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 46

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 46

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Caleb Bliss, of West Springfield, Mass. (son of Deacon Caleb Bliss and Editha Day. of Springfield ). was born Aug. 12, 1750, and died Dec. 15. 1825.

Benjamin Blis

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He was married Oct. 31, 1776, to Hannah Van- Horn. She was born Aug. 19, 1750, and died April 15. 1831. Their children were Anne, Genubath, Elijah, Elijah (2), and Caleb.

Elijah Bliss (son of Caleb Bliss and Hannah Van Horn), was born at West Springfield, Mass., Feb. 19, 1783, and died there April 15, 1854. By occupation he was a shoemaker, and he also carried on farming in a small way. On Oct. 31, 1804, he married Lucy Van Horn, who was born May 30, 1785, the daughter of Derrick and Rachel Van- Horn of West Springfield. She died March 19, 1863. They had the following children: Edward, Lucy, Marietta, Nancy, Elijah, Benjamin, and Catherine.

Benjamin Bliss was born Sept. 21, 1820, in West Springfield, Mass., and died Oct. 3, 1896, in Hart- ford, Conn. He received a common-school edu- cation, which was supplemented in later years by reading and by extensive travel both in this coun- try and in Europe. Having his own way to make in the world, he left home at the age of eighteen, and went to Hartford, arriving there Sept. 21, 1838, the anniversary of his birth. He first entered the em- ploy of H. L. Miller, and afterward that of C. F. Collins, both dry-goods merchants. While with Mr. Collins young Bliss conceived the idea of putting in a show-case in which to place on sale knives, razors, and similar goods. He obtained liis em- ployer's consent to carry out this scheme, and he made in this way the money that gave him his start in life. Subsequently he began business with Jo- seph Delliber, the firm-name being Delliber & Bliss. The store of the firm was where the Hartford Opera House now stands. At the end of three years Mr. Delliber's interest was purchased by Mr. Bliss, and in 1855 he also purchased the property at the corner of Main and Pratt streets, and established at this point one of the largest stores, in its day, in the city. He remained there until Feb. 1, 1882, when his health became so impaired that it pre- vented his longer continuance in business. Prior to this time the late Hudson Andrews, of Hartford, and H. H. Woodhouse. now of New York City, were identified with him in managing the operations of the house. He was succeeded, however, by his son, the late Edward L. Bliss. The business passed into the hands of Cook & Hills several years ago, and it is now controlled by C. S. Hills & Co. The corner block belongs to the estate left by Mr. Bliss, but the transactions of the house have not been iden- tified in any way with the Bliss family for years.

Mr. Benjamin Bliss was one of the directors of the National Fire Insurance Company, under Pres- ident Mark Howard, and retained the position so long as the condition of his health permitted. He was more or less interested in many of the insurance companies and other financial institutions of the city, and for a time was director in the Merchants Insurance Company. He was a capable and clear- headed business man, and built up a large and pros-

perous trade, and for years after the Civil war the out-of-town business of the house probably exceed- ed that of any other of the dry-goods concerns in the city.

Mr. Bliss was the soul of integrity, and his deal- ings were universally recognized as upright and honorable. He was reared a Congregationalist, but became a member of the South Baptist Church, holding the position of chairman of the church society for nine years. He was the dispenser of many personal charities that were known only to himself and the recipients of his benefactions. At one time he was a member of the Governor's Foot Guard in Hartford, and held an honorable discharge from that service. In politics he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and during the Civil war his loyal support was given the government.

His home life was most enjoyable to a man of his domestic and sociable nature. On April 2, 1846, he married Miss Abbie Goodrich Woodhouse, of Wethersfield, Conn., who was born Oct. 10, 1823. She survives him with three of their five chil- dren : Miss Alice Goodrich, Frederick Spencer, and Miss Grace Edith. The elder son, Edward Lang- don, was born Feb. 24, 1852, and died April 30, 1895. Lizzie Cordis, who was born Sept. II, 1856, dicd Jan. 4, 1860.

EDWARD L. BLISS was educated at the Hartford High School, and at the Cheshire Military Acad- emy, which was then conducted by the Rev. Dr. Iforton. 1Ic began business with his father soon after completing his studies. Subsequently he was admitted to partnership, and the business was con- ducted, for a number of years, under the firm-name of Benjamin Bliss & Company. The son assumed the entire charge of the business after the retirement of the founder, and, after managing it successfully for about nine years, he sold it, Jan. 1, 1891, to Messrs. Cook & Hills. The deceased was an able business man, careful and conservative, and under- stood perfectly the administration of property inter- ests. He traveled extensively in Europe and througout this country, and he was thoroughly in .. formed concerning public interests ; but he was of a retiring disposition, not seeking in any way identi- fication with military and fraternal orders. He was an attendant at the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, and in his business career he was a member of the Hartford Board of Trade.

