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 170

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 170

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JAMES CAMPBELL, M. A., M. D. (de- ceased), was for many years a leading physician of Hartford, and the following memoir will be of general interest. He was born in the town of Manchester, Hartford county, March 14, 1848, son of James Campbell, who was a native of New Hampshire, coming from one of the best and oldest families, which had its rise long ago in the High- lands of Scotland. They early settled in this coun- try, and participated in many of the early struggles of the colonists. More than half a century ago the elder James Campbell left New Hampshire and came to Connecticut, locating in the town of Man- chester.

Dr. Campbell entered upon his professional career at the age of twenty-three, having received his medical education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, and the Medical

Department of the University of Vermont. He first located in Minnesota, and later went to Europe to spend a year and a half in the hospitals and clinics of Berlin, Prague and Vienna. On returning, in 1874, he settled in Hartford, where his ability and skill won prompt recognition. For nearly fifteen years he was president of the board of health, and he also served for some time as a member of the Ilartford Hospital staff. In 1886 he was elected a professor in the Medical Department of Yale Uni- versity, and in appreciation of his work the uni- versity conferred upon him, in 1891, the honorary degree of M. A. This chair he felt called upon to resign in the spring of 1899, retiring with the cordial thanks of the corporation for his long and excellent service, and with its regret that he could not remain in a position he had so long adorned. His resignation, however, was not accepted, and he was really a member of the Faculty until his death.

The Doctor found time in the midst of a large and growing practice to devote much attention to the sanitary conditions of his adopted city He be- came deeply interested in the local board of health at the time that Dr. Chamberlain had so much to do with that branch of our government, and main- tained his close connection with the work. When the Hartford board was reorganized he became its president, a place he retained to the time of his death. The records of the board of health show his wide and deep acquaintance with everthing that per- tains to the welfare of the city. The much-praised intercepting sewer was largely due to his intelligent efforts. He saw, with others, that something must be done with the little river, and he was equal to the emergency in suggestion and execution.

Next to his interests in the health affairs of the city he paid careful attention to the Hartford Hospital. The Doctor was also a member of the City, County, State and National Medical So- cieties, and contributed many valuable papers to their publications. The interest he took in health affairs made him a member of the health associa- tion of the United States and Canada. He was also a member of the New York Academy of Medi- cine, and of the Association of Medical Directors of Life Insurance Companies of the United States and Canada. He was medical director of the Ætna Life Insurance Co., a position he held for years, and for many years was also medical examiner of same. He had also many financial connections with Hartford institutions.

Dr. Campbell was also a prominent member of the Hartford Club, having taken a great interest in that organization. He was a thirty-second-degree Mason, being a member of LaFayette Lodge; also belonged to Crescent Lodge, Knights of Pythias ; to the lodge of Odd Fellows; to the Sons of the American Revolution; and to the Church Club of the Episcopal diocese.

The Doctor was a man of generous .impulses

James Campbell

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and warm-hearted. In a quiet, unostentatious way he did a great deal of good, one of his acts in this direction being to assist several young people who desired to gain an education in accomplishing their object. He attended many cases requiring his pro- fessional attendance under peculiarlv difficult cir- cuinstances, among poor people, when he knew that he would probably never receive any financial re- turn for his efforts. The knowledge that he had saved a life was sufficient reward. In his death, which occurred Oct. 17, 1899, at his home in Hart- ford, the city lost an able physician and Christian gentleman, and his family a kind husband and father.

On Oct. 15, 1874, Dr. Campbell married Miss Mary Cornelia, youngest daughter of William C. Pettibone, a respected merchant of Hartford, and a member of the old Simsbury family of Petti- bones, whose history in Connecticut goes back to Colonial times. Of the three children born to this union, James Noel H. and Grace are living ; one son, James Malcolm, died in infancy. The Doctor's love for his family was a notable feature, and one of the last things that he did before his disease grew critical was to purchase for its members a cottage at Fenwick, that they might have a pleas- ane summer home, though he knew at that time that he himself could in all probability never live to en- joy it. They also have a summer home at North- wood, New Hampshire.

JOHN GEORGE KEIDAISCH, a successful agriculturist of the town of Glastonbury, is the owner of an attractive farm near Addison, and he and his estimable wife, who has been an efficient aid to him, may well find satisfaction in the home which their hard toil and wise management have gained for them.

Mr. Keidaisch was born March 10, 1831, in Wittenberg, Germany, son of Adam and Rosic (Autlinger) Keidaisch, both of whom lived and died at Wittenberg. His father was a farmer and butcher by occupation. Our subject was the eldest of three children, and is the only survivor, the others, Adam and Henry, having died before at- taining mature age.

