USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 21
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
165
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
her husband in Wisconsin, she returned to New Haven, where her last days were passed. Mrs. Stone continued a resident of New Haven until 1914, when she erected a fine mod- ern dwelling of the colonial style on Grassy IIill in Orange and now makes her home there.
To Dr. and Mrs. Stone were born six children: Ethel Tomlinson; Harold Frank, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Clifford Pratt; Elizabeth Gertrude, who died in in- fancy; Palmer English, who died in 1913 at the age of nineteen years; and Kirby, who died in infancy. All were born in New Haven. Clifford is now a member of Company M, Three Hundred and Fourth Infantry, located at Camp Devens, Ayer, Massachusetts.
Dr. Stone was a member of the New Haven Dental Association, of the Connecticut Dental Association and the National Dental Association and thus he kept in touch with the advanced thought and progress of the profession. He was familiar with all the lines of research work which promote efficiency in dental practice and he won high professional rank. He was a man of genuine personal worth, his excellent qualities gaining for him the high regard, confidence and goodwill of all. The family is one of culture and refine- ment, occupying an enviable position in social circles of Orange.
SIDNEY VIVILLA OSBORN.
Sidney Vivilla Osborn, now at the head of an extensive coal, grain and lumber business in Branford, is not only an important factor in commercial circles but also occupies a prominent position in public affairs, having represented his district in the state legislature several terms. A native of Connecticut, he was born in Woodbury, Litchfield county, on the 10th of March, 1856. and is a worthy representative of one of the oldest families of this state, his parents being Aaron A. and Polly (Bishop) Osborn. Thomas Osborn, who settled in New Haven in 1665, had three sons, one of whom settled in Stratford. Connecticut, and another in Guilford, while the third remained in New Haven, and it is from the one that went to Stratford that our subject is descended. The family is of English origin. Our subject's father, Aaron A. Osborn, was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, which was also the birthplace of the grandfather, Daniel Osborn. In early life the former learned the trade of spoon making but later, on account of his health, had to take up outdoor work and became a mason, which occupation he followed in Woodbury, Connecticut, until several years after the death of his wife, when he removed to Milford, this state, where he passed away. His wife was born in Woodbury and was a danghter of Ira and Mabel (Spalding) Bishop, who were also of old New England stock.
During his boyhood Sidney Vivilla Osborn attended the district schools but his advan- tages along that line were very limited and he is a self-educated as well as a self-made man. At an early age he did farm work and later was in the employ of Burton Brothers in the grain, milling and grocery business at Woodbury. He gradually worked his way upward until he became manager of their branch establishment at Minortown and also had charge of the postoffice. In 1879 he was married at Woodbury and then located on a farm which he purchased in the northern part of Branford, New Ilaven county, being success- fully engaged in its operation for twelve years. At the end of that time he purchased wharf property near the railroad depot in the village of Branford and in 1892 began business under the name of the S. V. Osborn Company, dealers in coal, grain, feed, etc. Five years later he purchased his partner's interest and now carries on the business under the name of S. V. Osborn, handling coal, grain and limber. He not only owns and operates a sawmill and grain elevator but bas also erected a large coal elevator, which was one of the first established in Connecticut adapted to this method of handling coal. Mr. Osborn was one of the organizers of the Branford Savings Bank, of which he was a director and auditor for many years, and he also assisted in organizing the Branford Trust Company, of which he is still a director.
On the 6th of May. 1879. Mr. Osborn married Miss Emma Tyler. a native of Middle- bury, Connecticut, where her parents. Daniel and Elvira (Hines) Tyler, were also born. The Tyler family came from England and was founded in Connecticut early in the seven- teenth century. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn have two children: Sidney Vivilla, Jr., who was
166
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
born in Branford, January 23, 1588, and assists his father in business; and Mabel Bishop, born in Branford, May 1, 1902.
