USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Litchfield County, Connecticut > Part 7
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John Wetmore was born in October, 1780. He was a farmer in Winchester, this county, and for a time was fairly well-to-do. But he
suffered severe losses; and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1823, he had very little to leave his children. His wife, also born in October, 1780, whose maiden name was Huldah Spencer, daughter of Captain Thomas Spencer, was the mother of seven children. She survived her husband, entered the second time into the matrimonial bonds with Jonathan Coe, a man in good circum- stances, formerly husband of her deceased sister, and died in 1845.
John Grinnell Wetmore had scant resources when he started in business, but he held the secret of success. He prospered as a woollen manufacturer and in the manufacture of pins, an industry which he established in Winsted, and which has largely increased the growth of the town. The New . England Pin Company, which was started under his auspices, was for over thirty years under his control, turning out great quantities and fine grades of pins. The prize medal "Extra New England Pins, Ultra," are superior to all others, and took the first prize at the World's Fair in Chicago. Each paper contains three hundred and sixty pins. In loose pins the New England Com- pany turns out twelve sizes. Mr. Wetmore was a bright and ingenious man, of indomi- table energy. His early demise was partly due to overwork.
Mrs. Wetmore's maiden name was Eliza Phebe Lee. She was born in Springfield, Mass., and was the daughter of Colonel Ros- well and Phebe (l'otter) Lec, the former of New York State, the latter of Hamden, Conn. Colonel Lee was a mechanic, and connected with the Springfield Armory as superintendent for twenty years. He was a Colonel in the reserve forces in the last war with Great Britain. His wife died in 1869, at the age of eighty-six years, a very bright and active old lady. They had twelve children, six sons and
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six daughters, eight of whom reached matu- rity. Now Mrs. Wetmore is the only one liv- ing. Her brother, Henry Washington Lee, was rector of Christ Church, Springfield, for nine years and of St. Luke's at Rochester, N.Y., for seven years. When about forty years of age, he was consecrated bishop of a diocese in Iowa. Thereafter he resided in Davenport, of that State, where he died in 1874, fifty-nine years old, leaving a widow, two sons, and one daughter.
Mrs. Eliza P. Wetmore's early home was on Armory Hill, at Liberty Square, where she lived up to the time of her marriage. She perfected her education at a young ladies' seminary, and was married November 1, 1848. She then came to Winsted, where she has since resided. She has no children; but a daugh- ter's place is filled by Louise Wetmore Spaulding, child of Jay E. and Eliza Rosset- ter (Wetmore) Spaulding. Miss Spaulding's father is General Manager of the Winsted Pin Company, which was organized in 1851, with the late Mr. Wetmore at its head. Mrs. Wetmore resides at the home erected by her husband in 1869, into which they moved in 1870. The estate comprises several acres of beautiful lawn and grounds, with fine green- house and barn, and is one of the most beauti- ful in this section of the State.
IRAM PULVER, senior member of the firm of H. Pulver & Son, car- riage manufacturers of Torrington, was born in Copake, Columbia County, N. Y., December 1, 1825, son of Cornelius M. and Phoebe (Van Duser) Pulver. Both his par- ents were natives of Copake. Ilis grand- father, Michael Pulver, was born in the same town, where the family were carly settlers, and passed his life there, engaged in farming.
Cornelius Pulver, our subject's father, was a shoemaker by trade, and spent his life on the farm, dividing his time between the shoe- maker's bench and the fields that yielded their harvests to his labor. He died at the age of sixty. Cornelius Pulver married Phoebe Van Duser, whose term on earth covered the same number of years, she also passing away at sixty. They reared eleven children, three of whom are now living: Hiram, our special sub- ject ; Caroline, who married John Fellows ; and Mary Ann, who is now Mrs. Shattuck. Mr. Pulver was a member of the Universalist church, and his wife was a Congregationalist.
Hiram Pulver worked at farming in his youth. He went to Salisbury when about nineteen years of age, and there learned the trade of a carriage-maker, subsequently work- ing as a journeyman in Salisbury and in Dutchess County, New York. In the latter place he conducted an independent business for some time. In 1845 he came to Torrington to take the position of foreman in a carriage factory, and remained till 1852. In that year, infected with the gold fever, he went to Cali- fornia; but the cost of living was so great and the comforts of life were so few that Mr. Pulver, like many other Eastern men, made but a short stay. He returned in 1854, and started in the carriage business in a small way in Torrington. Year by year his trade in- creased, so that in 1878 he was enabled to build and equip his present extensive factory. He has a large business in carriage making and repairing, and in fact is the leading car- riage manufacturer in the vicinity.
