USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > A history of the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 29
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These articles attracted the attention of leading citizens, who began to move in the matter, and Mr. Frederick Hurd called on the owners of the land and secured their pledges to give a number of acres for the purposes of a park. Messrs. Phineas T. Barnum and James C. Loomis favored the enter- prise from the first, and the former, especially, pushed it with his usual energy. Early in November, 1864, a survey of the land was made by E. R. Lambert and George Beckwith, and a map of it hung in the post office, showing the area of the proposed park to be about thirty-five acres, thirteen of which were located in the town of Bridgeport, and the remainder within the territory since annexed, but at that time a part of the township of Fairfield. Additions were made to this ter- ritory in 1868, for the purposes of a trotting park, so that there were about seventy acres, and the whole was gradually im- proved from year to year until the autumn of 1884, when Mr. P. T. Barnum gave nearly thirty acres more, by which the area and boulevard are extended west to Black Rock Harbor. This boulevard will eventually be one of the most beautiful
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History of Bridgeport.
and charming in the nation. The trotting course within this park is one of the finest of the kind, being an amphitheatre fromn eight to fifteen feet below the carriage bed of the boule- vard, and the track passing around a placid lake, the surface of which is about on a level with the water of the Sound out- side the boulevard.
Two monuments already grace this park, very appropri- ately ; the one is the soldiers' monument and the other the statue of Elias Howe, Jr., the inventor; the latter was a present to the city upon condition that it should furnish an appropriate pedestal, which it did, and the statue was placed upon it, facing the ocean, in the autumn of 1884. The loca- tion of it is very fitting and advantageous in every respect.
The soldiers' monument is the pride of the city, for, while it is not the most expensive of its kind, nor grand in magni- tude, it is beautiful, appropriate, elegant as a work of art, and gives great satisfaction to all the people. It is a monument to all the soldiers in the late war, although but the names of those who died during the war are inscribed upon it. This monument was secured by the ladies' Soldiers' Monument Association, aided by a special appropriation by the town of Bridgeport, and cost about $30,000. At the close of the late war the Soldiers' Aid Society, composed of more than one hundred and fifty women, which had done a great and noble work during the war, resolved itself into the Soldiers' Mon- ument Association, and by a most successful career they raised more than $10,000, to which was added by the town about $18,500, and with this united sum the society placed in the park the very satisfactory monument as it now stands.
The Beardsley Park is located in the northeastern part of the city, bordering on the Pequonnock river and lake, and contains in all over one hundred and twenty-five acres of beautiful and appropriate territory, rich in soil and varied ia its scenery. The Housatonic railroad passes on the opposite or western side of the lake, and there will eventually be a station to accommodate picnic parties and others in visiting the park, and soon the horse railroad will be extended north- ward to the southern end of the park, when all the city can reach it with ready and easy facility.
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Beardsley Park.
The land contained in this park was donated by Mr. James W. Beardsley to the city upon certain conditions of improvement within a certain number-a few only-of years, which conditions have thus far been met, and there is not the least fear of failure in completing the same. The land-every acre of it-was purchased by Mr. Beardsley at different times and was no part of the old homestead which descended to him from his uncle, James Walker. The greater part of this land now included in the park was laid out originally to Robert Walker in 1715, and held in the Walker family nearly one hundred years, when it was sold, and after some years was purchased by Mr. Beardsley, and by him cultivated as a part of his farm a number of years and then given to the city, as above stated. The homestead which descended to him through his mother, Betsey Walker, daughter of James Wal- ker, Jr., who married Elisha H. Beardsley, father of James W., is now Mr. Beardsley's residence, kept very choicely as the home of his ancestors for three generations, or since 1739.2 "The site of the Beardsley Park, compared with the Seaside Park, is elevated, broad, of diversified surface, and naturally of a pastoral, sylvan, and idyllic aspect. Al- though it commands a distant view of the sea, its best and most characteristic outlook is over a great landscape in the opposite direction. Except when broken by ledges of rock, the modeling of its surface is large, simple, and graceful, and the outcropping ledges present valuable elements and oppor- tunities for producing picturesque incidents. Fine views are to be had from the upper part of Walker's Hill, especially to the northward, eastward, and southward. At the north end of Walker's Hill there is a prominent, smooth-topped ledge, upon which people standing will have before them a rarely beautiful prospect, the finest from the park."3
Acceptance of the Park by the City.
"OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK, BRIDGEPORT, April 18, 1878. JAMES W. BEARDSLEY, EsQ .:-
Dear Sir :- At a meeting of the Common Council of Bridgeport, held on Monday, March 25, 1873, the following Resolutions, offered by Councilman Mid- dlebrook, were adopted :
2 See page 91 of this book.
3 Extract from the Report of the Landscape Architects, F. L. and J. C. Olm- stead, September, 1884.
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History of Bridgeport.
