USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > History of Newport County, Rhode Island. From the year 1638 to the year 1887, including the settlement of its towns, and their subsequent progress > Part 56
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In 1862 Mr. Clews was elected a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and in addition to his large transactions in government securities, gradually became known as a power in the vast dealings in railroad and other securities, and his oper- ations in gold were marked as showing unnsnal foresight and sagacity in the wide fluctuations that prevailed in that then speculative commodity. The great secret of Mr. Clews' suc- cess was, after all, his unbounded belief in the perfect respon- sibility of the government to meet all its engagements, and the depth of his conviction that sooner or later the North would be triumphant, and the old union of North and South continue to be an accomplished fact. The amount of labor involved in the conduct of such a business in government and other secur- ities as was done by Mr. Clews was enormous. The correspond- ence alone was enough to startle an ordinary business man, for it was the invariable rule to answer all inquiries for informa- tion. The commissions of the concern rolled up to important sums, and the firm became strong and extensively popular.
In the height of his prosperity and popularity Mr. Clews en- countered a severe blow by the repudiation of the state debt of Georgia, and by the bad faith of the state of Alabama, through
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
both of which he lost over five million dollars. To meet the necessary expenses and subsequently accumulate a large fortune with such stupendous losses, affords some idea of the magnitude of his business, and the executive ability which has directed it to that success. His entangling alliance with Georgia arose chiefly from a patriotic desire to assist in the reconstruction of the South by negotiating their securities and thus aiding to develop their industries. This beneficent purpose was frustrated by the destructive policy of President Andrew Johnson.
Mr. Clews is a member of the Stock, Cotton, Produce and Coffee Exchanges of New York and of the Chicago Board of Trade, his private wires also bringing him into instantaneous communication with the Philadelphia and Boston exchanges. Ele is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, and of the Union and Union League Clubs and the Geographical and Statistical Society. He was for many years treasurer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He has been more or less identified with politics but never held public office. He was a delegate to the republican state convention held at Utica, and the entire credit is due to Mr. Clews for the nomination of General Dix for governor of New York state and which insured the election of General Grant to the presidency, who generously acknowledged his obligation in several personal letters to Mr. Clews.
Mr. Clews was offered the collectorship of the port of New York and twice could have been made secretary of the treasury, and the nomination for the mayoralty of New York was also twice tendered to him, but declined. He originated the Com- mittee of Seventy that aided in the overthrow of the Tweed Ring, and was offered one of the most lucrative positions in the gift of that powerful circle to be lenient with the Ring. This offer, it is needless to say, was indignantly refused.
The business of the firm of which Mr. Clews is chief has grown to immense proportions and is still increasing. About one hundred clerks are employed and eighteen branch offices have been established. System, integrity and perseverance seem to have been the three working elements of success in the career of the subject of this biography. Mr. Clews was on the 4th of February, 1874, married to Lucy Madison Wor- thington, grand niece of President Madison.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
GEORGE S. COE .- The Coe family of New England has been represented in the population of Newport county for many years, and prominent members of it are mentioned in this work in the chapters on Block Island and Little Compton. Adam S. Coe for many years was well known in Newport as senior part- ner in the memorable firm of Robert P'. Lee & Co., hardware merchants and humber dealers.
