USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 1 > Part 34
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Mr. Ives was a good business man, and a man of excellent judgment. His services were often called for in the settlement of estates. In his po- litical views he was a stanch Democrat. At the time of his death he was a member of the board of Com- pensation of the city. He was always greatly inter- ested in the improvements of Meriden, had served both as councilman and alderman, and he presided at the last Democratic town convention held before his death. He was a man of strict integrity and ever held the confidence of his fellow citizens, and was held in the highest esteem by them; he never was sued nor sued any one else. Though past man's allotted years, he had an iron constitution and was active to the last, up to within ten days of his death, having been driving about town attending to business matters. Several times within twenty years prior to
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his death, he had been at death's door, but his re- markable recuperative power and wonderful vitality brought him safely through the ordeal.
Mr. Ives married Gelina Anna Pomeroy, and this union was blessed with children as follows: Isaac O., Charles P., Mrs. Charles R. Flower, Mrs. Sarah Parshley and Mrs. Isadore Ives.
WILLIAM B. BRISTOL. "History," says a well-known writer, "is best studied by means of biography-indeed, history is biography showing collective humanity as influenced and governed by individuals." The future historians of this section will find much valuable information in this volume in connection with the work of development of local industries and activities, and the following account of one who was a leading business man of Ansonia will be of special interest.
Mr. Bristol was born Nov. 21, 1811, in Oxford, New Haven county, where his family has been prominent from pioneer times. His great-grandfa- ther, Eliphalet Bristol, who was a farmer there, at- tained the advanced age of ninety years. Gad Bristol, our subject's grandfather, was born in Ox- ford, and followed agricultural pursuits in the town, his death occurring at the age of seventy. He and his wife, Nancy ( Riggs), who died at the age of sixty-five, had several children, among whom was a son Sheldon.
Sheldon Bristol, our subject's father, was born Feb. 8, 1780, in Oxford, and his life was spent in farming in that locality. While he received a com- mon-school education only, he was a man of ability, and held a prominent place in local public affairs and in social life, being a member of the F. & A. MI. and R. A. of Oxford. In religious faith he was a Methodist, and he and his wife were both active workers in the church. He died July 29, 1859, in his eightieth year. His wife, Agnes (Wheeler ), who died aged seventy-seven years, was a daughter of Deacon Aden Wheeler, a leading citizen of Southford in his day and the owner of a farm and gristmill. Our subject was the eldest of a family of five children, and the last survivor.
The common schools of Oxford furnished Will- iam B. Bristol his early educational opportunities, of which he availed himself so well that at sixteen he was qualified to teach. He taught in Roxbury in 1827, in Woodbridge in 1828, and in the "Bowers Hill" district of Oxford in 1829, and one of his "boys," Fred Hull, now of Birmingham, is eighty- six years of age. Mr. Bristol then attended school for a time with the intention of studying medicine, but financial considerations caused him to change his mind. and he decided to learn the mason's trade. He worked for Burr Hall at $2 per month for the first year. and $3 the second, continuing to teach school in the winter. In the fall of 1831 he taught at Southbury Center, and spent the following sum- mer at the mason's trade at $4 per month. During the next winter ( when he was twenty-one years old), he taught at Bennett's Bridge, and in the-
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
spring he hired out to George Perry, of Monti- cello, N. Y., at $24 per month. In the fall he taught at Monticello, and in the summer of 1833 he returned to his father's home. In the summer of 1834 he followed the mason's trade in New Ha- ven, and in the fall went to Charleston, S. C., to spend the winter in the same line of work. On his return, in the fall of 1835, he located at Birming- ham, and entered the employ of Harvey Johnson, then building the first factory (copper mill) in the town. He taught school for some years in the winter while following the mason's trade in sum- mer, mainly in this State. In 1837 he took charge of a school in Derby, Conn., where a previous teach- er could not govern and had been obliged to close, but Mr. Bristol had good success. In 1838 he taught in Birmingham, and one of his "boys" there has since become very prominent, and recently had to give up the office of judge of probate, having reached the age