Elijah Bliss, brother of the late Benjamin Bliss, and the last of the seven children of the family of Elijah Bliss and Lucy Van Horn, of West Spring- field, Mass., died at the home of his son, Frank Edward Bliss, No. 21, Holland Park, West Lon- don, England, Sept. 11, 1899, in his eighty-third year. He will be remembered by the older residents of Hartford, where he was engaged in the retail dry-goods business on Main street in the carly 'forties. He married Mary Beebe Case, of Hart- ford, a granddaughter of the late Manna Case. They were members of the First Baptist Church,

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of Hartford, for a time, and afterward they removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., where Mr. Bliss was deacon of the Pierrepont Street Baptist Church for many years. He was engaged in active business in New York City until his declining health caused him to retire from business ; and he made his home with his son, his only surviving child, who is manager of the Anglo-American Oil Company in London, Eng- land.

Mr. Elijah Bliss's wife and four younger chil . dren died several years ago in Brooklyn. Besides his son he left four young grandsons. The inter- ment was at the cemetery at Mortlake, England.

Abbie Goodrich Woodhouse, wife of Benjamin Bliss, is a descendant of Joseph Woodhouse, of Hertfordshire, England. He came to America, with his two sisters, in 1710, and settled in Wethersfield, Conn., where he married Dorothy Buck. Their children were William, Anne, Hannah, John, Sarah, Samuel, Phebe, Daniel, and Elizabeth. The mother of these children died Oct. 18, 1771, the father on Aug. 1, 1774. Their son Samuel, born Oct. 1, 1728, married Thankful Blinn, and their children were Samuel, Sarah, William, Prudence, Patience, Eliza- beth, Humphrey, and Solomon.

Samuel Woodhouse (son of Samuel Woodhouse and Thankful Blinn), was born Dec. 23, 1756. He married Abigail Goodrich, born 1759. Their chil- dren were Samuel, George, Sylvester, Henry, Solo- mon, Huldah, Nancy, Mary and Abigail. He served in the war of the Revolution, as a private, for the period of fifteen months. He first entered the service in Wethersfield. Conn., in January, 1776, and was discharged finally in the year 1780. The following are mentioned as officers under whom he rendered service; Capt. Chester Wells, Col. Sears, Col. John Chester, Col. Thomas Belden, Capt. Charles Churchill, Capt. Benoni Smith, Col. John Belden, and Capt. John Welles. He died Sept. 6, 1834, and his wife died Oct. 27, 1851.

Solomon Woodhouse (son of Samuel Wood- house and Abigail Goodrich) was born in Weth- ersfield, Conn., on Aug. 30, 1798, and died there May 19, 1853. He married Lura Adams, of Weth- ersfield (daughter of Joseph Adams and Mary Hatch Dix), January 30, 1821. She was born Aug. 10, 1800, and died Feb. 25, 1888. Their children were Mary Hatch, Abbie Goodrich, Lura Ann, George B .- who left home in November, 1847, for California, at the time of the "gold fever," and probably died there; but two letters were received from him after his arrival in California-William Henry, Elizabeth Butler, Elvira Maria, Henry W .. Edward Gardner and Herbert Hayden.

HON. LINUS B. PLIMPTON, president of the Plimpton Manufacturing Co., State senator, and former police commissioner, Hartford, has de- scended from ancestry conspicuous in the history of Massachusetts.

Capt. John Plimpton, the first of the family in

this country of whom a record is found, was at Dedham, Mass., in 1642, later removed to Medfield, and still later to Deerfield, where he was chief of military affairs in King Philip's war. During that war he was captured by the Indians and killed, one version of his death being that he was burned at the stake. He enlisted in the Ancient and Honor- able Artillery Company of Massachusetts, in 1644.

