Rowland Hazard, the son of Rowland Gibson Hazard and Caroline Newbold, was born August 16, 1829. He attended Brown University and remained active in University activities after graduation. Later he formed a group called the "Club" consisting of several other intellectuals who wrote papers on topics of interest. These papers, dating from 1868 to 1883, are found in Series VIII, in two volumes, at the end of the collection.
Rowland Hazard was an influential man of his time. He traveled much and was active in politics, religion, and industry. The items in this collection cover the major part of Hazard's life and are divided into eight different series, consisting of school records, correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings, memorial service, speeches, miscellaneous, and club records. Of particular interest are the speeches and club records which make up the majority of the collection.
Hazard married Margaret Rood on March 29, 1854. He was involved not only in the matters of his home community of Peace Dale, Rhode Island, but also in the major national and international issues of the day. As President of the Washington County Agricultural Society (W.C.A.S.), Hazard gave a speech at the county fair almost every year from 1875 to 1896. He also spoke at many other events, presenting detailed orations on topics such as currency, tariffs, silos and ensilage, sugar, etc. All these can be found in Series VI. Series V contains materials regarding the memorial service accorded him on December 28, 1898. This service reflects the beloved man he was and the legacy he left for generations to come.
Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
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Rowland Hazard Papers, Mss. Gr. 6, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
The Rowland Hazard Papers held by the University of Rhode Island include an assortment of private and professional papers spanning the period from approximately 1840-1889. Many of the papers deal with Hazard's particular business interest in taxation and tariff, wool production and trade and bimetallism. Others relate to Hazard's involvement with organizations such as the Washington County Agricultural Society, for whom he made annual speeches. Still others relate to his life as a scholar, orator and Christian. Included in the collection are school papers, correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings, speeches and club records.
The University of Rhode Island also holds the papers of Caroline Hazard, Thomas Arnold Hazard and Rowland G. Hazard, forming a unique glimpse at this Rhode Island family of note. See also the Hazard Family Papers collection at the Rhode Island Historical Society Library.
The Rowland Hazard Papers are divided into eight series as follows:
Series I, School Records, consists of handwritten class and lecture notes, algebra computation notebooks and a textbook on chemistry written in German.
Series II, Correspondence, consists of correspondence both received by and sent by Rowland Hazard. Letters include such topics as business dealings, family matters and Peace Dale church issues. Also included is a letter from Hazard to President Grover Cleveland, correspondence from Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and a large group of letters responding to speeches given by Hazard at Washington County Agricultural Society meetings.
Series III, Business Records, consists of Northern Pacific Railroad investments and expenditures and materials regarding the construction of a bridge designed by Hazard in Santa Barbara, CA.
Series IV, Newspaper Clippings, consists of newspaper clippings collected on issues of concern to Hazard such as business, religion, currency, tariffs, railroads, mining and prohibition as well as editorials on commerce by Edward B. Williams. Of note are two eulogies delivered by Hazard.
In Series V, Memorial Service consists of materials relating to the service of remembrance for Rowland Hazard held at the Peace Dale Congregational Church in South Kingston, RI on Dec 31, 1898. Includes newspaper clippings, a memorial speech by the President of the University of Michigan and personal responses to invitations to attend the service.
Series VI, Speeches, consists of handwritten and typed speeches delivered by Rowland Hazard, including those he delivered annually at the Washington County Agricultural Society (W.C.A.S.) Fair and speeches he gave on topics of contemporary interest at various occasions.
In Series VII, Miscellaneous consists of handwritten notes, speech outlines, account ledgers, poetry, papers from organizations of which Hazard was a member and materials regarding events held by the Congregational denomination. Also included is a small photographic portrait of Hazard.
Series VIII, Club Records, consists of papers read by Rowland Hazard at meetings of the South Kingstown Republican Club.
The collection is arranged into eight series as follows:
Custodial history is not known.
The University of Rhode Island also holds the papers of Caroline Hazard, Thomas Arnold Hazard and Rowland G. Hazard, forming a unique glimpse at this Rhode Island family of note. See also the Hazard Family Papers collection at the Rhode Island Historical Society Library.
This series consists of texts and workbooks used by Rowland Hazard in the course of his education. Included are hardbound journals of handwritten class notes and transcriptions of class lectures. Of particular interest are four notebooks of Hazard's algebra computations and a textbook on chemistry written in German.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of document.
This series consists of correspondence both received by and sent by Rowland Hazard. Letters include such topics as business dealings, manufacturing information, family matters, issues related to the Peace Dale church and Hazard's continued relationship with Brown University. Of special interest is a letter by Hazard to then President Grover Cleveland on tariffs and, in particular, the Baltimore Plan. Also of interest is correspondence from the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute updating Hazard on the progress of students for whom he had provided educational scholarships, including letters from the students themselves. A large group of letters responding to speeches given by Hazard at the annual Washington County Agricultural Society meetings and the pamphlets subsequently published from those speeches can be found at the end of the series.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or correspondent.
This series consists of business records such as Northern Pacific Railroad investments and expenditures, agreements and public objects. Of particular interest is a letter regarding a lawsuit against Hazard's father by the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company in 1879. Also included is the agreement between Joseph Dover of Santa Barbara, CA and Rowland Hazard for the construction of a bridge designed by Hazard. Included are receipts and invoices for materials used and work subcontracted.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject.
This series consists of newspaper clippings collected by Rowland Hazard on issues of concern to him. Included are clippings on business, religion, currency, prohibition, the railroad, mining, tariffs and various editorials on commerce by Edward B. Williams. Of note are two eulogies delivered by Hazard.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject of the article clippings.
This series consists of materials relating to the service of remembrance for Rowland Hazard held at the Peace Dale Congregational Church in South Kingston, RI on Dec 31, 1898. Newspaper clippings describe the service itself, which included a memorial speech by the President of the University of Michigan, James B. Angell. Also included are personal responses to invitations to attend the service and materials for the service of remembrance such as an order of service, a typed copy of Angell's speech and notes on Hazard's life accomplishments.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of document.
This series consists of handwritten and typed speeches delivered by Rowland Hazard, including those he delivered annually at the Washington County Agricultural Society (W.C.A.S.) Fair and speeches he gave on topics of contemporary interest at various occasions.
The first part of folders relating to the W.C.A.S. are arranged chronologically, and the others are arranged alphabetically.
This series consists of handwritten notes, speech outlines, account ledgers, poetry, papers from organizations of which Hazard was a member and materials regarding events held by the Congregational denomination. Also included is a small photographic portrait of Hazard.
This series consists of papers read by Rowland Hazard at meetings of the South Kingstown Republican Club. The papers are separated into Volume One (1868-1875) and Volume Two (1876-1883). Each volume includes loose pages of handwritten addresses contained in a blue box manufactured to imitate a bound volume and entitled "Club Papers".
Addresses in each volume are listed chronologically.