USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 83
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On the 25th of November, 1890, Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Lillian MI. Warner, a daughter of Vinus L. and Sarah A. (Sanford) Warner, who were natives of Ham- den and Bethany. Connecticut, respectively. Our subject and his wife have two children. Stuart M., born in Hamden, May 24, 1896, is a graduate of the New Haven high school and was for a time assistant teller in the National Tradesmen's Bank on Orange street, New Haven, but resigned that position to enlist in the Yale Unit Ambulance Corps, June 19. 1917. Dnane G., the younger son, was born March 8. 1899, and is also a graduate of the New Haven high school. Hle is now engaged in educational work connected with Yale University.
In his political views Mr. Warner is a stalwart republican and while not an oflice seeker is keenly interested in the success of his party and the adoption of its principles because of
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his firm belief in the efficacy of the party platform as a factor in good government. He is a member of the Hamden school board and is chief of the Humphreys volunteer fire department. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Ilis activities in behalf of the public as well as along business lines have gained him recognition as one of the substantial residents of Highwood.
MARTIN B. SCHENCK.
Martin B. Schenck. the founder of an important industry of Meriden known as the M. B. Schenck Company, was born April 29. 1838, in Fulton, New York. a son of John and Hannah (Perkins) Schenck. On the paternal side he was a member in the ninth generation of on" of the old New York Dutch Knickerbocker families and traced his ancestry in a direct line from Roelof Martense Schenck, who in 1650 emigrated from Holland to what is now New York and was married in 1660 to Miss Neeltje Gerretse van Couwenhoven, or Conover, as the name is now spelled. Her grandfather was also of Holland birth and came to the new world in 1630. Both families settled in New Amsterdam and later in Flatlands, now Brook- lyn, and were prominent in the affairs of the Dutch colony. On the maternal side Mr. Schenck was a descendant of Newman Perkins, who came to America from England with Roger Williams and finally settled with him in Rhode Island. Both the Schenck and Perkins families have throughout the centuries been characterized by sterling qualities and by a patriotic spirit and have given many representatives to the armies of the country in all of the wars in which it has been engaged from Revolutionary war times to the present.
Martin B. Schenck obtained his education in the common schools and in the Falley Sem- inary at Fulton, New York, and remained at home until he reached man's estate. For some time he taught school and later learned the builder's trade. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all personal plans and ambitions and in 1862 enlisted in the One Hundredl and Forty-seventh Regiment of New York Volunteers and continued in the service until the close of the war, making an enviable record in military service. In 1865 he established a hard- ware business in Fulton, New York, and devoted his time to the conduct of his store until 1881. Although he met with a gratifying measure of success as a hardware merchant. he realized that there were no great opportunities for advancement in that line and accordingly in 1881 he sold out that business and determined to engage in manufacturing a double wheel caster which he had invented. Hle removed to New Haven in 1882 and for five years sought to gain a foothold as a manufacturer. He was hampered by his lack of experience, by in- sufficient capital and by litigation over patents, but in spite of all these obstacles had brought his plant to a paying basis when he suffered a heavy loss by fire. At this time he received promising inducements to remove his factory to Meriden and throughout the re- mainder of his life he was identified with industrial interest> at this place. In 1891, in company with his son. W. A. Schenck. he bought the Beecher Manufacturing Company's plant. which they devoted to their needs. As the years passed they made many improvements and had a number of well constructed and modernly equipped factory buildings. The plant ex- tends six hundred feet along the main line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road and thus has the best transportation facilities. The company's products include five distinct lines of casters suitable for use on all kinds of furniture and trucks and for a third of a century the Yale easter, as it is known, has been recognized as standard not only in America but abroad.
Mr. Schenck was married in 1866 to Miss Margaret W. Anthony. of Troy, New York, and they became the parents of two children, a son. William A. Schenck, and a daughter. Jessie M. Schenck, now the wife of Louis II. Perkins. The family circle was broken by the land of death when Mr. Schenck passed away on the 5th of November, 1911.
