The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 114

Author: National biographical publishing co., pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Providence, National biographical publishing co.
Number of Pages: 868

USA > Rhode Island > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island > Part 114

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

ROUP, JOHN EBENEZER, merchant, was born in Old Meldrum, county of Aberdeen, Scotland, May 4, 1829. His parents were John and Isabel (Ban- nerman) Troup. The former died when John was an infant; the latter is still living. Their other children were Margaret, who married John Fraser, and is now living in Scotland; and Jane, deceased. Mr. Troup attended school until the age of fourteen, and for three years thereafter engaged in farming. He subsequently be- came a clerk in a commercial house in Aberdeen, where he remained for a short time, and was employed in differ- ent positions until March, 1855, when he sailed for America, arriving in Boston April 1Ith. On his arrival at Boston he immediately entered the employ of George Trumbull & Co., drygoods dealers, in that city, having left Scotland for that purpose. He remained with that firm and their successors, Churchill, Watson & Co., until August, 1866, when, with Walter Callender and John McAuslan, he went to Providence, and there engaged in the drygoods business, under the firm-name of Callender, McAuslan & Troup, which partnership still continues, their place of business being known as the " Boston Store." Each part- ner has charge of a special department, and Mr. Troup is the manager of the financial affairs of the firm. He has visited Scotland several times during his residence in this country, and has also travelled on the Continent of Europe. He married, November 28, 1867, Jane Graham, daughter of Hugh Graham, of Wightonshire, Scotland.

506

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

e ENNIS, GENERAL CHARLES RHODES, Quartermas- ter-General of Rhode Island Militia, son of John Robinson and Hope Ann (Rhodes) Dennis, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, March 3, 1829. His father, born at Somerset, Massachusetts, Jan- uary 9, 1800, followed the sea for about forty years, for nearly twenty of which he commanded vessels running between Providence and New York, and was finally drowned from the steamer State of Maine, in Long Island Sound, February 3, 1849. His body was recovered and buried in the North Burying-Ground of Providence. He was a descendant of Arthur Dennis, who was one of three brothers who came to this country from England, and be- came large landowners in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Their father, Captain Arthur Dennis, in England held a commission in the British navy. The mother of Charles R., born at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, March 4, 1804, was the daughter of Captain Charles Rhodes, of the merchant marine service, who was captured with his vessel near Honduras by a British cruiser in 1812, and subjected to great loss and privation. Charles R., after attending pri- vate and public schools, and the Arnold Street Grammar School in Providence, was employed as a mercantile clerk with Messrs. Bailey & Mason, but soon afterward engaged as clerk with the Union Line Packets. He next served as clerk and railroad messenger for the Earle Express Com- pany, and finally as principal clerk, from 1851 to 1861, for the Harnden Express Company, and the Adams Express Company. In 1850 he joined the First Light Infantry of Providence, and became a sergeant. On the opening of the Rebellion he entered the United States service in the First Rhode Island Detached Militia, and was appointed Second Lieutenant of Company D. In 1862 he was en- gaged for several months at Washington in organizing the Army Express for the Adams Express Company. In 1865 he organized the Neptune Express, and was agent for it till it was merged in the American Merchants' Union Ex- press Company, which he served till 1870, when he en- tered upon various fiduciary trusts for railroad and steam- boat companies. In 1867 he was elected Captain of the First Light Infantry of Providence, and when the corps was organized into a battalion of four companies in 1872, he was chosen Colonel, and held that position till 1874, when he was elected Quartermaster-General of the Rhode Island Militia, with the rank of brigadier-general, which office he has continued to fill to the present time (1881). He is also instructor in military drill and tactics at Mowry & Goff's School. In 1857 he united with the What Cheer Lodge of the Masonic fraternity, and has filled official positions in lodge and chapter. In 1859 he joined St. John's Encampment, No. I, of Knights Templar, and went with them to Richmond, Virginia. He was a charter member of Calvary Commandery, No. 13, and became Eminent Commander in 1868. Politically he was at first identificd with the Whigs, but has acted zealously with the

Republicans since the formation of that party. He attends the first Universalist Church of Providence, of which his mother was a member and where his father attended. His life has been one of activity, energy, fidelity, and success. He married, October 9, 1849, Olive Jane Winch, of Provi- dence, whose parents died when she was a child, and has two daughters: Henrietta Arahel, and Mary Addison, both of whom are married.

