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 17

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 17

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sion, 20th Army Corps, in front of Atlanta. During this period he foraged over the territory in Tennes- see where his father had peddled clocks and notions forty years before. On his return home he resumed active work in the factory of W. J. Clark & Co. In 1871, on the retirement of the senior member of the firm, the name was changed to Clark Bros. & Co., and as such business has since been successfully carried on. Our subject continued to superintend the work until 1882, and is still a member of the company. He is also a director in both the South -. ington National Bank and the Savings Bank, also in the Southington Cutlery Co.

On August 21, 1862, Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Dickerman, a daugh- ter of Samuel and Rebecca (Gale) Dickerman, of Guilford, Conn. Religiously he is a member of the Plantsville Congregational Church, and socially is connected with Trumbull Post. No. 16, G. A. R .. and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party and its principles, and has frequently been called upon to serve as a member of the board of assessors and board of relief in his town. He was also elected to the State Legislature in 1895, and re-elected to the same office in 1899. As a citizen, soldier and business man, he stands high in the public csteem, and his life of usefulness has given to the younger men of the town an example well worthy of emula- tion. His genial manner has made him many friends, and wherever known he is held in high regard.

CHARLES HOPKINS CLARK was born in Hartford, April 1, 1848, son of Ezra (Jr.) and Mary ( Hopkins) Clark. He was educated in the Hart- ford public schools, except between 1860 and 1865. when he was living in New York, and attended the grammar schools of that city and what was then the Free Academy. Returning to Hartford in 1865. he entered the Hartford Public High School, and, graduating from there in 1867, entered Yale, where he was graduated in 1871. A few wecks later he went to work upon the Hartford Courant, at first under temporary engagement, and he has been con- nected with that journal ever since. In 1887 he was admitted to the firm of Hawley, Goodrich & Co., then publishing the Courant, and later, when a cor- poration was formed, he was chosen vicc-president of the Hartford Courant Co. He has been in editorial charge of the Courant since the death of Stephen A. Hubbard, in 1800. Mr. Clark is a director in the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., and the Collins Co., and is connected with various philanthropic institutions of Hartford, be- ing treasurer of the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Hartord Public Library, and the Trustees of the Good Will Club, and a trustee of the Watkinson Library of Reference. He is a member of the Cen- tury and the University Clubs of New York, and of the Colonial Club of Hartford.

In 1873 Mr. Clark was married to Miss Ellen

Root, daughter of the late E. K. Root, who was at his death president of the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Co. She died in February, 1895, leaving two chil- dren, Horace B. Clark ( Yale '98) and Mary Hop- kins Clark. In November, 1899. Mr. Clark mar- ried Miss Matilda C. Root, sister of his first wife.

HON. EZRA CLARK, a familiar figure for many years on the streets and in the civic life of Hartford, died in that city Sept. 26, 1896. He was born in Brattleboro, Vt., Sept. 12, 1813, but became a resident of Hartford when six years of age. His father, Ezra Clark, was a partner of the iron and steel firm of David Watkinson & Co., and the son, who for many years was Ezra Clark, Jr., was taken into the partnership when twenty-one years of age. The firm was, in succession, David Watkinson & Co., Clark, Gill & Co., Ezra Clark & Co., and Clark & Co., and is now L. L. Ens- worth & Son.

Mr. Clark's business record included member- ship in the board of directors of the Exchange Bank and the presidency of the National Screw Co., of Hartford, which under his management became a great success, and was subsequently sold out to the American Screw Co., of Providence. In 1857, by reason of endorsing the business paper of friends, he failed financially, but he recovered from this. and returning to Hartford paid his creditors one hundred cents on the dollar, with interest. Mr. Clark held many public offices, having been, at one time or another, councilman, alderman, judge of the city court, chairman of the North District school committee. city and town auditor, president of the Young Men's Institute, president of the Spring Grove Cemetery Association, and president of the Board of Water Commissioners. He rep- resented the Hartford District in the XXXI'th and XXXTth Congresses. His most important work in Hartford was in connection with the Water Board, of which he was for many years a member. Under his presidency a great share of the work of building the reservoirs and equipping the city with mains was accomplished. He also laid out the Reservoir Park, connecting the various ponds by a driveway through the woods : and the large Tumbledown Brook Reservoir was planned and built by him.

In October, 1841, Mr. Clark was married to Mary Hopkins, daughter of Daniel P. Hopkins and Mary Whiting. both of Hartford. She died in 1866, leaving three children: Frances, now Mrs. Albert L. Butler : Charles Hopkins Clark, editor of the Courant, and Howard W. Clark, who was cash- ier of the United States Bank, and died in 1894.

