THOMPSON, David Moulton, President and Treasurer of the Corliss Steam Engine Company, Providence, was born at Great Falls, in the town of Somersworth, N. H., April 10, 1839. He .was the eldest of a family of four sons and three daughters, children of Joseph H. and Lydia B. (Moullon) Thompson.   He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and graduated from the high school at sixteen years of age.   It was the earnest desire of his parents that he should enter college; but he had formed other plans, and finally obtained their consent to a postponement of theirs for one or possibly two years. He had from early boyhood manifested a deep interest in machinery and mechanics.  His father was both a frame and mule spinner, and operated under contract for many years the spinning of several mills owned by the Great Falls Manufacturing Company.   Thus exceptional opportunities were at hand to gratify his desire to learn the art of cotton manufacture.   Very much of his time out of school hours and nearly all school vacations had been spent in the mills.   At fourteen years he had engaged in all of the duties and operations required of the back-boys, cleaners, frame spinners, and the mule piece, spinners and doffers; while at sixteen he was regarded as a proficient operator of Smith and  Mason  mules   This  early  experience and training may be regarded as not only the foundation, but as a factor of great supplementary force, influencing in a large measure all subsequent effort and the achievements of later years.  Shortly after leaving school he went into the mills, in pursuance of a well-formed purpose to learn all of the operations of the several departments, to which he devoted nearly four years.   The last ten  months  were   spent  in  the bleachery and cloth-finishing  departments.    He  then went to Boston, and served a regular apprenticeship to the trade  of a  carpenter and joiner.   In 1860 he returned to the mills, to engage in the mechanical departments.   In the latter part of said year, he was engaged to go to Manville, R. I., where he started  up  and operated a room of self-acting mules.   Several months later he accepted, of the same company, the position of master mechanic, in which he remained during the re-organization of the property.   Hon Jonathan Chace, ex-Senator of Rhode  Island,  was then Agent.   In September 1863  he  removed to Whitinsville,   Mass., and entered the employ of the Paul Whitin & Sons, subsequently the Whitin Machine Works, noted builders of cotton machinery, in which service he remained  three years.   In September 1866 he removed to Portland, Me., entered a copartner ship with two former associates, and began business as carpenters and builders.    One  of  the partners retired in a few months; during the second year he purchased the interest of the remaining partner and continued the business alone.   The third year he employed an average of one hundred and seventy-five carpenters, upon a variety of high-grade work, among which was a contract  for the re-building of  the  High Street Congregational Church (Rev. Dr. Fenn, pastor).   A recognition such as the above, accorded a young man but twenty-nine years of age and a resident but two and a half years, was an honor of which he may justly have been proud.  In September 1869 he was invited to remove to Boston and enter into partnership with the builder of whom he learned his trade a man of large experience and considerable means less than eleven years before.   He accepted the proposal, and in January 1870 sold out his business in Portland. In July following, the terms of the copartner ship were revised to enable him to open an office for the practice of architecture and engineering as a profession, - a long cherished plan, in the preparation for which years of earnest effort had been given.   In July 1871 he was engaged as the architect, engineer and builder for the Number Three Mill (designed for 120,000 spindles) at Manville, R. I., where eight years before he was employed as master   mechanic.   This  engagement materially changed recently formed plans, and he determined to unite the varied experiences of previous years and devote the future exclusively to mill engineering, a profession justly demanding a wide range of practical experience.   It then appeared clear that the many departments of industrial work which had occupied the preceding sixteen years were but the links of a chain awaiting the process of welding, or as a series of minor paths all converging toward a central point or junction into a broad thorough-fare common to all.   In September 1873 he dissolved his partnership in the builders' trade in Boston, and the   following December removed his engineering office from Boston to Providence.   The business extended beyond local  surroundings and gave promise of large operations in the future.   In the spring of 1878 he visited Europe, where he devoted seven months to a careful study and observation of the methods employed in the manufacture and finish of cotton and woolen textile fabrics, as also to questions of engineering and mechanical construction, both in England and upon the continent.    In February 1879 he visited the South, devoting four months to extended t ravel and study of its social and physical conditions, with reference to its probable future in the manufacture of cotton. The predictions made upon his return have proved prophetic. A large business was opened up in the South. The operations of his office extended rapidly through the New England and Middle states, the Southwest and Canada. In 1883 the office employed thirty-seven draughtsman; twenty-seven mills were in process of treatment, of which eleven were new plants, and sixteen in course of re-organization. During the twelve years preceding, more than twenty young men (many of them graduates of technological schools) had been trained through a three-years apprenticeship, a system which proved of great value. These young men are now employed in important work through the country, while several of them are occupying positions of large responsibility. The honor and pride of the training of such a corps of young men constitute some of his most pleasant memories.  