USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 20
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Judge Dexter makes his home at No. 104 Clay Street, Central Falls. He is unmarried.
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G. KENNETH EARLE-Identified through- out his entire business career with the textile indus- try as a cotton merchant, Mr. Earle has for many years been one of the best known cotton merchants of Providence.
G. Kenneth Earle was born at Valley Falls, Rhode Island, April 28, 1882, a son of George T. and Ada (Ide) Earle. His father, now deceased, was also a native of Valley Falls, where he was engaged as a florist until his death. Mr. Earle's mother, still living, is a native of Norton, Mas- sachusetts. Educated in the public schools of Cen- tral Falls, Mr. Earle graduated from the Central Falls High School in 1901. Immediately after- wards he became associated with the Arthur C. Almy Company, of Providence. In 1903 he was made treasurer of this company and in 1919 he purchased the business. Since then he has con- tinued it, as the sole proprietor, under the name of G. Kenneth Earle Company, with offices located at No. 4 Market Square, Providence. Mr. Earle is also secretary of the Personal Finance Company, of Providence, and a member of the Corporation of the Peoples Savings Bank, of Providence. To what a degree he is regarded as a leader in the business, with which he has been connected for so many years, is indicated by the fact that he is chairman of the Cotton and Cotton Products Committee of the New England Shippers Advisory Board, secretary and treasurer of the Providence Cotton Buyers Association since its organization in 1912, a member of the board of the New Eng- land Cotton Buyers Association, and member of the Southern New England Textile Club. Other or- ganizations in which Mr. Earle maintains active membership include the following: Providence Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a director ; Rhode Island Country Club, and Squantum Asso- ciation in both of which he is a governor; St. Andrew's Country Club; St. Andrew's Chapter, of which he is a past president; and Palestine Shrine Club. For many years prominently active in Masonic affairs, he is also a member of numer- ous Masonic bodies, including the following : Union Lodge, No. 10, Free and Accepted Masons; Paw- tucket Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Pawtucket Council, Royal and Select Masters; Holy Sepul- cher Commandery, Knights Templar; the various bodies of the Scottish Rite, up to and including the Consistory in which he has attained the thirty- second degree, and Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of which he was Potentate in 1927. He is also a mem- ber of the Royal Order of Jesters. In politics
he is a supporter of the Republican party. At one time he served for four years as a member of the Central Falls School Board. He is now a member of the Governor's Railroad Committee. During the World War Mr. Earle served as State Inspector for the American Protective League and also as a member of the Military Intelligence for the State of Rhode Island. His religious af- filiation is with All Saints Memorial Church.
Mr. Earle married, in 1918, Maud M. Burt, a native of Taunton, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Earle have no children.
B. FRANK ROBINSON is a member of an old Rhode Island family, dating back to Revolu- tionary times. With the exception of a few years spent during his youth in New York City and in Providence, where he was engaged in laying the foundation for his knowledge of business, he has been a lifelong resident of his native town, Wake- field. As successor of his father as the head of one of the leading grocery establishments in Wake- field, established by Mr. Robinson's grandfather more than a century ago, and as president of the most substantial financial institution of Wake- field, which for almost a century has been headed by a member of the Robinson family, Mr. Robin- son occupies a position of great prominence in Wakefield.
B. Frank Robinson was born at Wakefield, Feb- ruary 22, 1858, a son of the late Benjamin F. and Caroline (Rodman) Robinson. Both his parents, now deceased, were natives of Wakefield. His father was for many years and until his death, in 1900, president of the Wakefield National Bank, now known as the Wakefield Trust Company, and was also owner and head of a grocery business bearing the family name. Mr. Robinson was edu- cated in the public schools of his native town and then went to New York City, where he worked for three years in the Hanover National Bank. The next two years he spent in Providence, where he was connected with the wholesale grocery busi- ness of Henry L. Parsons. In 1882 he returned to Wakefield and became identified with the Robinson Grocery Store and with the Wakefield Trust Com- pany, of which latter he became at that time a di- rector. When his father died, in 1900, Mr. Robin- son succeeded him both as head of the Robinson Grocery Store and as president of the Wakefield Trust Company, positions which he has continued to hold since then and which he has always filled with much ability and conscientiousness.
