USA > Rhode Island > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Rhode Island > Part 8
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Pardon Elisha Tillinghast was born in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, December 10, 1836. His early years were passed on his father's farm in West Greenwich, and his education was acquired in the district school; in school at Killingly, Connecticut ; at Hall's Academy, Moosup, Connecticut; at Providence Conference Seminary, East Greenwich; the Rhode Island State Normal School; Potter & Hammond's Commercial College, Provi- dence. He studied Latin under the Rev. Mr. Richards, of Providence. Prior to attaining his eighteenth year he engaged in teaching for one winter in a little school where he had himself attended, and for his services received $12.50 a month, and boarded at home. He then spent three winters teach- ing district school, two years in the Valley Falls Grammar School, one year at the Meeting Street Grammar School in Providence, and for six years was principal of the Grove Street Grammar School, Pawtucket.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted with the Twelfth Rhode
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Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and went to the front, serving in the Ninth Army Corps under General Burnside. He was promoted to quarter- master-sergeant, and at the end of his term of enlistment was honorably discharged. On his return home, his successor as a teacher resigned in his favor, and while again engaged in teaching at Pawtucket, he became a law student under the Hon. Thomas K. King, for four years, and in April, 1867, he was admitted to practice. It was not long before he was called into public service. From 1874 to 1881 he was town solicitor for Pawtucket, and was a member of the General Assembly from Pawtucket for seven years-three in the lower house and four years as Senator. While in the Senate he was chairman of the judiciary committee, and was also chairman of the joint select committee of the two houses in the revision of the statutes in I872, as he was also in the joint select committee for the reception and entertainment of President Hayes on the occasion of his visit to Rhode Island, when he delivered the address of welcome. In 1881 he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court, and sat in the Common Pleas Division for ten years. He was then transferred to the Supreme Court, sitting in banc, and soon after to the Appellate Division, sitting with Chief Justice Matteson and Justice Stiness. He was the next oldest justice to Chief Justice Stiness, and on the latter's retirement he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the highest position in the State judiciary, November 16, 1904. His decisions are recognized throughout the country, and he served the State for over twenty years with credit to himself and to the entire judiciary system.
From 1862 to 1881 Judge Tillinghast was connected with the State militia, holding successively the rank of second lieutenant of cavalry, first ' lieutenant and adjutant of the Pawtucket Light Guards, captain on the staff of General Daniels, colonel and brigadier-general on the staffs of Governors Van Zandt and Littlefield, and also served as judge advocate-general for six years. He always took a deep interest in educational matters, and particu- larly in the public school system, and served for a number of years on the school committee. In politics he was a Republican, but his partisanship was never offensive, and his voice was always heard on the side of right and justice. He was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church, and the Sabbath school connected with it. In 1890 the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Brown University, and he was elected a corresponding member of the New York Medico-Legal Society. He was a trustee of the Free Public Library of Pawtucket, and for over twenty years was a trustee of the Providence County Savings Bank. He was a member and at one time president of the Rhode Island Baptist Social Union, the Providence Bar Club, the Pawtucket Business Men's Association, Tower Post, No. 17, Grand Army of the Republic, and the To-Kalon Club.
Judge Tillinghast married, November 13, 1867, Ellen F. Paine, daughter of Joseph H. and Frances (Arnold) Paine, of Pawtucket, and they were the parents of four children: Alice L., John A., Angeline F. and Frederick W. Judge Tillinghast died in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, February 9, 1905. His passing away was the occasion of genuine sorrow among all classes of citi- zens, irrespective of political or religious belief, who realized that in him they had been favored with a man capable of filling any position when called
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upon, and one whose counsel and advice could be followed with safety at all times. Always courteous and of pleasant address, people of any and all stations regarded him as their friend. One of the most striking character- istics of Judge Tillinghast was his love for children, which was evidenced at all times, and a frequent spectacle on a Sunday was to see the tall justice of the Supreme Court in the vestibule of the church which he attended, talk- ing to the juvenile members of the congregation. Immediately upon receipt of the news of his death, his honor, Mayor James H. Higgins, ordered the flags of the city of Pawtucket to be placed at halfmast, and a special meeting of the City Council was called to take appropriate action with reference to his death. Words of most fervent praise were powerless to express the feel- ings of all the members of the Supreme Bench toward their late honored associate. With one accord they voiced the most affecting tributes to the memory of a man who was loved and respected alike for ability, kindliness and preeminence of personal character. Special tributes were paid to his memory by Judges Wilbur, Dubois, Blodgett, Johnson, Douglas, and by Former Chief Justice John H. Stiness.
