Among the well-known textile experts of New England is William Hinchliffe, superintendent of the Caro Cloth Company, of Carolina, of which concern he was one of the organizers. He has an extensive experience in the textile processes and management of the business, covering many years.
William Hinchliffe was born in Huddersfield, England, January 16, 1878, the son of George and Jane (Pontefract) Hinchliffe; the former, deceased in 1911, was a native of Scholes, England, and engaged in the textile trade until his death. The mother, also a native of Scholes, survives her husband. The son William attended the public schools of his native town, King Edward School at Bath, England, and the Huddersfield Textile College. Direct from school, he turned his attention to the textile business.
His first practical connection with the trade was made in 1897, when he entered a mill at Saddleworth, England, where he was employed for two years. He then went to Bradford, England, where he was similarly occupied for one year. In 1900 he was in Montreal, Canada, as a member of the force of the Excelsior Woolen Company. At the end of one year he went to Maynard, Massachusetts, and entered the service of the American Woolen Company, in whose employ he remained until 1903. He next became associated with the Darling Woolen Mills Company of Holliston, Massachusetts, where he filled the position of superintendent until 1905. In the latter year he went to the Passaic Woolen Mills, where he was superintendent until 1906. For a brief period he was superintendent of the Holden Woolen Mills, and in 1907 he accepted the invitation of the Peacedale Manufacturing Company to be its superintendent, filling the position until 1912, when he was made superintendent of the Stillwater Worsted Company at Harrisville, Rhode Island. He remained with that concern until 1913. when he went to the Waucantuck Woolen Mills at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, where he was superintendent until 1915. In that year he arrived in Carolina as superintendent of the Carolina Company, continuing in that capacity until 1926, when he helped organize the Caro Cloth Company, of which he has since been the superintendent.
Mr. Hinchliffe is affiliated with Charity Lodge, No. 23, Free and Accepted Masons; Franklin Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Providence Council, Royal and Select Masters; and Narragansett Commandery, Knights Templar. He belongs to the Hope Valley Square and Compass Club, and in politics is a member of the Republican party. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He gives some attention to tennis and other outdoor sports, and is a devotee of the musical arts.
Mr. Hinchliffe married, in 1910, Eva Cheney, who was born in Pembroke, New Hampshire, and they are the parents of four sons:
- Herbert W.
- Malcolm C.
- John R.
- Roger D.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.