USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 16
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A man of innate kindliness, Mr. Drake, to a remarkable degree, enjoyed the respect and con- fidence of all who knew him. His outstanding suc- cess as a teacher was as much the result of his fine intellectual equipment as of his high character. Though he led a comparatively quiet life, it was filled with useful and worthwhile work, and much of what he accomplished was of lasting value. His name will always occupy an honored position in the annals of Rhode Island's educational history.
HUGH J. GOURLEY-The entire business career of Hugh J. Gourley of Warren, Rhode Island, has been associated with the textile indus- try, and has been marked by steady advancement in that field.
Hugh J. Gourley was born in County Armagh, Ireland, May 4, 1874, son of Isaac and Kathleen (Malloy) Gourley, both now deceased. The father, who was a farmer, was born in Scotland, and the mother in Ireland. The son grew up in this country and was educated in the public schools of Chicopee and Springfield, Massachusetts, and in the Spring-
field High School. For his industrial career, he prepared by a correspondence course and study in the New Bedford Textile School. His education completed, he entered the textile business with the Dwight Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, where he worked for five years. He then worked with the Jencks Spinning Company of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for six years, beginning as second hand and advancing to the position of overseer. His next position was in New Bedford, Massa- chusetts, as overseer and superintendent for the New England Cotton Yarn Company, with whom he remained for sixteen years. It was in 1916 that Mr. Gourley came to Warren, Rhode Island, and assumed the post of superintendent for the War- ren Manufacturing Company. In 1918 he was made agent and was highly successful in this re- sponsible position. In August, 1930, Mr. Gourley resigned. He belongs to the Southern New Eng- land Textile Association and the National Asso- ciation of Cotton Manufacturers.
His fraternal affiliations are with Enterprise Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the George H. Lake Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; New Bedford Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; New Bedford Council, Royal and Select Masters ; Thomas Smith Webb Commandery, of Providence, Rhode Island, Knights Templar; and Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Rhode Island Country Club, and the Providence Cham- ber of Commerce, and a communicant of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Golf is his hobby. He is an independent in politics, and a director of the Warren Manufacturing Company.
In 1895, Hugh J. Gourley married Ellen Tomlin- son, born in Sherburne, New York, and they are the parents of two sons : Thomas H. Gourley; and Hugh J. Gourley, who served in the United States Navy during the World War.
WILLIAM GARDINER CASWELL-First a farmer, afterwards a merchant, prominent in town and State politics, the late William Gardiner Caswell in the latter years of his life was a well- known and successful hotel proprietor. He amassed a competence and lived in retirement for some years until his death.
Born February II, 1828, son of John West Cas- well, William Gardiner Caswell died at Narragan- sett, July 16, 1896. He was at first engaged in
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farming, and later became a partner of his brother, John H., in the grocery and dry goods business, having a store in Kingston. His next business enterprise was the Mansion House at Narragan- sett. He built also the Mount Hope Hotel in that community and conducted the hostelry until 1889, in which year he disposed of the properties and retired.
An influential and active member of the Re- publican party, he was honored with the presi- dency of the Town Council of South Kingstown. He represented that village in the State Senate for a number of years. During the Civil War he served as a captain of a company of the State Militia, and was also a deputy sheriff of Wash- ington County, having his residence at the county jail at Kingston Hill during his term of office. In the fraternal world he belonged to Hope Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons; Hope Valley Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and St. John's Com- mandery, Knights Templar.
William Gardiner Caswell married Sallie Car- penter Gardiner, born in the Rowland Robinson House, Narragansett, October 26, 1832, died April 15, 1908. Their son is W. Herbert Caswell (q. v.).
W. HERBERT CASWELL-A leader in the political activities of the Republican party in Nar- ragansett and Washington County, W. Herbert Caswell, formerly engaged in the hotel business, has served as clerk of the Superior Court in his native jurisdiction, being the incumbent of the office of the town clerk of Narragansett for more than two-score years. He is a well-known expert in real estate and insurance, these being his principal business endeavors.
