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 24
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After his marriage Edward Davis located on the farm where his son, Burton A., now lives. Al- though he began life a poor boy, with only a common-school education, he prospered in his un- dertakings, as he was industrious, enterprising and energetic, and he became a large land owner and extensive farmer. In fact, he was one of the suc- cessful men of Hamden in his day. During the latter years of his life he devoted his attention to the dairy business. He was a man of good common sense and sound judgment. When he be- gan life his capital consisted only of energy and business tact, which latter trait was apparent from his youth. He was a disciplinarian, and his man- agement of his affairs, public or private, was such as to secure the best results, for though stern in some respects, he could be indulgent, and was a good judge of human nature. Mr. Davis was well known and his acquaintance included many of the prom- inent men in the business and financial circles of New Haven. He reared an excellent family, to whom he left not only a comfortable competence, but a name which can be pointed to with pride. His tastes were domestic. and his heart always in his home and family, and he never sought or
James a Davis
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cared for political preferment. taking an interest in polities solely as a publie-spirited citizen. He con- tributed liberally to the support of the Whitneyville Congregational Church, of which he was a leading member. .
James A. Davis was reared on the farm, and spent his boyhood and early youth after the fashion of the times, helping in the farm work during the season, and attending school during the winter. His schooling was terminated by a course of study in the private school kept by Prof. Edwin Robbins, in State street, New Haven. In 1872 he became a resident of New Haven. and engaged in con- traet work for private parties as well as for the improvement of the city. After a very few years, in company with his brother, William E .. and Will- iam J. Atwater, he established the New Haven Con- crete Co., and for some years pressed the business vigorously. In 1882 the two brothers established the business of the present firm of William E. Davis & Co., beginning the manufacture of brick in the town of Hamden, with an office in Orange street, New Haven. Since that time these gentie- men, through their energy, industry and ability. have secured an extensive patronage throughout this part of the State. They have a large and mod- ernt plant, where they make building. face and moukled brick.
For ten years, beginning with 1877, James A Davis leased and operated the Whitney avenue horse car line. When he took charge he found that it had, in four years of operation, run behind $7.200. but under his management it was soon put upon a paying basis and soon yielded handsome returns. For a period in the eighties lie was a member of the firm of C. B. & J. A. Davis, of Holyoke, which had a general contracting business. He is also one of the proprietors of the large horse boarding and sales stables, in Holyoke, Mass., of which C. B. Davis is the manager, and the active member of the firm.
Mr. Davis in his political views is a loyal Re- publican, but in local matters he selects the best men. He has never sought office. He is a mem- ber of the Union League Club, of New Haven. Mr. Davis has many of the characteristics of his honored father, with whom he was very closely
Charles H. Bronson received his education in country schools near Waterbury, and when fifteen years old went to Woodbury, Conn .. where he entered associated. He is a plain-going, out-spoken man, | the employ of the American Shear Co., with whom easily understood, detesting deception of any kind. ! he remained some six years : then returned to Wat- He attends closely to business, yet has enjoyed many pleasure trips to the South and elsewhere with his wife, and has not lived a life of self denial. In disposition jovial and self-reliant. he is one of the best known men in and around New Haven.
Mr. Davis was married, Jan. 6, 1875, to Sarah Emma Parks, of Bridgeport, Conn., and four chil- dren were born to them: James E. (who died in infancy), Emma, Helen and Howard. Mrs. Davis died Nov. 26, 1896, and Mr. Davis was married, Dec. 29, 1898, to Mrs. Lizzie G. (Dickerman) Dutton, a native of Hamden, and daughter of Al-
bert and Jeanette (Andrews) Dickerman, coming from one of the oldest and most numerous families of Hamden. Mr. Davis has a most comfortable home in Orange street. New Haven. In religion he is a Congregationalist, holding membership in the Whitneyville Church.
CHARLES H. BRONSON is a native of Wat- erbury, born Oct. 5, 1835, a son of Julius G. and Julia ( Newton ) Bronson.
Ebenezer Bronson, the great-grandfather of our subject, located in Waterbury, in pioneer times, and became the owner of a large traet of land in what is now the city itself. He was a life-long farmer .. Amasa Bronson, the grandfather of Charles H., was born in Waterbury in 1765, and died in 1866 at the age of 101 years, never having had a sick day. At the time of his death he was the oldest man in the State. He was a wealthy farmer and owned a large amount of real estate in Waterbury, compris- ing practically all of the western portion of the town. During the Revolutionary war he enlisted in the army, but peace was declared before he had an opportunity for active service. He and his wife, Sarah ( Frost ) Bronson, who lived to the age of ninety-four years, were members of the Episcopal Church. and very regular attendants. They had a family of seven children, all now deceased.
