-Caveat Lector-
an excerpt from:
RHODE ISLAND HISTORY
VOL. 26 APRIL, 1967 NO. 2
52 Power Street
Providence, RI 02906
-----
THE RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS ELITE, 1895-1905:
A COLLECTIVE PORTRAIT
by IAN S. HABERMAN
Graduate School, Western Reserve University
THAT THE STORY of America's business elite has hardly been told becomes quite
apparent when one does decide to tell it. In this, the "critical but
neglected field of elite recruitment," as William Miller has called it,,
studies of the business elite � past and present � are lacking, a strange
phenomenon that becomes all the more noticeable when one realizes that the
source material for such studies is plentiful and near at hand.
Few historians have dealt with this problem of the ascent of nineteenth- and
early twentieth-century business leaders. When historians have discussed this
subject, most of them have used the wrong terms, attributing success "to the
possession of more shrewdness or trickiness or more pluck or luck or other
primate qualities than competitors." On the other hand, however, when they
did have the right terms-for example, "social determinants such as family
background or work experience" � they used them incorrectly.[1]
In any case, the consensus that emerged was that the "typical" American
businessman of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century was a "new
man," an immigrant from the slums of Europe or from his father's farm, who
rose by his own efforts from a boyhood of poverty, with little education or
formal training, to a high position of wealth and influence.
By studying the backgrounds of 200 prominent American businessmen of that
period, William Miller has shown that this generalization is incorrect. An
investigation of the Rhode Island business elite of this period leads to a
similar conclusion.[2]
* * *
The "typical" Rhode Island business leader at the turn of this century was
neither a poor immigrant nor the son of one. Of the 175 businessmen studied
here whose birthplaces are known, only six, or less than four per cent, were
born abroad (Table 2). This six came from generally middle-class backgrounds:
Charles Fletcher's father owned a variety store in his native England; there
also, James Lister's father was a farmer. Probably the best � and almost
only � example of a "poor" immigrant who made good was Joseph Banigan. He was
born in Ireland, began work at the age of nine, came to the United States,
founded the Joseph Banigan Rubber Co. in Rhode Island, was in the 1902 Social
Directory, and, when he died, left an estate of $1,012,260. The immigrant,
poor or not, was the exception.
The average age of these men in 1900 was about 57 years; in other words, most
of them were born in the 1840s. In 1850, one sixth of the Rhode Island
population was foreign-born.[3] In spite of this, these business leaders were
not the sons of recent immigrants. There were a total of ten "new" New
England families in the study; of these ten, six were those previously
mentioned as immigrants, while the remaining four were sons of recent
immigrants. These four represent a little over two per cent of the entire
group (Table 3A).
These four were all in the 1902 Blue Book. Albert and Bertrand J. Horton were
brothers associated with each other in the Queen Dyeing Co., a business
valued at over $200,000. They were the sons of Robert Horton, a textile
designer from Manchester, England, who settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, in
1832.
George R. McAuslan, the son of a dry goods merchant from Scotland, became
treasurer of the Chemnitz Company, a large textile concern; George L.
Shepley's father came to the United States from England and started the
insurance business which his son was to continue. In any case, then, all of
these businessmen were raised in essentially middle- or upper-class homes.
The overwhelming majority were native-born Rhode Islanders. 127 of the 180
business leaders under study � or about 70 per cent � were born in Rhode
Island (Table 2). The remaining forty-two individuals � including those born
outside of Rhode Island but in the United States � were, for the most part,
born in the Northeastern United States: thirty-six were born in New England,
while the six remaining were born in New York (three), New Jersey (two), and
Augusta, Georgia (one).
As for the ancestry of these businessmen, over 86 per cent of them (or 155 of
the 180, with information lacking on 15) could trace the history of their
families in America back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Table
3A). There was little difference in ancestry between those who were in the
Social Directory and those who were not. One hundred one of the 119 listed in
the Social Directory (85 per cent) and 54 of the 61 who were not listed (89
per cent) had genealogies that went back further than 1776.
