USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island > Part 16
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
1871, but subsequently went to Peru and engaged in railroad building, where he remained till 1878, when he went to Nicaragua, Central America, and built for the government the first railroad in that coun- try, running from Corinto to Granada, a distance of 96 miles. In 1888 Mr. Jenckes returned to his native town, and has built the finest house in the township.
EDWIN JENCKES, president of the E. Jenckes Manufacturing Com- pany, is one of the leading manufacturers of Pawtucket, and is a grandson of Job Jenckes, one of the pioneer manufacturers of cotton goods in the state. Job Jenckes, the founder of Jenckesville, was a prominent man. He was engaged in the making of cotton goods in the old Social Mill before the year 1822. At this time he built the Jenckesville Mills in the town of Cumberland, now Woonsocket .. His son, George Jenckes, the father of Edwin Jenckes, was born in the year 1800. He was engaged with his father and brothers in the manufacturing business.
Edwin Jenckes was born in Jenckesville, January 9th, 1826. He received his education at the public schools of Woonsocket, complet- ing his course at Nichols Academy, Dudley, Mass., in 1842. When 25 years of age he went to Philadelphia, and became one of the em- ployees in a silk manufactory there, but within two years returned to Woonsocket and engaged as a manufacturer of sewing silk till the breaking out of the civil war. The style of the firm was W. A. & E. Jenckes. From 1861 to 1872 he engaged in the manufacture of silks, cotton and bonnet wire in Blackstone and Walpole, Mass., and then removed to Pawtucket, where he is at present doing a successful business in the manufacture of supplies for cotton and woolen mills, market or bright wire goods, spring cotters and split keys, ring travelers, belt hooks, cotton yarns and hosiery goods.
Mr. Jenckes is a republican. He cares little for political prefer- ment, but, nevertheless, has been sent to the general assembly of Rhode Island on five different occasions. He served two terms, just before the outbreak of the civil war, representing Woonsocket, and three terms after coming to Pawtucket.
JAMES MASON was a native of Attleboro, Mass., and married La- vinia Cartee. He came to what is now Pawtucket about 1800, and was a painter by trade. He held during his life a number of town offices, and was connected with the military for a number of years, being a major. His children were: Sarah, widow of Nathaniel Spaulding, of Lincoln; Mary, deceased, married William Brownell, of Providence; John, died single, at sea; Martha, died young, and James S., born in what is now Pawtucket October 16th, 1812. In 1849 he went to Cali- fornia, remaining a year, and on his return he opened in Pawtucket the first daily market and introduced early summer vegetables from the South to his patrons. He also, like his father, hield many public offices. He married Arthusa A. Cummings and had two children: Lois
6 Edwin Lanches
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Maria and Lavinia C., wife of Nathan W. Whipple, of Pawtucket. He died February 16th, 1889.
GEORGE EDWIN NEWELL, one of the largest dealers in the country in lumber and coal, was born in the town of Cumberland, R. I., Sep- tember 19th, 1830. His ancestor, Abraham Newell, sailed from Ips- wich, England, to America in 1634, and settled at Roxbury, Mass. He died in 1672, at the age of 91 years. The paternal line of the Newell family has been as follows: Abraham, Jacob, Jacob 2d, Joseph, Jason, John and George Edwin. Some of the most prominent men of the country have descended from Abraham Newell. The gifted and elo- quent Doctor Jonathan Maxcy was of this family. He was the second president of Brown University, succeeding the Reverend Doctor Man- ning, when but 23 years of age. He was probably one of the most gifted pulpit orators this country has ever raised up. Joseph Newell, the great-grandfather of our subject, lived in Attleboro, Mass. Jason Newell, his son, was the first to come to the town of Cumberland. He was a man of marked prominence, and was a judge of the county court at one time. He married Mary Spaulding, of Smithfield. John Newell, the father of George Edwin, was a farmer at Four Corners, near Diamond Hill Plains. He owned the saw mill there, now in possession of his son, Jason Newell. He married three times, but had children only by his second wife, Mrs. Polly (Grant) Newell. She died in 1833, when George E. was but three years old. Their children were Eliza, Jason and George E.
