USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > Men of progress; biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the state of Rhode Island and Providence plantations > Part 23
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farmer. John Park, the subject of this sketch, re- ceived his early education in the public schools, combining with this course of study a home training in industry, economy and integrity that had an im- portant bearing upon his uninterrupted success in his business undertakings. Deciding upon a business career, he first engaged as clerk in a store at West- erly, where his brother Horatio N. had been four years employed. Later in the same year, 1840, the proprietor of the business, who was also a large and distinguished manufacturer, moved into larger quarters and took in Horatio as partner, the firm becoming H. N. Campbell & Company. John continued with the new house until 1850, when he
J. P. CAMPBELL.
became a member of the firm and soon rose to prominence by his activity, tact and good business judgment ; the house dealt in merchandise, manu- facturers' supplies and wool. In 1855 he retired from this connection, and forming a copartnership with his brother James M., established a wholesale house in Providence, dealing in wool and cotton, under the firm name of J. P. & J. M. Campbell. They built up a prosperous business and continued until 1865, when James withdrew to enter upon other engagements, and a new firm was formed bearing the name of J. P. Campbell & Co., of which another brother, Daniel G., was a member. At this time the firm added to their business the
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manufacture of woolen goods, first taking on lease the Belleville Mill in North Kingston, which was im- proved and run to good advantage. In 1876 the firm bought the mill property at Potter Hill in Westerly, which, after being nearly doubled in capac- ity, has ever since been known as the Campbell Mills, and is one of the best woolen manufacturing plants in Rhode Island. In 1887 John bought the interest of his brother Daniel in the Belleville Mills, enlarged the structure, added new machinery and made it a first-class fancy-cassimere mill. The Campbell Mills at Potter Hill are now incorporated, John being President and Daniel the Treasurer. John and Daniel also bought in 1884 the Riverside Mill in East Providence, a new plant, which they equipped with ten thousand spindles for working cotton. In 1888 John and B. B. & R. Knight bought the Cranston Print Works property, formerly owned by the Spragues, fitted it for bleaching, dye- ing and finishing cotton goods, and organized the business under the name of the Cranston Print Works Company, of which Mr. Campbell is the President. Mr. Campbell is a prominent member of the Providence Board of Trade, of which he was one of the organizers. He has been for more than twenty years a Director in the Second National Bank of Providence and has been a Director in the Industrial Trust Company almost from its formation. Politically he was an old line Whig, and on the formation of the Republican party naturally en- listed under its banner, never however seeking or accepting public office. In religion he was reared a Presbyterian, but early became an Episcopalian, uniting with Christ Church in Westerly and after- wards with Grace Church in Providence. Mr. Campbell was married, February 25, 1873, to Miss Jessie H. Babcock of Liverpool, England. His wife was born in Glasgow, Scotland, while her father, Benjamin F. Babcock of Stonington, Conn., was engaged there in a branch of a banking house with his brother, Samuel D. Babcock, then of New York. He resides in Providence.
CHAMPLIN, JOHN CARDER, M. D., of Block Island, was born in the homestead of his grand- father Rose at New Shoreham, Block Island, February 13, 1864, son of John P. and Lydia M. (Rose) Champlin. His father was the only son of Christopher E. and Rosina (Pocock) Champlin, and Christopher was the fourth and youngest son of Nathaniel and Mary T. (Hull) Champlin, who were
the first of the family to settle on Block Island (about 1775). The Champlin family is one of the oldest on the island, and the name is closely connected and associated with all the principal events that make its history. John P. Champlin, the father of Dr. Champlin, has been at the head of the town govern- ment for the last quarter of a century. The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public schools of New Shoreham and the Island High School. Adopting medicine as a profession, he entered the Boston University School of Medicine, from which he graduated in June 1885 with the degree of M. D. Being induced to locate in his ' native town, he began the practice of medicine on
JOHN CARDER CHAMPLIN.
Block Island in July 1885, and has continued there until the present time. He has the honor of being the first physician born on Block Island. He was appointed Postmaster of Block Island in July 1888, and in February 1893 he was appointed Medical Examiner of the Second District of Newport County for six years. He was elected a member of the School Committee of the town of New Shoreham in April 1894. Dr. Champlin is a member of the Rhode Island Homeopathic Medical Society and the Hahnemann Medical Society of Boston ; also of Atlantic Lodge of Masons, of which he was master from 1890 to 1895, Columbus Lodge Knights of Pythias, Newport Chapter, De Blois Council, and
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Washington Commandery Knights Templar. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Block Island. In politics he is a Democrat. Although never seeking office, Dr. Champlin has always been active in all enterprises for the welfare and develop- ment of his native town, and was especially influential in securing the completion of the harbor of refuge in the Great Salt Pond of Block Island. He was married, June 23, 1886, to Miss Annie J. Conley, daughter of Captain George W. and Arabella (Dodge) Conley ; they have three children : Annie A., Rose and Christopher A. Champlin.
