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 8

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 8

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Mr. Enders was married Dec. 20, 1858, to Miss Harriet Adelaide Burnham, who was born March 12, 1835, and is still living, and who is a lineal descendant of Thomas Burnham. To Mr. and Mrs. Enders were born four children, of whom Harry and Harriet Burnham are deceased. The others are :

(1) THOMAS B. ENDERS, M. D., born May 14, 1865, in Hartford, was graduated from the IIart- ford Public High School, and from Yale in the class of '88. He studied medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, from which institution he was graduated in 1891. Fol- lowing this event he spent two years in the Surgical Division of Bellevue Hospital. He then was en- gaged for one year in private practice in New York, after which (in 1894) he returned to Hartford. Dr. Enders is a member of the Society of the Alumni of Bellevue, and a fellow of the New York State Society ; also a member of the Hartford City and County Medical Societies. Dr. Enders married Elizabeth T. Daly, of New York City.

(2) JOHN OSTROM ENDERS, born Dec. 3. 1869. ir. Hartford. was educated in the West Hartford schools and Phillips Exeter Academy. He has been connected with the United States Bank at Hartford since 1888, of which he is now one of the directors. He is also a director of the Ætna Life Insurance Co. In 1899 Mr. Enders served as a representative from West Hartford in the General Assembly. In 1895 he married Harriet Whitmore, and they have two children, John Franklin and Harriet Burnham.

LEONARD DANIELS, who was a prominent figure in the city of Hartford for nearly seventy years, was born March 1, 1803, in Medway, Mass .. and died in Hartford Jan. 18, 1892. In build he was short, strong and solid, and he descended from old American stock that originated in England. No incidents marked his boyhood save those of his school days, the raising of crops every summer on his father's farm, and for a few seasons the sale of produce in the winter time in Boston, during all of which time he learned what the grammar

schools had to teach him, became a strong, vigorous young man, and gained some acquaintance with the principles of mercantile pursuits. At the age of twenty-three he removed to Hartford, Conn., arriv- ing Nov. 16, 1826, and there found employment for a time in the sawmill of Ward & Bartholomew, on Sheldon street. When a little later he entered the service of Humphrey & Nichols, in their grist- mill on the north side of Little river, on Wells street, he found the calling which pleased him, and thereafter he devoted his life to it.

About 1830 Mr. Daniels bought a small flour- mill, formerly owned by Burt & Stanley. Mr. Stanley having given his property to the South Church, Mr. Daniels brought a lawsuit to compel the trustees to sell the property, and, winning the case, bought the mill, and went into business on his own account. This was the only lawsuit in which he was ever engaged. In 1853 he built a new mill on the south side of Little river, just above the stone bridge, and began business there in 1855. One secret of his great success was his promptitude in all business transactions. Another was his clear and sound mind, careful reflection, and close and careful personal attention to every detail. As years rolled on, a growing business com- pelled him repeatedly to enlarge the brick building, known as Daniels' Mill, and the surplus means which its operation brought him gradually grew into a large fortune. After his death the business was left to his nephew, Leonard C. Daniels, and grand- son, Leonard D. Fisk.

Mr. Daniels was a man of very strong individu- ality. His face expressed energy and determina- tion. The vigorous health which originated in a wholesome boyhood never left him, and was pre- served not only by active labor in his business, but by pedestrianism, of which he was fond. He had never been ill except when attacked with measles, at the age of thirty-seven, and, like most men so favored, abhorred the notion of taking medicine. His eyesight became impaire 1, however, in his later years, and he was blind for the last eight years of his life. Three operations were performed, but they did not restore his sight. A remarkable trait was his conciseness of speech. He was not a misanthrope, and certainly not an ignorant man, nor was he averse to pleasant conversation with intimate friends, but he had the reticence char- acteristic of Gen. Grant, and, with the energy and a little of the impatience of a born business man, loved to dispose of an argument, a proposition or a question, in a terse expression, limited sometimes to two or three words. His honesty was proverbial. Even during the period when Connecticut was over- whelmingly Republican, Mr. Daniels adhered in- flexibly to his own principles, and was known as an uncompromising Democrat of the old Jeffersonian stamp, and not by any means a passive upholder of his party either, because he voted at every election.

