The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 18

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 18

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(VII) Harley Pardon Angell, son of Emor Angell, born May 30, 1815, in Scituate, was reared on a farm. After his marriage he removed to Danielson, Con- necticut, where he remained a short time. He suc- ceeded his father in the ownership of the home farm after the latter's death in 1871. He moved to Provi- dence in 1874, there continuing until his death, April 22, 1893. From 1874 until his death he was in mercan- tile business in Providence. On March 6, 1845, he mar- ried Waity C. Smith, daughter of William Smith. She died May 31, 1907, at Providence. Their children were: Ostrander, born April 3, 1848, died September 22, 1849; Newton E., born January 9, 1850, married Jane Knight,

was in the hardware business in Providence, and died March 4, 1902; William H., born January 25, 1853, married Charlotte Wilbur; Charles Fremont, of this sketch; Walter B., born April 19, 1862, married Bessie Child; Clarence S., born August 31, 1867, married Ida Curran, is in the wholesale hardware business in Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Harley Pardon Angell were active in the Congregational church.

(VIII) Charles Fremont Angell, son of Harley Par- don Angell, was born at the home farm in Scituate, October 21, 1856, and there in public school and in Lapham Institute of North Scituate he obtained his education. In 1874 the family moved to Providence, Charles F. obtaining a position in the city sewer depart- ment as engineer's assistant. In 1876 he entered the employ of the Builders' Iron Foundry as general office clerk, and there found his true sphere. He became skilled in the manufacturing of structural iron and won his way from post to post during the years which fol- lowed, each change a rise in position until his energy, application and loyal devotion to the company's inter- ests brought him the position of manager of the struc- tural iron department. While filling that post he built, in 1902, the plant which was operated as a branch shop of the Builders' Iron Foundry for three years, but which later became the plant of the Providence Steel & Iron Company. The branch plant was detached from the parent company in 1905, and became the foundation upon which arose a separate corporation, the Provi- dence Steel & Iron Company, then capitalized at $25,000, with Charles F. Angell, president and treasurer; Frank L. Toof, vice-president; Harry P. Wilson, secretary; Charles C. Luther, assistant-treasurer. The company are specialists in the manufacture of structural and orna- mental iron and have prospered abundantly, winning their secure position in the trade through excellence of product and efficiency in management. In 1917 the capital stock of the company was increased to $100.000, the value of the product produced for that. year reach- ing half a million dollars. This great expansion of business demands greater mill facilities, and sixty thousand square feet of land adjoining the present plant has been purchased upon which a modern plant will in time appear.

Mr. Angell, while essentially the alert, capable man of business, has the happy faculty of laying his problems aside after business hours, and holds many social and fraternal memberships. He is a member of What Cheer Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Providence Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters; Calvary Commandery, Knights Templar; and Palestine Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His club is the Providence Central, of which he is an ex-president. He is an Independent in his political action, and in religious faith a member of Beneficent Congregational Church, of Providence.

CHARLES H. HORTON-There are very few families that have been more closely or prominently identified with the interests of Rhode Island, or for a greater period of time, than that which bears the name of Horton, and which is so well represented at the present time (1917) in the person of Charles H. Horton, of Woonsocket, that State. From the close of the

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

seventeenth century to now, the twentieth century, the Hortons have resided in and about the ancient town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and the adjacent portions of Rhode Island. The sturdy and virtuous character of the stock, so typical of all that is best in New Eng- land, has been preserved throughout the many genera- tions with undiminished force, and is especially notice- able in this present day descendant of a long line of worthy ancestors.

Born in 1819, Otis H. Horton, father of Charles H. Horton, was a native of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and was there reared and educated. Upon attaining man- hood, he acted as paymaster as well as bookkeeper for the mills at Orleans, Massachusetts. At that time it was the custom to pay the employees once in three or four months, those having families adjusting their accounts with the factory store at this period of settle- ment. Charles H. Horton, then a mere boy, was ac- customed to carry the envelopes from the office to the mill, passing them about to the employees, all of whom he knew by name. The employees were mostly natives of the vicinity, known as "Yankees," with a sprinkling of English people, who had come to this country from the cotton manufacturing shires of England. This was a period of long credit, commencing with labor, and passing through all commercial transactions. In the winter of 1862, Otis H. Horton removed to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, having been engaged by Edward Harris for a term of three years to take charge in the con- struction of the mills known as Privilege Mills, now the Lawton Spinning Company, and later as a contractor and builder. Mr. Horton married Elizabeth Kingsley, of North Swansea, Massachusetts, and they were the parents of the following children: Albert K., Marion E., Ellen F., Charles H., of whom further; Walter, Adeline, and Otis H., Jr. The father of these children died June 17, 1896.

