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 2 > Part 44
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Edward Alonzo Linsley engaged in farming in North Branford throughout life, though when a young man he learned the trade of axe making, and when George C. was a child of six or seven years he began the manufacture of those implements in North Branford, continuing to engage in the busi- ness until well advanced in years. He wedded Miss Mary Baldwin, who was born in North Branford, March 5, 1814, daughter of Josiah and Rhoda (Car- ter) Baldwin, and died Oct. 7, 1879. Mr. Linsley departed this life in April, 1874. In their family were four children, namely: Charles, who died at the age of twenty-four years; Levi, who died at the age of nine years; George C .; and Ellen A., now Mrs. Payson B. Orcutt, of North Haven.
George C. Linsley, whose name introduces this sketch, was reared on the home farm, and his educa- tional advantages were such as the district schools of the neighborhood afforded. In early life he as- ! sisted his father in the operation of the farm and in the axe factory, but since the latter's death has de- voted his energies exclusively to agricultural pur- suits with good results. His political support is given to the men and measures of the Republican party, and for the past sixteen years he has served as junior deacon in the Congregational Church of North Branford. He takes a deep and commenda- ble interest in everything pertaining to the public welfare and has been one of the useful and valued citizens of his community.
Mr. Linsley has been twice married. In Fair Haven he wedded Miss Hetty Ball, who died leav- ing one child, Merwin B., who died at the age of twenty-one years, seven months and eleven days. On June 4, 1878, Mr. Linsley was married, in North Haven, to Miss Vernelia A. Smith, a daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Ann (Rogers) Smith. Her father was born March 17, 1802, and died Dec. 20, 1872. The mother was born May 18, 1817, a daugh- ter of Ebenezer and Rebecca (Munson) Rogers, both descendants of old Colonial families .. The Rogers homestead in North Branford has been owned and occupied by the family for 250 years, and the old house is still in a remarkable state of preservation. Mr. and Mrs. Linsley have two chil- dren : Charles S., born March 6, 1883; and Ernest C., born Dec. 3, 1889.
FRANK SEWARD, president of the M. Seward & Son Co., manufacturers of carriage hardware, is one of the best known business men in New Haven, and the business he represents has been familiar to the people of the city for several decades. Mr. Seward was born in Hamden, Conn., Sept. 28, 1842,
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a son of Moses Seward, the founder of the present corporation.
Moses Seward was born in Durham, Conn., and passed away in New Haven, in March, 1891, aged seventy-six years. His boyhood was spent on a farm in Durham, Conn., and early in life he went to Wallingford, where he found employment in a blacksmith shop, and there thoroughly learned that trade. He later went to New Haven and opened a blacksmith shop there, in 1850 building a factory on Bristol street, which was the beginning of the present company, known as the M. Seward & Son Co. In 1863 the firm became M. Seward & Son, and as such continued until Mr. Seward died, at which time a joint stock company was formed by the son, Frank Seward, and the daughters. In early manhood Moses Seward married Clarissa E. Col- burn, a daughter of Daniel Colburn, a foundryman
and iron worker in Hamden, Conn. Six children blessed this union, of whom two, Ellen and Ann, died in infancy. Of the others, Frank is our subject ; Florence married George T. Culver, a native of Wallingford, but a resident of New Haven; Kate married George E. Hodson, of New Haven; and Carrie married Albert L. Colburn, who was born in Derby, but now makes his home in New Haven. Mrs. Clarissa E. (Colburn) Seward entered into rest in February, 1892. Both she and Mr. Seward were faithful followers of the laws of the Methodist Church. In his political faith he was a Democrat.
Frank Seward was but a child when his parents removed to New Haven, so that practically his en- tire life has been passed within this city. His edu- cation was obtained in various private schools in the city, his first efforts towards a higher education be- ing gained in the school of Miss Ives and Miss Will- ard, after which he was under the careful tuition of Miss Jones, and a little later the Diswell Avenue School, and Gen. Palmer's school. From the school- room he passed into his father's factory, and be- ginning on the lowest round of the ladder began to learn all the details of the business he was one day to control. He paid careful attention to his work, and gradually passed upward until in 1863 he was admitted as a partner, and when his father's death made another change necessary, he was chosen as president of the joint stock company, so eminently fitted was he by training and by natural ability to assume charge of the extensive plant.
