USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I > Part 84
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In social life Mr. Day's genial and hospitable disposition has wide recognition and appreciation. Although he had few early advantages, in youth being dependent upon his own exertions, yet by industry, perseverance and natural force of character. he has earned an honor- able position in the community, and is held in high esteem as a citi- zen, and as a stable member of his church, of which he has been a faithful and liberal supporter, and of gospel institutions of every kind, of education and of charity.
Mr. Day was married in 1844 to Lydia Read Wilbur, daughter of Enoch Wilbur, of Raynham, Mass., who died in 1886, leaving four children: Sarah Adelaid, married to Edward W. Eames, of Buffalo, N. Y .: Henry Gould, married to Mary H. Love, of Providence; Charles Read, married to Emma J. Braman, of Cambridge, Mass .; and Olive Dorrance.
CHARLES FLETCHER, president of the Providence Worsted Mills, is now, in the various mills of which he is the principal owner, the lar- gest consumer of wool in the United States. Eminent. as a manufac- turer in the textile industries of the country, his record is somewhat remarkable. It would indeed be difficult to find a case parallel with his, wherein such large results, in so short a period, have been attained in manufacturing pursuits. Mr. Fletcher began at the bottom of the ladder, and is now recognized as one of the foremost manufacturers in our great country. As late as 1875 we find him beginning business for himself for the first time in a very small way, with an indomitable will, and greater capacity for labor than money for capital, and now because of constant and increasing demand for his special fabrics, the little mill in which he began, with its limited equipments, has given way to a whole plant of large buildings, in which he has in operation at this time 45 sets of woolen cards, 36 sets of worsted cards, 28 worsted combs and 52 woolen mules, having. with other spinning machinery,
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an aggregate of 52,800 spindles and 420 looms for weaving worsted suitings for gentlemen's wear, also overcoatings and ladies' cloakings.
Charles Fletcher was born in Thornton, near Bradford, Yorkshire, England, November 29th, 1840. He is the son of Richard and Ann (Drake) Fletcher, the father being the owner of a large variety store at that place. Charles Fletcher received his education in the public schools of Thornton, attending night schools after he began work in the mills. When 17 years of age the mills stopped, and he sought and obtained employment in the mills at Bradford. He remained in Bradford till 21 years of age, though he had completed his apprentice- ship at the age of 17 years. In 1864 he came to this country and was employed one year in the Pacific Mill at Lawrence, Mass. He then returned to England, but in 1867 set sail again for America, locating this time in Providence, where he still remains.
Mr. Fletcher began his career here in the Valley Worsted Mill, in charge of one department of the work, and afterward as superinten- dent of the worsted department. He remained in this capacity nine years. The operations of the mill under his management were very profitable, enabling the proprietors, who were embarrassed by debt when he commenced, to pay off their obligations two years afterward. At the close of his superintendency for them, the mills were on a strong financial basis, and earning a large interest on the capital invested.
Late in the summer of 1875, Mr. Fletcher determined to undertake the manufacture of worsted yarns on his own account. Accordingly he hired the small stone mill on Valley street, known as the Rising Sun Paper Mill, from Anna Richmond, trustee of the Richmond estate, and at once ordered from England a Noble comber and the necessary subsidiary machinery for the manufacture of worsted yarns. Work was begun early in 1876, Mr. Fletcher himself superintending the operation of the machinery with the utmost diligence during working hours, devoting the evenings-often far into the night-to correspondence and the keeping of his books and accounts. He also personally sold the product of his mill, making occasional visits to the various large cities of the country for that purpose. Severe as was his routine of labor already, at the earnest solicitation of his former em- ployers, he also exercised supervision of the work at the Valley Worsted Mills.
