USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Litchfield County, Connecticut > Part 9
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In January, 1864, Mr. Steele was united in marriage with Sophia H. Skiff, the daughter of Nathan and Adelia (Milliard) Skiff, suc- cessful farming people of this county. Of this union four children have been born; namely,
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Jennie A., Abbie A., William S., and Annie A. Abbie A. died at the age of two years. The eldest daughter, a cultured and highly accomplished young lady, received her educa- tion at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, is now a most successful teacher in the public schools of this town, and has also taught music in the schools of West- field, Mass. William S. is a graduate of the Torrington High School, and Annie is still attending school.
In politics Mr. Steele is a Republican ; and during the legislative session of 1887 and 1888 he served his constituents with credit in the legislature, having been chairman of the Com- mittee on Appropriations, besides taking a prominent part in the discussions of the House. For the past ten years he was chair- man of the town Republican Committee, and for six years he was chairman of the Board of Education. In 1890 he was appointed one of a special commission to attend the centennial celebration of the settling up of the Western Reserve in Ohio. He is prominently identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, being Junior Vice-Commander, and ex-Commander of the Steele Post, named in memory of his brother, who was killed at Petersburg. In 1891 Mr. Steele was an aide on the staff of General Russell A. Alger, and in 1876 he was one of a committee of three appointed to erect a monument in memory of the brave soldiers of Torrington who lost their lives in fighting for the nation's honor. He is a charter mem- ber of the Knights of Honor, and has served as treasurer since its organization eleven years ago. Mr. Steele is President of the Republi- can Club of Torrington, and was chosen as delegate at large to the National Convention held at Cleveland in June, 1895. He also be- longs to the Army and Navy Club of Connecti- cut, and is a member of the Savings Bank
Corporation. On Decoration Day each year it has long been his practice to see that a flag is placed upon every soldier's grave, which he alone, of all the members of the post, can locate with certainty. He and his family arc members of the Third Congregational Church ; and he is now chairman of the society com- mittee, has been leader of the choir, and was superintendent of the Sunday-school for eight years. He is likewise a leader and hard worker in the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, was one of its principal organizers, is chairman of the Committee on Finance, and has been a Director since its inception. Mrs. Steele takes an earnest interest in all religious work, and has held the office of President of the Ladies' Aid Society.
EV. HIRAM STONE, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Bantam, in the town of Litchfield, and ot Trinity Church, of Milton, same town, was early imbued with a deeply religious spirit, and was naturally endowed with the gifts that have made him a teacher and a leader of men. He is a native of Litchfield. born July 25. 1824, a son of Russell Stone, who was born in this town, November 26, 1798. Mr. Stone is descended from one of the early settlers of the historic town of Guilford, Conn. the town from which have originated so many of the dis- tinguished men of this and past generations. His ancestral history is traced back to one. the Rev. Samnel Stone, who was born in 1585. and doubtless spent his life in England.
William Stone, son of the Rev. Samuel Stone, born in 1610, was the migrating ances tor, coming to the United States in 1630. mayhap with the Rev. Henry Whitfield's little flock, as he located in Guilford in the same year, making that his home until his death.
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in 1683. He was a tiller of the soil; and his descendants for several generations were horny- handed sons of toil, gaining their subsistence by the sweat of their brows from the produc- tions of the earth. Thomas Stone, the pa- ternal grandfather of the Rev. Hiram Stone, was born September 21, 1755, in Guilford, son of Thomas Stone, Sr., who spent his life in that town, having been born in 1731, and dying in 1778. Grandfather Stone was reared to agricultural life, and was one of the brave farmers who fought in the Revolution, for which service he afterward received a pension. He subsequently settled in this town, buying a house on Prospect Mountain, where he died at the venerable age of eighty-eight years. He was twice married, reared four children by his first wife and six by his second wife, the maiden name of the latter being Polly Parmalee.