Oliver Plimpton was a native and resident of Southbridge, Mass., and in that town became a man of considerable prominence. For many years he served as a justice of the peace, and was collector of the town. He served as quartermaster of a regi- ment in 1787. Several of his old warrants, bearing the signatures of different governors, are still in the possession of the family, his grandson, Linus B. Plimpton, having one, which is signed by John Han- cock, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He married Lydia Fisk, a native of Southbridge, who lived to be ninety years of age. He died aged seventy-four years. They reared eight children, of whom Chauncy Plimpton, father of Linus B., was a native of Southbridge, Mass. He died at the age of forty. He married Celesta Bacon, a native of Charlton, Mass., a daughter of Daniel Bacon, a farmer and schoolmaster, and a man prominent in church affairs, for years leading the choir of his own church.

Linus B. Plimpton was born June 28, 1830, in the town of Southbridge, Mass., and there attended the common schools of his neighborhood. Later he received a thorough mercantile training, partly in his native town, at Springfield, Mass., and at Rockville, Conn. In 1865 he came to Hartford, formed a partnership, and established the business of manufacturing envelopes, this firm, L. B. Plimp- ton & Co., however, lasting but a short time. In 1873 the Plimpton Manufacturing Co. was organ- ized with L. B. Plimpton as president and general manager. The following year the new company entered the lists as bidders for making stamped envelopes for the government, and were successful in securing the prize. Many obstacles were thrown in their way by parties long interested in the suc- cessive quadrennial contracts, but all were over- come, and improvements so numerous and radical have since been made, in appliances for doing the work, that inventions protected by patents have since enabled the company to underbid all competi- tors. The Morgan Envelope Co., of Springfield, Mass., joined the Plimpton Co., in the first contract with the government, and the association has con- tinued till the present time. This branch of the work has always been conducted in a separate build- ing, and, so far as accounts and details are con- cerned, kept entirely by itself.

In 1886, to meet the growing demands of the general trade, the company built on Pearl street, a factory for their own exclusive use. It is con- structed of brick, with stone trimming, and has four floors above the basement, each containing

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

17,000 square feet. It is lighted by electricity, furnished with automatic fire extinguishers, and thoroughly provided with modern appliances for the convenient and economical dispatch of business. The first floor above the street is used for offices, for the jobbing trade, and for the storage of stock; the second contains a complete equipment for job print- ing on a large scale ; the third and fourth are prin .. cipally devoted to the manufacture of envelopes, the annual product ranging above 550,000,000, and in part to the manufacture of envelope machinery, all that used by the firm being produced on the premises. On the upper floor also are made paper boxes in great quantities. The basement is largely given up to the storage of stock. A statement of naked facts can convey no adequate conception of the perfection of the labor-saving contrivances in use, or of the ingenuity and toil expended in their evolu- tion from the crude germs of thirty-four years ago. The blanks placed in bulk upon the table of the machine are picked up one by one by fingers that never tire, gummed, folded, impressed with the printed request to return to the writer (and at the government works with postage stamp also) counted in packages of twenty-five each, and delivered at the outlet ready for boxing. With intelligence seemingly human, and with more than human exact- ness and endurance, the marvelous combinations of wood and iron fulfill their daily round, never mak- ing a miscount, and rarely, even for an instant, failing to turn out perfect work. Most of the im- provements, which render the present machine so precise and effective, have been wrought out under the suggestions and directions of the officers of the company, and are protected by patents. It has been the constant aim to do nothing by hand that could be done equally well or better by machinery, and to tolerate no imperfection of method remedi- able by inventive skill.

When designed, in 1886, the factory on Pearl street, it was supposed by the managers, would furn- ish ample accommodations for the general trade for a long time to come, but so rapidly did the business extend that in several years every floor was crowded and the margin for elbow room became uncomfort- ably narrow. The cost of plain paper stock an- nually consumed in both departments exceeds half a million of dollars. At the New York office of the company, No. 312 Broadway, may be found a complete exhibit of all lines of goods produced by them. Either there or by correspondence with the main office at Hartford the public can obtain infor - mation with regard to prices and specialties. Since the transfer of the manufacture of United States stamped envelopes to Hartford, in 1874, the annual product has risen from 150,000,000 to 650,000,000. The work, under the immediate supervision of Maro S. Chapman, is carried on in a building by it self, entirely separate from the rest of the business, while the Post Office Department has an agent of its own under the same roof to look after its inter-

ests, and to superintend the shipment of the goods to postoffices throughout the country on orders from Washington.

Owing to the invaluable inventions made and patented by the former contractors, though the pro- duction, meantime, of the best grade of letter size envelopes has nearly trebled, the price, exclusive of the value of the postage, fell from $3.20 per thousand in 1874, to $1.20 in 1900. The difference of $2 per thousand on the then selling price, saved by the ingenuity of Hartford brains and the efficiency of Hartford management, inures wholly to the benefit of the American people. The officers of the com- pany are L. B. Plimpton, president ; M. S. Chapman, vice-president ; Frederick Plimpton, treasurer ; and James M. Plimpton, secretary.

