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 130

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 130

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On March 23, 1872, Mr. Michael was married, a: Terryville, to Miss Katie Burg, who was born in Greenfield, Mass., daughter of Theobald and Elizabeth Burg, natives of Germany. Five chil- dren have blessed the union : Louise Frances, born March 16, 1873. who was married, Feb. 22, 1898, to Charles Russell Riley, of Bristol ; William Burg, born Feb. 19, 1875, who was married, May 12, 1898, to Miss Louise Ahl, of Agawam, Mass. : Fred- erick Burg. born May 5, 1877 ; George Burg, born July 17, 1880 ; and Ruth Burg, born May 12, 1894.

DAVID KINGHORN, an expert horseshoer of East Hartford, is a native of New York City, and was born June 27. 1858, the eldest of the six children that constituted the family of Henry and Martha ( Ralston) Kinghorn, natives of Scotland. David Kinghorn, the father of Henry, had a family of four sons and one daughter, all of whom came to America, and of whom two are still living : George, a carpenter in Hartford, Conn .; and Mrs. Lawson, a resident of Gallipolis, Ohio.

Henry Kinghorn learned his trade of horse- shoer in his native land, came to the United States while yet single, and in New York married Martha, a daughter of Matthew Ralston, who brought his family from Scotland to New York, and there passed the remainder of his life. To Henry and Martha Kinghorn were born four sons and two daughters, the sons being David, the subject of this sketch; William, of Silver street, East Hartford ; Harry, a blacksmith of Hartford: and James, who died in Hartford at the age of thirty-eight years. In 1862

Henry Kinghorn brought his family to Hartford, and here he died at the age of about fifty years ; here his wife also died, when forty-eight years old. Both were devout members of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics Mr. Kinghorn was a Re- publican, but took only a voting interest in the party. He was an exceptionally good mechanic, capable of converting iron into any implement usually made from that metal, and was able to support his family comfortably. He was of a quiet, inoffensive dis- position, and greatly respected by his associates and neighbors.

David Kinghorn, the subject of this notice, was a child of four years when brought to Hartford by his parents. He first attended the old stone (public ) school on Market street, and afterward the Brown school, and at the age of fifteen years left his studies to learn horseshoeing under his father, for whom he worked until the death of the latter. He then assumed charge of the business on his own account, and followed it at No. 10 Charles street until 1897, when he located in East Hartford, where he had previously resided for several years; he established his shop on Governor street, where he now owns a three-story tenement and his own dwelling, which is a double house, with his shop on the rear of the lot.

Mr. Kinghorn married Miss Mary Kearnen, a native of New York, and to this union have been born three children, Elizabeth, David and Francis, all of whom are deceased. Mrs. Kinghorn is a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church at East Hartford, and socially Mr. Kinghorn is a member of Hartford Lodge, No. 19, B. P. O. E. In politics he is a Republican, but, while he votes regularly, he takes little interest in party politics, and as a rule at town elections votes for the candidate he thinks best fitted to execute the duties of the office to be filled.

Mr. Kinghorn inherits much of his father's skill as a mechanic, and has built up an excellent business in his line, in which he has had twenty- five years' experience. He is an industrious, strictly temperate and reliable citizen, and has won the re- spect of all other worthy citizens of his town. He still owns the blacksmith shop at No. ro Charles street, Hartford, which is in charge of his brother Harry. He is self-made, in the fullest sense of the term as ordinarily applied to successful men of business, and deserves full credit for having at- tained his present high standing.

WILLIAM H. WARNER, at present ( 1900) serving as one of the selectmen of Wethersfield, is a wealthy farmer and influential citizen of that town. He was born Oct. 1, 1853, and belongs to a family reckoned among the earliest and most respected in Wethersfield. A genealogical history of the Warner family may be found elsewhere, but it is worth while to trace Mr. Warner's ancestry back for a few generations, in the present connection, with d

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view of affording the reader a partial view of his family connections. His great-grandfather, John Warner, Sr., and grandfather, John Warner, Jr., were also natives of Wethersfield, and lived on the farm now occupied by our subject's brother, John C. Warner.

Horace Warner, father of William H., was born in Wethersfield, and there grew to manhood. His education was of a practical rather than a theoreti- cal character, and was of a sort well calculated to lay a solid foundation for a successful business ca- reer. He was a large grower of produce-par- ticularly onions-which he shipped to New York and other markets, earning a moderate, though sat- isfactory, profit. He was broad-minded on all ques- tions, and a man of sincere convictions. Politically he was a Democrat, although not a "hide-bound" partisan. His religious opinions were liberal. His life was blameless, and in the community in which he lived, and where his daily walk was as an open book, his character for probity was never ques- tioned, while his amiability and generosity made for him many friends. He died Aug. 16, 1883, in the enjoyment of the undisguised respect of the towns- people of Wethersfield.

