USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Meriden > An historic record and pictorial description of the town of Meriden, Connecticut and men who have made it > Part 58
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He married in 1883 Ida M., daugh- ter of George and Lydia (Redfield) Beach, and they have one son, Leslie Adams Wilson, born in 1886, and a graduate in 1906 of Williston Acad- emy, Easthampton.
F. P. GRISWOLD.
Frederick Pratt Griswold, M. D., a leading physician and member of the city hospital staff of Meriden, was born in Essex, Conn., March 3, 1850. He comes of early colonial ancestry and is the son of Samuel and Susan (Pratt) Griswold. One of his fore- fathers, Edward Doty, the fortieth signer of the Mayflower Compact, served under Myles Standish in the First Military company and took part in the first encounter, December 8, 1620.
Dr. Griswold received his education in the common schools of his native town, later studying at the Suffield Institute and afterwards taking - up medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City, from which he graduated and received his degree of M. D. in 1876. After spending a year and a half in Belle- vue Hospital, he began the practice of
DR. F. P. GRISWOLD.
medicine in Guilford, remaining there for six years. He afterwards spent six months at the Polyclinic in New York City and came to Meriden in the fall of 1884.
Since that time he has been a val- ued resident of the town and has con- tinued practice without interruption to the present writing. Dr. Griswold
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
has always stood high in his profes- sion and has built up a large practice, his office and residence being situated on Broad street opposite the Center Congregational church. He has been a member of the hospital staff since the excellent institution was first founded in Meriden. He is a member of the American Medical Association, Connecticut State Medical Society, the New Haven County Medical Society and the Meriden City Medi- cal Society, in all of which he enjoys the fellowship and esteem of the mem- bers of the profession in the highest degree. He is examiner for the Mas- sachusetts Mutual and the National Life Insurance companies.
He was married October 30, 1878, to Caroline P., daughter of Wm. Sew- ard and Caroline Parmelee Hull, of Madison, Conn., to whom have been born two boys: Frederick Prescott, born April 16, 1880, and Harold Hull, born November 12, 1886. Both Dr. and Mrs. Griswold are active members of the Center Congregational church.
H. A. MEEKS.
Harold Albert Meeks, M. D., a well known physician of Meriden, who has been a member of the city hospital staff since its organization, was born at the summer home of his parents, Preakness, Wayne Township, N. J., July 27, 1868. He comes from an old Knickerbocker family and his descend- ants figured prominently in the affairs of Manhattan Island long before the
Revolution. His father was of Eng- lish and Spanish descent. Dr. Meeks has also Holland-Dutch and French blood in his veins.
He is descended from Abra Clark, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and also from Cap- tain Francis Van Dyke, of the Conti- nental artillery whose prominence and valor at the Battle of Monmouth are
Photo by Akers & Pigeon. DR. H. A. MEEKS.
matters of history, and who was also instrumental in the capture of Major Andre. His wife, a daughter of a French Huguenot minister, entertained Lafayette and acted as interpreter in his first conference with Washington. The father of Dr. Meeks was captain of the Eighth Company of the Ander- son Zouaves which served under
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BIOGRAPHIES.
Generals Mcclellan and Keyes and throughout the Civil war. , Dr. Meeks attended school in New York City, afterwards entered and graduated at Phillips Exeter Academy where he prepared for Columbia Col- lege. He studied medicine at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which he graduated and was conferred the degree of M. D., in 1890. He began practice immediately at the St. Vincent's Hospital, New York City ; and after his service there continued, a few months, with a pri- vate office at the metropolis. He came to Meriden in 1891 to continue the practice of his profession which he has since conducted here.
Dr. Meeks was three years town physician of Meriden and has been city health officer since 1901. In ad- dition to being a valued member of the city hospital staff, upon which he has served ever since the hospital was founded, Dr. Meeks has for eleven years been the physician and surgeon for the State School for Boys. He stands high in his profession; is a member of the Meriden City Medical Society, New Haven County Medical Society, Connecticut State Medical Society, New Haven County Health Officers Association, and is also a member of the Home Club of Meriden.
He was married in 1892 to Florence Austin, of Meriden, and has two sons.
JOSEPH A. COOKE.
Meriden is peculiarly fortunate in the possession of skillful practitioners
of the medical profession, one of the ablest of which is Dr. Joseph A. Cooke. He was born at New Haven, February II, 1866, and was grad- uated from the medical department of Yale University in 1897. After practicing for a time in New Haven, and getting further valuable expe- rience at St. Francis' hospital, New York City, he came to Meriden in
DR. J. A. COOKE.
