36. WILLIAM5 ALMY (Job4-3-2, William1),b. Portsmouth, RI, 17 Feb 1761; d. Providence, RI, 5 Feb 1836.
He m. Friends Meeting House, Providence RI, 4 Jun 1789, SARAH BROWN, b. Providence, 16 Oct 1764; d. 28 Jun 1794; dau of Moses and Sarah Brown. They lived in Pawtucket.
Children, born Providence:
| i | ANNA6, b. 1 Sep 1790; d. 20 Nov 1849 when her home burned; m. at Friends Meeting House, East Greenwich, RI, 17 Jul 1823, WILLIAM JENKINS; son of Charles and Hannah Jenkins. | |
| ii | MARY, b. 5 Jul 1793; d. Providence, RI, 1 Mar 1794. |
William was a well known philanthropist, a teacher, and a member of the Society of Friends. He became wealthy through marriage with the only daughter of Moses Brown and resulting business arrangements for the manufacture of cotton goods. One of his most important charities was the establishment of the New England yearly meeting boarding-house in Providence, where he educated at his own expense eighty young persons selected by him. He devoted large sums to other charitable objects.
William Almy established under the name of Almy, Brown, and Slater, the first factory in America to successfully produce yarn with water-powered carding and spinning frames. The establishment of the Mill was a major turning point in the nation's history. From this first mill, the new textile technology -- carrying with it the seeds of a new system of factory organization and production -- spread throughout the country and fundamentally transformed the nature and scale of American life.
REFERENCES: APPLETONS p. 60; Friends Greenwich Monthly Meetings; LAWTON p. 18; HISTORIC FAM pp. 25, 49; RIVR, Friends (Vol 7), Providence, Deaths (Vol 13), Vol 14.