USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 3 > Part 52
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(VI) Aaron Whitney, second son of Lieutenant Levi and Rebecca (Clark) Whitney, was born 1772, in Townsend, was a blacksmith by trade, and in 1812 was postmaster at Amherst, Massachu- setts. In 1815 his shop was burned, and he removed to Calais, Maine. Died Feb- ruary 16, 1845. Married (first) March 16, 1797, Phebe Dunklee, born December 20, 1778, died January 31. 1800. Married (second) Olive Lund, born in August, 1779, died January, 1867.
(IV) Daniel Whitney, son of Jonathan and Sarah (Hapgood) Whitney, was born September 12, 1710, in Concord, and re- sided for the greater part of his life in the (VII) Aaron Whitney, fourth son of north precinct of Shrewsbury, now the Aaron Whitney, and child of his second
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wife, Olive (Lund) Whitney, was born December 15, 1801, at Amherst, Massa- chusetts. Died January, 1866. Married, at Biddeford, Maine, Rebecca Perkins, born in March, 1809.
(VIII) Amos Whitney, eldest son of Aaron and Rebecca (Perkins) Whitney, was born October 8, 1832, at Biddeford, Maine. He was educated in the common schools of Biddeford and Saccarappa, Maine, and Exeter, New Hampshire, his parents removing first to Saccarappa, then to Exeter, and lastly to Lawrence, Massachusetts. In the latter town he was apprenticed when thirteen years old to learn the trade of machinist with the Essex Machine Company. The shop in which he worked was a very large one for those days, and was devoted to the making of cotton machinery, locomotives and machinists' tools. During his ap- prenticeship of three years and one year as a journeyman he served at the latter work. At the end of the fourth year he followed his father to Colt's pistol factory at Hartford, Connecticut, where both worked as machinists; this was in Sep- tember, 1850. It may be noted here that among the Whitneys for generations there had been many skilled mechanics. Aaron Whitney was an expert locksmith and machinist, and the son no doubt in- herited from him his mechanical taste and his pronounced skill. Eli Whitney, of cotton-gin fame, was a descendant of the same remote ancestor as Amos Whitney.
In the course of time, Amos Whitney became a contractor in the plant of the Phoenix Iron Works of Hartford, in which he was intimately associated with a former shopmate in the pistol factory, Francis A. Pratt. The latter became su- perintendent of the Phoenix Works in 1854, and his friend. Amos Whitney, was thus induced to join the corps of that establishment. As early as 1860, Messrs.
Pratt and Whitney rented manufacturing space in Hartford, where they began do- ing work on their own account, in the manufacture of a "spooler" for the Willi- mantic Linen Company, which controlled the Conant patent for winding thread. This was the beginning of the great Pratt & Whitney Company, which is now known around the world wherever there is occasion for the use of machinery.
Within a short time after this begin- ning they were burned out, but in March, 1860, they again resumed business in a building in the rear of the Hartford "Times" office. The rapid growth of their business led them to extend their space until all available in that building was occupied. In the meantime they con- tinued their association with the Phoenix Iron Works until 1864. In 1863 Monroe Stannard, of New Britain, became a part- ner in their enterprise, to which each of the three contributed twelve hundred dollars. This association remained un- broken until 1900. Mr. Stannard assumed charge of the operation of the shop, but the steady growth of the enterprise com- pelled Messrs. Pratt and Whitney to re- sign their positions with the Phoenix Iron Works and devote their entire time to their own business. The first build- ing on the site of their present enor- mous plant was erected in 1865, and others were rapidly added. In 1910 the establishment occupied thirteen acres of floor room, equipped with the most modern appliances for the comfort of the employees, for the convenient and eco- nomical prosecution of the work, and for protection against fires. The ground occupied lies on both sides of the Park river, with the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad traversing the grounds, and affording the greatest convenience for railway shipment. A milling machine designed by Mr. Pratt was among their
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early products, and down to 1910 more than 9,500 of these machines had been completed and distributed to all parts of the world. The practical utility and sim- plicity of this machine is shown by the fact that its design remained unchanged for more than forty years. The firm also produced machine tools, including lathes, planers, shapers, milling machines, drill- ing machines, boring machines, automatic hand screw machines, profiling machines, etc. As new industries presented them- selves, the Pratt & Whitney Company developed machinery desirable for the new conditions, and therefore had much to do with the development of sewing machines, harvesting machinery, elec- trical apparatus, bicycles and auto- mobiles, and they conducted a large busi- ness in supplying manufacturers through- out this and many foreign countries with their products. There are many concerns in the United States and other countries making high-grade machinery, but for many years the Pratt & Whitney Com- pany stood among the highest in regard to the quality of machinery for a large variety of purposes. The company has made original models of guns, sewing machines, and typesetters, and has made complete plants for their production.
