USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. III > Part 41
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During the period of American participation in the World War, Dr. Farrell enlisted in the Med- ical Reserve Corps, and was stationed at Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York Harbor, until the conclusion of hostilities, resuming his medical work thereafter. Dr. Farrell is affiliated fra- ternally with the Knights of Columbus, the For- esters of America, and the Loyal Order of Moose. He is a member of the West Warwick Country Club, and with his family he worships in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church.
On June 28, 1922, at West Warwick, Dr. George B. Farrell married Elizabeth Russell, daughter of Thomas and Alice Russell, of this city. Dr. and Mrs. Farrell are the parents of three children: 1. Mary Elizabeth, born August 9, 1923. 2. James Bernard, born September II, 1924. 3. Alice Gertrude, born June 24, 1927. Dr. Farrell maintains his offices at No. 1016 Main Street, West Warwick.
EDWARD FIELD WALKER, M. D .- For many years prominent in the medical profession in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was noted for his achievements both in his private practice and his public work, Dr. Edward F. Walker was one of the leading physicians and surgeons of his city and State. His life was a long one, having extended over man's allotted three-score years and ten, and his career was useful in the highest degree. Not only was he active in hospital affairs, but he was one of the foremost figures in building up this branch of the medical profession's activities in Rhode Island. An individual of loyal and untiring courage, he possessed a sound judgment and also many qualities of character that endeared him to a host of his fellowmen, and made his life and his achievements a source of inspiration to others. Unlike many men, he lived to see the hospital which he had helped to found prosper and grow, and was himself active in adding to its usefulness as the
Edward Field awalker, M. D.
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years went on. His death took from the city of Providence one of its outstanding citizens, a man whose contribution had been somewhat more than the ordinary, and whose memory will live on, an encouraging and inspiring influence in the years to come.
Dr. Walker was born in New York on February 4, 1846, son of William and Caroline (Steel) Walker. After having received his preliminary education he went, for his professional training, to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Colum- bia University, New York City, from which he was graduated in 1876, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began his active practice of medi- cine in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1879, and for thirty years following that time was connected with the Lying-in Hospital of this city. During the last three of those years he was superintendent of this institution. It is generally admitted by members of the medical profession that it was largely as a re- sult of Dr. Walker's endeavors that this hospital was able to survive some of the most trying days of its history ; for he ever manifested a courage and a persistence in his work in connection with this hospital that entitled him to the highest regard of his professional colleagues. Untiring in his labors, he not only accomplished a great deal him- self, but also served as a source of inspiration to others, and so helped to place the hospital on a solid foundation as far as its personnel was con- cerned. During his term of activity in the hospital he saw it and helped it to secure new land for additions to its buildings, and witnessed a remark- able growth in its usefulness. In his own practice Dr. Walker specialized in obstetrics, and at the opening of the new buildings of the Lying-in Hos- pital, the obstetrics room was dedicated to him in recognition of the work that he had done in con- nection with this department of the institution.
Along with his activities in his private practice and his hospital work, Dr. Walker was one of the leaders among his fellow professional men, having been active for many years in the promotion of the best interests of several medical societies. He was a member of the Rhode Island State Medical Soci- ety and of other similar institutions, and was at all times a keen participant in their activities. He also had social and fraternal affiliations in Provi- dence, having been a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, as well as of the Central Con- gregational Church. His Masonic connection was with the Manhattan Lodge of New York City; he was likewise a member of the University Club. Into all of these activities as into his own profes-
sional affairs, Dr. Walker consistently put forth his finest energies and his fullest measure of devotion, with the result that he was one of the highly esteenied and widely loved citizens of Rhode Island.
Dr. Edward F. Walker married, in 1879, Kath- erine Boies Bigelow of New York. By this mar- riage there were the following children: I. Caro- line L. 2. Edward F., born December 25, 1883, and . graduated from the Providence High School; he has been for many years connected with the Rhode Island Textile Association in the capacity of secre- tary and treasurer, and is today prominent in the affairs of the Free and Accepted Masons; his fam- ily attends the Central Congregational Church; he married Josephine Danielson, by whom he had five children : i. Edward F., died in 1917. ii. Avis W. iii. Katherine B. iv. Robert M. S. v. Nancy.
