Trails to the Past

Kent County, Rhode Island Biographies

Source: The History of Washington & Kent Counties
Written by J. R. Cole published in 1889 by W. W. Preston & Co.

DWIGHT R. ADAMS. -Henry Adams, the ancestor of nearly all who bear that name in this country, was born in Braintree, England, in the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and with his eight sons and a daughter, who were also born and educated there, emigrated to New England about the year 1640. Dwight R. Adams, the subject of this sketch, was born in Lisbon, New London county, Connecticut, December 11th, 1823. He was the eldest son of Marvin and Almira (Baldwin) Adams, and of the eighth generation in direct line of descent from the emigrant Henry, of Braintree, Massachusetts. (Marvin(7), Samuel C.(6), Samuel(5), David(4) Henry(3) Edward(2)and Henry(1) The early life of Mr. Adams was passed in the southeastern part of Windham county, Connecticut, where his parents had located soon after his birth. In the public and private schools of the age the elements of a substantial education were obtained, which in later years, without the aid of the school and the schoolmaster, he developed and utilized for practical and important results. Farming in the summer and teaching in the public schools in the winter occupied the early years of his manhood from 1840 to 1849.

On the 7th of October, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J., the youngest of the three daughters of Captain Samuel L. and Betsey (Adams) Hough, of Canterbury, Conn. She was the eighth generation in a direct line of descent from Edward Hough of England. (Captain Samuel L.(7), Doctor Walter(6), John(5), John(4), John(3), William(2) and Edward(1) Immediately after marriage he settled in Warwick and entered upon a career of successful teaching in several of the grammar schools of the town, also six years in Woonsocket and a year in Coventry Centre, retiring from the work in June, 1880. He was elected by the general assembly in May, 1880, a member of the state Board of Education and trustee of the State Normal School, positions which by triennial elections he still holds. To the local interests of Warwick he has given much time and attention since he retired from the teacher's chair. As a member of the school committee for a dozen years, and as chairman for the last eight years, he has exerted an important influence upon educational matters in the town. In 1883 he was elected superintendent of the public schools, and since his re-election in 1885, has continued to fill that position.

He is serving his eighth year as town treasurer of Warwick, was town auditor in 1878-79, and has been a director in the Centreville National Bank since 1879.

In politics Mr. Adams is a republican, and was elected a representative to the general assembly in 1878, and for five other consecutive years, beginning with 1880. In the general assembly he was chairman of the committee on fisheries in 1880, and from 1881 to 1884 was a member of the committee on education, being two years its chairman. He was chairman of a board of commissioners appointed under an act of the general assembly to abolish the tribal relations of the Narragansett tribe of Indians, passed in 1880, the duties of which, including the preliminary work of 1879, occupied the attention of the board from 1879 to 1884. The work was very successfully accomplished. His social proclivities led him in 1860 to unite with the Masonic fraternity, and finally carried him through the Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery. He has constantly held some official position in his Lodge since receiving " light," also in his Chapter since its organization, and has presided in his Council; he was District Deputy Grand Master of the state for four consecutive years from May, 1874. " Freemasonry in Kent County," is from his pen. Biographie Index

WILLIAM GUARZIA BENNETT.- Mr. Bennett is a son of Thomas Bennett, who resided in Newport during the revolutionary war, and on the bombardment of that town made Old Warwick his residence. He married Lydia Guarzia, daughter of Captain John Guarzia, and had five children : Esther, who died at an early age; Esther, wife of Isaac Nichols ; Benjamin, William G. and Elizabeth, wife of William Burden. All are now deceased.

Captain Guarzia, a Portuguese, was a brave and intrepid officer. The English ship " St. James " left Jamaica with 600 tons of sugar, bound, in company with five other vessels, for England, under the protection of two convoys. They became separated in a gale off Cape Hatteras, and speedily encountered Captain Guarzia's gunboat, manned by its commander and five men, and carrying two six-pounders. Aware of the rich prize that awaited them, they determined to capture the English vessel, and consequently aimed all their shots at the sails and rigging. After a continuous assault of five days, on the sixth day she surrendered with thirty men, the captain remarking, as he observed the swarthy complexion of Captain Guarzia, that it was very " humiliating to surrender to a nigger in a hog trough." This remark so enraged the captain that he threatened to cut off the offender's head with his sword if it were repeated. The " St. James " was brought to the dock in East Greenwich, and the cargo divided as prize money among the crew.

William Guarzia Bennett was born September 11th, 1794, in East Greenwich, where he remained for many years. Very little time was afforded for acquiring even a modest education, his early life having been devoted to hard labor. His industry was rewarded with ninepence a day until greater devotion to his task brought the increased sum of twenty-five cents per day. On attaining the years of manhood he became a sailor, and for six years followed the sea, his objective points being East Greenwich and the coast of South America. On retiring from this somewhat wandering life he became an apprentice under Stutkley Williams to the trade of carpenter, and for a period of thirty years pursued this trade in the vicinity of his home. He was for many years employed as head carpenter at Natick by Messrs. A. & W Sprague, meanwhile residing upon the farm he purchased in Warwick, now the home of his son, William H. Bennett. Here in the agreeable pursuits pertaining to the life of a farmer his advancing years were passed.

Mr. Bennett was in 1827 married to Cyrena, daughter of Jabez Williams, and a descendant in the seventh generation from Roger Williams, as follows : Roger(1), Joseph(2) Thomas(3), Thomas(4), John(5), Jabez(6), Cyrena(7). The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were : Leorra W. (Mrs. Job R. Card), born July 27th, 1827 : Mary Ann, January 7th, 1829; William H., December 27th, 1838; and Emma, who died December 12th, 1842. Mr. Bennett devoted the later portion of his life to farming, and engaged in no other business. He was in politics first a whig, and afterward a republican, strong in his convictions, and true to his party affiliations. He was particularly pronounced in his opposition to the Dorr rebellion, and ready with influence and personal effort to aid in suppressing the insurrection. He was reared in the Quaker faith, which he revered, though not a constant attendant upon its services. The death of Mr. Bennett occurred on the 8th of August, 1870, and that of his wife September 14th, 1867.

Their son, William H., who now cultivates the farm, married April 27th, 1865, Anna M., daughter of Deacon James S. Gardner, of North Kingstown, who died May 21st, 1884. Mr. Bennett, while devoting much time to the farm, has also found opportunity for the development of his mechanical tastes. He is a skillful carpenter and an adept in the construction of machinery, his ingenuity and knowledge being of practical use in his daily avocations. He was first in the township to apply steam for agricultural purposes, and to adapt its use to cider mills.  Biographie Index

COLONEL WILLIAM BODFISH. -William Bodfish, who was of English birth, resided in Sandwich, Mass. His son William, a native of the latter town, followed a seafaring life, and at the early age of nineteen was master of a ship sailing from Boston and engaged in the West India trade. His death in 1835 was the result of a fever contracted during his last voyage. He married Deborah T. Hatch, whose children were: Mary, wife of Edward Landers, of Newport, and William, a native of Falmouth, Mass., whose birth occurred February 22d, 1815. Here his youth was passed, though deprived in infancy of the affectionate care of a mother. The common and private schools of Falmouth afforded excellent opportunities for a thorough training in the English branches, after which at the age of sixteen he removed to Providence and began his apprenticeship to the trade of a tailor. At the expiration of the fourth year he returned to his native place, spent several years at his trade, and again made Providence his home.

