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 162

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 162

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James M. Dow was born Dec. 9, 1834. His father's farm was situated some three miles from

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the village of Washington, and his attendance at school was necessarily rather desultory, although he became firmly grounded in his knowledge of the elementary English branches. At the age of eighteen he left home, going to the city of Rock- land, Maine, where he duly apprenticed himself to Jeremiah Swift, to learn the joiner's trade. After serving a two-years' apprenticeship he worked for Mr. Swift two years as a journeyman. In April, 1857, he went to Minneapolis, but in July, 1859, re- turned East, locating at Hartford. Here he was ver- ily a "stranger in a strange land," yet lie possessed pluck and determination which were not easily daunted or discouraged. He reached Hartford on Friday, and on Monday following he went to work in the shops of West & Foley, on High street. For three years he was one of their most trusted and valued workmen, and then he undertook, on his own account, the erection of a hotel on the borders of Lake Champlain for R. W. Newton; the responsi- bility thus incurred was, in some of its aspects, a grave one, yet he met it with the unflinching deter- mination and unwavering fidelity which have char- acterized him through life. His next business ven- ture was the formation of a partnership with Mr. Newton, who was himself by trade a mason, the company being known as Dow & Newton. Both partners made a trip to Omaha, with a view of meas- uring the business possibilities and probabilities at that point, but mutually agreed to return to Hart- ford. They were associated in business for three years, when Mr. Dow withdrew, and he has since had no partner.

Mr. Dow has been eminently successful in busi- ness, having devoted his energy largely to the buy- ing of unimproved real estate, and erecting build- ings thereon, which he placed upon the market. He has done much toward the development and beautifying of the city, and while his motives may not have been wholly disinterested, Harford owes him a debt therefor. He has always shown a generous, wide-awake public spirit, and has time and again accepted unremunerative offices from a sense of duty as a citizen. He has always been a conservative Democrat. From 1875 to 1877 he was annually elected to represent the Seventh ward in the lower branch of the city council, and for the next four years was chosen alderman. As a mem- ber of the municipal legislature he was honest, con- servative and influential, and was given several im- portant chairmanships, among them that of the com- mittee having supervision of the fire department. He was also placed at the head of the special com- mittee charged with the onerous task of removing the old Trinity College building from the' present Capitol grounds; was a member of the committee charged with the conversion of the old State House into the city hall; and in 1893 Mayor Hyde ap- pointed him deputy inspector of buildings under John B. Garvie. For a time, Mr. Garvie being in Europe, he was the executive and responsible head

of this municipal department. In 1897 Mr. Dow was made inspector by Mayor Preston, and was rcappointed in 1899. To the discharge of his public duties he has brought a quickness of perception based upon practical knowledge, an earnest desire to serve the people faithfully and well, and an hon- esty which not even the fetid breath of slander has successfully impugned. In the administration of his present office he has introduced various reforms, looking to both economy and efficiency. Reference has been made to his affiliation with the Democratic party ; it should be mentioned in the same connection that he cast his first vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856, and voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Fol- lowing the faith of his ancestors, he is an attendant at the Baptist Church. In Masonry he takes a deep interest, being one of the charter members of the Masonic Temple Association. He is a past master of Hartford Lodge, No. 88, F. & A. M .; Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M., of which he has acted as trustee for many years; a member of Wolcott Council, No. 1, R. & S. M, ; and of Wash- ington Commandery, No. 1, K. T. He has been for twenty-seven years a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, in which he has held all the princi- pal offices, including that of grand patron of the Grand Chapter of the State.

Mr. Dow married Miss Mallie E., daughter of Solomon Benner of Waldoboro, Maine, and he is the father of two daughters: Etta M. and Lizzie MI., both unmarried and living at home. The elder has been for many years a successful and valued teacher in the Hartford public schools. The younger is bookkeeper at the building inspector's office.

EDWIN TRACY CARRIER is a native of Colchester, New London Co., Conn., born Aug. II, 1837, the son of a farmer, and he was reared upon his father's farm. When he was seven years old the family removed to East Haddam, at which place Edwin T. passed his early youth.