In the presence of such conditions as above recited, Mr. Thompson was induced in 1883 to give up his profession, and enter the service of Messrs. B. B. & R. Knight as General Manager of their mills, embracing all of the properties except the Hebron Manufacturing Company. The capacity of the mills in 1883 was one hundred and eighty thousand spindles. He continued in the management for a period of twelve years, during which the business extended to four hundred and twenty-one thousand spindles and twelve thousand six hundred looms, employing seven thousand persons. Their property comprised seventeen villages in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, twenty-one mills, a bleachery and print works.  The production of the bleachery was twenty-two tons of goods per day, and this large amount was but sixty per cent, of the product of the mills.  Mr. Thompson resigned in May 1894, to take effect January 1, 1895. In May 1894 the property of the Corliss Steam Engine Company was purchased of the heirs of the late George H. Corliss, and in the re-organization Mr. Thompson was elected President and Treasurer. His associates in the directory are men of great prominence, and widely known as practical and financial managers of many of the most prominent mechanical works in New England. In the face of an un-paralleled business depression the works of the Corliss Steam Engine Company resumed operations.  The year 1895 witnessed a larger production and output than ever before in the history of the works.  Mr. Thompson's management is recognized, in view of the times, to be remarkably successful. Many improvements have  been  made  involving large expenditures. One of the most marked is doubtless his invention of a new type of boiler, patents for which have been issued to him in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Belgium. It has been subjected to a large number of tests by disinterested experts of high reputation, and the results obtained are recognized by all as phenomenal, exceeding anything heretofore known of which there is reliable and authentic record. It now appears only a question of a restoration of healthful business conditions, when this famous and world-renowned plant will take its position as in former times when under the direction of its illustrious founder.  The responsibilities of large business interests have for many years been such as to preclude the acceptance of political honors, which have been often tendered. He has taken a deep interest in the welfare of the city of Providence, where he has resided for the past twenty-four years, and is recognized as a factor of influence, and an earnest promoter of all just measures for public improvement. He was the projector of the Greenwich-street improvements and Elmwood-avenue boulevard. His exposition of the above subject, coupled with a review of the progress and improvement of many modern cities, published in 1889, in a voluminous pamphlet, accomplished its purpose, re-moved the objections which had stood as barriers for years, and awakened a liberal spirit, the evidence of which is apparent in the extensive works since undertaken and now in progress.   A second edition of three thousand copies was called for, five hundred of which were distributed largely at request for municipal and public libraries throughout the country. It was widely noticed by the press, notably by the Boston Herald in November 1889, and was pronounced by Frederick Law Olmsted (a gentleman of national reputation) as one of the best presentations of the subject that he had ever seen. In 1891 a joint resolution of the City Council had been presented to the General Assembly, asking for the enactment of a bill permitting the city of Providence to borrow four million dollars for public improvements. The natural spirit of conservatism, supplemented by local disturbance and difference of opinion among prominent leaders, stood as an inflexible barrier.  At the request of the Mayor, Mr. Thompson engaged in the work at once. He called a meeting of the executive committee of the Advance Club. His urgent appeal secured the support of this committee (composed of fifteen prominent citizens), and laid the foundation of subsequent effort in harmonizing serious opposition.   He then called a meeting of the club, and his address upon that occasion, entitled " The Crisis," was unanimously endorsed. A thousand copies were ordered  printed and distributed   to  the  City Council,  and   to leading and prominent citizens of  influence in the city and state.   A committee of prominent members of  the club presented   the address and resolutions to the General  Assembly, and secured a prompt  enactment   of   the   important measure.  Mr. Edwin P. Dawley, chief of the engineering department, Providence Division, of the New York, New Haven  & Hartford Consolidated Railroad, says : " The change in terminal plans for the purpose of widening Francis street, from eighty feet as first determined to one hundred feet as now being executed, was due to Mr. Thompson's recommendation and earnest personal advocacy."   The above indicates very briefly the deep interest he has taken in all measures intended to advance the material interests of his adopted city and state.   He has for many years taken a deep interest in technical education, and has been especially desirous for the establishment of a  technological  school which should give prominence to the techniques of the textile industry.   In company with several prominent citizens, a charter was secured for the purpose.  Fou rteen business organiz ations  and   Boards of Trade of the state were induced to co-operate.  Five delegates from each were appointed to com-pose a general committee into whose hands the pose a general committee into whose hands the interests of this great work was placed.   At the invitation of this committee, Mr. Thompson prepared an address which set forth clearly and at length the objects and purposes of the enterprise.   The paper was published and distributed throughout the state, and awakened a deep interest; but owing to the serious financial conditions the work of the committee has been suspended. He was the founder of the Advance Club, and its first President for three years, and is a member of many social and business organizations.     He is a Free Mason, raised in Solomon's Temple Lodge in Saccarappa, Maine, in 1867.   The foregoing is but a brief outline of a busy life.   Mr. Thompson has been an active and indefatigable worker, versatile in resources, of tremendous nervous power and energy.   He has had a wide and remarkable experience of great diversity.  He is widely known throughout the country, and to nearly all  engaged  in manufacturing interests.  Commencing business life at a very early age, he has done forty years of work averaging not less than sixteen hours a day. As will be seen from the recent portrait herewith, he is yet young, full of vigor, in the prime of an active life, which gives promise of yet long years of great usefulness. Mr.  Thompson was married, January 16, 1858, to Anna J. Hanners, of Great Falls, daughter of Thomas and Jane Hanners (both deceased); they have had two children: Lydia Ella (deceased), and Emma Frances, married to Daniel J. Sully, October 1, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Sully reside in Providence, and have three children: Anna Beth, Kenneth Moulton and Gladys Lee Sully. Biographie Index

