USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. IV > Part 24
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Mr. Ballou was president and a member of the board of directors of the Woonsocket Rubber Company, and held this important position for more than ten years. As directing head of the firm, he guided its affairs with sure hand along the path of success, and its leading position today is a tribute to his organizing genius and executive talents. Mr. Ballou was also for thirty-five years a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Rub- ber Company and served for twenty-four and a half years on its executive committee, having con- tributed greatly to the rise of this giant corpora- tion. His services have been sought through the entire rubber industry. He was connected also with many other companies among which may be men- tioned the American Dunlop Tire Company, the General Rubber Company, the Goodyear India Rubber Goods Manufacturing Company, the Meyer Rubber Company, the Naugatuck Chemical Com- pany, the National India Rubber Company, the Pacific & Idaho Northern Railway Company, the Revere Rubber Company, the Rubber Regenerating Company, the Shoe Hardware Company, the United States Tire Company, of all of which he was a director ; the Joseph Banigan Rubber Company, of which he was president and a director. Mr. Ballou retired from active business late in 1928, but he is
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still a director of the Wardwell Braiding Machine Company and the Industrial Trust Company, of Providence.
In politics Mr. Ballou is a supporter of Repub- lican principles and candidates, while with his fam- ily he worships in the faith of the Congregational Church, attending the Central Church of this de- nomination at Providence. Like his father, who was a colonel of the old State Militia, Mr. Ballou saw fourteen years of military service as a member of the 23d Regiment, New York State National Guard at Brooklyn, New York. He is a member of the Military Order of Foreign Wars, and of many clubs, including the Lotus Club of New York and the Union League Club of that city, the Hope Club, Squantum Club, and Turks Head Club, all of Providence, Rhode Island.
On June 9, 1875, at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Walter Seymour Ballou married Ella Hall Corey, a daughter of John Allen Corey, a prominent merchant of the State, and of Lonie (Gay) Corey, his wife. There was one daughter of this marriage, Helen Corey Ballou, born on August 2, 1876, died on July 15, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Ballou maintain their residence in Providence at No. 271 Butler Avenue. Mr. Ballou's offices are situated at No. 514 Grosvenor Building.
RAPHAEL L. DAIGNAULT-Though one of the younger generation of Woonsocket's law- yers, Judge Daignault holds a position of eminence in that city's legal profession. He is well known as a successful lawyer, and has also served for three years as judge of the probate court.
Ralph L. Daignault was born at Woonsocket, June 21, 1893, a son of Raphael P. and Ellen (Mc- Donnell) Daignault. His father was a native of Canada, his mother of Rhode Island. The former was for many years successfully engaged in the real estate business, and was also interested in the Worsted Model Dyeing & Printing Company of Woonsocket. Judge Daignault received his early education in the public schools of Woonsocket. After graduation from high school, he became a student at Boston University, where he was gradu- ated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1914. He was admitted to the Rhode Island bar the same year, and then established himself in the practice of law at Woonsocket, in which he has since con- tinued successfully, with offices in recent years at No. 285 Main Street. During 1925-28 he served as judge of the Probate Court, being appointed to this
office by a joint committee of the city council. Prior to that he had been a member.of the com- mon council during 1921-22 and during this period he served as chairman of the commission that put the zoning law into effect. Judge Daignault has a large and important practice, being the counsel of the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, also a member of its board of managers. He is a director of the Woonsocket Realty Company, and is inter- ested in the Model Dyeing & Printing Company of Woonsocket. In December, 1917, he enlisted for service in the World War, and served until June, 1919, when he received his honorable discharge. For thirteen months he saw overseas service, serv- ing part of that time as an interpreter. He was recommended for a commission, but the signing of the Armistice prevented his appointment. Upon the organization of the American Legion he became a member and was elected the first commander of the Woonsocket Post. He is also a member of the Woonsocket Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, the City Club, the Winnesuket Country Club, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Knights of Columbus, St. Jean Baptiste Society, and Lodge No. 850, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party. His religious affiliation is with the Roman Catholic Church.
