The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 15

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 15

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Walter Cook was of Weymouth, Massachusetts, as early as 1642, married, was the father of a family of

eight, and died January 5, 1685, an old man. His son, Deacon Nicholas (1) Cook, born February 9. 1660, married (first) Johanna Rockett, (second) Mehitable Staples, and was succeeded by a son, Nicholas (2) Cook, born June 10, 1687. This Nicholas (2) Cook married, in 1715, Elizabeth Staples, who died in Belling- ham, Massachusetts, March 3, 1788, aged eighty-nine, the mother of twelve sons and daughters.

Nathaniel Cook, the eldest of these children, was born September 15, 1718, and resided in Wrentham, Massachusetts, in that part of the town which later became Cumberland, Rhode Island. He was a deacon of the Six Principle Church, and a man of influence. He married, January 27, 1741, Margaret Ballou, born October 6, 1720, daughter of James Ballou, and a descendant of Maturin Ballou, founder of the family in Rhode Island.

Ariel Cook, son of Nathaniel and Margaret ( Ballou) Cook, was born October 15, 1749, and died June 18, 1803. He resided at the homestead in the town of Cumberland, not far from the Ballon Meeting House; he was a farmer, and a deacon of the Baptist church. He married, February 20, 1772, Dorcas Whipple, famil- iarly and lovingly known to the entire neighborhood as "Aunt Dorcas." She died December 24, 1839, aged ninety, the mother of nine sons and daughters.

Ariel (2) Cook, son of Ariel (1) and Dorcas (Whip- ple) Cook, was born at the homestead in the town of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and there resided all his life, a prosperous farmer and prominent citizen. He married, September 10, 1809, Eliza G. Sabin, daughter of John Sabin, of Newport. They were the parents of sons and daughters, namely: George, who was cashier of the Cumberland Bank, at Cumberland Hill, for forty- seven years, serving until two weeks prior to his death; Albert, John, Edmund L., Charles, Ann Eliza, Horace, Ariel Lindsey, of further mention; Rebecca, Maria, Ellen F. and Joshua S. Cook.

Ariel Lindsey Cook, seventh son of Ariel (2) and Eliza G. (Sabin) Cook, was born at the homestead in Cumberland, Rhode Island, December II, 1823, and died in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, December 23, 1886. He grew to manhood at the homestead farm, later settling in Albion, Rhode Island, where he became a prominent merchant dealing in general merchandise. He married Mary Harris Phillips, who died February 26, 1917. They were the parents of Samuel P., of further mention; Herbert L .; Ida F., married Charles H. Pond; Sophia E., married Dwight Clarence Lord.

Samuel P. Cook, son of Ariel Lindsey and Mary Harris ( Phillips) Cook, was born in Albion, Rhode Island, July 20, 1852. He attended graded and high schools of Woonsocket until 1870, then entered the employ of the Producers' National Bank of Woonsocket, that bank having a savings department bearing the same name. He developed unusual banking ability, and in 1885 was elected cashier of the Producers National Bank and treasurer of the Producers Savings Bank. He held that office until January 14, 1907, when he was elected president of the Producers National Bank, his present high and responsible office. He is a thoroughly capable financier, learned in the law of national finance as applied to banking, conservative yet not timid, ready at all times to trust his judgment in financial matters.

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

For twenty-five years he was treasurer of the city ot Woonsocket and his business interests in the city are not inconsiderable. Mr. Cook is a member of the State Banking Association and of other societies, financial in their scope, is a Republican in politics, and an attend- ant at the First Universalist Church, his club the Squan- tum Association. He holds all degrees of York Rite Masonry, belonging to Morning Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Woonsocket Commandery, Knights Templar. He is interested in the welfare of his adopted city and is generous in his support of all worthy aims.

Mr. Cook married, in 1883. Lucia G. Moses, and they are the parents of Theodore Phillips, born in Woon- socket, August 7, 1884, now receiving teller of the Producers National Bank, and a daughter, Gertrude Nourse, born April 15, 1886.

GEORGE EAMES BARSTOW-The Barstow family is of French Norman extraction and emigrated from Normandy to England at the time of William the Conqueror advent into English History. According to "Magna Brittanica," the Lordship of Barstow was held in the reign of Richard I of England by a cadet of the ancient family of Fitz Haman. He was a man of great distinction, and through him his descendants obtained the designation of de Barstowe.

