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 147

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 147

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In 1857 Mr. Bancroft married Miss Frances S. Jones. In 1867 he married Miss Viroqua Tucker, by whom he had one daughter, Ivanilla A., now the wife of Frank Lord, of East Windsor, Conn. On May 17, 1899, Mr. Bancroft married Mrs. Susan Bangs, widow of Eli Bangs. Mrs. Bancroft is a ntember of the Baptist Church.

DWIGHT ERVIN POLLARD, the popular and efficient foreman of the Berlin Iron Bridge Co.'s works, in Berlin, is a native of this State, born in Mansfield Jan. 23, 1848. His father, Bar- nabus Huntington Pollard, was born in November, 1823, and throughout the greater part of his life has followed farming in Mansfield. He was a very hard-working man in early life, but is now prac- tically living retired, as he is unable to engage in the arduous labor of the farm. He married Julia Scott, of Mansfield, whose remains rest in Mans- field cemetery. To thent were born four children : Lucy, Henry, Dwight E. and Ardin Sawyer. Our subject's paternal grandfather, John Pollard, a modest and industrious farmer, was born in Scot- land, Conn., and died there at the advanced age of ninety-six years ; his wife sleeps by his side in Scot- land cemetery.

Reared on the home farm in Mansfield, Dwight E. Pollard obtained his education in the district schools of that town, and on laying aside his text- books, at the age of fifteen years, he worked for six months on the farm of a Mr. Spencer. The following spring he entered the employ of Storrs Swift, and worked on his farm for the sante length

of time. For two years he had charge of the horses of O. F. Chaffee, the silk manufacturer, and then managed the farm of Miss Eliza Fitch, in South Coventry, for two years. He next worked in the sawmill of Charles Kingsbury, at that place, for five and a half years. In 1872 he came to East Berlin and entered the employ of the Corrugated Metal Co., as a shutter maker, for six months, and later served the company in various capacities for about three years, working in their different de- partments. He was thus employed for one year after the firm was changed to the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., and was then made foreman. During the time he held that position the business of the company increased very rapidly, and their works were ac- cordingly enlarged. He became foreman of the bridge shop, which responsible position he is now filling, with credit to himself and to the entire sat- isfaction of the company, having from 100 to 225 men working under him. By close application, faith- ful service and excellent ability in mechanical lines, he has achieved a well-merited success. He entered the employ of the company as a common laborer, but has steadily risen until he is to-day foreman of the largest department of their works.

On March 26, 1873, Mr. Pollard married Miss Georgiana Kingsbury, of Chaplin, Conn., who was born March 26, 1848, a daughter of George Kings- bury. To them have been born three children : Frank Ervin, born Feb. 3. 1874, died in April, 1874, and was buried in Mansfield. George Hunt- ington, born Nov. 3, 1875, is shipping clerk for the Berlin Iron Bridge Co .; he married Nora Daly, of Portland, Conn., and they have one child, Mary Veronica, born Dec. 23, 1898. Mortimer, born Sept. 9. 1880, is employed with his father in the Berlin Iron Bridge Co.'s works.

In political sentiment Mr. Pollard is a Repub- lican, and in his social relations is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 81, F. & A. M., of Crom- well. He attends and supports the Methodist Church of East Berlin, of which his wife is a faith- ful member, taking an active part in church work.

HENRY FIELDS, an influential and highly respected farmer of Newington, has won his way patiently to the front by mere force of character. He has been called upon to fill many local offices of trust and responsibility. He has been active in church work. As a public-spirited citizen he has frequently performed signal services for the com- munity in which he lives. Adversity was the com- panion of his youth and boyhood days, but the strong fiber of his character withstood discouraging circumstances and led him steadily forward.

Mr. Fields is a member of an old family of Waterbury, Conn. He was born in that city March 23. 1846, son of Lyman W. and Sarah (Bradley ) Fields, and grandson of Lyman and Mary Fields, also of Waterbury. The father of our subject was a machinist, industrious, but not favored by fortune ..

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He was a poor man, and worked hard through life.

