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 131

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 131

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Mr. Wrisley was united in marriage with Miss Lecta Mack, who was born in Windsor Jan. 24. 1850, a daughter of George A. and Eliza M. ( Rey- nolds ) Mack. Her mother died Feb. 1. 1852. Her father was station agent at Windsor for many years, and one of its well-known and honored citizens. His parents were William and Charlotte (Allen ) Mack, the former born in 1783. a son of Andrew and Sally (Pease) Mack. Andrew Mack was one of the Hessian soldiers in the Revolutionary war. was captured at Ticonderoga. imprisoned at New- gate Prison, and joined the Federal army when released. Charlotte ( Allen) Mack, the grandmother of Mrs. Wrisley, was a relative of Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. To our subject and his wife have been born the following children: Mack A., Walter B., Annie, George F .. Lizzie. Wallace G .. Joseph and Lillian, all living with the exception of Wallace G.

As a Republican Mr. Wrisley takes an active in- terest in political affairs, has served his fellow citi- zens as constable and deputy sheriff, and for years was a member of the jury list. He is a charter mem- ber of the O. U. A. M. at Windsor, and he and his family attend the Congregational Church, to which they are liberal contributors. Integrity, ac- tivity and energy have been the crowning points of his success in life, and his connection with various business enterprises and industries has been a de- cided advantage to Windsor, promoting its ma- terial welfare in no uncertain manner.

SAMUEL J. MILLS, a highly respected agri- culturist of Bloomfield, is a native of the town, and was born July 16, 1833. His father, Ammi Mills. was a son of Elihu Mills, an extensive farmer, and was also a native of this town, born in 1800. Ammi Mills married Miss Rebecca Loomis, daughter of Jacob Loomis, and they became the parents of nine children, four of whom reached the years of ma- turity, viz .: Susan R. (who died in 1846), Samuel J., Anson A. and Gustavus D. The other children died in childhood. The father of this family died in March, 1848, a member of the Congregational

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Church, and the mother in 1854, in the same faith.

Samuel J. Mills was preliminarily educated in the district school of Bloomfield, and subsequently attended the Suffield Institute and the high school at Hotchkissville, in the town of Woodbury, but at the early age of eighteen years the management of the home farmi was thrust upon him, and this has been his care up to the present time.

On Nov. 8. 18544, Mr. Mills was united in mar- riage with Miss Antoinette V. Whitmore, and this fel:citous union has been blessed with two children- Hattie Virginia and William J .- the latter of the firm of Besse, Mills & Co., of Holyoke, Mass. Mr. Mills is a Democrat in politics, but is very popular with all parties, and at one time was the candidate for selectman on both the Democratic and Repub- lican tickets. He served as first selectman of the town in 1862, 1863 and 1868, and for eight years was town treasurer. Fraternally he is past master of Hiram Lodge, No. 98, F. & A. M., at Bloomfield, and is also a member of Pythagoras Chapter, of the same order, at Hartford.

WALDO ERASTUS GILBERT, who for nearly thirty years has been a valued and trusted employe of the P. & F. Corbin Manufacturing Co .. of New Britain, fifteen years of which period he has been foreman of their packing department, is a native of the town, and in it, with little excep- tion, his life has been passed.

Born Jan. 21, 1856, Mr. Gilbert is a son of Moses Gilbert, and a grandson of Moses Gilbert, both natives of Berlin. The grandfather in his earlier life followed an occupation at the time en- gaging the attention of many New Englanders- that of peddling clocks through the South. He was in the business for a time on his own account, and had perhaps a dozen or more men selling for himn. Later he carried on farming in the town of Berlin. Ilis son Moses, our subject's father, in his early life was a sea-faring man, but later was occupied as a general painter. He married Lucilla J., daughter of Jefferson Steele, and a native of Berlin. During the Civil war Moses Gilbert per- formed honorable service in defense of the Union as a member of the 14th Conn. V. I.

