The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 111

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

USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV > Part 111

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Mr. Littlefield married, October 20, 1886, Ida A. Ballou, daughter of Allen F. and Harriet (Ellis) Bal- lou, of Woonsocket, R. I., her father formerly a mer- chant of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Littlefield are the parents of one daughter, Ida Ballou.

COLONEL SAMUEL P. COLT-Established in the Connecticut Colony in the early days of Colo- nial immigration, the Colt family did not become iden- tified with the history of Rhode Island until the middle of the last century. The Colts of Rhode Island, a branch of the family which was established in Con- necticut in 1638, comprise the posterity of the late Christopher and Theodora G. (De Wolf) Colt, and have written their names large and indelibly on the pages of civic, industrial and financial annals of Rhode Island.

Arms-Argent a fesse azure between three colts in full speed, sable.

The ancestry of the Colts is traced to many of the foremost leaders of New England life prior to the American Revolution, among them: Captain Mark An- thony De Wolf, a man of marked character and intel- ligence, whose eight sons all attained respected and honorable positions in society, and one of whom, Hon. James De Wolf, occupied a seat in the United States Legislature, became a merchant prince and one of the wealthiest men of his time in the United States; the several Bradfords, of "Mayflower," Plymouth and Rhode Island fame; Surgeon Francis Le Baron, the "Nameless Nobleman," of lane Austin's novel; Hon. Henry Goodwin, the distinguished lawyer and attorney- general of Rhode Island of more than a century ago. The two most notable representatives of the Rhode Island family to-day are the Hon. Le Baron Bradford Colt, United States Senator from Rhode Island, and the Hon. Samuel Pomeroy Colt, president of the United States Rubber Company, a gigantic corporation which owes its existence to his genius as an organizer and business leader.

Research has established within a reasonable degree of certainty that the immigrant ancestor of the Colt family in America was a descendant of a very old and

famous English family. The name, Dutton Colt, ap- pears with great frequency in English history in con- ne'ction with the Reformation. He was a vigorous op- ponent of Popery, and in consequence was disgraced by the church party in power, and his estates confiscated to the crown. He afterward regained his position and lands by valiant service to his country, and was granted a coat-of-arms. The pedigree of the family in England comprises four generations from the founder, the emi- gration to America occurring in the fifth generation. The line is as follows :

(I) Sir John Dutton Colt, founder of the family.

(II) Sir Peter Colt, son of Sir John Dutton Colt.

(III) John Colt, son of Sir Peter Colt.

(IV) John (2) Colt, son of John (1) Colt. (V) John (3) Colt, son of John (2) Colt.

(VI) John (4) Colt, son of John (3) Colt, was born in England about the year 1625. He became the founder and immigrant ancestor of the American branch of the ancient English house, leaving England during the Rev- olutionary uprisings in the reign of Charles I. John (4) Colt is stated to have been in New England in 1638 by some authorities. Others place the date at 1668. Those who adhere to the former date state that he served first at Dorchester, Mass., whence he removed in 1638 to Hart- ford, Conn., in company with the band of settlers who went there in that year. He married (first ) Mary Fitch ; (second) Ann Skinner, and later settled in Windsor, where he is recorded as a resident in 1668. He was one of the earliest settlers on the east side of the river, and was troubled much by the Indians. In 1665 he sub- scribed six shillings to raise the minister's salary. John (4) Colt lived to the advanced age of one hundred and five years. Child: John (5), of further mention.

(VII) Captain John (5) Colt, son of John (4) Colt, was born in 1658. He resided for the greater part of his life in the town of Lyme, Conn., where he died on January 2, 1751, at the age of ninety-three years. He married Mary Lord, and they were the parents of five children, three daughters whose names are unknown, and two sons: Benjamin, mentioned below; and Sam- uel.

(VIII) Deacon Benjamin Colt, son of Captain John (5) and Mary (Lord) Colt, was born in Lyme, Conn., in 1698, and is thought to have resided there all his ·life. He was one of the early proprietors of Harwin- ton, Conn., but no record exists of him ever having lived there. In 1735, he deeded "for the natural love and good will I do have for my son John, all my land in Harwinton." Deacon Benjamin Colt married, May 26, 1724, Miriam Harris; he died October '4, 1754. Chil- dren : John, Joseph, Mary, Sarah, Temperance, Harris, Polly, Sally, Benjamin, of further mention; Peter.

