USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV > Part 74
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(III) John (3) Kelly, son of John (2) and Sarah (Knight) Kelly, was born June 17, 1668, on the old Kelly homestead at Newbury, and there made his home
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in after life. His death occurred November 20, 1735. He purchased, on March 28, 1709, land at Amesbury, now Merrimac, Mass., at a place called "Ye Champion Land." His purchase here apparently amounted to sixty acres of land, as this amount is mentioned later in the inven- tory of his property made in connection with his will. The homestead property consisted of eighty acres, and he also owned ten acres of salt marsh and a river lot near Muzzey's Lanc. He and his wife were members of the First Church of West Newbury ( the Second Church of Newbury). He married, November 16, 1696, Eliz- abeth Emery, and they were the parents of the follow- ing children: John, born Oct. 9, 1697; Elizabeth Judith, baptized March 29, 1702; Richard, born March 8, 1704; Stephen, July 9, 1706, died at the age of sixteen years; Mary, Dec. 31, 1708; Hannah, March 2, 1711; Lydia, May 31, 1713; Daniel, mentioned below; Sarah, Oct. 6, 1718; Moses, July 20, 1721, who died before reaching his majority.
(IV) Daniel Kelly, son of John (3) and Elizabeth (Emery) Kelly, was born May 9, 1716, and made his home near the western limit of West Amesbury, now Merrimac, where his death occurred in 1773. He in- herited all his father's lands in this region on condition that he pay certain sums to each of his six sisters. He married, October 30, 1734, Mercy Smith, of Newbury, who survived him, and they were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Elizabeth, born Nov. 25, 1735; Mercy (Mary), born Sept. 10, 1737, died Oct. 17, 1747; Mary, born May 31, 1739, died July 31, 1739; Lydia, born Aug. 15, 1740, died Oct. 20, 1747; Mary, born June 3, 1742, died Oct. 20, 1747; Deborah, born Jan. 4, 1744, died Oct. 29, 1747; Moses, born Sept. 11, 1745, died Oct. 30, 1747; Daniel, born May 18, 1747; Moses, born Oct. 30, 1748; Jacob, born in 1751; Anthony, served in the American Revolution; Micaijah, mentioned below.
(V) Micaijah Kelly, son of Daniel and Mercy (Smith) Kelly, was born May 15, 1761, and died Decem- ber 19, 1844. His birth occurred on his father's prop- erty at West Amesbury, but when only sixteen years of age he left the parental roof and went to Gilmanton, to serve an apprenticeship with his brother, Jacob. It was the year of the outbreak of the Revolution, and the youth, instead of engaging in his brother's service, en- listed in the Continental army as a substitute for the elder man, and served as cook. After a time he re- turned to Gilmanton, but once more enlisted, this time in Captain Lovett's company, Colonel Mooney's regi- ment of volunteers, and although unusually young, took part in the active campaign of this body of troops. He appears to have been a man of very adventuresome dis- position, and after serving in the Continental army he made his way into what was at that time an unbroken wilderness, where he cleared a farm for himself, sup- plementing his agricultural activities by working at his trade. He was twice married, the first time on Novem- ber II, 1784, to Mary, widow of Samuel Gilman, and daughter of David Page, of Epping, N. H. Her death occurred July 6, 1817, and he married (second) in November, 1817, Sarah, widow of Thomas Patten, of Lower Gilmanton. N. H., and a daughter of Gale. She was born in Kingston, N. H., and died March 18, 1841, at the age of eighty-three years. The children of Micaijah Kelly were all born of his first marriage,
and were as follows: Samuel G., born March 27, 1786; Daniel, born May 4, 1787; Sally, born Aug. 6, 1789; John, mentioned below; Mary, born Feb. 7, 1795; Lydia, born May 15, 1799; Unice.