Mr. Daniels was thrice married, and one daugh- ter, the wife of Augustus L. Ellis, survived him.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The business founded by the late Mr. Daniels has been continued under the name of the Daniels Mill Co. by the grandson, Leonard D. Fisk, and the nephew, Leonard C. Daniels, previously mentioned. The business, in the nature of things, has changed considerably in that time, but has continued to keep pace with the growth of Hartford, and in addition to this a large wholesale trade has been established, extending over New England.

GUY ROWLAND PHELPS (deceased), for many years, a physician and druggist of Simsbury and Hartford, was a man of varied attainments, and prominently identified with insurance interests. Prior to the reign of Edward VI the Phelps family patronymic was spelled Phellyppes. The Doctor be- longed to the Guelph family, tracing his ancestry to George I, of England. He was a descendant in the seventh generation of William Phelps, who was born at Tewkesbury, England, in 1599, emi- grated to America about 1630. first making his home at Dorchester, Mass., and became one of the first settlers of Windsor, Conn., in 1635. From him the chain of descent is as follows: Joseph, born in England, died at Simsbury in 1684; Joseph (2), born Aug. 27, 1667; David, a lieutenant in the militia, born May 7, 1710: Major-Gen. Noah Phelps, born Jan. 22, 1740; and Col. Noah A., the father of Guy Rowland, born May 3. 1762.

William Phelps was a member of the first General Court held in Connecticut in 1636, and a magistrate from 1638 to 1642, a deputy from 1645 to 1649, and again in 1651 and 1657. Joseph Phelps (1) was one of the early settlers of Sims- bury in 1653, and the progenitor of a large fam- ily. He himself was a man of great personal courage, of strong military instincts, and dis- tinguished himself in the numerous conflicts be- tween the settlers and the Indians, who were at that time numerous, and whose depredations were a constant source of terror to the whites. His de- scendants include many men prominent in the his- tory of Simsbury and the State, both during and since Colonial days. Not a few were active par- ticipants in the French and Indian war and in the struggle for American independence. Gen. Noah Phelps, grandfather of Guy Rowland, was one of that devoted band of patriot volunteers which, self- constituted as it was, followed Ethan Allen, of (leathless fame, in his assault on Fort Ticonderoga, and it was Gen. (then Capt.) Phelps who obtained entry to the fort in disguise, and ascertained the condition and strength of the fortifications and gar- rison. He reported the conditions to Ethan Allen, and the same night the fort was captured.

Dr. Guy R. Phelps was born at Simsbury April T. 1802. His mother's maiden name was Charlotte Wilcox. His early schooling was received at Sims- bury and Suffield, and he graduated from Yale in 1825. He was a close student. an apt and facile learner, and qualified himself for the profession of teacher while yet a mere youth, and in fact suc-

cessfully managed an exceedingly disorderly school, where other-and more experienced-pedagogues had failed. For several winters he taught with marked success, devoting his summers to the study of medicine, for which profession he felt a strong vocation early in youth. His first medical preceptor was Dr. Coggswell, a noted and successful practi- tioner of those days, who in accordance with the custom of his times gave instruction to three or four embryo physicians. Going to New York, young Phelps pursued his studies under the tutelage of those emment physicians and surgeons, Dr. Alex- ander and Dr. Valentine Mott.

After being licensed . to practice Dr. Phelps' opened an office in New York City, where he met with most gratifying success for three years. How- ever, his health became impaired, and he felt that change of scene and fresh country air were neces- sary to restore his physical condition to its wonted strength. He therefore returned to Simsbury, where he entered upon the tiresome but active round of duties incident to a country practice. After four years of this life he felt well enough to resume city practice, and accordingly returned to New York. Once more he found the metropolis a field of suc- cess, and it was with poignant regret that he realized that an extensive city practice (during the epidemic he was at one time treating forty cases of small- pox ) might prove the means of shortening his life. Again he returned to Simsbury, but the long rides and uncertain hours of the country practitioner were not to his liking, and in April, 1837, he opened a drug store on North Main street, Hartford. As a druggist Dr. Phelps ranked among the first, while his financial success exceeded his expectations, and he was recognized as the leading pharmacist of his day and section. It was he who devised the formula for the "Phelps Tomata Pill." a preparation which had a wonderful sale in its day, and which, to- gether with the profits arising from his drug busi- ness, laid the foundation of his fortune. He always retained his membership in the County and State Medical Societies, with both of which he had for many years been actively and prominently identified.

