USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 39
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He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, June 30, 1845, and died in Peace Dale, July 10, 1923. He was a son of George Bacheler and Ann Power (Smith) Peck. Educated in the public institutions of Providence, he afterward attended Brown Uni- versity and was graduated in 1866 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, receiving his Master's degree in 1869. On October 10, 1866, he was appointed a third assistant engineer in the United States Navy, having been sent to the Naval Academy at Annapolis for instruction. Receiving his com- mission on June 2, 1868, he was assigned to duty on the U. S. S. "Mohongo," then at Honolulu, Hawaii. He resigned his commission in June, 1869, and returned to Providence, where he entered the employ of Peck and Salisbury, coal dealers. From 1881 to 1894 he owned and conducted a grain and dyewood enterprise. He later became an account- ant for the Solvay-Process Company at Peace Dale, where he continued until 1908, when he retired. From 1873 to 1880 he was principal of
the Polytechnic Evening School in Providence and he also had charge of the famous Hannah Robin- son Farm, where he lived from 1908 to 1913. He then returned to Peace Dale, where he lived in well-earned retirement for the balance of his life. For many years he was a member of the visiting committee on mathematics at Brown University.
John Brownell Peck married Mary Elizabeth Wheeler and they were the parents of four chil- dren, only one of whom is alive, Helen Elizabeth, who was born in Providence. She was educated in the schools of Providence and South Kingstown, and at Wellesley College, from which institution she was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1904, having majored in English. In 1924 Brown University conferred upon her the degree of Master of Arts, while she filled the chair of professor of English at the Rhode Island State College. Miss Peck was then appointed dean of women at that institution. After her graduation from Wellesley she became principal of the Gil- manton, New Hampshire, Academy, serving in that post in 1905-07; and from 1907 to 1915 she was instructor in English at the South Kingstown High School, in Wakefield, part of that time being vice- principal. In 1915 she came to the Rhode Island State College as librarian and instructor in Eng- lish, and in 1919 was made assistant professor, rising to a full professorship in 1924 and dean in 1926. She is an able musician, being church organ- ist and taking an active part in musical affairs connected with the college. She is also interested in dramatic art and for some years was coach of dramatics at the college. She took a special course at Oxford University and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Fraternity and Sigma Kappa Sorority. Her other organization memberships include the American Association of University Women, which she serves as president of the local chapter ; mem- ber of the American Association of Deans of Women; member of the National Association of Teachers of English and of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction.
JOSEPH T. PERRY-A member of one of the old and prominent Rhode Island families, Mr Perry is a native and lifelong resident of New- port and is one of this city's oldest and best-known coal merchants. In this business he has been en- gaged for many years as a member of the firm bearing the family name and dating back over a period of more than half a century.
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Joseph T. Perry was born in Newport, Janu- ary 21, 1857, a son of the late George W. and Josephine S. (Stevens) Perry, both natives of Newport. He is a direct descendant of Oliver Hazard Perry, famous for his defeat of a British force on Lake Erie, in 1813, during the War of 1812, and for his historic dispatch announcing this victory and reading : "We have met the enemy and they are ours-two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." This famous ancestor of Mr. Perry is buried in Newport, where a bronze statue was erected in his honor in 1885. Mr. Perry's father was for many years and until his death engaged in the hay and grain business in New- port. Mr. Joseph T. Perry was educated in the public grammar and high schools of his native city and, having graduated from Rogers High School, became connected with the Newport Post Office, with which he remained for five years. At the end of this period he entered the coal business as a partner of Perry Brothers Coal Company of Newport, the firm consisting of himself and his brother. This partnership continued until 1908, when Mr. Perry's brother retired from active busi- ness and Mr. Joseph Perry continued the busi- ness alone until 1924, when Samuel N. Booth, Jr., became Mr. Perry's partner, under which ar- rangement the business is still conducted. The business was established under the name of Perry Brothers in 1879. Its offices and yards are located at No. 197 Thames Street, Newport. Mr. Perry served at one time for five years as a member of the Newport Artillery Company. For two years he was also on the staff of Governor Ladd with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. His religious af- filiation is with the United Congregational Church. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party.
