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 70
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Mr. Davidson was married in Newcastle, Eng- land, in 1857, to Miss Margaret Douglass, a na- tive of Scotland. To this union were born six chil- 'dren, five of whom are now living. Of these, Robert, a machinist in Farrell foundry, is married and has two children, Clara and Robert; Jane, who married Frank Cabaolie, a machinist, and has five children, Kitty, Jane, Margaret, James and Frank ; John, a machinist in the Farrell foundry, married Mary Cunningham, and has two children, James and Terry ; and Archibald, also a machinist, mar- ried Maria Sheren and has five children, Archibald, James, Blanche, Mary and Margaret.
Mr. Davidson is a Republican in politics, and has been a member of the I. O. O. F. since 1862. He belongs to the benefit association connected with the foundry. Ile is in good circumstances ; some years since he built his own house, and two
adjoining, and now owns three fine residences. He and his family are connected with the Meth- odist Church.
CHARLES REED, assistant superintendent of factory "B" of the Goodyear India Rubber Glove Co., at Naugatuck, New Haven Co., Conn., is one of the most energetic and progressive business men of that place. He has worked his way upward from a humble position, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by tireless industry, en- terprise and good management. He is a man of broad capabilities who carries forward to success- ful completion whatever he undertakes.
A native of Connecticut, Mr. Reed was born in Newtown, Dec. 14, 1856, a son of Martin E. Reed, who was born in Brookfield, this State, in 1815, and died in 1808. The paternal grandfather was a native of England, and on coming to this coun- try located in Brookfield, Conn., where he spent the remainder of his life. His only child was Martin E., who removed to Newtown in early life and there married Sarah Batterson, a native of that place. She died in 1860. Both were members of the Episcopal Church, and he was a Republican in politics. They had three children: Frank, who is with the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Co., at Bridgeport, Conn .; Charles, our subject; and Carrie E., unmarried.
When Charles Reed was three years old the family went West, where they remained four years, and then returned to this State, the father being engaged in the manufacture of combs at New- town. There our subject grew to manhood, ac- quiring his literary education in the local schools. On starting out in life for himself he worked for the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Co., at Bridgeport, for two years, and for three years was employed in the armory at New Haven. In 1877 he came to Naugatuck to learn the rubber business with the Goodyear India Rubber Glove Co., in whose employ he has since remained. He has won promotion from time to time until he is now as- sistant superintendent of factory B.
In 1894 Mr. Reed married Mrs. Catherine Knapp, a daughter of Isaac Wells, of Sandy Hook, Conn. Socially he affiliates with Centennial Lodge, No. 100, I. O. O. F., of Naugatuck; and polit- ically is identified with the Republican party. He was a member of the board of burgesses in 1897 and 1898, and proved a most capable official, for he is a progressive man, pre-eminently public-spirited, and all that pertains to the public welfare receives his hearty endorsement.
C. ART. WARD. M. D. Among those who de- vote their time and energies to the practice of medicine and have gained a leading place in the ranks of the profession is Dr. Ward, a prominent physician of Waterbury, Conn., and proprietor of the Mad River Sanitarium. He is a native of
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Tioga county, N. Y., born in Candor, son of Charles P. and Minerva P. (Smith) Ward, both now de- ceased. The parents were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were highly respected by all who knew them. The father was a dealer in. stock and lumber. He was a Repub- lican in politics.
Dr. Ward attended the district schools near his boyhood home, and at the age of fourteen years en- tered the Susquehanna Seminary, at Binghamton, Broome Co., N. Y., where he spent two years. Later he was a student at Wyoming College, Kings- ton, Luzerne Co., Penn., where he also spent two years, and then attended the United States Med- ical College. After graduation he entered upon the duties of his profession at Newark, N. J., where he remained until 1880, in that year coming to Waterbury, Conn., and locating at Mill Plain. He built the Mad River Sanitarium at considerable cost, and has fitted it up for the care of his patients. This institution he successfully carries on in con- nection with his private practice, and is meeting with excellent success in the undertaking.
In New Haven Dr. Ward was united in mar- riage with Miss Bertha C. Alvord, a native of West Hartford. Conn., and a daughter of Jerome Alvord. By this union has been born one child, Leland Adelbert. Mrs. Ward is an accomplished lady, of refined and cultured tastes, and is a mem- ber of the Congregational Church. In his relig- ious views the Doctor is liberal. He is a mem- ber of the State board of the Eclectic Medical So- ciety, and fraternally is a Freemason. Gentle- manly and courteous in manner, he makes many friends, and is quite popular in both professional and social circles.
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FRED L. LEHR. one of the enterprising young business men of New Haven, is a son of Gottfried Lehr, who for almost half a century has been one of the leading German residents of the city, and grandson of Conrad and Elizabeth Lehr, natives, re- spectively of Schierstein and Neudorf, Germany, the former living to be sixty-five, and the latter sixty-three years old. They were members of the Lutheran Church, and of their eight children Gott- fried is the only survivor. Conrad Lehr was a cabinetmaker by occupation, and traveled exten- sively over the continent of Europe.
Gottfried Lehr was born Jan. 15. 1832, in Schierstein, Germany, and lived in his native coun- try until nineteen years old. He then crossed the ocean to America, landing in New York, and in June, 1852, came to New Haven, where he has since resided. In West Baden, Germany, he had learned the tailor's trade, and after his arrival in this city entered the employ of Mr. Fitch until embarking in business on his own account in 1858. With the exception of three years, during which he lived retired. Mr. Lehr has been engaged con- tinuously at his trade, and though his son has
now succeeded to the business he has not entirely relinquished active interest in it. For many years he has been one of the most prominent Germans in New Haven, active in the promotion of the city's welfare, and taking the interest in public af- fairs which an intelligent, public-spirited man nat- urally feels. He has also become well known in social circles, and in 1852 was one of the organ- izers of the German Turners, of which society he is now the only surviving charter member. He was also a charter member of the School Society, a German Educational Association ; and is a mem- ber of the Haru-Gari, in which he has held all the offices up to the highest in the State: Con- cordia Lodge, No. 1, German Aid Society; Ger- mania Lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he has held membership forty years, and has held all the of- fices and Aurora Encampment and Canton Au- rora, in both of which he is the oldest . member and has held all the offices. In 1855 Mr. Lehr married Barbara Kirchner, a native of Germany, and of the children born to them five are living.
Fred L. Lehr was born April 12, 1865, in New Haven, where his entire life has been passed. He was educated in the common and high schools of the city, and under his father's instruction mastered the tailor's trade, which he has made his life oc- cupation. In 1800 he became his father's part- ner, and in 1895 bought out his father's interest in the establishment, which he has since conducted on his own account at No. 88 Church street. He is endeavoring to do business along the lines es- tablished by his father, who has won a splendid reputation in New Haven as a man of sound judg- ment and unquestioned loyalty and integrity.
In 1800 Fred L. Lehr married Emma Fresenius, one of the six children of Philip Fresenius, whose only son, Henry, is the present treasurer of New Haven, and a prominent resident thereof. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lehr, Fred. L., Jr., and Clara Emma. Like his fa- ther, Mr. Lehr is active in Masonic circles, being a member of Connecticut Rock Lodge, F. & A. M., Pulaski Chapter, Crawford Council, the Royal Ar- canum, the New England Order of Protection, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Knights of Honor. and the Independent Order of Good Fel- lows (Juste Lodge). He has been identified with the Connecticut National Guard. at one time serv- ing as captain of Company E, 2d Regiment, and he is now color sergeant of the 2d company, Gover- nor's Foot Guards. Like his sire, he is a stanch Republican in political sentiment, but he has re- peatedly refused official honors.
MILES E. PAYNE, one of Cheshire's leading agriculturists and representative citizens, was born in Bristol, Hartford Co., Conn., June 26, 1846, and . belongs to an old New England family. The first of the name found in the records of New Haven county was Joseph Payne, who was born Nov. 14,
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1751, and lived in Prospect when it formed a part of the town of Waterbury. There he owned land and engaged in farming and milling until his death. He was married, April 8, 1773, to Hulda Hotch- kiss, a daughter of Gideon Hotchkiss, of Water- bury, by whom he had one child, Harmon, born Dec. 9, 1773. The wife and mother died March 22, 1774, and he was again married, Nov. 21, 1774, his second union being with Esther Hotchkiss. Their children were: Joseph, born Oct. 13, 1776; and Peter, born June 13, 1779. The second wife died Feb. 23. 1787, and on Sept. 26, the same year, Mr. Payne married Abigail Olcott, who died Jan. 22, 1795. By that union there were three children : Esther, born July 23, 1788; Susanna, who was born June 25, 1790, and died in September, 1804; and Hulda, born Dec. 6, 1792. For his fourth wife Mr. Payne married Lois Hotchkiss, daughter of Abra- ham Hotchkiss, June 1, 1795, and they had four children : Silas, born April 19, 1796; Olcott Hotch- kiss, born March 12, 1798; Herrick, who was born June 12, 1802, and married Patty Frost ; and Ed- ward Merritt, born Oct. 21, 1804. The father died April 25, 1805, and his last wife, in November, 18.42.
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Joseph Payne, Jr., son of the progenitor of the family in this county, was born in Prospect, Oct. 13. 1776, and owned and operated a farm in that town, near the Waterbury reservoir, where he died Nov. 17, 1855, his remains being interred in Pros- pect Center cemetery. He was a member of the Congregational Church. On June 16, 1798, he mar- ried Ruth Beecher, who was born in August, 1777, a daughter of Hezekiah Beecher, of Cheshire, and who died Nov. 23, 1823. For his second wife he married Rebecca Barnes, who was born Nov. 17, 1791, and died in Prospect, Nov. 17, 1876. His children were as follows: Julia, born Nov. 30, 1799, married Alfred Stevens, and died April 8. 1887; Maria, born Oct. 26, 1800, married Russell Miles; Joseph Burton was born Jan. II. 1803; Stephen Hotchkiss was born Oct. 4. 1805; Edwin Beecher, born Oct. 30, 1811, died July 13, 1814; George was born Oct. 19, 1813; Edwin Beecher (2d), born March 20, 1816, was the father of our subject ; Harmon, born Feb. 23. 1819, is a resident of Bristol, Conn .; and Ruth Elizabeth was born June 23, 1822.
there he came to Cheshire Center, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying here July 19, 1894. His remains were interred in the Cheshire ceme- tery. He was a member of the Episcopal Church and a prominent Democrat, who most capably filled the offices of selectman, assessor, treasurer and grand juror, and first selectman of Hamden. In Cheshire he married Gertrude K. Miles, a native of that town, a daughter of Jolin and Lurinda ( White) Miles, and great-granddaughter of Dr. Joshua Porter, an Englishman and an early resident of Southington. Mrs. Payne, too, was a member of the Episcopal Church. She died on the home farm, in 1896, and was laid to rest in Cheshire cemetery. In their family were three children: Elba, wife of C. L. Beecher, of Southington : Miles E .; and Ida, wife of Nathan A. Doolittle, of Plantsville.
The subject of this sketch attended the public schools of Cheshire, Prospect and Waterbury, and also a select school, and remained with his parents until he attained to his majority, after which he engaged in farming and teaming, first in Mount Carmel and later in Southington. He began life . as a farmer in 1873, on the Almon Ives farm of 100 acres in Cheshire. He has since made many im- provements on the place, and in connection with general farming has engaged in stock dealing, mak- ing a specialty of cattle and sheep. He buys most of his cattle in the West and sells it to the Eastern markets.
On June 7, 1880, Mr. Payne was united in mar- riage with Mrs. Martha E. Scoville, of Prospect, a native of New Haven, and a sister of George L. Talmadge, of Prospect, in whose sketch appears a record of their ancestry. Our subject and his wife have one child, Lucius Edwin, who is attending school. Mr. Payne is a member of the Congrega- tional Church, and in politics is a supporter of the Democratic party. He has served as a member of the school committee, and does all in his power to advance the welfare of his town and county along educational and moral lines.
EDWARD L. TUTTLE was born in Winsted, Conn., Sept. 22, 1866, son of John L. Tuttle, whose birth occurred in the same place in 1835. Leverett Tuttle, the latter's father, was born probably in the same place, and married Chloe Colt. They settled on the farm, and reared a family of three children : Ellen M., Charlotte M. and John L. Ellen married Oren L. Hopkins, a farmer in Winsted. Char- lotte married James Manchester, of Buffalo, New York.
Edwin B. Payne, father of our subject, was a native of Prospect, where he was reared upon a farmi and educated in the district schools. After his marriage hie removed to Bristol, where he fol- lowed teaming for a time, and then returned to Prospect, where he conducted a hotel and also en- John L. Tuttle has been a farmer in Winsted, all his life, and is still living there. He married Annie Bemis, a native of East Burke, Vt., whose father, Alonzo Bemis, was also from Vermont. To Alr. and Mrs. John L. Tuttle were born three chil- dren : Alice died at the age of two and one-half years. Fannie married George W. Benedict, and gaged in the manufacture of matches, being one of the first in this section to carry on that business. In 1855 he removed to Cheshire, where he followed farming for a time, and Inter engaged in the same occupation at Mt. Carmel, in the town of Hamden. for five years. The following four years were passed in Southington, Hartford county, and from , has her home in Waterbury. Edward L. is our sub-
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ject. John L. Tuttle is a Democrat, and his father held the same political faith. They were Congre- gationalists in religious connections.
