Grinnell Family of New Bedford, MA

l grinnell

Since the early settlement of Newport and Portsmouth, R. I., shortly after 1638, the Grinnells have been identified with Rhode Island and Massachusetts history, the earlier generations living largely in the towns of Newport county, R. I., and for the past hundred and more years branches of this southern Rhode Island family have been representative of the best citizenship in the old Massachusetts town of New Bedford. At New Bedford lived Capt. Cornelius Grinnell, a patriot of the Revolution, and long engaged in the merchant service, who married into the old historic Howland family, and one of whose sons, Joseph Grinnell, for almost a decade represented the New Bedford district in the United States Congress, and was long prominent as a merchant and manufacturer and banker of the town; and there lived the late Lawrence Grinnell, father of the late Frederick Grinnell, who so long was at the head of the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company and the General Eire Extinguisher Company, a man of genius in mechanical lines, whose inventions gave him distinction, and one of whose sons, Russell Grinnell, is at this time vice president of the General Fire Extinguisher Company. It is with this New Bedford branch of the Grinnell family this article deals.

Biography of George Fordon

(I) William, great-grandfather of George Frederick Fordon, was born in England, October, 1957, and spent his life in his native country, engaged in farming. He married, January 28, 1792, Sarah Mary Dunslee, who was born in December, 1770. (II) George, son of William and Sarah Mary (Dunslee) Fordon, was born near Whitby. Yorkshire, England, April 23, 1803, and died near Geneva, Ontario county, New York, February 12, 1876. Having come to the conclusion that the “New World” offered better chances for advancement than the old, he sailed from England for this country, landing at New York City, June 1, 1831. … Read more

Biography of Frank Lyman Gold

FRANK LYMAN GOLD-A man of wide and varied activities, each of which he has carried on successfully after he had gained full knowledge of the field of business into which he was entering, the story of Frank Lyman Gold is full of interest. (I) He belongs to a notable old New England family, whose founder was Joseph Gold, born in London, England, who came to America when he was nineteen years old. According to family records, he served for seven years in the Revolutionary War, lived for a time in Northbury, Connecticut, and died in Roxbury, Vermont, in 1829. He … Read more

Biography of Hon. Samuel S. Guyer

The Honorable Samuel S. Guyer was born at Lewistown, Pennsylvania, December 26, 1814. In his early manhood he was a contractor in New York City and in the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal System. In 1839, with his mother, sister and two brothers, he removed to Peoria, Illinois, from which base he engaged in the business of building flat boats and carrying cargos of merchandise to trade with the planters between Natchez and New Orleans. In the great tornado at Natchez in 1842, he lost all his possessions and barely escaped with his life. Returning to Peoria he studied law … Read more

Biography of Carl E. Kayser

Carl E. Kayser, son of Carl F. and Lillian P. (Eble) Kayser, was born May 20, 1889, in Newark, New Jersey. His father was born in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, and his mother was born in the state of New Jersey. His father came to the United States at the age of eighteen years and has been in the teaching profession ever since, being now professor of Germanic languages in Hunter College, New York city. Carl E. Kayser attended the public schools in Newark, New Jersey, and in New York City, and from 1905 to 1909 he attended … Read more

Prominent White Men among the Chickasaws

Holmes Colbert

At an early day a few white men of culture and of good morals, fascinated with the wild and romantic freedom and simplicity of the Chickasaw life, cast their lot among that brave and patriotic nation of people. I read an article published in Mississippi a few years ago, which stated that a man by the name of McIntosh, commissioned by British authorities to visit the Chickasaw Nation and endeavor to keep up its ancient hostility to the French, was so delighted with the customs and manners of that brave, free and hospitable people that, after the accomplishment of his mission, he … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Rev. Livingston L. Taylor

