Rhode Island Reading Room


History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical

NY: The American Historical Society, Inc. 1920



p. 254 - 257:

Albert K. ShermanALBERT KEENE SHERMAN  --  In the important occupation of the 'shearman', of cloth-shearer, is found the origin of the surname Sherman. The Shearmen, those who sheared the nap and dressed the cloth formed a company in the York Guild. These guilds were all powerful in the mercantile fields in the centuries in which they flourished, and membership in them was highly prized. It was therefore natural that John, the Shearman, should, when the custom of using surnames obtained a practically universal vogue, adopt the name of his calling as his surname - wherefore we have the name in its present form, Sherman.  The Sherman family, in the period when the name had become hereditary, rose to a position of great importance and influence in England, and supplied many noted men to the nation. The Shermans of Yaxley, of whom the American Shermans whose ancestry is traced through Philip Sherman, are descendants, were an honored and respected family there in the early years of the fifteenth century.  The Sherman coat-of-arms is as follows:

Arms - Or, a lion rampant sable between three oak leaves vert.
Crest - A sea-lion sejant sable, charged on the shoulder with three bezants, two and one.
Motto - Mortem Vince Virtute.

The progeny of Philip Sherman in America has numbered many noted men.  The Rhode Island branch, of which the late Albert Keene Sherman, of Newport, R. I., was a member, has had such distinguished representatives as the Hon. Sylvester G. Sherman, lawyer, Representative, Speaker of the House, and a justice of the Supreme Court; Major-General Thomas W. Sherman, United States Army, and Hon. Robert Sherman, for many years a journalist of note in New England, and a former United States Marshal for the district of Rhode Island.

(I)  Thomas Sherman, the first of the direct line of whom we have definite information, was born about 1420, resided at Diss and Yaxley, England, and died in 1493.  He married Agnes ------ .

(II)  John Sherman, Gentleman, was of Yaxley, where he was born about 1450, and died in November, 1504.  He married Agnes, daughter of Thomas Fullen.

(III)  Thomas (2) Sherman, son of John and Agnes (Fullen) Sherman, was born about 1480, died in November, 1551.  He resided at Diss, on the river Waveney, between the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.  His will mentions, property, including the manors of Royden and Royden Tuft, with appurtenances, at Royden and Bessingham, and other properties in Norfolk and Suffolk.  His wife Jane, who was probably not his first wife, was a daughter of John Waller, of Wortham, Suffolk.

(IV)  Henry Sherman, son of Thomas (2) Sherman, was born about 1530, in Yaxley, and is mentioned in his father's will.  His will, made January 20, 1589, proved July 25, 1590, was drawn at Colchester, where he lived.  His first wife, Agnes (Butler) Sherman, was buried October 14, 1580; he married (second) Margery Wilson, a widow.

(V)  Henry (2) Sherman, son of Henry (1) Sherman, was born about 1555, in Colchester, and resided in Dedham, County Essex, England, where his will was made August 21, 1610, and proved September 8 of the same year.  He married Susan Hills, whose will was made ten days after his, and proved in the following month.

(VI)  Samuel Sherman, son of Henry (2) and Susan (Hills) Sherman, was born in 1573, and died in Dedham, England, in 1615.  He married Philippa Ward.

(The Family in New England)

(I)  Hon. Philip Sherman, immigrant ancestor and progenitor, was the seventh child of Samuel and Philippa (Ward) Sherman, and was born February 5, 1610, in Dedham, England.  He came to America when twenty-three years old and settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he was made freeman, May 14, 1634, standing next on the list after Governor Haynes.  In 1635 he returned to England for a short time, but was again in Roxbury, November 20, 1637, when he and others were warned to give up all arms, because 'the opinions and revelations of Mr. Wheelwright and Mrs. Hutchinson have seduced and led into dangerous errors many of the people here in New England'.  The church record says that he was brought over to 'Familism' by Porter, his wife's stepfather.  In 1636 he was one of the purchasers on the island of Aquidneck, new Rhode Island, and on the formation of a government there in 1639 became secretary under Governor William Coddington.  The Massachusetts authorities evidently believed that he was still under their jurisdiction, for on March 12, 1638, though he had summons to appear at the next court, 'if they had not yet gone to answer such things as shall be objected'.  He did not answer this summons, but remained in Rhode Island, where he continued to be a prominent figure in the affairs of the colony.  He was made a freeman, March 16, 1641, was general recorder, 1648 to 1652, and deputy from 1665 to 1667.  He was among the sixteen persons who were requested, on April 4, 1676, to be present at the next meeting of the deputies to give advice and help in regard to the Narragansett campaign.  He was public-spirited and enterprising.  After his removal to Rhode Island he left the Congregational church and united with the Society of Friends. Tradition affirms that he was 'a devout but determined man.'  The early records prepared by him still remain in Portsmouth, and show him to have been a very neat and expert penman, as well as an educated man.  His will showed that he was wealthy for the times.  In 1634 he married Sarah Odding, stepdaughter of John Porter, of Roxbury, and his wife Margaret, who was the Widow Odding at the time of her marriage to Porter.  From Philip Sherman the line runs through six generations to Albert Keene Sherman, of Newport.

