USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 50
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On the 19th of March, 1896, Mr. MeNeil was married to Miss Louise T. Johnston, of New Haven, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Johnston. They became parents of two daughters and a son: Ruth Johnston, who passed away in New Haven in 1901; Alice E., who was born March 5, 1899, and is now a post-graduate student at Dana Hall; and Virgil J., who was born in New Haven, December 12, 1905, and is studying at Hamden Hall.
Mr. McNeil is a veteran of the New Haven Grays. He has taken much interest in religions activities as a member of the Grand Avenue Congregational church, in which he has held all of the offices. He is also identified with the Young Men's Christian Association and the breadth of his interests is further indicated in the fact that he has membership with the Sons of the American Revolution, with the Quinnipiac Club, the New Haven, Yacht Club and the Pine Orchard Club. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he is well versed on the questions and issues of the day but does not desire nor seek office, preferring to direct his activities along other lines. His close application to business is bringing him prominently before the public as a representative of insurance circles and it is well known that he gives loyal support to many plans and measurex for the public good and in all things manifests a spirit of progressive citizenship.
REV. WILLIAM AGUR BEARDSLEY.
Rev. William Agur Beardsley, who for a quarter of a century has been rector of St. Thomas' Episcopal church at New Haven, was born on the 5th of May, 1865, in Stepney, Connecticut, in the town of Monroe. His parents were Agur and Elizabeth Ann (Lewis) Beardsley. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, was a man of influence in his town, which he represented in the state legislature. Ile was also actively interested in the schools and was a potent force in moral progress in the community, being a member and one of the vestrymen of St. Peter's Episcopal church of Monroe, where he spent his entire life.
His son, Rev. William A. Beardsley, attended the district schools in Stepney until he reached the age of fifteen years, when he became a student in the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire in January, 1881. He was graduated with valedictorian honors in June, 1883, and in the fall of that year entered Trinity College, from which he was graduated as salutatorian in 1887, at which time the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him, while in 1890 he received the Master of Arts degree. He then attended the Berkeley Divinity School and was graduated in 1890. He became a clergyman of the Episcopal church, being ordained deacon by Bishop John Williams on the 4th of June, 1890, and priest by the same bishop on the 18th of May, 1891. He became assistant in St. Thomas' church of New Haven on the 4th of June, 1890, and on the 18th of April, 1892, was made rector of the church, with which he has been continuously connected throughout the entire period of his pastoral service.
It was in St. Thomas' church, on the 23d of June, 1897, that Rev. Mr. Beardsley was united in marriage to Miss Alletta Hollister Warwick, a daughter of William Barksdale and Phoebe Warren (Douglas) Warwick, the former of Richmond, Virginia. Her father waa a major in the Confederate army, serving under General Fitzhugh Lee. To Rev. and Mrs. Beardsley has been born a son, Warwick Beardsley.
It may well be a matter of pride to Rev. Beardsley that he is descended from one of
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the oldest families of Connecticut, tracing the ancestral line back to William Beardsley, who was one of the first residents of Stratford and served as a deputy to the general court of Connecticut. He had four sons, John, Joseph, Samuel and Daniel, the second son being the dircet ancestor of the branch of the family to which Rev. Mr. Beardsley belongs. His own record is in harmony with that of an honored ancestry. In college he was graduated with honors in mathematics and Greek and became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and of the Psi Upsilon fraternities. His activities have been far-reaching and of marked effect along many lines of progress. For twenty-two years he has been secretary and treasurer of the New Haven archdeaconry and in 1910 was appointed examining chaplain of the diocese, while in 1917 he was made secretary of the board of examiners. He is a trustee of the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, which position he has occupied since 1899, and since 1906 he has been secretary of its board. He was deputy to the general convention of the Episcopal church held in St. Louis in 1916, and was made a trustee of the Berkeley Divinity School in 1915. At the diocesan convention held in June, 1917, he was appointed chairman of the committee on constitution and canons, was elected registrar of the diocese and also a member of the Standing Committee. Since 1913 be has been president of the New Haven Colony Historical Society and in 1916 he edited and published "A General Catalogue of the Officers, Teachers and Alumni of the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut."
