Knowles. In 1891 on the the death of J. B. Knowles, the firm was incor- porated as the J. B. & S. M. Knowles Company, and in 1894 moved to their present location in the Talcot Building, 91 Sabin Street, where with increased office and factory facilities they are better able to take care of the growing business. The line of patterns manufactured by the firm are complete in every way and departures have been made in hollow ware, where the same care is exercised in design and finish as in their flat- ware. Their travellers now cover the entire country and enjoy the confidence of the best trade. This confidence has been created not by what they have said of themselves, but by the unblemished record of honorable dealing for forty-nine years.
The cardinal principle of the firm has been from the beginning that the best class of goods can be made by first-class men only, and grow- ing out of this axiom, that first-class goods speak
Henry L. Webster.
for themselves to satisfied customers and make a permanent business. William C. Burwell is the Treasurer and Manager.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Providence Machine Company .- The Provi- dence Machine Company developed from the machine shop connected with the steam mill
Thomas J. Hill.
that was owned and operated in Providence by Samuel Slater. In 1830 Thomas J. Hill be- came foreman of this machine shop, and in 1834 he bought an interest in the business, the pre- sent name of the company being adopted at that time. Upon Mr. Slater's death in 1835, his in- terest was sold to others, but Mr. Hill contin- ued at the head of the concern, and in 1846, after the busines had been very much increased and new buildings erected, he became the sole owner. Mr. Hill continued the manufacture of all kinds of cotton machinery and many kinds of machines for the woolen manufacture, which were considered superior to the same class of English made machines. This was the first American concern to manufacture roving ma- chines, and they still are the leaders in this par- ticular machine, on account of the recently patented roving frame which is a great improve- ment over the old machine, an account of which is given further along in this article.
In 1874 the business was incorporated under
the original name by which it had previously received a charter from the State, and organized with Thomas J. Hill as President and Treasurer, Albert Hill, his son, as Secretary, and George Hazard as Agent and Manager. Throughout his entire business life, while he was the pro- moter of and interested in many enterprises, Mr. Hill made the business of the Providence Ma- chine Co. the special object of his attention. Mr. Hill was born in Pawtucket, R. I., March 4, 1805 ; died in Providence, July 24, 1894.
William C. Peirce, now the President and Treasurer of the Providence Machine Co., a grandson of Thomas J. Hill, who was the found- er of the company, was born in New Bedford, Mass., November 21, 1863. Received his early education in the public schools of his native town, and completed a business course in War- ner's Business College, of Providence. After leaving school he entered Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co., of Providence, to learn the trade of a ma- chinist, and served three years. He then en- tered the works of the company that he is now at the head of, as a journeyman, and grew up with the business, working in nearly all of the de-
William C. Peirce.
partments. Entering as a workman in 1884, in 1885 he was admitted to the firm and became Superintendent, and in 1894 he was elected the
AND BUSINESS MEN OF RHODE ISLAND.
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Agent of the company. After Mr. Hill's death in 1894, Mr. Peirce was elected President and Treasurer of the company, in which capacity he now serves. He is President of the Elizabeth Mills, director in Equitable Fire and Marine In- surance Co., and in the City Savings Bank ; member Providence Board of Trade and of the New England Cotton Manufacturers' Associa- tion. While the business of the company has continued to thrive under Mr. Peirce's manage- ment, the most important service he has ren-
completed in 1896. Since then they have proven their great superiority over the old style roving frame, and the demand for them is be- coming quite general. The entire plant of the company is now devoted to the manufacture of roving machines. The principal features of the new machine are saving in weight and power, and superior work, the roving being laid more evenly owing to the fact that the rail, being properly balanced throughout the entire set, there is no unnecessary dwell at the changes of
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SEHROS HINLAND K KNG. CAP PROV.
Plant of the Providence Machine Company, Eddy Street.
dered the concern he represents and the manu- facturers of cotton goods at large, lies in the patented roving machine with self-balanced rail, that he has recently brought out, the patent be- ing granted in 1899. This new roving frame may well be ranked among the best and most successful inventions and improvements in cot- ton working machinery that have been brought out during the nineteenth century. Many at- tempts had been made to invent a similar ma- chine, but without success.
