Newport Historical Society

History Bytes: Admiral Sims

Newport Historical Society — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 17:20:39 +0000

Admiral William Sowden Sims (1858-1936) commanded all of the United Stated naval forces operating in Europe during WWI. Sims did not return to the United States until many months after the November 11, 1918 armistice. Newport celebrated his arrival in Newport on April 11, 1919 in grand style. Businesses closed for the day, and several thousand people lined the streets to welcome him back to the city. The parade began at Government Landing with official speeches and a military honor guard, then the procession wound its way through the city including by the home on Kay Street where Sims’s family had been living. Shortly before the United States entered the war, Sims had been assigned as the president of the Naval War College. He served a second term as president from 1919-1922. During this tenure at NWC Sims wrote and published The Victory at Sea, detailing his experiences in WWI. The book won a Pulitzer Prize for history. After retiring from the Navy in October 1922, Sims remained in Newport, settling in a home at 73 Catherine Street.

History Bytes: Common Sense Gum

Newport Historical Society — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 14:09:52 +0000

Gum may not be your Halloween treat of choice, but it generates billions of dollars in sales each year. The first gum manufacturing factory in the United States was constructed in the 1850s by John Curtis in Maine. By the late 1800s the chewy treat had gained immense popularity and other business men like William Wrigley, Jr. took notice (Wrigley created Juicy Fruit and Wrigley’s Spearmint in 1893.) In 1908, a Boston company, Common Sense Gum, purchased land at the northern end of Third Street in Newport for the construction of a gum manufacturing company. The Common Sense Co. factory opened for business in 1912, producing Listerated Gum, a popular choice of WWI soldiers. By 1921 the Common Sense Co. had changed its name to Listerated Gum Corp, and was producing Orbit Listerated Gum. In 1925 the Wrigley company bought and closed the Listerated gum factory. L. P. Larson Jr. would make an unsuccessful go of producing gum in Newport in the 1930s. Unlike the long-lasting appeal of gum, Newport’s involvement in the manufacturing of gum was short lived.

Image: Advertisement for Listerated Gum that appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, August 1915. Note the number 5 in the triangle, denoting the cost of the pack of gum. That symbol can still be found in the exterior brick work of the gum factory on Third Street. NHS Collection, 2000.8.

History Bytes: War Camp Community Service

Newport Historical Society — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 15:23:24 +0000

The moral and physical state of the troops was very much on the mind of the American Government, so shortly after the United States entered WWI, the War Department Commission on Training Camp Activities was created to help coordinate wholesome recreational and education activities. The Commission worked with existing agencies who were already working to support the troops and, when necessary, supplemented their activities. One of these existing agencies was the Playground and Recreation Association of America, who at the request of the Commission established the War Camp Community Service (WCCS). Most of the existing war support organizations concentrated their efforts overseas or in the camps. The WCCS took on the task of supporting the troops and their families outside of the camps through the fostering of community hospitality and recreation. By 1918 Newport had established a branch of the War Camp Community Service with offices at 209 Thames Street, and later at 83 Mill Street. The Newport committee was led by Clark Burdick, chairman; Mrs. French Vanderbilt, vice chairman; Dr. Norman M. MacLeod, secretary; Hugh B. Baker, treasurer; and Charles H. Strong, director.

Some of the work conducted included hosting dances and dinners for citizens and soldiers; providing places for families and loved ones of soldiers to stay and places to socialize; organizing athletics, providing access to books, movies, and the theater. The work of the WCCS continued after armistice, in January 1919 the Newport WCCS financially backed the conversion of the Lafayette Theatre on Washington Square (now the Jane Pickens) as the new Community Theatre, where four performances a week would be offered. (Providence News, January 11, 1919).

Newporter spotlight: Dr. Norman M. MacLeod was the son of Angus MacLeod, co-founder of Newport’s The Boston Store of King & MacLeod Co. Dr. MacLeod practiced as a pediatrician and was instrumental in establishing the first children’s’ ward at Newport Hospital. In 1914 he was named the hospital’s city superintendent, the first regular physician to take that position since the founding of the hospital.

Image: Newport’s War Camp Community Service at 83 Mill Street. Samuel Kerschner photograph collection, NHS.

Third Annual Culinary Adventure Program

Newport Historical Society — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 13:43:30 +0000

Photograph by Andrea Hansen.

Thank you to everyone who participated in and attended the Third Annual Culinary Adventure, which honored and celebrated the men and women of Newport County who contributed to the war effort during World War I on the 100^th anniversary year of Armistice Day. Your attendance and participation enhanced the event and proved that in Newport, RI, history is important and dear to all of us.

Because of the overwhelmingly positive response we’d like to share the program from the event. Please click on the link below to view.

Third Annual Culinary Adventure Program

Also, please watch our video of the event by clicking here.

History Bytes: American Ambulance Hospital

Newport Historical Society — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 15:04:58 +0000

The American Ambulance Hospital in Paris was established in 1906 at the Lycée Pasteur, Neuilly-sur-Seine, with offices at 14 Wall Street in New York. During the outbreak of World War I in 1914, even though United States had not entered the war yet, Americans contributed substantial financial support towards the purchase of vehicles and improvements to the palatial facility in central Paris. Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, Miss Maude Wetmore, Mrs. Henry Payne Whitney and other Newport summer residents played important roles.

