Gorham Roster of Craftsmen

Jenkinson, James to Kranz, Louis

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Jenkinson, James
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
20 Sept. 1863	born, England
3 Oct. 1888	hired		res. 641 Prairie Ave.
	Jenkinson was a pitch man: he prepared the pitch, placed it into hollowware for the chaser, and cleaned it out after the piece had been chased. Herman White as an apprentice had mimicked Jenkinson's clumsy walk.
1900	chaser #17	10.00
16 Sept. 1907	to 02	0.10
1925	chasers' photograph, '37 years'			Silver Tongue
1 Feb. 1933	pensioned
12 Dec. 1935	died; buried Locust Grove Cemetery, Providence			RIHC

Jenks, Barton Pickering
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
1871	born, Boston? son of Lewis N. and Phoebe P.
1897	'The foreman of Goodnow & Jenks, the foremost silversmiths in Boston at this time, was James T. Wooley. Wooley and Barton P. Jenks embraced the guild idea and when the Arts and Crafts Movement held an exhibition in Boston in 1897, the silver displayed was entered under the name of Barton P. Jenks.' McClinton, Collecting American 19th Century Silver, p. 102.
1905	president of Durgin
	'...Barton Pickering Jenks, son of the gifted designer Lewis iE. Jenks of Kennard & Jenks, received his degree in architecture from M. I. T. about 1890 after beginning his college career for a year at Harvard. 'Goodnow & Jenks were the principal silverware manufacturers of their time in Boston, concerned mainly with hollowware. In 1904 or 1905 Jenks resigned and went to work for Wm. B. Durgin Co.' [i.e. 1905 after Holbrook had acquired Durgin] Rainwater, Encyclopedia (3d) under Goodnow & Jenks (p. 69). 'When I took charge of the Durgin Co. it was in very bad shape physically and financially and many of those intimately connected with it for years did not believe I could pull it out. I not only reorganized it with little help and at little expense but made it the best paying concern in the Silversmiths Company.'
ca. 1912	brought to Providence
1915	asst. vice pres. Gorham Mfg. Co.		h. 199 Angell	PCD 401
12 Aug. 1918	resigned as Vice President & Director of Gorham (drinking problem)
	'my salary has been paid by the savings of the combined salaries of the~ Codmans...' 'The morale in the factory is far better and I have produced a l. of saleable goods...' long, very personal letter in Archives
1921-24	Wm. B. Kerr Co.; returns during presidency of John Swift Holbrook
1924-26	New York
1 Nov. 1926	resigned
1927-29	New York
1929-41	Providence
1935	designer Gorhams			PCD 462
1939	designer Gorham's; wife Clerinda D.		h. 80 Alfred Stone Rd.	PCD 728
13 Jan. 1941	died, age 70 years

Jensen, Gustav
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
30 April 1935	letter to Mr. Mayo, on letterhead, dated 288 Lexington Ave., N. Y.: 'A year has passed since you here in Providence employed me to produce silver designs for the Gorham Company.'

Johnson, Edwin Frost
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
23 May 1871	born, Providence, Rhode Island
21 July 1886	employed		2 Stamford Rd.
30 June 1906	left
24 June 1907	returned
Nov. 1926	featured in ads: 'For 39 Years a Gorham Master Craftsman,'Archives
1 July 1936	pensioned	62.33/mo.
12 June 1944	died

Johnson, 'Philip Ben'
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
1927	'Bernard Johnson' 'Elephant Head' book ends in Famous Small Bronzes, p. 57
	worked 'under Robert Hill in Bronze Design. Burr Sebring (interview, 19 Nov. 1997) says Johnson had highest regard for Hill.
1966	50-year & retirement party			Perspective 7: 1, Winter 1966
1993	died

Jones, Augustus
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
6 Dec. 1865	employed as ornamental engraver; from London		20.00	Indenture #12 (2:

Jordan, Frederic A.
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
22 Aug. 1846	born, Providence, Rhode Island, according to 1905 RI Census
Aug. 1847	born, Providence, Rhode Island (from his childrens' birth records, which give his age as being born 1847. No birth record for him {not legally required before 1850})
30 July 1860	employed, apprentice			emp. cd.
15 June 1861	under F. H. Clark; apprentice	3.00		PBk.
7 Mar. 1863	under J. S. Latham			PBk.
26 Sept.	under J. Morrison	3.00		PBk.
1869	departs Gorham to work for Tiffany			PJ retirement article
1 Oct. 1877	returned			emp. cd.
7 Jan. 1878	foreman of chasers, through 3 Jan. 1881; 28.00			PBk.
1881	returns to Gorham			PJ retirement article
1882				PCD*
1886	married Estelle Walker of N. Y., daughter of Joseph & Ra~chel Walker (not in Providence)
10 Sept. 1887	son Joseph Frederick born			(13: 273)
1888	chased 425 Tureen			cost book 6: 189
29 July 1890	twins Harry & Estelle W. born (14: 273)
Aug.	twin Harry died			RIDR
Oct.	twin Estelle W. died			RIDR
1892	chaser		h. 261 Greenwich	PCD
	obtains, paid taxes on, property at 26 Carter Street, Plat 49 lots 145 & 302
1895	chaser		h. 26 Carter	PCD
1898	foreman		h. 26 Carter	PCD
	real estate, $8,600			Prov. Tax Bks. 250
1900	Awarded Gold Medal, Paris Exposition; on original Board of Directors of Gorham Savings Bank Board of Trade			PJ 7: 357 (Aug. 1900).
	real estate $8,600: Tax records; Census E. D. 64, sh. 1, l. 38, Ward 7, 0548
1 Jan.	salary raised from $45.00 to $50.00 per week.
1901-06	foreman, Gorham		h. 503 Elmwood	PCD
31 Aug. 1903	wife Estelle died, age 50 years 13 days, Bright's disease, myelitis; buried Locust Grove Cemetery, Providence, lot 392 #1			PDR 21: 379; RIDR 195 l. 19
1904-08	worth $12,800			Prov. Tax Bks. 250
1905	age 58			RI Census
1906			flh. 503 Elmwood	PCD 459
1907			h. 26 Carter	PCD 369
19 May	retired; article PJ., Sec. 2, p. 4; not in pension list
1908				PCD*
1909			26 Carter vacant	PSD
1909-13	in Providence Tax Books at $12,000
1911	a Frederick A. Jordan had a house at 146 Wentworth, Cranston			CCD 1125
1913				CCD*
1914-17	in Providence Tax Books at $6,380
21 Sept. 1917	sold lot 145 at 26 Carter			Book 566: 488
20 Mar. 1918	resident of Long Beach, California; sold lot 302 at 26 Carter to Charles W. Potter for $10,000.00			Book 571: 311
	no longer in Providence Tax Books

Jordan, J. F., chaser #21				work card
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
24 Oct. 1904	hired, apprentice
1909			bds. 58 Vineland	PCD
8 Oct. 1910	left		bds. 16 Redwing	PCD 369
1911			bds. 16 Redwing	PCD 387
1912-1915				PCD*