Our subject was educated in the common schools of Waterbury and Wolcott. At the age of twelve years he began work on the farm of David Micholls, near Wolcott, and for five years, or until he was seventeen, he worked there for his board, clothes and schooling. His services were then engaged by a neighboring farmer for $10 per month and board, and although our subject remained with him for four years, or until he was twenty-one, his board during the time was his sole remuneration. Re- turning to his home in Waterbury, Mr. Field spent the next two years of his life as an employe in a clock-case factory. But farm life he regarded as the more congenial, and in 1869 he began work on the farm of John O. Knapp, at Wethersfield, re- maining there eighteen months, after which for six months he worked on the farm of Charles F. Griswold. In 1871 he received an appointment as night watchman at the Connecticut State prison, at Wethersfield, remaining one year.

In 1872 Mr. Fields came to Newington, and for three years worked for Oliver Richards, whose daughter he afterward married. In 1875 he made a trip to Florida, where he prospected in lands on the Indian river, and purchased from the State of Florida about forty acres, which he still owns. He remained in Florida one winter, and returning lo- cated in West Hartford. For two years he worked on the farm of Sidney Wadsworth. Having been given charge of the public roads by the vote of the people, he then removed to New Britain, where he lived one year. Returning to the farm of Oliver Richards, Mr. Fields, in 1880, married his daugh- ter, Abbie Richards, who was born July 10, 1848. Her parents, Oliver and Mary (Kilbourne) Rich- ards, are now deceased, and are buried in Newing- ton. The marriage of Henry and Abbie (Rich- ards) Fields has been blessed with two children : Howard Henry, born July 2, 1882, died when one week old; Ethel Frances, born Dec. 17, 1883, is a student in the Newington schools.

Mr. Fields now operates ninety acres of well- improved land, located on the New Britain turn- pike, four miles east of New Britain, and is en- gaged in general farming. He keeps from ten to twelve cows, selling the milk to the creameries. He and his wife are active members of the Congrega- tional Church of Newington, and he is a member of the committee on church societies. Mr. Fields is a stanch Republican in politics. He was a member of the board of relief ; has served as justice of the peace, assessor, grand juror, etc .; was elected to the State Legislature in 1883, and again in 1894 : and is at present second selectman of the town of Newington, having been elected in 1898. He was a charter member of Pequot Council, No. 24, Sr. O. U. A. M., of New Britain, but has transferred his card to Our Brothers Council, No. 41, of New- ington. He is also a charter member of Newington

Grange, No. 44. Honest in his convictions, self- reliant, highly esteemed by his friends and neigh- bors, industrious and public-spirited, our subject is one of the representative citizens of Hartford county.

JOHN J. HINMAN, a representative citizen and well-to-do farmer of Burlington, was born May 2, 1846, on the farm in that town where he still re- sides, and is a member of a family which has long been connected with Hartford county, his ancestors having been among the early settlers. . Mention of the earlier generations will be found elsewhere.

George Jones Hinman, father of our subject, was a son of Luman Hinman. In his youth he learned the blacksmith's trade, but during his early manhood he followed the water, cruising along the Atlantic coast as far down as New Orleans, in the molasses trade. He was part owner of the vessel which he commanded. Coming to Burlington in his later years, he bought a tract of 600 acres in the western part of the town, and a large part of this property being in timber he erected and operated a sawmill, running the first circular saw in the State; he brought it from Massachusetts. He made nu- merous improvements upon his land, where he also carried on general farming and stock raising, ac- quiring a comfortable competence in his long and active business life. Gen. Washington, while marching through this section, was once entertained in the house in which Mr. Hinman made his home. Mr. Hinman was one of the leading men of his day in this locality, being a man of intelligence as well as of wide general information, and he was regarded as an authority in legal matters. His fellow citi- zens honored him with election as selectman and as representative in the State Legislature, and his serv- ice in each public capacity was distinguished by the able discharge of every duty, as well as by the same thoroughness and system which marked his management of his private affairs. His political influence was given to the Democratic party. Mr. Hinman was married, in Branford, Conn., to Miss Harriet Parkis, a native of Branford, and a daugh- ter of Capt. Parkis, and ten children were born to this union : Charles, who died in young manhood ; Mary, wife of Ralph Wheeler, of Avon, who has two children, George and Charles; George, who was shot at Branford, while out duck shooting (he married Luella Daniels, and had two children, George and Hattie) ; John J., whose name opens this sketch ; Hattie, deceased at the age of fourteen years; Antoinette, wife of Robert Smith, of Plain- ville, who has one child; and Anna Louise, Hen- rietta, Marion and Anna Beebe, all of whom died young. Mr. Hinman passed away Feb. 9, 1890, and his wife did not long survive him, her death oc- curring May 18, same year. Both were laid to rest in the cemetery at Harwinton. They were good Christian people, and Mr. Hinman was an active member of the Episcopal Church, in which he served

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as vestryman and warden. As a man of honor and integrity he commanded the highest respect of all who knew him.