Mr. Perry married, in 1878, Susan Ryder, like himself a native of Newport. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have no children.
WILLIAM MERRICK CHAPIN-Mission- ary, educator, philanthropist, William Merrick Chapin was one of the most beloved clergymen of New England, where he had labored in the vineyard of God for more than forty years, his home having been in Barrington from the year 1879 until 1921. Sincere and devout, he was in the truest sense a lover of his fellowmen, delight- ing to serve them and giving prodigally of his time and strength to improve the conditions amid
which he and his community lived and worked. He was hearty in his manner, genial and cordial to all, comforting to the afflicted, sympathetic with the sorrowing, generous to the needy. He always had a consoling word and a bright smile for those who sought his counsel or material aid and was happiest when doing some deed of kindliness. In every sense a manly man, he understood how to appeal to the better natures of men and how to teach them a religion of love that would make them more contented with life and happier in its living while they were at the same time bringing hap- piness to others through their works. A thorough believer in the axiom that "God helps him who helps himself," he sought to train the youth of his district in occupational trades and during the years that he conducted St. Andrew's School hun- dreds of young men were started upon careers that afterward illustrated, by their success, the efficiency of his instruction. He was a valuable citizen of Rhode Island and his loss was a great blow to his associates in the work he began and so successfully carried forward through the years.
He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, August 30, 1852, and was educated in private schools, at Shepard School, Saybrook, Connecticut, at Trinity College in Hartford, and at Berkeley Divinity School at Middletown, Connecticut, where he re- ceived instruction under Bishop Williams, who ordained him to the diaconate in 1877. Functioning in his office, he spent two years in the mission field of western Texas under Bishop R. W. B. Elliott, for whom he ever retained the deepest affection. On St. James' Day, July 25, 1879, he was ordained a priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church in St. John's Church, Barrington, Rhode Island, by Bishop Clark, and entered at once upon his duties, which were to last for forty-one years. His first charge was the rectorate of St. John's, where he was loved and admired and where he faithfully ministered not only to the members of his parish but to all the people of the town. When he took charge the Sunday school had a member- ship of thirty-five and the church a communicant list of fifty-three. He was small of stature but his capabilities were tremendous and within a year he had established a successful kindergarten which was operated in the chapel adjoining the church edifice, erected to the memory of J. C. Burrington, senior warden of St. John's in Mr. Chapin's first year there. St. Mark's, Riverside, was taken in hand by him and St. Matthew's Chapel, in West Barrington, was built for the double purpose of worship and to act as a meeting place for the
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social activities of the community, this being opened in 1891. He organized St. Andrew's In- dustrial School in Barrington, which began its work by raising vegetables on the land of Mr. Walcott for St. Helena's Rest. By December, 1895, however, the school having attracted favorable attention, funds became available for enlargement and the Josiah Bicknell homestead of about ten acres was purchased, Mr. Chapin going there to live and instruct; and there he died. He also started St. Luke's Mission at Swansea, Massa- chusetts. Mr. Chapin served for twenty years on the library board of trustees and for several years was superintendent of schools in Barrington. Under his wise and efficient management the in- dustrial school expanded and grew greatly in value. He died in Barrington, March 8, 1921.
William Merrick Chapin married twice. His first marriage was to Stella Walcott, daughter of Eras- tus Walcott, and they were the parents of three children : 1. Harriet Mildred. 2. Rebecca, who married Reginald S. Fisk; and they are the par- ents of : Stella P., Reginald C., and William Wal- cott. 3. Walcott, of Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Chapin married (second) Alice Briggs, daughter of Nathaniel Parker Briggs.
