USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 45
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George Luther White was of the ninth generation of the family founded in Con- necticut by Elder John White, who came in the ship "Lyon," arriving at Boston, September 16, 1632, and settling in Hart- ford, Connecticut, in 1635. Middletown, Connecticut, became the family home in 1650, and there the five following genera- tions were seated-Nathaniel, son of the founder : Jacob, son of Nathaniel; John. son of Jacob : Jacob (2), son of John ; and John (3), son of Jacob White. In the seventh generation, Jacob (3) White, a tanner, moved to Sandisfield, Massachu- setts, in 1819, but twelve years later re- turned to Middletown. During his resi- dence in Sandisfield, his son, Luther Chapin, was born.
Luther Chapin White, son of Jacob (3) and Susan (Sage) White, was born in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, December 25, 1831, died in Waterbury. Connecticut, April 5, 1893. After a life of varied activ- ity in different fields, he finally in 1853 settled in Waterbury, and from that year until his death was a prominent factor in the business life of that city. In 1851 he invented and patented a valuable improve- ment in lamp burners, formed a partner-
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ship with Frank Smith, and as White & Smith manufactured burners in Meriden. In 1853 they removed their business to Waterbury, and September 3, 1853, organ- ized the City Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. White was president. Mr. Smith died in 1854, Mr. White purchas- ing his interest from his heirs and con- tinuing the business for fifteen years. During those years his business greatly increased and factory space more than quadrupled. In February, 1886, in part- nership with Captain Alfred Wells, trad- ing as White & Wells, he built a factory on Bank street and continued the paper box manufacturing business purchased from the estate of his brother. On July I he sold his interest in the City Manu- facturing Company, retaining the button- back department, which he removed to the Bank street factory. He personally conducted the business of White & Wells until July 1, 1888, when he formed the L. C. White Company, of which he was president. At the time of his death in 1893, he was president and the largest stockholder in the Southford Paper Com- pany ; president of the L. C. White Com- pany; was largely interested in straw- board manufacture in the west ; was prin- cipal owner of the Leland type distribut- ing machine ; and had other important in- terests. He was a member of the First Congregational Church of Waterbury, liberal in his benefactions, was a close ob- server of men and things, was fond of travel, and possessed a cheerful, happy disposition. He was strong in his likes and dislikes, deeply attached to his fam- ily, and sought for his children the great- est good. He married, November 28, 1844, Jane Amelia Moses, of Waterbury.
George Luther White, second son of Luther Chapin and Jane Amelia (Moses) White, was born in Meriden, Connecti- cut, July 15, 1852, and died in Waterbury.
His parents moved to Waterbury in 1853, and there he secured his early education in private and high schools. He con- tinued his studies at the "Gunnery," Washington, Connecticut, but at the age of sixteen a serious affection of the lung compelled him to leave school and seek a different clime. The next five years were spent in Minnesota and California ; then, restored to health, he returned in 1876 to Connecticut to begin an active business career. From 1880 until 1885 he was secretary of the Southford Paper Company of Southford, Connecticut. From 1885 until 1888 he was engaged in the lumber business in Hartford, closing up the business of William S. White & Company. In 1888 he became associated with the firm of White & Wells, and upon the organization of the L. C. White Com- pany, July 1, 1888, was elected its secre- tary and treasurer. Upon the retirement of Edward L. White in 1892, he became the active manager of the White & Wells Company, and after the death of his hon- ored father in 1893 succeeded him as pres- ident of that company. He continued active in the business world, acquired wide and varied interests of importance, and at the time of his death was president of the L. C. White Company ; the White & Wells Company; Fuller-Burr Com- pany of New York City : William B. Van Buren Company (Inc.) of New York City : New England Watch Company of Waterbury ; vice-president of the Phila- delphia Paper Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia : director of the Colonial Trust Company and of the Dime Savings Bank, both of Waterbury.
Notwithstanding his weighty business responsibilities, Mr. White did not slav- ishly devote himself to the sordid affairs of life, but spent many hours in catering to his love of out-of-doors and in the social intercourse of club life. He was
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an ex-president of the Waterbury Coun- try and the Waterbury clubs ; member of the New Haven Country Club ; the Farm- ington Country Club; the Metabetchoun Fish and Game Clubs of Canada; the Home Club of Waterbury ; and the Union League of New York City. He was a Republican in politics, and in religious preference a Congregationalist, attend- ing the First Church of Waterbury.
