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 168

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 168

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ELMER RISLEY, who was born on Main street, in Hockanum, attended his first school in that vil- lage, and then entered the East Hartford high school, from which he graduated in 1868. He then engaged in farming on the place now ocupied by his son, Cassius E., and has carried on agriculture

ever since, with the exception of the year 1871, when he was employed in William Rogers & Co.'s plating works. On Dec. 3, 1872, he was married, by Rev. William A. Turkenston, to Miss Adelaide M. Selen, who was born Sept. 3, 1852, and is a daughter of John and Maria (Hills) Selen. To this union have been born two children: Cassius E., born Feb. 6, 1876, married Jessie Wadsworth, of Glastonbury, Oct. 10, 1898, is a very industrious, upright young man, and now occupies the farm for- merly owned by his grandfather, the deceased sub- ject of this sketch; Nellie S., born May 25, 1880, is a young lady of rare musical ability, and is giv- ing instruction in her art.

Elmer Risley is Democratic in his political pro- clivities, but votes for the candidate he deems best fitted for office, rather than for a less worthy one that may happen to be the nominee of his party. He is a charter member of East Hartford Council, No. 1237. Royal Arcanum, has held several offices in the council, and is also past master in the East Hartford Grange. He aid his wife and daughter are members of the Hockanum Methodist Epis- copal Church, and Mr. Risley is a member of the board of trustees of that society. In addition to his farming operations, Mr. Risley acts as agent for Olds & Whipple's fertilizers. He is enterpris- ing, industrious and strictly upright, and no family in East Hartford town is more sincerely respected than that of Elmer Risley.

WILLIAM H. KILLIN, one of Hartford's en- terprising and successful young business men, was born in that city June 24, 1864, and began his business career before he attained his majority.

The family is well known in Hartford, his fa- ther, the late James Killin, a native of County Westmeath, Ireland, having located there in 1848, on his arrival in America. For some time James Killin conducted a retail grocery and liquor store, but in 1864 he engaged exclusively in a wholesa's trade, at No. 72 Morgan street. His custom ex- tended throughout the county, and he continued to give personal attention to the business until his death in 1894, although our subject purchased an interest five years before that event, the firm be- ing known as James Killin & Sons. His judgment in business matters was much valued by his as- sociates, and at the time of his death he was a di- rector in the Francis Goodard Distillery Co., of Melrose, Conn. Coming to the United States with- out capital, he made his own way to success, and he was also practically self-educated, his schooling having been limited in youth. Politically he was a stanch Democrat, and while he was not an office seeker he served two terms in the court of com- mon council. In religious faith he was a Catholic, and he and his family became leading members of St. Patrick's Church, Hartford. Mr. Killin's first wife, Katherine McGeough, died when our subject was an infant. By this marriage there were six children, of whom three survive: James

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F., a member of the firm of James Killin & Sons ; Miss Mary A. ; and William H. By a second mar- riage there were two children, both now deceased.

AAs a boy our subject attended the Brown school, Hartford, and on leaving school, at the age of fif- teen, he entered his father's store as clerk. For ten years he successfully conducted a grocery and liquor store alone, beginning when a minor, but this business he gave to a brother, and at the latter's death sold out. Since purchasing an interest in his father's business, in 1890, he has shown marked ability and judgment, and his close attention to de- tails is doubtless a factor in his success. At his father's death he succeeded him as a director in the distillery company. He takes an active in- terest in politics, being a leader in the Democratic organization in his ward, and he has served two years in the court of common council and one term on the board of aldermen. Socially he is popular, and he belongs to the B. P. O. E., the K. of C., the order of Foresters, the Emeralds, and the Hiber- nians.

CHARLES LAWSON WOODING, librarian of the Free Library at Bristol, Conn., is a native of that town, and was born Nov. 1, 1869.