(VI) John (4) Kelly, son of Micaijah and Mary (Page-Gilman) Kelly, was born December 1, 1791. In his youth he had a strong ambition to enter college, and actually prepared himself for such a course, but aban- doned his desire out of respect to his father's wish that he remain on the farm. He taught school for a number of years, and also the art of music. One of his tastes was for the subject of astronomy, which he stud- ied under the well known astronomer, Dudley Leavitt, and was himself a very considerable astronomer. He moved to Wolfborough, N. H., where his death oc- curred, July 15, 1851. He was a Whig in politics, and was affiliated with the Congregational church. He was twice married, the first time to Lydia Ham, a daughter of Deacon Joseph Ham, of Canterbury, N. H., where she was born, December 2, 1792. His second wife was Harriet Guppy, who died in December, 1877. He was by his two marriages the father of a large family of children, as follows: Joseph Ham, mentioned below; Elizabeth Currier, born Feb. 10, 1817, died in 1841; Cyrus Kingsbury, born June 23, 1820, was a practicing physician, married Mary Moore Wight; Mary McClary, born April 23, 1822, died Dec. 3, 1839, at Gilmanton ; Myron Bartlett, born Dec. 13, 1824; John Samuel Gil- man, born in 1827, died July 4, 1845; Thomas Spencer, born in 1829, went West; Nahun Wight, born Feb. 13, 1836 or 1837, married Lavinia Ellen Colby.
( VII) Joseph Ham Kelley, son of John (4) and Lydia (Ham) Kelly, was born May 2, 1815, at Gil- manton, N. H., and spent his childhood and youth in his native place. He was educated in the local public schools, and thereafter taught for a time in the same schools where he had already been a pupil. Leaving his home while still a young man, he went to the city of Boston, where he secured a position as clerk in the post office. He married late in life, and took his wife to Canton, N. Y., where they settled on a small farm. After his wife's death he went to Gilmanton, N. H., married a second time, and died there, January 2, 1870. They were both of a religions nature and ardent church members. Mr. Kelly was very prominent in the club circles of the region, and of a kindly philanthropic nature, giving liberally to church and other movements of this sort. He was a highly honorable and well- respected citizen, and was a member of the Masonic order. In politics he was affiliated with the Republican party, although the exacting duties of his profession and other matters of a like kind did not permit him to do SO. He married, December 7, 1856, Samantha Laura Westcott, of Canton, N. Y., and they were the parents of the following children: Arthur Livingston, men- tioned below; Edward Beecher ; Oliver Wendell Holmes, born Nov. 19, 1862, died June 5, 1866; Franklin Lee, born May 18, 1868, died July 8, 1868.
(VIII) Arthur Livingston Kelley, son of Joseph Ham and Samantha Laura ( Westcott) Kelley, was born April 17, 1858, at Canton, N. Y. He attended school for a time in his native town, and was then sent to the high school at Lawrence, Mass. Still later he attended Phil- lips Academy at Andover, Mass., from which he was
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graduated with the class of 1876. Upon completing his studies at the last named institution he began at once the long and successful business career which led him to so high a position in the regard of the community, and secured a position in the employ of the firm of Sted- man, Fuller & Company, manufacturers of card cloth- ing at Lawrence, Mass. He continued with this con- cern until the year 1889, when, in association with his father-in-law, George A. Fuller, he established the Mechanical Fabric Company of Providence, R. I. Mr. Fuller was president of this concern, and Mr. Kelley treasurer and general manager, positions which he held until 1899 when, upon the death of Mr. Fuller, he was made president to succeed him. Since that time he has held the double office of president and general manager of a concern which under his capable management has grown to very large proportions and become one of the most important of its kind in the region. His interests have not been confined, however, to the one company, and he became affiliated with a large number of import- ant financial and industrial concerns, being a director of the United States Rubber Company, president for seven years of the Narragansett Electric Lighting Company, vice-president of the Industrial Trust Company of Prov- idence, director of the Merchants' National Bank of Providence, and a director in several insurance com- panies of Rhode Island. Mr. Kelley was an active Free Mason, and a member of Phoenician Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Lawrence, Mass. He was also prominent in club life, and was a member of the Hope Club, the Agawam Club, and of the Squantum Association. Among other organizations with which he was affiliated should be mentioned the Rhode Island Society, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Rhode Island Historical Society. In his religious belief Mr. Kelley was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and attended Grace Church, Providence. He was active in the interests of his parish, and was a junior warden there for some time.
On October 17, 1878, Mr. Kelley was united in mar- riage with Lotta Persis Fuller, of Lawrence, Mass., and a daughter of George Alonzo and Martha (Scott) Ful- ler, old and highly regarded residents of that place and later of Providence, R. I. To Mr. and Mrs. Kelley the following children were born: Hope Fuller, born March 16, 1886, died Jan. 23, 1887; Arthur Livingston, Jr., mentioned below; George Fuller, born June 13, 1891, now lives in Oregon, married, May 4, 1912, Frances Alma Johnston, and they are the parents of two child- ren : Barbara Warren, born April 10, 1913, and George Fuller, Jr., born Dec. 22, 1915.
