Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 118

Author: H. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1899
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1795

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut > Part 118

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

George E. Somers, vice-president of the Bridgeport Brass Company, and an official in vari- ous other industrial works, was born in Newtown, Conn., January 21, 1833, a son of Rufus and Esther (Peck) Somers. The father was born in 1800, and died in 1867; the mother was born in 1799, and died in 1884. They had a family of nine children, six of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, as follows: Emily. Henry, George E., Esther M. (who died in 1860), David and John W.

George E. Somers was educated in the com- mon schools of Newtown, and at the age of nine- teen left his native place to begin at Naugatuck his life work as a skilled mechanic and manufact- urer. After two years spent in a Naugatuck ma- chine shop, Mr. Somers worked two years at Waterbury, and was then for two years and a half with Wallace & Sons, of Ansonia, Conn. He removed to Providence. R. 1 .. where he was em- ployed by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, the world-renowned silversmiths. to make tools. used in manufacturing silverware, an occupation requiring peculiar nicety and the utmost skill. | During the Civil war he returned to Ansonia, and was engaged with Wallace & Sons in the manu- the war Mr. Somers took charge of one of the de- partments of the Benedict & Burnham Manufact- uring Co., at Waterbury, as master mechanic. While filling that position he made a trip to | Europe, and on his return introduced seamless | brass and copper tubing in this part of the coun- try, which has since grown to wonderful propor-

Digitized by Google

GEO, E Somes

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

577

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

strides toward a wider and more commanding ! business career were to be noted, it would per- productiveness. He is at present vice-president | haps be said that he is a quiet, cool-headed busi- ness man, who weighs well his actions and has

of the company. It employs from 750 to 800 hands, and the pay roll amounts to from $6,000 | the courage of his convictions. His ripe judg- to $7.000 weekly. The works cover four and ment and experience, re-enforced as they are by high conceptions and convictions of duty. one-quarter acres of ground, and the building, | which is brick, covers two acres. At this great . mark him as an efficient and valuable factor in establishment a wide variety of brass goods is ; the current history of his native State. manufactured. most important, perhaps, being the manufacture of brass and German silver in the sheet and coil. There is also produced here brass, copper and German silver wire and seam- less tubing. lamps. burners, lamp trimmings, etc. Having always been of an inventive turn of mind. Mr. Somers has secured several valuable patents on articles of importance in his business. He is also a stockholder in the Bridgeport Cruci- ble Company, president of the Bridgeport Elec- 1 tric Manufacturing Company, and a director of the Bridgeport National Bank.

Mr. Somers has never been a seeker for office, but his business capacity has a number of times been called into service in the interests of the public While at Waterbury he served several years on the board of fire commissioners, and there contributed largely in advancing the effi- ciency of the department. In politics he is an earnest Republican, and has served as a delegate from Bridgeport to the State convention. He was appointed by Mayor Marigold to the local board of public works at Bridgeport. to succeed Edward R. Ives, resigned, was subsequently re- appointed by Mayors Bostwick and Clark, and is a member of that board at present. In the fall of 1896 he was nominated for member of the State Legislature from Bridgeport, and was elected by a tremendous majority. He is now serving on the committee on Manufactures. In social life Mr. Somers is an active and influential Freemason. He has served in most of the offices of the Blue Lodge and Commandery, and has attained the thirty-second degree. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

In November, 1858, Mr. Somers was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Noble, daughter of David Noble, of Southbury. Conn. She died in 1863. and in 1865 he married, for his second wife, Miss Fannie E. French. daughter of Miles and Elizabeth (Sperry) French, residents of that portion of Bethany, Conn., now part of Beacon Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Somers have one child, Jennie S., now a student in the Boxwood school at Old Lyme, Conn. They are members of the Park Street Congregational Church at Bridge- port.

If in the space of a few words the character- istics which most distinguish Mr. Somers in his

C HARLES B. MARSH. "Have a purpose and then work for it" is a motto which has been fully tested in the career of this highly es- I teemed resident of Bridgeport. As the head of the firm of Marsh Brothers, leading contractors and builders of that city, he has earned a high reputation in business circles and won for him- self a substantial success in life, all of which he attributes to his persistent following of the above precept. Marsh Brothers have an extensive con- tracting business, and are also large dealers in real estate, their work requiring the assistance of several clerks, and their handsomely appointed offices at Nos. 25-33 P. O. Arcade are the finest in the city, while their honorable dealings have brought them the esteem of all with whom they have come in contact.

