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 41

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 41

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EDWARD BUTLER DUNBAR, whose name opens this series of biographies as applied to the Dunbar family. after passing through the common schools of Bristol. Conn., took a further course of instruc- tion in the Williston Seminary, at Easthampton, Mass .. and in the spring of 1860. before reaching the age of eighteen years, left for New York City, to assist the late William F. Tompkins in the man- agement of the hoop-skirt factory of Dunbar & Barnes, who employed from fifty to seventy-five hands in that branch of their business. Two years later, on the retirement of Mr. Tompkins to en- gage in other enterprises. young Dunbar was given entire charge of the vast concern, and conducted it with admirable discretion for about three years, when fickle fashion ignored crinoline or hoop- skirts, and the business was abandoned. After having thus passed five years in New York, Mr. Dunbar returned to Bristol, and has here since been engaged in the manufacture of clock and other small springs. as a member of the firm of Dunbar Brothers. The business was originated by the fa- ther of the present members of the firm, the pro- cess being primitive. the hands numbering half a «lozen, and the product being correspondingly lim- ited. By the introduction of machinery, the firm later turned out from 5.000 to 8,000 clock springs per day: but still another change took place, as clock-makers revolutionized their methods of con- struction, and Dunbar Brothers made a similar move, and now devote their attention to the pro- duction of small springs only, of which they turn « ut millions annually.

Politically Mr. Dunbar is a Democrat, and for many years has been a very hearty worker for his party's interests, and prominent in its councils. He ha- always held a supreme interest in public edu-

cation, and from the establishment of the high school in Bristol has been chairman of its con- mittee, and takes great pride in it as the best school in the State. He has held many other positions of public trust, and in all cases has executed their duties scrupulously, and to the undisguised satis- faction of his fellow citizens. In 1869 and 1881 he represented Bristol in the State Legislature, and was elected State senator in 1885, from the Fourth district, and re-elected in 1887, thus serv- ing two consecutive terms, or until 1889. Having been a workingman himself, he still possesses a warm sympathy for the laboring classes, and while in the Senate was one of the most earnest advo- cates of the weekly payment law, and of the child labor law, in favor of both of which he made for- cible and eloquent speeches. In 1890 he was men- tioned, and not infrequently, as a most desirable candidate for Congress, but he most peremptorily declined to permit his name to be used in that con- nection. Mr. Dunbar has been registrar of elec- tions from the First district for twenty-six years consecutively. He is president of the board of fire commissioners of Bristol, and has been for the past twenty years; when he was chairman the de- partment had only hand machines, but it now has two steam engines. In 1891, when the Free Pub- lic Library was first proposed, Mr. Dunbar, with others, at once took hold of the scheme, to place it on a firm foundation, and was chosen president of the organization, which position he still retains.

Mr. Dunbar has also devoted a share of his time to financial affairs, having been a director of the Bristol National Bank since its foundation in 1875. he and W. H. Nettleton being the only sur- viving members of the original board; he is like- wise a vice-president and director in the Bristol Savings Bank, and has served in these capacities since 1889. He is president of the Bristol Board of Trade, through the influence of which several factories have been located in the borough. Mr. Dunbar is a member of the Congregational Church. and has served on the Society's committee six years-four as chairman. For four years, be- tween 1886 and 1890, he was president of the Bris- tol Young Men's Christian Association, and ear- nestly worked for the benefit of the organization in general, and the welfare of the younger mem- bers especially: he is also a member of Reliance Council. No. 753, Royal Arcanum.

