After more than thirty years of successful activity in the electrical contracting business, Mr. Kendall established himself, together with a partner, in the insurance business in West Warwick. His well known reputation for fair dealing, his wide acquaintance in Kent County, and his pleasing personality were important factors in building up this business in a comparatively short time to one of large proportions. Mr. Kendall is one of the best known and most successful insurance men in this part of Rhode Island and the business of which he is the directing head continues to enjoy steady growth and prosperity.
Nathan E. Kendall was born at Richmond, February 25, 1871, a son of the late Charles H. and Marcelia (Hoxie) Kendall. His father, who was engaged in farming and who was a veteran of the Civil War, was a native of Mount Holly, New Jersey, while his mother was a native of Richmond, Rhode Island. Mr. Kendall received his early education in the public schools of his native town and then attended Bryant & Stratton’s Business College, Providence. Having completed his education, he entered business and for the first three years was connected with the Corliss Steam Engine Company of Providence. Next he was employed successively with the W. F. & F. C. Sales Corporation for three years and then with John M. Dean Company of Providence for three and one-half years. About 1900 he became connected with the Phenix Electric Company, Phenix, Kent County, with which he continued to be identified for twenty-one years. At the end of this period he established himself in the insurance business together with Herbert M. Clarke under the firm name of Clarke & Kendall. This firm, which enjoyed marked success from the very beginning, continued as a partnership until 1928, when the business was incorporated. Since then Mr. Kendall has been its president, and the business has become the largest general insurance agency in the town of West Warwick. Its headquarters are located in the Curson Building, Arctic, West Warwick. Mr. Kendall is a member of the board of directors of the Phenix Trust Company. His interest in civic enterprises and progress finds expression in his membership in the West Warwick Chamber of Commerce and the Pawtuxet Valley Board of Trade. In politics he is an independent, while his religious affiliation is with the Phenix Baptist Church, of which he is treasurer and in the work of which he has taken an active part for many years. He is also a member of the Sons of American Revolution. Mr. Kendall is fond of outdoor life and spends most of his leisure time at his cottage at the seashore.
Mr. Kendall married, in 1896, Mary E. Colvin, a native of Quidnick, Kent County. Mr. and Mrs. Kendall are the parents of one son, Arthur R. Kendall, of Detroit, Michigan.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.