A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 44

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 960

USA > Connecticut > Windham County > A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II > Part 44

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Mr. Darbie is one of the popular and honored residents of Danielson. His entire course has been marked by progress, whether in his profession, in Masonic connections, in military circles or in other relations. In a word his developing ability has been recognized and placed him in a position of leadership, and few lawyers have made a more lasting impression upon the bar of Windham county, both for legal ability of a high order and for the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community.

J. ARTHUR ATWOOD.

J. Arthur Atwood is one of the most prominent mill men of New England, being identified with various corporations which constitute a basic element in the general business progress and prosperity of the sections in which he operates. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but in controlling and enlarging this, many a man of less resolute purpose or of more limited business capacity would have failed. He has developed the interests with which he has been connected along the lines of modern progress and his successful achievements are notable. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in manufac- turing and financial circles, not alone by reason of the success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business policy which he has ever followed. He is today treasurer of The Wauregan Company of Wauregan. Connecticut, of the Ponemah Mills of Taftville, Connecticut, and of the Quinebaug Company of Danielson, Connecticut. His business interests further extend to the Danielson Trust Company, of which he was the organizer and is the president, and the Brooklyn Savings Bank of Danielson, of which he is likewise the president. He is a director of The Rhode Island Hospital Trust Com- pany of Providence, Rhode Island, and of The Ancona Company of Fall River, Massa- chusetts. He was president of The Williamsville Manufacturing Company of Williams- ville, Connecticut, until he sold his interests in that corporation. He was president of The Windham County National Bank from 1904 until 1914. He is a director of The Firemen's Mutual Insurance Company of Providence, Rhode Island, and The Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Providence, Rhode Island.

A native of Wauregan, Connecticut, James Arthur Atwood still makes his home there, although he now maintains his business office in Providence. He was born May 18, 1864, and is a descendant of Francis and Mary (Williams) Atwood, of Providence, Rhode Island, the latter a great-granddaughter of Roger Williams. Francis Atwood's son, John Atwood, had a son John who was a sergeant in the Revolutionary war. Ser-

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geant John Atwood married Roby Kimball and lived in Scituate, Rhode Island, where their son, Kimball Atwood, was born. Kimball Atwood's son John moved to Williams- ville, Connecticut, and became part owner of The Williamsville Manufacturing Com- pany. John Atwood's son, James Sheldon Atwood, was the father of James Arthur Atwood. James Arthur Atwood's mother was Julia A. M. Haskell, a lineal descendant of William Haskell, who came from Salem, England, to Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1642 and was prominent in the military, religious and political affairs of his day. He is also descended on his father's side from Governor Caleb Carr, colonial governor of Rhode Island, and on his mother's side from Isaac Allerton of the Mayflower.

James S. Atwood, the father of J. Arthur Atwood, was born in Scituate, Rhode Island, March 17, 1832, and after attending the Woodstock Academy of Woodstock, Con- necticut, continued his education in the Smithville Seminary of North Scituate, Rhode Island. He afterward entered his father's cotton mill in Williamsville, Connecticut, and acquainted himself with every phase of the business, working his way upward through merit and ability from the position of bobbin boy to that of general manager. In 1853 he became connected with the mill interests at Wauregan, and after serving for a time as superintendent he succeeded to the position of agent and remained in that connection until his death. The business rapidly developed and the plant was increased from time to time until the total length of the factory was about twelve hundred and fifty feet. It was a uniformly recognized fact that the development and success of this great enterprise resulted directly from the efforts of James S. Atwood, who was con- nected with the business from the time that the first machine was installed and who largely shaped the operating policy of the plant, extending its trade relations in every connection until its output covered a most extensive territory. He was president of the mills at Williamsville, Connecticut, and built and had charge until his death of the Ponemah Mills of Taftville, Connecticut. His long experience, business enterprise and capability of coordinating forces led to the rapid and substantial development of the Ponemah Mills, which, like the business at Wauregan, enjoyed phenomenal success. His name became a synonym for enterprise, initiative and progressiveness in these rela- tions. His knowledge of every phase of the business and his conservative judgment prevented any unwarranted risks yet did not hamper the spirit of advancement which at all times characterized him. He considered every business question thoughtfully and acted with precision and determination. He possessed strong executive power, kept his hand steadily upon the helm of his business and was strictly conscientious in his dealings with debtor and creditor alike. Keenly alive to the possibilities of every new avenue opened in the natural ramifications of trade, he passed over the pitfalls into which unrestricted progressiveness is so frequently led and was enabled to focus his energies in directions where fruition was certain. He was prominent as a man whose constantly expanding powers took him out of humble surroundings to the field of large enterprises and continually broadening opportunities. He brought to bear in all business matters a clear understanding that readily solved complex problems and united into a harmonious whole unrelated and even diverse interests.