Edward L. Tuttle grew to manhood on his fa- ther's farm, and received his early education under the teachers of the public schools, making such thorough preparation that at the age of sixteen he was admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he attended two years. At the expiration of this period he was taken into the em- ploy of the Strong Manufacturing Co., at Win- sted, and after one year came to Waterbury. This was in the summer of 1886, and he has continued to make that city his home to the present time. He was put in charge of a shipping room in the Water- bury Manufacturing Co., and held that position for two years, when he went to Plume & Atwood as bookkeeper, continuing thus for about the same length of time. With Randolph & Clowes he also worked two years, and he was bookkeeper for the Connecticut Indemnity Life Insurance Co. for two years. On leaving that institution he went into the Manufacturers' National Bank, where he is now holding the position of teller.
Edward L. Tuttle and Miss Bell Buckland were married Dec. 29, 1891, and they have one child, Lewis. Mrs. Tuttle was born in Waterbury, Conn., daughter of A. J. Buckland a resident of that city for forty years. Mr. Tuttle, like his father and grandfather, has always cherished the Democratic faith. He was elected town treasurer in 1899, re- ceiving the compliment of a re-election in 1900. Mr. Tuttle is a member of Nosahogan Lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F., and also of the Red Men, at Water- bury, belongs to the Concordia Singing Society and the Waterbury Club. He and his family are asso- ciated with the Second Congregational Church.
JOSEPH BRENNAN, a well-known resident of Naugatuck, New Haven Co., Conn., is a native of Ireland, born in County Kilkenny, about 1841. His paternal grandfather spent his entire life as a farmer in that country. He had five children : Laurence and John, also farmers of Ireland; Nich- olas, the father of our subject ; Julia ; and Anastasia.
Nicholas Brennan was also a native of County Kilkenny, and an agriculturist. He wedded Mary Fitzpatrick, who was born in the same place, and in 1854 they came to the United States, locating in Waterbury, New Haven Co., Conn. He died in Naugatuck in 1869, his wife in 1875. To them were born eight children, namely: Margaret, widow of a rubber worker now residing in New York; Brid- get, wife of William Ayers, of Naugatuck; Pat- rick, a blacksmith of New Haven ; Joseph, our sub- ject ; Mary, deceased; Ellen, a Sister in a convent at New Bedford. Mass. : and Laurence. deceased.
here he began work in the foundry of the Tuttle & Whittemore Co., now the Naugatuck Malleable Iron Co., and has since been in their employ. In- dustrious, enterprising and economical, he has pros- pered and now owns considerable property in Nau- gatuck, all of which has been acquired through his own unaided efforts.
In 1874, Mr. Brennan was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Lannan, also a native of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and to them have been born four children, namely: Ellen, who is now in a convent at Providence, R. I .; Josephine, who was graduated from the Naugatuck high school, in 1898, of which institute her sister Ellen is also a grad- uate; and Estella and Lauretta, who are still in school. Mr. Brennan and his family are members of St. Francis Catholic Church. He is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and in 1881, most ably represented his town in the State Legis- lature.
GEORGE H. BEEBE, an enterprising and suc- cessful business man of Ansonia, is the proprietor of a livery stable which compares favorably in equipment with any in the State. His success is the more creditable to him from the fact that it has been gained through his own well-directed efforts, and the story of his life conveys a useful lesson.
Mr. Beebe was born July 2, 1835, in Oxford, this county, where his ancestors settled at an early day. His grandfather Beebe was a farmer there for many years, but died before our subject was born.
Sheldon Beebe, our subject's father, was born and reared at the old homestead in Oxford, and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in Oxford and Derby. He died in 1848, aged sixty- two years, and his wife, Lydia B. Bates, died in 1897, at the advanced age of ninety-three. Her father, Amos Bates, was a well-known resident of Oxford, and spent his life in agricultural pursuits. Our subject was the eldest of a family of four chil- dren. Of the others Francis is married and lives in Westville.
Joseph Hanlan, and a resident of Waterbury; John, : in a similar business for a short time. On selling
George H. Beebe was but a boy when his father died, and at the age of fifteen he left home to make his own way in the world. For some time he worked at any employment that he could obtain, but in 1875 he engaged in the livery business in Derby, near Holian's hotel. He continued ten years, meeting with marked success, but he then sold out and removed to New Haven, where he was out, he went to Chicago, but later found employ- ment in New York City as collector for Fisk & Doerr, No. 24 State street, corner of Lexington. After two years in this position he removed to New Haven and conducted a small livery stable for a short time, but in 1895 he settled at Ansonia, where
The subject of this sketch attended the public schools of his native land until the emigration of the . he had a stable built to meet his requirements. He family to America in 1854. Soon after his arrival | keeps the finest carriages and horses in the town, the
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equipment including about ten single and double coaches and an elegant landau. The sale depart- ment is profitable, and as a boarding stable it is considered the best in the city. At one time Mr. Beebe served on the police force in Derby, and the position of chief of police was refused by him. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
BERNARD P. RYCE, M. D., one of the most popular and erudite exponents of medical and surgical science in Meriden, was born in Scranton, Penn., July 25, 1861. His father, Michael Ryce, was born in Ireland, and upon emigrating to Amer- ica, when a young man, located in Scranton, Penn., where he perfected himself in his life occupation of mechanical engineering. His death, in 1862, re- moved from accustomed haunts a man of singularly lovable and noble characteristics, and one who knew naught but devotion to family and friends. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Catholic Church. He married in Waterbury, Conn .. Mary McAllenny, a native of County Armagh, Ireland, and a daughter of Bernard and Mary (Cassidy) McAllenny, the former of whom died in Ireland, while the latter died in Plainville, Conn., after living three years in the United States. Among her children was Rev. Paul F. McAllenny, at one time the well-known priest of St. Rose's of Lima, Meriden, and now the parish priest of St. Peters, at Hartford. Mrs. Ryce, who spent her last days with her son, Dr. Ryce, in Meriden, died Nov. 19. 1899, and was buried in St. Patrick's cemetery at 1 Hartford, while her husband is buried in Scranton. Penn. She was a devout member of the Catholic Church, and a faithful wife and mother. Large of heart and generous, appeals to her consideration were rarely made in vain.
Dr. Ryce was the only child in the family, and he was but an infant when his father died. His mother went to New York, and from there to Waterbury, Conn., where she lived three years, later living for many years in Plainville, where her son attended the public schools. The family finances being at low ebb, young Bernard Paul hegan to work at the early age of eleven in the Plainville hardware factory, and while earning fifty cents a day, carried on his education in the night schools, and for a time was a student in the private school JOHN LARKIN, the proprietor of a popular summer resort at Burns' Point, Milford. is the second of a family of eleven children, born to Ed- ward and Anna S. ( Callahan ) Larkin, of County Kilkenny, Ireland, where he himself was born. Jan. 9. 1842. The elder Larkin, who was a stone mason, emigrated from Ireland when John was an infant, coming to America and settling first at Quebec. From Canada he soon crossed the line to the United States, and after a short residence in Vermont lo- cated in Norwich. Conn. In 1865 he removed to Minnesota, where he engaged in farming and where he died in 1886. his wife having passed away five of Prof. Camp, at New Britain. For three years he worked for Peck. Stow & Wilcox, at Southing- ton, Conn., and with the money saved above ex- penses entered Villa Nova College, in Delaware Co., Penn., taught by the order of St. Augustine, and from which he was graduated from the classical course in 1882. Returning to Connecticut he learned the trade of a machinist at Birmingham. although originally intending to study law, and having completed the trade in three years, resolved ; to devote his life to medicine. For a year he read medicine with Dr. North. in Waterbury, and en- tered Bellevue Medical College in New York in | years before. Their eldest son, who was also named
1886, graduating therefrom in 1890. After a post- graduate course he entered upon the practice of medicine in Meriden, where for the past eleven years he has been a notable representative of his pro- fession.
Dr. Ryce belongs to the county and State med- ical societies, and for two years has been county physician. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Catholic Church. His professional skill is augmented by a genial and optimistic per- sonality, and a nobility of character which recog- nizes exhaustless opportunities for usefulness.
FRANK J. POTTER, the efficient and capable foreman of the shooting department of the Win- chester Repeating Arms Company, was born in New Haven, Conn., Feb. 11, 1854, a son of Jesse Potter, who was born in Hamden, Conn., where his father had extensive interests, including farms and stone quarries.
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