ALLOU, MAJOR SULLIVAN, an officer in the army, son of Hiram and Emeline (Bowen) Ballou, was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, March 28, 1829. His early education he acquired in the public schools of his native town. At the age of fifteen he was placed in a drygoods store in Rochester, New York, where he remained a year and a half, and then went through a course of study preparatory to entering college. He was for two years connected with the Phillips Academy at An- dover, Massachusetts, and in the fall of 1848 became a member of the Freshman class in Brown University. At the end of his second year in college he became straitened in his pecuniary resources, and accepted an offer to teach elocution in the National Law School in Ballston, New York. Here he began the study of law, and after the practice of much self-denial, completed his preparatory course, and was admitted to the bar of Rhode Island in 1853. After a few months' practice at Pascoag, he took up his residence at Woonsocket, where at once he secured a good practice in his profession. He was chosen for three years in succession a clerk of the House of Representa- tives, and in 1857 was elected a member of the same to represent Woonsocket, and was unanimously chosen Speaker of the House. He was married to Sarah Hart Shum- way, of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the summer of 1855. Two children were the fruit of this marriage. When Presi- dent Lincoln called for three hundred thousand men to serve during the war, the Second Rhode Island Regiment was mustered into the service of the United States June 5, 1861. Governor Sprague offered to Mr. Ballou the posi- tion of Major in this regiment. He received his commis- sion on the IIth of June, 1861, and on the 19th the regi- ment was on its way to Washington under the command of Colonel Slocum. A. few weeks only were devoted to the experiences of camp life, and then came that fatal Sab- bath, July 21, when the battle of Bull Run was fought. A round shot striking Major Ballou, who was on his horse, carried away his leg. After having been in the field hos- pital near Sudley Church for a short time, he fell into the hands of the enemy. His limb was amputated, but the shock was too great for his constitution, and he died July 26, 1861. His remains were buried near the church, but subsequently they were dug up by some men of a Georgia regiment and burned. Afterwards some of the ashes and

- ---

Nie Twee Ball

507

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

bones were found and brought to Providence, and with im- posing military honors were buried in Swan Point Ceme- tery. "Of the many worthy sons of Rhode Island," says Hon. J. R. Bartlett, " who bravely fell on that fatal day, none was perhaps so well and so favorably known as Major Ballou, and his State could ill spare one who so young had shown so great an ability for its highest honors."

BALL, HON. NICHOLAS, son of Edmund and Charity (Dodge) Ball, was born on Block Island, December 31, 1828. His father, grandfather, and great-grand- father were natives of the Island and descendants of Hon. Peter Ball, of English lineage, who was promi- nent as a Representative in the Colonial Legislature, and a prime mover in obtaining a pier for the Island in 1735. The subject of this sketch attended the common schools until the age of fourteen, when he went to sea and made several voyages both in the coasting and foreign trade. In 1849 he sailed from Stonington, Connecticut, for Cali- fornia, in the brig General Cobb, as chief mate and part owner. Mr. Ball went out as member of a mining com- pany, and during his four years' stay in California was suc- cessful in his mining operations. In 1853 he returned to Block Island and engaged in mercantile business. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives to the General Assembly in 1854, and after serving two terms was elected to the Senate, of which body he was almost a constant member from 1858 to 1872. Mr. Ball early con- ceived the idea of a harbor of refuge at Block Island to be constructed by the General Government. In furtherance of this object he held interviews with the Boards of Trade of the cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Provi- dence ; prepared petitions to Congress, corresponded with members of Congress and with men of influence engaged in commerce in various parts of the country ; and never re- laxed his efforts until he had secured from Congress an appropriation to accomplish the work desired. The new light-house at the south end of the Island was procured mainly through his efforts, as were also the two life-saving stations and the signal station. His last and crowning act in behalf of his native town was the procuring of the sub- marine cable from the mainland to Block Island, thus af- fording telegraphic communication with the world at large. His first petition to Congress for this was written by him in 1876, headed by the late Professor Joseph Henry, and subscribed by other prominent men then guests at the Ocean View Hotel. Mr. Ball gave the land to the government for the site of the Life-Saving Station at the harbor, as also for a new light-house soon to be built there. This petition was renewed by him in 1878, and in the spring of 1880 he had the pleasure of seeing the cable laid, on which occasion he made a congratulatory address to his fellow-townsmen. The building of the breakwater at Block Island and the consequent facilities afforded summer visitors to find their

