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 4 > Part 41
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On Jan. 9, 1817, Mr. Pratt was married to Lydia, born March 18, 1795, daughter of John De Wolfe, of Westbrook, Conn. Their children were: (1) Harriet Malinda, born April 24, 1818, mar- ried. Sept. 13, 1842, Rev. Walter R. Long, a native of Cambridge, N. Y., a son of Edward and the grandson of Edward Long, who was a native of New Hampshire and a soldier of the war of the Revolution. The mother of Rev. Walter R. Long was Prudence ( Wells). a descendant of the Wells family of Connecticut, and his grandmother Long was a Comstock and a relative of the Comstocks who fell on Groten Heights. The children born to
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this marriage were: Walter P. Long, born June 28, 1843; Julius P., born May 20, 1845; Edward, born May 6, 1847, died March 8, 1848; Frederick, born July 31, 1848; and Harriet, born June 20, 1850, died June 30, 1850. The mother died at Meri- den, Conn., July 2, 1850.
(2) Julius H. Pratt, A. M., born Aug. 1, 1821, was graduated from Yale College in 1842. He married, Nov. 8, 1843, Adeline F. Barnes. He was engaged in business in 1849 and 1850, in California, and later was connected with the firm of Julius Pratt & Co., in the manufacture and sale of ivory goods, his time being mostly occupied in New York, with residence in Montclair, New Jersey.
(3) William McLain, born Dec. 12, 1837. He was graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic In- stitute, at Troy, N. Y., with the degree of civil en- gineer, in the class of 1857. He visited South America in 1860 and 1861, crossing the continent from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso, via Mendoza and the Andes. He enlisted in the Civil war as a pri- vate in the 8th Conn. V. I., in May, 1862, and was wounded in the battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. He was promoted to the office of second lieutenant in November, 1862, and to that of first lieutenant and adjutant in June, 1863.
PETER BASSERMANN (deceased) was in his life time one of the best-known German resi- dents and business men of New Haven. He began life on his own resources, and at his death left a good name and comfortable competence. He was born in Hessen-Darmstadt Jan. 23, 1843, the son of a baker, a highly respectable citizen of his locality.
Peter Bassermann spent his boyhood in Ger- many until the age of fifteen, when he concluded to seek his fortune in the United States. On cross- ing the sea he first settled in New Haven, where his uncle, George A. Bassermann, was a marketman on Church street. With him he spent a couple of years, and thus gained his first knowledge of the market business. At this time he was a poor boy, whose only capital was his energy and industry, and his means so limited that the hospitality of friends was necessary to supply him with a place of shelter. Strong and robust, he was willing to work at any- thing to make an honest living, and finally found employment in a slaughter-house, where he learned the business from the bottom up, and remained with the concern for about five years. During this time, by the exercise of strict economy he managed to same a little money. Oct. 25, 1863, he was married to Sophia Rembach, a native of Hessen Cassel, born in 1847, and a daughter of Jacob and Anna C. (Koenig) Rembach. The parents of Sophia came to the United States in 1857, and settled in New York, where they eventually died. Of their five children, Daniel, a retired business man of New York, and Mrs. Bassermann alone survive.
With his limited means Mr. Bassermann began housekeeping in a very modest way, and about
1867 went into business for himself, locating at 2d avenue and 32d street. This venture did not prove a success, but resulted in the loss of prac- tically all his means. Not discouraged, and with the help of his good wife, he soon had a small capi- tal saved, and again started into business for him- self, opening a place of business at 11th avenue and 43d street, where he was successful and made money. He disposed ot this business advantage- ously, and took up other lines of business, in all of which the sympathy and help of his wife was of great assistance.
In 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Bassermann paid a visit to the familiar scenes of their birth in Germany, and on their return to New York Mr. Bassermann opened a store at 5Ist street and Ist avenue, and re- mained in business there until his removal to New Haven in 1882. He here began the manufacture of bologna, near East Rock, and after two years opened a market business at 50th street and Ioth avenue, New York. He evinced his faith in realty by the purchase of property at 47th street and Ioth avenue, and remained in that metropolis until his return to New Haven, in 1884. With his brother Anton he engaged in the market business on Grand avenue, New Haven, and after severing. this con- nection began to build the block at Nos. 900-902 State street, in which he followed the market busi- ness until his retirement, about 1895. Since then Mr. Bassermann has not been idle, but has spent his time in looking after his property holdings and in public-spirited interest in general affairs. His death occurred Jan. 2, 1902, superinduced, 10 doubt, by his excessive energy and unwillingness to take needed rest.
