USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 18
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Mr. Lake married, September 5, 1895, at Rockville, Connecticut, Eva Louise, daughter of George Sykes. Children : Harold Sykes, and Marjorie Sykes. The Lake home is a handsome mansion at No. 1090 Prospect avenue, from which an ex- cellent view of Hartford and the distant hills is unfolded. The grounds are fine examples of the landscape gardener's art, while the mansion is a striking example of Colonial architecture, quite distinct from the Georgian style known in New England as "Colonial." Mr. Lake is a student of Connecticut history, and in his fine library has about every worth-while volume which is of value as a reference work on the history of his native State.
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HART, Harold Gross,
Investment Broker.
Harold Gross Hart is a member of the old and distinguished Hart family of Con- necticut. and a son of A. E. Hart, who is the subject of extended mention else- where in this work. An account of the Hart ancestry is to be found in the sketch of the elder Mr. Hart, to which the reader is referred for facts concerning the early progenitors of the family.
Mr. Hart was born November 4, 1881, in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, and was educated in the public schools of that city. After completing his studies in these institutions, he attended the New York Military Academy for a period of three years and was graduated therefrom in 1899. He followed this with a similar period spent at the Phillips-Andover Academy, where he was prepared for col- lege, and he then entered Trinity College, Hartford. Here he remained two years and then entered the employ of the firm of E. H. Rollins & Sons, of Boston, as a bond salesman. For nine months Mr. Hart continued with the firm, and then re- signed to accept a position with Redmond & Company, of New York City, with whom he remained in a similar capacity for three years. In the year 1908 he severed his connection with this firm and became salesman with the J. S. Farlee & Com- pany concern, and shortly afterwards opened their branch office at Hartford. He remained in charge of this office until 1911, when he withdrew with the inten- tion of engaging in business on his own account. Mr. Hart had long desired to be independent of the business world, and he now saw his opportunity to establish himself successfully as an investment broker in Hartford. This plan he put into effect, and is now regarded as one of the most successful men in this line in the city as well as a substantial citizen and
public-spirited man. He does not con- fine his activities, however, to his private business interests, but is associated with many departments of the community's life. In so far as the business world goes, he has even there extended his interest beyond that of his personal affairs and is now a trustee for the Society for Savings of Hartford. He is a prominent figure in the social and club circles of the commu- nity, is a member of the Society of Trinity College, of the Hartford Club, the Hart- ford Golf Club, the Sachem's Head Yacht Club, the Pine Orchard Club, Calu- met Club of New York City, the Collec- tors' Club, the Hartford Gun Club and the Alumni Association of Trinity College. Mr. Hart is devoted to outdoor sports and pastimes as may well be seen from the list of clubs with which he is associated, and he takes his recreation in this whole- some and healthful manner. He was one of the first members of Troop B, Con- necticut National Guard, in which he held the rank of corporal, but was later trans- ferred to the First Regiment, and held the rank of first lieutenant and quarter- master of the Third Battalion. He is now a member of the Troop B. Association.
On October 21, 1907, Mr. Hart was united in marriage with Helen C. Whit- telsey, a daughter of Edgar C. Whittel- sey, an old and highly respected resident of Hartford and a member of a distin- guished family of that region. To Mr. and Mrs. Hart one son has been born, John Robinson Hart. Mr. Hart and his family are Episcopalians in their religious belief and attend the Trinity Episcopal Church in Hartford.
Mr. Hart is that typical American prod- nct, the self-made man. He has the self- confidence and ready resource of the man who has had to care for himself from child- hood, a familiarity with the world and its affairs that springs from the same thing
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THE NEW JIM PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOY .ILDEN ECIND. TI NE
H. C. Hanchili
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
and a long course in the stern school of experience. Yet his sophistication has in no wise the effect upon him that it does on small minds of making him cynical, but touches his large nature only to enrich it with all the varied vivid tones of life. He has always kept his mind and spirit pure and his sense open to new impressions. At home he is in all environments, the great and the small alike, a good man, and he has that democratic outlook, the shrewd, humorous insight that strips the mask of pretence from all men and sees the underlying fact. His is an essentially friendly nature, yet he is not averse to a bit of an argument and when such arises can very well hold his own with the best. He has a way of pointing his remarks with illustrative tales from his own well stocked experience and while these are generally of a humorous character they are very apt to be so much to the point as to end discussion. Despite his great popularity and his own strong taste for the society of his fellows, he is possessed of the strongest domestic instincts and spends as much time as he can manage in the home, surrounded by his immediate household and the familiar intimates that are very near to forming a part of it. He is a loving husband and a devoted father, whose thoughts are ever busy with the welfare and happiness of his family.