As a boy our subject attended school at Witten- berg, the law compelling children under fourteen to be sent regularly, but after that age he assisted his father upon the farm. When twenty-five years old he came to America, the voyage in a sailing vessel from Havre lasting six weeks. He landed in New York with but five dollars in his pocket, a portion of that being used to pay his fare on the boat to Hartford, and before he found work his money was almost exhausted. While searching for em- ployment he met a farmer from Glastonbury named Fred Duster, who owned the farm now occupied by Henry Potter, and was looking for a farm hand. Mr. Keidaisch hired out to him for a year at small wages, and later he worked for Kilbourne Strick-

land at eleven dollars a month, and spent two years with Selden House at $130 a year. In those days, if our subject made a trip to Hartford he went 011 foot, and in every way his lot was a hard one; but his industry and economy enabled him to save something each year. and in 1864 he invested his earnings in twenty-four acres of land formerly be- longing to John Chapman. This he has improved, the house and barn having been thoroughly re- modeled, and he has added other land from time to time until he now owns sixty acres, all in excellent condition. He is a Democrat in politics, and he and his family attend the devotional services of the "German Society" at Glastonbury.

On Oct. 11, 1863, Mr. Keidaisch married Miss Anna Rummell, who was born March 22, 1835, in Saxe-Weimar, Germany, daughter of Adam and Katherina Margaret (Sinn) Rummell. She came to America when twenty-one years old, and on first locating in East Glastonbury was employed in a boarding house where she did the housework and washing for eight people, sometimes rising at 2 o'clock in the morning to begin her day's toil. For this she received only two dollars per week, and as prices were high for dry goods it cost her many days of hard labor to get a dress. She and her hus- band began housekeeping on a limited scale, buying only such things as they could pay cash for, and this practice has been continued to the present. Their children have been reared to habits of industry and thrift, and all were given a practical education in the schools of Addison. (1) John born Oct. I, 1866, is unmarried and is employed in Hartford. (2) Elizabeth, born Nov. 14, 1868,, married Thomas J. Tucker, and died in Addison. They had two children, Jessie and Lincoln. (3) Annie, born Nov. 3, 1870, married Paul Kasche, of Hockanum, and has one son, Walter. (4) Fred born March 23, 1872, resides in Norwich. (5) Henry, born May 18, 1876, was employed in the Addison Mill for a time, and now operates the home farm.

PETER J. BRADLEY, a prominent and repre- sentative agriculturist of the town of East Granby, residing near Granby Station, was born Dec. 24, 1857, in the parish of Upper Badoney, County Tyrone, Ireland, and is a son of Peter and Mary (McGarrety) Bradley, natives of the same parish, where they spent their entire lives as well-to-do farming people. The father died in 1897, the mother in 1874, and both were buried in Upper Badoney. They were devout members of the Catholic Church, and highly respected by all who knew them. Of the eight children born to them only three are now living: Bernard, who is still a resident of Ireland; Margaret, wife of Michael Rogers, also of that country ; and Peter J., our sub- ject.

During his boyhood Peter J. Bradley attended the national schools of his native town, and ob- tained a good English education. He also studied

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Latin, preparatory to entering college, but receiv- ing an invitation from his maternal uncie, James McGarrety, now a well-known citizen of Tariffville, Conn., who was then engaged in farming in the town of East Granby, to visit him, our subject left his home and aged parents, in 1873, at the age of sixteen years, and started for the New World, em- barking at Londonderry, Ireland, on the steamer "Australia." After a passage of nine days, he set foot on the shores of his adopted country. From New York City, he proceeded at once to the town of East Granby, Hartford Co., Conn., and being young, strong and active, he soon found employ - ment on the Northampton division of the New York, New Haven & Northampton railroad, with which he was connected for nearly two years, re- ceiving $1.75 per day. The following three years he spent on the farm with his uncle, Mr. McGar- rety, and he then started out for himself, operating farms on shares in the town of East Granby for three years. Managing to save a little money, he bought his uncle's place of one hundred acres, and has since devoted his time to general farming and tobacco raising with good success.

Mr. Bradley is a whole-souled man, and is highly respected by all classes as an honest, up- right and industrious man, who has secured for himself a comfortable home and competence by hard work and fair dealing. The Republican party finds in him a stalwart supporter of its principles, and although well-qualified for the position he has more than once refused the nomination for representative in the State Legislature. He is broad-minded and liberal in his views, is well-read, and keeps himself posted on current events and the leading topics of the day. In religious faith he is a Catholic.