Mr. Seward has been twice married. His first wife, Carrie Dyer, was a native of New Haven, and at her death left one child, Eva L., now the wife of Robert E. Peck, M. D., of New Haven. In 1872 Mr. Seward wedded his present wife, Minerva M. Parmelee, a daughter of William L. Parmelee. One child has been born of this union, Herbert F., who is bookkeeper for his father. In public affairs Mr. Seward has always taken great interest, and has served his fellow townsmen in a number of offices ; for one year he was councilman from his ward. Fraternally he belongs to Harmony Lodge, No. 5,
I. O. O. F., and Olive Branch Lodge, Westville, F. & A. M .; while through his political affiliations he is a member of the Republican League. Religiously he is a Methodist, and is identified with the First M. E. Church.
HOADLEY BRAY IVES (deceased). This is one of the old historic names of New England, and has been represented in Connecticut since the settle- ment of William Ives, the American ancestor of the family, in the Colony as early as 1642. The various descendants of this man have played a part in the making of a great nation, and Hoadley Bray Ives was no unworthy representative of the name. Mr. Ives was born in North Haven, in 1814, a son of William Ives, Jr., and a grandson of William Ives, Sr., the latter a farmer of North Haven, where he spent his entire life.
William Ives, Jr., was born in North Haven, and followed farming as an occupation. He died when about seventy-five years old. His wife was born in East Haven, and died at the age of sixty- five. She became the mother of five children, of whom but one, a daughter who resides in Iowa, is now living.
Hoadley B. Ives was reared in North Haven, and was early set to learn the tin trade, but he ran away from his employer, and was employed as a clerk in a grocery in New Haven until he was nine- teen. At that age he set up in the grocery business on State street, and after a few years moved to Church street, and there purchased two buildings. He was quite successful, and was so engaged for a number of years. Mr. Ives was one of the originators of the National Savings Bank, and filled a position in it as treasurer as long as he lived, his period of active work as treasurer and director covering some twenty-five years. Mr. Ives was president of the Fair Haven and Westville Street Railroad Co., and saw that enterprise grow in importance until it has become one of the important lines of this part of the State. His death occurred March 19, 1894. In his politics he was a Republican, and for three years was an alderman; eight years a member of the Common Council, and he always took an active part in all the affairs of the city. He was a director of the Yale National Bank, and at one time owned nearly half its capital stock, being intimately asso- ciated with all its important transactions. The house which was his home for many years was built long ago, and was recently thoroughly remodeled under his widow's personal direction.
On May 25, 1853, Mr. Ives was married to Marv E. Fisher, a native of the city of New York, a daughter of Daniel M. and Mary ( Watrous) Fisher,. prominent in old New York circles. Daniel M. Fisher was well known in business for many years in the metropolis. and died at the age of eighty years. Mary ( Watrous) Fisher was born in New York of French Huguenot extraction, and became the mother of four children, of whom three are liv-
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ing: Mrs. Mary E. Ives ; William H., of Orange, Conn. ; Anna, who married Charles Emerson. Mrs. Fisher died at the age of forty-one. Both she and her husband attended the Methodist Church. Mrs. Ives attends the Christ Church.
Mrs. Ives began a tour of the world Feb. 6, 1895, and was away from home two and a half years. She spent one month in Ceylon, three months in India, three months in Japan, and made a prolonged stay in Italy, where her health was much improved. In 1895 Mrs. Ives gave $10,000 to build the chancel of Christ Church, and in 1899, before her last trip to Europe, gave $2,000 for the furnishing of the new Maternity Hospital. In Au- gust, 1901, she made a donation of $10,000 to the Y. M. C. A. for the library, and the interest on $5,000 with which to buy books for the library, this money to be given them at her death. She is a woman of high character and generous spirit, and possesses a host of friends in the community who appreciate her good qualities.
