USA > Rhode Island > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Rhode Island > Part 5
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Forrest Greene married, January 10, 187S, Nora L. Ingraham, daughter of Matthew W. and Catherine Gorham (Pope) Ingraham. Matthew W. Ingraham was born at Barrington, Rhode Island, died January 15, 19II ; his wife, born at Providence, Rhode Island, September 17, 1814, died in 1890. They were the parents of four children: Charles Gladding, deceased ; Abbie Howard, residing in Providence with her widowed sister; Nora L., widow of Forrest Greene; Walter Watson. Twin sons were born to Forrest and Nora L. Greene, Harry Lester, a yarn broker of New York City, died No- vember 1, 1912, and Howard E., who was associated with his brother in the yarn brokerage business which he continues; he married Claire M. Cohu and has two children, Roslyn and Gwendolin.
Lemuel Hastings Arnold
L EMUEL HASTINGS ARNOLD, tenth Governor of Rhode Island (1831-33), was born at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, January 29, 1792, only child of Dr, Jonathan and Cynthia (Hastings) Arnold, she having been his third wife. Dr. Jonathan Arnold was a native of Gloucester, Rhode Island; was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War; served in the General Assembly of Rhode Island; and was the author of the Declaration of Independence passed by that body in May, 1776; he succeeded William Ellery in the Continental Congress, where he served for two years, from 1782 to 1784, and aided Vermont in securing her boundary rights ; founded the town of St. Johnsbury on land ceded to him in return for his services in the Revolutionary army, and there spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring. in the year 1793, when his son, Lemuel H. Arnold, was an infant.
Lemuel Hastings Arnold obtained his preparatory education in the schools of St. Johnsbury, and then matriculated at Dartmouth College, from which institution he was graduated in ISII. A number of his class- mates attained distinction in later life, namely: Hon. Ames Campbell, Chief Justice of New Hampshire, and Professor of Law at Harvard Col- lege: Joel Parker, Chief Justice of New Hampshire; Dr. Daniel Poor, the missionary ; and Judge Ether Shepley, of Maine. For three years after his graduation, Mr. Arnold devoted himself to the study of law, gaining a comprehensive knowledge of that profession under the capable supervision of James Burrell, Jr., his brother-in-law. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1814, and for the following seven years practiced his profession in Providence, Rhode Island, and then .engaged in a manufacturing business, in which he was quite successful.
Mr. Arnold represented Providence in the General Assembly, one year excepted, from 1826 to 1831, when he was elected Governor of Rhode Island, succeeding James Fenner. During his administration what was known as the Olney lane riot broke out in Providence, but this he quelled in a most summary and effective manner. During his second term, which was by reelection, in the summer of 1832, the Asiatic cholera broke out, and caused widespread alarm among the people, but Governor Arnold, by his firmness and calmness, and by the drastic measures which he adopted, succeeded in allaying the fear of the people in a remarkable manner. During the Dorr rebellion he served in the Executive Council of the State with James Fenner, Richard R. Randolph, Edward Carrington, Samuel F. Mann and Nathan F. Dixon as his associates. He removed from Providence to South Kingston, and was elected Representative to Congress from that district in 1845 and served one term, until 1847.
Governor Arnold married (first) in June, 1819, Sally, daughter of Major Daniel Lyman, who served in the Revolutionary army, and Mary (Wanton) Lyman, great-granddaughter of Governor Gideon Wanton.
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They were the parents of three sons and six daughters. Mrs. Arnold died in February, 1837. Governor Arnold married (second) in June, 1847, Catherine Shannard, of Washington, D. C. His oldest son, Lemuel Hast- ings Arnold, was the only soldier who was wounded in the Dorr rebellion; another son, Richard Arnold, served through the Civil War, and at its close was brevetted major-general in the regular army; another son, Daniel Lyman Arnold, was a most gallant soldier, but was killed in battle early in the Civil War. Governor Arnold died at Kingston, Rhode Island, June 27, 1852.