In 1866, Messrs. Roswell F. Blodgett and Seth W. Bishop were admitted to equal interest with the other members of the firm, and during the four years from 1862 to 1866 the net assets of the estab- lishment increased from $3,600 to $75,000, and in the succeeding three years a clear profit of $100,000 was earned and invested in the development and extension of the business. In 1869 the Pratt & Whitney Company was incorporated, with a capital of $350,000, which was increased four years later by a stock dividend to $400,- 000. Another two years sufficed to in- crease the capital to half a million dollars,
all this upon a cash investment of $150,- 000. The remainder of the capital was provided by the earnings of the business. In 1893, under a reorganization, the capital was made two and three-quarter millions of dollars, of which one million was in common stock, and the balance preferred stock. This was subsequently increased to two million dollars each of preferred and common, and in 1893 the establishment employed over eight hun- dred hands, making a larger variety of machines than any other concern in the world. The production for the single year of 1893 was over one million, one hundred thousand, and in 1910 the capa- city was double this amount.
Shortly after the Civil War, this estab- lishment supplied tools to Ludwig Loew & Company, manufacturers of sewing machines in Berlin, Germany, and through this the German government learned of the Pratt & Whitney Company. After considerable telegraphic and other correspondence, Mr. Pratt made a trip to Berlin in 1870, and returned with orders from the German government for gun machinery, to the value of $350,000. The result of this trip amounted to over four- teen hundred thousand dollars worth of business for the Pratt & Whitney Com- pany, and when the work was finished the firm received a letter from the Ger- man government saying that the work was entirely satisfactory, and that they (the Pratt & Whitney Company) had done even more than they had agreed to do. This was the beginning of a very large and profitable foreign business which has continued to the present time. In 1879 it employed William A. Rogers, Professor of Astronomy at Harvard Col- lege, and George M. Bond, a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, to con- duct experiments with a view to the con- struction of an apparatus for exact and
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uniform measurement. The experiments lasted three years. Professor Rogers ob- tained reliable transfers of the yard and meter in London and Paris, and in co- operation with the United States Coast Survey conducted most minute and ex- haustive comparisons between the stand- ard bars prepared by him and the stand- ard "yard" known as bronze No. II. As a result the company developed an abso- lutely reliable set of standards, and rescued mechanical science and industry from a vast amount of inconvenience. These experiments cost the company much money, without the prospect of any immediate return. In 1888 Pratt & Whit- ney were selected by the Hotchkiss Ord- nance Company, contractors for the United States Navy Department, to make the Hotchkiss revolving cannon and three and six-pound rapid-fire guns, designed for our government by B. B. Hotchkiss on the principle applied to shoulder arms by Christian Sharps.
Mr. Whitney continued as superin- tendent of the plant until 1898, and from 1893 to 1898 was also vice-president of the company. In March, 1898, he was elected president, and continued in that office until 1902, when an arrangement was effected whereby the business was controlled by the Niles-Bement-Pond Company, and at that time Mr. Whitney retired from active service, but continued to serve on the board of directors and is still serving in this capacity. Prior to 1893 Mr. Whitney had never had more than three or four days' vacation in a year. Throughout his business career, Mr. Whitney kept in close contact with his foreman and employees, and by his policy the Pratt & Whitney Company be- came one of the most successful mechan- ical colleges or institutions on record. Apprentices by the hundred were edu- cated first and last at the company, and for many years they constantly had
names on the waiting list. Special atten- tion was given to the boys, and appren- tices, and workmen of the company were later found at the head of important insti- tutions throughout the United States, as well as in some foreign countries.
