USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 39
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Wilton Hale Hunt, son of Henry Hale Hunt, was born May 12, 1854, in Glaston- bury, where he was actively engaged for many years in the meat business, and is now living retired at Lynn, Massachu- setts. He married, January 12, 1877, Sarah A. Stafford, daughter of John and Eva (Lowe) Stafford. Children : I. Henry H. 2. Herbert W., married Nellie A. Goodale, 1901 ; one child, Faith Louise.
Henry Hale Hunt, son of Wilton H. and Sarah A. (Stafford) Hunt, was born May 1, 1878, in Glastonbury, where his home has continued throughout his life. The public schools of the neighborhood supplied his early education, which has been supplemented by private study and the training which goes with a keen per- ception and a studious disposition. While yet a boy he was employed in Glazier's woolen mill of Glastonbury, and continued there until his nineteenth year. Follow- ing this, four years were spent as clerk in a grocery store, after which he entered the office of the National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford. Here opportunity for further study was opened to him, and while continuing his clerical labors his leisure hours were devoted to the study of law under the preceptorship of Judge Harrison B. Freeman, now deceased. Though somewhat handicapped by the lack of a college training, he was persist- ent and made such diligent application that in 1912 he was admitted to the Hart- ford county bar. For one year he con- tinued in the office of Harrison B. Free- man, son of his preceptor, and since 1913 has conducted an independent practice with flattering success. In 1915 he suc- ceeded to the practice of the late Joseph Barbour, who died in that year. Am- bitious, earnest, capable, industrious and possessing a pleasing personality, he has made many friends and is rapidly winning his way to eminence in his profession. In
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1915, Mr. Hunt purchased a handsome country residence at Glastonbury, where he makes his home throughout the year.
He represented the town of Glaston- bury in the Connecticut Legislature, 1913- 14; represented the Fourth Senatorial District in the State Senate, 1917-18, and is chairman of the committee on insur- ance and state prisons. He is interested in some of the business affairs of his native town. He was formerly president of the H. E. Olcott Company, which con- ducted an extensive mercantile business in Glastonbury until its establishment was recently burned out and the business dis- continued. He is a director of the River- side Paper Company, which is conduct- ing a prosperous business. Mr. Hunt is a member of the State and Hartford County Bar associations, and enjoys the regard of his brethren of the profession.
In May, 1898, he enlisted for service during the war with Spain, and was mus- tered as a member of Company I, First Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infan- try. This body was stationed for some time on Plum Island, and later was ordered to Camp Alger, Virginia, but was not called to active service. Mr. Hunt was detailed as regimental commissary clerk. Afterward he became a member of the Governor's Footguard of Connec- ticut, in which he served two years, clos- ing in 1916. He is a past master of Co- lumbia Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons, of South Glastonbury; and also of Elm Lodge, No. 31, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of that town. He is also affiliated with Hartford Lodge, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, of Hartford ; and Charles F. Burdette Camp, Veterans of the Spanish War; and is a member of the City and Hartford clubs of Hartford. Both he and his wife are communicants of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, of South Glastonbury.
Mr. Hunt married, June 27, 1900, Anna J Goodale, daughter of Henry A. Goodale, of Glastonbury, and they are the parents of a son and daughter : Donald H. Hunt, born February 12, 1907; and Barbara Elizabeth, born November 11, 1912.
PARKER, Francis Hubert,
Lawyer, Public Official.
Mr. Parker descends from Edward Ful- ler, John Howland and John Tilley, of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims; James Avery, John Elderkin, and William Lyon-all early settlers of Connecticut and Massa- chusetts. Three of his great-grand- fathers, John Parker, Nathan Avery and Josiah Lyon, were soldiers of the Revolu- tion. So much for heredity.
His environment was in keeping. His father, Ozias H. Parker, was a representa- tive in the General Assembly in 1851, 1854 and 1877: selectman for several years, first selectman for seven years; town auditor ; official school visitor; a man faithful to many trusts, a strict sense of honor, independent judgment, and strong common sense. His mother, Maria M. (Ayer) Parker, was a woman of strong character whose moral influence was exerted for the good of her son, as were the splendid qualities of the father. His home was a Connecticut farm whose acres he helped to cultivate, and there he built up the sound body that, as well as the clear brain, was needed for a strenuous life.
