USA > Rhode Island > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Rhode Island > Part 16
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Perhaps the greatest and longest continued interest of his public life was the old Volunteer Fire Department with its antique hand engines or
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George W. Baglep
"tubs" with the wild rivalry and personal encounters between the com- panies. He was the enthusiastic and ever ready foreman and nozzleman of old Rough and Ready Engine Company No. 5, was one of its charter mem- bers, and never lost his interest, attending every annual muster and reunion of the veterans until his death. The "Rough and Ready" Company was the forerunner of the "Hay Cart," formerly a rival known as "Rhode Island" No. I and for the old "tubs" Mr. Bagley always retained a lively and friendly interest.
His old friends have many interesting stories to relate of the Rough and Ready foreman that indicate the deep interest he took in the company. He molded from his own design special hose nozzles and defeated all competi- tors in many speed and distance tests. He was never happier than when at the nozzle and in the fierce rivalry of those days no one was better qualified or more eager to lead his company to victory over the others than George W. Bagley. He continued an active member of the department, foreman and hose director, for many years and did not resign his post until age com- pelled him to.
Mr. Bagley married Sarah M. Massey, who bore him four children : George W., Jr .; Joseph; Mary, now deceased, who married James Everett; Sarah Elizabeth, now widow of Alfred Richmond Means.
Alfred Richmond Means was born at Milford, Massachusetts, May 3, 1845, died at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, February 12, 1890, son of Joseph and Lydia (Chase) Means. His parents moved to Pawtucket when he was quite young and there his education was obtained, in the public schools. Although very young when the Civil War broke out, he managed to enlist before it closed and made an honorable record as a private soldier of the Third Regiment, Rhode Island Heavy Artillery. He was honorably discharged from the service before the close of the war on account of sickness, and returned to Pawtucket, learning the trade and becoming an expert wood turner. He continued in this business for several years, but the privations and exposure of a soldier's life had left their imprint and while still a young man he was obliged to retire from active participation in business, about sixteen years prior to his death, at the age of forty-five years. He was a member of Blue Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Means married, May 14, 1870, Sarah Elizabeth Bagley, daughter of George W. and Sarah M. (Massey) Bagley, who survives him, a resident of Pawtucket, her home at No. 22 West avenue. Children of Alfred R. and Sarah E. (Bagley) Means: Sadie Abby ; Inez C., married Harry Herbert, of Pawtucket, and has two children: Doris Frances and Alfred Edgar Her- bert ; Ida B. Means; Eliza A., deceased wife of George R. Whitman, of Paw- tucket.
Alfred Richmond Means
Mrury Robert Brehler
Henry Robert Bechler
A MONG the many nationalities which pour their thousands of emigrants yearly upon the shores of the United States, the little republic of Switzerland is to be numbered, although those who reach us from its mountain-locked valleys are not so many as we could wish. For there is less reason for the Swiss to stray abroad from their native land than for the people of other places, which though less rugged in their natural aspects are not so favored with that spirit of liberty which, of all things, men hold dearest. Such of them as do find their way hither, how- ever, are the more welcome, since we know them for what they are, pos- sessed of the simple and fundamental virtues, honor, courage, industry, which above all others are important and to the advantage of a community in the persons of its members. Such a man was Henry Robert Beehler, whose death on April 7, 1914, at Providence, Rhode Island, deprived that city of one of its most public-spirited citizens. Mr. Beehler was representa- tive of the virtues which so markedly characterize his countrymen and have so adequately maintained their independence and liberties in the face of the great and none too scrupulous neighbors. Curiously enough, too, the history of his own name is closely associated with the greatest of all their struggles, when their independence was first positively asserted and published to the world. For in its original form the name was Van Bechler and this persisted up to the time when the Swiss republic was formed. Then, in the strong wave of democratic feeling that swept the country, all that smacked of the aristocratic was laid aside, the prefixes of names, such as von, van or de, and Van Bechler became simple Bechler or Beehler as it was gradually spelled and pronounced. The Beehlers have always remained a family of influence in Switzerland, and have always been noted for their patriotism and public spirit, qualities for which their compatriots are de- servedly famous the world over. Mr. Beehler's own father was a distin- guished and influential citizen in his day, carrying on a flourishing business in the city of Zurich.
