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 173

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 173

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Hadley Falls, Mass. In politics Mr. Ford was a Republican, in religion a Baptist, and died in that faith in 1889, respected by the entire community.

Horace Kelsey Ford was about twelve years of age when brought to Suffield by his parents. He was educated primarily in the district schools, and later attended the Connecticut Literary Institute. For nine years he followed school teaching as a profession, passing four years of that period at Windsor Locks. He then joined his father in farming and tobacco raising, and these industries occupied his attention ever after. He had two of the finest tobacco sheds in the town, erected under his personal supervision and instruction, he being the oldest and most experienced grower in the town.

In politics Mr. Ford was a Republican, and in 1862 was elected town assessor, an office he capa- bly filled four years ; for three years he was a mem- ber of the board of relief ; in 1871 was elected a se- lectman; in 1896 was elected to the State Legisla- ture: served on several important committees while in the House; and for upwards of twenty years was a justice of the peace, during which period not one of his decisions was reversed by the Supreme Court of the State-a fact which speaks for itself, so far as his acumen and astute- ness are concerned.

Mr. Ford was united in marriage, in 1860, in Suffield, with Miss Jane M. Remington, a native of the town, and a daughter of Thomas Reming- ton, a prominent citizen. To this marriage ten children were born: John H., who married Miss Leila J. Belden, and resides on the home farm; Imogene J., wife of William H. Wood, of South Hadley Falls, Mass .; Eliza K., wife of Evlin T. Bray, of Springfield, Mass. ; Willis, a farmer, mar- ried to Emma A. Sikes; Hattie B., who died at the age of thirteen years; Frank, a farmer, who married Daisy I. Brockett; Charles H., at home; Kittie R., who die young, as did Albert R .; and Edith M., the youngest, still under the parental roof. The sons are all Republicans in their politi- cal views.

Fraternally, Mr. Ford was a member of the F. & A. M. Lodge, at Suffield, and also of the O. U. A. M., at the same place. The family belong to the Baptist Church, and they are greatly respected throughout the neighborhood. Mr. Ford was a wide-awake business man, and was one of the or- ganizers of the Suffield Creamery, in which he was a stockholder until his decease.

JABEZ PARSONS DAVIS, Judge of the Town Court of Enfield, and a prominent citizen of Thomp- sonville, needs no special introduction to the read- ers of this volume, but the work would be incon - plete without the record of his life. No man in the community has been more prominently identi- fied with its business or political history, or has taken a more active part in its upbuilding and progress.

Judge Davis was born in the village of Hazard-

758

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ville, Hartford county, Dec. 19, 1839, a son of John and Esther (Squier ) Davis. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, was a native of Bainbridge, N. Y., and a son of John Davis, also of Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y. In 1838 he located in. Enfield, Conn., having married, about that time, Miss Esther Squier, a daughter of Cal- vin Squier, formerly of Ashford, Conn., and a Revolutionary soldier. He was one of the early settlers of Enfield, and was buried in the Enfield Street cemetery.

The first fourteen years of his life Jabez P. Davis passed in Enfield, and then went to Bain- bridge, N. Y., where he remained until 1857. In that year he located in Sebewaing, Mich., where, on February 27, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, 7th Mich. V. I., as a private. He participated in all of the engagements of the Peninsular campaign, including the siege of Yorktown, the battles of West Point and Fair Oaks, and the seven-days fight between Fair Oaks and Harrison's Landing. On account of physical disability he was honorably discharged Nov. 22, 1862, and returned to his home in Michigan, where he engaged in farming and gen- eral teaming. In the spring of 1863 he was elected town clerk of Columbia, Mich., and was elected to the same office in Fair Haven, Mich., in 1864, but in July, of the latter year, he returned to Enfield. Conn., where he was employed in a japaning shop for one year. During the following three years he engaged in the butchering business, and then en- tered the employ of the Hartford Carpet Co., as foreman of their yards at Thompsonville. With the exception of one year, when manager of a farm in Bristol, Conn., he remained with that firm for twenty-seven years. At the same time he also gave some attention to surveying, has practiced veterinary surgery for about twenty years, and is quite exten- sively engaged in stone contracting, having laid the foundation and built the abutments of the principal bridges in Enfield and vicinity. As a business man he is energetic, prompt and notably reliable, and in his undertakings has met with a fair degree of success.