(IX) Arthur Livingston (2) Kelley, son of Arthur Livingston (1) and Lotta Persis (Fuller) Kelley, was born June 14, 1888, at Providence, R. I. He attended with his brother the private schools of that city and then St. George's School at Newport, R. I., where he was prepared for college. He then matriculated at Williams College, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1910. Upon completing his studies he be- came associated with his father in the latter's great business, and upon the death of his uncle, Edward Beecher Kelley, was elected treasurer of the Mechan- ical Fabric Company, an office which he is holding at the present time. Mr. Kelley is a Republican in politics,
and a member of the Episcopal church. He is active in social and club life, and is a member of the Agawam Hunt Club. Mr. Kelley is now (1918) at Camp Humph- rey, a member of the Second Regiment of Engineers.
Mr. Kelley married, May 18, 1911, Olive Douglas Maltby, born May 18, 1886, a daughter of Julius and Harriet (Fowler) Maltby. Mr. and Mrs. Kelley are the parents of three children: Jean Maltby, born Aug. 3, 1912; Doris, born Dec. 11, 1914; Harriet, born July 4, 1916.
Lotta Persis (Fuller) Kelley was a daughter of George Alonzo Fuller, who was during his life a most successful business man, and the senior partner of her late husband, Arthur Livingston Kelley. Mr. Fuller began life as a hand in a factory, and it was owing entirely to his own remarkable determination and in- dustry that he eventually reached the position which he gained in the life of the community. He was a descend- ant of the old Fuller family of Rehoboth, Mass., which was founded there by one Robert Fuller, who sailed from Southampton, England, in the year 1638, in the good ship "Bevis," and settled first at Salem, Mass., and later at Rehoboth, where he was one of the original proprietors.
George Alonzo Fuller was a son of Rufus Fuller, who resided at Leicester, Mass., and of Charlotte (Warren) Fuller, his wife. He was himself born at Leicester, Mass., November 27, 1827, and spent his early life on his father's farm. His educational advantages were decidedly meager, and during the time he was attending school he also worked in his spare moments on his father's farm. He was still little more than a lad when he abandoned his studies, however, for the purpose of learning the trade of card setting, which was the principal business of Leicester. After learning this trade he went to Pennsylvania and was employed for a time at Lancaster in that State, and later in the city of Philadelphia. Here he formed a close and in- timate friendship with the late George W. Child, the noted philanthropist, who was his room-mate and con- stant companion. Mr. Fuller remained in Philadelphia until the year 1852, and then returned to his native place, where he made his home for two years. In 1854, however, he went to Lawrence, Mass., which was at that time undergoing a very rapid industrial development. Here for three years he was employed at his trade of card setting, but in 1857 found by dint of hard work and the strictest kind of economy that he was in a posi- tion to engage in business on his own account. Accord- ingly, he became associated with Samuel M. Stedman in the manufacture of card clothing, under the firm name of Stedman & Fuller, and this firm rapidly in- creased in size and importance. In 1885 it was incor- porated under the name of the Stedman & Fuller Manu- facturing Company, and the business was removed to Providence, R. I. In 1890 the large business was sold to the American Card Clothing Company of Worcester, but Mr. Fuller remained associated with the new com- pany as a director and the manager of a Providence branch. On the death of the late Joseph Murdock, of Leicester, Mr. Fuller was elected president of the Amer- ican Card Clothing Company and this position he held until the time of his death. In the year 1890 he organ- ized, in connection with Mr. Kelley, the Mechanical
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Fabric Company, and was president of that important concern until the time of his death, when he was suc- ceeded by his son-in-law. He was also vice-president of the Narragansett Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and was generally prominent in financial and industrial circles in that part of the world. While a resident of Lawrence, Mass., Mr. Fuller had taken a decidedly active part in local politics and held a number of public offices there. He was a Congregationalist in religious belief, and upon coming to Providence united with the Union Congregational Church of that city, and was a deacon thereof for a number of years previous to his death. He was a man of very strong religious feel- ings, and was unusually active in promoting the cause of his church in the community. He was a member of the Hope Squantum and Providence Athletic clubs.