The subject of this sketch worked on his father's farm and at the mill, attending the winter school till 16 years of age. He was then permitted to go to school at East Greenwich, R. I. His father gave him the privilege of earning money to educate himself. He first clerked in a store at Diamond Hill Plains, earning sufficient to attend Professor Quimby's Institute at North Scituate one term. In the win- ter of 1848-9 he taught school at Cumberland Hill, in the Pound dis- trict, attending to a drove of cattle for his father on the Brown farm. He proved a successful teacher and disciplinarian, and was urged to take the same school the winter following. The next summer he worked at home again, and in the fall of 1850 entered the Merrimack Normal Institute, under Professors Russell and Ray, at Reed's Ferry, New Hampshire. During the winter of 1850-1 he taught very suc- cessfully in Smithfield, in the Lewis Dexter district, and again re- turned in the spring to work upon the farin. His reputation as a teacher began to be noticed, and he was sought for by trustees before previous engagements were completed. The expenses of his educa- tion thus far were paid by himself, except the first term at East Greenwich Academy. In the fall of 1851 he entered Brown Univer- sity, taking a special course in mathematics, chemistry and didactics. During the following winter he taught school again with great satis- faction to the school authorities in the Kings Street district, Franklin,
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Mass., in order to secure funds, but before the close of his term the trustees at Franklin Centre sought his services, and he made an en- gagement with them for the winter of 1852-3. In the meantime he worked for his brother Jason on the home farm. But his success as a teacher had arrested the attention of educators, and on May 11th, 1852, he received the following communication in regard to the school at Globe village, Woonsocket Falls, R. I. The letter was from Mr. S. Newton, trustee, and was as follows:
" Dear Sir; I have received your letter of the 8th instant, and has- ten to say that although thirty-eight dollars per month is considerably more than we have before paid for the same service, yet in considera- tion of the high character you sustain as a teacher we have concluded to allow it, and I think you will be satisfied with that, even though the school should number a few over Fifty Scholars, as we do not con- sider it a hard school to manage. We will expect you, then, to com- mence Monday morning next, and will not trouble you to come and see us before that time unless you prefer to.
" Respectfully yours, S. NEWTON."
This school was taught to the very great satisfaction of the com- munity until time to commence the engagement made for Franklin Centre school, which began in December, 1852, and ended in the spring of 1853. Continued success had followed him as a teacher, and his advice was sought by educators in relation to teachers and teach- ing, but in that same year he entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, J. W. Tingley, and for one year engaged in business in a variety store in Central Falls, which they had purchased of N. K. Sherman & Co. In September, 1854, he again entered Brown University and finished the course of study he had designed to pursue, completing his work there in June, 1856. He then taught the Union High School at Central Falls, where success crowned his work. Mr. Newell is still spoken of as one of the most successful teachers Central Falls has ever had.
Failing health induced him to change his course of life, and in 1857 he left the school work to enter into business with his uncle Smith Grant, then in the grocery business at Pawtucket. At this time the wharf property was purchased of S. Budlong in May, 1857, with the view of engaging in the wholesale trade in flour and grain, but it all soon merged into the lumber and coal business, and the grocery business was sold out in 1859. Since that time the firm known as S. Grant & Co. have built up an immense trade. They started with one horse, but now employ thirty and forty, and as many more are used by outsiders who handle wood and coal for their respective patrons. About three acres of ground were originally purchased for wharfage, but this has been extended to five acres, all now covered with exten- sive buildings incident to the business. In July, 1885, Mr. Grant died and Mr. Newell, by purchase of all interests of the heirs, became
Eng . by F G KernowNY
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sole owner. Besides being a dealer in coal, of which he has a storage capacity under cover of 15,000 tons (and in all 25,000 tons), he also handles lumber in great quantities. Of building materials he has a great variety, probably more than any other concern in the state. At his yard almost everything required to erect a house can be found: brick, lime, cement, North River stone, sewer pipe, plastering hair, mortar, stains, calcined plaster, lumber in great variety, doors, mouldings, sash, blinds, window and door frames, etc. Mr. Newell has superior facilities for handling coal in large quantities, and he supplies many of the large manufacturing establishments in and around the city of Pawtucket. He has revolutionized the handling of coal by his inven- tive skill, being the first to apply the dumping gear to heavy carts, and obtained a patent for the same. It was by his direction, with the assistance of his foreman. Mr. Lorin G. Ladd, that the discharging of coal from barges by the self-loading steam shovel was first introduced and successfully operated. The patent coal bucket of Newell & Ladd is now regarded as a great labor saving machine. From this machine have sprung nearly all the devices for handling coal cheaply. As many as 600 tons of coal have been discharged from a coal barge in four hours time by the use of this machine.
