USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > Governors for three hundred years, 1638-1959; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations > Part 23
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LITTLEFIELD, HON. ALFRED HENRY, GOVERNOR OF Rhode Island, son of John and Deborah (Humes) Littlefield, was born in Scituate, Rhode Island, April 2, 1829. The Littlefields of Rhode Island are descendants of Caleb and Nathanael Little- field, who settled at New Shoreham, in 1721. Nathanael was a member of the General Assembly in 1738, 1740, 1746, 1748, and 1754; Nathanael, Jr., in 1758 and 1762; and John from 1747 to the Revolution. Caleb, Jr., was also a member of that body, and was on the committee to oppose the tea tax. William Littlefield was recommended by Gen- eral Washington as First Lieutenant of the Second Rhode Island Battery, and attained the rank of Captain. His daughter, Catharine, became the wife of General Nathanael Greene. The family was obliged to flee from New Shoreham during the Revolution. Governor Littlefield's father was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, July 15, 1798. and his mother was born in North Kingstown, March 30, 1798. The former died June 23, 1847. They were married March 11, 1816, and removed to Scituate a short time be- fore the birth of their son, Alfred H. They had eleven children.
Alfred H. was educated in the district school at Natick, Warwick, to which place the family removed in 1831. At an early age he entered the Sprague Mills, at Natick, where he was employed until 1844. In May, 1845, at the instance of his brother, George L., he went to Central Falls, and acted as clerk for Joseph M. Davis, a dealer in dry goods, and engaged, in a small way, in putting up skein and spool-cotton, which business, in 1847, was transferred to George L. Littlefield and Elias Nickerson, the former becoming sole proprietor in 1849. Alfred H. served as clerk with his brother until 1851, and then be- came his partner, the firm-name being Littlefield Brothers. Their business was first con- fined to the manufacture of thread, at Central Falls, but afterward, in connection with their brother, Daniel G., they opened a store in Haydenville, Massachusetts, which was sold to Daniel G. in 1853.
The firm of Littlefield Brothers added to their business a dry goods store in Pawtuc- ket, which they sold in 1854. In that year they became associated with David Ryder & Co., thread manufacturers, whose entire interest they purchased in 1858, which time they have continued to carry on the business under the old firm-name of Littlefield Brothers. Their business had steadily increased until it was one of the largest in the State. Governor Littlefield was one of the incorporators of the Pawtucket Hair Cloth Com- pany, of which he has been a director since its organization. He was also a director of the First National Bank, of Pawtucket, the Stafford Manufacturing Company, of Central Falls, and the Cumberland Mills Company.
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HON. ALFRED H. LITTLEFIELD 1880-1883 By Robert S. Dunning Northeast Corridor Second Floor of State House
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
ALFIICA LITTLEFIELD
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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AUGUSTUS OSBORN BOURN
Governor: 1883-1885.
Born: October 1, 1834 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Died: January 28, 1925 in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Buried: Providence, R. I. Swan Point Cemetery.
East 2/3 of Lot 2, Group 176 Forest Avenue.
BOURN, AUGUSTUS OSBORN, thirty-second governor of Rhode Island (1883-85) , was born in Providence, Oct. 1, 1834, son of George Osborn and Huldah (Eddy) Bourn. His original American ancestor, Jared Bourn, settled in Boston about 1630, later re- moving to Roxbury and then to Portsmouth, R. I., which he represented in the colo- nial legislature in 1654-55, and finally to Swansea, Mass. In the last-named place he built a block-house that was the refuge of the inhabitants of the neighborhood during King Philip's War.
Augustus O. Bourn was educated in the public schools of Providence and at Brown University, where he was graduated in 1855, and then entered the employ of his father, who was a manufacturer of india-rubber goods and one of the first in the state to make india-rubber shoes. In 1859 he became a member of the firm, and continued in the busi- ness until about 1864. when he founded at Bristol, R. I., the National Rubber Co. In 1867 the machinery of the Providence manufactory was transferred to Bristol and the capital consolidated. The company employed nearly 1,100 hands, and gave work to at least half of the population of Bristol. Its yearly output had a value of more than $2.000- 000. Mr. Bourn was treasurer of the company until its existence ceased in 1887, and later became engaged in the rubber business in Providence, being sole proprietor of the Prov- idence Rubber Shoe Co., which employed about 300 hands.
