USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 66
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
John B. Tower was the fifth in order of birth in their family of seven children. He ar- quired a public school education in Brooklyn, New York, and at the age of sixteen years started out to earn his own livelihood, being first employed in the New York Produce Ex- change, for which he began working at a salary of four dollars per week. He next became connected with the John R. Rembert Company as bookkeeper and worked his way steadily upward until he was admitted to a partnership in the business in 1898, The business was originally established in New Haven in 1870 and the house is today one of the oldest in this line in New Haven, while in point of volume of trade its business is the largest in the state. Their store, which is situated in the Chamber of Commerce building at No. 181 Church street, has a floor space thirty-three by two hundred and eight feet and they carry a com- plete line of office supplies and equipment. employing on an average of twenty people to care for the trade. Their business is largely of a local nature, their sales covering New Haven and the surrounding towns. Upon the incorporation of the business in 1912. Mr. Tower way elected treasurer and general manager of the company and has since bent his energies to administrative direction and executive control.
On the 3d of March, 1903, Mr. Tower was married in Wallingford, Connecticut, to Miss Annie M. Nerdrum, a native of Wallingford and a daughter of Albert A. and Ella (Momm- borg) Nerdrum. The four children of this marriage are: John B., born December 24, 1903; Louise W., born May 15, 1906; Eleanor D., born July 8. 1908; and Albert K .. August 27. 1914. All were born in New Haven.
536
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
Mr. and Mrs. Tower are members of St. James Episcopal church and Mr. Tower is identi- fied with several fraternal and social organizations. He is a member of Hiram Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of Franklin Chapter, R. A. M. He belongs to the Quinnipiac and to the Auto- mobile Clubs and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. His military experience came to him through service as a member of Company F, Second Regiment of New Haven Grays. In politics he is a republican, and while he has never sought nor desired political office, lie formerly served for six years as a member of the school board of Westville. In business be is enterprising and alert. Itis fellow townsmen regard him as a dependable man in any relation and in any emergency. His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frank- ness and cordiality of address, with the total absence of anything sinister or anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and an habit- ual regard for what is best in the exercise of Imman activities.
R. GEORGE REES.
R. George Rees, undertaker and embalmer, is conducting one of the best establishments of this kind on Grand avenue in the Fair Haven section of New Haven. He was born March 9, 1884, in New Haven, a son of David Rees, a native of Wales, who came to America in 1875 and lived for a time in the west and south, where he engaged in business as a charcoal iron maker, having learned his trade in Wales. In 1880 he became a resident of New Haven, where he has since made his home and in later years he engaged in engineering but is now living retired. He married Ellen Willis, a native of Birmingham, England, who came to America in the later '70s and settled in New Haven, where she became the wife of Mr. Rees.
R. George Rees, the only son of this marriage, was educated in the public schools, which he attended to the age of fourteen and then started out to earn his own livelihood. He was first employed in the New Haven Iron and Steel Mills and followed that line of work for several years. Ile was afterward employed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road in the Northampton division shops and office, continuing there for three years. He was also employed in the freight office at New Haven for a short period and when he discon- tinued his connection with railroad service he entered the Meyers College of Embalming at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated. For a time he was employed by Lewis & Maycock, undertakers of New Haven, with whom he continued for three years, and in 1908 he accepted a position with the H. W. Crawford Company of New Haven. In 1913 he em- barked in business on his own account, purchasing the Crawford interests in connection with A. T. Smith, the firm style of Smith & Rees being then assumed. The business was con- ducted by them until September, 1915, when Mr. Rees purchased his partner's interest and is now sole proprietor. This establishment is today the second oldest in this line in New Haven, having been founded in 1853, and in volume of business ranks first in his section of the city, a liberal patronage being accorded. Mr. Rees has a most splendidly appointed undertaking establishment, which includes a chapel thirty-six by eighteen feet with a seat- ing capacity for eighty-five people. There is also an office and an embalming room and he has an automobile hearse. The place is modern in every respect and is second to none in its equipment in New England.
