The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 99

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 99

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(VII) John Davis, son of Daniel (3) and Anna (Bullock) Davis, was born in Rehoboth, January 28 1795, and died there May 20, 1861. John Davis was a man of more than ordinary energy, intelligence and industry, and through a life of many vicissitudes kep the paternal homestead intact, adding to it from time to time, and eventually taking rank as one of the fore most farmers of the countryside. An especial char acteristic of the man was the tenacity with which he clung to old methods and habits, and to the tradition: of the past. Nevertheless he was progressive and broad-minded in religious and political views, kind hearted and neighborly in thought and habit, successfu in business, and an excellent type of the "old Nev England" citizenship. From 1840 to 1860 he was almost constantly in office in his town, holding in turn almos every position of trust and responsibility in the gif of his fellow townsmen. He was often deputed to lool after the interests of Rehoboth before committees o the General Assembly, and had charge of its cases in litigation before the judicial courts. He was appointed a commissioner with Colonel Worcester Carpenter and Dr. Johnson Gardner, of Seekonk, to sell the last o the town's commons or public lands, and with then closed up the real estate interests of the old town o Rehoboth on the identical spot where their ancestor had settled more than two centuries before. Hi services were often sought as executor and adminis trator in the settlement of estates in probate. H traveled extensively in America. The winters of 1838 1839 and 1841-42 he spent in New Orleans, La., an Tallahassee, Fla., making the first journey by sea of account of his health, and the second to settle th estate of his brother, D. M. Davis.

John Davis married (first) October 11, 1818. Nanc. Peck. daughter of Ambrose and Polly (Lyndon) Peck who was born in Swansea, August 27, 1791, and died i: Rehoboth, November 14, 1823, the mother of tw daughters. Mr. Davis married (second) January If 1825, Nancy Davis, daughter of William and Mar (Peck) Davis, born in Rehoboth, July 20, 1795, and died there February 12, 1878. They were the parent of four distinguished sons: Hon. John W., mentione. below; Hon. Elisha, Daniel Nelson, and Darius Bul lock. Their daughter Patience is mentioned below.

(VIII ) Hon. John W. Davis, son of John and Nanc (Davis) Davis, twice governor of Rhode Island, an for many years a substantial business man of Provi dence, was during his busy career as merchant an political leader one of the best known men in this State if not in New England. His name stands high on th roll of those who have given their services to the people without thought of personal gain. As a public man hi course was unique. Politics did not appeal to him unt- the demand of his fellow citizens for a respected leade and a strong guiding hand made his duty apparen'

391

BIOGRAPHICAL

Then he applied himself to public duties with the strength of judgment and high principle which had characterized his business life, and for about fifteen years was a power in the Democratic party. That per- sonal ambition had no part in his activity was clearly shown when he voluntarily withdrew from public life at the height of his fame, at a time when higher honors would have been easily attained.

John W. Davis was born March 7, 1826, in Rehoboth, and passed his early life there. He was educated in local schools, and afterwards learned the trade of mason. He also studied civil engineering. For several years he was engaged as a journeyman at his trade, working in the cities of the North and South, and in 1850 settled down to business life in Providence, where he became a grain dealer. He was in partnership with his brother, and continued in active business for a period of forty years, until 1890, during the greater part of that time on Dyer street.

Mr. Davis took no special part in politics of public affairs until the year 1882, when he was elected a mem- ber of the Town Council, of which he became president upon its organization. In 1885 he was again elected to the Council and again became its president, during that term rendering special service which his irre- proachable character and politic manner made possible. The Town Council was then an important factor in general political affairs as well as in local interests, and Mr. Davis was successful in handling some sharp trickery in which that body had become involved. In 1885 he was also elected to the State Senate, in which he served a year. In 1886 he was appointed appraiser for Providence by President Cleveland, and in 1887 he became a candidate for governor. The Democrats felt it necessary to nominate a man who was free enough from factional spirit to hold the party together, as they were particularly anxious to prevent the reelection of Governor Wetmore and deal a much needed rebuke to the perpetrators of the "May deal." Mr. Davis was entirely familiar with the requisites for a successful candidate, from a personal standpoint, and he fought a winning battle, being elected by a majority of over a thousand votes, though the candidates for lieutenant- governor and secretary of state were chosen by the General Assembly and not by popular vote. In 1888 Mr. Davis was again the nominee of his party, but was defeated by Hon. Royal C. Taft, of Providence. In 1889 he was again nominated and received a plurality, but could not claim the office, and when he ran again, in 1890, he did not receive a majority of the popular wote, but was elected by the General Assembly. Again in 1891 he received the nomination and a plurality, but lost his seat because of the Republican majority in joint convention. In 1892 Mr. Davis was elected State senator from Pawtucket, and in 1896 became mayor of the city, his term in that office terminating his political career.

