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 171

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 171

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On Sept. 7, 1898, Dr. Christian was united in marriage with Miss Cora Belle Beaton, who was born Nov. 2, 1877, a daughter of Allen J. and Mary Beaton, the former of whom is president of the Beaton & Bradley Mnfg. Co., of Southington, Conn. Mrs. Christian is a graduate of the Lewis High School, of Southington. Both Dr. and Mrs. Christian are prominent members of the Berlin Lit- erary Society, for social and literary development, and are members of the Congregational Church, in connection with which Mrs. Christian also be- longs to the Ladies' Aid Society and the Missionary Society. The Doctor is a member of New Britain Council, No. 738, Royal Arcanum ; is identified with the Public Library Association : is a member of the Connecticut State Homeopathic Medical Society ; Concord Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., New York City; Court Mattabessette, No. 137, Foresters of America, of Berlin, in which he holds the office of examining and attending physician ; is also con- nected with the Berlin Agricultural Society; is a member of Berlin Grange, and has successfully filled the office of lecturer of that institution ; is a men- ber of the Village Improvement Society and Board of Trade, having served as secretary ; and is a mem- ber of the Berlin Driving and Athletic Association,

W. W. Christian .La.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his horses having taken prizes in this and in the Agricultural Society. The Doctor usually acts with the Republican party, though at local elections he votes for the men whom he believes best qualified to fill the offices, regardless of party ties. He is very popular in both professional and social circles.

CHARLES RANDOLPH FORBES, one of the most substantial farmers, as well as one of the most highly-respected and prominent citizens, of Burnside, town of East Hartford, was born on the old Forbes homestead Nov. 5, 1859, a son of Charles R. and Elizabeth ( Hills) Forbes.

Mr. Forbes is a descendant in the eighth genera- tion of Capt. James and Catherine Forbes, the for- mer of whom settled in East Ilartford town 240 years ago. As the family descent from Capt. James, from 1654 up to the present time, has been given in full in the biography of Ilon. James Stan- ley Forbes, elsewhere, it will be necessary here to mention only the immediate predecessors of our subject, beginning with his grandfather, Charles Forbes, of the sixth generation, who was a son of Timothy and Betsey (Treat) Forbes, and was born Dec. 27, 1805. Charles Forbes married, Jan. 20, 1827, Mary A. Ward, a native of Danbury, Conn., born May 8, 1807, and a daughter of Carleton and Martha Ward. Mr. Forbes had but $10 at the time of his marriage. He located at Scotland (now Burnside), and was soon engaged, with Francis Hanmer, in making powder, at what is known as Woodland, near by. Selling out to the Hazard Powder Co., he embarked in paper-making, and at different times was connected with every paper- inill in Burnside. He sold what is now the Walker mill to the present owners, after which he operated both the Middle and Lower mills, each producing a distinctive quality of paper. Although he was thrown upon his own resources early in life, he proved to be an excellent business man, and was cut off in the midst of his activity, March 16, 1876, at Burnside, his widow surviving until Oct. 3. 1893. Equipped only with a district-school education, he overcame all obstacles, became influential as a cit- izen, prosperous and prominent in his particular line of business, and left to his family the rich her- itage of an untarnished name. This family con- sisted of six children: Harriet Hills, born April 27, 1828, was married Jan. 11, 1854, to Fredus Milton Griswold, and died in Burnside Jan. 16, 1858, leav- ing one daughter, Florence G., now Mrs. Percy S. Bryant, of East Hartford. The second child was Charles R., of whom further mention will be made. The third child, Martha J., was born Feb. 29, 1832, was married May 20, 1853, to John Stanley, of New Britain, and died Feb. 26, 1859, leaving one child, Charles F., of Lawrence, Kans. Caroline E., the fourth child, was born April 17, 1834, was married Sept. 6, 1853, to William Hanmer, and is now a widow, residing in Hartford ; she has five children living, Fanny W., Frank H., Harriet, John and

Mary. The fifth child, Catherine M., born Sept. IO, 1839, was marred Sept. 19, 1860, to Samuel L. Way, resides in Hartford, and has two children liv- ing, Charles L and Robert F. The sixth child, Annie M., was born Feb. 2, 1851, was married to Edwin Strong Oct. 29, 1874, lives in llartford, and has three children living, Edwin A., Louis P. and Daisy.