Lawson Jared Wooding, father of Charles Law- son Wooding, was born in Burlington, Conn., March 4, 1827, was reared a farmer, but later became a dealer in woodland. He married, Nov. 25, 1847, Miss Emeline Stone, of Harwinton, Conn. This lady was born Sept. 29, 1827, a daughter of Timo- thy Stone, and died Aug. 15, 1892, the mother of four children, viz. : Mary Elizabeth, who was mar- ried to Henry Hutchinson, of Bristol ; Jessie Althea, married to George H. Hall, also of Bristol ; Charles Newton, born Aug. 26, 1857, died Jan. 14, 1858; Charles Lawson, the subject of this sketch, is a twin to an infant that died unnamed. In 1865 Lawson J. Wooding became a contractor for the packing department of the E. Ingraham Company, with which he remained until his death which took place March 31, 1889. In politics he was a Repub- lican, but never held an office, although he was very active in promoting the success of his party. He was equally active in church work for many years as a member of the Methodist congregation, but in his latter years was a member of the Ad- vent Christian Church.

Lawson Wooding, father of Lawson J., was also a farmer, was married, in November, 1825, to Miss Sally Pardee, and in November, 1826, was called from carth. Mrs. Sally ( Pardee) Wooding was born February 5, 1805, and died Jan. 2, 1895, the mother of one child.

Charles Lawson Wooding attended the public schools of Bristol until 1884, passed to the high school, from which he was graduated in 1887, and then took a post graduate course of one vear in the same institution to prepare for Yale College, which he entered in 1888, and from which he was graduated in the regular course in 1892. He then

assumed the duties of his present position which he has since so satisfactorily filled.

Charles L. Wooding was joined in marriage, June 1, 1893, with Miss Cora R. Defendorf, of Waterbury, and to this union has been born two chil- dren, the elder of whom, Lois, born Feb. 5, 1895, died Dec. 27, of the same year; Helen, born July 6, 1897, still survives to brighten the home of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wooding are members of Prospect Methodist Church and socially stand very high in the esteem of a large circle of personal friends. Mr. Wooding is also a member of Pequa- buck Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and likewise of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, of Bristol, in which he is senior deacon. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and has been a member of the town school board for six years, and is secretary five years, and he also has been acting school visitor for five years. For positions of this class his qual- ifications and predilections peculiarly fit him.

WILTON E. DICKERMAN, M. D., a well- known physician and surgeon of Hartford, was born Aug. 10, 1864, at Whitneyville, Conn., and is a member of one of the pioneer families of New Haven county.

Eli Dickerman, his grandfather, was a promi- nent resident of Whitneyville, and Elias Dicker- man, the father of our subject, was a native of the place, and has always resided there. For some years he was active in business, being identified with various corporate interests, and he has been secretary of the New Haven Car Co., now defunct, and of the James G. Hotchkiss Match Co. He married Miss Eunice Gilbert, daughter of Gibbs Gilbert, of New Haven, Conn., and had four chil- dren: Amelia ; Asa G., an electrician at Newbury- port, Mass .; Wilton Elias; and Eli G., deceased. Dr. Dickerman began his education in the schools of his native village, and was graduated from Greenwich Academy in 1884, and from Amherst College in 1890. In 1893 he completed a course in the Medical Department of Yale University, and spent the next two years in practical work in the Hartford Hospital, where he is now assistant sur- geon. In 1895 he established himself in general practice in Hartford, meeting with marked suc- cess. He was city police surgeon for three years ; is clerk of the Hartford County Medical Society; and examiner for the Etna Life Insurance Co. He belongs to the City, County and State Medical Societies, and to the American Medical Associa- tion, and socially is identified with the Colonial and Golf Clubs.

GUSTAVE A. ANDRE, M. D., an able young physician of Hartford, was born July 20, 1870. in New Britain, Connecticut.