The death of Dr. Edward F. Walker, on Decem- ber 12, 1916, was a cause of widespread sorrow and regret in Providence and wherever he was known. For he had given extensively of his time and ener- gies and talents to the growth and improvement of his city, and had been a leader in the professional world in the day when medicine and surgery most needed the services of gifted men. Kindly and gen- erous in his personal characteristics, he found these traits of character very valuable in his work in the sick room, as well as in his everyday life; and those with whom he was associated and who were his friends found their relationships with him most pleasant as a result of these qualities which he possessed. The memory of such a man must continue to live in the minds and hearts of his fel- lowmen. Dr. Walker is remembered as one of the very useful citizens of his period and as one who, in the point of both his life and his achievements, deserved the high place that he held in the estima- tion of others.
ELWIN E. YOUNG-For many years a leader in the drug trade in Wickford, Rhode Island, Elwin E. Young holds a position of re- sponsibility and trust in community life here. There is scarcely any field of endeavor in which he is not keenly interested if it has to do with the advancement of the best interests of his town and State; and Mr. Young is widely known.
The family from which he is descended is an old and honored one in New England, the line having been traced back, here and in Europe, to 1066, the year of the Conquest. The great-grandfather of Elwin E. Young was Othniel Young, who made his home in that part of Rhode Island that bor-
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ders on the State of Massachusetts, in what is now the town of Burrillville. He served as a pri- vate in the War of the American Revolution, in which he was a member of a Providence company in 1776, and was drawing a pension from the gov- ernment on March 4, 1831, when he was seventy- six years of age. He made his home with his son, Alpheus, in Burrillville, with whom he was living in 1840, then eighty-three years old. He had sev- eral children, one of whom was Zebeda, born April 30, 1780, who made his home in Burrillville, where he was a farmer and land owner. Later he lived in Mendon, Massachusetts, near Blackstone, the birthplace of his grandson, Elwin E. Young. At Mendon, Zebeda Young was a basket maker until his death on December 15, 1872, and was buried in Mendon. Among the children of Zebeda and his wife, Phila (Alby) Young, who died May 15, 1867, in Mendon, and is there buried, there was one child named Mowry, born November 12, 1829, who lived in Blackstone, Massachusetts, and who was the father of Elwin E. Young.
Elwin E. Young was born in Blackstone, Mas- sachusetts, on November 9, 1856, son of Mowry and Sophronia Caroline (Chamberlain) Young. He received his early education in the schools of Blackstone, Massachusetts, and served his appren- ticeship for three years in drug stores in Black- stone. He spent seven years as drug clerk in Providence, Rhode Island, with Dr. Douglass, Fred Lothrop, and Dr. Duffy, and in Wickford with Stephen H. Farnum. In June, 1889, he opened his own store, which he has continued for forty years, in the course of which he has served his customers faithfully and well and has sold the best in drugs, medicines, and chemicals.
Along with his work in the professional world, Mr. Young has spent much of his time, until very recently, in musical work, of which he is fond. He was especially interested in vocal and orches- tral activities, to which he gave a great deal of his attention.
Elwin E. Young married Mary Urell, of Brooklyn, New York, who was residing at Wick- ford at the time. Although for years she has been in delicate health, she has been a real helpmate to her husband.
DANIEL S. HARROP, M. D .- Born in River Point, Rhode Island, on July 12, 1890, Dr. Daniel S. Harrop, health officer of the town of West Warwick, is the son of Thomas H. Harrop,
a dyer, and Bridget Harrop. He was educated in the parochial schools of St. James' parish, finish- ing that course in 1906 and then attending La Salle Academy for the following four years. This was supplemented by attendance at the Medical School of Georgetown University, from which he was graduated in 1915, and by still another course at the University of Bordeaux, France, to which country the war had taken him. During the hos- tilities in France, he served with the rank of lieu- tenant, as battalion surgeon of the 2d Battalion, 103d Infantry, 26th Division. He was in action at Sicheprey, Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel, Meuse- Argonne and elsewhere, and following the Armi- stice was promoted to captain and assigned to the IOIst Field Battalion of the Signal Corps, later being honorably mustered out. Returning to Rhode Island, he was appointed to the post of health officer of West Warwick. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the fourth degree, Knights of Columbus, and be- longs to the West Warwick Country Club. His church is St. James' Roman Catholic.
