USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 40
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(VIII) Colonel Frank Woodbridge, son of Charles and Waitstill Dexter (Shaw) Cheney, was born at Providence, Rhode Island, June 5, 1832, died at his home in South Manchester, Connecticut, May 26, 1909. He became the secretary and treas- urer of The Cheney Brothers Silk Manu- facturing Company of South Manchester. He was a soldier during the Civil War, serving as lieutenant-colonel of the Six- teenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged, December 24, 1862. At the time of his death, the "Hartford Courant," in an editorial, said :
Colonel Frank W. Cheney died suddenly and peacefully at his home. In his death the State loses a man who, by common consent, has stood for years as the very best in Connecticut citizen- ship. He was loved by a wide circle of personal friends, a circle much wider than some who knew him only slightly were aware; he was respected by every one who knew the name of Cheney- and he had made that name known to very many who had missed the privilege of his personal
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acquaintance. His qualities alike of head and heart fitted him for the leadership which he never sought, but which invariably came to him when things were to be done. No name in his State carried greater weight than his, because every- body knew that back of it were sound judgment, unselfish purpose, and high personal character. For years he had been the head of the famous Cheney Brothers silk manufacturing concern, and under his skillful management it had grown to be one of the great industries of the country. For seven eventful years he has been a director of the New York, New Haven & Hartford road, he was a director in various other companies, as many as he would consent to serve, and he was constantly called on for advice and assistance by individuals. As a friend said last night : "Every- body leaned on him." At seventy-seven the bur- den of all these cares proved suddenly too heavy, and his long and useful life has ended. It is safe to say that he would not have wanted it to be longer, if it had to be less useful. The Colonel was one of the Connecticut heroes of the Civil War; he was dreadfully wounded at Antietam, and the first reports had it that he was dead on the field. He came home and was nursed back to life, and the old soldiers have ever since had in him not only a friend but a brother. The mystic bond that draws the veterans together was very strong with him. The affection of the "boys" for him was touchingly evident whenever they met. A year ago, June 5, 1908, on the occasion of his becoming seventy-six years old, the survivors of his regiment surprised him at his home and presented him with a loving cup. His friend for half a century, Rev. Dr. Parker, read a poem, and the whole scene was ideally delightful, and a beautiful tribute to the man they all loved. He was a man of few words, and some people who only met him casually thought he was sometimes curt. The fact was, that though his words were few, they covered the situation. He had the singular gift of saying briefly all that was to be said, but what he said always rang true; and no man ever lived who possessed more fully the sweet gifts of sympathy and gentleness, and none was ever moved by a kindlier desire to help his fellowman. It has been evident to his friends for some time that he was losing strength, and yet he was so necessary to them, and so much an essential part of their living, that they would not bring themselves to anticipate the stroke which came yesterday and has so overwhelmed them. Of the sweet and hospitable life of the Cheney home, a newspaper editorial is not the place to
speak; but the many who have been privileged to enjoy it will always cherish the recollection of it as a most delightful part of the sunshine of their lives.
Colonel Cheney married, November 3, 1863, Mary, born at Hartford, September 25, 1840, daughter of Rev. Horace Bush- nell, D. D., of that city.
HENRY, Edward Stevens,
Congressman.
Edward Stevens Henry, a representa- tive in Congress from Connecticut, was born in Gill, Massachusetts, February 10, 1836, son of Edward Fish and Eliza A. (Stevens) Henry, the former named a teacher and farmer, and traces his ances- try to Hugh Henry, a sturdy yeoman of northern England who fought under Wil- liam of Orange in the battle of the Boyne. His son, Hugh Henry, Jr., came from Coleraine, Ireland, to Coleraine, Massa- chusetts, in 1738, and founded the Ameri- can branch of the family. Benjamin Henry, son of Hugh Henry, Jr., was a soldier in the French and Indian Wars under General Putnam, was for seven- teen years a member of the Legislature, and also participated in the Revolution.
Edward Stevens Henry accompanied his parents to Rockville, Connecticut, in 1849, when thirteen years of age, and completed his education in the public schools of that place. Later he engaged in the dry goods business, and at a very early age he became actively interested in the organization and management of the leading financial institutions of Rock- ville, being an organizer and later treas- urer of the People's Savings Bank of Rockville, and in addition to this was a farmer and breeder of thoroughbred stock. The public positions which Mr. Henry has held have been many and im- portant. For fifteen years he was active
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trial justice at Rockville ; in 1883 he was a member of the General Assembly ; from 1887 to 1888 he was State Senator ; dele- gate-at-large to the Chicago National Re- publican Convention in 1888; from 1889 to 1893 he as treasurer of the State of Connecticut ; in 1894-95 he was mayor of Rockville; was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress, and to the eight succeeding congresses (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1913). Mr. Henry is a director of the American Jersey Cattle Club, the Sons of the American Revolu- tion, Order of Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and the Connecticut Historical Soci- ety.
