USA > Rhode Island > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island > Part 129
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ARYOTT, CURTIS E., M.D., son of Rev. Ichabod B. and Almira ( Miner) Maryott, was born in New York city, May 3, 1841, and is a descendant of Rev. Samuel Maryott, a Sabbatarian minister, who was born in England, in 1706, and for many years resided in Newport, where he died in 1802. The Rev. Samuel Maryott's daughter, Betsey, died at the advanced age of one hundred and one. Dr. Maryott's father was born in Lisbon, Connecticut, in 1810; and his grandfather, William Maryott, in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, in 1783. Henry Maryott, the father of William, was born in 1755, and died in 1821. Dr. Maryott's boyhood and youth were spent at North Stonington, Connecticut. At the age of twenty-four he went to New York and entered the Medical Department of the University of that city, at which institu- tion he graduated in March, 1866. In December of the same year he commenced the practice of his profession on Block Island, where he continued successfully until 1872, being the only physician most of the time on the Island. In the year last mentioned he removed to Wakefield, Rhode Island, where he now resides. He married, November 2, 1867, Maria Louise Hawkins, daughter of Ara and Louisi- ana (Inman) Hawkins, of Glocester, Rhode Island. They have two children, Gertrude E. and Wilfred E. Mrs. Maryott's father was born in 1792, and her mother in 1808, both of whom are still living. Her maternal grandfather,
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Tourtellott Inman, who was born in 1777, died in Milford, Massachusetts, at the age of one hundred years and nine months. During his residence in Wakefield Dr. Maryott has acquired a good medical practice. He takes an active interest in religious work, being a member of the Wakefield Baptist Church, and having been superintendent of the Sunday-school for four years.
ILLSON, HON. FRANCELLO GEORGE, son of Deacon Allen Bennett and Abby ( Hunt) Jillson, was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, September 22, 1841. Mention of the ancestry of the family is made in the sketch of his brother, Ollys A. Jillson, which appears elsewhere in this volume. His parents occupy an influen- tial position in the community, and are valued members of the Woonsocket Baptist Church, of which his father for many years has been a deacon. Mr. Jillson was educated in the public schools of his native town ; at the New Lon- don Literary and Scientific Institution, in New London, New Hampshire; and in the Woonsocket High School, his studies at the last-named institution having been pursued with a view to entering college. In the spring of 1861 on hearing of the fall of Fort Sumter he relinquished his studies, and although exempt from military service by reason of defective vision, which required the use of glasses, he enlisted in the First Rhode Island Detached Militia, under command of Colonel A. E. Burnside, and was in the first battle of Bull Run. He entered the service as corporal, and was promoted to the office of First Lieutenant, in Com- pany G, Ninth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers. He also served with efficiency as Judge Advocate of the regi- mental courts-martial. Since the close of the war he has continued to take an active interest in military matters, having been Major of the Woonsocket Guards, and Pay- master of the State Militia. He is also President of the Veteran Association of the soldiers of the Union Army. Having taught school in New London, New Hampshire, in 1858 and 1859, he resumed that vocation on returning from the army. He taught in Blackstone, Massachusetts, until 1863, and in the Grammar School of Woonsocket until the spring of 1864, when he became Superintendent of the Public Schools in Cumberland. He then turned his attention to the legal profession, and pursued his studies in the law offices of George W. Everett, at New London, New Hampshire, Hon. George F. Hoar, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Jewell A. Field, in Boston. On the 25th of February, 1865, he was admitted to the bar in Boston. For two years thereafter he served as Clerk of the Woonsocket Court of Magistrates, and as Town Clerk of Cumberland, and of Woonsocket when it became a township, continuing to fill the last-named position until November, 1874, when he resigned to devote his entire time to the practice of his profession. He was admitted to the bar in Providence in 1869, and to practice in the United
States Circuit Court in 1875. Since 1871 he has made patent law a specialty, and has been engaged in several important cases in that branch of the law. In 1870-71 he was elected State Senator, and in 1881 Representative from Woonsocket. In 1876-77 he was President of the Woon- socket Town Council. He has been a trustee of the Harris Institute since 1879, and secretary of the Woon- socket Hospital since its organization. For several years he has been a trustee of the Producers' Savings Bank, and of the Woonsocket Institution for Savings, having been a member of the Board of Investments of the latter institu- tion since 1872. In politics he is a Republican, and since the spring of 1878 has been a member of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1874 he was President of the Re- publican Congressional Convention of the Second District of Rhode Island, in 1880 was President of the Republican State Convention, and for some time has been President of the Republican organization of Woonsocket. He has for many years been identified with the Masonic order, in which he has held numerous offices and attained an eminent position. At present he is Grand Captain of the Guard of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He was a Knight of Honor in 1878, and now holds a prominent official position in that branch of the order. He married, September 3, 1868, Emma Potter, daughter of Robert and Alice (Inman) Potter, of Burrill- ville, Rhode Island, who was educated at the Friends' School in Providence, and at the Rhode Island Normal School, and was for some time a successful teacher in the public schools. They have one child, Francello Albert. Mr. Jillson resides in Woonsocket, but his principal office is in Providence. He has attained wide popularity, and achieved a large measure of professional success.