At the age of sixteen Mr. Carrier went to Middletown, where he found employment in the manufactory of Hubbard Bros. After two years thus spent he returned home, and contracted with his brother-in-law to serve an apprenticeship of three years to the tinsmith's trade. The compen- sation agreed upon was $35 for the first year, $45 for the second, and $75 for the third. At the end of the first year his brother-in-law disposed of the business to a Mr. Boies, who hired young Carrier at the rate of $60 for the first year and board, $120 for the second year, and $180 for the third year. He continued in this employment for three years, wlien he removed to North Manchester and began work for E. B. Hibbard. Within eight months his em- ployer opened a branch establishment at South Man- chester, for the convenience of Cheney Bros., who required a very considerable amount of tinware and plumbers' work, and Mr. Carrier had given such satisfaction in his subordinate position that he was

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selected to take charge of the South Manchester branch of the business. He continued to conduct Mr. Hibbard's South Manchester store for two years, and in 1862 began business for himself, in a very modest way, opening shop in the basement of the old Cheney store, where he handled stoves and tinware, although most of his time was devoted to doing plumber's work and tinning for the Cheney Bros.' silkmills, and for the papermills of H. E. Rogers and Bunce & Sons. He was reasonably successful, yet continued to occupy his original store in the basement until 1869, when he began business in the store which he now occupies. His present building covers a space 86x26 feet in dimentions, and a part is three stories in height. Here he car- ries an extensive line of hardware, stoves and plumbers' materials. In addition to this line of busi- ness, he purchased (in 1884) the Horace Bidwell papermills, which he operated for ten years, until the plant was destroyed by fire.

Mr. Carrier was married, Oct. 20, 1859, to Miss Sarah Bidwell, of Glastonbury, a daughter of Eras- tus and Fanny Bidwell. Their union has been blessed with four children: The eldest, Jennie, is the wife of William H. McNicoll, of New York. The second child, George, is deceased. The third, Frederick, was educated as an electrician, but later engaged in business with his father, and on July 5, 1895, met with an accident, while riding upon a bicycle, which resulted in his death. The youngest, Frances M., lives at home.

South Manchester has few more public-spirited citizens than Mr. Carrier, and few who have done more for the upbuilding and improvement of the town. He has built four large tenement houses on Wells street, and two on School street. He has prospered greatly in business, entirely through his own energy, industry and integrity, and owns a farm of sixty acres in the town of Bolton, Tolland county, besides other valuable real and personal property. He is an earnest member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, of which he has been a trustee for fifteen years. In politics he is a Republican.

EDSON FRANCIS WOOD, the popular pro- prietor of the "Edson House," of Plantsville, is a native of Hartford county, born in Wolcott Nov. 29, 1845, a son of Francis and Phylettia (Nichols) Wood, natives of Prospect and Wolcott, Conn., re- spectively. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Wood, was a native of Ireland, and a farmer of Prospect and Wolcott; he married Celesta Clark. His maternal grandfather was Erastus Nichols, a farmer of Wolcott, whose wife was Rachel Pardee.

Francis Wood, the father of our subject, was a machinist, which trade he followed in Waterbury, Conn., in early life, and for thirty years prior to his death was in the employ of Clark Brothers & Co., of Milldale, and the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of Plantsville. He died in 1888, at the ripe old age of seventy-six years. In his family were five chil-

dren who reached years of maturity: Mary J., wife of Walter S. Atwood; Josephine, wife of Henry W. Atwood; Edson F .; Louisa, wife of Reuben C. Barnes; and George.

Our subject was reared in New Haven county, Conn., where he received a common-school educa- tion, and he worked twenty-six years at the ma- chinist's trade with Clark Brothers & Co., of Mill- dale, also with the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of Plantsville, Conn., and Cleveland, Ohio, spending six years in the latter city. In August, 1889, he embarked in the hotel business in Plantsville, in which he has since successfully continued. His hotel has become a favorite resort with the traveling public, and re- ceives a liberal patronage.

Mr. Wood has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Jennie Pierpont, a daughter of Ezra and Hannia (Skinner) Pierpont, of Waterbury, Conn., and to them was born one son, Herbert Ed- son. For his second wife he married Miss Annie Taylor, daughter of Joseph Taylor, of England, and to this union one daughter has been born, Ethel E. Fraternally Mr. Wood affiliates with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias; politically he is identified with the Re- publican party.

FRANKLIN ARTHUR NOTT, an efficient and trusted employe of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of Berlin, was born in the northern part of that town, Dec. 23, 1856, and is descended from one of its oldest and most highly-respected families.