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ohn Carter Brown
OHN CARTER BROWN, philanthropist, a liberal benefactor of Brown University, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, August 28, 1797, son of Nicholas and Ann (Carter) Brown. He began his education in the common schools, and then entered Brown University, from which he was gradu- ated in 1816. He entered the employ of Brown & Ives, of which his father was senior partner, and in 1832 was admitted to partnership. In 1841, by the decease of his father, he came into possession of an ample estate, and guided by his peculiar tastes, he became a traveler, not only through many sections of his own country, but in the different countries of Europe. He lived abroad for several years. Early in life he began to develop a love for rare and curious books, and with un- wearied pains and at great expense he collected one of the best libraries, if not the best library, of American history in this country. Eminent men from other States, and even from Europe, have visited Providence to con- sult or to study some work which they could find nowhere else. Mr. Brown was chosen a trustee of Brown University in 1828, and was made a fellow in 1842. His gifts to the university were numerous and costly, and include additions to its library, its buildings, and its real estate, amounting to nearly $175,000 and his name stands thus far in the front rank of the benefactors of Brown University, his father's name only taking precedence of his. Among his most valuable works were copies of the Aldine editions of the ancient classics, and of the more famous of the Polyglot Bibles. He had also accumulated a vast number of works on the history of early discoveries, the methods of colonization, and the process of civilization in America. Nearly all publications on Americana, in any language, were thus gathered by him, beginning with the Columbus letters of 1493, and ending with the political pamphlets of 1800. An elaborate bibliography of his library was prepared by John Russell Bartlett, in four volumes (1867-71), a few copies being issued for private distribution. Since his death the entire remainder of his famous library was given to his alma mater by his son, John, with an endowment fund, house and cases for it. Mr. Brown was one of the original incorporators of the Butler Hospital for the Insane, and contributed gener- ously to its support. He also helped in the founding of the Rhode Island Hospital, to which he contributed over $84,000. He was a staunch anti- slavery advocate, and for a year or more he was president of the New Eng- land Emigrant Aid Society, whose object it was to assist emigrants who wished to settle in Kansas and make out of that territory a free State. Dur- ing the Civil War he was a warm patriot, responding to every proper call made upon him for sympathy and pecuniary aid. In May, 1859, he was married to Sophia Augusta, daughter of Hon. Patrick Browne, of New Providence, West Indies, and had three children, John Nicholas, Harold and Sophia A. Brown. He died in Providence, Rhode Island, June 10. 1874.
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William Sprague
W TILLIAM SPRAGUE, twelfth Governor of Rhode Island (1838-39), was born at Cranston, Providence county, Rhode Island, November 3, 1799, son of William and Anne (Pot- ter) Sprague. His father, who was the first to introduce calico-printing into America, and was as successful a mer- chant as a manufacturer, was a descendant of Jonathan Sprague, an able Baptist minister and speaker of the General Assembly in 1703. His maternal grandmother was a Williams, and a lineal descendant of the "apostle of liberty."
William Sprague received a good education, and passed from the schoolroom to his father's mills at Cranston, where with his brother Amasa he acquired a thorough acquaintance with the business of manufacturing cotton cloth and printing calicoes. The sons soon came to be admitted as partners, and in 1836, on their father's death, continued the business, assum- ing the style of A. & W. Sprague. Their properties in Warwick and Coven- try as well as Cranston became very extensive, and the brothers were recog- nized as among the leading manufacturers of cotton goods in the world. As early as 1832, William Sprague entered public life as a representative of Cranston in the General Assembly, and frem 1832 until 1835 he was speaker of that body. In 1835 he was elected to the United States House of Repre- sentatives as a Democrat, and served from December 7 until March 3, 1837, when he declined a renomination. He was then elected Governor of the State. In 1842 he was elected to the United States Senate, to succeed Hon. Nathan F. Dixon, and served from February 18, 1842, until January 17, 1844, when he resigned, the death of his brother throwing the whole weight of their vast business upon his shoulders. He was chosen a presidential elector in 1848 on the Taylor and Fillmore ticket. He was president of two · banks, and of the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill railroad.
Governor Sprague was married to Mary Waterman, of Warwick, who bore him a daughter Susan, and a son Byron, who, with his cousins, Amasa and William, continued the firin of A. & W. Sprague. His nephew, William Sprague, became Governor in 1860-63. Governor Sprague died in Provi- dence, October 19, 1856.
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George Witheridge Payne
T HREE GENERATIONS of this branch of the Payne family have been intimately connected with the cotton print indus- try of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, each head of the generation a specialist and each differing from the other in the line of activity pursued. The Payne coat-of-arms is as follows: Argent, a chevron gules, between three griffins' heads erased sable.