Mr. Rees has been married twice. In New Haven he wedded Eva Bilson, a native of Naugatuck and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Bilson, both now deceased. There were two children of that marriage: Willis E., born December 26, 1902; and Maude L., born January 23, 1904. The wife and mother passed away in New Haven, Connecticut. On the 1st of January, 1910, Mr. Rees was joined in wedlock to Miss Pearl Mead, a native of Bakers- field, Vermont, and a daughter of Delbert and Josephine (Tupper) Mead. She is a direct descendant of Francis Cook. The family was established in Massachusetts at a very early period. By the second marriage there are three children: Raymond MI., born August 5, 1912; Francis Cook. December 3. 1913; and Robert David, JJune 4, 1916.
In his political views Mr. Rees is a republican where national issues are involved hut casts an independent ballot at local elections He is a Mason, belonging to Adelphi Lodge,
537
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
No. 63, A. F. & A. M .; to Pulaski Chapter, R. A. M., of which he is treasurer; and to Craw- ford Council, R. & S. M. His wife is connected with the Daughters of Liberty and also with the Eastern Star. Their religious faith is that of the Congregational church. They are widely and favorably known, having a large circle of warm friends who esteem them highly for their many excellent traits of character. Mr. Rees has also made for himself a creditable position in business cireles, working his way steadily upward. He started out empty-handed and his advancement is attributable entirely to his elose application. his earnest purpose and his laudable ambition.
CLARENCE GILMAN SPALDING.
With thorough college training Clarence Gilman Spalding entered upon his chosen life work and is now president of the Spalding Drug Company, which owns and controls one of the leading drug stores of New Haven. He was born July 30, 1876, in the city which is still his home. His grandparents were Abial and Mary (Blanchard) Spalding, the former a graduate of Yale College with the Bachelor of Philosophy degree. His father, Warren A. Spalding was a native of Windsor, Vermont, and a descendant of an okl Vermont family of English lineage. The family was founded in America by John Spalding, who came to this country in 1660 and settled in Massachusetts. Some of the early ancestors were soldiers of the Revolutionary war.
Warren A. Spalding, the father of Clarence Gilman Spalding, was a graduate of Yale and was a druggist. He established the present business in 1872 and in the later years of his life he was the president of the Tradesman Bank of New Haven, thus becoming an active factor in the business circles of the city in which he lived. In politics he maintained an independent course but he took a very active and helpful part in civic matters and promoted the welfare of his city in every possible way. He served as president of the board of edu- cation and when New Haven wished to build a new postoffice at the corner of Court and Chapel streets he sold to the government that property which he owned, that the entire people might be benefited thereby, making the sale at eighty thousand dollars less than the actual value of the property. This was an indication of the civie spirit which ever prompted him, as he put forth the utmost effort to benefit New Haven in every possible way. He died in 1911, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Myra San- born, was the daughter of Gilman and Clara (Osgood) Sanborn. She died in 1909, at the age of sixty-two years. In their family were five children, all of whom are yet living. Henry is a lawyer practicing his profession in Philadelphia. Clarence is the next of the family. Edward B. is manager and president of the Gilbert Manufacturing Company of New Haven. Ruth L. is the wife of Otis Bigelow, a well known educator of Exeter, New Ihampshire Emily S. is the wife of S. C. Merwin, a wholesale auto dealer of New York.
At the usual age Clarence G. Spalding began his education as a public school pupil in New Haven, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school with the class of 1894. He then entered Yale and won the Bachelor of Philosophy degree with the class of 1898. He afterward graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine with the Ph. G. degree in 1900 and for three years he was a chemist with the Parke Davis Company of Detroit. On returning to New Haven he took up the business which his father had established and after three years purchased it. He has since incorporated it under the name of the Spalding Drug Company but he is the sole stockholder. He has a splendidly appointed store and his business methods are sneh as insure him a liberal patronage, for at all times he desires to please his patrons and is thoroughly reliable in his business methods.