¿MES, GENERAL WILLIAM, second son of Hon. Samuel Ames, late Chief Justice of Rhode Island, was born in Providence, May 15, 1842. His mother was Mary Troop Dorr, daughter of Sullivan Dorr, of Providence. Having passed through the city schools and pursued the usual preparatory studies he entered Brown University in September 1858, and re- mained till the Civil War broke upon the land in 1861, when, at the age of nineteen, he enlisted as a soldier for the defence of his country. On the 6th of June, 1861, he received a commission as second lieutenant in the Second Rhode Island Regiment of Volunteers, the first infantry command in Rhode Island to serve for the whole war. Having shared in the first battle of Bull Run, he was pro- moted, October 25, 1861, to be first lieutenant. During the spring and summer of 1862 he was engaged in the operations on the Peninsula and before Richmond, under General McClellan, the Second Regiment being in the advance guard, the Light Brigade, which preceded the Army of the Potomac up the Peninsula towards Richmond,
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Colonel Wheaton commanding the infantry of the brigade, and Lieutenant Ames serving as adjutant, General Stonc- man commanding the entire advance guard, which was daily engaged for two weeks with the rear guard of the retreating Rebel army. The Lieutenant shared in the bat- tles of Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Allen's Farm, Savage Station, Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, and Malvern Hill, also in the battles of Second Bull Run, and Chantilly. Janu- ary 28, 1863, he was promoted to the position of Major of the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, then engaged in the siege of Fort Sumter, and the city of Charleston, South Carolina, and in holding the principal forts in the Depart- ment of the South. He was at first assigned to the com- mand of Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah River. He was promoted, March 22, 1864, to be lieutenant- colonel of the regiment, and, with the greater part of his command, was placed in charge of the forts on Morris Island engaged in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Rebel works in front of that city, under General Gilmore. In recognition of his abilities and ser- vices he was appointed, September 27, 1864, Chief of Artillery of the Department of the South. While engaged on Morris Island, eight steamers and sailing vessels were destroyed while attempting to run the blockade; and 17,276 heavy rifle shells (30, 100, 200, and 300 pound missiles) were thrown into Fort Sumter and the city of Charleston. He was commissioned Colonel of the Third Regiment, October 10, 1864, and in the spring of 1865 was temporarily detached from the command of the forts in front of Charleston and placed in command of the Artil- lery Brigade engaged in the battles of Honey Hill and Deveaux Neck, under Generals Foster and Hatch. After these battles he resumed command of the forts on Morris Island, and, on the evacuation of Charleston, he, with a boat's crew, was the second Federal officer to enter the captured city, where, with a squad of men, he took posses- sion of the United States Arsenal. He continued to occupy his position as Chief of Artillery in the Department of the South, under the Generals commanding, until the muster out of his regiment, September 14, 1865, having served through the whole of the Civil War, and bringing home scars as the proof of his courage and exposure. For con- stant, efficient services, and gallant conduct, he received from Rhode Island and from the United States the highest testimonials, and was " Brevetted Brigadier-General of Volunteers." Returning from the war he entered the office of Allen's Print Works till September 14, 1869, when he was appointed by the President, Collector of United States Internal Revenue for the First District of Rhode Island, which office he held till the consolidation of the districts, October 21, 1873, when he became Col- lector for the whole State, and so served till June 12, 1875, when he resigned to accept the office of agent and man- ager of the Fletcher Manufacturing Company, one of the oldest and most prosperous corporations of the State, where
he still remains. He is also now (1880) President of the Blackstone Canal National Bank, and a director in the Providence Washington Insurance Company. He was married, November 8, 1870, to Harriette Fletcher Ormsbee, of Providence, and has now three children. He is a worthy adherent of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as was his honored father, and is a junior warden of St. Stephen's Church, in Providence.