Henry Robert Beehler was himself born in Zurich, June 17, 1844, and spent the years of his childhood and early youth in his native city, where he received a substantial education in the excellent schools there. The youth was possessed of an exceedingly enterprising nature, and while still a mere lad determined to leave home and see the world for himself. Accordingly at the age of sixteen years he carried out this project and from that time thence- forth made his own way in the world. In the first place he travelled, or rather, roamed, all about Europe and then started for South America, but landed in New York, never going to South America, picking up the best living he could wherever he happened to be, but always successful in making his way and in getting from place to place. Another thing he succeeded in picking up besides his living, which stood him in good stead in later life, was the tongues of the various peoples he travelled amongst, so that, being
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Denty Robert Bechler
very quick to learn, he was able eventually to speak and write as many as seven languages fluently as well as some others which he understood more slightly. So in the course of these travels he had ample opportunity to observe human nature in its most various phases, and thus became a keen judge of his fellows and gained a balance and poise which made him a domi- nant factor in any society in which he happened to be thrown. Always self- confident, he had his character rounded and developed by these diverse experiences until he was a most capable as well as practical man. Yet he was still a mere youth in point of years when, three years of this sort of life completed, he came to the United States and there finally settled down to make a home and place for himself and family. He first arrived in New York City, where the experience gained in the uttermost parts of the world gave him a great advantage over the usual immigrant lad who comes only to be submerged in that vast whirlpool of humanity. He did not remain in that city a great while, but soon after his arrival went to Providence, Rhode Island, where he apprenticed himself to learn the carpenter's trade to a contractor located on Winter street. He completed his apprenticeship in the period of three years and immediately set out for New York, where it was his intention to make his home. This he did for a time, working in the meanwhile at his trade, and he should probably have continued there all his life had not another matter from without intervened. This was the develop- ment of labor troubles in the city fom which a situation arose quite impos- sible to the independent freedom-loving Swiss. Though by no means unsym- pathetic with his fellow laborers, he did not believe in any system which forced even those reluctant to join it into its ranks and arbitrarily made rules and regulations concerning with whom a man might employ himself, how long he could work, and for what wages. Thus when it came to be demanded of him that he join the labor unions, he refused and was obliged to leave the city if he desired work. Mr. Beehler determined to champion the right of any man to work for whom and whoever he would, felt also strongly upon the side of certain obvious rights of the employer which the unions were dis- posed to overlook. He felt that the employee should work in the interests of his employer, that it was his duty for him to do all that he could to advance the latter's interests, and he never desired anything to which his conscience did not believe him to be justly entitled. But he was equally a stickler for his own rights, expecting these to be accorded to him and de- manding them if they were not with the utmost fearlessness. On account of this difficulty he decided to remain no longer in New York, and returned to Providence, which thenceforth became his permanent home. In Provi- dence he once more followed his trade as carpenter and became very well known for his skill and ingenuity in the work. He was later appointed a call man on the Providence Fire Department and this duty added considerably to his work. He was always only too willing to shoulder any difficulties and duties that the community lay upon him and thus it happened that he was one of the most valuable men on the force. Across the street from the fire house is located the Providence branch of the great Fletcher Mills and here there was a constant stream of strangers and foreigners seeking employ- ment. It thus happened that Mr. Beehler was often called thither to act as
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interpreter for these men and it thus happened that he gained a very con- siderable reputation as a linguist in the city and considerable remunerative work in translating came to him. He finally built a handsome residence at No. 46 McKinley street, Providence, and dwelt there until the end of his life.
