USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 78
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occupies the position for the fifth term. He has given to the town a businesslike and pro- gressive administration, working for the welfare and upbuilding of Wallingford and institut- ing various measures which have been of great publie benefit. At one time he also filled the position of member of the board of education of the town of Cheshire for three years. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Holy Trinity Catholic church, while fraternally he is connected with the Eagles. A lifelong resident of Connecticut, he is re- garded as a man of substantial worth who has rendered to his community valuable publie service, while in business circles he has won the advancement that comes as the legitimate reward of unfaltering industry and thorough reliability.
FREDERICK D. SHUMWAY.
Frederick D. Shumway, a real estate dealer of New Haven, was born in Westville, Con- neetient, March 18, 1862, a son of the late Dwight Shumway, a native of New Haven. His grandfather, Marcus Shumway, removed from Mansfield, Connecticut, to New Haven in 1836 and was for forty years connected with the Blake Company as head of the foundry depart- ment. He traced his ancestry back to two brothers, Elijah and John Shumway, who came to America from France and settled at Groton, Massachusetts, Elijah being the progenitor of the branch of the family to which Dwight Shumway belonged. Marens Shumway not only took an active part in the business development of New Haven but was also a prominent factor in its moral progress, and was one of the three who organized and built the First Methodist church of Westville, his associates in the undertaking being L. W. Peek and Lucius Parker. For many years Mr. Shumway served as deacon of the church and was most help- fully interested in religious work. During the gold excitement in California he fitted out a ship which sailed for the Pacific coast, but after a brief period spent in the far west returned to New Haven. His interests were many.
For a long period, Dwight Shumway, the father of F. D. Shumway, conducted a photo- graphic studio in New Haven with good success. He was also very fond of fine horses, in which he took the greatest delight and he owned many of the best to be found in this sec- tion of the state. In a word, his was a many sided nature in which the interests of life were well balanced, and his activities made him the strong center of the community in which he lived. He died in New Haven in 1907 at the age of sixty-nine years, while his wife passed away in 1870 at the age of thirty years. She bore the maiden name of Martha Terrell and was a native of Connecticut, her parents being Solomon and Deborah Terrell. The former was a prominent stone mason of New Haven. The Terrell family is of English descent. George Terrell, a brother of Mrs. Shumway, in the early days operated a stage line from Westville to New Haven and was a well known character at that period, having a host of warm friends among the prominent people of his time.
Frederick D. Shumway, in his early boyhood, was sent as a pupil to the Wiggins school at 257 Blake street, which was conducted by a Mrs. Blake, who numbered among her pupils the children of many of New Haven county's most prominent families, including May Mor- ris, who has since become the wife of Dr. Arthur T. Hadley, president of Yale University. Mr. Shumway also attended the Francis Benton school at Westville, where he completed his education. At the age of sixteen years he started out independently to earn his liveli- hood, and was first employed in the grocery store of Dwight Bradley, a leading merehant of Westville, with whom he remained for a number of years, becoming thoroughly acquainted with modern commercial methods. He then came to New Haven, where he was first employed by George A. Dickerman, a florist and vegetable dealer. He afterward entered business on his own account in the same store building, as a partner of C. W. Fellows, who was formerly a superintendent of schools at Westville. The mercantile business was established under the firm style of C. W. Fellows & Company and was thus conducted for five years, when Mr. Fellows retired, Mr. Shumway purchasing his interest. He then admitted Hiram Smith to a partnership under the firm name of Shumway & Smith, but subsequently he bought the interest of Mr. Smith and conducted the business alone for several years, after which he sold out to a Mr. Jameson. During the succeeding eight years he was a traveling salesman with the Pratt Food Company of Philadelphia, covering eight states. On his retirement
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from that position he entered the manufacturing business, continuing in the manufacture of the Witch toilet soap until 1899. He then turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he has since continued, and for the past fifteen years he has maintained his office in the First National Bank building of New Haven. He has erected many homes and has also opened the Whalley avenue addition between Whittlesey avenue and Young street. He also opened up an addition on Truman street in connection with E. L. Nettleton of Milford, Connecticut, and his operations as real estate dealer and speculative builder have not only brought him substantial success but have also constituted an important element in the fur- ther development and upbuilding of New Haven and this section. Mr. Shumway is inter- ested in a six hundred and forty acre wheat farm near Garfield, in Pawnee county, Nebraska, conducted by Mrs. Shumway, who is a successful business woman. Mr. Shumway belongs to the New Haven realty board and is accounted one of the foremost representatives of real estate dealing in this section. At present he is engaged in opening up and selling a tract of land known as the Fowler estate, at the end of the Whalley avenue trolley line in New Haven where he is erecting modern buildings and establishing a colony of substantial cit- izens.