Charles H. Horton was born September 21, 1850, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. He attended the public schools of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, whither his parents removed in 1862. He was an excellent scholar and exhibited an ambition to excel, not very usual in his sex at that age, and he showed in a marked degree the qualities that were later to distinguish him in his career. When sixteen years old, he was appointed a clerk in the post office at Woonsocket, which position he held for four years. Then, like so many young men of that period, he followed the advice of Horace Greeley to go West, and accordingly went to Illinois, in the year 1870, and served in the capacity of bookkeeper, and later buyer for Day & Sprague, of Providence, Rhode Island, who were engaged in the grain business, with whom he remained until 1872. In that year he returned to Woon- socket and engaged in the small ware and notion busi- ness, and later in the shoe business, and conducted an establishment along that line until 1882. While en- gaged in the shoe business, he was the manager of the Music Hall, the only place of amusement in Woonsocket at the time. During that period, between the years 1877 and 1882, the theatrical profession was particularly brilliant, containing such talent as Edwin Forrest, Ed- 1.1.1 Booth, Lawrence Barrett, John McCulloch, Mary Anderson, Madame Janauscheck, Modjeska, Annie Pix- ley, John T. Raymond, Kate Claxton, E. L. Davenport,

E. H. Sothern, and many others, all of whom visited Woonsocket, and in many instances were taken to the larger cities of New England under Mr. Horton's man- agement. Mr. Horton first took up the manufacture of harness pads and horse furnishings in 1877, and has continued in the same up to the present time. This enterprise has prospered greatly, and Mr. Horton is now at the head of one of the largest concerns of its kind in New England. He finds a very large market for these goods throughout the United States and Can- ada, where they are rightfully regarded as setting a standard of quality and workmanship. The success of Mr. Horton's business, no less than his many distinctive personal qualities and talents, have brought him prom- inently into the public notice, and he occupies a posi- tion not shared by many. He is president of the Pro- ducers Savings Bank of Woonsocket, a director in the Produce National Bank, and president of the Woon- socket Building and Loan Association, all of which in- stitutions are in a flourishing condition.

But it has not been only in the business world that Mr. Horton has distinguished himself. On the con- trary, there is hardly any aspect of the city's life in which he has not taken a position of leadership. In the years, 1879-80, while Woonsocket was still a town, Mr. Horton became a member of the town council, and when in 1888 it was incorporated as a city he served for three years as city councilman. Later he was elected to the board of aldermen, where he served with con- spicuous ability. The scope of Mr. Horton's usefulness as a public official was greatly enlarged by his election in 1891-92-93-94 to the State Legislature to represent his home city. He also served his city as Senator in the years 1900-01-02-03. He is also a conspicuous figure in the social world, and is closely identified with the religious life of the community, being a member of St. James Episcopal Church, Woonsocket, in which he holds the office of junior warden. For forty-five years he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Mr. Horton married, January 3, 1872, at Mattoon, Illinois, Mary Casto, daughter of William E. and Eusebia E. Casto, old and highly respected residents of Terre Haute, Indiana. One son was born of this marriage, William T., who is now employed as a salesman in his father's business.

JEREMIAH POTTER ROBINSON, one of the most notable figures in mercantile and civic life in New York City, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, was born on Ang. 18, 1819, at Tower Hill, in the town of Wakefield, R. I., a member of one of the oldest and most distinguished of Rhode Island families. His early life was spent and Wakefield and Newport, Rhode Island, where he received his education. At the age of sixteen, however, evincing a decided taste for mer- cantile life and for business affairs, he came to New York City, where in 1836 he secured employment with the firm of E. P. & A. Woodruff. He worked his way rapidly through minor positions to a post of responsi- bility, and a few years later was admitted to partner- ship in the business. The firm conducted its affairs under the name of A. Woodruff & Robinson, until the death of the senior, when G. C. Robinson was admitted