The Marsh family is of English origin, the first of this branch to come to America being Thomas Marsh, our subject's grandfather. who crossed the ocean in 1816 with his wife, Martha Marks Marsh, and children. He was a carpen- ter by trade, but after a short stay in Bridgeport he settled upon a farm in the town of Easton, where he died in 1860.

James Marsh, our subject's father, was born at Trowbridge. England, in 1812, but his life was chiefly spent in Easton, where he followed farm- ing, his death occurring in 1887. He married Miss Sarah Beardsley, a sister of Henry and George Beardsley, of Huntington, and she is still living. Our subject is the youngest in a family of four children: Lottie married Daniel Brewer, a farmer at New Milford, Conn .; Ed- ward, born June 22. 1862, is a member of the firm of Marsh Brothers; and Anna is the wife of T. A. Burgess, a contractor and builder of Bridgeport.

Our subject was born March 13, 1867, at the old farm in Easton, where he remained through boyhood, his education being secured in the dis- trict schools of the vicinity. At the age of eighteen he went to Shelton to learn the carpen- ter's trade with Beardsley Brothers, and on com- pleting an apprenticeship of three years he located at Bridgeport and engaged in business as a contractor and builder. For two years he was

Digitized by Google

576

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in partnership with Henry W. Beers, and since that time he has been associated with his brother, Edward H. On September 30, 1891, he mar- ried Miss Effie A. Booth, daughter of Frederick J. Booth, a prominent citizen of Easton. Mr. and Mrs. Marsh are popular in the best social circles, and are active workers in Grace M. E. Church at Bridgeport. He also belongs to the Sea Side Club. the 1. O. O. F., the Masonic Lodge at Bridgeport, and other organizations. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party.

L ARSEN BROTHERS. This well-known firm of contractors, who have been conduct- ing an extensive business at Greenwich for some years past. consists of two brothers, Niels and Lawrence Larsen, natives of Denmark, and it is doubtful if two more able and energetic young men can be found in that community.

Coming to this country perfect strangers, without friends or capital, they have made their way steadily foward in spite of all discourage- ments, and to-day they command a profitable business with every prospect of increased pros- perity in the future. Honest and straight- foward in their dealings, they discharge every obligation faithfully, and they have already won the confidence of the community. With the first profits of their enterprise they built a pleasant home for themselves, and as time passed they invested in other property, including three residences which they rent. They are the first of their family to come to America Their parents. Capt. Christian Larsen and his wife, Ane Marie Andersen, are still living at the old home in Denmark, and the father. who was form- erly a sea captain, is now engaged in farming. There were four children in the family, two sons and two daughters.

NIELS LARSEN, the elder of the two sons, was born January 18, 1868, and when only seven years old started out from the old home with his mind set on earning money enough to bring him to the United States of America, for which pur- pose he saved as much as possible from his meagre earnings. In 1887, having accumulated the amount necessary for passage money, he sailed from Copenhagen with his brother Law- ience, and in July of that year they landed in New York. They had but a few dollars left, and the trying time that followed while gaining a foot-hold in this new land can be better imagined than described. The first employment found by

i enough to give him a start in business. He was steady and trustworthy, not in the least afraid of work, and he remained in Mr. Held's employ four years. In 1893 he and his brother began taking contracts for grading and excavating, and they have since devoted their attention to that I line of work. In 1890 he re-visited his native land, cheering the hearts of his parents with the sight of his prosperity.

LAWRENCE LARSEN was born March 22, 1872, and in his youth he attended the free schools of his native place, receiving a good, practical education. By the time he was fifteen he managed. through industry and close economy. to secure the funds necessary to take a trip to the United States, and on his arrival he made his way to Greenwich with his brother. He was married April 1, 1894, to Miss Margaret Huggins. who was born in Ireland, a daughter of James Huggins, and came to America at the age of fif- teen. Two children, Lawrence Christian and Anna N .. have blessed this union. The family is identified with the Lutheran Church, of which both brothers are consistent members.

CHARLES DELAVAN WOODRUFF. This well-known resident of Bridgeport has won more than a local reputation as a manager of large enterprises, a practical knowledge of men and affairs being combined with shrewd | judgment and rare executive ability. He comes of a family which has been noted in previous generations for intellectual ability.