In January, 1840, Mr. Warner married Abigail HI. Hills, whose father was a deacon in the Congre- gational Church of Buckingham, Hartford county. She died Nov. 4, 1878, a communicant of the Episco- pal Church : her remains rest in Cedar Hill cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Warner were the parents of five sons and two daughters, of whom two sons, born March 16, 1841, and Feb. 4, 1848, respectively, died in in- fancy. Those who reached maturity were: Ellen Maria, born June 15, 1842, married Josiah G. Adams Dec. 30, 1863 : John Chester was born July 10, 1845 ; Rosalie Rebecca, born June 14, 1849. died Sept. I, 1871: Frederick Walton was born April 4, 1851; and William H. was born Oct. 1, 1853.

William H. Warner was educated in the district schools, at Wethersfield Academy, and at Cheshire College, an Episcopal educational institution. At the age of nineteen, inspired by a desire to see more of the world, and in the hope of finding better for- tune than seemed to be offered by his native town, lie went West. He first found employment in In- dianapolis, with Pettis, Ives & Co., and also went to St. Louis, where he worked for three years in a clerical capacity, and later was traveling salesman for a Chicago house for the same period. At the end of this time he returned home and entered the store of Brown & Thomson, at Hartford, passing another three years in this employ, when he deter- mined to abandon mercantile life and become a farmer. Since forming this resolve he has followed agriculture, in which he has met with well-deserved success, and in adition to his farm work he has an agency for the sale of agricultural implements. He is enterprising and progressive, and thoroughly well informed on all important topics of the day : an in- dependent thinker, yet not self-opinionated. In his

private business his sense of honor is high, and as a citizen he is always ready to bear his full share of public burdens. That he is held in high esteem is shown by the fact that in 1896 he was elected a selectman, and has held the office ever since, through re-election. He and his wife are members of the Grange, in whose prosperity he takes a lively inter- est, and in which he holds the office of overseer. Politically he is a Democrat. His religious faith is that which he learned from his mother in child- hood ; he is a vestryman in the Episcopal Church, and a liberal contributor to its support and work.

On Aug. 12, 1884, Mr. Warner was married to Miss Rose Chapman, a daughter of Frederick Tal- cott and Elizabeth Hale (Gilbert) Chapman, of Wethersfield, and two children have been born to them : Elizabeth Hale Chapman ( at present a pupil in the high school ) and Abigail Rose.

OLIN LYMAN WETHERELL. A wide- awake and enterprising business man, and a skilled mechanic, the subject of this sketch has become one of the successful citizens of Newington. A native of that town, he was born on Cedar street, July 4, 1845, and is a son of Lyman and Prudence (Mor- gan ) Wetherell, natives of Glastonbury and Weth- ersfield, Hartford Co., Conn., respectively. The paternal grandparents, Marcus and Rohama (Bid- well ) Wetherell, were residents of Glastonbury, and their remains are interred at that place. As a life occupation the father and grandfather both followed blacksmithing, the former conducting a shop where our subject is now engaged in the same business. There Lyman Wetherell died in 1890, aged seventy- two years, and his wife passed away at Elmwood in 1898, aged eighty-one : both were laid to rest in Newington cemetery.

Olin L. Wetherell obtained his literary education in the public schools of Newington, and at the early age of nine years commenced learning the black- smith's trade in his father's shop, his first work being pointing nails. Leaving home at the age of twenty-two years. he went to Troy, N. Y., where for ten years he was employed as a tool sharpener and stone cutter in the monumental works of W. H. & . L. L. Dyer. The following four years he devoted to stone cutting for a Mr. Manson, in Albany, N. Y., and for six months was engaged in the same business in Saratoga, and later in Stony Creek for the same length of time. Returning to Albany, he resumed work with his former employer, with whom he remained a year, at the end of that time coming to Newington, where he assisted his. father until the latter's death. He then took charge of the shop. and has since conducted the same with marked suc- cess, winning a liberal patronage by fair and hon- orable dealing and first-class work.

