USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Litchfield County, Connecticut > Part 70
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Ilorace O. Adams is a carriage-maker by trade, and for fifteen years worked at that
business. When the demand for concrete pavements became universal, he took contracts for concreting, and for twenty-five years fol- lowed that line successfully. He is an able business man ; and in 1892 he entered the shoe trade, purchasing the business which his son had established three years before. Here he carries a good line of stock, and has a thriving trade.
Mr. Adams was married in 1856 to Mary, daughter of Eli and Mary P. (Fenn) Curtis, of Terryville. Mrs. Curtis died in 1832, at the age of twenty-five, leaving this daughter; and subsequently Mr. Curtis married his wife's sister, who bore him one daughter, now de- ceased. Mr. Curtis died in 1840. His widow is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have a son and a daughter. The son, Albert W., is in business with his father, and has a wife and one son. The daughter, Bertha L., is the wife of Charles J. Bowen, and lives in Winsted. Mr. Adams is a Republican in politics, and he and his family are members of the Congrega- tional church. He has lived in Winsted for thirty years, the family home for the greater part of that time being at 1 Adams Street, where Mr. Adams built in 1877.
OHN CHESTER ACKLEY, late of New Milford, son of Leman and Rinda (Hubble) Ackley, was born on April 9, 1830, in the house in which his widow, Mrs. Anna H. Sperry Ackley, now resides. Leman Ackley owned and carried on a valu- able farm of two hundred and thirty acres, sit- uated in Kent Hollow, and was also engaged in mercantile business.
John Chester Ackley adopted agricultme as an occupation, and purchased the Ackley home stead, which he improved by remodelling the residence and other buildings. He engaged in the raising of tobacco upon an extensive
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scale, and for the proper facilitation of the enterprise he erected buildings especially de- signed for the drying and storing of his prod- ucts. He became prosperous ; and, increasing his acreage by the purchase of more land, he devoted considerable attention to dairying in- terests, keeping a herd of Jersey and Holstein cows. He was a man of intelligence and sound judgment, well acquainted with business and legal affairs, and was called upon to settle many estates, a work for which his ability and strict integrity made him especially qualified. He was a Republican in politics, and most faithfully served in various important offices of public trust. He was a genial, noble-hearted country gentleman, who always had a kind word for every one; and he enjoyed the high- est respect and esteem of his fellow-towns- men. By his immediate family and relatives he was regarded with the most sincere affec- tion ; and his death on February 16, 1888, left a vacancy in their midst which can never be filled. In religion he was a Congregational- ist, and for many years he was an active mem- ber of that church.
On October 10, 1855, he was united in mar- riage with Anna Helen Sperry, daughter of Deacon Horatio G. and Eliza (Tomlinson) Sperry, the former of whom was a prominent citizen of New Milford. Mrs. Ackley's father was born on September 5, 1806, in New Mil- ford, where his earliest American ancestor, Gilead Sperry, a native of Wales, settled in 1748, establishing a family whose descendants have since been identified with the growth and development of this town. Mrs. Ackley's great-grandparents on the Sperry side were Jared and Amy (Whittlesey) Sperry, and her grandparents were Wilmot and Dolly (Averill) Sperry. Horatio G. Sperry was well edu- cated, and in early manhood he taught school in Connecticut and New Jersey. He finally
settled in Marbledale, Litchfield County, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits in connection with farming. He was a well- known figure among the leading citizens of his day, a Republican in politics, and for many years a Deacon of the Congregational church. His wife, Eliza Tomlinson, has now reached the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Mrs. Anna H. Ackley has two sisters and three brothers, namely : Caroline, wife of George B. Ackley; Jared B. ; Charles T. ; Eliza T., who married Erwin J. Beardsley ; and Horatio G.
Mrs. Ackley is the mother of three children -- Mary E., Orinda, and George E. Mary E. was born July 2, 1856. She married Dr. Woodhow, a successful medical practitioner of Poland, N. Y., and has two children - R. Helen and Clarence E. Orinda was born May 1, 1860, and is the wife of Professor William McAfee, who for twenty-seven years was Prin- cipal of Claverack College, but on account of failing health is now living in retirement. They have three children - Helen C., Eliza- beth S., and William A. George E., Mrs. Ackley's only son, born October 8, 1869, is now engaged in conducting the home farm, which he has purchased, and is recognized as one of the leading farmers of New Milford. . He is bright and active, possessing a full share of manly qualities, and is progressive in his ideas, which is the best assurance of future success. He married Grace I. Nichols.