The subject of this sketch, a son of this Adam S. Coe, was born in the town, now the city of Newport, in 1817, and passed there the formative period of his life. When fourteen years of age he was a clerk in the business with his father's firm and within the next four years was given a clerkship in the Rhode Island Union Bank of Newport. The schools and the school- masters often determine what the boys will be and those two old teachers, loved and remembered yet by many successful bus- iness men-Levi Tower and Joseph Joselyn-each in turn, made their imprint as teachers of the boy who was to become the George S. Coe of to-day. In the Union Bank, however, it ap- pears that the general trend of his life was determined, and in 1838 we find him in New York city with the banking house of Prime, Ward & King. Six years later he went to Cincinnati in confidential relations to the business of Prime, Ward & King, and in 1847 he became cashier and agent for the Ohio Trust Company in New York city. Mr. Coe's relations to the Amer- ican Exchange National Bank of New York, now covering a period of more than a third of a century, began in 1855 when he was elected cashier and within a year was promoted to the vice- presidency and three years later, in 1858, he was placed at the head of the institution and under his care the success of the last thirty years of this bank's career has been achieved. Mr. Coe is one of those fortunate men of affairs who find time to cul- tivate a literary taste. Being always a lover of books, his recre- ation from business is in the labors of a student. Although presi- dent of a bank for a period the length of which gives his name prominence in banking circles, yet he is probably best known through his relation to the Associated Banks and their work through the New York Clearing House. He is widely and fa- vorably known as active in the Banking Association of the United States. In the days of the government's financial embarrass- ment Mr. Coe exerted a wise and patriotic influence. The clear-
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
ness of his views forcibly appears in a letter written by him to Hon. E. G. Spanlding in October, 1875, published in "The Financial History of the War," from which the following extract is quoted:
" After the accession of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, the securities of the government became difficult of sale, and they declined to such an extent that for the week ending June 24, 1861, the following quotations were published:
U. S. Bonds, 1881 (coupon), 6 per cent. .. 838 83%
U. S. Treasury notes, 12 per cent. interest .. 101 102
U. S. Treasury notes, 11 per cent. interest .. 101 1013
U. S. Treasury notes, 102 per cent. interest. 1004
"Zealous exertions had been made by carefully organized committees of the New York Chamber of Commerce, the month before, to obtain subscriptions to government loans by sending circulars throughout the Northern States, in which citizens, public officers, banks and other institutions were solicited to act as voluntary agents. But the aggregate secured was incon- siderable and utterly failed of the amount required for press- ing necessity. The great conflict was rising daily into more appalling magnitude. Moneyed capital, with instinctive timid- ity, buttoned tightly its pockets, and shrank from the danger.
"Fortunately, the commercial conditions of the Northern States were altogether favorable. The panie of 1857 had been followed by three or four years of great productiveness and economy, which had so turned international exchanges in favor of this country that larger balances in coin than ever before had, during 1860 and 1861, been imported from Europe. The banks in New York alone holding the unprecedented amount of fifty millions, eqnal in August, 1861, to about fifty per cent. of their liabilities, while the apprehension of war had pro- duced a general curtailment of credit throughont the Northern States.
" After the battle of Bull Run, and when Washington was closely beleagnered, and the avenne thence to New York through Baltimore was intercepted by the enemy, Mr. Chase, then Secretaryof the Treasury, came to this city via Annapolis, and immediately invited all persons in this community who were supposed to possess or control capital to meet him on the evening of August 9th, at the house of John J. Cisco, Esq , then
587
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
assistant treasurer of the United States in New York. This invitation drew together a large number of gentlemen of various occupations and circumstances. During the discussion which ensued, I suggested the practicability of uniting the banks of the North by some organization that would combine them into an efficient and inseparable body for the purpose of advancing the capital of the country upon government bonds in large amounts, and through their clearing house facilities and other well-known expedients, to distribute them in smaller sums among the people in a manner that would secure active cooper- ation among the members in this special work, while in all other respects each bank could pursue its independent business. This suggestion met the hearty approbation of the assembled company and arrested the earnest attention of the secretary. At his request it was presented to the consideration of the banks at a meeting called for that purpose at the American Exchange Bank on the following day, and was so far enter- tained as to secure the appointment of a committee of ten bank officers, to give it form and coherence. The committee con- vened at the Bank of Commerce, whose officers zealonsly united in the effort, and a plan was reported unanimously. It may be found in the Banker's Magazine of September, 1861. Their report was cordially accepted and adopted by the banks in New York, those in Boston and Philadelphia being represented at the meeting, and as zealously and cordially united in the organization. * * *
"It was at once unanimously agreed that the associated banks of the three cities would take fifty millions of 7 3-10 notes at par, with the privilege of an additional fifty millions in sixty days, and a further amount of fifty millions in sixty days more, making one hundred and fifty millions in all, and offer them for sale to the people of the country at the same price, without charge. In this great undertaking the banks of New York assumed more than their relative proportion. To ensure full cooperation and success, the expedient of issuing clearing house certificates, and of appropriating and averaging all the coin in the various banks as a common fund, which had been invented but the year before, was applied to this special object with good effect.