Jolın J. Hinman acquired his education in the district schools of the town of Burlington, and he has spent all his life on the homestead, where dur- ing his earlier years he was given ample oppor- tunity to master all the details of general farming. When but sixteen years of age he took charge of his father's mill, and after the latter retired the man- agement of all of his interests fell into our sub- ject's hands. He has continued the various lines with equal success, and is now extensively engaged in farming, lumbering, stock raising, fruit growing and dairying, having the largest dairy farm in Bur- lington. He owns three good farms, located in dif- ferent localities. As a result of systematic and careful management, combined with progressive methods, he has continued to prosper, and he ranks among the substantial and intelligent residents of his town. His name is a synonym for worth and good citizenship, and he is well and favorably known as a deservedly esteemed member of an old and honored family. Mr. Hinman has not been active in public affairs, though he has served on the school committee of his town. He was at one time a member of the Grange.

On July 10, 1867, Mr. Hinman married Miss Anna Beach, of Litchfield, Conn., daughter of David Beach, and four children were born to them : Charles, who died young; Benjamin, who lives at home, assisting his father ; Catherine E. ("Katie"). now a public-school teacher in Collinsville, who re- ceived her education in the local district schools and Collinsville high school ; and John D., living at home. The mother of these passed away April 9. 1876, and was laid to rest in Harwinton cemetery. She was a good Christian woman, a faithful men- ber of the Congregational Church. On Sept. 26, 1877, Mr. Hinman married Miss Emma Misner, a native of Burlington, daughter of Gottfried and Wilhelmina ( Hessler) Misner, both of whom were born in West Prussia, Germany. To the second marriage have also been born four children: Anna, now teaching in the district school of Whigville, town of Burlington, was educated in the home dis- trict school and Collinsville high school; Lillian, Hattie and Ernest are at home. Mr. Hinman is liberal in his political and religious views. The family attend the Congregational Church, and oc- cupy a place among the most respected members of the community.

WILLIAM EDWIN GATES, one of Glaston- bury's leading citizens, is a representative of an old Colonial family. James Gates, his great-grandfa- ther, was an early settler at Lyme, Conn., where he followed farming, and his descendants are now nu- merous in that locality. His wife's name is un- known, but they had a son, U'rson, and a daughter whose name is supposed to have been Maria, and

who married a Mr. Shepherd, of Cleveland, Ohio.

U'rson Gates, our subjeet's grandfather, was a farmer in Lyme, his entire life having been spent there. He married Huldah Rathbone, a native of East Haddam, and had the following children ; Edwin, our subjeet's father, is mentioned below ; Norris, a carpenter, married Philena Slate, and settled in Lyme; Emory married Harriet Tooker, and lived in Lyme, where he was engaged in mer- cantile business and farming, and at one time served as postmaster; Maria married Charles Com- stock, of Lyme, who was a sailor by occupation and served in the Civil war.

Edwin Gates, now a highly-respected resident of East Haddam, was born and reared in Lyme, receiving a common-school education. He learned the cabinet maker's trade, but made his home wich his father until the latter's death, and then took charge of the home farm, which he is still operat- ing. He married Miss Maria Day, daughter of Elijah and Rebecca ( Hungerford ) Day, and they. have had children as follows : Charles married Lally Davidson and resides in Louisville, Ky., being manager for the Turner Day & Woolworth Man- ufacturing Co. : William E. was second in order of birth; Justin, deceased, married Mary Allen, and. was engaged in electrical business as manager for the Perkins Lamp Co. at Manchester, and later at Hartford; Elizabeth married Charles Sanford, a machinist and farmer at East Haddam; Nellie married Hurvey Luther, and resides in Hartford.