(IX) Lieutenant Benjamin (2) Colt, son of Deacon Benjamin (1) and Miriam (Harris) Colt, was born in Lyme, Conn., in 1738. He married, 'in 1761, Lucretia Ely, of Lyme, born in 1742-43, died March 3, 1826, at the age of eighty-three years. After his marriage he removed to Hadley. . Mass., where he died on. August 30, 1781. Children : Benjamin, Lucretia, Daniel, Lu- cretia (2), Ethelinda. Amy, Betsey, Lucretia (3), Elisha, Christopher, of further mention.

(X) Christopher Colt, son of Lieutenant Benjamin (2) and Lucretia (Ely) Colt, was born in Hadley,

Fri & Colt

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BIOGRAPHICAL

Mass., August 30, 1780. Early in life he removed to Hartford, Conn., where he died, April 5, 1850. He mar- ried (first) April 4, 1805, Sarah Caldwell, who died June 16, 1821; (second) March 12, 1823, Olivia Ser- geant. Children of the first marriage: 1. Margaret C., born April 1, 1806. 2. Sarah, born Feb. 22, 1808. 3. John C., born March 12, 1810. 4. Christopher (2), of further mention. 5. Samuel, born July 19, 1814; was the inventor of the famous Colt revolver, and founder of the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company of Hartford. 6. James B., born Oct. 16, 1816. 7. Mary, born June 30, 1819. 8. Norman K., born on May 5, 1821. Children of the second marriage: 9. William H., born Oct. 24, 1824. 10. Mary, born July 29, 1826. II. Olivia P., born Sept. 16, 1828.

(XI) Christopher (2) Colt, son of Christopher (1) and Sarah (Caldwell) Colt, was born in Hartford, Conn., March 12, 1812, resided there all his life, and died on May 25, 1855. He married, in Hartford, November 14, 1837, Theodora Goujand De Wolf, daughter of General George De Wolf, of Bristol, R. I., and a de- scendant of a long established New England family of French origin. Children: 1. George. 2. Isabella De Wolf, who married Francis Eugene De Wolf, of Bristol, R. I. 3. Le Baron Bradford, U. S. Senator from Rhode Island. 4. Samuel Pomeroy, of further mention.

(XII) Colonel Samuel Pomeroy Colt, son of Chris- topher (2) and Theodora Goujand (De Wolf) Colt, was born in Paterson, N. J., January 10, 1852. His early years were spent in Hartford, in the home of his uncle, Samuel Colt. inventor of the Colt revolver, and in that city from five to ten years of age he attended school, returning at the end of that time to Bristol. He prepared for college at Anthon's Grammar School, in New York City, and at the age of eighteen years matriculated at the Boston Institute of Technology. After being graduated in 1873 he spent one year in travel on the Continent, returning in 1874 to enter the Law School of Columbia University in New York. In 1876 he received the degree of LL. B., and in May of that year was admitted to practice before the New York bar. The remainder of the year he spent in the study of Rhode Island law in the office of Thurston & Ripley, of Providence, and on January I, 1877, was ad- mitted to the Rhode Island bar. During the years 1875-76-77 he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Henry Lippitt, ranking as colonel, the title by which he is known to-day. Successful manipula- tion of many difficult legal cases brought him before the public eye and into public life early, and in 1879, after having served for four years (1876-79) as a mem- ber of the Rhode Island General Assembly from Bris- tol, he was elected to the office of Assistant Attorney- General of Rhode Island, serving with marked ability until 1881. In 1882 Colonel Colt became the Republican candidate for Attorney-General and was elected to the office, filling it in 1883-84-85. At the expiration of his last term in office he again went abroad.

The year 1887, when he returned to America, saw the entrance of Colonel Colt upon his phenomenal career as a business leader-a founder of colossal enterprises, an executive of genius and fine constructive imagina- tion, his influence on the rubber industry of America has been of tantamount importance. Colonel Colt is

