USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island > Part 54
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HERBERT T. BLACKINGTON was born in Wrentham, Mass., Novem- ber 1st, 1850, and has no children. He has resided in Lincoln since 1866 and is a farmer by occupation.
WILLIAM BOOTH, born in Bury, Lancashire, England, September 2d, 1830, is the second son of Thomas and Mary (Collins) Booth. He learned the trade of weaving in his native country and emigrated to America in 1866, locating at Fall River, Mass. He came to Lonsdale, R. I., in 1878 and moved to his present residence in Lincoln in 1885 and engaged in farming. He married Mary Whitaker and had seven children: John, who married Alice Marsden, has three children, Agnes,
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William and Frederick, and resides at Ashton, R. I .; Lucy, deceased, married James Fielding; Thomas and Benjamin, both single, reside at Ashton, R. I .; Clara, wife of James Cooper, resides in New Jersey; Rosa, wife of William F. Potter, of Aquidneck, R. I., and Robert Lin- coln, lives at Ashton. R. I.
DOCTOR ICHABOD COMSTOCK practiced medicine in Providence county. He married Sarah Jenckes and had the following sons: Icha- bod, Ephraim, who emigrated to New York state, and George W. He also had several daughters. GeorgeW. was born in Smithfield in March, 1788, and died in 1858. He married Comfort Joslin, of Thompson, Conn. Of their six children three died in infancy. The others were: Benjamin, Nancy (deceased) married Benjamin S. Olney, and Sarah, resides in Providence. Benjamin, son of George W., born May 3d, 1818, married for his first wife Mary Randall, by whom he had six children. Benjamin married for his second wife Amanda G. Harris. He is engaged in farming and resides in Lincoln.
HEZEKIAH CONANT .- The subject of this sketch is a lineal descend- ant of Roger Conant, who came to this country from England in 1623. He was born in Dudley, Mass., July 28th, 1827, being the second son of Hervey and Dolly (Healy) Conant. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of that town, his great-grandfather on both sides being residents of Dudley as early as 1737. Hervey Conant, his father, was one of the incorporators and partners of the Tufts Woolen Manufac- turing Company, which at one time was a very prosperous concern. At the age of six years young Conant attended school in the old stone school house which stood on the road leading from Tufts Village to Dudley Centre. Having a quick and retentive memory, he easily mastered the various branches which he pursued.
His father having disposed of his business interests at Tufts Vil- lage, removed to Webster, Mass., in 1835, but in the fall of 1839 he returned to Dudley and occupied the farm formerly owned by his maternal grandfather, Major Lemuel Healy. Hezekiah having now reached an age when he was able to do light work about the farm, he rendered such service in the summer as did not overtax his strength, and in the winter months he attended the common school. Subse- quently he had the benefit of several terms at the Nichols Academy in Dudley. His devotion to his alma mater has been strikingly shown in his later life.
His mother being dead, and having become weary of the monotony of farm life, in the spring of 1845 he obtained permission from his father to accept a position as roller boy in the printing office of the Worcester County Gazette. Here he remained about two years, when the owners of the establishment failed, and he found employment in other newspaper offices in Worcester until 1848, when he left the printing business and went to learn the trade of a machinist. This he found more to his liking, as it made the hours of his work more regular, and
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the calculations of gears and screws had a fascination for him which he did not find in farming or printing. He had saved enough of his earnings in 1850 to enable him to give himself a full year's tuition at Nichols Academy, and the following year he went into the locomotive shop of the Union Works at South Boston. In the fall of 1852 he went to Hartford, Conn., where he made the acquaintance of the inventor of the celebrated "Sharp's rifle," Mr. Christian Sharp, by whom he was employed to make some drawings for machinery for making pro- jectiles, etc. He subsequently invented and patented an improve- ment in the "Sharp's rifle" known as the "gas check," which was con- sidered so important by the United States and British governments that they immediately ordered its application to all firearms manufac- tured for them by the Sharp's Rifle Company. While in Hartford he entered Colt's firearms manufactory as a tool maker, where he re- mained about a year, and then began drawing and constructing ma- chinery as parties requested his services.
In 1856 he went to Webster, Mass., and constructed a machine for sewing the selvage on the woolen goods made by the Slaters. He was next employed by them to construct a thread-dressing machine which should dress the thread in the skein; but, although the machine proved to be all that was required, the later style of dressing the thread from the bobbin in a single web superseded the skein process.