Gov. Bourn was connected for many years with the Providence horse guards, and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1878 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 1st battalion of Rhode Island cavalry. From 1876 to 1883 and from 1886 to 1888 he represented Bristol in the state senate. From 1877 to 1882 he was chairman of the com- mittee on finance and a member of the judiciary committee.
He was the author of the "Bourn Amendment" to the constitution of Rhode Island. In its original form the constitution limited the voting power of foreign-born citizens to owners of real estate. At the session of 1887 various acts looking to an enlargement of the franchise in respect to those citizens were introduced into the legislature, and among them an act by Gov. Bourn granting naturalized citizens equal franchise rights with those of native birth, which was reported in its original form by the joint special committee, passed by two legislatures, and adopted by a vote of the people. In 1883 he was nominated for governor by the Republicans, and received 13,068 votes, his opponent, William Sprague, candidate of the Democrats and Independents, receiving 10,201, and the candi- date of the Independent Democrats 726. He was re-elected in 1884 by a total of 15,936 votes; Thomas W. Segar, Democrat, received 9,592, and the scattering votes numbered 13. In 1889 he was appointed by President Harrison U. S. consul-general to Italy, and re- tained this responsible post until 1893. He then returned to the United States and re- sumed the rubber business in Providence.
He was a member of numerous societies and organizations, among them the What
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HON. AUGUSTUS O. BOURN 1883-1885 By Henry Mosler Northeast Corridor Second Floor of State House
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
Cheer Lodge of Masons and Calvary Commandery of Knights Templars. Before the state senate he delivered the memorial addresses on President Garfield, Gen. Burnside, Hon. John F. Tobey and Henry B. Anthony; and before the citizens of Bristol, R. I., a me- morial address on the death of Gen. U. S. Grant. These, together with others of his pub- lic addresses, have been printed in pamphlet form for private distribution.
Governor Bourn was married, Feb. 26, 1863, to Elizabeth Roberts, daughter of David C. and Mary Mansfield (Wentworth) Morrill, and had three sons and two daughters.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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GEORGE PEABODY WETMORE
Governor: 1885 to 1887.
Born: August 2nd, 1846 in London, England.
Died: September 11, 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts. Buried: Newport, R. I. Island Cemetery.
WETMORE, GEORGE PEABODY, thirty-third governor of Rhode Island (1885-87), was born in London, England, Aug. 2, 1846, second son of William Shepard and Anstice (Rogers) Wetmore. He is a descendant of Thomas Whitmore, a native of the west of England, who emigrated to Boston in 1635, and removed to Wethersfield, Conn., about 1640. Seth Whitmore, great-grandson of Thomas, was a deputy to the general court from Middletown, Conn., from 1738 to 1771; a magistrate of the town; judge of the county court, and one of the justices of quorum of Hartford county. By his second wife, Hannah Francis, of Middletown, he had several children, including Seth. Gov. Wetmore's grand- father. The latter, for many years, was a lawyer at St. Albans, Vt. His wife was Nancy. daughter of Gen. William Shepard, of Westfield, Mass., brigadier-general in the Conti- nental army and representative in congress in 1797-1803. Their son, William Shepard, was born at St. Albans in 1801, and when still very young entered the employ of two of his uncles, named Wright, merchants of Providence, and in a short time was given the position of supercargo on one of their ships. Later he went into business for himself, at Valparaiso, Chili; in 1829 retired and returned to the United States; in 1833 formed at Canton. China, the great house of Wetmore & Co .; from 1837 to 1844 was a member of the firm of Wetmore & Cryder, of New York; in 1847 retired from business with a large fortune, and removed to Newport, where he built an elegant villa. He was an intimate friend of George Peabody, the banker, for whom his son was named.
George P. Wetmore was graduated at Yale in 1867, and then studied at Columbia Law School, New York city. His life, from 1875 to 1883, was spent mainly in European travel, but during that period he lived in Newport; in 1880 was a presidential elector- at-large, and in 1881 was, by Gov. Littlefield, appointed to receive the delegates of the French republic, who, after attending the celebration of the surrender of the British at Yorktown, visited Rhode Island. His reception to President Arthur on the occasion of the latter's visit to Newport in the summer of 1883 was a brilliant social event.
In 1885 he was nominated for the governorship by the Republicans, and received at the election 12.563 votes, nearly 4.000 more than the Democratic candidate. In 1886 he was re-nominated by acclamation, and polled 14,340 votes against 9,944 cast for Amasa Sprague, Democrat. He was renominated in 1887, but dissatisfaction with their party leaders led a number of Republicans to vote the Democratic ticket, and Gov. Wetmore was defeated.
