USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 41
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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 insin- cerities which sometimes characterize the pro- fessional politician. His reticence was remark- able and increased with his years, but his infre- quent 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 subordination to that belief. He was made a deacon in the Con- gregational 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 Association, 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 unques-
tioned 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 perhaps 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.
SWIFT, Rowland,
Financier.
Rowland Swift was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, February 24, 1834, and died at Hartford, Connecticut, June 13, 1902. His parents were Dr. Earl and Laura (Ripley) Swift. Her father was a native of Massachusetts, an accomplished phy- sician and surgeon, who began practice at Windham, Connecticut, continued it for two years at Wethersfield, and finally located permanently in Mansfield. The mother of Rowland Swift was a sister of General Ripley, at one time in charge of the Springfield Armory.
As a boy, Rowland Swift was am- bitious to follow his father's profession, but an attack of varioloid contracted while nursing one of his father's small- pox patients, left his eyes in such condi- tion that though he repeatedly returned to his studies, he was finally obliged to abandon hope of a college and medical education. He came to Hartford at the age of sixteen and worked as clerk in the dry goods store of Joseph Langdon.
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Shortly after the organization of what was known as the Hartford County Bank, which in 1865 became the American Na- tional Bank, he entered its services as a clerk and would have been fifty years continuously in this concern had he lived a few months longer. He was made cashier in 1854, before he had attained his majority, succeeding James B. Powell. He was elected president in 1871, suc- ceeding George M. Bartholomew. He held this office at the time of his death and was senior by about ten years of service of any other bank president in Hartford. He was on duty until within a fortnight of his death. He was also trustee of the Society of Savings, director of the Retreat for the Insane and the American School for the Deaf. He was treasurer of the Watkinson library of ref- erence, and was senior member of the board of trustees of the Hartford Theo- logical Seminary. He was for many years an active member of the Connecticut His- torical Society, and was one of the origi- nal members of the Republican Club of Hartford. These, with other positions of trust, indicate the esteem in which he was held by his townsmen. He was a director of the Pratt & Whitney Com- pany for many years. The "Hartford Courant" said of him :
Mr. Swift was a man of intense patriotism and the Civil War fired the loyalty of his whole na- ture. Unable himself to enlist he doubled his bank work to keep open the place of one who had gone to the front. He entered with enthusiasm into the politics of the day as president for many years of the Young Men's Club. He was through- out his life a staunch, clean and aggressive Re- publican and was in frequent demand even in his last years for chairman of the party caucuses. He never sought distinction, however. There was no touch of cant or sanctimoniousness about him. Soon after coming to Hartford, he joined the South Church and was superintendent of the Sunday school for many years. At the time of the organization of the City Missionary Society he threw himself into the work of that society and worked zealously in raising the needed funds
for the Park Street Sunday school, of which he was superintendent. Soon after he joined the Center Church in 1865 he was elected Sunday school superintendent and he continued in this position with great fidelity and success until about 1885. He was repeatedly elected deacon of this church and held the office to the time of his death.
As a lad he had practiced scales and hymns upon a violin in the attic of his home until he became so proficient that the embargo on his muse was removed and he was permitted to play in the living room. This love of music made him especially interested in the development of the musical services in Center Church. Mr. Swift was not one whose Christian spirit exhausted it- self in the administration of ecclesiastical office. It was of his very nature. There was about him an urbanity of manner and an eminent kindliness that grew out of a loving charitableness. He was a man of intense convictions, absolutely fearless in the proclamation of them and exceedingly tenacious in adhering to them. Yet there was nothing but the finest courtesy at any time in his absolute and courageous upholding of what he believed was right.
Long before the present interest in family his- tory prevailed he had traced his ancestry, and was a careful and eager student of the early his- tory of New England. Before nature study be- came fashionable, he studied and loved the flowers and birds with a care and thoroughness that was characteristic. He loved the broad fields, the sweep of the hill, the open sky. In the quiet of his country home on Cedar Mountain, he found for many years the greatest delight and tranquility. Children knew him for a friend and he loved them and studied ways of aug- menting the happiness of his young friends. He represented in a remarkable degree the strong, sturdy, religious, and eminently practical traits of the best type of New England character. He had, moreover, something of courtly graciousness and a strain of aesthetic appreciation, a quality of native lovingness and lovableness altogether unusual. His home was at I Wethersfield ave- nue, Hartford.
He married, September 12, 1855, Sarah Benton, daughter of Norman H. and Jane (Shepard) Gillett, granddaughter of Mary (Webster) Shepard, descendant of Governor John Webster. Children : Rob- ert, died young; Howard, died in 1889; Mary, married Arthur L. Gillett, she died in January, 1901.
