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Thomas Williams Bicknell (September 6, 1834 – October 6, 1925) was an American educator, historian, and author.

Early life and career

Thomas W. Bicknell was born in Barrington, Rhode Island to Harriet Byron Kinnicutt (September 1, 1791 – December 15, 1837), daughter of Josiah Kinnicutt and Rebecca Townsend Kinnicutt, and Rhode Island minister and Senator, Lt.-Col. Allin Bicknell (April 13, 1787 – August 16, 1870), who had served with the Bristol County, Rhode Island Militia.^[1]^[2] Thomas Bicknell attended Thetford Academy in Vermont and Amherst College in Massachusetts, taught school and became principal in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, then principal in Elgin, Illinois.

When he returned to Rehoboth, serving as principal once again, he earned a master's degree from Brown University. While a senior at Brown, he was elected State Representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly. After graduating from Brown, he became principal of Bristol High School and then Arnold Street Grammar School, then back to Bristol High School.

Rhode Island Governor Seth Padelford (Republican 1869–1873) selected Bicknell to be the Commissioner of Public Schools in 1869. As commissioner, he focused on re-establishing the Normal School (now Rhode Island College). He was a gifted speaker and fundraiser who would triple the amount of money spent on public education; he also established a Rhode Island State Board of Education, oversaw the selection of school superintendents in every town and city in the state, dedicated over 50 new schoolhouses, and increased the school year from 27 to 35 weeks.

Civil rights reformer

In the 1850s, Bicknell signed on to help settle the State of "Free Kansas" to prevent the spread of slavery. On the way to Kansas, he was taken hostage by bandits on the Missouri River, but after two weeks as a prisoner, sharpshooters set him adrift.

Bicknell was an equalist, a racial and sexual reformer, and an early advocate for ending Black segregation in schools; he also helped elect the United States' first all-female school board for the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island.

Heritage and legacy

Bicknell joined the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1896 and was the founder of the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims and Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (1898). He re-established and was the president of the American Institute of Instruction, and was president of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction and the National Educational Association. He was the president of the New England Publishing Company.

In 1914, wanting to have a town named for him, he offered a 1,000-volume library to any town in Utah that would adopt his name. Two towns vied for the prize, Grayson and Thurber; the two towns compromised, and in 1916 Thurber changed its name to Bicknell, and Grayson took the name of Blanding, the maiden name of Bicknell's wife. The towns then split the library with 500 books to each.^[3]

Bicknell and his wife, Amelia, donated $500 to the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society in Rehoboth to establish the Blanding Public Library in memory of Amelia's parents, Christopher and Chloe Blanding.

In addition to education, he was also active in civic activities and the church. He served as commissioner from Rhode Island to the Universal Exposition at Vienna, Austria. He helped establish the U.S. Postal Code system as a member of the 1878 Postal Congress. He served as president in over thirty associations and organizations and was a member in over one hundred. He was president of the International Sunday School Union, the Massachusetts Congregational Sunday School Union, the Chautauqua Teachers' Reading Union, and the New England Sunday School Association.

Thomas W. Bicknell died in Providence, Rhode Island on October 6, 1925.^[4]

Writings

Bicknell was an author, editor, and publisher of the New England Journal of Education (Boston, 1875–1880). He was the author of the six-volume History of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,^[5] the author-publisher of The Governors of Rhode Island, The Dorr War, The Story of the Rhode Island Normal School,^[6] and Story of Dr. John Clarke,^[7] and the editor-publisher of History and Genealogy of the Bicknell Family and Collateral Lines.^[8] As a historian he also contributed to The Bay State Monthly magazine.^[9]

References

^ Bicknell, T. W. History and genealogy of the Bicknell family and some collateral lines, of Normandy, Great Britain and America. Comprising some ancestors and many descendants of Zachary Bicknell from Barrington, Somersetshire, England, 1635 by Thomas Williams Bicknell; USA; 1913, p. 173.
^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. I. James T. White & Company. 1893. p. 421. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Google Books.
^ Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-87480-345-4.
^ "T. W. Bicknell, 91, is Dead". The Boston Globe. Providence. AP. October 7, 1925. p. 8. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^
Bicknell, Williams Bicknell (1834–1925) (1920). The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations – Biographical. New York: The American Historical Society, Inc. pp. 324–330. LCCN 20009789. Retrieved February 18, 2021 – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (all 6 Vols. accessible via HathiTrust → link)
^ Bicknell, Thomas W. (1911). The Story of Rhode Island Normal School.
^ Bicknell, Thomas W. (1915). Story of Dr. John Clarke.
^ Bicknell, Thomas W., ed. (1913). History and Genealogy of the Bicknell Family and Collateral Lines. Providence, R.I. The editor.
^ "The Bay State Monthly – Volume 1 (Contents)". Books Should Be Free. Retrieved April 28, 2013.