Our subject's boyhood was passed in the towns of New Britain and Berlin, his father having re- moved to Berlin when the son was six years of age, and returned to New Britain some five or six years later. Young Gilbert received his education in the co111111011 schools of those towns, attending in Berlin the old No. 6 district school, in Christian Lane, in the neighborhood of the old Gilbert homestead. From the age of twelve to fifteen, while living in New Britain, young Gilbert underwent an opera- tion on his limbs which necessitated his confine- mient to the house for quite a period, and he was thereby deprived of attendance at school. When he was about fifteen his parents again moved to

Berlin, where for a time the son again was in school. In 1872 he entered the employ of the lock department of the P. & F. Corbin Manufacturing Co., at New Britain, there beginning a career with a small industry with which he has grown up, and assisted materially in the development, though only an employe, by his fidelity to duty in the care of his daily performance of every trust assigned to his charge during a period of nearly a third of a cen- tury. During this time he has been an eye witness to the great change wrought by the activity, in- dustry and ability of the men who have been at the head of an enterprise which, from a small be- ginning, has become a great manufactory, the largest of its kind in the United States, where are en- ployed nearly 2,000 hands. After eighteen months' service with this company our subject left it, and for six months was employed at the Russell & Er- win factory. Returning to his former employers, he accepted a position in their packing department. and as packer performed service from 1874 to 1885, when, owing to faithfulness and ability, he was re- warded by promotion to the position of foreman of the packing department of the concern, a position he has since efficiently filled. In 1897 Mr. Gilbert purchased property on Dwight street, in New Brit- ain, and on the ground built a business block and nice home. For a time he was here engaged in the grocery business, which was mainly in charge of his family, as he himself retained his position in the Corbin factory, but he sold the business after a year and a half. In his political views our subject is a stanch Republican, and from boyhood has been interested and active in politics. He served on the school committee in Berlin, and also as a justice of the peace. Socially he is prominent, being a mem- ber of Lexington Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F., at New Britain ; and of St. Elmo Lodge, No. 21, K. of P., at the same place, in which he has served as past chancellor, also three times representing his lodge at the grand lodge, New Haven. He is a member of other orders, in which he takes a great interest, giving of both his time and money to their support. For five years he was a member of Com- pany D. Ist Regiment, Conn. N. G., and when hon- orably discharged he was serving as quartermaster- sergeant of his company. He contributed an article on the company which was published in the New Britain Daily News May 20, 1899, and was widely read and favorably commented on. His religious connections are with the Congregational Church.

On Dec. 23, 1876, Mr. Gilbert was married tc Delia C. Coyne, and to this marriage have come children as follows : Harry Waldo, Lillie A., Lucilia Ruth, and Ethel (now deceased).

DEXTER FULLER REMINGTON. the lead- ing agriculturist and tobacco grower of Suffield, Hartford county, was born July 7, 1845. on the farm on which he still resides, known as the Fuller farm.

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Thomas Remington, his father, was born at Hastings Hill, this county, and when still young was taken to the Fuller farm, where he grew to manhood, and passed his remaining years in the cultivation of his 300-acre tract. He married Mary Fuller, daughter of John and Mary ( Remington) Fuller, and to this union were born two children : Jane M., who was married to H. K. Ford ; and Dex- ter F., whose name opens this sketch. Thomas Remington was called from earth Aug. 12, 1872, and his wife died Feb. 9, 1887; no more honored couple ever lived in Suffield.

Dexter F. Remington was educated in the pub- lic schools of Suffield, the select schools of Spring- field, Mass., and the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield. He remained on the home farm until twenty years of age, and then located in Spring- field, where he engaged in the grain trade with his cousin, Frank Remington. A year later he re- turned to the homestead, where he has remained ever since, devoting his attention chiefly to the cul- tivation of tobacco, in connection with general farm- ing, dairying, stock raising and dealing, his farm retaining its original dimensions of 300 acres.

Mr. Remington was married, in Springfield, Sept. 23, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Parker, who was born at Warehouse Point, Conn., was educated at the high school of Springfield, Mass., and is a lady of more than ordinary culture. She is a daughter of Marshall P. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Parker, natives of Vermont, the former of whom was one of the most eminent citizens of Springfield, where he died in 1898. His father, Iric Parker, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and the father of Iric was a hero of the war of the Revolution.

To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Remington have been born four children: (1) George D., who was educated in the district schools of Suffield, Wilbra- ham Academy, and the Business College of Hart- ford, is now farming on the old homestead ; he married Margaret Crawford, a native of Scotland, and they have one child, Marion. (2) Thomas R. was also a student in the Suffield Literary Institute, and is also on the old homestead. (3) Mildred E., a student of the same Institute, is a young lady of refined character and genial disposition. (4) Edith Cooper, the youngest of the family, is still at school.