Our subject has affiliated with the Republican party, and in the public affairs of the city and county has been quite active and influential. He served one term in the common council, and during the administration of Mayor Bulkeley was appointed police commissioner, filling such office with ability and dignity for six years. In 1896 he was elected to the State Senate, and two years later was re-elected" to that body, and his services have been valuable alike to the District and the State. Ile served as chairman of the committee on Insurance both terms. In the spring of 1900 Senator Plimpton was chosen a delegate at large, to represent Hartford and Tol- land counties in the National Republican Convention held in Philadelphia in June of that year, and was chosen by the Connecticut delegation as their chair .. man. His nominations as senator and delegate were unanimous. He has served in the past as an alternate delegate with Gov. Bulkeley to two differ- ent conventions.

In May, 1861, Senator Plimpton was married to Clara Hubbard, a native of Coventry, and a daugliter of Selah H. Hubbard, a farmer of that town, who lived to the advanced age of eighty-five years. To this marriage were born : Julia, who mar- ried Arthur H. Bradley, now of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford; Mary L .; and Grace L. The mother of these children died in 1885, at the age of fifty years.

JOSEPHI PARSONS TUTTLE, member of the widely known law firm in Hartford of Bill & Tuttle, is a native of Connecticut, born June 12, 1865, in Unionville, town of Farmington, Hartford county, and is a son of Nelson J. and Antoinette Clara (Parsons) Tuttle.

The Tuttle family, of which our subject is a member, is one of the oldest in New England, the line of his descent being through, Nelson, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, Noah, Joseph and Joseph, to Will- iam the emigrant.

(I) William Tuttle, with his wife Elizabeth and family, canie to the New World from England in the ship " Planter," in 1635, settling in New Haven, Conn. At the time of sailing he gave his age as

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twenty-six. He was a man of courage, enterprise, intelligence, probity and piety, and the equal, social- ly, of any of the colonists. The names of his chil- dren are as follows : John, Hannah, Thomas, Jona- than, David, Joseph, Sarah, Elizabeth, Simon, Ben- jamin, Mercy and Nathaniel.

(II) Joseph Tuttle, baptized in New Haven, 1640, married in 1667 Hannah, daughter of Capt. Thomas Munson. He died in 1690, and his widow married Nathan Bradley. Joseph Tuttle's children were: Joseph, Samuel, Stephen, Joanna, Timothy, Susanna, Elizabeth, Hannah (1) and Hannah (2). (III) Joseph Tuttle, born in 1668, married in Milford, Conn., in 1691, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Sanford. Mr. Tuttle was prominent and active in local affairs. His children were: Jo- seph, Noah, Catherine, Elizabeth and Thankful.

(IV) Noah Tuttle, born Oct. 12, 1694, married Dec. 1, 1720, Rachel Hoadley, who died April 7, 1749. His children were: Lydia, Timothy, Desire, Elizabeth, Desire (2), Joseph, Rachel and Abigail.

(V) Joseph Tuttle, born July 18, 1734, married, in 1761, Mary, daughter of Daniel and Abi- gail ( Denison) Granger, of Suffield, Conn. He lived on that part of the paternal estate now known as the Townsend farm, and his house and barn were burned by the British during the Revolution. After the war he built a large double house, commanding a beautiful view of the city, harbor and Sound. In 1799 he removed to Durham, Conn. His chil- dren were: Josiah, Mary, Daniel, Joseph, Asahel, John and Timothy.

(VI) Joseph Tuttle, grandfather of our sub- ject, born July 4, 1769, bought his father's place in East Haven. In the war of 1812 he enlisted in the Sixth Company, Connecticut State Troops, under Capt. John Butler. He died in Durham, Conn., Jan. 16. 1857. On Dec. 25, 1820, he married Mar- garet Coe, and after her death wedded Phebe Smith. Children by first wife : Elijah C., Eliza M., and Margaret; children by second wife: Daniel, Timothy and Joseph Nelson, better known as Nel- son J., as he writes his name.