" So vast a responsibility, involving figures of such magni- tude, had never before been attempted in this country, and the
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
assumption of it with such promptitude was without precedent in history.
"The capitals of banks thus associated made an aggregate of one hundred and twenty millions, an amount greater than the Bank of England and the Bank of France combined, each of which institutions had been found sufficient for the gigantic struggles of those great nations, from time to time, in conflict with all Europe. And this combination, made up of distinct and independent corporations, while it possessed all needed capacity for government work, was free from the ob- jections made to one great financial institution. The following figures also show that its financial condition was one of great strength:
LIABILITIES.
ASSETS IN COIN.
Deposits.
Circulation.
Banks in New York.
$92,046,308
$8,521,426
$49,733,990
Banks in Boston. ..
18,235,061
6,366,466
6,665,929
Banks in Philadelphia.
15,335,838
2,076,857
6,765,120
$125,617,207
$16,964,749
125,617,207
$142,581,956
against $63,165,039
coin on hand, equal to 45 per cent. of all liabilities. Surely such conditions as these, with judicious administration, were adequate to the work which the country required. A great merit of this bank combination at that critical moment, when the life of the nation hung in the balance, consisted in the fact that it fully committed the hitherto hesitating moneyed capital of the North and East to the support of the government. The bank officers and directors who thns counseled and consented were deeply sensible of the momentous responsibility which they assumed, but all doubt and hesitation were instantly re- moved, and perfect unanimity was secured by the question, ' What if we do not unite? And, acting as guardians of a great trust exposed to imminent danger, they fearlessly elected the alternative best calculated to protect it.
"The problem to be practically resolved by the banks was this: Ilow can the available capital be best drawn from the people, and devoted to the support of the government, with the least disturbance to the country ? And by what means can arms, clothing and subsistence for the army be best secured in ex-
589
IIISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
change for government credit? These were simple questions of domestic exchange, and most naturally suggested the use of the ordinary methods of bank checks, deposits and transfers, that the experience of all civilized nations had found most efficient for the purpose, and that this should be accomplished by the Associated Banks in a manner best calculated to prolong their nseful agency, and to preserve the specie standard, it was indispensable that their coin reserves remain with the least pos- sible change. Accordingly it was at once proposed to the secre- tary that he should snspend the operations of the Sub-Treasury act in respect to these transactions, and following the course of commercial business, that he should draw checks upon some one bank in each city representing the Association, in small sums as required, in disbursing the money thus advanced. By this means his checks would serve the purpose of a circulating medium, continually redeemed, and the exchanges of capital and industry would be best promoted. This was the more im- portant in a period of public agitation when the disbursement of these large sums, exclusively in coin, rendered the reserves of the banks all the more liable to be wasted by hoarding. To the astonishment of the committee, Mr. Chase refused, notwith- standing the act of Congress of August 5th, which it seemed to ns was passed for the very objeet then presented, but which he declared upon his authority as finance minister, and from his personal knowledge of its purpose, had no such meaning or in- tent. This issue was discussed from time to time with much zeal, but always with the same result. It was seen by the most experienced bank officers to be vital to the success of their un- dertaking. To draw from the banks in coin the large sums involved in these loans, and to transfer them to the treasury, thence to be widely scattered over the country at a moment when war had excited fear and distrust, was to be pulling out continually the foundations upon which the whole structure rested. . . In the light which has since been shed upon the act of Congress referred to, it is evident that undne weight was given to the views of the Secretary, and that the banks would have conferred an incalculable benefit upon the country, had they adhered inflexibly to their own opinions. But the pressure of startling events required prompt decision, and the well known intelligence and patriotism of the Secretary, gave to his judgment overwhelming power. It soon became manifest that
590
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
in consenting to have their hands tied, and their most efficient powers restricted, while engaged in these great operations, and in allowing their coin reserves to be wasted by pouring them ont upon the community in a manner so unnecessary and excep- tional, the banks deprived themselves and the government of the ability of long continning, as they otherwise could have done, to negotiate the national loans upon a specie standard.
