USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > Governors for three hundred years, 1638-1959; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations > Part 21
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On the 20th of March. 1873, he was appointed Honorary Commissioner to the Vienna Exposition by President Grant, and while there rendered very important service to the Commission by reason of his large and varied experience, and excellent taste and judg- ment. His patriotic zeal led him to over-exert himself at the Exposition, so much to the injury of his health, that since then he was obliged to retire altogether from public life and from business.
He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, being, with his family, connect- ed with Grace Church, Providence. On the 8th of June. 1852, he was a delegate to the Diocesan Convention. Notwithstanding his active business and public career. Governor Dyer was an invalid for thirty years, and very much of his work had been done under the burden of infirmity and suffering. Eighteen times he has crossed the Atlantic in search of health, and in 1854 visited Egypt. He has been in all the places of note, on the usual routes of European travel, and though travelling for health, always had his eyes open, and notebook in hand, to glean whatever of value or interest he could preserve for others.
He was an effective speaker, and made a large number of public addresses on politi- al, educational, musical, and miscellaneous subjects. In the Rhode Island Schoolmaster, of November. 1861, he published a charming sketch of his school-day experiences at "Black Hill." and in 1864, published a book entitled A Summer's Travel to find a Ger- man Home. Governor Dyer was a man who might have succeeded in almost any chosen line of work that he had selected.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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HON. ELISHA DYER 1857-1859 By James S. Lincoln State House
2
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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THOMAS GOODWIN TURNER
Governor: 1859-1860.
War Service: Captain, Lt. Colonel, Colonel, R. I. Militia.
Born: October 24, 1810 in Warren, R. I.
Died: January 3, 1875 in Warren, R. I.
Buried: Warren, R. I. South Cemetery.
TURNER, GOVERNOR THOMAS GOODWIN, son of Captain William and Abiah (Goodwin) Turner, was born in Warren, Rhode Island, October 24, 1810. His father commanded the packet "Hannah and Nancy," plying between Warren and Newport, and was assisted by his sons, William, Jr., and Thomas G., while they were yet lads. Thom- as G. left the vessel at the age of fourteen and became a clerk in the drygoods store of Mr. Cahoon, in Newport. He adopted the best of business habits, and by application to books acquired a good education. Returning to Warren, he entered into partnership with Mar- tin L. Salisbury, the firm-name being Turner & Salisbury, in the drygoods and merchant tailoring business, with which was soon afterward connected the manufacture of neck- stocks. In the latter business this became one of the chief firms in the country. Disposing of this business, he accepted the Presidency of the Equitable Fire and Marine Insurance Company, of Providence, which position he filled till his death.
During the "Dorr war" he accepted a colonel's commission in the State militia, and was in command at Acote's Hill. He also belonged to the First Light Infantry Company of Providence. He was an active member of the Rhode Island Historical Society. He was a Director in the Warren Manufacturing Company; in the First National Bank, of Warren; in the Mechanics, Machine Company; in the City National Bank, and City Savings Bank of Providence; and in the Providence, Warren, and Bristol Railroad Com- pany. For several years he ably represented Warren in the General Assembly of the State, both in the House and the Senate. Twice he was chosen Presidential Elector. He was Lieutenant-Governor of the State from 1857 to 1859.
During the great religious revival in the winter of 1857-8 he became a prominent Christian, and ever afterwards was active in church and missionary work. His member- ship was in the Warren Baptist Church. He became a member of the Board of the Amer- ican Baptist Missionary Union, and was a trustee of Brown University.
His abilities and character graced every position to which he was called, and the people delighted to do him honor. In the years 1859 and 1860 he was elected Governor of the State. During the Rebellion he stocd bravely by the imperilled nation. President Lincoln chose him as the first Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District of Rhode Island. His many honors were wom with great quietness and grace, and all his duties were performed with conscientious fidelity and thoroughness. His urbanity, kind- ness, and integrity were proverbial.
He married, April 4, 1833, Mary Pierce Luther, daughter of Jonathan and Rosa- mond Luther, of Warren, a woman of marked abilities and excellences. He had seven children, four of whom died in very early life. His son, Daniel Luther, a merchant in Warren, married, October 15, 1858, Elizabeth S., daughter of Hon. Nathan M. Wheaton.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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HON. THOMAS G. TURNER 1859-1860 By James S. Lincoln State House
South Cemetery Warren, R. I.
and had one son. His daughter, Sarah Cole, married, January 22, 1858, Commander Trevett Abbot. U. S. N., and had two daughters. His son William died at Holyoke, Mass- achusetts, May 27. 1876. aged twenty-six years, a man highly respected for his good deeds and pure character.