way to its shores seemed to necessitate providing increased accommodations for their reception. Seeing that no one was inclined to take the initiative in making Block Island a popular summer resort, Mr. Ball invested a large sum in the erection of a hotel, which he aptly called the " Ocean View," the reputation of which has become national. In June, 1875, while President Grant was visiting Rhode Island, in response to an invitation fromn Mr. Ball, he came to the Island in company with Secretary Bristow, Attorney- General Pierrepont, Senators Anthony and Burnside, and other members of the Presidential party, and took dinner with Mr. Ball at the Ocean View Hotel, supplementing the repast by a pleasant drive over the Island. Mr. Ball has greatly added to the material prosperity of his native town, having raised it, largely by his own unaided exertions, from an insignificant fishing hamlet to a popular and well-known watering-place. Scarcely a dozen years ago a weekly mail carried in a cedar fishing-boat constituted the only regular means of communication with the mainland, while now to a daily mail during the summer and a tri-weekly mail dur- ing the rest of the year, carried by a steamboat, is added telegraphic communication with all parts of the world. Mr. Ball was the originator and prime mover in all these im- provements, Though not inclined to be radical in his views he is a strong supporter of the Republican party, of which he has been a member ever since its organization. Mr. Ball married, in 1851, Eliza Millikin, daughter of Abraham and Sybil (Littlefield) Millikin, of Block Island. Their surviving children are Cassius C., Effie A., and Schuyler C. L. Mrs. Ball died April 14, 1870, and Mr. Ball subsequently married Mrs. Almeda R. (Dodge) Little- field, daughter of Solomon and Catharine Dodge.

BARREN, MAJOR-GENERAL GOUVERNEUR K., was born at Cold Spring, Putnam County, New York, January 8, 1830. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy July 1, 1846, where he graduated with honor in July, 1850, with class rank of " 2." He was commissioned, July 1, 1850, Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical En- gineers, and began service under Captain A. A. Hum- phreys in the survey of the Delta of the Mississippi, 1850-2; participated in the Board for the improvement of the canal around the Falls of the Ohio, 1852-3; had charge of sur- veys for improvements of Rock Island and Des Moines Rapids, 1853; engaged in compiling General Map of the Territory of the United States west of the Mississippi River, to accompany reports of Pacific Railroad explora- tions, in 1854. In September of that year he was pro- moted to Second Lieutenant of Topographical Engineers, and served as Chief Topographical Engineer on the Sioux Expedition, in 1855. He was in charge of reconnoissances in the Dakota country, in 1856, being promoted to First Lieutenant July 1, 1856. He performed similar work in

508

BIOGRAPIIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Nebraska Territory, 1857, in which year he made the first reconnoissance of the Black Hills between the forks of the Big Cheyenne River. Engaged on maps and reports till he was made First Assistant Professor of Mathematics at West Point in August, 1859, whence he obtained lcave of absence from his corps, in April, 1861, and did not serve in it again. He was promoted to Captain of Topographical Engineers September 9, 1861, and the Topographical Engineer Corps was merged into the Corps of Engineers. He was pro- moted to Major of the Corps of Engineers June 25, 1864. General Warren's military services and promotions from the beginning to the close of the Rebellion were numerous and important. In 1861, as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fifth New York Volunteers, he was with his regiment in the Department of Virginia, and engaged in the action at Big Bethel Church, June 10, after that in the defences of Baltimore, constructing the fort on Federal Hill. On the 3Ist of August he was promoted to Colonel of the Fifth New York Volunteers, and was in the expedition to North- ampton and Accomac counties, Virginia, in November and December. In 1862 his operations were in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign of the Army of the Potomac, where a brigade was organized for his command, from March to August. In May he was on the right flank of the Union Army, and had a skirmish on the Pamunkey River, May 26 ; was at the capture of Hanover Court-house, May 27; for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Gaines Mill, June 27, where he was wounded, he was subsequently made Brigadier-General Volunteers and Brevet Lieutenant- Colonel United States Army ; he participated in the repulse of Wise's Rebel Division at Malvern Hill, June 30, and in the battle of Malvern Hill, July I of that year, and was also in the skirmish at Harrison's Landing, July 2. Gen- eral Warren with his brigade took an active part in the Northern Virginia Campaign, where, in August and Septem- ber, he was in many skirmishes, and was prominent in the battles of Manassas, August 30, and of Antietam, Septem- ber 15-17. On the 26th of September, 1862, he was made Brigadier-General United States Volunteers, and as such was in the march to Falmouth, Virginia, in October to No- vember ; was with his brigade in the Rappahannock Cam- paign, under General Burnside, from December, 1862, to February, 1863, and in the battles of Fredericksburg, De- cember 13-16, 1863. Under General Hooker he served as Chief Topographical Engineer of the Army of the Po- tomac. He was in this position on General Hooker's staff at the battle of Chancellorsville, participating in the action on Orange Pike, May 1; in the storming of Marye's Heights, May 3, for which, for skill and bravery, he was promoted to Major-General of United States Volunteers. He was conspicuous in the Pennsylvania Campaign as Chief of Engineers at Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, engaging in the battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, where he was wounded. He afterwards was made Brevet Colonel, U. S. A., for gallant and meritorious ser-