Judge Daignault married Mary E. McCarthy, a daughter of James M. McCarthy, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, and Mary E. (Prosser) McCarthy. Mrs. Daignault's father is one of the leading figures in the commercial and financial circles of Woonsocket, being the owner of the McCarthy Dry Goods Company and the founder and president of the Woonsocket Trust Company. He is also president of the Blackstone Valley Transportation Company, was appointed by Governor Pothier police commissioner of Woon- socket, is a member of several fraternal organiza- tions and very active in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in his support of many worthy charitable and civic undertakings. Mrs. Daignault is one of nine children, three of her four sisters being married, two of her brothers being associated in business with her father, another a prominent physician of Woonsocket and the fourth a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, now president of Providence College. Judge and Mrs. Daignault are the parents of five children : Mary E., Raphael L., Jr., Irene Louise, Jacqueline Therese, and Claire Lucielle. The family residence is located at No. 516 South Main Street, Woonsocket.
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JONATHAN CHACE-A member of one of the oldest New England families and descended from many of the early pioneer settlers of this country, the late Senator Jonathan Chace made a distinguished position for himself. His record of achievement and of service was one of great emi- nence. He was a versatile man as shown by his prominence and success in commerce, industry, finance, and public affairs. A member of the Soci- ety of Friends, he was throughout his life a man of strong convictions and great moral courage, valiantly standing for his convictions and yet al- ways willing to respect those of others and to co- operate to the fullest extent of his exceptional tal- ents, so that good will and understanding between races and between nations might be brought about.
Jonathan Chace was born in Fall River, Mas- sachusetts, July 22, 1829, a son of Harvey and Hannah (Wood) Chace. His father was a cotton manufacturer and was one of the members of the original board of directors of the Providence & Worcester Railroad. He was always interested in the advancement of transportation, being a man of vision, and he constantly planned new roads and railroads. He laid out Ferry Street in Fall River on what was then his father's farm and gave to it its present name thirty years before the railroad from Providence and the ferry began to operate. Senator Chace was a direct descendant in the eighth generation from William and Mary Chace, who came to Boston in 1630 with Governor Win- throp. From them he traced his descent through William Chace, their son; through Joseph and Sarah (Sherman) Chace; through Job and Pa- tience (Bourne) Chace ; through Jonathan and Mary (Earle) Chace; and through Oliver and Susanna (Buffinton) Chace, who were his grandparents. Among his other pioneer ancestors were Philip Sherman, John Tripp, Anthony Paine, Jared Bourne, Ralph Earle, John Walker, Thomas Buf- fington, Henry Tucker, Adam Mott, Anthony Slo- cum, Joseph Hull, Robert Harper, Deborah Perry, and William Dyer and his wife, Mary Dyer, the Quaker martyr, who was hanged for her religious convictions on Boston Common, June 1, 1660.
Mr. Chace received his early education at the Friends School, now Moses Brown School, in Providence, and later attended Leicester Academy, at Leicester, Massachusetts. The earlier part of his career was spent as a commission merchant in Philadelphia, where he resided during 1850-57. In that year he came to Rhode Island and there en- gaged in the cotton manufacturing business, in
which he continued with outstanding success until 1900. He was also prominently active in finance, being for twenty-eight years president of the Phenix National Bank of Providence and also a member of its board of directors for nearly sixty years. Many other corporations, including the Boston Manufacturers' Insurance Company, bene- fited by his exceptional business and executive abil- ity through his active participation in their affairs as one of their directors. Public life, too, chal- lenged and for many years held his interest, and in this sphere he likewise made his mark. He was elected to the Rhode Island Senate and eventually to the United States House of Representatives and to the United States Senate, in which two latter bodies he served during 1881-89. As a legislator he proved himself exceptionally able, conscientious and courageous.
