1898 - 1907 FASCINATING ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT NOTEBOOKS OF THE FRENCH CANADIAN BORN POLICE CHIEF OF CENTRAL FALLS RHODE ISLAND

On offer are 2 well-worn records of a French Canadian who became police chief of a city in Rhode Island, USA. Daily events are noted in the undated pages, often with just a simple line entry. Many other records are kept such as lists of family members, dates of death, arrests and convictions, etc. The first book measures 6 1/2 inches by 4 inches. The page cover is worn. Some pages are loose and some pages have been torn out. With 199 pages, it is approximately 90% complete. The second book is 7 1/2 inches by 5 inches and has 40 pages. This too is about 90% complete. Entries in both appear to be in two different handwriting styles. Napoleon Lambert was born in Marieville, Quebec in 1862. He moved with his family to Taunton, MA when he was 10. He moved back to Canada in 1875 but returned to live in Central Falls, RI in 1883. He worked as a carpenter until 1895 when he was appointed to the newly established Central Falls Police Department on April 15th, 1895. Four and a half years later, he was appointed Chief of Police. He served as Chief until August, 1907. He died in Dec, 1919 at the age of 57. His entries in the first book are a combination of events that occurred, some biographical data and gossip: "Lucien Lafrance left his wife to go out west" [Oct 17, 1900]; "I had the picture of my four children taken at Prince's Studio on Broad St./also has the boy taken alone" [ May 16, 1902] "Julia McHenry alias Flemming sent a tall woman to offer me $100 get her off the [ ]". Not accepted. Time 1:30 PM [Oct 22, 1903]. The second part of the volume is a long poem/prose piece that may or may not have been written by him. It is in English and French which reflects his bilingual background but the 'hand' is quite different. The second volume is an address book that has been used as a journal. A third of it (46 pages) is an alphabetical listing of individuals and their offences (many repeated): "Joe Burns: o sentenced by Judge Wilber to serve 18 months in Prov County Jail for the larceny of one lot brass worth $100.00 from the Electroletic Copper Co". [Aug 12, 1904] o "Larceny 30 days [Oct 31, 1906] Richard O'Neil; o arrested for drunkenness released" [Nov 12, 1896] o "Committed to the State Farm for 6 months Charge: Vagrant" [Nov 27, 1897] "Committed to Jail for 90 days on a charge of larceny of a dog" [Dec 8, 1898]; "Terry Nika o arrested on a charge of assault with a stone upon Stanislaw Prasccrinski on Jan 18-05 Waived examination and was bound over to State Farm. Mar 05 Placed on probation and paid the costs" [Jan 26, 1905] "o Fined $2 & costs for an assault upon George Belisle on April 15-05 Paid" [April 19, 1905]. The remaining section has had a number of pages torn out. On the 25 or so pages again is a prose piece mostly in French and again in another 'hand'. The volume contains a fair amount of genealogical information about his extended family. For a social historian, especially on focusing on life in the Providence-Pawtucket part of Rhode Island, this is an excellent reference to crime and punishment at the turn of the last century. Lambert joined the police force right at its inception, rose to be Chief and served for a total of 12 years. His journal offers a unique look into an aspect of community life that is often not very visible.; Manuscript; 16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, UNITED STATES, PROVIDENCE COUNTY, NAPOLEON LAMBERT, CENTRAL FALLS, RI, PROVIDENCE RI, RHODE ISLAND, LATE 19TH CENTURY, 1890s, PROGRESSIVE ERA, POLICEMEN, POLICING IN THE LATE 1800'S, COMMON CRIMES IN A SMALL COMMUNITY, URBAN HISTORY, CENTRAL FALLS POLICE DEPARTMENT, CANADIAN AMERICANS, FRENCH CANADIANS IN THE U.S., CENTRAL FALLS CHIEF OF POLICE, URBAN POLICE, CRIME IN 19TH CENTURY, NEW ENGLAND, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN RHODE ISLAND, LAW ENFORCEMENT IN LATE 19TH CENTURY, 19TH CENTURY CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN NEW ENGLAND, RHODE ISLAND GENEALOGY, AMERICANA, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNALS, PERSONAL HISTORY, SOCIAL HISTORY, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, DOCUMENT, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, MANUSKRIPT, PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO, ATTO, VELINA, DOCUMENTO, MANOSCRITTO, CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD, HECHO, VITELA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITO, PAPEL