USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. IV > Part 53
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It was the drama, however, which was his pas- sion. In 1888 he and a friend founded the Talma Club, succeeded by "The Players," which has be-
come one of the foremost amateur groups in the country. Mr. Barker was stage director, designer of stage settings, and an actor with a record of more than two hundred parts. "In Colony Times," by Mr. Barker and A. E. Thomas, was produced in connection with the celebration of the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Brown University in Octo- ber, 1914. Laboring all his mature life for a splen- did and enduring Civic Theatre, Mr. Barker left half his fortune to endow a fund to develop dra- matic art in Providence.
Henry Ames Barker married, in September, 1918, Sarah Minchin, like himself keenly interested in the drama, in art, and in recreational facilities. Mrs. Barker is an executor of the trust fund left by her husband for the drama and was munic- ipal director of the drama for the Providence Board of recreation.
The death of this man whose work won him an incomparably lofty place in the public esteem oc- curred February 27, 1929, when he was only sixty- two years old. His published studies of "Greater Providence" are perhaps the best monument to his civic service and will long outlive him, and keep his memory alive, in the city which sufficiently trusted him to develop along the lines he laid down. His ideals impressed themselves on the city, as his warm human personality established a lasting love for him as a man in the hearts of his fellow-cit- izens. The Providence of tomorrow will be a hap- pier, a more beautiful, a finer city than that of yesterday or today, because of the life's labor of Henry Ames Barker, the great citizen.
MRS H. EVELYN (STRAIGHT) CAMP- BELL-A native and lifelong resident of Rhode Island, Mrs. Campbell is descended from the earliest settlers of New England and is related to many of the oldest and most prominent Colonial families. For many years she has devoted her- self to educational work in the public schools of her native State and she is widely and favorably known in educational circles in Rhode Island.
H. Evelyn (Straight) Campbell was born at Warwick, a daughter of Rev. Edwin Sheffield and Lucinda (West) Straight. Her father was a clergyman. When Mrs. Campbell was only nine months old, she came with her parents to East Providence, where she continued to live until 1910, when she removed to Providence with her two children, following the death of her mother.
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Mrs. Campbell studied at a Providence private school until the last year of grammar school, when she attended a public school in East Provi- dence. She then attended the Rhode Island State Normal School, where she studied under Dr. William B. Greenough, then the principal of this school and one of the most noted educators ever produced by Rhode Island. She is also a graduate of the Rhode Island Commercial School, and has taken courses in the Rhode Island School of Design and at Brown University. For thirty- four years she has taught in day schools and for twelve years in evening schools. The latter pe- riod was devoted to teaching adults, principally foreigners, and for nine years Mrs. Campbell taught at the Point Street Evening School and for three years at the Bridgham Street Evening School, both in Providence. During the thirty- four years, which she has devoted to teaching in day schools, Mrs. Campbell was connected at different times with the following schools: eight years at Union Grammar School, East Provi- dence, of which she was principal for the last four years; twelve years at the Nayatt Grammar School, Barrington, Rhode Island, of which she was principal for ten years; fourteen years in Cranston, ten years of which she spent as prin- cipal of the Howard Grammar School. The last four years of her educational career she has spent in the William A. Briggs Junior High School and the Hugh B. Bain Junior High School, with which latter she is now connected.
Mrs. Campbell's early ancestors took a leading part in the building up of this country. She can trace her descent to at least eight ancestors who participated in the Revolutionary War, and as a result she holds membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. All of Mrs. Campbell's early ancestors came to this country in the early part of the seventeenth century. Two of her ma- ternal ancestors came in the "Mayflower," one of these having been John Howland. Mrs. Camp- bell's father was a direct descendant of Henry Straight of West Greenwich, Rhode Island, and of Jeremy Clarke, and Frances (Latham) Clarke, who helped to found Newport and Portsmouth. She was also descended from the Rev. Pardon Tillinghast, who gave land and who built the first Baptist Church of Providence; the Long family of Massachusetts; and Mary Eliot, sister of Rev. John Eliot, the latter the author of the Indian Bible. Mrs. Campbell's mother, Lucinda (West) Straight, was a daughter of Benjamin West of Rehoboth and of Lucinda (Payson)
West, the latter a daughter of Captain Samuel and Abigail (Ingraham) Payson, of Stoughton, Massachusetts. The Paysons settled at Dorches- ter, Massachusetts. Captain Samuel Payson, Mrs. Campbell's great-grandfather on her mother's side, took part in the battles of Lexington, Con- cord and Bunker Hill, and also participated in the historic Boston Tea Party, having helped to pour the tea into the harbor. Benjamin Ingraham of "the Great English Estate" in Court of Chan- cery of England, and the father of Mrs. Abigail (Ingraham) Payson, and, therefore, the great- great-grandfather of Mrs. Campbell, was a pri- vate under Captain Samuel Payson; he also par- ticipated in the previously mentioned battles. Other prominent Colonial families with which Mrs. Campbell is connected were the Millers, of Massachusetts, who participated in the Colonial Wars, and the Rhodes or Rhoades of Massa- chusetts.
