A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 49

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 49

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Miss Louise Clarke, a native of that town and a daughter of Captain John Clarke, who was of English birth and became a ship owner of Boston prior to the Revolutionary war, during which period he was an advocate of the cause of the colonies. Following the establishment of American independence, he made his home in Canterbury, Connecticut, where he passed away July 18, 1863, and his wife also spent her last days there. She was identified with the Episcopal church, of which her father was one of the founders. To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Frost were born the following named: Daniel Clarke, whose name introduces this review; Phebe, who became the wife of George Corlis, of Provi- dence, Rhode Island; and Helen Louise, who became the wife of Dr. Anderson Dean, a prominent physician of Cambridge, New York. After his death she married Hezekiah Danielson, of the well known family after whom the town of Danielson was named, who died in Danielson, Connecticut, in 1882.

Rev. Daniel C. Frost, spending his youthful days in Canterbury, mastered the branches of learning taught in its public schools, and when a youth of sixteen took up the profession of teaching in Northfield, Massachusetts, where among his pupils was Dwight L. Moody, who afterward became probably the most distinguished minister and evangelist in America. After teaching for a time Rev. Frost matriculated in Union College of New York and was there graduated. He later became a student in the Yale Theological School, in which he completed the full course, and following his gradua- tion there he entered upon the work of the ministry in 1839, devoting forty-three years of his life to that holy calling and then retiring as the result of an injury in 1882. He did splendid work in various localities, serving the churches at Sandy Hill and at Cohoes, New York, at Hampden and Northfield, Massachusetts, at Abington, Woodstock, Putnam and Dayville, Connecticut. He made his home in the town of Killingly for thirty-two years and for seven years prior to his death was a resident of Putnam. While in Killingly he filled the office of judge of probate for six years and for sixteen years was a member of the board of relief of the town. He became a stanch advocate of the cause of temperance and a charter member of the Connecticut Temperance Asso- ciation. He worked earnestly and untiringly to educate the people as to the injurious use of alcohol and alcoholic beverages and to prevent their further sale, and his labors in behalf of temperance and the moral upbuilding of the communities in which he lived were far reaching and resultant.

The marriage of Rev. Daniel C. Frost was celebrated at Glens Falls, New York, in 1837, when Miss Elizabeth Folsom Berry of that place became his wife. She was a daughter of Sydney and Eliza (Folsom) Berry and passed away in 1889. She was a lady of liberal literary attainments and of innate refinement of nature. To Rev. and Mrs. Frost were born four children. The eldest, Sydney B. Frost, was at one time a well known educator of Philadelphia, having previously graduated from Amhurst Col- lege. He married Sarah Knowles, of Laurel, Delaware, and they became the parents of two children, Frances and Daniel Corlis, the latter now a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia. After losing his first wife Sydney B. Frost married Amy Hull. of Westerly, Rhode Island, and she and his daughter, Frances, are now residing in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Francis, the second son in the family of Rev. Frost, entered the Civil war and became a member of Company D, First Connecticut Heavy Artillery. He died in 1891. Louise Clarke became the wife of George W. Bunker and died in 1913. Her husband is now in California. Bessie F., the youngest member of the family, is still a resident of Putnam, Connecticut, where she has erected a fine bungalow, one of the most beautiful and attractive in the state. It is located on Grove street and was built according to a California design, and introduced into Connecticut that style of archi- tecture which is so characteristic of California and which has added so much to the beauty of that state. Miss Frost is a lady of high intellectual attainments and liberal education, who has always been a great reader and who has manifested a most public- spirited interest in everything that has to do with the welfare and progress of the community in which she makes her home. Her influence and aid are always on the side of advancement and improvement and her efforts for the public welfare have ac- complished excellent results.

WARREN SMITH.

Warren Smith was a lifelong resident of Windham county and for many years prior to his death, which occurred June 5, 1887, was a resident of the town of Plain- field. He was born in Canterbury, April 29, 1821, his parents being Salmon and Lucy (Smith) Smith. The father, also a native of Canterbury, followed farming throughout his entire life and both he and his wife passed away in Canterbury, where they had

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always lived. The former was a son of Eleazer Smith, who was also a native of Canter- bury, where he followed farming as a life work.

