USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. IV > Part 3
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Howard W. Hathaway married, in 1898, Nellie R. Calder, also a native of Somerset, and they are the parents of the following children: Rosa- lind J., Raymond H., Wallace C., Harold L., Clinton R., Lawrence A., Howard W., Jr., Nor- man C., Merrill F., Nellie R., and Milton G.
HERBERT MONTAGUE SHERWOOD --
For almost two decades his native city, Providence, has been the scene of Mr. Sherwood's successful professional activities as a lawyer. He was also associated with his father in the management of the latter's large real estate interests and has to his credit several years' service in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Senate and an equal period of service in the United States Army during the World War. He is regarded as one of the leading professional men of Providence, where he is highly respected for his ability as a lawyer and for his many other fine qualities.
Herbert Montague Sherwood was born at Provi- dence, March 26, 1887, the second child and only son of David Faulkner and Mary Louisa (Scrib- ner) Sherwood. His father was a son of George Solomon Elias Sherwood, a descendant of Thomas Sherwood, the founder of the American branch of this ancient English family which traces to the time of William the Conqueror, one of the early ancestors of Mr. Sherwood having come to Eng- land with that monarch. Thomas Sherwood, the earliest American ancestor, came to this country
from Ipswich, England, in 1634, settled at Fairfield, Connecticut, and died in 1655. Succeeding genera- tions of the family have been prominent in the professions and in business and various members have worthily represented the family in both the army and the navy during times of war. Eventually that branch of the family, of which Herbert M. Sherwood is a member, settled in New Brunswick, Canada, and it was there, at Hammond, Kings County, that Mr. Sherwood's father was born, Feb- ruary 26, 1855.
David Faulkner Sherwood came to Providence in 1881 and for many years was successfully en- gaged there in the ice business, served as president of the Crystal Ice Company, later as a director in the Providence Ice Company, and as president of the Sherwood Ice Company. During 1898-1904 he was also prominently active in the coal business as the head of the Park Coal Company of Providence. For a number of years he extensively operated in real estate, his real estate interests being centered in the Sherwood Realty Company, of which he was president, and also in the Blackstone Hall Company, of which he was likewise president. During 1909-10 he served in the Rhode Island Legislature and during 1909-15 he represented the Seventh Ward in the Providence Common Council. He was a member of several Masonic and other fraternal organizations, in most of which he held high offices. At Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, he married, October 5, 1884, Mary Louisa Scribner, the daughter of Thaddeus and Harriet Scribner, of Moncton, and by this marriage was the father of three children: I. Dora Evelyn, born at Paw- tuxet, February 13, 1886, who married Harry Dew- ing Leonard. 2. Herbert Montague, of whom fur- ther. 3. Hope Irene, born July 3, 1894, who mar- ried Harold Thomas, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mr. Sherwood, the father, died on May 14, 1923.
Herbert Montague Sherwood received his early education in the public schools of his native city and, after graduating from the Classical High School, Providence, he entered Brown University, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1909. He then took up the study of law and for that purpose attended the Harvard University Law School, graduating there with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1912. Immediately afterward he became connected with the well- known Providence law firm of Gardner, Pirce & Thornley, with whom he remained until 1920, when the firm became Pirce & Sherwood. In 1922 the present firm of Sherwood, Heltzen & Clifford was formed. In politics Mr. Sherwood is a sup-
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porter of the Republican party and, like his father, he has taken an active interest in civic affairs for many years. During 1915-16 he represented the Nineteenth District in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and in 1921-22 was in the Senate, representing the city of Providence, proving him- self an able and conscientious legislator. Associ- ated with his father in the latter's extensive real estate operations and holdings, he is secretary and a director of the Blackstone Hall Company. When the United States declared war against Germany in 1917, he enlisted in the United States Army, being commissioned a captain and being placed in command of Battery B, 303d Field Artillery, with which he saw a great deal of active service.
Mr. Sherwood married, on June 5, 1920, Mar- garet Gammell Meader, and they are the parents of five daughters: Mary Louise, Caroline, Barbara, Ruth, and Anna. The Sherwood home is at No. 67 Taber Avenue, Providence.