In 1867 Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Ross Hood, a daughter of David Hood, one of the first Scotch settlers of Enfield. Religiously our subject is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Enfield, and socially affiliates with the Masonic fraternity and the Grand Army of the Republic. He is the present commander of Samuel Brown Post, G. A. R., of Thompsonville, with which he has been connected since 1867. He has ever taken quite an active and prominent part in public affairs, serving as selectman of Enfield for ten years, and chairman of the board for nine years. He has also been assessor, grand juror, constable, member of the board of relief, and president of the Society for the Detection of Thieves and Robbers. In May, 1897, he was appointed judge of the town court of Enfield, which position he is still filling with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction

of the general public. He is absolutely fearless in the discharge of his duties, and favor cannot tempt him from the straight path. Politically he is an ardent supporter of the Republican party.

LOREN HOWARD PEASE, M. D., deceased. Hartford county has been the home and scene of labor of many men who have not only led lives that should serve as an example to those who come after them, but have also been of important service to their town, county and State through various avenues of usefulness. Among them must be named Dr. Pease. who was one of the best-known and most prominent citizens of Enfield.

The Doctor was born in Somers, Tolland Co., Conn., July 14, 1835, a son of Robert and Amersha (Arnold) Pease, and was a descendant of Robert and Margaret Pease, who came to America in the ship "Francis" from the port of Ipswich, England, in April, 1634, and located in Salem, Mass. They were the progenitors of the family still living at Salem, and also of the branch at Enfield, Conn. From them the line is traced through John and Mary (Goodell) Pease ; Robert and Abigail ( Randall) Pease: Robert and Elizabeth (Emery) Pease ; Robert and Hannah (Sexton) Pease; Robert and Ann (Sexton ) Pease, the former a Revolutionary soldier ; and Oliver and Nancy (Cone) Pease; to Robert Pease, the Doctor's father.

In early life Loren H. Pease, our subject, at- tended the public schools of his native town, the E :- lington high school, and the Merrimack Normal School, in New Hampshire. and for several years. afterward he successfully engaged in teaching school in the New England, Middle and Southern States. Subsequently he entered Jefferson Medical College. Philadelphia, Penn., where he was graduated in 1861, and immediately afterward he located at Am- herst, Mass., where he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession until 1862, when he came to Enfield and purchased the business of Dr. Levi S. Pease. In September of that year, he was ap- pointed assistant surgeon in the United States army, and at once entered upon the duties with the 10th Conn. V. I. He continued to hold that position for more than a year, when he was transferred to the hospital service, and was connected with the same until the close of the war. On returning to Enfield he resumed his private practice there, but was soon forced to abandon it on account of ill health. He then opened a drug store, which he conducted for several years, and later embarked in the grocery business, in which he was successfully engaged for many years. Shortly after the organization of the Thompsonville Trust Company he became its cash- ier, and was also a member of its board of directors In the former capacity he brought success to the corporation, and when he resigned found an able substitute. He was also a director of the Suffield Bridge Company and Water Company, and held other positions of trust and responsibility. For several years he devoted much time to the insurance

759

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

business, and established mail routes under govern- ment supervision. For almost a third of a century he was prominently identified with nearly every new enterprise which was attempted or established in Enfield, and inaugurated many of them himself. In all of these concerns he was a powerful and useful force, and it is not too much to say of him that no other man in Enfield displayed the amount of courage and business ability in originating and estab- lishing new enterprises or industries.

On July 21, 1859, Dr. Pease was united in mar- riage with Miss Marcia M., daughter of Reuben Ashman and Hancy A. (Hall) Pease, of Scitico, and granddaughter of John and Ann (Cummings) Pease, pioneers of Enfield. Four children were born of this union, namely: Lorena, deceased wife of Frederick O. Dutton; Howard A. ; Loren H., deceased ; and Mabel, wife of Dr. Benjamin II. Thornton.

