USA > Rhode Island > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Rhode Island > Part 27
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But it was in his political career that he was best known and that his most characteristic work was done. A man of strongly democratic impulses and convictions, he joined at a very early age the party that bears that name and entered with heart and soul into the campaign to make its principles pre- vail. He was soon recognized as a leader in the party ranks and took a most active part in its councils and deliberations, and first became generally known during the campaign of 1887. As it happened he had at the begin- ning of his career been thrown with a number of Democrats from his own section of the State and these associations, among the warmest of his life, led him into the way of political preferment, a way his own capabilities were prompt to seize. Among these were several men of great prominence, not- ably Ziba O. Slocum, with whom Mr. Aldrich grew to be close friends, their law offices opening one into the other for many years. Mr. Slocum was the elder man of the two and he was running for the office of attorney-general
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Clarence Alvern Aldrich
of Rhode Island in 1887 at the same time that Mr. Aldrich had first been recognized by his party with the candidacy for membership in the State Legislature. Both were successful, and a little later the new. attorney- general who at that date could only appoint one assistant let his choice fall upon Mr. Aldrich, who thus became the assistant attorney-general of the State. For a number of years thereafter Mr ... Slocum was his party's candi- date for this office, sometimes running successfully, sometimes the reverse, but on each occasion of his occupying the office he appointed Mr. Aldrich his assistant. In the year 1893 Mr. Aldrich was himself the Democratic candidate for attorney-general, but although he polled the largest vote of any candidate by over a thousand and that in a strongly Republican year, he did not take the office as a majority vote was then necessary to elect. As all the candidates had failed to win a majority the election was put in the hands of the General Assembly, which being Republican elected his opponent to the place. Once again Mr. Aldrich was candidate for this office in 1894, but was again defeated in an overwhelmingly strong Republican year, and for the next few years he contented himself with carrying on his private practice and urging the interests of the Democratic party. In 1902 he was once more a candidate for public office, and was successfully elected to the General Assembly of the State. Mr. Aldrich was always ready to sacrifice personal inclination to the needs of his party, and in 1905 he consented to run as the Democratic candidate for mayor of Providence. The year was obviously anti-Democratic and in addition to this the Republicans had nominated ex- Governor Elisha Dyer, the strongest candidate they could have found. In spite of this Mr. Aldrich ran less than sixteen hundred votes behind. Mr. Aldrich retired to a certain extent from politics after this, and although he still worked for the good of the party he did not permit his name to be used as a candidate for any important office thereafter. He was appointed to the Board of Bar Examiners, however, and for a number of years continued in this responsible post, doing very valuable work for the community. Indeed this may truly be said of him in every capacity in which he served, for he combined in an unusual degree capability and disinterestedness so that the community as a whole owes a debt of gratitude to his memory.
The demands made upon Mr. Aldrich's time and energies by the duties of his professional and official life were such as to render much participation in any other department of the community's affairs quite out of the question. He was, however, a member of several clubs and organizations, chief among which was the Young Men's Democratic Club of Providence, of which he was the president for several years. He was very active in its interests and at its banquets and other public occasions was almost always one of the speakers. He was also a member of the Pomham and the Wannamoisett Country clubs.
On January 25, 1887, Mr. Aldrich was united in marriage with Adeline M. Kennedy, a native of Sterling, Connecticut, and a daughter of Alexander and Bethana (Wood) Kennedy, old and highly respected residents of that place. Mrs. Aldrich survives her husband and is a resident of Providence.
The death of Mr. Aldrich was greatly mourned throughout a very large circle of friends and associates, no one who came in contact with him, even
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Clarence Slucen Sierich
the most casually, failing to pay him the homage of his admiration and affec- tion. For one who never occupied any higher office than he, he held an extra- ordinary place in the regard of his fellow citizens and was certainly one of the most popular men in the city at that time without regard to politics or party. He was a disinterested champion of the people and without fear or favor worked in their interest and the absolute sincerity of his purpose could not fail to impress them. There was a certain direct and fearless element in the way that he went after any object that absolutely disarmed any suspi- cion as to his motives and caused even his bitterest political enemies to pay tributes to his essential honesty. Altogether he was a man of whom his city may be justly proud and whose virtues should long dwell in the civic memory.
