Member of the law firm of Clason, Brereton and Kingsley, Clifford A. Kingsley is a well-known attorney of Providence and an important figure in the business life of the State. He has risen to prominence through his connection with several firms, and has come to specialize in insurance and corporation law, together with probate work. Mr. Kingsley is also a director of several important commercial organizations and to all of these his services have proved of great value.
Clifford Albro Kingsley was born at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, on May 21, 1889, a son of John H. and Angeline E. (Sheldon) Kingsley, the former born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and the latter at North Scituate. The father, who is now deceased, was engaged for years in the grocery business. The mother is still living, and makes her home in Edge wood with her son. Clifford A. Kingsley, of this record, received his preliminary education in the Bridgham Grammar School, at Providence, and later attended the Technical High School here. Having determined upon a legal career, he next took up the study of law privately, and in 1913 was admitted to practice at the Rhode Island bar. Mr. Kingsley was assistant librarian of the State Law Library from 1905 until 1918, and it was during this period of service that he himself took up the study of the law. In 1918 he left this position to become associated with the law firm of Green, Hinckley and Allen, continuing in this connection until January 1, 1923. To his thorough knowledge of legal theory Mr. Kingsley now added a practical acquaintance with modes and methods of procedure, and gained experience which has been of the greatest value in his subsequent career. On January 1, 1923, he was taken into the firm as a partner, and the firm name then became Hinckley, Allen, Tillinghast and Phillips. On April 1, 1927, Mr. Kingsley severed his connection with this organization and entered into his present connection as a partner of the firm of Clason, Brereton, and Kingsley. Offices of the firm are situated at Turks Head Building, Providence, and these are the center of a large and rapidly expanding practice. Mr. Kingsley and his partners have been very successful in the field of their specialization, and Mr. Kingsley’s own talents have contributed no little to the continued success of their enterprise.
Mr. Kingsley is a member of the Rhode Island State Bar Association and of the American Bar Association. Aside from his legal connections he is secretary and a director of the Consolidated Mortgage and Investment Corporation, secretary and a director of the Dayton Rubber Company of Rhode Island, a director of the Frank E. Remington Company, Inc., a director of the \ ictor Cleansing Company, and of the Providence Specialty Company. He is also a member of the Supreme Court Complaint Committee of Rhode Island, having joined that organization in 1927 and become chairman in 1929.
Fraternally, Mr. Kingsley is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons and in this great order he is a member of What Cheer Lodge, No. 21, a member of Harmony Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, at Pawtuxet, and a member of several clubs, including the Turks Head Club, the Shrine Club, and the Massasoit Country Club. Mr. Kingsley is also a member of the Men s Club of Edgewood.
On June 10, 19×2, Clifford A. Kingsley married Katheryn C. Bennett, of Providence, Rhode Island, daughter of Adams J. and Carrie C. (Wilson) Bennett. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley are the parents of one son, Donald A., born on August 26, 1914. The residence of the family is situated at No. 29 Rhodes Avenue, Edgewood, Rhode Island, while Mr. Kingsley’s offices are maintained at No. 1211 Turks Head Building, Providence, Rhode Island.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.