USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 30
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Mr. Foster was a business man of more than ordinary ability, was scrupulously honorable, of wide vision and great organizing and executive powers. He was tireless in his activities and was as well and favorably known in the financial field as he was in commercial and other lines. He was a valuable citizen of Rhode Island and contributed largely to the commercial prosperity of the Nation through his various enterprises.
GEORGE F. TROY-Among Rhode Island's barristers few are so well known and highly esteemed as George F. Troy whose standing in legal circles of the State is such that he was chosen as a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association's judiciary committee and has been a member of the
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committee on complaints for the State Supreme Court. Mr. Troy for a time was active in politics and won the nomination and election to a seat in the State Legislature. He is associated prominently with civic affairs of Providence and his aid can always be counted upon when a project looking toward the betterment of conditions in the city is under consideration. His colleagues have the most profound respect for Mr. Troy's ability and he en- joys the friendship of a wide circle of prominent men of the State in other professions and in business.
Born May 8, 1876, at Providence, Mr. Troy is the son of Timothy Troy, a native of Ireland who engaged in business 'n Providence from the time of of his advent in the United States until his death. He married Isabella Goodwin, also Irish by birth, and in the Providence public grammar and high schools their son was educated. Completing his high school work, he enrolled in Brown Univer- sity of Providence and there was accorded his Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1898. He attended Harvard Law School for two years and, in 1902, passed his examinations for admission to practice before the Rhode Island State bar. Mr. Troy has since practiced successfully in Providence and is at present located at No. 1007 Turks Head Building. From his school days Mr. Troy holds membership in the Phi Kappa Fraternity. In 1907 and 1908 he received the nomination as representa- tive from Providence in the State Legislature and was elected as a Democrat. Mr. Troy served ably through the sessions of 1907 and 1908, representing loyally the wishes of his constituency. The Holy Name Parish of the Roman Catholic Church claims Mr. Troy as a member. During the World War he served the government as a member of the legal advisory board and acted as a "four-minute" speaker in behalf of the various Liberty Loans. Mr. Troy is an enthusiast for sports and spends a great deal of his leisure time playing handball and indulging in various other forms of athletic activi- ties.
In 1908 Mr. Troy married Alice L. Wallace, a native of Fort Fairfield, Maine. To this union have been born three children: George F., Jr., Martha A., and Carolyn J.
KENNETH A. FLANDERS-Although he spent his school years here, Kenneth A. Flanders, manager of the Providence office of the Bradstreet
Company, has been engaged in business in Provi- dence for only a few months. Nevertheless, he has made for himself a notable place among the younger business men of the town, for he is possessed of a likable personality and a willingness to cooperate in all worthy enterprises, with the result that he is popular with all who come to know him. A member of both the Providence Rotary Club and the Providence Chamber of Com- merce, Mr. Flanders supports the activities of those organizations and is regarded by his fel- lows as a most valuable addition to the business personnel of the city.
Born in Chilmark, Massachusetts, July 8, 1893, Mr. Flanders is the son of Samuel Howard and Lillian Nancy (Hammett) Flanders, the latter born also at Chilmark. The father, who was born at Gay Head Lighthouse, Martha's Vineyard, Mas- sachusetts, has been associated for forty-three years with the Bradstreet Company and is now manager of the Hartford office. After spending several years in the West, the Flanders family re- moved to Providence and in the public schools of this place he received his elementary education. Following his graduation from the Technical High School he enrolled at Brown University where he was accorded a degree of Bachelor of Philosophy with the class of 1917. Mr. Flanders entered the business world in connection with the textile in- dustry at New Bedford, Massachusetts, and in this field he remained until 1926 when he became associated with the Bradstreet Company in Hart- ford. It was in July, 1928, that he received his appointment as manager of the Providence office and has since been in charge of the company's offices at Nos. 1017-20 New Industrial Trust Build- ing. His return to Providence after ten years' absence has made it possible for Mr. Flanders to renew numerous boyhood friendships. While still in the Technical High School, Mr. Flanders was well known in the State as an athlete. He became captain of the high school baseball team in 1912 and played all four years while in college on the Brown University 'varsity nine, receiving recogni- tion as one of the best amateur pitchers in the East. He was popular with his classmates, who elected him secretary of the 1917 graduating class. While he still retains a keen interest in amateur athletics, his favorite forms of recreation now are golf and fishing.
