USA > Rhode Island > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Rhode Island > Part 40
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The first of the name to come to this country was William Comstock, who sailed with his wife Elizabeth from England probably about the middle of the seventeenth century and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut. He subsequently removed to New London where he eventually died. Andrew Comstock was of the eighth generation from William Comstock, the immi- grant ancestor, many of his less remote ancestors playing a conspicuous part in their respective times and neighborhoods. From the time of Samuel Comstock, a son of the original William Comstock, and who came to Provi- dence, Rhode Island, to make his home, the family has lived in that city or its environs so that it has become most closely identified with all its tradi- tions and life. The father of the Mr. Comstock of this sketch, James Com- stock, was born in North Providence, February 27, 1793, but moved away to the part of Mendon, now known as Blacktone, Massachusetts, where he re- mained the rest of his life, thus making the only considerable break in the continuous residence of his branch of the family in Providence. He was
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engaged in the retail meat business in Blackstone. He married, March 9, 1814, Catherine Farnum, of Cheshire, Massachusetts, by whom he had seven children as follows: Woodbury L., born January 6, 1815; Lydia, De- cember 15, 1816, married Laban Bates; Jonathan F., November 24, 1818, married Mary Hall; Anna Smith, December 9, 1820, married Albert Gaskill; Andrew, of whom further; James Kelly, born June 29, 1827, married Char- lotte Kelly Benson; and Catherine Farnum, twin of James Kelly, married Richard Beede.
The birth of Andrew Comstock took place in the town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, March 6, 1823. The years of his childhood were divided be- tween his native town and the city of Providence, Rhode Island, where he was sent for his education, attending there the Friends' School. Though a bright and intelligent student, he did not follow up his schooling with a course in college, but returned to Blackstone and shortly after formed a partnership with his brother, Jonathan Farnum Comstock, the two young men establishing themselves in a provision business that was highly success- ful. The opportunity for developing a business in Blackstone was, of neces- sity, limited, and in the year 1857 the firm of J. F. & A. Comstock removed to Providence, where the business has continued down to the present time. In the new location the concern flourished greatly and developed a whole- sale business in beef and pork of much importance. With the death of the elder Mr. Comstock, there occurred a division of interests and two com- panies arose from the old one, known as J. F. Comstock & Sons and Com- stock & Company. For some time Mr. Comstock was associated with both of these, but he later withdrew from Comstock & Company, remaining with J. F. Comstock & Sons until the close of his life. His interests were large and extended and he became a powerful influence in the commercial world. It was in the early years of his residence in Providence that he became asso- ciated with the G. H. Hammond Company, of Hammond, Indiana. In 1887 he was elected to the presidency of this great concern, which extended its influence all over the West and had large plants in Chicago and Omaha, the two greatest centers for the trade in live stock and beef in the country. It was largely due to the masterful management of Mr. Comstock that the Hammond Company grew to such great proportions, it being to-day one of the group of great corporations that control the beef trade in the United States. But the business associations of Mr. Comstock extended outside of the beef and wholesale provision trade altogether, and he became one of the controlling factors in the financial situation in Providence and Rhode Island generally. In connection with these interests he was elected president of the Commercial Bank of Providence and a trustee of the People's Savings Bank of the same city.
In spite of these widespread interests and the great demands which active participation in their management involved, Mr. Comstock did not neglect the normal duties of citizenship. Indeed he went out of his way to shoulder difficulties and responsibilities in the interest of the common weal. This did not, however, involve seeking for public office or a desire to keep himself in the public eye. On the contrary, he shrank from such prom-
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inence and that to such an extent that he avoided taking the active part in politics that his talents fitted him for. That he would not shrink from such participation when he felt that the interest of the community in any way depended upon his efforts is shown by the way that he accepted the nomina- tion of the Republican party to the Rhode Island State Legislature. He was elected successfully in the campaign that followed and served in that body for two years, taking an important part in the vital legislation of the time. Mr. Comstock was a man of deep religious feeling, a Baptist in belief, and attended the Cranston Street Church of that denomination in Providence. He was greatly interested in the affairs of this church and served as deacon from its origin in 1870 until his death, giving, liberally of his time and for- tune in support of the work carried on by it in the city. He was greatly in- terested in the educational institutions of the city, and was a trustee of Brown University from 1893 until his death in 189S.