Rev. Livingston L. Taylor, who enjoys a well earned reputation as a forcible and eloquent preacher, and whose life is a consistent and unvarying example of the doctrines he preaches, is the son of William J. 1. Taylor, D. D., and Maria L. (Cowenhoven) Taylor. Rev. Livingston L. Taylor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1860. His education has been a varied and thorough one at the following named institutions : Newark Academy, Newark, New Jersey; Rutgers College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1881, and which conferred the degree of Master … Read more

Biography of Luther C. Tibbets

Luther C. Tibbets was born in South Berwick, York County, Maine, June 26, 1820. His father, James Tibbets, was a native of the same State and a farmer by occupation. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools and reared a farmer until seventeen years of age. He then located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, first engaging as a clerk in mercantile houses, and later established a general merchandise store at Great Falls, New Hampshire, which enterprise he conducted until 1844, when be sold out the establishment to his brother. It is worthy of mention that the mercantile … Read more

Biography of Lewis Balch, M. D., PH. D.

LEWIS BALCH, M. D., PH. D. ONE of the physicians and surgeons of Albany, whose professional assistance has been sought often in consultation through the state, is Dr. Lewis Balch. He was born in the city of New York, corner of Great Jones street and Second Avenue, on the 7th day of July, 1847. Ancestry on both sides is a notable one. It is of English and French origin. Several of his ancestors have rendered no small service in this country in civil and ecclesiastical matters. He is the oldest son of the Rev. Lewis P. W. Balch, D. D., … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John Bartlett Hull

Hull, John Bartlett; patent lawyer; born, Arlington, Va., Oct. 31, 1866; son of Truman P. and Eliza E. Bartlett Hull; educated, Washington High School, Cadet School U. S. Revenue Cutter Service, Columbia University, Bachelor of Science; National Law School (Washington, D. C.), LL. B.; married, Macomb, Ill., June 21, 1893, Adelina V. Sommers; three children, two daughters and one son; Cadet 3rd Lieut. and 2nd Lieut. U. S. Revenue Cutter Service; patent examiner United States Patent Office eight years; has practiced patent law in Cleveland for over ten years; member firm of Fonts & Hull, patent lawyers; member firm of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Frank B. Carpenter

Carpenter, Frank B.; atty. and general counsel The N. Y., C.& St. L. R. R. Co.; born, Oberlin, O., July 17, 1866; son of John D. and Charity G. Lester Carpenter; educated, Oberlin College, A. B., 1888, and Columbia Law School; married, Morrison, Ill., June 3, 1890, Edna Woods; one daughter, Florence, and two sons, John and Edward; 1901 to 1912, assistant general counsel for The N. Y., C. & St. L. Ry. Co.; in 1912, appointed general counsel for the same road; administrator and trustee of the estate of W. J. Gordon, since 1903, succeeding Hon. Samuel E. Williamson, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Walter A. Bellchambers

Bellchambers, Walter A.; hairdresser; born, New York City, Jan. 18, 1874; son of Robert F. and Ellen Shugg Bellchambers; educated, New York City public schools; two years at Nazareth, Pa., Military School; married, Cleveland, June 21, 1804, Maud L. Weaver; one son, F. Walter Bellchambers; came to Cleveland in 1892; in 1893, bought the business of Geo. Greenfield, which was established in 1854; Mason, Brooklyn, No. 454, F. & A. M., Hellman Chapter, No. 166.

Biography of Lieutenant Colonel Paul C. Hunt

Within a month after America had declared a state of war with Germany, Lieutenant Colonel Paul C. Hunt had enlisted for service and after training in America and active duty overseas he was sent with the Army of Occupation into Germany, following the signing of the armistice. Since his return he has concentrated his efforts and attention upon commercial interests in Jefferson City as a dealer in stationery and office supplies. He was born in New York city, July 10, 1877, a son of Paul and Kate Chapman (Clayton) Hunt, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Wilbur Dunham