CLANCY, WILLIAM P., Postmaster of Westerly, was born in Waterford, New London county, Conn., June 20, 1855, son of James and Bridget (McGrath)
WM. P. CLANCY.
Clancy. He is of Irish ancestry. His father was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1822, and emigrated to America in 1849, and his mother was born in County Tipperary in 1832, and came to this country in 1848; they came to Westerly in April 1858. William's early education was acquired in the public schools of Westerly, from 1862 to 1868. His parents being in comparatively poor circum- stances, and he being the eldest of eight children, he was obliged to leave school at an early age, but attended evening school during the winter months
of 1869-70. He learned the granite cutters' trade, and commencing the business in November 1872, continued in that occupation until November 1893, always working hard during the day and devoting his evenings to study. Mr. Clancy is a member of the Atlantic Social Club, the Ancient Order of Hi- bernians, and the Cardinal Manning Total Absti- nence Society. He was Recording Secretary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians from June 1883 to January 1889, then served two years as President, and was then elected County President of Washing- ton county, which office he now holds. He was also Recording Secretary of the Atlantic Social Club June 1885 to January 1888. He received his ap- pointment as Postmaster of Westerly on May 23, 1895. In politics he is a Democrat, and has been Chairman of the Democratic Town Committee since March 1890. He is unmarried.
CLARKE, ELISHA PECKHAM, physician and sur- geon, was born in Westerly, R. I., August 17, 1833, the son of Robert and Dorcas (Peckham) Clarke.
E. P. CLARKE.
He is a descendant of an old Rhode Island family settled in the state since an early period in its his- tory. He received his early education in the public schools and at DeRuyter Institute, New York. He taught school for several years, successfully, before
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entering upon the profession of medicine which he adopted. He took one course in the Harvard Medi- cal School and finished his course in the Maine Medical School (Bowdoin College), from which he graduated August 5, 1863. He commenced practice in Milford, Mass., in the fall of 1863. On February 7, 1864, he was commissioned Assistant Surgeon in the Thirty-first Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers. He remained in the service and was mustered out at the close of the war, in September 1865. He then settled in Hope Valley where he has since remained in the enjoyment of a large practice. He was elected a member of the State Senate in 1878-79 and re- elected in 1879-80. He has been a Director in the Hopkinton Savings Bank since its incorporation and is now its second Vice-President. He was elected a Fellow of the Rhode Island Medical Society in 1867, its second Vice-President in 1891-92, first Vice- President in 1893-94, and its President in 1895, which office he now holds. He is a charter mem- ber of Charity Lodge A. F. & A. M., and was elected Worshipful Master in 1870. He is also a charter member of Franklin Royal Arch Chapter, in which he has held various offices and is at present King. He is a charter member of Lincoln Post, G. A. R., was its first commander and served for two years. He is a charter member of Hope Chap- ter of the Eastern Star, and its first Worthy Patron. He is now Grand Associate Patron of the Grand Chapter O. E. S. of Rhode Island. He married, May 7, 1859, Miss Nancy J. Davis, of Ledyard, Conn, who died November 20, 1894; they have two children : Elisha D., a graduate of Harvard Medical University, now practicing medicine in Woonsocket, R. I., and Elliott M., a student in the medical department of the University of Michigan.
COLE, JOSEPH EDWARD, President of the Ameri- can Worsted Company, and large owner in and Treasurer of the Harris Woolen Company, Woon- socket, was born in North Kingston, R. I., Novem- ber 18, 1824, son of Edward and Margaret (Pierce) Cole, and is the only one remaining of a family of seven children. He is a descendant in the sixth generation of Isaac Cole of Sandwich, County of Kent, England, who came to America with his fam- ily in the ship Hercules early in the seventeenth century, and settled in Charlestown, Mass. One of his ancestors, John Cole, married Susannah Hutch- inson, daughter of William and Anne Hutchinson,
the latter of whom was banished from Massachu- setts on account of her religious views. The sub- ject of this sketch was reared upon the farm owned by his father, receiving his education in the country schools and at the Wickford and East Greenwich academies. For a period following the completion of his academical course he employed the winter months in teaching, and spent the summers in the various duties pertaining to the avocation of farm- ing. Being ambitious to enter upon a business career, he removed in his twenty-second year to
JOS. E. COLE.