WATSON, Colonel Arthur Hamilton, merchant and all-round business man, Providence, was born in Lonsdale, R. L, September 20, 1849, son of Rev.  Elisha F. and Mary (Dockary) Watson. He is a lineal descendant of an old Rhode Island family. He received his early education in the public schools, and graduated at Brown University in the class of 1870, In 1871 he became a clerk in the wholesale boot and shoe house of Greene, Anthony & Company, Providence, was admitted to partnership in the business in 1873, and is now the active partner in the firm, which is the largest boot and shoe house in the city.   Colonel Watson is also a Director in the Globe National Bank, the Union Railroad Company and the Narragansett Electric Lighting Company, is Vice-President of the Nicholson File Company, and President of the Providence, Fall River & Newport Steamboat Company, a corporation formed by the recent consolidation of all the steamboat lines on Narragansett Bay. He has been one of the Vice-Presidents of the Providence Board of Trade, and was Vice-President of the Board of Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition for Rhode Island. Colonel Watson was elected to the Common Council as a member from Ward Two in 1883, and served continuously in that body until 1893, the last three years as President of the Council. In 1892 he was unanimously nominated by the Republicans for Mayor, but was defeated by Mayor William K. Potter, the Democratic candidate for re-election. He was then elected Alderman, and served three years, two years as President of the Board, retiring in January 1896. During Colonel Watson's period of service in the City Council he served on various important committees, and for several years was Chairman of the Committee on Finance. He was Chairman of the joint special committee on the investigation of the Municipal Court in 1884, and also served on the joint special committee on the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the town of Providence. He served as Colonel on the staff of Governor Bourne three years, and is a member of the Hope and Athletic clubs. Colonel Watson was married, February 20, 1873, to Miss Annie P.  Sprague, daughter of Colonel Byron Sprague of Providence; they have four children: Harriet, Byron, Mary Dockary and Annie Hamilton Watson. Biographie Index

WEST, George J., lawyer, Providence, was born in that city, in 1852, son of John and Catherine (Cavanagh) West, and  died July 21, 1896. He acquired his early education in the public schools, and graduated from Brown University in 1876. From college he entered the Law School of Boston University. Graduating in 1878, he opened an office and commenced practice in Providence.  Later, his brothers Ambrose E. and Thomas F.  were associated with him. The former died in 1894.  Mr. West early established a reputation as an advocate of superior ability, and especially in the department of criminal law he soon won a position and fame which placed him in the front rank of his profession.   At the time of his death, which unexpected and untoward event occurred in the midst of a brilliant career full of even greater future promise, he was universally recognized as the foremost criminal lawyer of Rhode Island, if not of New England, although his practice did not extend beyond the limits of his own state.   His talents and abilities were not confined, however, to the criminal branch of his profession, as in all respects he was a persistent student, widely read and possessing an amazing fund of general information, an acute lawyer, and a brilliant and magnetic advocate.   Before a jury, he had few equals and no superiors, and even among his competitors in the legal profession, it is the belief of many that he was without a peer in the art of fascinating and capturing the twelve men that are selected  to render a decision in matters of litigation.   One of the first criminal trials in which Mr. West figured was that of the notorious "Spiker" Murphy, now serving a life term in the Rhode Island  State Prison at Cranston. His opponent on the side of the State was Judge Horatio Rogers, then Attorney-General, and Judge Rogers asserted that a harder fight for the acquittal of a prisoner was never within his experience. The skill, ingenuity and forensic ability displayed by Mr. West in that case astonished members of the Bar, who until then were not aware of his mental stature or his grasp of his vocation.   He stepped into celebrity at once, and since that memorable contest has been regarded as the Abe Hummel of Rhode Island jurisprudence. Mr. West again came into prominence in his defense of Yankee Dan Sullivan, and was defeated in that case only because Sullivan made a fatal admission, or stumble, on the witness stand. Mr. West's victories won in the trials of Ernest Whitaker and Dr. Hale are fresh in the recollections of the people of Rhode Island. In the latter case particularly, did his superb accomplishments and wonderful fertility of mind undergo a most telling exemplification. The doctors on the side of the prosecution confessed that they never ran against so dangerous a cross-questioner, or one who seemed to know the medical books from Alpha to Omega as he did. In the civil departments of the courts also, Mr. West scored many notable triumphs. One of these was the famous Burnham case against the Railroad, in   which he got four   successive verdicts, for seventy-five hundred, eight thousand, eleven thousand, and twenty thousand, dollars respectively. After the first verdict, the Supreme Court granted the railroad new trials, and while preparing to raise the ad damnum to thirty thousand dollars, Mr.  