vice at this battle. He was in command of the Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac from August 12, 1863, to March 24, 1864, operating in Central Virginia, being in the engagement at Culpepper and Rapidan, September 13-16, 1863, and in command on the field in that of Au- burn and Bristoe Station, October 14, 1863. On the 13th of March, 1863, for "gallant and meritorious services" at Bristol Station, he was promoted to Brevet Brigadier-Gen- eral of the United States Army. While in command of the Second Corps he was in the following other engage- ments : Bull Run, October 15, 1863; Kelly's Ford, No- vember 8, 1863; Mine Run, November 26-30, 1863; Mor- ton's Ford, February 6, 1864, having command of the Fifth Corps. He was made, by President Lincoln, Com- mander of the Fifth Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac on March 24, 1864, and served in the Rich- mond Campaign till the city was taken, in April, 1865. He was in the battles of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864; about Spottsylvania, May 18-20, 1864; North Anna, May 23-25, 1864 ; Bethesda Church, May 30, 1864; Cold Harbor, June 1-4, 1864 ; the skirmish on White Oak Swamp, June 13, 1864; the assaults on Petersburg, June 17-18, 1864; in its siege from June 18, 1864, to April 2, 1865; in the Petersburg Mine assault, July 30, 1864 ; in the actions for the occupation of the Weldon Railroad, August 18-25, 1864 ; the engagements at Peeble's Farm, September 30, 1864, and at the Chapel House, October 1, 1864; in skirmishes near Hatcher's Run, October 27, 28, 1864; in the destruction of the Weldon Railroad to Meherrin River, December 7-10, 1864; at Dabney's Mill, February 6-7, 1865 ; in the actions and movements to White Oak Ridge, March 29, 30, 31, 1865, and the battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865. In these almost incessant engagements, General Warren attracted special attention from the country he so patriotically and bravely served, especially while he was in command of the Fifth Corps, and in them he won laurels that will not fade from the memory of posterity. On the 13th of March, 1865, he was promoted to brevet Major-General of the United States army " for gallant and meritorious services during the Rebellion," and was in command of the Department of the Mississippi from May 14th to the 30th, 1865. He was a member of the Board of Engineers to examine Washington Canal, District of Columbia, from March 10, to May 28, 1866. About the Ist of August, 1866, he was assigned to duty as Engineer in charge of the surveys of the Mississippi River above St. Louis, Missouri, except the Des Moines and Rock Island Rapids. The object of these surveys was to devise plans for the improvement of the navigation, and for building bridges that would accommodate the railroads and not ob- struct navigation. He remained on this duty until May 31, 1870, with such additional duties as the requirements of the improvements in the Department called for, among which was planning and locating the bridge over the Mis- sissippi at Rock Island. February 9, 1870, he was assigned

509

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

to the charge of the Lake surveys, which impaired health compelled him to ask to be relieved from. His station was changed to Newport, Rhode Island, where he has continued until the present time, 1881, in charge of surveys and improvement of rivers and harbors, and construction of fortifications in Southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and until July 1, 1874, of those of Long Island, New York, of the defences of New Bed ford Harbor, Massachusetts, and of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and of New London and New Haven, Con- necticut, until July 1, 1874. In 1868-9 he served as special commissioner to examine the Union Pacific Railroad and telegraph lines. While on the Mississippi he discovered the probable former outlet of this river to the north through the Red River, etc., to Hudson Bay. In 1870-1, he served as President of the Board of Engineers on bridging the Ohio River. His report on the Minnesota River was completed in 1874; report on the survey and improvement of the Wiscon- sin River in 1875; report upon bridging the Mississippi River between St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Louis, Missouri, in 1878. Besides the regular duties at these stations, he has served on several engineering boards upon bridges and harbors, and for the improvement of rivers. He has been a member of the Advisory Council of the Harbor Commis- sioners of the State of Rhode Island since October, 1878. General Warren married, June 17, 1863, Emily F. Chase, daughter of A. S. Chase and Mary A. Chase, of Baltimore, Maryland.