1899. A warm letter of introduction from the celebrated Dr. Francis Ba- con, of New Haven, assured him a cordial reception from the other mem- bers of the medical profession in Mer- iden by whom he has ever since been extended every courtesy and consid- eration. Dr. Cooke has, therefore, been in continuously active and suc-
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cessful practice in Meriden for six years,
He was appointed a member of the hospital staff in 1901 and has proven himself one of the most enthusiastic workers in the cause of science and humanity at that excellent institution. Like many other physicians and sur- geons of the town, he is possessed of admirable judgment, a quality which must be inborn and his capacity for work is somewhat remarkable. He has a particularly large office practice and usually several hospital cases. He is a general favorite in the commun- ity. He is a member of several fra- ternal organizations, including the Eagles, Foresters, Elks and Turners, and is also a member of Division 2, Ancient Order of Hibernians. Dr. Cooke is local medical examiner for the Massachusetts Mutual Life In- surance Co. and is a member of the city, state, county and American med- ical societies.
Dr. Cooke married Susan Josephine Stanford, of New Haven, Conn., Au- gust 6, 1903.
GEORGE ROCKWELL.
George Rockwell, secretary of the International Silver Co., now of Wa- terbury, but for many years a resi- dent of Meriden, was born at Ridge- field, Conn., and is one of the three sons of Francis A. and Mary (Lee) Rockwell, who have figured promi- nently in the manufacturing and finan- cial life of Meriden.
He was educated in the schools of his native town and concluded his studies at the academy at Fort Ed- ward, New York. He began his suc- cessful business career as a clerk in the First National Bank, of Norwalk, Conn., where he became schooled in banking methods. At the end of two years he accepted a position with a firm of wholesale grocers in New York City, with whom he remained for a period of nine years, and during that time became the head of the account- ing department.
In 1879 he was elected auditor of the Meriden Britannia company and later became a director and secretary of that company. He held that office until the organization of the Interna- tional Silver Company, when he was elected secretary of that corporation and holds the office at the present time.
His general business ability and great energy have brought him many other positions of honor and responsi- bility. He was treasurer of the Rog- ers & Brother corporation, of Water- bury, and the Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroad Co. while those two corporations were carried on under those titles and since its or- ganization has been one of the di- rectors of the International Silver Company.
He is also one of the directors of Manning, Bowman & Co. and the Mil- ler Bros. Cutlery Co., of Meriden.
Mr. Rockwell took up his residence at Waterbury in 1890 to become man- ager of the Rogers & Bro. corpora-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
tion, one of the companies forming the International Silver Company, and holds that office at the present time. He is a man with an almost unlimited capacity for work, and never shirks a duty he is called upon to assume either in business or social life. His success in business life may be largely at- tributed to the fact that he has found pleasure in the faithful performance of every duty.
Mr. Rockwell is a member of the board of managers of the Waterbury Club and is a member of the house committee of the Manufacturers' Club of Waterbury.
He was married in 1881 to Minnie F. 'Battles, of Lowell, Mass., and that union has been blessed with two chil- dren, George Rockwell, Jr., and Sher- burne B. Rockwell.
E. LYMAN MARVIN.
E. Lyman Marvin, for more than twenty years a valued resident and leading merchant of Meriden, was born in Greene, Shenango county, N. Y., July 15, 1839, and died in Meriden, May 1, 1899. His early life was spent upon his father's farm. He afterwards for a time taught a village school winters. He learned the drug business, which he made his life's calling, at Bingham- ton, N. Y., where he also enlisted in the Civil War in the Eighth N. Y. Cavalry, serving as hospital stew- ard until the close of the war. He then returned to Binghamton, where he assumed his former po-
sition as drug clerk, and in 1867 was married to Mrs. Susan B. Barber, mother of Willis N. Barber, now a well known druggist of Meriden. Mr. Marvin, with his wife and step- son, came to Meriden in 1868, and on Broad street, in the building now the residence of Silas B. Hall, start- ed the third drug store in Meriden, his quarters comprising one-half of
E. LYMAN MARVIN.
the ground floor, and the other half being used as a shoe store. Owing to the scarcity of rents Mr. Marvin secured accommodations with board in the old Central hotel, afterwards removing his family to a small house on East Main street, but in 1883 built a comfortable residence at 530 East Main street, where he
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BIOGRAPHIES.
lived with his family until he passed out of this life.