WILLIAM P. SHEFFIELD-Active in the professional life of Rhode Island, where he not only is a lawyer but an executive in several large industrial organizations, William P. Sheffield is carrying on the tradition of leadership established by his illustrious father and grandfather, both of the same name-William Paine Sheffield. The Sheffield family in Rhode Island is an old one, and the three generations mentioned above have . all made their homes in Newport, where Wil- liam P. Sheffield is a zealous worker in the best interests of his city.
It was in the earliest days of the settlement of Rhode Island that the forerunner of the pres- ent Sheffield family came to this region; and throughout the Colonial period, as well as since independence, members of the family have held outstanding positions in society. Among those who have won distinction for the name have been such men as the late Hon. John G. Sheffield, and the late Hon. William Paine Sheffield, of New- port, of the latter of whose achievements as a writer in historical lines and whose service as a State legislator in both branches of the United States Congress were notable. The second Wil- liam Paine Sheffield was a lawyer of prominence in Newport. The family line has been traced back to Joseph Sheffield, the first moderator of the first town meeting of Portsmouth of which there is any record. From him the line is traced through Ichabod, Joseph, Edmund, Josiah, Ed-
mund, and George G., to the first William Paine Sheffield. George G. Sheffield, great-grandfather of the man whose name heads this review, was a Jeffersonian until, at the formation of the Re- publican party, in 1856, he became a Republican ; and since that time the family has been staunch in its allegiance to the party of Lincoln.
William Paine Sheffield, Jr., the father of Wil- liam P. Sheffield, of this review, was born June I, 1857, in Newport, Rhode Island; studied at private schools, Phillips-Andover Academy (class of 1873), and Brown University, from which he was graduated in 1877 with high honors. Going abroad, he studied civil and Roman law in the Department of Law of the University of Paris, at Paris, France, and was prepared for the bar under the direction of his father and at the Har- vard Law School. He was admitted to the Rhode Island bar in March, 1880, and began practicing at Newport. Beginning in 1889, he was solicitor for Newport for several years. From 1885 to 1894 he was a member of the school commit- tee, and for a part of that period its chairman. He worked intelligently for the betterment of progressive and practical methods of instruc- tion in both his town and county, and was an advocate of a system of manual training in the public schools. In 1886, with others, he instituted and maintained, in Newport, private instruction for boys in woodworking. He served as colonel on the staff of Governor George Peabody Wet- more, from 1885 to 1887, and was a member of the General Assembly of his State from New- port from 1885 to 1887, in 1889 and 1890, and from 1894 to 1896. From 1880 to 1884, he was state commissioner on the affairs of the Narra- gansett Indians. From 1906-07 he served as a member of Congress from Rhode Island, and later he was national committeeman up to the time of his death. In 1906, at the first election held under the new charter granted the city of Newport, he was elected a member of the rep- resentative council from the Third Ward for the one-year term, and at that body's first meeting was its unanimous choice for the presidency. In 1907 he was again elected to that body for the three-year term. He was a director of the Red- wood Library, and at one time its secretary. He was a treasurer of the Newport Hospital, the People's Library, and the Savings Bank of New- port, and was elected, in 1907, a director of the Newport Water Works to succeed his late father. He died October 19, 1919. He married, on Octo- ber 16, 1889, Mary Stevens Burdick, and they
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had eight children: Margaret Burdick, William Paine, Mary Morse, Samuel Sanford, Lilias S., Katharine R., Frances, and Elizabeth. Mrs. Shef- field is still living as are also all her children with the exception of Margaret.
Of these children, William Paine Sheffield, who is third of the name, was born at Newport Feb- ruary 9, 1893. He attended the public schools here, and the St. George School; Phillips Acad- emy, at Andover, Massachusetts; Brown Univer- sity, Providence, Rhode Island, from which he received, in 1915, his degree of Bachelor of Arts; and, for two years, the Harvard Law School. He read law in the office of Sheffield and Harvey, the firm that his father headed, and was admitted to the bar in Rhode Island in 1919. He then became actively associated with Sheffield and Harvey, which, upon his father's death, in 1919, was converted into a new firm of the same name, Sheffield and Harvey. Mr. Sheffield has continued as a partner in this firm since that time, with offices at No. 223 Thames Street, Newport.
