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 31

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 31

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Josiah and Hannah (Spencer ) Brainard; Josiah, a son of William and Sarah (Bidwell) Brainard ; and William, a son of Daniel and Hannah ( Spen- cer ) Brainard, the founders of the family in Amer- ica. Hannah, the wife of Daniel Brainard, was a daughter of Gen. Spencer, of Lynn, Massachusetts.

The maternal grandparents of our subject were John and Lucy ( Snow) Pierce; John was a son of Ebenezer and Mary (Stowe) Pierce: Ebenezer, a son of Ebenezer and Mary Pierce; and Ebenezer, a son of John and Deborah (Converse) Pierce, of Woburn, Massachusetts.

Jared Frederick Brainard, our subject, was reared to manhood on the old homestead at Brain- ardsville, where he spent his entire life. He re- ceived a common-school and an academical educa- tion, and was a successful farmer. He took an active part in church affairs, being a member of the First Congregational Church of Enfield, and a life member of the Home Missionary Society of that town. For many years he taught the Young Men's Bible Class in the Sabbath-school. He was mar- ried, Sept. 14. 1842, to Jane R. Baird, daughter of Thomas and Sarah ( Eddy) Baird, of Auburn, Mass., who bore him six children : Sarah, J. ( Mrs. Henry H. Chilson ). Frederick, Ogden T., Laura M. ( Mrs. Frank G. Burt), Nellie A. (now Mrs. Fred A. Belden ) and Howard N. Mr. Brainard died April 19, 1892, and his wife on Aug. 14, 1886.

HON. DAVIS EMERY LANE, D. D. S., one of the oldest, most experienced and popular dentists of Hartford, whose skill has placed him at the head of his profession is a native of Wayne, Kennebec Co., Maine, born Nov. 25, 1842, a son of Davis Verrel and Nancy ( Bodge) Lane, natives of the same State.

Peter Lane, father of Davis Verrel Lane, and grandfather of the Doctor, was a farmer, and lived in Leeds, Androscoggin county. He was twice mar- ried. and to his first union the father of the Doctor was born. Peter Lane passed his entire life at Leeds, and there his mortal remains were interred.

Davis V. Lane, the father of the Doctor, was born in Leeds in 1800, and after a due attendance at school entered a woolen-mill, and became very skillful as a manufacture of woolen goods. Later he engaged in farming in Wayne, Kennebec county, and still later removed from Maine to Long Island, N. Y., where he passed the remainder of his life in Huntington, dying in 1887. To his marriage, with Nancy Bodge, were born three children: Al- mira, who was married to Dr. F. W. Burgess, of Huntington, L. I .: Davis E., the subject of this sketch: and Olive, wife of Jonas Velsor, also of Huntington. Nancy (Bodge) Lan: was born in Fayette, Kennebec Co., Maine, and was one of the thirteen children born to John Bodge, a potter.

Davis Emery Lane was educated primarily in the district schools, and finished his literary course in the Wayne high school. In September, 1862, he

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enlisted in Company G. Twenty-fourth Maine Vol- unteers, under Capt. E. Lewis Sturtivant and Col. George M. Atwood, went from Maine to New Orleans, La., and was in service on the Mississippi river at Port Hudson, where he remained until the surrender. The term of his enlistment having ex- pired, he, with the regiment, then returned to his native State. For two years he lived in Portland, Maine, where he was engaged in mercantile trade. In 1868 he took up the study of dentistry, and, after the completion of its course, practiced for a while at Huntington, L. I., N. Y. In 1872 he came to Hartford, Conn., and located on Pratt street, where he has been actively engaged since, and has built up a very extensive practice.

In 1873 Dr. Lane married Miss Adrienne E. Howard, a native of Huntington, L. I., and daugh- ter of Farnum L. and Emeline Howard. Seven children have been born to this marriage, of whom five are no wtiving: Harrold died in infancy, and Davis E., Jr .. died in 1888. Those living are : Emily M .: Farnum Howard, an organist of ability, and teacher of music: Homer Bodge: Jessie A .; and Robert Irving-all living with their parents.

