Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 17

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 17

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Daniel Griswold, the father of Samuel, was

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

born in March, 1780, in what is now Essex, where he grew to manhood. Like his brothers, he learned the trade of shoemaker, which he followed during the winters, and each summer, for forty consecutive years, followed fishing, particularly for shad, in the Connecticut river, leaving both these occupations later in life to engage in farming. His estate near his be- loved river was in Essex, and there he peace- fully passed away when almost ninety-one years old. For many years he was a surveyor of town roads. He was a man of superior mental faculties, had a wonderful memory, was a constant reader, and possessed sound judgment, ambition and energy. He was gifted in many directions, had great physical strength, and was a most excellent manager. Though a stanch Democrat, of the Jefferson- ian type, he never accepted office, but was al- ways interested in the success of his party.

Daniel Griswold married Fanny Babcock, of Old Saybrook, daughter of William Bab- cock. She lived to the age of eighty. The chil- dren born to Daniel and Fanny ( Babcock) Griswold were: Maria, who married Fordes Dennison; Alfred, who first married Mary Ives, of Middletown, and second a lady named Joslyn ; Cherilla, who married Giles O. Clark, of Chester; William, who married Laura Tucker: Edwin, who married Elizabeth Gris- wold; Mary, who married George Conklin ; Rachel, who married (first) Albert Pratt, and (second) George Pratt; and Samuel. For his second wife of Mr. Griswold married, late in life, Mrs. Spencer; they had no children.

Samuel Griswold was born August 21, 1821, in Essex, and attended the common schools, in winter becoming a pupil at the Hills Academy, which was a well and favorably known institution at that time. At the age of twenty he began teaching school, continuing this profession for forty years in Deep River, Essex and Westbrook. In Essex. he was the proprietor, for a long time, of a select school which rivaled the best in the country, and at one time he refused an offer to teach the Mid- dletown high school. He spent more than fourteen years in Westbrook, his pupils becom- ing some of the most prominent people of the country. Many, from all walks in life, look back to this instructor, to the happy days in the old New England school, and the kind and scholarly care of their teacher.

In 1890 Mr. Griswold gave up the profes-

sion he had adorned so long, and devoted his attention to his farm, which he managed until the death of his wife, a blow which took from him all ambition to labor longer. On October 18, 1848, he married Susan E. Pratt, who was born June 29, 1826, in Essex, daughter of Elias and Abby Pratt. This noble woman died February 26, 1898, and her memory is cher- ished by a large circle of friends. Children as follows was born of this union : (I)

Frederick P. received his early education at Suffield Literary Institute, at Suffield, Conn .; he studied and recited to Dr. Hubbard, of Essex; attended Columbia College, N. Y., taking a three-years course; was then located at Belevue Hospital, New York, for eighteen months ; was at Guilford, Conn., for five years; went to Florida for his health ; and then located in Meriden, where he is one of the leading physicians. He married Caroline P. H'ull, of Madison, Conn., and has two children, Freder- ick P. and Harold H. (2) Daniel P. is an undertaker of Wallingford; he married Emily Page, of Westbrook, and has one child, Mor- ton D. (3) Samuel A. is an undertaker in Branford.

Although an ardent Republican, Mr. Gris- wold has never sought office, but has served as grand juror and for four years was assessor. In church affairs he has always taken an active part, having from the age of twenty been a member of the Congregational Church, first at Centerbrook, where he served as deacon and Sunday-school superintendent for many years. When the Ivoryton Church was organized he was made a deacon, having acceptably filled that position for thirty years previous. Pos- sessing a pleasant personality, and living a life of rectitude, he is looked up to and respected, and has reared a family which reflects credit upon him and their sainted mother, as well as upon the community in which they have grown to be useful and esteemed citizens.

JOHN E. BAILEY, M. D. This eminent and successful practitioner of Middlesex coun- ty, whose large and lucrative practice is con- stantly increasing, is a scion of an old and esteemed family which has been identified with the history of Middletown and its vicinity since a date shortly subsequent to its first settlement, in 1650. The Doctor is a representative in the eighth generation of this old family, whose progenitor,

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

(I) John Bayley, as the patronymic was then spelled, was one of the original twenty- eight proprietors of Haddam who were granted permission by the General Court to establish a plantation at Thirty Mile Island, which sub- sequently came to be known as the town of Haddam. The settlement was commenced in 1662. He came from Hartford, where in 1656 he held the office of constable, and established himself above Mill creek, on land situated be- tween the properties of Thomas Smith and Daniel Brainerd. He was the father of three sons, John, Benjamin and Nathaniel.

(II) John Bailey (2), of Haddam, had ons John, Ephraim, Jonathan and David.

(III) Ephraim Bailey, of Haddam, had sons Ephraim, Jacob, Gideon, Stephen, Jabez, Caleb, Abijah, William, Oliver and Eph- aim (2).

(IV) Oliver Bailey, of Haddam, was the great-great-grandfather of Dr. John E. He and his wife Hannah had a family of twelve chil- Iren. Years ago, when what is now Susque- anna county, Pa., was considered a pioneer ection, all the family but one son, Oliver, re- noved to that region, where many of their numerous descendants are yet living.

(V) Oliver Bailey (2) settled in Middle- ield, at what afterward came to be known as Baileyville. He and his wife had six sons and ne daughter, of whom the eldest, Alfred, was he grandfather of Dr. John E. Bailey. Of he others it is possible, in this connection, to make only a brief mention. Richard, the sec- nd, for several years conducted a sawmill at That is now Rock Hill, and died at Middle- eld. Oliver was a blacksmith, and long orked at his trade in Middlefield, although e removed to Middletown, where he died. ra was a distiller at Middlefield, but met his eath at Meriden, Conn. Roswell also lived 1 Middlefield; he was a farmer, but at times 'orked in a factory. Russell E. was a wood- irner and sawyer, and a resident of Middle- eld; he died at Meriden while on a visit. finerva, the only daughter, married Olmstead rainerd, and died in 1836 at Middletown.

(VI) Alfred Bailey, the grandfather of the stinguished physician and scientist the story ḷ whose life forms the subject matter of this ographical sketch, was born at Baileyville september 20, 1791. On September 1, 1813, he arried Maria Ward, a daughter of William id Rhoda Ward, who was born at Westfield

March 18, 1795. To their union came eight children, as follows: Almira Wilcox, born February 17, 1815, was married April 24, 1836, to Albert Skinner, a wood-turner, of Middlefield ; she died June 19, 1881. Lavinia Morris, the second child, born December 5, 1816, became Mrs. Edwin Birdsey April 12, 1837, and lived in Meriden, where she died September 3, 1880. Louisa Caroline, born No- vember II, 1820, married Elbert Coe, and lived first at Middlefield, and afterward at Stony Creek, dying there October 22, 1891. Alfred M., the fourth child and eldest son, and the father of Dr. Bailey, is mentioned below. William Ward, born January 18, 1825, never married, and is still living in Baileyville. Mary Lucinda, born February 9, 1828, was married November 9, 1848, to Horace Wether- ill; her home was at Middlefield and afterward at Manchester, although she died at the first- named place June 1, 1868. Rhoda Anna, born August 20, 1833, was married September 15, 1866, to George W. Cook, of Meriden, and died at Middlefield in June, 1897. Phoebe Cook, the youngest of the family, born Novem- ber 19, 1839, died unmarried August 27, 1869.

The story of Dr. Bailey's grandfather re- veals a character of versatile genius, no less than the history of a life spent in varied occu- pations and crowned with the full meed of success due to patient industry, earnest effort and stanch integrity. He was a farmer's son, and early inured to hard toil. He learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner from his fa- ther in his early years, and from his boyhood manifested mechanical aptitude of a high or- der. After reaching early manhood he con- ducted saw, flouring and carding mills, all within a short distance of each other, and standing upon the land that now forms the site of the wringer factory at Baileyville. Tiring of the milling business, lie retired to his farm, which he cultivated for a time, and later conducted a grocery in Baileyville ; in the winter of 1847-48, he operated a store 011 Court street, in Middletown. With the ex- ception of this brief interruption lie passed liis entire life in his native village, where he died May 14. 1871, at the age of nearly ciglity years. He was, as has been said. a natural mechanic, and from his shop in Baileyville were turned out many small articles of domes- tic utility, such as mateli boxes, bread cutters, etc., as well as wool rolls for the housewives

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Middlefield. He was a man of powerful frame and robust physique, tipping the scale beam, when in his prime, at from 175 to 180 pounds, although toward the close of his life he showed a tendency to corpulence, his weight increasing to 200 pounds. He was a Whig prior to the formation of the Republican party, after which he was an earnest supporter of the new principles and policy, although never tak- ing an active part in political affairs. He was a man of exemplary life, a member, with his wife, of the Congregational Church, and for many years its chorister. His widow survived him ten years, falling asleep May 20, 1881, in her eighty-seventh year. Both sleep in the old cemetery of Middlefield Center.

