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 60
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His death was a particularly sad one owing to the fact that he had been married but four months, and was building a handsome residence on School street on land owned by the Collins family for four genera-
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Sl Coolline .
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tions, where he was to make his home with his newly wedded wife.
He was married June 28, 1904, to Miss Elizabeth J. Mahon, daughter of Thomas Mahon of South Meri- den, who survives him and makes her home in Meriden. His funeral was largely attended and the active and honorary pall bearers included men prominent in public, business and social life. The following reso- lutions adopted by the Meriden Cut- lery Company express a measure of the esteem in which he was held in the community.
"For the third time within the brief period of less than two years this board is called to deplore the loss of an honored member. Mr. Edward J. Collins died at his home in Boston, October 19, 1904, at the close of a brief but severe illness.
"In the midst of a useful life in accordance with the workings of an inscrutable Providence he was tak- en from us. We as a body desire to leave upon record a testimonial which shall speak our profound es- teem for one deceased associate therefore: Resolved that for the ex- cellence of his business qualities, for his faithfulness in the performance of every duty intrusted to his care in the interest of the company ; for his worth as a man and a citizen we seek through this memorial to give honor to his memory; Resolved that these resolutions be spread up- on the records of the company and a copy sent to the family. Direc- tors, Homer A. Curtiss, John L.
Billard, James W. Gildersleeve, Charles L. Rockwell, Robt. W. Hal- lam, Frank P. Wilcox, A. Chamber- lain and Walter Hubbard."
BENJAMIN W. COLLINS.
Benjamin White Collins, an active man of affairs in business and agricul- tural circles, is of a family for many years a leading one in Meriden. He is a son of the late Aaron L. Collins, and a worthy descendant of early col- onial ancestry. Lewis Collins came to this country from England in 1630 and with his four sons, Nathan, John, Albert and Dexter, located in Charles- town, Mass., and whose grandson, John Collins (second) became one of the patentees of Guilford, this state, where as early as 1682 he taught grammar school. His family in Mer- iden dates back to Robert Collins, who settled on a portion of the Belcher farm in 1727. Captain Daniel Collins, of Meriden, served three enlistments in the Revolutionary war ; first in 1775 as sergeant in Captain Haven's com- pany ; again in 1777 ; and in 1779 re- sponded to the New Haven alarm, serving in Col. Thaddeus Cook's reg- iment, assisting in the defense of Led- yard. For valiant service he was made a captain in 1780 and was then stationed at Guilford in the defense of the coast. Lyman, grandfather of · Benjamin W. Collins, also of Meriden, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and like his ancestors, became a large owner of land in Meriden, which af- terwards became possessed by his heirs.
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Photo by H. T. Shaw. Jny. H. Colline
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Benjamin W. Collins is the fourth generation born in the old Collins homestead on East Main street hill, where he still resides and where he first saw light April 1, 1859. He at- tended the old Center school and be- came trained in matters of business and agriculture long before he reached his majority. His father's large farm- ing and other interests gave him am- ple opportunity for assuming respon- sibilities long before he had reached the years of discretion of the ordinary youth. The farm of sixty acres he took an important part in the manage- ment of, and as well looked after the family real estate. He has for many years been interested in the raising of fine stock and has bred many good blooded horses as well as pure Jersey cows. In 1895, with his father, he be- came possessed of the old established hay, grain and feed business of A. S. Russell on South Colony street. In December, 1897, they incorporated the business under the present name of the Meriden Grain & Feed Co., of which he has been the leading spirit in the management and since the death of his father, the former president, he has held the offices of both treasurer and president. Under his able man- agement the business has increased every year and is at this writing of large proportions, the concern doing its own milling and grinding on the premises and dealing in flour, seed and fertilizer, as well as hay, grain and feed. Mr. Collins is also a large stockholder and one of the board of control of the large potato dealing
concern of the R. D. Prentice Co., which controls twenty-three potato jobbing houses in the state of Maine. He is also a large real estate owner and taxpayer and interested in several local manufacturing industries and is one of the directors of the Home Na- tional Bank. In politics he is a Re- publican. He has served as a mem- ber of the board of selectmen and for the past ten years as one of the school board of Meriden. He is also a mem- ber of the Town Hall Building Com- mittee and one of the reception com- mittee of the Meriden Centennial.