Mrs. Campbell, then Miss Hattie Evelyn Straight, married H. Elmer Campbell, a native of Pennsylvania and an inventor and manufac- turer. Mrs. Campbell's husband came from an old Pennsylvania family, which has been settled in that State for four generations, having come from Scotland. Mr. Campbell's mother, prior to her marriage, was a Miss Pierce and belonged to the same family of which President Franklin Pierce, fourteenth president of the United States, also was a member. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had two children, of which one, Richard E. E. Camp- bell, whose career is described in an accompany- ing article, is now superintendent of public schools at Coventry.
RICHARD E. E. CAMPBELL-Two uni- versities contributed to educate Richard E. E. Campbell fittingly for high positions in the career of teaching which he adopted, with auxiliary courses in special subjects to keep even more than abreast of the times. There is a sincerity about the work of Mr. Campbell that appeals to parents and who are desirous of the very best in scholastic training for their children. Since 1929 the superintendent of the schools of the town of Coventry, Rhode Island, his career prior to this appointment was varied and served to lay the foundation upon which he has erected the fine system which now accelerates the work of the schools under his guidance. This State is for- tunate in the educators who fill high positions in the various village, town and city systems and in
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the State institutions, and among those bearing high reputations Mr. Campbell holds a substan- tial position.
He was born in East Providence, Rhode Island, December 1I, 1896, a son of H. Elmer, a native of Pennsylvania, and an inventor and manufac- turer until his death, and of H. Evelyn (Straight) Campbell (q. v.), native of Warwick, Rhode Is- land. He was educated at the Rhode Island Nor- mal Grammar School and the Classical High School and upon completing the courses there en- tered Brown University, from which he was grad- uated, class of 1919, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. A post-graduate course of one year brought him the degree of Master of Arts. These studies were augmented by another course, this time at Harvard University, where he majored in law, with still another course in summers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He taught one year in English and Latin at the Moses Brown School and was then called to the position of superintendent of the schools of Block Island, which he filled acceptably for a year, then coming to the Highland Park Grammar School at Cranston, he was principal for three and one-half years. Dropping his school work for two years, he went to New York City, where he was employed in railroad office work until 1929, when again he returned to this State and became superintendent of the schools of Coven- try. Mr. Campbell paid his own way through college, working for the United Electric Railway Company while attending Brown University. He is a member of the National Education Asso- ciation, department of superintendents, and of the Barnard Club. In politics he is a Republican and in religion a Baptist, of which church he is super- intendent of its Sunday school. His favorite rec- reations are motoring and travel. He is also a member of the Sons of the Revolution (through his mother, who is a Daughter of the American Revolution); member of Troop Committee and a member of District Advisory Committee of the Boy Scouts of America.
EZRA M. MARTIN-The Martins of Warren are descendants of the family of that name that was a part of the old Plymouth Colony, settlers of Rehoboth and Swansea, Massachusetts, where the name has been continuous for more than two and one-half centuries. The genealogical record
of the family traces the lineage back to the year 1077 in England, when Martin de Tours, a Nor- man, made a conquest of the territory of Cem- maes, or Kemeys, in County Pembroke. Later the family seat was in Compton-Martin, Somer- setshire.
