History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I, Part 8

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather), ed
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: New York, W. W. Preston
Number of Pages: 1036

USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I > Part 8

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Honorable Amasa Smith Westcott, who for years has been judge of the municipal court of Providence, is a native of North Scituate, R. I., and was born September 21st, 1818. His first American ancestor, Stukley Westcott, who with Roger Williams was expelled from the church of Salem, became one of the distinguished founders of the Rhode Island colony. Judge Westcott's grandfather served in the revolutionary war, and received an honorable discharge. His father, John. united in marriage with Cecilia Owen, and thus was brought into the world the subject of this sketch, a man of marked ability; one who. though of modest disposition, will ever be before the public. His early years were spent in Scituate, where he pursued the ordinary studies of the public schools. Having, however, a desire to obtain the benefits of a college education, he attended the academies at Brooklyn and Plainfield, Conn.

Ilis preparatory studies were completed under the direction of the late Judge Bosworth, of Warren, R. I., and in 1838 he entered Brown University, from which he graduated in 1842. He studied law with Judge Bosworth, was admitted to the bar in 1844, and for one year thereafter remained in the office of his preceptor.

In 1845 he removed to Providence, where he engaged in the prac- tice of his profession until 1852. In that year he was elected clerk of the court of common pleas of Providence county, and held the po- sition uninterruptedly until 1867. He was then elected judge of the municipal court, being er-officio judge of probate, and held that office until his retirement from public life in 1884. In the discharge of his official duties, Judge Westcott has secured a well earned reputation for judicial ability, geniality of disposition and urbanity.

In 1854 he was elected a member of the common council of Provi- dence from the First ward, and was chairman of the committee in 1875 which erected the county court house. In politics he is a repub- lican, and prior to the organization of that party was a whig.

Judge Westcott married. April 7th, 1845, Susan C., daughter of Daniel Bosworth, of Warren, and sister of the late Judge Bosworth. They have had three children, all of whom died in infancy.

Apollas Cushman, of Pawtucket, for many years a leading mem- ber of the bar of Bristol county, Mass., with a large practice in the

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

courts of Rhode Island, was the son of Zebedee and Sarah (Paddel- ford) Cushman, and was the seventh in lineal descent from Robert Cushman. the pilgrim. Born in Middleboro, Mass., August 9th, 1782, graduating at Brown University in 1802. studying law with Judge Paddelford, of Taunton, he was admitted to the bar in 1806. He be- gan practice in Attleborough, but about 1815 he removed to Seekonk, now Pawtucket. Meanwhile he had married Anna Maria, daughter of General William Barton, of Revolutionary fame as the capturer of Prescott among other illustrious services to his country. Learned in the law, brilliant, and at the same time solid in intellect, gifted with unusual eloquence, he at once took high rank as a lawyer and coun- sellor. A man of great power before a jury, he devoted himself chiefly to the civil side of his profession. At Pawtucket he had neither rival nor peer, and after the death of Moses Sandford and Collins Darling, Mr. Cushman had an exclusive field. His reputation extended far, and clients came from neighboring counties to consult with him. After the troubles of 1829, when the Slaters, Wilkinsons, Greens, Tylers and others were his clients, his standing as a lawyer was assured. He ranked among the foremost men at the bar, and it is hardly too much to say that in later years he stood at the head of his profession. Mr. Cushman defeated all attempts to draw him into political life, but he had no less a large influence upon the affairs of the town. When the town of Pawtucket was formed out of Seekonk. it was he who visited the "Great and General Court," as the attorney for the town, and it was his eloquence that carried the day. When the town meeting had before it some difficult point, he was sent for to advocate it. When at Draper's store, a sort of local exchange, the In- grahams, Starkweathers, Tylers and others discussed public affairs, no voice was so potent as Mr. Cushman's, and referring to those times, he seemed to be the "power behind the throne." When, in the Dorr war, a man was shot down at Pawtucket bridge, with one impulse the mob went to Mr. Cushman's house, to know what should be done, and when he told them to go home and thank God they were not them- selves killed, as they might lawfully have been, they looked upon the matter as settled. After a long life of distinguished service to his fel- low men, he died September 17th, 1864. Rhode Island mourned in him one of her worthiest sons. Of his seven children two survive- Mr. Henry B. Cushman, who occupies the homestead at Pawtucket, and the Reverend George F. Cushman, D.D., author and journalist, of New York.