Charles R. Forbes, second child of Charles, above mentioned, and father of Charles R., the subject of this sketch, was born at Burnside, April 9, 1830; his wife, Elizabeth (Hills) Forbes, was born March 26, 1832, and is a daughter of James Babcock Hills, who married Laura Whaples, of Newington; John Holmes, maternal grandfather of Laura Whaples, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Eliza- beth (Hills) Forbes was the youngest of three chil- dren born to her parents, of whom the eldest died in infancy ; and Martha was married to George Carey, and died in Hartford. Charles R. Forbes, Sr., re- ceived a practical district school education, and began business when a young man by working for his father at the powder-mill near Burnside, and in teaming and general work for the Hanmer, Forbes & Page paper-mill in the village. He soon became a partner with his father, and had an interest with him in each of the paper-mills in Burnside, which he retained until within a few years of his death, when he sold out to Francis Hanmer. Just after his marriage Mr. Forbes settled on the family home- stead, which had been his home all his life with the exception of fourteen years passed on the original Forbes homestead, which is still in the family, and has been for nearly two and a half centuries. On the newer homestead Mr. Forbes ended his days Oct. 1I, 1889. He had been a far-sighted and suc- cessful business man, and left behind him not only a comfortable competence but an honored name. He was a member of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., at East Hartford, and his remains were in- terred with Masonic honors in the East Hartford cemetery. In politics he was originally a Whig, but in the disintegration of that party and the forma- tion of the Republican organization he became a member of the latter, yet he took no especial inter- est in party affairs.

Charles R. Forbes, the subject proper of this sketch, and the only child born to his parents, first attended school at Burnside, under Mrs. William Riley, of Waterbury; for a time Percy S. Bryant was also one of his teachers ; he next attended thic "Arsenal" school at Hartford, then the high school of the same city, and finally Hannum's Business College, also of Hartford. He then became asso- ciated with his father in the management of the "Lower" paper-mill at Burnside, and when the fa- ther disposed of his business interests Mr. Forbes engaged in his present pursuit of farming-hiring help, but keeping a close supervision of the work.

On Feb. 3, 1886, Mr. Forbes was united in mar- riage with Miss Emma Murray, of Burnside, who was born in Paterson, N. J., Oct. 26, 1857. Her

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

father, John Murray, was born Feb. 14, 1836, at Dell Muhr, Scotland, was a paper-maker by trade, and on coming to America located at Paterson, N. J .; he later married Eliza J. Bradley, a native of that city, and a daughter of William and Jane ( Moody) Bradley. Jane Moody was a native of Leeds, England, and the Bradley family were in ex- cellent standing in the old country, the older mem- bers being employed in the household of King George III. Three children crowned the union of Mir. and Mrs. Forbes, viz .: Fred Randolph, born May 17, 1888; Charles Douglas, born October 24, 1889; and James Everett, born May 7, 1891.

In politics Mr. Forbes is a Republican, and he has been a member of the board of relief for sev- eral years. Fraternally he was a charter member of Lafayette Countil, No. 37, O. C. . A. M., of Burn- side, and is still its treasurer. Mrs. Forbes, mother of our subject, has been a member of the First Congregational Church since her eighteenth year, and has ever been consistent in her observance of its teachings. Mr. Forbes being an only child, and his father's business and farming interests having been quite extensive, he had left to him much to do after the decease of the father in caring for the estate and unsettled business matters, beside his own extensive affairs, but he inherited much of his father's business sagacity, and has made a tri- umphant success of all his undertakings. He is a thoroughly progressive man, wide-awake and up- to-date, and it is to be hoped that the high standing of the Forbes name will through his children pass on to generations yet to come.