Mr. Chapin's great work for young manhood was the more laudable in that during its early stages he met with great discouragement in solicit- ing funds for its prosecution. There were occasions when he was rebuffed with a gruff refusal by those who could not appreciate the unselfish and wholly altruistic aims of the smiling clergyman who sought only to help the rising generation. But he was not a man to be discouraged and kept at his self-appointed task with zealous tireless- ness and finally realized his dream, as did the people of the whole countryside. His boys were his companions and his twinkling eye and keen sense of humor contributed greatly to form and cement these friendships and bring about a condi- tion where he was looked upon with reverence and devotion. The church, the educational system, and the people of Rhode Island lost a priceless friend and worker when William Merrick Chapin passed on the road to infinity.
ELIJAH ALLEN was a bank official in Prov- idence for five years more than half a century. He was personally known to thousands of cus- tomers of the High Street and of the Citizens'
Savings banks, as well as to almost every busi- ness man of the city. He was, in point of con- tinuous service, the acknowledged dean of finan- cial executives in Rhode Island. This record, probably unique in the history of the State, was achieved by virtue of his conscientious attention to his duties and a full regard for the welfare of the public which set its faith upon the solid- ity of the institutions with which he was asso- ciated. Had he not been a man of spotless char- acter and great attainments in his profession, had he been less than unselfishly devoted to the interests of his official associates and to those of the community, he would have found it impos- sible to spend more than half a century in execu- tive positions and to retain the full confidence and respect of every one who had the benefit of his work or the loyalty of his friendship. De- scended from a long line of colonial ancestors, who helped develop the country and to build the institutions that were the forerunners of those with which he later became associated, he main- tained to the full the lofty traditions that were handed down to him and never forgot his obliga- tions to that ancestry. He was a sound church- man, benevolent in spirit and in act, a vital citi- zen and an unswerving friend to the deserving, a worker who was of great value to the people of Rhode Island and whose passing was a distinct loss to the State and its institutions.
He was born in East Mansfield, Massachusetts, in 1841, a son of William Merritt and Fanny (Tolman) Allen, and was educated in the pub- lic schools and at the Poughkeepsie Business Col- lege. In the interval between his public school work and the training he received in business instruction he taught school and upon his gradua- tion in Poughkeepsie came to Providence, Feb- ruary I, 1872. With an eye and ear alert for opportunity, he became associated with the High Street Bank, and on November 24, 1873, was made cashier of that institution and treasurer of the Citizens' Savings Bank, with which it was allied. When these two organizations discontinued their association, Mr. Allen elected to remain with the Citizens' as its treasurer and from that day until his death functioned in that office. He was an active member of the Providence Board of Trade and for many years a trustee of the Mathewson Street Methodist Church. He was also a member of the Providence Central and the Art clubs, of the Economic Club, and one of the governors of the Rhode Island School of Design. He died in Providence, Rhode Island,
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February 8, 1927, in the eighty-seventh year of his age.
Elijah Allen married Emma A. Cole, daugh- ter of Nathaniel Cole, a descendant of the colo- nial settlers of Old Warwick, Rhode Island. Their children were: I. William Elijah, married Phoebe Burrows, of Mystic, Connecticut, and they were the parents of one child: William Burrows, now a resident of Auburn, Rhode Is- land. 2. Grace E., married Everett Young, of the Young Paper Box Company, and they are the parents of one child: Ellen Norris Young.
In a State where financial affairs are handled by many men of long experience, the record attained by Mr. Allen was the more unusual. Executives throughout the State were open in their praise of his work, while to the commer- cial machine of which he was an important unit his tireless energies and his clear conception of its complexities commended him to all substan- tial business men. He was genial, sociable and friendly; a citizen of great value, whose name and achievements are permanently recorded on the rolls of Rhode Island's history.
PERRY J. SHERMAN-Conducting one of the finest retail industries in Newport County, located on East Main Road, Portsmouth, the name of Perry J. Sherman stands in Rhode Island for commercial and social rectitude of indisputable soundness. His race on American soil extends back for generations and has been noted for its achievements and high citizenship, many of its members having been prominently identified with the civic and commercial progress of New Eng- land, as well as with its professions. Mr. Sher- man has fortunately inherited many of the qual- ities of his forebears and has brought them to bear in his business and social life. His value to the community has been recognized by his call to pub- lic office, in which he has served capably and has fully justified his selection by the people, while his personality has won him many friends and brought to his business a prosperous trade.