CAPT. TIMOTHY BOARDMAN ROBIN- SON is one of the sturdy strong settlers of New England whose ancestors for several generations were born and reared in the State of Connecticut. He was born at a time that made it necessary to risk his life for our country at that happy, promising age

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

when he had begun to realize the full measure of happiness which was revealed in the early years of manhood. Fortune, however, favored him to a very full extent in his service in the war, and, while he was taken a prisoner several times, he returned to his home and friends without having been wounded or overcome by serious illness. If heredity may be credited with the transmission of virtuous traits from one generation to another, Capt. Timothy B. Robin- son is indebted to his ancestors on both sides for a tendency toward those sterling qualities which, when developed, are bound to succeed in the face of the most trying obstacles.

Capt. David Robinson, lis great-grandfather, was born in Glastonbury, Conn., in 174). He was married twice, his first wife, Mary, dying Dec. 25, 1801 ; his second wife, Marion, died Jane 20, 1856. Capt. Robinson served in the Revolutionary war, where he probably received his title. He was the father of seven children, as follows: Mary Anna, born Feb. 5. 1770; Lieodiah, Aug. 25, 1772; James, May 28, 1774: David, Jr., Nov., 1778; Shadrach, July 15. 1781 ; Timothy, Feb. 6, 1784; William, June 24, 1788.

Shadrach Robinson was born in Glastonbury Conn. He was a sea-faring man. On June 13, 1802, he married Eunice Tennant, who was born Oct. 17, 1781, and their marriage was blessed with four chil- dren : Leverett, born April 8, 1803 (died April 21, 1835) : Azel T., March 31, 1807 ( died Sept. 26, 1886) : Loretta, Feb. 26, 1809; and Lester, Dec. 9, 1810.

Azel Tennant Robinson, our subject's father, v. as also born in Glastonbury, Conn., on the date pre- viously named, and died in Bristol Sept. 26, 1886. He was a woodworker by trade, working on clock cases and small furniture, was a very industrious man, and his efforts were rewarded by the success in life which earnest application and intelligent pur- suit merit. He came to Bristol and worked in the clock factories, having been connected with the Jerome Clock Co., the Union Clock Co. (in which he was a stockholder), and the George A Jones Clock Co., respectively. During the latter part of his life he was engaged for a number of years in making door screens. Azel T. Robinson was a strong Spir- itualist. He was a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., and serve l as treasurer of same for over twenty-five years. In politics he originally was a Whig, and later became a Democrat. On May 3, 1832, Mr. Robinson was married to Miss Harriet Stratton, who was born in Glastonbury March 1, 1808, and their marriage was blessed with the following children : Charles Azel, born June 7, 1833, died Aug. 20, 1833; Timothy Boardman is our subject ; Eunice Tennant, born June 22, 1836, died May 19, 1876, unmarried ; Harriet, born Aug. 26, 1839, is married and lives in California : Lev- erett, born Jan. 20, 1843, died Jan. 1, 1860 ; Henry Azel, born Jan. 2, 1845, died Aug. 21, 1864 (he was a brave lad, and his life was sacrificed for his coun-

try in the war of the Rebellion, as he was captured and starved to death in Andersonville prison) ; Mary, born Dec. 19, 1846, is married, and resides in Brooklyn, N. Y .; Alice Kate, born Sept. 13, 1849, is the wife of II. B. Cook, the shoe man of Bristol ; Frederick Arthur, born Dec. 20, 1852, died May 19, 1880.

Capt. Timothy Boardman Robinson, our subject, was born in Cromwell, Conn., July 18, 1834. He attended the schools of his native town until he was eight years of age, when his parents removed to Bristol, where he continued his education until his sixteenth year, and then attended the Berlin Acad- emy for one term. With this common-sense, prac- tical foundation of learning he began the struggle for life, entering the employ of his father, who was a member of the firm of Case & Robinson, then en- gaged in manufacturing coffee-mill boxes. At this occupation he remained for about two years, and then worked in the spring factory of Edward L. Dunbar for two or three years. Subsequently, in company with two others, under the firm name of Herring & Co., he engaged in the manufacture of sash and dials. This business relation lasted for about three years, and was succeeded by the Bristol Hardware Co., who purchased the aforesaid plant and retained our subject in their employ under contract for two years. At the expiration of this time the business was again sold out, to the E. N. Welch Manufacturing Co., by whom our subject was again retained under contract for about three years, when he enlisted in the war. After the war he engaged with H. Hark- ness in the manufacture of ice scrapers, continuing this business for about six months, when it was sold out to Landers, Frary & Clark, of New Britain. After this Mr. Robinson acted as foreman in the shear factory of the Inventors Manufacturing Co., S. Valentine, manager, where he remained for about three years. He then resigned in order to accept the position of foreman in the clock factory of George Jones, which business relation continued for twenty years without interruption. Following this he entered the employ of Plumb & Allen, of Terry- ville, who had purchased the Jones factory, acting for the firm as foreman in the Jones shop in Bris- tol, making mechanical toys of all kinds. Our sub- ject then went to work for the Horton Manufactur- ing Co. for about six months, and subsequently en- gaged with the New Departure Bell Co., with which firm he remained until 1898. In that year he re- signed to accept the position of general superin- tendent of the Liberty Bell Co., which position he now holds.

