Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3, Part 5

Author: American Historical Society; Hart, Samuel, 1845-1917
Publication date: 1917-[23]
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] The American historical society, incorporated
Number of Pages: 652


USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 5


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(II) Lieutenant Richard (2) Goodman, son of Deacon Richard (1) and Mary


(Terry) Goodman, was born March 23, 1663, and some time after 1678 he re- turned to Hartford, where he became a wealthy, influential citizen, his death occurring May 14, 1730. He married Abigail Pantry, born January II, 1679, daughter of John Pantry (1650-1736) and his wife, Abigail (Mix) Pantry, of West Hartford, and granddaughter of John Pantry and his wife, Hannah (Tuttle) Pantry (1632-1683), and of Thomas and Rebecca (Turner) Mix. Six children.


(III) Timothy Goodman, son of Lieu- tenant Richard (2) and Abigail (Pantry) Goodman, was born September 22, 1706, died March 12, 1786. He married, May 7. 1735, Joanna Wadsworth, born in 1715, died March 10, 1768, daughter of Joseph Wadsworth (born 1682, died 1778) and his wife, Joanna (Hovey) Wadsworth, granddaughter of Captain Joseph Wads- worth (1650-1729), of Connecticut Char- ter memory, he having stolen the charter and hid it in the Charter Oak, and his wife, Elizabeth (Barnard) Wadsworth. daughter of Bartholomew Barnard, and great-granddaughter of William Wadsworth (1632-1675) and his wife, Eliza (Stone) Wadsworth. Joanna (Ho- vey) Wadsworth was a daughter of Lieu- tenant Thomas Hovey (1648-1739) and his wife, Sarah (Cooke) Hovey (1662), and granddaughter of Daniel Hovey. Sarah (Cooke) Hovey was a daughter of Captain Avery Cooke (1640-1746) and his wife, Sarah (Westwood) Cooke (1641- 1730). Mr. and Mrs. Goodman had nine children.


(IV) Richard (3) Goodman, son of Timothy and Joanna (Wadsworth) Good- man, was born April 14, 1748, died April 8, 1834, a resident of West Hartford. He married, in 1771, Nancy Seymour, born February 16, 1751, died January 27, 1792, daughter of Timothy and Lydia (Kel- logg) Seymour. They were the parents


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of thirteen children, of whom Childs was the youngest; there were two pairs of twins.


(V) Captain Childs Goodman, son of Richard (3) and Nancy (Seymour) Good- man, was born November 7, 1791. He was a farmer and miller of West Hart- ford. He married, April 10, 1822, Sarah Porter, born April 10, 1796, daughter of Jesse Porter (1758-1823) and his wife, Sibyl (Steele) Porter (1763-1814), daugh- ter of Samuel and Martha Steele, grand- daughter of John and Chlorinda (Whit- man) Porter, and great-granddaughter of William and Mary (Smith) Porter. Chlo- rinda (Whitman) Porter was a daughter of Solomon and Susannah (Cole) Whit- man, granddaughter of Samuel and Sarah (Stoddard) Whitman, and great-grand- daughter of Zachariah and Sarah (Al- word) Whitman, the former named the son of John Whitman, the latter named the daughter of Dr. John Alvord. Sarah (Stoddard) Whitman was a daughter of the Rev. Solomon and Esther (Warham) Stoddard. Captain Childs and Sarah (Porter) Goodman lived in the old home- stead on West Hartford street, and their granddaughter resides there at the pres- ent time. Children of Captain and Mrs. Goodman : Amelia S., born September 14, 1824, married, April 10, 1843, Noadiah F. Emmons, whom she survived until 1910; Chester, born February 16, 1827, died June 12, 1885, married Maria Flagg ; Har- riet Sophia, who became the wife of Sam- uel W. Cowles (see Cowles VIII) ; and Jennie L., born October 18, 1831, living at the present time (1917), married, June 28, 1860, Henry C. Andrus.


BRADLEY, Nathaniel Lyman,


Manufacturer, Enterprising Citizen.