Along with his activities as a lawyer, Mr. Shef- field has been active in numerous business and civic projects. His political faith, like that of his ancestors since the formation of the Repub- lican party, has been with this party organiza- tion, on whose ticket he was elected, in 1920, a member of the Newport representative council. He is president, treasurer, and a director of the Newport Electric Corporation; vice-president and secretary of the Colonial Gas and Electric Com- pany; secretary and a director of the Commu- nity Hotels Corporation; a director of the Puri- tan Life Insurance Company of Rhode Island; a trustee of the Savings Bank of Newport; sec- retary and a director of the Mount Hope Bridge Company; and a director of the Newport Oil Corporation. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on August 15, 1917, when he entered the United States Army as a member of the Field Artillery attached to the 2d Division, 17th Regiment. For one year he served with the Amer- ican Expeditionary Forces in France, and in Sep- tember, 1918, was transferred to the 70th Field Artillery. He saw active service at Chateau- Thierry and the Aisne-Marne sector, and was discharged, on December 24, 1918, with the rank of first lieutenant. Mr. Sheffield is a vice-pres- ident and a member of the Newport Council of the Boy Scouts of America, a trustee of the People's Library of Newport, the Redwood Library, and the Seaman's Church Institute. His religious faith is that of Emanuel Episcopal
Church, in which he is a vestryman. Mr. Sheffield is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, which he joined in his student days, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, New- port Lodge, No. 104. He also holds membership in the Newport Post, No. 7, of the American Legion, of which he is a past commander; while he is also past commander of the American Legion of Rhode Island. He is affiliated with the Newport Lions Club; the Miantonomi Club; the Wanumetonomy Golf Club; the Sachnest Golf Club, of which he is at the time of writing (1931) the treasurer; the Ida Lewis Yacht Club; and the Chamber of Commerce of Newport. He is a member of the Rhode Island State Bar Association, the Newport Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
William P. Sheffield married, on August 17, 1917, Agatha Spoank, daughter of Joseph E. Spoank, who for many years, was Judge of Pro- bate Court in Providence. By this marriage there have been the following children: I. William P., 4th. 2. Edwin S. 3. Richard B. 4. Agatha S.
LOUIS F. BELL-A contractor and builder at Wakefield, Rhode Island, for over forty years, Louis F. Bell has long been an important and fa- miliar figure in the life of this community. His building activities have carried him through all this part of the State, and he ranks among the foremost builders of the county.
Mr. Bell was born at New Haven, Connecticut, on March 29, 1857, a son of Louis H. Bell, now deceased, who was born in Berlin, Germany, and of Martha (Walters) Bell, also deceased, who was a native of Ireland. The father was engaged as a saddler until the time of his death.
Louis F. Bell was educated in the public schools of Rhode Island, and after completing his academic training, began work in the employ of the Cranston Print Works Company, where he remained for only a short time. At the age of fourteen he started to learn the carpenter's trade, and was so engaged until the year 1885. At the end of this time Mr. Bell established himself as an independent contractor and builder at Wakefield, Rhode Island. Here he has made his home and here his activities have centered since that time. Mr. Bell's work has always been of excellent quality and his services are widely sought throughout the South County. In 1899 he built the Bell Block, which is the largest
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business block at Wakefield, and later he built the Barber Block and the Jones Block; he also built the Wakefield Grammar and the South Kingstown High School buildings; the Hazard Memorial Building at Peace Dale, Rhode Island; the South County Hospital and Nurses' Home at Wakefield; and many others. Mr. Bell has been very success- ful in the field of his chosen occupation. In addi- tion to his building activities, Mr. Bell is a director and treasurer of the Wakefield Branch Company, and of the Wakefield Trust Company. He also represented South Kingstown on the Board of Directors of the Narragansett Pier Railroad.
A Republican in politics, he has supported the principles and candidates of that party consistently, and served as a member of the South Kingstown Council and the Board of Assessors for a time, and for several years was a trustee of the Wakefield schools. He worships with his family in the faith of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
In 1879, Louis F. Bell married Emily Potter, who was born at South Kingstown, Rhode Island. They are the parents of the following children: Martha W .; Leroy V. (q. v.); Myrtle; Emily ; Minion; Charlotte; Carl and William. Mr. and Mrs. Bell maintain their residence at Wakefield.