Mr. Beehler's long and faithful service to his fellow citizens through his association with the Fire Department is thus told in an article in one of the local papers appearing at the time of his death and which follows in part :
Captain Henry Robert Beehler, hero of many fires and a forty-year veteran of the Providence Fire Department died * *
* at his home, 46 Mckinley street, about four thirty o'clock yesterday morning. On January I, Mr. Beehler rounded out forty years' service with the Fire Department, a record which he had often declared to be the. dearest ambition of his life. He was known as one of the most earnest and dependable employees in the city, John W. Morrow, secretary to the Fire Commission, making the following statement yesterday morning: "The Providence Fire Department has never had a more faithful and willing workr than the late Captain Beehler, whose loss we feel most deeply. The flags at the fire station have been ordered hung at half mast and will remain so until the time of the funeral." Mr. Beehler remained at his duties as supply clerk at the Central Fire Station until a week ago Monday, when he became sick and was removed to his home by Alderman Higgins, an intimate friend. * *
* He entered the Fire Department as a call hoseman on hose seven, January 1, 1874. Ap- pointed to the permanent force on December 1, 1876, he served as assistant engineer of engine five, until September, 1877. Mr. Beehler acted as hoseman and clerk of the chief of the Fire Department from 1877 to March 1, 1880, when he was transferred to hose four with the rank of hydrant man, a position corresponding with the present station of captain. Appointed captain of hose four on January 2, 1882, he served in this capacity until March 31, 1895, when he was retired on account of injuries and made supply clerk. He had a most remarkable escape from death on April 22, 1893, when he fell down an elevator well, a sheer drop of five stories, while fighting a fire at the Daniels & Cornell Company. As a result of the accident, Captain Bechler was obliged to have a leg ampu- tated, but was kept on the force as captain for two years. During the course of a fire back in 1886, he lost three fingers which became caught in a reel chain on the fire appa- ratus. Mr. Beehler afterwards invented an appliance which made it impossible for simi- lar accidents to occur.
Besides his business and activities in the Fire Department, Mr. Beehler was conspicuously affiliated with the social and fraternal life of the com- munity, and was an especially prominent Free Mason, for many years being a member of the various bodies of that order, such as Mount Vernon Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Providence Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Calvary Commandery, Knights Templar; and the Masonic Veteran Asso- ciation.
On March 21, 1880, Mr. Beehler was united in marriage with Emma Josephine Burns, of Providence, a daughter of Thomas J. and Caroline M. (Cushman) Burns, well-known residents of that place, and a niece of James G. Burns, at one time proprietor of the former Rockingham Hotel, at Nar- raganset Pier. One daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Beehler, Lina, who died several years before her father. Mrs. Beehler survives her husband and still resides in Providence. She built a charming bungalow on the same lot upon which their former home still stands, residing herself in the former and renting the latter. She is a strong Christian Scientist and active as a worker in her church in Providence.
Washington Feberett Cole
O N MARCH 17, 19II, Washington Leverett Cole breathed his last in the old home on Cole avenue, opposite Sessions street, Providence, in which he had drawn his first breath sixty-nine years previous, and in which he had always lived. All about him werc evidences of the many, many years the Coles had occupied the land, even Cole avenue and Sessions street were reminders of his paternal and maternal ances- tors, and in the house were relics of the great Washington, and his noble comrade-in-arms, Lafayette, both of whom had been entertained by mem- bers of the Cole family then living. Among the relics of that period of past glory is the chair Washington occupied, and other mute witnesses of the great age and prominence of his family. But in his long span of life Mr. Cole had won high reputation and honorable position as a public-spirited citizen who had aided in the upbuilding of a city, fostered the development of the East Side from Irving avenue to Pawtucket line, and as the owner of one of the finest dairy farms in the State had given to Providence a bountiful supply of pure milk from the purest sources, having been in the milk busi- ness fifty years and never had a sample of his milk condemned. He had not been prominent in the official life of his city, although often strongly urged to accept office, but he ever refused, no matter which office was offered him.
The name of Cole is identified with the history of several Rhode Island towns from their early settlement. Hugh Cole was a friend of King Philip, and when two of Cole's children were made prisoners by the Indians, King Philip returned them uninjured to their father, advising him to seck a safer locality as he could not always control the actions of his younger warriors. In Providence the family were numerous, and owned a great deal of land, now a thickly settled portion of the city.