Mr. Fuller was married, at Leicester, Mass., in 1854, to Martha Scott, a daughter of William H. and Persis (Earle) Scott, of that town. Mrs. Fuller died Decem- ber 25, 1889, in her sixty-second year. To Mr. and Mrs. Fuller one child was born, Lotta Persis, who, as has already been mentioned, became the wife of Arthur Livingston Kelley.
GEORGE FRANCIS O'SHAUNESSY-Repre- sentative in Congress from Rhode Island in the Sixty- second, Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, and Sixty-fifth Con- gresses, Mr. O'Shaunessy returned to private life, March 4, 1919, and to his practice as senior member of the law firm of O'Shaunessy, Gainer & Carr, of Provi- dence, R. I. Mr. O'Shaunessy came to Rhode Island after a busy and useful career in his profession in New York City and State and from participation in political activity in Brooklyn and New York. And in Providence, his home and the scene of his professional practice since 1907, he holds equally honorable and important place, having rendered to his city and the State of his adoption public service of value and devotion. Mr. O'Shaunessy is a son of Stephen and Margaret (Flynn) O'Shaunessy, and was born in Galway, Ireland, May I, 1868, being brought to the United States by his parents when a child of four years of age.
From 1875 to 1881 he attended St. Theresa's Paro- chial School, and the De La Salle Institute of New York City from 1881 to 1884. The funds for his schooling he himself provided by work during vacations as messenger and errand boy, and later, when his ambi- tion for the law impelled him to enroll in the law department of Columbia University, he worked as a night clerk in the New York post office, attending the lectures by day. He was graduated Bachelor of Laws, in the class of 1889. In the same year he passed his examinations for the New York bar and until 1907 he was identified with the legal profession of New York City. The ambition and determination that held him to his chosen course in the face of such obstacles as confronted him when he was working night and day to prepare himself for his life work have sustained him in his public service and his private work, and during a public and political career, long and active, he has stood faithfully and unswervingly for high standards and ideals. Mr. O'Shaunessy has been a lifelong Dem- ocrat, a firm believer in the principles of his party and a loyal supporter of its welfare. When a young man
in Brooklyn he was a member of the group formed by Edward M. Shepard, the noted student and leader of reform, known as the Shepard Democracy, and in the deliberations and activities of this organization he took an interested part. In 1893 he worked in support of the Citizens Union ticket, a fusion of Democrats and Republicans, headed by Charles A. Shieren, who was elected mayor of Brooklyn, and William J. Gaynor, afterward mayor of New York City, being a candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court.
His legal work during the time had been successfully pursued, and after moving from Brooklyn to New York City in 1898 he continued active in his profession and in political matters. Throughout his entire life Mr. O'Shaunessy has never avoided conflict with the ruling clique in party policy if he felt that the needs of the district, city or State, could be best met in other man- ner, and in New York his record is no exception to this rule. As a young lawyer he gained a notable decision over Richard Croker, Tammany leader, in the Court of Appeals, in a case involving the election of laws governi- ing the contest for State Senator from the Twenty-first Senatorial District, and subsequently as attorney for Perry Belmont, congressional candidate, he was again successful in a similar case. In these cases Mr. O'Shau- nessy helped materially to purify politics and break the power of the boss.
In 1904 Mr. O'Shaunessy became deputy attorney- general of the State of New York, filling that respon- sible position throughout the following year, and dur- ing 1906 he was assistant corporation counsel of New York City. His New York residence and public serv- ice was terminated by his removal to Providence, R. I., in 1907, and in Providence he became associated with Messrs. Gainer and Carr, his present partners in legal practice. He became the candidate for alderman from the Ninth Ward in 1908, but was defeated, and in the following year he was elected to the Legislature of the State, one of the nine Democrats holding seats in that body. During his membership in the Legislature he participated in much important work, among his activ- ities the sponsering of the bill making Columbus Day a legal holiday in Rhode Island, and before the expira- tion of his term he became the Democratic candidate for Congress from the First Congressional District. In the elections of November, 1910, he received a plurality of seventeen hundred and fifty-one, taking his seat at the opening of the Sixty-second Congress, and was reelected successively for three terms by pluralities of thirty-five hundred, nine hundred, and twenty-nine hundred. The latter part of his term of service included that most trying period of the United States participation in the great war and the critical period immediately preceding the American entrance, and during that time, which so intensely magnified the weakness or strength of men in public life, he was an advocate of the staunchest Amer- icanism and stood with the most loyal patriotism in support of the administration. During the Sixty-fifth Congress he served as a member of the committee of ways and means, and in that capacity, as in all others of his public career, he gave his important duties the best of his time and effort. The needs of his con- stituency have never been neglected by him and he has secured governmental interest in numerous projects of
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benefit to his State, in connection with coast and river vork, public buildings, and service training stations. He has been a constant friend of the naval stations in Narragansett bay, and the port of Providence has ben- fited by his active interest. Mr. O'Shaunessy, having been at one time a post office clerk under civil service rules and regulations, has ever been concerned with this ranch, finding time to champion the cause of those employed under civil service direction and working with intelligently applied zeal in their behalf. His public career is an open book of capable and disinterested service, service that has gained him the confidence of his colleagues and the approval of the constituency whose servant he was. Mr. O'Shaunessy has resumed his private practice as senior member of the firm of O'Shaunessy, Gainer & Carr, of Providence, having been the unsuccessful opponent of Senator Le Baron Colt for the office of United States Senator in 1918.