Even were they not of colonial ancestry, these business leaders � including
the immigrants and sons of immigrants � could point to British, and
especially to English, forebears (Table 3B). The British Isles (including
Ireland and Scotland) was the place of origin for 145 of the 180 individuals
under study (about 75 per cent). There was little difference between those in
the Social Directory and those not in it with regard to country of origin: 97
of the 119 in the Social Directory (or 82 per cent) and 48 of the 61 not in
it (or 79 per cent) could trace their origins back to the British Isles.
Ireland and Scotland counted for 10 of the 145, or about six per cent of the
total group. Germany and France was the country of origin for only three of
the 180, or a scant one per cent.
Of the 127 who were born in Rhode Island, only about ten were born in what
can be termed a rural area (less than 2,000 people) ; the rest came from
larger towns of over 2,000 people. Those who were not born in Rhode Island
towns were born in such larger cities as Fall River, Dedham, Lowell, Taunton,
New Bedford, Boston, Rehoboth, Dudley, Lynn, and Seekonk, in Massachusetts;
Hartford, Connecticut; and Brooklyn, New York, Paterson, New Jersey, and
Augusta, Georgia. In other words, nearly all were raised in a generally urban
atmosphere.
To discover the class origins of these businessmen, it is necessary to
investigate the occupations of their father. Information as to the father's
occupation was available for 132 of the 180 individuals (Table 4). Here,
because of such a gap in available information, the attempt to generalize
becomes sticky; yet certain trends are evident. only thirteen individuals
(seven per cent came from what can rightly be termed the lower class; of the
thirteen, nine reached the Social Directory, while four did not.
An equal number were sons of farmers and what may be called the middle class:
there were 24 in each group, or a total of 48 (26 per cent of the entire
group). Fourteen farmer's sons and seventeen men with basically middle-class
backgrounds reached the 1902 Social Directory (31, or about 25 per cent of
those 119 who were in the Directory) ; seventeen did not.
The remaining 71 individuals came from upper-class backgrounds; this total is
more than the combined total of 61 for the farmer, middle-, and
lower-classes. Of these 71 men, 52 were in the Social Directory in 1902 (or
about 44 per cent of those studied who were in the Directory).
Again, it becomes difficult to generalize; but it can be said that over one
half (and probably more) of the individuals under study came from upper- and
middle-class backgrounds.
Poor boys usually go to work at an early age. It is obvious that the
individuals under investigation were generally not "poor"; and, few of them
went to work early in life (Table 5A). The average age at going to work of
160 of the 180 individuals (for which information was available) was 19.2
years. The average age of 106 (of 119) in the Social Directory was 19.5
years; for the 5 7 (of 6 1 ) who were not listed, 18.6 years.
Only fifteen of the Rhode Island business leaders under study began work at
age fifteen or younger (eight per cent); 65 of the 180 began work during the
ages 16 to 18 (36 per cent), while a full 83 individuals (or 46 per cent of
the entire group) started work at age 19 or over (Table 5B).
Of the eighty-three men who started working at 19 years or older, forty-two
or about one half of this group delayed their business debuts by going to
college. (Seven other individuals went to college, but either they were
graduated or dropped out before they reached 19.) When they did enter the
business world, their average age was 22 years.
Very few of the Rhode Island business leaders had no education: there were
only seven. The remaining 173 had either a public or private secondary school
education: 79 went to public schools, while the remaining 94 were able to
attend private schools. The most popular private schools for Rhode Islanders
were Mowry and Goff's, the East Greenwich Academy, the University School, and
the Friend's School (Moses Brown) (Table 6A).
Only 49 (or about 27 per cent) of the Rhode Island business leaders in this
study went to college, and those who did go nearly always had an upper-class
background. Only ten of the 49 had middle-class or farmer origins (Table 6B).
Those who attended college, however, usually went to Brown (30 of the 49).
Another 13 went to business colleges (such as Scholfield's or Bryant and
Stratton) while a few attended Harvard (two), Yale (two), M.I.T. (one), and
Boston University (one). Some of those who went to Brown belonged to a
fraternity, among them Psi Upsilon (eight), Theta Delta Chi (two), and Zeta
Psi (two).
When they did start to work, about one third of the Rhode Island business
leaders were given employment by their fathers or relatives; a similar
percentage remained in business with their fathers (or relatives) or in
businesses that their fathers (or relatives) had founded. This was
essentially an upper-class phenomenon; that is, most of those who were given
their first jobs by their fathers or relatives and who were connected
throughout their lives primarily with those businesses owned or founded by
their fathers or relatives were overwhelmingly from the upper class. Of the
60 given their first employment by fathers or relatives, 54 had upper-class
origins; of the 62 individuals who finally situated in their father's or
relative's businesses, 55 had upper-class origins (Table 7).
Over half of the businessmen under study had connections with more than one
business. Many were on bank boards, with insurance companies, and directors
of other companies in the area (Table 8). Of the 180 men, 105 (or 58 per
cent) were connected with more than one business, while the other 75 (or 42
per cent) were connected with only one.
This was more prevalent among those listed in the Social Directory,
than those not listed. Of the 119 in the Directory, 80 (or 67 per cent) had
more than one business connection, with the remaining 39 (or 33 per cent)
associated with only one business; only 25 of the 61 not listed in the
Director � 1, (or 41 per cent) were connected with more than one business,
with the remaining 36 (or 59 per cent) limited to just one. The average
number of business connections for those in the Social Directory, (including
those who were associated with only one business) was 4.2; excluding those
that had only one business, the average rises to 5.7. In other words, if a
businessman were connected with more than one business, it was usually with
more than five busi-nesses. For those not in the Directory, the average
including one business was 2.1 ; excluding one business, it was 3.8.
The typical Rhode Island businessman could claim Protestant, and
often Episcopal or Congregational, religious backgrounds. Lack of information
plays an important part in statistics on the religion of these businessmen:
no information was available for one third of the men under study. Even with
this serious handicap, certain trends can be found (Table 9). Forty-two of
the individuals under study (about 25 per cent) were Episcopalians, belonging
primarily to St. Stephen's or to Grace Church; the second largest group were
the Congregationalists, 28 of 180 (or about 15 per cent), and they usually
belonged to the Beneficent and Central Congregational churches.
The other denominations which constitute a percentage of significance were
the Baptists (19 of the 180, or ten per cent), and the Unitarians (16 of 180,
or nine per cent). These four religions constitute almost 60 per cent of the
total. Occasionally there was a Methodist, a Christian Scientist, a few
Quakers, and a Universalist. There were no Jews on the list and only one
Roman Catholic, the "rubber baron" Joseph Banigan.
Rhode Island businessmen participated quite heavily in the political life of
the state. The), held public offices in local, state, and federal government,
with these offices ranging from alderman to governor to U.S. senator. A total
of 79 businessmen served in elected positions. While it is difficult to
obtain statistics on the political affiliation of all of the 180 individuals
under study, information was discovered for about 99 men. Of these 99, there
were 90 Republicans and nine
Democrats (Table 10A). It would be fairly safe to assume, then, that most
Rhode Island businessmen were Republicans. There was little difference in
party affiliation between those in the Social Directory, and those not in it.
Percentagewise, there were equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats: of
those in the Directory, 59 of 64 (with available information) were
Republicans (92 per cent) ; of those not in the Directory, 31 of 35 (with
available information) were also Republicans (90 per cent).
The most frequently held office on the local level was that of Common Council
member (30); in addition to this, 49 different businessmen were, at one time
or another, state representatives (Table 10B). Both those in the Social
Directory and those not in it served in these two positions. Six governors of
the state came from the ranks of these businessmen: none of those who served
as governor was omitted from the Social Directory in 1902 since such an
important elected official would have been immediately placed on the list,
if, in fact, he had not been previously on it. The same is true for the two
U.S. senators and the three who were U.S. representatives. One of the six
lieutenant-governors of the state drawn from among these business leaders was
not in the Directory, the reason probably being that he resided in Bristol
(W. T. C. Wardwell). Both the socially registered and unregistered served as
the mayors of Providence (three) and Pawtucket (one). Also at the local
level, nine individuals served on their town school committees, while another
fourteen were aldermen.
The greatest difference between those in the Social Directory and those not
in it � with respect to politics � was mainly in the area of appointed
political positions: of 23 nonelective officeholders, 19 were in the
Directory and four were not. These offices consisted mainly of
aides-to-governors (six), delegates to national conventions and presidential
electors (seven), judges (three), U.S. circuit court judge (one), customs
collector (one), and the various state commissioners of charity, health,
police, parks, and parole (nine).
