Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 2, Part 121

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1172

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 2 > Part 121

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Hon. Edward W. Pratt, the subject of this sketch, and of the ninth generation of this family in America, attended the school in Essex until four- teen years of age, and afterward the South and High schools in Hartford until sixteen, when he returned to Essex. At the age of seventeen years he secured a position as teacher of a school in the village of Ivoryton, Essex town. In the summer of 1880 lie went to Harlan, lowa, clerked in a general store. and was also connected with the Harlan Herald, a journal conducted by his brother Cornelius. Some months later he returned to Connecticut, and was employed at Ivoryton by Comstock, Cheney & Co., as a shaper of piano keys, but soon afterward en- graged in the study of dentistry, spending three days each week in the office of Dr. F. A. Shailer, a grad. uate of the Philadelphia Dental College, and at that time a successful practitioner of Essex. The other three days of the week Mr. Pratt passed in the fac- tory of Tiley & Pratt, as bone sawyer, and thus earned the money to pay for his tuition. He con- tinued thus until the fall of 1882, when he entered the Philadelphia Dental College, from which he graduated in 1885, and in a class of seventy-three students tied with two others in the competition for first honors. In May, 1885, he began the active prac tice of his profession in Glastonbury, and toward the close of his stay there alternated three days each week in practice at East Hartford. Finally, in the fall of 1891, he relinquished his Glastonbury prac- tice and settled in East Hartford permanently, and lie has since stood foremost in his profession in this thriving town of 6,000 population. In 1891, also. lie erected his excellent dwelling on Main street, in which he has his office.

111 1889 Dr. Pratt was joined in matrimony with Miss Charlotte Holmes, daughter of Ambrose and Julia P. ( Hardin) Holmes, of Glastonbury, and

this union has been blessed with one child, Ever- ett D., born Dec. 4, 1895.

The Doctor is an enthusiastic Republican in politics, and that he is popular with his party is shown by the fact that he was elected to represent East Hartford in the State Legislature in 1899, after the shortest residence in the town, with but one exception, of any person ever elected to this high office ; in the Legislature the Doctor served very ably and satisfactorily as chairman of the committee on Capitol Furniture and Grounds. Ile was also the first president of the Republican Club of Glaston- bury, and first president of the East Hartford Re- publican Club, and has ever been most active in promoting the success of his party. Fraternally the Doctor is past master of the Masonic lodge at East Hartford, and past regent of Council No. 1237, Royal Arcanum, same place, and while he was regent the membership of the council was more than doubled. Mrs. Pratt is a consistent member of the Congregational Church.

Dr. Pratt is recognized as one of the most skilled in his profession, and his practice is large and lu- crative. He keeps fully abreast of dental progress. Ile is emphatically a self-made man, has been in- dustrious and hardworking from childhood up, even assisting in his father's blacksmith shop when a boy. He is now in most comfortable circumstances. is classed among the best and most useful of East Hartford's citizens, and well deserves the high es- teem in which he is universally held. Pleasant courteous, polished in manner, of fine appearance and athletic build, his magnetism makes friends for him wherever he may be.

HENRY C. SPRING, M. D., the rising young physician and surgeon of Bloomfield, was born in Bristol, Hartford Co., Conn .. Nov. 13, 1873, and is a son of Charles F. and Annie ( Smith) Spring. the former a native of Collinsville, Conn., and now liv- ing in retirement at Bristol, and the latter a native of England. Two children were born to this highly- respected couple. Etta B. (of Bristol) and Henry C.

Henry C. Spring received his education at the district school of Bristol, graduated from the high school of the same town, and then attended the business college at Hartford ; he next entered the Medical department of Columbia University, at Washington, D. C., studied two years, and grad- uated from the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of the City of New York with the class of 1897. His first professional experience was had in the Bellevue and Fordham hospitals, and in the lying-in hospitals of New York, and in July, 1898, he located for the active practice of his profession in Bloomfield, Conn., where his abilities have already won full recognition, and where he has laid the foun- dation of a permanent and lucrative practice. The Doctor is a social favorite in the town, and frater- nally is a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 98, F. & ... MI., of Bloomfield. He is unmarried.

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THOMAS HANCOCK, a well-known retired citizen of Windsor Locks, is deserving of prominent mention in this volume as a man whose industry and thrift have enabled him to gain for himself an hon- orable place in life.

