The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 76

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

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EST, SAMUEL, M.D., the son of Dr. Samuel and Polly (Whitridge) West, was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, August 9, 1806. He prepared for college at the University Grammar School in Providence, under the tuition of Professor George W. Keely. On completing his preparatory studies he entered Brown University, and was graduated in the class of 1828. After pursuing the required course of medical study he received the diploma of M.D. from the Medical School of Harvard University, and commenced the prac-

tice of his profession in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The death of his father in 1838 led to his removal to his native plice, where he took his practice, and for forty years was a well-known and successful physician in all the section of country in which he lived. "For this practice," we are told, " he was admirably fitted, both by the knowledge gained from thorough preparatory studies and by the qual- ities of his mind and character; by his clearness of percep- tion and his promptness of decision ; by his caution and patience and tact, and also by his genial disposition and his excellent conversational powers." Both his father and his grandfather on his mother's side had been physicians, and in the resolutions which were passed by his brethren when honoring the memory of their associate, it was said of Dr. West that he was " worthy of belonging to such a succession, by performing his full share of nearly one hun- dred years' hereditary and consecutive medical service in the community " in which he lived. In 1869 he married Mary, daughter of Judge Job Durfee. He died at Tiver- ton, Rhode Island, January 7, 1879.

RARTSHORN, ISAAC, M.D., son of Edward and Nancy (Bucklin) Hartshorn, was born in Man- chester, Vermont, July 6, 1805. At an early age he went to Providence, to reside with his uncle Charles, father of Thomas C. Hartshorn, who lived on Westminster Street. There he acquired his rudimen- tary education, and subsequently pursued his medical studies at Yale College, where he graduated from the Medical School. After receiving his degree he returned to Providence, opened an office on Eddy Street, and de- voted himself to his profession with the same enthusiasm for which he was afterward distinguished in his business career. When the cholera broke out in this country, and was raging in New York city in 1832, Dr. Hartshorn went there and spent six weeks studying the disease, preparing himself to meet it in Providence. He soon became a thorough and successful physician, though young in prac- tice. He was very studious, a keen observer, and always ready to profit by any new experience. He continued in the practice of his profession for ten or fifteen years in Providence and Pawtucket, and then decided to engage in some vocation that would afford him an opportunity for the exercise of his great energy and business capacity. He therefore relinquished the quiet duties of his profession and embarked in the india-rubber business, at Providence. That branch of industry was then in its infancy. Rubber shoes were then imported from Brazil. They were made by dipping lasts made of clay into the gum as it came from the tree, drying them, and then dipping again and again until the formative process was completed. The inventive genius of New England then endeavored to devise a better method of manufacturing that class of goods, and within a short time Edward M. Chaffee, of Providence, produced

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a machine for grinding the rubber, long known as Chaffee's patent; a citizen of Connecticut, Nathaniel Hayward, dis- covered the secret of mixing the rubber with lead and sul- phur, known as the sulphur patent; and very soon after- ward the celebrated Charles Goodyear invented the heat- ing process which produced what is called vulcanized rub- ber. These three great discoveries have brought the manu- facture of india-rubber goods to its perfection. Dr. Harts- horn finally united with the late Charles Jackson, Earl P. Mason, and Duty Greene, and formed what was known as the Providence Shoe Company. As an evidence of the slow progress of improvement in this branch of manufac- ture by the new process, it may be stated that the first shoes were made of rubber dissolved by turpentine, mixed with lampblack, and spread upon cloth. These shoes had leather soles. The next method of manufacturing was to melt the rubber into sheets, putting it upon grass cloth, and tan- ning it with an acid. These shoes were found to become very hard. Then came the process of dissolving the rub- ber in camphene and heating it. This, however, was found to decompose, and finally the solvent was omitted, which left the vulcanized rubber. But the care and superintend- ence of these various processes were but a part of Dr. Hartshorn's trials. As there were no commercial " drum- mers " in those days, the manufacturer sold his own goods, and Dr. Hartshorn was therefore required to make many trips to New York, Philadelphia, and other cities, for the purpose of introducing his goods. Although he had many obstacles to contend against, he finally succeeded in carry- ing the manufacture of rubber shoes to perfection. But this point having been reached other troubles awaited him. Horace H. Day obtained possession of the Chaffee patent and sued Dr. Hartshorn for infringement. The suit was one of the most protracted and memorable ever prosecuted in Rhode Island, and resulted in a heavy verdict against Dr. Hartshorn. This decision was afterward reversed in his favor at Washington by the Supreme Court. At the termination of the trial his health was so seriously impaired by the long-continued strain upon his nervous system that he was obliged to give up business, and at the advice of his physician he went to Europe, to be treated by celebrated physicians in Paris and Berlin. He made three trips abroad for this purpose, and on the return voyage, in 1874, had an attack of paralysis, which finally terminated his life, Janu- ary 29, 1877. He was also engaged in another celebrated lawsuit growing out of the rubber business. It was brought by Mr. Goodyear to restrain Horace Day and others from using his patent. Rufus Choate, Brady, and other eminent counsel were retained, and Dr. Hartshorn gave Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, $25,000 to go to New Jersey and argue the case. Dr. Hartshorn was also agent and one of the original owners in the company which manufactured the Burnside Rifle, and made an improve- ment in that firearm which added very much to its effect- iveness. He did much to advance the business interests