At the time of his death the Pawtucket "Gazette" referred to Mr. Davis' public career in the most flat- tering terms, and closed its editorial article with the following tribute: "As an official Mr. Davis was always highly respected. He was of exemplary character and his private and political life was entirely consistent. He

was not a fluent debater or speaker, but he was pos- sessed of common sense views of his duty and the functions of the State, and he voiced these wherever he was called upon to make himself heard or felt. He was a handsome man, and his State house portrait singles him out in that quality beyond the other gov- ernors of his time."

After retiring from the mayoralty of Pawtucket, Mr. Davis lived retired until his death, which occurred January 25, 1907, and he was laid to rest in River Side Cemetery, the funcral services being marked by many evidences of the high esteem in which the former gov- ernor was held, both within and without his own com- munity.

The Pawtucket "Chronicle" expressed the general opinion in its editorial :

The death of Hon. John W. Davis, a former gover- nor of the State and a former mayor of this city, oc- curring, as it did, just as the last issue of the "Chron- icle" was put to press, impressed the whole people with the common feeling that one of the best men of the city and State had been called home.

It is not too much to say that the death of no other citizen of Rhode Island could have more keenly touched the heart strings than has the passing of "Honest John." This cognomen was applied to him when in life by those who advanced him for political honors, and never were words more fitly directed. He was the soul of honor, and there was not any excep- tion to his integrity in the acts that he was called to perform during the years he was in public life. He was not one of that too common class who affect to believe that all means are fair in politics, for with him political acts were under the same restriction as any other act that has to do with one's fellow man. In all that was upright, noble, good, and for the bet- terment of the people, "Honest John" was a true exemplar. He was noble, yet humble; a ruler in every sense of the term, yet at no times autocratic in the authority vested in him. As governor and mayor, and in every office he held as the gift of his consti- tuents he was the faithful. brave-hearted American citizen, true to what was right as the needle is to the pole.

His was an honored name, and his own acts made it so. He was held in the highest affection and esteem by the people of the State. who never paused to ask as to his politics. In him they recognized one to trust, one to love, one whose words were as good as law, and whenever he advocated any measure it required few additional champions to convince one of its merit. His long and admirable life was one that has told for the good of his State and the community, and it will live as long as the memory of one so noble and praise- worthy as he shall be cherished. As neighbor, friend and public official. John W. Davis met all the require- ments of one who lives in accord with the best that a noble nature and honesty of purpose can provide.

On September 18, 1855, Mr. Davis married (first) Lydia Wilbur Kenyon, who was born in Hopkinton, R. I., October 20, 1825, daughter of John T. and Sarah S. Kenyon, of North Providence, R. I. Mrs. Davis died in North Providence, April 29, 1859, the mother of a daughter, Annie Elma, who was born in Providence, July 7, 1857, and died in North Providence, September 13. 1857. On December 10, 1862, Mr. Davis married (second) Emily Potter Goff, who was born March 8, 1828, daughter of Sylvanus and Ann (Davis) Goff, of Providence, and died in Pawtucket, July 11, 1885. They were the parents of the following children: Frank Ellsbree, Annie Elizabeth, Mary Emily. Mr. Davis married (third) February 18, 1895, Marietta P. Pearce, who was born July 12, 1844, in New York City, daugh- ter of Alfred W. and Marietta (Williams) Pearce, and died in Charleston, S. C., May 10, 1902.

(VIII) Patience Davis, daughter of John and

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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

Nancy (Davis) Davis, and sister of the late Hon. John W. Davis, governor of Rhode Island, was born in Rehoboth, Mass., June 30, 1827, and died there March 8, 1879. She became the wife of Albert G. Peck, of Rehoboth, on October 12, 1857, and was the mother of the late Jolin Davis Peck, of Providence. (See Peck VII and VIII).

JOSEPH DAVOL, late founder and head of the Davol Rubber Company, a figure of prominence in the history of the rubber industry in New England in the latter part of the last century, died in Providence, July 5. 1909. He was succeeded in the management of the large Davol interests by his son, Charles J. Davol, present head of the firm and a leader in business and financial circles in Rhode Island. The family is of ancient date, and traces from William Davol. who settled in New England in 1640. The name is French in origin, and had its source in the village or district of France termed "Deyville."

