USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 15
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Louis A. Beaurgard married, in 1920, Mildred Parlthorpe, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and they are the parents of : Harold F. and Conrad A.
REUBEN BARTLETT EATON-For more than twenty years, Reuben Bartlett Eaton has been associated with the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company of Peace Dale, Rhode Island. In that time he has risen from minor positions to those of great responsibility and trust, serving now as superintendent of the company.
Mr. Eaton was born at Peace Dale, on January 29, 1891, a son of George S. Eaton, who was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and was em- ployed by the Peace Dale Manufacturing Com- pany until his death, and of Lydia A. (Northup) Eaton, who was also born at South Kingstown. She is still living.
Reuben Bartlett Eaton, of this record, received his educational training in Rhode Island public schools, being graduated from the South Kings- town High School. Beginning the business of life, he entered the employ of the Peace Dale Manu- facturing Company in 1905. Mr. Eaton has since continued his connection with this company. Work- ing in various departments of the mill, he learned the business thoroughly from the ground up, win- ning merited advancement for his services when his superiors saw that he was able and industrious and that he was trying hard to succeed. He dis- charged all the duties which came to him with complete efficiency, and in the more responsible positions to which he rose, his work proved to be of real value to the company. In 1918 Mr. Eaton was appointed assistant superintendent of the com- pany, and in 1924 he was chosen superintendent, occupying this office with every success until the present time.
Mr. Eaton is well known in the life of this com- munity, not only as an able business man, but also for his activities in other fields. He is affiliated fraternally with the Free and Accepted Masons, being a member of Hope Lodge, No. 25, and of Unity Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. Mr. Eaton is Past Master of his lodge, and a member of the
Square and Compass Club. He is also a member of the Hope Club. In politics he has always been an independent voter, being guided in casting his ballot by what he considers the best interests of community, State and Nation, rather than blindly following party allegiance. He has never neglected his civic duties, however, and for a year served on the South Kingstown Town Council. Mr. Eaton is a member and chairman of the committee of Peace Dale Troop No. I, Boy Scouts of America. He is fond of hiking, hunting, fishing, and the outdoor life in general, and he is inter- ested in helping the youth of the community learn through the Boy Scout movement the fine ideals of thought and conduct which the outdoor life always teaches. During the period of the World War, Mr. Eaton served in Rhode Island State Guard Troop, No. 2, with the rank of sergeant.
In 1912, Reuben Bartlett Eaton married Sarah Curtis, who was born at South Kingstown, Rhode Island. They are the parents of several children : I. Harriet R. 2. Reuben Bartlett, Jr. 3. Curtis A.
WILLIAM McVAY-Well known in the mer- chandising business in Carolina, William McVay has conducted a general store in his own name in his native town for thirty years. For a quarter of a century he has served as postmaster, and is a former member of the Richmond Town Council. His father, the late Michael McVay, was born in County Armagh, Ireland, and after he came to America engaged in the textile manufacturing business until his death. He served in the Civil War as a member of Company K, 14th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. He married Mary Ken- nedy, born in Ireland, who is also deceased.
William McVay was born in Carolina, this State, February 27, 1877. After completion of his education in the public schools of that town, he obtained employment in a grocery in Carolina, where he received his training for this line of business, over a period from 1891 to 1901. In the latter year he opened his own establishment in his home town and has conducted this general store since with marked success. His appointment as postmaster was received in 1905, and during the succeeding administrations he has been reappointed at least five times.
In political alignment a Republican, Mr. McVay served as a member of the Richmond (Rhode Island) Town Council for five years. He is affili-
Salve A. Stillwork
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ated with the Westerly Lodge, No. 678, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Meadow- brook Golf Club. He is extremely fond of touring by automobile. His religious connection is with the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary.
Mr. McVay married, in 1900, Alice M. Metcalf, born in Carolina, and they are the parents of two daughters : Dorothy M., and Mary Carolyn.
