Collector and writer Sidney Rider was born to George Clinton and Ann Eliza (Turner) Rider in
Rensselaer County, New York, on November 5, 1833. Rider was the eldest of three sons
(Frederic C. and Albert H. Rider). According to Rider, his ancestors came from the Kent region
of England and he descended from Gershom Turner, proprietor of the Nassau Manufacturing
Company in New York. In the late 1830s, the Riders moved to Pomfret, Connecticut and finally
settled in Rhode Island in 1845. That year, at the age of 12, Sidney began an apprenticeship with
Charles Burnett, a Providence bookseller located in Market Square. During his apprenticeship,
Rider found his calling and began an obsession with Rhode Island History.
Rider married Lorania Burke of Providence County on November 4, 1858. The marriage
produced two children: a son, Burnett, and a daughter, Annie. In 1859, Rider formed a
partnership with Henry Stewart, and the two men sold new, used, and rare books and writing
supplies at 17 Westminster Street, Providence. However, by the end of the year, Rider became
the sole owner of a bookstore.
Rider’s strategy for marketing this enterprise revealed his genius. Uniquely, he merged his
passion for history, politics, and culture with a business centered on selling books and
subscriptions to his self-published periodicals. He captured the attention of potential customers
in a highly competitive market by demonstrating his expertise in the book business and
publishing magazines and journals that covered a variety of topics. Alongside his book listings
and descriptions, Rider and other authors composed articles about Rhode Island culture, art,
history, politics, and current events. Debunking popular historical myths and legends about
Rhode Island became a specialty. His most successful magazine, Book Notes, ran for 33 years
and produced 870 issues.
Book Notes served as Rider’s controversial sounding board where he discussed the most pressing
political, social, and economic issues. Powerful institutions such as the Providence Journal and
the Union Railroad Company frequently suffered the wrath of his pen. Rider authored plenty of
strong statements about legislation and legislators as well. In contradistinction to his
complementary commentaries about historical figures like Roger Williams and Samuel Gorton,
some of Rider’s most scathing literary assaults condemned contemporary politicians. In 1893,
Rider boldly wrote that Chairman of the Providence City Council William Vaughan should be
“hanged” for negotiating away the public’s property to benefit the Union Railroad and suggested
bribery was involved. In the case of a more powerful politician such as and Republican Party
boss Charles R. Brayton, Rider employed greater caution. Rider waited until Brayton’s death in
1910 before lambasting Brayton for disreputable deeds and blaming him for the suicide of
Rider’s brother Frederic C. Rider. Rider’s opening statement read, “The time to write History is
after men have cease to make it, the Time to writing an account of Brayton's connection with the
History of Rhode Island is after he has ceased to manipulate it.”
Rider also wrote quite a few art criticisms and many biographies, including one on Catherine R.
(Arnold) Williams (1788-1872), a well-regarded poet and author who was intimately involved in
the Dorr Rebellion. His promotion of the work of a female author perhaps suggests something of
Rider’s liberal qualities. Rider’s journal Historical Tracts brought many other biographies,
historical episodes and documents to an interested readership in the latter half of the 19th century.
Rider’s collecting habits transformed his shop into a time capsule of sorts, stockpiling everything
from valuable manuscripts to the smallest vestiges of daily life, such as play bills, lottery tickets,
and other paraphernalia. Consequently, Rider’s shop gained popularity as a gathering place for
local bibliophiles and academics. In 1880, Brown University awarded Rider with an honorary
Master of Arts degree for his ambitious and educational essays on Rhode Island history and
culture.1 However, Rider also suffered his share of personal and financial difficulties from the
1880s to the 1890s. In addition to the suicide of his brother in 1881 and the arrest of his son in
1893, Rider accumulated substantial debt, petitioned for bankruptcy, and was sued for loss of
property.
In the early twentieth century, Rider finally surrendered to old age and retired. In 1903, wealthy
financier Marsden J. Perry purchased the Rider Collection and deeded it to Brown University.
On January 17, 1917, Rider died and was interned at North Burial Ground, Providence, RI.
Sidney Rider lived a full public life as an engaged citizen, merchant, critic, historian, writer,
collector, reformer, and publisher. While his writings often centered on controversy and
scuttlebutt, many of his contemporaries admired his erudite knowledge of Rhode Island History.
Today, scholars and researchers are indebted to Rider for his meticulous collection of Rhode
Island literary artifacts now housed at the John Hay Library.
Michelle Valleta, MA, Rhode Island College
Allison Kiernan, Student, Rhode Island College
Further Reading:
Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. “Sidney S. Rider.” (1833-1917) Inducted 2007.
Rogers, Horatio. “Mr. Sidney S. Rider’s Library,” in Private Libraries of Providence.
Providence: Sidney S. Rider, 1878.
Russell J. DeSimone and Erik J. Chaput. “Sidney Rider And The Business Of Rhode Island
History.” ProvidenceRI.com.