West agreed to a liberal settlement with the road.  The cases growing out of the railroad accident at Lonsdale were also handled with exceptional cleverness by Mr. West, who established the point upon which all of those pieces of litigation turned.  He was connected with the celebrated Washburn-Moen case, in which he was paid by Doc.  Wilson a retainer that has rarely been equaled. He participated in the contest over the will of Judge Eli Aylsworth, and it was in a large measure due to his masterly efforts that the will was broken by the jury. Corporations came to consider him one of the most dangerous antagonists they could meet, learning to dread the appearance of his name on a writ, and it is within the knowledge of many attorneys that sooner than risk a battle before a jury with George J. West, they would gladly settle for a round sum. Mr. West's income from his practice was very large. He owned a number of pieces of valuable real estate, but never went into speculation in any other form, devoting his business life almost wholly to his profession. As a lawyer he was an indefatigable laborer, toiling both night and day; and perhaps quite as much to his assiduity with his law books and reports, as to his native quickness and ability, was due his many noteworthy achievements before the bar of justice. He could see into difficulties with a directness of perception and a thoroughness of comprehension that excited the admiration of his brother barristers. He was not given to deciding a question off hand, but bent to its consideration all of his energy and attainments, often working for days and weeks over a point he desired to emphasize, and then coming into court fortified with authority after authority and reason after reason until his opposing counsel began to think he was a perfect cyclopedia of legal information. He was eminently faithful to his clients, who always trusted him implicitly, and when he had laid down their cases they had the satisfaction of knowing that there was absolutely nothing more that could be done for them. In Mr. West's untimely removal by death, the bar of the state, and the city that was his home, have suffered an irreparable loss. He was closely in touch with the people in many ways, and was particularly serviceable to them in defending their rights against the real or fancied encroachments of corporations; was one of the staunchest and most valuable friends of the public schools; and was actively prominent in all matters relative to the fostering of Catholic institutions. He was a member of the School Board of Providence from 1888 until his death, and in 1885-6 was a Representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly.  In politics Mr. West was a Democrat, and had served as a member of the Democratic City and State Central committees. He was twice married, his first wife passing away a short time after their union. His second marriage was in 1881, to Miss Hyde, of Providence, by whom he had seven children. He was very fond of his home and family, and although a member of many societies of a social and literary character, he devoted a large share of his time to the home circle. Mr. West died abroad, whither he had gone with his family on a tour of pleasure and health-recuperation, the event taking place in Aughnacloy, Ireland, from the effects of a cold contracted during a period of cold and stormy weather in crossing the Isrih sea. His remains were brought home on the steamship Servia, which also brought the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, who had been his fellow-passengers on the same steamer a few weeks before. An escort of honor, detailed by the city government and various societies of Providence, accompanied the body from Boston to that city, where two days latter the funeral was held in the Cathedral, attended by an immense concourse o f neighbo rs, business and professional acquaintances, representatives of the Bench and the Bar, the city and state governments, various societies, and citizens generally, assembled to pay their tributes of reverence and sorrow to the memory of the departed lawyer, their sincere friend and conscientious advocate. Biographie Index

WHEATON, Francis Levison, M. D., of Providence, was born in Providence October 27, 1804, son of Dr. Levi and Martha (Burrill) Wheaton, and died January 20, 1896. His early education was acquired in the public schools of his native city, and his studies for his profession included attendance at the Medical School of Brown University, and lectures in Boston. He received a further valuable training as assistant to his brother, Dr. Walter Wheaton, Surgeon of the Second Regiment U. S.  A., from the age of seventeen to twenty, and in 1824 he accompanied the regiment under command of Colonel Brady from Sackett's Harbor to Lake Superior. Returning to Providence in that year he established himself as a physician and surgeon, and remained until May 1836, when he accepted an invitation to go to Pomfret, Conn., to take the place of Dr. Hubbard, physician and surgeon of that town. He returned to Providence in 1840 and practiced his profession there, excepting during his intervals of military service, until his retirement from age and failing health a few years since.  During the Mexican War he accepted the position of Surgeon to the Ninth Regiment. U. S. A., and participated in the campaigns which resulted in the capture of the City of Mexico by General Scott.  During the war of the Rebellion he served as Surgeon to the First and Second Regiments, Rhode Island Volunteers. After the war he was appointed Surgeon-General of Rhode Island, and held that office for a number of years. Dr. Wheaton was a member of the Rhode Island Medical Society and the Providence Medical Association. He was married, August 3, 1828, to Miss Amelia Smith Burrill; they had four children: George Burrill, Frank, William Levi and Henry Seth Wheaton. The second son is now Brigadier-General Frank Wheaton, United States Army. Biographie Index