GEORGE DENNIS, who is one of the active and enterprising business men of New Britain, where he has for years been successfull engaged in the manufacture of brick, is well and favorably known throughout that section of Connecticut.

Mr. Dennis is of English origin, born Sept. 30, 1857, at Haverstraw, N. Y., son of Thomas Dennis, Sr., a brick manufacturer of that place. Thomas Dennis was born in England, and at the age of thirty came to America, locating at Haverstraw, N. Y. In about 1875 he removed from Haverstraw to New Britain, Conn., and for the past twenty-five years has been an extensive brick manufacturer in New- ington, Conn. His wife was formerly Eliza Wise, a native of England. Their children are as fol- lows : William H. and James are residents of New ington ; Sarah Ann is the wife of George Walker, of New Britain: George, our subject, is referred to farther on; Thomas is engaged in the manu- facture of brick in West Hartford; Annie is the wife of George Rawlings, of Berlin; Joseph is now a resident of West Hartford; John E. is living in Newington : and Elizabeth is the wife of William King, of West Hartford.

Our subject was educated in the common schools of his birthplace and those in New Britain, Conn .. working in his father's brickyard through the sum-

mers, and attending school in the winter season. He was eighteen years of age on the removal of the family to Connecticut, and attended a winter school two seasons after the removal. Later he en- gaged in the brick business on his own account, associated with J. W. Holmes, and he has since successfully maintained a good trade. His po- litical affiliations are with the Republican party in National and State issues, though in town affairs he does not draw the line, generally voting for the man he judges best fitted for the office, regardless of his politics.

On Jan. 22, 1879, Mr. Dennis was married to Miss Susannah Bedford, daughter of James Bed- ford, both born in England, and to this marriage was born, Dec. 23, 1879, a daughter, Lucy Wise, who was educated at the New Britain high school, and is still at home. The mother and daughter are identified with the First Baptist Church of New Britain

HENRY KEENEY, the popular dairyman and pure milk and cream vender of Bloomfield, was born in that town Oct. 5, 1856, and is a son of Ralph Keeney, who was born in Glastonbury, Hart- ford county, about sixty-five years ago. He was a son of Shubel Keeney, a former resident of Bloom- field and a farmer, who married a Miss Keeney, and they passed away many years ago. Ralph Keeney has lived the greater part of his life in Bloom- field, was married in Bloomfield, Hartford county, to Miss Louise Bramble, a native of Simsbury, and to their marriage were born six children: Ellen, deceased ; Henry, whose name opens this paragraph ; Frank, of New Britain ; Willis, of Westfield ; Hattie, of New Britain; and George, of Bloomfield.

Henry Keeney was educated in the public schools of Bloomfield, was reared on the home farm, started farming on his own account at twenty-one, and for the past twelve years has been successfully en- gaged in dairying, having lived on his present place the past seven years. He runs one milk-wagon as far as Hartford, and his product is there, as well as in Bloomfield, noted for its purity.

Henry Keeney was joined in matrimony, at Hartford, with Miss Laura Quick, daughter of Elbert Floyd Quick, of that city, and to this union have been born four children: Viola, deceased ; Edith, born Sept. 13, 1893; Norwood, Nov. 9, 1894; and Helen, June 29, 1896. The parents are highly esteemed by their neighbors, and their per- sonal merits constitute the foundation of the high regard in which they are held.

ARCHIE S. BURNHAM, a prosperous young farmer of the town of East Hartford, was born on his father's farm Feb. 3, 1874, and is a son of Jesse and Roda Jane (Signer ) Burnham, the former of whom is now deceased.