Providence, where he engaged as book-keeper and clerk in a drug and dye house, and later accepted a position as book-keeper in the print works at Johns- ton, R. I., where he remained four years and a half. In 1854 he effected an engagement with Edward Harris of Woonsocket, in whose extensive business he soon made his presence felt, especially in estab- lishing a considerable and growing trade for the Harris goods in Boston. As a consequence of his efficient services in this connection he was given an interest in the business, devoting himself especially to the finances, and to the trade that had been built up in Boston. The satisfactory outcome of the Boston venture led Mr. Harris to open a New York house for the sale of the fabrics of his mills, and it devolved upon Mr. Cole to organize the busi- ness at that point, where he remained until the en-
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terprise was an assured success. The large manu- facturing interest of the Harris Mills was subse- quently reorganized as the Harris Woolen Company, in which he was one of the partners and Treasurer of the organization. Upon the reorganization of the American Worsted Company, in 1876, Mr. Cole was called to fill the Presidency of that corporation, and still serves in that capacity. He is also Presi- dent of the First National and People's Savings banks of Woonsocket, and of the Woonsocket Gas Company. He served on the School Board for nine years, part of this time as President of the Board. In politics he is a staunch Republican, and has been identified to some extent with local politi- cal issues. In 1888 he represented his town in the State Senate, and was Chairman of the Finance Committee of that body. Mr. Cole was married, October 12, 1857, to Miss Mary K., daughter of William L. and Mary Ann Peckham, of Bristol, R. I. ; they have had four children : Edward Peckham (deceased), Walter Hutchinson (deceased), Mary Louise and Frederick Peirce Cole.
COMSTOCK, RICHARD BORDEN, lawyer, Prov- idence, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Feb- ruary 15, 1854, son of Joseph J. and Maria S. (Taber) Comstock. He is a descendant of Roger Williams. His father was a noted steamship cap- tain, for many years in the service of the early Sound lines, commanding steamers running between Fall River and New York, and later connected with the Collins Line to Europe, in command of the Baltic, and afterward of the Adriatic, which at the time she was built was the second-largest steamboat in the world. Captain Comstock was in command of the Baltic during the war of the Rebellion, when she was employed in the government transport ser- vice, and was present at the capture of Port Royal, New Orleans and other maritime strongholds of the Confederacy, the boy Richard accompanying his father in all of the Baltic's expeditions while in the service of the government. Richard received his early education in boarding schools at Ridgefield, Conn., Yonkers, N. Y., and Lawrenceville, N. J. He prepared for college at Mowry & Goff's English and Classical School in Providence, and entered Brown University, from which he graduated in 1876, He studied law in the office of Hon. E. C. Mowry. was admitted to the Rhode Island bar in 1878 and to the United States courts in 1881, and since the former date has been actively engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession in Providence, for the last four years in partnership with Rathbone Gardner under the firm name of Comstock & Gardner. Mr. Com- stock is a member of the Hope, Squantum, Art and Athletic clubs of Providence. He is a Democrat in politics, and has served one term as State Senator, in 1892-93. He was married, July 19, 1883, to Miss Alice Greene, daughter of Professor Samuel S.
RICHARD B. COMSTOCK.
Greene late of Brown University and well known as the author of Greene's Grammar; they have three daughters : Marjorie Stuart, Louise Howard and Alice May Comstock.
DAVIS, FRANKLIN JEROME, physician and sur- geon, Newport, was born in Saugus, Massachusetts, March 25, 1861, son of Jerome and Harriet A. (Weeks) Davis. His father was a lawyer; his grandfather, Rodney Davis, was a farmer and a soldier of the war of 1812, and his great-grand- father fought in the Revolutionary army, in which he held a Lieutenant's commission. The names in the female branch of his paternal ancestry were Hyde and Rogers. On the maternal side he is descended from one of three brothers Weeks who landed at Plymouth in 1636 ; female ancestral names, Small and Collins. He received his early
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education in the common schools, passing through the ordinary grades and entering the Sangus High School at the age of twelve, and left home when quite young to scek his fortune. At that time he was going to sea summers, and spending the winters at school. At the youthful age of eighteen he was mate of a bark on the Pacific, and later a mining superintendent in California for three years until 1883, when he went into the drug business in Arizona as clerk, and subsequently, in 1886, bought out the store. In 1887 he returned East and entered the Medical Department of the University of Vermont, from which he graduated July 3, 1891, at that time Vice-President of his class. In Dec-
