The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 100

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 978

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however, and he has the distinction of being the first Republican senator elected from Glocester on a straight party issue. He served continuonsly as State senator for ten years, 1888-98, with the exception of one year 1892. During his entire term of service he was a mem- ber of the committee on finance, and with the excep- tion of the first year was also a member of the com- mittee on judiciary during his entire period of sen- atorial service. From 1885 until 1890 he was a member of the State Board of Commissioners for Soldiers Relief, and until 1895 the board agent. He was ap- pointed a member of the State Board of Charities and Correction in 1893, for a term of six years, was reap- pointed in 1890, and again in 1905, 1911 and 1917. For about eight years of this long period he served as chairman.

Until the year 1899 Captain Read continued his gen- eral mercantile business at Glocester, and also admin- istered the public trusts with the same earnestness and fidelity he gave to his private concerns. But in 1898 he was elected general treasurer of the State of Rhode Island, and the following year, finding the burdens too heavy even for his veteran shoulders, he disposed of his private business that he might the better serve the Commonwealth. From 1898 to his death he continu- ously filled the treasurer's office, a period of twenty years. No further comment upon the value of his service to the State is necessary than the simple state- ment that at the expiration of each term he was re- turned for another.

Since the organization of Charles E. Guild Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in 1891, he was a member of that post. He held every office, including com- mander, and in 1900 was elected commander of the Rhode Island department. He was also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States; Friendship Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, a past master; the Central and West Side clubs of Providence. Captain Read died December 14, 1918, at Chepachet, R. I.

He married, September 19, 1866, Charlotte Owen, daughter of Captain George L. Owen, of Glocester. Their only daughter, Maude Louise, married Howard W. Farnum, now State Senator of Glocester, R. I.

This record of a useful life of seventy-six years reveals its author as a man of great energy and public spirit, with a high conception of the obligations of citizenship. He offered his life when his president called, and when his State called, sacrificed a business he had brought to a profitable condition. Personal preference never stood between him and his duty, and while he never shirked responsibility nor evaded any call made upon him, he never sought office in an objec- tional sense. He won public confidence to a most un- usual degree, and in Rhode Island his name is a syn- onym for official integrity.

CHARLES W. FARNUM-The American Far- nums and Farnhams comprise the progeny of Ralph Farnum, who was one of the original settlers of An- dover, Mass., whence his progeny has spread through- out the country. The family is of ancient English an- cestry, and is traced by Burke to the reign of Edward

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Charles H: Farmen (harte).

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BIOGRAPHICAL

I. By deeds without dates there appear to have been two Lords of Querndon, the ancient seat of the Far- nums in Leicestershire even prior to this date.

Ralph Farnum, founder of the American family of the name, was born in England, probably in Leicester- shire, in 1603. His descendants, while not confined entirely to this section, have been seated principally in Southeastern Massachusetts, and that part of Rhode Island which adjoins. The Smithfield branch of this family, an offshoot of the Uxbridge Farnums, have been prominent in Rhode Island for over a century and a half. The late Charles W. Farnum, long a well known figure in public life in Glocester and surrounding towns, was a lineal descendant of Ralph Farnum, through the Uxbridge line.

(I) John Farnum, the first of the family in Rhode Island, came from Uxbridge, Mass., about 1755, and settled at what is now Georgiaville, where he purchased of Thomas Owen his house and land and commenced the business of blacksmithing. He had a forge just below the present mill of the Bernon Manufacturing Company. The iron ore was brought from Cranston and Cumberland, and charcoal was used for smelting it. The house in which John Farnum resided is the one now occupied by John E. Whipple, a descendant. John Farnum was twice married, and by his first wife he was the father of two sons, Joseph and Noah. His second wife, whom he married in Smithfield, was Mrs. Martha Comstock, and she bore him a son, Stephen. John Farnum and his sons became large landholders, and Joseph Farnum was associated with his father in the blacksmithing and iron business, while Stephen and Noah devoted their attention to agricultural pursuits, the home place of the latter being located about a half mile north of the village on the east side of the Far- num turnpike. Noah Farnum had a son Winsor, who erected the tavern at Georgiaville and conducted it for many years. These men were all Quakers in their religious belief.