He is a thirty-second degree mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the following bodies of the state : Center Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Keystone Chapter, R. A. M .; Hamil- ton Council, R. & S. M .; St. Elmo Commandery, K. T., and the Scottish rite bodies of New Haven and Bridge- port. He is also a member of Pyra- mid Temple, M. S. and of Alfred H. Hall Council, Royal Arcanum. Mr. Collins is treasurer of the Connecticut Cattle Breeders Association, secretary of the Connecticut Agricultural So- ciety and president of the Meriden Agricultural Society.
He was married March 5, 1895, to Sophia Lovell Northrop and to that union one daughter, Betsey, was born October 9, 1901.
OWEN B. ARNOLD.
Owen Brainard Arnold, financier and literatus, deceased, and who was associated with the life of Meriden for
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nearly half a century, was born in Haddam, Conn., the home of his an- cestors for many generations, July II, 1818. He was the son of Jared and Susan (Brainard) Arnold. On the maternal side he was descended from David Brainard, a native of Braintree, England, one of twenty-eight persons who moved to Haddam, Conn., from Hartford in 1662, and took up large sections of land deeded by the Indians to Matthew Allyn and Samuel Wyllis. Daniel Brainard became the largest land owner in the town and his prop- erty included not only much land in what is now known as Haddam proper but all now covered by the present village of Higganum. From that early colonial period the name has ever since been prominent in the town.
In his boyhood, Mr. Arnold was in- dustrious and while he was given a good education, he showed an inde- pendence not only in thought and ac- tion but in monetary affairs. Among his playmates were many men who achieved national prominence in var- ious walks of life, and among them Cyrus W. Field. To work he thought was honorable, and when not employ- ing his time in the school room, did work about his father's farm, and oc- casionally neighboring farms. After receiving due preparation, he entered Yale College, taking the academic course ; he was considered one of the brilliant men of the class of 1837 with which he was graduated, a class that has passed down in college history as one of the most famous in its annals from the large number of men it con-
tained who became eminent in various professions.
Mr. Arnold began his business life in the Bank of New England, now the National Bank of New England at Haddam, one of the oldest banks of the state. There he learned the rudiments of banking, a business he followed continuously thereafter. It was in 1856 that he came to Meriden to become cashier of the Meriden Bank, his brother, Joseph Arnold, having previously occupied the same position-and who had resigned in 1853 to accept the office of cashier of the bank in Derby, Conn. O. B. Arnold served as cashier until the death of Joel I. Butler in 1890, when he was chosen president, and he held the lat- ter office continuously until the day of his death which occurred August 30, 1900.
The following extracts from the resolutions adopted at a meeting of the directors of the Meriden National Bank held a few days after his death show in what high regard he was held by his bank associates :
"After a considerable training in banking and financial affairs he 1
(Owen B. Arnold) joined his for- tunes with our bank forty-four years ago, and has remained in continuous service, until death following a lin- gering illness, severed our official re- lations.
"Knowing him as few did, we held him in the highest respect and es- teem. His advice was frequently sought and much prized. He was careful, thorough and painstaking,
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a
:
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scrupulously exact, ever affable and courteous, with a quiet dignity and . charming refinement of manner.
"The worthy never appealed to him in vain, and his charity, public and private, at home and abroad, was un- failing and without display. He was a helpful, sympathizing friend, a loved companion, and a favorite wherever he lived. His library was carefully selected, and was always at the ser- vice of friends or callers.
"It is a matter of regret that no ar- tist has preserved such work as might always call to our minds that tall, spare, courtly figure, that winning personality, that inspiring face, that kindly but searching eye, that impres- sive brow, and crowning all, that wealth of luxuriant hair.
"There are enterprises now flour- ishing which might have perished long ago, except for the courage which he infused and the support he imparted.
"His friendly advice and kindly word has more than once saved the young from ruin, and led them into a better and worthier life. He heart- ily supported all measures calculated to elevate, educate and improve man- kind, but he received with caution any suggestion which involved a possible menace to financial, social or commer- cial integrity. He scrutinized every proposal which might lead to useless and burdensome expense, and tried to test all questions by the touchstone composed of truth, honor, justice and fair play.