Another area in which the socially registered were separated from those not
so registered were the private clubs. A few of the businessmen under study
who were not in the 1902 Social Directory were, in fact, permitted to join
several of these elite clubs; but the number is, so small that they have been
omitted, and only those businessmen in the Directory have been studied.
There were basically three different types of private clubs: ( I) social
clubs, (2) common interest clubs, and (3) sports clubs. The prominent
Providence social clubs and the number of Rhode Island businessmen used in
this study who belonged to them were: Hope (46), Central (25), Squantum (24),
Pomham (16), West Side (ten), and Elmwood (eight). The well-known common
interest clubs were the Art (28) and the University (15). The most heavily
subscribed sports, outdoor, or athletic clubs were Agawam Hunt (21),
Wannamoisett Golf (21 ), Rhode Island Yacht ( 17), Rhode Island Automobile
Club (seven), and the Narragansett Boat Club (five).
Eighty-seven of the 119 in the Directory, or about 73 per cent, joined such
clubs. On the whole, most of those who did belong to such clubs, usually
belonged to three. Many of these same people took an active part in the
support of the Rhode Island School of Design (24) and The Rhode Island
Historical Society ( 14). Only six not in the Social Director y gave such
support to these two institutions.
Both those in the Directory and those not in it, however, contributed time
and money to aid such charitable institutions as the Rhode Island Hospital,
the Rhode Island Homeopathic Hospital, and Butler Hospital. The number of
such societies is seemingly endless: R.I.S.P.C.A., the R.I.S.P.C. to
Children, the Charitable Fuel Society, the various Home and Rescue Missions,
and even the Pine Ridge Camp for Consumptives.
Most of the Rhode Island businessmen studied here lived in the Providence
vicinity: 143 of the 180. By far, the most concentrated area was the East
Side-College Hill section. Most of those who lived there ( 102) were in the
Social Directory (85 of the 102). In addition to the East Side, a fair number
of these business leaders lived in the Federal Hill and Elmwood sections of
Providence. These sections were not primarily of a lower class, for most of
the businessmen living there were in the Social Directory. Elmwood, however,
was a more fashionable area than Federal Hill: only four of the ten in
Federal Hill were in the Social Directory,, while nine of the twelve living
in Elmwood were so listed.
A number of those in the Social Directory had a second house, usually on the
water for summer living. This was true of 29 of the 119 businessmen in the
Directory (about 25 per cent). By far, the single most important group was at
Warwick Neck (eight) ; there were only four individuals who had houses at
Newport. Five of those who summered at Warwick Neck were worth an average of
$124,760; three of the four at Newport showed real and personal estates worth
an average of $375,760, with the fourth individual the president of a company
that paid the city of Providence $28,929 on real and personal estates worth
$1,808,100. In other words, the truly wealthy owned summer houses at Newport;
those still in the elite class, but somewhat lower on the tax rolls, spent
their summers on Warwick Neck. The other summer houses were usually in
Barrington, Bristol, Narragansett, and Watch Hill; one went to Martha's
Vineyard and another to Jackson, New Hampshire.
Was the Rhode Island businessman of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth
century this "new man" he was supposed to be? All evidence points to an
emphatic NO. Not an immigrant nor the son of one, the typical Rhode Island
businessman was born in the northeastern United States, usually Rhode Island,
and could trace his ancestry back to English forebears who settled there in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was raised in an urban
environment, in a middle- or upper-class household, completed at least a
secondary school education, and sometimes attended college. He was a
Protestant, probably Episcopal or Congregational. He did not start to work
until he was past nineteen years of age, and then, it was usually in a
business that was operated by a member of his family. By middle age, he had
reached a position of prominence within the state. He was usually connected
with more than one business; a Republican, he participated in the running of
his community through elected and appointed positions; he belonged to several
clubs, and took an active part in community affairs; he lived in the East
SideCollege Hill section of Providence, and, sometimes, owned a summer house
at the shore.
-----
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
Omnia Bona Bonis,
All My Relations.
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End
Kris
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