HON. CHAUNCEY HOWARD, late lawyer and city official of Hartford and State representa- tive, was born in South Coventry, Tolland Co., Conn., April 21, 1812, where the Howard family had resided for several generations. His grandfa- ther, Nathan Howard, was a physician of high standing, and his grandmother was a sister of the celebrated Nathan Hale ; his father was John How- ard, M. D., and his mother was a daughter of Judge Jeremiah Ripley, also a prominent resident of Tol- land county. The Howard residence was on South street, where Hon. Chauncey and his brother, John Ripley Howard, were born, the latter a man of remarkable literary ability and strong mental power, but a great sufferer from acute heart disease, from which he died many years ago. Besides his cousin, Miss Ripley, his devoted friend and nurse, the only surviving near relatives of Chauncey Howard are her sister, Mrs. Pember, and her brother, Edward C., formerly a lawyer of high repute in New York City.

Hon. Chauncey Howard spent his school days in South Coventry and Plainville, Conn., and later attended Amherst College, from which he grad-

uated with the class of 1835, the late Nicholas Har- ris, of Hartford, and Henry Ward Beecher having graduated therefrom the previous year. Mr. How- ard then studied law with Charles Chapman, and in the office of Gov. W. W. Ellsworth, when the late Senator Dixon was the Governor's law part- ner. He was admitted to the Hartford County Bar in 1839, but two years later was appointed clerk of the Superior Court of Hartford county, and held the position for twenty-five years, at successive periods, until he resigned in 1875 and returned to Coventry. For a time he was editor of the Hurt- ford Courant, was a member of the House from Hartford in 1874, and of the Senate in 1875, from the old Twenty-first district, and again in 1877 was member of Assembly from Coventry. In 1879-81 he was State comptroller, and one of his first acts, on assuming the duties of this office, was the ap- pointment of W. W. Dibble as superintendent of the Capitol-a position Mr. Dibble held until re- moved by Nicholas Staub, comptroller, while Luzon B. Morris was governor.

Hon. Chauncey Howard was of strong physique, was dignified and reserved, and a courtly gentle- man of the old school. Although he did not seck society, he formed many strong friendships with members of the Bench and Bar, among whom were the late Gov. Hubbard, Judge D. W. Pardee, W. D. Shipman and Nathaniel Shipman, Hon. Henry C. Robinson, Hon. Charles W. Johnson, Senator Eaton, Senator Hawley, and many other personages of distinction.

Mr. Howard possessed fine literary tastes, and delighted in the writings of the British essayists. His character, like his tastes, was pure, clear and beyond reproach. He was conservative in politics, being first a Whig and then a Republican, and in religion was a Congregationalist and a member of the Pearl Street Church from its organization. in this faith he passed away Aug. 12, 1891, leaving a void in the official circles of Hartford and the State that will require many a decade to adequately fill.

Of the maternal kin of Chauncey Howard, the Ripley family, to whom allusion has already been made, it may further be said that the name is one of the oldest and most respected in Connecticut, and among its latest prominent representatives was Jeremiah, who was a lifelong resident of South Coventry. His son, Chauncey Ripley, was born and reared in South Coventry, and was the father of the present generation bearing the family name. He was educated at Yale College, and was a school teacher in early life. He married Lucretia E. Fitch, of Windham, Conn., but both he and his wife are now deceased. They were the parents of six children, who were named, in order of birth, as follows: Julia L., now Mrs. Pember, of Hartford ; Chauncey B., deceased ; John Howard, who prac- ticed medicine for many years and was a noted surgeon in New York City, but is now deceased ;

MarmeryHoward

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Laura M., a highly respected lady, residing on Sigourney street, Hartford ; Henry Clay, deceased; and Edward Clayton, who for twenty-five years practiced law in New York City, but now makes his home with his sister, Miss Laura M., in Hartford.

JOSIAH H. SMITHI, ex-soldier of the Civil war, farmer, market-gardner and poultry raiser, and a greatly-respected citizen of Silver Lane, Hartford county, was born in the State of Maine, April 3, 1842, a son of David W. and Emma ( Hib- bard) Smith, natives of the same State.

