The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 7

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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HENRY EDWIN UTTER, M. D .- Among thie well known of the younger physicians of Providence, R. I., Henry Edwin Utter, the well known specialist in pediatrics, is a prominent figure and, in spite of the com- paratively short time in which he has practiced here, has already made a place for himself among the leaders of his profession.

Henry Edwin Utter, second son of Hon. George H. and Elizabeth L. (Brown) Utter, was born at Westerly, R. I., April 9, 1883. As a child he attended the public schools of that place and afterwards was sent by his parents to the Riverview Academy, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Here he took the regular classical preparatory course, and was graduated in 1902. He then matricu- lated at Amherst College, where he proved himself a most industrious and apt student, and was graduated with the class of 1906, taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Dr. Utter had decided to make the profession of medicine his career, and with this end in view, en- tered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in con- nection with Columbia University, of New York. He was graduated therefrom with the class of 1910, and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then became an interne at the Boston Floating Hospital, and after occupying that post for the summer of IgIo took a similar one with the Rhode Island Hospital, at Provi- dence, where he remained through the year 1912. He then returned to New York City, where he became associated with the. Babies' Hospital, remaining until 1914, when he began his private practice in Providence. During his association with the last named hospital, Dr. Utter had become keenly interested in pediatrics, or the diseases of children, and since that time has spec- ialized in this branch of his profession. He has estab- lished a reputation, and enjoys a very large and success- ful practice, and is regarded as an authority on ped- iatrics. In addition to his private practice Dr. Utter at the present time holds the position of physician-in- charge of the Providence City Hospital, pediatric de- partment; attending physician of the pediatric depart- ment of the Memorial Hospital at Pawtucket; assistant attending physician of the pediatric department, Rhode Island Hospital; consulting physician of the Providence Lying-In Hospital, and medical director of the North Providence schools.

Dr. Henry Edwin Utter was united in marriage, Jun 23, 1915, with Josephine Siggins, a daughter of Orion and Alice (Hall) Siggins. The death of Mrs. Utte occurred May 18, 1918.

DR. WILLIAM GROSVENOR was born in Kil lingly, Conn., April 30, 1810. He was the son of Rober and Mary Beggs Grosvenor, and a descendant in the fifth generation through Robert, Joshua, and Colone Thomas, from John and Esther Grosvenor, who came from Cheshire, England, in 1680, and settled in Roxbury Mass., where three more children were born to them In 1686, John Grosvenor, with John Chandler, Samuel Ruggles, Benjamin Smith, Joseph Griffin and Samue Ruggles, Jr., purchased 15,000 acres of wilderness land in the Wabbagnassett country from Major Fitch. This tract included the territory afterwards occupied by the towns of Killingly, Pomfret, Woodstock and Thomp- son, and was given by Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegans. to his son Oneco, who sold it to Major Fitch. John Grosvenor died at Roxbury, September 26, 1691, and in 1692 his widow traveled with the rest of the owners of "The Wilderness Tract" to Connecticut, accompanied by all her children with the exception of the eldest, who remained in Massachusetts.

William Grosvenor, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the Providence schools, and then pursued the study of medicine at the Jefferson Medical College and the Pennsylvania Hospital, with the object of suc- ceeding his father, who was a distinguished physician. Having taken his degree, he returned to Killingly, where. for several years he was associated with his father in the practice of medicine and surgery.

August 22, 1836, Dr. Grosvenor married Rosa Anne Mason, daughter of Gen. James B. and Alice (Brown) Mason, daughter of Hon. John Brown, of Providence, and removed to that city, where he began the practice of medicine. His taste for a mercantile life, however, led him to enter the commercial world as a wholesale dealer in drugs and dyestuffs. He carried on this business successfully for five years, and during this period was brought in contact with cotton manufacturers. He thereby acquired a knowledge of textiles, and until 1860 was engaged in calico printing. In 1848 he was appointed agent of the Masonville Mills, on the retire- ment of his wife's uncle, Amasa Mason, and from that date became the controlling spirit of the company. He infused it with new life, and started it on a career of continuous prosperity. Meanwhile he kept strengthen- ing his position by purchasing shares of stock at every opportunity. In five more years he was so large an owner that he had it in his power to consummate important changes, for which his sagacity had led him to make due preparation. In 1857 the stone and brick mills of the company were united by the construction of a middle section, forming what was for years operated and called Mill No. 3, but which in 1916 was used for storage purposes only.