The success of Mr. Fletcher as a manufacturer is due wholly to the superior class of worsted goods he placed upon the market. In con- sequence, a demand for his yarns was created beyond the capacity of his facilities, necessitating the erection and equipment of new build- ings, especially designed and adapted to the worsted manufacture. Accordingly, on the 1st of October, 1878, he purchased the mill and land, in area about 24,000 feet, having a frontage on Valley street of 175 feet, and he has since increased the area by a purchase from the Richmond Land Company and others, so that it now measures 213,000
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square feet, with a front on Valley street of 852 feet. On this prop" erty he erected six large mills, a building for the offices of the com- pany, and numerous small buildings. Mill No. 1, erected in 1879, is 210 by 58 feet, four stories high; No. 2, erected in 1881, is 263 by 57 feet, four stories high, with basement; No. 3, erected in 1884, is 215 by 63 feet, four stories high, with an extension 36 by 36 feet, four stories high, and an ell 47 feet wide and four stories high; No. 4, erected in 1884, is 252 by 46 feet, four stories high; No. 5, erected in 1886, is irregular in shape, having an average length and width of 130 by 45 feet, and a height of two stories. In 1890 Mr. Fletcher erected a group of mills on Valley street, the largest one being 278 by 100 feet. four stories; another 120 by 80 feet, three stories high; and south of this building, called the Annex, a storehouse especially for the storage of wool, 140 by 60 feet, four stories high. In addition to the above, engine and boiler houses, dye house, storehouses, etc., have been erected as needed.
In July, 1883, Mr. Fletcher associated with himself four of his most faithful and efficient employees, putting to their credit in the aggre- gate, $100,000 of the stock, with the privilege of paying for it from the profits of their shares, allowing their regular salaries still to continue, and organized the Providence Worsted Mill Company, under the gen- eral laws of the state, with a cash capital of $500,000. In 1886 this capital was increased to $1,000,000. December 31st, 1880, he purchased from the Lonsdale Company the mills and tenements at Manton, R. I. He then added a new mill, and sold the property to Horace Kimball. July 5th, 1883, he purchased the estate of the Providence Thread Company, in what had been known as the village of Simmonsville, and established an important industry, giving it the name of the Thorn- ton Worsted Mills, naming it after the village of his birth, and put it under the immediate superintendence of his son, Joseph E. Fletcher, by whom it was operated till 1888, in which year the Thornton Wors- ted Mill Company was formed.
In 1883 Mr. Fletcher purchased from Charles H. Whipple the mill privileges next below that now occupied by the Thornton Worsted Mills, and erected a mill, which he leased in 1884 to the British Ho- siery Company. Mr. Fletcher also became interested in the manufac- ture of a fabric woven of cotton yarns, under a patent granted origi- nally to John Gujer, of Philadelphia, May 18th, 1858. Subsequently an improvement was granted to Seth W. Baker, of Providence, Sep- tember 4th, 1866, and on the 30th of January, 1883, a patent for an ap- plication of this fabric was granted to Mr. Fletcher, for the manufac- ture of aprons for carding, combing and drawing machines, used in preparing the sliver of wool fiber. In 1886 Mr. Fletcher purchased the Narragansett Hotel. He was also one of the original instigators and builders of the cable street railroad now in successful operation in the city of Providence. The above is but a meager outline of the grand career of Mr. Fletcher's life, and his life seems but commenced ..
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
WILLIAM A. HARRIS .- The great ancestor of the subject of this sketch, William Harris, came to America from Bristol, England, in the ship "Lyon," in company with his brother Thomas and the world renowned Roger Williams. He was one of the first settlers of Provi- dence in 1636, one of the twelve to whom Williams deeded land in 1638, and one of the 12 original members of the First Baptist church. Sub- sequently he had a long controversy with the founder of the state. which was characterized by a good deal of warmth on both sides.
William Andrew Harris was born in Woodstock, Conn., on the 2d day of March, 1835, the family consisting of three sons. His parents came to Providence while he was a child, and after remaining until 1840 they removed to North Adams, Mass. At the age of 11 he returned to Providence, where he has since resided. After having attended the Fountain street grammar school for about three years, the principal being Mr. Albert A. Gamwell, a famous teacher in his day, he entered the high school in 1849, where he remained until the spring of 1851, when he left to attend a boarding school at South Wil- liamstown, Mass. While attending the high school he was one of the carriers of the Providence Journal, retiring therefrom, as he well re- members, on the anniversary of Washington's birthday, February 22d, 1851, he playfully remarking to one of his young companions who asked what the cannon-firing was for. that it was because he had got through carrying the Journal. And here it may be remarked that to have been a carrier of the Providence Journal in its early days is a dis- tinction which gives a justifiable degree of pride to many of the prom- inent citizens of the "City of Roger Williams."