limit of seventy. In 1838 Mr. Bristol spent a short time in Bridgeport, and later went to St. Louis and other Wesern points, travel- ing quite extensively in that section. In 1840 he was in Springfield, Ill., and organized a school there in a log house. The Legislature held the first ses- sion in a church, the State House not having been built. Stephen A. Douglas and Abe Lincoln were not then known. Returning East in the spring of 1840, Mr. Bristol followed masonry near Ansonia for a time, and later did masonry work on the Housatonic road. He also taught school in 1840- 41-42 in Orange, and in 1843 he taught in the Sec- ond District of Orange. He followed the mason's trade in New Haven in 1844, a year made memor- able by the excitement of Polk's campaign, and spent the winter in teaching at Derby. In the sum- mer of 1845 he settled at the site of the present city of Ansonia; at that time there were no dwelling houses on what is now the main street, and he had to board half a mile out of the village. He was identified with the town ever after, and taught school there previous to 1850. Soon after his ar- rival he formed a partnership with Lyman Treat and began taking contracts in masonry, but in 1848 he engaged in business independently as a dealer in wood and coal. There were no other yards there at the time, and he was the last survivor of the earliest business men of the place. Mr. Bristol had an automatic railroad at Derby, where he had his largest yard, and unloaded all his coal, bringing it by water to the dock and placing it directly upon the automatic railway. In 1862 he was elected president of the Savings Bank, upon its organiza- tion, and he continued to hold the position until his death, June 10, 1900, being the last representa- tive of the first board of directors. He was a di- rector in the Ansonia National Bank, which he helped to organize, and at the time of his decease was serving as vice-president. He was formerly a director in the Birmingham National Bank, begin- ning with its organization, and was president of that bank in 1870. In politics he was a Republican, 10
and he served on the board of selectmen, being town agent during his term of over seven years.
In 1854 Mr. Bristol married Miss Harriet A. Pickett, who was born in New Milford, daughter of Sheldon Pickett, a carpenter of that town. She was one of a large family of children. Mr. and Mrs. Bristol had seven children : Agnes, who mar- ried John F. Osborne; William P., a machinist : Arthur M., a letter carrier in Ansonia; Herbert L., who was with his father as bookkeeper and gen- eral assistant; Charles H .; David W .; and Fred- erick L. The family is identified with the Episcopal Church, Mrs. Bristol being a member thereof. With three exceptions Mr. Bristol was at the time of his death the oldest Odd Fellow, having been a member of the order fifty-seven years, and he was the chief veteran in the Veteran Organization of the State. In 1841 he united with Quinnipiac Lodge, of New Haven, and in 1849 he became a charter member of Naugatuck Lodge, No. 63, of Ansonia, in which he passed all the chairs. For thirty-five years he was a member of the F. & A. MI., belonging to George Washington Lodge, No. 82, and Chapter No. 35. . Mr. Bristol was widely and sincerely mourned in the town where so many years of his long and useful life were passed.
THE ROGERS FAMILY. For more than fifty years the name of Rogers has been prominently identified with the industrial interests of Meriden. The firm of C. Rogers & Bros., composed of Cephas B., Gilbert and Wilbur F. Rogers, has been a con- spicuous factor in the development of the city. They have all been thoroughly trained and experienced in the silver and silver-plating business, and have con- tributed to their city not only business skill and acu- men to a high degree, but personal character and reliability in their transactions far above the usual code of commercial morality.
The Rogers Brothers, sons of the late Hervey Rogers, of Saybrook and Meriden, Conn., are de- scended from James Rogers, a lineal descendant of John Rogers, who suffered martyrdom, unde: the reign of Mary in England, in 1555. On the maternal side they are of the ninth gen- eration from John Alden and Priscilla Mullen of the "Mayflower." Jantes Rogers came to . New England in the ship "Increase" in 1635, when twenty years of age. Stopping for a time at Stratford, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Rowland. At a later time he was found in Milford, where his wife united with the church under the pastoral care of Rev. Prudden in 1645, and he in 1652. In 1660 James Rogers removed to New Lon- don, where he became prosperous and influential. Six times he was sent as a representative to the Gen- eral Court. His sons and daughters were men and women of character and energy. They were: Sam- uel, Joseph, John, Bethsheba. James and Jonathan, from whom have come many of the name in Con- necticut.