F. J. DAVIS.
ember 1891 he came to Newport and entered upon the practice of medicine. Dr. Davis is a member of the Newport Medical Society, and of various fraternal orders and societies, including St. Paul Lodge A. F. & A. M., Newport Chapter Royal Arch Masons, Washington Commandery Knights Templar, Redwood Lodge Knights of Pythias, Ocean Lodge A. O. U. W. and Court Wauton A. O. F. A., also a member of the Newport and Conanicut yacht clubs. He was married, November 29, 1891, to Miss Emma K. Varney ; they have two children : Annie D. and Dexter Jerome Davis.
DOYLE, THOMAS ARTHUR, Mayor of Providence for eighteen terms, 1864-69, 1870-81, and 1884 until his death in 1886, was born in Providence, March 15, 1827, son of Thomas and Martha (Jones) Doyle. He enjoyed the advantages of the city schools, graduating from the Elm-street grammar school, and at the age of fourteen entered the counting-room of Benjamin Cozzens, Esq., where he remained six years, and then held for five years the position of head clerk for Jacob Dunnell & Com- pany. In 1853 he was elected Cashier of the Grocers' and Producers' Bank, which position he occupied two years, and later became a stock-broker and auctioneer of real estate. His interest and ac- tivity in public life began at an early age. In 1848 he was elected Ward Clerk for the Sixth Ward, and held the position for six years, after which he held office under the city government almost continuously until his death. In 1852 he was elected a member of the Common Council from the Fifth Ward, and while serving in that capacity was chairman of vari- ous important committees, and was President of the Council in 1854 and 1855. In the latter year he was Chairman of the Board of Assessors, and for eighteen years he served on the School Committee. In June 1864 he was inaugurated Mayor of the city, and to this office he was annually re-elected, with the single exception of 1869, until January 1881. In that year he was elected Senator to the General Assembly. After an interval of three years he again resumed the office of Mayor, which he occupied until his death, June 9, 1886. During Mayor Doyle's administration the city more than doubled in popu- lation and wealth, and at his instigation many im- portant public improvements were carried into effect ; the city police were drilled and uniformed, water was introduced, an excellent system of sewerage was adopted and put under construction, the Roger Williams Park was given to the city and improved, many public buildings were erected, and a general spirit of progress was infused into the city govern- ment. As an intelligent and fitting tribute to his character and attainments as a public man and exec- utive, this sketch may well include an extract from an article in the Boston Advertiser, printed in 1881, upon the occasion of Mayor Doyle's second retire- ment from the office, which he had held with but a single year's intermission for sixteen years. "Mayor Doyle's career," said this authority, "is the more re- markable, as the second city of New England is unique in the self-asserting individuality of its citi- zens and the heat of its ever-shifting partisanship.
The / Doyle
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Mr. Doyle himself has the individuality of a true Rhode Islander ; he has the courage of his convic- tions ; his opinions are decided, he has never been afraid to express them, and there are probably few voters of the city who have not at one time or another opposed him. In uniform succession he has been opposed by every journal published in Providence, and as a rule this opposition has been merciless, if not bitter and unreasonable. He has been opposed at one time by Democrats, then by Republicans, then by the Independents, then by the chief taxpayers, then by every department of the city government, and always by a hopeful minority. His relations to the City Council have usually been those of hearty disagreement on almost everything. The veto messages written by Mayor Doyle would fill a stout folio volume. He has rarely had the support of conservative financiers, and he has never attempted. a personal policy or a policy of conciliation. While expressing cordial dislike for all sorts of men, corporations and interests, he has ever been ready to give every citizen the fullest in- formation on all city matters, and he does not seem to have known what wire-pulling, secret arrange- ments and quiet understandings meant. He has been frank, upright and straightforward to the last degree - so much so that any man could at any time learn precisely what the Mayor wanted or op- posed. Rarely has a Mayor resisted popular measures more frankly, or advocated unpopular policies more courageously. ... He quits office with the proud record that Providence is one of the best governed of all American cities. . . . Altogether Mr. Doyle closes a service as unparalleled as it is deserving of studious attention on the part of those interested in the difficult and undefined art of municipal govern- ment." Mayor Doyle was a prominent Mason, being made Grand Master in 1857, and having served as Prelate and Commander of Calvary Com- mandery Knights Templar, also as Grand Prelate, Grand Captain and Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; he was also a thirty-third degree Mason. He was for many years a consistent member of the Unitarian church. He was married, October 21, 1869, to Miss Almira, daughter of Amasa and Fanny Sprague, and sister of the late Governor and United States Senator William Sprague.