Mr. Hancock was born in December, 1830, in Dublin, Ireland, son of Thomas and Lucy ( Butler ) Hancock. The father, who was a paper maker by occupation, died in Dublin in 1836, and his wife spent her last days with her son in Windsor Locks, dying in 1859. There were three children in the family : Ann, who came to America with her mother and died at Windsor Locks in 1891: Thomas; and Joseph, of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

As a boy Thomas Hancock attended school in Dublin, and also learned the paper maker's trade. In 1850 he left home to seek a better field for labor. and after working a year and a half at his trade in Scotland he went to England, where he was simi- larly employed for a few months. In 1852 he came to America, locating first in Manchester, Conn .. where he remained two years, and in 1855 settled in Windsor Locks, entering the employ of the Ser- mour Paper Co. Until 1888 he held a responsible position with that firm, and he then retired from active business, having accumulated a handsome competence. He has always shown keen interest in local affairs, being an ardent Democrat, and he has served three years as selectman of his town, while at present he is doing efficient work in the cause of education as a member of the school board.

In 1854 Mr. Hancock was married in Manches- ter, Conn., to Miss Margaret Mckenzie, who died in Windsor Locks in 1866, and in 1879 he was unit- ed in marriage with Miss Bridget Farrell, of Wind- sor Locks. He has had a family of six children, all by the first marriage: Henry, deceased : Lucy ; Margaret ; Thomas, a resident of Holyoke, Mass. : Mary, deceased ; and Sarah. In religious faith Mr. Hancock is a Catholic, and he and his wife are prom- inent members of St. Mary's Parish, Windsor Locks.

ALBERT J. TERRY, a prominent and progres- sive agriculturist of the town of Enfield, and who belongs to one of the oldest and best of New Eng. land families, was born Jan. 13, 1842, on the farm which he now owns and occupies.

Christopher Terry, his grandfather, was born in Enfield, lived on this same farm all his life, and was a man of considerable prominence in his day. He married Hannah Griswold, and by her had chil- dren as follows : Mabel, Mrs. Lyman Granger : Dor- cas. Mrs. Solomon Wells : Christopher H., of whoni further mention will presently be made ; and Maria, Mrs. Daniel B. Allen.

Christopher H. Terry, father of Albert J., like his father, was a native of Enfield, and was also a lifelong farmer on the old homestead, well and favor. ably known in the community. He married Saralı McKnight, who was born in Ellington, Tolland Co.,

Conn., daughter of a farmer of that town, and chil- dren as follows were born to them : Mabel M., Mrs. David Bancroft; Loren C., who married Belle Miller ; Albert J., our subject ; and Herbert H., de- ceased.

Albert J. Terry, whose name introduces this sketch, has, with the exception of a portion of his school days, always resided on the Terry homestead in the town of Enfield. He received a liberal edu- cation at the common schools of the neighborhood of his home, followed by a three years course at the Wesleyan Academy, in Wilbraham, Mass. Farmi- ing has been his life work, and like his forefathers he has met with the success his industry, perseve- rance and sound judgment have so well merited.

On Jan. 11, 1869, Mr. Ferry was united in mar- riage with Harriet E. Pease, daughter of Theodore and Evaline ( Killam) Pease, all of Enfield. Our subject and his wife are members of the First Con- gregational Church of Enfield ; politically he is a Re- publican. As one of the public-spirited representa- tive citizens of the county, Mr. Terry deserves more than a mere passing notice in the pages of this volume.

WEBSTER N. CASE. The Case family is one of the oldest in this section, and is descended from John Case, a pioneer of Windsor, the subject of this sketch tracing his descent from the pioneer through his son, Capt. Richard Case, who located at Terry's Plains at an early date.

Sergt. Richard Case, son of Capt. Richard Case. was born at Terry's Plains in 1710, and died at West Simsbury in 1769. About 1737 he went to West Simsbury, a part of Canton, and settled on what is known as East Hill, where he spent the rest of his life, engaged in agriculture. He married Mercy Holcomb, of Simsbury, who was born in 1712 and died in West Simsbury in 1780. By this union there were children as follows: Richard, born in 1734, married Ruth Case. Joab, born in 1735, died in 1758. Sylvanus, who was born in 1737, and died 1817, married for the first wife Caroline Humphrey. and for his second wedded Hepzibah Humphrey, a widow, who died in 1818. Simeon is mentioned be- low. Eli, born in 1741, married Athildred Curtis. and died in 1804. Uriah, born in 1743, died in 1826. was married (first) to Susannah Lawrence, and (second ) to Eunice Hill. Edward, born in 1748. married Teruah Lawrence, and died in 1798. Mercy. born in 1752, married Abram Moses, and died in 1818. Naoma, born in 1755, married Es- ther Brown, and died in 1850.