On the 17th of February. 1914, Mr. Spalding was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. MeLaughlin, a native of New Haven and a daughter of John and Mary MeLaughlin, who were early settlers and representatives of a prominent family of this eity. They now have one son, John S. Spalding, who was born in New Haven, November 27, 1915.
Mr. Spalding is well known in this city, where his entire life has been passed, and his many excellent traits of character both as a man and as a citizen have brought him the high regard of all with whom he has come in contact. He belongs to the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and he is also a member of the Graduates Club. His religious faith is
538
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
indicated by his membership in the Calvary Baptist church. He has had military experience, having formerly been identified with the Governor's Foot Guard. He is alert and energetic, watchful of all opportunities pointing to success in business and of all opportunities point- ing to the development of the city, and he utilizes the latter just as readily and just as effectively as he does the former.
RUFUS RAYMOND FANCHER.
Rufus Raymond Fancher, the efficient chief of the fire department of New Haven, was born in Lewisboro, Westchester county, New York, January 10, 1861, a son of Cyrus and Elizabeth Fancher, the former a native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the latter of Corry, Pennsylvania. The family removed to Ridgefield during the infancy of R. R. Fancher who was educated in the district schools, which he attended for two winters only. He had to go to work when a little lad of but eleven years and was employed at form work for three or four years for his board and clothing. He afterward began learning the tinsmithing and plumbing trades under the direction of S. J. Barlow, of Ridgefield, and when he had thoroughly acquainted himself with the business he removed to Ansonia, Connecticut, where he spent two years.
At the age of twenty Mr. Fancher came to New Haven and worked at bis trade with Isaac Lounsberry for more than a year. He was also with the firm of Beardsley & Story for one year but since the 4th of April, 1882, has been connected with the fire department. On that date he was appointed a substitute of the department and in May, 1883, he resigned and again went to Ansonia, where he worked for P. T. Terry & Son, with whom he continued for a year. When he again eame to New Haven he secured a situation with W. A. T. Smith at his trade but resumed his connection with the fire department in September, 1885. On the 12th of January, 1886, he was made call man of hook and ladder com- pany No. 1 and on the 11th of January, 1887, he obtained his first permanent assign- men at Station No. 2. He was made captain on the 2d of January, 1889, of hook and ladder company No. 1 and on the 1st of February, 1897, was advanced to the position of assistant chief. He became fire marshal September 4, 1897, and on the 1st of September, 1898, was promoted to the position of chief, which he has occupied continuously since, covering almost two decades. His record is one over which there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. Alert, efficient, energetic, holding to high ideals, he has given to the city splendid service as fire chief. In a public speech in 1917, Mayor Campner paid this tribute to Chief Fancher: "Whether I am elected mayor or not, I want the people of New Haven to know that I feel that there is no city in the United States that can boast of a finer, braver or more efficient fire fighter than can New Haven in Chief Rufus R. Fancher. We can well be proud of our fire fighting force. The record of this department, particularly during the time Chief Fancher bas been its head. is one of the bright spots in New Haven's municipal his- tory. I feel it a privilege as the mayor of the city of New Haven, to have at the head of the fire department a man of his calibre, of his character and of his ability." In the New Haven Clock Company fire on the 22d of December, 1905, he sustained injuries which necessitated the amputation of his fingers on the right hand, the amputation being made May 8, 1906, five months after the fire. The cords in the hand had been cut during the fire, rendering the hand useless, so that amputation resulted.
Mr. Fancher is a very prominent and well known Mason, having attained the thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite. He belongs to Hiram Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Franklin Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M .; Harmony Council, No. 8, R. & S. M .; New Haven Commandery, No 2, K. T .; Princes of Jerusalem; Lafayette Consistory, S. P. R. S .; and Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He also has membership in the Knights Templar Club and is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he maintains an independent attitude, voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to party ties, considering only the capability of the candidate.