Born in Narragansett, November 24, 1859, the son of William Gardiner and Sallie Carpenter (Gardiner) Caswell, W. Herbert Caswell attended the public schools of his native town and com- pleted his education in the East Greenwich Acad- emy. Until 1889 he was an associate of his father in the hotel business in Narragansett. In 1888 he entered the public service on election to the posi- tion of town clerk of Narragansett, which office he has ever since filled, the voters having deter- mined year on end to make no change in the per- sonnel of the office. His clerkship in the Superior Court of Washington County has already covered forty years. He has served as delegate to Re- publican State conventions at frequent intervals in his political career.
Mr. Caswell entered business as a specialist in Narragansett real estate in 1892, at the same time taking on several lines of insurance, the two busi- nesses working out nicely in conjunction with one another. He is rated as the largest and oldest real estate operator in Washington County. He is a director of the Narragansett Improvement Asso- ciation, and a governor and the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of that town. His frater- nal affiliations include Hope Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons; Unity Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and Westerly Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member and past president of the Narragansett Country Club, a member and former commodore of the Wake- field Yacht Club, and a member of the Dunes Club. His religious fellowship is with the Epis- copal Church, of which he is a vestryman.
W. Herbert Caswell married, September II, 1919, Agnes Du Brau Fletcher, of Holyoke, Mas- sachusetts.
WALTER A. KILTON-Having entered the United States Postal Service as a young man of twenty-four years, Mr. Kilton has been identified with this branch of the Federal government ever since with the exception of four years, 1917-21, when he was engaged in the real estate business. It is more than four decades that he has been identified with the Providence post office and almost one decade he has been postmaster of Providence.
He was born at Coventry, Rhode Island, on April 20, 1856, a son of John J. and Emily L. (Hartness) Kilton, both natives of Coventry, and both now deceased. His father was engaged in the manufacturing business until his death. Educated in the public schools of Coventry, and the High- land Military Academy, from which he was gradu- ated in 1877, Mr. Kilton taught school for three years in his native city and, in 1880, was appointed postmaster of Washington, Rhode Island. In this position he continued until 1883, when he became associated with the Providence post office. For thirty-four years this association remained unin- terrupted; then, in 1917, Mr. Kilton entered the real estate business in Providence, in which he continued successfully until 1921. In this year he was appointed postmaster of Providence, which important office he has since continued to fill very capably. He is a member of the Na- tional Association of Postmasters, the Providence Chamber of Commerce, the Pomham Club, and
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numerous Masonic bodies, including the follow- ing: Manchester Lodge, No. 12, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Providence Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters; Calvary Commandery, Knights Tem- plar; Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, while his re- ligious affiliation is with the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Mr. Kilton married (first), in 1883, Laura R. Waldo, a native of New York State, who died in 1895. By this marriage one child was born, Helen H. Mr. Kilton married (second), in 1898, Mary E. McElligott, a native of Providence, by whom he has one son, Walter A., Jr.
NATHAN E. KENDALL-After more than thirty years of successful activity in the elec- trical contracting business, Mr. Kendall estab- lished himself, together with a partner, in the in- surance business in West Warwick. His well known reputation for fair dealing, his wide ac- quaintance in Kent County, and his pleasing per- sonality were important factors in building up this business in a comparatively short time to one of large proportions. Mr. Kendall is one of the best known and most successful insurance men in this part of Rhode Island and the business of which he is the directing head continues to enjoy steady growth and prosperity.