of Providence, and was well known politically and socially. During the " Dorr Rebellion " he maintained a firm posi- tion in favor of law and order. Ile was a frank, straight- forward man, always true to his convictions. IIe married, April 20, 1852, Eliza Dayton Gardiner, of Brooklyn, New York (whose family were originally from Gardiner's Isl- and), the issue of the marriage being three children, Nella W., and Edith B., who are now living, and Edward Gar- diner, deceased. Edith B. married Arthur Livingston, a son of the late Earl P. Mason. Dr. Hartshorn owned an elegant country home on the south side of the harbor at Newport, where, with his family, he was wont to pass the summer.

IALL, COLONEL WILLIAM, second son of Hezekiah and Ann Frances (Low) Viall, was born August 5, 1805, at the old homestead in Seekonk, Massa- chusetts. This homestead formerly belonged to the Hon. Thomas Willett, first Mayor of New York city, and at his death in 1679 was purchased by John Viall, ancestor of William, in whose family it has re- mained for more than two hundred years. In 1821, Wil- liam Viall removed to Providence, and engaged in mer- cantile business with a considerable degree of success. He was for some time associated with his brother; was afterward a member of the firm of Child, Viall & Wood ; and later became a cotton merchant and manufacturer of cot- ton goods. Thus for nearly fifty years he was actively iden- tified with the business interests of Providence. In March, 1870, he was elected President of the Firemen's Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which office he held until his death, which occurred January 16, 1880. He was also a director in several banks, being connected with the Globe Bank in that capacity for forty-five years, and was a director in different insurance companies. In 1823 he became a member of the First Light Infantry Company, and after- ward joined the Veteran Association, in both of which he was chosen to various offices. During the political dis- turbances in 1842, known as the Dorr Rebellion, he com- manded the Third Ward Guards, which comprised many of the leading citizens, and soon after was appointed Aid- de-camp to Governor Fenner, with the title of Colonel, by which he was afterward generally known. Colonel Viall was for several years a member of the Common Council of Providence, and subsequently Alderman from the Third Ward. He also represented the city in the General As- sembly. He was much interested in agriculture and horti- culture, having been an active member of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry from its formation, and for several years President of the Horti- cultural Society. Colonel Viall travelled extensively in his own and foreign lands, and possessed a fund of varied information which made him an entertaining conversation- ist. About the year 1818 he united with the Congrega-

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tional Church in Barrington, where his family had wor- shipped for many generations. In 1852 he was associated with others in organizing the Central Congregational Church of Providence, and was a member of it until his death. In 1831 he married Elizabeth, daughter of the late Isaac Bowen, Esq. She died in 1836, and in 1839 he married Mary B. Anthony, daughter of the venerable Hezekiah Anthony, of Providence. The tall. figure of Colonel Viall was noticeable on the streets of Providence for more than half a century. His love of outdoor work in his garden and grapery, and his keen enjoyment of society, kept him fresh and youthful, so that he was com- monly supposed to be much younger than he really was, as he had neither the appearance nor the infirmities of age. His manners were easy and cordial, and somewhat after the type of the old school. His personal character was always above reproach. Though he had but few early advantages, and in boyhood was dependent upon his own exertions, yet by industry, perseverance, and native force of character he earned an honorable and useful position in the community, and enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him.