James S. Atwood was also a prominent figure in political circles as a supporter of the republican party. He served in the state legislature in 1862 and in 1868 and was presidential elector on the republican ticket in 1884. He belonged to the Congregational church of Wauregan and it was through his efforts that the beautiful house of worship was there erected. He was a man who, it may be said truthfully, never lost the common touch. Great success and accumulated power had not dulled his perceptions of what was right, nor had they dimmed his vision of the true perspective from his position as compared with that of men of more humble mien. His handclasp was as warm for the friend in a threadbare coat as for the prosperous business friend of his later years. He appreciated difficulties, having had his own hard knocks. He sympathized with those whose lot was not as fortunate as his, and yet he could not condone the shirker nor have patience with the shiftless, because his life had been organized along lines that called for a full dole of labor within each turn of the wheel. No little of his sustained power was due to the moral and social characteristics of this many-sided man. In social intercourse he was genial, kindly and humanly sympathetic; in business he was the personification of its highest ethics and the most rigid integrity.

James Arthur Atwood, now prominent in control of the extensive mill interests long associated with the name of Atwood, early displayed special aptitude in his studies, as indicated in the fact that he was graduated at the head of his class from the Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, in 1881. He afterward attended the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University at New Haven, where he was graduated from the mechanical engineering department with the degree of Ph. B. in 1885, and his training there proved of the utmost value to him when he entered upon his business career in connection with his father's mill interests. Like his father before him, he made it his purpose to acquire a working knowledge of every branch of the business, and when he

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had acquainted himself with the processes of manufacture he entered the office and bent his energies to administrative direction, to constructive effort and to executive control. It has been well said that intense industry, not special ability, makes most of our successful men what they are, and this is illustrated in the career of J. Arthur Atwood, and the broad spirit of the twentieth century finds expression in his activities. He is constantly studying those questions which have to do with the development and growth of the business, with improved processes of manufacture and advanced ideas in salesmanship. Anyone meeting him face to face would know at once that he is an individual embodying all the elements of what in this country we term a "square" man-one in whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any relation and any emer- gency. His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frankness 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 habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities.

On the 11th of December, 1888, Mr. Atwood was united in marriage to Miss Helen Louise Mathewson, a daughter of Philip and Helen W. (Fenner) Mathewson. They became parents of two children: J. Arthur, Jr., born May 5, 1890; and Dorothy, born March 27, 1893. The son married Miss Lucile Lawson, of Cincinnati, and has one child, Helen Louise, who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, April 30, 1917. Mr. Atwood was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away at Wauregan in Novem- ber, 1917.

Mr. Atwood is a stanch republican and undoubtedly could secure almost any political office to which he might aspire but has always preferred to concentrate his time and attention upon his business interests. He belongs to Delta Psi fraternity and to various clubs, being appreciative of the social amenities of life. He is a member of the Uni- versity Club, the Hope Club and the Rhode Island Country Club of Providence, Rhode Island, of the Saint Anthony Club of New York, of the Graduates Club of New Haven, Connecticut, and of the Misquamicut Golf Club of Watch Hill, Rhode Island. His life has never been self-centered. While he has attempted important things and has accom- plished what he has attempted, his success has never represented another's losses but has resulted from effort intelligently applied, and the generous use which he has made of his means in assisting others marks him as a man of kindly spirit, recognizing the obligations and responsibilities of wealth. His kindness has not been impelled by a sense of duty but by a sincere interest in his fellowmen. The universality of his friend- ships interprets for us his intellectual hospitality and the breadth of his sympathy, for nothing is foreign to him that concerns mankind.

GEORGE ELLIOTT WILCOX, D. D. S.

Dr. George Elliott Wilcox, actively and successfully engaged in the practice of dentistry in Willimantic, was born in South Coventry, Connecticut, on the 13th of May, 1865, a son of Wallace W. and Ellen L. (Tefft) Wilcox, the family coming from West Granby, Connecticut. The doctor's mother is now seventy-three years of age.