HODES, GENERAL ELISHA HUNT, son of Captain Elisha H. and Eliza A. (Chase) Rhodes, was born in Pawtuxet, Cranston, March 21, 1842. His father was a sea captain, as were his ancestors for several generations, and was lost at sea December 10, 1858, while in command of the schooner Worcester, of Providence. His body was recovered and buried on Lin- yard Key, Abaco. The subject of this sketch was edu- cated in the Pawtuxet schools, the Fountain Street Grammar School, and Potter & Hammond's Commercial Academy in Providence. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he gave him- self to his country's defence, enlisting early in May, 1861, in the Second Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, being mus- tered in as eighth corporal of Company D, June 5, 1861. He shared in the first great battle of the war on Manassas Plains, July 21, 1861, where fell Slocum, Tower, and Pres- cott. He became sergeant-major March 1, 1862; was commissioned second lieutenant July 24, 1862; was pro- moted to the rank of first lieutenant March 2, 1863, and took command of Company B, which he held till Novem- ber 7, 1863, when he became adjutant of the regiment. During all this time, as in all its history, the brave Second Regiment was in the van of the conflict, receiving and deal- ing some of the hottest strokes of the war. On the plains and hills of Eastern Virginia, on the Peninsula, before Richmond, and in checking Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, he saw severe service. When the veterans re-enlisted, he remained with them to see the conflict through. As senior officer on duty, he took command of the regiment June 5, 1864, and was promoted to the rank of captain, his commis sion dating May 5, 1864. Having reorganized the regiment he was assigned to its command by Major-General Wright of the Sixth Army Corps. Taking an active part in General Sheridan's Shenandoah campaign, he was brevetted "ma- jor for gallant conduct at the battle of Winchester." Re turning to Petersburg in December, 1864, he was pro- moted to lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, January 31, 1865. On the 2d of April, 1865, he was brevetted Colonel of United States Volunteers for gallant conduct at the charge on the Rebel works of Petersburg, and received his full commission as colonel, dating July 18, 1865. When the war for the Union had triumphantly ended he was honorably discharged from the service July 28, 1865, having bravely and efficiently served four years and two months, participating in every campaign of the Army of the Poto-
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mac, from the first battle of Bull Run to the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. Many honors have been bestowed upon him since the war. He has been chosen to the following offices in the Grand Army of the Republic : Adjutant of Prescott Post, No. 1, in 1867; Commander of the same Post in 1868; Assistant Adjutant-General of the Depart- ment of Rhode Island in 1871; Commander of that De- partment in 1872-3; member of the National Encampment in 1874-5; Senior Vice Commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1877; Vice-President of the So- ciety of the Army of the Potomac in 1877; President of the Second Rhode Island Volunteers' Association in 1874; President of the Rhode Island Soldiers' and Sailors' His- torical Society from its formation, in 1873, to the present time (1880); Vice-President of the Sixth Army Corps As- sociation in 1879. He has also occupied a prominent po- sition in religious, social, and civil affairs. General Rhodes was married, June 12, 1866, to Caroline P. Hunt, daughter of Joshua Hunt, of Providence, and has a son and daughter. On the 26th of October, 1855, he united with the Pawtuxet Baptist Church, and is now an honored member of the Central Baptist Church in Providence, and also holds membership in various societies and associations. In 1875, he was appointed Collector of United States Internal Revenue for the District of Rhode Island, which office he still holds. On the reorganization of the Rhode Island militia, in 1879, he was unanimously elected Brigadier- General for the State, receiving his commission June 25, 1879. Valuable biographical and historical papers have emanated from his pen.
