The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 126

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

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een AYWARD, WILLIAM S., Mayor of Providence, was born in the town of Foster, Rhode Island, Febru- ary 26, 1835. He attended a district school until he was twelve years of age, and for several years thereafter was employed on the farm of Mr. Bennett L. Holden, in Old Warwick, during which time he attended school for four terms. In 1851 he removed to Providence, where he obtained employment in the bakery of Rice & Hayward, the members of the firm being Messrs. Fitz James Rice and George W. Hayward. He remained in their em-

ploy for one year, and then emgaged with Mr. Calvin Rockwood, who offered him a larger salary than he had been receiving. Mr. Hayward was employed in Mr. Rock- wood's bakery until 1853, when he returned to the estab- lishment of Rice & Hayward. He commenced as sales- man, and continued as such until the fall of 1858, when he purchased the delivering department of the business to supply the city trade, they retaining the right to supply the out-of-town customers. In 1860 the two branches of the business were united, and Mr. Hayward became a member of the firm, the style being Rice, Hayward & Co. On the 1st of November, 1861, Mr. Hayward went to Washington, District of Columbia, and in connection with Mr. L. H. Humphreys, established what was known as the " Rhode Island Bakery," in that city. For several months their business was remarkably successful, and was confined prin- cipally to sutlers and others depending on the army for patronage; but when the army in its forward movement crossed into Virginia, they were left without customers. Sharing in the belief, at that time general, that the war was drawing to a close, they sold out their business at consider- able loss, and returned to Providence. In 1863 Mr. Hayward bought the entire interest of Rice, Hayward & Co., and assumed full management of the business, which rapidly increased on acconnt of the patronage received from troops encamped in Rhode Island during the war. In 1865 Mr. Fitz James Rice again became his partner, which partner- ship still continues. In 1872 Mr. Hayward was elected to the Common Council of Providence, from the Sixth Ward, and was annually re-elected until 1876, when he was elected Alderman from the same ward, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. N. F. Potter, Jr., who was elected Water Commissioner at that time. He served as a member of the Board of Aldermen from 1876, and as president of the board from 1878, until entering upon the discharge of his duties as Mayor of Providence, to which office he was elected in 1880. For several years he has been an active member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the First Light Infantry of Prov- idence, the Frankin Lyceum, and other societies. He married, November 9, 1859, Lucy Maria Rice, daughter of Mr. Fitz James Rice, of Providence.

BHIPPLE, JEREMIAH, M.D., son of Jeremiah and Sarah (Smith) Whipple, was born in Cumber- land, Rhode Island, December 2, 1838. We find the names of some of his ancestors among the earliest settlers of the town. His preparatory studies were pursued at the University Grammar School in Providence. Finding his health not sufficiently good to warrant his undertaking the regular four years' course of study in Brown University, he entered college, as a candi- date for the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, and was

William J. Hayward

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graduated with that degree in the class of 1859. Soon after leaving college he commenced the study of medicine in the office of Dr. C. W. Parsons, of Providence, and at- tended the lectures of the Harvard Medical School, which, in 1866, conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. During the seven years of his medical studies, he spent a part of the time in Paris, directing his attention to professional and scientific investigations. Having been admitted to practice, he received the appointment of House Surgeon in the Massachusetts General Hospital. This office he held for one year. He found his health to be so precarious that he did not venture upon the general prac- tice of his profession, but confined himself to the consulting and advisory duties of a physician, among his personal friends, who highly appreciated his skill and services. He went abroad several winters for the purpose of enjoying a milder climate than that of his native State. While in France he died at Arcachon, Department of Gironde, May 26, 1871. He married, in October, 1869, Carlotta Hobson, of New York, who, with an infant daughter, survived her husband. It is said of Dr. Whipple that " he possessed unusual aptitude for medical practice in its higher forms, and his success was sure, had his health been adequate to the labor it re- quired." He ranked among the most thoroughly educated of Rhode Island physicians.