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Walter Herbert Sweet
A LTHOUGH the life of Walter H. Sweet, of Johnston and Providence, Rhode Island, covered a period of barely half a century, it was a life of usefulness and earnestness. He spent many of his latter years as a contractor and builder, the city of Providence teeming with monuments to his skill and reliability as a builder of homes. He was a descendant of John Sweet, of Welsh nativity, who came to America and is of record in the annals of Salem, Massachusetts, as early as 1632. He was then a man of middle age, as the birth of his son, James Sweet, is recorded as having occurred in Wales in 1622. Valentine Sweet, of the fifth Amer- ican generation, settled in Johnston, Rhode Island, with two of his brothers and there Walter H. Sweet, of the eighth generation, was born.
Walter Herbert Sweet was born in Johnston, Rhode Island, October 20, 1848, died in Providence, Rhode Island, November 18, 1897. His parents died when he was very young, his aunt, Susan Manton, taking him into her home and rearing him as her own. His youth was spent in Johnston and his educational advantages were those of the public school of Johnston. In due course of time he learned the carpenter's trade, finished a full term of apprenticeship, became a journeyman and for several years worked as such in Providence, becoming an expert workman. After acquiring sufficient capital to make a start for himself, he did so and began taking contracts for the erection of buildings. He was very energetic and through square deal- ing with his patrons and prompt reliable execution of contracts he prospered abundantly. This was his lifework and from youth until death he knew no other occupation or business save the carpenter's trade in its many forms. He was a man of good character, very fond of his home and of his family, was a good provider and found his greatest joy in the happiness of those so dear to him. He took no part in public affairs, but devoted himself exclu- sively to his business and his home.
Mr. Sweet married, in 1870, Sarah M. Cole, born in Johnston, Rhode Island, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary A. (Wood) Cole, who moved to Providence when their daughter Sarah M. was about ten years of age. Na- thaniel Cole, born in Warwick, Rhode Island, was a sash and blind maker all his active life, but for twenty years prior to his death lived retired. He mar- ried Mary A. Wood, born at Foster, Rhode Island, who bore him three chil- dren: Mary, married Ely Howard; Sarah M., widow of Walter H. Sweet; and Emma A., married Elijah Allen, of Providence. Two children were born to Walter H. and Sarah M. Sweet, both now deceased: Mary, married H. Augustus Kendall and died in her thirty-fourth year; Mattie W., died at the age of twenty-seven, unmarried. Mrs. Sweet continues her residence in Providence at No. 75 Wendell street. She is an attendant of Matthewson Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
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George Miller
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George Miller
S COTLAND has never been one of the countries that has sent her children in great numbers to the "New World," there to form an element in the great race that is even now form- ing here in America, the melting-pot of the nations, although in the Colonial period of our history the proportion was larger than it has since been. Nevertheless we may boast of a fair strain of the Scotch blood in our veins, a fair number of their hardy sons in our midst and feel sure that, whatsoever its quantity in quality it is one of the best elements in our body politic.