Mr. White married, April 15, 1874, at Fairfield, Connecticut, Julia Phelps Har- ing, born in New York, March 30, 1852, daughter of James Demarest and Caro- line (Phelps) Haring. She is a lineal de- scendant of John Haring, born at Hoorn Castle, Hoorn, North Holland, in 1551, and of John Haring, born in Hoorn, De- cember 26. 1633, who came to New Neth- erlands in 1650. On the maternal side, Mrs. White traces in lineal line to Wil- liam Phelps, born in Tewkesbury, Eng- land, August 17. 1599, died in Windsor, Connecticut, July 16, 1672, a grandson of James Phelps, of Tewkesbury, and son of William Phelps, of Tewkesbury, baptized August 4, 1560.
George Luther and Julia (Phelps) Har- ing were the parents of a daughter and two sons: Caroline Haring. married Rob- ert Foote Griggs ; William Henry White, married Mary Elizabeth Wade: George Luther (2) White, married Carolyn A. Armstrong. Both sons are prominent in Waterbury business life.
BRONSON, Julius Hobart, Manufacturer, Financier.
Although not a native son of Connecti- cut, Mr. Bronson at the age of eighteen months was brought to the home of his grandfather, Judge Bennet Bronson, in Waterbury, and there has passed a long and useful life, one filled with active, suc- cessful effort, and abounding in good
deeds. He is a son of Rev. Thomas Bron- son, grandson of Judge Bennet Bronson, great-grandson of Deacon Stephen Bron- son, son of Thomas Bronson, son of Lieu- tenant Thomas Bronson (all of whom were born in Waterbury, Connecticut), son of Isaac Bronson, born in Farming- ton, but long a resident of Waterbury, son of John Bronson, who was living in Hart- ford, Connecticut, in 1639, a proprietor "by courtesie of the town." Thus but by the mere accident of birth in the adjoin- ing State of New York, Mr. Bronson is a true son of Connecticut, seven generations of his ancestors having lived in the State, six of them native born.
Judge Bennet Bronson, a graduate of Yale. 1797, was a lawyer admitted to the bar in 1802; assistant judge of the county court in 1812; one of the first burgesses of Waterbury in 1825; representative to the General Assembly in 1829. He was a good lawyer, a safe counsellor and a con- veyancer, but not a ready speaker. He was wedded to old ways and customs, opposed the heating of the meeting house, and when the congregation began sitting during prayer and standing while the hymns were sung, he refused to change, but knelt and sat according to the old custom. He was one of the first trustees of the Second Academy ; was elected dea- con of the First Church, June 10. 1838, considered the matter three months, then notified the congregation that he con- sented "to perform for a time at least the duties of that office." He, however, held the office five years. He inherited a fair estate from his father, and soon be- came one of the leading capitalists of the town. He was engaged in manufactur- ing ; was a large landowner and success- ful farmer; was the first president of the Waterbury Bank, and held that position until his death. In his will he left $200 for books for a pastor's library, and in
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1857 the books were bought. He died De- cember 11, 1850, aged seventy-five.
Rev. Thomas Bronson, son of Judge Bennet Bronson, was born in Waterbury, January 4, 1808, died there, April 20, 1851. He was a graduate of Yale, 1829, and was a student at Yale Law School, but later studied theology at New Haven and An- dover. He began preaching in 1835, but was not regularly licensed until 1838. He was never ordained, but served several pulpits in Connecticut and New York, among them Sandy Hill, New York, where his son, Julius Hobart Bronson, was born. Late in 1843 he gave up the ministry and went south, taught school in Smithfield, Virginia, then moved to Quincy, Illinois, where he taught until the death of his father in 1850. He returned to Water- bury in 1851, dying soon after his return. He was an invalid all his life, rheumatic fever, which affected his heart proving an obstacle which prevented the energetic pursuit of a profession. He married, Feb- ruary 13, 1839, Cynthia Elizabeth Bartlett, who died February 13, 1852, daughter of Cyrus M. Bartlett, of Hartford, Connec- ticut. They were the parents of a daugh- ter, Harriet Anna, married Rev. Peter V. Finch, and of two sons-Julius Hobart, mentioned below; and Dr. Edward Ben- net Bronson, of New York City.