In 1882 Dr. Lane removed his family to East Hartford, but retained his business office in the city. Being a stanch Republican, he took great interest in local party affairs, became very popular, and in 1888 was elected to represent his district in the State Legislature, in which he served greatly to his honor and credit. He has also been a member of the school committee for several years, and quite prominent in the affairs of the village generally.

The Doctor is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 67. F. & A. M., and of D. C. Rodman Post, No. 65. G. A. R. In religion he and his family are Unitarians, and regularly attend the house of wor- ship of the Unitarian Society, to the support of which they freely contribute financially. Besides his professional eminence the Doctor holds a high position in the social circles of both Hartford and East Hartford. and with his amiable wife and chil- dren enjoys the esteem of his neighbors to a very marked degree. Since 1888 he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Raymond Library, East Hartford, was several years vice-president, and in May, 1899, on the death of H. R. Hayden, he was elected president of the board.

HON. LEWIS SPERRY, of the law firm of Sperry & McLean, Hartford, and former member of Congress from the First Connecticut District, has taken high rank in the legal profession of the State.

Mr. Sperry was born Jan. 23. 1848, on East Windsor Hill, in the town of South Windsor, the sixth child and second son of Daniel Gilbert and Harriet Frances (Pelton) Sperry, the father, a farmer, born at Sperrys Farms, Woodbridge, Conn .. a descendant in the sixth generation from Richard Sperry. Richard Sperry was of the Colony of New Haven as early as 1643, coming as agent for

the Earl of Warwick, and was granted a tract of land, in what is now the town of Woodbridge, Conn., which is still known as Sperrys Farms. Other paternal ancestors of our subject in the New Haven Colony were Matthew Gilbert Todd, Cooper Heaton (or Eaton), Wilmot and Carrington.

Harriet Frances Pelton, our subject's mother, was a daughter of James and Sophia (Gaylord) Pel- ton, and a descendant of Deacon William Gaylord, Matthew Grant, Daniel Clark, Humphrey Prior, John Drake, Benedictus Alvord, Thomas Moore, and John Osborn, of Windsor ; was also descended from the Edwards family of Hartford, the Lathrops of Norwich, and the Peases of Enfield, Conn. James Pelton was descended from John Pelton of Boston, 1634, and from Margaret Thompson, a Scotch widow with nine children, who sailed from Ireland in 1718, in the fleet of five ships commanded by Capt. Temple, bound for Boston. Nine of Lewis Sperry's ancestors arrived in New England later than 1730, all became at once land owners in the various towns which they chose for their homes, and all were farmers, whatever other occupation they may have joined with their agricultural pur- suits. In every war, from the Pequot to the Civil, some ancestor or near relative fought on the win- ning side.

Lawyer Sperry's boyhood was passed on the farm in the Connecticut Valley, where beauty of scene and fertility of soil frees the farmer from many of the hardships and privations which per- tain to that occupation in more remote or barren regions. He attended both public and private schools in the neighborhood. At the age of thir- teen he was sent to New Haven, and was a member of the family and school of the well-known teacher, Sidney A. Thomas. Later he entered Monson (Mass.) Academy, graduating in 1869, and spent the succeeding four years in Amherst. He was popular in college, was editor of the "Amherst Student." and an active member of the debating societies, but never at that time or since has he joined any secret society. He perhaps gave more time to the study and practice of debate and oratory than to the regular studies of the college course, and won several prizes as a speaker and debater, and the first "Hardy prize" at his graduation, in 1873. After this event he immediately entered the law office of Waldo, Hubbard & Hyde, in Hartford, Connecticut.

Daily intercourse with such men as Judge Loren P. Waldo, Gov. Richard D. Hubbard, and Alvan P. Hyde, could but give noble ideas of life to any youth coming under their influence, and here young Sperry could see exemplified each day the highest requirements in the study of law, and its most hon- orable application when practiced as a profession. Admitted to the Hartford County Bar in 1875, Mr. Sperry the following year joined with ex- Lieut .- Gov. George G. Sill in renting the chambers at No. 345 Main street, and between Mr. Sill and Mr. Sperry began a friendship which time has only

Lewis Sperry

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The Springfield Republican of Nov. 9, 1890 remarked: "It is seldom that a candidate of either party has been complimented so highly by the votes of his political opponents in the profession as has Lewis Sperry. He will not be so showy a man as Mr. Simonds, but he will be a hard worker, which is his natural habit."

