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 3 > Part 12
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
CHARLES COUPLAND, whose death oc- curred at his home in Seymour April 25. 1901, was for twenty years one of the leading citizens of that town, identified with the Tingue Manufacturing Co., and for fifteen years its treasurer and the man- ager of the company's works at this point. He was one of the most ingenious and practical manufac- turers in the Naugatuck Valley.
Mr. Coupland was born at Huddersfield, in York- shire. England. April 11, 1841, son of Robert and Mary Coupland, and was the second of a family of nine children. His father was a small woolen manufacturer, but thoroughly skilled in his occu- pation, and was considered an ingenious man. He soon needed the services of his son, and when Charles was but seven years of age he was placed at work in the factory, where he labored in the day- time, acquiring what education he received by at- tendance at night schools. But he learned in the twelve years that included his apprenticeship in his father's factory what proved of immense practical benefit to him, every detail and all the intricacies and fine points pertaining to the manufacture of woolen goods. Having obtained his mechanical knowledge he became, at the age of nineteen years, dissatisfied with the prospects in life. and in 1860 resolved to cast his lot in America. With others he emigrated to this country, and soon found work in the Windemere mills, at Rockville, Conn. After working a short time as a second man in the card- ing room he was given charge of the department, and from that time all his service was in super- visory positions. In 1865 he went to Philadelphia, Pa., where he was given charge of the carding and spinning of the Baltic Mills. He thence went to Union Village, Conn .. where he owned and operated a custom woolen mill for several years. A year . later he removed to Burrville, Conn., where he also engaged in business on his own account. in the man- ufacture of woolen floeks, using a machine invented by himself, which very successfully performed that I operation, doing as much work as five of the ma-
-
Eng Ty F G Kerran NY
Frailes Forfland
1
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
829,
chines previously used. In 1869 he sold out and went to Templeton, Mass .; to take charge of the well-known Otter River blanket mills, and went from there to the woolen mills of Berry & Stanton, at Woodville, R. I., each move bringing an advance in position and salary, and increasing his knowledge of manufacturing.
In 1871 Mr. Coupland became the manager and part owner of the mill at Thomaston, Conn., ope- rated by the Plymouth Woolen Co., where he re- mained until the mill was burned down, in the fall of 1873. The corporation now determined to build a worsted mill, and Mr. Coupland was urged to prepare himself to take charge of it. His experi- ence had been confined to woolen goods. whose manufacture differed from worsted goods, and this necessitated new instruction, which was difficult to obtain, as every mill kept a close guard of its secret process. Determined to find an entrance into some mill, even if he would have to do ordinary labor, Mr. Coupland came to Seymour, where he applied for a place in the Kalmia Mills, at that time run for the manufacture of worsted varns by Scheppers Brothers, of Philadelphia, with Emil Martines as superintendent. He was told the only place vacant was that of engineer, and if he was competent he could take that. He knew but little of the work of an engineer, but accepted the place at $3 per day, and by diligent attention to his work soon succeeded in giving good satisfaction. He remained nine months, and in that period learned all he wanted to know about worsted. In the meantime the death of Lucius P. Porter, of the Plymouth Co., had disar- ranged the plans of the corporation, which decided not to rebuild. Mr. Coupland now sought a new field of labor, and applied to A. T. Stewart for the position of general superintendent of his numerous woolen mills, receiving the appointment, at a very large salary, in the fall of 1874. He entered upon his new duty to the great surprise of his acquaint- ances at Seymour, who could not imagine how a man who had been so recently a workman in an engine room in their midst could possibly fill that place. When Mr. Coupland took charge of the Stewart interests but four of the thirteen woolen mills in four different States were running, but scon every mill was profitably operated, giving em- ployment to over 10,000 people. In this service he remained six years.
. In 1880, while still in the employ of A. T. Stew- art, Mr. Coupland invented a new and exceedingly speedy way to weave mohair pile goods, which he determined to utilize in a factory of his own, with the aid of interested capital. At this time he was introduced to John H. Tingue, a wealthy dry-goods merchant of New York, who consented to embark with him in this new enterprise, Mr. Coupland agreeing to devise, construct and place in operation all the necessary machinery. Mr. Tingue to see that there was no lack of capital. Looking about for a suitable site for the factory, they came to Seymour
and bought the Kalmia, or old Eagle Silk Mill, in 1880, and the work of building the machinery was begun by Mr. Coupland. From that time until his death he was the genius which inspired and success- fully directed the Tingue Manufacturing Co. at Sey- mour. The corporation was formed in 1881, and the same year the work of manufacturing plush goods was begun. The process was a radical departure from all former methods, and not only was this the pioneer mill in America in this line of industry, but for five years the sole occupant of this especial field.