In February, 1843, Colonel Bodfish became a resident of East Greenwich, and was for two years employed at his trade, after which he established himself as a merchant tailor and dealer in clothing. In 1855 he was tendered the cashier ship of the Rhode Island Central Bank, which he filled until the financial crisis of 1857 caused a suspension of the bank. He then embarked in the tailoring business in Providence and continued thus engaged until 1861, meanwhile retaining his home in East Greenwich. The latter place again found him one of its prominent business men from 1861 to 1866, when Taunton, Mass., afforded an opening for a dry goods and millinery store, which was four and a half years later removed to East Greenwich. This he continued until 1880, the date of his retirement. In 1878 he built the Bodfish Block and occupied it until his discontinuance in business, when George H. Fuller became the lessee.

Colonel Bodfish was in 1835 married to Elizabeth S. Synya, of Providence, who died in April, 1863. They had eight children as follows: William S., born in 1837; Joshua L., in 1839; Mary A., in 1841; Celia C, in 1844 ; William E., in 1846 ; Frances E., in 1848; George W., in 1851, and William H., in 1852. Joshua L. and William H. are the only survivors of this number. He was a second time married October 2d, 1865, to Abbie Frances, daughter of the late Sidney S. Tillinghast, of East Greenwich.

Colonel Bodfish began his political career as a whig, later became a republican, and is now an earnest prohibitionist. He held the office of clerk of the court of common pleas for the years 1850 and 1852, and was elected to the state senate in 1873 and 1874. He was a charter member of the East Greenwich Savings Bank, as also of the East Greenwich Mutual Insurance Company, of which he was both treasurer and agent. He is an active mason and was master of King Solomon's Lodge, No. 11, of East Greenwich. In 1843 he joined the Kentish Guards elsewhere spoken of in this volume, was the following year made paymaster of the company, and in 1846 held a commission as colonel of the organization, in which capacity he served for eleven years. Under the militia law of 1862 he organized one of the county regiments of which he was made colonel and held the position until the repeal of the law. Colonel Bodfish was originally a member of the Baptist church in Providence, and aided in establishing the church of that denomination in East Greenwich. He was one of the building committee on the erection of the first edifice and chairman of the same committee when the present beautiful house of worship was constructed in 1884. He at present fills the office of deacon, has been for a long period clerk and treasurer, and for twenty-five years chorister of the church.  Biographie Index

GEORGE T. BROWN was born in West Greenwich, near Nooseneck hill, June 29th, 1848. His father's name was Peter T. Brown, his mother's maiden name was Roxalana Potter. He attended district schools in the town until he was seventeen years of age, went two or three terms to East Greenwich Academy, then entered the Newport High School, where he graduated in June, 1869. In September, 1869, he entered Brown University and graduated in 1873. In September, 1874, he entered the Albany Law School, graduating in May, 1875. In October, 1875, he was admitted to the bar of Providence county, R. L, where he has practiced law ever since, and in 1879 was admitted to practice in the United States courts. In April, 1877, he was elected representative to the general assembly from his native town. In April, 1887, he was elected representative to the general assembly from the city of Providence. In June, 1888, he was a delegate from Rhode Island to the democratic national convention at St. Louis, which nominated Cleveland and Thurman. He is now chairman of the democratic city committee of Providence.  Biographie Index

JOHN C. ELLIS.- Gideon Ellis, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, who resided in West Greenwich, was born in October, 1724, and died September 30th, 1793. He was thrice married, his third wife being Elizabeth Manchester, to whom he was united on the 21st of March, 1762. Among their seven children was a son Arnold, born September 6th, 1763, in West Greenwich, whose death occurred February 23rd, 1844. He was on the 31st of July, 1791, married to Mary Crandall. Their children were: Alsey, Lydia, Elizabeth, Polly, Ruth, Gideon, Robert C, Caleb G., Atlucy, Arnold and John C.  The last named and youngest of this number, John Crandall, was born March 1st, 1814, in West Greenwich, and spent his youth on the homestead farm. His education was confined to the rudiments of English acquired at the district school. He, however, possessed a retentive memory and excellent judgment, which made amends in a large degree for the lack of thorough scholastic training, and greatly aided in establishing his success as a practical business man. Mr. Ellis continued to interest himself in matters pertaining to the farm, of which he assumed control some years before the death of his father. In 1849, by special bequest he came into possession of the property, upon which he resided until the spring of 1855, the date of his removal to East Greenwich. Here he a few months later entered upon the duties of steward of the Greenwich Academy, and continued thus employed until the spring of 1857, which he devoted to travel. In 1858 he purchased property within the village limits, and until 1863 filled the office of postmaster, subsequently holding that of town clerk for the year 1867. He was also made secretary and treasurer of the Rhode Island Insurance Company. Mr. Ellis, with his active energetic spirit, found it difficult to remain idle, and on his retirement from these responsibilities held the position of town auctioneer for twelve years, and also that of collecting agent. In 1882, having effected an exchange of property, he settled in Cranston, and two years later, on his removal to East Greenwich, became possessor of his present attractive home on the boundary line in Warwick.

A democrat in his political convictions, he has ever been a close observer of political events, and participated in most of the movements which affected his immediate locality. His election to a seat in the state legislature in 1844 was contested, but his claims were strongly vindicated by re-election during the years 1845, 1846, 1849, 1860 and 1852. In 1854 he was elected to the state senate. In 1864 he filled the same office as representative for East Greenwich, his former constituency having been in the district of West Greenwich. He has since devoted his time chiefly to the duties of collecting agent, real estate broker, and auctioneer.