NATHAN BEACH STONE, LL. B., M. S. A.
Nathan Beach Stone, president of the Stone Business College, is stamping his intensely practical ideas upon the educational system of the state. Such careers are too near us now for their significance to be appraised at its true value, but the future will be able to trace the tremendous effect of their labors upon the society and the institutions of their times. Mr. Stone brings to his work a habit of study and research that enables him quickly to recognize the needs of the hour in the training of the young and he has displayed a spirit of marked initiative in planning the work of the school.
A native of Connecticut, he was born in Cheshire, July 9, 1882, a son of Rienzi H. Stone, who was born at West Cornwall, Litchfield county, Connecticut, and was a repre- sentative of one of the old families of the state, of English lineage, founded on this side the Atlantic by Dr. Samuel Stone, of Hereford, England, who came to the new world in the early part of the seventeenth century. He established his home at Hartford Connecti- cut, while his two sons, John and William, became residents of Guilford in 1639 and were members of Governor Leete's colony. There both devoted their lives to agricultural pur- suits and John Stone became the first constable of his town. History shows that several of his descendants took part in the Revolutionary war and one of them captured several British soldiers. Later descendants have been more or less prominent and active in state and national affairs and the Stone family, moreover, is connected with many of the other notable families of the state. Rienzi H. Stone devoted years of his active business career to agricultural pursuits, but is now living retired at Wallingford, Connecticut. He was elected from Cheshire to represent his district in the state legislature and in other ways has left the impress of his individuality upon the upbuilding and further development of the state. He married Esther Lucy Beach, who was born in Wallingford, a daughter of Nathan Beach and a direct descendant of Jason Beach, who was of English birth and settled at Milford in 1638. Mr. and Mrs. Rienzi Stone became the parents of two sons and a daughter: Carrie Lucy, the wife of Clinton Peck, of West Cheshire, Connecticut; Walter Howard, who is con- nected with the Oakville Pin Company of Oakville, Connecticut; and Nathan Beach.
The early educational opportunities accorded Nathan Beach Stone were those offered by the public schools and the high school of his native town. He later received instruction in the Yale Business College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901, while in the Yale Law School he won his LL. B. degree in 1911. His first position was that of office manager with the Cutaway Harrow Company of Higganum, Connecticut, exporters of farm implements, with whom he remained for a year. For a time he was connected with the cir- culation department of the Pacific Monthly Magazine at Portland, Oregon, and later became associated with the Pike Manufacturing Company in a secretarial position. He purchased
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the Yale Business College and has since been at the head of that educational institution, which is now conducted under the name of the Stone Business College. The school has an annual enrollment of five hundred students, and is the largest as well as the oldest business college of the state, having been established in 1864. Ite was one of the founders of a school of law, and afterwards organized a school of auditing and accounting, conducted in connection with the Stone Business College. Instruction is also given in business law. The school is situated at No. 116 Church street, occupying two floors of the Glebe building and covering approximately twelve thousand square feet. It is equipped with all modern facilities for teaching and has graduated many men who today rank high in public and business life, including mayors, senators and others.
On the 26th of April, 1907, in New York city, Mr. Stone was married to Miss Katharine Jane Littell, a native of Winfield, Kansas, and a daughter of the late Stephen Littell, of an old family of Albany, New York. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Evelyn Grey, was a direct descendant of the Greys and Wallaces, prominent in Scotch history. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stone: Nathan B., born in New Haven, April 22, 1910; and Littell Rogers, born July 29, 1911.