Russell Stone, who was born in the closing years of the last century, early learned the trade of a blacksmith, and followed that occu- pation in Bantam until his decease, at the comparatively early age of thirty-six years. He formed a matrimonial alliance with Lucia Palmer, the daughter of John Palmer, formerly superintendent of the rolling-mills in Litch- field, where he died at an advanced age. She was one of a family of nine children, and was descended from Puritan stock, the first mem- ber of the family to come to this country hav- ing been one Walter Palmer, who landed in Salem, Mass., in 1629. The mother, who was born August 9, 1802, died in Waterbury, Conn., September 23, 1842, having survived her husband several years, he having preceded her to the grave July 25, 1834, the tenth anni- versary of the birth of his only son, Hiram Stone. They were the parents of but two children, the other, Louisa, being now dead.
The Rev. Hiram Stone made his home with his mother during her lifetime, and acquired
the rudiments of his education in the district schools and at select schools in this locality. He began his professional career as a teacher. In 1849, being desirous of further mental training and higher attainments in learning, that he might be fitted for a clerical position, Mr. Stone began studying with a private tutor, and in 1851 was admitted as a candidate for orders. After pursuing his studies still further at the Berkeley Divinity School for two years he was ordained to the ministry, and was appointed to his first charge in 1854 at St. John's Church in Essex. Two years later Mr. Stone went to Kansas, there being a wide field for missionary work in that new country, and for three years labored in the Master's cause in Leavenworth, then a border town. His efforts were rewarded, being attended by a great awakening; and under his charge the first Episcopal church between there and the Rocky Mountains was organized. In 1859 he accepted an appointment from the government as chaplain at Fort Leavenworth, and during the eight years he labored with the soldier boys his ministry was fraught with good work. He was then sent to Fort Sully, Dak., going thence to Fort Totten, Benson County, and, after a year's ministry, administered to Fort Wadsworth in the same State. In 1876, hav- ing spent sixteen years in army life on the Western frontier, Mr. Stone tendered his res- ignation to the government and returned to the town which gave him birth. Since that time he has been engaged in pastoral work in this locality, having been settled over St. Paul's Church for a longer period of time than any other minister of his denomination in Litch- field County. Without thought of self, and with the true and humble spirit of the Master, he has labored faithfully in his chosen calling, and has been rewarded by the large increase in the membership of his church, which now
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numbers twofold as many communicants as when he came here.
On September 10, 1855, Mr. Stone was united in wedlock with Wealthy A. Lewis, one of nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Lewis, prosperous farming people of Haddam. Of this happy union two children have been born, Lewis H. and Carrie Louisa. Lewis H., whose birth occurred October 5, 1866, was educated at Trinity College, Hart- ford, and subsequently was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. In 1890 he was appointed sur- geon in the United States Navy, and has been promoted at different times. Now, after hav- ing travelled extensively, he is located at Montevideo, South America. Carrie Louisa, born September 28, 1869, was educated at St. Margaret's School in Waterbury, Conn. She married John Brock, of Pittsburg, a public official; and they have two children, Marie 1 .. and Gertrude Stone Brock. The first wife of Mr. Stone died at the age of forty-one years. She was a woman of tried and true character, nobly assisted him in his Christian labors, and was a devout member of the Epis- copal church. He subsequently married Mrs. Sarah (Aldridge) Phelps, the daughter of Charles Aldridge, and the widow of the late George Phelps. Mr. Stone, who is every- where esteemed, being popular outside of his church relations, is a most genial and pleasant man, whose influence for good is universally recognized, and whose friends number legion. He is connected with the Seth F. Plumb Post, Grand Army of the Republic, being its chaplain.
LFRED C. HOPKINS, a respected resident of Torrington and agent of the United States Express Com- pany, was born in Northfield, Conn., April 8,
1860, son of Joseph and Delia (Atwood) Hop- kins. His grandfather, Edward Hopkins, lived in his early manhood in Campville, Conn., where he was successfully engaged in the manufacture of wooden clocks. He after- ward settled on a farm in Northfield, where he engaged in agriculture with profit, spending the remainder of his life in that occupation. He took an active part in the affairs of the town and the church, always solicitous for the pub- lic good. He died in Northfield in the year 1876.