The family is identified with the Congregational church and Mr. Osborn is also a member of Widows Son Lodge, No. 66. of Branford; Woodland Lodge, K. P .; and the New England Order of Protection. In politics he is a stanch republican and is a recognized leader in the party ranks. He has filled a number of local offices, serving as town tax as- sessor, a member of the school board, first selectman for three terms, and on the board for six terms. He was the first borough tax collector and collected the first taxes in the village. In 1899 he was the nominee of his party for representative to the state legislature but the vote was a tie and he lost. In 1907 he was elected first selectman and most ably filled the office until 1909. The following year he was elected to the state legislature and served during the session of 1911-12, at which time he secured an appropriation of forty thousand dollars for the erection of a new armory at Branford. that is now an ornament to the village. Mr. Osborn was defeated for reelection in 1913 when the progressive move- ment split the regular republican vote but in 1914 and again in 1916 he was elected a member of the house and is still representing his district in the general assembly. He has served on a number of important committees, including the roads, bridges and rivers com- mittee, on which he serves at the present time and which is second in importance only to the judiciary committee; and he was chairman of the agricultural committee of 1914-15 and a member of the manufacturing committee in 1911. Although his advantages in youth were limited he has steadily overcome all obstacles in the path to success and is today one of Branford's most prominent and influential citizens and one of the leading members of the Connecticut legislature.
ALBERT WILLIAM CROSBY, D. D. S.
Dr. Albert W. Crosby, whose position in the dental profession is indicated by the fact that he has been honored with the presidency of the Connecticut State Dental Associa- tion, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, November 13, 1870, and is a son of the late William A. Crosby, a native of East Glastonbury, Connecticut, and a representative of one of the old families of this state. The Crosbys come of English ancestry, the line being traced back to Simon Crosby, who crossed the Atlantic to America in the Susan and Ellen in 1628 and became one of the first selectmen of Cambridge, Massachusetts; also to John Andrews, one of the one hundred original founders of Farmington, Connecticut. William A. Crosby was a manufacturer of woolen goods and won substantial success in the conduct of his business, in which he actively continued until February, 1912, when death called him, he being then sixty-three years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Alice I. Rodda, was born in Connecticut and was a daughter of James Rodda, a native of England, who came to the new world when a lad of twenty years and established his home in Hart- ford.
Dr. Crosby was an only child. He was educated in the public and high schools of Hartford and afterward attended the New York College of Dentistry, from which he was graduated with the class of 1892. Immediately after his graduation he opened an office in Hartford, where he remained for a year. He then removed to New London and practiced in the latter city for twenty years. In 1909 he came to New Haven where he has since con- tinuously and successfully followed his profession. He is recognized as one of the eminent dentists of the state and is specializing in the practice of orthodontia. He is particularly skilled owing to wide and comprehensive study and by reason of his devotion to the highest professional ideals. IIe is an associate member of the Allied Societies of New York city, the New Haven Dental Association, the Connecticut State Dental Association, of which he has been the president, the Northeastern Dental Association and the National Dental Association. Ile is also an ex-president of the Horace Wells club. He was connected with the Angle School of Orthodontia as its secretary and served nine years on the dental com- mission of the state of Connecticut. His professional brethren accord him high place in the ranks of dental practitioners. His ability has long since carried him beyond the point
Albert . Crosby
169
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
of mediocrity and he now stands in a prominent position among the most capable and dis- tinguished dental surgeons of Connecticut.
On the 25th of April, 1900, Dr. Crosby married Miss Isabel Selden Darrow, of New London, and a daughter of James and Amelia E. (Dodge) Darrow. In politics Dr. Crosby is a republican. He has attained high rank in Masonry, belonging to Brainard Lodge, No. 102, F. & A. M., of New London; to Palestine Commandery, K. T., of New London; to the consistory at Norwich; and to Sphinx Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Hartford. He is a member of the Thames Club, New London; the Quinnipiae Club; the New Haven Club; the Automobile Club of New Haven; and the Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Crosby is a Congregationalist. High and honorable principles actuate him at every point in his career and are manifest no less in his professional activities than in his social life.
CHARLES ERNEST IIULL.
