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 50
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Mr. Beecher was born in the town of Seymour, New Haven county, May 14, 1841, one of a family of eight children. With his widowed mother he came in 1854 to the farm in Bethany, where he passed the remainder of his years. This farm was owned by his uncle, Anson Perkins, with whom our subject remained until the former's death, where- upon the property came into the possession of our subject. It is one of the finest farms of Bethany, and its operation by Mr. Beecher was attended by splendid results. He did not, however, busy him- self on his farm. He was broad and liberal minded. and he took a deep and lasting interest in public affairs, becoming one of the leading citizens of the town. He was a believer in the principles of the Democratic party, and held many of the town offices. In 1879 he was nominated for the State Legislature and elected, serving with credit and dis- tinction. Among the fraternal orders he was prom- inently connected with the Masonic lodge of Sey- mour. His death occurred Aug. 3, 1881, and in his demise the town of Bethany lost one of its most highly esteemed and revered citizens.
Mr. Beecher was married Jan. 1, 1866, to Miss Christina E. Tolles, daughter of Nehemiah and Polly ( Beecher) Tolles, and by this marriage there was one daughter, Leita, who is now an accom- plished young lady at home with her widowed mother. She was educated in the private school of Mrs. Cady at New Haven, and is a student of music at Yale, on the organ and piano. Since the death of our subject his widow, Mrs. Christina E. Beech-
On June 10, 1873, Mr. McQueen was married to Martha E. Baldwin, who was born in New Haven, a daughter of Samuel and Mary E. Avis Baldwin, both of New Haven. Two children were born to this marriage, Arthur S. and Myra S., the latter dying at the age of three years. Arthur | er, has superintended the operation of the farm
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most successfully. She has established by her wise and sagacious management the reputation of being : one of the most successful farmers of Bethany, carrying on in connection with general farming an extensive dairy business, but at the present time Mrs. Beecher and daughter are living in New Hav- en. Besides her marked business abilities, she pos . sesses many accomplishments and and graces of character, and is a recognized social factor.
JOSEPH PHOENIX, a well-known and lead- ing French-Canadian citizen of Meriden, has been more than twenty-seven years a contractor in the fitting department of the Parker Brothers' gun shop. He was born June 1, 1851, at Chambly, near Mon- treal, Canada, and is a son of Narcisse Phoenix, who was a native of the same place and a farmer by occupation. In 1853, the latter settled with his fam- ily at Actonville, Province of Quebec, Canada, where were then located three other pioneer families. He proceeded to clear up a farm in the wilderness, and built a log hut, which for some years was the only shelter of himself and household. Being a re- sourceful and industrious man, he became a very successful agriculturist and leading citizen of the locality. He was deft in handling tools, and did his own carpenter work, where from his own sheep and flax fields he produced homespun cloth and linens, and provided comfortably for his family during the years of toil required in developing his 300-acre farm. He lived to see Actonville a town of two thousand souls, with its churches, schools and other evidences of civilization and progress, and he died upon his farm in 1888, at the age of sixty-seven years. A consistent member of the Roman Catholic Church, he was a stanch supporter of the Liberal party of Canada, and in every way was a useful and exemplary citizen.
At Chambly, Quebec, Narcisse Phoenix married Monica La Coss, a native of that place, daughter of Sinot La Coss. She endured patiently the hard- ships of pioneer life, for the sake of her children, whose childish wails were often mingled with the sounds of savage wild beasts which surrounded their forest home. She died in 1881, at Actonville, at the age of fifty-seven years, and was buried there. A faithful Catholic, she was a devoted wife and mother, a most industrious woman, whose children "rise up and call her blessed." They were nine in number, namely: Aglie, Napoleon, John, Joseph, Gideon, Eliza, Adeline, Sophia and Josephine. Of these Aglie, Eliza, Adeline and Josephine died in childhood; Napoleon married Eliza Munier and re- sides in Meriden, being an employe of Parker Brothers ; John is a meat dealer at Waterbury, Conn .; Gideon married Josephine Dontieque, and died in Meriden; Sophia (now deceased), was the wife of Camille Duchaneau.