Francis Hubert Parker was born at East Haddam, Middlesex county, Connec- ticut, September 23, 1850, son of Ozias H. and Maria M. (Ayer) Parker, and a descendant of William Parker, Hartford, 1636; Saybrook, 1645. He exhausted the advantages of the public school, then in the intervals of farm work prepared for college by private study with Rev. Silas
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W. Robbins, pastor of the First Congre- gational Church in East Haddam. He worked hard, and when fully prepared entered Wesleyan University at Middle- town, Connecticut, and in 1874 was gradu- ated with the Bachelor's degree. The law was the ultimate goal of his ambition, and his next step toward the fruition of his hopes was to enter Yale Law School, and in 1876 he was graduated Bachelor of Laws. He taught school one term during his college and two terms during his law course.
He was admitted to the Connecticut bar and began practice in Hartford the year of his graduation from law school, and has there continued steadily and success- fully in his chosen profession. He has preferred the independence of a single office, and has practiced alone even when not filling positions that forbade a part- ner. He was prosecuting attorney for the city of Hartford, 1887-91, and again 1894- 95, and in 1915-17. He was referee in bankruptcy, 1898-1900, a position he re- signed when appointed United States At- torney for the District of Connecticut in 1900 by President Mckinley, serving until 1908. For two years, 1908-10, he was corporation counsel for the city of Hartford. He thoroughly understands the law and his joy is to elucidate its principles. His estimate of justice and of the law to establish and enforce it is based upon the belief that justice. being the supreme interest of mankind the law is a most worthy object of labor and study. As a speaker he is clear, logical and forcible, using nice distinctions and strong illustrations. His public professional service has been valuable and he has retired from every office with the entire respect of bench and bar. His private practice is conducted in all State and Federal courts of the district, his clientele of the best. An ardent Republican, Mr.
Parker has neither sought political office nor declined it when offered. He has pursued the path of duty, met every obligation of citizenship, squarely and fairly, sidesteps no responsibility. He represented East Haddam in the General Assembly in 1878 and 1880, and Hartford in 1909. He has been a delegate to many county, district and State party conven- tions. From 1896 to 1900 he was chair- man of the Hartford Republican Town Committee.
Many-sided are his interests, and in his desire to be of service he has assumed official responsibilities in many organiza- tions. He was president of the board of trustees of the Connecticut School for Boys, 1899-1909; is chairman of the library committee of the Connecticut His- torical Society ; registrar of the Connec- ticut Society of the Sons of the Revolu- tion ; member of the American Historical Association, the National Geographical Society, and the Phi Beta Kappa frater- nity. In religious preference he is a Con- gregationalist.
Mr. Parker married, December 9, 1891, Mrs. Adelaide (Leeds) Fowler, of New London, Connecticut.
WOODWARD, P. Henry,
Federal Official, Author, Banker.
P. Henry Woodward, of Hartford, Con- necticut, son of Ashbel and Emeline (Bicknell) Woodward, was born in Franklin, Connecticut, March 19, 1833. He is eighth in descent from Richard Woodward who embarked in the ship "Elizabeth" at Ipswich, England, April 10, 1634, and settled in Watertown, Mas- sachusetts. Ashbel Woodward, M. D., a physician of great skill, was also deeply versed in the antiquities and genealogies of New England : a sketch of him may be found in the "New England Historical
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Yours Truly RHenry Woodward
July 17, 1914
" HEMARY
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WIFE .LIONS
صداع
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
and Genealogical Register" for April, 1886.
The subject of this sketch graduated at Yale College in 1855, studied law in part at Harvard, and in 1860 opened an office in Savannah, Georgia, in company with William Robert Gignilliat, Jr., of that State. A few months after the outbreak of the war he returned north and never resumed the practice of law.
From September, 1862, to September, 1865, he was on the editorial staff of the "Hartford Courant." In September, 1865, he was appointed special agent of the Postoffice Department for Georgia. He reconstructed the service of that State so successfully that he was chosen to estab- lish the system of distribution of mails in railway post offices. By gradual exten- sions his field covered the country from the Ohio river to the Gulf of Mexico, and eastward to South Carolina and Georgia. The choice of routes and clerks was left entirely to him. The workers were picked from many States, solely for fitness, politi- cal influence being wholly debarred. Dur- ing his superintendency not one was dis- placed for any cause. Throughout merit was the only test.
With change of administration he was transferred to general duties, with head- quarters at Augusta, Georgia. Wide op- portunity for travel, work, adventure, and observation followed. In February, 1873, he was called to investigate the affairs of the post office in New York City. The discoveries then made put an end to an era of pillage. In the upturn, Thomas L. James became postmaster and introduced a radical reform. In 1874 President Grant appointed Hon. Marshall Jewell Post- master-General, and then Mr. Woodward was made chief of the corps of special agents. Only about a quarter of the force was highly competent, and upon this frac- tion devolved all matters of importance
Governor Jewell reconstructed the corps on the basis of efficiency, lopping off dead wood and bringing in the best material available. The body became so effective that other departments of the govern- ment, in difficult cases, invoked its aid. In correcting abuses the Postmaster-Gen- eral and Secretary of the Treasury acted in unison. Before the nominating con- vention of 1876 both became candidates for the presidency, and in due time Gen- eral Grant, disappointed in aspirations for a third term, dismissed both from his cabinet. Mr. Woodward went at the same time.
Shortly after the inauguration of Presi- dent Garfield in 1881, Thomas L. James, his appointee as Postmaster-General, tele- graphed Mr. Woodward to meet him in New York. At the interview he asked Mr. Woodward to become his confidential agent in Washington, and especially to investigate alleged star route frauds. As a result, he took charge of the task of un- earthing and arranging the evidence. By cunning manipulations, about two mil- lions of dollars per annum were added to the pay of the conspirators above the sums at which the contracts were origi- nally let. As the inquiry proceeded, fraudulent increases were cut off and the original figures restored. As these had been made purposely low to crush compe- tition, the restoration of the original rates was a severe punishment in itself. Pro- ceedings were instituted against the con- spirators, but, through bribery of jury- men, the guilty escaped conviction. An exhaustive account of the methods of the culprits and of the debauchery of the juries is contained in the records (which fill seven large volumes) of the two trials, and also in the testimony taken by a com- mittee of the House, vide the "Forty- eighth Congress, Ist Session, House of Representatives, Misc. Doc. 38, Part 2."
Conn-3-18
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In his testimony before the said commit- tee, Attorney-General Brewster declared : "I think without Mr. Woodward these cases never could have been instituted. I think he was, to use one word, invalu- able. He is a man of remarkable intelli- gence ; he is a man of great purity of char- acter ; he is an educated gentleman. In all my life, in an experience of over forty- six years of legal practice, I never have met with a man who could assist a lawyer better than Mr. Woodward." With the advent of President Cleveland, Mr. Wood- ward left the service of the government permanently.
In 1888, discouraged by the local out- look, Hartford organized a Board of Trade, with Mr. Woodward as secretary. Leading men of the city became actively interested in the enterprise. Facts col- lected and published revealed the latent · strength of the situation, and were fol- lowed by a rapid change from distrust to confidence. In the next ten years the city gained fifty per cent. in population, and the fame of her institutions, both finan- cial and industrial, has become world- wide.
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Mr. Woodward is now (1917) president of the Dime Savings Bank ; vice-president of the Connecticut General Life Insur- ance Company ; secretary of the board of trustees, Trinity College ; and director in several other corporations. He wrote : "Guarding the Mails," 1876 (later edition entitled "Secret Service of the P. O. De- partment"); "Hartford, its Institutions and Industries," 1889; "Centennial His- tory of the Hartford Bank," 1892; "Insur- ance in Connecticut," 1897; "Manufac- tures in Hartford," 1897; also historical addresses, sketches, etc. Mr. Woodward's "Manufactures in Hartford" was included in "The New England States" (D. H. Hurd & Company, 1897) ; so also was his "Insurance in Connecticut," which later
was published separately in bookform, and is now a standard, placing into perma- nent printed record important historical facts that but for his research would prob -. ably never have been preserved in authen- tic detail. He delivered the address at the unveiling of the statue of Colonel Thomas Knowlton on the State Capitol grounds, in November, 1895. The honor- ary degree of Master of Arts was con- ferred upon Mr. Woodward in 1900 by Trinity College.
He married, September 11, 1867, Mary, daughter of Charles Smith, of South Windham, Connecticut. Children : Helen, wife of Rev. Stephen H. Granberry ; Charles Guilford, financial secretary of Connecticut General Life Insurance Com- pony.
MITCHELL, Charles Elliott, Ph. B., LL. B.,
Attorney, United States Commissioner.
Charles Elliott Mitchell, a native of Bristol, Connecticut, and for many years in legal practice in New Britain and New York City, gained many honors during his noteworthy life. By his brilliancy in the courts and by his profound under- standing and masterful interpretation of the law, especially in relation to patents, he attained national distinction, being acknowledged as one of the nation's ablest authorities on patent law. He conducted the prosecution or defence of many cele- brated causes involving patents of inter- national importance, and so convincingly made manifest his preëminence in that de- partment of law that President Harrison in 1889 invited him to take office under the federal administration as United States Commissioner of Patents.
Charles Elliott Mitchell was born in Bristol, Connecticut, on May 11, 1837, the son of George H. and Lurene (Hooker)
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Mitchell, the former a merchant, and at one time postmaster of Bristol, and the latter a direct descendant of Thomas Hooker, the famous Puritan preacher, pastor of the First Church at Hartford, and popularly regarded as the founder of Connecticut. Ira Hooker, maternal grand- father of the late Charles Elliott Mitchell, was another of his distinguished ances- tors; he was a manufacturer at Bristol, and for several sessions sat in the State Legislature as representative from Bris- tol. In the paternal line, Charles Elliott Mitchell was the descendant of one Wil- liam Mitchell, who came from Scotland and settled in Bristol, Connecticut, shortly before the Revolution. His paternal grandfather was George Mitchell, a man of strong personality and upright life, a leading manufacturer and at one time a State Senator. Mrs. Lurene (Hooker) Mitchell, mother of Charles E. Mitchell, was a lady of much refinement and con- siderable intellectual attainments, and she exercised much influence over the intellec- tual life of her son, who early gave indica- tion of studious inclinations. This desire for knowledge his mother encouragingly fostered, and although the boy to some ex- tent engaged in business activities in con- nection with his father's mercantile busi- ness, he received every encouragement to fit himself for more responsible undertak- ings; and having exhibited an innate tal- ent for research, especially into the intri- cacies of the law, it was decided to point his studies in that direction. The litera- ture within his reach, and also in con- sonance with his desire, was for the most part masterpieces of English composition, such as "Macaulay's Essays," and seri- ous works of inspiring moment, such as biographies of statesmen. The youth in- dustriously performed the business duties set for his accomplishment, but his mo- ments of leisure were few, as most of his
spare moments from business were given to close study, so as to prepare himself for entry to college. His power of elocution was strengthened by his practice of "re- citing sometimes to the principal of the high school, and at other times to one of the clergymen of the village." In course of time, he was sent to Williston Semi- nary, where he remained for a year. In 1858 he became a matriculate at Brown University, and there followed the course which gained him in 1861, when he gradu- ated, the degree of Bachelor of Philoso- phy. Having by that time definitely re- solved to qualify for admittance to the legal profession, Charles Elliott Mitchell then became a student of law, although he was not then able to do more than to enter upon private researches into its fundamentals, as his days were fully occu- pied by the responsibilities of the educa- tional position to which he had been ap- pointed, that of principal of the Bristol High School. However, at the first op- portunity, he proceeded to the Albany Law School, and there graduated in 1864, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Mr. Mitchell was admitted to the bar of Hartford county, and immediately opened a law office in New Britain, some years later forming partnership with the late Judge Frank L. Hungerford, and thus establishing the firm of Mitchell & Hungerford. The firm had historic con- nection with the city of New Britain, its members having been entrusted with the drafting of the city's original charter, and later for many years acting as its coun- sellers in law. To Mr. Mitchell belonged the honor of being the first city attorney of New Britain. Another distinction which influenced the whole trend of his subsequent professional activities soon came to Mr. Mitchell. Having a native interest and pride in the industrial prog- ress of the State of Connecticut and in the
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standing of its inventors in the world of mechanics, he undertook exhaustive re- search into the bases of patent law, and decided to place his knowledge at the dis- posal of those having inventions they de- sired to protect. Eventually, this depart- ment of law practice occupied his whole time. It has been stated that he was the first attorney in Connecticut to make pat- ent law his specialty, and he soon came into prominence by his able conduct of patent and trademark cases; in fact, it gained him a national reputation, strength- ened by his frequent presence before the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Mitchell's life achievements are referred to in "Men of Mark in Connecticut," and particular reference is therein made to his accomplishments in executive capacity in the United States Patent Office. Into that record has been placed the statement that his appointment to the office of United States Commissioner of Patents in 1889 by President Harrison, was "in response to the general desire of the pat- ent lawyers of the country," who un- doubtedly knew his worth. It was also stated that Mr. Mitchell conducted the affairs of the Patent Office "on sound business principles," introduced several reforms, and "brought the work of issuing patents into a condition equal to the pres- sure of the incoming applications, a most important step." During his national service, Mr. Mitchell's private practice suffered, and finally, in 1891, he was com- pelled, by the demand for his services in his private professional capacity, to re- sign from the federal administration. He immediately thereafter resumed his pri- vate practice at New Britain, and in con- nection with his New Britain office found it necessary to open a law office in New York City. He practiced assiduously until 1902, gaining added prestige in pat- ent law by his handling of the important cases placed with him. His New York
City practice brought him into promi- nence in litigation involving the inven- tions of such eminent inventors as Edison, Tesla and Thomson, and among the cele- brated cases with which during his active practice he was connected as attorney, may be noted the Tucker Bronze, the Rogers Trade Mark, and the Brush Stor- age cases. While in New York, Attor- ney Mitchell was principally retained by the General Electric Company, and did good work in many cases relating to Edi- son's incandescent lamp, and other elec- trical inventions.
It is believed that his retirement from New York practice was because of failing eyesight, and after again taking up per- manent residence in New Britain he lived in semi-retirement, allowing himself to become concerned in only the more im- portant problems of patent law set before him for elucidation.
Mr. Mitchell was too fully occupied with his professional duties to be able to devote much time to political questions and activities. However, in his early years of practice, having more unoccupied moments than latterly, he to some extent entered into public and political life. Dur- ing the years 1880-81 he sat in the Con- necticut General Assembly as representa- tive from New Britain; in 1880 he was appointed to the chairmanship of the State committee on corporations ; and in 1881 was an influential member of the judiciary committee. He also took ener- getic and forceful part in the presidential campaigns of 1884 and 1888, taking the public platform enthusiastically in the interests of the Republican party. His understanding of many important phases of industrial affairs brought him into executive office in many industrial cor- perations, among them the presidency of the Stanley Rule and Level Company, of New Britain.
Mr. Mitchell was thorough in all his
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actions, and succeeded in life because he made no move or utterance until he had, by research and study, become convinced that the basis was sound and logical. Among the professional, academic, and social organizations with which Mr. Mitchell was affiliated were: The Amer- ican Bar Association; the Association of the Bar of New York City ; the Hartford County Bar; the Century Association ; the University Club, New Britain Club, New England Society, and the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of New York City.
After his death, some friends of Mr. Mitchell placed into permanent printed record the more important of the ad- dresses he had delivered during the course of his active life. The volume not only emphasizes the profundity of his research and the diversity of his knowledge, but it indicates the classical trend of his mind, and also makes clear that which was probably the characteristic most evident in him-his strict adherence to the right, as the fundamental of all things worth while.
Charles Elliott Mitchell married, in 1866. Cornelia A., daughter of Abiram and Sophorina (Burt) Chamberlain, and sis- ter of ex-Governor Chamberlain. Mr. Mitchell died on March 17, 1911, at New Britain, where his widow still resides. Their children were: I. Robert C., who entered the legal profession, and is now in practice in New York City. 2. Charles H., who is clerk of the city and police courts of New Britain. 3. George Henry, in legal practice in the City of New York.
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