The marriage of Hon. Edward Butler Dunbar took place Dec. 23, 1875, to Miss Mice Giddings. who was born July 8, 1854. and is a danghter of Watson Giddings, the well-known carriage-maker of Bristol. Of the three children that crowned this marriage, the eldest, Mamie Eva, born Dec. 17. 1877, died Jan. 18. 1881: Marguerite Louise, born June 28, 1880, was graduated with honors from the Bristol high school in 1898, left Hadem Ilall. Windsor, in 1899, and is now attending the Gardner. a special school for young ladies, in New York: Edward Giddings, born May 20, 1889, is

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attending the Bristol schools for the present. Mr. Dunbar and his family, it is needless to add, are among the most honored of the residents of Bris- tol. They make their home in a dwelling erected more than half a century ago by Chauncey Jerome, the famous clockmaker. Nine years since Mr. Dunbar remodeled this dwelling, added to it every modern improvement, and converted it into one of the most imposing and charming mansions in Con- necticut, as well as one of the most refined and felicitous of homes.

WINTHROP WARNER DUNBAR, the elder bro- ther of Hon. Edward B. Dunbar, whose biography, for business reasons, is given the precedence, was born in Bristol Feb. 25, 1841. Until seventeen years of age he attended the schools of his bor- ough, and then entered his father's factory. After the death of the venerated parent he united with his brothers, Edward B. and William A., in found- ing the firm of Dunbar Brothers, mention of which has already been made in full.

On May 3, 1862, Mr. Dunbar was happily united in marriage with Miss Sarah Anna Wheeler, born June 3. 1840, to Oliver Lepenwell and Lydia Almira ( Button) Wheeler, natives of Griswold, Conn. To this marriage were born: Charles Ed- ward, of whom an extended sketch will be given later on; Alice May, born April 13, 1868, who is married to Carl Virgil Mason, a dealer in real es- tate; Beatrice Estelle, born June 22, 1874. died Aug. 29, of the same year. In politics Winthrop WV. Dunbar is decidedly Democratic in his pro- clivities, but has always rejected the many oppor- tunities for holding public office that have been tendered him. In his fraternal relations he is a member of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F., of Bristol : a member of E. L. Dunbar Encamp- ment, No. 32, I. O. O. F. : also of the Royal Ar- canum : and religiously he and his wife are devout members of the Congregational Church.

Carl Virgil Mason was born Nov. 23, 1863, in Unionville, Conn., a son of Charles L. and Frances E. (Goodwin) Mason, the former of whom de- scended from Capt. John Mason, deputy governor of Connecticut, who, with his men, exterminated the Pequot Indians near Norwich. Carl V. Mason was educated in Unionville, and in 1883 came to Bristol and engaged in the real-estate business, which he still conducts at No. 5 North Main street. His marriage with Alice May Dunbar took place May 3, 1888, and to this union have been born: Florence Frances, July 14, 1889. and Anna Dunbar. June 11, 1893. In politics Mr. Mason is a Republican, and fraternally is a member of Pe- muabuck Lodge, No. 48. I. O. O. F. : E. L. Dunbar Encampment, No. 32: Franklin Lodge, No. 56. F. & A. M .: Pequabuck Chapter, No. 34. R. A. M. : Doric Council, No. 24, of New Britain ; Ethan Todge. No. o. K. of P., of Bristol; and Sphinx Temple, of Hartford.

CHARLES EDWARD DUNBAR, son of Winthrop Warner and Sarah Anna ( Wheeler) Dunbar, was

born in Bristol Nov. 18, 1865, and was educated. in the common schools there, later attending Wil- liston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., and in 1887 he was graduated from Hannum's Business Col- lege, at Hartford. He was then appointed to his present position of superintendent.

On July 2, 1889, Charles E. Dunbar married Miss Elizabeth Bulkley Nott, a native of Bristol, and a daughter of William and Mary (Smith) Nott, and on July 26, 1891, there was born to this marriage Winthrop William Dunbar. Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar are members of the Congregational Church, in the faith of which they are rearing their son. Fraternally Charles E. Dunbar is a member of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, and of Hull Co. Uniformed Rank, No. 5, Knights of Pythias, both of Bristol; he is also a member of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F., of the same borough ; and of D. O .K. K., Hira Temple, No. 90, of New Britain. In politics he is a Democrat, but is not offensively partisan.