The first of these new roving machines was
the traverse motion. This new roving machine can be built to carry spindles to the extreme limit of the ability of the operator. The ma- chines now being built are 47 feet 9 inches in length, carrying 192 7''x332" bobbins, four times the capacity of the old style roving frame, but requiring only double the power, thereby saving about fifty per cent. in power.
The Secretary of the company is Thomas P. Davis, who first served as agent and later as book-keeper until he was appointed to the pres- ent office.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Providence Belting Co. - Manufacturers of pure oak-tanned leather belting and folded twist round belting. Works located on Charles street, Providence. The largest belt manufac- turing plant in the State. The new factory, as shown by the cut upon this page, was completed in 1901. John B. Walsh, Manager.
Maxson & Co .- Manufacturers of doors, sash, blinds, tanks, dye tubs, and all kinds of builders' materials. Also dealers in all kinds of lumber. Planing mill on the Connecticut side of the Paw-
Pocasset Worsted Co. - Manufacturers of worsted yarns for weaving and knitting pur- poses. Business established in 1897 by Charles Fletcher, who also established several other worsted mills throughout the State, including the National and Providence Worsted Mills. Factory located in the village of Thornton, town of Johnston, R. I. Officers: Charles Fletcher, President ; Frederick C. Fletcher, Treasurer ; William O. Todd, Secretary. The mill property is modern in every respect, and is
Plant of the Providence Belting Co., Charles Street, Providence.
catuck River, in Westerly, R. I. The business was established in 1843 by Messrs. Charles and Jonathan Maxson, under the firm name of C. Maxson & Co., and were succeeded by the pres- ent firm in 1881, Jonathan Maxson and J. Irving Maxson constituting the new company.
Zare White-Manufacturer of rhinestone goods in the line of brooches, etc., and rolled gold rings. Business established in August, 1901. Works located at 25 Calender street, Provi- dence. Zare White is a native of Ismid, Turkey, where he was born in January, 1880.
equipped with the best class of machinery that is made for the manufacture of yarn.
William S. Spofford & Son .- Manufacturers of worsted mill supplies, including spinning tubes, steel caps and spindles. Business established in 1881. Works located 5 to II Culver street, Providence. Employ 15 hands. Both members of the firm are dead. Unsettled estate.
Novelty Pearl Co. - Manufacturers of pearl buttons and novelties. Business established in 1890. Employ 100 hands. Works located at 56 Dudley street, Providence. John P. Carl Weis, a native of Dorchester, Mass., is proprietor.
R.I. PHOTO-ENG. CO. PROV.
Pocasset Worsted Co. Plant, Thornton, R. I.
POCASSET MILLS
THORNTON. R.I.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Nicholson File Company .- The Nicholson File Company of Providence was established by William T. Nicholson in 1864, during the Civil War-a time unfavorable for the inception of new enterprises. All previous attempts to es- tablish a machine-cutting file plant had failed, so that the belief had become almost universal among manufacturers and users of files that the hand-made file would hold the field indefinitely. In face of this condition of affairs Mr. Nichol- son, by his own genius and perseverance, suc- cessfully developed the industry. The Nichol- son File Company was incorporated in 1864, and for a considerable period its progress was slow, but the merits of Mr. Nichol- son's invention and the consequent excel- lence of the com- pany's product at length brought suc- cess. Its plant was enlarged by the addi- tion of new buildings; a factory for the mak- ing of "X. F.," or jewelers' and fine tool workers' files, was built; and at his death, in 1893, the Nicholson File Com- pany was the largest file-making concern in the world.
Samuel M. Nicholson.