ARCY, FREDERICK I., manufacturing jeweller, son of Ithamar and Mary L. (Smith) Marcy, was born, May 13, 1838, at Hartland, Windsor County, Vermont. His father, a native of Wind- sor, was a well-to-do farmer and a man of some prominence, having served as selectman and in other official positions. His mother, a native of Cornish, New Hampshire, was a daughter of Benjamin Smith, who owned and occupied a large homestead estate, which he had inherited from his ancestors, who were among the first set- tlers of Cornish. Mr. Marcy was educated in the schools of his native town. He remained on the farm with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, and in 1859 went to Medfield, Massachusetts, where for four years he was in the employ of D. Hoisington, a dealer in tinware. In January, 1864, he removed to Attleboro, Massachusetts, and accepted a position as travelling salesman with James II. Sturdy, a manufacturing jeweller, and at the expiration of one year became his partner. In July, 1865, Mr. Marcy and Mr. W. A. Sturdy bought-out James H. Sturdy, and for two years continued the business as Sturdy & Marcy. On the Ist of August, 1867, Mr. Marcy disposed of his interest to his partner, and, with Mr. James H. Sturdy, went to
Providence, purchased the machinery and tools in the manu- factory of W. Haskell & Co., 95 Pine Street, and again be- gan to manufacture jewelry, under the old firm-name of Sturdy & Marcy. During the continuance of this partner- ship, Mr. Marcy travelled extensively as salesman and suc- ceeded in acquiring a large trade. On the Ist of January, 1877, Mr. Sturdy sold his interest to Mr. Marcy, and one year thereafter the latter associated with him Mr. Charles H. Smith, who for about nine years had been in his employ as salesman, and the business has since been conducted under the firm-name of Fred. I. Marcy & Co. Mr. Marcy has had a very successful business career, and stands high in public estimation. He has served acceptably in various official capacities. In November, 1878, he was elected a member of the Common Council of Providence, from the Sixth Ward, and re-elected in 1879. In April, 1878, he was elected, for two years, a member of the Provi- dence School Committee, and was appointed by the Com- mon Council, chairman of the Committee on Education, January 1, 1880. January 1, 1879, he was appointed a mem- ber of the Committee on Parks from the Common Council, and re-appointed January 1, 1880. Since October, 1878, he has been one of the managers of the Old Men's Home of Providence. On the 30th of June, 1879, he was elected a director of the Rhode Island National Bank ; and has been President of the Retort Gas Stove Company of Provi- dence since its organization. Mr. Marcy has been a.mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity since April, 1865, having united with the Bristol Lodge at North Attleboro, Massa- chusetts, from which he withdrew in 1871 to unite with the Ezekiel Bates Lodge at Attleboro, with which he con- tinued until 1876, when he became one of the charter members of the Adelphoi Lodge, No. 33, of Providence, with which he is still connected. November 4, 1869, he was exalted in Providence Royal Arch Chapter No. I. Since 1870 he has been a member of St. John's Con- mandery No. I, Knights Templar, Providence. He mar- ried, October 18, 1871, Mary Jane Woodward, daughter of Captain Henry and Jane (Cornell) Woodward, of Hart- land, Vermont. They have had three children, Fred. Albert, born December 27, 1873; Harry Woodward, born June 28, 1876 ; and Walter Cornell, born October 4, 1878, and died June 17, 1881. The family are regular attend- ants at the Union Congregational Church of Providence, to which, and to various other religious and charitable ob- jects, Mr. Marcy is a liberal contributor.