Mr. Ellis was on the 31st of May, 1846, married to Miss Huldah, daughter of Peleg Ellis, of Dryden, N. Y. He united with the Baptist church in 1858, has since been zealous in the furtherance of its interests, a devout student of the Bible as the best of all books, and an earnest worker in the Sunday school.  Biographie Index

THOMAS G. FRY. -Mr. Fry is of English descent. His grandfather, Joseph Fry, spent his life on the homestead in East Greenwich still in possession of the family. Among his sons was Thomas, born on the above spot, in the vicinity of which his days were passed in the congenial pursuits of a farmer. He was not, however, indifferent to the demands made upon his time and ability as a good citizen, and devoted much attention to the public interests as member of the state legislature, judge of the court of common pleas, and justice of the peace. In these varied offices he indicated that strong common sense and practical knowledge which enabled him to maintain an influential position in the county during the whole of his active life. He married Hannah, daughter of Nicholas Spink, of Quidnessett. To this union were born children: Nicholas S.; Eleanor, wife of Doctor Charles Eldredge ; Anna, married to Gordon W. Nichols; John ; Ruth, wife of Joseph Arnold ; Joseph ; Thomas G., and a son Richard, who died in infancy.

Thomas G. Fry was born on the 13th of August, 1810, on the farm which is his present home. He became a pupil of the district school, mastered there the elementary branches, and as a lad helped in various ways in the work of the farm. The whole drift of his mind and the constitution of the man tended toward the life of an agriculturist, and in obedience to his tastes he followed his father's pursuits. On the death of the latter, in 1831, he succeeded to the estate, each of the brothers receiving a farm as their inheritance. Mr. Fry continued thus actively employed until 1877, when, having gained by industry and application a respite from further care, he relinquished the management of the property to his son-in-law.

He was on the 10th of February, 1841, married to Miss Hannah A. U., daughter of Jonathan Reynolds and sister of Hon. John J. Reynolds, of Wickford, whose family is more fully mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Three daughters-Hannah, Susan Elizabeth and Helena-are deceased, and a daughter, Lydia, is the wife of William A. Vaughn. Mr. Fry cares little for the busy scenes of public life, and has, therefore, never sought office. Positions of trust, both of a civil and business character, have always been gratefully declined by him. Formerly a whig, he now supports the republican party. During the turbulent period of the Dorr war he joined the law and order party, and was a member of a company enrolled for the defense of the state government. He was reared in the faith of the Society of Friends, and worships with the East Greenwich Friends' meeting.  Biographie Index

JOHN R. GODFREY. -Joshua Godfrey, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, resided in East Greenwich, prior to the war of the revolution, for which he was drafted, but not finding it convenient to enter the service, secured a substitute. He married Mary Cooper and settled in East Greenwich, where his children, three sons and three daughters, were born. His son Slocum Godfrey, who spent the greater part of his life on the homestead farm, married Sarah Reynolds, a daughter of John Reynolds of Warwick, and his wife Mary, daughter of William Hall, a representative of one of the oldest families in Warwick. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey were as follows: Mary H., wife of Daniel Briggs ; Ruth, married to James Place ; Abby, John R., Catherine, wife of Albert Greene; Joshua S., Sarah, and Elizabeth, wife of John Madison. But two of this number, John R. and Mrs. Greene, survive.

John R. Godfrey was born March 7th, 1821, on the farm which was the home of his maternal grandfather, and at the age of four years, removed with his parents to East Greenwich. After a rudimentary education, the best the district at that time afforded, he devoted his energies to the improvement of the farm, and continued an invaluable aid to his father until his twenty-sixth year, assuming full charge of the various departments of labor, and exercising much judgment in the management of affairs. In 1848 he removed to his present home in Warwick, previously purchased by his father, the land of which he cultivated for some years and finally received as his paternal inheritance. Although an estate of fair proportions, it did not satisfy the ambition of its owner, who has since added largely to its dimensions. His life has been that of an enterprising and successful farmer. Mr. Godfrey has found his time fully occupied with his varied business interests, and has therefore avoided the busy arena of politics. A democrat in his convictions, he has filled no offices other than such comparatively unimportant ones as pertain to his immediate locality. He was reared in the Quaker faith and worships with the Friends' meeting at East Greenwich, though Mrs. Godfrey is a member of the Baptist church of Apponaug.

Mr. Godfrey was on the 8th of February, 1847, married to Eliza G., daughter of Daniel Williams, of Coventry, and a descendant in the direct line from Roger Williams. They have four children, a daughter and three sons, as follows : Anna C, the wife of George Storrs ; Charles S., who assists his father on the farm ; William H., engaged in business in Providence, and George W., who cultivates the homestead farm. Charles S. is married to Isora Locke of Warwick ; the wife of William H. was formerly Carrie Williams of Apponaug; and George W. is married to Ida Briggs, of East Greenwich.  Biographie Index

HENRY WHITMAN GREENE. -Mr. Greene's remote ancestor was John Greene, a surgeon, son of Peter Greene, of Aukley Hall, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. He died in Warwick in 1658 (O. S.), having been three times married. His first wife, Joan Tattersall, whom he married in 1619, was the mother of his six children. John Greene landed in Boston in 1685, and at a later date settled in Providence, where he became one of the proprietors, and ultimately located in Warwick. His second son, James, was born in 1626 and died in 1698. He married, first, Deliverance Potter, of Warwick, and a second time Elizabeth Anthony, of Portsmouth. He built the original stone dwelling on the homestead land, now owned by the subject of this sketch, the cellar walls of which are still standing. The house was demolished more than seventy years ago, and the present residence, erected in 1687 by his son James, stands but a few feet from the primitive structure occupied by his father. Within this building are various evidences of strength and antiquity. The mammoth fireplace, six by ten feet in dimensions, the heavy oaken beams and solid stairways, all indicate the ancient and indestructible character of the work of that early day. The present owner is justly proud of the fact that this ancestral property is still his own, and has never passed from the Greene family.

James Greene, the second, died March 12th, 1712, at the age of fifty-two. He was a man of much influence in his locality, the first member of the Masonic fraternity in the county, and in 1702 captain of militia. His descendant, Henry W., has in his possession a cane of which he is justly proud, brought from England by his ancestor, and suitably inscribed, with the date 1687. He has also preserved many deeds, records and parchments bearing the signatures of the early members of the family. Fones Greene, one of the eight children of James Greene, died July 29th, 1758. at the age of sixty-seven. His oldest son, Captain James Greene, the great-grandfather of Henry W., and oldest of the six children of Fones Greene, was born in 1713, and married Patience, daughter of Captain John Waterman, in 1740. He died in 1802, having been for more than sixty years a member of the Baptist society. His son, James Green, was born on the homestead, a portion of which he inherited. He married twice, his first wife being Phebe Warner, who had five children. His second wife was Deborah, daughter of John Gorton. His son, Warner James Greene, was born on the homestead inherited from his father and grandfather. He married Harriet, daughter of Henry Whitman, of Warwick, whose two children are Henry Whitman and Roby H., wife of Benjamin Budlong.