THELON, REV. BENJAMIN, was born in Halifax, Yorkshire County, England, June 1, 1806. At an early age he became a member of the general Baptist denomination, and pursued a course of study at an institution of that denomination which has for its object the training of young men for the Gospel minis- try. He also studied under the direction of the late Rev. J. G. Pike, and preached as he had opportunity. Having decided to make America his future home and scene of his labors, he arrived in this country in January, 1835, and through the influence of the late Rev. Dr. Sutton, an Eng- lish missionary to India, but then in this country, he lo- cated at Apponaug, a village in Warwick. A Free Baptist church was soon organized there, of which he became pastor. He occupied the position some two years and a half. During the twelve years which followed, he was pastor of Free Baptist churches in North Providence, Rhode Island, Nashua, New Hampshire, and Boston and Fall River, Massachusetts. He was in the last-named place seven years, and devoted himself to vigorous and ceaseless efforts, though, in consequence of peculiar ad- verse influences, they were without large permanent results. In 1849, he returned to Warwick and continued to be pas- tor of the church there until 1870. During the past ten years he has resided in Providence, enjoying a serene old age, and beloved and respected by all. Devout in spirit, scholarly in his tastes, and industrious in his habits, he made a decided impression upon the community in which he for many years resided. Having a deep interest in public education, he superintended the schools of the town, and was thus enabled to increase his power for good. He

has been twice married, and has two sons. His second wife, who still (1881) survives, is a native of Warwick.

HOMAS, ALLEN MASON, son of Richard and Polly (Nichols) Thomas, was born in Wickford, Rhode Island, July 25, 1806. His father and his grand- father, Samuel Thomas, were also natives of Wick- ford. His great-grandfather, Samuel Thomas, was born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, in 1720, and was the son of George Thomas, whose father, Colonel George Thomas, was a son of John Thomas, of Wales, who came to this country and settled at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, as early as 1688. Mr. Thomas has always resided in Wick- ford, and has been prominently identified with the various interests of that place. His father being a merchant, he early engaged in mercantile business, which he has prose- cuted with success. Since 1832 he has been a Director in the Wickford National Bank. He united with the Prot- estant Episcopal Church in 1835, and for many years has served as Warden. He married, March 7, 1833, Charlotte Proctor Smith, daughter of Captain Elisha Peck and Han- nah (Phillips) Smith, of Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. Their children are Elisha Smith, a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church; Philander Jenkes, of the mercantile firm of A. M. Thomas & Son, Wickford; Clarence Eu- gene, a merchant in Providence; Aaron Smith, of the firm of Thomas & Covel, shoe manufacturers, New York city ; Mary Charlotte, wife of Dr. Robert B. Talbot, of Hartford, Connecticut ; and Hannah Allen, who married Waldo P. Clement, of Rutland, Vermont.

URREY, HON: SAMUEL, lawyer, the son of Daniel Currey, was born near Fredericktown, Nova Scotia, October 12, 1806. His father, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, was a Lieutenant in the Brit- ish army. So sensitive was he about serving in the neighborhood of Peekskill, New York, which was his native place, that he obtained a furlough from both Gen- eral Howe and Sir Henry Clinton, by which his removal to another section prevented him from taking up arms against his old friends. In 1830, the subject of this sketch left Nova Scotia and came to the vicinity of Boston, with a view to preparing himself for the work of the Christian ministry in the Baptist denomination. To carry out this purpose, he completed his academic studies at what was then South Reading, now Wakefield, Massachusetts, and graduated at Brown University, in the class of 1835. Con- cluding not to enter the Christian ministry, he took charge, for one year, of the University Grammar School in Provi- dence, in the meanwhile spending a portion of his time in the study of law, in the office of Hon. Albert C. Greene. Having been admitted to the bar of Rhode Island, April

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21, 1857, he opened an office in Providence, in which city he continued to reside for the remainder of his life. " He was regarded," says Professor Gammell, " as a judicious and careful counsellor, and a clear and forcible orator, and his practice extended to the courts of other States and to the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington." For two years he represented Providence in the General Assem- bly, in the House of Representatives, and for seven years in the Senate. In both branches of the General Assembly he occupied a conspicuous position. He was a good citi- zen, and advocated any movement which tended to improve the home of his adoption. He was never married. His death occurred in Providence, February 28, 1878.