"While to the unthinking his ca-
reer may seem an entire success, he had in the twilight of his later life realized only too clearly the uncer- tainty of human plans, and his grief was the keener because he suffered for those whose interests were under his care, so that at last his troubled heart began to long the more for that rest and peace which can only be found in the companionship of Him who is infinitely tender and compassionate."
Besides the important part Mr. Ar- , nold took in the successful manage- ment of the Meriden National Bank, he was from 1862 until his death one of the trustees and directors of the Meriden Savings Bank, of which in- stitution he was also from 1870 one of its vice-presidents. Several local manufacturing enterprises were aided to success and encouraged both by his sound judgment and his means. He was one of the directors of Edward Miller & Co., and The Wilcox & White Organ Company. In the af- fairs of the town of Meriden he was always active, and although quiet and unpretending was a man whose influ- ence invariably was exerted for the welfare of his fellow townsmen. He was kind, not only to relatives, but it was his delight to help the poor and unfortunate.
He was one of the founders of the Meriden Boys' Club, and contributed liberally towards its maintenance. He was for about twenty years one of the trustees of the Connecticut School for Boys. For several years and until his death he was president of the Cur- tis Home, and he was treasurer of St.
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Andrew's parish for many years, with which church he was connected as one of the vestrymen for a great many years, although in his early life he was affiliated with the Congregational church.
Mr. Arnold's public career con- sisted of two terms in the legislature where he ably represented the town of Meriden, being first elected in 1861 and again in 1874.
Mr. Arnold amassed considerable land in and about Meriden and among his possessions was quite a tract on West Peak and in his will the extreme point of the Peak, consisting of about four acres, was left to the city of Mer- iden. It was his earnest hope that by some means this high point of land could be used in the same way that Mt. Tom in Massachusetts is used, as a pleasure resort for the people of Meriden and vicinity during the warm days of summer.
During his entire life he was a stu- dent, and as he advanced in age he found his greatest pleasure, outside of banking hours, with his books.
His acquaintance among men of let- ters was unusually large, while his generosity and charity were not fully known until after his death. In his will were provisions for many charita- ble objects, but so reserved a man was he that even his executor had no idea of the extent of his liberality until proven to him conclusively by the large number of calls from individuals and institutions that had previously been helped by Mr. Arnold.
Mr. Arnold was never married. One
of his nieces, Katherine Arnold, daughter of Joseph Arnold, married in 1874, Charles H. Nettleton, of Derby, Conn., whom he appointed executor of his will.
The accompanying engraving of Mr. Arnold and the only one of him known to exist is from a photograph probably taken shortly after his re- moval to Meriden.
HENRY B. BEACH.
A loyal citizen of Meriden who has taken a part in the betterment of the town for over forty years, is Henry Burton Beach. He was born in New Milford, Litchfield County, Conn., March 17, 1831, and is a son of Burroughs Beach, a native of Ox- ford, Conn., who married Harriet M. daughter of Justice Weller of Bridgewater, Conn. His father was an exemplary Christian character and in his young manhood engaged in the manufacture of cabinet furni- ture at New Milford, and his factory grew to be the largest in that indus- try for several miles around. He was a man of strong personality and pronounced convictions, es- pecially on the slavery question, and was one of the earliest advocates of the abolition of slavery. On this question he had the sympathy of but few residents of the town, among them was Augustine Thayer, father of Judge John Q. Thayer of Meriden. Another strong sympa- thizer was Daniel Platt, father of the late O. H. Platt who lived in the
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)
Henry Teach
,
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adjoining town of Washington. Burroughs Beach, who afterward be- came a resident and property owner of Meriden, where he died January 12, 1872, lived to see slavery abol- ished, very much to his satisfaction.
To his son, the subject of this sketch, he gave a good education, first at the common schools, later at private school in his native town, afterwards at the Methodist Semi- nary at Amenia, N. Y., concluding with an attendance at a select private school at New Milford. Henry B. Beach, after entering a dry goods store at New Milford as a boy, be- came a clerk and later owned a store of his own where he became engag- ed in the sale of general merchan- dise. In the early 5os he went front- iering, locating at Stillwater, Minn., where he became a leading factor in that town and vicinity and was heavily engaged in the lumber and milling business, and also in the droving of cattle and horses. Just previous to 1860 his parents re- moved to Meriden where they con- tinued to reside until called to rest from earthly cares.