Of this mill and its operations the American. Machinist said in 1885 :
I had the pleasure. a few weeks ago, of looking through the plush manufactory at Seymour, Connecticut, through the courtesy of the president of the company, Mr. J. H. Tingue, and under the guidance of Mr. Coup- land, the superintendent, whose inventive turn of mind. backed up by his indomitable perseverance and exceptional executive ability, has accomplished wonders in the last four years. Indeed, to pass through the different depart- ments, as I did, and listen to the explanations of differ- ences between the methods and machinery employed by the Tingue Company, and those employed by manufac- turers of similar goods, both here and in foreign countries, with the advantages claimed both in quantity and quality of production, and be told that the machinery had been invented, designed and built by themselves, while to the question, "How long has it taken?" came the answer, "Four years," was to me a genuine surprise. To the enterprise, perseverance, inventive and mechanical ability which have left their imprint all through this truly model establishment I feel that I have no words in which to pay a fitting tribute. Through the successful establishment of this industry-the manufacture of mohair plush-is opened up a new and profitable industry in the raising of the Angora goat, which has already been found to be a sure source of profit in some parts of the Southern States, where sheep raising has proved a failure. The beautiful silky fleeces of these animals, with a fiber of six or seven to nine or ten inches long-and in extreme cases, I am told, it is found eighteen inches in length-are by the in- genious machinery of the Tingue Company carried from one stage of manufacture to another till two sheets of plush in one, joined by the pile of each, await the services of the ingenious splitting machine of Mr. Coupland, who, with the inspiration of American air for the past score of years, could not be satisfied with the old way in use abroad of weaving over wires, which, by withdrawing, cut the pile and separate the two sheets, but has invented a machine the office of which is to split in the most accurate manner, and in an entirely automatic way, any width or length of plush goods. Not only is the operation of splitting performed automatically, but the knives which do the work are automatically ground while working, and so kept sharp. Enough might be said of this place to fill a volume, but, wishing to be careful not to violate any confidence, I have simply to say I am truly grateful, while I feel-and I think every American citizen should- that many thanks are due to these pioneers in an in- dustry which promises to become one of the greatest im- portance, not simply in a manufacturing sense, but to the landowner in a large section of the country.
Subsequently much other labor-saving machin- ery was added by Mr. Coupland, much of which he invented, and he had thirty patents awarded him for machinery to be used in the manufacture of plush goods. The mill and entire plant superintended by
830
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
him was a model of neatness, order, and the adapta- tion of the best means to obtain the best results, showing that Mr. Coupland also had fine adminis- trative ability as well as inventive talent, which gave him a place among the foremost mill men of the country.
Mr. Coupland was a public-spirited citizen and responded generously to appeals for contributions for the advancement of local enterprises. He espe- i cially gave liberally for the public library, and only a couple of weeks before his death, when the editor of the Record asked him what would be the charge for the use of the opera house two evenings, for an entertainment for the benefit of the public library, immediately replied, "Nothing if it is for the benefit of the library." He was especially interested in the proposed electric road to Ansonia, which he believed would be for the good of the public. He was the leader in the formation of the Tingue Manufactur- ing Co., which for twenty years has carried on the manufacture of plush goods here. one of the leading industries of the place. The political affiliations of Mr. Coupland were with the Democratic party, but in no sense was he a partisan. He was a prominent Freemason and belonged to the Order of Elks.
At a special meeting of the directors of the Tingue Manufacturing Co., held in Seymour on Saturday, April 27, 1001. the following minttte con- cerning the death of Mr. Coupland was adopted and passed :
The directors of this company have learned with deep regret and sorrow of the death of their fellow director. Charles Coupland, which occurred at his home in Sey- mour on the 25th day of April. 1901.
Mr. Coupland has been connected with this company since its organization in 1881. From its beginning he has been one of its directors and the superintendent of its manufacturing business. Since 1885 he has been its treas- urer and the general manager of its affairs in Seymour. He from the first, has given to its service his time and his talents unstintedly, and his experience and technical skill and ability in all that pertained to the business of manu- facturing have been of great value to the corporation. In his death the corporation loses a valuable and faithful servant whom it can ill spare at this time; and we, his fellow directors, have lost a friend and trusted adviser whose genial presence at our meetings we shall greatly miss.