Washington Leverett Cole, son of Samuel Jackson and Frances (Ses- sions) Cole, was born in Providence, August 10, 1841, died in the same house in which he was born, March 17, 1911. He was one of a family of four, having two brothers, Cyrus and William M., and a sister, Susan E. Cole. He attended the private school of Samuel J. Austin, but did not pursue an extended course of study. His family owned at one time a great portion of the land in the section between Irving avenue and the Pawtucket line, and what is now Blackstone boulevard, his life being spent largely in the devel- opment of that property, and in the management of his farm and large dairy interests. His farm was famous for its herd of one hundred high grade cows, a herd that was the pride of its owner. He did a large business in dairy products, and also was quite largely engaged in farming operations. His farm and the improvement of the city portion of the Cole estate kept him amply employed, and he sought no other line of business activity. He was a man of rugged honesty of purpose; kept his word sacred and lived a blameless life. He was independent in his political action, but on national questions supported the Republican ticket. He and his family were all
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Washington Leverett Cole
members of the Episcopal church, except his daughter Jessie L., who is a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. Cole married, December 28, 1872, Martha Stalker, born in Green- wich, Rhode Island, daughter of Duncan and Lucy (Spencer) Stalker; her father was born in Glasgow, Scotland; her mother in Warwick, Rhode Island. Of the nine children of Duncan and Lucy Stalker, Mrs. Cole is the last survivor. She continues her residence in the house to which she came a bride over forty years ago, her son, Francis S., and. daughter, Jessie L., also residing with her at the homestead. Three sons and a daughter were born to Washington L. and Martha Cole: Francis Sessions, manager of the farm; Jessie Leverett; William Marchant, a contractor, married Ella Gra- ham Gulnac, and has a daughter Janet and a son William M., Jr .; Jackson Langsford, a student at Nashota Mission, an Episcopal theological school at Nashota, Wisconsin, preparing for the holy calling followed by several of his ancestors.
John Oldfield
W
HEN JOHN OLDFIELD came to the United States about 1818 he was a skilled landscape gardener, having served the old country usual term of apprenticeship of seven years. With landscape work he had combined the less ornamental, but more useful, form of vegetable and flower gardening, and when later he came to Providence as gardener for
Thomas P. Ives he introduced to that gentleman's table the to him new vegetables, the tomato, the cauliflower and the egg plant. He also introduced the Rose of Sharon to Providence, and opened a new era in landscape decoration as well as in the vegetable garden.
But he finally abandoned work for others and became one of the pros- perous lumber merchants of Providence. He came from good English family, and made his first visit to the United States for pleasure intending to return to his native country after he had seen the wonders of the new. He brought considerable money with him which he deposited in the bank and as he always made good wages and was careful he added to his capital constantly. Thus when starting his lumber yards he had sufficient funds to finance his own enterprise and asked no financial aid. He retired from business when sixty-four years of age, and thereafter devoted himself to the care of his own private estate, an abundant one, as he had invested largely in Provi- dence real estate. After his retirement he traveled a great deal, visiting all parts of the United States, and making several trips to England and the Continent.
He was a man highly esteemed, and had always been a worker, whether as employe or engaged in his own business. He was well read and particu- larly fond of the literature of plants, flowers, trees and landscape gardening. He took a deep interest in the church and aided all good causes. His life was an active and useful one, and he left to his children not only material wealth, but the blessed heritage of a good name. He was the son of William and Mary (Harrison) Oldfield, and one of a large family, he being the only one who came to the United States.
John Oldfield was born at Bradford, Yorkshire, England, about 1797, died in Providence, Rhode Island, January 8, 1880. He attended public school until he was fourteen, then was apprenticed to a landscape gardener with whom he served until he was twenty-one. He then came to the United States, visited different parts of the country, and was in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, when he received tidings of his mother's death, and decided not to return to England as he had intended, but to make America his home. He obtained a position as gardener with a Philadelphia gentleman and re- mained in that city some years. He then spent a year in Charleston, South Carolina, but he did not like the South and returned North, securing a posi- tion as gardener with a New York gentleman, whose estate lay along the Hudson river. He had brought a letter of introduction from England to Grant Thorburn, which he later presented, and Mr. Thorburn was instru-
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Hartha Ring Sampson Oldfield
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John Dlodiclo
mental in having him come to Providence, as gardener for Thomas P. Ives. That was his first introduction to Providence, the city which was ever after- ward his home. He had full charge of the Ives gardens and grounds and continued in the capacity of head gardener of that estate until he entered business as a lumber merchant. He prospered in the lumber business, oper- ating two yards, one on Canal street, Providence, the other at Fox Point. He retired from business about 1861, being then sixty-four years old. He was baptized in the faith of the Church of England, and until his marriage attended the Episcopal church. He then became a member of the Church of Jerusalem and was prominent in the work of that society.