Frederick Nott, his father, was born July 17, 1833, in Berlin, near the birthplace of our subject, and died Oct. 23, 1896, his remains being interred in the Beckley Quarter. He met with fair success in his farming labors, and became well-to-do. His political support was always given to the men and measures of the Democratic party. In 1855 he mar- ried Martha A. Snow, who was born Jan. 3, 1833, and died March 30, 1885, being laid to rest in the same cemetery as her husband. Our subject's pater- nal grandfather, Jonathan Nott, a farmer, married Prudence Belden, of Rocky Hill. Both are now deceased, and are buried in the Beckley Quarter.

Upon the home farm Franklin A. Nott grew to manhood, and acquired his education in the Beck- ley school. On leaving school, at the age of four- teen years, he entered the employ of Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., and remained with them about seven years, in the meantime becoming a contractor in the piyer department. Later he was with the Hart, Bliven & Meade Co., of Kensington, for about a year, and then returned to his old employers, as contractor in saddlers' punches for a year. At the end of that time he began learning the machinist's trade, and served a regular apprenticeship. Subsequently he was with Eaton, Cole & Burnham, of Bridgeport, for a short time, and then, on account of failing health, he returned to the home farm in. Berlin, where he remained almost a year. Mr. Carpenter,

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superintendent of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., then persuaded him to return to their employ for a month. Though at the time he did not wish to go, he has since remained with them. At the end of a year and a half he was made foreman and superintendent of the motive power of the whole shop, and is now most capably filling that respon- sible position. He gives to the business his undi- vided attention, and by close application has worked his way upward until he is now one of the most trusted employes of the company.

Mr. Nott was married, Sept. 20, 1882, to Miss Isabel Haddon, who was born in New York City, Sept. 2, 1855, a daughter of William Absalom and Sophia (Crockett) Haddon. The mother is now living in Brooklyn, N. Y., but the father is deceased, and is buried in Greenwood cemetery, that city. Our subject and his wife have one child, Franklin Arthur, who was born Aug. 11, 1887, and is now attending the East Berlin schools.

In early life Mr. Nott was a Democrat in poli- tics, but he has been a supporter of the Republican party since the second election of President Cleve- land. He has always been too busy to take a very active part in political affairs. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 81, F. & A. M., of Crom- well, and of Giddings Chapter, No. 25, R. A. M., of New Britain, and both he and his wife belong to the Second Congregational Church of Berlin. They are widely and favorably known, and have many friends in the community where they make their home.

CHARLES WATSON VIBERT. Tobacco growing is the branch of agriculture to which the subject of this sketch, a well-known farmer of South Windsor, has for many years devoted his chief attention. In the pursuit of this special line of work he has been eminently successful, and his long experience has made him an expert and an authority upon the subject. He plants annually about sixteen acres in tobacco.

Mr. Vibert is a native of the town of which he is now a resident. born Oct. 20, 1851, son of Joseph W. and Eveline ( Clark) Vibert. He was reared on the farm, and remained with his parents until he at- tained his majority, receiving a fair common-school education and acquiring the habits of industry, per- severance and thrift which are the mainstay of tlie successful American farmer.

In 1876 Mr. Vibert was married to Miss Mary E. King, daughter of Henry M. and Frances (Forbes) King, both members of old Hartford county families. Mr. and Mrs. Vibert have three children : Emma, Frances and Eveline. Soon after his marriage Mr. Vibert settled upon the farm, which he has since successfully cultivated, and is regarded by the community in which he lives as a careful, enterprising and successful farmer. In politics he is a Republican, and on Oct. 1, 1898, he was elected first selectman of his town upon the

ticket of that party. He is a member of the high school committee. Mr. Vibert is a member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M.

IVINS DUDLEY NOTT, a well-known citizen of East Berlin, who is in the employ of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., was born on the Nott home- stead in the town of Berlin, Feb. 23, 1871, and is descended from one of its oldest and most highly respected families.

Frederick Nott, his father, was born in the same town, July 17, 1833, and died Oct. 23, 1896, his remains being interred in the Beckley Quarter. He met with fair success in his labors, and became a well-to-do farmer. His political support was always given to the men and measures of the Democratic party. In 1855 he married Martha A. Snow, who was born Jan. 3, 1833, and died March 30, 1885, being laid to rest in the same cemetery as her hus- band. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Jonathan Nott, a farmer, married Prudence Belden, of Rocky Hill. Both are now deceased, and are buried in the Beckley Quarter.