The year 1852 marked the inception of great Meriden enterprise, one with a


which the Bradley name has been inti- mately connected until the present day, although the humble Bradley Hatch & Company of 1852, with a capital of five thousand dollars, bore little relation to the great Bradley & Hubbard Manufac- turing Company, now enploying in their Meriden works over one thousand hands. In 1854 the Hatch Brothers withdrew, Walter Hubbard purchasing their stock, and from that time the business has been a Bradley and Hubbard concern, no stock having been sold out of that name since the incorporation of the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company in 1875, when C. P. Linsley acquired his interest. As treas- urer of the company since its organization and as a member of the original firm for twenty-three previous years, Mr. Bradley may justly be called its founder, a fact rec- ognized in the prominence given his name from the beginning. But the develop- ment of the immense business which bears his name is but one of the many activities of a long and busy life, as in many corporations, in civic life, church and society, he proved the depth of his interest and the generosity of his nature. He was a grandson of Daniel Bradley who, driven from his farm in Vermont by the British operations during the Revolu- tionary War, settled first in Hamden, New Haven county, Connecticut, and later in Cheshire, where he died, leaving a son Levi.


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Levi Bradley was born in Cheshire, No- vember II, 1792, died in Meriden, Con- necticut, March 18, 1877. His early life was spent on the home farm, but in his eighteenth year he purchased the right from his father to go where he liked. He loaded a one-horse wagon with tinware bought on credit, and started south, not offering his stock for sale until reaching Atlanta, Georgia. There he sold out to such good advantage that on his return


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home eight months later he was able to pay for the goods he had sold, repay to his father the sum agreed upon, and to finance a second trip the following winter. For nine years he made a similar business journey through the south each winter, but after his marriage he settled perma- nentiy on his farm in Cheshire, there be- ing known as one of the thriftiest and best of farmers. He was the first man in his day to attempt to raise wheat in Cheshire, bringing the seed from New York. His crop of growing wheat was a great curiosity in the town and attracted many visitors. His farm was a model of neatness, his products invariably winning premiums wherever entered. He was the discoverer of the fact that Cheshire was rich in barytes, and the first to open a mine to take out that mineral. He ob- tained an option on the farm on which he found his first specimen, later completed the purchase, and after mining for a time sold out at a handsome profit. The pur- chasers worked the mine for years very profitably, retaining Mr. Bradley as man- ager, but after two years he resigned and again gave his sole attention to his farm. He was a representative in the State Leg- islature from Cheshire, and was a man highly regarded for uprightness of life and sound judgment.


Levi Bradley married, September 30, 1819, Abigail Ann Atwater, born October 17, 1800, died May 25, 1897, daughter of Samuel and Patience (Peck) Atwater, of Cheshire, a descendant of David Atwater, the founder of the family in America. Daniel Atwater came from London, Eng- land, in 1638, and was one of the signers of the New Haven Covenant in 1639. The line of descent to Mrs. Bradley was through the founder's son Jonathan, a prominent merchant of New Haven, who married Ruth Peck, daughter of Rev Jeremiah and Joanna (Kitchel) Peck ;


their son, Jonathan Atwater, a Revolu- tionary soldier, and his wife, Abigail Bradley ; their son, Abraham Atwater (a drummer boy in the American army at the age of fifteen years, with his father and brother Isaac), and his wife, Patience Peck; Abigail Ann, their eighth child, and her husband, Levi Bradley. Mrs. Levi Brad- ley was a well informed woman, a wide reader, and until her death at the age of ninety-seven read without the aid of glasses. After their children had settled in Meriden, she and her husband left the farm and made that city their home, she continuing her residence there until her death twenty years after being left a widow. She was a member of Susan Car- rington Clarke Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Levi and Abigail A. Bradley were the parents of: Em- meline Amelia; Samuel Atwater; Wil- liam Lambert; Nathaniel Lyman, to whose memory this tribute of respect is offered ; Abby Ann, married Walter Hub- bard.


Nathaniel Lyman Bradley was born at the home farm in Cheshire, Connecticut, December 27, 1829. He was reared to habits of industry and right living by his religious parents, attended public school, and at the age of fifteen was graduated from old Meriden Academy. For one year after graduation he was clerk in a New Haven hardware store, then returned home and remained his father's assistant until twenty-one. He then placed his little capital in a Southington clock fac- tory, and himself worked in the factory at a daily wage of one dollar and twenty- five cents. Later he was awarded a con- tract for making clocks, but clocks not selling as rapidly as they were being made, the works were shut down, and Mr. Bradley set out to find customers. He visited New York. Philadelphia, Balti- more and Washington. meeting with such


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success that upon his return he was made a director of the company and placed in charge of the sales department.


In 1852, with the Hatch Brothers, his own brother, William Lambert Bradley, and his brother-in-law, Walter Hubbard, Mr. Bradley organized the firm of Brad- ley, Hatch & Company, with five thou- sand dollars joint capital. Two years later, more capital was a necessity, but Hatch Brothers not being able to supply their share, Walter Hubbard sold his dry goods business, bought the Hatch in- terest, and with the Bradleys reorganized as Bradley & Hubbard, and took over the interests of Bradley, Hatch & Company, establishing on the site of the present plant. In 1862 William L. Bradley re- tired, N. L. Bradley and Walter Hubbard continuing the partnership most success- fully until 1875. The business was then incorporated as the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company, the two part- ners selling an interest to C. L. Linsley, and later shares were sold to Clarence Peck Bradley, the four men long continu- ing the only stockholders and officials of the company - Walter Hubbard, presi- dent; Nathaniel L. Bradley, treasurer ; C. L. Linsley, secretary ; Clarence P. Bradley, his father's private secretary and assistant treasurer.


The history of this business has been one of rapid development, due to the great energy and ability of Nathaniel L. Brad- ley and Walter Hubbard, the original founders. In 1852 they started in a small two-story wooden building and a small foundry. In 1870 the first large brick fac- tory was built, and in 1900 the plant covered eleven acres and employed one thousand hands, the subsequent growth having been in proportion. The company are the leaders in the manufacture of chandeliers, gas fixtures, lamps, electric fixtures, fancy hardware, bronzes, sta- tioner's supplies and architectural metal


work, the last named a department started in 1895. Artists, designers, modelers and skilled artisans are employed, artistic beauty being as earnestly striven for as excellence of quality, and New England, that home of manufacturing wonders, has few corporations which for so long have remained under the control of their founders.


Mr. Bradley was also a director of the First National Bank of Meriden; of the City Savings Bank; of the Meriden Fire Insurance Company (vice-president) ; of J. D. Bergen & Company, manufacturers of the finest grade of cut glass; of the Meri- den Trust and Safe Deposit Company ; of the Meriden Horse Railroad Company ; of the Republican Publishing Company, and had many other important business interests. He was a liberal supporter of every good cause, but was particularly generous to the Young Men's Christian Association and the First Congregational Church, his contributions toward the build- ing funds of both virtually insuring their success. For many years he was chairman of the committee of the Congregational So- ciety, and a strong pillar of support. Hewas a trustee of the State School for Boys, and president of the board of managers of Meriden Hospital for several years. His first presidential vote was cast in 1852 in the basement of the Cheshire Congrega- tional Church for the Whig candidates, but in 1856 and ever thereafter he voted the Republican ticket. He served Meri- den as alderman, and acting mayor, and gave especial attention to the improve- ment of the physical features of his city -streets, parks, and cemeteries-and as president of the Meriden Park Company accomplished a great deal. He traveled extensively in Europe and America, and many of his ideas on city beautifying came from his travels to the cities of the old and new world.


Mr. Bradley married, October 25, 1859,


Conn-3-3


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Harriet Peck, daughter of Selden and Lucy Hooker (Hart) Peck, of Kensing- ton, Connecticut. They were the parents of a son, Clarence Peck Bradley, his father's business associate and successor.


ATWOOD, Henry Stanwood, Agriculturist, Public Official.


While in point of ancestry Henry S. At- wood has been singularly blessed, his own achievement has been such that he can well stand upon his own merits. He be- gan his business life with a huge in- debtedness incurred by the purchase of the homestead farm, but his energy and thrift soon dissipated that black cloud, and in a few years he was rated among the substantial men of his community. The story of such lives cannot too often be told, and aside from their interest are to the young men both a lesson and an in- spiration. Self made in the truest sense, he has attained his success through energy, enterprise and integrity. He has ever been keenly alive to the responsibilities of citi- zenship, and as his sires aided to erect, so he has labored to maintain that political division known to all men as the United States of America, but to those born with- in its border as "My Country."


His ancestry in the paternal line traces to Dr. Thomas Atwood, a captain of horse, under Cromwell "the Protector." He fought in the four great battles of the "First Civil War," including the memo- rable engagement at "Marston Moor," July 2, 1644. After retiring from the army, Dr. Atwood came to Massachu- setts, settling at Plymouth, in 1647, later moving to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he died in 1682. He married late in life, his wife one whom he had first seen in the cradle at the first home he entered after landing in the New World. The marriage occurred in 1667, he then


being fifty-nine years of age. He settled in Wethersfield, in 1663, and after his marriage built a brick house. to which he took his bride, Abigail, a girl of seven- teen. As a doctor he rode a wide circuit from Saybrook on the east, to Woodbury on the west, also engaging in business as a trader with the West Indies. Dr. Thom- as and Abigail Atwood were the parents of three sons and two daughters, the line of descent being through Josiah, the youngest son. born October 4. 1678, died 1753.