Julius G. Bronson was born and reared in Water- bury, and engaged in farming upon a part of the old homestead. In public affairs he was also prom- inent. holding various offices, and he died at the comparatively early age of fifty-seven. He was a selectman of the town at one time, and was a lieuten- ant in the State Militia. For many years he was a leading member of St. John's Church. His wife, Julia Newton, was born in Waterbury, and died in 1841, aged thirty-five. She was one of five children of Nathan Newton, who died at forty-three, and his wife, who died at ninety-two years of age. Charles H. Bronson is one of a family of four chil- dren, the others being as follows: Henry and Du- rand both died young; Samuel M. lives in Hartford, and mention of him will be found elsewhere.
erbury, and worked for the Wheeler & Wilson Co ... one year, after which he was engaged as follows : For two years, along with his brother Samuel M .. he operated a gristmill at Oakville. Conn. ; next was with the Adams Express Co. ( Waterbury ) three years : then three years with J. S. Castle, manufac- turer of soda water, etc .; after this he was in the employ of the Holmes Booth & Haydens Mfg. Co. sixteen years ; then was proprietor of a meat market about eighteen months ; after which, along with his son Frank M., he was engaged in the feed business seven years. In 1893 Mr. Bronson became con-
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nected with the Waterbury Hospital as superintend- ent of the grounds, which position he now holds.
On June 4, 1857, Mr. Bronson married Helen M. Oviette, of New Milford, who died March 25. 1858, aged twenty-one years, the mother of one child that died in infancy. On Oct. 12, 1859, Mr. Bron- son wedded Mary E. Roberts, who was born in Wakefield, N. H., a daughter of Simon and Esther ( Nason) Roberts, also natives of New Hampshire. Mrs. Bronson was eleven years old when she came to Connecticut. To our subject and his wife were born six children, as follows: Ellen, Frank M., Carrie, George, Arthur and May. Of these, Ellen died in infancy, George when aged three years; Frank MI. and Arthur are mechanics in Waterbury ; Carrie is the wife of Reuben T. Brewer, of Water- bury; May is the wife of Benjamin M. Beebe, en- gaged in the drug business in Bridgeport, Conn. In religious faith the Bronsons have always been Baptists. Fraternally Mr. Bronson is a member of the F. & A. M. ; in politics he is a Republican.
JUDGE JOHN B. QUILLINAN, late one of Ansonia's leading citizens, was born Dec. 25, 1831. in County Tipperary, Ireland, where his family has resided for generations. They were people of cul- ture, and our subject's grandfather, John Quillinan, was educated in Spain before settling down to life as a farmer at the old home, where he died at the age of sixty-six. Our subject's grandmother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Dwyer, was born in the same locality and died at the advanced age of ninety-four, leaving a large family of children.
John Quillinan (2), our subject's father, was born at the old home in Ireland and was educated in France. His death occurred at his native place at the age of thirty-six. He married Miss Johanna Buckley, a native of Ireland, and one of the four children of James Buckley, a well known merchant. She lived to the age of seventy-six and of their four children one is still living: Elizabeth, who married James Reilly. The family have always been con- nected with the Catholic Church.