to-day president of the United States Rubber Company, the largest corporation handling rubber products in the world. In 1887, as a lawyer of infinite tact, rare diplo- macy and proved ability in legal difficulties, he was ap- pointed receiver for the Bristol Rubber Company, one of the first rubber manufacturing concerns in the country, which dated from shortly after the close of the Civil War. The affairs of the company were in the last stages of decay and presented a formidable problem, overloaded with surplus stock, and torn by contending factions. Colonel Colt came into this with no experience in manufacturing and with but a vague knowledge of India rubber. He devoted much time to the study of the raw product, to the condition of the industry in America, to competitive enterprises, and more particularly to the sorry problem on his hands, and found a disheartening array. Not only was his own problem in a morbid condition, but the same was true of the industry throughout the country. Goods were sold at a loss because of the tendency of a factory to cut prices, and so force others to do likewise. A known quantity in the difficulty, offering cheer and holding forth hope. was the fact that rubber in an ever increasing number of forms was being used and de- manded by the entire country. Its possibilities were practically inexhaustible, could a start be made in the direction of making it pay. Samuel P. Colt made that start-through cautious management of the affairs of the Bristol Rubber Company, manufacturing only such products as had a well established demand and sold rapidly, he was able to draw a profit from the first six months of his receivership. At the end of a year he discharged every debt of the old concern and founded the National India Rubber Company of Bristol ( 1888). In this test he had shown a power of organization, ex- ecutive ability, and knowledge of industrial and financial affairs which proved him to be one of the foremost business men of New England. Moreover, he had been carefully observed throughout by the rubber in- dustry in New England and by business men generally, and had acquired a reputation for masterly handling of trying situations which spread over the country. In 1887 he founded the Industrial Trust Company of Prov- idence, a financial institution whose influence subse- quently spread considerably outside Providence and even New England. He was its first president.

The National India Rubber Company, of which also he became the first president, rose to great proportions within a short period, and became the undisputed leader of the industry in America. The formation of the United States Rubber Company came shortly after, welding into one harmonious whole forty different and hitherto competitive organizations. Of this great cor- poration Colonel Colt became the guiding genius, intro- ducing into it the system of specialized effort, which was of prime importance in establishing its supremacy. Each plant manufactured one article and concentrated all its resources of men and material on the doing of that thing well. The study of methods, and constant experiment for better methods, became an integral part of the work of every plant, as did the fitting of every man to do a special part of the work. Working on the principle that there must be some one thing for which one man was more finely adapted than another, Colonel

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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

Colt organized a system whereby his operatives were detailed to do the work they were best fitted to do. A comprehensive search was made for men who had shown talent in special branches of the manufacturing industry, and they were employed at salaries hitherto unknown. A feature of the organization was its de- partment of inventors and the cooperation of the mem- bers of this department. This spirit of cooperation is the most remarkable feature of the great enterprise and extends through every department of it. To the genius of Colonel Colt, his infinite kindliness, genial. demo- cratic bearing, the hearts of his men have willingly suc- cumbed. He is not only honored for his great achieve- ments, he is loved as a man and as a friend. The men who go to form the body of the United States Rubber Company know him as their friend, a man ever on the alert in their interests. He has the true quality of greatness, which succeeds in eliminating the trivial, petty and false, and seeks instinctively the essentials. A varied career as a lawyer and business and financial leader has brought him into close contact with men of every walk of life, and has taught him a broad human sympathy, a tolerance and sufferance which have made him a rounded, delightfully human character. Colonel Colt ranks to-day among perhaps a scant dozen of America's greatest industrial leaders. He is the founder and head of an enterprise capitalized at more than one hundred million dollars.

It would seem that the entire time of a man occupied in the care of so great an enterprise must necessarily be employed in administering its affairs. However, Colonel Colt is now and has long been engaged in the conduct of his large farm-the Colt Farm as it is called-in Bristol, a great, widespread four hundred acres, where there is abundant fishing and shooting. This farm is his avocation, so much so in fact that he has been known to give his occupation as "a farmer;" it is thrown open to the public every day of the year. Crops are planted and raised after the old leisurely fashion of a century ago, before scientific farming came into its own. Abundance is everywhere, and nature is not here synonymous with Italian gardens, and marble lined pools. The great barn on the Colt Farm alone cost one hundred thousand dollars, and houses a herd of one hundred registered Jersey cattle. Another point of great interest on the Colt Farm is the remarkable collection of bronzes and marbles distributed through- out the grounds. Among these statues are reproductions of the world's most famous masterpieces.

