Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1, Part 147

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1 > Part 147

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Southbury, but in later life was offered and ac- cepted the presidency of the Hartford Theological Society. He was also for a time president of Dart- mouth College. During the period of active re- ligious controversy half a century ago Dr. Tyler was widely known as the opponent of Prof. Taylor, of Yale Theological Seminary.

Stephen Stone, father of our subject. was a na- tive of Middlebury, Conn., born in 1787. Being reared to farm work, he followed that vocation through life, and although farming in his day of- fered scant opportunities for the accumulation of wealth he was pre-eminently successful, and evinced the possession of business talents and energies which deserved a more promising field. He was sturdy in character, careful and thrifty. and be- came one of the largest tax-pavers in the town. In politics he was a strong Republican, but to him

public office offered no enticements. He was a busi- ness man through and through, although interested in public affairs, and lending his active influence to various worthy enterprises. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and to church work he was stanchly devoted. He lived to the good old age of ninety-three years, his death occurring in 1880. By his first wife, Nancy Bronson, he had five children : Elery G., deceased ; Harriet N., who married Styles Munson, of Middlebury ; Sereno L., deceased ; Aber- nathy, of Woodbury, Conn .; and Amelia, who was married thrice, to Merritt Baldwin, Robert Lee and Sheldon Somers, respectively. The second wife of Stephen Stone was Maria Mallory, daughter of Thomas Mallory, of Middlebury, and by that union there were three children: Mary M., John W. (de- ceased), and Jay S. (our subject).

Dr. Jay S. Stone was born Aug. 5, 1842, in Middlebury, Conn., and began his education in the public schools of that place. Later he attended Woodbury Academy, under the instruction of Prof. T. M. Thompson, a well-known educator, and in the fall of 1859 he passed the examination in the academic department of Yale College, and was ad- mitted. He did not enter, however, but at once began the problem of self-support and advance- ment toward the professional goal. He became a teacher in the public schools of Middlebury, Conn., and for a year conducted a private sch ol in the town of Huntington, Conn. He then entered the Normal School at New Britain, graduating in the summer of 1861, and in the fall of that year he took charge of the graded schools of Plymouth, where he remained in charge two years, meanwhile engaging in the study of medicine. In the fall of 1863 he entered the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, in New York, from which institution he was graduated in 1865. It is to the credit of Dr. Stone that his academic and professional education was due to his own efforts, as he paid his own way through all the schools mentioned. After leaving the medical college he located, in the spring of 1865, at New Britain, and here for more than a third of a century he has been in continuous and successful practice, the only active physicians of New Britain who antedate him in professional service in that city being Drs. Cooley and Cummings. Dr. Stone is recognized as one of the most eminent medical men of this section, and he himself attributes his success to the practice of the Golden Rule, and to his thorough professional preparation.

During the year 1894 Dr. Stone was a member of the board of health. He is prominently affiliated with many fraternal societies. holding membership in Harmony Lodge, No. 8, F. & A. M .; Giddings Chapter, No. 26: Washington Commandery, of Hartford; and Sphinx Temple, Shrine, of Hart- ford: is also a member of New Britain Lodge, Nathan Hale degree, American Mechanics: of Phoenix Lodge. I. O. O. F .: Comstock Encamp- ment : Canton Foresters : the Knights of Pythias ; the Royal Arcanum; the New England Order of

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Protection ; the Pilgrim Fathers and the Hepta- sophs. Dr. Stone has officiated as medical exam- iner in all of these orders, and professionally he is connected with the State Medical Society and with the Hartford County and New Britain Medical Societies, of which latter he has served as president.

Dr. Stone was first married to Miss Anna E. Warner, daughter of William B. Warner, of Plym- outh, Conn., and by that marriage has two children : Dr. William Stone, instructor in the Vanderbilt Clinic in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York City; and Miss Mabel W., now a teacher in the Unionville high school. The Doc- tor's second and present wife is Rebecca C., daugh- ter of Matthew Davis, formerly of Providence, R. I., and by this union he has one daughter, Eliza- beth H.