Daniel S. Harrop married, in Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia, in 1914, Edith Mary Kester, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Kester. Their children are: Joseph, Robert, Daniel S., Jr., and Edith.
HERMAN CHURCHILL-In the promotion of public education Rhode Island draws its instruc- tors from any field where the material is of out- standing quality. This has long been a feature of the work here and has been justified and rewarded by a superior organization and greatly improved results in comparison with communities operating on a different basis. The State College at King- ston has been fortunate in acquiring an educator of such ability as Herman Churchill, who has been since 1912 professor of English and History at that institution.
He was born in Scott, Cortland County, New York, October 9, 1869, a son of Sylvanus Amos and Caroline (Eadie) Churchill, his father having been a farmer and also a teacher. He was educated in the local schools and at Homer Academy, in Cortland County, and from there went to Syra- cuse University, which graduated him in 1894 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He supplemented this with a course at the University of Wisconsin and from that institution received the degree of Master of Arts in 1902. He spent fifteen years in teaching in the West, principally in Menomonie,
TOMY DEAR FRIEND THE REV. J. F SARAY ZOWAŁO W DUBUQVIĆ . 6 2 6 1
2
Rev. John F. Barry
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Wisconsin, in its high school and manual training school. For one year he taught at the high school in Madison, Wisconsin, and from 1903 to 1907 was engaged at Northwestern University. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Tau Kappa Alpha college fraternities, is historian of Phi Kappa Phi and was one of the organizers of a chapter of Tau Kappa Alpha at the Rhode Island State College. He is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, Colo- nial Wars, Sons of the American Revolution, and the American Historical Association.
Herman Churchill married, June 15, 1898, Cora Mae Boyce, daughter of Joseph C. Boyce, of New York. Their children are: I. Irving Lester, born in Madison, Wisconsin, April 9, 1901. He is a graduate of the Rhode Island State College, 1922, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and of Yale University, 1927, with the degree of Master of Arts. From 1923 to 1925, inclusive, he taught at the New Hampshire State College, and since 1927 has been an instructor at the University of Rochester, New York. 2. Florence Hermia, born April 16, 1905, died June 7, 1920. 3. Arthur Chester, born in New York, December 29, 19II, a student in Rhode Island State College (1930).
REV. JOHN F. BARRY ---- St. Joseph's Church of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is fortunate in hav- ing for its pastor Rev. John F. Barry, who has been in charge since 1919.
St. Joseph's parish is one of the many which have, from time to time, been set off from St. Mary's of Pawtucket. From 1844 to 1846 Paw- tucket was part of the mission of Father Fitton, who then had for his parish all of the State of Rhode Island except the city of Providence, but was helped out by the priests of the Cathedral. A small church had been put up in Pawtucket in 1829 and later St. Mary's of Pawtucket was erected as a separate parish. In November, 1846, Father Fitton settled in Newport, and in 1847 Rev. Joseph McNamee went to reside in Paw- tucket, where the Irish Catholic population was rapidly increasing. He remained until his death, March 28, 1853, when he was succeeded by Father Delaney. Father Delaney was an able man and a very active one. He enlarged St. Mary's Church, opened a school, and gave careful attention to his various missions. The congregation grew steadily and one parish after another was set off from St. Mary's: St. Patrick's of Valley Falls in 1869;
Church of the Sacred Heart, Pawtucket, in 1872; and in 1873, St. Joseph's of Pawtucket.
In 1873 Father Delaney bought land as the site for a church, and in July of that year the corner-stone was laid. In January, 1874, when Father Kinnerney was made first pastor of the new parish of St. Joseph's, there was a debt of $52,000 on the unfinished church and services were being held in the Town Hall, but by April of that year the basement was ready for occupancy. Though the people were poor and money was scarce, the sum of $27,000 was raised the first year, and the building of the church went forward. It was dedicated October 8, 1878, but the belfry and tower were not finished until 1891. Meantime, in 1887, land had been purchased for a school, and in 1894 a handsome well-equipped building was erected at a cost of $50,000. In 1885 Dodge- ville and Hebronville had been detached from the parish, and in 1888 Rumford also was separated from it and annexed to East Providence. But St. Joseph's continued to prosper and in a little over twenty years $250,000 had been contributed by the parishioners to parochial work. A parochial school was organized in 1892. In 1905 Rev. D. M. Lowney took charge of the parish. During his pastorate, extending from 1905 to 1918, he was instrumental in redecorating the church, and he also served as auxiliary Bishop to the Bishop of Providence, the Rt. Rev. Matthew Harkins. In 1919 he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. John F. Barry.