He was born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Au- gust 13, 1891, a son of John Sherman, of Ports- mouth, a carpenter by trade until his death, and Elizabeth (Ward) Sherman, who was born in Newport. He was educated in the local public schools and at the Moses Brown School in Provi- dence. In 1912 he entered the United States Navy as an electrician and became chief electrician, serv-
ing until 1920, when he was honorably mustered out. During his service in the navy he was with the American Fleet at Vera Cruz, Mexico, and the Haytian campaign at Port-au-Prince, and is the owner of medals given by the government for this service. He then became engaged in the garage business, conducting it until 1925, when he sold out and opened a variety business of druggists' sundries and periodicals, which has been phenome- nally successful.
Republican in his political affiliations, he has served two years as a member of the town council, four years as a member of the town committee, and since 1928 has been tax collector. He is a director of the Portsmouth Insurance Corporation and is fraternally associated with Eureka Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Quidnick Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Deblois Council, Royal and Select Masters; Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons, and Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also is a member of Oakland Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Portsmouth Post, No. 18, American Legion, of which he is Past Com- mander, being also Past State Vice-Commander. He is a Quaker in religion, attending the meet- ing house gatherings of the Friends Congregation.
Perry J. Sherman married, in 1924, Sadie Louise Gray, of Portsmouth, and they are the parents of : Barbara Gray and Phyllis Albro.
EBENEZER TIFFANY-The name of Tif- fany is one of the oldest and best known in Bar- rington, Rhode Island, where several generations of the family have participated in business and public affairs. Ebenezer Tiffany has lived up to the family traditions in both respects and has long served as town treasurer.
Ebenezer Tiffany was born in Barrington, April 7, 1869, son of Ebenezer Tiffany and his wife, Harriet L. Goodwin, who was born in Norton, Massachusetts, and is now deceased, and a direct descendant of an early Ebenezer Tiffany who was born at Barrington, Rhode Island, served during the Revolutionary War, and spent two years in the Rhode Island General Assembly. The grandfather of our subject, Ebenezer Tiffany by name also, was town treasurer and later town clerk, and the family was listed among the founders of the town of Barrington. On the maternal side, the earliest American ancestors were John Howland and Rich- ard Warren, of the "Mayflower." The father of
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our subject, a native of Barrington, engaged in the ice business there from 1866 to 1899 and served as town treasurer from 1874 to 1899.
The son was educated in the Barrington schools and graduated from Warren High School. His business association with his father in the ice busi- ness continued until 1899, when the father died, and the son assumed entire control of the enter- prise, conducting it successfully until 1919. In 1899 also he took over the public office so long and honorably filled by his father and became town treasurer of Barrington, an office he has now held for nearly three decades. His political al- legiance is given to the Republican party, in which he is influential. Mr. Tiffany was a member of the Barrington Town Council from 1896 to 1899, was representative to the General Assembly in 1909, and State Senator in 1910 and 1911. He is a communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church, of which he is treasurer and senior warden, and he belongs to the Sons of the American Revolu- tions and to the Society of Colonial Wars.
Ebenezer Tiffany married, in 1905, Jeannette L. Mowry, born in Providence, daughter of Joseph E. Mowry, principal of the Federal Street Gram- mar School for many years.
OSCAR SWANSON-Pioneer in the business of department public markets, Oscar Swanson, of Providence, president of the Providence Public Market Company, with branches in other cities of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, has long been one of the leading citizens of the Commonwealth, his enterprises of much importance to the com- munity. Markets are ordinarily nothing but places where certain definite commodities may be pur- chased, but markets to Mr. Swanson convey an entirely different conception of what the public wants. To meet that demand he long since brought to bear an unusual ability for organization, the result being that many thousands of persons are served daily and without confusion by means of his system and the turnover in money reaches into many millions of dollars annually. Energetic and enthusiastic, industrious and capable, he is also interested in other enterprises, but the markets are his hobby and his just pride. His civic interest is sincere and his time and ability are always at the command of those who seek his aid in any public matter that is promulgated for the benefit of all the people. Fraternally and socially, he is one of the most popular of our citizens, while
in the commercial world he stands among the leaders.