A member of Sigma Nu Fraternity at Brown, Mr. Flanders is affiliated with Abraham H. How- land Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of New
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Bedford, Massachusetts. He attends the Christian Science Church and is Republican in his political allegiance.
On September 20, 1919, Mr. Flanders married Mary Hughes Lavare, born at New Bedford. The three children born to this union are : Kenneth A., Jr., Barbara, and Nancy Elizabeth.
P. FRANCIS WALKER, M. D .- A member of an old and honored Massachusetts family and himself a native of that State and a product of its schools and colleges, the late Dr. P. Francis Walker, immediately following the completion of his medical education established himself in the practice of his profession in Providence. There he continued to be one of the leading members of the medical profession until his death, his active prac- tice covering a period of almost four decades. Though his profession always required and re- ceived the major share of his time and attention, Dr. Walker did not permit it to absorb him to the exclusion of other interests. For many years he was prominently active in civic affairs, paying spe- cial attention to the furthering of education and public health. In many other ways, too, he left his impress upon the community of which he was a member for so many years, which greatly benefited by his various activities and which will always re- member him with gratitude.
P. Francis Walker was born at Dighton, Massa- chusetts, July 30, 1858, a son of the late Nehemiah and Emily A. (Bliss) Walker. He received his early education in the public schools of Taunton, Massachusetts, and then took up the study of medi- cine at the Boston University Medical School, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1881. Immediately after- wards he established himself in the practice of his profession in Providence, where he continued to carry on the very successful and large practice until his death many years later. Interested in everything that tended to advance the welfare and prosperity of the community and of its people, he was particularly prominent in the affairs of the School Committee of Providence and, at the time of his death, he was one of its oldest members. He was a strong supporter of and instrumental in the centralization of high schools, and was one of the leading figures in the purchase of land for the Central High School of Providence and in the building of this institution, now covering a large city square in the center of Providence. He was
also greatly interested in the promotion of parks and in the beautifying of the city in other ways. He helped to advance these causes by personally developing real estate in various sections of the city. In spite of his deep interest in these matters of general importance to the community Dr. Walker never held public office, preferring not to do so. He was a member of the Homeopathic So- ciety, the West Side Club, the Central Club and the Pomham Club, all of Providence. He was also prominently active for many years in Masonic affairs and was a member of the following Masonic bodies : What Cheer Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Providence Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar; had attained the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and belonged also to Pal- estine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. By nature a very kindly man and always willing to help those in trouble or difficulty, he rendered valuable and effective service in con- nection with the work of the What Cheer Charity Committee of What Cheer Lodge.
Dr. Walker married, March 7, 1888, Maude Hubbard, of Providence. Dr. and Mrs. Walker were the parents of three children: I. Hope, who married Theron Smith Curtis, of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, and who is the mother of two sons : T. Smith Curtis, Jr., and Stephen Walker Curtis. 2. R. Clinton, who married Alice Green, of Day- tona Beach, Florida; is now a resident of that city and is the father of one daughter, Marcia Jane Walker. 3. Helen, who married Frederick B. White, of Providence.
At his home in Providence, Dr. P. Francis Walker died, February 27, 1920. His comparatively early death at the age of sixty-one years was a decided shock and an irreparable loss to his imme- diate family and to his many friends. His death was also greatly regretted by the community in general, because Dr. Walker had long been recog- nized as one of the most representative, most pub- lic-spirited and most useful citizens of Providence. Much of his work in behalf of the city of his adop- tion will prove of lasting value, and Dr. Walker's memory is assured of a permanent place in the annals of Rhode Island's capital.