Jesse Burnham, the father, was born May 31, 1820, on the homestead of his parents, Jesse and

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mabel (Abbey) Burnham, on Main street, near the South Windsor line, and was the youngest in a family of five children : Mabel A., born Sept. II, 1811; Levi, July 6, 1813; Martin, July 4, 1815: Jolin A., July 29, 1817; and Jesse. The father of this family met with a sad death by falling into a pit partially filled with water, the fall so injuring him that he was unable to save himself, and thus met with a painful and lingering death. Jesse Burnham, the father of our subject, received a sound common-school education, and was reared to man- hood on his father's farm. On January 1, 1857, he married Miss Roda Jane Signer, who was born in Franklin, Delaware Co., N. Y., Feb. 13, 1835, and when a young woman came to Connecticut and made her home with her brother, Jerome Signer, in South Windsor. For some time she was employed in the Cheney Co.'s silk-mills, in Manchester, and then returned to South Windsor, where her mar- riage took place. To this union there came ten children : Jesse, born Sept. 14, 1857, married Alice Wolcott, Dec. 24, 1879, and is now living in South Windsor; Leander, also of South Windsor, was born Oct. 24, 1858, and married Mary Bidwell April 11, 1883; Estella, born Aug. 30, 1860, was married to Frank Farnham, of Ellington, April 16, 1885, and now resides in East Hartford; Will- iam, born July 16, 1862, married Anna M. House .Aug. 29, 1889; Arthur J., born Nov. 21, 1864, died of typhoid fever Oct. 29, 1871 ; Alice G., born April 16. 1867, was married to Edwin Northrop, Aug. 22, 1889, and is now living in Quincy, Ill .; Howard E., born Sept. 4, 1869, died Oct. 4, 1871 ; Edith, born Oct. 3, 1871, died Feb. 4, 1876; Archie S., is the subject of this notice; and Ida M., born April 6, 1876, was married to Arthur L. Brewer Aug. 8, 1900, and is now living in Farmington, Connecticut.

The father of this family, after a brief illness, died on his homestead Feb. 12, 1876, and Dec. 25, same year, Mrs. Burnham was wedded to Charles P. Fairbanks, a native of Middletown, Conn., and a mason by trade. To this union have been born two children : Clarence E., Oct. 31, 1878; and Florence, Oct. 5, 1880, the latter now attending the high school at Hartford.

Archie S. Burnham, after passing through the common-school course, entered Morse's Business College at Hartford, from which he graduated in the spring of 1894, and then returned to the home- stead. On Dec. 25, 1895, he married Miss Effie M. Abbey, a native of East Hartford, born Nov. 16, 1877, daughter of George and Isabella (Thomp- son ) Abbey. George Abbey was born in East Hart- ford, Conn., served with bravery and credit in the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery during the Civil war, and after receiving an honorable discharge settled in Silver Lane, there purchasing the Austin Warren farm, where his death took place in 1891, and where his widow still resides. Their only child is now Mrs. Burnham.

In 1896 Mr. Burnham erected his beautiful

modern dwelling on Silver Lane, where he culti- vates four acres of excellent tobacco land, and lives in peace and comfort. He belongs to the East Hartford Grange, and is one of its most diligent and earnest members. In politics he is liberal in his views, and hardly ever takes any interest in party affairs. He and wife are attendants of the Congregational Church, and their social standing is second to none in the town.

ALBERT EUGENE NORTON, a representa- tive and prominent farmer of Berlin, was born in the house where he now resides March 27, 1856. His father, Henry Norton, was also born there, April 10, 1803, and the grandfather, Samuel Norton, was born near there, in Berlin, and built the residence. Our subject's great-grandfather, Jedediah Norton, was a native of the same town, and the remains of all his ancestors have been interred in the Soutli burying-ground, Berlin.