PINSLEY, SHEPARD CAREY, merchant, was born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, August 29, 1806. His parents were Rodolphus and Salome (Carey) Kinsley. He attended school in his native town until nine years of age, when he went to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and thence, in 1818, to Concord, New Hampshire, where he continued his studies for three years under the tuition of the Rev. J. L. Blake, a graduate of Brown University. In 1823 he was employed as clerk in the store of Barney Merry & Co., in Pawtucket, and con- tinued in that position until 1826, when he became a mem- ber of the firm of Rhodes & Kinsley, dealers in hats, caps, boots, and shoes. In 1832 he removed to Providence, where he was engaged in the boot and shoe trade until his death, his firm, lately known as S. C. Kinsley, Son & Co., being one of the largest wholesale houses of the kind in the State. In 1832 Mr. Kinsley united with Grace Epis- copal Church, and, with the exception of one year, was Superintendent of the Sunday-school of that church from 1852, having been appointed by the late Bishop Henshaw. He was a teacher in the school for eighteen years prior to his appointment as Superintendent. As an evidence of the faithfulness with which he discharged his duties in the last-named position, it may be stated that during the twenty-eight years of his superintendency he was not absent more than two Sundays, except the year's absence before mentioned. Under his management the school attained a prosperous condition, and steadily increased in numbers and usefulness. Mr. Kinsley married, in April, 1828, Elizabeth P. Eddy, daughter of the late Benjamin C. Eddy, of Providence. She died in 1839, leaving four daughters and one son: Elizabeth, who married William H. Low, of Providence ; Sarah James, who married George F. Hol- royd, of Providence; Minerva Jenks, who married the late Amasa M. Wheeler; Caroline Simmons, who married Al- bert H. Rider, of Providence; and Benjamin Eddy, who married, first, Adelaide Dean Luther, and second, Emma French Cobb. In 1840 Mr. Kinsley married Eunice Ches- ter Simmons, widow of George Simmons, daughter of Ben- jamin C. Eddy, and sister of his first wife. Mr. Kinsley

died suddenly, of apoplexy, January 18, 1881. IIe was a successful business man, and universally respected for his strict integrity and genial manners.

ZOFF, HON. DARIUS, son of Lieutenant Richard and Mehitabel (Bullock) Goff, was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, May 10, 1809. His father was a manufacturer, and in 1790 built a fulling and eloth- dressing mill, and furnished it with the best of ma- chinery. His mother was a daughter of Hon. Stephen Bullock. His grandfather, Joseph Goff, lived in Barring- ton, and his great-grandfather was Richard Goff. The children of Lieutenant Richard and Mehitabel Goff were, Richard, Otis, Horatio, Patience, Nelson, Darius, and Mary B. Darius Goff was educated at home, and in the common schools. At an early age he entered his father's factory in Rehoboth, and spent four or five years in the coloring de- partment of the mill, and in trade in a variety store. He was subsequently employed for a short time in the woollen mill of John and Jesse Eddy, of Fall River, Massachusetts, and for six years served as clerk in the grocery business, first with William Woodward, and afterwards with Tilling- hast Almy, in Providence. Returning to Rehoboth, he and his brother, Nelson, purchased the Union Cotton Mill and commenced, in 1835, the manufacture of cotton batting, which business they prosecuted with success. Soon after- wards they began to make glazed wadding, sizing it by hand, a sheet at a time, on a table covered with sheet lead, then hanging it on racks with a common lath to dry. Finally they conceived the idea of making it in a continu- ous sheet, and after experimenting for about two years ac- complished the object, placing the cards over an endless apron, conveying the web of cotton from each doffer of the cards to the apron, which run at the same speed with the surface of the doffer, the thickness of the wadding being determined by the number of cards operated. This plan of making wadding is now universal. Its success called for a larger mill, which not being attainable then, experi- ments were made to color the continuous sheets as they came from the cards, and were, after two years or more, successful in the object. A new mill was built, about two hundred feet long, and the old machinery was started in it about 1842, but in about a month it was destroyed by fire, at a loss of over six thousand dollars. E. A. Brown, of Rehoboth, soon afterwards bought out the interest of Nelson Goff, and a new firm was formed, Goff & Brown, who changed the business to the manufacture of carpet warps and twine, and this was continued under the special direction of Mr. Brown, till 1868, when the firm was dis- solved. As early as 1836 Mr. Goff had given speeia] attention to the business of buying and selling cotton waste as paper stock. This material hitherto had literally been thrown away. In this new business, in 1846, he formed a copartnership with Gcorge Lawton, of Waltham, Massa-