Simeon Case, son of Sergt. Richard Case, was born in 1739 in Simsbury, but his youth was mainly spent in West Simsbury, where he grew up. When a young man he went to what is now West Granby. this county, which became his permanent residence and there he engaged in farming. He lived to the good old age of eighty-four years, and died at the homestead in 1823. His wife, Mary, who was born

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in1 1739, and died in 1834, was also a descendant of the Case family, being a daughter of Amos and Mary ( Holcomb) Case. She, too, lived to be very old, dying at their home at West Granby at the age of ninety-five. Their children were as follows : Simeon, born in 1759, married Phobe Burr, and died in 1819; Titus, born in 1764, married Amy Reed, and died in 1816; Mary, born in 1771, died in 1821 ; Obed, born in 1765, married Rachel Emmons, and died in 1849; Eliphalet, born in 1770, married Rachel Case, and died in 1847; Ashbel is mentioned below : Alexander, born in 1774, married Mindwell Case, and died in 1824; Francis, born in 1777, mar- ried Jemima Case, and died in 1845; Robert, born in 1780, married Clarissa Case; Peter; and Elizabeth married Reuben Russel.

Ashbel Case, grandfather of our subject, was born in 1762, in West Granby, where he became a large land owner and spent the greater part of his life, engaged in farming. He died in 1816. His wife was Polly (Frazier) Case, and they had chil- dren as follows: Syrena, born Sept. 24, 1801, mar- ried Daniel Reed; Henry, born Sept. 24, 1803, mar- ried Ruby Reed; Philo is mentioned below ; Alli- son ; Milton ; Octavia, born Oct. 9, 1813, was unmar- ried ; and Avery.

Philo Case, the father of our subject, was borit Nov. 23, 1805, at Barkhamsted, but much of his life was spent at West Granby. After completing his education at the district schools he set up store keep- ing at West Granby, and later he went to Barkham- sted and continued the business, being also engaged in farming there. He was a thoroughly upright man, and a member of the Methodist Church. In politics he was first a stanch Whig and later a Re- publican, but he never sought public offices. He died at his home in Barkhamsted, and was buried in West Granby cemetery. While in West Granby he married Olive Case, of that town, daughter of Noah Case. Like her husband, she was a member of the Methodist Church. She died at West Granby, her remains being interred in the cemetery at that place. Of this union there were five children : Loval. who now lives in Ohio; Webster N., our subject ; Charles, a resident of Jefferson county, Ohio; Wal- ter; and Emily, who married Herbert Case. of Barkhamsted.

On the maternal side our subject is also descend- ed from John Case. Noah Case, Sr., son of John (3) and Abigail (Humphrey) Case, was born Oct. 4, 1715, and died Dec. 17, 1798. On May 5, 1740, he married Myrian Holcomb, eighth daughter of John and Mary Holcomb. She was born Jan. 18, 1719-20. Mr. and Mrs. Case lived near the south- west corner of the present town of Granby, where she died April 5, 1795. Their children were : Noah, Jr., of whom mention is made below ; Amy, born Nov. 1, 1744, married Titus Reed; Myrian, born Sept. 7, 1746, died Aug. 23, 1750: Roger, born Aug. 7. 1748; Abner, born Aug. 14, 1752, married Hannah, daughter of Elisha Case, and died Oct. 6, 1807;

Ruth, born June 10, 1754; Darius, born March 7, 1756, married, on May 6, 1782, Mary Giddings, and died Dec. 19, 1801 ; Lydia married James, son of Capt. Josiah Case, of West Simsbury.

Noah Case, Jr., was born Jan. 10, 1740-41, and died Sept. 1, 1807. He married Mary Adams, born in 1742, daughter of Lieut. David Adams, and they lived in Case Street, near the southwest corner of Granby, where she died Oct. 7, 1791. Their chil- dren were as follows: A child, born Feb. 3, 1763, died Feb. 3, 1763. Levi, born Dec. 25, 17-, died Jan. 1, 1859, married for his first wife Anna Spen- cer, and for his second wife wedded Lucia Farn- ham. Abigail married Levi Humphrey, of Norfolk, Conn. Mindwell, born in 17-, died Aug. 2, 1820, married Alexander Case, son of Simeon Case, Sr. Rachel, born in 1775, died in 1821, married Elipha- let Case, Sr., son of Simeon Case, Sr. Myrian mar- ried for her first husband Richard Adams, and for her second husband wedded Eli Phelps. Sarah married John Bramin. Mary married, Dec. 26, 1787, Joel Fuller, of Cases Farm, and died May 22, 1805- Noah was the grandfather of our subject.

