The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 90

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

USA > Rhode Island > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island > Part 90

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

the former proved victorious, and in 1858 the latter resigned his position at Washington to take charge of the Public Library at Boston. Here, in the metropolis of New Eng- land and the literary centre of the country, he found the true sphere for his varied accomplishments and bibliographi- cal skill. For ten years he labored with unwearied zeal to make this great collection the library of the land. It already numbers 350,000 volumes. The catalogues which he prepared, and the rules for the government of the libra- ry which he suggested, have served, and will continue to serve, as models in all parts of the land. In the midst of his work he was suddenly seized with paralysis, and after a brief illness of ten hours he died at his residence in Brain- tree, on the morning of January 8, 1868, at the age of fifty-two. Professor Jewett married, in 1848, Rebecca Greene Haskins, a daughter of Ralph Haskins, Esq., of Roxbury, Massachusetts. A son and two daughters, with their mother, survive him.

LYON, MERRICK, LL.D., a prominent educator, son of Deacon Jonathan and Hannah (Smith) Lyon, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, was born April 7, 1815. His father was a prosperous farmer and a leading man in town. He had a family of seven sons and three daughters, all of whom arrived at the age of maturity. Four of his sons, including the subject of this sketch, received a collegiate education. Merrick remained at home until he was eighteen years of age, working on the farm, and during the winter months attending the pub- lic schools. While a boy he became deeply interested in religious truth, and in November, 1831, united with the Baptist Church in Sturbridge. Being naturally fond of study, and possessing more than ordinary gifts, he took a prominent part in the meetings of the church. Thus he was led to seek for enlarged spheres of usefulness by a thorough course of mental training and culture. He en- tered Hopkins Academy, in Hadly, Massachusetts, where he remained several years, teaching public schools in the winter. The last year of his preparatory course was passed at the Baptist Academy, in Worcester. In September, 1836, he entered the Freshman class of Brown University, and continued with it for the year, teaching meanwhile four months. During the first term of the Sophomore year he left college for a time and taught the High School at East Dennis, Massachusetts. He graduated in the class of 1841, having attained to high rank as a scholar. On leav- ing college he at once entered upon what has been his life- work-teaching. For a few weeks he taught a private school in the upper story of a building on Market Square, and afterward in the De Witt Building, on Waterman Street, Providence. In 1845 he became one of the princi- pals of the " University Grammar School," and although offered a professorship in the University of Michigan, at

400

BIOGRAPHIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Ann Arbor, and similar positions in other institutions, lie has remained at Providence until the present time, labor- ing with signal efficiency and zeal to promote classical and academic culture. During the year 1855 he also taught Greek in college. Of the premiums for excellence in Greek and Latin awarded to students entering Brown Uni- versity, forty-six have been given to those prepared by Dr. Lyon. In 1873, he travelled extensively in Great Britain and on the Continent, and was appointed " Hon- orary Commissioner to the World's Fair at Vienna." He was a member of the Common Council of Providence in 1855, and was made Chairman of the Committee on Edu- cation. For a quarter of a century he has been a leading and active member of the School Committee, doing an amount of gratuitous labor for which the public must al- ways hold him in grateful esteem. He was President of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction in 1873 and 1874, and was also President for two years of the American In- stitute of Instruction. He was President one year of the Rhode Island Baptist Social Union. In 1874 he was elected a trustee of Brown University, and in 1877 was elected a Fellow, filling the place made vacant by the death of the lamented President Caswell. In 1873 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Chicago. For twenty-six years he has held the office of a deacon in the church. He married, August 23, 1842, Caroline Brown, daughter of Dr. Nicholas Jenks, of Mid- dleborough, Massachusetts, and sister of Professor Jenks, of the University. Two daughters, both living, are the issue of the marriage. The elder daughter, Caroline H., was married, in 1868, to James C. Goff, a prominent and active member of the Common Council of Providence, and also a member of the School Committee.

RANGER, REV. ABRAHAM HOLLEY, D.D., son of William and Phebe (Gardner) Granger, was born in Suffield, Connecticut, October 10, 1815. His father was a lineal descendant of Lancelot Granger, 38 one of the original proprietors of Suffield, who came to this country from Yorkshire, England. Abraham H. was early deprived of parental care and guidance : his mother died when he was but four years of age, and his father when he was eight years old. He spent his boy- hood in agricultural pursuits and in attending the common schools. At the age of eighteen he commenced to prepare for college in the Connecticut Literary Institution. In 1835 he entered Waterville College, now Colby University, and graduated in 1839, as the valedictorian of his class. At the beginning of his collegiate studies he contemplated the legal profession, but, from a change in his religious views, while he was preparing for college, he was led, after teaching for one year at Bath, Maine, to enter Newton Theological Institution, in the fall of 1840. From this institution he graduated in 1843, and in November of the