Mr. Whitney is secretary and treasurer of the Whitney Manufacturing Company, a corporation organized by his son, in whose organization he participated in 1896, and of which his son, Clarence E. Whitney, is now president and general manager. He is also president and direc- tor of the Gray Pay Station Telephone Company, of the Pratt & Whitney Com- pany, and the Hartford Faience Company. From boyhood he has been a hard worker, noted for his close attention to business. He was always found at the factory at seven a. m., and expected nothing from his men that he was not willing himself to perform. He early established a repu- tation for fairness in dealing with his employees, and has ever been particu- larly careful to carry out both the spirit and letter of every promise made. His instincts are naturally kind and generous, and no worthy cause has ever sought his aid in vain. His business career illus- trates the fundamental principles of true life. Permanent success does not grow out of mere activity, perseverance and judicious action, but personal virtue, combined with these. Its substantial foundation is the eternal principle of rec- titude. As a citizen he is universally esteemed, always sustaining the character of a true man, and he fulfills to the letter every trust committed to him. Public- spirited to the highest degree, he is ever forward in encouraging enterprises which can in any way advance the interest of his adopted city. Mr. Whitney can now look backward over an active business career covering the total span of life as allotted by the Psalmist, during which he has achieved far more than ordinary success.
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In the retrospect there is little to regret and much that entitles him to the highest praise, and now at an age when most men would have relinquished the cares and burdens of business, he is yet performing a valuable service in the business world, setting an example of industry worthy of emulation by all. Mr. Whitney has always been a staunch supporter of the Republican party, but has always refused to be a candidate for political honors, feeling that he could best serve his fel- low-men by contributing to industrial progress and activity, also prosperity. The broad character of his mind and his faith in the divine power and love is indicated by the religious faith, Univer- salism.
Married, at Hartford, Connecticut, September 8, 1856, Laura Johnson, born November 9, 1837, daughter of John and Sally (Cheney) Johnson, and a descend- ant of John Johnson, who came over with Winthrop, settled at Roxbury, Massa- chusetts, and was constable of that town and surveyor of all the arms of the colony. Issue: 1. Nellie Hortense Whit- ney, born October 5, 1860, died June 8, 1865. 2. Nettie Louise Whitney, born November 8, 1865. 3. Clarence Edgar Whitney, born November 26, 1869; stud- ied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later passed through a similar training in the shop and office of the Pratt & Whitney Company ; married, April 25, 1900, Nellie Hurlburt; issue : i. Dorothy Goodwin Whitney, born Feb- ruary 6, 1901 ; ii. Laura Cheney Whitney, born August 6, 1902; iii. Winthrop Hurl- burt Whitney, born April 15, 1904.
HUNGERFORD, Frank L.,
Man of Enterprise and Character.
Frank Louis Hungerford, son of John Hungerford, one of the substantial manu-
facturers of Connecticut, was born at Torrington, November 6, 1843. He at- tended the public schools and by private study fitted for college. After two years in the University of Vermont, he accepted an opportunity to study law in the office of Senator George F. Edmunds, at Burl- ington, Vermont. He was admitted to the bar in 1865, and could have remained in Burlington in charge of Senator Ed- mund's practice, but he preferred to re- turn to Connecticut, and he opened his office in his native town in 1866. He was successful from the first, and soon after- ward was elected judge of probate. In 1869 he removed to New Britain, Con- necticut, to become the partner of Hon. Charles E. Mitchell, afterward Commis- sioner of Patents of the United States, under the firm name of Mitchell & Hung- erford. Some twenty years later John P. Bartlett was admitted to the firm and the name changed to Mitchell, Hungerford & Bartlett. His firm occupied a position of prominence among the lawyers of the State for a generation, and Judge Hunger- ford was one of the foremost attorneys of the county. He was city attorney of New Britain and corporation counsel, and his influence and wisdom contributed sub- stantially to the development of the thriving city in which he lived. He was a director of the Russell & Erwin Manu- facturing Company, the Stanley Rule & Level Company, the New Britain Na- tional Bank, the Burritt Savings Bank and the New Britain Institute. He was an active and prominent member of the First Church of Christ, and was elected deacon in 1874. He was one of the main- stays of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, and from 1889 to 1901, a period of twelve years was its president. In 1897 Judge Hungerford's law firm was dis- solved and he became the head of the firm of Hungerford, Hyde, Joslyn & Gil-
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man of Hartford and continued in this relation until his death. This firm ranks among the best known and most success- ful in the State. In politics he was a Re- publican, but he declined public office in later years, though his advice was often sought in shaping useful legislation, and his influence was acknowledged by the leaders of his party. He received from the University of Vermont the honorary degree of Master of Arts in recognition of his achievements in law and public life.