Ransford Smith, grandfather of our subject, was born on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and thence moved to Mercer, Somerset Co., Maine, where there were born to him eight children : Jane, who was born Dec. 28, 1807, was married to Luther Riggs, and died Oct. 29, 1884: David W., the father of our subject, of whom further mention will fol- low ; Charlotte, born May 6, 1812, who died single Jan. 13, 1886; Abijah, born Feb. 17, 1815, died April 13, 1836;' Emily A:, born April 9, 1817, died Sept. 29, 1839 ; Amos W., born March 9, 1819, who married Harriet Williamson, and after her decease wedded Eliza Sawtelle, by whom he is the father of two children ; Albion W., born March 31, 1821, who married Ann Page, and is a resident of Mercer, Maine ; Mary Amanda, born July 25, 1824, who was married to William Gay, and died May 12, 1874.

David W. Smith was born May 3, 1810, in Mercer, Maine, and passed all his life on his farm. On Jan. 30. 1840, he married Emma Hibbard, a daughter of Stephen and Mary (Stevens) Hibbard, and a native of Norridgewock, Maine, to which union were born four children : Henry A., who was born Nov. 22, 1840, married Helena Smith, has two children, and is now a resident of Mechanic Falls, Androscoggin Co., Maine; Josiah H. is the subject of this sketch; Hattie H., who was born May 22, 1846, is now living, unmarried, in East Hartford, Conn. ; and Albert D., who was born Aug. 12, 1855, married Ellen Taylor, is the father of one child, and resides in Northboro, Mass. David W. Smith, a highly-esteemed and valued citizen, was called from earth July 24, 1869.

Josiah H. Smith, whose name appears at the opening of this review, received his early education in the common and high schools, and remained under the parental roof until he had nearly reached his majority, when, fired with the patriotism that in- spired the Northern heart at the attempted disrup- tion of the Union, he enlisted Sept. 16, 1862, in Company K, 24th Maine V. I., in command of Capt. H. M. Campbell and Col. Atwood, for nine months' service, and was placed in camp at Au- gusta, Maine, until Sept. 30, when the reg- iment was sent to Fast New York, where it arrived Oct. I. On Jan. 10, 1863, the regiment embarked at New York City on the sailing-vessel "Onward," and after a tempestuous voyage of ten days' duration, entered one of the mouths of the

Mississippi river ; but in going up the mighty stream the vessel struck a sand-bar, Jan. 27, and lay grounded until the next day, when she was hauled off by a steam-tug and towed to Carrollton, about six miles above New Orleans. There the regiment was on picket duty for three weeks, and was then sent to Bonnet Carre, in St. John the Baptist county, La., where it remained until May 7; was then en- barked on the "Morning Light" for a place known as Doyal's plantation, whence it marched twenty- two miles to the Amite river, Tangipahoa county, engaging in many skirmishes on the way. After twelve days of skirmishing and foraging, the "boys" were marched back to Doyal's plantation, and thence to Port Hudson, where they took part in the first battle, May 27, and after more than a dozen severe skirmishes, lasting until June 14, drove the Confederates toward the town, where there was constant hard fighting until the Rebels surrendered their strongly fortified position, July 8. During luis nine months' service Mr. Smith never was off duty a single day, from sickness or any other cause, and on his return to the North, still enthused with patriotic ardor, he enlisted at Morristown, N. J., i.1 Company F, 35th N. J. V. I., was sent to North Carolina, and there took part in the battle which resulted in the defeat of the Rebels under Gen. Jo- seph E. Johnston at Goldsboro, April 15, 1865, the surrender of arms being made to Gen. William Te- ctimseh Sherman at Raleigh, April 26.

After the close of the war Mr. Smith located at Brook Haven, on Long Island, N. Y., whence he returned to the old homestead, in Mercer. Maine; farmed until 1872, when he went to Westboro, Mass. ; thence in 1877 to Springfield, Vt., where he lived until 1881. He next passed a year at Moor- ton, Del., and in 1882 came to Connecticut and lived in Suffield until 1888, in which year he purchased, from Mrs. Thomas Birch, his present farm of ten acres in Silver Lane, East Hartford.

Mr. Smith was united in marriage, Jan. 19, 1870, to Miss Ella M. Fowler, of Thetford, Vt., who was born in Boston, Mass., Dec. 8, 1851, a daughter of Jesse F. and Hannah (Woodbury) Fowler, and this union has been blessed with children as follows : Jesse F., born Nov. 21, 1870, was a student in a the- ological seminary, and is now a missionary in Ran- goon, Burmah, India (he married, Nov. 8, 189), Cora Blanchard) ; Addie G., born April 2, 1872, is the wife of Walter Miner, of Silver Lane; Fred M., born Nov. 22, 1874, married Grace Roberts, is a carpenter by trade, and also resides in Silver Lane ; and Florence Hattie, born June 13, 1882, died Dec. 22, 1883 .