Mr. Norton's father was a prosperous farmer, owning at one time 300 acres of land in Berlin, and he was also a man of influence in his community, being often called upon to settle estates when in the prime of life. Politically he was an ardent Democrat, but took little part in political affairs aside from voting. He was a member of the Universalist Church of Berlin, but in later years at- tended the Congregational Church. Mr. Norton died Nov. 12, 1885, and was buried in Berlin ceme- tery. For his first wife he married Adelia Atwood, and to them were born several children, all of whom died young except Henry Hector, who is now en- gaged in the lumber business in Hartford; and Adelia M., widow of Ariel Jones, and a resident of Naugatuck. In 1849 the father married Miss Mary Angeline Tuttle, of Newfield, Middlesex Co., Conn., who was born May 3, 1825, and is now living on the old homestead with our subject. The chil- dren born of the second union are Mary Angeline, wife of Andrew Hunt, a real-estate agent of Wor- cester, Mass. ; Jennie Martha, wife of Walter Gwat- kin, of Berlin; Albert E., our subject; Ida May, who died unmarried Feb. 8. 1898, and was laid to rest in the South burying-ground; and Antoinette, at home.

During his boyhood and youth Albert E. Norton attended the Berlin schools during the winter months, while through the summer season he aided in the work of the home farm. After leaving school, at the age of eighteen years, he worked for his father until twenty-two, and then took charge of the farm, which he has since so successfully operated. He has 220 acres of land, under a high state of culti- vation, and in connection with general farming is also interested in the creamery business, keeping sixteen cows for that purpose, and selling the cream to the Golden Ridge Creamery.

Mr. Norton was married Dec. 21, 1881, to Miss Lizzie Viola Wakelee, of Bridgeport, Conn., who was born Aug. 29, 1857, and died Sept. 9,

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1899, a daughter of Sidney L. and Maria (Dowd) Wakelee, of that place, where the father is engaged in the livery business. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Norton : Lester Arthur, born Nov. 12, 1883, is attending the Huntsinger Business Col- lege, of Hartford; Flora May, born May 15, 1885, Elsie Alberta, born Jan. 12, 1887, Westell Albert, born Aug. 1, 1891, are all attending school in Ber- lin ; and Edna Ray, born March 6, 1896.

Politically Mr. Norton is a Democrat, but is not strictly partisan, and at local elections votes inde- pendently. He has been elected to office, but has refused to qualify, preferring to take no active part in political affairs. He takes considerable interest, however, in agricultural matters, and is now a mem- ber of several of the Agricultural Society commit- tees of Berlin. Ile is also a prominent member of Berlin Grange, No. 24, to which his wife also be- longs, and she also holds membership in the Episco- pal Church, while he attends the Congregational Church. They stand high in the community where they have so long made their home, and those who know them best are numbered among their warmest friends.

EBENEZER B. CRAW, a native of the town of East Windsor, was born Oct. 8, 1827, and has won his way through his long and useful life entirely by his personal exertion and patient toil, backed by a marked intellectuality and persistency of purpose.

Abial Craw, his father, porn March 9, 1801, was a man of more than ordinary mental receptivity and retentiveness of memory, and garnered a large store of knowledge. On Feb. 22, 1820, he married Miss Rhoda Belknap, who was born in East Windsor, Oct. 20, 1801, and after marriage set to work to earn for himself and wife a home. He had learned farming from his father, and was also a miller, and lived in East Windsor until the township was di- vided, when he found himself to be a resident of South Windsor, and there he died May 26, 1877, being followed to the grave by his wife Sept. 8, 1879, and both dying in the faith of the Methodist Church. Their children were nine in number, as follows: Mary Ann, who was born April 20, 1821, is now living in Windsorville, and is the wife of Charles Clark; Edward A., born Jan. 28, 1823, died in California ; Betsey M., born Dec. 26, 1825, died in infancy; Ebenezer B. is the subject of this sketch; Betsey M. (2), born Aug. 26, 1829, is mar- ried to Sheldon Braman; Samantha, born Oct. 23, 1831, is the wife of Turner Moulton; Charlotte, now Mrs. Harvey Frost, was born Jan. 28, 1833; George A., born June 30, 1836, died in infancy ; and George F., born Nov. 18, 1841, is a resident of Oregon.