Mrs. Stone is a member of the New Haven Bird Club of the Woman's Club and is also active in church and charitable work. Mr. Stone also takes a helpful interest in religious and benevolent activities and is foremost in support of those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. He is a director of the Chamber of Commerce and has been president of the New Haven Publicity Club, of the John and William Stone Association and the Commercial Business Educators' Association. IIe belongs to Hiram Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M., of New Haven and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party, while both he and his wife hold membership in the Plymouth Congregational church. They are highly esteemed in those social circles where intelligence and true worth are accepted as the passports into good society. Mr. Stone had the honor of being chosen one of thirty five out of New Haven's 175,000 population to serve on the citizen's commmittee having in charge the Yale Bi-centennial celebration.
MILES BLACKSTONE.
Miles Blackstone was for years an active and honored resident of the town of Branford, where he was prominently connected with agricultural interests. He was born April 1, 1806, and was a descendant in direct line of the Rev. William Blackstone, who was a gradu- ate of Emanuel College at Cambridge, England, and became one of the earliest residents of Boston, where he was made a freeman in 1671. The line of descent comes on down through John Blackstone, who settled in Branford about 1717, and who was the father of John Blackstone (II). He in turn was the father of John Blackstone (III), whose son, Timothy Blackstone, became a well known representative agriculturist of Branford. He married Mar- garet Goodrich and they became the parents of seven children: Eunice, who married Charles Harrison; James, who married Sarah Beach; Grace, who became the wife of Andrew Hop- son; Willis, who wedded Lucinda Hoadley; Samuel; Nancy; and Miles.
The last named spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Branford and was indebted to the public school system of the locality for the educational opportunities which he en - joyed and which qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties. He was early trained to farm work and became much interested in that pursuit, which he chose as a life vocation. He concentrated his entire time and attention upon farming and kept in touch with the most progressive methods of planting and developing his crops. Industry, economy and unswerving integrity were among his sterling traits and brought to him a gratifying measure of success as the years passed on. He brought his fields under a high state of cul- tivation and added to his place many modern improvements. The latest machinery was used to facilitate the work of the fields and his labors were at all times most intelligently directed, 80 that substantial results followed his work.
Miles Blackstone was united in marriage to Miss Lois Robinson, a daughter of Linus and Rebecca (Hobart) Robinson and a granddaughter of Mason Hobart, who was one of the earliest settlers of Branford, where the Robinsons were also a well known family. Mr. and
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Mrs. Miles Blackstone became the parents of five children: Elizur, who died at the age of two years; Betsey J .; Edwin E., a farmer who died unmarried at the age of fifty-eight years; Grace R., who became the wife of William H. Warner; and Sarah, who died at the age of thirty-one.
The death of the father occurred March 29, 1875. He passed away in the faith of the Episcopal church, of which he had long been a devoted member. He always attended the church services and contributed liberally to its support. His political endorsement was given to the republican party and he kept well informed on the issues of the day, which he studied closely, so that he was able to support his position by intelligent argument. Of him a con- temporary biographer has written: "Mr. Blackstone was a most unassuming and modest gentleman of the old school, with a kindly heart, and was greatly honored and respected in the community in which he lived."
RICHARD G. DAVIS.