Resolved, That the heartfelt thanks of the City of Bridgeport are due to and are hereby, through their representatives, the Common Council of said City, tendered to their fellow citizen, James W. Beardsley, for his magnificent gift to the City of a public Park, and that the appreciation of this body and of the public of his public spirit, may be perpetuated, it is further
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the City Records, and a copy thereof be presented to Mr. Beardsley.
Attest, BERNARD KEATING, City Clerk."
Mr. James Walker Beardsley, son of Elisha H. and Betsey (Walker) Beardsley, has been a farmer all his life, and is still actively engaged in the same. He is a native of the town of Monroe, where his father pursued the same occupa- tion, and is descended in regular line from William Beardsley, one of the first settlers of Stratford ; and on his mother's side from the Rev. Peter Prudden, of Milford, by his great great great grandmother, Abigail Prudden; also from the Rev. Richardson Minor, of Unity, by her mother, Prudence Minor, wife of Philip Benjamin, as also through his mother's father, from Robert Walker, one of the founders of the Old South Church, of Boston, in 1669. Mr. Beardsley is not only interested in his ancestry, searching them out by diligent inquiry, but has carefully preserved many old manuscripts and books which have been of much assistance in presenting a number of items in this history in a much more correct form than they otherwise could have been.
It cannot be doubted that he takes great satisfaction in seeing the improvements which the city is making from year to year in the Beardsley Park, and to which he gives consid- erable attention by way of consultation by special request of the Park Commissioners.
Officers of the Bridgeport National Bank.+
Munson Hawley, President ; F. N. Benham, Cashier ; Directors : Munson Hawley, Thomas B. Bartram, Plumb N. Fairchild, Carlos Curtis, Thomas B. DeForest, David M. Read, John M. Wheeler, Rowland B. Lacey, Frank N. Benham.
4 This list of officers should have appeared on page 142 of this book, in con- nection with the history of the bank to which they belong.
t
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James M Bearably
337
Bridgeport Banks.
The City Savings Bank .- The petition for the incorporation of the City Savings Bank, of Bridgeport, was drawn up and presented to the legislature by D. F. Hollister, and a charter was granted for the institution in May, 1859. At the first meeting of the corporators, held at the city council rooms July 16, 1859, the following officers were elected : President, Hanford Lyon ; Vice-Presidents, Russell Tomlinson, D. H. Sterling, Ira Gregory, D. W. Thompson ; Secretary and Treasurer, S. M. Middlebrook ; Trustees, Sherman Hartwell, P. C. Calhoun, Hor- ace Nichols, D. F. Hollister, George P. Stockwell, Stephen Lounsbury, H. N. Hayes, John Brooks, A. A. Pettengill, E. B. Goodsell, Burr Knapp, R. T. Clarke, Thomas Hawley, Josiah Baylies, and S. C. Booth.
To commence business rooms were hired on Wall street, near the corner of Water, and several of the trustees deposited one hundred dollars each in the new bank. Two of these accounts, those of Horace Nichols and George P. Stockwell, are still open. Two others, those of Hanford Lyon and Josiah Baylies, were allowed to accumulate for about twenty-four years, and when closed amounted to nearly $400 each, the increase being due to interest solely, no additional deposit having been made. In this connection it may be mentioned that the sum total of the fifty-three dividends declared by the bank from January, 1860, to January, 1886, is about $1,700,000. Mr. Middlebrook continued to act as treasurer until his death, in 1883, and to his prudence and fidelity the success of the bank was largely due. He was a man highly respected in this and adjoining communities. Soon after the decease of Mr. Middlebrook the trustees made choice of William B. Hincks as treasurer, and William N. Middlebrook as secretary.
Mr. Lyon died in 1879, and was succeeded as president by Ira Gregory, who died in 1883. Horace Nichols, who is now president of the bank, has been one of its officers for nearly twenty-seven years, and has witnessed its increase until its depositors number over 6,300, and its assets amount to about $2,400,000.
An interesting event in the history of the bank was the run, which took place February 17th and 18th, 1877, during which about $150,000 was drawn out by depositors who had become alarmed without any apparent cause. All calls were promptly met by Mr. Middlebrook, the treasurer, the bank being kept open two hours later than usual for the purpose. Offers of loans from individuals and institutions to the amount of nearly a million dollars were declined, the help not being needed.
