Historical note:

            The Clyde Bleachery and Print Works was founded in 1828 by Simon H. Greene (1799-1885) and his partner Edward Pike. The plant was built on Greene family land in Warwick, R.I. that had once belonged to Simon's famous grandfather, Col. Christopher Greene (1737-1781). It became one of the preeminent textile print works in Rhode Island. After the death of Pike in 1842, Greene bought the full partnership rights from Pike's heirs, and Greene's sons became more involved with the mill's operation. The firm of S.H. Greene & Sons was formed in 1865, with Henry L. Greene (1825-1885), Edward A. Greene (1823-1892) and John W.A. Greene (1832-1873) as active partners with their father. In 1892, Henry's son Francis W. Greene (1861-1940) joined as a partner. The firm was incorporated as S.H. Greene & Sons Corporation in 1899, with Henry as president and Francis as treasurer. By 1908, the plant was bleaching 1,500,000 yards of cloth per week, and printing 1,250,000 yards. The company's "Washington" line of prints became nationally known. Francis W. Greene's son Francis V. Greene (1899-1977) became involved with the business in the 1920s. The company remained in operation through 1925, when it was placed in receivership. Its assets were sold at public auction in October of 1926, ending four generations and nearly a century of Greene family ownership. The neighborhood of the mill, now in West Warwick, is still known as Clyde.

Bibliography:

Bragdon, Lord & Nagle Co. "Master's Sale by Public Auction of...the Property of the S.H. Greene & Sons Corporation," 1926.

Clarke, Louise Brownell. The Greenes of Rhode Island, With Historical Records of English Ancestry, 275-276, 450, 597-601, 702. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1903.

Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island, 805-809. Chicago: J.H. Beers, 1908.

Rhode Island Cemetery Database

Rogers, L.E. Biographical Cyclopedia of Rhode Island, 271. Providence: National Biographical Publishing Co., 1881.

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Scope and content:

            The only nineteenth-century records of this firm are three account books from 1867 to 1887. The rest of the collection consists of swatch books and production memoranda from the early 1920s.

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Provenance:

            Three account books dated 1867 through 1883 were donated in 1978 by Thomas H. Quinn. The bulk of the collection was donated in 2000 by Dona Harrower, including most of the sample books and all of the loose papers. Her aunt Victoria (Domijan) Greene (1912-1990) was the wife of Francis W. Greene II (1921-1977). The provenance of the smaller "Washington Standard Staples" sample book is unknown. Its catalog tag suggests that it arrived at the R.I.H.S. before 1963.

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Processing note:

            Some personal family material donated by Ms. Harrower in a separate 2000 gift was placed in the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection, filed under Francis V., Henry L. and Job Greene.

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Inventory:

Oversized volume 1. Journal D, 1867-1868

Oversized volume 2. Ledger #8, 1879-1882

Oversized volume 3. Ledger #9, 1883-1887

Folder 1. Article: "A Relic of Early Fire Protection," Factory Mutual Record, April 1927

Folder 2. Memoranda - Production and sales, circa 1921-1925

Folder 3. Memorandum books - notes on starches and bleaching by F. Richmond Allen, undated; and graphs of daily production and hours lost, 1923.

Folder 4. Plat of the Clyde Works, 1926 (better copy in Graphics Division)

Folder 5. Swatch books - F. Richmond Allen books II and III (circa 1920?)

Folder 6. Swatch book - Washington Standard Staples (larger copy), 1921

Folder 7. Swatch book - Washington Standard Staples (smaller copy), undated

Folder 8. Swatches - Loose swatch cards, circa 1920-1925

Folder 9. Swatches - "Washington India Turkey Red Robes" cards, undated

Folder 10. Swatches - "Washington Standard Frocks" and "Washington Staple Prints," ca. 1921

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Subjects:

Allen, F. Richmond

Clyde Bleachery and Print Works (West Warwick, R.I.)

Greene, Simon H. (1799-1885)

Textile fabrics - Sample books

Textile industry - Rhode Island - West Warwick

Washington Standard Fabrics

West Warwick, R.I. - Commerce

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RIHS1822