AINE, GEORGE TAYLOR, son of Walter and Sophia Field (Taylor) Paine, was born in Providence, September 25, 1838. His father was a prominent business man, and held important positions of trust under the State and municipal governments. His family line is traced back to John Field, an early settler of Providence, to Colonel Benjamin Church, and to Stephen Paine, one of the founders of Rehoboth. Young Paine enjoyed the advantages afforded by the excellent public schools of the city. He commenced his business life in the coal office of Alfred Wright, and afterward entered the employ of the Merchants' Insurance Company. For a time in 1860 he was connected with a drygoods commis- sion house in Philadelphia. Since 1867 he has been an independent insurance agent, transacting a large business, and by his promptness, efficiency, and zeal, inspiring con- fidence and winning success. As agent he has had occa- sion to travel extensively throughout the Union, and has thus been enabled to form a wide circle of acquaintance. In 1858 he united with the National Cadets, and has held various offices in the State militia. Political offices, how- ever, have no attractions for him, and he has persistently refused them when offered. Being from early youth fond of reading and of good books, he has accumulated a choice library of works, mostly historical. Through his efforts mainly the works of Roger Williams have been republished in seven quarto volumes, under the auspices of the Narra- gansett Club. He has thus rendered good service to the

cause of letters, and aided in erecting to the memory of the distinguished founder of the State a monument more enduring than brass or marble. In 1867 he was made a member of the Rhode Island Historical Society, in which he has manifested a lively interest, serving as secretary five years, and giving to it much time and labor. He is a life-member of the New England Historical and Genealogi- cal Society, and an honorary member of various other his- torical societies. Mr. Paine married, June 10, 1863, Lou- ise Mason Akermann, daughter of Charles and Lucy E. Akermann, of Providence. One son, William Howard Paine, is the fruit of this marriage.

BARTLETT, CAPTAIN HENRY ANTHONY, United States Marine Corps, son of Hon. John Russell Bartlett, was born in Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, August 19, 1838. Captain Bartlett was attached to the First Rhode Island Regiment of volunteers as Quartermaster Sergeant, which left Providence on the breaking out of the war, in April, 1861. In September following he was appointed by President Lincoln a lieu- tenant in the United States Marine Corps. He was on board the United States transport steamer Governor, with a detachment of marines, which foundered at sea on the night of December 3, 1861, and was rescued by the United States frigate Sabine, which happened to be passing at the time. Prom the published Records of the Living Officers of the United States Navy we gather the following facts : " From April, 1862, to September, 1864, Captain Bartlett was attached to the steam war-frigate New Ironsides, par- ticipating in twenty-six engagements off and near Charles- ton, South Carolina, including the bombardments of Forts Sumter, Wagner, Gregg, Moultrie, Bee, and others, having charge of two eleven-inch guns, manned by the marine guard. He was in command of a detachment of marines at the taking of Jacksonville, Florida, in January, 1864, and subsequently in command of a battalion of marines and sailors on Morris Island." He was promoted to a cap- taincy November 29, 1867. In 1866 he sailed in the United States steamship Sacramento on a voyage round the world ; was shipwrecked on the Coromandel coast, Hindoostan ; escaped, with several others, on a raft, after remaining on which for forty hours they were picked up in the Indian Ocean by a passing vessel, which landed them on the coast. The party remained ninety days at an English military post before a ship could be obtained to take them home. At length one was chartered at Madras, which took the party, numbering two hundred and thirty, including officers and men, and transported them to New York. In 1869 he was detailed for the Tehuantepec Expedition, under Commodore Shufeldt, for the survey of an inter- oceanic canal. In 1872 Captain Bartlett again sailed for the China seas in the United States steam-frigate Hartford, on which voyage he visited Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said,

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and Cairo. Passing through the Sucz Canal and down the Red Sea, he stopped at Aden, Ceylon, Singapore, Manilla, and thence to Hong Kong. On this cruise he was occu- pied three years, during which time he visited all the prin- cipal ports in China and Japan. In 1877 he made a brief visit to Europe, and was subsequently stationed at Wash- ington as Judge Advocate of the Marine Corps. He mar- ried, November 16, 1875, Edith E. Blankman, of New York, who died at Washington, D. C., June 5, 1877.