In 1847 Mr. Pulver married Mary, daughter of Herod Hubbard, of Salisbury. She died at the age of twenty-four, leaving one child; and Mr. Pulver subsequently married Jane Kim- berly, a native of Torrington and daughter of David Kimberly, formerly a well-known tan-
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ner and butcher of that town, but who is now deceased. By his second wife Mr. Pulver had four children, namely: Albert H., the junior member of the firm and the business manager of the factory; Hudson J., M.D., a full ac- count of whose career will be found elsewhere in this work; and Frank, now a student in college. A daughter, Frances, died at eight years of age.
Mr. Pulver votes the Republican ticket. He and his wife are members of the First Congregational Church.
LBERT H. PULVER, the junior mem- ber of the firm of H. Pulver & Son and manager of the factory, was born in Torrington, December 22, 1852, and received his education in the common schools of that town. He learned the trade of car- riage-making with his father, and was ad- mitted to partnership in the business in 1875, the firm name then becoming H. Pulver & Son. He is an efficient manager, and is a potent factor in the success of the enterprise.
On June 15, 1877, Albert H. Pulver mar- ried Florence I. Neil, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Her father is a skilled coppersmith, and is now living at the home of his son-in-law and working in the carriage shop. Mr. and Mrs. Pulver have three children: Essie A., Hiram N., and Albert H.
In political views Albert Pulver agrees with his father, voting the Republican ticket. He and his wife are members of the First Congre- gational Church.
ERRITT McNEIL, senior member of the McNeil Pharmacy Company of Torrington, which has one of the largest establishments of the kind in the
State, was born in Torrington, September 13, 1865, son of Charles and Emeline (Loveland) McNeil. Charles McNeil was a native of Litchfield. He attended school in Water- town, and entering a drug store in that town as clerk became familiar with the business. In 1850 he opened an apothecary store in Tor- rington, and was the pioneer in the drug busi- ness in the Naugatuck valley, his establish- ment being the only one of the kind in the locality. Mr. McNeil also had a post-office in the building, and was Postmaster for twenty-five consecutive years. In 1858 he purchased a small building on the site of the present handsome establishment, and put in a stock of drugs. His business prospered as years went on, and he enlarged his building and added to his stock in trade. He was again appointed Postmaster under President Cleveland in 1888, and served four years, his term of service in all covering thirty years. But his official duties did not interfere with the prosperity of his drug business; for in 1890, when he retired from active work, he was still the leading druggist of the locality. Mr. McNeil was a capable business man, far- sighted and discreet in his ventures. He was a stockholder in the Torrington Water Com- pany and in the Electric Light Company, being one of the early promoters of the latter corporation. Politically, he was a stanch Democrat, and represented his district in the legislature three times. He was a Mason of long standing, a veteran of Seneca Lodge of Torrington. He was well-known and popular throughout the district, and was universally mourned when he passed away, February 14, 1893. Mr. McNeil was then in his sixty-fifth year. His wife is a daughter of Ashbel Love- land, a farmer of Watertown. Mr. and Mrs. Loveland died on the family homestead, the former at the age of eighty-four, the latter at
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seventy. They were the parents of five chil- dren, three of whom are living, namely : Maria, wife of Henry DeForest; Elmira, wife of Henry E. Judd; and the mother of Merritt McNeil, who was the youngest of the family. She is still living, making her home with her son Merritt. She is a member of the Episco- pal church, in whose interest her late husband was an active worker, organizing the society in Torrington, and raising by subscription the money to build the present fine church edifice. He was clerk of the church for many years, and was also active in the Sunday-school. Mr. and Mrs. McNeil reared but one child be- sides the subject of this sketch, a son Frank, who also is a member of the Pharmacy Com- pany. He. was born July 13, 1852, and after attending the schools in Torrington studied at the Cheshire Military Academy for three years, at the end of that time going to work for his father, and acting in the capacity of clerk until the business was given into the control of his brother and himself. He was married in 1876 to Addie Brooker, of Chester, whose parents were among the early settlers of Torrington, and dicd in that town. Frank Mc- Neil has two daughters, Gertrude and Rowena.