His strict integrity and reliability as a merchant soon won the con- fidence of the buying public at the center, and his enterprise in putting in one of the first soda fountains in Meriden made him somewhat cele- brated. His progressiveness as a merchant was also demonstrated in various ways. In February, 1870, having bought out the drug store of Davis & Greenfield, he removed to the present location, where he con- tinued in business as long as he lived, and which store, now owned by his stepson, Willis N. Barber, has been gradually enlarged from time to time until it comprises one of the largest and best ordered drug stores in the city. Athletic goods, school books and periodicals former- ly comprised a large portion of the stock, and during the youth of Wil- lis N. Barber, who grew up with the store, a job printing business was conducted, but as the popula- tion at the center increased, the store became more confined to the goods usually found in a drug store, but a large stock of stationery, blank books and periodicals is still carried.
Mr. Marvin was affiliated with several organizations and was es- pecially active in the Odd Fellows, being a member of Meriden Center Lodge, 68, I. O. O. F., in which lodge he passed through all the chairs. He was also a member of
the building committee and one of the trustees of the Odd Fellows' building on Broad street. He was a member of Oasis Encampment, and of the uniform rank of that order. He was a member of Cen- ter Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M., and Keystone Chapter, 27, R. A. M., and was highly esteemed in Masonic circles. He was also a member of Merriam Post, 8, G. A. R., and also of the Meriden Druggists' Associa- tion and the Connecticut Pharma- ceutical Association. In politics he was a consistent Republican, and although he served two years from the Fifth ward in the common coun- cil, he declined further to hold pub- lic office. With his wife he was a devout member of the First Baptist church.
Mrs. Marvin, who died July 16, 1903, was an exemplary Christian character. . She was prominent in Rachel Lodge, D. of R., and was also a member of the relief corps auxiliary to Merriam Post, G. A. R.
WILLIS N. BARBER.
Willis Norman Barber, druggist, of Meriden, a merchant who, though much engrossed in business, has for many years been a prominent figure in military and fraternal circles, was born in Harwinton, Conn., October II, 1859. He is the son of the late Norman Buell, and Susan Beach (Wood) Barber. His father was the son of Loyal and Lucretia
17
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
(Buell) Barber, and his mother, a his stepfather, where he commenced daughter of David B. and Beulah to learn the drug business. There he finished his course, becoming a registered pharmacist in 1883, and has always remained either as clerk or proprietor, with the exception of two years, when he was employed at the old Whittlesey drug store, New Haven. (Beach) Wood. His father lived in Harwinton until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he enlisted, August 28, 1862, in Litchfield, in Company A, Nineteenth Connecti- cut Volunteers, dying after one year's service.
In 1867 his mother was again married to E. Lyman Marvin,
WILLIS N. BARBER.
of whom a sketch appears else- where. Mr. Barber, coming to this city with his mother and step- father in 1868, has ever since been identified with the town. He ob- tained his early education in the Center school, and after gradu-
Returning to Meriden in May, 1899, upon the death of Mr. Marvin and after having previously man- aged the store and looked after his mother's interests, in 1891 he pur- chased a part interest in the busi- ness, but since September, 1899, has been sole proprietor.
This store, the fourth oldest drug store in Meriden, has always enjoy- ed the unstinted patronage of the up town people, and has ever been con- ducted under honorable business principles, at the present day com- prising an establishment of most modern pattern containing a large stock of pure drugs and medicines, sundries, and all the goods usually found in a high class drug store, as well as a large stock of stationery and periodicals.
Mr. Barber stands high in the drug trade, being a merchant of good repute and a member of the Con- necticut Pharmaceutical Associa- tion and the Meriden Druggists' Association. He is also a director of the Meriden Business Men's As- sociation.
In fraternal life he is one of the best known men of Meriden. ] He ating in 1877, entered the store of is a past master and has been for
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BIOGRAPHIES.
several years treasurer of Center Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M .; member of Keystone Chapter, 27, R. A. M .; also of Hamilton Council, 22, R. & ·S. M .; and a past commander of St. Elmo Commandery, 9, K. T., and a member of Meriden Chapter, O. E. S. He is, as well, a member of the New Haven bodies of the Scottish Rite and of LaFayette Consistory, Bridgeport, where he obtained his thirty-second degree, and is a mem- ber of Pyramid Temple, M. S. Mr. Barber has also taken all the de- grees in Odd Fellowship.