On Aug. 24, 1862, Capt. Robinson enlisted in Company K, 16th Conn. V. I., and came out a cap- tain. He was a prisoner in Macon, Ga., Charleston and Columbia, S. C., escaping from the latter. He was never wounded. He was in the battle of All- tietam, and was mustered out Aug. 25, 1865. In politics our subject is a stanch Republican, though he has never sought office. Socially he is a member

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M .; of the Royal Arcanum, of which he is vice-regent ; and of George W. Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of which he is past commander.

On Oct. 31, 1855, Capt. Robinson was united in marriage with Sophia Wells Waters, who was born March 20, 1836, a daughter of Lora and Laura (Churchill) Waters, of Bristol. Five children have blessed their union, as follows. (1) Lora Azel, born Ang. 3, 1856, died Sept. 18, 1856. (2) Lora Waters, born Oct. 2, 1857, was married March II, 1885, to Annie Shepard, of Bristol, and they have had children-Pauline, born Dec. 26, 1885; Archer Waters, born Aug. 12, 1887 (died Aug. 15, 1887) ; Lyle Wells, born May 1, 1889; Kendall, born in 1894 (died in 1895) ; and Wells Hall, born Sept. 15, 1895. Lora Waters Robinson is a graduate of the Philadelphia Dental College, and is now practicing dentistry in Buffalo, N. Y. (3) Archer Waters was born Oct. 12, 1859, and died Sept. 8, 1860. (4) Belle Waters, born June 12, 1861, married Edward B. Gaylord, of Winsted, June 12, 1884. (5) Grace Waters, born Sept. 14, 1871, died May 29, 1872. Capt. and Mrs. Robinson attend the Congregational Church, of which Mrs. Robinson is an active and devout member. The life of Capt. Robinson has been one of continued activity. Through all the fluctuations and vicissitudes following the war he has maintained not only an unruffled disposition, but he has acquired broader views of all matters pertaining to the welfare of his country and of humanity.

CHARLES LEVI LINCOLN, a manufacturer and prominent business man and citizen of Hart- ford, where for fifty years and more he has been engaged in the manufacturing of castings and ma- chinery, and closely identified with the growth of the city, is a representative of a sturdy New Eng- land family of the Colonial period.

Mr. Lincoln was born March 12, 1825, in Dor- chester, Mass., son of Levi and Malinda ( Miles) Lincoln, and is a descendant in the eighth genera- tion from Thomas Lincoln, who was born in Eng- land about 1603, came to New England in 1635, and located in Hingham, on Massachusetts Bay, but removed to Taunton prior to 1650, and estab- lished a gristmill on Mill river. He brought with him from England two or three children. He lived to be eighty or upward years of age.

From this first American ancestor our subject's line of descent is through Thomas (2). Thomas (3), Nathaniel, Nathaniel (2), Stephen and Levi Lincoln.

(II) Thomas Lincoln (2), son of Thomas the emigrant, likely born in England, baptized in 1637- 38, married Mary, daughter of Jonah Austin, who was a husbandman and died about 1694. He early in life became a resident of Taunton, Massachu- setts.

(III) Thomas Lincoln (3), son of Thomas (2),

born in 1656, in Taunton, married Mary. daughter of Richard Stacy. He took part in the Indian troubles in the time of King Philip's war.

(IV) Nathaniel Lincoln, son of Thomas (3), born about 1684, married Alice, daughter of Capt. John Andrews. He was a sergeant in the militia, and was engaged in milling with his father-in-law, at a point three miles west of Taunton.

(V) Nathaniel Lincoln (2), son of Nathaniel, born in 1725, in Taunton, married in 1743 Eliza- beth, daughter of Increase Robinson, Jr. Prior to 1750 he removed to Rehoboth, Mass., and to Brain- tree, in the same State about 1759, dying in Attle- boro.