Noah Case (3) was born July 7, 1782, and died April 13, 1879. On Dec. 31, 1804, he married Olive Case, born March 27, 1784, daughter of Deacon Richard Case (3). She died Jan. 20, 1864. They had nine children : Bethuel, born Oct 31, 1805. died Sept. 24, 1898, married on Sept. 13, 1831, Clement Goddard. Morris, born Nov. 9. 1807, died May 31, 1814; Marvin, born March 3, 1810, died Sept. 27. 1857, married Maria Wilcox. Everett, born March 14. 1812, married, on Nov. 22, 1836, Emily Hos- kins. Morris, born April 25, 1814, and died May 7, 1880, was married Sept. 22, 1859. Norton, born Dec. 26, 1815, married, Nov. 14. 1858, for his first wife, Eliza Case, and after her death he wedded. Charlotte Case. Jay, born July 2, 1818, died Aug. 15, 1889, married Maria, widow of his brother Mar- vin Case. Olive, born March 24, 1824, died Dec. 19, 1862, has been mentioned above as the mother of our subject. Orrin, born June 11, 182-, married. Dec. 24, 1867, H. Barbour.

Webster N. Case. our subject, is a man whose present prosperity is entirely the result of, his own industry and good management. Born at West Granby April 11, 1850, he spent the first years of his life in that town and in Barkhamsted, attending the district schools ; and later he went to live with his uncle Jay, at North Canton, with whom he remained twelve years, working upon the farm. Having saved money from his earnings, he bought the Ma- son Case farm, a tract of 135 acres at North Canton, upon which he made improvements. He makes a specialty of tobacco raising and dairying. As a citi- zen he is highly respected, and he has many warm friends. He is both a trustee and a steward of the Methodist Church. Being domestic in his taste. he has never sought political honors, although he is a stanch Republican. In 1887 Mr. Case married Cora Merrills, of Winsted, Conn., who died at their home

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in North Canton, and was buried in Winsted. For his second wife he married, in 1897, Mrs. Lila ( Church) Hart, daughter of Orville and Ellen (Case ) Church, and widow of Walter Hart. Mrs. Case was educated in the district schools of Bark- hamsted, her native town, and she was for four years a public-school teacher. She has three children from her first marriage: Lena, Belle and Orville. By his first marriage Mr. Case had one child, de- ceased in infancy.

HENRY HUNTINGTON LOOMIS, deceased. Among the representative citizens of Hartford county, unostentatious in manner of life, content to labor and enjoy the rewards of honest effort, suc- cessful, perhaps, in the full measure of modest am- bition, courageous, faithful, and held in high esteem for many personal qualities, must be named the sub- ject of this sketch. He was a native of Connecti- cut, born in the town of Coventry, Tolland county, June 4, 1822, son of Samuel and Irene (Tracey) Loomis.

Henry H. Loomis was reared on his father's farm, and received a good common-school educa- tion. He remained on the farm until he was twenty .. one years of age, when he married and began life for himself, wedding, April 19, 1843, Miss Hannah Snell, of Willington, Tolland Co., Conn. After his marriage he remained for one year on his father's farm in the town of Coventry, and in the spring of 1844 removed to East Hartford. A year later he purchased a farm in the town of South Windsor, where he lived for six years. Mr. Loomis in 1851 moved to the farm which he cultivated until his death, Sept. 18, 1899, and which was his home for forty-eight years preceding his decease. He owned about thirty-four acres, which he devoted to gen- eral farming and tobacco growing, his land being under a high state of cultivation and quite pro- ductive.

Of the children born to our subject and wife four are now living : Henry E., a farmer of Glastonbury ; Hannah P., wife of J. Warren Stowe, who lives at Scitico; Melissa A., wife of Henry E. Pitkin, of South Windsor ; and Mary E., widow of Samuel T. Burnham. The family are members of the Congre- gational Church. In politics Mr. Loomis was a Republican.

ISAAC BURDETT PHELON. for many years an esteemed citizen of the town of Suffield, and a well-known dealer in ice, milk and wood, as well as a successful grower of tobacco, was born in West Suffield Nov. 2, 1831, on the Phelon homestead, a son of Isaac Seymour and Sabra ( Bartlett) Phelon.

Isaac Seymour Phelon, father of our subject, was also born in West Suffield. was educated in the district school, and was reared on the home farm. While still a young man he secured a tract of 200 acres, part of it from the old homestead, and on this tract he passed his life in general farming and to-

bacco growing. In Southwick, Mass., he married Sabra Bartlett, a native of Rhode Island, of Scot- tish descent, and to this marriage were born four children : Isaac Burdett, the subject of this memoir ; Jane, deceased wife of Daniel G. Viets, of Thomp- sonville, Conn. ; Charles, who died in the Civil war ; and Menzo, who died young. In politics Isaac S. Phelon was a supporter of the Jeffersonian Democ- racy ; he never sought office. In religion he was liberal in his views, but was a sincere Christian, and was noted for his integrity and strict sense of honor. He died at his home in 1840, while still in the prime of life, and two months before his young- est child was born. His widow, who was a truly Christian woman, succeeded in rearing her children in respectability and to be a credit to the communi- ty. She died at the home of her son, Isaac Bur- dett, her remains being interred in West Suffield.

