USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 36
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pioned and supported excursions for news- boys, lent the aid of the paper in promot- ing philanthropic, charitable and social work. Annually he conducted a cam- paign to raise money for the poor at Christmas time.
Independent of any political affiliation, Mr. Bolande was nevertheless in touch with all political issues of the day, the firm friend and confidante of men high in the councils of the great parties. He was throughly catholic in his tastes, a man of broad culture, wide sympathies and a deep human understanding. He drew his friends, whose name was legion, from all walks in life. He was unaggressive pri- vately as he was aggressive in pursuit of public interests, and was of a retiring nature.
Mr. Bolande was a member of the Busi- ness Men's Associations of the city and State, the Bridgeport Board of Trade, and the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the General Silliman Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, the Brooklawn County Club, the Automobile Club. He was deeply in- terested in automobiles, and in the growth of the industry which he had watched closely from its infancy, and was able to discuss its every phase from the days of the old steamers to the sumptuously constructed cars of to-day.
Frank Wesley Bolande died at the Stratfield Hotel in Bridgeport, Connecti- cut, on Sunday, October 15, 1916. Nothing can more adequately express the depth of the community's grief, and the sense of personal loss felt by the numerous friends of the man, than the tributes paid by the public press to his life and work, and character.
The following is taken from the Bridge- port "Telegram :"
To build up a powerful, independent newspaper, dealing with all kinds of vast concerns, meeting
and resisting all sorts of attempted influences, and warranting and retaining the confidence of its thousands of readers, is a task calling for tremendous energy, but something else as well. "Fair play" is this something, as nearly as it can be described in two words. With Frank Bolande, "fair play" meant putting the interests of the city, the community, the whole collectively, over and above any personal, selfish or special interests that might attempt to intervene. The full meas- ure of his success in doing this, the pressure which he resisted in keeping his paper clean and straight, the sacrifices he made-can be realized only by those who worked with him. It was a fetich with him to parry undue influences, to avoid partisanship, and to seek and find the wel- fare of his community as the sole guide for his paper's policy.
The Hartford "Courant" pays the fol- lowing tribute to Mr. Bolande, the more valuable because of the fact that the "Courant" was in many important issues strongly opposed to the principles Mr. Bolande advocated :
In the death reported yesterday of Frank W. Bolande, of Bridgeport, a distinct force goes out of the newspaper field in this State, goes out, that is, so far as the individual counts, though, very probably, his influence will long remain in the paper which has for so many years felt his directing hand. It was the province of "The Courant" often to differ diametrically with the "Bridgeport Post," which he conducted with such vigor, but it was always evident that an earnest purpose guided the "Post" and its virile direct- ness has been one of its commanding qualities. Mr. Bolande was what is commonly called "a good fighter" and, indeed, seemed rather to enjoy the diversion, but he was capable of praise, too, and kept his paper up nearer the boasted level of "independence" than any other we can recall. Most of the independents stand up so straight that they can lean backwards and devote their time to fault-finding. Often the "Post" was en- thusiastically laudatory
The Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and the City of Bridgeport passed the following resolution :
WHEREAS, The Bridgeport Chamber of Com- merce and the City of Bridgeport, through the
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death of Frank Wesley Bolande, has sustained irreparable loss; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his entire life as a citi- zen of Bridgeport he consistently labored to ad- vance the interests of this community, giving will- ing service to every movement for the public wel- fare; and
WHEREAS, With able assistance and counsel in the inception and growth of this organization of which he has continuously served as a director he has unstintedly given of his labors.
Be It Resolved, That the directors of the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce do give public expression of a deep personal loss which is felt by the members of this organization, and by the citizens of Bridgeport in the passing of one who served his city well.
By Judge Robert Carey, of Jersey City, New Jersey :
Bridgeport and the State of Connecticut suffer a big loss in the death of Mr. Bolande. He was one of the finest and most courageous men I ever had the pleasure to meet. His death must be an occasion for deep regret to every man who has any love for the city of Bridgeport. His life was an inspiration. His unselfish devotion to principle made him a man amongst men. The people of Bridgeport should perpetuate his memory by put- ting into operation the things for which he has been fighting for years.
