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 123

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 123

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).

Mr. and Mrs. Laverty began housekeeping at Windsor Locks in a very unpretentious home, later lived in Springfield, Mass., Poquonock and Hart ford, and then returned to Poquonock, where they have resided permanently since 1864. His first work here was on the construction of the upper mill for the Health Underwear Co., and he has since been employed on all of the principal build- ings erected in Poquonock and Rainbow, as well as on many of the large brick mills built through- out New England. He has built an excellent home of his own in Poquonock, and though he started out in life for himself empty-handed he is now one of the substantial citizens of the place. Honest. industrious and enterprising. Mr. Laverty com . mands the respect and confidence of all who know him, and his friends are many in Hartford county. Politically he is a stanch Democrat, and religiously he and his family are members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Poquonock.

EMERSON A. HOUGH is one of the lead- ing pharmacists of this section. having conducted a drug store at Collinsville for the past thirty-three years, and as a member of the Connecticut Phar- maceutical Association he has been especially active,

1323

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

six years of efficient work on the executive com- mittee testifying to his interest. He is also promi- nent in public affairs, being an active worker in the Republican party, and for twenty-one years he held the office of postmaster at Collinsville, his service extending from Grant's administration to that of Harrison.

Mr. Hough was born in Collinsville Nov. 24, 1842, son of Josiah Hough, and grandson of Rob- ert Hough, and is of Scottish descent in the pa- ternal line. Josiah Hough was born and reared in Glastonbury, this county, and in early manhood located at Collinsville. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and for some years was employed by the Collins Co., in the construction of their buildings, but for several years previous to his death he was engaged in the manufacture of boxes, as a contractor with the firm. Politically he was a Democrat, but did not aspire to office, and for many years he and his wife were identified with the Congregational Church. He married (first) Miss Laura Rice, of Barkhamsted, Litchfield coun ty, by whom he had six children : Jane E., widow of Henry A. Gleeson; Henry J., a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y .; George R., a railway engineer, re- siding at Clayton, Ill. ; Dayton E., also a railway en- gineer : Lucelia, wife of H. E. Harrington, a promi- nent citizen of Hartford, and a deacon in the Congre- gational Church; and Emerson A., our subject. The mother of this family died in Collinsville, where her remains are interred, and the father afterward married Miss Caroline E. Brockett, of Simsbury, and after her death wedded Sarah Hum- phrey. He had no children by either union.

Our subject was educated in the public schools of Collinsville, and on leaving the high school secured a position as clerk in a drug store there, belonging to Mr. Polk. The Civil war having aroused his patriotic ardor, he on Nov. 18, 1861, enlisted in Company H. 12th Conn. V. I., under Col. Henry C. Demming, of Hartford, and Capt. Joseph R. Toy, of Simsbury. After six months he was ordered to New Orleans and appointed hospital steward by order of Maj .- Gen. B. F. Butler, serving in the medical department until October, 1864, when he was discharged. On his return home he took his old position, continuing with Mr. Polk about two years, and in November, 1867, engaged in business on his own account. He is an excellent business man, as is shown by his success, and he owns the fine building known as the Harrington block, in which his store is located. Mr. Hough was one of the organizers of the Farm- ington Valley Agricultural Association, and is now secretary and a member of the board of trustees. His fondness for fine horses is one of his traits. Socially he is much esteemed, his genial man- ners and sterling qualities of character having woll for him a host of friends. He and his family are identified with the Congregational Church, of which he has served as treasurer since 1869, as a

member of the choir since 1864, and as chorister since 1870. He also belongs to Village Lodge. No. 29, F. & A. M., at Collinsville.

On May 23, 1866, Mr. Hough was married in Collinsville to Miss Sarah A. Bidwell, and three children have blessed the union: (1) Frederick J., a graduate of the Collinsville high school, is a shipping clerk with the Collins Co. He married Miss Etta Tilly, and has two children, Leonard and Marion. (2) Harold W. completed a course in the high school, and is employed by the AEtna Life Insurance Co., at Hartford. (3) Miss Flor- ence B., who also graduated from the high school, is at home. Mrs. Hough is a member of a well- known family, being a descendant of Thomas Bid- well, a pioneer of Canton, of whom an account is given elsewhere. Her father, Franklin A. Bidwell. is a prominent resident of Collinsville. Her mother. whose maiden name was Lucia Ann Dyer, was a daughter of Zenas and Sarah ( Chidsey) Dyer, of Canton.