ARTHUR L. GARDINER-Since 1900 the textile industry of Rhode Island has been the medium through which the business abilities of Arthur L. Gardiner, of Shannock, have found ex- pression. Mr. Gardiner's work in business man- agement has been highly commended, his activities prior to his coming to Shannock having been nota- ble and appreciated by those with whom he was in association. Alive to the interests of the com- munity in which he lives, he has been foremost in assisting in the promotion of such public enter- prises as merited the attention of the better ele- ment and at present is a member of the Republi- can State Central Committee for the town of Richmond.
He was born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, April 27, 1879, a son of Alonzo J., a native of Exeter, Rhode Island, and Mary E. (Wilcox) Gardiner, also of Exeter. His father was engaged in the textile industry from his youth until within twenty years of his death, these last having been spent as superintendent of Elmgrove Cemetery, at Allentown, Rhode Island. Following an education in the public schools of North Kingstown and at East Greenwich Academy, Arthur L. entered the retail clothing store in Providence and for sixteen years filled the position of office manager there. He then came to Shannock, in 1916, and assumed the post of office manager and assistant . treasurer of the Columbia Narrow Fabric Company, a posi- tion he still holds. He attends the Baptist Church and is a devotee in his recreational moments of baseball, football and golf. He was one of the organizers of the Meadowbrook Golf Club.
Arthur L. Gardiner married, in 1907, Bessie W. Luce, of Providence, and they are the parents of one daughter, Charlotte Waterman Gardiner.
JOHN SWIFT HOLBROOK-Member of an old and distinguished American family, John Swift Holbrook continued in his own career the
tradition of prominence long associated with the Holbrook name. His father, Edward Holbrook, was president of the famous Gorham Manufac- turing Company in the great period of its growth and development. Mr. Holbrook succeeded him in this office and carried on his policies with com- plete success.
The Holbrook family is of English origin, traditionally seated in Dorsetshire. It was founded in America by Thomas Holbrook, son of Sir Thomas Holbrook, of Broadway, Dorsetshire, England, who was born in 1601 and left Wey- mouth, England, in 1635, accompanied by his wife, Jane (Kenzman) Holbrook, and their four children. His name appears in the records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1640, and ap- parently he was a leading citizen of that town for we find him chosen selectman in 1641, 1645, 1646, 1651, 1652, and 1654. He was one of the grantees of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in 1645, but failing to go there and settle, he forfeited his share. In 1649 it is recorded that he was a member of the committee to lay out a high- way from Weymouth to Dorchester. From him the line of descent is traced through Thomas (2), his son, Deacon Peter Holbrook, Eliphalet Hol- brook, in the fourth generation of American de- scent, Eliphalet (2), in the fifth, Ensign Henry Holbrook, Eliab Holbrook, Eliab (2) Holbrook, to Edward Holbrook, father of John Swift Hol- brook, of this record.
All members of this family were men of promi- nence in their generation. Ensign Henry Hol- brook, born on August 27, 1756, died at Belling- ham, his birthplace, on October 1, 1833, was a soldier of the American Revolution, serving in the company of Captain Jesse Holbrook on the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775, and later, from May 9 until August of that year in Captain Sam- uel Cobb's regiment. He was also in Captain Jesse Holbrook's company, Colonel Wheelock's regiment, in 1776 on the Rhode Island Alarm; in Captain Samuel Fiske's company, Colonel Ephraim Wheelock's regiment in Rhode Island in 1777; in Captain Amos Ellis' company, Colonel Ben- jamin Hawes' regiment, in Rhole Island during 1777-78; and in Captain Nathan Thayer's com- pany, Colonel Ebenezer Thayer's regiment in the Continental Army in New York in 1780.