Our subject passed his boyhood and youth upon the home farm, and was educated in the Beckley Quarter schools. After leaving school, at the age of fifteen years, he worked on the farm until March, 1890, when he went to learn the machinist's trade with the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., by whom he is still employed. He continued to reside on the old homestead until May, 1899, when he removed to Wilcox avenue, East Berlin, where he now lives.

On Sept. 9. 1890, Mr. Nott was united in mar- riage with Miss Gertrude May Crossley, who was born Nov. 2, 1873, a daughter of John and Alice (Chapel) Crossley, of Berlin. Her father died Jan. 3, 1887, and was buried in Hartford, but her mother is still living, and now makes her home in New Haven, Conn .. Mr. and Mrs. Nott have three children : Ivins Dudley, born April 9, 1892; Martha Alice, July 4, 1895; and Eudora Agnes, July 5, 1899. The eldest is now attending the Berlin schools.

Mr. Nott usually affiliates with the Republican party, but at local elections supports the men whom he believes best qualified to fill the offices, regard- less of party ties. He is a prominent member of St. Elmo Lodge, No. 21, K. P., of New Britain, of which he is at present chancellor commander. He had formerly filled the office of vice-chancellor. He is also a member of the Dramatic Order, Knights of Khorassan, known as the side rank of the Knights of Pythias, and belongs to Lexington Lodge, No. 72, 1. O. O. F., in which he has also filled office. He attends the Methodist Church, while his wife holds membership in the Congregational Church of Danbury.

SAMUEL AUGUSTUS HILLS, a self-made man in the full sense of the term as applied to men who raise themselves from poverty to affluence, was

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born Nov. 1. 1837, in the house where Christopher Hills now lives, in East Hartford, Hartford coun- ty, a son of Talcott and Laura (Brewer ) Hills- family names frequently to be found within the covers of this volume. Our subject's grandpar- ents, Everson Hills, and wife, each lived to attain the advanced age of ninety-three years.

Talcott Hills was born Feb. 9, 1803. on South Main street, in the house now occupied by Mr. Coleman, and was by trade a carpenter. To his marriage with Laura Brewer, daughter of Reuben Brewer, seven children were born: Elizur, who was a soldier in the Civil war; Lucius, who died in early manhood : Owen, also deceased : Laura, who died in youth; Samuel A., the subject of this sketch; Christopher, who married Miss Harriet Parsons, and is a resident of Hockanum; and Ed- son, who died when a young man. The father (lied Feb. 22, 1869, aged sixty-six years.

Samuel A. Hills received but a limited educa- tion, having been, as he remarks, "too poor to go to school." At an early age he worked at anything he could find to do, at which he could make an honest dollar, and for two years was a hand on an oyster-boat running between Hartford and Long Island. 'At the age of sixteen years he began learning the bootmaker's trade, with his brother Owen, and of this trade he minade a success, as lie continued in it until he was thirty years old, when he bought a farm on Silver Lane, now owned by Mrs. Brush. He cultivated this place over three years, and then, with his savings as a shoemaker and his profits in farming, purchased from James Lewis Brush a tract of three and three-fourths acres of his present farm, which he has increased, through his untiring industry and frugality, to eighteen and one-half acres, and on this productive farın, made so by his close attention to its cultiva- tion, he erected, in 1883, his present handsome dwelling house.

In 1861 Mr. Hills was united in marriage to Miss Mary Risley, who was born Nov. 22, 1837, a daughter of Caleb and Jane ( Warren) Risley. To this marriage there came one child, Cora, born in-1863, and now the wife of Simon Geiselman, a prosperous young farmer; their union has been graced with one child, Samuel Hills Geiselman.

Politically Mr. Hills was formerly a Democrat, but of late years has voted with the Republican party. He has never cared for public office, his farming interests being more enticing to him than the meretricious fame or the uncertain emoluments resulting from official employment, which, at the best, is only ephemeral with the man who is truly honest. Fraternally he is a member of the Putnam Phalanx.

Although Mr. Hills descends from the earliest colonists of Connecticut, he is not vain as to his pedigree, but prides himself on being a self-made native-born American, which title to-day is para- mount to that claimed in ancient days by those

who had the right of calling themselves "Roman citizens." Honest to the core, hard-working and self-made, as has been stated, he scorns hypocrisy, adulation and sycophancy, and probably this is the best of his many other good qualities.