Justice George W. Wheeler said of Mr. Bolande :
Mr. Bolande was a warm personal friend and I am indebted to him for very many courtesies extending over long years. I feel his loss deeply and so must this community, for he had ever been devoted to its best interests and been its ardent admirer and lover. As time has gone on Mr. Bolande has, as it seems to me, broadened in his viewpoint, deepened in patriotism and become more and more attached to the public welfare and the things that made for it, and less and less mindful of the little and selfish considerations of locality. He put into his newspaper work the best that was in him and found happiness in his work. His work bore fruit. Personal reward came to him as a result and that richer reward that comes from noble endeavor and high public service.
Frank Wesley Bolande married, Janu- ary 1, 1890, Medora C. Beach, daughter
of John H. and Emma L. (Keeler) Beach, of Trumbull, Fairfield county, Connecti- cut. He is survived by his wife and by his mother, Mrs. Angeline Wooster, widow of the late David Wooster, of Bridgeport.
FLAGG, Charles Noel, Distinguished Artist.
Son of an artistic father and a gentle mother, whose influence over their son was strong and good, the early life of Charles Noel Flagg, who was a repre- sentative citizen of Hartford, recognized as one of the foremost portrait painters in America, and whose work has been appreciated in the art centers of Europe, was spent amid environment most favor- able for a boy whose chief interests were books and painting. With inherited tal- ent and personal love for the beautiful in art and nature, he began at the age of six- teen years to develop that talent, and as the years progressed he won fame as a painter of portraits, as an art teacher, and as a public-spirited citizen whose talents were at the service of the State and his fellow-men.
No nobler monument could a man erect to perpetuate his own name than the society Mr. Flagg founded, the Connecti- cut League of Art Students, even had it been so intended. But that the Art League would even survive birth was a problem time only could solve, for it was a free night school for men wishing to become professional artists. Mr. Flagg was its first art instructor, and although a period of over a quarter of a century elapsed be- tween that time and his death he still con- tinued one of the instructors and a direc- tor, and was very much gratified that the institution he founded and fostered was of immense practical value to many de- serving art students, raised the standard of art in the State, and more than fulfilled
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the hopes of its founder. As Mr. Flagg ranked as one of the foremost portrait painters of New England, his own esti- mate of the influences and rules of life he followed is of value as a watchword for others who would succeed as he succeed- ed. The strongest influences of his youth were exerted at home by his father and mother, and by his friend, Dr. Horace Bushnell. Such influences many are denied. But next to that, he valued his private study, for he was always a real worker, believing "laziness the curse of art and art students." As watchwords he advised : "Be prompt to do the thing to be done yourself." Above all-for suc- cess-"To thine own self be true-thou canst not then be false to any man."
Charles Noel Flagg traced his ancestry to John Flagg, who came from England to Rhode Island early in the seventeenth century. Henry Collins Flagg, great- grandfather of Charles Noel Flagg, was surgeon-general in General Washington's army, and in another line he traced to General Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" of the Revolution. Rev. Jared Bradley Flagg, M. A., S. T. D., father of Charles Noel Flagg, was a talented artist, a clergyman, an author, writing the life and letters of Washington Allston, the greatest figure painter of his day, among other articles ; a man of gentle disposition, a lover of everything beautiful in life. His mother, Louisa (Hart) Flagg, was pos- sessed of every womanly grace, a queen, ruling over the home life of loving sub- jects. His brother, Ernest Flagg, is a prominent New York architect.
Charles Noel Flagg was born in Brook- lyn, New York, December 25, 1848. His youth was spent in New York, where he attended public schools, and in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was a stu- dent in the Hopkins Grammar School. He was rather delicate in his youth, fond of
books, and painting being his chief joy. The books he then valued above all others were the Bible, Shakespeare's plays and Don Quixote, and these were his favorites throughout his life and his greatest source of help. To give himself needed exercise and build up a stronger physique, he took up carpentering work that proved bene- ficial and later a source of pleasure and in- tellectual stimulus. At the age of sixteen years he began portrait painting in New Haven, continuing also a student during the succeeding eight years. In 1872 he was able to carry out a long cherished ambition. He went to Paris, France, and there spent ten years in art study. His instructor in drawing and painting was the famous Louis Jacquesson de la Chev- ereuse, and to private instruction he added the lecture courses at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
In 1882 Mr. Flagg returned to the United States. He located in Hartford, Connecticut, and began his career as a portrait artist and art instructor, which career he could review with satisfaction, not more from the position he came to occupy as one of the leading portrait painters of his period than for the help he was able to extend to others. In 1888 he founded the Connecticut League of Art Students, previously referred to, of which he was at the time of his death in- structing director. He taught the class of the league for twenty-eight years, three nights a week, without recompense, purely because he wanted to work for his art, and at the time of his death the art class was just preparing to begin its fall work. He was a man of hope, as well as of genius, and saw in every student a new Raphael. While the income from his por- trait work was always large, he gave lav- ishly of his means toward advancing the best interests of the highest standards of art in the city of Hartford and through-
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out the State. In Hartford he had special interest. It was to his efforts, largely, that the old State house exterior was re- stored. He strove unceasingly to have the State capitol work kept up to the highest art level. While his work has already been recognized, the presumption is that appreciation of his efforts will un- doubtedly increase with the years.
In 1889 Mr. Flagg was appointed by the Governor of Connecticut to fill out the unexpired term of A. E. Burr, a mem- ber of the Connecticut State Capitol Com- mission of Sculpture, in 1901 was reap- pointed for a term of six years, and at the time of his death (1916) was serving his fourth term. During his career he painted several hundred portraits, many of them distinguished men and women of their day. At the exhibit of the National Academy of Design in 1908, Mr. Flagg was awarded the Thomas R. Proctor prize for the portrait of his friend, Paul Wayland Bartlett, the sculptor. He had some notable work in the State library and Supreme Court building. In Memo- rial Hall, State library, are portraits of Governors Morgan G. Bulkeley, O. Vin- cent Coffin, Lorrin B. Cooke, George E. Lounsbury, George P. McLean and Frank B. Weeks, all the work of Mr. Flagg. Two paintings, the work of Mr. Flagg, hang in the Elizabeth Jarvis Colt gallery at the Morgan memorial in Hart- ford. One is of Caldwell Hart Colt, done in 1894, and Mrs. Elizabeth Hunt Jarvis Colt, done in 1915. The last portrait he completed before his death was of the late Frederick L. Bunce, which is now hanging in the Phoenix National Bank, of which the late Mr. Bunce was the pres- ident until his death. At the time of his death Mr. Flagg was working on the por- trait of Mrs. C. D. Talcott, Jr., of Talcott- ville, which was almost completed.
Mr. Flagg was the first president of the
Municipal Art Society of Hartford and for the last three years of his life served in the same capacity. He was president of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, and held membership in the National Academy of Design, American National Academy, American Civic Association, American Federation of Arts of Wash- ington, the Arts Club of Washington, D. C., La Societe Internationale des Beaux Arts et des Lettres of Paris, Le Cercle Francais of Hartford, the Playlovers' Club of Hartford, the Hartford Club, of which he was chairman of the art com- mittee; the Nantucket Historical Asso- ciation, the Salmagundi Club of New York, and the Jeremiah Wadsworth Chapter, Sons of the American Revolu- tion. Yachting was his favorite out-of- doors recreation, and he was also a mem- ber of the Hartford Yacht Club, of which he was vice-commodore. In addition to being the author of "The Evolution of an Equestrian Statue," published in 1909, he contributed largely to magazines and art periodicals. "Art Education for Men," an article written by him for the "Atlantic Monthly" a few years ago attracted wide attention. Mr. Flagg was a communi- cant of the Protestant Episcopal church, and in politics was a Republican.
Mr. Flagg married, April 24, 1874, Ellen Fannie Earle, daughter of Morris Earle, of New York. Children: Ellen Earle, a resident of Hartford; Charles Noel, Jr., a resident of Meriden, Connec- ticut; Montague, an architect of New York; Marion, wife of Harry Irl Maxson, of Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Flagg died suddenly of heart trou- ble at his late home, No. 234 Washing- ton street, Hartford, November 10, 1916. It was a great shock to his friends and to Hartford people in general. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Dr. Irving H. Berg, pastor of the South Con-
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gregational Church, assisted by the Rev. Edmund C. Thomas, of St. James Church. Interment was in Zion Hill Cemetery.
The following tribute, which appeared in the issue of November 17, 1916, of the "Hartford Times," was paid to the late Charles Noel Flagg by the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, which held a spe- cial meeting for the purpose of paying proper honor to the memories of William Gedney Bunce and Charles Noel Flagg. William G. Bunce and Charles N. Flagg had been friends for years and were mu- tually interested in everything that per- tained to their art :
In the death of Charles Noel Flagg, its presi- dent, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts has suffered an irreparable loss. He did more, by his interest and enthusiasm, his constant and untiring efforts and industry, and the generous and un- stinted gifts of his time and means, to found, to organize, to develop and carry to success this so- ciety than any other individual.
.
In the city of Hartford, from its various muni- cipal and other art interests, from the art stu- dents, and from all with whom he has been asso- ciated and whose privilege it has been to work with him for high ends, come tributes to his zeal and devotion to the cause of art; but by none have his efforts and achievements in that cause been better known and appreciated than by those of us who have been so near him in the work of this society.
It is impossible in this brief testimonial of our regard and respect to more than touch upon his fine character, his genius, his broad culture and his wide sympathies and interests.
He was most fortunate as a young man and art student, at a period in the history of this country when the fine arts were but faintly foreshadowed, to have gone to Paris to the famous school of Jacquesson de la Chevreuse, the birthplace in art of so many of our most prominent painters.
The severity and thoroughness of training in drawing in that atelier laid broad and deep the foundations of success of a now world-famous group of artists; and the influence of that dis- cipline may be traced through the life work of Mr. Flagg, scholarly, sound, wholesome and mas- terly, in its knowledge of the science of drawing, modeling, anatomy and color, by which qualities
the French have so long taught and led the world in the technique of painting.
Added to this exceptional education, his natural endowment of a fine artistic temperament and taste and constant industry and application carried him far in the practice of his profession; while his engaging personality and generous and im- pulsive nature and his great social gifts made him a central figure and a most influential factor in the art life and interests of our city and state.
We are confronted on every hand by monu- ments to his untiring labors in the cause of art in Hartford, in the preservation of what was good in the old, and the procuring of the best that is new, for the adornment of the city, its parks, its buildings and its public places.
How much of discouragement and disappoint- ment he sometimes encountered and suffered in his efforts to these ends, and how bravely he still worked on, despite them, none but those near him will ever know; nor how much of happiness and gratification were his when he succeeded, as he so often did.
The stimulus of his personality and enthusiasm, the value of his judgment and his wide knowledge of men and affairs, made him invaluable as a co- worker in all matters pertaining to art; and he will be sorely missed by the many art students he so kindly and so generously helped, giving of himself and his time unreservedly and of whom he was so proud when they, too, succeeded in the field of art.
The Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, and we, his associates, in its council, cannot adequately express our debt to Mr. Flagg; we can but say that his life and example and his work have been of the greatest help and the highest inspiration, and have made possible most of good and of suc- cess that we now enjoy in this society.
It is with the greatest sorrow, with tenderness, with reverence and most grateful memory that we take our leave of him; and we hereby extend our sincerest sympathy to his family.
It is resolved by us that this resolution be en- tered upon our records; and that an engrossed copy of the same be sent to the family of Mr. Flagg.
GOODWIN, Rev. James, LL. D., Clergyman, Devoted Citizen.
A distinguished representative in the eighth generation of a family prominently identified with Hartford, Connecticut,
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from its earliest foundation, Dr. Goodwin was worthy of that inheritance of a good name "rather to be chosen than great riches," and was in himself an illustra- tion of the Horatian line. "Whole of life and clean from wrong." He was a true scholar of genuine culture; a scholar but not a bookworm or recluse; a good citi- zen, public spirited, taking keen interest and bearing a part in the affairs of city and State. A pronounced churchman, he was neither hard nor narrow, but was loyal to that conception of the social character and solidarity of Christianity described as the church idea. As a preacher he was thoughtful, direct and eloquent in his discourse, and as a pastor came very near to the hearts of his people. His tact, genuine friendliness, quick sympathy and democratic ways, and his enthusiasm for parish work were qualities and attributes which drew to him the love and respect of all who knew him.
The family name Goodwin is of very ancient origin, and is to be found in most of the northern countries of Europe. The derivation of the name is not clear, but it evidently signifies "good friend" or God's friend. The name is of record in England as early as 1238, and researches that have been made indicate that the ancestors of the first American Goodwins belonged to the Essex family, whose history is traced to about the middle of the fifteenth cen- tury.
(I) The American ancestor, Ozias Goodwin, was born in England in 1596, and married Mary, daughter of Robert Woodward, of Braintree, county of Es- sex. It is not known whether or not he accompanied his brother, Elder William Goodwin, who arrived at Boston in the ship "Lion," September 16, 1632. The first record of him is as a landowner at Hartford, Connecticut, in February, 1639- 40. His house lot was located on what is
now Trumbull street, near Church street, and he acquired by purchase a number of parcels of land in Hartford. In 1659 he, with others, signed an agreement to re- move to Hadley, Massachusetts, in con- sideration of which they were to receive grants of land, but there is no evidence that he ever became a resident of Hadley. His name appears on a list compiled Oc- tober 13, 1669, comprising the names of those who on that date were freemen of the colony of Connecticut. He died in the spring of 1683.
(II) His son, Nathaniel Goodwin, born about 1637, died January 8, 1713-14. He was admitted a freeman in October, 1662, and is named as one of the "townsmen" of Hartford in 1669, 1678 and 1682. He married (first) Sarah, daughter of John and Hannah Coles, of Hatfield, Massa- chusetts, but formerly of Farmington, Connecticut. She died in 1676. He mar- ried (second) Elizabeth, daughter of Dan- iel Pratt, of Hartford. She died subse- quent to July, 1724.
(III) Their son, Ozias (2) Goodwin, was born in Hartford, June 26, 1683, died January 26, 1776. He held many public offices; was hayward 1714, 1717, 1734, 1735, 1739; fenceviewer 1720, 1724; grand juror 1727, 1731, 1742, 1750; selectman 1738, 1746; deacon of the First Church from January 1, 1756, until his death, twenty years later. He married, June 6, 1723, Martha, daughter of Captain Caleb and Mary (Cobb) Williamson, a lineal descendant of Timothy Williamson, who was a resident of Marshfield, Massachu- setts, in 1649. She died February 8, 1777. (IV) Their son, Jonathan Goodwin, was baptized in Hartford, March 17, 1733-34. He lived for a few years on the west side of Trumbull street near Allyn, and from 1762 to 1764 with his father at the homestead on Village street. In 1764 the homestead was sold. Jonathan Goodwin
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inherited through his mother an interest in his Grandfather Williamson's home- stead on the east side of Main street, bounded on the north by State House Square. He was a corporal of the Hart- ford "train band," out of which was devel- oped the "Governor's Guard," incorpo- rated in 1771, and afterwards designated the Third Company, Governor's Foot Guard. He suffered severe financial re- verses through lending his credit to a rel- ative and to retrieve his fortunes pur- chased, in 1783, eight and one-half acres on the north side of the Albany road, a property which still remains in the family. He was officially appointed "inn keeper" and there spent the remainder of his days, ministering to the entertainment of trav- elers and in tilling his few acres. He died September 2, 1811. His wife, Eunice (Wolcott) Goodwin, died March 23, 1807.
(V) Their third child and only son, James Goodwin, born in Hartford, De- cember 12, 1777, died September 13, 1844. He inherited the Albany road property from his father, and there spent his life after 1783, adding considerably to his real estate holdings in that neighborhood through purchase. He was first lieuten- ant of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, in 1807, and in 1809 was elected captain. He was of fine physical proportions, stood over six feet in height, weighed over two hundred pounds, very strong and active. He was a deep, clear thinker, most kindly in disposition, and very popular. He married, March 3, 1799, Eunice, daughter of Captain Lemuel and Ruth (Woodford) Roberts, a de- scendant of John Roberts, who in 1688 located in Simsbury, Connecticut. She was born in Wintonbury (now Bloom- field), Connecticut, August 22, 1774, died August 13, 1825.
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