Mr. Newell always looked after the financial part of the business, making collections and paying bills. As business increased greater facilities were needed, involving great expense quite as fast as capital accumulated, and in the financial crash of 1873 they found themselves with a large indebtedness, but they lived through the embarrassment, paying a hundred cents on every dollar they owed. After Mr Grant's death it was supposed the business would go under, but the public reckoned without knowledge. The senior member of the firm of S. Grant & Co. was very conservative. The business then had money and the credit was good. The junior partner was careful, was just as cautious, but was far more aggressive. He was an excel- lent buyer, probably none more so in his line of business. Gifted with a clear view of impending booms and revulsions, he knew when to make ventures, how to figure upon margins, and he alone had been the conservation of the company in times of depression as well as its master element when the financial horoscope was bright and shining. Upon taking the business himself he boldly launched forth in specu- lative ventures that were truly astounding. During the first year ' under his management he purchased 25,000 tons of coal at a very low rate, and much of it was sold for double the purchase money. This was but the beginning of a series of successes which have followed his management, exceeding even the most sanguine expectations of business men.
Mr. Newell's success in business is largely due to the habits of his early life. He has always been strictly temperate, using neither tobacco in any form, nor intoxicating liquors of any kind, living to
9
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manhood without vitiated tastes or an enervated constitution, and he now enjoys excellent health. He has been distinctively a business man. He is public spirited but no politician. He was chairman of the school committee at one time, was one of the commissioners appointed to build the Washington bridge, and was in 1884 a representative to the lower house of the state legislature. His great work has been in securing the necessary legislation for the improving the river and the bridges for navigation. Through his efforts mainly, and at a great cost to himself, he has secured a water highway from Pawtucket to the sea. When he began the long series of fights for these privileges, the city had three drawbridges 25 feet wide, with water but eight and a half feet deep. The bridges now have 80 feet draw-way, and the river improvements nearly completed give 17 feet of water. Mr. Newell is a very charitable man and gives freely of his means for the upbuilding of all public institutions. His forefathers have been Quakers in their religious beliefs. He himself is a member of the First Baptist church, Pawtucket, and now one of its trustees. He re- cognizes the church as the chief corner stone of our nation's great- ness and warmly responds to all her calls for aid.
Mr. Newell was married August 3d, 1857, to Ermina A. Pinkham. She was a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Moulton) Pinkham. Their children now living are: Lillian A., Carrie P., Ada L., Edwin L., Lucius H., and Arthur G. Mr. Newell has arranged to incorporate his business under the name of the Newell Coal & Lumber Company, with a capital stock of $200,000.
JACOB NELSON POLSEY, of Pawtucket, was born in Ashton, town of Cumberland, R. I., August 31st, 1830, being the youngest son of Abner and Lydia (Sweetland) Polsey. He attended the local schools of his native town, and, his father being a carpenter, he worked at that trade a few years. He came to Pawtucket with his father about 1846. At the age of 18 he went to work for the Moshassuck Print Works, mak- ing their packing cases, where he remained nine years, becoming so expert that he made on an average 30 cases daily, all by hand. For the next few years he engaged in the manufacture of jewelry with the firm of William Hood & Co., of Central Falls. In 1857 he pur- chased of Luther & Ashton their packing box manufactory, located at Shad Rock, which, in 1872, was removed to its present location. He married Elizabeth M., daughter of Joseph Hood. Their children are: Mary Elizabeth, wife of Edwin A. Scott, of Pawtucket: Isabella, wife of J. W. Dennis; Jennie D., wife of Frank Mossberg, resides in Pawtucket; Charles Nelson, and Jacob Everett. He was an active member of the First Baptist church of Pawtucket. His death oc- curred August 19th, 1887.
THE PAYNE FAMILY, of Pawtucket, is of English descent, and Wil- liam, a native of Warwickshire, was a die-maker by trade. He emi- grated from the old country and first settled at Taunton, Mass., but
Eng. by F. G Kernan, N
John B. Read.