Jordan, William E., chaser
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
13 Oct. 1861	born, Providence, Rhode Island, son of Charles H. T. Jordan & Sabrina A. Coes
20 May 1878	apprentice, room 26; 3.00; 342 Dudley St.; Indenture II: 14, co-signed by Frederick A. Jordan
6 Jan. 1879		3.00
3 Jan. 1881		5.00
2 Jan. 1882		6.00
5 Jan. 1885	room 62	18.00
1892	wife Jennie Crandell Thompson		261 Greenwich (same as Frederick A.: an uncle?)
1900	# 26	25.00		S 158
	Census E. D. 63 sh. 13 l. 43: daughter Inez born, 1894
1901			58 Vineland
1916			63 Vineland	PCD 419
1920			63 Vineland
1 April 1927	pension	74.34/month
'A rousing 'send-off' was given to Fred Bowers on March 1st, and another to Billy Jordan on April first, upon their retirement after many years service in the Chasing Department. 'The Silver Tongue understands that 'Billy' has a little place down in Westerly way where he is to turn farmer, raise chickens and hen fruit. Hereafter he will chase chickens instead of the Duck. 'He is taking his banjo along to play at barn dances and sich like b'gosh. Billy is a wizard at the old banjo and with his extensive repertoire of old time songs he will undoubtedly make a big hit with the natives and soon be elected Mayor of the burg.' Silver Tongue 3: 1. 16, June 1927
	Member Nestell LodgeI, Free & Accepted Masons, Lodge #37.
1929				1928 Westerly CD 136
2 Oct. 1945	died, Westerly, RI; obit., PJ p. 14			RIDR 45-128. 123
	'Jordan. In Westerly, R. I., at East Ave. October 2, 1945. William E. Jordan, husband of Jennie C. (Thompson) Jordan, in his 84th year... Interment in River Bend Cemetery.'
5 Oct.	Funeral notice, PJ 5 Oct. 1945 p. 17 'Mr. Jordan died at his home late Tuesday after a year's illness... He was... born, in Providence Oct. 13, 1861. When he retired in 1927 he had been employed for 49 years as a silversmith at the Gorham Manufacturing Co. ...made his home in Westerly since retirement... His wife... and daughter Mrs. Lester C. Crandall of Edgewood, survive...'

Kauer, Eugene J., chaser #4
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
8 Jan. 1861	born, New York City, son of German immigrants Joseph M. & Caroline K.			emp. card
	trained at Tiffany's
15 Nov. 1886	employed		res. 27 Laura St.
1894		0.50/hour
1899			125 Hamilton	PCD 451
1900		30.00	125 Hamilton	PCD 450
	Census E. D. 65 sh. 1 l. 74: wife Augusta
1901	silversmith		h. 130 Hamilton	PCD 489
1903			130 Hamilton	PCD 407
1905			130 Hamilton	PCD 434
1906			19 Laura	PCD 463
1907			19 Laura	PCD 371
1908	silversmith		19 Laura	PCD 368
1909-10			19 Laura	PCD 372
1911			19 Laura	PCD 390
1912			27 Laura	PCD 394
1913			27 Laura	PCD 397
1921	silver chaser		h. 27 Laura	PCD 476
13 Dec.	died; will Probate 22678; obit. Prov. Journal 16 Dec. 1921, p. 16 col. 4; buried Pocasset Cemetery, Cranston			PCD 479; RIHC

Keeling, Thomas William
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
1870				PCD*
17 July 1871	employed as silversmith; from London	18.00		Indenture #52 (

Kemp, John Cooper
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
18 Jan. 1866	employed as embosser & chaser; from Birmingham; 18.00			Indenture #26 (2: 38.3)
22 Jan.	Stanyon, 8th
9 Sept. 1867	Stanyon, 8th			3: 105
	Debt record of $515.71			2: 78 rear
1870^				PCD*

Kendrick, John C.				card
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
31 July 1888	born, Providence, Rhode Island
1913	chaser		boards 5 Richfield Ave.	CCD 111
17 Mar. 1919	hired 0-1-16
1920	wife Beulah		house 13 Carleton Ave.	CCD 111
7 Aug.	Left, no work
1925	wife Beulah		h. 13 Carleton Ave.	CCD 135
17 Sep.	hired
	chasers' photo: '2 years'			Silver Tongue
1930	chaser; wife Beulah		h. 15 Carleton Ave.	CCD 243
17 Oct. 1934	Left, no work
1936	chaser; wife Beulah		h. 15 Carlton	CCD 207
13 Jan.	died			1939 CCD 240