In 1862, notwithstanding the serious cloud of depres- sion which affected the business of the country, owing to reverses suffered by the Northern arms, Dr. Gros- venor began the construction of Mill No. 4, furnishing the larger part of the capital himself. The new mill proved profitable, and he further enlarged the capacity

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BIOGRAPHICAL

of the manufactory in 1864 by the purchase of the Fish- erville property, and of another large water privilege lower down the stream, which was named "Grosvenor." The different interests being now consolidated under one management, Dr. Grosvenor began to lay the foun- dations of the present Mill No. 2, and the huge structure was finished and equipped with machinery in 1872. Meanwhile, in 1868, the amalgamated plant was renamed Grosvenor-Dale Company, Dr. William Grosvenor then owning three-fourths of the stock, William Grosvenor, Jr., one-eighth, James B. M. Grosvenor, one-sixteenth, and Lucius Briggs, superintendent, one-sixteenth. In 1883, Mr. Briggs resigned, and the entire property passed into the hands of the Grosvenor family.

Dr. Grosvenor was a man of tremendous ability, gen- jal and courteous in his manners, and highly esteemed throughout New England as a man of integrity and enterprise. He was a member of the State Senate during the Civil War, and was also chairman of the finance committee. He was very largely influential in securing prompt and effective legislation, which gave to Rhode Island a prominent place as one of the first States to respond to President Lincoln's call for troops.

For forty years, he personally conserved the financial interests of the Grosvenor-Dale Company, and aided his eldest son, William (2) (see sketch, ibid.), upon whom rested the responsibility and the attention to detail in the general management of the steadily grow- ing manufacturing interests.

Dr. William Grosvenor died August 17, 1888, his wife having pre-deceased him in 1872. He had seven children : William, see below; James Brown Mason, the founder of the house of Grosvenor in New York, who was the chief agent for the sale of the goods of the Grosvenor-Dale Company; Amasa Mason, who died in infancy ; Alice, who became the wife of Dr. John J. Mason, of New York; Robert, a graduate of Nor- wich University in the class of 1868, and until his death, July 19, 1879, was associated with his brother William in the home office of the Grosvenor-Dale Com- pany; Eliza Howe, who died in infancy; and Rosa Anne.

WILLIAM GROSVENOR, eldest son of Dr. Wil- liam Grosvenor and Rosa Anne Mason Grosvenor, was born in Providence, R. I., August 4, 1838. On his father's side he was a descendant of John Grosvenor, who came from England in 1640 and settled in Massa- chusetts; while through his mother he was a descend- ant of John Brown, of Revolutionary fame, who led the expedition which ended in the burning of the British ship of war "Gaspee." William Grosvenor went to a Providence day school and then to Brown University, where he was graduated in the class of 1860. At both school and college he did well with his studies. He early won a reputation for being a hard and conscien- tious worker, and the great trait of his character which stood out very prominently was that of "persever- ance" and ability to ultimately achieve his purpose.

In 1861 he entered the Grosvenor-Dale Company, at the head of which was his father, and in 1883, when the company was incorporated, he was elected treas- urer and served in this capacity until 1905, when he also became president. From 1883 until his death in

1906, he was the controlling factor in the company. His policy was always progressive along the most mod- ern lines. Backed from the first by the strong financial condition of the company, he always bought for it the most up-to-date machinery, regardless of the cost. He believed that the best was the cheapest in the end, and thus the equipment of the Grosvenor-Dale Company plant was ever kept up to a high standard. William Grosvenor was a distinct force in his community, and was widely known as a man of sound business judg- ment and remarkable ability. He was a director of several large corporations, and was a trustee under his father's will for his sister, Rosa Anne Grosvenor.

In 1882, Mr. Grosvenor married Rose Dimond Phin- ney. They had seven children, three sons and four daughters: Alice Mason, wife of Dudley Davis, Har- vard '05, of New York; Caroline Rose, wife of Gilbert Maurice Congdon, Yale '09, of Providence; William, Harvard 'og, president of the Grosvenor-Dale Company, of Providence; Rose, wife of George Peabody Gardner, Jr., Harvard 'Io, of Boston; Robert, married Aerielle Frost, of Chicago, May 23, 1918; he died October 27, 1918; Anita Deidamia, wife of Richard Curtis, Har- vard '16, of Boston; Theodore Phinney, Harvard '20. His wife and these children all survived him when he died, June 20, 1906. During the last few years of his life, Mr. Grosvenor spent a great deal of his time in taking care of the immediate interests of his family, to all of whom he was most devoted.