He was born in the village of Elmtaryd, Sweden, May 6, 1862, a son of Swan and Christina (Jonas- son) Swanson. Oscar Swanson studied at home during his youth and for a time was a clerk in a country store. He came to the United States when he was eighteen years of age, arrived in Boston and then went to live with a married sister in Maine, where he remained for several months. In the spring of 1881 he joined a brother in Ash- land, Massachusetts, where he obtained employ- ment in a shoe factory and where he continued for eight months, when he was incapacitated by injuries received by being struck by a railroad train. During the period of his recuperation he lived with a married brother in Marlborough and later in Lowell, Massachusetts. He finally became associated in the employment of the Booth Cotton Mills in Lowell, where he remained for eighteen months, leaving that employment in 1883 to engage in the market business with Mr. S. P. Pike of Lowell. In 1885 he was sent to open and manage a branch in Manchester, New Hampshire. Under his guidance there was built up a flourishing and profitable business and in 1890 he was commis- sioned by Mr. Pike to open a large market in Boston. Success attended this venture and a second was established in the following year. In 1892 he withdrew from his association in the Pike estab- lishments and, with Messrs. Pettee, Amidon and Malmstead, formed a partnership to engage in the market business. Their first market was opened at No. 380 Westminster Street, Providence, Octo- ber 13, 1892, and this has continued to be the headquarters of the company; from time to time it has been enlarged and improved, so that it is now the finest and best appointed market in Rhode Island. Mr. Swanson and his associates also own and operate a number of high-class markets in Rhode Island. High standards of business deal- ing, products of the finest quality, strict sanitary precautions and effective displays and features that make for the popularity of these enterprises, are largely due to the efforts of Mr. Swanson and his associates.
Mr. Swanson is a director of the Rhode Island Insurance Company. He also belongs to the Provi- dence Chamber of Commerce, which he served as vice-president in 1917 and 1918. In politics he is a Republican. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, having at- tained the thirty-second degree. He belongs to Adelphi Lodge, No. 33, of which he has been
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master; Providence Chapter, No. 17, Royal Arch Masons; St. John's Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar; and Rhode Island Consistory, thirty- second degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Ma- sons. In this order he also belongs to the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His clubs include the Squantum Association, Turks Head, Noonday, and Rhode Island Country. He is the owner of a large farm of six hundred acres at Franklin, Massachusetts, known as "Ellerslie Farms," in which he takes great pride. There he conducts a modern dairy farm and maintains about sixty head of high bred cattle. The entire farm is one of the finest examples of its class in New England and here he spends his summers and spare time in continually improving where such is pos- sible his beautiful estate.
Oscar Swanson married, October 24, 1893, Frances Howard Henry, daughter of George Oel and Frances (Howard) Henry, natives, respec- tively, of New Hampshire and Massachusetts and descendants of pioneer New England families. George Oel Henry was for a quarter of a cen- tury a well-known inn keeper of Springfield, Ver- mont. Their children are: I. Alfred Howard, born January 22, 1902. 2. Hugh Henry, born March 3, 1907.
DAVID C. BLACK-After serving valiantly in the commercial army of Rhode Island for more than thirty years, during which he contributed much to the general prosperity through his activ- ities, David C. Black, of Warren, interested him- self in realty development and upon that feature left a deep and favorable impress. The labor of his latter years he pleases to call by the name of retirement, but to one of less energetic nature it would be classified as work. He, however, is a descendant of a line of sturdy forebears whose careers have been interwoven with the activities of three centuries of labor that have brought about the present condition of prosperity and made the wheels of commerce hum with productivity. These ancestors knew not the meaning of fatigue, their watchword was to advance and no step backward did any one of them ever make. He holds the high regard of the people of Warren, has filled a num- ber of offices with credit and bears a character that is unassailable. He is deeply interested in all im- portant civic affairs and also in fraternal organ- izations of merit and ancient record.
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