Since 1884 he has been a charter member of C. L. Upham Camp, 7, S. of V., and has held all the offices, not only in the camp, of which he was its first captain, but others with- in the gift of the state. He was colonel of the Connecticut division in 1891, and has served as special aide on the staff of the commander- in-chief, and attended several of the national encampments.
He began his creditable service in the Connecticut National Guard by enlisting, March 15, 1883, in Co. I, Second Regiment, from which he was discharged in 1888. In July, 1888, he again enlisted in the service, becoming a member of Co. B, C. N. G. (the New Haven Blues), in which he served until his return to Meriden, when, in August, 1889, he was appointed hospital steward on the staff of Col. John B. Doherty.
After six years' service in that capacity he was re-appointed by Col.
Lucien F. Burpee, serving until the retirement of Col. Burpee, and thus completing a service of seventeen years. Sergeant Barber, while in the state militia took an active in- terest in rifle practice, shooting on both the Co. I and the regimental teams, winning several handsome decorations with the rifle. He has since presented to his old company, the Barber medal, shot for annually by the members of Co. I.
Mr. Barber was married in 1877 to Melissa, daughter of George H. and Maria (Lewis) Beckley of Meri- den. The father of Mrs. Barber was the son of Luther Beckley, who was born at the old homestead, Beckley Quarter, Berlin, Conn., and her mother was the daughter of Partrick and Sarah (Flagg) Lewis. To Mr. and Mrs. Barber have been born the following children : Maude Beckley (Mrs. Chas. E. Wheeler) ; Norman George, a book-keeper at the office of the Chas. Parker Com- pany; Lewis Willis, associated with his father in business; Ethleen Su- san, a student at the Meriden High School, and Wauneita Ruth, who passed out when three years of age. Mr. Barber resides with his family in his own comfortable home at 32 Orient street.
EVAN OWEN.
Evan Owen, remembered for his good citizenship during a long resi- dence in Meriden, was born in
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Newtown, Montgomeryshire, North Wales, July 7, 1832. He came to this country in the spring of 1857, locat- ing in Rockville, Conn. Owing to the financial panic of that period, he did not bring his family from Wales until two years later.
At Rockville and at Windermere (Ellington) he worked at his trade in woolen mills until after the close of the Civil War, when he went to Hol-
EVAN OWEN.
yoke, Mass. He afterwards returned to Windermere, however, remaining there until 1873. In that year he came to Meriden and with the exception of a few years spent in Lawrence, Mass., and Chester, Pa., made this city his home until his death, which occurred September 1, 1900.
He was always deeply interested in politics, and was an ardent Republi- can from the time when he was a mem- ber of the "Wide-awakes" in Rock- ville during the Lincoln campaign of 1860, and thereafter as long as he lived. He never desired public office but was at one time a member of the board of selectmen of the town of El- lington, and at the time of his death was a member of the city government of Meriden, serving as a member of the common council from the Fifth ward.
He was especially beloved in fra- ternal circles and was a member of Fayette Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Rockville, and Meriden Center Lodge, 68, I. O. O. F.
In 1850 he was married to Sarah Pryce, who, with his two sons, Llew- ellyn and Richard A., survive him and live in Meriden.
RICHARD A. OWEN.
Richard A. Owen, a valued citizen of Meriden for many years past, and since 1889 superintendent of the job printing and binding departments of The Journal Publishing Company, was born in Newtown, North Wales, April 27, 1855. He is one of the two sons of Evan and Sarah (Pryce) Owen. He came to this country when he was four years of age with his mother, two years after his father's arrival here, and went to live in Rockville. He came to Meriden in 1873 where he has ever since lived and for many years has been one of the most familiar fig-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
ures of the town associated with the printing business. He began to learn the art preservative at the office of the Meriden Recorder in 1874, later be- coming employed at the office of the Meriden Republican. In 1875 he went to work for E. A. Horton, with whom he remained for more than seven years. In 1883 with Charles E. Bi- beau as a partner, and under the fırın name of Owen & Bibeau, he engaged in the job printing business for him-
9
RICHARD A. OWEN.
self. The firm continued the business successfully for six years, until 1889, when they sold out to The Journal Publishing Co. Since that date Mr. Owen has held his present responsible position, where his efforts have re- dounded to the credit of The Journal
Publishing Company, whose extensive printery and bindery has during his superintendency become one of the most complete in all New England. Mr. Owen is well versed in his call- ing, is an almost infallible authority in all things typographical and his knowledge and judgment are often turned to the good advantage of the customer and the author.