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
came to Pawtucket about 1827. His wife was Hannah, daughter of William Cooper. Their children were: John G., who resides in Provi- dence; William, who died in Pawtucket; Hannah, deceased, married Oliver Hunt: Charles; Martha and Mary Ann, twins, the latter died in infancy, the other died single, and Mary Ann, died aged 21 years. Charles, son of William, was born in Warwickshire, England, Decem- ber 29th, 1819, and married Keziah, daughter of John and Sarah Bind- ley, she being also a native of Warwickshire. He died October 27th, 1869, and left the following family: George Witheredge, Charles Bindley, James Robinson, Amey, wife of Henry A. Smith, resides in Pawtucket; William Elijah, Byron Cooper, Annie Naomi, wife of Frank Hodge, resides in Troy, N. Y .; Ella Maria, wife of George B. Olney, of Pawtucket, and John Milton.
George Witheredge, son of Charles, was born in Pawtucket June 30th, 1843. His first wife was Julia McQuiston, and their family consisted of four children, two of which died in infancy. The others are Charles and Carrie, wife of George Deacon, of Boston, Mass. George W.'s second wife was Sarah F. Balcom, and they have three children: Jude Taylor, Clinton Fanning and Alice. He is a member of the firm of George W. Payne & Co., cotton and woolen machinery manufacturers. Charles Bindley, son of Charles, was born in Paw- tucket March 26th, 1845, married Charlotte J. Robinson, and has one child, George M. Charles B. is connected with the American Hair Cloth Padding Company. James Robinson, son of Charles, was born in Pawtucket December 27th, 1847, is single, and is connected with the company mentioned above. William Elijah, son of Charles, was born in Pawtucket September 12th, 1851, married Hannah Godfrey, and has two children: James Blaine and Jennie Bindley. Byron Cooper, son of Charles, was born in Pawtucket April 24th, 1853, mar- ried Carrie Florence Foss, and has no children. He is a member of the firm of Olney & Payne Brothers, coal and wood dealers. John Milton, son of Charles, was born in Pawtucket September 22d, 1859, married Eva L. Spink, and has two children, Bertha S. and Howard H. He is a member of the firm of Olney & Payne Brothers.
Charles, son of George W., was born in Pawtucket August 20th, 1868, and married Josephine Tennant, of Pawtucket. He is a resident of Boston, Mass.
JOHN BLAKE READ, one of the prominent hardware merchants of Pawtucket, was born in Eastport, Maine, December 2d, 1802, and died in Pawtucket February 27th, 1862. He was the son of Jonathan and Dorothy (Blake) Read, both of whom lived to a great age. Jonathan Read was an old soldier and was a prisoner on board the old Jersey prison ship. He died when 91 years old. He was the father of 13 children, 12 of whom grew to maturity. John B. Read was next to the youngest child. When five years of age his parents removed to Westbrook, where he was sent to a district school until he was 14
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years of age. At this time he went to work in a tin shop, living with his oldest sister while he learned his trade. In 1821 he came to Paw- tucket, where he remained during the rest of his life, and for nearly a half century was in the hardware trade. His shop was opened on Main street, where McGowan's shoe store is now. In 1842 he built his residence, where his widow now lives, on Walcott street, and in 1850 he erected his brick block. The block next to it was built by Amos M. Read, his older brother, who was also a hardware merchant. The Reads were the oldest and most prominent merchants in their line of business for many years. Amos Read came to Pawtucket sev- eral years before John. He died in 1880, a very old man. November 17th, 1828, Mr. Read was married to Jane Thatcher Ingraham, daugh- ter of Elias and Phebe (Thatcher) Ingraham, of Attleboro, Mass. Her father was a mechanic, and died in 1847. Mrs. Read was their only child. Mr. and Mrs. Read also had but one child: Mary Drowne Read, afterward the wife of Edward Le Favour. She died in 1858, after the birth of John Edward Le Favour, Mrs. Read's grandson and her only descendant.
Mr. John B. Read was distinctively a business man. As a public- spirited citizen of the commonwealth, however, he was induced to ac- cept various offices, such as town councilman, etc., all of which posi- tions he filled with great credit to himself and to the best interests of his constituents. Politically he was a whig, and at the formation of the new party before the war became a staunch republican. When Pawtucket on his side of the river was a part of Massachusetts, he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature and served four years. He was a very popular man, and was for a long time, under the laws of the state of Massachusetts, commanding general of the militia of that state.