He was married in New York, Dec. 22. 1869, to Edith M. Keteltas, one of a family whose residence in that city dates from 1692. They had several children.
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HON. GEORGE PEABODY WETMORE 1885-1887 By Augustus Vincent Tack Northeast Corridor
Second Floor of State House
Island Cemetery Newport, R. I.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
275
JOHN WILLIAM DAVIS
Governor: 1887-1888, 1890-1891.
Born: March 7th, 1826 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Died: January 25, 1907 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Buried: Pawtucket. R. I. Riverside Cemetery.
DAVIS, JOHN WILLIAM, thirty-fourth and thirty-seventh governor of Rhode Island (1887-88, 1890-91), was born at Rehoboth, Bristol Co., Mass., March 7, 1826. His father, John Davis, 3d, of Rehoboth, a farmer, as were all his ancestors in this country, held many places of public trust by election of his fellow-citizens and by court appoint- ment in the settlement of estates in bankruptcy and probate. His mother was Nancy. daughter of William Davis, of Rehoboth, but not of the same family as his father.
On the paternal side he is descended from James Davis, of Marlboro, Wiltshire, England, who about 1630 settled at Newbury, Mass., and in 1640 became one of the founders of Haverhill; on the maternal side he descends from John Davis. of London. who emigrated to Rhode Island in 1679, settling in Newport. His paternal grandfather, John Davis, 2d, then a lad of fifteen, assisted an uncle, Capt. Joseph Barny, in the quar- termaster's department of Gen. Sullivan's army, beleaguering the British on Long Is- land. His father's maternal grandfather, Stephen Bullock, was captain of a company in Sullivan's army at the battle of Long Island. Subsequently he represented Rehoboth in the general court; in 1797-99 represented his district in the U. S. congress, and in 1803- 05 was a member of the governor's council of Massachusetts. William Davis, of Newport, Gov. Davis' maternal grandfather, was forced to flee from Newport when the British took possession, and taking refuge in Rehoboth, he was there married to a daughter of Capt. Peleg Peck, of Swansea, who was in active service in the revolutionary army in 1776-82.
Gov. Davis was educated in the public schools of Rehoboth and in a private school in Pawtucket, R. I. Being the eldest son, he was, at an early age, charged with the care of the sheep and cattle of his father's farm, later aiding in planting and harvesting and in marketing the produce of the fields. From 1844 to 1850 he was engaged in the business of mechanical masonry, teaching public schools in the winter time. The winter of 1847 was spent in Charleston, S. C., and that of 1849 in New Orleans, La. In 1850 he became a dealer in grain in Providence, and was thus engaged until 1890. He then occupied himself with the care of his own estate and with that of others committed to his charge. In 1877 he took up his residence in Pawtucket.
Gov. Davis has always been a Democrat, and as such was elected a member (his first public office) of the Pawtucket town council, and its president in 1882 and 1885. He was appointed by his party an alternate delegate from Rhode Island to the national Demo- cratic convention at Chicago in 1884, and took an active part in the nomination of Mr. Cleveland. He was chosen a state senator by the town and city of Pawtucket in 1885, 1886 and 1893, and was appointed by President Cleveland appraiser of foreign merchandise for the Providence U. S. customs district in 1886. He was elected governor of the state in 1887 and in 1890; having been for the last five years the Democratic nominee for that office, and receiving at each election, except the second. the majority vote, and in each canvass a larger vote than had ever before been polled for any candidate for the office
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HON. JOHN W. DAVIS 1887-1888 1890-1891 By Hugo Breul Governor's Office, State House
Riverside Cemetery- Pawtucket, R. I.
in Rhode Island. Owing to the peculiar requirement in the state of a majority of all the votes cast to elect (otherwise the choice to be made by the general assembly), he lost the third and fifth elections, the assembly choosing the minority candidate in his stead. In 1897 he served as mayor of Pawtucket.
During the civil war Gov. Davis was enrolled in the infantry, and later served in the Providence horse guards. While living in Providence he was a member of the Franklin Lyceum, and was active in the affairs of the Mathewson Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He was married in 1855 to Lydia W. Kenyon, who died in 1859; again, in 1862, to Emily P. Goffe, and for the third time in 1895 to Marietta P. Pearse. He had two daughters by his second wife.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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DEDICATION GROUP GOVERNOR JOHN W. DAVIS PAWTUCKET, R. I. July 4, 1954
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THE BURIAL TOMB OF JAHLEEL BRENTON ON THE PARADE GROUNDS, FORT ADAMS, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
This picture shows the original location of the tomb of Jahleel Brenton, eldest son of Governor William Brenton.