ILTON, FREDERICK WILLIAM, A.M., the youngest son of Benjamin and Lucinda Newell Tilton, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 14, 1839. He prepared for college in his native city and grad- uated at Harvard in 1862. Immediately after grad- uation he sailed for Europe, and after travelling through Great Britain and the Continent was matriculated as a stu- dent in the University of Göttingen. From 1863 to 1866, he was employed as teacher of Latin and Mathematics in the Military Academy at Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1867 he was elected Superintendent of the Public Schools of Newport, Rhode Island, where he labored assiduously in elevating the school system until 1871. Dr. Samuel L. Taylor, of Andover, having died early in the latter year, Mr. Tilton was elected his successor as principal of Phil- lips Academy, and entered upon his new duties in Septem- ber of the same year. The intention of William Sanford Rogers to endow an institution of learning in Newport had been known to a few gentlemen there, and Mr. Tilton having been consulted with reference to the details of the bequest, had become interested in the matter. On the death of Mr. Rogers the endowment became available, and Mr. Tilton was strongly urged to undertake the direc- tion of the Rogers High School. Having been chosen head master of the school, he removed to Newport in 1873, and still holds the same position there. He married, in 1864, Ellen Trowbridge, of Cambridge, eldest daugh- ter of Dr. J. H. Trowbridge. They have four children, William Frederic, Benjamin Trowbridge, Ellen Maud, and Newell Whiting. In addition to his direct labors in behalf of education in Newport, Mr. Tilton has served as director of Redwood Library and of the Frce Library, has given educational addresses in different parts of the State, and has written a large number of reports in which educational questions have been treated. He is a member of the United Congregational Church at Newport, where he has held various offices.

FOT

TOCKWELL, THOMAS BLANCHARD, Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island, was born at Worcester, Massachusetts, July 6, 1839. His pa- rents were Amos Wright and Susan Le Baron Stock- well. His father graduated at Amherst College in 1835; studied law with Hon. Isaac Davis; was Postmaster

of Chicopee, Massachusetts, during the administrations of Tyler and Polk ; was subsequently Commissioner of In- solvency for Hampden County; and dicd March 3, 1853. After passing through a thorough preparatory course, Mr. Stockwell entered Brown University, and graduated at that institution in 1862. 1Ie then taught, as sub-master, in Ea- ton grammar school, at New Haven, Connecticut, and after- wards for some time as principal of the high school at Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1864 he was elected teacher of the junior class of boys in the Providence high school, retaining that position until January 1, 1875, when he was elected Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island, which position he now occupies (1881). In his official ca- pacity he is required to visit, as often as practicable, every school district in the State, for the purpose of pointing out the defects and suggesting improvements in their manage- ment. This object is accomplished by public addresses and personal communication with school offieers, teachers, and parents. His addresses were always carefully prepared and replete with practical suggestions. The various duties of School Commissioner have been discharged by Mr. Stockwell in a manner highly satisfactory to the Board of Education, and through his efforts the management of the public schools of the State has been greatly improved. His scholarly attainments, experience as an educator, and prominence as State School Commissioner, cause him fre- quently to be solicited to deliver public addresses outside of the regular line of his duties, and to participate in vari- ous movements designed to advance the cause of educa- tion, to which it is his custom to respond as often as prac- ticable. For several years he has been an active member of the Central Congregational Church of Providence, in which he holds the office of deacon, and has done much to promote charitable and benevolent enterprises generally. In 1866 he married Harriet E., daughter of Rev. Emerson Davis, D.D., of Westfield, Massachusetts. They have three children, whose names are, Frederiek Emerson, Ar- thur Mayhew, and Edward Amos.

ARMICHAEL, GEORGE, JR., was born in Glasgow, Scotland, November 22, 1838. His parents were George and Elizabeth ( Rutherford) Carmichael. The former was born in Glasgow in 1802, and the latter in Edinburgh in 1810. They had seven ehildren, four of whom are now (1881) living, Alexander, Elizabeth, George, and Margaret. They came to the United States in 1847, settled first at Rockville in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, and were employed for a number of years by Mr. Oliver P. Wells in a cotton factory ; and afterward removed to West- erly, Rhode Island, where the sons and their elder sister found employment in the woollen mill of Babcock & Moss. Alexander and George were there trained to labor and habits of economy. They gained their education in their odd hours and while engaged in their work. By skill, in-