JOHN W. COGGESHALL-Coggeshall is an early English surname of local origin, and denotes residence in the parish of St. Albans, in the town of Coggeshall.

Arms-Argent a cross between four escallops sable. Crest-A stag lodged sable, attired or.

The Coggeshall family, whose history is wrapped in- separably with that of Rhode Island, from the very earl- iest times, is one of the most distinguished in the annals of the colony and in its later history. The progenitor of the Coggeshalls in America, John Coggeshall, was the first president of the struggling little Colony of Rhode Island, a man of great prominence and public influence. The family has been honorably connected with the several wars of the country since its estab- lishment here, and has borne well its part in the making of the Nation. Its sons have held high places in the councils of the State. The late Hon. James Haydon Coggeshall, one of the most prominent public men of his day, was a direct descendant in the seventh genera- tion of the founder, John Coggeshall.

(I) John Coggeshall, progenitor of the family in America, and first president of the Colony of Rhode Island, was a member of an ancient and honorable Eng- lish family, whose lineage has been traced to the early part of the twelfth century, to one Thomas de Cogge- shall, the owner of vast estates in Essex and Suffolk, England, in 1135-54. He was born in Essex, England, about 1591, and died at Newport, R. I., November 27, 1647. He emigrated from England to the New World in the ship "Lyon," arriving at the port of Boston, Mass., in 1632, with his wife Mary, and three children, John, Joshua, and Anne, on September 16, 1632. His name and that of his wife are on the original records of the church of Roxbury, of which John Eliot was pastor.

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

He was admitted a freeman of Roxbury, November 6, 1632, and two years later, in 1634, removed to Boston, where he became a merchant. John Coggeshall became one of the leading citizens of Boston, and in the year of his arrival there was elected a member of the Board of Selectmen and a deacon of the church. His name also heads the list of deputies to the General Court of Massachusetts from Boston, May 14, 1634, and he served, with threc interruptions, until November 2, 1637. He was one of the staunchest supporters and defenders of Anne Hutchinson, and upon her banish- ment was expelled from the Court, and from the State of Massachusetts, in company with eighteen other men, who were also identified with her. These eighteen men, and a company including William Coddington, John Clarke, the Hutchinson family, and others, settled on the island of Aquidneck, by the advice of Roger Wil- liams, who had already settled in Providence. The land was purchased from the Narragansett sachems, and the form of government there established was one of the first in New England which separated the civic from the religious issues. The colony grew with great rapidity and to accommodate newcomers and the over- flow, the town of Newport, R. I., was established. On the return of Roger Williams from England with a charter, they organized a government, in September, 1644. In May, 1647, John Coggeshall was elected presi- dent of Rhode Island, with Roger Williams as assistant for Providence, William Coddington for Newport, and Randall Holden for Warwick. While in this office, he was the founder or was largely influential in founding two cities, two states and two separate and independent governments. He died in office, November 27, 1647, at the age of fifty-six years, and is buried on his estate in Newport. He married, in England, Mary Surgis, born in 1604, died November 8, 1684, at the age of eighty.

(II) Joshua Coggeshall, son of John and Mary Cog- geshall, was born in England, in 1623, and accompanied his parents to America in 1632. He removed to Ports- mouth, R. I., after the death of his father. Here he purchased a farm on the west side of the island, where he resided until his death. A large part of this orig- inal purchase still remains in the hands of lineal de- scendants. Joshua Coggeshall became a man of prom- inence in Portsmouth, and served in public office on several occasions. He was a deputy to the General Court of Rhode Island in the years 1664, 1666, 1667, 1668, 1670, 1671, 1672, and was several times assistant. He married (first) December 22, 1652, Joan West, who died April 24, 1676, at the age of forty-one years, and he married (second) June 21, 1677, Rebecca Russell, a Quakeress of London, England. Mr. Coggeshall joined the ranks of the Quakers in 1660, and on a visit to Plymouth Colony, Mass., shortly afterward, was seized, deprived of his horse and thrown into jail, because of his religious convictions. He died May 1, 1688.

