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 96

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 96

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Anna Johanna (Stamm) Funck. To Mr. and Mrs. Schubert no children have been born.

On enlisting in the 25th C. V. I. at Bristol, Mr. Schubert was mustered in as corporal in Com- pany I, Sept. 6, 1862, but acted as orderly sergeant part of his term of service. He participated in the campaign in Western Louisiana under Gen. Banks, was at the siege of Port Hudson, the battle of Irish Bend, and was also at New Orleans; was at the second assault on Port Hudson, was in the engage- ments at Laurel Hill and Donaldsonville, and finally on August 14, 1863, returned to Hartford, Conn., where the regiment was mustered out Aug. 26, 1863.

Mr. Schubert is a member of G. W. Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., and has been quartermaster ever since its organization, with the exception of the years (1890 and 1891) when he was post com- mander. He was also a charter mber of, and was instrumental in instituting, the Knights of Pythias lodge at Bristol, is a past commander, master of work and trustee of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, and is a member of Hull division, Uniform rank, company A, second battalion, second regiment, and was Sır Knight captain five years. He is the present regi- mental quartermaster of the second regiment, with rank of captain. Mr. Schubert is likewise a mem- ber of Pequabuck Lodge, No. 48, of Bristol, in which he has twice passed through the principal chair ; he and wife are charter members of Rebecca Lodge, No. 24, ladies' auxiliary of the I. O. O. F., and Mrs. Schubert is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. In 1883 Mr. Schubert acted as aid-de-camp to the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, and Mrs. Schubert is a member of the G. W. Thompson Relief Corps, G. A. R., of which she was president in 1889, and was also national inspector in 1884, and assistant department in- spector for two years. Mr. and Mrs. Schubert are faithful members of Prospect M. E. Church, in which she belongs to the Ladies Aid Society. In politics he is a Republican.

HENRY HUTCHINSON, one of the capable foremen employed in the case department of the E. Ingraham Clock Manufacturing Co., of Bristol, was born in Coventry, Tolland Co., Conn., Feb. 17, 1843, and is of remote English descent, his ancestry being easily traced to his great-great-grandfather, Eleazer Hutchinson, who was one of the first settlers in Coventry, the original family, on coming from Eng- land, having settled in Lebanon, New London county, this State.

Lewis Hutchinson, father of Henry, was born March 16, 1807, and was reared to farming, al- though when a young man he worked for some time in a wool-carding factory. He was a modest, unas- suming gentleman, and always prompt in his at- tendance at church. In politics he was first a Whig, but on the decadence of that party, and the vivification of the Republican, he united with the

latter. In May, 1840, he married Miss Caroline Hopkins, who was born in August, 1810, and to this marriage were born six children: Walter Hopkins, June 7, 1841; Henry, the subject of this sketch; Orrin, born in 1845, who died in 1848; Mary Aurelia, born in February, 1848, who died in Decem- ber, 1876; Orrin (2), born Nov. 1, 1850; and Le- mira, born Nov. 20, 1853, married to Arthur P. Loomis, and now living in Bristol.

Eleazer Hutchinson, grandfather of our subject, was born in 1780, and died April 17, 1866, a member of the Congregational Church. He was a farmer in Coventry, an active and interested member of the State militia, and in politics a Whig. He married Lydia Simons, of Windham, and to this union were born four children : Lewis, mentioned above; Mary, born Sept. 22, 1809 ; Lemira and Walter, who died in infancy.

Eleazer Hutchinson, great-grandfather of our subject, was a drummer in the war of the Revolu- tion. He married Huldah Jones, of Coventry. The great-great-grandfather of our subject, also named Eleazer, married Ruth Long, of Coventry, and Eleazer, the great-great-great-grandfather, married Jemima Wright.

Henry Hutchinson, the subject proper of this sketch, was born on a farm in what was known in 1843 as Coventry, now Andover. He attended the common schools of Andover up to the age of eight- een years, and then a select school of the same place for two terms. For three years he worked at cabi- net-making in a toy factory in North Coventry, and then, in 1869, came to Bristol to enter the case- making department of the E. Ingraham Clock Manu- facturing Co., where he remained about three years. He next entered into partnership with his brother. Walter H., in the grocery trade, on the North side, in which they continued for eight years, and then closed out. Mr. Hutchinson, returning to the case department of the E. Ingraham Co., worked two years as a journeyman, and then was made foreman of the "assembly" of oak, walnut and other natural solid wood cases, which position he yet retains.