About the beginning of the year 1884 it was felt by the trustees that the rooms on Wall street which had hitherto been rented for banking purposes, though twice enlarged, had become entirely inadequate, and that the City Savings Bank should possess a permanent home of its own. After careful deliberation it was decided to purchase one-half the lot of the Bridgeport National Bank, on the corner of Main and Bank streets, and that both institutions should unite in erecting a structure to be known as the United Bank building, of Bridgeport. Messrs. Nich- ols, Hollister and Hincks were appointed a building committee on the part of the City Savings Bank, to cooperate with Messrs. Read, Wheeler and DeForest, the committee of the Bridgeport National Bank, and full powers were given to them by the trustees. The utmost care was taken by the committee ; all the leading build- ings in New York City, and not a few in New England, were visited, with a view of combining as many desirable features as possible in the new edifice. Plans embodying these features were prepared by W. R. Briggs, architect, and on the 27th of August, 1884, contracts were signed. Sixteen months later, on December
43
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£
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History of Bridgeport.
15, 1885, the building was fully completed and occupied for business. The cost of the north half, which is owned and occupied by the City Savings Bank, includ- ing land, furniture and its massive fire and burglar proof vault, is some $43,000, upon which amount the rentals received yield a return of about four and a half per cent. The new banking rooms are well lighted, heated and ventilated, and may safely be said to be second to none in New England in point of convenience and beauty of fitting up, while their location is the best in the city.
Following are the officers of the City Savings Bank for the year 1886 : Presi- dent, Horace Nichols ; Vice-Presidents, D. F. Hollister, David M. Read, Court- land Kelsey, John M. Wheeler ; Treasurer, William B. Hincks ; Secretary, Wil- liam N. Middlebrook ; Trustees, Horace F. Hatch, F. W. Parrott, Burr Curtis, C. K. Averill, Levi B. Booth, George P. Stockwell, D. F. Hollister, Horace Nichols, George K. Birdsey, Edwin Banks, David M. Read, John M. Wheeler, Edward A. Lewis, Courtland Kelsey, W. N. Middlebrook, William B. Hincks ; Bookkeeper and Teller, Willard S. Plumb.
The People's Savings Bank, represented in the above cut, was organ- ized in May, 1860, under the laws of the State of Connecticut, with the following persons as corporators, " by the name, style and title of the People's Savings Bank, of Bridgeport, Conn. : " Nathaniel Wheeler, James C. Loomis, Sherwood Sterling, Ira Sherman, P. C. Calhoun, George B. Waller, Frederick Wood, Samuel B. Ferguson, Robert T. Clarke, Abijah Hawley, Thomas Ransom, James Daskam, Elbert E. Hubbell, William G. Lineburgh, William H. Perry, Henry Burr, and
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Bridgeport Banks.
Stephen Hawley. The action of the legislature was approved June 15, 1860, and on the second day of July following, at four o'clock P. M., the following corpora- tors met at the office of Sherman and Marsh for the purpose of organization : P. C. Calhoun, Ira Sherman, George B. Waller, Frederick Wood, Samuel B. Ferguson, Robert C. Clarke, Abijah Hawley, Thomas Ransom, James Daskam, Elbert E. Hubbell, William G. Lineburgh, Henry Burr and Stephen Hawley. P. C. Calhoun was chosen chairman, and Stephen Hawley, secretary. Stephen S. Booth and G. Bradley Sanford were voted in as corporators. The following offi- cers were elected for the ensuing year : Ira Sherman, President ; George B. Wal- ler, Vice-President ; Stephen Hawley, Treasurer ; and Abijah Hawley. Thomas Ransom, Nathaniel Wheeler, S. B. Ferguson, James Daskam, Elbert E. Hubbell, William G. Lineburgh, William H. Perry, G. Bradley Sanford, and Stephen S. Booth, a Board of Trustees. A seal was adopted with the inscription, People's Savings Bank, of Bridgeport.
Roomis over the Pequonnock Bank were rented and the first loan made July 9, 1860, which was on a house and lot on Myrtle avenue, and on July 1, 1861, the first semi-annual dividend was declared, which was three per cent.
In addition to the above the following named persons have served as corpo- rators : Samuel W. Baldwin, Egbert Marsh, William E. Seeley, D. W. Kissam, Edward W. Marsh, Stephen S. Booth (deceased), G. Bradley Sanford (deceased), Russell Tomlinson (deceased), Philo H. Skidmore (removed), Salem H. Wales (removed), Charles B. Hotchkiss, Francis W. Marsh, Eli C. Smith, John E. Pond, William H. Rockwell. Ira Sherman, the first president, died in May, 1869, and was succeeded by George B. Waller, the first vice-president, and is still the presi- dent of the bank, having occupied that position nearly seventeen years.