On the 20th of May, 1887, Mr. Shumway was married to Miss Alida IIall, a daughter of G. and Caroline (Treadway) Hall, both representatives of old and prominent Connecticut families. Mr. and Mrs. Shumway have a daughter, Marian, the wife of George Preston Wright. She was born in 1897 and has one daughter, Caroline A., born in New Haven in April, 1917.
Mr. and Mrs. Shumway hold membership in the Summerfield Methodist church and in politics he maintains an independent course. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and cooperates in all those plans of the organization which have to do with the upbuilding of the city and the extension of its trade relations. His own business affairs have been conducted along lines that have contributed to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual success, and his worth as a man and citizen is widely acknowledged.
WALTER S. HINE.
Walter S. Hine has devoted his life to farming and the success which he has gained is indicated by the fact that he is recognized as one of the most up-to-date and pros- perous agriculturists in the town of Orange. His birth there occurred September 19, 1863. and he is a son of George T. Hine, who was also a well known farmer. He specialized in the feeding and shipping of stock and was an expert in that business. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist and in politics he was identified with the republican party. For generations the Hine family have lived in this section and have been prom- inent in local affairs.
Walter S. Hine was reared at home and received good educational advantages. The training along agricultural lines which his father gave him well prepared him to engage in farming on his own account and in 1891 he became his father's partner. He has con- tinued to operate the home place and also gives much attention to the feeding of stock. He also has a large dairy, which is conducted along the most up-to-date lines and is pro- vided with every new device that has been invented to facilitate the work and safeguard the purity of the milk. He raises annually large crops of hay, corn and potatoes, and the income which he derives from his two hundred acres of land is a highly gratifying one. Much of his success is due to his methodical habits and to his willingness to adopt new methods and implements.
On April 18, 1889. Mr. Hine was united in marriage to Miss Cora A. Treat, of Orange. who is also a descendant of an old and highly respected Connecticut family. To them have been born five children: Wynola C .. George T., William E., Walter A. and Fredrick J.
Mr. Hine is an active worker in behalf of the republican party but has not sought office. Much of his time, outside of that given to his private affairs, has been devoted to the discharge of his duties as overseer of the state roads, which position he has filled for twenty-five years. During that time the roads under his care have been maintained in excellent condition and he has received the commendation of those who know his work in
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that connection. He has held all of the offices in the local Grange and several in the state organization. He is also very much interested in the Farm Bureau and has done much toward the establishment of the Young Men's Christian Association camp in Orange. He is a prominent member of the Congregational church and was formerly serving on the ecclesias- tical committee, having charge of its business affairs, and is now church collector.
WILLIAM RAVENSCROFT HOPPEN.
William Ravenscroft Hoppen, vice president and treasurer of the Hessel & Hoppen Company, wholesale dealers in electrical supplies and automobile accessories at Nos. 30-36 Crown street, in New Haven, was born July 8, 1870, in the city which is still his home. His father, Daniel M. Hoppen, a native of Prospect, Connecticut., belonged to a family long represented in this state, the ancestral line being traced back to the early part of the seventeenth century, when a representative of the name came from England to the new world. The paternal grandparents were Andrew Hull and Sarah (Russell) Hoppen, of an old Branford family, and it was in the home of Samuel Russell that the plans were perfected for organizing Yale University and there the first library for Yale was started. The Russells were from England and the family was represented in the Revolutionary war by Colonel Russell, who did valiant service for the American cause. Daniel M. Hoppen was a dry goods merchant of New Haven . for many years, conducting business under the firm name of Hoppen & Deming, but at the time of the Civil war he put aside business and personal considerations and joined the army, enlisting as a member of Company A, Eighth New York Volunteers, at the first call for three months' troops. He died in New Haven in 1885 at the comparatively early age of forty-five years. His wife survived him for three decades and passed away in Litchfield, Connecticut, in November, 1915, at the age of seventy- five years. In their family were three children: Lewis A., who died at the age of eight years; William R .; and May Myrtle, now a teacher in the high school of Newark, New Jersey.