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SMITH, Colonel Leslie,
Army Officer.
Like every human institution, good, bad or indifferent, war has its associa- tions of beauty and virtue, and however much an enlightened public conscience must desire its final abandonment, there will always remain a legacy bequeathed by it to mankind consisting of records of courage and self-sacrifice, of stories of romance and gallantry, without which the world would be distinctly the poorer. However this may be, it is certainly be- yond question that many of the most essentially gentle and lovable characters in the history of this country have been those of the great soldiers, who hated their own trade and only followed it from the highest, purest motives, who felt that even war might be sanctified as an in- strument in the high cause of liberty and right. Such a character was that of Colo- nel Leslie Smith, whose death on August 29, 1907, deprived the city of South Nor- walk of a most distinguished citizen, and his country of one whose whole life had been given in devoted, disinterested em- ployment in its service.
Colonel Smith was not an American by either parentage or birth, his native land being Ireland, where he was born May 15, 1826, in that most beautiful and romantic region, County Antrim. The first thirteen years of his life were spent amid the picturesque scenes of this de- lightful country, and here he received some schooling of a rather meagre sort, but a liberal education in the school of experience. In the year 1840 his parents, Leslie and Fannie (Harrison) Smith, left Ireland never to return, and with their children came to Canada, where they set- tled on a farm and eventually died dur- ing the Civil War in the United States. The youth, their son, brought with him
from the native land little save an ample share of his country's virtues, and a strange union, likewise the inheritance of his race, of the qualities of idealism and practical common sense, the possession of which is the key which unlocks the door of success to so many of his fellow countrymen. He was but thirteen years of age when he arrived in Canada with his parents, and for the nine succeeding years was employed in clerical positions in various places in that country, exhibit- ing everywhere the native intelligence and devotion to duty that finally won him success in his chosen career.
In 1849, as a young man of twenty-two, he came to the United States and was enrolled as a private in the regular army at Philadelphia on July 27 of that year. From that time on his life is one long record of faithful service to his adopted country in every part of its mighty realm, north, south, east and west. His first post was at Governor's Island, New York, where he was stationed at the principal recruiting station, where, in the follow- ing September, he received his first pro- motion to the rank of corporal. In 1850 he was made the chief clerk of that sta- tion and performed the duties of this post until 1854, by which time he had reached the rank of sergeant. He withdrew from the service in that year, receiving his honorable discharge. He was not out of the service for long, however, receiving an appointment shortly after as paymas- ter's clerk from Major R. H. Chilton, pay- master in the United States army. He was now sent to Texas and spent most of the time in that State until 1861, serving in his new capacity. The training he re- ceived in this and the former position proved of the greatest value to him, giv- ing. as it did, an intimate and comprehen- sive insight into army conditions and needs. It thus happened that, when in
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1861 he resigned to enter active service in the great war which had just broken out, he was at once commissioned as sec- ond lieutenant in the First United States Infantry, and, on reporting for duty on the 10th of May in that year, was as- signed to the commissary department in Washington, where his responsible duties were the reception and distribution of subsistence stores to the troops encamped in and about the capital city. Some idea of the magnitude of his task may be gathered from the fact that when, in Oc- tober, 1863, he was finally relieved of it, his records accounted for twenty-one million dollars worth of supplies, and it is certainly a great tribute to his ability that his books in which this complex ac- counting was kept, contained no single error. On July 28, 1861, he was made first lieutenant, and on April 6, 1862, he was further advanced to the rank of cap- tain.