Mr. Hutchinson married, June 4, 1872, Miss Mary Elizabeth Wooding, who was born Feb. 20, 1851, a daughter of Lawson Jared and Emeline L. (Stone) Wooding, and their union has been crowned with four children, as follows : Carrie Emeline, born Feb. 22, 1874, was married June 14, 1898, to Rev. Richard Reed Reynolds, a Methodist divine of Woodbury, Conn .; Fred Wooding, born March 31, 1877, graduated from the Bristol high school, and in 1899 from the Wesleyan University, in which he is now assistant to the professor of Astronomy ; Raymond Garfield, born Nov. 22, 1881, graduated from the Bristol high school in 1899, and is now tak- ing a post-graduate course preparatory to entering the Wesleyan University; and Bertha May, born Feb. 27, 1885, is now attending the high school of Bristol.

Mr. Hutchinson and family are all members of

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Hutchinson has been a member of the official board since 1871, collector of pew rents for the past twenty years, and on July 1, 1898, was elected super- intendent of the Sunday-school ; his wife is a mem- ber of the Ladies Aid and Foreign Missions So- cieties. Both are very ardent in and devoted to their church work. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are also members of Bristol Grange, No. 116, P. of H. In politics Mr. Hutchinson is a stalwart Republican, and has served on the Second district school com- mittee, of which he has been treasurer since 1889.

The family live in West street, in a house built by the late Elias Ingraham, the former famous clock manufacturer of Bristol, and enjoy the unfeigned esteem of an extended circle of the best residents of Bristol.

JAMES ROBINSON TOPPING, who has his residence in East Hartford, and his place of busi- ness at No. 734 Main street, Hartford, is a skilled pattern and model maker, having served a seven- years apprenticeship at that vocation in England. He was born in Boulogne, France, July 30, 1844, his father, a native-born Englishman, being there employed at the time as a flax-dresser.

Mr. Topping descends from ancestors who were soldiers, sailors and mechanics, one of them losing his life, in the first-named capacity, at Waterloo, and another, as a sailor, was killed at Trafalgar. His maternal grandmother, Nancy Hardy, lost two of her brothers in the expedition of Sir John Frank- lin, and one in the search for Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated companions. Mr. Topping's parents were Thomas and Mary (Robinson) Topping, the father a native of Lancashire and the mother of Yorkshire, England, and, as intimated above, the father was a flax-dresser. He followed this voca- tion in England and France until the Crimean war cut off the supply of raw material from Russia, and cotton was substituted. He then engaged in the dry-goods trade, which he followed in Hull, Eng- land, the remainder of his active business life, and in which city both he and his wife ended their days. Of their nine children, James R., our subject, was the eldest son, and of the sons three besides him- self came to the United States: Thomas Hardy, now foreman of the pattern department of the Electric Co., in Lynn, Mass .; John R., a pattern- maker doing business in Boston, Mass., and William WV., a pattern-maker of Hartford.

James R. Topping was but a child when his parents returned from France to England, the French Revolution at that time being under full sway. He was reared in London and Hull, and at the age of ten years ended his schooling. He had some experience in his father's vocation, but this proving to be unprofitable he worked a short time in a rope walk, at work suited to his years. At the age of fifteen he apprenticed himself to a millwright, starting in at seventy-five cents per week, but being

a stout lad his wages were increased to one dollar per week in a short time, and were added to until they amounted to $2.50 per week for the last two years of his apprenticeship. The first five years were devoted to the mechanical part of his trade, and the last two to pattern-making, and thus he acquired a full knowledge of the business. At the Art Institute and General Exhibition, held at Kings- ton-Upon-Hull, England, in 1870, Mr. Topping was awarded a prize medal for a model of the screw steamship "Marsden." He followed his trade in England until 1879, when, on the 20th day of April, he found an opportunity of working his passage to America on a freight vessel. On arriving in New York City he found employment in the Delamater Iron Works for a few months, and then came to Connecticut and worked for Hiram H. Maxim, the "gun man." Later he returned to New York, when Mr. Maxim went to that city. In 1881 Mr. Topping went to England on business, and on his return, six months later, again worked for Mr. Maxim, in Philadelphia, making machines run by gas from oil. Next he was employed as foreman for the Clemens Manufacturing Co., of Ansonia, Conn., and after- ward was foreman in the pattern department of the American Ship Building Co., of Philadelphia. He then made another trip to England, and worked for Hiram Maxim on his machine gun, then being built in London. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Topping came back to America and worked in Hartford, Conn., a year or two. Again he visited England, and on returning to the United States brought with him his youngest brother.