same year was ordained as pastor of the Baptist church in Warren, Knox County, Maine, where he laborcd with signal ability and success for eleven years. In May, 1854, he accepted a call to the Fourth Baptist Church, in Providence, of which he served as Pastor, with rare effi- ciency, for more than twenty-three years, attaining celebrity throughout the State for scholarship and judgment. At the semi-centennial of the Rhode Island Baptist State Con- vention, May 12, 1875, he delivered the Historical Dis- course. Early in his public life he was elected a Trustee of Waterville College, now Colby University, and in 1864 received from his alma mater the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1863 he was elected a trustee of Brown University, an office which he continues to fill. His labors as an instructor and counsellor have been widely recognized and appreciated. Resigning his pastorate in Providence, in July, 1877, he spent the two following years in supplying pulpits at Franklin and Norfolk, Massachu- setts. While residing in Franklin his residence was de- stroyed by fire. In 1879 he became Pastor of the Berean Baptist Church of Burrillville, Rhode Island, where he now resides. He married, November 21, 1843, Frances Maria Kimball, daughter of Thomas Kimball, of Waterville, Maine. He had three sons, Frederic William, Eugene Fuller, and Edward Vaughn. The two elder served in the Union army during the Rebellion, the second never returning, being reported missing. The youngest, Edward Vaughn, graduated at the College of Physicians and Sur- geons of New York City, in March, 1873, and is now suc- cessfully practicing his profession in Burrillville.

ec PIPPITT, HON. HENRY, ex-Governor of Rhode Island, son of Warren and Eliza (Seamans) Lip- pitt, was born in Providence, October 9, 1818. He is descended from John Lippitt, who came to Rhode Island in 1638, two years after its settlement by Roger Williams, and was the first person of that name who came to America. In 1647, when Parliament granted a charter to organize the colony, he was appointed one of the commission. Leaving Providence in 1655, he removed to Warwick, Rhode Island, purchased a tract of land and engaged in farming. Christopher, grandson of John Lip- pitt, was the father of Christopher and Charles Lippitt, the pioneer manufacturers of Rhode Island. The former com- manded a Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revo- lution, and won distinction ; was Brigadier-General of the Rhode Island militia in 1780; and at the close of the war engaged in farming, his brother Charles, who was also an officer in the Revolution, being a Providence merchant. November 9, 1809, Christopher and Charles Lippitt, Benjamin Aborn, George Jackson, Amasa Ma- son, and William Mason organized the Lippitt Manu- facturing Company, with $40,000 capital. Christopher

difficile

40I

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

Lippitt was the first agent of the company; their cotton mill, the third in the State, was built in 1807; the yarns were first woven by hand looms into cloth, but in 1820 weaving machinery was introduced into the fac- tory. Warren Lippitt, son of Charles Lippitt, and father of Henry Lippitt, was formerly a sea-captain, but subse- quently became a cotton merchant in Providence, Rhode Island, and Savannah, Georgia. At the death of his father, in 1840, he was chosen treasurer of the Lippitt Manufacturing Company, and held that position until his death, in 1850. Governor Lippitt received a good English education at the Academy at Kingston, Rhode Island. Soon after he went to Warren, Rhode Island, and was em- ployed for four years as clerk for Burr & Smith. In No- vember, 1835, he returned to Providence, and for three years served as bookkeeper for Josiah Chapin & Co., at that time the largest cotton merchants in that city. In 1838 he became associated with Edward Walcott in the commission business, under the firm-name of Walcott & Lippitt, Amory Chapin being a special partner. They dealt principally in bale cotton and print cloths. In 1840 Mr. Walcott retired from the firm, and Mr. Chapin became an active partner, and was associated with Mr. Lippitt until his death, in 1846, the firm style being Amory Chapin & Co. At this time a younger brother, Robert L. Lippitt,

born in Savannah, Ga., and formerly a clerk for Walcott & Lippitt, and also for Amory Chapin & Co., became a partner with Mr. Lippitt. In 1848, Henry and Robert L. Lippitt, with their father and other Providence capitalists, purchased the " Tiffany Mill," at Danielsonville, Connecticut, from Comfort Tiffany, the father of Charles L. Tiffany, of Tiffany & Co., of New York city. The property they purchased consisted of three hundred acres of land, the mill, with a capacity of 3000 spindles, and an extensive unimproved water-power. The next year, 1849, the business was or- ganized as the Quinebaug Manufacturing Company, and

a new mill of 10,000 spindles erected. In 1850, on the death of Warren Lippitt, Amos D. and Moses B. Lock- wood bought a controlling interest in the property; the new mill was fitted up with machinery for the manufacture of delaines, and the company reorganized as the Quinebaug