In July, 1869, William G. Lineburgh was elected first vice-president and William E. Seeley, second vice-president. The former resigned his position as vice-president and trustee in 1878, and Mr. Seeley was elected first vice-president, which position he still holds, and James Daskam was elected second vice-presi- dent, and continued in that office until his decease, in November, 1879. In the December following Russell Tomlinson was elected second vice-president, and served until his decease, in April, 1885. Mr. Egbert Marsh, the present incum- bent was elected second vice-president in July, 1885.
Mr. Stephen Hawley, the first secretary and treasurer, died in November, 1861, and Mr. Egbert Marsh was elected to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the year. In January, 1862, Courtland Kelsey was elected secretary and treasurer, and served until May, 1862, when he resigned, and Philip E. Lockwood was chosen his successor. He resigned in June, 1864, and was succeeded by Mr. J. F. Han- ford, who served until 1868, when he resigned. At the January meeting Mr. Egbert Marsh was elected secretary and treasurer, and served thirteen years, when, in July, 1881, his resignation was reluctantly accepted. His successor was Mr. Francis W. Marsh, who had been several years teller of the bank, and he resigned, to take effect June 1, 1886, and Edward W. Marsh has been elected to this position.
On January 1, 1872, Mr. Homer S. Curtis was appointed the first teller in this bank, but found it necessary to resign in July, 1873, on account of ill health. He was succeeded by Mr. Francis W. Marsh until July, r881, when he was elected secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Orange Merwin succeeded him as teller. He has resigned, to take effect June 1, 1886, and Mr. Frank Hubbard has been
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History of Bridgeport.
appointed his successor. Messrs. F. W. Marsh and Orange Merwin retire from this bank, having associated with them Mr. H. C. Lemmon, for the purpose of doing a general insurance and banking business, with a safe deposit vault.
The present officers are : President, George B. Waller ; first Vice-President, William E. Seeley ; second Vice-President, Egbert Marsh ; Secretary and Treas- urer, Francis W. Marsh ; Teller, Orange Merwin.
The Board of Trustees are : Samuel W. Baldwin, Edward W. Marsh, D. W. Kissam, Eli C. Smith, John E. Pond, Elbert E. Hubbell, C. B. Hotchkiss, William H. Rockwell, Henry Atwater, F. A. Bartram.
In December, 1864, this bank purchased the lot on the corner of Main and Bank streets, and in 1870 erected the building on it which it now occupies, the bank being located in the front rooms, on the second floor. The First National Bank have rented the first floor, and the remaining portion of the building is rented for various purposes.
The bank has 5,000 depositors. Its investments are carefully selected under a conservative management, and its officers, to whom this trust is committed, and upon whom the responsibility of its prosperity depends, represent many of the important financial institutions and industries of the city.
The First National Bank, of Bridgeport, is located on the corner of Main and Bank streets, and was organized March 18, 1864; being a successor to the Farmer's Bank. At the organization Mr. Edmund S. Hawley was elected president, and William E. Seeley, cashier, and they still occupy the same posi- tions. The following persons have, served as directors, the terms indicated by the dates, those with the dates 1886 are still in office : Edmund S. Hawley, March, 1864, to 1886 ; Asahel L. Lyon, March, 1864 to 1874 ; Henry Beers Glover, March, 1864, to March, 1870 ; Salem H. Wales, March, 1864, to August, 1867 ; Lewis W. Burritt, March, 1864, to 1878 ; Allison A. Pettengill, March, 1864, to 1867; Rus- sell Tomlinson, March. 1864, to 1885 ; Samuel B. Ferguson, March, 1864, to 1873 ; Bartlett Doten, March, 1864, to 1869; William E. Seeley, August, 1867, to 1886 ; Horace Nichols, August, 1867, to 1886 ; Thomas Lord, January, 1868, to April 30, 1870; Egbert Marsh, January, 1871, to 1877; Edward Sterling, December, 1871, to 1886; Charles K. Averill, January, 1877, to 1886 ; Stephen S. Booth, 1878 to 1880 ; Charles A. Granniss, January, 1880, to 1886 ; Horace L. Fairchild, January, 1880, to 1886; Alexander Hawley, January, 1881, to 1886; Enoch P. Hincks, November, 1885, to 1886.