(II)  Samson Sherman, son of Philip and Sarah (Odding) Sherman, was born in 1642, in Portsmouth, R. I., where he passed his life, and died June 27, 1718.  He married, March 4, 1675, Isabel Tripp, born 1651, daughter of John and Mary (Paine) Tripp.  She died in 1716.

(III)  Job Sherman, son of Samson and Isabel (Tripp) Sherman, was born November 8, 1687, in Portsmouth, R. I., and died there, November 16, 1747. He married (first) Bridget Gardiner, of Kingston, and married (second) Amie Spencer, of East Greenwich, R. I.

(IV)  Samson (2) Sherman, son of Job and Amie (Spencer) Sherman, was born July 23, 1737, in Portsmouth, where he spent his entire life, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died in January, 1801.  He married, December 9, 1761, Ruth Fish, daughter of David and Jemima (Tallman) Fish, of Portsmouth.

(V)  Job (2) Sherman, son of Samson (2) and Ruth (Fish) Sherman, was born in Portsmouth, R. I., January 21, 1766, and died in Newport, R. I., January 24, 1848.  In 1796 he removed from Portsmouth to Newport, where he became the founder of the business which is now conducted under the firm name of William Sherman & Company.  He was a leader in the business and financial life of Newport in his day, and was one of the original trustees of the Savings Bank of Newport.  He was a staunch Whig, and prominent in public affairs, supporting every movement of importance for the advancement of the welfare of the community.  He was a member of the Society of Friends, and for many years served as trustee of the Society in Newport.  Job Sherman married, December 9, 1795, Alice Anthony, who was born June 9, 1772, and died March 11, 1826, daughter of Isaac and Rebecca Anthony, of Portsmouth, R. I.

(VI)  Albert Sherman, son of Job (2) and Alice (Anthony) Sherman, was born in Newport, R. I., August 14, 1815.  In early life he learned the trade of sailmaker, an occupation which he followed for many years in Newport and later at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he was engaged successfully in business until 1841.  In that year he returned to Newport and established himself in the dry goods business on lower Thames street, in which field he was highly successful.  Ill health forced him to lead a life of comparative retirement, and although he maintained throughout his life a deep interest in public affairs, he never aspired to public office.  He was a Republican in political affiliation.  Mr. Sherman was for many years a director in the Merchants' Bank of Newport, and was active in the founding of the Newport Hospital, to which he was a generous donor throughout his life.  He was a member of the Society of Friends.  On September 2, 1841, Mr. Sherman married Sarah Catherine Marble, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah A. (Holt) Marble, of Newport.  Mrs. Sherman died September 15, 1889, aged seventy-two years. Their children were:  1.  Alice Anthony, who died at the age of two years. 2.  Albert Keene, mentioned below.  Albert Sherman died at his home, June 30, 1884.

(VII)  Albert Keene Sherman, son of Albert and Sarah Catherine (Marble) Sherman, was born in Newport, R. I., March 17, 1844.  He was educated in private schools in Newport, and in 1857 became a pupil in H. H. Fay's private academy there, where he studied for four years. In 1861, finding business fields more agreeable to his tastes than professional life, he secured his first employment in the grocery store of Captain Oliver Potter, with whom he remained as a clerk for about a year.  On May 6, 1862, Mr. Sherman became connected with the dry goods establishment of William Sherman & Company, which was founded by his grandfather in 1796.  In 1866, on the death of David Sherman, he was admitted into partnership in the firm. Thomas G. Brown became a member of the firm in 1873, and in 1885, with the death of the senior partner, William Sherman, Albert Keene Sherman and Mr. Brown succeeded to the management of the business, which under their guidance was developed into one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the State of Rhode Island.  The firm dealt extensively in a high grade line of foreign and domestic dry goods.