William E. Gates was born in Lyme, March 29, 1857, and after completing a course in the district schools of his native town, he attended the Hartford High school, graduating in 1877. While in Hartford he made his home with his uncle Robert Day, at whose house the Hon. Will- iam Hungerford, the noted lawyer of Hartford, resided. On leaving school our subject returned. home and spent two years, farming in summer and. teaching school in winter. He then formed a part- nership with a Mr. Burnham, and bought a grocery store in Middlefield which they conducted for one year, but in 1884 Mr. Gates removed to Glaston - bury and purchased the grocery store of Mr. Frank Covell. He conducted a general store until fire destroyed the building in 1894, when he disposed of the stock and business to the present owner, Mr. Olcott. In 1888, Mr. Gates was appointed postmaster, and this position he held until 1896, when he entered the employ of the Kibbe Com- pany of Hartford, as superintendent of their ship- ping department, where his executive ability is of recognized value.

Mr. Gates was married (first) to Miss Phobe Holmes, who died leaving one son, Robert, bort in 1884, and now living at home. On Nov. 13, 1880, Mr. Gates married (second) Isabella Robert- son, a native of Glastonbury, and daughter of Will- iam and Elizabeth ( Milley) Robertson, respected citizens of Glastonbury. Politically Mr. Gates is &

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Republican, and in religious faith he and his wife are Congregationalists. He is a member of Daskam Lodge, F. & A. M., of Glastonbury ; the East Hart- ford Council. No. 1237, Royal Arcanum; Elm Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Glastonbury ; and of Put- nam Phalanx, of which he is sergeant.

WILLIAM HENRY TERRY, a leading lum- ber manufacturer of Collinsville, is a Canadian by birth, but a thorough American in sentiment, and his public spirit has been manifested effectively in various lines of effort.

Mr. Terry was born Nov. 9, 1852, in the town of Stratford, Ontario, and is of English descent. George Terry, his grandfather, was born and reared in Liverpool. England, and followed the ship- builder's trade there for some years of his man- hood. He married Sarah and later emi- grated to Canada, locating at Stratford, where he purchased a large tract of land and engaged suc- cessfully in lumbering. That section was then a wilderness, and the large sawmill and shingle-mill which he built at Pine Plains were among the first erected there. He was progressive and enter- prising, and his high moral character gave him much influence in the community. He and his wife were both devout members of the Church of England. They died in Stratford many years ago, and their remains rest in the local cemetery. They. had the following children: John, James, Joseph, Thomas, Frederick, Zachariah and Elizabeth.

Zachariah Terry, our subject's father, was born in Liverpool, and accompanied his parents to Amer- ica. He engaged in the lumber business at Strat- ford with his father and brother, and what is now the market square in that town was cleared by him. He also resided for some time in Guelph, Canada, where he owned a farm of 200 acres, and in 1871 he came to Connecticut, settling in Burlington, Hartford county. There he built up an extensive lumber business, but after ten years he returned to Stratford to spend the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Episcopal Church at the time of his death. but his wife belonged to the Methodist Union Church. Mr. Terry was married at Guelph to Miss Anna Leorsage, a native. of Yorkshire, England, whose qualities of mind and heart com- manded the respect of all who knew her. She died at Collinsville. Conn., but her remains were taken to Stratford for interment. Her father, Capt. George Lcorsage, was born in Yorkshire and fol- lowed the sea for many years, but finally located in Brooklyn. N. Y .. engaging in the manufacture of rope. His last years were spent in Guelph, On- tario.

Our subject was educated in the public schools of his native town. and from an early age made himself a useful factor in his father's business. He was eighteen years old when the family moved to Burlington, and continued to assist his father until the latter's return to Canada, when he located at

Collinsville, where he built a mill and engaged in the manufacture of lumber on an extensive scale. He owns large tracts of land in Canton, New Hartford and Burlington, and his enterprise and sound business judgment have won for him a sub- stantial success. Mr. Terry has a host of friends, and has frequently been called upon to fill local offices, being an active and influential worker in the Republican organization. He was elected road commissioner in 1892, and first selectman in 1896, being re-elected in 1897, and in 1898 he was chosen third selectman. He and his family are prominently identified with the Episcopal Church, and he also belongs to Village Lodge, No. 29, A. F. & A. MI., at Collinsville. His wife, formerly Miss Adella Garrett, is a native of the Cherry Brook District, town of Canton, and is a daughter of Andrew Gar- rett, and granddaughter of John Garrett, a pros- perous blacksmith and respected citizen of Canton. Her mother, whose maiden name was Helen M. Case, was a daughter of Orville Case. Four chil- dren have brightened our subject's home: Hubert Leorsage, Helen R., George H. and Sarah Eliza- beth.