PATRICK NOL.A.N. a well-known citizen and representative farmer of the town of Newington. was born in King's County, Ireland, March 13, 1836, a son of John and Elizabeth (Carlyle) Nolan, farming people. When our subject was about six- teen years of age the father came to America, but soon returned to his native land, where both he and the mother died. The paternal grandfather, John Nolan, was a farmer in Ireland; and the maternal grandfather, Joseph Carlyle, was a pay- master in the British army.

Patrick Nolan received a rather limited educa - tion, as at an early age he was obliged to work hard, and had no time for study. He assisted his father in the operation of the farm until he at- tained his majority, and then determined to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic, where he be- lieved better opportunities were afforded ambitious and industrious young men. He sailed front Queenstown to Liverpool, and there took passage on the steamer "Wilburn," which finally reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, after a voyage of twenty- three days. After working at that place one montli he came to Hartford, Conn., where for two years he assisted a blacksmith in Sharp's rifle factory. Hle then became employed on the Springfield, Hart -. ford & New Haven railroad, on which he worked as a section hand for three years and four months. and then was made section boss, a position . he creditably filled for over thirty years, finally re- tiring because the bad weather was detrimental to his health. Soon after being made section fore . man he purchased fourteen acres of land in New .. ington, upon which he has a pleasant, six-room residence, where he is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of former toil.

In February, 1876, Mr. Nolan married Miss Katherine Donahue, of Hartford, and they have three children : Elizabeth, born in February, 1877,

1324

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

is a typewriter in the employ of the Pope Manu facturing Co .; Mary, born in May, 1878, is the wife of John Hoye, a contractor, of Kensington; and James, born July 23, 1885, is attending school in Hartford. Mr. Nolan takes a just pride in giv- ing his children good educational advantages, some- thing which he regrets he did not receive. He is a self-made man, whose success in life is due entirely to his own well-directed efforts and industry, is public-spirited and progressive, and is highly re- spected by all who know him. In his politicai views he is a Democrat. His estimable wife holds membership in the New Britain Catholic Church.

JOHN PINCHES. Instances are not uncom- mon of emigrant boys coming to America from Europe, whereconditions are different and where per- haps opportunities for advancement are fewer, and in the new land rising by their own unaided efforts un- der strange environment to prominent and responsi- ble positions in life. The details of a life career of this kind are most interesting, for they come closer to nature's heart than do the growth of human nature under more favorable conditions. The sub- ject of this sketch is an emigrant from England- he has risen to eminence in the life of New Britain, and the outlines of his success are herewith nar- rated.

Mr. Pinches' father, John Pinches, was a small farmer living in Shropshire, England, and son of a farmer who raised a family of four sons and three daughters, of whom Richard became a miner of Shropshire; James was a farmer of the same place; and Elizabeth married a Mr. Shooker, of Shropshire. The grandfather was a member of the Episcopal Church. John Pinches, the father of our subject, tilled a farm of about 100 acres in his native place, and was prosperous and thrifty, fairly well educated, and holding allegiance to the Episcopal Church. He married Jane Partridge, who was one of a family of seven children-Thomas, William, Samuel, Ann (Mrs. James Pinches), Jane, Betsey ( Mrs. William Hotchkiss) and Sarah ( Mrs. Rich- ard Tage)-born to William and Mary ( Berguin) Partridge ; the father was a farmer and blacksmith of Shropshire. To John and Jane ( Partridge) Pinches were born five children, namely : William, a farmer in England; Thomas, a railroad man in England; Samuel, a farmer in Shropshire; John; and James, who lives in England. The father is still living in England, at the age of eighty years. The mother died in July, 1849.

John Pinches was born Feb. 27, 1847, at the "Hovers," Shropshire. He received a fair edu- cation in the "rate" school of his native village, but he describes the schools as being "of the com- monest kind." He owes his education very largely to his own application in the later years of his life, for his school days ended when he was about twelve years of age, he like most boys in the neigh- borhood being expected at that age to earn his own