Mrs. Ackley resides with her son at the old homestead amid the most pleasant and comfortable surroundings, enjoying the esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
ENRY MARTIN KNIGHT, M.D., late superintendent of the School for Imbeciles at Lakeville, Conn., was born at Stafford, Conn., August 11, 1827, and
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was the fifth son of Joseph and Ruba Knight. His father was pastor of the Congregational church at Stafford, and was known far and wide among the clergy as Father Knight. Al- though suffering severely from a distressing inalady, he never neglected a duty during a long ministry, and would often preach while seated in a chair, being unable to stand, the congregation assembling at his house.
"This steadfast adherence to duty at any cost was transmitted fully to his son," it is said of him in a neat memorial of Dr. Knight, prepared by Dr. Gurdon W. Russell at the request of the Directors of the School for Im- beciles. "Amidst these influences his boyhood was passed, in the healthful atmosphere of the country at Stafford, and later among the hills of Granby and Peru, Mass. The strict economy of a country minister's home, with a large family to provide for from a small salary, carly fostered energy, self-reliance, and perse- verance in the face of apparently discouraging circumstances. His education was acquired by his own efforts, energy, and self-denial. At the age of sixteen he entered Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Mass., already a celebrated institution. His vacations were occupied in teaching school. This led him at one time to Norfolk, where he became acquainted with his future wife, Miss Mary l'helps."
In 1847 he began to study medicine with Dr. Smith, of Munson, Mass., and afterward studied with Dr. Miner, of South Braintree. He graduated at the Berkshire Medical Col- lege, Pittsfield, in 1849, and in 1851 entered into partnership with Dr. Benjamin Welch, a well-known practitioner of Lakeville, Conn. Dr. Knight was actively engaged in the work of his profession for some years in Lakeville, and, as has been said, "fairly earned the title of 'the beloved physician,' responding readily
to all calls from suffering humanity and know- ing no difference between rich and poor." In 1854 he was elected to the legislature, and was appointed one of a committee to ascertain the number of imbecile children in Connecticut. This changed the current of his life-work; and the knowledge acquired while a member of the committee, together with previous study and observation, inspired him with the idea of founding a school for the weak-minded. In 1856 he presented plans to the legislature, asking that Connecticut should establish a school for imbeciles similar to those in Massa- chusetts and Pennsylvania. The measure passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate by one vote. In 1858, despairing of State aid, Dr. Knight gave up his general practice, and opened his own house for the re- ception of feeble-minded patients.
To quote again from Dr. Russell : "His en- deavors to enlist the co-operation of the State were not successful for some time. His projects were regarded as too visionary for contribu- tions of public money. Nothing could be done with these people, it was thought; and why waste upon them either money or time, which were better spent elsewhere and on other objects? I met him on one occasion, just as the legislature had adjourned without granting him aid. Ilis pleas before the com- mittees were patiently listened to, but he obtained no help. While a few wished him success, the majority were against him. The appropriations were needed for other objects. It was the old story, 'Go thy way for this time.' There is brought before me vividly as I write now, many years after the event, the subdued tone and sadness of his countenance. He was as one exceedingly fatigued by his labors. But, though disappointed, he was not discouraged, and felt sure that the time wonkl come when his expectations would be realized,
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and he should receive that public recognition which he deserved. It was especially noticed (and it was a beautiful trait in his character) that he was not now, nor at any time, as far as I know, loud in his blame of those who were not in accord with him. He recognized fully that new propositions must be examined from all sides by men of divers ways of think- ing, and that, after prolonged discussions, the right conclusion would generally be reached ; and so he said, 'I will be patient,' and went again to his individual work." A few faith- ful friends cheered and supported him; his townsmen admired his energy, and were proud of him; and his professional brethren, who always sympathize with humanitarian work, gave him their cordial encouragement. He developed his methods of care and instruction ; and the number of his patients increased, so that six years after he had made an asylum of his home he was enabled to build the main wing of the present large building. Public sympathy and interest were finally aroused, and a law was enacted to aid and support a limited number of children - "the State's sad and helpless ones who had found in him a friend and advocate." At the time of his death he had under his supervision about one hundred of them.