Young Harris, during the winter of 1851-2, remained at home practicing drawing. In March of the latter year he entered the Union Bank of Providence as clerk, where he remained three years. In 1855 he engaged in the employ of the Providence Forge and Nut Company, now known as the Providence Tool Company, as draughtsman. The following year he accepted a similar position with the Corliss Steam Engine Company. Here he remained eight and one-half years. On the 1st of August, 1864, he began building the Corliss engine on his own account, paying the inventor, the late George H. Corliss, a stip- ulated royalty. At first he occupied an old building on Eddy street which was used during the " Dorr War" as the headquarters of Thomas Wilson Dorr's adherents. For four years Mr. Harris carried on busi- ness here. In 1869 he exhibited one of his "Corliss Engines" at the American Institute in New York city. The New York Tribune, in describing it, gave it the name of the " Harris-Corliss Engine." Since 1870, the date when the patent on the Corliss engine expired, Mr. Harris has manufactured it, with his own and other patented improve- ments, under the name originally given it by the Tribune.
Mr. Harris started his present extensive works on the corner of Park and Promenade streets, west of the Union railroad station, on the
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17th of November, 1868. The premises occupy nearly 150,000 square feet of valuable land. The buildings, constructed expressly for the business, consist of a machine shop, blacksmith shop, iron foundry, brass foundry, pattern shop and pattern storehouse, and other struc- tures. A large force of skilled workmen, varying with the fluctua- tions of business from 200 to 400, is employed in the establishment, the most amicable relations at all times existing between the employer and the employees, "strikes" being an unheard of thing here. A large part of the machinery and tools were invented and made espec- ially for these works, the product of which consists of stationary engines varying from 20 horse-power to 2,000. The establishment, when run to its full extent, is capable of turning out half a million dollars' worth of merchandise annually, which is shipped to all parts of the United States, and to Cuba, Mexico and Spain.
Fifty years ago a prominent feature of the arts and trades through- out New England was the apprentice system, a thing now almost un- known. But in Mr. Harris's establishment this commendable feature is still kept up. Briefly stated, the system, as devised by him and im- proved and perfected by the experience of years, makes his works a manual or industrial training school of the best and most practical kind, covering a period of three years, that being the term of ap- prenticeship. During this time the learner is thoroughly taught to execute every part of the complex work in the best manner, so that when his apprenticeship is ended he is the master of a good trade, and can, if he chooses, find employment where he learned the busi- ness. A large proportion of the workmen employed by Mr. Harris have thus been instructed under the direct supervision of his superin- tendent and foremen, thereby securing skilled mechanics and a total exemption from the friction which so often exists between employer and employed. Every man in the establishment thoroughly under- stands what is expected of him, and upon compliance therewith merits and receives the approbation of the proprietor.
In the war of the rebellion Mr. Harris entered the service of his country as a member of the 10th Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteers, and after serving the full period of his enlistment he received an honorable discharge. He is a much esteemed comrade of Prescott Post, No. 1. G. A. R., of Providence; served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Commander-in-Chief Rea; was chosen a member of the council of administration of the Department of Rhode Island at the annual encampment in 1890; and at the annual encampment in 1891 was chosen as delegate at-large to the national encampment to be held in Detroit, Michigan, in August, 1891.
In politics Mr. Harris is a republican. He has represented his ward in the city council, and for four successive years (1882-6) he was chosen representative to the general assembly.
He married, September 8th, 1859, Eleanor F. Morrill, of New
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Hampshire. They have two sons, Frederick W. and William A., Jr.
Mr. Harris is a Unitarian in religious belief, and has for many years been a regular worshipper at the First Congregational church in Providence. As a citizen he is widely known throughout the state and universally respected by all classes. By his uprightness of character and other sterling qualities he has won an honorable position in business and social circles in the city where he has so long resided.