George Miller, the successful business man and public-spirited citizen of Providence, Rhode Island, whose death there on March 21, 1906, was a loss to the community, was a member of this strong race and displayed in his own person the same sterling virtues and capabilities that make his fel- low countrymen so valuable a factor in any community where they make their home and pretty generally place them in prominent positions both in the business world and in that of public affairs. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, April 6, 1841, Mr. Miller was a son of George and Janet (Meikeljohn) Miller, old and highly respected residents of that city. The child had but a small chance to form any associations with his native land, however, as his parents came to the United States when he had reached the completion of his third year, and from that time onward the State of Rhode Island was his home. Mr. George Miller, Sr. was a carpenter and builder and engaged in his business at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where he settled and made his permanent home after coming to this country. He and his wife were the parents of five children all of whom are now deceased with the exception of one son, Walter, who makes his home at Oakland Beach, Rhode Island. As the son of one who was striving to make his way in a strange country, Mr. Miller was not in a position to receive a large amount of education as his aid was needed as soon as possible in winning the livelihood of the family, and accordingly he was only able to complete the grammar grades. While still a mere boy he was apprenticed as a carpenter to the well known contractor, Deacon Butler, there to learn the trade. In this gentleman's establishment on Potter street, Providence, whither the lad had been sent, he worked hard for a few years until he had completely mastered his trade and become an expert therein. For a time thereafter he worked for several concerns who employed him on account of his skill as carpenter and repair man, notably the Chapin Manufacturing Company and the Gorham Manufacturing Com- pany. But the lad had been from the very outset ambitious, had shown himself industrious and painstaking both in school and during his appren- ticeship, and now sought for every possible means of bettering his position. Most of all it was his desire, and more than that his determination to some day engage in his own independent business venture, and to this end he worked his hardest and practiced the most rigid economy and thrift, and finally he saw his dream materialize and he was able to embark in his belated
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George Miller
enterprise, establishing himself in the contracting and building business on his own account. The ability in which he had himself felt so much con- fidence manifested itself instantly and his success was phenomenal from the outset. His business grew to very large proportions and he was regarded as one of the most reliable and capable men in his line in the community. For a long term of years he continued his operations successfully and came to be one of the most conspicuous and influential figures in the Providence business world. The unusually hard work that he did in his youth, how- ever, had in some degree undermined his health and toward the latter end of his life he gradually grew less able to engage strenuously in the management of his business. He sought to regain his health in several ways and travelled much, taking a number of trips to his native Scotland and spending three winters in Florida. But although these mitigated his condition for a time, he was finally, about 1891, compelled to give up active business altogether and during the last fifteen years of his life lived retired.
But although he withdrew entirely from business, Mr. Miller did not give up all his participation in the life of the community. On the contrary he actively maintained his interest in many of the aspects of that life and was especially prominent in social and fraternal circles and in the work of his church. Indeed all his life he took part in these things and was a member of many associations and societies. He was not, however, allied with either of the political parties, preferring to remain absolutely independent and casting his vote for the issue or candidate that at the time seemed best to him. He was a member of What Cheer Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Cannonicus Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Miller married Mary A. May. a native of Harwood, England, daughter of Thomas and Alice (Greenhalgh) May, of that place. Mr. May was a machine printer at a time when they were comparatively rare in this country and was offered an inducement to come to this country and work for the Jacob Donnel Machine Printing Company of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He crossed the ocean accordingly, bringing his family with him, and from that time until his death made his home in the Rhode Island city. They were the parents of eight children of whom six are now living as follows: John; Sarah, now Mrs. Richard Hornby, of Pawtucket; Alice, now Mrs. Henry Adams, of Providence; Elizabeth; Emma J., now Mrs. Isaac Ward- leigh, of East Greenwich; and Mary A., who was the wife of George Miller. Mrs. Mary A. Miller married (second) January 1, 1916, Richard Percival, also a native of England, born at Manchester, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Reese) Percival, well-known residents of Manchester. Richard Percival came to this country in early life and served the cause of the Union in the Civil War. He enlisted in Battery A, First Regiment, Rhode Island Volun- teer Artillery, and served about fifteen months, when a severe injury dis- abled him from taking further part and he was honorably discharged at New York City. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Percival reside in Providence, their home being at No. 59 Messer street. Mrs. Percival was one of the first mem- bers of St. James' Church.
Mr. Miller was in the fullest sense of the phrase a "self-made man," in the sense not merely of having made his own wealth, but of having improved
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George Miller
and developed his various faculties to the utmost, of having educated and cultivated himself and taken advantage of every opportunity for self im- provement, of having, in the expressive Biblical figure, invested the talents intrusted him in this earthly life. He was not one of those, however, who seek their own advantage at the expense of others, as might readily have been seen in the respect and affection in which his associates held him. The most notable case of this, however, and the one which contains the deepest note of praise was the fondness which his employees felt for him and showed in their devotion. This is always one of the surest tests of the essential democracy and justice of a man and this test Mr. Miller passed successfully. Although he was a well-known figure in social circles and in the orders of which he was a member, nevertheless the society really enjoyed most by Mr. Miller was that of his own immediate household, his favorite resort his own fireside in his own home. In that intercourse his greatest happiness was found, especially towards the latter years of his life. In all the relations in which he came in contact with his fellows his conduct was beyond reproach and resulted in his memory being an honored one throughout the com- munity where he dwelt.
