USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
Governor Holcomb is a man of com- manding presence and engaging person- ality, generous in all things and most un- ostentatious. His powers of observation are keen, he is an able analyst and synthe- sist, goes quickly to the root of a problem, possessing that executive quality that en- ables him to dispatch a large volume of business without waste of time. He has a deeply artistic nature, is a lover of the best in poetry and literature, is fond of the great "out-of-doors" and finds pleasure with gun and rod in the woods, by lake- side or stream. As a lawyer and jurist he proved his learning and wisdom, his love of justice, his sense of fairness, his conscientious regard for the sacred rights of others. He is now past the period al- lotted to man by the Scripture, but in thought, heart, action and deed he is but in his prime.
Governor Holcomb prides himself upon his New England ancestry, tracing it to Thomas Holcomb, born in Wales in 1601, who came to Massachusetts in 1629, set- tling at Dorchester. He was made a freeman in 1634, locating at Windsor, Hartford county, Connecticut, where he cleared and tilled until his death at Po-
quanock, September 7, 1657. He repre- sented Windsor and Hartford at the framing of the constitution of Connec- ticut Colony in 1639, and it is fitting that now, two and three-quarter centuries later, a lineal descendant should be charged with the enforcement of the pro- visions of the constitution of the State, born of the colonial constitution Thomas Holcomb helped to frame down through the intervening generations. Holcombs have been men of public spirit, repre- sentatives of the best thought, prominent in public, professional and business life.
Governor Holcomb's father, Carlos Holcomb, was a farmer, strong of in- tellect, sound in judgment, taking more than a passing interest in public affairs. He served in the local offices of select- men, assessor and on the board of relief. His sterling character was greatly appre- ciated in his community, and many were the estates he was selected to settle as executor and administrator. He was noted for the scrupulous care he exercised in administering such trusts, and for the way in which he safeguarded the interests of the heirs, particularly the children of tender years. Carlos Holcomb married Adah Bushnell, a women of splendid mental powers, noble womanly character and charm, whose influence was always exerted for good, not only for the good of her own household but for the good of her community.
Their son, Marcus H. Holcomb, was born at New Hartford, Litchfield county, Connecticut, November 28, 1844, conse- quently he is now (1917) in his seventy- third year. His boyhood and youth were spent in attendance at public school and as his father's farm assistant, thus far there being little to distinguish his life from that of the other farmer boys of the country. But he was ambitious to secure a college education and made suitable
9
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
preparation at Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham. This ambition, however, was not to be realized, as he unduly exposed him- self on a very hot day and suffered a sun- stroke that so affected his health that col- lege study would have been most unwise. But he had laid a good foundation, and for a number of years he taught school, in time regaining full health and strength.
During that period of his life he studied law, under the direction of Judge Jared B. Foster, an eminent member of the Con- necticut bar. In 1871 he had so far pro- gressed in his studies that he applied for admission to the bar, passed the required examination and was licensed to practice. He located at Southington, there begin- ning practice, winning in a comparatively short time honorable rank among the leaders of the county bar. His naturally sympathetic nature responded to a recital of a client's woes, and he made that client's cause his own and prepared it for presentation with greatest care, omitting no detail. Learned in the law and skill- ful in its application, his ability to analyze a case and marshal his facts and argu- ments in a logical forceful form rendered him most effective as an advocate before a jury.
In 1876 he was elected probate judge for the Southington district. and was also judge of the Southington town court from the time the court was instituted until his election as attorney general. In 1893 he was elected treasurer of the Hartford Company, serving until 1908. also serving as State Senator, elected from the Second District. He was a member of the Consti- tutional Convention of 1902, a member of the Legislature in 1905 and speaker of the House. also serving on many State commissions at different times. In 1907 he was elected attorney general of the State, his plurality being 21,000 votes. He served in that office until 1010, then was
appointed a judge of the Superior Court. In 1914, having reached the age limit of seventy years fixed by law, he was re- tired. In November, 1914, he was elected Governor of the State, and in 1916 was re- elected as Governor, an office that he is eminently qualified for and most honor- ably fills, his long experience in public affairs, added to executive ability of the highest order, giving him perfect control over every detail of his high office. Digni- fied, imposing and courtly, he is the ideal of a chief executive, impressing all with whom he comes in contact as perfectly fitted for the office he holds. Of all the Governors Connecticut has had in recent years no man has been so absolutely in- dependent of the machine in making his selections for office as Governor Holcomb. Worthy Democrats have faired as well as Republicans, which fact made some of the latter discontented, but the State did not suffer and practical civil service has been maintained despite the sorrows of those who fret over the halt given to a brand too often theoretic.