Fraternally Mr. Bassermann was a member of Rock Lodge, F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F. and the Hessen-Faren. In religious belief he was a Protestant. He is survived by the wife, who had so faithfully assisted him in every work, and to whose cheery counsel and encouragement he owed so much.
ALFRED TREAT. For three generations Mir. Treat's family has been among the sturdy, success- ful farmers of the town of Orange. His grand- father, Samuel, and his father, Jonah, were both born on the same farm. The former died at the age ; of fifty-nine, after rearing a family of three sons.
Jonah Treat, the father of Alfred Treat, at- tended the common schools while a boy, and when a young man came into possession of a portion of his father's farm, where he passed the remainder of his life, and died at the age of seventy-five. He was a man of military instinct, and was chosen cap- tain of a company of horse, made of men from Mil- ford, Orange, Woodbridge and Bethany. His wife. Rebecca, was the daughter of Joseph Treat, also a farmer and early settler in Orange, who passed away after attaining the Scriptural limit of three score years and ten. Mrs. Rebecca Treat, the
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mother of Alfred, lived to be seventy-five. The family were Congregationalists, and attended ser- vices originally at Milford, but later Mr. Treat aided in building the Congregational church at Or- ange, and ultimately he and his wife united with that body.
Alfred Treat was the youngest son and is the only survivor of a family of eight children, six of whom reached adult age. He was born March 25, 1809, on the same farm on which he now lives. As a boy he showed remarkable physical strength and exceptional executive capability. When only nine years old he aided in "raising" his father's house, and while a youth took charge of the farm on his parents' behalf, falling heir to the property on the latter's death. All the buildings at present stand- ing on the premises have been erected by him with the exception of the barn, which stood for more than a hundred years, and which burned March 21, 1902; this he had frequently covered with a new roof. Like his father, his tastes inclined him to military service, and for seventeen years he was an efficient member of the local troop of horse, hav- 'ing as superior officers during this period four colonels and nine captains, and remaining in the company until it was disbanded. The organiza- tion was famous in its day, and during its existence acted as an escort to many of the State's governors ; and of all those connected with it at various times as officers or privates, Mr. Treat is the only sur- vivor.
In 1835 Mr. Treat married Catherine, a daugh- ter of Enoch Clark, an Orange farmer. She was the mother of five children: Frances J., Atwater J., Thelous C., Otis A., and Harriett M. Atwater J. resides in Indianapolis, Ind., and is a success- ful merchant tailor : he married Isabelle Laidley, of Massachusetts. Frances J. married Treet Camp, of Milford. Harriett M. married George S. War- ren, of Indianapolis. Thelous C. died aged thirty- four. Otis A. is mentioned in a succeeding para- graph.
Alfred Treat has passed his ninety-third birth- day, yet shows a keenness of mind and an alertness of body which are truly wonderful. He wears no glasses, is a careful financier and manages his busi- ness affairs with the skill and energy of a man of twenty-five. In the autumn of 1899 he served as grand marshal of the parade in Orange. being then more than ninety years old. His life, while not filled with stirring events, has been a useful and happy one, and he can look back upon the past without regret. He has cared for no office, al- though he consented for two years to serve on the school committee. He is a member of the agri- cultural associations of Milford and Orange, in which he takes a lively interest, having been award- ed more premiums than any other man. In politics he is a Republican.
OTIS A. TREAT, third and youngest son of Al- . fred Treat, was born April 10, 1845. His educa-
tion was obtained in the common schools, and at Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Mass. After leaving school he returned to the paternal farm, as- sisting his father in its cultivation and manage- ment, for more than twenty years having virtually the charge of same. He now owns 160 acres, where he not only carries on general farming but also an extensive dairy, selling milk at wholesale. He owns a large herd of finely bred cattle, and like his father has taken premiums at many fairs. He is a member of the Agricultural Association and of the Grange, and he also belongs to the Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Congregational church, and politically a Republican.
