Vice-president of the United Electric Railways Company, and a well-known attorney of Providence, Clifford Whipple has risen to an important position in the city’s life. Thoroughly trained in his profession and widely experienced, he has proved his possession of legal talents of a high order, while his services in business connections have been of great value to those organizations with which he is associated.
Mr. Whipple was born at Providence, Rhode Island, on September 17, 1873, a son of William P. and Mary C. (Johnson) Whipple, and member of an old New England family. Thomas Whipple, of Coventry, was his great-grandfather, and he served as Lieutenant-Governor of the State of Rhode Island from 1849-51. His grandfather, Cromwell Whipple, son of Thomas, was a lifelong resident of Rhode Island. Clifford Whipple s father, William P. Whipple, was for many years a member of the Providence Police Force, and rose to the office of captain of the force.
After completing his preliminary education Clifford Whipple entered the Providence High School, from which he was graduated in 1891. He then took up the course of study at Brown University, leading to the Bachelor of Philosophy degree, which he received in 1895. The following year he took the Master’s degree. Meanwhile, however, he had determined upon a legal career, and with this in mind he read law under competent supervision in the office of the Hon. Walter B. Vincent. In 1903 he was admitted to the bar of the State and immediately entered upon the practice of law. In this field he was at once successful and became one of the well-known members of the local bar. Mr. Whipple has also entered the field of commerce and industry and is now vice-president in charge of the legal department of the United Electric Railways Company.
During the period of the World War he served as a member of the legal advisory board, and he has always given his support to civic enterprises of merit. He is a member of the Republican party in politics. Among the various bodies of the men of his profession, Mr. Whipple is a member of the American Bar Association, the Rhode Island Bar Association, and the Providence Bar Club. He is also a member of the A. E. Club, the Providence Art Club, the University Club, the Hope Club, and the New England Street Railway Club.
On November 24, 1904, London, England, Mr. Whipple married Florence Brandenburg, who died in 1916, a daughter of Charles A. and Carrie M. (Cochran) Brandenburg. Mr. Whipple makes his home in Providence at No. 123 Waterman Street.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.