Mr. Comstock was married, on May 24, 1856, to Juliette Paine, of Smithfield, Rhode Island, a member of one of the very old New England families and a daughter of John Jay and Olive (Hall) Paine, of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Comstock were the parents of three children as follows: I. Frederick, born May 7, 1858, died October 11, 1858. 2. Frank Paine, born February 26, 1864, in Providence, where he was educated at the Mowry & Goff Classical School; is now the head of the J. F. Comstock & Sons con- cern and has been a director of the G. H. Hammond Company and president of the Providence Ice Company. 3. Clara Elizabeth, a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1895, an extensive traveller in Europe and other parts of the world and a resident of Providence.
No account of Mr. Comstock would be complete without reference to the faithful wife who for so many years was his companion and helpmeet, nor can this reference be more appropriately made than in the words of the Rev. Mr. L. L. Henson, her pastor, who said of her at the time of her death :
Mrs. Comstock was a remarkable woman. She belonged to what might be called the "old school" of beautiful womanhood. She was a strong and vigorous and active woman of strong will and great courage, and she was ever ready to do her duty whatever that might mean for her. Always quick to perceive and wise to decide and ready to act, she was a forceful, commanding, beautiful character. Ever frugal and careful and watchful, she must have been through all the years a real helpmeet to her beloved husband. Not afraid of work, and not unused to hardship, perhaps, in the early days, she and he together laid deep and strong the foundations for a life of unusual beauty and usefulness. Much of his wonderful success, I can imagine, was due to her influence and her power. She was likewise a faithful woman. She was faithful to duty, faithful to friends, faithful to Church and faithful to God. *
* * She was a woman of rare wisdom. Her wisdom was so great that her friends constantly sought her advice. This was true because her wisdom was of such a kind that she was likewise a woman of sound judgment ; and when in addition to that we remember that she was an intensely practical woman and exceedingly discreet as well, we can understand why such was the case. There is hardly a philanthropic or charitable or educational institution in this city that was not richer by far because of her wisdom and interest, and on the Boards of many of these institutions she has served with faithfulness and ability. She was, too, a great worker. In the early days, her work was largely given to the children of the Sunday school, and hundreds of men and women in this city and other cities would gladly testify to this hour of the influence this woman has had upon their lives. Over and over again she has said to me when speaking of this business man or that, "He, you know, was one of my boys." Once more, she was always ready to give. She gave
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lavishly of her time. The fact is, she was always on hand when there was anything that she could do. She gave of her strength. She gave of her means. God honored her and her husband with large ability to give, and they honored Him by giving of that which He had given to them. She gave in a quiet and humble and beautiful way, but she gave. The Cranston Street Church, of which she was a constituent member, could never have been what it is to-day, and could never have reached the place which it occupies in the world but for her and her husband. But their giving was not confined by any means to the Church, for any institution that stood for the right and for the uplift of humanity has been made richer, in so far as it was possible, by their consecrated gifts. And the Gospel is being preached round the globe at this hour because they were glad to make it possible for men and women to go. Many of the poor people of this city, moreover, will miss her more than you or I can imagine, for gifts which have gone to countless homes bearing the message, "From a friend," and, unknown to the world, have come from her generous hand. And lastly, she was a Christian. And by that I mean a Chris- tian in the fullest sense of the word. She was a woman whose faith was made manifest in her works, and she was such a Christian as is interested in every form of Christian activity. She worked in the Sunday school from the beginning of her church's existence until her declining years made it impossible to do so longer.