Nathan E. Kendall was born at Richmond, February 25, 1871, a son of the late Charles H. and Marcelia (Hoxie) Kendall. His father, who was engaged in farming and who was a veteran of the Civil War, was a native of Mount Holly, New Jersey, while his mother was a native of Rich- mond, Rhode Island. Mr. Kendall received his early education in the public schools of his native town and then attended Bryant & Stratton's Busi- ness College, Providence. Having completed his education, he entered business and for the first three years was connected with the Corliss Steam Engine Company of Providence. Next he was employed successively with the W. F. & F. C. Sales Corporation for three years and then with John M. Dean Company of Providence for three and one-half years. About 1900 he became con- nected with the Phenix Electric Company, Phenix, Kent County, with which he continued to be identified for twenty-one years. At the end of this period he established himself in the insurance
business together with Herbert M. Clarke under the firm name of Clarke & Kendall. This firm, which enjoyed marked success from the very be- ginning, continued as a partnership until 1928, when the business was incorporated. Since then Mr. Kendall has been its president, and the busi- ness has become the largest general insurance agency in the town of West Warwick. Its head- quarters are located in the Curson Building, Arc- tic, West Warwick. Mr. Kendall is a member of the board of directors of the Phenix Trust Com- pany. His interest in civic enterprises and prog- ress finds expression in his membership in the West Warwick Chamber of Commerce and the Pawtuxet Valley Board of Trade. In politics he is an independent, while his religious affiliation is with the Phenix Baptist Church, of which he is treasurer and in the work of which he has taken an active part for many years. He is also a member of the Sons of American Revolution. Mr. Ken- dall is fond of outdoor life and spends most of his leisure time at his cottage at the seashore.
Mr. Kendall married, in 1896, Mary E. Colvin, a native of Quidnick, Kent County. Mr. and Mrs. Kendall are the parents of one son, Arthur R. Kendall, of Detroit, Michigan.
ELLIS A. CRANSTON, a member of an old and prominent Rhode Island family, was born in this State and has always lived here. After more than twenty years with a well-known Providence concern, he became chief of police of his native town, Warwick, and has filled this office very ably for the last seventeen years. He has been active in various fraternal organizations and is one of the popular and highly respected members of the community.
Ellis A. Cranston was born at Warwick, May 3, 1876, a son of the late Orlando R. and Ida M. (Johnson) Cranston, and a direct descendant of Hon. John Cranston and Hon. Samuel Cranston, both Colonial governors of Rhode Island. Mr. Cranston's father, in business until his death, was a native of Smithfield, while his mother was a native of Cranston. Having received his educa- tion in the public schools of Warwick and Prov- idence, Mr. Cranston became connected with the L. H. Tillinghast Supply Company, of Provi- dence, with which he remained until 1913. In that year he was appointed the chief of police of War- wick, and he has filled this office so ably, and to the satisfaction of his fellow-citizens that he has
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been continued in it ever since. His office is located in the town hall in the village of Appon- aug. He is a past president of the New England Police Chiefs Association, served for two years as secretary of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Council, and is a member of the International Police Chiefs Association. For many years active in fraternal affairs, he is a member and a Past Grand of Westminster Lodge, No. 27, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and also a member of Mazeppa Encampment .. He has also served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Is- land, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has served for two years as Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge. Equally prominent has been his connection with the Masonic order. He is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 9, Free and Accepted Masons; Nathanael Greene Lodge, No. 45, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is Senior Deacon; Harmony Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Calvary Commandery,. Knights Templar; and Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, while his relig- ious affiliation is with the Baptist Church.
Mr. Cranston married, in 1898, Sarah Alle- baugh, a native of Reading, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Cranston are the parents of four chil- dren: Ruth A., Esther A., Lois, and Ellis W.