Theodore Andre, his father, who was born in France, came to America at the age of twenty. For many years he was a contractor in the cutlery works in New Britain, but he is now a resident

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Norfolk, Conn. He married Eliza Schenherr, and three children were born of the union : Eugenie married Joseph Steckquel, of New Britain; Gus- tave A. is mentioned more fully below ; Mary mar- ried Tom Crow, of New Britain.

Dr. Gustave A. Andre received his elementary education in the Burritt school, New Britain, and later entered the Medical Department of the U'ni- versity of New York, where the degree of M. D. was conferred upon him in 1895. After taking a post-graduate course in New York Hospital he practiced in South Manchester, Conn., for six months, and in 1896 located in Hartford, engaging in general practice. Hle is popular socially, and is identified with the B. P. O. E. and the Order of Foresters.

RICHARD P. LYMAN, B. Sc., M. D. V., the well-known skillful veterinarian, of Hartford, is a native of Massachusetts, born Aug. 5, 1870, in Con- cord, and comes of Revolutionary ancestry on both sides of the house. He is related to Capt. Eben- ezer Steadman, member of the First Provincial Congress, and can also boast of twelve lines of Revolutionary ancestors, as well as those who served in the colonial wars, being, on the paternal side, a direct descendant of Richard Lyman, who came to Hartford with Hooker, and after whom our subject was named, the line of descent being as follows : Richard, John, Benjamin, Aaron, Caleb, Joseph D., Jabez Whiting and Charles I'., father of our subject.

The last named was born in Boston, Mass., a son of Jabez W. Lyman, a native of Northfield, Mass., who became an importer, and made his home in Boston and New York. His son Charles was educated in Boston and in Edinburgh, Scot- land, and having decided on taking up the profes- sion of veterinary surgery studied at the Royal Col- lege of Veterinary Surgeons, in the latter city, grad- uating from same; he received the degree of Fel- low of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Returning to Massachusetts, he practiced his chosen profession several years in Springfield, Mass. In 1881 he organized the veterinary department of Harvard University, of which department he was appointed dean, a position he still holds ; he has been employed by the government as an expert in the treatment of pleuro-pneumonia, much having been clone by him toward checking this disease. In fact, he is recognized as a standard authority on the dis- eases of animals, also in the prevention and cure of same.

Dr. Charles P. Lyman married Lucy E. Pope, born in Cambridge, Mass., daughter of Rev. Au- gustus Russell Pope, of that city, where he was a popular preacher for many years, and to the union were born three children : Bertha, Richard and Mary Ainsworth.

Richard P. Lyman, the only son of Dr. Charles P. and Lucy E. ( Pope) Lyman, received his liter- ary education in the schools of Boston, Mass., then attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College, 96

at Amherst, taking the scientific course, where he graduated, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. He afterward took a course at Harvard, where he also graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. In Boston he practiced his profession, being employed by the Massachusetts Cattle Com- mission as a special agent for a time, after which he located in Hartford, and has since here resided, engaged in active practice as a first-class veterinary surgeon. During the year of 1896 he was em- ployed as veterinarian by the Connecticut Cattle Commission.

On Feb. 16, 1897, Dr. R. P. Lyman married Annie Downing Evans, daughter of George A. and Jennie (Downing) Evans, mentioned elsewhere. Socially he is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, 1. & A. M., and of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, Royal Arch Masons, both of Hartford; of the Grange of West Hartford; of the American Vet- erinary Medical Association, being State secretary of same; and is also a member of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association, of which he is vice- president. In January, 1901. Dr. Lyman opened a spacious hospital for the treatment of veterinary patients, which, although by no means a new feature in connection with the practice of veterinary med- icine, is the first of the kind regularly organized in Hartford.

WILLIAM SAMUEL LINES, a prominent real-estate dealer of Hartford, finds an appropriate place among those men of business and enterprise in this State whose force of character, whose ster- ling integrity, whose fortitude amid discourage- ments, whose good sense in the management of com- plicated affairs, and marked success in establishing important business enterprises, have contributed in an eminent degree to the development of the re- sources of the localities with which he has been con- nected. In the broadest sense he is a self-made man, being both the architect and the builder of his own fortune.