Relson Wilmarth Aldrich
N ELSON WILMARTH ALDRICH, one of the most conspic- uous figures of modern public life, was a native of Rhode Island, born November 6, 1841, in Foster, a son of Anan F. Aldrich. His mother, Abby Burgess, was a descendant in the eighth American generation of Thomas Burgess, who was born 1602-03, in England, and was in Salem, Massa- chusetts, about 1630, removing soon after to Lynn. He received a grant of land at Duxbury, Massachusetts, July 3, 1637, which he forfeited by removing in the same year to Sandwich, Massachusetts. In the following year he was one of the original members of the Sandwich Church, and prior to his death, February 13, 1685, he filled every office in the town, and became a large land holder. His wife, Dorothy, died February 27, 1678. They were the parents of Thomas Burgess, who removed, in 1661, to Newport, Rhode Island, where he was a freeman and grand juror in 1667. His second wife, Lydia, was a daughter of Peter Gaunt, and mother of Thomas Burgess, born 1668, who resided in Little Compton, and married Martha Closson. Their son, Joseph Burgess, born August 6, 1708, settled in Cranston, Rhode Island. He married Anna Tew, and they were the parents of James Burgess, who married Dorothy Brown- ell, and lived in Cranston. Their son, Joseph Burgess, of Cranston, married Freelove Randall, and was the father of Samuel Burgess, of Cranston, whose daughter, Abby, married Anan F. Aldrich. The Aldrich family has been conspicuous in New England throughout the generations, and the subject of this sketch has shed lustre upon a name honored by many for- bears.
The name Aldrich is of ancient English origin, and has been subjected to a great variety of spellings, among which are Aldridge and Oldridge. The founder of this family in America was George Aldrich, born about 1605, in Derbyshire, England, a tailor by trade. He married, in England, No- vember 3, 1629, Katharine Seald, born about 1610, according to her deposi- tion made June 8, 1670, that she was sixty years old. They came to New England in 1631, settling in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and belonged to the church there about 1636. He was admitted a freeman, December 7, 1636. In 1644 he was residing in Braintree, and sold his land in Braintree, June 9, 1663, to his friend Richard Thayer, of that place. In the latter year he was among the first seven persons to arrive in the township of Mendon, Massachusetts, where he resided until his death, March 1, 1683, except a year or two at Swansea, 1669-70. His wife died January 11, 1691. For several generations the family was prominent in Mendon, and was also very early located in Rhode Island. Samuel Aldrich, a grandson of George, was a tanner, residing in Providence and Smithfield. Because of his Quaker tenets he refused to participate in military operations, and was fined in 1706 for failure to attend training. He possessed a large landed estate in the ancient town of Providence, which, in early times, extended to the Con-
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necticut line. The family was represented in every town of Providence county, and nearly all its representatives were men of substantial financial worth, as well as of high moral standing.
Soon after the birth of Nelson W. Aldrich his parents removed to the adjoining town of Killingly, Connecticut, and there he attended the com- mon schools. Later he was a student at the Providence Seminary and at East Greenwich, Rhode Island. At the age of sixteen years he left the class- room and went to Providence, Rhode Island, where he became a bookkeeper for Waldron & Wightman, wholesale grocers. For a period of eight years he filled this position, and at the end of that time became a partner in the business, the name of the firm becoming Waldron, Wightman & Company. At the age of twenty-eight years Mr. Aldrich became interested in politics. This was in the reconstruction period following the Civil War, when there were abundant opportunities for political advancement awaiting young men of energy and sagacity. Mr. Aldrich allied himself with the dominant party, and until the close of his life was a most faithful and able exponent of the principles and policies advocated by Republicans. In 1869 he became a member of the Common Council of Providence, and for six years continued his connection with that body, being especially prominent from 1871 to 1873. In 1875 he was a member of the lower house of the Rhode Island Legislature, and in that year was chosen speaker. Three years later he was elected to represent his district in the National Congress, and was reelected in 1880, serving four years. With the cooperation of his colleagues in the Rhode Island delegation, he was enabled to secure the passage of a bill for the establishment of telegraphic connection between Block Island and the main- land. During his second term in the lower house of Congress, one of Rhode Island's representatives in the National Senate, Ambrose E. Burnside, passed away, and on October 5, 1881, Nelson W. Aldrich was elected to fill the unexpired term, which had five years to run. In 1886 he was reelected, and in every Congress thereafter until 1911, when, at the end of a thirty years' service, he refused a renomination and retired from active part in politics.