We tender to his family our warmest sympathy in their sorrow over this sudden and sad bereavement.
We direct that this minute shall be entered upon our records as a brief memorial of our sense of loss in the death of Mr. Coupland; and that a copy thereof be pub- lished in the newspapers and sent to his family.
On July 14, 1890, Mr. Coupland was married to Mrs. Ada M. Jewett, daughter of George and Eunice (West) Gates, of Norwich, Conn., and widow of Dr. Thomas B. Jewett, of Derby. By her first marriage Mrs. Coupland had one child. Thomas E. Mr. Coupland had one daughter, Isabelle M., now the wife of Dr. G. Wilmot, of New Haven, by a previous marriage. Mr. Coupland's greatest pleasure was in fine horses, of which he owned several. .
DELOS HOTCHKISS (deceased), who dur- ing life was one of the most prominent agriculturists and highly respected citizens of Cheshire, was born on a farm in that town in 1802, and was descended from one of the oldest and best families of New Ha- ven county.
Josephus Hotchkiss, his father, was a native of the town of Prospect, and when a young man came to Cheshire, where he engaged in farming through- out the remainder of his life. His remains were in- terred in Cheshire cemetery. He married Sarah Benham, and to them were born the following chil- dren : Benona, who died in Kentucky; Lois, wife of Alfred Blakeslee; Sarah, wife of Willis Larra- bee; Delos, our subject; Mary, wife of William Hotchkiss; and Emma, wife of Joseph Doolittle. All are now deceased.
During his boyhood Delos Hotchkiss attended the district schools and learned the trade of shoe- making, which he followed for many years. Dur- ing the winter season he would travel through the South, making shoes, going with a number of others employed by a Mr. Hall, of Winsted. Subsequently he purchased a farm of 100 acres in Cheshire, near the Southington line, and devoted the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. He made many use- ful and valuable improvements upon his place, in- cluding the erection of a fine residence and good barn and other outbuildings. Upon his place was the largest apple tree in the state. It was very old, and during a storm a few years ago was blown down.
In September, 1827, Mr. Hotchkiss was married, in Cheshire, to Miss Philocia Moss, their wedding taking place at the residence of the bride's parents. She was born in Cheshire Dec. 24, 1807, a daughter of Thomas Doolittle and Ruth ( Hale) Moss, and belongs to old and honored families of this county, including the Moss, Doolittle and Hale families. She is a very intelligent woman, and although the second oldest lady in Cheshire still possesses all her faculties, and is an interesting conversationalist. She is very charitable and benevolent, giving liber- ally of her means to the poor and needy; she has also contributed largely to the children's home in Mt. Carmel, to the high school in Cheshire, and to similar enterprises. She is a good Christian, a mem- ber of the Congregational Church, a kind neighbor and a loving wife and mother. Mary Philocia, the only child of our subject and his wife, makes her home with her mother in Cheshire, and is caring for her in her declining years.
Mr. Hotchkiss was an industrious, hard-working man, upright and honorable in his dealings, and temperate in his habits. The only society with which he was ever connected was a temperance organiza- tion. He was a God-fearing man, and an earnest and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in early life. Later he joined the Wesleyan Methodists, because of their Abolition sentiments. In his last years he was an Adventist. He was a
831
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
stanch Abolitionist, much opposed to slavery, and supported first the Whig and later the Republican parties. He possessed all the requirements which go to the making of a good citizen, and in his death the community realized that it had lost one of its best and most useful members. He died upon his farm Oct. 16, 1890, honored and respected by all who knew him, and was laid to rest in the Cheshire cemetery.
WILLIAM BRYAN, for many years owner and manager of the "Montowese House," a popular summer resort at Indian Neck, was born in Bran- ford July 16, 1826, a son of William and Irene (Bradley) Bryan.
Our subject's father was born in 1796, on board an English man-o'-war the "Diana," and was a son of James Bryan, who was an officer in the English navy, and was at the battle of Trafalgar ; he was a lieutenant under Lord Beresford. For bravery in that engagement he was made a captain, and he was subsequently appointed governor of Santa Cruz, West Indies. William Bryan, Sr., at the age of twelve years came to Bath, Maine. Serv- ing in the War of 1812, he took part in the battle of Lundy's Lane, and was under Perry when he won the remarkable victory on Lake Erie. At the close of the war he settled in New Haven, where he was later an officer on the first steamboat plying between that city and New York. He was pilot for a number of years, and in 1819 settled in Bran-
ford. From that point Mr. Bryan engaged in coastwise trading along the Atlantic shore. He married Irene Bradley, a daughter of Timothy and Irene (Gordon) Bradley, and a granddaughter of Timothy and Sarah (Goodsell) Bradley. Her mother's parents were Capt. Alexander and Irene Gordon. The children of William and Irene ( Brad- ley) Bryan were: Nancy, who was twice mar- ried, first to John Morton, second to Malachi Lin- sley; James; William; Harriet. who married Charles Barker ; Bradley ; Alden P .; and William. William Bryan, Sr., died in 1887.
William Bryan, whose name introduces this arti- cle, was born in Branford, where he has always re- sided. In 1851 he went to California, where he was engaged in mining for two years. Returning to Connecticut he bought a vessel and engaged in the coast trade between New York and Branford from 1854 to 1860. In 1863 he became proprietor of the "Totoket House," in Branford, where he continued for three years. In 1866 Mr. Bryan put up the "Montowese House," at Indian Neck, one of the most pleasantly situated summer hotels on the Connecticut coast, and one of the best patronized along the coast. In the management of this he has been very successful, and has built up a name for himself as a landlord that does him credit.
Mr. Bryan was married in 1848 to Miss Lydia A., daughter of Timothy Wells Palmer, of North Branford, and they have three children, Scott MI.,
Nancy E. and William A. William A. Bryan is the manager of the "Kenilworth Inn," at Biltmore, Asheville, N. C., and of his father's hotel, "The Montowese," at Indian Neck.
Mr. Bryan belongs to the Masonic Fraternity, being a charter member of Widows Sons Lodge, F. & A. M., at Branford. In religion he is a member of the Episcopal Church. In politics he is a Demo- crat, but holds strongly to the gold standard. With a wide experience in the world, he has made a multi- tude of friends, all over the country, who have pleasant memories of the hospitality he has so cor- dially extended to them.
DWIGHT L. SMITH, for over thirty years superintendent of the factory of the Waterbury Buckle Co., is one of the most respected residents of Waterbury, where he has been especially active in religious and benevolent enterprises.
Mr. Smith was born in Waterbury March 4, 1839, son of Lyman P. Smith, who was born in the town of Prospect, and died in 1846, at the age of thirty-five. When a young man Lyman P. Smith worked in Waterbury, and later in the cotton mill at Quassebaug Lake, in Middlebury. Marilla San- ford, his wife, was born in Wolcott, Conn., daugh- ter of Truman and Anna ( Curtis) Sanford, also of Wolcott, the former of whom was a cooper by trade. Mrs. Smith died in Waterbury, where she and her husband reared their family of three chil- dren : Dwight L., our subject ; Rhoda A., who mar- ried Wallace E. Peck, and lives in Waterbury ; and Sarah J., who married Franklin H. Wheeler, of Middlebury.
Dwight L. Smith was reared in Waterbury, where he attended the district school on East Main street. For three years subsequently he studied at Middlebury, and he finished his literary training at the academy at Waterbury Center, when he was six- teen years old. The first work he did for himself was in the factory of the Hotchkiss & Merriman Manufacturing Co., where he was engaged at mak- ing suspender buckles. Upon the formation of the Waterbury Buckle Co., in 1855, he entered the em- ploy of the new firm, and has practically never left them. For more than thirty years he has been superintendent of the factory. During his con- nection with the Buckle Co. he has seen it grow from a small industry, giving employment to less than fifty hands, to one of the leading concerns in this line in the country, employing over five hundred people. He has taken out numerous patents, most of them in connection with his line of business, and his inventions have had an important part in the success which has been attained by the Buckle Co., under the wise and conservative management of Earl Smith, who has been for so many years general manager of the concern.
On Dec. 24, 1862, Mr. Smith married Miss Helen M. Latta, who was born in Thompsonville, Conn., daughter of James and Jane (Kenyon)
832
COMMEMORATIU'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Latta ; her father was from Scotland. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born three children : Howard, Albert D. and Idella M., of whom Howard died when only two years old. Albert D. is secretary of the Springfield Knitting Co., at Springfield, Mass .; he married Minnie J. Baker, daughter of Augustus and Susan Baker. Idella M. is single.
Mr. Smith is a Republican politically. In church affairs he is a pronounced Baptist, and for many years has acted as superintendent of the Sunday- school and as a deacon of that church. Albert D. Smith is superintendent of a Sunday-school in Springfield. Dwight L. Smith is actively associated with the Y. M. C. A., and has been since its es- tablishment in Waterbury; he was its president for three years. Mr. Smith organized a mission at Hopeville, and was superintendent of its Sunday- school for many years. Through his zeal and wis- dom many country missions have been founded. He is vice-president of the Boys' Club of Water- bury.
SAMUEL ROOT, of Waterbury, although born in Susquehanna county, Pa., April II. 1833, de- scends from one of the oldest of Connecticut's Puri- tan families, and traces his pedigree in the State to 1640, when John Root came from England and made Farmington his place of settlement. He mar- ried Frances Kilbourne, and died in 1684. while his wife survived until 1697. Their children were named as follows: John, Samuel, Thomas, Mary, Stephen, Susannah, Joseph and Caleb. Thomas Root, a brother of John, had come to America in 1637, and settled at Hartford ; another Thomas Root settled in Salem, Mass., about the same time, but the relationship between them is not known.
Caleb Root, son of John, married Elizabeth Salo- mon for his first wife, and a Miss Gillette for his second, and died in 1712. His children were Mary, Caleb, Thomas, Elizabeth and Samuel.
Samuel Root, son of Caleb, married Elizabeth Prindle, and came to Waterbury, where he died in 1778. His children were named Merey, Samuel, Enos, Joseph, Elijah and Solomon.
Enos Root. son of Sammuel, was born in Water- bury March 26, 1753. He married Martha Roberts, lived in Waterbury, then in Bristol, but returned to Waterbury, where he died in August, 1820, and his wife on Oct. 24. 1824. Their children were Moses, Samuel, Levia. Chauncey Elias and Enos P.
Enos P. Root, son of Enos, was born in Water- bury Nov. 30, 1792. In 1816 he married Maria Downs, a daughter of John Downs. of Waterbury, and they became the parents of seven children, viz. : Charlotte, Albert A., Anson A., Mary M., Samuel, Willard E. and Jane. Of this, the immediate family, Charlotte (now deceased) became the wife of The- ron Beech. and for her second husband married Rev. Mr. Baldwin : Albert A. went to Pennsylvania, fol- lowed his trade of carpenter and joiner, and there passed the remainder of his life; Anson A. is a re-
tired merchant of Woodbury; Mary M. is the de- ceased wife of Rev. W. P. Gibson, of the Congre- gational Church ; Samuel is mentioned below ; Wil- lard E., a mechanic, died young; and Jane ( de- ceased ) was married to Rev. Richard Crittenden, a Congregational clergyman. Enos P. Root, the ta- ther of this family, who was a contractor and build- er, passed many years in the Keystone State, elosing his days in Springville, Susquehanna Co., Pa., dying Nov. 7, 1852. In polities he was first a Whig, and on the disintegration of that party became a Repub- iicanı.
Samuel Root, whose pedigree has been given in the foregoing, lived in Springville, Pa., until six- teen years of age, and there received his education. He then came to Waterville, a suburb of Water- bury, and worked in a cutlery factory until 1853, when he went to California, via the Isthmus, with $600 in his pocket. After one year he returned with $I, and felt himself fortunate in securing work in a cutlery factory in Naugatuck, where he remained two years. He was next employed for three years by the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Co., at Bridgeport : and then, after six months in a woolen factory in Norfolk, Conn., he went to work on his own account, selling cutlery and plated ware on the road for eight years. He then purchased a cutlery shop on the outskirts of Middlebury, and mannfac- tured cutlery, including pocket ware, for twenty-one years, but has now practically retired, employing his time in looking after his real-estate interests.
Mr. Root has been twice married. On Dec. 2, 1863, he wedded H. Vienna Fenn, a daughter of Harris and Jane E. Fenn. One son blessed this union, Linford F., born Nov. 22, 1868, who is now a lawyer of considerable prominence, and the pres- ent clerk of the district court. The wife and mother passed away Nov. 7, 1887. On Jan. 8. 1889, Mr. Root married Mrs. Mary Root, widow of Frank Root, a son of Anson A. Root, brother of our sub- ject. By her first marriage Mrs. Root is the mother of one son. Clifford Anson, born Jan. 19, 1884, and now a student in the Military Academy at Peekskill, N. Y. By his second marriage Samuel Root has become the father of three children, viz .: Herbert S., born Oct. 17, 1889; Barbara S., born Sept. 19, 1890 ; and James H., born April 1, 1893, all of whom are in school.
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.