William R. Hoppen passed through consecutive grades in the public schools of New Haven until he left the high school to earn his own living following the death of his father, which occurred when the son was a youth of fifteen years. He was first employed by the firm of Brooks & Company in the retail hat business, remaining with that house for three years. Later he studied stenography and removed to South Windham, Connecti- cut, where he became associated with the Smith-Winchester Company, occupying an office position. He was later with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company as chief clerk in the electrical department, continuing in this line for ten years and there learning the fundamentals of the electrical business. Later he resigned his position and hecame a traveling salesman for the Pettingill-Andrews Company, a wholesale electrical supply house of Boston, which he thus represented for four years. In 1911 his present busi- ness was established and immediately incorporated. It was begun on a comparatively small scale but has been developed along substantial lines until the house now controls one of the largest trades of the kind in the state. In fact, the business extends all over New England and also over New York and the company is represented on the road by several traveling salesmen, while in the office there are twenty-five employes. The plant has a floor space of twenty thousand square feet and the firm carries everything in the way of electrical devices and automobile accessories. The business has been developed along most substantial lines, resulting from a close study of the trade and a recognition of the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.
On the 16th of October, 1892, Mr. Hoppen was married in New Haven to Miss Maude E. Goodwin, a native of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and a daughter of Frederick T. and Annie (Richmond) Goodwin. The Goodwins were an old New England family, while the Rich- monds were of a well known family of Virginia, and both are of English extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Hoppen have two children: Russell Goodwin, born in New Haven, August 29, 1904; and Ruth Goodwin, born on the 14th of May, 1911.
Politically Mr. Hoppen is a republican but is not an active party worker. He belongs to the Dwight Place Congregational church and is president of its men's class. His military
RAMIG
WILLIAM R. HOPPEN
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record covers six years' service in the New Haven Grays, in which he was a corporal. His fraternal connections are with the Masons and he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He also belongs to the Union League and the Automobile clubs, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, being in full sympathy with its purposes and projects for upbuilding civic standards, extending trade relations and otherwise upbuilding the interests of New Haven. He is a singularly modest man, but his friends, and they are many, speak of him in terms of the highest regard. His activities indicate the breadth of his interests and he supports those activities which are most worth while.
FRANK C. GRUSSI.
Frank C. Grussi, a well known contractor of Meriden, who since 1912 has been engaged in the plumbing business on his own account, was born on the 28th of January, 1892, a son of Frank and Josephine (Slick) Grussi. The mother died in 1906. The father has for thirty- five years been a resident of Meriden and for a long period has heen foreman of the glass de- partment of the American Silver Plate Company, now a branch of the International Silver Company. Prospering as the years have gone by, he has accumulated considerable proper- ty in Meriden.
Frank C. Grussi attended St. Mary's parochial school and also the Franklin Street gram- mar school of Meriden and, starting out in the husiness world, obtained a situation with the Meriden Firearms Company, now the Westinghouse Company. He spent a short time with that concern and about six months with the Edward Miller Company, after which he began work for the Bradner-Lynch Company, with which he continued for four years and during that period he thoroughly learned the plumbing and heating business in every detail. He is an expert workman, so that he is able to carefully direct the labors of others and to know exactly what should be done and how to do it. In 1912 he began business on his own ac- count at his present location on Franklin street and he now has four employes. He has done much work in Meriden, having had the plumbing contracts for Dr. Tait's home, the Dono- van residence, four houses for W. F. Miller, the residence of Mr. Muir at Bradley Park, three houses for C. H. Dearing, three houses for W. J. Fitzgerald, one for Frank Carroll, three for Brenner Brothers, three for Frank Grussi, the plumbing system in three houses for Mrs. Kosiske, the plumbing system in the Suzio home and in three of the Higginson houses and others. His business has constantly grown in volume and importance and makes heavy de- mands upon his time and energies.
