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 91

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 91

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

Beginning with the manufacture of machine tools, gun tools, and tools for the makers of sewing machines, the firm has gradually extended its lines, till a partial catalogue of its products fills hundreds of pages. The invention of the typewriter and the bicycle materially enlarged the demand for tools. Since the advent of these industries the company has largely supplied manufacturers throughout the country with appliances for doing work. Here, in applied mechanics, the resources of science and art have been long and conscientiously devoted to the task of embodying the ideal in the real. In 1866 Roswell F. Blodgett and Seth W. Bishop were ad- mitted to an equal interest with the other members in the partnership. Owing to the constant in- crease in the business it became necessary to organ- ize a joint-stock company. The net assets of $3,600, in 1862, had grown during four years to $75,000, and the next three years they made and out into the business a clean profit of $100,000. In July, 1869, the Pratt & Whitney Co. was formed, with a capital of $350,000.

From that day to this but $150,000 in cash has been put into the

business-the rest of the increase of capital has been earned. A stock dividend was declared a few years later, and the capital was increased to $500,- 000 (to $400,000 in 1873 and to $500,000 in 1875), where it remained until 1893, when the company was reorganized with a capital of $3,000,000, two-thirds in preferred stock and one-third in common stock, figures which were based upon the company's as- sets and earning power. The company has em- ployed as many as 1,180 hands, and manufactures a larger variety of machines than any concern in the world. When the company was reorganized in 1893 the limit of production for a year was $1,118,- 000. With the same business activity now the es- tablishment could produce in the same period goods to the value of $2,000,000.

In 1882 what is known as the west building was erected. In 1887 the company completed, on the east side of Fowler street, an addition of four stor- ies, containing 44,000 square feet of floorage. In 1891 they erected, on the south side of the Park river, a building 295 feet x 45 feet, two stories above the basement, for the exclusive use of the small tool department. In 1895 they built a forge shop 165 feet x 50 feet, and lengthened the original shop about 18 feet, for the enlargement of the offices and stores above. There are now over 233,000 square feet of floorage.

Back as far as 1870 Mr. Pratt visited Berlin, . and after an absence of six weeks returned to Hart- ford with orders from the German Government for gun machinery to the value of $350,000. Within the next three years he made three trips to Berlin, taking orders and delivering to the government goods worth over one and a quarter million dol- lars. Since 1888 the company has made over four hundred Hotchkiss guns, mostly to form the second- ary batteries of our new war vessels.

Through all these years, and up to the spring of 1898, Mr. Whitney, our subject, was superinten- dent of the works, and was vice-president after 1893. In March, 1898, he became president. For over forty years Messrs. Pratt & Whitney, brought together casually at first, have toiled in harmonious intimacy to the profit of each other and to the wider benefit of those who have trusted them-a rare instance of such business and social relations. Mr. Whitney has always been an indefatigable worker, and has probably put in more than ten hours' work for every day since he was fourteen years old. From the organization of the firm until 1883 he never had more than one or two days' vaca- tion in a year. He has ever kept in close touch with his men, and there is to-day the same bond of sym- pathy and loyalty between them that existed forty years ago. Every man in the shop feels this. One of them remarked :

"Mr. Whitney is a kind-hearted man, of gener- ous impulses. He is very popular with all of the men here, and all feel a very strong allegiance to him. Whatever he promises he will do. He is

398

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

perfectly straight-forward in his dealings with his men, and there is no need of a contract with him, if his word has been passed."

Mr. Whitney has given his life to business, has no tastes or inclinations for public preferment, and has declined to participate in political affairs. He is a stanch Republican, and does his duty as a citi- zen in this line, always taking a great deal of in- terest in party questions and matters. He is a man of decidedly domestic tastes, and enjoys his beautiful home on the corner of Whitney street and Farmington avenue. For thirty years past he has traveled for his company nearly one-third of the time, and is in very close touch with the hundreds of customers of the great concern. He is a director in the Pratt & Cady Co. ; is president of and a di- rector in the Gray Pay Station Telephone Co .; also a director in the Co-operative Savings Bank.

On Sept. 8, 1856, Mr. Whitney was married at Hartford to Miss Laura Johnson, who was born Nov. 9, 1837, and the union has been blessed with children as follows: Nellie H., born in 1860, died in 1865; Nettie L .; and Clarence Edgar. The lat- ter studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, later passed through a similar training in the shop and in the office of the company, and re- signed in March, 1896, to organize and manage the Whitney Manufacturing Co., which within a year was employing over one hundred hands.