JcHeph Phoenix grew up on the farm at Acton- ville, whither he was carried by his parents when only two years of age. He was early accustomed
to toil, and became acquainted with the use of car- penter's tools. At the age of nineteen years, he set out from home to make his own way in the world, and went to New Hampshire, where he worked as carpenter and joiner for upwards of a year. By this time, his spirit of enterprise was justified, in his ability to repay sixty dollars loaned by him by a friend when he set out to make his fortune in the United States. He next removed to Forestdale, R. I., and was employed for a short time in a cotton mill. In 1870, he started for Springfield, Mass., to find something more congenial to him in the way of employment. Meeting a man on the train who advised him to come to Meriden. he acted upon the suggestion. On arriving here, he was engaged by. Mr. Charles Rich, a contracting carpenter, with whom he continued until the death of Mr. Rich. Within a few months after entering his employ, Mr. Phoenix was made foreman, and later became a sub- contractor. Upon the death of Mr. Rich, he began taking independent contracts, and was a successful builder, as his work testifies. He constructed many dwellings and the factory now occupied by M. B. Schenek & Co., on Center street. His last under- taking in this line is the handsome home of Charles A. King, on King street. In 1875 he accepted a position as contractor in the Parker gun factory, and has since so continued. His energy, probity and executive ability are indicated by this long con- nection, and he is everywhere honored and respected as an industrious and useful citizen.
In 1895 Mr. Phoenix purchased a tract of four- teen acres on Corrigan avenue, which was in a state of primeval wilderness. By dint of much labor and care, he has transformed it into a garden and vineyard, and a model homestead. He built a handsome house, and here enjoys the comforts of a rural homestead, together with all the advantages of urban life. From his large vineyard, he pro- duces annually an abundance of fine wines, which find a ready home market, and serve to enhance his open-handed hospitality. His house, barns and grounds are fitted up with all modern conveniences, and he is surrounded by good horses and other do- mestic animals, being fond of these. He main- tains an incubator and rears a large number of fowls for the market. A good shot, he is fond of the chase, and is often a member of shooting parties.
The example of Mr. Phoenix's life may well be studied by the ambitious American youth. When he came to the United States, he could not speak English, and had very little education in any language. Being ambitious and persevering, he gave much time to home study, and is a self-edu- cated and self-made man. He is now a fluent con- versationalist, and speaks intelligently on any topic of general interest, and his society is enjoyed and appreciated by a large circle of friends. In poli- tics, he sustains the principles of the Republican party, but does not desire any official position. For
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some time he was a member of Pacific Lodge, No. 87, I. O. O. F. With his family he affiliates with St. Laurent's (French) Roman Catholic Church, of Meriden. Being earnest in support of education, he was. called upon to serve as a member of the school committee of the King Street School, and performed the duties of that position faithfully and well.
Mr. Phoenix was married in 1871, at Harris- ville, R. I., to Miss Emile Dupuis, who was born in Northampton, Mass., daughter of Oliver Dupuis. Like her husband, she is industrious, and has been a constant aid and companion in his labors, helping to secure their fine home. She is a lover of domestic animals, thus showing a kind heart, and she has faithfully performed the part of wife and mother. Her first child, Joseph, died in infancy. The second Joseph, born Aug. 15, 1874, was educated in Meri- den, studied French at Montreal, was a clerk in a wholesale fruit store at Hartford for a period of six years, and is now employed, as the other sons, with the father at the Parker gun shop ; he is a Re- publican and a member of Pilgrims' Harbor Coun- cil, No. 543, Royal Arcanum. He was married at Hartford to Miss Mary J. Egan, who died Jan. 3, 1902, and was buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Hartford. William and Alfred Phoenix, twins, were born May 13, 1879. All these young men are possessed of musical ability, and are skillful per- formers on the guitar.
F. HOWARD HEMINGWAY, of New Haven, is a son of Willis Hemingway, for many years one of the most prominent merchants in that city. Wil- lis Hemingway was a power in the financial world. and was a director of the Second National Bank, of New Haven, and had charge of many estates. He was a director and vice-president of the Cemetery Association, and one of the leading spirits of his day. His widow, who is still living in New Haven, was born in 1821, in Brooklyn, where her mother died of the cholera in 1830.
F. Howard Hemingway was reared in New Ha- ven, and acquired his education in the public schools and Hopkins English School, finishing in Yale Uni- versity, from which he was graduated in 1875. Leaving academic shades he applied himself to active work, and became his father's confidential clerk, remaining with hin until the latter's death in 1808, when he founded his present business.
Mr. Hemingway was married in 1879 to Mary T. Clarke, a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Walter Clarke, of Buffalo. She is one of a number of chil- dren, and her mother, Mary Elizabeth Terry, was a daughter of Judge Terry, of Hartford. She had a sister who was the wife of Robert Coleman, the great iron magnate of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Eliza- beth T. Clarke is still living in Buffalo. Mr. and Mrs. Hemingway have two children: Josephine Clarke, who was the historian of the class of 1901, when it graduated from Hillhouse High School,
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is at home; and Walter Clarke. Mr. Hemingway is a Republican, and is prominent in social organ- izations, belonging to the A. O. U. W., the Royal Arcanum and the I. O. H. He is a director of the Cemetery Association, and is connected with a num- ber of clubs and other social organizations. With his family he belongs to the Grand Avenue Congre- gational Church, of which he has been clerk for the last fifteen years, and he takes an active part in all church and Sunday school affairs. In 1898 he founded the F. H. Hemingway Company, and the large success that has attended this enterprise demonstrates at once his business ability and his personal character.
Georgiana, a sister of Mr. Hemingway, is the wife of Rev. Joseph Cook, of Boston.
EDWIN AUGUSTUS HAYES, a very suc- cessful business man of New Haven, who has large- ly hammered out his own fortune on the anvil of adversity, with hard and mighty stroke, is now en- gaged in a grain and feed business at No. 100 Broadway, in that city, and commands a wide pat- ronage, not only on account of his integrity and honesty, but for his reliable goods and genuine worth of his character, displayed in his every-day life.
Mr. Hayes was born Oct. 11, 1855, in Bridge- port, Conn., a son of Charles Thomas Hayes, who was born in the same city Feb. 14, 1830. The fa- ther died in Mt. Carmel, Conn., Sept 11, 1899. He was a saddler by trade, at which he worked in both Bridgeport and New Haven. In politics a Demo- crat, he was never a politician, and had no thirst for party honors. He married Laura L. Hickox, who was born in Bethany, Conn., daughter of Reuben Hickox, and to this union were born: (I) William C., a market gardener, whose home is in West Haven; (2) Frederick D., a farmer, who has his home in West Haven; (3) Edwin A., whose name introduces this article ; and (4) Julia M., wife of Frank Warner, a farmer of Mt. Carmel.
Alonzo Hayes, the grandfather of Edwin A., was a millwright by trade, and is remembered as a very capable mechanic. For many years he was engaged as foreman of the bridge building de- partment of the Housatonic railroad; he was also engaged in placing water-wheels, in which work he was very proficient. He married a Miss Strat- ton, and they had a family of eight children.
Edwin A. Hayes was brought to New Haven by his parents before he was six years of age, his child- hood and youth being spent in that city. His ed- ucation was secured in the common schools. When he was between nine and ten years old the family removed to Woodbridge, where he attended school about a year, at the end of that time entering the employ of D. N. Clark, at Bethany, who was a wholesale cattle dealer as well as farmer, and with him Mr. Haves remained two years. He then en- gaged with P. P. Sperry, who was in the same line
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and also a butcher, and continued with him several years, when he engaged in farming on shares, in Bethany. In this work Mr. Hayes continued sev- eral summers, and then set up in the meat business on his own account. In 1879 he came to New Ha- ven and engaged as a salesman with S. E. Merwin & Son, wholesalers of provisions. For twelve years he was with this firm, and during the first ten years of his engagement with them did not lose a day. In 1891 Mr. Hayes formed a partnership with Charles A. Crittenden, under the firm name of Hayes & Crittenden, purchasing the feed store of M. Warner, at No. 100 Broadway, which they con- ducted together until January, 1899. Mr. Hayes then bought the entire business, and is now engaged in handling feed, grain, hay, straw, flour and kin- dred lines. Doubtless it never entered his dreams when he was a small boy, or when he entered the store as a young man, seeking a foothold in the world, that some day he would own the building where he is now successfully conducting a rapidly growing business. During his working day he is enthusiastic, pushing and thoroughly devoted to his business. In the evening, in his own home, he is found a pleasant and social gentleman, whom it is a pleasure to meet.
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Mr. Haves is a charter member of Hammonasset Tribe, No. 1, Improved Order of Red Men, in which he has passed all the chairs, being now past sachem ;. is a member of the Great Council of Connecticut. of that order, and is deeply interested in its welfare. He is also a member of the Sec- ond Company, Governor's Foot Guard. In politics he is a Republican, though no politician.
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Mr. Hayes was married, May 9, 1874. to Mae Etta "Sperry, a native of Bethany, born Dec. 10, 1855, daughter of Alonzo and Rebecca ( Hotchkiss) Sperry, of Bethany. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are whole-souled people, and enjoy the confidence of the community, where their many good qualities and sterling worth are well known. Their home life is ideal.
Mr. Hayes has just built a fine structure of brick, 65x26 feet, and 23 feet high, which he uses both as a barn and storehouse, at the rear of his residence, No. 466 Elm street. At Savin Point, just west of Savin Rock, West Haven, he has a fine summer cottage, where he spends the heated term. This was built in 1899.
FLOYD L. ANDREWS was born in Nauga- tuck, New Haven county, June 8, 1849, son of Samuel N. Andrews, a native of Milford, this county.
Samuel Andrews, father of Samuel N., went from Milford to Naugatuck, where he died at the age of seventy-seven. He was a farmer and a man of affairs in the community. He married Selina Smith and reared a family of five children: Samuel N., Caroline, George S., Esther and Frank S.
Samuel N. Andrews was reared in Naugatuck,
on the "mountains," and went to school in Middle- bury. He married Amelia Thompson, who was born in New York, a daughter of Stephen Thomp- son, who settled in Oxford, Conn., and was a hat- ter by trade. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Andrews settled on a farm near Naugatuck, where they reared a family of five children : Ella mar- ried Charles H. Smith, and after his death be- came the wife of Clark Nettleton, of Naugatuck. Floyd L. is our subject. Noyes T. resides in New Haven, and is in the wholesale meat business. Esther married Warren L. Hall, of Waterbury, where he is a commission merchant. Frederick is in the meat business in Boston. Mr. Andrews was in politics a Democrat, and in religion a Congre- gationalist.
Floyd L. Andrews spent his youth on the farm in Naugatuck. He was a student in the local dis- trict school, and at the age of fourteen moved to the city with his parents. There he attended the high school, and attained a fair education. He worked in the store of his uncle, George S. An- drews, where he remained until he was nineteen, and at that age went into business for himself at Union City, continuing in that town for eleven years. In 1878 lie came to Waterbury, and was engaged for two years in the retail meat business, at the end of that time going into the wholesale grocery establishment of James D. Dewell & Co., at New Haven, with whom he remained until 1896. That year Mr. Andrews and three others started in business in Waterbury, under the firm name of F. C. Bushnell & Co., wholesale grocers, and this firm is very prosperous and still active. Mr. An- drews is the manager of the store, which is a branch of the main establishment at New Haven.
Floyd L. Andrews and Miss Clara Spencer were married May 21, 1871. Mrs. Andrews was born in Naugatuck, the only child of Lawrence Spencer, at one time postmaster of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are the parents of one child, Bernice M., who is at home. Mr. Andrews is a Democrat. He is a man of decidedly domestic tastes, a good citizen, and enjoys an enviable repu- tation both in the social and business world.
EUGENE FREMONT LEONARD, a well- known contractor for the Wilcox Silver Plate Co., Meriden, residing in East Main street, that city, is a descendant of a prominent New England fam- ily. Four brothers and one sister of the name came from England in the early part of the sev- enteenth century, namely : James, Thomas, Henry, Philip and Sarah. They left behind them in their native home two brothers, William and John, and two sisters, Margery and Joan. Of the four brothers who emigrated to America, James settled in Taunton ; Thomas was drowned in Piscataway; Henry located at Marshfield, and died at Taunton, Massachusetts.
From James Leonard, who settled at Taunton,
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Mass., Eugene Fremont is descended. Lieut. James Leonard, son of James, the emigrant, had a son Eliphalet, who was born in 1702; he lived in Taunton. His son, Eliphialet Leonard (2), was the father of Jonathan Leonard, great-grandfather of our subject, who was a native of Canton, Mass., and became a well-known citizen of that town. He was quite an enterprising man. He erected the first blast iron furnace in the town of Canaan, Conn., where he carried on the manufacture of pig iron, continuing the forgoing business nearly all his life at Canton, Mass. While visiting a daughter, at New Orleans, La., he was taken ill with yellow fever, and died Oct. 20, 1839, in the hospital at Covington, La., and was buried there. Mr. Leon- ard was a Quaker in his religious views. He mar- ried a Miss Blackman, and they became the par- ents of eight children, five sons and three daugh- ters.