On Nov. 23, 1887, Mr. Topping married, in Hartford, Miss Mary L. Taylor, a native of Buffalo, N. Y., and subsequently lived in Hartford until September, 1893, when he removed to East Hartford and built an excellent home for himself on Wood- bridge street. In 1898 he erected another good house for renting. In politics Mr. Topping is Democratic in his predilections, but acts upon his own judgment in voting. Fraternally he is a member of Concord Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., of New York; of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, which he joined in 1867; and of Nathan Hale Lodge, A. O. U. W., of Hartford.

Mr. Topping has crossed the Atlantic ocean seven times, but since his marriage in 1887 has set- tled down, and in that year he engaged in his present business, of which he has made a perfect success, employing several men to assist him. He has fought his way through the world without pe- cuniary aid from others, is now independent, and is respected by everybody for his perseverance, in- dustry and upright life.

FRANCIS BODWELL CUMMINGS, proprie- tor of the well-known and popular livery and board- ing stables, in Hartford, is a native of Vermont, born March 18, 1834, in Newport, and comes of stalwart New England ancestry.

fas R. Joffing

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Cyrus Cummings, father of Francis B., was born in Littleton, N. H., a son of Cyrus Cummings, of the same nativity, and a farmer by occupation, who in later life removed from Littleton to Newport, Vt., and passed the rest of his days there. Cyrus, the father of our subject, was a mechanic, a worker in wood and iron, and followed that business for several years in Vermont, coming from that State to Connecticut, and passing the later days of his life in Hartford, where he died at the age of seventy- nine. By his wife Ruth A. (Pratt) he had six children, two of whom are yet living: Francis B., and Chloe (widow of E. L. King), of Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Francis B. Cummings received a liberal edu- cation in part at the schools of his native place, Newport, Vt., in part at those of Lawrence, Mass., to which latter place he moved when twelve years old, thence coming to Hartford after a residence of five years. Here at the age of eighteen he com- menced to learn the trade of machinist, following same for seven years, at the end of which time, in 1857, he embarked in the livery business on Main street, remaining there some fifteen years, then coming to his present location, "rear of brown stone church," Asylum avenue. Mr. Cummings' livery and boarding stables are the oldest in the city, and for completeness and general equipment they are not surpassed in the State, containing as they do no fewer than forty horses and a full complement of as fine livery rigs as can be found in any me- tropolis.

On Oct. 1, 1859, Mr. Cummings was married . to Louisa Goodwill, and three children were born to them, only one of whom is now living, Fanny, who married George McHenry, of Hartford, and has two children, Elizabeth and Annie. The mother of Mrs. McHenry died at the age of forty-five years, and for his second wife Mr. Cummings wedded Clara Latham, a native of Halifax, N. S., and they have one child, Marion Shirley.

In politics Mr. Cummings is a Republican, but is not bound by any party ties when casting his ballot, as he invariably supports the candidate he considers best adapted for the office. By his own individual grit, progressiveness and sound judgment he has met with well-merited prosperity, and is now the owner of considerable property in Hartford, in- cluding several dwelling houses. He is, to put in plain American, a typical hustler, and a thoroughly representative wide-awake New Englander.

PHILIP P. CARLON, M. D. Few of the physicians of Hartford are natives of that city, but the subject of this sketch, one of the most successful of the fraternity, was born there April 19, 1862.

Hugh Carlon, his father, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, and from 1851 resided in Hartford. He married Miss Ann Smith, a niece of Rev. Father Brady, first pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Hartford, and had six children, of whom three are

living : John is a resident of Hartford; Miss Nellie is a teacher in St. Joseph's School, in tliat city ; our subject being the youngest of the trio.

The Doctor's education was begun in the paro- chial schools of Hartford, and later he pursued his studies in Montreal College, and at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., where he was graduated in 1882. For three years he studied theology in Montreal, and his medical studies were begun in the University of New York, where he re- ceived the degree of M. D. in 1890. For three years he was connected with the Flatbush Hospital and Insane Asylum, and then practiced his profes- sion in New York City for the same length of time ; in 1896 he located in Hartford. His first office was on Main street, and he now has two offices, one at No. 2312 Church street, and the other on Park street. He is one of the staff of St. Francis Hos- pital, and is an active member of the City, County and State Medical Societies. The duties of his practice prevent him from giving much atention to non-professional matters, but he is identified so- cially with the Knights of Columbus and the Cath- olic Benevolent Legion.

CONSTANT LOYAL TUTTLE, of the well- known enterprising firm of Tuttle & Mather, dealers in carriages and horse goods of all kinds, the em- porium being at Nos. 291-293 Allyn street, Hartford, is a native of Connecticut, born Dec. 14, 1850, in Plymouth.

