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 152

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 152

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Mr. Johnson is a member of the First Congre- gational Church of Enfield, and his wife of St. An- drew's Episcopal Church of Thompsonville. He is a member of the F. & A. M. In politics he is a stanch Republican, for thirty-eight years has served as justice of the peace in Enfield, and was a mem- ber of the Legislature in the years 1866, 1870, and 1882.

ELNATHAN ATWOOD, a prominent and highly respected citizen of Southington, was born in Barrington. County of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Jan. 14, 1830, a son of Joshua and Mehitable (Smith ) Atwood, also natives of Nova Scotia, as were their parents. The paternal grandparents were Joshua and Catherine Atwood.

Our subject was reared in his native Province, and received a common-school education. In 1850 he came to Southington, Conn., where he served an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade with the old Peck Smith Co., and with the exception of eighteen months, spent in Minnesota, he has since made his home in that town. During the Civil war he enlisted, in June, 1862, becoming corporal in Company E. 20th Com. V. I., and participated in many engagements, being wounded in the battle of Atlanta, in 1864. and at Bentonville, N. C., March 19. 1865. He was honorably discharged from the service while in the New Haven Hospital, after nearly three years spent in the defense of his adopted country. Since the war he has been employed in the leading manufacturing establishments of South- ingten : also conducted a meat market for two years ; and since 1885 has been connected with the Ætna Nut Co.

On Dec. 31, 1860, Mr. Atwood was united in marriage with Miss Esther Haviland, daughter of Barnes H. and Annie ( Hones ) Haviland, of Thomp- son, Sullivan Co., N. Y., and to them has been born a daughter, Ida O., now the wife of Alvin M. Craig, of New Haven, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. At- wood are active and prominent members of the Baptist Church, of which he is a deacon, and he also belongs to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., and Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R. Politi- cally he is a stanch Republican.

LUTHER B. WILLIAMS was born June 7, 1844, in Rocky Hill, upon the farm where Samuel Dimock now resides. His father, Thomas Will- iams, was born Dec. 6, 1819, in Rocky Hill, and was a plain and simple farmer throughout his entire life, vet was held in sufficiently high esteem by his fellow townsmen to be chosen assessor, an office which he held for twenty years, although not con- tinuously. He died on the sixty-second anni- versary of his birth, Dec. 6, 1881. He married Mary J. Boardman, and they had a family of four children: Luther B .; Charles M., a graduate of Williston Seminary, who has his home at Meriden, where he holds the position of superintendent of one of the city institutions; Caroline, who resides in Bristol. Conn .: and Jennie, who died in early womanhood, at the age of eighteen. Mr. Williams was a Republican, although not an active politician, and for several years served as justice of the peace. He was connected with the Congregational Church of Rocky Hill, and was a deacon therein at the time of his death.

Luther B. Williams was a child of five years when his father removed to Rocky Hill. His first instruction was received in the district school of that place. and was supplemented by a course at a private school in New Britain. On completing his education he returned home, but his bent of mind could not be satisfied by the prosaic, humdrum life afforded by a farm. He left his father's roof to enter the employ of a silver-plating company, whose factory was located at East Haddam, and there he remained as apprentice and journeyman for four- teen months. Later, he resolved to acquire the trade of a machinist and tool maker, and in 1862, with th's end in view, secured a position in a shop. About 1871 he had achieved such proficiency in his newly chosen business that he was able to secure a desirable position in Boston with the firm of H. & G. W. Ward, manufacturers of twine and netting. He remained in the employ of this concern for fourteen years, during the greater part of which period he was superintendent of the loom building department at their works in Boston, Mass., and Kennebec. Maine. He had never been able, however, to fairly divest himself of the love for the soil upon which lie was born, nor had the tender memories of his old home vanished from his recollection, and in 1885 he returned to Rocky Hill, where he has ever since had his residence.

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On June 27. 1872, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Ada M. Boardman, of Haddam, and to their union have come four cl.ildren : Luther B., Alice B .. Frank B., and Edward D.