The original grave was located on the Parade Grounds at Fort Adams, Newport. There, alongside the grave of Jahleel Brenton, was buried William Brenton, the second Governor of Rhode Island under the Royal Charter.
By reason of the construction of a Naval housing project which involved the entire Parade Ground Area, it became necessary to remove the remains of both William Brenton and Jahleel Brenton. Re-interment was in a special triangular area at the Sol- dier's Cemetery at Fort Adams. Further reference to this will be found in my preface statement elsewhere in the book.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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ROYAL CHAPIN TAFT
Governor: 1888 to 1889.
Born: February 14, 1823 in Northbridge, Massachusetts.
Died: June 4, 1912 in Providence, R. I.
Buried: Providence, R. I. Swan Point Cemetery.
Lot 2 Group 87 Laurel Way.
TAFT, ROYAL CHAPIN, thirty-fifth governor of Rhode Island (1888-89), was born at Northbridge, Worcester Co., Mass., Feb. 14, 1823, son of Orsinus and Margaret (Smith) Taft. He descends through seven generations from Robert Taft, a native of Scotland. who was one of the first settlers of Mendon, Mass., in 1680, being a selectman in the fol- lowing year. His grandfather, Jacob Taft, served in the revolutionary war as a private in Capt. Joseph Chapin's Uxbridge company at the battle of Lexington; as sergeant in Col. Joseph Read's regiment at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was educated in the public schools of Uxbridge, Mass., and at Worcester Academy, and then engaged in the manu- facture of cotton and woolen goods in the employ of Royal Chapin. of Providence, R. I. At the end of five years (1849) he was admitted a partner with Mr. Chapin, under the style of Royal Chapin & Co .; but in 1851 he formed an association in the same line of business with Standish Bradford, of Pawtucket. The firm thus formed continued until 1885, under the successive styles of Bradford & Taft; Bradford, Taft & Co., and Taft, Weeden & Co.
After three years of virtual retirement from active business, he purchased a consider- able interest in the Coventry Co., cotton manufacturers. In addition to this interest, he was treasurer of the Bernon mills of Georgiaville, R. I. and president of the Quinnebaug Co., of Brooklyn, Conn. He was a member of the city council of Providence in 1855-56, and represented the city in the state legislature in 1880-84. At the Centennial exposi- tion in Philadelphia in 1876 he served as a commissioner from Rhode Island.
He was elected governor, on the Republican ticket, April 4, 1888, and served for one year, declining renomination on account of the pressure of his private business. He was president of the Merchants' National Bank of Providence; was vice-president of the Prov- idence Institution for Savings; was president of the Rhode Island Hospital; was president of the Boston and Providence railroad, and a director of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad. He was lieutenant and captain in the Rhode Island horse guards for several years. He was married. Oct. 31, 1850, to Mary Frances, daughter of Dr. George B. Aimington, of Pittsford, Vt. They had two daughters and two sons.
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HON. ROYAL C. TAFT 1888-1889 By Wilfred I. Duphiney Northeast Corridor Second Floor of State House
Painted by Wilfred I. Duphiney from photograph loaned by the Taft family.
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
5. 4.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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HERBERT WARREN LADD
Governor: 1889-1890, 1891-1892.
War Service: War Correspondent.
Born: October 15, 1843 in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Died: November 29, 1913 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Buried: Providence. R. I. Swan Point Cemetery. Lot 3, Group 77 Forest Avenue.
LADD, HERBERT WARREN, thirty-sixth, and thirty-eighth governor of Rhode Island (1889-90, 1891-92), was born in New Bedford, Mass., Oct. 15, 1843, son of Warren and Lucy Ladd. He was graduated at the high school of his native town in 1860 and entered the wholesale dry-goods house of Tucker & Taber, where he remained until July, 1861. Then obtaining a long-desired position on the staff of the New Bedford "Mercury," he soon became a valued assistant, both in the business department and as reporter, and go- ing to the field of war in 1862 with the 43d and 44th Massachusetts regiments, he sent back an account of their first engagement, which was published in the Boston "Journal," before the New York press learned of the battle.