Charles Ernest Hull is now living retired in Guilford, where he was for many years actively identified with industrial interests. He was born March 26, 1860, in the city which is still his home, his parents being George Augustus and Jeanette Hulda (Bishop) Hull. The family name has figured in connection with the history of Connecticut since 1639. The paternal grandfather, Cornelius Hull, was born at Black Rock, near Durham. Connectieut, and was the father of George Augustus Hull, who was born at Guilford, where he acquired his education. After the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Fourteenth Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer Infantry and served for some time at the front but became ill and was honorably discharged before the close of hostilities. He then returned to Guil- ford, where in 1865 he purchased a small factory located a mile and a half north of the village. This he began operating under his own name and developed what is today one of the leading manufacturing concerns of Guilford. The factory was originally devoted to making wagon parts, but as his business grew, owing to his enterprising spirit and close application, he extended its scope to include the manufacture of spokes, hubs, etc., for wheels. Later his son, Charles E., was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of George A. Hull & Son and the company then began the manufacture of the complete wagon wheel, continuing business in the same factory until 1891, when the plant was de- stroyed by fire. The father then retired from active business and passed away in Guilford in February, 1892. His wife was born in Guilford, April 7, 1828, and her death occurred on the 26th of April, 1889. She was a daughter of Jonathan Bishop, a descendant in the seventh generation of John Bishop, a native of England, who beeame the founder of the Bishop family on the soil of the new world, he being one of the original settlers of Guil- ford. He was the second of the twenty-five people who signed the Plantation Covenant June 1, 1639, on the voyage from England to the new world.
Charles Ernest Hull acquired his education in the schools of Guilford and in his boy- hood worked in his father's factory, early becoming familiar with the trade in principle and detail. Eventually he was taken into the firm and in 1891, when the factory burned and his father retired from active business, Charles E. Ifull became associated with Jerome C. Potter and Lovell L. Kelsey in organizing the Guilford Wheel Manufacturing Company, which took over the business of the firm of George A. Hull & Son. They purchased the factory building and ground formerly used as a button factory in Guilford, there installed modern machinery and enlarged the plant for the purpose of manufacturing wagon wheels. resuming business there in December, 1891, just thirty days after the old plant was de- stroyed by fire. Mr. Kelsey retired from the business after a few years and the manufae- turing was then continued by Mr. Hull and Mr. Potter until 1907, when they sold the business, factory and all to the Archibald Wheel Company of Lawrence, Massachusetts, with which Mr. Hull remained as manager of the business until 1916, when he retired from active life and is now enjoying a well earned rest. He was the chief factor in the upbuild- ing of the business of the Guilford Wheel Manufacturing Company, his long practical ex- perience, his keen diseernment and his sagacity constituting the chief elements in the growth of their trade.
At Guilford, in June, 1881, Mr. Hull was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hill
170
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
Leete, who was born in Guilford and was a descendant of Governor Leete of Connecticut. ller parents were Joseph and Orphanah Hill (Madison) Leete. The death of Mrs. Hull ocenrred in Guilford in February, 1892, and two children were left to mourn her loss. The elder, Cornelius Morris, is now chief elerk to the superintendent of the New York division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. He married Miss Margaret Kelly and has two children, Elizabeth Mildred and Cornelius Morris. The second son, Fiske Leete, is manager for the Archibald Wheel Company of Guilford. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Hull was married on the 22d of February, 1894, at Guilford, to Miss Mary J. Conway, who was born in Ireland but was brought to Conneetient during her infancy by her parents, John and Margaret (Burns) Conway, who were natives of the Emerald isle. Her father was employed by I. S. Spencer & Company of Guilford for more than thirty years but both he and his wife have now passed away.
Mr. Ilull is a member of the Guilford Mutual Fire Association and he is president of the Guilford Board of Trade. For many years he has served as burgess and since 1884 he has given unfaltering political allegiance to the prohibition party, being a strong advocate of the cause of temperance. His life has been well spent. He has displayed many sterling characteristics which have won him the respect and esteem of friends and of business col- leagues and contemporaries.
CHARLES NEWCOMB BAXTER.