DOWRY, WILLIAM A., teacher, was born at Ux- bridge, Massachusetts, August 13, 1829. His parents were Jonathan and Hannah (Brayton) Mowry. He was but three years old at the time of the death of his father, and was thus left to the sole care of his mother, a woman of superior intellect and great force of character. He received his elementary edu- cation in the schools of his native town, and in the year 1847 commenced teaching in Mohegan, Rhode Island, and during the succeeding four years taught in Burrillville, Uxbridge, and Whitinsville. After pursuing a preparatory course at Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1854, he entered Brown University, but was prevented by ill health from completing the course at the latter institution. Leaving college, he travelled to recruit his health. In September, 1857, he became the editor and publisher of the Rhode Island Schoolmaster, which he conducted with ability until February, 1860. From May, 1858, to February, 1864, he taught in the pub- lic High School of Providence, during most of which time he was principal of the English and scientific department. On the 1 5th of January, 1861, he was licensed as a preacher by the Rhode Island Association of Orthodox Congrega- tional Ministers, and for nearly a year afterward served as pastor of the Elmwood Congregational Church, Providence. Subsequently he was for several years superintendent of

the Sunday-school. In September, 1862, during the time of the country's peril, he enlisted in the Eleventh Regi- ment Rhode Island Infantry, and was promoted to the captaincy. He served with distinction through the term for which the regiment enlisted, and was honorably dis- charged July 13, 1863. In 1864 he was appointed Super- intendent of the Public Schools in Cranston, which office he held until 1866. In 1864 he commenced the " English and Classical School," a private institution for boys, which has grown to be one of the most successful and noted in- stitutions of the kind in New England. Mr. Mowry is the senior partner in company with Mr. Charles B. Goff, and has a corps of fifteen experienced teachers associated with him. The school is established in a fine building erected expressly for it, and every facility is afforded for scholars to obtain a solid business education or to pursue a prepara- tory course of instruction for entrance into college. A daily military drill is also practiced with great precision and thoroughness, and has been found to contribute to the health as well as the esprit de corps of the school. In 1866 Mr. Mowry received the degree of A.M. from Brown Uni- versity, and was subsequently elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity. He has been very active in edu- cational movements, especially in connection with the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, of which he has been President, and the American Institute of Instruction, of which he was elected President July 8, 1880. He has delivered lectures before the Normal schools of Massachu- setts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the teachers' insti- tutes in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and other associations. Being an original thinker, an earnest speaker, and a ready de- bater, Mr. Mowry's public efforts are both stimulating and interesting. He has contributed variously to the press, and is the author of the two handsome octavo volumes entitled Richard Mowry, of Uxbridge, his Ancestry and Descend- ants, and The Descendants of Nathaniel Mowry, of Rhode Island, giving very full genealogical information respect- ing that family; and of some published treatises, among which may be mentioned, Who Invented the First Ameri- can Steamboat ? published by the New Hampshire Anti- quarian Society ; and " Political Education," from the Transactions of the American Institute of Instruction. He has been deeply interested in various philanthropic, charitable, and social movements, being a member of the Providence Young Men's Christian Association, the Providence Franklin Society, the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, the Rhode Island Horticultural Society, and the Rhode Island His- torical Society. Mr. Mowry married, December 15, 1849, Rufina M. E. Weaver, daughter of Nehemiah K. and Free- love M. Weaver, of Slatersville, Rhode Island. She died March II, 1850. On the 29th of April, 1858, he married Caroline E. Aldrich, daughter of Ezekiel and Eliza D.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 114

Author: National biographical publishing co., pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Providence, National biographical publishing co. Number of Pages: 868

Author: National biographical publishing co., pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Providence, National biographical publishing co.
Number of Pages: 868