It is significant that during the last weeks of January, 1916, attention was called to Governor Holcomb's attitude towards a renomination, as defined by Governor Holcomb himself, and not as an inference from his language by others who cannot be considered as entirely dis- interested. It will be remembered that Governor Holcomb said two years previ- ous that he had no ambition to be Gov- ernor and that as between retirement to private life, when he left the bench on his reaching the age limit of seventy years, and election to the office of Gov- ernor, he preferred the home life. But in spite of that declaration he was nomi- nated in the belief that he could do more than any other candidate to save the party from defeat. History, including political history, has a habit of repeating itself.
TO
THE TEN IS DOD C IIIGARY
ASTOR, LENOX ILDEN FOUND. .. NS
Edward 71 Xwith
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Judge Holcomb was nominated against his expressed wishes and he yielded his wishes to the call of his party when he accepted the nomination. It is well known that the leaders of the Republican party gave an unwilling assent to the proposition to nominate him. He was not their choice and he is not their choice for another term. He was in political sympathy with the Republican party, but not in partisan accord with the managers. The fact is the machine permitted the nomination of Governor Holcomb in 1914 because he was the most available man and not because they preferred him to others whose candidacies appealed with greater force to their sympathies. The people of Connecticut always show their inherent regard for law by confidence in the administrators of it. Judge Holcomb was on the bench giving satisfaction as judge, and he enjoyed the confidence of the State in his integrity. It was to secure for their party the advantage of this popular confidence that the Republi- can leaders nominated him. Fear of de- feat prevented the selection of the ma- chine favorite. Until 1888 Governor Hol- comb was identified with the Democratic party, but in that year he transferred his allegiance to the Republican party, be- lieving it more in accord with economic principles which he deems better for the interests of the nation, since that year he has stood squarely with the party and is one of its strongest advocates.
He has not confined his activities to strictly professional or political lines, but his capacity for large affairs has been recognized in the management of corpo- rations, financial and commercial. Among such the more important are : The South- ington Savings Bank, of which he is presi- dent : the Southington National Bank, Southington Hardware Company, the Peck Slow and Wilcox Company, and the
Aetna Nut Company, all of which he serves as director.
He is past master of Northern Star Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma- sons; a thirty-second degree Mason of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, a Knight of Pythias, an Elk, a Red Man, an American Mechanic and a Forester. He has been chairman of the board of trustees of the First Baptist Church, of Southington, and for thirty years was superintendent of the Sunday school. His religion is of the practical kind that finds its expression in the practice of the Golden Rule rather than in creed distinctions.
He married, in 1872, Sarah Carpenter Bennett, who died in 1901.
So a long life has been passed, that since his admission to the bar in 1871 has been lived in the public eye. There is nothing in his official life as it is reviewed by his constituents that causes them to regret the trust they have reposed in him, on the contrary the last public expression of their approval is of such recent occur- rence that it leads to the belief that did not the law forbid they would gladly re- tain his services. On his part Governor Holcomb can indulge in a retrospective view with great satisfaction, knowing he has been true to his obligations, faithful in the performance of every duty, true to his own conscience and true to those who have trusted him.
SMITH, Edward Wier, M. D.,
Physician, Surgeon.
For thirty-five years Dr. Smith has practiced his profession in the city of Meriden, Connecticut, and there has again disproved the old saying that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country," for he has risen in his native city to the highest professional standing.
II
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Next to his affection for Meriden, a city sacred in its associations, is his deep in- terest in Yale, an institution which was long the goal of his hopes and which later became his alma mater. Circumstance de- creed that his professional education should be obtained elsewhere, but Yale Medical School was his choice and one year was spent there. His A. B. came from Yale, and in the athletic records of the university his name appears as a member of the varsity baseball team of 1876-77-78-79.
Dr. Smith is a descendant of James Smith, born in England, who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony before 1639, as in that year he was a proprietor of Weymouth. The line of descent is through his son, Nathaniel Smith, born in Weymouth in 1639; his son, Nathaniel (2) Smith, who moved to Hartford, Con- necticut, and was one of the early settlers of Litchfield; his son, Jacob Smith, a lieutenant of the Revolution; his son, David Smith, born at the Litchfield home- stead; his son, David (2) Smith, father of Dr. Edward Wier Smith.
