from
"Fibre & Fabric: A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton
and Woolen Trade" (Google books), 1903. Vol. 26, p. 255.
Frederick C. Sayles dead.
Hon. Frederick C. Sayles, first mayor of Pawtucket, R.I., and a
well-known manufacturer, died at his home in that city January 5, from
the effects of a shock. He was born in Pawtucket in 1835. The
"Providence Telegram" gives the following sketch of his life: 'Mr.
Sayles traced his ancestry back to the founder of Providence, John
Sayles having married the daughter of Roger Williams. He was also a
descendant of Governor Joseph Jenks, son of the founder of Pawtucket in
1655. In July, 1853, he entered the employ of his brother, William F.
Sayles, in the Moshassuck bleachery at Saylesville, now one of the
largest and best equipped establishments of its kind in the world. Here
he began his career by sweeping the office, invoicing the books, and in
other ways making himself generally useful. From the day he entered the
establishment he was firm in his determination to acquire a thorough
knowledge of the business. He made the personal acquaintance of every
operation performed and every class of machinery used in the process,
working himself in all the departments. On January 1, 1863, ten years
after his first connection with the establishment, he entered into
partnership with his brother, and the firm has since existed under the
firm name of W. F. & F. C. Sayles. In the year 1886, Pawtucket became a
city, and Mr. Sayles, who had hitherto held no public office of any
kind, was prevailed upon by the representative business men of the town,
irrespective of party lines, to accept the nomination for mayor. To this
office he was elected and entered upon his duties in January of that
year. At the end of his second term he declined a re-nomination, finding
that his public duties were making too serious encroachments upon his
business. His administration was marked by many public improvements, and
many were projected which have since been completed. He was once major
of the Pawtucket Light Guard. He was the treasurer of the Moshassuck
Valley Railroad, and a director of the Slater National Bank of Pawtucket
and Merchants' National Bank of Providence, and was connected with a
number of other institutions of both cities. His latest act of
generosity was the gift to Pawtucket of the memorial library. The
surviving members of the family are a son, Frederic C. Sayles, Jr., Miss
Deborah Sayles and Mrs. Frederick W. Holls of Brooklyn.'
per death record, he was the son of Clark Sayles and Mary Ann Sayles,
husband of Deborah Cook Sayles