Frederic Clark Sayles
American
When eighteen, Frederic Clark Sayles, began to work in the family business, the Moshassuck Bleachery, of which he was made a partner ten years later. Sayles greatly expanded the family mills and introduced additional power in the form of Corliss steam engines which modernized textile production. The village of Saylesville, with handsome cottages and a small church, grew under his direction and benefaction. The family was well known for philanthropy and when his son, Benjamin, died in 1873 while a student at Brown University, Mr Sayles built a large auditorium and classroom building for the school in memory of his son. - NRHP