Dunham, Wilbur; real estate development; born, Columbus, O., Jan. 30, 1885; son of John M. and T. Anna Cross Dunham; educated, Taft School, Watertown, Conn.; Andover Academy, Andover, Mass.; Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; married, Columbus, O., Oct. 17, 1906, Marian M. Hobart: two daughters, Ann Elizabeth, born 1909, and Aileen, born 1913; real estate allotment and building development business since leaving college in 1904, in Columbus, O., and New York City, and Cleveland since. 1912; pres. The Wilbur Dunham Co., The Continental Realty Co; director The House Building & Investment Co.; member Delta Phi Fraternity, Yale and P. A. … Read more

Biography of James Wesley Hutt

JAMES WESLEY HUTT ONE OF the most thorough-going and competent men in the express business is James W. Hutt, general superintendent of the National Express Company, whose head-quarters are in Albany. He belongs to a substantial old family of Schoharie county, N. Y., of Holland-Dutch origin, who early came to this region and took an active part in the civilization and progress of the country and afterward in defending their homes in the attacks of British and savage foes. Those old pioneers were men of the simplest habits, loyal in their attachment to the principles of civil and ecclesiastical liberty … Read more

Slave Narrative of Joe High

Interviewer: T. Pat Matthews Person Interviewed: Joe High Location: Raleigh, North Carolina Age: 80 Occupation: Gardner Joe High interviewed May 18, 1937 has long been one of the best independent gardners in Raleigh, working variously by the hour or day. My name is Joe High. I lives at 527 So. Haywood. St. Raleigh, N. C. Now dere is one thing I want to know, is dis thing goin’ to cost me anything. Hold on a minute, and le’ me see. I want to be square, and I must be square. Now le’ me see, le’ me see sumpin’. Sometimes folks … Read more

Richard Speaight Todd of New York NY

Richard Speaight Todd8, (Rufus L.7, Uel6, Oliver5, Abraham4, Jonah3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born June 2, 1838, in New York City, died April 26, 1913, married Dec. 13, 1866, Mary, daughter of Reynold Selden and Sarah Jane (Smith) Marvin, who was born Dec. 3, 1846, died June 6, 1915. He was a merchant and lived at 477 Greene Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. When about 16 years of age, Mr. Todd engaged in business in the firm of his uncle, Northrup, Taylor & Company, which firm later was changed to Hazen, Todd & Company, dry-goods merchants, their store being on Broadway. He continued … Read more

The Fall River Branch of the Earle Family

lloyd s earle

EARLE (Fall River family). The Fall River branch of the Earles, the family there to which this article is devoted (to some of the descendants of the late Slade Earle, of Somerset, Mass.), springs from the earlier Portsmouth (R.I.) – Swansea (Mass.) family, one of some two hundred and seventy and more years’ standing in the section named; especial attention being given to the late Hon. Lloyd Slade Earle, who was through a long lifetime one of the prominent business men and useful citizens of his adopted city, and his son, the late Andrew Brayton Earle. The former was a descendant in the eighth generation from Ralph Earle, the first American ancestor of the family, from whom his lineage is through William, Thomas, Oliver, Caleb, Weston and Slade Earle, which generations in detail and in the order given

Biography of Reuben H. Gulvin

Reuben H. Gulvin, chief of the fire department of Geneva, Ontario county, New York, is a fine example of a self-made man, in the truest sense of the word, rising entirely by his own unaided efforts from a position of dependence in England to that of the proprietor of the finest jewelry store in Geneva and its vicinity, and to a foremost position in the community in which he resides. Reuben H. Gulvin was born in Kent county, England, November 20, 1869, son of George Gulvin, who is still living in his native county, and is considered an expert in … Read more

Emerett Almeda Todd Curley of Bridgeport CT

CURLEY, Emerett Almeda Todd9, (Henry8, Ezra L.7, Ezra L.6, James5, James4, James3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born Feb. 17, 1857, in Waterbury, Conn., died May 25, 1915, in Bridgeport, Conn., married at the John Street M. E. Church, in New York City, Dec. 24, 1890, John J. Curley. They lived in Bridgeport, Conn., where their children were born. Children: I. Francis Henry, b. Sept. 18, 1892. II. Howard John, b. April 21, 1898.