Mr. Sherman was one of the foremost figures in business and financial circles in Newport until the time of his death.  As a shrewd and talented organizer, a keen, far-sighted and able executive, he was universally respected.  Strict integrity and justice characterized his every transaction in business and financial fields.  He was a director of the Newport National Bank; a trustee of the Savings Bank of Newport; a director of the Aquidneck Mutual Insurance Company; and a trustee of the Long Wharf of Newport.  He was deeply interested in historical and genealogical research, and was a member of the Newport Historical Society, the Natural History Society, the Redwood Library, and the Athenaeum.  A man of broad culture, he was well versed in literature and the arts, and his home was the center of a refined society.  Mr. Sherman was a member of the Central Baptist Church of Newport (now the Second Baptist), and for many years was clerk of the church.  He was active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and treasurer of the Newport Branch for a long period of years.  His political affiliation was with the Republican party, and he was a staunch believer in all of its principles and policies.  The welfare and advancement of Newport was always near his heart, and he was prominently identified with many movements toward this end.

On September 3, 1874, Mr. Sherman married Mary Eliza Barker, daughter of Robinson P. and Julia Ann (Peckham) Barker, of Middleton [sic], R. I., and a descendant of one of the most prominent branches of the early Barker family of Rhode Island.  Mrs. Sherman survives her husband and resides as No. 12 Clarke street, Newport.  She is well known in the best social circles of the city.  Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were the parents of three children:  1.  Kate Robinson, born Aug. 16, 1875, died April 6, 1879.  2.  William Anthony, born May 12, 1877; was graduated from Harvard College, class of 1899, with the degree of A. B.; Harvard Medical School, in 1902, with the degree of M. D.; immediately afterward he established himself in practice in Newport, where he has been highly successful and has risen to the highest rank in the medical profession.  Dr. Sherman is a member of the medical staff of the Newport Hospital, and of the Medical Society; he is also a director of the Union National Bank of Newport.  On June 25, 1902, Dr. Sherman married Katherine M. Kennedy, of Scranton, Pa., daughter of William and Amelia (Carter) Kennedy; they are the parents of the following children:  William Albert, born May 12, 1903; Charlotte Carter, born June 20, 1911; Mary Elizabeth, born March 2, 1915; Lucius Carter, born March 2, 1915, died March 4, 1915; Ruth Anthony, born March 18, 1916.  3.  Edward Albert, born July 16, 1879; was graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1901, with the degree of M. A.; Mr. Sherman is now treasurer of the Newport Trust Company, and a prominent figure in financial and public circles in Newport; he served for many years as a member of the school committee of Newport, and in 1906, at the first election held under the new charter of the city of Newport, he was elected a member of the representative council from the Third Ward for a term of three years; he married Hazel Erma Poole, daughter of George W. and Addie Emeline (Hanson) Poole, October 22, 1913; children:  Edward Albert, Jr., born June 19, 1915, and Albert Keene, born January 12, 1918.  Albert Keene Sherman died at his home in Newport, R. I., December 30, 1915.

Island Cemetery NT001, Newport, RI

Above: Island Cemetery Administration Building, Newport

Right: Albert K. Sherman
Mar. 17, 1844 - Dec. 30, 1915
& His Wife, Mary E. Barker, Daughter of Robinson P. and Julia A. Barker, Aug. 17, 1844 - Feb. 12, 1942.

Above: Albert Sherman
Aug. 14, 1815 - June 30, 1884
His Wife
Sarah Catherine Marble
Dec. 18, 1817 - Sept. 15, 1889



p. 257.

