The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 131

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

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tober 6, 1876, " His pure and scholarly character won for him friends in a foreign land, who gave him every'atten- tion and nursed him with the tenderest care."

JACKSON, WALTER M., M.D., second son of Hon. Charles and Phebe (Tisdale) Jackson, was born in Providence, August 24, 1842. He was educated at Mount Pleasant Institute at Amherst, Massachu- 3 setts, which institution he left at the age of seven- teen, and, as a nominal assistant engineer, was sent to Ari- zona and Mexico, in the employ of the Arizona Mining Company, where he remained about two years, passing through the varied experiences of frontier life, and returned to " the States " overland, on horseback, reaching St. Louis the day of the first battle of Bull Run. Immediately upon his return he enlisted in the Tenth Rhode Island Infantry, and served three months in and about Washington. At the expiration of his term of service he was appointed Second Lieutenant of Company C, Second Rhode Island Cavalry ; was subsequently promoted to adjutant of his regiment, and served in the Department of the Gulf, under General Banks, until after the surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Upon the consolidation of the remnant of his regiment with the First Louisiana Cavalry he resigned his commission and returned to Providence, shortly before the close of the war. He then commenced the study of medi- cine with Dr. A. H. Okie, of Providence, and entered Harvard Medical School, from which he graduated in the class of 1868-69. Immediately after graduating he re- moved to Chicago, where he practiced his profession for about two years, achieving quite a reputation there as a surgical operator, and also acquiring literary notoriety by an extensive series of contributions to the Chicago Times. His profession offered so little scope for his mechanical and philosophical taste that he relinquished its active prac- tice, and returned to Providence to engage in the introduc- tion of the process of generating hydrogen gas from the decomposition of water by sulphuric acid and iron, and carburetting the same for illuminating purposes. After en- gaging experimentally in this direction about a year he abandoned the process as expensive and impracticable, and returned to the practice of his profession, in which he con- tinued for several years, in Providence, rapidly acquiring a reputation as a surgeon, and performing some noted opera- tions. In 1876 he invented a new process for burning gas for heating purposes, and patented what is known as the Retort Burner, now extensively in use all over the world. He again abandoned the practice of surgery and gave his whole attention to experimental mechanism relating to philosophy and chemistry, taking out numerous patents upon his inventions. Dr. Jackson enjoys an extended reputation for varied and thorough information, and his opinion on matters connected with science is held in high esteem: He has for many years believed the problem

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Multiom Jackson

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practicable of converting static pressure into dynamic force, and has expended much time and money in experiments in this direction. He is thorougly versed in the chemistry and practical management of gas. His latest invention is a process for combining, mechanically, the light products of petroleum with combustible gases in such a manner as to render practical the burning of such gases for heat and light ; and coupled with the process, he has already invented apparatus for the different purposes for which such gas may be used, these including an exact imitation of the English cannel-coal fire ; a steam engine run without engineer or boiler ; a practical machine for street lights, and its appli- cation to steamships, railroad and horse cars. Besides the inventions mentioned, he has taken out various patents for other improvements in mechanical art, some of which he has voluntarily abandoned, others now being in successful operation. He was married, November 29, 1869, to Amelia Goslee, a lady of strong character and intelligence, daughter of George Goslee, an English gentleman of culture and wealth. They have two children, Edward and Isabel.

OPKINS, ADDISON SIDNEY, son of Hon. H. L. and Amey Ann {Smith) Hopkins, was born in Scituate, Rhode Island, August 3, 1844. He at- tended the public schools until the age of fourteen, when he entered Nicholas Academy, at Dudley, Massachusetts, where he spent one year, and in 1863 gradu- ated from the New Hampton Literary and Biblical Institute, at New Hampton, New Hampshire. After preparing for college he inclined to a business life rather than a literary or professional career, and therefore pursued the full course of studies in Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, from which institution he graduated in Decem- ber, 1864. He then entered the office of A. Hopkins & Co., as bookkeeper, which position he occupied about four years, and at the same time, when not occupied in the office, spent his spare hours in the shop in order to acquire a more thorough knowledge of the business of manufactur- ing spindles, with the details of which he had previously be- come somewhat familiar. In 1868 he became a partner in the concern, and for several years kept the books and attended to other matters in connection with the business. He was finally intrusted with the general management of the affairs of the firm. In 1876 a flood, caused by the breaking away of the Clear River reservoir dam, carried away some of the buildings of the manufactory, the damage resulting there- from amounting to nearly twelve thousand dollars; but the works were soon rebuilt, and their facilities materially augmented. A brass foundry was also added in 1881. For over forty six years the business has been managed by some member of the family, and since 1876 it has been carried on by James A. Potter and Addison S. Hopkins, under the old firm-name of A. Hopkins & Co. With the exception of one or two instances, those composing the