HON. WILLIAM A. DUNBAR, the third child born to Edward Lucius and Julia ( Warner ) Dun- bar, and whose birth took place in Bristol April 5, 1844, received the ordinary common-school edu- cation, and at sixteen years of age went to Water- bury, where he served an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade under Charles W. Johnson. Re- turning to Bristol, he entered the employ of Dun- bar & Barnes, with whom he remained until the (lissolution of the firm, in 1864. He then filled a contract for making valise frames for Albert Ses- sions, which occupied him about a year and a half, after which he entered the employ of his father, with whom he remained until the latter's death, in 1872. He and his brothers, Edward B. and Win- throp W., then founded the firm of Dunbar Bro- thers, and in this firm he held a partnership until 1890, when ill health compelled him to withdraw, since when he has not been actively engaged in any business.

Primarily Mr. Dunbar was in politics a Demo- crat, and continued thus until 1896, when he cast his vote with the Republicans, but in the meantime had done yeoman's service for the Democracy, be- ing chairman of the Democratic town committee from 1876 to 1880; in 1879 he represented the town of Bristol in the State Legislature for one year : has been assessor of the town, and a member and clerk of the board of relief-with the excep- tion of a few years-since 1877; from 1884 to 1895 he was deputy registrar of voters under his bro- ther, Edward B. ; he was a member and chairman of the board of school visitors three years, from 1894 to 1896; from 1889 until 1901, except for a break of two years, was district tax collector for district No. 1 ; and has been chairman of the board of borough assessors for the past two years. Mr. Dunbar has also served as chief engineer of the fire department and as foreman of the Uncas en- gine company; he is an incorporator of the Bris- tol Savings Bank; was also an incorporator and

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was largely instrumental in promoting the con- struction of the present admirable waterworks system of the town, superintending the plant until completed : he is now a director and vice-president of the water company; and is public-spirited in all things.

William A. Dunbar was united in marriage Oct. 4. 1865, with Miss Josie Hooker Sharpless. who was born Jan. 9, 1845, a daughter of Stephen and Huldah Sharpless, of Rochester, N. Y. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar has been blessed with three children, born in the following order : Nettie Louise, Aug. 16, 1866: Edward Louie, Nov. 1. 1869: and William Howard, May 23. 1875. Of these, Nettie Louise was married Aug. 20, 1885, to Dennis Andrew Upson, of Unionville, Conn. ; he is purchasing agent for the Upson Nut Co., of Cleveland, Ohio : to this marriage have been born two children-Hazel, April 14. 1887, and Doris Adel, July 13, 1894. Edward Louie married Oct. 21, 1896, Miss Josie Adelaide Case, daughter of Joel T. Case, of Bristol, and has one son-Joseph Edward. born April 1, 1898. He is mentioned below. William Howard is a clerk in J. R. Mitch- ell & Son's store in Bristol, and resides with his

parents. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias. William A. Dunbar and wife are members of the Congregational Church, and live in close accord- ance with its tenets and teachings. In 1888 Mr. Dunbar erected his present fine residence on Main street, and here he and his family enjoy the genial society of a large and devoted circle of friends.

Edward Louie Dunbar, son of William A. Dun- bar, attended the Bristol common schools until eighteen years of age, after which he took a two- years commercial course in the Bristol high school. He then passed a few months in the office of D. B. Judd & Co., later becoming assistant bookkeeper in the Bristol National Bank, and in a few years, in 1888, was promoted to his present position of bookkeeper. Mr. Dunbar also holds the agency of four insurance companies, viz .: The Connecticut Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford; the Firemen's Fund Insurance Co., of San Francisco; the In- surance Co. of North America, of Philadelphia ; . and the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Co., of Liverpool, England. He also represents the AEtna Indemnity Co., of Hartford. Frater- nally Edward L. Dunbar is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., of which he was senior deacon one year. He is also chaplain of the P. W. I. S. Club, a social organization at Bristol. In politics he is independent.