二

BIOGRAPHICAL

to partnership, and the name became J. P. & G. C. Robinson. During the period of his connection with this enterprise, nearly half a century, his business desk stood on practically the same spot, and to-day the business in which he was so vital a factor in the up- building continues its operations on what is practically the site of the house which he entered as a boy. At this time the growth and rapid development of the city of Brooklyn, New York, brought forcibly to his mind the prime importance of its waterfront, and he began immediately to purchase heavily in real estate on the Brooklyn river front. He improved this property, building large warehouses and piers, and was one of the pioneers in the movement which gave Brooklyn a warehouse system, manufacturing plant system, and chain of docks second to none in the United States. At a somewhat later date he became interested in the waterfront of South Brooklyn, and with William Beard began the work of planning and constructing the great Erie basin, and the adjoining basins, building piers and warehouses, and developing a wharfage and dock- age several miles in length. This dock system is the largest and most comprehensive in the world. An ex- ecutive of fine ability, possessing great inventive and constructive powers, Jeremiah P. Robinson was the prime mover and guiding genius of this great under- taking, and through his success in it was acceded a place of honor and influence in mercantile life which he never relinquished. When the project of bridging the East river was broached, he became active in furthering it, and was one of the most prominent of its supporters. When the work was finally decided upon he became a bridge trustee, devoting much of his time to the im- portant duties which this involved. Through the most trying period of the work, he filled the post of presi- dent of the board of trustees, and through masterly handling , of problems which came before the board earned the gratitude of those whom the successful com- pletion of the bridge so greatly benefited, namely the city of Brooklyn. At a time when the welfare of employees was a minor consideration, he introduced into his business enterprises a system of co-operation between himself and his laborers, which made him not only the employer but the trusted friend and advisor. His success in business was very great, and in the course of a half century he amassed a large fortune. His gifts to charitable undertakings, though unosten- tatious, were large.

On May 23, 1843, Mr. Robinson married Elizabeth De Witt, of Cranberry, N. J. Mrs. Robinson was born June 30, 1819, and died Nov., 1888, in Brooklyn, N. Y., at the Robinson home there. They were the parents of the following children: I. Mary Niles, born March 13, 1844, died July 30, 1845. 2. Jeremiah Potter, Jr., born May I, 1846, died July 2, 1916; married, Nov. 12, 1867, Margaret Downing Lanman, daughter of David Trumbull Lanman; their children are: i. David Trum- bull Lanman Robinson, born Nov. 14, 1868, in Brook- lyn; ii. Elizabeth De Witt Robinson, born April 28, 1870, in Brooklyn ; iii. Mary Helen Robinson, born Oct. 15, 1871, in Brooklyn; iv. Margaret Faith Robinson, born April 22, 1883, in New York. 3. Elizabeth De Witt, born Aug. 12, 1851 ; married, Jan. 10, 1870, Lewis Leon- ard; children : i. Esther Henrietta Leonard, who mar-

ried, June 1, 1892, John Griffin Underhill; ii. Josephine Bulkley Leonard; iii. William Boardman Leonard, born Aug. 14, 1873; iv. Mabel Robinson Leonard, born May I, 1876, in Brooklyn. 4. Harriet Woodruff, born March II, 1853; married, June 21, 1883, John E. Leech, of Brooklyn; children: i. Robinson Leech, born May 4, 1884; ii. Charlotte Leech, born July 30, 1886. 5. Isaac Rich, whose sketch follows.

Jeremiah Potter Robinson, the father of these child- ren, died at his home in Brooklyn, N. Y., Aug. 26, 1886, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.

ISAAC RICH ROBINSON, son of the late Jere- miah Potter and Elizabeth (De Witt) Robinson, and a member of the prominent and long established Robin- son family of Wakefield, R. I., was born at Brooklyn, N. Y., July 8, 1856. He was a man of wide culture, of magnetic, though retiring personality, and took consid- erable interest in mechanical arts. His home during the winter months was in New York City. With the ex- ception of supervising his property interests, he re- mained entirely outside business life.

