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The following covers only the early life of the subject, and
is extracted from his won genealogy work.
Charles Henry James Douglas, born in Westerly, Rhode Island,
USA on 13th May 1856, was the son of
Henry Francis Douglas.
He compiled Family records and Biographical sketches by Charles
Henry James Douglas, from which this biography is taken.
He enjoyed the advantages of the best select schools of his
native village, and at the opening of the graded public schools
of the town, in the fall of 1869, he entered the second grammar
school. At an early age he showed a taste for music, and was
placed under a competent instructor. He continued the study of
music with the best teachers, such as Dr. Eben Tourjee, B. J. Lang and Carl
Zerrahu, teaching much of the time, until the demands of his regular
studies obliged him to relinquish it, in 1874.
During a great
part of the time he was in the Westerly high school he acted as local
correspondent of various newspapers. In May, 1873, he became connected,
as regular correspondent, with the Norwich Daily Adver ttset\ which
relation he continued until he accepted a more advantageous offer from
the Norwich Daily Bulletin with which paper he remained until a change
was made in the management. He was editor, for the class of 1875, of the
school paper, the Elm Leaf. He was also elected salutatorian of his
class, but declined the honor. He graduated from the Westerly high
school in June, 1875, on which occasion he received the second Martha C.
Babcock Memorial prize, for an essay on "Novels: their bane and
benefit."
After studying further with the Rev. James Paterson
(Edinburgh University) and with Dr. John W. Gorham (Harvard University),
he entered, in September, 1875, the freshman class of Brown University,
in the regular course for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was elected
a member of the Brown chapter of the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity March
24, 1876; secretary, June 2, 1876; corresponding secretary, June 8, 1877
; president, Dec. 14, 1878.
He was elected a member of the New
England Historic, Genealogical Society, May 2, 1877, and of the
Worcester Society of Antiquity, June 9, 1877. At the annual declamation
of the sophomore class for the Carpenter prizes in elocution, in June,
1877, he received the second prize. He was appointed a speaker at the
junior exhibition, April, 1878. In June, 1878, he was elected a senior
editor of the college paper, the Brunonian. In October, 1878, he became
college organist. During the last two years of his college course he
occupied the position of instructor in elocution in the University
grammar school.
During the winter of 1878-9, he also taught in
the city evening schools. These duties, together with the regular
college work and the collection of materials for and publication of the
present volume, wwhich has extended over the entire four years of the
college course, have fully occupied his time. Graduating in June, 1879,
he hopes to begin the study of law the succeeding fall.
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