WILCOX, Robert, M. D., Pascoag, was born in Mapleville, R. I., November 14, 1854, son of William and Anna (Tabb) Wilcox. He is of English descent. His early education was that of the district school, following which he attended Wesleyan Academy at  Wilbraham, Mass., the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and the Long Island College Hospital at Brooklyn, N. V., from which institution he graduated in June 1878 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.   He left the Glendale (Rhode Island) mill in July 1869, being then fifteen years old, and went to live with his preceptor, Dr. Benjamin Joslin, in Mohegan, R. I., with whom he remained at this period eleven years.   After graduation he practiced in company with Dr. Joslin two years, under the firm name of Joslin & Wilcox. In 1870's he commenced practice in Pascoag, where he has continued ever since.   Dr. Wilcox has served his town as Tax Collector, in 1876 and 1880, as Superintendent of Schools in 1882, as Town Councilman for two years, and as Coroner from 1886 to 1892.   He was appointed by the Governor, April 1, 1892, Medical Examiner for Burrillville and North Smithville, District Number Five, which office he now holds.   He is a member of the United Order of Workmen and of the Foresters, for which he is Medical Examiner.   He is also a member of the West Side Club of Providence. In politics Dr.  Wilcox is a Republican. He was married, June 18, 1879,to Miss Frances Caroline, daughter of the late Edwin Brewer of Wilbraham, Mass. Biographie Index

WILKINSON, George, silversmith, and General Superintendent of the Gorham Manufacturing Company, Providence, for many years, was born in Birmingham, England, April 13, 1819, son of George and Ann (Waterhouse) Wilkinson, and died in Providence, December 28, 1894. His mother was a daughter of Robert Waterhouse of Sheffield, England. He received his education in a private school until the age of twelve, and after-wards studied in the Birmingham School of Design, of which Thomas Wallis was Head Master. At fifteen he was apprenticed to the trade of die-sinking and served until twenty-one, then worked at the business until the age of thirty, when he entered into business in that line for himself. Soon after he came to this country, and in 1857 he became connected with the Gorham Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of silverware, Providence.  At that time the annual product of this now famous concern did not equal that of a single month of the present time, and the " little workshop " located on Steeple street was far from being widely known. To Mr. Wilkinson as General Superintendent belongs no small share of the credit for the company's subsequent success and development.   To him great credit is due  for the  artistic   and consistent character of the designs for which the Gorham Company's productions are justly noted; for the possession of that thorough knowledge of the numerous and various processes of manufacture which is so necessary in order to enable any one person to efficiently direct  the  operations  throughout an entire establishment; and for a quick and complete comprehension of the adaptability of machinery and tools, the greater portion of which are of a special character, quite unlike those of any other manufacturing industry.    At the time he joined the company Mr. Wilkinson was in the midst of early and vigorous manhood, a serious and enthusiastic student of all that was best in art, and possessed of perceptions of the keenest order. As a lover of the beauties of nature, he was by instinct prepared to appreciate the excellences of art. It has justly been said, " The devotee of art traces in nature many beauties which by the uncultivated eye are unnoticed."   It was, therefore, great good fortune for the Gorham Company to secure, in the early period of its career, the services of a man so peculiarly fitted to develop the industry.   Gifted to an unusual degree with the talent for the production of new ideas, and associated with this a desire to learn from the best schools of art what had gone before; with a practical knowledge, gained by experience, sufficient to enable him to do with his own hands that last touch which often gives the whole character to a piece of fine workmanship, coupled with the rare characteristic of being able to inspire others to perform better work through their confidence in him, and their willingness to follow his directions as a master of the craft: not confined to a servile imitation of any one school, but sufficiently broad in mind to appreciate and take what is best from all schools and ages, Mr. Wilkinson combined a fertility of resources, and a production so varied in its character, that it may safely be said that he has been to the metal industry of the United States, during a period of its most rapid development, what Wedgwood was to the pottery industry of England at a period a century earlier.  A cultivated and studious mind caused him to see a true value in the possession of suitable art publications, and he steadily accumulated for the company a rare and valuable collection of books and folios of plates, not for the purpose of copying in toto, but  purely  for educational and suggestive use.  This country is lacking in the possession of those facilities afforded  by such art  treasures as the British and South Kensington museums of London, the Louvre at Paris, and others of note in Continental cities.     It acts as a healthy stimulus or inspiration to intelligent artisans to have placed in their hands, or find  within ready reach, works entirely new to them, and which convey to their minds new forms and ornamentations, both eminently suggestive and helpful.   With the growth of the business came assistant designers and modelers, often coming from Paris, London, or other Old World cities, where art schools and museums of world-wide reputation furnished an unfailing supply of the best examples of art work in all its varied materials.    To such workmen the Gorham library is an attractive and helpful feature, and upon them it exerts a potent influence.   In addition it is an interesting collection of examples of meritorious industrial art work, forming a choice and valuable museum.   In the foregoing respects the manufactory of the Gorham Company is unlike that of other silversmiths, and to these features must be attributed much of their success.    