USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
43
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1911 they visited the Thousand Islands and sailed down the St. Lawrence river to Montreal, going thence to Portland, Maine, and visiting many of the beaches and resorts in that delightful section. In 1912 they made a trip to Florida and vis- ited Atlantic City, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, and other New Jersey resorts on their return.
Mr. Hallam was married, June 12, 1863, in South Meriden, to Betsey Marilla Ives, who was born November 11, 1840, in Meriden, daughter of Jothan and Mary R. (Way) Ives. An active church worker and a useful factor in the social life of the community, she was the appreciated companion and helpmeet of her husband. She died November 8, 1913, Mrs. Hal- lam was a descendant of John Ives, the first of the family in New England, who was a farmer in Wallingford. He was the father of Gideon Ives, who married Mary Royce, and was the father of Jothan Ives, who was born 1710, and died Sep- tember 2. 1753. He married Abigail Bur- roughs, and they were the parents of Zachariah Ives, born January 31, 1737, who settled near Honey Pot Brook, in Cheshire, Connecticut, where he died March 9, 1815. Both he and his wife Lois are buried in the Episcopal church- yard in Cheshire. Their son, Jesse Ives, born in Cheshire, married Marilla John- son, and settled on a farm in Meriden, where he died. There Jothan Ives was born. and was a farmer throughout his life. He married Mary R., daughter of John and Betsey (Preston) Way, and they were the parents of Betsey Marilla Ives, wife of Mr. Hallam.
BROUGHEL, Andrew J., Attorney-at-Law.
Andrew J. Broughel, of Hartford, well regarded in the profession of law, and
esteemed in the city for his interest and cooperation in public affairs, was born in Hartford, March 4, 1866, the son of An- drew J. and Mary F. (Ryan) Broughel.
Andrew J. Broughel, Sr., who died in Hartford, was a native of Dublin, Ireland, where he attended the national schools, although not for many years, as he was only eleven years of age when his par- ents carried through their resolution to seek the freer constitutional conditions obtainable in America. In due course the family, included in which was the eleven- year-old son, reached America, and be- came established in residence in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It does not appear that Andrew J., the son, was afforded further academic education. He is stated to have exhibited an aptitude for mechanics, and was placed in the Springfield Armory, where he became a machinist. manifest- ing such understanding of the basic prin- ciples of the science of mechanics, and such assiduous application to the practi- cal phase, that while still a young man he had become possessed of responsible office, and when only twenty-four years of age was entrusted with the superin- tendence of the erection of machinery plants in many parts of Massachusetts. Later he entered the employ of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, and became gang foreman, later foreman, of one of the shops in the Hartford plant. Some years later he accepted a position as foreman under the old Hartford, Connecticut & Western railroad, subsequently becoming master mechanic of the Shepaug, Litchfield & Northern division of the New Haven rail- road, at Litchfield, Connecticut. After some time he returned to Hartford as master mechanic of the Central New Eng- land railroad, after service with which company he was offered advancement by taking similar capacity under the Union
44
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ductive of good for the Democratic party, in that he gained for his party a much larger number of votes than had been estimated would have been given the nominee of the Democrats. Attorney Broughel was taken into the State admin- istration by Governor Baldwin, and for four years held the State appointment of shell fish commissioner. Also for several years he was treasurer of the Democratic town committee.
Attorney Broughel, in his professional capacity, has charge of the extensive real estate holdings of the Hamersley family. He is personally possessed of much land- ed property, his real estate operations bringing into prominence in him an ex- pert understanding of values. He is well circumstanced financially, and although his realty expertness has been a factor of some moment in this relation, his suc- cess in material wealth is due principally to his success in legal practice, to his able advocacy of clients' rights as established by law, and in the resolute prosecution of causes entrusted to his professional attention, he having carried many to the Supreme Court of the State and to suc- cessful termination.
He married Isabelle G., the daughter of James C. Driscoll, of Hartford, repre- sentative in Connecticut for the Cincin- nati firm of yeast manufacturers, the Fleischmann Company. To Attorney and Mrs. Broughel were born six children : Rosemary, Edward, Isabelle, Margaret, Andrew and James.
DOOLITTLE, Edgar J., Manufacturer, Financier.