In honor of the memory of his mother, Theodora Goujand (De Wolf) Colt, Colonel Colt built and gave to the town of Bristol the Colt Memorial School, a monu- ment of great architectural beauty. Theodora G. D. Colt was a woman of great force of intellect, even of genius, greatly in advance of her time. She enter- tained in her home Emerson, Greeley, Wendell Phil- lips, Doctor Holmes, and many of the leaders of New England literary life and thought. Of remarkably re- tentive memory, she was a veritable storehouse of knowledge, and was a most potent factor in laying the foundation of the achievements of her sons in later life. She was the author of a book of poems which shows a literary gift which might have been developed to great proportions had not her life been so filled with

work for others, and with the constant service which made her beloved of all with whom she came into con- tact. She died at the advanced age of eighty years, her mind unimpaired to the last. Still another gift of Colonel Colt to the town of Bristol is the beautiful Museum of Fine Arts which adjoins the Colt Memorial School, which contains the Colt collection of art objects, including three marbles by Rodin, numerous canvases by Borglum and Barrias, and more than a hundred canvases by Rosa Bonheur and other artists equally renowned.

On January 12, 1881, Colonel Colt married Elizabeth Metchelson Bullock, daughter of the late Hon. J. Rus- sell and Susan Amelia (De Wolf) Bullock, of Bristol, R. I. Children: I. Samuel P., born Oct. 16, 1881 ; died Nov. 4, 1890. 2. Russell G., born Oct. 1, 1882. 3. Ros- sell C., born Oct. 10, 1889. Since the death of his mother, Colonel Colt has made his home on the old General George De Wolf homestead, "Linden Place," in Bristol, the girlhood home of his mother, which dates from the close of the eighteenth century.

To conclude the biography of a man of this type is not possible, for there is no conclusion. The future, if based on the past achievements of the career of Colonel Colt, must bring forth things equally notable.

(The De Wolf Line).

Among prominent old New England families no name carries more prestige than that of De Wolf. In Rhode Island the family has been actively identified with the upbuilding of the State for generations. It has been said that the "History of the town of Bristol is the history of the De Wolfs." In the rugged pioneer days, when Bristol was a port of consequence in the West Indies trade, the hardy members of this family for many years braved the perils of the deep, and combining their courage, and a splendid capacity for business en- terprise, they developed a mercantile and shipping in- dustry of large proportions. When the savage Indian from within their borders, or the hostile foes from with- out menaced the safety of the colony, the De Wolfs were ever found patriotic and true, offering themselves without reservation to the causes of liberty and justice. They were true blue in the widest sense of the term, and their public spirit, sturdy, upright characters, and sound business judgment, won for them the confidence and esteem of their fellow citizens and left for poster- ity the priceless heritage of an honored name.

The name of "Wolf," with or without the prefix, or its equivalent, is to be found in many nations. In the Teutonic languages the name is traced back to its Teutonic original, while in the Romance languages the forms of the name are traced to their Latin deriva- tions. Among the Romans, Lupus stood not only for the beast which suckled the mystic founders of the State, but also designated members of the human fam- ily. The name suggests the close association of prim- itive man with the animals of the forest, and was, no doubt, adopted because of the fancied resemblance between some qualities in the man and animal. If space permitted it would be interesting to mention and trace some of the forms this name has taken in the various Continental countries and in Great Britain. The house of Guelph, of which the late Queen Victoria

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was perhaps the most distinguished and conspicuous member, is traced to a German family of Welf or Wolf.

Much has been written concerning the origin of the De Wolf family. Genealogists have devoted years of research to the subject, and have unearthed data of great interest and undoubted authenticity. Opinions differ greatly, however, as to the source of the early De Wolfs; it is universally agreed that the family is among the most ancient and aristocratic of Europe. Many incline to the following theory as to the source of the name. In 1370, Louis de Saint-Etienne, a French nobleman, attended King Charles the Fifth on a hunt- ing expedition. During the chase, King Charles mortally wounded a wolf-cub. His lance breaking against a tree, the King had only his hunting knife with which to defend himself against the mother of the cub which came bounding from the forest. Thereupon, Louis de Saint-Etienne rushed between the beast and the King, killing the wolf with his own sword. In recognition of this service the King knighted Louis, who became Louis de Loup, and was the founder of the French family of that name. In 1423 his grandson, Emile de Loup, accompanied Princess Mathilda to Germany, where she married Frederick, Elector and Duke of Saxony. Emile de Loup became a great favorite of the Saxon Court and was made a Baron in 1427. He then changed his name from the French to the Ger- man, and was thenceforward known as De Wolf. His direct descendant, Maximilian De Wolf, founded the Belgian family of the name. The title of Baron is borne by members of the family at the present time in Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Livonia, and in Eng- land, and these branches have borne arms for centuries.