From the time he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Schenck supported the candidates of the republican party at the polls, and as a member of the famous organization known as the Wide Awakes he took an active part in the campaign of 1860. Four years later he again voted for Lincoln, sending his ballot home from the war in an envelope. Ile belonged to Merriam Post, No. S. G. A. R., and found great pleasure in thus keeping up his association with other veterans of the Civil war. He read much of the world's best literature
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and also traveled extensively both in America and in Europe. Ilis residence, which is situ- ated on Broad street, is one of the most attractive homes in the city and the spirit of ho -- pitality prevails there. The important manufacturing interests which he built up were proof of his business acumen, his resourcefulness and enterprise, and the high esteem in which he was held personally testified to his worth as a man.
JEROME COAN POTTER.
Jerome Coan Potter is now living retired in Guilford, but for many years was actively identified with manufacturing interests. He was born in East Haven, Connecticut, December 1. 1854. a son of Orrin and Phebe (Coan) Potter. The father was born in Handen, Con- necticut. and acquired his education there, after which he became a ship earpenter, employed in the shipbuilding yards of East Haven when that industry was a most important one there. In 1861 he put aside all business and personal considerations and joined the Union army as a member of Company E. Fifteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three years. He afterward again became connected with shipbuilding at East laven and later retired from business life, spending his last days in New Haven. He was a representative of one of the okl New England families and was highly regarded in his native county. His wife was born in Guilford, Connecticut, June 6, 1830, and traced her ancestry back to Peter Coan, who was born in Worms. Germany, in 1697 and came to America in 1715. settling at Easthampton, Connecticut, whence he removed to Guilford. His son, John ( van, was born at Easthampton in 1729 and was the father of John Coan II, who was born in North Guilford in January, 1763. The line comes on down through John and Betsey (Harh Coan, who were the parents of Phoebe Coan. who became the wife of Orrin Potter. Her death also occurred in New Haven.
Jerome C. Potter acquired his education in the schools of New Haven, where he resided until his marriage at the age of twenty-six years. In 1883 he removed to Guilford and bought out the blacksmith shop of Richard Spencer. after which he continued in a general blacksmithing business until 1892. when he became associated with Lovell Kelsey and Charles E. Hull in the organization of the Guilford Wheel Manufacturing Company, which took over the business of the firm of George A. Hull & Son, wagon wheel manufacturers, whose plant was destroyed by fire at that time. They purchased a factory building and grounds for- merly used as a button factory in Guilford, there installed modern machinery and enlarged the plant for the purpose of manufacturing wagon wheels, beginning business there in Decem- bor. 1891, just thirty days after the old plant was destroyed by fire. Mr. Kelsey retired from the business after a few years and the manufacturing 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, and Mr. Potter retired from active business connection therewith. He remained. however, as one of the directors of the Guilford Mutual Fire Association, of which he was one of the organizers.
On the 15th of September, 1880, Mr. Potter was united in marriage to Miss Emma J-adore Chivers, of Decatur, Georgia. She was born, however, in Boston, Massachusetts, but Was reared and educated in Georgia. Her parents were Thomas Halley and Harriet (Hunt) Chivers, the former a physician and surgeon who became a large landowner. having an extensive cotton plantation and owning many slaves at Washington, Wilkes county, Georgia. He was widely known as a writer of lyric verse and many of his poems were extensively ciren- lated. He was not only a prominent and honored citizen of Georgia but was also well known in New Haven sixty years ago, having various business interests in this city. To Mr. and Mrs. Potter were born three children. Roy Clifford, a graduate of Yale University and of the Johns Hopkins Medical College of Baltimore, Maryland, who is now medical examiner for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company at Chicago, married Miss Ida Desmond. Ralph Clifford, an electrical engineer of Lynn, Massachusetts, married Miss Lena Whittaker, of Bar Har- hor, Maine and they have a son, Robert. Faye, the youngest of the family, is deceased.