Mr. Remington and his sons are Republicans in politics. He is a member of the O. U. A. M. at Suffield, and he and his family attend the Baptist Church. No family in Suffield stand higher in the esteem of the community, and no more useful and progressive man resides in Suffield than Dexter Fuller Remington.

ARTHUR HUMISTON MERRIMAN, who is prominently identified with the agricultural in- terests of Southington, was born in that town April 5, 1866.

Our subject is a worthy representative of an hon-

ored old Connecticut family, which was founded in this country by Nathaniel Merriman, who was born in England about 1614, and was one of the pioneers of New Haven, where he located as early as 1639. In October, 1665, he was confirmed sergeant of the New Haven train-band by the General Court. In 1672 he removed to Wallingford, where he was confirmed lieutenant of the train-band ; on Nov. 1, 1675, was appointed captain of the Troop of Dra- goons raised in New Haven county, and in 1691-92 was by vote continued in that office. He signed the Plantation Covenant at New Haven in 1639, and in 1673 was on a committee to fix the boundary lines between Wallingford and other towns. He served as deputy to the General Court from Walling- ford, and died there Feb. 13, 1694, at the age of eighty years. His son, John Merriman, was born in New Haven in February, 1659, and was married, March 28, 1683, to Hannah Lines, of that city. Their son, Rev. John Merriman, was born Oct. 16, 1691, and was married, Feb. 24, 1726, to Jemima Wilcox. He was a Baptist minister, and was among the first to join that denomination in Wallingford, in 1729. In 1738 he became pastor of the Baptist Church of that place, in 1750 resigning and retir- ing to the southwestern part of Southington, where he died Feb. 17, 1784. His son, John Merriman, was born in Wallingford Sept. 12, 1728, and died in Southington April 13, 1801. The latter was the father of Caleb Merriman, great-grandfather of our subject, who was born June 8, 1768, and was mar- ried, June 1, 1801, to Elizabeth, daughter of Eb- enezer Allen, of Middletown, Conn. He lived on the West mountain road. The grandfather, Eb- enezer Merriman, a lifelong resident of Southing- ton, was born March 19, 1807. and was married, April 12, 1835, to Eliza Hall, a daughter of Sylves- ter Hall, of East Haddam. He was for many years employed in the shops of Plantsville.

John B. Merriman, our subject's father, was born in Plantsville June 16, 1836, and spent his entire life in Southington, being for many years an em- plove of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. He died in the spring of 1899, at the age of sixty-three years. On April 9, 1862, he married Philinda Humiston, daughter of John Humiston, a native of Rutland, Vt., who spent most of his life on the farm now occupied by our subject, and died there. To John B. Merriman and wife were born five chil- dren, four of whom reached years of maturity: Arthur H., our subject; Nettie, wife of Elbert At- wood ; Ella ; and Joseph.

Our subject was reared on the old Humiston homestead, where nearly all his life has been passed, and where he is now successfully engaged in agri- cultural pursuits and the manufacture of cider. In June, 1894, he was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Andrews, daughter of Elmer and Caroline E. (Sizer) Andrews, of Wolcott, and to them have been born three children: Edson A., Irving H. and . Warren E. Mr. Merriman affiliates with the Inde-

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tinued as Lord & Son. In addition to his mercantile business Mr. Lord gives close attention to the management of his homestead, a fine estate near Poquonock, and an orchard of 1,500 peach trees, set out by him, is his special pride. Politically he has been identified with the Republican party since its organization, his first vote having been cast for John C. Fremont, and at various times he has held offices of responsibility and trust. For some years he was on the school committee of East Windsor, serv- ing as treasurer of the district, and for more than twenty years he has been treasurer of the "night school district" in Poquonock. In 1881-82 he rep- resented the town of Windsor in the State Legis- lature, and in the latter year received appointment to his position of postinaster at Poquonock.

