USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 25
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For a period of several years Mr. Steinert served as teacher of music in Thomasville, Georgia, and at the same time was engaged in the musical mer- cantile business in Athens, Georgia. Returning North at the outbreak of the Civil War, he event- ually made New Haven, Connecticut, his home; and in that city, he founded Steinert's Orchestra, and later the Music Hall. It was in 1865 that he opened the store in New Haven, which was the beginning of New England's leading music estab- lishment, with branches, eventually, in many dif- ferent New England cities.
After his marriage Mr. Steinert came to New Haven with his wife and family, having then two sons, Henry and Alexander, and here established the store that has come to be the leading musical store of the city. Along with his other work, Mr. Stemert became a collector of instruments, new, rare and old, which he gathered both in the United States and abroad. His collection was considered the finest in the world, and many of them he pre- sented to Yale University.
Mr. Steinert also had an extensive career on the lecture platform, having traveled throughout the United States, especially in connection with his educational series of addresses on "The Evolution of the Pianoforte." In this work, which was es- sentially a labor of love, he was capably assisted by his sons, Henry and Albert, and by the late critic and writer, Henry Edward Krehbiel, of the New York "Tribune."
Morris Steinert married Caroline Dreyfus. They became the parents of nine children, all of whom, like the remarkable Bach family of old, were musi- cally gifted.
Founder of numerous New Haven musical groups, not the least of them the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Steinert was a man of rare talents and abilities, one whose death, which occurred in 1912, was a cause of widespread sor- row. His passing meant a heavy personal loss to
many friends in all parts of the world, especially in musical circles, but, more than that, a loss to music itself. He had given, as had few men in his time, to the advancement of this great art, and the furtherance of its appreciation by others ; had en- riched countless lives by the overflowing of his own music-laden spirit. And the memory that he left behind him was an influence of beauty.
The setting sun, and music at the close, As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last, Writ in remembrance more than things long past.
ALBERT M. STEINERT-To the fortunate few who are born with superior gifts and a genu- ine love and understanding of the beautiful, there comes a unique opportunity for service. Too often they neglect this opportunity, they fail to render a faithful accounting of the talents which have been entrusted to them. But in the exceptional instance, when great natural gifts are accompanied by a rare and truly noble spirit, how rich is the influence which is thus added to the life of a community or nation. It is in such terms that those who knew Albert M. Steinert are accustomed to think of him. He was immensely gifted, a lover of all fine things in art. His particular and dearest interest, however, was music and all things pertaining to it, and he made it the work of his life to try to bring to others some knowledge and appreciation of an art which meant so much to him. Here was a man who could draw from music the spiritual and emotional values with which it surely speaks to those who are trained to hear. And yet he was not one who retired to a solitary, selfish pleasure. In living things, he wanted others to live them too. He wished to pass on to others the fire that re- kindled his own being, that their lives might also be richer, fuller and more glorious. Such was the labor of his life.
Albert M. Steinert was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on February 5, 1868, a son of Morris and Caroline (Dreyfus) Steinert. His father, a record of whose life appears in the preceding biog- raphy, was the founder of the music house of M. Steinert and Sons, which came to occupy a leading place in this field and to have stores in many cities. Albert M. Steinert received his early education in the public schools of his native New Haven, and early in life became an accomplished violinist. With the example of his father before him, it was natural that he should be drawn toward a career in music, but his own gifts were so great,
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and so obvious even at an early age, that it would have been little short of tragedy if his life had been lost to music. Fortunately this was not the case. His technical mastery of the violin made it easy for him to take the concert stage, and on a few occasions he toured with Arthur Friedheim, one of the greatest pianists of his time and a favorite pupil of Liszt. Mr. Steinert also accom- panied his father and that eminent critic and musicologist, the late Henry Edward Krehbiel, performing with them on their educational tours. Thus to his technical mastery of musical instru- ments, he added a thorough knowledge of musical history and evolution, and early acquired the soundness of musical judgment which can only arise from a familiarity with all the standards and canons of the art along with instinctive good taste. Mr. Steinert also demonstrated the versatility of his talents in other ways. About 1892 he came to Providence, Rhode Island, to take charge of the local branch of M. Steinert and Sons. Here his activities were to center until the time of his death, and here he achieved success in the material tasks of life with which many another man would have rested content.