Mr. Grussi is a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church. His political endorsement is given to the republican party but he does not seek office, for his time and attention are fully occupied by his growing business interests.
LOUIS C. DREHER.
Louis C. Dreher, who is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Meriden, as a member of the firm of Strickland & Dreher, was born December 20, 1864, in the city where he still resides, his parents being Louis and Augusta Dreher. both of whom have passed away. The father was a very prominent and wealthy resident of Meriden and was a charter member of the Meriden Mutual Aid Society.
After attending the public schools of Meriden. Louis C. Dreher continued his education in the Hartford (Conn.) Business College. He started in the business world with the Mer- iden Britannia Company and spent five years in the engraving department. He afterward traveled for Fahy's Watch Case Company for about sixteen years and in 1912 turned his attention to the insurance business under the firm name of Strickland & Dreher, in which he is now engaged, occupying a central place on the stage of activity along that line. He represents the following companies: the Ocean Accident Insurance Company, the Coop- erative Insurance Company, the Newark Fire Insurance Company, the National Surety Company, the Palatine Insurance Company, the Standard Fire Insurance Company. the
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A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
Law, Union and Rock Insurance Company, the Imperial Assurance Company, the Mutual Plate Glass Insurance Company, the Camden Fire Insurance Company, the Northwestern Na- tional Fire Insurance Company, the Merchants and Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Com- . pany, the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Alliance Insurance Company, the Mercantile Marine Insurance Company, the Georgia Fire Underwriters, the Urban Fire Insurance Company, the Commerce Insurance Company, the Globe & Rutgers Insurance Company, the Peoples National Fire Insurance Company, the Gerard Fire Insurance Com- pany, the Humboldt Insurance Company and the Maryland Casualty Company. In the past three years Mr. Dreher has purchased several other agencies. In January, 1916, he bonght the business of the M. J. Reynolds Company and about the same time bought out the C. H. L. Moore Company. In May, 1917, he purchased the insurance agency of W. 0. Stowell. He conducts business in partnership with John N. Strickland and the firm of Strickland & Dreher occupies a most prominent position in insurance circles in New England. He also is vice president and a director of the Puritan Trust Company.
In Sag Harbor. Maine, Mr. Dreher was united in marriage to Miss Harriet W. Dicker- son. They are members of the Congregational church and Mr. Dreher has membership in the Colonial Club and the Cosmopolitan Club. He is a member of the Auto Naval Coast Patrol, is chairman of the board of relief and is otherwise identified with public interests of importance. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has been a member of the common council. He is serving on the ward committee, also on the claim committee and the street committee, and he exercises his official prerogatives in support of many well defined plans and measures to advance the interests of the city and uphold its civic standards.
JAMES DANIEL GOLDSMITH.
New Haven county lost one of its most valued and representative farmers when James Daniel Goldsmith was called to his final rest. He had been a worthy and respected citizen as well as a leading agriculturist and all who knew him entertained for him warm regard.
He was born in Guilford, Connecticut, December 24. 1833, a son of Daniel Case and Laura (Frisbie) Goldsmith. The father was born on the same farm where occurred the birth of his son, James D., and which is still being cultivated by the sons of the latter Daniel C. Goldsmith devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits, always retaining his residence upon the old homestead, where he passed away at the age of eighty years. He was widely known and highly respected and his genuine worth endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. His wife was born in Branford and spent her last days there.
James D. Goldsmith acquired his education in the schools of Guilford and his training was that of the farmbred boy who divides his time between the duties of the schoolroom. the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. As the years passed h? be- came more and more familiar with farm work and the best methods of cultivating and caring for the crops and, when his father died, the farm, which was one of the largest in Guilford, was divided, James D. Goldsmith receiving one half. while the other half went to his brother, John. Upon the further development and cultivation of the plac. James D. Goldsmith concentrated his efforts and brought his fields under a very high state of improvement. Everything about his place indicated his thrift and his practical and pro- gressive methods and he annually gathered good harvests which brought to him a sub- stantial financial return.