Governor Turner died at his residence in Warren, January 3, 1875, in his sixty- fourth year, and was buried with the highest marks of esteem and honor. Touching ad- dresses were made by Rev. S. K. Dexter and Rev. E. G. Robinson, D. D., President of Brown University.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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WILLIAM SPRAGUE, 2ND
Governor: 1860 to March 3, 1863.
War Service: (Commissioned) Brigadier General, Vols. Civil War.
Born: September 12. 1830 in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Died: September 11, 1915 in Paris, France.
Buried: Providence, Rhode Island. Swan Point Cemetery. Group 2731/2 Avenue B.
SPRAGUE, HON. WILLIAM, GOVERNOR of Rhode Island from 1860 to March, 1863, son of Amasa and Fanny (Morgan) Sprague, was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, Sep- tember 12, 1830. He was educated in the schools of his native town, and in East Green- wich, Scituate, and Irving Institute, at Tarrytown, New York. At the age of fifteen he was employed in the factory store at Cranston, connected with the extensive cotton man- ufacturing and calico printing business of his father and his uncle, Governor William Sprague. who constituted the firm of A. & W. Sprague. At sixteen he entered the count- ing-house of the firm in Providence as an assistant, and two years thereafter was promoted to the position of bookkeeper. In 1856 he became a member of the firm as the large es- tate left to him and his brother Amasa on the death of his father, in 1843, was largely in the firm property.
When his uncle, Governor William Sprague, died, in 1856, he rose to occupy the leading place in the business transactions of the company. The business plans of the firm were then much enlarged and extended in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and soon afterwards Messrs. A. &. W. Sprague became the largest calico-printing company in the world. running nine mammoth mills capable of weaving eight hundred thousand yards of cloth and printing one million four hundred thousand yards of calico per week. They enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity until 1873, when their interests being seriously affected by the general monetary reaction of that year, their immense estate and business passed into the hands of a trustee.
The subject of this sketch early evinced a decided taste for military affairs. In 1848 he joined the Marine Artillery Company of Providence as a private, and by gradual pro- motion attained the rank of colonel. meanwhile by his zeal and material aid greatly en- larging and improving the command, placing it on a footing for efficiency equal to any similar company in our country. In 1859 he made the tour of Europe, and studied spe- cially the military establishments of the continent.
In 1860 he was elected Governor of Rhode Island, and re-elected in 1861. Antici- pating the outbreak of the Rebellion, he had the military forces of the State-infantry and artillery-in readiness for the defense of the Union. When the hour of action came he stood in the van and led his regiments and batteries to the front, and gained deserved- ly the reputation of being "the war Governor." In the first battle of Bull Run, July 21. 1861, he was with his gallant troops in the thickest of the fight. and had his horse shot under him. For his zeal, promptness, bravery, and untiring exertions at home and in Washington, and on the front with the army, he was commissioned Brigadier General, but in order to retain his gubernatorial position, was not mustered into the service. No governor exceeded him in his devotion to the country. and Rhode Island won a high name for the number. character, ability. courage, and efficiency of her regiments and bat-
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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CIVIL WAR GOVERNOR
HON. WILLIAM SPRAGUE
"Sprague Tomb" Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
teries. What he so nobly began his successor, Governor James Y. Smith, as nobly car- ried out to the end of the war.
During the conflict Rhode Island gave to the Union for service ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two infantry, four thousand three hundred and ninety-four cavalry, two thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine light artillery, five thousand six hundred and forty-four heavy artillery, six hundred and forty-five navy, total, twenty-four thousand four hundred and ninety-four; and expended six million five hundred thousand seven hundred and seventy-two dollars and fifteen cents.
The popularity of Governor Sprague led to his election to the United States Senate. where he served from 1863 to 1875, a portion of the time being a member of the Military Committee.