Walter Snow Burges, ex-associate justice of the supreme court of Rhode Island, was born September 10th, 1808, in Rochester, Plymouth county, Mass., where his father, Abraham Burges, and grandfather, John Burges, had lived for many years, following agricultural pur- suits. His mother, née Rhoda Caswell, was the daughter of Elijah Caswell, and a native of the same county. Judge Burges attended

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

the public schools of Rochester, until the age of 17 years, when he en- tered the old academy, at Sandwich. then under the charge of Profes- sor Luther Lincoln. Here he prepared himself for college, and entered Brown University, in 1827, graduating in 1831. He immedi- ately accepted charge of Thaxter Academy, at Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, and taught there for three consecutive years. In the mean- time he engaged more or less in legal studies, which he completed later, under the direction of Judge Thomas Burgess at Providence. In 1835 he was admitted to the ranks of the legal profession, by the supreme court, and discharged the duties pertaining to its practice un- til his elevation to the judicial bench in 1868, where he continued un- til June. 1881, when his health compelled him to resign the position he had so long and successfully filled.

" The political affiliations of Judge Burges continued from early manhood to the year 1840 in harmony with the federal, national re- publican and whig designations of party politics. In that and the fol- lowing year, complaints had become louder, more general and persis- tent. against the government under the charter of Charles II., in 1663, and rapidly assumed organized forms of proceeding. What was wanted was a written constitution, notably providing for an extension of the elective franchise, not limited, as before, to freeholders and their oldest sons, and an equalization of the legislature among the various towns, and setting aside the arbitrary apportionment of the charter, now come to be enormously disproportioned and unjust. The old legislature, of course, would extend no countenance, assent, or authority to any movements of this kind. The constitutional or suf- frage party, as then called, claimed the right to act without their con- sent, preserving all the forms of proceeding, as nearly as possible, to which they had been accustomed. They called a state convention. They framed and submitted to the people a written constitution. It was in due time voted on, and soon after, by proclamation, declared to have been adopted by a large majority of the people qualified to vote under it. At an election soon after held the usual state officers and a legislature were duly voted into place, according to the provis- ions of the new constitution. Then followed an attempt to establish and enforce the constitution by a military demonstration. The at- tempt wholly failed, and was effectually suppressed by the strong re- sistance it encountered from the state, assisted by the general govern- ment. Another constitution, however, was adopted at about this time, promoted by the old legislature itself, and far more liberal in regard to the elective franchise and the equalization of representa- tion. This constitution now remains, with its subsequent amend- ments, as the highest law of the state. With these proceedings and reforms sought to be realized from them, the judge, though always expressing a warm sympathizing interest, yet never took much active and decisive part."

Binin

Il Burger

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

"In 1845 he was appointed United States district attorney, under the administration of President Polk, and was removed by his succes- sor four years later. He served the state occasionally in one or the other branch of the legislature, and was elected attorney-general in 1851, and reelected in 1852, 1853 and 1854, and again in 1860, 1861, 1862 and 1863."

June 1st, 1836, Judge Burges married Eleanor, daughter of Honor- able James Burrill, of Providence. Mrs. Burges died in Providence May 1st, 1865. They had three children: Cornelia A., now Mrs. Ar- nold Green; Sarah Elizabeth, now Mrs. Charles Morris Smith, and Theodora F., who is at present living with her father.