Charles Newcomb Baxter, librarian of the Blackstone Memorial Library at Branford, was born February 6, 1879, in Quiney, Massachusetts, his parents being Charles Newcomb and Louise Bartlett (Carruth) Baxter. The father died in 1882 but the mother is still living, making her home in Southboro, Massachusetts.
Charles Newcomb Baxter attended the public schools of his native eity and afterward entered the Massachusetts Agricultural College, from which he was graduated with the degree of S. B. in 1898. He then entered Harvard and won the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1902. He was an assistant in the library of the Boston Athenaeum from 1902 until 1912 and since May of the latter year has been librarian of the Blackstone Memorial Library in Branford. Mr. Baxter is a member of the Harvard Club of Connecticut and the American and Connecticut Library Associations: also the New Haven Historical Genealogieal Society and the New England Historical Genealogical Society. He also belongs to the Graduates' Club of New Haven.
On the 25th of March, 1913. he married Iva Georgiana Bishop, of Branford, and they have one danghter. Iva Georgiana Baxter.
WILLIAM SPENCER RUSSELL, M. D.
Dr. William Spencer Russell, who bears the distinction of being the oldest practicing physician in Wallingford, has there followed his profession continuously and successfully during the past thirty-five years. His birth occurred in Prospect, New Haven county, Con- nectient, on the 7th of September, 1858. his parents being Henry and Sarah (Tyler) Russell. The father, who was also a native of Prospect. this state, followed farming throughont his active business career and passed away in 1865, at the comparatively early age of thirty- five years. He was a son of Lewis Russell. of Naugatuck. The paternal grandmother of Dr. William S. Russell was a daughter of Daniel Hitchcock, who fought in the Revolutionary war with the colonial forces. Mrs. Sarah (Tyler) Russell was a daughter of Spencer Tyler, of Prospect. whose wife was a sister of Franklin Farrell. Sr. The mother of our subject died in 1890, at the age of fifty-four years.
Dr. William S. Russell, the only child of his parents who grew to maturity, attended the public schools and also French's private school of New Haven. Having determined upon a professional career, he entered the medical department of Yale University, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1880. He then spent two years in
171
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
hospital work at New York and also pursued a post-graduate course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of that city. After a period spent in the New Haven Hospital he began the private practice of his profession at Wallingford in 1882 and has there remained continuously to the present time, or for more than a third of a century. He has won a most gratifying and well deserved measure of success as a general practitioner and has kept abreast with the progress of the profession through his membership in the New Haven County Med- ical Society, the Connecticut State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
On the 1st of June, 1882, at Auburn, New York, Dr. Russell was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Cooke Hall, a daughter of Edward C. Hall, of that place. She passed away on the 29th of December, 1912, leaving two children. Donald G., who received the degree of Ph. B. in 1909 and that of M. D. from Yale University in 1914, has been en- gaged in hospital work since his graduation. In 1916 he went to France with Dr. Joseph Flint, professor of surgery of Yale University, and enlisted in a French army corps, serv- ing for the period of a year in a base hospital during the Champagne drive. Since October, 1917, he has been a member of the United States army in France, holding a lieutenant's commission. His sister, Elinor, is at home. On the 19th of January, 1916, Dr. W. S. Rus- sell was again married, his second union being with Miss Kate Backes, of Wallingford. Their residence is at No. 176 North Main street, where the Doctor also has his office.
Politically Dr. Russell is independent, with democratic tendencies. He served as a member of the state legislature in 1883-4 but has since declined all public honors, his professional duties claiming practically his entire time and attention. In 1916 he was urged to accept the nomination for state senator from this district. Ile belongs to the New Haven Country Club and the Wallingford Country Club, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Congregational church. His life in all relations has been consistent with the highest standards and he enjoys the regard and esteem of professional colleagues and contemporaries.
JUDGE LEVERETT M. HUBBARD.