WILLIAM S. HAYWARD was born in Foster, R. I., February 26th, 1835. His early youth was spent on a farm while attending the pub- lic school. In 1847 he went to Old Warwick, R. I., where he engaged in farming, attending the district school during the winter months. Removing to Providence, his present home, in 1851, he obtained em- ployment in a baking establishment and followed that business until 1858, when he purchased an interest with Rice & Hayward. Two years later he became a partner under the firm name of Rice, Hay- ward & Co. In 1863 Mr. Hayward bought the entire interest of the firm, and continued alone in business until 1865, when Mr. Fitz James Rice again became his partner, which copartnership has existed until the present time. An extended notice of such a well-known es- tablishment would be superfluous. We suffice to say its prosperity is largely due to Mr. Hayward's sterling qualities, which insure success, whether in business or at the head of a municipal corpo- ration.
His fellow citizens were not long in recognizing this fact, and in consequence he was called upon to fill many positions of honor and trust. In 1872, Mr. Hayward was elected to the common council of the city of Providence, and annually reelected until 1876. During his terms of office in this branch of the city government, he served on many important committees, acting as chairman of the committee on fire department, public parks, etc. We may here mention that Mr. Hayward has always been a supporter of all measures for the benefit of the city and people, and has contributed much of his time and means to the furtherance thereof. The beautiful fountain which adorns the center of Hayward Park was his present to the citizens of the city of Providence in 1889. In 1876 he was elected a member of the board of aldermen, and in 1878 was chosen its president, which office he held three years.
In November, 1880, Mr. Hayward was nominated and elected mayor of the city of Providence, succeeding Honorable Thomas A. Doyle. He brought to that office the ripe experience of a long training in the common council and board of aldermen, a sound judgment, and an enterprising spirit, and it is unnecessary to say his position was filled to the entire satisfaction of the community. After serving as mayor for the years 1881, 1882 and 1883. he declined a renomination for the office.
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The following notes are from newspaper articles published after his valedictory address. Providence Journal, January 5th, 1884: "The pleasant words of thanks to Mayor Hayward, which accompanied the close of his legislative functions, have much more than an official and perfunctory significance. They indicate not only the warm feeling of personal respect and regard of his associates, won by unfailing kindliness and impartiality, but that of the community as well, for a high order of administrative ability, sincere devotion to the public welfare, and a graceful courtesy and dignity worthy of the chief mag- istrate of the city."
The Providence Evening Press, January 7th, 1884, gives an extended editorial. Among other things it says: "The valedictory address of Mayor Hayward, delivered before the city council, to-day, very prop -. erly is confined to a brief summary of some of the more important operations of the various departments of the city government during his term of office, which has embraced the past three municipal years. It informs us that the net city debt has been decreased during that period $593,646.43." After referring to other matters in the address, it sums up as follows: "Such is a brief summary of the matters treated in the valedictory address of His Honor, Mayor William S. Hayward, now ex-mayor of the city of Providence-than whom no more honest, upright, well-meaning man, ever occupied the mayoral office of this or any other city in the land. He has given twelve years of an honest man's life to the service of the city in one and another of the differ- ent branches of its municipal government, and retires to-day to pri- vate life crowned with the enviable, imperishable honor of a well spent public career, and laden with the grateful thanks of his fellow citizens."
The Providence Evening Telegram, January 7th, 1884, says: " At noon to-day Mayor Hayward performed the last official act of his ad- ministration, and bade farewell to the halls of municipal legislation. There was a tinge of sadness to his final parting words, for during the three years he occupied the mayoral office he had endeared him- self to all officials of the city government, and to our citizens gen- erally by his faithful discharge of duties, courteous and affable man- ners."
Honorable Thomas A. Doyle again succeeded to the mayoralty after the retirement of Mayor Hayward. The following is a quota- tion from his inaugural address of January 7th, 1884: " In declining to be a candidate for reëlection to the position to which his fellow citizens would have again cheerfully called him, Honorable William S. Hayward closes a term of service highly honorable to him, and creditable to the city. In assuming once more the position of private citizen, he takes with him not alone the esteem of a large number who have been associated with him during his twelve years of service in the municipal government, but he has won the respect of the citizens
William J. Magaran
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of Providence, whose interests he has honestly guarded and always endeavored to promote."