Edward Holbrook, son of Eliab (2) and Julia Ferry (Morse) Holbrook, and member of his family in the ninth generation of American de- scent, was born at Bellingham, Massachusetts, on July 7, 1849, and died at his summer home at
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Stamford, Connecticut, on May 19, 1919. Edu- cated in the schools of Bellingham and Hopkin- ton, Massachusetts, he began his active career when he was sixteen years old, entering the em- ploy of Bigelow, Kennard and Company, deal- ers in watches, jewelry and silverware in Bos- ton. For five years he continued in this posi- tion, and in 1870, the year he attained his major- ity, he became a salesman for the Gorham Manu- facturing Company, an old established silverware manufacturing house. Mr. Holbrook soon be- came widely familiar with the details of its opera- tions, and demonstrated his executive talents to such good effect that he was subsequently placed in charge of the New York agency of the firm, and in 1888 elected treasurer of the company. In 1894 he succeeded William H. Crins as execu- tive head of the organization, being the third president of the company since its foundation. Mr. Holbrook continued to discharge the duties of treasurer and president until 1918, when he resigned from the former office. Under his able guidance the company entered upon the greatest period of development in its history. New ave- nues of progress were opened up, and many important reorganizations carried to completion with decisive effect for the continued success of the Gorham company. The Gorham name came to be taken as a symbol for all the highest qual- ities of excellence in the silversmith's art, and this reputation Mr. Holbrook jealously guarded throughout his long executive term.
Mr. Holbrook was also one of the organizers of the Silversmith's Company in 1905. He was elected its first president, and filled that office until his death, serving, in addition, as a director of the subsidiary organizations of that company. His business interests were wide in extent, includ- ing many important companies. He was a direc- tor, among others, of the American Brass Com- pany, the Hanover National Bank of New York, the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, Spaulding & Company of Chicago, the Maiden Lane Realty Company, of New York, the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, of Providence, the General Fire Extinguisher Com- pany, the Biltmore Hotel Company of New York, and others. He was a member of many clubs and civic organizations, and in recognition of his distinguished career he received the medal of the Legion of Honor from the French Government at a time when possession of this great distinc- tion was granted to few Americans.
Edward Holbrook married, on February 18,
1874, in Boston, Massachusetts, Frances Swift, daughter of John J. and Mary (Hichborn) Swift, her father president of the Boston & Fitchburg Railroad Company, her mother a member of the Boston Hichborn family to which Admiral Hich- born belongs. Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook became the parents of two children: I. John Swift, sub- ject of this record. 2. Lilian, born on March 7, 1878, married on January 3, 1906, Count Guil- laume de Balincourt, and resides at Neuilly-sur- Seine, France.
John Swift Holbrook, son of Edward and Frances (Swift) Holbrook, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 4, 1875. In the year following his birth, the family home was estab- lished in New York City, and in private schools of this city he received his preliminary educa- tional training. Later he entered Harvard Uni- versity, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1896, and subse- quently completed a two-years graduate course in architecture at Columbia University. In the fall of the year, 1898, he went to Paris to continue his architectural studies under M. Henry Duray, and soon afterwards was appointed attaché of the United States Government to the service of parks and gardens at the Paris Exposition. From November, 1898, to November, 1900, he served in all capacities in that department, gaining much valuable experience in association with the masters of landscape architecture. After the com- pletion of his work in Paris, Mr. Holbrook traveled for a period of almost a year in Italy, Sicily, Egypt, Germany, and England, in further preparation for his chosen career as a landscape architect.
In the autumn of 1901 he returned to the United States, and established himself in busi- ness in New York City, where he organized the firm of Brinley and Holbrook, landscape engi- neers and architects, continuing until May, 1906, when Mr. Holbrook discontinued the associa- tion. This firm is still actively engaged in pro- fessional work in and about New York City with conspicuous success. In the year 1905, Mr. Holbrook was elected to the directorate of the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and in May, 1906, he was chosen vice-president, with offices at the New York headquarters.
From this time on, the affairs of the Gorham Company occupied his chief attention, and on October 15, 1908, he removed to Providence, which was to be his home thereafter until his death. Mr. Holbrook ably seconded his father's
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efforts in building up the great enterprise with which they were both now connected. In respon- sible position, and in charge of much important work, he repeatedly demonstrated a capacity for the executive control of large affairs which was of the greatest benefit to the company. After his father's death, he was elected president on May 28, 1919, to succeed the elder man. Mr. Holbrook immediately assumed complete con- trol of the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and as its executive head he continued the policies so long associated with the company and the Hol- brook name, guiding its affairs with sure hand along the pathway of success. Mr. Holbrook was also president and a director of the Silver- smiths Company; a director and a member of the executive committee of the Industrial Trust Com- pany of Providence; treasurer and director of the National Protection Company; treasurer and di- rector of the Maiden Lane Realty Company of New York; and president and director of W. B. Durgin and Company, of Concord, New Hamp- shire. He was a director for some years of the Providence Chamber of Commerce, and was president of that organization in 1915 and 1916.