LEROY V. BELL-As sales agent for the Nash and Chevrolet motor car, at Wakefield, Rhode Island, Leroy V. Bell is one of the promi- nent business men of the community. He was born at Wakefield, on February 14, 1885, son of Louis F. Bell, a record of whose life precedes this, and of Emily (Potter) Bell. He was educated in the public schools of the State, attending South Kingstown High School, Rhode Island State Col- lege and School of Design, and began his active career as a builder and contractor in association with his father. This association was continued for about twenty years.
In 1922, however, Mr. Bell went into the auto- mobile business for himself at Wakefield, taking over the Nash agency. In 1927 he added the Chev- rolet car, and has since continued a sales and service agency for these two cars. Under his supervision sales figures for both the Nash and Chevrolet have risen to an exceptionally high fig- ure. Mr. Bell is an able business man. While working with his father as contractor and builder he displayed the same energy and initiative which have now brought him success.
In politics Mr. Bell is an independent voter, sup- porting those policies which he considers in the best interest of community, State or Nation, and casting his ballot for the best qualified candidate. He is affiliated fraternally with the Modern Wood- men of America, and with Hope Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons. In this latter order he is also a member of Unity Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. Mr. Bell holds membership in the Com- munity Players' Association at Wakefield, and in the Hope Square and Compass Club. He attends the local Episcopal Church. During the period of the World War Mr. Bell served as quartermaster in the 2d Company of the Rhode Island State Guard. Sign painting and athletic sports are his hobbies.
Leroy V. Bell married Lillian Eaton, who was born at Peace Dale, Rhode Island, and is now deceased. They became the parents of the follow- ing children: Louis F .; Leroy V., Jr .; and Thomas Henry.
HON. WILLIAM T. STEDMAN-Active in many different branches of the life of Rhode Island, of which he was a native, William T. Stedman was a leader in business, as well as in civic and social affairs. Ever interested in pro- moting the welfare of his State and its people, he served well in public offices of numerous descrip- tions, and rendered services that were of value both to his community and his State as a whole. Thoroughly upright in character, of unfailing in- tegrity, he well earned the respect and the affec- tion of those who were associated with him; and by his quiet and undemonstrative nature gained many ends that might have been denied to many individuals of different qualities. His career was a most useful one in Rhode Island life; and his death took from this State one of its helpful and substantial citizens.
Mr. Stedman was born in Wakefield, town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, son of William and Jane Dorcas (Clarke) Stedman, and was edu- cated in the old Kingston Academy. While very young, he became engaged upon the first work of his career, having become, when only seventeen years of age, a clerk in the counting room of the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, at Peace Dale, Rhode Island. Thereafter he was promoted steadily, winning his advancements by his own ef- forts and entirely as a result of his energy, until at last he became assistant treasurer of the com-
Meciau Stadian
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pany. He acquired an extensive interest in the affairs of this corporation, but did not continue in active work in this connection after his retirement in 1916.
Along with his commercial activities, Mr. Sted- man took part in many different phases of political and civic life. He gave his support to the Republi- can party, whose policies and principles he regu- larly supported, and he was one of the leaders of his party's organization in Wakefield. He served as clerk of the Wakefield School District and as sealer of weights and measures; while he was also a member of the Town Council for five years, and president of that body for four years. In 1901, he was elected on the Republican ticket as a repre- sentative to the General Assembly of Rhode Island, and so well did he fulfill his duties in that office that he was reelected in each year for three more years. In 1908 he was elected State Senator from his district, and in that position he repeated his excellent record as a legislator. For twelve years he was town treasurer of the town of South Kings- town, and from 1925 until his death served as town tax collector. For a period of about four decades he was treasurer of the Union Fire District, having been elected to that position at the time of its or- ganization. He was a member of the Republican State Committee of South Kingstown. His busi- ness career also included participation in the af- fairs of the Narragansett Pier Railroad, of which he was for many years secretary and treasurer. For twenty years he was treasurer of the Peace Dale Congregational Church, and was always an active contributor to the support of this parish. Into all of his activities, Mr. Stedman continu- ously put forth his best energies and his fullest measure of devotion, with the result that he was esteemed and respected in a wide circle of friends and acquaintances and was able to render out- standing service to his community and State.