" This first great error, if it did not create a necessity for the legal tender notes, certainly precipitated the adoption of that most nuhappy expedient, and thereby committed the Nation at an earlier day to the most expensive of all methods of financiering."
The vicissitudes of business, ever disintegrating social and family circles, have thrown Mr. Coe far from the place of his birth; and while his business career is principally a part of the financial history of the metropolis, his home is at Englewood in New Jersey.
WILLIAM KING COVELL was born in Newport, April 11th, 1802, and was the only child of Ephraim and Abigail (King) Covell. His father was a native of Connecticut and his mother of Providence. He engaged in the business of boat building which he followed till 1880.
THE CRANSTON FAMILY .- The branch of the Cranston family represented in this sketch is descended from Samnel Cranston, one of the early governors of the province of Rhode Island. Peleg, son of Caleb Cranston, a later representative of the fam- ily, married Elizabeth Young. Their son, Henry Y. Cranston, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, October 9th, 1789. At an early age he learned a trade and at the age of seventeen opened a store at New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he remained sev- eral years. Returning to Newport he engaged in the commis- sion business and conducted it successfully until 1815, when his attention was given to the study of law and his admission to the bar soon followed. Determining to pursue his profession in his native city, he at once acquired a Incrative practice. From 1818 to 1833 he held the office of clerk of the court of common pleas, was a member of the house of representatives from 1827 to 1843 and served in the same capacity from 1847 to 1854, being fre- quently chosen speaker. During the troublous times of 1842 Mr. Cranston was a staunch advocate of law and order. Front 1843 to 1847 he was representative in congress, where he was dis-
Formy branston
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
tinguished for his " urbanity, integrity and industry." He was a member and vice-president of the convention which framed the constitution of the state of Rhode Island and presided over a great part of the deliberations of that body. For many years he was moderator of all the town meetings of Newport and one of the most popular colonels of the Ancient and Honorable Ar- tillery of that city. The confidence reposed in him by the com- munity was attested by the various trusts committed to his care. He was essentially a self-made man and in appearance, costume and manner a gentleman of the old school. Mr. Cranston mar- ried, July 15th, 1813, Mary, daughter of Nathan and Catherine Hammett of Newport, who was born August 2d, 1784, and died November 24th, 1857. Their children were: Elizabeth Young, Narcissa Young, William Henry who died in infancy, William Henry whose life is embodied in this sketch, Catherine and Julia Ann, the last named being the only survivor. Mr. Cranston died in Newport February 12th, 1864, aged seventy-four years. One of the daily papers of his native place paid the following tribute to his memory: " Possessed of great frankness, striet integrity, perfect gentility of manner, ever ready to aid and accommodate all who songht his kindness, he made friends of all who knew him."
