The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 82

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 82

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(III) John (3) Watson, son of John (2) Watson, was born March 13, 1709, and died April 26, 1791. On June 2, 1736, he married Isabel Sherman, daughter of Job and Bridget (Gardiner) Sherman, who died May 22, 1753. He and his wife were members of the Society of Friends and were censured for allowing a daughter to marry out of the Society. Thomas Hazard preached his funeral sermon from the text, "The Grace of God has appeared to all mankind." They were the parents of: John, born May 23, 1737, married Oct. II, 1764, Desire Wheeler, daughter of Thomas and Mercy (Wil- liams) Wheeler, of Stonington, Conn .; Hannah, born in Sept., 1738, died Feb. 14, 1757; Bridget, born Dec. 14, 1741, married Abijah Babcock; Elisha, of whom further ; Isabel, born May 7, 1753, married Peleg Gard- iner, and died in 1785; Walter, born May 7, 1753, mar- ried Abigail Hazard.

(IV) Elisha Watson, son of John (3) Watson, was born August 5, 1748. His first wife, Miriam Babcock, was a daughter of Daniel and Dorcas (Brown) Bab- cock. In 1784 he married (second) Susannah Perry.

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BIOGRAPHICAL

By his first wife he had children : Mary, born April 6, 775, married John, son of John and Desire Watson; Clisha, born Oct. 1, 1776, married Ann Cole; Joseph, orn Aug. 30, 1778, died Nov. 17, 1855; Asa, born May 4, 1780; George, born March 24, 1782; and William, orn Dec. 26, 1783, married May Cole. The following hildren were born of his second marriage: Freeman Perry, of whom further; Susannah, born March 13, 789, married George, son of John Watson, Jr .; Eliza- eth, born June 13, 1790, married Benjamin Brown; Iiriam, born Oct. 30, 1793, married Stephen Browning. (V) Freeman Perry Watson, son of Elisha and Susannah (Perry) Watson, was born May 16, 1787, married December 13, 1811, Phoebe Watson, daughter of ohn and Phoebe (Weeden) Watson, and their children ere: Job W., born Feb. 9, 1813, died Feb. 7. 1885; Clisha Freeman, of whom further; Freeman P., born Iarch 1, 1819, married (first) Mary Watson, daughter f Daniel and Mary (Congdon) Watson, who died June 2, 1890, and (second) Abby Hull, daughter of Benja- in Hull; and Phoebe W., born in 1825, married, Jan. 5, 1849, Stephen H. Tefft.

(VI) Elisha Freeman Watson, son of Freeman Perry nd Phoebe Watson, was born at what is known as Boston Neck, South Kingston, R. I., March 28, 1814, nd he died at his home, Matunuck Brook Farm, in he same town, January 16, 1900. His early studies were ursued under the instruction of William H. Gaynor, teacher of high repute, and he prepared for college in chools at Amherst, Mass., and Bristol, Pa., teaching chool to pay the expenses of his college course. He en- ered Brown University at Providence in 1837, was raduated therefrom in 1840, and three years later re- eived the degree of Master of Arts from that insti- ution. His life work having been decided upon when oung, he began ministerial studies at the General theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal hurch at New York, and he completed his studies under he Rev. Dr. Francis Vinton, of Newport, R. I. He as ordained to the ministry in August, 1843, and for hree years following was rector of St. Paul's Church, `ower Hill, and St. Matthew's Church, Jamestown, both harges in his native State. Succeeding this and for more than three years, he was rector of Christ's Church t Lonsdale, R. I. From 1851 to 1860 he was not in he regular work of the ministry but was retired to a arm in South Kingston, where his time was given to gricultural pursuits. In 1860 he again took up his ministerial calling and was the rector of a church in tis, Mass., and of one at New Boston, in the same tate. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 the atriotism of Rev. Watson was manifested by his ac- eptance of the appointment made by Governor Andrew s chaplain of the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteer nfantry, which became a part of the Army of the Potomac, and for more than three years, with an ab- ence from his regiment of only two weeks, he shared he fortunes of war. Subsequently he was a volunteer haplain in the Seventh Rhode Island Volunteer In- antry, returning home from the front in the fall of 864.