In Warren the members of the family have been among the most important and useful citi- zens, industrious, keen in business, sound in re- ligious views and firm in their attitude toward all civic affairs that made for the progress and development of the community. From John Mar- tin of Rehoboth, the earliest American ancestor of the Martins of Warren, is descended Ezra M. Martin, deceased, of the sixth generation, his lineage being through John, Lieutenant Heze- kiah, Deacon Hezekiah and Ambrose.
John Martin, it is believed, was a son of Rich- ard, who came to New England to take possession of property left him by his brother, Robert, a husbandman, who came to America with the Rev. Joseph Hull and settled at Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1635. There is also evidence of the coming of Richard Martin and his son, John, with the Rev. John Myles and his Baptist associates, about the year 1663. Richard is first of record in Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony, in 1669, in which year he was appointed surveyor of highways. John Martin was one of the found- ers of the Baptist Church in Swansea. He was a farmer and a weaver and held a number of town offices, having been appointed constable June 6, 1671; surveyor of highways June 3, 1673, and again June 2, 1685. He married, April 26, 1671, Johanna Esten, born in Hertfordshire, England, June I, 1645, daughter of Thomas Esten, who, with his family, came to New England with the Rev. John Myles.
(II) John Martin, born March 15, 1674, mar- ried (first), October II, 1701, Marcy Hayward, daughter of William Hayward. She died October II, 1710, and he married (second), April 4, 1713, Marcy Thurber, widow of Richard Thurber. He lived in Rehoboth until 1728, when he removed to Swansea, where he died, November 3, 1757.
(III) Lieutenant Hezekiah Martin, born Sep- tember 7, 1719, in Rehoboth, married (first), March 28, 1741, Hannah Andrus, whose death occurred March 18, 1765, aged forty-five years, and he married (second), September 10, 1766, Huldah Luther. His death occurred November II, 1786. He and his first wife were the parents of eleven children.
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(IV) Deacon Hezekiah Martin, born March 22, 1748, in Rehoboth, married, December 23, 1770, Mary Pierce. He served as a representa- tive from Rehoboth to the General Court of Massachusetts in 1812 and 1813. He lived on the farm on Rocky River where his father and grand- father before him had lived and which in part is still in possession of the family. He died November 16, 1834, his wife having preceded him, September 22, 1827. They were the parents of eleven children.
(V) Ambrose Martin, born November 29, 1782, in Rehoboth, married (first), October 17, 1805, Phebe Martin, daughter of Ephraim, who died, and he married (second), December 30, 1810, Polly Millerd. His death occurred April 14, 1854. His children were: Phebe, Almira, born September 22, 1814; Lydia, born July 17, 1816; Ezra M., born October 14, 1818; Otis S., born April 15, 1825.
Otis S. Martin married (first) Celia A. Pearce, who died, leaving one daughter, Mary Jane, who married William H. Peck. Their children are: i. Jesse W., East Providence, in the Postal serv- ice, who married (first) Carrie Franklin (now de- ceased) and they were the parents of: a. Marion, married Byron Hodgeman, and they have four children, Herbert, Russell, Martin and Jathniel. b. Russell. c. Harold; (second) Grace Wallen of East Providence. ii. Charles E., Hanover, Massa- chusetts (adopted by Horace L. and Hannah M. Dexter and took the name of Dexter), naval architect, who married Helen A. Peters of Provi- dence, and they are the parents of four children: Helene, wife of Roland F. Doane; Charles Ells- worth, Jr., Leonard and Constance. Otis S. Mar- tin married (second) Sophia M. Pearce. Their children were: i. Almira S., married Charles Harrison. ii. Otis A., married Elizabeth Gibson. iii. Abby, deceased. iv. John, deceased. v. George Henry, who lives on the farm which has de- scended to him in unbroken line from the original settlement of the Martins in Rehoboth, married Lillian Rounds and they are the parents of five children: Clarence, deceased; George Everett; Beatrice; Wallace, who married Gladys Bos- worth, and they have one son, Wallace, Jr .; and Joseph.