He married, February 11, 1860, Lucina E. Dewey, of Lebanon, Connecticut, by whom he had one daughter.
PLUME, David Scott,
Business Man.
The Plume family (in early genera- tions spelled Plum) are an old and hon- ored English family, residents of Toppes- field, County Essex, England, also at Great Yeldham and Ridgewell, England, the first four generations of the family- John, Robert, Robert (2), and John (2)- resided. The representative in the fifth generation, Samuel Plum, was the immi- grant ancestor; he located at Branford, Connecticut, and later removed to New- ark, New Jersey; he died January 22, 1703. His son, John (3) Plum, was born in Branford, October 28, 1657, died at Newark, July 12, 1710; married Hannah Crane. Their son, John (4) Plume, was born in Newark, 1696; married (first) Joanna Crane, (second) Mary His son, John (5) Plume, was born about 1743, died about 1771; married Susan Crane. Their son, David Plume, was born in Newark, 1769, died there, Au- gust 27, 1835; married Matilda Cook.
Their son, Robert (3) Plume, was born in Newark, 1799; later resided in North Haven, Connecticut, but subsequently re- turned to Newark, New Jersey ; married Amelia Hulse, a descendant of the Barnes family, one of the prominent fam- ilies of North Haven, Connecticut. They were the parents of David Scott Plume, of this review.
David Scott Plume was born in New Haven, Connecticut, August 22, 1829. He received his early education in Lov- ell's Lancastrian School, and after the re- turn of the family to Newark, New Jer- sey, in 1835, attended a private school in that city. When he was fifteen years old he entered the employ of a manufacturer of brass goods at Newark, to learn the business. He won promotion rapidly, and soon occupied positions of large re- sponsibility. When he was twenty-two years old, in 1852, he embarked in busi- ness for himself as a brass manufacturer in Newark, with a store in New York City. In 1866 he purchased an interest in the Thomas Manufacturing Company, at Plymouth Hollow (now Thomaston), Connecticut, and removed to that village to take charge of the plant. In 1869 he was one of the founders of the Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company, of Waterbury. It was a joint stock com- pany, and his associates were Israel Holmes, John C. Booth, Lewis J. At- wood, Aaron Thomas, George W. Wel- ton and Burr Tucker. The name origin- ally adopted was the Holmes, Booth & Atwood Manufacturing Company, but on January 1, 1871, this was changed to the Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Com- pany. Israel Holmes was the first presi- dent, John C. Booth secretary and Mr. Plume treasurer. Soon after the com- pany bought the Hayden & Griggs Manu- facturing Company, and in June follow- ing purchased the brass rolling mill of the
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Thomas Manufacturing Company at Thomaston. It manufactured sheet brass, brass wire, lamp burners and trimmings, copper rivets, pins and similar goods. After the death of Mr. Holmes, in July, 1886, Burr Tucker was elected president, and Robert H. Swayze, of New York City, secretary. Mr. Plume continued as treasurer of the concern. He was also treasurer of the American Ring Com- pany, another of the great manufacturing concerns of Waterbury. He removed his residence from Thomaston to Water- bury in 1873.
In politics he was a Whig until the Civil War, and then a Republican. He never sought public office, however, though he held a number of places of trust and honor. He represented the town in the General Assembly in 1876, and was re- elected in 1878. He was a director of the New York & New England Railroad Company, formerly the Hartford, Provi- dence & Fishkill Railroad, and now a part of the New York, New Haven & Hartford system. Mr. Plume was one of the organizers of the Waterbury Horse Railroad Company, and held the office of president from the time of incorporation until it was merged with the Waterbury Traction Company. The . Connecticut Electric Company was the first to fur- nish electricity for lighting and power in Waterbury, and he was elected its presi- dent when it was organized, in 1884. The Waterbury Traction Company came into existence in 1894, of which he was presi- dent, and after it was merged with the Connecticut Street Railway and Light- ing Company he was a director and vice- president of the corporation. He was also the most active associate of Mr. Young in building the first telephone ex- change in Waterbury, and the original company afterward became part of the Southern New England system. When
the Colonial Trust Company was incor- porated he was made president, which office he held until the time of his death. He was a director of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford, and of the Waterbury Hospital. Mr. Plume was a member of the Union League Club, of New York City, also the Waterbury Club and the Home Club of Waterbury. He was a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church.