(I) William Davol, the American ancestor, is first of record in Duxbury, Mass., in 1640. In 1643 he removed to Braintree, and two years later appears in Rehoboth, where he was active in official affairs. On May 17, 1653, he was made a freeman of Newport, and subsequently purchased land there. He died in New- port after 1680.

(II) Jonathan Davol, son of William (1) Davol, was one of the forty-eight original grantees of the tract of five thousand acres which later became East Greenwich, He never settled there, however, but resided in New- port, and in Dartmouth, Mass., in which latter town he died after 1709. He married Hannah Adley.

(III) William (2) Davol, son of Jonathan and Han- nah (Adley) Davol, was a resident of Dartmouth, Mass., where he died in 1772. He married Sarah Sis- son, daughter of James and Lydia (Hathaway) Sisson, who was a lineal descendant of Richard Warren and Francis Cooke of the "Mayflower."

(IV) William (3) Davol, son of William (2) and Sarah (Sisson) Davol, was born in Dartmouth, Mass., September 18, 1716. He married, March 6, 1737 or 1738, Abigail Hix.

(V) Pardon Davol, son of William (3) and Abigail (Hix) Davol, was born in Dartmouth, Mass., March 5, 1743. He settled in Freetown. His home there. ac- cording to contemporary records, was "the gambrel roofed house" near the North Cemetery on the North Main road. Here he died on November 22, 1808. He figured actively in the life of Fall River in his day. Pardon Davol married, in 1768, Priscilla Read, who was born November 21, 1746, and died January 13, 1830, the daughter of Samuel and Mercy (Sawyer) Read.

(VI) Stephen Davol, son of Pardon and Priscilla (Read) Davol, was born in Freetown, Mass., January 29, 1782. He married, October 20, 1803, Polly Bowen, daughter of Jeremiah and Lillis (Haile) Bowen, of Warren. She was born April 3, 1784, and died July 3, 1823. Stephen Davol died October 17, 1848.

(VII) Joseph Bowen Davol, son of Stephen and Polly ( Bowen) Davol, was born in Warren, R. I., September 5, 1804. He married there, March 23, 1828, Mary

Little Sanders, who was born October 2, 1807, daughter of Daniel and Polly (Barton) Sanders.

(VIII) Joseph Davol, son of Joseph Bowen and Mary Little (Sanders) Davol, was born in Warren, R. I., in 1837. He was educated in the schools of Warren, and later attended high school in Brooklyn, N. Y., to which city his parents removed during his boyhood. At the age of sixteen years he entered the employ of a wholesale dry goods house in New York City. Hav- ing shown a decided business talent, he was succes- sively promoted, and shortly prior to his return to Providence held a position of importance with the firm. Soon after, he removed with his family to Provi- dence. Here he became interested in the rubber in- dustry, foreseeing the great possibilities of the busi- ness, then in the early stages of development. For some years he devoted much time to experimenting and succeeded in evolving many successful formulas. In IS70 he deemed the time ripe for the beginning of his venture, and having patented and copyrighted his in- ventions, he began the manufacture of rubber goods on a small scale, not far from the site of the present great plant. The enterprise was a success from the very outset, and grew rapidly, keeping pace with the ever increasing demand for rubber products. Joseph Davol forcsaw early the great field which was opened by the drug trade, and the needs of the surgical and dental professions, and limited the product of the firm largely to this line in the early days. He later began the man- ufacture of stationers' articles and other allied lines. He was the pioneer in a field hitherto exclusively con- trolled by foreign manufacturers, but within a short period, through the uniform excellence and impeccable quality of his products, successfully met foreign com- petition, and placed the product of the Davol Rubber Company at the head of the industry. The name is now known in every part of the civilized world.