In the early days Rev. Watson affiliated with the Vhig party, but when the Republican party was organ- zed he became one of its staunch supporters. During

the campaign of 1856 he spoke all over Massachusetts and Rhode Island in support of Fremont and Dayton. The reading of Clarkson's "Abolition of the British Slave Trade" strongly impressed him with the evils of slavery, and he became one of the early ardent aboli- tionists. He was identified with the first temperance movement of the town, becoming a member of the so- ciety organized there in 1834, and his motto was, "From the cradle to the coffin a temperance man." He inter- ested himself in public questions and was thoroughly informed, although his service in public office was con- fined to a term of several years as superintendent of schools in South Kingston. Educational matters had always interested him and he was always a close stud- ent, his declining years devoted to linguistic studies, from which he derived much pleasure. Rev. Watson married, January 6, 1843, Mary Dockray, of South Kingston, who died October 5, 1904, daughter of John B. and Mary (Peckham) Dockray. They were the parents of one son, Arthur Hamilton.

(VII) Arthur Hamilton Watson, son of Rev. Elisha Freeman and Mary (Dockray) Watson, was born in Lonsdale, R. I., September 20, 1849, died in Providence, November 16, 1913. After attending the public schools of South Kingston he pursued studies at a private school in Kingston, then entered Brown University, whence he was graduated in 1870 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. In the year following his graduation he began his business career as clerk in the boot and shoe house of Greene, Anthony & Company, of Providence, and his advancement with this concern was so rapid that on January 1, 1873, he was admitted to a partnership. For forty years, until his death, he was the leading factor in this enterprise, which experienced expansion and development that placed it in the position of the largest industry of its kind in Rhode Island. Colonel Watson added many interests, industrial and financial, to this, his main connection, and was vice- president of the Nicholson File Company, vice-president of the Narragansett Electric Lighting Company, and director of the American Screw Company, the Rhode Island Insurance Company, and, for fifteen years pre- ceding its absorption by the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, of the American National Bank. Col- onel Watson was a director of the Globe National Bank and was president of the Commercial Bank from its inception until its absorption by the Union Trust Com- pany. He was a director of the Union Railway Com- pany, retaining that office after the lease of the com- pany to the Rhode Island Company, and was president of the Providence, Fall River, and Newport Steamboat Company. He was for several years vice-president of the Providence Board of Trade and served as vice- president of the Board of Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition from Rhode Island. The suc- cess of his personal enterprises made him much sought for in advisory capacity, and his opinions were ever received with the careful attention paid those whose judgment has been vindicated by the tests of time and whose business record shows nothing but honorable achievement.

Colonel Watson's public service began in 1883, when he was elected to the Common Council from the Second Ward. Through annual reelections he served for ten

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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

years in this branch of the city government, for the last three years of this term as president of the body. In 1892 he was the Republican candidate for the office of mayor, but was defeated by William K. Potter, who was reelected. The following year he became a member of the Board of Aldermen and for three terms filled a place thereon, the last two terms as presiding officer. As a Common Councilman he had been chairman of the special joint committee that investigated the Municipal Court and was also a member of the special committee on the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the founding of the town of Providence. For three years, prior to his retirement from public life, he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Augus- tus O. Bourn, with the rank of Colonel. He devoted himself as energetically to the prosecution of the pub- lic business as he did his own and his activities were productive of wide benefit to his city. His clubs were the Hope, Agawam Hunt, Commercial, and Univer- sity, and he was a popular and highly regarded mem- ber of the community, prominent in all municipal affairs and active in the advancement of the interests of Providence.

Colonel Watson married, February 20, 1873, Annie P. Sprague, daughter of Colonel Byron Sprague, of Providence. Mrs. Watson was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a director of the Society of Colonial Dames, her death occurring Febru- ary 22, 1904. They were the parents of: I. Harriet Sprague, born Jan. 25, 1874; married, Jan. 3, 1899, John Bosworth Lewis, and had children: i. J. Bosworth, Jr., born Jan. 29, 1900. ii. Arthur Hamilton, born May 18, 1904. iii. Dexter Lapham, born Dec. 4, 1907. 2. Byron Sprague, born May 26, 1876; married, Oct. 31, 1899, Isabel Loomis, daughter of Edward A. Loomis, and has children: i. Isabel Loomis, born Dec. 9, 1903. ii. Annie Potter Sprague, born Nov. 30, 1905. iii. Hope, born Dec. 29, 1907. 3. Mary Dockry, born Nov. 20, 1881 ; married April 26, 1905, Mason Freeman Cocroft, and had children: i. Frances Freeman, born Dec. 2, 1906. ii. Mason F., Jr., born March 23, 1910. iii. Arthur W., born July 25, 1914. 4. Annie Hamilton, born Dec. 16, 1887; married, Nov. 3, 1909, Charles Fletcher, and had : Anita W., born April 5, 1911, and Mary Hayes, born Nov. 13, 1914.