Mr. Williams has been repeatedly elected by his fellow-citizens to positions of trust and responsibil- ity, they well knowing the capability of his char- acter. He represented his town in the Legislature in 1897 and 1838, and is at present a member of the town school committee. In politics he is a Repub- lican, and is an honored member of various socie- ties and fraternal organizations, belonging to Mid- dlesex Lodge. No. 3. East Haddam, I. O. O. F., and to Rocky Hill Grange, No. 115. His life has been one of marked success, although not full of incident. He has hewn his own way to fortune, availing himself to the utmost of the native talents with which he was endowed at birth. He is an ex- tensive land owner, having a home farm of seventy- two acres. besides 132 acres located elsewhere in the town. His business is that of a gene al and dairy farmer, and in it he has accumulated a hand- some competency.

TIMOTHY C. COLLINS, of Farmington, has the distinction of having won the proud American title of a self-made man. His great determination and energy have enabled him to overcome all diffi- culties and obstacles in his path and work his way steadi'y upward to prosperity.

Mr. Collins was born in Bristol. Hartford Co., Conn., Dec. 20, 1855, and is a son of Cornelius Collins, a native of County Cork, Ireland, where he continued to make his home, engaged in farming, until at forty years of age he emigrated to this country. He worked in a shop at Bristol, Conn., until his death July 16, 1880. His first wife died leaving two children: Patrick, now a resident of Forestville. Conn .: and Mary. of Hartford. For his second wife he married Miss Katherine Sulli- van. a native of County Kerry, Ireland, who died in Bristol in 1895. By the second union four chil- dren were born, namely: Timothy C., our subject; James, deceased : Daniel, a resident of Forestville ; and Catherine. deceased.

Timothy C. Collins is indebted to the public schools of Bristol for his education. and at that place he began to earn his own livelihood, at the age of thirteen years, by working for Henry Muzzey. Coming to Farmington, in 1874, he was in the employ of Dr. Franklin Wheeler, for five years, and for the past twenty years has been en- saged in the cattle business in Farmington, hand- ling Jersey and other fancy stock. Two years ago he was severely injured in a runaway accident, which necessitated the amputation of the left leg. near the hip, but notwithstanding he is thus handi- capped he is still one of the most active and ener- getic business men of the town. As a Democrat he takes quite a prominent part in local politics, and has held several town offices, including that of selectman of Farmington. Socially he is a member of the

Ancient Order of United Workmen in New Britain, and of the Foresters and Knights of Pythias in Unionville.

Mr. Collins was married in Farmington to Miss Mary Gelligan, and to them have been born four children : Thomas Henry, Catherine Mary, Mary Elizabeth and Julia Frances.

WILLIAM H. OLMSTED, civil engineer at East Hartford, is a native of that town, born Jan. II, 1844, on Prospect street, and can trace his an- cestry back to Capt. Nicholas Olmsted, of Colonial days, and Gov. William Pitkin, of the same remote period. The Olmsted line of descent is as follows :

Capt. Nicholas Olmsted married Sarah Loomis in 1640. Joseph, son of the Captain, was born in 1654, married Elizabeth Butler, was a deacon of the First Society in Hartford, and was a committee-man on Meeting-houses and on Forts from 1699 to 1704. Joseph, son of Joseph, was also a deacon, and mar- ried Hannah March. Ashbel, son of Joseph (2), was born Feb. 1. 1725-26, and married Hannah Newberry Nov. 3. 1757. Ashbel, son of Ashbel, was born March 12, 1761, in East Hartford, was a farmer there, married Mary Forbes Nov. 16, 1786, and died at his home on Prospect street, the father of five children : Eli, Persius, Ashbel, George New- berry and Edwin. Ashbel, son of Ashbel (2), was born Dec. 17. 1798. William H., son of Ashbel (3), is the subject of this sketch.

Ashbel Olmsted (3) was primarily educated in the district school, and later attended the East Hartford Academy. under Salmon Phelps. . 1 farmer and prominent citizen, he was elected select- man in 1832, and served five terms. In 1838 he was elected to the State Legislature, and did very effective work in the House in caring for the inter- ests of his constituents. On March 9, 1825, he married Delia Belden, who bore him five children, all now deceased, and her death occurred Aug. 12, 1839. For his second helpmate Mr. Olmsted chose Miss Emeline Stanley, whom he married Nov. 12, 1840, and who was a daughter of James and Temperance ( Pitkin) Stanley ( the latter a descend- ant of Gov. William Pitkin), and a sister of the late lamented William Stanley. To this union were born five children: Caroline, born April 3. 1842, married D. P. Chapman, and is now living in River- side, Cal., where her husband is engaged in grow- ing oranges: William H. is the subject of this sketch ; A. Edward, born Dec. 21, 1845, married Emma Leland Strickland, who was born in Port- land, Conn., Aug. 5. 1848 (he is now employed as civil engineer by Ryan & McDonald, a large con- tracting firm, and is also consulting engineer for the Western Connecticut Railway Co.) ; Stanley Pit- kin, born Nov. 16, 1847, was a farmer on the home- stead on Prospect street, and there died unmar- ried, June 24, 1897: Anna Margaret, born July 8, 1851. is living on the East Hartford homestead. The father of the above family passed away June II,

