Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 61

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 61

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).

1 10 as

of en to st

as r. a

332

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Comstock Cheney & Co., their great estab- lishment employing between 600 and 700 men, one of the greatest industries of the State.

In politics Mr. Comstock is a Republican, but he is more interested in the advancement of the interests of his section than in politics. In June, 1899, the company made a proposi- tion to the town, to the effect that the company would give $3,00 toward a suitable school building, provided the town would appropriate a like amount. Mrs. E. A. Northrup, a sister of our subject, also offered to donate a tract of land adjoining the old school as the site for the new building. The town gladly accepted these generous offers, and has now a handsome and commodious edifice, in place of the old one, which was purchased by the company for $500, although its value was not more than $150; this sum was used in providing furnish- ings for the new school. The matter of build- ing was put into the hands of the school board of Ivoryton, this board being composed of : Robert H. Comstock, chairman; H. Wooster Webber, secretary and treasurer; E. J. Norton and C. P. Jones.

On June 2, 1880, Mr. Comstock was mar- ried to Rachel Cleveland Kelsey, who was born in Deep River, a daughter of Charles Kelsey, a native of Killingworth. To this union have been born two children, Ethel Cleveland and Robert H., Jr. Mr. Comstock is much inter- ested in golf, and is president of the Petti- paug Golf Club, of Essex, where he takes needed recreation from his arduous duties. Possessing much of the executive capacity of his father, he also has the good judgment and practical ideas which make him the efficient head of a great industry.

CAPT. ANTHONY COOB KRETZ- MER, a well-known vessel owner and coal dealer of Middletown, Middlesex county is one of those sturdy individuals who have made for themselves a name and fortune amid the strange surroundings of the New World. He was born January 10, 1851, in the Province of Hanover, Germany, youngest child of Anthony C. and Anna ( Kretzmer) Kretzmer, both of whom lived and died in that vicinity. The fa- ther was a shipbuilder, living in a small place whose sole industry was the construction of sea-going craft. Besides Anthony C., he had four children, namely: Margaret, now the

widow of John Frieze (who was lost in the North sea) residing in Jersey City; Mainz, a retired merchant in New York; Lena, wife of Ferdinand Lippman, of Hoboken; and John, a New York merchant.

By the death of his mother, when he was only two and one-half years old, the young- est child was deprived of the love and sym- pathy which only a mother can give. The fa- ther had been at one time possessed of means, but financial reverses reduced him to a humble position, and the son was early compelled to struggle to sustain his existence. At the age of ten years he went to sea, but continued to attend school in his native place during the winter months until he was fourteen years of age. From that time on he was steadily em- ployed as a sailor, visiting the ports of north- ern Europe and becoming familiar with many countries beside his own. At the age of sev- enteen years, in 1868, he shipped as an ap- prentice on the steamer "Baltimore," and first set foot on American soil at the city of Balti- more. Returning to Bremen, he there shipped on board the steamer "America," in which he came to New York, where he left the vessel and made arrangements to abide in this coun- try. He did not, however, abandon naviga- tion, shortly going to work on the tug: ""Julius Grant," of Elizabethport, N. J., which was en- gaged in towing about the adjacent waters. His next engagement was on the schooner, "William Morrill," of the same city, which was engaged in the coasting trade, and he has ever since been engaged in that line of enter- prise. He was employed on the schooner "Cal- ista," of Rockland, Maine, when she conveyed the first load of stone intended for the Brook- lyn bridge from Faulkner's Island, Maine. Capt. Kretzmer sailed in different capacities and at various times, on the "Gill," of Port- land, Maine, and the "Allen," "Olivia Scho- field" and "John Ward," all of New York.

With the thrifty nature of his ancestors Capt. Kretzmer had, by this time (1872), laid aside some means toward embarking in busi- ness for himself, and he purchased the Erie ca- nal boat "Lynn," which he operated successful- ly several years. On this craft he first set up housekeeping, and continued to reside upon it for several years. He soon came into pos- session of the "Ethan Murphy," and subse- quently built the "A. C. Kretzmer," the "Lena

anthony 6. Aretomar.