WILLIAM F. SAYLES .- It may be safely asserted that no citizen of Providence county, if, indeed, of the state of Rhode Island, has so distinguished himself, by reason of his business capacity and energy, as the subject of this sketch. William Francis Sayles, who was born in Pawtucket, R. I., September 21st, 1824, is a lineal descendant in the sixth generation of Roger Williams. His father, Clark Sayles, was a master builder and merchant, and his mother, Mary Ann Sayles, was of the Olney family, long and prominently identified with the history of the state. Being desirous of acquiring a thorough classical and mercantile education, he attended the Fruit Hill Classi- cal Institute, Mr. Amos Perry principal; the Seekonk Classical School, the late Mr. Stanton Belden principal, and spent about two years in Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. Upon the completion of his edu- cation at the institutions named, he entered, in 1842, the commercial house of Shaw & Earle, in Providence, at first as bookkeeper, then he became a salesman, and finally was entrusted with the management of the financial affairs of the concern.
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Mr. Sayles is most widely known in connection with the Moshas- suck Bleachery, the most complete and best arranged, as well as the largest establishment of the kind in the world, its well-known trade- mark being as familiar as household words wherever cotton cloth is used. It is situated about two miles from Pawtucket, in a westerly direction, in the town of Lincoln, and until December, 1847, when the estate was purchased at auction by Mr. Sayles, the buildings had for some time been used as a print works. Soon after the property came into his possession he began the erection of additional buildings and converted the establishment into a bleachery of shirtings and sheet- ings, with a capacity for turning out about two and a half tons per day. Though he had no previous knowledge of the business, and labored under serious disadvantages for lack of sufficient capital, at times overcoming seemingly unconquerable obstacles, yet, by close application to business and an invincible determination to succeed in his undertaking, he steadily increased the capacity of the works until in the spring of 1854 he bleached daily about four tons of the finest grade of cotton goods made in the United States. His reputation for producing good work had at that time become so well established throughout the country that about three-fourths of all the fine goods manufactured were brought to the Moshassuck Bleachery, the name given by him to the establishment at the beginning of his operations.
The water of the Moshassuck river has long been known to pos- sess valuable properties for bleaching purposes, but the works under consideration have an additional and extraordinary advantage in a fountain of pure water flowing from a hundred or more boiling springs, and invaluable in the final processes of finishing cotton goods. These springs, which are enclosed by a wall of cut granite 300 feet in circumference, prove a very attractive feature to visitors.
In June, 1854, the entire establishment was destroyed by fire, the results of the hard work of years being swept away in a few hours. But the indomitable perseverance of Mr. Sayles prevented him from succumbing to this stroke of misfortune, and the work of rebuilding on a larger scale, with more permanent structures, was at once com- menced, and in the autumn of that year an establishment capable of producing six tons of bleached goods in a day was in successful opera- tion. The following year another enlargement of the bleachery was found necessary, and the work of extension has been gradually going on from year to year until the present time, when the capacity is 50 tons a day, or 300,000 yards. The buildings, with their surroundings, cover an area of 30 acres. They are of brick, and in point of archi- tectural beauty are unexcelled by any others used for manufacturing purposes in this country. The spacious grounds are tastefully laid out and shaded by ornamental trees. The works are lighted by elec- tricity, and the arrangements for protection against fire are as nearly perfect as they can be made. In the construction of the buildings
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nothing has been left undone which could in any way promote the health and convenience of the very large number of persons to whom employment is furnished. Some of the workmen have been in Mr. Sayles' employ almost continuously from his beginning of business, and between the employed and the employer the most pleasant and harmonious relations exist. One reason for this is that Mr. Sayles has . always manifested an interest in the moral and educational, as well as material welfare of those employed by him. Shortly after he began business here he was instrumental in having a district school estab- lished, and on the first Sunday in June, 1860, he organized a Sunday school, his mind having been turned to the subject of religion by the death of a young daughter to whom he was devotedly attached. From that time to the present, with a brief interval, he has held the office of superintendent of the school, performing its duties with great ac- ceptability, notwithstanding the constantly increasing demands made upon his time and attention by his large business.
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