Mr. Wilkinson had for some years looked forward with the deepest thought and kindling interest to the time when the "old shop," which had reached the rule limit of its repeated expansions, should be vacated and a new plant erected, more thoroughly in touch with his idea of the company's requirements for the future.  Directly the site was determined upon and the land purchased, he prepared a series of architectural plans and submitted them for approval. While his own feelings suggested and favored the introduction of features in the front facade more ornamental, or even picturesque, and in keeping with or as reflecting the nature of the business, a desire of others in favor of constructive simplicity overruled. Upon the adoption of the general design, Constructing Engineer E. P. Sheldon was engaged to lay out and prepare the working drawings, and to superintend the erection of the buildings. Yet Mr. Wilkinson, though always busily occupied with the preparation of new designs for the company's products, found time to do a large share of the planning of the new shops, and locating the machinery, tools, etc., which for many years had been his experienced study. His wish, felt and expressed, to see the new works completed and in successful operation was gratified, and a deep sense of satisfaction came to him in beholding such a consummation of a life's work, and in hearing the expressions of appreciation which spontaneously came from many sources of those most competent to judge of the difficulties encountered and successfully overcome. Mr. Wilkinson was a member of the Masonic fraternity for some years, but retired from the order, feeling that it would take too much time from his business. He was married, March 31,1847, to Miss Harriet Butterworth ; they had twelve children - seven sons and five daughters - ten of whom are now living: Jessie, Walter, William S., Arthur W., John B., Amey H., Ha rriet S., Esther Ann, Rut h and Robert Wilkinson. Biographie Index

WILLARD, Charles Wells, Commissioner of Inland Fisheries for the state of Rhode Island, was born in Hartford, Conn., January 24, 1853, son of William Francis and Frances Griswold (Wells) Willard. He is descended on both sides in a direct line from one of the Colonial Governors of Connecticut - the seventh generation on the Willard side and the eighth on the Wells side from Governor Thomas Wells, who was born in England in 1570, and landed at Salem, Mass., June 24, 1629, five years before Simeon Willard, the paternal progenitor of Charles W., came to America; he died at Wethersfield, Conn., and was one of the wealthiest and most prominent men of his time. Simeon Willard, son of Richard Willard of Kent, England, came over in 1634. Soon after his arrival he and his brother-in-law Captain Davis established themselves in Cambridge, where they owned adjoining lands on the Brighton side of the Charles River. Major Willard, as he afterwards became known, was one of the leaders in founding the town of Concord, Mass., on the site of the Indian village of Musketoguid. From him the subject of this sketch is descended. He was educated in the public and high schools of Hartford, and adopted a mercantile career. In 1878 he succeeded J. H. Porter, at Westerly, in the hardware trade, in the same building, 2224 High street, in which he now occupies two stores and four floors for the requirements of his extensive business.   Mr. Willard has served as Rhode Island Commissioner of Inland Fisheries since 1894. He has always held aloof from accepting political or town offices, as interfering with his active business life, and he was led to accept the office of Fish Commissioner only by the inducements of his extreme love of fishing and his fondness for the study of the habits and culture of fishes. He is a charter member and was prominent in the organization of the Westerly Business Men's Association, a strong body of practical business men occupying the entire second floor of the Porter & Loveland Building.  He is also a Director in the Mechanics Savings Bank, and Vice-President of the Local Board of the Connecticut Savings Society. He is prominent in Masonry, being Worshipful Master of Franklin Lodge of Westerly, and Past Eminent Commander of Narragansett Commandery Knights Templar.  He has also served since 1893 as a Trustee of Bowen Lodge Knights of Pythias. Mr. Willard was married, November 25, 1880, to Miss Minnie Porter of Westerly; they have a daughter: Grace Porter Willard. Biographie Index

WOODS, John Carter Brown, lawyer, State Senator, and President of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, was born in Providence, June 12, 1851, son of Marshall and Anne Brown (Francis) Woods.   Among his ancestors are many whose names are prominently associated with the foundation and growth of the country. Captain Thomas Marshall, who came to this country in 1634; Lieutenant Isaac Marshall, an officer in the Revolutionary army; Francis Cooke, who came over in the Mayflower, 1620; Lieutenant John Thompson, who came in the second ship, Fortune; Samuel Woods, of England, who came to this country in 1700; Samuel Woods, his son, of Princeton, Mass., who took an active part in all the interests of the time, especially during the years preceding the American Revolution, was a member of the Committee of Correspondence, and with others signed and published a renunciation of allegiance to the British Crown ; Rev. Alva Woods, A. M., D. D., Harvard A. B., grandson of Samuel Woods of Princeton, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the Columbian College, Washington, D. C, President of, and Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy in, Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., and the University of the State of Alabama, and for many years most prominently identified with Brown University as President ad interim. Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and as Trustee and Fellow; Marshall Woods Brown, A. B., A. M., University of City of New York, M. D., son of Alva Woods, Trustee of Brown University since 1856, Treasurer from 1866 to 1882 ; Chad Brown, who came to this country in the ship Martin, July 1638, soon came to Providence, and with others prepared the first written form of government for the colony oi Providence, which was adopted and continued in force until 1644, when Roger Williams returned from England with the first charter; John Brown, closely identified with the Revolutionary period, and with the events that preceded and followed it, among the first to take measures against the imposition of unjust taxes upon the colonies by Parliament, and to protest against the tyrannical and unlawful acts of armed British vessels in Narragansett Bay, was the organizer and leader of the expedition against the British armed schooner Gaspee in Narragansett Bay on the night of June 9, 1772, which resulted in the destruction of the vessel and the wounding of Lieutenant Duddingston, her commander, furnished supplies and munitions of war to the Continental army, helped to raise recruits for it, was one of a committee appointed by Congress to build vessels for the Continental navy, and generally rendered material service in the cause of American Independence, was in the General Assembly for several years during the War of the Revolution, and was a member of the Assembly that voted to renounce allegiance to the British Crown, for two successive times a member of the Continental Congress, and prominent in securing the adoption of the Constitution of the United States by Rhode Island; Nicholas Brown, brother of the foregoing, also closely identified with the Revolutionary period, among the first to take measures against the imposition of unjust taxes upon the colonies, and to protest against the unlawful acts of armed British vessels in Narragansett Bay, assisted in furnishing supplies, munitions of war, and recruits to the Continental army, was a member of a committee appointed by Congress to build ships for the Continental navy, was one of a commission to adjust accounts between Rhode Island and the United States, and took a prominent part in securing the adoption of the Constitution of the United States by this state; Nicholas Brown, son of the above, the chief benefactor of Brown University, which bears his name, besides his other gifts to the college, building at his own expense Hope College and Manning Hall, and presenting them to the corporation, was a Federalist, and was in the General Assembly for several years, and was also a Presidential Elector; and John Brown Francis, grandfather of Mr.  Woods and grandson of the above John Brown, Governor of the state 1833-8, and United States Senator from February 18, 1842, to January 17, 1844.  The subject of this sketch received his early education in the private school of Rev. C. E. Wheeler, Providence, and entered Brown University, graduating in the class of 1872 with the degree of A. B., and delivering the classical oration. In 1875 he received from Brown University the degree of A. M. He studied law in the office of Thurston, Ripley & Company, Providence, graduated at the Harvard Law School in 1874, receiving the degree of LL. B., was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar in 1874 and to the Bar of the United States Circuit and District Courts in 1876, and has since practiced his profession in Providence. Mr. Woods was elected a Trustee of Brown University June 19, 1884, and still holds that office; he has also been a member of the Advisory- and Executive Committee since June 17, 1885, and Secretary of the Committee since September 4, 1889. He has been a member of the Alpha (Brown University) Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa from June 1871, serving on the Committee on Appointments from June 1883 to June 1884 and from June 1885 to June 1891, and on the Committee of Arrangements from June 1884 to June 1885, was Vice-President of the Chapter from June 1891 to June 1893 and President from June 1893 to June 1895. He has been Moderator of the Charitable Baptist Society of Providence since June 9, 1891, prior to which he was Clerk of the Society fourteen years. In June 1892 he was appointed a member of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, for six years, and in October 1895 was elected President of the Board, which office he at present fills. He was also appointed, in May 1895, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rhode Island Institute for the Deaf, for six years.   He has been President of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals since June 1888, one of the Directors of the Rhode Island School of Design on the part of Brown University since September 1894, and a Director in the Providence National Bank since January 1886.   Mr. Woods has been active in the formation of various societies and social organizations.   He is one of the founders of the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, was Vice-President from June 1890 to June 1891 and President from the latter date to June 1892, was Delegate to the National Congress of the Societies at Chicago in 1893, and has been several times a  Delegate  to meetings of the National Society.   He is one of the founders of the Hope Club of Providence, was continuously a governor of the club from its inception to the present time, excepting from December 1888, when he resigned from the management, to November 1892, was Vice-President from October  1875  to October 1881, and has been President since November 9, 1892.   He  is  also one of the founders of the Country Club at Choppequonsett, and a member of the  Agawam   Hunt Club, the Providence Press Club and the Providence Board of Trade. Mr.  Woods was elected a member of the Common Council in January 1877, and served continuously until January 1885, dec lining a re-election at that time, and was President of that body in the years 1881-2-3-4.   While a member of the Council he served on joint standing committees on City Property, Finance, Police, City Engineer's Department (ex-officio) and Ordinances, being Chairman of the last-named committee in 1879 and 1S80. He was also a member of many special committees, among them serving as Chairman of the Committee appointed to report upon the future management of the Providence Reform School; the result of the investigation made by this committee was the abolishment of that school and the establishment of the Sockanosset School for Boys and Oaklawn School for Girls  at the  State Institution in Cranston.  He was a member of the committee on the City Engineer's Department during the inquiries made by that committee as to the safety of certain public buildings, the pollution of  the Moshassuck and Woonasquetucket  rivers and Providence harbor, and  the best methods of disposing of the city sewage.   