LEWIS HERRESHOFF-The name Herreshoff requires no introduction to Americans, to whom it is identified with the highest degree of inventive genius as applied to the building of vessels of all kinds, many of the most famous of both our sailing craft and those whose motive power is steam, having come from the great Herreshoff docks at Bristol, R. I. Among these should be mentioned all of the famous defenders of America's Cup, while it has been mainly due to the impulse given by the genius of the Herreshoffs to modern naval construction that the extraordinary development has occurred in recent years of the speedy power boat.

The paternal line had its origin many years ago in Germany, but the family has resided in this coun- try since Revolutionary times, and during the entire period of their residence here has maintained a re-

markable standard, not only for good citizenship, but for inventive ability and scientific accomplishment. The family traces its descent from Carl Friedrich Herreschhoff, of Prussia, who was one of the guard of Frederick the Great, which it will be remembered was made up of men chosen on account of their great stature. He married Agnes Mühler, a woman of great beauty and highly cultivated, from whom many of the attainments of their descendants have been inherited. Their only child was Charles Frederick, mentioned below.

Carl Friedrich Herreschhoff, Jr., or Charles Fred- erick Herreshoff, as he came to spell his name after- wards, son of Carl Friedrich and Agnes (Mühler) Herreschhoff, was born December 27, 1763, in the town of Minden, Prussia. His mother died when he was but three years of age, and he was entrusted by his father to the care of a friend who resided in the neighborhood of Berlin. The elder Herreshoff him- self went to Italy, and there died not long after. Thus orphaned, the child grew up in the home of his fos- ter parents, where he was brought under the best and most cultivating influences, as his protector was an author and professor of note. A good and char- itable man, he devoted himself to the proper rearing of his deceased friend's child, and when he arrived at an appropriate age, entered him in the Philan- thropin, an educational institution, which had recently been founded at Dessau. Here he remained for some eight years and then, in 1783, emigrated to America. The United States, which had at that time but just shaken itself free of its foreign yoke, offered great opportunities for energetic young men and this Mr Herreshoff very soon proved himself to be. He formed an association with a Mr. Goch, of New York City, and remained in business with him until 1806 Some time preceding this, however, in 1792, Mr Herreshoff was obliged to come to Rhode Island, or his firm's business, and there made the personal ac- quaintance of John Brown, with whom he had already transacted business, a merchant who introduced hin to his family. This introduction finally led to a mar- riage between Mr. Herreshoff and Mr. Brown's daughter, Sarah, and the young couple lived for a time in Westchester, N. Y. It was but a few months however, before they removed to Rhode Island, where they continued permanently to reside, making their home alternately at Providence and Bristol. The years between 1802 and 1812 were spent by him on the old farm, Poppasquash, Bristol, belonging to his father. in-law, with whom he was engaged to a certain exten in business. After the death of Mr. Brown he became greatly interested in a tract of land which had beer purchased by the elder man some years before, and which was known as the Brown tract in Herkimer county, N. Y. Accordingly, Mr. Herreshoff went to that region himself, but he found that his training and tastes were not such as to fit him for the rough and ready life of the frontier. Indeed, the whole trip wa: in a measure a failure and terminated with his death on December 19, 1819. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fred erick Herreshoff the following children were born in Providence: Ann Francis, April 2, 1802, died unmar.

----

C. J. Henneshoff"

Julia A. Herreshoff.

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BIOGRAPHICAL

ried, in Bristol, Sept. 4, 1887; Sarah, born April 27, 1803, died unmarried in Bristol, June 2, 1882; John Brown, born March 27, 1805, a graduate of Brown University in 1825, and died in Bristol, unmarried, June II, 1861 ; Agnes, born July 6, 1807, died in Provi- dence, March 3, 1849, unmarried; Charles Frederick, III., mentioned below; and James Brown, born Dec. 20, 1811, died Jan. 4, 1812.

Mr. Herreshoff was survived for many years by his wife, who was a woman of great culture and unusual attainments. She had been given the best educational advantages by her father, Mr. Brown, and was a very accomplished musician. She played in particular on ·the piano-forte and, indeed, was well known as a most brilliant performer. She was also very much of an astronomer and found great pleasure in the study of this science during the many years in which she was a widow. She was the very model of the best type of the New England gentlewomen who, although delicate of constitution, yet possess an extraordinary degree of strength and who, in the management of their households, display an amount of practical capability which has become proverbial. Her presence is de- scribed as having been austere and she was exact and methodical in all her occupations. She read exten- sively and her literary excursions led her into many various realms. Her husband's circumstances were such that it was unnecessary for her to do much work, and she was enabled to gratify her love of music and literature to the fullest. Her death occurred on Au- gust 2, 1846, at Bristol, R. I.