External links

Media related to Thomas W. Bicknell at Wikimedia Commons

[1] Bicknell, T. W. History and genealogy of the Bicknell family and some collateral lines, of Normandy, Great Britain and America. Comprising some ancestors and many descendants of Zachary Bicknell from Barrington, Somersetshire, England, 1635 by Thomas Williams Bicknell; USA; 1913, p. 173.

[Cyclopaedia-2] The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. I. James T. White & Company. 1893. p. 421. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Google Books.

[3] Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-87480-345-4.

[4] "T. W. Bicknell, 91, is Dead". The Boston Globe. Providence. AP. October 7, 1925. p. 8. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[Bicknell_1920-5] Bicknell, Williams Bicknell (1834–1925) (1920). The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations – Biographical. New York: The American Historical Society, Inc. pp. 324–330. LCCN 20009789. Retrieved February 18, 2021 – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (all 6 Vols. accessible via HathiTrust → link)

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4: Biographical
Volume 5: Biographical
Volume 6: Biographical

[6] Volume 1

[7] Volume 2

[8] Volume 3

[9] Volume 4: Biographical

[10] Volume 5: Biographical

[11] Volume 6: Biographical

[6] Bicknell, Thomas W. (1911). The Story of Rhode Island Normal School.

[7] Bicknell, Thomas W. (1915). Story of Dr. John Clarke.

[8] Bicknell, Thomas W., ed. (1913). History and Genealogy of the Bicknell Family and Collateral Lines. Providence, R.I. The editor.

[9] "The Bay State Monthly – Volume 1 (Contents)". Books Should Be Free. Retrieved April 28, 2013.