333

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Lutman" and the "John Valiant," and also owned the "Lucy Van Order" and the steamer "Notter." When he left the canal, Capt. Kretzmer established himself in Kingston, N. Y., where he became superintendent of the ce- ment works of Sherman, Weeks & Co. The subsequent failure of this establishment caused him much pecuniary loss, as he had sold two boats to the firm, which were not paid for, and had also loaned considerable sums to residents of the neighborhood, whose prosperity de- pended upon their steady employment by Sher- man, Weeks & Co. Besides this, his indus- trious wife had maintained a boarding house for the employes, and suffered a loss through their inability to pay her hard-earned dues. A partial compensation for his losses was rep- resented by the recovery of the two boats sold to the bankrupt firm, and his fleet was further augmented by the purchase of the steamer "Notter," which he had previously owned. These were employed in the transportation of cement to the fortifications then in progress of construction at Sandy Hook. The captain also carried grain to Hartford and Middletown, and formed associations which led to his loca- tion at the latter point.

In 1890 Capt. Kretzmer purchased the present handsome home of the family, on Farm Hill, formerly known as the "Brazos place," and there took up his residence in May 1890. The place is regarded as one of the most delightful locations in Middletown, and is the abode of a generous hospitality. In the fall of 1898 Capt. Kretzmer bought the dock prop- erty of George A. Coles, at Middletown. which he immediately proceeded to improve, and it has been chiefly utilized in the accommo- dation of his rapidly-increasing coal trade. His stock is transported from tidewater ports in his own vessels, stored in his own docks, and handled during his absence by the members of his family, who evince thorough business ap- titude. Capt. Kretzmer is thus free to give his attention chiefly to his extensive shipping in- terests, and he continues to make voyages dur- ing the navigation season, his fleet including at this time the "Lucy Van Order," the "Notter" and the "John C. Sheehan."

On August 31. 1872, in Jersey City, Capt. Kretzmer was married to Miss Sophia Prange, a native of Sebbenhausen, Hanover, Germany, born April 19, 1849. daughter of Frederick

and Sophia ( Vorrensand) Prange. Her fa- ther, a farmer, lived and died in Germany. Of his family of three children Mrs. Kretzmer is the eldest; the others, Richard and Elizabeth, are both residents of San Francisco, Cal., the latter being the wife of Henry Niendick. Mrs. Kretzmer came alone to the United States in the spring of 1866, making the voyage from Bremen to New York in the sailing vessel "Richard" in five weeks. She was employed in a fine family of Jersey City, whose members took a kindly interest in her, and her mar- riage took place in this home, after a thorough investigation of Capt. Kretzmer's character by her employer. It was her savings which brought her brother and sister to this country, and she may take just pride in the fact that both are now well settled in America. Mrs. Kretzmer may also take pride in the intelli- gence and business capacity of her children. The eldest, Anthony F., born in Niantic, Conn., June 11, 1874, is interested in the ship- ping business with his father and resides in Jersey City ; he married Miss Mary Kretzmer. Mary Elizabeth, the second, died when a child. Lillie L., born in Jersey City April 8, 1878, at- tended school in Middletown and later took a course in the Middletown Business College; she lives at home. Minor Garfield, born May 26, 1880, in Little Falls, N. Y., is the active manager of the local business of his father. Agnes Sherman, born July 9, 1883. at Kings- ton, N. Y., took a general course in the Mid- dletown Business College, and is now keep- ing books for her father. Stephen Sherman, born November 6, 1884, at Kingston, N. Y., has been a student of the Middletown public schools and the Middletown Business College. All these children, as well as the parents, are members of the North Congregational Church of Middletown.

Capt. Kretzmer is in sympathy with the principles of the Republican party, and, while maintaining the intelligent interest in public affairs which becomes every good citizen. has not been active in political matters. He is in- terested in the fraternal and benevolent work of the great orders, and is identified with the Masonic and Odd Fellows societies, being a member of Derie Lodge, No. 280. A. F. & A. M., of New York : Herman Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., of Kingston, N. Y. : Rondout Com- mandery, No 52, K. T., of Rondout. N. Y.,

334

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and Mecca Temple of the Mystic Shrine, New York.

As a citizen Capt. Kretzmer has high ideals and lives up to them. His daily life is the ex- emplification of a high type of citizenship. Progressive in the full sense, he is an earnest advocate and strong supporter of all move- ments whose object is the advancement of the general welfare, particularly so in the matter of education, which he estimates highly. To all his children he has afforded abundant op- portunities for the cultivation of their natural gifts, and they have evinced a proper appre- ciation of this fact by making exemplary pro- gress. Personally the Captain is a genial man, kind-hearted and hospitable, plain-going and modest, and, unlike most men who have fol- lowed the water, is controlled by a fineness of feeling which banishes profanity or vulgarity from his lips. His chief pleasure is in the so- ciety of his family, one of which any father might feel proud, and in whom the principles of industry have been instilled and certainly exist. Fortunate in his selection of a wife, who shares credit in the rearing of the fam- ily and the financial success of her husband, he finds in her a wise counselor and untiring helpmeet. In his intercourse with his fellow- men Capt. Kretzmer has always been mindful of the rights of others. While his accumu- lations have been more than ordinary, their ac- quisition has not been characterized by greed. or unscrupulous practices. Many incidents in his life go to show the opposite tendency, and his keen regard for fairness and consistency. His practice of the precept "Live and let live" has gained him many friends, and gives added value to his well-merited prosperity.

WILLIAM CHAPMAN was during his lifetime a very successful and well-known farmer of the eastern part of Westbrook, Mid- dlesex county. He was a scion of one of the honorable old families of New England, trac- ing his ancestry back to Robert, the first Amer- ican settler, who came from Hull, England, in 1635, his son, Deacon Nathaniel, being the direct ancestor of our subject.

Nathaniel Chapman, born February 16, 1653, married (first) Mary Collins, of Guil- ford, and (second) Hannah Bates. The chil- dren of these unions were: Nathaniel (who died young), Nathaniel, Daniel, John (by first

marriage), Mary, Hannah, Phineas, Caleb and Anne. That Nathaniel Chapman was held in high estimation by his fellow citizens is evi- dent from the fact that for many years he was a deacon in the church in Saybrook, and represented the town in the General Court at twenty-four sessions, from May 15, 1697, to October 10, 1723. He became a very large landholder, owning land at Saybrook, and fifteen hundred acres at Hebron, Conn. His son Nathaniel was the next in the present fam- ily line.

Nathaniel Chapman (2), born in 1685, married Elizabeth Spencer, and reared two children, Ichabod and Nathaniel.

Ichabod Chapman was born in October, 1710, married for his first wife Rachel Dibble, and for his second Hannah Jones. He died in 1755. By his first marriage he had three children : Daniel, Elizabeth and Elizabethı ( 2). Those of the second union were Rachel, William, Jeremiah, Ezra, Hannah, and Daniel.

William Chapman, the father of William, our subject was a prosperous farmer of east Westbrook and was born there August 12, 1745. The place is now occupied by his great- grandson, Elbert Stevens. In January, 1764, he maried Lydia Ingham, who died in 1823, his own death taking place in 1828. The chil- dren of this union were: Lydia married a farmer in Saybrook, Oliver Chalker; Sabra married Moses Chalker, and lived in West- brook; Hannah married Nathaniel Clark; Mary married Amasa Ingham, and lived in Saybrook; Elizabeth maried Reuben Bushnell, and lived in New York; Anna married Nathan Bushnell, and lived in Madison; William is the subject proper of this biography.

William Chapman was born in the old home in Westbrook August 1, 1784, and at- tended the common schools of his section. Among the residents of this part of New Eng- land was a desire for greater advantages than were ever afforded by the district schools, and many private institutions were conducted by men of great scholarship, where the higher branches were thoroughly taught. To one of these private schools, located near where the present Congregational Church now stands, William Chapman was sent. Remaining on the home farm, he assisted his father, and be- came the prop of his parents in their declining years. Before his death the father gave to

335

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

iis other children an equivalent for the farm, presenting William with the estate, at that ime not a large one. From time to time, however, Mr. Chapman added land, until at he time of his death he was one of the large anded proprietors of the county. In addi- ion to farming he was interested in the ex- ellent fishing opportunities of the time and ocality, making a very successful business of this. During life he had ever been a careful, frugal man, making his investments with judg- ment, so that at the time of his death he was ranked among the most substantial men of the ocality. In these days of speculation the for- tunes which in those days were so slowly ac- cumulated seem but small, but the self-denial and persistent energy that enabled an agricult- urist to become a man of wealth deserves more than passing comment. William Chapman passed away in May, 1874, at the advanced age of ninety years, having lived through some of the most remarkable times of the world's his- tory. A man of most exemplary life, he was well preserved for his years, retaining all his faculties to the end, though a stroke of paralysis gradually weakened him. As a Whig he had fought many wordy battles, and later became an ardent Republican, and he never omitted exercising his right of suffrage. While still a young man Mr. Chapman joined the Congre- gational Church, where he was a constant at- tendant, and of which, through life, he was a ready and cheerful supporter. To a member of the same religious denomination, Anne Kelsey, daughter of James Kelsey, he was united in marriage January 8, 1815 ; she died November 23, 1849. To this worthy couple came: Will- iam, born in 1816, was a self-educated physi- cian ; he was located for a time in Westbrook, and later moved to Bangor, Mich., where he remained some years; taken ill there, he re- turned to Westbrook, and died in 1857. Elihu was a farmer and lived in Westbrook, on the homestead, where he died in 1885. Emily Ann is deceased. One died in infancy. Al- vin married Laura Wright, and is a resident of Bangor, Mich. Benjamin is deceased. Si- san, born May 24, 1835, was married in March, 1863. to Richard Hammond Stevens.

RICHARD HAMMOND STEVENS resides in Westbrook, where he is a farmer, a deacon in the Congregational Church, and a prominent man in the affairs of the town. He and his

wife have had the following children: May C., born in 1871, married Walter Lay, of Say- brook, a graduate of Yale Medical School. class of 1901, and died at her parental home September 9, 1901. Elbert, born in 1873, in 1893 married Lena Dibble, daughter of Giles Dibble a native of Westbrook, who died in IQOI. Mrs. Dibble was Emily Ernestine, daughter of John M. Miesburg. Elbert Stevens lives on the Chapman home in West- brook, where he carries on farming and also follows the business of fishing, marketing in New London and elsewhere. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are Elihu Chap- man, born October 18 1895 : and Harold Mor- ton, born January 23, 1898.

FISK SHAILER, a highly respected and well known citizen of Chester, is a descendant of an old family of Middlesex county, and was born May 16, 1829, in Shailerville, in the town of Haddam, son of Fisk and Hope ( Ventres) Shailer.

Mr. Shailer lost his father when but eiglit weeks old, and lived at the home in Haddam, with his mother and only brother, Henry L., until he was fifteen years old. His education was obtained at the Brainerd Academy, Profs. Snow and Benton being among his teachers. In 1845 he came to Chester, and was employed in the "Stone store," occupied by Gideon Parker, who had a general store and post office. his duties being to attend to customers and sweep out the store, and for his services he re- ceived $25 in money, and his board and lodg- ing, for the year. The following year he went to Deep River and worked for Stephen Jen- nings, a manufacturer of bits, augers, etc., re- maining there until 1857, with the exception of one year when he was employed in the comb shop of George Read & Co., at Deep River.

In 1857 Fisk Shailer went to Lockport, Mich., opposite Three Rivers, and there was engaged. in company with others, under the name of J. W. French & Co., in the manu- facture of wooden spokes and handles. The hard times coming on, this venture proved un- successful, and in November. 1859. he returned to Chester and entered the general store of Samuel P. Russell, his father-in-law, where he remained, as clerk and bookkeeper, for several years. Poor health necessitated his abandoning indoor employment, and he secured the United

336

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

States mail contract, driving the stage between Deep River and New Haven semi-weekly, carrying the mails and passengers. This, too, he had to give up on account of his health. In 1865, when the factory of the Russell Jennings Manufacturing Company was removed to Chester, Mr. Shailer entered the employ of that firm, doing office work. At that time his brother, Henry L., was superintendent and manager, and Fisk was made an inspector of the goods, which position he held until 1888, when he was obliged to give up all work on account of his eyes. For a year he had to re- main idle, and in 1889 had one eye operated upon for the removal of a cataract, which operation was partially successful, leaving him the use of only one eye, the sight of the other being entirely gone. As soon as he was able to return Mr. Shailer was engaged at the factory as an overseer, where he remained un- til November, 1901.