In his busy life Dr. Pease often found time to serve his fellow townsmen in some official capacity For several years he was first selectman of Enfield, in which position he displayed remarkable official diligence and financial ability. He also served as a member of the General Assembly of the State for two terms, in 1882 and 1883 ; was assessor ; a mem- ber of the board of relief; justice of the peace ; a member of the board of school visitors; and filled other local offices. It was his chief object to per- form his duties so that his State, town and towns- men should receive the greatest possible benefit from his services, and to discharge them with the utmost thoroughness and fidelity. Socially he was a char- ter member of Doric Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., and a member of Samuel Brown Post, G. A. R., in which he was serving as surgeon at the time of his death. Though not a member of any religious organization he was an attendant and supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically he was a stanch Republican. He passed away Feb. 14, 1897, and his death occasioned the deepest re- gret throughout the community. He was a man of the highest respectability, and those who were most intimately associated with him speak in unquali- fied terms of his sterling integrity, his honor in business, and his fidelity to all the duties of public and private life.

BARNES H. HAVILAND, who departed this life Feb. 12, 1870, was one of the representa- tive and progressive citizens of Southington in his day. He was a native of New York, born in Mon- ticello, Sullivan county, in November, 1830, and was a son of Barnes and Anna (Jones) Haviland.

Mr. Haviland grew to manhood in the town of his nativity, and at an early age was apprenticed to the printing business in the office of the Watch- man and Democrat. In Monticello and New York City he pursued that business successfully until fail- ing health compelled him to seek another location, and about 1855 he came to Southington, where for a time he was in the employ of the Peck-Smith

Company. He also worked on the New Haven Palladium, and in the office of a New Britain news- paper. On Oct. 30, 1863, Mr. Haviland estab- lished the first newspaper in Southington, The Southington Mirror, which he conducted until June 6, 1865, meeting with most excellent success dur- ing the period of the Civil war, and his paper proved of more than ordinary interest on account of the soldiers' letters which it published, many of which would hardly have been preserved in any other way. He suspended the publication of his paper in June, owing to ill health, but resumed it again on a larger scale the following October. Later, when his health again failed, he disposed of his plant, which was taken out of the town, and the paper discontin- ued. He was public-spirited in an eminent degree, and did much in behalf of the general welfare of his community.

On May 13, 1857, Mr. Haviland was united in marriage with Miss Betsey A. Sanford, a daughter of A. C. Stanford, of Southington, and to them came one son, CLINTON SANFORD HAVILAND, who was born March 19, 1858, and was educated in Lewis Academy. He, too, embarked in the print- ing business at the age of twenty years, and in the fall of 1878 purchased the Southington Reporter, which was established in 1873. Changing the name to the Southington Phoenix, he continued its pub- lication until his death, which occurred Nov. 29, 1892. By dint of perseverance, constant application and untiring effort, he prospered, and gradually en- larged his business until the Phoenix became. recog- nized throughout the State as a leader among the local newspapers, and the reputation of the job de- partment was second to none. Mr. Haviland was a member of the Connecticut Weekly Press Associa- tion, was one of its early officers, and was one of the founders of the Southington Board of Trade. As a business man Mr. Haviland was upright and hon- orable in all his transactions, and was able, ener- getic, tireless and enthusiastic in the management of his affairs. He was beloved and respected by his employes, many of whom were in his service from seven to fourteen years. He had great admiration for the beautiful in art and nature, and his chief delight was in his lovely home and its surroundings. In religious connection a prominent and influential member of the Baptist Church, he filled offices in both the church and Sunday-school. Death came to him when the future seemed most bright and promising. He had much to live for, and was just entering into the enjoyment of the fruits of his earlier years of toil and perseverance. On Nov. 30, 1880, he married Miss Julia Gridley, who died in 1895.

CHARLES SMITH, whose death on June 13, 1899, is still fresh in the memory of his fellow-cit- izens, was a prosperous tobacco-grower and gen- eral farmer of the town of Bloomfield, Hartford county. He was born in County Westmeath, Ire- land, Aug. 15, 1834, son of Owen Smith, also a

760

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

native of County Westmeath, who was a farmer by calling. He married Mary Clare, of the same county, and this union was blessed with three sons and one daughter, Charles being third in order of birth. Both parents died in County Westmeath, devout members of the Catholic Church.

Charles Smith was educated in the parochial schools of his native county, and was reared to manhood on his father's farm. At the age of twenty-three years he sailed for America, was five weeks and three days in crossing the ocean, and on his arrival in Connecticut first located in West Hart- ford. He engaged in farming until 1860, when he came to Bloomfield, and was there employed in to- bacco-growing as a specialty, until his death, doing some general farming, but more for the purpose of raising produce for home consumption than for profit.