On the 20th of February, 1860, in Branford, Connecticut Mr. Goldsmith was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Baldwin, who still occupies the homestead farm. She is a daughter of Arvah and Harriet (Carpenter) Baldwin. Her father was born in Putnam county, New York, and was a member of the okl Baldwin family of that section of the country. He followed the occupation of farming in Putnam county until 1851, when he removed with his family to Guilford and purchased the ohl Colonel Fowler farm, which he continued to improve and eultivate until 1869. His wife was born in the Scrub Oak Plains distriet of Yorktown, Westchester county, New York, and spent her last days in Guilford. To Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith were born seven children: Eva Baldwin, who is the widow of
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John B. Hubbard, of Guilford; Minnie, the deceased wife of Eber G. Fisher, a farmer of Guilford; Leon, who died in infancy; Laura, the widow of Howard Clayton. of Guilford: Charles Baldwin, a farmer of Branford, who married Fannie Pahuer; Jeunic, the wife of Theron W. Fenner, of East River, Connecticut : and Walter Carpenter Baldwin, who married Miss Lillian Kelsey, of Guilford, and is cultivating the old home place.
In his political views Mr. Goldsmith was a stalwart democrat. always voting for the men and measures of the party, and he served as a selectman of the town of Guilford. He belonged also to the Baptist church and its teachings guided him in all of his life's relations. At one time he was a member of Battery E of the Tenth Connecticut Field Artillery of the Connecticut National Guard when that battery was at Guilford. lle was always interested in measures that had to do with general progress and improvement and his sterling worth was recognized by all. He stood as a high type of American manhood and chivalry and enjoyed the confidence and goodwill of those with whom he was associated.
HENRY B. BUNNELL.
Henry B. Bunnell is a member and treasurer of Coan & Bunnell, Inc., conducting an extensive general insurance business hardly surpassed by that of any firm in the state. Their name is a synonym for enterprise and reliability and there is no feature of the in- surance business with which they are not thoroughly familiar.
Connecticut claims Mr. Bunnell as a native son, his birth having occurred at Water- bury, January 23, 1876, his parents being John B. and Helen A. (Osborn) Bunnell, who were natives of Woodbury. The father became a well known contractor and builder of Waterbury and many of the prominent buildings of that city are today monuments to his skill. The later years of his life were passed in New Haven, where his death occurred in 1906. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all business and personal considerations and enlisted as a private in the Eighth Connecticut Regiment, with which he participated in many of the hotly contested battles. He was wounded at Gettysburg, and after partial recovery was assigned to hospital duty, thus serving until the close of hostilities. His widow is still living and now makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. George R. Coan. In the family were four sons and a daughter: John W. and Louis A. Bunnell, residing in Waterbury; Henry B. and Charles A., of New Haven; and Mary L. Coan, the wife of George R. Coan, of Woodbridge, president of Coan & Bunnell, Inc.
Henry B. Bunnell, after attending the Waterbury schools, continued his education at night school and also pursued a course in the Scranton Correspondence School and in the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1900. After leaving the public schools he secured a position with the Rowland & Berbecker Manufacturing Com- pany, of Waterville, Connecticut, operating automatic machines. He afterwards served an apprenticeship at tool making with the same concern and on completing his apprenticeship came to New Haven, where he entered the employ of the New Haven Bicycle Company, the business being conducted by Dann Brothers. After a short time he entered the employ of Edwin P. Bement, a manufacturer of fine tools and special machinery at New Haven and rose to the position of foreman in the establishment. He afterward became assistant foreman under James Dewey in one of the departments of the Coe Brass Company at Torrington, Connecticut. While there he took a government examination and passed, and he then resigned his position with the Coe Brass Company and was assigned as an in- spector in the ordnance department of the United States navy; he was assigned to duty at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company's plant at New Haven, Connecticut. in 1898, who were doing a large amount of government work, for the country was then at war with Spain. His principal work was the inspection of all kinds of brass cases and other ordnance materials. Subsequently he was transferred to the Broderick Projectile Company, of Windsor. Connecticut, and afterward to the Midvale Steel Company. of Pennsylvania. After a time he was transferred to the Bethlehem Steel Company, of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, controlled by Charles M. Schwab, and he remained there six years inspect -
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