EDWARD CLINTON STINESS  --  Since the coming of Samuel Stiness to Marblehead prior to the Revolution, members of this family have been master mariners, soldiers and sailors of the United States; eminent lawyers and public-spirited business men of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Captain Samuel Stiness was both a master mariner and a soldier of the Revolution; his son, Captain Samuel (2) Stiness, was a sea captain, as well as a captain or sailing master in the United States Navy, appointed October 27, 1812, honorably discharged January 5, 1814.  Philip Bessom Stiness, son of Captain Samuel (2) Stiness, was a starch manufacturer of Providence, R. I., an able useful business man and a public-spirited citizen.  His son, Samuel George Stiness, is the father of Edward George Stiness, of Providence, this article dealing with the lives of the two last named, both of whom are known to the present generation, Edward C., a lawyer and compiler of 'Digest of Rhode Island Reports', since 1899 reporter of opinions of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Samuel George Stiness was born at Douglass, Mass., September 4, 1829, and died at Pawtucket, R. I., November 5, 1894. He was educated in Providence public schools, learned the jewelers' trade with Sackett, Davis & Potter, and in 1853 began business under his own name as a manufacturer of watch-key pipes, the stem-winding watch sounding the death knell of this business. His fine mechanical ability attracted the attention of Colonel J. H. Armington, the gas engineer then in charge of the plant of the Providence Gas Company, who in 1864 gave Mr. Stiness a position at the East Station. In 1869 he was appointed agent and general manager of the Pawtucket Gas Company, a position he most ably filled, the model plant, methods of distribution, and efficiency is a monument to this wonderful work which he accomplished.  During his connection with the company the capital increased from $100,000 to $600,000, and its gas mains from eleven to seventy miles in extent.  Increase in stock values and dividends paid kept pace and the best of service was given patrons.  Mr. Stiness was a founder of the New England Association of Gas Engineers, and for three years president.  He was also a member of the Guild of Gas Managers; member of the Society of Gas Lighting; member, and at the time of his death, vice-president, of the American Gas Light Association.  He devised many mechanical improvements in gas making machinery and appliances, and read before the gas engineers of the associations named many valuable papers prepared by himself.

As a member of the Masonic order Mr. Stiness attained State-wide acquaintance and fame.  He was a past master of Corinthian Lodge, No. 27, of Providence (also a charter member); and deputy grand master of Rhode Island Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, in 1887 and 1888.  He was past high priest of Rhode Island Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons.  He also held the degrees of Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters; and in Templar Masonry was elected eminent commander of Calvary Commandery, Knights Templar, in 1877, and during the years 1885-86 was grand lecturer of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Knights Templar.  He was untiring in his efforts to advance the interests of the order he loved, and in his own life exemplified the best tenets of the institution.  He was a member of Trinity Parish of the Episcopal Church of Pawtucket, and in politics was a Republican.

Mr. Stiness married, August 1, 1853, Sarah Hutchinson, daughter of James Hutchinson, a one time commander of Massachusetts and Rhode Island Grand Commandery, Knights Templar, and grand master of Masons of Rhode Island. Mr. and Mrs. Stiness were the parents of three sons:  James Albert, died aged seventeen; Edward Clinton, of further mention; George Armington, treasurer of the Pawtucket Gas Company since 1902, married Amy Makin.

Edward Clinton Stiness was born at Pawtucket, R. I., February 16, 1868.  He was educated at the private school kept by John B. Wheeler, and the Berkeley School, a graduate in 1886, Brown University, A. B., 1890, Harvard Law School, L.L. B., 1894, although admitted to the Rhode Island Bar in 1893. After graduation he began practice in Providence.  Since 1899 he has been reporter of opinions of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, and from 1900 secretary of the Rhode Island of Bar Examiners.  In 1903 he published the 'Digest of Rhode Island Reports', and the author of that portion of Field's 'History of Rhode Island' relating to the bench and bar of the State.  He is a member of the American Bar and of local and State bar associations.  He is a direct descendant of John Coggeshall, first governor of Rhode Island, under the patent of 1642-43.

In the Masonic order he is a past master of Corinthian Lodge, No. 27, Free and Accepted Masons; and in club circles is a member of Providence Art, Rhode Island Country, Wannamoisett Country, Providence Bar and University clubs.  He is also a member of the Society of Colonial Governors, Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the American Revolution, and Theta Delta Chi Fraternity.  Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. Stiness married at Portland, Me., August 17, 1898, Lucie Frances Higgins, daughter of John and Frances Higgins, of Bath, Me.



p. 258 - 259:

Wm. H. PopeWILLIAM HENRY POPE  --  The name, Pope, is an early English surname of the class whose origin is found in nicknames.  It signifies literally 'the pope', and was applied at the beginning of the surname era to one of austere, ascetic or ecclesiastical bearing.  Pope is derived from the post classical Latin, papa, meaning father.  The name is its present form first appears in England registers in the year 1273.