He married, November 12, 1863, Catharine Chase, daughter of Hon. Salmon P. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and had four child- ren, William, Ethel, Catharine, and Portia. In 1861 Governor Sprague received from Brown University the honorary degree of Master of Arts, and in 1866 was elected one of the trustees of that institution.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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WILLIAM COLE COZZENS
Governor: March 3, 1863 to May 1863. Born: August 26, 1811 in Newport, R. I. Died: December 17, 1876 in Newport, Rhode Island. Buried: Newport. Rhode Island. Island Cemetery.
COZZENS, GOVERNOR WILLIAM C., was born in Newport, August 26, 1811. He obtained his education chiefly in the celebrated school of Levi Tower. Having decided to devote himself to mercantile pursuits, he became a clerk in the drygoods store of Hon. Edward W. Lawton, Lieutenant-Governor of the State 1847-1849. He devoted his life to the dry-goods business, and was at the head of the house which built up a large and successful trade in the city of Newport.
His fellow-citizens, appreciating the sterling qualities of his character, called him to fill important posts of honor and trust. He was elected, under the revised charter of the city, the second Mayor, having been chosen in 1854 to succeed Hon. George H. Cal- vert. During his administration the cholera visited Newport, and he devoted himself with great fidelity to meet the scourge by carefully guarding the sanitary condition of the city. To his exertions Newport is very much indebted in securing its beautiful Touro Park. Several times he represented his native city in both branches of the General As- sembly.
In 1863, while Senator from Newport, he was chosen President of the Senate. Gov- ernor William Sprague was then in office. On the 3d of March, 1863, Governor Sprague resigned, to enter upon his duties as United States Senator. Lieutenant-Governor S. G. Arn- old having been previously elected a Senator to Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon. James F. Simmons, Mr. Cozzens, by virtue of his office as President of the Senate, became Governor, and held that position until May. 1863, at which time, by a popular vote, James Y. Smith was chosen to the office.
A memorable event, during his brief administration, was the visit to Rhode Island by Major-General Wool, U. S. A., and Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. The hospitalities of the State were gracefully extended to these distinguished gentlemen at the hands of the Governor. The short period during which Governor Cozzens occu- pied the gubernatorial chair was in the midst of the Rebellion, and grave responsibilities devolved on him as Chief Magistrate of the State. These responsibilities he met and dis- charged to the general approbation of the people of the State, and when he retired from office he carried with him the respect and benedictions of his fellow-citizens.
Governor Cozzens filled important positions in his native city. He was President of the Rhode Island Union Bank. For a number of years he was one of the directors of the Redwood Library, and several times its President. He took a very active and successful part in bringing the Old Colony Railroad to Newport, thus bringing the city into easy communication with Boston. He was a member of Zion (Episcopal) Church, and for many years one of its wardens. His death occurred December 17, 1876. He left a widow and five children, three sons and two daughters.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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HON. WILLIAM C. COZZENS 1863 By Anna C. Freelan Northeast Corridor Second Floor of State House
VILLAMUCOLE BOZZENS
Island Cemetery Newport, R. I.
GOZZENS
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
251
JAMES YOUNGS SMITH
Governor: 1863-1866.
War Service: "War Governor" Civil War.
Born: September 15, 1809 in Poquonoc Village, Groton. Conn.
Died: March 26, 1876 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Buried: Providence, R. I. Swan Point Cemetery.
Lot #59 East Half of Group 59 Forest Avenue.
SMITH, GOVERNOR JAMES YOUNGS, son of Amos D. and Priscilla (Mitchell) Smith, was born in Poquonoc Village. Groton, New London County, Connecticut, Sep- tember 15, 1809. This family of Smiths possessed sterling qualities and earnest piety. Some of them were prominent members in the Second Baptist Church in the town on Fort Hill. Priscilla Mitchell was descended from Priscilla Mullens, of Mayflower fame. the heroine of Longfellow's poem of the "Courtship of Miles Standish."
The subject of this sketch was early trained to habits of industry. He was employed on the farm in summers, and attended the district school a few months each winter until the age of thirteen, when he became a clerk in a country store in Salem, Connecticut, where he remained three years, being intrusted with the chief management of the busi- ness. In 1826 he removed to Providence. Rhode Island, and entered the counting-room of Aborn & Smith-James Aborn and Amos D. Smith-lumber dealers. Amos D. Smith was the elder brother of James Y. He retired from the firm in 1828, and in 1830, James Y. formed a partnership with a nephew of his former employer, under the name of Aborn & Smith, which firm succeeded to the lumber business. Seven years later Mr. Smith became the sole proprietor of the business, which then became quite extensive. He married. August 13, 1835. Emily, daughter of the late Thomas Brown, of Provi- dence. As his father-in-law was interested in the manufacture of cotton goods in Scituate. Rhode Island, Mr. Smith, about 1837, began to invest his surplus capital in the same business.