In 1247 John de Barstowe obtained a grant by charter to hold a market in the Manor de Barstowe. The estate descended to Richard de Barstowe, who in 1367 made a grant of the manor. The de and final e was dropped from the name during the fifteenth century. The family was for several generations located at Naburn Hall, East Riding, Yorkshire, England, where many of the name still reside.

William Barstow, a son of Thomas Barstow (the latter being a brother of Michael Barstow, a prominent merchant of York, whose portrait still hangs in Naburn Hall), when he was twenty-three years of age, came in September, 1635, in the ship "Truelove" to America. He was one of the proprietors and signers for the in- corporation of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1636, and appeared before the General Court in June of that year. He married at Dedham, Massachusetts, May 8, 1638, Ann Hubbard, who was admitted to the church, July 16, 1641. William Barstow removed to Scituate, Massachusetts, and became the first settler of that part of the town which is now called Hanover. In 1664 he contracted to build a bridge and keep it in repairs in that town. He was a man of high respecta- bility and a most worthy and enterprising citizen ; a man of note and an extensive landholder. He died in Scituate in 1668. His children were : Joseph, born April 6, 1639; Mary, born October 28, 1641; Patience, born October 3, 1643; Deborah, baptized August 18, 1650; William, see below; and Martha, baptized April 22, 1655.

William (2) Barstow, son of William (1) and Ann (Hubbard) Barstow, was baptized in Scituate, Massa- chusetts, in September, 1652, married and occupied his father's homestead in his native town. He was pos- sessed of a saw mill besides other property and to some extent was engaged in the business of ship building.

His will bears date of 1711, his property being be- queathed to his seven children.

Of this family Benjamin Barstow was the youngest son, being born July 22, 1690. He married (first), December 20, 1709, Mercy Randall. She died December 17. 1728, in Hanover, Massachusetts. His second wife was Sarah Barden (or Burden) of Middleboro, Massa- chusetts ; her death occurred about 1738; he married (third) November 22, 1738, Mrs. Ruth Wilson. Mr. Barstow lived on the old homestead in Scituate, Massa- chusetts, and was a shipwright by trade, his yard being located near the "N" river bridge. He is said to have been the father of twenty-one children.

Caleb Barstow, youngest son of Benjamin Barstow, was born in 1740, and married, November 23, 1770, Sylvina Magoun, of Pembroke, Massachusetts. Caleb Barstow died in Windsor, Connecticut, March 17, 1800.

Nathaniel Barstow, the youngest son of Caleb and Sylvina ( Magoun ) Barstow, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, April 28, 1788. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Sophia Chafee.

Amos Chafee Barstow, son of Nathaniel and Sophia (Chafee) Barstow, was born at Providence, Rhode Island, April 30, 1813. He was educated at the public and private schools in his native city. He decided to forego the advantages of a collegiate education on account of his passion for mechanies and commercial pursuits. His first position was in a retail store, where he remained only six months, having been tendered employment at double the wages he was then receiving. He advanced from one position to another until 1836, when he became a partner in a small iron foundry at Norton, Massachusetts, engaged in the manufacture of stoves. Here he gave evidence of his mechanical genius ; wood at this time was the principal fuel used in Amer- ica. Anthracite coal was just beginning to come in use for factory purposes, but found its way slowly into houses for use in grates. A small amount of soft coal was imported from England. The stoves for cooking purposes were arranged for the use of wood only; the variety was small, the workmanship faulty and coarse, and their demand limited. Mr. Barstow had for some time been working with a view to making improvements in the manufacture of stoves and made his first pattern in the fall of 1836. In the spring of the following year the result of his improvements was placed upon the market and the stoves met with a ready sale. The capacity of the factory was doubled in size, and in the fall of 1844 removed to Providence, Rhode Island, where it was enlarged from year to year. The products manufactured were sold in all parts of America. in the islands of the Pacific, China, Norway, Sweden, Ger- many and England.