The former of these, Henry Whitman Greene, was born on the ancestral estate March 1st, 1814. The opportunities afforded at home for an ordinary English education not being promising, he pursued his studies in Providence, and on returning, began at once the business of his life, that of a farmer. He has since been known familiarly among his friends as " Farmer Greene of the Buttonwoods." On the death of his father in 1849, the estate was divided between the son and daughter, Mr. Greene receiving the dwelling known as the homestead, with land immediately adjacent, which he has greatly improved. He has gratified his inclination in cultivating the paternal acres, and given time and attention to this, to the exclusion of other business pursuits, perhaps more attractive and less laborious. He was formerly a trustee of the Centreville Savings Bank, and has been for forty years a member of Coventry Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.

He has been since the casting of his first ballot a firm believer in the principles of the whig party, and is now equally strong in his defense of the republican platform. He has been a delegate to state conventions, but always declined office other than that of member of the school board of his town. He was made a major during the days when the militia was a power in the state, and shouldered a musket when the Dorr rebellion inspired the patriotism of Rhode Island citizens. On the election of William Henry Harrison to the presidency in 1840, Mr. Greene gave a gigantic clambake on the homestead farm, when 10,000 good whigs cheered for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too." He celebrated the election of his grandson. General Benjamin Harrison, in the same hospitable manner in 1888. He is doubtless one of the best informed men on matters of historical and antiquarian interest in the town of Warwick. He adheres in religion to the faith of his ancestors, that of the Baptist church.

Mr. Greene was married in 1842 to Erneline, daughter of Jeremiah Dexter, of Warwick, and granddaughter of Benjamin Dexter, of Centreville, Warwick.  Biographie Index

LAURISTON H. GREENE. -Elisha Greene, the great-grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, settled in Apponaug, where he was, during the greater part of his life, one of its most representative citizens. His son Stephen was drafted during the war of the revolution, and, not finding it convenient to respond, secured a substitute. He engaged in farming pursuits in East Greenwich, and married Elizabeth Whiteman, of Quidnessett, whose children were four sons: George, who was lost at sea; Elisha, Valentine and William ; and four daughters : Mary, wife of James Beattie; Isabella, Betsey and Tabitha. William Greene, who was born in 1784, spent his life as a farmer, residing upon the homestead now the property of his son Lauriston H. Greene, who has greatly improved the estate and remodeled the dwelling, a view of which is given in this volume. Mr. Greene was prominent in public affairs, served for successive terms in the state legislature, and filled various town offices. He married, in 1810, Abagail, daughter of John Reynolds, of Warwick, who survives him and, in her ninety-fifth year, still resides with her son upon the homestead. Their children were: John R., deceased; Thomas T., also deceased; William C, a manufacturing jeweller in Providence ; George F. and Henry C., deceased ; Lauriston H.; Elisha and Elizabeth, deceased ; Hilary, Mrs. Joseph Fry; Elizabeth I., Mrs. John Pitcher, and two who died in infancy.

Lauriston H. Greene was born on the 19th of May. 1833, on the homestead which is now his property. He applied himself to study in youth and readily mastered the ordinary English branches. Not at that time preferring the laborious pursuits of a farmer to the busy life of a large city, he repaired to Providence and learned the trade of a manufacturing jeweler with his brother. This he diligently followed for ten years, much of the time acting in the capacity of foreman. On the death of his brother George F., who had meanwhile managed the farm, he returned to East Greenwich, settled the estate, and having purchased the interest not already his own, began the life of a farmer. It may be proper to add that in taking this step he was largely influenced by filial affection to relinquish the attractions of a city home for the daily routine of toil incident to the life of a farmer.

Mr. Greene has given his support to the republican party and been more or less prominent in its local councils. He has held various town offices but given little time to political affairs, his private business requiring his exclusive attention.

Mr. Greene was on the 12th of December, I855, married to Abby A. V., daughter of Bradford Ripley of Providence. Both he and Mrs. Greene are members of the Baptist church of East Greenwich.  Biographie Index

RICHARD GREENE. -Richard Greene was born the 2nd of April, 1827, on Warwick Neck in Kent county. The schools of the neighborhood afforded him opportunities for a rudimentary education, and careful reading during the later years of his life did fully as much as a more thorough course of study in the development of a thoughtful habit of mind. He at an early age gave considerable attention to the work of the farm and aided his father greatly in his varied pursuits, meanwhile fop five winters assuming the charge of a district school. In 1854 he rented a farm in the same town and found this venture so satisfactory as to warrant a continuance of the arrangement for eleven years.

On the death of his mother Mr. Greene returned to the homestead farm, which he cultivated until 1871, when on the disposal of his interest in the paternal estate, he purchased his present home at Old Warwick. Here he erected a commodious dwelling, and otherwise improved the property, upon which he has since resided.

He is one of the most representative republicans in his portion of the town and exceptionally well informed on all matters pertaining to its interests.  He was prominent in measures having for their end a division of the town of Warwick in 1873-75, which for the time being were defeated. He was for six years an influential member of the town council and has held other less important offices. He was one of the originators of the Old Warwick Library Association, has been its devoted champion through many vicissitudes, and is its present treasurer, his daughter being the librarian. He is a supporter of the Baptist church of Old Warwick with which some of the family are connected by membership.

Mr. Greene was on the 28th of September, 1852, married to Miss Sarah Malvina Atwood, daughter of Jeremiah Atwood of Pawtuxet. Their only daughter, Alice D., is married to Robert W. Greene, of Warwick, whose two children are Bessie A., now living, and Marion, deceased.

The progenitor of the Greene family was Peter Greene, who resided on his estate in Wiltshire, England. His son John, who married Joan Tattersall, emigrated to America in 1635. Their fourth son Thomas was born in England in 1629 and admitted a freeman in Warwick in 1647. His death occurred in 1717. His son Richard was born in 1667 and died in 1724, leaving a son Richard, whose birth occurred in 1702 and his death in 1778. Thomas, a son of the latter, was born in 1729 and died in 1813. His son Thomas Wickes was born in 1769 and died in 1854. He married Barbara Low, who was born in 1770 and died in 1854. Their son Richard Wickes, whose birth occurred in 1791 and his death in 1867, married Betsey Wells Anthony, born in 1796, died in 1866. Mr. Greene, who was captain of a vessel engaged in the East India trade, in 1826 purchased and afterward resided upon the Wickes farm on Warwick Neck. His son Richard, one of seven children (three of whom are deceased) is the subject of this biography.  Biographie Index

SIMON HENRY GREENE was born in Centreville, in the town of Warwick, R. I., March 31st, 1799, and died at his own village of Clyde, in the same town, April 26th, 1885, being a little over 86 years old. His parents were Job and Abigail (Rhodes) Greene. His father was the eldest son of Colonel Christopher Greene, of the First Rhode Island Continental Regiment, and was in the right of Colonel Greene, who was killed in the revolutionary war prior to its formation, one of the members of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati. On the reorganization of this society some years ago, Simon Henry Greene was admitted a member in the right of his father, and was elected its vice-president, in which office he continued until his death.