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The Robinson Grocery Store, one of the oldest business establishments of Wakefield, was estab- lished there in 1821 by Mr. Robinson's grand father, Sylvester Robinson, and has been directed and owned since then by three successive generations of the family. Today it is the oldest grocery store in Rhode Island that has been controlled and oper- ated continuously by one and the same family. Very similar in continuity is Mr. Robinson's con- nection with the Wakefield Trust Company This bank, one of the most substantial and successful in this section of Rhode Island, was founded at Wakefield under the name of the Wakefield Na- tional Bank in 1834 and was organized by Mr. Robinson's grandfather, Sylvester Robinson, and by several other leading business men of Wake- field. Sylvester Robinson was its first president, so that the presidency of this well-known financial institution has been held consecutively by grand- father, father, and son for a period of ninety-five years.
Mr. Robinson is also a member of the board of directors of the Narragansett Pier Railroad Com- pany and of the Sons of the American Revolution. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, in the work of which he has taken an active part. For eight years he served as a member of the Rhode Island State Senate, for one year as chair- man of the board of assessors of Wakefield, and since 1909 he has been a member of the Rhode Island State Board of public roads. His religious affiliation is with the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is fond of outdoor life and sports and espe- cially of hunting and fishing.
Mr. Robinson is not married and makes his home in Wakefield.
GRAFTON I. KENYON is well known in Wakefield, Rhode Island, as a successful business man, secretary, and assistant treasurer of the O. P. Kenyon Company, Incorporated, and member of a family which has for more than two hundred years been associated with the development of Rhode Island.
The Kenyon line includes the following genera- tions : John Kenyon, born in 1605, who, in 1630, married Ann Smith; John Kenyon, born in 1636, married (first) Hannah Sheppard (second) Mary Rigby; John Kenyon, born in 1657, died in 1732, having married Sarah Gray, probably of May- flower ancestry; Jonathan Kenyon, born in 1695,
married Mary Gardner; Nathan Kenyon, born in 1720, married Mary Green; Gardner Kenyon, born 1757, married Susannah Boss; Elisha Reynolds Potter Kenyon, born April 29, 1799, married Mary Ann Knowles, and they had a son, William Gardner Kenyon, of the eighth generation. He was born at Point Judith, in South Kingstown, January 4, 1825, moved to Wakefield and became a suc- cessful merchant there, postmaster, and owner of a fertile and well-situated farm which was after- ward developed into a village, and organizer of a business which was developed by his sons into a large department store; he married Emeline Bull Allen, and they had a son, William A. Kenyon, merchant, State Senator, and prominent citizen, who married Emma Scott Sheldon; and a second son, Orrin Potter Kenyon, of further mention.
Orrin Potter Kenyon, son of William Gardner and Emeline Bull (Allen) Kenyon, was born at Point Judith, Rhode Island, January II, 1852, and he grew up in Wakefield, receiving his education at the Friends' School in Providence. He entered his father's store, and with his brother, mentioned above, conducted the establishment of Kenyon Brothers. He was also owner of the Boston Store at Narragansett Pier and a director of the Wake- field Land & Investment Company and the Wake- field Manufacturing Company. He married, Au- gust 24, 1880, Fannie Gorton Grafton, and they were the parents of three children: Grafton Irv- ing, of further mention; Leslie; and Gladys Bull.
Grafton I. Kenyon, son of Orrin Potter and Fan- nie Gorton (Grafton) Kenyon, was born in Wake- field, Rhode Island, March 18, 1882. He was edu- cated in the public schools of that city, Wakefield High School, and the Burdett Business College in Boston, which he finished in 1902. He then became associated with the O. P. Kenyon Company in Wakefield which operated an excellent department store which was incorporated, in 1924, under the name of O. P. Kenyon, Inc. Mr. Kenyon was elected secretary and assistant treasurer, offices he still holds. He is a director of the Wakefield Trust Company.
The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Kenyon are with Hope Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons ; Amity Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Narragan- sett Commandery, Knights Templar; thirty-second degree Scottish Rite; and Palestine Temple, An- cient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a Democrat in politics and for two years served in the Rhode Island House of Representa- tives and for two years in the State Senate. Dur- ing the World War he took military training at
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Plattsburg in 1916 and was captain of the Rhode Island State Guards.