THOMAS B. HATHEWAY, a well-known ex-

. tensive tobacco grower, farmer and coal dealer of Poquonock, and a selectman in the town of Wind- sor, was born Oct. 19, 1847, on the farm where he now resides, a son of George and Alma ( Booth) Hatheway, the former a native of Suffield, Conn., the latter of New Bedford, Mass. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Hatheway, a teacher by pro- fession, always resided in Suffield, and there reared his family of six children : Amos : Samuel : George : Emily: Eliza; and Charlotte, wife of Giles Gris- wold, all of whom are now deceased.

George Hatheway, who was next to the young- est in this family, received but a limited education, and was thrown upon his own resources at an early age, but as he was industrious and steady his means gradually increased, and he became the possessor of a comfortable competence, which he left to his children. He came to Windsor when a young man. and was first employed in the mills in manufactur- ing cotton batting. He was a self-made man in the fullest sense of that oft misused term, was a most excellent citizen, and was respected by all who knew him. Physically he was thick-set, but not large. He was a stanch supporter first of the Whig and later of the Republican party, and took an active interest in their success, but was never a politician in the sense of office seeking. Religiously both he and his wife were devout members of the Congregational Church. During the later years of his active business life he engaged in farming in Windsor town. and died Feb. 27. 1877, on the old homestead, at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife, who survived him for a time, passed away in December, 1888, at the age of eighty-one, and they now sleep side by side in the Poquonock cemetery. In their family were the following children: Har- riet, who first married Horace Bement, and later Sidney Cowles, a resident of Hartford: Delia, who is married and resides in Colorado; Sylvia, wife of William Warner, of Akron, Ohio: Mary, wife of William H. Packard, of New Bedford, Mass. :

Emma, wife of Dr. Ensign, of Berlin, Conn .; Car- rie, wife of B. E. Smith, of Willimantic, Conn .; George, who died in Windsor, leaving a wife and two sons, William and George; Samuel, who died young ; and Thomas B., our subject.

Thomas B. Hatheway obtained the greater part of his education in the Poquonoek district schools, but attended school for one year in New Bedford, Mass., after which he clerked in a grocery store in that city for four years. The following year he engaged in farming on the old homestead, and then entered the store of Hatheway & Moshier, of Po- quonock, where he clerked for three years. For fifteen years he was a clerk and bookkeeper in the factory at Poquonock belonging to the Tunxis Worsted Co., of Austin Dunham & Sons, and was also superintendent of the mills for three years. On leaving their employ he took charge of the old home farm, which he had controlled since his fa- ther's death, and while farming was, in a way, a new business to him, he took kindly to it, and has met with unusual success. In recent years he has also carried on operations as a coal dealer at Po- quonock, being the first dealer of the kind in that place, and is also engaged in the trucking business. He is a successful tobacco grower as well as an extensive one, and is a pushing, energetic man, and one of the highly respected citizens of his town.

Mr. Hatheway has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Adelaide S. Reynolds, of New Bedford, Mass., who died leaving no children. For his second wife he married Miss Carrie E. Brown, also of New Bedford, a daughter of John E. and Cynthia (Ryder) Brown, and to them have been born five children: Elsie, Grace, Amy, Marjorie and Gladys, all at home but Grace, who died in infancy. In religious faith the parents are both Congregationalists. Socially Mr. Hatheway is a member of Washington Lodge, F. & A. M., at Windsor, and politically he is identified with the Republican party. In 1891 he was elected select- man of his town, and has most creditably and ac- ceptably served in that office continuously since.

JEFFERSON RANDOLPH HOLCOMB. The natural advantages of this section attracted at an early day a superior class of settlers, thrifty, in- dustrious, progressive and law-abiding, whose in- fluence gave permanent direction to the develop- ment of the locality. Among the worthy pioneers of Hartford county the Holcomb family hold a prominent place, and the result of the labor and self-denial of those past generations is manifest in the comfortable homes and fertile, well-arranged farms which they left to their descendants.