The ancestral estate at Wakefield, Rhode Island, was his home during the greater part of the year, and his interests in the welfare and development of the town was earnest and sincere. He was prominent in local affairs, and a leader in movements towards the improve- ment of local conditions. Mr. Robinson was the prime mover in and was largely responsible for the laying of the first macadam roads of Wakefield. His home was the Edgewood farm, the homestead of his great- grandfather, Jeremiah Niles Potter, and he spent much time in improving and beautifying the place, which he loved for its associations. Mr. Robinson was well loved and highly respected in Wakefield. A man of broad sympathies, he drew into his confidence men of all ranks and walks of life, who remained to become his fast friends and admirers. Sincerity and lack of pretence characterized his entire life. For many years he was a member of the Manhattan Club of New York, and a charter member of the Automobile Club of America. At one time he held a membership in the New York Club of New York City, and the Hope Club of Providence, Rhode Island. He became a member of the Society of Sons of the American Revolution, on February 21, 1900, by virtue of his descent from Chris- topher Robinson, his great-grandfather, who was sec- ond lieutenant in Captain Adams' company, Rhode Island Militia, June, 1777; and captain-lieutenant in Captain Adams' company. Colonel Elliot's regiment of artillery, Rhode Island Militia, February, 1778.

Mr. Robinson married Ellen L. Pate, daughter of William and Harriet de Lacey (Wastell) Pate, of Brooklyn, New York. They were the parents of two daughters, Ruth and Elsie Potter Robinson; the latter married Tristram Roberts Coffin. Isaac Rich Robinson died March 22, 1913, at his home on Fifth avenue, New York City. Mrs. Robinson survives her husband and resides at the Robinson home in Wakefield.

DAN OZRO KING, M. D .- As a surname, King had its origin in England in several diverse sources. The Kings of to-day are of no royal descent, nor yet is the title always a mere nickname, like Caesar, Em-

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

peror, from the royal bearing or appearance of the original nominee. Entries in early English records take the following form: Hamond le King, Robert le Kynge, Saher le King. The Hundred Rolls, 1273, also furnish a William Littleking, and there is also record of a Roger Wyteking. Stature and dress will account for these latter entries, however. The most frequent source of the name, however, was the mock ceremony of the thirteenth and fourteenth century; at Epiphany, every village held a great feast, presided over by a king and queen who were elected from the villagers. The King was proud of his title, and as surnames came into common use the hereditary title became the family name. Another source was the familiar "King of Mis- rule," whom every nobleman possessed.

Arms-Sable a lion rampant between three crosses crosslet or, ducally crowned or.

Crest-Out of a ducal coronet or, a demi-ostrich argent, wings endorsed, beak of the first.

The name King is uncommon north of Shropshire in England, although branches are to be found in Devon, Cornwall, Cambridge, Essex and other counties. Of the many immigrants of the name who came to the New England Colonies after the year 1634, little is known as to their English homes. Much research has failed to reveal a relationship between them. The prog- eny of the early King emigrants has played a prom- inent part in American life and affairs from the earliest days. Kings have played parts of prominence in the affairs of state, in business, industrial and commercial life, and in the professions. The stock is a virile, ad- venturous one, and the strength which characterized the pioneer has been transmitted through each succes- sive generation. In the history of the medical profes- sion in New England the names of Dr. Dan King, 1791-1864, Dr. Howard King, 1824-1875, and Dr. Dan Ozro King, 1852-1917, rank high on the roster of phy- sicians whose achievements have brought honor to the profession. These eminent physicians, father, son and grandson, were lineal descendants of Elder Thomas King, founder of the family in America, and members of the Massachusetts branch of the family.

(I) Elder Thomas King, progenitor, was born in Cold Norton, County Essex, England, son of George King. In 1635 he sailed from London, England, on the ship "Blessing," at which time his age was twenty- one years. He settled in Scituate, Massachusetts, where he subsequently became prominent in civic and religious affairs. He was ruling elder of the church at Scituate in 1691, in which year he died. Elder Thomas King married (first), Sarah, daughter of James Pike, of Duxbury, and she died in 1652. He married (second), in 1653, Jane Hatch, of Scituate.

(II) Thomas King, son of Thomas and Sarah (Pike) King, was born June 21, 1645, in Scituate, and died there in 1720. He married Rebecca Clopp.

(III) Deacon John King, son of Thomas (2) and Rebecca (Clopp) King, was born August 11, 1704. He removed to Norwich, Connecticut, in 1756, and resided there, a prosperous farmer and prominent church mem- ber until his death. He married (first), Mary Cleft, of Northfield, Mass .; (second), Elizabeth Burnham, of Lebanon, Conn .; (third), Mary (Davis) Ford.