It is always difficult, nay, impossible, to estimate the effect upon their environment of such characters as those of Mr. and Mrs. Comstock, whose influence depends, not so much upon the concrete deeds that they accom- plish, as upon that subtle force which communicates itself unseen to all about from a fine and gracious personality. But although any accurate gauge is impossible, we are surely justified in valuing such influence very highly. In the case of Mr. and Mrs. Comstock, tastes and instincts were blended in so fortunate an admixture as to seem predestined for the gain and redistribution of culture. It would, perhaps, be difficult to say whether their wide and pious reading or the immediate intercourse with their fel- lows in the daily school of experience was the more potent instructor, but certainly both played a large and important part. Great as was the work that each did in his or her special contact with the world, it did not interfere with their profound fondness for the domestic side of life. Rather did it em- phasize it and never were they so truly happy as when giving and receiving those amenities which are only to be known and enjoyed at home and in the midst of one's household. If it is difficult to estimate accurately the influence for good of such characters, it is nevertheless easy to set it very high.
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Philip Collins Sheldon
T 'HE late Philip Collins Sheldon, whose death at his residence, Park Heights, on February 3, 1916, as the result of an apo- plectic shock with which he was seized on Christmas Day, following the regular session of the court over which he pre- sided, while apparently in possession of good health, cast a gloom over the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with whose life he had been so prominently identified, was a member of a very old and honorable Rhode Island family, and was indeed related to many of the most prominent houses in that State. The Sheldon family is a very large one and extends over the whole of the castern part of the United States, the Rhode Island branch, in common with many other branches of the family, being descended from John Sheldon, of Providence, who is re- corded as having been living in that city as early as 1675. John Sheldon was born in England in 1630. He came to the American colonies during his early manhood, his death occurring at Providence in 1708. He was a man of prominence in the community in which he had chosen to make his home, being a deputy in 1702. He was married to Joan Vincent in the year 1660. From them the line descends through Nicholas (1), Nicholas (II), Nicho- las (III), Nicholas (IV), Pardon, and Henry Herbert Sheldon, the father of Philip Collins Sheldon, of this sketch.
Henry Herbert Sheldon, who was a son of Pardon and Harriet ( Collins) Sheldon, was born July 13, 1834, in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1862 Mr. Sheldon raised a company of soldiers which adopted the name of the Burnside Zouaves, of which he became the lieutenant-colonel, and took an active part in the Civil War. In 1863 he was appointed to a position in the United States Treasury Department. At the close of the war he re- turned to New England, where he engaged in the cutlery business. He con- tinued in this line both in Boston and New York City until 1882, when Mr. Sheldon invented the well known Sheldon Gas Stove, which he patented and engaged in the manufacture of, the scene of his operations being Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His death occurred October 10, 1905, after a long and suc- cessful career as a manufacturer and public benefactor. He practically re- built the city which added much to the ultimate business success of its cen- ter. Mr. Sheldon married, June 30, 1859, Adeline Frances Carpenter, of Coventry, Rhode Island, a daughter of the Hon. Benjamin Franklin and Mary Cooke (Waterman) Carpenter.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, October 10, 1861, Philip Collins Sheldon, the second child of Colonel Henry Herbert and Adeline Frances (Carpenter) Sheldon, did not long remain in the city of his birth, but re- moved with his parents to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which became from that time his permanent home. He received the first part of his education in the schools of Pawtucket and later attended Mowry & Goff's English and Classical School at Providence, graduating from this institution with
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the class of 1880. He was an excellent student and won a number of honors during his course in the academy, being the salutatorian of his class. In the year 1887 he became connected with his father's large real estate business in Pawtucket, the business taking the name of H. H. & P. C. Sheldon, with offices in the Sheldon Building in that city. Mr. Sheldon had for some time been keenly interested in the subject of the law and decided to follow it as a profession shortly after becoming connected with his father in business. With this end in view he entered the office of the Hon. James L. Jenks, where he read law, and also attended the Rhode Island Law School, from which he graduated with the class of Igor. The theory of the law was per- haps a more important thing in the case of Mr. Sheldon than with most attorneys to-day and in his pursuance of this more technical side of the mat- ter he also took a special course at Brown University. He was admitted to the Rhode Island bar in October, 1901, and from that time until his death actively followed his profession in Pawtucket. He became very well known in the city and indeed the entire region surrounding it, where he was re- garded justly as one of the leaders of the bar in that part of the State. On January 15, 1914, Mr. Sheldon was elected clerk of the Tenth District Court and served in that capacity and also that of associate judge with unusual ability until the time of his death. From the year 1903 until the close of his life he was president and treasurer of the Sheldon Building Company, and secretary of the Pawtucket Sash and Blind Company, of which he was one of the original incorporators. He represented the Taylor Estate, holding large realty interests in Providence, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Taunton and Brockton, Massachusetts. He was treasurer of the Pawtucket Mutual Fire Insurance Company as well as being connected with several other important concerns of that region.