Bertram Lippincott (1897-1985), a birthright Quaker from Philadelphia and Jamestown, Rhode Island was one of many volunteer ambulance drivers in France who served his country without engaging in combat which was contrary to the pacifist teachings of the Society of Friends. He transported wounded soldiers from combat zones to the Ambulance Hospital on a daily basis in 1917 and 1918, often spending nights at local YMCAs. While driving ambulances unarmed, Quaker volunteers were subjected to the same perils of live ammunition, artillery fire and mustard gas.

Image (top): “The American Hospital in France; and exterior view of the Lycee Pasteur at Neuilly on the Seine,” ca. 1917, from the American National Red Cross photograph collection in the Library of Congress.

Image (below): Bertram Lippincott’s letter of introduction from William Hereford, Executive Secretary of the American Committee of the American Ambulance Hospital in Paris, June 7, 1917.

History Bytes: Madeline Ives Goddard

Newport Historical Society — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 18:59:56 +0000

Madeline Ives Goddard, the Marquise d’Andigné was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1874 to Robert Hale Ives Goddard and Rebecca Brunette Groesbeck Goddard. The family rented various Newport summer cottages, including Pendleton, Chastellux, and Cliff Cottages, however Madeline spent much of her adult life in France. She became the Marquise when she married Rene d’Andigné in 1906. Madeline was a trained nurse, and when World War I broke out she volunteered in a front line hospital. She was later asked to help establish and become the president of Le Bien-Etre du Blesse in France, two years before the United States would officially enter the war. The organization provided hospitals in French war zones with special food to help aid the recovery of the severely injured, often delivering the supplies themselves through their Women’s Motor Unit. Not only did the organization raise the money to acquire food supplies, they also established aid stations and kitchens in French military hospitals where they prepared the food themselves. On the American home-front several prominent women worked for the Le Bien-Etre American Central Committee, helping to raise much needed funds, including Mrs. Ives Goddard of Providence, Mrs. Hamilton Fish Webster of Newport, and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt of New York and Newport. After the war the Marquise was officially honored by the French government with awarding her a Legion D’Honneur for her military service. She passed away in 1931 in the Providence home of her brother, Robert Hale Ives Goddard.

Image: le maréchal Franchet d’Esperey décore la marquise d’Andigné [Marshal Franchet d’Esperey decorates the marquise d’Andigné], by Agence Rol., 1921. Image from Bibliothèque nationale de France.

History Bytes: Naval Station Newport

Newport Historical Society — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 16:54:51 +0000

Naval Station Newport was formally established in 1883 under the command of Captain Stephen B. Luce for the purpose of training 750 sailors. A year later Luce became the first president of the Naval War College. By 1887 the Training Station began training boys entirely on shore as the program expanded to over 2,000 seamen. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the first preparations for war began, and the Training Station expanded onto Coddington Point. By 1916 there were 7,215 men stationed there, and Newport became the home for a yeoman school, signal school, Hospital Corps Training School, Commissary School, Musician’s School, and a Firemen’s School. After the United States formally entered WWI in April 1917 the Naval Station received authority to increase capacity by 10,000 men. Temporary barracks, mess halls and auxiliary buildings were made into Camp Sadler on Coasters Island, as well as a tent city for 2,800 recruits called Camp Palmer. The enacting of the Selective Service Act of 1917 brought an average of 15,000 men each month for training, and while women were not eligible for the draft, they began enrolling in the Navy at this time. All of this led to more expansion. During WWI, Training Station Newport equipped and sent 65,000 sailors to sea, in addition to thousands of Naval reservists trained there.

Image: WWI Sailors, from the Samuel Kerschner collection, NHS

Found: Letters regarding William Claggett and the Looking-Glass dispute

Newport Historical Society — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 12:22:59 +0000

Guest Post by Margaret Hanson, 2018 Fellow in the Newport Historical Society’s Buchanan Burnham Summer Scholars in Public History Program

This December, the Newport Historical Society will open a new exhibit examining the life and work of William Claggett, a highly skilled clockmaker who lived in Newport from 1716 until his death in 1748. The exhibit will include a book written by William Claggett in 1721 titled A Looking-Glass for Elder Clarke and Elder Wightman And the Church under their Care. In A Looking-Glass, Claggett describes a dispute which eventually resulted in his permanent separation from the Second Baptist Church. The trouble began when the church Elders, Daniel Wightman and James Clarke suspended church member John Rhodes from communion following a complaint regarding his business practices. Claggett felt that Rhodes’s dismissal was unfair. In response, he and another congregant, Captain John Rogers withdrew from communion. This led to further disagreements: while Claggett and Rogers protested the church Elders’ decision to suspend Rhodes, others defended them, and reprimanded Claggett and Rogers for withdrawing from the communion. The dispute continued over the next 21 months, as Claggett, Rogers, Rhodes, the church elders, and various other congregants argued during church meetings, in private conversations, in publications, and through written correspondence.