Frank Louis Hungerford married, De- cember 21, 1869, Sarah A., born, New Britain, July 6, 1841, daughter of Wil- liam A. Churchill. Children: William Churchill ; Florence, died aged six years ; Belle, died aged two years; Frank Mills, died aged fourteen years.
From the eulogy of Charles Elliott Mitchell, formerly his partner, at a special meeting of the Hartford County Bar, held in the Superior Court room at Hart- ford, June 25, 1909, we quote :
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From the first he exhibited great aptitude for all forms of legal business, especially those which brought into requisition the exercise of sound judgment and the faculty of presenting causes in such a way as to be thoroughly understood by men of common sense. Early in the develop- ment of the partnership life, my attention was diverted in the direction of patent litigation, and a mutual arrangement was made which caused the major portion of the general law business to devolve upon Mr. Hungerford, while his partner devoted himself largely to causes involving the law of patents. This division of labor proved a happy one, and was maintained for the most part during the whole life of the partnership of nearly thirty years. Mr. Hungerford served as judge of probate first in Torrington and afterwards in New Britain, acquitting himself in those positions with his customary judgment and integrity. In 1897 he became the senior partner of the firm of Hungerford, Hyde, Joslyn & Gilman in this city. As the head of the firm he met all the demands of a large business, keeping him closely confined to his law practice, acquiring a great reputation as a trial lawyer and never seeking or accepting office, excepting where the legal function was the
dominant one. He drew to himself the respect of all by the influence which he uncon- sciously exerted, and this respect increased as the sphere of his influence broadened from year to year. He became the corporation counsel of the city of New Britain at a time of rapid change in the growth and needs of the rising young city. The city grew with the rapidity of a western township. The old charter, which had served its day, had become an outworn garment. The town and city governments were to be amalgamated. The sewer problem presented unending perplex- ities. The public water system called for enlarge- ment and an increased supply. In all directions, change and growth presented problems which called for commanding ability and a legal leader. Mr. Hungerford was corporation counsel during nearly the whole of this period of development. His advice was followed without misgiving; such was the public confidence in his legal knowledge, his wisdom and probity and personal disinter- estedness, that practically all of his decisions and directions were accepted as decisive by political opponents as well as political adherents. If any exception existed, it was so rare as to prove the rule. It rarely happens that public confidence is so completely centered in any one legal adviser as it was in Mr. Hungerford. All believed that he had the learning and wisdom called for by all the complexities and problems of the city and its gov- ernment, and no one for a moment entertained a thought that he could be diverted from his de- votion to the public good. The present public- spirited mayor of New Britain placed a very high value upon his services, and mourns his death as an almost irreparable loss to the city and commu- nity ; and the same feeling finds expression upon every tongue. * But during the past winter the demands of the city have been specially exact- ing. After strenuous days at Hartford he gave the still more strenuous evenings to the require- ments of New Britain. Alas, that it should have been necessary, but a necessity within him com- pelled him to do his duty. *
* * I rejoice in the fact that Mr. Hungerford's name has become permanently a part of the city's history, and that while the city lives his well-earned reputation will not die.