Perhaps, however, Dr. Phelps' most enduring claim to fame rests upon his connection with the insurance business, to which the latter years of his life were devoted almost exclusively. His at- tention was first directed to the subject of life in- surance in 1846, when he took out a policy upon his own life. In the United States the field was a terra incognita, and the scheme was regarded with disfavor, if not with positive distrust. Dr. Phelps was quick to perceive the possibilities of the situa- tion, and his keen, well-trained mind was of a cast especially well qualified to grapple with the intricate and perplexing problems which presented them- selves. Evidently the first task to be accomplished was the education of the American people as to the theory of life insurance and the fundamental prin- ciples upon which it is based. At that time the business was conducted generally in an expensive

Respectfully Merry Sony R. Philps

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

manner, while the spirit of speculation was rife among managements which knew comparatively nothing of the practical value of risks. His ideas were so far in advance of his time that, while some pitied what they termed his "folly," others doubted whether his mental balance was in correct equipoise. Yet what were then called his "fanciful" and "ab- surd" theories are to day recognized (with neces- sary modifications) as among the underlying prin- ciples of every sound and well managed company.

The great work of the Doctor's life was the or- ganizing, establishing and nurturing of the Connec- ticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., and it was he who conceived the plan under which the great success of this company was achieved. In 1846 the company was organized, the Doctor becoming the first sec- retary, and while that great corporation was strug- gling in the swaddling bands of infancy he even swept out his own office to save expense. He liad carefully studied the matter in all its phases, and not long afterward made a special trip to Europe to investigate the working's of the Old World com- panies, on his return to America incorporating with his own plans all the features of value he had found. He wrote the charter of the company, which was adopted practically word for word as composed by him, and fought for two sessions in the Legislature to have it granted. As the company was a "mutual" one it was necessary to obtain a guaranty fund of $50,000-to guarantee the payment of policies dur- ing the infancy of the company-a task of far greater magnitude, but at length ten of his friends in Hartford, Simsbury and New York came to his relief by signing notes aggregating that amount, Thomas K. Brace, three of Dr. Phelps' brothers, two of his cousins and an uncle being of the number. Dr. Phelps was ever a tireless worker for the suc- cess of the concern, and the "Insurance Monitor" of September, 1868, said: "It is not too much to say, for it is a well-known and conceded fact that the Connecticut Mutual owes its eminent success and prosperity, in a very large measure to the skill and labor of Dr. Phelps, its principal manager from its organization to the present time." He regulated and managed its affairs in a most able manner, serv- ing as secretary for a time, and later, for a number of years, as president. Though not the originator of the "mutual" system used in insurance he did more than any other man to "elucidate and pop- ularize" it. Just before his death he told his daugh- ter that the company was on such stable footing that without any management it would continue to run for twenty-five years. After his demise the Life Underwriters of Hartford passed resolutions of sympathy and regret, etc., and among other things said: "In the death of Dr. Guy R. Phelps the Life Underwriters of the United States have met with an irreparable loss." The "Insurance Times" of March, 1869, said of him: "A great and good man has left us forever. A practical laborious and eminent philanthropist, who not only 3

loved his fellow men, but spent the energies of his life, the gifts of his intellect and the goodness of his heart in their behalf, is gone to his haven of eternal peace and reward. His comfort giving and abundant works remain, and the spirit with which he espoused and promoted a sacred cause, and built up a great benevolent institution, having inspired many others with its kindling sympathy, will be perpetuated and multiply on the earth for ages to come."

On April 17, 1833, at Simsbury, Dr. P'helps was imarried to Miss Hannah Latimer, who was born in that town June 23, 1801, daughter of Waite and Hannah ( Pettibone.) Latinier. Their marriage was blessed with four children : Antoinette Randolph Maria Augusta, Guy Carelton and Guyana Row- land, the first named being the only one that at- tained maturity. Miss Antoinette R. Phelps is a resident of Hartford, her home being at No. 72 Washington street, in that city. She enjoys the dual distinction of being a member of two of the most honored orders in America, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames.

Dr. Phelps was both a Freemason and an Odd Fellow, and was held in high regard by all who knew him, receiving the highest esteem from those who knew him best. As a physician he was care- ful, reflective and conscientious, as a citizen pa- triotic, as a husband and father gentle, loving and true, as a man honest and fearless. He died March 18, 1869, after a short attack of typhoid pneumonia. Until within a few days of his passing away his activity was unimpaired, but a cold contracted through sitting near an open window at a directors' meeting proved the indirect cause of his demise. His wife survived until May 28, 1873, when she, too, fell asleep. Both rest in the cemetery at Sims- bury, where also sleep five generations of both families.