The family name of Dunbar, it is claimed, is derived from that of the ancient Scottish city so well known to history. In 1630 Robert Dunbar, the first of the family to appear in America, was born in Scotland, married Rose -, and in 1655 settled in Hingham, Mass. It was the gen- cral opinion that he brought money enough with lim to begin life in the new country without em- barrassment. as for years there were but two men

in the place that paid a higher tax than he. It was also the current belief that Robert Dunbar was a descendant of George, Earl Dunbar, in the regu- lar line. From a history given of one of the par- ent stock, Dunbar of Grange Hill, it appears that Ninian Dunbar was born in 1575, and it is proba- ble, though not certain, that Robert was a son of Ninian, as it was well known that Ninian, founder of the Dunbar family of Grange Hill, had a son whom he named Robert. Where Robert was mar- ried, or what his wife's surname was, is not known. He died Oct. 5, 1693, and his wife Nov. 10, 1700, the parents of eight children, viz .: John, born Dec. 1, 1657; Mary, born Oct. 25, 1660 (married Isaac Harris) ; Joseph, born March 13, 1662; James, born June 1, 1664 (married Jane Harris) ; Robert, Jr., born Sept. 6, 1666; Peter, born Nov. 1, 1668; Joshua, born Oct. 6, 1670 (married Han- nah Hatch Sept. 21, 1699) ; and Hannah-all born in Hingham, Massachusetts.

John Dunbar, son of Robert, above mentioned, married Mattithiah Aldridge July 4. 1679. This lady, his first wife, was a daughter of George and Catherine Aldridge, of Dorchester, Mass., and mention is made by the town clerk that John Dun- bar and family stopped in Hingham, Mass., May 16, 1697, whence they removed the same or the following year to New Haven, Conn. Three chil- dren were born to John and his first wife, viz .: Susanna, Lydia and John. The second marriage of John Dunbar took place July 24. 1700, to Eliza- beth Beecher, of New Ilaven, and to this marriage were born seven children, as follows: Elizabeth, March 27, 1701, married March 12, 1730, to a Mr. Schubert, a painter; James and Joseph, June 28, 1703, both of whom died young: Joseph (2), Oct. 9. 1704; James, April 30, 1708; Lydia, Oct. I, 1714, married to Ebenezer Hull Aug. 31. 1743; and Ebenezer, born Nov. 9. 1718. After the death of the father of these children his second wife, at her decease, willed all her property to her own offspring, and cut off altogether the children of John Dunbar by his first marriage.

John Dunbar, son of John and Mattithiah Dun- bar married Elizabeth Fenn June 14. 1716. She was born April 29, 1692, and was a daughter of Edward and Mary ( Thorpe) Fenn, who were mar- ried Nov. 15. 1688. Jolm Dunbar died May 13, 1746. and Mrs. Dunbar died in 1751, the parents of seven children, viz. : Mary, born Sept. 26. 1717; Sarah, Feb. 7. 1719: Edward, April 9, 1722. mar- ried Hannah Curtiss April 7. 1743: John, Sept. 28, 1724: Samuel, Dec. 18, 1726: Elizabeth, May 5. 1729: and Hannah, April 20, 1733.

John Dunbar, the son of John and Elizabeth ( Fenn) Dunbar, was born in Wallingford, Conn., and to his marriage with Temperance Hall, who was born in the same town April 16, 1727, sixteen children were brought into the world, of whom the names of fourteen are still on record, viz. : Miles: Moses, who married Phoebe Jerome May 30. 1764: Diniah: Joel; John; Aaron; Joel (2);

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Lucina, who married Thomas Welcher Painter ; John (2) ; Charity ; Ada, who died April 12, 1812; Mollie : David and Jonathan, born May 26, 1770, on which last-named date the mother passed away, and her remains were interred beside those of her husband at Plymouth ; he had been one of three commissaries in Waterbury chosen to furnish sup- plies to the Continental army.