William Payne, the founder, was a color mixer, and a master of his art; his son, Charles Payne, was a pioneer engraver for calico printers and one of the founders of the hair cloth industry in this city; his son, George With- eridge Payne, to whom this tribute of respect is dedicated, was a manufac- turer of cotton mill machinery, founder of the George W. Payne Company. Each generation increased in wealth and prominence in their city and made for themselves honored names and a permanent place in the records of one of Rhode Island's progressive cities.
The founder of the family, William Payne, was born March 12, 1797, in Warwickshire, England, died at his home on High street, Central Falls, Rhode Island, December 21, 1851. He came from an old English family long seated in Warwickshire, the name being of frequent mention in early history. William Payne became interested in the manufacture of prints early in life and became an expert in combining colors for calico printing. With a thorough knowledge of his art, he came to the United States when a young man, settling in Pawtucket, where he was engaged as a mixer of colors in the cotton mills until his death. He was a man of splendid phy- sique, six feet one inch in height, well proportioned, and very strong. He married, in England, Hannah Cooper, born October II, 1797, died at Paw- tucket, March 28, 1873, who bore him seven children.
Charles Payne, the eldest child, was born at Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, December 29, 1819, died at Pawtucket. Rhode Island, October 27, 1869. He was very young when his parents came to Pawtucket from Eng- land and here he obtained a public school education. He was an apprentice of Samuel Lord, the engraver, who thoroughly taught him the art of engraving for calico printing. After completing his term of apprenticeship, he began business for himself, continuing until 1849 when he formed a part- nership with Jude Taylor and founded the firm of Payne & Taylor, engravers for calico printers. This firm conducted a large and profitable business for many years, furnishing plates and engravings for the various print mills of Rhode Island and contiguous New England territory. But with the intro- duction of the pentograph engraving machines, which so simplified the work of engraving on plates, each mill installed machines and did on their own premises the work formerly they were dependent upon Payne & Taylor to do for them. With this change in trade conditions, however, Payne & Taylor were fully able to cope. They turned their factory on East avenue into a mill for the manufacture of cotton yarns and later became pioneer
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George Witheridge Dapne
manufacturers of hair cloth. This business was a very successful one, but with a bright and prosperous future before him Mr. Payne was compelled to surrender earthly interests and in 1869 his career ended. His sons, Charles B. and James R. Payne, succeeded him in the hair cloth business and con- tinued as Payne & Taylor until 1893, when they consolidated with the Paw- tucket Hair Cloth Company, under the name of the American Hair Cloth Company, one of Pawtucket's extensive manufacturing concerns. Charles Payne was a man of fine business ability, and took a deep interest in those measures and enterprises that promised to advance the prosperity and well being of his fellow-men. He was a Republican in politics, served several terms as common councilman, and for a number of years as member of the school board, his interest in public schools being very strong and long con- tinued. He was a member of the Masonic order, belonging to lodge, chap- ter and commandery, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Charles Payne married, September 25, 1842, Keziah Bindley, born in England, daughter of John Bindley, the two families having been neighbors in England, and the bride and groom childish playmates. . The family home at the northwest corner of Brown and Garden streets, Pawtucket, was erected by Charles Payne in 1855, that section of the city then being a wooden district. There Mrs. Payne continued to reside after the death of her husband in 1869 until her own death. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom except the youngest, who died in infancy, growing to mature years and honorable position, and all except James R., who died November 24, 1904, unmarried, the heads of families.
George Witheridge Payne, eldest child of Charles and Keziah (Bindley) Payne, was born at Pawtucket, June 30, 1843, died there January 29, 1915. He attended public schools until thirteen years of age. Then was taken as an apprentice to the engraver's trade by Payne & Taylor, his father being head of that firm. He remained with his father two years, then changed employers, becoming an employee of Benjamin Hood, a jeweler, with whom he remained until the spring of 1861. He then again changed his occupation and began a three years term of apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade with Andrew R. Slade. He continued with Mr. Slade four years, until 1865, and then began the connection that ever afterward existed. In 1865 Mr. Payne formed a partnership with Sanford E. Holmes, and trading as Holmes & Payne, began the manufacture of cotton and woolen mill machinery. In 1866 Mr. Holmes retired, his place in the firm being taken by Thomas A. Matthewson. The firm of Payne & Matthewson continued in business fourteen years, only dissolving upon Mr. Matthewson's death. George M. Fanning purchased the Matthewson interest, the firm reorganizing as George W. Payne & Company. In 1903 the business had grown to such proportions that greater powers were deemed necessary and in that year the George WV. Payne Company was incorporated. With the birth of the corporation founded upon the business he had built up, Mr. Payne retired from active business life but retained a directorship in the George W. Payne Company.