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The late Hervey Rogers was born Jan. 19, 1805. in the town of Middletown, Conn., and married Elizabeth A. Tryon, who was born in 1807. The nine children born to them were: ( 1) George W., who died in 1880, was postmaster in Meriden under the administration of President Lincoln, and prev- ious to that doorkeeper of the House of Representa- tives, at Washington, D. C .: (2) Hervey is a resi- dent of Meriden; (3) Watson Brewer was lost at sea in 1857; (4) Cephas B .; (5) Gilbert and (6) Wilbur F. compose the firm of C. Rogers & Broth- ers; (7) Isabella Virginia died in childhood; (8) Isabella Virginia (2) is the wife of Egbert Young ; (9) N. Burton, who served in the Civil war as a drummer boy in Company C, 7th Conn. V. I., under Capt. Joe Hawley ( who later became a major gen- eral, then governor of Connecticut, and is now a United States Senator), has been for years a prom- inent and influential citizen of Danbury, Conn .. where he is engaged in business as the president of the Rogers Silver Plate Co. of that city, and the largest stockholder in the Russell-Tomlinson Electric Company. In 1849 the family removed from Say- brook to Meriden, where the father took the man- agement of the "Rogers Hotel," and there remained, rearing his children to useful manhood and woman- hood. The parents were deeply religious people, plain and unostentatious, and commanded the esteem and respect of their many acquaintances. Mr. Rog- ers died in 1882, and Mrs. Rogers in 1889.
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Cephas B. Rogers, the senior member of the firm of C. Rogers & Bros., is a native of the town of Saybrook, Conn., where he was born Dec. 30, 1836. His early schooling was obtained in the common schools of Meriden, whither the family had moved when he was thirteen years of age. Part of his boyhood was passed in a neighboring factory where tinware and japanned goods were made, and it was there that he early developed that energy and ability which so largely determined his future success. He was accustomed to rise at four o'clock in the morn- ing to do the chores, and the preparatory work of the day, and his habits and systematic methods of work were noteworthy. A better opening soon came, when he was offered a position as clerk in the office of a lumber and coal company. When he was some- what older, he resumed his studies and completed his schooling in the Meriden Acadenw. While as- sisting his father in the hotel he displayed an apti- tude for that line of work, and was engaged as clerk in the "New Haven House." where he re- mained until 1863. Those were stirring times, and this position afforded him the opportunity of a wide acquaintance with men, especially with the political and military leaders of the State. as that hostelry was their principal rendezvous in the city. To this then young man was given the privilege of accom- panying Mr. Lincoln, when that distinguished visitor made addresses in the State, introducing representa- tive citizens to him. The enthusiasm of Mr. Rogers for the Republican party carried him upon the ros-
trum for the discussion of the great questions of the day. His ready speech and wide knowledge of the political situation made him an agreeable and suc- cessful public speaker, and when Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated president, Mr. Rogers visited Washing- ton to share in the eclat of the great occasion.
In 1863 Mr. Rogers left the "New Haven House" to take charge of the "Wadawanock House," at Stonington, Conn., and later was host of the "St. Denis Hotel." a famous New York establishment. In both of these engagements Mr. Rogers was very successful, and accumulated a goodly sum of money, but his health was broken by the close confinement, and he was obliged to return to Meriden for recup- eration. It was during this period that the partner- ship of C. Rogers & Bros. was planned, and it was entered into in February, 1866. Our subject's two brothers, Gilbert and Wilbur F., were skilled manu- facturers of silver-plated ware, and there appeared to be room in the business world for a new com- pany and a new factory in that line. Beginning in a small way, the silver-plating industry of C. Rogers & Bros. has advanced until it has now become one of the principal establishments in Meriden, and chal- lenges the admiration of all who are familiar with its inception and growth. About three hundred hands are steadily employed, and so successfully is the institution managed that the doors are never closed save for holidays or inventory. The products of the factory are ranged in three departments : sil- ver plated spoons, forks, knives and table ware, the manufacture beginning with the metals from which the goods are finally made; casket trimmings and undertakers' supplies : furniture hardware. In one or more of these departments business is always brisk. The manufactured products of C. Rogers & Bros. have a world-wide reputation. The foreign shipments are large, going to Europe, Australia and South America. So fully does the company enjoy the confidence of its numerous and widely-scattered patrons, and so exactly do all its goods correspond to the statements concerning them, that the entire business is conducted from the office in Meriden. The Rogers give their personal supervision to the workings and products of all their great factory. By striet integrity, by honorable and prompt methods of business, and by close attention to every depart- ment, C. Rogers & Bros. commend themselves to all the markets of the world, and have won a reputation that is best measured by the constant growth of their business from year to year. The aim of the three brothers in their manufacturing enterprise is not money making for the sake of money alone. but chiefly for the good which may be done through it, so that the marked prosperity they have won serves a high moral end. They are not only prom- inent in business, but also in social and religious circles. They are Methodists, and have been great- ly interested in the fortune of the First Methodist Church, to which they all belong. Cephas B. Rog- ers has served on the official board of that church
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
since 1866, and is now president of the board of trustees. In the denomination at large he is well and favorably known, and his ability has given dignity and standing to the governing bodies of the church. In 1888 he was president of the Lay Conference, in 1900 tas lay delegate to the General Conference at Chicago. For twenty years he has been trustee of the Wesleyan University in Middletown. In Meri- den he has taken much interest in local matters, and the schools of the city have engaged his special at- tention. For six years he was a valued member of the city council. In 1880 Mr. Rogers visited Eng- land and France.