FOLSOM, JOHN NEAL, Superintendent of the Union Railroad, Providence, was born in Mon-
mouth, Me., August 8, 1839, son of Samuel Frank- lin and Martha Caroline (Neal) Folsom. He ob- tained his early education in the public schools, and was employed quite young upon the farm. At the age of eighteen he learned the horse-shoeing trade in Augusta, Me., and worked at it until 1863, when he went to California, where he remained until 1870. In that year he came East, and was for two years engaged in selling sewing machines in Provi- dence. After this he engaged in the business of shirt-making and followed it two years, and subse- quently became connected with the Union Rail- road Company and assumed the responsible posi- tion of Superintendent. He has not taken an ac-
JOHN N. FOLSOM.
tive part in politics or public life, but is a member of the West Side Club, also of Temple Lodge of Masons, Winthrop, Maine, and of Harmony Lodge Knights of Honor, Providence. Mr. Folsom was married in 1874 to Miss Catherine Bay; they have one son living : Henry Frank Folsom.
FOWLER, GEORGE HERBERT, late Secretary and Treasurer of the Pawtucket Manufacturing Com- pany, was born in Northbridge, Massachusetts, July 16, 1852, son of George D. and Abigail (Adams) Fowler, and died in Pawtucket, January 4, 1895. He received his early education in the public schools of Barre, Mass., to which place his parents
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removed when he was but two years old. In the spring of 1869, at the age of sixteen, he left the high school to enter the Worcester Academy, but in a few weeks transferred his attendance to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as the latter school was found to offer better opportunities for the practical education he desired. He graduated from this institution in 1873, with special profi- ciency in the department of mechanical engineering, and with the commendation of his instructors for general deportment and faithful performance of his school duties. Soon after graduation, being de- sirous of finding a promising opening for a career
GEO. H. FOWLER.
worthy of himself and his ideals, he made a short tour of several cities and finally settled in Provi- dence, where he entered a small machine shop as draughtsman. The following year, 1874, he entered the employ of the Providence Tool Company in a similar capacity, and remained with them seven years. In July 1881, George H. Webb, for many years in the employ of William H. Haskell & Com- pany, bolt and nut manufacturers of Pawtucket, severed his connection with that firm and engaged in business for himself, building bolt and nut ma- chinery under contract for the Providence, now the Rhode Island, Tool Company. By an agreement with the tool company, Mr. Webb secured the services of Mr. Fowler as draughtsman. The rela-
tions thus established between Messrs. Webb and Fowler ripened into a warm friendship, and when in 1882 the Pawtucket Manufacturing Company was incorporated, the latter became a member of the company, and was elected its Secretary and Treasurer. This position he held at the time of his death, which untimely event took place in January 1895, in the forty-third year of his age. That his abilities and faithful service in his official capacity were recognized and appreciated by his business associates, and that his high character and personal worth as a friend and citizen were understood and honored by the general community, were strikingly evidenced by the widespread tributes of respect paid to his memory, and by the popular feeling of deep sorrow and regret manifested, upon the occa- sion of his demise. For some years Mr. Fowler had suffered from a chronic malady which affected his general health to an extent that made it imper- ative for him to decline the assumption of all cares beyond those of his home and business. He was always, however, keenly alive to the well-being and prosperity of his adopted city, and an active sup- porter of all measures to that end. He stood high in the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Union Lodge, in which he had held every office up to and including Senior Warden, and of Pawtucket Royal Arch Chapter, Pawtucket Council and Holy Sepulchre Commandery Knights Templar, also of the Scottish Rite, the Consistory, and Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Boston. His church relations were sustained with the unassuming con- sistency that was a shining mark of his character. During his residence in Providence he joined the Beneficent Congregational Church, and although retaining his membership there to the time of his death, he was a regular attendant of the Pawtucket Congregational Church, and identified prominently with its interests and welfare. Mr. Fowler was strongly attached to his home, preferring the quiet happiness of his domestic relations to any extended social distractions. He was married, December 7, 1887, to Miss Lula A. Reynolds, who survives him and mourns in his loss the unfulfilled promise of future happy years.
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