In 1869 Mr. Wetherell married Miss Lillie Richards, daughter of Francis G. and Priscilla ( Re- nough ) Richards, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they have one daughter, Augusta, who was born May 4, 1882,

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and is now attending school in Newington. Socially Mr. Wetherell is a member of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. MI., of West Hartford; Our Brothers Lodge, No. 41. Sr. O. U. A. M., of Newington; and the Colony of Pilgrim Fathers, No. 45, of Newington. He is one of the most prominent representatives of the Republican party in his community, and is now serving as chairman of the Republican executive committee of Newington. Through his able man- agement the party has come off victorious at all re- cent elections with the exception of that of 1897, when there was a split in the party ranks. Our subject has capably filled the positions of constable and grand juror, and a trust reposed in him has never been misplaced.

JOHN COLLINS, a leading grocer of Plants- ville, is a self-made man who, without pecuniary advantages at the commencement of life, battled earnestly and energetically, and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved success. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked his way upward.

Mr. Collins was born in County Kerry, Ireland, Dec. 23, 1844. a son of John and Jane ( McCarthy) Collins, who came to America in 1849, and located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. There our subject was educated in the common schools, and there he remained until fifteen years of age. In 1859 he be- came a resident of Plantsville, Hartford Co., Conn., where he was employed in the bolt shop of the Plant Manufacturing Co. until 1863, and then worked as a molder for the Peck, Smith & Wilcox Co., until 1868. In the latter year he embarked in the grocery business, to which he has since devoted his time and attention with most gratifying results. He is now the oldest merchant, in years of continu- ous business, in Plantsville. He erected his pres- ent block in 1870, and has the best appointed store in the place.

In November, 1872, Mr. Collins married Miss Hannah Carmody, a daughter of John and Hannah Carmody, of Plantsville, and to them were born two daughters, Maggie and Annie. Mr. Collins is a member of the Catholic Church, and of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is unswerving in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and has most efficiently served as a member of the board of assessors four years, and as a member of the board of burgesses for the same length of time.

RANSOM WRISLEY. There are few people in the vicinity of Glastonbury who do not know Capt. Ransom Wrisley, there are none who know him who are not warm in their expressions of friendliness and regard. He is a successful farmer and in earlier life followed the sea. One of his memorable experiences was the spectacle of the history-making fight between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac." Capt. Wrisley was at Hampton Roads, sailing his schooner, the "Marietta Smith,"

and is one of the few surviving eye witnesses of that terrific and momentous battle of the first iron- clads.

The Wrigley family is an old one in the annals of Connecticut, and George Wrisley, the grand- father of Capt. Ransom Wrisley, was familiarly known as "Uncle George Wrisley," and was one of the most prominent men of his time; he erected the house at Glastonbury now occupied by our subject. He was a lifelong farmer, thrifty and prosperous, and at one time owned land three miles in length, extending from Glastonbury to Wethers- field. He reared a large family. His remains rest in the old cemetery at Glastonbury.

George Smith Wrisley, the father of our sub- ject, was born in the home now occupied by his son. He received the common schooling which the times afforded, and early in life applied himself to farming, a vocation which he followed all his years. For some time prior to his death, in 1859, he was an invalid. He married Miss Sarah Keeney, who was born and reared on Keeney street, Glaston- bury, one of the four daughters of Ashbel Keeney, a farmer, the others being Mrs. Daniel Winslow, Mrs. David King and Mrs. Giles House. To George Smith and Sarah Wrisley were born three children-Winthrop. Ann and Ransom. Winthrop became a sailor, in early life sailing a boat between Portland quarries and various ports along the coast, and later in life sailing on the Great Lakes ; his first wife was Emma House, and after her death he married a lady from Michigan. Ann married P. L. Phelps, and lived in Glastonbury.

Ransom Wrisley was born in July, 1831, in the house which he now occupies. He received a fair education in his boyhood years, but early mani- fested a liking for the water, and was first em- ployed by Samuel Colt in boating stone, which was used in the construction of the factory. He was a favorite employe of the famous manufacturer who often referred to Mr. Wrisley as "My Captain." Later Capt. Wrisley purchased a vessel, and was engaged in carrying government stones to the South during the Civil war, and he would stop at various ports and take on a cargo of coal. Mrs. Wrisley frequently accompanied her husband out these coastwise voyages. They often sailed the Potomac when that river was crowded with vessels, and it was while thus engaged that Capt. Wrisley put into Hampton Roads one day with his schooner "Marietta Smitli," and witnessed the thrilling naval engagement between the little "Monitor" and the formidable "Merrimac." Later he ran the schooner "L. Benedict." After the war Capt. Wrisley gave up sailing and returned to the home farm, which he has since occupied.