Joseph Hopkins was born in Northfield, where he grew to manhood on the old home- stead, assisting his father in carrying on the farm. Having acquired a good practical edu- cation in the common schools, he and a brother were successful teachers in that locality tor several years, After Joseph Hopkins became of age he engaged in a mercantile life in Plainville, where he conducted a successful business until 1862. Then he sold out and returned to the old homestead, where he has since lived and prospered as a farmer. He takes an active interest in all matters that con- cern the welfare of his town, and has served most acceptably in several of the town offices. His wife, Delia (Atwood) Hopkins, is a native of Watertown, Conn., and a daughter of David Atwood. Her father was profitably engaged in farming during the greater part of his life. She bore her husband five children, of whom three sons still survive, namely : Alfred C., subject of this sketch ; Elbert, residing at home on the farm; and Joseph, who is attend. ing college at AAshburnham, Mass. Both par- ents are communicants of the Congregational church, in which the father has served as Deacon for many years.
Alfred C. Hopkins received his early edu cation by attending the common schools of Northfield, and later a school at Thomaston.
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Conn. He remained at home with his father until he attained his majority. He then came to Torrington, where he secured a position as shipping clerk in the wood department of the Union Hardware Company. Later on he was employed in the needle factory, where he re- mained about two years. For the two succeed- ing years he was engaged as a contractor in Mount Carmel, Conn., from which place he removed to Morris, Conn., where he pur- chased a farm at the south end of Bantam Lake. Here, besides farming, he engaged in a boating business, which he conducted for five years. In 1888 he returned to Torrington and was employed in the needle shop up to January 1, 1890, when he embarked in general trucking and expressing, purchasing the inter- est and outfit of Robert Stone. His predeces- sor employed but two horses. He has since so increased the business that he keeps fifteen horses for its needs, and hires from six to eight. Throughout the busy season he keeps ten or twelve double trucks employed. He also takes contracts for grading, cellar excava- tion, and similar work. At the age of twenty- one years, in August of 1881, Mr. Hopkins was joined in marriage with Miss Georgiana Staples, only daughter of Edson and Mary (Thompkins) Staples, of Litchfield, where the former was engaged in the business of a carriage-maker for many years. A paternal uncle of Mrs. Hopkins was a well-known and extensive hat manufacturer in Danbury, Conn., for many years. Her mother died when she was but three years of age. Mr. Staples after- ward made a second marriage, and of this union four children were born.
Following the example of previous genera- tions of his family, Mr. Hopkins is a Republi- can. He is a well-known member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Order of Red Men, in both of which he has held office. He
and his estimable wife are active and influen- tial members of the Congregational church and Sunday-school. Mrs. Hopkins is connected with several of the societies of the church. They reside at their pleasant home at 57 Pros- pect Street.
'IDNEY P. ENSIGN, Secretary of the Barnum, Richardson Company of Lime Rock and a well-known business man, was born in Canaan, Conn., March 1, 1834, son of Sidney and Clarinda (Prentice) Ensign. His grandfather, Ely Ensign, who was a native of Litchfield County, was a farmer, and spent his life in Canaan. He married Lucy Dean, and they reared five children; namely, Sidney, John E., Lee, Harriet, and Martha. Sidney En- . sign, Sr., was born in Canaan; and there, too, his life was spent. He was a woollen manu- facturer and fairly well-to-do. He lived to be eighty-seven years of age. His wife, who was the daughter of the Rev. Charles Pren- tice, of Canaan, died at forty-five. They also reared five children : Sidney P., Charles L., Ely, Martha, and Theodore.
Sidney P. Ensign entered the business world as an office boy. This was beginning at the bottom, an event to which he is in- debted for much valuable experience. In 1857 he entered the employ of the Barnum, Richardson Company, manufacturers. He was book-keeper for some time, and later travelling agent. In 1864 he became a stock- holder, and was subsequently made secretary. For the past thirty years he has been closely identified with the interests of the company, which has a flourishing business, and is well known throughout the locality. Much of its success is attributable to the good judgment and business ability of its secretary.
In 1859 Mr. Ensign was united in marriage
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to Jane E., daughter of Alexander Belcher, of Salisbury ; and three children blessed their union. These were: Clarinda, wife of Erving R. Fenton, of Lime Rock; Harriet ; and Lucy.
In politics Mr. Ensign is a Democrat and very active in the interests of his party. He was a Representative to the legislature in 1871, a State Senator in the sessions of 1891 and 1893, and has served on the State Central Committee for twenty years or more. The family have a pleasant home at Lime Rock, and are numbered among the most valued resi- dents of the town.