In polities Mr. Potter has long been a stalwart republican. He served as tax assessor for the town and borough of Guilford and was burgess for more than fourteen years. In 1914 he was elected to the state legislature, serving during the session of 1915 on the com-
JEROME C. POTTER
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mittees on labor and woman's suffrage. He was connected with much constructive legisla- tion and proved an able working member of the house. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church and fraternally he is connected with Menuncatue Lodge, No. 62, I. O. O. F., of Guilford, of which he is a past noble grand. He has also been district deputy of the order and belongs to the Odd Fellows Veterans Association, and both he and his wife are con- nected with the Rebekahs. Mrs. Potter is also a member of the Dorothy Whitfield Historical Society. Mr. Potter has membership in the Guilford Board of Trade and at all times he has taken an active and helpful part in promoting those plans and measures which are intended to advance the welfare and progress of his city. As a manufacturer he has contributed to its material development, as an active factor in polities he has contributed to its eivie ad- vancement and as a consistent Christian he has aided in its moral progress.
CALVIN MORRIS LEETE.
Calvin Morris Leete is a representative in the seventh generation of the descendants of Pelatiah Leete, who was the first of the family to settle on Leetes Island. taking up his abode on land that had been allotted to his grandfather, Governor William Leete, after it had been purchased from the Indians. The title to the greater part of this island has been in the Leete family from that date to the present and seven generations have resided there as farmers, members of each generation being content to remain and follow the ocen- pation of their forebears, most of them with success and profit. The line of descent is traced down from Pelatial Leete through Daniel and Ambrose, who married Miranda Chittenden. They became the parents of Miner Leete, who married Lucinda Norton and they in turn were parents of Calvin M. Leete, who wedded Lucy M. Graves. Their family in- eluded Calvin Morris Leete, who was born on Leetes Island, January 11, 1867. He acquired his education in the district schools there, in the Guilford high school and in the Yale Busi- ness College of New Haven and after his textbooks were put aside engaged in farming on his father's home place on Leetes Island, where he has since remained, being one of the pro- gressive and prosperous agriculturists of the community.
On the 19th of October. 1904, Mr. Leete was married to Miss May Eloise Minor at Ply- mouth, Connecticut, where she was born, her parents being Hiram and Sarah ( Preston) Minor, who were likewise natives of Plymouth. Mr. and Mrs. Leete have become the parents of two children: Bernice Minor, who was born August 18, 1905; and Preston Minor, born March 8, 1910, at the family home on Leetes Island.
In politics Mr. Leete has always maintained an independent course but is a strong be- liever in democracy as a form of government and is an equally strong advocate of the cause of temperance, although he does not ally himself with the prohibition party, feeling that there are other issues which are equally worthy of attention. In becoming a candidate for office he has at times received the nomination of both republican and democratic parties. He has served on the school board and was first selectman of the town of Guilford from 1907 until 1909 inclusive. In the spring of 1915 he was elected town clerk to fill out an un- expired term and in the same year was elected judge of the probate. In October, 1915, he was reelected town clerk and in November, 1916, was reelected judge of the probate, so that he is now filling both offices. the duties of which he is discharging with marked capability and fidelity. He has ever been most loyal to the interests and trust reposed in him and in all affairs of citizenship is actuated by a marked devotion to the general good.
JAMES HENRY WHITE.
James Henry White, a dominant factor in industrial circles in Meriden by virtue of his position as president of the Wilcox & White Company, one of the most important manufac- turers of musical instruments in the United States, has been connected with the company in an important capacity ever since its organization in 1877 and has had much to do with the upbuilding of its trade, which is nation-wide in scope.