Herman Woodruff, grandfather of our sub- ject, was a prominent citizen of Auburn, N. Y., and Jaines O. Woodruff, father of Charles D., was the director of the Woodruff Scientific Ex- pedition of 1878, which was virtually a floating college, the North German Lloyd steamship "General Werder" being purchased for that purpose. It was proposed to carry a full staff of professors and scientists, and was to be com- manded by officers of the U. S. Navy. Capt. (now Rear Admiral) John W. Phillips being delegated I to the command of the same. Our subject's | mother, whose maiden name was Ermina Adsit. was a native of Auburn, N. Y., and a daughter of Rev. Samuel Adsit, a Baptist minister.

Mr. Woodruff was born July 10, 1864, at Palmyra, N. Y., and his education was obtained chiefly at Highland Military Academy, Worces- : ter, Mass .. where he was graduated in 1880. He then became connected with a railroad in Ohio,

1 Niels was with Henry Held, of Greenwich, and . and later spent some time in the silver mines of although the wages were small they were a begin- I the Rocky Mountains. In 1884 he went to Balt- ning of better things. as in time he managed to save | imore, Md., to take a position as superintendent

Digitized by Google

579

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of the Consolidated Gas Company, and this he held until 1891 when he accepted a similar posi- tion with the Chicago Gas Light & Coke Co., Chicago, Ill. In 1893 he removed to Boston, hav- ing been appointed chief engineer of the Brook- line Gas Company, of that city, but in 1895 he located in Bridgeport as superintendent of the Citizens Gas Company.

In 1895 Mr. Woodruff married Miss Martha Nichols, of Salem, Mass., and both are popular in the best social circles of Bridgeport. Mr. Woodruff is identified with various societies, in- cluding the Algonquin Club, and Bridgeport Yacht Club.

RTHUR EDWARDS PLUM, formerly a representative in the State Legislature from the town of Trumbull, is one of the leaders in the business, political and social life of that locality, and few men of his years have achieved as wide a popularity.

Mr. Plumb comes of good old Colonial stock, his ancestors having settled in the town of Trum- bull at an early period. Eli Plumb, his great- grandfather, was born November 25, 1777, and died October 14. 1865. He married Betsey Booth, and had six children: (1) Pixley J., born December 6, 1800, died July 28, 1826. He was married on May 16, 1822, to Susan Hurd, by whom he had one daughter, Delia Judson, born May 26, 1825; she was married February 12, 1850, to Charles H. Hall, and has had one child, Ella E., born February 24, 1871. (2) Birdsey B., our subject's grandfather, is men- tioned below. (3) Almon E., born April 1, 1807, was married January 17, 1828, to Betsey Ster- ling. (4) Betsey Ann, born in 1811, died Janu- ary 27, 1827. (5) Harriet A., born in 1816, was married November 10, 1835, to Benjamin | Burton, and died May 27, 1854. (6) Mary Ann, born March 23. 1821, was married January 26, 1846, to Lucius C. Booth. They had one daughter, Lacira, born March 20, 1847, who | married Edmond H. Hurd, and died December 11, 1872, leaving one child, Lillian Lacira, now the wife of Edward T. Hendrickson, of No. 619 Noble avenue, Bridgeport.

Birdsey B. Plumb, our subject's grandfather. was born August 8, 1804, and followed farming in Trumbull for many years, his death occurring February 12, 1891. On March 8, 1828, he mar- ried Miss Emeline Mallett, who died December 24, 1890. They had two children: Betsey Ann and Charles Elliott. The former was born De- | in the General Assembly, and he served one cember 15, 1827, and died January 17, 1864. She was married November 21, 1854, to Thomas

C. Wordin, and had two children: Birdsey Plumb, born January 10, 1857. died March 8, 1875; and Elizabeth Chapelle, born January 15, 1860, who was married February 14, 1884, to Frederick J. Lockwood (now deceased).

Charles Elliott Plumb, our subject's father, was born in Trumbull, June 12, 1832, at the homestead now occupied by our subject, and died June 24, 1873. He made his home in Trumbull, and in early manhood followed farm- ing there, but later he became a civil engineer, being connected with the United States coast survey for many years. He served as a soldier during the Civil war, in Company D, 23d Conn. V. 1., and his brief career was in all respects worthy of admiration. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and he and his wife were active members of the Church of that denomina- tion in Trumbull. . On May 5, 1856, he married Miss Susan Ann Hall (daughter of Alanson Hall, of Chestnut Hill), who died February 11, 1895. Of their five children: (1) Willard Shelton, born July 21, 1857, was educated in the public schools of Trumbull, also in a private school conducted by Emory F. Strong, and since 1884 he has been connected with the City Savings Bank at Bridgeport; he was married November 15, 1883, to Miss Ida Grace Summers. (2) Charles Edward, born April 24, 1859, died Oc- tober 29, 1863. (3) Charles Franklin, born January 19, 1865, was married November 19, 1889, to Miss Elizabeth C. Tait, and resides in Bridgeport. (4) Arthur E. is the subject proper of this sketch. (5) Howard, born January 26, 1870, died March 29 of the same year.