Mr. Sheldon was an extremely prominent figure in the life of Pawtucket and played an active and leading part in many of the activities of the com- munity. He was a member of the Pawtucket Business Men's Association and shortly before his death was elected its vice-president. In this capacity he devoted considerable of his valuable time and energy to the development and encouragement of business interests in the city. He was secretary and one of the board of directors of the Elizabeth Higginson Weeden Home, one of the incorporators of the Memorial Hospital and of the Pawtucket Boys' Club, and was a member of the board of directors of the latter insti- tution. In his religious belief he was a Baptist and for twenty years was a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Pawtucket and also moderator of the First Baptist Society. In his politics Mr. Sheldon was a Republican although he never allied himself with the local organization of his party nor took an active part in political affairs. He held office, however, on several occasions. He was a member of the Common Council from the Third Ward in 1890; was a member of the Park Commission, for twenty years, from 1895, serving that body as its secretary without compensation; in 1906 he was elected secretary of the school committee and served his fellow citizens in that capacity for eight years.
As has. already been stated, Mr. Sheldon was related to many of the
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oldest and most prominent families of Rhode Island and had a very just and natural pride in his distinguished ancestors. His maternal grandmother was a member of the old Waterman family which was descended from Richard Waterman, who was born in England in 1590, and died in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, in 1673. A monument to Richard Waterman stands in Swan Point Cemetery. He emigrated from England to the American Colo- nies in 1629 and settled at Salem, Massachusetts, but in 1638 formed one of a party which, under the leadership of Roger Williams, founded the Colony of Providence. Roger Williams, himself, was an ancestor of Mr. Sheldon in one line of descent, as were several other prominent men among the original settlers of Providence and vicinity. Among these should be named William Harris, born in 1610, who came in the ship "Lyon" from Bristol, England. John Greene, born in 1597, surgeon at Salisbury, Eng- land, in 1620, sailed from Southampton, England, in the ship "James" in 1635. He was one of the twelve persons to whom Roger Williams deeded land from Canonicus and Miantonomi. Samuel Gorton, born in 1572, emi- grated to the Colonies in 1636 and became the founder of Warwick. In 1645 he was commissioner to the English Government. Being successful in his mission he was honored by nearly every official trust within the gift of the people. He was successively magistrate, corporator, Senator, Assembly- man, judge, and in 1651 Governor. William Arnold, born in Cheselbourn, England, in 1587, came to Providence in 1636. In 1640 he signed an agree- ment with thirty-eight others of Rhode Island for civil government. Wil- liam Carpenter, born in 1605, lineal descendant of John Carpenter, born in 1303, member of Parliament in 1323, was of the noble family of Carpenters of great antiquity in the County of Hereford. He was "Kings Messenger," a nobleman's office of honor. A little gold greyhound is even to this day the badge of office of a King's Messenger, so that the greyhound was placed upon the family coat-of-arms at that time. It is the embodiment of "Cour- age-Speed Fidelity." All of the Sheldon ancestors were among the twelve original members of the First Baptist Church, Providence. Mr. Sheldon had an inborn pride of ancestry and was a member of the National Society, Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims. He joined the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution on July 20, 1898, in right of his great-great-grandfather, Caleb Potter, of Cranston, Rhode Island, who was a private in the Captain General's Cavaliers, a corps of cavalry in Provi- dence county, chartered in 1775, which served under the command of Colo- nel Benjamin Slack and Colonel Daniel Manton and did gallant service dur- ing the expedition to Rhode Island, from July 24 to August 31, 1778. Caleb Potter also served in Captain Charles Holden, Jr.'s company during the month of November, 1780.