About the year 1857 he began the construction of a machine to , automatically wind sewing thread of 200 yards length upon spools. This invention proved very successful. So well pleased with the ma- chine were the Willimantic Linen Company that they purchased one- half of the patent right, and made arrangements with Mr. Conant to enter their service as a mechanical expert, giving his entire time to them for three years. He entered upon this engagement February 1st, 1859. The contract was twice renewed for three years, his salary being increased the last time to double what it was at first.
During this time he made several new inventions, the most im- portant being the "ticketing machine," which is now used to affix the small labels on each end of the spools of thread, which it accomplishes at the rate of 100 spools per minute. The last three years of his stay at Willimantic, Mr. Conant was superintendent of the establishment. In 1864 he went to Europe to visit the manufacturing districts of England and Scotland, in the interest of the Willimantic Linen Com- pany, they bearing all the expense of the trip. He gained admission to very many of the best spinning establishments, and also the spool thread establishments of Paisley and Glasgow. At the expiration of his last contract in Willimantic, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted, thus terminating nine years of continuous service, during which the company had more than doubled its capital and its production.
Immediately on the termination of his connection at Willimantic,
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
Mr. Conant removed to Pawtucket, and in the fall of 1868 interested himself in the organization of a new thread company. Capital to the amount of $30,000 was at once subscribed, a charter was obtained from the general assembly, and the Conant Thread Company was formed, with Mr. Conant as treasurer and manager, the purpose of the com- pany being to manufacture six-cord spool cotton. A small factory was built of wood, 96 feet long by 41 feet wide, and two stories high, in which twisting and winding machinery was forthwith put in motion, the supplies of yarn being imported from England. This was the Number 1 mill of the Conant Thread Company. Soon after this small factory was set in operation, Mr. Conant opened negotiations with the firm of J. & P. Coats, of Paisley, Scotland, for the manufacture of their thread in this country. The result of the negotiations and a second trip to Paisley was that the capital stock of the Conant Thread Com- pany was gradually raised to a large amount, and one mill after an- other of colossal size was erected, till the plant now consists of four mammoth brick structures, fitted with the most improved machinery, and operated by Corliss engines amounting to more than 4,000 horse power, and representing an outlay of upward of four million dollars, and giving employment to nearly 3,000 workers. Besides being the chief industrial establishment in the city where it is located, it is with- out doubt the best arranged, best equipped and best organized manu- facturing establishment of its kind in the world. Mr. Conant is still the treasurer and manager of this great corporation, and devotes his entire time to its interests. He has never accepted any political office, or engaged in the performance of any public duties that would in any way interfere with his efficiency as the head of this model estab- lishment. Nevertheless, the financial transactions of the concern are on such a large scale that he sits at the board of direction of the three national banks in Pawtucket, and is president of the Pawtucket In- stitution for Savings, one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the .state. In politics Mr. Conant is a republican, and a firm believer in the American policy of protection. Having been a workingman him- self, he advocates that condition of political economy which rewards the worker with good wages. His religious views are in accord with those held by the Congregationalists, of which denomination he is an esteemed member; and yet what a man believes does not have so much weight with him as what he practices.
Mr. Conant has visited Europe several times, and on his last trip he was accompanied by his family, consisting of his wife and son and daughter, and together they made the tour of the Continent. The summers are spent by the family in Mr. Conant's native town of Dud- ley, where he has recently erected a beautiful and costly residence of wood and rubble work, to which he has given the name of " Budleigh Hall," in honor of Roger Conant, of East Budleigh, Devonshire, Eng- land, " who was practically agent or governor of the colony at Cape
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Ann, Mass." Mr. Conant has done much for his native town and Nichols Academy. He has erected new school and dormitory build- ings of ample proportions, and also an observatory equipped with two good telescopes and a full set of meteorological instruments from the celebrated house of Cassella & Co., of London, England. Combined with this is a fine library and reading room for the use of the students of the academy. He has enlarged the common and regraded it and laid walks, and assisted the people in various ways in improving the appearance of the old town. He has been greatly prospered in busi- ness, and experiences much satisfaction in helping those less for- tunate.