David (2) Smith was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, April 16, 1822, died in Meri- den, May 28, 1902. He learned the stone- mason's trade, and lived at Litchfield un- til 1854, when he moved to Meriden, which city was his home for half a cen- tury. He conducted a successful con- tracting business until the years grew heavy, then retired after a long. active and honorable life. He was a Republican in politics, a member of the First Con- gregational Church, and an ardent sup- porter of the temperance cause. He mar- ried, November 22, 1848, Fidelia Parker, daughter of Daniel and Ruth (Hull) Parker, of Meriden, granddaughter of Jesse Hull, a Revolutionary soldier, and his wife, Hannah (Preston) Hull, daugh- ter of Sergeant Jehiel Preston, also a
Revolutionary soldier. On November 22, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Smith celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding day and four years more they journeyed life's pathway together ere the bond was broken by the death of her husband. Mrs. Smith survived him until December 6, 1905. They were the parents of four daughters and two sons: Nettie, married Julius Augur, of Meriden; Frank D., of Meriden; Edward Wier, mentioned be- low; Ella Isabel, of Meriden; Jennie I., of Meriden ; Frances E., died October 27. 1898.
Dr. Edward Wier Smith was born in Meriden, October 17, 1854, and there yet resides. After completing public school courses in Meriden, he prepared at Hop- kins' Grammar School in New Haven, and in 1874 entered Yale University. whence he was graduated A. B., class of '78, a member of that class being William H. Taft, later President of the United States. He attained class distinction at Yale, took a lively interest in athletics, was a member of the varsity baseball team and prominent in other phases of university life. Having decided upon the medical profession, he again chose Yale and for a year was a student in the medi- cal department. His study was inter- rupted by circumstances beyond his con- trol, and another year was spent in teach- ing. He then resumed study in the medi- cal department of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and two years later, in 1882, was graduated wtih the degree of M. D. Ten years later he supplemented his study by a course at the Post-Gradu- ate Medical School, New York City. After graduating from McGill University in 1882, Dr. Smith located in Meriden, be- gan practice, and has won high standing as an honorable, skillful physician and surgeon, his clientele large and influential. He is senior member of the medical and
12
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
surgical staffs of Meriden Hospital, is an honored fellow of the American College of Surgeons, member of the American Academy of Medicine, the American Medical Association, Connecticut State Medical Society, and ex-president of the New Haven County Medical Society. His interest is deep in all that pertains to his profession, and no advance in treatment or method is allowed to pass without its virtues being closely tested. He is held in high regard by his professional brethren and is constantly sought in consultation. In the medical societies named he holds honorable rank, his election as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons coming as well deserved appreciation from that distinguished body of surgeons. In Free Masonry Dr. Smith holds all de- grees of the York and Scottish rites up to and including the thirty-second. He is a master mason of Meriden Lodge. No. 77, a Companion of Keystone Chapter, a Sir Knight of St. Elmo Commandery, of the York Rite, and belongs to all bodies of Lafayette Consistory, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite. Through his Revo- lutionary ancestors he has gained admis- sion to the patriotic order, Sons of the American Revolution; is a Republican in politics, and a member of the First Congregational Church.
Dr. Smith married, October 14, 1885. Helen B. Caldwell Rice, of Meriden, daughter of Oliver and Abbie C. (Cald- well) Rice, her mother a daughter of Cap- tain John Caldwell, of Ipswich, Massa- chusetts, of Welsh ancestry, and his wife, Eunice (Stanwood) Caldwell, daughter of Isaac and Eunice (Hodgkins) Stanwood. Oliver Rice was a descendant of Robert Royce, who was made a freeman of Bos- ton in 1634, but later came to Connecticut, living in Stratford and New London. His son, Samuel Royce, settled with his sons at Wallingford, where he died in 1711. He was succeeded by his son, Samuel (2)
Royce, and he by his son, Ezekiel Royce, a farmer, large landowner and officer in the French and Indian War. His com- mission as lieutenant was derived from King George II. and is one of the oldest documents preserved in the State. He died September 4, 1765, aged sixty-six. His son, Ezekiel (2) Royce, was born on the homestead in Wallingford, October 15, 1739, became a large landed proprietor and a well known citizen. He was a soldier of the Revolution, fought at Lex- ington, Bunker Hill and Long Island, and all through the struggle for liberty bore an active part. He died September 3, 1808. He married Lydia Hough, and was succeeded on the homestead by his son, Ezekiel (3) Rice (modern spelling), born October 8, 1777, died September 14, 1849, a farmer all his life. He married (second) Bethiah, widow of Dr. Theophilus Hall. Oliver Rice, son of Ezekiel (3) Rice, was born in the Rice homestead in the Han- over district of Windsor, November 17, 1819, died February 26, 1886. After a brief period spent in Ohio, he returned to the old home and there spent his life, a farmer and a citizen highly esteemed. He married, August 27, 1846, Abbie C. Cald- well, a lady of rare culture and refinement. They were the parents of three sons and two daughters, the younger, Helen B. Caldwell Rice, the wife of Dr. Edward W. Smith.
Dr. and Mrs. Smith have a daughter, Marion Rice Smith, and a son, David Parker Smith, born May 7, 1889, a gradu- ate of Yale, A. B., class of 1910, Yale Medical School, M. D., 1912, married Evelyn Lewis, and has a son, Edward Rice Smith.
SMITH, Frank Daniel,
Merchant, Financier.
The ancestry of Frank D. Smith ap- pears in the preceding sketch of his
13
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
brother, Dr. E. W. Smith. It is sufficient to say here that the promise of a worthy ancestry has been fulfilled in the life of Mr. Smith, who has been a useful and successful citizen of Meriden throughout his active life.
He was born July 22, 1852, at Litch- field, Connecticut, son of David and Fi- delia (Parker) Smith, and was about two years of age when his parents removed to Meriden, where they settled, and where the son has made his home and achieved a high standing while gaining success in business. The public schools of his day furnished him with a meagre education, and when sixteen years of age he set out to make his way in the great commercial world. His first employment was with the firm of Bowditch & Company, furni- ture dealers of Meriden, with whom he re- mained nearly ten years, during which time, by diligent attention and industry, he was enabled to master all the details of the business as conducted by that firm. In 1878 the firm was dissolved, and Mr. Smith associated with himself Mr. J. C. Twitchell, and they took over the busi- ness, under the firm name of F. D. Smith & Company. After some years of very successful trade, the name of the firm was changed to Smith & Twitchell, and the partnership continued twenty years. At the end of that time, in 1898, Mr. Smith purchased the interest of his partner, and continued the business under his own name until his retirement from active life in 1913, the business now being conducted by his son-in-law, William E. Graham. Besides building up a large business in Meriden, Mr. Smith extended his interests by investment elsewhere, and is now president of the Smith, Tompkins Com- pany, house furnishers of Torrington, Connecticut. He is also a director of the Puritan Trust Company, and trustee of the Meriden Savings Bank of Meriden.
Mr. Smith has ever been active in pro- moting the social life of the community, and has been very active in the fraternity of Free Masons, in which he has acquired all the degrees of the York and Scottish rites up to and including the thirty-sec- ond degree. He is a master Mason of Meriden Lodge, No. 77, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; a companion of Key- stone Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; a sir knight of St. Elmo Commandery, of the York Rite; and is affiliated with all the bodies of Lafayette Consistory, An- cient Accepted Scottish Rite. Through his Revolutionary ancestors he has gained admission to the patriotic order, Sons of the American Revolution, and is a mem- ber of the Colonial Club of Meriden. He is a member of the First Congregational Church of Meriden, and is one of the active and progressive supporters of the Republican party in political matters. He is popular among his associates, and en- joys the friendship of a wide sphere of acquaintances.
Mr. Smith married (first) October 12, 1875, Florence J. Powers, born October 31, 1856, daughter of Luther A. and Libbie J. (Clark) Powers, of Meriden. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of a daughter. Edna W., now the wife of William E. Graham, and the mother of a daughter, Lorraine S. Graham. Mrs. Florence J. Smith died September 29, 1909. Mr. Smith married (second) June 25, 1911, Mrs. Ida Booth Wilcox, daughter of Wil- liam M. and Lois W. (Hall) Booth.
OAKEY, Peter Davis,
Congressman.