The Doctor was a reflective reader and a pro- found student, particularly fond of the study of history and the languages, in both of which he was proficient. He was a man fully abreast of the times, thoroughly posted on the current events of the day, and well-informed on general subjects. Until 1856 he was a Democrat, but after that date voted with the Republican party, though it was his wont to say that he had "never left his party, its name simply changed." His fellow citizens showed their appreciation of his worth by early choosing him a member of the city council, and later elect- ing him an alderman, as well as by sending him to represent them in the Legislature. For years he attended Dr. Horace Bushnell's Church, and was a liberal contributor to its support and to the prosecu- tion of its work ; he became a member during his later years. Dr. Phelps was too old to enlist for service in the Rebellion, but was much interested in the cause of liberty, and he volunteered to double the pay of a man who would go to the front as he had no son to send. His grandfather served in

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Revolution, his father in the war of 1812, and he desired to have representation ; accordingly he sent Charles Tennant, who soon became second lieu- tenant, was wounded at Antietam, recovered, was promoted to captain, and was afterward killed. Dr. Phelps ever after took a deep interest in his family.

MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH ROSWELL HAWLEY, LL. D., lawyer, editor, citizen-soldier and statesman, of Hartford, belongs to that galaxy of great men of New England, the mere mention of whose names has thrilled the country.

Senator Hawley, though a native of the South, born Oct. 31, 1826, at Stewartsville, N. C., is a product of New England, and in paternal lines is from early Connecticut ancestry. He is of English- Scotch lineage, and on his father's side is a de- scendant in the eighth generation from Joseph Haw- ley, who came from Parwick, Derbyshire, England, landing near Boston, Mass., in 1629, and became a planter or settler at Stratford, Conn., in about 1640. From this Stratford settler Senator Haw- ley's line is through Samuel, Capt. Joseph, Eben- ezer, Ebenezer (2), Asa and Rev. Francis. The last named, the Senator's father, was a native of Farmington, Conn., where his ancestors, Capt. Jo- seph Hawley, had settled about 1700, and early in life went South and engaged in business, but after- ward entered the ministry of the Baptist Church. He married Mary McLeod, a native of North Caro- lina, of Scotch parentage, and the family, in 1837, removed to Connecticut, where the father was an anti-slavery man.

Joseph R. Hawley prepared for college at the Hartford Grammar School and the seminary at Cazenovia, N. Y., whither the family removed about 1842. He was graduated at Hamilton Col- lege in 1847, with a high reputation as a speaker and debater. He taught school in the winters, studied law at Cazenovia and Hartford, and be- gan practice in 1850. He immediately became chairman of the Free-Soil State Committee, wrote for the Free-Soil press, and spoke in every can- vass. He stoutly opposed the Know-Nothings, and devoted his energies to the union of all op- ponents of slavery. The first meeting for the or- ganization of the Republican party in Connecticut was held in his office, at his call. Feb. 4. 1856. Among those present were the late Hon. Gideon Welles and Hon. John M. Niles. Mr. Hawley gave three months to speaking in the Fremont canvass, in 1856. In February, 1857, he abandoned law prac- tice, and became editor of the Hartford Evening Press, the new distinctively Republican paper. His partner was William Faxon, afterward assistant secretary of the United States Navy.

On the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Hawley responded to the first call for troops in 1861 by drawing up a form of enlistment, and, assisted by Albert W. Drake, afterward colonel of the 10th Conn. Vol. Inf., raising Rifle Company A, Ist Con11.