The younger brothers, who are older in the sil- ver-plating business, in which they have been en- gaged for almost half a century, are most substantial and useful citizens, enterprising and public-spirited, and have contributed very largely of their time and money, as well as personal effort, toward the building of Meriden and the uplifting of their fellow men.
Cephas B. Rogers was married in 1870 to Margaret, daughter of Dr. Peter F. and Anna M. Clark, of New York City. Mrs. Rogers is a Chris- tian lady, beloved in her church and highly esteemed in the society of Meriden. Their home is the Rog- ers homestead in Meriden, beautifully located in North Colony street, from which is dispensed a gen- erous hospitality. Mrs. Rogers is the granddaugh- ter of Dr. J. Clark, a Presbyterian minister. Her great-grandfather, grandfather and father were all graduates of Yale College. She is an aunt of John Foster Carr, another Yale graduate,.and also a grad- uate of Oxford University, the famous English in- stitution, who sustains quite a reputation in the literary circles of London, England. Mrs. Rogers is a member of Susan Carrington Clark Chapter D. A. R., of Meriden, and is much esteemed in all circles.
WILLIAM TIDGEWELL, one of the older and more venerable employes of the Winchester Arms Co., at New Haven, where he holds the creditable position of superintendent of the Water Shops at Whitneyville, was born in Sheffield, England, Jan. 7, 1826, a son of James Tidgewell, a native of the same city.
James Tidgewell came to the United States very early in the century, and spent a few years in New York. About 1830, he came to Middletown, Conn., where he engaged in business as a maker of car- penters squares, bevels, printers articles and similar goods. In England he had been an engineer. His death occurred in Middletown about 1863. Ann Eaton, who became his wife, was born in Sheffield. England, and died many years ago. She was the mother of five children: James, William, Eliza, Elizabeth and Fannie. Of these James became a mechanie, and lived in Middletown most of his life. although he died in Brooklyn : Eliza is the widow of William J. Bowen, formerly chief of police of New Haven city, and for a period of years assistant super- intendent of the State Reform School at Meriden,
Coun .; Elizabeth, now deceased, married George M. Pratt, formerly superintendent of the Victor Sewing Machine Co., at Middletown, and now a prominent merchant and coal dealer ; Fannie is the widow of Dwight E. Bailey, of Middletown, who was for thirty years connected with the Pope Manufacturing Co., of Hartford, Conn., as contractor.
William Tidgewell came to New York when sev- en years of age, and attended the city schools of that place and of Middletown. Early in life he was ap- prenticed to the machinist's trade, and when he was twenty-one associated himself in business with his father to manufacture the line of specialties already noted. In 1860 Mr. Tidgewell entered into business relations as contractor with the Savage Arms Co., of Middletown, and was connected with that insti- tution until 1865, when the company went out of business. For about a year and a half Mr. Tidge- well was with the Hubbard Hardware Co., of Mid- dletown. In 1867 he was engaged by the Remington Arms Co., of Ilion, N. Y., and worked out a contract for twenty thousand guns for the Danish govern- ment. Mr. Tidgewell is distinguished for being the first mechanic to make guns by machinery for the Remington people. Following this he was employed as contractor by the Victor Sewing Machine Co., of Middletown, for fifteen years; and in Meriden he worked three years for the Malleable Iron Co., after which he was employed for a time in a factory at Milford. In April, 1888, Mr. Tidgewell came to New Haven to take a position as tool maker for the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., and after a year and a half at this work was made superintend- ent of the Water Shops of the company, and for twelve years the work in this department has been under his direction. Mr. Tidgewell is noted for his ability, and for his strict and unwavering atten- tion to business. On May 6, 1846, Mr. Tidgewell was married to Sarah A. Kelsey, of Cromwell, Conn .. a daughter of Calvin Kelsey, and a descendant of an old New England family. Mrs. Tidgewell died leav- ing a family of three children : Sarah, now deceased ; Frederick, a mechanic who for fifteen years has been with the Winchester Arms Co .; and Florence, un- married. In politics Mr. Tidgewell takes very little interest. In religion he and his family are Uni- versalists.
NORRIS M. JOHNSON (deceased) was for many years one of the successful and prominent farmers of Hamden, New Haven county, his entire life being passed on the old homestead, where he was born Jan. 23, 1835, a son of Hezekiah and Betsey (Little) Johnson. The father was born on the same farm in 1808, and died there in 1845. In his family were the following children : Hezekiah ; Charles ; Lorenzo; Alonzo: Sylvanus, a resident of Iowa and the only son now living: Norris M. ; and Frances, the wife of Ezra Stiles, of North Haven.
The early life of Norris M. Johnson was spent under the parental roof, and his literary education
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was received in the common schools of the locality. He soon became familiar with every department of farın work, and also with brick making, his father being engaged in the latter occupation in connection with farming. Mr. Johnson continued to reside on the old homestead throughout life, and for a great many years he also devoted a part of his time to the manufacture of bricks.
On March 29, 1858, he was united in marriage with Miss Josephine M. Benham, who was born at Church Corners in the town of Hamden, March 24, 1839, a daughter of Luther L. and Elizabeth ( Hea- ton) Benham, and granddaughter of Amos Ben- ham, all natives of Hamden. She is the oldest in a family of five children, the others being Willis, a prominent farmer of Hamden ; Dallas, who died in 1891 ; and Lydia, who died in Hamden ; and Liz- zie, who died in December, 1898. Our subject. and his wife had two children: Charley, who was born Dec. 27, 1858, and died Feb. 5, 1878; and Adelaide, who was born March 22, 1862, and died in Febru- ary, 1896, leaving two children-Willard Douglass Warren (who died when six years old) and New- ton H. Warren ( born August 7, 1895).
Mr. Johnson died March 4, 1898, honored and respected by all who knew him. He affiliated with the Democratic party, and was a consistent and faithful member of the Baptist Church, where he sang in the choir for many years. Those who knew him best were numbered among his warmest friends, and no citizen in the community was more honored or highly respected. His estimable wife still resides on the old homestead. She was a mem- ber of the church choir for many years, and has always taken an active part in church matters.
GEORGE HENRY SMITH. The name of Smith in the city of New Haven is associated with the extensive business done there by that family in the planting, growing and shipping of oysters George Henry Smith was not only one of the pio- neers in that business in New Haven, but he has also been one of the most successful, the firm of G. H. Smith & Son being well known all over the country. His operations are carried on at City Point, New Haven and Providence, Rhode Island.
George Henry Smith was born in West Haven, Conn., Aug. 20, 1834, and was fourteen years of age when his parents moved to New Haven. His school- ing had not been neglected prior to this time, and after locating in New Haven he was a student in a private school taught by a Mrs. Nichols. Then he gratified a boyish love of adventure by shipping for the West Indies, and his years between fifteen and twenty-three were spent on the sea. In 1867, in association with his brother, Jeremiah Smith, he built a house on a vessel at Long Wharf, having previously, in 1864, erected an oyster house on Oyster Point. In 1883 he built a large oyster house in Washington street, and in 1884 purchased his brother's interest in the business, which had grown to such an extent that in 1888 he found it necessary
to erect his present oyster plant, on Oyster or City Point, where he cultivates 700 acres of oyster ground, having for his wholesale trade one gasoline and one steam boat of his own, and hiring a num- ber of others. The business is known all over the. United States, and there is no more successful firm in this locality than that of G. H. Smith & Son, growers, planters, shippers and wholesale dealers in native oysters. The product of their grounds has been found satisfactory all over the country.
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