cenoun ARNEY, C. HENRY, Adjutant-General of the State of Rhode Island, son of Caleb Randall and Sarah Humphrey (Medbery) Barney, was born in Prov- idence, January 10, 1844. His father was a carpen- ter by trade, and a member of the Barney family of Barneysville, in Swansey, Massachusetts. He was educated
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in the public schools of Providence, and after completing his studies at the High School remained at home, following the ordinary life of a farmer's boy until the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. Having a natural fondness for military life, and being imbued with the patriotic spirit of the times, he enlisted in the Fifth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers, or Burnside Battalion, December 14, 1861. He soon became a corporal, and subsequently a sergeant, and took part in the battles of Newbern, Fort Macon, Rahl's Mills, Kingston, Whitehall, Goldsboro, and the running of the blockade at Washington, North Caro- lina. In the summer of 1863 he was recommended by the officers of his regiment for the office of second lieutenant, and about the same time was offered a commission in the Fourteenth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (colored), then being organized in this State. He chose the latter, and was commissioned second lieutenant by Governor Smith. He went before the Examining Board at Washington, passed as first lieutenant, and was commissioned accord- ingly. Soon afterward he organized Company K, of the Fourteenth Regiment, which he commanded until the as- signment of its captain, when he received the appointment of adjutant of the battalion. He remained in service in Louisiana until the close of the war, serving at different times in the positions of adjutant of the regiment, Post Adjutant of the posts of Plaquemine and Donaldsonville, and as Acting Assistant Adjutant-General of a brigade. In October, 1865, he was mustered out of service and bre- vetted Captain U. S. V., for meritorious conduct during the war. Returning home he was engaged for two years thereafter in managing the farm of his grandfather, who was then in failing health, and who died in 1867. He subsequently filled various clerkships, and in 1875 was elected treasurer and manager of the Providence Gas- Burner Company. That position he held until June I, 1880, when he resigned to accept the office of general manager of the Inter-State Telephone Company, which he now holds. For three years he held the position of Adju- tant of Prescott Post, No. I, Grand Army of the Republic, and in 1877 was elected Commander of the Post. He also held the office of Assistant Adjutant-General of the Depart- ment of Rhode Island for three years ; was one year Chief of Staff of the Department, and for several years repre- sented Rhode Island in the National Council of Adminis- tration. In 1877 he was elected Secretary of the Society of the Burnside Expedition and of the Ninth Army Corps, which office he now holds. In May, 1874, yielding to urgent solicitations, he became connected with the State militia, and was appointed Adjutant of the First Light In- fantry Regiment of Providence. This position he held until his election, by the General Assembly, March 14, 1878, to the office of Adjutant-General of the State of Rhode Island, which position he has since occupied. He is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and for some time has been junior warden of Christ Church,
Providence. On the 16th of April, 1865, he married Mary Lavinia Townsend, daughter of John Townsend, of Plaque- mine, Louisiana. Her father was a native of the State of New York, and her mother was a descendant of one of the old French families of Louisiana. They have had three children, Henry Townsend, Sarah Lavinia, and Julia Estella, all of whom are living.
ARTLETT, COMMANDER JOHN RUSSELL, JUNIOR, United States Navy, son of Hon. John Russell Bartlett, was born in the city of New York, Sep- tember 26, 1843. He entered the United States
40 Naval Academy at Annapolis, November 25, 1859. On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion in 1861 he was put into active service as midshipman ; was com- missioned an ensign in September, 1863; a lieutenant February 22, 1864; a lieutenant-commander in July, 1866; and a commander April 25, 1877. He was engaged in the memorable battles of New Orleans and Vicksburg, in the squadron under the command of Admiral Farragut. He was on the staff of Admiral Dahlgren at Charleston, and in the frigate Susquehanna at the capture of Fort Fisher by the combined attack of the army and navy under General Terry and Admiral Porter. In the attack Lieutenant Bart- lett had command of a company of the assaulting party of sailors. He was presented with a vote of thanks by the General Assembly of Rhode Island for his part in this vic- tory for the Union arms. After the war he served on the Brazilian station three years, and on his return was ap- pointed an instructor at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he remained two years. He next served on a special cruise in the Sabine to Europe and South America. On his return to the United States in 1870 he was asked to accompany the expedition sent out by the government for the survey of the Isthmus of Te- huantepec, under Captain (now Commodore) Shufeldt. On this work he had charge of the field party, and after- wards relieved Captain Shufeldt, and prepared the maps and report of the survey, which was printed by the govern- ment in a quarto volume with maps and plates. In Octo- ber, 1872, he was ordered as Assistant Ordnance Inspector at the Boston Navy Yard, where he remained two years. He was attached to the Hydrographic Office in Washing- ton for two years, where he was employed in writing sail- ing directions. His work upon the West Coast of Africa was printed by the United States Hydrographic Office in 1876. In October, 1877, he was ordered as assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting at the Navy Department. In 1878 he was ordered to the Coast Survey, and at the present time (1879) is in command of the Coast Survey steamer Blake, employed on the deep- sea soundings and the examination of the Gulf Stream. He married, February 6, 1872, Jeanie R., daughter of the late Hon. Thomas A. Jenckes.
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