The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 78

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

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its present building, and has otherwise aided it. ITis last and most munificent gift to the city of Newport is " The People's Library," located on Thames Strect, in the centre of the city. This library, founded in 1870, by his appro- priations, has become one of the most prominent and useful institutions of Newport. It is built of brown stone to the second story, and of brick above, and is complete in all its appointments. Its volumes now number over 21,000, and its spacious reading-room is well furnished with periodicals and papers, to all of which all classes have free access. The present librarian is Mr. David Stevens. The entire sum appropriated by Mr. Townsend for the purchase of building and repairs, and for books, is estimated at one hundred thousand dollars. He continues to manifest a deep interest in the objects of his benevolence, and the chief purpose of his life seems to be to devise means to contribute to the welfare and happiness of mankind. For several years, he has divided his time between residences in Newport, New York, and travelling in Europe. At the dedication of the " People's Library," in May, 1870, in his address before the Mayor and City Council of Newport, the Hon. William P. Sheffield said of him : " Mr. Town- send has refused to permit his name to be associated with this library, or to have any memorial of himself placed here to remind the people, who may enjoy the benefit of this charity, of any obligation to him. This act is as mag- nanimous as it is singular; but cold and unappreciating, indeed, must be the heart which does not warm with emo- tion in contemplation of the character which has arisen so much above the selfishness common to our kind, and em- braced an entire community as the fitting subject of its charity."

B ALCH, JOHN ROGERS, Treasurer of the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company, was born in Providence, August 27, 1808. He is the, son of John R. and Saphira (Packard) Balch. His father was a native of Providence, where for many years he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was subsequently clerk in the Exchange Bank. His ancestors came from England and settled in Newport about the time of the Revolution. Mr. Balch attended the public and private schools of Providence until the age of fourteen, when he became clerk for the firm of Cook & Brown, cotton mer- chants, located on South Water Street. He remained with this firm for twenty-three years, until its dissolution in 1845, during which time he acquired an extended acquaintance in business circles. He subsequently secured the position as clerk for the Providence and Worcester Railroad Com- pany, which he filled until 1848, when he was elected Treasurer of the company, and has continued to serve in both positions until the present time. During the thirty- five years he has been connected with this company, his experience and sound judgment have been of great value

in the transactions of the vast business of the road. He has often been urged to accept public office, but has uni- formly declined, preferring to devote his entire time and energies to the discharge of the duties of the position which he at present occupies. In early life, however, he took an active interest in politics, having been a member of the Whig and Republican parties. In 1827 he joined the First Light Infantry Company of Providence, and is still a member of the Veteran Association connected with that organization. He married Elizabeth C. Lawton, daugh- ter of Isaiah and Mary (Collins) Lawton, of Newport, Rhode Island. She died October 12, 1879, in her sixty- ninth year. They had three children: John R., who died in infancy ; Ellen, who married George O. Ormstead; and Collins L., who married Georgia Hardy, of New York.

EEDEN, JOHN E., M.D., was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, October 7, 1808. The first member of the family of whom we have been able to obtain any information was Daniel Weeden, who lived on the island of Co- nanicut, and died during the Revolution. He owned a number of slaves, and in his will provided for their manu- mission. His son, John Weeden, represented Jamestown in the Colonial Assembly, and was one of the five men in Jamestown who voted in favor of ratifying the Constitution of the United States. He was confined in a British prison- ship in Newport harbor, and during his imprisonment his house and farm were left in the care of his wife, Mercy Weeden, who displayed remarkable bravery in her endeavor to prevent the destruction of the property by the British soldiers. She died at the age of ninety-two. There is now in the possession of her great-grandson, William B. Weeden, of Providence, the frame of a mirror, the glass of which was broken by a British officer. Her patriotic spirit and unflinching courage were represented in the War of the Rebellion in the person of her grandson, who was chief of artillery in the Battle of Malvern Hill. Her son, Wager Weeden, was born on Conanicut Island, and at the age of twenty-one represented his native town in the Gen- eral Assembly. He married Sarah Hull, daughter of Ed- ward Hull, one of the largest landholders in the State. Edward Hull was an influential friend and supporter of the Revolution, although he lived at that time on Block Island, which was a " neutral point." He was a member of the convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States, and occupied a high position in society. Wager Weeden removed to South Kingstown, was for many years one of the Judges of the County Court, was for a number of years a State Senator when twelve sena- tors chosen by the people at large held one-half the legis- lative power of the State, and Presidential Elector in 1840 when General Harrison was elected. He was a strong