Our subject was born March 1, 1866, at his present homestead, and his education was chiefly obtained in the schools of that town, a course in a business college at Bridgeport giving him a technical knowledge of practical business meth- ods. On leaving school he assisted his grandfa- ther for some time in the management of the homestead, but in 1887 he was appointed station agent at Trumbull. This position he held until 1891, when he engaged in general mercantile business with his brother Charles F., and this enterprise has met with increasing success. From an early age he has always been prominent in the work of the Republican party in his locality. In 1895 he was appointed deputy sheriff by Sheriff Sidney E. Hawley, and he resigned the position January 5, 1897, but was again ap- pointed late in June of the same year. In 1896 he was elected representative from Trumbull | term acceptably. Socially he is identified with the Order of Red Men, and he is an active

Digitized by Google

580

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

member of the Grange. On November 28, | ing perfect drainage and shelter from the north- 1889, he married Miss Charlotte C. Bennett, who died April 25, 1894, leaving one daughter, Charlotte Bennett Plumb.

D AVID A. DE LIMA, an able and enterpris- ing young business man of Stamford, Fair- field county, is one of the proprietors of the Puritan Poultry Farm, which was established at that place in March, 1897, and is already known 1 as the largest farm of its kind in the United | trees or clusters of shrubbery and briers - an States. The buildings, which were erected at a | ideal place, in fact, for the purpose to which it has been adapted.

cost of $25,000. cover five acres, and the entire plant occupies forty-five acres. The business is modern methods, and at present produces about 21,000 broilers per month.

Mr. de Lima was born November 29, 1875, at Curacao, West Indies, but his life has been mainly spent in this country. His father, Judah de Lima, a native of Coro, Venezuela, South America, was for many years a successful com- mission merchant in New York City, and there our subject obtained his elementary education. Later he entered Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y., and completed a course in electrical en- | turning his attention to the many business open- ! ings before the young men of to-day, he decided to engage in his present enterprise, in which he is associated with a brother-in-law, Horace Clark Adams, and the venture gives promise of re- warding their energetic and well directed efforts with generous profits. Though both partners are young men, they have entered upon their chosen line of work with as thorough prepara- tion for an undertaking of such magnitude as could be obtained before actively commencing a business which from its very size and the com- plicated workings of its various departments would seem to set it apart as an entirely new de- parture. Mr. de Lima had much experience in incubating and allied work on his father's large estate in Venezuela, and Mr. Adams has had an unusually wide experience for one of his age in feeding and caring for laying stock and young chicks, each member of the firm taking personal charge of the end of the business for which he is specially fitted. They have left no detail that would add to the completeness and efficiency of their plant unattended to, and Mr. de Lima gave evidence of his good judgment at the very out- set in his choice of a site. The farm is not lo- cated in Stamford, but just over the line in an- other town, Newfield, and is excellently situated, the rolling land, sloping off to the southeast, giv-

! west winds in winter time. The drainage on the | land on which the buildings stand has been further improved by filling in from two to three feet deep with rubble stone (with which the place abounds) and gravel, which in turn is cov- ered with loam, insuring a " bone dry " interior for all the houses. A part of the land is covered with a fine growth of timber, in which hundreds I of loads of leaves for scratching material are easily gathered, and other parts have scattered

Each building, as perfect in its equipment as conducted in a scientific manner, according to | nineteenth-century ingenuity can make it, is a model for the special use for which it was de- signed, and others will be added as the increase of business or the needs suggested by that expe- rience and the ideas which come alone after con- tinual contact with the operations of such a venture demand. Brooder house, No. 1, 140 feet in length. is divided into pens 5 x 10 feet each, having an outside run (yard) 5 x 40 feet, and is especially novel in one feature, being pro- vided with a hot-water heater at the east end. which will take the chill out of the whole build- gineering, graduating in the class of '96. On | ing in cold weather; it is further equipped with sectional heaters. with lamps and hot-water pipes leading from a boiler heater, the advantage of this plan being that one or more sections may be heated as desired, or the heat in one section increased. as for newly-hatched chicks, or de- creased for the older chicks. Brooder house No. 2, 180 feet long, is finished on the same plan, except that the whole structure has been underlaid with rat wire, to make it rat proof, a precaution which their experience in house No. I proved necessary. There are also rat-proof doors between the hovers and pens in both houses, and they are securely locked at night (thus enclosing the chickens in a locked wire cage). as are also the lamp enclosures. Messrs. de- Lima & Co. have been amply repaid, however, for the seemingly expensive outlay, for they have met with rare good luck, if luck it may be called when we consider their painstaking efforts to at- tain perfection in all their methods, for the per- centage of eggs hatched has been unusually large, and the chicks have been healthy and thriving in a most satisfactory degree.