Wliliam T. Stedman married Sarah Clarke, daughter of James B. Clarke, a lifelong resident of Peace Dale, Rhode Island. By this union there were two children: I. Oliver H., an electrical con- tractor and one of the enterprising younger men of his community, who is now president of the Wake- field Town Council. He married Marjorie E. Clarke, and they have one daughter, Phyllis. 2. Lucy R.
The death of William T. Stedman occurred on June 12, 1929, and was a cause of widespread sor- row among his. fellowmen. He was esteemed among all who knew him as an enthusiastic citizen and a faithful public servant, one who discharged
his duties faithfully and well, both in business and in public life. He devoted himself tirelessly to the task of promoting the best interests of his com- munity; and for his achievements in town and State offices, as well as in his own personal life, he will be remembered for years to come; and many individuals who were his close personal friends will find in his memory a source of constant en- couragement and inspiration. And they will find this basis valuable as a model for their own lives in the future.
ALBERT LOUIS GREENBERG-A native of Rumania, but a resident of Newport since his early childhood, Mr. Greenberg, though one of the younger generation of Newport's lawyers, has al- ready made for himself an enviable reputation as an able and resourceful legal practitioner. He is also a popular member of several fraternal organi- zations, and takes an active interest in public affairs.
Albert Louis Greenberg was born at Jassy, Rumania, March 28, 1900, a son of David and Rose (Wagner) Greenberg, both natives of Jassy, Ru- mania. His mother is now deceased, while his father, still a resident of Newport, is and for many years past has been successfully engaged in the barrel and old metal business in Newport. Having come to Newport with his parents at an early age, Mr. Greenberg was educated in the public gram- mar and high schools of this city. After graduating from the Rodgers High School, he took up the study of law at the Law School of Boston Univer- sity, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1925. Admitted to the bar of the State of Rhode Island in May, 1926, he has since then been engaged in the practice of law alone and under his own name, with offices at No. 166 Thames Street. He enjoys a large and steadily growing practice and a very fine reputation in legal circles. Mr. Greenberg is a member of the board of directors of the Newport Palace of Sweets and a member of the Newport Bar Association. Other organizations, in which he maintains membership, include the following: Sigma Omega Psi Frater- nity ; Excelsior Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Royal Arcanum; and I. J. Josephson Lodge, Independent Order of Brith Abraham. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, and for a number of years he has been an active and popular member of the Young Men's Republi- can Club of Newport. His religious affiliations are with the Touro St. Hebrew Temple of Newport.
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He is fond of outdoor sports and especially of swimming. Mr. Greenberg is not married, and makes his home with his father.
WILLIAM M. LEE-After having spent the first twenty-five years of his career in business, holding responsible positions with important Provi- dence business concerns, Mr. Lee became a member of the civil administration of Cranston more than two decades ago. Ever since then he has served as treasurer of this city, the length of his service in that responsible and important office indicating how highly he is regarded by his fellow-citizens and to what an extent he enjoys their confidence. At various other times he has also held other im- portant offices, in all of which he acquitted himself with much ability, faithfulness and efficiency. He is a member of several fraternal and other organi- zations, is prominently active in religious work and thus, in every respect, represents the best type of useful and public-spirited citizenship.
William M. Lee was born at Warwick, Septem- ber 3, 1866, a son of the late George Taft and Penelope Barton (Smith) Lee. His father, a native of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was success- fully engaged in the dairy business until his death. His mother, also now deceased, was a native of the town of Warwick. Mr. Lee received his edu- cation in the public schools of Cranston and then attended the Bryant & Stratton Business College, Providence. Having completed his education, he entered the employ of the Spicer & Peckham Com- pany of Providence, with which he was connected for ten years. He then became office manager for the R. L. Moorhead Company of Providence, in which capacity he served with much success until 1909. In that year he was elected town treasurer of Cranston. When, in 1910, this town became a city, he was elected city treasurer and ever since then he has continued to serve in that capacity. During 1909-14 he also was tax collector of Cran- ston, while during 1900-10 he served as a member of the Cranston School Committee and at one time he also held the office of justice of peace for sev- eral years. In politics he is a staunch supporter of the Republican party, in the affairs of which he has been prominently active for many years. He is a member of the Republican Club of Rhode Island, as well as of the New England Order of Protec- tion; and Harmony Lodge, No. 9, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of which he is a Past Master. His religious affiliations are with the Pawtuxet Bap-
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