The Judge's education was begun in private schools in Ireland with the intention, it is said, of preparing him for the priesthood. When sixteen years old he ran away and came to America, locating in Connecticut in November, 1847. For some time he worked on a farm in Oxford, and in August, 1849, he came to Ansonia to work in a brick yard. At the end of the season he returned to Oxford, and for several years he followed farming and brick- making, alternately, according to the demand for labor. In the fall of 1851 he went to New Orleans. and during the following winter he set type in the office of the Point Coupee Echo, published in Point Coupee Parish, La. After his return to Connecticut in May, 1852, he resumed the work of farming and brickmaking, but his strong desire for better educa- tion led him to enter, in October, 1854, the New
York Conference Seminary, at Charlotteville, Scho- harie county, N. Y., a celebrated school which was well patronized by the people of Connecticut. There he had as classmates many of the noted men of to- day, governors, senators, and judges, but he main- tained a high standing among them. At the end of a year he was obliged to return to the farm to re- plenish his funds, and in April, 1856, he entered Fairfield Seminary, in Herkimer county, N. Y. where he remained three years, supporting himself by working in the hay fields during the summer va cations and teaching in winter. In April, 1860, he went to Hamden, Conn., to engage in brickmaking, and in the spring of 1864 he returned to Ansonia, where he rebuilt an old and disused brick yard in Beaver street. In October of that year he went to Demerara, British Guiana, to construct a brick yard for other parties, but he returned in the following spring to his interests in Ansonia and Derby, which afterward occupied his attention. On re- tiring from brickmaking in 1867 he engaged in dairy farming and in the wood business, and about 1870 he built the first ice house on the site now occupied by the Ansonia Ice Co. He saw the growth of the town from a population of 1,300 to 13,000, being one of the oldest residents and when he built his residence on Beaver street near the present ice house there was but one house near. In the work of the organization and development of the town he took an active and in- fluential part. From 1867 he was almost continu- ously in office, and he served thirteen years as clerk of the 4th school district, known as the North End, seven years as burgess of the borough, three years as warden, four years as collector of taxes, and at different times has been a grand juror. In 1868 h was elected one of the assessors of the town of Derby, Sturges Whitlock and the late Watrous Wakelee being the others. In 1876 he was elected judge of probate for the district of Derby for the term of two years, and in 1887 he was elected first selectman and town agent for the old town of Derby. He had a legal turn of mind and studied law, al- though he never applied for admission at the Bar, and for a great many years he held the office of jus- tice of the peace, having at one time tried most of the cases arising in Ansonia, both civil and criminal. In the settlement of estates, and work of a similar nature, he also won a high reputation. He took keen interest in educational affairs, and was chair- man of the committee that built the present high school building, one of the finest in the State. The Judge was a Democrat until 1882, when he found that he could no longer act with a party advocating a tariff that he considered practically free trade. In 1884 he stumped the State for James G. Blaine speaking thirty-one times during the campaign, and he was ever after a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party.
In 1858 the Judge married Miss Betsy Leek, a
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native of Hamden, where her ancestors were pioneer settlers. Her father, Michael Leek. who lived to the age of ninety, was a farmer by occupation and spent his life in New Haven county with the exception of four years' residence in Michigan. Her mother, whose maiden name was Amanda Sperry, was horn in Bethany, and lived to the age of sixty-four. Mrs. Quillinan was one of a family of three children, but she is now the only survivor. Three children were born to her marriage with our subject, but all died in infancy. Socially the Judge was highly esteemed. and he was for many years an active member of the Episcopal Church of which his widow is also a cont- municant. His death occurred Sept. 13, 1900.
HENRY COTE, of Mixville, is an important factor in the business circles of his locality, and his popularity in Cheshire is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending in- tegrity, unabated industry and energy that never flags. He is engaged in the manufacture of light hardware, and is at the head of one of the leading industries of the town.
Mr. Cote was.born in St. Hyacinthe, Canada, in 1833, a son of John and Cecelia (Vincent) Cote. also natives of that country. The father, who was a joiner by trade, was accidentally killed in his na- tive land Nov. 20, 1880. Of their eleven children only five are now living. At the age of four years Henry Cote was taken to Vermont, where he made his home until coming to Cheshire, at the age of sixteen years, arriving here in September, 1849. The same year Mr. Cote entered the employ of John W. Mix, for whom he worked until 1876. when he became a member of the firm of J. W. Mix & Co. The building which formerly occupied the site of our subject's present factory, was erected by Mr. Mix in 1849, and the following year the John Mix Manufacturing Co. was organized. In 1876 the name was changed to the J. W. Mix & Co. Edge Tool Co., the members of the firm being J. W. Mix, William Bailey and Henry Cote, our subject. who carried on business until 1884. when the machinery was sold to the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., and moved to Southington, Conn. Mr. Cote continued to own the building, and in 1891 he re-opened the shop and resumed business, but finally. in 1893 leased the property to A. T. Bishop, of Southington. The old building was burned Nov. 16, 1893, and the following year he erected the one he now occupies, a good frame structure, 22x60 feet in dimensions. The plant is equipped with good new machinery, and employment is given to from five to seven men, manufacturing all kinds of light hardware, ferrules, bicycle attachments, knife sharpeners, etc. During his residence here Mr. Cote has steadily prospered. and besides his business property, he owns a good farm of forty acres in Cheshire, devoting a part of his time to agriculture.