But Mr. Steinert was one of those, as another has written, who feel and live things that are not bought and sold by the dozen and gross, but make for interests, satisfaction, culture, and refinement. He considered that he had a duty to perform in the city of his residence, and he set himself the task of raising the standards of musical taste and appreciation in Providence. No man was better fitted for this task. Mr. Steinert recognized at once the inestimable value of fine concerts in the musi- cal development of the city. He personally as- sumed the responsibility of bringing to Providence most of the outstanding musical attractions of the past thirty years, and without his influence it is likely that they would never have come here at all. He brought the leading artists and orchestras, often at a considerable financial loss to himself, finding his sufficient reward in the gradual im- provement of the city's musical taste. In all this period he did not sponsor a single musical offering that was cheap or commonplace.
A list of those whom Mr. Steinert brought to Providence is large and includes the most noted names in the whole realm of music-Ysaye, Mar- teau, Sarasate, Heifetz, Chaliapin, Kreisler, Rach- maninoff, Hoffman, Yolanda Mero, Thibaud, Pad- erewski, Bauer, Gabrilowitsch, Roland Hayes, Schumann-Heink, John McCormick, Albert Spald-
ing, Toscanini, with the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and others. Frequent visits to Europe and to American musical centers, kept him well abreast of progress in the art, and in close touch with those who sought to keep alive and perpetuate the traditions of Beethoven, Brahms, and the Wagnerian music-drama. It is not to be wondered at that, with his immense knowledge of and enthusiasm for music, his sure- ness of taste and great personal charm, he num- bered among his friends most of the foremost musicians of the last quarter of a century. As Dr. Faunce, president of Brown University, well wrote of him in a letter to Mrs. Steinert after her hus- band's death :
All of us know how much his career has meant to the higher life of Providence. His love of the beautiful in art and in music and in literature has stimulated hundreds of our people to understand the things that are worth while. He has left be- hind him a monument more enduring than marble and has taught us all that the lifting of the spirit means more than material gain.
In spite of the fascination which he found in music, Mr. Steinert did not retire to the seclusion of a cloistered art. He was alive to all that went on about him, and took an enlightened interest in the community life and progress. He was a promi- nent figure in Providence civic affairs, and exer- cised an important influence in the ranks and councils of the Democratic party, both of the State and Nation. At one time he was the candi- date of his party for the office of State treasurer in Rhode Island, and he was also a Presidential Elector in the Wilson campaign.
Mr. Steinert found time to collect a remarkable number of fine paintings and beautiful objects of art. At great expense of time and money he also acquired one of the finest collections of ancient instruments in existence. Here we have another instance of the impeccable taste which was his, and the fact that in his leisure moments he chose to devote himself to such pursuits well illustrates how surely the culture of the ages had become a part of his very life. Mr. Steinert's father had pre- sented a large collection of such instruments, com- prising clavichords, spinets, and harpsichords, to Yale University. Conspicuous among the old in- struments in Mr. Steinert's own collection are two very fine double-banked harpsichords made by Hans Ruckers of Antwerp about 1613, two old spinets of about the same period, and a beautiful harpsichord which belonged to the Medici family
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and bears the coat-of-arms of the Medieis. Two clavichords of primitive construction, dating from about 1630, may also be mentioned. This superb collection is, in itself, a splendid memorial to Mr. Steinert's zeal, learning, and discriminating taste.
On January 7, 1901, Albert M. Steinert married Marie Alice Phillips, of New York City, who sur- vives him. They became the parents of two chil- dren : Kathryn Lillian, a graduate of Lincoln School and an honor student in her junior year at Wellesley College at the time of her death. She was nineteen years old. Alice Marie, a second daughter, passed away at the age of nine.