(IV) John (2) King, son of Deacon John (1) and Elizabeth (Burnham) King, was born May 26, 1762, and died in 1837. He married Jane Knight.

(V) Dr. Dan King, son of John (2) and Jane (Knight) King, was born January 27, 1791. His en- trance into the medical profession was against the wishes of his father, a deacon of the Presbyterian church at Mansfield, Connecticut, who intended that his son should enter the ministry. Despite the very con- siderable opposition raised by the elder man, young King took up his residence with the family of Dr. Adams, of Mansfield, completing his preliminary studies for the profession under Dr. Adams and his partner, Dr. Swift. In November, 1814, he matriculated at the Yale Medical School, at the opening of the second course, and on April 4, 1815, he received his license to practice medicine. He began his practice in the vicinity of "Brewster's Neck," where for a short period, in con- junction with it, he manufactured "nigger cloth," at a little water-fall which to the present day bears the name "King's Mill." He subsequently lost all his stock in the great fire which destroyed the commission house district of New York, and financially ruined, he left Connecticut. In 1841 he established himself in prac- tice in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where he remained until 1848, when he removed to Taunton, Massachu- setts. He became a prominent figure in medical circles in Massachusetts, and in 1852 the Berkshire Medical Institution conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was an active and well known member of the Massachusetts Medical Society from the time of his removal to that State until his retirement from the medical profession in 1859, and was a member of the committee which revised the by-laws of the Society. In 1859 Mr. King retired from practice, but on the departure of his son, Dr. Howard W. King, to the War, he went to Greenville, Rhode Island, to conduct his practice until he should return. Here he died, Nov. 13, 1864. His remains were buried at Brewster's Neck.

Dr. King was an able and forceful writer, definite in his convictions and logical in his presentation of an argument. He was a continuous contributor to the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal" between the years 1849 and 1854. He was the enemy of quackery and of spiritualism, and many of his articles in the above-mentioned journal attack these in one form or another. In 1857 he read before the Bristol County Medical Society an address entitled, "Spiritualism Un- masked," which was later published in pamphlet form. In 1858 he produced, as a natural sequence to the series of articles which preceded it, an octavo volume of 334 pages, "Quackery Unmasked, or a Consideration of the Most Prominent Empirical Schemes of the Present Time, with an Enumeration of Some of the Causes which Contribute to Their Support." This work, which is considered his finest effort, was read with great interest and satisfaction by the medical profes- sion. In the following year he published "Tobacco: What It is and What It Does."

From early manhood he was a student of the law, purely for the enjoyment which legal study afforded him. He was deeply interested in political and public issues, and eminently well fitted for public service.

BIOGRAPHICAL

Dr. King represented Charlestown, Rhode Island, in the General Assembly for several years, and in 1832 was appointed with the Hon. B. B. Thurston to make an investigation and report on the condition of the Narra- gansett tribe of Indians. The report, acceded to be Dr. King's work, was presented to the Legislature on February 6, 1833, and aroused great interest. It is a State paper, the value of which increases as time goes cn. Dr. King was a staunch member of the Suffragist party, and in 1837, with Thomas Wilson Dorr, was nominated as a standard bearer for the party. Dorr was a friend of Dr. King and a welcome visitor at his home, where he came frequently to discuss the reforms he planned. Despite the fact that he was so prom- inently connected with the Dorrites, Dr. King retained his honored position in the community. He was ar- rested when the Dorr Rebellion was at its height, but released by the officer in charge immediately, so well was he known in the city as a patriotic and loyal citizen. He still remained a firm adherent to the cause of the Suffragist party, although he had not espoused the rebellion and the appeal to force as a means of fur- thering its cause. On the death of Thomas Wilson Dorr in 1859 he published "The Life and Times of Thomas Wilson Dorr, with Outlines of the Political History of Rhode Island." From the earliest days of dissension between the North and South he supported the Union, and was a stern Abolitionist. A finished, well-rounded gentleman of the old school, he main- tained his interest in politics and public affairs almost to the time of his death. Few men of the period en- joyed in greater measure the love, honor and respect of their colleagues. His death was deeply mourned, coming as it did in a period when men of his calibre were badly needed by the nation in arms.

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 18

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