On the 2d of May, 1882, Mr. Fancher was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Baldwin, of New Haven, whose parents were early residents of Branford, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Fancher had two children: Alice Louise, who passed away on the 8th of May, 1898; and
RUFUS R. FANCHER
541
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
Edward R., who was educated in the public and high schools of New Haven. While his edu- cation was extremely limited, Mr. Fancher has made good use of his opportunities as the years have gone on and by broad reading and study, supplemented by wide experience, he has become a man of unusual intelligence-a cultured gentleman with whom association means expansion and elevation. His life experiences have been broad, he has thought deeply and his reasoning is ever clear and logical.
JOHN LIDDELL.
John Liddell is engaged in the grocery business in Meriden, ranking with the repre- sentative merchants of the city, and he is also active in community affairs as alderman from the third ward. He was born in Blantyre, Scotland, on the 26th of January, 1851, and is a son of John and Marion (Struthers) Liddell. He acquired a public school education and during his school days spent his vacation periods at work upon a farm. When his textbooks were put aside he secured employment in the Monleigh Dye Works, where he remained for four years. He afterward learned the blacksmith's trade under the direction of John Templeton and also mastered wagon making and other kinds of iron and wood work. He spent three years in the service of Mr. Templeton and afterward was employed in a foundry for one year. He next went to a shop in U'ddingston. Scotland. where he continued for two years and afterward was associated with John Grey & Company, engineers and manufacturers of implements of all kinds. There he was engaged in making the first steam plows ever manufactured. Many of these were shipped to the United States at that time.
Mr. Liddell worked at various places in the line of his trade, spending three years with the Canal Basin Engineer Company and six years with the Steward & Bridgton Com- pany. He was also with the Anchor Line for two years and then, on account of failing health, he crossed the Atlantic. arriving in Boston, Massachusetts. in July, 1881. From that point he made his way to Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he had friends, and later he located in Springfield. Massachusetts, where he entered the employ of the Boston & Albany Railroad Company. In October, 1882, he came to Meriden at the request of John Shaw, in whose employ he remained for fourteen and a half years. He afterward spent two years with the Charles Parker Company and about January, 1899, became associated with the Edward Miller Company, with which he has been connected since as superintendent of the blacksmithing department. This, however, is but one branch of his activity, for in 1908 he established a grocery store which he has since owned. although it is managed by his son and daughter. His has been an active and useful life and his untiring industry and indefatigable effort have brought to him a substantial measure of success.
On the 13th of July, 1877, Mr. Liddell was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lyon Orr, of Scotland. To them have been horn six children who are yet living. John, born in Seot- land, May 23, 1878, married Alva Anderson and occupies a responsible position in Wood- bridge, New Jersey. George, born in Scotland, June 10, 1880, married Miss Mary Ellen Sanderson and manages the grocery store for his father. Robert, now an office manager in Waterbury, Connecticut, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, September 13, 1882, and married Elsie Barnes, by whom he has two children, Esther, born January 2, 1916; and Robert, born in December, 1917. William, who was born in Meriden, November 12, 1884. and occupies a responsible position in Philadelphia. married Gertrude Kibner and they have one child, Elsie, born January 22, 1916. Marion, born in Meriden, September 30, 1890. assists in the management of the grocery store. Otis, born in Meriden, June 11, 1892, is employed in his native city. One child of the family, Mary, died when seven years of age.
Mr. Liddell is a consistent member of the Congregational church. He belongs to various Masonic bodies and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. For twenty years he has been treasurer in the Order of Foresters and for thirty years has been identified with the United Workmen. In politics he is a republican and was elected on that ticket to the board of aldermen in 1912 and is now serving for the third consecutive term from the third ward. He has made an excellent record as a public official. exercising his official pre rogatives in support of all well defined plan- and measures for the general good. His reelection proves his worth in this connection. His business activity has brought him
542
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
steadily forward in industrial and commercial relations and he has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for bere he has found the business opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has won a substantial measure of success. He is now a valued and respected citizen of Meriden, where he has many friends.