Mrs. Herreshoff was a member of a very old and distinguished New England family, which had been identified with the history of that region since the earliest Colonial period. It was founded in this coun- try by Chad Brown, who came to Boston on the good ship "Martin" in 1638. He was exiled from Massa- chusetts, where he had settled, on account of his reli- gious beliefs, and became one of the original pro- prietors of the Providence purchase. He was ordained in 1642 the first settled pastor of the Baptist church of Providence. As a clergyman he was only less famous than Roger Williams.

John Brown, father of Mrs. Herreshoff, was the great-great-grandson of this Chad Brown, and was himself a prominent man in the community. He was well known as one of the "Four Brothers" who were associated in business in Providence until the year 1795, and who were well known figures in its his- tory. It was said of John Brown that he was "A man of magnificent projects and extraordinary enter- prise." However this may be, he was certainly a very successful merchant who amassed a large fortune, and a sincere patriot and public spirited man. He took an active part in the Revolution, and though too old to serve as a soldier contributed largely to the cause. He was not, however, too old to take part in many a thrilling enterprise, and he was the leader of the party which destroyed the British armed schooner "Gas- pee" in Narragansett bay in June, 1772. He and his three brothers also took a principal part in the erec- tion of the Hope Furnace at Cranston, where were manufactured the cannon in use by the Continental

army. They were also influential in removing the College of Rhode Island from Warren to Providence, and did much to support that institution. John Brown was one of the largest contributors and for twenty years acted as treasurer of the college.

Nicholas Brown, nephew of the above John Brown, through the whole of his adult life, was a patron of the college, his gratuities amounting to over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; about the year 1803 Nicholas Brown received from the president of the Rhode Island College a request for needed mone- tary aid, which if granted, the name of the college would thereafter be changed to "Brown University" in honor of the donor and the deep and valued inter- est which the Brown family had shown in the promo- tion of learning and in support of the above institu- tion.

Charles Frederick Herreshoff, III., son of Charles Frederick, II., and Sarah (Brown) Herreshoff, was born July 26, 1809, in Providence, and there passed his childhood and early youth. The elementary por- tion of his education was received at the local schools and the Friends' School, now called the Moses Brown School, where he was prepared for college and there- after entered Brown University, from which he grad- uated with the class of 1828. From a very early age, Mr. Herreshoff displayed the keenest interest in all matters concerning the designing and building of boats, and this may be said to have been almost a pas- sion with him. During the summer he was constantly on board a boat, while during the winter he spent every spare moment and particularly his evenings in cutting out with his knife models of vessels and mini- ature craft of all kinds. These little sailing vessels he rigged and ballasted until they were the perfect counterparts of their larger model. As he grew older, he began to experiment with new forms and devices and thus gradually laid the foundation of his great knowledge of his art. This knowledge, as will be seen, was based on his personal experience, and his ability to know whether or not any model would be successful came in the course of time to be practically intuitive, so that to others less versed than he it seemed well nigh miraculous. His small toy vessels gradually gave place to larger craft, which could be actually used, and of these he made an enormous number with his own hands. With a devotion which was not always convenient for those about him, he named all of his boats Julia, which was his wife's name, until there was such a fleet of Julias, that even the members of his own family could not tell them apart. He was noted as one of the best sailors in Narragansett bay, and was, in spite of his retiring dis- position, a very well known figure in the community. A number of years were spent by him in improving a piece of property which had been bought by his grandfather, John Brown, 1781, near the town of Bris- tol, and which was called Point Pleasant Farm, on Poppasquash. Here he established his home and here resided until 1856. Though a man of strong char- acter and powerful convictions, which in politics were enlisted on the side of the Republican party, he had a strong distaste for public life of any kind and con-

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sistenily avoided making himself conspicuous. It was in 1856 that he first came to the town of Bristol to live and here he and his family remained permanently. He was associated for a time with the Herreshoff Company, and during the first five or six years of its existence, designed a number of its successful craft. His death occurred in that town, September 8, 1888. He was survived by his wife until the year 1901, when she died on February 19, at the venerable age of cighty-nine years. She was a lady of refined tastes, honored and beloved by all who knew her.