The bank organized with a capital of $210,000, and has accumulated a surplus of $130,000, and has divided $531,300, an average dividend during the twenty-two years of eleven and one-half per cent. per annum. The statement to the comp- troller of the currency, March 1, 1886, shows investments drawing interest of $920,000, and deposits of $450,000. The present officers are : Edmund S. Hawley, President ; William E. Seeley, Cashier ; O. H. Brothwell, Assistant Cashier; Tracy B. Warren, General Bookkeeper ; Frank R. Sammis, Deposit Bookkeeper ; Robert E. Wheeler, Clerk. This bank occupies the first story of the People's Savings Bank building, on the southeast corner of Main and Bank streets.
The Pequonnock Bank of Bridgeport was incorporated in May, 1851, with a capital of $200,000. The subscription book was opened on the first Tues- day of August, 1851, under the supervision of three commissioners, Charles Adams, John Gould and W. A. Judson. The first meeting of the stockholders was
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SWEET
BRIDGEPORT SAVINGS BANK. ERECTED IN 1878.
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Es Hawley
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Edmund Summers Hawley, son of Captain Wilson and Charity (Summers) Hawley, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., June 15th, 1813. His father was for many years mem- ber of the firm of Abijah Hawley & Co. The firm was com- posed of Abijah, Aaron and Wilson Hawley. They were engaged in the West India trade, and carried on the Boston Coasting, Grain and Lumber business; their store and wharf being on Water street, south of State, near the site now occu- pied by the Grain elevator, owned by Mr. John Hurd.
Mr. Hawley is of English descent, the family tracing their lineage back to the first settlers in Stratford, through Wilson, Ezra, Capt. Ezra, Deacon Thomas, Samuel and Joseph Hawley ; the last named came from Derbyshire, England, in 1629 and died in Stratford in 1690, aged 78 years.
At the age of eighteen Mr. Hawley united with the Second Congregational Church, then under the pastoral charge of Rev. Nathaniel Hewit, D.D.
When about twenty-one years of age hc removed to Cats- kill, N. Y., where he remained in business about six ycars. While there he was elected a director in the Catskill Bank, which office he held until his return to his native city in 1840. After his return he was engaged in the Dry Goods and Clothing business, and was one of the first to start the ready- made Clothing trade in Bridgeport, there being at that time but one small store of that kind in the city.
Mr. Hawley was married in 1842 by Rev. Mr. Hunter, pastor of the First Congregational Church of Bridgeport, to Lucy S. daughter of Thomas C. Wordin, and has two child- ren, Mary W. and Charles W.
In 1849 Mr. Hawley, with his father in-law Mr. Thomas C. Wordin, Sherwood Sterling and Monson Hawley, was ex- tensively engaged in the California trade, and they were among the first to ship goods to that new country, which re- sulted in establishing the very large and successful business which has since been and is now conducted by the sons of Mr. Thomas Hawley in that great and prosperous state.
In 1852 he was appointed a Director of the Bridgeport Bank, and held that position until 1859, when he was chosen
President of the Farmers Bank (now the First National), which office he has held for twenty-eight years, and which position he still holds.
In 1851 he was elected Trustee of the Bridgeport Sav- ings Bank, and held that position until 1870, when he was ap- pointed Vice-President, and in 1875 was chosen President, which office he still holds, having been connected with that Bank for thirty-six years.
About the year 1859 he sold his business and devoted his time and energies to the Banking business, and has been connected with different banks, as Director, Trustee, or President, almost continuously for nearly half a century. Although not active in politics, he has always been a staunch Republican.
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Bridgeport Banks.
held at the Sterling House on Monday the 11th of August, 1851. The following were chosen directors : Hon. P. T. Barnum, Charles B. Hubbell, Samuel F. Hurd, Monson Hawley, Seth B. Jones, Thomas Ransom, Philo F. Barnum, Joseph Thompson and Samuel B. Peck. Hon. P. T. Barnum was elected President, and held the office until Nov. 23, 1855, when removing to New York, he resigned, and Mr. Charles B. Hubbell was elected to fill the vacancy and held the office until May 22, 1860, when he resigned and Mr. C. Spooner was appointed and hield that office until August 15, 1865. During his administration the Pequonnock Bank was reorganized into a National organization under the title of the Pequonnock National Bank of Bridgeport. Mr. Monson Hawley was elected President August 15, 1865, and continued in office until January 12, 1869, when Mr. Charles B. Hotchkiss was appointed, and he held the office until January 15, 1885. At that time Mr. David Trubee was elected President and Mr. John L. Wessels, Vice-President. William R. Higby was the first Cashier, appointed October 16, 1851, and held the office until February 20, 1869, when he resigned and Isaac B. Prindle was appointed, and still holds the office. The bank has owned and occupied the building on the corner of Main and State streets since the autumn of 1853. While the building was being erected the business was conducted in one of the stores in the Bailey Block on State street.
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