Mr. Lines was born in Utica, N. Y., Feb. 16, 1837, and is a descendant of Stephen Lines, who is believed to have been a native of Oyster Bay, L. I., while his father undoubtedly came from New Ilaven county, Conn. Stephen Lines married Pen- elope Cox, who was born Jan. 27, 1741. Their son, Stephen Lines, Jr., was born in Bethpage, L. I., Sept. 3, 1757, and was married Jan. 28, 1778, to Miss Martha Underhill, who was born Jan. 8, 1759. Having learned the gristmill business and survey- ing with his uncle, Joshua Cox, he removed to the town of Clinton, Dutchess Co .. N. Y., after his mar- riage. and engaged in milling there. Later. with his whole family, he removed to West Somers, Westchester Co., N. Y., where he also engaged in milling, farming and surveying, and was at the head of the Friends Meeting there for many years. His son, Samuel Lines, the grandfather of our subject. was born in the town of Clinton, Dutchess Co., N. Y., Feb. 18, 1787, and was there married in 1808 to

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Eliza Van Varnevelt (changed to Williams), who was born at Clinton May 20, 1793.

Peter W. Lines, father of our subject, was born in West Somers, Westchester Co., N. Y., June 23, 1813, and during his last years conducted a store for J. S. and M. Peckham, manufacturers of stoves and plows, at Bridgewater, N. Y., where he died Jan. 0, 1846. He was married Dec. 27, 1835, to Miss Sarah J. Griffith, who was born March 17, 18II, and died March 15, 1856. They had three children, of whom our subject is the eldest. Stephen Hi., the second son, was born Sept. 9, 1840. Amanda L. was born Feb. 26, 1843, and married A. D. Bon- steel, of Buffalo, New York.

William S. Lines was reared and educated in Utica, Bridgewater, Syracuse and East Otto, N. 1., and from the age of thirteen to eighteen years worked on a farm for his uncle, in East Otto. At the age of eighteen he left that place, and accepted the position of time keeper in the locomotive works of the Erie railroad, at Dunkirk, N. Y., which he held for about five years. He then engaged in general merchandising at East Otto for seven years, after which he entered the dry-goods importing and jobbing house of Bartlett, Beery & Co., in New York City, later Bartlett, Beery, Reed & Co., of which he became junior partner. After a success- ful business career with this firm, he was obliged to retire on account of ill health and seek renewed strength by retiring to his country place, in Fre- donia, N. Y. Upon regaining his health he became interested with Bates, Reed & Cooley, importers of dry goods, New York City, and later with Sweetser, Pembroke & Co. Subsequently, furnishing the capital, he became special partner in the firm of F. E. Stevens & Co., importers and jobbers of foreign and domestic silks, New York City, but in 1891 he retired from that business and removed to West Hartford, where he is now extensively engaged in the real-estate business and in building, having large interests in both Hartford and West Hartford. He has always been a very enterprising and progressive business man, believing in keeping fully abreast with the times, and in most of his undertakings he has met with eminent success. He is a member of the board of education of West Hartford; socially is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Elliottville, .V. Y., and the chapter at Dunkirk, N. Y .; to the Colonial and Twilight Clubs of New York City ; and to Prospect Casino and Hartford Golf Clubs; re- ligiously he is a member of the Park Congregational Church of Hartford.