(VII) ALFRED M. BAILEY, father of Dr. John E., was born at Baileyville January 13, 1822, when the little settlement consisted of scarcely a half dozen houses. Hard work, on the farm and in his father's shop and store, was the rule of his boyhood. He inherited, however, his father's remarkable physical powers, his strength being far beyond his years. At the age of twelve he was able to do the work of a man, driving a span of horses and turning as long, straight and deep a fur- row as any young farmer of twenty-five. Un- til he was eighteen years old his educational ad- vantages were confined to attendance at the local district school during the winter months. At that period of his life he went to board with his sister's husband, Edwin Birdsey, and at- tended school at Meriden, walking three miles each way, to and from the school house every day. He was endowed by nature with a mind of unusual clearness, as well as a singularly retentive memory. To learn was for him an easy task, and study was congenial to his taste. In mathematics he was especially proficient, easily outstripping his classmates and aston- ishing his teacher, John D. Post, by the facility with which he was able, without knowledge of algebra, to solve problems the solution of which was ordinarily supposed to require fa- miliarity with that branch of learning. De- spite his instructor's remonstrance that it would be impossible for him to acquire a knowledge of trigonometry and surveying without pre- viously studying algebra, he succeeded in mas- tering both without taking a course therein, through intuitive mathematical genius. Mr. Post foresaw a brilliant future for him, and repeatedly and strongly urged him to study the

science of mathematics in its entirety. But the remarkable strength of the young man im- parted to him a desire for physical activity which made confinement irksome, and he chose a life of action in preference to one of study and reflection. He inherited his father's fond- ness for mechanical pursuits, while his superior knowledge and better mental discipline and enlightenment gave him a far keener, quicker insight into their principles and intricacies. On reaching his majority his father presented him with land of the value of about one hundred fifty dollars, and he started out in life for him- self.

For five years Mr. Bailey was in the em- play of Andrew Coe, whose establishment for grinding bones and preparing phosphate was situated at Baileyville. Toward the close of that period he learned that a mechanic in Mid- dletown had invented a machine for the rapid manufacture of buttons. His interest was at once aroused, and going to that town he re- quested permission to examine the new con- trivance. With each refusal his curiosity be- came more intense, and he finally offered the in- ventor the sum of five hundred dollars for the privilege of examining the machine for fifteen minutes, and the right, subsequently, to make others similar to it, if he were able. The proposition was accepted, and for a quarter- hour young Bailey scanned the mechanism closely and intelligently. Its mysteries were to him no longer a secret, and on his return home he perfected a machine of his own, which formed the nucleus for the introduction of the buttonmaking industry into Middletown. A partnership was soon formed with his former employer, Mr. Coe, under the firm name of A. M. Bailey & Co., the new concern begin- ning the manufacture in a rather modest way. Before long they found it necessary to enlarge their plant, as the business soon became the leading enterprise of the place. Their machin- ery was operated by water power, and to se- cure enough motive force for their steadily growing business they began, in 1848, the con- struction of the great reservoir dam at Bailey- ville. The plans were drawn by Mr. Bailey, and the work was done under his supervision. It stands to-day a lasting monument to his en- gineering skill, having successfully endured the test of more than half a century's constant use, and for thirty years resisted the enormous pressure of 135 acres of water. It was orig-

AM Bailey

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

inally twenty-seven feet in height, but this alti- tude was increased by five feet in 1852, and by the addition of another five feet in 1870.

For many years the venture proved profit- able beyond the anticipation of its promoters, but dishonesty where it was least expected brought about the most disastrous results, and Mr. Bailey was left to face the impending financial ruin alone. The plant and stock of the concern were taken by the creditors, and Mr. Bailey surrendered all his individual prop- erty, both real and personal, to meet their de- mands. For a man to whose keen sense of honor the very suspicion of dishonesty had ever been regarded as a disgrace, the blow was well-nigh crushing. But at this crisis in his affairs Mr. Bailey found a friend in David Lyman, whose many acts of generous, unos- tentatious kindness have caused his name to be regarded as a synonym for true philan- thropy, wherever known. He was deeply moved by the undeserved misfortune which had overtaken the young manufacturer, and promptly came to his relief. He bought Mr. Bailey's home, which he once more turned over to him upon most liberal terms of repayment, presented him with a cow, and offered him a position in his gristmill, which was gratefully accepted. This mill was erected in 1855, and was destroyed by fire in 1868. In its day it was, perhaps, the best known in Connecticut. It was owned by the Farmers' Milling Com- pany, and in the quality and extent of its out- put was second to none in the State, although the steady and successful invasion of New England by the giant flouring-mills of the Northwest ultimately rendered the manufac- ture of flour in that section unprofitable.

Mr. Bailey's remarkable mechanical skill soon proved effective and valuable. In dress- ing millstones and bolting flour he readily showed himself an adept, and his reputation among the millers of the State was soon estab- lished. In 1857 Mr. Lyman began the manu- facture of Metropolitan Washing Machines. Recognizing the aptitude, fitness and fidelity of the young man whom he had befriended, he placed Mr. Bailey in charge of the work. To the reader who has formed even an inadequate idea of the latter's distinctive cast of mind and high moral character, it is unnecessary to say that a wiser selection could scarcely have been made. His technical knowledge as a me- chanician, his executive skill in the handling of

workmen, and his uncompromising devotion to the interest of his employer, were one and all qualifications which, as Mr. Lyman well knew, amply fitted him for the post. His active, in- ventive brain was constantly devising and sug- gesting improvements, alike in the productive machinery and in the manufactured product, and the company was from time to time the gainer through patents which embodied the out- come of the work of his fertile, tireless brain. Later Mr. Lyman purchased the right to manu- facture clothes wringers under a certain patent, in reference to which Mr. Bailey's quick power of perception, with his readiness to suggest im- provements of a valuable and permanent sort, likewise proved of the highest value. The Metropolitan Washington Machine Company was formed in 1860, and ten years later was incorporated the Metropolitan Manufacturing Company, at that time the most extensive man- ufacturers of clothes wringers in the world. Mr. Bailey was associated with this concern from its inception, as he had been with its predecessor. Until 1881 he worked in the ca- pacity of contractor, although called upon to furnish only technical skill and well qualified workmen. This business arrangement contin- ued until 1881, when he was offered and ac- cepted a high salaried position. Having for the second time accumulated a competency through his own brilliant genius, tireless indus- try and incorruptible integrity, he felt free to indulge a fondness for farming which had de- scended to him through several generations, something after the manner of an heirloom, and for which his boyish memories gave him an affection. It had long been one of his fa- vorite economic theories that the reclamation of waste land was one of the duties which de- volved upon a good citizen. Accordingly, al- though without the most remote wish for profit, he bought the tract of boggy swamp land then known as "Toads' Hole." It was appropriately designated, and no one-not even the owner- considered it of any commercial value. Mr. Bailey improved and cultivated this marsh, rather as a recreation from business cares than from any other motive. Through ditching and draining, fertilization and cultivation, the land was so far redeemed that it ultimately yiekled three tons of hay to the acre. Here Mr. Bailey carried on an ideal farm, the conduct of which was not only a more or less costly hobby, but, at the same time, a source of personal pride

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and joy. Fat, sleek, well-fed stock were al- ways to be found either on the verdant, well- watered pastures, or in the well-built barns. To see them well cared for was one of their owner's chief delights, his broad, comprehen- sive love extending to every creature which God had made. Had he been avaricious his sagac- ity and care might have made the venture a profitable one, but profit was not the end which he had in view, regarding it rather as a pas- time.

Physically Mr. Bailey was a man of intense vitality and great strength, tall in stature and weighing 270 pounds. His temperament was lymphatic, sanguine, and his capability for en- during pain was phenomenal. Over and again he was the victim of serious accidents, but he resolutely refused to accept the assuaging in- fluence of any anesthetic before submitting to the most painful operation for relief, and never was he known to manifest his suffering by any outward sign, even by the emission of a groan. His physical health was perfect from his childhood. Headaches were. unknown to him through practical experience, and during his entire life he expended no more than two and one-half dollars for medical advice about his personal ailments.

More might be written of Mr. Bailey's strong intellectual power and of his sound business sense, his sterling moral worth, and his fidelity to every obligation, but enough has been said to bring out, in prominent relief, the salient points of what may be-not inaptly- called the "business" side of his character. It re- mains to speak, lovingly and reverentially, of his character as an employer, a citizen, a friend, a man and a Christian. Few men were more considerate of their employes, or took a deeper interest in their personal welfare and advancement. Himself a vigorous foe to to- bacco and alcohol, and one of the early advo- cates of total abstinence in the county of his birth, his life was a constant exemplification of his precepts. His religious convictions were deep-seated and sincere, and his faith was proved by his works. When the Methodist de- nomination, of which he was a member, erected its new church edifice in Middlefield, he was made a member of the building committee, and was one of the most liberal contributors toward the new building, as he always was to- ward both the temporal and spiritual work of the society, never failing to respond cheerfully

and generously to every call made upon him in the cause of Christ and His poor. He was gen- erous by instinct, and the fact that his confi- dence had been abused in early life by a false friend never curdled the milk of human kind- ness in his breast. No friend in want ever ap- pealed to him in vain after he had once more achieved success, and toward no worthy appeal on behalf of charity did he ever turn a deaf ear. Generous by instinct, and noble by im- pulse, he cared little for the accumulation of worldly wealth, choosing rather to lay up riches "where thieves do not break through and steal." As a husband he was tender, de- voted and true, as a father faithful and in- dulgent, requiring prompt and implicit obedi- ence, yet never tyrannical or unjust. Rigid as a disciplinarian in the management of his men, he always sympathized with them when over- taken by trouble, and was ever ready to aid them by counsel, brotherly love or cash, as the exigencies of each situation demanded. Rare- ly losing command of his temper, he well knew how to rebuke sin, when occasion demanded, although never bearing ill-will toward the sin- ner because of his weakness or infirmity.

Mr. Bailey's political creed was always that of the Republican party, and although never seeking official position he consented, at the earnest request of his fellow townsmen, to act as justice of the peace, selectman and repre- sentative in the Legislature, as well as to fill many minor offices of responsibility and trust. He passed away March 7, 1885, and his funeral services were conducted by the Knights of Pythias, of which order he was a member; his remains were interred in the cemetery at Middlefield. His strong personality left a deep and abiding impression on the community where his blameless life, as a citizen and a man, had commanded universal esteem, al- though his native modesty impelled him to a life of privacy and unostentation.

On September 7, 1851, Mr. Bailey was married to Miss Frances F. Mack, of Essex, Conn., whose father, John Mack, was a well- known shipbuilder. Later in life he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he died. Mr. Bailey gave all his children excellent educational ad- vantages, and one and all of those who have reached maturity have done ample credit to their parents and their opportunities. The first born, William R., died at the age of ten years. Middlesex Alfred, the second son, grad-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

uated from Wesleyan University in 1877, and is now a professor in a New York training school for teachers. Nellie, the third child, died in girlhood. The story of the life and singularly successful career of John E., the third son, is told below. Amy A., the second daughter and fifth child, married William E. Wyman, of Keene, N. H., and at present has her home in West Medford, Mass. Mary F. the youngest of the family, is the widow of Herbert E. Barber, of Pawtucket, R. I. Mrs. Alfred M. Bailey, the mother of this family of six children, is yet living, hale and strong in body, and clear in mind and memory.

John E. Bailey was born May 26, 1862, at Baileyville, in the town of Middlefield, where he was reared, and where, too, he first attended school. Among his early teachers, whose names he yet recalls with pleasant memories, were Misses Butler and Fellows. At the age of thirteen he entered the Durham Academy, the head of which school at that time was Prof. Lacy, who was succeeded by Philo J. Mosher. Miss Mary Jane Camp was one of the in- structors. He inherited his father's aptitude for acquiring knowledge readily, and his rest- less spirit of investigation, and his idle mo- ments were few. When not engaged in study or in the performance of other duties he might usually be found either working at some orig- inal mechanical device or taking some contriv- ance to pieces, either "to learn about it" or to see if he "couldn't improve it." For a short time he attended Wilbraham Academy, and subsequently studied with his brother (then a teacher at Winsted) as a private tutor. With a view to broadening his knowledge and better fitting himself for commercial life, he also at- tended the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., but fate had other ends in view for him. He was but a youth of sev- enteen or eighteen years when he accepted a po- sition as teacher at Riverton, Conn. The school over which he was called to preside was a particularly unruly one. His predecessor had been so far from having any control of his pupils that the latter had actually thrown him bodily from the window. To attempt to govern such a turbulent lot of boys and young men might well have appeared a task too diffi- cult for one of his years. But he was physical- ly even then the equal, if not the superior, of many full-grown men, and knew no fear. Both as a disciplinarian and a teacher he was em-

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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 17

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