support. He engaged in farm work, which occupa- tion he followed continuously until his twentieth year, when he decided to come to America. Land- ing in New York in 1867 he proceeded to North- ford, and there secured work with Henry Bunnell, remaining there for three months. The methods of American farming were not wholly to his liking, and going to North Haven he engaged in brick- making, receiving $45 per month and board, the highest wages then paid in the yard. When the season ended he went to South Meriden and began an apprenticeship at table-knife grinding. He was earning $3.50 per day when he was stricken with typhoid fever, and at the advice of his physician he abandoned that occupation. Deciding to learn the joiner's trade he served an apprenticeship at Meriden and for six years after its completion worked as a journeyman. Mr. Pinches then re- solved to enter the building and contracting busi- ness. He was not yet thirty, but concluded that he had mastered his occupation and was able to suc- ceed in a somewhat wider field. His marked suc- cess was perhaps beyond his anticipations. After following the business for a short time in Hart- ford he established himself, in the spring of 1876, in New Britain, and soon was in command of a large trade, continuing for about twelve years as a con- tractor and builder in that city. He employed from twenty-five to 100 men and erected some of the best buildings of the city, building the New Britain opera house, three churches-the Universalist, the Swedish Lutheran and the German Lutheran- and a portion of St. Mary's church. He also put up many of the buildings for the Corbin works and the Stanley Rule & Level Company, built the Humanson & Beckley factory, and that of North & Judd, and was regarded for many years as the principal contractor of New Britain. During this time Mr. Pinches was gradually working into the business of manufacturing architectural and orna- mental wood work, both inside and outside, and also bank and office furnishings and church seats. He has been engaged in the latter business for about eleven years, his trade extending through- out Connecticut and to New York and other neigh- boring States. At one time, when the P. & F. Corbin manufactured postoffice boxes, he did the wood work for them. He has built up a large and profit- abe business, proceeding often along original lines and making for himself the trade which he has since enjoyed.

In politics Mr. Pinches is a Republican. While not active in political life he has represented the Fourth ward in the board of aldermen, serving on the committee on Street Encroachments as chair- man, and as a member of the committee on Build- ing Encroachments. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to Centennial Lodge, Giddings Chapter, Washington Commandery and Sphinx Temple; is also a member of Putnam Phalanx, No. 4, of the Royal Arcanum; and of the Knights of Pythias.

المسـ

John Proches

1325

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In religious connection he is a member of the Methodist Church, in which he holds the office of steward.

Mr. Pinches was united in marriage, May 14, 1874, to Miss Hattie L. Beckwith, daughter of Francis E. Beckwith, of Springfield, and they have had five children, as follows: John, Francis W., Charles Wesley, Richard B. and Robert P.

GEORGE FOOT LEWIS, the well-known and popular superintendent of the New Britain Water Supply Co., of Southington, was born in the Marion District of that town Dec. 29, 1833, a son of Luman and Patience Maria (Foot) Lewis. The father, who is still living, was born March 1, 1803, and was married Nov. 22, 1826, to Miss Patience Maria, daughter of Robert and Diadamia ( Hitchcock) Foot. To this union were born the following chil- dren : Addie C .; George F .; Emma J., wife of Bernard Kennedy; James L .; Sarah M., wife of Joseph C. Long ; and Dwight H.

Reuben Lewis, our subject's paternal grandfa - ther, was born Aug. 16, 1772, and wedded Mary Hall, daughter of Curtiss and Rachel (Beecher) Hall, of Wolcott. She died June 19, 1843, aged sixty-eight years, and his death occurred March 28, 1836. His father, Capt. Nathaniel Lewis, was born in December, 1747, in Southington, and was married Feb. 15, 1769, to Sarah Gridley, who died Aug. II, 1809. He lived on the mountainside in1 the eastern part of Wolcott, and was prominent in town and church affairs after it was set off from Southington. He died Feb. 24, 1839, and on his gravestone is inscribed "an honest man." He was a son of Nathan Lewis, who was born Jan. 23, 1707, and was married July 28, 1730, to Mary Grid- ley, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Humphrey) Gridley. He made his home in the Marion District of Southington, where he died Sept. 7, 1799. He was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lewis. Samuel Lewis was born Aug. 18, 1648, held the military rank of sergeant, and died Nov. 28, 1752. His father, William Lewis, was born in England, and in 164.4 was a resident of Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., where he served as the first recorder of the town after its incorporation in 1645. He was married (first) to Mary Hopkins, of Windsor, and (second)' to Mary Cheever, of New Haven. His deatlı oc- curred Aug. 18, 1690. He was a son of William and Felix Lewis, who came from England in the ship "Lion," and landed in Boston in September, 1632. He was admitted a freeman in November of that year, and joined the Braintree company, which in August, 1633, removed to Newtown (Cambridge). In 1636 he came with a company to Hartford, and in 1659 again moved, becoming one of the founders of Hadley, Mass., which town he represented in the General Court in 1662. He resided in Northampton, Mass., in 1664. and in 1677 removed to Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., where he died Aug. 2, 1683.