The first Sunday newspaper ever published in New England, outside of Boston, was an extra "Mercury," issued by young Ladd to announce the battle of Fredericksburg. His letters while he was in the army were admirable examples of what such communications should be, and journalism was deprived of one of its ablest exponents when business claimed him. In 1864 he entered the dry-goods house of White, Brown & Co. in Boston. but seven years later removed to Providence, and with a Mr. Davis, of Boston, formed the firm of Ladd & Davis, establishing a large dry-goods house on Westminster street. The firm name, after undergoing several changes, became merged into the corporate title of the H. W. Ladd Co., of which Gov. Ladd was president.
He distinguished himself by his public spirit on becoming a citizen of Providence; founded the Commercial Club; became vice-president of the board of trade; president of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; aided in obtain- ing better terminal railways facilities, and has ever shown a great interest in the militia of the state. He was one of the organizers of the Providence Congregational Club, and was a member of the Press Club, and the Hope, Squantum and Pomham clubs. From the first he had been a generous patron of Brown University, and among his gifts was an as- tronomical observatory, erected in 1891, in the eastern part of the city, which has given opportunity for advanced study leading to postgraduate degrees.
In 1889 he was the Republican candidate for governor. A few days before the Re- publican state convention met, the general assembly with the aid of Republican votes passed a resolution proposing to rescind the prohibitory amendments of 1886. As this showed a change of policy on the part of the Republicans, the resolution was strongly opposed by those of them who believed that prohibition had not had a sufficient trial, and they joined with other supporters of the amendment in forming a law-enforcement
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THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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HON. HERBERT W. LADD
1889-1890 1891-1892 By Hugo Breul Northeast Corridor
Second Floor of State House
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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DANIEL RUSSELL BROWN
Governor: 1892-1895.
Born: March 28, 1848 in Bolton, Connecticut.
Died: February 28, 1919 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Buried: Providence, R. I. Swan Point Cemetery. Lot 4, Group 397 Catalpa Avenue.
BROWN, DANIEL RUSSELL, thirty-ninth governor of Rhode Island (1892-95) . was born at Bolton, Tolland Co., Conn., March 28, 1848, son of Araba Harrison and Harriet M. (Darb) Brown. His father was a thrifty farmer, and to add that he was an abolitionist is equivalent to saying that he possessed moral as well as physical courage. Russell Brown left the farm at an early age. having shown a decided aptitude for study. to enter an academy at Manchester. He continued his studies in Hartford, and then entered the em- ploy of a hardware merchant in Rockville, Conn., whence he returned to Hartford two years later to become head salesman in a similar establishment. Within three months he formed a partnership with William Butler & Son, the style becoming Butler, Brown & Co., and in 1877 the firm of Brown Brothers & Co., as it then became, was the largest establishment of the kind in the United States.
As soon as he became a citizen of Providence (1870) he began to take an intelligent and active interest in municipal and state affairs, but never allowed his enthusiasm in politics to injure his commercial relations. In 1880 he was elected to the common coun- cil, and served for four years. The Republicans nominated him for mayor in 1886, but he declined, two years later accepting the office of presidential elector. In 1892 he was elected governor, receiving 27,461 votes, and John W. Davis, Democrat, 25,433. The total vote was 54,679, the largest ever cast in the State. In 1893 he was again a candi- date; David S. Barker, Jr., being the nominee of the Democrats, and Henry B. Metcalf, of the Prohibitionists. The votes for the respective candidates were 22,015, 21,830 and 3,265. and there being no choice by the people, the matter devolved upon the general assembly. and Gov. Brown was elected.
At the opening of the spring session the Democrats had control of the house, and proceeded to unseat a holdover Republican member on the ground that certain votes cast for his rival at the election had been erroneously rejected, and another holdover on the ground of his election to the senate. Having gained a majority of the grand commit- tee they invited the senate to join them in canvassing the returns of the election in April, and in declaring the result. This the senate declined to do, alleging that the house had acted illegally, and carried a resolution of adjournment until January, 1894. The house laid this resolution on the table, whereupon the senate informed the governor that the difference existed between the two houses as to the date of adjournment, and Gov. Brown adjourned the general assembly until Jan. 30th. The house refused to recognize the or- der, claiming that the senate could not adjourn for a longer period than two days until it had joined the house in grand committee for the purpose of counting and declaring the votes cast, and that the governor could not legally adjourn the assembly until the grand committee had acted. The state supreme court upheld Gov. Brown.
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THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF
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HON. D. RUSSELL BROWN 1892-1895 By Jared B. Flagg Southeast Corridor Second Floor of State House
Swan Point Cemetery Providence, R. I.
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