George Elliott Wilcox attended the common schools until he reached the age of sixteen years, after which he was employed at farm labor, while later he worked in a paper mill. It was his desire, however, to enter upon a professional career and in 1883 he secured a situation in a dental office, where he continued for three years. This strengthened him in his purpose of preparing for practice and he became a student in the New York City Dental College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1889, being the gold medal man of his class, a fact which indicates how closely he had applied himself to the mastery of the science of dentistry with a view to the highest degree of efficiency possible in his practice. He won the degree of D. D. S. and then opened an office in Willimantic in 1889. Through the intervening period of twen- ty-nine years he has continued in active practice in this city and almost from the beginning has maintained a place in the foremost ranks of the dental profession in this county. It was not long before he had demonstrated his ability to care for all kinds of dental work and through the intervening years he has continually promoted his knowledge and skill through broad experience, wide reading and close investigation.

Dr. Wilcox has been married twice. On August 18, 1897, he wedded Nettie M. Smith, who passed away on the 9th of May, 1898, and to them was born one child, Milton Elliott, who is now employed by the National Tube Company of Lorain, Ohio. On the 27th of December, 1900, Dr. Wilcox was again married, his second union being with Jessie Brown, and they have one child, Lloyd Palmer, who is in school in Wil- limantic.

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Dr. Wilcox is distinctively a home man, finding his greatest happiness at his own fireside and counting no personal effort or sacrifice on his part too great if it will promote the welfare of his family. He belongs to the Congregational church and is also a prominent Mason, having membership in the lodge; in the chapter, in which he has filled all of the chairs; in the council; and in the commandery, of which he was prelate for twenty-one years. He is also a member of the board of trade and he is interested in everything that has to do with public progress and improvement. In politics he is an independent voter. For five years he served as assessor and he was a member of a special committee appointed to revalue property in Windham and while engaged in that work gave up his practice for a year. He was president of the Tax Officials Association for one year, was the first secretary of that society, then became vice president and in 1916 was elected to the office of president. In 1899 he was a candidate for the office of mayor, but while he ran ahead of his ticket he met defeat. No one questions his public spirit or his devotion to the best interests of the com- munity. He stands for progress and improvement in many ways and his life work has been far reaching and beneficial in its effect.

JONAS MAGNUS DANIELSON.

Agricultural interests of Windham county found a well known and substantial representative in Jonas Magnus Danielson, who was born in Sweden, on the 17th of March, 1855, and made his home in Pomfret. His parents were Daniel Peterson and Martha Gabrelson, who were also natives of Sweden, where the father followed the occupation of farming, continuing his residence in Sweden until called to the home beyond. He died during the early boyhood of his son Jonas, leaving a widow and six children, five sons and a daughter. They continued to reside in Sweden until 1880, when the mother and the children crossed the Atlantic to the new world and estab- lished their home in West Woodstock, Windham county, where the children obtained employment and the family prospered. Two of the number are still residents of Wind- ham county: Charles, who is living in Pomfret; and August, of Woodstock. The mother passed away in West Woodstock.

Mr. Danielson, of this review, was a young man of twenty-five years of age at the time of the emigration of the family to the new world. He had been reared upon a farm in Sweden and when he arrived in Windham county he had but limited finan- cial resources, so that it was necessary that he obtain immediate employment. He entered the service of George Bixby, a farmer, with whom he remained for two years, and then obtained a position on the farm of Ben Grosvenor in Pomfret in 1882. That he was capable, faithful and loyal is indicated in the fact that he remained with Mr. Grosvenor for fourteen years. But he was ambitious to engage in business on his own account and in 1896, feeling that his experience thoroughly qualified him for the work, he rented the Tucker farm and began its further development. He resided thereon until 1900, when he embraced the opportunity of buying the Gallup farm of forty-nine acres, upon which he made his home until his death, concentrating his efforts and atten- tion upon general agricultural pursuits and stock raising. He greatly improved the buildings upon the place, erecting an addition to the house, enlarging the barns, putting up a silo and in short bringing the farm into a state of modern development and improvement which made it one of the valuable and attractive properties of the neighborhood. The Gallup farm was in great demand. Mrs. Gallup had had many offers from buyers but always refused to sell. Mr. Danielson was renting a farm close by for fourteen years and had done .considerable work for Mrs. Gallup. She was so appreciative of many little services which he had rendered her and so thoroughly recognized his worth, recognizing in him an honest, industrious and progressive man, that she consented to sell to him the farm and he took over the property which under his direction became one of the valuable and attractive farms of the locality. Mr. Danielson also engaged in road repair work.