ROSWELL ALCOTT NEAL. From among the institutions which crown the industries of pro- gressive communities rise men of commanding in- fluence, who may be described as the flower of their times. Possessing to a superlative degree those qualities which gather force in great movements, these leaders fitly typify the genius of their times. From out New Engand have arisen the most famous manufacturing interests of the country. Large indus- trial businesses have been created which have be- come world-wide factors of progress. One of these has been the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of Southing- ton, known wherever hardware is sold. In its crea- tion, and during the crucial and formation stages of its growth, there stood at its head a man so filled with energy and determination, so fearless in execution and unerring in judgment, so . distinctively repre- entative of the master mind in modern manufacture, that the destinies of the large interests entrusted to liim were assured. He was an eminent and typical product of a New England ancestry.

Roswell A. Neal was born in New Hartford, Conn., in January, 1821, son of Elisha and Naomi (Frost) Neal. Through both his paternal and maternal ancestry he descended from early Con- necticut pioneers. He was of the sixth generation from Edward and Martha ( Hart) Neal. early set- tlers of Westfield, Mass. Edward, their son, set- tled at Southington, Conn. John Neal, son of Ed-

ward, was the great-grandfather of our subject, and was born Oct. 28, 1719. John Neal, the grand- father of our subject, was baptized in Southington June 16, 1754, married Phobe Judd, and died Feb. 6, 1831. Elisha Neal, the father of Roswell A., was a clock-maker of Southington, possessing in marked degree the machanical skill which made famous the products of his shop wherever intro- duced.

On his mother's side Mr. Neal's American an- cestry begins with Samuel Frost, from whom he is of the fifth generation, namely: (I) Samuel Frost, born in England in 1704, migrated to Amer- ica, served in the French and Indian wars, married, March 21, 1733, Naomi, daughter of Edward and Mary (Thorp) Fenn, of Wallingford. He died on Wolcott Mountain Nov. 14, 1800. (II) David, born Sept. 15, 1743, married Nov. 5, 1762, Mary, daughter of Joseph and Experience Beach, of Wall- ingford, and lived on Wolcott Mountain. (III) David Frost, born March 1, 1767, married Oct. 23, 1791, Mary Ann, daughter of David Hitchcock, and died March 18, 1850, on Wolcott Mountain. (IV) Naomi Frost was the mother of our subject.

The educational advantages of Roswell A. Neal were meager. It was always to him a source of re-

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gret that his opportunities were so limited. But the schooling he received was of its kind most thor- ough, and the practical affairs of life which were everywhere insistently present gave direction to his growth and development. Ilis first employment was in his father's clock-making shop, a not un- common industry in Connecticut at that time, the products finding a wide market throughout the United States by means of young and enterprising salesmen, or peddlers, as they were then known. At nineteen young Neal found employment on a farm in Bristol, Hartford county, where he remained two years. Attaining his majority, he launched out for himself in a clock selling trip to Maine, met with fair success, and from his savings laid the foundation of his fortune. He started in business a little later in partnership with M. W. Atkins, of Bristol, as manufacturers of steelvards. This part- nership was dissolved in 1849, in which year Mr. Neal removed to Southington, which was his home continuously from that time to his death. At Southington he became connected with a firm which three years later was formed into the Peck-Smith Manufacturing Co., and here he found his life work, devoting to the business the executive and commercial powers which had been steadily ex- panding under his previous experience. In 1861 he was elected president of the company, a position which he held until the company, in 1870, became absorbed in the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., to which he was also called as president.

Several competing firms had located at South- ington and vicinity, and the idea of consolidation and greater financial and industrial strength took root and grew. During the period from 1849 to 1870 the capital of the Peck-Smith Manufacturing Co. had grown from $50,000 to $150,000, and under the most capable management of Mr. Neal it had been most prosperous. The dividends were gen- erous and regular. During one year one hundred per cent. was paid, another year sixty per cent., and for several years twenty-five per cent. was the regular dividend to the owners. The Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. was incorporated under the laws of Connecticut in 1870, with a capital stock of $635,000. This was at various times increased until at the time of Mr. Neal's retirement from the presidency in January, 1887, it had reached $1,500,000. From 1870 to 1884 Mr. Neal continued the active direct- ing. being the executive head, but during the last three years of his official connection with the com- pany his health compelled him to relinquish many of the more exacting duties. Ile had given to the advancement of the company the same untiring zeal and industry which had characterized his pre- vious work. He had wide experience and vast resources of energy and determination. Under his management the business increased rapidly, and by the division of labor the cost of production was considerably reduced. After thirty-five years of active business life he, in 1887, when warned that

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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 162

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