Philo Prentice Hawkes
I T IS OFTEN a difficult, if not impossible, matter to express in terms of material accomplishment the real value of a life, of a career, or to give an adequate idea of the position which a man has won for himself in the regard of a community. In the case of such men for example as Philo Prentice Hawkes, late of Providence, Rhode Island, whose death there on February 17, 1916, was a loss to the community, in the case of such men it is apt to be highly misleading to state in bold terms that he succeeded in such and such a business or calling, since the true signifi- cance of a man is not so much to be found in this wealth or in that honor acquired as in the influence which as a personality he exerts upon those with whom he comes in contact. The acquirement of wealth or honor does in- dicate that a certain power exists, that certain abilities must be present, so that to enumerate these things does serve as an illustration of the subject's qualifications for success. But it ends there. An illustration it is, although a rude one, but as a gauge of these powers it has practically no value for while the proposition is true that the presence of those perquisites which the world showers upon genius proves the genius of which it is the reward, the converse is not true at all since half the genius at the very lowest esti- mate goes unrewarded. It is the duty of the biographer, therefore, to pene- trate below the surface, in-so-far as his poor abilities will permit him to, to seek for those hidden springs of action which, although they do not often raise their heads into the region of the obvious, are at bottom the true gauges of effort and success. In the case of Mr. Hawkes the truth of the above is amply apparent. He did, it is true, have a very considerable success in business, and had his tastes or ambitions urged him he might have won a much larger share of recognition from the world. The position which as a matter of fact he occupied in the community was not due, however, to any increment of fortune, but to the native virtue of his character and the worth of his personality.
Philo Prentice Hawkes was born November 9, 1838, at Hebron, Con- necticut, one of the six children of Philo and Gratia Electra (Field) Hawkes, of that place. Mr. Hawkes, Sr. was the Methodist minister at Hebron, but was a native of New York State, while his wife came from Connecticut. Of the six children but two now survive, Mrs. Abby D. Proctor, of Boston, and Mrs. Ella B. Kelley, of London. Mr. Hawkes passed but a very few years of his life in his native town, but went to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he acquired the preliminary portion of his education. Later the family re- moved to Providence, Rhode Island, which thereafter was his permanent home for practically his entire life. Here he continued his education, but never pursued his studies beyond the grammar grades, for upon reaching this point he went to sea. For two years he was a sailor and then returned to his home and entered the employ of George Corliss in whose shops he learned the moulder's trade. He thus formed an association destined to con-
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Philo Prentice Datukes
tinue for thirty-five years, during which time he labored most faithfully in the interests of the concern and worked his way up steadily until he reached the excellent position of foreman of the foundry. This long period of service was broken, however, by a greater service that he owed to the Union dur- ing the terrible strife between the North and South. Mr. Hawkes was one of the first to volunteer and was one of the three months men who responded to President Lincoln's first call for troops. He enlisted in the First Rhode Island Detached Militia. He served out his full three months with this regiment, but unlike others who felt their obligations to the country ful- filled by this term of service he enlisted again, this time in the United States navy, in 1862. At first he was a plain seaman on the ship "Satelite," but was later transferred to the "Ossipee" and promoted to acting ensign. He was then assigned to the "Fear Not" of Admiral Farragut's squadron, then off New Orleans, and served as an executive officer until the end of the war. During this time he saw plenty of active service and always conducted him- self with gallantry and credit, to which his rapid rise in rank from the posi- tion of seaman bears evidence.