Dr. Russell says: "From that humble be- ginning in his own home there arose the Con- necticut School for Imbeciles. The contrast between these early efforts, which I first saw in 1858, and the extended establishment at the time of his death, was very great. It was the natural outcome and positive accomplish- ment of a man who was earnest in his convic- tions and resolute in his actions. . .. What a wonderful enthusiasm he possessed ! To see him take his 'children' in his arms or upon his knees and talk to them in evident pleasure, one would say : 'Now this man is in earnest.
They are pleased with these attentions, and appreciate that kindness of heart which is so devoted to them.' It did not disturb him if, as sometimes happened, no immediate recogni- tion was shown, or if the dull and listless countenance gave no indication that any im- pression was made. But in all my acquaint- ance with him he showed no sign of disgust nor gave any utterance of disappointment or peevishness if his advances were not readily noticed. And in that patience and firm belief in faithful teaching lay the great difference between our friend and most of the world. His brother well says of him, .. . 'His work ... enlisted his soul and whole being in a religious sense.' "
Dr. Knight's two recreations were music and horsemanship. In music he was unusually gifted, and gave to it a devotion which would have brought him fame, were it not for his all- absorbing life-work. He was an omnivorous reader, devouring poetry, fiction, works on art, farming, everything; but his favorites were history and biography, and of sacred history he was an ardent student. In his conversation his hobbies were "the children," as he called the unfortunates under his care, and religious subjects, upon which he dilated with a warmth and charm peculiarly his own. He was a practical as well as theoretical farmer, and could mend anything. He was a zealot in temperance, and was often enlisted as a public speaker. His brother says: "In 1874, while speaking at Plantsville on the Physical Effects of Alcohol, at the invitation of a well- known friend of temperance, he was seized with intense pain in the head and spine, so intense that while concluding he could not see the faces of his audience. This was the be- ginning of his ill-health. ' This attack was the commencement of spinal irritation, and for many months he was an invalid. After rest
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and travel in this country and in Europe he was mainly restored to practical business abil- ity, although his health never fully recovered. Continually in pain, much of the time confined to his room, he nevertheless conducted the affairs of his institution, and was at his post in the Sunday-school whenever possible, and, although strictly forbidden by his physicians, still spoke occasionally in public on subjects dear to his heart. The latter part of Decem- ber last (1879) he left his home to spend the winter in Florida, hoping for a comfortable season, but was taken with severe symptoms at Fernandina, and died on the 22d of January, of rupture of the gall-duct."
Dr. Knight was married in 1849 to Miss Mary Phelps; and at the time of his death a promising family was growing up about him, aiding and taking an interest in his work.
EV. JAMES L. R. WYCKOFF, the popular pastor of the North Congrega- tional Church of Woodbury, Conn., seems to have come to his vocation by heredi- tary instinct as well as individual choice, as his father, whose name he bears, became an earnest laborer in the ministerial service before being twenty-one years of age. The young parson must have had more than usual endowment; for he was a graduate of Prince- ton College, New Jersey, at twenty years of age, and accepted the pastorate of a church in Sparta, N. Y., immediately after receiving his diploma. From Sparta, where he remained eight years, he went to Dover, in the same State; and there during a period of ten years he faithfully discharged the ardnous duties of a settled pastor. The life, given in its first freshness and vigor to the service of God and to the spiritual needs of his fellow-men, was cut off in the midst of its usefulness by one of
those mysterious dispensations of Providence that some call fate. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote on a window-pane in the Old Manse at Concord these words: "Men's accidents are God's purposes "; and the comfort of this thought should come to all who have suffered from some sudden calamity. The Rev. James Wyckoff fell down a flight of steps, and re- ceived an injury which led to spinal trouble, and finally caused his death at thirty-eight years of age. His wife, Mary (Campbell) Wyckoff, survived him many years, dying in 1862, aged sixty years. Their children were: Abbie; Joseph C .; Mary; and James L. R. Wyckoff, whose name stands at the head of this biography.