Judge Leverett M. Hubbard, who passed away on the ?th of December, 1906, was termed the foremost citizen of Wallingford, a position which he held not only by reason of his ability as a lawyer and business man but also owing to the fact that his uniform courtesy, his kindly nature and his public spirit gave him high rank in the circles of friendship and of citizenship. He was born on the 23d of April, 1849, in Durham, Connecticut, and was a son of the Rev. Eli and Georgiana (Leach) Hubbard. After acquiring a public school educa - tion in his native town he continued his studies in Wilbraham Academy and afterward became a student in the Wesleyan College, in which he won his Master of Arts degree. He prepared for the bar as a student in the Albany Law School at Albany, New York, and after his graduation there with the class of 1870 continued his law reading under the direction of the late Hon. Charles Ives of New Haven.
Judge Hubbard established his home in Wallingford in August, 1870, and began prac- ticing at the bar of New Haven county. No dreary novitiate awaited him. While ad- vancement at the bar is proverbially slow, he soon won recognition by reason of the thor- oughness with which he prepared his cases and his clear and concise reasoning before the courts. He practiced in partnersbip with Morris W. Tyler from 1874 until 1877 and was later associated with John W. Alling and E. P. Arvine. In addition to his law practice he figured prominently in financial circles. He became one of the promoters of the First National Bank of Wallingford and on its organization in 1881 was elected to the directorate, while for many years he served as its vice president. He was also a director of the Dime Savings Bank of Wallingford from 1884 until his death, was its vice president from 1890 until 1894 and was tben elected to the presidency, so continuing until his demise. He was likewise one of the incorporators of the Wallingford Gas Light Company, of which he continuously served as a director until 1899, when he severed his connection with that corporation.
Judge Hubbard was one of the stalwart leaders of the republican party in New Haven county and in its ranks his opinions carried large weight. He was appointed postmaster of Wallingford by President Grant in 1872 and by reappointment was continued in that position
172
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
until 1885, when following the accession of a democratic president, he resigned with three years of his last term to serve. He was elected to various public offices on the party ticket, was a member of the board of school visitors from 1874 until his death, was justice of the peace from 1878 until 1881 and was borough attorney and counsel for the town almost unin- terruptedly after 1870. With the establishment of a borough court in 1886 he was appointed to the position of judge through the unanimous vote of the state legislature and was reelected at cach successive term until 1897, when he retired from that position, having been elected by the general assembly judge of the court of common pleas for New Haven county. He re- mained upon the common pleas bench until 1905, making a most excellent record in that position. In 1886 he was unanimously nominated for secretary of state by the republican party and led his ticket at the election. While serving in that office there was prepared and published the first comprehensive "Register and Manual for the State of Connecticut," on which all subsequent editions have been modeled. He was frequently called upon for cam- paign service and did active work for his party in that connection in every campaign from 1876. He was a thorough student of political questions and his arguments were based, there- fore, upon a comprehensive understanding of the points which he discussed. He was made a delegate to the republican national convention in Chicago in 1888, when Benjamin Harrison was nominated for the presidency.
In May, 1873, Judge Hubbard was united in marriage to Miss Florence G. Ives, of Wall- ingford, and they became the parents of three sons and a daughter: Samuel, living in Wallingford; Leverett M. and Kenneth D., of East Orange, New Jersey; and Mrs. Frank Bacon Hancock, of Philadelphia. Judge and Mrs. Hubbard held membership in the First Congregational church, in the work of which he took an active and helpful part, filling a number of its official positions. The cause of education ever found in him a stalwart champion and in 1881 he was elected a trustee of the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in which position he continued up to the time of his death. He possessed notable oratorical power, being an eloquent, earnest and convincing speaker. Every cause for good found in him a champion, every movement for the public welfare an earnest supporter. Prominent as he was in the public life of the community and of the state, it is said that his best traits of character were reserved for his own fireside and that he was an ideal husband and father. Governor Woodruff at the time of his death expressed a general sentiment when he said: "The death of Judge Hubbard is a distinct loss to the community. He was a man of fine ability and a lovable character. He was the soul of courtesy and good nature. His public speeches at political conventions and elsewhere were gems of oratory. He had a marvelous command of the English language." Even those who opposed him politically entertained for him the highest respect, knowing the integrity of his opinions and of his character.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.