AUGUST MASCHMEYER, one of the leading German-American citizens of Meriden and at the present tinie a member of the General Assembly, was born near Hildesheim, Hanover, Germany, Jan. 14, 1843, son. of Edward Maschmeyer. The father was born in that place, and was there engaged in a general mercantile business very successfully until 1854, ,in which year he disposed of his store and other property and sought a home for himself and family in the United States. He located in Hanover, in the southern part of the town of Meriden, where he was employed by the Meriden Cutlery Co., and later in the Parker shops at Yalesville. At the out- break of the Civil war he enlisted in Company H, 6th Conn. V. I., and was killed Sept. 3, 1862, by the bursting of a cannon ; he was buried at Hilton Head, S. C. His good qualities, industrious habits and manly character won him the respect of his em- ployers and all with whom he came in contact. Mr. Maschmeyer never saw his wife and children after his departure for the United States. He was mar- ried in Hanover, Germany, to Augusta Horre, who was born in the same province and was a daughter of Carl Horre, surgeon. The widowed mother came to this country in 1866, two years after the arrival of her son, was cared for by her children until her death, and was buried in the West Cemetery, Meri- den. A good Christian woman, she bore her many sorrows patiently and reared a good family all of whom are living in this country, as follows: Au- gust ; Hermine, who married August Melchoir : Adolph, an engraver, of Meriden; Johanna, who married Christian Fisher ; and Emilie, housekeeper for August and Adolph.
August Maschmeyer received a good education in Germany, attending public and private school. There he learned the trade of blacksmith, and fol- lowed same until his coming to America. He was six weeks on the voyage to New York, which he
made on the sailing vessel "Neptune." For about a month he worked as a mechanic, securing employ- ment at once through the influence of friends. Mr. Maschmeyer had relatives in Yalesville, and he made his way to that point, where he was employed with the Meriden Cutlery Co. six years. For five years he was in the Charles Parker factory, and in 1877 began business as a wholesaler and retailer of bottled beer and other goods. This business he car- ried on very successfully for eight years, and then sold out to retire from active business. Mr. Masch- meyer still takes an active interest in his property investments, and successfully handles his own af- fairs. He has a fine residence in North avenue, Meriden, where he is making his home at the pres- ent time. His mother was cared for there and there also other members of the family have made their home.
Mr. Maschmeyer was a Republican up to the time of Horace Greeley, and since that time has been a Democrat. In 1891 he was elected a member of the Meriden city council, and is now a member of the board of education and is serving his second term as police commissioner. In 1900 he was elected to represent Meriden in the General Assembly. Mr. Maschmeyer is highly respected in the city of his adoption. At one time he was a mem- ber of the German-American board of education, and he is now a member of the German Aid Society. He belongs to German Order Harugari and to the Saengerbund.
GEORGE A. ANDREWS, a prominent agricul- turist and influential citizen of Cheshire, is a worthy representative of one of the oldest and most highly respected families of New England. The first to come to America was William Andrews, a native of Hampsworth, England, and a carpenter by occu- pation. He was one of the fifty-three persons who shipped with Capt. William Cooper on the "James," of London, from Hampton, England, in April, 1635, and landed in Boston, where he was made a freeman the same year. He came to New Haven with Rev. John Davenport and others, and built the first meet- ing house there in 1644. He spent the remainder of his life in this county, and died in East Haven, March 4, 1676. He was twice married, the second time, on Dec. 7, 1665, to Anna Gibbands, daughter of William Gibbands, who was colonial secretary in 1657. She died in 1701. There were six chil- dren born of the first marriage, but the names of the daughters are unknown. The sons were William, who was born in England, and died Jan. 3, 1663; Samuel, born in England in 1632, and died Oct. 6, 1704; and Nathan, who was born in Boston in 1638.
(II) Nathan Andrews, son of William, accom- panied the family on their removal to New Haven, and in 1670 was one of the first to locate in the town of Wallingford, his home being on Main street, where he owned a house and land. He was a good I citizen and an upright, honorable man, who died in
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1712, and was buried in Wallingford. On July 26, 1686, he married Elizabeth Miles, and for his sec- ond wife married Hannah Gibbons. He was one of the twelve selected to lay the foundation for the church in Wallingford, and was one of its active members. His children were Elizabeth, born April 8, 1688; Daniel and Tamar, twins, born Aug. 15, 1690, the former of whom died the same day, the latter Jan. II, 1727; Samuel, who was born Aug. 15, 1691, and died Jan. 31, 1727; Daniel; Mary; Jonathan ; and Abigail. There was one child by the second marriage, William.
(III) Jonathan Andrews, son of Nathan, spent his entire life as a farmer in Wallingford, and his remains were interred there. He was an earnest, consistent Christian, and a well known citizen of his native town. On April II, 1727, he married Jemima Hotchkiss, and they had five children, whose names and dates of birth were as follows: Abel, Jan. 28, 1728; Esther, May 9, 1730; Mary, Jan. 14, 1734; Daniel, June 4, 1737 ; and Jemima, Nov. 24, 1740.