In Politics Mr. Smith is a Republican ; fraternally he is a member of D. C. Rodman Post, No. 65, G. A. R., of East Hartford, of which he is now the com- mander for the second term. Socially he is greatly esteemed by the community in which he lives, and in this esteem his wife and children hold an equal share.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

SAMUEL KENNEDY HENRY, a farmer and one of the prominent Scotch-Irish citizens of Hart- ford county, was born in Coleraine, County Derry, Ireland, April 15, 1827, a son of William and Mary Ann ( McDougal) Henry, both also natives of Coun- ty Derry. William Henry was a farmer, and lived and died in County Derry, Ireland. He was a son of James and Elizabeth ( Kennedy ) Henry, natives of Scotland. Our subject's maternal grandparents, Cullen and Elizabeth ( Taylor ) McDougal, were of Scottish descent.

Our subject was reared in County Derry, was educated in the common schools, and in his youth acquired the trade of linen weaver, which he fol- lowed in County Derry for five years. At the age of twenty-three years, he came to America, and in the fall of 1850 located in Enfield, being for a short time employed in the Carpet Works at Thompson- ville. He then engaged in farming, which vocation he has followed up to the present time, in 1857 pur- chasing the farm which he now occupies.

On April 4, 1854, Mr. Henry married Sarah, daughter of John and Ann (Campbell) McAdams, of County Armagh, Ireland, and granddaughter of John and Sarah (Best) McAdams. To our sub- ject and wife have been born five children : Mary A. (Mrs. George T. Smith), William K., Margaret ( Mrs. M. Lamphear), Sarah J. (Mrs. Howard Button), and Samuel J. Mr. Henry and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian Church. In politics he is a Republican.

WILLIAM WRIGHT CHRISTIAN, M. D., is a skilled physician and surgeon of Berlin, one whose knowledge of the science of medicine is broad and comprehensive, and whose ability in ap- plying its principles to the needs of suffering hu- manity has gained him an enviable prestige in pro- fessional circles.

Dr. Christian was born in Plymouth, N. Y., July 27, 1869, a son of Wright and Harriet Emily (Willcox) Christian. His father was born in New York City, and during his active years followed the occupation of farming, from which he retired, spending the remainder of his life in Hamilton, N. Y., where he died Oet. 30, 1900, at the age of sixty years, from the effects of experiences in the late war. The Doctor's mother was born in Rhode Island in 1847, a daughter of Edward Tiffany and Harriet Mahitable (Houghton) Willcox. The Doc- tor's paternal grandfather, Truman Bishop Chris- tian, also a native of New York City, was a ma- chinist by trade, and was superintendent of the motive power of the New York, Ontario & West ern railroad, with headquarters at Rome, New York.

The first fifteen years of his life William W. Christian spent upon his father's farm, attending the district schools in winter, and assisting in the farm work in summer. He then entered the high school at Sherburne, N. Y., where he was a student for one year, and the following four years attended

Colgate Academy, Hamilton, N. Y., where he was graduated in 1891. Later he pursued his studies at Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y., for about one year, and then took up the study of medicine instead of journalismn, which was at first his in- tention. In the fall of 1892 he matriculated at the New York Homeopathie Medical College and Flower Hospital, where he was graduated with hon- ors in 1895. He was a close student, and spent his vacations in work and study in different hos- pitals, being in the Flower Hospital, New York, a few months; and the Chambers Street House of Relief, a branch of the New York Hospital, for three months, during which time he had many queer experiences in the slums of the city and with all classes of people. Later he took a regular course at the Broome Street Lying-in Hospital ; spent one year at Hahnemann Hospital, New York, and was Resident Surgeon of Dr. H. I. Ostrom's private surgical hospital, No. 127 West Forty-sev- enth street, New York, for the same length of time. Thus well equipped for his . chosen profes- sion, by study and practical experience, he came to New Britain, Conn., May 23, 1896, to take charge of Dr. W. P. Bunnell's practice during that gentle- man's illness, and was also with Dr. E. L. Styles in a hospital at that place about two months during the summer. In July, 1896, he opened an office of his own in Berlin, and was not long in securing the large and lucrative practice which he now en- joys. After locating here he also attended to Dr. Styles' practice during the latter's absence from the city. Dr. Christian is now visiting physician and surgeon to the New Britain General Hospital of New Britain.

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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 170

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