CHARLES ROLLIN BUNNELL, proprietor of a prosperous wood-turning establishment in Bris- tol. is a native of Connecticut, born in Burlington Feb. 27. 1829. The name was originally spelled Bunel, then Bunnel and, later, Bunnell.

Hezekiah Bunnell, great-great-grandfather of our subject, was born in 1702 in Cheshire, Conn., whence he moved to Burlington, Hartford county. He married Esther Plumb, and they had seven sons. Hezekiah took up an extensive tract of land in Burlington, and when he died, May 25, 1764. hc willed to each of his sons a large farm. The mother passed from earth Dec. 20. 1768.

Nathaniel Bunnell, great-grandfather of our subject, was born in 1733, and was frozen to deatlı Dec. 15, 1759, a severe snowstorm overtaking him while he was out deer hunting. In 1756 he married Thankful Spencer, who was born in 1735, and died Jan. 25. 1817. They had three children.

Nathaniel Bunnell, grandfather of our subject, was born May 20, 1758, and died Aug. 22, 1828. He was a farmer by occupation, and in connection was also a basketmaker, which was a profitable in- dustry in those days. He served in the Revolu -. tionary war. Twice married, his second wife was Rhoda (Bates), born Oct. 5, 1761. and died July 29, 1852. Their children: (1) Dinah, born Dec. 12, 1795, died April 23, 1875. married Royal Grover. (2) Laura, born March 24. 1798. died Aug. 27, 1828. (3) Phileta. born Feb. 10, 1800, died Nov. 15, 1815. (4) Allen, born Feb. 7, 1802,

died May 20, 1873. (5) Susannah, born Oct. 27 1804, died in 1834. (6) Thomas, born Nov. 9 1806, died Feb. 11, 1895. Of these,

Allen Bunnell, father of our subject, was born in Burlington, Conn., received his education ther and learned the trade of carriagemaker. When : young man he removed to Bristol, and carried on : carriage shop in Divinity street. He died May 20 1873, in what is known as Edgewood, Bristol. O1 Feb. 8. 1826, he married Rhoda Atwater, who wa. born Nov. 16, 1800, in Bristol, a daughter of Luciu! Atwater. She died July 20, 1879, in Bristol. Thei: children: (1) Caroline, born Jan. 13, 1827, mar ried Franklin Steele, of Bristol, and died Dec. 9 1898. (2) Emily, born Jan. 30, 1828, married John H. Sessions, of Bristol. (3) Charles R., sub- ject of this sketch. (4) Susannah, born Sept. 16 1832, married Edward Porter, of Bristol. (5) Rhoda, born June 23. 1835, died May 3. 1836. (6) Thomas, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. (7) Sterling, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere The father of this family was one of the firs Abolitionists, and was one of the seven men o. Bristol who at one time held the controlling power in the town. He burned a keg of powder all by himself when his three boys were at the front, cele brating the freedom of the slaves. He was a very strong Union man, and equally aggressive on the temperance subject.

When Charles R. Bunnell was a child of twd years his parents removed to Bristol, and here he received his education, leaving the West Street School at the age of thirteen years. He then went to Whigville, and learned the trade of wood turner with Ira T. Neal, who was conducting a wagor and sled factory in that village. After a year there he returned to Bristol, and for one year worked for Cummings & Burdick, turning handles thence returned to Whigville, and took a contract with Thomas and David Lowrey, turning parts for baby carriages, etc., one year; thence went tc Unionville and worked for Winston & Tolles, makers of furniture knobs, remaining about one year. Our subject then once more located at Whig- ville, and again worked for the Lowreys, about six months, at the end of which time he returned to Edgewood (Bristol), and for about two years worked for A. L. & W. Winston. From Edge- wood he went to Ansonia, and here worked one year at his trade, turning clock trimmings for Car- ter & Williams, who had a contract with the Jerome Clock Co. About this time Mr. Bunnell took it into his head to try his fortune in California, but on reaching the Isthmus of Panama was taken sick while waiting to get farther. He sojourned there a few weeks, and then returned to Connecticut, and once more locating in Edgewood went to work for the Winstons, remaining one year. From there he went to E. K. Jones' establishment. in Whigville, continuing about three years. In 1855 he went to Illinois, and applied himself to farming one sum-

399

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mer ; then returned and entered the employ of Gen. John N. Bunnell, at Unionville, turning silk spools. After about a year there he took a contract with a large furniture factory at Unionville to do their turning for about one year; then went to work for the Stanley Rule & Level Co., of New Britain, remaining with that firm some four years, or until 1862.