In 1890 the Nichol- son File Company began the policy of acquiring other plants, with a view to strengthen its position in the industry and to lessen com- petition. The American Works at Pawtucket and the Great Western Works at Beaver Falls, Pa., were acquired some years ago, and the Eagle Works at Middletown, N. Y., the McClel- lan Works at Saginaw, Mich., and some smaller properties were taken over. Early in the pres- ent year the company acquired by purchase two of the largest competing independent com- panies in the country, viz .: The Kearney & Foot Co., with large factories at Paterson, N. J., and Kent, Ohio; and The Arcade File Co., at Anderson, Ind. Recently the file and rasp
business of the J. Barton Smith Company of Philadelphia, Pa., was purchased. The com- pany at present operates six distinct factories, two of which are located in Rhode Island, and one each in the States of New Jersey, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio, where are manufac- tured eight distinct factory brands. The pres- ent capacity of this company's output amounts to over ten thousand dozen files and rasps daily, and finds employment for nearly twenty-five hundred hands, making it the dominant com- pany in the file and rasp trade of the world, and giving it the control of about 80 per cent. of the file product of this country.
As the Nicholson File Company is the originator of machine- made files in America, so is it the pioneer in their exportation. Owing to their su- perior quality, the brands of the com- pany are meeting with the highest fa- vor abroad, especially in those markets for- merly controlled by English and German files, where they are regularly specified in large quantities by many of the leading houses in preference to the best foreign makes. The reputa- tion of the concern, the quality of its product, and its close identifi- cation with the chief organizations and move- ments for the extension of America's foreign trade, make its name a factor and influence in the commerce of the world.
Samuel M. Nicholson, President and General Manager of the Nicholson File Company, was born in Providence, February 25, 1861, son of William T. Nicholson, the founder of the busi- ness. In 1879, at the age of eighteen, he entered the employment of the Nicholson File Company, devoting the first year and a half to the mechanical department, and learning the different processes of the manufacture of files
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AND BUSINESS MEN OF RHODE ISLAND.
and rasps. He then entered the main office as clerk, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the book-keeping departments, and in 1881 was elected Secretary of the company. He subse- quently made numerous trips throughout the United States and British provinces in the in- terests of the company, widely extending his commercial acquaintance. In 1890 he was elected a director of the company, and in 1891 he was made Vice-President. In November, 1893, upon the death of his father, he succeeded to the position of President and General Mana- ger, which position he now holds. Mr. Nichol-
PROVIDENCE.
The early history of manufacturing in the city of Providence does not record the utilizing of the water privileges here until about a century after other towns in the State had made use of the rivers that afforded ample water power. Dams had been built in Woonsocket, across the Blackstone river and other streams as early as 1666, and in Pawtucket, Westerly, Pascoag, and in other places they had built dams and erected grist and saw mills at about the same time. The first record that we find of similar enter-
TUICHOLSON PLA
No 1.
Provintuč? R.l.
ELE XY
Manufacturing Plants of the Nicholson File Co.
son is also a director in the Union Trust Com- pany ; the Providence Banking Company ; the Weybosset National Bank ; The State, Enter- prise and American Mutual Insurance Company; The Providence, Fall River & Newport Steam- boat Company. A member of the Hope, Squantum and Agawam Clubs. He served as Colonel and Aide-de-Camp on Governor Elisha Dyer's personal staff for three years.
Goldsmith & Harzberg. - Manufacturers of electro-plated novelties and a general line of jewelry. Business established in 1900. Works located at 43 Sabin street, Providence. The members of the firm are Joseph Goldsmith, Jr., and Meyer Harzberg.