In 1862 Mr. Smith was married in Hartford, to Miss Ann Keenan, a native of Queen's County, Ire- land, and this union was blessed with six children, born in the following order: Mary, now deceased ; Lizzie, wife of Henry Scott, of Windsor, Conn .; Annie ; Charles, of Cushman's Manufacturing Co., Hartford, and married to Miss Kinsella ; John ; and William. Mr. Smith was a faithful Roman Cath- olic in religion, and a liberal contributor of his means to the support of his church; he was school treasurer of the Old Farms District for several years. He was always temperate, frugal and indus- trious, and deservedly stood high in the esteem of his neighbors. He was a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and took a keen interest in public affairs, but he never sought office for himself. His remains rest in Mount St. Benedict cemetery.

WILLIAM GREENE COMSTOCK (de- ceased). At his residence, No. 988 Main street, Friday evening, Aug. 4, 1899, passed away East Hatrford's best-known citizen, at the age of eighty- eight years, nine months. His character was sterl- ing in its purity, his abilities of the highest order, and his career most happily complete. Spanning life far beyond the allotted three score years and ten, the peaceful days of his later life were mellowed with a flood of happy reminiscences, which had in- timate relation with the best interests of East Hart- ford.

William Greene Comstock was born at Comstock Bridge, on the line of Colchester and Chatham towns, New London Co., Conn., Oct. 11, 1810, and was a son of Franklin G. and Tryphena (Tracy) Com- stock, the latter a daughter of Gamaliel R. Tracy, a hero of the Revolutionary war, who fought at Monmouth under Washington. William G. Com- stock was of the eighth generation descended from William, who settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1641. The lineal descent of our subject is as fol- lows :

William Comstock, alluded to in the foregoing paragraph, came from England or Wales in 1635, and passed the latter years of his life in New Lon-

don, Conn .; John (1) was born in England, and came to America with his father; John (2) was born in Connecticut in 1676; John (3), also born in Connecticut ; Christopher, son of John (3), born in Hadlyme, Conn., in 1720, married Anna Willey and died Oct. 30, 1802; Jabez, son of Christopher, born in Hadlyme in 1755, married Almy Greene, daughter of James and Lucina (Slocum) Greene, and died March 23, 1812, his widow surviving until April 5, 1837, when she passed away in Wethers- field; Franklin G., son of Jabez, born March 17, 1790, died Aug. 6, 1845; and William G., son of Franklin G., is our subject.

Franklin G. Comstock was possessed of wonder- ful intellectuality and great literary ability, was the author of "Comstock's Digest of Probate Laws," and was the youngest judge to sit on the Benches of the Probate and Superior Courts of the State of Connecticut.

William G. Comstock received his primary ed- ucation in the common schools, then attended the military school presided over by Capt. Patridge, at Middletown, and finished his education at the Wil- braham (Mass.) Academy, of which Wilbur Fiske was the president. At the age of eighteen years he began teaching school at East Haddam, at a salary of ten dollars per month, and taught five terms in all, including a school at East Hampton, often having some of his old schoolmates as pupils. Toward the close he received a salary of eighteen dollars per month, the highest paid in those days. He taught the first graded school at Middle Haddam, the pioneer of the graded schools of the State. In the meantime, about 1820, his parents removed from Comstock's Bridge to Miller's Hill, East Hampton, and located on the "Lovell Hall" place. His father then bought a half-interest in the New England Review, a Hartford weekly newspaper, and young William G., relinquishing school teaching, came in 1832 to Hartford to engage in journalism under the auspices of his father. During his manage- ment The New England Daily Review was pub- lished, being the first daily paper ever published in Hartford. The first year he boarded at the "Ex- change Coffee House," going home occasionally. The "Exchange," kept by Selah Treat, was the general stopping place of the stage on the line be- tween New Haven and Boston, and there Mr. Comstock had for his roommate George Roberts, later president of the Hartford Carpet Co. In 1833 the parents of Mr. Comstock moved to Hartford, and lived on the south side of Morgan street, in the third house east of Market street, until June, 1836, when they removed to Wethersfield, the fa- ther, Franklin G. Comstock, selling out his inter- est in the Review to a Whig clique, which of course converted the paper into a political organ of the party.

During the early 'thirties the silk-cocoon raising "craze" broke out in New England, and nearly all the farmers planted mulberry trees and started to raise cocoons as soon as possible. Franklin G.