Additional evidence of the abiding interest which Mr. Conant has in his native town is shown by the following incident: In the latter part of June, 1890, the Congregational church in Dudley, over one hundred years old, was burned to the ground. Before the ruins had ceased to smolder, Mr. Conant sent word to the church committee that, as a memorial to his ancestors, he would build and present to the society a new brick house of worship. The corner stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, October 16th, 1890. In the course of some remarks which Mr. Conant made on the occasion, he said: " A11 that the minister can do, it seems to me, is to present new forms of truth to his congregation on the Sabbath; earnestly study to be able to present new ideas to the people; subjects of thought for them men- tally to digest and assimilate, and thus promote mental and spiritual growth. He should be a man of education, and of a character that will command the respect of the community; and he should consider that the higher type of Christianity cannot flourish where ignorance prevails. Science and Christianity should go hand in hand. The day for dogmatic teaching has passed, I trust, and so far as an intelligent congregation is concerned, has no more effect than the sound of the- whistling wind or the howling storm."
One of the latest of Mr. Conant's numerous inventions, and one- which has received no small amount of attention from astronomers and others, is what is termed a " right ascension clock." By the peculiar arrangement of its mechanism it illustrates solar and siderial time, and also the mean right ascension of the sun and moon. This clock, which is a masterpiece of invention, has been in operation long enough to show itself to be certain to perform its requirements, and reflects great credit upon the mechanical skill of the inventor, as well as his thorough knowledge of the celestial bodies. One has been placed in the rooms of the Pawtucket Business Men's Association, and another in the Nichols Academy.
JOHN CULLEN was born in Ireland May 18th, 1837, came to America with his uncle in 1853, and took up his residence for one year at Prov- incetown, Mass. In 1854 he came to Lonsdale and commenced work for the Lonsdale Company. He was in their employ most of the time
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till 1883 in various capacities, having at one time charge of their farm. He also was in charge of the Berkeley Company farms. He now re- sides on a farm purchased by him in 1878 in Lincoln. He married Mary Powers and has eleven children: John, William, Margaret, Jo- hanna, Mary, Patrick, Bridget, Stacy, Katie, Thomas and James.
ALPHA A. DRAPER was born in what is now Lincoln March 29th, 1823, and was the only child of Alpha and Ruth (Angell) Draper. He married Lydia H. Hawkins and has three children: Lucy, wife of George H. Winsor, of Lincoln; Frank S., who married Freelove Man- ton and has three children-Bertha, Clara and Esther; and Emma, wife of Crawford Manton, Jr., of Lincoln. Mr. Draper has been street commissioner of Lincoln for 15 years.
THE FALES FAMILY .- The families of this name residing in Cen- tral Falls are descended from James F. Fales, who was born in 1610, and who married Anna Brock. They had a son, Peter, who was born in 1668, and his son, Peter F., resided in Dedham, Mass., and was born April 13th, 1690. Peter F. had a son, Peter, born December 16th, 1732, who married Avis Bicknell. The children by this marriage were: Turpin and Allen, twins (The former was drowned in the Ohio river and was unmarried. The latter died at the age of five years.); Olive, married Elliken Miller, of Franklin, Mass .; John; Sally, married Shu- bael Gilmore, of Franklin, Mass .; Nancy, married William Gilmore, of Franklin, Mass .; Peter, emigrated to Ohio; James, died in New Bed- ford, Mass .; Samuel, died at the age of 4 years; and Turner, died in childhood. John, son of Peter, was born September 10th, 1768, and married Roby Gilmore. Their children were: Avis, married George Bacon, of Attleboro, Mass .; John Turpin; Johanna, married Hiram Pond, of Franklin, Mass .; Sally, married Alvin Jenks, of Pawtucket; David Gilmore; Roby, married Owen Cargill, of Attleboro, Mass .; and James G. Of this family all are dead excepting the youngest. John died October 24th, 1847. John Turpin, son of John, born in Attleboro, Mass., March 17th, 1797, married Catharine Day. They had children: Samuel Day; Emily Caroline, died age of 2} years; Emeline, widow of Roswell B. Worden, resides at Northampton, Mass .; and George Au- gustus. John Turpin died March 5th, 1855. Samuel Day, son of John T., born in Pawtucket February 1st, 1827, married Louisa A., daugh- ter of Ambrose Clark, of Cumberland, and had two children-Laura E. and Byron D., died age 14 months. Samuel D. died March 16th, 1887. George Augustus, son of John T., born at Pawtucket August 7th, 1841, married Lovinia, daughter of Hon. Lucius B. Darling. David Gilmore, son of John, married Parthana C. Sprague and had three children. John R., son of David G., born in Central Falls, R. I., March 5th, 1833, married Harriet B. Lee, of Rehoboth, Mass., and has two children, Le Roy and Warren R. John R. is vice-president of the Fales & Jenks Machine Company. George S., son of David G., born
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in Central Falls, R. I., December 25th, 1836, married Frances Hender_ son, daughter of Philander and Frances Baker, a native of Pawtucket. They had four children: Robert Baker, died aged 28 years; David Gil- more, died at Deadwood, Dakota, aged 17 years; Elizabeth K., wife of Joseph W. Freeman, of Central Falls; and Martha A. Le Roy, son of John R., born in Central Falls August 30th, 1859, married Emma J. Taylor. Warren R., son of John R., born in Central Falls November 23d, 1862, married Carrie Hopkins, and has two children, Harry Lee and Le Roy Atherton.