prises in Providence was in 1750, when Col. William Brown and others built a dam across the Moshassuck river and erected a grist mill and saw mill on the Charles street side, and at the other end of the dam on Bark street a paper mill was built and operated by Samuel Thurber & Sons about the year 1780, and the business was continued successfully until 1812, manufac- turing various kinds of paper. At about the same time there were two more paper mills being operated in Olneyville, probably located on the Woonasquatucket river, from which they received their power for operating the plant. The most considerable water privilege within what is now the city of Providence, is that which
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
is now being utilized by the Joslin Manufacturing Co. at Merino, which are known as the Merino Mills, and this privilege has been used for tex- tile manufacturing for many years. The grist mill at the North End was carried on for over sixty years. After the paper mill on Bark street gave up business, a machine shop was estab- lished here so as to make use of the waters of the Moshassuck, which was continued for many years under the management and ownership of Samuel Ogden, manufacturing cotton machinery. This was built in 1812, soon after the paper mill was abandoned. The principal iron foundry of this period was located where the Franklin Foundry and Machine Co.'s plant is now situated, under the management of David Wilkinson, and the waters of the Moshassuck river were used to operate the blowers for the blast furnaces. This indicates that there must have been a second dam above the grist mill dam on the same stream. From the building of the first dam across the Moshassuck river in 1750, the town of Providence began to develop manufac- tures quite rapidly, although there is no evi- dence that the water privileges were made use of very extensively, the new industries intro- duced being of a kind that required hand labor in most cases. Along about 1790 the manufac- tured products represented a great variety, many of which are not manufactured here at the present time. They included beaver and felt hats, this industry beginning as early as 1730 ; saddles and harness, boots and shoes, tan- neries, woolen cloth woven on hand looms, nails, gin, shovels, scythes, axes and drawing knives, clocks, chocolate, soap, candles, carriages, gloves, and other articles, which made Rhode Island quite a formidable rival to the State of Connecticut in the variety of its manufactures. The great jewelry manufacturing and silver- smiths' business of the city was begun by Seril Dodge in 1788, who manufactured silver shoe buckles, two doors north of the Baptist Meeting House on North Main street, and Saunder Pit- man soon after manufactured a similar line of goods on North Main street. This street was the Westminster street of the town for that period and for many years afterwards so far as business was concerned. It was by far the greatest business thoroughfare of the place. Ezekiel and William Burr carried on the busi- ness of silversmiths in 1792, near the Baptist
Meeting House, on the same street, and Nehemiah Dodge in the same year was manu- facturing gold rings, fancy jewelry and silver- ware. From that time on to the present the jewelry manufacturing business developed a steady growth until now there are upwards of two hundred concerns within the city limits, making every kind of jewelry in gold, silver and brass that can possibly be conceived of, in pat- terns and styles of every description, from the cheapest prize package productions to the most expensive diamond jewelry. This, to-day, is one of the greatest manufacturing industries of the city, together with silver manufacturing. The other great industries are textile and machinery. These three form a giant trio in the line of manufactures that has placed the city of Provi- dence well to the front of the manufacturing cities of the world, and which have become so much of a fixture here, built upon such solid foundations, there is no possibility of the city ever losing these industries, at least while com- mercial conditions remain as favorable as they have been during the past century.
After Samuel Slater perfected his spinning frame there were a few men in the city who made use of his invention. In 1820 there were five cotton mills and two woolen mills within the city limits, together with two bleaching estab- lishments and three dye houses. The Provi- dence Woolen Mill was the most complete and extensive plant of all, which was built in 1813, producing fine broadcloths, the power for the mill being supplied by steam. In 1820 there were numerous manufacturing concerns in the textile line whose business headquarters were located in the city of Providence, but whose factories were located in different towns through- out the State, much as they are at the present time. A century ago the manufacturing in- dustries were mostly small as compared with those of the present time, although they were considered quite extensive for those days. A dozen ordinary cotton factories, such as were in operation in the State sixty years ago, could all be swallowed up in the Royal Mill of River Point, or the Manville Co.'s Mill of Manville. In other lines of manufactures the growth has been equally large. The Gorham Mfg. Co., for instance, employed forty hands in 1852; at present they employ over one thousand eight hundred. The Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co. em- ployed twenty men in 1857; to-day they employ more than two thousand. And so the business increased in volume more or less in every man- ufacturing plant within the city limits, until at present several hundred plants can be numbered where large forces of workmen are employed, where fifty years ago only a handful of men were required to operate each establishment.
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AND BUSINESS MEN OF RHODE ISLAND.
