USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 44
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Dr. Bull has identified himself with the affairs of both Waterbury and Nau- gatuck, making his home in the former named place, but conducting his princi- pal practice at the later place. He is also keenly interested in many other aspects of the life of these cities, and takes as active a part therein as his exact- ing professional duties will permit. He is a Republican in politics, but has held no public office except in connection with city educational matters, in which he is deeply interested. He is a member and has been for several years president of the Naugatuck Board of Education ; is a trustee of the Naugatuck Savings Bank, and was president of the New Haven County Medical Society in 1912. Dr. Bull is a prominent Mason, and belongs to Shepherd Lodge, No. 78, Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; Allerton Chapter, No. 39, Royal Arch Masons; and Clark Com- mandery, No. 7, Knights Templar. He is also a member of Centennial Lodge, No. 100, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows; Gavel Lodge, No. 18, Knights of Pythias ; Naugatuck Tribe, Improved Or- der of Red Men; Naugatuck Golf Club; and is a director and chairman of the athletic committee of the Young Men's Christian Association of Naugatuck. Dr. Bull attends the Congregational church at Naugatuck, but it is probable that if he were asked what his religion was that he would respond that he was an evolu- tionist. He is a man of broad mind in this matter, and does not subscribe to a dogmatic theology.
Dr. Bull married, February 19, 1891, at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Clara Belle Chapman, of that city. She was born in Pittsfield. April 1, 1870, daughter of Amos and Elizabeth (Hart) Chapman, the former named a farmer of that town. Children : 1. David Chapman, born April 26, 1892; graduated from Yale Univer-
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sity in 1912, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and in 1916 from Columbia Medical School, taking his degree of Doc- tor of Medicine, besides that of Master of Arts; he was connected with the Medi- cal Corps of Squadron A, New York National Guard, during the mobiliza- tion of the New York militia in the re- cent Mexican troubles, and was stationed on the border; is now surgeon in the Twelfth New York Infantry, with rank of lieutenant ; at present (1917) is an in- terne in Bellevue Hospital. 2. Margaret Emily, born April 22, 1894; a graduate of Wellesley College, class of 1916. 3. Elizabeth DeForest, born May 26, 1898; was valedictorian of the Naugatuck High School in 1916, and that same year en- tered Wellesley College.
Dr. Bull is a fine example of that ster- ling type of character that has become associated in the popular mind with New England and which has so potently in- fluenced the tone of American ideals and institutions. Honesty and sincerity are the foundation of his character, a certain austerity of conscience, perhaps, which is never exercised fully, however, save in judging himself, and tempered in its action towards all others with a wide tolerance of human frailties and short- comings. A strong and practical ethical sense, a happy union of idealism with a practical knowledge of the affairs of the world and strong domestic instincts -- these are the marks of the best type of New Englander, and these are an accurate description of the character of Dr. Bull as his friends know him, and in his deal- ings with all men.
KIMBALL, Arthur Reed, Journalist.
Arthur Reed Kimball was born Febru- ary 1, 1855, in New York City, a son of
J. Merrill and Elizabeth C. Kimball, of New York City, where Mr. Kimball, Sr., was a successful merchant. He is a de- scendant of John Carver, one of the lead- ers of the Pilgrim Fathers and the first Governor of Plymouth Colony, and of Jonathan Edwards, a celebrated Ameri- can divine and metaphysician.
Arthur Reed Kimball studied for a time at the Hopkins Grammar School, in 1874 entered Yale University, where he took the academic course, and gradnated with the class of 1877. He then studied for a year in Yale Law School, spent an- other year in the law office of F. H. Win- ston, in Chicago, and was admitted to the bar of that city in 1879. He resided in the west for three years, during which time he had his first experience in news- paper work. The year following his ad- mission to the bar he taught in a school, but he began his life work in Des Moines, Iowa, where he accepted the editorship of the "State Register." Later, in 1881, seeking for a wider sphere for his talents, he went to St. Louis and accepted the position of reporter in order to gain prac- tical experience. A few months later in the same year he returned to the east, locating in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he became associate editor of the Waterbury "American." Later he became editor of the paper, in which capacity he is still serving. Mr. Kimball is a well known contributor to many magazines and other periodicals, namely, "The Cen- tury," "Scribners," "The Atlantic Month- ly," "Harpers," "The North American Review," "The Outlook," and "The Inde- pendent." He is the author of the "Blue Ribbon Life of F. E. Murphy." He de- livered a series of lectures on journalism at Yale University. He is a Congrega- tionalist in religion, and an Independent in politics. He is a member of the execu- tive committee of the Civil Service Re-
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form Association of Connecticut, a mem- ber of the Century Club of New York, the Society of Colonial Wars, the Water- bury Club, of which he has been presi- dent for many years, and a member of the finance committee of Gaylord Farm, the State Sanitarium.