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telligence, and fidelity, they rose to be overseers of the weaving department in the establishment of their employ- ers. Alexander became superintendent and agent of the mill; George an overseer and superintendent of a mill be- longing to the late Welcome Stillman. By diligent and discriminating reading, and connection with lyceums and literary societies, George made steady progress in mental improvement. "For awhile he attended an evening school in Westerly, where about twelve young men employed a teacher to instruct them in writing and mathematics. Dur- ing the Civil War these adopted citizens stood bravely by our government. George enlisted in Company B, Ninth Rhode Island Volunteers, May 26, 1862, and served with his regiment until the expiration of its term of service. He afterward became Captain of Company H, Eighth Rhode Island Militia, commissioned July 23, 1863, and served three years. In July, 1863, his company served in the forts by the West Passage of Narragansett Bay ; and volunteered for the defence of Washington in the hours of its peril. For this proffer of service Captain Carmichael and his command received the official thanks of Governor J. Y. Smith. Alexander and George became partners in business, engaging in the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods, and continue to the present under the firm-name of A. Carmichael & Co. They own and operate the Green Hill Mills in South Kingstown, the Shannock Mills in Rich- mond, and the Stillman Mills at the West End of Pawca- tuck Bridge, Westerly. George superintends the Shannock Mills. The firm was organized in 1866, the year of their purchase of the Green Hill Mills. From 1873 to 1875 they leased and operated the Laurel Glen Mills in North Stonington, Connecticut. In 1875 they purchased the Shannock Mills property. In 1879 they purchased the Stillman Mills. All these mills have been kept steadily in operation, and have done a prosperous business. George is also astockholder in the Stillman Manufacturing Company of Westerly, of which Alexander is agent and treasurer. The present mills of this last firm stand where George and his brother first worked for Babcock & Moss. In 1877 George was elected, from the town of Richmond, a Repre- sentative to the General Assembly, and was re-elected in 1878. In 1877 he obtained from the legislature an appropri- ation to purchase the land and inclose the Royal Burying Ground of the Indians in Charlestown. In 1878 he secured an appropriation to protect the inlet connecting the Charles- town Pond with the ocean, thus preventing the closing of the inlet by storms and the shutting out of the migratory fishes and the destruction of shell-fish. Declining a re- election to the legislature in 1879, he became President of the Town Council of Richmond. In 1880 he was return- ed to the legislature by the Republican and Temperance parties united, and was one of the State Commissioners to negotiate for and purchase the Indian reservation of lands belonging to the remnant of the Narragansetts, and to set- tle finally the affairs of that tribe, a very important matter

in the history of the State, as these lands had been under tribal control by the Indians, like a government within a government, from the days of the founding of the colony by Roger Williams. Mr. Carmichael has always been a strong and decided advocate of temperance, being con- nected with several temperance organizations. In 1878 he proposed in the General Assembly a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of spirituous and malt liquors as a beverage within the limits of the State. For several years he has been a member of the Masonic fra- ternity. He takes a deep interest in the cause of educa- tion and all matters pertaining to the public welfare. He married, November 7, 1858, Abby Sanford Thomas, of North Kingstown, whose mother, Harriet Sanford, was a daughter of Joseph Sanford, once widely known through the State. He has two children, George Alexander, born December 22, 1869, and Welcome Sands, born December 21, 1878.

YER, COLONEL ELISHA, JR., chemist, son of Hon. Elisha and Anna Jones (Hoppin) Dyer, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, November 29, 1839. After attending the public schools of the city, and the school of Lyon and Frieze, he entered Brown University in 1856, taking a partial course. In 1858 he went to Germany and entered the University of Giessen, where he graduated August 20, 1860, taking the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, having pursued his studies part of the time at Frieberg, in Saxony. He returned home in the autumn of 1860, and at the commencement of the Civil War started for Washington, D. C., April 18, 1861, as fourth sergeant of Captain Tompkins's Battery of Rhode Island Light Artillery, being one of the first volunteers enlisted in the State in response to the call for three months' men. While in charge of unloading the battery at Easton, Pennsylvania, he received an injury which nearly disabled him, and persisting in continuing with his company was overcome with the heat a few days later, and sent home by order of the surgeon. He has never fully recov- ered from the shock and exposure which he then experi- enced. In 1862 he was re-elected Lieutenant of the Marine Artillery, one of the oldest and finest military organizations in the State, having held a position on its staff before his enlistment for the war. In May of the same year the Bat- tery again enlisted for three months, but Lieutenant Dyer, who had volunteered, was rejected from service by the surgeon on the ground of his previous disability. Governor Sprague at once appointed him major, and with Lieutenant- Colonel George H. Smith, detailed him to recruit and drill men for the Battery, which he continued to do for the re- mainder of the year. The following year Governor James Y. Smith appointed him colonel on his staff, in which position he served for three years. In 1867 the Marine Artillery Company was reorganized, and Colonel Dyer entered its ranks as corporal. In 1869 he was elected