Isaac Burdett Phelon received a good common- school education. He was only nine years of age when his father died, and for four years after this sad event lived with his grandfather, to whom he was bound, but the circumstances were not to his liking, and he had, besides, a desire to see the great West. Accordingly he traveled through Pennsyl- vania, Ohio, Illinois and Iowa, returning to his na- tive State within a few months, however, and find- ing employment with Eli Freeman, of West Suf- field, for whom he worked eight consecutive years. He then returned to the homestead, in which he bought the interest of the other heirs with the sav- ings from his earnings during his years of outside labor. To the original tract he added ten acres, making a total of seventy-six, on which he made ex- tensive improvements at a cost of several thousand dollars, and engaged in the cultivation of tobacco and general farming until 1878, when he moved to Boston Neck and purchased the Stony Brook farm, of seventy acres, where he has since been engaged in the same line of agriculture, adding dairying and the handling of ice and wood. For the past twenty years he has stored and handled 3,000 tons of ice annually, and to his other industries he has added stock raising, and is credited with the ownership of some of the finest stock in this section of the State.

Mr. Phelon was married in Agawam, Mass., to Miss Eliza M. Arnold, a daughter of Smith Arnold, and a lady of refinement and culture, as all the sur- roundings of her present home clearly indicate. To this marriage four children have been born: Calvin, who is a farmer in West Suffield, and is married to Lula Wood; Alice Marian, who died young; Al- fred B., a hotel man of Hartford; and Arthur, at home. The family attend the Baptist Church; Mr. Phelon is quite liberal in his views of religion. In politics he has been a life-long Democrat, and he has filled the office of constable of his town for seven- teen years. He is a keen observer, but of genial disposition, and is honored as a man of strict in- tegrity. Through his sole personal efforts he has

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realized a competence, and his individual merits have won for him the high regard of all classes in the community.

JOSEPH R. CARROLL, the very popular gen- eral agent of the Manhattan Life Insurance Co. and the Massachusetts Mutual Accident Association. with headquarters at Hartford, was born in East Hartford May 24, 1861, a son of E. J. and Mary (Ruth) Carroll, a biography of whom may be found elsewhere.

Mr. Carroll was educated in the common schools and at Osgood's Commercial College, and after leaving school was employed by O. D. Woodruff & Co., dealers in hats and furs at Hartford, being connected with that firm as head clerk and travel- ing salesman for ten years. But the insurance business proved an attraction to him, and in Febru- ary, 1895, he accepted the agency of the Manhat- tan Life, and in October, 1895, was appointed gen- eral agent at Hartford for the Massachusetts Mutual Accident Association. Hartford, as is well known, is the headquarters of more insurance companies than any other city of its size in the world, but Mr. Carroll, being of a genial disposition, and affable and gentlemanly, has kept his principals well to the front in the competition for business.

Mr. Carroll was united in marriage with Miss Carrie MI. Rovce, a native of Livingston county, N. Y., and to this union have been born three children, of whom one died unnamed; Marguerite died in childhood ; Pauline Marie survives. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll are devout members of St. Mary's Catholic Church of East Hartford, are among the most liberal contributors to its support, and live fully up to its teachings. In politics Mr. Carroll is one of the most active and popular young Democrats of East Hartford, and in 1890 and 1891 served the town as tax collector. Fraternally he is a member of the Sons of Veterans, and has performed his duty toward this association by serving as captain of John F. Carroll Camp, No. 27. As a citizen he is public-spirited and useful, and as a business man is irreproachable in every respect. He is ever alert and energetic, and does more business than any man of his years in the city of Hartford-that city of cities in the insurance line.

I. Z. SKINNER, M. D., one of the rising young members of the medical profession in Hartford coun- ty, and a successful practitioner of Windsor, has by dint of his own energy and perseverance secured a good education, and by professional merit has built up a large and constantly-increasing practice, though he came to Windsor an entire stranger to every one, and had several old practitioners with whom to compete.

Dr. Skinner was born April 1, 1866, in Water- ville, Nova Scotia. On the paternal side he is of good old Colonial stock, his great-grandfather hav- ing removed from New Haven, Conn., to Nova

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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 2, Part 121

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1172

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1172