G EORGE H. HUNT, a feed merchant and farmer of Litchfield and a repre- sentative business man of the town, is a native of Alfreton, County Derby, Eng- land, born May 22, 1857. His grandfather, John Hunt, was born at South Wingfield, England. He was a teacher of distinction during his years of activity, and having rounded out a full period of years passed away at an advanced age in the parish of Alfreton. Mr. Hunt's father, Joseph Hunt, a lifelong resident of the same place, was born Septem- ber 29, 1813, and died there in 1888. He was a tiller of the soil, and married Mary Ann Slack, the daughter of a farmer in South Wingfield, a town adjoining Alfreton. She was born in 1815, and died at the family home in Alfreton in 1892. She reared six children, namely: Ellen; Harriet, who died at the age of twenty-one years; Joseph : James S .; Mary Ann; and George H., the subject of this brief personal record. The parents were people of some note in their native town and esteemed members of the Church of Eng- land.
George H. Hunt spent his early years in England, attending private schools until fif-
teen years old, when he entered a law office as a clerk, a position which he retained eight. years. Returning then to the parental roof, he assisted his father on the farm one year, and then came to America. He landed in New York City in 1881, and on the 13th of May made his appearance in Litchfield. On the first day of the following June he entered the employment of F. R. Starr, on what is now known as Echo Farm. Three months later this property was purchased by a stock company, and for nearly eight years thereafter Mr. Hunt was secretary of the company. Resigning his position, he bought from the Echo Farm Company their feed business, took a lease of their mills, and has since conducted a successful business. In 1895 Mr. Hunt invested some of his surplus money in land, purchasing the Moulthrop farm, containing one hundred and thirty-five acres of choice land. This he devotes to dairying purposes. He keeps a herd of twenty fine graded cows. besides young stock, and sells pure, unadul- terated milk.
In 1886 Mr. Hunt was united in the bonds of matrimony with Elizabeth Williamson, a native of Litchfield, daughter of John F. and Elizabeth H. (Wheeler) Williamson. Her father was a native of Scotland, born near Ed- inburgh, where he was reared and educated. From there he went to South Carolina, thence to New York State, and later to Connecti- cut, locating in this town, where he spent his remaining days. Mrs. Williamson, the mother of Mrs. Hunt, was a daughter of Christopher Wheeler, a native of Stoning- ton, Conn., where his father, Lester Wheeler. was a lifelong farmer. Christopher, who was engaged in agriculture during his younger years, removed to Litchfield after his mar- riage, and bought a farm about three miles west of the village, where he carried on mixed
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husbandry until his decease, at the age of threescore years. He married Amanda Gal- lup, who was born at Groton, near Stonington, a daughter of Ebenezer Gallup. She bore her husband eight children, three of whom are still living, namely: Charles D., a farmer in this town; Elizabeth, mother of Mrs. Hunt; and Mary J., the wife of Jacob Morse, of Torrington. Mr. Morse occupied a prominent position among the influential men of this locality, and for twenty-three years was one of the Selectmen, having served on the first board elected in Litchfield, and also repre- sented his fellow-townsmen in the legislature. His father, who lived to the age of seventy years, was likewise a member of the legislat- ure during one term. Mrs. Williamson, who was born in 1823, is now making her home with her son-in-law, Mr. Hunt, and is a re- markably bright and active woman. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt two children have been born, Philip W. and Fernie W. Mr. Hunt is an adherent of the Democratic party, and has served as Assessor one year. He is a man of financial standing and a Director in the Echo Farm Company. He joined the Order of Odd Fellows in England, and is now a member of St. Paul's Lodge, No. 11, A. F. & A. M., of Litchfield, of Darius Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and of Buel Council. He was reared in the Episcopalian faith, but is now an attendant of the Methodist church, of which Mrs. Hunt is a communicant.
EORGE W. COWDREY, whose por- trait appears on the opposite page, is the General Manager of the Barnum, Richardson Company's works in Canaan, Litchfield County, Conn. He was born in Ithaca, N. Y., April 15, 1844, and is the only child reared by his parents, Chauncey and
Emeline (Davis) Cowdrey. Mr. Cowdrey's father died on August 20, 1895, having reached the advanced age of eighty - nine years. He was for many years engaged in the manufacturing of carriages in Ithaca, but had retired from active business pursuits sev- eral years before his death. Chauncey Cow- drey's wife, Emeline Davis, was a daughter of Sheldon Davis.
