Providence County Biographies
C
CADY, George Waterman, architect. Providence was born in Providence, August 27, 1825, son of Rev. Jonathan and Eliza (Pettey) Cady. He comes of old New England stock, his ancestor, Nicholas Cady, having settled in Watertown, Mass., in 1645. The family soon afterward removed to Killingly, Conn., where they were prominent citizens of the town for many generations. He received his early education in the public schools and in the Lowell high school. After his school education he was apprenticed to the carpenter’s trade, and after some time in this work developed his studies in architecture, for which he had a natural taste and ability. In 1860 he opened an architect’s office in Providence, and has since, under the firm name of Geo. W. Cady & Co., done a large business in designing and superintending the erection of many important buildings. He has always taken an active interest in military affairs and in the fire department. He has been a member of the First Light Infantry Regiment from 1854 to 1895, and was an inspector on the staffs of Cols. Dennis, Goddard and Thornton. During the war he was commissioned Major of the Twenty-second Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers, which was not called into the service. In the Fire Department he was captain of a company from 1854 to 1870, and second President of the Providence Veteran Fireman’s Association. He is a member of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, of the First Light Infantry Veteran Association, and of the Providence Art Club. In politics he is a Republican, but of late has not taken an active part in public affairs. He married, July 20, 1846, Miss Mary Anna Burr of Providence; they have four children: Frederic Waterman, Ella Porter, Annie Burr and George Milton Cady, the latter associated with his father’s firm.
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode
Island Men in Progress - Submitted by Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted
by Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
Source: Rhode Island Men in Progress - Submitted by
Marie Miller
CAPWELL, Remington Pendleton, physician and
surgeon, Slatersville, was born in Phenix, R. I., January 5, 1872, the son of
Edwin C. and Susan (Remington) Capwell. He is a nephew of Or. YVm. C.
Monroe of Woonsocket, with whom he studied during his school term in that
city. He received his early education in the primary and grammar
schools of Phenix and the high school of Woonsocket, graduating from the
latter in the class of 1891. He entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical College
of New York, and graduated in 1894. Dr. Capwell established himself in
practice in Slatersville, R. I., April 1, 1894, at the age of twenty-two, and
has since remained there. He is not married.
CARPENTER,
Alva, iron manufacturer, Providence, was born in Seekonk, Mass.,
March 2, 1829, son of Jonathan and Leafy (Bourne) Carpenter, and a descendant
of Albert Carpenter, who came over from England with the early Puritans.
He attended the common schools until fifteen years old, and then spent
two years in a cotton mill. In 1846, at the age of seventeen, he was
apprenticed to learn the moulder’s trade with Thomas J. Hill (now the
Providence Machine Company), and at the expiration of his term of service
worked three years in a foundry at Mateawan, N. Y., returning to Rhode Island
in 1850 and working two years in a foundry at Newport. In 1852 he entered the
employ of the Corliss Steam Engine Company, remaining with them until 1865)
and in September of that year started in the foundry business in company with
Amos D. Smith, under the firm name of Smith & Carpenter, on Dyer street.
The partnership continued until 1870, when they disposed of the business there
and removed to Aborn street, Mr. Carpenter buying out Mr. Smith’s
interest soon after and continuing the business alone. In 1880 he
took in Henry C. Bowen as partner, and they continued together until 1889,
when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Carpenter with his two sons building a
new foundry in their present location on West Exchange Street. On November it,
1892, this foundry was entirely destroyed by fire. The firm
immediately rebuilt on the same site, and on a larger scale, and they have at
present one of the best equipped foundries of the state, employing one hundred
hands. Mr. Carpenter has never taken a very active part in politics, but
has always been a staunch and consistent Democrat of the old school.
In 1S92 he was elected and served as a Representative in the Rhode
Island State Legislature for one year. He joined Roger Williams Lodge of Odd
Fellows in 1874, received the highest honors of the Lodge, and in 1886 became
a charter member of Mount Pleasant Lodge No. 45.1 O. O. F., of which he is
still an active member. He is also a member of the Pomham and West
Side clubs. He was married in 1854 to Miss Mary E. Allen of
Attleboro, Mass ; they have five children : three sons, all married and having
families, the eldest an Episcopal clergy-man, rector of St. Mark’s Church at
Warren, R. I., and two daughters, residing with their parents in
Providence.