(II) Joseph Farnum, son of John Farnum, built the pike road from Centredale to a short distance beyond the "Yellow Tavern" which stands on the four corners near Smithfield station. This road remained in the possession of the family, who collected the tools and kept it in repair until about 1855, when it was disposed of to the town. Joseph Farnum married Hannah Cong- don, and resided in the house now occupied by Mrs. Edwin Farnum. He built this house in 1770, before lis marriage, and while yet a very young man. He died March 27, 1832, in his eighty-first year, and his widow lied December 24, 1838, in her eighty-fourth year.

(III) Caleb Farnum, eldest son of Joseph Farnum, vas born in the house his father built at Georgiaville, nd engaged in farming. After the construction in 813 of the mill of the Georgia Cotton Manufacturing Company, to which the village owes its origin and ame, he was employed in the teaming business for the hill, and became quite well-to-do for the time, being ble to give each of his children at the time of their marriage $1,500 in cash, or its equivalent. He resided for many years previous to his death in what is now ne John L. Smith house, which Mr. Farnum erected, n the turnpike between Georgiaville and Enfield. He

was a very upright man, and a Quaker in his religious belief. He died May 25, 1857, aged seventy-two years. Caleb Farnum married Phebe Harris, of Smithfield, daughter of Robert Harris. She died December 17, 1881, in her ninetieth year. She was a very industrious and energetic woman, and attended to her household duties until her last sickness, which preceded her death but a very short time. Caleb and Phebe (Harris) Far- num were the parents of seven children: Cyrus, Joseph, Phebe, Caleb, Edwin, Ann Eliza, John A.

(IV) Cyrus Farnum, son of Caleb and Phehe ( Har- ris) Farnum, was born at Georgiaville. He settled in Glocester, and there married Maria Aldrich. Cyrus Farnum was a prosperous farmer and well known resident of Glocester. Among his children was Charles W., mentioned below.

(V) Charles W. Farnum, son of Cyrus and Maria (Aldrich) Farnum, was born October 13, 1837. As a lad he learned farm work, assisting the elder man about the place, and gained a strong taste for a rural way of life that throughout his life he never lost. During the winter months he attended the local district school and later the Lapham Institute at North Scituate, where he displayed unusual qualities of scholarship and was especially brilliant in mathematical studies, in which he became highly proficient. Upon completing his schooling he entered the well known engineering firm of Cushing & Farnum and there took up the study of civil engi- neering under the direction of his uncle, the junior mem- ber of the firm. The young man became intensely in- terested in the sea about this time and enlisted in the crew of a whaling ship upon which he spent four years, visiting many parts of the world and among others the coast of Greenland in search of gigantic prey. Upon his return he found the country on the verge of civil war, and when the storm had burst he promptly enlisted (June 1, 1861) in Company I, Second Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteer Infan- try. His first experience in action proved also to be his last, for at the battle of Bull Run he was se- verely wounded and taken prisoner. After confinement for about seven months in Libby prison he was finally exchanged, but his condition was such that on July 16, 1862, he was honorably discharged from service. Re- turning to the North he took up surveying as a pro- fession and was employed in that work in the vicinity of Boston for some years, in the task of laying out suburban property. He was also engaged in work of a similiar nature in Maine for a considerable period. The last years of his life were spent by Mr. Farnum in his native town of Glocester and in the occupation with which he began life, for once more he took up farming and thus continued until his death.

It was more in connection with his participation in public affairs than as a business man that Mr. Far- num was well known, however, for in that department of the community's life he was very prominent. He was a staunch Democrat in politics and, although the region in which he resided was normally strongly Republican, such was his personal popularity and the esteem in which he was held that he was elected to a number of offices. In June, 1875, he was elected town clerk of Glocester, and took up his residence at Chepachet. He