James G. Fales, son of John, born in' Attleboro, Mass., March 17th,. 1814, married Maria E. Aldrich, and of their family six are living: Roby Ann, wife of James H. Andrews, of Central Falls; David L., Jo- seph E., J. Henry, Ellen, wife of Charles Parker, of Central Falls; and Alice, wife of Horace Fletcher, of Central Falls. James G. came to Central Falls in the spring of 1831, where he learned the trade of ma- chinist, which he followed mainly till 1847, when he opened a grocery store in Pawtucket, and in 1852 he removed the business to Central Falls. He relinquished the business to his sons, Joseph E. and J. Henry, in 1873, and they still carry it on under the firm name of Fales Broth- ers. David L., son of James G., was born in Attleboro December 22d, 1839. He married Melissa C., daughter of Isaiah Gage, and by her he had two children, one of whom died in infancy. The other is Edward L. His second wife was Cordelia, daughter of William Fales, by whom he has two children, William C. and Edith M. Since 1871 he has been interested in the Pawtucket Steam & Gas Pipe Company. Joseph E., son of James G., born in Attleboro, 'Mass., November 12th, 1841, mar- ried Sarah E. Dunham and has three children: Bertha D., Lester P. and Flossie L. James Henry, son of James G., born in Pawtucket July 30th, 1843, married Cornelia, daughter of William Fales, and has two children, Gertrude and Ruth.
Peter Fales, son of Peter, emigrated to Ohio and had a family of fifteen children, eight of whom were by his second wife, Patty Cole, a native of Bristol, R. I. Their names were: Henry, Turpin, Orange, Shephard, Thomas, Harlow, William and Mary. Of this family Wil- liam married Ann Proctor and resides in Farmington, Ohio, and of their family of eight children the following are residents of Ohio: Loren, Dora, William J., Mary and Ruby. Cordelia is the wife of David L. Fales, and Cornelia married J. Henry Fales. These last two were twins, and the latter is dead. The other member of the family, George Harlow, was born in Nelson, Portage county, Ohio, January 1st, 1855. He is married to Nina E. Harrison and has four children: Kenneth, Paul, Forrest and Elsie. He came to Central Falls in 1874, and since that time has been engaged in the grocery trade. He is now a member of the firm of Fales & Beattie, which partnership dates. from 1881.
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
DAVID GILMORE FALES, manufacturer, was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, June 4th, 1806. His father was a farmer, which occu- pation he followed himself till 18 years of age. At that time he came to Central Falls and learned the machinist's trade in the shop of David Jenks & Co. He was a natural mechanic, and his whole life was de- voted to his special calling. In some other respects he was remarkable also. He was a natural bone-setter and could set a limb with as much readiness as a skilled physician. David G. Fales began the manufact- uring of cotton machinery with Alvin Jenks in 1830 and continued operations at Central Falls till 1866, and then in Pawtucket until suc- ceeded by the firm of Fales & Jenks, an establishment that gives em- ployment now to a force of some 500 hands. Mr. David G. Fales, the original proprietor of the firm, began business in Central Falls first in a hired shop. The first piece of work was a spooler, made for a firm in Richmond, Virginia, for which they received $60. In 1833 the firm began the manufacture of Hubbard's patent pump. In 1845 this firm began to manufacture ring spinning frames, and in 1846 they began the manufacture of ring twisters, being among the first to manu- facture these machines in this country, for thread, worsted, and silk. The machines were made for Benjamin Greene. The firm afterward manufactured twisters, dressers, and winders for J. & P. Coats, the celebrated manufacturers of sewing thread at Paisley, Scotland. Business was so successful that in 1860 a furnace was built for castings, and the year after it was considerably enlarged. In 1862 and 1863 their brick shop, three stories high, 300 by 63 feet, with an el1 70 by 60 feet (afterward sold to the American Linen Company), was erected, and in 1866 the removal to Pawtucket was made, soon after which Mr. Fales retired from business. Mr. Fales was married, May 3d, 1829, to Miss Parthana Sprague, and died in 1875.