(IV) Abel Andrews, son of Jonathan, was born and reared in Wallingford, and when a young man came to Cheshire, where he owned land and success- fully engaged in general farming and stock raising. He was a hard working man and a faithful Chris- tian. He died and was buried in Cheshire. He was twice married, and by the first wife had one child, Sarah, born Feb. 1, 1744. On Feb. 10, 1759, he married Letitia Williams, who also died and was buried in Cheshire. By this union there were five children : Samuel, Maria, Abel, Chauncey and Es- ther.
(V) Abel, son of Abel, Sr., and grandfather of our subject, was a life-long resident of Cheshire, where he owned considerable property and exten- sively engaged in farming and stock raising. He was a worthy member of the Congregational Church, and was a Democrat in politics. His remains were interred in the old family burying ground in Chesh- ire. For his first wife he married Electa Ashley, and for the second Roxana Bunnell, widow of Moses Blakeslee. By the first union there were children: William; Edward; Maria, wife of Lem- uel Rice; Horace, who died young ; and Eliza, wife of William J. Hubbard. Horace, the only child by the second marriage, is still living in Cheshire.
(VI) William Andrews, father of our subject, was born, reared and educated in Cheshire, where he attended the district schools and aided in the oper- ation of the home farm. On starting out in life for himself he chose the occupation of farming, and bought 100 acres of land in East Cheshire, known as the George Stevens farm, upon which he spent the remainder of his life, his time and attention being devoted principally to farming and stock raising. He was a prominent Democrat of his town and held several local offices, including that of selectman. Religiously he was a member of the Congregational Church. He died Nov. 3, 1890, at the ripe old age
of eighty-seven years, and was laid to rest in the family burying ground. In East Haven he mar- ried Emaline Chidsey, a native of that place and a daughter of Jacob Chidsey. She, too, was a men- ber of the Congregational Church, and died in that faith in July, 1878, at the age of seventy-eight years. The father possessed a rich voice and was a good singer in early life. His children were William H., a resident of New Haven; John A., who died after his return from service in the Civil war ; and George A., our subject.
(VII) George A. Andrews was born April 12, 1841, and has spent his entire life in Cheshire, his education being obtained in its district schools and the Cheshire Episcopal Academy. He remained with his parents upon the old homestead, and since his father's death has owned the same. He has made many improvements upon the place, and has always devoted his energies to agricultural pur- suits. He has been twice married, his first wife be- ing Emaline Tucker, daughter of Elisha Tucker, by whom he had three children: Georgie Etta, de- ceased; Hattie MI., wife of Dr. Joseph Scager, of Havre de Grace, Md .; and Emma Louise. For his second wife lie married Abbie J. Potter, a native of Hadley, Mass., and a daughter of Ephraim and Delia (Smith) Potter, representatives of an old and prominent family of that State. She is a lady of cul- ture and refinement, and presides with gracious dignity over her home. She is a member of the Congregational Church, and of Cheshire Grange, to which latter Mr. Andrews also belongs. He affili- ates with the Democratic party but cares nothing for the honors or emoluments of public office. He and his wife are widely and favorably known and have many warm friends in the community where they reside.
ARTHUR EDWIN HOBSON, superintendent of the International Silver Plating Factory at Mer- iden, was born in Birmingham, England, Feb. I, 1857, son of Edwin Hobson, of Wallingford, Conn., whose sketch appears elsewhere.
Mr. Hobson came to this country with his par- ents, attended the district schools at Wallingford, where they made their home, and was still a young boy when he entered the factory of Simpson, Hall & Miller to learn the die-sinker's trade under the instruction of his father. There he continued until 1880 when he removed to Boston to spend a year and a half at die-sinking. At the expiration of that time he came to Meriden to follow his trade, having a position in the Britannia Ware Co.'s factory. His next engagement was with a silver plating factory at Cromwell, where he spent three years. On going to I. J. Steane & Co., New York, he became super- intendent, which position he held until the organ- ization of the International Silver Co .. when he was retained to fill same position in factory A. This responsible position he fills with credit to himself and satisfaction to the corporation. Mr. Hobson is
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a man of much intelligence, modest. and, like his father, possesses rare ability. A self-educated man, he has attained his present position through his own efforts.