(III) Josiah Coggeshall, son of Joshua and Joan (West) Coggeshall, was born in November, 1662.

(IV) Josiah (2) Coggeshall, son of Josiah (1) Cog- geshall, was the father of four children: John, men- tioned below; James, Mary, Catherine.

(V) Major John Coggeshall, son of Josiah (2) Cog- geshall, was born October 5, 1757, in Rhode Island.

About the year 1770 he removed to New Bedford, Mass., where he purchased a farm. He served with distinc- tion during the Revolution, and was prominently iden- tified with the military affairs of New Bedford. He was a member of the train band in 1773, and upon the outbreak of hostilities in the Revolution joined the American army. He served for three months in 1775 as a corporal in Captain Kempton's company, Colonel Danielson's regiment, from Dartmouth, Mass., enlist- ing in May of that year. He also served in 1778 and 1780, and is said to have participated at the battle of Bunker Hill, at the battle of Dorchester Heights, and was a member of the first regiment to march into Boston after the evacuation of the city by the British troops. He held the rank of major in the American army. Major Coggeshall died July 19, 1830, at New Bedford, Mass., at the age of seventy-two years, and was buried on the Coggeshall farm there, He married Abigail Haydon.

(VI) John (2) Coggeshall, son of Major John (1) and Abigail (Haydon) Coggeshall, was born in New Bedford, Mass., September 10, 1777. He was one of the famous merchants and ship owners of New Bed- ford, his vessels plying to and from all foreign ports. He was one of the wealthiest men of his day, and his beautiful mansion was the scene of many notable gath- erings in the early days of New Bedford. He married Elizabeth Brown, of Providence, R. I. His death occurred June 23, 1853.

(VII) Captain Samuel B. Coggeshall, son of John (2) and Elizabeth (Brown) Coggeshall, was born Sep- tember II, 1808, became a famous mariner of New Bedford and sailed the seas as captain before he at- tained the age of twenty-one. He distinguished him- self in the Civil War and was appointed by Gideon Welles, July 18, 1861, as acting master of United States Steamship "Richmond." He married Ellen Chipman Welles, on September 27, 1853. She was born in Gene- seo, N. Y., April 2, 1835, and died April 3, 1912. Captain Coggeshall died February 19, 1885.

(VIII) John (3) Coggeshall, son of Captain Samuel B. and Ellen Chipman ( Welles) Coggeshall, was born in New Bedford, Mass., July 22, 1854, He married Maria Amelia Wood on September 24, 1874. John Coggeshall was for many years prominently identified in the newspaper world with the "San Francisco Chron- icle;" for more than ten years, was confidential man for Elias J. (Lucky) Baldwin, representing his hotel interests in California. Mr. Coggeshall is one of the few survivors of a fleet of sixteen whaling vessels which were crushed in the ice in the Arctic Ocean in 1876, all but two of these vessels being lost. These two vessels brought the survivors to San Francisco, where Mr. Coggeshall made his home for thirty-two years. He has given up all active work and is living in retirement in Providence.

(IX) John Welles Coggeshall, prominent in the tex- tile industry in Rhode Island, and agent of the great Riverside Mills in Providence, is a son of John (3) and Maria Amelia (Wood) Coggeshall. He was born in New Bedford, Mass., May 16, 1875. He attended the public and New Bedford High schools and later the famous Phillips Andover Academy at Andover, Mass. He later returned to New Bedford, where he spent