Mr. Oldfield married, June 22, 1834, Martha King Sampson, born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, daughter of Fari and Martha (King) Samp- son, her father a merchant of Assonett, Massachusetts, where the daughter's early life was passed. She was a granddaughter of Dr. John Sampson, one of the first physicians of Middleboro, Massachusetts, and she traced descent to the "Mayflower." Mr. and Mrs. John Oldfield were the parents of six chil- dren, four of whom attained years of maturity, namely: I. Mary H., who re- sides at the old home, No. 99 George street, Providence, Rhode Island. 2. Henry H., deceased. 3. Charles T., a resident of Norton, Massachusetts; married Sarah S. Drake and they are the parents of five children : Martha S., deceased, was the wife of Joseph Bowden and the mother of two sons- Joseph, Jr., and Horace Wenton Bowden; John Oldfield; Mary, the wife of Dana Chapman, and the mother of three children, Dorothy, Charles and Dana Chapman, and they reside in Norwood, Massachusetts; William Charles Oldfield; Marjorie Louise, the wife of Ralph Buck and the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter, reside in Norton, Massachusetts. 4. Martha K., deceased.
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William horsfall
T HE NAME of William Horsfall, late of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, whose death on December 6, 1908, was a loss to the community generally, recalls in the events of his career an exceedingly interesting chapter in the development of Amer- ican industries, a time when these concerns, now so vast as to constitute almost a threat to the other elements in our body politic, were just trembling in the balance between success and failure, when experienced workers'were simply not to be had in this country and it became necessary to send abroad for them in order to carry on the operations required in the manufacture of the various com- modities we had undertaken. In the early days of the cotton and woolen industry here, this difficulty was keenly felt, and not the least in the Black- stone Valley, Rhode Island, and it was in consequence of the search made in England for expert workers that Mr. Horsfall came to this country. Once more "Yankee" enterprise was successful, although it was necessary on this occasion to call in the superior special knowledge and experience of the old. world to its assistance. It could not have chosen anything better calculated to maintain the high standard of our citizenship than the class of Englishmen of which Mr. Horsfall was representative, not only in the direction in which it was intended they should assist us, the improvement of our industries, but in every department of life. For it was from the Eng- lish that our institutions and ideals were derived, it was from them that we are mainly descended, and the greater the number of them that continue to come to these shores the more should we welcome them if only as further leaven for the huge multitudes of aliens that are continually joining us.
William Horsfall was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, December 19, 1840, a son of Thomas and Margaret (Smith) Horsfall, of that town, and it was here that he passed his childhood and early youth up to the age of thirty-two years. His father was an expert comber and his services were greatly in demand in the textile mills of that part of England, and it was here that the younger man gained his first experience in the same line. As soon as he had completed the schooling commonly received by boys at that time, his father began to teach him his trade and he soon began to work in the same mills that his father did, gaining a really remarkable proficiency in the work. He became known as one of the best combers and drawers in the region, and it thus happened that when the Enterprise Mill at Fairmount, Rhode Island, which had just been erected, had its agents in England look- ing for someone who could oversee the installation of combing and drawing machinery, Mr. Horsfall was brought to their notice. He was willing to accept the offer made him by these agents, and in 1872 he set sail for the United States, going at once to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, which, with the exception of a short period of time spent in Troy, New York, was his home during the remainder of his life. He was highly successful in installing the machinery in the Enterprise Mill and won the favor of his employers, but
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