He qualified as a member of the House of Rep- resentatives in Washington in 1881 by standing up alone and taking the affirmation according to the Quaker custom instead of taking the oath. He was a valiant advocate of the peculiar convictions of Quakerism at a time when these were less known and esteemed than at present. During his first few months in Congress he refrained from voting upon all military questions, but soon felt better satisfied to make a positive protest and afterward voted uni- formly against all appropriations or other measures in support of the war system and declined to com- ply with the custom of appointing candidates for West Point and Annapolis. His forebears had been promoters of Christian brotherhood between races and while in Washington this sentiment found ex- pression in his constant watching to prevent legis- lation unjust to the Indians. Up to this time (1881) most of the treaties which the United States Gov- ernment had made with the Indians had been broken. Frequent efforts were made during the 'eighties to open up Indian land for settlement in violation of treaties. These bills could only be called up for consideration by unanimous consent during "the morning hour." Mr. Chace, therefore, made it a point to be present every morning at the moment of the opening of the House in order to say "I object," when attempt was made to slip in these thieving projects. In 1881 he had the pleasure of taking part in the dedication of Fort Ninnigret, Rhode Island, when Indian lands were divided in severalty and the Indians were admitted to citizen- ship in the State. The objection to war had long had its positive counterpart in his dream of co- operation between all nations of the earth, but at
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that time such thoughts were deemed utopian and absurd. The only direction in which he saw a prac- tical opportunity to promote international justice and good-will was to stop the "pirating" of foreign books, which was carried on to an extent unbeliev- able in this day. And so after his entry into the United States Senate, in 1885, where such legisla- tion may originate, he took up the subject of inter- national copyright. The first effort to pass an inter- national copyright law had been made by Henry Clay about fifty years before. This was followed by several other attempts, but all were unsuccess- ful because of the conflict of interests between authors, publishers, and printers, and because of our varying tariff practices. An outstanding quality of Senator Chace was his resourcefulness in finding means for harmonizing conflicting interests, and after several years of unremitting labor to gain the support of all interested groups he produced the bill, which afterward became our international copyright law. The law, however, does not bear his name, because it was not passed until a few months after his resignation from the Senate.
At Fallsington, Pennsylvania, on October 12, 1854, Senator Chace married Jane Carr Moon, a daughter of James and Jane (Haines) Moon. Sen- ator and Mrs. Chace had three children: I. Anna Harvey Chace, born November II, 1856. 2. Susan Asenath Chace, who died in childhood. 3. Eliza- beth Moon Chace, born November 1, 1868.
GEORGE R. HANAFORD-Following ten years in the brokerage business in Providence and some seventeen years in the banking business in East Greenwich, Mr. Hanaford eventually entered the insurance, real estate and mortgage business and today he is part owner of one of the largest establishments of this type in East Greenwich. He is widely known as a very able and successful business man, enjoys a high reputation for fair dealing, has taken a very active part in civic af- fairs, is a member of several fraternal and other organizations, and, indeed, in every respect repre- sents the highest type of useful and public-spirited citizenship.
George R. Hanaford was born at Manchester, New Hampshire, August 20, 1874, a son of Wil- liam A. and Addie J. (Herrick) Hanaford. His father, who was born at New Hampton, New Hampshire, has been for many years engaged in the grocery business. Mr. Hanaford's mother, a native of Vermont, is now deceased. Having
come to East Greenwich, Kent County, in his early childhood, Mr. Hanaford received his edu- cation in the public grammar and high schools and, after having attended the East Greenwich Academy, took a course at the Bryant & Strat- ton's Commercial College, Providence. Having completed his education, he became connected with a brokerage office in Providence and con- tinued in this type of work for ten years. In 1907 he accepted a position with the East Greenwich branch of the Union Trust Company and in the following year, 1908, was made assistant man- ager. In this capacity he continued to serve until 1924, when he resigned, in order to devote his en- tire time to the H. V. Allen Estate Agency, in which he first had become interested several years before. This business was established in 1895 by Moses E. Shippee and was purchased by Mr. Hanaford and his partner, Howard V. Allen, in 1922. Though it bears Mr. Allen's name, Mr. Hanaford is half owner. With offices at No. 164 Main Street, East Greenwich, it is now the larg- est real estate and insurance business in that town. For many years Mr. Hanaford has also taken a very active part in public affairs. In poli- tics he is a strong supporter of the Republican party, having served as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives during 1910-II, as a member of the Rhode Island State Senate in 1912, as a member of the Republican State Cen- tral Committee during 1911-24, and since 1928 as a member of the East Greenwich Town Council. During the World War he served very effectively as chairman of the town of East Greenwich dur- ing the last two Liberty Loan drives. He is a member of the East Greenwich Chamber of Com- merce, the East Greenwich Historical Society, and the Varnum Continentals of East Greenwich, a military organization of which he was one of the organizers and now is adjutant and treasurer. Other organizations in which Mr. Hanaford maintains membership, include the following : King Solomon Lodge, No. II, Free and Accepted Masons; the Royal Arcanum; Ancient Order of United Workmen. His religious affiliations are with the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Mr. Hanaford married, in 1897, Jennie B. Wil- liams, a native of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Hanaford have no children.