HENRY A. EVERS-In the field of steel- letter stamp manufacturing, one of the largest makers in the whole United States is Henry A. Evers, widely known through the Rhode Island
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and New England vicinity for his work in this connection, having his headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island, where he has been engaged in busi- ness under the name of the Henry A. Evers Com- pany for many years.
He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on No- vember 19, 1878, son of William H. and Minnie (Lieberum) Evers. His father, a native of Ger- many, came to the United States early in life, here became engaged in the butcher business and re- mained in it until his death, and was a veteran of the Civil War. The mother, born in Germany, is also deceased. Henry A. Evers received his early education in the public and private schools of Con- necticut and Rhode Island, and became a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. After com- pleting his work there, he was for four years an employee of the Schwerdtle Stamp Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, his birthplace. Then, in 1897, he came to Providence, Rhode Island, where he became engaged for himself in the metal stamp business under the name of Jenkins and Evers. Since 1900 his organization has been known as the Henry A. Evers Company, and Mr. Evers has been its president and treasurer. The business is situated at No. 21 Eddy Street, Providence, and here does a complete line of engraving work of all descriptions, specializing in steel-letter stamps, as noted above, in which line it stands foremost in the United States. Most of the success of this company is directly the result of the labors and the constant study of Mr. Evers, who has devoted himself continuously to the task of building up this business and making it a leader of its type in Rhode Island and New England.
In addition to his work in this connection, how- ever, Mr. Evers participates extensively in the affairs of his city and community. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he belongs to Lodge No. 38, known as Doric Lodge, in which he is Past Master; the Harmony Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; the Doric Council of Royal and Select Masters; Calvary Com- mandery of Knights Templar; all Scottish Rite bodies; and Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Stamp Manufacturers' Association, of which he is president; the Chamber of Com- merce of Providence; the Shrine Club; the Re- publican Club of Rhode Island; and the Congre- gational Church. In his political views he has been aligned consistently with the Republican party, on whose ticket he was elected a member of the Cran- ston City Council. In that civic body he served as
a member for six years, during two of which he was the council's president. He also served for four years in the Rhode Island State Senate, repre- sentative of the Cranston community. He was ap- pointed pilot commissioner for the State of Rhode Island in 1925, and in this capacity was still serv- ing in 1929. A man of great versatility and indus- try, he is interested in other phases of the business life of his State, being a vice-president and director of the Aetna Loan and Finance Company and the Aetna Loan Company, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His favorite hobbies, when he has a chance to indulge in them, are fishing and big game hunting. Into all of his various activities-civic, social, business, recreational-he puts that same full measure of energy and enthusiasm that have brought him success in the steel engraving business and in every undertaking that he has attempted, with the result that he is highly esteemed in Provi- dence and wherever he is known among his asso- ciates and his fellowmen.
Henry A. Evers married, in 1904, Mabel L. Marriott, a native of West Farms, Massachusetts. Their children are: Louise C., and Henry M.
FRANK C. STENDER-A survey of much of the important new construction which has marked the rapid progress of Providence, Rhode Island, for several decades would give prominence to the name and work of Frank C. Stender, one of the most prominent marine contractors in the State and head of the firm of F. C. Stender & Company. He was also associated with D. M. Weston & Company, riggers, and was especially concerned with water front matters and the development of the port of Providence.