On Jan. 3, 1853, Mr. Cote married Miss Maria
S. Talmadge, a daughter of James and Sylvina (Russell) Talmadge, who were born in Cheshire, of English and Irish ancestry. The father died there in 1855. the mother in 1897. The other chil- dren of their family were Hannah, who married Reuben Benham, and died in Birmingham, Conn .. in 1881 ; and Justus and Jesse, twins, both of whom died in 1853, the former Aug. 16, and the latter July 17. Mr. and Mrs. Cote have had four children, three of whom are still living: Eddie, who is mar- ried and resides in Waterbury, Conn .; Emma, Mrs. Culver, who makes her home in New Haven ; and Frederick, married and living in Pittsburg, Penn., where he is superintendent of some department in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. For some time he was secretary of the Y. M. C. A. work in New Haven; later at different places in North Carolina : and was then secretary at Bellefonte, Pa., from which place lie went to Pittsburg, to enter upon his present duties.
SILAS NOEL EDMONDS, now living a re-' tired life in Wallingford, was during his active years one of the best known men in the employ of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and faithfully served the company for forty years as station agent in Wallingford. Belonging to old Southern stock, he possesses the genial and hospit- able spirit to be expected from such notable ances- try. Mr. Edmonds was born in the town of West- moreland, Westmoreland Co., Va., Feb. 23, 1828. The Edmonds family is of English origin, and in the mother country its various members were prom- inent people, and held important positions under the Crown.
Amos Edmonds, the first of the name in Amer- ica, was a native of Manchester, England, where he was high sheriff under the king. Coming to Amer- ica, he located in Westmoreland county, Va., and be- came a large landed proprietor and an extensive slave owner.
Vincent Edmonds, the grandfather of Silas N., was a planter of extensive means, and was overseer of the plantation of Gen. Washington, their land adjoining. Vincent Edmonds fought in the Revo- lution in the regiment which was under command of Gen. Langdon, and was an officer in the army. When peace returned he resumed his tranquil life on the Westmoreland plantation, where he lived and died. In politics he was a Federalist, and in relig- ion a Baptist. Twice married, he was the father of five children: Meredith, New Year, Julia, Frances and John, all of whom died in Virginia.
Meredith Edmonds, father of Silas N., was born on the Edmonds plantation in Westmoreland county, and was reared and educated on the paternal home- stead. For a number of years he followed the sea, and, locating at Alexandria, Va., was captain and part owner of a vessel which was engaged in the West Indies trade. A slave owner by inheritance,
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he never sold or bought slaves, and gave them all their freedom when of age. Taking a deep interest in the cause of education, he was himself one of the finest mathematicians in the State of Virginia. He died in 1843, in Alexandria, where he was buried. He held Democratic convictions, but had no aspira- tions for political honors or emoluments of official station. Meredith Edmonds married in Westmore- land county Mary Canthern, a native of that county, and to their union were born eight children: (I) Roberta married Charles B. Miller, and is now living in Palo Alto, Cal. ; (2) Frances (now deceased ) mar- ried Capt. John Kendrick, who preceded her to the grave; (3) Jane A. married John H. Parr, and both died in Baltimore; (4) Silas Noel is mentioned be- low; (5) Albert died in Ohio; (6) Henry died in Baltimore ; (7) James is in the United States navy, and was in the late Spanish war; (8) Milton died in the Civil war while serving under Gen. McClellan. Mrs. Edmonds died in Washington in December, 1845. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and a woman of the most estimable character.
Silas Noel Edmonds attended the city schools of Alexandria, and was only fifteen years old when his father died. The following year he removed to Baltimore, where he served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade with Charles Webb, a contract builder of that city, remaining with him until he came of age. Young Edmonds had nothing with which to face the world except his trade. In 1849 he came to Wallingford, and worked at his trade for five years, building in that time several of the more pretentious homes of the town. In 1855 he went to Georgetown, S. C., and built one of the largest and stateliest homes in that part of the State. In 1856 he came back to Wallingford, and was ap- pointed station agent of the Hartford & New Haven Railroad, and at the same time was made agent of the Adams Express Co. For over forty years he filled these positions of trust and responsibility with satisfaction to the company and the public, as well as with credit to himself. During these years he witnessed the growth of a small railroad to the great corporation now known as the New York, New Ha- ven & Hartford Railroad. In the beginning only one man was employed about the depot, now there are fifteen. Mr. Edmonds superintended the con- struction of his own depot, freight house and other buildings, and during forty years took only one va- cation. He was retired by the company at his own request, in consideration of his long and devoted services.