During the thirty-eight years that he was the active managing head of the business, Mr. Payne displayed an ability and an energy that resulted
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Scorge Witheridge Dapne
in continual expansion of his plant. His first shop in 1865 was located on the west side of the Blackstone river, where the building of the Littlefield Manufacturing Company now stands, but in two years larger quarters were needed and from 1867 to 1881 his plant occupied part of the site of the present Electric Power Station. From 1881 to 1883, the old Payne & Taylor plant on East avenue was their business home, and in February, 1883, the spacious George W. Payne building on Broad street was first occupied. The business was ever a prosperous one, about fifty machinists being employed in the manufacture of cotton and woolen mill machinery, spoolers, hosiery winders and quillers being the firm specialties.
During his earlier business years he traveled extensively in the interest of the firm and gained an acquaintance among cotton and woolen manu- facturers all over the United States. He acquired other interests of im- portance as the years brought him prosperity. He was treasurer and director of the Broad Street Power Company, director of the Coleman Nail Company, and interested in many lesser enterprises of Pawtucket, in addi- tion to his interests in the George W. Payne Company. He was also a large owner of real estate in his city. He took a deep interest in the growth and prosperity of the city and aided in many ways to build up a greater and a better Pawtucket. He was a Republican in politics, but never sought nor accepted public office. He was a member of Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 8, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Pawtucket Veteran Firemen's Asso- ciation, and an associate member of Tower Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Payne married (first) September 14, 1865, Julia McQuestin, who died in Pawtucket, March 14, 1876, the mother of four children: I. Lillian K., died in childhood. 2. Charles, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. 3. Carrie, married Harry Bliss and has three children: Marian; Raymond, who died young; and Joseph. 4. James Manton, who died in infancy. Mr. Payne married (second) November 22, 1877, Sarah Frances Balkcom, of Central Falls, daughter of John and Sarah (Clark) Balkcom, who survives him, residing at No. 9 Belmont street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She has three children : 1. Jude Taylor, manager of the Broad Street Power Company, of Pawtucket; married Mary Perrin and has a son, Leroy Clinton Payne. 2. Clinton Fanning, secretary-treasurer and general manager of the George W. Payne Company; married Evangeline N. Roe, and has a son, Clinton Roe Payne. 3. Alice, residing with her mother.
Elisha Dper
E `LISHA DYER, a former Governor of Rhode Island and ex- mayor of the city of Providence, was a representative member of a family which, from the very earliest history of the colony and State has been prominently and continuously identified with social and public life. The family record in America dates back to the early days of civilization on New World shores.
William Dyer, the immigrant ancestor of the family, with his wife Mary, came from London, England, and located in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1635. In 1638 they were disfranchised for supporting Quakerism, and driven to Rhode Island, where they resided in Portsmouth and Newport. John Dyer, grandson of William Dyer, married, in 1738, Freelove Williams, great-granddaughter of Roger Williams, and among their children was Anthony Dyer, born in Cranston, Rhode Island, June 27, 1743, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and by his wife, Sarah (Bishop) Dyer, was the father of Elisha Dyer.
Elisha Dyer was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island, January 5, 1772. He became a dry goods merchant of Providence, first on his own account, and later in partnership with Charles Potter under the style of Dyer & Potter, in partnership with Cary Dunn under the style of Elisha Dyer & Company, and subsequently in partnership with his son, Elisha Dyer, Jr. In 1835 he built the Dyerville Mill, in North Providence, and with his son Elisha began the manufacture of cotton cloth, carrying on that business until his death, February 11, 1854. He was one of the founders of the Providence Dyeing, Bleaching and Calendering Company, and of the Union Bank of Providence. He married, October 15, 1801, Frances Jones, daughter of Thomas and Esther (Dunn) Jones, and they were the parents of Gov- ernor Dyer.