For a Congressman spending his first winter at the National Capital Mr. Sperry had his full share of official social life. His renomination was a foregone conclusion, and the Democratic Congres- sional Convention simply carried out the wishes of his constituents, in making him a candidate for a second term. His speech in accepting the nomina- tion showed a thoughtful consideration for the in- terests of the district. No Democrat has ever been elected in this district in a Presidential year, and no Congressman ever succeeded himself. With the chances apparently against him, and the district almost a tie between Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cleve- land. Mr. Sperry won by the handsome majority of 340. Party lines were closely drawn in the rest

of the district, but his personal following in Hart- ford carried the day. Mr. Sperry was a member of the committee on Banking and Currency, charged with the investigation of the question of increasing the National Bank Association, and on Aug. 2, 1893. made one of the best speeches for the repeal of the Sherman Act which had been heard in the House since it met in extraordinary session. He was looked upon as the leader of the party in oppo- sition to the Wilson Bill. This position he main- tained, and was one of the seventeen Democrats who voted against the Bill. A storm of censure raged throughout the newspapers, and he was vehemently called upon to resign. His course was approved by the Republican papers, and the New York Sun, and he was editorially defended by the veteran leader of the Democratic party in Connecticut, the Hart- ford Times. Mr. Sperry had the brain and nerve to see his way clear, and to stand firmly by his own convictions. Such a man in either party in Con- gress wins respect. Declining a renomination, Mr. Sperry returned to the practice of law in Hartford, forming in October, 1895, the law firm of Sperry & McLean, of which he has since been senior part- ner. In religious sympathies Mr. Sperry is a Con- gregationalist.

On Nov. 7, 1878, Mr. Sperry was married to Miss Elizabeth Ellsworth Wood, daughter of the late Dr. William Wood, the naturalist, of East Windsor Hill, Conn. Two children were born to them : Ellsworth and Mary E. From an obituary notice published in one of the Hartford papers at the time of Mrs. Sperry's death, is extracted the following :

"By the death, Friday night, of Mrs. Elizabeth Ellsworth Sperry, at East Windsor Hill, the com- munity loses a woman of rare qualities, of estima- ble character, and one who was highly esteemed in the circles in which she moved. Mrs. Sperry suffered a surgical operation about six months ago. Since then she has failed steadily, and for three months past has been confined to her apartment.

"Mrs. Sperry was a native of East Windsor Hill, born in 1849, and daughter of Dr. William Wood, the noted ornithologist. She attended the Green- wood Academy, at Brattleboro, Vt., and in 1878 was united to Mr. Sperry by Rev. Mr. Bowman, now of East Hartford. She was a valued member of the Congregational Church of South Windsor. Mrs. Sperry took an active interest in the affairs of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as her ancestry included such distinguished men as Chief Justice Ellsworth and Oliver Wolcott. Mrs. Sperry was a member of Martha Pitkin Chapter, D. A. R., of East Hartford."

ROBERT CASE (deceased) was for many years a leading agriculturist of North Canton, and while his life was free from all competition for worldly honors he won and retained the respect of all who knew him.

Mr. Case was born in North Canton in 1805, and

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came of a well-known family. Sergt. Richard Case came to this section at an early day with his wife, Mercy Holcomb, and settled in West Simsbury, upon a farm. Simeon Case, son of John, and the grandfather of our subject, was born in West Sims- bury in 1739, and in 1759 located in what is now West Granby, where he owned a large tract of land, and was engaged for many years in general farming, stock raising and grain growing. He died there in 1823. He married Mary Case, who was born in 1739, daughter of Amos Case, and died in 1826. They had eleven children, as follows: Simeon ( 1756- 1819) married Phoebe Burr ; Ashbel (1762-1816) married Polly Frazier : Titus ( 1764-1816) married Amy Reed ; Obed ( 1765-1849) married Rachel Em- mons : Eliphalet ( 1770-1847) married Rachel Case, who died in 1813: Mary ( 1771-1821) ; Alexander ( 1774-1824) married Mindwell Case, who died in 1830: Francis ( 1777-1845) married Jemima Case ; Robert is mentioned more fully below : Peter ; and Elizabeth married Reuben Russell.