Mr. Lines has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Jennie Crosby, of East Otto, N. Y., by whom he had two children: Earnest Howard, born Oct. 22, 1859; and Mabel, born May 26, 1861. The son was educated at Kellogg's private school. Jersey ('ity Heights, later attended the Fredonia Normal School, and was fitted for Dartmouth College at the Academy of St. Johnsbury, Vt. He was grad- uated from Dartmouth College, the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, New York City, and the

Chambers Street Hospital ; then became house sur- geon at the New York Hospital and Dispensary, and was examining surgeon for the New York Life Insurance Co. For a time he had charge of the office on Twenty-third street, New York, was ten years on the medical board in the main office, and is now associate medical director in charge of the European business of the New York Life Insur- ance Co., located at Paris, France. On Sept. 18, 1889, Dr. Lines was married to Miss Elizabeth Lindsay James, and they have two children, Howard and Mary C.

For his second wife William S. Lines .married, in Hartford, Nov. 18, 1886, Mrs. Carrie Hovey Smith, by whom he has one son, William Samuel, Jr., born Aug. 9, 1889. Mrs. Carrie Hovey Smith- Lines is a daughter of Capt. Henry Russell Hovey. of Essex, Conn., a granddaughter of Rev. Aaron Hovey, of Essex, and a lineal descendant of Daniel Hovey, who came from England and settled in Ips- wich, Mass., about the year 1660. Rev. Aaron Hovey was for over forty years pastor of the First Congregational Church at Essex : he married Hul- dah Ely, a daughter of Rev. Richard Ely, who was pastor of the First Congregational Church of Essex for forty years, prior to the incumbency of Rev. Aaron Hovey, in the same parish.

F. P. WOOLLEY, proprietor of a well-known hack, livery and boarding stable at No. 366 Main street, Hartford, was born in that city Nov. 21, 1859, son of William P. Woolley.

The family became identified with Richmond, Va., at an early day, but our subject's grandfather Woolley, a machinist by trade, removed to Glaston- bury, Conn., where he constructed the first machine. William P. Woolley was born in Richmond, and reared at Glastonbury, and for some years con- ducted a farm in Bloomfield. He also engaged in business as a saddler and undertaker, in partner- ship with his brother G. W., and in 1869 became interested in the livery business in Hartford, being at present the oldest liveryman except one in the city. His first stables were rented, but he soon built the present buildings to accommodate his growing business, and in 1898 his son, our subject, took charge. In politics he is a Democrat, and he and his estimable wife are both members of the Church of the Good Shepherd. At one time he served in the Governor's Foot Guards. William P'. Woolley married Sarah A. Burt, who is a mem- ber of the well-known Massachusetts family of that name, and one of a large family of children. They have had nine children, five of whom are living : Mrs. William Young. of Springfield : Mrs. H. Clints- man ; Leonard D., of Hartford ; F. P. ; and Adelbert, also a resident of Hartford.

Our subject spent much of his youth in Hartford, but traveled extensively throughout the United States before engaging in business. In 1883-84 he was in Minnesota, returning to Hartford in May, 1885; while in Minneapolis he was agent for the

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Red Line fast freight. In 1888 he graduated from a veterinary college, having taken the course in preparation for work as manager of his father's stables. Since 1898 the business has been contin- ucd in his name, and he enjoys a large custom, keep- ing fifty horses and several boarders, and in his specialty of coach work he leads among the livery- men of the city.

In 1893 Mr. Woolley married Miss Isabel Os- mond, a native of Hartford, and daughter of Will- iam Osmond, a native of Hartford, a blacksmith for the New Haven railroad, who had four children by his second wife, Isabelle (Hunter ), Mrs. Woolley's mother. Our subject's home is brightened by three children : Frederick P., Mildred and William O. Politically Mr. Woolley is an independent, and he and his family are active members of St. John's Church.

JOHN A. LEWIS, photographer, New Britain, Hartford county, Connecticut.

FRANKLIN SMITH, a well-known contractor and builder of Hartford, was born Nov. 4, 1833, in Lyme, New London Co., Conn., where his fam- ily has been prominent for generations. Accord- ing to the earliest records obtainable, his line of (lescent is traced from one John Smith, who with his wife Mary moved from Sudbury, Mass., to Lan- caster, Mass., about 1654. He died there April 5, 1669, and his will mentions four children, John, Richard, Ann and Alice.