Jonathan J. Leonard, son of Jonathan, was born Nov. 30, 1798, in Canton, where he received his early education. He went to Amenia, N. Y., where he studied medicine under his uncle, Dr. Alpheus Leonard, but he followed the profession only a short time, on account of ill health. Giving JOHN S. MITCHELL, whose death occurred at Tarrytown, N. Y., Feb. 1, 1875, was for many years a resident and prominent business man of Waterbury, Conn. He took up his residence in Waterbury about 1841, when but little past his majority, and entered the employ of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Co. He soon evinced business ability of a high order, and in young man- hood became the principal manager of that com- pany's business, and was one of the leading business men of Waterbury. When about thirty years of age he became prostrated with a chronic disease, which compelled him to give up all business for a period, and ever afterward until death, with various inter- vals of comparative alleviation, his life was one pro- longed struggle with disease and suffering. Yet in spite of it all, such was the force of his character that his life was active, busy, useful and success- ful, nay, ever elegant and beautiful-an elegant life in its culture and tasteful surroundings, and beauti- ful in patience, courage and uniform cheerfulness, with which he not only bore, but hid his sufferings so entirely that they formed no part of his person- ality to those who met him in the casual intercourse of daily life. He was possessed by nature of re- fined tastes, which a life of trial seemed more fully to refine and elevate. When he became able, after his first prostration, to leave the house, but still not well enough to transact business, he turned his at- tention as a pastime to floriculture, with great suc- cess. His green houses were for years the pride of Waterbury. Mr. Mitchell was one of the first trus- tees of Riverside Cemetery, for three years was chairman of the board, and to him this beautiful and attractive burial place owes much of its beauty. up medical practice, he embarked in business at Stoughton, Mass., as a woolen manufacturer. Later he came to Connecticut, locating at Middle- town, where he spent two years, after which he came to Meriden, locating near the present site of Hubbard Park. He became engaged in the manu- facture of iron castings for coffee mills. Later he moved to East Meriden, and bought the property now known as the Parker Spoon Shop, engaging in the.manufacture of castings and locks. During the gold fever he went to California, where he spent two years, but met with little success, re- turning in 1852, and engaging with the New Haven Lock Co. He died April 7, 1854, in New Haven, and was buried in Meriden. Mr. Leonard was a Democrat, later an anti-slavery man, and always a free thinker. He was no office-seeker, but took an active interest in affairs of his day, being a great debater and a deep thinker. He was a remarkable man and was widely known. On Jan. 27, 1822, Mr. Leonard married Eliza Eveline Hodges, who was born in Stoughton, Mass., Aug. 15, 1803, and (was a descendant of a well-known, old and re- spected family of Massachusetts. Eight children blessed this union: (1) Eugene resides in East Meriden. He first married Lavina Curtis, and for his second wife Nellie Mizer, and his living chil- dren are: Charles Hodges, who resides in Ohio; William Thompson, residing in Ohio; and Ellen, who married Henry B. Birdsey, and resides with her father. (2) Marion married Charles Pomeroy, son of Noah Pomeroy. (3) George D. died in New York. He married a Miss Bradley and had two daugliters, Georgia. now residing in Wash- ington, D. C .; and Jennie, deceased wife of H. After partially recovering from his first illness Atchison, of Washington. (4) Henry, father of ; Mr. Mitchell again applied himself to business, and,
Eugene E., mentioned below, resides in Indiana. (5) John died in Kentucky. (6) Edwin died young. (7) A daughter died unnamed. (8) Emily Josephine is mentioned elsewhere. The mother of these died at her home in East Meriden, and her remains rest in the old Meriden cemetery.
Eugene Fremont Leonard was born Feb. 1I, 1860, in Durham and came to Meriden when two years old. There he attended school and at an early age he went into the shops of the Wilcox Silver Plate Co., where he learned the trade of buffer, and where he has been engaged for the last twenty-eight years, thirteen as a contractor in the establishment. He was married in Meriden, in De- ceniber, 1885, to Margaret Casey, of Meriden, and they have three children: Georgia May, Agnes Josephine, and Charles Allison. Mr. Leonard is a member of the Meriden Center Lodge, No. 68, I. O. O. F., Meriden Lodge, No. 35, B. P. O. E., and has been identified with the Red men. . He is a Republican in political faith, but is no office seeker. The Golden Rule has been his standard throughout life, and he is as popular as he is well known.
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besides affording valuable counsel and assistance to various enterprises in which he was interested, he established and built up the house of Mitchell, Vance & Co., of New York, manufacturers of gas fixtures, so well known throughout the country. In this business, as in his other undertakings, his plans and views were broad and his energy untiring. The new business led him to change his residence from Waterbury to New York, and he finally fixed his home near Tarrytown, on the Hudson, in a beauti- ful edifice where his taste for rural pursuits had full scope, and there, as his failing strength compelled him to withdraw more and more from business life. he occupied himself in cultivating his grounds and adorning his home, waiting patiently for the end which for years had seemed near. Mr. Mitchell was a man of modest bearing, but of a studied courtesy, and bore a presence of dignity and mental strength. While a resident of Waterbury he was a member of the First Congregational Church, and took great in- terest in its charitable work, and especially in the portion of it relating to young persons.
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