Rowland Hazard Papers

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Rowland Hazard Papers
Date range:	1839-1915, (bulk 1847-1889)
Creator:	Hazard, Rowland, 1829-1898
Extent:	7 box(es) (3.5 linear feet)
Abstract:	This collection contains the records of the prominent Peace Dale citizen, Rowland Hazard. Included in the collections are Hazard's school records, correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings, memorial service, speeches, miscellaneous, and club records.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 6

Scope & content

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.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into eight series as follows:

• 1. School Records
• 2. Correspondence
• 3. Business Records
• 4. Newspaper Clippings
• 5. Memorial Service
• 6. Speeches
• 7. Miscellaneous
• 8. Club Records

Biographical note

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.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Rowland Hazard Papers, Mss. Gr. 6, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Custodial history is not known.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Janet F. Long.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Hailie D. Posey 2009 June 10, updated by Erin C. Mullen on 2014 September 16, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 14
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Related Material 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.

Inventory

---

Inventory