After the close of hostilities he returned to the North and continued the long term of service with the Corliss concern which finally led him to so excellent a position there. It was at this time that his attention was drawn to the invention known as Mason's safety tread for stairs. He was con- vinced of the future of this device, and as it was an English invention he travelled to that country to become familiar with it and try to put the thing on a practical basis. The result of this trip was that arrangements were made between himself and the owners of the invention whereby it was to be patented in the United States and Mr. Hawkes was to establish a factory for its manufacture here. This was accordingly done and he found himself in charge of a good sized plant at Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the mak- ing of the stair tread was successfully carried on. The establishment was afterwards removed to Lowell, Massachusetts. About 1896, however, he retired from the business and returned to Providence, making his home in the East Providence district for many years and for a short period before his death at No. 1177 Elmwood avenue in the city. But although retired from active business, he participated prominently in the affairs of the city, and upon being requested by Judge Bliss to act as janitor in the East Providence High School he consented and there remained for upwards of ten years, both in the old building on Grove avenue and later in the new structure on Taun- ton avenue. Failing health, however, forced him to give up this also, the students of the school presenting him with a handsome memorial upon the occasion of his retirement.
Mr. Hawkes always took part in the general life of the neighborhood and was a prominent and popular figure in fraternal and social circles gener- ally. He was a member of numerous organizations, among the more impor- tant being Bucklin Post, Grand Army of the Republic, through the medium of which he kept alive his old military associations, and Roger Williams Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding every official chair in the local body. Politically he was affiliated with the Republican party, but was never active in local politics. In the matter of religion he was a Meth-
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Philo Prentice Datukes
odist, attending the Asbury Methodist Church in Providence for many years. He was one of the most enthusiastic and energetic members of the congregation, was a class leader and a member of the choir, and for many years was a trustee of the church, always working indefatigably in its interests
Mr. Hawkes was united in marriage on August 7, 1862, with Abby J. Gayton, a native of Fall River, Massachusetts, who had lived, however, most of her life in Bristol, Rhode Island, of which her parents, Joseph and Eliza- beth (Nash) Gayton, were old and highly respected citizens. Mr. Gayton was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods for many years, and to him and his wife eleven children were born of whom Mrs. Hawkes was the ninth. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hawkes took place but two days before he started for the front in the Civil War after his second enlistment, and the next time they were able to meet was when he was stationed with something like permanency before New Orleans, many months later. Born to Mr. and Mrs. Hawkes was one child, William P. Hawkes, now a resident of East Providence, where he is employed in a clerical capacity in the elec- trical works. He married Hattie Moss and they are the parents of two daughters, Gratia M. and Alice P.
Albert Sidury Alny
Albert Sidney Almy
B EYOND our powers in every sense would be the task of sun- ming up the effect upon the general advance of the human race of the application of physical science to the material needs of life during the present century and the latter half of the one preceding it. It will require a perspective much greater than that which any dweller in the same epoch can possibly have even to make the most casual approximation of the results which shall spring from a time in which invention and dis- covery along these lines has entirely eclipsed anything of the kind in the whole course of human history. But while the task is impossible, especially now, when we stand so close to the phenomenon as to see naught of it but the detail, yet it is quite within our power to say, and say with all assurance, that the men who have given their time and energies to the invention and development of such things as the railroad, wherewith we annihilate distance on land, the secure yet speedy vessel with which we do the same by water, and the thousand devices with which we draw nearer the four corners of the world, have builded even better than they knew, and besides ministering to our needs, comfort and convenience, they have greatly aided in welding the various peoples of the earth into a unit from which we still have faith will spring a universal brotherhood. So let us give to each man who has worked to this great end, whether consciously or otherwise, a share of the praise that is due for this splendid achievement and hail them the typical figures of an age which great as it is is only in preparation of a greater. One of the laborers in this great field of endeavor was the late Albert Sidney Almny, of Bristol, Rhode Island, whose death there at his home at No. 11 Constitution street, on February 10, 1915, was a severe loss to the entire community. For many years he was associated with the great ship-building concern of the Herreshoffs of Bristol, one of the most famous houses in the world, as well for the wonderful inventions connected with the ship-building craft as for the magnitude of their operations, and while there was identified with the construction of many of their most famous vessels, especially of the yacht type, notably a number of the great defenders of the America's cup.
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