He married, October 16, 1855, Abbie Cornelia Richardson, of Newark. Chil- dren : Frank Cameron; David N., de- ceased ; Emily Mansfield, married John Gary Evans, formerly Governor of South Carolina.
WALLER, Thomas M.,
Governor, Lawyer.
Thomas Macdonald Waller, thirty- third Governor of Connecticut (1883-85), was born in New York City in 1840, son of Thomas Christopher and Mary (Mac- donald) Armstrong, who were natives of Ireland. When he was very young his parents and his only brother died, leav- ing him entirely alone and almost penni- less. He attempted to earn his living as a newsboy in the lower part of the city, a small sum of money having been given him by a stranger. He next became a cabin boy on a fishing vessel belonging to the port of New York. In 1849 he was about to ship on a schooner bound for California, carrying a party of gold seek- ers, but Robert K. Waller, of New Lon- don, Connecticut, happened to meet the boy, was struck with his intelligence, and offered him a home in his own family. Young Armstrong accepted and, being adopted as a member of the household, assumed his benefactor's surname.
His education, begun in the public schools of New York City, was continued
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in those of New London and, when at the age of nineteen, he was graduated at the Bartlett Grammar School, he carried off the first prize in oratory. In New London, Mr. Waller began the study of law, and in 1861 he was admitted to prac- tice in the State courts. His practice, which was a large one, was interrupted by the Civil War, for he at once enlisted for three months' service in the Second Connecticut Regiment, was chosen fourth sergeant of Company E, and went to the front. A disease of the eyes prevented his remaining in the army, but he did efficient service at home and elsewhere by recruiting troops and by public speeches in advocacy of war measures. He was a member of the Connecticut Legislature in 1867 and again in 1868, and during the latter session was promi- nent in a lengthy debate on the subject of bridging the Connecticut river, Sena- tor Eaton leading the opposition to the bill, and Mr. Waller closing the discus- sion with a vigorous defence of the proj- ect, which was carried through.
In 1870 Mr. Waller was elected Secre- tary of State, but continued his practice while performing official duties. In 1876 he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Connecticut Leg- islature. The session was the shortest that had been held for many years, and much of the credit for the prompt man- ner in which the public business was transacted was ascribed to him. At the close of the session he was appointed State's Attorney for New London county. This office he held by reappointment until he was elected Governor, and during his incumbency he tried a number of impor- tant criminal cases, among them that of Herbert Hayden, a Methodist minister, arraigned on a charge of murdering one of his parishioners. Mr. Waller was twice elected mayor of New London, and served
nearly six years. His methods were some- times too progressive to please the citizens, but eventually the results were admitted to justify the means. In 1882, while still State's Attorney, he was nominated for Governor by the Democrats, and excited considerable criticism by stumping the State in his own behalf. He was elected by a large majority; his administration was both dignified and conservative, and his speeches and state papers were highly praised by the press. At the close of his term he was enthusiastically renomi- nated, and as a candidate received a plur- ality of votes and a larger number than Grover Cleveland, the presidential candi- date, who carried the State. He failed to obtain a majority, however, and, the choice devolving upon the Legislature, which was Republican, his competitor, Hon. Henry B. Harrison, was placed in the Governor's chair. At the National Democratic Convention of 1884, Mr. Wal- ler supported Grover Cleveland as a can- didate for the presidency in a most eulo- gistic manner, and the latter, shortly after his inauguration, appointed Mr. Waller to be Consul-General to London, England. His record there was so satis- factory that he was more than once com- plimented by the Department of State, and he was so popular with the English people and with his own countrymen who visited England, that on the eve of his return to the United States, at the close of his four years' service, a banquet was given in his honor, Minister Phelps and the entire consular corps of Great Britain being present on that occasion.
On his return to the United States, he resumed the practice of law, becoming the senior member of the firm of Waller, Cook & Wagner, corporation lawyers, of New York City, retaining his home in New London, Connecticut. His name has been mentioned since his retirement
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to private life as a worthy one for the vice-presidency of the United States on the Democratic ticket, and again for Gov- ernor, but he practically has abstained from politics. He was commissioner from Connecticut to the World's Columbian Exposition, and was elected first vice- president by the national commission. He frequently occupied the chair and took an active part in the debates of that body. He won well deserved praise for his knowledge of parliamentary law, and in discussion he rarely failed to carry his point. His last public service was as delegate from his town to the Constitu- tional Convention in 1906, where his voice ever was uplifted in the interests of reform and fair representation for the people.
Mr. Waller married Charlotte Bishop, of New London, and has a family of one daughter, the wife of Professor William R. Appleby, of the University of Minne- sota ; and five sons-Tracey, Martin B., Robert K., Charles B., and John M., the majority of whom have adopted their father's profession, the law.
HUNGERFORD, Frank Louis, Lawyer, Enterprising Citizen.
Frank Louis Hungerford was born in Torrington, Connecticut, November 6, 1843, son of John and Charlotte (Austin) Hungerford. His father was a success- ful merchant and woolen goods manufac- turer.
Frank Louis Hungerford attended the public schools and by private study fitted for college. After two years in the Uni- versity of Vermont, he accepted an op- portunity to study law in the office of Senator George F. Edmunds, at Burling- ton, Vermont. He was admitted to the bar in 1865 and could have remained in Burlington in charge of Senator Ed-
munds' 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 & Hun- gerford. Some twenty years later John P. Bartlett was admitted to the firm and the name changed to Mitchell, Hunger- ford & Bartlett. His firm occupied a posi- tion of prominence among the lawyers of the State for a generation, and Judge Hungerford 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 substantially to the develop- ment of the thriving city in which he lived.
He was a director of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company, the Stanley Rule and Level Company, the New Britain National Bank, the Burritt Savings Bank and the New Britain In- stitute. He was an active and prominent member of the First Church of Christ, and was elected deacon in 1874. He was one of the mainstays of the Young Men's Christian Association, and from 1889 to 1901, a period of twelve years, was its president. In 1897 Judge Hungerford's law firm was dissolved and he became the head of the firm of Hungerford, Hyde, Joslyn & Gilman, of Hartford, and con- tinued in this relation until his death. In politics he was a Republican, but he declined public office in later years, though his advice was often sought in shaping useful legislation, and his influ- ence was acknowledged by the leaders of his party. He received from the Uni- versity of Vermont the honorary degree
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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 in New Britain, July 6, 1841, daughter of Wil- liam A. Churchill. Children: William Churchill, see forward; 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 spe- cial meeting of the Hartford County Bar, held in the Superior Court room at Hart- ford, June 25, 1909, we quote :
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 development 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 pro- bate 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 Hun- gerford, 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 nor 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 preplex- ities. The public water system called for en- largement and an increased supply. In all direc- tions, 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 develop- ment. His advice was followed without misgiv- ing; such was the public confidence in his legal knowledge, his wisdom and probity and personal distinterestedness, that practically all of his de- cisions and directions were accepted as decisive by political opponents as well as political ad- herents. If any exception existed, it was so rare as to prove the rule. It rarely happens that pub- lic 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 government, and no one for a moment entertained a thought that he could be diverted from his devotion 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 community; and the same feeling finds expression upon evey tongue. * But *
* during the past winter the demands of the city have been specially exacting. After strenuous days at Hartford he gave the still more strenu- ous evenings to the requirements of New Britain. Alas, that it should have been necessary, but a necessity within him compelled 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 decisions. He searched for the law at the foun- tains ; he laboriously delved for legal principles in mines that yield their treasures only to un- remitting toil. He delighted in the mastery of legal problems. Except in a sudden exigency, it was impossible that he should come into a case without preparation. And how he did enjoy a lawsuit! He would establish peace between liti- gants if it were possible, but when a real contro- versy was on, he delighted in the labor of prepa- ration, he delighted in the give-and-take of the contest, and he delighted in the sensation of a hard-won victory. Any man who entrusted his cause to Frank Hungerford had no reason to fear that he was working primarily to secure a fee.
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* * 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. 1 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 difference. 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 reflected the sincerity of character which was the secret of its prevailing power. Nor should any one associate his purity of character with any supposed weakness in any direction. Mr. Hungerford was a full, strong man, a lover of life and of the good things of life, which he was not accustomed to reject as they came along. He was a lover of fine horses, as his stables wit- nessed. He loved an intelligent dog and an un- flawed diamond. He loved the broad horns of the farmyard, and a day by the brookside with his trout rod in the cherished intervals of an ex- acting business supplied him not only with sorely needed rest, but with almost unutterable joy.
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