JOHN S. SHAW, a thrifty farmer of Po- quonock, and a wide-awake business man in the fullest sense of the term, is one whose position in life is due to his own well-directed efforts. He was born in Ashford, Conn., Sept. 16, 1853, and comes of sturdy Scottish stock.

Mr. Shaw's father, Alexander Shaw, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, July 10, 1829, a son of James and Agnes ( McDonald) `Shaw, lifelong resi- dents of that country. The grandfather met his death by drowning in a canal, and left his family in limited circumstances. The children were Agnes, who married Robert Monroe, and died in Scotland ; Ellen, wife of John Bryce, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; James, a resident of Marlboro, Ulster Co., N. Y .; Alexander, father of our subject; and one who died in infancy. The mother of these did not long survive her husband.

After the death of his parents Alexander Shaw was taken into the home of a family who were poor but kind, and his education was limited to a few months' attendance at the public schools. On May 15, 1844, he left Glasgow on the "Wilhelmina," and landed in New York after a voyage of forty- five days, having worked his passage as cabin boy. He earned his first money in America with Solomon Fuller, a tanner of Scotland, Windham Co., Conn., working at $5 per month for two years, and then entered the employ of Gill & Davis, of the same place, who made "nigger cloth" for the Southern trade. Later he went to Wappingers Falls, Dutchess Co., N. Y., where he worked in a cotton mill for $2 per week, but was soon promoted, and his wages increased. He was made dresser tender, and continued to work in the mills at that place for four years, at the end of that time accepting

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a similar position at Tariffville, Conn., and later was employed in the same capacity at Ware, Mass. He next went to what was then known as Pomfret, now Putnam, Windham Co., Conn., where as dresser tender he remained until 1858, and then removed to Auburn, N. Y. While he was living there the Civil war paralyzed the cotton mills, and being thrown out of work he entered the employ of a lumber firm at that place. From there he returned to Tariffville, Conn., and was employed as yard- 111an in a carpet factory, where he later took up the work of dressing Brussels carpet warp. In 1862 he came to Poquonock, and was dresser tender in the AAustin Dunham mill until 1869, when he re- tired from the business, and bought his present farm from Horace H. Barnes. He has made many improvements upon the place, including the erec- tion of good and substantial buildings, and has since devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits.

At Tariffville Alexander Shaw married Jane Forsythe, a native of Ireland, and to them were born the following children: Margaret, now the widow of William Sackett, of Poquonock; Eliza- beth, Mrs. McQuitty, of Providence, R. I .; John S., our subject; Albert, a carpenter of Hartford ; Ellen, who died in infancy; Agnes, who married C. A. Davis, and died in Hartford ; and Lena, wife of William H. Pomeroy, of Springfield, Mass. The wife and mother, who was a consistent member of the Methodist Church, died on the present farm of the family, and was buried in Poquonock cem- etery. For his second wife Mr. Shaw married Euphemia McNaught, a native of Scotland. He is a Republican, and, while not a politician or office seeker, he takes a keen interest in the success of his party. He is naturally quite an intelligent man, and had he received a good education would have been fitted for almost any position in life. He is a self-made man in the truest sense of the term, having started out in life for himself a poor orphan boy, and is now in the possession of a comfortable competence. He is quite well preserved for a man of his years, and is one of the most highly respected citizens of his community. He is a member of the Methodist Church, but attends the Congregational Church, to which his wife belongs.

During his boyhood and youth John S. Shaw accompanied his parents on their various removals, attended the public schools of the places in which they lived, and was employed in the mills with his father. At the age of nineteen he learned the cigar maker's trade in Hartford, with John Lentz, paying $50 for three months' instruction in that art, and then engaged in business as a cigar maker at Poquonock for six or seven years, with good success. Later he was interested in the butcher business until 1897, when he sold out. There never has been a time since 1860 that he has not been interested in a crop of tobacco, and at the present time he is quite an extensive grower. He owns the old Winchel home, and is a wide-awake, ener-

getic and thrifty farmer, one who has worked his way upward until he is also one of the well-to-do and prosperous citizens of the community in which he lives. His farm is a valuable one, and has been greatly improved since coming into his possession. He is an honored member of the Grange of Po- quonock, has served his fellow citizens in the ca- pacity of constable, and in politics is strictly non- partisan. Mr. Shaw married Miss Fannie A. Loper, a native of Hartford, and a daughter of Thomas and Mary Loper.

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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 147

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