The value of the public service Mr. Doolittle has rendered is best attested by the fact that he has five times been chosen mayor of Meriden, and by the votes of a much larger district was sent to the State
Senate. In the business world he is the able president of the Home National Bank, head of a large manufacturing plant, and interested officially in many Meriden enterprises. Although strong in his own right he adds to personal merit descent from a long line of worthy ances- tors in America and England, tracing to Abraham Doolittle, who came to Massa- chusetts prior to 1640. The genealogy beginning with Abraham Doolittle is thus traced.
Abraham Doolittle was born about 1620, cast his lot with the Puritans of Massachusetts, and is of record in Bos- ton in 1640, and in New Haven, Connecti- cut, in 1642. His ability seems to have been well recognized by his townsmen, as when but twenty-five years of age he was made chief executive of the New Haven colony. He was seven times chosen deputy from New Haven to the General Court at Hartford. In 1669 he was one of the early settlers of Wallingford, and in 1671 was chosen treasurer and made sergeant of the train band. During King Philip's war of 1675 he was a member of the vigilance committee, and his home in the lower part of the town was fortified by a picket fort. The old well within the enclosure that supplied the inmates with water is said to be still in use. Abraham Doolittle was among the organizers of the first church of Wallingford, and his gravestone, yet standing, is one of the oldest in the town. He married (first) in England. Joane Allen, daughter of James Allen, of Kempton. Bedfordshire, England. who died about twenty years later. He married (second) July 2, 1663. Abigail Moss, born April 10, 1642, daugh- ter of John Moss, who died in Walling- ford in 1707, aged one hundred and three years. Abraham Doolittle died August 11, 1690, his widow surviving him until November 5, 1719.
46
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Samuel Doolittle, son of Abraham Doo- little, "the founder," was born July 7, 1665, and located at Middletown, Connec- ticut. His son, Joseph Doolittle, born June 20, 1704, married (first) Mary Hitchcock, May 24, 1729. She died May 24, 1739, and he married (second) Mary Strictland. His children were: Mary and Elizabeth, who died young ; Joseph, died August 6, 1771 ; Seth, born January, 1745, married Hannah Dow, February 4, 1768; Abisha; Mary (2) ; Elizabeth (2) ; Jared, of further mention; Joel and Jo- seph.
Jared Doolittle, son of Joseph and Mary (Strictland) Doolittle, was born July 13, 1769. He married Anna Jones and had a son Edgar J., of further men- tion.
Rev. Edgar J. Doolittle, son of Jared and Anna (Jones) Doolittle, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, October 19, 1810, died at Wallingford, Connec- ticut, February 1, 1883. He was a man of education and culture, a graduate of Yale, class of "36," and with rare fervor and devotion followed the sacred calling, being a regularly ordained minis- ter of the Congregational church. His scholarly, fervent nature well suited the profession to which he was called, and his career as a minister was singularly blessed. He served as pastor of the First Church in Hebron for ten years, May 18, 1842-December 14, 1852, going thence to Chester, where as stated supply and set- tled pastor he labored with great accepta- bility for about twenty-five years. He was an eloquent, forceful and convincing pulpit orator, and as pastor gained a warm place in the affections of his people. The closing period of his years, seventy- three, were spent in Wallingford, where he was greatly beloved by all who knew him and their number was legion. Rev. Edgar J. Doolittle married, in 1842, Jane
E. Sage, daughter of Isaac and Harriet (Sage) Sage, of Middletown, Connecti- cut, of an old and influential Colonial family, tracing descent to David Sage, born in Wales, Great Britain. The Sage surname, originally Saga, is of Scanda- navian origin, and is found on the Roll of Battle Abbey, compiled to preserve the names of those who fought with William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings, 1066. David Sage, the American ances- tor, was an early settler of Middletown, Connecticut, the stone marking his grave yet to be seen in Riverside Cemetery. He was the great-grandfather of Captain William Sage, who fought at Bunker Hill, and of Elisha Sage, also a Revolu- tionary soldier, and the great-great-great- grandfather of Russell Sage, the noted financier of New York City, and bore the same relation to Mrs. Jane E. (Sage) Doo- little. Rev. Edgar J. and Jane E. (Sage) Doolittle were the parents of eight chil- dren: Edgar Sage, died in infancy ; Ed- gar J. (2), of further mention ; Isaac Sage, died in youthful manhood; Henry Na- thaniel ; Annis Merrill, died at the age of twenty-two years; Harriet Anna, died in infancy ; Jane Elizabeth ; Orrin Sage.