Capt. Wrisley married Miss Elizabeth Smith, who was born Nov. 14, 1833, daughter of Shubael and Mary ( Wrisley ) Smith, and was one of a family of eleven children. To our subject and wife have been born no children, but they have given a

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home to several, among them Mary E. Dunnel, adopted by our subject when she was a girl of five years, and who is now the wife of William Afflick, of Glastonbury. In politics Capt. Wrisley is & Democrat, but he has never sought office. He is prominent in the fraternal orders of Glastonbury and has been a Mason for forty-two years, being one of the oldest in the town, a member of Daskam Lodge. No. 86. He is also a charter member of the I. O. O. F. lodge at Glastonbury, and a mem- ber of Monitor Council, No. 61, O. U. A. M. Mrs. Wrisley is a member of the Episcopal Church. Capt. Wrisley has a wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances, is a successful farmer, and by his popular characteristics wields a wide influence for good throughout the community.

FREDERICK ALBERT BIDWELL,a success- ful agriculturist of Canton, has been prominently identified with public affairs in that town for many years, and is now holding the office of select- man. He belongs to an old and well-known fam- ily, being a descendant of John Bidwell, a pioneer settler in Hartford.

Thomas Bidwell, the first of the name to locate in Canton, was born in Windsor in 1701, son of John Bidwell. About 1740 he removed to what is now the town of Canton and engaged in farming, and his death occurred there in 1746, his remains being interred in Town Hill cemetery, at New Hartford. He married Ruhama Pinney, and had four children: Abigail, born in 1734, married Thomas Cone, and died in 1810; Ruhannah (or Hannah) married James Cornish, and died in 1814; Thomas is mentioned below ; and Prudence mar- ried Aaron Pinney. Mrs. Bidwell survived her hus- band, and afterward married Ephraim Wilcox, by whom she had five children: Philander, Martin. Asa. Jehiel, and Chloe ( who married Elijah Hum- phrey ).

Thomas Bidwell (2), son of Thomas, was born in 1738, and was but two years old when the fam- ily located in Canton, where he resided at the homestead throughout life, making farming his oc- cupation. He died in 1852, and his wife, Esther Orton, who was born in 1737. died in 1823, in her eighty-seventh year. Of their six children, the eld- est. Jehiel, born in 1760, was taken prisoner at Fort Washington in November. 1776, and died in 1777. from the effects of the hardships endured ; Riverins, born in 1762, died in 1822, and his wife, Phebe Roberts, died in 1837: Thomas is next in the line of descent : Norman, born in 1768, married Falla ITills, and died in 1849; Lois, born in 1773, married Dr. Abram Peet, and died in 1828; Jasper, born in 1775. married Lucy Richards, and died in 1848.

Thomas Bidwell (3), son of Thomas (2), was born in 1761 in Canton, where he engaged in farming all his life, and was highly estecmed as a citizen. lle attained the ripe old age of eighty-

three years, and his death occurred in 1848. His wife. Lavinia Humphrey, who was born in 1765. and died about the same time as her husband, was a daughter of Oliver and Sarah ( Garrett) Humphrey. Her father was the first magistrate in West Sims- bury, and was a son of Jonathan, grandson of Samuel, and great-grandson of Michael Humphrey, a pioneer of Simsbury. The following children were born of this marriage: Thomas is mentioned below: Lucien married (first) Emily Graham, daughter of Freeman Graham, and later wedded Hannah Graham, a half-sister of his first wife; Harriet married Aaron Lyon; Flora married Lu- ther Higly: and Sarah M. was the second wife of Luther Higly.

Thomas Bidwell (4), our subject's grandfa- ther, was born in 1792, and became a well-known farmer and stock raiser of Canton. He was indus- trious and honest, and his life was based upon Christian principles. He married Dencey Case, daughter of Ozias and Mary (Hill) Case, and they had three children: Franklin A., who married Lucia Ann Dver, daughter of Zenas Dyer, of Can- ton : Mary, who married Theron Merrill, son of Isaac Merrill ; and Albert Frederick, father of our subject.