Elizur Tuttle, his father, was also born in Plym- outh, the date of his birth being Feb. 26, 1806, and from there he removed to Bristol. By trade he was a wood-turner, and made bedsteads, chairs, etc., by hand. In Bristol he farmed as well, and also at Belleville, Ontario, Canada. In Plymouth he engaged in the manufacturing of candy boxes, which he sold in Hartford. In 1865 he removed to Bark- hamted, Litchfield Co., Conn., and there farmed until the spring of 1881, in that year taking up his residence in Hartford, where he passed the rest of his days dying Jan. 15, 1888. At one time he ped- dled clocks in Pennsylvania, New York and Canada.

On Sept. 25, 1835, in Canada, Elizur Tuttle mar- ried Mary Danford, who was born May 1, 1816, in that country, and died in New Britain in 1894. Eleven children were born to this union, as follows : (I) Emily, born Nov. 25, 1836, at Stirling, Canada, married William Sweet, of Plymouth, Conn., and has six children, Alice, Eva, Jennie, Ida, William and Jesse. (2) Lydia, born at Stirling, Canada, married E. H. Merrill, of Winsted, Conn., and had three children, Oliver, Cora and Etta. (3) Sarah M., born at Penfield, N. Y., married David Buell, of New Britain, and has one child, Electa. (4) Helen, born in Bristol, Conn., married Henry Kavill, of West Haven, Conn., and died in November, 1884. She had one child, Mary. (5) William H., born in Plymouth, Conn., married Jane Beany, and has three children, Hattie, Bertha and Grace. (6)

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Phebe J., born at Plymouth, Conn., married Harvey Tucker, of Tariffville, and had three children, Albert, Ira and Mabel. (7) Constant L. is the sub- ject of these lines. (8) Alpheus A., born at Plym- outh, is a veterinary surgeon at Attleboro, Mass .; he married Belle Patterson, but has no children. (9) Millard B., born at Plymouth, was drowned at the age of five years. (10) Gatria E., born at Plymouth, married Thomas S. Mather, and is now deceased. They had six children, Alpheus, Samuel, Lewis, Harry, David and Helen. (II) One child died in infancy.

Constant L. Tuttle, whose name opens this sketch, received the greater part of his education at the schools of his native place, and from 1865. to 1881 he was employed in lumbering and farming at Barkhamsted, Conn. At the age of twenty-two years he commenced business for his own account ; in 1884 he embarked in the trucking business in Hartford; in 1888 the firm of Tuttle & Mather was organized ; in April, 1899, they changed the busi- ness to that of dealers in carriages and horse goods of all kinds.

In 1881, at Hartford, Conn., Constant L. Tuttle was married to Miss Jennie E. Horrox, of Barkham- sted ; there are no children. In politics Mr. Tuttle is a Republican.

CAPT. IRA BENHAM SMITH, skilled as a die-sinker and machinist, located on Main street, Bristol, and one of the most gallant soldiers that went to the front during the war of the Rebellion, was born in Meriden, Conn., Aug. 16, 1840, a son of Lucius B. Smith, who died in 1893, at the age of seventy-two years.

Lucius B. Smith was born in New York State, and lost his parents while still an infant. He was reared by his maternal uncle, Erastus Parmelee, a resident of Meriden, Conn., and learned black- smithing. Lucius B. Smith went to California in 1849 with the Montague company, formed in Meriden and vicinity, crossing the plains going, accumulated considerable wealth by working at his trade of blacksmith, and returned via the Isthmus. He was a Republican in politics, but never sought office, being a modest gentleman, nor was he a mem- ber of any secret society. In religion he was an Episcopalian. Lucius B. Smith was twice married, the first time to Caroline Griswold, of Meriden, and to this union were born six children, as follows : Ira B., the subject of this sketch; Frederick L., who has long been employed in the general offices of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co., in New Haven, but resides in Meriden ; Willie D , living in New Britain, is a toolmaker for the Stanley Rule & Level Co .; Lucy, twin of Willie D., died in infancy ; Marshall, also deceased in infancy ; and Carrie May, married to Charles Morse, of the firm of Church & Morse, hardware merchants in Meri- clen. The second marriage of Mr. Smith was to Mrs. Jane Bridgeham, of Madison, Conn., and by

this marriage was born one daughter, Nellie Bas- sett, who is married to Arthur W. Trueller, in the meat and produce business at New Britain.