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lieutenant colonel commanding the company, which office he resigned after two years, and one year thereafter was again made commander for another term of two years. In 1875, under the new militia law, all the artillery of the State was consolidated, and Colonel Dyer was elected to the command of the battalion. At the same time he was appointed a member of the Board of Examiners of Officers of the State Militia, which position he held until 1878. In 1877 he was elected to the State Senate from North Kingstown, and during his term of service was a member of the Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Committee on Militia. In 1878 he was appointed by a convention of militia officers one of the commission to report a new militia law to the General Assembly. He was appointed by Gov- ernor Van Zandt and served as a member of the Joint Select Committee on the reception of President Hayes and Cabinet in 1877. He was also appointed for five years a member of the State Board of Health for Washington County in 1878. In 1881 he was elected a Representative to the General Assembly from the Fourth Ward of Provi- dence. He has been one of the directors of the Union Bank and of the Union Savings Bank of Providence since 1870. For several years he was one of the Finance Com- mittee of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry. His chosen profession is that of a chemist, and he has been engaged from time to time in various manufacturing interests, but of late years has been very busily occupied with the care and management of the estate of his father. He married, November 26, 1861, Nancy Anthony, daughter of William and Mary B. (An- thony) Viall, of Providence. They have three sons, Elisha, George R., and H. Anthony. Throughout his life Colonel Dyer has labored earnestly for the best interests of man- kind, and enjoys the satisfaction of having done worthily whatever he has undertaken.

OWRY, HON. ELISHA CAPRON, lawyer, was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, December 26, 1836. He is the son of the late Major Harris Jencks Mowry, who resided successively at Smithfield, Woonsocket, and Providence, Rhode Island, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he died in 1854. His mother's name was Fanny Capron Scott. He is a lineal descendant of Thomas Harris, who came to Providence with Roger Williams; of Richard Scott, also one of the original founders ; of Joseph Jenckes, who came to Lynn very early ; of Nathaniel Mowry, who was in Providence in 1660; and of Banfield Capron, who arrived in this country about 1675. His father having removed to Prov- idence about the year 1840, he enjoyed superior advan- tages in attending the schools of that city. When he was twelve years of age the family removed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, but two years thereafter he returned to Provi- dence, and from 1851 to 1853 prepared for college at the

University Grammar School of Messrs. Frieze & Lyon. Hle entered Brown University in 1853, but when half through the collegiate course, was compelled to give up study on account of ill health. He afterwards taught school, for which he was eminently fitted, in Rhode Island and New York State, and part of the time engaged in busi- ness in Buffalo, New York. Having recovered his health, he returned to Brown University in 1859, and graduated in 1861. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army, serving in 1862 in the Tenth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers. Returning from the seat of war at the close of his term of service, he entered the law office of Hon. Samuel Currey, of Providence, and pursued his legal studies with close application, teaching school during the winters with his usual success at various places in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In 1864 and early in 1865 he was Principal of the High School in East Douglas, Massa- chusetts. In May, 1865, he was admitted to the bar of Rhode Island, and in 1866 to practice in the United States Courts. Mr. Mowry has held various offices of honor and trust in the city of Providence, having been Justice of the Peace since 1862, and Notary Public for many years, and a valued member of the School Board since 1872, perform- ing his duties with untiring devotion. For several years he has been chairman of the Committee on Evening Schools. In 1871 he was elected to the Common Council of Providence, in which position he continued until 1877, when he was elected Alderman, declining a re-nomination in 1879. In these branches of the city government, though a member of the Democratic party, which has been in the minority there, he has been chairman or member of the most important standing and special committees, and has exerted much influence in the management of munici- pal affairs. In 1880 he was elected State Senator. Mr. Mowry has built up a large legal practice, has secured the confidence of the people, and is respected " as an honest, upright man, well read in legal matters, of broad intelli- gence, large general culture, and sound judgment." He is a member and warden of the Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal), with which he united in 1861. He married, October 7, 1869, Hannah Richardson, daughter of Benja- min Richardson, of Providence. Their children are Fanny Richardson, Benjamin Richardson, Emma Augusta, Charles Matteson, Sarah Ross, and Harris Jencks.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 126

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