present corps of help have been in the employ of the firm from five to thirty years. It has always been the policy of the firm to avoid changes in employés, and to give no em- ployment to persons of immoral or intemperate habits, to which fact is largely attributed the success of the business. There is not, nor has there been, a drinking saloon in the village, and almost without exception the employés have been native Americans. Mr. Hopkins is a member of the Freewill Baptist Church at Pascoag, and has been super- intendent of the Sunday-school for several years. He is a strong temperance man, and has done much to advance the interests of the cause. Mr. Hopkins married, September 7, 1865, Juliette E., daughter of Angel and Sarah (Ballou) Sayles, of Burrillville. They have two children, Waldo Augustus and Horatio Angel.

BILLINGHAST, WARREN HENRY, D.D.S., son of Hon. Joseph and Lydia Searle ( Nicholas) Tilling- hast, of Coventry, Rhode Island, was born at West Greenwich, Rhode Island, May 29, 1843. He is a lineal descendant of Rev. Pardon Tillinghast, who came to this country from Seven Cliffs, England (his native place), in November, 1645, settled in Providence, and married Lydia Tabor of Tiverton. Tradition says that Pardon Tillinghast was a soldier in Cromwell's army. He built the first house for religious worship in Providence, and deeded it to the church in 1711. His eldest son, Par- don, settled in Frenchtown, East Greenwich, and was a very large landholder. He died in October, 1743. His eldest son, John, was also a farmer, and after residing for several years in East Greenwich, removed to West Green- wich, where he died, in October, 1770. John Tillinghast was married three times, and was the father of ten chil- dren. His fourth son, Charles, who was born in East Greenwich, in April, 1729, and settled in Quidnesett Neck, was taken from his home at night by the British soldiers, in December, 1776, and carried to Newport, and thence to Block Island, where he died from consumption caused by exposure on the night of his abduction. His eldest son, Pardon, familiarly known as "Deacon Pardon," who was born in June, 1763, and died in November, 1816, was a farmer, and during most of his life resided in West Green- wich. His son Charles, who was born in West Greenwich, September 16, 1787, also became a farmer, and is now liv- ing at Greene, Rhode Island. Charles Tillinghast married, in 1808, Mary Spooner. They had nine children, the third of whom is the Hon. Joseph Tillinghast, of Coventry, father of the subject of this sketch. Warren H. was em- ployed on his father's farm until he was twenty years of age, attending the district school during the winters, and after pursuing a course of study in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College in Providence, spent about five years successfully in mercantile pursuits. In 1868 he entered the office of L. P. Shattuck, M.D., dentist, in Providence, where

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he remained about three years, and acquired a thorough practical knowledge of mechanical, surgical, and operative dentistry. In the fall of 1870 he established an office at Olneyville, adjoining Providence, where he remained about six years and acquired a large and remunerative practice. Determined to thoroughly master his business, he contin- ued his studies as opportunity offered, and after attending lectures, graduated at Boston Dental College, March 3, 1873. In order to secure a more central location he removed his office, in 1877, to Westminster Street, Providence, where he now enjoys an extensive patronage. For several years he has given his professional services to the patrons of the Homeopathic Dispensary of Providence, and has been notably charitable and helpful to any one in need. Hav- ing devoted himself assiduously to his business, he has attained a good reputation for professional skill and effi- ciency. Dr. Tillinghast is a member of the Merrimac Valley Dental Association, of the Rhode Island Dental Association, of the Alumni Association of the ; Boston Dental College, and also of the American Dental Associa- tion. For many years he has been a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, and has taken an active interest in the order. He was the originator of Ionic Lodge, at Greene, Rhode Island, of which he was for two years master. He is a member of the Scituate Royal Arch Chapter and of St. John's Commandery of Providence, and is also a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He mar- ried, November, 1874, Mary E., daughter of Augusta E. and Barbary S. (King) Field, of Scituate, Rhode Island, a lineal descendant of William Field, of Field's Point. They have one son, Bertley. Dr. Tillinghast is an ener- getic and enterprising citizen, heartily in sympathy with all movements calculated to promote the welfare of the community.