Mr. Holbrook was a consistent Republican in politics, and although he never actively entered political or public life, he nevertheless rendered valuable service to the State on several occasions. In 1914 he was appointed a member of the State House Commission of Rhode Island, and was reappointed in 1917 for a term expiring in 1923. During the period of American participation in the World War, Mr. Holbrook was chairman of the District Board of Division No. I of the State of Rhode Island Selective Service, hold- ing that important position from July 4, 1917, until the completion of the work of the board subsequent to the signing of the Armistice. At his death the General Assembly of the State passed resolutions of tribute, which said, in part: The honorable John Swift Holbrook long active in the financial, commercial, and social life of the city of Providence, has served his government abroad as attaché at the Paris Exposition, and his State as chairman and member for many years of the State House Commission, applying this valuable training of this profession of land- scape engineer and architect to the manifold prob- lems of the work of the State house commis- sions and the additional duties entailed in the construction of the new State office building.
Mr. Holbrook attended the Unitarian Church. He was a member of many clubs including the
Hope Club, the University Club, the Agawam Hunt Club, and Squantum Club, all of Provi- dence; the Harvard Club of Boston, and the Uni- versity Club, Harvard Club, and University Glee clubs of New York City.
On April 1I, 1908, John Swift Holbrook mar- ried Grace Morgan Sinclair, daughter of John Johnston and Mary Jane (Sloane) Sinclair, of New York City. Mrs. Holbrook survives her husband, continuing her residence in Providence.
Mr. Holbrook's death, on February 27, 1928, following that of his father within a few years, was a severe loss to the State in whose life he had come to occupy such an important place. His career was one of useful service, reflecting credit upon himself personally, and upon those institutions which he so ably directed.
JAMES M. McCARTHY-Owner of the Mc- Carthy Dry Goods Company, founder and presi- dent of the Woonsocket Trust Company, James M. McCarthy has been an important and familiar fig- ure in the life of this city for many years.
He was born at Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, 1858, a son of Dennis J. and Rose (Mc- Evoy) McCarthy, of that city. Both parents were born in Ireland, the father in Killarney, the mother in Lonsford, and the former was a stevedore by trade.
James M. McCarthy received his education in the public schools of his birthplace, completing the high school course in 1874, and later entering Nicolet College in Canada, where he was gradu- ated in 1879. When his academic training was finished, Mr. McCarthy started for the Black Hills of Dakota with that characteristic spirit of in- dependence which he has displayed throughout his entire career. He got no further than St. Louis, however, where he found himself stranded and in need of work. After considerable difficulty he obtained a position as clerk in a dry goods store where he worked for a year to obtain money nec- essary to return home. Arriving in Providence he again obtained a position as clerk in a dry goods store, where he remained until he made his first independent venture in business at Cranston, Rhode Island, establishing a dry goods store in 1884 in partnership with David Hunter. This not proving as successful as he had hoped, the following year he returned to Providence and took a position as a clerk; but eventually he established what is today the McCarthy Dry Goods Company, at Woon-
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socket. Mr. McCarthy first came to this city in 1889 and soon had his dry goods enterprise under way. Maintaining the highest standards of excel- lence both as to quality of product and service, he built his business to prosperous proportions as the demands on him constantly increased. He was careful to guard against the dangers of over- expansion, following principles of sound business operation, and as a result he was soon forced to enlarge his establishment to care for the growing trade. Today the McCarthy Dry Goods Company is the largest enterprise of its kind in this section of Rhode Island, and employs an average of one hundred and twenty-five people. An entire build- ing is necessary for the operation of the business, the company occupying six front floors and eight back floors. This enterprise has been directed personally by Mr. McCarthy since its establish- ment, and its success is a tribute to his business ability. He is the executive head of the firm, the other officers being: William A. McCarthy, as- sistant treasurer ; and Charles E. McCarthy, sec- retary.