In March, 1885, Mr. Danielson was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Anderson, of Pomfret, who was born in Sweden and was eighteen years of age when she became a resident of Pomfret, her parents being Andrew and Mary Anderson, who were natives of Sweden, where her father followed farming and where both he and his wife passed away. John Peterson, an uncle of Mrs. Danielson, was the first native of Sweden that made permanent settlement in Windham county, and on hearing of the death of Mrs. Danielson's parents he sent his niece a ticket and arranged for her to join him in the new world. To Mr. and Mrs. Danielson were born ten children, all natives of Pomfret: Selma Wilhelmina, who is engaged in bookkeeping in Boston, Massachusetts; Henry Jonas, who is employed on the estate of Miss E. J. Clark at Pomfret; Arthur

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John, who has resided in California and was with the United States regular army in France, having voluntarily enlisted upon the declaration of war; Hattie, the wife of Fred Palmer, of Hartford, Connecticut, by whom she has one child; George William, a farmer of Pomfret, who married Margaret Spellman and has one child; and Raymond, Herman, Winthrop, Gilbert and Selden, all at home.

Politically Mr. Danielson was an earnest republican after becoming an American citizen. He served on the school committee of the Chandler school district for twelve years and in 1913 was elected to the position of selectman, to which office he was re- elected through the four succeeding years, and' during two years of his service as a member of the board he was first selectman. His religious faith was that of the Con- gregational church. Mr. Danielson was a very energetic, industrious man, and his life was characterized by thrift and honesty. His good name is above question and he made a notable success, much of which, however, he attributed to his wife, who was indeed to him a helpmate and who has most wisely and carefully managed the affairs of the household while rearing her family of ten children.

JOHN ASHBEL CONANT.

After forty-one years' connection with the Holland Silk Company, John Ashbel Conant retired from active business life in 1907. Four decades, however, did not cover the entire period of his connection with silk manufacturing interests, as prior to the organization of the Holland Silk Company he had been identified with other well known companies of Connecticut and he thus became widely and prominently known to the silk trade of New England. His life was characterized by all that is best in mankind and citizenship, by steady advancement and progress in business as the result of industry and capability and by devotion to all those interests which work for cultural and moral worth.

Mr. Conant was a native of the village of Chaffeeville, in the town of Mansfield, Con- necticut, and was born on the 16th of August, 1829. Through six generations he traced his ancestry back to the earliest period in the colonization of New England, for Roger Conant, progenitor of the family in the new world, arrived in America on the ship Ann in 1623. He was the youngest of the eight children of Richard and Agnes (Clark) Conant and was baptized at All-Saints' church in the parish of East Budleigh, Devon- shire, England, April 9, 1592. He resided in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for but a brief period and because of religious differences removed elsewhere. He was spoken of as a "pious, sober and prudent gentleman" and in 1625 was chosen to take charge of the Cape Ann settlement, located on several islands near Stage Head in Gloucester Harbor. A contemporary biographer has written: "Although not universally recognized as the first governor of Massachusetts, this distinction fairly belongs to Roger Conant, for the settle- ment of which he was the head made the first permanent home in Massachusetts and was the germ from which sprang the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Roger Conant was the most prominent man of those early days, and historians pay glowing tribute to his char- acter and ability. He was a member of the second representative assembly that ever convened in America, representing the town of Salem, where he held many important offices during his life. He and his wife were members of the First Church of Salem, both signing the Covenant in 1637. He died in Salem in 1679 and his wife, Sarah Holton, whom he married November 11, 1618, was a native of the parish of St. Anns, Blackfriars, London."