Company. About this time Henry and Robert L. Lippitt hired the " Coddington Mill," at Newport, Rhode Island, and manufactured cotton goods until 1853, when that mill

was burned. In 1854, having sold their stock in the

Quinebaug Company, they purchased an interest in the

" Social and Harrison Mills," at Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Robert L. Lippitt died June 29, 1858, and Henry immediately closed up the commission business, and de- voted his attention entirely to manufacturing. He pur- chased his brother's interest in the " Social Manufacturing

ings and machinery to a capacity of 40,000 spindles. In Company," which company, in 1860, increased their build-

1874 the mill was burned, and a brick mill of 60,000 spindles was erected. About this time the " Globe Mill,"

at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, was purchased, which was built, in 1873, by George C. Ballou & Son. This mill is a stone structure, of 44,000 spindles, making 104,000 spin- dles in the Social and Globe Mills. The capital of the company, originally limited to $300,000, was, in January, 1870, increased by act of legislature to $600,000, and in January, 1874, to $1,000,000. Governor Lippitt has been Treasurer of the company from its beginning, and owns the controlling interest in the stock. The first President was Orren A., son of Dexter Ballou, and on his resignation, in 1875, Charles Nourse, who has been resident agent since 1855, was elected President, and now holds both positions. In 1859, Mr. Charles H. Merriman became partner with Mr. Lippitt, the firm-name being H. Lippitt & Co. From 1862 to 1866 Mr. Lippitt was a large owner in the Manville Company, the mills of which are at Lin- coln, Rhode Island. In 1865, H. Lippitt & Co., with others owning the Harrison Mill, at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, changed the cotton machinery, which was sold, and put in a full equipment of woollen machinery, with twenty sets of cards, and began to manufacture fancy cassimeres and overcoatings, employing about five hundred operatives. The factory is known as the Lippitt Woollen Company. Governor Lippitt is the President, C. H. Merriman, Treas- urer, and the capital $400,000. Governor Lippitt organized the Silver Spring Bleaching and Dyeing Company, and obtained a charter in May, 1864, the capital being $200,000, which by act of legislature, in January, 1873, was increased to $500,000. He is the President of this company, and his eldest son, Charles Warren Lippitt, Treasurer and Agent, having full management of the works. This com- pany bought the old Silver Spring Bleachery, together with eighty acres of land. They bleach and color various styles of cotton goods. Governor Lippitt is President of the Rhode Island National Bank; Rhode Island Institution for Sav- ings ; Lippitt Woollen Company ; Silver Springs Bleaching and Dyeing Company; Wheaton Hotel Company, which owns the Narragansett Hotel, of Providence; Providence Opera House Association; Dyer Street Land Company ; Colonia Warehouse and Dry Dock Company, of South America; and Treasurer of the Social Manufacturing Com- pany. He was one of the organizers and the first Vice- President of the Providence Board of Trade, and its second President for three years. He was active in reorganizing the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery in 1840, and in 1842; was elected Lieutenant-Colonel of the corps, after serving in the different subordinate offices, and commanded a portion of the company, then armed and drilled as in- fantry, through the " Dorr War," in 1842. He was in com- mand of a section three nights at the Arsenal, when it was attacked by the Dorr forces; commanded the leading sec- tion, May 18, 1842, at the attack on the Dorr forces on Atwell's Avenue, and again, in June, at the capture of the fort on Acote's Hill, being the third man to enter the fort. During the Southern Rebellion he was Commissioner for

402

BIOGRAPHIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

the County of Providence on the enrolling and drafting of men, under the call of President Lincoln, in 1862, for three hundred thousand men. He was Governor of Rhode Island in 1875 and 1876, and took an active part in honor- ing the State at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, in 1876. He married, December, 16, 1845, Mary Ann, eldest daughter of Dr. Joseph Balch. Her oldest brother, Joseph P. Balch, was Major of the First Rhode Island Regiment, under Colonel Burnside; fought at the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and served with the regi- ment until it was discharged. Governor Lippitt has had eleven children : Charles Warren, Henry Merriman, Joseph Balch, George Earnest, Jeanie, Frederick, Henry Fred- erick, Mary Balch, Robert Lincoln, Abby Francis, and Alfred, of whom Charles Warren, Henry Frederick, Robert Lincoln, and the three daughters are all that are now (1881) living. Colonel Charles Warren Lippitt was Chief of Staff to the Governor in 1875 and 1876; is now Vice- President of the Board of Trade, and Treasurer of the Silver Spring Bleaching and Dyeing Company. Since 1838 Governor Lippitt's annual business has never amounted to less than $300,000, and several years has ex- ceeded $4,000,000. He has never failed, nor asked for an extension of time on his commercial obligations, and is universally esteemed as an energetic, frank, outspoken business man, who can always be relied upon.