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He was born in Westfield, Conneetieut, September 26, 1847, the eldest son of Henry Kirk and Lucy (Cornwall) White. The father was a native of Bolton, Connecticut, and the date of his birth was February 7, 1822. The family was established in America in 1630, when representatives of the name located in Nantasket, Massachusetts, having left England because of religious persecution. Henry Kirk White was reared upon a farm and received his edu- cation mainly in the district schools. From earliest boyhood he manifested unusual musical talent and while still in his teens taught singing schools and led choruses. He took up the study of tuning pianos and organs and in 1841 went west, where he engaged in that work for four years, during which time he visited various parts of the country. In 1845 he entered the employ of Denison Smith, of Colehester, a manufacturer of musical instruments. Two years later he invested his savings in a plant of his own at New London, Connecticut, and turned his attention to manufacturing melodeons. In 1853 he transferred his business to Washington, New Jersey, and continued there until the Civil war broke out. Owing to the upheaval in business conditions due to the outbreak of hostilities he deemed it advisable to suspend business for a while and during the years of the war was a resident of Philadelphia and vicinity. In 1865 he went to Brattleboro, Vermont, and took charge of the tuning and action department of the Estey Organ Company, one of the leading concerns engaged in the manufacture of musical instruments. He took with him his family, and his sons also oh- tained employment with that coneern. Ile desired, however, to again engage in business on his own account and in 1876 succeeded in interesting the late Horace C. Wilcox, a capitalist of Meriden, in his" projeet, and in 1877 the Wilcox & White Organ Company was organized. During the intervening four decades it has been one of the leading industrial enterprises of Meriden and for many years was conducted under the personal management of Henry Kirk White, who at length retired, leaving to his sons the management of the business. He was quite prominent in public affairs, serving as a member of the board of aldermen and as a member of the school committee, which position he held for an extended period. Fra- ternally he was a Knight Templar Mason. By his marriage to Lucy Cornwall a daughter of William and Julia (Roberts) Cornwall, of Cornwall, Connecticut, he had four children, as follows: James Il .; Edward Il. and Howard, who were officials of the Wilcox & White Com- pany until called by death; and Julia, now Mrs. Silas Donovan, of Meriden. Following the demise of his first wife in 1867 he was married to Mr-, Betsy (Stickney ) Herrick, a daughter of Benjamin Stickney, of Dummerston. Vermont.
James Henry White received his education in Somersville, Washington, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and when in his teens entered the John Wanamaker store at Philadelphia, in which eity the family resided during the Civil war. Later removal was made to Brattleboro, Vermont, and our subject became the assistant of his father in his work of tuning the instruments manufactured by the Estey Organ Company. lle proved very efficient and his ability and trustworthiness were rewarded by frequent promotions. In 1877, however, his father became one of the founders of the Wileox & White Organ Company of Meriden, and James Henry White at onee beeame connected with the new organization in an important capacity. Upon the retirement of his father he succeeded to the presidency and has since filled the chief executive office of the company. Ile has administrative powers of a high order and one of the chief factors in his success has been his ability in choosing wisely his assistants. lle keeps in close touch with the work of the various departments and has in- sisted on the maintenance of the highest possible standards of excellence, with the result that the products of the company are recognized throughout the civilized world as being among the best musical instruments built. For many years the company engaged solely in the manufacture of reed organs and a self-playing organ, but since 1897 has been chiefly known through the Angelus piano and the Angelus player piano. A more detailed account of the product of the company and a fuller history of its growth and expansion will be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. White is also a director of the Home National Bank.
Mr. White was married December 1, 1868, to Miss Kate Cheney, of Brattleboro, Vermont, a daughter of Sammel T. R. and Martha (Brown) Cheney. To this union have been born three children: Frank Cornwall, who is of the third generation to hold high official position in the Wileox & White Company, and who has invented many valuable improvements on the An- gelus; Grace Louise; and Florence May, now Mrs. Harry Smith.
Mr. White has represented the fifth ward in the city council but has never been a poli- tician in the sense of office seeking. The management of his large business interests has
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made such demands upon his time and attention that his service on the board of alder- men was performed only at a personal sacrifice. He has always recognized fully his obliga tions to his community and on many occasions his advice and active cooperation have been found invaluable in carrying to successful completion projects looking toward civic advance- ment of Meriden. During the preparation for the Centennial celebration he was a member of the general committee and a chairman of the committee on finance. Socially he is prom- inent and he is a leading member of the Home Club. His religious faith is that of the First Congregational church and he served as a member of its board of trustees. It is to such men as he. alert, progressive and energetic, that the development of Connecticut as a large manufacturing section is due.