ILLSON, OLLYS ALLEN, cashier of the Weybosset National Bank, Providence, son of Deacon Allen Bennett and Abby (Hunt) Jillson, was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, August 13, 1845. He is a descendant, in the sixth generation, of James Jill- son, of Rehoboth (now Attleboro), Massachusetts. For several generations the Jillsons were holders of large tracts of land in that portion of Woonsocket called Union District, and in Bellingham, Massachusetts, and were influential citizens of Cumberland, Rhode Island. Some of them filled important civil offices. Generally they were members of the Society of Friends. Uriah Jillson, great-grandson of James Jillson, and great-grandfather of Ollys A., was born May 8, 1750. He was a strict adherent to the doc- trines of the Society of Friends, and in the period of the Revolution was arrested and taken to Newport, where he was kept in custody, with others of like faith, for refusing to take up arms, but finaly released without being com- pelled to compromise his religious views. Mr. Jillson's

mother is a descendant of Enoch Hunt, one of the first settlers of Weymouth, Massachusetts, who came to this country from Bucks County, England, and was admitted a freeman at Newport, in 1638, on the first settlement of the Island of Rhode Island. Her father was Nathaniel Hunt, of Webster, Massachusetts, son of Captain Nathaniel Hunt, of Seekonk, Massachusetts, who was a noted and success- ful captain in making voyages to the East Indies. IIer uncle, Abram Hunt, was a State Senator in New York, and for several years was treasurer of that State. Mr. Jillson was educated in the Woonsocket IIigh School and at the New London Literary and Scientific Institution, New Lon- don, New Hampshire. During his student life at home he made himself known to the citizens of Woonsocket as a newsboy, being thus employed for about six years. In 1864 and 1865 he was engaged in teaching at Sunapee, New Hampshire, and at Provincetown, Massachusetts. He afterward removed to Waterford, Massachusetts, where for some time he was bookkeeper in the woollen mill of Evans, Seagrave & Co., of Providence. In 1867 he entered the Weybosset National Bank, in Providence, as book- keeper, and after serving for eight years in that capacity, was elected cashier of that institution, April 20, 1875, which position he still holds. In 1858 he united with the Woonsocket Baptist Church, and in 1870 transferred his membership to the Cranston Street Baptist Church, in Providence, in which he is a constituent member, and was the first clerk of the society, which office he has continued to fill until the present time. Having early developed su- perior musical talent, he also has had charge of the music of the church and Sabbath-school as chorister and leader, in which department he has rendered valuable service. He married, May 17, 1871, Clara Louisa Ladd, youngest daughter of Joseph Warren and Almy (Wicks) Ladd, of Providence, formerly of Warwick, Rhode Island, and has one son, Harold Ladd Jillson.

capas WYMAN, COLONEL DANIEL WANTON, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, January 24, 1844, and is the only son of the late Henry Bull and Caroline (Dyer) Lyman. He traces his descent from an Eng- J lish family of ancient extraction, and his ancestors in this country were among the early settlers of New England, as will be seen by reference to the biographical sketch of his father, which also appears in this volume. He received his preparatory education in the private and public schools of Providence, and in 1860 entered Brown University, where he continued his studies for three years. He has de- voted much attention to military matters, and has taken an active and prominent part in politics. In 1863 he was commissioned Captain of Company D, First Regiment, Second Brigade, Rhode Island Militia, and subsequently served as adjutant of the regiment, and as major and aid- de-camp on the staff of Major-General Charles T. Rob-

C. T. Gardner

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bins, Commanding Division of Rhode Island Militia. On the 25th of May, 1869, he was commissioned colonel and aid-de-camp on the staff of Governor Seth Padelford, which position he held until May 27, 1873. In 1876 he was elected State Senator from North Providence, and again re-elected in 1879 and 1880. While a member of that body he was chairman of the Senate Committee on Militia, and was a member of the Joint Standing Com- mittee on Printing. Colonel Lyman is a hereditary mem- ber of the Rhode Island State Society of Cincinnati, in which he takes a deep interest. For several years he has been a director of the Providence Dyeing, Bleaching and Calendering Company, with which corporation his father was connected in a similar capacity for nearly twenty years. He resides in the old homestead of his ancestors in North Providence, where much of his time is devoted to agricul- tural pursuits.