[16] Volume 1

[17] Volume 2

[18] Volume 3

[19] Volume 4: Biographical

[20] Volume 5: Biographical

[21] Volume 6: Biographical

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American educator, historian, and author}}
-[[File:Thomas W. Bicknell picture.jpg|thumb|right|Thomas Bicknell]]
+{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
-'''Thomas W. Bicknell''' ([[6 September]] [[1834]] – 1925), [[United States|American]] [[educator]], [[historian]], and [[author]], lived to be 91.
+[[File:Thomas W. Bicknell picture.jpg|thumb]]
+[[File:Dr. John Clarke grave.jpg|thumb|Thomas W. Bicknell and others in front of [[John Clarke (Baptist minister)|John Clarke]]'s grave in Newport (from Bicknell's "''Story of Dr. John Clarke"'')]]
+'''Thomas Williams Bicknell''' (September 6, 1834 – October 6, 1925) was an American educator, historian, and author.
-Bicknell, born in [[Barrington, Rhode Island]], he was the son of a farmer, minister, state legislator, and Colonel in the [[Bristol County, Rhode Island]] [[Militia]], Thomas would become a wealthy eastern historian and educator from [[Providence, Rhode Island]], he was the State of Rhode Island's Education Commissioner.
+==Early life and career==
-Founder of the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims. Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (1898). Re-establish, and be its president, of the [[American Institute of Instruction]]. President of the New England Publishing Company.
+Thomas W. Bicknell was born in [[Barrington, Rhode Island]] to Harriet Byron Kinnicutt (September 1, 1791 – December 15, 1837), daughter of Josiah Kinnicutt and Rebecca Townsend Kinnicutt, and Rhode Island minister and Senator, Lt.-Col. Allin Bicknell (April 13, 1787 – August 16, 1870), who had served with the [[Bristol County, Rhode Island]] [[Militia]].<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/historygenealogy1913bick#page/173/mode/2up/ Bicknell, T. W.] ''History and genealogy of the Bicknell family and some collateral lines, of Normandy, Great Britain and America. Comprising some ancestors and many descendants of Zachary Bicknell from Barrington, Somersetshire, England, 1635'' by Thomas Williams Bicknell; USA; 1913, p. 173.</ref><ref name=Cyclopaedia>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lcVKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA421 |title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography |volume=I |publisher=James T. White & Company |page=421 |year=1893 |access-date=2021-04-22 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Thomas Bicknell attended [[Thetford Academy, Vermont|Thetford Academy]] in Vermont and [[Amherst College]] in Massachusetts, taught school and became principal in [[Rehoboth, Massachusetts]], then principal in [[Elgin, Illinois]].
-President of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction and the National Educational Association.
+When he returned to Rehoboth, serving as principal once again, he earned a master's degree from [[Brown University]]. While a senior at Brown, he was elected State Representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly. After graduating from Brown, he became principal of Bristol High School and then Arnold Street Grammar School, then back to Bristol High School.
-Author, editor, publisher of the ''"New England Journal of Education"'', Boston, 1875-1880. Author, of a five-volume ''"History of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations"'', ''"The Governors of Rhode Island"'', "''The Dorr War"'', ''"The Story of the Rhode Island Normal School"'', "''Story of Dr. John Clarke"'', and the ''"History and Genealogy of the Bicknell Family and Collateral Lines"''. Contributing author to "The Bay State Monthly"'' magazine.
+Rhode Island Governor [[Seth Padelford]] (Republican 1869–1873) selected Bicknell to be the Commissioner of Public Schools in 1869. As commissioner, he focused on re-establishing the Normal School (now [[Rhode Island College]]). He was a gifted speaker and fundraiser who would triple the amount of money spent on public education; he also established a Rhode Island State Board of Education, oversaw the selection of school superintendents in every town and city in the state, dedicated over 50 new schoolhouses, and increased the school year from 27 to 35 weeks.
-Attended [[Thetford Academy]] and [[Amherst College]], taught school and became principal in [[Rehoboth, Massachusetts]], then principal in [[Elgin, Illinois]].
+==Civil rights reformer==
-Signed on to help settle the State of ''"Free [[Kansas]]"''. On the way to Kansas he was taken hostage by bandits on the Missouri River, but after two weeks as a prisoner, sharpshooters set him adrift.
+In the 1850s, Bicknell signed on to help settle the State of "[[Free Kansas]]" to prevent the spread of slavery. On the way to Kansas, he was taken hostage by bandits on the Missouri River, but after two weeks as a prisoner, sharpshooters set him adrift.
+Bicknell was an equalist, a racial and sexual reformer, and an early advocate for ending Black segregation in schools; he also helped elect the United States' first all-female school board for the town of [[Tiverton, Rhode Island]].
-Returned to Rehoboth, serving as principal once again, earned a masters degree from [[Brown University]]. While a senior at Brown he was elected State Representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly. After graduating from Brown, he became principal of Bristol High School and then Arnold Street Grammar School, then back to Bristol H.S.
-[[File:Dr. John Clarke grave.jpg|thumb|right|Thomas W. Bicknell and others in front of Dr. [[John Clarke]]'s grave in Newport]]
-Rhode Island Governor [[Seth Padelford]] (Republican 1869-1873) selected Bicknell to be the new Commissioner of Public Schools in 1869. As commissioner he focused on re-establishing the Normal School, now [[Rhode Island College]]. He was a gifted speaker and fundraiser, who would triple the amount of money spent on public education, he also would establish a Rhode Island State Board of Education, oversee the selection of school superintendents in every town and city in the state, dedicate over 50 new schoolhouses, and increase the school year from 27-weeks to 35-weeks.
+==Heritage and legacy==
-Bicknell was an equaligist, a racial and sexual reformer, an early advocate to end Black segregation in schools; he also helped elect the [[United States|United States']] first all-female school board for the town of [[Tiverton, Rhode Island]].
+Bicknell joined the Rhode Island Society of the [[Sons of the American Revolution]] in 1896 and was the founder of the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims and [[Order of the Founders and Patriots of America]] (1898). He re-established and was the president of the [[American Institute of Instruction]], and was president of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction and the National Educational Association. He was the president of the New England Publishing Company.