Mr. Lord's first wife was Miss Ellen M. Bar- ber, daughter of Henry Barber, a well-known resi- dent of East Windsor. She died June 14, 1882, and he subsequently married Miss Frances H. Car- ter, of Hartford, daughter of Francis B. Carter, a prominent citizen of that place. By the first mar- riage there were two sons: Nelson R., of the firm of Lord & Son ; and Clinton, who is at home. To the second union have been born three children : L. Roland, Genevieve and Jasper. Mr. Lord and his wife are popular in social life, and are leading members of the Congregational Church, in which he has been treasurer for twenty years, and has also served some time on the church committee. His genial disposition and courteous manner have won him a host of friends, and he is a valued worker in the Masonic Fraternity and the G. A. R., belonging to Converse Post, No. 57, Windsor Locks.

ANDREW B. WEST, a well-known contractor and builder of Hartford, was born Dec. 15, 1832, in Cazenovia, Madison Co .. N. Y., and comes of an old Connecticut family.

Ephraim West, his grandfather, was born in Tolland, Conn., and passed his life there in agri- cultural pursuits. He received a good education for his time, and was especially noted for his skill in mathematics, being the compiler of an arithmetic. He was a man of wealth and prominence, holding various town offices, and enjoyed excellent health up to the time of his death, at the age of ninety- four. Upon religious subjects he held very strict views, and for many years he was a leading member of the Congregational Church in Tolland. His wife, Ruth Cobb, a native of Vermont, died Jan. 4. 1838, aged sixty-seven. Their eleven children all are now deceased.

Bicknell West, our subject's father, was born in Tolland, and grew to manhood at the old farm, obtaining a common-school education. He made his permanent home in Cazenovia, N. Y., where he purchased a farm, became a highly respected citi- zen and an active member of the Congregational Church. A short time before his death he went to Wisconsin on a visit, and died there suddenly from apoplexy, at the age of seventy years. He mar-

ried Catherine Ehle, who was born in Sullivan county, N. Y., of German parentage, her father following farming there throughout his life. Mrs. West died at the age of thirty-one years, and of her five children only three are now living : Andrew B., John P., a resident of Brownton, Minn. ; and Orson, who resides in Ellington, Connecticut.

Andrew B. West left Cazenovia in boyhood, going to Tolland in a wagon with his father's fam- ily. There he was reared, and attended the com- mon and high schools, also taking a course in the Suffield Literary Institute. Ile then learned the carpenter's trade, and went to Hartford as a jour- neyman, later becoming foreman. When the "Al- lyn House" was built, in 1857, he was foreman, and after this directed the work and soon went into part- nership with James A. Foley ( later known as Sig- nor Foli), as contractors and builders. Their busi- ness constantly increased up to 1861. when his partner went abroad, and Mr. West has carried it on successfully since, having at different times other partners. He is now located at No. 1011/2 Hud- son street, in the vicinity of the largest contractors in the city, and is the oldest 'in that line of business ; at times he employs over one hundred men. When he settied in Hartford there were less than 20,000 inhabitants, while the population is now 80,000. In 1865 he practically knew every man in the city, and he now has a large acquaintance. Ile has probably put up more buildings than any other man in his locality, among them being factories, churches and a large number of the finest business blocks. and dwellings in the city. He has also built many structures outside of the city, including three fac- tories in Waterbury, and Charles Benedict's house, at Waterbury, costing $55,000, one of the finest in the State.

In 1855 Mr. West married Miss Mary L. La- paugh, a native of Westerlo, Albany Co., N. Y., where she received an excellent education. Her fa- ther, H. W. Lapaugh, was a leading farmer and prominent citizen of that locality. Mr. and Mrs. West have had two children: Albert N .. an archi- tect in Boston, who married Lynda Kelly; and Frank H. B., who died aged seventeen. In poli- tics Mr. West is a Republican, but he has refused all offices ; he attends the Congregational Church, with which his family has long been identified.

CHARLES PHELPS HATCH, of Hartford. well known as a musician, was born Sept. 25. 1856, in Lebanon, Connecticut.

