In the educational circles of Rhode Island, Leroy Gilbert Staples is well and favorably known. As superintendent of schools of the town of Warren, he has filled that position for over twenty years, during which period he has been a large factor not only in administration of the system generally but also in modernizing many of the school plants and in heightening of the morale and efficiency of the teaching personnel. Mr. Staples enjoys high standing in the major educational bodies.
Born in North Berwick, Maine, November 25, 1878, Leroy Gilbert Staples is the son of Gilbert B. and Abbie M. (Quint) Staples, both parents natives of that town, the former engaged as a farmer there until his death. The son, Leroy Gilbert, obtained his elementary and high school education in his home town, afterwards entering Bates College, from which he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1900. He supplemented that training with special courses at Brown University, and was then fully equipped to enter upon the practice of his chosen profession, that of teaching.
Mr. Staples first served as principal of the Burrillville High School, in which capacity he was retained for three and one-half years. Then the school board elected him to the position of superintendent, in which he gave a fine account of his abilities, making a considerable name for himself as a school system administrator. In 1910, Mr. Staples was called to the town of Warren to take over the superintendency of the schools there. This then more recent position came to him as something of a compliment of the record he had made at Burrillville, and his reputation has since been most agreeably sustained.
Mr. Staples is affiliated with the National Education Association, the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, and the New England Association of School Superintendents. In political affairs he is classed as an independent, a voter with an open mind, one of that type which is of invaluable aid in the cause of good government and desirable candidates for office, whether of one party or another. His fraternal life is centered in Granite Lodge. No. 96, Free and Accepted Masons; and his social organizations are the Lions Club and Barnard Club. He is an attendant of St. Mark’s Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he is a vestryman. His chief recreation is golf in the outdoor sports, while he plays a strong game of auction bridge.
Mr. Staples married, in 1899, Alberta W. Small, who was born in East Providence, and their children are Richmond E., Gerald C., Dorothy L., and Marjorie V.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.