Warren Smith was reared upon his father's farm in the western part of the town of Canterbury and in young manhood he took up woodwork, in which he displayed spe- cial aptitude, soon developing expert ability. He went to Westminster, Connecticut, where he learned the woodworker's trade, being employed in Spicer's wood shop. He afterward established a small shop on the old home place in the town of Canterbury and there conducted business for several years, while later he was employed in the Robinson & Fowler foundry, which was then located in the town of Canterbury, near Canterbury Plain. There he made the wooden boxes, flasks, etc., that are used in foundry work. About 1870 the Robinson & Fowler foundry was removed to the village of Plainfield, occupying what is now the site of the Lawton mills. In 1872 Mr. Smith once more entered the employ of that firm and removed with his family to Plainfield after the plant was established there. He continued in that employ until 1886, when he resigned his position and built a woodworking shop of his own, conducting the business to the time of his death, which occurred on the 5th of June, 1887. He was also a stockholder in the Robinson & Fowler Foundry Company, at one time an impor- tant industrial enterprise of the town of Plainfield.

Mr. Smith was married twice, his first union being with Ellen M. Horton, whom he wedded at Canterbury on the 14th of November, 1852, and who passed away October 22, 1863. They were the parents of four children-Joseph, Otis, Adelaide and Susan Augusta, all of whom have departed this life. On the 29th of April, 1866, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hyde, who was born in the Gayhead school district of Canterbury and who in 1872 accompanied her husband on the removal to Plainfield. She is a daughter of Nehemiah Bentley and Rebecca (Lewis) Hyde, who were also natives of the town of Canterbury, where they spent their entire lives, her father being a woodworker by trade. To Mr. and Mrs. Warren Smith were born three children: Nellie Christabel, who was born in Canterbury, June 22, 1867, and died March 16, 1870; C. Irving, who was born in Canterbury, October 1, 1870, and is now a resident of Plainfield, living with his mother; and Worthington Hyde, who was born April 17, 1877, in Plainfield, where he passed away on the 3d of March, 1896.

In his political views Mr. Smith was always an earnest republican and his religious faith was manifest by his attendance at the Plainfield Congregational church. He never sought public office but was a home man, devoted to the welfare of his family. His sterling character was recognized by all. He never promised to do a thing that he was not sure that he could do and his strong reliability was recognized as one of his sterling characteristics. He possessed a retiring disposition but was honored and respected for his genuine worth and his word was as good as any bond ever solemnized by signature or seal. Mrs. Smith is a fine type of the New England gentlewoman and is now seventy-five years of age-a lady of character, refinement and culture.

PHILLIP S. HILLS.

Phillip S. Hills, a broker and real estate dealer of Willimantic, who has done much in the development of property interests and attractive districts of the city, was born in Salona, a small town in central Pennsylvania, February 3, 1857, his parents being Gilbert Miner and Catharine (Shaffer) Hills, both of whom have now passed away.

He received his education in the public and district schools of Lock Haven, Penn- sylvania, and was prepared for college in the state normal school; after which he matriculated in Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from which he was grad- uated in 1882, the institution conferring upon him the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees. He completed a full classical course there and with broad literary learning to serve as a foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge he entered upon the study of law in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in the office of T. C. Kipple, with whom he remained for a year and a half. He then went to Winfield, Kansas, where he continued the reading of law, and he also assisted his cousin in the conduct of a big loan office. In October, 1884, he was admitted to the bar in Cowley county, Kansas. He then managed his cousin's loan business and was financial representative of P. H. Albright & Company, at Winfield, Kansas. These posi- tions demanded much legal work and thus kept him in touch with the activities of his profession. While residing in the west he was also elected county attorney. In 1909, however, he returned to the east on account of his wife's health and established his home in Willimantic. Here he assisted in organizing the Willimantic Trust Company, of which he was treasurer for five years. He was during this period and still is en- gaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business, but retired from active connection

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

with the Trust Company in 1915. He now devotes his entire attention to his individual interests and has a large clientage in the brokerage and real estate business. He has done not a little to develop property in Willimantic and his efforts in this connection have been of importance and value to the city.