The line of descent comes down through Exercise Conant, who was baptized Decem- ber 24, 1637, and later, residing for a time at Windham Center, became one of the earliest settlers of Lebanon, Connecticut. About 1700 he sold his property there and went to Boston but in 1718 returned to Windham, where he died in 1722. His youngest child, Caleb Conant, born in April, 1683, purchased a right of land from his brother Josiah at Windham in 1703 and became a member of the First Church of Windham. He married Hannah Crane on the 23d of August, 1714. She was a daughter of Ensign Jonathan Crane and died October 11, 1726, while Caleb Conant passed away in April, 1727. Their son, Malachi Conant, was born June 12, 1715, and throughout his active business life followed farming in Windham. On the 15th of February, 1738 or 1739, he married Sarah Freeman, who was born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, January 18, 1720, a daughter of Edmund and Keziah (Presbury) Freeman. Malachi Conant passed away January 23, 1783, and the death of his wife occurred May 7, 1791. Their seventh child and third son was Sylvanus Conant, who was born February 10, 1750, in Mansfield, and died September 2, 1843. He fought for American independence in the Revolutionary war and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. He was married October 22, 1778, to

JOHN A. CONANT

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Anna Royce, who died May 5, 1802, and on the 12th of April, 1807, he wedded Elizabeth Utley, of Ashford, who died January 5, 1836. Lucius Conant, the youngest son of the first marriage, was born September 29, 1799, in Mansfield, and in early manhood en- gaged in the manufacture of steelyards and augers. Later he conducted a grist mill in Gurleyville and in 1845 became overseer in a silk mill, being identified with silk manu- facturing throughout his remaining days. His death occurred in Mansfield on the 10th of November, 1869. He was a devoted and loyal member of the Methodist church. On the 6th of December, 1821, he married Marietta Eaton, who was born in Mansfield in 1801 and died in November, 1859. After her death Mr. Conant wedded Mrs. Julia (Hanks) Conant, the widow of John W. Conant. Lucius Conant's children were all born of his first marriage.

This family included John A. Conant, long a valued and honored resident of Wind- ham county. He was quite young when the family home was established in Gurleyville, where he pursued a district school education until he reached the age of ten years, when he went to live in the home of his uncle, George Eaton, a farmer of Tolland, Connecticut, and there during the winter months he attended the Furnace district school. After four years he returned to Mansfield and in the winter seasons continued his education, while the summer months were devoted to farm work or to employment in the silk mill. Thus his identification with silk manufacturing began when he was very young. In the spring of 1844, when a youth of fifteen, he secured a position in the Gurleyville silk mill and a year later he entered the employ of O. S. Chaffee, working in his silk mill and on his farm. In 1847 he became employed in the silk mill of George R. Hanks and in 1848, after a few months spent in the employ of Mr. Chaffee, he obtained a position in the silk mill of Atwood & Russ at Atwoodville. There was a great depression in the silk trade in 1849 and in June of that year Mr. Conant engaged at jack spinning in the American Mill at Rockville, but ill health resulted and forced him to give up his position in the summer of 1851. After spending a short time at home for recuperation he entered the employ of Cheney Brothers at Mansfield Hollow and there continued until their mill was closed. He again tried jack spinning in Broad Brook, but once more his health became so seriously impaired that he had to discontinue his efforts in that connection. It was in the spring of 1852 that Mr. Conant accepted the position of overseer of the silk mill of James Royce at Gurleyville, and after two years there spent he became associated with Cheney Brothers of Hartford, with whom he remained from 1854 until 1856. In the latter year he retired from mill work and purchased a small farm in West Hartford, but after devoting about a twelvemonth to agricultural pursuits he returned to active connection with silk manufacturing, taking charge of the mill of the Watertown Manu- facturing Company at Watertown, Connecticut. Two years later the company went out of business and Mr. Conant accepted the position of overseer of a hoop-skirt factory in Watertown and continued with that house until the business was closed out. He next entered the employ of Holmes, Booth & Haydens at Waterbury and was in charge of their packing room for a year and a half, when on account of the ill health of his wife he removed to Ellington, Connecticut, and for some time was not engaged in active business, devoting himself to the care of Mrs. Conant, who passed away in Tolland in October, 1863. At a later period Mr. Conant was in the employ of the Hemingway Silk Company at Watertown and subsequently became associated with his brother, D. P. Conant, in the establishment of a silk mill in Mansfield. In 1864, however, he became identified with the Holland interests, entering the mill of J. H. Holland & Company in Conantville, having charge of the cleaning and winding room, and when the business was sold to Charles L. Bottom he continued in the establishment for another year. The Holland Silk Company erected its first mill in Willimantic in 1865 and on the 1st of January, 1866, Mr. Conant was placed in charge of the throwing department and for forty-one years he remained in the service of the Holland Company, a record which for faithfulness, fidelity and capability is unsurpassed.

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 44

Author: Lincoln, Allen B Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co. Number of Pages: 960

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 960