While Senator Aldrich was not noted as an eloquent speaker, he was conspicuous for his sound judgment, application and shrewdness, and he at once took rank in the Forty-seventh Congress among his contemporaries, including such recognized leaders of his party as Allison, Ingalls, Sherman, Dawes, Hoar and Edmunds. The brilliant Conkling and the politic Blaine had retired from the Senate to enter other fields of strife. Senator Aldrich came to the Senate after an experience in the lower house, and during the first session voted for the establishment of a tariff commission, for which he had persistently cast his vote while a member of the House of Representa- tives. This experience in public life was supplemented by an active business carcer and an instinct of watchfulness, and his acquirements soon placed him in the foremost rank among the originators and moulders of legislation and public opinion. He was chairman of the committee on finance, in which position he was retained during his entire term of senatorial service. Because of his industrious study of the problems placed before him, he became thoroughly familiar with all the intricate questions of finance and tariff, and when he had occasion to present his views, the senators accorded
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him an attentive hearing. In the Fifty-first Congress he offered an amend- inent to the Mckinley Tariff Measure, involving the reciprocity features originated by Secretary of State Blaine, and strongly advised their accept- ance. By force of his arguments and influence the amendment was passed and became a part of the bill. In his subsequent career in the Senate, Mr. Aldrich was prominent in the discussion of the great financial questions, and he was the father, the originator and organizer, of the present financial system of the nation. He visited Europe as chairman of a commission appointed by Congress to study the financial systems in vogue abroad, and after many years of study brought forward the present national banking law, substantially in the form adopted by the administration succeeding that from which he retired. Early in the Mckinley campaign he was pub- licly described as "general business manager of the United States," and this title stuck to him through President Taft's administration. Senator Aldrich was conspicuous as an untiring advocate of monometallism. During President Taft's administration, in his desire to have the Senate pass certain legislative measures, the President sent for several senators and asked them to use their personal influence to forward these measures. The senators always shook their heads in a grave negative, and advised the President if he wished the matter carried to fruition to send for Senator Aldrich, as the one man of that body who could successfully pilot the legislation to a suc- cessful issue. The measures with which Senator Aldrich's name is most conspicuously associated are known as the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Law and the Vreeland-Aldrich Emergency Currency Act of 1908. As chairman of the monetary commission he achieved fame, but he was always busy with every legislative programme which affected the tariff or the national finances.
In private life Senator Aldrich was conspicuously identified with the largest business interests of his native State. He was a director of the Roger Williams Bank, president of the First National Bank of Providence, and one of the corporators of the Mechanics Savings Bank. He was president of the Providence Board of Trade, and a member of its executive committee; a trustee of the Providence, Hartford & Fishkill railroad ; a life member of the Franklin Lyceum, of which he was secretary in 1864, vice-president in 1866, and a member of the lecture committee. A large part of his personal for- tune, which placed him in the multi-millionaire class, was derived from his interest in the International Rubber Company. In this corporation he was an active director, and was accused of fostering the interests of this industry through legislation and governmental influence. However, as a man passes into the unknown, the curtain of oblivion should be drawn, and he should be judged not by the expressions of his enemies, but by his acts and works for humanity.
He died April 16, 1915, at his New York home on Fifth avenue, and his body was interred in Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, on the eighteenth. Senator Aldrich married, October 9, 1866, Miss Abby P. Greene, of Provi- dence, a descendant of another old Rhode Island family, which has been made conspicuous in American history by many able representatives. Their children were: Abby Greene, wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr .; William Truman; Stewart; Richard S .; Winthrop; Edward B .; Lucy T., and Elsie, wife of Stephen Maurice Edgell.
