Biography of Frederick Willard Hartwell
From New England Families Genealogical & Memorial by William Richard Cutter, A.M.
New York, 1915
FREDERICK W. HARTWELL, son of Samuel Estabrook Hartwell, was born January 8, 1850, at Langdon, New Hampshire. His parents dying during his youth, in 1861 he came to Providence to live with his uncle, John Bryant Hartwell. He attended the public and high schools in Providence, and the Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, for a year. In 1868 he entered the office of Day & Chapin as bookkeeper, and afterward was transferred to the Elm Street woolen mill, operated by his employers, remaining there for about five years as bookeeper and paymaster. Shortly before his marriage, in 1873, he resigned to become bookeeper for the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company, of which his father-in-law was then treasurer. In 1884 Mr. Hartwell became secretary of the company and retained that office to the end of his life. In 1893 this company was consolidated with western firms under the name of the General Fire Extinguisher Company, of which Mr. Hartwell became secretary, and manager of the Providence plant. In 1906 he was elected a director of the corporation. Mr. Hartwell was associated with various other commercial and mercantile enterprises. He was a commissioner of the Dexter Donation for several years. He died at his home, 77 Parade Street, Providence, October 9, 1911, after a brief illness. Interment was at the North End burying ground. Mr Hartwell was a layman of convictions. His service as member of the Central Baptist Church in Providence from 1866, and as superintendent of its Sunday school from 1902, was marked by such devotion and tangible support as to command the utmost admiration, especially let us say when found in a busy man of the world. Frederick W. Hartwell never lost the spring of perpetual youth, nor forgot that he himself had once been a struggling young man. His ear was turned towards the young man, and his constant encouragement was often a source of hope. For many years a member of the Providence Young Men's Christian Association, he became its president and served from 1898 to 1900, and remained a member of its board of managers. Mr. Hartwell was a modern business man, that is to say, he rejected the ancient notion that a bargain must involve the robbery of one party. In business he was his brother's keeper. If this policy at times cost him money the fact remains a memorial to his faith in his fellow men. Faith in man and God and an optimistic mien in the process of their service -- these perhaps sum up his loved and useful character.
He married, October 15, 1873, Mary Loring Hartshorn, who was born in Providence, August 14, 1851, daughter of Rev. Joseph Charles and Rachel (Thurber) Hartshorn. Children: 1. Joseph C., born at Warwick, Rhode Island, August 20, 1874; educated in the public schools of Providence, the Worcester Academy, graduate of Brown University (Bachelor or Arts, 1899); now employed in the engineering department of the General Fire Extinguisher Company; member of the University Club; resides with his mother in Providence. 2. John S., born December 22, 1875, died in 1882. 3. Lucy King, born February 16, 1878; attended the public and high schools of Providence, Abbott Academy at Andover, Massachusetts; married William B. Peck, of Providence, and has three children: Margaret Hartwell Peck, born July 19, 1904; Ruth Hartshorn Peck, December 13, 1906; Virginia Hunter Peck, June 12, 1913. 4. Mary Hartshorn, born November 21, 1882; attended the public schools of Providence, Dana Hall, Wellesley and Brown University; married Leonard Wolsey Cronkhite, of Boston, and has one child, Elizabeth Cronkhite. 5. Helen Thurber, born October 28, 1885; attended the public and high schools of Providence, graduate of Wellesley College in 1908; married Rev. W. Douglas Swaffield, now of Danielson, Connecticut, and has one child, Esther Harding Swaffield.
From Americana Illustrated, Vol. XIII, No. 1
Frederick W. Hartwell, secretary and manager of the General Fire Extinguisher Company of Providence, Rhode Island, from the time of the founding of the gigantic corporation until his death, was a figure of influence in business and finance in Rhode Island for a quarter of a century, ranking prominently among the master-minds which controlled these fields in the closing decades of the nineteenth century.
Frederick W. Hartwell was born at Langdon, New Hampshire, January 8, 1850, the son of Samuel Estabrook and Lucy M. (King) Hartwell, and a descendant in the eighth generation of William Hartwell, the founder of the family in America. The Hartwell family dates from the year 1636, from which time to the present day it has figured prominently in New England life and affairs. Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts, were the homes of the family for several generations. Samuel Estabrook Hartwell, grandfather of the late Frederick W. Hartwell, was the first of the direct line to remove to New Hampshire, where he became the owner of a large estate, and where he settled permanently. His son, Samuel Estabrook Hartwell, Jr., inherited a large portion of his estate in New Hampshire, and remained there a farmer on a large scale until his death.