Mr. Steinert died on December 15, 1927. Word of his passing brought to the people of Providence a sense of indescribable loss. "It is not until we have lost a prized possession," wrote a friend of Mr. Steinert's in an appreciation of his life, "that we realize how truly great and valuable it was, and this not completely until we seek to replace it. Occasionally from in our lives some one passes on, and it dawns upon us how important to us and to society his life has been, how much he has done, how many persons have been benefited by his ef- forts, and how much better a large number of people have been from his having lived. . . . At such times the sum total of his energies comes to us. His qualities appear before us in more im- pressive aspects and in larger number than ever before, because we have not before addressed our- selves to the task of summarizing his qualities and estimating the worth of his work."
Yet, while he lived, the honor which Mr. Stein- ert truly won, was abundantly rendered to him. If more words of praise are spoken for him now, it is only because those whom he has left behind him seek to recapture anew something of his spirit in speaking of his loss. "Lofty designs must close in like effects," wrote Browning. But the work which such men accomplish never ends. It be- comes a part of the spiritual heritage of the Na- tion and will remain as long as our country endures.
LUKE H. CALLAN-More than a quarter of a century after he had founded the contracting and construction business, which still bears his name, General Callan finds himself recognized as one of the largest and most successful contrac- tors in New England. This is the natural result of a lifetime of hard work, exceptional ability and unwavering integrity. Important as his position is in the business world, it is fully equalled by
his prominence in several other phases of the community's and the State's life. For many years he has been a leading figure in public affairs in his native city, Bristol, which has honored him by election to important offices. Military affairs, too, have received much of his time and atten- tion. He is one of the prominent veterans of the Rhode Island National Guard and one of his native State's distinguished veterans of the World War. A popular member of several fraternal organizations, General Callan also belongs to a' number of social clubs, as well as to several patriotic and religious organizations, and takes an active part in religious work.
Luke H. Callan was born in Bristol, April 9, 1875, a son of John and Katherine (McGovern) Callan. His father, who was born in Ireland, was a rubber vulcanizer by trade and continued to be active in this type of work until his death. His mother, now deceased, was born in Bristol. General Callan received his education in the pub- lic grammar and high schools of his native city and then became connected with the Bristol Elec- tric Light Company, with which he remained four years, learning the electrician's trade. At the end of this period he was appointed superin- tendent of streets of the town of Bristol, a posi- tion he filled with much ability and efficiency for twelve years. In 1902 he established himself in the contracting business, in which he has con- tinued since then under the name of Callan Construction Company, with headquarters in Bristol. This company engages in all forms of highway and heavy concrete construction work and ranks as one of the largest of its type in New England, General Callan being its sole proprietor and directing head. As a youth he enlisted in the Rhode Island State Militia in 1892, when he became a private in the 2d Rhode Island Infantry. In 1898 he served as drill master and military instructor for the Rhode Island troop at Quonsett Point. After thirteen years of very meritorious service he retired, in 1905, at the age of twenty-nine, from the Na- tional Guard with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Twelve years later, when the United States en- tered the World War on the side of the allies, in 1917, he was commissioned a lieutenant-colonel in the United States Army. In 1918 he was pro- moted colonel and in 1919 received the rank of brigadier-general, this being the highest rank- ing office in the State of Rhode Island. During the World War he saw overseas service. He commanded the 107th Regiment, 32d Division,
LA Callam
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and took part in many of the major engagements fought by the American troops. For forty-seven consecutive days he saw active duty under fire in the Meuse-Argonne, where he distinguished himself so much that he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and was also cited for bravery in action by his superior officer in the United States Army. He served with the Army of Oc- cupation in Germany being in command of a number of towns in the occupied territory. He now holds the rank of brigadier-general in the United States Army Reserve Corps. His long military experience stood him in good stead in 1921, when Governor Beeckman and the citizens of the town of Bristol requested General Callan to take charge of the Bristol Police Department during a temporary series of disturbances. He remained in charge for about seven months and with characteristic courage and effectiveness suc- ceeded in quelling the disturbances and in re- establishing peace and order, after which he resigned. He served as president of the Bristol Town Council for four years, 1926-30. General Callan was one of the original instigators of the Mount Hope Bridge and for fifteen years worked untiringly, bringing it to completion; and he is now a member of the board of directors of the Mount Hope Bridge Company. He is a member of Providence Lodge, No. 14, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Bristol Council, Knights of Columbus, of which he is a past grand knight and district deputy; the Bristol Rotary Club; the Kearney Post, No. 6, American Legion, which he organized and of which he was the first com- mander, serving later as department commander of the Rhode Island American Legion; the Military Order of Foreign Wars; and the Army and Navy Club. His religious affiliation is with St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, of Bristol, in the work of which he is active as a liberal supporter and as a member of St. Mary's Total Abstinence Society. In politics he is independent. His favor- ite form of recreation is horseback riding.