Reared in his native town, our subject was ed -- ucated in its public schools and Lewis Academy, and in early life learned the stone mason's trade, which he followed more or less for fifty years. For fourteen years he was superintendent of the Southington town farm, and he was commissioner of highways front 1865 to 1880. From 1880 to 1892 he resided in New Britain, engaged as a stone mason, in contract work. In the spring of 1892 the Shuttle Meadow Reservoir construction was begun, and Mr. Lewis was appointed inspector. Ile also built the stone work, and on its com- pletion was appointed superintendent of the com- pany, which responsible position he has since most satisfactorily filled.

Mr. Lewis has been twice married. By his first wife, Amy A. Cowles, a daughter of Henry and Lydia (Thorp) Cowles, of Mt. Vernon, Southing- ton, were born two children, Frank G. and Ed- win H. For his second wife he married Mrs. Ellen Steele.

During the Civil war Mr. Lewis enlisted, Sept. 4, 1861, in Company A, 7th Conn. V. I., and he participated in all of the engagements in which his regiment took part. Ile was wounded in the battle of James river, and was taken prisoner at Morris Island, in the charge on Fort Wagner, being sent to Libby prison, where he was incarcerated for ninety-three days; he made his escape at the end of that time, and rejoined his regiment at Deep Bottom. In September, 1864, Mr. Lewis was honorably discharged at Fortress Monroe, and re -- turned to his home. In politics he is a Republican, and fraternally he is a member of Friendship Lodge, N. 33, F. & A. M., of which he has been an officer for eight years; of Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R. : and of the Association of Ex-Prison- ers of the Civil war.

JAMES HOLLEY. Among the brave men who helped to fill Connecticut's quota during the Civil war was this well-known citizen of New Britain, who spent three years in active service with the First Connecticut Light Battery. Of this courageous and efficient body of men Gen. Terry, of the Union army, once said :- "It may not have been the best battery in the service, but it was the best I have ever seen," and among his comrades Mr. Holley was recognized as one of the best gun- ners in the ranks. The energy and sagacity which placed him in the lead in his work as a soldier, have been applied no less successfully to his private du- ties, and for twenty-six years he has been con- nected with the Rule shop in New Britain, holding a responsible position as inspector and contractor.

Mr. Holley was born in 1843 in the town of Kingsbury, Washington Co., N. Y., and is of Eng- lish descent in the paternal line. Three brothers of the name came from England at an early day and settled in Connecticut. Our subject's great- grandfather Holley resided for some time near

1326

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

New London, but removed to Washington county, V. Y., when that locality was considered on the frontier line.

Benjamin Holley, our subject's grandfather, was born near New London, and was only six months old when his parents went to New York State, where he grew to manhood. He became the owner of a large farm there, in the town of Kingsbury, Washington county, and was one of the influential men of the locality in his day. Ile married and became the father of six children, viz. :- Daniel, our subject's father; Benjamin, who went to Cook county, Ill., and afterward settled elsewhere in that State : James, who became a farmer at Napoleon, Mich., where some of his descend- ants reside; Richard, a farmer at the homestead in Washington county, N. Y. ; Lucy, wife of Mason Slade of Washington county, N. Y., and Betsey.

Daniel Holley, father of our subject, was born on the homestead, and as a young man was en- gaged in the lumber business, making a specialty of cutting large spars for ships. The spars were hauled to the Hudson and rafted to market, the business proving a profitable one. Later he en - gaged in general farming in his native town, where he owned about 120 acres of land, and for some years he was especially interested in raising cattle, horses and sheep, and in growing grain. Ile was a thrifty man, and had unusually good judgment, as his business success demonstrated, while he also as a Republican took an active interest in political questions. He died in December, 1890, in his eighty- fourth year, and his wife Rosella Vaughn, died in .August, 1892, aged eighty-nine years. She was born in Rhode Island, of Holland ancestry, and her family was numerously represented in Wash . ington county, N. Y., where a town was named in their honor. Six children were born to Daniel and Rosella Holley, as follows: Jane, who married ( first ) Lucius Ogden and ( second ) Charles Ferris, of Sandy Hill, N. Y .; Viola, wife of William Burnham, residing near the old homestead; Esther, who married Hiram Cole, both now deceased , George, a farmer in the town of Kingsbury, Wash- ington Co., N. Y. ; James ; and Alfred, a farmer near the old homestead.