Julius Hobart Bronson was born at Sandy Hill, New York, April 30, 1842. From the age of eighteen months he was reared under the eye of his grandfather, Judge Bronson, in his Waterbury home, and at the age of nine years was orphaned. his mother dying a year later. His first institutional education was obtained at a boarding school at Ellinton, and he was prepared for college at Phillips Andover Academy. Illness prevented his entering college, and later he engaged with B. P. Chatfield, of Waterbury, as a building contractor and dealer in building mate-
rials. He continued in that line for sev- eral years when ill health again compelled him to change his plans. He was out of business for three years until 1875, then, having regained his health, he became manager of the Oakville Company, a cor- poration of which he has been for many years president and treasurer. The piant of the company erected in 1869 has been greatly enlarged and improved, the com- pany manufacturing pins. safety pins and numerous wire articles. On September 30, 1910, Mr. Bronson was elected presi- dent of the Citizens' National Bank of Waterbury, an institution of which he had been a director and vice-president for sev- eral years. He was a member of the first board of managers of the Waterbury Club, and vice-president. He has been secretary of the Hospital Association since its reorganization, and is also a direc- tor. He is a wise, capable man of affairs. and safely guides the institutions over which he has executive control.
Mr. Bronson married, November 16. 1886. Edith Terry, daughter of Roderick Terry, of Hartford, and has an only son, Bennet (2) Bronson, born December 3. 1887.
ELTON, James Samuel,
Manufacturer, Legislator.
Just when John Elton, an Englishman. settled in Connecticut, does not appear ; but his eldest child Mary was born in Middletown, July 26, 1672. Seven genera- tions including the founder have resided in the State at Middletown, Watertown and Waterbury. James Samuel Elton is of the seventh American generation, and like his honored father is one of the lead- ing manufacturers of the city of Water- bury and a citizen of sterling worth. He is a son of John Prince and Olive Mar- garet (Hall) Elton, grandson of Dr. Sam-
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uel Elton, of Watertown; great-grandson of Dr. John Elton, of Watertown, a Revo- lutionary surgeon, son of Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer (1), son of John Elton, the founder. Dr. John Elton was a leading physician of Watertown for twenty-four years following his brother, Dr. James Elton, and giving way to his son, Dr. Samuel Elton, who was an honored medi- cal practitioner of Watertown for sixty years. With John Prince Elton, manu- facturing became the family business, and the work he begun is being carried for- ward with equal ability and energy by his son, James Samuel Elton, who in turn has a worthy contemporary in his son, John Prince (2) Elton. These three genera- tions have contributed to the industrial greatness of Waterbury as did the two preceding generations to the professional fame of Watertown.
James Samuel Elton, the only son of John Prince Elton to survive him, was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Novem- ber 7, 1838. He began his education in Waterbury schools, then passed to the private school in Hampden, Connecticut, of which Rev. C. W. Everest was the head, finishing his studies at General Rus- sell's Military School in New Haven. He began his business career with the Ameri- can Pin Company of Waterbury, incor- porated in 1846 to absorb the pin making business of Brown & Elton, then until 1863 was with the Scovill Manufacturing Company of New York. In 1863 he form- ed a connection with the Waterbury Brass Company, a connection which has never been broken. His father, John Prince Elton, in 1845 was a member of the com- pany's first board of directors; on the death of J. C. Welton in 1874, James Sam- uel Elton succeeded him as president ; and John Prince (2) Elton is the present treas- urer of the company of which his father is still president, rounding out a term of
forty-two years of efficient executive con- trol and a term of service covering a period of over half a century.
But the executive management of the Waterbury Brass Company is but one of the business responsibilities James S. Elton has carried for many years. He was formerly president of the Detroit & Lake Superior Copper Company ; presi- dent of the Lake Superior Smelting Com- pany ; president of the American Pin Company ; and since 1896 has been presi- dent of the Waterbury National Bank. He is also a director of the Oakville Com- pany, Blake & Johnson Company, Ameri- can Brass Company, American Hardware Corporation, New York & New Haven Railroad Company and has other interests of importance.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Elton has ever taken a deep interest in public affairs, and in 1882 was elected State Senator, although the Waterbury district was nor- mally Democratic. He is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church. and with his mother, Mrs. Olive M. (Hall) Elton, who remained a widow for twenty-eight years until her death, he cooperated in many deeds of charity and benevolence. Since her death in 1892 he has been particularly generous to the societies and organiza- tions to which she was so devoted and helpful. He is managing trustee of the Hall Church Home Fund, a director of Westover School, director of the Water- bury Hospital, director of the Silas Bron- son Library, and gives liberally of his time, business experience and means to the maintenance of these and other insti- tutions.