The subject of this sketch was educated in the school in his native village, at an excellent private school in Stonington, and finally by Mr. David Aldrich, at Woonsocket, R. I. In 1813-14 he was employed by his brother-in-law, Abner M. Warriner, who was then manufacturing cotton checks in Hartford, Conn., and on his employer's death, returned home. In 1815 he took up a permanent residence in Providence, remaining there until 1838, when he removed to Clyde, in Kent county. His first business training was in the house of Aborn & Jackson, who were merchants as well as manufacturers, being eventually associated with them as agents of the Lippitt Manufacturing Company, under the firm name of Aborn, Jackson & Greene. In 1828 he formed a co-partnership with Edward Pike, under the style of Greene & Pike, for the purpose of bleaching and finishing cotton goods, afterward adding printing machinery, which business he enlarged after the death of Mr. Pike in 1842, having acquired, by purchase from the latter's heirs, the sole ownership of the property now known as the Clyde Works.

Mr. Greene was a member of the Providence city council from 1835 to the time of his removal to Warwick, in July, 1838. While a member of that body he was one of the City Audit, and was prominent in remodeling the public school system and in creating the office of superintendent, a system and office which were afterward adopted, first by Boston and then throughout the country. He was elected by the voters of his native town and final residence, a representative in the general assembly in 1840 and 1842. On the death of his partner, Edward Pike, in the latter year, he declined a re-election, but subsequently represented the town four years in succession, from 1851 to 1854, when he again declined a re-election. In 1867, however, his fellow-citizens chose him to represent them as a senator in the general assembly, and successively until 1859 he filled that honorable office. In 1860 he was elected a delegate to the Chicago Republican Convention, and voted first for Salmon P. Chase, and then for Abraham Lincoln as the nominee for president of the United States. He was also chosen for a presidential elector in 1864, and with his colleagues, voted for the re-election of Mr. Lincoln.  Mr. Greene also served as a member and as secretary for a part of the time, on the school committee of Warwick for fifteen years. He was deeply interested in the cause of popular education, as evinced by his long service in its behalf.

Besides the public offices enumerated above, there were many others bestowed upon him by his friends and fellow-townsmen, such as director in financial institutions, member of the town's committee on finance, the latter especially during the trying times of the civil war, moderator of town meetings, chairman of conventions acting in the transaction of public and political affairs; and in all these his name was ever known as a synonym of honor, uprightness and fidelity. It was through his sagacity, strict sense of justice, and inflexible determination, that an act was passed by the general assembly, while he was a member of one of its committees on finance, that a tax was levied upon the deposits in savings institutions, which had been hitherto exempt, and a handsome addition was made to the revenue of the state, without doing injustice to the depositors in those institutions. It is a somewhat remarkable fact, that Mr. Greene never sought a public office and was never ambitious for political preferment, but believing that it was the duty of every good and loyal citizen to serve his fellowmen to the best of his ability whenever called by them to perform public duties, he cheerfully, though at times reluctantly, particularly when he thought his private interests might suffer in consequence, gave his time and talents for the public good.

He was the last of the pioneers of the manufacturing industry of the north valley of the Pawtuxet river, among whom were Colonel Ephraim Talbot, Ex-Governors Charles Jackson and Elisha Harris, James De Wolf, Doctor Caleb Fiske, Benjamin C. Harris, Charles, Colonel Christopher and William Lippitt, Benjamin Aborn, George Jackson, Amasa and William H. Mason.

His father. Colonel Job Greene, was connected with a company for manufacturing cotton in 1794, and transferred to the company land and water power by a deed bearing date October 3rd, of that year. This was at Centreville, on the southwest branch of the Pawtuxet. It is therefore seen that the family of Simon H. Greene has been identified with cotton manufacturing, by means of water power, almost from its very beginning.

Studious from early life, his mind was well stored with useful learning, and his acquirements in general literature enabled him to write with both clearness and vigor of expression. In reading his preference was for religious philosophy and while yet a young man he received the religious truths taught by the eminent and learned Emanuel Swedenborg, and finally became a member of the Providence Society of the New Jerusalem church, commonly called Swedenborgians. His religious belief, founded as it was on the plain teachings of the Holy Scripture, was in him the controlling cause of all his acts. It had relation to his whole life, and its life in him resulted in beneficent acts, in whatever position he was placed, whether in his own home where he presided with gentle firmness, dignity, urbanity and grace, mingled with the most affectionate care of his family and dependents, or in the refinement, geniality and pleasures of social life, or in public office, or in the affairs of his extensive business.

He was married March 13th, 1822, to Caroline Cornelia, eldest daughter of Edward Aborn, of Providence. Their children were: Edward Aborn, Henry Lehre, Christopher Rhodes, William Rogers, John Waterman Aborn, Caroline Cornelia, George Frederick (died in infancy), George Frederick (2nd), Charles, Francis Clinton and Abby Susan.  Biographie Index

HENRY LEHRE GREENE, the second son of Simon Henry and Caroline Cornelia Greene, was born March 31st, 1825, at the Aborn homestead in Providence, and at the early age of three years entered a private school in that city. His studies were continued until the age of fourteen, when with his parents he removed to Clyde. He at once entered the Greene & Pike Bleachery located at this point, as a common hand at regular wages, and continued thus employed until 1842, meanwhile becoming thoroughly familiar with the business in all its details, and rendering himself competent to manage each individual department. On the death of the junior partner in the year above mentioned, he entered the office with a view to acquiring a knowledge of the company's books, at the same time assisting in the general management of the business. Leaving the office in 1845 his attention was mainly given to the practical working of the establishment, now under his immediate supervision. Mr. Greene acted in this capacity until 1868, when much of the responsibility was relegated to other hands, and the mechanical department of the works received his more especial oversight. His connection with the business from early youth, his practical acquaintance with its details, acquired by a thorough apprenticeship, and his taste for mechanics, have made his services invaluable and place him without doubt at the head of this great industry. He drew the plans and specifications, located the machinery and made the estimates for the spacious buildings now occupied by the Clyde Bleachery and Print Works. Under his immediate supervision the works were almost entirely rebuilt and enlarged, and are now as thoroughly equipped as any establishment of its character in the country.

The business which in 1842 was conducted in the name of S. H. Greene, became, on a reorganization in 1865, S. H. Greene & Sons, Mr. Greene, however, previous to this date participating in the profits. A more adequate conception of the growth of the enterprise may be afforded by a comparison of the past with the present. In the original establishment were employed thirty hands. The list now numbers seven hundred. In 1838 one printing machine was used, about 14,000 yards of cloth were bleached per day, and 2,000 or more yards of indigo blue material was printed and dyed. They have now in their bleachery a capacity for 125 tons or 1,500,000 yards per week, and have nine printing machines, whose aggregate production is 1,250,000 yards per week. For this vast material the United States affords a ready market.