The career of the Hon. Peter Davis Oakey, of Hartford, Connecticut, has been a most varied and successful one, and exhibits a noteworthy union of char- acteristics and abilities, the factors in a
14
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
personality at present exerting a marked influence upon the public life of the com- munity. Although not a native of Hart- ford, Mr. Oakey has resided in that city for upwards of thirty years and identified himself most closely with every depart- ment of its life.
The Oakey family is of Huguenot ori- gin, and was founded in this country by two brothers who came to the American colonies, as did thousands of their co-re- ligionists, to escape the oppression which they suffered at home following the revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. The name was spelled differently in those days, the form used by the brothers being Oukey, apparently. The records of these progenitors of the Ameri- can Oakeys are very meagre, their first names even being unknown. It is known, however, that one of them settled on Long Island and that he was the ancestor of Oakey Hall, while the other made his way to Albany, New York, and from there to New Brunswick, New Jersey. This brother was the great-grandfather of Peter D. Oakey and it has come down as a tradition that he served for six months in the Revolutionary army as a drummer boy. This the present genera- tion has from Philip Oakey, a son of the gentleman in question, who told it di- rectly to his grandson, Peter Davis Oakey. An exhaustive search of the records of that time, however, fails to dis- close anything of the sort but it is be- lieved that this may be explained by the fact that he was so young at the time of service that his enlistment was somewhat irregular and that no entry of any sort was made of it. However this may be, there is no doubt that he lived most of his life in the New Jersey town of New Brunswick, and was prominent in the life of the community. With the next gener- ation all the uncertainty vanishes, how-
ever, and the life and career of Philip Oakey is recorded in detail.
He was born in Albany, New York, but accompanied his father when a mere child to New Brunswick, New Jersey, and there grew to manhood. He learned the trade of cabinet maker and followed that occupation for the remainder of his life. He was married to a Miss DeMott, and died about 1864.
His son, John L. Oakey, was a native of New Brunswick, New Jedsey, where lie was born about 1837, and lived to the age of sixty-three years. He was a man of considerable enterprise and carried on a number of separate occupations, rising to a position of prominence in the com- munity. He was educated in the local public schools, and later in life became a farmer. He also engaged in a mercantile venture and owned a mill which he oper- ated successfully. He entered politics while still a young man, and eventually became a power in local affairs and repre- sented his district in the New Jersey Leg- islature, in 1880. He was married to Sarah E. Wilson, of Millstone, New Jer- sey, a daughter of John Wilson, of that place, and to them were born three chil- dren as follows : John W., now deceased ; Peter Davis, the subject of this sketch ; and Ella C., now Mrs. John Remsen, of Millstone.
Peter Davis Oakey was born February 25, 1860, at Millstone, Somerset county, New Jersey. He received his name from his paternal uncle, the Rev. Peter Davis Oakey, a graduate of Rutgers College, and a Presbyterian clergyman who was located for some thirty years at Jamaica, Long Island. His nephew, the Mr. Oakey with whom we are concerned, passed the early years of his life in his native place, engaged in the characteristic occupations and pastimes of childhood, chief among the former being the acquirement of an
15
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
education. This he obtained at the local public schools, and upon completing it engaged in the milling business with his father until the year 1882. He was then twenty-two years of age, and about the same time his father purchased a large farm in the eastern part of Maryland on the coast. This the young man and his brother were put in charge of and re- mained upon it for about two years, bring- ing it to a state of cultivation. Mr. Oakey then returned to New Jersey and there occupied himself upon the family farm until the year 1886. The young man, however, was ambitious to take part in the affairs of a larger community than that of the rural region of his birth, and accordingly sought a connection with some mercantile concern. In this he was successful, and at the age of twenty-six years was given charge of the New Eng- land branch of the Mapes Fertilizer Com- pany, coming to Hartford to establish his headquarters. This was the beginning of his long and close association with that city in business and politics, and from that time it became his permanent home. The post was a most responsible one for a man of Mr. Oakey's years, the Mapes concern being one of the largest in that line of business in the country, but he proved himself fully equal to the task and remained in charge for five years, de- veloping the business in his territory to great proportions. So successful was he that the attention of other mercantile concerns were drawn to him, and in 1891 he was offered the managership of the Hartford Lavine Company, which he ac- cepted and continued to hold until that large business was sold four years later. It was at this time that Mr. Oakey en- tered an entirely different line of busi- ness, which eventually proved the door through which he entered politics. He had considerable ability as a writer and
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.