Mr. Sheldon was united in marriage on September 4, 1889, with Ru- biena Carrie Hardwick, of Boston, a daughter of Henry Hingston Hard- wick, of distinguished English ancestry, and Amelia Adeline (Wiswell) Hardwick, a direct descendant of the first male child born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr. Sheldon is survived by his wife and two children, Marshall Hingston and Beatrice Adelin Sheldon.
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The death of Mr. Sheldon was the occasion of many tributes to his character, written and spoken, both on the part of individuals who had been fortunate enough to know him and of the many institutions of which he was a member, which passed appropriate resolutions upon that event. George Thurston Spicer, writing in the memorial sketch which appeared of Mr. Sheldon in a publication of the Sons of the American Revolution for 1915-16 said as follows :
As we think of him to-day, our late Compatriot was first of all a gentleman-con- siderate, kind and sympathetic ; an earnest and serious student of men and affairs and vet withal endowed with the saving grace of humor. One who knew him well has said: "In all my acquaintance with him, I never knew him to be overcome, even for an instant, with temper, passion or undue excitement. 'Patience, calmness, consideration for others and a cheerful, happy disposition were the principal characteristics of our de- parted brother." And again: "His unfailing kindness and courtesy to the members of the Bar, and his willingness to serve them even beyond the strict requirements of his office will make him long remembered."
Of few it may be said as truly as of him that no one contributed more freely of himself to others, and no one demanded of others less for himself. The community in which he lived will long recall with gratitude the unsel- fish service he so cheerfully rendered.
Both houses of the State Legislature passed a joint resolution on the occasion of Mr. Sheldon's death as follows:
Whereas this General Assembly learns with deep regret of the death of Philip C. Sheldon, clerk of the Tenth District Court; Resolved, That this General Assembly make proper expression of the profound sense of loss in the death of Philip C. Sheldon, and its sympathy for the family in its bereavement, and be it further Resolved, That this resolution be entered upon the records of the General Assembly and a copy of the same be suitably engrossed by the secretary of state and sent to the family of the deceased.
Another tribute to the memory of Mr. Sheldon were the resolutions passed by the Rhode Island Bar Association, which read as follows:
In the providence of God, Philip C. Sheldon, our brother in the law and clerk of the District Court of the Tenth Judicial District, is dead.
Resolved, That in the death of Philip C. Sheldon, the Rhode Island Bar has lost a valued and esteemed member : the Tenth Judicial District Court, an ideal clerk ; the City of Pawtucket, a respected and useful citizen ; and we, a most kind, likeable and lov- able friend and brother whose whole life might well have inspired the lines: "Only the actions of the just, Smell sweet and blossom in the dust."
Resolved, That we extend to his bereaved widow and children our sincere sympathy in this their hour of darkest sorrow.
In the course of the meeting which passed the above resolutions, the Hon. James L. Jenks delivered an address, saying in part :
It was my privilege to know and count Philip C. Sheldon as my friend for a period covering the past twenty years. I first saw Mr. Sheldon at the time of his graduation from Mowry & Goff's School, where he delivered the salutatory address, and I then formed the impression that Mr. Sheldon was a gentleman and a student, and that the city of Pawtucket would be richer for his citizenship, and that impression the years have verified. # *
Our lamented brother was not an ambitious lawyer. His modesty, and a certain R 1-1-24
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dislike for publicity limited his legal duties largely to office work, where, after all, per- haps the most important work of a lawyer and work of great usefulness to the commu- nity is rendered.
The City of Pawtucket is poorer for the departure of Philip C. Sheldon. We shall miss his cheery smile; his always genial salutation ; his kindly humor ; and the sudden, quiet laugh, with which he would recount a witty anecdote ..
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