Solomon Smith, father of Lucius B., and grand- father of the Captain, was a hero of the Revolution- ary war, and after that glorious struggle had been brought to a successful conclusion passed the re- mainder of his life in farming in central New York.

Capt. Ira B. Smith attended the public schools of Meriden until he had attained the age of seven- teen years, when he entered the office of N. C. San- ford & Co., manufacturers of augers and skates, at Yalesville, Conn., and of whose works the Captain's father was then manager. Ira B. here held his posi- tion as shipping clerk until 1860; then worked for Wooster & Glover, at Derby, making sewing-ma- chine needles, until May, 1861, when he gallantly re- sponded to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 vol- unteers to assist in quelling the Rebellion. He served in Company D, 2nd Conn. V. I., under Capt. Dana Russell, took part in the battle of Bull Run, and was mustered out Aug. 21, 1861, his three- months' term having expired. Immediately after being mustered out he enlisted in Company C, 7th Conn. V. I., and with this regiment was the first to set foot on South Carolina soil, at Hilton Head, Nov. 4, 1861 ; his was the first regiment to float its flag in the Palmetto State after the opening of hostilities. He was at the capture of Fort Pulaski, Ga., April 10-1I, 1862; in the attempt to Secession- ville, S. C., June 10, 1862; at the capture of St. John's Bluff, Fla., Oct. 7, 1862: the battle of Po- cotaligo, S. C., Oct. 22, 1862; Bermuda Hundred, Va., May 12, 1864; assault on Woodbridge's Hill, Va., May 12, 1864; battle of Drury's Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864, and again at Bermuda Hundred, June 12, 1864. Here he was captured and taken to Andersonville, Ga., where he was confined pre- cisely three months. On Sept. 8, 1864, he was in- carcerated in the Charleston ( S. C.) jail, but placed on the firing line of the Union batteries, the Confeder- ates hoping that the presence of the boys in blue in this perilous position would check the bombard- ment by the Unionists. For a month Mr. Smith was held in this disagreeable predicament, when he was transferred to Florence, S. C., confined in a stockade, similar to that at Andersonville, for three months, and then paroled and sent to Charleston harbor for transportation home on a furlough of three months, at the expiration of which time he re- joined his regiment at Wilmington, N. C., and served until mustered out, in July, 1865, at Goldsboro, North Carolina.

The extraordinary gallantry of our subject was early recognized, and he was often selected by his su- periors to perform deeds of daring, but his promo- tion was late in coming, as far as commission is con- cerned. For attention to duty, intelligence, brav- ery and good behavior while in the ranks, he had been promoted to first sergeant, but for conspicuous

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bravery and meritorious conduct before the enemy on every field he was commissioned captain in Feb- ruary, 1865, a "big jump" from first sergeant.

At the close of the war Capt. Smith was em- ployed for a year as machinist at Galion, Ohio, on the Atlantic & Great Western. He then returned to Meriden, Conn., and worked as a machinist in the Charles Parker gun shops for a year, when he was made foreman of the press department, with a force of nearly fifty men under him. In 1873 he re- signed this position on account of ill health, and in partnership with his brother-in-law, Lucas A. Dolph, bought out the grocery of Charles Ives, in Yalesville, but a year later bought the business of Mr. Dolph, and conducted the business on his own account four years. Ile then went to work for the Oneida Com- munity in Wallingford, having charge of its spoon manufactory until 1881, when he went with the Community to Niagara Falls, N. Y. He was their superintendent until 1885, when he resigned and went to Thorold, Canada, forming the Ontario Silver Co., for the manufacture of spoons, with a capital stock of $20,000, which he managed for two years. He then sold his interest and returned to Walling- ford, Conn., where for two years he worked on a contract for making clock-cases for the Judd Manu- facturing Co. He next made a speculative trip to California for six months, came to Bristol in Feb- ruary, 1888, and accepted the superintendency of the German silver spoon department of the Bristol Brass & Clock Co., having under him a force of 175 hands. In March, 1898, he started his present die- making and special machinery establishment on Main street.

Capt. Smith was most happily married, in Febru- ary, 1864, to Miss Susan K. Maynes, daughter of Alexander G. Maynes, of Meriden, and to them were born three children: Harmon Frederick, born Nov. 16, 1867 married Julia Baldwin, of Walling- ford, who has borne him two children, Ira Baldwin and Edmund Herman. Marshall Ira, born in 1873, is a toolmaker in the Eagle Lock Co.'s factory at Terryville ; he is married to Annie Funck, daughter of August Funck, and is the father of one child, Susan Rachel, born in June, 1896. Robert Maynes, born in June, 1881, is now learning die-making.

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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 96

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