JOHN HERMAN GREENE, JR .- The busi- ness of auctioneer, income tax advisor, real estate and insurance, and active participation in public
Georges Pisaniaford
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affairs have been Mr. Greene's interests during the greater part of his career. In these several fields of human endeavor he has been exceptionally suc- cessful, thus proving himself a man of versatility. He has also made important contributions to the civic, commercial and legislative progress of his native State. His outstanding ability and his pleas- ing personality have found ready recognition on the part of his fellow-citizens, and Mr. Greene has frequently been chosen by them as their representa- tive in local and State legislative bodies, as well as to high office in the numerous fraternal organi- zations, of which he is a popular member.
John Herman Greene, Jr., was born at Newport, November 3, 1890, a son of John H. and Hannah Floyd (Power) Greene, and a member of one of the oldest Rhode Island families. He represents the eleventh generation in direct descent from Jos- eph Clark, brother of John Clark, the founder of the city of Newport, and the tenth generation in direct descent from John Greene, an original founder of Providence and Warwick. Among his many distinguished ancestors is also Captain Henry Oman, who fought in the American naval forces during the Revolutionary War. Mr. Greene's father, a native of Newport, is a carpenter by trade, while his mother is a native of County Waterford, Ireland. Mr. Greene received his early education in the public grammar and high schools of his native city and, having graduated from the Rogers High School, attended Brown University for two years. He commenced the study of law in the office of Frank F. Nolan (q. v.), one of the leading lawyers of Newport. This was in 1913-15. During 1915-19, he served as a clerk in the House of Representatives at Washington, District of Columbia, and at the same time filled the office of secretary to Hon. George F. O'Shaunessey, of Providence, who at that time was one of the mem- bers of the House of Representatives from Rhode Island. During this period Mr. Greene continued his law studies, attending Georgetown University, at Washington, District of Columbia. Returning to Newport in 1919, he was appointed deputy collector of Internal Revenue for Newport County, in which position he continued to serve until September, 1921. Since then he has again been connected with the law office of Frank F. Nolan as clerk, being also actively and successfully engaged on his own account as an income tax advisor and in the real estate and insurance business. Ever since early youth, Mr. Greene has been interested in politics
and he has been prominently active in public affairs. As long ago as 1912, when he was still a student at Brown University, he was a member and secre- tary of the Woodrow Wilson Club of Brown Uni- versity. Throughout his entire political career he has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles and for many years he has been one of its most effective workers. He has fre- quently been honored by election to important offi- ces, serving for three years as a member of the Newport Representative Council and, during 1923- 1924, was a member of the Rhode Island State Senate from Newport during a period of twenty- five years. He was a member of the Senate during the historic filibuster. He has served on the Demo- cratic City Committee since 1913, and for five years has been its secretary. During this time he has at- tended every Democratic State Convention.