Merritt McNeil attended the common and high schools of Torrington. He also studied at Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, and at the Park Avenue Institute, at Bridgeport, prepar- ing for a medical college. He, however, did not enter college, but took an inductive course in the practical use of drugs in his father's store, and on the retirement of the latter was fully qualified to superintend the large and important business. Mr. McNeil married Gertrude M. Hunter, only daughter of A. J. Hunter, of Gardiner, Me., who moved to Florida when Mrs. McNeil was only a child. Her mother is still living, but her father died some time since.
In political questions Mr. McNeil is inde- pendent. He is not an office-seeker, but has served on the Board of Selectmen. He and his wife are members of the Episcopal church, as are also his brother and wife. The MeNeil Pharmacy Company have a very handsome es- tablishment on Main Street, Torrington ; and the brothers have proved by their successful management of the business their right to a place in the ranks of Torrington's leading business men.
R. JAMES E. BISHOP, an enter- prising and successful business man of Thomaston, was born in the town of Madison, New Haven County, on the 16th of April, 1826, son of Charles and Mary (Bacon) Bishop and grandson of John and Irena ( Bartlett) Bishop.
John Bishop, who was of English parentage, was a native of Madison, Conn., and passed the major part of his life in that town. When seventeen years of age, he entered the Ameri- can army during the Revolutionary War as a drummer boy. During the progress of the battle of Saratoga, which compelled the sur- render of General Burgoyne, he seized a gun. and did such valiant service that he was after- ward promoted to the rank of Corporal. At the close of the war he returned to Madison, where he engaged in agriculture during the remainder of his days. He lived to the ad- vanced age of ninety-six years. llis wife. Irena (Bartlett) Bishop, bore bim a son and three daughters. Charles Bishop, the sou, began at an early age to learn the trade of a ship carpenter, at which he worked for many years in his native town. Subsequently, in 1840, he removed to Litchfield, where he died in the eightieth year of his age. He and his wife, Mary ( Bacon ) Bishop, who was a daugh- ter of Josiah Bacon, reared three sous, of
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whom two are still living; namely, James E. Bishop and Charles Bishop. The latter, who is now sixty-three years of age, is a success- ful merchant in Litchfield. Their mother died in Litchfield when she was eighty-nine years old. She was a communicant of the Episcopal church, of which her husband was an attendant.
James E. Bishop was fourteen years old at the time his parents removed from Madison to Litchfield. He remained with them until he was twenty years of age, acquiring a good practical common-school education and assist- ing his father on the farm. He also worked at the trade of a carpenter and joiner. On leaving home he went to Thomaston, where he secured a position with the Seth Thomas Clock Company. Beginning there at the low- est round of the ladder, he worked his way up step by step until he became foreman in the shops. He was employed by the company over forty years, during seventeen of which he had the entire supervision of the machinery. Nat- ure had endowed him with mechanical in- genuity. This, with the habits of industry acquired during his home life on the farm and a readiness to make the most of his opportuni- ties, enabled him to win the success he has attained. By working over time he has re- ceived five or six days' extra pay during a single month; and during an entire year he has worked thirteen days over full time. He has also engaged to some extent in carpentry, erecting his present home and other houses in the village, which had but thirty-six houses when he first came.
He was married at twenty-four years of age to Miss Eliza Scoville, who was born in Had- dam, Conn. Their union has been brightened by the birth of one daughter, Julia, who mar- ried Charles Norton, a successful machinist, and has two children, Ida and Fanny, at-
tending school at Torrington, Conn. In po- litical views Dr. Bishop is a stanch Repub- lican. In 1882 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and has served acceptably in other offices, among which may be mentioned that of Assessor and Collector for many years. At the present time he is acting as chairman of the cemetery committee. He was one of the most active promoters of the Thomaston Water Company and the one who was instru- mental in obtaining the charter for the works from the legislature. Dr. Bishop is an ac- tive and influential member of the Congrega- tional church.
ON. GEORGE M. WOODRUFF, a prominent lawyer, a railway commis- sioner, and a Judge of the Probate Court since 1868, is a well-known resident of Litchfield, Conn. He was born in this town on March 3, 1836, and comes of ancient and distinguished ancestry. Litchfield was the birthplace of his father, George C. Woodruff, of his grandfather, Morris Woodruff, and of his great-grandfather, James Woodruff, the latter having been ushered into this world August 21, 1749.