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1859. in the house on Prospect Hill now occupied by the family of his son. AAshbel Edward Olmsted. His widow survived precisely nineteen years, dying June 11, 1878, and the remains of both repose in the fam- ily lot in East Hartford cemetery.

William H. Olmsted was born in the house now occupied by John North, on Prospect Hill, and was attending the Hartford Public High School at the time of his father's death. As he was the eldest son, he assumed the management of the farm for two years, and during this period studied civil en- gineering. He then abandoned farming and en- gaged in local work, becoming town surveyor, civil engineer for the Hartford, Manchester & Rockville Tramway Co., and also civil engineer for the Hart- ford Bridge Commission for two years.

Mr. Olmsted first married, June 15, 1871, Miss Ella S. Smith, daughter of Simeon and Laura (Wadsworth) Smith, and this union was graced with two children: C. Hadley, born Aug. 18, 1874, and now a civil engineer, is living with his father ; Ella S., born Jan. 5, 1878, is living in East Hart- ford. having been adopted by her uncle, Ashbel Ed- ward Olmsted, as she was but one day old when her mother was called from earth. The second mar- riage of Mr. Olmsted, on June 24, 1886, was to Miss Jennie M. Osburn, a daughter of Franklin and Henrietta ( Warner ) Osburn, and born in Sewickley, Penn., March 28. 1860: her father, a retired planter, now resides near Charleston, W. Va. This marriage has been blessed with six children : Mary Warner, born Nov. 18, 1888; Roger Wolcott. March 31, 1890; Franklin Osburn, Oct. 21, 1892; Margaret Stanley, Nov. 15, 1894; Eme- line Stanley, Nov. 10, 1896; and William Pitkin, Oct. 4. 1898.

lnt politics Mr. Olmsted has always affiliated with the Republican party, but has persistently de- clined accepting office. He is not a member of any secret organization. Since childhood he has been a member of the Congregational Church, and is now a deacon, for fourteen years he has been the superin- tendent of the Sunday-school, and has also served as chairman of the board of trustees in East Hartford. Ile is universally respected as a citizen, and his name is known far and wide as one of the most re- liable civil engineers of New England.

ARTHUR P. MOORE, one of the best-known citizens of East Hartford, an ex-soldier and a prom- inent civil official, was born in South Glastonbury, Conn .. Aug. 7. 1842, a son of Dr. John S. and Car- oline .A. (Cowles) Moore.

Dr. John S. Moore was born March 24, 1800, in Dummerston, Vt., and was the only son of Dr. Jonathan Moore, who was also an only son. Dr. Jonathan Moore was of good old Green Mountain stock, a most successful practitioner of medicine, and a very prominent citizen. He had a family of four children that reached adult years: John S., Rebecca ( Mrs. Heywood), Esther (Mrs. Chase), and Sophia ( Mrs. Seymour), all now deceased.

The three daughters passed the greater part of their lives in the vicinity of Hadley, Massachusetts.

When but a little over twenty years of age Dr. John S. Moore went on a whaling voyage. After his return he began the study of medicine, and about 1838 he entered upon practice in Glas- tonbury, Conn., having come here before his mar- riage. Here he wedded Caroline A. Cowles, who was born July 20, 1802, in Farmington, and was a descendant of one of the oldest families of that town, and from them have descended the present weh-known Moore family of Hartford county. The children of this union were all born in Glaston- bury, and, omitting further mention of Arthur P for the present, it may be said, of the others, that Henry S. when but a lad of fourteen years went South, where he became a prosperous business man. At the breaking out of the Civil war he and his brother. Charles J., were doing an extensive mer- cantile trade at Jackson, Miss. Henry S. was then appointed a commissioner to England for the Con- federate Government, became a very prominent man, married a granddaughter of Zachary Taylor, and passed the latter years of his life in Milledge- ville, Ga., where his death took place in 1893. Charles J. Moore has also made a success at the South as a merchant, was a captain in the Confed- erate army, likewise married a granddaughter of Zachary Taylor, and is now a resident of Dallas, Texas. John S. Moore is a resident of New York. James W. is a real-estate dealer in Cleveland, Ohio,

a deacon in Euclid Avenue Congregational

Church of that city, and has been very prosperous in business.