Keyes [pronounced Kyz], Ralph W.				card
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
11 Feb. 1889	born, Providence, Rhode Island
20 Nov. 1916	hired
11 June 1918	left, government work
14 April 1919	0-2-13	0.50/hour
13 Aug. 1920	Left, no work
1922	'engraver'		h. Meadow View W	WCD 256
13 July 1925	0-1-31	0.70/hour
	chaisers' photo, '2 years'			Silver Tongue
16 Jan. 1932	left, no work; another position; foreman's statement: would re-hire
1936	wife Abigail (b. 1891)		h. Sayles Av. MV	WCD 182; RIHC
1940	carpenter; wife Abigail		h. 62 Sayles	WCD 251
1948	carpenter; wife Abigail		h. 86 Sayles	WCD 283
1959	steward, Lambskin Club; wife Abigail B.		h. 86 Sayles Ave.	WCD 394
1965	retired			WCD 219
1967	died; Brayton Cemetery, Warwick			RIHC
1969				WCD*
1984	widow Abigail died; buried Brayton Cemetery, Warwick			RIHC

Kilkenny, Thomas
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
1873, week of 6 January only		21.00		4:

Kingman, William F.
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
7 Nov. 1865	born, Chicago, Illinois
9 June 1902	employed
1903	draughtsman		h. 26 Glenham	PCD 422
1905	One of 15 designers who signed testimonial to Edward Holbrook (others included W. C. Codman, Fred A. Jordan, J. E. Straker).
1907	draughtsman at Gorham's		h. 30 Glenham	PCD 383
1 Oct. 1919	to salary list
1920			h. 30 Glenham	PCD 468
1921			h. 30 Glenham	PCD 492
29 April 1922	Left, no work
1923-24				PCD*

Knight, Mary Catherine
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
12 Aug. 1875	born, Flushing, Long Island; daughter of Orray Taft & Mary C. (Hoppin) Knight
	lived in Westboro, Massachusetts
	'Mary Catherine Knight was a designer at Gorham and a former pupil of Mrs. Bennett's four year design course at Drexel Institute. She was appointed head of the Handicraft Shop in Boston when it opened in 1901....' Kurland-Zabar, Reflections: Arts & Crafts Metalwork in England & the US, NY 1990, p. 42.
1905	'Two years after joining The Handicraft Shop [which he did in 1903] George Christian Gebelein was first accorded recognition by a museum when, jointly with Miss Mary Knight, he submitted examples of his work in a group exhibit to the Art Institute of Chicago...' Leighton, Margaretha Gebelein, George Christian Gebelein: Boston Silversmith 1878-1945, Boston, 1976, p. 43.
1907	a spoon with her mark and dated 1907 published as a question in Silver, May-June 1986, p. 32
1908	shared a 'commendation' with George Gebelein for pieces exhibited by the Handicraft Society at Copley Hall; see Silver, March-April 1987 and Loynton, Gebelein, p. 48.
1927	active until at least this year; see Uhehla, Karen Evans, The Society of Arts and Crafts Boston Exhibition records 1897-1927.
23 Nov. 1956	died, Westboro, Mass.; buried Swan Point Cemetery

Knight, William J.
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
4 Dec. 1865	Ornamental engraver; from London	20.00		Indenture #9 (2:

Knowles, E. L.
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
1 Jan. 1877		16.00
7 Jan. 1878	listed, not paid
1 Jan. 1883	room 62	9.00

Knuschke, Ferdinand William Louis
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
20 Aug. 1828	born, Offenbach-am-Main, Germany, son of Louis, a kid glove maker and cotton manufacturer
	trained as German-silver smith
1850	came to the U. S. at Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he began the tableware industry at the Ames Mfg. Co. (obit.)
	Worked at Hartford and Taunton (obit.)
	wife Mary M., artist
	son Ferdinand A., bookkeeper & paymaster, American Brewing Co.
1 Sept. 1863	established German Silver at Gorham		h. 51 Gesler
1864	silver		h. Olney
[187-]	'...business fell off so much the room was closed. Mr. Knuschke then went to Philadelphia, but was induced to return by George Wilkinson...' (obit.)
1872	'silver spinner'		h. 12 Walker	PCD
1876			h. 92 Knight, Ward 718	PCD
[188-]	'The German silver business revived a few years later, and the room was again opened with Mr. Knuschke in charge. After this the business grew until at times he was in charge of 150 men and had the largest room in the factory.' (obit.)
1882-91			h. 92 Knight	PCD
1885	silver spinner			R. I. Census
1891	'silversmith'		h. 92 Knight	PCD
	'Ill health had caused Mr. Knuschke's retirement from business for the last few months...' (obit.)
1896	married		2 New Fenner Ave.
19 May	died Cranston, Rhode Island, age 67 years 9 months; obit. JC Thursday 21 May 1896, p. 2; buried Swan Point			CDR 96-644-7; PDR 96-781-7; RIHC