Hon. Edgar J. Doolittle, son of the Rev. Edgar J. and Jane E. (Sage) Doo- little, was born in Hebron, Connecticut, January 29, 1845. His education, begun in Hebron public schools, was completed at Guilford Institute, whence he was graduated, class of 1861, the institute then being presided over by Professor Eli Mack. His entrance into the business world soon followed, and for many years he has been a manufacturer of paper boxes, the Doolittle factories and product being known wherever paper boxes of superior quality are used. The line of manufacture includes every variety of paper boxes produced, from the cheaper to the finest silk, satin or plush lined. The
47
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Doolittle plant is one of the largest of its kind in the State, and for many years has been one of Meriden's notable industries. Not alone as a manufacturer is Mr. Doo- little known to the business world, for with the years he has grown to be one of the most prominent men of his city, with wide and varied interests. For many years he was a director and vice-president of the Home National Bank, and since 1913 has been its capable president. He is a director of the Meriden Gas Light Com- pany, director of the Meriden Electric Light Company, director of the Meriden Hospital, trustee of the Meriden Savings Bank, and has many other important busi- ness interests. In political faith Mr. Doo- little is a Republican, and for five terms served his city as mayor, his last term end- ing January 3, 1887. He received a unani- mous nomination for a sixth term, but he felt constrained to decline the honor, al- though deeply appreciating that evidence of the high regard in which he was held. At the November polls, 1886, he was elected State Senator and in that office added to the value of his public service. Hle was appointed railroad commissioner, December 2, 1909, by Governor Frank B. Weeks, and was one of the commissioners from the State of Connecticut to the St. Louis Exposition, appointed by Governor Abiram Chamberlain. He is a member of lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic order, holds the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. Through the patriotic service of his ma- ternal great-grandfather, Captain Wil- liam Sage, he has gained membership in the Sons of the American Revolution ; his clubs are the Home, Colonial, Highland Country, and Union League of New Haven, Connecticut.
Mr. Doolittle married (first) Novem- ber 13, 1867, Martha W. Couch, deceased,
daughter of George and Mary (Warner) Couch, of Meriden. She bore him a daughter, Dorothy Doolittle, who married Frederick W. Holcomb, of Waterbury. Mr. Doolittle married (second) April 6, 1910, Mrs. Adelaide Louise (Stevens) Davis, widow of the late Judge Wilbur F. Davis, of Meriden.
BUCHANAN, Frank John, Dentist.
One of the most capable and intelligent of the rising dentists in the city of Water- bury, Connecticut, is Dr. Frank John Buchanan, who has already made a con- siderable impression upon his profession there. He is a deep student of his sub- ject and always keeps himself abreast of the very latest knowledge, ahead indeed of the average standards of practice. He is a member of a fine old Scotch family, the name Buchanan being one of the best known in that country, its representatives in many generations having been men of great distinction. His father, John John- son Buchanan, was a native of that land, born near the city of Glasgow, and re- maining there until he had reached the age of nine years. He then accompanied his parents, who emigrated from Scot- land to the United States, settling in Waterbury, Connecticut, which has been the home of the family ever since. Mr. Buchanan, Sr., has now lived in that city fifty years and more, having been em- ployed during that entire period by the Waterbury Buckle Company, and is now one of their most trusted men. He mar- ried Adella Potter, a native of Waterbury, and their only child is Dr. Buchanan, of this sketch.
Dr. Buchanan was born June 3, 1878, in the city of Waterbury, and has made that city his permanent home and the scene of his professional career. He at-
48
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
tended the public schools of this city for the preparatory portion of his education, graduating from the old Waterbury High School in the year 1896. He then went to the Philadelphia Dental College, situ- ated in the city of that name, and gradu- ated with the class of 1904, having proved himself a most apt and conscientious stu- dent. He returned directly to his native city of Waterbury, where he at once be- gan a practice, successful from the outset and with an unquestionably brilliant future. His office is situated at III Letty Building, Waterbury. Dr. Buchanan is a man of wide sympathies and many in- terests. He is fond of social intercourse with his fellows and is a member of many important organizations and societies of a fraternal nature. Among these should be mentioned the Masonic order, in which he is prominent, the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks, the Order of Im- proved Heptasophs, and a number of col- lege fraternities. He is a Baptist in his religious affiliations and is active in the interests of his church.
Dr. Buchanan was married on March 7, 1907, to Florence C. Snagg, a native of Waterbury, a daughter of Peter Snagg, now deceased. Mr. Snagg was a native of Westport, Connecticut, where he car- ried on a successful tailoring business for many years. To Dr. and Mrs. Buchanan two children have been born: Helen Snagg, January 20, 1908, and Francis, June 24, 1910.