Mr. Kimball married, May 15, 1895, Mary E. Chase, daughter of Augustus S. Chase, of Waterbury, the founder of the Chase Manufacturing Company. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball are the parents of two chil- dren: Elizabeth Chase, born 1900, and Chase, born 1902.
BURNES, Charles D., Lawyer, Public Official.
Charles D. Burnes, lawyer, and whose life has been largely devoted to public service, was born in Berlin, Connecticut, August 4, 1871, son of Rev. Harvey E. and Grace L. (Andrew) Burnes. His pa- ternal grandfather, James Burnes, was a resident of New Haven, where he was engaged in the business of manufacturing non-alcoholic beverages such as ginger ale, tonic beer, etc. He was one of the pioneers in that line of manufacturing. His son, Harvey E. Burnes, father of Charles D. Burnes, was born in Lee, Mas- sachusetts, in 1840. He was educated in the public schools. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in Company I, Fifteenth Regiment Connecticut Vol- unteer Infantry. He was wounded in the hip during an engagement, taken pris- oner, and confined in Salisbury prison in North Carolina. He was awarded a pen- sion, and upon the close of the war pur- sued his theological studies at the Bos- ton University Theological School, with the purpose of entering the ministry. He was ordained a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in 1869, and his first charge was at Kensington, in the town of
Portland, Connecticut. He was a mem- ber of the New York East Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church all his life. He was a member also of the Grand Army of the Republic. He married Grace L., daughter of Hiram and Grace (Ter- rell) Andrew. The Terrell family were natives of Seymour. The children of Rev. Harvey E. and Grace (Andrew) Burnes are: 1. Charles D., mentioned below. 2. Rev. Everett A., of Bridgeport, a gradu- ate of Dickinson College in 1896, and of the Boston University Theological School. 3. James H., Jr., deceased. 4. Grace E., of New Haven. Rev. Harvey E. Burnes died in 1910. His widow still survives, and resides in New Haven.
Charles D. Burnes attended the public schools in the various places where his father was called to preach. He prepared for college at Hackettstown Institute, and attended Wesleyan University at Middle- town, Connecticut, for two years. He then decided to follow the profession of the law, and entered the Law School of Yale University. He was graduated with the usual degree in 1893, and immediately began to practice, opening an office in South Norwalk, where he remained for a few months. He then removed to Green- wich, where he has since resided. From the time of his arrival in Greenwich in 1894 until 1898, Mr. Burnes was associ- ated with R. J. Walsh. Since 1898 he has practiced alone.
In 1894 Mr. Burnes was made deputy registrar of voters in Greenwich. He next served as clerk of the borough court from 1895 to 1897, and later was made judge of the borough court, filling that position satisfactorily and well for six- teen years, until 1913. During this time he served eight years as a member of the board of the meeting house school dis- trict and as chairman of the high school committee for one year. Mr. Burnes' en-
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tire mature life up to the time of present writing has been spent in public service, during which time he has devoted his talent, energy and abilities to civic better- ment and political reform. He has sev- eral times been a delegate to the Repub- lican State Convention, and became Sec- retary of State on January 6, 1915. Mr. Burnes is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and the Indian Harbor Yacht Club of Greenwich.
On February 6, 1895, Mr. Burnes mar- ried Elizabeth M., daughter of Thomas I. Raymond, of South Norwalk, Connecti- cut. Their children are: Dudley R. Burnes and Raymond E. Burnes. The family are members of the Congregational church.
ELTON, John Prince, Manufacturer, Financier.
One of the greatest captains of indus- try of his day, John Prince Elton laid the city of Waterbury under a debt of grati- tude which the city freely acknowledged. His love for the city of his adoption was expressed in public-spirited action often manifested, and in the industries he founded, nurtured and brought to suc- cessful fruition. While always bearing heavy responsibilities and cares of his own, he was never too absorbed in his own problems as to turn anyone away. and men constantly sought him for aid and advice. He was so free to extend to others the benefit of his own experience and judgment and to help the unfortu- nate, that it was a saying not alone of his own, that he was more troubled in mind over the affairs of those in whom he had but a friendly interest than he was over his own extensive business responsibili- ties. He was a member of the Episcopal church, and on the Sunday afternoon of
his funeral every Protestant church in the city was closed, as by a common im- pulse to allow the members an opportun- ity to pay their last mark of respect to the man all honored in his lifetime.
Mr. Elton was first and last a busi- ness man, yet he was the son and the grandson of physicians, his grandfather, Dr. John Elton, also serving as surgeon of Colonel Baldwin's regiment of Con- necticut troops in 1777. Dr. John Elton succeeded to the practice of his half- brother, Dr. James Elton, and for twenty- four years was the leading physician and surgeon of Westbury, now Watertown, Connecticut. He was succeeded by his only son, Dr. Samuel Elton, who studied medicine under his father until the age of twenty, when the death of Dr. John Elton deprived the son of his preceptor and threw him upon his own resources. But he at once began practice, and for sixty years was the leading physician in the field in which his uncle and father had made the name famous. Although so young when he began practice, Dr. Sam- uel Elton possessed a quick intuition and rapidly grew in skill and learning, becom- ing widely sought for in consultation. He was plain in speech, almost blunt ; but at times was jovial and playful as a boy. He acquired a comfortable estate which might easily have been doubled had the good doctor insisted upon the payment of his very reasonable fees. But he never took legal steps to collect a debt, and vis- ited the poor from whom there was no hope of a fee, as faithfully as he did his wealthier patients. Honesty, temperance and economy were his cardinal virtues, and he went to his reward loved and re- spected by all with whom he came in contact. He married Betsy Merriman, of Watertown, and lived to a good old age. Of his seven children, John Prince Elton was the only one to survive his father.
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John Prince Elton was of the sixth American generation of the family found- ed in Connecticut by John Elton, who came from England and finally settled in Middletown. The line of descent is through his son, Ebenezer Elton, of Bramford, Connecticut, who was lost at sea ; his son, Ebenezer (2) Elton, of Har- winton ; his son, Dr. John Elton, the Rev- olutionary surgeon of Watertown; his son, Dr. Samuel Elton, of Watertown; his son, John Prince Elton.
John Prince Elton was born in Water- town, Connecticut, April 24, 1809, and died in Waterbury in November, 1864. He attended public school in Watertown until fifteen years of age, and then be- came a student in the Simeon Hart pri- vate school at Farmington. Until 1832 he engaged in cultivating a farm owned by his father, but in that year renounced farming and entered business as a part- ner in the firm of Holmes & Hotchkiss, in Waterbury. The firm of Holmes & Hotchkiss was organized in 1830 for the manufacture of brass, Mr. Elton becom- ing one of the several partners in 1832 by investing one thousand dollars. The mill, located on Mad River, at first made sheet brass only. Mr. Elton, who was at first a special partner, became a general part- ner, January 30, 1833, the firm then be- coming Holmes, Hotchkiss, Brown & El- ton. In January, 1837, another reorgani- zation left the firm Hotchkiss, Brown & Elton, that firm a year later becoming Brown & Elton, and so continuing until 1850, when Mr. Elton retired. The firm never incorporated, but from February, 1838, traded as a limited partnership, the capital stock never having been in excess of $100,000. From time to time new articles of manufacture were added, brass wire, brass and copper tubing, predomi- nating, the firm being a pioneer in brass wire manufacturing. The manufacture
of tubing was attended with many dis- couragements at first, but eventually be- came a very profitable and important branch of the business. In April, 1842 Brown & Elton bought a third interest in the business of Slocum, Jillson & Com- pany, the pioneer manufacturers of solid- headed pins in this country. The follow- ing September they acquired the owner- ship of the Fowler pin machine, and in 1846 the pin making business of Brown & Elton was incorporated with that of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, under the name of the Ameri- can Pin Company, one of Waterbury's stable manufacturing enterprises. In 1850 Mr. Elton retired from the firm his health failing, and six years later the firm was dissolved, Brown & Brothers and Holmes, Booth & Haydens each secur- ing one-half the business.