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man intellectually, kind to the poor, and noted for his morality and uprightness of character. His eldest son, John E. Weeden, the subject of this sketch, was sent to the Latin School at Kingstown, to be " educated for a doc- tor," and afterwards to Plainfield Academy, Connecticut. He studied medicine with Dr. William Turner, of New- port, and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. He married Eliza Cross, only daughter of Judge Amos Cross, of Westerly, and commenced the prac- tice of medicine and surgery in Bristol, Rhode Island. Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, sent him his first patient. While President Jackson was visit- ing Bristol, a man had his hand blown off in firing a salute, and Dr. Weeden was called to amputate his arm, which he did successfully. In 1836 Dr. Weeden removed to West- erly, and practiced medicine about fifteen years. In the meantime he engaged in the manufacturing business, which finally made so great a demand upon his time as to cause him to relinquish his profession. He represented the town of Westerly in the General Assembly during the War of the Rebellion, devoting his time and energies to the ad- vancement of the cause of the Union. As Chairman of the Finance Committee of the House, he was instrumental in bringing the financial power of the State to bear on " the sinews of war" to some purpose. Rhode Island was able to equip and send into the field more artillery companies than the United States had when the war began. Since 1870 Dr. Weeden has devoted his whole time to manufacturing. He has built up in a wilderness a flour- ishing village of five hundred inhabitants-one of the vil- lages which have made Rhode Island almost a continuous city. His mills are at Niantic, where Ninigret, the chief of the Niantics, was executed. These mills contain eight sets of woollen machinery, employ about one hundred and fifty hands, and turn out about one million two hundred thousand yards of flannels and woollen shirtings per year.

COMOOWEN, TULLY DORRANCE, son of Nathan and Betsy (Gardiner) Bowen, was born at Bowen Hill, Coventry, Rhode Island, January 29, 1808. At an early age he entered the store of Dr. Stephen Harris, at Centreville; afterwards removed to Provi- dence, and was for some years clerk in the Merchants' Bank. He next entered the service of the Blackstone Manufacturing Company, and soon after formed a copart- nership with Mr. Holder Borden, and under the firm-name of Borden & Bowen remained in business after Mr. Bor- den's decease until his own death, February 13, 1869. Mr. Bowen served in the State Legislature for the city of Provi- dence in 1849 and 1850; also in the State Militia as private, and officer of the Marine Artillery Corps of Providence, and was for many years President of the Blackstone Canal Bank. He married, August 31, 1843, Louisa Holmes, of Bristol,

Rhode Island. He had seven children, of whom four sur- vived him.

B ELDEN, STANTON, A.M., teacher, son of Martin and Prudence (Sholes) Belden, was born in Sandis- field, Massachusetts, January 15, 1808. His father, a farmer, was born in the same town. His grand- father, James Belden, was from Wethersfield, Con- necticut. His mother was born in Groton, Connecticut, and had relatives who fell in defending Fort Griswold at the time of the massacre, September 6, 1781. His grand- mother was a Bush, from Colebrook, Connecticut, a woman of great energy and piety, whose brothers, Calvin and George, became early and honored settlers in Chenango County, New York. Stanton, brought up on the pater- nal farm, had an early thirst for knowledge, and would go miles to get new books to read. At the age of seventeen he began to teach district schools. Having de- termined to obtain a college education, he taught school in winter, and spent the money thus earned in studying during the summer. He was fitted for college by Rev. Emerson Davis, D.D., of Westfield, Massachusetts. In 1829 he entered Yale College, under the presidency of Rev. Jeremiah Day, D.D., and graduated with honor in 1833. While thus studying he defrayed his expenses by teaching, borrowing enough money to make up the de- ficiency. His indebtedness on graduation was about a thousand dollars. Self-reliance was always one of his marked characteristics, and his attainments were of a high order. Choosing the profession of teaching in 1835, at the suggestion of Rev. Francis Wayland, D.D., President of Brown University, he removed to Fruit Hill, North Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and in April of that year opened a boarding-school in the old tavern-stand formerly celebrated as the residence of Dr. Thayer. Such academies were then liberally patronized, the youth coming from towns and cities near and far. Mr. Belden's first year here closed with forty scholars. He then by invitation went to See- konk, Massachusetts-now East Providence, Rhode Island -and established the Seekonk Seminary, which he con- ducted with remarkable success for four years, preparing students for college and for various departments of busi- ness. Here he was still encouraged by Dr. Wayland and other distinguished men, and was accounted "a superior linguist, a gentleman of great industry, and singularly apt to teach." In 1840 he was recalled to Fruit Hill as Prin- cipal of his old school, now termed the Fruit Hill Classical Institute, and here, doing a large and noble work, he re- mained at the head of the Institute for twenty-one years. Though the premises were large they were often over- crowded with students. The seminary was one of strict discipline, broad curriculum, and thorough study. The students were from Providence and all parts of Rhode Island; from Boston, the Southern States, West Indies, South America, and some from Africa. Thus Mr. Belden