Robert Case, Sr., our subject's father, was born in 1780, in what is now West Granby, and followed farming throughout his life. He was an excellent citizen, was active in local politics in connection with the Whig party, and in religious work as a member of the Episcopal Church. He married (first ) Clarissa Case, who was born in 1784, daughter of Darius and Mary (Giddings) Case, and grand- daughter of Noah Case. She died in 1827, and he subsequently married Mrs. Martha ( Cooley ) Reed, a widow. By the first marriage there were ten children: Robert, our subject : Ambrose : Jared ; Walter : Ruth: Savilla : Louise : Clarissa ; Pluma and Temperance. The only child of the second marriage, Sidney P., is now a farmer in North Canton.

Our subject received a common-school educa- tion, and when a young man engaged in farming on a tract of land now owned by his sons Ansel and Warren. He made many improvements upon the place, and was a successful farmer, his attention having been given to stock raising. dairying and tobacco growing with good results. He was a man of temperate habits, industrious and thrifty, and for many years was a prominent member of the Methodist Church at Washington Hill. In politics he was a Republican, but he did not seek official honors. He died in 1852, his remains being in- terred in the North Canton cemetery. His wife, Catherine Case, was born in the town of Canton, a daughter of Alexander and Mindwell ( Case ) Case, and a granddaughter of Simeon Case, our subject's grandfather. She died in 1878, leaving the memory of a worthy life as wife and mother. Of their seven children, (1) Ansel is engaged in tobacco growing at the homestead, and is one of the successful farmers of the locality; (2) Trumbull (lied in 1852: (3) Miss Julia A. is at home: (4) Warren is in partnership with Ansel on the home- stead, and is an enterprising and industrious farm-

er, and a highly esteemed citizen ; (5) Louisa (de- ceased ) married Sherman Messenger, of Canton ; (6) John W. is mentioned more fully below; (7) Martha is the second wife of Sherman Messenger.

JOHN W. CASE was born Jan. 23, 1842, and after receiving a district-school education engaged in farming at the homestead. In 1871 he bought his present farm of 140 acres in North Canton, which he has improved extensively. He is a gen- eral farmer, but has been successful in tobacco growing, dairying and the raising of stock. His industry, honesty and frugality are family char- acteristics, and he is regarded as one of the sub- stantial citizens of his town. Politically he is a Republican, and in religion he holds liberal views. Mr. Case married Miss Alice Barber, a native of New Hartford, and a daughter of Noak Barber. They have three children: Albert W., Rachel C. and Alice E.

JOSEPII LANGDON, for more than fifty years a dry-goods merchant of Hartford, was de- scended from an excellent Connecticut family, whose first settlement in America appears to have been made in Wethersfield about 1640.

Reuben Langdon, his father, was born in 1777 in Farmington, married in 1803 Patience, daughter of Hon. Sylvester Gilbert, of Hebron, and was for some years engaged in business in New London, but removed to Hartford about 1817. There he established the dry-goods business, which under various managers has continued and increased to this day, and is now known by the firm name of C. S. Hills & Co. Later he became treasurer of the Society for Savings, popularly known as the Pratt Street Bank, and was finally succeeded in his store by the subject of this sketch. His death occurred in Hartford in 1849.