Philip Capron Scott was born in Manville, in the town of Smith- field, November 22d, 1817. The first six months of his life were spent there, he then removing with his parents to the city of Providence. His father was Elisha, son of Samuel Scott, of Billingham, Norfolk county, Mass. His mother was Nancy, daughter of Philip Capron, of the town of Cumberland, in this county. The latter was from early manhood to the end of his life a magistrate of his town, and was well read in the law, of sound mind and excellent judgment. About two years after the birth of Philip, his father purchased a farm in Cum- berland and moved his family thither. Spending the early years of his boyhood as a farmer boy, he had few opportunities for recreation or amusement, and but limited means of acquiring an early education. By dint of stratagem and the assistance of a friend, young Philip suc- ceeded in getting command of his own affairs at the age of 16, and by diligence and earnest perseverance he secured advancement in studies, meanwhile teaching in the common schools, so that when 23 years of age he was prepared to enter Brown University a year in advance. He pursued the course in part, but on account of ill health abandoned the idea of graduating. Ile then taught school two years, and then determined upon a mercantile life. The death of his father occurring about that time he invested his patrimony in the mercan- tile business, but after pursuing it about two years he gave it up at a loss of nearly all that he had risked in it. In the spring of 1845, hav- ing then a wife and child to provide for and little means to work with, he entered the office of Abraham Payne, as a student of law. As Mr. Payne and Chief Justice Ames soon after formed a partner- ship, Mr. Scott became the student of both, and at the spring term of the supreme court in 1848, was admitted to the bar. He continued to practice for 30 years, when the increasing severity of neuralgia, which had fastened itself upon him, compelled him to give up foren- sic practice, and confine himself to simple office business, and making no effort to enlarge his practice in that direction, but meeting the work that follows him. He has been twice married: the first time to Catherine H. Holbrook, of Grafton, Mass., April 4th, 1841, she dying in 1864; again, he was married to Mrs. Mary E. Sherman, of Woon-

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

socket, February 19th, 1870. By the first wife he had three children: Catherine, Philip and Martha, of whom the first named survives, the other two dying in infancy. At the bar Mr. Scott had the reputation of a first class jury advocate, and a safe and reliable counsellor. Po- litically he is a democrat, in religion a Methodist, on the "living issue " favorably inclined to prohibition.

William H. Greene was born in Hopkinton, R. I., September 5th, 1826. His father, Benjamin Greene, born in the same town, March 15th, 1786, died in May, 1880, was a descendant of John Greene, of Kingstown, who about 1639 came to Narragansett and lived there with Richard Smith, the first white settler of that locality. The mother of William H. Greene was Sarah Ann, daughter of Jeremiah Baker, of Scituate, R. I. Mr. Greene was never married. Up to the age of 14 years he worked on the farm and attended the district school at Hopkinton City (so called). He then attended the Paw- catuck Academy at Westerly, for several years, teaching some winters meanwhile, in the district schools of Hopkinton. He then taught schools in Portsmouth three years, after which he attended the academy at Alfred Centre, N. Y., for about a year and half. He then went to Shiloh, N. J., where he taught in Shiloh Academy for about 18 months. In November, 1850, he began traveling on an agency through most of the Southern states, in which he continued about five years, with the exception of the summer and fall of 1853, when he was attending the Law School at Ballston Spa, N. Y. In October. 1855, he commenced reading law in the office of Benjamin F. Thurs- ton, in Providence. From that time until his admission to the bar, in July, 1858, he acted as librarian of the Franklin Lyceum. He was also for several years treasurer of that corporation, and is still a life member of it. On his admission to the bar he opened a law office in Jones's Building, 26 Westminster street, where he remained until July, 1873. At the latter date he entered into a partnership with Wil- lard Sayles, which continued six years. He was admitted to the U. S. circuit court bar about 1862, and to the U. S. supreme court bar in 1887. He was one of the justices of the court of magistrates of Providence. for 1865-6, and one of the police justices of the city for 1867-8. He continues to practice law at the corner of South Main and College streets.

Claudius B. Farnsworth, now of the firm of C. B. & C. J. Farns- worth, who occupy an office in Cole's Block, Pawtucket, was born January 8th, 1815, of Massachusetts parentage, his ancestry having lived at Groton since 1661. He graduated at Harvard University in 1841, and after studying law in Harvard Law School, and with J. G. Coffin, of New Bedford, was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts, in March, 1844. He soon after settled in Pawtucket, and is now prac- ticing law there. From 1859 to 1881 he was engaged in calico printing.

James G. Markland was born at Manchester, England, January 23d, 1829. He was educated in the city of his birth, and about 1844

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

entered the office of an attorney and solicitor in Manchester, and after spending about two years there, was duly articled for the term of five years, with the view to admission to practice as an attorney and coun- sellor in the English courts. After serving the specified term he acted for about three years as managing clerk in the same office. HIe came to this country in the summer of 1854, and settled at Philadel- phia, where he remained about two years, and removed to Providence in the spring of 1857. Here he has resided ever since. He was ad- mitted to practice, in the supreme court of Rhode Island, September 30th, 1858; in the circuit court of the United States, January 25th, 1869. He married at Manchester, Eng., about 1849, Hannah Bullen, who died in August, 1863. He afterward married, at Providence, June 30th, 1864, Elizabeth Clayton Read (Bradley), widow. He has never had any children.