Arms - Argent two chevrons gules on a chief of the second an escallop or.

One of the foremost figures on the business horizon of New England during the past half century, an eminently successful business man and manufacturer, was the late William Henry Pope, who was for several decades identified with a number of the largest milling enterprises in Rhode Island.

To him belongs the distinction and honor of having developed and practically established the town of Esmond, R. I.  That he was the prime factor in its existence is evident from the fact that upon his retirement from business the enterprise and industry which had been its more prominent feature fell off to a marked degree.  Mr. Pope was one of the foremost business men of his day, directing enormous banking and railroad interests.

William Henry Pope was born in Enfield, Hampshire county, Mass., July 18, 1840, son of Ichabod and Serena (Woods) Pope. Ichabod Pope was a prominent manufacturer of England, and was for several years justice of peace in the town.  His wife, Serena (Woods) Pope, was a sister of Josiah Woods, founder and donor of Woods Library, Amherst College; she died in the year 1846. Their son received the advantages of an excellent education, and until he reached the age of fifteen years attended a private school at Enfield.  He then went to Pawtucket, R. I., where he resided for a short time with his aunt, Mrs. Frank Pratt.  Later, while residing in Providence with an uncle, he attended private schools in that city, and on completing his preliminary studies entered the A. G. Scholfield Business College.  Following his graduation from this institution he was employed by various firms in the city.  In 1863 he became connected with Albert Gallup, then head of Gallup Brothers, cotton manufacturers, in the office of the firm, and continued in this capacity until the removal of Mr. Gallup to New York City. During the period spent with this firm, Mr. Pope familiarized himself thoroughly with the details of cotton manufacturing, and the practical side of business management, serving, as it were, an apprenticeship to the cotton manufacturing trade.  He possessed considerable genius in this line, and in his connection with Gallup Brothers amassed a wealth of information and experience which later stood him in good stead in his own ventures.  After the removal of Mr. Gallup to New York, Mr. Pope entered into the independent manufacturing of cotton, after a short period spent in the cotton brokerage business.  After 1871 he entered this field, and accepted the agency for the Robert Watson Mills at Willimantic.  In 1878 his success in the brokerage business made it possible for him to engage in cotton manufacturing, and he purchased the mill and mill village owned by the Smithfield Manufacturing Company at Allenville, in the town of Smithfield, R. I.

Allenville had taken its name from the first mill erected there in 1813, by Governor Philip Allen.  Mr. Pope renamed the village Enfield, and forthwith inaugurated a plan for its development and the establishment of a standard of civic efficiency.  Enfield, named after the birthplace of Mr. Pope in Massachusetts, subsequently became one of the most prosperous and thriving towns of its kind in Rhode Island, a prosperity and thrift which was due entirely to the presence in it of the mills which Mr. Pope owned and directed.  The village was his pride, and was a monument to the ability and constructive industry of its founder.  His management of the mills was as nearly ideal as is possible, and the operatives of the mills at Enfield were never known to strike.  By the application of judicious policies he was able to keep his mills running constantly, the period of idleness which was common to mills of New England being unknown in his plants.  His purchase of the property was against the advice of his friends and associates who knew manufacturing conditions in New England, but the venture proved to be a stroke of far-sighted and excellent business policy.  Mr. Pope was extremely successful, and brought the mill from an old and comparatively useless establishment to one of the most modernly equipped and best managed cotton mills of the State of Rhode Island.

Cotton manufacturing formed only a small part of Mr. Pope's large interests. He was active in several of the largest financial and commercial organizations of Rhode Island, holding executive positions in many of them. He was treasurer of the Pawtuxet Valley Railroad for over forty years; treasurer-secretary of the Providence & Springfield Railroad Company from 1892 until its absorption by consolidation; director of the National Exchange Bank for over twenty years; at one time the largest individual stockholder of the Union Railroad Company; director of the Providence Telephone Company from the time of its formation; director of the Providence Dry Dock Marine Railways Company; of the Windham Manufacturing Company of Willimantic for several years; secretary of the Providence Press Company for a time after its reorganization in 1880.  The value of Mr. Pope's executive ability and constructive policies in these organizations cannot be overestimated.  The demands of these various interests upon his time made any connection with public life, otherwise than as a business leader, impossible and his never became identified with politics or public affairs.