In 1881 the business was incorporated under the name of the Davol Rubber Company, with Joseph Davol as president, treasurer and general manager. He remained the active head of the organization until his death, dic- tating its policies, and laying the foundations for still greater expansion after his demise. He was also an active factor in numerous commercial and financial enterprises, and was a director in the Industrial Trust, Company and the Phoenix National Bank of Provi -. dence. He was a member of several of the leadingy clubs of the city. id

In 1862 Mr. Davol married Mary E. Turner, daughts ter of Captain Joseph and Mary A. (Simmons) Turnend Mrs. Davol is a lineal descendant of Captain Willian- Turner of King Philip's War fame. They were the parents of two sons: George A. Davol, the elder, diecy in 1913, leaving one son, Walter L. Davol; Charlind Joseph, the younger, is president, treasurer and genenvi- manager of the Davol Rubber Company. and

Joseph Davol died at his home in Providence, Jvate, 5. 1909, in his seventy-third year. His name stan the out notably in the history of the rubber industry sple New England. For thirty-five years he was intimate his connected with the manufacture of rubber as one of ttil captains of the industry. He was not only a man der considerable inventive genius, but he was an executient.

Joseph Davol.

ChangDanse

autumn In. allee-

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BIOGRAPHICAL

nd an organizer of more than ordinary talent, to which ict the Davol Rubber Company, one of the greatest stablishments of its kind in the world, testifies. Prov- lence has profited by his connection with its business interests, and the reputation and standing of the city 3 a commercial and manufacturing center has been reatly enhanced by the operation of the Davol Rubber ompany. In this age of manufactured rubber goods 1 every conceivable form, it is difficult to realize that alf a century ago the chemistry of rubber was but ttle understood. Years of experiment and countless ims of money were employed in causing the raw ubber to divulge its secrets. When in 1870 Joseph Javol felt warranted in the beginning of a manufactur- ig plant, it was a very small and feeble one, strong nly in the genius, courage and faith of its founder. he history of all the men who have devoted them- elves to the subjugation of raw rubber is a story of ard work, disappointment, privation and often signal ilure. But it is also a history of success, fame and ecompense. Goodyear but paved the way with his nmortal discovery that the sticky, refractory, unman- geable stuff could be tempered, vulcanized and made ito water resisting articles. Those who have followed im with their discoveries of the countless ways of ashing, breaking, combining with other materials, olling, pressing, molding and reducing it to any re- uired thickness, shape or size, and to employ it in the tousands of ways in which rubber as a base is now mployed, are equally deserving of undying remem- rance, as it is to these persevering, unconquerable, in- estigating, inquisitive men, that the world owes per- aps its greatest industry.

CHARLES JOSEPH DAVOL, president, treasurer nd general manager of the Davol Rubber Company, on of the late Joseph and Mary E. (Turner) Davol, zas born in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 14, 1868. He was ducated in the schools of Providence, and in 1885 was raduated from Mowry & Goff's English and Clas- ical School. Choosing business rather than a profes- ional career, he entered his father's employ at the age f eighteen and for several years was closely asso- iated with him in the various departments of the avol Rubber Company. He familiarized himself thor- ughly with every department of the business and in 899 was made general manager, in which capacity he cted until the death of his father, in 1909, when he ucceeded to the office of president and treasurer. Since hat date the business has assumed even greater propor- ons, and is now the foremost establishment producing ruggists', surgical, dental and medical rubber goods in le United States.

Mr. Davol is a well known clubman and an enthus- istic sportsman. His clubs are the New York Yacht lub; Eastern Yacht Club; Larchmont Yacht Club; hode Island Yacht Club; Rhode Island Country Club; gawam Hunt Club; the Circumnavigators Club of Tew York; and the Rocky Mountain Club of New ork. He is a member of the Rhode Island Historical ociety ; the Providence Athenaeum; the Rhode Island Hospital Corporation ; the National Audubon Associa- on of America; and a life member of the Navy

League of the United States, and the National Geo- graphic Society. Mr. Davol is a director of the Rubber Association of America, and chairman of the Rubber Sundries Manufacturers' Division. He is a member of the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the Amer- ican Revolution, the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars, the Society of "Mayflower" descendants, and the Roger Williams Family Association. His home during the greater part of the year is his estate, "Wildacres," at North Kingston. Mr. Davol has traveled exten- sively in Europe and America, and twice has circum- navigated the globe. His yacht, "Paragon," is well known on the Atlantic coast.

Mr. Davol married, in 1914, Lillian Amy Baldwin, of Fall River, Mass.

ARTHUR MOULTON ALLEN-Since 1900 Mr. Allen has practiced his profession in his native city, Providence, R. I., and there has won honorable posi- tion as a lawyer of training and skill. He is a son of Marvin E. and Sarah A. (Moulton) Allen, both of New England ancestry.