In 1843, he sold out his lumber business, and entered into partnership with his brother, Amos D., under the style of A. D. & J. Y. Smith, for a score of years one of the best-known firms in Providence. They carried on a general wholesale merchandise business, representing also the mills in which they were concerned. The business be- came very extensive, especially by the acquisition of new mills. In 1862 the brothers separated, and James Y. soon formed a new firm, taking in one son-in-law and then the other. the business being. until his death, the manufacture of cotton goods, carried on in four different mills.
Governor Smith early turned his attention to public affairs, and few men in the State ever gave more of their time to the public service. He served in many and impor- tant positions. For several years he was Representative in the General Assembly; for many years a member of the School Committee; Mayor of Providence in 1855 and 1856; and Governor of the State from 1863 to 1866. when he declined a re-nomination. He was nominated for Governor by the Republicans in 1861. but defeated by a combina-
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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HON. JAMES Y. SMITH 1863-1866 By James S. Lincoln Northwest Corridor Second Floor of State House
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
253
tion of Democrats and disaffected Republicans under the lead of William Sprague. In 1864 occurred a heated election, and Governor Smith was opposed because he would not commit himself to any candidate for the United States Senatorship. The opposition combined with the Democrats, but in vain. Governor Smith and the whole Republican ticket triumphed over all opposition. His election in 1865 was still more remarkable. He received a majority in every town and ward of the State, a case never paralleled in the State's history.
As a War-Governor his record was noble and unsurpassed. To the filling of the State's quota and the speedy and decisive overthrow of the Rebellion he gave himself with untiring devotion. and by special and wise exertions spared the State the necessity of resorting to a draft; and amid the multitude of heavy duties growing out of the war and the demands of an extensive business, his time and attention were given to the humblest applicant for aid or advice, his office being crowded from morning till night. His donations to the soldiers and their families were large, and when a friend suggested that he was giving too largely, he replied, "I allow no man to come between me and my charities; that is a duty I am responsible for only to my God."
After retiring from the chief magistracy, Governor Smith served on many public commissions, and always with self-sacrificing attention and zeal. His unusual mechanical ability was very frequently called into requisition for the public welfare. He was Chair- man of the commission to build the new City Hall, and was on the Building Committees of three of the principal churches of Providence in the erection of their places of wor- ship. He also served in various ways, officially and by his means, the different charitable societies and benevolent institutions of the city and State. For three years he was Pres- ident of the Providence Board of Trade. At the time of his death he was President of a bank of discount; of two savings-banks; director in eight insurance companies, in some of which he was President; director of the Providence and Worcester Railway Company; of the New York and New England Railway Company. With all these responsibilities. in addition to the duties of his regular business, upon him, he was yet one of the most approachable of men, and gave profusely of his time and money to a host of applicants.
His friendship and kindness were truly remarkable, though often bestowed only to be abused. When, however, in business and political affairs, he had reached a conclusion. his determination was firm and unalterable. He died at his residence on Hope Street. March 26, 1876, in his sixty-seventh year.
His children were Thomas B., who died young; Isabella B., who married Charles A. Nichols; Emily P., who married General Horatio Rogers. Rarely has the death of any one in Rhode Island called forth such general mourning as did that of Governor Smith. The public offices were closed; the General Assembly adjourned; the city and State officials attended his funeral in a body. and in carriages two abreast preceded the hearse, while an immense concourse of citizens in carriages and on foot followed to Swan Point Cemetery. Equally the rich and the poor felt their loss and paid their tribute of respect to the able, faithful, honored man.
THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE
Governor: 1866-1869.
War Service: Lt. Mexican War; Maj. Gen. Civil War.
Born: May 23, 1824 in Liberty, Indiana. Died: September 13. 1881 in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Buried: Providence, R. I. in Swan Point Cemetery.