Mr. Greene, aside from the personal attention he gives to the details of this extensive manufacturing interest, has found leisure for other projects. He is president of the Phenix Savings Bank, and in his early life was politically united with the whig party, to whose candidates and measures he gave his cordial and generous support. He found it easy to transfer his allegiance to the republican party on its formation, and in 1883 represented his constituency in the state senate. To this office he was again elected in 1888 and assigned to the important committees on finance and the judiciary. He has been since 1884 a member of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, having been appointed first for the unexpired term, and afterward for the full period of six years. He has been largely identified with local affairs, was early elected to serve in the town council and later made its president. He has also been an earnest sympathizer with every measure tending to elevate the standard of education in the town. Mr. Greene, although at an early age taken from the school room to the workshop and counting room, continued to discipline his mind and cultivate a refined taste, by judicious reading, under the kindly direction and criticism of his father and one or more wise counselors. He thus made amends in a large degree for the lack of early scholastic training and not only enlarged his range of thought, but became familiar with a wide field in miscellaneous literature. He has occasionally responded to demands for his presence on the rostrum, and delivered several lectures and addresses on various subjects, in his own and other localities. He is a member of the Swedenborgian church, president of the society and leader of the services.

He was on the 13th of August, 1849, married to Marcy Gooding, daughter of Oliver C. Wilbur, of Providence, who died June 22nd, 1879. Their children are : Susan Aborn, Lucy Anna, wife of Benjamin Aborn Jackson of Providence; Caroline Cornelia and Francis Whittier. Mrs. Jackson has two sons, Henry Greene and Donald.  Biographie Index

STEPHEN WATSON GRIFFIN. -Benjamin Griffin, the grandfather of Stephen W. Griffin, was a farmer in the town of West Greenwich. By his marriage to ]Mary Watson were born two children, a son, Benjamin, and a daughter, Dorcas, who became the wife of Jesse Wood. Benjamin Griffin, who was born December 14th, 1798, in West Greenwich, settled on a farm in Exeter, and married Elizabeth, daughter of David and Elizabeth Gardner, of South Kingstown. Their children were: Nicholas, Benjamin, Joseph. Stephen W., Lewis, Elizabeth, Thomas J., Mary A., Gardner W., William W., George A., and Abby A. Mr. Griffin's death occurred April 20th, 1879, and that of his wife October 14th, 1851.

Their fourth son, Stephen Watson, was born August 3rd, 1826, in Exeter, Washington county, at that time the residence of his parents. In early youth he removed to Cranston, his home until the age of fourteen, when the family located in Foster. Here he was variously occupied for four years, when the young man at the age of eighteen began the battle of life, with no other capital than a sturdy will and a sufficiently vigorous constitution to enable him to render his labor self-supporting. His first effort was in the direction of farm labor, with the fall and winter months devoted to school. He thus acquired more than a mastery of the English branches, and was soon fitted to take charge of a neighboring school. He at this time learned the trade of brick making. Mr. Griffin, however, early found another avenue of usefulness open to him, and abandoned his trade to become a town official. As a republican he was elected to the office of town and probate clerk of Coventry and has each succeeding year been re-elected. He has, by his fidelity, accuracy and courtesy, won the regard of the public, and stands in trusted and confidential relations with many of his townsmen. He has also for twelve years been clerk of the school committee of Coventry. He is a member of Massachusetts Lodge, No. 12, of Free and Accepted Masons, of Anthony, and of Anthony Lodge, No. 21, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He at the age of seventeen became a member of the Baptist church of Sterling, Conn., and now worships with and aids in the support of the Methodist Episcopal church of Washington.

Mr. Griffin, in the winter of 1852, married Adeline A., daughter of Hazard and Sarah Champlin, of Washington. Their children are : Ella Frances, born July 29th, 1855, and Sarah Elizabeth, whose birth occurred July 7th, 1857. Their nephew, Gardner W. Griffin, who resided with them, was born April 29th, 1869, and died May 27th, 1886.  Biographie Index

THOMAS T. HAZARD, son of John Hazard, was born March 2nd, 1792, and died August 1st, 1874. He was a man of limited education but possessed of good native talents and ability. He was frequently offered honorable positions by his fellow townsmen, but invariably declined the favor with a single exception, that of representing his native town of West Greenwich in the general assembly of the state, which position he occupied either as senator or representative for thirty-two years. He was a member of the senate of ten, elected with other state officers during the Dorr war, under the new constitution. He represented the town in the senate until he withdrew from public life.

He has three sons: Jason P born February 21st, 1823 ; Robert J., born August 1st, 1826, and Alexander L., born January 25th. 1836. They all have families. Jason P. is located on the homestead in West Greenwich, R. I., and has represented the town in the general assembly. The other two are in California.  Biographie Index

HENRY D. HEYDON. -Mr. Heydon traces his descent in the direct line from William Hayden, who was born in England, and probably emigrated to America in 1630. He was twice married, his children by the first union being: Daniel, born in 1640; Nathaniel, in 1642 ; and Mary, in 1648. Lieutenant Daniel Hayden married, in 1664, Hannah Wilcockson, of Stratford, Conn., who died in 1722. Their children were: Daniel, born in 1666; Hannah, in 1668; Nathaniel, in 1671 ; William, in 1673; William, 2d, in 1676; Samuel, in 1678; Ebenezer, in 1681; and Mary, in 1688. Ebenezer Hayden, of Haydens, married, in 1708, Mindwell Gris-wold, whose children were: Ebenezer, born December 9th, 1709 ; Mindwell, April 4th, 1713 ; and David, January 21st, 1715. The last named of these children married, March 11th, 1761, Jemima Ellsworth, who died February 13th, 1828. Their children were: David, born in 1761; Jemima, in 1764 ; Newell, in 1766 ; Peletiah, in 1768; Oliver, in 1770; Abijah, in 1772; Lyman, and Olive. Among these sons was David, grandfather of the subject of this biography, a native of Harwinton, Conn., who removed to Greenbush, N. Y., and died in 1835. He was three times married, and had children: Manta, Miles Lester, born in 1794; Bateman Ellsworth, in 1809; Julia, William Henry, Ann Jemima, in 1820 ; and David, on the 2nd of March, 1822, in Greenbush.

David married, in 1849, Remima C. Johnson, whose only son, Henry D. Heydon, was born December 25th, 1851, in Coventry, R. I., and in childhood became a resident of Woonsocket, where he remained until his tenth year. He then removed to Providence and supplemented his course of study in the English branches at the public schools by a period at the Mt. Pleasant Academy, in the latter city. He early began his business career as clerk in a store in Providence, some years later embarked in the sale of groceries and dry goods at Olneyville, and subsequently undertook for three years the management of an established business at the same point. In 1874 Mr. Heydon removed to Crompton, and in behalf of creditors, assumed charge of a general store located in that village. The promising outlook at this point induced him six months after to form a co-partnership with Daniel W. Batchelder, which relation has continued until the present time.