Albert F. Bidwell was born in Canton Jan. 5. 1818, and was educated in the schools of that town. As he was quite young when his father died he was . reared by his grandfather and his uncle, Jasper Bidwell, and in early manhood settled upon our sub- ject's prosent homestead in Canton Center, where he engaged in general farming, tobacco growing, stock raising and dairying. He was industrious and en- terprising, making many improvements upon the place, and his home and the comfort and welfare of his family were his chief interests. He neglected no duty as a citizen, and was a leading Republican, serving as selectman and in various other offices. For many years he was a prominent member of the Congregational Church. His death occurred Nov. 4. 1873. his remains being interred at Canton Cen- ter. He was married, March 20, 1845, to Hen- rietta R. Pike, a native of New Marlboro, Mass., and a daughter of Hiram and Olive ( Rood) Pike. Of their five children : (1) Mary E., born June 8. 1847, died Nov. 27. 1867; (2) Hiram P., born Jan. 31, 1849. married Gertrude Burr, of Bloom- field. and died June 1. 1892, leaving two children, Edna G. and Frederick H .: (3) Frederick A. is mentioned more fully below: (4) George E., born Dec. 21,1858, is a prominent farmer of East Granby : (5) Thomas S., born March 29, 1861, a well-known citizen of Canton Center, operates the farm of Deacon Warren C. Humphrey. On Nov. 15, 1888, lie married Harriet Seville Hinman, who was born in Canton, daughter of Julius Hinman, and they have had three children-Clara Louise, born Dec. 6.1889 : Burton Thomas, born Ang. 26, 1891; and Leland Hinman, born Aug. 14, 1895. The mother of our subject was married a second time, in 1874. to Dea-

F. a. Bidwell

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con Warren C. Humphrey, who died Feb. 6, 1896, and whose sketch appears elsewhere.

Our subject was born in Canton Center Dec. 16, 1850, and was educated in the district schools of the town and at Wilbraham Academy, Wilbra- ham, Mass. He has been engaged in farming on the homestead, of which he took charge after his father's death, the farm containing 136 acres, and carries on general farming in connection with dairying, stock raising and tobacco growing. He is one of the leading Republicans of the town, and in 1889 was a member of the State Legislature ; has also served three years as assessor, and is now serv- ing his eleventh year as selectman. In religious faith he is a Methodist, and has been steward of the church and superintendent of the Sunday- school. Socially he is a member of Village Lodge, No. 29, F. & A. M., and Cawasa Grange, in which latter he held the rank of master for four years.

On Nov. 19, 1874, Mr. Bidwell was married, in Canton, to Miss Sadie M. North, who was born in Berlin, daughter of John and Abigail M. (Austin) North, and granddaughter of John and Harriet North, of Berlin, of whom further mention is made elsewhere. Four children have blessed the union : Mary: Albert Frederick, who completed the course of study in the local schools and spent two years at Storr's Agricultural College; and Sarah and Isa- belle, now attending the public schools of Canton Center.

WALLACE G. WRISLEY is one of the push- ing and energetic business men of Windsor, carry- ing on operations as a farmer and dealer in coal, lumber, ice, brick and woods, and also does a gen- eral trucking business. He was born in Windsor in January. 1849. the eldest in a family of six chil- dren. four sons and two daughters. born to Walter and Elizabeth ( Gates) Wrisley, natives of Glaston- bury and West Hartford, Conn., respectively. For years they made their home in Windsor, where both died, the father at the age of sixty-five, the mother at the age of fifty-four years, and they were buried there.

At the tender age of eight years Wallace G. Wrisley began to work away from home, and has since been dependent upon his own resources for a livelihood. His lot was that which falls to a poor boy, and while attending the Stony Hill district school in winter he did chores for his board. When a lad he worked for Deacon Paine, and later for William Mills for several years. Subsequently he was a student at Windsor Academy under Prof. Standish for a time, but his educational advantages were meager. At the age of fifteen he was well developed, and able to do a big day's work. When sixteen he practically had charge of the farm work for Mr. Mills, and showed good executive ability and sound judgment in its management. After the death of his employer he remained upon his farm for a short time. and at the age of eighteen returned to his father's home. Together he and

his father embarked in the wood business-reduc- ing timber into fire wood, and selling the same by the cord. On attaining his majority he had a cap- ital of $250, saved from his earnings. For some years he carried on the wood business exclusively, but later became interested in brick-making and bought land as his means permitted. From time to time he has increased his landed possessions, so that his present property represents several pur- chases. For over twenty years he has been engaged in cutting and storing ice, as well as in the sale of same, carrying on this in connection with his farm- ing and lumber operations, and in 1894 he estab- lished his present prosperous coal business, being now one of the most extensive coal dealers in Wind- sor. He has made his home in Windsor Center since the spring of 1874.

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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 130

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