WILCOX & WHITE COMPANY.
For four decades the Wilcox & White Company, of Meriden, has occupied a position of leadership in the manufacture of musical instruments and was the pioneer in the development of the mechanical player piano, placing upon the market the first instrument of the kind, the Angelus, which has been brought to a high state of perfection and still enjoys unexampled prestige in its field.
For many years the company was chiefly engaged in the manufacture of organs, under the name of the Wilcox & White Organ Company, which was founded in 1877 by Henry Kirk White and Horace C. Wileox. The latter was a capitalist of Meriden, and was so impressed by the plans of Mr. White, who was a practical organ builder, for establishing a company for the manufacture of musical instruments, that he invested large sums of money, for that day, in the new enterprise. From the beginning the company proved a paying coneern and Mr. White threw himself with all of his great energy into the work of supervising the operation of the plant and planning for the extension of its trade. Its first capital stock was one hundred thousand dollars but at the time of the reorganization of the coneern under the name of the Wilcox & White Company, the capitalization was doubled, and this made pos- sible still further enlargement of the plant, which at various times had been added to, to provide for the expansion made necessary by the continued growth of the trade. The com- pany was organized for the manufacture of reed organs and its instruments found ready , sale in all parts of the country and were generally recognized as the best reed organs pro- duced in America. As its reputation spread the whole civilized world beeame a market for the Wilcox & White organs, and in 1888 the volume of business was still further increased as in that year the company added to its line the Symphony, or pneumatic self-playing organs which had a large sale. In 1897 a new era was inaugurated in the business of manu- facturing musical instruments by the invention by Mr. Edward H. White, the superintendent of the factory, of the Angelus, the first successful device for the mechanical playing of a piano. For many years Mr. White had been experimenting along that line and the patents which he took out on the invention included such fundamental principles that although there have since been many other mechanical players placed upon the market none have gone beyond the basic powers of excellence of the Angelus. In the intervening twenty years there have been numerous improvements in the mechanism of these instruments and the company is continually seeking to make every change, however small, in its construction, which will improve its responsiveness to the control of the operator. It has received the commendation of trained musicians and when all its devices for securing any desired variation in tempo, dynamies or rhythm are utilized it is impossible to distinguish between its playing of a piece and the same selection played by a fine pianist. The Angelus may be attached to any piano and is manufactured in a variety of woods and styles so as to match any piano ease, and such was the demand for this instrument that the capacity of the factory was more than doubled within a few years.
A building two hundred and fifty feet in length and forty feet wide was devoted entirely to the manufacture of this instrument and to the Angelus piano, which has the player feature incorporated within the piano but may also be played by hand. The company employs reg- ularly between three and four hundred men and has been an important factor in the industrial development of Meriden. Every Angelus or Angelus piano leaving the factory has, at vari-
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ous stages in its manufacture, been subjected to the most rigorous inspection, and it is known beyond a doubt that it measures up to the high standard of quality that has become synonymous with its name.
The Artrio Angelus, the wonderful new reproducing piano, is the latest development of the Angelus, provides faithful and complete reproductions of the artistic interpretations of great pianists in addition to what the regular Angelis affords. Simply by inserting the rec- ord-roll and turning on the electric current, the Artrio Angelus plays the composition exactly as it was played by the artist who made the master roll. All of the exquisite artistic effects, every crescendo and diminuendo, the soft, velvety pianissimos, each crashing sfortzando and the thumb melodies peculiar to the master pianist are reproduced with absolute fidelity and completeness without any act or touch of human hand. Pianists who have recorded their interpretations in the studio were amazed and delighted when they first heard the Artrio Angelus give repetitions of their own renditions, because every note, every touch, every tone and tempo were faithfully reproduced. Such great pianists as Harold Bauer, Ossip Gabrilovitsch, Tina Lerner, Richard Epstein and Ethel Leginska were especially enthusiastic.
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