6 ARDNER, CLARENCE TRIPP, physician and surgeon, son of Dr. Johnson and Phebe L. (Lisson) Gard- ner, was born October 24, 1844, in that part of Seekonk which now forms a part of East Provi- dence, Rhode Island. He attended the common school in his native town until he was nine years of age, when the family removed to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he pursued his studies in the Grove Street Grammar School and the Pawtucket High School. In 1860 he en- tered Brown University, where he remained until the com- mencement of the Civil War in 1861, when he joined the First Regiment Rhode Island Detached Militia, under command of Colonel Burnside, and went to the defence of Washington. At the expiration of his term of service he immediately re-enlisted in the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery as first sergeant, and was promoted, July 8, 1862, to the rank of second lieutenant. He was soon afterward promoted to first lieutenant, and transferred to Battery B, First United States Artillery, which for a time he com- manded, and resigned October 24, 1863. On retiring from the army he immediately entered Harvard Medical School, where he remained until the autumn of 1864, when, as acting assistant surgeon, he again entered the United States service, under a call for twenty assistant surgeons from Harvard Medical School. In this capacity he was assigned to the Light Artillery Brigade of the Twenty- fifth Army Corps, under Captain Langdon of the First United States Artillery. He served in the Army of the Potomac, the Army of the James, and the Department of the South, and was in many engagements, among which were the first battle of Bull Run, Port Royal, James Island, siege of Pulaski, Morris Island, Fort Wagner, Fort Gregg, Fort Sumter, Petersburg, and Appomattox Court-house. He was finally mustered out of service May 4, 1865. Soon after his return from the war he re-entered Harvard Med- ical School in the fall of 1865, and in 1866 graduated with the degree of. Doctor of Medicine. The same year he was

admitted a member of the Rhode Island State Medical Society and of the Providence Medical Association. He served for some time as secretary of the former, and was for one year-from March 2, 1874-president of the latter. In his thirteen years of successful practice Dr. Gardner has gained a well-merited reputation as a faithful physician and skilful surgeon. He has performed most of the operations known to all departments of surgery with such marked suc- cess as to cause him to be widely known. In 1873 he was commissioned Surgeon of the First Light Infantry Regiment of Providence, which position he occupied for four years, after which he was elected a member of the honorary staff. On the 13th of May, 1862, he married Mary Frances Haw- kins, daughter of Albert and Julia (Bourn) Hawkins, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. They have one son, Clarence Howard Gardner, who is now a student at Mowry and Goff's Classical School in Providence.

TANKIN, FRANCIS HUNTINGTON, M.D., was born at Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, New York, September 25, 1845. His grandfather, Henry Rankin, was iGS a Scotch merchant, who came to this country in & early manhood. The old homestead, " Berry Hill," near Kilsyth, Scotland, was in possession of his ancestors for nearly five hundred years. He became a wealthy and prominent merchant in New York city, and was asso- ciated in business with John Jacob Astor, Gardner G. How- land, Jesse Hoyt, and others. He was a man of sterling integrity and strong religious devotion, traits of character for which his family were distinguished. His son, Robert Gosman Rankin, the father of Dr. Rankin, was born in New York city in 1806, graduated at Yale College, and then studied law in the office of Chancellor Kent, finishing his legal studies in the renowned law school of Judges Reeves and Gould, in Litchfield, Connecticut, and commenced the practice of law in New York city. He there married Laura Wolcott, daughter of the Hon, Frederick Wolcott, a man noted for his intellectual gifts and high moral qual- ities. Mr. Rankin was an ardent student of natural science, fond of literary and scientific pursuits ; a great promoter of educational enterprises ; public-spirited ; generous and active in every philanthropic and religious work ; a man of cul- ture, fine sensibilities, and extensive reading. For thirty- one years he was a regent of the University of New York, and was also connected with several of the prominent rail- roads and scientific enterprises of the day. He afterward removed to Fishkill, where for many years he was engaged in manufacturing interests, and later took up his residence in Newburgh, on the opposite bank of the Hudson, where he died August 29, 1878. Dr. Rankin's mother belonged to a family distinguished in the Colonial and Revolutionary history of our country, and connected with many families of distinction throughout New England. Her grandfather, Oliver Wolcott, was one of the signers of the Declaration