Elisha Dyer, Jr., son of Elisha Dyer, Sr., was born in Providence, Rhode Island, July 20, 1811. He attended private schools in Providence, Benjamin Green's boarding school in Plainfield. Connecticut, Roswell C. Smith's school in Providence, and Brown University, from which he was graduated September 2, 1829. He then entered the store of Elisha Dyer & Company, commission merchants, Providence, where he served as a clerk until April I, 1831, and later was admitted as junior partner. He became identified with various public interests, and ever took an active part in promoting useful enterprises and social reforms. On September 23. 1833, he was tend- ered the appointment of Vice Consul to the Two Sicilies, which honor he declined. On September 30, 1835, he became a member of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, of which he was secretary, member of the auditing committee, president, and a member of the standing committee. He visited agricultural colleges in Europe, and in 1863 he was a delegate from the Rhode Island Society for the Encourage- ment of Domestic Industry to the International Agricultural Exhibition at
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Elisha Dper
Hamburg, in July of that year, and made an able report of the same. He was the agent of the Dyerville Manufacturing Company, and served in that capacity until the death of his father, in 1854, when he became the sole owner of the property. selling the mill in 1867, on account of failing health.
He was president of the Exchange Bank of Providence and was a director from 1837 to 1879, and was a director of the Union Bank of Provi- dence and of the Providence Washington Insurance Company. He was a member and director of the Providence Athenaeum : a director of the Provi- dence Young Men's Bible Class; a member of the Providence Dispensary ; one of the founders of the Providence Aid Society; and a member of the board of trustees of the Rhode Island Historical Society ; second vice- president of the Rhode Island Art Association; life-member and vice-presi- dent of the United States Agricultural Society; member of the Windham County (Connecticut) Agricultural Society; member of the Rhode Island Horticultural Society; member of the American Association of Arts and Sciences; member of the Butler Hospital Corporation; vice-president of the Lake Erie Monument Association; vice-president of the Roger Williams Monument Association; president of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation; honorary member of the Franklin Lyceum, and of the Providence Association of Mechanics and Manufacturers; and director of the Swan Point Cemetery.
In politics Mr. Dyer was formerly an old-line Whig. He was a delegate to the Whig convention at South Kingstown, October 31, 1839, and secre- tary of the same; a delegate to the Whig Jubilee and Festival at Niblo's Garden, New York, in November, 1839; chairman and first vice-president of the Young Men's Whig Convention at Providence, April 2, 1840; delegate to the Young Men's Whig Convention at Baltimore, May 3, 1840; elected adjutant-general of Rhode Island, June 27, 1840, and reelected for five suc- cessive years; member of the Providence school committee from January 3, 1843, to June 6, 1854, when he resigned; elected an honorary member of the Board of National Popular Education, November 8, 1849; elected president of fire wards, September 9, 1850, resigned June 2, 1851 ; elected a trustee of the Firemen's Association, Gaspe Company, No. 9, in 1852; nominated for mayor of Providence by the Temperance party, in 1851, and defeated by a small majority ; nominated for State Senator, April 4, 1853, but not elected; delegate to the Whig State Convention, March 10, 1853. of which he was a member from February 3, 1851, until 1855; elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1857, reelected the following year, and declined in favor of Hon. Thomas G. Turner in May, 1859. He identified himself with the Republican party at its organization. Governor Dyer took a prominent part in military matters. He joined the First Light Infantry Company of Providence, in 1838, was made an honorary member of the Newport Artillery Company in 1858, and an honorary member of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery in 1859. On September 25, 1861, he was chosen captain of the Tenth Ward Drill Company of Providence, and on May 26, 1862, he again volunteered and served for three months as captain of Company B, Tenth Regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers. He was a director of the Providence & Plainfield railroad; originator of the Providence & Springfield railroad; drew the
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Glisba Dper
charter of the Narragansett Valley Railroad Company, and was one of its incorporators; a director of the Rhode Island Steamboat Company in 1851, and in that year served on a committee sent to Washington to secure the removal of the Providence postoffice. He was at one time a director of the Rhode Island Sportsman's Club; president of the First National Musical Congress, in Music Hall, Boston, elected September 24, 1869; commissioner for Rhode Island to the International Exhibition at London, in May, 1871; and appointed honorary commissioner to the Vienna Exposition by Presi- dent Grant, March 20, 1873. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was connected with Grace Church in Providence. On June 8, 1852, he was a delegate to the Diocesan Convention.
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