After the dissolution of Brown & El- ton, Mr. Elton had no active manufac- turing connections, although in 1845 he had aided in the organization of the Waterbury Brass Company, was a mem- ber of its first board of directors, and sat as a member of the board until his death. He had large corporate interests, how- ever, and from December 11, 1850, until his death was president of the Waterbury Bank. In 1860 he established a private banking house, the Elton Trust Com- pany, which later reorganized under the joint stock law as the Elton Banking Company. After his death and until 1877, the bank was continued by Mr. Elton's son-in-law, C. N. Wayland.
Originally a Whig in politics, Mr. El- ton served in the Connecticut General As- sembly in 1840-49-50, elected by that party. When the Whig party gave up the ghost, Mr. Elton aided in the formation of its successor, the Republican party, and in 1863 was elected a member of the General Assembly. In 1864 he was a
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presidential elector, working hard for President Lincoln's reelection, but two days before the general election he was removed from earthly scenes, too late to have his name taken from the successful Republican ticket. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian, and generous in his support to all the benevolences of St. John's parish. He gave liberally to all good causes, and most generously aided Trinity College. A public memorial serv- ice held in Waterbury brought forth a great number of testimonies as to the value of Mr. Elton's life to the commu- nity.
Mr. Elton married, May 18, 1835, Olive Margaret Hall, born June 25, 1816, died November 2, 1892, daughter of Captain Moses Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Elton were the parents of a daughter and three sons : Lucy Elizabeth, married C. N. Wayland ; James Samuel (q. v.) ; Charles Prince, died aged five years; John Moses, died aged eighteen years.
ATWOOD, Lewis John, Manufacturer, Inventor.
An octogenarian at his death, Mr. At- wood was one of that notable group of far-sighted, earnest, able and energetic men whose lives are reflected in the pres- ent manufacturing and commercial great- ness of the city of Waterbury. Through skillful management of men, through his own inventive genius, mechanical skill and business ability ; by building upon those foundation stones of success, honor, integrity and energy-he made his way to the very foremost rank among the builders of a city, and when at the age of eighty-two he was gathered to his fathers, the work of his life was done and well done. To his city he leaves a noble and inspiring memory, and to all who knew him comes fond recollections of one
who filled to completeness the Biblical de- scription of the man who should stand before kings-"diligent in business, fer- vent in spirit, serving the Lord."
Mr. Atwood was of the seventh genera- tion of his family in Connecticut, descend - ing from Dr. Thomas Atwood, a captain of horse in Cromwell's army, who settled in Plymouth about 1650, removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut, not later than 1663, and there died in 1682. The useful- ness of his life in America was an inspira- tion to his many descendants, and who shall deny that the memory of the good doctor inspired his descendant, Lewis John Atwood. Dr. Thomas Atwood, from the brick mansion he built in Wethers- field, rode forth on his errands of heal- ing and mercy in every direction to Say- brook, to Waterbury, and to wherever "the call came from." He married, when fifty-nine years of age, Abigail --- , a girl of seventeen, whom he had first seen a babe in her mother's arms while being entertained in the first home which wel- comed him on arriving at Plymouth.
Dr. Thomas was succeeded by his son, Dr. Jonathan Atwood, who settled at Woodbury, where he was one of the first physicians. He married Sarah Terrill. The line of descent from Dr. Jonathan At- wood is through his son, Oliver Atwood, of Woodbury; his son, Deacon Nathan Atwood, of Woodbury ; his son, Nathan (2) Atwood, of Watertown ; his son, Nor- man Atwood, of Goshen ; his son, Lewis John Atwood, to whose memory this tribute of respect is offered.
Lewis John Atwood, son of Norman and Abigail (Woodward) Atwood, was born at Goshen, Connecticut, April 8, 1827, died in Waterbury, February 23, 1909. He attended the public schools, and even in early life displayed decided mechanical genius. His childhood was spent on the farm and in the village of
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Goshen, but when twelve years of age he was thrown upon his own resources. The first position he secured was as clerk in a Watertown store, and from twelve to seventeen he was employed in store, grist mill, saw mill and on a farm. In 1845 he secured employment in Waterbury as a mercantile clerk, but in 1848, having reached legal age and possessing a small capital saved from his earnings, he em- barked in a manufacturing enterprise in Waterbury. Sixty-one years passed ere death removed him from, the scene of action, and during that period the young man of 1848 won front rank among the industrial and financial leaders of a city of large and varied manufacturing inter- ests.
His first entrance into the manufactur- ing field was in partnership with Samuel Maltby, of Northford, Connecticut. For a short time they manufactured buckles and buttons, but finding their capital in- sufficient to carry on a successful busi- ness, Mr. Atwood withdrew and again be- came a clerk. Later he started a small plant of his own, making daguerreotype cases, lamp burners and other brass goods. This venture was a success, and in 1869 he became a member of the newly organized firm of Holmes, Booth & At- wood, later incorporated as the Holmes, Booth & Atwood Company, which later became the now well known Plume & At- wood Manufacturing Company. On first entering the firm, Mr. Atwood was placed in that department of the company manu- facturing burners for kerosene lamps, and in that field his inventive genius shone at its brightest. During a period of forty years he had seventy patents issued to him, many of which were basic, proved of great value, and brought him large finan- cial returns. He invented many burners, several lamps of superior design and fix- tures of various kinds, probably no man
ever doing more to light and brighten homes where oil or kerosene is used as the illuminant. His department pros- pered greatly under his management and through his skill, and when the firm in- corporated Mr. Atwood became one of the heaviest stockholders. But his inven- tions were not confined to lamps and lamp fixtures, one of the methods of reclaim- ing "scrap" metal now in general use be- ing invented by him. This is an ingeni- ous hydraulic press which forces the scrap metal into compact form to prepare it for remelting, the press accomplishing that work much better and at less ex- pense than the old way of pounding the metal with hammers in a cast iron vessel. The business of the company grew to large proportions, and became one of the most prosperous industries of Waterbury. When the firm became a corporation in 1874, Mr. Atwood was elected secretary, and until 1890 served in that capacity. In 1890 he was elected president, and dur- ing the nineteen years which intervened until his death most ably guided the cor- poration with which he was so intimately connected for forty years. He was also manager of the American Ring Company, a concern in which he first became inter- ested in 1865.
The clear vision and progressive spirit displayed by Mr. Atwood in creating and conducting successful industrial enter- prises was also used to elevate the moral tone of the city, and to place its benevo- lences and institutions upon a firmer, bet- ter basis. He was an earnest and a very practical Christian, believing that "faith without works is dead." He was a dea- con of the Second Congregational Church of Waterbury, served on the building committee which was in charge of the erection of the present fine church edi- fice, gave liberally to all the benevolences of the church, and was one of its strong
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pillars of support. For five years he served as president of the Young Men's Christian Association, and when the As- sociation built and paid for its present home he was a member of the building committee and a generous giver. There was no appeal made to him in the name of charity, no matter from which organi- zation, that went unanswered, and his private benefactions were large. Faith- ful, upright and conscientious in all mat- ters, business or private, his life was at once an example and an inspiration. In his spoken advice to young men who would succeed in life, he gave this word : "Be honest and truthful; lose sight of yourself in your interest in your em- ployers' prosperity ; have the courage of your convictions in matters of right and wrong; use the best judgment at your command in dealing with men and affairs ; be kindly and considerate in your rela- tions with others ; give good heed to the needs of your higher nature and you will not fail to succeed in life."
Mr. Atwood married, January 12, 1852, Sarah Elizabeth Platt. They were the parents of two daughters and a son : Irving Lewis Atwood, born May 19, 1861. married Jennie Ford and resides in Waterbury. The eldest daughter, Eliza- beth Elvina Atwood, died in childhood. The second child, Frances Finette At- wood. now deceased, married Albert J. Blakesley.
WHITE, George Luther,
Enterprising Citizen.
A native son of Connecticut, the State to which his American ancestor, Elder John White, came over two centuries prior to his own birth, leaving children and grandchildren to carry forward the work of their sires, George Luther White, as business man and citizen, fulfilled all
the obligations of life, shed additional lus- tre upon the honored name he bore, and left to posterity the record of a valuable, just and upright life. With the exception of five years spent in Minnesota during the summer and in California during the winter months, his life was spent in Waterbury, a city to whose manufactur- ing greatness his father, Luther Chapin White, had largely contributed. Could the record of the lives of these two men be erased from Waterbury annals, a great void would be created, as both men were active in business, church and society or- ganizations for well over half a century, and for a decade were contemporaries in business life.
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