Mr. Elton married, October 28, 1863, Charlotte Steele, daughter of Hiram and Nancy Steele, of East Bloomfield, New York. They are the parents of an only son. John Prince (2) Elton.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
STANLEY, Timothy W., Manufacturer.
The late Timothy Wadsworth Stanley, of New Britain, was one of the most influ- ential and highly regarded residents of that city, and during his life did his utmost to further its interests. He was a native of that place, born there many decades before it became a borough, and was one of the most active of his gener- ation of the Stanley family which has been such an important factor in the affairs of New Britain.
Timothy W. Stanley was born on July 13, 1813, the son of Amon and Abi (North) Stanley, and a direct descendant in the eighth generation of John Stanley, an Englishman, who was presumed to have been a scion of the old Saxon family of Stoneley, the head of which in England at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), was Sir Henry de Stoneley. The said John Stanley embarked for America in 1634, but died while at sea, leaving an estate in goods and money amounting to £116. The following entry was made in the "Massachusetts Colonial Records." vol. i, page 134:
Att a Court, holden att Newe Towne, March 3, 1634. Whereas, John Stanley dyed intestate, in the way to Newe England, and lefte three children vndisposed of, the youngest whereof is since disceased haveing also lefte an estate of cxvj1, in goods & chattells &c, it is therefore ordered, with the consent of Thomas Stanley, brother to the said John, disceased, that hee shall haue forthwith the some of lviijl, of the sd estate putt into his hands; in consideracon whereof, the said Thomas Stanley shall educate & bring vpp John Stanley sonne of John Stan- ley, disceased, finding him meate, drinke, & app'ell till hee shall accomplishe the age of xxi yeares, & att the end of the said terme shall giue vnto the said John Stanley the some of ffifty pounds.
The name of the wife of John Stanley, progenitor, has not been recorded, but
they were the parents of three children : The before-mentioned John; Ruth, who was placed under the guardianship of Timothy Stanley, another brother of the deceased John; and an infant unnamed who was born and died in 1634.
(II) Captain John (2) Stanley, son of John (1) Stanley, progenitor, was born in England in 1624, and doubtless remained with his uncle Thomas until of age, and came with him to Hartford in 1636. When only thirteen years of age, John Stanley took part in the expedition against the Pequot Indians. On December 5, 1645, he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Anna Scott, of Hartford, later settling in Farmington, where they were received into the church on June 30, 1652-53. He took part in King Philip's War, and rose to the rank of captain ; held many town offices; received a grant of one hundred and twenty acres of land from the General Court in 1674, and another in 1687, and died in 1689. He married twice, a son by his first wife, Esther Newell, being Thomas.
(III) Thomas Stanley was born in Farmington, November 1, 1649; was one of the petitioners of the General Court for liberty to plat Waterbury, but did not remove thither. On May 1, 1690, he married Anna, daughter of Rev. Jeremiah and Joanna (Kitchell) Peck, of Water- bury, and his wife was received into the church at Farmington, April 17, 1692. He died April 14, 1713, aged sixty-three years, his wife surviving him five years. She died May 13, 1718. They had two chil- dren, Thomas and Anna.
(IV) Thomas (2) Stanley was born October 31, 1696, in Farmington, and made his permanent home in the Stanley Quarter, New Britain. He acquired wealth, and at his death, October 13. 1755, left a large estate. On January 2, 1718, he married Esther, daughter of Samuel
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Cowles, of Kensington ; she died July 22, 1776. They had eight children, their eldest son being Thomas.
(V) Thomas (3) Stanley was born in Farmington, November 27, 1720. He mar- ried Mary, daughter of James Francis, on May 22, 1740, and of their six children Lot was the fifth born.
(VI) Lot Stanley was born March 3, 1752, and died March 8, 1807. He was one of the pioneer Connecticut manufacturers of fur hats, and developed a successful business. He married Rhoda, daughter of Timothy and Mary (Cowles) Wads- worth, of Farmington, and they had four- teen children, of whom Amon was the first son.
(VII) Amon Stanley was born March IO, 1778, and died February 2, 1846. As a young man he entered into business partnership with his father, whom he suc- ceeded eventually. Every winter he made journeys to what was then "The West," a territory embracing central and western New York, customarily taking with him a load of hats which he would exchange for beaver and other furs. After his father's death, Amon Stanley bought out the paternal homestead and landed estate from the other heirs, paying to his brothers and sisters considerably more for their interest than the property was worth. For one piece of twelve acres inherited by his brother Lot he paid twelve hundred dollars. He also carried on the business of distilling cider-brandy extensively. It was considered quite a respectable business at that time, but his wife, a devout woman, eventually so influ- enced him that he sold the business, sub- sequently again acquiring it, however, but only so that he might close it finally, which he did at great financial loss. The great cider tubs were sold for water cis- terns, the copper stills were loaded on ox carts and drawn in triumph to the
brass factory of North & Stanley, in the village, where the stills were cut up and cast into sleigh bells. "It was a triumph of principle over education and interest, worthy to be recorded on a monument 'more lasting than brass'," commented one of his biographers. Amon Stanley married, on October 10, 1802, Abi, daugh- ter of Captain James and Rhoda (Judd) North, and to them twelve children were born, among them Timothy Wadsworth.
(VIII) Timothy Wadsworth, son of Amon and Abi (North) Stanley, was born on July 13, 1817, and died February 18, 1897. "The means of education in the days of Mr. Stanley's boyhood and youth were much more limited then, but in ad- dition to his common school education he had a natural taste for literature, which was increased by a term he served as an apprentice in a printing establishment in Springfield, Massachusetts," stated an edi- torial in the "New Britain Herald," of February 20, 1897. He was conversant with the best writers in English literature, and could readily quote from them from memory.
Mr. Stanley very early in manhood came into public prominence in New Britain, in which he may be considered to have spent almost his whole life. Certainly the prog- ress of that town in which he was born was one of the principal interests of his life. An obituary regarding him stated that "with the passing of Mr. Stanley de- parts nearly, if not quite, the last of those sterling men who laid the foundation of what are now the great industries of New Britain. Those who know the early his- tory of the town need not to be told who these men were. Those who have not known them can never realize their worth, and can never really know New Britain. To their perseverance, fidelity and integ- rity we owe the beginning and in a large degree the continuance of our prosperity."
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In 1854. Timothy W. Stanley and his brother Augustus formed partnership with Thomas Conklin, of Bristol, for the manufacture of rules. Mr. Conklin had been engaged in business in Bristol before coming to New Britain, and the new part- nership acquired his business and began the manufacture of rules in the upper story of the building erected by Seth J. North on Elm street, New Britain, and known as the Sargent Building. In 1855, the firm purchased the rule business of Seth Savage in Middletown, transferring the plant, at the same time as their own plant, to the upper story of the factory of North and Stanley, on the south side of Park street, New Britain. The business prospered, and on July 1, 1857, the part- ners secured corporate powers for the better development of their enterprise, under the name of Stanley Rule and Level Company, which joint stock company at its incorporation had an authorized capita! of $50,000. Associated also at that time in the business were Mr. Stanley's other brothers, Henry and James, and the four brothers Stanley will long have honored place in the early history of New Britain. To-day, as for many previous decades, the Stanley Rule and Level Company is one of the principal manufacturing concerns of the city.
Of the civic activities of Mr. Stanley, that of particular mention relates to his part in the original establishment of the borough. He was one of the officers elected at the first meeting for organization of the borough of New Britain in 1850, his capacity being that of burgess. And Mr. Stanley's name comes prominently into the history of some of the leading institutions of the city. He was named as incorporator in the Act of Incorporation passed into law by the Connecticut General Assembly in the May session of 1858, whereby was established the New Britain Institute and Library. And he was one of the most ac-
tive residents in the movement to organ- ize the New Britain National Bank in 1860, at the first meeting of the stock- holders of which, in 1860, he was elected a director. Mr. Stanley was a conscien- tious churchman practically throughout his life, and gave substantial and personal support to the Congregational church. In 1842, Mr. Stanley was one of a committee of twelve appointed to consider the expe- diency of establishing another Congrega- tional church in New Britain, the move- ment eventuating in the founding of the South Church, a communicant of which he remained until his decease.
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