There are two buildings for the breeding stock. one 60 feet, the other 140 feet long, divided into pens 6 1-4x 13 feet, with outside runs 6 1-4 x 100 feet. A three-foot walk extends the entire length of the buildings at the back, the floor being concreted, and all the feeding, watering,

Digitized by Google

581

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cleaning, etc., is done from this walk, the attend- ant making the rounds every morning. Every- thing is thoroughly well built, of seasoned, planed lumber, and most conveniently arranged, the nest-boxes, roosts, food and water troughs, etc., being easily removed for cleaning and whitewashing when necessary-a condition which goes far toward maintaining the health and consequently the value of the stock. The floor of the pens is sandy gravel, which can be renewed with little trouble. In the rear of brooder house No. 2 is the feed, cooking and power-house, 60 x 90 feet, the second floor of which is used as a picking and feather-drying room. In one end is the large jacket kettle for cooking the feed, and along one side are capa- cious bins in which the various foods are stored, while on the other side are ranged the mills-a corn cracker and grinder, a shell crusher, a bone cutter, etc .- the power for running which is furnished ordinarily by a large windmill, and on days when the wind power is insufficient by a small steam-engine.

The largest building, and the center of the group, is 32 x 64 feet, two stories high, with base- ment incubator cellar. On the first floor are the office and .. exhibition " rooms, a large and well- appointed room for the night watchman, and a large packing and shipping room. The second floor is for grain storage, and there are facilities for hoisting the bags directly from the truck be- low to the platform built to receive it; there is room for storing several carloads, to be drawn upon as needed. In the basement are fourteen 300-egg incubators, and one large incubator, hav- ing a capacity for 6,000 eggs, which was built after plans designed by Mr. de Lima's father, who used a similar one with excellent success. It has been carefully constructed, especially as re- gards heating and ventilating appliances, for these gentlemen understand well that there is as much in the care of the eggs before hatching as in the care of the chicks afterward, and every precaution is taken to provide only the most practicable and perfect apparatus for regulating temperature, moisture, etc. Other buildings, for thoroughbred breeding stock, are in process of erection, for the firm intends to make theirs an all-round poultry business, with the rearing of and dealing in fine stock a specialty. They also intend to sell a specially blended food for chicks, and another for laying stock, prepared from the formula they use, while other branches will be taken up in time. It would of course be impos- sible to have the entire plant, with the various ramifications of an enterprise so capable of ex- pansion, all in operation at the start, but de |

Lima & Co. are losing no opportunity of estab- lishing their business upon a basis broad as well as firm, and so far they have met with flattering success. The buildings are all substantially built with stone foundations, only the best of material entering into their construction, and everything about the place is arranged with regard for neat- ness and good taste, as well as utility. Besides the wind-mill above mentioned, there is another for pumping water from a large spring on the land to a tank above the plant, whence it is piped to all the buildings. Mr. de Lima is now contem- plating the making of a small lake, fed by springs, from which he can cut ice, and which he will use to raise frogs for the markets. In May, 1898, an office was established in New York City, opposite the Herald building, at No. 105 W. 36th street, near Broadway. where an agent, Oscar Frankel, a member of the Stewards As- sociation, has charge of the sales, the greater part of the product from the Puritan Poultry Farm being disposed of to clubs and hotels of greater New York. Mr. Frankel has been to them a very faithful and energetic salesman, and has disposed of the Farms' product to excellent advantage: it has gotten to be known as a gen- eral fact that he has repeatedly, in the dullest seasons of the chicken business, submitted to the firm orders that they could not fill, which demon- strates the fact that " Puritan " goods have taken a strong hold on the New York hotel trade-not so remarkable a fact in itself, perhaps, because the goods are really superior to those of the general market offerings.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 118

Author: H. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1795

Author: H. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1899
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1795