Rev. John F. Barry was born in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, and received his early and pre- paratory education in the schools of his birth- place. When his preparatory course was finished he entered St. Charles' College, at Baltimore, Maryland, from which he was graduated. He then entered the Grand Seminary at Montreal, Canada, for his philosophical and theological training, and was ordained there in December, 1897. His first assignment as pastor was to St. John's Church of Providence, Rhode Island, in 1915, where he served for three-and-a-half years, up to 1919, when he came to his present charge as pastor of St. Joseph's Church of Pawtucket.
St. Joseph's parish now numbers about 4,500 souls and has a parochial school with an enroll- ment of six hundred and ten pupils, who are taught by fourteen Sisters of Mercy. There are also five Sisters of the Holy Ghost, who attend the sick of the parish in their homes. The church, which seats one thousand people, has a most beau- tiful interior. The ceiling is supported by seven
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arches which rest upon fourteen pillars. Twelve stained glass windows, six on each side, admit mellowed light to the main body of the church, while in the rear of the choir loft, which seats one hundred and twenty-five singers and is equipped with a fine toned organ, is a beautiful rose window composed of eight small windows surrounding a circular center window. On either side of the central altar are two more stained glass windows, which add to the beauty of the building and increase its lighting. The central altar is of wood, exquisitely designed and richly ornamented, and there are two smaller altars, one on each side of the church. The highly polished oak communion rail extends across the entire width of the building and harmonizes with the oaken pews. The Twelve Stations of the Cross adorning the walls of the church are most beauti- fully executed. Furnishings and decorations have been chosen with discrimination and artistic taste, achieving an atmosphere of beauty and peace. The basement is equipped for religious services, altar, choir-loft, and organ, and provides seating for about eight hundred persons.
Since coming to St. Joseph's Father Barry has built an auditorium for educational and recrea- tional purposes. There is a vigorous basketball team and a Dramatic Club which each year pre- sents a number of plays in this auditorium. The entire plant occupies two blocks, one on each side of the street, the church and rectory on one side, and the beautifully designed brick convent, fitted with all coveniences for the fourteen Sisters who teach in the schools. Adjoining this convent is the White Sisters convent, and on the corner is located the large parochial school building.
The various church societies are active and pros- perous and include a Holy Name Society, a St. Vincent de Paul Society, Ladies of Charity, Chil- dren of Mary, and several others.
Father Barry has proven himself to be an able and faithful leader, a successful financier, and a Christian gentleman. He is respected and trusted by his people and is popular among them.
GIOVANNI SENERCHIA, M. D .- Born and educated in Italy, and a veteran of the Italian Armies during the World War, Giovanni Sener- chia came to America in 1921 and has since made this country his home. Dr. Senerchia has been a physician in both the old and new worlds, being carefully trained in one of the finest of Italian schools. He has quickly won a place for himself
in Rhode Island life, and at Natick, where he lives, has built up an excellent practice of wide extent.
Dr. Senerchia was born at. Fornelli, Italy, in 1883, a son of Davide and Sylvia Senerchia, both of Italian birth. He received his preliminary edu- cation in the grammar schools and the Gymnasium, later attending the Lyceum at Naples. He had early determined upon a medical career, and there- after undertook the course of study at the Uni- versity and Polyclinic in that city, being graduated from Naples University in 1915.
With the entry of Italy into the World War, he immediately enlisted in his country's cause, and for two years, until the conclusion of hostilities, served as a captain in the Medical Corps. Dr. Senerchia rendered distinguished service to the allied cause, in recognition of which he was thrice decorated, receiving, first, the Italian Cross of the Merit of War, second, the medal of the Allied Armies, and third, the Memorial Medal.
After the conclusion of his war service, Dr. Senerchia took up the practice of his profession in the Province of Roma, where for seven years he was health officer, and during this period was also town physician at Ripi. He met his profes- sional obligations with painstaking care and soon became widely known in this province. For some time, however, he had been considering emigration to America, and in March, 1921, he came to Rhode Island, taking up his practice in Natick. Dr. Senerchia was immediately successful in his work here, quickly winning the confidence of the com- munity and extending his practice to its present prosperous proportions. He is known as one of the most able physicians of this part of the State, standing high both in the ranks of his profession and in the popular esteem.