Otis A. Treat has been twice married. His first wife was Emma Smith, a daughter of Lewis Smith, a farmer in Milford; after twenty years of married life, she died in 1893, at the age of forty- six. For his second wife, Mr. Treat wedded Evelyn, a daughter of Lewis White, a wholesale grocer of Brooklyn, N. Y. One child, now de- ceased, was born of this union.
ANDREW URE. A man's success is not to be measured by the height to which he attains, but the depths from which he came. Many are born suc- cessful, that is to say, with wealth, advantages of family connection or position, which assure them much of what others acquire only after unrelenting toil and great energy. Our subject belongs dis- tinctively to the latter class. He was born of Scotch-German parents, whose legacy to him was a good training, and a liberal endowment of the grand traits of character for which their national- ities are noted.
Andrew U're was born April 27, 1854, in Ken- sington street, New Haven. His father, Jolin Ure, and his grandfather, Andrew Ure, were both na- tives of Scotland, from the vicinity of Glasgow. Jolin U're learned the trade of a carpet weaver in his native country, and when but a boy in his 'teens came to the United States. The grandfather. Andrew Ure, came soon afterward, settling in Yonkers, N. Y. He, too, was a carpet weaver, and worker at his trade in Yonkers. His family com- prised several sons, one of whom was the father of Andrew Ure, late editor of the Sunday Call, of Newark, N. J. John Ure, father of our subject, followed the business of carpet weaving a great many years, in fact, the greater part of his life, working at same in the employ of the D. M. Read Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., for some years. In the latter years of his life he conducted a small weaving establishment of his own, in George street, New Haven. He lived to the age of about seventy- five years after 1861 residing in Highwood, where he owned a small farm. He was a highly respected old gentleman. possessing many of the sterling char- acteristics of his nationality, was strictly honest in his dealings with all. and well-meaning in every action. Politically he was identified first with the
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Andrew Rue
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Democratic party, but later he became a Republican, and continued to act with that party the remainder of his days. John U're was married, when a young man, to Miss Leah Spear, of Speartown (now called Upper Mont Clair), N. J., originally named in honor of the Spear family, as they were the first settlers there. They were of German extraction. The great-grandfather of Leah Spear was shot at by an Indian one day when chopping wood, and the arrow destroyed the sight of one eye. Mrs. Leah (Spear ) U're still survives, residing at High- wood, and though past eighty is well preserved. To Mr. and Mrs. John U're were born children as follows: Byron, who is a resident of Highwood (he was a member of the 27th Regiment during the Civil war, and was wounded at Fredericksburg, a bullet passing through his left shoulder) ; John, who was a member of the 2d Connecticut Heavy Artillery in the war of the Rebellion, and was killed at Cold Harbor; James, who died in New Haven (he was a tool maker by trade) ; Welling- ton, now residing in East Haven, who was a suc- cessful grain and feed merchant of New Haven, until obliged by poor health to retire; Andrew, whose name introduces this sketch; and Loisa, Mrs. Robert Sutton, of New Haven.
Andrew U're was little more than a child when his parents removed to Highwood, where he was reared on a farm. His educational advantages were vastly inferior to those of the present day. His parents needed the help of their children as soon as they were old enough to be of use on the farm, and accordingly Andrew was put to work early in life, and from childhood received a practical knowl- edge of labor. His schooling was received entirely at District No. 10 school, in Hamden, where he at- tended usually a few months in the winter ses- sion. Work coming first, regular attendance at school was impossible, and, all in all, Mr. Ure's later success supports but feebly the often advanced theory that a man must have a college education in order to succeed in business. He possessed orig- inality, judgment and good common sense, which, with his superior business capacity, more than made up for whatever he may have lacked in the way of book learning. His work during boyhood and early manhood was at garden farming, to which he was practically reared. He remained in Hamden up to the age of seventeen years, when, work be- ing somewhat slack in the home neighborhood, he went into Pennsylvania, and at a small town called Buttonwood, near Wilkesbarre, hired out to an ex- tensive market gardener, one who was thorough in While the head of a large business, to which he gives the closest attention, Mr. Ure from his sense of duty as a citizen, takes quite an active and prominent interest in the affairs of his town, not as a politician or office seeker, but as the progressive citizen which he is. He is prominently identified with the Republican party, of which he is a coun- selor and adviser. in his town, and his influence is his line of farming. There Mr. Ure had one and one-half years' valuable experience, and being a close observer he took note of new methods and their results, all of which were to be improved upon, or practically applied, in his own business later on. Soon after returning to Connecticut, and when yet several years under age. he commenced market gardening for himself, at first having his | always felt by both his friends and the opposition.
brother, Wellington, as a partner. These young men then owned four acres of ground, and renting as much more embarked in a business which pros- pered from the very start. It was continued by the brothers for a period of twelve years, when our subject became sole owner, and has since been car- rying it on alone. For about six years, ending in 1898, Mr. U're conducted the Keystone Stables, in George street, New Haven, succeeding Frank Tut- tle in that business. After severing this connection he removed to Highwood, where he has been giving his entire attention to his extensive farming inter- ests. During the time he was in the livery busi- ness he superintended the operation of his farm, which he carried on without interruption.
From the humble beginning mentioned the mar- ket gardening business has grown to extensive pro- portions, Mr. U're enjoying the largest trade in the town in his lines, and the business ranks among the most important of the kind around New Haven. His operations have included as many as one hundred acres in a season, and he has employed as many as ninety-nine people at once in the busy season. His outlay for fertilizers alone in one season has been $3,000. In the business, as conducted by our subject, are employed all the up-to-date methods, many of which he has originated, and he is always on the outlook for new ideas, observing closely and experimenting extensively. He has made a care- ful study of the business in every detail, and he is as familiar with the office work as with the ground conditions and preparation of the soil, his success being as much the result of good judgment and management as of energetic industry. The new methods and systems he introduces are often a rad- ical deviation from old-time customs, and failure has often been predicted for him, but he has carried out his ideas successfully, not infrequently to the surprise and astonishment of those many years his senior. His management of cultivated fields has been such as to obtain the best and most liberal re- sults. Mr. Ure's success in life has been beyond the ordinary, and a better example of a self-made man is seldom found, his present high standing be- ing simply the result of natural ability coupled with application to business push and energy, not self- denial and penuriousness, for he has lived well, en- joying life and many of its luxuries and comforts. At the same time he has not forgotten the "rainy day," for which he is well prepared. Though he is still in his prime he has amassed more than the large majority do in a life time.
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He has served on the board of relief and was dele- gate to the Gubernatorial convention of 1900. Fra- ternally he is a member of Day Spring Lodge, No. 30, F. & . M., of Hamden; Pulaski Chapter ; Rath- burn Lodge, K. of P .; and Hira Temple, D. O. K. K. Mr. U're is well known, his acquaintance not being confined to his town or community, but in- cluding men prominent in business and financial cir- cles in New Haven as well. He is a well-met con- genial man, and gives evidence of contact with the world in a broader spliere than his town affords.
Mr. Ure married Miss Nellie R. Parmelee, a native of Guilford, Connecticut,
WILLIAM HENRY BEERS, a venerable and honored resident of Branford, where he is now liv- ing a retired existence, was born in Branford, Oct. 9, 1831, and is a son of Almon and Betsy ( Hobart ) Beers. James Beers, his paternal grandfather, was the son of James Beers, and both did valiant service in upholding the cause of the colonists in the war of the Revolution.
Almon Beers was born in Branford in 1806, and died March 27, 1885. His wife, Betsey ( Ho- bart) Beers, was a daughter of Samuel and Esther (Ives) Hobart, and granddaughter of John Ho- bart, of Branford. Almon Beers was a shoemaker by trade, and in later life became a molder. For many years he was employed at the Branford Lock Works, and was for a time in the shops of the M. I. F. Company. He had two sons, Henry (who died young ) and William. Mrs. Beers died at the home of our subject, Aug. 6, 1900.
William Henry Beers was the only child of his parents who grew to manhood. Educated in the public school and in the Branford Academy, he subsequently learned the shoemaking trade, and for many years was in the employ of Bristol & Hall, at New Haven, engaged principally in the manu- facture of white kid slippers and shoes for women. After learning the molder's trade late in life, he was employed in the Lock Works and in the Malle- able Iron Works of Branford.