He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, a communicant of St. John's congregation, Providence, and he belongs to the University Club of Washington, D. C., the Columbus Club, the Pen and Pencil Club, the Metacomet Golf Club, and the Catholic Club, of Providence. For twenty-five years past Mr. O'Shaun- essy has been an active member of the Royal Arcanum, which honored him in the State of Rhode Island by electing him grand regent.
Mr. O'Shaunessy married, June 24, 1902, Julien M. Kiely, of Providence. Their residence is at No. 215 Broadway, Providence.
RATHBONE GARDNER-In recent years the In- dependent in politics has become respectable, but this was not always true. Perhaps party independence is yet frowned upon in Rhode Island, but it was heresy and worse when Rathbone Gardner, of Providence, dared to announce that he should support Republican candidates for president, but that in State and local affairs he was a law unto himself and should support the men whom he found worthy, no matter in which party he found them. It took courage to antagonize the Republican machine in Rhode Island, but one of Mr. Gardner's friends says of him:
His most striking characteristic is courage. When he is convinced that a certain course is right, no amount of disapproval or dissent can shake him, and he is outspoken in its advocacy, however influential or numerous his opponents.
So he has declined nominations from one party to accept from another, and has been the nominee of all parties. He has absolutely refused machine or organ- ization dictation, and acts solely from conviction. A skilfull and resourceful lawyer, conscientiously ethical and upright, he scorns subterfuge, and wins or loses his legal contests on the merits of his case, and his own ability to properly prepare and present it. His life has been given to his profession, to the public service and to philanthropy, and he has wonderfully aided the causes he has espoused. Mr. Gardner is a descendant of John Gardner, who came from England to Rhode Island, and died at Kingstown, in 1679.
A descendant of the seventh generation, Henry W. Gardner, born at Killingly, R. I., September 17, 1821, died at Providence, R. I., April 4, 1888. He was brought
to Providence by his parents when a lad, educated in Friends' School, and became president of the Provi- dence Steam Engine Company, also having other very important business associations. He served in both branches of Common Council, as member of the State Legislature, and from 1880-1887 was postmaster of Providence. He married, September 8, 1846, Mary B. Rathbone, born July 24, 1823, died May 28, 1892, daug- ter of Stephen Kilton Rathbone, cashier of the Amer- ican Bank from its incorporation in 1833 until 1856.
Rathbone Gardner, eldest son of Henry W. and Mary B. (Rathbone) Gardner, was born in Providence, R. I., February 18. 1856. From private city schools he ad- vanced to Mowry & Goff's Classical School, completing his preparatory education with the graduating class of 1873. He at once entered Brown University, whence he was graduated A. B., class of 1877, and A. M. in course of time, class of 1880. After graduation, in 1877, he began the study of law with Browne & Van Slyck, of Providence, and a year later entered Boston Univer- sity Law School, where he spent one year. The same year (1879) he was admitted to the Rhode Island bar, and locating in the Vaugh building, Providence, began the practice of his profession, continuing until 1889, when he was appointed by President Harrison, United States District Attorney for Rhode Island, an office he ahly filled four years. In 1893 the law firm, Comstock & Gardner, was formed, this firm continuing until 1905. The same year he became associated with James A. Pirce and William H. Thornley, with offices as at pres- ent in the Turk's Head building. Later William W. Moss was admitted to the firm. The company practices in all State and Federal courts, and are leaders of the Rhode Island bar.
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