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succeeded in this office the late Ziba O. Slocum, a prominent lawyer of Glocester, who was afterwards the Attorney-General of the State. Mr. Farnum con- tinued to hold the office of town clerk for about a quarter of a century, and in that time won for himself the reputation of a most capable and disinterested pub- lic servant. His discharge of the responsible and com- plicated duties of his office was a kind to satisfy politi- cal friends and foes alike and brought him into contact with great numbers of people throughout the region. During his occupancy he made use of his official capacity to aid in every way possible his fellows, and thus gained their gratitude and good will in a measure enjoyed by but very few. Towards the close of his life Mr. Farnum was in poor health, and this fact compelled him to resign from his post as town clerk in 1901 and thus ended an official career which had brought him nothing but honor and the commun- ity only good. He had also held a number of other posts of importance, among which was that of tax as- sessor, his membership on the board being of long standing. When the District Court system was estab- lished in this region he was appointed assistant jus- tice, and had already served as trial judge for a num- ber of years. He was for twenty-five years justice of the peace, and for a long period was coroner. In 1888 he was elected by a safe majority to represent the com- munity in the State Senate and showed himself in all these capacities to be possessed of unusual foresight and good judgment and fully capable of handling the affairs of his constituents and the community-at-large. Mr. Farnum was also a conspicuous figure in the social and fraternal life of Glocester, and was a member of a number of important organizations here and was particularly active in Charles E. Guild Post, Grand Army of the Republic, with which he was affiliated. For several years he conducted a successful insurance business and, indeed, there were few aspects of the community's life with which he was not connected in a prominent manner.

Mr. Farnum's many sterling qualities made him a splendid type of the useful citizen who places public interests before private ones. A gentleman of the old school, with inflexible ideals of a past generation where questions of ethics and practical conduct were con- cerned, he was singularly free from the corresponding prejudices. A man of the day, a progressive business man in all matters where the methods of the present did not cross swords with his convictions of the right, his influence was a most potent one and, what is even rarer, always exerted in the cause of right and justice. In the end, indeed, it was not in any of his concrete achievements, noteworthy as these were, that his real power lay, and it might truly be said of him that until one knew him personally he could not form a judg- ment of his actual worth. Behind the things that a man does lies the still more important thing that he is, and it was from this final and most fundamental term most of all that his virtues went forth to affect the world about him. He did much, but he was more, and it was in him as an example of good citizenship and worthy and virtuous manhood that the chief virtue lay.

Charles W. Farnum was united in marriage, May IO,

1874, with Mary S. Steere, born August 25, 1839 daughter of Harris and Adah (Tucker) Steere, who survived him, her death occurring August 12, 1906 Mr. and Mrs. Farnum were the parents of two chil- dren: Howard Wayland, mentioned below, and Ernest L., born Dec. 16, 1876, and died Aug. 11,, 1878.

(VI) Howard Wayland Farnum, son of Charles W and Mary S. (Steere) Farnum, was born February 4 1875, in Chepachet. He received his early education in the district schools and at the English and Classical High School at Providence, from which he was gradu- ated in 1894, and in the same year he entered Brown University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1898. After leaving the university Mr. Far- num engaged in the insurance business with much suc- cess, and later added the mortgage and real estate business, and these and the management of his private interests, which are extensive, take much of his time. Mr. Farnum is a staunch Democrat, and in 1899 and 1900, and since 1915 to the present time (1918), he has served as Senator from Glocester. During the latter part of his father's term of office, he served some years as deputy town clerk. Under the old system he was moderator of school districts Nos. 3, 4 and 5, in Gloces- ter, for a number of years. He succeeded his father as a trustee of the Chepachet Cemetery Association, and has since been elected president and trustee. When Colonel George H. Brown Camp, No. 20, Sons of Vet- erans, was organized at Chepachet, Mr. Farnum was one of the charter members, and he took an important part in the work of that organization, having been elected lieutenant and later captain of the same.

On November 22, 1899, Mr. Farnum married Maud Louise Read, born March 9. 1874, the only daughter of the late Hon. Walter A. Read, general treasurer of Rhode Island, and Charlotte (Owen) Read. Mr. and Mrs. Farnum reside on the old homestead of his father, which is one of the most attractive homes in Chepachet.