RT. REV. WILLIAM AUGUSTINE HICKEY, D. D., Count of the Catholic Church, Bishop Assistant at the Pontifical Throne, Com- mander of the Order of the Crown of Italy, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, May 13, 1869, son of William and Margaret (Troy) Hickey. His father was among the first to respond to President Lincoln's call for defenders of the Union, and served gallantly and loyally in army and navy through the Civil War. Bishop Hickey was educated in the public schools of Worcester, being graduated from the Worcester Classical High School. His college education was received at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and his preparation for the Catholic priesthood was at the Grand Seminary at St. Sulpice, Paris, and at St. John's Seminary, at Brighton, Massa- chusetts. He was ordained as priest at Christ- mas, 1893, by Most Rev. John J. Williams, D. D., Archbishop of Boston, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, and was assigned to the diocese of Springfield. He was curate succes-
sively at Whitinsville, Brookfield, Blackstone, Holyoke and Clinton, Massachusetts, before his first pastorate at the Church of St. Aloysius, Gilbertville, Massachusetts, to which he was as- signed by the Rt. Rev. Thomas D. Beaven, Bishop of Springfield, in 1903. Himself a ver- satile linguist and understanding clearly, because of his contact with the cosmopolitan populations of the factory centers in which he had spent the first ten years of his priesthood, the problems involved in spiritual ministration to shy and humble strangers in a strange land, loving the sound of a kindly voice speaking their own language, the Sunday sermons at St. Aloysius were preached in English, French, Polish, and Lithuanian. After fourteen years at Gilbertville, Father Hickey was assigned as pastor of the Church of St. John at Clinton, Massachusetts. There he built a parish school, a twelve-room building with a large hall that could be used for parish community as well as school purposes. The building, which cost $150,000, was a model archi- tecturally, and the school was a model academi- cally; in the promotion of this school Father Hickey displayed the same zeal for education that was to characterize his labors in the diocese of Providence. Father Hickey had a splendid voice, with deep resonance and remarkable carry- ing power, an ease of delivery inherited from his Celtic ancestry, a grace of diction and a gift of oratory that made him equally at home on the public platform or in the pulpit. He could plead for a great cause as easily as he could teach a simple lesson on the Gospel in a Sunday ser- mon. He was sought immediately at the be- ginning of the World War, and gave freely of his time and service as a "four-minute man," in one of the most remarkable appeals ever made to the American people. He was heard frequently during the war, advocating various patriotic measures. His father had offered his life for the defence of the Union; Father Hickey gave un- stintedly all of his splendid eloquence for the saving of civilization. His service won him this encomium from Senator David I. Walsh of Mas- sachusetts, himself one of the finest orators of the period: "Father Hickey has worn the black cassock of Christ. He has been a soldier camp- ing in the homes of the sick and the poor under the white banner of the Church, fighting for salvation; has battled for Christ in the trenches of humanity. Not a day has passed over his head since our boys first left Clinton that he has not prayed for his people." Father Hickey's
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fluency in other languages than English made him particularly an asset in the patriotic movements of the war. As an illustration, it is related that at a reception tendered to Father Cabanel, chap- lain of the French Battalion of "Blue Devils," Colonel Azan, then assigned to the French mili- tary mission at Harvard University engaged in training officers, made a twenty-minute address in French; and that Father Hickey, immediately thereafter, at the request of Father Cabanel, delivered an English translation of the address, reproducing the eloquence of the French colonel in forceful English. A similiar fluency appears frequently in his service as head of the diocese of Providence, when he addresses a congregation gathered for a church ceremony both in English and in the language also of any considerable number of the parishioners. His "Life of Christ," translated from the French, was published in 1906.
Not quite two years after his assignment to St. John's Church at Clinton Father Hickey was notified on January 16, 1919, that he had been appointed by Pope Benedict as Coadjutor Bishop of Providence with right of succession to Rt. Rev. Matthew Harkins, D. D. Father Hickey was consecrated as Coadjutor Bishop of Providence in S. S. Peter and Paul's Cathedral at Provi- dence on April 10, 1919, by Rt. Rev. Thomas D. Beaven, D. D., of Springfield, assisted by Rt. Rev. Louis S. Walsh, D. D., of Portland, Maine, and Rt. Rev. Daniel F. Feehan, D. D., of Fall River. On the same day he was designated by Bishop Harkins as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Providence. He became Bishop of Providence in his own right May 25, 1921, on the death of Bishop Harkins. During the two years as Coadjutor and Administrator, Bishop Hickey not only carried forward the diocesan labors from which Bishop Harkins had sought relief because of age and infirmity, but also under- took zealously the promotion of several projects that Bishop Harkins had planned. Among these was the completion of Harkins Hall, the first building for Providence College, and the open- ing of the college, which was placed under the direction of the Order of Preachers, or Domini- cans. Bishop Harkins had considered the found- ing of the college as the crowning labor of his long episcopacy. Aided by Bishop Hickey, the college achieved a remarkable growth, attain- ing an enrollment of eight hundred students in its tenth year. The original hall had been en- larged to double its capacity, another estate had been acquired, and the building thereon enlarged
and remodeled as a dormitory for ecclesiastical students. One of the first projects promoted by Bishop Hickey was a drive to remove the debt resting on the college and to promote extension. Nearly a half-million dollars was realized in ten days of effective campaigning; the college debt was paid.