Mr. Edmonds was married in 1852 to Miss Seraphina Reynolds, who was born in Wallingford, daughter of Judge John D. and Lydia (Scarrett) Reynolds. Her father was a judge of probate in the towns of Wallingford, Branford and Cheshire, and was the son of Hezekiah Reynolds, well known to the last generation.
Mr. Edmonds belongs to the Blue lodge, hold-
ing membership in Compass Lodge, F. & A. M. He attends the Episcopal Church, in which he has served as vestryman. He is one of the oldest Demo- crats of Wallingford, and has served on the school board for five years. He was a member of the build- ing committee when the high school was erected, and did valuable service in that connection. For two years he was a member of the court of burgesses.
LOREN RUSSELL CARTER, prominent in real estate business, fire insurance, loans, etc., Wat- erbury, is a native of Connecticut, born Oct. 16, 1854, in Warren, Litchfield county.
Russell Carter, his father, was of the same na- tivity, born in 1792, a son of Buel Carter, who was born in: 1766 in Warren, Conn., a son of Sam- uel (born in Hebron, Conn.), a son of Thomas Sr. (born in 1684, in Woburn, Mass.), a son of Thomas (born in England.) Of these, Samuel (great-grandfather of Loren R.) and his two brothers, Thomas and Joseph, all served in the Revolutionary war. This same Samuel Carter mar- ried on May 4, 1759, Martha Buel, of Litchfield. Conn., and settled on a farm in Warren, where they reared a family of eleven children ; he represented Warren in the State Legislature in 1788 and 1797.
Buel Carter, grandfather of Loren R., was reared on the home farm in Warren, Conn., and died there in 1856. He married Eunice Peck, and by her had three children: (1) Martha (now de- ceased) married Burton Gilbert, a merchant, who accumulated considerable means. (2) Loraine mar- ried George Starr, a son of Rev. Peter Starr, who for fifty years was a minister of the Congregational Church in Warren ; George Starr was a farmer and died in Warren. (3) Russell was the youngest.
Russell Carter, father of our subject, was a farmer in Warren, Conn., thence moving to Water- bury in 1856, where he died in 1870. He was twice married, first to Rebecca Stone, by whom he had two children, Buel and Harriet, of whom Buel died in May, 1900, in Warren, on the old homestead- the dwelling having been built about one hundred years ago; and Harriet (now deceased) married Charles V. Molthrop. Russell Carter married (sec- ond) Laura Hills. a daughter of John Hills ( who was born in Glastonbury, Conn., and was a farmer by occupation ) and his wife, Esther Hale (also of Glastonbury, and a collateral relative of Nathan Hale, of Revolutionary fame). Three children were born to this union, viz .: Rebecca, who died at the age of sixteen years ; Loren R., our subject ; Eleanor, who died when five years old. The mother is still living, now aged seventy-seven years, and makes her home in Waterbury, with her son, Loren R. Russell Carter was in politics a Democrat, and he represented the town of Warren in the State Legislature several times ; was also a selectman- in fact hield most of the town offices, being prom- inently identified with the place.
Loren R. Carter, the subject proper of this
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memoir, was about eighteen months old when his parents came to Waterbury, and here he attended the public schools, Wesleyan Academy and East- man Business College. Laying aside his books, he was with F. L. Allen, hardware merchant, Water- bury, for some time, and then commenced building houses in the western part of the city, in 1892 tak- ing up the business of real-estate, fire insurance, loans, etc. He is owner of considerable improved real estate in the town and city of Waterbury.
On Sept. 20, 1879, Lo en R. Carter married Irene E. Hendrick, of Waterbury, a daughter of Joseph Hendrick, a native of New York city, whose father was born in England. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carter: L. Russell, who is attending Yale College, Academic depart- ment ; Earl Buel and Ethel L. In religious faith our subject and his wife are Baptists ; in politics he is a Republican ; and socially, he is affiliated with Townsend Lodge, No. 89, I. O. O. F.
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