(VI) Ezra M. Martin, born October 14, 1818, in Rehoboth, married Cynthia Wright. Their chil- dren were: I. Emma W., born January 20, 1849, married William J. Mckenzie, of Warren. 2. Joseph W., born October 14, 1852; and Ezra (1), Annie and Ezra (2), all three of whom died
young. Mr. Martin began life as a poor boy, learned the carpenter's trade in Warren and through industry and a strong character moved up the ladder to the higher rungs and became a man of means, position and influence in the com- munity, where he lived to the age of eighty-three years. Soon after settling in Warren he became associated with Lewis T. Hoar in the lumber and building business, eventually establishing the prosperous lumber and coal business of E. M. Martin and Son. Martin and Hoar continued in business together until 1878, when Mr. Martin bought out his partner and took into association with him his son, Joseph Wright, this affiliation continuing until the death of Ezra M., when his son assumed full control. Mr. Martin became a member of the common council of Warren in 1855 and served in that body continuously for thirty-three years. He was in no sense a politi- cian, but never shirked the duties that he felt de- volved upon sound citizenship, and his service in the office noted is believed to be without duplicate in New England. He was for many years a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church in War- ren, was a diligent worker in its cause and until his death was a teacher in its Sunday school. In secular affairs he was president for twelve years of the Hope National Bank of Warren and was also a trustee of the Warren Institute for Sav- ings. He served as president of the Philanthropic Society and was an active and valuable member of the Washington Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Warren. He belonged to the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and was an incorporator of the East Greenwich Academy, in which he was deeply interested. His death oc- curred at his home on State Street, Warren, Rhode Island, December 29, 190I.
Mr. Martin was a man of dignified and courtly manner, his genial personality making him a com- manding and popular figure at any gathering. He was a domestic man, his home life being one of the most beautiful conditions of a notable career, where he was happiest with his children and his gentle wife, who became an invalid to whom he was ever a devoted lover. No more genial, com- panionable character lived than Ezra M. Martin of Warren.
(VII) Joseph Wright Martin, son of Ezra M., was born October 14, 1852, in Warren and was educated in the local schools until his nineteenth year, when he entered the East Greenwich Acad- emy, from which he was graduated from the com- mercial department in 1873. His active business
Werton Q. Checaman
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career then began and from 1878, when his father purchased the interest of his partner in the lum- ber business, was associated in the firm of E. M. Martin and Son, coal and lumber dealers in Warren. This establishment later was taken over by the Staples Coal Company, in which Mr. Martin was financially interested, and he became general manager of its plants at Fall River, War- ren and Bristol and also of its subsidiary, the City Fuel Company of Boston and Quincy, which position he held until his death on May 4, 1930. In politics a Republican he served the town in a number of public offices, having been president of the town council for four years and town treasurer for three years. He served as president of the Warren Trust Company and the Warren Electric Light Company; vice-president of the Warren National Bank and director of the Na- tional Hope Bank. He was also a director of the Warren Foundry and Machine Company. He was a member of the Union Club of Warren and fraternally affiliated with Washington Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. He was a trustee of the Warren Institution for Savings and when it was merged with other financial institutions into the Warren branch of the Industrial Trust Company he became chairman of the board of managers of that organization. Mr. Martin has always taken a keen interest in the welfare of his native town, and this has been evidenced in a substantial manner by his contributions to the public playgrounds of the town and the bequest of his beautiful residence on Main Street as a charitable nursing and hospital center for the residents of Warren.
MERTON A. CHEESMAN-Military in spirit, unwavering in his ethical principles of human duty, Rhode Island has no more worthy citizen than Merton A. Cheesman, who has served two genera- tions of the Colt family in confidential relationship and contributed much to the happiness of a large circle of loyal friends. He is a man of finished edu- cation and takes a deep and valuable interest in the civic, fraternal and social affairs of Bristol and throughout the district of which it is the center. His popularity and attainments have caused him to be summoned to public office and in this feature of his activities he has acquitted himself with high credit to the selection and to the decided advan- tage of the community. The State has profited by his residence and through his works in its behalf.