Grafton Irving Kenyon married, in 1914, Mary Burns, born in Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, and they are the parents of two children: Jane B. and Orrin Potter Kenyon, 2d.
STEPHEN ROBERTSON TUCKER-One of the outstanding business men of Providence in the field of industry and real estate development was the late Stephen R. Tucker, who played an important part in promoting the Oakland Beach property.
Stephen R. Tucker was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, January 15, 1841, son of Jeremiah and Mary (Godfrey) Tucker. He was educated in the public school of North Scituate, Rhode Island, and in youth entered the employ of the cotton mills in that town. He advanced to the position of superintendent and later was made foreman of the Bristol Mills. His cotton mill work then took him South for a time, when he was superintendent and erected a large mill at Nashville, Tennessee. Re- turning to North Scituate, he was again associated with the Reynolds mill until he was made super- intendent of the Ashland mill at Scituate. His interest then veered to other lines of business en- terprise, for he was a man of active and energetic disposition and initiative and vision. He was for a time interested in the Fountain Street livery stables with Samuel Stone, and he then retired in order to devote his entire time to the real estate business. It was during these years that he took an active part in the development of the Oakland Beach property.
His political views were those of the Republican party, and his fraternal affiliations were with the Free and Accepted Masons. He attended the Ad- vent Church in Scituate, but transferred his al- legiance to the Baptist Church in North Scituate, Rhode Island.
Stephen R. Tucker married (first) Ruby Jane Fisk, and (second) Olive A. Smith, daughter of John Lester Smith, of Killingly, Connecticut.
His death occurred on February 22, 1922, when he was eighty-one years old, thus rounding out four-score of useful and successful years. He was a man of generous and loveable traits, honest to a fault, strong-minded, high principled, and he was considered a potent factor in advancing important interests of his community.
ARTHUR CUSHING-Descended from a Pilgrim who came on the "Mayflower" and from distinguished ancestry of Colonial days in New England, and prominent in the political affairs of Rhode Island for many years, Arthur Cushing, of North Providence, bears a fine reputation as an outstanding citizen and member of the bar. He has held many elective public offices and is a popular member of fraternal and social organizations, with a wide acquaintance and a circle of friends in all sections of the State.
He was born in Providence, October 15, 1867, a son of Edward Jarvis and Mary Heath (Wild) Cushing. His father was born in Providence, in 1824, and was engaged here as a journalist until his death. His mother, also deceased, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. Mr. Cushing is a direct descendant of Richard Warren, who came to Plymouth on the "Mayflower," of Benjamin Church, the Indian fighter, and also of Colonel Leonard Jarvis, the first commander of the Inde- pendent Cadets of Boston. His education was ac- quired in the public schools of North Providence, and he then attended the Mount Pleasant Academy, from which he was graduated with the class of 1885. His next step was to become a student at Brown University, which graduated him with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1889, and he then matriculated at the Harvard School of Law. In 1891 he was admitted to the bar of Rhode Island and has practiced since that year, with offices at No. 19 College Street, and No. 17 Exchange Street, Providence. Since 1909 he has sat on the bench as Probate Judge of the North Providence court. In 1893 and 1894 he served as recording clerk of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and was elected a member of that body for 1894, and re- elected for a succeeding term in 1895. In 1904 he was elected to the State Senate and served his full term and was again elected to that body in 1929-30. In 1909-10 he served as president of the North Providence Town Council; 1912 to 1925 as town solicitor. From 1901 to 1907 and again from 1922 to 1928 he was a member of the school com- mittee; in 1906 and 1907 he was superintendent of schools and in 1899 and 1900 served as a member of the Rhode Island Bar Examination Committee. During the World War he was a member of the Legal Advisory Committee. He attends the Uni- tarian Church and his favorite sport is baseball.
Arthur Cushing married, January 16, 1895, Net- tie Douglas Arnold, a native of Kingstown, Rhode Island, who died in 1928. Their children are: I. Elsie Wild, married Captain Charles E. Hurdis, an
Stephen R. Tucker
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instructor at Princeton University. 2. Hope Arnold, married Captain W. Irving Goodwin, faculty sec- retary at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. 3. Susan Jarvis. 4. Edward Douglas.
