Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 168

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Beers
Number of Pages: 1502

USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 168

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radical deviations from old and supposedly perfect practices, and at the same time they have furnished methods for conducting their line of business that have proven of great value to the producer and given satisfaction to the consumer. Prominent among these features of the dairy business, is an observance of the strictly sanitary regulations, which exist in every department of the dairy, from the cow barn to the time and manner in which the con- sumer is supplied-all the outgrowth of a care- ful study of the business, in a practical, as well as from a scientific point of view.

William Daniels, the grandfather of the two brothers, J. Elmer and Herbert O. Dan- iels, was born in Westfield, and while residing in that district of Middletown married his first wife, after which he moved into what was the Bow Lane District. Later he moved into the Black river region of the State of New York, where all trace of him was lost. He was a carpenter and joiner by occupation. His second wife, Mary Roberts, was the mother of two children: William and Samuel B. The former married Jane Dunham, and located in Kensington, Conn., where he died. He was a carpenter and joiner, and built many of the public structures of his time. He was also a farmer.

Samuel B. Daniels, father of the Daniels brothers, was born July 27, 1826, in Westfield, and, losing his mother when he was young, spent the greater part of his childhood and youth with a relative, Reuben Tryon, in West- field, where he attended district school, and worked out for a time after he became of age. After his marriage he purchased a farm in the town of Rocky Hill, where he remained for some two years, when he sold, and, com- ing into the region where his sons are now living, purchased the Markham farm, of Well- ington Johnson. It contained some eighty acres, and there he carried on general farming, making many improvements and spending the remainder of his life there. During his later years he had poor health, and he died March 28, 1889; he was buried in Pine Grove ceme- tery. Mr. Daniels was a Republican, and took a leading part in local politics. In religion he was a Methodist. On April 6, 1862, he was married to Lucy U. Bailey, who was born June 30, 1836, daughter of Daniel and Nancy ( Pad- dock ) Bailey. She is now living with her sons. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels had the follow-

ing family: (1) Jennie E., born December 2, 1863, died June 7, 1867. (2) James Elmer was born July 28, 1865. (3) Herbert Orrin was born April II, 1868. (4) Lula Maria, born February 13, 1871, was married Novem- ber 16, 1892, to Clifford W. Coe, of Durham; a member of the firm of W. T. Coe & Son, of Durham, and is the mother of three children, Elmer H., William B. and Robert S.

JAMES ELMER DANIELS was born on the farm where he is now engaged in business, and received his education in the district school, in Durham Academy, under Prof. Winslow, and at the Middletown high school. He began learning the carpenter trade under F. L. Norton, of New Britain, Conn., with whom he remained two and a half years, when, at his father's request, he came to the home farm, where he has since resided. Mr. Dan- iels was married June 13, 1894, to Miss Marion A. Atkins. of West Long Hill, who was born May 15, 1872, daughter of Egbert and Carrie (Smith) Atkins. Their children are: Carrie L., born February 24, 1895 ; Walter B., May 8, 1897; Egbert A., May 12, 1899; Stanley P., December 26, 1900; and Jennie M., February 23, 1902.

HERBERT ORRIN DANIELS has spent his en- tire life on the farm where he is now found. His education was obtained at the district school, the Durham Academy, under Prof. Winslow. and the Middletown high school. He remained on the home farm, and assisted his father until the latter's death, and since that event has been one of the firm of Daniels Brothers. On February 1, 1893. Mr. Daniels married Phebe K. Baldwin, a native of Mid- dletown, and a daughter of Lewis and Jane ( Roberts ) Baldwin. Their children are: Grace, born April 18, 1894: and Lewis B., born June 18, 1899. The brothers are Re- publicans, but insist on ability and character in local candidates, regardless of party. Both are members of Mattabessett Grange, and take a leading part in its affairs. They are attend- ants of the Methodist Church.

"Mill Brook Dairy Farm" is located along the stream of that name, so near its source that it is the first cultivation through which this stream passes. The location is an ideal one, and rendered somewhat picturesque by the moun- tain fastness which almost surrounds it. It was on an eighty-acre portion of this farm that the father of the Daniels Brothers carried on gen-

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eral farming, his return, however, being but a scanty living for the unceasing industry he practiced. When the boys conceived the idea of going into the dairy business it was with ex- actly such equipment as is mentioned in the earlier portion of this review. This was in 1888, at which time the farm was not arranged for such business. But with the same push and energy that has marked their progress ever since, they went to work and laid their plans for a thoroughly modern plant, though the lack of ready capital necessitated a delay in carry- ing out these plans. However, the business began to grow, and just as rapidly as the prof- its permitted improvements were made, and each year saw a change for the better in the equipment, their present up-to-date plant be- ing gradually evolved. In 1888, when they first bought a milk route, their sales amounted to about twenty-five quarts daily. This has grown until, at the present time, they dispose of about five hundred and fifty quarts daily- two hundred of which are wholesaled. Three wagons distribute this product, one of them supplying the wholesale trade. In March, 1898, they inaugurated their excellent bottling sys- tem of supplying their customers, by which over one hundred bottles of cream are sold daily in addition to the amount of milk already stated. They contribute largely to the dairy supplies of the Connecticut Hospital for the In- sane, at Middletown. From six cows the number required to carry on the business has increased to sixty. The farm now comprises over two hundred acres. On January 1, 1898, they added to their business a creamery, with an output of twenty pounds per day, which has now been increased to over one hundred pounds daily. To supply this branch of their business the cream from over twenty farmers is purchased and delivered at their plant. Two of the famous De Laval separators are used in the creamery. The milk is cooled by the Star milk cooler and aerator, a thoroughly up-to- date creamery mechanism that gives very fine results. The purest of spring water is brought from the mountain through a half mile of pipe. This water has an average temperature of fifty degrees. This feature of their creamery is one of the advantages of the natural wildness of the surroundings. In connection with the milk business the brothers have a peculiarly at tractive sanitary system of tickets that has won much favor and has been used by them since

1895. The branching out of these young men has been watched by many older in the busi- ness than themselves, vet not too old to gather many new ideas from this observation. In many instances failure has been predicted when some new feature has been introduced by them, and just as often have the prognosticators become imitators when the "failure" became a success. There was an excellent illustration of this character when they erected the first private silo in the town. Though failure was predict- ed for it there may to-lay be found numerous structures of the kind throughout the town. Daniels Brothers originated and built the first circular brick silo in this part of the State. It was distinctively a new feature to them, such a thing had been unknown to them, yet after careful study of the advantages one was built. and was a complete success. The thoroughly systematic manner in which every detail, even of the most minute character. is conducted. be- speaks excellent management. and at all times an accurate knowledge to the proprietors of just how the business is going. This includes a daily record of the product of each and every cow, whose condition is studied and whose food is considered. a change of food being care- fully noted, and likewise results. The advan- tage of such methods is shown when it is stated that formerly the average annual product of their herd was about five thousand pounds of milk per cow, while under conditions now ex- isting. as a result of their study and care, the average annual product of their herd has been raised to seven thousand pounds per cow. The entire business is studied closely, in every fen- ture and department, and wherever there is an opportunity for improvement something is tried and for some reason of other these experiments have almost invariably proved a success.

Each of the Daniels brothers possesses in an unusual degree the natural adaptation for some particular part of the business, and at the same time each can attend to any part of it. thus forming a most valuable combination. In the management of their faim and its improve- ment, the same characteristics they have dis- played in the dairving business are noticeable and they invariably get the best results In a good season they grow about all the coarse feed required for their head They have spent no little money in the improvement of their land : it has been extensively titel, and many other modern aretheals of improvement have

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been utilized. In addition to the work incident to conducting a business like theirs, they are agents for a number of farm machinery con- cerns, and in this line a considerable volume of business is done.

The Daniels brothers were mainly instru- mental in getting the long distance telephone connection through their neighborhood. They worked and urged for it during two years, and finally contributed the poles for one mile of the line in order to get the same through. There is no lack of public spirit in their make-up. The same spirit of progressiveness prevails with them in public affairs, as is plainly shown in their business. They have erected and own three tenement houses in Middletown, and the excellent new residence recently completed by H. O. Daniels was planned and built by his brother J. E., whose ability along that line is much more than ordinary. As business men Daniels Brothers are men of uniform cour- tesy and fairness, whose reputation for fair dealing is not questioned. Whatever has been their success, it has come from their own ef- forts, and by business practices that will bear the closest investigation.

ANDREW ISRAEL LINDHOLM, a very highly respected member of the agricul- tural community of Newfield; in the town of Middletown, Middlesex county, is a son of Israel Johnson, who was a farmer in Linders- burg, in the central part of Sweden, where he died in 1875. He married Anna Christiana Person, and they had the following named chil- dren: Andrew Israel; Nils and Franz, who were drowned together in Sweden; Anna Ma- tilda, who married Eric Alixson, and is living in Sweden; Louisa, who married Aleck Yon- son and lives in Wolverton, Minn .; Carrie, who married Charles F. Anderson, and is living in Sweden; and Sabina, who married John Alix- son, and is living in the Red river valley, North Dakota.

Andrew Israel Lindholm was born Octo- ber 15, 1846, in Lindersburg, Sweden, and had the privileges of the public school until he was thirteen years old. At that age he began work- ing in the mines of his native country, and during the succeeding years was employed in the iron, copper and silver mines there, also finding employment in the blast fur- naces and on the farm. In the mines where he was engaged at piece work he labored hard

and earned very good wages. During this period of his life he was also employed for about a year in railroad construction in central Sweden. In 1871, with the savings of hard work, Mr. Lindholm bought a ticket to Ameri- ca, sailing from Liverpool on the Inman Line steamer "City of Bristol," and landing at New York October II, 1871, after a rough voyage of nineteen days, with but little money in his pocket. There he was met by friends who had preceded him, and who were in the employ of a railroad building firm then operating near Yonkers, N. Y. In July, 1872, he went to Portland, Conn., and found employment in the Middlesex quarries, where he was employed in various capacities until the fall of 1893. when he came to his present location, buying the Cronin farm, consisting of eleven acres. His present comfortable home was completed in February, 1894. The barn and other build- ings have been extensively remodeled by him. He is carrying on a general market gardening business and is doing well.

Mr. Lindholm was married, July 8, 1872, in Brooklyn, N. Y., to Miss Louisa Fernelus, who was born August 23, 1851, daughter of Adolphus Fernelus, a blacksmith, and was reared in the same town as her husband. Mrs. Lindholm came to the United States in 1872, making the journey alone. She is a woman of much character and energy. Mr. and Mrs. Lindholm have had |the following children: (1) Anna L., born July 4, 1873, married John Walling, and lives in Middletown. (2) Carl Otto, born July 7, 1875, married Ida Dean, and lives in Brooklyn, N. Y. (3) Ellen M., born August 18, 1878, was married April 19, 1900, to Henry Hansen, now living in Middletown. (4) Hilma. C. was born October 4, 1881. (5) Ida S., February 15, 1884; (6) Edward, Feb- ruary 18, 1888; (7) Ernest W., January 28, 1891; (8) Esther C., November 10, 1893 (died March 4, 1895) ; (9) Edith V., May 7, 1897.

Mr. Lindholm is a Republican, and since his coming to the town has filled various offices, He belongs to the Kronan Sick Help Society, of which he is vice-president, and with his fam- ily he is very active in church matters. During his residence in Portland he was one of the organizers and the hardest worker in the or- ganization of the Swedish Lutheran Church, and he was superintendent of Sunday-school in that city. He is now a deacon of the Swve-

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dish Lutheran Church in Middletown. He was also the leading spirit in the organization of the Scandia Temperance Society, having been president thereof. The Templar of Templars was very largely organized by him.

ALFRED C. SWAN is a worthy repre- sentative of the business interests of East Had- dam, Middlesex county, where he now success- fully conducts a general livery and sale stable, enjoying a liberal patronage. He was born in that town June 28. 1865, son of Thomas G. and Susan A. ( Hefflon) Swan, and is the younger of their two children. His sister, Grace E., born March 22, 1862, is the wife of George F. Davis, of Hartford, and they have one son, Harry.

As his mother died July 17, 1869, Alfred C. Swan was early thrown upon his own re- sources for a livelihood. He obtained his ed- ucation in the common schools. Most of his work has been in connection with horses. For a year he was in the employ of F. C. Fowler, of Moodus, in the same business. He spent about two years in various parts of the West. In July. 1895, he bought out the livery busi- ness of William H. Scoville, at East Haddam, by whom he was employed for a time, and has since carried it on with marked success. In political sentiment he is a stanch Republican.

On March 4. 1887, Mr. Swan was united in marriage with Miss Alice S. Arnold, who was born June 22, 1866, daughter of Dr. Rus- sell and Abby ( Haskel) Arnold. They have one child, Ruth A., born December 16, 1888.

ROBERT SAFFERY, one of the well- known and prominent young men of this local- ity, was born in Dover. England, July 23. 1864, a son of John and Elizabeth ( Huxstep) Saf- fery.

John L. Saffery, the grandfather of our subject, was a farmer of Dover, England, where he lived and died. His wife, Nancy Meigs, bore him nine children: Mary Ann, Henry, Fannic, Catherine, Sophia, Elizabeth, John ( father of our subject ), Anna and Roll ert.

The maternal grandparents of Robert Saff ery were Henry and Hannah Husstep, who lived near Dover, England, and whose children were: Henry, born September 2. 1835 : Eliza beth, born March 1. 1838; Robert, born August 15. 1840; Hannah Mary, born December 30,

1844; and Harriet, born November 15, 1847.

John Saffery, son of John L., was born in 1833, in Dover, England, and was reared to agricultural pursuits until 1865. when he. his wife, three eldest children, his wife's par- ents and her sister Mary sailed from Liverpool on the "City of Boston." and after a voyage of over two weeks, landed in New York. coming direct to Chester via boat, where a brother of Mrs. Saffery, Robert Huxstep, had located. John Saffery was soon employed by Captain Oliver Clark to conduct his farm, located near the Chester depot. This farm was a very large one, and had over a hundred head of stock. but for three years, John Saffery managed it very successfully, and later took charge of the farm of Sylvester Clark, remaining in this po- sition for several years. So competent had he proven himself, however, that Captain Oli- ver Clark induced him to return to the manage- ment of his farm. Mr. Saffery next moved to the town of Saybrook and was employed by the Valley railroad in Essex. Later he returned to Chester, and was again employed by Syl- vester Clark, with whom he remained until he purchased our subject's present farm. known as the "Ely Dickinson Place" where he tol- lowed farming the remainder of his life and where he died October 7. 1800. In politics he was a Democrat, and in religion a member of the Baptist Church of Chester. His marriage occurred in Dover, England, to Elizabeth lux- step, who was born in 1838, and who died Feb- ruary 8. 1871. Both Mr. and Mrs. Saffery sleep in the cemetery at Deep River. To these two good people were born six children, namely : Fannie Gertrude. born January 21, 1858, married November 15. 1883. Frank Harris, and lives in Deep River : Henry, born August 16, 1801, married April 3. 1888, Malvina Edwards, and lives in Ivory- ton: Robert, our subject, bom Ink 23. 14; Alfred, born August 18, 180g. live in Center- brook, and married October 20. 1801, Hattie Siger, by whom he has children, Robert, Ruh and Harriet : John, born August 18, 1800, lives in Chester, and married December 15. 1802. Kate Ventres, In when he has die duld. Lloyd : Mary Harriet, Tom Feitas 8. 18-1. and died in infancy.

Robert Saffery was brought to the United States In his parents when he was but one year old, and was scared in Cheste. mmendme the district schools of Chester and Centerbank

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After leaving school he was employed with his father on the Valley railroad at Essex, remain- ing for a year. When his parents returned to Chester in ISSo, he accompanied them, and found employment in the factory of the Rus- sell Jennings Manufacturing Company where he continued for five years. During 1886 he worked upon the farm of Sylvester Clark, but in 1887 he entered the employ of the Rogers Brush Works, and is now the eldest employe in point of service in the factory.

On October 28, 1896, Mr. Saffery was mar- ried to Nellie M. Fargo, who was born in Chester October 28, 1869, a daughter of J. Gates and Anna (Smith) Fargo. Tivo chil- dren have been born of this union : Alfred F., born August 26, 1898; and Elizabeth A., born February II, 1900. Like his father before him, Mr. Saffery is a stanch Democrat, and he served four terms on the board of selectmen, and was a member of the board of relief in 1896 and 1897. Religiously Mr. Saffery is a member of Saybrook Episcopal Church, while his wife is a member of the Chester Baptist Church. and both are very estimable people, en- joving in a marked degree the respect of all with whom they come in contact.

HENDLEY W. HUBBARD, builder of gasoline engines, who also carries on a general machine shop business, has without exception the best equipped plant for such work to be found in Middletown. His machinery of the very latest and most up-to-date design enables him to build a class of machinery which ranks among the best in the country. He builds gas- oline engines of his own design and invention, and considering the very short length of time his plant has been established, its progress certainly reflects great credit upon the manage- ment, of which Mr. Hubbard is the head, not only directing the business end, but the me- chanical as well.

Mr. Hubbard is a native of South Farms, Middlesex Co., Conn., born September 5, 1866. He comes from one of the oldest families of Middletown, a family that has been identified with the history of that city since its organiza- tion, in 1650. No family has given to Mid- dletown a larger number of citizens who have been prominent therein, and no one family has been any more identified with the business in- terests of the city. Hendley W. Hubbard is of the eighth generation from George Hubbard,

who was one of the original proprietors of Middletown, his line of descent being from George through Nathaniel, Nathaniel, Noah- diah, Samuel, Alfred and Edwin N. Hendley W. is the eldest son of Edwin N. and Mary E. (Sears) Hubbard.

Hendley W. Hubbard was reared in his na- tive city and received his schooling there, at- tending the Middletown high school, and also for some time Miss Patton's private school. His education was concluded with a course at the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which he graduated in the class of 1886. From boyhood he had shown a marked fondness for work around machinery, seeming to inherit mechanical traits from his father. Almost at once after leaving school he entered the factory of Pratt & Whitney, in Hartford, to learn the trade of a machinist. After a short time there he concluded to make a trip to the far West. Going to San Francisco and up the coast to Vancouver, he visited the principal cit- ies of that section, including Seattle, Tacoma, Whatcom and others, gratifying an inherited taste for travel. He returned to Connecticut and on two subsequent occasions visited the far West, sometimes employed and again sim- ply as a tourist. Until 1893 he spent consider- able time in travel, and was also for some time employed on the Connecticut river and Long Island Sound steamboats, invariably in a ca- pacity that gave him the care of machinery. In 1893 he became a member of the firm of Kennedy & Hubbard, coal dealers, but after three years sold out to his partner, Roger Ken- nedy, and subsequently was in the employ of the Middletown Coal Company. In March, 1900, he established his present business, the growth of which has been rapid and substan- tial. Mr. Hubbard's line of work is one for which he is naturally fitted, and his knowledge of same has been acquired practically. He is self-taught in the fullest sense, but his com- petency is never questioned.

On November 13, 1889, Mr. Hubbard mar- ried Miss Grace A. Dunham, of Middletown, å daughter of Henry C. and Emma ( Pellett) Dunham, and they have four children, Mary, Alfred, Harriet and Dunham. In politics Mr. Hubbard is non-partisan, voting for the best inan, no matter what his affiliation, selecting his candidate for fitness rather than politics. Mrs. Hubbard is a member of the Episcopal Church.

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ROBERT B. CHALKER. The first of the Chalker family in Connecticut was Alexan- der Chalker, one of the proprietary settlers of Saybrook, who located here about 1648, and became a land owner in the town. He was killed in a fight with the Narragansett Indians in 1675, and the blade of the sword which he carried is now in the possession of our subject. On September 29, 1649, he married Patience Post, and they became the parents of eight children : Stephen, born September 8, 1650, died young; Samuel, born April 27, 1651, is mentioned below; Mary, born April 27, 1653; Abraham, born October 19, 1655, married (first) January 16, 1679, Hannah Sanford, who died in 1683, and ( second) on September 13, 1686, Sarah Ingham, who died September II, 1687; Patience, born September 8, 1657; Sarah, born October 17, 1659; Jane, born March 27, 1662, married Daniel Kelsey, of Killingworth; and Alexander, born February 24, 1666.

(II) Samuel Chalker, second in the above mentioned family, was born April 27, 1651. He married Phebe Bull, a daughter of Robert Bull, who gave the parsonage to the Congrega- tional Society. He also gave to his daughter, Phebe, the property now occupied by Robert B. Chalker. To Samuel and Phebe ( Bull) Chalker were born the following children : Stephen, born September 11, 1677, is men- tioned below; Samuel, born October 6, 1679, married Rebecca Ingham; Phebe, born March 29, 1682, died July 14, 1683; and Phebc (2), born May 19, 1685.

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Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 168

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago : Beers Number of Pages: 1502

Author: Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Beers
Number of Pages: 1502