General Callan married, in 1917, Fannie A. O'Neil, of Warren, Rhode Island. General and Mrs. Callan are the parents of two children: Rita B., and Luke H. Callan, Jr.
HERMANN FREDERICK CONRAD MORLOCK-Through two generations the Morlock family has been prominently identified with the furniture merchandising and cabinet-
making industries of Providence, where they have achieved a high reputation for the character of their output and the skill of the artisans of produc- tion. Handed down from father to son, the indus- try became the property of Hermann F. C. Mor- lock, who carried on with great success until 1920, when he retired from active participation, since when he has lived in well-earned ease at his beau- tiful home in South Kingstown, village of Wake- field. He has never aspired to public office, but there is no movement promoted for the benefit of the people in which he has not taken a vital and influential interest. His popularity is a natural sequence of his long years of honorable associa- tion with the business and trading public of Prov- idence, who hold him in the highest regard and feel that there is no citizen of the district who more fully deserves approbation.
He was born in Providence, August 10, 1870, and is a son of the late William and Christina J. (Schlecht) Morlock. After a course in the public schools of Providence he began his business life as a clerk in his father's establishment, known as Morlock and Byer, dealing in furniture, upholstery and draperies, and specializing in the restoration of antique furniture and in cabinet-making. The trade was State-wide and very large and the estab- lishment was for years one of the best known in Southern New England. Hermann F. C. Morlock became a partner in the concern and later its prin- cipal operator. He is an associate director of the Young Men's Christian Association, and is affil- iated with the Masonic Order, being a life mem- ber of Mount Vernon Lodge, No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons; Providence Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters; St. John's Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar; having attained the thirty-sec- ond degree in the Providence Consistory; also a life member of Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of the Providence Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Morlock married Mary Moore Sheldon, on September 21, 1904, daughter of Charles M. Shel- don of Providence, Rhode Island.
SAMUEL R. ROBINSON-Directly descended from Richard Warren, a member of the company that came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the "Mayflower," and also from fourteen governors and deputy governors of Rhode Island, of the
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sixth generation from Deputy Governor William Robinson, no man in Rhode Island has a heritage of prouder lineage than Samuel R. Robinson, of Wakefield, in the town of South Kingstown. For many years he has been engaged in the grocery business, conducting the enterprise established by his grandfather, the Hon. Sylvester Robinson, in 1821. Respected by virtue of his honorable char- acter and his high principles of business conduct, as well as for his loyalty to the best traditions of sound citizenship, he has been called to high public office by his fellows and has served them with ability, wisdom and to their great advantage. He is among the most esteemed citizens and merchants of this State.