FRANK E. BROWN-Successfully engaged in the insurance and real estate business in Wake- field for some thirty-five years, Mr. Brown is re- garded one of that town's outstanding and repre- sentative business men and citizens. His excep- tional business ability has brought him not only well-deserved personal success, but has also greatly benefited one of the leading local financial insti- tutions, with which he has been identified for many years in various capacities. Civic activities, too, have received a share of his time and attention, and he has also been prominently active for many years in several fraternal organizations, in which he has held high office. In every respect he represents the highest type of useful and substantial citizen and he enjoys to the fullest extent the respect and confidence of the community.
Frank E. Brown was born at Wickford, Feb- ruary 17, 1875, a son of the late Oliva R. and Sarah W. (Tisdale) Brown. Both his parents, now deceased, were born in Rhode Island, his mother at Exeter, his father, who for many years was successfully engaged as a blacksmith, at Wickford. Mr. Brown himself received his early education in the public schools of his native town and then at- tended Bryant & Stratton's Business College. After leaving the school he worked for one year in Providence as a bookkeeper and then returned to Wickford, where he was employed for some time in various positions. In 1895 he became associated with the late Daniel C. Sweet in the insurance business in Wickford, this association continuing until 1905, when Mr. Sweet died and when Mr. Brown took over the business. This he has con- tinued ever since, under the firm name of F. E. Brown & Son, carrying on a large and profitable real estate and insurance business. Since 1901 Mr. Brown has been identified with the Wickford Sav- ings Bank as a member of its board of trustees. In 1923 he was elected president of this bank, serving in that capacity until December, 1927, when he resigned and became treasurer, which latter office he has continued to fill very ably. He is a trustee of the North Kingstown Library and for the past seven years has served as a member of the North Kingstown School Board. For many years prominently active in fraternal affairs, he is
a member and a Past Master of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member, Past Grand, and trustee of Beacon Lodge, No. 38, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. In politics he is independent. His religious affiliation is with the Christian Science Church. He is fond of outdoor sports and is especially interested in baseball.
Mr. Brown married, in 1902, Mary Helen Peirce, like himself a native of Wickford. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of two children: I. F. Oliva, associated with his father in the real estate and insurance business under the firm name of F. E. Brown & Son. 2. Helen Winona.
JAMES O. McMANUS-A native of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, but since his early child- hood a resident of Rhode Island, Mr. McManus has been successfully engaged in the practice of law in Providence and West Warwick since the completion of his education and his admission to the Rhode Island bar. During this entire period he has been prominently active in public affairs and politics and at different times has held important public offices, which he has invariably filled with ability and conscientiousness. A veteran of the World War, a member of several fraternal and legal organizations, and an active participant in civic work, as well as a regular church attendant, Mr. McManus represents the highest type of use- ful and public-spirited citizen.
James O. McManus was born in Philadelphia, a son of the late James and Mary (Hallinan) Mc- Manus. Both his parents were natives of Ireland. His father was a successful merchant until his death. Mr. McManus received his early educa- tion in the public schools of Coventry, Kent County, and then attended the Warwick High School, after which he became a student at the Bryant & Stratton's Business College, Providence. From there he went to Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, attending its law school, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1920. Admitted to the Rhode Island bar, in 1921, he has been engaged in the practice of his profession ever since then in Providence and West Warwick. In August, 1929, he became a member of the law firm of Grimes & McManus, with which he has continued since then with offices in Suite 805, Hospital Trust Building, Providence. Mr. McManus is highly
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regarded in his profession and enjoys a large and important practice.
In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, and for many years he has taken a very active and effective part in public life. He has served for five years as town solicitor for Coven- try, for four years as that town's probate judge, and for four years as its coroner. In 1929 he served as recording clerk of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and in 1930 he became reading clerk of this body. He is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association, the Kent County Bar Association, and the Pawtuxet Val- ley Board of Trade, as well as of the Rhode Is- land Republican Club, and David Papineaes Post, American Legion. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Washington Lodge, No. 15, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and with J. P. Gibson Coun- cil, Knights of Columbus. During the World War he served in the United States Navy with the rank of chief yeoman. His religious affiliation is with St. James' Roman Catholic Church. He is fond of outdoor life, especially of fishing.
Mr. McManus married, in 1928, Jeanette C. Burns, a native of West Warwick.