After being relieved of this commis- sary duty in Washington, he departed for duty with his regiment in New Orleans, and from November 22, 1863, to Febru- ary 29, 1864, held the post of provost marshal at Algiers, Louisiana. On the 26th of April of that year he was ordered to the headquarters of the Department of the South to take the position of com- missary of musters, and one month later reported for duty at Hilton Head, South Carolina, where he remained carrying out the difficult and responsible duties in- volved in this task until 1866, and then went to Charleston, South Carolina, where he discharged the duties of muster- ing officer in addition to those of commis- sary of musters. During this time his promotion was continued, and on May 13, 1865, he was appointed major by brevet "for faithful and meritorious service dur- ing the war." Upon the close of hostili- ties, Major Smith was relieved of his
Conn-4-19
duties in the commissary department and was ordered to Jackson Barracks, New Orleans, where he remained on duty for about nine months. It was while posted here that his command was attacked by a more insidious foe than any human enemy, the dread yellow fever carrying off one-fourth of the soldiers posted there. Major Smith did not himself escape this danger, wholly, but his splendid consti- tution enabled him to withstand its dread attack. After this terrible experience the whole regiment was transferred to the Department of the Lakes and was ordered to proceed to Fort Wayne, Detroit. On the 13th of May following the regiment was ordered to Fort Mackinaw, Michi- gan, and from that date until June, 1874, Major Smith was in command of this fort, and in the months of July and Au- gust of the latter year, of Fort Roic, whither his command was transferred at that time. At the end of August in that year, the regiment was once more moved, this time to Fort Sully, Dakota, where they remained until 1877. In 1876 Major Smith was granted a well-earned fur- lough of five months which he spent in Europe. The life of a soldier, even in times of peace, so-called, is varied and exciting enough, and in the fall of 1876, after his return from abroad, he was placed in command of four companies whose duty was to disarm the Sioux In- dians, who were at that time showing signs of unrest. In the month of Janu- ary of the following year, the command was ordered to Standing Rock, Dakota, and during the march to that point from Fort Sully it was caught in the great bliz- zard of that date. The troops suffered the most terrible hardships in the terrific storm, two of them being frozen to death. However, they reached their destination duly, but only to remain until May in that same year when the whole command was
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once more transferred to Bear Butte in the Black Hills. Another active season awaited Major Smith's regiment, when it was ordered to Fort Mead to act as mili- tary escort to a party of engineers en- gaged in surveying the Cheyenne river. The next move was to far-away Texas, but in 1880 the return was made to Da- kota, where the regiment took up its quar- ters in Fort Randall. In this year, how- ever, Major Smith was transferred to the Second Regiment, United States Infan- try, with the rank of major, and was given a four months' leave of absence. It was in the same year that he reported for duty to the general commanding the De- partment of the Columbia at Vancouver Barracks, Washington, where he was as- signed as chief commissary of subsist- ence. His movements through all that western country were not ended, how- ever, with the change of command, for in 1882 he was transferred to Fort Spokane, Washington, and from there to Lapwai, Idaho, where he remained until 1884. His next move was to Fort Klamath, Oregon, and it was while in command at this point that he received his promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and at the same time was transferred to the Twen- tieth Regiment United States Infantry, at that time stationed at Fort McGuin- ness, Montana. Here he was in command for three years, or until 1889, when he was retired from the service and at the same time raised to the rank of colonel by a special act of Congress.
With his retirement Colonel Smith bid adieu to the western country in which he had lived for so long a time, and settled in the quiet eastern city of South Nor- walk, Connecticut, but though his en- vironment was thus radically changed, his habits of activity and his naturally energetic nature would not allow him to remain aloof from the life of the place. so
that he became and remained a prominent figure in the city until his death. He was extremely public-spirited and interested himself in all the movements undertaken for the cominon weal, especially in the direction of religious and philanthropic work. He also held a number of public offices and was a tax assessor, a member of the library board and a member of the municipal electric committee, holding the latter position at the time of his death. Colonel Sınith was a man of deep reli- gious feeling and beliefs, and on coming to South Norwalk he joined Trinity Church and was its treasurer and a ves- tryman for many years. He was also a conspicuous figure in the social life of the place, and a prominent member of the New York Branch of the Loyal Legion of the United States to which only army officers are eligible.
On February 9, 1863. Colonel Smith was united in marriage with Mrs. Louise Wells, widow of John M. Wells, and a daughter of H. A. Allen, an old and hon- ored resident of Brooklyn, New York. Mrs. Smith, who survives her husband, is now a resident of South Norwalk.
The life which officers in the United States army are obliged to lead undoubt- edly has its accompanying hardships and discomforts, but it no less undoubtedly possesses many most desirable elements, not the least of which is the cultural in- fluence incident upon living in so many places and coming in contact with so many different types of men. Certainly Colonel Smith displayed in his character the effects of this life upon a personality, naturally broad-minded and of large cali- bre. Unobtrusive, yet of positive and firm manner, he was just the man to exer- cise the requisite authority over the troops in his command, and equally to form an ornament to the more polished society of civil life. He was a inan ad-
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mired by all who came in contact with him, a gentleman of the courtly old school, and many were the friends who sincerely mourned his loss when death finally claimed him.
SWORDS, William Henry, Business Man.