In 1861, following the death of both his parents, Frederick W. Hartwell came to Providence to make his home with his uncle, the late John Bryant Hartwell, who at that time was a power in mercantile life in the city of Providence, where he died December 9, 1872. He was given excellent educational advantages and studied in the elementary and high schools of the city, later attending the Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, for a year. In 1868 he began his business career, entering the offices of Day & Chapin as bookkeeper. Within a short time he was transferred to the Elm street woolen mill, operated by the latter firm, in the capacity of bookkeeper and paymaster. Here he remained during the five years following, but finding the field somewhat narrow and not altogether to his liking, he resigned shortly before his marriage, in 1873, to become bookkeeper in the offices of the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company, of which his father-in-law was at that time treasurer. From this position of comparative unimportance he rose rapidly in the firm, displaying an ability for the handling of large affairs which, in 1884, brought him the office of secretary and manager of the Providence plant, of the newly founded million-dollar corporation, the General Fire Extinguisher Company. In 1893 the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company, which had been manufacturing for some time a water sprinkler for installation in buildings and stores as a safeguard against destructive fires, the inventions and patents for which were then in their control, incorporated with a western firm, the Neracker & Hill Sprinkler Company, which was engaged in the manufacture of a similar device, under the firm name of the General Fire Extinguisher Company, with a capitalization of $1,000,000, and Mr. Hartwell was elected secretary and manager of the Providence plant. In the years which followed, he was a factor of greatest importance in the upbuilding and development of the corporation. In 1906 he became a member of the board of directors. He was also active on the executive boards of several other Providence concerns, and was a director of the Atlantic National Bank.
His interests, however, were not wholly confined to the field of business. He was at least as well known in the philanthropic circles of his city. For several years Mr. Hartwell served as a commissioner of the Dexter Donation. From 1899 to 1900 he acted as president of the Providence Young Men's Christian Association, of which he had long been a member, remaining until his death a member of its board of managers. He never forgot the struggles and discouragements of his youth, and was always a source of encouragement to the many young men who came to him for advice and assistance in his later days. His service as a member of the Central Baptist Church of Providence, and as superintendent of its Sunday school from 1902, was marked by such devotion and such material support as to command the utmost admiration, especially since it came from a man whose business and public duties were of great magnitude. He applied to business affairs the code of ethics by which he governed his private life. The principles of equity, mercy and justice which governed his every act made him honored, trusted and loved by men. "Faith in man and God, and an optimistic mien in the process of their service—these sum up his loved and useful character."
On October 15, 1873, Mr. Hartwell married Mary Loring Hartshorn, who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, August 14, 1851, daughter of the late Rev. Joseph Charles and Rachel (Thurber) Hartshorn. They were the parents of the following children: 1. Joseph C, born at Warwick, R. I., August 20, 1874; educated in the public schools of Providence, prepared for college at the Worcester Academy, and was graduated from Brown University in the class of 1899, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He is now employed in the engineering department of the General Fire Extinguisher Company of Providence; he is a member of the University Club among others, and makes his home with his mother in Providence. 2. John S., born Dec. 22, 1875, died in 1882. 3. Lucy King, born Feb. 16, 1878; attended tbe public and high schools of Providence, and was graduated from the Abbott Academy at Andover, Massachusetts; she married William B. Peck, of Providence, and they are the parents of three children: Margaret Hartwell, born July 19, 1904; Ruth Hartshorn, born Dec. 13, 1906; Virginia Hunter, born June 12, 1913. 4. Mary Hartshorn, born Nov. 21, 1882, died July 1, 1915; she attended the public schools of Providence, and continued her studies at Dana Hall, Wellesley, and Brown University; she married Leonard Wollsey Cronkhite, of Boston, and has one daughter, Elizabeth Cronkhite. 5. Helen Thurber, born Oct. 28, 1885; attended the public and high schools of Providence, and was graduated from Wellesley College in the class of 1908; she married Rev. W. Douglas Swaffield, now of East Boston, Massachusetts; they are the parents of three children: Esther Harding, born Nov. 17, 1913; Frederick Hartwell, born April 13, 1915; Marian Nichols, born August 6, 1916.
Frederick W. Hartwell died at his home, No. 77 Parade street, Providence, Rhode Island, October 9, 1911. Mr. Hartwell is buried in the Swan Point Cemetery. Mrs. Hartwell, who survives her husband, resides at No. 16 Freeman Parkway, Providence, Rhode Island.