ROBERT B. CRANSTON, one of the three surviving children of Peleg and Elizabeth Young Cranston, was born January 14th, 1792, in Newport, for generations the home of the family, where the whole of his life was passed. After a thorough English ed- ncation, he entered the office of his brother, Henry Y., as clerk and served for several years in that capacity. Imbibing here a taste for public life and evincing the strong Whig proclivities of the family, he embarked in politics, was for successive terms elected sheriff of his county and served as postmaster of New- port. In 1843 he was elected to the state legislature and con- tinned to fill that responsible position until 1847, part of the time acting as speaker of the house. Mr. Cranston was in 1839 the representative of his district in congress and continued in office until 1843, when he was succeeded by his brother. He was also favorably known in business circles as cashier of the Traders' Bank of Newport. He enjoyed an extended influence as a man of great integrity, of marked force of character and untiring in- dustry. The death of Mr. Cranston occurred January 14th, 1873, on concluding his eighty-first year.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
WILLIAM HENRY CRANSTON, son of Henry Y. and Mary H. Cranston, was born in Newport, March 29th, 1821. After a thorough preparatory course he entered Brown University in 1837, but owing to ill health was unable to complete his course. On leaving the university he determined upon the study of law, and entered his father's office, after which he was in due time admitted to the bar. Literary work proving, however, more congenial, soon after he became associated with George H. Nor- man in the publication of the "Newport Daily News," which relation extended over a period of sixteen years. He was a vigorous and pleasing writer and a constant contributor to many of the leading journals and periodicals of the day. He was also the author of many poems and lyrics, a volume of which has been recently published. Mr. Cranston was a highly cultivated man and wrote with much facility and grace. His diction was pure, and the sentiments embodied in his poems highly moral, and at times replete with pathos.
In 1857, having embarked in politics, he was elected mayor of Newport, and in this office manifested so much executive ability and conscientious fidelity to duty as to warrant the peo- ple in choosing him for eight succeeding terms. No better proof of his high character can be given than was afforded by this popular indorsement. Mr. Cranston died on the 10th of October, 1871, deeply regretted by his numerous friends and the public.
LUCIUS D. DAVIS, the son of Norman and Lavina Davis, was born in Jerusalem, Yates county, New York, January 21st, 1825. His early years were chiefly spent in New Lisbon, Otsego county, in the same state, to which place his parents re- moved. At the age of fifteen, desiring better educational ad- vantages than the district school afforded, he entered the Frank . lin Academy at Prattsburgh, New York, as a student, and sub- sequently the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, New York, for the purpose of fitting himself for college. About this time Mr. Davis united with the Methodist Episcopal church and de- cided to prepare for the work of the ministry. He arranged for entering Dickinson College, but was persuaded by his friends to abandon the purpose and connect himself at once with the conference. This conclusion being reached, he spent a few months at the Gilbertville Academy, and in the summer of 1846, when twenty-one years of age, he was received into the Oneida
N. H. Cranston.
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HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Conference, then holding its sessions at Auburn, New York. While a member of this conference Mr. Davis occupied some of its most prominent pulpits, spending the allotted time at Hart- wick, New Hartford, Madison, Manlius, Cortland, and at two churches in the city of Utica. During these years he wrote frequently for the press. and was the anthor of several works, some of which were published anonymously. His " Life in the Itinerancy " and " Life in the Laity " were widely circulated, and though works of fiction in the ordinary sense of the term, exerted a marked influence on ministers and churches, and in effecting reforms where most needed. He published also "Creeds of the Churches," "The Child in Heaven," "History of Methodism in Cortland," and other sketches and pamphlets that were well received. At the close of his pastorate in Utica the physicians advised a change to the seaboard, and in 1859 he was transferred to the Providence Conference, his station being Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. Thence he was placed in charge of the parish in Warren, Rhode Island, from which he went to the First Church in Newport. At the close of his pastorate in the latter place, and at his own request, after twenty years of service, his connection with the conference was severed.
Deciding to remain in Newport, Mr. Davis, in connection with Reverend M. J. Talbot, D. D., purchased the " Newport Daily News," and engaged in editorial work. About this time he re- ceived the degree of Master of Arts from Wesleyan University. Two years later Doctor Talbot retired from the firm and re- sumed pastoral work, his interest having been purchased by Mr. T. T. Pitman. Under the new management the paper rapidly increased in circulation, and a weekly, known as the " Newport Journal," was established, which met with favor, especially in the country towns. Mr. Davis has fully identified himself with the public interests of Newport. He organized the Cliff Cottage Association and built the beautiful summer residence on the cliffs, besides originating the Conanient Land Company, having previously purchased a large tract of land on Conanient island. This is now known as Conanient Park, a watering place of growing reputation, from the first under his management.
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