He was, however, active and prominent in the club and fraternal life of the city, and was a charter member of the Narragansett Boat Club.  He was a true sportsman, keenly interested in yachting.  He was also one of the first members of the Squantum Association, a member of the Commercial Club, the Home Market Club of Boston, the Hope Club of Providence, of which latter he was treasurer for four years, and a member of the board of governors from 1885 to 1891.  His religious affiliation was with the Congregational church. He was a man of magnetic personality, cultured and of refined tastes. Justice and the strictest code of ethics characterized his transactions in the business world, and by friends and competitors alike he was considered the soul of honor.

William Henry Pope married, September 27, 1888, Catherine Elizabeth Robertson, daughter of Andrew and Maria (Halcro) Robertson, of Montreal, Canada.  Mrs. Pope survives her husband and resides at No. 11 Young orchard avenue, Providence.  Mr. Pope died at his home in Providence, February 16, 1907.  Tributes to his memory came from all sources.  A friend said:

'Who of all that went to him for advice was ever disappointed in the final outcome?  Under an impatient manner and an air of desire of being rid of the whole subject, were hidden a careful listening and interest and in a few days or so there came from him an opinion vested in cautious language.  If it was a recommendation, t'was well to follow it; if a warning t'was equally well to heed it.  Of his boyish generous nature how many of us remember his open hand and his heartfelt sympathy?'

At a meeting of the directors of the Providence Dry Dock & Marine Railway Company, held on April 10, 1907, it was voted that the following minute be entered upon the records of the Company:

'The directors desire to express their deep sense of loss in the removal by death of their esteemed associate, William H. Pope, which occurred on the 16th of February last.  Mr. Pope has served as a director of the Providence Dry Dock & Marine Railway Company since its organization, and was very deeply interested in its success.  Always prompt and regular in his attendance of our meetings his good judgment and business ability were of much value in conducting the affairs of the company. His genial and kindly face will be sadly missed at our gatherings.     John H. Cady, Secretary.' 



p. 259 - 260:

CHARLES HENRY YOUNG  --  The surname, Young, has been continuous in those parts of Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island which border upon one another, for a period of over two hundred years, throughout which time the name has been an honored and respected one.  The Young family in America traces its origin to several immigrants of the name, who came to the New World in the opening decades of the colonization era, and became the progenitors of families whose branches are now to be found in every part of the country.  The surname itself is of the comparatively large class which had their source in nicknames, and signifies literally, 'the Young'. Probably in numerous cases the nickname was applied in the sense of junior,
to distinguish father and son, when both bore the same personal name. It appears in registers of as early date as the Hundred Rolls, 1273, in which we find the entry, Hugo le Yunge, of County Oxford.  Families of the name have gained fame in English history, bearing arms and titles. It was Sir John Young, a knight, who accompanied Mary Queen of Scots as her chamberlain on her return from France to Scotland in 1561, and received from her the grant of the manor of Leny.  Several descendants of the American progenitors have figured largely in New England history, and have made the name an honored one among New Englanders.

The family herein  under consideration has had its seat in what is now the town of Burrillville, R. I., since the close of the American Revolution, in which conflict Othniel Young, who is mentioned below as head of the family, served as a member of the Continental forces.

(I)  Othniel Young, great-grandfather of the late Charles Henry Young, for a long time one of the foremost dealers in real estate in the Pawtuxet Valley, was a resident of that section of Rhode Island which borders on the State of Massachusetts, in what is now the town of Burrillville, R. I.  He enlisted as a private in a Providence company in 1776, and afterwards received a pension from the government for his services. He was drawing a pension March 4, 1831, at which date he was seventy-six years of age.  Othniel Young resided in Burrillville, at the home of his son, Alpheus Young, with whom he was living in 1840.  The name of his wife is unknown.

(II)  Zebeda Young, son of Othniel Young, was born April 30, 1780, in Burrillville, R. I., where he resided during the early part of his life. He was a prosperous farmer and land owner, and a well-known citizen. In late life he removed to Mendon, Mass., where he followed the trade of basket-making until his death.  Zebeda Young married Phila Alby, who died May 15, 1867, in Mendon.  He died in Mendon, December 15, 1872.

