USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 20
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man. In 1912 he was chosen first select- man, and has since filled that responsible position. The care of the roads and mul- titude of interests of the large and popu- lous town furnish ample employment for his natural executive qualities, and, when not traversing the field of his responsibili- ties, he is daily found in his office in the municipal building. In the social life of the town and city, he bears an active part, and is a supporter of the "North" Congre- gational Church, with which his family is identified, and holds membership in sev- eral fraternal and benevolent bodies. Among these are included: St. John's Lodge, No. 2, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Apollo Lodge, No. 33, Knights of Pythias; Middletown Lodge, No. 771, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; and Mattabessett Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. Mr. Peck has consistently supported the principles avowed by the Republican party in public affairs and has been influential in shaping the manage- ment of local affairs. In his active career he has suffered no serious illness, and is still in prime order for action.
Howard S. Peck married, September 12, 1882, Carrie Doud, born in South Farms, Middletown, daughter of Na- thaniel S. and Sarah (Roberts) Doud. Nathaniel S. Doud was born in Madison, November 24, 1827, died June 15, 1921, married Sarah Roberts, born September II, 1833, died July 10, 1891, daughter of William and Clarissa (Blake) Roberts, who were married December 4, 1823. Mr. and Mrs. Peck were the parents of three sons and two daughters: Grace Frances, died at the age of thirty-two, while the wife of Richard A. Ray. Joseph Norman is a plumber in Middletown, residing near his father. Horace Howard has been with the Russell Manufacturing Company since the age of sixteen years, and also
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Alexander H. Dannbull
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
resides near his father. Harry Doud is engaged in the manufacture of motors at Detroit, Michigan. Helen Louise died at the age of three years, three months and three days.
TRUMBULL, Alexander H., Manufacturer.
It is a noteworthy example of the Trumbull family, now widely dispersed throughout the United States, and numer- ous members of which have become prom- inent in the industrial world, in the field of letters and in political and professional activities. A branch of the Trumbull family, migrated from Great Britain, probably in the latter part of the sixteenth or early in the seventeenth century, to Ulster County, Ireland. There, Hugh H. Trumbull, father of Alexander H. Trum- bull was born and on emigrating to Amer- ica, settled in West Hartford, Connecti- cut, afterward removing to Plainville, Connecticut. He was a strong, intensively religious and substantial citizen of the communities where he carried on his agri- cultural pursuits. He was the father of seven sons, of whom is Alexander H. Trumbull, of this review, president of the Connecticut Electric Manufacturing Com- pany of Bridgeport, which ranks as one of the most important concerns of its kind in New England, while its head is also recognized as an industrial leader of this section of the country. From a small be- ginning in Bantam, Connecticut, where the concern still maintains that unit of its establishment, the Connecticut Elec- tric Manufacturing Company now sends its products all over the world and has offices at a number of strategic points in this country. The company also operates its own pottery plant at Trenton, New Jersey, where it manufactures the porce-
lain used in the production of its elec- trical devices at Bridgeport.
Alexander H. Trumbull is a son of Hugh H. and Mary (Harper) Trumbull. His father was born in Ireland. After his arrival in America he first took up his residence in West Hartford, Connecticut, where he bought a tract of land and oper- ated a farm on a considerable scale for a number of years. He was a communicant of the West Hartford Methodist Episco- pal Church. He and his wife were the parents of seven sons: John H., present Governor of Connecticut ; Henry ; Frank ; Alexander H., of this review ; James, who died in April, 1916; Isaac B., who was drowned when the Lusitania was sunk while making a trip to England in May, 1915; and George. All of the surviving sons are engaged in manufacturing.
Alexander H. Trumbull, son of Hugh H. and Mary (Harper) Trumbull, was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, Oc- tober 12, 1878. His father, having re- moved with his family from West Hart- ford to Plainville, Connecticut, sent the son Alexander to the public schools of that town. He attended his classes until he arrived at the age of fifteen years, when he left school and became associated with his brothers in the electrical business at Hartford. He early demonstrated a re- markable capacity for things mechanical, particularly with the application of elec- tricity. His genius for organization also began to be active at the beginning of his career. In 1904 he launched out into business for himself as an electrical contractor at Torrington, Connecticut, shortly before absorbing the business in- terests of his brothers at Hartford. In 1906, in association with his brother, Isaac B. Trumbull, he organized in the town of Bantam, the Connecticut Electric Manu- facturing Company, which was destined
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to become one of the most important con- cerns of its kind in this section of the United States. In December, 1912, the Trumbull brothers, finding it necessary to expand their plant under the increasing demand for their products, removed from Bantam the major part of their establish- ment to Bridgeport, where the company engaged in a more extensive manufacture of its own inventions, which consist prin- cipally of switches, sockets, etc., in addi- tion to other devices. Under the skilfully guiding hand of Alexander H. Trumbull, the business has made remarkable strides. Upon the organization of the company Mr. Trumbull was elected president, and still occupies that office. He himself is the inventor of a number of wiring de- vices in the electrical line which are in use throughout the country. The envi- able reputation which has come to the Connecticut Electric Manufacturing Com- pany is due in very large part to the in- troduction and manufacture of numerous important inventions in the electrical field which were perfected and brought out by Mr. Trumbull and his late brother, Isaac B. Trumbull.
Mr. Trumbull is a member of the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce, and State Chamber of Commerce, also of the Manufacturers' Associations, both local and national; the Association of Manu- facturers of Electrical Supplies. He is affiliated with American Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Stratford, and is a vestryman and a member of the board of finance of Christ Protestant Episcopal Church of Stratford, Connecticut. His clubs are the Algonquin of Bridgeport, the Cupheag of Stratford, and the Strat- ford Mill River Country Club, being also a member of the board of governors of the latter club.
Mr. Trumbull married, December 6,
1905, Mary J. Smith, a daughter of An- drew and Jane (Kilbourne) Smith of Litchfield, both of whom were members of old Connecticut families. Mr. and Mrs. Trumbull are the parents of two children : Marian, born November 27, 1906, a grad- uate of the Stratford High School, and now (1925) a student at the Wykham- Rise School for Girls at Washington, Connecticut, and Donald Trumball, born June 18, 1910, who is attending the Gun- nery School at Washington, Connecticut.
CURRY, James A.,
Lawyer.
Prominent among the enterprising, en- ergetic, and successful lawyers of Hart- ford, Connecticut, is James A. Curry, of the law firm of Curry & Curry. Mr. Curry was born in that city, January 24, 1890, son of Thomas and Ann (Flannigan) Curry. The former was born in Bally- cumber, Queen's County, Ireland, and died in November, 1915, aged sixty-four years. He was about seventeen years of age when he came to America with his brother, Peter, and located in Hartford. There Mr. Curry learned the trade of brass moulder at the Colt Patent Fire- arms Company, where he remained for almost twenty years. He became exceed- ingly expert in combining metals to give special qualities for special uses. Though never trained in the modern technical sense, he was naturally possessed of keen observation and an analytical mind, and these qualities gave him such a command of his business that requests came to him from all over the country to work out metal formulæ. He was the one to first make a metal to be successfully used in the manufacture of link chains. Mr. Curry worked out the formula for the metal for the first gatling gun manufac-
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tured. When the Colt Company had the contract for the making of government guns, he mixed the metals. In the late "'eighties," Mr. Curry resigned from the position of Superintendent of the Colt Brass foundry, a position which he had held for many years, and engaged in the real estate business on his own account. He had always been thrifty, and with keen foresight had invested his savings in property which greatly enhanced in value, and the income from this property was re- invested with the same discriminating judgment. It was very seldom that Mr. Curry sold a piece of property.
He was a Democrat in politics, and served two terms in the Common Council. Mr. Curry married Ann Flannigan and of their family of ten children, nine grew to maturity. I. John, a graduate of Notre Dame University. He was a lawyer and died in 1911, unmarried. 2. Ann, wife of Joseph G. Woods of New Britain. 3. William P., married Ann Golden. He was alderman for several terms and is now in the real estate and insurance busi- ness in Hartford. 4. Margaret, deceased wife of Truman D. Cowles of Hartford. 5. Mary, who lives at home. 6. Thomas B., graduate of Notre Dame Law De- partment in 1914. He had taken special academic work before entering the law school, and was admitted to the bar the same year he graduated. He is now in partnership with his brother, James A., who is more particularly the subject of this sketch. Thomas Curry married An- gela Jane Connor and has a daughter, Angela Jane. 7. James A., of extended mention below. 8. Edward P., of Hart- ford, engaged in the real estate business. He married Mary Doyle and is the father of two children. 9. Teresa, a graduate of St. Mary's College, Indiana, now engaged in social service work with the Diocesan Bureau of Social Service in Hartford. The
mother of this family died in August, 1917.
James A. Curry attended the grammar and high schools of Hartford and St. Thomas Seminary. After completing his courses at these institutions, he went to Colorado where he worked for a year as a surveyor in Routt County. At the death of his brother, John Curry, he returned to the East and the following September entered the Law School at Notre Dame University from which he was graduated in 1914 and admitted to the bar the fol- lowing year. At the same time he formed his present partnership with his brother, Thomas Curry, under the firm name of Curry & Curry and they engage in a gen- eral practice of their profession.
Although comparatively a young man, Mr. Curry has been very active in public affairs and has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic party. For two terms he served as assistant chairman of the County Committee and also served as secretary to Mayor Richard Kinsella.
Mr. Curry married Mary Agnes, daugh- ter of Honora Mahoney of Rawlins, Wy- oming, and neice of Senator Patrick Sul- livan of Caspar, Wyoming. The latter is also a Republican National Committee- man. Mr. and Mrs. Curry are the parents of a daughter, Mary Agnes, and of a son, John Patrick Curry. Mrs. Curry holds the degree of A. B. and B. M. received from St. Mary's College.
Mr. Curry's fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Columbus; the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and the Royal Arcanum. With his family he attends St. Joseph's Cathedral.
OTIS, John M.,
Banker.
There is an erroneous impression that New England, with its greatly enlarged cities and a vast increase in population,
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has almost lost the leavening influence of its original settlers, but a canvass of that part of the country will show an amazing number of the descendants of that hardy race, with which is included the "May- flower" stock that aids materially in the forefront of its enterprise and character- izes its citizenship.
Among the many prominent men in Connecticut who hark back to the foun- ders of the land in ancestry is John M. Otis, president of the Mechanics and Farmers' Bank of Bridgeport. Mr. Otis has all his adult life been connected with that bank and banking interests generally. He comes of Revolutionary stock, and is a great-great-grandson of Stephen Otis, who was one of the minute men of Con- cord, Massachusetts, and Lexington, the very vital engagements which preceded the battle of Bunker Hill-men whose deeds even today thrill Americans. Later this Revolutionary hero took part in the battle of Long Island, where he was cap- tured by the British, dying when still held by them. John M. Otis' line is traced down through Robert, Richard and Mar- shall Otis, but its anterior history is very interesting.
The family name of Otis, Otes, Ottys, is derived from the old Anglo-Norman Christian name Oto, Odo, Oto de Bayley, and is on record as early as about 1300. Andreas Otes is in the Hundred Rolls of County Norfolk, A. D. 1273, and Otes de Howorth in the poll-tax of Yorkshire, 1379. The coat-of-arms of Otis (Ottys) is:
Arms-Azure, a cross engrailed argent between four crosslets fitchée, or.
Robert Otis, born in England in 1696, appears in Lyme, Connecticut, before 1737. He is said to have served as a wagoner in the Revolution, but the mili- tary record given is probably that of
Robert, Jr. "He died at Lyme, 1811, aged one hundred and fifteen years." (See Robert, Jr.) Robert, Sr., married, in 1737, Margaret Sabin. His diary has for Sun- day, November 15, 1741: "Robert Otis and Mary Daton publisht." This entry perhaps referred to a second wife. "Rob- ert," his son, over sixteen, and his wife, are in the census of 1780. A partial list of his children born at Lyme : Robert, Jr., born 1740; enlisted May 1, 1777, in the Connecticut Line, Captain Ely's company, for three years; reenlisted in Captain Richard Douglass' company, serving from January I to May 4, 1781, and he was among those drafted from the Fifth Con- necticut Regiment to serve under Mar- quis de la Fayette in Virginia at the end of the war, in October, 1781. He married Lydia -, and had a son, John. He and his wife may have been the subjects of the diary entry of "Robert" quoted above, in 1790. Stephen (2) Otis, son of Robert and (Mary Daton?) Otis, born at Lyme, 1738, died at Halifax, Ver- mont, in 1831. The lineage book of the Daughters of the American Revolution says that he served from Lyme for twen- ty-nine days in Captain Joseph Jewett's company at the Lexington Alarm, begin- ning in April, 1775. He was at the battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, but in the roll after the battle this was recorded : "Sergeant Stephen Ottis missing." He married, about 1760, Lucy Chandler. He was representative of Halifax, Vermont, 1812-17. Partial list of children born at Lyme: Arannah, served in Colonel Sam- uel Canfield's regiment at West Point, New York, September, 1781, enlisting from East Haddam; he appeared as "Arime" in the roll, and married Eliza- beth Adams. His second child was Caro- line, born in 1764, died 1834. Robert (3) said to be the son of Stephen and Lucy
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(Chandler) Otis. Seth, married Chloe Taylor. Stephen, who served from Gro- ton and Saybrook. Little is known of Robert (3). He is said to have been the father of a Richard who remained in Lyme. A Richard Otis was born in Lyme in 1775. He settled in Canaan, New York. Richard (4) Otis, said to have been the son of Robert and - Otis, was born at Lyme, but there is no record of his death.
John M. Otis' grandfather was Rich- ard Otis, a farmer born in Lyme, Con- necticut. He married Nancy Palmer, of the Walter Palmer line of Stonington, Connecticut. They were the parents of Marshall Otis, born in Lyme in 1831, and died at the age of seventy-five years. He was reared on the farm, attended the dis- trict schools, and learned the trade of a carpenter in Groton, Connecticut. At the age of twenty-two he moved to Newtown, Connecticut, and became a member of the firm of Otis & Gillette, contractors and builders. Their business was successful, and they constructed many buildings in Newtown and vicinity. Mr. Otis was active in church affairs and a strong Con- gregationalist. He married Mary J. Gil- lette, a descendant of Jonathan Gillette, of Windsor. They were the parents of two children : John M. and Jennie Otis, who married I. H. Camp, of Waterbury, Connecticut, and they have one child, Marion.
John M. Otis was born at Newtown, Connecticut, October 21, 1855. His early education was in the public schools of his native town. He entered Yale University in 1876, and after three years attendance was taken ill and was forced to give up his studies. In 1880 he located in Bridge- port and entered the employ of the Me- chanics and Farmers' Savings Bank. Here he continued in various positions until
1907, when he was made assistant treas- urer, which position he ably filled until 1922, when he was elected president, suc- ceeding the late John L. Wessels. For twenty-one years Mr. Otis served as treasurer of the Bridgeport Hospital, re- signing in 1920. He is now (1925) a director in that institution. He is a mem- ber of the Sons of the American Revolu- tion ; of the Park Street Congregational Church. October 21, 1886, Mr. Otis mar- ried Carrie F. Beers, of Newtown. One daughter, Mildred E. Otis, a graduate of the Bridgeport High School and Welles- ley College, class of 1910. She married Dr. Robert C. Lewis, a professor in the Colorado State University. They have children : Robert, Elizabeth, Marshall, John, and Roy.
RAFTERY, Oliver Henry, D. D., Episcopal Clergyman.
For a period of thirty-three years, Dr. Raftery ministered, not only to Trinity parish of Portland, but was the friend and well-wisher of all the people of the town. He was among the first to welcome the new resident, ready to perform any kind- ness, and always wistful for the well- being of old and young. Known to all, he was everywhere respected and loved. His death at the age of sixty-six years was widely regretted and caused a great shock to the community.
Oliver Henry Raftery was born May 31, 1853, at Achill Island, in Northern Ireland, son of Thomas and Catherine Raftery. The father was a missionary in Northern Ireland, where he spent his ac- tive years and died when the son was a small boy. Soon after, the latter came with relatives to America, and his boy- hood was spent in New York City. He received some schooling there and, as
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soon as prepared, became a student at Cheshire Academy, Cheshire, Connecti- cut, whence he went to Trinity College, Hartford, from which he was graduated in 1873. Three years later he was gradu- ated from Berkeley Divinity School, Mid- dletown, and ordained deacon by Bishop Williams. In 1877 he was ordained to the priesthood and became rector of St. Peter's Church, Cheshire, where he con- tinned ten years, practicing the same lov- able works which made him so beloved in Portland. To Trinity Parish, in the latter town, he came in 1886, and continued his labors in its behalf until a few days be- fore his death, May 17, 1919. In 1908 Trinity College conferred upon him the well earned degree of Doctor of Divinity. Dr. Raftery was a familiar figure on the streets of the town and his visits were not confined to the members of his parish, his kind words were for everybody and every- body was his friend. Dr. Raftery partic- ipated in many ways in the work of the diocese, and in the promotion of local in- terests outside the church. He was a member of the Portland school board and director of the Buck Library, the public library of the town. For twenty years, from 1898 to 1918 he was archdeacon of Middlesex County. From 1895 to 1907 he was deputy to the General Convention and, at the time of his death, he was one of the examining chaplains of the diocese. He retained membership in the Psi Up- silon college fraternity and was a member of Warren Lodge, No. 51, Masonic fra- ternity, of Portland. He maintained a non-partisan interest in public affairs, aiming and hoping to secure the best gov- ernment.
At a service when a tablet in memory of Dr. Raftery was unveiled, held in Trin- ity Church, Portland, May 8, 1921, the sermon was delivered by his classmate, predecessor as rector, and lifelong friend,
Rev. Frederick W. Harriman, D. D., rec- tor emeritus of Grace Church, Windsor. These loving words of a confrere were based upon the words of St. Paul in II Timothy, 2:15: A workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
. God has use for many kinds and types of ministers; and if a man can find the right field of work for which he is adapted, his success will be assured and his happiness will be great.
Among the various descriptions of ministers in the New Testament I desire to select one that does justice to the long and honorable service of him whom we commemorate to-day; one that fits accu- rately his personal character, attainments and activities. More than one might well be applied to him. By his long and liberal education he was "thoroughly furnished unto all good works"; and the results of his training and devotion justified St. Paul's ideal for Timothy, and rendered him "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." I feel that it is but moderate praise, amply deserved, to characterize Dr. Raftery as "a workman that need- eth not to be ashamed." There are men at work in all departments of life who cannot be thus described with any regard for truth ... . and I fear that, in every profession and occupation, at all times, there are "slackers" who need to be ashamed, and to whom in the day of judgment the Son of God will certainly not say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Dr. Raftery was always a good worker-a very diligent and thorough worker. My acquaintance with him began in 1869, when he entered Trinity College, in the class just after mine. He studied hard and lived very quietly. We of his fraternity knew him best and esteemed him highly. In 1873 he graduated second in his class, delivering a Latin salutatory oration which was unusually bright and original, even witty. I remember that about that time he seemed to develop new powers, became less silent and more genial.
In 1886 I laid down my rectorship here in Port- land, and was much gratified when Mr. Raftery was called to succeed me. .... On the twentieth day of March, 1886, he began his second and last rectorship, which was to be so fruitful and full of honor. The parish has ... . been united and peaceful. . ... May we not say of Dr. Raftery, as the psalmist said of Moses: "Lo, he fed them with a faithful and true heart, and ruled them pru- dently with all his power?"
It is not always that good workmanship receives recognition and human applause. Some faithful,
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able and laborious ministers never reap much earthly reward, or see the fruits of their planting. To such the hymn says:
Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not ; The Master praises : what are men?
Your rector had his share of honors such as the Church can bestow upon those who achieve visible success in the sacred ministry. Trinity College gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. The Church in Middlesex County made him Arch- deacon, which office he filled for twenty years- five successive terms. The Diocese elected him deputy to the General Convention four times. He was an examining chaplain, appointed by the bishop to test the fitness of candidates for Holy Orders. The Episcopal Academy at Cheshire made him a trustee. The Church Scholarship Society was glad to have him serve as one of its directors in the work of granting loans to divinity students. . . .. Doctor Raftery's executive ability found ample exercise as Archdeacon of Middlesex, with over- sight of its various missions. His learning was useful in examining divinity students. His knowl- edge of history and his sound judgment came in play when taking part in the legislative functions of the General Convention. . ... I think a Divine blessing rests upon a parish and a rector who com- plete thirty-three years together in harmony and united efforts for the Kingdom of Christ. Happy is he who is permitted to round out such a period -a third of a century; happy is he who dies in the harness as he did. .... Happy is the parish that can look back over thirty-three years of harmony under one respected and beloved pastor, during which the Church was indeed "edified" or built up by mutual activity and conscientious service to God and man. And all that time the domestic life at the rectory has been a model of mutual affection and a sustaining power to the rector himself.
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