(VII) Nelson J. Tuttle, father of our subject, born Aug. 5, 1836, married Antoinette Clara Par- sons, of Unionville, Conn., and a brief record of their children is as follows: Joseph Parsons was born June 12, 1865. George Martin, born June 3, 1867, died Jan. 21, 1869. Antoinette Frances, was born Oct. 1, 1883. Mr. Tuttle has been a life-long Democrat, and was prominent in political and town affairs for many years, serving as judge of pro- bate for six years. In 1886 he removed to Hartford, where he was engaged in the carriage business for several years, until 1898, when he retired from ac- tive life.

Joseph P. Tuttle, the subject proper of this re- view, received his education at the common and high schools of his native town, after which he en- tered Yale College, graduating from that institution in 1889. While in college he studied law, and

upon his graduation, in 1889, passed the examination for the Senior class of the Yale Law School, re- mained there a short time, and then entered the law office of Judge William F. Henney, at Hartford. On Jan. 6, 1891, he was admitted to the Bar at Hart- ford; was a member of the city council from April, 1891, to April, 1894, being president of the lower board from 1893 to 1894; for two years, from 1893, he was clerk of the city police court at Hartford and Dec. 1, 1893, the present firm of Bill & Tuttle was formed.

On March 21, 1894, Mr. Tuttle was united in marriage with Edith A., daughter of Walter S. and Adelaide (Phelps) Mather, and two children have graced this union : Reubena and Marion. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle in religious faith are members of the Congregational Church; in politics he is a Demo- crat ; and socially he is affiliated with the following societies : Hartford Lodge, No. 88, A. F. & A. M .; Washington Commandery, Knights Templar ; Con- necticut Consistory, 32d degree; and the Knights of Pythias.

HARVY GODARD, who was born in Granby, Hartford Co., Conn., March 15, 1823, was the eldest son of Oren and Minerva (Holcomb) God- ard. In company with his brothers and sisters he attended the district school located over a mile from the Godard homestead. Here he received what book-learning it was his lot to receive, and then en- tered the employ of "Miles & Oren Godard"-his grandfather and father-in the lumber business and upon the farm.

Although his father was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and devoted most of his time to the same, he was also a large land owner, and in company with his father-Uncle Miles-carried on what at that time was an extensive lumber business. It was from the Godard sawmill that shingles were supplied for miles around. It is said that at one time every building in the village of Tariffville was shingled with shingles sawed at this mill, and that Windsor was also well supplied.

While the sawmill formed the principal business, the gristmill and cider-mill were by no means idle. Beng a "custom mill," the farmers came from miles around, bringing their grain to be ground, and their opinions to be strengthened or abandoned, for here was the scene of many warm debates. Until recent years the "Craig mills" were the center of great activity.

Mr. Godard, as a son and grandson, inherited large tracts of land and added others until he be- came, probably, the largest holder of farms and woodland in his section. He not only raised the usual crops of that locality, but occupying the home- stead he continued to run the sawmill, gristmill and cider-mill. He was widely known as a distiller of pure cider brandy, which he manufactured by the same process and in the same place as his fathers before him. His circle of friends and acquaintances

Harry Godard

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was further enlarged in 1875, when at the organi- zation of the State Grange in Danbury that year he was elected the first master of that body. which office he held until 1879, when he declined re-election.

As master of the Connecticut State Grange Mr. and Mrs. Godard represented Connecticut in the National Grange, which convened at Louisville, Ky., in 1875 (at which time she was elected Worthy Pomona of that body), at Chicago in 1876, Cin- Ginnati in 1877, Richmond in 1878, and Boston in 1879. Having also been elected the first master of Granby Grange, No. 5, he was continuously re- elected until January, 1893, when he felt he must positively decline to serve longer in that capacity. He remained, however, an ardent believer in and supporter of the principles and meetings of the Grange, from its introduction into Connecticut until his death twenty-one years later.

Mr. Godard was a man of sterling integrity, holding the principle that a man's word should be as good as his bond. Although a member of no church, he was liberal in his views and saw good in all. He was a man extremely temperate in his habits, never using tobacco in any form, and con- fining his drink to cold water.

Being a man of generous and social nature, his large farmhouse became headquarters for his nu- merous friends and acquaintances, who came to hunt and fish upon the large tracts of land which he owned. While always a busy man, he was never too busy to welcome an acquaintance in health, to visit him in time of sickness, or to assist in laying him to rest. He was a Royal Arch Mason, and a strong believer in the principles of the fraternity. In politics he was a lifelong Democrat of the Jeffer- sonian order, and for forty years or more was a familiar figure in the political conventions of his party. In 1873 he represented his town in the Gen- eral Assembly.

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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 46

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