USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 1 > Part 56
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It would seem enough to tax the en- ergies of any man, what has been enu- merated above as the various departments of the life of the community in which Mr.
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Root participated. But his interests were of the broadest, his sympathies the most inclusive, and there were but few things that went on which possessed any real value to the community at large or any group of its members that he did not have a hand in. He was a conspicuous figure in the social world in Hartford, and a member of prominent clubs, but perhaps that which interested him most in this direction and claimed most of his atten- tion was his membership in the Masonic order, in which he was very prominent. He was, indeed, one of the best known Masons of the State. He became a mem- ber of Hartford Lodge, No. 88, Free and Accepted Masons, as early as December 19, 1859, and eight years later was made its worshipful master, and at the time of his death was the oldest past master in Connecticut. He was also a member of the Actual Past Masters' Association of the Masonic District of Hartford, Connec- ticut. He was grand treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, Free and Accepted Masons, from January 19, 1882, to January 15, 1896, when he resigned from that honorable but responsible office. He was also a member of the Pythagoras Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of the F. Walcott Council of the Royal and Select Masters, and of the Washington Commandery, Knights Templar, in which he was knighted, March 29, 1861, and of which he became the eminent commander in 1869, and at the time of his death was the senior past commander thereof. He was chosen grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Connecticut in 1875, and lived to be the senior past grand commander. He was a member of the Charter Oak Lodge of Perfection; the Hartford Council, Princes of Jerusalem, and the Cyrus Goodell Chapter of Rose Croix. He was also a member of the Con- necticut Sovereign Consistory, Sovereign
Princes of the Royal Secret, of Norwich, and received the thirty-third degree on September 18, 1894.
Mr. Root married, December 12, 1876, in Hartford, Isabella S. Camp, a daughter of Joseph and Clarrisa Camp, of that place. Mrs. Root survives her husband.
The religious affiliations of Mr. Root were with the Pearl Street Congregational Church, of which he became a member in 1858. He was an ardent worker in the cause of the church and of religion gener- ally, and materially aided in the support of the many benevolences connected with the congregation, and at the time of his death was a member of the prudential committee.
John Gilbert Root was undoubtedly one of the most active citizens of Hartford, and one of the most public spirited during his life in that city. His strong sense of justice, his sincerity, and unimpeachable integrity in all public dealings, gained him the admiration of all his fellows, and his affability and frankness of manner, his lack of ostentation, and open-hearted friendship for all, won him no less surely their affection. Despite his amazing ac- tivity which seemed to embrace all that the city interested itself in, he was never- theless one of the most domestic of men, loving his home and the society of his family and intimate friends, as that could be enjoyed on his own hearth. He was also a great and wide reader, and pos- sessed of the delightful culture and refine- ment which seems the wellnigh universal accompaniment of the lover of books. In all circles where his face was known, from the family fireside to the executive build- ing of the city, high and low, rich and poor, his death has left a gap impossible to fill and difficult to forget. The whole community, indeed, feels keenly the loss of one who labored so earnestly and effec- tively, and who accomplished so much for its advancement.
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BRYAN, Burton Gould,
Financier.
Burton Gould Bryan, in whose death, May 20, 1911, the city of Waterbury, Con- necticut, lost one of the most prominent of her citizens, and the banking world of Connecticut a most conspicuous figure, was a member of an old New England family which for many generations has held a respected place in the regard of Milford and the surrounding region. In- deed, his emigrant ancestor was one of those that founded the old town in early colonial days. Alexander Bryan came from England in 1693 and with several other settlers purchased the site of the present town of Milford from the Indians. The price paid for this concession was, we are informed by the ancient records, six coats, ten blankets, one kettle, twelve hatchets and hoes, two dozen knives and one dozen small glasses. Mr. Bryan's father was Edward Bryan, a farmer of Litchfield county, Connecticut, in the region of Watertown. The elder Mr. Bryan was well known in the community for his upright life and high sense.
Burton Gould Bryan was born Septem- ber 27, 1846, in Watertown, Connecticut, and spent the first eighteen years of his life on his father's farm, gaining there that splendid training which was once the lot of a large proportion of the youth of America, and of which nothing yet dis- covered can quite take the place, not even "higher education." Of the advantages of the latter Mr. Bryan was quite innocent, the schooling of which farmers' boys could avail themselves being in that day and generation decidedly meager. Never- theless the youth grew up with abundant ambition, and the bright wits and stead- fastness of purpose to realize it. Indeed. he was typical of so many men bred in that region and age, men who decided in
mere childhood upon some career, and never wavering, bending all circumstances to their purpose, finally realized their early hopes. In the case of Mr. Bryan the career was banking. While still a boy attending school and doing light work on his father's farm he settled it in his own mind that he would be a banker, and to this end he marshalled all his powers and resources. When eighteen years of age he managed to get three months' study at the Eastman Business College in Pough- keepsie, New York, and after this rather slight preparation he entered upon the career which was eventually to raise him to the office of bank president and make him one of the powers in the Connecticut business world. His first position was with a real estate concern in Waterbury, which gave him employment as a book- keeper, and to this city he removed and there began a residence which was to con- tinue during the greater part of his life. Leaving the real estate company Mr. Bryan next found employment with the Naugatuck Woolen Company in the same capacity, that of bookkeeper, where he re- mained for a few years. His next move was a long way from home, but it was into the desired line of work. The skill and ability which he displayed in his com- paratively humble position of bookkeeper began at length to win him recognition, and he received an offer from the Freed- man's Savings and Trust Company of Wilmington, North Carolina, to become its cashier. Mr. Bryan accepted, but did not stay a great while in the South, re- turning to Waterbury to take the position of teller in the Manufacturers' National Bank of that city. At length, with a num- ber of other men prominent in banking circles, Mr. Bryan set on foot the move- ment to organize the Fourth National Bank of Waterbury, and at length had the satisfaction of seeing his project tri-
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umphantly begun. He first took the office of cashier of the new concern, but in 1889 was chosen president, an office which he held until his death. His connection with the banking world was not limited to this one concern, however. In addition thereto he held the position of secretary in the Colonial Trust Company, and served on the directorates of a number of important financial and industrial institutions.
Besides his business connections Mr. Bryan took an active part in many other departments of the community's life. He was particularly interested in the conduct of public affairs, and exercised a consider- able influence in local politics, though he made and adhered strictly to the rule not to accept any public office, a rule which he but twice departed from, once when he served for a time as clerk of the Board of Common Council, and again when he was elected town treasurer for two years. He was a prominent figure in the social life of Waterbury and in fraternal circles there, and a member of many orders and clubs. Among these may be named the Royal Arcanum and the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows. He was also a mem- ber of the Masonic order and had received the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite and held every position up to the commandery. In spite of his many and onerous duties Mr. Byran found time to engage in outdoor life and exercise, which he enjoyed and held to be essential as a relaxation from the tension of business. He was especially fond of golf and be- longed to the Waterbury Golf Club. His religious affiliation was with the Congre- gational Church, and he was a faithful member of the Second Church of that denomination in Waterbury, aiding effec- tively in the work of the congregation and materially supporting the many benev- olences connected therewith.
Mr. Bryan married, April 14, 1868,
Fannie K. Peck, of Watertown. To them were born two children, of whom one, a son, Wilbur Peck Bryan, is now living. Mr. Bryan, Jr., has followed in the foot- steps of his father and entered the bank- ing business, in which he is now treading the high road to success, and already holds the office of cashier in the Fourth National Bank. He married Agnes Smith, of Waterbury, and they are the parents of two children, a son, Alexander, and a charming daughter, Helen Bryan.
JUDSON, Stiles,
Lawyer, Legislator.
Stiles Judson, in whose untimely death on October 25, 1914, Fairfield county, Con- necticut, lost one of its foremost citizens and the State bar one of its most distin- guished members, was a member of one of the oldest families in the State, which from the earliest colonial times has taken a conspicuous part in the affairs of the community. From the immigrant ances- tor, William Judson, who came to this country as early as 1634, down to the dis- tinguished lawyer, orator and legislator who forms the subject of this sketch, the representatives of the Judson stock have been men of action, men whose voices have had a share in moulding affairs in the community in which they have for so many generations made their home. The first William Judson was a stalwart York- shireman, born in that county, in "Merry England," sometime near the last of the sixteenth century. He came with his son, Joseph Judson, then a lad of fifteen years, to the "New World" and settled for a time in Concord. Massachusetts. Four years later, in 1638, his spirit of pioneering yet unsatisfied, he made his way into the western part of Connecticut, then but sparsely populated, and settled on the site of the present town of Stratford. His was
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the first house built in the neighborhood, and remained the only one there for a full year, so that to the Judsons belongs the distinction of being without doubt the first settlers of Stratford and the founders of the town. To them also belongs the distinction of having made it unbrokenly their home from those early days to the present. During the Revolutionary period the representative of the family was one Daniel Judson, a prominent man in his community and one who served for many years in the Connecticut Legislature. He was too elderly for active service in the Continental army, but a son distinguished himself not a little therein. This son was Stiles Judson, who thus initiated a name which, including his own, has been borne by four consecutive generations of father and son.
The father of our subject, the third Stiles Judson, was a man of parts, who was engaged all his life in those two strenuous occupations, sailing and farm- ing. During his young manhood he was before the mast in the ships of the East India trade, and at one time "rounded the Horn," on the way to California with a number of others who had been seized with the gold fever of "forty-nine." He later returned to his native town and there settled down to farming, represented the district in the State Assembly, and held many of the town offices. He was mar- ried to Caroline Peck, a daughter of Sam- uel Peck, and Stiles Judson, Jr., was the only son among four daughters.
Stiles Judson was born February 13, 1862, in Stratford, and in that place made his home during his entire life, although his legal career is largely associated with the city of Bridgeport, where his firm had its offices. He received an excellent edu- cation, attending as a lad the fine schools of his native place, both public and pri- vate. Completing at these institutions the
requisite preparation, he matriculated at Yale University in 1883, and entering the law school, there distinguished himself highly in his studies. He was eminently fitted for the profession of the law, pos- sessing an impressive presence and an en- gaging and powerful personality in ad- dition to the mental qualifications of a mind capable of long and profound study and thought and the most rapid decision in emergency. This somewhat rare union began to make itself felt from the outset of his career, even as a student, and did not fail to draw the expectant regard of his professors and instructors to the young man. He was graduated with the class of 1885 with the degree of LL. B., the honor member of his class. He was admitted to the Connecticut bar the same year and at once entered the law office of Townsend & Watrous, in New Haven. He remained with this firm only about a year and in September of 1886, removed to Bridgeport, where he formed a partner- ship with Charles Stuart Canfield, the firm being known as Canfield & Judson, a connection which continued up to the time of Mr. Judson's death, with the single modification that in the year 1907 Judge John S. Pullman was admitted to the firm which thereupon became Can- field, Judson & Pullman, and has grown to be one of the best known in Connec- ticut. Mr. Judson quickly made a reputa- tion for himself as one of the ablest lawyers in the region, especially in court, where his forensic ability and able grasp of his subjects made him a most powerful ally and dangerous opponent. His suc- cess with the jury was phenomenal and it was not long before he had developed a very large practice and was handling some of the largest and most important cases in the State. Indeed, it was even before his arrival in Bridgeport, while he was yet a clerk in the office of Townsend &
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Watrous, in New Haven, that he first at- tracted attention to himself by his unusual powers. It was about the same time also that he began his political activity, in which connection, even more than in his professional work, his fame has grown. It was not long before he became one of the most popular political speakers there- abouts, and the Republican local organi- zation began to look upon him as a com- ing power and a possible candidate for office. And assuredly Mr. Judson was a coming power, although, alas for hopes of those in control of the party organization, his personality was too strong and definite to fit into the ordinary partisan moulds of conventional form. Mr. Judson was a staunch Republican, a believer in the prin- ciples and many of the policies of his party, but he was essentially a reformer, and when he saw what he considered abuses he did not stop to discover whether political friend or foe was re- sponsible for them, he simply and forcibly pointed them out and demanded their re- moval. In the year 1891, Stratford, in which he had always made his home and which began to be proud of this rising young lawyer, elected him to the General Assembly of the State. It was during his first term in that body that the famous "deadlock" session occurred, in which he took a most notable part. His constitu- ents were highly gratified at the position he took and the energy with which he pushed his views in the Assembly and returned him thereto in 1895, when he was appointed chairman of the judiciary committee. In the meantime, however, in 1892, he was the party candidate for Secretary of State, for which he was de- feated, however, together with the whole State ticket, after a most creditable cam- paign. In 1905 Mr. Judson was elected State Senator from the twenty-fifth sena- torial district, in which his home town is
situated, and promptly assumed a leading role as champion of reform legislature in the Senate. He was returned in 1907 and during the ensuing session he was presi- dent pro tempore of the body. During both these terms he was chairman of the Senate judiciary committee. Upon the death of Samuel Fessenden, State's attor- ney for Fairfield county, Mr. Judson was appointed to fill the unexpired term. This was in 1908 and he was later elected to the same office on the splendid showing of his record. He continued to hold this office until March 30, 1914, when on his own request as a result of failing health, he was removed by order of Judge Joseph P. Tuttle. In 1910 Mr. Judson was re- nominated Senator by the Republicans, and the Democratic convention, meeting shortly afterward endorsed his candidacy, an honor never before received by a can- didate from that district. The following election he was again the choice of his party, and was triumphantly returned after one of the most bitter campaigns ever waged in that region. His opponent was Judge Elmore S. Banks, of Fairfield, Connecticut, which, strangely enough was situated in the same senatorial district, and the question at issue was the Public Utilities Bill, of which he was the cham- pion. After his election he returned to the Senate to continue his effective advo- cacy of the bill there, while Judge Banks was sent to the House, to continue his opposition. The final victory was with the advocates of the bill, which was passed at that session, largely because of the masterly efforts of Mr. Judson in its behalf. The great amount of labor, the intensity of his efforts in its cause are by some regarded as a contributory cause of the loss of health which he suffered there- after, and which finally resulted in his death. In 1913 he found the pressure of business incident to his office as State's
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Attorney so great that he was obliged to forego any legislative activity, and in 1914, as already mentioned, he resigned that office.
Mr. Judson was a very conspicuous figure in the social world, and a member of several important clubs and organiza- tions in Stratford and Bridgeport. He was an active Mason, being a member of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, of Bridgeport ; Hamilton Command- ery, Knights Templar, of Bridgeport; and of the Algonquin and Brooklawn clubs of the same city. He was also a member of Company K, Fourth Regiment Connecticut National Guard, for ten years, at the end of which period he was captain of his company.
Mr. Judson was married, December 5, 1889, to Minnie L. Miles, of Milford, Con- necticut, the daughter of George Wash- ington Miles, a well-known manufacturer of that place. Mrs. Judson, who gradu- ated from the Yale University Art School, devotes much of her time at present to her painting. She possesses a great deal of talent in this direction, and is a woman of great general culture and unusual social charm.
In summing up the total of Stiles Jud- son's work, and the effect of his life and efforts upon the community, it must be borne in mind that at heart he was a re- former, and that as such, the results of his work are by no means to be measured by the formal victories that he won. It is the fate of reformers generally that they often win more in their defeats than their victories, and so it was in a measure in the case of Mr. Judson. Some of his bitterest conflicts were with the "machine" in his own party. He was a consistent oppo- nent of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company in all its political activities, and during the last year of his State's Attorneyship opposed
it with great vigor and prosecuted some of its officials. With this sinister political force and with the element in the party which represented its wishes, he was in continual warfare, as well as with every other factor in the party which seemed to him to interfere with the will of the people, and as might be expected was often defeated. He championed the cause of Bulkeley for United States Senator in his fight with Fessenden, and strove mightily, though ineffectively, to prevent the Republican nomination for Governor of the State going to Judge John P. Stud- ley. Had he been content to travel the easy road, he would doubtless have reach- ed greater heights politically than he did, but his services to his county and State and to his party were unquestionably much the greater in that he chose to op- pose the intrenched forces of privilege, even when such opposition meant defeat. To his object of fighting well the people's battle, he brought his great powers, his capacity for long and hard work, his bril- liant and active mind and his oratory, which all agreed were of the highest type. Thus equipped he accomplished against his powerful opponent much that seemed well night impossible, and often turned what was apparently inevitable defeat into brilliant victory.
SMITH, Oliver C., M. D., Physician, Hospital Official.
There is something that appeals to the popular imagination as intrinsically noble about the adoption of a profession the object of which is the alleviation of human suffering, such, for instance, as medicine, especially where, as in this case, the sacri- fice of many of the comforts and pleasures which men count so highly is involved. When in addition to this, however, the task is not only voluntarily chosen but
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carried out in the most altruistic spirit and in the face of difficulties quite special and peculiar, the circumstances rise to- ward the heroic and the sincere admira- tion of all is claimed. Such was the case in a high degree in the life of Dr. Oliver C. Smith, of Hartford, Connecticut, whose death in that city on March 27, 1915, de- prived the whole community of a friend and benefactor.
Dr. Smith was born November 29, 1859, in the city that all his life has been the scene of his energetic and invaluable ca- reer, a son of William B. and Virginia (Thrall) Smith, old residents there. He attended the West Middle School and the Hartford High School where he gained his general education, and afterwards took a course in the Hannum Business College to prepare himself for the serious business of life. It was in a measure an accident that his attention became directed to medicine as a career, and an unfortunate accident Dr. Smith doubtless regarded it at the time of its occurrence. This was nothing less than a serious illness which completely prostrated him at the age of nineteen years and just when he was am- bitious to make a beginning in life. Dur- ing this illness he was under the care of Dr. James H. Waterman, a well-known physician of Westfield, Massachusetts. who, perceiving the youth to take a keen interest in medicine, encouraged him to look further into the matter and gave him his advice to choose it as a career. His interest being a very real one, the young man took the advice to the extent of en- tering Dr. Waterman's office, where he studied for a period of eighteen months. By the end of that time he had seen enough of the situation to have made up his mind very definitely on the subject. and accordingly in the year 1880 he ma- triculated at the Long Island Medical Col- lege. Here he applied himself with an
ardor that was characteristic, and soon won the regard of his instructors and pro- fessors, as well as of the student body. He won many honors during his years of study here, being the president of his class, winning the Atkinson prize and standing third in general marks out of a class of eighty. While in the second year of his course he won a competitive exam- ination which entitled him to the position of ambulance surgeon, and he also acted as substitute interne in the Long Island General Hospital during the same period. How earnest he was in the pursuance of his career may be seen in the fact that in the vacation of 1881, instead of giving the time to recreation, he sailed on board the steamer "City of Para" to Rio de Janeiro as surgeon. After his graduation he at once began practice, at first in the office of Dr. Jonathan Curtis, of Hartford, and later independently. He was one of those rare physicians who, to an unusual techni- cal knowledge, add a keen intuition into the nature and significance of symptoms, so that he was an eminently successful diag- nostician and quickly built up a large pri- vate practice. He was a man of too much skill, however, to be allowed to remain en- tirely in private work, the more especially as his interest turned chiefly to surgery, skill in which is so greatly in demand in public medical institutions. When the St. Francis Hospital was formed he became a member of the surgical staff, where he remained until two years later, when he began his association with the Hartford Hospital, which continued until the time of his death. Besides this connection he was consulting surgeon of the Litchfield County Hospital, the Middlesex County Hospital, the New Britain General Hos- pital and the Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. He was also greatly interested in the Charter Oak Hospital in Hartford, and it is not a little
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