History of North Providence, (Providence County) Rhode Island United States of America

Our database does not include an historic photo for North Providence, (Providence County) Rhode Island, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

Biographies:

Thomas Stafford Drowne, clergyman, was born at Fruit Hill, North Providence, R.I., in 1823; son of Henry Bernardin and Julia Ann (Stafford) Drown; and grandson of Dr. Solomon and Elizabeth (Russell) Drowne, and of Thomas and Polly (Rhodes) Stafford. He was graduated at Brown university A.B., 1845, A.M., 1848, and from the General theological seminary, New York, in 1848. He was professor of systematic divinity and secretary of the board of trustees of the General theological seminary up to the time of his death, and secretary and registrar of the diocese of Long Island, and one of the bishop's examining chaplains. He received the degree of D.D. from Norwich university in 1866. He died at Flatbush, L.I., N.Y., Nov. 10, 1897.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Stephen Farnum Peckham, chemist, was born at Fruit Hill, North Providence, R.I., March 26, 1839; son of Charles and Hannah Lapham (Farnum) Peckham; grandson of Thomas Peckham of Providence, R.I., and a descendant of John Peckham of Newport, R.I., 1638, of John Howland of the Mayflower and of Richard Scott, the first Quaker in Rhode Island. He attended the district schools and the Friends boarding school at Providence, and studied chemistry at Brown university. In 1861 he engaged in erecting an establishment for the manufacture of illuminating oil from petroleum. He enlisted in the Federal army, Aug. 15, 1862, as hospital steward of the 7th R.I. regiment, and in 1864 had charge of the chemical department of the U.S. army laboratory at Philadelphia, being honorably discharged, May 26, 1865. He was chemist of the California Petroleum company, Santa Barbara county, Cal., 1865-66; a member of the California Geological survey, 1866-67, and prepared a report on the "Oil Interests of Southern California;" was an instructor in chemistry at Brown university, 1867-68; professor of chemistry at Washington college, Pa., 1868-69; professor of chemistry at the Maine State College of Agriculture, 1869-71; at Buchtel college, Ohio, 1871-72, and at the University of Minnesota, 1872-80. He returned to Providence in 1881. He was chemist of the Minnesota Geological survey; special agent of the U.S. census office, 1880-85; state assayer of Maine, Rhode Island and Minnesota, and chemist of the Union Oil company of California, 1893-94. He investigated the problem of street paving with asphaltum and read a paper on the subject before the congress of chemists at the Columbian exposition. He made wide researches into the subject of bitumens and became a recognized expert, being for a number of years chemist to the commissioners of accounts of the city of New York. He was married, June 13, 1865, to Mary Chace, daughter of Charles Miller and Adriana (Fisher) Peck of Providence, R.I. She died in Ann Arbor, Mich., Mar. 20, 1892. He was elected a member of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1876; a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1870; a member of the Society of Chemical Industry in 1898; the American Philosophical society in 1897, and the American Chemical society m 1898. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him by Brown university in 1870. He is the author of: Elementary Text Book on Chemistry (1873); a monograph on Petroleum and its Products for the "Tenth Census of the United States" (1885); an article on Petroleum for the last original edition of the "Encylop?dia Britannica" (1885), and many contributions to current scientific literature.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor