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 54

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 54

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In July, 1898, Mr. Danks, with a partner, started the Puritan Bottling Works at Tariffville, in the manufacture of carbonated beverages ; he soon after- ward became the sole owner. The superiority of his

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output has given him a line of patronage equal to that of older competing firms, and, being a young man of decided push and energy, manages his bot- tling establishment with unvarying success, while still attending to his railroad duties.

Mr. Danks is a member of St. Mark's Masonic lodge, at Simsbury, and also of Lincoln Lodge, K. of P., at Hartford, and in politics is a Re- publican, but he does not hold himself bound by party ties. He married Miss Henrietta Nor- ton, of Newburyport, Mass., and owns and re- sides in the dwelling occupied by his father. Since boyhood he has been self-supporting, and is recog- nized as one of the most enterprising and reliable of the younger business men of Tariffville.

JULIUS JACOB BANTLE. The subject of this sketch is the eldest son of Jacob and Catherine (Handel) Bantle. His father, coming as a poor young emigrant to Glastonbury, has attained a goodly measure of success, and the indomitable traits that won him success have been inherited by our subject, who is a young and progressive farmer, following his calling near the scenes of his birth and boyhood.

Mr. Bantle was born July 5, 1860, in that part of Glastonbury, known as Hopewell, his father then being an employe of the mill located there. Our subject attended the Naubuc school, and among his teachers were Miss Helen Wadsworth and Miss Phelps, now Mrs. George Hale. At the age of six- teen his school days ended. He worked for a time on his father's farm, then found employment at low wages in a factory, where he remained about a year. Choosing farming for his life work, he came to his present farm, cleared the land and reduced it to its present high state of cultivation, erecting sheds and barns, and making other improvements. On Feb. 22, 1883, he was married to Miss Mary, who was born July 29, 1861, a daughter of John Braasch, of Glastonbury, and the marriage was blessed with one child, Jennie, born Nov. 17, 1890. The mother passed away in August, 1893, and was buried in St. James cemetery, Glastonbury. On May 23, 1900, Mr. Bantle wedded Mrs. Helen Bowers, who was born July 19, 1863, a daughter of William Smith, of Chap- lin, Conn. The family attend the Episcopal Church.

In politics Mr. Bantle is a Democrat, but he has never sought nor desired public office. Fraternally he is a member of Daskam Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. M. His well kept farm is the best evidence of his industry and success, and he grows each year about ten acres of tobacco.

FRANCIS NEWELL WARNER, a leading and prominent farmer and tobacco grower of War- nertown, West Suffield, is now the oldest living representative of the Warner family in Hartford county. It is many years since the family became identified with the county, and its various mem- bers have won for the name an enviable distinction by their intelligence and worth.

Our subject's grandfather, Isaac Warner, was the first to locate in what is now known as War- nertown, and he had two brothers, John and Rich- ard, who also made their home in West Suffield He was a large land owner in the town, and was quite extensively engaged in general farming and stock raising. He met with excellent success in his life work, and was quite a prominent man in his day. In politics he was a Democrat, in re- ligious faith a Baptist. Both he and his wife died on their farm in Warnertown, and were interred in the Phelps burying ground near that place. In their family were five children: Curtis, Isaac, Julia, Maria, and Ada (who died young).

Curtis Warner, the father of our subject, was born on the old homestead in Warnertown, and, receiving a good education in the district schools, he successfully engaged in teaching for several terms. When a young man he also peddled tin- ware and Yankee notions in Connecticut, Massa- chusetts and New York, but after his marriage set- tled down to farming, buying a tract of 150 acres of land, known as the Trumbull farm, upon which he spent the remainder of his life, engaged prin- cipally in dairying, stock raising, general farming and tobacco growing. He made many improve- ments upon his place, and was quite successful in his business undertakings. In Worthington, Mass., ho was united in marriage with Miss Permelia Cush man, a native of Southwick, that State, and a daugh ter of Silas Cushman, and they became the parent of three children, as follows : Charles C. ( deceased ) who was the father of Mrs. Edmund Halladay, o Suffield; Francis N.,. our subject; and Ellen M wife of Jarvis W. Case, a carriage manufacture of West Suffield. The parents both died on th home farm, the father in 1856, the mother in 188. and their remains were interred in the West Su field cemetery. They were sincere Christians an faithful members of the Methodist Episcop Church, and in politics Mr. Warner was an Ol Line Whig.

Francis N. Warner was born Nov. 19, 183 He attended the district schools of Warnertoy and also the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffiel after which he successfully engaged in teachit school in Granby, Conn., and Southwick, Mass. I then returned to the home farm, of which he to complete charge after his father's death, and 1 since continued to engage in general farming, bacco culture, stock raising and dairying with m gratifying results. In 1869 he erected upon place one of the finest residences in Warnertov and has made many other improvements there

Mr. Warner was married, Oct. 6, 1857, to M Sarah J. Hayden, who was born in Hartland, Ha ford county, and is a daughter of Ransom B. a Hannah ( Mattocks) Hayden, and granddaugh of Col. Hayden, of West Hartland. The child born of this union were: Clara Gertrude, who d

Francis er Hamnen

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at the age of sixteen years; Arthur Francis, a farmer, who married Alma M. Thompson, of Can- ton, Conn .; Lottie Grace, who died at the age of five years ; Fanny May, who died at the age of three years; and Harry Curtis, who married Edith M. Hunt, of Southwick, Mass., and lives on the home- stead of his father. A granddaughter, Grace Eve- lyn, daughter of Harry Curtis Warner, was born March 18, 1900.

In 1892 Mr. Warner was elected, on the Re- publican ticket, to represent the town of Suffield in the State Legislature, and was an influential mem- ber of that body for one term. He has served as selectman for three terms and as justice of the peace for several years, and his official duties have always been most promptly and efficiently dis- charged. He possesses in a full measure the fine ennobling qualities for which his ancestors were noted, and though quiet and unassuming in man- her he makes friends, and has the happy faculty of being able to retain them.

Col. Nathaniel Hayden, grandfather of Mrs. Francis N. Warner, was born in Torrington, Litch- field Co., Conn., March 30, 1775, a son of Augustin and Cynthia (Filer ) Hayden. He married Sally Ransom, of Barkhamsted, Litchfield county, who died at Warehouse Point, April 26, 1873, aged hinety-two years, having long survived her hus- band, who had passed away June 20, 1819, while n his forty-fourth year. At one time he was col- onel of a regiment in his district. Their children vere as follows : Betsy, born Jan. 24, 1800, married Elias Beach, of Waterbury; Ransom B. is men- :ioned below; Nathaniel, born in 1805, married Sarah Root; Austin, born March, 1807, married Sarah Ann Cook; Sarah, born Jan. 19, 1810, mar- ried Orville Olmsted, of Riverton; Almira, born Sept. 17, 1812, married John P. Chapin, of Enfield, and moved to Ohio; Emilv. born May, 1815, mar- ied Nathaniel Gaylord, of Hartland; and Addi- son, born in 1817, married Harriet Pierson.

Ransom B. Hayden, father of Mrs. Francis N. Warner, was born Jan. 27, 1802, and died at West Suffield, in April, 1886. He married Hannah Mat- ocks, and they had children as follows: Charlotte _. , born Oct. 25, 1824, is now the widow of T. J. Austin; Osman M., born Dec. 29, 1826, is living n Laporte, Ind .; Nathaniel, born in May, 1834, married Lizzie J. Dodd; Sarah J. (Mrs. F. N. War- er), born Oct. 1, 1838; and Georgianna, born May 5, 1842, married Samuel Hanchett, of Westfield, Massachusetts.

ISAAC M. QUINN has been engaged at farm- ng and carpenter work in the town of Manchester or over thirty years, and he is respected wherever nown as an industrious and thrifty man, and a good citizen of the community where he has made tis home for so many years.

Mr. Quinn was born March 17, 1840, at East

Hampton, Long Island, on the farm of his parents, John and Eliza A. Quinn, and there grew to manhood. He received his education in the public schools of, his native place, and having been reared to farming began work in that line when twelve years of age, on Gardiner's Island. When sev- enteen he commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he served an apprenticeship of three years, remaining in the neighborhood of his birthplace until 1860, when he came to Hartford county, locating at Manchester. Here he worked at his trade until his enlistment, on Aug. 11, 1862, in Company H, 16th Conn. V. I., which was mustered in at Hartford and sent first to Washington, D. C., and thence to Frederick City, Md., where he was hurt in the knee and sent to Baltimore. He was at University Hos- pital, Newton, Md., from Sept. 17, 1862, until the following March, rejoining his command at Suffolk, Va., and subsequently took part in skirmishes at Suffolk and at Newbern, N. C., thence going to Plymouth, same State, where he was on garrison duty. The company was next sent to Roanoke to relieve recruits, and also did garrison duty at that place. Mr. Quinn received his discharge June 24, 1865, at Newbern, and returned to Manchester, where he has ever since resided. He has been en- engaged at his trade the greater part of the time in connection with general farming, having acquired a neat farm of forty-eight acres, which under his careful management has become a well-improved and valuable piece of land. Mr. Quinn's prosperity has been earned by faithful attention to the demands of his work and well-directed industry, which at the same time have won him the good will and respect of all with whom he has come in contact, and he is in every way deserving of the comfortable income which he now enjoys.

On Aug. II, 1862, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Julia E. Hill. They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Quinn are members of the Congregational Church at Manchester Center. Po- litically he sympathizes with the Republican party.

JOSEPH W. HOLCOMB, a prominent farmer and tobacco grower of East Weatogue, Simsbury, has risen steadily in the estimation of his fellow men by his force of character, his sterling integrity, and his active championship of causes which pro- mote the general welfare of society. . In his advance- ment he has been ably seconded by a devoted and intelligent wife, who shares his active and courag- eous nature and who is a most worthy helpmeet.

Our subject was born in Granby, Hartford coun- ty, March 4, 1853, a son of Edmund and Harriet E. (Gavette) Holcomb, and brother of Gavette B. Holcomb, of East Weatogue. He was educated in the district schools of Granby, and at the Connecti- cut Literary Institute, Suffield, under Prof. Shores, grew up on the old homestead, and remained with his father until of age. With a taste for travel, he visited Paris, Edgar Co., Ill., where he spent one year, engaged in various occupations. Thence he

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moved to Texas, where he spent some time. Re- turning to Granby, he remained on the homestead until 1881, when he came to East Weatogue, Sims- bury, and bought a tract of 120 acres, known as the Humphrey farm, where for the past eighteen years he has been engaged in tobacco culture, dairying and general farming.

Mr. Holcomb married, Oct. 24, 1879, Mary Ellen Lowrey, born in Burlington, Conn., daughter of Alfred and Elnora ( Goodsell) Lowrey, granddaugh- ter of Thomas Lowrey, great-granddaughter of Daniel Lowrey, who was a corporal in the Revolu- tion, and great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Lowrey. Daniel Lowrey was a native of Hartford county, and was of Irish and Scottish descent. He was a land owner and a farmer of the town of Farm- ington, now Plainville, where he died and was buried. Thomas Lowrey, the grandfather of Mrs. Holcomb, was born July 21, 1778. He removed in 1802 from Plainville to Whigville, where, in 1814, he erected a shop and became a cloth manufacturer, and where he continued in active business until his death, in 1840. He was buried in the South cem- etery of Burlington. In politics he was a Whig, and in religion a member of the Baptist Church of Bristol. He married, Aug. 1, 1803, Pattie Weed, who was born April 3, 1782, at Plymouth, Conn. To Thomas and Pattie Lowrey were born ten chil- dren : William, born June 23, 1804; Alfred, father of Mrs. Holcomb, born March 22, 1806; Annie, born Feb. 6, 1808, married Horatio Sperry ; Pattic, born March 30, 1810, married Luther L. Tuttle ; Mary, born March 8, 1812, married George Lang- dorn ; Caroline, born April 20, 1814, married (first) Sheldon Vose, and (second) Edward Bunnell, her deceased sister's husband; Jennette, born May 20, 1816, married Edward Bunnell ; Thomas, born Nov. 12, 1818; David, born July 2, 1821; and Mamre, born Aug. 1, 1824, married V. H. Hotchkiss, of New York.

Alfred Lowrey, the father of Mrs. Holcomb, received only a common-school cducation. He ac- quired the clockmaker's trade, and in connection with farming followed his trade in the employ of William Jones, and also for himself at Whigville and at Burlington, where he died July 21, 1872. He was buried in Case's cemetery, Burlington. He married, at New Hartford, Elnora Goodsell, who was born in New Hartford, daughter of Capt. Jo- siah and Eunice (Lester) Goodsell, and grand- daughter of Samuel Goodsell (who was also a soldier in the Revolution), and of Andrew Lester. To Alfred and Elnora Lowrey were born five chil- dren: Adeline, wife of Alfred Norton, of Bristol ; Augustus Alfred, who married Ida Beach, and lives at Whigville; Lester Lewis, who married Lil- lian Bunnell, and lives at Whigville; Martha, who married Arthur Nearing; and Mary Eleanor, wife of our subject. Four children have been born to our subject and wife: Eleanor Angelina, Ethel May, Edmund Alfred and Theona Lowrey.

Mrs. Holcomb was educated in the district

schools of Burlington, Conn., and also in the State Normal School at New Britain, Conn., from which institution she was graduated in January, 1876. She then taught school in the Union District, Simsbury. She is a member of the Advanced Grange, Sims- bury, of which she served as master one term, being the first lady in the State of Connecticut to fill that office, and takes an active part in the Grange work; she is also an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Abigail Phelps Chapter, Simsbury. Mrs. Holcomb is a lady of refined taste, finished education and elevated character. She is deeply attached to home, husband and family.

Our subject served as deputy sheriff for six years under Sheriff Preston. He is a stanch Demo- crat, but not a seeker for political preferment. Fra- ternally he is a member of the F. & A. M., St.' Mark's Lodge, Simsbury, and is also a leading mem- ber of the Grange. His wife and eldest daughter are members of the Congregational Church.

JAMES ORRIN HASKINS, a leading tobacco grower and general agriculturist of Suffield, is a native of the town, born Feb. 21, 1859. He was educated in the public schools, and at the Connecti- cut Literary Institute, and this instruction was sup- plemented by an attendance at the Eastman Busi- ness College, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which he was graduated. He remained under the pa- rental roof until twenty-one years of age, when he embarked in a business career on his own account, purchasing thirty-five acres of his present farm from E. A. Fuller; the balance of the place is known as the John A. King farm, and here he has since industriously devoted his attention to the branches of agriculture already mentioned, and also to dairying to a considerable extent. He is noted for his honesty and honorable dealing, and through his personal efforts he has succeeded in erecting one of the most pleasantly located homes in Suffield township, fitted with modern improvements. He has also erected some of the largest tobacco sheds in the town, one being 34x160 feet in dimensions ; another 34x80; two 22x48; and one 30x40, all be- ing supplied with the most effective accessories. He now operates 140 acres of land, and his phe- nomenal success is due entirely to his good man- agement and foresight.

Mr. Haskins is one of the leading and most popular Democrats of his town. In 1897 he was elected selectman of Suffield, and came within only thirty-three votes of being selected chairman of the board, notwithstanding the fact that the body was almost purely Republican. He was re-elected to the office in 1898, and by the same sweeping popu- lar vote. He has also served as a member of the school board, is the present treasurer of same, and one of its trustees, and in 1888 was nominated by the Democracy as its candidate for the State Legis- lature. However, the town being overwhelmingly Republican, he was defeated. For ten years he was

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also a registrar of votes in Suffield. He has likewise filled several positions of honor and trust in business institutions, being a trustee of the Suffield Sav- ings Bank, and a member of the financial com- mittee ; secretary of the Kent Library committee ; and an active member of the Suffield Agricultural Society, of which he has been secretary for the past six years, and is the present treasurer ; and a mem- ber of the New England Tobacco Growers Associa- tion. He belongs to the O. U. A. M., of Suffield. He has been very active in support of all measures that tend to the growth and prosperity of his com- munity.

The marriage of Mr. Haskins took place at Westfield, Mass., in 1883, to Miss Emma E. Bush, daughter of Seth Bush, a well-known citizen of that place, and to this union was born one child that died in infancy. Mrs. Haskins is a highly intelli- gent and refined lady ; she is a member of the Bap- tist Church.

Ashel Bush, grandfather of Mrs. Haskins, was a son of a Revolutionary soldier and a native of Westfield, Mass., where he was a holder of a large farming estate, and verv prominent as a citizen. He married Miss Sallie Noble, by whom he had six children : Seth, Ashel, Luke, Edwin, Mary (who married Thomas O. Kneil), and Amelia ( who mar- ried Ephraim Crary). The father of this family was an ardent Jeffersonian Democrat; both he and his wife died on the old homestead, and their remains lie interred side by side in the Westfield cemetery.

Seth Bush, the father of Mrs. Haskins, was born in Westfield, Mav 5, 1820, and, although his schooling was quite limited, was a man of close observation, kept well posted on the current events of his day, and was a progressive farmer, making a specialty of fattening cattle; in 1878 he shipped to the English markets eighteen head, the combined weight of which was 36,300 pounds. He also culti- vated tobacco extensively, and was known as the "Prince of Tobacco Growers" of the Connecticut Valley. On Jan. 20, 1847, he married Miss Lucy A. Kellogg, a daughter of Alva Kellogg, a promi- nent citizen of Southwick, Mass., and this marriage was blessed with five children: Homer, a farmer of Westfield, Mass .; Lucy A., single; Mary K., wife of E. S. Chipley, of Atlanta, Ga .; Emma E., the wife of Mr. Haskins; and William S., still on the old homestead. The father of this family died in June, 1894, the mother in 1895, and their re- mains lie interred in Pine Hill cemetery, at West- field.

James O. Haskins, beside being one of the most popular residents of Suffield, is one of the most charitable and progressive, and he and his wife en- joy the unfeigned friendship of the entire com- munity, although here and there might be found a few, who may not, like the majority, hold Mr. Haskins in high regard on account of political dif- ferences ; outside of party antagonism, however, he has not an enemy in the world.

MORTON SANFORD. The family of which the subject of this sketch is a worthy and repre- sentative member has possessed, in combination with talent of a high order, an energy and capacity for work that has given it prominence through gen- erations. At the age of seventeen Mr. Sanford ran away from home to enter the service of his coun- try. His father, Dr. George W. Sanford, was for many years one of the most distinguished medical practitioners of Hartford county. His grandfather, Joseph Sanford, was a contractor during the war of 1812. Our subject is at present keeper of the State poor farm, a work with which at similar in- stitutions various members of the family have been long and most successfully engaged.

Joseph Sanford, the grandfather, was a native of East Granville, Mass. There he acquired the tanner's trade, and for his time carried on in that town quite an extensive business. During the war of 1812 he made a large contract to supply the gov- ernment with leather, and invested a large amount of money in hides ; but at that time the process of tanning was slow, requiring a year to convert hides into leather, and the war closing before he had com- pleted his contract he sustained a heavy financial loss. The latter years of his life were spent on a small farm near Bloomfield, Conn., purchased for him by his son, George W. Joseph Sanford was a member of the Congregational Church. He mar- ried Hopie Wilmot, a native of Northfield, Conn., and to them were born children as follows: George W., the father of our subject; Hopie, who married a Mr. Trumbull, and removed to Ohio ; Hannah, who married Henry Neil, of Sherborn, Mass .; Roena, who married Reuben Barker, and removed to Mich- igan ; Joseph, who died in infancy; Joseph D. (2), who married Mary Smith, was at one time a mer- chant of Tariffville, and later resided at Granby, Conn. ; and a daughter who married a Mr. Botham. Joseph Sanford, the father of these children, died about 1846, and was buried at Tariffville.

Dr. George W. Sanford, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Litchfield, Conn., Dec. 20, 1807. He received a good education, completing a course at Dr. Cooley's classical school, at East Granville, Mass., graduating in 1827, studied medicine, and several years later began its practice at Granville, Mass. In 1836 he graduated from the Medical Department of Williams College. Shortly before 1830 he located at Tariffville, where he continued in active practice for over sixty years. While on his way to Tariffville he passed through the toll- gate at North Bloomfield without paying toll. As he passed on a young lady who was attending the toll-gate rushed after him, and threatened to pros- ecute the young physician if he did not make the legal payment. The Doctor related the incident to a friend whom he met a little later along the road, expressed his admiration for the girl, and said he intended to make her acquaintance. She was Miss Jane Elizabeth Adams, born in Bloomfield, Conn., Sept. 1I, 1813, daughter of Ambrose and Catherine (Eno) Adams. The acquaintance was made, ripened

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into love, and Dr. Sanford married the young lady Feb. 4, 1830.

The extended practice of Dr. Sanford at Tariff- ville was eminently successful, and he quickly be- came one of the leading citizens of the town. In 1835 he became a member of the Hartford County Medical Society (at the time of his death being its oldest living member), was elected president of the society in 1874, and again in 1881 ; was a member of the State Medical Society, and of the American Medical Association. During President Grant's ad- ministration ne was sent to Washington as a dele- gate to the American Medical Association. He was also a member of the Lyceum of Natural His- tory of the Berkshire Medical Institute.

The latter years of Dr. Sanford's life were marked by a misfortune, which, however, did not deter him from continuing his practice. In 1885 he became totally blind. He was thrown from his carriage Feb. 21, 1883, and again on May 3, of the same year, the shock causing a congestion of the nerve of the eye, which produced blindness. Yet he continued to practice. His patients visited him, and he diagnosed many cases while blind, as his skill was most remarkable. His usefulness, how- ever, was not limited to his profession. He was a prominent member of society, and as a public- spirited citizen accomplished great good. For many years he was a prominent member of the Baptist Church, and often when the church was in debt and in urgent need of funds he at his own expense and inconvenience made trips and solicited funds. In politics he was a Whig, and later a Republican. For many years he served as a justice of the peace, was postmaster during the administrations of Presi- dents Harrison and Tyler, for fifty years was school visitor, and for several years was keeper of the town poor. Ile served in the House of Representatives three terms, in 1845, 1871 and 1875. In 1845 he was a member of the committee on Banks, and dur- ing the two later terms he served on the committee on Humane Institutions. He was widely known throughout the country, and numbered among his friends many prominent men. Fraternally he was a Freemason1.

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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 54

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