FAIRCHILD, Henry Charles, Manufacturer.
For half a century identified with the business interests of Bridgeport and one of the oldest manufacturers in the city, Henry C. Fairchild, senior member of Fairchild & Shelton, was an invalid dur- ing the last few years of his life, spend- ing a part of each winter in Florida. Four years prior to his death he retired from business, thus terminating a connection
of forty years with Fairchild & Shelton, the largest soap manufacturing company of the State of Connecticut. He was em- phatically the business man, never seek- ing nor accepting political office, but fond of the social features of club life, very genial, friendly and companionable.
He was of early Colonial ancestry, of the eighth American generation of the family founded in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1639 by Thomas Fairchild, a merchant, who came to New England from London, England. He died December 14, 1670. There is on file in the State Library at Hartford a copy of the marriage contract executed prior to his marriage to his sec- ond wife, Katherine Craig, of London, in which he binds himself to convey to said Katherine a life estate in his lands at Stratford or in the event of his death before his arrival in New England to cause to be paid to her two hundred and fifty pounds sterling. This contract made in London, December 22, 1662, would indi- cate that he returned to England for his second bride. Eight children were born by his first wife, a daughter of Robert Seabrook, three by his second wife, Kath- erine Craig, including a son, Joseph.
Joseph Fairchild was born in Stratford, Connecticut, April 18, 1664, and died July 25, 1713. He married Johanna Willcox- sen, who died August 15, 1713. They were the parents of ten children, the line of descent being through Timothy Fair- child.
Timothy Fairchild was born December 9, 1687, died November 23, 1726. He mar- ried, November 15, 1715, Sarah Thomp- son, of New Haven, and they were the parents of four children, including a son, Daniel.
Daniel Fairchild was born February 18, 1719, died May 9, 1807. He was one of the first settlers at North Stratford (now Trumbull) and lived at Nichols Farms.
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He was a school teacher, merchant, jus- tice of the peace for many years, and dur- ing the Revolution an ardent, prominent patriot, influential in State as well as town affairs. He married, December 6, 1743, Hepzibah Lewis, daughter of Sam- uel Lewis, of Old Mill, in the town of Stratford. They were the parents of nine children including a son Lewis.
Lewis Fairchild, of the fifth generation, was born March 14, 1747, died May 10, 1817. He was an influential, substantial farmer, his farm at Messha Hill in Trum- bull. He was an ardent patriot during the Revolution and aided the cause of liberty in many ways. He married, Sep- tember 22, 1768, Mary Uffoot, and one of his six children was a son Reuben.
Reuben Fairchild was born in 1782, died October 5, 1855, a resident of Trum- bull most of his life. He learned the cabinet maker's trade and was not only a skilled wood worker but an inventive genius, several patents being taken out in his name. In 1810 he took apart an old saddletree, and after improving it made a dozen of the new style, had them ironed and took them to New York City where they found a ready sale. This so encouraged him that he took his brother Eben as a partner, erected a factory at Nichols Farms and made saddletrees on a large scale. In May, 1817, the brothers bought a store and dock property near the foot of Dock street, Bridgeport, and operated a line of packets between New York and Boston, also conducting the store at the dock. About 1818, they be- gan the manufacture of saddles in Bridge- port, associating with them Hanford Lyon and Lemuel Coleman, under the firm name, Fairchild, Lyon & Company. Nine years later the Fairchilds sold out to their partners, and in 1826 built the Trumbull paper mills and it was here that Reuben Fairchild was the first to manu-
facture in America newspaper from wood- pulp, but was discouraged from continu- ing to use it by the fears of his business associates as to its practicability ; he con- tinued in business until 1835, when he sold out to his brothers and retired with a competence. But he found no pleasure in idle retirement and he next became a member of the firm Haight, Keeler, Fair- child & Company, carriage manufacturers of Bridgeport. He continued so engaged until 1840, when he again retired to his farm in Trumbull and there resided until his death. He married, in Trumbull, in 1813, Anna Hawley, daughter of Robert Hawley, and one of their children was Charles Nichols
Charles Nichols Fairchild was born in Trumbull, Connecticut, October 27, 1818, died September 6, 1891. He was edu- cated in public schools, grew to manhood at the Nichols Farms homestead, and though as a young man he learned and followed carriage building for a few years, returned to Nichols Farms and was en- gaged in agriculture until his death. He was a man of sound judgment and ability, thoroughly trusted by his community and often called to public offices of trust and honor. He was a selectman in 1856-60, and in 1876 represented Trumbull in the State Legislature. He was a strong Democrat, and one of the leaders of his section. He married (first) Louisa Beach, who died August 13. 1845, aged twenty-four, daughter of Alfred Beach, of Trumbull Centre. He married (sec- ond) Mary B. Banks, of Easton, Connec- ticut. By his first marriage two sons were born: Henry C., of further men- tion, and Alfred Beach, of Bridgeport. By his second marriage a daughter, Laura Frances, and a son, Erwin Starr.
Henry Charles Fairchild, eldest son of Charles Nichols and Louisa (Beach) Fairchild, was born in the village of
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Nichols Farms, town of Trumbull, Fair- field county, Connecticut, July 17, 1842, died at his home, No. 258 Golden Hill, Bridgeport, February 1, 1917. He was educated in the public schools of Trum- bull, and at the age of seventeen he left school to learn the trade of carriage mak- ing with J. Mott & Company, of Bridge- port. He remained in their employ for nearly three years, after which he worked for The Wheeler & Wilson Company until he was twenty-one years of age. In 1863, he was established in a general store in Bridgeport as proprietor and continued a successful merchant until 1872, his brother Alfred B. being in his employ as clerk from 1863 until 1865. In 1872, Henry C. Fairchild formed a part- nership with his brother-in-law, John C. Shelton, in Bridgeport, under the firm name, Fairchild & Shelton, soap manu- facturers, chemists and perfumers, whose excellent products were used all over the country and whose extensive plant was operated in a most sanitary and progres- sive manner. The up-to-date methods in which the business was conducted was largely due to the ingenuity and inven- tiveness of the Fairchilds, inherited from their progenitor, Reuben Fairchild. Mr. Fairchild's son, the late Frederick S. Fairchild, invented and patented the first soap canister ever made which is one of the most useful devices on the market for promoting economy and cleanliness in the use of toilet soap. Frederick S. Fairchild died December 20, 1902, at the age of thirty-eight years. He was a man of strong business quality, as the Fairchilds have ever been. In 1913, Henry C. Fair- child retired, the business passing into other hands. Mr. Fairchild was a direc- tor of the City National Bank, trustee of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank, and had large land interests in Florida. He was a trustee of Bridgeport
Hospital, of the order, "Founders and Patriots of America," senior warden of Christ Episcopal Church, and formerly a member of several clubs.
Henry C. Fairchild married, December 30, 1863, Mary L. Shelton, daughter of Joel and Louisa (Mallett) Shelton. Joel Shelton was a farmer by occupation, and a natural born mechanic. They were the Huntington, Fairfield county, family, founded by Daniel Shelton, of Stratford, prior to 1690. Daniel Shelton married, April 4, 1692, Elizabeth Welles, daughter of Samuel Welles, of Wethersfield, and granddaughter of Thomas Welles, one of the Colonial governors of Connecticut. Fifty years later, December 30, 1913, Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild celebrated their golden wedding day with a reception to their many friends. They were the parents of a son, Frederick S., born October 19, 1864, died December 20, 1902. In his will Mr. Fairchild left a sum of money to the city, the proceeds to be used as an annual prize to be awarded to the high school student showing the best progress and highest efficiency in chemistry. "This be- quest in loving remembrance of my son, Frederick S. Fairchild, who was a gradu- ate and valedictorian of his class and I direct that the prize flowing from the said fund shall be known as the Fairchild Prize." Mrs. Fairchild, a lady of educa- tion and womanly grace, survives her husband, a resident of Bridgeport.
SHELTON, John C.,
Manufacturer, Public Official.
The late John C. Shelton, who ranked among the enterprising and successful business men of Bridgeport, and who was a leading spirit in some of the important movements for the benefit of the com- munity, was a native of Huntington, Con- necticut, born July 8, 1853, son of Joel and
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Louisa (Mallett) Shelton, and a descend- ant, on the maternal side, of an old Fair- field county family, the members of which trace their ancestry to French Huguenots, who settled in this country early in its history.