Nicholas Van Slyck, one of Rhode Island's representative lawyers, was born at Pine Plains, near Kinderhook, N. Y., July 28th. 1829. His father, a " Knickerbocker," was a native of Kinderhook, where his ancestors had resided since the early settlement of the country. His mother's maiden name was Orminta Matilda Pulver.

Young Van Slyck, after completing his elementary studies in the public schools, attended the academy at Kinderhook, and there under the direction of Silas Metcalf, his principal and teacher, prepared him- self for a collegiate education. He entered Williams College, Wil- liamstown, Mass., in 1846, and graduated therefrom in 1849. Besides himself there were many others among his classmates who have since distinguished themselves in literary and professional pursuits.

Soon after graduating Mr. Van Slyck commenced the study of his profession, and passing an examination at Albany, was admitted to the New York bar, December 3d, 1850. He then removed to New York city, where he practiced law for five years, at the end of which time he removed to Providence, R. I., and formed a partnership with George H. Browne, a graduate of Brown University. This partnership commenced in July, 1856, and continued until the death of Colonel Browne in 1885, when Cyrus M. Van Slyck, his eldest son, joined him, and has since practiced with him.

Mr. Van Slyck's character and ability were early made manifest, which led to his being called upon to fill various positions of trust. From 1877 to April, 1890, he was president of the school.committee. and for many years previous rendered efficient service as a member. In 1870 he was elected a member of the city common council, from the Fifth Ward, and of this popular branch of city government he has for years been a prominent and active member. He was twice elected president of that body. From 1861 to 1864 Mr. Van Slyck served in the general assembly of Rhode Island, and in his position upon the judiciary committee of the house of representatives, was of great service to the legislation of the state. In 1874 he was chosen

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

city solicitor, an office he filled with such acceptance that he has been regularly elected and still holds that position. During the late war of the rebellion he served in the 1st Regiment of Rhode Island Volun- teers, commanding Company B, at the battle of Bull Run. He after- ward went out as lieutenant colonel, and having aided in the organi- zation of the 9th Regiment he resigned his commission and returned home. Previous to this, in 1858, he was colonel of the Providence Artillery, now the United Train of Artillery.

· Mr. Van Slyck has been especially interested in Masonic work, as the following list of officers and positions held by him will show. October 6th, 1857, he was initiated an entered apprentice in What Checr Lodge, No. 21, passed to the degree of Fellow Craft the 20th and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason November 24th, 1857; being the first person to receive the degrees in that Lodge. He was elected junior warden 1859, senior warden 1860, and master 1861. In 1864 he was elected deputy grand master and again in 1872. In 1873 he was elected grand master, and reëlected three times, refusing to serve the fifth term. He was made a Royal Arch Mason in Providence Chapter, No. 1, in 1861. In 1882 he was elected deputy grand high priest, reëlected in 1883, and in 1884 grand high priest, positively refusing an election in 1885. In 1862 he was made a Knight Templar in Calvary Commandery and served as junior warden and generalis- simo. In 1871, he was elected commander but was not installed, as he had been elected R. E. grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1869 he was elected general- issimo of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in 1871 grand commander. To this position he was reelected in 1872, but the following year declined to accept a third term. At the last triennial conclave of the Grand Encampment of the United States he was elected junior grand warden, which position he still holds. In the A. & A. Rite he has attained the 33d degree.

Mr. Van Slyck married November 1st, 1854, Elizabeth P., daughter of Captain Cyrus B. Manchester, of Providence. They have had born to them several children. The eldest. Cyrus M., a graduate of Brown University and heretofore spoken of, is commanding officer of the United Train of Artillery, and is also prominent in several Masonic bodies. A brief idea of Mr. Van Slyck's sterling qualities may be gained from the words of a friend which we quote as follows:

" Als a lawyer he holds a most enviable position in the Rhode Island bar for his ability, integrity and courtesy. The regard in which he is held by his fellow citizens is only partially shown by the many public positions of honor and trust to which he has been called. In his Masonic relations he not only possesses the confidence and esteem of his brethren, both at home and abroad. but he has won the admiration of all with whom he has been brought in contact, and the love of all who have been admitted to his friendship. Constant and true to his

Такруске

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

friends, generous and courteous to his opponents, there is no one who is more highly esteemed in the community where the better portion of his life has been spent than the subject of this sketch.