James L. R. Wyckoff prepared .for Prince- ton College at the Collegiate Institute of Mt. Holly, under Dr. Miller, and was also a stu- dent of the Alleghany Seminary of Pennsyl- vania. He was graduated from Princeton in 1862, and inimediately afterward became an instructor in a female institute in Salineville, Ohio, of which Dr. Bailey was principal. Six years later he began preaching in Wellsville, Ohio, where for two years he was engaged in pastoral work. Returning from the West in 1869, the Rev. Mr. Wyckoff became pastor of the North Congregational Church in Woodbury, Conn.
The house of worship of this society, which was built in 1816, and dedicated upon Christ- mas Day of that year, was full of the historic associations of the century, but was not adapted for the uses of modern times. Since Mr. Wyckoff's settlement the old building has been entirely remodelled, the lawn about it graded, and many improvements been made. But, while the material and exterior condi- tions have been greatly advanced, the spirit- ual progress of the church has been no less marked, the membership having increased to
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two hundred and fifty during the ministry of the present pastor, who has won the love of his parishioners, the respect, esteem, and con- fidence of the entire community. Practical evidence of his executive ability is shown in the various improvements he has inaugurated, and his long continuance in this charge is a proof of the affection of his people.
Mr. Wyckoff was first married to Miss Mary A. Pooler, daughter of Amasa Pooler, of Rut- land, Vt. She died leaving four children, namely: Ada F., who became the wife of William F. Tyler, of Middlebury, and has two children - Carleton and Raymond F .; Maud H., who became the wife of Professor E. H. Farrington; Herbert J., now studying in the Law School at New Haven; and Nor- man, who died in childhood. Mr. Wyckoff married for his second wife Miss Emma Cogs- well, a daughter of William Cogswell, of this town.
EVERETT W. TIFFANY, of Win- sted, general manager of the New England Knitting Company, was born in Barkhamsted, one of the eastern towns of Litchfield County, on September 21, 1850. He is the son of William Tiffany and grandson of Joel Tiffany, a carpenter and joiner of Barkhamsted, who lived to be over eighty years of age. Grandfather Tiffany's later days were darkened by a great affliction, he having lost his sight ten or fifteen years before his death. Grandmother Tiffany, who before marriage was a Miss Wilder, lived to a good old age. They had seven children, five sons and two daughters, all of whom married, and had families. William Tiffany, the father of our subject, was born in 1818, and about 1845 married Elizabeth, daughter of George Cornish, of Simsbury. They had five children, as follows: Frances E., who married
William Taylor, and now lives in Tennessee, about fifty miles from Chattanooga; Leverett W .; Ellen J., who is at the old home; Mary E., wife of Wilbur S. Alling, at Norwich, Conn .; and Dwight B., a lumber manufact- urer in Barkhamsted.
Leverett attended the common schools in his boyhood, spending in a saw-mill much of the time not devoted to his studies. At nine- teen he embarked as a dealer in general mer- chandise with his brother-in-law, William Taylor, and was thus engaged for three years in Barkhamsted. They then removed their business to New Hartford, where they were in trade till 1882, when the Winsted Hosiery Company started at East Winsted, with Mr. Taylor as agent and Mr. Tiffany Secretary and Treasurer. The capital at the beginning was fifty thousand dollars; and the factory was a frame structure of two and a half stories, fifty by one hundred feet. In 1885 Mr. Tiffany becoming a salesman on the road, only part of his time thereafter was spent in the mill. In 1888 the New England Knitting Company was started, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, Mr. Tiffany being gen- eral manager. This company has a large es- tablishment, including a seven-set mill and a four-set mill, closely connected, and employs one hundred and fifty hands.
Mr. Tiffany and Kate E. Freeman, of Canterbury, Conn., were married in Novem- ber 6, 1873. They have had four children, three of whom are living, one son having died in infancy. Mabel F. is a young lady, living with her parents. Helen F. is six years old, and Margaret three years. The fam- ily attend the Congregational church. They have a pleasant home in the comely residence built by Mr. Tiffany in 1890, one of the mile- stones in his business career, which has been one of steady advance since.
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16 AVID D. WALTER, proprietor of a well-patronized meat market in Canaan and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Union County, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1850, son of Samuel and Rachel Walter. Mr. Walter's father was a native of Pennsylvania and a brick-layer by trade, fol- lowing that occupation until his death, which occurred at the age of forty-two years, and was the result of a fall from a building. His wife, Rachel, was the mother of five children : David D., Samuel A., Adam A., Daniel C., and Mary C.