Darius Goff

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chusetts, and commenced dealing in waste paper-stock, in Boston, on Gray's wharf. Mr. Goff now removed to Paw- tucket, Rhode Island, where, in 1847, a wadding mill was erected near the railroad station. It was run by a steam- engine, the cotton being carded in the white state, carried through all the processes of coloring and sizing, and brought out in endless sheets. In 1851 the mill was burned, but was at once rebuilt on a larger scale. In 1859 the part- nership of Goff & Lawton was dissolved, Mr. Lawton taking the Boston business in paper-stock, and Mr. Goff taking the wadding mill in Pawtucket. Mr. Goff then united with John D. Cranston and Stephen Brownell, of Providence, Rhode Island, under the firm-name of Goff, Cranston & Brownell, and carried on a general business in paper-stock and wadding. The mill was burned in 1871, and rebuilt in 1872, in larger proportions, and with more perfect ma- chinery. It is driven by a Corliss engine of 300 horse- power. The new mill, and necessary adjoining buildings, occupy an area of about four acres. Here are run about two hundred cards, turning out an average of about seventy- five miles of yard-wide wadding and batting per day, being twice the size of any wadding manufactory in the world. In 1878, the two companies,-Goff, Cranston & Brownell and Union Wadding Company,-the latter of which, though previously formed, was chartered in 1875, with a capital of $300,000, were merged into one under the name of the Union Wadding Company, of which Darius Goff is Presi- dent and Henry A. Stears Superintendent. The company runs machinery of its own invention and construction, which in a large measure accounts for the remarkable suc- cess of the business. In 1861 Mr. Goff, with his son, Darius L., and William F. and Frederick C. Sayles, formed the American Worsted Company, for the manufacture of worsted braids-then a new industry in the country. This company was dissolved in 1864, and a new firm for the conduct of the same business was immediately organized, the name being D. Goff & Son, Mr. Goff's son, Darius L., being the junior member. Lyman B., the youngest son, was admitted in 1876. During that year, by the efforts of Mr. Goff, the business received protective legislation from Congress, and at once became an immense and flour- ishing branch of industry, the product-alpaca braids -- being well known in the market as "Goff's Braids." The firm is the leading one of the kind in America. Mr. Goff served in the Town Council of Pawtucket. In 1871 he was elected a State Senator. He was a Director in the Franklin Savings Bank from its incorporation to a late date; has been a Director in the Pawtucket Hair Cloth Company, and in the Pawtucket Gas Company, from their origin. He is also a Director in the First National Bank of Pawtucket. For many years he has been a devoted and influential member of the Congregational Church of Paw- tucket, and has largely contributed to its support, being one of four to enlarge the old house. He was a member of its Building Committee in the erection of the new edi-

fice, and in the liquidation of its debt subscribed ten thousand dollars. Politically he has been a Whig and a Republican, and was always a strong opponent of slavery. During the Civil War his voice, hand, and purse were given to the support of the patriot army and the Union. To every good cause he has freely and earnestly given his aid and influ- ence. Notwithstanding his extensive business relations he has found time to indulge his taste and increase his knowl- edge by travelling over nearly all parts of our country. Ilis vigor of body and mind, sterling qualities of heart, and executive abilities, well entitle him to be counted as a rep- resentative man of New England. He married, first, in May, 1839, Sarah Lee, whose only child died; second, Harriet Lee. These were sisters, and daughters of Israel Lee, of Dighton, Massachusetts. The children by the second marriage have been Darius L., Lyman B., and Sarah C. Mr. Goff's sons, as already stated, are now as- sociated with him in business. His daughter, Saralı C., married Thomas S. Steele, of Hartford, Connecticut.

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 76

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