URNER, HENRY E., M.D., son of James Varnum and Catherine (Ray) Turner, was born at the Gov- ernor Greene Homestead, in Warwick, Rhode Island, June 15, 1816. He is a direct descendant of Captain William Turner, of Boston, who was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church there in 1665, and was associated with Rev. Thomas Gould and others in the sufferings and controversies of that time. In 1676 he raised a company and marched to Northampton, under Major Savage, and was present at the repulse of the Indians from that place in March, 1676. On the 15th of May following, Major Savage having left him in command, he organized a force of one hundred men and surprised and severely punished the Indians at the Connecticut Great Falls, now called Turner's Falls, but was killed on the retreat. Dr. Turner's paternal grandfather was Dr. Peter Turner, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He practiced his pro- fession in that place for about forty years with great success and honor, and died in 1821. He was a veteran of the Revolution, having been surgeon in Colonel Chris- topher Greene's Rhode Island Regiment in the Conti- nental Line, and present at Red Bank, and other hard- fought battles. Dr. H. E. Turner is also a descendant of William Almy, of Portsmouth, and Simon Ray, of Block Island. His maternal grandfather was the Hon. Ray Greene, of Warwick, son of the second Governor William Greene, and grandson of the first Governor William Greene,

whose grandfather was Deputy-Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island from 1690 to 1700. Ilon. Ray Greene was Attorney-General of Rhode Island from May, 1794, to October, 1797, when he was elected to represent the State in the United States Senate, which position he resigned in May, 1801, to accept an appointment as United States Dis- trict Judge, under which for some reason he never acted. Impaired health disqualified him for any active duty for many years, though he lived to an extreme old age. His son, the Hon. William Greene, was Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1868. Through his mother Dr. Turner is descended from Roger Williams and John Sayles, of Providence; Samuel Gorton, John Greene, Ran- dall Holden, Richard Carder, and Rufus Barton, of War- wick; and Jeremiah Clarke, of Newport, all original set- tlers of Rhode Island. In early life he attended the Academy of East Greenwich, now the Methodist Seminary. In April, 1828, when he was twelve years of age, his parents removed to Portsmouth; and in May, 1833, to Newport. At that time he commenced the study of medicine in the office of his uncle and father, Drs. William and James V. Turner, who were then associated in practice, and grad- uated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in March, 1836. The first year after graduation he spent in Indiana, which was then considered the far West, but returned to Rhode Island at the expiration of that time, and on the decease of Dr. William Turner entered upon the practice of his profession as partner with his father, which partnership continued until the death of the latter, in October, 1863, since which time he has prosecuted his profession in the same place. For four years Dr. Turner was Vice- President, and for two years President of the Rhode Island Medical Society. From November, 1862, to June, 1865, he served in the United States Army as acting Assistant Surgeon, being attached to headquarters of the Fifteenth United States Infantry, at Fort Adams. By virtue of the Revolutionary record of one of his paternal ancestors before mentioned he is a member of the Rhode Island Society of Cincinnati, of which he is Secretary. For about twenty years he was a member of the School Committee, and for the same length of time a director in the Redwood Library ' and Athenæum, in which capacity he still continues to act. For two years, from May, 1848, to May, 1850, he was a Representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly, and served with great satisfaction to his constituents and the public generally. Of late years he has declined public office, for the purpose of devoting his entire attention to the practice of his profession. Amid his professional and other duties he has found time to gratify his literary tastes almost daily, and has a genealogical collection, which is proof of his great industry for many years. He delivered two lectures before the Rhode Island Historical Society, which have been published, on " The Greenes of Warwick in Colonial Affairs," and "William Coddington," in the for- mer of which is exhibited extensive and critical research,

403

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

and a vivid picture of the early struggles of the settlers of Rhode Island, and of the relations of this colony to Massa- chusetts at the time of its settlement. Dr. Turner mar- ried, July 18, 1844, Ann Eliza, daughter of Joseph G. and Sarah D. Stevens. They have had six children, of whom two sons and a daughter are living.