The first of the Holcomb family to come to America was Thomas Holcomb, who was born in Wales in 1601, and located in Dorchester. Mass., in 1629. In 1634 he was made a freeman, and the following year he came to Connecticut, locating in

MBNatheway

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Windsor, Hartford county, where he engaged in farming until called from this life, in 1657. His first wife, Elizabeth, bore him eight children : Abi- gail; Joshua ; Sarah; Benajah; Deborah, who died young; Nathaniel; Deborah; and Jonathan. For his second wife he married Jane Ennis, and both died in Windsor, where their remains were in- terred. Joshua Holcomb, the eldest son of Thomas, was born Sept. 22, 1640, and spent his entire life as a farmer in the town of Windsor. He was mar- ried, June 4, 1663, to Ruth Sherwood, and died in 1690. His second child, Joshua Holcomb, Jr., was born in 1672, and when a young man removed to Simsbury, where he followed agricultural pursuits until life's labors were ended. His son Joshua was born in Simsbury Sept. 18, 1690, and like his an- cestors followed farming as a life work. He wedded Mary Griffin, of Simsbury, by whom he had several children, and he died in Simsbury. One son, Hezekiah Holcomb, was born Jan. 27, 1726, and was also a farmer by occupation. He married Susan Alderman, who died Oct. 7, 1814, and his death occurred in July, 1794. He was known as Capt. Holcomb, and was quite a prominent man in his community.

The next in direct line was Hezekiah Holcomb, the great-grandfather of our subject, who was born Sept. 2, 1750, in Simsbury (now town of East Granby), where he spent his entire life. He was a land owner and successful farmer, devoting his entire attention to agriculture and stock raising. He was well known and highly respected, was a member of the Episcopal Church, and a Democrat in politics. He was twice married, his first wife being Chloe Pinney, who was born in 1750 and died in 1787. They had seven children: Hezekiah, Thomas, Alexander, Joel, Abram, Bates and Cicero. The father of this family died in the town of East Granby, Nov. 8, 1820, and was buried in Scotland cemetery, Bloomfield town.

Joel Holcomb, grandfather of our subject, was born on the old, homestead in the town of East Granby, and though a self-educated man he became quite well informed by extensive reading and obser- vation, having an excellent knowledge of the leading events and topics of the day. He was a farmer and land owner, and very prominent in public matters, ably representing his district in both the House and Senate of the Connecticut Legisla- ture. He also served as county and probate judge for many years, and was one of the most dis- tinguished and honored citizens of his community. He died on the farm known as the Col. Samuel Clark farm, in the town of East Granby, now owned and occupied by our subject, and was buried in Scotland cemetery, town of Bloomfield. He first married Chloe Case, of Simsbury, who died in Granby and was also buried in Scotland ceme- tery. The children born to them were Joel C .; Chloe, wife of Virgil Cornish; Jane, wife of Will- iam Mather; Sophia, wife of William Mitchell; and

Raynor. His second wife bore the maiden name of Hulda Phelps, and was the widow of Col. Samuel Clark. There were no children born by this union. At her death her remains were interred in East Granby cemetery.

Raynor Holcomb, father of our subject, at- tended the common schools near his boyhood home, and also a select school at Red Hook, N. Y. It was his ambition to become a lawyer, but circum- stances prevented him from doing so, and after completing his education he spent three years as a contractor, aiding in the construction of the Wind- sor Locks canal, but made nothing in that under- taking. He tlien obtained employment as a travel- ing salesman, selling clocks through the Southern States during the eleven years he was engaged in that business. On his return to Hartford county, Conn., he located near Granby Station, and turned his attention to farming. In 1850 he went to Cali- fornia in search of gold, and after eighteen months spent upon the Pacific slope, returned home. After the death of his father he located on the Col. Clark farm, of 175 acres, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying there in February, 1891, at the age of eighty-six years. In East Granby town (then Granby), he married Miss Betsy Alderman, a native of that place, and a daughter of Irijah Alderman. To them were born three children: Chloe E., wife of B. L. Yale, of Meriden, New Haven Co., Conn .; Jefferson R., our subject ; and Walter, who died when a young man. The mother departed this life in 1861, and both she and her husband were laid to rest in the IIolcomb burying ground, town of East Granby. Both were attendants of the Epis- copal Church, and were held in high regard by all who knew them. Mr. Holcomb was one of the most prominent and influential members of the Democratic party in his community, and by the popular vote was elected to both the Legislature and State Senate, in which bodies he became quite popular and most efficiently represented his district. He was an industrious and energetic man, noted for his honesty and uprightness.