James Holley secured his education in the dis- trict schools at Sandy Hill, his attendance being limited to the winter months. As he was fond of reading he has added greatly to his early store of knowledge, especially in history, and he is well acquainted with the best fiction. At seventeen he began to learn the carriage maker's trade. pass- ing the greater part of his apprenticeship in Wind- Soor Locks. His work there was interrupted by his enlistment in the First Connecticut Light Battery, which was assigned to service in the Department of the South, and was under the command suc- cessively of Generals Foster, Stevens and Terry. After spending some time at James Island, S. C., they went to Fortress Monroe in 1864, and were

sent up the James river with Gen. B. F. Butler's force, landing at Bermuda Hundred. Mr. Holley took part in the fighting in front of Petersburg, and was in the engagements at Dry Lane, Chester's Station and Proctor s, but was not injured. For two years he served as a gunner, declining op- portunities for promotion, but at the time of his discharge he held the rank of corporal. The winter after his return he spent in driving a team, but in the spring he found employment with E. Horton & Son. For six years he was with the Bank Lock Co., and then a Mr. Bailey, a contractor in the Rule shop, employed him for a time, eleven months being spent in Hartford. Since that time he has been connected with the Rule shop, and at present he is a contractor in the plane department with eight men under his direction, and is also em- ployed as an inspector in the same department. His efforts have brought him a good degree of success financially, and his industry and reliability are shown by the fact that he has been out of work just half a day since 1860. Politically he is a Republican so far as National issues are concerned, but he votes independently in local elections. As a good citizen he takes an active interest in municipal affairs, and in 1894-'95 he served as city collector, an elective office.

Mr. Holley married Miss Alice E. Eddy, daugh- ter of Albert Eddy, of New Britain, formerly a resident of Forestville, Conn. Of their two children Grace R. married R. G. Cleveland, a druggist at Waterville, Conn .; and Flora is at home. The family is much esteemed in social life, and is identi- fied with the work of the Methodist and Baptist Churches at New Britain. Mr. Holley is a leading member of the Order of United American Me- chanics, and was one of the organizers of Euclid Lodge, No. 109, F. & A. M., at Windsor Locks.

CHARLES F. CLEAVELAND, a leading merchant of Windsor Locks, has been in business for a quarter of a century, and his name has become a synonym for enterprise, thrift and foresight.

Mr. Cleaveland is descended from good New England ancestry and was born Nov. 8, 1856, at Stafford, Conn. Paine Cleaveland, his father, was born at Tolland, Conn., in 1831, and for some time was engaged in the blacksmith's trade at Stafford- Springs under the firm name of Cushman & Cleaveland, for many years he resided in Wind- sor Locks. For a few years after his removal to that town he was employed by the Farist & Windsor Steel Co., but later he became connected with the Windsor Locks Steel Co. He is an excellent citi- zen, and he and his wife are devout members of the Methodist Church. During the Civil war he showed his patriotism by a year of service in the army, enlisting from Stafford in Company D, 25th Conn. V. I., under Capt. Foster. He married Miss Caro- line A. Needham, a native of Wales, Mass .. and has three sons: Orange, a deputy warden in the

1327

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Hartford county jail; Charles F .; and George A., a resident of Windsor Locks, who was formerly with Gordon & Stowe, of Norwich, and later with P. G. Gordon, of New London, in the paper stock business.

The education of Charles F. Cleaveland was begun in the schools of Stafford, and he also at- tended the public schools of Windsor Locks for a' time. On April 1, 1873, at the age of sixteen, he entered upon his business career as a clerk in the general store of J. H. Adams, and so faithfully and well did he perform his duties that he was taken into partnership a few years later under the title of J. H. Adams & Co. Mr. Adams died Nov. 18, 1891, and on Dec. 17, 1891, Mr. Cleaveland pur- chased his interest, and has since carried on the business alone, with constantly increasing trade. As a citizen he is public-spirited, taking an active part in local affairs, and at present he is serving as a member of the school board of his town.

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 2, Part 123

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