Miles Dunbar, great-grandfather of Hon. Ed- ward B. Dunbar, was born probably in Walling- ford or Plymouth, but removed to Oblong. N. Y., prior to 1818, as he is known to have drawn a pension in that State. He married May 1, 1779, Tryphose Butler, who was born in Waterbury, Conn., May 15, 1759, and was a daughter of Isaac and Rebecca butler. Fo Mr. and Mrs. Miles Dun- bar were born eight children, viz .: Isaiah, Clar- issa, John, Lucretia, Butler, Jenas, Calvin, and Miles, Jr. Miles, the father, was a fife-major during the Revolutionary war, having enlisted March 31. 1777, at Waterbury, Conn., and serving until dis- charged March 30, 1780, in New York. He had become overtaxed at the battle of Monmouth, and on his way home was taken sick at Newton, his expenses being paid by the State, which State, as has been mentioned, also pensioned him in 1818. After the war he studied law with Esquire Butler, his brother-in-law, at Plymouth, and followed that vocation the remainder of his life. In 1776 he joined the Congregational Church at Plymouth. and died in that faith in 18 -.

Butler Dunbar, grandfather of Hon. Edward Butler Dunbar, was born in Plymouth, Conn., Feb. 1, 1791, and married Miss Lucina Painter, daugh- ' ter of Thomas Welcher and Lucina ( Dunbar ) Painter-the latter a sister of his father. Miles Dunbar. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. But- ler Dunbar were Edward Lucius, of whom full mention has already been made: William Butler, born in Bristol, Conn., June 28, 1811, who marr.ed Mary Morrill in January, 1836; and Emily, who was married to Charles Lindley, of Waterbury.

Butler Dunbar was a musician in the war of 1812 under John Buckingham, and later was in the clock business with Titus Merriam. He was still quite young. however, when he removed to the West and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was an earnest worker in the Congregational Church in the West, and long before his death, . which occurred Oct. 18, 1868, in Monroe town- ship, Mahaska Co., Iowa, he bore the honorable title of "Father Dunbar."

CAPT. RICHARD GRIMES. In the early history of Wethersfield, long prior to the Revolu- tionary period, and during the war, as well as sub- sequently, that locality was the scene of maritime traffic and business. At the shipyard by the cove ( located in what is now the town of Wethersfield ) were built many vessels, and a number were there manned with guns for privateering during the Revo- lution, and many too were the able masters and sea-

men who commanded them. Among the vessels and commanders of the period were the privateers "Revenge" and "Drake:" the sloop "Hero," com- manded by Justus Riley, Sr., an old West Indian trader, as were also his sons, Justin and Roswell; Ozias Goodwin, of the schooner "Humbird;" and Joseph Combs, of the schooner "Experiment"; Capt. Samuel Stillman, of the brig "Jason," and his brother Capt. Allyn Stillman, who did a large trans- portation business for the State, and imported most of the salt and some of the supplies for the war. There, too, was Capt. Tryon, afterward an officer in the United States navy, and Capt. William Gris- wold, of Rocky Hill, then a part of Wethersfield, who owned the big "Minerva." built at the place, and which had the reputation of being the stanch- est vessel in the Colony, which vessel in 1775 was chartered, an armament put upon her, and she served as a vessel of war in State and naval service.

Born a few years later, just following the active scenes of the Revolution, while yet the deeds of daring and adventure of these heroes of the war were fresh in the minds and the talk of their elders. and almost in the Rocky Hill shipyard, where no doubt the prowess and the fashion of the war ships was the topic of frequent discussion in their hear- ing, as they played over and through the timbers framing the later ships, and picked oakum while they listened to the "yarns" of the rope-makers in the rope-walk, or were hiding in the sail loft, it is not to be wondered at that the Grimes boys im- bibed a taste for the sea, and sought its broad bosom for occupation and home.