He was born in Kent, England, September I, 1863, in the house adjoining that which was the home of Charles Dickens. His father was Henry Cheesman, a merchant, and his mother was Emily E. (Bligh) Cheesman, born in Scotland, both de- ceased. He was educated in schools conducted by the Anglican Church and afterward had one year at Brown University and two years at St. Stephen's College. Thus equipped, he was employed, in 1886, by the late Colonel Samuel P. Colt as his private secretary and continued in that capacity until his employer's death, in 1921, when he merely trans- ferred his activities to the same employment for Colonel Colt's sons, Russell I. and Roswell C. Colt. Mr. Cheesman has made his home for years and still lives on the Colt Farm at Bristol. He is a Republican in politics, and has served three years as a member of the Bristol Town Council and ten years on the school committee. For three years he held the rank of ensign in the Bristol Naval Re- serve Corps, was for sixteen years commander of the Bristol Train Artillery, and for five years was commander of the United Train Artillery of Prov- idence. He is a member of the Ancient and Hon- orable Artillery Company of Boston, Massachu- setts; Veterans of the United Train Artillery; Veterans of the First Light Infantry; City Gate Guards, of Atlanta, Georgia ; Rhode Island Repub- lican Club; Rhode Island Press Club; Orpheus Lodge, No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons; Hope Chapter, No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; United Broth- ers Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which he has served as Master; Wampanoag En- campment, of which he is Past Chief Patriarch. Also, for eighteen years he has served the Bristol Council of Boy Scouts of America as chairman of the Court of Honor and of the Troop Committee. Mr. Cheesman's recreational interests are chiefly expressed by a love of flowers and a devotion to military tactics.
EDGAR LAMSON ARNOLD-Industry and ambition such as were displayed from boyhood by Edgar Lamson Arnold, of Woonsocket, are bound to have their reward. In his case, it came with his present position as treasurer of the Woonsocket Institution for Savings, one of the most important financial institutions in the State of Rhode Island, with which he became associ- ated as a bookkeeper in 1909.
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Yet it is not enough to say that Mr. Arnold is industrious and ambitious, for he possesses at- tributes in addition that have brought him the esteem and admiration of the people and made him a host of loyal friends in the city of his birth. Naturally he is also well known through- out the banking circles of the State, with which he has a reputation for careful work and success- ful handling of the enormous funds of his own special establishment, which is one of the oldest and soundest in the Commonwealth. His civic virtues are equally pronounced and he has ever displayed a keen sense of the duties of good citizenship in assisting in the promotion of all governmental propositions that seemed to be pro- mulgated for the progressive benefit of the com- munity as a whole.
Mr. Arnold was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, May 26, 1875, a son of Charles M. and Isadore E. (Lamson) Arnold, both of whom are now deceased. Charles M. Arnold, who died May 7, 1929, in his eighty-second year, was for more than fifty years in the State auditor's office and served as clerk of the Twelfth District Court. The son received his education in the local public schools and after school hours, on Saturdays and during the vacation period, was engaged in prac- tical work in the business world. His first occu- pation in this field was as a clerk for the Woon- socket Gas Company, where he began when he was seventeen years old. In 1894 he resigned from this position to accept another with the First National Bank and the People's Savings Bank. He later became associated with the In- dustrial Trust Company when it absorbed the First National Bank, and in 1909 resigned and entered the service of the Woonsocket Institution for Savings. In 1913 he was made assistant treasurer and promoted to treasurer in 1928. He has also been associated with the Building & Loan Association since its organization, and has been its treasurer since 1910. He is a Republican in politics and for thirteen years acted as treas- urer of the Red Cross. He is also treasurer of the Royal Arcanum. He belongs to the Woon- socket Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club, and is fraternally affiliated with all the local bodies of Masonry, being treasurer of the Masonic Temple Corporation.
Edgar Lamson Arnold married Mattie F. Cook, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, daughter of J. Austin and Lucy Ida (Wight) Cook. Their children are: I. Louise, married Donald Burch Brown, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and are
parents of Donald B., Jr. 2. Edgar Lamson, Jr., a high school student.
The family attend the Universalist Church.
EDWARD P. CHAMPLIN-A member of an old Block Island family, Mr. Champlin was born and has lived practically all his life on the Island. He has followed in the footsteps of his father in two respects, having engaged in farming successfully for many years and having served for the last thirty-seven years as town clerk, his father having held before him for two decades the office of town treasurer. Mr. Champlin is one of the well-known and highly respected citizens of the Island. As a public official he has proven himself very capable and faithful and he enjoys to the fullest degree possible the confidence of his fellow-citizens. He takes an active part in various phases of the community's life and can always be counted upon to support energetically any movement or enterprise tending to advance civic progress.
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