(II) Richard Smith was the first of the family to settle in Connecticut. He appears among the founders of Groton, Conn., in 1656, and some time before 1669 settled at Lyme, Conn., where the family continue to reside down to the present gen- eration. He was married twice, the children by his first marriage being Hannah, Richard, Jr., and John. His second wife was Joanna Quarles, and their marriage occurred in Boston, Mass., Aug. 2, 1654. and was celebrated by Gov. Bellingham. The children born of this union were Mary, Henry, Fran- cis, Joanna, Elizabeth and James. The Lyme land records show that Richard Smith (Sr.) was a sol- dier in King Philip's war, and for his services was given a grant of land in Voluntown, Connecticut. (III) John Smith, son of Richard Smith, hands down a record of six children, as follows : Mar- tha, Quarles, Samuel, Josiah, Ruth and Jemima. (IV) Josiah Smith, son of John, leaves a rec- ord of eight children, as follows: Joseph, Josiah, Rhoda, Lydia, Lucretia, Pheby, Tubs and William. (V) William Smith, son of Josiah, was born in Lyme, in 1748, and there followed farming through- out his life. He died at the age of sixty-five years, and his wife, Mary ( Moore), also a native of Lyme, lived to a good old age. They had four children : Dan, Union, Azariah, and William Moore.

(VI) Capt. William Moore Smith was born in Lyme in 1782, and became a successful farmer and leading citizen of the town. For a number of

years he served as deputy sheriff and captain of the local militia. During the war of 1812 his com- pany was called out, and in recognition of his ser- vices the United States government bestowed a grant of land upon his widow. He was a Democrat in politics, and his ability and strong character gave him much influence in local affairs. He died aged fifty-eight years. Mr. Smith was married twice, his first wife being Britania Brown, of Hartford, by whom he had one son, William Brown, born Feb. 10, 1823 ; he became a sailor, rising to the com- mand of a packet ship sailing between New York and London ; his boat, "The Ocean Queen," was lost at sea, with all on board, sometime during the month of February, 1856. In April, 1825, Capt. William M. Smith married Jane Crosby, who was born in East Haddam, Conn., in 1800, and lived to the age of eighty-one years. Both were members of the Congregational Church, and active in the cause of religion. Their union was blessed with six chil- dren: Henry, deceased; John, who conducts the old homestead ; Britania, who was drowned in a well in childhood; Franklin, our subject; Albert, an or- derly sergeant in the 26th Conn. V. I., who was killed at Port Hudson, La., in the Civil war; and Joseph, a resident of Colchester, Connecticut.

Franklin Smith was but seven years of age when his father died, and at the age of fifteen, after receiving a practical education in the common schools of Lyme, he began to learn the carpenter's trade, in preparation for his business career. He served his apprenticeship at this trade in Ellington, and in 1857 located in Hartford, where he soon won a high reputation for workmanship as foreman for a contractor. He superintended the building of a number of churches and large houses there and in New Britain, and in 1865 he was foreman and master mechanic on the Asylum Avenue Con- gregational church, Hartford. In 1866 he was master builder of the South church, in New Britain, costing $140,000, and considered one of the finest churches in the State at that time. Many of the drawings for the inside and the framing of the roof were made by him. He also built a house in New Britain for one of the deacons, and among the many residences built by him in Hartford are some costing $25,000. Much of his draughting and architectural work has been done by himself, and for some years past he has had a large amount of jobbing to do, his work always giving satis- faction. During his active career of forty years he probably has had more of the best class of work than any other contractor in Hartford. In real- estate business Mr. Smith has also been successful, as he bought and developed a large tract of land where he now resides. Ile laid out Ashley street, and built the first house there, afterward building some thirteen other houses in the same vicinity, and his influence has been a leading factor in the growth of that portion of the city.

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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 168

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