In the long years of service by Bishops O'Reilly, Tyler Hendricken and Harkins, a sys- tem of Catholic elementary schools had been built, while secondary education was provided princi- pally at La Salle Academy for boys and St. Xavier's Academy for girls. There were, besides, the Sacred Heart Academy at Elmhurst, St. Mary's Seminary in East Providence, and sev- eral high schools in connection with elementary schools. Bishop Hickey was inspired to under- take a more liberal program for secondary edu- cation. In a drive planned to raise $1,000,000 in three years, cash payments and pledges were obtained to assure success immediately, and to warrant inaugurating the program. In this move- ment the Bishop was aided by the Catholic Crusa- ders, a body of clergy and laymen, who visited every parish to plead the cause of secondary edu- cation. The results of the "million dollar high school drive" have been a new La Salle Academy, an enlarged St. Xavier's three new academies- Mount Saint Charles at Woonsocket, St. Raphael's at Pawtucket, and De La Salle at Newport. With the Portsmouth Priory at the northern end of the Island of Rhode Island, the diocese of Providence has fifteen Catholic high schools and academies, enrolling over 2,300 pupils. A third major project undertaken by Bishop Hickey was a reorganization of Catholic charities and the financing of institutions-including hospitals, or- phan asylums, homes for children, homes for aged people, day nurseries, eleēmosynary relief, twenty- five institutions, altogether. These had been sup- ported by collections taken in churches, by fairs, concerts, donations, and in various other ways, mostly casual and not dependable for regularity. Bishop Hickey planned placing the responsibility for Catholic charities directly at the doors of his people; the responsibility to be exemplified by an annual contribution to a general fund, apportionments from which should be made by a budgetary organization directed by the Bishop. Thus the needs of the charities are pooled and budgeted, and the burden of support has been reduced by the application of direct methods instead of indirect methods of collection. Three annual charity drives have been so wonderfully
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successful as to justify the Bishop's faith, and in consequence of liberal contributions money has been made available, beyond the cost of main- tenance, for a diocesan program for improve- ment of charitable estates. With all these extra- ordinary activities the Bishop has not neglected the constant propagation of the faith and the extension of the church. In the decade of his episcopacy splendid new churches, new schools, and new convents have arisen, commensurate with the needs of the largest religious body in the State of Rhode Island, enrolling in active prac- tical membership, almost half of the total popula- tion. The Bishop's zeal and accomplishment have been recognized. The Pope has awarded him the title of Count in the nobility of the Church, and has appointed him Bishop Assistant at the Pon- tifical Throne; the Government of Italy has made him a Commander in the Order of the Crown. Manhattan and Providence colleges have awarded him honorary degrees. His good counsel is wel- comed in church conferences. The love of his people is manifested in their prompt and con- sistent response to his appeals in the name of charity and religion.
THOMAS E. HARROP-As chief of police of the town of West Warwick, Rhode Island, Thomas E. Harrop has proved himself an able and efficient public servant, and a trustworthy guar- dian of the public safety. He was born at West Warwick, on April 13, 1887, a son of Thomas H. and Bridget (Callahan) Harrop. His father, who was born at Warwick, Rhode Island, has been engaged in the textile industry for many years, and his mother a native of Riverpoint, Rhode Island, is now deceased.
Thomas E. Harrop was educated in the public schools of his birthplace and then attended the English High School at Providence. Following the completion of his education, he took up the blacksmith's trade and was engaged in this occu- pation successfully until 1922. After the entry of the United States into the World War, he enlisted in the United States Navy on April 14, 1917, with the rank of blacksmith. He was stationed at Brest, France, for the duration of the conflict, and was discharged on March 3, 1919, with the rank of blacksmith, first class.
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