Frank C. Stender was born in Hamburg, Ger- many, January 29, 1872, and he came to Providence when he was a boy of fourteen. His remarkable business ability and his energy soon established him in the contracting business. One of his first achievements was the purchase of the old Cor- inthian Yacht Club on the west shore of the bay, which he loaded on scows and took to Oakland Beach, there to remake it into the Oakland Beach Yacht Club, notable for many years as a restaurant operated by Mr. Stender, who offered an excellent shore dinner to his patrons. He always had a summer home at Oakland Beach, and he super- vised the construction of the old trolley draw- bridge there, and was president of the Oakland
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Frank @ Stender
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Beach Amusement Association and a trustee of the resort fire district. He also supervised the erec- tion of another trolley drawbridge at Bellefonte. His firm built many of the oil terminals in the port of Providence when the large oil distributing companies located their plants there. Under his direction were erected the wharves and terminals of the Mexican Petroleum Corporation at Allen's Avenue and at Kettle Point, East Providence, of the Atlantic Refining Company at Kettle Point, and of the Gulf Refining and the Texas com- panies. His firm also built the wharves of the Seaconnet Coal Company, the Curran & Burton Coal Company, of John R. White & Sons, and of many other firms ordering smaller piers. Founda- tions for the new twenty-six-story Industrial Trust Building were sunk by the Stender Company, as were those for the Providence Federal Building, the Rhode Island College of Education, the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company Building, the city incinerator, the Narragansett Electric Company's Eddy Street Building, the Providence Gas Com- pany Building, and many others. At the time of Mr. Stender's death, his company was busy on the foundation work for the New England Power Company. He was also responsible, with his con- cern, for the foundation for Loew's State Theatre and for the large insurance building on Canal Street. A piece of engineering in which Mr. Stender took great pride was the construction of a retaining bulkhead on the waterfront of the Davol Rubber Company's plant on Point Street, for he succeeded where other contractors failed and he erected a satisfactory and lasting bulkhead. The last year of his life was spent in virtual re- tirement, because of his illness, but his interest in the affairs of his company remained alive and con- structive. He was a member of Providence Lodge, No. 14, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Frank C. Stender married, April 5, 1893, Eliza- beth Mulvey, daughter of James Mulvey, who be- longed to an old Rhode Island family. Mrs. Stender survives her husband, as do their chil- dren : 1. Florence, who married Kenneth R. Long- will, and has a son, Kenneth Robert, Jr. 2. Doro- thea, who married Carl Hintze, and has a child, Carl, Jr. 3. May L., who married William J. Hig- gins. 4. Frank T., who married Ruth Watson, and has two children : Lorraine and Carolyn. 5. Amos, who married Gertrude Jaeger, and has two chil- dren : Amos, Jr .; and Joan. 6. Harold, who mar- ried Erma Ekloff, now deceased. 7. Martha.
The death of Mr. Stender, October 20, 1929, at
the comparatively early age of nearly fifty-eight, prematurely ended a life of happiness and useful- ness which might reasonably have been expected to continue for many years. His success Mr. Sten- der built up with his own ability and amazing energy, and it continued through the integrity of his business practices. He had a splendid reputa- tion, and he enjoyed the liking and esteem of all informed people in Providence, who realized the worth of his constructive service to the city.
SIDNEY CLIFFORD-In the final analysis, a man's life and its truest worth are measured on the yardstick of service to mankind. Ideals must be adhered to, and worked for consistently. Self must be put second to the work undertaken. And the complete record, possible to write only when life has been completed, will remain with posterity as judge.
Sidney Clifford is well launched upon a career of service to those around him. Skilled trial counsel, attorney of prominence in the city of Providence, he is a valued and respected member of the profes- sion of law. His career, through its constructive works, covering diversified fields of endeavor aside from the law, is contributing substantially to the advancement of the greater community in which he lives.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1891, he is a son of Alfred and Ann (Wilkinson) Clifford, and of the second generation of his line in America. His parents, both natives of England, came to this country when young, married in Philadelphia, and made their residence in the Quaker City until 1897, when they came to New England and settled in Providence.
Sidney Clifford was six when he came here with his father and mother. He attended Classical High School, from which he was graduated with marks indicative of scholastic excellence; matriculated in Brown University, of Providence; took therefrom the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1915, and entered Harvard University School of Law. From the latter university he took the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1920, being admitted to the bar of Rhode Island in that year.
Meanwhile, while at Harvard, Mr. Clifford served his country in the World War. As first lieutenant, 49th Infantry, he had a year of active service in this country and another year in France. Later, upon his discharge, he became a captain, in
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the 385th Infantry, Reserve Corps, United States Army. He has continued his interest in military affairs down to the present time, and has recently qualified as a major of infantry.