Mr. Barstow was originally an old time Whig, but in the organization of the Republican party became iden- tified with it, and he became prominent in the temper- ance and anti-slavery movements. He was elected in 1851 a member of the Rhode Island Assembly, and in 1870 was made speaker of the house. He was elected mayor of Providence in 1852, and declined a re-election on account of the pressure of his personal business and a natural disinclination for public life. President Grant appointed him in 1875 a member of the United States

BIOGRAPHICAL

Board of Indian Commissioners, which office he held until 1880 and he was chairman of the board during the last two years. Mr. Barstow was president of the City National Bank, president of the Mechanics Saving Bank, president of the Providence Gas Company and Mechanics Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a director in the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, and an officer in various religious and benevolent organizations, national as well as local. Notwithstanding the engros- sing demands of his business, he was always ready to work in the cause of philanthropy, either as a private or a public citizen.

Mr. Barstow married, May 24, 1834, Emeline Mum- ford Eames, daughter of James and Sarah ( Mumford) Eames, of Providence, Rhode Island. His death oc- curred at Providence, September 5. 1894.

George Eames Barstow, son of Amos Chafee and Emeline Mumford (Eames) Barstow, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, November 19, 1849. He received his education in the public schools and Mowry and Goff's English and Classical School of Providence, Rhode Island. His business career commenced when he was only seventeen years of age. He acquired a thorough knowledge of textile manufacturing, financier- ing and a complete training in general affairs. He has financed, founded or organized the Barstow Thread Company, the American Writing Paper Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Providence Ware- house Company, the National and Providence Worsted Mills, the Barstow Irrigation Company, the Barstow Town Company of Barstow, Texas, of which he is president.

Besides his successful business career, Mr. Barstow has always taken an active part in municipal, State and church affairs, and in public education. A member of the Congregational church from youth, he has served in many important offices in that denomination. A Republican in politics, he was for fourteen years a mem- ber of the school board of the City of Providence, the last year of his service being president. He was for four years a member of the Providence Common Coun- cil, and was elected a representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly for three successive terms. During his legislative career, he served on several important committees. He was the father of the act putting into operation the Bertillion System for measuring crim- inals; also an amendment to the criminal law concern- ing the punishment of habitual criminals and the so- called "Anti-Lottery Act."

Mr. Barstow was the pioneer in irrigation of arid lands in the Southwest, and in 1894 he founded the town of Barstow, the county seat of Ward county, Texas. Simultaneous with the founding of the town, he con- structed substantial works capable of irrigating thirty thousand acres of land which were located in the Pecos valley surrounding the town of Barstow. The products obtained from the land under this system became fam- ous throughout the United States. By Mr. Barstow's energy, foresight, and persistent application, two blades of grass grew in this desert land where nothing but mesquite grew before.

Notwithstanding that Mr. Barstow has been untiring in his application to public and private affairs, he has always found sometime to spend with the best writers

of history and fiction. His various contributions to the press, both in prose and song, have discovered not only his ability, but also his love of association with those elements that lead to refinement in life and char- acter. He is the author of "Good Government Co-op- erative Societies," "Creation of a World Centre of Communication," "Shall We Bar the Immigrant?" "Applied Psychology," "Shall Democracy Endure?" and "Shall Democracy Endure in the United States?" etc.

Mr. Barstow was president of the National Drainage Association, 1906-07; the International Irrigation Con- gress, 1908-09; upon invitation of President Roosevelt he was a member of the Conference of the Governors at the White House, May, 1908, and was the guest of the president on the trip down the Mississippi river; he is vice-president of the Texas Conservation Congress, and president of the West Texas Reclamation Associa- tion ; he is a member of the Committee on Conferences of the American Agricultural Association; a member of the American Forestry Association; chairman of the Pan-American Committee National Irrigation Congress ; and a life member of the Luther Burbank Society, Santa Rosa, California.

As an advocate of peace amongst the nations of the world his love of travel has not only made him familiar with all the parts of his native land, but he has paid visits to countries of other peoples to study their habits and enter into the full enjoyment of their productions in art and music and revel in all the beauties that nature has there produced. He is a member of the American Association for International Conciliation; the Na- tional Conservation Association; the National Com- mittee for the Celebration of the One Hundredth An- niversary of Peace among English Speaking Peoples, of New York; of the National Executive Committee; United States Progressive Federation; Societe Acad- emique d'Historie International, Paris; The Citizens National Committee for the Third Conference at the Hague of New York; The International League to En- force Peace of New York; the International World Conscience Society of Rome, Italy; The Sulgrave In- stitution, New York, and London; Royal Society of Arts, London; American Society for the Judicial Set- tlement of International Disputes.