Thomas Durfer
TION. THOMAS DURFEE, iate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, was a member of a family whose representatives have been prominent in the civil and legal administration of the State from carliest Colonial days, and members in each succeeding generation have proven of worth to the community, leading lives of activity and useful- ness.
The first ancestor of whom there is definite information, Thomas Dur- fee, a native of England, born in 1643, located in Rhode Island at an early day. He was married in Portsmouth, about 1664, and died in that town in July, 1712. His son, also named Thomas, born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and died there February 24, 1729, was a member of the General Assembly in 1707, 1709 and 1713, and married, in Portsmouth, Ann Free- born, born there March 28, 1669, died in 1729. Their son, Job Durfee, born in Portsmouth, 1710, died in Tiverton, Rhode Island, in April, 1774, was deputy to the General Assembly in 1761, 1762, 1764. By his second wife, Mary (Earle) Durfee, he had five children, among whom was John Durfee, born in Tiverton, August 31, 1736, and died August 31, ISI2. He mar- ried in Tiverton, December 15, 1757, Phoebe Gray, born in Tiverton, No- vember 14, 1740, died there February 12, 1819. Their son, Thomas Durfee, was born in Tiverton, November 4. 1759, and died there January 17, 1829. He served in the Revolutionary War, and later filled various town offices. He married, September 13, 1779, in Newport, Mary Lowden, born August 13, 1753, died in Tiverton, November 29, 1842.
Hon. Job Durfee, son of Thomas and Mary (Lowden) Durfee, was born in Tiverton, September 20, 1790, and died July 26, 1847. He studied law under his father's direction. He was a member of the General Assembly from his native town in 1816; was a member of Congress from 1820 to 1825; again served in the General Assembly, 1826-29, serving as speaker of the House for two years; elected Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the State in 1833, and in June, 1835, was elevated to the Chief Justiceship, a position which he held until his death. He was also a writer of great repu- tation. He married, Novemer 16, 1820, Judith Borden, and among their children was Thomas Durfee, of whom further.
Thomas Durfee was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, February 6, 1826. He was prepared for college at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and then entered Brown University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1846. He studied law under Charles F. Tillinghast and Hon. Charles S. Bradley, and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He served as reporter of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island from 1849 to 1853; as judge of the Court of Magistrates, Providence, 1855-60, being one year assistant ; and five years as Presiding Judge. He was speaker of the State House of Representatives, 1863-65; and a member of the State Senate in 1865. In 1865 he became an Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court, serving until 1875, when he
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became Chief Justice. On March 14, 1891, he retired from the bench, having. made a reputation as one of the foremost jurists and legal authorities of New England, as a thoughtful and eloquent orator, a profound historical scholar, a graceful poet, and a devout, pure man.
Judge Durfee was a graceful writer, and his earliest work of a literary nature was a labor of filial love-the "Complete Works of Job Durfee, with a Memoir of his Life," published in 1849. Later he became the author of the following: "Reports of Cases in Supreme Court of Rhode Island," 1851-53; "Oration at Providence, July 4, 1853;" "Treatise on the Law of Highways," begun by Joseph K. Angell, in 1857, but more than half being written by Judge Durfee, and remaining a standard to this day; "The Village Picnic, and Other Poems," IS72; "Oration at the Dedication of the Providence County Court House," 1877; "Gleanings from the Judicial History of Rhode Island," 1883; "Some Thoughts on the Constitution of Rhode Island," 1884, and "Historical Discourse on the Planting of Providence," 1887. As Asso- ciate and Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, Judge Durfee wrote the opinions in an immense number of cases, and high critics conceded them to be not only legally close and sound, but masterpieces of pure English diction. "Other judges," says one such authority, "have excelled him in one quality or another, but very few have so combined the qualities which make a great judge. His decisions have settled the law of the many difficult points they touch upon, enabled lawyers to advise with confidence, insured the stability of property and personal rights, and upheld the dignity and wisdom of the common law."
Like his father, Judge Durfee was devoted to his alma mater, and his learning received from it proper recognition. In 1875 Brown University conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He served as a trustee of the institution from 1875 to 1888, being its chancellor from 1879 to 1888, and a fellow from the latter year until the date of his death. For many years he rendered valuable service as a member of the advisory and executive committee of the university corporation, and to the last was its loyal and enthusiastic supporter. On February 10, 1888, he became a member of the board of trustees of the Providence Public Library, and served as its president from May 13, 1892, to the time of his death.