(III)  Daniel Young, son of Zebeda and Phila (Alby) Young, was born July 5, 1807, in Burrillville, R. I.  He grew to manhood on his father's farm, and following his marriage engaged in agricultural pursuits in Burrillville until 1852.  In the latter year he removed to Kent county, settling in Centreville, R. I., where he entered the mill of Benedict Lapham.  He subsequently removed to Coventry, where he was connected with the mills for many years.  Following his retirement from active business affairs, he removed to West Greenwich, where he died February 21, 1886, in his seventy-ninth year.  Daniel Young married Mercy Keech, who was born in Burrillville, R. I., daughter of Rice Keech, and who died at a venerable age.  Daniel and Mercy (Keech) Young were the parents of the following children:  1.  Charles Henry, mentioned below. 2.  Daniel H.  3.  Warren, of Cranston, R. I.  4.  Elllis, who served in the Union army in the Civil War; now deceased.  5.  Phila, who became the wife of Powell Phillips, of Hope, R. I.  6.  Zebeda, died  young.  7.  Sarah, died young.  8.  William Allen, of Scituate, R. I.

(IV)  Charles Henry Young, son of Daniel and Mercy (Keech) Young, was born near Herring Pond, in the town of Burrillville, Providence county, R. I., April 1, 1836.  He was educated in the schools of Burrillville, and in 1852 removed to the Pawtuxet Valley with his parents.  Mr. Young secured his first employment in the manufacturing world in the Lapham mills at Centreville, R. I., where he received the munificent salary of four and one-half dollars per week in the carding department.  A year and a half later he entered the Lippitt Mills, where he remained for a year, at the end of that time going to the Shannock Mills, where he spent two years.  He next learned the trade of stone cutting under Mr. Doty of Stonington, Conn., but finding the work distasteful abandoned it and returned to R. I., where he located at Coventry, and worked for a year in the weaving shop of Peleg and Bradford Wilbur.  In the fall of 1856 he located at River Point, with which town he was thenceforth prominently identified until his death, with the exception of a short period spent in Coventry in 1857, as foreman of the weaving department of the mill of Bradford Wilbur.  On his return to River Point Mr. Young became foreman in the weaving room of what is now the Queen of the Valley Mill, holding the position for twelve years.  He resigned this position to learn the trade of carpenter, which he followed successfully for a considerable period, but eventually abandoned in order to give his entire time and attention to his growing real estate business.  In 1877 Mr. Young purchased a large tract of land in River Point, through which he opened a street, now known as Young's avenue.  On this property he erected several houses.  The venture proving highly successful, and giving promise of further development, Mr. Young devoted all his resources to bringing it up to a high standard.  At the time of his death he was the owner of over thirty houses and stores.  Through the nature of his business he was brought more or less before the public eye in River Point, and for many years was prominently identified with all movements which had for their end the advancement of civic interests.  He was widely known and eminently respected in business circles.  In political affiliation he was a Democrat, and for nine years was a member of the school committee. Mr. Young served one term as highway surveyor of District No. 2, town of Warwick, and also as auctioneer and police constable.  He was once the candidate of the Democratic party for Representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly.

On July 3, 1859, Charles Henry Young married (first) Julia A. Westcott, who was born in Johnston, R. I., died in 1913, daughter of Samuel J. and Abby (Burgess) Westcott, of that town.  Mrs. Young descended both paternally and maternally from several of the foremost families of Rhode Island.  She was well-known in the more conservative social circles of River Point.  Mr. and Mrs. Young were the parents of one son, Charles Willington.  He married (first) Mary Barber, and (second) Hattie Ingram, and resides in Providence, R. I.  Charles Henry Young married (second) Clara Belle Read, October 13, 1915, widow of Rastus M. Read, and daughter of Orran S. Joy and Clara Jane (Hammond) Read, of Johnstown [sic], R. I.

Charles Henry Young died at his home at River Point, R. I., on November 1, 1916.

Read Arms - Gules, a saltire between four garbs or.
Crest - On the stump of a tree vert, a falcon rising, belled and jesssed or.
Motto - Cedant arma togae. (Arms must give place to the gown).

Continued


Transcription and pictures 2001-2 by Beth Hurd


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