MICHAEL W. NORTON-There is, very prop- erly, full praise in this country and time for the man who has started at the bottom of the ladder and by means of his own efforts made his way to the top. New England has its share of such men, and to this list has been added the name of Michael W. Norton. Local transportation is the line of business in which Mr. Norton has made his most conspicuous success, and his experience in that field covers all of its phases, first the era of the horse, then of the automobile.

Michael W. Norton was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1867. When he was but eleven years of age his parents brought him to Somerville, Mass., where he continued his education, previously started in Ire- land. His father, William Norton, a merchant by occupation, died, leaving the widowed mother to con- duct the business, which soon deteriorated owing to poor advisers and lack of executive management. This necessitated Michael W. seeking work, which he promptly did, securing a position in the famous Bos- ton hostelry, "The Parker House." His willingness, his native Irish wit and shrewdness, and his most adaptable nature, made him a favorite with whomso- ever he came in contact. After a few years with this

Vwhalb. W. norton

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BIOGRAPHICAL

management he entered the employ of the Quincy House, in Boston, where he remained until March, 1893. During all this time, having had to discontinue his day schooling, he supplemented his educational qualifications by night courses in a Boston business college.

During the years of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago, the Raymond Whitcomb Company erected a magnificent hotel to care for a clientele that had been booked long in advance. For the management of a department of this splendid hostelry was sought a man of executive ability. Mr. Norton was chosen for the position and at last given his first real chance, which he eagerly seized. In spite of his youth he grasped the situation and was quick to make good; with such ambition and perseverance as was his he could not fail. After the World's Fair he returned to New England, where he worked in various hotels until 1897, when he came to Providence, R. I., where he was employed as an assistant at the Narragansett Hotel.

During this period, starting with three horses and two wagons, he became interested in the livery and transportation business, later founding and operating the Trinity Square Stables on Trinity Square, Provi- dence. These stables grew to a large and prosperous enterprise, requiring fifty-four horses and the services of thirty men to operate it. With the advent of the motor truck and the taxicab, Mr. Norton correctly diagnosed the situation, seeing the death of the livery business, and prepared to benefit through the same agency which had destroyed the profits of the Trinity Square Stables. These stables he sold in April, 1909. It was on October 21, 1908, that Mr. Norton and Lincoln Lippitt, in association with well known men, met at Boston and organized the Taxi Service Com- pany, the second of its kind formed in this country. The founders with Messrs. Norton and Lippitt were Henry W. Lewis, of the H. B. Lewis Company, Law- rence, Mass .; George Smith, of the Smith Dove Com- pany, of Andover, Mass .; James J. O'Brien, a large cranberry grower of Carver, Mass .; John M. Mc- Carthy, wholesale meats, Boston; Belvidere Brooks, general manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company, of New York; A. H. Whaley, vice-president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company; Benedict Lederer, now deceased, of Provi- dence; A. W. Stuart, of Baltimore; and others. The company began business in Boston, and its success was so marked that soon a similar company was formed to operate in Providence, R. I. A third taxi service company was incorporated in New York; a fourth in Philadelphia, Pa .; and a fifth in Baltimore, Md. From the first the New York Company controlled the taxi business at the Waldorf, Holland, Manhattan, Im- perial, Martinique, Prince George, Seville and Mar- seilles hotels, the Colony Club and the Union League. The companies are all prosperous and bring satisfac- tory dividends to the man who gave them hirth. Mr. Norton was vice-president of the New York Company for four years, also general manager of that branch, which is capitalized at $2,000,000. Of late years, how- ever, he has devoted himself particularly to the man- agement of the Taxi Service Company of Providence.

He controls all the stock of that company, which he serves as president and treasurer. There is no city in the United States which has more efficient taxicab service than Providence, where there is a real need for such transportation. This is the unanimous verdict of the American traveling public, and the excellence of the system is due to Mr. Norton and to the close per- sonal attention he has given its development. The requirements for employment with the company are rigid, and the character, mechanical knowledge and re- liability of prospective employes are thoroughly inves- tigated. Intemperance is canse for instant dismissal, and by means of such provisions the safety and con- venience of the public have been amply safeguarded.