Arthur M. Allen was born in Providence, R. I., March 3, 1876, and there has ever made his home. He passed the grade and high school courses of study. then entered Brown University, whence he was graduated A. B., class of 1897. He chose the law as his life work, prepared at Harvard Law School, and after receiving his LL. B. with the class of 1900, located in Providence in general practice and so continues with offices in the Turk's Head building. In 1906 he, with Theodore F. Green and Frank L. Hinckley, formed the law firm of Green, Hinckley & Allen, of which he has ever since been a member. He is a member of the board of directors of the Providence Athenaeum, and of the committee on economics, Brown University, and is the author of "Criminal Conspiracies in Restraint of Trade at Common Law," published in the "Harvard Law Re- view," of May, 1908, and "The Opinions of Mr. Jus- tice Hughes," published in the "Columbia Law Review," November, 1916.

Mr. Allen is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, the American Bar Association, the Rhode Island Bar As- sociation, and the Providence Bar, the Hope, Univer- sity, Providence Art, Agawam Hunt, Turk's Head, and the Rhode Island Country clubs, the Harvard Club of Rhode Island, and the Harvard Club of New York. In politics he is a Republican, and in his recreations cleaves to the out-of-door sports, tennis and golf.

Mr. Allen married, June 1, 1904, Margaret Pinckney Jackson, of Providence.

CAPTAIN WALTER ALLEN READ-In the year 1898, Senator Walter Allen Read, who for ten years had represented Glocester in the Senate of the Rhode Island Legislature, was chosen general treasurer of the State of Rhode Island, and from that time until 1918 he was the custodian of the State funds. He prac- tically gave his life to the military and public service of his State, his military career covering almost the entire period of the Civil War, his public service, beginning in 1866 as postmaster at Chepachet, continued until his death, which covered a period of over half a century.

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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

His term of twenty years as State treasurer has rarely been equalled in length of service, and never exceeded in value of service rendered.

Captain Walter A. Read was a son of Thomas Jencks Read, of Blackstone, Mass., who in 1849 sailed from Warren, R. I., for California, in the ship "Hopewell," and never returned, dying in Sacramento, Cal., in 1851. Thomas Jencks Read, son of Rev. Ahab Read, a Bap- tist minister, married Sarah Burton, born in Glocester, R. I., daughter of Raymond and Deborah (Sayles) Burton. They were the parents of a son, Walter Allen, and a daughter, Minnie, who married Charles F. Morse, of Haverhill, Mass. Mrs. Read died at the home of her daughter, in 1894.

Walter Allen Read was born in Blackstone, Mass., July 6, 1842, and there and at Glocester, R. I., attended school until eleven years of age. At that time he and his sister went to Chepachet, a village sixteen miles from Providence, R. I., to live, and there he worked at a boy's job until securing employment in the cotton mills owned by Otis Sayles & Sons. There he was employed until Angust 17, 1861, the date of his enlist- ment in Company D, Fourth Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry. He was advanced to the rank of second lientenant the following October 2, his friends in Glocester, to which town his mother took him in infancy, presenting him with a sword. On November 20, 1861, he was promoted first lieutenant, and on Au- gust 2, 1862, was commissioned captain. He saw hard service under General Burnside in North Carolina, with General Mcclellan and the Army of the Potomac in the Peninsula campaign and at Antietam, fought at Fredericksburg under General Burnside, under Gen- eral Peck at the seige of Suffolk, and finally under General Grant until the battle of the Crater before Petersburg, where the Fourth Rhode Island lost nearly one-half of its soldiers. Captain Read was the senior captain of the regiment, and its commander until mus- tered out at Providence. R. I., October 15, 1864, at the expiration of three years of service. Although with his regiment Captain Read saw hard fighting and spared not himself, he came through all the perils of war un- harmed, his only wound being "a mere scratch."

Even after returning from three years' active military service he was but little more than of legal age. The year following his return he formed a partnership with Augustus F. Wade, and started a general store at Glocester, R. I., they continuing until 1871, when the firm dissolved, Captain Read continuing the business alone until 1899, when the pressure of State duties be- came so great that he sold out after having been in business thirty-four years. In June, 1867, he was ap- pointed postmaster at Glocester by President Johnson, and was successively reappointed until he had served eighteen years. There was no Republican organization in Glocester prior to 1876, Captain Read being chair- man of the first Republican town committee in that year. There were six hundred and fifty votes cast in the town in 1876, the Republican ticket polling thirty- six of them. But the number grew with each succeed- ing election, and in 1888 Captain Read, the Republican candidate for State senator from Glocester, was elected, but by a majority of only one vote. This was sufficient,

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 99

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