On the 3d of January, 1888, Mr. Hills was united in marriage to Mrs. Ella J. Albright, of Montville, Connecticut, who passed away August 26, 1914, and was laid to rest at East Hampton, Connecticut. On the 30th of October, 1916, Mr. Hills was again married, his second union being with Grace Markham, of East Hampton, who was for years superintendent of Organized Charities in New Haven. She is also a trained nurse and is one of the best known women of Connecticut, her life being of great value and worth by reason of her kindly, intelligent and helpful assistance where aid is needed.

Mr. and Mrs. Hills are consistent and loyal members of the Congregational church, in the work of which they take an active and helpful part, Mr. Hills serving as super- intendent of the Sunday school for five years, while at the present time he is one of the deacons of the church. In politics he is an independent voter and while residing in the west he served for four years as mayor of Howard, Kansas. His influence is always on the side of progress and improvement and he stanchly supports all those efforts and agencies which are instrumental in bringing about the uplift of the individ- ual and the advancement of community welfare.

ERNEST ROSS WARREN.

Ernest Ross Warren, who since 1912 has been principal of the Killingly high school and has devoted his entire life to educational work, is a Yale man, having graduated from the university at New Haven in 1910. Opportunity for liberal study abroad has further qualified him for the position to which he is devoting his life.

A native of Killingly, he was born September 2, 1888, and is a son of Franklin P. and Rosa (Ross) Warren. The father spent his entire life in Killingly, where he en- gaged in the lumber business. The ancestral line is traced back through Edward L. Warren, who was a son of Artemas Warren, the latter a son of Ephraim Warren, all of the town of Killingly and descendants of Ephraim Warren, who settled in the town of Plainfield, Connecticut, in 1690. Not only was Franklin P. Warren active in busi- ness circles as a representative of the lumber trade, but was also prominent in con- nection with community interests and served as chairman of the school board for many years. He served, too, as a member of the board of selectmen and three times was called upon to represent his district in the general assembly, during which period he was connected with much important legislation. His wife was born in Willington, Connecticut, and, surviving her husband, is now living in Danielson.

Ernest R. Warren began his education in the district schools of Killingly and eventually became a pupil in the high school. He afterward pursued his preparatory course in the Worcester (Mass.) Academy and then entered Yale, being graduated from that time-honored institution with the Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1910. The following year his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. He pursued the study of languages in France and Germany and in 1912 entered upon the position of teacher of modern languages in the Worcester Academy. Later in the year he resigned in order to become a teacher in the Killingly high school at Danielson, and in 1915 was advanced to the position of principal of that school, of which he has since had charge.

On the 29th of June, 1915, Professor Warren was united in marriage to Miss Alice Rose Standish Perkins, the wedding being celebrated in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mrs. Warren was born in Danielson, a daughter of Professor Charles A. and Angie (Warren) Perkins. Her father was born at Ware, Massachusetts, October 31, 1858, his parents being the Rev. Ariel Ebenezer Parish and Susan Osborn (Poor) Perkins. Charles A. Perkins was graduated from Williams College with the class of 1879 and received the Ph. D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1884. He served as professor of math- ematics in Lawrence University in 1880-1 and became a fellow in physics in 1883-4. He was assistant professor in physics from 1884 until 1887 at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity and professor of physics in Bryn Mawr College from 1887 until 1891. Through the succeeding year he was professor of science at Hampden-Sidney College, professor of physics and electrical engineering, so serving from 1892 until 1906, while in the latter year he became electrical engineering and chemical engineering professor on the the faculty of the University of Tennessee. In 1884 he was a member of the National Conference of Electricians. He is a fellow of the American Academy for the Advance- ment of Science, a member of the American Psychological Society and the American

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Institute of Electrical Engineers. He is the author of the work, "Outlines of Elec- tricity and Magnetism," published in 1896, and he has been a frequent contributor to scientific journals. On the 19th of September, 1883, he married Angie Villette Warren and their daughter, Alice R. S. Perkins, became the wife of Professor Warren of this review.