Josiah Atwood inherited the brick manor house built by his father, and also en- gaged in the West India trade. He pros- pered for a time, but the loss of a ship and valuable cargo so affected his fortune that he was obliged to surrender the manor house to his creditors. He was succeeded by his son, Ashur Atwood, born Decem- ber 27, 1729, died April 21, 1808, who left a son, Ezekiel Atwood, born August 19, 1764, who married Hannah Francis, born March 22, 1770. Their youngest son. Francis Atwood, married Eunice E. White, and they were the parents of Henry Stanwood Atwood, to whom this review is dedicated. Francis Atwood was born August 27, 1803. He married, Janu- ary 14, 1840, Eunice E. White, born Janu- ary 18, 1805, eldest daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Day) White, of Granby, Massachusetts, further mention below. Francis and Eunice E. (White) Atwood had three sons: Herman W., born No- vember 22, 1840, a prominent druggist of New York City, died October 22, 1897; Oliver E., born September 14, 1843, died in Chicago, Illinois, February 11, 1888; Henry Stanwood.


Henry Stanwood Atwood was born June 1, 1847. in Hartford. After complet- ing courses of study in the public schools, he attended the Bryant & Stratton Com- mercial Business College at Hartford. He


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ferry ny SAwood


THEY


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began business life at the age of eighteen, first connecting with a mercantile house in New York City, where he remained one year. His father, then in failing health, needed him at home, and in response to that need he resigned his position, re- turned home in 1867, and assumed the management of the paternal acres, then numbering one hundred and fifty. In 1868 le attained his majority, and became the owner of the homestead farm by pur- chase, the transaction leaving him in debt to the extent of twenty-one thousand dollars. But he had carefully calculated the extent of the farm's producing ca- pacity, and with perfect confidence in himself he shouldered that burden, with a courage equal to that of his Revolu- tionary sires. He was blessed with a strong physical body, a stout heart and a strong mentality, qualities in combina- tion with industry and definite plan which carried him to success. He operated his farm as a dairy and stock proposition, dealt as a wholesaler in milk for five years, and for fifteen years dealt heavily in cattle, purchasing in Connecticut and New York, killing them for market, when necessary. at his own farm. His sales of milk reached five thousand dollars annually, while his cattle purchases often reached in a single day eighty head. He also dealt in fine horses, and to some extent was a breeder, but his principal business was buying and selling. The debt on the farm was lessened each year, and within an incredibly short time was totally extinguished. From time to time, as was profitable, he disposed of portions of his farm until but half of the original one hundred and fifty acres re- mained in his possession. But they were the most valuable and sufficient for his purposes.


Mr. Atwood has taken a lively interest in public affairs, and although averse to political office holding, he met the wishes


of his many friends, consenting in 1899 to become a candidate for Common Council from the Eighth Ward of Hartford. At the ensuing election he received most gratifying evidence of the high esteem in which he was held, his vote being the largest ever cast for a candidate running for that office, his majority, five hundred and fifty-three, being considered a re- markable expression of public confidence. He also served as treasurer of the South- western School District for several years, and since 1912 has held the office of street commissioner. He has a deep and abid- ing interest in all good causes, the public school system in particular. In politics he is a Republican ; is a member of the South Congregational Church, of Wylleys Lodge, No. 99, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of West Hartford, and of the Re- publican Club.


Mr. Atwood married Hattie M. Brewer, born in Unionville, Connecticut, daughter of Joshua B. Brewer. Children: Louise E., born July 27, 1887; Florence, born November 25, 1892, died March 19, 1895 ; Shirley, born March 31, 1896.


(The White Line).


The White family from which Mr. At- wood is descended was very early estab- lished in Connecticut by Elder John White, born about 1600, in England, died Janu- ary 1, 1684, in Hartford, Connecticut. He sailed, about June 22, 1632, in the ship "Lion," and landed at Boston, September 16, of that year, accompanied by his wife Mary, and at least two children. Settling in Cambridge across the Charles river from Boston, he was allotted a home lot of about three-quarters of an acre, on a street then called Cow Yard Row, and about thirty acres of outlying farmland. Another three-quarters of an acre near his home lot was granted August 5, 1633, for a cow yard. Harvard Library is located


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on or near this piece of land. John White was a prominent man in the settlement, was a member of the first board of select- men of Cambridge, but soon joined the company which formed a new settlement at Hartford. His home lot in Hartford consisted of about two acres on the east side of Governors street, some ten rods south of Little river, and his outlying farm land consisted of two hundred and thirty acres. In Hartford he was promi- nent in town affairs, and was again in- strumental in forming a new settlement on account of the dissensions in the Hart- ford church. A party of sixty persons left Hartford, April 18, 1659, John White being one of the leaders, and located at Hadley, Massachusetts. Here John White had a house lot of some eighty acres 011 the east side of Hadley street, and a large area of outlying land. About 1670 he re- turned to Hartford, and was soon after elected an elder in the South Church, which had shortly before been formed by seceders from the first church. His eldest son was Captain Nathaniel White, born about 1629, in England, one of the origi- nal proprietors and first settlers of Mid- dletown, Connecticut, where he died, Au- gust 27, 1711. In this new community he took a very prominent position, was elected to the Legislature many times, being eighty-one years of age when last chosen. His first wife, Elizabeth, was the mother of Deacon Nathaniel White, born July 7, 1652, in Middletown, who settled on the homestead of his grand- father, Elder John White, in Hadley, about 1678. There he died February 15, 1742. He was a large landowner, promi- nent in both church and town affairs, took the oath of allegiance in February, 1679, and served on the committee to seat the meeting house. He married, March 28. 1678, Elizabeth Savage, born June 3, 1655. died January 30, 1742, daughter of John


Savage. Their sixth son and youngest child was William White, born August 15, 1698, in Hadley, where he was select- man in 1750, and died May 30, 1774. He married, March 22, 1728, Mary, widow of John Taylor, and daughter of John and Sarah (Harrison) Selden, born September 27, 1703, died August 10, 1735. Their eldest son, William White, was born Oc- tober 4, 1732, and was something of a rover, residing successively in Hinsdale, New Hampshire; Bernardston, North- field and Springfield, Massachusetts, and died at Hadley in December, 1810. He married, in April, 1757, Lydia Patterson, born September 2, 1737, in Northfield, Massachusetts, daughter of Eleazer and Lydia (Moore) Patterson, died before 1765. Samuel White, son of William and Lydia (Patterson) White, was born about 1758-63. The traditions and Revolution- ary military rolls differ widely about this. According to the family tradition he was but fifteen years old when he entered the Revolutionary army. One record of his service makes him twenty years old at enlistment, and other records place his age differently. It is probable that he exaggerated his age on the first enlist- ment in order to secure admission to the ranks. All records of his Revolutionary service agree in this that his stature was five feet, six inches, and most of them that his complexion was dark. His first enlistment was at Salem, Massachusetts, where he was credited to Chester, New Hampshire. He was a member of a com- pany raised in Salem to serve in the Con- tinental army on the resolve of April 20, 1778, is described age twenty ; stature five feet, six inches ; complexion dark, eyes light. His enlistment1 was for nine months, from arrival at Fishkill, and this date was June 23. He lived for a time in Chester, Massachusetts, whence he re- moved to Belchertown, in the same colo-


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ny, and there again entered the Revolu- tionary army. He marched to camp at Springfield, August 16, 1780, in a com- pany raised to reinforce the Continental army for six months, agreeable to the resolve of May 5, 1780, and the return was dated at Springfield, August 16, of that year. He is described as five feet, six inches in stature, with dark com- plexion, no age given. He was also a private in Lieutenant-Colonel William Hull's company, Colonel John Greaton's (Third) regiment, as shown by muster roll of November, 1780, was discharged February 16, 1781, after service of six months and nineteen days, including eight days' (one hundred and fifty miles) travel home. After this service he seems to have removed to Granby, Connecticut, which was then a part of Massachusetts, and there enlisted, April 24, 1781, for three months' service. He is described as aged twenty-one years, stature five feet, six inches, complexion fresh, a farmer. He was a private in Captain David Holbrook's company, Colonel Wil- liam Shepard's (Fourth) regiment rolls of August and September, 1781; was re- ported on horse guard in September, 1781, dated York Hutts; was reported on fatigue duty in October and November, 1781 ; was transferred to Captain Webb's company, December 1, 1781, and was also in Captain George Webb's company of light infantry. Colonel Shepard's regiment, in December, 1781, and January and Febru- ary, 1782, roll sworn to at West Point. Samuel White continued to reside in Granby until his death. Family tradition says that he was twice married, but rec- ord of only one marriage has been found. This occurred March 12, 1801, the bride being Abigail Day, born August 24, 1763, daughter of John (3) and Rhoda (Chapin) Day, of Ireland Parish, West Springfield, granddaughter of Tohn (2) and Abigail




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