CARPENTER, Phanuel Bishop, physician, was born in Seekonk,
Mass., January 8, 1832, son of Job and Eliza (Bishop) Carpenter. He is the
descendant of William Carpenter, one of three brothers, who left England on
account of the persecution of the Quakers, and settled in Weymouth, Mass., in
1838. His son William settled in Rehoboth, now Seekonk, in 1645, where he was
town clerk and delegate to the Plymouth General Court. His descendants
occupied prominent positions in town affairs and took part in the Colonial and
Revolutionary wars. Dr. Carpenter received his early education in the public
schools and took a course in Worcester Academy. He began self-support at an
early age, and was four years in the dry-goods business. For six years he
conducted a boot and shoe business in Providence and Pawtucket, and for five
years was engaged in the manufacture of jewelry. During his active
business life he was pursuing a system of self-education with a view to the
adoption of the medical profession, and in 1S6S he commenced the regular study
of medicine in the office of Dr. George D. Wilcox of Providence where he
remained for two years. He entered Harvard Medical College in 1870
and took a course of study in the Eclectic Medical College of New York, and a
course in the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, graduating from the
latter in 1872. From 1872 to the present time he has been in active practice
in Providence. He has been a member of the Rhode Island
Homoeopathic Medical Society for twenty-two years. He is a member
of Union Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. M., of Pawtucket, R. I.;Unity Lodge, I.
O. O. F.; Mazeppa Encampment, I.O. O. F.; and Excelsior Lodge, Knights of
Honor, of Providence, R. I. He has not taken an active part in
public life, but in politics he is a Republican. In his religious views
he is “ broad, liberal, and modern.” “Although his ancestors were
Quakers in the strictest sense, and worshipped under the rigid doctrine of
that sect, he himself throws aside all creeds and dogmas, believing earnestly
in the progress of the human race and of the spirit after death, which,
together with the daily practice of the Golden Rule, must ultimately bring man
to that perfection in the future world as designed for him by the Creator.”
He has had five children: Lita Barney, died in 1866 aged two
years, William Huckins, Phanuel Bishop, Jr., Mary- Eliza and Hattie Ella
Carpenter.
CHAGNON, Charles Emile, physician and pharmacist, was born in St. Dominique,
Province of Quebec, Canada, October 7, 1863, son of J. B. and Victoria (Des
Noyers) Chagnon. His family is of old Norman descent and came to Canada in
1750. He received his early education in the common schools. He attended
the Seminary of St. Hyacinthe, Canada, from 1875 to 1879, and the college of
Ste. Marie de Monnoir in 1883-85. From 1879 to 1883 he was engaged in the drug
business with his father in Fall River, Mass. In 1885, shortly
after leaving college, he went to New Orleans during the World’s Exhibition,
and while there became interested in a company to explore the gold region of
Honduras. He remained in Central America for three years, visiting all
five of the republics and travelling in all parts of that wild country. While
there he perfected his linguistic acquirements, so that he speaks fluently
Spanish and Portuguese as well as French and English.
On his return to New England he en-tered the Medical Department of
the University of Vermont, and continued the study of medicine at the College
of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore from which he graduated in 1890.
After gradu-ating he entered his father’s office in Fall River,
and practiced with him for six months, after which he opened an office in
Centerville, R. I. He is a registered pharmacist and proprietor of
the” Family Drug Store,” one of the finest drug stores in the Pawtuxet Valley,
with one of the best clienteles of any young physician in the state.
He is now serving his third term as Councilman for the town of
War-wick In politics he is a Republican “in even’ sense of the word,” but does
not let party govern his actions in matters of public welfare. He is a member
of the Odd Fellows fraternity; of Washing-ton Lodge, No. ix, Knights of
Pythias; Red Men; Foresters; St- John the Baptist Society of Centerville; the
Providence Athletic Association, and the Rhode Island Mortar and Pestle Club.
He married, August 4, 1891, Miss Victorine Beaudry; they have three children:
Estelle, Colombe, and Jeannette Chagnon
CHILD, Benjamin Ham, Chief of Police of the Cily of Providence, was born in
Providence, May 8, 1843, son of John Oriswold and Mary Ann (Ham) Child, the
former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Providence. He
attended the common schools in Providence until fourteen years of age, when he
was apprenticed to Granville Greenleaf, a wireworker in Westminster Street.
He was a youth of eighteen at the opening of the civil war, and in June
1861 he enlisted as private, and was mustered into the United States service
in the Second Rhode Island Battery, afterwards Battery A, First Regiment,
Rhode Island Light Artillery, for three years, or for the war. At the first
Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, he was slightly wounded, and in August
following was promoted to corporal. He was again slightly wounded
at the Battle of Antietam, on which occasion he was promoted to Sergeant.
