President of the Hazard Cotton Company, Lauriston Hartwell Hazard has been associated with this enterprise during all his active business career. The company was first founded by his father, Captain Jeffrey Hazard and incorporated under its present name in 1894. At that time Mr. Hazard was chosen treasurer and in the course of years, was elected to the office of president.
Mr. Hazard was born on November 22, 1866, at Providence, Rhode Island, a son of Captain Jeffrey Hazard and Anna L. (Hartwell) Hazard, his wife. This family is an old one in Rhode Island. The name itself is of Cornish and British words, “has” meaning high, and “ard” meaning nature. Thus Hazard means of high disposition, proud, independent. As early as the year 1635 the name of Thomas Hazard, ship’s carpenter, appears on the records at Boston. In 1636 he was made a freeman, and in a few years he removed to Rhode Island. He signed the covenant of cities in 1639, was at Newton, Rhode Island, in 1656, and died in 1669. He was also known to have been one of the first founders of Newport, Rhode Island. From him was descended Captain Jeffrey Hazard, second son of John and Margaret (Crandall) Hazard, who was born in Exeter, Rhode Island, on September 23, 1835. Both he, and his elder brother, won fame and distinction for their service in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Captain Jeffrey Hazard was educated in Providence public schools and following the completion of the high school course he began his business career as a teller in the Manufacturers Bank, holding that place until he enlisted for service in the Union Army on October 5, 1861. He was sent to the area of hostilities as second lieutenant of Battery A, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery. Later he was commissioned first lieutenant and appointed regimental adjutant. He took part in many of the most important battles of the war, including Ball’s Bluff, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, and Antietam. During his service he won high praise for his bravery, and at Antietam, with Lieutenant Mason, he was the only battery officer present. Later he was made captain, while his brother, John Gardiner Hazard, pursued his military career still farther and was appointed general.
After his return from the war, Captain Hazard entered the employ of the American Wood Pulp Company, at Providence, and later became associated with William H. Reynolds, a cotton broker, with whom he remained until 1868. In that year he formed a partnership with A. Duncan Chapin, under the firm name of Hazard and Chapin. This arrangement was continued with every success for a period of twenty-six years. Finally, in 1894, the Hazard Cotton Company was incorporated, with Captain Hazard as president, Lauriston H. Hazard, treasurer; and F. O. Allen, treasurer. Until the time of his death seventeen years later, Captain Hazard remained at the head of this company, guiding its affairs surely and safely to the desired goal of success. In other phases of Providence life he was equally active. He was a friend to hundreds in the city, and universally admired by all those who knew him. Captain Hazard married, on October 20, 1865, Anna Hartwell, a daughter of John B. and Harriet (Hall) Hartwell, of Providence. They were the parents of several children:
- Lauriston H., of this record.
- John Hartwell, who died young.
- Margaret Crandall, who also died young.
- Marion, who married Leland H. Littlefield, of this city.
- Harriet Hall, who married William H. Dixon.
- Anna Rosalind, who married William H. Barnum.
Lauriston H. Hazard received his education in Providence schools. He attended private school, was graduated from the public high school, then entered Brown University, where he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1889. Immediately afterward he became associated with his father in business entering the employ of the cotton brokerage firm of Hazard & Chapin. When this firm underwent reorganization in 1894 and the Hazard Cotton Company was formed, Mr. Hazard was elected to the office of treasurer, an office which he filled very ably until the time when he was chosen president. This company is one of great importance in the cotton market, with widely extended connections and a large business. Mr. Hazard has maintained the high standards of efficiency and service always associated with the firm, and his services have been a decisive factor in the success of the company in recent years. In addition to this connection, Mr. Hazard is also a director of the Providence Washington Insurance Company and of the Anchor Insurance Company. He is a director of the Providence National Bank and a trustee of the Peoples Savings Bank.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Hazard has maintained a consistent interest in the progress of the civic welfare. He has supported many important movements for advance, and given liberally of both his time and substance to those enterprises with whose aims he is in sympathy. Since 1926 he has been president of Butler Hospital and was a trustee from 1913 to 1925. He was a member of the Rhode Island Parole Board, is a member of the School Board of the city of Providence, and is connected with various civic movements. In club and social life he is a member of the Providence Art Club, the Hope Club, the Squantum Association, the Turks Head Club, the Agawam Hunt Club, the Jacobs Hill Hunt Club, and others. With his family he worships in the faith of the Episcopal Church, being a member and vestryman of Grace Church in this city.
On June 18, 1907, at Providence, Rhode Island, Lauriston H. Hazard married Elizabeth Paine Sackett, a daughter of Adjutant-General Frederic Mosley Sackett, and of Emma Louise (Paine) Sackett, his wife. She is a granddaughter of Adnah Sackett, who came to Providence when a boy and later became head of the well-known jewelry manufacturing firm of Sackett, Davis & Company. He was also one of the leading Democrats of the State, and was twice the candidate of his party for Governor. Mr. and Mrs. Hazard became the parents of two children: Elizabeth, and Marion. The family home is maintained in Providence at No. 177 George Street.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.