"Capt. Dick," as Richard Grimes, the subject of this sketch, was familiarly called by all who knew him on shipboard. was born in 1789 in the then thriving village of Stepney, a district or suburb of Wethersfield, which for some time promised to be the head of navigation when the large vessels produced in its shipyard found difficulty in going higher up the Connecticut river. Indeed, it has been said that but for the obstinacy of Capt. Dick's grandfather, who, owning the major part of the river front in Stepney, refused to sell the same. even Hartford might have had a rival in this now obscure town, set off from Wethersfield in 1726 as the parish of Stepney: in 1826, by legal enact- ment, it received the less desirable cognomen of Rocky Hill-a name always a misnomer when we consider the various villages on the river, whose rocks made the one stone hill of this town appear very poor and small, even when its tons of granite towered in all their pristine but sod-covered gran- deur ; and since lovers of good roads have bought and crushed up the major part of this one "right to the title" the name is more incongruous and unwelcome than ever. Nevertheless, Rocky Hill now stands, a peaceful, restful and picturesque village, on the left bank of the Connecticut river. But the birthplace of Capt. Dick-the little house where his nine brothers and sisters and himself were born-has given way before the march of

Gurnard Grimes.

社

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improvement. \ railroad covers the ground where it stood, and made the first attack on the name "hill." skirting the base some miles, and at the same time erasing the major part of the old rope- walk and shipyard, where for many years simps large and small were built and subsequently manned and mastered by the citizens of Stepney and Glastonbury.

Shipbuilding, the fitting and outfitting of the same, made for these two places lively and work- a-day times. Business of all kinds flourished be- cause of the maritime value of men and products. Most young men from both places followed the sea, or wanted to, and their outfits, their ships, and the cargoes they brought back furnished raison d'etre for the several stores that then clothed the river bank at Rocky Hill ( then Stepney) and did a brisk business in sail-cloth, paints, oils, sati- nets, velvets and silks, many, perhaps most. of all these things. and surely all the two if not the three last. imported in those days. It is not many years, when one sits down to think about it, that American ladies have been able to deck them- selves in American silks, and in the days of which we are thinking gentlemen had the monopoly of fashion plates and imported furbelows. These were the days when men wore pumps and silver buckles, if they were plain, every-day nabobs; if they were grand gentlemen and rich these buckles must be of gold, and jeweled, and, instead of plain linen, cambric ruffles henmed with stitches that would put to shame the finest machine work, and pleated with a nicety few "patent pleaters" can cqual, but all done by the fingers of mother, wife. or sweetheart. that perhaps had also fashioned- from the flax "raised at home," then spun into thread and woven into linen, finally bleached on the home lot, as every previous process had been done, and the dainty ruffles (these imported)- the linen shirt, each stitch taken by hand, that should grace the satin "wescoat." velvet small- clothes and swallow-tail blue coat, which, with silk stockings-black for usual, white for the very fre- quent balls-must set off the figure of every self- respecting sailor when in port. How well the writer remembers hearing from an old citizen of Hartford a description of the garb of the subject of this sketch, when the narrator, then a boy, and native of Rocky Hill also, like all the boys far and near, rushing to greet each incoming ship. would go to the river to meet the brig "Marshall." Capt. Dick, commander. . Said he. "How my eyes would stand out when Capt. Dick appeared in the full glory of blue coat and brass buttons, a shirt frill four inches wide, and full enough to fill in the entire 'wescut' front. 1 tell you. the ladies in these days could sew, and Capt. Dick's wife could pleat ruffles. With black velvet knee breeches, buckles at the knees, silk stockings to meet 'em and patent leather pumps, buckles on them, too, well. 1 just thought that next to general training being captain of a ship was the greatest thing on

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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 41

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