He was born in the village of Wakefield, South Kingstown, in 1859, a son of Benjamin F. and Caroline (Rodman) Robinson, and after quitting school began his career in his father's store, founded by his grandfather, as related. In 1884 he left Rhode Island and went to Colorado, where he worked on cattle ranches until 1910, when he returned and became associated again in the fam- ily store, then being conducted by his brother, Benjamin F. He has held most of the town offices, including the council and school board and from 1912 to 1920 served the district in the State Senate. He is a Republican in politics and has served as a delegate to frequent State conventions and as a member of the State Central Republican Commit- tee. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, his eligibility coming directly from his great-great-grandfather, Colonel Joseph Noyes, who served with distinction in the War of the Revolution and was commended for his personal bravery on the battlefield. He is fraternally affil- iated with the Masonic body, being a member of the Blue Lodge in Wakefield and the Royal Arch Masons there and with the Commandery, Knights Templar, of Westerly.
Samuel R. Robinson married Nellie C. Carnahan, of Sparta, Wisconsin. Their children are: I. Agnes C., married Paul A. Collins, of Newton, Connecticut. 2. Samuel Rodman, Jr., represent- ing the fourth generation of the family in the grocery store founded in 1821. He married Ruth A. Spaulding, of Barrington, Rhode Island.
WILLIAM HENRY POPE-It was in the years from 1840 to 1907 that William Henry Pope, a lifelong resident of New England, lived and per- formed a useful work in the great industrial
world. Business enterprises in which he was en- gaged covered a wide scope; and, though cotton manufacturing was one of his chief interests, it was by no means his only field of activity. For he was one of those public-spirited men who ever contribute to the well-being of others, and whose talents were such as to cause him to be drawn into many different types of commercial, civic and social enterprises. A man of exemplary char- acter and of distinguished attainments in a variety of undertakings, Mr. Pope was an individual of versatility, accomplishment and integrity ; one who was loved in life and is affectionately remembered though gone from the midst of his hosts of friends and acquaintances.
He was born in Enfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, on July 18, 1840, son of Icabod and Serena (Woods) Pope and a member of an old and honored family. The name Pope is an early English surname of the class whose origin is found in nicknames. It signifies literally "the pope," and was applied at the beginning of the surname era to one of austere, ascetic or ecclesi- astical bearing ; the word "pope" itself being derived from post-classical Latin, papa, meaning father. The name in its present form first appears in English registers in 1273. The arms of the fam- ily is described as "argent two chevrons gules on a chief of the second an escallop or." Such was the ancient family background of the Pope family.
William Henry Pope, manufacturer, business leader, town builder, was born in Enfield, Mas- sachusetts, as noted above, and received his edu- cation in a private school at Enfield, at private schools in Providence, and at the A. G. Scholfield Business College, from which he was graduated. It was natural that he should seek a business career, as his father, Icabod Pope, had been a prominent manufacturer in England, as well as for several years justice of the peace of his town ; the mother, too, came from a family of note, her brother, Josiah Woods, having founded Woods Library at Amherst College and having donated it to that institution; she died in 1846. When the time came for William H. Pope to begin his active career, he was employed with different Providence firms, until at length, in 1863, he became asso- ciated with Albert Gallup, then head of Gallup Brothers, cotton manufacturers. He was engaged in this firm's offices, and so continued until Mr. Gallup removed to New York City. During his period in that connection, he familiarized himself with all the details of cotton manufacturing, as well as with the practical side of business manage-
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ment; and later entered, for a time, the cotton brokerage business. About 1878 he began the inde- pendent manufacture of cotton, after having served from 1871 onward as agent for the Robert Watson Mills, of Willimantic, Connecticut. He then pur- chased the mill and mill village owned by the Smithfield Manufacturing Company, at Allenville, in the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island.
That community took its name from the first mill erected there in 1813 by Governor Philip Allen. Mr. Pope renamed the village Enfield, and proceeded to develop it along progressive civic lines. Enfield, named after the birthplace of Mr. Pope in Massachusetts, later became one of the most prosperous and thriving communities in Rhode Island. The village was the pride of Mr. Pope, whose management of his mills was of such character that the operatives were never known to strike, and that he kept his plants running con- stantly, without those long periods of idleness so typical of New England textile factories. So it was that, from a state of comparative uselessness, the mills grew to be some of the best managed and most modernly equipped plants in New Eng- land.
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