The immigrant ancestor was Matthew Woodruff, who first located in Hartford, mov- ing from there to Farmington in 1672, being one of the eighty-four proprietors of that town - ship, afterward spending his life there. His son Nathaniel became one of the original set- tlers of the town of Litchfield, buying one- sixtieth right to the land August 8, 1721, and moving his family here very soon. His son, Jacob Woodruff, was reared on the old home- stead until becoming of age, when he bought a tract of land in that part of the town now called Morris, and there improved and cleared a farm from the forest, living there until his death in 1790, aged seventy-three years. A
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GEORGE M. WOODRUFF.
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man of ability and prominence, he repre- sented the town in the General Court in the years 1759 and 1768, was one of five men chosen as a Committee of Inspection, and from 1759 until 1763 was the only magistrate at South Farms. He was also a volunteer soldier in the war of the Revolution.
James Woodruff, the youngest son of Jacob, was born, as above mentioned, in 1749, and became one of the well-to-do and substantial farmers of this locality. Like his father, he also served in the Revolutionary army, first in New York City and afterward in the bat- tles along the Hudson River. He was a life- long resident of Litchfield, dying here in 1813. He was twice married, rearing four children by his first wife and two by his second, Morris being the eldest child of the second marriage.
Morris Woodruff was brought up to farm labor, but early abandoned agriculture in favor of a mercantile career, becoming a clerk in the village of Morris, in the employ of Simeon Harrison, with whom he subsequently formed a partnership in connection with David Levitt, who afterward moved to New York, and became very wealthy. After the dissolu- tion of this partnership Grandfather Woodruff purchased the business, which he conducted successfully for several years. In 1836 he came to the village of Litchfield, living here retired until his demise, May 19, 1840, at the age of threescore and three years. He was a man of great intelligence and influence, active in the management of public affairs, and in 1814 was appointed Magistrate by the General Assembly, an office which he held during life, and was also Associate Judge of the County Court for eleven years. For sev- eral years he represented the town in the Gen- eral Assembly. He was likewise prominent in military circles, being appointed Captain
in the Thirteenth Regiment of the Connecti- cut Volunteer Militia in 1809 by Governor Jonathan Trumbull, and in the next few years passing through all the ranks, receiving his commission as Major-general in 1824 from General Wolcott, then Governor of the State. He married Candace Cotton, who bore him six children, two dying in infancy. George C. being the eldest.
George C. Woodruff passed the first years of his life at the home of his parents in South Farms, attending first the district school and afterward the village academy, which was con- ducted by one of his ancestors. He subse- quently continued his studies at a private school in Bethlehem, under the tutorage of the Rev. John Langdon, being there fitted for college, and was graduated from Yale College in 1825. He entered the Litchfield Law School the same year, under Judge Gould, and in 1827 received his diploma, and was ad- mitted to the bar. The following summer he began the practice of his profession, which he continued for fifty-seven years, being one of the most active and best-known practitioners of the county. His death in 1885, at the advanced age of eighty years, was felt as a loss to the community and to the bar. Hle was considered one of the leading lawyers of this county, and in some specialties he had no superior in the entire State. For several years he served as County Judge. In the mi- litia he was Major of Division Two, and sub- sequently was made Division Inspector, with the rank of Colonel, serving in this capacity from 1829 until 1833.
Following in the political footsteps of his ancestors, Colonel Woodruff was a stanch member of the Democratic party ; and in 1861 he represented his party in Congress. When a young man, he acted as Assistant Postmaster of Litchfield ; and from 1829 until his resigna-
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tion in favor of a younger brother he held the office of Postmaster. The maiden name of his wife was Henrietta S. Seymour. She was a sister of the late Chief Justice of Connecti- cut, and was born in the town of Litchfield, where her father was engaged in merchandis- ing, and also carried on farming as a pastime. He was one of the foremost men of the place, being High Sheriff for many years, besides holding various other offices of trust. He was a native-born citizen, being a son of Major Moses Seymour, who was an officer of the Revolution and a lifelong resident of Litch- field. Colonel Woodruff and his wife were very active workers in the Congregational church and among its most valued members. She survived her husband, attaining the ripe old age of fourscore and six years.