Kohlhagen, Frederick, sculptor, modeller, head of Bronze Foundry
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
'sculptor. Artist member Providence Art Club in 1898. Was with the bronze department of Gorham Mfg. Co. Exhibited at PAC.' (Angell's Lane p. xiii) Taught evening modelling in clay at RISD 1895-1900 (also wood carving); use of nude models introduced; RISD catalogues say training at Munich & Dusseldorf. In 1885 Gorham made their first large, nonecclesiastical sculpture. The sculptor Frederick Kohlhagen had been commissioned to create a Civil War Memorial for the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When his model, The skirmisher was finished, Kohlhagen approached Gorham to see if they were interested in casting it in bronze. Up until that time it had been standard practice to have large bronzes, 'heroics,' cast in Europe. Gorham successfully tackled the job. When the bronze was unveiled and dedicated at Gettysburg it created wide-spread interest. Years had passed since the Civil War had ended but the unveiling of TheE Skirmisher, which became known as 'Johnny Stoneface,' set off a chain reaction. Suddenly towns and villages began ordering 'Johnny Stonefaces' and other Civil War bronze statuary. Carpenter, Gorham Silver, p. 142-43.
4 April 1843	born, Soest, Germany
1881	married Mary (also German)
1882	immigrated
27 Jan. 1887	employed, according to pension list
14 Feb. 1887	begins work; listed in room 11, Design Room			PBk. #9 'I' p. 106
1887-1889	The Skirmisher produced at the Gorham Bronze Foundry
1892	'...another large piece in brass and bronze, a Lectern, seven feet high, in the form of an angel with uplifted hands, executed for the 'Church of All Angels' in New York, and modelled by Kohlhagen, one of the Gorham Company's own sculkptors... 'Two large and commanding figures are those of American soldiers, each about nine feet high, one of which has been erected on the battlefield of Gettysburg, and was modelled by Kohlhagen...'-- Description of the Works, p. 20
1893	modelled vase for Chicago Colu"mbian Exposition; see Prov. Sunday Journal 16 April 1893, clipped article in scrapbook in Archive.
1895-1900	taught evening modelling in clay and wood carving at RISD
1897-1909			res. 236 Atlantic Ave.
1898	Providence Art Club
1900 Census E. D. 65 sh. 9 l. 13: wife, 3 daughters
1915 Census E. D. 314, p. R l. 34: age 73; Mary age 61; Erika age 25; 236 Atlantic Ave.
1916	printed invitation in Archives to a musical evening sponsored by Kohlhagen
13 Feb.	signed membership book of Westminster Unitarian Church
	member of Mt. Vernon Lodge of Masonic Order and Providence Art Club
1916-29			res. 198 Atlantic Ave.
1 Oct. 1918	pensioned	61.02/mo.
1924-27	daughter Erika M., designer		boards with parents
21 feb. 1927	died, age 85; obit. & photo, PJ. 23 Feb. 1927 & 'New York & Brooklyn' papers; Jeweler's Circular, 2 March 1927 p. 71.
	Works include G. A. R. Memorial Soldiers Hill, Roger Williams Park (near Temple of Music).
19 Aug. 1927	widow Mary died, age 77; obit. PJ 20 Aug. 1927.
	For 17 years Kohlhagen was a member of the faculty at RISD; he taught the first live modeling class.

Kranz, Louis
Date	Event	Pay	Address	Source
1 Jan. 1877		18.00
1878	die sinker, 6 Abbott Place		h. 102 Congdon	PCD
1882	'die sinker,' 6 Abbott Place		h. 102 Congdon	PCD

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