Aside from his professional interests Mr. Warren is a trustee of the Brooklyn Savings Bank. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he served as a member of the school board of Killingly before taking up the profession of teach- ing in the Killingly schools. He is librarian of the free public library. Fraternally he is connected with Mount Moriah Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and his religious faith is indi- cated in his membership in the Baptist church-associations which tell much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern him in all of life's relations. His activities have been of notable benefit to the profession which he represents and, hold- ing to the highest professional standards, he has done much to further the interests of the schools of Windham county.

OTTO B. ROBINSON.

Otto B. Robinson, of Willimantic, judge of the probate court for the district of Wind- ham, was born at Morristown, New Jersey, July 25, 1872, and is a representative of one of the old New England families, tracing his ancestry back to the Rev. John Robinson, who was the Pilgrim progenitor of the family in the new world. The line of descent comes down through Lieutenant Peter Robinson, born about 1679; Ralph Webb Robinson, who was born in Windham, Scotland Society, October 5, 1811; and Remus Robinson, who was born in Hampton, Connecticut, and died October 29, 1900. In early life the latter worked on his father's farm through the summer and taught school in the winter seasons. He afterward went to Morristown, New Jersey, where he was superintendent of schools. At the time of the Civil war he became second lieutenant of Company A of the Eleventh Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers and was detailed as acting captain of the Ambulance Corps on the staff of General Getty, commander of the Third Division of the Ninth Army Corps under General Burnside. Subsequently he spent about five years as principal of a high school at Greeley, Colorado, and following his return to the east took up the study of medicine, after which he practiced at various places until he retired from professional life. Judge Robinson's mother, Mrs. Jennie Clark Robin- son, is a woman of high ideals and social prominence. She was one of the organizers and for several years president of the Willimantic Woman's Club. She is now living with her son in Willimantic.

Otto B. Robinson, an only child, was educated in the public schools of Willimantic, Connecticut, to which place his parents removed when he was but four years of age. He supplemented his common school course by study in the Windham high school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1891, being one of the commencement day orators. In 1892 he secured a position in the Willimantic postoffice, in which he was employed for two years, and then entered the railway mail service, with which he was connected for a quarter of a century. While thus engaged he became a student in the Yale Law School, where he completed his course by graduation with the class of 1914. In 1918 he was elected judge of probate and retired from the mail service to enter upon his judicial duties and is now serving in that capacity. He was regarded as very efficient in the postal service, proved an intelligent and appreciative student of the law and is proving very successful in his present official position. He is recognized as a man of marked energy and force of character and an indefatigable worker at whatever he undertakes.

On the 1st of September, 1898, Judge Robinson married Lena M. Fuller of Columbia, Connecticut. They have two children, George Fuller Robinson, born March 3, 1900, enlisted in the air service and went overseas as a rigger of the Three Hundred and Seventy-eighth Aero Squadron, being discharged December 24, 1918. The daughter, Phillis Robinson, born October 20, 1903, is a student at the Windham high school.

In politics Judge Robinson is a republican and is well known as a representative of Masonic interests, belonging to Eastern Star Lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M .; Trinity Chapter, No. 9, R. A. M .; Olive Branch Council, No. 10, R. & S. M .; St. John Command- ery, No. 11, K. T .: and Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is also connected with Natchaug Lodge, No. 22, K. P., is a director of the Willimantic Chamber of Commerce. a past regent of Willimantic Council, No. 723, Royal Arcanum, and for three years held the office of grand trustee for the Grand Council of the Royal Arcanum of Connecticut.

Judge Robinson has made a special study of civil service reform and delivered be- fore the Willimantic Woman's Club an able address on that subject, and on the two

OTTO B. ROBINSON

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hundredth anniversary of the Windham probate district published an interesting book- let covering the history of the probate district from 1719 with a summary of the com- mon principles of the distribution of estates and probate of wills which has had a large circulation.