RIDGLEY LARKIN.
Various corporate interests profit by the enterprise and business ability of Ridgley Larkin, who, however, is perhaps best known as the president and treasurer of The David H. Clark Company, Inc., which is conducting the largest contracting and building business in New Haven county. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, having worked his way steadily upward from a humble beginning, and step by step he has reached the position which he now occupies as one of the most enterprising and successful business men of New Haven.
Mr. Larkin was born October 23, 1869, in Columbia. Missouri. a son of the late John E. Larkin, a native of Connecticut and a representative of one of the pioneer families of Kentucky. He traced his ancestry from General Tryon. one of the Revolutionary war governors of New York of English descent, who settled in the Empire state prior to the declaration of war and afterward became a resident of Kentucky. John E. Larkin was an architect and builder of Missouri and during the Civil war he entered the army with the Confederate troops under General Morgan and served throughout the entire period of hos- tilities. He was wounded in battle and during one of the engagements was taken prisoner, after which he was confined in a prison near Chicago until exchanged. He then reentered the service, in which he remained until the close of the war. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and he was a very prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, naming his son, the subject of this review, in honor of Mr. Ridgley, who was one of the first organizers of the Odd Fellows west of the Mississippi. The death of John E. Larkin occurred in Worcester, Massachusetts, November 20, 1914, when he was eighty years of age, his last days being spent in the home of his daughter. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Elizabeth Redd, was born in Palmyra, Missouri, and was a representative of one of the pioneer families of that state. Her father was the late Hon. John Redd, a prominent jurist and member of the state legislature. The death of Mrs. Larkin occurred in New Haven in 1904. In the family were three children, of whom two are living, the sister of our subject being Mary Elizabeth, the wife of W. E. Guertin, a resident of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Ridgley Larkin attended the schools of Columbia and of Palmyra, Missouri, and started out to earn his own living on attaining his majority. It was in 1892 that he came to New Haven, where be was first employed by David H. Clark in the capacity of a journeyman carpenter, having previously learned the trade under the direction of his father. He con- tinued to work as a journeyman for Mr. Clark for but a short time, as his ability was recognized and he was given charge of the mill. He next took up estimating and the general superintendence of the business and when the company was incorporated in 1904 be became one of the stockholders. His first official position was that of secretary, in which capacity he continued until 1910, when he was elected treasurer, and on the 30th of May, 1917, after purchasing the interest of Mr. Clark, who retired from the business, Mr. Larkin became the president and treasurer of the Clark Company, which had been organized in 1876 and which in point of operation is the largest general contracting company in the county and one of the largest in the state. The firm employs from one hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty workmen and in addition to conducting a general contracting and building business they also operate a mill, where they manufacture all their principal finishing materials and cabinet work. The reputation of the company is well deserved, for it is built upon thorough reliability, unfaltering enterprise and progressiveness. There is no feature of the building business with which Mr. Larkin is not thoroughly familiar from practical experience, and thus he is able to wisely and intelligently direct the efforts of the large number of workmen who are employed by the corporation. His efforts have not been confined alone to this line, however, for his forcefulness and resourcefulness are recognized
543
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
and have been sought in other directions. He is now a director of the Peoples Bank & Trust Company of New Haven and is serving on its executive committee. He is also a director of the New Haven Building & Loan Association and he is president of the Larkin- Carey Realty Company, a New Haven corporation. He is also a member of the advisory board of Boardman's Apprentice Shops, which is a part of the New Haven school system, and his connection therewith indicates the high respect entertained for his business judg- ment and thorough understanding of every feature connected with his trade.
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.