Mul, Comstock

761

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Comstock was very prominent in the movement, associated with Christopher Colt, father of the late Samuel Colt. They established headquarters in a store building on Frant street, and grew, bought and sold mulberry trees, raised cocoons, sold the eggs, and reeled silk, meeting with astonishing suc- cess. Orders for mulberry trees were frequently re- ceived accompanied by $1,000. Mr. Comstock came to be regarded as the leading silk culturist in the State, and for a number of years published the "Silk Culturist and Farmers' Manual," a monthly magazine. During the winter of 1837 William G. Comstock went to Cuba, taking with him a lot of young mulberry trees. He purchased a plot of ground at Matanzas, set out the young trees, and remained there until spring. During that time he purchased one lot of trees for $500, which he shipped home to his father, who disposed of them for $2,500. The craze died out within a few years, the farmers generally meeting with little success, and the material imported from China and Italy being so cheap; but Mr. Comstock and his partner made, within a short time, what was then considered a handsome fortune.

In 1838 Franklin G. Comstock bought the farm that had been worked by James L. Belden, a garden- seed grower, and formed a partnership with Butler N. Strong, in this peculiar line of seed-growing, founding the first farm worthy of the name of a seed farm in New England. It was in this business that William G. Comstock manifested his superior abil- ity as a business man, and developed the advanced ideas that have ever since dominated the large seed- growing firms of the United States. He devised the plan by which the different varieties were shipped in boxes of new design to all parts of the country-a plan now followed by all gardeners engaged in this industry. When his father died, in 1845, William G. became sole proprietor of the business, of which he had been practically the head from the beginning, and he now foresaw that there was a great future for it. He branched out. He made trips to the South, visiting Memphis, Vicks- burg, Natchez, Mobile and New Orleans, and in the last-named city a dealer in seeds not only took all his stock on hand, but placed an order for more, to the amount of $2,500. Most of this trip was made on the Mississippi river, aboard the steamer "Natchez," the cost being about fifteen dollars for a trip of two weeks' duration. The business was aug- mented by the purchase of seventy-five acres of land at Urbana, Ohio, and this branch until this day is recognized as the seed farm of the West. In 1850 Mr. Comstock formed a stock company, under the name of Comstock, Ferre & Co., with a capital of $40,000, taking into the concern Mr. Henry Ferre. The first year a dividend of six per cent was de- clared, and afterward a dividend of ten per cent every six months. He remained at the head of this company for many years.

On Nov. 12, 1857, Mr. Comstock came to East Hartford, bought the Henry Olmstead place, and there made his home until his death. The dwelling

he first occupied here was destroyed by fire in March, 1875, but he at once replaced it with an elegant mansion, the best residence in the town. For a time after settling in East Hartford he was identified with Comstock, Ferre & Co., from which he gradually withdrew, selling off his stock, but continuing to do considerable business for the firm, which is still operated under the original name. For some years Mr. Comstock lived in retirement, but held large interests in various investments and continued to personally direct them until his death.

Mr. Comstock was united in marriage, July 3, 1837, by Rev. M. Roland, in New York City, to Miss Adeline Strong, a native of East Hampton, Conn., born April 29, 1812, a daughter of Henry and Susannah (Cook) Strong. Mrs. Comstock was called from earth Jan. 3, 1880. Children were born to this union as follows: Franklin G., May 27, 1838: Jabez Knight, Feb. 5, 1841 (died in 1855) ; Mary Emma, Nov. 30, 1842 (died young) ; Amy, May 22, 1845 (she was married to Henry Hoppin Knight, of Brooklyn, N. Y., died Feb. 2, 1889, and was buried in Greenwood cemetery, that city ; Will- iam Greene, Jr., and Frederick (twins), Feb, 13, 1847; Ralph Tracy (deceased in childhood) ; and Robbins Tracy, born Oct. 24, 1855 (died unmar- ried Nov. 16, 1890). The twins alluded to above now constitute the firm of W. G. & F. Comstock, real estate men of East Hartford. They completed Comstock Hall and block in 1899, the most up-to- date building in that locality, and are among the most enterprising and pushing business men of the town. William G. is still unmarried. Fred- erick, married, on April 5. 1875, Miss Nellie Will- iams, of East Hartford, and is the father of four sons, Tracy S., Frederick H., Lewis B. and Don- ald C. S.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 173

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