Mrs. Robinson is a well known soprano vocalist, now singing in the Willimantic Baptist church. They have a fine residence at No. 207 Lewiston avenue, which was erected in 1912, and in the social circles of the city they occupy a most enviable position.

GUILFORD SMITH.

From earliest colonial days the ancestors of Guilford Smith in both the paternal and maternal lines have been connected with America's history, and in his own career Guilford Smith has played a notable part in advancing the material, social, political and moral progress of Connecticut. He has controlled most important business interests and three times he has represented his district in the state legislature. He comes of an ancestry honorable and distinguished and his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith. He retains association with the business interests of Windham as the president of the Windham National Bank and of the Smith & Winchester Manufactur- ing Company but is now largely living retired, only giving supervision to his invested interests.

A native of South Windham, he was born May 12, 1839, a son of Charles and Mary (Abbe) Smith. That his great-great-grandparents were residents of Connecticut finds verification in the fact that their son, Jacob Smith, was born in this state and was a resident of Colchester at the time of his demise. It is believed that he was an organ builder. The youngest of his three sons, Joshua Smith, was born in Lebanon, Connec- ticut, near the Windham line and in early manhood established his home in Windham, where he engaged in weaving and in farming. During the War of 1812 he made cloth used in the manufacture of soldiers' uniforms. His prominence in the community is indicated in the fact that in 1818 he was chosen to represent the town of Windham in the general assembly. He married Laura Allen, a daughter of Amos and Anna (Babcock) Allen, and after her death he wedded her sister, Anna Barodell Allen. These sisters were descendants of William Allen, of Salem, Massachusetts, who died in 1666. Amos and Anna (Dennison) Allen, the grandparents of Laura and Anna Barodell Allen, passed away in 1770. Anna (Dennison) Allen was a direct descendant of Colonel George Dennison, who was a member of Cromwell's army and afterward became a noted Indian fighter of Stonington. For his second wife Colonel Dennison chose Anna Baro- dell, a daughter of John Barodell, who nursed him back to health after he was severely wounded at the battle of Naseby (1645). Amos Allen, Jr., the father of Mrs. Joshua Smith, served for three years as a corporal in the American army in the Revolutionary war and passed away in 1778.

Among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Smith was Charles Smith, who was born September 14, 1807, in Windham. He began his education in the district schools there, but when a lad of thirteen years was left an orphan and from that time forward was dependent upon his own exertions. He resided for three years with his uncle, Frederick Smith, whose teachings greatly augmented the knowledge that Charles Smith had already gained. He early learned the trades of a wheelwright and mill- wright in Windham, under the direction of George Spafford, who, in association with James Phelps, later placed Mr. Smith in charge of a force of men engaged in the build- ing of a machine for paper making at West Stafford. Later Mr. Smith put this machine together, it being a French machine, originally invented and patented by a Frenchman, Louis Robert, who was a clerk in the establishment of M. Didot, the printer and paper maker, in 1799. Henry Fourdrinier, an English paper maker and inventor (and his brother Sealy) later made from this model an improved paper making machine which produced a continuous sheet of paper of any size from the pulp. A French machine of original construction had been shipped to parties in Boston, Massachusetts, by Fourdrinier and it was yet a very crude specimen. It was first set up and tried out in a town called New Boston, about four miles from Willimantic. Afterwards it was shipped to West Stafford, Connecticut, where Charles Smith with other helpers pro- duced the Fourdrinier machine, making such improvements as coincided with the Fourdrinier inventions. This machine was then sold to Amos Hubbard, of Norwich, Connecticut, and this was the first Fourdrinier machine used in this country, and all machines for making writing and print paper today are built upon its principles. Mr. Smith then accepted the position of superintendent of the factory which the firm of Phelps & Spafford, established at South Windham. When financial misfortune overtook the firm in the widespread panic of 1837, Mr. Smith and Harvey Winchester purchased

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume II, Part 49

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