* * * The desire to master legal science was as native to Frank Hungerford as his vital breath. He was not content to scratch the surface of de- cisions. He searched for the law at the fountains ; he laborionsly delved for legal principles in mines that yield their treasures only to unremitting toil. He delighted in the mastery of legal problems. Except in a sudden exigency, it was impossible
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David Dr. Camp
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
that he should come into a case without prepara- tion. And how he did enjoy a lawsuit! He would establish peace between litigants if it were possible, but when a real controversy was on, he delighted in the labor of preparation, he delighted in the give-and-take of the contest, and he de- lighted in the sensation of a hard-won victory. Any man who entrusted his cause to Frank Hun- gerford had no reason to fear that he was work- ing primarily to secure a fee. * * * Just, sincere and affectionate in the very roots of his nature, his life could not avoid exhibiting, unconsciously, of course, the exalted character of the sweet soul of Frank Hungerford. I never knew him give utterance to an impure word or an impure sentiment. Dishonesty was not conceivable of him. There was never a written contract between us and we never had a differ- ence. When the lawyer said he would give a great sum of money for Hungerford's face as a means of prevailing in the presence of a jury, he forgot that the face which he coveted simply re- flected the sincerity of character which was the secret of its prevailing power. Nor should any one associate his purity of character with any sup- posed weakness in any direction. Mr. Hunger- ford was a full, strong man, a lover of life and of the good things of life, which he was not ac- customed to reject as they came along. He was a lover of fine horses, as his stables witnessed. He loved an intelligent dog and an unflawed diamond. He loved the broad horns of the farm- yard, and a day by the brookside with his trout rod in the cherished intervals of an exacting busi- ness supplied him not only with sorely needed rest, but with almost unutterable joy.
It remains to be added that Mr. Hungerford had one quality which, whether a felicity or a failing, undoubtedly stood in the way of political preferment, if indeed he ever desired political pre- ferment. His nature was so ingrainedly truthful and sincere that he could not stoop to the in- sincerities which sometimes characterize the pro- fessional politician. His reticence was remarkable and increased with his years, but his infrequent words were like the scarcest of metals-all gold throughout.
* * He believed in the truth of the say- ing, "In my Father's house are many mansions," and he ordered his life in complete subordina- tion to that belief. He was made a deacon in the Congregational Church thirty-three years ago. He was a student of the Bible from earliest youth. At the time of his death he was the head of a Bible class of nearly sixty adult, thinking men. On Thursday evenings he was a teacher of the
Sunday school teachers. He was for a dozen years president of the Young Men's Christian Associ- ation, and he lived his life, year in and year out, as ever "in his great taskmaster's eye." Such a man could not be indifferent to man's infirmities, and accordingly he was at the time of his death president of the New Britain Hospital, giving the time which he could ill spare to the sweet charities which flourish in such institutions.
* What were the sources of his un- questioned strength, both before the court and the jury. If I should try to state them, I should specify the love of law as a science felt in his youth and the controlling element in all his efforts; capacity for thorough preparation never omitted when preparation was possible; loyalty to truth and conscience which made him more than ready to settle doubtful cases; profound knowledge of legal principles and a capacity for clear statement, seldom excelled, which made the development of each proposition an aid to a clear understanding of those which still remained to be unfolded in the natural order of thought, and per- haps I should add also that joy of the contest which marks the born advocate. And attending these qualities all along the line was the faculty of sound judgment, more rare, I sometimes think, than genius itself, a faculty which, as by intuition, separates the immaterial from the important, and laying due stress upon the latter relegates the former precipitately to the rear.
CAMP, David Nelson,
Educator, Lecturer, Author.
One approaches the task of reviewing the life of David Nelson Camp with a feeling of reverence, for it is a life ex- tended far beyond even extreme limits ; it is a life that has been one of blessing to the countless thousands whom he has influenced as educator, lecturer, author and Christian worker. While his period of effort has passed, and his years, ninety- seven, have taken their toll, his memory is still a vital force in his community, where he is reverenced as a man whose life was spent in the service of his fellow- men. His life covered nearly a century of the world's most wonderful progress. He was a young man when he witnessed the beginning of the practical application of
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steam, and the application of electricity in all its phases took place during his life- time, these two forces changing the face of the earth, multiplying its wealth a thousand fold, changing the customs and habits of all peoples, altering the stand- ard of living, and adding more to the physical comfort and material well being of the human race than all that had pre- ceded their introduction. He saw the entire development of the free public school system and the growth of great moral forces, contributing to both the greater part of his own life. But there is nothing he witnessed so wonderful to the present generation as his own pure, unselfish life.
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