-In 1914, wanting to have a town named for him, offered a 1000-volume [[library]] to any town in [[Utah]] that would adopt his name. Two towns vied for the prize, Grayson and Thurber, the two towns compromised and in 1916 Thurber changed its name to [[Bicknell, Utah|Bicknell]], and Grayson took the name of [[Blanding, Utah|Blanding]], Mr. Bicknell's wife's maiden name, and the two towns split the library with 500 books to each.<ref>{{cite book | last = Van Cott | first = John W. | title = Utah Place Names | year = 1990 | publisher = [[University of Utah Press]] | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | page = 31 | isbn = 0-87480-345-4 }}</ref>
+In 1914, wanting to have a town named for him, he offered a 1,000-volume library to any town in [[Utah]] that would adopt his name. Two towns vied for the prize, Grayson and Thurber; the two towns compromised, and in 1916 Thurber changed its name to [[Bicknell, Utah|Bicknell]], and Grayson took the name of [[Blanding, Utah|Blanding]], the maiden name of Bicknell's wife. The towns then split the library with 500 books to each.<ref>{{cite book | last = Van Cott | first = John W. | title = Utah Place Names | year = 1990 | publisher = [[University of Utah Press]] | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | page = 31 | isbn = 0-87480-345-4 }}</ref>
-He and his wife, Amelia D. Bicknell, donated $500 [[U.S. dollar|dollars]] to the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society, in Rehoboth, to establish the Blanding Public Library in the memory of Amelia's parents, Christopher and Chloe Blanding.
+Bicknell and his wife, Amelia, donated $500 to the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society in Rehoboth to establish the Blanding Public Library in memory of Amelia's parents, Christopher and Chloe Blanding.
-In addition to education, he was also very active in civic activates and the church. He served as Commissioner from Rhode Island to the Universal Exposition at [[Vienna, Austria]]. He helped establish the [[U.S. Postal Code]] system as a member of the 1878 Postal Congress. He served as President in over thirty associations and organizations, and member in over one hundred. He was president of the International Sunday School Union, the Massachusetts Congregational Sunday School Union, the Chautauqua Teachers’ Reading Union, and the New England Sunday School Association.
+In addition to education, he was also active in civic activities and the church. He served as commissioner from Rhode Island to the Universal Exposition at [[Vienna, Austria]]. He helped establish the [[U.S. Postal Code]] system as a member of the 1878 Postal Congress. He served as president in over thirty associations and organizations and was a member in over one hundred. He was president of the International Sunday School Union, the Massachusetts Congregational Sunday School Union, the Chautauqua Teachers' Reading Union, and the New England Sunday School Association.
+Thomas W. Bicknell died in [[Providence, Rhode Island]] on October 6, 1925.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24337817/bicknell-dead-at-91/ |title=T. W. Bicknell, 91, is Dead |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |location=Providence |agency=AP |page=8 |date=1925-10-07 |access-date=2021-04-22 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
-== References ==
-<references/>
+==Writings==
+Bicknell was an author, editor, and publisher of the ''New England Journal of Education'' (Boston, 1875–1880). He was the author of the six-volume ''History of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations'',<ref name="Bicknell 1920" /> the author-publisher of ''The Governors of Rhode Island'', ''The Dorr War'', ''The Story of the Rhode Island Normal School'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Bicknell |first=Thomas W. |title=The Story of Rhode Island Normal School |year=1911 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ptDAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> and ''Story of Dr. John Clarke'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Bicknell |first=Thomas W. |title=Story of Dr. John Clarke |year=1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uO5YAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> and the editor-publisher of ''History and Genealogy of the Bicknell Family and Collateral Lines''.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Bicknell, Thomas W.|title=History and Genealogy of the Bicknell Family and Collateral Lines|url=https://archive.org/details/historygenealogy1913bick |year=1913|publisher=Providence, R.I. The editor }}</ref> As a historian he also contributed to ''The Bay State Monthly'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/Bay-State-Monthly-Volume-1-No-1-January |title=The Bay State Monthly – Volume 1 (Contents) |publisher=Books Should Be Free |access-date=April 28, 2013}}</ref>
+==References==
+{{Reflist|30em|refs=
+<ref name="Bicknell 1920">{{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|Bicknell, |1920|p=}} |last1=Bicknell |first1=Williams Bicknell (1834–1925) |author-link1=Thomas W. Bicknell |date=1920 |title=The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations – Biographical |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3wlAQAAMAAJ&q=herreshoff%20&pg=PA324 |url-status= |url-access= |format= |type= |series= |language=en-US |volume= |edition= |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[American Historical Society|The American Historical Society, Inc.]] |pages=324–330 |lccn=20009789 |oclc= |access-date=February 18, 2021 |via=[[Google Books]] |quote= }}{{space|1}}(all 6 Vols. accessible via [[HathiTrust]] → [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007696582 link])
+<ol type="a" start="1">
+<li> [https://books.google.com/books?id=El0EAAAAYAAJ Volume 1]
+<li> [https://books.google.com/books?id=63slAQAAMAAJ Volume 2]
+<li> [https://books.google.com/books?id=JRQZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821 Volume 3]
+<li> [https://books.google.com/books?id=_3wlAQAAMAAJ Volume 4: Biographical]
+<li> [https://books.google.com/books?id=6n0lAQAAMAAJ Volume 5: Biographical]
+<li> [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044018165779&view=1up&seq=7 Volume 6: Biographical]</ol></ref>
+}}
+==External links==
+{{commons category-inline}}
 {{ALA(library)}}
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bicknell, Thomas W.}}
-[[Category:American historians]]
 [[Category:American educators]]
 [[Category:American biographers]]
+[[Category:American male biographers]]
+[[Category:American Library Association people]]
 [[Category:1834 births]]
 [[Category:1925 deaths]]
 [[Category:Brown University alumni]]
+[[Category:People from Barrington, Rhode Island]]
+[[Category:American historians]]
+[[Category:Thetford Academy, Vermont alumni]]

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