Henry B. Beach returned from Minnesota and settled permanently in Meriden about 1863 engaging in the chuck and drill business in a portion of the office of Lyon & Bill- ard. After a year or more be began his long and successful career as a traveling salesman in the employ of what was then known as the Wil- cox Britannia Co., but soon after as the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. Mr.
Beach continued, with the excep- tion of one year, in that capacity un- til 1905, and still retains his con- nection with the company Al- though he has now retired from the road, he is one of the best known traveling men of the trade, and has for over forty years been an import- ant factor in the concern. He served as one of the directors from 1879 until the business became re-orga- nized as a part of the International Silver Company in 1903. Mr. Beach is connected with the Masonic fra- ternity being affiliated with Merid- ian Lodge 77, A. F. & A. M., of Meri- den and is also a member of the Council R. & S. M., of Bridgeport. He is a communicant of St. Andrew's Episcopal church. He was married September 5, 1850 to Charlotte, daughter of Sheldon and Jennette (Wooster) Leavenworth and to that union six children have been born : Joseph B., of Meriden; Julia B., married George B. Paddock, former- ly of Meriden, of Jackson, Minn .; Harry Burroughs; Sheldon B .; Frederick, died in infancy; and E. W. Beach. Mr. and Mrs. Beach are also blessed with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
JAMES COOK.
Nearly a half century of active residence and participation in the business affairs of Meriden made James Cook one of the best known citizens of the town. He was born in Higganum, Conn., April 26, 1835,
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James book
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where he obtained an education. Mr. Cook came to Meriden in 1858 where he resided continuously until his regretted decease. He was in every sense a self-made man and be- gan his extensive business career by securing employment with Lyon & Billard where he remained for five years. He then became associated with Julius Pratt & Co.
James Cook as a young man was industrious and thrifty and it was not long before he had saved enough from his earnings to engage in the livery business, the site of his stable being on Crown street in the rear of where the Cook block now stands, but which afterwards was destroyed by fire.
Mr. Cook was successful from his first business venture, but he started on a greater era of prosperity after he bought the square on East Main street, also bounded by South Col- ony street, Crown street and the tracks of the N. Y., N. H., & H. railroad. He had an eye to the improvement of the property and was ever known as a fair minded and liberal landlord.
With Joseph Morse he built the Morse & Cook block, one of the most substantial business structures of Meriden, located in the heart of the business section, and which has always proved to have been an ex- cellent investment, and at the time of its construction was considered an important stroke of enterprise on the part of its owners. Among Mr. Cook's other property holdings Henry Cook of Higganum.
were a partnership in the Curtiss & Cook block located on Main street, 186 feet of railroad frontage on South Colony street, the whole of the corner of East Main and Crown streets, the old Trading Company store on East Main street, and be- sides his own residence on Crown street he possessed several tenement houses and other property.
Mr. Cook was a man of good re- pute and one who was ever consid- ered a worthy adopted citizen of the town. He took a deep interest in the affairs of the locality and no movement for the betterment of the town was ever known to be discouraged by him During the last few years of his life Mr. Cook did not enjoy customary good health but his indomitable energy and per- severance would not permit him to give up his business cares until he succumbed to a complication of dis- eases. He was much devoted to his home and his family and was affil- iated with but one fraternal organi- zation, Meridian Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M.
He was married to Emma L. Fay who now survives him and to that union were born two children: a daughter who died in infancy and one son, Arthur E. Cook, who now fills the important place in the busi- ness world made vacant by the death of his father, which occurred June 10, 1903. Mr. Cook was also sur- vived by a sister, Mrs. Joseph Hub- bard of Middletown, and a brother,
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8 Lane
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JOHN SHERMAN LANE.
Meriden being a manufacturing city can boast of many able and progres- sive business men. One of the most prominent of these is John S. Lane. Although he did not become a resi- dent of Meriden until 1894 he has so identified himself with the business and social life of the city as to be looked upon as a foremost citizen.
Mr. Lane is a native of Connecti- cut, having been born in Kent, No- vember 27, 1839. His father was Hon. Daniel P. Lane and his mother a member of the well known Sher- man family which has given to New England so many illustrious citizens. Daniel Lane fought in the War of 1812, and was a well known man about the state, having been a member of the State Assembly from Kent in 1840. He had five children of whom John Sherman was the second.