David D. Walter commenced the battle of life as a farm laborer at the age of twelve years, and continued in that employment until entering the army during the Civil War, when he enlisted as a private in Company F, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteers. After his discharge from the service he was for three years engaged in railroad teaming. He subsequently settled in Canaan, and was employed at the marble- works for seven years, at the expiration of which time he established himself in the meat business, in which he has since enjoyed a profitable trade. His market is constantly supplied with the best that can be procured, and his pleasing manners and strict attention to business have gained for him the confi- dence and esteem of his many patrons.
Mr. Walter married Charlotte E. Beebe, a daughter of Richard Beebe, of East Canaan. He is a comrade of D. S. Cowles Post, No. 61, Grand Army of the Republic.
1 RVING R. FENTON, an enterprising business man of Lime Rock, Conn., a member of the insurance firm of N. E. McNeil & Co., was born April 19, 1855, in Greenwich, N. Y., son of Joseph and Mar-
garet (Howland) Fenton. His father was for many years a cabinet-maker in Greenwich, N.Y., and still resides in that place, being now sixty-nine years of age. Mrs. Joseph Fenton, who is a daughter of Cortland How- land, is now in her sixty-fourth year. They have reared four children, namely: Irving R. ; William H .; Alice, Mrs. Swartwout; and Edna, Mrs. Crandall.
Irving R. Fenton finished his school edu- cation at Washington County Academy, and commenced work at the age of fifteen years, obtaining employment in a store at two dollars a week. He remained thus engaged for two years, and subsequently worked at insurance a year and in the Fallkiln National Bank three years. He then took up the insurance busi- ness again, associating himself with Mr. Mc- Neil, who was at that time located at Miller- ton, N.Y .; and in 1878 they moved to Lime Rock, Conn., where they are now conducting a thriving business under the firm name of N. E. McNeil & Co. In 1885 Mr. Fenton was united in marriage with Clarinda Ensign, daughter of Sidney Ensign, of whom a sketch will be found elsewhere in this work. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Fenton has been blessed by four children ; namely, Alice M., Sidney E., Harriette L., and Cortland Il.
HARLES KELLOGG HUNT, a well- known telephone and insurance man in Winsted, Conn., a leader in the Republican party, was born at Huntsville, in the neighboring town of Canaan, this county. October 8, 1845, son of Chauncey L. and Kutheda (Peck) Haut. He comes of a noted family in these parts, being descended from Russell Hunt, who had four sons that en- gaged in iron mannfacture at Huntsville, mak- ing a great unmber of anchors for the United
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States government. David M. Hunt, a wealthy pig-iron manufacturer of a later gen- eration, at his death bequeathed his property to his sisters, who generously endowed a pub- lic school and a library at Falls Village. Amos Hunt was one of the four sons of Rus- sell Hunt. He married a Miss Lowney, by whom he had one daughter and five sons. Their son, Chauncey L., who was born in 1808, being a man of fine business talent, ac- quired a large property, and was President of the Housatonic Railroad for many years. At his death he left a widow and several children, of whom we record the following: one son died in infancy; Isaac was one of the early three-year men in the Civil War, enlisting in an Illinois regiment at Bristol, being wounded at Vicksburg and captured by the rebels, in whose lines he died, his brief span of life covering but twenty-one years; Charles K. is the subject of this sketch; Lester C. is a lo- comotive engineer at Ashley, Ind .; Olive P., the wife of J. H. Ferris, an editor at. Joliet, Ill., is a lady of talent, an able assistant in her husband's journalistic work; Caroline M. is the wife of Murray A. Brown, a merchant of Lenox, Mass., and with her mother makes her home; Edward J. is in the telephone busi- ness in Winsted.
Charles K. Hunt received a common-school education, living from the time he was nine years of age with his uncle, Charles Kellogg, and at sixteen entering his uncle's store. Subsequently he acted as Assistant Post- master; and, when the telephone was intro- duced, he was much interested, and soon ac- quired a practical knowledge of the invention and its working. At twenty he left his uncle, and became a telephone operator at Albany, in the employ of the American Telephone Company ; and at the end of a year he was en- gaged in the same capacity by the Housatonic
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