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of Independence, and his son Oliver was Secretary of the Treasury during Washington's administration. Her mother was a daughter of Colonel Joshua Huntington, of Nor- wich, Connecticut, whose family was also represented among the signers in the person of Samuel Huntington. Both families took a conspicuous part in the military and political history of New England, and five of Mrs. Ran- kin's ancestors-four of whom were Wolcotts-were Gov- ernors of Connecticut. The first Wolcott (Henry) came over in 1630 and was one of the first Colonial magistrates, a man of considerable property, the greater part of which he spent in bringing out the colony of which he was a member. The old Wolcott house at Litchfield " witnessed many a notable gathering beneath its roof. Thither often came Brother Jonathan-as Washington loved to call Gov- ernor Trumbull-to talk over public affairs with its hos- pitable owner," and Washington himself was once its guest. There were brought the remains of the leaden .statue of George III., which the Sons of Liberty had pulled. down from its pedestal in the Bowling Green in New York, and which the daughters of the Governor, Mrs. Rankin's aunts, assisted by the village ladies, moulded into bullets for the Continental army. Some of the car- tridges were sent to General Putnam on the Hudson, and some distributed to the troops who opposed Tryon's in- vasion. In the words of a facetious writer of the day, " the King's troops .had melted majesty fired at them." Dr. Francis Huntington Rankin is one of a large family of sons and daughters. In his early manhood he mani- fested a decided preference for the profession which he has since adopted. He pursued his classical studies at the College of the City of New York, and took his diploma as Doctor of Medicine at the medical department of the New York University in the spring of 1869. Shortly afterward he went abroad, where he spent a year in the hospitals of Vienna. Soon after the breaking out of the Franco-Prus- sian war of 1870-71, he went to Berlin, where he received an appointment as acting assistant surgeon in the Prussian army, and was stationed in the large military hospital-bar- racks in the suburbs of Berlin. After serving as assistant for a short time, he became acting full surgeon. On his return to America he received the "steel medal of thanks" from the Prussian government. He commenced the prac- tice of medicine in New York city in the summer of 1871, and during his first year's practice held a position as As- sistant Inspector on the New York Board of Health. He was subsequently connected with the New York Hospital for Diseases of the Nervous System, the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, the Demilt, Children's, Northeast Dis- pensaries, and several other institutions. He was also tutor and assistant to the chair of Materia Medica in the medical department of the New York University. In the summer of 1876 he removed to Newport, Rhode Island, and entered into partnership with Dr. Austin L. Sands, a distinguished physician of that place, who died

in Cairo, Egypt, in 1877. On the 11th of November, 1879, Dr. Rankin married Grace Voorhis, daughter of Jacob Voorhis, Jr., of New York, a descendant of one of the early Knickerbocker settlers.

LAKESLEE, REV. FRANCIS DURBIN, A.M., a min- ister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and principal of Greenwich Academy, was born in Broome County, New York, February 1, 1846. His father was a devoted and successful minister of the same denomination, well known and reverently remem- bered in Pennsylvania and New York throughout the re- gion included in the Wyoming Annual Conference. His paternal grandfather was an early emigrant to Pennsylvania from Vermont. On his mother's side, also, he comes of New England ancestry. Her father, when a young man, went from Cumberland, Rhode Island, to the Pennsylvania wilderness, where he established his home and became a prominent citizen. With New England blood in his veins, and the traditional ideas of New England entering so largely into his early life and subsequent training, it is with satisfaction that he finds here the principal field of his labors. His education was acquired in various country and village schools, in Wyoming Seminary, under the di- rection of that widely honored educator, Dr. Reuben Nel- son, and in Genesee College, under the presidency of Dr. J. W. Lindsay, now the eminent Dean of the College of Liberal Arts of the Boston University. He took his degree in 1872, one year after the completion of his course, from Syracuse University, which was the outgrowth of Genesee College. Previously he had been a school teacher, a gov- ernment clerk in the army and in Washington, the principal of a Union school, and a successful pastor. After com- pleting his college course, he was a pastor in Livingston County, New York, until 1873, when he was elected to the position which he now holds, principal of Greenwich Academy, at East Greenwich, Rhode Island. This noted school, founded in 1802, has contributed no unworthy share of the educational force and credit of New England. It is not too much to say that during his seven years in this position, a longer time than it was ever before held by one man, the school has achieved a regeneration and success not surpassed in any period of its history. Its financial management has restored its current credit, and its literary character has placed it among the foremost preparatory schools. The principal's success as a school manager re- sults from the spirit of justice that underlies all his actions, combined with firmness of execution, knowledge of human nature, and geniality of manner, all of which qualities are soon recognized by students and patrons. He aims to make the institution under his charge a powerful factor in the formation of sterling character in all who share its benefits. As a teacher he is thorough and energetic, de- manding solid work from his pupils. Professor Blakeslee

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 131

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