George M. Woodruff was the only child reared by his parents, and on him was lavished the attention due the only son. Much care was given to his moral as well as his intellect- ual development, he being well trained at the home fireside, while he acquired the rudi- ments of his education in the district schools. At the age of fifteen years he was sent to Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., and after finishing his course at that institution entered Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1857. Having studied law one year in his father's office, Mr. Woodruff at- tended the Cambridge Law School, and in 1859 was admitted to the bar in Litchfield County. Continuing in active practice until his appointment as railway commissioner in 1874, he won a reputation as one of the strongest and most able lawyers in this sec- tion of the State, his record being unsur- passed. In 1868 he was appointed Judge of Probate, and with the exception of one term has served in this office since that time.
On June 13, 1860, Judge Woodruff was
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth F. Par- sons, a native of Flushing, L. I., a daughter of James B. Parsons, a retired merchant, for- merly carrying on a large dry-goods business in New York City. In 1880 Mr. Parsons came to Litchfield, and here spent his declin- ing years, dying at the venerable age of eighty-five. He married Eliza T. Cock, who survives him. Both were true believers in the Quaker faith. Four of their six children are still living, the mother making her home with the youngest daughter in Denver, Col. The union of Judge and Mrs. Woodruff has been hallowed by the birth of three children : George Catten, Eliza Parsons, and James Par- sons. George C., the eldest, is editor and proprietor of the Litchfield Enquirer. He is finely educated, being a graduate of Amherst College, having also been a student at Yale, and is well fitted for the profession of journal- ism. He married Lucy E. Crawford, of Balti- more, Md. Eliza P. is the wife of Alexander McNeill, a broker in New York City. She is quite accomplished, having completed her studies at Miss Porter's School in Farmington. James P., a lawyer in the office with his father, is a graduate of Amherst College and Yale Law School, and a man of good mental ability and attainments. He married Miss Lillian C. Bell, of New York.
Judge Woodruff has been indefatigable in advancing the prosperity of his native town and county, serving with fidelity in its various offices, having been Town Treasurer since 1860. For three terms, in 1863, 1865, and 1872, he represented the town in the State legislature. He is President of the Litch- field Savings Society and Treasurer of the Litchfield Fire Insurance Company. In poli- tics he is one of the most prominent members of the Democratic party. He has been Dea- con of the Congregational church since 1859,
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and was superintendent of the Sunday-school for twenty-nine years. His wife and children are also active in the work of that church, being among its most faithful members.
A portrait of Judge Woodruff is appropri- ately placed in this gallery of Litchfield County worthies.
A LMON C. RANDALL, President of the Iron Bank of Falls Village, was born in Greenwich, Conn., Septem- ber 21, 1817, son of John and Laura (Beach) Randall. Mr. Randall's grandfather, Tim- othy Randall, resided in Bridgewater, Conn., was a weaver by trade, and died at the age of eighty-nine. His children were : Polly, Sally, John, Betsey, Allen, Smith, and Epinetus. John Randall, Mr. Randall's father, was a native of Greenwich. He adopted agriculture as an occupation, becoming a prosperous farmer, and also engaged in the manufacture of brick. He died in Bridgewater, at the age of seventy-six. His wife, Laura Beach, who was a daughter of Caleb Beach, of Bridge- water, Conn., bore him five children; namely, Caroline, Almon C. (the subject of this sketch), Almira, Flora, and Emeline. She died at the age of eighty-six.
Almon C. Randall attended the schools of his native town. At the age of fifteen he worked as a farm laborer for five dollars per month. He continued in that occupation for two years, at the expiration of which time he entered mercantile business as a clerk. After serving in that capacity for four years he became a partner with his employer. Two years later he was forced to withdraw from the firm, after losing all he possessed, and he again resumed clerking. He had been so en- gaged for two years more when hard work resulted in ill health, and he was obliged to
relinquish active employment for some time. Upon the restoration of his health he secured a position in the Bridgeport Bank. Later he became Cashier of the Iron Bank in Falls Vil- lage, a position which he had very acceptably filled for four years, when he resigned in order to accept a similar position in the Meriden Bank. After remaining in that town for an equal length of time, he returned to the Iron Bank in Falls Village. In 1880 he was elected President of the bank, and he has held that office since. Thorough knowledge, care- ful judgment, and exceptional business abil- ity have characterized his administration, which must be largely credited with the pros- perity of the bank.
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