Dr. Senerchia is now president of the Kent County Medical Society, and a member of the American Medical Association. He is affiliated fraternally with the Order of the Sons of Italy, the Italian World War Veterans' Association, and the American Veterans of Foreign Wars. With his family he worships in the Roman Catholic faith, being a member in this denomination, of the Church of the Sacred Heart, at Natick.
In 1913, at Santa Maria Capua Vetere, in the Province of Caserta, Italy, Giovanni Senerchia married Ernesta Pennacchia, daughter of Giuseppe and Filomena Pennacchia. Dr. and Mrs. Sener- chia are the parents of four children: I. Davide, born in 1912. 2. Sylvia, born in 1913. 3. Carlo, born in 1915. 4. Aldo, born in 1917. The family residence at Natick is maintained at No. 525 Provi- dence Street.
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HOWARD E. AYLSWORTH-Prominent in the business life of Warren, Rhode Island, and known throughout this and neighboring New Eng- land communities, Howard E. Aylsworth holds a place of leadership among his fellowmen in the commercial world. The particular business in which he is most active is the automobile acces- sories trade, but he extends his activities into numerous other fields of endeavor.
Mr. Aylsworth was born in Natick, Rhode Is- land, on January 18, 1892, a son of Elmer R. and Lillie B. (Wilbur) Aylsworth. His father, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, is engaged in busi- ness as a shoe salesman; and the mother, now deceased, was born in Apponaug, Rhode Island. Howard E. Aylsworth received his early educa- tion in the public and high schools of Natick, Rhode Island, and after completing his formal schooling he went to work with the Maxwell Brisco Company, of Auburn, Rhode Island, where he remained until 1914. He then went with the Adams Express Company, of Providence, and with this company continued for about six months. At the end of that period he was with the American Locomotive Company, of Providence, for one and one-half years, and then left that organization to go with the Natick Mills, of Natick, Rhode Is- land, his birthplace, with which he did machine work until May, 1917. It was at that time that he entered the United States Army, serving his country during the World War until his discharge in April, 1919. He then became associated with the Belcher Loomis Hardware Company, of Provi- dence, Rhode Island, starting there as a shipping clerk and working his way upward to the position of assistant manager. In 1923 he came to War- ren, Rhode Island, where he became associated with the Messenger Motor Company, with which he continued until 1927, when he bought out the automobile accessories business of this organiza- tion. Since that time he has continued in busi- ness under the name of H. E. Aylsworth, with offices at No. 569 Main Street, where he carries a complete line of automobile parts and replace- ments, tires, tubes, gas and oil.
Along with his business activities, Mr. Ayls- worth has consistently taken a lively part in the affairs of the community in and about Warren, Rhode Island, and he is a member of the Sea- konk Gun Club, the Warren Lions' Club, and the Richard J. Dennis Post of the American Legion. His war service was most extensive. On May 14, 1917, he enlisted in the army with the rank of private, and was assigned to the 103d
regiment of Field Artillery, Battery B, 26th Di- vision; for eighteen months he served in France with the American Expeditionary Forces, taking part in a number of battles. He fought in the Aisne sector from February 6, to March 17, 1918; the Toul sector from April 4 to June 27, 1918; and in the Sicheprey defensive, April 20 and 21 1918; the Xivroy defensive, June 16 to August 4, 1918; the St. Mihiel offensive, September 12 to 15. 1918; the Verdun sector, September 16 to Octo- ber 13, 1918; the Meuse-Argonne offensive, Octo- ber 15 to November 1I, 1918. Then, on April 29, 1919, he was discharged with the rank of sergeant. In the Chateau-Thierry sector he was given di- visional citation for his excellent work. In the life of Warren, Rhode Island, Mr. Aylsworth takes a keen interest in public affairs, and though main- taining an independent course in politics he is a close student of the political situation. Fond of outdoor sports and recreations, he enjoys nothing more than indulging, in his spare time, in hunt- ing, fishing, boating and golf. Into all of these activities-political, social and recreational-Mr. Aylsworth ever puts the full measure of his energy and enthusiasm, with the result that he is esteemed and respected in many and varied walks of life for the part that he takes in the life of his fellowmen and his community and State.
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