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BIOGRAPHICAL

another year in high school and one year in a business college. Upon completing his studies, he accepted a position in the Washington Mill at Lawrence, in order to learn all branches of woolen manufacture. He re- mained with that concern for fifteen years, during which time he rose to the position of assistant agent. He had established for himself a reputation, acquiring a thor- ough knowledge of the mill business and was offered the position of agent with the Riverside Mills, which he at once accepted. Since that time Mr. Coggeshall has continued to hold this responsible position and has con- tributed considerable to the present prosperity of the concern by his capable handling of its affairs. Besides his connection with the Riverside Mill, Mr. Coggeshall is associated with a number of other large and import- ant industrial interests hereabouts, and is himself the sole owner of the Tillotson Humidifier Company of Providence, which is engaged in the manufacture of mill specialties. He is also founder and owner of the Middlebrook Wool Combing Company of East Boston. He is treasurer and director of the Atlantic Mining Company of Oxbow, Gila county, Arizona, with valuable gold ore deposits. In politics Mr. Coggeshall is a Re- publican, but the demands made upon his time by his various business interests prevent him from taking an active part in public affairs. He is a very prominent member of the Masonic order, having gained his thirty- second degree in Free Masonry, and is affiliated with Grecian Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Lawrence, Mass; Mount Sinai Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Lawrence Council, Royal and Select Masters ; Bethany Commandery, Knights Templar; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston, Mass., and the Consistory, of Boston. He is a member of the Boston Athletic Club, of Boston, and the Turk's Head Club, of Providence. What he would describe as his hobby is his fine collection of violins, which is said to be one of the best of its kind in the United States. Various famous artists, who have seen and played these instruments, claim it to be the best and finest individual collection in existence, many being the product of the famous makers of the Old World. Through the expert knowledge of Julius D. Horvath this wonderful collection of instruments was made possible. Mr. Horvath is a native of Buda- pest, Hungary, born 1860, and has devoted the past thirty-five years in the study and restoration of rare violins, and claims to have re-discovered the lost art of Italian violin tone. His theory is the importance of the varnish used and the chain-like process in the intri- cate application of the same. He has examined hun- dreds of high grade and rare makes of violins and is accepted to-day by the public as one of the foremost experts on violins, relative to construction, tone and value. He has been very active in creating the fine col- lection of violins of various wealthy people in America.

Mr. Coggeshall is a lover of fine music and of good books, his library containing several thousand volumes of rare and modern editions. He is also very fond of fast horses and owns a large number of these animals. In addition to his city home Mr. Coggeshall is the owner of a delightful place known as "Puritan Farm" at North Scituate, the old residence standing there having been built in 1794 by Captain Rhodes, of Revolutionary

fame. Mr. Coggeshall has remodeled the exterior of this interesting old building so that it now presents a most pretentious appearance. Although modern in every respect it still retains the old Colonial appear- ance. This property contains one hundred and fifty acres of valuable farm land which he has developed in such a way that it is now unquestionably one of the show places of Rhode Island. Here Mr. Coggeshall breeds fast horses and at the present time is the owner of the fleetest racer in the State, holding the title and cup for 1918. Mr. Coggeshall is of exceedingly affable and genial disposition, and a devotee of the pleasures of life in which he finds his various recreations.

John Welles Coggeshall was united in marriage, No- vember 18, 1896, at Lawrence, Mass., with Madeline Allen, of Harmony, N. J., a daughter of John and Maria (Holden) Allen. Mr. Allen was born at Har- mony, N. J., and was once agent of the Assabet Mills of Maynard, Mass., at which place he died September, 1907. His wife was born at German Valley, N. J., and died October 22, 1910, at Providence, R. I. To Mr. and Mrs. Coggeshall the following children have been born: John, Nov. 10, 1897, a graduate of the high school at Providence, after which he studied for a year at Brown University, and is now attending the Belasco School of Acting in New York City; William Wood, born Jan. 15, 1902, and is now a student at the Cranston High School; Otis Welles, born Dec. 14, 1902, and also a student at the Cranston High School.

Mr. Coggeshall has been an energetic and consistent worker, and in the various industries which he has founded and developed is reflected the genius and abil- ity of a family which has figured prominently for many generations throughout the New England States.

JOHN CLARKE BUDLONG, M. D .- MARTIN S. BUDLONG, M. D .- Among the old and distin- guished families of Rhode Island that of Budlong occu- pies an enviable place, its members having for many generations occupied high positions of regard in the community, and filled many important public and pri- vate capacities. It was founded in Rhode Island by one Francis Budlong, of Warwick, R. I., of whom we have a record as early as March 19, 1669, when he was mar- ried to Rebecca (Lippitt) Howard, the widow of Joseph Howard, and a daughter of John Lippitt, of that place. It was by a very narrow margin that this Francis Bud- long left any descendants at all, as he and his family, with the exception of his son John, were all massacred by Indians at the outbreak of the tribes on the west side of Narragansett bay, which had joined King Philip in his effort to destroy the white settlements and ex- terminate their inhabitants. The son, John Budlong, was carried off by the savages, being then but three or four years of age, but was subsequently rescued by a relative of his mother, of the name of Lippitt. The old Budlong home was situated in old Warwick, R. I., at a place which is known as Horse Neck.

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 7

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