OPPIN, THOMAS FREDERIC, son of Thomas Coles, and Harriet Dunn (Jones) Hoppin, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, August 15, 1815. He obtained his education in private schools in his native city, and at Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. When he was a lad of but ten or twelve years of age, he lost, for a time, the use of his lower limbs. Prevented from engaging in the sports of his companions, by what appeared to be a calamity, he developed a remarkable talent for drawing. The state of his health was such that he was compelled to leave school when he was seventeen years of age. His love for artistic studies decided the course which his friends thought best to pursue with refer- ence to his continued education. In 1832 he was sent to Philadelphia and placed under the instruction of Mr. J. R. Smith, to perfect himself in drawing. His teacher was recognized as holding the first rank in his profession in this country, and under his tuition he made rapid and most satisfactory progress in his studies. That nothing might be left undone to give him every possible advantage for the cultivation of his peculiar talent, he was sent abroad, when he was not far from twenty-two years of age, and placed as a pupil under M. Poisson, an accomplished artist of Paris. He was also a pupil in the atelier of the famous artist Paul De La Roche. While he was absent he made a somewhat extended tour through Italy, and returned to his home in 1838. For several years he devoted himself to his artistic labors, painting several pictures for his fam- ily and select friends. One of the productions of his pencil, " Young Lochinvar," was exhibited at the Boston Athenæum, and was favorably noticed by the critics. The Art Union Bulletin published a number of his spirited drawings illustrating scenes in the American Revolution. While residing for a time in New York he made cartoons for the great chancel windows of Trinity Church, repre- senting the four Evangelists, and Saints Peter and Paul. Later in his career as an artist he devoted his attention to statuary. Among the productions of his chisel were his " David Preparing to Cast the Stone," " Hagar and Ish- mael," " Robin Hood Watching the Flight of an Arrow," and " The Sentinel," a dog, which was cast in bronze and exhibited at the Fair of the American Institute. A gold medal, the highest prize in its department, was awarded the artist. His last work of art was a painting represent- ing a scene in the late war, " A Battery Wheeling into Line." In later years he lived the life of a gentleman of liesure, with ample means to gratify his literary and artistic

tastes, with ease and grace cultivating the amenities of so- cial life, and endearing himself to a large circle of rela- tives and friends by the amiable qualities of his character, and by his cheerful response to all the claims they might make on him for affection and service. He died in Provi- dence, January 21, 1873. It was said justly of him at the time of his decease, " He was kindhearted to a fault, not only attaching himself warmly to his friends but holding the most generous impulses toward all. Though not con- spicuous for the exhibition of many of the rugged elements of character, his friends have always recognized his clearly defined moral and physical courage, and feel that in his death the community parted with one who was truly sans peur et sans reproche." Mr. Hoppin was married in Provi- dence, June 24, 1852, to Anna Almy Jenkins, daughter of William and Anna Almy Jenkins, and great-granddaugh- ter of the venerable Moses Brown. His wife and two daughters survived him.

BROWN, HENRY DENISON, son of Asher and Lydia (Palmer) Brown, of Preston, Connecticut, was born in Lisbon, Connecticut, April 3, 1814. His father was a farmer, and also learned the trade of a cabinetmaker. Mr. Brown received a common- school education, and at the age of nineteen began teach- ing in the public schools of Connecticut, in which he was engaged for several years. In July, 1836, he went to Mar- shall, Michigan, where he had charge of the grocery store and bakery of Swan & Crary, until the summer of 1837, when he went to Carlton, Iowa, and started a drygoods store for the same firm. He remained in the latter place a few weeks and then returned to Lisbon, Connecticut. In 1841 he removed to Phenix, Rhode Island, where he served as clerk in the store of William C. Ames, until 1846, when he and J. P. Stone bought out Mr. Ames and carried on a general merchandise business, under the firm- name of Brown & Stone, until 1851. In that year the firm was dissolved, and for four years thereafter Mr. Brown engaged in farming at Lisbon, Connecticut. In 1855 he returned to Phenix, and the following year, when the Phenix Village Bank, now the Phenix National Bank, was organized, he was elected the first cashier of that Institu- tion, which position he still occupies. The Phenix Savings Bank was organized in 1858, and Mr. Brown was elected its Treasurer and Secretary, which offices he has continued to hold until the present time. He was one of the corpo- rators, and is a director of both of these banks. In 1862 he was appointed Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue for Warwick and East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and served for one year, resigning the position at the expiration of that time. He has been Postmaster of Phenix, a mem- ber of the Town Council, and was a member of the Gene- ral Assembly in 1863, 1864, and 1865. For many years he has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and has

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, Part 90

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