Mr. Heydon has given some attention to public affairs, and manifested much interest in matters connected with the town.

* The name was in this generation changed to Heydon.

He has since 1883 been a member of the school board, for three years filled the office of town auditor, and was for three and a half years postmaster of Crompton. He was for the years 1879-80 elected to the general assembly, and again the successful candidate for that office in 1888. He served as chairman of the committee on unfinished business, and is now a member of the finance committee, considered the most important in the house. He is a member and secretary of the board of examiners of the State Normal School, and aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Governor Royal C. Taft. Mr. Heydon is a member and past master of Manchester Lodge, No. 12, of Free and Accepted Masons, of Coventry; also member of Landmark R. A. Chapter, No. 10, of Warwick, and has been for three years its high priest. He is identified with Manufacturers' Lodge, No. 15, I. O. O. F., of Olneyville, and a member of the Franklin Lyceum, of Providence.

Mr. Heydon in 1881 married Lottie A. Booth, daughter of Wright Booth and Jane G. Bradley, of Crompton, R. I. Mr. Booth built, and for more than twenty-nine years was landlord of the Crompton Hotel. The only child of Mr. and Mrs Heydon is a son, Howard Raymond, born January 23rd, 1882.  Biographie Index

THOMAS J. HILL. -The long and successful business career of Thomas Jefferson Hill as a manufacturer in New England sustains an important relation to the development of a portion of Kent county, and although his enterprises have been carried on and his fortune secured chiefly outside the county, yet, in this record of the growth of manufacturing villages, among the people here who have known him and respect him for his masterly qualities of head and heart, something more than a passing mention should be made.

The state of Rhode Island has produced but few men in this century who will go down to history as his peer. The son of a Pawtucket mechanic in humble life, he found his school days ended when he was but fourteen years of age, and in the blacksmith shop of his father, at Cromwell Hill, his next two years were passed. The next nine years probably determined the general channel in which his life work was to be done. Pitcher & Gay (afterward Pitcher & Brown) were manufacturers of mill machinery, and Mr. Hill became their apprentice, mastered the business, and within the nine years he was with them he was employing men and taking contracts on his own risk.

He went to Providence April 19th, 1830, and took charge of a machine shop connected with a cotton manufactory on Eddy street for Samuel Slater. Four years later the business of the machine shop was reorganized as the Providence Machine Company, in which Mr. Hill had an interest of forty per cent. In 1837, two years after Mr. Slater's death, the business having rapidly improved, Mr. Hill bought at Willimantic, Conn., the Lee mill, intending to remove there the 'machine manufacturing business. He, however, repaired the property at Willimantic, and making his own machinery, started a thread mill in 1840, which in 1845 he sold to A. D; & J. Y. Smith. Within the two succeeding years Mr. Hill built a new machine shop, and purchased the balance of the stock of the Providence ^Machine Company. The company was reorganized under a charter in 1874, with T. J. Hill as president and treasurer. The business, largely owned by Mr. Hill, includes one of the best equipped plants in the country for the manufacture of cotton and worsted mill machinery. His fly-frames, now in general use, were first put on the market in 1847.

In 1850 Mr. Hill, with some Boston capitalists, organized the Bates & Hill Manufacturing Company at Lewiston, Me., and built four cotton mills on the Androscoggin river. Mr. Hill built a foundry and rented a machine shop at Lewiston, where he put up a large portion of the machinery for the flour mills, associating with him in this enterprise his former foreman, Samuel W. Kilvert. In 1864  Amos.D. Lockwood and others purchased part of Mr. Hill's stock and formed the Lewiston Machine Company, and two years later Mr. Hill sold his remaining interest.

In 1859 he purchased the Peckham Mills on the bay at East Greenwich, manufactured part of the required machinery and started a cotton mill, which he named the Bay Mill, and later gave it to his two sons. He now owns several hundred acres at Hill's Grove, in the town of Warwick, where he erected in 1875 one of his cotton thread mills, now under the management of William G. James. This mill, with a capacity of 20,000 spindles, he named the Elizabeth Mill, in honor of Mrs. Hill. The Bay Mill, located at East Greenwich, is now known as the Elizabeth Mill No. 2. His splendid farm property at Hill's Grove is one of the finest on the line of the Stonington railroad, and in his various enterprises to build up a village here of pleasant homes, he has endeared himself to the hearts of all by his broad sympathies for the humble and the poor.

In 1867 he became president and treasurer of the Rhode Island Malleable Iron Works, then erected at Hill's Grove, of which Smith Ouimby is superintendent. Mr. Hill paid half the cost of the fine depot building there, and in 1869 erected and furnished, at a cost of over $4,000, a village school house, containing also a hall for religious meetings.

His sturdy good sense and keen business perceptions, as well as his large private means, have made him a desirable adviser among capitalists, and today we find him, besides directing the manufacturing enterprises mentioned, completing a third of a century as president of the Lime Rock National Bank of Providence, and he has served over twenty-six years as vice-president and trustee of the City Savings Bank. In 1866 he organized the Providence Dredging Company, and in 1874 the Providence Pile Driving and Bridge Building Company, and other combinations of labor and capital for the development of the material resources of his native state.

He has given a little attention to politics, having been seven years in the Providence city council and once in the state general assembly.

Mr. Hill's first wife, Betsey, who died in May, 1859, was a daughter of Sylvanus and Ruth Brown of Pawtucket. All the lines of descent from the subject of this sketch will be traced from this marriage. The second Mrs. Hill, who died in November, 1866, was Olive L., daughter of Stephen and Hannah Farnham of Canterbury, Conn. In 1869, after completing his second European trip, Mr. Hill was married on the 9th of August to a Warwick lady-Elizabeth C. Kenyon, daughter of John H. and Ruth Kenyon-who shares with him their elegant home in Providence, where he is passing his serene and hale old age in the enjoyment of that vigor of mind and body which would class him with the men of sixty years.