Bourn Rubber Co .- Manufacturers of rubber boots and shoes. Business established in 1840 by Bourn & Winslow. Incorporated in 1901. Capitalized for $100,000. Employ 250 hands. Works located at 49 to 63 Westfield street, Providence. Officers : Augustus O. Bourn, President and Treasurer ; Harold H. Bedell, Secretary. Augustus O. Bourn was born in Providence, October 1, 1834. He received his early education in the public schools of Provi- dence, and in September, 1851, he entered Brown University, graduating in 1855. Upon leaving college, he began manufacturing rubber goods with his father, and upon his death in 1859, took his father's place in the firm. After continuing in this busi- ness until 1864, he then founded the National Rubber Co. of Bristol, R. I., (now the Na- tional India Rubber Co.) and was its Treas- urer from 1865 to 1887. This establishment be- came the principal in- dustry of the town, and it still enjoys that dis- tinction. The Provi- dence concern was merged in the new company at Bristol in 1867, and was reestab- lished in its present location in 1894. Mr. Bourn represented the town of Bristol in the State Senate in 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880 and 1881. In 1883 he was elected Governor of the State, and reelected in 1884. His administra- tion was one of the most progressive that the State of Rhode Island has ever experienced. He was Consul-General at Rome, Italy, from 1889 to 1893. The town of Bristol is indebted to Mr. Bourn for much of the success that it has enjoyed during the past three decades. The plant on Westfield street is equipped with all of the modern rubber-working machinery, and the finest grade of rubber boots and shoes are made here and a great variety of patterns are turned out.
Augustus O. Bourn, Ex-Governor of Rhode Island.
The changes in the company management are as follows : Bourn & Winslow, 1840 to 1842 ; George O. Bourn, 1842 to 1847; Bourn & Brown, 1847 to 1851 ; Bourn, Brown & Chaffee, 1851 to 1861 ; Providence Rubber Co., incor- porated 1861 ; reorganized in 1894, as the Bourn Rubber Co., and incorporated under that name in 1901.
Oriental Mills, (J. P. Campbell & Co.)-The Oriental Mills, at the north end of Providence, have been over thirty years in existence, and is one of the oldest establishments in the city en- gaged in the manufacture of cotton cloth. Mr. J. P. Campbell acquired proprietorship of the property in 1894, as successor to Mr. Alfred Reed, the mill having been built by Mr. Reed's father. When Mr. Campbell pur- chased it, he at once set to work at over- hauling and entirely refitted the premises with the latest type of machinery and appli- ances. He started up in the manufacture of white cotton goods, splendidly equipped to lead competition, hav- ing introduced im- proved methods of pro- duction, with reduced cost of labor, thus benefitting the con- sumer in every respect. The buildings of the Oriental Mills are substan- tial structures, conveniently located, and their equipment includes 20,000 spindles, 500 looms, sixty-five carding machines, three pickers, etc. A force of 250 hands find employment here, pro- ducing an average of 1,500 pieces of white goods a week, sixty yards to a piece. The firm sell all of their own goods direct to converters and dealers. The company also operate the Campbell Mills, engaged in the manufacture of fancy woolens at Potter Hill, Westerly, R. I., and the Belleville Manufacturing Co., manufacturers of fancy cassimeres at Wick- ford, R. I.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
American Ship Windlass Co .- Manufacturers of all kinds of ship windlasses, capstans and winches, steam, electric and hand; the noted Shaw and Spiegel Patent Automatic Steam Towing Machine, which is the only automatic towing machine in existence; Automatic Steam Riding Windlasses for light-ships, working on the same principle as the towing machine ; Winter's Patent Wharf Drop Gearing ; Babbitt Patent Stockless Anchors with Sproat's patent improvement ; Barring engines, rubber hawse pipe stopper balls, rudder supporters, chain stoppers, clamps for hawsers, chain indicators, and other marine ap- pliances. Works located at the corner of Waterman and East River streets, Provi- dence. The business of this company was established in 1857, and from the begin- ning their products have been in great de- mand throughout this and other countries. As the demand for their manufactures grew still greater, they have from time to time enlarged their plant to meet the increasing business, but the real boom that the company experienced did not come until after 1875, when Frank S. Man- ton, the present man- ager, took control of the business. Mr. Man- ton, who served three years in civil engineering before connecting himself with this business in 1875, had become thoroughly familiar with the products of the company, as well as the broad field that these products were adapted to sup- ply, and on taking the management he at once set to work to convince the ship builders of America that the windlasses and capstans and other marine appliances made by the American Ship windlass Co. were superior to those made in this or any other country. As evidence of his success it is sufficient to say that the United States Government has supplied many of the
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