Dr. John S. Moore practiced medicine for over thirty-five years, and acquired a distinction in his profession seldom achieved outside a large city. He was a man of splendid physique, as all the Moore family are, and weighed about 220 pounds. He took no further part in politics than to faithfully cast his vote, yet he always kept himself posted on the political issues of the day. His death took place at the home of our subject, Arthur P., his son, Oct. 7, 1874 : his widow died Feb. 20, 1882, in the faith of the Congregational Church, and the remains of both were interred in the cemetery at East Hartford.

Arthur P. Moore acquired his education in the schools of his native town, yet the knowledge pos- sessed by the man of to-day would lead any one to the conclusion that his early education was far in excess of that imparted in the limited course of a village school. But such is not the case. He is what may be termed a self-educated man, his natural intelligence being his monitor, and he now stands among the best-informed men of the county. An extraordinarily retentive memory, habits of keen observation, and innate powers of ratiocination, have made him what he is, and no one may be thanked for it but himself and his progenitors. When but a lad of twelve years he went to live with Judge Merrick, of Glastonbury, with whom he remained

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until he reached his sixteenth year, doing chores for his board. While with him, however, he had access to the library, an opportunity of which he eagerly availed himself. In 1860 he became a res- ident of East Hartford. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company C, 25th Conn. V. I., and served until the battle at Trist Bank, shortly after which he was taken sick at Vermilion Ridge; he was sent to the Marine Hospital at New Orleans, where, after being sufficiently restored to health, he was placed in charge of a ward, which position he held until the close of his term of enlistment, Aug. 7, 1863, when he left New Orleans and returned to Connecticut.

Mr. Moore was first united in marriage with Miss Ellen M. Olmstead, a native of East Hartford, and a daughter of Percius Olmstead and his wife, whose maiden name was Jones. Percius Olmstead, a well-known citizen, had been twice married, and was the father of twelve children, six by each wife. Mrs. Ellen M. Moore passed away June 22, 1882, leaving four children: Rebecca, Eugene E., Ernst A. and Arthur J., all still living with their father. The second marriage of Mr. Moore was to Miss Adelaide H. Wells, of Ansonia, but a native of Huntington, and a daughter of Benjamin Wells, and to this union has been born one child, Benja- min W. Since 1869 Mr. Moore has occupied his present comfortable home on Main street, East Hartford.

In politics Mr. Moore has been a stanch Repub- lican ever since he has been entitled to exercise his right of franchise, and his first Presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. He was for twenty- five years constable in East Hartford, and was elected tax-collector in 1891, and in 1892 became superintendent of the Hartford Water Works, still holding both positions. For four years he has served as deputy United States marshal, and in this office has made a record never before equalled in this section of the country. He has shown his utter fearlessness by the manner in which he has dealt with some desperate criminals, and the press accounts of his exploits would be a credit to any official. When he "goes for" a man, he always "fetches" him, however desperate the culprit may be. He is an adviser of and counselor with the managers of the local affairs of his party, and his advice is never unheeded.

Mr. Moore as a member of secret and other fra- ternal societies stands prominent. He has held membership in as many as eighteen orders, at least, but some of these may have proved to have been but ephemeral. However, a few of the permanent brotherhoods, "rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun," so to speak, may be mentioned. He is a Chapter Mason, and a member of Wolcott Council, at Hartford: Washington Lodge, Knights of Pythias, same city ; was one of the first members of Steadman Post, G. A. R., of Hartford, and is now very prom- inent in Rodman Post, same order, in East Hart- ford; was a charter member of Charter Oak Lodge,

O. U. A. M., Hartford ; and as a member of Put- nam Phalanx, Hartford, rose from private to cap- tain, and was on the staff for years ; he has always been conspicuous in its parades, and he seems to have a natural gift as a leader of men. Like all the Moore family, he is of large and powerful build, and of distingue appearance-facts which make his presence especially desirable on gala days.