EDWARD LIVINGSTON FREEMAN was born in Waterville, Maine, September 10th, 1835, and is the oldest of the ten children of Rever- end Edward and Harriet (Colburn) Freeman. His father was a native of Mendon, Mass., born in April, 1806. He graduated from Brown University, Providence, R. I., in the class of 1833, and soon after en- tered the ministry of the Baptist church, removing to Waterville, Maine. He was afterward pastor of the Baptist church at Oldtown, Me., from which place he removed to Camden, Me., where he resided, with the exception of one year at Bristol, R. I., until his death in 1883. He taught school for many years and is said to have prepared more young men for college than any teacher in Maine. The mother of Edward L. was born in West Dedham, Mass., in 1815. She graduated from the Medfield High School and afterward engaged in teaching French and Latin, in which she was specially proficient. She died in June, 1852, at the early age of 37.
Edward L. was instructed by his father and fitted for college at an early age; instead of pursuing a college course he chose to apprentice
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himself to A. W. Pearce, of Pawtucket, R. I., for the purpose of learn- ing the printer's art. After serving his time and acquiring a good knowledge of the trade, he entered the employ of Hammond, Angell & Co., of Providence, and worked for them as a journeyman for eight years, with the exception of one winter spent in a printing office in Washington. He became a partner in the firm, and in 1863 sold his interest, removed to Central Falls, R. I., and commenced business for himself. He began in a small room in the large three-story brick block which he now owns, and which, with a large addition, is fast becoming too small for its uses. At this time he employed two men and a boy. In 1869 Mr. Freeman began the publication of The Weekly Visitor, a 36-column folio, which is still issued, and which has been a potent factor in the growth of the town. In 1873 Mr. J. E. Golds- worthy became a partner, and the business was carried on under the name of E. L. Freeman & Co., until 1885, when, by the withdrawal of Mr. Goldsworthy and the admission of Mr. Freeman's eldest son, Wil- liam C., the firm name became E. L. Freeman & Son.
The business embraces book and job printing, also lithograph and gelatine printing. The last-named branch is carried on under the name of the Artogravure Company, which, while it does considerable commercial work, is mainly devoted to art reproductions of paintings and engravings. Since 1877 the firm have been printers to the state of Rhode Island. In the same year they bought a large book and stationery store in Providence, which has been successfully conducted in connection with the printing business. A similar store has been carried on in Pawtucket, R. I., since 1888.
But it is not as a business man, merely, that Mr. Freeman has been prominent and influential. He early showed a deep interest in polit- ical matters and has held many places of public trust and honor. Since attaining his majority he has been a republican. He was the last senator to the general assembly from the old town of Smithfield and the first from the new town of Lincoln, so named at his sugges- tion. He has been a representative in the general assembly for 15 years, and in 1874 and again in 1875 was speaker of the house. Dur- ing his legislative career he was one of the leaders of the house and exerted a great influence upon legislation, drafting and advocating many important measures which are now on the statute books of the state. A ready speaker, with a retentive memory and a remarkable capacity for getting at the essence of a subject, he has been an able legislator and materially advanced the interests of his constituents, as well as those of the state at large. He was an earnest advocate of measures brought forward in the interests of the working people and the extension of the suffrage, and it was owing in a great degree to his exertions that those measures became laws. He retired from the general assembly in 1888 and was appointed a railroad commissioner
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
by Governor Taft. This position he still holds and has already done much to increase its importance and usefulness.
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