He is a member of Meriden Center Lodge, 68, I. O. O. F .; A. H. Hali Council, 1423, R. A., and Electric Lodge, 50, N. E. O. P.
He was married October 25, 1876, to Elizabeth J. Barlow, and to them were born two children, Grace Eliza- beth, died September 30, 1885, aged six years; and Alice Cary, died Feb- ruary 20, 1889, aged seven years. Mr Owen resides in his own comfortable residence at 50 Fourth street.
W. H. THOMPSON.
William Henry Thompson, mer- chant of Meriden, and who conducts, on Colony street, an extensive ice cream and confectionery business, was born in New Haven. After acquiring a good common school education, at the age of seventeen he went to Phil- adelphia to learn the trade of a con- fectioner under Whitman. After ten years at his trade, Mr. Thompson en- gaged in business in the Quaker City.
He came to Meriden in 1879 and opened a store at 75 West Main street. After conducting business at that lo- cation for a period of twenty-one years, he removed to his present estab-
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
lishment on Colony street, which is justly considered one of the handsom- est and best equipped of its kind in all New England, and where he has fa- cilities for manufacturing the confec- tionery for a large retail trade, com- prised largely of the elite of the city, and also for manufacturing ice cream in large quantities which he has always served to the public in its purest, rich- est and most delectable form.
Photo by Akers & Pigeon. W. H. THOMPSON.
Mr. Thompson is a member of Mer- idian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M., and the Meriden Business Men's Associa- tion. He has two sons, George H., a talented musician and organist of Ply- mouth Congregational church at New Haven, and Charles E., associated with his father in business.
JOHN H. PARKER.
John H. Parker, an estimable citizen of Meriden and owner of the Parker block, one of the most substantial business structures of the town, was born in Windsor, Ver- mont, January 12, 1857. He is the son of George A. Parker, a native of Ashford, Conn., who married Laura L. Conant of Reading, Vt. Mr. Par- ker, on the maternal side, is a direct descendant of Roger Conant, who emigrated to this country, landing at Plymouth, Mass., in July, 1623, mak- ing the passage in the ship "Ann". Under the Sheffield or Cape Ann charter, he was the predecessor of Endicott as governor of the Colony, with residence at Salem, and was appointed as such by the Dorchester Company, an office he held for some three years, and until the Massachu- setts Bay Colony was chartered by King James in 1628. He is also a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln.
George A. Parker, father of John H., was a gun and spectacle maker in his young manhood, and was em- ployed in the government armory at Windsor. About a year and a half after the birth of our subject, he came to Meriden with his family, driving the entire distance. He came to Meriden to take charge of a livery stable then located on East Main street where the Morse & Norton block now stands, and which stable was owned by Prosper Merrill, a wealthy manufacturer of Vermont,
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BIOGRAPHIES.
and which had previously been con- ducted by his son. Mr. Parker with his young wife and child took up his residence on East Main street.
John H. Parker in his boyhood was given the best education the
GEORGE A. PARKER.
town afforded and finished by taking the high school course at the Old Corner School, under Prof. A. B. Mather, graduating with the class of 1872. He began his business life in the store of W. W. Mosher, where he learned the drug business. After two years' experience he se- cured a position in a drug store in Hartford, one year later entering the New York College of Pharmacy, where after taking a two years' course, he graduated in 1877, and
later, after serving one year in the drug store of John W. Shedden, cor- ner of Broadway and 34th street, New York City, he entered the drug business on his own account by opening a well patronized store at the corner of 6th avenue and 124th street, where he continued success- fully for six years.
After the completion of his busi- ness block, one of the most desirable and thoroughly built structures on the main thoroughfare of Meriden,
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
JOHN H. PARKER.
and which during its construction was under the supervision of his father, he returned to Meriden and occupied the corner store, fitting up the same as a drug store, disposing
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
of his interests in New York City. Mr. Parker conducted the drug store in his business block thereafter for a period of twenty years, retiring from the drug business in June, 1904, with a well earned competency and after having made an enviable busi- ness record. He has since devoted himself to the care of his real estate. He is a member of the Connecticut Pharmaceutical Association, and the Meriden Druggists' Association. He
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