Mr. McCarthy has by no means confined his activities solely to the direction of his dry goods company. Realizing the need and opportunity for a sound banking institution, he founded the Woon- socket Trust Company in this city, and has been the only man to occupy the office of president. He is also president of the Blackstone Valley Trans- portation Company, and both these enterprises owe much to his able direction of their affairs. Mr. McCarthy has also given his ability freely in the public service. In 1887, at Providence he was elected a member of the school committee of that city, and recently Governor Pothier appointed him police commissioner of Woonsocket, and in this important office he is giving the people of the city a progressive, efficient administration of the finest type.
In politics Mr. McCarthy supports principles and candidates of the Democratic party, while frater- nally he is affiliated with the Catholic Knights, and the Knights of Columbus. He worships with his family in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. McCarthy has contributed most gen- erously of his time and substance in the support of worthy charitable and civic movements, and his benevolence is always extended to those in need.
James M. McCarthy married Mary E. Prosser, born at New Bedford, Massachusetts, a daughter of Lorenzo D. and Bridget (Conroy) Prosser of that place. Several children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy, as follows: I. Rose,
who married Thomas Sharkey. 2. William. 3. Lorenzo, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church and president of Providence College. 4. James M., Jr., a doctor of Woonsocket. 5. Mary E., who married Judge Raphael L. Daignault, (see biography elsewhere in this work). 6. Irene, the wife of Edward Mee. 7. Charles. 8. Anna, wife of Joseph O'Donnell. 9. Genevieve, who lives at home with her parents.
HERBERT ELMER DRAKE-A native of New Hampshire and a member of an old New England family, the late Herbert Elmer Drake spent his entire career in educational work. By far the greater part of his work as a teacher, covering more than three decades, was done at one of the high schools of Providence. A distinguished scholar, an inspiring teacher and a man of sterling character, Mr. Drake left his impress on many successive generations of the youths of Rhode Island's capital, and thus much of his work was of lasting value. He was also prominently active in religious work, a popular member of numerous educational organizations and in every way repre- sentative of all of the best characteristics, for which New England people are so justly known and esteemed.
Herbert Elmer Drake was born at Pittsfield, New Hampshire, December 30, 1859, the son of Thomas Thayer and Emily Ann Drake. He re- ceived his early education in the public schools of his native town and then prepared for college at Tilton Seminary. He then attended Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, where he was graduated in 1886. Shortly after his gradua- tion he married and came to Rhode Island, where he taught in the East Greenwich Academy for six years. The next two years were spent abroad in study and travel, much of the time at Berlin, where Mr. Drake was a student at the University of Berlin. On their return to America Mr. and Mrs. Drake came to Providence in 1894, and Mr. Drake became teacher of Latin and Greek at the Classical High School, where he taught continuously until April, 1925, when ill health forced him to relin- quish his work. Distinguishing himself greatly as a student even during his college years, he was elected to the society of Phi Beta Kappa. He was also a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity and of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, the Bar- nard Club, the Brown University Teachers' Asso- ciation, the New England Association of Colleges
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and Preparatory Schools, the Classical Associa- tion of New England, and the Metacomet Golf Club. His religious affiliations were with the Trinity Union Methodist Episcopal Church, of Providence, of which he was an officer and where for twenty-three years he taught a young women's Bible class. He was one of the most active mem- bers of the congregation and gave valuable serv- ices in the different departments of church work.
Mr. Drake married, in 1886, Mary E. Johnson, of Monroe, Connecticut, who had been one of his classmates at Tilton Seminary. Mr. and Mrs. Drake had no children. At the time of his death he was survived, besides by his widow, by three brothers : Dr. Ervin T. Drake, of Franklin, New Hampshire, who died April 2, 1930; Dr. Arthur K. Drake, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts ; and Pro- fessor John P. Drake, of Emporia, Kansas ; and by two sisters : Addie May Drake, a teacher of lan- guages at Tilton Seminary, who died January 27, 1930; and Amy B. Drake, a normal school teacher at Springfield, Vermont.
Herbert Elmer Drake died at the Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, after a brief ill- ness, July 9, 1925. The funeral service, largely attended by many friends and former pupils, was held at the Trinity Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Providence.
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