Mr. Lane attended the district school of his native town during the winter months and worked on the farm during the summer until he was thirteen years of age, when he served as clerk in a store for one yeear. At the age of eighteen he left the hill- side home and went to Bridge- port to make his fortune. He found employment with the New York & New Haven Railroad Company as a track repairer. His ability soon earned for him a better position, that of foreman, and later he served the Housatonic road in the same capacity. During this time the double track was
laid between New York and New Haven.
The western fever seized him about this time, and in 1859 he went to Chi- cago where he remained until 1861. Lincoln's call for "500,000 more" after the battle of Bull Run found John S. Lane ready and willing to answer to his country's call, and he came back to Connecticut and joined the Eighth Connecticut Volunteers, enlisting from New Milford September 14, 1861. He acquitted himself with gallantry in all the engagements of his regiment which included the following: Roan- oke Island, Newbern, N. C., siege of Fort Macon, N. C., South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Va., Fort Huger, Va., Fort Darling, Va., Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Watthall Junc- tion and Fort Harrison.
Mr. Lane left the army a first lieu- tenant October 14, 1864. On his re- turn home he was appointed supervis- or of the Housatonic Road, and in 1880 he accepted a similar position with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Part of his work at this time was to attend to the stone- ballasting of the tracks, and he soon felt that there was a good opening in this section of the country for the business of furnishing crushed stone to the railroads. It was found upon investigation that the hills about Mer- iden furnished excellent material for this crushed stone, and in 1894 Mr. Lane moved to Meriden where the great industry of John S. Lane & Son was started and has ever since been growing to greater proportions. In
RESIDENCE OF JOHN S. LANE.
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WVOWAY
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1893 a quarry was opened near West- field, Mass., on the Boston & Albany Railroad where the same class of stone is found, and this has also been very successful. Mr. Lane, at this writing, is president of the following concerns : John S. Lane & Son, Incorp., Lane Construction Co., Incorp., Lane Quar- ry Co., and he is a shareholder in the Connecticut Trap Rock Quarries In- corp.
For some years he has devoted most of his time to his extensive prop- erties in Eustis, Florida, where he owns large orange groves and a hotel.
On January 27, 1863, Mr. Lane was married to Miss Emma S. Plumb, and their children are as follows: Arthur S., Bertha, wife of W. R. Smith, E. Le Roy, Harry C., and Edna C., wife of Oliver Yale, formerly of Meriden, now of Brooklyn, N. Y. Arthur S., E. Le Roy and Harry are all engaged in the trap rock business. ·
HON. EDGAR J. DOOLITTLE.
Hon. Edgar J. Doolittle, for five terms mayor of Meriden and once representing the district in the State Senate, was born in Hebron, Conn., January 29, 1845. He is descended from Abraham Doolittle who came from England in 1640, and took a prominent part in the organization of the Town of Wallingford. His father was Rev. Edgar J. Doolittle, a native of New Haven, and a clergyman of the Congregational denomination. On the maternal side Mr. Doolittle is of the Sage family, David Sage, his
early antecedent, coming to Middle- town from Wales in 1652. One of his ancestors on his mother's side, Captain William Sage, who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, was also one of the antecedents of Russell Sage, the noted financier of New York.
The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public schools in his native town, his father at that time being the settled pastor of the First church of that town. Af- ter obtaining a practical education, and a year after receiving his diploma from the Guilford Institute, he engaged in the paper box industry in Meriden, which from a modest beginning has been developed by him into one of the largest in the state. From the high character of the output of the factory (situated on Camp street and conven- iently adjoining the tracks of the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.), the industry has for many years reflected great credit upon Meriden and given em- ployment to a large number of hands, who find there both regular and re- munerative employment. The goods made at the Doolittle factory comprise a great variety ; and almost every de- scription of paper boxes and cartons are produced there, a large portion of the output consisting of the finest goods lined with satin, silk and plush, and used extensively by the manufac- turers of silverware and plated ware. The name of the factory over which Mr. Doolittle has continuously main- tained a personal supervision and man- agement, is a synonym for the best boxes for all uses in the trade.
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