Recently, we discovered a folder among Second Baptist Church records in the NHS archives containing exciting materials related to the Looking-Glass dispute. The newly discovered materials include letters (both originals and manuscript copies) exchanged among the disputants in 1720 and 1721, several of which are reproduced in A Looking-Glass. The folder also contains a booklet titled A Just Vindication (1721) which outlines the church’s defense of the elders and complaints regarding Claggett. While Claggett’s Looking-Glass does not include a full reproduction of A Just Vindication, this document was important in motivating him to write and publish his own version of the dispute. Furthermore, the final section of Claggett’s book, titled A Reply to Your Un-just Vindication, is dedicated to refuting the church’s arguments and narrative. The folder also contains several letters written between 1723 and 1725, after the publication of Claggett’s Looking-Glass which comment on its contents, as well as its author.

History Bytes: Rhode Island’s Woman’s Land Army

Newport Historical Society — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 18:50:24 +0000

The Woman’s Land Army of America (WLAA) was a civilian organization created during WWI for the purpose of avoiding a food production crisis by supplying agricultural workers to replace the men serving in the military. The WLAA was modeled after the Woman’s Land Army in Great Britain. The American organization would later become known as simply the Woman’s Land Army (WLA). The WLA operated from 1917 – 1919 in 42 states and employed over 20,000 women, referred to as “farmerettes,” who received equal pay to male laborers. The organization did not receive government funding, rather relied on the assistance of non-profits, like the Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association (WNF&GA) and colleges and universities. In addition to working on farms, farmerettes also worked the land in public gardens and on private estates in the effort to improve food production. The WLA was more prevalent on the west coast, however by 1918 several east coast states had participated in agricultural training programs and were establishing WLA units. This included two in Hope, Rhode Island under Miss Alice Howland (Bulletin of Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association, vol 6 June 1918 no. 1). Miss Julie Mauran, a vice president of the WNF&GA also participated in the WLA, organizing meetings and growing food on her farm Lippitt Hill in Hope (Bulletin of Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association, vol 7 January 1919 no. 7). On Aquidneck Island, Mr. Ernst Voight employed 8 farmerettes to work on his farm Maplehurst, located off West Main Road in Middletown (Newport Mercury, July 12, 1918).

Join the Newport Historical Society for a Culinary Adventure on September 22, 2018 when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.

Image: “Farmerettes (Voight’s),” July 10, 1918, from Newport Daily News photograph collection, NHS.

From the Archives: Miantonomi Memorial Park Commission Records

Newport Historical Society — Thu, 24 May 2018 12:03:54 +0000

Guest post by Kerry McAuliffe, NHS Archives Intern and graduate student at Simmons School of Library and Information Science

This year marks the centennial of the end of World War I. Fifty-six servicemen from Newport lost their lives fighting in the Great War, and efforts to create a war memorial began a few years after the war’s end. The Miantonomi Memorial Park Commission was established in January 1921, and plans were soon adopted to purchase Miantonomi Hill and create a memorial park.

Elevation drawing of the Memorial Tower by McKim, Mead & White. Plan from the Miantonomi Memorial Park Commission records (MS.094), NHS.

The City of Newport purchased Miantonomi Hill and the surrounding area, located in northern Newport near the Middletown town line, in July 1921 from Helen Phelps Stokes, on the condition that the 30 acres be used “for a public park.” Architects R. Clipston Sturgis and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. led the landscape design efforts of the park. The Commission dedicated the site as a war memorial on Armistice Day, 1923. The architecture firm McKim, Mead & White was hired to design a memorial tower. This culminated in the dedication of the Memorial Tower on August 29th, 1929.

The Memorial Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and the Aquidneck Land Trust secured a permanent conservation easement for the park in 2005. In 2017, an award was granted by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, in part, to replace the tablets honoring the servicemen from Newport killed in World War I. The new tablets will be mounted to the Memorial Tower this coming Memorial Day.

Last year the City of Newport donated a collection of Miantonomi Memorial Park Commission records to the Newport Historical Society. Given to the City by the family of James G. Edward, a longtime former chairman of the Commission, the collection contains original architectural drawings and blueprints of the park and tower. Meeting minutes offer a first-hand account of the planning efforts that went into establishing the park and constructing the tower. Several photographs of the 1929 dedication ceremony of the Memorial Tower are also included in the collection. Several well-known Newporters can be seen in attendance that day, including Mrs. William Sims, then Chairman of the Committee, her husband Admiral William S. Sims and Maud Howe Elliott. The collection has been processed and a finding aid is available on the NHS website.

Anne Hitchcock Sims, Chairman of the Commission, speaks at the dedication ceremony for the Memorial Tower, August 29. 1929. Among those seated behind her are her husband, Admiral William S. Sims (second from right), and Maud Howe Elliott (far left). Photograph from the Miantonomi Memorial Park Commission records (MS.094), NHS.

Featured image (at top): People gather at the dedication ceremony for the Memorial Tower, August 29, 1929. Photograph from the Miantonomi Memorial Park Commission records (MS.094), NHS.