New Haven has enjoyed a period of notable growth along business lines and among those who have been active in advancing its commercial expansion is Richard G. Davis, who is at the head of the firm of R. G. Davis & Sons, wholesale and retail dealers in flour, grain, feed, hay and other products. He was born in Guilford, Connecticut, July 27, 1850, and is a son of Daniel L. Davis, who was also born in Guilford, as was the grandfather, Joel Davis. The family is of Scotch origin and was planted on American soil by Benjamin Davis, who came from Scotland early in the seventeenth century and settled at Southould on Long Island. James Davis, the son of Benjamin Davis, was born there May 28, 1726, and in 1776 removed with his family to Guilford. He valiantly espoused the cause of the colonists in the struggle for independence and was wounded at Point Rock. He served as a private under Captain Sage, of Middletown, Connecticut, and after the close of the war was granted a pension of twenty-five dollars and twenty-five cents per annum. In early life he became a sailor and followed seafaring while living on Long Island. He afterward took up carpentering and became a honse joiner, serving a regular apprenticeship to that trade during the period of the Revolutionary war. Subsequently he continued to work in that line until his demise. Daniel L. Davis, father of Richard G. Davis, took up the occupation of farming and also engaged in mechanical pursuits, building houses, working at the wagon maker's trade and doing other kinds of labor that called for mechanical skill and ingenuity. The same spirit of patriotism which prompted the enlistment of his ancestor in the Revolutionary war led him to join the Union army, with which he served as a drummer of Company E. First Con- mecticut Regiment. Illness, however, soon forced him to return home. He married Lucy Ann Griswold, a native of Guilford, Connecticut, and a daughter of Joel and Polly (Bartlett) Griswold, both representatives of Connecticut families of English descent which were early established in the new world. Both Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Davis have passed away. The former, who was born July 1. 1820, died in 1896 at the age of seventy-six years, while Mrs. Davis departed this life in 1904 at the age of eighty-four years. In the family were two children, Richard G. and Theodore L., both living in New Haven.
Richard G. Davis had the usual experiences of the farm-bred boy, being reared on the old family homestead, the summer months being devoted to the work of the fields, while during the remainder of the year he pursued his education in the public and high schools of Guilford. When a youth of nineteen he severed home ties in order to start out in life in- dependently. After serving an apprenticeship of three years at the carpenter's trade he began work as a journeyman and was thus employed for three years. On the expiration of that period he began contracting and building on his own account and continued in that field of labor for a year. On the 1st of December, 1876, however, he entered the commercial field as a retail dealer in flour and feed at No. 538 Grand avenue. While his capital was small and he had to establish the business on a limited scale, he has since developed his interests until he has now the largest retail feed business in the state. His present plant at Nos. 353-357 East street includes the office and warehouse, while the elevator and mill are at Nos. 552-556 Grand avenue. The latter building has a floor space eighty by one hundred and thirty-six and a half feet. while the other building is sixty-nine by one hundred and
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twenty-two feet. The company employs thirty people and their trade extends throughout New England. Mr. Davis has admitted his sons to a partnership and they are now actively associated with him in the conduct of the enterprise. The firm is miller's agents for the "Ben Hur" and "Jones Superlative" flours and they handle grain, feed, hay and straw in addition to flour. Mr. Davis is also a director of the Second National Bank of New Haven.
It was on the 19th of December, 1876, at Fairhaven, Connecticut. that Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Minnie R. Hemingway, a daughter of Harvey F. Hemingway, and they have three children, Harvey Hemingway, Louie L. and Jessie L. The eldest son has been associated with his father in business for the past seventeen years.
Mr. Davis is a stalwart republican and for three years he served as alderman from the fourteenth ward, being elected to that position when the ward was annexed to the city. He has taken an active interest in politics and in civic affairs and his influence is always on the side of progress and improvement. He holds membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, his elaim being established through his descent in the maternal line from Cap- tain Samuel Lee. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite Mason and his religious faith is that of the Congregational church. He belongs to the Pilgrim church of New Haven, of which for the past twenty years he has been deacon. His has been a useful and well spent life and while he started out in the business world without actual previous business experience, his well directed efforts have made him a prosperous and influential merchant.
ABRAHAM PODOLOFF.
Active in the field of real estate and insurance, with offices at 865 Chapel street, Abraham Podoloil has directed his activities in that field of labor since 1902 and has made steady progress through close application, intense activity and keen sagacity. His position in business circles is now a most ereditable and enviable one. Ile was born in Russia, January 18, 1867, a son of Solomon and Bessie Podoloff, both of whom are now deceased.
