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In 1870 Mr. Phillips first began the manufacture of insulated wire in a very small way in a barn which stood in the rear of his home.
From this small beginning Mr. Phillips built up one of the largest wire manufacturing establishments in the world. His business was started under then name of Eugene F. Phillips, and in the year 1882, The American Electric Works was incorporated and Mr. Phillips was elected president of the company. This position he continuously occupied until 1897, when the officers of the company were reorganinzed in order to include his sons, Mr. Frank N. Phillips, who was then elected president, Mr. E. A. Phillips, vice-president and general superintendent, and Mr. Eugene F. Phillips, general manager. 1
Mr. Phillips continued in this latter capacity until his death February 22, 1904.
Eugene Francis Phillips, son of David Gresham and Maria (Rhodes) Phillips, was born in Providence, R. I., November 10, 1843. He received his early education in the public schools of the city of Providence. During the last years of his course in high school came the outbreak of the Civil War, and its accompanying mad eagerness for war on the part of the youths in every section of the country. Mr. Phillips left school to go to the fighting line, enlisting in the Tenth Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After serving his term of enlistment he returned to Rhode Island, and continued his education. He immediately entered the business world, and for a period of several years engaged in various lines of endeavor. In 1878, after being in banking, Mr. Phillips began experiments on the manufacture of insulated electric wire. He was an organizer of great resourcefulness and genius, and the infant industry which started in a small shed in the rear of his home in Providence has since grown to enormous proportions, and is to-day one of the largest steel and copper wire manufacturing establishments of the kind in the world. Discoveries in the field of electricity greatly developed the possibilities of the new industry, and through his ability to foresee the size and importance of the manufacture of insulated wire, and its value in extending and broadening the uses of electricity, Mr. Phillips was able to bring the business to the place which it now holds. The first plant of the company was located at the corner of Stewart and Conduit streets; in 1890 the factory was enlarged to include the entire square of which the two streets above named form part. In 1893 another addition to the plant was necessary, and since the city did not afford efficient nor ideal conditions for work, the present site on the Seekonk river, in East Providence, was purchased from the Richmond Paper Company, and the factory altered and modified for the manufacture of wire. The presence of an industry of such size in the vicinity, and the opportunity for employment which it afforded, caused the speedy growth of a village which was named Phillipsdale in honor of Mr. Phillips. Since its very inception, he has been the guiding genius of this huge project, and responsible for its success in a greater measure than any one connected with it.
The infant industry was named the American Electrical Works and is one of the largest and most important plants of its kind in the world, controlling an industry whose importance cannot be overestimated. The annual output of the concern covers wire and cables of every description, from heavy telephone and street cable wire to the delicate silk covered wire used for testing. The plant at East Providence is complete in every detail, having within itself all facilities needed for the line of manufacture which it carries on.
In 1900 the American Electrical Works consolidated with the Washburn Wire Company, which enabled them to add the steel business to their already large variety of manufactured goods. The copper department to-day consumes more than thirty million pounds of copper per annum. The steel department, equipped with open hearth furnaces, make their own steel, using pig-iron as a basis. The quality of the metal produced is better than any other of American manufacture and is equal to the best Swedish steel. In 1889 Mr. Phillips established a similar plant in Montreal, Canada, which also holds the distinction of being one of the largest of its kind in the Dominion. This plant is known as the Eugene F. Phillips Electrical Works, Ltd.
Eugene F. Phillips was a man of broad understanding, tolerance and sympathy, and thoroughly democratic in his tastes. He was greatly loved by his employees, and highly respected and honored by his associates in the business world. He was one of the most prominent citizens of Providence, though never active in the official life of the city. He attended the Congregational church of Providence, and gave liberally to the worthy charities of every denomination. He erected the Grace Memorial Church (Episcopal) in East Providence, in memory of his daughter Grace, who died in childhood.
Mr. Phillips married, October 30, 1867, Josephine Johanna Nichols, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Baker) Nichols. Mrs. Phillips is also a member of one of the oldest families of the State of Rhode Island, and a lineal descendant of the founder of the family in America, Richard Nichols (see Nichols). The children of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were: Eugene Rowland, mentioned below; Edith Josephine, born Dec. 2, 1873, died unmarried, Oct. 19, 1907; Frank N., mentioned below; Grace, born May 18, 1878, died in March, 1882. Mr. Phillips died in Providence, R. I., February 22, 1905. He was affiliated with the Republican party, and was a member of the Agawam Hunt and Powham [sic] clubs, and a member of What Cheer Lodge of Masons.2
Eugene Francis Phillips, son of David Gresham and Maria (Rhodes) Phillips, was born in Providence, R. I., November 10, 1843. He received his early education in the public schools of the city of Providence. During the last years of his course in high school came the outbreak of the Civil War, and its accompanying mad eagerness for war on the part of the youths in every section of the country. Mr. Phillips left school to go to the fighting line, enlisting in the Tenth Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After serving his term of enlistment he returned to Rhode Island, and continued his education. He immediately entered the business world, and for a period of several years engaged in various lines of endeavor. In 1878, after being in banking, Mr. Phillips began experiments on the manufacture of insulated electric wire. He was an organizer of great resourcefulness and genius, and the infant industry which started in a small shed in the rear of his home in Providence has since grown to enormous proportions, and is to-day one of the largest steel and copper wire manufacturing establishments of the kind in the world. Discoveries in the field of electricity greatly developed the possibilities of the new industry, and through his ability to foresee the size and importance of the manufacture of insulated wire, and its value in extending and broadening the uses of electricity, Mr. Phillips was able to bring the business to the place which it now holds. The first plant of the company was located at the corner of Stewart and Conduit streets; in 1890 the factory was enlarged to include the entire square of which the two streets above named form part. In 1893 another addition to the plant was necessary, and since the city did not afford efficient nor ideal conditions for work, the present site on the Seekonk river, in East Providence, was purchased from the Richmond Paper Company, and the factory altered and modified for the manufacture of wire. The presence of an industry of such size in the vicinity, and the opportunity for employment which it afforded, caused the speedy growth of a village which was named Phillipsdale in honor of Mr. Phillips. Since its very inception, he has been the guiding genius of this huge project, and responsible for its success in a greater measure than any one connected with it.