In that year, on Aug. 6, he enlisted in Company F, 14th Conn. V. I. He participated in the bat- tles of Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellors- ville, in which latter engagement he was wounded in the right hand, necessitating his being confined for three months in Carver Hospital, in Washing- ton, D. C .; on Aug. 17, 1863, he was discharged on account of disability. After returning from the army (which, by the way, he had joined in order to save his father, aged sixty years, from going to the front), he again worked for the Stan- ley Rule & Level Co., in New Britain, as a con- tractor, remaining two years at wood turning.

In 1865 our subject and his brother Thomas, who had just returned from the war, embarked in the wood-turning business in Whigville, and con- tinued in partnership one year, at the end of which t.me Charles bought out his brother's share, car- ried on the business alone for a few months, and then took into partnership J. B. Smith, the firm becoming Bunnell & Smith and so remaining some fourteen years, our subject then selling out to Brother Friend Smith, and the business was then carried on under the firm name of Smith Bros. Removing to Bristol, Mr. Bunnell took his son-in- law, Lester L. Lowrey, into partnership in a wood- turning business on Park street, but Mr. Lowrey returned to Burlington . after one year, and our subject has since continued the business alone. It is now located on Wolcott street, and its specialties are tool handles and small turning.

On June 3, 1849, Mr. Bunnell was united in marriage with Annis Maria Bowen, who was born May 21, 1829, in Sheffield, Mass., a daughter of Chester (a veteran of the war of 1812) and Lucinda (Ford) Bowen, and granddaughter of Joseph Bowen, who received a wound at the battle of Bun- ver Hill, for which he enjoyed a pension. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell were as follows: (I) Emily Jane, born Aug. 21, 1850, was married May 22, 1884, to Jerome Lewis Gillette, a photographer of Atlanta, Ga. Their children : Lillian May, born Sept. 11, 1885; and Clinton ferome, born Nov. 23. 1890. (2) Lillian, born Sept. 9. 1854, was married June 3, 1874, to Lester Lewis Lowrey, a wood turner of Burlington. Their hildren : Charles Romeo, born Aug. 16, 1877, died Feb. 13, 1883; Edwin Waite, born Jan. 14, 1882; Annis Bowen and Emily Bunnell (twins), born March 24, 1889 (Emily B. died Aug. 14, 1889) ; nd Rollin Bunnell, born Dec. 22, 1893. (3) Ida Iav. born Oct. 18, 1856, died Aug. 16, 1862.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell attend the services of

the Prospect M. E. Church, she being a member thereof ; politically he is a Republican. While liv- ing in Whigville his friends in Burlington, un- solicited by him, ran him for representative, and, although the town is strongly Democratic, he came within a few votes of being elected. Socially he is a member of Gilbert W. Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., at Bristol. Mr. Bunnell has always been an active man, public spirited and liberal, and has been prosperous in business affairs.

A notable and delightful event was the double wedding anniversary held on June 3, 1899, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Bunnell, on Divinity street. It was their own golden wedding and also the silver wedding of their daughter (Lillian) and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Lester L. Lowrey, of Whigville, who were married at her parents' silver wedding anniversary. During the afternoon and evening many relatives and friends called to offer congratulations. Both parties re- ceived many useful and valuable presents.

HENRY FREDERICK HART. Mr. Hart is by birth a native of the Duchy of Oldenburg, hav- ing first opened his eyes there on Sept. 18, 1845.

George Hart, his father, was born in Bavaria, but emigrated to this country when young Henry was but five years old, bringing his family with him. The elder Hart was by occupation a cutler, having learned his trade in Germany. He was a well-educated man and an extensive and observing traveler ; in religious belief he was a Lutheran. On coming to the United States, in 1850, he locatedi in New York, in which city he carried on the manu- facture of cutlery for twenty years, his place of business being on Duane street. He was a skillful artisan, and his business prospered, from eight to ten men being usually in his employ. About 1865 he retired, and a year afterward died. His widow, Catherine, survived him until 1897, when she, too, passed away, at Meriden, Conn., having reached the ripe age of eighty-nine years. Three sons were born to them: Gustavus, who resided in Meriden ; Albert, who lived and died in Hartford, and now rests in the old cemetery there ; and Henry Fred- erick.