Mr. Hayward is president of the Bank of America, and is a direc- tor in the Citizens' Savings Bank and the National Eagle Bank. In 1885 he was elected a representative in the state legislature and was reelected in 1886. He was appointed a member of the state board of charities and corrections by Governor Bourn, January 23d, 1884, and was reappointed by Governor G. P. Wetmore in 1886, and is still in office. He has been a member of the committee on buildings and repairs, and for five years chairman, during which time many new buildings have been erected at the state institutions, notably the new alms house, a structure 730 feet in length, and with accommodations for 400 people.
Mr. Hayward is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Franklin Lyceum, Providence Light Infantry, Squantum Club, and other societies and organizations.
He married November 9th, 1859, Miss Lucy Maria Rice, daughter of Fitz James Rice, Esq.
THOMAS J. HILL is one of the oldest and most active of the busi- ness men in Providence. He is the son of Cromwell Hill, a native of Rehoboth, Mass., who removed to Pawtucket, R. I., about the year 1800, soon after his marriage with Cynthia Walker. Mr. Hill was born at that place March 4th, 1805. He obtained an ordinary school education, and after working a few years with his father and in the mills of Pawtucket, entered the machine shop of Pitcher & Gay, with whom he remained nine years as journeyman and apprentice. In April, 1830, he went to Providence and took charge of the machine shop connected with the steam mill then owned by Samuel Slater. A few years later he purchased a two-fifths interest with his employer. They then associated in business under the name of the Providence Machine Company. Mr. Slater, died in 1835, and his interest was sold to other parties. Under the management of Mr. Hill the business im- proved rapidly until 1845, when it became necessary to have larger quarters. New buildings were erected, and the following year Mr. Hill became sole proprietor of the Providence Machine Company. In 1867 a charter was obtained by him for the corporation, but it was not until 1874 that the company was organized, with Mr. Hill as president and treasurer, his son, Mr. Albert Hill, as secretary, and Mr. George Hazard as manager and agent. In 1837 he bought the Lee Mill at Willimantic, Conn., and for several years operated it in the manu- facture of thread and machinery.
Observing an opportunity for manufacturing in Lewiston, Maine, he associated himself with a number of Boston capitalists, who organ- ized the Bates Manufacturing Company, and built extensive cotton mills. At that place, in 1850, Mr. Hill erected a foundry and rented a
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machine shop, where he built machinery for the mills, associating himself with Mr. Samuel W. Kilvert, a former foreman in his foundry at Providence. About ten years later he sold this plant. In 1859 he bought the Peckham Mills, at East Greenwich, R. I., and started there what is now known as the Bay Mills. This mill he afterward gave to his two sons. The Providence Dredging Company was organized by him in 1866, and a year later he organized the Rhode Island Malleable Iron Works, and in 1874 the Providence Pile Driving and Bridge Com- pany was established by him. Subsequently he founded the village of Hill's Grove, on the N. Y., P. & B. railroad, and in 1875 he started a cotton mill there of upward of 20,000 spindles, which he named Elizabeth Mill, a compliment to his wife.
Besides being a large manufacturer, Mr. Hill has been prominently identified with various banking institutions and insurance companies, and has held several positions of trust and responsibility. He has been president of the Lime Rock National Bank for over 35 years, and vice-president of the City Savings Bank from 1859 to 1884, of which he was also one of the board of trustees. He was a member of the Providence city council during the years 1848-52, 1855-6, and 1878. Mr. Hill has also served as a member of the general assembly of Rhode Island. He is a member of the Rhode Island Historical So- ciety, and of the Rhode Island Agricultural Society.
Mr. Hill has been married three times: first, October 12th, 1825, to Betsey Brown, daughter of Sylvanus and Ruth Brown, of Pawtucket, who died May 9th, 1859: second, December 9th, 1861, to Olive L. Farn- ham, daughter of Stephen and Hannah Farnham, of Canterbury, Conn., who died November 16th, 1866; and third, August 9th, 1869, to Elizabeth C. Kenyon, daughter of John H. and Ruth Kenyon, of War- wick. R. I. By the first marriage there were six children: James Brown, Abby Ann, William Wallace, Albert, Amanda Elizabeth and Thomas Henry, three of whom died in infancy. There were no chil- dren by the other marriages.
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