Upon the death of Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Norton pur- chased the Hopkins Transfer Company, which he added to the taxi business of his company, the com- bincd working force then totaling one hundred men. In addition to the foregoing interests, Mr. Norton organized a taxi company at Pawtucket, R. I, and one at Waterbury, Conn., both of which he brought to a successful plane of operation before disposing of them. He is now a director of the Quaker City Cab Com- pany, of Philadelphia; the Taxi Service Company, of Baltimore; the Taxi Service Company, of Boston. In 1918 he erected, on Page street, Providence, on his own account, the now famous "Auto Hotel," which is the largest and best equipped garage in the State of Rhode Island, having a storage capacity of one hundred and fifty cars. Mr. Norton has also taken on the Richmond Street Garage adjoining. In June, 1919, the original garage on Dorrance street, opposite the Narragansett Hotel, was rebuilt, a modern fireproof building taking the place of the old structure. During 1920 two floors will be added, giving a total storage capacity of four hundred cars.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Norton has long been an important figure in public affairs, although caring nothing for active party work. He has a deep inter- est in all that pertains to the public good, and when the Pathology Bill was being discussed he threw his influence in favor of its passage. He is a member of Cathedral Parish of the Roman Catholic church, and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Such is the life of Michael W. Norton, a self-made man, starting in this country poor in finances but rich in shrewdness and foresight, traits which go to make up a man among men. Quick to grasp the necessity of mingling with the nation's successful men, he adapted himself to circumstances and took advantage of every opportunity which would bring him in contact with the worth-while things in life. His life has been one of service, and while he has prospered richly in busi- ness, fortune has not been his sole aim in life. He has been found among the loyal supporters of all progres- sive movements for his community's welfare, and when opportunity has offered has been ready to aid those less favored than he. From unfavorable circumstances he has won success and standing, and is one of the most prominent, respected business men of Rhode Island, an inspiring example to American youth, a pro- duct of democratic institutions.

Mr. Norton married, at Somerville, Mass., in 1895,

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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

Elizabeth Quinn, born in Cambridge, Mass. They are the parents of John S., now associated with his father in business, and of Claire, who is a student in the Providence High School.

HERBERT MARTIN FILLEBROWN, manufac- turer, was born in Boston, Mass., August 2, 1868. He was educated in the common schools of Medford, with one year in the Boston English High School. In the fall of 1884 he started his business career in the office of a commission house, leaving after a few months to go into the office of Lewis Brown & Company, now the Walker, Stetson, Sawyer Company, of Boston. In 1886 he took charge of the payroll of George E. Keith & Company, shoe manufacturers, of Brockton, Mass. While in Brockton, he became interested in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, being one of its charter members. In September, 1888, he entered the International Young Men's Christian Association College at Springfield, Mass., and was graduated in June, 1890. During the summer vacation of 1889 he was acting secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association of Milford, Mass. In July, 1890, he became the first general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association of Battle Creek, Mich., continuing in that position until October, 1891, when he was elected a State secretary of the Michigan asso- ciations, with offices in Detroit, which position he resigned in October, 1893. In November he became secretary of the Central Department of the Springfield, Mass., Young Men's Christian Association, serving until a year later, when he became a State secretary of the associations of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

In January, 1896, on account of ill health caused by overwork, he retired from association work, and after a rest in Florida went to Pawtucket, R. I., where he developed a general investment business. In January, 1900, he organized the Taft Machine Company, of Providence, with a paid in capital of $100,000. As secretary of this corporation he devoted nearly two years to work in the factory, systematizing the busi- ness. Upon the death of Mr. Taft, in 1906, he was elected president, which office he resigned in January, 1913. The company manufactured carpet sewing ma- chines, racks for displaying rugs, and sundries for the carpet trade. In September, 1901, he purchased an interest in the J. B. & S. M. Knowles Company, of Providence, for fifty years leading manufacturers of sterling silverware, of which he was treasurer until its removal to Mount Vernon, N. Y., in February, 1903. The summer and fall of 1903 were spent in re- cuperation, most of this time in the mountains of Col- orado and Idaho, returning in November, much im- proved.

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 100

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn Publication date: 1920 Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society Number of Pages: 978

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 978