JEREMIAH A. SULLIVAN-A native of Massachusetts, but a resident of Newport since his childhood, Mr. Sullivan has been engaged in the successful practice of law in this city for almost a quarter of a century. His professional stand- ing is of the highest and, to an unusual degree, he enjoys the confidence of the community in general, a fact evidenced by his long continuous service as city solicitor, to which office he has been regularly reelected since the expiration of his first term dating back to 1910.
Jeremiah A. Sullivan was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, August 3, 1881, a son of the late Timothy and Catherine (Harrington) Sullivan. Both his parents, now deceased, were natives of County Cork, Ireland, from which they came to this country in their early youth. His father was a blacksmith and for thirty-five years and until his death was connected with the Newport Torpedo Station. Mr. Sullivan received his early education in St. Joseph's Parochial School, Newport, and then took up the study of law at Georgetown Uni- versity, Washington, District of Columbia, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bach- elor of Laws in 1905. Admitted to the Rhode Island bar in 1906, he established himself in the
practice of law in Newport, and since then he has continued in this profession with marked success. At the early age of twenty-eight, in 1910, he was elected city solicitor of Newport. He has filled this responsible office so capably and so entirely to the satisfaction of his fellow-citizens that he has been reelected to the office and today (1931) still occupies it. His long record of con- tinuous service in the same public office, is rather unusual but stands as proof of how greatly he enjoys the confidence of the community and how closely he has devoted himself to the public inter- ests. During the World War Mr. Sullivan served as a four-minute speaker and also as government appeal agent under the Selective Service Act. In politics he is a staunch supporter of the Demo- cratic party, in the work of which he has been prominently active for many years. For eighteen years he has been a member of the Democratic City Committee and for ten years of the Demo- cratic State Central Committee. Fraternal affairs, too, have received much of his time and atten- tion and he is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of Division No. I, of which, he was president for five years; Newport Council, Knights of Columbus, of which he is a Past Grand Knight and District Deputy; Newport Lodge, No. 104, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Royal Arcanum; and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Mr. Sullivan is very fond of golt, in which sport he frequently indulges at the Wanu- metonomy Golf Club, of which he is a past pres- ident. His religious affiliation is with St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church of Newport.
Mr. Sullivan married Lucinda Albro Man- chester, a native of Providence. Mr. and Mrs. Sul- livan make their home in Newport, and Mr. Sul- livan's offices are located in the City Hall Building.
GEORGE W. BACHELLER-From his fif- teenth year George W. Bacheller, of Newport, has been actively associated with financial and civic affairs and has become well known throughout Rhode Island's banking circles. His other inter- ests have been wide and contributive to the prog- ress of numerous organizations with which he has become connected. He has held public office and administered its duties with credit to himself and to the full satisfaction of the electorate. In frater- nal circles he has also been actively associated and is a popular and influential member of various societies and orders, as well as of social clubs and
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Juriston JAHazard
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commercial organizations. Altogether, Mr. Bachel- ler is held in esteem by the people with whom he has come in contact and is considered one of the leading citizens of the State.
He was born in Newport, Rhode Island, January 23, 1877, a son of George W. and Annie (Popple) Bacheller. Both parents, now deceased, were natives of Newport and his father was for many years engaged in the upholstery business. After com- pletion of the courses in the public schools, George W. Bacheller (2) began his business career as an employee in a banking institution, where he re- mained from 1892 to 1902, when he obtained a position as clerk in the Newport Trust Company. Steadily rising in position until 1918, in that year he was appointed secretary and treasurer of the company and at the same time made manager of the Newport branch of the Industrial Trust Com- pany of Providence. He is a Republican in politics and for twenty years served on the Newport Representative Council. He is a director and treas- urer of the Community Hotels Corporation, trus- tee and treasurer of the Newport Hospital, was a director and treasurer of the Newport Young Men's Christian Association for many years, di- rector and treasurer of the Newport Family Wel- fare Association, director and treasurer of the Newport Chapter of the American Red Cross and assistant secretary of the Newport Country Club. He is a member of the Second Baptist Church. Fraternally, he is affiliated with St. Paul Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; is Past Grand of Excelsior Lodge, No. 49, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; a member and Past Sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men; and member of the Royal Arcanum. He is one of the organizers of the Chamber of Commerce, and belongs to the Rotary Club and to the Miantonomi Club.
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