Ebenezer B. Craw left the home of his parents at the age of seven years, and for the following nine years worked for Chauncey Ellsworth and for various others, attending school in winter, until his marriage, April 11, 1847, to Miss Harriet C. Simp-

son, daughter of Chester and Hannah (Clough) Simpson, natives of East Windsor, the marriage resulting in the birth of three children: Ella and Chester, who both died in infancy; and Francis S., who was born July 14, 1849, and is now a rail- road engineer in Albany, Oregon.

Mrs. Harriet Craw was called away soon after the birth of her youngest child, and April 15, 1855, Mr. Craw married Mrs. Harriet Page, daughter of Julius and Nancy Benton, of North Guilford, where the wedding took pace. This lady was the mother of one child by her first marriage, Lucy ( widow of George B. Shepard), who has one daugh- ter, Hattie, born Jan. 21, 1873, married to Marvin WV. Hall, and living in Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. Harriet (Benton-Page) Craw died March 6, 1900. She was a kind, affable and benevolent looking lady, greatly respected by a large circle of devoted friends.

Mrs. Shepard is a lady of extraordinary ability as an artist, and is, beside, well cultured in litera- ture and quite conversant with the current topics of the day. Her talent for music and painting is inherent, and rises to the plane of genius, which same love for the artistic is made manifest even in her needlework. She is a teacher of the art of painting in the Herbert Art Company of Hartford, and numerous specimens of her skill as an artist in oil are to be found in many of the most refined homes of the country.

Mr. Craw, although confined to his home by inflammatory rheumatism, is as serene in temper and genial in manner as if he had never felt a pang of pain, and his pleasant little farm of six acres, which he purchased in 1888, is kept, under his supervision, in the highest state of cultivation pos- sible, while the improvements are all of his own planning. In politics Mr. Craw is a Democrat, but he is not excessively partisan, and has never been an office seeker.

JAMES WARD (deceased) was one of the most influential and best known citizens of Connecticut, of which State he was a loyal son during his long and useful life of eighty-seven years.

Mr. Ward was born in Guilford, New Haven Co., Conn., Feb. 2, 1767, a son of Bilrous Ward, and a grandson of Andrew Ward. He was intense- ly public-spirited, always ready to bear more than his share of public burdens, and was actively identi- fied with many important enterprises for the good of the community at large, and the relief of suffer- ing humanity. At one time he was chief engineer of the Hartford Fire Department, was a leading and valued member of the Connecticut Historical Society, one of the principal officers (trustee) of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and a zealous worker in the establishment of the Retreat for the Insane, being a director of same, toward the success of which enterprise he was a liberal contributor. He was a member and past grand master of the

Roswell B Ward

DosJettard

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Masonic Fraternity. His views were broad, his sympathies acute, and his heart warm and gener- ous. In his deportment he was affable and court- eous, and in his relations with his fellow men scrupulously upright. It has been said that if you saw one side of James Ward you saw the whole of him. Few men of his day were more highly es- teemed, and it may be added that none more truly deserved to be held in respect. During the war of 1812 he was appointed Commissary-General of State with title of colonel, and with the exception of one year continued to hold the office until his death, discharging its duties with the same energy, fidelity and integrity which marked all his dealings, public and private, throughout his entire life. He was longer in service than any other officer holding the same commission. Politically he was a Federalist and Old-line Whig, later a Republican. He was a warden of Christ Episcopal Church of Hartford, during the rectorate of Philander Chase, later Bishop of Illinois. He died Oct. 26, 1856, his death being keenly felt and deeply mourned. The city fire department, the Masonic Fraternity, and other civic bodies and fraternal organizations followed his remains to their last resting place, and the universal sentiment was that while a good man had gone to his reward, the public at large had sustained a bereavement which it was hard to bear.

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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 171

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