In his native country Abraham Podoloff was reared and educated, and in 1891. when a young man of twenty-four years, he sailed for America, feeling that he might enjoy better opportunities in the new world than could be obtained in his native country. For two years or more he was employed at Port Jefferson. Long Island, and in July, 1894, came to New Ilaven, where he has since made his home. He started in business here as a dealer in oil, peddling from a wagon, and he continued in that field for eight years, his patronage steadily increasing until from his earnings he had saved enough to embark in the real estate busi- ness. In 1902 he opened his first office in the Poli building but for fourteen years he has been at his present location at 865 Chapel street. He represents a number of the most reliable insurance companies, being agent for the Union Assurance Company of London, the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, the Great Eastern Casualty Company of New York city, the Casualty Company of New York and Baltimore, and the County Fire In- surance Company of Philadelphia. Ilis business has reached gratifying proportions and he writes a large number of policies annually, so that snecess in substantial measure is now his.
Mr. Podoloff was married in Russia in 1890 to Miss Dora Chernoff, whose parents are still residents of Russia. They have five children: Maurice, who is a graduate of the Yale Law School and is now practicing in New Haven; David, who was graduated from the Columbia University as an architect with the class of 1916; Jacob, who was graduated from Yale Academy in 1915; Nathan, who was graduated from Yale in 1916 and pursued a post graduate course in Sheffield school, graduating with honors in 1917; and Lena, who, having completed the high school course in New Haven, is now a student in Wellesley College and member of the class of 1919. Mr. Podoloff has every reason to be proud of his family for they are a family of musicians, possessing much more than ordinary talent in that line. Two of the sons, Maurice and Jacob, are members of the band of the Governor's Foot Guard, and Nathan's services as a musician are in great demand at social functions, while David played in the college dining room. The daughter was graduated at the head of her class in the high school, is noted for her proficiency in stenography and typewriting and is an accomplished pianist.
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Mr. Podoloff belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Inde- pendent Order of B'nai B'rith and the Knights of Israel. He is also identified with the Chamber of Commerce, the real estate board and the local underwriters board, and is well known in business circles of the eity as a prominent factor in his chosen field. In politics he is an independent republican. He does not feel himself bound by party ties yet is usually a supporter of republican principles. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world and, having voluntarily chosen to make America his home, he has been loyal to the country, to its institutions, its purposes and its ideals.
EDWARD PATRICK O'MEARA.
Edward Patrick O'Meara, an attorney at law of New Haven, was born January 6, 1875, in the city where he still resides. His father, Edward O'Meara, a native of Ireland, crossed the Atlantic in 1861 and established his home in New Haven. For half a century he was connected with the Edward Malley Company and the Gamble Desmond Company, his association with the latter covering thirty-five years as expert silk buyer. He retired in March, 1917, to enjoy a rest which he had truly earned and richly deserves. In early man- hood he wedded Mary Camilus Healey, a native of New Haven, and a daughter of Dennis and Honora Healey. She passed away in New Haven, February 20. 1913, at the age of sixty-nine years. By her marriage she had become the mother of four children, of whom three are living. Edward Patrick, May J. and Catherine.
Edward Patriek O'Meara received his professional training in the Yale Law School, being mimbered among its alumni of 1899, in which year the LL. B. degree was conferred upon him. Prior to entering upon preparation for the bar, however, he was employed by the Gamble Desmond Dry Goods Company, but not finding mercantile pursuits to his liking and believing that he would secure a more congenial field in law practice, he resigned his position in the dry goods store after four years of service there and entered the law de- partment of Yale. Immediately following his gradnation he entered the office of Charles S. Hamilton, with whom he was associated for three years, and since that time he has been alone in practice. His ability has brought him prominently before the public. It is a recog- nized faet that advancement at the bar is proverbially slow, and yet Mr. O'Meara has made substantial progress in his chosen field, having early demonstrated his ability to cope with involved and complex legal problems. Ile enjoys the warm regard of his fellow practitioners of New Haven because he has always been careful to conform in practice to a high standard of professional ethics. He belongs to the New Haven County, the Connecticut State and the American Bar Associations. He also has business interests outside of the strict path of his profession. being one of the directors and vice president of the Cronin Coal Company and also of the William J. Shechan Company, Incorporated.
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