Mr. Barstow is a life director of the Euphrates Col- lege at Harport, Turkey ; was a trustee of the Hartford Theological Seminary of Hartford, Connecticut; is a life member and fellow of the Society of Applied Psy- chology of San Francisco, California; a member of the American Society of International Law, Washington ; the National Institute of Social Sciences of New York; the World Court Congress of Cleveland, Ohio; the Southern Sociological Congress of Nashville, Tennes- see; a correspondent of the Mohouk Lake Conference ; a councilor of the American Institute of Civics; a mem- ber of the American Academy of Political Science of New York. He is a member of the National Child Labor Committee; has been honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America; a member of the Rhode Island Historical Society ; the Southern Historical Associa- tion; is a member of the National Geographical Society of Washington, D. C., the Museum of Natural History of New York City, the Pennsylvania Society of Fine

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

Arts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the National Arts Club, New York.

Mr. Barstow is well and favorably known in social, business and patriotic circles. He is a member of the Empire State Society of Sons of American Revolution ; of the Navy League; member of the Committee of Presentation of the Lincoln Statue, London; World's Court League, New York; he is an honorary member of the Chamber of Commerce of Dallas, Texas, and has been a member of the Lawyer's, New York, and Repub- lican clubs of New York City; also the Hamilton Club, of Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Barstow married at Providence, Rhode Island, October 9, 1871, Clara Drew Symonds. Mrs. Barstow was born September 10, 1852, was a daughter of Jacob and Caroline Amelia (Hartwell) Symonds. Her father was a member of the well-known firm of Taylor, Symonds & Company, of Providence, Rhode Island, and was at one time a member of the Legislature of that State. The children by this marriage are six sons and three daughters: George Eames, Jr., Herbert Symonds, Harold C., John P., Putnam, Donald, Caroline Hart- well, Helen L., and Marguerite.

RT. REV. MATTHEW HARKINS, D. D .- The term "father" as applied to a priest is particularly appro- priate to Bishop Harkins, for he is a father indeed to the poor and needy, and to all in need of help, material or spiritual. A man of learning and culture, he has received the honors of his church in a spirit of humility and thankfulness, rejoicing in the greater opportunity it gives him to advance the spiritual kingdom of the Master, and to serve the church of his choice. He is a tireless worker, and from his ordination in 1869 has given to the church the full strength of his physical and intellectual vigor.

Matthew Harkins, son of Patrick and Margaret (Krauitch) Harkins, was born in Boston, Massachu- setts, November 17, 1845. His education was begun in Tremont street primary school and continued in the Quincy grammar school, his parents having moved within the jurisdiction of the latter school. At the age of fourteen he was graduated from the Quincy school with special honors, winner of the Franklin medal. He then entered Boston Latin School, pursued a three years' course and was graduated, class of 1862. The follow- ing year was spent at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, pursuing a special course in rhetoric. Following this he went abroad, and at the English Col- lege in Douai, France, continued his special study in higher rhetoric.

This completed his purely classical study, and for the following five years he was a student at the famed Seminary of St. Surplice, Paris, there completing his theological study, and on May 22, 1869, at the last- named seminary he was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic church. He was at once assigned to the active ministry of the church, but was sent to Rome by his superiors for a higher course of theology and canon law. His studies in Rome were pursued at the Uni- versitas Gregoriana under the eminent Jesuit profes- sors, Trauzelin and Palmieri. He returned to Boston in 1870, his first duty being in filling pastorates tempor-

arily deprived of their regular pastor through absence or sickness. In October, 1870, he was appointed curate at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Salem, which then included Beverly and Manchester-by-the- Sea. For five and one-half years, until April, 1876, he served as assistant, then was installed pastor of St. Malachi's Church, Arlington, Massachusetts, to which was attached the missions at Lexington and Belmont. He served St. Malachi's most acceptably until 1884, his next appointment being to the pastorate of the important parish of St. James of Boston, then the largest parish in New England. In his previous pas- torates and at St. James he had attracted the favorable notice of Archbishop Williams, and when the Third Penary Council was held in Baltimore, Maryland, Father Harkins accompanied the Archbishop as theol- ogian. In 1886 he was appointed consultor and synod- ical examiner. His qualifications and valuable service was recognized by his superiors, and in April 14, 1887, he was consecrated Bishop of Providence, in succes- sion to Bishop Hendricken.