BRADSTREET, Edward Thomas, Physician and Surgeon.
The subject of this biography has long held a leading position in his profession, and as a citizen of the city of Meriden, justifying the promise of a descent from a very ancient family. The arms of this family in England are: Argent, a grey-
hound passant, gules, on a chief sable, three crescents or. Crest: An arm in armor embowed, the hand grasping a scymetar, all proper. Motto: Virtue et non vi.
The first known ancestor in continuous line was Simon Bradstreet, a non-con- formist minister of Lincolnshire, Eng- land, and Middleburg, Holland, where he clied about 1617. His son, Simon Brad- street, was born in 1603, in Hobling, Lin- colnshire, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Cambridge in 1620, and Master of Arts in 1624. On the organization in England of the Massa- chusetts Bay Colony, he was appointed assistant, March 18, 1630, and came to Massachusetts with Governor Winthrop's fleet in that year. From August 23, 1630, to 1636, he was secretary of the colony, deputy governor from 1673 to 1678, gov- ernor from 1679 to 1686, and again after the rising against Sir Edmund Andros, from 1689 to 1692. He died March 27, 1697, aged ninety-four years. He mar- ried (first) Ann, daughter of Governor Dudley, who was born 1576, in Northamp- ton, England, came to Massachusetts in 1638 with the commission of deputy gov- ernor, was governor from 1634 to 1640, and was one of the signers of the charter of Harvard College. Ann Dudley was the first poetess of note in New England ; one of her brothers was later governor of the colony and a nephew was chief justice. She died September 16, 1672, and Gov- ernor Bradstreet married (second) Ann, widow of Joseph Gardner, daughter of Emanuel Downing ; she died 1683. John Bradstreet, youngest child of Simon and Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet, born July 22, 1652, at Andover, Massachusetts, was liv- ing in Salem in 1681, but most of his life was spent in Topsfield. He married, June II, 1677, Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Wil- liam Perkins, of Topsfield, born March 7,
Conn-4-4
49
1
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1656, died April 7, 1745. Simon Brad- street, eldest child of John and Sarah (Perkins) Bradstreet, was born April 14, 1682, in Topsfield, and died there Septem- ber 18, 1747. He married, October 12, 1711, Elizabeth Capen, baptized April 26, 1691, died March 22, 1781, daughter of the Rev. Joseph and Priscilla Capen, of Topsfield. John Bradstreet, third son of Simon and Elizabeth (Capen) Bradstreet, was born March 2, 1718, died November 22, 1807. He married, January 13, 1742, Elizabeth Fisk, of Wenham, born Octo- ber 12, 1718, died November 13, 1801, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Ful- ler) Fisk. Captain Dudley Bradstreet, only son of John and Elizabeth (Fisk) Bradstreet, was born October 8, 1765, died April 23, 1833. He married, Septem- ber 29, 1789, Polly Porter, of Danvers, born January 20, 1771, died May 9, 1815, daughter of Joseph and Phebe (Barrett) Porter.
Rev. Thomas Jefferson Bradstreet, son of Captain Dudley and Polly (Porter) Bradstreet, was born April 7, 1807, in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College in 1834. After com- pleting the course at the Andover Theo- logical Seminary, he entered upon the work of the Christian ministry, but was compelled to give it up on account of ill health, in 1840. For six months he preached at the Center Congregational Church in Meriden, Connecticut, and soon after became pastor of the church at Thomaston, Connecticut, where he con- tinued until he was forced to seek other occupation. Subsequently he became su- perintendent of the cotton mill depart- ment of the Seth Thomas Company, of Thomaston, Connecticut, becoming later commercial agent of the company. This was found too confining, and he was com- pelled to seek an outdoor occupation, and continued a farmer until his death, which
occurred in October, 1897. He owned a considerable tract of land in Thomaston, which he cultivated, also built several houses and dealt in real estate. He was also the founder of the old Thomaston Academy, which he financed. While in the employ of the Seth Thomas Clock Company, he traveled through the South, handling clocks and brassware. Wherever his sympathies and activities were en- gaged he was successful, and his work was of great advantage in the religious and material world. He was a very active citizen of the town, served as selectman, was thirty-seven years a member of the board of education, twenty-five years Sunday school superintendent, and repre- sented the town in the State Legislature. A clear thinker and a ready debater, he exercised a great influence, and was uni- versally esteemed for his unselfish char- acter. He married Amanda, daughter of Seth Thomas, who founded the Seth Thomas Clock Company. She was a fit- ting helpmate of her husband in every good work. Their youngest child is the subject of the ensuing biography. The Thomas family came from Scotland. James Thomas, a cooper by trade, a native of that country, settled in Plymouth, Con- necticut, when a young man. His wife's name was Martha, and their third son, Seth Thomas, was born in that part of Wolcott which is now Plymouth, Con- necticut, August 19. 