Jefferson R. Holcomb, subject of this review, one of the best known citizens of the town of East Granby, was born there April 12, 1837, and during his boyhood and youth was a student in the public schools of that locality and the Suffield In- stitute, then under the direction of Prof. Wood- bury. After finishing his education he took up farming upon the old homestead, where he has ever since carried on that occupation with marked success, while making a specialty of tobacco culture and stock raising. He owns and operates eighty acres of well-cultivated land, on which he has made extensive improvements. He was one of the first to engage in the raising of tobacco in this section, and what is grown upon his place always com- mands the highest market price. 1

Mr. Holcomb married Miss Sophronia Spell- man, a native of Simsbury, and to them have been

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born four daughters : Elizabeth A., Chloe C., Flor- ence G., and Virginia. With their parents they hold membership in the Episcopal Church. Like his ancestors, Mr. Holcomb is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and he, too, has been honored with important official posi- tions, in 1882 representing the town of East Granby in the State Legislature. He has filled other public positions, such as selectman and member of the school board, and his official duties have always been mošt capably and satisfactorily performed.

FRANK L. BURR, M. D., was born at Kill- ingworth, Middlesex Co., Conn., son of Dr. Harris R. Burr, a distingusished physician, and a man prominent in public affairs.

Dr. Harris R. Burr was a native of Haddam. He began life in humble circumstances, and his prosperity in after years was the result of his own unaided efforts, guided by earnest resolution and unflinching integrity. His early education was re- ceived in the common schools, supplemented by a course in Worcester ( Mass.) Medical College, from which institution he graduated in 1849, being also a member of the Alumni. After leaving college he took up his residence at New Haven, where he practiced medicine for two years, removing after that period to Killingworth, where he resided until his death, which occurred in September, 1861. His practice was extensive and lucrative, and his moral worth and genial disposition, no less than his professional skill, endeared him to his townspeople. At the time of his demise he was high sheriff of Middlesex county. He also owned a large farm, which he conducted with marked success. Politi- cally he was a Democrat, and was elected by that party to the Legislature in 1856. He was a devout and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and prominent in every good work of that organization, being trustee of the church and super- intendent of the Sunday-school at the time of his death. Dr. Burr married Clarinda Blatchley, by whom he had six children, as follows: Eugene H. was for a quarter of a century treasurer of the Russell Mfg. Co., and is now president of the Col- umbia Baking Co., of Middletown ; Frank L. is more fully referred to below; Colin died when he was but five years old; Mary E. passed away at the age of seventeen : Myron C. resides at Middletown, and is connected with the Grand Union Tea Co. The mother of this family died in 1876, in her fifty- seventh vear.

Dr. Frank L. Burr, our subject, received his early education in the public schools, and in 1865 attended Abingdon (Il1.) College, where he re- mained for two years. On his return home he entered the office of Dr. N. D. Hodgkins, of Rocky Hill, and a year later matriculated at the Phila- delphia Medical College, graduating from that in- stitution in 1871, after which he returned to Kill- ingworth, where he at once entered professional

practice. After six months spent there he removed to Middletown, and in 1884 to Rocky Hill, where he has ever since resided.

In October, 1871, Dr. Burr was married to Miss Josephine A. Clark, and their marriage has been blessed with six children, the eldest of whom, Harris L., is a bookkeeper for the Pope Mfg. Co., of Hartford; Carl E., the second son, has a po- sition in the office of Gately & Co., New Haven ; Colin C. is a draftsman; Clara J., a stenographer ; and Rollin C., a student in Wesleyan College at Middletown. The youngest daughter, Hattie E., died when but three years of age.

Dr. Burr's professional skill has won for him a large and profitable practice, while his unquestioned probity, joined to sound judgment and excellent common sense, have made him prominent in the affairs of the communities in which he has lived. While practicing at Middletown he was for eight years city physician, and has for three years filled the post of health officer at Rocky Hill. From 1885 to 1893 he acted as town clerk. In politics he is affiliated with the Republican party, and in religious faith is a Congregationalist. For eight years he has served on the school board, and is at present act- ing as school visitor.

GARVAN BROTHERS, of Windsor, constitute a firm which stands second to none in the grocery trade, and their constantly growing custom among the best class of people is evidence of their sound business methods. Their success is the more notable because they succeeded a merchant who had not made the venture profitable, and at the outset they met with remonstrances from friends who feared failure on account of lack of experience and capital. But enterprise, joined with caution and good common sense, won the day, each year seeing a substantial gain, and the future presents a bright prospect. An unvarying courtesy has been a fac- tor in gaining a desirable class of patrons, and by their straightforward and honorable dealings they have secured a high reputation for reliability which is, in itself, a reward worthy of notice.