(VI) Stephen Lincoln, son of Nathaniel (2). born in 1751, in Rehoboth, Mass., married in Oak- ham, Mass., in 1779, Lydia, daughter of Lieut. Eben- ezer Foster. He removed from Rehoboth to Brain- tree and later located in Oakham. He was a soldier of the Revolution, serving in the Rhode Island cam- paign. He was occupied in farming, and in con- nection with his farming operations also carried on a tannery. He held several public offices : he died in 1840.

Levi Lincoln, son of Stephen, and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1790. in Oakham, Mass .. and was married in Rutland, Mass., July 9, 1816, to Malinda Miles, daughter of Bar- zilla and Sarah (Reed) Miles, of Rutland. She was born July 7, 1795, and died in Hartford, Conn .. April 12, 1883. Mr. Lincoln died in Hartford Jan. 31, 1868. Their children were: George S., Sarah K., Charles L., Mary E. and Theodore M.

Charles Levi Lincoln married in Hartford, Conn .. Aug. 31, 1847, Olivia M. Brewster, born July 21. 1826, in Coventry, Conn., daughter of Silas and Wealthy ( Richardson ) Brewster, and their children were: (1) Carrie Augusta, born Aug. 15, 1854. was married in Hartford to Edwin P. Taylor, born in that city Aug. 20, 1840, son of Edwin and Nancy Jane (Kinney) Taylor, and they had five children, four of whom are living: Charles Lincoln, born Sept. 10. 1875, is in the employ of the Lincoln Con1- pany ; Edwin P. and Caroline B. and Morgan Wells ; Rowland K. is deceased. (2) Charles Payson. born May 21, 1851, was married in Southbridge, Mass., Nov. 20, 1878, to Margaret Sanders, born in Cromp- ton, R. I., Feb. 24, 1854, daughter of James and Margaret (Henry) Sanders ; he is secretary of The Lincoln Co., and is one of the trustees of the Pratt Street Savings Bank. (3) Frank Howard, born March 4, 1855, died in Hartford, Dec. 16, 1860. (4) Theodore M., born April 4, 1858, is treasurer of the Lincoln Co., a director of the Hartford City Bank, and has served as member of the city council ; he was married in Pawtucket, R. L., May II, ISSI, to Alice M. Horton, of that city, born Sept. 16, 1860, and they have had three children: Alice H., Theodore B. (deceased), and Minerva B. (5) Fannie Maria, born Nov. 11, 1861, was married in Hartford to Dr. Robert Hamill, born in Oak Hall,

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Penn., May 24, 1855, son of Robert and Margaret E. (Lyon) Hamill, of Philadelphia, and they have two children : Robert L. and Francis L. ; the Doctor studied for the medical profession at Lafayette College, graduated from the Pennsylvania Univers- ity of Medicine, and is now practicing medicine in Summit, N. J. (6) Elizabeth Brewster, born May 8, 1868, resides in Hartford.

Charles L. Lincoln, our subject, was admitted to the firm of George S. Lincoln & Co., in 1846, and through all of the intervening years between that period and this, he has been continuously engaged in the manufacture of castings and machinery. His brother George, the senior member of the firm, retired from the business in 1885, since which time Charles L. Lincoln has continued the business with his sons Charles P. and Theodore M., under the name of The Lincoln Company.

Mr. Lincoln is a good business man, possessed of sound judgment, and is a good manager, which qualities, together with integrity and fair dealing, have brought him success. He is a substantial citi- zen of Hartford, and has carried through his long business career with this people their esteem and respect. He is a director of the Hartford Street Railway Co., an incorporator and trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank, and a member of the Connecticut Historical Society.

The firm of George S. Lincoln & Co., which is now incorporated The Lincoln Company, proprie- tors of the Phoenix Iron Works, was established in 1834 by the late Levi Lincoln, and has thus been in existence about two-thirds of a century, during which period the business has grown from com- parative insignificance to one of the largest, as it is the oldest, of its class in the State. On the death of Levi Lincoln the business was so arranged that his sons George S. and Charles L. (who had been associated with their father some fifteen years) suc- ceeded, and the firm of George S. Lincoln & Co. has since been one of the best known in New England. They make a specialty of the latest designs of archi- tectural iron work, consisting in part of building fronts, columns, lintels, girders, vaults, etc., besides large quantities of machinists' tools and other arti- cles, employment being given to an average of nearly 160 hands. George S. Lincoln, who died April 2, 1894, was well-known throughout the New Eng- land States, and ranked among the ablest business men of the day, while in Hartford, the city of his adoption, at the same time holding place among the leading citizens, representative manufacturers and promoters of its best interests. The same remarks are in every sense applicable to Charles L. Lincoln.