As President of the Common Council, he was ex-officio member of the School Committee of Providence in 1881-2-3-4.   Mr. Woods was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from May 1881 to May 1887, a member of the Senate from December 1891 to the May session of 1892, was again elected Senator in April 1894 and re-elected in 1895 and 1896, serving at present in that capacity.   While in the House of Representatives he was a member of the Joint Committee on Rules and Orders, and the Committee on Judiciary, being Chairman of  the latter in 1884-5, 1885-6 and 1886-7 and also Chairman of a committee appointed in March 1886,to inquire into and report upon the administration of criminal law in the state, and Chair-man of a Joint Special Committee appointed in April 1886 to consider changes in laws relating to the administration of justice in the inferior courts, and to the suppression of intemperance.   While in the Senate in 1892 Mr. Woods was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and member of a committee appointed to examine into the condition of the roads and public highways of the state, with a view to improvement in their construction and maintenance, and to revise and consolidate the laws relating to the same ; in consequence of the labors of this committee, legislation looking to improved highways was passed in 1895.   In June 1894 he was appointed one of a Joint Committee to consider the subject of exemption from taxation, and taxation generally, and the report was made in April 1896.   Also in June 1894 he was a member of a Joint Special Committee to confer with the city of Providence, with a view to obtaining a site for a State Armory, and in May 1895 he was appointed a  member of  the   Rhode Island State Armory Commission.   In May 1895 he was made Chairman of the Commission to cause a geological survey to be made of portions of the state containing rocks suitable for road building, and in May 1896 he was appointed on the Commission to Revise the Militia Laws of the State.   He has also served as a member of many other special committees.   Politically Mr. Woods is a Republican.  He was a member of the Republican City Committee of Providence from 1879 to 1896, declining a re-election, and was Chairman from 1886 to 1893, declining to serve at the head of the committee longer.   He was also a member of  the Rhode Island Republican State Central Committee from 1890 to 1893, and has been prominently connected with many other Republican organizations, conventions, etc. While in college he was a member of the Epsilon Chapter of the Zeta Psi. He is unmarried. Biographie Index

WESTCOTT, Amasa Smith. Judge of the Municipal Court of Providence for many years, was born in North Scituate, R. I., September 21, 1818, son of John and Cecilia (Owen) Westcott. He is a lineal descendant of Stukley Westcott, one of the first settlers of Providence and Warwick, an associate of Roger Williams in his expulsion from the church in Salem, and one of the distinguished founders of the Rhode Island colony. His grand-father on the paternal side was a soldier of the Revolution. Judge Westcott's early boyhood was passed in the town of his birth, where he pursued the ordinary studies of the public schools. Being ambitious of securing a college education, he attended the academies at Brooklyn and Plainfield, Conn., and after a further preparatory course of study under the tuition of Judge Bosworth of Warren, entered Brown University and graduated there from in 1842. Following graduation he studied law with Judge Bosworth, was admitted to the bar in 1844, and for a year thereafter remained in the office of his preceptor. In 1845 he came to Providence and engaged in the practice of his profession until 1852, when he was elected Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Providence County, and was annually re-elected, with the exception of one year, until 1867. He was then elected Judge of the Municipal Court of Providence, and ex-officio Judge of Probate, which position he occupied with marked ability and honor for seventeen years, or until his retirement from public life in 1884. Judge Westcott has served as a member of the City Council of Providence, and was Chairman of the Committee which in 1875 erected the handsome Providence County Court House. He was also at one time Major of the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Militia. He has been a member of the Squantum Club since 1870, and is a stockholder in the Providence Athenseum. In politics he was originally an old-line Whig, but has been a Republican from the formation of that party. Judge Westcott was married April 7, 1845, to Miss Susan Carpenter, daughter of Daniel Bosworth of Warren and sister of the late Judge Bosworth; they had three children who died in infancy. Biographie Index

YOUNG, Arthur, retired business man, and for many years Postmaster at Slatersville, was born in Jewett City, Conn., August 23, 1828, son of Alfred and Lucy (Peck) Young, and died December 19, 1894.   His parents were both of English ancestry.  his mother being a descendant of Joseph Peck of Belton Hall, Yorkshire, England, who emigrated to America in 1638. The original coat-of-arms of the Pecks is still in the possession of the family, the motto being "Prohibitem quam divitias"; it was first borne by William Peck of Sanford Hall, Essex.  Henry Peck was among the first settlers of New Haven, coming to America in the company of Governor Eaton and the Rev. John Davenport in 1637. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of his native place, and began his business career with Tiffany, Young & Ellis, now Tiffany & Company, New York. In 1848 he accepted a position with J. & W. Slater, cotton manufacturers of Slatersville, R. I., remaining with the firm and their successors, William S. Slater and John W. Slater, as confidential clerk, until he retired from active business in 1885. Mr.  Young served for many years as Postmaster at Slatersville, and in 1883 and 1884 represented the town of North Smithfield as Senator in the State Legislature.   In politics he has been a staunch Republican from the formation of the party. He was married, April 19, 1852, to Miss Alice Wood ; they had three children : Arthur P., Alfred W., who died in infancy, and Alice W., wife of Frederick H.  Potter. Biographie Index

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