Henry F. Hart was educated in the public schools of New York City. He was an apt pupil, and at the age of fourteen had completed the curriculum prescribed for graduation, and in 1859 began work in his father's shop. When President Lincoln, in 1861, issued his first call for volunteers, the lad had not seen his sixteenth birthday ; yet, his father's consent having been obtained, he promptly enlisted for two years in the 25th N. Y. V. I. He saw some severe fighting, but returned home with- out a wound. Among the engagements in which he participated were the hotly contested struggle at Hanover C. H., Va., the "seven days' battle" before Richmond, Antietam and South Mountain. After being mustered out, in July, 1863, he en-

400

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tered upon an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, and by the time he had attained his ma- jority he had become a journeyman. He learned his trade in New York, but in 1867 went from that city to Meriden, Conn., where he entered the employ of the Wilcox Silver Plating Co. as a tool maker. From that establishment he went to the works of the Charles Parker Co., where he held a similar posi- tion. With that concern he remained for twelve years, becoming foreman of the tool-making room, and in September, 1879, removed to Hartford. For three or four months he worked in the tool room of the William Rogers Manufacturing Co., when he became a stockholder in the Cromwell Plate Co., and was given charge of the tool room. Perceiving, within a few months, that the company was on the verge of failure, he returned to the William Rogers Co. He was given charge of the machine burnish- ing department, and has held that position from that time to the present, discharging the difficult and re- sponsible duties attaching thereto with an intelli- gence and fidelity which have at once reflected credit upon himself and redounded to the advantages of his employers. At present he has under his personal control more than thirty employes. Mr. Hart's suc- cess in business, while not phenomenal, has been pro- nounced. Beginning life without financial capital or the aid of influential friends, he has won his way upward through laudable ambition and the scrupu- lously faithful performance of every task committed to his hands. On the educational foundation laid in the grammar schools of New York he has built pa- tiently, wisely and well ; yet his capacity for broadly grasping affairs, his knowledge of men and compre- hension of the fundamental principles of business have been gained in the broader school of practical experience and through actual contact with the world.

Politically Mr. Hart is a Republican, and from his early manhood has been an ardent worker for the party's success, although never blindly and bigot- edly partisan. While living in Meriden he was ap- pointed deputy registrar of election, and since mak- ing his home in Hartford he has stood high in Re- publican councils, being well qualified therefor by keen insight and executive capability of a high order. For four years he was a member of the committee for the Third ward, and for a year served as chair- man. From 1896 to 1898 he served as councilman, and in 1899 was elected alderman from the ward, being now senior alderman and chairman of the committee on public buildings. He was made a Free Mason at Meriden, becoming a member of Center Lodge No. 97, F. & A. M., in 1871, and filling the office of junior warden when he left that city. He is also an active and honored member of the G. A. R., in whose welfare he has always taken a deep interest. He is affiliated with Tyler Post, No. 50, of which he is past commander and is at present senior vice de- partment commander, Department of Connecticut, G. A. R.

In 1867 Mr. Hart married Miss Bertha Bold, of New York City, whose birthplace was in Germany. Seven sons have blessed their union : Charles Henry, Henry L., Otis J., Lewis M., Albert B., William and Raymond. The eldest two are tool makers ; Otis J. holds a position in the office of the city col- lector ; Lewis M. is a druggist ; Albert B. is a letter carrier ; and the two younger children are attending school. The family attend the services of the Wind- sor Avenue Congregational Church.

SIDNEY ALBERT KENT was descended from the Kents of Northern Connecticut, who from the days of the earliest settlement of the Connecticut River Valley were in private and civic life among the most substantial and influential citizens. Dur- ing the French and Indian wars they were found fighting under Gen. Phineas Lyman, and for over two hundred years the name appears among the. responsible and trusted officials of the town of Suf- field.

The history of the family in Suffield begins with Sergt. Samuel Kent, who left Brookfield in 1675, Springfield in 1676, and as a permanent settler in Suffield had accorded to him by the town a house lot, containing sixty acres, on Feather street, twelve rods wide, and running back to Muddy brook. In 168I he was made a freeman. In 1679 he also pro- cured a grant, for his son Samuel, of forty acres, and in 1682 a house lot on High street, adjoining his own. Sergt. Kent was chosen a member of the first board of selectmen, and re-elected in 1683-85-87. He went from Gloucester to Springfield, where he died Feb. 2, 1691. He made a will giving his estate to his sons Samuel and John [ See Probate Court Records in Springfield, Book A of Lands]. He had several children.

Samuel Kent (2), born Oct. 26, 1661, married on Oct. 22, 1683, Priscilla Hunter, who died March 7, 1694-95. He died May 31, 1740. They had sev- eral children, of whom,

Samuel Kent (3), born Dec. 6, 1685, died Dec. 24, 1763. He kept the town school for the year ending March, 1710, his salary being 27 pounds sterling. In lieu of cash he received sixty acres of land. thirty-six of which now form the homestead of Harvey Smith, corner of Sheldon street and Taintor Hill road. On Dec. 28, 1710, he married Esther Philips, and had a large family.