Joseph Langdon was born in New London, Conn., July 20, 1811, removed with his parents to Hartford when a child, was educated in the public schools of that city, and on Jan. 1, 1835, married Mary Ann, daughter of Thomas Mather, of West- field, Mass. After her death he married, June 5, 1874, Mrs. Nancy Sheldon, daughter of Capt. Gideon Hubbard, of the coasting service. Mrs. Langdon, who is still a resident of Hartford, had by her first marriage one son. Charles R. Sheldon, who was for several years bookkeeper for Mr. Lang- don, and died at the age of forty. Mr. Langdon also had one son by his first marriage, Edward Mather, who died at the age of twelve years. His own death occurred June 3, 1895. as the result of a trolley car accident. Mr. Langdon was a merchant of the old school, conservative in his methods, un- swervingly honest and upright in every transaction, and successful in acquiring a competency for the quiet years of his later life. For many years he was Vice-President of the Society for Savings. During the long period of his career he watched, with affectionate regard, the growth and improve-

Joseph Langdon

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ment of the city where he lived, enjoying the pleas- ure of seeing its population and importance increase more than sevenfold. He was a Republican as to his political views, and, though not strongly parti- san, took none the less an earnest interest in the con- duct of the affairs of the State and Nation. He had no desire for, and never sought, public official posi- tions. He was a member of the Park Congrega- tional Church and a regular attendant upon its serv- ices. In early life he was an officer of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guards, retaining his membership in the Veteran Corps and his enthu- siasm for the company to the end of his life. Mr. Langdon was a good man, quietly benevolent toward the needy, a generous supporter of every good cause, and a citizen who enjoyed the respect and high es- teem of his fellow men.

THOMAS SMITH O'CONNELL, M. D. As the years glide away new men constantly appear upon the scene of human activities in every branch of professional and business life, and by the innate forces of superior worth and ability win speedy renown and recognition. Dr. Thomas S. O'Connell is a comparatively young man, yet his career in the few brief years of his practice in East Hartford has been brilliantly successful. He has an almost unbroken record of complete success in his profes- sion, winning for him one of the largest practices in the East Side towns, while his unfailing courtesy, his quiet good fellowship, and his liberality of mind and opinion, combine to make him one of the most popular young men of East Hartford.

The Doctor was born at Colchester, Conn., Dec. 15, 1866, the fifth child and second son of Michael and Annie ( Smith ) O'Connell, the former a native of County Kerry, and the latter of County Cork, Ireland. The father migrated to America as a poor and friendless lad in 1848. He found employment and for a time worked at Colchester, then in 1854 went to Montreal, Canada, where he met and mar- ried Annie Smith. He supported his family by his labor, and in many respects is a remarkable man. With scant educational opportunities in his youth, his mental activities awakened later in life, and by reading and original thought he has given evi- dence of much more than ordinary ability. He has been a man of the best habits, strictly temperate, one to whom the vices of intoxicating drink and tobacco in all its forms were wholly unknown. Though not exempt from the provocations of anger, he never used profanity : none of his sons ever heard an oath fall from his lips. About 1865 Michael O'Connell returned with his family to Colchester, Conn., where he was employed in the Colchester Rubber Works. Both he and his wife are living, at the ages of seventy and sixty-five years respectively.

Dr. O'Connell obtained his early education in the public schools of his native town. He then be- came a student in Bacon Academy, one of the finest

high schools in Connecticut, on graduating from which, in 1885, he taught school in Colchester, and for four years he was employed as a teacher in the public schools of his native town. He has always been interested in the common schools, and has practical knowledge of their virtues and their faults. For some years he was chairman of the committee for one of the district schools in Col- chester. Early in his school days he developed an inclination for the profession of medicine, and later, in 1889, he passed his examinations for admission to the Baltimore College of Physicians and Sur- geons. Among his studies he took particular in- terest in anatomy, physiology and chemistry, and in his junior year he obtained the position of as- sistant demonstrator of chemistry. In April, 1892. he graduated, among the first ten in a class of 143.

Dr. O'Connell possesses a talent for music, and his ability as a violinist was a source of revenue. He gave lessons on the violin, and the money thus earned assisted materially in defraving the expenses of his education, which was paid for wholly from his own savings.

In August, 1892, Dr. O'Connell located at East Hartford. He was a complete stranger, but his progress in his profession was rapid from the start. At first he relieved Dr. Mcknight of the care of distant patients, and won almost immediately favor- able notice. In 1893 he joined the State and County Medical Societies, and in January, 1894. he be- came an associate member of the City Society. His medical library is an exceptionally finc one. For some years he has been making a specialty of ob- stetrics, and he has a constantly increasing practice. one which is built up solely on his merits as a physician:

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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 31

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