John C. Shelton was reared and edu- cated in his native town, and at the age of fifteen took up his residence in Bridge- port, in which city he resided for the re- mainder of his days. His first employ- ment was with his uncle, in whose service he acquired a good knowledge of busi- ness methods and principles. In 1872 he formed a copartnership with Henry C. Fairchild, his brother-in-law, under the firm name of Fairchild & Shelton, manu- facturers of soap, and he was a member of that firm at the time of his decease, which occurred in Bridgeport, Connecti- cut, November 7, 1902. In 1887 the firm suffered a serious loss by fire, which de- stroyed their entire plant which was lo- cated on Thompson street, but, both part- ners being possessed with pluck, perse- verance and the faculty of making the best of conditions, they continued their operations, and in the following year erected a factory on Housatonic avenue, Bridgeport, equipped with everything needful for the successful conducting of their line of trade. Success crowned their efforts, and they were classed among the successful industries of that thriving city. In addition to his business pursuit, Mr. Shelton took an active interest in public affairs, and served in the capacities of selectman, park commissioner, member of the Board of Aldermen, Board of Ap- portionment and Taxation, and Board of Education, in all of which he rendered signal service. He was a staunch adher- ent of the Republican party, believing that its policy was for the best form of government. The Shelton School in the northern part of Bridgeport was named in
honor of Mr. Shelton's father, and the Mr. Shelton of this review donated the Seth Thomas clock which ornaments the tower of the structure. Mr. Shelton was a thirty-second degree Mason, and a mem- ber of various other associations.
Mr. Shelton married Jennie Watson, a daughter of James Watson, and her death occurred in 1898. They were the parents of the following named children: Jean, Anna and Philo. Mr. Shelton was a man of jovial disposition, and when those about him were depressed or in trouble he could be relied upon to relieve the situation with jocose remarks or humor- ous stories. He was kind-hearted, philan- thropic, and always ready to assist in cases of distress, and his decease was a great loss to his family, his friends and the community in which he took so active an interest.
HOWES, William T.,
Business Man.
A man of quiet modesty and unassum- ing manner, yet withal a man of forceful character and strong will, William T. Howes, of Bridgeport, acted well his part, built up an important commercial enter- prise and for half a century gave his strength to its upbuilding and develop- ment. Forty-six of his sixty-nine years were spent as a member of the great coal dealing firm, Wheeler & Howes, and at his death he was president of the corpora- tion. While Wheeler & Howes was a household name in Bridgeport, they gained State and National fame through their determined and finally successful fight against the oppression of the New Haven railroad in the day when that corporation was all powerful and reckless in the use of its power. In John W. Wheeler and William T. Howes, kindred spirits, the railroad company found two
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William 1. Hans
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men who would fight to the last ditch in the defense of their rights as they saw them and who when beaten at almost every point in the then subservient Con- necticut courts gathered their resources and carried their cause to the last tri- bunal, the Supreme Court of the United States. Before that august body the cor- poration was powerless, determination and justice prevailing easily over cor- porate greed and injustice. This was not only a great victory for Wheeler & Howes but a great moral victory and marked the final turning of the tide of public opinion, ending the subservience of the courts and legislative bodies to cor- porate influences.
There were other things in the life of William T. Howes besides the founding and development of a great commercial enterprise, but not so well known to the general public. Few knew of the kindly assistance he rendered to the struggling, for it was all done in his usual unostenta- tious way, only the recipients knowing of his benefactions. He took a quiet in- terest in city affairs, but never was iden- tified with political life. His advice was freely sought and as freely given, and he could have been easily elected mayor, yet he steadily refused that honor, though often pressed, but what he gained in free- dom from political turmoil and strife meant the city's loss in honest business- like administration.
William T. Howes was born at Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York, son of . Captain William B. Howes and Harriet (Thorpe) Howes. His life from his twelfth year was spent in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he died July 10, 1914, aged sixty-nine years and seven months, one of the best known veterans of busi- ness life. In 1868 he became a partner in the newly formed firm, Wheeler & Howes, and from its feeble start was one
of the active members and hardest work- ers. Success attended his efforts and Wheeler & Howes became the leading concern of its kind in the city. While the leading specialty was coal, Wheeler & Howes branched out into different lines and were also wholesale and retail dealers in flour, feed, mason's building materials, blue stone, drain pipe and fertilizers. Their warehouses, coal shutes and docks covered three acres, and a trade was es- tablished with all parts of Bridgeport and with surrounding localities. Their coal yards and large river frontage were on Sterling and Noble streets, a four-story brick building at the corner of Knowlton and Crescent streets was used for grain, flour and building materials, and a branch office maintained on Main street. All this did not come at once, but was the culmination of forty-six years of hard work by the two men whose names be- came familiar ones in Bridgeport, Wheeler & Howes. At the time of his death Mr. Howes was the honored head of the corporation, although he had sur- rendered many of the heavier burdens to his capable son, William E. Howes, vice- president of the company, and since his father's death treasurer.
This was the lifework of William T. Howes and well was it performed, a work that did not crumble and pass away, but founded on the rock, public confidence, was enduring in its nature. He was a man who with singleness of purpose pressed forward to the realization of his ambition and allowed nothing to divert him. He was emphatically a business man and of the best New England type, yet he was not a man of sordid views or sordid nature, but freely as he received freely he gave and his benefactions were many although little known. He won a host of friends among the worthiest and all admired the quiet, forceful man, who
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while strictly attending to his own busi- ness was never so much engrossed in his own affairs that he would not stop to aid a friend with advice if it was asked for. His judgment was sound and his advice valued, but he never obtruded his views upon others, neither did he ever refuse them to one who sought them. He was honorable and upright in all his dealings, mindful of the rights of others and cour- ageous in the defense of his own. The lesson of his life is plain, and teaches that industry and singleness of purpose lead to success. Mr. Howe enlisted (on a call of one hundred days) July 10, 1864, in Company B, Twenty-eighth Regiment, New York State Militia, served his full time, and was honorably discharged, No- vember 13, 1864.
Mr. Howes married, in 1871, Ida F. Hinckley. Mrs. Howes died June 10, 1905. They were the parents of two daughters and a son: Harriet F., mar- ried Dr. D. C. DeWolfe, and A. Florence Howes, an artist, both residing in Bridge- port ; William E. Howes, his father's business associate and successor, married Fannie Elizabeth Pierce, and they also live in Bridgeport.
IVES, William Birdsey, Business Man.
The passing of William Birdsey Ives, of Meriden, Connecticut, marked the re- moval of the last of the children of Wil- liam Jackson Ives from scenes with which the Ives family has been prominently associated for more than two centuries. Ives, one of the time-honored of New England names, was brought to the Mer- iden section by John Ives, son of William Ives, the latter born in England in 1607, and a settler in New Haven, Connecticut. in 1639. John Ives, son of William Ives, seems to have been the first of the family
born in New England. He was among the early settlers in that part of the town of Wallingford, now Meriden, Connecti- cut, and devoted his life to farming. His eight children were all born in Walling- ford. John (2) Ives, son of John (1) Ives, was born at the home farm in what is now Meriden, November 16, 1669, and died there in 1738. He married, December 6, 1693, Mary Gillette, and had a family of eleven sons and daughters, the sixth child a son, Lazarus Ives, born in what is now Meriden, February 19, 1703, married (first) January 5, 1740, Mabel Jerome. The given name of his second wife was Isabella, who was the mother of Amasa Ives, born in what is now Meriden, March 14, 1743, and there resided all his life. He married Rebecca Ward, who bore him a son, Watrous Ives, who mar- ried, September 15, 1809, Polly Yale, a descendant of Captain Thomas Yale, and reared a family of ten children, the last two, twin daughters, born February 28, 1833.
William Jackson Ives, third child of Watrous and Polly (Yale) Ives, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, July 28, 1815, died in the city of Meriden, May 16, 1887, and was buried in East Cemetery. Reared on the home farm, and educated in the public school, he passed an uneventful early life, but upon attaining manhood he forsook the farm and became a salesman for Parker & White, traveling by team through the South. That he was a good salesman may be inferred from the fact that he received $100 monthly and all ex- penses as compensation. Later he in- vested in a plant in Meriden and manufac- tured suspender webbing until burned out. He next established a general store in Benton, Alabama, which he conducted successfully alone, later admitting his brother. Stephen Ives, and William Sayre as partners. He spent most of his time
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