George W. Cowdrey received a good educa- tion, and at the age of seventeen commenced life for himself as a clerk. He remained in that capacity for a year, and after filling a position as a book-keeper for a similar length of time became connected with the Barnum, Richardson Company of Canaan. He has been with that concern for the past thirty-two- years, and is now a stockholder in the com- pany, a Director, and General Manager of the works in Canaan. In the last-named capac- ity, in which he has served for ten years, Mr. Cowdrey has displayed unusual business ability and rare judgment.
In politics a Democrat, he was elected to the legislature in 1872, to represent the town of North Canaan. In 1868 Mr. Cowdrey was united in marriage to Irene Adam, the daugh- ter of Forbes S. Adam, an old resident of Canaan. Mr. and Mrs. Cowdrey have one son, George W., Jr., who is employed in the office of the Barnum, Richardson Company.
The prosperous business career of Mr. Cow- drey happily illustrates the efficiency of con- centration of effort and perseverance in one's chosen course of action. As the author of "Self-help" has well said: "The great high- road of human welfare lies along the old high- way of steadfast well-doing; and they who are the most persistent, and work in the truest spirit, will invariably be the most successful. Success treads on the heels of every right effort."
GEORGE W. COWDREY.
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ALTER S. LEWIS, the oldest and most prominent merchant in Tor- rington, Conn., was born in New Haven, February 21, 1833, son of Charles and Elizabeth (Bradley) Lewis, respectively natives of New Haven and East Haven. The Lewis family is of Welsh origin. The grand- father, Charles Lewis, who was a farmer in Southington, Conn., where other members of the family settled at an early date, spent most of his active life in that town, passing his last years practically retired in New Haven, where he died at the age of ninety-seven in 1 868.
Charles Lewis, the father of Walter S., followed the sea for a livelihood, as captain of a coasting-vessel. He also retired to New Haven in his old age, and died there in his seventy-third year. He was three times mar- ried. His first wife, who was a member of the large family of William Bradley, of East Haven, died in New Haven at the age of thirty-four. She was the mother of four chil- dren, two of whom are living, namely : Henry, a bit manufacturer in New Meriden ; and Walter S. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were members of the Congregational church.
Walter S. Lewis, left motherless when four years of age, was taken charge of by his grand- father. He received a good education, attend- ing the city schools and studying at the Lancastrian School of John E. Lowell. In December, 1849, when he was sixteen years of age, he went to work as a clerk for A. G. Bradford, of Torrington, who kept a country store, remaining five years. In 1855 with a partner he started a general store. At that time Torrington was only a small village, with few stores and little competition. After spending ten years conducting this establish- ment, he opened a small general store near the Allen House, later removing to the gran-
ite building, where he was five years. He then moved into the building which he now occupies, a two-story structure, one hun- dred and twenty-five feet deep and forty-five feet wide, specially erected by him to meet the demands of his business. When he first opened here, he had a fine stock of groceries, dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, and no- tions; but in 1891 he disposed of all but the dry goods, of which he now keeps a complete stock, together with a first-class line of car- pets, buying direct from the New York and Boston markets. Mr. Lewis has been in busi- ness forty years, and is consequently the old- est merchant in the town, while one of the oldest in the county. He has seen Torring- ton grow from a small village to a flourishing manufacturing place. His business has kept pace with Torrington, holding its own through many changes and entitling him to be ranked among the leading merchants of the place. though the number of his competitors is yearly increasing. His store is, perhaps, the finest in the town and one of the largest and finest in that part of the State. Mr. Lewis is also a stockholder and Director of the Needle Company and of the Electric Light Company. a stockholder of the Torrington Water Com- pany, the Union Hardware Company, and the Eagle Bicycle Company.
On November 29, 1855, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage with Mary J. Wooding, of Torrington. Her father, who was a farmer in Torrington, died at the age of seventy-four. His wife, who was a native of New Hartford, died at the home of her daughter, aged sev- enty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had two children, Lizzie W. and Charles, both of whom received a liberal education. The for. mer attended the seminaries at Rye and Pitts- field. She is now the wife of William Mertz. who assists in her father's store. Charles
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