In 1920, with commencement of his proper ca- reer, he practiced law in the offices of Pirce and Sherwood, in the Turks Head Building, Provi- dence. After three years of this association came a reorganization of the firm, the name and style of which became Sherwood, Heltzen and Clifford. This firm has continued actively engaged with a growing clientele down to the present, with offices in the Turks Head Building. It conducts a general practice. Mr. Clifford, particularly adapted by na- ture and training for strong work before a jury, acts as the firm's chief trial lawyer. He also in- variably represents the firm in the Supreme Court on appeals to that tribunal. His duties are numer- ous and responsible, as the firm has important corporation and probate practice, representing a number of liability and fire insurance companies and other corporations as trial counsel. Realty law, notably as applied to downtown Providence also engaged much of the firm's activity. The re- organization of corporations is another field of ac- tivity. Mr. Clifford is recognized as a leader by colleagues.
Variously occupied with general affairs, he rep- resented Providence in the Rhode Island Senate for two years, 1925-27. While in the Upper House he had a part in adopting many measures calcu- lated to be of benefit to the city and State as a whole. His public spirit there evidenced has been shown in many ways in municipal matters, notably in support of movements for the public good. Mr. Clifford is a thirty-second degree Mason, a mem- ber of Delta Phi Fraternity; the Rhode Island State Bar Association ; American Bar Association ; University, Wannamoisett, Turks Head and Har- vard clubs (the last of New York City), and Cen- tral Baptist Church.
Popular in all circles of his contact, Mr. Clifford is a genial, companionable man whose friends are many. He has been of considerable assistance to younger men in their quests of career. Some of this work has been through his office as a director of the Providence Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, as member of the executive committee of the Providence Council of Boy Scouts, and chairman of the executive committee, and vice-president of the Brown Club of Providence. He makes recrea- tions of golf and travel.
Mr. Clifford is rapidly becoming a foremost member of the Rhode Island bar. His standing
now is of the highest, and in all fields of his en- terprise his endeavors have been exemplary and of help to the greater community of which he is a member.
ROBERT HALE IVES GODDARD-A lead- ing figure in Rhode Island life for many years, Robert Hale Ives Goddard continues the tradition of prominence long associated with his family. He is president of the Lonsdale Company and a director of many important corporations in this State.
Mr. Goddard was born at Providence, Rhode Island, on February 12, 1880, a son of Colonel Robert Hale Ives Goddard and Rebekah Burnet (Groesbeck) Goddard.
The American progenitor of the family, whose name is not known, was an early settler in New England. His son, Ebenezer, was born in Rhode Island, although the family had originally settled near Plymouth, and it is known that another Ebenezer, in the third generation of descent, was born at Newport, Rhode Island, although living in later years at New London, Connecticut. From him the line is traced through Ebenezer in the fourth generation, John, in the fifth, Dr. Giles Goddard, postmaster for a time at New London, Connecticut, William, his son, a well-known printer and publisher, William Giles Goddard, professor at Brown University, and Colonel Robert Hale Ives Goddard, father of the subject of this record.
Colonel Goddard was one of the most distin- guished of all Rhode Island residents. He was born at Providence on September 21, 1837, and after the completion of his preliminary education was graduated from Brown University. In 1858 he began his business career with the firm of God- dard Brothers, but at the outbreak of the Civil War, he answered President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, and served in various capacities until the conclusion of hostilities. Enlisting at first as a private, he was later commissioned lieutenant, and served as volunteer aide-de-camp on the staff of Major-General Burnside, commanding the 9th Army Corps. Later he was commissioned captain and aide-de-camp, and still later was brevetted major of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services during the campaign in East Tennessee and at the siege of Knoxville. On April, 2, 1865, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel of volunteers for gallant and meritorious service at Fort Sted- man, and in the assault before Fort Sedgwick, Vir- ginia. Although he resigned from the service when
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