. Vol. Inf., which was organized and accepted in twenty-four hours, Mr. Hawley having personally engaged rifles at Sharp's factory. He was mus- tered in April 22, as captain, and is said to have been the first volunteer in the State. Capt. Hawley received special praise for good conduct at the bat- tle of Bull Run, from Gen. Erastus D. Keyes, brigade commander. Under his muster out of the · three-months' service, Capt. Hawley directly unit- ed with Col. Alfred H. Terry in raising the 7th Conn. Vol. Inf., a three-years' regiment, of which he was mustered in as lieutenant-colonel Sept. 17, 1861. The regiment went South in the Port Royal expedition, and on the capture of the forts was the first sent ashore as a garrison. The Seventh was engaged for four months in the siege of Fort Pulaski, and upon the surrender was selected as the garrison. On Jan. 20, 1862, Lieut .- Col. Haw- ley succeeded Col. Terry, and commanded the regi- ment in the battles of James Island and Pocotaligo, also in Brannan's expedition to Florida. He went with his regiment to Florida, in January, 1863, and commanded the post of Fernandina, whence in April he undertook an unsuccessful expedition against Charleston. Col. Hawley also commanded a brigade on Morris's Island in the siege of Charleston and the capture of Fort Wagner. In February. 1864, he had a brigade under Gen. Truman Seymour in the battle of Olustee, Fla., where the whole national force lost 38 per cent. His regiment was one of the few that was armed with the Spencer breech-load- ing rifle. This weapon, which he procured in the autumn of 1863, proved very effective in the hands of his men. He went to Virginia in April, 1864, having a brigade in Terry's Division, Ioth Corps, Army of the James, and was in the battles of Drury's Bluff, Deep Run and Derbytown Road, and in various affairs near Bermuda Hundred and Deep Bottom. Col. Hawley commanded a division in the fight on New Market Road, and engaged in the siege of Petersburg. In September, 1864. Col. Hawley was made a brigadier-general United States Volunteers, having been repeatedly recom- mended by his immediate superiors. In November, 1864, Gen. Hawley commanded a picked brigade sent to New York City to keep the peace during the week of the Presidential election. He succeed- ed to Gen. Terry's division when Terry was sent to Fort Fisher in January, 1865, afterward re- joining him as chief of staff, Ioth Corps, and, on the capture of Wilmington, was detached by Gen. Schofield to establish a base of supplies there for Sherman's army, and command southeastern North Carolina. In June, he rejoined Gen. Terry as chief of staff for the department of Virginia. In Oc- tober, he went home, was breveted major-general Sept. 28, 1865, and was mustered out of the service Jan. 15, 1866.

The following April ( 1866) Gen. Hawley was elected Governor of Connecticut, but he was de- feated in 1867, and then, having united the Press

JOSEPH R. HAWLEY

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

more vigorously than ever entered the political contests following the war. Gen. Hawley was al- ways in demand as a speaker throughout the coun- try. He was president of the National Republi- can Convention in 1868, secretary of the committee on Resolutions in 1872, and chairman of that com- mittee in 1876. He earnestly opposed paper money theories. In November, 1872, lie was elected to fill a vacancy in Congress caused by the death of Julius L. Strong. Gen. Hawley was re-elected to the XLIIId Congress, defeated for the XLIVth and XLVth, and re-elected to the XLVIth (1879-81). He was elected United States Senator in January, 1881, by the unanimous vote of his party, and re- elected in like manner in January, 1887, for the term ending March 4, 1893. Ile was re-elected in Jan- uary, 1893, and again in January, 1899.

In the House, Gen. Hawley served on the com- mittees on Claims, Banking and Currency, Military Affairs and Appropriations ; and in the Senate on the committees on Coast Defenses, Railroads, Printing, and Military Affairs. He was also chairman of a select committee on Warships, and submitted a long and valuable report, the result of careful investiga- tion into steel production and heavy gunmaking in England and the United States. He was chair- man of the committee on Civil Service, and vigor- ously promoted the enactment of civil service reform legislation.

In the National Republican Convention of 1884 the Connecticut delegation unanimously voted for Senator Hawley for President in every ballot.

Senator Hawley was president of the United States Centennial Commission from its organiza- tion in 1872 until the close of its labors in 1877, gave two years exclusively to the work, was ex- officio member of its committees, and appointed all save the executive.

Senator Hawley received, in 1875, the degree of LL. D. from Hamilton, and from Yale in 1886. Of the former institution he is a trustee. Religious- ly he is a Congregationalist: Gen. Hawley is an ardent Republican, one of the most acceptable ex- temporaneous orators in the Republic, a believer in universal suffrage, the American people and the "American way," would adjust the tariff so as to benefit native industries, urges the reconstruction of our naval and coast defenses, demands a free ballot and a fair count everywhere, opposes the tendency to federal centralization, and is a strict constructionist of the constitution in favor of the rights and dignity of the individual States. Sen- ator Hawley is known the country over as a type of the higliest, noblest class of American states- men.

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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 8

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