The prominence of the De Wolf family in early times is clearly attested by the fact of its many well defined and notable branches. Among the most famous of these were the de Goults, or De Wolfs. of Provence (in the language of South France, Wolf is rendered by "Goult or Agont"). The following is translated from "L'Etat de la Provence," by l'abbe Robert de Briancon; published by P. Aubouen, Paris, 1693: "The French family, de Goult-de Wolf-of Provence is, according to tradition, descended from a prince of Saxony. There is no more famous family in the Provencal nobility than the de Goults. The first recorded ancestor of the de Goults in Provence was Rostain de Goult. His son, Remond de Goult, received the barony de Saut from Emperor Henry V. in 1108. Bertrand de Goult, his son, distinguished himself in the war waged in 1150 by the County of Provence against Princess Etiennette des Baux. His descendant, Isnard de Goult, was appointed grand seneschal de Provence for the years 1284 and 1286. Another well known member of the family was Remond de Goult, who was sent on a mission by the city of Aix to Queen Jeanne of Naples in 1365. Anaud de Goult, knight of the Order of the King, was the founder of the branch of the de Goults known as the lords of Mouriez."

"The house of de Goult bears of ancientry gold with azure ravenous wolf, langued armed and vilained of gules. Crest, a nascent wolf from the helmet." The castle of the French de Goults, overlooks the little town of "Goult," about forty kilometres east of Avignon in the department of Vauclase. Exact similarity exists

between the coat-of-arms of the de Goults as described above, and that borne by Captain Charles de Wolf, who was of the sixth generation of the family in New England. This would seem to indicate a close connection between the de Goults of Provence and the founder of the family in America. However, it is thought by many eminent genealogists that the immigrant ancestor, Bal- thasar De Wolf, came from the Livonian branch of the family, which is an offshoot of the earlier Silesian house of De Wolff-of this branch traces are found as early as the thirteenth century, when the Scotch family of McDecor the Wolf left Scotland and settled in Germany, to escape political persecution, and where the name was changed to Wolfesford and Wolfurt. The family seat became the village of Wolfurt, near Breg- entz in the Tyrol, where to-day stands a partly ruined castle, and the family itself became one of the most powerful and honored of the time. The first authentic record of them is found in 1241, when Kuno von Wol- furt witnessed a deed by which Konrad von Pfaffers ceded a fief to Ulrich von Vare. ("From the Review for the History of the Upper Rhine," year 1852). This branch figured largely in the history of the time. In 1348 Ulrich von Wolfurt, at the head of his Teutonic knights, fought in the service of King Louis of Hun- gary, against Queen Joanna of Naples, in the conflict precipitated by the murder of Andreas, brother of King Louis, and consort of Queen Joanna, of which she was suspected. Ulrich von Wolfurt was appointed gov- ernor of Lower Italy, and rendered gallant service at the siege of Naples, holding out against all the bribes of Queen Joanna, until compelled to surrender through lack of food. In 1352 Ulrich von Wolfurt was sent by Louis as a peace envoy to the Vatican, and on his re- turn to the Hungarian court was rewarded by the King with the country of Castro Ferro. (Archives of the Vatican).

Konrad Wolf von Wolfurt, brother of Ulrich von Wolfurt, was appointed by King Louis, lieutenant-gov- ernor of Lucera in 1348, and in 1350 was put in com- mand of the Hungarian knights at Naples. In the fol- lowing year he was sent by Clement VI. on a diplomatic mission to Archbishop John, of Brindisi, and in 1352, he received from King Louis the barony of Guillonisii. (Archives of the Vatican).

On March 18, 1383, according to the archives of the town of Bregentz, Emperor Charles IV. presented the castle of Wolfurt to the three brothers, Hugo, Kuno and Engloff von Wolfurt. The next mention of the family occurs in 1392, when Rudolf von Wolfurt was present at the meeting of the Swabian knights concern- ing the leadership of St. George's banner. His son, Wolf von Wolfurt, was present in 1408, 1409, and 1413, at the conference regarding the Appenzell War. The long period elapsing between the records of the family in the archives would seem to indicate that much of their time was spent away from their home. In 1446 Rudolf von Wolfurt returned a sum of money given him in trust by Duke Sigismund of Austria, to Count Heinrich von Furstenberg. Finally, in 1530, the lords of Wolfurt let their castle to the banished Abbot Kilian of St. Gall, and left this part of Germany, probably owing to the rapid advance of the Swiss confederation. The first record of the De Wolfs of Sagan, in Silesia,

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 111

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