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became widely and honorably known. He was greatly instrumental in sustaining the regular Baptist church then existing on the Hill, and the students regularly attended the Sabbath worship. Ile was active also in the establishment of an excellent Sabbath school, of which he was for many years the efficient Superintendent, making it a model school. In 1861, wearied with his long and severe though always successful labors in teaching in his Institute, and the full organization of graded schools having been effected through- out the State, and the excitement of the Rebellion in the nation becoming great, Mr. Belden determined to close his school, and did so, but was obliged, in consequence of the blockade, to send his Southern pupils home by way of England. During the " Dorr War " Mr. Belden's prem- ises were occupied for a night, much to the discomfort of himself and family, by the " Law and Order" forces mareh- ing to Chepaehet. He married, December 9, 1835, An- toinctte Percival Manchester, of Fall River, Massachusetts, the ceremony being performed by Dr. Wayland. He has seven children living : Deacon Francis S., now (1881) in Chicago, Illinois; Marian H .; Antoinette P., now Mrs. C. R. Brayton; Preston L., now in Providence; Rev. Claren- don D., now a Baptist minister in Austin, Minnesota; Florence E., now of Boston, Massachusetts ; and Augustus W., now in Colorado. Since closing his Institute Mr. Belden has filled various town offices, and has been en- gaged in farming, meanwhile devoting much time to the religious interests of the community.

ETERS, ARNOLD, draughtsman and expert ma- chinist, son of Mark and Matilda Peters, was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, January I, 1802. He was the second of six sons. His father being a farmer with very small means, his educa- tional advantages were limited to an attendance at the dis- trict school during the winter months, the balance of the time being employed on the farm, until the age of sixteen, when he went to Providence to learn the trade of a car- penter. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Paw- tucket, Rhode Island, and for the next seven years was employed as pattern-maker and in doing the woodwork for new machinery in the establishment of David Wilkin- son & Co., who were at one time the largest manufacturers of machinery in this country. For about six years, from August 9, 1829, he was employed by Samuel Slater & Sons, of Providence, in the same line of work, and from the end of that time until 1839 was variously employed in drafting and superintending the erection and remodelling of ma- chinery and mills at various places. Since 1839, with the exception of two years spent with the High Street Iron Foundry, in Providence, he has been a stockholder in the Phenix Iron Foundry, an extensive corporation established for manufacturing various machinery, and has been en- gaged in drafting and estimating the eost of construction

of machinery of different kinds. Many of the prominent stockholders of the company with which he is connected have died since its organization, including Benjamin and Charles Dyer, John H. Clark, Colonel John Andrews, George B. Holmes, and others with whom Mr. Peters was associated in business. Mr. Peters has had a large and varicd experienee in his calling, and his services have often becn required in the erection of new mills, the re- modelling or enlarging of old ones, and in construction and placing of machinery for mills in various parts of the country, and the fulfilling of his contracts has necessitated considerable travel and absence from his home. He has been a member of the Free and Accepted Masons since 1823, at which time he united with Union Lodge, No. 10, of Paw- tucket, and has held many offices in that order. He is also a member of the Providence Royal Arch Chapter. He takes a deep interest in horticulture and agriculture, and for many years has been a member of the Rhode Island Horticultural and the Rhode Island Agricultural Societies. He is also a member of the Society for the Encourage- ment of Domestie Industry. Politieally, he was formerly a Whig, and has been a firm Republican since the forma- tion of that party, although he has never taken an active part in politics. He married, November 19, 1826, Eliza- beth Dorr, daughter of Joseph Dorr, of Scituate, Rhode Island. She died November 10, 1879. They had four children, two sons and two daughters, but one of whom is living, Josephine M. L., who married Jacob E. Farring- ton, a jeweller of Providenee. Though in his seventy- ninth year, Mr. Peters is still actively engaged in business, and is as cheerful, hopeful and energetic as most men in the prime of life.