During the Civil war Mr. Beers drove a stage between Fair Haven and New Haven, and also had a livery stable in the latter town. From 1870 to 1898 he ran a 'bus during the summer season from Branford to the Montowese House, at In- dian Neck, a period covering twenty-eight years. Mr. Beers also did the painting for the Montowese House.
June 25, 1861. Mr. Beers married Nettie, daugh- ter of James and Henrietta ( Munger) Lindsey, of Branford. The family are attendants and sup- porters of the Branford Baptist Church, of which the mother of Mrs. Beers, who died in August, 1900, was the last surviving founder. Mr. Beers is a Democrat, and served as constable for nine years. In early life he was a member of the State militia, in which he served five years, and during the Civil war sent a substitute to fill his place. He
has an enviable reputation in the community to- wards whose material prosperity he has unceasing- ly worked, and where his skill, integrity and gen- eral worthiness have long been unquestioned.
REV. JOHN H. CARROLL, the beloved pas- tor of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Wall- ingford, Conn., where he has been in charge since 1898, is one of the few whose predominant char- acteristic is an overwhelming devotion to the spir- itual needs of his people, to the utter disregard of his own personal affairs.
Father Carroll was born Feb. 15, 1855, at New Haven, Conn., son of Patrick and Eleanor (O'Bryene) Carroll. Both parents were natives of Ireland, the father's birth occurring in County Leitrim, in 1808, and the mother's in the same County in 1821. They came to America soon after their marriage, in 1841, and made their home in New Haven. Patrick Carroll always took much interest in political questions of the day, and was an ardent supporter of the Democratic party. His wife died in 1875, and he survived her many years, passing away in 1893. Of their eight children, the eldest, Mary T. resides in Westport; Anthony is a contractor in New Haven ; Michael died in 1850; Margaret died in 1854: John Henry is mentioned more fully below ; Thomas M. is a merchant of Danbury ; Patrick F. is engaged in business in New York City; and Nellie E. (now Sister Angela Stephen ) is a Sister of Mercy in Mount St. Mary's Convent, Manchester, New Hampshire.
John H. Carroll's education began in his na- tive city, where he attended St. Mary's School until he reached the age of thirteen years. As both of his parents were devout members of the Roman Catholic Church, his early inclination toward the priesthood received every encouragement, and on completing his course in St. Mary's School in Sep- tember, 1868, he went to St. Charles College, Elli- cott City, Md., to prepare for his sacred calling. He was graduated in 1874, and then entered St. Mary's Seminary of St. Sulpice, Baltimore city, and there he spent four and one-half years in the study of philosophy and theology. On December 21, 1878, he was ordained to the priesthood, and his work has been blessed with remarkable success in the various charges which he has held during his service. He spent some time in New Haven, being stationed first at St. Mary's Church, then at the cathedral in Hartford, and later at St. Pat- rick's Church, New Haven, and at St. John's Church at Middletown, and then on June 10, 1885, was made pastor of the congregation at Westport. The last named parish was in his charge until 1898, when he was transferred to Holy Trinity at Wall- ingford. During the years of his stay in Westport, he won many warm friends outside of his parish, his ability and high character commanding the esteem of the best people regardless of denomination. His interest in educational affairs, and his clear
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conception of the needs of the public schools, was so appreciated by the Protestants of the town he was elected a member of the school board, and of the board of the "Staple High School." Since coming to Wallingford he has taken the same in- terest in the public welfare and has won a firm hold in the hearts of Catholics and Protestants alike. The Church and Parish House at Walling. ford are fine structures worthy a town of much greater size. While keenly alive to the needs of his town, Father Carroll does not neglect his par- ish, and gives his influence to various organiza- tions among his people, including the Order of the Knights of Columbus.
DWIGHT NOYES CLARK, the well-known cattle dealer, whose fairness in all transactions is proverbial, was born March 2, 1829, in the house where he now lives, in the town of Bethany, Conn., and is descended in two different lines from the Clark family who came early from, Milford and set- tled in the town of Woodbridge, which then in- cluded Bethany. His ancestry is also traced to Gov. Robert Treat, who was governor of the col- cnies for fifteen years, from 1683 to 1698, to Rev. Roger Newton, first pastor of the church in Farm- ington and second in Milford, succeeding at the latter place Rev. Peter Prudden; and to Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first pastor of the church at Hartford.
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