Mr. Hobson was married in Wallingford in 1879, to Miss Hattie Church, daughter of Benjamin Church. She is a lady of much culture and refine- ment, and a devoted wife and mother. To them has come one child, Bertha, who is a charming young woman, well educated, and possessing many gifts and graces. She is at home, and is very popu- lar in the social circles of her native community.
Mr. Hobson is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 81, A. F. & A. M., of Cromwell, and belongs to Pythagoras Chapter, and Wolcott Council, No. I, at Hartford. In politics he is a Republican, though in no sense a politician. He served two terms in the common council at Hartford when he was in busi- ness in that city. Domestic in his habits and tastes, Mr. Hobson finds much delight and comfort in his home. He takes much satisfaction in his automobile, owning one of the three in his city. Mr. Hobson is well known and much respected in the community where his years are passing, as well as in Hartford, and other places where he has been employed. . In 1901 he made a trip to Europe, in which he com- bined business with pleasure.
FRANKLIN E. SMITH has been engaged for the last twenty-five years in the livery and sales busi- ness at Waterbury, and in that tinie has won for him= self an enviable reputation as an upright and honora- ble man. As a horse dealer he has bought and sold some of the best animals driven on the streets of Waterbury. He is a popular man with the public, and has long been favored with a good patronage. Mr. Smith was born in Middlebury, Conn., April 25, 1842, and Horatio N. Smith, his father, was born in Naugatuck, Conn., and died in Middlebury about thirty-five years ago. Elisha Smith, the grandfather of Franklin E., was a native of Naugatuck, and fol- lowed the avocation of a blacksmith.
Horatio N. Smith was reared in Naugatuck. where he learned the trade of a blacksmith under the instructions of his father, and when a young man followed his trade in Middlebury. There for a time he was engaged in the manufacture of car- riages, but when he died was doing a straight black- smith business. Maria Booth. his wife, was born in Middlebury, and was a daughter of Lewis Booth, a well known farmer of that community. She died in 1&)8, the mother of seven children: Frederick L .; Franklin E .; Perry E .; Charles B .; Horatio N .; Annie; and Emma. Frederick L. is a blacksmith in Seymour, Conn. Perry is a farmer in Middlebury, where Horatio is engaged in the butcher business. Charles B. is dead. Annie married George Curtis and lives in Torrington. Emma died unmarried.
Franklin E. Smith spent his boyhood and youth on the farm in Middlebury until he reached the age of nineteen years. During these years he had at-
tended the local schools and acquired a very fair preparation for an active business life. At nineteen he went to New Haven and drove stage to Ansonia for some four years, and he was driver for a bottling firm at Seymour, Conn., for five years. At Woodbridge, Conn., the young man worked in a hotel for a year and was in the horse business at Meriden for another year. In 1875 Mr. Smith came to Waterbury, and this city has been his home to the present time. For some months he held the po- sition of foreman in a livery barn, and in 1876 he set up a livery barn for himself. In this enterprise he has been highly successful, and for almost a quar- ter of a century has kept one of the leading establish- ments of the kind in the city. His business is that of a livery, sales and boarding stable, but principally he does a livery and boarding stable trade.
On Jan. 28, 1886, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Nettie Umberfield were united in marriage. Mrs. Smith was born in Waterbury, Conn., a daughter of Capt. James Grannis. To this union no children have been born. Mr. Smith is an independent in political matters, and he and his wife attend St. John's Episcopal Church, to which he is drawn by ances- tral ties.
LAWRENCE BRUCE. The successful career of the subject of the present review is pleasant to trace, as it is that of a worthy, upright and enter- prising citizen, always willing on the way to lend a helping hand to those more needy than himself, though never more deserving.
Lawrence Bruce is a native of the Scottish High- lands, born in Forgandenny, Perthshire, Scotland, June 30, 1840, a son of James and Anna ( Bane) Bruce, the former of whom was born in Dunkell par- ish, and after a whole life passed in agricultural pur- suits, died in Burntisland, Fifeshire. Lawrence Bruce is fourth in a family of eight children, and his two brothers, Edward and James, also came to the United States. Receiving only the limited schooling afforded in the local schools, Mr. Bruce early engaged in work on his father's farm, but the family grew beyond the needs of the farm and our subject sought other remunerative employment.
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