HAPMAN, DEACON RHODES BUDLONG, banker, and President of the State Mutual Fire Insurance Company, son of Stephen and Sally (Williams) Chapman, was born in Pomfret (now Putnam), Connecticut, September 3, 1808. Stephen Chap- man was for some time engaged as a master-builder, and overseer in a factory, and then removed to Paris, New York, where he became a successful farmer. He was a leading member of the Baptist Church in Pomfret before his removal to New York, and his house was regarded as an inn for Baptist preachers; his wife, who was also a de- voted member of the Baptist Church, was the daughter of Rev. Thomas Williams, a lineal descendant of Roger Wil- liams. Their children were Thomas, Phebe, Stephen, two daughters, deceased, Sophia, Rhodes B., and James. Stephen Chapman's father, Rhodes B., and his uncle, Ru- fus, were soldiers in the Revolution. The latter endured intense suffering from hunger and cold at the winter quar- ters at Valley Forge; yet he lived to the advanced age of one hundred and four. The genealogy of the Chapman family is traced back through Nova Scotia to Wales, the

Arnold Peters

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Chapmans of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connec- ticut claiming to be descendants of one who lived in Nova Scotia. Rhodes B. was educated in the public schools and under the private instruction of a Presbyterian minis- ter. He became a school teacher at the age of seventeen. After alternating between farming and teaching, he entered a store as clerk in Saquoit, and subsequently removed with his employer to Utica, New York. While thus employed he became an earnest advocate of temperance principles, and united with the Baptist Church. About 1828 he left Utica and engaged in teaching near Worcester, Massachusetts, where his brother Thomas then resided. He soon after- wards entered the counting-room of Samuel Slater, in Ox- ford (now Webster) as bookkeeper, where he remained a year. With a view to entering the ministry, he subse- quently prepared for college at the South Reading Acad- emy, in Massachusetts, and in 1831 entered Brown Uni versity, where he remained three years, when impaired health compelled him to leave the University, being then in the Senior class. He afterwards accepted a position as teacher in the Agricultural School at Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, where he remained two years, and then taught for two years in the Worcester County Agricultural High School, in Massachusetts, having among his pupils several young men who afterwards became distinguished. Obliged to relinquish teaching on account of ill health, he served as Teller for one year in the Citizens' Bank of Worcester, and in 1838 was elected Cashier of the Millbury Bank, which position he held for four years. In 1843 he became an equal partner in business with Amos D. and Moses B. Lockwood, with whom he was associated for ten years in running the mills at Slatersville, Rhode Island, during which time Mr. Chapman resided at Slatersville and man- aged the finances. He finally removed to Providence and took charge of the books of the firm. In 1853 he was one of the founders of the Continental Bank, now the Fourth National Bank, of Providence; was one of the first Direc- tors, and in 1855 became President of that institution, which office he has continued to hold until the present time, a period of twenty-five years. In 1858 he projected and started the State Mutual Fire Insurance Company, since which time he has continued to serve as its President and Treasurer. In 1854 he was elected a member of the Providence Common Council, and served for two years. He was chosen a Deacon of the Baptist church in Wor- cester, Massachusetts, in 1837, and on his removal to Providence his membership was transferred to the First Baptist Church of that city, with which he is still con- nected. For twenty-one years he was the Treasurer of the Rhode Ialand Baptist State Convention, and from early life has taken an active part in the various branches of Christian work. He married, August 25, 1835, Avis Waterman Lockwood, daughter of Benoni Lockwood, of Providence, of an old and honorable Rhode Island family, whose lineage has been traced to the last of the martyrs of

England. They have had five children, Robert Boyle, Charles Henry, Frederick Rhodes, and two daughters who died in infancy. Robert B. is secretary of the State Mu- tual Fire Insurance Company, the American Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and the Enterprise Mutual Fire In- surance Company, the last of which he assisted in organiz- ing. Charles H., a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, served with distinction in the Union army during the Civil War, and is now assistant secretary of the American Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Frederick R. is clerk in the State Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Robert B. and Charles H. are graduates of Brown Univer- sity. Mr. Chapman's long and varied business experience has been marked by strict integrity and a faithful discharge of the numerous trusts reposed in him.