At Gettysburg, in Pickett’s charge, he received a severe wound — “
shot through the left shoulder,” — and was sent to the Satterlee Hospital at
West Philadelphia. And in August 1863 he was commissioned Second
Lieutenant of Battery A (afterwards transferred to Battery H, same regiment)
by Governor James Y. Smith. After serving forty-three months in
the Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, and three times wounded, he was
honorably discharged on account of wounds, by special order of General Meade,
commanding the Army of the Potomac. In 1868 he was appointed
patrolman in the police department of Providence, by Mayor Thomas A. Doyle,
and was successively promoted to Doorman- of Station 1 in 1874, Sergeant of
Station 4 in 1877, Captain in 1879, and was appointed Chief of Police. January
5, 1881. He is Past Department Commander of the Rhode Island G. A. R.,
Past Grand Chancellor K. of P. of Rhode Island, also a member of Swarts Lodge
No. 18, I. O. O. F., and Massachusetts Commandery of the military order
Loyal Legion of the United States. In politics he is a Republican. He was
married November 14, 1872, to Mrs. Ruth Avery; they have one daughter : Mary
Elizabeth Avery, who married Abner E. Claflin, of Providence, November 12,
1895.
COLWELL, Francis, City Solicitor of
Providence, was born in Cranston, R. I., April 7, 1833, the son of Francis and
Harriet B. (Tucker) Colwell. He is a lineal descendant of Robert Colwell, who
came to Rhode Island with Roger Williams, and the family became connected with
that of Williams by marriage, and located in the town of Glocester. His
father, Francis Colwell, was a prominent physician of Providence for many
years. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of
Providence, and entered Brown University in 1852, but did not graduate. He
adopted the law as a profession and entered the office of the late Hon.
Abraham Payne, whose partner he became after his admission to the Rhode
Island bar in 1856. He has since practiced his profession in Providence, and
has taken a somewhat active part in public affairs. Early in his professional
life he was elected Judge of the old Court of Magistrates, and held the office
for several years under re-election. He was elected City Solicitor in 1866. He
was a member of the House of Representatives in the General Assembly for
several years, and was elected Senator in 1875-76 and again in 1884.
He was a member of the Common Council in 1870 and President of
that body in 1875-76, was again elected to the office of City Solicitor in
1892, and has since held that position. He is a member of the
Rhode Island liar Club, and of several social associations. He was
for four years President of the Unitarian Club. In politics he is a
Republican. He married, March 17, 1864, Miss Anna F. Packard,
daughter of Henry Packard of Providence; they have had two children : Augusta
M. (deceased) and Henry F. Colwell, a banker in Boston.
CONLEY, John Edward, attorney-at-law, Providence, was born in Warren,
R. L, September 7, 1868, son of Michael F. and Catherine (Dolan)Conley. His
father died when he was about fourteen years of age, and he has been in a
great measure dependent on his own exertions for successin life. He received
his early education in the public schools of Warren and the Perry Business
College of Providence. He attended Brown University for two years, after which
he was bookkeeper and clerk until November 1885, when he entered the office of
the Hon. George J. West, Providence, for the study of law. He was admitted to
the Rhode Island bar July 29, 1889, and has since been associated with Mr.
West in practice. He has taken an active part in politics and
public life. He served as a clerk of the Committee on Corporations
in the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1889-1890, and was elected Clerk of
the House of Representatives for the political years 1893-94. He
has been Secretary of the Democratic State Central Committee for the past two
years and still holds the office. He has also been Chairman and Secretary of
the Democratic Town Committee of Warren for the past five years, and has held
other offices of importance and responsibility in his party. He is
a good speaker, and occasionally writes for the current magazines and
newspapers. He served in the Rhode Island militia for over two
years as First Lieutenant of Company A, Second Regiment, and was elected
Captain in May 1892, resigning in February 1893. He is President of the
Catholic Club of Warren, is a member of Burnside Lodge Knights of Pythias,
Bristol, R. I., of Massasoit Council Royal Arcanum, Warren, and a member of
the Democratic Club of the city of New York. He married, September
22, 1891, Miss Esther J. Murphy; they have two
children : Gertrude and Esther Conley.
CROOKER,
George Hazard, physician and surgeon, Providence, was born
in Providence, February 25, 1865, son of Josiah Whipple and Eliza (Hazard)
Crooker. He is descended from old New England stock on both sides,
the Crooker family of Richmond, New Hampshire, and the Hazard family of
Wakefield, R. I., both very well known and distinguished for generations.
He received his preparatory education in
Mowry & Goff’s Classical School, Providence, from which he
graduated in 1883. He then entered Brown
University, from which he graduated in 1887 with the degree of A. B-,
receiving that of A. M. in 1890. He adopted medicine as a profession and
entered the Harvard Medical School, from which he graduated in 1893 with the
degree of M. D. In 1890 he went to Europe to complete his
education and spent two years in studying in Heidelburg, Vienna, Berlin,
Dresden and London. In the winter of 1892-93 he took a
course of hospital work in Boston. He began the practice of
medicine in Providence in the spring of 1894. He holds the
positions of Externe of the Rhode Island Hospital and House Physician of the
Providence Lying-in-Hospital. Dr. Crooker is a member of the Rhode Island
Medical Society and the Providence Medical Association, also of the Providence
Art Club and the Providence Athletic Association. He is
unmarried.
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