Judge Durfee married, in October, 1857, Sarah Jane Slater, daughter of John Slater, of Providence. Judge Durfee died June 6, 1901, in the city which had known and honored him so many years, his reputation, however, extending over and beyond New England. Besides his widow, he was sur- vived by a son, Samuel S. Durfee, a Providence lawyer of wide attainments and a gentleman of fine tastes, the fourth in line to honor the profession.
Andrew Angell Kimball
K IMBALL IS a well known New England name dating back to the year 1634 when Richard Kimball landed from the ship "Elizabeth." The earlier descendants of Richard Kimball settled in other New England States; Dean Kimball, of the fourth American generation, settling at Johnston, Rhode Island. From Dean Kimball sprang Andrew Angell Kimball, of the eighth generation, to whose memory this sketch is inscribed.
Richard Kimball, the founder, settled at Watertown, later at Ipswich, Massachusetts, following in both towns his trade of wheelwright. His first wife, Ursula (Scott) Kimball, was the mother of all his children. He died June 22, 1675, at Ipswich.
John Kimball, son of Richard and Ursula (Scott) Kimball, was born in England in 1631, and about 1655 married Mary Bradstreet, who with her parents came to New England in the same ship with John Kimball and his parents. He followed his trade of wheelwright at Ipswich, but also owned and farmed considerable land. He united with the church, March 8, 1673, and died May 6, 1698. He was the father of seven sons and six daughters.
Joseph Kimball, son of John and Mary (Bradstreet) Kimball, was born in Ipswich, January 24, 1675, lived there all his life, and died in 1761. His wife Sarah bore him six sons and three daughters.
Dean Kimball, son of Joseph and Sarah Kimball, was born in Ipswich, September 8, 1717, died in 1771 in the town of Johnston, Rhode Island. He resided in Ipswich and Gloucester, Rhode Island, before settling in the town of Johnston where descendants yet reside. His wife Abigail survived him, the mother of his four sons and three daughters.
Benjamin Kimball, son of Dean and Abigail Kimball, was born in Glou- cester, Rhode Island, November 14, 1742, died in Johnston, Rhode Island, October 1, 1820. He married, October 16, 1768, Anne Rutenbarge, born in 1741, daughter of Daniel Rutenbarge. She was the mother of two sons and a daughter.
Benjamin (2) Kimball, son of Benjamin (1) and Anne (Rutenbarge) Kimball, was born in Johnston, Rhode Island, was a prosperous farmer, and there died April 30, 1835. He married Patience Matthewson, born May 25, 1776, daughter of Arthur Matthewson, of early Colonial ancestry. They were the parents of fourteen children of whom Arthur Matthewson Kimball was the seventh.
Arthur Matthewson Kimball, son of Benjamin (2) and Patience (Mat- thewson) Kimball, was born in Johnston, Rhode Island, November 1, ISO8, died there July 3, 1887. He became a prominent financier and a large land owner, accumulating an extensive estate. He married, in Johnston, Mary Angell, who bore him three sons and a daughter.
Andrew Angell Kimball, eldest son of Arthur Matthewson and Mary (Angell) Kimball, was born in the town of Johnston, Rhode Island, August
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5, 1833, died at his home No. 462 Broadway, Providence, Rhode Island, October 1, 1896. He attended public school at Mt. Pleasant, completing his studies at Mowrey and Goffs Private School and at Providence Con- ference Seminary, now known as Greenwich Academy, After leaving school he became associated with his father in his business office, first as clerk, then as partner. He engaged for a time as a cotton merchant in Providence, but the greater part of his business career was in connection with the Kimball estate both before and after the death of his father. Their business office was in Providence until the death of Arthur M. Kimball, when Andrew A. Kimball disposed of his cotton business and moved his office to Olneyville. He inherited large property interests from his father, and after retiring from the cotton business devoted himself solely to the management of his real estate, situated in the western part of the city of Providence and in the town of Johnston. When his only son, Walter Hammond Kimball, completed his university course, he became associated with his father in the management of the Kimball estate, succeeding to the sole management upon his father's death.
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