ALLET, COLONEL GEORGE WARREN, son of George and Eliza (Gordon) Hallet, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, February 18, 1808. His parents had fifteen children, five sons and ten daughters. The family was of English origin, and came to Massachusetts in 1680. George W. completed his school studies in Boston High School. He first engaged in busi- ness in Boston as a dry-salter, a dealer in all kinds of dye- stuffs. In 1823 he removed to Providence, and entered the house of Dyers & Manton, the firm consisting of Dr. Benjamin Dyer, Charles Dyer, Paris Dyer, and Amasa Manton, dealers in drugs, on Market Square, where they remained till 1825, when they removed to South Water Street. In 1827 he travelled through South Carolina, Geor- gia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and up the river to Cincinnati, where he purchased a horse and rode to Wash- ington. In 1829 he became a member of the new firm of Dyers, Manton & Hallett, the members being Benjamin Dyer, Jr., Charles Dyer, Jr., Amasa Manton, and G. W. Hallet, dealers in drugs, oils, and dye-stuffs, on South Water Street. In 1831 he and Amasa Manton united under the firm-name of Manton & Hallet, and continued the old busi- ness on South Water Street. This widely-known firm con- tinued successfully till 1857, when Mr. Hallet retired. Prior to 1831 he became a member of the First Light In- fantry Company of Providence, and served at the time of the riot. In 1838 he travelled abroad, visiting England, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Holland, and returned in the first steamship that crossed the Atlantic. In the " Dorr War," in 1842, he was Adjutant of the city regiment, under Colonel A. D. Hodges, on the side of " law and order." On the organization of the Providence Horse Guard, in 1842, he was chosen Lieutenant-Colonel under Colonel Hodges, and in time becoming Colonel, brought that body of cavalry to a state of remarkable efficiency and popularity. In 1861 he was appointed, by Governor William Sprague, Chief of Cavalry of Rhode Island, and successfully organ-

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ized the First and Second Regiments of Rhode Island Cav- alry that entered the Uniom army for the suppression of the Rebellion. The First Regiment consisted of two bat- talions from Rhode Island and one from New Hampshire, and took the field under the name of the First Regiment New England Cavalry. In politics Colonel Hallet is a Republican, and was formerly a Whig. He was one of the constituent members of the Westminster Congregational (Unitarian) Church, organized under Dr. Farley. Socially, politically, and religiously he has filled a large and honorcd place in Providence, but persistently refused to accept public offices. As owner, or manager, he has been associ- ated with important manufacturing interests, particularly with the Dunnell Manufacturing Company, of which he is still (1881) a member. He married, May 18, 1829, Louisa Branch, daughter of Sanford and Matilda (Cady) Branch, of Providence, and had five ehildren, two of whom are now living. George now resides at Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Louisa G. married Christopher Lippitt, of Providence.

COMO

Ga EDGE, JOSIAH DENHAM, M.D., was born in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, January 7, 1809. His father was Professor Levi Hedge, LL.D., Alford - Professor of Natural Theology, etc., in Harvard College. He entered Harvard College in 1824 and was graduated in 1828, having among his classmates Dr. H. I. Bowditch, Hon. George S. Hillard, and Hon. Robert C. Winthrop. After graduation he took a course of study in medicine, receiving the degree of M.D. in 1832. For two years he practiced his profession in one of the New York hospitals. For several years previous to his taking up his residence in. Providence he direeted his attention to the cultivation of tastes developed and fostered in his college life for literary pursuits. Such was the reputation which he had acquired as a lover and diligent student of good books that on the recommendation of gentlemen of good judgment, he was elected in 1854 Librarian of the Providence Atheneum, to fill the vaeancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Thomas H. Williams. The number of volumes in the library when he entered upon the duties of his office was 18,801. For a quarter of a century he dis- charged with singular fidelity and acceptance the trust that was committed to his hands. On his judgment and advice the committee on the purchase of books greatly relied to aid them in the selection of such works as would enrich the collection of books of which they had charge. Through his entire service he was himself a most generous donor of books to the institution, and took a deep interest and an honest pride in its growth. By virtue of the position he held, few persons in Providence had a wider acquaintance with the best part of the community than Mr. Hedge. All bore witness to the uniform courtesy and patience with which he treated those whom he met in his official relations. His life he gave liberally to his work, seldom allowing him-

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 78

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