Samuel Orville Hatch, his father, was born June 22, 1800, in Lebanon, Conn. He learned the ma- chinist's trade, and became a skillful workman, but as this work did not agree with his health he en- gaged in farming, utilizing his mechanical skill by building on his farm a large shop, which he fitted up with a good set of tools for working in both wood and iron ; there he made many of his farm tools, and did all his own repairing. He was very enterprising, and followed farming in Franklin and

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Lebanon with marked success, the sale of five bushels of "Early Rose" potatoes for $500 having been one of his notable achievements. He was the first to manufacture sorghum molasses in any quantity in this section, and his sound judgment was seen in various wise innovations and improve- ments upon old methods. His hospitable nature won him a host of friends, and he was also noted for his musical gifts. While the greater portion of his life was spent in Lebanon, his death oc- curred in South Windham, Conn .. July 9, 1887, when he was aged seventy-eight years. Mr. Hatch married Eunice Tenny Armstrong, who was born in Franklin, Conn., Feb. 27, 1819. and died June 13. 1877. Of their ten children the following are still living : Eliza ; Henry C., of South Windham ; Hattie, who married W. C. Backus, of South Windham; Adella, wife of Eugene Kinney; Charles P., our subject : Carrie L .; and Lilly L.

Charles Phelps Hatch passed his early years amid the healthful environments of farm life, and he received a good practical education in the com- mon schools of Lebanon. At the age of fifteen he went to South Windham to enter the employ of the Adams Nickel Plating Co., where his skill and ability in all business entrusted to him led to his promotion to the post of foreman of a room. This he held for six years, his salary being raised from time to time until he received $3 per day, but as his reputation as a musician increased his time was de- voted to the work of teaching, and filling orchestra and band engagements. He was but twelve years old when he began to play the cornet, taking an alto part with a band, and after practice under Prof. Goodspeed lie became one of the leading cor- net players in the latter's organization. Mr. Hatch has kept a record of all the engagements filled by him in different bands and orchestras, and the list is a remarkable one, including engagements in near- ly every town in the State. For eleven seasons he filled an engagement as cornet soloist with Prof. Miller's orchestra, at Watch Hill, R. I., a popular summer resort. In February, 1881, he came to Hartford on trial as a cornet soloist in Colt's Band, and Atkins & Severn's Orchestra, then under the famous leader, T. G. Atkins. At the end of the week the leader notified him that he had completely filled all expectations, his services being engaged for the winter. The following season he returned to Watch Hill, and in the fall began an engage- ment with the Severn's Orchestra, in Hartford, which lasted thirteen years. He also taught music successfully, having probably had more pupils on the cornet than any other man in the State, and liis records hold the names of many who have done credit to his instruction. His work as leader was begun with the Weed Band, of Hartford, later known as the Pope Band, but after three years he resigned, in January, 1892. His services were now immediately sought, to instruct a number of bands throughont the State, among them the Hartford City Band, from which latter he received a yearly

salary of ȘI,coo, probably the largest ever paid a band leader in this State. During this time oc- curred his memorable contest with the Musical Union, in which he carried his ideas of right and justice to a hard-won victory, his courage being admired even by his opponents.

In 1893, at the end of his second year as leader of the Hartford City Band, in consideration of the esteem in which Mr. Hatch was held by the public it was considered advisable, in the interest of the success of the band, for the organization to deed the property over to him, that the prestige of his name could be employed, the band to be known as Hatch's Military Band. This was done by a unanimous vote, and the results have shown the wisdom of the action. Under his leadership, by hard and persistent work, the band has been pro- gressive, in evidence of which is the remarkable fact that at a series of concerts given the first year at Laurel Park, when 130 selections were played, 110 of them were new and special selections. Mr. Hatch can uniform thirty-five men and furnish prac- ically any number of instruments, and under his progressive management the work is constantly growing in musical force and value. In 1893 he also organized the Beeman & Hatch Orchestra, in which is associated the very best talent in the city, and which has become famous and extremely popular throughout the State, having engagements nearly every night in the week. In 1899 they filled 285 engagements, including the greatest receptions in the State, and in June alone they played forty-five engagements, among others at the graduating ex- ercises of the State Normal Schools. Mr. Hatch furnished twenty-six pieces of the Beeman & Hatch Orchestra for the Governor's ball in 1899, and re- ceived the credit of rendering the best music ever furnished on any of these memorable events. For some time Mr. Hatch was a pupil of Louis Schrieber, of New York, who is one of the finest cornetists in the world, and who toured this country with Ole Bull as cornet soloist, and for some time was first trumpeter în Thomas' Orchestra. Our subject has given his entire attention to his work, keeping ever on the watch for possible improvements, and he now has one of the largest musical libraries in the State. Such devotion will command success in any field of effort, and for twenty years past the Press throughout New England has given the highest praise to his work in different lines.

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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 131

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