The brothers are descended from good old Irish stock, and their paternal ancestors were people of wealth and position, but misfortune befell the family in later times. Their grandfather, Thomas Garvan, married Miss Carey, and had six children : John, who died in Rockville, Conn .; Lawrence, an architect, who died in San Francisco; James, who died in the same city; Thomas, who is mentioned more fully below; Joanna (Mrs. James Murphy), who died in Fulton, Oswego Co., N. Y. : and Kate (Mrs. Timothy Norris), who died in Rockville. The mother of this family died in Ireland, and in 1840 the father came to the United States with all of his children, his last years being spent at Wind- sor in the home of his son Thomas. He died at the advanced age of eighty vears, and his remains now rest in the cemetery at Windsor Locks.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Thomas Garvan, the father of the brothers whose history is outlined in this biography, was born Dec. 17, 1820, in County Tipperary, Ireland, and as his parents were then in comfortable circumstances he had unusually good educational advantages. He was but little over twenty years old when the family came to the United States, the voyage in a sailing vessel lasting thirteen weeks. On his arrival he was obliged to take such employment as he could find, and for a time he worked in Schenectady, N. Y., but soon after the opening of the American Mills at Rockville, Conn., he became watchman there. Men of his nationality were not numerous there, and as he was a devout Catholic among Protestants the differences in their views caused more or less friction, but the superintendent, W. A. Lovell, who took a strong liking to Mr. Garvan, used his influence to make his situation pleasant. Later Mr. Garvan was employed as a mill watch- man in Amsterdam, N. Y., and at Windsor, this county, where he married Miss Margaret Norris and made a permanent home. He purchased a farm from Alvan Fenton, and for many years was en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, while for some time his house was a center of home life for his brothers and sisters, whom he assisted in securing situations and in other ways. He was a man of fine mental gifts, and, physically, was well built, his health being excellent until a few years previous to his death. In politics he was a strong Republican, but he never sought or held office. He died Dec. 31, 1896, his interment being in Blue Hills cemetery. His widow still resides at the old home which was purchased from the other heirs by three of the sons, James L., John H., and William; she is much respected for her excellent qualities, and belongs to an old family of County Tipperary, Ireland. Her father was William Norris and her three brothers, Stephen, William and Michael, who settled in Windsor pre- vious to her coming, were among the first Irishmen to locate there. To Thomas and Margaret Garvan were born four sons: James L., of the firm of Gar- van Brothers: Thomas, a farmer of the town of Windsor ; William, a resident of Cheyenne, Wyom- ing, where he is manager of a large clothing house, and enjoys a very responsible position : and John H., the junior member of the firm. Thomas Gar- van, the father of this family, was twice married, first time to a Miss Farrell, of Providence, R. I., and by her had three daughters: Mary (Mrs. Walter Richardson, of North Grafton, Mass.) ; Nora (unmarried), a resident of Windsor; and Katy (Mrs. Joseph Evans, of Windsor). About one year after the death of the mother of this family, the father wedded Miss Margaret Norris, of Windsor, Conn., as above related.

JAMES L. GARVAN, senior member of the firm, was born at Windsor, Aug. 18. 1859, and after com- pleting a common-school course studied for a time in the academy. From childhood he assisted in the work of the farm, and at the age of fifteen he be-

came "general utility boy" for David S. Rowland, a retired business man, his wages being seven dollars per month at the start. For thirteen years he re- mained with Mr. Rowland, whose implicit confi- dence he gained by his fidelity and trustworthi- ness, and after the latter's death he engaged in farming, which he followed until 1893. He and his brother J. H. then bought their present grocery business from John Gilligan, and since that time he has given his exclusive attention to its management. While he is not a politician, he is a firm supporter of the Republican party, being a regular voter, and he and his wife are leading members of the Catho- lic Church in Windsor. On Oct. 26, 1898, he mar- ried Miss Mame Buttimer, of Syracuse, N. Y., and they have one son, Raymond L.

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Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1, Part 147

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1336

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1336