"Arthur" Moore, as he is familiarly called, is emphatically a self-made man, as from the age of eleven years he has "fought his own fight." He did his duty to his country in her hour of peril, and as a civilian has served his fellow citizens most acceptably in several responsible positions, some of which required the exercise of unusual discretion, determination and bravery. He has raised himself from obscurity to prominence, from poverty to affluence, and his only aids in attaining these desirable ends have been his assiduity, integ- rity and indomitable will power.

CHARLES E. OWEN. Among. the leading and highly respected citizens of the town of East Granby is the subject of this biographical notice, who owns a fine farm, which is well improved and highly cultivated, and shows conclusively that the owner has not mistaken his calling in adopting agriculture as his life vocation.

Born in the town of Granby, April 22, 1864, Mr. Owen belongs to an honored pioneer family of that town, of English extraction. His grand- father, Almon Owen, was a native of Chester, Mass., where he followed farming for many years, then removing with the family to Connecticut and lo- cating in the town of East Granby, where he pur- chased a tract of land, to the cultivation and im- provement of which he devoted his energies until called from this life. In his political views he was a Whig. He was twice married, and had four chil- dren : Caroline, John, Holley and Erastus.

Erastus Owen, our subject's father, was born in Chester, Mass., and with his parents came to the town of Granby, where he grew to manhood upo the home farm. He obtained a good practical Eng- lish education, and when he started out in life for himself engaged in the manufacture of lumber, also in farming in the town of Granby, to which occu- pation he devoted his life. He was fairly success- ful in business, and became quite widely and favor- ably known. He was a stanch supporter of the Republican party, but not a politician in the sense of office seeking, and was liberal in his religious views. In the town of Granby he married Miss Catherine Dibble, a native of that town, and a daugh- ter of Reuben W. Dibble, of Granby. Five chil- dren were born of this union : Ella, deceased wife of Gordon Wilder ; Emma, deceased wife of Eugene Griffin ; Charles E. and Edward D. (twins), the latter residing with our subject; and Nellie, who was killed by lightning in the town of Granby. The mother, who was a most estimable lady and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died in

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1870. and was laid to rest in the Granby cemetery. The father subsequently married Miss Amanda Hines, of Granby, who now makes her home with our subject. The father departed this life in 1883, and his remains were also interred in Granby cen- etery.

Charles E. Owen is indebted to the public schools of the town of Granby for his educational advantages. In early boyhood he commenced work- ing in his father's sawmill, where he was employed until eighteen years of age, and afterward worked as a farm hand for others for $20 per month, con- tinuing in that way until 1888. Having saved some money, he purchased his present farm on Copper Hill, town of Granby, known as the Dayton Phillips farm. It comprises 125 acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and well improved with good buildings. His time is devoted to gen- eral farming, dairying and tobacco culture, and be- ing industrious and energetic he is meeting with a well-merited success. In politics he is an ardent Republican, and for the past five years has most acceptably served as constable of the town of East Granby.

GUSTAF WALL. Sweden has furnished to America many of her best citizens, men of enter- prise, industry and good business ability, who have been important factors in her progress. In Mr. Wall we find a worthy representative of this class. He was born in Sweden Dec. 9, 1857, a son of Gustaf and Eva (Anderson) Hulberg, also natives of that country, the former of whom came to the United States in 1868, and located in Chicago. The family heard from him for about a year, but since then all trace of him has been lost. He was a stone mason by trade, and was engaged in business on his own account. The mother died in Sweden.

Our subject attended the public schools of his native land for three or four years, and later gradu- ated from the Infantry School in Karlskrona, where lie was a student for six months. Subsequently he served seven years in the Swedish army, and for the same length of time he followed the stone mason's trade in his native land. On May 27, 1887, lie sailed from Goteborg for New York, and on landing in this country came at once to New Britain, Conn., where he first worked at his trade as cupola man for Norton & Judd, for twelve years. He came to Berlin April 1, 1896, and purchased fifty-one acres of land from a Mr. Nash, since which time he has successfully engaged in agricultural pur- suits, raising general produce.

Conn., is deceased; and Esther Marie, born Aug. 16, 1888, and David, born Feb. 16, 1891, are both at home.

Mr. Wall took out his naturalization papers at New Britain in 1892. He is independent in political matters, voting for whom he believes to be the best man. He is a member of the Bestasta Society, a Swedish organization; also belongs to the New England Order of Protection; and to the Swedish Britannia Church, of New Britain, of which his wife is also a member.

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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 152

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