On November 9, 1857, Fisk Shailer was married to Mrs. Mary A. (Russell) Parks, widow of Robert W. Parks. She was born February 6, 1829, in Branford, Conn., daugh- ter of Samuel P. and Emerance ( Squire) Rus- sell, and was brought to Chester when about two years old. Samuel P. Russell was a mem- ber of the firm of Russell & Beach, foundry- men of Chester, and he was fully identified during his life with the best interests of the town. Mrs. Shailer is an invalid, but so pa- tient in her suffering as to doubly endear every- one to her. Three children came to Mr. and Mrs. Shailer : ( 1) Samuel R., born February 8, 1862, married May 1, 1885, Grace E. Nor- ton, of Haddam, daughter of Henry and Tam- son (Treat) Norton, and lives in Chester. . They have two children-Norman Fisk, born November 20, 1886, and Paul N., born No- vember 19, 1894. (2) Harriet N. J., born September 16, 1863, cares for her invalid mother at home. (3) Henry Fisk, born June 17, 1867, married February 12, 1900, Lillie A. House, and lives in Chester. They had one child, Elizabeth Hope, who was born January 8, 1901, and died the same day. Samuel R. and Henry F. Shailer are together in charge of the various manufacturing departments of the Russell Jennings Manufacturing Company in Chester.

In politics Fisk Shailer is a Republican, and he represented Chester, most acceptably, in

the State Legislature, in 1876, serving on the committee on State Prisons; was town treas- urer of Chester several years ; for a time on the South school district committee, and was sec- retary and treasurer of the school twenty years. Mr. Shailer is, and has been since its organi- zation, a director in the Chester Savings Bank. In religious matters he is an active Baptist, and was a deacon and secretary and treasurer of the church from 1870 to 1890. The suc- cess which has attended him has been the re- sult of his untiring efforts, in spite of poor health and failing eyesight, and too much praise cannot be accorded him. In his busi- ness relations, in the church, among his friends, Mr. Shailer is known as the soul of honesty, a man of genial manners and unusual parts, and he enjoys the respect and esteem of all.

WILLIAM HENRY BEEBE (deceased), for a number of years a respected resident of Portland, Middlesex county, was born in Lyme, New London Co., Conn., in 1819, and died in November, 1886. His parents, James and Phœbe (Swaney) Beebe, were old resi- dents of Lyme and Hadlyme. The father died when William H. was only eight years old. There were three children in the family, one son and two daughters: Sarah M., who married Augustus Chapman, and Almira, who married Wolcott Chapman. James Beebe learned the joiner's trade.

After his father's death William H. Beebe was "put out" at eight years of age, to a fam- ily that consisted of two maiden ladies and two bachelors. His ambitions leading him away from the life of a farmer, he came to Portland when a lad of but seventeen years, and entered the employ of what is now the Middlesex Quarry Company, through all the changes of proprietors remaining in that ser- vice for more than fifty years. He helped to support his widowed mother, who lived to be over seventy, and died at Portland where her home had been with her son for many years. Mr. Beebe had no chance at school, and picked up most of his education. On coming to Port- land he hired out to Timothy Russell, in the quarry, and made such a faithful record that Mr. Russell paid him more than the wages they had agreed upon. Thus hopefully he be- gan a business career that lasted more than

337

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

fifty years. At one time he was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Middletown with David Hale, but this was only for a short period. For a few years previous to his death he was connected with the Shaler & Hall quarry. For four terms he was a member of the State Leg- islature during the sessions of 1871-72 and in 1880-81. He was selectman and town quarry agent for many years, and at the time of his death was a director in the Middlesex Quarry, the Middlesex County Bank of Middletown, and the Iowa Mortgage Company. The first home Mr. Beebe ever owned was one he built on Mulberry street in Portland, and in 1880 he removed to the present home of the family on Main street, where he spent the remainder of his days, and where his widow still lives. This house is one of the more elegant homes of the town.

Mr. Beebe was married December 25, 1846, in the old Episcopal Church at Portland, to Miss Sarah Smith, a native of Portland, born September 22, 1824, daughter of Capt. Daniel and Jennette (Ware) Smith. Her father was a farmer and a tanner at Portland, and was a captain in the State militia. He was the fa- ther of five sons and six daughters, Mrs. Beebe being his youngest daughter. She is still liv- ing, and bears her years with wonderful ease, being active in mind and body, and the cen- ter of many warm and devoted friendships.

Mr. Beebe was a Republican, and in re- ligious connection a member of the Episcopal Church. He was buried in Trinity cemetery at Portland. He was in every respect a thor- oughly self-made man, having accumulated a handsome competence, and in his life work he was greatly assisted by his estimable wife. Mr. Beebe was known as the best of men, and the best of citizens in Portland, and exerted an excellent influence in his community. He was a man of the highest character, and few men of Portland have been more universally re- spected and beloved.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 61

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