1785. His school attendance was very short, but he was a man of great natural gifts, and overcame every obstacle in the way of his advance- ment, both intellectually and materially. He served an apprenticeship at the car- penter's trade, and on attaining his ma- jority began in a very small way the manufacture of clocks, in company with Eli Terry and Silas Hoadley, under the title of Terry. Thomas & Hoadley. with factory in the southeastern part of the
50
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
town of Plymouth, at what is now Han- cock Station. In 1810, Mr. Terry sold his interest, and for two years the business was conducted by Thomas & Hoadley, after which the latter became sole pro- prietor. Mr. Thomas removed to the western part of the town then known as Plymouth Hollow, where he purchased a site and erected a factory for the manu- facture of clocks. This business grew rapidly under his management, and in time he added a cotton mill and a brass rolling and wire mill. In 1853 he organized the Seth Thomas Clock Company, whose product has for many years enjoyed a very high reputation throughout the world. He died January 29, 1859, and after his death the western portion of the town of Plymouth was erected into a separate township, named Thomaston in his honor. His second daughter, Amanda, became the wife of Rev. Thomas J. Brad- street, as above noted.
Dr. Edward Thomas Bradstreet, young- est child of the Rev. Thomas Jefferson and Amanda (Thomas) Bradstreet, was born February 15, 1852, at Thomaston, and there spent his boyhood, receiving instruction in the public schools and at Thomaston Academy. Entering Yale College, he was graduated with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts in 1874. and immediately began the study of medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine in 1877. After spending a brief time in post-graduate study, he began the prac- tice of medicine at Meriden, near the close of the year 1877. Down to the present time he has been an active force in the community, achieving remarkable success professionally and winning the friendship and esteem of the community. He has long been a member of the staff of the Meriden City Hospital and is now a direc-
tor ; is a member of the American Medi- cal Association; the Connecticut State Medical Society and its president, 1913; the New Haven County Medical Society, and the Meriden Medical Society. He was one of the directors of the Gaylord Farm Sanitorium from its organization until the present time, and was a member of the New Haven board of examiners for pension under the United States govern- ment from 1882 to 1893. Dr. Bradstreet is the examiner for fourteen of the lead- ing life insurance companies; president of the Meriden Yale Alumni Association, and has been medical examiner of the town of Meriden since 1901. He is among the active members of the First Congre- gational Church, the Home Club, the Sons of the Revolution, the Governor Thomas Dudley Family Association ; has been president of the Meriden Golf Club since its organization, and also president, since its organization, of the Highland Country Club, which maintains ample and handsome grounds, with commodious club house, a few miles east of the city. He is president of the Organized Chari- ties of Meriden, and a director of the Pub- lic Health Association of that city. Dr. Bradstreet was one of the general com- mittee which arranged for the Centennial Celebration of the town. He is every- where recognized as one of the most pro- gressive and public-spirited citizens of the city.
Dr. Bradstreet married, December 25, 1875, Alice E. Pierce, born November 18, 1857, daughter of Hiram and Sarah (Beers) Pierce, of Thomaston. Children : Edward Dudley, born November 11, 1878, educated in the public schools of Meriden, graduated from Yale College, 1901, an artist by profession ; Mary Thomas, now the wife of Roswell Bishop Hyatt, a graduate of Yale, 1903 ; Alice Pierce, died at the age of six years.
51
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
FITZSIMONS, Rev. Luke, Priest.
. Many generations of the Fitzsimons family lived and died in the parish of Virginia, County Cavan, Ireland, from whence came Rev. Luke Fitzsimons, of Waterbury, Connecticut. Fitzsimon, a clan long located in County Cavan, were of Anglo-Norman descent, who came originally from the English Pale. From Virginia in County Cavan also came Rich- ard Daly, the father of Mary (Daly) Fitzsimons. Patrick Fitzsimons, paternal grandfather, and Richard Daly, maternal grandfather of Rev. Luke Fitzsimons, were farmers of County Cavan.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.