Charles Frederick Herreshoff was married on May 15, 1333, to Julia Ann Lewis, who was born March 20, ISII, a daughter of Captain Joseph Warren and Ann (Lane) Lewis, of Boston. A large part of the love and ability for naval architecture was derived from the Lewis side of the family. Captain Joseph Lewis for years commanded the largest vessels which plied between Boston and England and which made the quickest voyages. Mr. and Mrs. Herreshoff were the parents of nine children, as follows: I. James Brown, mentioned below. 2. Caroline Louisa, men- tioned below. 3. Charles Frederick, mentioned below. 4. John Brown, mentioned below. 5. Lewis, born Feb. 3, 1844. 6. Sally Brown, born Dec. 1, 1845, died Feb. 19, 1917; Sally Brown Herreshoff was a woman of distinguished lineage, both on the paternal and maternal side; a woman of gentle manners, but with force of character, combined with courtesy and upright intellect; she lived a quiet but useful life, actively interested in the Home for Aged Women, and the Children's Home, being a judicious member of each board of managers, also one of the most valued mem- bers of Trinity Episcopal Church; in her early girl- hood she lost her sight, but the affliction only served to develop her beautiful character and sunny nature; she was conversant with all the types for the blind in reading and writing, and her musical ability was most remarkable, her memory being so retentive that she executed with great skill some of the most difficult compositions of noted composers; her artistic in- stincts were strong, and her clever fingers fashioned many pieces of handiwork; she sleeps among her kin- dred of many generations, tried by a sorrow that falls to but few, her faith never faltered, her trust in the love of "that Almighty Father, who can make no mis- takes," was supreme. 7. Nathaniel Greene, men- tioned below. 8. John Brown Francis, mentioned below. 9. Julian Lewis, mentioned below.

James Brown Herreshoff, oldest child of Charles Frederick and Julia Ann (Lewis) Herreshoff, was born March 18, 1834, at Point Pleasant Farm, Bristol, R. I. He was educated at the schools of Bristol and Providence, and later at Brown University, where he took a special scientific course and devoted most of his attention to chemistry. He was graduated from Brown University in 1855, and shortly thereafter secured a position with the Rumford Chemical Com- pany at Rumford, R. I., and remained with that concern as manufacturing chemist for ten years. Mr. Herreshoff retired from business in 1870, and devoted his attention to perfecting a number of devices which he had in his mind and desired to experiment upon.

In this manner he introduced several great improve- ments in the mechanical equipment of that time, but undoubtedly his greatest achievement was his inven- tion of the "coil boiler," which became useful and famous as one of the first steps toward a new form of marine boiler now in frequent use in torpedo boats and where a maximum of power and minimum of weight are required.

James Brown Herreshoff was married on May 14, 1875, to Jane Brown, a daughter of William and Mar- garet Jane (Morrow) Brown, of Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. Herreshoff the following children were born: I. Jane B., July 13, 1876, in Brooklyn, N. Y .; her education was begun in France and continued in Eng- land, Bristol, R. I., and Coronado, Cal .; later she applied herself to the science of music and study of piano; she graduated from the Institute of Musical Art of the City of New York, and afterward pur- sued her studies under the eminent Polish artist, Sigismund Stojowski, and is now a prominent teacher of harmony and piano in New York City. 2. James B., born March 18, 1878, in London, England; attended the schools of Bristol from 1883 to 1893, and then went to Coronado, Cal., where he completed his preparatory studies; he then matriculated at the Uni- versity of California, at Berkeley, in that State, and was graduated there with the class of 1900. Here he took courses in chemistry, metallurgy, and electricity, and perfected himself in these subjects during the four regular years and one year of post-graduate work; his object in studying these particular branches was to fit himself for a position with the Nichols Cop- per Company of New York City, under his uncle, John Brown Francis Herreshoff; he has since that time shown a remarkable inventive ability, and has introduced a great number of improvements into the ! mechanical operations of the company which employs him ; in 1915 he severed his connection with the Nichols Copper Company and established a new company, the Domestic Chemical Corporation, of Brooklyn, N. Y., of which he is president; he married, January 11, 1906, Constance S. Mills, of San Diego, Cal .; children born to them: Constance Wald, Feb. 11, 1907; James Brown, Jan. 5, 1909; Margaret, March 21, 1910; Jean Halsey, Nov. 5, 1911; Karl Frederic, Aug. 20, 1913. 3. Charles Frederick, born May 28, 1880, at Nice, France; spent his childhood at Bristol, where from 1883 to 1893 he attended the local public schools; like his older brother, he then went to Coronado, Cal., but did not remain to pursue his studies at the university there; on the contrary, he returned to the East and studied the subject of designing at Bristol for a time and later went to Baltimore, where he was employed by the Maryland Steel Company; from there jour- neyed to Glasgow, Scotland, where he entered the famous university and took a special course in naval architecture; in the year 1902 he returned to America and lived for a time in New York City, but afterward took up his abode at Bridgeport, Conn .; he was en- gaged in designing motor boats and high speed gaso- line engines, in which he displayed the characteristic skill of the family. While taking his university course in Glasgow, he designed a racing sloop which beat all

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 82

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