Daniel R. Ballou is the eldest son of Arnold and Roxa Ballou, and was born in Slatersville, in the old town of Smithfield, August 6th, 1837. He is a descendant of Maturin Ballou, who settled in Provi- dence soon after its settlement by Roger Williams. Daniel grew up in the experiences of farm life, and enjoyed the ordinary privileges of the public schools until he was about 17 years of age, when his father sent him to a boarding school. This awakened his ambition to acquire an education. He taught during the winter months, and attended school during the remainder of the year. He completed the preparation for college at the University Grammar School in Provi- dence, and entered Brown University in 1859. After graduating there he read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1864. He then opened an office for the practice of his profession in Greenville, in the town of Smithfield. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 12th Regiment R. I. Volunteers, and soon after reaching the front was commissioned a lieutenant. He resigned in the spring of 1863. and on returning home was commissioned as colonel of a militia regiment then being organized for expected actual service. In 1865, after being admitted to the bar, he was elected to represent Smithfield in the state legisla- ture, and was returned for three successive years. In 1867 he was elected clerk of the court of common pleas, which position he filled for eight successive years. In the spring of 1875 he declined a reëlec- tion, and returned to the practice of law in the city of Providence, where he has remained ever since. In 1882 he was elected to the legislature, and was returned the following year. He was again elected in 1885, but resigned after the May session was over. Since then he has devoted his attention to his professional duties.

Among the lawyers of Woonsocket Aaron White is remembered as one of the first men permanently located in that locality. His home was on the line of the P. & W. railroad, and when the depot was built, in 1847, his house was removed to make room for the latter structure. He was a man of considerable learning, and was able in the counsels of the law. He was accorded the honorary title of "Squire White." He was accustomed to attend court at Providence, going and returning on foot, with his books under his arms. Later in life he moved to Thompson, Conn., where he married and settled.

Honorable Christopher Robinson has for many years been the vet- eran member of the legal fraternity practicing in Woonsocket. He has also served to some extent in public life. His three sons, Charles Pitt, Henry H. and Albert Greene, were also educated as attorneys. The last mentioned died at Woonsocket, in July, 1870, but the other two removed to Providence. Among others of the past, Bailey E. Borden and Sullivan Ballou were attorneys in Woonsocket since 1850.

HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.

The latter entered the army early in the war, and was killed at the battle of Bull Run. He was a man of brilliant promise, and had al- ready attained distinction in public life. Leland D. Jenekes was another lawyer of this town whose promise of life was cut short in its fulfillment. He died in 1872, at the age of 33 years, having been in practice about eight years. Other members of the bar from Woon- socket, who have been conspicuous in former years, have been Mar- quis D. L. Moury, Richard Hearn. P. S. Gleason, Ferdinand Belcourt. Richard K. Randolph and Francello G. Jillson.

Frank H. Jackson was born July 11th, 1843, at Nobleboro, Maine, being the son of Joseph and Arletta G. (Flagg) Jackson. His parents removed to Jefferson, Maine, when he was about one year of age. His education in the common schools was supplemented by a course in Lincoln Academy at New Castle, Maine. He read law one year in the office of Henry Farrington at Waldoboro, and then entered the law office of Honorable Lorenzo Clay at Gardiner. He was admitted to the Kennebec bar at Augusta, Maine, in November, 1867. Sep- tember 19th, 1869, he opened a law office at Hallowell, where he en- joyed a successful practice for a number of years, being elected city solicitor for 1870 to 1875, and 1877 to 1878. He removed to Provi- dence, January 1st, 1879, where after being admitted to the Rhode Island bar, he entered into a partnership with Colonel Daniel R. Bal- lou, under the firm name of Ballou & Jackson. Mr. Jackson was a candidate on the democratic ticket for attorney general of Rhode Island, in 1885. He was married to Ella H. Owen, of Waltham, Mass., January 27th, 1875. They have two children: Frank H., Jr., and Walter N.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I, Part 8

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather), ed Publication date: 1891 Publisher: New York, W. W. Preston Number of Pages: 1036

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather), ed
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: New York, W. W. Preston
Number of Pages: 1036