Deacon Amos Kent, son of Samuel (3), was born Oct. 16, 1713, and died April 28, 1805. He lived in West Suffield, on the same farm afterward in- herited by Sidney A Kent. On Sept. 15, 1743, he married Sarah Austin, who died Aug. 16, 1804, aged eighty-nine years. Their children were : Amos, Benajah, Sarah and Lucina.

. Benajah Kent, son of Deacon Amos, was born July 21, 1746, and died June 15, 1821. He was, twice married, first to Elizabeth Brigham, who died Feb. 17, 1794, the mother of two children. On Aug. 22, 1799, he married (second) Hannah

401

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Hanchett, who died April 4, 1813. The names and dates of birth of their children are: Albert, June 20, 1800 (died March 10, 1853) ; Edwin, Dec. 6, 1801; Celia and Sidney (twins), Sept. 24, 1803 (Sidney died July 15, 1827) ; Samuel, Nov. II, 1805. Of these,

Albert Kent married Sept. 21, 1825, Lucinda Gillett, of Suffield, who died April 27, 1855; he died March 10, 1853. Their children : Caroline Lu- cinda, born May 25, 1827, married Anson Cooley, of Granby, Conn .; next a son was born Jan. 14, 1829, who died Feb. 17, 1829; Albert Emmett, born Sept. 1, 1830, married July 28, 1857, Adeline E. Dutton; Eliza Ann, born Jan. 25, 1833, married Oct. 6, 1855, James C. Savage; Sidney Albert was born July 16, 1834; and Elmore A., born Oct. 21, 1836, married June 30, 1870, Mary A. Holman.

Sidney A. Kent was born near Suffield, Conn., on the West Suffield road, in the same house in which he died on the morning of April 1, 1900. As above stated, he was a son of Albert and Lu- cinda (Gillett) Kent. He received his education at the Connecticut Literary Institute, completing his studies there in the early 'fifties. The intense and successful business career of Mr. Kent began when, as a boy, he went to Chicago. He took a position as clerk in a general trading store in 1855. His elder brother, Albert E., had gone to that city, and after having been admitted to the Bar gave up the prac- tice of law for commerce. Both Albert and Sidney had inherited business instincts, and had learned much of trading in their home on the Connecticut river. In 1856 they entered into a general con- mission business under the firm name of A. E. Kent & Co., at first dealing chiefly in furs, hides and grain, and exporting all sorts of Western produce to New York. Their attention was called to the profits to be derived from cutting up and packing the dressed hogs shipped by farmers to Chicago during the winter. From a small beginning, when 1,000 hogs were bought and turned over to a prac- tical packer to make the experiment, grew a great packing business, and the firm fairly took the lead in developing this industry, meanwhile following the grain business into its later development on the Board of Trade. Success came from indefatigable industry and keenness of vision, joined to absolute confidence in the growth of the Mississippi Valley, with Chicago as its metropolis. Ill health led to the retirement of Albert E. Kent, and the business fell to the sole management of Sidney, who carried it on to a consolidation known as the Chicago Pack- ing & Provision Co., in which he long retained a large interest.

Mr. Kent was one of the organizers of the Corn Exchange Bank, of which he was vice-president and president; he was also director in the Metro- politan Bank and Northern Trust Bank. He was one of the incorporators of the Union Stock Yards & Transit Co. of Chicago, as well as a stockholder and director in many other large enterprises in

Chicago, being always trusted for the wonderful correctness of his business judgment. He was noted as a man of the fewest possible words. His im- pressions were usually correct, and he was prepared to stand back of them, but he never argued a point involving his decision, and seemed to have an in- tuitive knowledge of men and grasp of affairs.

The list of Mr. Kent's public benefactions would be too long to recount. There was hardly a charity in Chicago to which he did not subscribe, and 110 one can ever know the approximate of what he modestly gave to relieve private want. Mr. Kent was one of the first contributors to the University of Chicago. The beautiful and splendidly equipped Chemical Laboratory bearing his name will stand as a monument in the city where his busy days were spent. Latterly spending much time at the old home- stead in Suffield, he felt that, having taken from that soil the inheritance that made him successful in the world, he owed much to the old place, and built the Kent Memorial Library as a monument to his parents. It is an interesting fact that the site is one which was by the town allotted to Samuel Kent, an ancestor, by the town of Suffield in 1669. Together with the building were given 10,000 vol- umes and an endowment fund of $25,000 for main- tenance.

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

Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1, Part 91

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