Mr. Greene has also been active in connection with fraternal organizations. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he served six years as president of Division No. 2, and of which he is now the State President ; the New- port Council, Knights of Columbus, of which he is a Past Chancellor ; Coronet Council, No. 63, Royal Arcanum, of which he is a Past Regent ; Newport Lodge, No. 104, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is Esteemed Leading Knight; and the Newport Lodge, Loyal Order of Moose. Other organizations in which Mr. Greene main- tains membership, include the following: Rhode Island Society, Sons of the Revolution, of which he is historian; the Brown Alumni Society of New- port, of which he is secretary and treasurer ; Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, of which he is secre- tary; and the American Irish Historical Society. He is a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church of Newport, in the various activities of which he has taken a leading and effective part, being a trustee and the secretary of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Corporation; secretary of St. Joseph Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society ; and a member of Father Mathews' Total Abstinence Society, of which he is treasurer. Mr. Greene is an inveterate reader and is especially interested in history and more particularly in the history of Rhode Island, on which subject he has assembled a very interesting and valuable collec- tion of books.
Mr. Greene makes his home in Newport, and his offices are located in this city at No. 250 Thames Street.
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CHARLES HOWARD MANCHESTER --
The name of Manchester has figured for nearly two hundred years in the history of the town of Bristol, formerly of the old Plymouth Colony, and for fifty years prior to that the name was identi- fied with Portsmouth and settlements adjacent.
From Benjamin and Martha (Seabury) Man- chester, a record of whom is in both Little Comp- ton and Bristol, descends the Bristol branch of the family, which is perpetuated in the main through the children of John and Rebecca (Christopher) Manchester. Among these representatives was the late Charles Howard Manchester, a native of Bristol, president of the Providence Gas Company, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Bos- ton, and formerly secretary and a member of the board of managers of the Industrial Trust Com- pany of Providence. Mr. Manchester was well known throughout the eastern section of the United States as an expert in the operation of gas and water companies.
The Bristol branch of the Manchester family is of Revolutionary stock, and eligible to the Socie- ties of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, in the right of Nathaniel Manchester, a private from Bristol, who served in the Con- tinental Army in the Revolution.
The first generation of the family of this con- nection was headed by Benjamin Manchester, who married Martha Seabury. The line of descent is through their son, Nathaniel, the Revolutionary soldier-ancestor, who married Elizabeth Cox; their son, John, who became collector of the Port of Bristol, and married Rebecca Christopher; their son, William Cox, who attained more than local fame as a builder of boats and yachts, married Martha James Gladding; their son, John Howard, a well-known business leader, public utilities of- ficial, bank executive, Federal officeholder, and man of affairs of Bristol, who married Emily F. Greene, daughter of Colonel Charles A. Greene, and to them were born two sons: I. Charles Howard, of whom further. 2. William Leonard. The father of this family was also prominent in lighting cor- porations.
Charles Howard Manchester, elder son of John Howard and Emily F. (Greene) Manchester, was born in Bristol, January 22, 1865, and completed his education in the high school of his native city. He made choice of the banking profession, and in 1881 began his career by filling a clerkship in the First National Bank of Bristol. He was ad- vanced to assistant cashier of that bank, and made assistant treasurer of the Bristol Institution for
Savings. His next promotion was through elec- tion as a director of the First National Bank, and he was also chosen trustee of the Bristol Institu- tion for Savings. Still on the up-grade, he was made cashier of the First National Bank and also held the office of trustee of the Bristol Institution for Savings until they were absorbed by the Indus- trial Trust Company.
Mr. Manchester, thereupon, was made a mem- ber of the board of managers of the Industrial Trust Company and manager of its Bristol branch. He subsequently was appointed manager of the Mechanics Branch of the Industrial Trust Com- pany at Providence. On January 21, 1908, he was elected secretary of the Industrial Trust Company of Providence, and removed to that city. In 1912 he resigned and became treasurer and vice-pres- ident of Providence Gas Company and, in 1919, was elected president, holding the latter office at the time of his death. It was a testimonial to his financial ability that he was made a director of the Federal Reserve Bank at Boston, where his serv- ices as adviser were highly prized. Prior to his association with the Providence Gas Company, he was affiliated with the Bristol Gas Light Company. Among the many corporations with which he was identified in former years were the Barrington Water Company, of which he was president, treas- urer and general manager, the Bristol and Warren Water Works and the Drownsville Water Com- pany, in which he held similar offices. In 1928 he identified himself with the Providence Community Fund and became its treasurer, and he was also a director of the Providence Dyeing, Bleaching and Calendering Company.
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