EBENEZER ROBERTS, whose death oc- curred March 7, 1896, was one of the best-known business men in Hartford, where his career was a most honorable one.

Born Oct. 28, 1819, in Westfield, Conn., Mr. Roberts was a son of Enoch Cornwall Roberts, and a grandson of Ebenezer Roberts, who was an officer

in the war of the Revolution, was with Washing- ton at New York, in the battle of Trenton, and also at Yorktown. The lineage is traced to Samuel Roberts, who appeared in Middletown, Conn., dur- ing the seventeenth century, and died there in 1739. In 1691 he married Mercy Blake. Ebenezer Rob- erts' great-great-grandmother, Sarah Bulkeley, was a daughter of Edward Bulkeley, one of the found- ers of the Society of the Cincinnati, and through. her he is a descendant of Rev. Gershom and Rev. Peter Bulkeley. Rev. Gershom Bulkeley graduated from Harvard College in 1665, was minister at New London in 1661, and at Wethersfield in 1666. Mr. Roberts was also a descendant of Charles Chauncey, the second president of Harvard College.

At the age of fifteen years our subject entered the employ of the well-known firm of H. & W. Keney, and the same qualities that maintained his success later began to show themselves there, securing for him prompt recognition as a young man of promise and rapid advancement. In 1855 he was taken into partnership, and, though the old name of H. & W. Keney remained over the door, the firm was changed. to Keneys, Roberts & J. N. Goodwin, and later, at Mr. Goodwin's death, to Keneys & Roberts, contin- uing thus until the death of Walter Keney. After that it was Keney, Roberts & Co., and after the death of Henry Keney it became Roberts, Tucker & Goodwin. This is the oldest of the wholesale gro- cery houses in the State, and has been one of the most successful business concerns in Connecticut. The Keneys and Mr. Roberts each accumulated a large fortune; and at the same time the house established a name for integrity, square dealing and public spirit that made people regard it as one- of Hartford's especial business honors.

Mr. Roberts was well known to the citizens of Hartford for his kindly manner and sterling busi- ness qualities, and his ever ready hand to assist in worthy objects for the public good. He was a di- rector of the Ilartford National Bank, the Travel- ers Insurance Co., the National Fire Insurance Co., the Collins Co., the Smythe Manufacturing Co., and the Anchor Mills Paper Co., of Windsor Locks, and a trustee of the will of the late Henry Keney. He neither sought nor held office. As a member of the Park Congregational Church, he- was a constant attendant at its services, having been a member of that society when it was known as the- North Congregational Church.

On Jan. 18, 1843, Mr. Roberts was married to. Clarissa, daughter of Bela and Clarissa Root Ban- croft, of Granville, Mass. She died Jan. 12, 1883. One daughter, Florence Clarissa, wife of Col. Will- iam C. Skinner, of Hartford (a sketch of whom follows), survived the father.

WILLIAM CONVERSE SKINNER was born Jan. 26, 1855. in Malone, N. Y., a son of Calvin and John Porter ( Blodgett) Skinner, and comes of good old English stock. In descent he is of the eightlt. generation from John Alden, and is in direct line:

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from Calvin Skinner, of Woodstock, Conn., who served honorably in the war for independence.

The early education of Mr. Skinner was re- ceived in the common and high schools of his native town ; then, in 1872, he entered Trinity College, Hartford, and was graduated from that institution in the class of '76. Having first decided on the profession of law for his life work, he attended a law school in Albany, N. Y., for one year. Con- cluding, however, to take up commercial business instead, he, in 1882, became a member of the firm of Dwight, Skinner & Co., wool merchants, and so continued until May, 1899.

Mr. Skinner was a colonel on Gov. Morgan G. Bulkeley's staff, serving as such during the entire four years of that Governor's administration. So- cially he is a member of the Hartford Club, of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Colonial Wars, and of the Mayflower Society. In politics he has always been a Republican, ever taking an active interest in the welfare of his party, but so far has studiously declined office. He is a director of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., of the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., the Phoenix National Bank, the Fidelity Co., the Society for Savings, the Smythe Manufacturing Co., and president of the Anchor Mills Paper Co.

On Oct. 20, 1880, Mr. Skinner married Flor- ence Clarissa, daughter of the late Ebenezer Rob- erts, of Hartford, and three children grace this union : Marjorie Roberts, born Aug. 6, 1881 ; Rob- erts Keney, born Oct. 1, 1886; and William Con- verse, Jr., born Dec. 27, 1889. Mrs. Skinner is a member of the Colonial Dames, and correspond- ing secretary of the D. A. R.

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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 17

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