Lot 3, Group 286 Spruce Ave.
BURNSIDE, MAJOR GENERAL AMBROSE EVERETT, United States Senator and ex- Governor of Rhode Island, was born at Liberty, Union County, Indiana, May 23, 1824. His father, Edghill Burnside, a lawyer, born near Columbia, South Carolina, removed to Indiana in 1813. His mother, whose maiden name was Pamelia Brown, was a native of South Carolina, and daughter of John Brown, of Belfast, Ireland. His grandfather, James Burnside, a native of Scotland, came to this country and settled in South Carolina near the close of the Eighteenth century.
The subject of this sketch received his elementary education at the seminary in Lib- erty, Indiana, and at Beach Grove Academy, near the same place. In 1843 he was ad- mitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in 1847. The same year, July 1, 1847, he was brevetted Second Lieutenant, 2d Artillery, September 8, 1847. Leaving West Point, during the Mexican War, Lieutenant Burnside went to Mexico, and joined the United States Army. At the close of the war he was or- dered to Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island. In 1849 he was ordered to New Mexico, where he joined Bragg's famous battery. In November, 1851, he was commissioned First Lieutenant, put in command of a cavalry company, and served in the Indian wars, resigning May 1, 1853.
While in Mexico he was impressed with the need of more effective carbines than those then in use in the army, and finally invented a new breech-loading rifle, for the manufacture of which he built a factory at Bristol, Rhode Island, soon after his resigna- tion, expecting a contract from the Government. The contract was never consummated, however, and after carrying on the business unsuccessfully for four years, was obliged to relinquish it. Subsequently the Bristol Fire-arms Company was incorporated, in May, 1855, with one hundred and forty-four thousand dollars capital, and a patent secured March 25, 1856. Accepting a situation as cashier in the Land Department of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, he went to Chicago, April 27, 1858, and was elected treas- urer of the Company in June, 1860. In January, 1859, the Bristol Fire-arms Company removed their business to Providence, General Burnside having retired from it, and in May, 1860, the name of the company was changed to the Burnside Rifle Company. At the close of the war, there being no longer a demand for rifles, it was deemed advisable to enter upon some new enterprise in order to make the capital invested remunerative. Accordingly, in January, 1867, the Rhode Island Locomotive Works were incorporated.
When the Civil War broke out, in April, 1861, Lieutenant Burnside was commis- GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND 255
sioned Colonel of the First Regiment, Rhode Island Detached Militia, and was mustered into service May 2, 1861. This regiment contained twelve hundred men. Colonel Burn- side commanded a brigade at the first battle of Bull Run, in July, 1861, and was pro- moted to Brigadier-General of Volunteers. August 6, 1861. He originated and com- manded the celebrated Burnside Expedition to North Carolina, leaving Annapolis, Maryland, with fifteen thousand men, in January, 1862, encountering a terrible storm off Cape Hatteras. February 8, 1862, he captured Roanoke Island, with six forts and batteries, forty cannon, and two thousand prisoners, which were afterwards exchanged. Friday, March 14, 1862. he captured Newbern, and April 25, 1862. Fort Macon, and Beaufort, North Carolina. March 18, 1862. he was promoted to Major-General of Vol- unteers; July 22d, organized and took command of the Ninth Army Corps, and com- manded the left wing of the Union army at the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. By a singular good fortune, not paralleled in the history of any other corps in the Army of the United States, the relations of the Ninth Corps with its leading officers were un- changed during the continuance of the War of the Rebellion.
November 9, 1862, General Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Po- tomac, numbering two hundred and twenty-five thousand men. January 25, 1863, he was relieved from this command, and after a brief rest at his home in Providence, where he received every demonstration of welcome and esteem, he took command of the Depart- ment of the Ohio, comprising the States of Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Eastern Kentucky, and soon after relieved East Tennessee from rebel invasion. In 1864 his mili- tary achievements were conspicuous at the battle of the Wilderness, May 5th and 6th, Spottsylvania, May 12th, Cold Harbor, June 3d, and before and after the siege of Peters- burg. He resigned his commission April 15, 1865. His prominence as a military officer made his name familiar throughout the country, and his patriotic services elicited ex- pressions of thanks from Congress, President Lincoln, General Grant, and from the Gen- eral Assembly and Governors and citizens of Rhode Island.
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