CHARLES ELIAB BALLOU-More than half a century ago Charles E. Ballou entered the service of the Woonsocket Institution for Savings, as a clerk. The years have brought him honors both of a business and public nature, and since 1913 he has been vice- president of the bank he entered a youth of nineteen. He is the only son of Eliab Metcalf Ballou, grandson of Levi (2) Ballou, and great-grandson of Levi (I) Ballou, a Revolutionary patriot. This Levi (1) Ballou was a son of Ezekiel Ballou, son of Obadiah Ballou, son of James Ballou, son of Maturin Ballou, who was of Providence, Rhode Island, in 1646, being granted land there in that year. He married Hannah Pike, daughter of Robert and Catherine Pike. Providence, Rhode Island, and Wrentham, Massachusetts, were early homes, and when Wrentham became Cumberland, Rhode Island, that State became the family center. The family be- came numerous in that section, the homestead being about three-fourths of a mile from the place of wor- ship known as the Ballou Meeting House. Levi (2) Ballou, of the sixth generation, inherited the eastern part of his father's estate, and was one of the sub- stantial men of the Cumberland section. He married, May 10, 1804, Hepsibah Metcalf, daughter of Thomas and Jemima (Roy) Metcalf, of Wrentham. He died June 4, 1836, aged fifty-four, his wife surviving him until November 20, 1860, aged eighty-two years. They were the parents of : Eliab Metcalf, of further mention ; Harriet Miriam; Caroline Eliza; Latimer Whipple Ballou, LL. D., cashier and treasurer of the Woon- socket Institution for Savings, 1850 until 1897, member of Congress, and a prominent Universalist; Jane Wil- kinson; Levi Thompson; and Mary Freeman.

Eliab Metcalf Ballou was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, April 20, 1805, and died in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, April 28, 1857. For a number of years he fol- lowed his trade, mason and builder, then entered busi- ness life as a partner in the Woonsocket Baking Com- pany. Like his father, he was a Universalist, strongly grounded in the faith, becoming a member early in life, and until his death was an earnest, faithful

BIOGRAPHICAL

worker in the Woonsocket Society and in the Sunday school from 1840 until his death. He married Mary Ann Cushman, born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, May 31, 1807, died January 14, 1875, daughter of Joseph and Nancy Cushman. Mr. and Mrs. Ballou were the parents of Ellen Maria, born October 18, 1831; Sarah Jane, born February 13, 1837, died September 16, 1838; Mary Cushman, born September 25, 1839, died January 15, 1891 ; Charles Eliab, of further mention; Caroline Eliza, born November 5, 1846, married Charles E. Benson, and died June 3, 1870.

Charles Eliab Ballou was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, November 5, 1846, and was educated in the graded and high schools of the city. He began business life in association with his father, then a partner in the Woonsocket Baking Company, there continuing until becoming clerk and bookkeeper with a manufacturing company, and later was clerk in a wall paper and crockery store. This last position was held until 1865, when he entered the service of the Woonsocket Institu- tion for Savings, his uncle, Latimer Whipple Ballou, then being cashier of that institution. He began as a clerk and rose through various positions in the bank until he became assistant to the treasurer. Latimer Whipple Ballou, who had long been treasurer of the bank, died May 9, 1900, Charles E. Ballou, his former assistant, being chosen to succeed him in the treasurer's office. He occupied that post for thirteen years, then was elected vice-president, his present office. This long term of service in clerical and official position, 1885- 1918, has developed the capable financier, strong, self- reliant and resourceful, thoroughly versed in financial law, procedure and custom, ranking with the ablest financiers of his city. Mr. Ballou is a Republican in politics, influential in the party and deeply interested in all that pertains to the public good. He served the city of Woonsocket for two years as a member of the Board of Aldermen, and for several years was treasurer of the Woonsocket Hospital. He served on the staff of Governor Charles W. Lippett, with the rank of colonel, and in religious preference is a Universalist. He has long been a member of the Masonic order and holds the thirty-second degree, and an Accepted Scot- tish Rite.

Mr. Ballou married Emma G. Cook, daughter of Reuben O. Cook, of Woonsocket. They were the parents of two children : Carrie L., born June 16, 1870; Clarence Earl, born November 26, 1872. Mrs. Ballou died January 6, 1913.

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 15

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