His life has been long and eventful and cast in a remarkable period of the country's growth. His native village, now a city- his adopted city, a great manufacturing center-the plains of Warwick, which he found almost useless, he has lived to see teeming with life and enterprise ; and himself transformed from the unknown blacksmith's boy to the millionaire whose career will be made the model of many another who aims at honors and position to be fairly won.  Biographie Index

CHARLES WYMAN HOPKINS, who has kindly furnished us the MS. of the preceding sketches, is the son of Pardon and Lydia Ann (Lillibridge) Hopkins, and was born in Exeter, R. I., August 8th, 1839. He received his education in the public schools, and at the Providence Conference Seminary at East Greenwich, R. I. He taught in the public schools from the age of sixteen to twenty-two, when he enlisted in the Seventh regiment Rhode Island volunteers, and was assigned to duty at brigade headquarters, as chief clerk of the commissary department, First brigade, Second division, Ninth army corps, and for three years participated in the campaigns in which the Ninth corps was engaged in Virginia, Kentucky and Mississippi. After the close of the war, as soon as his health, which had been seriously impaired, would permit, he purchased the stock of goods in the village store at Nooseneck, was appointed postmaster, and carried on the business until he removed to Providence in 1869. For a number of years he was in the employ of the A. & W. Sprague Manufacturing Company, having had charge of their store at Central Falls, R. I., and since 1874 has been in the employ of the Providence Gas Company. In 1886, in anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Providence, he made some original investigations in regard to the early settlement of the town, which before had been deemed impracticable on account of the destruction of the early documents of the town, the result of which he embodied in an attractive quarto volume entitled " The Home Lots of the Early Settlers of the Providence Plantations, with Notes and Plats," the importance and value of which has been acknowledged by those interested in historical and antiquarian researches. He married, May 1st, 1860, Jane Frances Knight, daughter of the Reverend Daniel R. Knight, of Exeter, R. I., and resides at 54 Richardson street. Providence, R. I. He has a daughter, Anne Miller Hopkins, a graduate of the classical department Providence High School, and a music teacher.  Biographie Index

DAVID HOPKINS, son of Rufus and Amey Hopkins, residents of Coventry, was a manufacturer in the town of Exeter, and subsequently at Nooseneck Hill, where he remained as long as he continued cotton manufacturing. He finally moved to Cranston, where he died March 17th, 1881. At the outset of his career Mr. Hopkins established a character for integrity and punctuality, being moved thereto by a deep sense of moral obligation. In the first years of his residence in West Greenwich he paid but little attention to public and political affairs. Gradually, however, he was led to take a decided stand in politics, and upon the side that has arrayed in its ranks nearly all the textile manufacturers in the country. West Greenwich was for a long time a very Gibraltar of democracy. Mr. Hopkins and a few friends began a spirited opposition to it, however, and after some hard battles for a few years, they succeeded in routing completely the democratic forces, and from that time until he left town Mr. Hopkins and his friends remained masters of the situation. He repeatedly filled town offices and represented the town a number of times in the state senate.  Biographie Index

EDWIN W. HOPKINS, son of David and Sarah (Franklin) Hopkins, was born in West Greenwich, R. I., May 7th, 1831. He received his education in the public schools of the town, supplemented by a course of study at the Worcester Academy. At the age of twenty-one, he entered into partnership with his father who was engaged in the manufacture of cotton warp at the village of Nooseneck, R. I, in which business he continued until the year 1865, when the manufacturing property was sold to Jonathan L. Spencer & Co. In 1866 he commenced the manufacture of carpet warp and twine at Nooseneck Village, where he has been engaged in business until the present time (1889), and is now manufacturing sash cord. He was elected senator from the town of West Greenwich to the state legislature in 1860, and re-elected to the same office each successive year, until the year 1867, when he removed to the city of Providence and was succeeded in office by his father David Hopkins. He married Celia E. Woodmancy, daughter of Mr. Samuel Woodmancy, and resides at 249 Broadway, Providence, R. I. He has a son, Byron F. Hopkins, who is engaged in stock raising at Cheyenne, and a daughter Julia Annabel, wife of Mr. Fred. A. Sutton of Providence, R. I.  Biographie Index

LYMAN RHODES HOPKINS.- The subject of this sketch is the son of David and Sarah (Franklin) Hopkins, born in West Greenwich, R. I., April 2d, 1824, and in early life worked in his father's cotton mill, going to school in the winter, and in that way receiving a common school education. At about the age of sixteen he went to work for his brother-in-law, William S. Harris, attending his store, for a salary of fifty dollars per year and board. While in this store he learned, by himself, the art of cutting and making men's clothing, and for three or four years carried on the tailoring business. About the year 1846 he built what is known as the Robin Hollow cotton mill, near Nooseneck Hill, and engaged in the manufacture of cotton warps and twine, which he followed for several years. About the year 1858 he went to New York and opened a small store at No. 46 Beekman street, for the purpose of selling his own goods. Soon after he went to New York he commenced to furnish cotton and supplies for some two other mills, one at Coventry Centre, and one at Richmond, R. I. About the year 1865 he sold out the Robin Hollow mill to William Potter. Since that time he has been largely interested in the manufacture of spool cotton thread at Holyoke, Mass., in connection with the Merrick Thread Company, and in 1878 was elected its president, which position he now (1889) holds. He is also a director in the Norfolk and New Brunswick Hosiery Company, of New Brunswick, N. J. He represented the town of West Greenwich in the state legislature of Rhode Island in the years 1857 and 1858.

He married, first, Eunice, daughter of George Gardner, and had three children: Charles, Mary L., and George L., of whom George L. is the only survivor. Charles died in childhood ; Mary L. married Bryant Drew and died, leaving a daughter, Elsie Gardner Drew. After his removal to Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1865, his wife, Eunice, died, and he married, March 12th, 1874, Miss Rosalie Mercine Gilmore. His residence at this time is at 391 Cumberland street, Brooklyn, N. Y.  Biographie Index

BENJAMIN REYNOLDS HOXSIE, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Spencer) Hoxsie, was born in West Greenwich, R. I., April 24th. 1809. His father, Joseph Hoxsie, born October 11th, 1781, was the son of Benjamin and Mercy Hoxsie. For many years Joseph Hoxsie kept the tavern on Nooseneck Hill. He was county judge, and represented the town of West Greenwich in the general assembly of the state from 1816 to 1818, and from 1825 to 1828. His son, Benjamin R. Hoxsie, was educated in the common schools of the town and at the high school or academy at Kingston Hill, R. I. He was elected town clerk of West Greenwich in 1834, and served the town in that capacity four years; also as a member of the general assembly from West Greenwich from 1839 to 1843, and for the years 1857 and 1868 ; and as president of the town council and court of probate from 1849 to 1851, and from 1857 to 1859. He was for many years engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods at Nooseneck, and in 1859 removed to Providence, and died at Nayatt, R. I., July 5th, 1878. He was well versed in the public affairs of the town, a fine penman, and of an affable and gentlemanly deportment. He married Betsey Ann Ellis, daughter of Allen Ellis, of West Greenwich. His son, Benjamin R. Hoxsie, Jr., was elected a member of the town council of West Greenwich in 1885; president of the town council in 1887 and 1888, and senator from the town of West Greenwich to the state legislature in 1888. He was married in 1869 to Susan B. Eldredge, who died, leaving five children. He was married again in 1884, to Hannah C. Perkins.  Biographie Index

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