In every community there is always one or more figures who, while holding no formal pledge of their fellow citizens' esteem, such as public office or what-not, are yet, in a measure, public men, in a sense, public property even, because of the familiarity which their personalities have won them with all ranks and classes of men. This particular kind of popular- ity, of which all of us can recall instances, seems to be independent of almost every trait of character, and is offered alike to the brilliant and the simple, the able and otherwise, the high and the low. There seems to be but one qualification which insures it, and this is that essential de- mocracy of outlook that is so nearly allied to the Christian virtue of charity, which causes a man to regard men from the fundamental standpoint of their manhood, penetrating beneath all the external cir- cumstances of class and race and creed. Where this quality is found in any great amount, there, too, are we very sure to see that personal, almost intimate, sort of popularity which delights in giving nicknames and affectionate diminutives. Such was the case with William Henry Swords, of South Norwalk, who was popularly known among his great circle of friends and associates as "Billy," and who was beloved as universally as he was known. In the case of Mr. Swords, indeed, this winning trait was united with a very decided talent for business and affairs, so that he reached a position among the most prominent merchants of his adopted city of South Norwalk.
William Henry Swords was a native of Darien, Connecticut, where he was born March 12, 1829, a son of David and Sally (Morehouse) Swords, of that town. The Swords are a very old and well known family in Connecticut, and the men who have borne this name of recent years have fully maintained the high standard set by their forebears. Mr. Swords, of this sketch, did not remain long in the place of his birth, but at a very early age was brought by his parents to Norwalk, and it is with this city that his childish associations were formed. It was here also that he received his education, at- tending the excellent local public schools. His father had established himself in the pottery business in this city, and upon the completion of his schooling, William H. Swords was admitted by the elder man into the firm, where he continued until the latter's death. He then joined his brother Alonzo, and the two of them established a clothing house in South Norwalk, which became extremely suc- cessful, Mr. William H. Swords continu- ing actively in its management until within a year of his death. The business, as remarked above, was a highly flourishing one, and Mr. Swords soon came to be re- garded as one of the leading merchants of the city, his business, indeed, being the only one of its kind in South Norwalk for a time. He owned some very valuable property in the city, one of the most valu- able being the large piece of land and the fine brick building standing thereon, in which the clothing business was con- ducted for a number of years. This was eventually disposed of to the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, and was used by that corporation as a site for the depot. It was somewhere about 1872 that Mr. Swords built a very handsome residence on South Main street, where he lived with his family until the time of his death. It has recently been purchased
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by the Order of Elks. The old building, afterwards replaced by the railroad sta- tion, was at the corner of Washington and Main streets, the business afterwards removing to 90 East Washington street.
As might have been supposed in one who enjoyed so wide a popularity as Mr. Swords, he did not confine himself to his business affairs, nor, indeed, to any pri- vate affairs whatever. He was particu- larly conspicuous in the social life of the city and was a prominent member of many clubs and organizations. Among these may be mentioned the Old Well Club, the South Norwalk Club, and the Knob Outing Club, and he was also a member of the Masonic order for a num- ber of years. He was also a strong sup- porter of the Republican party and all its principles and policies, yet despite his popularity and the fact that he was often urged to accept nominations and appoint- ments within its gift, he consistently re- fused and never held public office, prefer- ring always to exert what influence he might as a private citizen.
Mr. Swords was united in marriage, September 10, 1861, with Jennie W. Waterman, a daughter of Charles and Mary D. (Royce) Waterman, of Meri- den, Connecticut. They were the par- ents of three children, a son and two daughters, as follows: W. W. Swords, a resident in New Haven ; Iola, who mar- ried Charles E. Steele, a prominent citi- zen of Ansonia, where they now reside with their daughter; Pauline, who mar- ried William T. Haviland, of Bridgeport, and clerk of the Superior Court there. To them have been born two sons and a daughter.
Mr. Swords was, in many particulars, typical of the best class of New England merchants. It is due to these men that business standards and ideals are so high in that section of the country, since they
bring, as did Mr. Swords, their personal ideals inculcated from the cradle, to be a model for the conduct of all commercial relations. So far from being incompati- ble with a high degree of practicality, this is really but the result thereof, the result of understanding the uniformity of the great moral laws in their application to life. Men of real practicality and of real intelligence are not inconsistent, and such an illogicality as that which we too com- monly hear about us to the effect that absolute honesty is all very well for the home, but that business is business, is quite impossible to them. Their vision is larger and they look beyond the imme- diate result of the sharp practice and the momentary advantage it may bring to the establishment of solid reputations, upon which alone lasting business success may be built. In another and allied matter this same splendid consistency of Mr. Swords was strikingly shown. He was a faithful member of the Con- gregational church, but for him religion was not a matter for occasional profes- sion, but a very practical guide in the problems of every-day existence. And this was not merely the result of a clear mental attitude, but had all the force of an original instinct, so that it did not fail in its action. Thus his essential democ- racy was of that sort which men felt to be spontaneous and to which they spon- taneously responded. He lived to the age of seventy years and his death, which occurred in South Norwalk, September I, 1899, was felt as a personal loss by a very large proportion of the community.
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